Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Miami Blues -

An early '90s crime story with Alec Baldwin as Junior, a thief who targets other crooks - think Omar in The Wire, but without the code - Jennifer Jason Leigh as Susie, a sweet, naive prostitute who falls for him and Fred Ward as Hoke, the detective who pursues them. It's an odd little movie that's very much a product of the Reagan & Bush era for how it posits that going home and being a family man has taken a backseat to lying, cheating and stealing your way to success. Besides a robbery comically and coincidentally occurring in pretty much every establishment Junior enters, you see it in his failed attempts to settle down with Susie and go straight. The movie is successful at making this point, but the comedy doesn't rise above sensible chuckle, so it doesn't succeed as a dark comedy, and the action is not bad, but not exciting enough for it to succeed as as a neo-noir. Like a lot of early '90s efforts from Orion pictures - remember Clifford? - it's a movie that is best described as curious. Oh, and that's not just because Susie makes something in it called vinegar pie.

The Hoke Moseley novels by Charles Willeford are really good. Miami Blues was his first and probably best but all four are worth reading.

Pacific Rim Uprising, 2018 (D)

Much, much, much weaker than the first one, regardless of what you think of the first one. Every scene between characters feels like any scene between any characters in any military movie you've ever seen. Every character arc is predictable to a T.

Overall, this is basically a fanfiction sequel of the first one. The difference is that the first movie had a thing. PF1 was inspired, just inspired and inspired by Japanese Kaiju movies, and driven forward by Del Toro's directing. This movie is entirely unremarkable in its directing, but more importantly, every single new element is the most obvious rip off you've ever seen of anything. Every new element is peeled right off of End Of Evangelion, complete with a Gendo replacement, the Mass Production Evas, and the exact same role they had in Evangelion, and the movie's own version of the Third Impact. It could have used all the same names and it would not have been more obvious.

The fights are weak and the movie makes itself too heavy for any of them to be actually fun.

I really like this movie.

I watched Come and See (1985) today. I had heard a lot about the film and had been wanting to watch it for a while. I had bought the Criterion blu ray but hadn't got around to watching it, so I'm glad someone nominated it for me. Masterfully directed by Elem Klimov, this powerful drama is about a boy named Flyora who joins the Soviet resistance and witnesses and experiences the horrors and brutality of war and the evil that humanity is capable of. Aleksey Kravchenko is excellent as Flyora and gives a hauntingly intense performance. The cinematography is really well done and very effective. Come and See is a captivating and engaging film, disturbing and unforgettable, an essential film. It's not an easy watch, but I'm glad I experienced it. My rating is a high .

Normally with films I like, there are maybe one or two images/moments that come to mind when I think of them.

With Come and See, it's like a tidal wave of images, all of them attached to strong emotions.

Loving Vincent, 2017

In this film, filmed with live actors and then each frame hand-painted and animated, a young man named Armand (Douglas Booth) is tasked by his father (Chris O'Dowd) with delivering a note from Vincent Van Gogh to his brother, Theo. Theo has since passed away, and Armand must figure out who to give the letter to. Along the way he encounters various people who interacted with Van Gogh in the time before his death, including his doctor (Jerome Flynn) and some of the locals.

The movie itself is absolutely gorgeous. I know that some people are not fans of rotoscoping (filming live actors then drawing over them), but I do not mind it and I think it gives some neat opportunities for creativity. In this case, the use of paintings in Van Gogh's style was a cool touch.

I also loved the conceit of the film--someone having conversations with all these different people and coming to understand the various relationships and interactions that defined Van Gogh's final year of life.

I think that what I found most touching--and something that has always touched me when it comes to Van Gogh--is the way that you get the sense of the struggle in Van Gogh's life. He dealt with mental health issues all of his adulthood, and the tragedies in his life came despite his efforts to deal with them. So often, it is tempting to treat the eccentricities of artists as these fun little stories. But here you really get the sense of the pain that he endured and the way that those around him, especially Theo, tried to offer him support.

I really enjoy films that are biographical but focus on a very specific time period. I thought that this film was very moving and visually engaging. The acting is solid, and the longer it went on, the more I felt myself drawn into it.

Otomo, 1999

In 1989, a man who was being hunted by the police wound up in a confrontation that ended badly (keeping that vague to avoid spoilers). This film imagines what his day may have been like between the incident that incited the manhunt and that final confrontation. Otomo (Isaach De Bankole) is an immigrant to Germany, having come from Liberia. Living on very little money, his situation is complicated by the limitations of his temporary passport which keeps him from getting even a minimum wage job. After encountering repeated incidents of racism all day, Otomo is finally pushed over the edge when a train inspector (possibly falsely) accuses him of riding on a bad ticket.

