Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Possessor (2020)


Neat and tight thriller/horror regarding an company set up to assassinate for money by the process of "possessing" someone who may appear have a motive for killing the target(s). It starts to go pearshaped when a "possessor" is unable to complete the 100% cycle of operation and force the "possessee" to tie off the loose end leaving the company compromised.

Liked this and it certainly does have some "daddy Cronenberg" stylistic touches and themes.

Glad you enjoyed it. Seems like almost everyone I've seen here has liked it.

__________________
Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

Still Walking (2008) -
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A (2018) -
Ant -Man and the Wasp (2018) -
Men and Chicken (2015) -
Andre the Giant (2018) -

I did indeed SL, was quite gruesome in places....which just adds to my enjoyment!

48 Hrs. -

This is one of the most fun buddy cop, well...anti-buddy cop movies I've ever watched. I say anti-buddy because Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) is actually a convict and to quote his assessment of his relationship with his partner, Nick Nolte's irascible Jack Cates, "we ain't brothers, we ain't partners, and we ain't friends." Not only an anti-buddy cop movie, but also a one crazy night movie, well...two crazy nights - look at the title - we follow the pair as they comb San Francisco for a fugitive and former accomplice of Hammond's, James Remar's very ruthless (and sullen) Ganz. If the plot sounds simple, it is, but twists and turns abound, and besides, the true fun of the movie comes from watching Murphy and Nolte trade barbs. This was Eddie Murphy's movie debut and it's easy to see why it made him a star. Everything he says and does either made me laugh or gasp at the fearlessness and audacity. I especially liked the scene where he shakes down a country bar - it's hard to believe such an establishment ever existed in San Francisco - which may be even better than the similar scene in The French Connection. It helps that Nolte, whose star also rose thanks to this movie, could not be a better foil. The beautifully shot San Francisco locations are the icing on the cake, the highlights being the neon-soaked Chinatown scenes which are bound to appeal to lovers of the outrun aesthetic. Not everything in the movie has aged well, most notably the more racist barbs that Cates and others level at Hammond, and while it has a better attitude about racism than other movies from this era do, they still rubbed me the wrong way. Other than that, I had a blast and would rank the movie among Shane Black's best buddy and anti-buddy movies. Look out for a young Denise Crosby (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) in small roles.

It was nice to see a change of pace for a Jackie Chan movie. It's not all fun and games with martial arts and comedy, instead we get an emotionally subdued Chan as he tries to get revenge for the death of his daughter. He's older now, the battle scars on all on his face. We know that those who get in his way are going to get an ass kicking, but the film tries to be a little more realistic with its violence and the chance that Chan might not be as tough as we expect him to be looms over the film.

I was a little confused as to Pierce Brosnan's character here. He's a former IRA member who works for the government? Is he good? Is he bad? He condemns attacks against women and children, but is he behind it? I think I'm still confused. It's odd because the film spends so much time with his story that Chan get's side stepped a little. Here is a film where he finally shows his acting range and the film doesn't stick with him long enough to warrant an emotional response. It's odd.

The film "feels" like a 90's thriller. Martin Campbell directed this piece and the artistic talents are clear. This film is well made, but the confusing story and lack of Chan make it stumble a few steps.

__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

LUCE (2019)



Extremely well made and thought-provoking film. It follows the titular character (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a high-school senior that was adopted from a war-torn country in Africa by Amy and Peter (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) only to become a stellar role model and student. But when his teacher (Octavia Spencer) starts raising suspicions about Luce's behavior and inclinations, everything starts to crumble around them. This was captivating and fascinating all around. Not necessarily because of directing, even though it is very well directed, but mostly because of a rich script and captivating performances by everybody. Director Julius Onah avoids simple resolutions and explanations and chooses to just throw the ball at us and let us decide what we think, and it works perfect. Just saw it yesterday and haven't been able to take it off my mind. Great film.

Grade:

__________________

Last Tango in Paris. (1972).






Brilliant performance from Brando: brutal but tender, cold but caring, dismissive but desperate, filled with pain, anger and lust. The scene where he talks to his wife is some powerful, heartbreaking stuff. A very unique performance that I can't imagine any other actor playing the same way. Maria Schneider gives a strong, natural performance and manages to hold her own against Brando which is no small achievement.


Solid direction from Bertolucci. The film has a very "real" feel to it with everything shot on location and he utilises lots of long shots, letting the actors flow. There's nothing particularly shocking about the sex scenes but I imagine back in the early 70s this might have ruffled a few feathers.


The downsides are that I felt it was too long and the pacing too ponderous and I found the actor who played Schneider's fiancee irritating. But it's Brando's performance which elevates this film, and it's worth watching for that alone, to see one of the greatest actors give one of his strongest performances. A re-watch will be necessary to appreciate it more deeply so my rating might rise in the future.


3.5/5 Stars.

⬆️ Brilliant movie I’ve seen many times.

__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

i didnt like Zathura that much but it was pretty good movie

I quite liked this one as well. I actually own it, though I haven't rewatched it as much as I'd expected I would.

The Canal (2014)

An Irish (psychological) horror that has some good moments and a somber atmosphere but never dares to place its bet on any horse. Good enough to pass an hour and a half, but it's nothing to really remember in the years to come.

--
The New Mutants (2020)

Well, this one finally emerged from the development hell. I lost track of whether it was supposed to be PG-13 or R a long time ago, and honestly, I lost a lot of my interest as well. It's lukewarm horror-lite with rather pointless connections to X-Men. It avoids being a total disaster, though, and at least it has Anya and Maisie. I guess I would have preferred the R rated horror iteration of the film.

__________________

I mostly agree, though the (MAJOR SPOILERS)

Yes, in 1972 you can be sure it was shocking. It shows how far we've slid as a society to imagine many scenes in this film as not shocking. I tend to agree with some columnists of the time who characterized the film as "pornography disguised as art". IMO that is a fairly common circumstance in contemporary art films, as well as some not-so-art..

I made the mistake of seeing the movie when it premiered along with my wife and parents. I can tell you that there was some real squirming in the seats going on during some of the scenes. My father was so embarrassed that he didn't even comment on the picture.

But I agree with you about Brando's performance. Much of his career he was an iconoclastic maverick, so I'm sure he attacked the part with gusto. And he was very effective. Maria Schneider also did a fine job, although she was later to say that the part offended her.

It received an "X" rating, and reportedly later was reclassified as "NC-17", which is about right. IMO more "R" films ought to be NC-17, so that people might realize what they were in for.

It was a landmark film, and one could say that it was a good film. But it was unquestionably shocking in its day.

~Doc

Yes, MUBI.

__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Mansfield Park (1999)

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Another unexpected high point was...

It's a shame that, overall, the film was not able to leverage its moments of visceral intensity into something more.

The film around those shocking moments was very run-of-the-mill (though in a weird way it made the effective moments pop even more, if that makes sense?).

I'm not done with it yet, but I'm about halfway through Fists in the Pocket and I am slightly floored by the way it's shot.

A disembodied hand--followed by other disembodied hands--reaching out to take a peach from a table. A table cloth seeming to move of its own volition until you realize it's being pulled by a man having a seizure under the table.

I'm not often consciously tuned in to angles and shot composition and all that, but it's such a thrill to encounter a style that calls attention to itself in a good way.