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

[Unholy Diver]

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - 8/10

fun flick, Jim Carrey great again as Robotnik and also his mad scientist grandfather, lots of good one liners and pop culture references, Idris Elba and Keanu were great in support as Knuckles & Shadow

 

[kihei]

September 5 (2024) Directed by Tim Fehlbaum 7A

September 5 is a procedural that deals with the ABC's sports broadcast crew who were tasked with reporting from the 1972 Olympics in Munich when a group of Palestinian terrorists kidnapped and killed 11 Israeli athletes as the world watched in horror. It was the first time a major act of terrorism had been witnessed on live television for all to see. The editing here is great despite the fact that the film seldom leaves the confined space of the ABC control room. The ensemble acting is among the best of the year. As journalistic procedurals go it is right up there with the best of them, and it raises questions of ethics and morality that were important at the time, and probably more important now when these crucial considerations seem ignored by too many news sources.

I had to ask myself, though, why are we seeing this piece of history now? It seems like an odd subject to green light--an act of terrorism that occurred at a sporting event over a half century ago. Perhaps the producers thought a lesson in journalistic ethics was needed at this moment. Or maybe the movie intends to underscore that violent antisemitism is an ever present danger. A more cynical interpretation is that the movie is a not so subtle reminder of whose side we should be on right now, who the good guys really are. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over that, though. Whatever the purpose or combination of purposes, September 5 is a hell of a ride that will keep your eyes glued to the screen from start to finish.

 

[kihei]

Queer (2024) Directed by Luca Guadagnino 6B

Well, Daniel Craig cannot possibly get further away from James Bond than this. Craig players author William Burroughs' stand-in William Lee, a sleazy middle-aged gay man who trolls the seedier bars of '50s Mexico City looking for an easy pick up. When he first casts eyes on Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) it is love at first sight. Unfortunately, the ultra-enigmatic Allerton reciprocates only very marginally, just enough to keep the poor fish on the hook. So what we have is a mostly unrequited romance that drives William Lee nuts. Queer is definitely worth seeing for Craig's great performance, but the movie as a whole has several problems. Foremost is a clash of aesthetics. Director Luca Guadagnino makes movies that are pretty to look at, that stylize the squalor. Burroughs writes tough prose that makes no concessions to smoothing off the edges on anything. Plus, the movie seems like it is not sure where it wants to go, with a sudden abrupt change of direction in the third act and a coda that is, oddly, a direct homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey's intentionally ambiguous ending. Go figure on that one. Finally the distinctive Trent Reznor sound track and accompanying use of songs by Prince, Nirvana and New Order is striking, but it seems intended for a different movie, certainly not one set in Mexican gay bars in the '50s. But, again, Craig almost single-handedly makes up for all of these flaws. It's the best performance that I have seen all year.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

Devotion (2022 film)

Cast:

• Jonathan Majors as Ensign Jesse L. Brown
• Glen Powell as Lieutenant Junior Grade[12] Tom Hudner
• Christina Jackson as Daisy Brown
• Thomas Sadoski as Lieutenant Commander Dick Cevoli

"Devotion is a 2022 American biographical war film based on the 2015 book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos, which tells of the comradeship between naval officers Jesse L. Brown and Tom Hudner during the Korean War." — Wikipedia

This film started slow.
Then it got great.
Then it got stupid.

Then it became touching and heartwarming, but the damage was already done. There was a moment so stupid that it pretty much ruined the entire film for me.

2 out of 5 stars.

 

[kihei]

A Real Pain (2024) Directed by Jessie Eisenberg 5B

As their deceased Grandma wanted, two cousins, David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkan) spend part of their inheritance on a guided tour of Poland in which they visit various WW II historical sites, including Nazi death camps. David is thoughtful and conventional, but Benji is an unpredictable wild card who nonetheless has the ability to charm his way out of some of the socially awkward situations that he gets himself (and David) into in the first place. There is not a lot of plot here, just a slowly deepening examination of a couple of young Jewish men trying to find a way to respond to a cultural heritage that they have yet to fully come to grips with. Misleadingly billed as a comedy, A Real Pain provides little laughter as it really is about dealing with pain, both historical and personal. Culkan's bravura performance has sincerity going for it, but his is not a character with whom I wanted to spend much time. I found Eisenberg just plain annoying--the same facial expressions and nervous mannerisms that he brings to every role he is ever in are once again in evidence. It seems he can only portray one character, and for me, anyway, that character is wearing very thin. A Real Pain is a good enough movie for what it does, sort of like Sideways, except, as one commentator pointed out, with a focus not on wineries but on concentration camps. Ultimately kind of a downer.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

The Holdovers (2023) -

Paul Giamatti is hands down one of my favorite character actors, and he has a rare ability to make you forget he’s playing a role - he just makes his characters quite believable like few actors can.

