Rate The Last Movie You Saw

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Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

Time Walker (Tom Kennedy, 1982)
4/10
Lost Boundaries (Alfred L. Werker, 1949)
6/10
Dirt Music (Gregor Jordan, 2019)
5/10
Mangrove (Steve McQueen, 2020)
6.5/10

The Mangrove 9 is tried at the Old Bailey for rioting against the police in 1970.
Scandal in Sorrento AKA Pane, amore e..... (Dino Risi, 1955)
6/10
Dawn of the Mummy (Frank Agrama, 1981)
4/10
Ludo (Anurag Basu, 2020)
6/10
Run. (Aneesh Chaganty, 2020)
5.5/10

Mother Sarah Paulson and daughter Kiera Allen have a dishonest relationship from the time of her birth.
Rag Doll (Bailey Kobe, 2019)
6/10
Fatman (Eshom Nelms & Ian Nelms, 2020)
5.5/10
Merry Andrew (Michael Kidd, 1958)
6/10
Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds (Werner Herzog & Clive Oppenheimer, 2020)
6.5/10

Herzog excitedly but sparingly discusses cataclysms from outer space, what they mean and what they may prove.
Here Comes Rusty (Tyler Russell, 2016)
6/10
Blindfire (Michael Nell, 2020)
5/10
Trump vs the Illuminati (BC Fourteen, 2020)
5.5/10
Welcome II the Terrordome (Ngozi Onwurah, 1995)
6/10

Strong depiction of rampant racism in England masquerades as a sci-fi/fantasy which somewhat dilutes its power.
The Sign of Venus (Dino Risi, 1955)
6/10
Benjamin (Simon Amstell, 2018)
6/10
Jiu Jitsu (Dimitri Logothetis, 2020)
+ 4.5/10
Come Play (Jacob Chase, 2020)
6/10

Larry can be a scary bastard when he wants a friend.
__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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I hope you didn’t read the spoilers! It’d hate to ruin it for you, it really is pretty good. Paulson is excellent. I’m still processing it (finished watching 2 hours ago). I agree with the above - it’s not about hoarding paperwork as such, which I do myself (and the power of filing was shown beautifully in ‘Dark Waters’, ‘Zodiac’, etc) - but hoarding the sort of thing that could, I don’t know, implicate you, for lack of a better word, or cause you trouble (!). It feels like pure plotting. I’d be curious to know what you think once you watch it.
I did not read anything that you put in spoiler text, so no worries. I already have some ideas about what the twists might be, so it'll be interesting to watch it and see if I'm correct.

I actually do believe that someone would hold on to implicating paperwork, and for several reasons. Sentiment is very powerful, to start with. People who commit crimes/abuse can often be overconfident and self-centered. Then there's the whole psychology thing of maybe wanting to be caught. I appreciate that you've stayed vague about what the papers are that the person kept, so I'll have to wait until I watch it to decide if I think it makes sense or if it's very silly.

Also, good use of the spoiler tags? This is how you get on the Christmas Card list, fellas!



Beasts of the Southern Wild - A little girl named Hushpuppy lives with her alcoholic father Wink in a ramshackle island community off the coast of Louisiana. Her father's sick and the movie posits that it's somehow tied in with the state of the world at large. It's been so long since I first watched this that I had more or less forgotten all but the basic outline of the movie. I don't even remember what I first thought of it but now I mostly wish I could say I liked it more than I did. Even though it's a somewhat imaginative and lyrical film it's also disjointed with nebulous supporting characters and an ultimately shaky script. I don't think there's enough there to merit the praise it originally garnered. Not after eight robust years of indie features to compare it against. 70/100



I actually do believe that someone would hold on to implicating paperwork, and for several reasons. Sentiment is very powerful, to start with. People who commit crimes/abuse can often be overconfident and self-centered. Then there's the whole psychology thing of maybe wanting to be caught.
That’s a fair point. I always assume people would be a 100% rational, which is pretty reductionist. ‘Overconfident’ & ‘self-centered’ definitely applies here.





An Ordinary Man (2017)

Starring Ben Kingsley and Icelandic actress Hera Hilmar, this film has an near allegorical plot which makes it feel offbeat, despite the fact that the story is as serious as a heart attack.

Set in current day, The General (Kingsley) has been accused of international war crimes due to his ethnic cleansing of a people-- presumably in the Balkans. The countries and nationalities are never mentioned. He is sought for those crimes, but his many sympathetic compatriots form a large group who protect The General from capture, even though he often hides in plain sight.

A young woman (Hilmar) happens onto the scene in The General’s “safe house” apartment, and is quickly convinced by him to be his maid. Turns out she has been sent by his compatriots to help protect him.

