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

[Bounces R Way]

To Wong Foo(1995) - 5.5/10

Girlfriend is real into the Ru Paul stuff so we landed on this one last weekend. Swayze, Snipes, and Leguizamo play drag queens traveling across the country to California to compete in America's Top Drag Queen. On the way their car breaks down in Oklahoma or Northern Texas or some such place and there is a brief confrontation with a bigoted sheriff. They manage to escape after knocking the sheriff unconscious and hide out in a small town while their car is being fixed. Basically we spend most of the movie yassifying the grubby town and it's humble townsfolk.

There's a love triangle, lots of throwaway jokes, some decent drag drama with the queens. They do a decent job empowering the women of the town glamming them up and taking a stand against some of the town's abusers. I didn't mind it, honestly didn't know Swayze had the range he displayed in this movie, he was quite good. As far as the actual being a movie stuff however, just not a lot of commitment to plot and the plot was fairly uninteresting anyway. There is a final showdown with the sheriff who surprise surprise is in the closet but wasn't much of a climax. The draw here is the 3 big name actors being silly in drag changing minds and shifting perspectives in bumpkin town USA and that you get in full.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare(2024) - 8/10

As a sucker both for WW2 spy period pieces and for Guy Ritchie this one was right up my alley. I thought it was well done, based on a truish story of Churchill's plan to stop the Nazi U-boat's dominance of the Atlantic. Much like Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds this involved assembling a crew of less desirable soldiers, each with their own specialty, that could work off the books. Henry Cavill plays the lead and seemed to work well with a Ritchie script and characterization, I know they worked together before in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. but I thought he was better used leading a wide ensemble.

The plan is to sail down to a small island off the coast of West Africa where the U-boats are being resupplied and blow up the main cargo ship carrying these supplies. Things predictably go awry and our crew has to improvise. Also included are a plot with a female agent(Eiza Gonzalez) inserted on the island to seduce the Nazi commander and the British Navy command trying to put a stop to the operation as they feel surrender to Hitler to be the more wise course of action. Film moves along well, Guy's movies always seem expertly paced to me. Lots of Nazi killing, explosions, stylish sets and quippy dialogue. Action was put together smartly but I dunno if I'd call it the main attraction. A good self contained story worth telling and is done so with the playful flourish Ritchie infuses in his work.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Fistful of Dollars (1964) Directed by Sergio Leone 9/10
Local theater near me in Pittsburgh did a "Spaghetti Western with Spaghetti" night and showed this film with a local Italian restaurant serving Spaghetti & Meatballs in the theater. Such a fun experience.

Fistful of Dollars is an epic film, of course. Excellent movie which catapulted the legendary Clint Eastwood into the zeitgeist of western and "tough guy" films. I actually saw Kurosawa's Yojimbo before seeing Fistful of Dollars, which made for an interesting viewing experience.

This is just an example of great old western cinema. Excellent acting, the score was great, the sets are awesome, and young Clint Eastwood is so badass. Of course, the film was a shot-for-shot ripoff of Kurosawa, it still works pretty well, in my opinion.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

View attachment 882151
Fistful of Dollars (1964) Directed by Sergio Leone 9/10
Local theater near me in Pittsburgh did a "Spaghetti Western with Spaghetti" night and showed this film with a local Italian restaurant serving Spaghetti & Meatballs in the theater. Such a fun experience.

Fistful of Dollars is an epic film, of course. Excellent movie which catapulted the legendary Clint Eastwood into the zeitgeist of western and "tough guy" films. I actually saw Kurosawa's Yojimbo before seeing Fistful of Dollars vof , which made for an interesting viewing experience.

This is just an example of great old western cinema. Excellent acting, the score was great, the sets are awesome, and young Clint Eastwood is so badass. Of course, the film was a shot-for-shot ripoff of Kurosawa, it still works pretty well, in my opinion.

I love the Man With No Name trilogy. IMO this movie is the start of a 4 movie run from Leone that is arguably the best 4 movie run that any director has made.

