Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Tools    





How would you compare it to the 1949 original, which I thought was excellent? I haven't so far investigated the '19 version, fearing too much PC...
I mean it’s an olden days female author photo-feminist book-based movie. That’s the kind of movie which should be a little PC, it’d be kinda odd if it weren’t. Since the primary theme of these books is always independence of women, breaking away from social mores, etc.



You’re the disease, and I’m the cure.
1408 (2007): 9/10
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982): 9.5/10
__________________
“I really have to feel that I could make a difference in the movie, or I shouldn't be doing it.“
Joe Dante



Cuties (2020)

9.5/10 (Though I could see the argument for giving it a straight ten)

Well I just finished watching the movie so these are my raw thoughts.

So I watched Cuties... why did I watch Cuties ? God only knows. I thought I’d see what alll the controversy was about. Was it a harmless film or what it’s critics were making it out to be.

I was definitely not expecting it to actually be very good. So I will say I was definitely surprised. The film was definitely not at all what I was expecting based on what I’d heard of it. My expectation was that it would either be a full good step up kind of thing with a. But if a feminist slant or well you know... I won’t say the words.

What it actually turned out to be was portrait of a mental breakdown. Disclaimer: I love portraits of mental breakdowns, I think they aren’t done enough in movies. If anything my bias towards the genre might mean I’m giving it a higher score than it deserves. It’s a movie that is about the loss of innocence. It also points out how F-ed human society is. It doesn’t show traditional society as bad and modern society is good or vice versa

The film is darkly comic, not in the same George Carlin way that most animated Simpsons clones are. But in a more, why are you laughing, this is Fed up way.

Spoilers ahead-

The main character Amy seems like a somewhat normal girl at the beginning of the movie but even then we can see the strain of her life on her. As the movie goes on we see the immense pressure and turmoil she faces on a daily basis. We see her messed up family situation with her father’s new marriage and her family’s religious conservatism and we can see how she is grasping for an escape like a drowning man for air. We are later introduced to the dance crew. At first I did not find them at all likeable, at first I thought that was poor chersctet building but later on I realised you were never supposed to like them that much. Her friends don’t really treat her that well at all and seem like borderline bullies. But over time I guess one can sort of begin to like them as a bunch of well meaning idiots, Slowly but surely Amy becomes weirder and weirder. She commits a crime early on in the movie which dies unsettle viewers. She also seems slightly obsessive, at the time one thinks that it’s an especially big deal, she’s a kid obsessed with her dance competition. But over time her obsession becomes more and more extreme. Around the time, the group’s dancing becomes more and more erotic and well... creepy. It is really is supposed to disconcert the viewer. The girls watch poronography together and cat-fish this poor sod. At the time it’s sort of played out for laughs but in hindsight you realise that this is weird. These are just 11 year olds after all. It’s weird how this duesn’t feel weird to us. Around the third act, Amy goes bat**** crazy for lack of a better word, she tries to seduce her cousin brother and puts her nudes on the internet. She also starts twerking during a seance for lack of a better word and violently attacks people. Even Amy’s friends denounce her at this point and even they start to realise something is seriously wrong with her.

One of the most striking shots is when Any sees her father’s new bride, veiled in white, the **** is downright frightening, almost alien. And really the idea it represents is frightening. This young woman’s life is being ruined. The best she can hope for is to become like Amy’s auntie. And really this may just be Amy in a few years...

Any then proceeds to attack the girl who replaced her in her troupe immediately before the performance and almost kills her. It’s weird how cold-blooded she seems here. As if her emotions are dying. She then makes a last minute appearance at the dance competition and since the replacement seems missing in action (since unbeknownst to the rest if the crew, Amy almost murdered her) they begin the dance. A priest wisely says “there are no spirits or devils in this house”, but there are a lot of demons.

Initially the audience seems to like it but even they get creeped out when the performance basically turns into WAP.

Amy has a mental breakdown and walks away mid-performance.

The film here plays its masterstroke. It doesn’t just attack traditional culture. It attacks modern culture to and our oversexualisation of little girls and women in general. It’s not her traditional upbringing that messed Amy up. Is her traditional upbringing AND our modern culture that contributed equally to it.

Another powerful and striking shot is the final shot of the movie- Amy jumping rope and smiling. It’s perhaps the only time in the entire movie that Amy has actually looked like a kid. The first time we see a glimpse of the innocence that was taken from her by the world. In that final shot the movie attack our society and world in itheir entirety, it calls out the human race.

Lastly, I must say it is a stunning example of naturalistic film making, everyone talks like real people. It feels unscripted.



