Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Re-watch of a terrific movie. Gonna re-watch the other two installments now.



Why the heck did I previously bail out of this very good movie?

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

Creature with the Atom Brain follows police doctor Chet Walker (Richard Denning) as he tries to stop atom-powered creatures unleashed by Frank Buchanan (Michael Granger), a criminal on the run that wants to get revenge on his enemies. To do this, Frank has recruited ex-Nazi scientist Wilhelm Steigg (Gregory Gaye) whom he is forcing to work for him.

The tension in the film is well handled and Buchanan makes for a decent, moustache-twirling villain. The creatures, with their Frankenstein-like stitched heads, might seem silly but I found their mindless lumbering to be creepy enough within the setting. I also liked the way they tried to explain the logistics behind the brain implant that allows Buchanan and Steigg to control them.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot and the 1950s Sci-Fi/Creature thread.

__________________

Who You Think I Am - 7/10
An older woman who creates a new Facebook account with a fake picture of a younger woman to attract.. What could go wrong?!?

__________________
https://www.youtube.com/c/LoyalOpposition

10 (1979)

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Crazy over the top martial arts gore film that's not to be taken seriously. I knew that going in, which is probably why it sat on my watchlist for so long. It was better than I had expected, constantly amusing with a nutty array of characters.

Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)

By Internet Movie Database, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71653675

Women Talking - (2022)

This film is inspired by real events - which changed things a little for me when I found out. In a Bolivian colony called Manitobi, there are a bunch of Amish-like ultraconservative farmers who don't use electricity, dress conservatively and stick to the old ways. A group of men in this colony started using animal anesthetic to knock out the women and girls so they could rape and abuse them - the youngest victim was three years old, and the oldest 65. When these victims, bloodied and with bruises, reported it, the incidents were dismissed as "wild female imagination" or the work of demons. The group of men were eventually caught in the act, and the police were called, leading to their arrest. In Women Talking, we pick up with the victims, who have been told they must immediately forgive the perpetrators who are being bailed out by the colony's elders. They gather to talk about their options - either they do nothing and forgive them, fight back against the rapists or leave the colony altogether. They're all under the impression that leaving would mean they don't go to heaven.

Although the film artfully inserts many shots of the fields, children playing and infants, it basically all takes place in one barn where the women discuss their options and what they should do. They've been driven into a hopeless predicament when you consider their beliefs - but it seems that belief system starts to break down when none of the patriarchy is around to really push hard, divide and conquer plus insert doubts into their minds. They know that staying there is almost intolerable, and that they'd do anything to protect their children - even murder if necessary. They don't want to be driven to that, and seem to be an exceptionally reliant group of wives and mothers. Included among them is the colony's teacher, who has just come back from excommunication - August (Ben Whishaw), the one man there, who takes down the minutes of the meeting (the women are not taught how to read or write.) Frances McDormand plays a small role in a stubborn "only those in Manitobi get to go to heaven" mindset, and the cast includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Sheila McCarthy. I thought it was interesting, but could have dug deeper and gone further - I do recognize though, that it was a hopeful, positive take on a horrible situation and as such stayed well clear of exploitation.

6.5/10

That's 10/10 out of this year's Best Picture nominations at the Oscars for me! The first time in many years I've seen all the nominees before the winner is announced.

__________________

Aftersun

I loved this movie, and thought it was powerful & amazing. Props to the filmmaker, & especially both the leads.

La Maman et la Putain (1973, Jean Eustache)

This film is three and a half hours of nothing but long-winded conversations and monologues—may sound like a snoozefest but it's not. In fact, I'm kind of blown away. The writing and direction are incredible, and the characters, while deeply flawed, are absolutely magnetic. Great dialogue.. I swear I could listen to these people talk all day. It's like an Eric Rohmer film sans the summery lightheartedness—darker, dirtier, more direct and raw in how it deals with the themes of love and sex. Veronika's long drunken obscenity-laced monologue toward the end somehow reminded me of Molly Bloom's stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that ends James Joyce's Ulysses, and the final scene (closing the film on a far bleaker note than it started) is just so gut-wrenchingly real and honest.
All in all, a great film that expands your knowledge of what cinema can be and how much can be done with a small budget if you have something to say and a unique vision of how to do it.

