Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate it | {Insert Appropriate Seasonal Greeting Here}

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

As much as I agree that the top-250 IMDB is ridiculous, I'm too curious of that ranking. I'm not much of a Fight Club fan, and I still think it's Fincher's best film (haven't seen them all, I'll admit).

Excellent
Zodiac
The Social Network
Gone Girl

Good, entertaining
Seven
Fight Club
The Killer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Game
Panic Room

The disowned failure that I have a huge soft spot for
Alien 3

Meh
Mank
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

May December. Shocked at how funny I thought this was. Yeah yeah yeah there's some emotion and Charles Melton admirably carries the weight of the story (though I did roll my eyes at the deus ex joint revelation). But the performance of performance jousting between Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman and the unexpectedly noir vibes (the dirge-like score, the beats of an investigation) in something that is most definitely not a thriller were welcome and enjoyed.

 

[2CHAINZ]

Excellent
Zodiac
The Social Network
Gone Girl

Good, entertaining
Seven
Fight Club
The Killer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Game
Panic Room

The disowned failure that I have a huge soft spot for
Alien 3

Meh
Mank
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I don't know how Seven isn't in the top tier; other than that, I can't really say I disagree too much with your take, although I'd put a dragon tattoo up in the top and move the zodiac out, but that's just me.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I don't know how Seven isn't in the top tier; other than that, I can't really say I disagree too much with your take, although I'd put a dragon tattoo up in the top and move the zodiac out, but that's just me.

For me, my top three get better every time I watch them (and I liked them all quite a bit on first watch).

I still like Fight Club and Seven a lot but some of the magic in both cases wears off on repeated viewings. At least to me. Not a big drop in any way, but those two in particular are at their best that first time you see them. Never quite as good after even if only by small degrees.

 

[The Macho King]

Fincher has only directed like 10 films; I'd be curious to see how you'd rank them.

Fight Club only beats out Mank.

1 - Social Network (its cleaner)
2 - Gone Girl
3 - The Killer
4 - Zodiac
5 - Se7en
6 - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
7 - Panic Room
8 - Benjamin Button
9 - Alien 3
10 - Fight Club
11 - Mank

Re: Fight Club - Social Network makes the same point better. I also think it is way too long, it's clunky, the message gets lost behind the pizzazz of it all. I think it is 100% a "gen x" movie, and has aged exceptionally poorly.

Edit: totally forgot The Game. Slot that in over Mank.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

For me, my top three get better every time I watch them (and I liked them all quite a bit on first watch).

I still like Fight Club and Seven a lot but some of the magic in both cases wears off on repeated viewings. At least to me. Not a big drop in any way, but those two in particular are at their best that first time you see them. Never quite as good after even if only by small degrees.

Fair, I'd say that affects Seven more than Fight Club.

With Fight Club there's a lot more to it than just the twist reveal. Also on rewatches you can catch all the little hints and nods to the reveal that you miss on the first viewing.

 

[2CHAINZ]

Fight Club only beats out Mank.

1 - Social Network (its cleaner)
2 - Gone Girl
3 - The Killer
4 - Zodiac
5 - Se7en
6 - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
7 - Panic Room
8 - Benjamin Button
9 - Alien 3
10 - Fight Club
11 - Mank

Re: Fight Club - Social Network makes the same point better. I also think it is way too long, it's clunky, the message gets lost behind the pizzazz of it all. I think it is 100% a "gen x" movie, and has aged exceptionally poorly.

I'm not a big Fight Club fan; I think it's alright, but I definitely have it ahead of the panic room, Alien 3, Benjamin Button, The Game, and even Zodiac. I like the killer a lot more than most people, except for the fact that this guy sits in a car outside people's houses and no one calls the cops or comes up to him. I once took a girl I was dating for dinner and it was in a neighborhood I grew up in so we drove by the house I grew up in. I was parked on the street for maybe five minutes as I was telling her all about growing up there. Within five minutes, a few people came out of their houses and approached me to ask what I was doing. Whenever I see someone sit in a car in a sub division, it bothers me.

