Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +4

[ORRFForever]

Z (2020) :

Joshua is an obnoxious eight year old. Spoiled, too. Spoiled to the point where his parents set aside food, a LOT of food, for his imaginary friend - the much ballyhooed "Z".

Spoiler

Z is an invisible monster who has the hots for Joshua's smoking hot mom - he's been carrying a torch for her since she was eight, which makes him even creepier. Z starts tearing the family apart in the hope of winning her hand in marriage <-- it sounds like I'm joking, but I'm not.

Z is an odd little movie. It's not original, but it feels different. It's not intense, but I was eager to see how it ended. And finally, it's not scary, but there are a half dozen moments that literally took my breath away.

The movie is also Canadian - which I realized when I found myself rooting for a Canadian Pacific train to run over Joshua and put his mom out of her misery. Put me out of my misery, too - I'd had enough of the little brat.

I added one to my score of six because the movie is Canadian...
7/10

Note : Z is an impressive 95% on RT.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Flaming hot review coming through ...

Throne of Blood is great.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

[kihei]

Z (1969) Directed by Costa-Gavras 9A

Following the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakiis in 1963, the untra-right wing Greek government at the time had no choice but to commit itself to an official investigation of the murder. This investigation was supposed to be a sham, designed to quickly deflect any blame from the ruling junta. To that end, a young Examining Magistrate (Jean Louis Trintignant) was appointed because of his impeccable conservative credentials. It was his goal to bring the investigation to a quick close, too, one that would keep the ruling party happy. And that's the way he starts the investigation--and then slowly, incrementally he begins to change his opinion. To the government's great dismay, he starts investigating for real. And what he finds will shock all of Greece and may indeed threaten a totalitarian regime. Z is the best political suspense movie that I have ever seen. Director Costa-Gavras is expert at building tension as each new revelation points to greater government complicity. The arc of suspense which goes from cover-up to expose is worthy of Alfred Hitchcock. And Trintignant is perfect as the Examining Magistrate. Prim and proper, the consummate right-ring professional, he is riveting as he slowly transforms himself into a genuine prosecuting attorney. A closing coda details what happened after the investigation ended. Z is an important political movie and an absolutely rousing entertainment.

Note: About the title: the letter "Z" became a symbol among the Greek people that meant "He Lives" referring to the assassinated liberal politician. The Greek military dictatorship responded by banning the letter "Z" from the alphabet. For real.

subtitles

available on Criterion Channel

 

[Trap Jesus]

I watched The Hunt. I know this movie is controversial and going for shock value but I still thought it was pretty good. Nothing special but enjoyable enough. Like a lot of the lines and commentary are just over the top and so on the nose (ie. "Climate change is real."), but I didn't mind it too much.

Main negative is that I thought Hilary Swank was completely miscast in this. I think they were trying to make her menacing but I didn't buy it at all.

My favorite thing in the movie was

Spoiler

the misdirection at the start. Especially not knowing who the main actors were besides Hillary Swank going in, I thought it was such a nice set-up with how they handled it at the start. OK, we wake up with the doe-eyed out of her element girl, and you can already start mapping it out in your head: so she's going to go through the arc where she becomes a bada- and her head exploded.

OK, shift to the archetypal well-meaning hero character, he's going to- and his body got chopped in half.

You eventually get to Ike Barinholtz, who even though he's the comedic relief he's also the most recognizable actor here so you figure he has to have a big role, but then he's dead too.

I think all of that set up the main character so much more when she eventually comes in, and it adds more context to seeing her at the very start not following the herd, and stylistically I loved how the camera which just glide from one character to the next as they got knocked off. Very, very well done.

 

[ORRFForever]

I watched The Hunt. I know this movie is controversial and going for shock value but I still thought it was pretty good. Nothing special but enjoyable enough. Like a lot of the lines and commentary are just over the top and so on the nose (ie. "Climate change is real."), but I didn't mind it too much.

Main negative is that I thought Hilary Swank was completely miscast in this. I think they were trying to make her menacing but I didn't buy it at all.

My favorite thing in the movie was

Spoiler

the misdirection at the start. Especially not knowing who the main actors were besides Hillary Swank going in, I thought it was such a nice set-up with how they handled it at the start. OK, we wake up with the doe-eyed out of her element girl, and you can already start mapping it out in your head: so she's going to go through the arc where she becomes a bada- and her head exploded.

