Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Movie-mber Edition

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Enemy at the Gates (2001) Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud 6A

Jude Law plays Vasily Zaitsev, a Russian sniper par excellence, who wreaked havoc on the invading German army during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II. Ed Harris plays a smart, veteran German sniper whose sole purpose in coming to Russia is to eliminate Yuri before he can do more damage. Joseph Fiennes plays a sort of Soviet PR guy whose job it is to make Zaitsev into a national hero. And Rachel Weisz is the required love interest. Whenever either Fiennes or Weisz are on screen, the movie comes to a dead halt. Whenever Law or Harris are playing their deadly game, Enemy at the Gates bristles with tension. The film’s obvious flaws are frustrating because the movie should have been so much better than it is. However, when Enemy at the Gates is playing to its own strengths, it is among the most gripping war movies that I have seen this century.

Prime Video

Pretty on-point with my own opinions on the film. Eliminate the romance subplot or make it less obvious and Enemy at the Gates becomes a top-tier war film.

 

[Pink Mist]

The Cave (2019) directed by Feras Fayyad

Recommended this one from someone based on my research from grad school, The Cave follows a female pediatrician in Eastern Ghouta, Syria who runs an underground hospital amidst the Siege of Eastern Ghouta during the Syrian Civil War. In direct cinema style the film documents the struggles of running this hospital and treating civilians (many children) while bombs are dropped on the city by the Syrian regime and their Russian allies. Extremely harrowing content and very hard to watch, it does serve to document the ongoing war crimes that have occurred during the Civil War. Additionally, the film highlights instances of female solidarity in a highly patriarchal society, and the real-life heroism of the staff at the hospital. There are some weak editorial decisions which rang false, in which the direct cinema style is momentarily abandoned, but overall a well-made film. Unfortunately, not a work of fiction.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

The Lost Weekend (1945) - 7.5/10

Strong character study on an average plot. I think it's one of the best characters to come up in a classic film, an alcoholic with depth if that makes any sense. I've also slowly watched 9 Billy Wilder films without realizing, there's some uneven zaniness in them but what a fantastic director overall even if I did think Sunset Blvd was a bit overrated (I have to rewatch that one because I liked almost everything else by him).

The American Friend (1977) - 7/10

Wim Winders film showing a depressing Germany as every other coloured film post-war did. It's basically the Dennis Hopper show and then there's everything else. This is a very Criterion film if that was a genre.

 

[Franck]

'71 (2014) - United Kingdom - Dir. Yann Demange

"We've got to reassure the Paddy"

During the early years of The Troubles Private Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell) is left stranded in a strange and hostile environment after a botched patrol, unarmed, lost and vulnerable he must find his way home through a deadly maze while evading forces that want him dead. What follows is an intense chase through a dark and grimy Belfast featuring thrills, betrayals and an encounter with one of the most hateful children ever seen on film.
In his directorial debut Yann Demange delivers a master class in pacing and suspense while broaching a controversial subject with the respect and restraint it deserves, The Troubles and its participants have often been reduced into a crude pastiche in film, but there is none of that in '71.

I loved this when I saw it in the cinema six years ago and upon my recent re-watch I still believe this to be one of the finest action-thrillers of recent years.

4/5

 

[Langdon Alger]

Tootsie - 1982

An out of work actor who can’t get work because he’s difficult to work with, decides to switch genders so he can find work. He ends up working on a soap opera and no one is the wiser that he is in fact, a man.

Dustin Hoffman gives a very strong performance, and the supporting cast includes Jessica Lange, Bill Murray, Geena Davis and Teri Garr. A well done movie with good acting, but it’s not my favourite thing. It’s a little too long, and there are some unnecessary scenes. I felt it moved along kind of slowly in the middle. Still enough good things in the movie for me to give it a favourable score.

