Rate The Last Movie You Saw

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Yeah, that's minus two popcorns for Civil War.

It would have been a minus four if it had not been so well produced and had such good FX, but yeah, what's the point. The US has broken into a bunch of competing state-lets and somehow they all decide to have a war. Things get worse because they have contemporary weapons, so, no charges with muskets like 1776 and no non-fatal wounds or heroic poses. This goes on for 2 hours until the film runs out. Are things any better at the end than at the beginning? Who knows. I guess we will have to wait until Civil War II, The Next One.

The mainly no-name actors (especially Kirsten Dunst) do their jobs, which is mainly running, screaming and, in some cases, bleeding and dying. Blood and body parts fly and vehicles explode. Who are the good guys? I don't know, nor do I especially care. I just wanted to land my flying saucer like in the old Day the Earth Stood Still from 1950, have Gort get out and zap all of the combatants. Fighting a pointless war with no rationale merits disintegration by a giant robot.

This movie deserves disintegration by digital deletion.

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Scream 4 - (2011)

Eleven years on from the 'far too serious' third chapter of what started as a brilliant satirical take on slasher films, the fourth chapter comes along - and the down-time between sequels has completely rejuvenated the formula. This time, the film begins with a double fake-out, and from that time on we know we're in for some of the fun we once had with the first film. A new generation of film nerds take up the mantel, but the old classic characters come back and we get that precious taste of nostalgia also. The pattern is firmly established now - the new young characters are basically murder-fodder in these films while the old classics usually make it through (definitely not unscathed!) Wes Craven's last go at this franchise is an enthusiastic update - all that's new in the world of horror, and in general, gives this a certain freshness. The murders are brutal, the surprise twist a genuine surprise, and screenplay clever enough to put the second and third films to shame. Scream officially breaks free of the 90s.

7.5/10


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Scream - (2022)

Another eleven years pass before we get our fifth entry in the Scream series of films, and this time - despite the modern update - things feel much more formulaic. It might be making a comment on "requels", but the general rehash feels like a...general rehash. It gets serious enough to do the unthinkable and kill off one of the original characters, but the third act was so underwhelming I felt somewhat let down. This movie suffers from the fact that the first and fourth in the series set such a high bar there's a necessity for something new and interesting in this for it to live up to it's predecessors. There's no problem with the performances or horror - it's not a bad movie per se, it just doesn't make enough of a satirical comment, or provide any new kind of motive for the killers. It's all a little too familiar.

6/10


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La Terra Trema - (1948)

Poor Sicilian fishermen break their backs and risk their lives working to the point of exhaustion, while the wholesalers on land fix prices so they can barely earn enough to survive. The Valastro family try to change this by mortgaging their house and starting their own enterprise - before learning that the system is rigged, and disaster awaits them. Great Italian neorealist film from Luchino Visconti. Review here, in my watchlist thread.

8/10


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Atroz - (2015)

Horrifying Mexican gorefest that will test your stomach and mind to their limit - only the hardiest of horror film buffs will be able to take this film, which veers into being in bad taste and is genuinely shocking. Pure torture porn, with a scanty story and flaccid late set-up and twist to finish things off. Review here, in my watchlist thread.

3/10


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The Butcher (Le boucher) - (1970)

A butcher and a school mistress meet at a wedding and become close, but a serial killer is on the loose and it's not long before suspicions wreak havoc on their growing affection for each other. A searching, bright and beautiful look at love and what it means to lack inner peace. Review here, in my watchlist thread.

8/10

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We watched Top Secret! tonight. It's the third time I've watched the film and it's still the most I've ever laughed at a film. I watched it for the first time in January, then again a few weeks ago, and then tonight, and it's still just as hilarious.

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Thanks again, Mr Portridge.

Civil War (2024)

The Stand In (1997) - 7/10 , movie based by a book by Ladislav Smoljak and Zdeněk Svěrák

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I'm looking for prison movie:
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"La Tera Trema" is a great movie, by the great Luchino Visconti. "The Butcher" was an interesting mystery.

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https://www.youtube.com/c/LoyalOpposition

Antiviral - (2012)

Tremendous performance by Caleb Landry Jones, he's the heart and soul of the movie. 9/10

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There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?

Oedipus Rex (1967)

As was usual, Pasolini's version of the ancient tale is gritty and modernised (ish). A twisty turny tale which needs no explanation. There is a parable at the base of this and Franco Citti, whilst rough and untrained, does a great job portraying the man yearning for meaning to his life. Obviously its a Greek tragedy but Pasolini teases out the meaning even though the production is very rough. It's probably not as strong as his more famous works but all the trademark PPP are evident.

The Conversation (1974, Francis Ford Coppola)

Love me some paranoia/surveillance/conspiracy vibes from that point in history (Watergate era)..this film reflects that angst perfectly. Very good thriller with a little twist at the end (that you can kinda see coming), and a powerful final scene.