Firstful of Dollar
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West

 

[kihei]

Evil Does Not Exist (2024) Directed by Ryusuke Yamaguchi 6B

A developer wants to take advantage of some limited time subsidies by building a glamping site (glamour camping, an oxymoron if there ever was one). The company sends two representatives to an out-of-the-way village a ways outside of Tokyo to feel out the locals' attitudes toward the project. It is a public relations exercise basically as the company is going to go ahead with the plans regardless of opposition or environmental damage. Takahishi, one of the company representatives, falls in love with the rural life and his partner Mayuzumi begins to have doubts about the efficacy of going forward. However, the CEO turns thumbs down on any delays or meaningful compromises. Takahishi and Mayumi enlist the aid of Takumi, a jack-of-all-trades rustic, and his daughter Hana, to help with the project, but Takumi gradually realizes the dangers to his way of life involved here. This leads to a surprise ending that is so far out of left field, my jaw dropped.

While you could be excused for thinking the plot on the dull side, Yamaguchi (Drive My Car) is not a director who delivers the expected. Very economically, the director paints a wittily convincing portrait of Darwinian capitalism (a brief scene with the blandly sociopathic CEO helps immensely). But Evil Does Not Exist has other concerns, as well, with its contrast of rural and urban values and the almost hallucinatory vibe it gives to its dark green forest. It is a nice little movie, no award winner, though. And then there is that ending. Yamaguchi is on record saying that he messed with Drive My Car's ending because he didn't want to make a movie that seemed too easy for viewers to love. In general, he does indeed like to throw change-ups in his movies, and this time around it is a doozy. The violent ending to Evil Does Not Exist made no sense to me, though. It is jarring, doesn't fit the narrative, and just seemed the ploy of somebody who wanted to mess with my head because he could. It does transform an atmospheric but not especially gripping movie into another sphere, I suppose. But I don't know what you do with that sphere once you get there.

subtitles

 

[Babe Ruth]

Miracle Mile (1988)

A tourist to LA answers an errant pay phone call, that reveals an imminent nuclear exchange.
He then tries to rescue his date from the impending disaster.
Good scenery of late night, early dawn Wilshire Blvd. I worked down the street from Fairfax & Wilshire in the early 2000s. But other than nostalgia for Angelenos, not much to this movie.
Starring Anthony Edwards, on Tubi. Weird flick.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Miracle Mile (1988)

A tourist to LA answers an errant pay phone call, that reveals an imminent nuclear exchange.
He then tries to rescue his date from the impending disaster.
Good scenery of late night, early dawn Wilshire Blvd. I worked down the street from Fairfax & Wilshire in the early 2000s. But other than nostalgia for Angelenos, not much to this movie.
Starring Anthony Edwards, on Tubi. Weird flick.

I have a big soft spot for this movie. Has really stuck with me.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The Sympathizer. Miniseries really, not movie. It's at its best in the opening three episodes, which are directed with a lot of verve (maybe TOO much verve?) by Park Chan-Wook. Looses some steam after the fourth episode which is an obvious, but still biting satire of directors, actors and moviemaking. Dips a little in the final three as everything becomes more serious. Not that it doesn't eventually make effective points, but I found it to be the most engaging when the tone was more set to black comedy. Hoa Xuande is excellent in the lead role. The real weak spot is Robert Downey Jr. Kudos to him for producing and championing this, but he pulls a Eddie Murphy here and plays four roles only one of which really worked for me. He's clearly meant to be big and cartoonish, but it's a distraction almost every time he pops up. And the makeup is shockingly bad.

Master Gardner. Paul Schrader can keep making character studies of lonely, damaged men and I will watch and likely love every single one of them.

Touch. Well, except this one. If you know anything about Schrader's personal background you can see why this Elmore Leonard novel appealed to him. But Schrader and Leonard are a complete tonal mismatch. It doesn't help that Skeet Ulrich is about as compelling as a plate of unseasoned mashed potatoes. Christopher Walken is the only one who comes out of this mess with any shred of pride.

Ladyhawke. Speaking of tonal messes! Nostalgia sometimes lies to you. I absolutely did not remember the bonkers score by the Alan Parsons Project and I definitely didn't remember that this tries to be funny in parts. That's bad. I remember Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. That's good. I remember Matthew Broderick but definitely didn't remember he is the least convincing "Philippe Gaston" imaginable. Inconsistent accent. Way too modern a boy to read as anything else. I was tempted to say he was running back Ferris Bueller schtick, but (to his credit?) this movie actually came first.