I think I saw this. It was pretty good. Juliette Binoche is always good like Toni Colette.

M3gan (2022-2023)

Candy Land (2022-2023)

Malignant (2021)

You People (2023)

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

Sissy (2022)

Watcher (2022)

Fat Girl follows the relationship of sisters, Anaïs and Elena (Anaïs Pingot and Roxanne Mesquida) as they each face their respective coming-of-age issues and sexual awakening in very different ways. The contrast between both is the central focus of this drama from Catherine Breillat.

The film extends that juxtaposition also to how supporting characters approach and treat the sisters. From Elena's new "boyfriend" (Liberto de Rienzo) to a key character in the last act, we are left to wonder on the differences and similarities between both treatments, and how much lies, deceit, and violence play into the "game".

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot and the HOF30.

By movieposter.com - https://www.movieposter.com/poster/A...Testament.html, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54323413

Testament - (1983)

Nothing can quite prepare you for the the way Testament slowly works you - imperceptibly creeping on your emotions and expectations until, by film's close, it has you. It was so very much different from what I was expecting - a nuclear war drama that forgoes any of the usual fire and fury and instead settles on a slow burn with people dying one by one and society falling apart one small piece at a time. Two parents with four kids live in suburbs so far flung that when the bombs hit there's just a flash - and no expected hurricane of fire and destruction. Nothing works anymore, but aside from that everything seems eerily normal - and life actually goes on, despite the husband, Tom (William Devane) never coming home. Soon, the deaths start - and they are so unrelenting that it soon becomes apparent that everybody will die eventually, slowly picking apart societal rules despite efforts to band together. It's one hell of a film, directed by Lynne Littman - a director ahead of her time. This is highly recommended - and features a baby-faced Kevin Kostner sporting one hell of a silly haircut. Jane Alexander was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in this.

8/10


Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18606562

The Host - (2006)

Interesting monster movie from Bong Joon-ho - like many of his other films, it focuses more intently on family than freakish monster destruction (though there's plenty of action) - the creature (created by pollution) kidnaps young Park Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung) prompting the Park family (after mourning her, thinking her dead) to try and track her down in the sewers off the Han River in Seoul. There's her narcoleptic, deadbeat father, her more upstanding grandfather, her drunken uncle and world-class archer aunt. The effects aren't always the greatest - but the main draw here is Bong Joon-ho's offbeat humour, and his willingness to go to dark places modern Hollywood films wouldn't dare go near. There are plenty of unexpected twists in The Host, which provides plenty of surprises and a gripping (and quite comedic) tale.

Still haven't seen Barking Dogs Never Bite and some of Bong Joon-ho's shorts and segments.

7.5/10


By http://www.impawards.com/2022/crimes...ture_ver5.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70541700

Crimes of the Future - (2022)

This has a recognizable Cronenberg/Carol Spier designed feel to it's world, comparable to films like The Naked Lunch. Instead of hallucinatory, it's focused on future technology, and the ways that technology could be used to change who we are in fundamental ways. Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) has a body that grows new tumorous organs - but instead of killing him it provides the canvas for Caprice (Léa Seydoux) to tattoo them, and then remove them in public as performance art. They draw the attention of a group of radicals who

An interesting concept, with Cronenberg continuing along his merry way - providing unique insights into our relationship with the physical realm, evolution, sexuality, perversion and adaptation. Not many directors explore sex in quite the same way, but it's a very honest and telling trait this filmmaker has.

