Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Cinema at the End of the World Edition

[guinness]

I'm on a Myrna Loy quest of late.

Finally watched The Thin Man (1934), the role that made her a star after nearly a decade of appearing in nearly ~80 movies, and the interplay between her and William Powell is great (IIRC, one of the longest collaborations in movie history, something like 13 movies together, but that was probably also the studio system at work).

The other characters are good as well, but I had to watch it 3 times today, because honestly, the plot makes little sense...the cops were inept, and there's was no real clues pointing to the final resolution by Nick at the end, just a very convenient series of hunches and wild assumptions to neatly tie up the loose ends, but the how/why...uh?

Maybe it connected better with audiences nearly 88 years ago, but the plot was the weakest part for me. And because right after the end prohibition, drinking constantly.

Like other screwball comedies I've seen, lots of fast talking and strong, female characters.

6/10

 

[Puck]

For CODA, subtitles need to be activated in the movie player. If they are not activated you miss a large part of the dialogue unless you know sign language. This has been an issue with many people watching it without knowing. If the subtitle file was was on and you still hated it, well....whatever....

 

[Spring in Fialta]

The Velvet Underground (2021) - Disclaimer: I am an admitted superfan of The Velvet Underground and will go to my death thinking that the outfit were the bee's knees from outer 9 and the finest band to ever record rock music. To me, they represent the perfect mixture of avant-garde and guitar music and while I'm not someone who places a great deal of importance upon lyrics to (or traditional poetry for that matter), I've always admired Reed's literacy and the potency of how his words complemented his atmospheric orchestration. With that said, I was a little let down by the documentary. While I trust that Todd Haynes is a superfan of the band, it feels like the movie caters to the casual viewer. I think that's a loss for opportunity, especially considering the great use of footage that's presented throughout the film. But most of the information given can be read quickly on the band's Wikipedia page and a lot of it revolves around personal tension and connection as opposed to the Velvet Underground's composition and recording techniques, which I feel would have been much more fun to learn about.

Yeah, despite its title, The Velvet Underground is a bit more than just The Velvet Underground. There's a lot of talk about the surrounding artistic scene in which The Velvet Underground, despite their lack of success during their initial run, seemed to be the center of, even if the probability is that this wasn't the case at all (Hell, Warhol was affilitated with them for what, a year? Maybe two?) which I think may have been a bit misleading but no doubt this is a movie that was made with a lot of care and is a pleasant watch. I just think that it's a surface level documentary, whereas, to me, if you're going to make a documentary, just go all the way with it and dig as deep as you can. Furthermore, I just didn't find the narrative that captivating. Not an F1 connoisseur, but a documentary like Senna had me much more captivated than this. I can't imagine this documentary having the same effect on someone who knew nothing about the band.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

: Fishy smelling daughter who can hear is part of an eccentric family who are deaf

What exactly does this mean?

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

For CODA, subtitles need to be activated in the movie player. If they are not activated you miss a large part of the dialogue unless you know sign language. This has been an issue with many people watching it without knowing. If the subtitle file was was on and you still hated it, well....whatever....

That's odd, but if the case, it would seem to be a directorial choice.

 

[Puck]

That's odd, but if the case, it would seem to be a directorial choice.

I had a DVD and you had to turn on the closed captions or subs. It was not hard-coded into the film.

If you download movies on the net, they may or may not come with the SRT file attached (subtitles). It depends where you get it. Even if the SRT file is included, you still may still have to add it to the movie manually.

On Netflix, Amazon or Apple, there are sub tracks to most movies. You can add subs in different languages or delete them depending on your preferences.

I know several individuals who watched CODA not knowing it had subs or closed captions. They missed understanding a good part of the film.

 

[kihei]

What exactly does this mean?

She works on the family's fishing boat, and is called fishy by a nasty high school cohort.

 

[kihei]

For CODA, subtitles need to be activated in the movie player. If they are not activated you miss a large part of the dialogue unless you know sign language. This has been an issue with many people watching it without knowing. If the subtitle file was was on and you still hated it, well....whatever....