 

[The Macho King]

I'm not a big Fight Club fan; I think it's alright, but I definitely have it ahead of the panic room, Alien 3, Benjamin Button, The Game, and even Zodiac. I like the killer a lot more than most people, except for the fact that this guy sits in a car outside people's houses and no one calls the cops or comes up to him. I once took a girl I was dating for dinner and it was in a neighborhood I grew up in so we drove by the house I grew up in. I was parked on the street for maybe five minutes as I was telling her all about growing up there. Within five minutes, a few people came out of their houses and approached me to ask what I was doing. Whenever I see someone sit in a car in a sub division, it bothers me.

For the record I consider myself a pretty big Fincher fan. I don't think he's made a bad movie and The Social Network is one of the top 5 films of the 2000s in my book. Probably my favorite active American director (at least with a longish filmography). I just am really low on Fight Club compared to the rest of it. Hell I'd probably rather re-watch Mank and The Game before FC - it just doesn't work for me.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Excellent
Zodiac
The Social Network
Gone Girl

Good, entertaining
Seven
Fight Club
The Killer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Game
Panic Room

The disowned failure that I have a huge soft spot for
Alien 3

Meh
Mank
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Fair, I'd say that affects Seven more than Fight Club.

With Fight Club there's a lot more to it than just the twist reveal. Also on rewatches you can catch all the little hints and nods to the reveal that you miss on the first viewing.

For the record, I'm really not a big Fincher fan, and that first "Excellent" tier would be empty for me. The only film of his I've seen more than once is Alien 3, so maybe I'm way off on some of those, but they really didn't do anything for me on first view.

I'd probably go something like...

Good, entertaining

Fight Club
Gone Girl
Seven
The Game
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (but not interesting enough for me to be considered a "good" remake)
Alien 3

Meh

The Social Network
The Curious Case of BB
Panic Room

And haven't seen the others.

Coincidence, you (KWHKY) commented on May December too just now and I compared it to Fight Club just a few days ago in that, in my opinion, Fincher's film is the most interesting counter-performative film I can think of (also saw Promising Young Woman yesterday, but more on that later I guess). And I might not be much of a Fincher fan, but I'm a sucka for intertextuality, and amongst the little hints BBB7708 refer to, there's a brilliant allusion to Persona that works as a spoilers through its significant return - something maybe only DePalma did better. So, FC might not be great, but it is interesting enough for me to consider it a truly interesting film, which is more than I can say of the other ones.

 

[2CHAINZ]

For the record I consider myself a pretty big Fincher fan. I don't think he's made a bad movie and The Social Network is one of the top 5 films of the 2000s in my book. Probably my favorite active American director (at least with a longish filmography). I just am really low on Fight Club compared to the rest of it. Hell I'd probably rather re-watch Mank and The Game before FC - it just doesn't work for me.

Hey to each of their own I am and was in no way criticizing you or your opinion. I am a big Fincher fan, and I rate Zodiac lower than most people, and I often take shit for it. I am not a Fight Club lover, but I'd rate it in the middle of his films, but that's just me.

 

[2CHAINZ]

For the record, I'm really not a big Fincher fan, and that first "Excellent" tier would be empty for me. The only film of his I've seen more than once is Alien 3, so maybe I'm way off on some of those, but they really didn't do anything for me on first view.

I'd probably go something like...

Good, entertaining

Fight Club
Gone Girl
Seven
The Game
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (but not interesting enough for me to be considered a "good" remake)
Alien 3

Meh

The Social Network
The Curious Case of BB
Panic Room

And haven't seen the others.

Coincidence, you (KWHKY) commented on May December too just now and I compared it to Fight Club just a few days ago in that, in my opinion, Fincher's film is the most interesting counter-performative film I can think of (also saw Promising Young Woman yesterday, but more on that later I guess). And I might not be much of a Fincher fan, but I'm a sucka for intertextuality, and amongst the little hints BBB7708 refer to, there's a brilliant allusion to Persona that works as a spoilers through its significant return - something maybe only DePalma did better. So, FC might not be great, but it is interesting enough for me to consider it a truly interesting film, which is more than I can say of the other ones.

Seven, Gone Girl, The Social Network, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo are amazing movies to me. That's the great thing about movies and art: people can have different opinions on things. I can't really say you are wrong for feeling the way you do. I am, however, always fascinated when people think something I really like is not good or meh. I plan on checking out Saltburn and Promising Young Woman, probably this weekend.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The Iron Claw. So last week I was bloviating (again) about biopics in light of Maestro, which is too clever by half and ultimately self-sabotages the very points it claims to be conveying. It is perhaps odd or unfair to compare the two, but seeing them close together I saw some parallels and I was struck about how one succeeds where the other fails. Both are about prominent people in somewhat insular worlds and how their personal relationships (love) drove them.

