Rate The Last Movie You Saw

The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is a Russian animated short film based in the short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It follows this narrator, who is determined to take his own life, until he falls into a hallucinatory dream that reveals things about life and himself that he thought had been lost forever.

But putting aside the nature of the story, I think the most interesting thing about this short film is its look. Petrov uses a technique called paint-on-glass animation, which results in some beautiful and impressive visuals. The way the animation flows is so unique that I think it's worth watching to any fan of animation.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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The Intern (2015)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death - From 1943 and directed by Roy William Neill (who did 10 other movies starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson). In this one Watson is volunteering at a convalescent home for shellshocked veterans of WWII. It's better known as Musgrave manor and when a doctor friend of Watson's is attacked he asks his friend Holmes to make use of his deductive powers to get to the bottom of it. Once there it becomes clear that the three remaining Musgrave siblings are being targeted by an unknown assailant. There's plenty of atmosphere with a constant howling wind and thunder and lightning.

It's all very eerie in a dark old house sort of way with an abundance of suspects amongst the staff, the war weary soldiers and the Musgraves themselves. Rathbone handles the role he was seemingly born to play with great finesse and Nigel Bruce turns in his usual solid sidekick performance. Look for a young Milburn Stone (Doc Adams from Gunsmoke) as one of the soldiers. There's the usual puzzle to be solved in the form of an old Musgrave ritual that involves reciting a poem of sorts any time there's a death. There is, of course, occasion to trot it out and Holmes eventually connects the dots, revealing the killer and their motivations.

There were 14 of these made starring Rathbone and Bruce. They're the archetypes IMO and I've watched close to half of them at one time or another and found 4 others that I'll be checking out soon enough. This was different enough from the ones I've watched to whet my appetite for more Holmes and Watson.

75/100

Boiling Point (2021)

Written and Directed by Philip Barantini
Starring Stephen Graham

My second view.
The same as the first time a year ago, I was stunned by the superb directing and acting. This movie officially got cult status for me. Absolute piece of art.
+
93/100

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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

Beekeeper.


It's a standard John Wick clone, but the movie makes Statham a bit too Invincible to be relatable. He goes most of the movie without even getting touched, and everyone constantly talking about how awesome he is. John Wick and Nobody at least worked hard for it. Too many scenes of 'villains gloating, instead of just shooting him' as well.

I liked it.

Horse Camp: A Treasure Tail (2023). I enjoyed this. I really liked the cast. The girls are fantastic and charming and all do a good job with their roles. This is a sweet, fun and cute movie for anyone who likes horses and little girls. Watched on Tubi.

The Hound of the Baskervilles - This 1939 Gothic mystery directed by Sidney Lanfield is the first of what were to be 14 Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone. I think it's easily the best known of the Holmes adventures but I don't remember seeing this one. I do remember watching a version wherein the killer meets a fitting end. This one is unique for being the only Rathbone/Holmes film set in the Victorian era of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel.

Anyway, the movie opens with a man running headlong through a fog shrouded moor. He's obviously terrified at some unseen presence chasing him. He eventually collapses in a heap and at the inquest the coroner rules heart failure as the cause of his death. The dead man was Sir Charles Baskerville and his best friend Dr. James Mortimer (Lionel Atwill) later pays a visit to Holmes and Watson at 221B Baker St. He tells them of Sir Charles' death and of his apprehension over the imminent arrival of Henry Baskerville (Richard Greene), Sir Charles' heir and nephew. He reads them an old family document telling of a Baskerville curse going back centuries.

Mortimer believes that Sir Charles' death was not happenstance and that young Henry is in danger. After Mortimer and Henry pay him a visit, Holmes and Watson follow them and witness an unknown man in a Hansom cab try to assassinate Henry. He then sends Dr. Watson to safeguard Henry at his ancestral estate, Baskerville Hall, while he stays in London on urgent business.

This also differs in a slightly extended runtime of 80 or so minutes as opposed to the concise hour length of the other adventures. It allows for a deeper dive into the story with a judicious setup. This is more old school but the later entries in the franchise did have it down to a science. There was a formula that was meticulously followed and no excess fat.

The cast is first rate with Atwill and John Carradine as Barryman the butler the most well known names. And that last line uttered by Holmes certainly closes it out with an attention grabbing flourish. I've always enjoyed detective stories in general and Rathbone as Holmes in particular so I really liked this one.

80/100

SF = Z


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

Butterflies Are Free (1972)

Sherlock Holmes in Washington - From 1943 and directed by Roy William Neill. This was the fifth Rathbone/Bruce colloboration and, being set during WWII, was not based on an Arthur Conan Doyle story.

A British diplomat boards a plane carrying what are purported to be top secret documents meant for the US government. In the meantime a fellow passenger is surreptitiously keeping a close watch. This might throw you at first if you've seen any other Rathbone mysteries because not only did this fellow play Holmes' archnemesis James Moriarity in another film but there was a second recognizable actor who also essayed the role in yet another movie. But that character was never introduced and the heavies in this are a well organized spyring. They're after the documents and soon enough figure out that the diplomat is merely a front with a decoy actually carrying the papers. That decoy eventually disappears along with any knowledge of the whereabouts of the secret documents. Holmes is called in by the Home Office and he and Watson are soon on the way to Washington DC.