I looked for your review but couldn't find it after a quick scan. Point me in the direction of it if you have reviewed it. If not, I'd be curious as to your thoughts on the movie.

 

[Puck]

I reviewed it earlier when it came out. As Osprey would say, "I really liked it". We don't have to like the same things, and I know you tend to dislike Sundance Indies. I was just surprised at the level of disdain heaped on this one (can't be attributed simply to pandemic crankiness). And now kihei and Pranzo seeing eye to eye this week, as kindred spirits. The apocalypse is near for sure

 

[saska sault]

Jeremiah Johnson - 8/10.

Also did not know Robert Redford was the popular "meme" I have been seeing for years. As a fan of Westerns, this one was fun start to finish. Some great comedy, scenery and over the top acting at times. Definitely a movie that can't be made in today's climate.

 

[Sentinel]

7 Days in Entebbe (2018).

How do you destroy and besmirch one of the most brilliant and uncontroversial success stories of the past century? A model rescue operation that special ops still ponder over? Let me give you a recipe. (1) Sympathize with and put human faces on the terrorists. It does not take long for moral relativism to appear in this film: the opening sequence states “Israel called them terrorists. They called themselves freedom fighters.” Daniel Bruhl and an A-List Hollywood actress and a perpetual semi-sympathetic villain Rosamund Pike play two confused Germans who want to “throw bombs into public consciousness.” (2) Make Israelis look bad. Shimon Perez (Eddie Marsan) looks so evil, he belongs in a James Bond movie. Itzhak Rabin is a weakling. The lone Israeli soldier with a story is stupid. (3) Make the whole thing painfully boring: lame “action” sequences, empty dialogues, bland and trivial philosophizing about “Palestinians having no land,” the final quote “If we don’t negotiate with terrorists, this war will never end,” etc. (4) Throw in… dance. Yes, dance. There is a god-awful avant-garde ballet sprinkled throughout the movie, which absolutely kills everything it touches, including – get this! – the actual liberation of hostages scene. To summarize: this shitstorm of a movie is boring, poorly made, and morally reprehensible. 2/10

 

[Puck]

I'm on a Myrna Loy quest of late.

Finally watched The Thin Man (1934), the role that made her a star after nearly a decade of appearing in nearly ~80 movies, and the interplay between her and William Powell is great (IIRC, one of the longest collaborations in movie history, something like 13 movies together, but that was probably also the studio system at work).

The other characters are good as well, but I had to watch it 3 times today, because honestly, the plot makes little sense...the cops were inept, and there's was no real clues pointing to the final resolution by Nick at the end, just a very convenient series of hunches and wild assumptions to neatly tie up the loose ends, but the how/why...uh?

Maybe it connected better with audiences nearly 88 years ago, but the plot was the weakest part for me. And because right after the end prohibition, drinking constantly.

Like other screwball comedies I've seen, lots of fast talking and strong, female characters.

6/10

The Thin Man series was ahead of it's time IMHO. A fairly polished comedy, I'm also a fan. As for weaknesses mentioned, you have to remind yourself it was mid 30's. I see you are off the Scarjo obession and unto Myrna Loy now? Going retro?

 

[kihei]

I reviewed it earlier when it came out. As Osprey would say, "I really liked it". We don't have to like the same things, and I know you tend to dislike Sundance Indies. I was just surprised at the level of disdain heaped on this one (can't be attributed simply to pandemic crankiness). And now kihei and Pranzo seeing eye to eye this week, as kindred spirits. The apocalypse is near for sure

My vituperation was aimed mostly at the Sundance Festival itself and my long history of frustratiion with it. Though not at all an innocent bystander, at least in the admittedly paltry ten minute chunk that I gave it, CODA more or less stumbled into my line of fire.

 

[kihei]

Myrna Loy is sexy.

 

[Puck]

She has a certain 'je ne sais quoi'.

Give CODA a 2nd chance maybe in a few months after a timeout rest period. Make sure you have the subs.

 

[kihei]

She has a certain 'je ne sais quoi'.