 

[Babe Ruth]

I have a big soft spot for this movie. Has really stuck with me.

If you have a minute, I'd be curious to hear why this movie stuck with you (?)

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

If you have a minute, I'd be curious to hear why this movie stuck with you (?)

I think the biggest thing is that there was part of me that never expected it to get as bleak as it ultimately does. So used to movies pulling punches and this one doesn't. That juxtaposed with its very 80s neon style, it looks like it's kinda poppy and fun but the reality of it is pretty dark.

 

[kihei]

I think the biggest thing is that there was part of me that never expected it to get as bleak as it ultimately does. So used to movies pulling punches and this one doesn't. That juxtaposed with its very 80s neon style, it looks like it's kinda poppy and fun but the reality of it is pretty dark.

Never saw Miracle Mile. Now you got me tempted.

 

[Osprey]

Never saw Miracle Mile. Now you got me tempted.

It's on Tubi. I watched it for the first time a couple of years ago and don't remember a whole lot, but my review says that I liked it and I suppose that I should take my word for it.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Never saw Miracle Mile. Now you got me tempted.

It has some flaws for sure. Some of the acting is rough. But it is a memorably weird (at least to me) studio movie. One of those kinda surprised they made this movies.

Oh and there's a romance too. (And trivia ... Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham met in this movie. Remained friends and years later married. Together today.)

 

[Babe Ruth]

I think the biggest thing is that there was part of me that never expected it to get as bleak as it ultimately does. So used to movies pulling punches and this one doesn't. That juxtaposed with its very 80s neon style, it looks like it's kinda poppy and fun but the reality of it is pretty dark.

Definitely bleak..
The '80sness was its only real appeal to me. It definitely is a good time capsule of late 8os LA.
I worked a couple blocks from Fairfax & Wilshire circa 2001-2006. And that 'Johnnies' diner was already closed. But a couple times a year, it would be rented for filming.. so would come back to life briefly. I think they filmed in that diner for American History X also, but that was a couple years before I was down on Wilshire..

 

[Babe Ruth]

Primal Rage (1988)

i know there was a later, unrelated movie with the same title, but..
 This one is about a lab baboon, that is carrying a contagious, viral rage. And when the baboon gets loose from his cage, he starts contaminating the surrounding (college) student body.. including a trio of frat meatheads, who go on a badass rampage.
Basic, low-budget sci-fi/horror flick. Some of the raging attacks are kinda bloody & gory (not my thing).. but mostly an entertaining time-killer.

 

[End of Line]

Godzilla: Minus One (2023)

9/10

What an incredible movie

 

[Nakatomi]

The Apartment (1960) - 7/10

It dealt with some heavy themes fairly well, and was worth a watch. Looked great for being so old too.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Local Boys (2002)

A pair of surfing brothers are struggling with the death of their father.. when they encounter a legendary surfer, who becomes a surrogate father figure.
Mark Harmon plays the old longboard surfer turned father figure.
Some good surfing scenes, and real life family issues. Not bad.. (on Tubi)

 

[Rodgerwilco]

The Usual Suspects (1995) - 9.5/10
Yeah I know Spacey’s got his issues in the current day culture but I’ll be damned if this isn’t an excellent movie with an excellent acting job by him.

Not much to say about this one that hasn’t been said. Classic film, excellent cat & mouse story revolving around 5 suspects and their activities in the underbelly of the criminal world.

Mostly excellent acting all around. Tells a very intricate story without bogging you down with too much fluff. I really liked that they kept it down to a 1h 46m runtime. A flick like this with a lot of
moving parts could easily turn into a slog of a film.

The characters, albeit mostly scummy criminals, were oddly likeable and sympathetic to me.

All in all it’s a wonderful film. It’s been about 10 years since I’d seen this one so I was due to revisit.

Totally forgot Giancarlo Esposito is in this film, so that was a fun surprise.

 

[CDJ]

Mad Max (1979)

Honestly, I liked Fury Road and Furiosa better. It’s impressive they were able to make this in the 70’s, I’m sure it would’ve blown my mind back then and left me with a greater impression of the movie.

