Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Tools    





I forgot the opening line.
Have you seen Force Majeur? It's another really brilliant dark comedy from Ostlund, and I might give it a slight edge over The Square.
I have not seen any of Ruben Östlund's other films, but I no doubt will see them - Force Majeure looks good.
__________________
Remember - everything has an ending except hope, and sausages - they have two.
We miss you Takoma

Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)



Have you seen Force Majeur? It's another really brilliant dark comedy from Ostlund, and I might give it a slight edge over The Square.
Force Majeur is excellent, I haven’t seen the American remake but heard it was bad.



Force Majeur is excellent, I haven’t seen the American remake but heard it was bad.
I cannot imagine a less necessary remake. I am aware it exists, but have zero interest.



Babes in Arms (1939) This is pretty uneven. There are some good moments, but also some parts that fall flat. There are some sequences that did not age well at all and are pretty cringe worthy (to say the least).





The Killer Reserved Nine Seats was a mediocre And Then There Were None type of Giallo with some supernatural thrown into the mix. The Monster Project was absolutely terrible found footage horror.

Eternals felt promising in the beginning, like a little different MCU film for a change (closer to DC movies, actually, with the Superman references and all). Unfortunately, it grew staler and staler turning its potential into a bland and safe mess. Based on the weak action sequences, Zhao was the wrong director for this kind of movie.

The Invocation of Enver Simaku was some sort of paranormal investigation horror. I liked its concept but it suffered from poor execution. Offseason is another horror, this time with a somewhat boring concept but competent execution. Both of these were OK, but slight edge to Invocation because ideas > execution.

I'm pretty sure I've declared my distaste towards US teen horrors (especially the ones that also dip into comedy) before. Despite all that, The Blob is actually pretty decent. I guess having a good writer can improve a movie
__________________



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Film Watch Party Theme: Colours

Purple Rain -


I had a difficult time figuring out what kind of tone this film was trying to convey. After I got on the film's wavelength, I was able to enjoy it a bit more. Prince is one hell of a performer.

The Red Turtle -


Beautiful animation and a story told without a single word. I thought a feature film with no dialogue would be tiresome, but the film manages to convey so much while saying so little.

Blue Velvet -


A film that gets better with each viewing. Just the right tone of weird while maintaining a rather straightforward narrative for Lynch.

Green Room -


Nazi skinheads vs punk rockers. Such an intense film that had me hiding behind my fingers a few times.
__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



Straightheads (2007)




A woman (Gillian Anderson) invites the young man (Danny Dyer) installing an alarm at her London flat to a work related party. With no fear of gang rapers or ticks, they proceed to have sex in the woods. It comes back to bite them in the ass. Watchable for fans of R & R flicks such as myself but nothing that anyone should rush to see. Made for TV quality with extra violence.



Green Room -


Nazi skinheads vs punk rockers. Such an intense film that had me hiding behind my fingers a few times.
I have to rewatch this, because I was so upset at different parts and looked away so much that I actually started to lose track of the plot and who was alive/dead/injured/etc.

I'm still not able to watch stuff with Anton Yelchin without getting an extra hit of sadness, and especially not a film like this where he is in danger.




I'm still not able to watch stuff with Anton Yelchin without getting an extra hit of sadness, and especially not a film like this where he is in danger.

I'm always fascinated by how different we are in dealing with heightened emotions or even trauma in film. Where you seem to find things that might upset you overwhelming to deal with, I seek the exact same things out as a kind of balm that allows me to function.



For example, a movie I chose to watch recently (Murmur) deals with a woman who takes in sick and unwanted animals. I knew exactly what I was signing up for when I put it on, but because I am currently living in a situation where my cat (and, most importantly, my best friend) who is old and clearly going in a bad way, I was desperately in need to find a movie that deals with these exact same emotions. Without it, and without the release and the recognition such a film gives me, I think my mind would have probably collapse in on itself by now. Even though, the movie was an extremely painful watch.


So, I guess this is my roundabout way of mentioning the movie Murmur, and that it is fantastic and heartbreaking and beautiful and everyone should watch it who wants good films in their brain.



