Rate The Last Movie You Saw

I really enjoyed that movie. Of course it didn't hurt that the painting itself is one of my favorites. I think Johansson looks uncannily like the real subject of the painting.

Colin Firth is superb as Vermeer, and the photography and direction were first rate.

Little Girl (2020) A beautiful and honest documentary about a little girl and her family. It's compelling and well filmed. Sasha is adorable.

I don't know if I've ever seen this picture! What a cast! And wasn't Lucille Ball knockout gorgeous! I'll definitely check this one out. Cheers.

Boundin' follows a Lamb that enjoys dancing and showing off in the middle of a North American plain. However, when humans take him and shear its wool, the Lamb finds itself sad and without confidence. That is until a joyful jackalope comes and cheers the Lamb with a song which includes the above quote.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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Framed as a story told by a witch (Julie Walters), The Legend of Mor'du tells the story of four brothers inheriting control of the kingdom of their deceased father. But like the above quote hints, the eldest son became greedy, thus leading the brothers to fight against each other.

It is just now that I realized that this short is tied to Brave, a film I haven't seen. Regardless of that tie-in, I thought it worked marvelously well on its own. Putting aside the comical bookends with the witch (which I suppose might work better within the context of the feature), I found the legend interesting and I really liked its dark tones.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

Douglas Sirk was the director so it was filmed beautifully when something that interests his eye such as a glamorous lady is in the shot.

Set during the events of Up, George and A.J. follows the two retirement home nurses that come to pick up Carl Fredricksen. As they witness the old man's house rise up tied to hundreds of balloons, the two are left dumbfounded. But just as they're about to go back to work, they have to deal with other elderly people trying to imitate Carl's escapade.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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No Man of Her Own - (1950)

A bit of identity theft in this film noir drama featuring Barbara Stanwyck as Helen Ferguson, an unmarried mother with few prospects until a massive train wreck occurs just as she's trying on the ring of another passenger, Patrice Harkness (Phyllis Thaxter). Hospital staff assume the ring is hers, and as luck would have it, the Harkness family had yet to meet their son's new wife - so Helen plays along. It's not long before her past begins to catch up with her however, leading to murder. This film is all Stanwyck's - nobody else really stands out much, so she carries the load by herself, fussing and worrying over every mistake she makes - and she makes many. Doesn't know her husband's favourite tune (of course), starts signing her name "Helen" before catching herself a little too late, accidentally mentions living in a place she's never meant to have been. First and foremost - she wants a life for her baby son - at any cost. Based on Cornell Woolrich's novel I Married a Dead Man, it's a decent watch without being spectacular.

6/10


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The Holy Mountain - (1973)

Surreal, Luis Buñuel-like trip about a group of industrialists and a guy that looks like Jesus searching for enlightenment by following a powerful alchemist (played by director Jodorowsky) - fascinating and freaky. Review here, on my watchlist thread.

9/10


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Il Sorpasso - (1962)

Classic Italian film about a couple of newfound friends taking a road trip through Italy - fast and fun. Review here, on my watchlist thread.

8/10

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In a World... (2013)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

2nd Rewatch...Was actually surprised as how this 40 + years old movie held up. This story of a young naval cadet (Richard Gere) in denial about his military legacy who deals with it by attending naval training school and finds himself locking horns with a tough as nails drill sergeant (Louis Gossett Jr) and a romance with a sexy factory worker (Debra Winger). Gere turns in a real Paul Newman movie star performance that made him an official movie star and works well with Winger. Gossett's performance won him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, though I think the performance is kind of one note. I also think one of the easiest movie characters to pull off is the "tough as nails drill sergeant". Personally, I think the supporting actor Oscar that year should have gone to Robert Preston, for his completely against type performance in Victor/Victoria. Mention should also be made of David Keith, memorable as Gere's BFF whose priorities get screwed up thanks to a manipulative girl named Lynette (Lisa Blount).

1st Rewatch....After watching the four original films the first time, I rated 3 as the next best after the original, but the rewatch of this one made me rethink that. This one really brings back the tongue in cheek element to the story that was definitely missing from 2 and not as prominent in 3. This film really brought the franchise full circle to the first film, evidenced by the brilliant re-imagining of the opening and closing scenes that I didn't notice the first time. Courtney Cox is just ferocious as Gail Weathers in this one, but I was disappointed that this film made Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette) look like a moron, but I can't lie, this one had me on the edge of my chair.

2nd Rewatch...Definitely in my top ten Woody Allen movies. This film reunited Woody with Diane Keaton for the first time in years when the whole Soon Yi thing exploded and Mia Farrow couldn't work with Woody anymore. Woody and Diane play Larry and Carol, married upwardly mobiles who have coffee with their elderly neighbors, Paul and Lillian House (Jerry Adler, Lynn Cohen) one night and then learn that the wife had a heart attack the next day and died. A little later, Carol sees the wife on a bus and begins investigating the possible that the husband might have murdered the wife. Throw in Larry and Carol's recently divorced BFF, Ted (Alan Alda) who has been crushing for Carol for years and Marcia (Angelica Huston) a woman Larry is teaching how to play poker and you have all the ingredients for another loopy Allen comedy. Woody's writing and direction are a boxed set here as his direction having characters talk over each other makes the screenplay appear improvised and though research revealed that there are improvised moments in the film, it is mostly scripted and it is too Allen's credit that it doesn't appear that way.

