Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate it | New Year New thread

[kihei]

Bridgit Jones: Mad about the Boy (2025) Directed by Michael Morris 4A

This fourth and presumably final installment of the Bridgit Jones story is basically a middle-aged women's fantasy movie. There have been about a zillion middle-aged male fantasy movies, starting with 10 in 1979, so it seems only fair that women finally get their fair share of these types of movies, too. The problem is such movies are often formulaic and predictable, and that is a real dilemma with Bridgit Jones: Made about the Boy. Bridgit is now widowed and trying to raise two children aged about six and ten-years-of-age as a single mother. She finally meets someone much younger than her and consequences follow that we can see coming a mile away. The cast of familiar characters is back, now quite a bit older in real life than the time that has passed in the movie franchise. In fact, Zellweger looks more like her children's grandmother than mother. Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant have funny cameos, but that doesn't help when the movie trades light comedy for sentimentality in the flagrantly tear-inducing second half. For me, the big problem was Zellweger herself. She is sort of a spunky caricature of the original character but with no real depth....it's not a mailed-in performance, but it just seems more like the same three facial expressions repeated over and over with very little going on inside that head. Fans of the franchise might enjoy this movie, but most will find Brigit Jones: Mad about the Boy an easy pass.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Rifftrax: Yor, the Hunter from the Future - 8/10

featuring MST3K/Rifftrax favorite Reb Brown, the movie was full of bad effects, bad acting, and bad wigs, which added up to a lot of opportunities for great riffs, not on the level of Space Mutiny, but a solid above average episode

 

[Pink Mist]

Hamlet (dir. Laurence Olivier, 1948)

Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet is a film that understands Shakespeare’s text so well that it dares to bend it, trim it, and mold it into something undeniably cinematic. It’s moody, expressionistic, and deeply psychological—turning Denmark’s royal court into a shadow-drenched dreamscape where guilt and fate loom over every corridor.

Olivier is both in front of and behind the camera, delivering a hypnotic performance as the prince lost in his own mind. His delivery is precise, sometimes eerily quiet, sometimes boiling over into madness. This isn’t the most dynamic or rebellious Hamlet—no, this is a man who seems swallowed whole by the weight of thought, something the film’s misty cinematography and ghostly set design reflect beautifully.

It’s also the first time a Shakespeare adaptation won Best Picture at the Oscars, and it’s easy to see why. The visual style is unlike anything else from the time, with sweeping crane shots and fluid tracking movements making the castle feel both grand and suffocating. The film cuts down Shakespeare’s play significantly, removing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, trimming political subplots, and leaning hard into Hamlet’s psychology. Some purists might bristle at these changes, but it’s hard to deny the clarity and focus they bring to the film.

Is it perfect? Not quite. The pacing can be sluggish, and Jean Simmons’ Ophelia, while compelling, feels sidelined. But as an adaptation, it does what so many don’t—it commits to a vision. This isn’t just Hamlet on film; it’s Hamlet as cinema, a story told with angles, shadows, and an overwhelming sense of inevitability. Maybe Hamlet couldn’t make up his mind, but Olivier knew exactly what he was doing.

 

[kihei]

Hamlet (dir. Laurence Olivier, 1948)

Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet is a film that understands Shakespeare’s text so well that it dares to bend it, trim it, and mold it into something undeniably cinematic. It’s moody, expressionistic, and deeply psychological—turning Denmark’s royal court into a shadow-drenched dreamscape where guilt and fate loom over every corridor.

Olivier is both in front of and behind the camera, delivering a hypnotic performance as the prince lost in his own mind. His delivery is precise, sometimes eerily quiet, sometimes boiling over into madness. This isn’t the most dynamic or rebellious Hamlet—no, this is a man who seems swallowed whole by the weight of thought, something the film’s misty cinematography and ghostly set design reflect beautifully.

It’s also the first time a Shakespeare adaptation won Best Picture at the Oscars, and it’s easy to see why. The visual style is unlike anything else from the time, with sweeping crane shots and fluid tracking movements making the castle feel both grand and suffocating. The film cuts down Shakespeare’s play significantly, removing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, trimming political subplots, and leaning hard into Hamlet’s psychology. Some purists might bristle at these changes, but it’s hard to deny the clarity and focus they bring to the film.

Is it perfect? Not quite. The pacing can be sluggish, and Jean Simmons’ Ophelia, while compelling, feels sidelined. But as an adaptation, it does what so many don’t—it commits to a vision. This isn’t just Hamlet on film; it’s Hamlet as cinema, a story told with angles, shadows, and an overwhelming sense of inevitability. Maybe Hamlet couldn’t make up his mind, but Olivier knew exactly what he was doing.

Great review

 

[Babe Ruth]

The Jimmy Show (2001)

I thought this was an interesting slice of life movie.. Frank Whaley, who I've liked, since 'Career Opportunities' (a kind of poor man's Jon Cryer), plays a working-class everyman. His job sucks, his marriage collapses, and he's responsible for taking care of his ailing grandmother. As the walls close in on his life, he starts performing (very unfunny) stand-up at a local comedy club. It's a dark, sometimes funny, relatable look at reluctant responsibility. On Tubi.

 

[Pink Mist]

The Rocket (dir. Kim Mordaunt, 2013)

A film about resilience, superstition, and survival, The Rocket delivers a heartfelt journey through a rarely depicted corner of the world. Kim Mordaunt crafts a visually striking coming-of-age tale, following Ahlo, a boy burdened by the belief that he brings bad luck to his family. After being displaced from their home due to the construction of a dam, Ahlo and his family embark on a journey through war-scarred landscapes, leading to an explosive climax at a local rocket festival.

At its best, The Rocket soars. The Laotian setting is both breathtaking and sobering, capturing a world shaped by poverty, superstition, and the ghosts of war. Mordaunt never shies away from showing the harsh realities of displacement and unexploded bombs littering the countryside, giving the film a layer of real-world weight that makes Ahlo’s determination all the more powerful. Sitthiphon Disamoe is fantastic in the lead role, bringing an authenticity that keeps the film engaging, especially in his scenes with the eccentric, James Brown-loving outcast Purple.

But for all its strengths, The Rocket leans into formulaic storytelling a bit too often. The underdog narrative is predictable, and the emotional beats sometimes feel overly manufactured, especially with a swelling score that cues the audience on exactly how to feel. There’s a rawness in the story that occasionally gets smoothed over by conventional tropes.

Still, it’s hard to resist the film’s earnest heart. While it doesn’t reinvent the coming-of-age genre, The Rocket offers a rare and compelling glimpse into Laotian culture, anchored by strong performances and a gripping final act. It’s an easy film to root for—just don’t expect it to break new ground.