Rate The Last Movie You Saw

My first non 2010's movie in a while so of course I went horror. I'm a sucker for anything set in the 70's anyway and I liked the style. Decent cast and enjoyable but nothing special.

The Banshees of Enisherin (2022)

Didn't really see where this one was going. 2 good actors wasted In my opinion. The dialogue was good but the story was trite. Finger stuff is just rubbish. I mean, really dull. If the director had cracked more into the reason for a mans longing to be remembered it should be more than this. Never thought I'd say it though, Colin Farrell totally outacts his counterpart.

Swing Shift (1984)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Panic in the Streets (1950)

I'm wrapping up Criterion's November Noir lineup with what is essentially a film noir version of the movie Contagion. After a murder victim is found with symptoms of pneumonic plague, a public health official and a detective race to find the killer. This one's smart and a cut above your typical noir. Much of it was shot on location in the streets, docks, and factories of New Orleans. Also great is the lead actor Richard Widmark, who was the maniacal gangster from the classic Kiss of Death.



Strong rec for fans of the genre.

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Time Out - (2001)

The first of two great and underseen French films I watched yesterday - this one is partly based on the horrifying and really fascinating story of Jean-Claude Romand - but removes the horror from the equation with a fictionalized narrative about Vincent (what a performance from Aurélien Recoing) - a man who has lost his job and is unemployed, but convinces his family he has a plush and important job at a UN consulting firm. His tangled lies dazzle, and the way he keeps his head above water financially is to pretend to invest his friend's fortunes in non-existent investment schemes. This character study builds a sense of mystery around the smiling and self-satisfied Vincent - who refuses all kinds of high-paying work so he can drive around the country pretending to be in meetings and take important phone calls. Jean-Claude Romand killed his entire family when they were on the verge of discovering he wasn't really a doctor - and while the denouement of Time Out is much different, Vincent will haunt you because his pathological need to do what he does is a mystery wrapped in a riddle that will never be solved.

8/10


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Father of my Children - (2009)

In the film industry, what determines the value of the films you produce? Is it their artistic worth, sentimental attachment or the money they make for you and your family? This is one of the questions posed by this Cannes Special Jury Prize-winning film by Mia Hansen-Løve. Grégoire Canvel (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) has a loving wife, three beautiful and wonderful daughters not to mention a catalogue of films his production company have made over a career that has spanned much of his professional life. He's also about to face financial ruin and bankruptcy. What happens from there posits fundamental questions about both filmmaking and the human condition in a financially invested world - an interesting film that stays with you after it ends. Worth seeking out and seeing.

8/10

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Something Wild (1986)

Pleasantville (1998)


First time ever seeing this, and its been on my watch list for years. It holds up really well, despite many films/shows tackling this same idea over history. It does drag on a bit long (right around 2 hours), as the message is pretty clear and ready to be concluded after 90 minutes or so. I didn't realize so many big names were in this outside of Maguire and Witherspoon (Macy, Daniels, Walker, etc)

One of my favorite film series because there's 5 of them with a 6th on the way and I love them all. None of them are great movies but I can't get enough. British gangster is different, and this series revolves around characters involved in a real life murder. The first 2 were more serious and brutal. They have retained their violence but the films have become more fun loaded with babes, booze, drugs, and 80's music. Craig Fairbrass and Terry Stone are the best, even if they age while their characters get younger lol.

Cannery Row (1982)

SF = Zzz






SF = Z



[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

The Fabelmans, 2022

In a quasi-autobiographical story, Spielberg shows us the life of Sam (Gabriel LaBelle), a young man who is much beloved by his father, Burt (Paul Dano) and mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams). But things are not all sunshine in Burt and Mitzi's relationship. As Sam begins to develop a passion for movies and filmmaking, he also becomes aware of his mother's romantic interest in family friend Bennie (Seth Rogan).

Overall I enjoyed this film, which was at once a story of childhood/teenagehood grounded in some very specific dynamics, and a loving ode to the power of art.

The aspect I enjoyed the most was Sam's developing awareness of the way that telling a story---via inclusion or omission--gives the storyteller power and control over the narrative. Early on, Mitzi realizes that Sam's need to crash his toy trains together is about having control over frightening imagery he saw in a movie theater. This idea takes on a potent twist when Sam must edit together footage he took of his family's camping trip, choosing to include or leave out moments he captures of his mother and Bennie making eyes at each other or casual physical contact.

There's also the thrill of watching a person discover and innovate in a field that they love. Sam discovers how he can create simple effects within his films, use music to heighten emotion, and use staging to create more emotional impact.

The performances are also very good, with LaBelle and Williams being the standouts for me. I also really enjoyed Keeley Karsten as Sam's eldest sister, who seems to be aware of the Mitzi/Bennie tensions before anyone else, and whose anxiety is at times almost hard to watch. Chloe East also shows some fun comic timing as Monica, a girl Sam dates in high school but who wants him to find Jesus.