7.0/10

I will be watching the others

 

[NyQuil]

Mad Max (1979)

Honestly, I liked Fury Road and Furiosa better. It’s impressive they were able to make this in the 70’s, I’m sure it would’ve blown my mind back then and left me with a greater impression of the movie.

7.0/10

I will be watching the others

At least in North America, Mad Max was a relatively unknown film IIRC. It was Road Warrior that put the franchise on the map.

 

[kihei]

Hit Man (2024) Directed by Richard Linklater (8A)

Mild-mannered part-time prof Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) supplements his meagre teaching income by providing technical assistance to the New Orleans police department. Through circumstances beyond his control, he is forced into the role of a "pretend" hit man whose job is to entrap potential murderers before they can hire a real hit man to kill their victims. At first he is terrified of his new job, but it isn't long before he really gets into it, even using elaborate costumes to transform himself into "Ron," his much tougher, cooler, gun-toting alter ego. Things go swimmingly until he falls in love with Madison (Adria Arjona), a beautiful, funny woman who wants him to kill her husband. Then the stakes get higher and higher as Gary and Madison navigate a whole host of clever complications aimed at exposing their torrid affair. Hit Man is funny, sexy and breezily amoral. Linklater implicates the entire audience in dubious moral relativism because he makes us like the characters so much that we brush off the moral and ethical implications of what is going on here. Even the ostensible bad guy, more like a fly in the ointment really, is more interestingly drawn and cleverer than his usual counterparts in genre movies. While the script is wonderful throughout the movie, I especially liked how Linklater found an absolutely perfect ending that playfully underscores the almost subversive nature of this work. Very smart and very satisfying.

Best of '24

1) Hit Man, Linklater, US
2) The Breaking Ice, Chen, China
3) Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, Jude, Romania

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Hit Man (2024) Directed by Richard Linklater (8A)

Mild-mannered part-time prof Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) supplements his meagre teaching income by providing technical assistance to the New Orleans police department. Through circumstances beyond his control, he is forced into the role of a "pretend" hit man whose job is to entrap potential murderers before they can hire a real hit man to kill their victims. At first he is terrified of his new job, but it isn't long before he really gets into it, even using elaborate costumes to transform himself into "Ron," his much tougher, cooler, gun-toting alter ego. Things go swimmingly until he falls in love with Madison (Adria Arjona), a beautiful, funny woman who wants him to kill her husband. Then the stakes get higher and higher as Gary and Madison navigate a whole host of clever complications aimed at exposing their torrid affair. Hit Man is funny, sexy and breezily amoral. Linklater implicates the entire audience in dubious moral relativism because he makes us like the characters so much that we brush off the moral and ethical implications of what is going on here. Even the ostensible bad guy, more like a fly in the ointment really, is smarter and cleverer than his usual counterparts in genre movies. While the script is wonderful throughout the movie, I especially liked how Linklater found an absolutely perfect ending that playfully underscores the almost subversive nature of this work. Very smart and very satisfying.

Best of '24

1) Hit Man, Linklater, US
2) The Breaking Ice, Chen, China
3) Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, Jude, Romania

Oh I was considering going for it, I think you just sold 2 tickets.

 

[kihei]

It has some flaws for sure. Some of the acting is rough. But it is a memorably weird (at least to me) studio movie. One of those kinda surprised they made this movies.

Oh and there's a romance too. (And trivia ... Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham met in this movie. Remained friends and years later married. Together today.)I

Miracle Mile would have been a great black comedy if it turned out it was all his fault, an idea the movie plays around with a bit at the end of the movie before turning up the sentimentality and settling for doomed romance. In general, I thought the romance got in the way because too often their behaviour was inexplicably stupid. Winningham's role was woefully underwritten, as well. But the movie is very well paced and I never got bored.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Oh I was considering going for it, I think you just sold 2 tickets.

Not sure where you are located in the city but it seems it's only showing in West Island right now. Gross...I don't even know how that happens.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Not sure where you are located in the city but it seems it's only showing in West Island right now. Gross...I don't even know how that happens.

Hmmm, yeah that sucks. Looks like it's on its last leg too and the times aren't too good for me.