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

[Chili]

Day For Night-1973 (subtitled)

The life of a film director. A film about making a movie, all the pressures, challenges, affairs, neuroses...Starring the luminous Jacqueline Bisset. And François Truffault appropriately playing the director Farrand. Some funny stuff, like a woman walking into a closet three takes in a row and the attempt to get a cat to find a tray of leftovers interesting. Very well done, can see a lot of these situations happening for real while shooting a film.

Across The Bridge-1957

A businessman (Rod Steiger) who has been running a fraudlient company finds out that Scotland Yard is closing in on him. He has planned for this day and sets out for Mexico. There will be a number of bumps in the road as his plans have to change. Folks that enjoyed the Orson Welles films The Stranger and Touch of Evil may like this one. Many twists in Graham Greene's story to keep things interesting. Steiger is in fine form although his k9 co-star, Dolores, steals a bunch of the scenes she's in. And a familiar face to Bond fans playing the detective, Bernard Lee. Steiger called this his second best work (after The Pawnbroker). Well done dark drama.

The Caretaker-1963 (also known as The Guest)

Aston (Robert Shaw) who is fixing up his brother(Alan Bates)'s house rescues a homeless bloke (Donald Pleasance) from a quarrel and brings him home. He offers him a place to sleep which he may soon regret. Each of the three characters seems to be living in their world. It's a three actor play, with very limited sets and no score. Interesting that no one was paid for the film, was financed by a group of about 10 people who contributed £1,000 each (which included Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton & Peter Sellers). Strong performances from three top actors (especially Pleasance) and a well written story.

Klute-1971

A man in Pennsylvania goes missing and his friend John Klute (Donald Sutherland) is asked to try and find him. The trail leads him to a NYC call girl, Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda). She's uncooperative at first but eventually she relents and joins Klute on a search that leads them down a dangerous path. Sutherland is very good as the subtle but determined investigator. And Jane as the sexy target in the story won best actress for the film. Interesting use of recordings as well as dark settings to help build suspense. Barbara Streisand turned down the role of Bree, wonder if she has ever regretted that. Top notch psychological thriller.

 

[Ghoste]

The Killing of a Sacred Deer - 4/5

Saltburn - 4/5

Barry is fantastic in both. I’d put Sacred Deer in the same category as Midsommer.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

The Iron Claw - 9/10

I think this one could have benefitted from another half hour of run time to further expand on some things (especially relating to Kerry) and it would not have felt long. There were a few things that they left out, the timeline of events isn't 100% accurate and the Ric Flair guy really keep this from being a 10/10. Zac Efron really impressed me.

Move over Boyz N The Hood, this might be my new favourite movie of all time.

 

[Osprey]

FYI, the admins have finally fixed the broken images, so we can all go back to stealing image URLs from other sites for our reviews because it's easier.

 

[The Macho King]

I ended up watching Death of Stalin after somehow missing it for nigh on 6 years now.

What a fun and absurd movie. Buscemi is great, and (I think it's) Isaacs who plays Zhukov pretty much stole the whole movie in his four or five scenes. It finds a way to walk that line between all of these guys ACTING while still feeling energetic and fun. It almost reminds me a bit more of an older school sort of acting that wasn't focused so much on naturalism and focused more on experience and emotion. I could see Laurence Olivier absolutely shining in a movie like this, for example. Beria was a sinister specter throughout the whole movie.

Absurd, funny, and well performed. Obviously it plays fast and loose with the history but I could not give two shits about that sort of criticism when the movie is not setting itself up to be a factual retelling (see also: Napoleon). 8/10

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I ended up watching Death of Stalin after somehow missing it for nigh on 6 years now.

What a fun and absurd movie. Buscemi is great, and (I think it's) Isaacs who plays Zhukov pretty much stole the whole movie in his four or five scenes. It finds a way to walk that line between all of these guys ACTING while still feeling energetic and fun. It almost reminds me a bit more of an older school sort of acting that wasn't focused so much on naturalism and focused more on experience and emotion. I could see Laurence Olivier absolutely shining in a movie like this, for example. Beria was a sinister specter throughout the whole movie.

Absurd, funny, and well performed. Obviously it plays fast and loose with the history but I could not give two shits about that sort of criticism when the movie is not setting itself up to be a factual retelling (see also: Napoleon). 8/10

I loved this movie. It's batshit crazy in a good way.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Lift (Gray, 2024) - Feels like something that would have been rejected by Ryan Reynolds. Hart tries very hard to play the smirky funny charming millionaire that's barely a criminal, but he sucks at it. Everybody's pretty bad, and you've seen everything in there a few times already. 2/10

 

[sdf]

The Death of Stalin works because they don't seriously try to portray Russian characters in this film, which Westerners absolutely suck at, but just do their British dialogues and stuff

 

[The Macho King]

The Death of Stalin works because they don't seriously try to portray Russian characters in this film, which Westerners absolutely suck at, but just do their British dialogues and stuff

With Buscemi doing Buscemi.

No I agree - putting on Russian accents would have just felt... silly for all the wrong reasons.

