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

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I have not seen many on that list to be able to make a valid judgment.

And you call yourself a cinéphile?

(I don't actually know if you consider yourself a cinéphile, I just wanted to point out that I have seen a grand total of none from that list)

 

[Puck]

And you call yourself a cinéphile?

(I don't actually know if you consider yourself a cinéphile, I just wanted to point out that I have seen a grand total of none from that list)

nah, I don't consider myself a serious cinephile.

I stopped going to the cinema during the pandemic and used the bit-torrents for awhile but still found it difficult to get the indies and foreign fare flicks I like. I seem to have transitioned over to the streaming tv series, it has become the golden era for streaming tv as they are investing a lot of money to capture audiences away from each other. I find Hollywood movies have suffered during the pandemic and the fact that older people have transitioned more to watching content at home on their big screen TVs. A lot coming out from Hollywood these days seems to be superhero and horror flicks for the younger gen, they (kids) still go to the theatres. However I find that Indies and Foreign Flicks are still going strong and I am happy for that. They don't seem to have suffered as much as Hollywood or at least they have not pivoted to streaming TV as much as the US. Hopefully that continues and they (foreign film investors) aren't just a few years behind the US on that score.

I'm behind on my movies this year but I should catch up by Oscar time next year.

 

[OzzyFan]

Watched some seasonal horror for the holidays. Quality overall is lower than I’ve been aiming for lately, but I enjoyed all the films and/or considered them fun on various levels, aka I liked them. 1 film I did think was great though. Obviously all others have their weaknesses and issues, but I overlooked that on these. Ranked top to bottom by enjoyment level:


Christmas Evil (You Better Watch Out) (1980)
3.00 out of 4stars

“A toy factory worker, mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.”
Not quite killing spree, but a mission to “fix Christmas” sort of. Probably the most misunderstood movie on this list, because it sounds like a slasher, but in reality is more a psychological drama/horror, and a great one at that I’d argue. Digs into the real purpose of Christmas/Santa and the effects of childhood trauma and outcast abuse on an obsessive (possibly psychotic) mind. Obsessed with Christmas here, with an excellent lead performance by Maggart. Quite interesting how brainwashed children are about the magic and spectacle of Santa only to have the rug pulled out from under them one day, and this poor protagonist through a sexually active Santa observation with his mother during his youth. It’s a wide view of Christmas sort of “behind the scenes”/“in reality” with gaze on adults and children alike, warts and all. We see the good possible, the sad truth of some parts of it, and what our protagonist sees as the “real meanings and purposes of Christmas and Santa’s existence”, which is a bit more intricate than the vast majority of hollywood Christmas films proclaim and show you. A very intriguing mix of food for thought, psychological character study, and creepy bottled-up tension to go along with its rare cheery highs. The murders are few and over the top, but that is in no way what this film is about, can’t believe it looks like it was sold like that. This review is a little rambling, but you get the idea.

Violent Night (2022)

“When a group of mercenaries attack the estate of a wealthy family, Santa Claus must step in to save the day (and Christmas).”
Far and away the highest production value film on this list. Everyone who says it’s Die Hard meets Home Alone is close to accurate. Unapologetically crudely funny and delivers on its premise moderately well. Some fun action scenes and Harbour might be far and away the most charismatic actor in any film on this list. Obvious, cliche, and mundane at some times, but the highs are definitely present.

Santa’s Slay (2005)

“Santa Claus is actually a demon who lost a bet with an Angel, so he becomes the giver of toys and happiness. But when the bet is off, he returns to his evil ways.”
Corny funny, cute, and adds a nice mythological twist to the Santa folklore. Surprisingly very tame to receive an R rating, if there were no “exposed breasts” this feels like it could pass for PG-13. Goldberg seems to be having a ball in the lead along with some nice comical touches around.

Red Snow (2021)

“A struggling vampire romance novelist must defend herself against real-life vampires during Christmas in Lake Tahoe.”
Don’t let the plot fool you, this was a very chatty, and low action/horror scenes type of film. I’d call it a romance-black comedy with horror elements, in a good unique way though, aiming for comedy first and foremost. Liked it, but didn’t do much for me or hit any highs, entertaining in a vanilla way.

