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

[Rodgerwilco]

Watched Midnight Express again the other night, excellent film. I hadn’t seen it since I was about 17. Didn’t impact me much back then, but I had a much different experience this time.

I had a nice review written up, and then HFBoards bugged out and I lost it. maybe I’ll try again tomorrow.

 

[alko]

After so many years, it is a great movie to watch.

 

[Power Man]

Anatomy of a Fall : 9/10

Oppenheimer : 6/10; nice vicuals, fantastic acting, but meh sotrywise and too many flashbacks.
Nolan is a hit and miss, BB, TDK were greeat, Inception was good.
Tenet, Prestige, Dunkirk and Oppenheimer were disappointing

 

[The Macho King]

Anatomy of a Fall : 9/10

Oppenheimer : 6/10; nice vicuals, fantastic acting, but meh sotrywise and too many flashbacks.
Nolan is a hit and miss, BB, TDK were greeat, Inception was good.
Tenet, Prestige, Dunkirk and Oppenheimer were disappointing

I think I really disliked the Pugh stuff (not her fault). First there was the *really* cringe inducing "read this in sanskrit while I ride you and it just so happens to be your iconic phrase and I picked it randomly" which -

okay here's the thing. I don't see how that ties in thematically. It felt like Oppenheimer had an affair with Pugh, who was a communist, and this was something that was used to smear him later. But it just doesn't work. There's the awkward transition to him naked and getting ridden while an up until that point completely undeveloped Emily Blunt watching which doesn't piece together, there is the "hey we need him to say the thing what if he said it while getting laid?" that just fails to be anything other than cringe inducing.

It felt like Nolan experimenting with emotional resonance and... failing because he's a robot man? IDK - it didn't work at all for me. And it feels like Nolan can only develop one female character at a time because basically her death is the transition point to Blunt actually getting something to do.

 

[Power Man]

I think I really disliked the Pugh stuff (not her fault). First there was the *really* cringe inducing "read this in sanskrit while I ride you and it just so happens to be your iconic phrase and I picked it randomly" which -

okay here's the thing. I don't see how that ties in thematically. It felt like Oppenheimer had an affair with Pugh, who was a communist, and this was something that was used to smear him later. But it just doesn't work. There's the awkward transition to him naked and getting ridden while an up until that point completely undeveloped Emily Blunt watching which doesn't piece together, there is the "hey we need him to say the thing what if he said it while getting laid?" that just fails to be anything other than cringe inducing.

It felt like Nolan experimenting with emotional resonance and... failing because he's a robot man? IDK - it didn't work at all for me. And it feels like Nolan can only develop one female character at a time because basically her death is the transition point to Blunt actually getting something to do.

Both Pugh and Blunt's characters were strangely written.
I felt like Nolan was trying to force the whole "the wife is his drving force" thing with Blunt's charcater too hard.
And Pugh's character was unnecessary, Oppenheimer was already a suspect (given the McCarthism at the time) with his other connections.

Some visual choices as you said were super cringe.

The atomic explosions had some technical mistakes, you would think Nolan would have done more research beforehands

 

[The Macho King]

Rejoining the other discourse 9 months later, I watched  Barbie.

So the good - solid performances all around with a fantastic performance from Ryan Gosling. Amazing production design.

The rest - about 95% of the jokes fell completely flat to me. The message is... messy and undirected? The plot isn't super engaging. Just didn't work for me.

Kind of a Gentleman's (or Ladies' I suppose) 6. Well executed but not great material to work with. Relies so much on the high concept I think it misses some chances to be interesting.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

The Killer (2023) - I can't remember the last time I've had so little to say or think about a film, whether positive or negative. Perhaps I'm just feeling uninspired but I'm stumped. It's a decent way to kill two hours. Everything about the film is just dead-set average. The lines, their philosophy, the sets, the acting. It doesn't do anything particularly well or badly. You don't feel shorted. And it's the exact type of movie that someone somewhere might bring up and I'll go 'Oh, I remember watching that late at night once.' and not have much more to say. Which I guess says a lot.

I guess I could add that the product placement was a bit distracting at times and the killer's few attempts at deadpan comedy fell pretty flat.

