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

[Jussi]

Thanks for the explanation. I missed that because my attention was waning in the end. It was definitely longer than it needed to be.

Yeah, 10ish minutes shorter would have made the movie even better.

 

[kihei]

India Song (1975) Directed by Marguerite Duras 4C

The movie has a nice start, anyway. In lieu of a traditional narrative, India Song begins with a gorgeous establishing shot of a blood orange sliver of a sun evaporating into the fading gray light. A young woman's voice begins to tell a story about a disgruntled woman, possibly the wife of a diplomat in India, who out of boredom begins to have affairs. In lieu of dialogue, we simply watch more establishing shot-type images that set a mood for the story we are listening to. The movie continues this way for a goodly time--voice-over narration with accompanying atmospheric images. The close as I can come to a comparison is that watching the movie up to this point was a little like sitting in a club listening to someone recite poetry in a soft voice while a dancer uses movement to "interpret" what we are listening to. I found it an interesting change of pace from conventional story telling. But then the movie decides to abandon this ephemeral approach a bit--we end up focusing on a drawing room where aimless stylishly dressed men stand around looking like extras from a remake of Last Year at Marienbad. Speaking of Last Year at Marienbad, Delphine Seyrig lounges around lackadaisically and everyone moves about like they are trudging through aspic. At one point Michael Lonsdale and another man appear like they are going to speak to one another, but they wander off screen to do it. Seemed a little daft. Even sillier, actors begin to share dialogue but their lips don't move, followed by more shots of Seyrig swanning about surrounded by men who look and act like department store mannequins. The voice over continues to be disjointed and rambling with the result that I no longer cared what this woman's problem was, I just wanted the movie to end. That being said, I would like to see more Marguerite Duras directed films in case she comes up with something that works because I think that might have the potential to be a very different kind of movie experience indeed.

Note: Michael Lonsdale's brief appearance in the film is amusing, the only actor in the whole proceedings who cannot look affectless if his life depended on it. The absence of dialogue just makes him look more at a loss as to what to do. Kind of funny, actually.

subtitles

available on MUBI

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I might be the very few people who actually enjoyed the movie.


Personally, I really liked the premise, but I agree with your assessment. The romance is rather weak too, and the ending is absolutely a cop out. Still, I appreciate the attempt, because at the very least, it was different.

Oh I didn't dislike the film. 5/10 looks bad, but for a commercial film, that's a pretty good rating from me.

I no longer cared what this woman's problem was, I just wanted the movie to end. That being said, I would like to see more Marguerite Duras directed films in case she comes up with something that works

I used to challenge my University students not to fall asleep on her films. They failed. India Song is not one of my favorites, but I still think it's a very interesting film. If you wanted the establishing shots to go on, try Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta désert, which is the exact same audio, put on images of abandonned buildings. To me, Le Navire Night and Aurélia Steiner (Melbourne) are both masterpieces, top-10 films of all-time. Not for everyone for sure.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Lord of War

with Nicholas Cage, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke, and other people

A surprisingly restrained Nicholas Cage is Yuri Orlov, down and out Ukrainian bum in 1980's Brighton Beach, NYC. His bro Vitaly (Leto) slings borscht from their parents' diner when one day Yuri watches a gangland hit across the street and says: "Where'd he buy the gun?!" He goes into arms dealing, drags his bro into it, and hits the big time when the Berlin wall comes down and he can go visit their uncle in the Ukraine, who, as a general in the former Soviet army, no longer has a paycheque coming in but vast warehouses of weapons to sell. Settle in for Nicholas Cage's voiceover telling you how he tours western Africa to dispense AKs to everyone around, marries and lies incessantly to his childhood crush, dodges Ethan Hawke's dogged ATF agent, and makes various muddled social messages about guns.

Unremarkable, although Cage is actually quite muted for him. Gives you an idea of the damage the illegal arms trade does, but not all that much. Got lost in a sea of "Who's really the bad guy here?!" genre movies. Okayish if you've got nothing better to do, I guess. Performances aren't bad. Eamonn Walker flashes his pearly whites a lot. Ian Holm plays Ian Holm. Jared Leto gives big, soulful gazes. Meh.