I'm always fascinated by how different we are in dealing with heightened emotions or even trauma in film. Where you seem to find things that might upset you overwhelming to deal with, I seek the exact same things out as a kind of balm that allows me to function.
I do this sometimes.

Sometimes I take comfort in movies that mirror my sadness/fear/anxiety. This is especially true about more general fears, like that someone will break into my house or a hostage situation or something.

But sometimes that mirror turns into an amplifier instead of a catharsis, and when that happens I'm not getting anything good out of the experience.

I think that film/art can be a great medicine, but like any medicine you need to know when and how to use it.

Also, I'm really sorry about your cat. If you ever want to talk about it, shoot me a PM.



I forgot the opening line.

By mk2 films, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69249296

The Worst Person in the World - (2021)

A lot of people have Oslo, August 31st on their watchlists, but in the meantime have seen Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World. After Thelma, it's quite a departure (I have to admit, Thelma is the only film I've seen of his) - a really light and spontaneous - and very authentic - film. The subject matter - life itself - is well paced, and the rhythm so steady that you won't notice you're watching a film. Instead your emotion remains attached to Renate Reinsve and her Julie. Her decisions become ours. You see the actress not only saying her lines, but almost thinking scripted thoughts. Julie's about to turn 30, but doesn't want children, much to her partner's chagrin, and this kind of poisons the first, serious long-term relationship she's ever had. But there's far more than this in the film, which takes a very down to earth approach to following Julie's life, her relationship with her parents and lovers, self-discovery and personal growth in a universe always willing to have the last say. One of 2021's better films.

8/10


By http://www.impawards.com/2021/last_n...soho_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62288483

Last Night in Soho - (2021)

For me, this started out as a real winner. The style, the attention to period detail, the colourful visuals and both Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy were bringing much enjoyment - and so was the screenplay and story. But, for me, the ending just wrecked it. Honestly, I'm sick of films thinking they have to pull a huge twist out every single damn time - because a lot of the time the twist is too silly. Here it basically took something away from a film that had me hooked, and one which was particularly beautiful. Edgar Wright is usually always producing something enjoyable for me, and here he was well on track with a kind of faux time travel, supernatural present day/60s London adventure for main character Eloise (McKenzie) - then, during the climax, I was thinking "this film stinks". But only then.

6/10


By http://www.impawards.com/2020/lapsis.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68126140

Lapsis - (2020)

This was kind of interesting, low budget, filmmaking. Set in a near-dystopia, where a new technology, "quantum" (comparable to the internet, or broadband networks) employs people to fix cables between quantum terminals (there's one in the poster, above). Ray (Dean Imperial) has a brother who suffers from "Omnia" - a form of chronic fatigue syndrome which is mined for comedic effect in this (everyone acknowledges it as a genuine "made up" disease) as just basic laziness. Anyway, to pay for his treatment (which is a money-making scam) Ray (who works in a criminal organisation selling lost luggage pinched from airports) decides to become a cable layer. He accidentally inherits someone else's account, which means in his first few days he gets the opportunity to earn over $100,000 on one cable run, but must beat an automated cable-layer otherwise he gets nothing for his work. Meanwhile, conspiracy theories among his fellow-cable layers, suspicions over how he's earning so much, and groups of marauding children cause him more and more angst. This was well worth watching this once, and if you get the chance, you could do a lot worse than see Lapsis.

6/10



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
6.5/10
Golden Temple Amazons (Alain Payet, 1986)
4/10
The Actress (Andrew Ondrejcak, 2021)
6/10
Pete 'n' Tillie (Martin Ritt, 1972)
7/10

Witty tale of womanizing advertising man Walter Matthau who meets and marries lonely Carol Burnett, and their young son repairs their marriage's faults as much as he's able to.
We the Animals (Jeremiah Zagar, 2019)
5.5/10
Hockney (Randall Wright, 2014)
6.5/10
Bunker Bean (William Hamilton & Edward Killy, 1936)
5.5/10
Hustle (Jeremiah Zagar, 2022)
6.5/10

Wannabe coach/NBA talent scout Adam Sandler finds terrific Spanish player Juancho Hernangomez whom he brings to America on his own dime and coaches him to get over some of his personal problems which are keeping him back.
The Salt Mines (Susana Aikin & Carlos Aparicio, 1990)
6/10
Broadway Hostess (Frank McDonald, 1935)
5.5/10
Manpower (Raoul Walsh, 1941)
6/10
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Tom Gormican, 2022)
+ 6.5/10