Rejoining the other discourse 9 months later, I watched  Barbie.

So the good - solid performances all around with a fantastic performance from Ryan Gosling. Amazing production design.

The rest - about 95% of the jokes fell completely flat to me. The message is... messy and undirected? The plot isn't super engaging. Just didn't work for me.

Kind of a Gentleman's (or Ladies' I suppose) 6. Well executed but not great material to work with. Relies so much on the high concept I think it misses some chances to be interesting.

What I found extraordinarily annoying and cheap about the movie is how it clearly aims to profit from traditional filmmaking values (conventional, traditional actors with massive box-office appeal) and yet try to game the (very online) criticism it might get for it.

I was just about ready to throw my shoe at the TV when it stopped the movie to acknowledge how Margot Robbie is the 'wrong person' to make a point about beauty ideals.

Motherf***er if that's what you think, then why use her to make the point in the first place? Let me guess, could it be because her beauty and popularity helps you sell tickets?

I thought the movie just got so, so bad in the second half.

 

[The Macho King]

The Killer (2023) - I can't remember the last time I've had so little to say or think about a film, whether positive or negative. Perhaps I'm just feeling uninspired but I'm stumped. It's a decent way to kill two hours. Everything about the film is just dead-set average. The lines, their philosophy, the sets, the acting. It doesn't do anything particularly well or badly. You don't feel shorted. And it's the exact type of movie that someone somewhere might bring up and I'll go 'Oh, I remember watching that late at night once.' and not have much more to say. Which I guess says a lot.

I guess I could add that the product placement was a bit distracting at times and the killer's few attempts at deadpan comedy fell pretty flat.



What I found extraordinarily annoying and cheap about the movie is how it clearly aims to profit from traditional filmmaking values (conventional, traditional actors with massive box-office appeal) and yet try to game the (very online) criticism it might get for it.

I was just about ready to throw my shoe at the TV when it stopped the movie to acknowledge how Margot Robbie is the 'wrong person' to make a point about beauty ideals.

Motherf***er if that's what you think, then why use her to make the point in the first place? Let me guess, could it be because her beauty and popularity helps you sell tickets?

I thought the movie just got so, so bad in the second half.

TBF I think she was a producer on the film and was a big part of it getting greenlit in the first place. IDK I'm sure you can frame it to be meaningful and how societal constructs make women feel like they have to uphold unrealistic beauty standards and these constructs even impact one of the most objectively beautiful women on the planet, in which case.... just do that and don't wink at the audience that Margot Robbie looks like Margot Robbie.

Re: The Killer - I swear I think watching this with my wife (who absolutely hated the movie) made me love it more. Because she was so vocally pissed off at points that it kind of highlighted the almost... anti-comedy of it.

It reminds me of the David Foster Wallace book The Pale King, except in a much more digestable form. It's kind of... viewer antagonistic. It's deliberately somewhat boring. It's deliberately in your face with the product placement. It's deliberately anticlimactic. All of that feels soooooooo intentional to me. And it f***s with audience expectations so much that I think (and maybe this wasn't intentional) it was the joke. And I think that holds through when you listen to the narration and how the action is the exact opposite of what he narrates. When he uses the nailgun on that guy's chest and says he has like 4 minutes to live or some shit and then he dies instantly...

IDK - it's a comedy to me and it works for some reason. This quickly became one of my favorite Fincher movies, but I also get that it is *not* for everyone.

 

[NyQuil]

I mean - the only wrong answer with the Coens if asked what your favorite movie is would be The Ladykillers.

Burn After Reading also.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Platoon. I am not only a child of the 80s but a multi-generation military kid. That gene skipped me, but GI Joe was my toy of choice as a kid and war movies, particularly Vietnam or Vietnam adjacent (like name your POW rescue movie) were plentiful. So like many in my age group this, Full Metal Jacket and others were part of my life well before I grasped any of the real history and deeper meanings behind it. I wouldn't say I ever thought Platoon was cool per se. It's a clear enough movie that I grasped at least some of the horror and tragedy even as a kid. (Versus Full Metal Jacket where GySgt. Hartman WAS cool because he was funny ... despite how that story plays out.). But I watched this A LOT.

