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

[Tasty Biscuits]

Even how the two leads fall in love is weird. They do not have the best relationship, mainly because they just met, and the female lead has survived death, but then suddenly she falls for Bond after they escape out of the train, which makes no sense at all.

Now that I think about it, the transition from Russia to Cuba is the fatal blow. If they ignore the romance, it would have been one of the better Bond movies. Instead, the stop-go motion is so noticeable, that it basically kills the movie for me.

Yep, again, it's the case of the constraints of the machine (gotta have x and y) hurting the individual product.

It's a shame cause there is a lot to like in that movie specifically as far as Bond movies go. The dam jump in the opener is an exquisite shot, and the first confrontation between Bond and Janus is wonderfully delivered by Sean Bean.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

The Bad and The Beautiful (1952) - 6.5/10

Basically three vignettes and a weak ending but a very typical Hollywood performance (Kirk Douglas being very Kirk Dougals) and the film is about Hollywood and making films so you know it got those Oscar noms, even if it was forgettable in terms of plot.

Still better than Citizen Kane.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Conan the Barbarian

with Ahh-nold, James Earl Jones, Mako, and other people.

The definitive barbarian movie that started the muscled one's career trajectory to superstardom. We follow along as little Conan's parents and village are killed by a mob of mounted raiders under a snake banner, he spends his childhood pushing a huge wheel in the desert, becomes a pit fighter, then a thief with a few homies for company. He fights, grunts, has sex with witches and warrior queens, and all the while plots revenge against James Earl Jones and the rest of the snake cult who killed his family and sold him into slavery. Lots of muscles are flexed, lots of bad guys get chopped up, and the future governor of California gets his start. Remember when Arnold being the actual governor of California was the most insane thing in US politics? Such innocent, carefree days...

I have to admit, this has held up well. It's not just a good barbarian/swords and sorcery movie, it's a good movie period. The soundtrack is great, the action scenes are good, the bad guy is James Earl Jones...what's not to like? Skip the awful sequel, and I still have no interest in seeing the Jason Momoa reboot than sunk like a brick after release.

On Prime.

Movie villains or badass 70's power trio? You be the judge.

 

[kihei]

The Little Things (2021)
2.5o out of 4stars

I'm conflicted. On one hand, I see this movie as a mediocre slow burn atmospheric crime drama that is very well acted by great actors. On the other hand, I can't stop thinking about some of the things in this movie/it has been very thought provoking for me. I won't spoil anything, but there are definitely elements and 'questions' in this movie that are conversation points "with real life correlation ideas" and directly involving this movie's events also (if I worded that correctly/makes sense/is understandable for everyone). And 1 more point must be made, the ending. The ending is definitely controversial, and for me it leans more toward the good controversial side than bad one but that is an opinion based answer "imo".

Got me hooked.

 

[K Fleur]

The Little Things.

I can't decide between "disappointing" or "underwhelming" as my best one word summary of my opinion. It was not a bad movie just something either off or missing to it.

 

[bobbythebrain]

The Little Things(little things like editing actually matter) (2021)
1 out of 5 stars

What the F is going on w/ production now a days!? This movie was edited to be a complete dud. Denzel will always be a great actor but even he was made to look almost B level by the rushed and ill timed edits that took any good acting and wasted it with piss poor timed and awkward cuts. Literally took the personality and/or connections of any character/s right outta the movie. Rami Malik is good in certain roles, but his weird style compounded w/ the piss poor editing on this made him downright robotic. Extra long stares. Long awaited dialogue. Useless looks and eye movement.
The entire movie was riddled with slight uncomfortable silences by numerous characters then cut to rushed and jumped scenes.

Denzel deserves better. Skip this piece of junk unless you want to learn NOT how to put together a movie. Then it might be useful

There are Van Damme and Seagal movies that actually piece together better than this and make the characters more relatable

 

[bobbythebrain]

The Little Things.

