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

[shadow1]

Police Story 2

Well I loved the first, so I had to give the sequel a shot. I don't get why they went this angle with it. There's less action, less slapstick, it's longer, and the plot is overly serious. Just really missed the mark here. The action that's there is still fantastic (playground fight scene comes to mind as terrific), but honestly neither of the big set pieces matches up to the first, despite what I assume is a bigger budget. The first you didn't have a chance to get bored because something was always happening. The second? There's a lot of lulls.

Missed opportunity. 4/10

If you didn't enjoy Police Story 2, hopefully you're still willing to check out Police Story 3 (aka Supercop).

Police Story 3 is one of Jackie Chan's more well known/better movies. The action is ramped back up, and co-star Michelle Yeoh matches Jackie with great stunts of her own. It's more of a loose sequel to the first two though, with only a couple supporting characters returning (in smaller roles).

 

[The Macho King]

If you didn't enjoy Police Story 2, hopefully you're still willing to check out Police Story 3 (aka Supercop).

Police Story 3 is one of Jackie Chan's more well known/better movies. The action is ramped back up, and co-star Michelle Yeoh matches Jackie with great stunts of her own. It's more of a loose sequel to the first two though, with only a couple supporting characters returning (in smaller roles).

Oh I will. Hopefully it's on HBO Max because that's where I've been getting these.

 

[Chili]

This is a wild coincidence. I saw that play with Douglas on its opening night on Broadway, my very first play ever. Douglas was great, at least as good as Nicholson.

Cool. Kirk said the audience liked the play but the critics didn't. A picture from the play, Gene Wilder (as Billy Babbitt) to Kirk's right:

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Thor Love & Thunder - 8/10

Maybe I let my expectations go south after reading some online complaints, but I was surprised at how much fun this was. Not as good as Ragnarok, but I don't get how anyone couldn't at least like the movie.

Well-paced and with some decent comedy and pretty good callback jokes. My wife and I loved the goats every time they were onscreen or especially could be heard.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Here's what I've seen in the last few weeks, in a bunch - IMDB tells me I haven't seen a decent film since April. These won't help.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (Watts, 2021) - I liked the first 2 Marvel spidey movies quite a bit, this one is trying too much to be cute, and only aims to please. 3/10

Mystery Date (Wacks, 1991) - Not much mystery, or anything else, but it kind of works as what it is, and it has a young Ethan Hawke - not the worst film I've seen as part of my deal with the gf. 3/10

Hustle (Zagar, 2022) - Nothing very original, but I liked the first half. Sanders is too limited an actor to make this more than banal. 4/10

Jour J (Wedding Unplanned, Kherici, 2017) - Also the result of my deal with the gf - terrible, terrible French movie from a lady director who loves to film herself (terribly weak as a director, not much better as an actress). 2/10

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (Roberts, 2022) - The original adaptation wasn't very good, but it had kind of a signature and was original enough to do its own thing. This is just nerds doing an "homage" to a video game. The characters have just as much depth as they had in the game, which makes it impossible to care about anything going on. 2/10

Heart of Champions (Mailer, 2021) - I'm a coach, so I tend to like coaches stories. This is paint-by-numbers bullshit that you've seen many times before. They need to go to extremes to try to get a little drama and tension, and it absolutely fails. 2/10 (and that's generous)

Spiderhead (Kosinski, 2022) - The most disappointing entry here. The premise is far-fetched enough that you really believe it's going somewhere unexpected, and so the first half is pretty interesting. Too bad, it gets so plain and flat that it's actually impressive how much they managed to mess it up. Watch the first half if you must, but leave it at that. 3/10

Thor: Ragnarok (Waititi, 2017) - Re-watch. It's a dumb film, but on entertainment/fun alone, it's very close to being the best Marvel film. 4.5/10 (probably a tad generous, but it's the best film of this list)

Blacklight (Williams, 2022) - I can't understand why anybody would hire Liam Neeson for a role like that. He typecasted himself into a character that he never could play to begin with, but now it's just ridiculous - way too old, way too stiff, way too bored. Other than that, it's a formulaic entry. 2.5/10

Glitch! (Mastorakis, 1988) - Re-watch (well, 30-some years later). Now we're talking. This is so dumb, so overacted, so cheap too, that it kind of works. The comedy is so off that it's kind of funny. What's the most puzzling is how someone like Nico Mastorakis ended up directing that kind of stuff - someone really needs to produce a documentary on this man's life. So bad it's good. 1/10

