Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Magic - 7/10

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SF = Z


Could have done without the shark sequence as I was sitting there thinking surely this didn't happen and turns out it didn't happen during the real life swim... There is enough drama in the film, doesn't need the drama turning up with a shark scene.




[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

Attack on Titan Final Special Part 2 (2023)



It is an 85-minute long final for the series, so it counts as a movie rather than a TV season or miniseries.

It has really good animation; the art is also top-notch. The dynamics of the pseudo-aerial combat of Attack on Titan are exploited to its most absurd consequences in this finale. The plot is a bit confusing in some parts, but everything makes sense by the end; overall, it is a memorable finale for the series, released today for a show that began ten years ago in 2013. Although some of the attempts at very strong emotion felt a bit too exaggerated to a degree I couldn't fully identify with.

Pleasure 2021
Directed by Ninja Thyberg


A step-by-step, through the eyes of a Swedish small town girl, who went to Hollywood trying to become the next best thing in the porn industry and learning about herself in the process. This is a powerful glimpse into the porn industry, and an opportunity to dive into the mindset of someone who attempted it. Viewer discretion advised, mean it.


Donnybrook 2018
Directed by Tim Sutton


A young man with a family to support, and his journey to join a big purse underground bare knuckle boxing match. This, to me, seems a mixture of Out of the Furnace violence with Winter's Bone southern mannerism. I'd describe it better as neo-realism with recent southern gothic. This film received a lot of hate, I believe due to the type of violence protracted towards women in particular.


Reptile 2023
Directed by Grant Singer


A real state agent is found dead in a macabre scene. An agent try to discover who did it, unfolding his past, and discovering information about his partners.


Fire Will Come 2019 ‘O que arde’
Directed by Oliver Laxe


Galicia's mountains, a pyromaniac is released after serving a sentence for putting his hometown mountain on fire. Upon returning, he has to face the folks who live there. Culturally relevant film, the scenery is gorgeous, the soundtrack simple and effective, the acting is effective through simple facial expressions, the story is captivating, a very good film.


Land 2018
Directed by Babak Jalali


Native American reservation, the paths and struggles of everyday life displayed, using a slow and bleak approach, the best way to represent what's like to be still, untouched. The faces of those who've given up, and those who're trying not to. The youngest of the family, dies in Afghanistan. The movie unfolds while we wait for his body to return.

The Bridge 2006
Directed by Eric Steel


A documentary showing the final moments of those who jumped the Gold State Bridge in San Francisco. After they jump, this documentary follows the opinions of the loved ones, or people who had nothing to do with it. This is to me a failed documentary, I'll quote Charles Bukowski on what this interviews sounded like:

Head-On
40-something alcoholic man and a woman that grew up and still lives with her oppresive family. 2 seperate attemp to find happiness with suicide, sex, drugs, alcohol, punk and Depeche Mode. 2 people that think they are for each other while offering absolutely nothing to one another.

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

Sorry, but the only Rosamund worth my time is Rosamund Kwan.

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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.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night puts a spin to the story with the lead girl, who remains unnamed, being a vampire. This adds a couple of additional layers of mystery and danger to her encounter with Arash. But Arash isn't a saint himself. They're both carrying secrets and burdens that the other doesn't know about.

Like the characters themselves, this film goes beyond being *just* a vampire movie. It is an interesting mish-mash of genres and styles that go from western to coming-of-age. The two main characters are essentially two teens getting to know each other, each forced by circumstances to grow up and be... something different.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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By May be found at the following website: http://www.impawards.comwww.impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6756291

Prizzi's Honor - (1985)

I'm not quite sure if Prizzi's Honor is a comedy that's really serious, or a serious movie that's a bit of a comedy. When a young Charley Partanna (played for the most part by Jack Nicholson) gets brass knuckles as a Christmas gift I thought, "Oh no, 'wacky' comedy," but the film actually settled into a more or less realistic tone after that. That's why I liked it so much - because there's enough to laugh about in real life without resorting to overblown, cheap gags. Partanna meets and falls in love with hitwoman Irene Walker (Kathleen Turner) - and they dream of a life together as partners in crime. Events, however, overtake their love story. When Irene kills a police captain's wife, she becomes a liability - but not before being approached with a contract to take out her husband. I really enjoyed this mafia flick, and I think it struck just the right balance between being fun and telling a serious story. Anjelica Huston appears as a poisonous schemer, Maerose - someone who has a past with Partanna, and has been accepted back into the family fold after being exiled. Nicholson and Huston absolutely sold me on their characters - a terrific pair of actors. It's hard to believe it's nearly 40 years old - this movie has aged quite well, and I think that's because it's humour comes spontaneously from the situation it's characters are in, and isn't forced.

8/10


By Sony Classics, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44231036

Still Alice - (2014)

Man, Alzheimer's disease is terrifying. I used to get by thinking it less painful than other major diseases, and I used to consider that it still lets you live for while - but Alzheimer's is a slow, piece by piece, death. You're slowly robbed of what makes you you. Julianne Moore is linguistics professor Alice Howland - diagnosed when she starts forgetting certain words, her early onset Alzheimer's robs her of her passion, her job, her independence and her dignity - all in short order. The screenplay doesn't exactly break the mold, but Moore's performance is what most people will be admiring when watching this film - and it makes everything else not matter as much. A bravura turn in a role that would have been easy to fumble.