 

[kihei]

The Guardian's top 50 list is out. I don't necessarily agree with all their choices this year for instance I would put Banshees of Inisherin higher like in Kihei's list. I can't really complain though, I have not seen many on that list to be able to make a valid judgment.

The 50 best films of 2022 in the UK

The No 1 film is a stunning directorial debut, one of the finest cinematic moments of any year – see which other movies you may have missed

www.theguardian.com

Love the top two films Aftersun and The Quiet Girl, which are high on my list, too. Eight of the top 13 will make my top twenty, plus several others on the list, and Memoria, at #6, was my clear #1 film last year. So, yeah, I like that list.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) - Highly competent but contrived by how much it tries to squeeze in, even if it does so in a clever way. It is nice that no major character gets off the hook or guillotined. They just sort of all remain on it.

nah, I don't consider myself a serious cinephile.

I stopped going to the cinema during the pandemic and used the bit-torrents for awhile but still found it difficult to get the indies and foreign fare flicks I like. I seem to have transitioned over to the streaming tv series, it has become the golden era for streaming tv as they are investing a lot of money to capture audiences away from each other. I find Hollywood movies have suffered during the pandemic and the fact that older people have transitioned more to watching content at home on their big screen TVs. A lot coming out from Hollywood these days seems to be superhero and horror flicks for the younger gen, they (kids) still go to the theatres. However I find that Indies and Foreign Flicks are still going strong and I am happy for that. They don't seem to have suffered as much as Hollywood or at least they have not pivoted to streaming TV as much as the US. Hopefully that continues and they (foreign film investors) aren't just a few years behind the US on that score.

I'm behind on my movies this year but I should catch up by Oscar time next year.

I've long ago given up on keeping up. I just watch whatever tickles my fancy and/or is recommended by someone I respect.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Meet Me In The Bathroom. Documentary look at the late 90s/early 2000s NYC music scene (The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, etc.). Probably only interesting to true heads. The when-they-were-young footage and early performances are interesting to a point but there isn't a whole lot of depth here. I think it was Dostoevsky who said "All happy bands are alike, but all unhappy bands are also all alike."

I've always liked Julian Casablancas' take on it: Too drunk to enjoy it and the nostalgia isn't worth it. He said something along the lines of how all it did was make more white people wear Converse. It did give way to this spectacular song from The Voidz (his other band in which he follows his genuine sensibilities a little more). Love how it sounds nostalgic but it's ostensibly about how overrated/hurtful it can become. Great lyrics.

 

[shadow1]

City Hunter (1993) - 7/10

A womanizing Private Investigator sneaks aboard a cruise ship that is in the process of being hijacked by terrorists.

Jackie Chan stars as Ryo Saeba, a well known private eye who goes by the nickname "City Hunter". Ryo and his assistant Kaori (Joey Wong) are assigned to find Shizuko Imamura (Kumiko Goto), the daughter of a newspaper mogul who's run away. The search eventually leads them to the luxury cruise liner "Fuji Maru", which features a number of unusual guests: an undercover police officer (Chingmy Yau), a mysterious card shark (Leon Lai), and a ruthless terrorist (Christopher MacDonald)...

City Hunter was directed by Wong Jing, and is based on a Japanese anime of the same name. This was the first (and only) collaboration between the well known director and Jackie Chan, as the two would have a major falling out after the film was completed (more on that later). Despite some drama behind the scenes, City Hunter has gone on to become cult a classic, though it might not be for everyone.

The film's plot revolves around a scenario similar to Die Hard (1988) or Under Siege (1992), where Jackie's Ryo Saeba has to use his special fighting skills to battle terrorists and free hostages in an enclosed location. The film has good action sequences and gun play, and Jackie has memorable fights with both Gary Daniels and Richard Norton. Actor/musician Leon Lai plays non-canonical character Kao Ta, a gambler who uses playing cards as projectile weapons, and has some cool moments in the film (he and Jackie don't share any screen time, unfortunately).

