Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Drive away dolls is probably not my genre but I found the main protagonist really irritating, I'm getting old I suppose

That's fine, I thought it was ridiculous on two counts: lesbian sex and what was in the luggage. The journey was fine even though the whole story doesn't make sense.

I do like quirky films, for instance My Own Private Idaho. Agreed the journey was fine but the characters needed more depth in my view.

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire - Saw it last night....not surprisingly, I was underwhelmed. I was not interested in other movies that were showing and my expectations of this umpteenth iteration were minimal. Yes, it IS possible to undershoot minimal expectations. Some old cast members are there, mainly being familiar and filling costumes, along with some new ones. Nobody stands out very much. As for the ghosts, they were competently rendered, but obviously also on their 5th iteration They didn't even have an appealing cover of the song. That would have cheered up the audience.

One of my favorite parts of the first movie was how it fit right into the New York streets and general feel. I've spent a lot of time in some of those locations and the original GB is one of my favorites in a personal genre "New York Movies".

Over the years, aside from remakes, animations and spin-offs, we've seen videos, halloween costumes, toy proton packs and GOK what else, showing up especially around Halloween. I've seen small buses in the Big Apple, selling Ghostbuster tours and any reasonably competent Times Square tourist junk shop has a whole shelf full of branded kid stuff of dubious provenance.

The theater audience yesterday was about 1/3 young kids, who have been raised on all this stuff, but there wasn't much excitement. Sadly, as franchises go, this seems comparable to when the Three Stooges had "Curly Joe".

Road House (2024)

This was quite an enjoyable romp with a lot of touches referring to the original. I thought Gyllenhall did a good job as Dalton but the casting of Conor McGregor was iffy even though funny. To my mind we never saw enough of Dalton in the club being the "Cooler" though Jake does a good job in portraying it. Good watch.

Easily one of the best coming-of-age stories of the last few years, Snack Shack is a movie that's phenomenally hard to resist, and that leaves you with a warm afterglow long after the credits have rolled.
It is reportedly a semi-autobiographical film, and it definitely has the feel of something that's largely based on real experiences, however deftly they may have been embellished in the process.
The cast is full of young faces - Conor Sherry and Gabriel LaBelle play the two best buddies around whose adventures the movie revolves - and Mika Abdalla is a standout as the sexy young lady next door who doesn't mind romancing both of the boys (but she only really likes one of them)
The movie makes the most of its Nebraska locations, and the period detail is just about right (the film is set in 1991).

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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. - (2023)

Sometimes it's the casting that makes a movie. Young Abby Ryder Fortson is the one-in-a-million choice to play Margaret Simon in this 70s-set coming of age comedy, and it was her facial expressions that had me laughing most of the time. She needs no exaggeration for comedic effect - they're just so very honest, and appear absolutely real. So how could this film bomb? It's one that really shouldn't have (although I confess to having grabbed it quite late, for free on Amazon.) It's far outside my comfort zone - being about all of the things important to an 11-year-old girl - but Abby Ryder Fortson sold it, and she along with director Kelly Fremon Craig deserve all of the praise. I can't believe I watched and liked a film about boyfriends, bras, getting your first period, fun times with gran, secret clubs and first kisses - and actually liked it. Impeccable comedic timing and a really winsome family dynamic make this a nice break from zombies, jail breaks, aliens and alcoholism.

7/10


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American Fiction - (2023)

It took me a little longer than last year, but I've finally seen all the Best Picture Oscar-nominated films regarding the 2024 Awards. This was the one I thought I'd like the least - and I indeed liked it the least. I don't think it was lacking - it just wasn't my kind of thing. I thought it was interesting that less than half of the film was devoted to the central idea it's built around - a black author writing a "joke" novel regarding a stereotypical style and manner - and for that book to be a runaway success, because it's what white readers enjoy reading. Instead we dive in deep regarding author Dr. Thelonious "Monk" Ellison's (Jeffrey Wright) family. Made for a good drama, with moments of good comedy - and I thought it was fine. There was substance to it. Almost too much substance to have the more wacky element of Ellison pretending to be some gangster figure in it. Anyway, I respect it despite the disparity in tone.

6/10


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Bellissima - (1951)

When little Maria passes a first audition her extraordinarily high-strung mother, Maddalena (Anna Magnani) starts to obsess about the possibilities, making the girl scared, miserable and often humiliated. Part comedy, part heart-rending neorealist drama - and pretty good. Full review here, in my watchlist thread.

8/10


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Ariel - (1988)

When Taisto (Turo Pajala) lands in prison after beating up the guy who robbed him of his life savings he decides to escape his cell, and the country that let him down in an economic and societal way. An Aki Kaurismäki film (one of his best) - with characters as deadpan as always. Full review here, in my watchlist thread.

8/10

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Andy the Talking Hedgehog (2018) Watched on Tubi. Yes, this is a real movie and I really watched it. This is bad, but I liked it. The dialogue is ridiculous, the hedgehog is cute and I laughed a lot. If you like talking animals, cheerleaders, and Dean Cain, then this is the (bad, yet amusing) movie for you!

Byl jednou jeden Polda (1995) - 9 / 10 . It is Czech version of "Police Academy".

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Unknown Country (2022)

We’re told that we’re living in the ‘golden age of TV’ or the ‘Golden age of film’. I say we’re living in a golden age of cinematography. Andrew Hajek’s photography here is stunning. He captures the landscape of the Midwest all the way down to Texas as we follow Lily Gladstone’s character Tana, on a roadtrip to find a spot where her late Grandmother was photographed.