A Black man committing (or possibly not even committing!) a minor crime and having the weight of the police come down on him has become something of a refrain of many stories in the US in the last few years--something that has always happened but has particularly come to the forefront as more frequently there are witnesses able to take video footage of the encounters. So it is fascinating and jarring to see so many of those same notes in a German film from 20 years ago.

What I liked about the film was the way that it shows that while people are complicated, the system (and especially the justice system) under which they live is not. There are people who are racist to Otomo and there are people who are kind--sometimes incredibly kind--to him, but there is no question that the overall system is decidedly stacked against him. And even some of those who are sympathetic choose not to contradict their friends or partners. For example, Otomo's "crime" is riding the subway on a ticket the inspector says is not good. His partner, however, says she thinks the ticket is good. Yet when he tells her to call the police (at this point Otomo is just trying to get off the train), she does. When the man tries to block Otomo repeatedly from exiting and grabs him, Otomo headbutts the man. Later when the file the report for the assault, the woman again notes that the ticket was actually good, something she keeps to herself as they are interviewed by the police. Of the two officers who end up in pursuit of Otomo, one has these grand visions of hunting him down (peppered with racist or borderline racist remarks), and while his partner is clearly uncomfortable, he does nothing to stop it.

This film could be said to be on Otomo's side, but it doesn't glamorize his acts of violence. When Otomo strikes out at those around him, it is because he is cornered. He is already living life on the edge. What will it do to his chances to earn money or get a job if he is arrested? It is a situation where even the best choice is a bad one, and you can understand why making a run for it might seem like the right thing to try. The film also shows that Otomo is willing to use intimidation to get what he wants. It's a kind of circular path. Everyone acts afraid of him, so why not use that? In one of the film's more direct moments, Otomo is by the water when a little girl offers him a flower in a direct lift from the sequence in Frankenstein. It speaks to how many in the society see him---as a danger and a monster before he even says a word or moves an inch. His actions are his choice, of course, but the fear he feels as he is cornered by 5 white police officers on a bridge is palpable. So much about the staging had echoes of the George Floyd footage that I felt very emotional watching it.

I really like Isaach De Bankole (especially after watching him in The Limits of Control), and he creates a very nuanced character here, often walking the line between charismatic and threatening. You get the sense of a man who wants to live a good, uncomplicated life, but who has been pushed past a breaking point.

As with any "based on a true story" film, you have to take everything with a grain of salt. I actually admired that Frieder Schlaich, who wrote and directed, resisted adding sequences that would seem to push you one way or the other. He shows both kind and inappropriate behavior from Otomo. To me it felt very even-handed, and most of the fictionalization seems to come from other characters who are intended to reflect the way that different people (employers, public servants, everyday citizens) react and respond to someone who is different. I saw the film not so much as trying to tell the "real" story, as examining the social dynamics that lead to such tragedies.

This film only has a handful of ratings on IMDb. I had never heard of it before, but I would highly recommend it.

I watched Father of the Bride (1950) on dvd. I enjoyed it. It was a charming and pleasant film. Spencer Tracy did a good job and Elizabeth Taylor looked beautiful. My rating is a .

So do I. It's elegiac. There's an element of melancholy running throughout.

Akelarre (2020)
aka Coven

A theater-like film about a group of girls, who are accused of witchcraft by an inquisitor. Not a proper historical drama, not exploitation, and certainly not horror. Very little to keep me interested (there's the "spider-walk" scene with nice side boop, though).

__________________

1st Re-watch...Pretty sure it was the longest gap between a film and its sequel (54 years), but for some reason this sequel seemed to be something that was going to happen sooner or later, but it was a bit of a disappointment. Honestly, I couldn't be truly objective because the 1964 film is my favorite movie of all time, but fans of that film will notice that the basic structure of the screenplay for this film is pretty much identical. Rob Marshall and company couldn't really decide if they were doing a sequel or a remake and that's why the film is occasionally frustrating, especially for fans of the original. I actually think people who have never seen the original film will enjoy this film more. Admittedly she is no Julie Andrews, but there isn't anyone else who could have taken on the daunting task of replacing Julie Andrews but Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda is a lot of fun as Jack. And I LOVED Ben Whishaw as the adult Michael Banks. This is also the first film since Chicago where Marshall got to show off his skills as a choreographer...that "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" number is brilliant.

Wreck-It Ralph introduces us to a world inside and "behind" classic arcade games. A world where video game characters travel from game to game and mingle in a surge protector that acts like a "train" station to each game. When Ralph, the "bad guy" in a game called Fix-It Felix, Jr. gets tired of rejection, he sets out to win a medal in another game, any game, to prove to the residents of his game that he can be a hero.