In this film he plays a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul) at a New England prep school to perfection.

Unfortunately for Paul the headmaster has a personal beef, which lands him the unenviable task of babysitting the Christmas holdovers.

I didn’t expect some of the plot twists thrown at me, but that is part of what made this movie so charming.

This film is very much in step with the aesthetics and overall feel of Manchester by the Sea.

It had the same kind of grip on my thoughts days after watching it - and it’s one of those unique films that is time well spent, and makes you very satisfied that you invested a couple hours of your time viewing it.

I have little doubt that like Manchester by the Sea, I will one day be longing for the nostalgia of the experience I had watching The Holdovers for the first time.

 

[kihei]

The Room Next Door (2024) Directed by Pedro Almodovar 7A

Old friends Martha (Tilda Swinton), most recently a war reporter, and Ingrid (Julianne Moore), now a successful author, rekindle their dormant friendship. And it is not long before Martha, dying of terminal cancer, makes a big request. She asks Ingrid if she would be present in the next room when Martha ends her life. Ingrid reluctantly accepts, and the rest of the movie is about their time together in the final days of Martha's life. Directing his first film in English, Pedro Almodovar benefits greatly from two superb performances by his gifted actors, neither of whom has a false moment the entire movie. The director is such an experienced hand at this kind of thing--his movies seem effortlessly but gracefully put together with just a tiny touch of Hitchcock added to the mix in service of suspense. In short, melodrama doesn't get much more elegant than this. Almodovar's humanistic approach to the idea that an individual should have the right to end his/her life with dignity is also welcome. The Room Next Door bears little resemblance to the kind of film that great directors nearing the end of their career make when their best work is behind him. If this is not Almodovar at the top of his game, The Room Next Door is damn close to it.


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 Room Next Door, Almodovar, US
9. The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Rasoulof, Germany
10. Heretic, Beck and Woods, US

 

[Babe Ruth]

Midway (2019)

The events of Pearl Harbor thru the Battle of Midway. Pretty good special effects and intense war scenes.
Outside of the fighting scenes, not much storyline, other than clichéd pep talks and scenes where the pilots (fighting back tears) remind each other what they're fighting for etc.
Pretty good movie & history lesson. And I thought Woody Harrelson gives a good performance as Nimitz.
On a ten point scale, I give it a 6.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I have only myself to blame.

Carry-On (Collet-Serra, 2024) - Sold as the new Die Hard-like Christmas movie, this one use the "do as you're told or your loved ones get it" plot scheme and it's a borefest. The pregnant girlfriend character is such a pain in the ass, you'll wish our hero here made the right choice. 2.5/10

Subservience (Dale, 2024) - There was a time at the turn of the 90s where you couldn't get away from these storylines where an outsider would come into a nice family as help and end up being a threat. They'd start with little unpleasant twitches, then would kill the dog, and you know... I'm mostly thinking of The Guardian (because Friedkin did it), but there was an endless bunch of these. The only interesting one would be Tender Loving Care, and the use of that storyline was the only lack of rigor and creativity of this project. Anyway, fast forward to now, and you've got this thing. You'll see every turn coming from a mile away, only the last 30 minutes are somewhat different, with the "sexy robot nanny" trying to be Skynet. 1.5/10

 

[KlausJopling]

Juror #2

2/5 the main character makes terribly dumb decisions after terribly dumb decision throughout this movie. All seemingly for a reason. Only for him to entirely reverse course (off screen) based on one line from a wasted Kieffer Sutherland (wasted so much when I thought he was first introduced I thought it must have been another Sutherland I wasn’t familiar with). Also Toni Collette was the only one in the cast that got the memo this takes place in the South.

The more I think about it the more I wanted to lower the score even more.

 

[Osprey]

Subservience (Dale, 2024) - There was a time at the turn of the 90s where you couldn't get away from these storylines where an outsider would come into a nice family as help and end up being a threat. They'd start with little unpleasant twitches, then would kill the dog, and you know... I'm mostly thinking of The Guardian (because Friedkin did it), but there was an endless bunch of these. The only interesting one would be Tender Loving Care, and the use of that storyline was the only lack of rigor and creativity of this project. Anyway, fast forward to now, and you've got this thing. You'll see every turn coming from a mile away, only the last 30 minutes are somewhat different, with the "sexy robot nanny" trying to be Skynet. 1.5/10

I watched that a few months ago and didn't feel motivated to review it because of how familiar and lackluster it was. The earlier film that it reminded me of is The Hand That Rocks the Cradle from 1992, so turn of the 90s, just like you said. This felt like that, but with the sexy nanny being a robot this time. At least the casting was on point. Megan Fox made for a believable piece of plastic.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I watched that a few months ago and didn't feel motivated to review it because of how familiar and lackluster it was. The earlier film that it reminded me of is The Hand That Rocks the Cradle from 1992, so turn of the 90s, just like you said. This felt like that, but with the sexy nanny being a robot this time. At least the casting was on point. Megan Fox made for a believable piece of plastic.