It's been at least 30 years since I've seen Platoon. I remembered it like the back of my hand. Full exchanges of dialogue like I just heard it yesterday. But what got me this time is the big sequence in the middle where the soldiers raid and terrorize a village. I remembered every single thing that happened and yet this time ... I cried. I found it so upsetting. As a kid it never registered that way. Never cool or fun. Definitely WRONG. But it never hit me the way it hit me this time. And it's not just the horrific actions of the soldiers, it's equally Charlie Sheen's total mental breakdown as a decent guy who snaps in the tension and violence of the moment. It's not like there are lot of contenders for what I'm about to say, but it has to be the best dramatic scene Sheen ever acted.

Oliver Stone is a BIG director. Big emotions. Not a lot of subtlety. That approach really works here. He presents a black-and-white view of this world and though there is a clear moral judgement, it's not unanimous.

I am of an age where Stone was a dominant force for about 10 years starting here and it's kinda wild that, while not forgotten, he feels a little under discussed these days. Granted everyone may be done discussing him because both he and his films generated COPIOUS amounts of discussion and debates then. But he felt major then and definitely feels less so now. He's also the sort of personality who, god bless him for always being him, but does himself no favors.

Platoon more than holds up though. Stone creates a detailed and immersive world (he was a vet and this is based partially on his experience). There's a cast here of close to two dozen people and through casting and characterization, most them make real impressions with very little — literally looks or a few lines in some cases. Important for a film like this.

 

[The Macho King]

Platoon. I am not only a child of the 80s but a multi-generation military kid. That gene skipped me, but GI Joe was my toy of choice as a kid and war movies, particularly Vietnam or Vietnam adjacent (like name your POW rescue movie) were plentiful. So like many in my age group this, Full Metal Jacket and others were part of my life well before I grasped any of the real history and deeper meanings behind it. I wouldn't say I ever thought Platoon was cool per se. It's a clear enough movie that I grasped at least some of the horror and tragedy even as a kid. (Versus Full Metal Jacket where GySgt. Hartman WAS cool because he was funny ... despite how that story plays out.). But I watched this A LOT.

It's been at least 30 years since I've seen Platoon. I remembered it like the back of my hand. Full exchanges of dialogue like I just heard it yesterday. But what got me this time is the big sequence in the middle where the soldiers raid and terrorize a village. I remembered every single thing that happened and yet this time ... I cried. I found it so upsetting. As a kid it never registered that way. Never cool or fun. Definitely WRONG. But it never hit me the way it hit me this time. And it's not just the horrific actions of the soldiers, it's equally Charlie Sheen's total mental breakdown as a decent guy who snaps in the tension and violence of the moment. It's not like there are lot of contenders for what I'm about to say, but it has to be the best dramatic scene Sheen ever acted.

Oliver Stone is a BIG director. Big emotions. Not a lot of subtlety. That approach really works here. He presents a black-and-white view of this world and though there is a clear moral judgement, it's not unanimous.

I am of an age where Stone was a dominant force for about 10 years starting here and it's kinda wild that, while not forgotten, he feels a little under discussed these days. Granted everyone may be done discussing him because both he and his films generated COPIOUS amounts of discussion and debates then. But he felt major then and definitely feels less so now. He's also the sort of personality who, god bless him for always being him, but does himself no favors.

Platoon more than holds up though. Stone creates a detailed and immersive world (he was a vet and this is based partially on his experience). There's a cast here of close to two dozen people and through casting and characterization, most them make real impressions with very little — literally looks for a few lines in some cases. Important for a film like this.

I think Stone's movies generally aren't discussed anymore because, in part, they're kind of uncomfortable with how much of a shitheel he is nowadays. The kind of conspiratorial bent of JFK and Nixon feel almost like a descent into madness in hindsight.

There's also the fact that - as you mentioned - his films are incredibly unsubtle. I don't think this is a fault, but it does kind of limit discussion of him in some ways.

What a weak year for movies though. I'd give BP to Blue Velvet I guess? Maybe Manhunter? But maybe some of the harm of it is because it's a rather crappy Oscar year Platoon doesn't get discussed as either a robbery or as something that stands out in a crowded field. It's just kind of a "ho hum yeah I guess this one wins?" and no one can really complain.