I can't decide between "disappointing" or "underwhelming" as my best one word summary of my opinion. It was not a bad movie just something either off or missing to it.

Poor editing. Plain and simple. Took any semblance of connection and believability right outta the movie

 

[ProstheticConscience]

400 Days

with Brandon Routh, Dane Cook (shudder...), and a couple of other people.

4 would-be astronauts/stock characters are set to prep for a Mars mission by spending 400 days in an underground bunker/spaceship simulation. There's the captain, his ex-girlfriend medical officer, a nervous science-y guy, and Dane Cook is (brace yourselves for this shock) the annoying asshole douchebag everyone wants to kill after about five minutes. Fun! They seal the hatch, stretch out in their bunks, and get set to spend more than a year drinking recycled water and smelling each other's farts, but there's a wrinkle. A little bit in, there's some noise from above, and they lose contact with mission control. Well, they were told there's going to be a few "curve balls"...but as time creaks on, it becomes more evident something is actually seriously wrong topside. Or is it...? Dun dun duuuuuuuuuunn!! Paranoia, hallucinations, or is the world actually ending? Watch and be bored. And experience increased desire to murder Dane Cook.

Keeps you guessing for a while as you go through it, but no payoff. Chickens out and omits an actual ending. And I know Dane Cook's character is meant to be aggravating, but you shouldn't be applauded for aiming low and hitting the mark. He's also in the credits as an executive producer, so hopefully he lost enough money to dissuade him from further moviemaking efforts.

On Prime. With all the other crap.

It would look bad if I killed you on day 1, wouldn't it?

 

[K Fleur]

Poor editing. Plain and simple. Took any semblance of connection and believability right outta the movie

That could be it. Not gonna rewatch to confirm

I think another problem with this movie is that other movies and TV shows have told similar stories to this far better.

 

[kihei]

You Will Die at Twenty (2020) Directed by Amjad Abu Alala 7B

In a remote Sudanese village, during an infant's naming ceremony (sort of like a baptism), a tragic coincidence takes place and the child is cursed to die at twenty. Think that's ridiculous? So does the movie. Abandoned by his father, who can't handle the news, Sakina tries to raise her son Muzami but her life is devastated by her supposed foreknowledge: she, and everyone else in the village, fully believes Muzami will die at twenty. Muzami goes through his young life carrying this terrible weight while everyone waits for his twentieth birthday when the prophet's words will be fulfilled. You Will Die at Twenty is a quietly (probably for good reason) subversive movie which underscores the ridiculousness of all religious superstition and how that ridiculousness can severely diminish the lives of the believers in a host of crippling ways. As Christopher HItchens noted in a lecture, almost all believers think everybody else's religion is superstition--but they always fail to make the logical connection to their own. Islam is under the microscope in this movie, but it could be any organized religion.

subtitles

TIFF.net

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The Little Things. Perhaps this is just behind the times? There's a key point in the movie where a character makes a decision that is just bafflingly dumb (IMO). It isn't as if it isn't set up because it is. But when it comes, it's still hard to not shout "WTF ARE YOU DOING?" It's a decision others in better movies (I can think of four off the top of my head that I won't name) have made. Not sure where my disconnect with this one is, but it's there. Completely undermines what otherwise was a nice little throwback thriller. Despite my issues with the story, I enjoyed the performances. In lesser hands this might be unwatchable. Denzel, in particular, is always a compelling presence.

Deerskin. Few directors commit to a bit as well as Quentin Dupieux. As with Rubber this is a comedically absurd premise played fairly straight and to an oddly logical conclusion. I enjoyed it immensely (helps that it's only about 75 minutes ... any more might really be pushing it). I would fully understand it others hate it.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. A blistering script (based on a play) and great, big, theatrical performances across the board. Chadwick Boseman, tragically in one of his last roles, is riveting. Close your eyes and it's like he's channeling young Denzel Washington with his rage and swagger. It's uncanny. It's also amazing how young he genuinely seems. He was in his early 40s, playing his early 30s but feels even younger. My big negative for the movie is the editing. I don't mind a movie based on a play being stagey — there's basically two sets here. I do mind when to make it more "filmy" (technical term) the director does something like needlessly whip the camera all around the place or just quick-edit the hell out of something to try to manufacture energy. This does the latter. Though a couple of the big moments are allowed to breath, the space in between feels obnoxiously cut cut cut cut when I wish the director had the confidence to sit back and let the play work. That script can more than carry that weight.