Yes exactly that type of films. Single White Female (and other stuff like Pacific Heights) was a slight variation on the same themes too.

 

[Fiji Water]

Tried for a 3rd time to watch My Dinner with Andre and dozed off after 30 minutes, for the 3rd time. I just find Andre's pretentiousness to be so off-putting that my mind eventually drifts away after a few minutes. Someday I will power through and watch the whole thing...

 

[kihei]

The Brutalist (2024) Directed by Brady Corbet 4C

Okay, first the good bits. Adrien Brody is brilliant as Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who having escaped the Nazis now must start from scratch in the United States just after the war concludes. Guy Pearce is his equal as Harrison Van Buren, a rich and powerful autocrat who, after a rocky start, befriends Toth and becomes his benefactor for a time. The scope is epic indeed; the images well composed though on the austere side; and the soundtrack bombastic (oops, that's a bad bit).

Now the bad bits. I thought The Brutalist was a f***ing chore to sit through. Forget that it is three and a half hours long--that's a problem in this instance, but not THE problem. After an effective first act (and welcome Intermission), the stage is nicely set for what will follow: how Toth will get on with his life, reconnect with his wife, and start constructing stolid chunks of architecture for Van Buren. But after the intermission the whole enterprise goes sour and everyone except Toth becomes the worst possible version of themselves. The movie becomes an abject lesson in unfailing misery and the failures of the American Dream. Even a pair of great performances can't save The Brutalist from becoming an imposing bore.

 

[Nakatomi]

The Neon Demon - 4/10

It is visually very engaging but the story and pacing is trash. Or, I should say it starts off with decent dramatic tension and has entertaining moments but the payoff is not worth the time and the final third of the movie could've been trimmed. Cut it at the pool scene and maybe you have something worth recommending.

 

[kihei]

The Neon Demon - 4/10

It is visually very engaging but the story and pacing is trash. Or, I should say it starts off with decent dramatic tension and has entertaining moments but the payoff is not worth the time and the final third of the movie could've been trimmed. Cut it at the pool scene and maybe you have something worth recommending.

Bad movie, for sure, but I thought it had a sneaky good performance from Keanu in a supporting role, especially noteworthy for those who think he can't act.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Carry-On: 6/10

Not the greatest movie and some odd parts but decent rainy night thriller movie on Netflix.

 

[Nakatomi]

Bad movie, for sure, but I thought it had a sneaky good performance from Keanu in a supporting role, especially noteworthy for those who think he can't act.

Very true. His Lolita line was especially creepy/well-done.

 

[Chili]

Tried for a 3rd time to watch My Dinner with Andre and dozed off after 30 minutes, for the 3rd time. I just find Andre's pretentiousness to be so off-putting that my mind eventually drifts away after a few minutes. Someday I will power through and watch the whole thing...

Believe I made it through the film on my second attempt, felt dry after a while though. Watched it because I enjoy Louis Malle films (Black Moon, Atlantic City, Au Revoir Les Enfants...). Two person films in one static location are tough to pull off, the only ones that come to mind that are memorable were Dutchman and the original Sleuth. Don`t believe Andre Gregory had been in a film before that one, quite the debut.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Bad movie, for sure, but I thought it had a sneaky good performance from Keanu in a supporting role, especially noteworthy for those who think he can't act.

Bad movie for sure? I think I had it at 7/10 so I won't fight for it, but to me it's The Substance, with some actual substance - a much more interesting take on some of the same themes, and that's saying nothing about the intertextual construct of the "demon".

It didn't make for the most engaging/fun film, but it's complex enough to avoid (for me anyway) the "bad movie" tag.

Edit: I had it at 6/10, seems a bit low in retrospective, might have to go back to it.

 

[kihei]

Complex? If you throw enough mud on the wall about youth and beauty, sure, some of it is going to stick, but that doesn't excuse the sheer vapidity of the execution. I hated Only God Forgives, too. I think a promising career nose-dived into wretched excess with these two self-indulgent monstrosities.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Still behind on my reviews, so I'll do a couple short easy ones.

