Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Having read the book, I had no interest in checking out the film unless it got really good reviews. I really struggle to imagine how to translate a story that relies so strongly on subjective point of view and the plot point of all the telepathy into something good on screen.

It's a shame, because it's a great book. I hope the middling film doesn't dissuade people from checking out the novel.

The system works!


lol yeah a lot of the reviews I read on Letterboxd called him out.


I can't hate him only because the actor who played him was also the voice of Alfred in Batman: The Animated Series, but he was definitely the weakest part of the movie. Luckily he's not present for the bulk of the proceedings.

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Billy Liar - (1963)

William Terrence Fisher (Tom Courtenay) is a very unusual fictional protagonist - chances are you'll find him insufferable. He's immature for his age, lies incessantly to make himself out to be more than he is, has two fiancés, steals from his employer, and is often lost in his own fantasy world. An encouraging word from a famous British comedian has him thinking he's off to London to become a scriptwriter - but something has to happen to wake this boy up. This black and white film is sumptuously and brilliantly shot, interestingly directed by John Schlesinger, who would later go to America to make Midnight Cowboy and well acted by all - but especially Courtenay. It features the beautiful and talented Julie Christie in one of her early roles and is based on 1959 novel of the same name by Keith Waterhouse. The fantasy sequences are great, but the whole film feels assured and very, very intelligent. I'm glad I crossed paths with it.

8/10


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The Painted Veil - (2006)

This is the first version of The Painted Veil I've seen, so it has the advantage of being fresh and new to me (although, it's kind of ironic I'm saying that because I've seen this version before and was watching it for the second time.) It really gains a lot of traction during it's second half, when the relationship between Walter (Edward Norton) and Kitty Fane (Naomi Watts) has much history behind it, and they only really start appreciating each other for the first time. Set mostly in China during a cholera epidemic, it's part love story, part historical epic, and has a lot of visual power behind it. It has really held up well for me, and I enjoyed watching it again.

7/10


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The Heat - (2013)

I'd seen parts of this before, and it looked really funny - and while the film definitely does have it's moments I thought it was a little too one-note to sustain it's running time for me. I became a little tired of the schtick after 45 minutes or so, and it doesn't have a story that can help to maintain interest. Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock are funny and make a great team, but the film industry doesn't make very compelling comedies for the most part.

5/10

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Sorry, but you can hate him.

Every time Susy was like "Oh, Sam! SAM!" I was like "Girl, what's he going to do for you? Tell you to feel your way to a policeman on your own?"

He disappears for 90% of the movie.Absence makes the heart grow fonder (from outright hatred to mild annoyance).

I don’t even remember Sam. I do recall loving the movie. I hereby declare that Sam does not exist and the movie remains a near perfect thriller.

"Mama don't like no tattletale."

Solid 7/10

The Naked Spur (1953)

That, for sure, is GREAT news! Hope he plays a big role and I really wish his career to get bigger after it. He deserves.

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“We can destroy what we have written, but we cannot unwrite it.”

I was sorely disappointed by this. I'd heard it was such a good comedy, a recent best for both performers, yadda yadda, and so I decided I was intrigued enough to actually BUY it (the only way it was available at the time).
And now every time I see it in my "Purchased" queue on iTunes I am filled with the sense of having been completely duped and ripped-off.
A very mediocre, by the numbers, seen it before a thousand times comedy with neither performer acting one centimeter outside of their dead-center comfort zone and schtick.
Pretty much just a waste of time.

The cast is just an action junky dream right now:

Donnie Yen
Hiroyuki Sanada
Scott Adkins
Marko Zaror
Clancy Brown

Just hitting all the fan favorite nostalgia hits, from 80s Cannon, Hong Kong, Japan to DTV… the amount of talent on display (from actors that will believably be able to go toe to toe with Wick) is astounding.

This is probably the only western release I'm looking forward right now. Seeing Mark Dacascos, Cecelia Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian in Chapter 3 was so damn good. They can bring Tony Jaa for the ultimate cast.

I’m shocked they Iko Uwais, given that he worked with Keanu in Man of Tai Chi.

I think Jaa, Uwais and Michael Jai White are probably the only glaring omissions in the franchise at this point. Chan and Yeoh don’t quite fit the tone. Maybe Jet Li and Sammo Hung? Guess they gotta leave talent for sequels.

Jai White is a great nameto be in the JW franchise. Uwais is attached to a lot of projects, maybe he is without time (he's recent films were awnful, unfortunally). Jet Li and Sammo fits well. Not sure if Yanin "Jeeja" Vismitananda is still going, but she would be a great cast too.

5 Against the House - 1955 caper film starring Guy Madison, Brian Keith, Kerwin Matthews, Alvy Moore and Kim Novak. I thought I was paying close enough attention but I'm still not sure if all four men are vets attending college on the GI Bill or just Al Mercer (Madison) and Brick (Keith). It is established early on that Brick saved Al's life in Korea and is obviously suffering from some form of PTSD.

While on a break from their studies the four visit Reno, Nevada and stop at Harold's Club casino. Ronnie (Matthews) and Roy (Moore) are inadvertently dragged into another patron's robbery attempt but eventually exonerated. After being told by a police detective that a successful heist is impossible Ronnie gets it in his head to pull one off. He has no intention of keeping the money mistakenly assuming that it won't be considered an actual crime.

He has no trouble talking Brick and Roy into helping him but since the operation needs four men they decide to rope the strait laced and unsuspecting Al into it. Coincidentally, Al and his girlfriend Kay (Novak) decide to get married and accompany the other three men to Reno for a spontaneous wedding. The remainder of the movie deals with loose cannon Brick hijacking the operation.

It's a small movie in scope and budget but it is ably directed by Phil Karlson and most of the cast would move on to bigger and more well known roles. Brian Keith's Brick is ultimately the heart of the story and he makes the most of a somewhat abridged role, doing a fine job of conveying the damaged vet's mindset and worldview. This should be considered meaningful in that it provided inspiration for later films like Ocean's 11 and Casino.

70/100

Never heard of that one, looks cool

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She was in Triple Threat just in 2019 with White, Adkins and Uwais, so I think she’d be a great grab.

I can’t believe I forgot Veronica Ngo. Gonna go watch The Princess to atone.

The Heat was painfully mediocre