My main issue with the film comes up in the last act. The motivations of King Candy and the "twist revelation" about Vanellope ends up feeling like an unnecessary deus-ex-machina, and it ultimately muddles what seemed to be the main message of the film of accepting outcasts for who they are, which Ralph proudly proclaims in the end ("there's no one I'd rather be than me"). Unfortunately, in order to be accepted and "win" her place, Vanellope is forced to become someone else which feels like a betrayal.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

__________________

You see, poor people who are nice were really rich people all along!!

Huh. I never even thought of that. That’s pretty interesting.
Overall, I felt the same about it as you did, minus that insightful revelation.

Murder, My Sweet (1944)

i was gonna watch this movie when it first release and everytime i see the poster it wanted me to watch it soon

I saw this in the theater in its day. Enjoyed it but have never tried it again. Maybe I'll give it a spin.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (aka Night Warning), 1981

Billy (Jimmy McNichol) is adopted at the age of 4 by his aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell) after his parents are killed in a horrific car accident. Fourteen years later, Billy is a senior in high school and thinking about going away to college with his girlfriend Julie (Julia Duffy). Aunt Cheryl has grown overly (and very unhealthily) attached to Billy, and she becomes emotionally disturbed, eventually killing a repairman who refuses her advances. Billy becomes the main suspect in the killing, pursued by the aggressively homophobic Detective Carlson (Bo Svenson).

I have heard this title before, but had always dismissed it as just another dopey 80s film with a 10/10 title that would probably be a 6/10 experience. Much to my surprise, I borderline loved this movie.

To begin with, Billy is a likable protagonist, as is his girlfriend. He comes across as a pretty normal teenager, but one who is moral when it counts. When Carlson decides that the killing is all part of some gay murder plot (more about this later), Cheryl tells Billy that gay men are all "sick", and Billy stands up for the person he cares about. Billy has only ever been raised by his aunt, and the film does a good job of of showing a kid who believes his life is normal. It doesn't occur to him that most kids aren't awakened by someone purring like a cat and running their hands over your unclothed body. And the film makes a wise choice in giving Billy two other decent characters--girlfriend Julie and his basketball coach (Steve Linden)--to provide a counterbalance to the extreme behavior from Cheryl. It all makes Billy feel more real and makes it easier to root for him.

The film does a nice job of pushing this inappropriate intimacy in several scenes. And, wisely, it's mostly done as something that we the viewer notice, but does not register for the characters. Cheryl is constantly touching, kissing, or holding onto Billy. And while he does not reciprocate, he does not pull away from the attention--it is his normal. In one sequence Billy and Cheryl argue . . . as Billy stands naked in front of the shower. The whole thing lends an uncomfortable air, and it is interesting to see a younger male character on the receiving end of the more exploitative portrayal.

And then there's the detective. This, to me, is the brilliance of the film. Cheryl is unhinged. And from the beginning it isn't hard to see that she is the antagonist of the film . . . until Detective Carlson walks into the frame. Right from the get go, Carlson rubbed me the wrong way. Cheryl claims the repair man tried to rape her, something that Carlson sees through immediately. But it's the way that he dismisses her allegations, and the utterly callous attitude he takes toward the whole thing that is off. Then, when he discovers that the victim was a gay man, he hones in on Billy and crafts a bonkers theory about Billy and the repairman being gay lovers. Carlson might be right that Cheryl is lying, but his main interest doesn't seem to be in finding the truth. He just wants to punish--hurt--everyone who he thinks deserves it. In one scene, which has nothing to do with the main plot, we see Carlson bring in a Mexican suspect. He forces the man to sit on the floor, then points his gun in the man's face. Carlson is a homophobic, racist bully. Some films would have him be the lovable grouch, but this film recognizes him as the danger he really is. It is a frightening performance, and it adds to the danger because the person who in theory would help Billy is so blinded by hatred that he is more likely to do harm than good. (Sidenote: Keep an eye out for a young Bill Paxton as one of Billy's basketball teammates who is more than ready to jump on the gay-bashing bandwagon).

This is my favorite kind of horror film, something along the lines of Brain Damage, where you have an over the top story (with many MANY elements that, on paper, would sound ridiculous) that still manages to retain a human element. I cared about Billy, Julie, and coach Landers. And the more the film piled on absurdities and improbabilities, the more interested I was in seeing them through the storm.

So, yeah, this is my kind of film. I'm sure someone somewhere has complaints about this movie, but I dug it from opening credits to ending credits. It is over the top and full of ridiculous 80s-style bloodletting with decapitated heads and severed limbs and more blood splatter than you can shake a stick at, but all with a beating human heart at the center. It's blatant condemnation of homophobia--especially within the horror genre--feels ahead of its time. Highly recommended, especially for horror fans.

__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page