On Prime.

So, is that Tyrannosaurus Rex skull I ordered in the truck behind me, or...?

 

[kihei]

Montparnasse 19 (1958) Directed by Jacques Becker 6A

Basically, Montparnasse 19 is a mostly fictionalized biopick about the life of Modigliani, an Italian artist who toiled in Paris and struggled to sell paintings his entire life. Right after the opening credits, the movie disclaims any notion that the story that we are about to see is based on fact. Rather the narrative is an exceptionally romanticized look at a self-destructive but talented artist who is ultimately an ill-fated figure and his own worst enemy. For a director who usually avoids cliche, Becker really pours it on thick in terms of the tragic artist stereotypes. As capably played by Gerard Philipe, Modigliani is a drunk who is not above slapping around the women he sleeps with, a man who depends on the indulgence of a few close friends to survive. When he meets the young Jeanne (Anouk Aimee, impossibly elegant), he tries to change but with mixed results as booze continues to bedevil him as he struggles to accept the idea of commercial success as something to strive for. Becker and his actors breath a lot of life into what is essentially a trashy potboiler. Philipe brings a hint of melancholy and self-awareness to his doomed artist and even stock characters seem to have an individuality and humanity that is all their own. Becker supplies a lot of nice, subtle directorial touches to such mundane aspects of film making as actors moving within the frame and camera placement, and he gets lucky with some beautiful but brief sunlit shots of the ocean during a stroll by Modi and Jeanne along the beach (a generous description for a collection of large pebbles) at Nice. Montparnasse 19 is not wholly satisfying, but it is not a negligible effort either by a director who would later gain a reputation for being a precursor to the French New Wave.

subtitles

available briefly on MUBI

 

[HolyGhost]

Birds of prey

started out really good but lost energy half way through

 

[Osprey]

7500 (2019) - 7/10 (Really liked it)

A commercial airline pilot (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) deals with hijackers trying to take over his plane. This Amazon Original is a low-budget suspense thriller that is only 90 minutes long, but very intense for the majority of it. Pretty much the entire film takes place in the cockpit, which creates a great sense of claustrophobia, and near constant banging on and yelling through the cockpit door adds a lot to the stress. Gordon-Levitt gives a good performance as an ordinary pilot who has to listen to that and watch the hijackers through the cockpit monitor, knowing that his responsibilities prevent him from being a hero. Largely for that reason, it feels quite realistic and raw, like an actual hijacking, rather than a Hollywood version of one. It does start off slow and finish abruptly, and I was left wanting a little more at the end, but I can't deny that I was engaged throughout. It may not be for everyone, though. Some might find it to be boring because it never leaves the cockpit. I've always been attracted to films (like Lifeboat) that take place in very cramped settings, though, since I admire the skill required to keep them interesting in spite of that limitation. I also like films set on planes (for partly the same reason, I guess), so this one was right up my alley. It's not remarkable or memorable, but I feel that, for me, it was well worth streaming. It was released just yesterday on Prime Video.

 

[kihei]

Mutiny of the Bounty (1935) Directed by Frank Lloyd 9A

I don't know if there are enough high seas dramas to qualify as a genre, but the original Mutiny on the Bounty, based on historical fact, is the best of the lot, among the greatest adventure films ever made. The movie presents the ultimate clash between flawed good represented by First Mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) and slightly qualified evil represented by Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton). It is Bligh's unrelenting cruelty, duplicity and lack of fairness that ultimately drives Christian beyond the breaking point to mutiny. Christian puts Bligh and his supporters over the side in a small life boat, and Bligh, treating his seamen more humanely under the circumstances, gets his tiny craft home safely by sailing over 3600 miles, a feat which many historians to this day consider the greatest achievement of seamanship in British naval history. Laughton with his caterpillar eyebrows has yet to become the shameless ham that he will devolve into, though often entertainingly, later in his career and he is suitably despicable in an unforgiving role. Gable as the fair-minded but hot-tempered second in command does his handsome devil routine to a tee, giving maybe the best performance of his career. Add great direction and cinematography and you have a treat for the ages.

