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

[Unholy Diver]

Moana 2 - 7/10

A clear step back from the original, big downgrade on the music going from Lin Manuel Miranda to whoever did this one, the story was also a bit thin, seemed like too much focus on the Moana's team to me than the actual story, villains also a downgrade, nobody as memorable as Tamatoa, not a bad movie, but nowhere near the first one


Wicked Part 1 - 8/10

I've never seen the stage version or read the wicked books, and I am not a huge musical guy, so your mileage may vary from mine, but I found the story to pretty enjoyable, the musical scenes were well done, and the film kept me invested and interested. Grande and Erivo were a good pair playing such opposites, and the rest of the cast held their own.

 

[kihei]

The Piano Lesson (2024) Directed by Malcolm Washington 6A

The Washington clan is slowly working through playwright August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle, ten plays of which nine of them are set in that city. Denzell Washington has executive produced all three film adaptations so far, Fences and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom being the other two, and starred in Fences. The Piano Lesson is directed by one son, Malcolm, and its lead actor is another son, John David. Washington's wife and daughters are involved as well, either as producers or supporting actors. August Wilson's plays focus on black American experience with his pitch perfect dialogue being reminiscent of Arthur Miller's best works. Indeed, it is embarrassing that Wilson's plays never received the same level of praise and reward that Miller's achieved.

The Piano Lesson is about a black family living during the mid-1930's in Pittsburgh whose heirloom piano becomes a source of conflict between a brother and sister, one of whom wants to sell it, the other who wants to keep it because of its importance to the family's history. A bit of a ghost story factors in on the decision making. While inexperienced director Malcolm Washington tries to extend the narrative beyond the stage with flashbacks and exterior scenes, The Piano Lesson remains clearly a play first and a movie second. As this is true of the other two films in the series as well, it seems fair to conclude that Washington and family are reticent to tamper with Wilson's works too much, an accusation of theatricality being less onerous to bear than a potentially wrong-headed and disfiguring adaptation. This is the sort of work where one expects the actors to have a field day and they do with one exception. Danielle Deadwyler is suberb and Samuel L. Jackson is better than he has been in years. However, as the headstrong brother John David Washington seems to be playing to the back rows of Yankee Stadium; his performance is way too over-the-top and it distracts slightly from the plays themes of a family's legacy and their relationship to the past. However, Deadwyler's Oscar worthy performance more than makes up for Washington's deficiencies.

Netflix

 

[Bahama Mama]

Terrific film.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/?ref_=chttp_t_52

 

[kihei]

Beatles '64 (2024) Directed by David Tedeschi 8A (documentary)

Even if you are sick of The Beatles and think that you have seen every inch of film ever shot about them, you still might want to give Beatles '64 a try. While it goes without saying that this documentary is a must-see for Beatles fans, less enthusiastic viewers should take note that the footage on display, photographed by renowned documentarians the Maysles brothers (Salesman; Grey Gardens; When We Were Kings), has only been released on formats that virtually nobody has ever seen. Produced by Martin Scorsese, who has an excellent track record when it comes to music documentaries (The Last Waltz; No Direction Home; George Harrison: Living in the Material World), Beatles '64 has a tight focus: the arrival and impact of the Beatles in North America in 1964 culminating in appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and two weeks of whirlwind touring, two weeks that changed the notion of youth culture forever.