Give CODA a 2nd chance maybe in a few months after a timeout rest period. Make sure you have the subs.

"After a time-out rest period." Cracked me up. Will do.

 

[Puck]

I admit it is probably more of a 'chick-flick'. Coming of age story (young woman). But it is good-hearted. I admit it won't win an Oscar but... You seem like a pro-feminist kinda guy and I think it is only the 2nd film for Director Sian Heder. Maybe the expectations were too high, you might enjoy it better after a mind reboot.
Sian Heder - Wikipedia

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

You know you can like a film that kihei despise, right? You can go on with life.

 

[Puck]

Identifying Features, Directed by Fernanda Valadez, 7.0

A mother travels across Mexico in search for her son whom authorities say died while trying to cross the borders into the United States.

Good film although sad and difficult to watch, The film is viewed through the worried lens of a Mother's' eyes as she painfully searches for her missing son. Visually artistic, visceral movie that isn't about explaining the main frightening issues encountered by immigrants travelling through Mexican cartel lands. I was at a loss to figure out answers about who was behind this. It's more about making you feel the horrors of the voyage than providing hard information about the issue.

The only scene that provided a modicum of information was at a cartel roadblock where there was a police or military presence. There was a suggestion there of some establishment backing? Perhaps the Director could not make the point more clearly due to censorship issues? Hard to tell. But here I distinctly got the impression that the main narrative vehicle the Director used to tell the story was through emotion and visual artistry to circumvent the censors and avoid getting in too deep with messy problematic facts. We finally get answers on the son's wherabouts at the end but not on official background info. The film is stirring enough emotionally however and makes its point. We never do find out who is really behind the horrific state of affairs except that the devil is in the details (there is a blurred scene of a tailed devil giving orders on the executions).

Not a Christmas movie for sure, I'd wait until the festive season is over to watch this one if you are interested. The Director does a good job of making you feel the pain suffered while jumping through hoops I believe to blur facts to get past the censors and lawyers.

 

[Puck]

You know you can like a film that kihei despise, right? You can go on with life.

He just caught me by surprise with the strafing of CODA. kihei normally has a wider appreciation of movies than I do. He tends to have a wider scope than I have and more patience as a rule, especially the slow-paced art-house fare. I'm actually quite used to not having the same appreciation for many of the films he reviews. You tend to review more stuff you dislike or you dislike more stuff and enjoy dumping on it. That's ok and entertaining too. No problem. Reading that Pranzo hates something is not news, it's just more rare when kihei does it I guess.

 

[guinness]

The Thin Man series was ahead of it's time IMHO. A fairly polished comedy, I'm also a fan. As for weaknesses mentioned, you have to remind yourself it was mid 30's. I see you are off the Scarjo obession and unto Myrna Loy now? Going retro?

More of Scarlett is the diversion, Ingrid Bergman is still #1 for me. I'm more a fan of "Golden age" Hollywood, disaster movies, and sci-fi than anything....it's a weird mix.

Which leads to things like Ingrid, some Barbara Stanwyck, and now in a roundabout way, Myrna Loy, because I've watched Airport 1975 too many times, and then back tracking from there. Although the Airport series is great in its absolute 1970s cheesiness for me, and that some of those former Golden age Hollywood actors got to collect paychecks.

However, an issue I have with early talkies, is that they can still be really stagey, and so while I can watch "10 Cents a Dance" or "The Locked Door" very early in Bab's career, or "The Animal Kingdom" with Loy, or some of Ingrid's Swedish films...they can also be a slog to sit through, as camera and sound recording could only allow so much. And honestly, some of them just aren't that good.

I would still like to track down a copy of "Baby Face" that isn't terribly expensive, for a pre-code film.

But I think a reason I like those code movies, is what they couldn't show...no sex, violence, but you still know it happened. Val Lewton's movies were really good with that.

It's the eyes and pantomime that reel me in.

Scarlett's sci-fi films I generally do like, and on some levels, I could see her as a Golden Hollywood actress. Although I hated "Under the Skin".

