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

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Attended another all-night horror movie marathon. This one was sci-fi horror themed*. The organizer, like myself, is a child of the 80s so the lineup was very much to my tastes. Five movies announced beforehand three revealed as surprises through the night.

Night of the Creeps, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Blob (1988), Slither, Critters and Tremors. Six true crowd pleasers. Creeps and Klowns are my favorite of the bunch. The humor in Creeps (particularly via Tom Atkins) is what most remember -- "Good news ladies, your dates are here. Bad news. They're dead." but I'm always really taken with the portrayal of the relationship between the two friends. It's real and sensitive in ways movies of this time and ilk often aren't. I don't know why Rick Marshall didn't have a career but he's excellent. Klowns is just commitment to the bit to an extreme. Clever. Absurd. Incredible design. Every single gag in it makes me laugh. Critters is a little slower than I remember but it's been decades since I've seen it so it was a welcome revisit.

What was really funny when watching these all in close proximity is that it highlights the similiarities. All six are in small towns. The first five all open with a meteor/object crash (Critters is maybe about 20 minutes in). Five of the six have a love triangle and/or a snob-slob romantic pairing. Local authorities all are mostly unhelpful, often obnoxiously so. Slither notably reverses this. Everyone accidentally figures out the alien weakness. And five of the six all end on a stinger implying that the danger hasn't been vanquished. There's some nuance between all the movies but the similarities were amusing. It's a sturdy formula.

The * is for two of the surprise movie titles. One was Howard the Duck, which though it does contain a monster, is certainly not horror. The organizer fully admitted this, but said he couldn't resist the chance to both surprise people with it and screen it on a big screen. Still a bad movie but a memorable experience. The other surprise was Leprechaun, which while horror, is obviously not sci-fi. It was the final movie in the lineup though and the next day was St. Patrick's Day so again, he said he couldn't resist. Also still a bad movie. Less of a memorable experience.

 

[The Macho King]

Busy movie day.

Started with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

What does God need with a starship? What do we need with Shatner directing? Look, the movie doesn't work. Its a worse version of the plot from Motion Picture. The effects are bad (rough production and all doesn't help), and overall there just isn't much juice there. I'm sorry Row Row Row Your Boat is your favorite song? That being said it isn't all terrible. First 30 minutes is enjoyable. It just didn't work.

4/10

Then I transitioned to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Such a good movie. Christopher Plummer is fantastic in this - menacing, comes off as competent, and just fits the vibe of a Klingon warlord. Having the mirrored investigation with prison escape makes this feel - in the best way - like a Star Trek two parter. The crew was definitely on their last legs but this is a great send off.

A lot of nice little color, too. Discussing Hamlet and having the Klingons say "You should hear it in the original Klingon," is just a nice chuckle. Having Kirk have to address his personal issues with them versus what is best for the Federation was also great.

That being said - some clunkiness. They were too heavy handed with the "they stink" and criticizing the table manners to make a racism allegory. Just felt like a hat on a hat, especially since there is already so many cultural differences to play off of.

Overall, a great send off to the original cast. 8/10

 

[NyQuil]

Busy movie day.

Started with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

What does God need with a starship? What do we need with Shatner directing? Look, the movie doesn't work. Its a worse version of the plot from Motion Picture. The effects are bad (rough production and all doesn't help), and overall there just isn't much juice there. I'm sorry Row Row Row Your Boat is your favorite song? That being said it isn't all terrible. First 30 minutes is enjoyable. It just didn't work.

4/10

Then I transitioned to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Such a good movie. Christopher Plummer is fantastic in this - menacing, comes off as competent, and just fits the vibe of a Klingon warlord. Having the mirrored investigation with prison escape makes this feel - in the best way - like a Star Trek two parter. The crew was definitely on their last legs but this is a great send off.

A lot of nice little color, too. Discussing Hamlet and having the Klingons say "You should hear it in the original Klingon," is just a nice chuckle. Having Kirk have to address his personal issues with them versus what is best for the Federation was also great.

That being said - some clunkiness. They were too heavy handed with the "they stink" and criticizing the table manners to make a racism allegory. Just felt like a hat on a hat, especially since there is already so many cultural differences to play off of.

Overall, a great send off to the original cast. 8/10

It's funny because V is considered the absolute worst and VI the best, and they came along back to back.

Wrath of Khan is up there.

 

[The Macho King]

Wife and I watched Do the Right Thing.

I don't know what to say about maybe one of the most discussed films of the last 30 years. Its good? Driving Miss Daisy winning and this not being nominated is cruel irony? Idk, 10/10 justice for Raheem.

 

[Osprey]

It's funny because V is considered the absolute worst and VI the best, and they came along back to back.

V is no longer considered the absolute worst Star Trek movie.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Wife and I watched Do the Right Thing.