However, the film is most well known for its extremely cheesy comedy. City Hunter beats the audience over the head with its non-stop humor that is often kindergarten level, like a man's pants falling down or someone getting hit in the face with a cake. Jackie Chan plays a self-serving nincompoop of a private investigator, who spends the majority of the movie trying to woo various women and searching for food. There's one quick moment where he finally finds a piece of bread, only to trip on the stop step of a staircase which results in the bread flying out of his hand (we see this from two angles, once in slow motion).

Most famously, this movie has an extended parody scene of the SNES video game "Street Fighter II", which includes Jackie Chan dressing in drag as he cosplays the female character Chun-Li. City Hunter has some truly ridiculous moments, and some of the humor doesn't work. A lot of it does though, and because the comedy is so rampant, a joke not landing isn't a buzzkill because the audience is usually seconds away from the next gag.

I must be a very childish person because I find some of the stupidest moments of this movie to be absolutely hysterical. Jackie Chan doesn't feel the same, though. Upon its release, he spoke out against the film - specifically its comedy - which caused a feud between he and director Wong Jing. This culminated in Jing making the 1995 film "High Risk", which portrays a Jackie Chan-spoof character as a drunk, cowardly actor who relies heavily on a stunt double. That is a lot of effort to go to over a feud.

Though I enjoy the City Hunter, I can see Jackie's point. The humor is so campy and the film leans into it so heavily that it has great potential to alienate some audience members. This is a movie I could see someone shutting off after 5 minutes, or alternatively returning to dozens of times after the initial viewing. I fall into the latter category, but your milage may vary.

Overall, City Hunter is a one-of-a-kind movie. It has great action and a familiar action plot, but comedy that's so tragically unfunny that it ends up being hysterical. Those who can get into the comedy will likely be fans for life, but others may wonder how the heck Jackie Chan ended up in this film. It's a "love it" or "hate it "type movie. I love it.

 

[kihei]

The Great Silence. A Quentin Tarantino favorite. Spaghetti Western pitting a silent Jean-Louis Trintingant against a blonde haired bounty hunting Klaus Kinski in the snowy hills of "Utah." Bleak and memorable. Does a couple of clever things including its ending. I see why it has a culty following.

"Snow Westerns" is a great idea for a spotlight on a tiny sub-genre. That being said, I had never heard of this film until I read your review. I immediately was intrigued by Trintignant in a Western, plus I'm a sucker for Kinski chewing up scenery and whatever else is handy. KInda hit and miss movie, but the ending really saved it for me. Somebody must have got nervous and appended that cheesy written explanation to the tail end of it. but I just pretended such a faux pas didn't exist. Acting and entertainment-wise, Klaus blows out Jean Louis in straight sets.

 

[Puck]

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) - Highly competent but contrived by how much it tries to squeeze in, even if it does so in a clever way. It is nice that no major character gets off the hook or guillotined. They just sort of all remain on it.



I've long ago given up on keeping up. I just watch whatever tickles my fancy and/or is recommended by someone I respect.

Three Billboards was actually my pick for winning Best Picture but it lost out to the fish flick (Shape of Water). I read that it was the Oscar front runner for awhile but some in the US took exception to a foreign Director coming over and commenting somewhat negatively about anger on their hometurf, so it lost traction towards the end (may or may not be true). Still a big fan of McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, Banshees). He does seem to have an ongoing theme so far dissecting anger issues over the course of his work. I don't know yet if this will become some kind of consistent 'author vision' for him.

 

[Behn Wilson]

Watched the Guardian's of The Galaxy Christmas special. It was fun and good for what it was, always great to see the gang together and Drax and Mantis together are hysterical. Had Yondu in cartoon form with Rooker's voice but would have been nice if could have seen him live in a flashback scene.