A Field in England. I won't pretend I was picking up everything Ben Wheatley was throwing down in this, but it was a compelling, grimy little ... drama? history? horror movies? Looked great. I like his bag of tricks.

 

[kihei]

That could be it. Not gonna rewatch to confirm

I think another problem with this movie is that other movies and TV shows have told similar stories to this far better.

I didn't have a problem with the editing accept for a couple of jump cuts that I think overreached whatever effect they were trying to achieve. The oblique editing contributes to the seductive ambiguity of the movie which is why I didn't have any trouble with it. However, I think your second paragraph puts the finger on the real problem of the movie. I think every decision the director makes is to compensate for how cliched his own plot of The Little Things is (John Lee Hancock wrote and directed the film)--veteran cop/young cop with the veteran haunted by a case he couldn't solve back in the day. I mean that is almost as cliched as the bank robber doing one last heist before he retires. So the director decides to tart the warhorse up. He embellishes with a lot of noir atmosphere (much of the movie shot in virtual darkness), a strong and very unoriginal nod to Seven, and an attempt to build ambiguity by providing the audience with even less information than usual about everything--which I liked because it involved my imagination more. That is, I liked it right up to the stupid ending which if anything filled in too many blanks for my taste. If you are going to ride on ambiguity and uncertainty for virtually the entire movie, tying everything in a neat bundle at the end is just lazy.

The Little Things is a bad movie, but it has three nice performances in it, so I would probably give it a "5" and leave it at that.

And, yes, KallioWeHardlyKnewYe (ever thought of changing your user name to "Max"? ), you are absolutely right about that bad decision. But that was just another cross the director stuck himself with, an indication perhaps that he was just more interested in style than content with The Little Things.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I didn't have a problem with the editing accept for a couple of jump cuts that I think overreached whatever effect they were trying to achieve. The oblique editing contributes to the seductive ambiguity of the movie which is why I didn't have any trouble with it. However, I think your second paragraph puts the finger on the real problem of the movie. I think every decision the director makes is to compensate for how cliched his own plot of The Little Things is (John Lee Hancock wrote and directed the film)--veteran cop/young cop with the veteran haunted by a case he couldn't solve back in the day. I mean that is almost as cliched as the bank robber doing one last heist before he retires. So the director decides to tart the warhorse up. He embellishes with a lot of noir atmosphere (much of the movie shot in virtual darkness), a strong and very unoriginal nod to Seven, and an attempt to build ambiguity by providing the audience with even less information than usual about everything--which I liked because it involved my imagination more. That is, I liked it right up to the stupid ending which if anything filled in too many blanks for my taste. If you are going to ride on ambiguity and uncertainty for virtually the entire movie, tying everything in a neat bundle at the end is just lazy.

The Little Things is a bad movie, but it has three nice performances in it, so I would probably give it a "5" and leave it at that.

And, yes, KallioWeHardlyKnewYe (ever thought of changing your user name to "Max"? ), you are absolutely right about that bad decision. But that was just another cross the director stuck himself with, an indication perhaps that he was just more interested in style than content with The Little Things.

Just read an article that said this script actually predates Seven and was written by Hancock the same time he wrote A Perfect World (good movie!). First envisioned as another Clint Eastwood vehicle. Hancock says about 85% of the old script is the same -- also explains why it goes with the early 90s time period. I can't decide if Hancock sharing this information is interesting added context or a case of the writer-director doth protesting too much.

