Rate The Last Movie You Saw

That's a rather random paragraph but oh well.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

Guys and Dolls (1955)

First time I've ever seen this and I was impressed. Certainly a film you have to be in the mood for (and musicals are not my usual genre of favour). The performances and sequences are great and Brando, Sinatra and Simmons really shine.

A pleasant surprise.

Anything for Jackson (2020)

Solid horror movie.

Flower Drum Song (1961)



I feel like I shouldn't have enjoyed this as much as I did.
It's corny, shlocky, cute, charming, sexy, with a couple chuckles (everything a 1961 musical should be).
Some of the songs sound a bit awkward (for a Rogers & Hammerstein Broadway hit), and there are a couple of interesting, if slightly bizarre fantasy / dream sequences. The dance numbers are top notch.

Re-watch. Hugely entertaining.



Had to go back & watch this again since the storyline is non-linear to put it mildly. Still unsure as to whether I have all the characters sorted. Really excellent movie. Clooney exceptional. Glad I gave it a second shot.

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

Syriana is hands down one of my favorite films. Gets better every time I see it.

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El Dorado follows Cole Thornton (John Wayne) a gun-for-hire that wants to help his friend J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum), a sheriff that has to deal with a conflict between two rival ranchers, but has recently resorted to alcoholism after a break-up turning him into the "mock of the town".

There's some good performances from most of the main cast, especially Mitchum and James Caan, who plays Mississippi, a young, knife-wielding hot-shot that joins Thornton and Harrah. Wayne is his usual self, but regardless of his acting talents, the chemistry and rapport between all three leads is undeniable (four, if we add Arthur Hunnicutt who is also a lot of fun as Harrah's deputy.) Christopher George is also pretty good as one of the main antagonists.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

This is an Argentinian film that won the Oscar for best foreign language. It's very well made with fine acting, but most of all I give it very high marks for the story. I don't know the real political details but it's during a very corrupt time, and apparently if you were on a certain side, you could be taken away, tortured, have your baby stolen, or even killed. There's a wife, her powerful husband, and their 5 year old daughter. The daughter is adopted and the wife starts to suspect that her girl is one of the stolen babies. I wondered why she wasn't involved in the adoption process. I mean her husband brings home a baby girl and says this is our daughter and she just says ok wonderful? The movie could have used more intrigue and the big dramatic finale didn't quite work for me. Despite my issues it's a good political and deeply human mix that I'd recommend to anyone.

I enjoyed it just as much on a rewatch. Lots of fun little details to notice. I am hoping the sequel is as good.

I agree. It was absolutely stunning when it came out in 1967: the themes, the realism, the jolt back to the realities of real crime and its consequences in the last third. Mostly still holds up today.

It also catapulted Michael J. Pollard into an instant star, and the darling of the late Hippie crowd...

25th Hall of Fame

Les Misérables (1935) -

I'm glad this film was nominated, because, other than the 2012 film which I really like in spite of some backlash it's gotten over the years, I haven't seen any other adaptations of Victor Hugo's novel. While this version isn't without its flaws, I enjoyed my time with it quite a bit for a few reasons. For one, I appreciated the extra emphasis on Javert. By pushing his character more to the forefront than Hooper's film did, it helped me to see how compelling the conflict between Jean and Javert is, providing a heavy dose of suspense to the film in the first half, while exploring Javert's philosophies and vulnerabilities in the second half. The strong performances from both March and Laughton helped in this regard. I also enjoyed some other things about the film, like its bleak portrait of France at the time this film took place, the strong emotional connection I formed with several characters in the film, and the various action scenes (I found the chase scene at the end of the first half of the film and the barricade sequence to be technically impressive). With that being said, I thought the second half of the film was weaker than the first half. Once the film jumped ahead several years to show Cosette as an adult, the pacing increased by a decent margin, as if the film was in a hurry to finish up. Due to this, several scenes either felt rushed or abrupt, like Cosette's and Marius's relationship, and the final scene. Including some more breathing room for those scenes would've helped. In spite of this, however, I still enjoyed the film quite a lot.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

I really enjoyed it too. Here's some commentary from '19:


Knives Out(2019)

During a rather lackluster Holiday season of film releases we were treated to a good old fashioned whodunit murder mystery ala Agatha Christie. Written and directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Breaking Bad), the setting is in a 19th Century Massachusetts mansion, where it’s patriarch and popular novelist owner is murdered on his 85th birthday, following a birthday party attended by his entire family and staff.

The ensemble cast includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Ana de Armas, and Christopher Plummer, who all turn in memorable performances. Of special note is Daniel Craig (007) as a famous Poirot-like detective who plays against type with a creditable southern plantation accent; and Chris Evans (Captain America) as a caddish playboy.

Films of this type can veer into either farce or incoherent complexity, but in this case the picture stays on track and holds one’s interest for its entire 130 minute run time. The story is both inventive and light hearted while avoiding triteness. It’s abundant twists and turns are believable: a Charlie Chan/Sherlock Holmes mystery wrapped up in a very pleasing PG-13 production.

It’s surprising that this solid little film had only one Oscar nomination: Best Original Screenplay, which it certainly deserved. Looking back, Knives Out was surely as good as most of the pictures who were nominated. It received high praise from both critics and audiences, often being placed in the year’s 10 best. If you like whodunits, this is a good one to see.

Doc’s rating: 8/10

"Aquarela do Brasil", the song that inspired the title of this film, was written by Ary Barroso in 1939 on a night when he was unable to leave the house because of a heavy storm. Its lyrics sing of past memories of a place or a state of being where whoever's singing it will be unable to return to ("we softly murmured 'someday soon'", "the morning found me miles away, with still a million things to say").

