Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Silkwood (1983)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Umpteenth Retwatch...My favorite MGM msuical. Fred Astaire plays Tony Hunter, a washed upmovie star who has agreed to try and revive his career by returning to Broadway in a musical version of Faust directed by a tempermental egomaniac (Jack Buchanan), written by two old friends of his (Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray as a fictionalized Comden and Green) and co-starring with a snooty ballerina named Gabrielle Girard (Cyud Charisse) doing her first Broadway show. One memorable musical number after another including "Triplets", "A Shine on your Shoes", "Louisiana Hayride", Fred and Cyd at their best with "Dancing in the Dark" and the memorable Mickey Spillane Girl Hunt Ballet, brilliantly choreographed by Michael Kidd.

Anatomy of a Fall - (2023)

10/10

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

In a Violent Nature (2024)

A bit dull I thought.

Saw it before, it was on Tubi, so I put it on so my wife could try it. Needless to say this is the type of film that is out of her comfort zone. She claims she didn't like it but she was awfully animated throughout. It's a very good French horror and super violent, but I didn't quite love it the way I did the first time.

There's honestly nothing to see her except a monumental waste of talent, which is especially sad because actors like Cate Blanchett, Ariana Greenblatt and Jamie Lee Curtis deserve better.

The only upside is that this flopped horribly, so we will not have to dread the potential Borderlands 2.

This is a harmless mess of a film that, regrettably, just leaves one hoping it could have been as interesting as it sounded from the previews.

Coming so shortly after Longlegs and MAXXXINE, it feels like too little, too late. And it just has this frustrating habit of trying to be weird just for the sake of it.

Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens are pretty good actors, but I don't think they've been give something that is up to their abilities here. And Stevens's German accent wasn't nearly convincing enough. Jessica Henwick does what she can with a very underwritten part, and it's a shame that she wasn't given more to do.

Well, at least the locations are nice.

Good?

Rollerball (1975)





Really well performed and filmed action sequences, unfortunately accompanied by hamfisted attempts at social commentary in a dystopian setting.


I still liked it, but if I watch out again, I'm skipping any scenes that don't take place at the Ring or in a locker room.


C+

The Sense of an Ending (2017)

A sensitive film based on the book by Julian Barnes. A selective memory affair about relationships, loves, mistakes and missed opportunities. It's a bit staid in parts and quite emotional in others. The cast is impeccable. Think I've said before, I'd like to see Billy Howle doing more films as I think he is a very nuanced actor. Seems to be more suited to the stage though.

Mon Oncle Antoine, 1971

Benoit (Jacques Gagnon) is a young man who lives with his Uncle Antoine (Jean Duceppe) and Aunt Cecile (Olivette Thibault), who run the local store in a small mining town in Quebec. As Christmas approaches, Benoit flirts with Carmen (Lyne Champagne), creates store-front decorations, and generally observes the events in town. But on Christmas Eve, emotions run high and Benoit is unprepared for how complicated life can be.

What I liked most about this film was the mood. I’m not sure I clicked with it as strongly as I would have liked on a character level, but it’s certainly a visceral portrait of what it’s like to live in the last throes of adolescence.



FULL REVIEW

Baby Driver- B-
Lawrence of Arabia - A+
Inferno (1953, Ray Ward Baker) - C+

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Still of the Night (1982)

Hundreds of Beavers. A black and white silent film from...2022!?!? When his apple cider supply is sabotaged by local critters, a drunkard turns to fur trapping to survive the wilderness in this action comedy.



Most of the animals are represented by people in mascot costumes for maximum silliness; but 2d animation, stop motion, and even puppetry are also used, as well as many different filmmaking techniques that weren't necessarily available or invented yet before the age of talkies.

There are so many different types of humor employed here, including but not limited to: slapstick, scatology, looney tunes, modern day memes, and even the most juvenile sights (like a snowman with a cock and balls). Early scenes of the main character isolated and tormented by the forces of nature are reminiscent of the Evil Dead movies (which in of itself is paying homage to Three Stooges).



But it's not all just random jokes as the beginning might imply. What start as recurring gags are taken as teachable moments by our hero, who embraces the cartoon logic of the world to achieve his goals. We watch him gain experience, trade in spoils for better tools, and fill in parts of a map, much like in a video game in a very satisfying way.

I'm going to have to watch it again because it throws so many gags and ideas at you so fast that I'm sure I missed plenty of little moments and callbacks. What it all amounts to is a remarkable feat of visual storytelling and comedic timing that everyone should check out.

Pfff I have tickets for tomorrow!

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Stremio

The First Echelon (1955)
It needs to be digitally restored if it's possible, because it is one of the most visually beautiful films ever made, but it is a bit blurry.
I watched it in Russian, of which I know only two words (nyet and traktor), but it was still worthwhile.
The plot was something about vodka, love, farming, fire, comradeship, and the young soviet farmer of the year award.
But most of all it is a visual masterpiece.
For me Kalatazov ought to be regarded as one of the greatest artists all time, even if he uses film instead of paint and canvas.


As a film I'd give it an 8, as a piece of art a 9.75.
Overall, maybe a 9.

Yep.

My Dreams of You (2024) I enjoyed this. I really liked Skyler Samuels and Kapil Talwalkar and hope they do more Hallmark movies. They had good chemistry together. This was an entertaining and cute film with a good story. One of the better Hallmark films of the past few years.

2nd Rewatch...For my money, the best of the comic book action adventures of recent years. This one finds Batman (Christian Bale) wounded and living the life of a recluse in Wayne manor until the Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and Bane (Tom Hardy) become intent on destroying Gotham City. Slam-bang entertainment that was just as thrilling on the third watch. Especially loved the scenes at the stock exchange, Batman's one on one with Bane, and the burying of the police force and release of the inmates from Gotham City jail. This movie rocks.

1st Rewatch...Decent sequel to the story of Apollo Creed's illegitimate son and his journey to follow in dad's footsteps. This film finds Creed confronting Ivan Drago's son Victor, which leads to surprise appearances from Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielson (who the years have been very kind to BTW) for the first time since Rocky IV. The story kind of implies that Creed initially loses to Viktor because Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) wasn't in his corner and subplot of Rocky trying to reconnect with his son (Milo Ventimiglia) kind of slows things down too, but the film is definitely watchable.