6/10

 

[kihei]

Mank (2020) Directed by David Fincher 5B

After Nomadland, according to bookie sites, Mank is the second favourite to win the Academy Award this year in the best motion picture category. I wouldn't bet on it succeeding, though. Mank is handsomely staged, beautifully photographed in black and white, and contains a marvelous performance by Gary Oldman who plays screenwriter, bon vivant and drunkard Herman Mankiewicz. But the subject matter seems esoteric in the extreme, and I wonder how many will be interested enough in this film to watch it to the end. Mankiewicz, who wrote the first draft of Citizen Kane, must eventually battle Orson Welles for his share of credit, but their confrontation arrives late in the movie and is over quickly. The actual focus of the movie seems to be on how manipulative and shallow Hollywood producers were in the 1930s and early '40s, but why at this late date will anybody care? Mank drops dozens of names of film artists, literary lions and political figures, but few will know who these guys are that the movie is making a fuss over. Thanks to a big speech by Mankiewicz near the end of the film during a dinner party, potential villain William Randolph Hearst comes off as more victim of Mank's animosity than evil miscreant. It's all kind of a head scratcher. A lot of craftsmanship and period detail went into Mank, but the end result doesn't add up to much of anything at all. Still, the movie is worth seeing if only for Oldman's performance. The role of Mank is a fat pitch that he hits into the upper deck.

Netflix

 

[Osprey]

'71 (2014) - United Kingdom - Dir. Yann Demange

"We've got to reassure the Paddy"

During the early years of The Troubles Private Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell) is left stranded in a strange and hostile environment after a botched patrol, unarmed, lost and vulnerable he must find his way home through a deadly maze while evading forces that want him dead. What follows is an intense chase through a dark and grimy Belfast featuring thrills, betrayals and an encounter with one of the most hateful children ever seen on film.
In his directorial debut Yann Demange delivers a master class in pacing and suspense while broaching a controversial subject with the respect and restraint it deserves, The Troubles and its participants have often been reduced into a crude pastiche in film, but there is none of that in '71.

I loved this when I saw it in the cinema six years ago and upon my recent re-watch I still believe this to be one of the finest action-thrillers of recent years.

4/5

I just watched it. It was good. I didn't understand some of the details and language (except for the swearing, so I knew that it was English), but the plot was so simple to follow that it didn't really matter. In fact, you could probably watch it with no sound or in another language and still be able to follow along. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Osprey]

I just realized why Gary Oldman in Mank seemed familiar:

 

[Desdichado93]

Kongens nei (the king's no /"The King's choice")

Drama movie about the Norwegian family's escape during the German invasion of Norway in April 1940 in general and about King's decisions regarding the German ultimatum.

HBO
The King's Choice (2016) - Reference View - IMDb

 

[voxel]

Knives Out. 8.5/10

Did not expect to love this movie as I find it difficult to even finish watching most films these days. Same old, same old. Knives out was quirky and fresh enough to keep me interested.

 

[Franck]

I just watched it. It was good. I didn't understand some of the details and language (except for the swearing, so I knew that it was English), but the plot was so simple to follow that it didn't really matter. In fact, you could probably watch it with no sound or in another language and still be able to follow along. Thanks for the recommendation.

It's funny you should mention the language, the film is so light on dialogue that I struggled to pick a quote from it.

The director does use language in other ways though, for example the inexperienced officer responsible for the botched operation speaks in clear RP not only as a sign of his class background but also to signal that he is sheltered and has a naïve understanding of the world, all the other characters speak regional accents.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Tenet (2020) - 7.5/10

Pretty good but also pretty stupid. I'm thankful I had subtitles to watch this and also wikipedia open, I'd be pissed if I saw it in the theatre because the complaints about the audio are quite legitimate. One of the weaker Nolan films I've seen, it has some of his best work visually, is suspenseful, but the dialogue feels worse and the plot feels more contrived and dumber the more you think about it. I'll rewatch it around the Holidays but to be honest after reading some online explanations and Youtube videos, I think that it will be almost as confusing, it's not a movie that can be explained because it's too flawed in plot.

Good audition though for Robert Pattinson, dude will make a good Batman. Can't praise some of the other acting as much.