 

[NyQuil]

Platoon is noteworthy not only as a film, but in terms of opening up the discussion on the Vietnam War after it had been largely avoided in the mainstream since cessation of hostilities.

Full Metal Jacket would come out in 1987. Tour of Duty, the TV series, would air from 1987 to 1990.

I saw this quote from the Hamburger Hill wikipedia article:

In a 2021 interview John Irvin said that Hamburger Hill could have been released before Platoon and Full Metal Jacket "if Paramount had been a bit braver". Because Vietnam was not considered a popular subject, Paramount wanted to see how Platoon performed at the box office. According to Irvin, Hamburger Hill was again pushed back when Stanley Kubrick pushed for Full Metal Jacket to be released before Hamburger Hill.[3]

By the time Forrest Gump came about, everything about Vietnam had become a trope of CCR's "Fortunate Son", helicopters with speakers, and scenes of US infantry wandering through the jungle, so I think we collectively take it for granted.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I think Stone's movies generally aren't discussed anymore because, in part, they're kind of uncomfortable with how much of a shitheel he is nowadays. The kind of conspiratorial bent of JFK and Nixon feel almost like a descent into madness in hindsight.

There's also the fact that - as you mentioned - his films are incredibly unsubtle. I don't think this is a fault, but it does kind of limit discussion of him in some ways.

What a weak year for movies though. I'd give BP to Blue Velvet I guess? Maybe Manhunter? But maybe some of the harm of it is because it's a rather crappy Oscar year Platoon doesn't get discussed as either a robbery or as something that stands out in a crowded field. It's just kind of a "ho hum yeah I guess this one wins?" and no one can really complain.

Stone absolutely became his own worst enemy in a lot of respects.

I don't throw any shade at Platoon's win. I also prefer Blue Velvet from that year (and Manhunter, for that matter ... Mona Lisa, The Color of Money ... ALIENS ...), but I think Platoon is a very good and effective film. Less ho hum for me. More right place, right time. The exact same movie a few years later and I'm not sure it wins, but it clearly hit at the right point when population was ready for a more realistic, ground level look at Vietnam (versus the more artsy fever-dreamy depictions in Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter).

 

[The Macho King]

Stone absolutely became his own worst enemy in a lot of respects.

I don't throw any shade at Platoon's win. I also prefer Blue Velvet from that year (and Manhunter, for that matter ... Mona Lisa, The Color of Money ... ALIENS ...), but I think Platoon is a very good and effective film. Less ho hum for me. More right place, right time. The exact same movie a few years later and I'm not sure it wins, but it clearly hit at the right point when population was ready for a more realistic, ground level look at Vietnam (versus the more artsy fever-dreamy depictions in Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter).

I'm not throwing shade at it - I think it's win is fine. And it certainly looks good against some of the winners in the years immediately surrounding it (Out of Africa and Driving Miss Daisy are both within two years of it, for instance).

And Aliens probably *should* have won but genre films are forever going to have an uphill climb at the Oscars. Kinda feel like they over-corrected with all of the praise given to EEAAO.

 

[Osprey]

At the risk of pulling an sdf, this is all that I can think of right now:

 

[NyQuil]

At the risk of pulling an sdf, this is all that I can think of right now:

I was thinking of this clip too.

Which then makes me think of:

“I have a message for you from Vincent Ludwig!”

*proceeds to open fire*

“Don’t fire the gun while you’re talking!”

 

[Spring in Fialta]

TBF I think she was a producer on the film and was a big part of it getting greenlit in the first place. IDK I'm sure you can frame it to be meaningful and how societal constructs make women feel like they have to uphold unrealistic beauty standards and these constructs even impact one of the most objectively beautiful women on the planet, in which case.... just do that and don't wink at the audience that Margot Robbie looks like Margot Robbie.

Re: The Killer - I swear I think watching this with my wife (who absolutely hated the movie) made me love it more. Because she was so vocally pissed off at points that it kind of highlighted the almost... anti-comedy of it.