Complaint #1 about Maestro was that the movie doesn't really convey why Leonard Bernstein was successful or important. He just is. Again I don't want Wikipedia, but I at least wanted a few guideposts. I'm just about as familiar with conducting and composing as I am with 70s/80s regional wrestling, but The Iron Claw manages to depict the dynamics of that world and why the Von Erich's are prominent pretty efficiently and effectively. And without being a slavish Wikipedia entry. You get a brief, really well written explainer from Kevin (Zac Effron) early on, a few key matches (again, guideposts) and some filler. You understand that there are financial constraints to the business and political dynamics in that regional wrestling world, but they're only passingly dealt with, never dwelt on. The world and their place in it is established.

Compalint #2 about Maestro was that it clearly thinks the story and its emotional core is about the relationship between Bernstein and his wife. It's just not interested in laying the groundwork to make the movie's climax work. They meet-cute, briefly court then jump ahead X-amount of years to the point where Bernstein just wants to party and ever-patient Felicia has to scold him and nudge to FOCUS ON HIS WORK. Again, The Iron Claw does all that small stuff, that relationship building, so that when the big things happen, it hurts.

If there's a complaint about The Iron Claw, it is that it is pretty conventional. The second half perhaps does dip a little into Wikipedia-itis, but in this case there's such a ticking doom clock on these characters that playing it straight down the middle is fine (and arguably the best) dramatic choice.

Maestro, to its credit, takes some creative swings (I thought the opening 30-40 minutes were pretty great). I applaud that. But that creativity also is not a free pass if the movie can't sell its core point.

The Iron Claw doesn't overthink it. It is conventional, but it's damn near the best case scenario for a conventional biopic.

 

[Satans Hockey]

The Iron Claw. So last week I was bloviating (again) about biopics in light of Maestro, which is too clever by half and ultimately self-sabotages the very points it claims to be conveying. It is perhaps odd or unfair to compare the two, but seeing them close together I saw some parallels and I was struck about how one succeeds where the other fails. Both are about prominent people in somewhat insular worlds and how their personal relationships (love) drove them.

Complaint #1 about Maestro was that the movie doesn't really convey why Leonard Bernstein was successful or important. He just is. Again I don't want Wikipedia, but I at least wanted a few guideposts. I'm just about as familiar with conducting and composing as I am with 70s/80s regional wrestling, but The Iron Claw manages to depict the dynamics of that world and why the Von Erich's are prominent pretty efficiently and effectively. And without being a slavish Wikipedia entry. You get a brief, really well written explainer from Kevin (Zac Effron) early on, a few key matches (again, guideposts) and some filler. You understand that there are financial constraints to the business and political dynamics in that regional wrestling world, but they're only passingly dealt with, never dwelt on. The world and their place in it is established.

Compalint #2 about Maestro was that it clearly thinks the story and its emotional core is about the relationship between Bernstein and his wife. It's just not interested in laying the groundwork to make the movie's climax work. They meet-cute, briefly court then jump ahead X-amount of years to the point where Bernstein just wants to party and ever-patient Felicia has to scold him and nudge to FOCUS ON HIS WORK. Again, The Iron Claw does all that small stuff, that relationship building, so that when the big things happen, it hurts.

If there's a complaint about The Iron Claw, it is that it is pretty conventional. The second half perhaps does dip a little into Wikipedia-itis, but in this case there's such a ticking doom clock on these characters that playing it straight down the middle is fine (and arguably the best) dramatic choice.

Maestro, to its credit, takes some creative swings (I thought the opening 30-40 minutes were pretty great). I applaud that. But that creativity also is not a free pass if the movie can't sell its core point.

The Iron Claw doesn't overthink it. It is conventional, but it's damn near the best case scenario for a conventional biopic.

If you're not familiar with the Von Erich family...