 

[Osprey]

The director does use language in other ways though, for example the inexperienced officer responsible for the botched operation speaks in clear RP not only as a sign of his class background but also to signal that he is sheltered and has a naïve understanding of the world, all the other characters speak regional accents.

I didn't pick up on that. I was wondering why the soldiers were looking at him contemptibly from the moment that he opened his mouth, even though he seemed nice. That explains it.

 

[kihei]

Tenet (2020) - 7.5/10

Pretty good but also pretty stupid. I'm thankful I had subtitles to watch this and also wikipedia open, I'd be pissed if I saw it in the theatre because the complaints about the audio are quite legitimate. One of the weaker Nolan films I've seen, it has some of his best work visually, is suspenseful, but the dialogue feels worse and the plot feels more contrived and dumber the more you think about it. I'll rewatch it around the Holidays but to be honest after reading some online explanations and Youtube videos, I think that it will be almost as confusing, it's not a movie that can be explained because it's too flawed in plot.

Good audition though for Robert Pattinson, dude will make a good Batman. Can't praise some of the other acting as much.

Man, I got nothing much to add to this except to say that you are way too generous with your score. I tried to watch Tenet sans notes or subtitles, and it seemed not only hopelessly confusing but overreaching and just plain silly. Sure, it is a huge challenge for a director who likes such technical challenges, but in the end the movie is the cinematic equivalent of listening to some brainy kid explain his or her science project. There is not a human emotion to connect with in the entire movie. In frustration, I reverted to treating Tenet as a "Bond movie on steroids" as one ad put it, with an identifiable bad guy to root against and not to worry too much how the movie got from A to B....or B to A, as is more often the case. Not a movie I will bother to revisit, 4C for me.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Medium Cool (1969)

Well, that was certainly a 'movie' I watched.

 

[tardigrade81]

Firewalker with Chuck Norris. Terrible movie lmao but I love Chuck!! 3/10

inspired me to work on my flexibility while my son was looking at me with a “wtf are you doing look” lmao.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Afterdeath

with English people who even the Prime algorithm didn't recognize.

Robin's a thirty-something woman who wakes up on a beach, fully dressed. Weird explosions of blue smoke erupting from the sand frighten her into running away from the shoreline, and the only structures for miles are a beach house and a lighthouse in the distance. Slowly, she enters the beach house to find some twenty-somethings having a three-way, looking fresh from the clubs. Oh, and there's a girl in the bathroom who's trying to cut her wrists, but no blood comes out. Also Robin has no pulse. They all sit down to talk, and they suss out they're all dead. There's free vodka and sex...so, heaven? Also recriminations and a smoke demon. Hell, then? If you walk far enough in one direction, you just end up coming back in the other side. As Seb, the one guy present says as he goes stomping off in a huff: "Waka waka waka!!" What's that, like, barrier thing with the moaning faces? Is it getting closer?

Meh. Okay concept, and the movie makes it further along than most low budget indie stuff does before falling flat.

Heaven and Hell remain a very inefficient way to run a universe.

On Prime.

Unpaid parking tickets? DAMNED!!

 

[ProstheticConscience]

I forgot all about this movie. I remember seeing it in the theater and enjoying it.

Theatre...it seems like so long ago since you could do that. Man, this covid shit can stop any time now.

Your life is poorer still if you have never seen the original serial from 1936 that the later movie was based on, a Saturday morning staple on TV when I was growing up shortly after the cessation of the Napoleonic Wars.

Wasn't it the Peloponnesian War a few threads ago?

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Firewalker with Chuck Norris. Terrible movie lmao but I love Chuck!! 3/10

inspired me to work on my flexibility while my son was looking at me with a “wtf are you doing look” lmao.

View attachment 378212

What? Are you Van Batman?

