Rate The Last Movie You Saw

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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Just finished watching Malcolm and Marie on Netflix. Directed by Sam Levinson, the film stars Zendaya and John David Washington (and literally no one else). Filmed in black and white, it is about the troubled and volatile relationship between a film director and his girlfriend over the course of one night. Zendaya is excellent here and I hope she gets an Oscar nomination for the role. Washington is great here too. Both take turns giving impassioned speeches and rants while they argue back and forth. The dialogue is electric and powerful, chilling at times but also with some surprisingly funny moments. For me, Malcom and Marie is an actors showcase and a satisfying and worthwhile experience. My rating is an 8/10.

Ingrid Goes West, 2017 (A-)

Ingrid is a stalker who, after an altercation at a wedding with her first victim, followed by a sojourn at a mental health institution, latches on to another Instagram influencer. She then goes west to be with her, and the movie follows the relationship she develops with her victim.

It's noted as a dark comedy, but extra emphasis should be put on dark here. It's very funny in parts, but I would call it more of a light tragedy. Ingrid is very much a tragic character.

The heart of the movie is really the character, her struggles and her issues, and the sympathetic angle we are showed of her. She's imperfect, but she tries, as the song goes. The stalking is not presented as a dangerous, psychopatic crusade by an unhinged person, except in that one scene. There is no malice in her, just unhappiness that she doesn't know how to address.

I think it's really important to see these stories in media, because I feel one one of the big blind spot of the mental health movement is the lack of attention that is given to mental health issues that create victims. The second someone acts in a bad way towards someone else, regardless of their issues, they are to be discarded and exiled, not helped. This movie crucially presents the stalking from the point of view of the stalker. She is very far from the worst stalker ever put to film, but still.

I definitely recommend it, especially if you like to cringe a bit, because oh boy, there's some of that here. Would not recommend it to people looking for a comedy, cause it was in that section when I found it.

Enter the Dragon, 1973

A talented martial artist named Lee (Bruce Lee) is scouted by a British intelligence agent named Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks) to go undercover in a fighting tournament held on the private island of a crime lord named Han (Kien Shih). There are many characters of note also in attendance, including the man responsible for Lee's sister's death, O'Hara (Robert Wall), a Black American martial artist named Williams (Jim Kelly), and a gambling addict named Roper (John Saxon).

This is one of those big name films that I somehow had just never gotten around to. And for the most part I would say that it lived up to the hype.

The most well-known aspect of the film, of course, is that it was Bruce Lee's final film before his death. The actor is in peak form, and he exudes charisma whether he's sparring in the ring or quietly taking in the action around him. He brings that completely believable athleticism that any great action film--especially a martial arts one--needs, and he plays well off of all of the other characters.

From a story point of view, the film is also engaging. Lee is tasked with infiltrating Han's operation and finding evidence to finally send him away. But there are multiple subplots at play involving both Williams and Roper and their own dealings with Han. It is a film with a lot of moving pieces, and yet the plot never feels overly complex or cluttered.

There are also, exactly as you would expect, plenty of great action sequences, including Lee finally getting to face his sister's tormentor in the ring and an iconic final showdown with the villain Han in a room full of mirrors. This was one of those sequences where I was immediately aware of other, later films that had just directly lifted imagery from this sequence (including my own beloved Hellraiser 2!).

Complaint-wise? Well, I thought it was kind of skeevy that two of the characters we are meant to like (Roper and Williams) don't even bat an eye at the idea of helping themselves to the sexual services of women who seem just as likely as not to be sex slaves. The film also trades in the trope of the evil foreign men who kidnap young white girls as sex slaves. It's not that white slavery never happens, but it pales in comparison to the number of non-white women who are regularly trafficked. I know this film is like 50 years old, but the trope is a tired one (still being trotted out in films like Taken). None of the female characters in the film are developed beyond a handful of lines, and they seem to be there mainly to serve as decoration. There are female characters in supporting roles (like the head mistress of the house, or an undercover female agent who helps Lee), but their development is pretty superficial.

I'm really glad I finally got around to this film. It was really delightful and many of the action set-pieces were memorable and exciting. This is the kind of film I could see coming back to as an old favorite.

I prefer Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon to Enter the Dragon, but I’m in the minority.

I’m also right though. I’ll die on this hill.

As long as you don't try to sneak The Big Boss in there, your opinion is acceptable.

