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Now number 1 on my list....recently I've been enjoying films in the same genre...fingers crossed.
Rate The Last Movie You Saw
Rudderless (2014) -
Initially, I was really impressed with this film. I found its story deeply compelling and I really liked the final act, in particular. While I still think it's a good movie, the more I thought about it, the less impressed I was with the whole affair.
Before I get into my issues with the film though, I'll talk about what I liked, which was mainly the emotional core involving Sam. It's hard to discuss this aspect without spoiling it, but I really loved the way it developed throughout the film. Though you may dislike Sam, I did understand why he did what he was doing and I found the idea of him performing his son's music to help him cope with his death really compelling. Also, without spoiling anything, what you learn in the third act complicates your feelings on Sam even more. The significance of the film's title is that, just as a boat without a rudder drifts aimlessly without no clear purpose, the same could be said for Sam. After the opening, he has an unstable position of living in a boat and he plans to perform only one of Josh's songs, but after meeting Quentin, he spirals off from there, with his band obtaining more popularity around the city he lives in as the film goes on. Yet, in spite of all this, he still shows a lack of interest in expanding the band's popularity at times.
There were also a couple minor things I enjoyed about this film. The first one was its portrayal of how Rudderless grew in popularity as the film went on. I generally like seeing artists grow in popularity and recognition in films and I think this movie gave a fine depiction of this. I also liked that Billy Crudup and Anton Yelchin were legitimately good singers as, nowadays, this can be hard to come by in Hollywood. Finally, I enjoyed some of the film's humor. Like, not all the humor worked (more on that in a bit), but I did appreciate the occasional humorous line or gag.
With that being said, I think the main problem with this film was that there was too much going on in it. While I found the emotional core compelling, I wasn't so hot on the conflict between Sam and Alaird, the agent of the boat harbor. Within this sub-plot lied a few scenes where Sam urinated into the lake in public (sometimes to the view of children) and another scene where he endangered the lives of multiple people on the lake. These actions culminated with Alaird asking for him to stop and threatening to kick him off the lake. Though this sub-plot would've still been unnecessary, these scenes could've worked decently enough if the film had remained firmly on Alaird's side, but instead, these scenes came off as humorous and if the movie was trying to get us to sympathize with Sam. This sub-plot clashed poorly against the main conflict, which didn't ask for us to sympathize with Sam. As a result, this kind of muddled the film's message, in my opinion. I was also left confused by the conflict with Kate, Josh's ex-girlfriend. While I'm not sure the story would've been improved if she was in the film more, I did find it weird that Selena Gomez, the most well-known celebrity in the film, was cast in the role. Given how little she was in the film, her scenes felt like cameos.
I was also surprised that Josh's music got as popular as it did. Like, don't get me wrong. I did like the music Rudderless performed, but Quentin and everybody else who listened to it reacted to the music as if it was one of the best things they ever listened to. I found this aspect kind of cheesy. To be honest though, I think it's really hard to get the "character is a great artist" premise to work. In Amadeus, for instance, this premise obviously worked given the source material. In World's Greatest Dad though, I had difficulties with believing that Lance's mediocre writing got as popular as it did. Really, if a film wants me to believe that a character is excellent at creating something (music, poetry, etc.) to the point that everybody appears to be blown away by it, their work better be that great for this premise to work. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with this film.
Overall, even though I have more bad than good to say about this film, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I think the emotional core of the film is strong enough to shine through the narrative issues (which are admittedly a lot) and, in the end, I came away satisfied with the film. I'm not sure if it's something I'll revisit, but I definitely enjoyed my time with it.
Initially, I was really impressed with this film. I found its story deeply compelling and I really liked the final act, in particular. While I still think it's a good movie, the more I thought about it, the less impressed I was with the whole affair.
Before I get into my issues with the film though, I'll talk about what I liked, which was mainly the emotional core involving Sam. It's hard to discuss this aspect without spoiling it, but I really loved the way it developed throughout the film. Though you may dislike Sam, I did understand why he did what he was doing and I found the idea of him performing his son's music to help him cope with his death really compelling. Also, without spoiling anything, what you learn in the third act complicates your feelings on Sam even more. The significance of the film's title is that, just as a boat without a rudder drifts aimlessly without no clear purpose, the same could be said for Sam. After the opening, he has an unstable position of living in a boat and he plans to perform only one of Josh's songs, but after meeting Quentin, he spirals off from there, with his band obtaining more popularity around the city he lives in as the film goes on. Yet, in spite of all this, he still shows a lack of interest in expanding the band's popularity at times.
There were also a couple minor things I enjoyed about this film. The first one was its portrayal of how Rudderless grew in popularity as the film went on. I generally like seeing artists grow in popularity and recognition in films and I think this movie gave a fine depiction of this. I also liked that Billy Crudup and Anton Yelchin were legitimately good singers as, nowadays, this can be hard to come by in Hollywood. Finally, I enjoyed some of the film's humor. Like, not all the humor worked (more on that in a bit), but I did appreciate the occasional humorous line or gag.