I don't know what to say about maybe one of the most discussed films of the last 30 years. Its good? Driving Miss Daisy winning and this not being nominated is cruel irony? Idk, 10/10 justice for Raheem.

It’s been maybe 20 years since I watched Do The Right Thing - I looked the film up after seeing your post and never knew Buggin’ was Giancarlo Esposito.

Pretty wild.

I read an article several years back how Esposito wasn’t having success in his younger days, went through bankruptcy and divorce, then was considering hiring someone to kill him - it was pretty dark stuff.

His resilience paid off and I’m happy he powered through and made a name for himself.

 

[The Macho King]

It’s been maybe 20 years since I watched Do The Right Thing - I looked the film up after seeing your post and never knew Buggin’ was Giancarlo Esposito.

Pretty wild.

I read an article several years back how Esposito wasn’t having success in his younger days, went through bankruptcy and divorce, then was considering hiring someone to kill him - it was pretty dark stuff.

His resilience paid off and I’m happy he powered through and made a name for himself.

Yeah I totally forgot he was Buggin.

I mean the film is full of "oh hey it's that guy." But considering it's success and frankly Esposito being pretty high on the call sheet, his career didn't take off for another 20 years.

 

[NyQuil]

Yeah I totally forgot he was Buggin.

I mean the film is full of "oh hey it's that guy." But considering it's success and frankly Esposito being pretty high on the call sheet, his career didn't take off for another 20 years.

Another one like that was when he was Detective Jack Baer in The Usual Suspects.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Another one like that was when he was Detective Jack Baer in The Usual Suspects.

I rewatched TAPS in the past year. Great lead performance by Timothy Dalton but mostly notable for really early career performances from Tom Cruise and Sean Penn (who interestingly are cast opposite from where their careers would go) but also among that group of friends is a young Giancarlo Esposito. He's been at it for a LOOOOOONG time.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Yeah I totally forgot he was Buggin.

I mean the film is full of "oh hey it's that guy." But considering it's success and frankly Esposito being pretty high on the call sheet, his career didn't take off for another 20 years.

I wouldn’t even know it was him even on a rewatch today.

I just saw the cast names and did a double take.

I rewatched his scene before the riot, ranting about “only Italians on the wall”, and he’s the complete opposite from the actor I have come to enjoy.

Not only taking 35 years away from his face, but he’s so animated and angry in this scene.

A far cry from the composed, stoic actor I know today.

I rewatched TAPS in the past year. Great lead performance by Timothy Dalton but mostly notable for really early career performances from Tom Cruise and Sean Penn (who interestingly are cast opposite from where their careers would go) but also among that group of friends is a young Giancarlo Esposito. He's been at it for a LOOOOOONG time.

He was in Taps? Wow.

I have watched this movie at least 10-15x during my life and most recently about a year ago.

Trying to think who he is in the movie…

The guy in the truck with Sean Penn when they get supplies?

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I wouldn’t even know it was him even on a rewatch today.

I just saw the cast names and did a double take.

I rewatched his scene before the riot, ranting about “only Italians on the wall”, and he’s the complete opposite from the actor I have come to enjoy.

Not only taking 35 years away from his face, but he’s so animated and angry in this scene.

A far cry from the composed, stoic actor I know today.



He was in Taps? Wow.

I have watched this movie at least 10-15x during my life and most recently about a year ago.

Trying to think who he is in the movie…

The guy in the truck with Sean Penn when they get supplies?

Yep.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Yep.

So he was acting when I was a toddler - puts things into perspective about his mindset when he was suicidal before his breakout roles.

 

[The Macho King]

It's funny because V is considered the absolute worst and VI the best, and they came along back to back.

Wrath of Khan is up there.

Nemesis and Into Darkness give it a run if I recall. In another week I'll be able to confirm.

 

[NyQuil]

Nemesis and Into Darkness give it a run if I recall. In another week I'll be able to confirm.

I was thinking more of the original cast films.

I didn’t mind Into Darkness myself.

 

[The Macho King]

Alright so I'm a big Wong Kar Wai fan, and I had heard a major influence him was Godard. I have a massive blindspot when it comes to French New Wave, so I decided I would broaden my horizon and watched Breathless.

Wow - yeah the influence is pretty damn clear. I feel like I can see a lot of this in kind of tone, attitude, and style in Days of Being Wild. If anything, I'd say WKW may be a bit more... melancholy, but IDK it feels like the DNA is there.

I really enjoyed it. For a movie with very little plot, it moves pretty well. The leads had some real chemistry, and I found myself liking them both, even if I hope my kids don't grow up to be anything like them. There's just a certain charm to them, but with the beginning there is an air of imminent destruction coming on Michel, and the ending... damn it's good.

IDK - this movie f***ing rules. I don't know if this is indicative of Godard's later work, but I am going to have to check out more.

9/10