When you think of that, it actually makes sense as to why director Terry Gilliam chose it as the symbol of this odd film. Set "somewhere in the 20th Century", Brazil follows Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), a low-level bureaucrat stuck in a meaningless job, while having "hopes, wishes, dreams" of things he might never be able to attain or achieve, especially a woman for whom he fights as a "winged warrior".

Much like the song, Sam lives in a constant state of tedium, as he is burdened by his mediocre boss (Ian Holm), his overbearing mother (Katherine Helmond), and the pressures of a job he doesn't seem to be interested in, and yet doesn't seem to be interested of getting out either as he keeps rejecting promotions that are arranged by his mother.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

This was probably one of my biggest blind-spots, and I can see it going higher with time. But for now, I'll settle on a 4.

Based in real life events, Why Me? follows the life of Cristian (Emilian Oprea), an up-and-coming criminal prosecutor that's asked to lead an investigation against another official. Seeing it as an opportunity to advance his career, Cristian lunges at the task at hand, only to discover there might be other motivations to his selection.

For the most part, this was a nice, little surprise. The way the plot unfolds feels a bit confusing since the details of the case are never fully explained, and we never get to see the other side. Instead, director and writer Tudor Giurgiu chooses to focus on Cristian's state of mind as he finds himself more and more consumed by fear and paranoia.

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Full review on my Movie Loot

Yes, it’s still a terrific movie. Seen it many times.

Blue Miracle follows "Papá" Omar, as the kids call him, as he struggles to make ends meet at this foster home he leads with his wife Becca (Fernanda Urrejola). But Omar is haunted not only by the lack of funds and his inability to pay the mortgage on the place, but also by memories of his past, which typically involve him in a boat with his now deceased father.

The opportunity to solve their problems comes in the form of a fishing tournament, and after a teenage orphan that's been causing trouble at the marina ends up at his home, Omar reluctantly pairs with a beaten down captain (Dennis Quaid) to try to win the tournament, teach his kids something about life, but also exorcize his own demons of the past.

Even though it's based in real life events, there's hardly anything original about how things unfold in Blue Miracle. You will probably figure out how things will go 10-20 minutes in. But regardless of that, there is some heart to its simple story. In addition, both Quaid and Gonzales were pretty solid in it (for what it's worth, I saw the Spanish dubbed version).

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

Aw, c'mon, it's not that bad.

Oh, I really don't recommend that.

Um, wut?
Are you suggesting that we are just to assume that militaries as vast and technologically advanced as The U.S., Russia, and China, and all of their scientists were just instantly wiped out before anyone used a bullhorn? Or that the little thing that the one woman in the basement with a shotgun could do was beyond all of those armies combined? And there are a lot of loud high-pitched noises in military combat. Hell, one would assume that if waterfalls turn these guys away that just the noise generated by military machinery and guns and rockets and **** firing, explosions, etc., woulda knocked all these critters out, and that right quick. Not to mention, they have urban tanks with Sound Cannons on them in local police forces in some areas, let alone in the actual US military. There is no level of suspension of disbelief that makes the premise work. You are required to just say, "Ok, **** it, I'm just gonna accept whatever the script says so I can enjoy the movie."

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17682310

The Last Man on Earth - (1964)

I've been prepping for something and doing research which has created a long list of films I want to see, one of which was this, The Last Man on Earth, the first attempted adaptation of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. I'm very familiar with The Omega Man, which came out in 1971 starring Charlton Heston and the 2007 version which retained the title of the book and starred Will Smith. This earlier version was an Italian/American co-production and starred Vincent Price as the titular character. This was produced only 10 years after the book's publication - and I think it was one of those that was filmed in both Italian and English, as was common in Italian productions at the time. My comments are about the English version.

Everybody involved appears to have been very earnest to make this the film you'd hope it would be, but it's low budget hampers the project so very badly. Corpses on the street occasionally move and breath, and the epic grandeur we're used to from the 1971 and 2007 adaptations can only be hinted at in a few shots. Legend's 'vampires' doddle around like zombies at night, wielding wooden planks and are laughably easy to deal with (Vincent Price has no problem pushing them away.) Occasionally we go back in time to before the plague, where Price's Dr. Robert Morgan (Robert Neville in the book) loses his wife and young daughter during it's onslaught. He tries to give this production some gravitas - as does everyone - and in a better production, with the original choice of director as Fritz Lang, this could have been something. As it is, it's a curiosity.

5/10


By Studio and or Graphic Artist - Can be obtained from the film's distributor, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60386394

The Dead Don't Die - (2019)

This film appears to have been quite divisive! I was nearly going to give it a pass, considering all the flack it's got, but in the end I just couldn't. I mean, a Jim Jarmusch film with a cast like that about an over-the-top zombie invasion of the world? I can count 9 of my favourite actors in the ensemble (Well, 8 actors and one legendary Godfather of Punk.) I've never seen a Jim Jarmusch film I haven't liked, the last being Paterson, which I know wouldn't have pleased everyone, but I thought was terrific. My expectations were still low going in though. What was I to make of it all?

Well, I thought it was genuinely funny and enjoyable. Whether it was a comment on present times, or the age-old use of zombies as representing the modern consumer - it didn't matter much to me. A fourth wall breaking partnering of Adam Driver and Bill Murray as small town policemen, Tilda Swinton as a Scottish alien wielding a samurai sword. Iggy Pop as a coffee-loving zombie. Steve Buscemi as a right-wing douchbag farmer. The only character that didn't work for me was the wise old Hermit Bob played by Tom Waits. The rest was just a bit of fun, and it amused me a great deal. I'm guessing this film was picked apart on this forum when it was released so I'll just leave it there - put me in the 'liked it' column.

7/10