Joysticks (Clark, 1983) - After Glitch!, TUBI proposed me this one, so I bit. It's dumber, cheaper, and even (way) more overacted. The comedy is so off that it's totally absurd and Greydon Clark is exactly the type of bum that you'd expect to direct such a terrible excuse to show some naked ladies. It's just not the same thing, but I guess it could work for some. If you're old and nostalgic of the video arcades you might find it cute. I'll rate it as 'so bad it's good', but it's more absurdly terrible than fun. 1/10

 

[The Macho King]

I've decided as a "project" I'm going to do all of the Trek original series films.

So stay tuned. Starting tonight after the kid goes to bed.

 

[Osprey]

I've decided as a "project" I'm going to do all of the Trek original series films.

So stay tuned. Starting tonight after the kid goes to bed.

Try to watch the Director's Edition of the first film. It's a little better than the theatrical version, which director Robert Wise was not happy with.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

A couple recent ones.

Bladerunner 2049 - this just kept slipping by me despite loving the original. Beautifully shot film with great effects. Some strong performances as well. Gosling was very good in his role. The main female replicant I thought was pretty bad though, and Leto was... obnoxious. Plot was fine?

I have a slight issue with Villeneuve I think. It feels technically well done, well shot, and even good performances, but they don't always stick with me. I liked the movie but I didn't love it. 7/10

Police Story - I never saw this before but damn if it wasn't a blast. The first set piece was tremendous destroying the ramshackle village. Chan is charming and funny, the action is amazing, and it was surprisingly funny. The plot was pretty standard, but this was a very enjoyable film. 8/10

Villeneuve doesn't always have the tighest scripts (2049 being an example though I think it's still an excellent film). And he doesn't write many of them. At least not anymore. I'm not sure if it's a language thing but the only he's got a credit on that's in English is Dune.

 

[cupcrazyman2]

Maverick Top Gun Part Deux 7/10

 

[The Macho King]

Villeneuve doesn't always have the tighest scripts (2049 being an example though I think it's still an excellent film). And he doesn't write many of them. At least not anymore. I'm not sure if it's a language thing but the only he's got a credit on that's in English is Dune.

I'd compare it to the band Dream Theater. Technically very skilled and has all the parts I like in a band, but something about the final product leaves me a little underwhelmed.

I even felt that way about Dune (and I adore the source material).

 

[sr edler]

Onibaba (1964) by Kaneto Shindo – 7.5/10

This film was a little bit all over the place for me. First some 60s jazz theme at the onset, and later on almost some Bergman-esque sequences with people running around naked outdoors and giggling awkwardly.

However, the setting is really nice, these high grass fields, fairly minimalistic but quite effective.

I dunno, it says this is a horror film somewhere, but it came across to me more as a drama piece, partly war film, partly period piece. I also got this feeling it tried to pass on some type of message of wisdom, not really sure what type though.

I liked it cinematographically and all, but sometimes this guy talked way too much. It wasn't necessarily a problem with too much exposition as much as the guy simply being annoying.

Also, I'll say I'm not an expert on Japanese cinema, so there might be some nuances lost here and there, but it is what it is really.

^ most of the film looks like this

 

[Osprey]

Dark Star (1974) - 4/10

A small team of hippie astronauts on a deep space mission suffer boredom, weirdness and a computer with a mind of its own. It's sort of a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but made with a shoestring budget and more weird than funny. In probably its most bizarre moment, a crew member is attacked by a pet alien made out of an inflatable beach ball with rubber feet attached to it. The sets and effects are also cheap and the acting is bad (not just arguably bad, but literally "no one in this had ever acted before" bad). The only thing that makes the film notable is that it was John Carpenter's directorial debut (and he also produced and scored it), as well as the first film for Dan O'Bannon (of Alien fame), who did a little of everything: editing, production design, visual effects supervision and starring (remember that I said that it had bad acting? He was the worst). You'd think that a collaboration between those two would be great, but I spent most of the film wondering how they went from this to making two of the most iconic films in their genres only 4-5 years later. At least it gave me a bit of a new perspective on John Carpenter. I always thought of him as a horror guy and found it odd that he went on to dabble in comedy, like Big Trouble in Little China, but this film shows that he did comedy before he did horror. Who knew?