11 Harrowhouse -

Candice Bergen. Sorry, I got distracted there. This decent diamond heist movie has enough things going for it to make it worth watching. One is the cast, which besides Grodin includes legends like John Gielgud, James Mason, Trevor Howard, and you guessed it, Candice Bergen, each of whom do what they do best. Gielgud's smug diamond exchange manager and Howard's equally smug millionaire stand out, as does Grodin's bemused straight man, but its Bergen's racecar enthusiast who adds the secret sauce. I also found the commentary about the diamond industry insightful, especially what I suspected about the insidious things it does to control prices. As for the voiceover narration, I'm normally not a fan of it in general, especially if it's overused. However, Grodin's wit and the way he adds uncertainty won me over. If it were a DVD commentary, it would rank as one of my favorites.

Despite what the movie does well, it is matinee or rainy afternoon fare at best. While I believe it and Grodin's performance are rated too low, I wouldn't be surprised if I never see the movie on a list of the best heist flicks. If you also admire anyone in the cast, like Candice Bergen, and/or have any interest in the diamond business, you will probably have a good time with it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to daydreaming about Candice Bergen behind the wheel of a racecar.

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Prime Cut (1972)

Really a vehicle for Lee Marvin's hard man act this does intrigue. With a grisly storytale of an enforcer sent to Kansas to collect a debt that a couple of previous candidates couldn't. Lee Marvin is great in it as is Gene Hackman as the arch villain with a small army of violent yokels intent on killing the Irish mob troop sent down from Chicago. The inclusion of a child prostitution ring (featuring a very young Sissy Spacek) is a bit grisly but sits well in the overall story. It's a bit grimy but that adds to the atmosphere of the film, I read that Marvin was drinking heavily during this stage of his career but you really don't notice. Good watch.

Roula (1995) Directed by Martin Enlen and starring Anica Dobra, Martin Umbach, Ernst Jacobi, and Tina Hamperl. A woman with a traumatic past and a troubled relationship with her father falls in love with a single father. I thought this was an interesting and effective drama. The characters were complex and well written and the film has some powerful and memorable moments. Worth checking out if you like dark character dramas and can handle difficult subjects, including child abuse and suicide.

Iron Claw
Overall a really good movie & Zac Efron's best performance as an actor (apart from the Ted Bundy movie he did).
The youngest brother's character, whose entire they excluded, would have actually added a lot to the movie.


Feel bad for the Von Erich family who went through all that.

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The Expendables - (2010)

Yeah, against advice and against my better judgement I'm trying to watch the Expendables movies. Look - I like most of these guys. Mickey Rourke is cool, Sylvester Stallone I have fond memories of, Bruce Willis is missed despite his hit-to-miss ratio, Schwarzenegger's moment I liked (he just walks in for a scene and then walks away), Jet Li is nice, Jason Statham - well, he gets on my nerves a little in this but he's usually okay, it's nice to see Eric Roberts sober and Dolph Lundgren will always remind me of "If he dies...he dies" Ivan Drago. What a thing to say Ivan - it was just a sporting event. Anyway - that's the only good thing about this absolutely run of the mill action movie. It's typical of any 50 or 100 other action movies that come out every year, and the only thing that differentiates it from them is the incredibly solid cast. The plot was your typical Special Ops team travels to fictional dictatorship and battles henchmen/troops. Rogue agents, the C.I.A. and drug running isn't new, and the only positive spin I can put on this is that Stallone and co kept things simple. The action suffers from a typical complaint I have - it tries to do too much, too fast. I know filmmakers want to go bigger, faster and louder - but at a certain point you can overwhelm your audience's ability to appreciate each moment. Less, and more coherent, is what I yearn for.

The only reason this was successful, or turned into a franchise, is the names on the film poster.

5/10


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The Acid House - (1998)

This film is based on three of the short stories from Irvine Welsh's book The Acid House. You could call it a little grim or puerile - and at times lowbrow - but it has a good middle section at least. You'll need your English subtitles turned on. Reviewed here, in my watchlist thread.

6/10

Priscilla (2023)

The last movie I saw was "Superman: Steel Man", was meh 6.5/10

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Me llamo Juan, como profesional cerrajeros en Barcelona 24 horas he dedicado mi carrera a brindar soluciones de seguridad confiables y urgentes. Con años de experiencia y un enfoque centrado en el cliente, he liderado Cerrajeros Barcelona Olesa de Montserrat para convertirse en un referente en la industria de la cerrajería en la ciudad.

Alice in the Cities (1974, Wim Wenders)

Is this one of the best road movies of all time, or what? The grainy half-documentary, almost improvised vibe of it, the lovely unforced chemistry between the lead characters (the writer and the girl), the brilliant b&w cinematography by Robby Müller... just pure transcendental simplicity. Many beautiful moments in this film, captured seemingly on the fly like those fleeting polaroid images. Like that ending in the train.. nearly made me cry. Perfection.

Civil War (2024)


Underwhelming and...misguided/misleading? For a one-line plot summary, its about a war photographer traversing a fictional war. Not a lot of substance regarding a Civil War, but the cinematography is nice. My least favorite work from Garland that I have seen.

The Acid House - (1998)

This film is based on three of the short stories from Irvine Welsh's book The Acid House. You could call it a little grim or puerile - and at times lowbrow - but it has a good middle section at least. You'll need your English subtitles turned on. Reviewed here, in my watchlist thread.

6/10[/quote]

Totally agree, "A Soft Touch" in the middle is the only part that isn't banal.