I mean if you invented Facebook, you would've invented Facebook ... to quote a different movie by a director who has played in this field a few times.

Spoiler

In addition to Seven of course, Zodiac and Prisoners have also since tread some of this ground as well and done it far more effectively. The big touch point to me — which predates Hancock's time — is, of course the U.S. remake of The Vanishing.

Man, perhaps I'm being thick headed today but I am not getting the Max reference ...

 

[kihei]

It is a user name that is three letters long.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

It is a user name that is three letters long.

Type @kall and click!

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Type @kall and click!

Guys, it's not MY fault Tomi Kallio played only 12 games for the Blue Jackets in the 2002-2003 season.

 

[kihei]

Type @kall and click!

Why does everybody understand technology better than me?

 

[kihei]

Guys, it's not MY fault Tomi Kallio played only 12 games for the Blue Jackets in the 2002-2003 season.

Did you ever think Tomi might not have been worth knowing? Huh? Huh?

 

[OzzyFan]

Burden (2018)
3.15 out of 4stars

Stranger than fiction story taking place in the mid-90's about a Grand Dragon Ku Klux Klan member's change of mind into leaving the Klan and being rescued and groomed by a local African American pastor, and eventually selling him the deed to Redneck Shop/Klan museum located in Laurens, South Carolina he was previously given. Highlighting by the best Garrett Hedlund performance I've ever seen and an always great Forest Whittaker, it's messages are strong and relevant still today, even if not as deep as they could have been (but definitely deep enough for my tastes).

One Night in Miami
3.00 out of 4stars

A incredibly well balanced and entertaining fictional interpretation of the meeting of Malcolm X, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke, and Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay at a hotel in Miami in 1964. Social issues, accomplishments, friendly banter, life choices, past interactive recollections, and future outlooks are all finely detailed and discussed with an ever so smooth careful touch. Well done.

PG: Psycho Goreman
2.25 out of 4stars

Over the top 'midnight movie' throwback about an intergalactic murderous alien being found and controlled by a little early middle school/late elementary school aged girl through a special space rock. It is fun and funny here and there, but nowhere near as fun or funny as it wants or tries to be. Kudos for trying and bringing a light spirited mood to the movie, and that little girl has future potential for sure with the role she played. Genre is considered "Sci Fi Horror Comedy" for those curious of what to expect.

 

[Puck]

Still too many good 2020 films on my watch list to be drawing up a Best of List (I'm terrible at that anyway). I still need to see The Perfect Candidate by Mansour and The Truth by Koreeda (which is a 2019 actually but never saw it played in 2020 so I'm way behind).

It's unfortunate that The Little Things is not getting better reviews here, my expectations were up for that one. Thanks for the heads-up though, I will keep those expectations in check at this point.

I still liked News of the World more than most here. The UK film mag The Empire seems to agree with me and gave it a 4 out of 5 stars (more than The Dig at 3 stars). I enjoyed both actually. I suspect if News had been an Argentinian or Turkish flick some of you guys would be all over it like a dog on a steak stick

Some Empire quotes. Tom Hanks 'playing a man obsessed with stories so he doesn't have to deal with his own.'

'As much as News of the World is about America in the 1870's it also dovetails seamlessly into the 21st century. This is very much a disunited States of America, the post civil war era serving up a landscape of racism run amok, where difference has been demonized and the notion of news has been devalued. This idea emerges as Kidd runs into Farley, the governor of a lawless camp of renegades. With obvious Trumpian parallels, Farley insists that Kidd read out a doctored, self-aggrandizing version of his story, which the newsman distorts in an upbeat way but with dangerous results. Made extra eerie by the skinned buffalos lying around the settlement, it's a portrayal of the proud boys who have driven away Native Americans, Mexicans and Blacks that feels horrifyingly relevant.'

'News of the World is narratively slight but it is a terrific showcase for two actors at completely different ends of their careers and a quietly emotional dispatch about two broken souls learning to heal.'