Cuties (2020)

9.5/10 (Though I could see the argument for giving it a straight ten)

Well I just finished watching the movie so these are my raw thoughts.

So I watched Cuties... why did I watch Cuties ? God only knows. I thought I’d see what alll the controversy was about. Was it a harmless film or what it’s critics were making it out to be.

I was definitely not expecting it to actually be very good. So I will say I was definitely surprised. The film was definitely not at all what I was expecting based on what I’d heard of it. My expectation was that it would either be a full good step up kind of thing with a. But if a feminist slant or well you know... I won’t say the words.

What it actually turned out to be was portrait of a mental breakdown. Disclaimer: I love portraits of mental breakdowns, I think they aren’t done enough in movies. If anything my bias towards the genre might mean I’m giving it a higher score than it deserves. It’s a movie that is about the loss of innocence. It also points out how F-ed human society is. It doesn’t show traditional society as bad and modern society is good or vice versa

The film is darkly comic, not in the same George Carlin way that most animated Simpsons clones are. But in a more, why are you laughing, this is Fed up way.

Spoilers ahead-

The main character Amy seems like a somewhat normal girl at the beginning of the movie but even then we can see the strain of her life on her. As the movie goes on we see the immense pressure and turmoil she faces on a daily basis. We see her messed up family situation with her father’s new marriage and her family’s religious conservatism and we can see how she is grasping for an escape like a drowning man for air. We are later introduced to the dance crew. At first I did not find them at all likeable, at first I thought that was poor chersctet building but later on I realised you were never supposed to like them that much. Her friends don’t really treat her that well at all and seem like borderline bullies. But over time I guess one can sort of begin to like them as a bunch of well meaning idiots, Slowly but surely Amy becomes weirder and weirder. She commits a crime early on in the movie which dies unsettle viewers. She also seems slightly obsessive, at the time one thinks that it’s an especially big deal, she’s a kid obsessed with her dance competition. But over time her obsession becomes more and more extreme. Around the time, the group’s dancing becomes more and more erotic and well... creepy. It is really is supposed to disconcert the viewer. The girls watch poronography together and cat-fish this poor sod. At the time it’s sort of played out for laughs but in hindsight you realise that this is weird. These are just 11 year olds after all. It’s weird how this duesn’t feel weird to us. Around the third act, Amy goes bat**** crazy for lack of a better word, she tries to seduce her cousin brother and puts her nudes on the internet. She also starts twerking during a seance for lack of a better word and violently attacks people. Even Amy’s friends denounce her at this point and even they start to realise something is seriously wrong with her.

One of the most striking shots is when Any sees her father’s new bride, veiled in white, the **** is downright frightening, almost alien. And really the idea it represents is frightening. This young woman’s life is being ruined. The best she can hope for is to become like Amy’s auntie. And really this may just be Amy in a few years...

Any then proceeds to attack the girl who replaced her in her troupe immediately before the performance and almost kills her. It’s weird how cold-blooded she seems here. As if her emotions are dying. She then makes a last minute appearance at the dance competition and since the replacement seems missing in action (since unbeknownst to the rest if the crew, Amy almost murdered her) they begin the dance. A priest wisely says “there are no spirits or devils in this house”, but there are a lot of demons.

Initially the audience seems to like it but even they get creeped out when the performance basically turns into WAP.

Amy has a mental breakdown and walks away mid-performance.

The film here plays its masterstroke. It doesn’t just attack traditional culture. It attacks modern culture to and our oversexualisation of little girls and women in general. It’s not her traditional upbringing that messed Amy up. Is her traditional upbringing AND our modern culture that contributed equally to it.

Another powerful and striking shot is the final shot of the movie- Amy jumping rope and smiling. It’s perhaps the only time in the entire movie that Amy has actually looked like a kid. The first time we see a glimpse of the innocence that was taken from her by the world. In that final shot the movie attack our society and world in itheir entirety, it calls out the human race.

Lastly, I must say it is a stunning example of naturalistic film making, everyone talks like real people. It feels unscripted.
Good review. Cuties belongs in that list of recent films that dabbles with coming of age but also puts a societal and familial twist on things. Would make a good double bill with:

Girlhood
Rocks
The fits
Pariah
Tomboy
Water Lillies
Make Up







Snooze factor = Z



[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it
Watched it last night. It's excellent. Terrific performance from Bukky Bakray.



matt72582's Avatar
Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
An Enemy of the People (1978)



This is my favorite movie with Steve McQueen... Out of 3,000 movies, I've only given about fifty 10/10. This is one of them. Amazing writing. I especially loved the political hypocrisy that was exposed.