---

Someone's Watching Me! (1978) - 6/10

A single woman (Lauren Hutton) moves into an LA apartment and starts being harassed via calls and letters by someone who's watching her from the building across the street. It's a TV movie written and directed by John Carpenter that aired a month after Halloween was released. I imagine that he wasn't counting on Halloween being such a hit and wanted another paycheck to be safe. It's much closer in style and plot to that than Dark Star, as it's also about a rarely seen man stalking a single woman. It's more of a Hitchcockian thriller than a horror, though, and rather tame because it's a TV movie. It's pretty good for one, though. The plot is rather familiar (it seems particularly inspired by Rear Window and Black Christmas), but it's well paced and moderately suspenseful. Hutton is very good and carries the film. Like with Spielberg's Duel, it's neat to see a good TV movie that showcases some of the talent of a director on the rise. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it.

 

[kihei]

Hit the Road (2022) Directed by Panah Panahi 9B

A middle-aged Iranian couple travel through rugged countriside to help their elder 20-year-old son flee across the border to safety and a new life. A precocious six-year-old and, literally, a sick puppy are also along for the ride. This is the first feature of Panah Panahi, whose father, the great Jafar Panahi, has just been arrested by the state for like the 13th time. The acorn has certainly not fallen far from the tree. Panah takes a wholly unexpected and thoroughly accomplished approach to his story, effortlessly giving it multiple dimensions. Our family is a loving, squabbling family that we all can identify with. Rumpled father, worried mother and wild child six-year-old all have absolutely wicked senses of humour. The movie is packed with moments ranging from the charming to the utterly hilarious., inventive humour that rather than feel strained seems remarkably true and natural to the characters as we get to know them. The humour is not lost as we near our destination, but things get more serious, too. Danger lurks and long goodbyes approach while the authoritarian regime's malevolence, just off stage, casts its intimidating shadow.

Hit the Road is not just notable for its humour, generosity and humanity, it also contains some beautiful directorial touches that seem almost impossible for a rookie director to accomplish in a first film. One of the most touching scenes is shot from a hundred yards away--and brilliantly so. A gentle scene of father and small child around a camp fire somehow ends up with them floating through space. The movie ends with a musical number. Panah's imaginative way of composing shots become more evident as the movie progresses--his use of distance is especially noteworthy. And his balance of the culturally specific with the more broadly universal must make his father proud. Hit the Road tells its audience a tremedous amount about Iran, bad but also good, without even seeming to be trying. Of course, all this will only get its director arrested, too.


TIFF.net--digital screenings on line


Best of '22

Hit the Road, P. Panahi, Iran
Everything Everywhere All at Once, Kwan and Scheinert, US
Mr Kaufmann and His Class, Speth, Germany (documentary)
Everything Went Fine, Ozun, France
Turning Red, Shi, US

 

[max21]

Thor Love & Thunder - 8/10

Maybe I let my expectations go south after reading some online complaints, but I was surprised at how much fun this was. Not as good as Ragnarok, but I don't get how anyone couldn't at least like the movie.

Well-paced and with some decent comedy and pretty good callback jokes. My wife and I loved the goats every time they were onscreen or especially could be heard.

The goats were awesome

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Maire Antoinette (2006) - 7/10

Falls apart a bit in the final third where it's rushed and tries to get a bit more biographical but Kirsten Dunst being cute with a bubbly aesthetic for the first half or so of the film is fun.

American Animals (2018) - 6/10

Felt quite unperturbed by this, doing a documentary take on a heist film isn't the most exciting thing to me.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Spiderhead. The look and concept are pretty tight, but otherwise this leaves you wanting. Won't fully commit to be being a drama or a satire so you're left with a tonally muddled mess. I prefer when it's being funny and wish it pushed more into that direction. Kosinski is a good director. Teller and Hemsworth are trying their damndest but I can't help but feel the two leads are miscast.

Last Night in Soho. Another bit of style over substance. Not always a bad thing, but in this case it just didn't fully add up. Wright dreams up some wonderfully playful and creepy sequences. It tries (and fails) to navigate some touchy sexual politics. Could see myself liking this more on future rewatches but can't help but feel a little disappointed.