OK, shift to the archetypal well-meaning hero character, he's going to- and his body got chopped in half.

You eventually get to Ike Barinholtz, who even though he's the comedic relief he's also the most recognizable actor here so you figure he has to have a big role, but then he's dead too.

I think all of that set up the main character so much more when she eventually comes in, and it adds more context to seeing her at the very start not following the herd, and stylistically I loved how the camera which just glide from one character to the next as they got knocked off. Very, very well done.

I agree. WAY better than I thought it would be. My old review...

The Hunt (2020) :

When you hear "Blumhouse", what comes to mind? To me, Blumhouse means "quality", "excellence" and "high end entertainment". Why would The Hunt be any different?

The Hunt reverses Hollywood's usual "human hunts human" story line. Instead of the MAGA hat wearing "deplorables" being the "hunters", they are the "hunted", and, for the first hour, it's fresh and fun. Unfortunately, with about 30 minutes left, the movie runs out of ideas and we're left with a Kill Bill-esk fight scene that goes on and on and on.

Still, The Hunt was much better than I hoped and I laughed a lot!

7/10

 

[Trap Jesus]

I agree. WAY better than I thought it would be. My old review...

The Hunt (2020) :

When you hear "Blumhouse", what comes to mind? To me, Blumhouse means "quality", "excellence" and "high end entertainment". Why would The Hunt be any different?

The Hunt reverses Hollywood's usual "human hunts human" story line. Instead of the MAGA hat wearing "deplorables" being the "hunters", they are the "hunted", and, for the first hour, it's fresh and fun. Unfortunately, with about 30 minutes left, the movie runs out of ideas and we're left with a Kill Bill-esk fight scene that goes on and on and on.

Still, The Hunt was much better than I hoped and I laughed a lot!

7/10

I agree with this for sure, I really didn't like the ending, the majority of it felt fresh up til that point.

 

[ORRFForever]

I agree with this for sure, I really didn't like the ending, the majority of it felt fresh up til that point.

Yup. They seem to have run out of material and filled the end with a BIG fight - which was fine since I'd been highly entertained up to that point.

My fav scene : In the car when she does a BIG wind up and kicks the guy out. Really funny.

Again, Hunt is WAY better than expected.

P.S. I agree, Swank is wasted but... she did a good job fighting.

P.S.S. I enjoyed the misdirection as well. At first, I thought, WTH(eck). Then, I was curious to see who would be the last (wo)man standing.

 

[ORRFForever]

Z (1969) Directed by Costa-Gavras 9A

Following the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakiis in 1963, the untra-right wing Greek government at the time had no choice but to commit itself to an official investigation of the murder. This investigation was supposed to be a sham, designed to quickly deflect any blame from the ruling junta. To that end, a young Examining Magistrate (Jean Louis Trintignant) was appointed because of his impeccable conservative credentials. It was his goal to bring the investigation to a quick close, too, one that would keep the ruling party happy. And that's the way he starts the investigation--and then slowly, incrementally he begins to change his opinion. To the government's great dismay, he starts investigating for real. And what he finds will shock all of Greece and may indeed threaten a totalitarian regime. Z is the best political suspense movie that I have ever seen. Director Costa-Gavras is expert at building tension as each new revelation points to greater government complicity. The arc of suspense which goes from cover-up to expose is worthy of Alfred Hitchcock. And Trintignant is perfect as the Examining Magistrate. Prim and proper, the consummate right-ring professional, he is riveting as he slowly transforms himself into a genuine prosecuting attorney. A closing coda details what happened after the investigation ended. Z is an important political movie and an absolutely rousing entertainment.

Note: About the title: the letter "Z" became a symbol among the Greek people that meant "He Lives" referring to the assassinated liberal politician. The Greek military dictatorship responded by banning the letter "Z" from the alphabet. For real.

subtitles

available on Criterion Channel

I enjoyed Z, too. Not as much as you (see my review at the top of the page) but...

What did you think when the monster attacked the father and then wrote stuff on the wall in blood?

 

[kihei]

I enjoyed Z, too. Not as much as you (see my review at the top of the page) but...

What did you think when the monster attacked the father and then wrote stuff on the wall in blood?