Spoiler

The real story is actually even worse, there was another brother Chris who also committed suicide on their farm, the movie left it out cause they thought it was even too much and the dad Fritz even though he was portrayed pretty shitty has way worse stories about him and was even more awful than the movie. That he's the one who got his kids hooked on roids, he faked autographs on his sons photographs knowing they would be worth more now that they are dead.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

If you're not familiar with the Von Erich family...

Spoiler

The real story is actually even worse, there was another brother Chris who also committed suicide on their farm, the movie left it out cause they thought it was even too much and the dad Fritz even though he was portrayed pretty shitty has way worse stories about him and was even more awful than the movie. That he's the one who got his kids hooked on roids, he faked autographs on his sons photographs knowing they would be worth more now that they are dead.

I've since read about that stuff. Crazy that they actually had to make the trauma LESS.

 

[The Macho King]

I've since read about that stuff. Crazy that they actually had to make the trauma LESS.

This is one of the reasons that I generally roll my eyes at accusations that movies are unbelievable, and/or people don't act in what you would think is a reasonable manner.

Life is strange as f***, people don't act reasonably, and also the claims of "unbelievable" or whatever generally sound like CinemaSins BS rather than anything approaching actual, substantive criticism.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

A post-apocalyptic trio from Enzo G. Castellari (thanks Criterion!): 1990 The Bronx Warriors, Escape from the Bronx and The New Barbarians (aka Warriors of the Wasteland). All cheap riffs and mashups of, most prominently, The Warriors, Escape from New York and Mad Max. You'll see some familiar faces — Fred Williamson, Vic Morrow, Henry Silva, Antonio Sabato — and you'll see some spectacular hairdos.

The first two are sequels, though other than the overlap of the main character and the "futuristic" bombed out "Bronx" setting, they're barely related and one isn't necessary for the other. The third (and my favorite of the three) is more of a thematic and stylistic relative with some of the same actors.

If you're hitting play on these, you know what you're getting into. Rough, dubbed acting; el cheapo production design (the vehicles look plastic and some of the most "futuristic" wardrobe looks like it was emancipated from the closet of old Buck Rodgers serials).

There are some pretty gnarly kills (particularly in Barbarians where exploding arrows play a big role).

Maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace this week. These were fun enough for what they are, but I still, perhaps oddly, expected something more. I don't know if that means I wanted them to be WORSE or BETTER. Barbarians does take a completely wild turn about two-thirds in that I did not see coming and I won't soon forget. A true ... wait, what's happening ... he's not going to ... oh, he is ... huh ... moment.

I anticipated rough acting, but I think I didn't jibe with the first two movies quite as much is because the lead is all flowing mane of hair and nothing else. Real rough stuff from him, especially as lesser characters at least show some pulse.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Wonder Wheel (Allen, 2017) - Very long (and rather boring) introduction to a final moral imbroglio. Some of Woody's most charming narrative tricks just don't work outside of his more relevant or funny stories. Like a lot of his recent movies, it feels like watching a juggler who drops his stuff. There's some original and pretty good work on visuals, but that's pretty much it. 3/10

Confess, Fletch (Mottola, 2022) - A lot better than I anticipated, even if never really funny. Hamm was fun, but doesn't have Chase's weird charisma. The two police inspectors were the best part of the film. Made me want to watch the older versions, but couldn't find them on streaming. 4/10

Promising Young Woman (Fennell, 2020) - It plays with expectations and limits of the genre(s) in very - even though never really satisfying - interesting ways. I can only guess what the intentions were, but I thought the film missed the marks on any discursive points I could think of and was overall pretty counter-performative (most of all by negating the victim's voice while making assholes of men who'd do the same - well, every men in this case). But it got me thinking and that's already something - even if it mostly only made appreciate more some other revenge flicks (Irréversible, particularly, which also negates the victim's voice, but in brilliant ways). One thing where it could have been successful - even though I really don't think it was calculated - is by getting me to think the main character "was looking for it" (not being raped, but being killed and having her corpse burned in a field), something that obviously came up at the beginning of the film in the very caricatural portraiture of the common asshole, making me one of them. But that's a huge stretch and I don't think it achieved much of anything. 5/10

 

[kihei]