House of Bamboo. Really colorful Cinemascope shots of 1950s Tokyo in the Sam Fuller potboiler. The moments when it's in crime/action mode are top notch, especially a memorable (and beautifully shot) climax, but the side trips in personal relationships fall pretty flat. Robert Ryan is an A+ villain. Robert Stack, however, is D- hero and had me wishing for Richard Widmark or Sterling Hayden every time he opened his mouth.

Revealer. 80s-riffing trapped-in-a-space-neon-lit horror, which is a very specific sort of movie I tend to like. But not this one! Bad, preachy script. Possibly even worse acting. Not scary. Not sexy. Not smart. Not funny. Hell even the 80s-ness of it only is a color scheme. It can't even commit to that idea.

 

[kihei]

Mad God (2022) Directed by Phil Tippett 7D

Well, Mad God is just about the damndest thing I have ever seen. Imagine an animated nightmare in which the talents of David Lynch, Guy Madden, Ray Harryhausen, Tim Burton, Jim Henson, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Ralph Steadman, and, especially, Hieronymous Bosch all collaborated with the deliberate intention to blow your mind while simultaneously giving you the worst acid trip that you ever imagined—and that will only give you a tiny hint of what this movie is like to experience. As for the plot, I’m not even going to try…maybe just call it an incredibly detailed trip through a hell that goes beyond what even Satan might come up with.

Animator Phil Tippett, seemingly a big name in the field*, has spent thirty years putting this thing together. To quote from Rotten Tomatoes: “Every set, creature, and effigy in this macabre masterpiece is hand-crafted and painstakingly animated using traditional stop-motion techniques.” Here’s some other comments from RT:

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: “It’s a striking, unsettling vision that defies narrative norms as it tugs you into the cesspool depths. It’s unlike much anything else you’ll ever see, and you might just want to un-see it afterward.”

Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times: “For animation and sci-fi fans with strong stomachs and adventurous tastes... “Mad God” is a must. There’s never been a movie quite like it: an unflinching tour through the darkest recesses of a brilliant artist’s mind.”

James Croot, Stuff: “You could argue there’s very little plot, but when things fail to go as expected and the horrors and brutality then ramped up, it’s hard not to be compelled by what you’re witnessing, even if it is while wincing and furtively peeking between your fingers.”

Noah Berlatsky, Wealth of Geeks: “Lurking beneath the steampunk slime and gothic murk is a decidedly exhilarating exercise in visceral, boisterously unrestrained creativity. This is a weird vision that revels in its ability to realize every snaggle-tooth and rolling eyeball.”

Those reactions should give you some idea of what you are getting yourself into.

* Looked him up. He's been a primary contributor to a lot of major franchises: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, RoboCop, Starship Troopers, Howard the Duck, Jurassic Park, and The Twilight Saga. Hard to imagine a more impressive resume.


Best of '22

1) Hit the Road, P. Panahi, Iran
2) Everything Everywhere All at Once, Kwan and Scheinert, US
3) Mad God, Tippet, US
4) Mr Kaufmann and His Class, Speth, Germany (documentary)
5) Everything Went Fine, Ozun, France
6) Turning Red, Shi, US

 

[ItsFineImFine]

The Fifth Seal (1976) - 7/10

Starts with a first third set almost solely in a bar with the sort of boring rambling philosophical discussion that people on this sub would probably enjoy but then it starts getting chaotic and descending into a bleak hopeless second half showing some fascism horror. Passionately acted and a film is powerful when it can evoke such a strong swing with such a strong feeling without making you roll your eyes....I just don't like bleak cinema as much as others.

 

[OzzyFan]

Tumbbad (2018) (subtitles)
3.15 out of 4stars

“In 1918 Tumbbad India, a young boy is fixated on acquiring a hidden treasure involving a Goddess of Prosperity and her first born and most beloved God Hastar, known for his endless greed and eventual shunning/entrapment for his misdeeds.”
A great fantasy folk horror drama about greed and its consequences while being heavy on mood, visuals, and experiential direction. A gratifying slow burn that oozes immorality and evil throughout on various levels. The darkness of man can sometimes equal or surpass that of supernatural entities. Does a good job of showing different “phases/conditions” of greed and in how they can impact people on an immediate and social scale. I personally believe “love” is what fuels the world and one's motives, every action one does is based on a love for themselves or others or something(which is usually reflective of a love for themself or someone(s) else) more than the other possible choices on the table. Selfishness or selfless inaction “and thought”, and of course there is a gray scale here too. But greed is similar in nature to “the love concept”. Greed here is blinding to one’s choices in life and is all about “intense love/desire” for selfish purposes of whatever it may be one is after. Greed is self-consuming, unsatiable, and incredibly powerful. Greed can cause one to do anything and everything to get what they want. A truly horrific “real” monster. Metaphors and meanings are abound in this film too, all mostly involving the theme of greed, but still notable regarding capitalism, British colonialism of India, corruptness, addiction, and I’d even say gambling. The film also covers most of the 7 deadly sins, or Hindu’s version as the six enemies of the mind.