Also watched Werewolf By Night, had no idea what to expect and it was pretty good, not quite what I was expecting but looking forward to hopefully more episodes of this. Loved Man Thing in there and I like how they had the Werewolf standing upright and not having him in four legged wolf form like most modern movies seem to be doing

Might do Moon Knight next, not sure

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

"Snow Westerns" is a great idea for a spotlight on a tiny sub-genre. That being said, I had never heard of this film until I read your review. I immediately was intrigued by Trintignant in a Western, plus I'm a sucker for Kinski chewing up scenery and whatever else is handy. KInda hit and miss movie, but the ending really saved it for me. Somebody must have got nervous and appended that cheesy written explanation to the tail end of it. but I just pretended such a faux pas didn't exist. Acting and entertainment-wise, Klaus blows out Jean Louis in straight sets.

Related: Every time it's very cold outside (as it is now) the first movie that comes to mind to me is McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Not sure why of all the cold/snowbound movies that is the one that occurs to me. (The Thing is a more obvious one but it always comes second)

 

[JackSlater]

"Snow Westerns" is a great idea for a spotlight on a tiny sub-genre. That being said, I had never heard of this film until I read your review. I immediately was intrigued by Trintignant in a Western, plus I'm a sucker for Kinski chewing up scenery and whatever else is handy. KInda hit and miss movie, but the ending really saved it for me. Somebody must have got nervous and appended that cheesy written explanation to the tail end of it. but I just pretended such a faux pas didn't exist. Acting and entertainment-wise, Klaus blows out Jean Louis in straight sets.

Day of the Outlaw is a good "snow western" that seems mostly forgotten. One of my favourites of the genre.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Glass Onion (Knives Out 2) - 7.5/10

I don't think this is anywhere near as good as the first. It feels more action and less detection and mystery but at the same time, how many films are making even passable mysteries to begin with nowadays that are actually entertaining (looking at that Kenneth Brannagh butchering of Poirot especially). Still brings the entertainment/whimsical factor, the characers are a bit caricature-like moreso than the original and could've been toned down, and it goes bigger in terms of production value but the original had a more cohesive visual theme going. The way the mystery unravels is....not as well thought out but the build-up to the climax is better done.

I think it's clear Rian Johnson knows how to direct this genre but he probably does need a better script for the next one.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Glass Onion (Knives Out 2) - 7.5/10

I don't think this is anywhere near as good as the first. It feels more action and less detection and mystery but at the same time, how many films are making even passable mysteries to begin with nowadays that are actually entertaining (looking at that Kenneth Brannagh butchering of Poirot especially). Still brings the entertainment/whimsical factor, the characers are a bit caricature-like moreso than the original and could've been toned down, and it goes bigger in terms of production value but the original had a more cohesive visual theme going. The way the mystery unravels is....not as well thought out but the build-up to the climax is better done.

I think it's clear Rian Johnson knows how to direct this genre but he probably does need a better script for the next one.

Also watched that last night...

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Johnson, 2022) - Even though it's obvious that a lot of its subtle references and allusions went right over my head, I feel that the fun in these films is very superficial, and the humor just isn't for me (I'm just not that cool). I did appreciate that most of the clues were played out on screen for the spectator to miss. 4/10

Infinite (Fuqua, 2021) - No matter what you think about the Wachowski sibblings, it's obvious when seeing films trying to do what they do that they've got a special talent avoiding making a mess of complex stories - and in doing so, creating cohesive universes and interesting characters. This one is a miss right from the start, with narration trying to explain the unexplainable instead of having it unfold through the story. Subpar acting (not much you can do with such terrible dialogues and dumb character motivations) and uninteresting over-the-top action - the whole thing probably doesn't even deserve 3/10.

I've also watched season 2 of Last Chance U: Basketball and Basketball or Nothing. Coach Mosley is a little less annoying than in the first season, and I really appreciated his final comments about leaving the spotlight, overall liked Season 2 a lot more than the first one. Basketball or Nothing is kinda more of the same, without the sensational fluff. It's a nice portrait of the reserves through an interesting (to me at least) angle. Nothing special though.

