Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Re-watch.

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A Simple Plan (1998)

Double Jeopardy (1999)

To Leslie (2022)

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

The Out-Laws (2023)

Abbott & Costello meet the Invisible Man (1951)

Not their best movie but decently entertaining enough. The money-in-hand bit was pretty funny. I always enjoy seeing a good A&C flick.

6/10

The Fallen Sparrow (1943)

This enjoyable 1943 picture has been mis-labeled as a “spy” film, but in fact it’s certainly RKO’s first “A” film in the then nascent film noir movement-- released a full 16 months before the studio’s superb faithful rendition of Raymond Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely, renamed Murder My, Sweet for its cinematic treatment.

The Fallen Sparrow stars John Garfield as a soldier (“Kit” McKittrick) who had fought in sympathy with the leftists in the Spanish Civil War, and who had been held prisoner and tortured by Franco’s Nationalists before escaping and returning to the U.S., where he learned of his best friend’s “accidental” death after helping to arrange Kit’s escape. Disbelieving that his friend’s death was an accident, and sleuthing out the real reason for his friend’s demise, and just who were the guilty parties, serves as the basis for the film.

Along the way we meet the drop dead gorgeous Maureen O’Hara who stars in the only femme fatale role of her career, Toni Donne. Kit and Toni meet on his trip home, and quickly become attracted to each other. Kit has suffered hallucinations from his torture as a prisoner, and he often thinks he hears the foot dragging behind the limp of his former torturer (Walter Slezak), which unnerves Kit and causes him to relive his treatment as a captive.

During Kit’s seeking of the truth there are plenty of twists and turns, leading to a true noir ending.

The composer Roy Webb (Murder, My Sweet; Notorious) received one of his many Oscar nominations for his thrilling score. And the splendid chiaroscuro cinematography of the great Nicholas Musaraca (Out of the Past; The Blue Gardenia) sets the mood and tone of the film, which never lets up. Although not known for noir, director Richard Wallace’s long experience adds just the right guidance.

If ever an actress was made for technicolor it was Maureen O’Hara. But even though this picture is in black and white, she still shimmers in her loveliness. Another beauty in the film was Patricia Morison, who was later to be passed over as Alan Ladd’s steady co-star by Veronica Lake. Walter Slezak was at his sadistic despicable best as Dr. Christian Skaas. But it is Garfield who dominates the movie. His intensity puts me in mind of James Cagney’s many histrionic roles.

Take a look at this earliest “A” noir from the studio who made more than any other: RKO. It’s a bit of a mish-mash, but the pluses far outweigh any detraction. Available on the Internet Archive.

Doc’s rating: 7/10

By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53245463

Get Out - (2017)

I haven't seen many films that hold up as well as Get Out does after multiple rewatches - familiarity can absolutely destroy some pretty good films, but this one remains strong. Strange that a comedy and horror film happen to be two of the best films about race in our contemporary era (the comedy I'm including is BlacKkKlansman.) Get Out is working at all levels, and somehow the creepiness remains after you know the reveal. Underneath, the subtext is speaking volumes, and because of that we're never allowed to get really comfortable. Props to the underrated performances of Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel and LaKeith Stanfield for being the literal embodiment of white people inside black bodies - it's their moments which provide the film much of it's chills. Allison Williams makes for a great villain, and Daniel Kaluuya is superb. This one is set to become a 2010s classic.

9/10


By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20821957

Land of the Lost - (2009)

Land of the Lost is an unsatisfying mix of million-dollar CGI effects, Will Ferrell on valium and Danny McBride messing around. Not only do their lines feel like improv, the whole story does, and even the film's high points have you feeling "eh" as the cast founders and project sinks. One or two half-decent jokes do not justify the $100 million that was spent on this - and when I say half-decent, I mean "Danny McBride said something slightly amusing." Ferrell looks lost as Dr. Rick Marshall, and kind of like he doesn't want to be there. A massive marketing campaign couldn't prevent it from becoming a box-office bomb, and the Golden Raspberries nominated it in 7 categories. It's utter garbage - I held out hope because Ferrell and McBride can be creatively funny, but what I didn't take into account was how bored actors can get performing in front of green screens day after day. This needed a stronger screenplay and it's performers to be more inspired - with the amount of money spent on it, you'd think it would have had those things.