Murder by Contract (1958)
3.00 out of 4stars

“Claude, an existentialist hitman, is a ruthless and efficient clinical contract killer. He takes an out of state job to hit an undisclosed target in California for $5,000. Once he finds out his next target is a woman, house ridden and heavily guarded by police, Claude becomes agitated and everything gets complicated.”
A great assassin noir that focuses on a highly intelligent existentialist hitman whose actions are driven by an impersonal logic, led well by Edwards in the main role. The film oozes a cool, calm, concise, calculated demeanor for almost its entirety, just like the main character it follows, a self-proclaimed “no feelings thinker”. Botkin’s almost entirely breezy jazz guitar score adds to this sentiment. Philosophical and treats its material with contemplative wisdom, and the protagonist Claude is one of the more interesting assassins because of this. Everything he does and says has purpose, and he is who he is based on trained necessity and a connected chain of planned out successive events. He even entered “the business” off of strategic personal financial wants/needs. Obviously, he gets thrown a curveball or 2 he never saw coming though. There are also some touches of humor and an ending that’s conclusive yet makes the viewer finally debate “the why” of a decision its impeccable protagonist has made.

Detour (1945)
2.90 out of 4stars

“A poor jazz pianist, while hitchhiking from New York City to Hollywood to see his girlfriend, is picked up by a man in a fancy Lincoln Continental that soon after meets an accidental death. The pianist decides to borrow the man’s car and identity on his way to California, only to be met with more out of control circumstances.”
A great short bleak noir about coincidental fate and a femme fatale, portrayed ruthlessly by Ann Savage. A rather ironic tale about a naturally paranoid defeatist/pessimist who chases his only hope for a happy future with reckless abandon that quickly turns adverse. To make matters worse, it seems like everything our protagonist does is mindless, possibly even self-sabotaging. The movie unwinds well through a flashback and keeps kicking up notches throughout, but I won’t ruin the events further. There’s also a good amount of fun snappy dialogue in here too and I love how they turn a personal romantic love song into a hated memory.

Mad God (2021)
2.60 out of 4stars

“The Assassin descends amidst a ruined city to explore a labyrinth of bizarre landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens as “he” tries to detonate a bomb deep within this netherworld.”
A good stop motion live action horror that if anything is unique and quite an achievement visually and creatively with the use of its technical methods. There are some impressive scenes/sequences in this film without question. That said, it’s hard to take in and is definitely more art than something thoroughly defined. The story meanders aimlessly, there is no real structure, and there is zero dialogue. To go along with that, there are some stomach churning graphic horror visuals thrown in and if they were done with humans/human realism this may deserve an NC-17 or X rating, if I had to guess. On paper, the best way to describe the movie is “a tour of an unsettling absurd deranged sadistic dystopian hell”. It’s not that endearing but nonetheless is intriguing, albeit I wish it was more focused and less extreme with its deliveries. Had the potential to be iconic, or even a broader cult classic, with a fluid story or use of it's talents with a more soft R/hard PG-13 concept.

 

[kihei]

Mad God (2021)
2.60 out of 4stars

“The Assassin descends amidst a ruined city to explore a labyrinth of bizarre landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens as “he” tries to detonate a bomb deep within this netherworld.”
A good stop motion live action horror that if anything is unique and quite an achievement visually and creatively with the use of its technical methods. There are some impressive scenes/sequences in this film without question. That said, it’s hard to take in and is definitely more art than something thoroughly defined. The story meanders aimlessly, there is no real structure, and there is zero dialogue. To go along with that, there are some stomach churning graphic horror visuals thrown in and if they were done with humans/human realism this may deserve an NC-17 or X rating, if I had to guess. On paper, the best way to describe the movie is “a tour of an unsettling absurd deranged sadistic dystopian hell”. It’s not that endearing but nonetheless is intriguing, albeit I wish it was more focused and less extreme with its deliveries. Had the potential to be iconic, or even a broader cult classic, with a fluid story or use of it's talents with a more soft R/hard PG-13 concept.