With that being said, I think the main problem with this film was that there was too much going on in it. While I found the emotional core compelling, I wasn't so hot on the conflict between Sam and Alaird, the agent of the boat harbor. Within this sub-plot lied a few scenes where Sam urinated into the lake in public (sometimes to the view of children) and another scene where he endangered the lives of multiple people on the lake. These actions culminated with Alaird asking for him to stop and threatening to kick him off the lake. Though this sub-plot would've still been unnecessary, these scenes could've worked decently enough if the film had remained firmly on Alaird's side, but instead, these scenes came off as humorous and if the movie was trying to get us to sympathize with Sam. This sub-plot clashed poorly against the main conflict, which didn't ask for us to sympathize with Sam. As a result, this kind of muddled the film's message, in my opinion. I was also left confused by the conflict with Kate, Josh's ex-girlfriend. While I'm not sure the story would've been improved if she was in the film more, I did find it weird that Selena Gomez, the most well-known celebrity in the film, was cast in the role. Given how little she was in the film, her scenes felt like cameos.
I was also surprised that Josh's music got as popular as it did. Like, don't get me wrong. I did like the music Rudderless performed, but Quentin and everybody else who listened to it reacted to the music as if it was one of the best things they ever listened to. I found this aspect kind of cheesy. To be honest though, I think it's really hard to get the "character is a great artist" premise to work. In Amadeus, for instance, this premise obviously worked given the source material. In World's Greatest Dad though, I had difficulties with believing that Lance's mediocre writing got as popular as it did. Really, if a film wants me to believe that a character is excellent at creating something (music, poetry, etc.) to the point that everybody appears to be blown away by it, their work better be that great for this premise to work. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with this film.
Overall, even though I have more bad than good to say about this film, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I think the emotional core of the film is strong enough to shine through the narrative issues (which are admittedly a lot) and, in the end, I came away satisfied with the film. I'm not sure if it's something I'll revisit, but I definitely enjoyed my time with it.
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First Cow (2019)
After a few recommendations I thought "watch" and I really wasn't disappointed. The acting in this is subtly sublime and it moved at just the right place to get the gravity of the situation (and harshness) spot on.
I really like it when a film-maker/director can portray a persons hopes and dreams without the character actually jawing about them all the time but depicting it through their application.
I really liked this.
After a few recommendations I thought "watch" and I really wasn't disappointed. The acting in this is subtly sublime and it moved at just the right place to get the gravity of the situation (and harshness) spot on.
I really like it when a film-maker/director can portray a persons hopes and dreams without the character actually jawing about them all the time but depicting it through their application.
I really liked this.
Sure. All of the Oscars deal with popularity and in party politics. That doesn't stop me from judging the merits of the performance against other winners as a metric of "worthiness."
If Boseman wins, did his death likely contribute to that win? Sure.
Was his performance better Oldman in Churchill or Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody? Absolutely.
If Boseman wins, did his death likely contribute to that win? Sure.
Was his performance better Oldman in Churchill or Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody? Absolutely.
The 39 Steps - This 1934 Alfred Hitchcock is his 22nd film but it's still the earliest work from him that I've seen. It stars Robert Donat as Canadian citizen Richard Hannay in a role that eventually became a Hitchcock trademark. That of a wrongly accused man forced to go on the run in order to prove his innocence. He's been implicated in a murder and eventually ends up handcuffed to Pamela (Madeleine Carroll). The mismatched couple go through the usual hostilities which eventually turns to something else. This film paved the way for and influenced so many other thrillers that they would probably be impossible to list. The story also employs a lot of British and Scottish locales which are put to good use by the director. Watch this if you're keen on seeing the Hitchcock everyone is familiar with right near the start of his ascendance.
Dead Reckoning (1947)
If you’re a fan of film noir, this production features all of the notable tropes characteristic of that style in full display: a jaundiced central character, a sultry femme fatale, a refined gangster boss, flash backs, a voice-over narration, and palpable nocturnal settings. Even the music score was reminiscent of the score in Double Indemnity.
In flash back told to a priest, Humphrey Bogart relates the story of two soldiers (Bogart and William Prince) who are traveling to Washington, D.C. where Prince is scheduled to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Prince said he doesn’t want the medal, and during a stop over he flees on another train. Bogart is tasked with finding Prince. Later Prince turns up dead, which leads to Bogart learning a possible motive for Prince’s wanting to decline the medal.
Bogart then goes on a winding path to find both Prince’s murderer and also to clear his friend’s name from a crime he was thought to have committed. Along the way Bogart finds Prince’s girlfriend (Lizabeth Scott): the femme fatale who is seemingly under the spell of a casino boss. There are several twists which follow, but everything is nicely tied up in the end.
