Rate The Last Movie You Saw

There's an alternative cut of the first film (made for North American audiences, I believe), and I'd remember the sequel assumes that ending.

__________________

Originally Posted by pahaK

There's an alternative cut of the first film (made for North American audiences, I believe), and I'd remember the sequel assumes that ending.

When I saw the movie on Amazon Prime Video last night, I noticed that it was missing the last scene (which was bleak) that had been on the DVD version.

Personal favorite of mine. So much better than it had any right to be.

Tokyo Story (1953)



After re-watching Late Spring, I decided to re-watch Tokyo Story, and it is as good as I remembered it, since I watched it several years ago, and I still agree with the evaluation of putting it in my top 10. What strikes me about this film is how homely and realistic it feels, it feels like living through years of life in that family, as by the end of the film, I felt a deep familiarity with this fictional family.

Its hard to compare it with Late Spring: Late Spring is more minimalistic and perfectionist, focusing on a smaller cast of characters, while Tokyo Story is bigger and also more suave in its execution. Both are masterpieces and I feel like I like Tokyo Story slightly more.

10/10+ one of the greatest movies ever made

Ripley Under Ground -

If you had no idea this Tom Ripley movie exists, you are not alone. I only became aware of it while randomly browsing Patricia Highsmith's Wikipedia page. Living in London and moonlighting as an actor, his main gig is promoting a painter, Derwatt, who is the new star of the art world. After something tragic happens, Ripley gets the opportunity to do what he does best: keep up appearances. Of course, there are other complications: his romance with beautiful Parisian Heloise and one of Derwatt's biggest American fans and buyers suddenly showing up.

This is not a hidden gem or anything, but it did not deserve to be buried, no pun intended. First, the not so great that could explain its obscurity: all the other Ripley movies I have seen ooze with style befitting the character's taste. This one, despite some trippy montages typical of early '00s movies, screams workmanlike. This especially applies to the overly efficient editing, which enhances the parts that make it a thriller, but it barely lets the character moments or luxuries of the galleries and mansions linger. Luckily, this does not mar the performances too much since it has a very fine cast. I like Barry Pepper as Ripley, who understands that to play him, you must be deceptive, charismatic and make you root for him even though he is not a very good person. Other highlights are the always delightful and funny Alan Cumming as his fellow promoter, whose hatred of cell phones and the internet likely mirror the creators' thoughts about having to add them to the script. There's also Willem Dafoe, who got under my skin in the best way for how he makes the buyer such a dullard and square. The most fun parts of these movies are when Ripley is on the verge of being exposed, but manages to save his skin just in time, and it does not disappoint in this regard. While he gets so lucky at times that it verges on the ridiculous, especially whenever grave digging is involved, I found the ridiculousness to be so amusing in and of itself that it is more feature than bug.

Since I have been on a Ripley kick for a while, discovering this movie made me feel like Christmas came early. Now that I've seen it, it's more like getting an extra prize in a Cracker Jack box, but not one that is your favorite. It would never top my list if I ranked the Ripley catalog, in other words, but for the way it takes a jab at the art world and proves that a man scorned is no less furious, I'm still glad I watched it. Oh, and if it has anything over its predecessors, it's that it's the only one where Ripley showers with three standard poodles.

Messiah of Evil (1974)

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

The Accountant 2 - (2025)

Yeah, kinda of what you would expect for a sequel. Not bad, just no surprises here. 6/10

__________________
You don't remember me? We spoke on the phone two days ago. I told you I would find you.

(MILLS, 2008)

Beat the Devil (1953) - What a jolly good time. Funny characters (and a great cast), snappy dialogue (Capote co-wrote it) with no lowering of crazy till the end.

Changes locations more than twice and it's story swings might exhaust some, otherwise I recommend it easily to anyone looking for classy entertainment... 8/10.

__________________
HEI guys.

Couldn’t finish these. There was a thread for movies we could not finish, but I couldn’t find it.

__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

Good movies I have seen lately.

1st Rewatch...Cameron Crowe's rich direction and one of Matt Damon's loveliest performances anchor this fact-based story of a widower named Benjamin Mee really struggling with raising his son and daughter following the death of his wife, who finds multiple challenges and pleasures when he decides to move his family into a zoo and renovate it for re-opening to the public. The story is slightly melodramatic but for some reason, the fact that it's a true story makes that forgivable. Damon is wonderful in the starring role. The real Benjamin Mee contributed to the screenplay and makes a cameo appearance. Scarlett Johansson, Patrick Fugit, John Michael Higgins and Angus McFayden are effective in supporting roles, but this is Crowe and Damon's show. .

