Rate The Last Movie You Saw

You probably know that her husband was Elia Kazan.

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

Yummy - ★★★☆☆
- Lars Damoiseaux, 2019 -
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I wasn't expecting too much from this Belgian zombie flick, but it turned out to be a nice bit of schlocky, exploitative throwback trash with some good gore and pleasingly colorful visuals (no, not just the buhbiehs). Gotta love that undead giant toad. Creepy.



Wonder Woman 1984 - ★☆☆☆☆
- Patty Jenkins, 2020 -
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What the hell was that, then? I can't believe they had the nerve to release this, considering the state that it's in. I wasn't overly enamored with the first film, but it was at least able to present us with a decently paced story, at least until the final act. This moronic bloatfest of a sequel condescendingly ignores that, by not only doubling down royally on the original's weaknesses, but also by randomly adding layers of unwanted fat to the script and spacing out the (pathetically staged) action scenes to an obscene degree. The result is the one thing a superhero movie should never be: a blunderous, self-insisting hot mess that is soul-crushingly boring during even its best moments. I've heard rumors about this film having only one (major) deleted scene. That's sounds about right.

I kind of want to say that poor Gal Gadot deserves better, but I have to admit that her acting range does not appear to improve much over time. She certainly looks the part and she strikes a good pose, as always, but truly charismatic and emotionally captivating she is not. Chris Pine to the rescue? Well....Almost. He does what he can, but he seems uncertain what to do with the clumsy (and immoral) underpinnings of his resurrection story, at times. The Villains, then? One of them is Kristin Wiig, who gets herself I-wish-I-wish'd into the mousiest cheetah that ever walked the earth. Kinda cute, in a way, but far too inoffensive. The other villain is some corrupt CEO whose name totally escapes me right now and yells his kid's name a lot. I like Pedro Pascal, but his skeevy demeanor is indicative of a rather generic interpretation of a character we've seen a million times before.

So if even the performances can't save a film like this, then what can? Probably nothing. As far as I'm concerned, this movie belongs on the bottom of the DC barrel, along with, well, all the others. It's by far the worst major film I've seen this year, one that makes even Tenet look like a masterpiece by comparison. Perhaps we'll have a "Jenkins Cut" to look forward to?

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How am I supposed to find someone willing to go into that musty old claptrap?

I watched Taste of Cherry sometime in 2020 for my movie thread. It's a slightly easier watch since it's shorter and its subject matter might prove more interesting to some. I think the unclear bits to this film though (the film crew's purpose in the village or why they're waiting for the sick woman to die) made the repetitive structure appeal to me as much as it did. As the film went on, I could feel my interest in the film crew or the sick woman waning, while my interest in the daily proceedings of the village grew. This gradual change kept me on board with the film.

I haven't seen Where is My Friend's House? yet, but I'll probably get to it soon as I plan to finish up Sight & Sounds' full list of 282 movies this year and that film isn't too far away. I'm also looking forward to Close-Up as it's his most well-known and popular film.

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IMDb
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Oh, Close Up is really good too. I forgot about that one.

Sold!

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Captain's Log
My Collection

Only Two Can Play (1962) 7/10

The Straight Story 7.5/10

Couple of good performances, good directing and soundtrack for the least Lynchian film. I enjoyed it.

Yes, I read about it after watching the film.

Mr. Turner (2014)

What I liked about this, is that she wasn't the typical vagabond character who is grateful for everything.. Instead, she's not willing to help out much (I'm thinking of that one scene with the older gentleman telling her she's lazy). I've seen it twice, gave it a 6 or 7 out of 10, but can't remember why I rated it the score I did.

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As is Certified Copy and Like Someone In Love. It's neat seeing what he does outside of the shackles of the Iranian government overseeing his productions.

I've also seen the Traveler, which is a very simple neo-realist film that works well enough but seems less artistically ambitious and accomplished than his later work. It's also directly connected to Close Up, which gives some context to how that film's subject views himself.

I've got 24 Frames and 5 for Ozu sitting on the "to watch" shelf.

The Canterville Ghost (1944) 8/10

Certified Copy is alright, although I don't like it as much as Close Up, Friends House or Cherry. Rock got some eyerolls for saying it recently, but I don't know how much I like Juliette Binoche either. With the exception of Blue, Im not so big on her performances.


