Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Welcome to the new Reese's Pieces thread

I'd rate it about the same as did you; maybe a shade higher. It's a very enjoyable film. In my case I love anything Hitchcock, so I was absorbed. And, too, I'm a big fan of Anthony Hopkins, and equally as much Helen Mirren.

That said, I'd like to have seen the two principals better cast. Certainly their star power was a big draw. But I bet there are a whole jar full of actors/actresses who could look more like Hitchcock/Reville, and still be draws. Hopkins only vaguely reminded me of Hitchcock, and Mirren is far too gorgeous to play the homely Reville. Granted, I may be guilty of nit-picking.

Bios about a larger than life character like AH are tricky because the tendency is toward caricature, but in AH's case the person is himself a caricature, so they rather cancel themselves out sometimes.

It was a great era in cinema and in Hollywood. That portrayal alone is worth the price of admission.

I just finished watching Annette on Prime. Adam Driver is fantastic and I really liked the songs. The direction is really interesting and distinctive. For me, this is the 4th best film of the year. I rate it a .

PlayTime -

Maybe on a future re-watch this will be a five, because it feels like the kind of movie where you'll find more details and gags where you didn't before. As it stands right now, I really liked this movie. Great subtle comedy, and the set design and visuals were great, too. I also really liked the structure of it, that being a more subdued first half, and a more chaotic second half.

My only nitpicks with the film is that sometimes it was a little too busy for my liking, and the pacing took me a bit to get used to. When I got used to it, however, I started to enjoy the film much more. It was a delight, and I'm certainly looking forward to re-watching this. (And perhaps watching some more of Jacques Tati's filmography.)

Dressed to Kill (1980)

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2772839

I went on a bit of a Coen Bros binge yesterday, watching the films I've only ever seen once. The likes of Miller's Crossing, Fargo and Barton Fink I've seen countless times.

I frequent a little charity store which has DVDs donated - they sell them for $1 each, no matter the quality. Some films are still in their original wrappers with the likes of $16 and $19.95 price stickers on them. $1 each. Some really awesome films. But one day, they had a Coen Bros boxed set - 12 films. How much? You guessed it. $1. I don't think I've ever got a bargain like that in all my DVD buying days.

The Man Who Wasn't There - (2001)

A chance to sit back and take note of the cinematography in this film is what set this all off. It's strange how I often react to the Ed Crane character - I think of him as innocent, but in actuality he set the whole chain of events going by blackmailing his friend (who was cheating on his wife.) From that moment on, he's carried along helplessly on a river of consequences. Great movie though. Haunting classical music soundtrack, brilliant Roger Deakins photography, Billy Bob Thornton's inscrutable low-key performance and great script. Well worth a second and third (and fourth) look.

9/10 (possibly 8)

Blood Simple - (1984)

The first time I saw this I thought it was good, without being great. That's how I pretty much felt after watching it for a second time - but some reading of reviews opened my eyes just a little bit more to just how many subtle touches there are to reward close inspection. I particularly liked how each character in this film never knew the whole story - and their fractured knowledge led to actions which were more extreme than they needed to be. A lot has been said about the editing, which is an aspect of filmmaking I'm a lot more aware of these days - but find hard to appreciate without ignoring a film's plot and simply focusing on the cuts. If I were a filmmaker, I'd want to edit my own films as the Coens do.

7/10 (possibly 8)

Raising Arizona - (1987)

When this film first came out I never wanted to see it because I thought it was far too silly. Now I revel in the silliness. I think Holly Hunter is marvelous in this - and hilarious. Having a clever script helps. Raising Arizona took a long time to become a film that I really loved - even after the Coen Bros became revered in my mind - but it has a fond place amongst my favourites now.

8/10 (possibly 9)

Today it's The Hudsucker Proxy, Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers - the first two I have never seen, the latter I saw a while ago but didn't like. Maybe I can get something out of it this time.

Edit - ******* it, those three movie posters fit on the same line when I previewed.....

Those three films are great, nearly excellent... and yet, they wouldn't crack my Coen's Top 3. That's how great the Coen Bros. are.

__________________

The Marksman - A by-the-numbers Liam Neeson thriller wherein he plays Jim Hanson, a grizzled former Marine living a hardscrabble life on the Arizona and Mexico border. He's a widower and a rancher who's in the process of losing his cattle and home to the bank. His land is used by human traffickers and drug runners to cross into the U.S. and it's on one of his periodic rounds that he runs across a woman named Rosa and her son Miguel fleeing from vengeful cartel members.


Neeson is his usual reliable self and the kid actor playing Miguel (Jacob Perez) does a good job as well but it's all pretty much formulaic. There are however numerous instances where coincidences strain credulity. They're intended to move the narrative along of course and since the rest of the story line isn't exactly teeming with originality it doesn't detract all that much from the proceedings. It may not be groundbreaking but if you're a Neeson fan this won't do anything to damage his cachet either.

It starts with the released of prisoner called Mekko, a Muscogee indian. We're told trough the use of his native language, Mvskoke, about his childhood remembrances, specially his grandmother and his cousin. This remembrance are often concerning spirituality, the witches possessed by evil, and Mekko's ability to see them. This is a story about loss, the people you knew, the homeland you knew, the spirit you had, a role bonded to a destiny not fulfilled. Mekko, after his release, wanders a small town in Oklahoma surrounded by homeless's of his kind, fighting to bring his spirit alive in a land of lost souls. Rod Rondeaux, his face, his voice is already a story waiting to be told.

Always good to tick another Hitch off the list. The ending felt a little forced but other than that it's a classic example of the script dominating the movie and allowing a single location movie to flourish. I've also never really appreciated how beautiful Mary Anderson was until now.

Looks good that, thanks.

A decent adaptation. Unsurprisingly given the time it was made it's a lot more jingoistic and anti-communist than the book. The 72 minute runtime was probably about right. If it had been any longer I think I would have struggled. Also according to Wikipedia this was the first ever British feature length animated film. It deserves an extra half-popcorn just for that

You might be right, when I think of Blood Simple I think of a Great Film and when I think of Raising Arizona... well, there is nothing negative one can possibly say about it so maybe it is too.
And yet, how could I put any of them above No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski, and my beloved (and I know not everyone shares this but whatever) Miller's Crossing?
Would I put them above Barton Fink? Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Fargo?
But then if you flipped it and said, definitively say that Miller's Crossing is better than Fargo, could I possibly?
So we agree, there's an issue.

A Serious Man is my favorite Coen film, though there's still a bunch of their films I haven't seen yet.

__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd

No Country for Old Men is my favorite Coen film and The Ladykillers is my least favorite.

After that, it’s more or less a free for all deciding what goes where.

Oh, man, yeah! One of the great films which seem to be on everyone's top 25 noirs, many have it in the top 10. Arguably Bogart's greatest acting, and we who are Gloria Grahame fans can never get enough of her. I just read that the actress who portrayed Mildred Atkinson (Bogart's secretary who is killed) just died in February of this year at aged 98! How about that?

They Live (1988) -

Over the course of the first act I had some issues with the pacing, but 30 minutes in, the film basically went off the rails, but in a GOOD way! The rest of the film was really fun, one liner stuffed, sci-fi action horror. It's very over the top, and extremely unsubtle, but it's not trying to be subtle. I'd argue that if this movie wasn't as over the top, I wouldn't like it as much. Yeah, I certainly don't think it's perfect, but it's still a really enjoyable film in my eyes. (And that alleyway fight is great.)