It reminds me of the David Foster Wallace book The Pale King, except in a much more digestable form. It's kind of... viewer antagonistic. It's deliberately somewhat boring. It's deliberately in your face with the product placement. It's deliberately anticlimactic. All of that feels soooooooo intentional to me. And it f***s with audience expectations so much that I think (and maybe this wasn't intentional) it was the joke. And I think that holds through when you listen to the narration and how the action is the exact opposite of what he narrates. When he uses the nailgun on that guy's chest and says he has like 4 minutes to live or some shit and then he dies instantly...

IDK - it's a comedy to me and it works for some reason. This quickly became one of my favorite Fincher movies, but I also get that it is *not* for everyone.

The white savior trope in movies was another one where I felt the movie wasn't really subverting anything but instead simply upholding (see dated? I'm sure it's still around but it def seems to have died down from say, twenty years ago) tropes but only using them and then immediately apologizing for doing so.

To me, that just becomes cowardly filmmaking. Either be about it or don't be about it. But don't do it then apologize for doing it and keep on trucking. All I get out of it is that you don't really believe in what you're doing or at least not enough to not do it. There's no malice in it but if I, mere viewer, can see it, there's no excuse for people working in films day-in day-out not to see it.

As for The Killer, yeah I get it. I wasn't surprised the denouement turned out the way it did, it was kind of forewarned at the start of the 'chapter' and makes sense in a sort of realistic way. You could tell the narrative would be slightly subverted. Same with the killer mercy-killing the assistant despite his code. It wasn't going to come back on him.

I'd forgotten about the lawyer getting killed. The killer's facial reaction after realizing it would take way less than 4 minutes was pretty good.

I've never been that big into Fincher though.

 

[The Macho King]

I'm in a "they don't make them like they used to" mood so I watched The Firm.

So yeah, absolutely stacked cast. Cruise, Harris, Hackman, Hunter, Busey, and a half dozen amazing character actors to boot. All of it is just solidly made. Story is pretty solid and paced well. Hunter basically kills every second she's on screen.

Overall it's just competently done blockbuster with some standout performances. 7/10

 

[OzzyFan]

Hi everyone, keep up the good work as I continue to enjoy reading everyone's reviews and opinions. The family health situation is still progressing in the right direction but not in the clear yet. I had time to get out again and decided to see...
Love Lies Bleeding
"From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou's criminal family."

Great film, arguably teetering into excellent territory for me. Hard to truly categorize in a genre/subgenre as a whole, I've seen it labeled with half a dozen categories that wouldn't be wholly wrong at all, but I'd say neo-noir fits best. There's so much to like and so many elements and subjects brought about within, but the main focus for me is the chaotic whirlwind and emotional rollercoaster that strong love/lust and love/hate family ties can create (aside from the never boring all around "unorthodox" aesthetic qualities, tainted to 80s western/mid-west qualities). Throw in topics of weightlifting, guns, crime, obsession/addictions, insecurities/deception, dreams, genetic or second hand traits, rebellion/individuality, a kind of blind or unhesitant courage/strength, and physicality/testosterone driven/aggression driven activities and you have a film chock full of great fodder. Obviously extremities are exemplified, but singular pieces of this aren't too far one off of what one hears when turning on the news every day. Without ruining anything, the set-up, circumstances, relationships, internal and external turmoils, and especially acting are all very well done. Yes, I've read complaints about a "metaphorical" thing or 2 within, but that criticism is far overblown and obviously meaningful, even if a bit awkward within the film. The more I think about the film, the more I want to rate it excellent, even if it feels like it's possibly missing or stepping short of something I can't completely put my nose on to deserve that acclaim.

 

[Voodoo Child]

Dune 2

Won’t spoil but pretty awesome, lots of good action and development of the story - no idea how the next books get adapted but that’s three years away at least.

Chalamet is great when he’s being lighthearted but 50:50 in dramatic scenes and Zendaya can’t act for shit but everyone else was excellent, especially Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem. Walken was Walken which is simultaneously awesome, hilarious and immersion breaking.

 

[OzzyFan]

Hi everyone, keep up the good work as I continue to enjoy reading everyone's reviews and opinions. The family health situation is still progressing in the right direction but not in the clear yet. I had time to get out again and decided to see...
Love Lies Bleeding
"From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou's criminal family."