I wonder how this would have done if Steve didn't have a beard, long hair, and glasses. I must admit the constant (and underwhelming delivery of) "The water is poisoned" got a bit old, but oh well, it was!



matt72582's Avatar
Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
Badlands (1973)

I didn't care for it. The main characters were not believable to me and the story line was like a hastily written mid school homework assignment. The movie is loosely based on a true story, so Malick should have had enough wiggle room to make things a lot more compelling than this.

Badlands is supposedly known for its «lyrical» photography, but I have to say I much prefer Kubrick in that regard, and I'm not really a fan of his movies either.

3/10
I agree, although I rated this better...


If I want photography, I'll look at a picture!



I wonder how this would have done if Steve didn't have a beard, long hair, and glasses. I must admit the constant (and underwhelming delivery of) "The water is poisoned" got a bit old, but oh well, it was!
To be honest I didn’t even recognise Steve in that movie !



Good review. Cuties belongs in that list of recent films that dabbles with coming of age but also puts a societal and familial twist on things. Would make a good double bill with:

Girlhood
Rocks
The fits
Pariah
Tomboy
Water Lillies
Make Up
I’m not sure if I’d call it a coming of age movies. I have always felt that coming of age movies (or books or plays or video games) always have a positive outlook on the whole coming of age. Cuties has a fairly negative outlook on growth in general and seems to wish that kids could just remain kids.

I must confess that I have never even heard of any of the movies you mentioned barring Pariah. I will definitely check them out.



I’m not sure if I’d call it a coming of age movies. I have always felt that coming of age movies (or books or plays or video games) always have a positive outlook on the whole coming of age. Cuties has a fairly negative outlook on growth in general and seems to wish that kids could just remain kids.

I must confess that I have never even heard of any of the movies you mentioned barring Pariah. I will definitely check them out.
I think any realisation or awakening in film where the major character is young could be termed '' coming of age. If you haven't seen 'Ratcatcher' that's another one that I was reminded of when watching Cuties. That definitely doesn't have a positive outlook!



Romancing the Stone (1984) 6/10


The Jewel of the Nile (1985) 2/10


Saw these as a kid and remember liking them. Rewatched both recently, and while Romancing the Stone was still kinda cute, The Jewel of the Nile was pretty awful, with looong dragged out, highly awkward action scenes, overly childish humor and a plot that was constantly falling apart.


I would say Romancing the Stone works pretty well for a lazy sundays romantic comedy, comparable to Crocodile Dundee if not better. The other one not so much. For a while I was somewhat half interested in what was going to happen this time around but stopped caring all together after half an hour or so.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

All In: The Fight for Democracy (Lisa Cortes & Liz Garbus, 2020)
6.5/10
Let's Scare Julie (Jud Cremata, 2020)
+ 4.5/10
Eternal Beauty (Craig Roberts, 2019)
5.5/10
The Glorias (Julie Taymor, 2020)
6.5/10

One of the Glorias (Alicia Vikander) advocates for women's rights.
Concrete Kids (Lije Sarki, 2018)
5.5/10
Death of Me (Darren Lynn Bousman, 2020)
5/10
LX 2048 (Guy Moshe, 2020)
5.5/10
Wade in the Water (Mark Wilson, 2019)
6.5/10

Weird relationship develops between a child molester's daughter (Danika Golombek) and the vigilante (Tom E. Nicholson) who murdered him.
The Erl King (Marie-Louise Iribe, 1931)
6.5/10
The Electronic Monster (Montgomery Tully, 1958)
+ 4.5/10
12 Hour Shift (Brea Grant, 2020)
5.5/10
Sno Babies (Bridget Smith, 2020)
6/10

Teenage friends Katie Kelly and Paola Andino look like they have a bright future but they're really heroin addicts.
Then Came You (Adriana Trigiani, 2020)
5.5/10
2067 (Seth Larney, 2020)
5/10
The Doorman (Ryûhei Kitamura, 2020)
5.5/10
Siao Yu (Sylvia Chang, 1995)
6.5/10

Washed-up, debt-ridden writer Daniel J. Travanti and Taiwanese immigrant Siao Yu (Rene Liu) enter into a marriage of convenience.
I Am Woman (Unjoo Moon, 2019)
+ 6/10
The Invasion of the Vampires (Miguel Morayta, 1963)
+ 4.5/10 Camp Rating: 7/10
South Terminal (Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche, 2019)
6/10
Scare Me (Josh Ruben, 2020)
- 6.510

Best-selling horror author Aya Cash and amateur filmmaker Josh Ruben take turns telling scary stories.
__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page