I wasn’t sure what this picture was trying to say. Was it dramatizing their relationship, which was very interesting; was it trying to show the heartlessness of The General which was gradually softened; or was it outlining the sacrifices that political and national ideologues make?

The acting was first rate, as were the settings. I was confused by Kingsley’s accent, which may be from the North, and it may be his natural accent. But it seems like a more accurate accent would be better while playing a Balkan type general.

The picture definitely held my interest throughout, and the tension of wondering how it would all end held my attention. But that, you’ll have to see for yourself.

Available free for Netflix subscribers, and also on various streaming services.

Doc’s rating: 6/10

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Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

A step (or stride) above Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox both in quality and in gruesomeness. I suppose Deodato is just a better filmmaker. A pessimistic and bleak portrayal of humanity and civilization. I don't think its message is as clear-cut as many reviews seem to think, and it goes well beyond the critique of sensationalist media (or if it doesn't it's rather poorly written).
I liked this less than you did, but I will throw in a cautious recommendation for Jungle Holocaust AKA Last Cannibal World.*It's less formally adventurous and lacks as clear a social message (not a negative in my eyes), but as a result focuses more on the jungle adventure elements.*It also has a (seemingly) rare positive Ivan Rassimov role.*Still extremely unpleasant in ways common to the subgenre, but worth a watch if you can stomach it.*



...
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist (Alexandre O. Philippe, 2019)
+ 7.5/10

Director Friedkin goes in-depth about how The Exorcist was filmed.
Took your tip and watched Leap of Faith the other night. I was very impressed by The Exorcist when it came out, although I almost never watch horror films-- certainly in modern times. The film's music theme --Tubular Bells-- along with the stunning movie poster are some of the best ever done.

Written and directed by Alexandre Philippe, the documentary was very well put together, and featured lots of interview footage of William Friedkin, who looks very good at aged 84/85, and is very sharp minded.

There were comparatively few vintage clips, but Friedkin's revelations about what he believes film should be are not only interesting to a lay person, but would certainly be of value to film students. As a plus he intermittently revealed his spiritual beliefs which are somewhat represented in the The Exorcist. They are also similar to my own beliefs.

I was a huge fan of his The French Connection, and have enjoyed several of his projects since. Even if one didn't care for The Exorcist, this documentary about Friedkin, his pictures and his philosophy will keep most viewers' attention during the entire 98 minute running.

Doc's rating: 8/10



MARUJA (1959)
A film from Puerto Rico
Last week we celebrated the so-called "discovery" of our island, or rather Columbus' arrival, so I felt it was appropriate to watch a local film, and more appropriate, to "discover" something classic, and that I did. Maruja is one of the first feature films filmed and produced here in Puerto Rico that achieved some level of popularity. The film follows the titular character (Marta Romero), a young woman that everybody in town is smitten with; something that she takes advantage of, despite being newly married to an older, humble barber.

For numerous reasons, economical, sociopolitical, etc. the film industry here hasn't been as successful or prolific as other Latin American or Caribbean regions. As a result, many local projects are often unfairly dismissed as "lesser". Maybe that inherent "low self-esteem" about our own "products" is why I was pleasantly surprised by this, or perhaps it was really that good. The direction by Oscar Orzábal Quintana was for the most part clean and fluid, with some great choices in terms of shots, framing, cinematography, and mise en scene.

The story, despite some typical romantic melodrama of the era, also managed to be quite good and a bit ahead of its time. Despite being almost two hours, the film is engaging and the pace feels breezy. There are also a couple of twists towards the end that really caught me off guard. Maybe the last act that follows is hindered a bit by the aftermath, but not very much. The performances are mostly OK, with Romero being the standout. But Axel Anderson, as one of her wannabe paramours, also shines.

What saddens me is the following: This film was released 60 years ago, and it barely gets mentioned here, let alone elsewhere. The only place where I could find it was on YouTube, via some uploaded videos by some random movie fan like me. Like it, there have been tons of local films that have came and went, with few or no support at all from the local media/TV stations, the government, or anyone. As a proud Puerto Rican and a cinephile, I wish there were more efforts put in place to distribute and promote our art and culture. One can only hope.

Grade:
Nice review. It sounds like an interesting film that I'll put on my list. 1959 Sounds like it was a banner year for Puerto Rico; but not such a good year for Cuba...

Cheers!



Wiener-Dog (2016) Todd Solondz.
We follow a Wiener-Dogs life as it shifts owners throughout the film. The owners all have different challenges in their daily life.
With Greta Gerwig, Kieran Culkin, Danny DeVito. The Story built around Greta Gerwig and Kieran Culkin where good, and i could definitely have stayed longer with them.
DeVito does a nice job as well, in his role as a film school teacher, not appreciated by his students.

7.5/10.

