Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Just did my first rewatch of Kubrick's The Shining since grade school. I forgot how I enjoyed Nicholson's performance, especially in the baseball bat scene.

Orca: The Killer Whale (Anderson, 1977)


I know what you're thinking. Spielberg did it first, and this is just another example of a B movie ripoff job. It's not that. This is more than a shark movie. It's a tale of revenge which juggles the silly, thoughtful, and heartbreaking like a circus performer. It's a stunning collaborative patchwork at odds with itself in a manner which compliments itself.

One moment you have Michael Anderson giving the Italian schlock artists of the day a run for their money with an orca committing arson. The next you have Ted Moore of Bond franchise fame using the camera like damn paintbrush from the Romantic Period to legitimize the emotional core of the movie. The next you have Ennio Merricone conjuring a cacophonous hellstorm which summons the beast to the stage. It's a film about warring perspectives made from warring perspectives. Nothing emphasizes this more than the double cold openings which accomplish starkly different tasks.

Not dissimilar from the aforementioned triumvirate are the three core characters of the film: Rachel Bedford who embodies "man with nature", Umilik who embodies "man in fear of nature", and Captain Nolan who embodies "man against his own nature". Rachel insists that orcas can think, can feel, can communicate, and that they have a right to be left alone. Umilik pushes those who agitated the sea to face it so that it doesn't punish his community further. Captain Nolan consults a priest as to whether you can sin against an animal and is met with the reply "Why, you can commit a sin against a blade of grass. Sins are really against oneself". It's all perfectly symmetrical to the collaborative chaos which birthed it.

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Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Father (1966)
(Hungarian: Apa)

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A normal man? For me, a normal man is one who turns his head to see a beautiful woman's bottom. The point is not just to turn your head. There are five or six reasons. And he is glad to find people who are like him, his equals. That's why he likes crowded beaches, football, the bar downtown...

Started watching it once (a long time ago), and, sadly, couldn't get very far into it. It just felt so 70s cheesy to me.
Probably need to give it a proper rewatch some day.

Script legends Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Donati transcribed one of their classic spaghetti westerns with one of the main characters turned into a killer whale. Morricone's music is quite affecting. I saw this at the theatre as a sneak preview and I still think it's pretty good - certainly better than The Keep.

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I was a fan of this little diddy myself.

Nah you prob don't lol. Really not a movie that needs to be watched and I won't rewatch it. Don't know what inspired me to watch it, just a horror fan I guess. This is not really horror though.

The Founder 8/10

Excellent performances from Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch power this understated yet ultimately powerful tale based on the true story of Ray Kroc's involvement in the beginning of the McDonalds restaurant franchising empire. See it.

It never felt that slow to me at any point. Definitely think you would like it Matt.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

I just remember the beach, and him being like a stranger walking around in a white suit.... But, I had/have a big selection to choose from, and I deleted it (oops) because of space. I'll go see if I can order it..... I wanted to see this because of Finney (after seeing some early kitchen sink movies) and John Huston is one of the best, too.

Thanks for the reminder

Barfly (1987)


Rourke and Dunaway are both great in this and even though its about quite a serious subject in alcoholism, its still light-hearted enough to be funny. Apparently partly based on life of Bukowski himself.

I tried this because it's on the top 100 laughs list, even though I'm not a big fan of the old classic comedies. It's fast paced and very pleasant to watch. Claudette Colbert plays one of the leads and is delightful. She makes the film. Joel McCrea as the other lead is a little bland, something I often think of his performances. The supporting cast is pretty good.

The American Soldier - 4.5/10

Sloppy, very similar to a few complaints made on the HOF regarding The Wedding of Maria Braun.

Guardians of the galaxy 2. it was fairly amusing. 6/10.

2016 was the year of holding back emotions, it seems.

This was very good. A heartfelt and detailed look at grief that's also surprisingly charming. Affleck is so muted and controlled here. It's microscopic work that in retrospect becomes a career defining performance. He's cemented himself as one of the greats, as long as you can separate the artist from his art.

Douglas Hedges is also very good here. He's where the majority of the film's charm comes from.

I'm also betting $100 that Marvel scoops him up for Harry Osborn in the next Spider-Man.

The movie is really all them with occasional breaks from reliable character actors. I'm surprise how much attention Michelle Williams got. She's almost a cameo.

Again, this is probably the most muted film of the year. Don't go into this expecting much melodrama. Watch it attentively.

8/10

Enter the Warrior's Gate - written by the Taken duo of Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen and directed by Cockneys vs. Zombies' Matthias Hoene. A teen video gamer (Uriah Shelton), mistaken for his avatar enters a portal to ancient China and teams up with a loyal soldier (Mark Chao) and a funny wizard (Francis Ng) to save a princess (Ni Ni) from a barbarian leader (Dave Bautista). Fun mix of action and comedy that may be reminiscent of The Forbidden Kingdom, but has some nice twists and even the villain's henchman brings some comic relief.

Final Rating: B



Black Site Delta - Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down,Twilight) and Teri Reeves (Chicago Fire, Once Upon a Time) play two members of a band of military prisoners who must become unlikely heroes when they learn that 1) a terrorist/mercenary unit has come to the prison and 2) the prison is actually a cover for a drone facility. I love indie action and this was actually a pretty good action film making good use of its stars, especially Reeves as the mysterious Vasquez, in a role usually expected by perhaps a pro wrestler/big man type and Gigandet at the leader of this new "Dirty half-Dozen".

Final Rating: B

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I would never think something like this could happen, until last year when everyone went crazy over Pokemon Go. Nerve dials into the Millennial and Gen Z population who are obsessed with tech devices, gaining immediate gratification from viewer recognition and thrill seeking stupidity. Taking cues from Scoresese's After Hours, Nerve takes place over the course of 24 hours and ups the ante in terms of absurdity and danger for our characters.

Venus, or Vee, as she likes to be called, is embarrassed by her best friend when she tells a cute boy that Vee likes him. She's not my type he says. Determined to change people's minds about her introvert personality, she signs up to be a player in an online/real world game known as Nerve. It's a truth or dare styled game, minus the truth. You could be a watcher, paying $20 an hour to watch people play, or be a player and earn a lot of cash based on the dares from the watchers. Vee is dared to kiss a random stranger for 5 seconds, so she picks Ian, played by Dave Franco. After the kiss, he starts singing about how much in love he is with her, she soon realizes that he's also playing the game, as is half of New York. The dares get more dangerous, people's lives are at stake and if Vee tries to warn anyone about the game, it may cost her her own life. Do You Want To Play?

Retro neon covers the screen, giving this film a unique look that stands out compared to other teen flicks. Teens obsessed with their online profile are at the centre of this story and it criticizes how we as a society are hungry for more violence, sex and harm to others. Is this generation of kids rabid for the wrong thing? Who knows, Nerve barely scratches that surface, instead it wants to wow you with what edge of the seat death defying stunt the characters do next, whether it be driving on a motorcycle blindfolded or hanging from a construction crane with one hand. It's a little thrilling, but the film doesn't push the envelope enough. I would have expected more bodily harm for crazier amounts of cash, but for the most part it felt a little tame.

Young girls seem to be the target audience here and I feel like they would like the film. Franco does his charm thing, while having a wild side that I'm sure the girls fall for. Many can see themselves in Emma Roberts shoes. The fast pace and friendly stars help move this film along. Once you think about the fundamentals of everything, it starts to fall apart. Ignore logic, accept the realm of many possibilities and you'll have an okay time.

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