We mostly see The Beatles either performing or away from the limelight, save for the Maysles cameras. Its the "away from the limelight" stuff that is most revealing. The four seem surprised, delighted but a little wary, too, of the commotion their presence is causing in Manhattan and elsewhere. With the boys just being boys, we get natural sketches of each clearly distinct personality which director David Tedeschi allows us to judge for ourselves rather than to try to shape our perceptions with voice-overs. A number of people, everyone from New York Philharmonic conductor Leonard Bernstein's daughter to fans who had been caught up in the initial wave of Beatlemania, make perceptive comments about the impact this early visit by the band to North America had on their lives and on the social order. Most of them put forth a version of the same reaction that I experienced as a first-year university student watching in something approaching awe as the band performed on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. Not only were they an absolutely wonderful rock and roll band, but somehow there was a glimmer, a vague but still palpable sense that these guys were game-changers who would open doors that the authority figures of the time had sternly tried to close. They seemed like a new direction, an example of how youth culture suddenly could be hip, sexy and fun. Then, of course, most of this generation grew up and in our dotage voted for Trump. The late author Kurt Vonnegut would have undoubtedly appreciated the bitter irony. Don't blame the Beatles for that, though. They did their bit to make the world a better place. The point is, Beatles '64 does justice to The Beatles unique presence and to their remarkable legacy, too.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The Kid Detective. This dropped a few years ago in the pandemic. Has a few passionate defenders but mostly feels lost to time. As someone who grew up reading Encyclopedia Brown books and has had a life-long love of detective books/movies/tv of all stripes, I'm pretty predisposed to like this. But holy crap, I LOVED this movie. Adam Brody plays the titular detective who as a brainy kid was hot shit solving the small crimes of his small town but in adulthood has become, well, nothing much. He's still detecting on that micro scale. But he's also depressed and a drunk. He's a mopey loser who hasn't moved on, haunted (as detectives often are) by the case he couldn't solve – the disappearance of a classmate. But then a young girl walks into his office wanting him to solve a legit murder ...

Brody is fantastic walking a lovable loser line. You want him to succeed and pull himself out of the decades-long funk he's in. Dry and sarcastic. He's funny but it's clear he snaps at people from a place of weakness. Most of the movie keeps a pretty comedic pace with him working the case, taking one step forward, one back. He is a good detective. But he ain't a great one. it gets the story beats all right. This is all praise worthy, but what really took it to another level to me is the last third or so when the nature of the crime is revealed. It's genuinely dark, but the film fully earns that shift again largely because of Brody's performance. The tone juggling here reminded me a lot of Veronica Mars which had an incredible ability to be goofy (often through its characters) and cutting before shifting gears it something much more serious.

Very funny, well done movie with a great lead performance and a sneaky, but earned emotional punch.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

The Kid Detective.

I keep waiting for this be available to stream on a platform I actually have

 

[kihei]

The Kid Detective. This dropped a few years ago in the pandemic. Has a few passionate defenders but mostly feels lost to time. As someone who grew up reading Encyclopedia Brown books and has had a life-long love of detective books/movies/tv of all stripes, I'm pretty predisposed to like this. But holy crap, I LOVED this movie. Adam Brody plays the titular detective who as a brainy kid was hot shit solving the small crimes of his small town but in adulthood has become, well, nothing much. He's still detecting on that micro scale. But he's also depressed and a drunk. He's a mopey loser who hasn't moved on, haunted (as detectives often are) by the case he couldn't solve – the disappearance of a classmate. But then a young girl walks into his office wanting him to solve a legit murder ...

Brody is fantastic walking a lovable loser line. You want him to succeed and pull himself out of the decades-long funk he's in. Dry and sarcastic. He's funny but it's clear he snaps at people from a place of weakness. Most of the movie keeps a pretty comedic pace with him working the case, taking one step forward, one back. He is a good detective. But he ain't a great one. it gets the story beats all right. This is all praise worthy, but what really took it to another level to me is the last third or so when the nature of the crime is revealed. It's genuinely dark, but the film fully earns that shift again largely because of Brody's performance. The tone juggling here reminded me a lot of Veronica Mars which had an incredible ability to be goofy (often through its characters) and cutting before shifting gears it something much more serious.

Very funny, well done movie with a great lead performance and a sneaky, but earned emotional punch.

Watched the movie, which I enjoyed very much, and it struck me as somehow very Canadian, and then I remembered another Canadain small town detective, Benny Kooperman, a likeable schmuck sort of detective, who you might find interesting. Author Howard Engel wrote 13 books in the series, and the first few are a delight. (Saul Rubinek as Kooperman starred in two television adaptations as well in the mid-80s). The circumstances of the two detectives are very different, but the humour and thoughtful specificities are similar. Here's more info if you are curious (probably want to skip the plot summaries, though):

Benny Cooperman - Book Series In Order

Complete order of Benny Cooperman books in Publication Order and Chronological Order.

www.bookseriesinorder.com

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I keep waiting for this be available to stream on a platform I actually have

I found the DVD at a local library. Not streaming anywhere i could find.

 

[NyQuil]

As someone who grew up reading Encyclopedia Brown books and has had a life-long love of detective books/movies/tv of all stripes, I'm pretty predisposed to like this.

