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

[Crow]

Mary. Ugh. Bad by any standard.

I ate 4 times as many mushrooms but liked it 1/4 as much as Capone, which was terrible, but it at least memorable in many ways.

1/16 as good as Capone which I think was a 7/10 so 7/160?

Edit I don’t think my math is right let’s call it a 4/10. Acting wasn’t too bad I guess just everything else.

 

[kihei]

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

Actually you got me thinking about what movies I saw when I was 7, and only Disney came to mind. But my mom, who raised me, in all other aspects your normal, non-controversial, basic mom, decided I didn't need a filter shortly after that. This resulted in me seeing "mature" movies from 8-years-of-age onwards, a decision that I absolutely loved. So my early film education went something like this

8-years-old: From Here to Eternity; Stalag 17; Shane

9-years-old: On the Waterfront; Sabrina; Rear Window; A Star Is Born (Garland); Vera Cruz; Desiree

10-years-old: Rebel without a Cause; The Man with the Golden Arm (still my favourite soundtrack music); The Night of the Hunter; East of Eden (the only one that bored me); The Blackboard Jungle; The Bridges of Toko-Ri; The Desperate Hours; Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

11-years-old: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (scared me but in a fun way); Giant; Moby Dick (thought Peck was miscast--so I am already developing into a little critic); The Bad Seed; The Harder They Fall

12-Years-old: 3:10 to Yuma; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; An Affair to Remember; 12 Angry Men; The Bridge on the River Kwai; Witness for the Prosecution; Night of the Demon (Tournier) (I thought it was brilliant).

My point is, some kids can handle adult fare with aplomb. Even now, looking back, I don't remember feeling the least bit surprised about being allowed to see all these movies so young. They just seemed, with rare exceptions like East of Eden and Giant, like interesting movies, my kind of movies. No big deal whatsoever In fact, they, and the additional Disney and Hitchcock stuff, whetted a life-long interest in cinema in all likelihood. It may seem weird to contemporary parenting, but for me, it was just normal. Given the level of carnage, core, questionable language, and violence in movies now, I doubt a contemporary version of my mother would be so sanguine anymore. But I am grateful that she was at the time.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Watched Last Night:

7.5/10

 

[kihei]

Maria (2024) Directed by Pablo Larrain 6B

Chilean director Pablo Larrain makes brilliant, insightful movies (No; The Club; El Conde), but he also has a curious predilection for making biographies of women who were, in one way or another, 20th century cultural icons who felt overwhelmed by the lives they had thrust upon them. Like Jackie and Spencer before this one, Maria is immaculately presented but a trifle on the dry side. As opera diva Maria Callas, Angelina Jolie is imperial, acerbic and tends to speak in pointed rejoinders. Most of the movie is her talking to an interviewer or engaging in flashbacks. There is no plot here, only a glance at the last rather lonely days of her life. It all adds up to something that is aesthetically engaging and of a piece with Larrain's other explorations of female icons. However, Maria is also rather desiccated, a stylish but pallid exercise in how certain famous women can get trapped within a situation and/or a persona that doesn't have an escape hatch. For me, Maria was like looking at a really beautifully built table. If I was actually interested in tables, I probably would have liked it more.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Actually you got me thinking about what movies I saw when I was 7, and only Disney came to mind. But my mom, who raised me, in all other aspects your normal, non-controversial, basic mom, decided I didn't need a filter shortly after that. This resulted in me seeing "mature" movies from 8-years-of-age onwards, a decision that I absolutely loved. So my early film education went something like this

8-years-old: From Here to Eternity; Stalag 17; Shane

9-years-old: On the Waterfront; Sabrina; Rear Window; A Star Is Born (Garland); Vera Cruz; Desiree

10-years-old: Rebel without a Cause; The Man with the Golden Arm (still my favourite soundtrack music); The Night of the Hunter; East of Eden (the only one that bored me); The Blackboard Jungle; The Bridges of Toko-Ri; The Desperate Hours; Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

11-years-old: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (scared me but in a fun way); Giant; Moby Dick
(thought Peck was miscast--so I am already developing into a little critic); The Bad Seed; The Harder They Fall

12-Years-old: 3:10 to Yuma; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; An Affair to Remember; 12 Angry Men; The Bridge on the River Kwai; Witness for the Prosecution; Night of the Demon (Tournier) (I thought it was brilliant).