Why, I felt like I was watching a different movie

 

[ORRFForever]

Why, I felt like I was in a different movie

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

4/10

The Equalizer 2

5/10

 

[ORRFForever]

Predestination (2014) :

I'm not going to pretend that I understood this wonderfully acted time travel movie, because I didn't, but I really enjoyed Predestination.

7.5/10

 

[Chili]

A Night at the Opera-1935

Classic Marx Brothers. Nice blend of comedy, hijinks, music and story.

`You can`t fool me. There ain`t no sanity clause.`

 

[kihei]

Europa (1991) Directed by Lars von Trier 6B

Any Lars von Trier movie is going to be a challenge on some level and Europa is no different than his other works. With von Trier's later misanthropy (Dogville; Melancholia; Nymphomania) not yet in evidence, the movie focuses on Leopold, an American of German descent, who travels to Germany just after the end of World War II because he thinks Germany needs to be shown some kindness. He is not the least political, so his action isn't intended as a comment on anything. Rather he is a Candide-like figure, basically a naive young man to whom things happen beyond his control and often his understanding. His curmudgeonly German uncle manages to get him a job as a sleeping-car conductor on a less than luxurious train where he meets a sexy German heiress whose father may still be a Nazi sympathizer. There are other Nazi sympathizers, called Werewolves, still making trouble as well. Leopold, happy to be on the train, tries to sort all this stuff out, but with at best mixed success. Throw in a second-person narrator who seems to be trying to hypnotize the audience, and one gets a very strange movie. The visuals, however, are amazing as von Trier throws in double exposures, back projections, different film stocks, and oddball colour effects in what is basically a black-and-white movie, all to enhance the dreamy, Kafka-like atmosphere that pervades the film. While the mise-en-scene is a wonder to behold, the rest of the movie is hit-and-miss and often mildly confusing. All the ingredients are there for a visual tour-de-force, but Europa remains a train without a clear destination in mind.

mix of subtitles and English

available on Criterion Channel

 

[saluki]

Knives Out 5/10

Decently made, but no real surprises for me throughout. Pretty much a paint by numbers Agatha Christie knockoff without a single compelling twist.

What was Daniel Craig trying to do with that mealy mouthed accent?

 

[ItsFineImFine]

X:Men - Dark Phoenix (2019) - 4/10

I'm not that hard to please but if even I struggle to get through a superhero film then it's bad. This thing has CW level acting, some of that is a result of bad lines and some of it is because actresses like Sophie Turner are not leading film level actresses.

Anyways, these XMen films have been getting progressively worse after X2 (Logan and Days of Future Past excluded). The villain in this is monotonous and dumb, the special effects are really nothing new, and there's such an overusage of CGI that it's almost distracting. Marvel films use CGI too but sheesh at least you get some good fight sequences and some laughs in those. This is just a miserable joyless affair. The type of shitty superhero film that was being made in 2007.

I'd like to just re-iterate how bad this is. Even though I only saw it a couple weeks ago, I honestly can't remember wtf happened in the end. These X-Men movies started blending together and they're shockingly forgettable.

Knives Out 5/10

Decently made, but no real surprises for me throughout. Pretty much a paint by numbers Agatha Christie knockoff without a single compelling twist.

What was Daniel Craig trying to do what that mealy mouthed accent?

Mmm so smart, you'd be the type of person that would say "I saw it coming" when Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was released if you were around in the 1920s. Also, how many number of "paint by numbers" Agatha Christie mystery films are being released in the 2010s? I'd love to find more of these widely released Agatha Christie knock-offs you're talking about.

I know I can't actually tell someone to shut-up on a moderated message board, but I'll just imply something.