"Why was the Civil War sword that Bugsy was showing off a forgery?"

The inscription on the hilt indicated that it was presented to General Stonewall Jackson on the occasion of the "First Battle of Bull Run", but based on the date of the inscription, was awarded prior to the Second Battle of Bull Run.

Having not known that a second battle would occur, the battle was simply called "The Battle of Bull Run" at the time.

"Why was Bugsy's story that he had just returned from his errand a lie?"

The toddler sitting on the hood of the car was laughing and happy. If he had just returned from his errand, the hood of the car would have been too hot for the toddler to be sitting on it.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

"Why was the Civil War sword that Bugsy was showing off a forgery?"

The inscription on the hilt indicated that it was presented to General Stonewall Jackson on the occasion of the "First Battle of Bull Run", but based on the date of the inscription, was awarded prior to the Second Battle of Bull Run.

Having not known that a second battle would occur, the battle was simply called "The Battle of Bull Run" at the time.

"Why was Bugsy's story that he had just returned from his errand a lie?"

The toddler sitting on the hood of the car was laughing and happy. If he had just returned from his errand, the hood of the car would have been too hot for the toddler to be sitting on it.

I always remember one where someone was crying but it was fake tears coming from the outside of the eye and not the eye duct.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Gladiator II

Entertaining, though not great. But a fascinating movie in that ...

Spoiler

The best thing by a longshot is Denzel Washington's performance. But his gravitational pull is so strong it undermines the movie. Not only does he kinda seem right, but even when he takes his final form as the movie's real villain you can't help but look at him versus Lucius and think, yeah I'd probably follow Denzel rather than that "strength and honor" mama's boy. Make Rome Great Again? Get the f*** out of here, dork.

 

[Osprey]

The People That Time Forgot (1977) - 6/10

John Wayne's son and Princess Leia's body double battle rubber dinosaurs, samurai natives and a sentient volcano in this sequel to 1974's The Land That Time Forgot. It's your standard "Lost World" clone featuring an expedition team that visits an uncharted island filled with prehistoric monsters and angry natives and barely escapes with their tails between their legs, the kind that was popular in the late 60s and 70s. This one stars the hunky Patrick Wayne, who was actually cast as Superman the same year before dropping out because his famous dad got sick. Alongside him is Sarah Douglas, who spends most of the film with her hair in buns over her ears. Maybe that was a fad in 1977. Together, they ally with a wild native who looks like she stepped off of the cover of CaveGirl magazine. She doesn't speak, but, if she could, she'd probably say "my eyes are up here." The film is campy without trying to be. When the characters are attacked by a rubber dinosaur, it's more amusing than suspenseful. There's also a scene in which a character gets hit in the face with a foam-tipped arrow and brushes it off, only to soon after take another arrow to the chest and die. I guess that he had plot armor on his face, but not his torso. Things like that made me laugh, but didn't really detract because I'm a sucker for these lost expedition adventure films. Maybe it's because I grew up with them, but I find them to be enjoyable, and the fact that they seem very dated (in a "this is how adventure films were before Indiana Jones" way) somehow only adds to the charm.

---

The Throne of Fire (1983) - 5/10

To sit on the throne of fire and rule the kingdom, the son of Satan must kill all who oppose him and marry a princess before an eclipse, but a musclebound stranger with nothing better to do shows up out of the blue to try to stop him. For a cheesy Italian Conan rip-off, the plot was surprisingly comprehensible. I always knew what it was because the characters graciously explained it over and over, starting with the son of Satan telling his proud mom how he intended to massacre women and children. It was unclear where the dad was, but it'd be just like Satan to run out on them. I was unfamiliar with the beefcake hero, Pietro Torrisi, but it turns out that I saw the princess, Sabrina Siani, in a previous Italian sword and sorcery film in which she spent the whole thing topless and wearing a mask. Here, it's the other way around, because we see her face, but she keeps her clothes on, if you can call them that. She ends up being just as capable of a fighter as the male hero and even rescues him once, while he's as nearly naked as she is and his perm must've taken as long as her hair. Now that's gender equality. Several times, they draw their swords on one another, only to end up embracing and kissing seconds later, which was amusing, as was the fact that they keep getting captured again after escaping. The dialogue is hilariously bad, made worse by being dubbed into English, and the whole movie is extremely cheesy, but the sets are decent and there's a good amount of action. It felt like watching a 60s TV show or an 80s cartoon. It's definitely not good, but it was more watchable than other Conan rip-offs.

