Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +2

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Saw a couple movies this week that really got to me...

The Keeping Hours (2017) - Mark and Elizabeth share a picturesque life with their five year old son, Jacob.

However, their world is destroyed when Jacob is killed in a car accident. Mark blames Elizabeth for not buckling Jacob into his car seat, and she blames Mark for driving too fast.

This melancholy blame game and the weight of losing their son, eventually leads to the end of their marriage.

Seven years later, they are brought back together by the discovery of their son’s ghost in their old house... but they quickly find out that their old wounds never did quite heal.

There is also big plot twist that makes the movie even more upsetting...

This is a rough one, especially if you have a young child like I do... but it’s well worth the watch IMHO, not only because it’s a well made film, but as a subtle reminder never to take for granted those we love, and how quickly love can be shattered away by grief.

 

[kihei]

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018) Directed by Xavier Dolan 3B

I am a huge fan of Xavier Dolan's work. He is my favourite Canadian director mostly because of his incredible gift for shooting visually exquisite film. So it pains me to say that The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, Dolan's first film in English, is just as bad as everybody said it was. Dolan can be a tricky artist to deal with. His films can slide into rock-video banality when he takes shortcuts, and he has a tendency, which he seems to want to nurture rather than dilute, of being emotionally overwrought. Both shortcomings are evident in this film, but that's not the problem really. The problem is the plot and the script. Dolan is a fine writer as long as he sticks to his own experience which he did in his early films (he started out when he was 18 years old). But now that he is older and has to stretch for content, this movie suggests he isn't a very good judge of his shortcomings. The movie is about fan worship, ambivalent homosexuality and beautiful people behaving badly. None of it rings true, and some of the scenes are absolutely bonkers, but not in a fun way. The guy has always had mommy issues, a good thing really as they have led to two of his three best movies, his debut I Killed My Mother and Mommy, one of the best movies of the decade which swept the Canadian Screen Awards in 2014. There are two mother figures in this thing, played respectively by Natalie Portman and Susan Sarandon and their scenes are embarrassingly awful, in Sarandon's case almost impossible to watch. Dolan gives us no reason to care about these self-absorbed, destructive people, and he can't begin to find the right words to put in their mouth. One hopes The Death and Life of John F. Donovan is a mere stumble, but it is so bad it gives me pause when I think what may be in store for Dolan's future.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Short Term 12 (2013) - Grace and her ultra supportive boyfriend, Mason, are part of the staff that run a residential treatment center for at risk teens.

However, a new resident and the coming release of her father from prison, forces Grace to confront her own demons from the past.

She must now find a way to hold herself together, while dealing with vulnerable teens battling extremely heavy issues.

I was never really sure if Grace was going to be able to hold it together, especially when she grabs that baseball bat....

Brie Larson does tremendous justice to Grace’s character, and really helps humanize her. She is supported by a great cast that Cretton assembled for his film, and I found myself genuinely caring about their fates.

Really beautiful film about mental survival and breaking off those hidden chains we build that can sometimes hold us back from being happy.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018) Directed by Xavier Dolan 3B

I am a huge fan of Xavier Dolan's work. He is my favourite Canadian director mostly because of his incredible gift for shooting visually exquisite film. So it pains me to say that The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, Dolan's first film in English, is just as bad as everybody said it was. Dolan can be a tricky artist to deal with. His films can slide into rock-video banality when he takes shortcuts, and he has a tendency, which he seems to want to nurture rather than dilute, of being emotionally overwrought. Both shortcomings are evident in this film, but that's not the problem really. The problem is the plot and the script. Dolan is a fine writer as long as he sticks to his own experience which he did in his early films (he started out when he was 18 years old). But now that he is older and has to stretch for content, this movie suggests he isn't a very good judge of his shortcomings. The movie is about fan worship, ambivalent homosexuality and beautiful people behaving badly. None of it rings true, and some of the scenes are absolutely bonkers, but not in a fun way. The guy has always had mommy issues, a good thing really as they have led to two of his three best movies, his debut I Killed My Mother and Mommy, one of the best movies of the decade which swept the Canadian Screen Awards in 2014. There are two mother figures in this thing, played respectively by Natalie Portman and Susan Sarandon and their scenes are embarrassingly awful, in Sarandon's case almost impossible to watch. Dolan gives us no reason to care about these self-absorbed, destructive people, and he can't begin to find the right words to put in their mouth. One hopes The Death and Life of John F. Donovan is a mere stumble, but it is so bad it gives me pause when I think what may be in store for Dolan's future.

