Rate The Last Movie You Saw

The Wee Man (2013)



Had a bit invested in this knowing the story first hand, I was aware of it on the news at the time and locally as I regularly saw "Jr"...this film does not do credit to the fear that these arseholes left swathes of people and families under. The film itself is pretty mediocre, not terribly bad but nothing to really cut it apart from Craig Fairbrass territory.

Patrick Bergin's accent is hilarious.

I remember when these murders were first discovered - how and where is probably too disturbing to relate here. We knew them as the "Bodies in the Barrels Murders" and some facts about it were too horrifying to even put in the film. Good film though.

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In Harm's Way - (1965)

I wasn't sure what I was going to get from Otto Preminger's In Harm's Way, but it was so different to what I was expecting that the exceeded expectations shaped my view of it. When John Wayne and Kirk Douglas head a cast, and the film is a war picture, you expect heroics and patriotism - but the film is far more complex than that. So much so that out of the blue there's a rape and suicide in it - and even if this is in James Bassett's novel (from which this is adapted) it's still very unusual for a war film headed by John Wayne. It's as if this straddles the gap between war films of old, and those more complex ones yet to come. It's a huge epic, and the likes of George Kennedy, Burgess Meredith, Henry Fonda and Patricia Neal are in it. Hell, even the little dude from Shane, Brandon deWilde (he's not so little here) is in it. There are some great naval battle scenes (for it's time) and flawed human beings everywhere - making this far more complex than I was expecting. From Pearl Harbor to the naval battles that followed, this presents war in a more measured and less patriotic and gung-ho way, and that impressed me. I'd say, one of the best I've seen John Wayne in.

7.5/10


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Downsizing - (2017)

I don't know. I was kind of hoping this - Alexander Payne's first 'kind of bad' film - to be better than I was expecting, but it may have been slightly worse. It has a fruitful scope to explore, with the ability to shrink people giving those who decide to undergo the procedure both great benefits and costs. If you're shrunk, you're set for life. You need far, far less - and everything goes a lot further. You can live in a massive mansion which only costs as much as an elaborate dollhouse, and diamond necklaces and bracelets cost $80. You need never work again. But you're also divorcing yourself from the world you once knew - permanently. When Paul Safrānek (Matt Damon) goes through with the procedure, but his wife, Audrey (Kristen Wiig) chickens out at the last moment, he's alone and adrift in a world he doesn't know. Unfortunately, the film kind of meanders after that, and all of the interesting directions it could go in it decides not to. Also, I hated the implication that Mexicans and foreign people would resign themselves to living in filthy slums for no good reason I could ascertain. I wanted to know why that was happening - but instead the film was making an obscure point which I got but didn't make sense at all.

5/10 (+1 because Udo Kier is in it)


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Kenny - (2006)

This is a mockumentary about a man who works for a business which hires out portable toilets. Directed by Clayton Jacobson, and written by both Clayton and main star Shane Jacobson, people generally find it very funny - but personally I find the comedy mediocre, and the kind of Australian wit it uses overly familiar. I don't want to put anyone off watching it, because going by what people generally say you might really enjoy it, but it's not for me. There are many wry observations about the toilet business (somebody has to do it) and if you feel like you might be into that kind of thing then by all means - give it a go. As far as mockumentaries go, it's not bad.

6/10

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Roberta (1935)

Cobra Kai (season 5) - 9/10
The Help - 7/10

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Re-watch of a classic of American cinema.



What.the.heck.did.I.just.watch?

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Dead of Night - 1945 Ealing Studios release. It's an anthology and directed respectively by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer.

Mervyn Johns (probably best known for playing Bob Cratchit in the Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol) plays architect Walter Craig. He's been invited to the country cottage of Elliot Foley (Roland Culver) to consult on some planned renovations. When he arrives he can't shake a powerful feeling of deja vu and tells Foley's guests that, despite never having met them, he has seen them all in a reoccurring dream. He foretells numerous events that soon happen in the house and also warns of a terrible event to come. Foley's guest, psychiatrist Dr. van Straaten (Frederick Valk), reassures him that his anxiety is unwarranted and the rest of the guests share their own unusual or paranormal experiences. Race car driver Hugh Grainger (Anthony), teenager Sally O'Hara (Sally Ann Howes), recently married Joan Cortland (Googie Withers) and host Foley takes turns recounting their own experiences. Dr. van Straaten chimes in with the case of a patient he treated named Maxwell Frere (Michael Redgrave), a ventriloquist.

This was pretty much the precursor to many other movies that have followed in it's wake with it's circular plotting and portmanteau framing used and reused countless times. It's atmospheric enough to draw you in and while not all the stories perform at quite the same level it does go out on a high note with the ventriloquist and his little associate.