My point is, some kids can handle adult fare with aplomb. Even now, looking back, I don't remember feeling the least bit surprised about being allowed to see all these movies so young. They just seemed, with rare exceptions like East of Eden and Giant, like interesting movies, my kind of movies. No big deal whatsoever In fact, they, and the additional Disney and Hitchcock stuff, whetted a life-long interest in cinema in all likelihood. It may seem weird to contemporary parenting, but for me, it was just normal. Given the level of carnage, core, questionable language, and violence in movies now, I doubt a contemporary version of my mother would be so sanguine anymore. But I am grateful that she was at the time.

I am probably a tinge too lenient with some of the things we take her to, nothing quite as heavy or dramatic as most on your list but there have been plenty of PG13 movies, mostly light fare like super hero stuff, or Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice, though she joined me for the re-release of the extended cuts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and made it thru all 900 or so hours of that fairly unscathed. Popcorn can be a miracle worker

 

[Bounces R Way]

Earth Girls are Easy(1988) - 6/10

Completely unhinged late 80s nonsense. Mostly absurd comedy, part musical, part action, part sci fi, part romance kind of? But also none of these things really. Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayans, and Jim Carey play aliens on a space voyage who intercept a transmission from Earth that happens to be full of babes in bikinis. In their lustful horniness they end up crash landing in our female lead(Geena Davis) Val's swimming pool. Val has problems of her own, her fiance Dr Douchebag has been stepping out on her and she's just found out.

Val works as a nail tech so after some initial shock at the 3 hairy aliens in her backyard she decides she should take them to her place of work for a makeover where her friend Candy(pictured right) gives them the full humanization treatment. Many hijinks ensue. There's a semblance of a plot at least but mostly it's our male leads having what I assume is a coked up good time. Sometimes don't have the patience for stuff like this but it didn't take itself seriously whatsoever and I can appreciate that. It was the GF's pick and we both had fun, lots of throwaway laughs and bits. Forgot how much of a mega hunk young Goldblum was, some strange animal on-screen magnetism with this guy. Was a little surprised I hadn't heard of it, have a certain fondness for comedies of that era.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil(2010) - 7/10

Another very dumb movie, guess I've been in that certain mood. More in the horror-comedy genre. Two country boys head up the highway to a cabin Tucker(Alan Tudyk) had recently purchased to do some fishing and some home repair for the weekend. On a stop at a gas station to get supplies they run into a SUV full of college kids that are planning on doing some camping in the area. After some gentle chiding of his friend, Dale approaches the girls in the parking lot to strike up a conversation. He does poorly and Dale feels embarrassed at his lack of luck with the ladies. The groups head their separate ways.

Our two hillbillies reach the cabin and after some initial inspection of the work that needs to be done they decide to drink beer and go fishing. The college kids who are camping nearby decide to do some skinny dipping at the same time. Later on the lake on their boat our bumpkins see a particularly fit young women undressing and Dale calls out to try to let her know of their presence. This startles her and she slips and knocks herself unconscious resulting in her floating helplessly in the lake. The two men fish her body out of the lake but are spotted doing so by the rest of the college group, who assume they've kidnapped her to do unspeakable redneck things.

Events unfold unfortunately for just about everyone from there as the youths attempt to save their friend from these assumed forest dwelling rapists. Lots of gory comedic mishaps. There's a backstory where something similar happened 20 years ago to the day which ties in to our main popped collar frat boy antagonist Chad. Pretty ridiculous but a fun premise that the film pulls off fairly well. Had some heart and although the general message of don't judge a book by its cover has been done plenty of times this movie managed to package it up well enough to feel new and genuine.

12 Angry Men(1957) - 9/10

This movie is a masterpiece. Incredible that the director and the script do so much with so little. Won't bother with much of a synopsis other than basically it's one man amongst twelve jurors arguing for them to consider a young man's innocence in a murder trial where the death penalty is required. Other than the final scene the entire film takes place in a small conference room. Each man has his own reasons for their verdict and in turn each are forced to carefully inspect those reasons.