I don't think Dolan is first-rate at all (so kitsch) but I read an interview where he talks about being more interested in acting now and letting go of directing.

 

[tardigrade81]

The Art of Racing In The Rain

9/10. Fantastic movie and great acting. Though sad at times but very good. My spouse said the book is better as it usually is. But the movie is worth a watch.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Marriage Story - 9.75/10

Yup. Fantastic.

 

[kihei]

I don't think Dolan is first-rate at all (so kitsch) but I read an interview where he talks about being more interested in acting now and letting go of directing.

I don't think that kitsch is the right word. He can certainly get on people's nerves. I think he can be not infrequently extravagantly self-indulgent and flamboyant, but, to me, he remains a major talent. It would be a shame if he gave up directing for acting exclusively. But, then again, that might be an indication that he hasn't got much left to say.

 

[sr edler]

Honey Badgers: Masters of Mayhem (2014) by Steve Gooder – 7.5/10

This film's pretty good. I watched some stuff on the YT, some nasty documentary stuff with driver ants eating a slug alive, et cetera, so this one featuring badgers was a bit milder/family friendly/for the faint of heart. The star of the film is one badger Stoffle, a relatively domesticated one who nonetheless gets in fights with lions (which resulted in him spending two and a half months in a hospital). I think where he spends most of his time is at an animal rehabilitation center in South Africa.

These badgers got a whole bag of tricks. They'll bite at your balls, trying to castrate you, and they also release a pungent odor from their rectums as a defensive tactic, just like the skunk. They also got high quality problem solving skills, while trying to escape from enclosed areas and/or while trying to get to their biggest passion in life: honey. They'll take bee stings, and bites from snakes and scorpions to reach the floating gold.

 

[Shareefruck]

Howl's Moving Castle - 4.5 (Brilliant)

As a huge Ghibli fan, I used to be more dismissive of this movie than his others and something about it just didn't click with me, but I saw it again and I really loved it this time. One thing I adore about Miyazaki's sensibilities is that he clearly doesn't care that much about logical narrative coherence and clarity, deliberately wrapping up plot-lines in a half-hearted, unearned, surreal, and almost nonsensical way-- because it's not really the point and it ultimately doesn't really matter-- but instead puts all of his attention on emotional sensation, human sensibilities, and wonder (as opposed to other acclaimed but wildly overrated things that are typically way too obsessive about wrapping up a complex web of plot details/conflicts while ultimately feeling pretty hollow and soulless). Things make emotional sense in this movie in basically the same way that your brain connects dots and resolves loose psychological manifestations in order to move things along when you have dreams or nightmares, and in a way, that can actually feel strangely and mysteriously more profound than something that makes direct sense (which can come across as too bull-headed and heavy-handed). Art direction and aesthetic is absolutely masterful, music is fantastic, character/world designs and visual details are imaginative and out of this world, and themes are consistent and powerful (love the character dynamics between Sophie, Howl, and The Witch of the Waste-- each of them are an interesting foil and influence on one another's strengths, weaknesses, and insecurities. On a random note, I particularly love the decision to unsettling-ly have the Witch become completely innocuous and useless in an adorable and endearing way, yet remain completely nasty, selfish/morally bankrupt, and irredeemable, and have that be left alone instead of resulting in a sudden eventual demise). Everything feels wildly unconventional but familiar and just exactly right.

While I still prefer My Neighbor Totoro over it, it's now in the next highest tier for me, right alongside Ponyo, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Porco Rosso, ahead of things like Princess Mononoke, Princess Kaguya, Only Tomorrow, Nausicaa, Grave of the Fireflies, and Whisper to the Heart.

 

[kihei]

I Lost My Body (2019) Directed by Jeremy Clapin 8A

I Lost My Body is an animated film for adults from France that is unexpectedly wonderful and totally out of left field. The movie tells two parallel tales. A disembodied hand, one with a mind of its own and a sense of direction, escapes from a hospital refrigerator and must travel across Paris undetected if it is to reunite with its body. Interspersed with this long journey fraught with peril is the backstory about a pizza delivery boy whose childhood was defined by terrible tragedy. He is basically a lost soul but when he accidentally has a conversation over an intercom with a girl in an apartment waiting not too patiently for pizza, he falls in love, but how is he to meet her? The events that occur are suspenseful, sometimes queasy, touchingly poignant without being saccharine, and perhaps even hopeful. In a very subtle way, I Lost My Body is about overcoming severe loss and finding reasons to put one's world back together again. Very original but definitely not for children, I Lost My Body is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