Roma, 2018

In Mexico City in the 1970s, Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), an indigenous woman, works as a domestic servant in a wealthy household over seen by Sofia (Marina de Tavira) and Antonio (Fernando Grediaga). As the couple's marriage begins to hit the rocks, Cleo must deal with her own complicated relationship with her boyfriend, Fermin (Jorge Antonio Guerrero).

I have no one to blame but myself, but how, HOW did I have the idea that this was a light film and maybe even sort of a comedy? LOL NO. This movie seriously rocked me to the core and any award you want to tell me it won, I can only say, yes, it deserved it.

It is hard to even know where to begin with a film like this. But let's start with the look. Roma is filmed in lust black and white, and there is a gorgeous poetry to the images, whether they are the everyday or a breathtaking sequence involving a forest fire. The film is host to a range of landscapes--the ocean, the desert, the forest--and they all look amazing.

The style in which the movie is shot is nothing short of masterful. What Cuaron chooses to put on screen and what he chooses to leave just out of our sight is done with such care and each shot seems perfectly designed to evoke intense, powerful emotion. It is hard to talk about the two most impactful sequences without going into spoiler territory. For those who have seen the film, I am talking about the scene in the hospital and the scene on the beach. In both cases my heart was in my throat and the suspense was almost unbearable. And in both of these scenes, the role of the viewer seems doubly important. In both cases, the action begs for a sympathetic witness. (MAJOR SPOILERS)

The acting is also very strong. Aparicio is both charming and heartbreaking as Cleo. You can hardly take your eyes off of her, and there is something special about how a character who is often passive can at the same time seem so compelling. The wealthy family could have easily come off as a bunch of spoiled brats (and at times they definitely do), but there is humanity to the way they are portrayed. Their indifference toward Cleo at times seems to chalk up more to self-centered ignorance rather than callous lack of care. When Cleo needs support, Sofia and her mother, Teresa, are there for her to a degree. In the role of Fermin, Guerrero manages to pull off a neat trick--the focus and intensity of his nude martial arts demonstration reads as charismatic and goofy, and when he later

This was just a gorgeous, gorgeous film. I have no criticisms of it. I did not expect to get hit so hard in the emotions. I also appreciated the subtle way that they used the formatting of the subtitles to distinguish between Spanish and Mixtec.

I would NEVER.

Though I did like it substantially more when rewatching the Criterion release.

Does that mean you don't like ETD at all...?


= (

It’s a groovy flick that I dig a lot. I just don’t consider it Lee’s finest nor would it likely crack at top 10 (maybe not even 20) of Kung Fu movies.

Directed by Carl Theodore Dreyer and released in 1928, the film is itself notable for various reasons. From its production and minimalist set design to Dreyer's direction; but most notably for Falconetti's iconic performance. Originally a stage actress, she delivers an emotionally charged performance, which is impressive for the silent film era. But instead of being limited by that, Falconetti makes the most out of her expressions and her glassy, teary eyes, to the point that you can't help but feel her pain and suffering.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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I loved, LOVED how Cuarón shot this... the way he moved the camera, the steady pans and the lingering shots; just beautiful. And that scene in the spoilers, how he keeps the camera still during all that, it was indeed beautiful and horrifying. Glad you liked it.

That part and then the way that he shot the

Enter The Dragon is the only Lee film I’ve seen, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I’m going to watch Fist of Fury tonight, so I’m looking forward to that.
What are your top 20, or 10 kung fu films, if I may ask?

Did the Criterion release affect your opinion of the true Bruce Lee masterpiece, Game of Death II?

My opinion that it’s the greatest film ever made not named Showgirls or Road House remains unchanged.

Let us shake our freshly regrown hands in agreement.

Just going off the top of my head, in no particular order (I’ll try and keep it straight kung fu and not branch out into Wuxia or other martial arts):

8 Diagram Pole Fighter
36 Chambers of Shaolin
Executioners of Shaolin
Police Story
Police Story 2
Drunken Master
Drunken Master 2
Wheels on Meals
Fist of Legend
Crippled Avengers

This isn’t meant to be a definitive list. If you can’t tell, I favor Lau Kar Leung and Jackie Chan to Bruce Lee. If I expanded it to Wuxia, I would have a TON of Chang Cheh, Tsui Hark and later Yuen Wo Ping.

I’ll probably think of some films I forgot that will haunt me soon. Plus, if we expanded to other martial arts, I’d have to figure out where to put the Raid films and a legion of Chanbara flicks.

I prefer to separate Kung Fu from Wuxia as well, as they’re different styles. Nice list. I’m doing a deep dive into martial arts and wuxia this year, as well as action films from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.