Great film, arguably teetering into excellent territory for me. Hard to truly categorize in a genre/subgenre as a whole, I've seen it labeled with half a dozen categories that wouldn't be wholly wrong at all, but I'd say neo-noir fits best. There's so much to like and so many elements and subjects brought about within, but the main focus for me is the chaotic whirlwind and emotional rollercoaster that strong love/lust and love/hate family ties can create (aside from the never boring all around "unorthodox" aesthetic qualities, tainted to 80s western/mid-west qualities). Throw in topics of weightlifting, guns, crime, obsession/addictions, insecurities/deception, dreams, genetic or second hand traits, rebellion/individuality, a kind of blind or unhesitant courage/strength, and physicality/testosterone driven/aggression driven activities and you have a film chock full of great fodder. Obviously extremities are exemplified, but singular pieces of this aren't too far one off of what one hears when turning on the news every day. Without ruining anything, the set-up, circumstances, relationships, internal and external turmoils, and especially acting are all very well done. Yes, I've read complaints about a "metaphorical" thing or 2 within, but that criticism is far overblown and obviously meaningful, even if a bit awkward within the film. The more I think about the film, the more I want to rate it excellent, even if it feels like it's possibly missing or stepping short of something I can't completely put my nose on to deserve that acclaim.

 

[93LEAFS]

Dune: Part 2 (9/10)

Saw it in Screen X format, which was my first time seeing a movie like that. Was trying to do Imax but couldn't find good seats anywhere. Screen X was trippy and not sure if it was worth the premium, but it was a cool experience.

As for Dune: Part 2, until this week I still hadn't seen the first one. I found the first one a bit slow, but the payoff from the 2nd was absolutely worth it. Truly a great high-budget film that deserves to be seen in theatres. Of the longer big budget films I've seen in the past year, I enjoyed it more than Oppenheimer (which I find overrated, but I also find Nolan in general overrated post-Memento), and Killers of the Flower Moon (love Scorsese and DeNiro, but far from their best work). Loved the scoring by Hans Zimmer in this film, and some of the shots are amazing. Guys like Bardim and Brolin deliver great performances in supporting role. It's gonna be a long wait for Dune part 3.

 

[The Macho King]

So my wife made me watch Leprechaun last night.

I will be filing for divorce shortly.

What a terrible movie. The villain alternates between always fleeing (so as to not be caught, you see), to chasing, and there seems to be no internal logic between why he can be chased away and chasing. Warwick Davis is, no offense, not a threatening figure. But it also doesn't have enough jokes to make it "so bad it's good". Jennifer Aniston doesn't pop, per se, but she at least reads her lines like there isn't someone off screen with a gun to her dog's head. It's just so bad. So so so bad.

1/10

 

[Rodgerwilco]

So my wife made me watch Leprechaun last night.

I will be filing for divorce shortly.

What a terrible movie. The villain alternates between always fleeing (so as to not be caught, you see), to chasing, and there seems to be no internal logic between why he can be chased away and chasing. Warwick Davis is, no offense, not a threatening figure. But it also doesn't have enough jokes to make it "so bad it's good". Jennifer Aniston doesn't pop, per se, but she at least reads her lines like there isn't someone off screen with a gun to her dog's head. It's just so bad. So so so bad.

1/10

I take it you didn't know what you were getting into before hand? lol. I've not seen it yet, but I've heard it's on the level of The Room in terms of 'so bad it's good', minus the 'good' part.

 

[The Macho King]

I take it you didn't know what you were getting into before hand? lol. I've not seen it yet, but I've heard it's on the level of The Room in terms of 'so bad it's good', minus the 'good' part.

No I was familiar with it. Just picked my battles.

So bad it's good is a very difficult line to walk. When a movie tries to be great and ends up good, you still have a good movie. When it tries to be bad (in the so bad it's good sense) and misses, it ends up being unwatchable.

I don't think it's something you can set out to make - it just has to happen as part of an earnest effort that explodes in so many different and unique ways. I daresay it's harder to make a so bad it's good movie than a 5/10 meh movie.