80/100

I wish I could say I liked The Snowton Murders. But outside of Henshall, I can't.

American Beauty is basically a quirky indie (voice over narration, dialogue that thinks itself more clever than it is) that got vaunted by the Academy into Best Picture. It is well acted and has its moments visually. But yeah, the ending wasn't good.

And I'm here because of A Beautiful Life (2011).

A contrived rom-com in its first 30 minutes or so (the lead female character is like a bad cross between a comedic Sandra Bullock in 28 Days and an imitation of Audrey Tautou in Amelie), it turns into a contrived melodrama for the rest of its runtime. I get bad things happen to people sometimes, but it feels like they piled problems on top of problems for both lead characters in an unnatural way. Thankfully, the lead female character has grown by that point.

Plusses? Some good chemistry between the leads. The film itself has a glossy, professional look by its director. And there are moments of effectiveness. Such as the dinner scene between the saintly cop, the struggling real estate agent, his autistic brother with his mute girlfriend and her mother.

The director? Andrew Lau of Infernal Affairs fame. I've had bad luck of late with name directors. D+

I loved the wraparound story and all of the parts of the anthology except for the golfer one. It's literally one of the most painfully unfunny things I've ever seen and it nearly sinks the film for me.

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man - If you were to ask me which W.C. Fields movie is my favorite chances are my answer would be whichever one I was watching at the moment. That's how much I like the man and his singular comedic talent. Granted I haven't seen all his movies but the ones I have seen I've loved. From his shorts like The Dentist and The Fatal Glass of Beer to his ensemble projects like International House, The Big Broadcast of 1938 and David Copperfield he always stood out. His starring roles in It's a Gift, Man on the Flying Trapeze, Poppy, My Little Chickadee (with Mae West), The Bank Dick and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break were all comedy gold and filled with countless throway lines delivered in his trademark mutter.

This one has him playing Larson E. Whipsnade, the owner of shabby and cash-strapped Circus Giganticus. They're perpetually one step ahead of the local law and untold creditors. His children Victoria (Constance Moore) and Phineas (John Arledge) attend a prestigious college and Vicky has attracted the attention of rich ne'er-do-well Roger Bel-Goodie (James Bush). Phineas sees him as the answer to their lack of funds but Victoria isn't feeling it. While visiting her father's circus she meets and falls for ventriloquist The Great Edgar (Edgar Bergen). He and his wooden partner Charlie (Charlie McCarthy) are perpetually on the outs with Mr. Whipsnade who takes a dim view of his daughter falling for The Great Edgar.

Like a lot of his movies the script was ghostwritten by Fields himself and his usual thin plot is just there as framing for his nonstop quips and insults. Those are usually being directed at Charlie McCarthy. There's also a hysterical dinner party scene where Larson meets the humorless and uber-snobbish Bel-Goodie family. If you're a fan of Fields you'll be captivated. If you're not a fan ... then maybe check and see if you have a pulse.

90/100

I think that was the single biggest complaint from the movie going public when this was first released. It certainly threw off the film's rhythm. I couldn't get past their love interest not having anything to say about being relegated to trophy status. That segment was a misfire.

Minari, 2020

Jacob (Steven Yeun) and his wife Monica (Yeri Han) and their two children, Anne (Noel Cho) and David (Alan Kim), move from California to rural Arkansas with the dream of owning and operating a successful farm to grow and sell Korean produce. With various stresses--including the arrival of grandmother Soonja (Youn Yuh-jung)--building on the family, the American dream begins to feel more and more elusive.

While I didn't think that this slice of family drama-comedy broke any major ground, it's an incredibly involving and emotionally grounded experience that's well anchored by strong performances and a distinct sense of place.

The film strongly takes on the point of view of David, the younger of the two siblings who suffers from a hole in his heart and--less threatening but far more embarrassing--a bedwetting problem. David is highly sensitive to fitting in, othered both in their wider community ("Why is your face so flat?" asks a boy in church) and within their own family unit, where everyone else gets to drink Mountain Dew while David has to drink a medicinal sludge brought from Korea by his grandmother. As the film goes on, David connects to others in the community but also to his grandmother, who he early on dislikes for being too Korean. Kim is good in the role, playing a child who is both age-appropriately petty and who feels things deeply.

Matching Kim nicely is Youn as grandmother Soonja. At first it almost seems as if she is being set up as a nemesis to David. She is intrusive--literally sleeping in David's bedroom--and embarrassed David repeatedly about his bedwetting. But as the film goes on, the two form a genuine bond. I found this character/relationship arc very endearing.