It’s clearly a personal film from writer director Morissa Maltz, and a very beautiful one. There’s not a great deal of plot to speak of. Just a journey. Gladstone is pretty great and very natural, and I’m sure this performance went some way in cementing her casting in Scorsese’s Killer of the Flower Moon. It reminded me of early Chloe Zhao films.

Bullitt (1968)

Just cool as heck. McQueen was such an icon. San Francisco and the car chase may be what this film is predominantly known for but it’s way more than that. Sharp dialogue and a clever twist play a part too.

And Michael Mann completely ripped the airport scene off for the climax of H.E.A.T.

Spaceman - (2024)

Main plot of the movie kinda scaped my grasp of understanding, but I did like it.I prefer this version of Sandler, instead of the Jack and Jill and Zohan version... yikes!!

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Arkansas (2020)

That was a good movie. No complaints.

8/10

The Simpsons Movie (2007)


I thought it was time to try and introduce my daughter to some of the characters and humor in The Simpsons, as she mainly watches Netflix and Youtube content these days. The show has been very hit-and-miss over the years, but the movie remains hilarious to me.

The Last Duel (2021)

I would've hated to see this in the theater. A prolongued rape scene, played twice in its entirety... a lot of jumping around in the timeline, other scene repeats. If you recut this into chronological non-repeats it would be 30 minutes shorter. But luckily I got a skip button and didnt get that much into the uncomfortable stuff. Without the jumping repeats it would be a good +1-+1.5 higher in my rating.

From a historical point of view, all the costumes and sets and all that, there's no way it can't be authentic after decades of Hollywood examination. So from that point of view, if you love medieval plays its very lavish and accurate and spares no expense.

7/10

Nico, 1988 -

If the sex, drugs and rock & roll of the late '60s took their toll on anyone, it was singer/actress/model Christa Päffgen, better known as Nico. If you also interpret Eyes Wide Shut as being one half fantasy and one half crushing reality, this movie is all the latter, save for the occasional flashback. Movies like this one perish if their lead performances are not believable, which is not a problem here since Trine Dyrholm is more than up to the task. She ably portrays Nico as someone whose demons are this close to winning and who is wrestling with her legacy. I especially like how she expresses her boredom and frustration with the many interviewers who only want to talk about her (limited) time with The Velvet Underground instead of her much more extensive solo career. Dyrholm also nails Nico's unique vocal style, I might add. I went in hoping this movie would cover her relationship with her son, Christian (a very good Sandor Funtek), and while I wish it did more, I approve of what's there. If anything, it succeeds at making his troubled life the consequences of Nico's own. I was also impressed by John Gordon Sinclair's work as audience surrogate/Nico's manager and the historical accuracy, especially during Nico and her band's unfortunate experience in communist Czechoslovakia.

If anything sticks out like a sore thumb here, it’s that the dialogue is a bit too functional. The direction emphasizes showing over telling, which I do not have a problem with, but character development is limited as a result. While I walked away from this knowing more about Nico and Christian than I did before, I cannot say the same for anyone else. The movie still stands as a latter-years depiction of one of the most interesting people and artists of the ‘60s that satisfies for how honest and sympathetic it is. It’s also bound to either ignite a musical obsession or rekindle one even if you’re a die-hard fan.

You've seen a LOT of my favorites lately and have enjoyed reading your full reviews. "Bellissima" is very current, with the child-star stuff, and one of my favorite Visconti movies.. "Ariel" was the first movie I saw by Kaurismaki -- big fan of Matti Pellonpaa

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I was kind of hoping this movie would be diabolically clever - and as far as this type of movie goes, it's pretty good, actually.
The "found footage" genre find new life with this clever film from Cameron and Colin Cairnes, in which a "master tape" is discovered from a fateful late-night show broadcast live on Halloween in 1977.
David Dastmalchian plays the late show host of Night Owls with Jack Delroy, which in this fictional universe finds itself embroiled in a heated ratings race at a time when Johnny Carson still reigned supreme.
To reveal more about plot details would be... a wicked thing to do, so I won't.
But the film works as more than just a horror film, having some clever ideas on things like the price of fame, the overall exploitative nature of reality-based television, and the place where the US was in the late 70s (the Cairnes brothers are Australian, and this movie, although set in the US, was filmed Down Under).
Try to catch it in cinemas if you can, before it goes to Shudder sometime next month - the movie can really come alive with the right audience!

1st Rewatch...I'm a total celebrity documentary junkie and this one is one of the best. This heartbreaking look at the rock and roll icon's amazing life and career is mesmerizing. One of the few celebrity documentaries where I felt the subject wasn't holding anything back. The saddest part of her story is not so much the hell that she went through with Ike Turner, but the fact that even after she got away from Ike, nobody would ever allow her to forget it. I have three favorite scenes in this film: One is an interview with Ike, whose being interviewed about Tina's solo record with Phil Spector and Tina is seated next to him not saying a word, but her face is speaking volumes. Two is the press conference with Angela Bassett for the biopic What's Love Got to Do with It where she explains why she hasn't seen the film yet, and three is her reply when a reporter asks her what she hopes Ike is doing right now. Also loved her take on the Beatles classic "Help" and loved seeing her arrive at opening night of the Broadway musical produced about her.

5th Rewatch...I don't know that it is necessarily a better film than Goodfellas, but it has become one of those films that I never tire of re-watching. I love the initial ambiguity of the relationship between Ace (Robert De Niro) and Nicky (Joe Pesci) that eventually turns very ugly and Sharon Stone's dazzling performance as Ginger, that earned her her first and only Oscar nomination doesn't hurt. The quickest three hours in cinema.