7/10

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Set in Barrow, Alaska during winter, the film follows a group of people as they prepare for their month-long polar night. Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) seems to be on top of everything, except his own marriage as his estranged wife Stella (Melissa George) is looking forward to move to the mainland USA.

This is a film that, for some reason, I hadn't seen and now I have to wonder why. It was definitely a lot of fun that felt like a jolt of energy into a sub-genre that seems to need one more often than not. The whole premise of survivors trapped with vampires free of the constraints of sunlight should be unnerving enough. However, this also leads to the pace feeling a bit chopped off as a result of a couple of time jumps that feel a bit abrupt.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

October 1, 1960 is the date when Nigeria gained its independence from Great Britain. It is also the date when this film starts, as we see Inspector Danladi Waziri (Sadiq Daba) deliver his findings to the British colonial authorities on the case of a serial killer and rapist. Unfortunately, the British seemed to be more interested in getting this over with for the handover of the country.

There is always disappointment in seeing a story with potential being hindered by a couple of elements. Director Afolayan does a good job handlng the camera and keeping an effective pace on things. However, the story is predictable as you can probably guess who the killer is after 15 minutes of film.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

Scarface (1983)



It's a classic gangster movie, indeed. As I get older, I am finding myself enjoying gangster movies to a higher degree. I guess that now that I have lived a bit more and know more about the difficulties in life , I can more strongly identify with characters who just want to break the rules of society.

Al Pacino is great in this role, BTW, possibly better than Michael Corleone.

SF = Zzzz



[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

Talk Radio (1988)

I really enjoyed Christos Nikou’s first film ‘Apples’. He’s part of the Greek weird wave movement, and his second film ‘Fingernails’ (about a dystopian future where couples can go to a laboratory and take a test to see if their love is real or not) feels like a Lanthimos film with a sprinkling of Kogonada.

I’m also a big fan of Riz Ahmed, Jessie Buckley and Jeremy Allen White, who are all in this film, so the chances of me liking it were high. Anna (Buckley) and Ryan (Allen White) have taken the test and it’s proved that their love is real. So everything is hunky-dory……until Anna takes a new job, meets Amir (Ahmed) and begins to doubt the test’s authenticity. There are subtle metaphors throughout to dissect the nature of relationships, connection and the question of what actually is true love.

It’s had it’s critics. It takes a while to warm up and the premise involves a caveat of belief suspension but it’s very well acted by the main three cast members and the ending is really superbly directed (and also tough to write about without spoilers). There’s also some great use of music.

Black Panther - (2018)

I have watched this movie many times, still think it's one THE best movies from the MCU.

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There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?

Avengement -

This is a lean, mean, brutal and always entertaining revenge tale that, if anything, stopped me from looking down at the abbreviation "DTV" ever again. Scott Adkins is Cain Burgess, whose chrome front teeth and scars make him out to be one scary-looking dude. He barges into a members only pub and takes the patrons hostage. Who is this guy and what does he want? Flashbacks tell the story of how Cain was betrayed, sent to prison, attacked by his fellow inmates every day of his sentence, missed getting to say goodbye to his mother while she was on her deathbed; in short, a perfect cocktail for desiring payback. Who prepared it? His own brother, gangster-in-chief Lincoln (Craig Fairbass).

I was surprised when I discovered Adkins is in many movies I have seen such as The Bourne Ultimatum, Doctor Strange, Unleashed and X-Men Origins: Wolverine because I did notice him in any of them. Granted, he is likely in smaller parts and/or unrecognizable in them, but it's still hard to believe given the impression he makes here. I was aware of his reputation as a martial artist going in, which he earns right after the first fight. The scenes where he takes on several opponents at once are the highlights, particularly the finale, and I do not exaggerate when I say that it is one for the ages. However, his skill as an athlete is not all that is worthy of praise. I genuinely empathized with his unfortunate situation from being blamed for starting all of his prison fights to not being able to be there for his mother. As good of a fighter as Adkins is, though, credit also goes to the editing, which recalls Whiplash's for how elegant and visceral it makes the action feel. It also makes the many flashbacks work, none of which break up the flow or seem out of place. I also love Sean Murray’s synth-heavy score and how loathsome Fairbass makes his villain.

Is this one of the most original movies ever made? Barely. It would not be wrong to say that it is what happens if you put Reservoir Dogs, Point Blank and John Wick in a blender. Also, from their dress to their flowery dialogue, Lincoln’s henchmen come across like parodies of the ones in Guy Ritchie movies. Regardless, for the charisma and ability of Adkins, the physicality of the action and for providing an all-around fun (and funny) time, the obviousness of its influences ended up being a moot point for me. Besides, unlike some of them, it comes in at a tight 90 minutes.

You forgot to mention this is basically Harakiri of the 21st century. But yeah, amazing movie.

Here's a link to my review of this film:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/...-pleasure.html

1st Rewatch...this movie proved slightly funnier than I remember on my first watch. Vaughn and Witherspoon play a committed but unmarried couple who have been lying to their parents for years about being unable to come home for Xmas. but tis year get caught in their lie, so because both of their parents are divorced, they have to attend four different Christmases. There's a lot of fun here. Love when Vaughn gets to his dad's house and gets into a wrestling match with his brothers (Jon Favreau, Tim McGraw). The scene with Reese and the kids in a bouncy house is kind of stupid, but the chemistry between Vaughn and Witherspoon is solid and the casting of the parents (Sissy Spacek, Robert Duvall, Mary Steenburgen, Jon Voight) is perfection.