Note: A genuine rarity in movie history, the original Mutiny on the Bounty was re-made twice and both are fine films in their own right. The 1962 film stars Trevor Howard as a more nuanced Bligh and Marlon Brando who plays Fletcher Christian as a foppish upper-class twit--and he is great at it. The 1984 film called The Bounty stars Anthony Hopkins as an even more nuanced Bligh and Mel Gibson who plays Fletcher Christian as a "me generation" spoiled brat--and he is great at it. Not counting Shakespeare, this is the only time I can think of that three really good movies have come from the exact same source material.

 

[Osprey]

Mutiny of the Bounty (1935) Directed by Frank Lloyd 9A

I don't know if there are enough high seas dramas to qualify as a genre, but the original Mutiny on the Bounty, based on historical fact, is the best of the lot, among the greatest adventure films ever made. The movie presents the ultimate clash between flawed good represented by First Mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) and slightly qualified evil represented by Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton). It is Bligh's unrelenting cruelty, duplicity and lack of fairness that ultimately drives Christian beyond the breaking point to mutiny. Christian puts Bligh and his supporters over the side in a small life boat, and Bligh, treating his seamen more humanely under the circumstances, gets his tiny craft home safely by sailing over 3600 miles, a feat which many historians to this day consider the greatest achievement of seamanship in British naval history. Laughton with his caterpillar eyebrows has yet to become the shameless ham that he will devolve into, though often entertainingly, later in his career and he is suitably despicable in an unforgiving role. Gable as the fair-minded but hot-tempered second in command does his handsome devil routine to a tee, giving maybe the best performance of his career. Add great direction and cinematography and you have a treat for the ages.

Note: A genuine rarity in movie history, the original Mutiny on the Bounty was re-made twice and both are fine films in their own right. The 1962 film stars Trevor Howard as a more nuanced Bligh and Marlon Brando who plays Fletcher Christian as a foppish upper-class twit--and he is great at it. The 1984 film called The Bounty stars Anthony Hopkins as an even more nuanced Bligh and Mel Gibson who plays Fletcher Christian as a "me generation" spoiled brat--and he is great at it. Not counting Shakespeare, this is the only time I can think of that three really good movies have come from the exact same source material.

Whenever I think of the golden age of B&W Hollywood movies (which I consider to be the 1930s), I think of Mutiny on the Bounty. It helps that it arrived smack dab in the middle of the 1930s. It's one of my favorites from that era.

I, too, have marveled at how all of the major adaptations of the story are good. Perhaps that's a testament to how good the story is, though the choice of actors in all three cases probably helped. I'm more partial to the 1935 and 1984 versions, but I'm not the biggest Brando fan... though I watched the 1962 version again just a few years ago and was impressed that it was a good remake.

 

[member 51464]

Mutiny of the Bounty (1935) Directed by Frank Lloyd 9A

I don't know if there are enough high seas dramas to qualify as a genre, but the original Mutiny on the Bounty, based on historical fact, is the best of the lot, among the greatest adventure films ever made. The movie presents the ultimate clash between flawed good represented by First Mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) and slightly qualified evil represented by Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton). It is Bligh's unrelenting cruelty, duplicity and lack of fairness that ultimately drives Christian beyond the breaking point to mutiny. Christian puts Bligh and his supporters over the side in a small life boat, and Bligh, treating his seamen more humanely under the circumstances, gets his tiny craft home safely by sailing over 3600 miles, a feat which many historians to this day consider the greatest achievement of seamanship in British naval history. Laughton with his caterpillar eyebrows has yet to become the shameless ham that he will devolve into, though often entertainingly, later in his career and he is suitably despicable in an unforgiving role. Gable as the fair-minded but hot-tempered second in command does his handsome devil routine to a tee, giving maybe the best performance of his career. Add great direction and cinematography and you have a treat for the ages.

