Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Á Ma Soeur!


Interesting theme, well made and hard hitting. Definitely one best seen going in blind.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

Jungle - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A film I found on Netflix, starring Daniel Radcliffe in a lead role. I wasn't aware of this film, but it's based on a true story about three backpackers who go on an adventure into the jungle with a mysterious American explorer. The group get separated and soon land themselves in jeopardy.

This film was brilliant, and I was tempted to give it 5 stars but my film viewing isn't too varied so I'll wait until I find that film that's really special for the 5 star mark. I thought Daniel Radcliffe was really impressive in this, a lot of the second half of the film just focuses entirely on him but it works and doesn't get boring.

Foul Play (1978)

Chevy Chase's first starring role, meh, but it's good to see where he began after leaving SNL

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“I really have to feel that I could make a difference in the movie, or I shouldn't be doing it.“
Joe Dante

Remember that one, loved it. Recently watched something a bit ridiculous called Spanglish, and thought of À Ma Sœur.

Up the Down Staircase - 6.5/10
Similar to "Blackboard Jungle" and "To Sir, With Love" but I like Sandy Dennis. I also had (have?) a crush on my teacher... It's predictable, cliched (especially in the beginning), but it's worth watching if there is nothing else on your watch-list.

Spanglish was a dumb movie.

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

Thank you, I agree. A total mess.
But the reference came to mind because Adam Sandler’s daughter had a similar vibe to the Fat Girl protagonist - except poorly executed.

You Can't Take It with You (1938)

Babel[2006]Brad Pitt-Cate Blanchard, good film.

Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2009):
Good prequel film about the beginning of the war between the lycans and vampires. Good performances and fight scenes.
7.5/10

Underworld: Awakening (2012):
Bad movie that feels like quite a letdown after how great the first 3 were. Not worth your time unless it’s a boring weekend with nothing to do.
3/10

Insignificance (1985)

Edge of Tomorrow (2014).






Cool concept, great action scenes, fast pacing, good cast. A very enjoyable watch.


4/5 Stars.

Ball of Fire (1941)

Call for Dreams, 2018

A young woman named Eko, clearly feeling restless and disconnected, places a newspaper ad calling for people to send her messages about their dreams. Eko follows up with some of the callers by reenacting elements of their dreams. As the film goes on, Eko's work begins to overlap with a murder investigation.

I liked the first half of this movie a lot more than the second half. There's a neat blurring of real and unreal (it took me a while to figure out that Eko's reenactments were really happening and not her somehow dreaming). My favorite sequence is a short, bizarre part where Eko reenacts a nightmare about an airplane flight, performing for two young women in bed in a hotel room.

Once the murder plot starts to kick in, I'll admit that I lost a bit of interest. The film seems to get deliberately more obscure at this point, and the lack of dialogue made it hard to follow. In the beginning, there's a strangeness that still has an emotional kick to it. But the second half was more just confusing.

I did like the look of the film. It's almost a cliche at this point to film Tokyo as this rainy, neon-lit landscape with food carts letting off steam--but it's a cliche because it's cool looking and this film is no exception.

Overall I liked this movie, but I don't feel like it was the best version of itself, if that makes sense. It both wants to tell a story and get weird in the second half and those elements did not cohere for me. The theme of connecting with people through their dreams--and not in a sexual way--was really neat. It made me think a bit of the Japanese film After Life, where a team of "angels" help dead souls to recreate a powerful moment from their lives.

Good but not great. Worth watching maybe for some of the imagery.

Underworld: Blood Wars (2016):
A step up from Awakening, good storyline and very fast paced. Some of the action scenes were not very good, but the final shootout was well done.
6/10

Winter Light (1963)

The Awful Truth (1937)


I've always loved screwball comedies. I saw several in the '50s, not realizing that I was witnessing a style, a "genre" of film. The classic era of screwball comedies of course was roughly the early '30s to the mid '40s, but there were many great ones that followed, such as The Seven Year Itch (1955), Some Like it Hot (1959), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), What's Up, Doc? (1972), Raising Arizona (1987), and She's Funny That Way (2015).

The Awful truth is not only a prime example of top screwball comedy, but it is notable for a couple of other reasons. This was only Irene Dunne's second comedy role, and she was (needlessly) unsure of herself in the style. In this film Cary Grant --through improvisation-- firmly established his film persona which he was to return to again and again through out his career. It also fairly typecast Ralph Bellamy as a well-to-do yet rube "ah shucks" westerner, which presumably gave him trouble when seeking other character roles. The Grant/Bellamy rivalry was used again to great effect in 1940's His Girl Friday-- arguably one of the finest screwballs ever made.

Director Leo McCarey (Duck Soup, Going My Way, An Affair to Remember) was absolutely insistent that the chief actors utilize improvisation, which didn't sit well with either Grant or Dunne. In fact Grant tried to buy his way out of the film because of it, but was refused at every turn. Happily by the end everyone realized how much fun they had, to where Grant often insisted that improvisation was permitted in many of his future roles.

The plot is not fascinating on it's own, and serves only as a skeleton on which the gags, interaction, and fast talking are hung. It involves a wealthy couple who suddenly decide to divorce. After an interlude where two other men show interest in the about to be divorced wife, the husband does what he can to throw a monkey wrench into the works. In the end, of course the couple reconciles.

Upon viewing it feels anachronistic-- mostly due to the fact that every facet of the story and film has been used over and over in other pictures.

For those who've never seen this excellent move, take a look at one of the best examples of how it all got started.

The Virgin Spring (1960)