On the verge of retiring, Nicolas Cage takes a vacation on the island of his superfan Pablo Pascal who's written him a script and Cage takes an immediate liking to. Then Cage learns that the CIA thinks his fan is a drug kingpin and kidnapper and wants him to go undercover for them.
Eraser: Reborn (John Pogue, 2022)
5/10
Random Harvest (Mervyn LeRoy, 1942)
6.5/10
Opening Night (John Cassavetes, 1977)
5/10
Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021)
6.5/10

Joséphine Sanz & Gabrielle Sanz become close friends over a short time in a magical countryside where they learn that they may be more than just friends.
Playdurizm (Gem Deger, 2020)
5/10
Death Takes a Holiday (Mitchell Leisen, 1934)
6.5/10
The Day of Destruction (Toshiaki Toyoda, 2020)
5.5/10
Pleasure (Ninja Thyberg, 2021)
- 6.5/10

Explicit look at the LA porn industry, starring Sofia Kappel, who comes from Sweden and is attracted to what she sees as glamour and fame but repulsed by much of everything else.
__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page






Got tired of this always popping up in recommendations so I gave in and watched it and it's not too good. A girl kills herself because of a video of her that was posted online then as her friends have a video chat some thing hacks in and starts questioning them about it. The entire movie is watching stuff happen on a computer screen and I'm not a tech guy but a lot of it seemed pretty silly. I did kind of enjoy watching these jerks freak out on each other as it's revealed just how awful they all are to everybody. These are the kinds of people you want to see vacation at Eden Lake.



Screwed (2011)

I expected bad, as in, Craig Fairbrass bad ("you slaaaag") low budget British movie but was quite engaging. The semi-autobiographical tale of an ex-forces man that comes back and finds that the prison service is his best way of keeping up mortgage payments. Granted, some of the acting is a bit iffy, but, to tell the tale, it moves on at a great pace and does do that. I enjoyed if that's the word.




Victim of The Night


The Pirate, 1948

Manuela (Judy Garland) is a young woman living in a Spanish village and dreaming of being carried away by notorious pirate Macoco. Instead, she finds herself engaged to Don Pedro (Walter Slezak), a man with no desire to travel any further than his own front door. When traveling performer Serafin (Gene Kelly) rolls into town and falls for Manuela, he decides to pose as Macoco in order to win her affections, not thinking about the consequences of his deception.

The second Garland/Kelly pairing that I've seen, and this one is a fun little romp, lifted by a strong third act that makes up for some wobbly parts that come before it.

It won't shock anyone to find out that Garland and Kelly absolutely nail their time on screen as Manuela and Serafin. Honestly, the characters are not the best written, but both actors power through just by letting their natural talents shine. Kelly in particular is given several sequences to just strut his stuff, which really makes up for his character being a bit of a goober. Slezak is also good as the arrogant Don Pedro, whose pride becomes the greatest threat to Manuela's happiness.

The plot only really picks up steam in the last act, when Serafin is put on trial as the pirate Macoco and must figure out how to escape an inevitable hanging. There are some good plot turns along the way in the last 30 or so minutes, and it all comes to a very strong conclusion. There's one of those "how long will this go on?!" comedy bits involving Garland throwing various items at Kelly that's a pretty winning piece of slapstick.

Part of the last act is a show-stopping dance number with Kelly and the Nicholas Brothers. I was shocked (though I guess not surprised, sigh) to read that in many Southern states this sequence was simply cut because it featured Kelly dancing with two Black dancers. I mean, joke's on the racists for missing out the best five minutes of the whole movie, but it's still a bizarre thing to think about.

And while it doesn't show on screen, this was apparently a pretty horrible time for Judy Garland, who was frequently ill and suffering effects from the various medications she was on. I haven't written about it in my other reviews of her films, but each one is filled with such heartbreaking trivia about what she went through during her career and how it all just continued to snowball on her.

Overall this was a fun romp with some thin characterization but a satisfying conclusion.

