Rate The Last Movie You Saw

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Victim of The Night
Ex Machina (2014)

Had a few good ideas. Ultimately, for me, just a nice looking film. Didn't 't care about any character...maybe that was the point. No heart is my main criticism.

Ouch.
My favorite film from that year, one of my favorite recent films, period.



Victim of The Night
C.H.U.D. - Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, filmed in 1984 (among the best years for cheesy horror movies. This one's about as cheesy as they get. The title says most of what you need to know. The CHUDs (a movie title that became a name for certain people) eat people, live in storm drains and New York is full of them. It has burnt-out 1980's detectives, a fashion photog, a cute model, cynical beat cops, exploitive politicians and, of course, CHUDs and the late John Hurt.
A personal favorite.



Victim of The Night
I don't know about that, as I feel 2049 was pretty sure-footed in its general storytelling, save for the soft retcon of the
WARNING: spoilers below
replicants all of sudden being established as being unable to reproduce in general, so that it's a conveniently a big deal when one of them does. Besides that, I feel that it did a good job of expanding the world of the original, as well as following up on the fallout of both its story & themes, whether it be the new generation of replicants being engineered to obey partly in response to the messy situation that Roy & his fellow reps created, or continuing to ponder what it means to be human when man is creating artificial beings that are ever "more human than human", which is reflected in the way that K taking after his human makers by owning a creation perceived as "lesser" than him in turn with Joi, a detail that wouldn't have made it in the film if it didn't really know what it was trying to say.
I'm certainly not saying nothing works. I agree the parts with K and Joi are a nice callback to the original film, one degree further along in each case, but most of the stuff Leto's character and the scary/deadly replicant that works for him was just a complete misfire for me and my friends, the Sean Young thing seemed like a super-obvious kinda cheat to give fan-service, even Robin Wright's character and whatever the thing between her and K was seemed like a mis-step. The movie ends pretty messily and I felt like that last conflict kinda didn't deserve to be in a Blade Runner movie.



Victim of The Night

Well, that was a helluva thing.
Really, just a pretty intense jolt to the system for a straight white dude. This film, while seeming to champion the culture it presents, is at its most powerful when it makes you consider how hard it must be to be born "different". And it does that a lot.




Tenet (2020, Christopher Nolan)

Don't know what it was but it was very smart. And incredibly well made. And visually stunning. And fabulously scored. Did I already say smart?

Seriously though, I didn't love this film but I was still in awe of the sheer ambition and cerebral intensity of it. It asserted itself with so much confidence it simply could not be denied. It was difficult to follow at times but it still held a grip on me till the very end. It was rapid paced, clinical, dry and utterly devoid of sentimentality - ripping along like a speed train, not caring about or minding the viewer.

Very good and technically impressive, but there's just something about Nolan films - I like many of them, I admire and respect them but I don't quite love them. Well, for the most part, because I am a big fan of Memento (still my favorite of his oeuvre that I've seen).




Tenet (2020, Christopher Nolan)

Don't know what it was but it was very smart. And incredibly well made. And visually stunning. And fabulously scored. Did I already say smart?

Seriously though, I didn't love this film but I was still in awe of the sheer ambition and cerebral intensity of it. It asserted itself with so much confidence it simply could not be denied. It was difficult to follow at times but it still held a grip on me till the very end. It was rapid paced, clinical, dry and utterly devoid of sentimentality - ripping along like a speed train, not caring about or minding the viewer.

Very good and technically impressive, but there's just something about Nolan films - I like many of them, I admire and respect them but I don't quite love them. Well, for the most part, because I am a big fan of Memento (still my favorite of his oeuvre that I've seen).
liked his work on the dark knight



'Better Days'

High school bullying drama. Suffers from a few cliches, and outlandish scenes but is very powerful at times. Great central performance from Zhou Dongyu. Very moving towards the end and beautifully shot and scored.







"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Easier said than done. There is a line early on in the film where the main character, Tore, explains to his soon to be tormentor that someday Jesus will test his faith. He doesn't know how or when but he'll know it when it happens. It's about to start happening very soon. Not an easy movie to sit through, for sure, but it's not bad. Style wise it's almost Dogme 95 and reminded me a little of The Snowtown Murders and although it's about faith it's never preachy.




The first scene of this movie will turn most people away. I know nothing about Chilean history but apparently that scene based off of events that happened during the Pinochet regime of the 70's and it's pretty nasty. After that the movie is pretty much a rape and revenge flick with political undertones. Undertones may be understating it. There are flashbacks which lay the groundwork for why the antagonist is such a sick **** (years of military training). This is like a Chilean version of A Serbian Film and while it gets pretty close to Serbian levels of depravity it's not every scene trying to top the previous scene like that film but there are about three or four truly awful scenes. As an exploitation flick it's not bad but be warned - this is a sick puppy.





"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Easier said than done. There is a line early on in the film where the main character, Tore, explains to his soon to be tormentor that someday Jesus will test his faith. He doesn't know how or when but he'll know it when it happens. It's about to start happening very soon. Not an easy movie to sit through, for sure, but it's not bad. Style wise it's almost Dogme 95 and reminded me a little of The Snowtown Murders and although it's about faith it's never preachy.




The first scene of this movie will turn most people away. I know nothing about Chilean history but apparently that scene based off of events that happened during the Pinochet regime of the 70's and it's pretty nasty. After that the movie is pretty much a rape and revenge flick with political undertones. Undertones may be understating it. There are flashbacks which lay the groundwork for why the antagonist is such a sick **** (years of military training). This is like a Chilean version of A Serbian Film and while it gets pretty close to Serbian levels of depravity it's not every scene trying to top the previous scene like that film but there are about three or four truly awful scenes. As an exploitation flick it's not bad but be warned - this is a sick puppy.
Fun weekend then?



