Rate The Last Movie You Saw

1st Rewatch...This occasionally moving character study finds Oscar winner Denzel Washington playing a socially inept attorney who worked in a two-person law firm in the office while his partner was the public face of the firm. When Roman's partner dies, he is forced out and finds a place with another firm, but a questionably ethical move he makes to advance his career does provide a financial windfall but also threatens his integrity as an attorney and as a human being. The screenplay is a little overprotective of the character and the pied piper effect he has at his new firm doesn't ring true at all. Washington received his sixth Lead Actor Oscar nomination for this film, but the performance is nothing special, I think he just got nominated because he's Denzel, the way Meryl Streep gets nominated for everything she does because she's Meryl. He's still worth watching though and so is Colin Farrell as a slick attorney trying to take Roman down.

The Wages of Fear - (2024)

Interesting plot, cool action scenes but the ending did disappoint me a bit. 7/10

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

2nd Rewatch...Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill) works wonders with a brilliant ensemble cast in this sometimes blistering drama featuring a spectacular ensemble cast. Kevin Kline is a slick LA attorney whose car breaks down in the wrong neighborhood and he is rescued by a truck driver played by Danny Glover. As their lives intersect we get a peek into the lives of both men. We learn that Kline's wife (Mary McDonnell) finds an abandoned baby one morning while jogging and is determined to keep the child. We also learn that Kline had a one night stand with his secretary (Mary Louise Parker), who has gone into a complete meltdown since Kline wants to forget it ever happened. Glover is dealing with a woman whose son's gangbanging is putting her serious danger. The screenplay by Kasdan and his wife , Meg is stinging at time, effectively exploring the human condition. The film also features an Oscar-worthy performance by Steve Martin as Kline's BFF, a schlock filmmaker who has a major epiphany regarding his career after being mugged and shot in the leg. If you liked The Big Chill, you will love this.

1st Rewatch...This HBO documentary is not so much a look at the career of Robin Williams, but more an analysis regarding what made the man tick. The film opens with a clip from his appearance on James Lipton's Inside the Actor's Studio and the question that Lipton asks him is what this film is really about. The highlights for me were the outtakes from Mork and Mindy and everything that Billy Crystal shared about Williams especially the messages Williams left on Crystal's answering machine. For fans of the star, appointment viewing.

5th Rewatch...I don't know what it is about this movie. I find this movie has mad rewatch appeal, but there are still little things here and there I can't wrap my head around. I can't figure out how that bus didn't go below 50 MPH when the original bus driver gets shot or when they're flying over that missing piece of highway and I couldn't figured out how Howard managed to kill Beth Grant's character without blowing up the entire bus and why would the police be dumb enough to think that Howard would be at his house? I've somehow managed to let these things slide over the years and relish one of the best action movies ever made that actually won four Oscars. Keanu Reeves proved to be a viable action hero and Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper were great as well. I also noticed this time around how much I enjoyed Alan Ruck and Glen Plummer as the motorist whose car Jack commandeers to get on the bus. Great movie as long as you don't think about it too much.

Excellent true story from Australia. Landry Jones really made this movie.



Good Iranian movie based on a true story of a serial killer. (No clue why it’s called Holy Spider.)

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

I really enjoyed this one too.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness follows the titular character (Benedict Cumberbatch) as he tries to protect America (Xochitl Gomez), a teenager that can travel through the multiverse, from Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen). To do so, he must travel through the multiverse himself where he'll meet some expected (and not so expected) allies and enemies.

But to go back to what I just said, the film is fine entertainment. The action is there, the fun quips and the banter, and some neat moments of thrills and "gore". Although it doesn't really go over board, you can tell Sam Raimi directed it in how the film leans towards his "horror" sensibilities. Whether it is Strange plucking the gigantic eye from an alien creature to him mentally controlling a Zombie version of himself to save the day.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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The Band Wagon follows Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire), an aging musical star just going through the motions of what seems to be the end of his career. However, when the opportunity of a comeback comes up in the hands and pen of his two best friends, he's enthusiastic about it. Unfortunately, the upcoming musical is obliviously taken over by the director who wants to turn it into an overblown and pretentious adaptation of Faust.

For the first half of the film, I was fully on board. Most of the musical numbers were truly memorable; especially the "Shine on Your Shoes" number and the iconic "That's Entertainment". There is a certain fluidity to these two that makes it all look so effortless. Big part of that goes to Astaire, but a good part also goes to Minnelli's wonderful camera movement.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

Felt a bit more childish because of the whole WONDER WORLD thing, but with fast paced action and hilarious one-liners, this comes in a close second to BEVERLY HILLS COP. (1984) Would be better with Taggart.