As for what other "The Thin Man" movies I've now seen, as I'm working from home this week, "After the Thin Man", "Another Thin Man", and "Shadow of the Thin Man" were all about the same experience for me, stuff happened, all the suspects were grouped together in a room with Nick and Nora near the end, and "here's the killer"...because reasons.

I felt that "Another Thin Man" even lampshaded itself, when Nora yelled at Nick that she hoped that he could actually explain it all, when he was trying to identify the murderer, which made me giggle.

Overall, I like what I've seen of the "Thin Man" series (4 out of 6 of them), but the interplay between Loy and Powell was genuine. This last gif doesn't really show Loy's expression well, and there was a scene in the first movie that was some great kidding going on, behind the main action, I think when someone was trying to use the phone (booping her nose when she on the ice pack on her head).

 

[ItsFineImFine]

CODA is pretty decent once you take out the singing bits and the high school angst bits.

Don't Look Up (2021) - 7.5/10

I think it gets very real and its last half hour makes people uncomfortable which has led to some mixed reviews. This isn't seeking a friend for the end of the world or some warm shit, this is cynical and effective at it. I've seen this complaint of it not being subtle, I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be. I guess some critics were expecting it to be a comedy but also a subtle one.

 

[Puck]

More of Scarlett is the diversion, Ingrid Bergman is still #1 for me. I'm more a fan of "Golden age" Hollywood, disaster movies, and sci-fi than anything....it's a weird mix.

Which leads to things like Ingrid, some Barbara Stanwyck, and now in a roundabout way, Myrna Loy, because I've watched Airport 1975 too many times, and then back tracking from there. Although the Airport series is great in its absolute 1970s cheesiness for me, and that some of those former Golden age Hollywood actors got to collect paychecks.

However, an issue I have with early talkies, is that they can still be really stagey, and so while I can watch "10 Cents a Dance" or "The Locked Door" very early in Bab's career, or "The Animal Kingdom" with Loy, or some of Ingrid's Swedish films...they can also be a slog to sit through, as camera and sound recording could only allow so much. And honestly, some of them just aren't that good.

I would still like to track down a copy of "Baby Face" that isn't terribly expensive, for a pre-code film.

But I think a reason I like those code movies, is what they couldn't show...no sex, violence, but you still know it happened. Val Lewton's movies were really good with that.

It's the eyes and pantomime that reel me in.

Scarlett's sci-fi films I generally do like, and on some levels, I could see her as a Golden Hollywood actress. Although I hated "Under the Skin".

As for what other "The Thin Man" movies I've now seen, as I'm working from home this week, "After the Thin Man", "Another Thin Man", and "Shadow of the Thin Man" were all about the same experience for me, stuff happened, all the suspects were grouped together in a room with Nick and Nora near the end, and "here's the killer"...because reasons.

I felt that "Another Thin Man" even lampshaded itself, when Nora yelled at Nick that she hoped that he could actually explain it all, when he was trying to identify the murderer, which made me giggle.

Overall, I like what I've seen of the "Thin Man" series (4 out of 6 of them), but the interplay between Loy and Powell was genuine. This last gif doesn't really show Loy's expression well, and there was a scene in the first movie that was some great kidding going on, behind the main action, I think when someone was trying to use the phone (booping her nose when she on the ice pack on her head).

Good post.

Ah yes, I remember your love for Ingrid now. (I guess I remember Scarjo more, I think she might have been your avatar for awhile, a decade ago?).

 

[kihei]

I admit it is probably more of a 'chick-flick'. Coming of age story (young woman). But it is good-hearted. I admit it won't win an Oscar but... You seem like a pro-feminist kinda guy and I think it is only the 2nd film for Director Sian Heder. Maybe the expectations were too high, you might enjoy it better after a mind reboot.
Sian Heder - Wikipedia

A time out, okay....but a mind reboot???? Let's stop there before I need a complete lobotomy.

 

[kihei]

CODA is pretty decent once you take out the singing bits and the high school angst bits.

Now I'm really looking forward to it.