I thoroughly agree that there is no narrative to speak of in Mad God and I can well see how that might be a drawback for many. I actually thought it was a point in the film's favour. A narrative would have been distracting to me, requiring me to divert my attention to the wrong place. The viewer being trapped in this thing-- to me, that was the story. It felt like i was taking a personal journey through Hell.

 

[OzzyFan]

I thoroughly agree that there is no narrative to speak of in Mad God and I can well see how that might be a drawback for many. I actually thought it was a point in the film's favour. A narrative would have been distracting to me, requiring me to divert my attention to the wrong place. The viewer being trapped in this thing-- to me, that was the story. It felt like i was taking a personal journey through Hell.

It definitely was a journey through some sort of hell, .

I just feel this "artsy" "interpretable" "experiential" approach limits it from an audience wanting to see it and to an audience actually getting something notable from it imo, well "in this specific case". I know the subject matter isn't already the general population sort of "entertainment", but I personally am not a fan of "torture porn" or it's spinoffs in that realm, so maybe altogether I was limited in my enjoyability for this from the get go. And I didn't know the background of the movie or where it was going to go before I even watched the film ( IE: I had no idea it was a trip through an extremely sadistic/graphic hell). I personally didn't find the experience that "great", impressive and different? Yes, but not really impactful or "actions-wise not too materially fresh or intelligent". I think we can both agree on the film's "ease of enjoyment or viewing" as you gave it a C, it'd even argue it deserves a D because the subject matter and lack of focus/reasoning. The experience is a very harsh one, and it's hard to "enjoy" it as "excellent" or "amazing" from an intellectual or art view just flat out imo. I don't know if it's too extreme or felt too redundant to me or too disconnected or what have you, but I just couldn't put it on that level.

I agree with your views on it, I definitely can see where you are coming from with it all, and a narrative definitely could have taken away from the experience, especially given what choice(s) were made, but I see a narrative also helping a viewer attach better to the film and even heighten the experience with the right decisions and background applied.

 

[Chili]

The Old Dark House-1932

A stormy night, a family of strange characters in a creepy old house. And travellers seeking shelter for the night. What could possibly happen? Loved how comedy was mixed in at times.Great cast, enjoyed everyone in the film, or as the end credits are titled 'A good cast is worth repeating'. A gem.

The Pianist-2002

One man's moving story of loss and survival in WWII Poland. Vivid images of atrocities occurring all around, living in fear, starvation. Extraordinary true story, with a few of Roman Polanski own memories woven in. Adrien Brody is perfectly cast in the lead role. Memorable film.

The Ballad of Cable Hogue-1970

'Water! W-A-T-L-E!'

In the old west a man is robbed and left to die in the desert by his companions. He spends days without food or water until...Slow paced western with some good comic moments, scenic location, good music and Stella Stevens! Good cast, David Warner in a Rasputinish role, Strother 'Failure to communicate' Martin as one of Cable's pals and I always enjoy watching Jason Robards as Cable. Sam Peckinpah's favorite film of his own films. Well done.

The Lavender Hill Mob-1951

An unlikely group gets together to pull off a gold heist caper, led by a mild mannered bank clerk (Alec Guinness). Lots of fun as the plan unfolds and complications eventually arise. Fun film.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

The Fall (2008) - 7/10

This has 3 things going for it: 1. The visuals and amount of good framing 2. Cute kid 3. Lee Pace. I found the actual storytelling quite tiresome. Tbh I never enjoy emotional fantasy films of this kind or Big Fish or Finding Neverland or Walter Mitty.

The Hollow (Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot Season 9 Episode 4) [2004] - 7/10

Another well-shot TV movie from this series. Quite faithful to the source material so you have to put up vapid rich English people acting as vapid rich people. David Suchet's delicate portrayal of Poirot next to all this is nice to see though. Not the best mystery but the sets, the costumes, and the atmosphere are a good nostalgic vibe for me.