 

[Crow]

I watched Capone (2020). I thought it was f***ing hilarious, amazing, terrible, a mess, pointless and genius. I never laughed so hard in my life or felt so confused. 7/10 would recommend if you eat some mushrooms first.

 

[VILARGOD]

Calibre - 9/10. On Netflix. A dark, dark suspense thriller. Two friends on a trip that goes terribly wrong. Bit of a mystery too.

Was very surprised. Don't watch if you're looking for good vibes. This movie will f*** you up.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Watched a handful of different films since my last review, so I'll catch up a bit.

Saltburn (2023) Written and Directed by Emerald Fennell. 8.5/10


Saltburn, a satirical “black comedy”, is a pretty interesting and evocative (albeit uncomfortable at times) film in my opinion. Starring Barry Keoghan as Oliver, the film follows the story of Oliver. He struggles to fit in with his fellows peers at Oxford, struggling to fit in with the high class society that surrounds him. After sharing his story of abusive and non-present parents, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) takes pity upon Oliver and invites him to his family’s mansion property, the titular Saltburn.

Oliver is introduced to Felix’s incredibly affluent and aloof family and their non-traditional way of life at the mansion. Oliver is smitten with his experience at Saltburn and Felix, especially. The “family” at Saltburn is quite an odd relational dynamic, dicatated by the Catton family’s position of power and influence over their guests. Oliver quite quickly finds himself intoxicated by the world of Saltburn and becomes intertwined with the family.

Really intriguing story and twists, Oliver's character is rather complex and clever in how he manipulates those around him and really manifests his own position in the story and hierarchy of the small world of Saltburn. Some certainly sexually uncomfortable scenes, but I would definitely recommend.

The Substance (2024) Written and Directed by Coralie Fargeut (5.5/10)
Another pretty unique and interesting film here that ran for about 20 minutes too long, unfortunately... I would have really enjoyed this film if the ending wasn't so absolutely absurd and drawn out.

Famous TV Fitness show host Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is turning 50, and in her field this is not a good number. Due to her age and fading youth, she gets pushed out of her position in favor of someone younger (and hotter). After a very upsetting 50th birthday, Elisabeth is offered a proposition... She can achieve a younger, better version of herself, all she has to do is purchase the 'program' and follow the instructions. Turning down the offer at first, of course she is too curious about this possibility to let it pass her by.

Through a shady organization and a somewhat disturbing duplication process, the younger and better version dubbed "Sue" (Margaret Qualley) emerges.... She is everything that Elisabeth wishes she still was... Sexy, fit, alluring, and energetic. She quickly bursts onto the entertainment scene and takes over the space. The catch comes in the fact that Elisabeth and Sue must maintain a strict balance between their time to ensure no negative effects from the process. I'm sure you can imagine how well this goes.

Also, Dennis Quaid plays the role of the flighty, douchebag LA talent agent incredible well. His character is the stereotypical venomous talent agent who has few true interests aside from his next cash cow.

I found The Substance to be a pretty interesting film with an interesting satirical take on the entertainment industry and celebrity obsession with youth. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley both put in pretty excellent performances here in their respective roles.

As I said above, unfortunately the ending sort of ruined the film for me. I thought the end was absolutely terrible and they should have wrapped the film up about 20 minutes sooner. The director certainly has a fixation with booties and bodies. There are some very interesting set pieces and the cinematography is excellent in some shots throughout the film. Honestly reminded me of an episode of Black Mirror, I think it could have been better as an anthology episode in a show like that as opposed to trying to be a full feature length film.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Spartacus. I haven't seen this since we watched it in a high school history class. Classic Hollywood epic filmmaking, this time by Stanley Kubrick who'd graduated from his two lower-budget masterpieces (Paths of Glory, The Killing) to this grand scale. As an epic, it's fine, but I was bored with looonnng stretches of this. The romance plotline in particular is a total dud and the movie's last 40 minutes after the big battle slow to a crawl. In my memory the movie's most famous scene was the second to last scene in the movie. But I was mistaken ... there's like another 30 minutes after that, none of it very compelling.