Note: A genuine rarity in movie history, the original Mutiny on the Bounty was re-made twice and both are fine films in their own right. The 1962 film stars Trevor Howard as a more nuanced Bligh and Marlon Brando who plays Fletcher Christian as a foppish upper-class twit--and he is great at it. The 1984 film called The Bounty stars Anthony Hopkins as an even more nuanced Bligh and Mel Gibson who plays Fletcher Christian as a "me generation" spoiled brat--and he is great at it. Not counting Shakespeare, this is the only time I can think of that three really good movies have come from the exact same source material.

Your post made me wonder, do you know the first movie in the history of cinema that was a remake? I'm genuinely asking as I don't have the answer, haha.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Your post made me wonder, do you know the first movie in the history of cinema that was a remake? I'm genuinely asking as I don't have the answer, haha.

I'd go with The Great Train Robbery (1904, Lubin), but there might be something even earlier.

 

[kihei]

Your post made me wonder, do you know the first movie in the history of cinema that was a remake? I'm genuinely asking as I don't have the answer, haha.

Not a clue. Interesting question, though.

 

[Chili]

Mutiny of the Bounty (1935) Directed by Frank Lloyd 9A

I don't know if there are enough high seas dramas to qualify as a genre, but the original Mutiny on the Bounty, based on historical fact, is the best of the lot, among the greatest adventure films ever made. The movie presents the ultimate clash between flawed good represented by First Mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) and slightly qualified evil represented by Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton). It is Bligh's unrelenting cruelty, duplicity and lack of fairness that ultimately drives Christian beyond the breaking point to mutiny. Christian puts Bligh and his supporters over the side in a small life boat, and Bligh, treating his seamen more humanely under the circumstances, gets his tiny craft home safely by sailing over 3600 miles, a feat which many historians to this day consider the greatest achievement of seamanship in British naval history. Laughton with his caterpillar eyebrows has yet to become the shameless ham that he will devolve into, though often entertainingly, later in his career and he is suitably despicable in an unforgiving role. Gable as the fair-minded but hot-tempered second in command does his handsome devil routine to a tee, giving maybe the best performance of his career. Add great direction and cinematography and you have a treat for the ages.

Note: A genuine rarity in movie history, the original Mutiny on the Bounty was re-made twice and both are fine films in their own right. The 1962 film stars Trevor Howard as a more nuanced Bligh and Marlon Brando who plays Fletcher Christian as a foppish upper-class twit--and he is great at it. The 1984 film called The Bounty stars Anthony Hopkins as an even more nuanced Bligh and Mel Gibson who plays Fletcher Christian as a "me generation" spoiled brat--and he is great at it. Not counting Shakespeare, this is the only time I can think of that three really good movies have come from the exact same source material.

Neat part of the 1962 version was the ship that was built for the film in Lunenburg and then sailed to Tahiti. Brando would later buy an island there. Beautifully photographed. The 1935 is my favorite of the three, Laughton plays that type of role well (like Javert in Les Miserables). Good part for Gable too.

 

[Osprey]

I'd go with The Great Train Robbery (1904, Lubin), but there might be something even earlier.

According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, that's considered the first.

The success of The Great Train Robbery inspired several similar films. The first (premiering less than a year later, in August 1904) was a remake of the same name directed by Siegmund Lubin. It has been called the first film remake.

Neat part of the 1962 version was the ship that was built for the film in Lunenburg and then sailed to Tahiti. Brando would later buy an island there.

I wonder if Brando knew beforehand that the island wouldn't come with all of the half naked island girls that he was surrounded by during filming.

 

[Sentinel]

I just watched "John Wick" for the first time and I thought it was lame beyond belief.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, that's considered the first.

It's quite famous because Porter's film is one of the better known of the period, but I'm sure there's been other examples before. They really were merely plagiarism and not 'remakes' as we understand it today.