 

[guinness]

I went on a bender, and bought/watched a ton of Myrna Loy movies recently.

The Squall (1929) - 4/10

Pure camp. Myrna chewed the scenery so hard here, her Hungarian accent is just like her Mexican accent - terrible. Early talking pictures are just a struggle to get through however, as many are stagey and characters sometimes talk over each other, and when advertised as 'all talking', they do it spades.

The Barbarian (1933) - 2/10

Looked good, but the story was sleazy, it may have been passible ~90 years ago, but eww, the ending in particular.

The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) - 7/10

I liked this more than I expected. Interesting to see old boxing matches, and I liked the acting from Otto Kruger, Max Baer, and Walter Huston.

Men in White (1934) - 7/10

I would've given this a higher rating, but there was a big plot element missing due to censorship, couldn't figure out what the big deal was with one of the nurses going in for an operation (back alley abortion).

Wife vs Secretary (1936) - 6/10

Decent story, but contrived. Wife thinks husband is having an affair with his secretary, but not played for laughs. I also liked Jean Harlow here, had the stronger female role here.

Libeled Lady (1936) - 6/10

Bluray transfer looked good, but overall wasn't blown away by the story. Leads did well, I was impressed with Harlow here as well.

Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) - 6/10

Melvyn Douglas was fine, but as this was a comedic picture, I could only compare him to William Powell, so it just felt off. Myrna did a Brooklyn accent, and not bad. Too much Ohio in this movie though.

The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) - 5/10

Eh. Bluray transfer looked good, but I don't know if it's just all the cigarette smoking, but everyone just looked +10 years older than they were. Or maybe it was the costumes and hair. The story wasn't memorable, and I just watched it today.

Although to be honest, none of the Thin Man movies plots are particularly memorable to me, whodunits are like that for me.

-----
And because Prime Day deal - The Wizard of Oz (1939) - 9/10

UHD version, it's fine, the remastering of the visuals and audio were good, but I wasn't as impressed as some online reviews were about the sections with HDR...don't know what they really can do with an 80+ year old 3 strip Technicolor film. I did put in the regular Bluray afterwards, and it is better than the 1080p version, but barely to my eyes.

As for the movie itself, even though I probably haven't watched it in 20 years, I think I knew every scene by heart.

 

[kihei]

It definitely was a journey through some sort of hell, .

I just feel this "artsy" "interpretable" "experiential" approach limits it from an audience wanting to see it and to an audience actually getting something notable from it imo, well "in this specific case". I know the subject matter isn't already the general population sort of "entertainment", but I personally am not a fan of "torture porn" or it's spinoffs in that realm, so maybe altogether I was limited in my enjoyability for this from the get go. And I didn't know the background of the movie or where it was going to go before I even watched the film ( IE: I had no idea it was a trip through an extremely sadistic/graphic hell). I personally didn't find the experience that "great", impressive and different? Yes, but not really impactful or "actions-wise not too materially fresh or intelligent". I think we can both agree on the film's "ease of enjoyment or viewing" as you gave it a C, it'd even argue it deserves a D because the subject matter and lack of focus/reasoning. The experience is a very harsh one, and it's hard to "enjoy" it as "excellent" or "amazing" from an intellectual or art view just flat out imo. I don't know if it's too extreme or felt too redundant to me or too disconnected or what have you, but I just couldn't put it on that level.

I agree with your views on it, I definitely can see where you are coming from with it all, and a narrative definitely could have taken away from the experience, especially given what choice(s) were made, but I see a narrative also helping a viewer attach better to the film and even heighten the experience with the right decisions and background applied.

I think you are right about the "D," and I will change the score accordingly. It's odd perhaps, but I didn't think of Mad God as torture porn when I watched it. But now that you mention it, that's a good description of huge, great whacking chunks of the thing.

On the other hand, how could such a detailed vision of hell by definition be anything but torture porn?--thats the nature of the place. Distressing as Mad God is, it seems to me a defensible work of art whose primary impact is experiential rather than intellectual, at least on first viewing (though a second viewing won't be arriving for me any time soon).

But it is completely understandable to me why perhaps most people would not choose to experience this vision. I'm not saying it is up there with Dante's Inferno or anything close, but I think one could draw comparisons to some of Hieronymus Bosch's paintings. In this modern, secular age, it almost comes as a shock that such coherent visions of hell continue to have such power over our minds.