 

[kihei]

Related: Every time it's very cold outside (as it is now) the first movie that comes to mind to me is McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Not sure why of all the cold/snowbound movies that is the one that occurs to me. (The Thing is a more obvious one but it always comes second)

Me, too. It's such a haunting ending and Leonard Cohen helps the mood.

My 2nd seed: Track of the Cat.

 

[93gilmour93]

Nope - 2/10

This movie is terrible, the main characters are bad actors and the ending of the movie sucks. For a movie that got such hype, this is the worst movie I’ve seen in a long time….

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Bardo, falsa crónica de unas cuantas verdades, Iñárritu, 2022) – Clocking in at 2h39m, you'd think that would be enough time to cover more ground than needed, but the one shortcoming here to me was that the film felt unachieved – too many themes, too many ideas to get to some form of closure on any of them. Probably most of all, and that's where a lot of the negative comments on the film will inevitably come from, too many allusions and references and overt influences. Iñárritu created the widest of intertext in which the spectator recognizes Fellini, Andersson, Jodorowsky, Angelopoulos (some say Bunuel, but I didn't get it, and Iñárritu himself affiliates the film to Borges, which too went over my head), and it's never clear if this intertext is meaningful or if it's trying to add value to the film through association. The few comments/critics I've read all seem to agree that it's an attempt at making his own 8 ½, but I couldn't help but think of Kusturica's Underground, with its despaired and cynical politics and (national) identity crisis – and, also, its link to cinema. Contrarily to Fellini's film, cinema and fiction's contamination is not restricted to the main character's personal life and identity, but it's subverting reality and history. Silverio makes docufiction, because pretending to document reality is what left us without truth (he lashes out at his friend Luis after he criticizes his last film – and it is pretty clear that he is then talking about the movie we are actually watching). In a reality defined by images, images that identify as such (as images) become problematic as they exist as reminders of the fictions we created to replace our true selves (and history – exemplified by the myth of the Niños Héroes in theatrical fashion). In that, I think the fact that Bardo's images are constantly echoing previous works is absolutely relevant and works the same way as other forms of distanciation reminding us of the fictive nature of images (a few looks at the camera, people talking/clapping without sound or talking without moving their lips – even the constant use of wide angles is a clear distinction between the real and its recording). The whole personal angle (Silverio being quite obviously the director's avatar) that the spectator is invited to consider the film through feels like misdirection, and I think it's quite obvious that the portrait being made is much larger than one of the director. I liked Biutiful and Birdman quite a lot, but this is easily my favorite film by Iñárritu. 8.5/10

 

[Jussi]

Violent Night . Unnecessarily violent, unnecessarily gory...instant holiday classic! Move over Jingle All The Way! 9-/10.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Robinson Crusoe (1954) 8/10

complete movie here



Directed by Luis Bunuel and his take on the story is interesting and unique. A bit uneven but you can see where Robert Zemickis got some ideas for Castaway from this movie. fun factoid Dan O'Herilhy who plays the lead is the father of Gavin O'Herilhy who was one of actors who played Chuck Cunningham on Happy Days.

O'Herilhy got an oscar nomination for the role and I can see why. Movie is not quite for everyone but Luis Bunuel is an interesting director in how he did things. The movie is only 90 minutes long but it is an interesting watch.

One complaint is one that you will over look or while find amusing. . 99% of the cast were spanish and it was decided that they would need to be "Blacken" up to look like Africans. I found it distracting when how white their teeth were

one of the more amusing things about the movie is that the Director and actor tossed away the script after the first week

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

The Banshees of Inisherin (McDonagh, 2022) – Its dark and absurd blend of humor often hits the marks, making it a pretty enjoyable (kinda) moral tale. It suffers from overdoing it, especially with the civil war parallel (which we are way too often reminded is happening literally parallel to the island). A simple allusion to the date would have made for a short moment of jouissance, but now it's kind of overcooked and force-fed. Sure, you can pull on that string for a while, with friends suddenly going against each other for no rational reason, going to extremes and sacrifices to make their point, making innocent casualties along the way (poor Jenny!), but it inevitably feels kind of limited. The film still holds its own, carried by amazing performances (walking on the very thin line of dim-wit characters that easily could have been jim-carreyed, making the whole thing silly instead of absurd). 6/10