Available currently on Netflix


Best of '19 so far

1) Parasite, Bong, South Korea
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Sciamma, France
3) An Elephant Sitting Still, Hu, China
4) Hope, Sodahl, Norway
5) Pain & Glory, Almodovar, Spain
6) Vitalina Varela, Costa, Portugal
7) The Irishman, Scorsese, US
8) I Lost My Body, Clapin, France
9) The Lighthouse, Eggers, United States
10) Varda by Agnes, Varda, France

 

[NyQuil]

I Lost My Body

Best of '19 so far

1) Parasite, Bong, South Korea
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Sciamma, France
3) An Elephant Sitting Still, Hu, China
4) Hope, Sodahl, Norway
5) Pain & Glory, Almodovar, Spain
6) Vitalina Varela, Costa, Portugal
7) I Lost My Hand, Clapin, France
8) The Irishman, Scorsese, US
9) The Lighthouse, Eggers, United States
10) Varda by Agnes, Varda, France

Is I Lost My Body the sequel to I Lost My Hand?

 

[Trap Jesus]

I finally saw Climax. This was pretty much what I expected it to be. There's not a whole lot going on, but it's all about how it's presented and the craft behind how it's shot. The structure is what really stood out to me. There are 6 distinct "parts" to this movie. 3 of them are done in one take (or at least it really looks like one take, there's probably something going on here with editing when the lighting changes during these sequences), and the sheer amount of time that the camera doesn't cut away, some of the maneuvers the camera makes, and the intricacies of the things these dancers have to do during these sequences from complicated dance movements to just clever blocking is pretty mindblowing, particularly during the climactic sequence (it has to be 30+ minutes, it's insane). The other 3 parts are about quick cuts, but it retains the same visual style/symmetry when it does this. It also has one of the cooler title/credits sequences I've seen in a movie, it kind of comes out of nowhere.

Outside of the technical aspects of the movie, while it is kind of barren, there are a couple sequences in here that are properly disturbing and well done. I also thought that the character building went on too long. They kind of give a near equal amount of time to everyone during these parts, but I was only interested in a few.

Overall, if you're interested in the technical aspects of movies at all (cinematography/sound), 100% watch this if you haven't already. If not, I don't think you're going to get a whole lot out of it.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I don't think that kitsch is the right word. He can certainly get on people's nerves. I think he can be not infrequently extravagantly self-indulgent and flamboyant, but, to me, he remains a major talent. It would be a shame if he gave up directing for acting exclusively. But, then again, that might be an indication that he hasn't got much left to say.

I haven't seen all of his films but I find that he fetishizes a certain urban aesthetic in a way that comes across as self-aware and tasteless (for example, I never find that his characters look very good in any sort of organic way, but that they're pin-up dolls dressed up like the fashion of a moment in time that he is obsessed with) and that's without getting into his overwrought and melodramatic writing style, which you alluded to. Hell, I'm younger than him by a few years and I find his obsession with the aesthetical beauty of youth incredibly trite. Take Mommy: as a resident of Montreal and who also lived on its South Shore as a youth, I know exactly what he's going for with the way both the mother and son are physically portrayed (the lower-class, suburban mom on the shore who swears by Celine Dion and wine and wears faux-classy and thus trashy clothes is common in the landscape, as is the brooding, blond boy who rocks the mechanic's necklace) which would be fine to portray, if only he didn't try to make it so...overtly cinematic. A fashionista's attempt at going slumming. It rings so hollow as to be distracting. And I don't mind if something is false - lie all you want, but make it good and put me in the trick bag, so to speak.

Sidenote: I also don't care if an artist has something to say. To me, the great artist will put the emphasis on how he says something instead of what he says. Even if he has nothing to say. The problems begin when he tries to give weight into the banal thing that he does say.

 

[tardigrade81]

Bloodsport 10/10. Van Damme is great. Probably seen this movie 40 times.

 

[Mario Lemieux fan 66]

Marriage Story: 7.8/10

Knives out: 7.8/10

Both strong movies with just a little something missing to make them a classic. Craig is great in Knives out and the same can be said for Driver and Johansson in Marriage Story.

 

[Savi]

While I still prefer My Neighbor Totoro over it, it's now in the next highest tier for me, right alongside Ponyo, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Porco Rosso, ahead of things like Princess Mononoke, Princess Kaguya, Only Tomorrow, Nausicaa, Grave of the Fireflies, and Whisper to the Heart.