Bogart essentially plays the character type that he established in The Maltese Falcon: a pragmatic, jaded soul who tends toward wise cracks. And without his presence the picture would have probably flopped. Scott’s role had been designed for Rita Hayworth after the success of Gilda, but Hayworth declined due to contractural disputes. Scott, as the replacement, seems distant, almost stiff in the role. But Lizabeth Scott fans won’t be disappointed.
Reportedly there were five writers on this picture, and as a result the continuity suffered. Bogart and Scott didn’t have much chemistry together, so at a point in which they fell in love, it was lacking in authenticity. This picture is not in the highest tier of noir films, but yet the plot holds one’s interest. And who could not like seeing the dame, the shamus type, and the threatening gangster go at it in a dark and steamy plot?
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Good movie, but rambling. Did not need to be 2-1/2 hours long.
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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.
The 39 Steps - This 1934 Alfred Hitchcock is his 22nd film but it's still the earliest work from him that I've seen. It stars Robert Donat as Canadian citizen Richard Hannay in a role that eventually became a Hitchcock trademark. That of a wrongly accused man forced to go on the run in order to prove his innocence. He's been implicated in a murder and eventually ends up handcuffed to Pamela (Madeleine Carroll). The mismatched couple go through the usual hostilities which eventually turns to something else. This film paved the way for and influenced so many other thrillers that they would probably be impossible to list. The story also employs a lot of British and Scottish locales which are put to good use by the director. Watch this if you're keen on seeing the Hitchcock everyone is familiar with right near the start of his ascendance.
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Pixie (Barnaby Thompson, 2020) 6/10
Mountaintop Motel Massacre (Jim McCullough, 1983) 5/10
Priceless (Ben Smallbone, 2017) 5.5/10
Macabre (Lamberto Bava, 1980) 6/10
It all started here.
Stone Cold Dead (George Mendeluk, 1979) 5.5/10
Blue Film Woman (Kan Mukai, 1969) 5/10 Cult (WTF?) Rating 7/10
L'amore (Roberto Rossellini, 1948) 6/10
Trouble in the Garden (Rosamund Owen, 2018) 6.5/10
Cara Gee is at the center of a shocking story about Canada's aboriginal.youth.
Schizoid (David Paulsen, 1980) 5/10
Fruit of Paradise (Vera Chytilová, 1970) 6/10
The Winter Lake (Phil Sheerin, 2020) 5/10
Adverse (Brian A. Metcalf, 2020) 6/10
Thomas Ian Nicholas will get revenge for his sister's death even if it involves his new boss (Mickey Rourke).
Night of the Kings (Philippe Lacôte, 2020) 6/10
The Affair AKA The Glass Room (Julius Sevcík, 2019) 5/10
Rudderless (William H. Macy, 2014) 6/10
I Still Hide to Smoke (Rayhana, 2016) 6.5/10
Political commentary on 1995 Algiers, set mostly in a women's public bath house, that highlights solidarity and sexism and concludes powerfully and poetically.
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home (Steve Franks, 2020) 6/10
The Canyonlands (Brendan Devane, 2021) 5/10
The Cannibal Man (Eloy de la Iglesia, 1972) 5.5/10
Land (Robin Wright, 2021) 6/10
Two people (Demián Bichir & Robin Wright) who've suffered serious loss meet in remote Wyoming and find a way to help each other.
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
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The 39 Steps - This 1934 Alfred Hitchcock is his 22nd film but it's still the earliest work from him that I've seen. It stars Robert Donat as Canadian citizen Richard Hannay in a role that eventually became a Hitchcock trademark. That of a wrongly accused man forced to go on the run in order to prove his innocence. He's been implicated in a murder and eventually ends up handcuffed to Pamela (Madeleine Carroll). The mismatched couple go through the usual hostilities which eventually turns to something else. This film paved the way for and influenced so many other thrillers that they would probably be impossible to list. The story also employs a lot of British and Scottish locales which are put to good use by the director. Watch this if you're keen on seeing the Hitchcock everyone is familiar with right near the start of his ascendance.
Les maudits (1947)
aka The Damned
Dir. René Clément
A French language film for fans of Hitchcock and for those who thrill to terse thrillers.
What makes The Damned so damn unique is it's a French film about Nazis escaping Europe days after the fall of Berlin. Even more unique, this was made in 1947 a scant two years after the end of WWII. It was very interesting seeing how the recently free French cinema would portray their previous enemies. If that isn't enough to convince you that this film is worth 90 minutes of your time...they also shot some of the scenes on a real submarine, so it looked authentic too.
Besides all that it's a psychological thriller with a captured French doctor shanghaied onboard the Nazi sub to treat an woman in a coma. Once he's treated the woman he knows his usefulness has come to the end and the brutal SS officer will execute him. But, how in the hell does one escape from a submarine in the middle of the ocean?
I've recently watched a number of WWII submarine movies so I feel I know something about the sub-genre (ha get it) and The Damned is one of the most exciting and unique sub films I've seen.
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I'm a big fan of this (and Robert Donat)....it seems so far, relatively, ahead of it's time.
