Rate The Last Movie You Saw

A John Carpenter double-feature...



Escape from New York (1981) - Re-watched after years; which proved how my first encounter (on a tiny monitor) didn't do it any justice, as its visually and tonally best to be experienced on the biggest screen possible... and I loved it. Wouldn't have my 1999 big apple in a doomed alternative universe any other way than cabby Ernest Borgnine driving a quiet Kurt Russel, Adrienne Barbeau and Harry Dean Stanton around.



Prince of Darkness (1987) - Remains one of the most unique depictions of devil in the genre that I've seen. It's a crime that it's not more beloved - or even seen.

8-9/10 for both... Inject that 80s synth into my veins, dammit.

Turner & Hooch (1989)

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Le Cousin Jules 10/10
Wow.
It's interesting that this is described by critics as a documentary.
There is one major development in the film, which I had assumed was scripted, but it appears this is not the case.
Another film I have seen described as documentary is Piavoli's Voices Through Time. That one to me clearly isn't a documentary, because there is significant choreographing of the main players, with at least some of the scenes set up. It is also structured to depict a narrative in the form of the journey through life.
With Cousin Jules, at least one scene is choreographed/directed, although in others I don't get the impression that the actor(s) is/are under specific directions.
The atmosphere and pacing is so similar to that of Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Ming-liang Tsai, albeit their films are clearly works of fiction.
I am undecided whether I would classify LCJ as a documentary. If I don't then it would be in my top 20 movies I think.
Regardless, it is a beautiful film both visually (very Antonioni influenced) and atmospherically.
@Mr Minio, would you call it a documentary? Thank you by the way for introducing me to this masterpiece.

The film was apparently 'lost' for 40 years by the way, although I wonder whether Robert Bresson had seen it, as the shots of the doors and windows are very similar to some of Bresson's in the final scenes of L'Argent.

Here's a secret: Any documentary save for some Direct Cinema works is "staged".

__________________
San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

Jules window


L'Argent window


Jules door


L'Argent door

Really liked this movie

Oppenheimer (2023) - Christopher Nolan: 5/10

Prince of Darkness is my 2nd favorite Carpenter film (the #1 is obviously The Thing). It truly is underrated.

__________________

Like an American Idol/A Music Story (2019) Watched on Tubi. A Swedish musical about a girl who wants to compete in a musical talent competition. This only has 26 votes on imdb and only one other person logged it on Letterboxd, so it is definitely a hidden gem. I thought the girl in this was wonderful and I loved her singing.

A Social Worker's life changes are being raped by three policemen, who mistakenly takes her to be a prostitute.

I seen this long ago and found it on DVD. Thankfully, I invested into a non-region dvd player.

A young circus juggler dreams of being an big cat tamer. With the help of his juggling balls, his dream comes true.

This is one of my favorite film shorts.

I found this short film many years ago.

Confessions of a Pop Performer (1975)

Again, the hapless Tim Lea get's himself into all sorts of pickles, this time as an aspiring pop
star...this is funny to me and I don't mind a bit of bawdiness. The comedy is hit and miss and certainly of it's age (but not rude). I like the "Confessions" series as they don't take themselves too seriously and are genuinely funny. The nudity is basic in this one (bums and boobs) but always in a light hearted way. Like a slice of Britain in the 70s it's nostalgic (and always funny to see folk in these that went on to become serious "aaactors daahling".

Barbie (2023) - Greta Gerwig: 6/10

Dream Scenario -

I don't think I've seen a high-concept oddity like this one that I haven't loved. That especially applies to ones starring Nicolas Cage. This one captures the perils of viral fame and cancel culture in delightfully odd and funny ways. With no disrespect to the movie’s unique concept of "viral dream cameos," its parallels and likely inspirations are obvious, including Cage's own Adaptation. However, the one I thought about the most is not a movie, but a TV episode: South Park's "You Have 0 Friends." In it, Stan's online identity overshadows his real one and gets out of his control. As Cage's professor Paul Matthew's grasp of his dream identity gets looser, the resulting laughs and drama escalate in the best way. His less than successful attempts at capitalizing on his fame, including one involving an, umm...X-rated dream are the highlights for the former. His not so funny alienation from his wife, children, friends and students is not so funny, but Cage - who is in his element - is able to shift gears accordingly. Speaking of gear shifts, the final act does this in a way that makes things get even stranger, believe it or not. In short, imagine a Black Mirror episode on acid. While some have docked points from the movie because of this shift, I found it to be more feature than bug. It's a natural progression down the movie's rabbit hole.

If simply reading the phrase "cancel culture" makes you want to bang your head on your desk, you should see this movie anyway. It successfully proves that whether the Paul Matthews at issue here did anything or not, the punishment rarely, if ever, fits the crime. This recommendation also applies if the name "Nicolas Cage" makes you react similarly. Has his track record been perfect now that he's out of the doldrums of his career? No, but this is up there with Pig as one of the highlights in this stage of it. Oh, and his hairstyle in this one is not too shabby, either.

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Island of Lost Girls (2022) Watched on Tubi. A family adventure made by a family. Directed by Ann-Marie and Brian Schmidt and starring their three daughters, Autumn, Avila , and Scarlet. Three orphaned sisters find themselves in a dangerous predicament when they are stranded at sea. I thought this was really well done. The story is engaging and I cared about the girls and was invested in their journey. The three girls are fantastic and do their own stunts, which is quite impressive considering their age and how difficult some of the stunts looked. The cinematography is also quite good. Definitely worth checking out.

Moonlighting (1982) - It sort of just ends without explanation, and the score isn't exactly proper (Hans Zimmer in his debut!)...but otherwise, it's a surprisingly moving, (sort of) minimalistic film about being left alone - and behind, from your wife, your country and any real sense of stability... in an unfriendly England.

When Jeremy Irons said "What a camera likes are eyes which have life and tell a story" he meant himself here too. It's smart to have him speak Polish, and english only for us in his head...he has a small world (work & watch your crew work, leave to shoplift, checkout the girl and back to your bed, and your memories) but every detail he enteracts with is special, and he uses all of those opportunities, every close-up.. In an instance the cap of his pen falls down and he picks it up while you can feel the weight of his other thoughts/concerns on his mind. He makes that moment interesting...may be one of his most different roles, and definitely one of the best performances of that year.

'Preciate the tip. We watched the picture last night, and really enjoyed it. I was surprised at how well it held up after 27 years!

It's a heavyweight cast with Richard Jenkings, Hal Holbrook, Martha Plimpton and others. Plimpton really shined throughout, displaying a good range; plus being so cute!

I couldn't warm up to Kevin Anderson as the nutcase con/suitor/husband. It's not an easy role to bring off, and I felt his portrayal was subpar.

The non-linear story was well edited and kept up one's interest throughout. And I loved the way the ending was suggested, not shown, so that we didn't have to sit through a violent encounter and murder. Everyone could see in their mind's eyes what happened, based upon the opening scenes.

I agree with your rating. Good film.

You might have heard about Sean Wang during the last awards season, when his documentary short Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó was nominated for an Oscar.

Wang has now followed on that auspicious debut with a feature film, which does suggest he could go on to become a very good filmmaker - but his semi-autobiographical directing debut is somewhat uneven and quite predictable.

The coming of age drama follows a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy living in Fremont, California, with his divorced mother and older sister.

Izaac Wang, last seen in the raunchy comedy Good Boys, is excellent here, as is virtually the entire cast of adolescent actors. Joan Chen is also extremely good, as always, as Didi's obviously flawed (but loving) mom.