I'm very much on the same page when ranking favourites among Ghibli films, especially when comparing directors I've always appreciated Miyazaki's feel for bringing a certain kind of magic to his movies that almost makes you nostalgic to when you were a kid - more so than for example Takahata who seems like a bit more of a realist. Another director who "gets" it like Miyazaki is Hiromasa Yonebayashi, he only directed two films for Ghibli I think but they both belong to my absolute favourites; The Secret World of Arrietty (if you like Kiki and Ponyo you will love Arrietty as well) and When Marnie Was There which I absolutely adored, although not many others did.

 

[Savi]

I finally saw Climax. This was pretty much what I expected it to be. There's not a whole lot going on, but it's all about how it's presented and the craft behind how it's shot. The structure is what really stood out to me. There are 6 distinct "parts" to this movie. 3 of them are done in one take (or at least it really looks like one take, there's probably something going on here with editing when the lighting changes during these sequences), and the sheer amount of time that the camera doesn't cut away, some of the maneuvers the camera makes, and the intricacies of the things these dancers have to do during these sequences from complicated dance movements to just clever blocking is pretty mindblowing, particularly during the climactic sequence (it has to be 30+ minutes, it's insane). The other 3 parts are about quick cuts, but it retains the same visual style/symmetry when it does this. It also has one of the cooler title/credits sequences I've seen in a movie, it kind of comes out of nowhere.

Outside of the technical aspects of the movie, while it is kind of barren, there are a couple sequences in here that are properly disturbing and well done. I also thought that the character building went on too long. They kind of give a near equal amount of time to everyone during these parts, but I was only interested in a few.

Overall, if you're interested in the technical aspects of movies at all (cinematography/sound), 100% watch this if you haven't already. If not, I don't think you're going to get a whole lot out of it.

Any excuse is good enough to post that brilliant intro again

 

[Shareefruck]

I'm very much on the same page when ranking favourites among Ghibli films, especially when comparing directors I've always appreciated Miyazaki's feel for bringing a certain kind of magic to his movies that almost makes you nostalgic to when you were a kid - more so than for example Takahata who seems like a bit more of a realist. Another director who "gets" it like Miyazaki is Hiromasa Yonebayashi, he only directed two films for Ghibli I think but they both belong to my absolute favourites; The Secret World of Arrietty (if you like Kiki and Ponyo you will love Arrietty as well) and When Marnie Was There which I absolutely adored, although not many others did.

I definitely currently appreciate Takahata a lot more than I appreciate Yonebayashi. He's an interesting foil to Miyazaki that creates a very cool/fun "Ambitious, overly serious, brooding perfectionist rival who's almost as good but can never quite match to the natural genius who can more or less pull greatness out of his ***" dynamic-- I think that his movies are pretty incredible as well (loved Only Tomorrow, My Neighbors the Yamadas, and Kaguya). I have to say, I've been more lukewarm on Yonebayashi, although I agree that he's much better than the other creators in Ghibli that are mostly outright bad (I'd say he's solid and doesn't hurt the brand, but not amazing or anything). I didn't have any problems with Arriety but it didn't inspire me either, and I haven't seen When Marnie Was There. I'll have to give him another shot. The only other Ghibli Director other than the big two who have stood out to me is Yoshifumi Kondo, who did Whisper of the Heart. Goro Miyazaki's pretty lame, IMO (I guess From Up On Poppy Hill was somewhat passable, but Tales of Earthsea was excrutiatingly awful and hard to watch).

I don't think any director "gets it" in quite the same imaginative way that Miyazaki does, personally. In terms of loving wholesomeness, he gives me a very Ozu vibe, though (and usually, other directors branded with the "Ozu-like" label generally don't for me)

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Marriage Story (Baumbach, 2019) - Amazing film. It feels like a rather simple family drama and it's very effective - nicely written, superbly acted, and emotionally complex enough to be meaningful. And on top of that, you've got an autoreflexive level that's subtle and nuanced enough that it's not intrusive and doesn't bring forced distanciation (which I often enjoy, but here you can watch and enjoy the film without noticing any of its reflexivity). Through all their legal procedure, she remains an actress and him a director. She's playing her part as directed by her lawyer, rehearsing for auditions with the investigating lady, while on the other side, he fires his lawyer and hires a more suitable one for the part (the one that wants to rearrange the narrative), he arranges the set with plants and drawings for the investigating lady (with the help of his theater team), etc. And then there's these bits - at a moment where he feels brushed aside by his son - where he dresses as the Invisible Man (and later on as a simple ghost) and where he wants to dress his son not as Frankenstein (as it's being said), but as the monster. Loved the musical numbers too - maybe at that point there was a little distanciation, but easily normalized in the narrative. Loved it. 9/10

 

[kihei]

Is I Lost My Body the sequel to I Lost My Hand?