9/10

American Fiction (2023)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

By Unknown - Rotten Tomatoes, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74458026

Late Night with the Devil - (2023)

This was oh so very memorable - I love David Dastmalchian, and he's perfect here as the 70s late night talk show host who is desperate for ratings, and vulnerable after his wife dies of cancer. We get to watch his final show where, in his quest for controversy, he invites the wrong kind of trouble and the results are pretty spectacular, I must say. Can't wait to see this one again - it has a firm hold on that 70s nostalgia that seems to be popular now, and a nicely paced build-up to an utterly insane climax. Interesting production design and the mix of "televised" footage combined with behind the scenes black and white was interesting as well. Most importantly - I enjoyed watching it a whole lot.

8/10


By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34066513

The Expendables 2 - (2012)

The action was much improved, and overall the quality seems better in this second Expendables movie - though I have to say parts of this were hilariously crazy. Characters appear out of nowhere, mid-action scene - as if they just stumbled across the gang despite them being far away in some secluded corner of Albania. Chuck Norris pops his head up, and awkwardly delivers one of his own Chuck Norris jokes (the one about him being bitten by a poisonous snake, and after 5 days of agony the snake dies), and Arnold Schwarzenegger gets more to do, along with Bruce Willis who just suddenly join in on the action during the film's climax. Because why not. Jean-Claude Van Damme makes for a great villain, and everyone bar Mickey Rourke returns from the first film. Hey, it's a nice paycheck - and none of these guys would pull in the same box office alone.

6/10


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It's Such a Beautiful Day - (2012)

Contemplations about life, the universe and our place in it fill the thoughts of Bill, who is ill, and whose mind is at the same time failing him. Don Hertzfeldt's comical, and cosmic, masterpiece. Reviewed here, in my watchlist thread.

9/10

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Umpteenth Rewatch...Cameron Crowe's clever episodic script and Amy Heckerling's sparkling direction aid a cast of future stars pull off this raucous teen comedy effectively weaving multiple stories of high school life that still makes me laugh out loud after all these years. The romance between virgins Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Mark Ratner(Brian Backer); Brad (Judge Reinhold), Big Man on Campus who loses his fast food job six payments away from paying off his car and, of course, the perpetually stoned Jeff Spicolli (Sean Penn) and his battle of wits with history teacher Mr Hand (Ray Walston) are just as entertaining now as they were in 1982. If memory serves, when I did my list of favorite teen comedies, this one clocked in at #1.

1st Rewatch...Wes Anderson brings his sophistication and undeniable loopy cinematic vision to this stop-motion animated tale of a fox George Looney) who gives up his career cashing chickens at the request of Mrs Fox (Meryl Strep) to become a reporter, but cannot resist the lure of pulling off one more big poultry heist before giving up chicken chasing forever. Anderson and Noah Baumbach's screenplay doesn't talk above its viewer despite its intelligence and wit, and with the aid of Anderson's accustomed attention to production values and a perfect voice cast, brings animation to a state of the art level.

Umpteenth Rewatch....A sizzling performance by Nicole Kidman that should have earned her an Oscar nomination and a scorching screenplay by Buck Henry anchor this stylized re-imagining of the Pamela Smart story, that is a lot less docudrama than the recent May December, but is a lot more entertaining. Kidman plays Suzanne Stone, an ambitious career gal who wants to be the next Barbara Walters, but feels trapped in her marriage to a sweet but dull guy named Larry (Matt Dillon) so she manipulates a pair of horny teenagers into murdering the guy. Buck Henry’s screenplay takes no prisoners and Gus Van Sant's direction is imaginative and demands attention. Future Oscar winners Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck impress as Suzanne's pawns as does Dan Hedaya as Larry's dad. I never get tired of re-watching this movie and the final ten minutes still give me chills. I did a list of sexiest female movie characters and Suzanne Stone came in at # 1.

Messiah of Evil (1973)

This is quite effective for a kinda low budget shocker. A young woman goes to a coastal town to visit her artist dad and finds he has gone. leaving a diary full of strange observations about darkness in the town and nightmares. It's good and jumpy with a good atmosphere and a decent, if rather fatuous story. Acting and camerawork are bargain basement but I'd like to see similar shockers to this as it did have it's moments.