Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Young Minio one day will be a Mister. But not now.

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Chill, friend.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

Released in 1987, Red's Dream features a lonely tricycle called Red waiting to be either sold or disposed by clearance. During a rainy night in the dark and closed shop, Red dreams of better times where it can still be part of a clown show. But the dream quickly vanishes and we're back in reality and in the clearance corner. It's great how this simple scene manages to evoke so much emotion for an inanimate object, but writer and director John Lasseter achieves this through an effective score, as well as great direction and animation (at least for the time. The clown is a bit rough, but the rest is pretty much flawless).

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Full review on my Movie Loot

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There's not much to add about the short. It features an animated desk lamp on a table that's suddenly interrupted by a colorful ball. There's also the playful twist of the "younger", smaller lamp, which most people probably know (hence, the "Junior" in the title). Like other Pixar films, there's an innate skill here to add emotion and playfulness to inanimate objects, be it a tricycle, an action figure, or a desk lamp.

Grade: N/A


Full review on my Movie Loot

Whew! When I looked at that header, for a split second I almost thought Disney was working on an origin story film for Luxo....

One Man Band follows a lone street musician performing as a one-man-band in a mostly deserted town square. When a young girl approaches, he tries to gain her attention, and hopefully a tip. But things go awry when a rival musician arrives, and they both start competing for the girl's coin. Will they find a way to unite and work together?

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Full review on my Movie Loot

Shhhhh! Don't give them ideas

There really isn't much else to the story. But the beauty of the short is mostly in the use of photorealistic images and lighting. The way Unseld manages to bring the whole city to life is impressive and stunning, especially when you add rain to the mix. But, much like he described it in the above quote, the short is a celebration of the rain, both as a uniting force within the story, but as an artistic element that makes the animation shine.

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Full review on my Movie Loot

Belfast (2021)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1137237

Billy Elliot - (2000)

It would be easy to dismiss Billy Elliot as "one of those movies nan likes" - but it really is well made and has that spark of creative magic about it that all great films have. It's not just a "chase your dream" movie - it's a "chase your dream, and be whoever you want to be" movie. For a boy growing up in a mining town to ditch the boxing gloves and take up ballet, there's always going to be resistance - from Billy's (Jamie Bell) brother to his father - so for him it takes a true belief that he should go ahead and answer the call to be a dancer, despite whatever others say. The movie tries to instill that belief in others. Julie Walters can still manage 'down to earth' and shade it with a little "I should have amounted to more". The soundtrack is to die for as far as I'm concerned. Just stuffing it with T. Rex songs was inspired. Jamie Bell himself (how did Stephen Daldry get that performance out of him?) is absolutely brilliant - and a supreme pleasure to watch. Watching Gary Lewis (Billy's dad) go from disappointed in him to fretting about Billy getting into the dance academy is so satisfying. All of it is - I love Billy Elliot, and nan is right for liking it.

8/10


By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3528897

Night Watch - (2004)

I remember watching this when it came out and not liking it. This second time was a little better - perhaps it's because I watched it in Russian with English subtitles - that can make all the difference. To tell you the truth though, I remembered nothing, so maybe I never payed it enough attention. In Night Watch it's the forces of good versus the forces of evil - vampires and mystics, etc, who are at peace but will one day go to war - normally I'm not into that, but this film puts more of a darkly comic slant on everything and that makes a difference. Tries a little too hard in the end to become a real "epic" though, and I wished it had of stayed a simpler, funny film - there's no competing with big budget Hollywood CGI monstrosities, and why would you want to anyway? During some of the stuff with the yellow van, you can tell toys are being used. It's heart is in the right place, with much dry Russian humour and many down to earth characters.

6/10


By The poster art can or could be obtained from American International Pictures and The International Picture Show Company., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42110643

The Visitor - (1979)

Absolute lunacy at 24fps - but wonderful all the same. Reviewed here, on my watchlist thread.

7/10

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The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

Matthew's Days - 4/10
Some will intellectualize a piece of dung.

I loved it a lot.

Комиссар - 7.5/10
One benefit of waking up at 4am is to finish a movie in the darkness.

The director could've been a second Tarkovsky had he not been called a parasite and banned from filmmaking for life. It's not that much weaker than Ivan's Childhood.

They shoot horses, don't they? (1969)


A harrowing tale of a long term dance contest. It's directed very well. It is a tough watch due to the desperation of the characters and the naked view of base human instinct to survive. It's like something Steinbeck would concoct, a distilled allegory looking at a wider issue. All performances were spot on and Jane Fonda is the standout. Gig Young does an exceptional turn too.

As a general rule, I don't care much for tearjerkers - but even my jaded self found it hard not to start really falling for the sweet little girl at the center of this movie, and the desperate efforts by her father and a goody two-shoes (Swank) to make sure she got the liver transplant she needed to stay alive.
The movie does everything a tearjerker is supposed to do, and also throws in a spectacular edge-of-your-seat final race against time that could have been perfectly suited for a Fast & Furious movie (Alan Ritchson even recently acted in one of them).
Some pretty spectacular locations in Manitoba certainly help, as well.

Avengers: Infinity War was released in 2018, exactly 10 years after Iron Man kickstarted the whole MCU. The film caps a journey of 20+ films about different superheroes, all coming from different places and mindsets; be it from being a wealthy CEO that has been kidnapped by terrorists, a genetically enhanced WWII soldier that woke up from being frozen, or an Asgardian god that happened to fall on Earth. Obviously all these different characters clash and connect, becoming The Avengers, who are committed to protect Earth and the universe.

I don't consider myself a die hard MCU fan. Even though I've been watching most of their films and TV shows, I acknowledge that many of the films, and the whole MCU, has its flaws. However, I can't help but be impressed by the vision and work of Marvel Studios to put forward such a massive years-long project. The patience to start building this universe, and let it grow, is quite something. For all its faults, Infinity War is the perfect climax for all those films and all those years of work. Big, loud, bold, and yes... fun.

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Full review on my Movie Loot

1st Rewatch...An accustomed splendid performance from the late Chadwick Boseman is at the heart of this bopic of Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player to receive a contract with the NBL. It's a little on the melodramatic side and there are more than one squirm-worthy scene, particular one featuring Alan Tudyk as a rival coach taunting Robinson at the plate with the "N" word. If the truth be told, the film is nearly stolen by Harrison Ford, delivering a glorious performance as Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Richey.