Could not figure out what you were talking about, and then "Oh, f***." I immediately thought of the Bette Davis line, "Growing old is not for the faint of heart."

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Saw Little Joe at the Cinema Moderne in Montreal...t'was okay, I suppose. Certainly didn't stick with me. Maybe a little too in love with its concept to realize that it's not that particularly original. Some of the color schemes were cool. Any film-lover who comes through Montreal should try and make a stop at Cinema Moderne, it's a good spot. There's only a couple of showings a day but it's very intimate (perhaps 25 seats in the theatre) and you can grab a drink there before, during or after the flick.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Marriage Story (Baumbach, 2019) - Amazing film. It feels like a rather simple family drama and it's very effective - nicely written, superbly acted, and emotionally complex enough to be meaningful. And on top of that, you've got an autoreflexive level that's subtle and nuanced enough that it's not intrusive and doesn't bring forced distanciation (which I often enjoy, but here you can watch and enjoy the film without noticing any of its reflexivity). Through all their legal procedure, she remains an actress and him a director. She's playing her part as directed by her lawyer, rehearsing for auditions with the investigating lady, while on the other side, he fires his lawyer and hires a more suitable one for the part (the one that wants to rearrange the narrative), he arranges the set with plants and drawings for the investigating lady (with the help of his theater team), etc. And then there's these bits - at a moment where he feels brushed aside by his son - where he dresses as the Invisible Man (and later on as a simple ghost) and where he wants to dress his son not as Frankenstein (as it's being said), but as the monster. Loved the musical numbers too - maybe at that point there was a little distanciation, but easily normalized in the narrative. Loved it. 9/10

Good review. I'm intrigued. I've only seen one Baumbach film (The one with Ben Stiller and Adam Driver) and thought it was one of the biggest pieces of shits I'd ever seen.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Good review. I'm intrigued. I've only seen one Baumbach film (The one with Ben Stiller and Adam Driver) and thought it was one of the biggest pieces of ****s I'd ever seen.

While We're Young. Saw it too and I had it at 4/10 - we're far from that with Marriage Story - IMO at least. Also had The Squid and the Whale at 7/10, Greenberg at 6/10, Margot at the Wedding at 4/10. So I guess this new one might be his best effort yet. And I just now learned from IMDB that he directed a documentary about Brian De Palma, I wish I could see that.

 

[Mario Lemieux fan 66]

Doctor Sleep: 7.3/10 decent movie

Ad Astra: 0/10 pure garbage and pointless

 

[Osprey]

Little Evil (2017) - 6/10 (Liked it)

Before bringing us Marriage Story, Netflix brought us this different portrait of a family in crisis. Gary (Adam Scott) wants a divorce from Samantha (Evangeline Lilly), but, in a refreshing twist, it isn't because they hate each other's guts. In fact, they still love each other. It's just that Gary can't seem to win over his new stepson, who happens to be the Antichrist. It turns out that he and the spawn of Satan don't share the same interests. He wants the two of them to take in a ball game and race go-karts, while the kid prefers burying him alive in the backyard and awaiting the rapture. Predictably, the mother takes her son's side and is hesitant to believe that her sweet baby is, in fact, evil incarnate. Gary must decide on his own whether to try to patch things up, become the loving stepfather to the Antichrist that he knows that he can be and save his marriage... or murder the brat, battle the forces of evil (and Sally Field) and save the world.

I found this horror comedy from Eli Craig to be enjoyable. Like his previous film, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Craig parodies a horror convention (in this case, the child Antichrist, such as in The Omen) but puts a relatable spin on it, grounding it not in stereotyping this time, but (step)fatherhood anxiety. It's clever and gives the film a bit of heart... but it's definitely a comedy, and while it's rarely laugh-out-loud funny, I found it consistently chuckle worthy. A lot of the humor is understated and would be considered dark comedy, which I like. The story is not very original or great, but it's a parody. If you like horror comedies, it's worth checking out on Netflix.