And I think after some time ruminating I know what I mean by the actors ACTING and it feeling old school. If you had told me this was a play first and adapted as a film, I would 100% believe you.

 

[sdf]

With Buscemi doing Buscemi.

No I agree - putting on Russian accents would have just felt... silly for all the wrong reasons.

And I think after some time ruminating I know what I mean by the actors ACTING and it feeling old school. If you had told me this was a play first and adapted as a film, I would 100% believe you.

Well, I wasn't talking about the fact that they don't use a Russian accent, I meant that the humor in this movie is just typically British or Western, and these actors don't resemble Russians at all with their acting. And that's why the movie is actually funny. I mean, when these foreign directors just make some funny, not serious comedies about Russians like this, it's not bad, but when they try to shoot something as pretentious as chernobyl, that's where the cringe begins

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

I'll enter the Poor Things discussion, as I've seen it be a pretty common sentiment that the film loses its way a bit in the final act, which I thoroughly disagree with.

Spoiler

One of the themes explored in the film is the cruel nature of humankind. The last section shows the filmmakers' thoughts on the great nature vs. nurture debate of whether cruelty is learned, or innate (having Willem Dafoe's character double as both God and a father figure to Bella is quite convenient in this regard). By showing us Bella's past life and that she was an awful person,, as was her husband, we now know that the brain that was put in her reanimated body was conceived by two horrible people. If it's "nature," she's going to turn out horrible again.

By eventually having Bella develop into someone who is not, for lack of a better term, an asshole, the film clearly shows it's support for the "nurture" side of the argument. We're not necessarily doomed -- we can choose to attempt to leave the world better off than when we came in by showing a compassionate, nurturing disposition to those that come after us. That is the payoff for the final section.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Now with Maestro being in the zeitgeist....let's talk about Tár!

Or rather, let me be extremely lazy and let someone else talk about Tár. For anyone who's seen the film, I very much recommend this read:
https://slate.com/culture/2022/12/tar-c ... lyzed.html

Now I don't necessarily subscribe to everything it's selling, BUT, it does illustrate some particular instances (through the helpful medium of gifs) where a character central to the story very briefly appears on screen -- instances I totally missed upon first view, and if I hadn't, would've probably felt the intended effect of having been a little spooked.

Is it a great film? No, but it's still quite good, and do agree with the above that taking everything it presents at face value is doing the film (and the viewer) a bit of a disservice -- I don't think the film is as interested in using specific details of an event to make any sort of grand statement as it is in just exploring the personal response someone in that situation might have.

 

[Osprey]

The Promised Land (2023) Directed by Nikolaj Arcel 7A

The Promised Land is a historical melodrama, set in the 18th century, about Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) who is a retired military officer on no means nor title who asks permission of the King to cultivate Jutland, a particularly barren part of Denmark that is considered virtually uninhabitable. In return Kahlen hopes to be granted land and a title. Along the way he must overcome royal chicanery, frightened workers, horrid conditions, and a young gypsy girl who keeps popping up everywhere. However, his biggest challenge is a local magistrate who considers torture good sport and is as cruel as they come. So, what we got here is an old-fashioned movie, but one that is done to near perfection. The role is, of course, right in Mads Mikkelsen's wheelhouse; think Valhalla Rising; A Royal Affair; Age if Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas. The fact that Mikkelsen can do this sort of thing in his sleep shouldn't be used to belittle how very, very good he is at it. For my money, Mikkelsen is the best actor in the world right now and has been for some time. And it ain't even close. Anyway, if you want to kick back and watch an entertaining "old school" movie, The Promised Land won't disappoint on any level.

subtitles

This didn't disappoint on any level. It was everything that you... promised. It really did feel old fashioned, like the historical melodramas that were popular in the 90s. I miss those. While a bit different kind of film, I was reminded a little of Unforgiven, since this is essentially a Danish Western (which I wasn't expecting) with a somber mood and an older protagonist with a violent past trying to make it as a farmer and family man, though this one stays on the farm. It's a gorgeous film, even when the shots are of only the barren moor and Kahlen's simple, weathered house. The soundtrack is sublime, as well. I don't know a lot about Danish history and appreciated that I didn't need to. The premise is simple and familiar enough to follow, especially if you know any European history. For me, it's one of the best films of 2023 that I've seen. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Hunger Games (2012) - Ross (8/10)
After having gone this long without ever consuming any kind of Hunger Games content I decided to give it a shot. My wife was a huge fan of both the books and the movies coming out, so she was hyped about this.

With this being such a popular franchise I'm not going to spend much time describing the film. Basically 2 people, a man and woman, from each the 12 districts of this dystopian world compete in a battle royale of sorts which is ultimately controlled by the government.

I thought the film was overall pretty good. As with any movie adapted from books, I could tell that there was quite a lot of information and development left out of the movie, even without having read any of them. Overall, the pacing felt pretty rushed to me at times, especially toward the ending.

One thing I especially wish is that they would have paid more care to let the viewer know how many tributes are left at various points in the competition. At the end of the film I thought that there was still 5-6 left when they were actually down to the final three.