New home video purchase...



Requiescant (Carlo Lizzani / 1967)

I had read good things about this in Alex Cox's book about Spaghetti Westerns called 10,000 Ways To Die. I was sufficiently intrigued by Cox's summary of the film, so I decided to check it out. And I'm glad I did!

Lou Castel plays Requiescant, a gunslinger who as a child was the survivor of the massacre of a group of Mexican villagers by Confederate soldiers, led by the evil aristocrat George Bellow Ferguson (Mark Damon). He eventually falls in with a rebellion of Mexican peasants led by a priest named Juan (Pier Paolo Pasolini - yes, that one!) and plots to avenge the death of his half-sister Princy and of the villagers killed by Ferguson's forces.

Well-directed by the talented Carlo Lizzani and well-acted by the participants, this is a very unique, intelligent and pointedly politicized take on very familiar Spaghetti tropes. There is a really cool showdown between Requiescant and one of Ferguson's henchman, involving a hangman's rope and footstools, quite similar to a scene in Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966) but less one-sided!

Strongly recommended.

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"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid." - Clint Eastwood as The Stranger, High Plains Drifter (1973)

LOVED this movie

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Persepolis - (2007)

Persepolis is a really bittersweet remembrance from Marjane Satrapi about growing up in Iran - from the Shah's reign to the revolution and the crackdown on personal freedoms which followed - particularly pertaining to women. We see all of this via animation that is in a similar style to that of the graphic novel it's based on. Marjane is an endlessly curious child, and even at a really young age yearns to be politically active. Members of her family have been executed or are serving terms in prison, and what's ironic about this early period of her life is that after the revolution, these same relatives are arrested all over again - one despotic regime taking over from another. Life is hard growing up in a country where Islamic Fundamentalists are in power, and then there's the war with Iraq - but amongst this are personal anecdotes, teenage rebellion and heartbreaking stories relating to love and loss. Persepolis manages to be both down to earth and amazing at the same time, with plenty of comedy and wit. It's not to be missed - I hadn't seen it in many years.

8/10


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Game Change - (2012)

It was a landmark moment in American politics that exposed a system in deep trouble. Looking for a popular Vice Presidential candidate for John McCain's faltering presidential campaign, Republican strategist Steve Schmidt and McCain's team brought in Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska - someone who's various anti-abortion and creationist stances would excite the base. Trouble was, their vetting process was hurried, and they missed the fact that Palin was unqualified and lacking in the knowledge and understanding high office requires. These faults were quickly exposed by the press during interviews - leading to controversy, and a campaign dogged by that singular issue : this woman could become president, despite knowing nearly nothing about world affairs, finance, sociology or diplomacy. Game Change is a straight retelling of this story based on what happened when it happened, and it makes for fascinating viewing - especially today, with the American system teetering on the brink of disaster. Anyone can become president, if popular enough - and that's the problem.

7/10


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A Shot in the Dark - (1964)

Crazy stuff - this was never meant to be an Inspector Clouseau movie, but became one nevertheless and the results aren't bad - mostly because of a terrific performance form Peter Sellers (perhaps the most talented comedian of his day.) The story boils down to half a dozen or so affairs occurring at the same time and in the same house - where all the while it looks like Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer) keeps murdering people. Clouseau (Sellers) believes in her innocence - simply because he's fallen in love with her - but this Inspector has a habit of clumsily stumbling into the truth, along with everything else. The magic is still there - despite the fighting between Sellers and director Blake Edwards. Really funny stuff - I can't remember ever having seen this before, and so it's was something of a surprise for me. I've never been a great Clouseau fan - but this was impressive.

7/10


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Terrified - (2017)

Well made Argentinian horror film that somewhat lacks cohesion. My review for it is here, on my watchlist thread.

6/10

We'll see how this one goes. So far, in all of the various movies that used Dracula as a character, nobody has actually done a movie that's much like Bram Stoker's book, even including the one called Bram Stoker's Dracula.

This one is The Last Voyage of the Demeter. It goes to the first chapter of the book when a ship (the Demeter) drifts into a small port in England with nothing on board but a bunch of boxes of dirt. Most of us know that nothing good comes of this since it is a Dracula story. Stoker's book is much darker than the nearly comical movies that were made out of it.

So far, so good. Decent videography and props, good, unknown actors, and a compelling plot that resembles the beginning of the book.

Young Adult (2011)

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Rewatch after a few years and still as powerful and bloody-minded as I remember. Can't think of any thing that would improve this story. The acting is magnificent and the settings wonderful. Add to that a career best performance from Warren Oates and a rock solid script and screenplay.
Every once in a while.......

Hawa (2022) This is the second film from Maïmouna Doucouré, director of the excellent and controversial film Cuties. Hawa is about a teen girl whose grandmother is terminally ill and so she hopes to be adopted by Michelle Obama. I watched it today on Prime. It features a wonderful performance by Sania Halifa and is an interesting and enjoyable gem.