Usually a Holmes mystery involves deduction with a last minute epiphany allowing him to turn the tables and save the day. But this one featured not only a ruthless gang of criminals but a smart and cunning ringleader that always seemed to be one step ahead of Holmes. The story however makes excellent use of the MacGuffin and a tried and true "hiding in plain sight" formula all the way up to the end. It's a clever script with more than it's share of tense and danger filled moments. Another great entry in the Sherlock Holmes canon.

80/100

By www.impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7610811

Torn Curtain - (1966)

Alfred Hitchcock has a bit of a stab (so to speak) at a James Bond film where Bond is just an ordinary schlub, in this case Professor Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman), whose pretend defection to East Germany hits a snag when his tremendously worried fiancé Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews) follows him. This has some incredible scenes of suspense - the murderous fight to the death in the farmhouse between Armstrong and Stasi officer Gromek (Wolfgang Kieling) is fantastic. The film as a whole though lacks a little drama, and becomes one really long "they're looking for us" road trip once it runs out of ideas. The script wasn't all that inspired. Still, it has what is probably one of the most exciting "maths on a chalkboard" scenes you're every likely to see. It's an okay movie, with a few absolute killer scenes. At least it's not Marnie.

6/10


By William Rose - Scan via Heritage Auctions. Cropped from the original image., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...curid=86172024

The Little Foxes - (1941)

Fine stately drama about a corrupt Southern family in the year 1900 - featuring Bette Davis and directed by William Wyler. It received 9 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. My review is here, on my watchlist thread.

8/10


By http://www.filmposters.it/poster-loc...ster-film.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11227801

Senso - (1954)

Beautiful, intoxicating and lavish, this historical drama set during the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866 features a tragic romance unparalleled on screen. Some say it's the most beautiful film ever made - directed by Luchino Visconti. Reviewed here, on my watchlist thread.

9/10


By Nordisk Film - https://www.eclairplay.com/en_DNK/mo...hedens-ryttere, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66186288

Riders of Justice - (2020)

Absolutely perfect blend of brutality and comedy, in a film that has a fair bit of heft to back it up - great stuff from Anders Thomas Jensen, as usual. Loved it - review is here, on my watchlist thread.

8/10


Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66186288

Cairo 30 - (1966)

This Egyptian classic tells the tale of three friends and their battles with poverty and corruption upon entering the fraught world of 1930's Cairo society. Not a bad look at how corruption tends to propagate itself - my review for it is here, on my watchlist thread.

6/10

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I kept flipping during this one. One minute I thought it was an average drama, the next I thought no it’s actually quite entertaining. I did laugh out loud at several points at some of the comedy but there are other cringe moments (the poorly told joke told in the car). It’s probably somewhere in between.

Jeffrey Wright is solid as the misanthropic writer who jokingly writes a trashy book to prove popular culture is nonsense. There are a lot of messages here and the film gets a bit lost in all of them – during it all, we are exposed to divorce, suicide, affairs, sudden illness, grief, homosexuality, racism, mid life crisis, dysfunctional families, sibling rivalry, motherhood, addiction, relationship troubles and more. There’s literally everything here. All bases covered. It’s all a bit too much to pack in to a less than 2 hour film and as a result just seems forced. It’s all in your face and then of course settles down in a hopeful predictable ending with everyone in the family settling their differences via an out of place 'film within a film' type sequence. It is not a bad film, there is some good direction. It’s just all a little too whimsical, when it's actually trying to be a serious drama.

As for being nominated for those big awards – that seems ridiculous to me. If this was French or Italian it wouldn’t have got a look in.

Terrific movie.

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LOVED Stephen Graham on Boardwalk Empire...reason enough for me to check this out.

Umpteenth Rewatch...One of my guilty pleasures that I will always rewatch if the opportunity presents itself. MGM was attempting to recapture Mary Poppins magic with this story of an eccentric inventor (Dick Van Dyke) with two small children, the pretty daughter of a candy mogul (Sally Ann Howes) and a magical car that floats on water and flies in the air. Utilizing the composers, choreographers, and leading man from Mary Poppins works up to a point, but it just wasn't the same. Once again, Van Dyke is surrounded by a mostly British cast but he wisely choose not to attempt an English accent like he did in Poppins. I was sure Howes was going to be the next Julie Andrews with her beauty and gorgeous lyric soprano voice, but her career died a quiet death after this film. It's not terrible, but for some reason, it's just a little less entertaining than it was during the previous rewatch.

I'm not much of a horror fan, but Suitable Flesh seemed like a fairly attractive proposition as I've always been a fan of Heather Graham.

Alas, it turns out to be significantly weaker than the H. P. Lovecraft short story on which it is based, though in all honesty I can't fault Heather for not giving it her all. Bruce Davison is in it also, but doesn't get nearly enough screen time to make an appropriate impression, and Johnathon Schaech gets saddled with the thankless role of Heather's husband.

out of

1st Rewatch....Despite a powerhouse performance from Denzel Washington in the title role that should have won him an Oscar, this 1992 Spike Lee joint is a preachy and pretentious biopic that shows unerring respect for the subject, but is done in by its obscene overlength. I understand the rag to riches concept Lee attempts here, but too much time in the film is spent on X's former life as a pimp, thief, and drug addict. There's a scene at a dance in Harlem at the beginning of the film that is nearly twenty minutes long and has no business being so. Once the character is in jail and begins his transition into the civil rights icon he would become, the film becomes a little more interesting, but it still feels seventeen hours long. I only noticed one utilization of Lee's famous "float-cam" and as in all of Lee's movies, the music is terrible.