 

[Naster Okan]

Possession (1981)
Director: Andrzej Zulawski

Masterpiece/10

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Europa (1991) Directed by Lars von Trier 6B

Any Lars von Trier movie is going to be a challenge on some level and Europa is no different than his other works. With von Trier's later misanthropy (Dogville; Melancholia; Nymphomania) not yet in evidence, the movie focuses on Leopold, an American of German descent, who travels to Germany just after the end of World War II because he thinks Germany needs to be shown some kindness. He is not the least political, so his action isn't intended as a comment on anything. Rather he is a Candide-like figure, basically a naive young man to whom things happen beyond his control and often his understanding. His curmudgeonly German uncle manages to get him a job as a sleeping-car conductor on a less than luxurious train where he meets a sexy German heiress whose father may still be a Nazi sympathizer. There are other Nazi sympathizers, called Werewolves, still making trouble as well. Leopold, happy to be on the train, tries to sort all this stuff out, but with at best mixed success. Throw in a second-person narrator who seems to be trying to hypnotize the audience, and one gets a very strange movie. The visuals, however, are amazing as von Trier throws in double exposures, back projections, different film stocks, and oddball colour effects in what is basically a black-and-white movie, all to enhance the dreamy, Kafka-like atmosphere that pervades the film. While the mise-en-scene is a wonder to behold, the rest of the movie is hit-and-miss and often mildly confusing. All the ingredients are there for a visual tour-de-force, but Europa remains a train without a clear destination in mind.

mix of subtitles and English

available on Criterion Channel

Is that the one based on Kafka's Amerika? I've always been curious to watch that one.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I re-watched Last Year at Marienbad. Filled with unbridled inspiration. What a dominant feat. The only film where I cannot imagine its characters existing anywhere else, with start or finish, in any other realm, in any other action.

'The grounds of the hotel were symmetrically arranged, without trees or flowers, or plants of any kind. The gravel, the stone, and the marble were spread in strict array in unmysterious shapes. At first sight, it seemed impossible to lose your way. At first sight... Along these stone paths and amidst these statues, where you were already losing your way forever in the still night, alone with me.'

 

[ORRFForever]

Decently made, but no real surprises for me throughout. Pretty much a paint by numbers Agatha Christie knockoff without a single compelling twist

I liked the lack of a twist.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Mmm so smart, you'd be the type of person that would say "I saw it coming" when Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was released if you were around in the 1920s. Also, how many number of "paint by numbers" Agatha Christie mystery films are being released in the 2010s? I'd love to find more of these widely released Agatha Christie knock-offs you're talking about.

I know I can't actually tell someone to shut-up on a moderated message board, but I'll just imply something.

What's with the anger issue? Knives Out was nothing special to me either, and only you seem to understand that "paint by numbers" implies that there was many other recent similar films, that certainly wasn't implied in the post you're attacking (seriously, is your mama involved in the making of the film?). Paint by numbers = formulaic. If you don't see it, oh well... and he did say it was decently made... Saddly I can't find my comment on it, but I gave it 3/10 and didn't mean to offend anyone...

 

[saluki]

What's with the anger issue? Knives Out was nothing special to me either, and only you seem to understand that "paint by numbers" implies that there was many other recent similar films, that certainly wasn't implied in the post you're attacking (seriously, is your mama involved in the making of the film?). Paint by numbers = formulaic. If you don't see it, oh well... and he did say it was decently made... Saddly I can't find my comment on it, but I gave it 3/10 and didn't mean to offend anyone...

Don't worry about it. That's a drunk post if I've ever read one.

I'd consider him telling me to shut up an honor. lol

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I re-watched Last Year at Marienbad. Filled with unbridled inspiration. What a dominant feat. The only film where I cannot imagine its characters existing anywhere else, with start or finish, in any other realm, in any other action.

'The grounds of the hotel were symmetrically arranged, without trees or flowers, or plants of any kind. The gravel, the stone, and the marble were spread in strict array in unmysterious shapes. At first sight, it seemed impossible to lose your way. At first sight... Along these stone paths and amidst these statues, where you were already losing your way forever in the still night, alone with me.'

Resnais is probably to me the second best director ever (behind only Raoul Ruiz, who is absolutely untouchable). Couple his amazing talent with my favorite author's playful imagination and the result is truly something special.

(Robbe-Grillet is himself another very good director)

 

[ORRFForever]

Primer (2004) :

2 friends find a way to go back in time. Then they get greedy. Then sloppy. Then I stopped understanding what the hell was going on.

I still enjoyed it.

7/10

 

[ItsFineImFine]

In that shot, there are shadows on the people but no shadows from the hedges or statues....how the f*** did they do that? Paint the shadows and film the scene on a clear day or something? Seems like the kind of thing a director would do come to think of it.

Anyways, that was a good film once you got past the opening 15 minute monologue which was excruciating pain for me.