Rate The Last Movie You Saw

The Blob (1988)
7/10.
The last time I watched this was in the '80s on a VHS tape borrowed from the local video store. Surprisingly, it was better than I remembered it. Characters are well-established and given time to develop, and there's only a couple of moments that were meant to be satirical but were just cheezy instead.

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Boldly going.

So the trailer of The Death of Stalin showed up on my YouTube feed and I was so amused by it that I decided to watch the movie in the evening itself, and my goodness what a delightful little dish this is. As someone who loves Dr.Stranglove, Blackadder or general dark humour/satire this was utterly brilliant. It's crazy that I hadn't even heard about this gem up until today.
For once the YouTube algorithm did something good.

King of New York (1990)

Love the 80s Blob. A great remake and a film I remember well from watching it on TV when I was younger.

Watched it last night for old time's sake. It's an enjoyable, although a thematically much copied film from 1956 about the drama and interaction between several circus trapeze artists: a love triangle variation.

Lancaster of course had been a circus acrobat in his younger days, so he was eminently suited for his role as an injured "flyer" who was still one of the best "catch" men. Lancaster was in his early 40s by then, but played the role to perfection.

Tony Curtis was Lancaster's protege, who wanted to become the world's top flyer. Gina Lollobrigida was the va-va-voom girl who would try to play both men in order to advance her career. Curtis was 29 at the time and Gina was 30. They were both absolutely stunning looking. Gina could have mailed her part in, but there was some good interaction between Lancaster and Curtis, who would in the following year star together again in the classic, Sweet Smell of Success.

What surprised me --which I wouldn't have known to think about when first seeing it-- was how clever the edits were to make the viewer think that it was actually the stars who were doing the trapeze work. Lancaster did much of his own stunts, due to his experience, but the others mostly used the appropriate stand ins. But it was nice to see a film that used real stunts, after so much of today's CGI.

The inestimable Carol Reed (The Third Man) capably directed, although the color film was a departure for him. The film was a popular box office smash that year, and one can see why.

Marriage Story (2019)

Last Few:

The Battle of Algiers 1966
Some of this looks more like actual footage than film, which gives the whole thing a documentary feel about it. The post-bomb footage and the riot scenes are especially well directed. Overall a very realistic portrayal of a tragic time in Algeria's history - with only one professional actor. A remarkable achievement in cinema.


Hard to Be a God 2013
I think this is a film that is probably quite binary in people's experiences - you either appreciate it or it's not your thing. It's basically a 3 hour version of the "bring out your dead" scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail, but directed masterfully by Aleksei German. Very grimy, freaky medieval sets with all sorts of debauchery, mud, livestock and madness going on. What's it about? Themes of Masculinity? Social decay? Religion? Love? Not even sure but it seems to point to expressing a wasted opportunity for human civilization - I may be way off with that but it's a pretty unique way to spend 3 hours.



The Devils 1971
Insane brilliance from Ken Russell. Outstanding turn from Ollie Reed. Won't forget that in a hurry.

«The Duchess» - 8/10.
Sitcom about a single mother who raises a daughter, but behaves with her like a younger sister. To rectify the situation, she decides to have another daughter. But for this you need to seek help from your most hated enemy - your ex-husband.

Streets of Fire

A rock and roll fable set in another time, another place. Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) performs a concert in her hometown where Raven (Willem Dafoe) and his crew kidnap her. Enter her old flame, Cody (Michael Pare), a hard ass hood, to the rescue. Love the overall style of this movie and it's just fun. Very few movies I've seen as often as this one and it's still a rockin' good time!

Always good to see love and respect for Russell's masterpiece.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Totally insane.





Hadn’t seen this movie for years. Really excellent movie.



You might not think Jane Fonda could play Ibsen, but she was really very good. Fox & Warner both over-acted dreadfully, which is the fault of the director. Re-watch & it’s not bad at all.



Never seen this before. Not bad. Pleasant way to pass 90 minutes.

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

‘女鬼橋’ (2020)
aka The Bridge Curse

Usually, these Asian horrors are at least decent but this one's really bad. Cliches, weak scares, flat characters and almost non-existing story.

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Wings of Desire (1987)
D: Wim Wenders

Hadn't seen this for a while and so glad I watched it again. Beautifully artistic film about angels watching over and comforting the distressed in 1980's Berlin, and the desire to become mortal to experience real human life. Supreme effort and talent apparent in almost every frame, and such a unique contribution to the world of cinema.

9/10

Attachments

 

Absolutely love this film. And a great, moving role for Peter Falk.

Blithe Spirit (1945)

Wasn't great by any measure but I had a lot of fun watching it. Didn't even care about the plot, story, whatever... I love watching Margot kick ass as Harley and Ewan had me cracking up a few times although I can't say why exactly. Maybe it was his delivery. Wouldn't go out of my way to see it again but would watch it again if I stumbled upon it on tv.

After some initially really negative things online, most of the things I'm hearing about it are much in line with what you've written. Not great, but fun. My brother's girlfriend gave me her HBO credentials and I'm now pretty excited to watch it as a turn-my-brain-off weekend movie.

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“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” ~ Rocky Balboa

loved mission impossible movie trilogy but mission impossible 1 is always my favorite