I like this a little more than you do, I think, Kelly really just wins me over in everything he does to the degree that I doubt I could rate any film he's in, Xanadu not included, less than a 3.5//5 popcorns (if I ever rated anything).
I will not lie, I had actually forgotten Judy Garland was in the film. But that is, in part, because the only thing I ever really remember about this movie is the scene you mention with The Nicholas Brothers. This is, to me, the moment Fred Astaire died. And I mean that in a larger, more general sense. Kelly's dancing was incredibly athletic, in fact, I think that's what makes him arguably the most legendary screen-dancer of all time, he is the perfect conduit of an extraordinary mix of athleticism and grace. While I am routinely awed by Astaire's dancing, the things Kelly incorporates into his routines, and then executes, are simply in a different place, a newer, fresher place, than Astaire ever came to. When I think of the athletic dance scenes, particularly the big one everyone remembers, from Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, I wonder if there's a chance in hell it happens if Kelly doesn't come first.
But, the interesting part of the story is The Nicholas Brothers. Kelly's choreography on this number was considered particularly bracing, really at the edge of what people thought could be done. White people. When Kelly recruited The Nicholas Brothers, even he didn't understand how good they were, almost certainly both better than even him. Kelly worked very hard on the routine and during a rehearsal he felt one of the brothers (Harold, I think) was dragging ass and Kelley accused him of not knowing the number. But the truth was more interesting. Harold had no difficulty with the number (nor did Fayard) and was actually a bit bored. So, in response to Kelly's accusation, he performed the entire number by himself, flawlessly, in front of Kelly, leaving the legend speechless.
Also, sad that Lena Horne was cut from the film, I would love to have seen her in this.
Also sad that what was reportedly an incredible dance number between Kelly and Garland, "Voodoo", was cut from the film for being to overtly sexual.



Victim of The Night

By http://www.impawards.com/2021/last_n...soho_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62288483

Last Night in Soho - (2021)

For me, this started out as a real winner. The style, the attention to period detail, the colourful visuals and both Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy were bringing much enjoyment - and so was the screenplay and story. But, for me, the ending just wrecked it. Honestly, I'm sick of films thinking they have to pull a huge twist out every single damn time - because a lot of the time the twist is too silly. Here it basically took something away from a film that had me hooked, and one which was particularly beautiful. Edgar Wright is usually always producing something enjoyable for me, and here he was well on track with a kind of faux time travel, supernatural present day/60s London adventure for main character Eloise (McKenzie) - then, during the climax, I was thinking "this film stinks". But only then.

6/10
I think I'm having Haute Tension Syndrome with this film where I keep reading reviews from people who didn't like it nearly as much as my friends and I did, largely because of the ending. And just like with HT, I'm asking myself, "What was wrong with the ending?" I liked it, I thought it made perfect sense and fit the film, and everything resolved very nicely from a story that almost seemed at times like it couldn't resolve (which could also have been a cool, but different film). I thought the performance that the ending turns around was also really strong. And it put the film back into the giallo territory for me. I probably give the film a solid 8/10.



I like this a little more than you do, I think, Kelly really just wins me over in everything he does to the degree that I doubt I could rate any film he's in, Xanadu not included, less than a 3.5//5 popcorns (if I ever rated anything).
I will not lie, I had actually forgotten Judy Garland was in the film. But that is, in part, because the only thing I ever really remember about this movie is the scene you mention with The Nicholas Brothers.
The performance in this film is top notch.

But for me, overall, I struggle when there is such a gap between the quality of the performance (song, dance, etc) and the movie around it. Not that the movie around it is bad, per se, just that it pales so much.

Also, frankly, I didn't like the characters all that much. Garland's character with her pirate fetish and Kelly's "just sexually harass every woman over the age of 16 don't worry they love it" performer weren't all that fun to be around--when not performing--until the last act.



It's a fun movie, played mostly for camp and some laughs. The novel of the same name was written by Donald Hamilton, who wrote 27 Matt Helm mysteries. I think I read every one of them. Great reading if you haven't already sampled his novels. The novels are more serious, but very addicting..
I was reading about the novels after I watched the movie, interesting that the movies took a different approach in nature. I'll have a look, I'm on a bit of a spy kick at the moment
__________________