For all that is strong about the film, it didn't totally click with me. At times the conflict between logic and art feels like it's presented as too much of a simplistic binary. Should Sam be like his dad, who programs computers? Should he be like him mom, who is musical and dances in her nightgown under the stars? I didn't like how frequently and how nakedly this contrast was presented.

There were also a few things that felt like they needed to be fleshed out more, such as a classmate's surprisingly negative reaction to being given a hero edit in one of Sam's films.

A good film, and especially for anyone who is a Spielberg fan.

Good review, Takoma. I really enjoyed The Fabelmans. Two questions for you: Would it make your top 10 of the year? And do you think it will win any Oscars?

Hmm. The list of 2022 releases I've seen is an anemic 22, with some of them being pretty garbage. It would probably make a top 10, but at the same time it lacked a bit of magic. It doesn't pass the "if a friend wanted to see it, would I sit through it again in the theater" test for me (whereas something like Barbarian or Everything Everywhere All at Once would both be an easy/quick "yes!").

It's a well-acted homage to movie magic/Hollywood, so I think it's a shoe-in for Oscar attention. Not saying it's necessarily unearned--Williams in particular was very strong--but I'd be shocked if it didn't pick up a slew of nominations.

This short film follows Wayne (Dave Foley), one of the elves from Prep & Landing who after 227 years feels like "the thrill is gone". Disappointed and bitter for being passed over for a promotion, Wayne now has to deal with a new partner, Lanny (Derek Richardson), a hyper-excited and lively rookie elf he has to train.

However, the main enjoyment of Prep & Landing for me comes from watching the creative and inventive ways that co-directors and co-writers Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton juxtapose the whole Santa Claus/Christmas elves "magic work" into a corporate-like organization, and I felt that they mostly succeed. There is a decent balance of slapstick and wit in all of it, and I had fun with it.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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Ali - (2001)

I like a biopic to be like this - the screenwriters and Michael Mann introduce Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) when he's on the verge of winning the Heavyweight Championship of the World and we finish with him before he's lost and regained his title for a third time. In this crucial span of his life, we learn the essence of the man and his fight against a system that had every advantage against him. His winning personality could only take him so far, but his courage and integrity (if you ignore his integrity where his various wives were concerned) would see him win through not only in the ring, but in the arena of life as well, making him a revered figure and 20th Century icon. Will Smith is absolutely amazing as Ali (did the fact the film bombed influence him not winning a Best Actor Oscar? Denzel Washington won for Training Day - a performance I also love) and an unrecognizable John Voight will spin your head as Howard Cosell. I like biopics that stick to the essence of the figure they're examining - and even at 150 minutes Ali doesn't spend unnecessary time filling in every insignificant detail. It also explores the world he lived in, with Malcom X and other high profile figures making their mark in an epoch-defining push for civil rights and equality - taking the action from the ring to the pages of history. Enjoyed this.

8/10


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Strange Brew - (1983)

The first 10 minutes or so of Strange Brew are so anarchic, weird and deliriously off the rails I thought I was about to witness a film that's different and very unique - Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis are Bob and Doug McKenzie, a pair of characters they played regularly on SCTV in Canada, and they were very obviously a precursor to Wayne's World. They break the 4th wall in multiple different ways at the same time, and send us spinning with creativity and some great laughs. It can't keep that momentum up however - the characters and their schtick gets very tired after a while, and I started to get irritated by the number of times they call someone (or each other) a "hoser" or say "eh" - it goes on and on without end. The film isn't Max von Sydow's finest hour either - he hams it up as Brewmeister Smith, a beer brewer with an ambition to dominate the world's beer market. Parts of Strange Brew are really funny, and stand out, but for me there's not quite enough to stretch everything into a 90 minute film. This is a popular cult classic that many people love, but after promising a lot it kind of let me down.

4/10

Apparently, there is a kind of Catholic version of Quantico where they study exorcism as a sort of forensic science. They even have a closet filled with "My first exorcism briefcases" with all the fixins (holy water, crosses, Bibles) for Jr. Exorcists to use to expel demons.

It's a straight ahead Good vs. Evil, God vs. the Devil thing, but written by modern hack writers who make the contest one of the super-nun vs. the forces of darkness. You know, if she had cut off her hand and replaced it with a chainsaw, I could have embraced this. But instead of the Spirit of Christ compelling the demon or reliquary of Ash's Holy Boomstick

Lot's of moaning and groaning and growling and gurgling and contorting and climbing walls and floating in the air and blah blah. The language, however, is clean and we don't get vomiting and peeing and all that. This is, after all, a family-friendly PG-13 movie.

Del Toro's take on the classic story. I really enjoyed this one, watched it with my son. Way better than Disney's live action adaptation.

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There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?

Not much of a story, and not much of a sports movie even if it handled that part well. It's a good look at people with little hope for the future with strong performances. It didn't have a big impact on me but I like this kind of thing.

Porridge (1972)

A great little film that stretches the premise of the original TV series but still keeps the wittiness and warmth of it. The recidivist Fletcher is ordered to organise a football team out of the lags...all to get an escape route going. The laughs are sparser than the TV Prog but just as effective.