I don't know Traveler. The only other by him I've seen (other than what has already been listed) is 10, which is alright, but kinda Kiarostami overkill on that one. Seems he wanted to take his philosophy to the furthest extreme by almost completely removing himself from the directing process. Interesting as an experiment though, if not always successful

Can someone tell me how to link to an individual post? I see that it can be done but I haven't figured out how.
Thanks in advance.

I’m Your Woman(2020)


I had a sinking feeling during the start of the film, fearful that it was looking like an amateurish production, but it soon became more interesting. After 10 minutes or so in, the narrative took on a cryptic feel, almost like Waiting for Godot, or something Lynchian. The female protagonist, Jean (Rachel Brosnahan) is amicably in the dark about her husband’s (Eddie) occupation, or what occupies his time when not at home. Out of the blue Eddie shows up with a baby to give to Jean. We or she don’t know where the baby comes from, but Jean blithely accepts the infant, and commences care of him.

Suddenly the enigmatic story takes an abrupt turn as Jean is awakened in the night by a stranger named Cal (Arnize Kene) who urgently informs her that she is in immediate danger, that he was told by Eddie to take her and her baby and flee to a safe place, and that her husband would catch up with her later.

Jean and baby Harry remain incognito at the safe house until some bad guys turn up to try to grill and kill Jean. But Cal suddenly appears and kills everyone, allowing them to escape to a remote cabin. At that point the story takes a new direction and feel as we learn that Eddie is apart of a large crime syndicate, that he killed his boss, and stole money, resulting in the entire criminal element of the area trying to track her down, and to retrieve the money that Eddie stole.

At the cabin she is soon joined by another woman (Marsha Blake) who turns out to be Eddie’s ex wife, along with the woman’s father and her child. Once the characters and their relationships are revealed the story then becomes a pure thriller, which moves along to a satisfying ending.

Director Julia Hart, along with co-writer/producer/husband Jordan Horowitz have fashioned a story set in the 1970s from the point of view of the woman, rather than from her criminal husband’s, which makes for an uncommon but fresh approach. Jean is forced out of her spoon fed existence (She can’t even cook) in which she lives unaware of most everything around her. She’s jammed into a life or death situation where she and her baby are running for their lives, and she is not sure why. That abrupt change which forces her to confront a life she’s never even imagined I think is the thrust of the story.

There are a few weaknesses. The role of Cal (Jean’s protector) is somewhat miscast. Arnize Kene has too much of a nice guy demeanor to convincingly portray a ruthless killer. The music selections, although period correct, don’t often match the action, making them discordant rather than enhancing. The mixed race cast blended well together, yet the writers couldn’t resist including a well hackneyed scene where Jean (who is white) and Cal (who is black) are sitting in a car together, when a cop comes up to ask if she was alright. Well, at least it wasn’t a pie in the face cliche. It’s not until halfway through the picture do we learn that Jean has wanted to give birth to a child, but that she was unable to. That tidbit might have been beneficial earlier in the story.

But overall the production is a well put together change of pace for both Hart and Brosnahan. Available on Amazon Prime.

Doc’s rating: 7/10

Certified Copy gets major points for taking something feels familiar (the Before trilogy obviously comes to mind), turns it on its head, and goes into truly unique thematic territory that I've never seen explored in film before. Then again, I also consider myself a Binoche fan and think she elevates everything she's in, so I'll hand out some extra eye rolls for you as I somehow didn't use them all on Rock. I guess I was saving them for him to drop another obviously wrong take, so you've spared him! Such a giving poster, Crummy.

Traveler comes with the Criterion release of Close Up. It's one of his earliest films, shot in b&w. Among the "we watched Bicycle Thieves and are going to do that" style of Iranian cinema that defined other auteurs like Majid Majidi (I'm a fan of him as well but he's got that schtick and sticks to it).

I want to watch Ten. Almost grabbed it and few times but never followed through. That and Farhadi's most recent films have had me be disagreeably lazy towards watching them (even own the Past). I need to get back on my Iranian game.

Yes.


For one, The Apple

I'm getting the sense that none of you ever bothered to read all of the lovely posts I made about Varda in my RT TCM thread

And betray Menahem Golan? #notmyapple

Don't worry guys, I can wheel out my Passion of Joan of Arc opinion again if you need to use up some excess eye rolls.