Douglas does the classic leading man thing. And he too is ... fine. It's at its best when supporting actors like Peter Ustinov and Charles Laughton are allowed to ham it up a bit. As a Kubrick movie, it's pretty anonymous. The scale and scope of the major battle is impressive, but otherwise there wasn't much for me to latch on it. Not sure I'll ever feel compelled to revisit.

 

[kihei]

Spartacus. I haven't seen this since we watched it in a high school history class. Classic Hollywood epic filmmaking, this time by Stanley Kubrick who'd graduated from his two lower-budget masterpieces (Paths of Glory, The Killing) to this grand scale. As an epic, it's fine, but I was bored with looonnng stretches of this. The romance plotline in particular is a total dud and the movie's last 40 minutes after the big battle slow to a crawl. In my memory the movie's most famous scene was the second to last scene in the movie. But I was mistaken ... there's like another 30 minutes after that, none of it very compelling.

Douglas does the classic leading man thing. And he too is ... fine. It's at its best when supporting actors like Peter Ustinov and Charles Laughton are allowed to ham it up a bit. As a Kubrick movie, it's pretty anonymous. The scale and scope of the major battle is impressive, but otherwise there wasn't much for me to latch on it. Not sure I'll ever feel compelled to revisit.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Just Rewatched:

8/10

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Welp saw it was on MAX and watched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

6/10

Its ok and one does not feel you wasted time watching it, but it is very uneven movie with all the plots and pointlessness of them. The boyfriend plot at least you could point out as device to get Ortega character into afterlife and make it so she can see ghosts like her mother started seeing at same age but what was the point of Bellucci character in this entire film? She literally had no point or payoff. Same with Dafoe you could have cut him out and just had a bunch of generic ghost officers looking for Ryder/Ortega

Ryder and Ortega did as expect in roles nothing negative but nothing great either. Nothing great but they work fine and of course O'Hara character was good, and Keaton did well though of course was better in original. The Rory character was meh neither dragged down film nor elevated it. The father naturally not in film for good reason but use of character as plot point of "Get to A, To B, etc" was meh but whatever didn't really matter it was only in there for mother plotline

The incorporation of music in here was hit or miss much like rest of script. Obviously, the funeral scene music was homage to original and I had good chuckle at the "Richard Marx" scene, but the musical # at wedding was meh attempt to recreate the originals dinner scene. And the "Soul Train" was just awful

When looking at it from point of comparable to other sequels that came well after first film release it is step up from most which tend to be awful (Dumb and Dumber To for example). Still, it feels like they threw a bunch of scripts together and said "Just film it"

It's a movie that if it's on TV and nothing else is on and I have no plans I could see myself watching again. But it's not film that one will go out of way to watch or own

 

[Unholy Diver]

Take her to Flow when it comes around. It is a magical movie, wordless, about a cat trying to survive after an ecological apocalypse. Absolutely wonderful movie, my #2 seed for the year so far.

We caught a showing of this one last night, I had my doubts as we were watching it if it might be a bit too serious for her since the animals didn't talk, and I was waiting for the "I liked it but it was kind of weird" as we walked out, but she really enjoyed it and said she hopes they make another one, so this was a successful suggestion

 

[Hippasus]

Photon 500

It's hard to call this a documentary, perhaps "movie" is more appropriate. I ended up seeing it more as an art project. This is an encapsulating vision of existence and life in regards to science, but makes it something more real. The burgeoning of biochemistry, the Big Bang, the onset of modern culture, et cetera. Somehow it is beautifully done, giving a thoughtful disposition. The maker(s) seem to be very much influenced by Kubrick, a la 2001: A Space Odyssey. A little bit NSFW, but overall, very well done and admirable. Amazing visuals.

200: distasteful and pathetic
300: mediocre or subpar
400: average, but decent
500: very good
600: superb
700: transcendental

 

[jefforteo]

Terrifier 3. It was ok

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Watched Over The Past 2 Days:

5/10

5/10

 

[kihei]

We caught a showing of this one last night, I had my doubts as we were watching it if it might be a bit too serious for her since the animals didn't talk, and I was waiting for the "I liked it but it was kind of weird" as we walked out, but she really enjoyed it and said she hopes they make another one, so this was a successful suggestion

Good for her. She's going to be a movie critic.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Good for her. She's going to be a movie critic.

Hopefully a high paid one (if such a thing exists) that can take care of mom and dad in their old age