Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Tales from the Hood, 1995

Three drug dealers, Stack (Joe Torry), Ball (De’aundre Bonds), and Bulldog (Samuel Monroe Jr), arrive at a funeral home to get a stash of drugs from the funeral home’s director, Mr. Simms (Clarence Williams III). The eccentric Simms leads them through the home, telling them the horrific stories behind the different deceased bodies on display.

Anchored by a hilarious and outlandish performance by Williams, this anthology delivers a potent mix of horror and humor, grounded in wide-ranging social commentary.



Full review

The Swearing Jar (2022) Directed by Lindsay MacKay, who also directed the wonderful and underrated Wet Bum, this romantic drama stars Adelaide Clemens, Patrick J. Adams, Douglas Smith and Kathleen Turner. The film is really well written and tells the story in a smart and surprising way. Adelaide Clemens is fantastic and Kathleen Turner is very good too. The Swearing Jar is funny and sad and sweet and beautiful. Highly recommended.

Vampires in Havana, 1985

In this animated romp, Count Dracula’s son, Werner, has discovered a cure for sensitivity to sunlight, which he tests on his unwitting nephew, Pepe. Pepe is involved in trying to overthrow the government, while at the same time an American crime syndicate gets word of the cure. Also after the cure are a group of European vampires. Pretty soon, Pepe’s revolutionary activities are all tangled up in various vampires trying to find the formula.

An interesting film, but it doesn’t quite turn the corner to be really good.



Full review

Looks like a Count Chocula advert

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, 2023

Margaret (Abby Fortson) goes through a lot of emotions when her parents (Benny Safdie and Rachel McAdams) pick up and move the family from the city to the suburbs. While Margaret makes friends with a group of girls, including her neighbor, Nancy (Elle Graham). The girls support each other through bras, boys, and periods, but Margaret finds herself questioning a lot of aspects of her life, including her friend group.

Full of fun performances and honest coming-of-age moments, this is a very sweet look at what it means to try and find yourself.



Full review

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The Pursuit of Happyness - (2006)

I'm not too sure about stockbrokers being the happiest people on Earth, and I'm not completely sold on the idea that you can buy true happiness with enough cash, but The Pursuit of Happyness is an excellent rags to riches story, and I will go along with the fact that financial security is an essential part of eventually finding happiness. This was made way before Jaden Smith become so damn easy to dislike, so the Smith/Smith team-up doesn't destroy this as much as later ones did - and Will Smith does a fine job as Chris Gardner, a real-life figure who went from homeless bum to millionaire by knuckling down with a stockbroking internship and unearthing his moneymaking talent. Rating this purely as a film is easy - it's great. Rating it all-up, considering how I feel about stockbrokers, greedy rich people and the message this film is sending is much more difficult. Italian director Gabriele Muccino, only half able to speak any English, did such a magnificent job here that I just want to acknowledge this as a film - perfectly proportioned, well acted and very much anchored as a believable early 80s-era film.

7.5/10


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Meet the Parents - (2000)

What can I say - a great comedy, now 23 years old and followed by a slew of terrible sequels. Robert De Niro really showcases his comedic skills here - why not when you're as talented as he is. Meet the Parents gets a lot of mileage out of the familiar fear of coming into contact with potential in-laws, and knowing that you're not going to measure up - it can be one of the most awkward moments you have in life, especially if you desecrate a loved one's ashes, flood the back yard with sewage, lose the cat, set fire to a beautifully crafted wedding stage, be a 9-5 nurse amongst high rollers, break the bride's nose and get erroneously caught with a hash pipe and bondage gear. I hate when that happens. Ben Stiller is quite good at projecting utter panic and lies with such a lack of grace he nearly rises to De Niro's level. He's a little too prolific for my tastes, but he nails one now and then.

7/10

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Marvel successfully brought back the "friendly neighborhood" as part of their Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2017 with Holland as the "web slinger". No Way Home, the second sequel in that series, follows Peter Parker (Holland) as he's trying to find some sense of normalcy after being far from home, snapped out of existence by Thanos, and trying to "get back home again". However, when his identity is revealed to the whole world, affecting the lives of his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), Peter tries desperately to give them a "second chance".

I'm still conflicted about my feelings on this film. There are some clever aspects to its meta approach and it was certainly nice to see people like Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield take another shot at their characters. However, it still can't help but feel like a heavy-handed wink, wink to the audience; especially when you have characters throwing meme-like lines ("I'm something of a scientist myself") just to make us chuckle.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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Take Back the Night, 2021

Jane (Emma Fitzpatrick) is an artist who, walking home alone after a party, is physically attacked and sexually assaulted by a strange creature. In the aftermath, she becomes determined to understand what went after her, but she faces skepticism from her concerned sister (Angela Gulner) and the detective (Jennifer Lafleur) investigating the attack.

A lot of really interesting ideas go nowhere, hamstrung by a lack of cohesion and a particularly terrible CGI effect.



Full review

The Valley of Decision (1945)

4/5 -- my 1st Mae West, what a character!!!

Hodejegerne (2011)
or Headhunters in English

This Norwegian movie starts off slow but picks up speed and gets intense. The story stays fresh and doesn't offer the usual and thats what makes watching this one plenty of fun. Sex, violence, action, thriller.

8/10

Well, while I wouldn't go that low for it, HOHW was still a case of a well-written screenplay that was let down somewhat by very flat, pedestrian direction; I mean, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a shootout in a movie that was that violent, but also somehow so... unexciting at the same time. (shrug)

Evil Dead Rise (Lee Cronin, 2023)

Violent and humourless.

Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019)

Impressively crafted with a lot of care and love for its characters.

First Man (Damien Chazelle, 2018)

For a film so focused on the "human side" of the moon mission this film had absolutely nothing to say. He lost his kid, so then he was super serious and focussed on his work. How fascinating.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, 2018)

Enjoyable fun.

The Earrings of Madame de... (Max Ophüls, 1953)

A masterpiece in camera movement.

Ida (Paweł Pawlikowski, 2013)

Boring and offensive attempt at imitating style whilst trying to say a lot but ultimately saying nothing about a whole range of stuff.

Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt, 2022)

A great filmmaker at the top of her game, subtle layers of revelation building up to a surprisingly great, moving end. I was reminded almost of the "descisive action" that Schrader talks about in his Transcendental Cinema writings.

Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game (Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg, 2022)

Great watch that is edited together in such a fun, compelling way.

Far From The Madding Crowd (Thomas Vinteberg, 2015)

A labourous, reptitive bore. Maybe it's the fault of the original novel, but there's nothing really interesting about the direction too.

We Can't Go Home Again (Nicholas Ray, 1973)

A fascinating experimental film from a master filmmaker.

Master Gardener (Paul Schrader, 2022)

An excellently crafted film of hypnotic beauty that I found very moving. The storyline has the potential to come across as ridiculous and I'm sure many will find it so, I guess it comes across as you much you accept the sincerity of Schrader's writing intentions.

The Covenant (Guy Ritchie, 2023)

Great first half. Ritchie gets criticism for over-stylising his films but the way he shoots the action scenes is really good and extremely coherent and immersive. The action feels perilous and there's a real sense of despair. Then comes the second half where it just feels like a silly action movie with no real jeopardy.

Lynch/Oz (Alexandre O. Philippe, 2022)

Some interesting parts, I enjoyed certain sections which were more essay films on cinema as a whole rather than just talking about Lynch and specific links to The Wizard of Oz.

Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Vant Sant, 1989)

An immersive film that feels alive, brimming with energy in a perfect match of style and content. Again, real sincerity from the filmmaker that approaches the characters and world in a non-preachy way.

Gerry (Gus Vant Sant, 2002)

Won't be everyone's cup of tea but I loved this foray into slow cinema. Never felt slow, I was absolutely transfixed by the "action" on screen. Beautifully photographed with clever, humourous writing as we descend into peril.

The Turin Horse (Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky, 2011)

After watching Gerry I finally decided to get around to this highly regarded arthouse film. An easy five stars, just an absolute masterpiece. Incredible, awe-inspiring cinema.

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Again, it's nice to see you rate a film I love so well. Surely I recommended this to you way back when you joined? If I didn't, that's a miss on my part.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

The Satanic Rites of Dracula
5/10.
As much as I like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, this is one of the worst Dracula movies I've seen. Suede-vest wearing snipers on motorbikes, vampires sleeping in cellars practically rigged with items that can apparently kill them, silver bullets in a vampire movie... the cheese is especially pungent in this one.

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Boldly going.

I really love this movie (and quite enjoyed the novel on which it is based).

For me it isn't repetitive because as the film goes on, the power dynamics between the two of them shift as their life circumstances change. It's a classic "they're perfect for each other, but can't make it work" trope, but I like both of the characters a lot and find their mistakes relatable.

I also thought that the movie looked really beautiful in its various shots of the fields and woods.

Too far back to remember but glad to see more common ground I haven't really watched a lot of Gus Van Sant but have heard good things. Any more favourites from him?

Maybe I was in a bad mood the day I watched this, but I found the characters to be quite unlikeable and annoying, even Mr Oak. It did have good production values and looked nice at times. From the first 30-45 mins I thought I was going to like it but I lost interest as it went on.

People not liking the characters has been a common refrain from people who didn't like this one, and I've come to accept it as a "your mileage my vary" element. (Though people who said Bathsheba was an "ungrateful b*tch" for rejecting Gabriel's marriage proposal in the beginning can go jump in a lake).

For me, I like that they are more flawed than what you usually see in such period pieces. I LOVE that Bathsheba gets swept away with lust and ends up hitching herself to a total piece of crap. I find Gabriel's pride and anger to be very relatable, and it makes sense that he'd have this lingering bitterness. Both of them are kind of salty personalities in their own way, but when push came to shove, they did right by other people. They also both work really hard to be successful, are willing to get their hands dirty, and I find that very engaging on a character level.

I also think that it creates an interesting scenario in the beginning, where what Gabriel thinks he should be offering Bathsheba (money, security, material goods) isn't what she needs. The way she says, "I already have a piano" just kills me. So many movies set in this time period hinge on women who need to marry for financial security, and I loved seeing a movie where that wasn't the case.

I'll also confess that on a more base level, I find both Mulligan and Schoenaerts very appealing and attractive people. Heck, everyone in this movie was cute. I'm not saying that's why I love it so much, but it doesn't hurt.

Padre Pio (2022)

I found this to be a very unsatisfying film, indulgent and simplistic. Ferrara, in my view, tries to take his realism and short cuts too far. As a spectacle it is simply a mess. Actors waiting for the other to remember their lines so they can blurt out theirs. In all honesty the true story is not an under 2 hours cinematic matter so it was condensed well. It just did not flow storywise.