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (Øvredal, 2016) – I liked the first half, which felt kind of fresh, unfolding more like a mystery than a horror film, with an atmosphere of its own – somewhat of a distant descendant of Nacho Cerdà's Aftermath (without the necrophilia), which isn't a bad thing. The whole witch thing is rushed and predictable, ruins what could have been a pretty interesting film. 4.5/10


And I realize I forgot to comment on these two:


Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Coogler, 2022) – Nothing like the first one, but – as pretty much everybody already pointed out – Angela Bassett is great. 4.5/10

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (Hyams, 2012) – I think I read somewhere around here that someone liked this film (obviously, for what it was)... kallyo maybe? The search engine won't help me. Well, I was surprised to enjoy parts of it too. Senseless, mindless, but isn't afraid of the violence. A nice throwback to the 80s dumb action films, a lot better than the other sequels I've seen. Still, not anything I'd recommend. 4/10

 

[Langdon Alger]

Three Billboards was actually my pick for winning Best Picture but it lost out to the fish flick (Shape of Water). I read that it was the Oscar front runner for awhile but some in the US took exception to a foreign Director coming over and commenting somewhat negatively about anger on their hometurf, so it lost traction towards the end (may or may not be true). Still a big fan of McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, Banshees). He does seem to have an ongoing theme so far dissecting anger issues over the course of his work. I don't know yet if this will become some kind of consistent 'author vision' for him.

Three Billboards was excellent. I actually thought Woody Harrelson was better than Sam Rockwell even though Rockwell won the Oscar. Granted Rockwell was in the movie more.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Finished the movie about an hour ago and I had it at 8.5/10, but thinking a bit about it and writing this comment, I pushed it up. Might be recency bias, might be because it's just freakin' brilliant. I watched it because it was first on the list that was posted here, thinking I'd be disappointed. I was not.

Aftersun (Wells, 2022) – Narrative masterclass in restraint and subtlety, this film is a lot more about what it doesn't tell than about what is actually included in its story. On the surface, a father tries his best for his daughter to have a good time with him during their Summer vacation. With great pace, great atmosphere, and an attention to details that present their relationship with depth and finesse. The overly realist approach's only glitches come from images taken from a video camera by the daughter and some flashes of an unknown character who seem lost in her thoughts on a dance floor. Though it is never explicitly presented as such, it is soon clear that what we are seeing is the recollection of that Summer by the daughter, now an adult, through what little concrete recordings she has and her own memory. Though it is never said, you understand that it's a film about loss, about holding on to someone dear to you, about trying to understand what went wrong. Once you're there, the film becomes fascinating. Even though her understanding of that Summer's events is necessarily limited (through single perspective and flawed memory), the story unfolds through omniscient narration, strongly underlying these few moments where Sophie is absent (or sleeping), moments where the memories are necessarily fabricated. It's in these moments that she tries to make sense of what her father was going through and that she missed as a child, moments where his despair shows up. These few moments inform the spectator of what she is trying to understand through the whole process – a suffering, an incident, that is not in the film. Other moments on which she insists portray some kind of constructed guilt: she insists on him telling where he failed as an adult (what he thought he'd be doing with his life), she's mean to him and leaves him alone for the night, she refuses to acknowledge his apologies. Little details that fly by, but that once you understand what's going on, only make the memories more painful and poignant. It is purely brilliant cinéma, and a narrative feat. 9.5/10

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Finished the movie about an hour ago and I had it at 8.5/10, but thinking a bit about it and writing this comment, I pushed it up. Might be recency bias, might be because it's just freakin' brilliant. I watched it because it was first on the list that was posted here, thinking I'd be disappointed. I was not.