Empire also seemed to be up on this one below for 2021. I'm adding it to my Watch list.

Gunpowder Milkshake
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) - IMDb

 

[Puck]

Here's an article on the 2021 Sundance films. Coda looks like a good one.

The Best Movies at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival

 

[kihei]

What We Wanted (2020) Directed by Ulrike Kofler 5B

Alice and Niklas have tried to get pregnant four times by artificial insemination. No luck. Emotionally frazzled, the wife withdrawing jumpily from hormone therapy, they decide to go on vacation in Sardinia. The couple in the guest house next door are annoying. Not super annoying, more like a “3” on a scale of "1 to 10." But it provides just enough overload to deepen Alice and Niklas’ worsening crisis. Talk about minimalism--this is about as minimalist as you can get. Austria's submission to the International Film category of the Academy Awards is very neatly and tidily done, but I thought What We Wanted was a yawn. Currently 100% on RT, though.

subtitles

Netflix

 

[kihei]

The Academy Award shortlist of international films eligible for an Oscar comes out on Friday. Here is my ranking in order of the 13 submitted films that I have seen for 2020:

Hope, Norway (I ranked it #4 for the year in 2019)
Vitalina Varela, Portugal (I ranked it #7 for the year in 2019)
Collective, Romania
Beginning, Georgia
Dear Comrades, Russia
Two of Us, France
Preparation to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time, Hungary

Another Round, Denmark
You Will Die at Twenty, Sudan

The Endless Trench. Spain
A Sun, Taiwan
I’m No Longer Here. Mexico
La Llorona, Guatamala
My Little Sister. Switzerland
What We Wanted, Austria

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Two pretty special films...

Angst (Kargl, 1983) - Can't believe I hadn't seen this before. Confessed and obvious influence on Gaspar Noé's work (if like me you're a fan of Seul contre tous, you probably need to see this one), this is a pretty unique experience. It's made with just about nothing, it's a based-on-real-events very basic story, but told in very original terms: from the still photographs retelling of the killer's journey to the absolutely crazy camerawork, it makes the viewer completely forget its slow pace. The calm and detached voice-over narration slapped over the most brutal moments contributes to making this somewhat of a social commentary, both on our reception of violence and on our (1983's) understanding and treatment of psychopathic behaviors. Can't say it's done with panache or achieving much on that level, but it's certainly interesting. 7.5/10

The Woman (McKee, 2011) - I've been wanting to see this, intrigued by Pollyanna McIntosh's work in The Walking Dead (the kind of role where you have to acknowledge she's doing something special, but you don't really know if you like it or not). It's not a bad film, it's just really not clear what it's aiming for. The teen drama angle and some juvenile stuff kind of wastes any effort at anything more, but there is still quite a few interesting elements - I just really couldn't stand some wannabe-cool choices (the music and the crossfades, mostly). It seems it's the middle part of a trilogy. I won't go out of my way to see the other two, but would watch (obviously, it's not like I set the bar very high). 4.5/10

 

[kihei]

Ammonite (2020) Directed by Francis Lee 3B

With its rugged beaches, crashing waves and bad lighting, Ammonite is about as much fun as a bag full of ornery snakes…though the snakes would be considerably livelier. It’s 1840 or thereabouts and we are on the rocky coast of West Dorset, England. Mary Anning (Kate Winslet), a renowned amateur fossil hunter, is saddled for several weeks with Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan), the wife of a wealthy patron. Mary is deeply anti-social and Charlotte is bipolar; in short, a really fun couple. Matters progress drearily until a pair of quite explicit sex scenes between the two occur with Winslet doing most of the heavy licking. This caught my attention briefly before I returned to twiddling my thumbs and buffing my nails. Previously there was enough repressed sexuality in this movie to sink a supertanker. However, no good comes from their intimate release as everyone knows that the English were not allowed to enjoy sex until the 1960s. Want a period-piece lesbian romance, find Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which is a masterpiece. Ammonite is a waste of time.

TIFF.net