1st Rewatch....Jessica Chastain won the Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actress for her powerhouse performance as Tammy Faye Bakker in this up close and almost too personal look into the lives of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, whose initial work as traveling evangelists eventually led to the creation of their empire the PTL ministries, from which Jim was discreetly stealing from the coughers to line the Bakkers' own pockets and eventual landed Jim in prison. This film has a real voyeuristic feel too it and I think the screenplay is a little overprotective of Tammy Faye, trying to paint her as another victim of her husband's who had no idea what he was doing and I just don't buy that. Chastain is spectacular as Tammy Faye though and Andrew Garfield matches her beautifully as Jim, but for some reason was denied the Oscar nomination he deserved. The screenplay plays it a little safe, but this still a solid look at the Bakkers.

1st Rewatch...Brendan Fraser won a richly deserved Oscar for his devastating performance in this bleak and unapologetic drama about a gay, morbidly obese college professor who teaches English online because he doesn't want to his students to see how large and barely ambulatory he is. This guy is dying but refuses to go to the hospital until he has made amends with his very angry daughter (Sadie Sink). Fraser completely invests in this physically and emotionally demanding role that produced one of the best Oscar wins for Best Actor ever and I also loved Hong Chau, who received a supporting actress nomination for her fiery turn as Fraser's caregiver. This film is like live theater.

1st Rewatch...The only screen pairing of Astaire and the only female dancer at MGM who was as strong a dancer as he was, the amazing Eleanor Powell. The film is nothing special, but there is a tap routine with Astaire and Powell near the end of the film set to Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine", that would later be featured in the first That's Entertainment, that is worth the price of admission all by itself.

4th Rewatch...The brilliant, Oscar-nominated screenplay by director Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach is really what makes the 2023 Best Picture nominee work. Based on Mattel's most popular selling item of all tine, the Barbie Doll, this film introduces to Barbie (Margot Robbie) waking up in her utopian existence and not long after, suffering a crisis of conscience, finds her feet becoming flat and falling into a depression, which sends her to the real world to find her owner, who has been abusing her, accompanied by boyfriend Ken (Best Supporting Actor nominee Ryan Gosling), who is lost without Barbie in her world and what we have is a combination fish out of water/female empowerment/battle of the sexes story that, at times, is hard to follow, but never fails to entertain thanks to Gerwig's imaginative direction, some terrific songs ("I'm Just Ken" was my favorite) and performances by Robbie and Gosling that light up the screen. If you've never seen this, please treat yourself before a sequel is made and ruins it.

Umpteenth Rewatch....Stanley Kramer (The Defiant Ones, Judgement at Nuremburg), took a surprising change of pace when he directed this mammoth 1963 adventure comedy that features just about every comic actor working during the early 1960's. The film opens with five vehicles practically driven off a narrow California highway by a car that goes crashing over the railing with the driver being thrown from the vehicle. Five motorists (Milton Berle, Sid Ceasar, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters) go down to see if the guy (Jimmy Durante) is still alive and before he kicks the bucket (literally), tells these guys that there is $350,000 hidden in a California Park under a big "W". Of course, greed kicks in and the guys take off to find the money, not knowing that a veteran police officer (Spencer Tracy) knows all about the dead guy, the money, and is watching every move they make. Kramer took on a huge assignment here, a three hour comedy, something that really hadn't been done prior to this, but it still generates laughs today. In addition to the above mentioned stars, several other stars appear in supporting roles or cameos, including Terry-Thomas, Phil Silvers, Edie Adams, Dorothy Provine, William Demarest, Peter Falk, Dick Shawn, Don Knotts, Madelyn Rhue, Mike Mazurki, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, Carl Reiner, Paul Ford, Jesse White, Jim Backus, Joe E Broan Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, the Three Stooges, Sterling Halloway, Edward Everett Horton, but if the truth be told the film is handily stolen by Broadway legend Ethel Merman as Berle's mother-in-law from hell. The film is almost three hours long, but you don't even feel it. Still funny after 60 years.

Mickey 17 was disappointing. I stick films out no matter what for the most part, but when it comes to that one I wasn't rewarded for my persistence.

__________________

Superbad follows best friends Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera), who are about to graduate, as they are determined to have a wild night. However, their attempts only result in crazy antics while also bringing out insecurities and frustrations among them. They are joined in their night by their over-confident friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who is boasting about his newly minted fake ID, which they plan to use to buy booze.

Superbad succeeds in most of the things it needs to succeed. First of all, it manages to build a solid, believable chemistry between the three lead characters, especially Hill and Cera. They do a great job balancing their respective personas, the "straight man" vs. the "loudmouth", without them necessarily feeling like stereotypes. That balance extends to the way that the script balances the comedic with the dramatic. Sure, the film is full of juvenile jokes and gags, but it also has a lot of charm and heart to what the characters are going through.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

__________________