The Zone of Interest (2023) Directed by Jonathan Glazer 8B

About the mostly tranquil domestic life of Rudolph Hoss, Auschwitz Commandant, and his family, whose estate literally borders on the concentration camp's walls, The Zone of Interest provides images that I found overpowering. Having read the book, I thought I knew what to expect, but I didn't. Except for the "banality of evil" idea, only one of novelist Martin Amis' concerns, director Jonathan Glazer eliminates everything else including the very plot of the book and two of its three principle narrators, while transforming the third radically. Obviously, Glazer sees his film as a sort of objective correlative of Hannah Arendt's famous phrase. The focus is entirely on the banality of evil, and Glazer finds interesting ways to allow his cinematic form to complement his content. He takes a big page from Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, never letting his camera move within the frame while shooting the overwhelming majority of his shots at long-distance or medium range. Thus, the audience is simultaneously kept at bay while at the same time almost perversely being drawn into the bucolic existence of the family that is so in contrast with the reality around them. There is no moment when there is a moral qualm expressed--the will of the Fatherland is never questioned as centuries of hatred have led to this point of moral nullity. In short, there are no moral qualms to express. Glazer's mastery of form extends to the non-visual, as well; for instance, the sound editing--the barely noticed muffled scream or gunshot in the not-too-distant background--adds a patina of horror to every garden party. I found Glazer's method of cinematic expression in service of these ideas almost breathtakingly effective.

While The Zone of Interest is one of the year's best films, I don't think it is a great work of art. Once you have seen it, you've seen it. I can't imagine wanting to watch it again, ever. The points that Glazer chooses to drive home about the banality of evil are not subtle though the situations he uses to flesh out his points are often indirect and understated. Yet, a great work of art should reward further viewings. I doubt this work will do so. Glazer's movie is best judged by the immediacy of its impact and by the water-tight nature of its self-containment. This allows the film to hit the audience full force on first viewing. Ultimately, The Zone of Interest stands as an illustration of evil, not as an argument of some kind.

subtitles

Best of '23 so far

1) Riceboy Sleeps, Shim, Canada
2) Anatomy of a Fall, Triet, France
3) Oppenheimer, Nolan, US
4) Poor Things, Lanthimos, US
5) The Zone of Interest, Glazer, UK
6) El Conde, Larrain, Chile
7) Close Your Eyes, Erice, Spain
8) Barbie, Gerwig, US
9) The Captain, Garrone, Italy
10) Beyond Utopia, Gavin, US (documentary)

 

[Mario Lemieux fan 66]

the holdovers: 7.5/10 A good christmas movie and a good performance by Paul Giamatti.

saltburn: 7.3/10 All style and shock value and not a whole lot of substance. Not as good as Promising Young Woman but not a bad watch either.

 

[zombie kopitar]

Kingpin- 1996; so dumb 3.5/10
Spider-man: Homecoming- 2017; also dumb, but not quite as much 4/10
Get Shorty- 1995- The least dumb movie on this list, but that's not saying much 6/10

I was needing to get some stupid movies in after watching s1 of True Detective for the second time, what a masterpiece

 

[sdf]

I was needing to get some stupid movies in after watching s1 of True Detective for the second time, what a masterpiece

That scene when he talks about strings theory is a bit spoiled the show. It feels like the screenwriters that create it not quite understand what they talking about and they looks like f***ing posers

 

[Babe Ruth]

The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988)

Early Keanu Reeves.. a warped coming of age story. Reeves is a young man growing up in small town PA, clashing with his father. So Reeves develops a poorly planned scheme to get back at his dad, and help himself (& others close to him) escape their unfulfilling lives.

Good indie type story.. satisfying late '8os nostalgia, and some nice scenery of a Western PA winter. (on Tubi)

 

[The Macho King]

Jack Reacher 2 - never inject kids into a franchise. Some good stuff here, kid sucks. 4/10.

 

[Nakatomi]

To Live and Die in L.A. - 8/10

This almost felt like a Michael Mann film at points, in a good way, but was actually directed by William Friedkin of The French Connection and The Exorcist fame.

It is a neo-noir crime film that I felt was very good. Solid soundtrack from Wang Chung, good action scenes, and a plot that kept me interested. An early Willem Dafoe role has him as a counterfeiter with some secret service agents hot on his trail. The resolution of it all is a cherry on top of a very engaging pie.

 

[ecemleafs]

Society of the Snow 10/10. Amazing movie about the 1972 Uruguayan Rugby club team air disaster in the Andes.