I really like this type of sci-fi where there is some futuristic technology coupled with more old-fashioned aspects as well. The acting was pretty superb, especially from J. Law.

Looking forward to catching the next few films in the series.

 

[kihei]

This didn't disappoint on any level. It was everything that you... promised. It really did feel old fashioned, like the historical melodramas that were popular in the 90s. I miss those. While a bit different kind of film, I was reminded a little of Unforgiven, since this is essentially a Danish Western (which I wasn't expecting) with a somber mood and an older protagonist with a violent past trying to make it as a farmer and family man, though this one stays on the farm. It's a gorgeous film, even when the shots are of only the barren moor and Kahlen's simple, weathered house. The soundtrack is sublime, as well. I don't know a lot about Danish history and appreciated that I didn't need to. The premise is simple and familiar enough to follow, especially if you know any European history. For me, it's one of the best films of 2023 that I've seen. Thanks for the tip.

My idea of "old fashioned" was intended to refer to the '40s and '50s, but, hey, I take your point. I've moved the movie up to an 8A from a 7A. I agree that it is among the better films of the year. Just a really solid, entertaining piece of movie making.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Soviet Little Mermaid - 9/10, what a sad and beautiful story. Way better than Hollywood one...

 

[blueandgoldguy]

My top two for 2023 were Killers of the Flower Moon (KOTFM) and Oppenheimer. IMHO KOTFM edged out Oppenheimer by a slim hair but that is just me. However Oppenheimer did well at the box office and KOTFM was a relative bust (if pulling in 150+ million is bad, it is I suppose if the movie cost $200M). I guess people don't like paying to get depressed. People have also voted with their wallets and I guess after the Globes, Oppenheimer will be the front runner to beat now at the Oscars. I guess I will ink in Oppenheimer on my Oscar pool now. Disclaimer, I have not seen all the movies you have. I still have some of your top 10 on my queue. Looking forward to seeing them.

I'm not sure the movie actually cost $200 million to make. I think that is what Apple paid for the rights.

 

[Bahama Mama]

Im Namen des Vaters (1993) ⭐ 8.1 | Biography, Crime, Drama

2h 13m | 12

www.imdb.com

True story, good movie. Feel compelled to visit Belfast.

 

[The Macho King]

Re-watched John Wick.

It's good. Just give Keanu Reeves a maximum of 5 lines in a movie and it's a win.

8/10

 

[Lions67]

I saw Next Goal Wins. Good family movie. 6/10
It’s like Mighty Ducks/ BadNews Bears kinda flick.
Based on a true story though

 

[The Macho King]

I saw Next Goal Wins. Good family movie. 6/10
It’s like Mighty Ducks/ BadNews Bears kinda flick.
Based on a true story though

I'm assuming scrappy underdog is the link there because Bad News Bears isn't really a family flick.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Now with Maestro being in the zeitgeist....let's talk about Tár!

Or rather, let me be extremely lazy and let someone else talk about Tár. For anyone who's seen the film, I very much recommend this read:
https://slate.com/culture/2022/12/tar-c ... lyzed.html

Now I don't necessarily subscribe to everything it's selling, BUT, it does illustrate some particular instances (through the helpful medium of gifs) where a character central to the story very briefly appears on screen -- instances I totally missed upon first view, and if I hadn't, would've probably felt the intended effect of having been a little spooked.

Is it a great film? No, but it's still quite good, and do agree with the above that taking everything it presents at face value is doing the film (and the viewer) a bit of a disservice -- I don't think the film is as interested in using specific details of an event to make any sort of grand statement as it is in just exploring the personal response someone in that situation might have.

I liked Tar but all it really did was make me want to re-watch In the Bedroom.

 

[Lions67]

I'm assuming scrappy underdog is the link there because Bad News Bears isn't really a family flick.

You would be correct on both counts. BNB was a poor choice. Granted I meant the original, but that’s not much better haha

 

[kihei]

my error

 

[Nakatomi]

Tonight I watched Barry Lyndon.

First, the obvious. What an absurdly beautiful film. Every set is just gorgeous, obviously the candles give an amazing effect, and... I mean what else is there to say. It's the standard all other films are measured against for a reason.

Regarding the rest. It's an incredibly slow film that somehow avoids feeling like it. Barry is one of the classic scoundrels. Deliberate pacing, but definitely not for everyone. Well performed but there is a lot of the movie that's told a bit more than shown. I love it, but it's a bit short of perfection for me. That being said the end makes me cry every time with his son. Probably like 4th or 5th on my Kubrick ranking.

9/10

I am just catching up on the thread after a few weeks not clicking in. I also happened to watch this for the first time last night.

Wow. Just wow. As you say, it is beyond gorgeous. A few times I actually paused the movie just to admire what is on screen. If there are other contenders for most beautiful film, I hope others share immediately because this was like watching an oil painting in motion for many stretches.

The amazing thing is, this is not a one trick pony of a film. I am not always into narration, but the humor and cadence of this narrator nailed it. Really just an immensely enjoyable film. If the powers that be ever get around to putting this in a proper 4k release, it very well may be the movie by which all others are judged on picture quality on that medium.