Bad Santa 2 (2016)


Not nearly as clever as the first, but a lot of the humor still gets me in the sequel. Thurman Murman as an adult?! Christina Hendricks is pleasant to watch as well



the samoan lawyer's Avatar
Unregistered User
That's a shame, I thought it was great. Ear shattering sound design. Lots of symbols in it too (Halo's over her head at times etc)

Yeah, you never know. Might work on a rewatch. Ive got it on DVD so will leave a little longer then get back to it.
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'Sator' (2020)

Ultra low budget horror film. A man losing his mind in a cabin in the woods. Very creepy, barely any use of jump scares or cheap audio bursts - the film's atmosphere alone is enough to totally creep out the viewer. Very well done. 7.7/10






That's too bad. I was looking forward to seeing this one. I like Neeson and Manville and believe that they would have good chemistry. Plus, it's nice to see Neeson doing something other than a movie that comes out in January for a change. What are some of your issues with it?



liked his work on the dark knight
Been meaning forever to give that one a rewatch. I do remember liking it quite a bit, although I never was into the Batman thing tbh.



CRAWL
(2019, Aja)
A film with a title that starts with the letters C or D:



"Is there a plan B?"
"That *was* our plan B. In less than an hour, this crawl space will be under water."

Director Aja has always had a talent for handling both dread and scares in an effective way. From Haute Tension to The Hills Have Eyes, he has often succeeded in making us wince and cringe and fidget as terror floods the screen. Crawl is no exception. For a film with such a simple premise set in such a limited space, Aja manages to deliver with the jumpscares and the tension, while building a solid empathy for the lead characters.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
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A system of cells interlinked
This thread seems to be getting more traffic than the Movie Tab lately, so I will migrate my most recent posts in that thread over here, I guess!

The Town

Affleck, 2010



Excellent crime thriller set in my neck of the woods. Perfectly paced with some excellent performances. Be careful down Charlestown, alright kid?



Stalker

Tarkovsky, 1979



Hypnotic and thought provoking, I don't think I quite understood some of it, but I was certainly pulled into the proceedings. Watched this in an effort to 100% the recent best-of list. Probably deserves a higher mark, but some sections were a struggle to get through. I am sure that is all on me.



OK, now that we have the actual films out of the way...


Xanadu

Greenwald, 1980



Awful stuff. Love every second of it. Watched it with my two year-old daughter and she was dancing along with the musical number. Will watch again, probably soon.




The Warriors

Hill, 1979



Not so awful stuff. Love every second of it. My wife hates this movie, so there is a constant barrage of derision funneled my way whenever I watch this, to which I respond by proceeding to quote the film for a week straight after I watch it.



Goodfellas

Scorsese, 1990





Cheery, light-hearted family film about a sweet old lady who makes great marinara sauce, and her kind-hearted son and his two neighborly friends. OK, only the sauce statement is true, but that doesn't stop Goodfellas from being one of the best films ever made.


The Quick and the Dead

Raimi, 1995





This one was a mixed bag for me. Some stuff to like here, but it also felt like Raimi took Hackman's character from Unforgiven and plopped him down in a decidedly worse film with a boilerplate script and Sharon Stone doing a Clint Eastwood impersonation. There were some cool shots and Hackman killed it as usual, but overall, not a great flick.


Amelie

Juenet, 2001





It had been a while, but it was finally time to revisit Ms. Poulain. I went ahead and watched it twice this week. Close to a perfect film.


Dazed and Confused

Linklater, 1993





This is a bit better than I recall it being, or perhaps my tired ass is just longing for more carefree days. Anyway, gets the period right for the most part, and captures the vibe of the era fairly well.


Parasite

Ho, 2019





My wife still hadn't seen this, so we fit it in over the weekend. She loved it, and I thought it was just as good the second time around.
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the samoan lawyer's Avatar
Unregistered User
That's too bad. I was looking forward to seeing this one. I like Neeson and Manville and believe that they would have good chemistry. Plus, it's nice to see Neeson doing something other than a movie that comes out in January for a change. What are some of your issues with it?

Its still ok Torgo so dont be put off by my rating. It just really didnt do much for me. Both actors put in a good shift for what was required of them but it just felt very thin. It was a sad story, obviously but it lacked emotion. Interested to hear your thoughts on it.





"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Easier said than done. There is a line early on in the film where the main character, Tore, explains to his soon to be tormentor that someday Jesus will test his faith. He doesn't know how or when but he'll know it when it happens. It's about to start happening very soon. Not an easy movie to sit through, for sure, but it's not bad. Style wise it's almost Dogme 95 and reminded me a little of The Snowtown Murders and although it's about faith it's never preachy.




The first scene of this movie will turn most people away. I know nothing about Chilean history but apparently that scene based off of events that happened during the Pinochet regime of the 70's and it's pretty nasty. After that the movie is pretty much a rape and revenge flick with political undertones. Undertones may be understating it. There are flashbacks which lay the groundwork for why the antagonist is such a sick **** (years of military training). This is like a Chilean version of A Serbian Film and while it gets pretty close to Serbian levels of depravity it's not every scene trying to top the previous scene like that film but there are about three or four truly awful scenes. As an exploitation flick it's not bad but be warned - this is a sick puppy.
I nominated the first movie for the female directors HoF. The 2nd movie I've never heard of, so thank you