The City of Lost Children (1995) Jean Pierre Jeunet/ Marc Caro.

Ron Perlmans character gets help from a young girl named Miette, to find his young brother, who has been kidnapped by an old scientist on an island. He kidnap children to steal their dreams.
With its dark scenery, set in a dystopian society, it is easy to compare it to other Sci Fi films as Dark City, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys.

As a little side note, Jeunet, Dominique Pinon and Ron Perlman all worked together on Alien Resurrection, which make me want to see that movie again. Since I did not know anything about the director at the time I saw the film, it explains a lot about the style, which make it an interesting Alien movie. And as i am getting more acquainted with Jeunets style, maby i will have a new experience with Alien Ressurection.

8/10



Run (2020)

I’ve been looking forward to this, and for the most part, I wasn’t disappointed.
So just watched this one, and I think that I mostly agree with your assessment.

I'm just going to put all of my thoughts in a spoiler box so that I don't have to do like four of them.

WARNING: spoilers below

I thought it was interesting how quickly Chloe jumped to being suspicious of her mother. I think it implies that she's sensed something was wrong, and it's only now really crystallizing.

From what I understand of people like the mother here, usually the person who is the victim has no idea what's happening. It was interesting that once Chloe was in the know, things were able to get so scary so quickly. You kind of get the sense that things were going to come to a head anyway, since Chloe anticipated going to college.

Regarding your point about mom's Box of Exposition, the only wrong note there for me was the newspaper clipping. I think it was totally unnecessary. The death certificate plus the photo of her running as a baby was all the information we (or Chloe) needed to see.

I really liked the whole sequence with the mailman, and that he didn't give in to the mom's attempt to intimidate him. Even though I knew he was going to get killed--and was very sad about it--it did warm my heart when he was like "Hospital or police?".

I did think it was a bit far-fetched in terms of some of the hospital stuff. Like, when the mom takes Chloe--how on Earth does a patient flat-lining not immediately get a response? How does the whole hospital not get locked down when a suicidal patient has been kidnapped?

I really, REALLY did not care for that final scene. Are we to believe that Chloe has been poisoning her mother for literally years? It's gross, especially because, to me, it implies that Chloe might not be above poisoning her own family. I get that the movie wanted one last stinger, but c'mon. "I think it's time for me to go" was a perfect ending point. It's also dumb because unlike Chloe, the mom is receiving medical care from the same group of people. "Gosh, why is this patient randomly paralyzed?" is a question that you'd think would come up.


As a thriller it was pretty strong. Maybe my only real complaint is that I wish we'd gotten to know Chloe a bit more before everything really kicked off. And that last 30 seconds.

This movie kind of made me think of another film. I'm going to put the title in spoiler tags, just in case.

Have you seen
WARNING: spoilers below
The Harvest?



The City of Lost Children (1995) Jean Pierre Jeunet/ Marc Caro.

With its dark scenery, set in a dystopian society, it is easy to compare it to other Sci Fi films as Dark City, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys.
Have you seen Delicatessen? It's another quirky dystopian Jeunet.



Have you seen Delicatessen? It's another quirky dystopian Jeunet.
Thanks Takoma11. No, it’s one of his films that still are on my watchlist, along with A Very Long Engagement.
Amelie i have had on dvd for some years, and really liked. But only recently i started catching up on his other films. I really like his style. I will see it as soon as possible.



Thanks Takoma11. No, it’s one of his films that still are on my watchlist, along with A Very Long Engagement.
Amelie i have had on dvd for some years, and really liked. But only recently i started catching up on his other films. I really like his style. I will see it as soon as possible.
I liked A Very Long Engagement, though it was a lot sadder than I'd expected.

Of the films I've seen from Jeunet I'd rank them thusly:

City of Lost Children
Amelie
Delicatessen
A Very Long Engagement
Alien: Resurrection
Micmacs


I haven't seen Amelie in a long while (I watched it two or three times when it first came out, but not since then), so that ranking is the most tentative.



Of the films I've seen from Jeunet I'd rank them thusly:

City of Lost Children
Amelie
Delicatessen
A Very Long Engagement
Alien: Resurrection
Micmacs
I agree, Micmacs didn't make the same impression as City of Lost Children and Amelie.



The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
Hey everyone, there's a new Stand-up Comedy Hall of Fame starting if anyone wants to join. For new members, Halls of Fame are one of the coolest part of MoFo and would be worth finding more about it!

Check it out here: https://www.movieforums.com/communit...61#post2143461



Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)


Another comedy that I find irresistible, though the sequel was destined to be awful. This one had a lot of charm with good storytelling in my opinion, but I'll admit some of the jokes are a bit juvenile. One of the few movies that used Rob Corddry effectively.