7/10

Ocean's Eleven (1960)

The Virgin Suicides -

The loss of innocence and having to accept the cold, hard facts of life is a difficult yet natural part of leaving adolescence. Sofia Coppola's wistful and ominous directorial debut effectively argues that denying that any of this happens causes more difficulty. Suicide is not an easy thing to depict - despite so many filmmaker's intentions, it still tends to be overly romanticized - but I think this movie gets it right for the ways it frames the act as a tragedy that did not have to happen. The way that stands out is how the movie resembles a true crime documentary, whether it's the narration from the Lisbon sisters' grown admirers to the color scheme that gives the movie an aged look. Adding to this vibe is the feeling that we only experience glimpses of the sisters' lives that the narrators were lucky enough to catch, which not only adds to their mystery, but also makes their isolation and unanswered cries for help even more palpable. Achievements like these make the movie one of the most assured feature-length debuts I've ever seen. More of Coppola's touches I approve of are the hardly subtle yet apt metaphors from the not-so benign nature shows to the trees on the Lisbon family lawn. There are also the performances, especially Josh Hartnett's star-making turn and of course Kirsten Dunst, but my favorites are Kathleen Turner and James Woods as the protective parents. The way the react to the tragedies not with remorse, but with an air of acceptance as if they were inevitable is as strange as it is haunting.

The impulse to want to preserve and protect something or someone we find beautiful may seem honorable in the moment, but the consequences are dire. It's hard for a firefly in a jar to breathe or be with others of its kind, for instance, and placing someone on a pedestal is not only just as isolating, but it also makes falling down even more dangerous. Some may consider this a 2000 movie, but for the sad, eerie yet sometimes surprisingly funny ways Coppola uses the story of these sisters to prove this point, it's another reason why '99 is such a great year for film. If none of this still sells you on it, you should at least see it to understand why Trip Fontaine was such a popular Internet alias in the late '90s and early 00's.

Kramer vs. Kramer follows the struggles of Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman), after his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) abandons him and their 7-year-old son, Billy (Justin Henry). As Ted copes with this, he has to learn to find some balance between his professional career, his personal life, and his duties as a parent.

As it is, I really appreciated the way that the film portrayed Ted's growth as a parent, and in his relationship with Billy. Also, the moments where we see the kid trying to internalize and rationalize the abandonment and this clash between his parents were heartbreaking. There are a couple of scenes that are obviously put in there to highlight that contrast; the two breakfast scenes, or the scenes when Ted's walking Billy to school. As obvious as they are, I think they work, mostly because of the excellent performances from Hoffman and Henry.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

Low Country - The Murdaugh Dynasty
I ignored this case, until I saw this on CNN (3-part series) and was captivated, much like I was with "The Keepers", even though I never watch this stuff... There's also video of the interview, interrogation, phone calls on YouTube. I don't like to make snap judgement, but I'm almost sure Alex is guilty of killing his wife and son. No idea why, but the opiate use seemed like a ploy for leniency, and to stay in a rehab center, which has to be better than jail. Maybe thinking he would buy time until his lawyers got him out. He's a lawyer, too, and it looks like "the good ol' boy" (thuggery) went too far. I don't know about the young man killed in 2015 - seems like it could be gossip.



I hear the Netflix documentary of this family is out today.

After all, what can a few land crabs do? Well, that's what Attack of the Crab Monsters wants to answer. The film follows a group of scientists sent to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean to study the effects of nuclear tests. What they eventually find is that the island is inhabited by mutated giant crabs that take over the minds of their victims.

There is an undeniable charm to these creature features that were made during the time (which I suppose is the reason why this HoF is so appealing to some of us). Part of it had to do with the fears of the moment, i.e. radiation, nuclear power; but another big part of it has to do with the "low budget" approach to these films. There's obviously a bit of both in this one.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot and the 1950s Sci-Fi/Creature thread.

Not bad, but nowhere near as good as part one. Almost finished the third movie & I know I am going to say that part one totally outshone the other two parts.