Han and Yeun are also very good as the parents, each under their own sense of pressure and trying to live up to expectations. (Sidenote: Yeun is so all-American looking that it's almost distracting, no?). Monica is constantly being reassured that she is "good enough for Arkansas" when she frets about her speed at work, something that comes off as well-meaning but patronizing. Jacob is clearly slightly out of his depth, at times prioritizing his dream over the wellbeing of his family.

Visually, the film has a soft look that I enjoyed. It manages to convey a sense of nostalgia that makes sense with the point of view leaning toward David's character.

A sweet little family film that more than earns the emotional beats at the end.

Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd, 2016)
(Rewatch)

Lady Macbeth is gorgeously shot with a palatte of earth tones and black, with just a little pop of color here and there. And it was really the look of this film that seduced me when I first saw its trailer back in 2016.

But that's not what really makes this a memorable experience. For that you must look to its central performance. Florence Pugh is absolutely chilling as Katherine - a woman who, once finding a taste of freedom in her otherwise stifling life, goes to increasingly cruel measures to keep it. She is calculating, remorseless, and will take out anyone who gets in her way.

Yet this is not a movie that is particularly violent. There are a few bursts of action and it clocks in at only about 90 minutes, but it burns at almost a snail's pace. It also almost completely lacks a score. There's virtually no music to instruct or manipulate your emotions. You are simply presented with a set of people and circumstances and are left to judge them for yourself.

As for me, I come away from it not knowing entirely how to feel about Katherine and her crimes, and I love that about it. It still remains to be seen if this will make the final cut for me, but its definitely not out of contention yet.

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Killing Them Softly - (2012)

Straightforward and brutal - Killing Them Softly has been pared down to 97 minutes, and thankfully makes perfect sense despite being made so lean. First comes the robbery, where heroin addicts Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) rob a poker game sponsored by Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta) - Markie once robbed his own poker-playing pals, and Johnny “Squirrel” Amato (Vincent Curatola) figures those out for revenge will figure he did it again. Unfortunately Russell has a loose tongue, and Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) is brought in to clean up the mess - which will involve a broken down, drunk hit-man called Mickey (James Gandolfini). This film doesn't play around with you, or aim to pull big twists out of nowhere - what happens, happens, and that's why I enjoyed it so much. The cast are marvelous to watch, and I enjoyed my time with everyone in this film - first rate stuff. Throughout, we're treated to a background of '08 financial crisis and election patter - corporate and political America being directly compared to that gangster business that goes on here. It has a fantastic last line from Pitt, and is a film I rate quite highly.

8/10


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Alita : Battle Angel - (2019)

I can't help but feel a little too old for Alita : Battle Angel, a film that appears to have been made for a very young audience. There's some brilliant action and animation though, and a nicely realised futuristic sci-fi world. I spent quite a few minutes thinking the animated Rosa Salazar was actually Emma Stone - but that's just me. I'm an idiot, and I didn't take enough care reading the credits. The only real gripe I've got with it is the fact that this is another science fiction property which has a kind of game/sport as a central part of it's plot - one that, once again, doesn't seem to have any strict rules and one which lacks imagination and realism. The story is so-so, but visually it's a real treat.

7/10


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The Crazies - (2010)

I don't think I've seen the original 1973 version of The Crazies so I can't compare - but I imagine I'd like that version a little more. This has a few great scenes, full of considerable tension and horror - but those scenes are the best The Crazies has to offer, and the rest jogs forward in a very familiar way with absolutely nothing to really stick in your memory. The best is the build-up to the complete breakdown of Ogden Marsh, Iowa when a chemical weapon is accidentally released into the town's water supply. The mystery, and sudden unexpected violent outbursts from normally swell people, kept me interested. Once all hell breaks loose, it just becomes tiresome - but for those moments when you're on the edge of your seat.

6/10

I couldn't agree more. While watching it I never got the feeling it was swinging for the fences. Very low key. But once it ended I found myself being drawn back to it and appreciating this approach. Yeun is someone I always look out for. And Will Patton turns in a small but worthwhile performance.

There's a college party and everybody is having a blast except this one dude who's trying to get back with his girl. A meteor lands somewhere and temporary blackouts start occurring. Doubles of everyone at the party appear, only an hour earlier, and with every ensuing blackout, the time difference gets shorter. The big question is what happens when the time difference is gone and the partygoers and their doubles are facing off in real time. This is a Sci-fi horror supposedly, but to me it was a party movie. I like party movies, especially with such a high babe quotient.

I'm not saying it's the most likely outcome, but this is very believable.

I've also heard this many times, usually from people who are gay. So where does that leave us? As is often the case, a person criticizes painting with a broad brush, by painting with a broad brush.

Yes, it's a very intimate story and it doesn't try to do or say too much outside of the experiences of its characters.

It is hard to imagine they left some of the horror out of the movie. Very disturbing film.