3/10

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Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

This movie is as good as the poster says. I vaguely remember some parts but I must have been not much more than a toddler when I saw it. Great continuation of the first film without flaws.

10/10

Ooh, what did you think?

Troop Zero (2019) I watched this today and really enjoyed it. It's funny, cute, and the young girls in it are super adorable. The lesson of the film is when in doubt, pee your pants. And isn't that something we can all relate to?

A Simple Plan & To Leslie are both very good movies.

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Have you seen The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)? I'd recommend to see it at least once. It's very unpredictable and grand in it's story telling. It has left a lasting impression on my mind.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One -

This entry in the long-running series achieves a pleasant balance of looking to the future and at how far the series has come. It makes this intention apparent off the bat with a thrilling and scary cold open involving submarine combat and a force that many have good reasons to be concerned about lately (I'll just go ahead and say it: AI, which it dubs as "the Entity"). This is followed by the return of everyone's favorite company man from the movie that kicked it all off, McKittridge (Czerny), who tasks Hunt with a mission that brings our beloved team of Luther, Benji and former rogue and now ally Ilsa together. They soon encounter someone who is just as duplicitous and who makes their jobs more complicated in professional thief Grace (Atwell). She's a minor inconvenience, however, compared to yet another uninvited guest who happens to be a ghost from Ethan's past and who brings the most prominent question of this entry and likely its follow-up into focus: can AI be a friend, or is it ultimately a foe?

Despite the adversary being on the bleeding edge, what stands out the most when I think about the movie is how old school its action set pieces look and feel. A better way of saying this is that they have much more weight and much less of the corner- cutting and/or obvious CGI that have made action movies from this decade less fun and involving. In addition to the finale that has a nod to the first movie's, the car and foot chases through Venice are favorites and make me glad that such set pieces can still excite me, and that they have genuine comic relief makes them all the better. That's not to say such scenes are bereft of CGI, but what it does have from the look of the Entity to all those digital readouts on the IMF's ultra-modern hardware emphasizes purpose over showing off. It is nice to have Czerny along for the ride again, and although it's only been five years, it's nice to see everyone in the entire team again, and they all get to do what they do best. Atwell is a very welcome addition, especially for how she holds her own against the mainstays, as is someone else I won't say much more about other than he may even intimidate Solomon Lane. As for the series' commitment to James Bond-like globetrotting: if it also makes you keep coming back for more, it's very much intact here as well.

As much as I enjoyed seeing this in a theater - and I do recommend seeing it in one if you can - the movie is not without its flaws. Your mileage may vary with McQuarrie's writing, which I find to be excessive in the same way that Christopher Nolan's is at times. Also, this may just be an unavoidable consequence of adding and reintroducing characters, but as nice as it is to see Luther, Benji and Ilsa again, I wish there were more "off the job" time with each of them, if you will, especially since past entries make a point to do this. Other than that, while I'm not sure where I would rank this entry since it's so consistent, I again must call out how well it reminisces and looks forward at the same time and that it commits to its trademark spy craft as much as it does to the action. What may be a more worthwhile compliment, though, is that I'm still wondering what will happen in the follow-up days after seeing it, which is thankfully only one year away.

I was very surprised by To Leslie, especially after the discourse that surrounded Riseborough’s Oscar nom. She might not have hit every note, but it was a great performance.

Huge fan of gosling, but can’t remember if I saw this or not.

It really was. Very convincing as an American also.

I gave it the same score, and yes, it was released right after MLK and RFK and didn't do well because of it.

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I wasn't expecting anything and was left unimpressed. There are a few cool things here and there, but ultimately is just fan service and misplaced songs.

Well, that's enough for me to pass on it.

From scenes that really drag with slow 50’s soapy drama to strong apocalyptic thought-provoking scenes. A stand out dramatic performance by Fred Astaire, the dancer actually out acted both Gardner and Perkins imo. A real mixed bag for me but the story by itself was compelling enough to keep me engaged till the end.

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VERY nice review, Torgo. Really looking forward to this picture, especially with there being so much ca-ca out there...