Subservience (2024) - Directed by S.K. Dale - 2/10
Terrible movie. Incredibly bland and predictable. Very basic writing... Megan Fox is a robot maid who becomes more sentient than she was meant to be, tries to take over, robot stuff ensues.

Interesting enough premise (albeit not fresh in any way), I thought it could have worked better as an episode of Black Mirror to be honest if they trimmed it down to about 50ish minutes instead of making it a feature length film.

Without getting to see Megan Fox bare it all this movie might have been a 0.5 or 1 out of 10. lol. To her credit though, she did play the robot character pretty well, but that's basically just being emotionless and stiff, so I'm not sure what that says about her acting skills.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Spirited Away (2001) - Directed by Hayao Miyazaki (10/10)
Absolutely LOVED this one! I've seen a lot of memes and merch from this film, and have heard a lot about Studio Ghibli, but never got into any of the films from the studio during my small foray into different anime productions.

Originally a Japanese film which has been re-dubbed in English to great success the film follows the story of 10 year old girl Chihiro "Sen" Ogino (Daveigh Chase in English version) who, along with her parents, accidentally enters the spirit realm of Japanese folklore. Becoming trapped in the spirit world, Chihiro has to get a job to have a chance at saving her parents and returning back to the human world.

Chihiro (called Sen in the spirit world) navigates the bizarre and puzzling world of the kami, in which this section turns out to be a bath-house for other spirits to relax. Sen is often mocked and not accepted by the spirits, making her journey even more difficult. A mysterious spirit called "No-Face" begins following Sen around, who she then invites into the bath-house, believing it to be a guest. This turns out to be a mistake, as the No-Face quickly begins devouring workers and eating all the food.

I won't address too much of what happens in the ending. But I will just say that this film absolutely blew me away (no pun intended). The animation is gorgeous, and it's mind-blowing to me that it was actually hand-drawn. The English voice cast is full to the brim with notable top-tier talent the likes of which include Tara Strong, Suzanne Pleshette, Bob Berger, Susan Egan, Daveigh Chase, Michael Chiklis, and Rodger Bumpass just to name a few.

Being the first hand-drawn AND the first non-English animated film to win an academy award I totally understand why this film has found its way onto many "Top Films of All Time" lists. Every facet of the movie is well polished, it's easy to watch, but with a moving story, interesting and fun characters and designs, and with a refreshing feeling take on a classic film trope.


I don't mean to be too loosey goosey with 10/10 ratings, as I just recently gave Tombstone the same rating, but I really find Spirited Away to be pretty much a perfect film.

 

[daver]

A Complete Unknown - 10/10

If you are Dylan fan, you likely are expecting to be disappointed with the actor portraying Bob but the casting was excellent. The movie did an excellent job at capturing the unique time period and Dylan's refusal to play the music game.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

If you throw enough mud on the wall about youth and beauty, sure, some of it is going to stick

I don't think that's really the film's subject, though.

The Neon Demon is far more complex to me than something like The Substance. In agency, for example: Moore's character is victim of her own decision, she is offered an absurd and counter-nature opportunity, which she accepts, with terms and conditions. I get that this simplification feeds the narrative, but that's exactly where I thought the film was weak. Fame and superficiality isn't presented as problems until they threatened to disappear, creating the tension needed to "tell the story". TND's character trajectory is a lot more subtle and opened to different readings. The film portrays the industry of images, its operation and philosophy, more than it's about Jesse's experience. The distribution of what's "evil" in the glorification of looks and superficiality is really complex too, and nobody gets out unstained, even the innocent and good boyfriend could be the "demon" (not only the Keanu Reeves character implies, by saying neither of them did it, that he might have been the one opening the door* to the mountain lion, but just before this incident, he runs back to Jesse and points to the moon, like Baphomet). And it's that type of details that makes it a complex film, one in which the spectator is invited to read from the diegesis more than he is fed from it. Another example, Keanu concludes that only Jess could have opened the sliding door, which refers to the Law of Invitation in demonology (the Neon Demon had to be invited in order to lay into Jesse). And again, the moutain lion, maybe a wtf example of what you consider self-indulgence, but which finds echoes in the film through the stuffed cheetah (associated to Ruby when she is revealed to be "evil" too) and through the quote from Henry V when the designer invites his models to be like the tiger and incites their primal instinct for violence (and the reference to Sharkespeare is an invitation to explore the intertext surrounding the association of cats to violence, evil or the demonic... a path that would lead me first to Cat People, where Jesse's repressed sexuality would find significant echoes).

So yeah, maybe not your cup of tea, but certainly a film too complex and opened to different readings for me to tag it a "bad movie for sure". Anyway, I've at least convinced myself to push TND to 7/10!