The performances, while at times of-the-era melodramatic, I have to say were all terrific. Only outshone in my opinion by how well the film is shot. For something that should drag at points and become tedious it really never does, the tension is built slowly and with specific purpose. I had seen it once before quite a long time ago and while I remember it as being quite good, I don't think I had the capacity to appreciate the craftsmanship put in here. A true classic in every sense.

 

[Nakatomi]

Heretic (2024) Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods 7A

Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes, two young Mormon missionaries, knock of the door of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who greets them with good humour and curiosity and invites them in for a piece of blueberry pie that his wife is making. Or is she? Is she even there? First the missionaries' faith is sorely tested, followed closely by their very lives as there seems no way out of Mr. Reed's strangely spooky house. And that blueberry pie only materializes in the damnedest way much later in the movie. The horror builds gradually over the first two acts which consist of increasingly tense scenes where Mr. Reed lectures the girls on religion in a way that is intended to undermine their beliefs and values. His arguments are surprisingly well considered ones, but the presentation becomes increasingly more unhinged. The young missionaries growing sense of alarm escalates because though Mr. Reed remains affable, even seemingly normal, they start to realize they are butterflies stuck in a very diabolical spider's web. The horror escalates in the third act.

I thought Heretic was a delight, a horror movie that is intellectually engaging and well acted. Mr. Reed has some very firm views on organized religion, craftily arguing that they are all iterations of much older texts that owe more to myth than to divine revelation. He does believe religion serves a purpose but it is anything but a nice one. Hugh Grant is wonderful in the role. All his trademark mannerisms are intact but he has turned their purpose from charm to villainy of a rather engaging kind--that is, until more and more is revealed about what is going on in the basement. It is one of his best performances in years. The more we get in to true horror late in the movie, Heretic gets a little messy intellectually as well as in terms of gore, but not enough to spoil the fun. Heretic provides a lively ride, and people might even discuss the ideas and symbolism after leaving the movie theatre.


Best of 2024 so far

1. Anora, Baker, US
2. Flow, Zilbalodis, Latvia
3. Caught by the Tides, Jia, China
4. All We Imagine As Light, Kapadia, India
5. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, Jude, Romania
6. Green Border, Holland, Poland
7. Heretic, Beck and Woods, US
8. The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Rasoulof, Germany
9. The Shadowless Tower. Lu, China
10. Here, Devos, Belgium

I just saw Heretic and feel you review is spot on! Very well crafted, and Hugh Grant really nailed the part. Just charming enough to balance out the sinister side. I also agree that it lost its way a tad in the final third, but still would recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet seen it. I also will need to look up the actresses playing the Mormon missionaries as I recognized neither but thought they did a great job.

 

[kihei]

Dahomey (2024) Directed by Mati Diop 8B (documentary)

In this inventive documentary, director Mati Diop (Big in Viet Nam; Atlantics) follows 26 Royal artifacts originally from the Kingdom of Dahomey being returned by the French government to their rightful home in Benin. Diop takes a rather interestingly offbeat approach to following the art pieces return (the artifacts collectively muse about what is going on), and then the real heart of the movie begins as the people of Benin discuss the many difficult and perplexing issues wrapped up in responding to the return of the treasure, issues concerning appropriation, colonialism, international power dynamics, pride, and restitution. Making the debate even more complex is that only 26 of seven thousand artifacts have been returned, representing a mere drop in the bucket. What should Benin do about France's decision to hold onto the other 6974 pieces? How does one deal with powerful institutions that think the preservation of the art of the past is too great a responsibility for less developed nations? The return itself of these few pieces sparks sharp internal debate politically as well: what institutions and individuals profit by their return? In addition, Mahomey examines the complex relationship between the newly re-acquired artifacts and their place in a very different culture and social milieu. Reclaiming what has been previously lost is no simple task for Benin and more complex issues abound than I would have ever imagined. Diop presents these conundrums with skill and grace providing an understanding that I doubt I could have gotten in any other way.

subtitles


Best of '24 so far

1. Anora, Baker, US
2. Flow, Zilbalodis, Latvia
3. Caught by the Tides, Jia, China
4. All We Imagine As Light, Kapadia, India
5. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, Jude, Romania
6. Green Border, Holland, Poland
7. Dahomey, Diop, Benin (documentary)
8. The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Rasoulof, Germany
9. Heretic, Beck and Woods, US
10. Small Things Like These, Mielants, Ireland