 

[Osprey]

Fatman (2020) - 6/10 (Liked it)

In retaliation for receiving a lump of coal for Christmas, a spoiled rich boy hires a hitman (Walton Goggins) to kill Santa Claus (Mel Gibson). Instead of mailing a bomb addressed to "Santa," like a normal person would, this hitman makes it harder than it needs to be by tracking down Santa's location to a town in Alaska and then driving through British Columbia and across two borders to get there, rather than taking a plane. Santa, in this case, is a seemingly regular guy who does regular things like going into town to check his P.O. box and visit the local bar, where he complains to the bartender about the number of naughty kids these days (tell me about it). It's all absurd, but treated rather seriously. @Puck put it well last week when he described it as like a lesser Coen brothers film, which may be no coincidence, since it was written and directed by brothers Eshom and Ian Nelms. There's a lot to be somewhat amused by, but none of it is exaggerated for comedic effect like a comedy would do. I appreciate that, but I, personally, could've used even more absurdity and laughs, since the film wasn't as fun as it could've been. Unlike a Coen brothers film, there are no real twists or turns in this brother team's story to keep you guessing. You know that the hitman will eventually reach Santa and have a confrontation, so there's a lack of suspense and that could've been made up for with more amusement, IMO. Anyways, so I feel that it fell short of its potential, but it was still pleasant enough and provided enough chuckles that I liked it.

 

[tardigrade81]

What? Are you Van Batman?

Lol!! I do like Batman quite a bit though. And used to love Van Damme. His movies aren’t the same anymore

 

[kihei]

Wasn't it the Peloponnesian War a few threads ago?

Perhaps. At my age it's all Greek to me anyway.

 

[kihei]

The Call (2020) Directed by Lee Chung-hyun 7B

How fond are you of your suspension of disbelief? In The Call's case, you need to lock it in a closet and throw away the key for a couple of hours. When Young-seok loses her cell phone, strange things begin to happen. She starts to receive phone calls from someone named Seo-yeon. The two young women figure out that they actually share the same house…only on different time lines (yup, a hard one to swallow). Soon Seo-yeon alters things in Young-seok’s present for the better. But then things take a dark turn and everything that Young-seok thinks is permanent becomes threatened by her alter ego who realizes that she can manipulate the future. Eventually a battle of wills rages between the two for supremacy with Young-seok’s very existence weighing in the balance. So, yeah, suspension of disbelief is no gimme here. But if you can manage it, The Call is a fresh and inventive addition to the horror genre that plays like a ghost story even though it isn't.

subtitles

Netflix

 

[kihei]

The Cave (2019) directed by Feras Fayyad

Recommended this one from someone based on my research from grad school, The Cave follows a female pediatrician in Eastern Ghouta, Syria who runs an underground hospital amidst the Siege of Eastern Ghouta during the Syrian Civil War. In direct cinema style the film documents the struggles of running this hospital and treating civilians (many children) while bombs are dropped on the city by the Syrian regime and their Russian allies. Extremely harrowing content and very hard to watch, it does serve to document the ongoing war crimes that have occurred during the Civil War. Additionally, the film highlights instances of female solidarity in a highly patriarchal society, and the real-life heroism of the staff at the hospital. There are some weak editorial decisions which rang false, in which the direct cinema style is momentarily abandoned, but overall a well-made film. Unfortunately, not a work of fiction.

There is an excellent companion piece to The Cave called The White Helmets about volunteers who risk and not infrequently lose their lives trying to find survivors and help keep people safe. The White Helmets deservedly won the Academy Award for best documentary (short subject) in 2017. Though just 40 minutes long, it's a really important work. Available on Netflix.

Medium Cool (1969)

Well, that was certainly a 'movie' I watched.

What are the odds? It's the next movie in my queue.

 

[OzzyFan]

Half Brothers (2020)
2.25 out of 4stars

Better than it's trailer makes it seem, but not by much. Lots of heart, a couple solid laughs, and slightly above average writing to overcome the cliches of a road trip comedy. That said, this film knocks americans a lot throughout the film (even if jokingly half the time).

Boss Level
2.30 out of 4stars

Not going to ruin anything, but nice little twist on the time loop/video game conundrum. There is fun to be had too. Albeit the ending pissed me off a bit.

Girl (2020)
2.20 out of 4stars

Decent turn from Bella Thorne in this gritty revenge mystery thriller that has a couple solid twists but not a ton else going for it.