View attachment 626902

Aftersun (Wells, 2022) – Narrative masterclass in restraint and subtlety, this film is a lot more about what it doesn't tell than about what is actually included in its story. On the surface, a father tries his best for his daughter to have a good time with him during their Summer vacation. With great pace, great atmosphere, and an attention to details that present their relationship with depth and finesse. The overly realist approach's only glitches come from images taken from a video camera by the daughter and some flashes of an unknown character who seem lost in her thoughts on a dance floor. Though it is never explicitly presented as such, it is soon clear that what we are seeing is the recollection of that Summer by the daughter, now an adult, through what little concrete recordings she has and her own memory. Though it is never said, you understand that it's a film about loss, about holding on to someone dear to you, about trying to understand what went wrong. Once you're there, the film becomes fascinating. Even though her understanding of that Summer's events is necessarily limited (through single perspective and flawed memory), the story unfolds through omniscient narration, strongly underlying these few moments where Sophie is absent (or sleeping), moments where the memories are necessarily fabricated. It's in these moments that she tries to make sense of what her father was going through and that she missed as a child, moments where his despair shows up. These few moments inform the spectator of what she is trying to understand through the whole process – a suffering, an incident, that is not in the film. Other moments on which she insists portray some kind of constructed guilt: she insists on him telling where he failed as an adult (what he thought he'd be doing with his life), she's mean to him and leaves him alone for the night, she refuses to acknowledge his apologies. Little details that fly by, but that once you understand what's going on, only make the memories more painful and poignant. It is purely brilliant cinéma, and a narrative feat. 9.5/10

Nice summary. This was one of the most impactful movies I’ve seen in years. I’ll never listen to Under Pressure the same way again.

 

[Puck]

Here is a slideshow on how much Hollywood has been holding back during the pandemic. Not really Oscar worthy.... but many action flicks.

15 Delayed Movies That Are Finally Coming Out in 2023

In addition to being a global disaster in many ways that matter a good deal more, COVID took a wrecking ball to the film industry, and Hollywood is st

lifehacker.com

 

[kihei]

Babylon (2022) Directed by Damien Chazelle 5B

Babylon is a big slice of Hollywood folk lore that focuses on Jack (Brad Pitt), a matinee idol who has the misfortune of ageing just as sound comes in, Nellie (Margot Robbie), an aspiring actress from the wrong side of the tracks who gets hotter than a pistol, and Manny, a Mexican masquerading as a Spaniard who starts on the fringes of the industry but works himself up to studio executive. They all rise and fall, but we meet them at different stages of their careers. In short, Babylon is a big, frenetic, sprawling tribute to Hollywood's Golden Age at a time when the movies were transitioning between the silent era and the early sound era. Often referencing Singin' in the Rain, Babylon covers somewhat similar ground only in a more prurient, sensationalist way, emphasising sex, decadence, vulgarity, and an approach to gossip that raises innuendo and rumour to a form of myth-making.

Whether Babylon is a poison-pen letter to the movies or a valentine is often hard to tell--the movie seems to seek to be both simultaneously. The early pace of the movie is exhausting as we watch Jack's gradual realisation that his time is past and Nellie's gradual awareness that her time has just begun. Everything is filtered through Manny whose job in the first two thirds of this three hour movie is just to react to what other people are doing or saying. Chazelle, lazily, must splice in about 50 close ups of Calva's face reacting, reacting, reacting--way over-the-top, but then again so is the entire movie.

Babylon is often an frustrating experience, one that pours on so much hot sauce, in addition to other less tempting fluids, that whatever story Chazelle wants to tell seems to get overwhelmed by its toe-tapping salaciousness. However, Robbie is terrific, in bravura scene after scene fully the equal of her larger-than-life, wild-child character. And there are some amazing sequences such as when Chazelle shows just how difficult it was to shoot even the briefest of scenes using early sound equipment or when a half dozen movies get shot simultaneously in a silent-film staging area. To use a cliche, the sort that turns up too often in the movie, Bablyon is one of those failures that is more interesting than most other Hollywood directors' successes.