 

[Chili]

I wonder if Brando knew beforehand that the island wouldn't come with all of the half naked island girls that he was surrounded by during filming.

He actually married his love interest from that film (Tarita Teriipia). I remember reading the story of how he got the island, he was fortunate to persuade his way to becoming the owner. Looks like a paradise...until there is a storm.

 

[Osprey]

I just watched "John Wick" for the first time and I thought it was lame beyond belief.

I've seen all three and don't get the appeal, either. Maybe you have to like ultra-choreographed action, which has never really been my cup of tea.

He actually married his love interest from that film (Tarita Teriipia). I remember reading the story of how he got the island, he was fortunate to persuade his way to becoming the owner. Looks like a paradise...until there is a storm.

I did not know that. That certainly explains it... and why Brando can't seem to keep his eyes off of her.

 

[Puck]

2040 (2019 Documentary), Directed by Damon Gameau, 8.0

Award-winning director Damon Gameau embarks on journey to explore what the future would look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them into the mainstream. Structured as a visual letter to his 4-year-old daughter, Damon blends traditional documentary footage with dramatised sequences and high-end visual effects to create a vision board for his daughter and the planet.

Highly recommend watching this if you get the chance.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

The Evil Clergyman (Band, 1988-ish) - Filmed as part of a trilogy by lower b-movie director Charles Band, shelved for years and revamped in the early 2010s with a new audio mix and music (I guess they decided to keep the original truly terrible editing). Weird short adaptation of something by Lovecraft, with the Re-Animator cast. Basically a Stuart Gordon film, without Stuart Gordon (and without anything that made some of his films such delight). I guess it's fun to see the gang together (the three actors and Lovecraft, we could have done without Band), and it's only 30 minutes... 3/10

 

[ORRFForever]

You Should Have Left (2020) :

You Should Have Left is yet another Blumhouse gem being released during the pandemic. This one stars Kevin Bacon, looking every one of his 62 years, as Theo Conroy, a man with a suspicious past. Theo is married to Susanna (played by BIG eyed Amanda Seyfried), a successful actress half his age. They have a young daughter.

The family goes on vacations in Wales, and you know they're in trouble when Susanna says cell phone reception is non existent. Once in the country house, the movie gets scary / intense but only when the little girl is in danger - which is most of the time.

I hate when movies use the exploitive trick of putting a child in harm's way, but they must have felt they had no choice since Kevin Bacon's character is so unlikable, the audience wouldn't care if he lives or dies.

The ending is a huge let down. Writer / Director David Koepp went for shock but he didn't have the courage to make the villain 100% evil and we're left, not with a gasp, but with a yawn.

Like every Blumhouse vehicle, the movie hints at a sequel.

6/10

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

The Lighthouse

7/10

Good movie. Great artistic vision and 10/10 acting. Enjoyed every minute but not the type of film you would ever watch a second time.

 

[ORRFForever]

The Lighthouse

7/10

Good movie. Great artistic vision and 10/10 acting. Enjoyed every minute but not the type of film you would ever watch a second time.

I didn't enjoy it the first time.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

I didn't enjoy it the first time.

I don't think my wife did either. She gave it a "huh. It's a movie." as her review.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

High Life

with Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, and not very many other people.

RPat in space. He's shaven-headed, gaunt, wearing ragged clothes, and caring for a wee toddler. They're alone in a spaceship with a garden, crib, and not a lot else. Claustrophobia, ritualized behaviours and loneliness are clearly the order of business, as you might expect when you're on a spaceship cuddling up to a black hole light-years away from every other human ever born. Slowly, we get some non-chronological backstory; he's a condemned criminal, the last of the small crew who signed up for an experimental ride out into space to try to get energy from a black hole via the Penrose Process (grab a beverage, settle in and google that). Small bits of personal backstory sift in from the guarded prisoner/warder interactions between the crew and psychobitch doctor during the trip...and man, is she ever a piece of work. One wonders what horrors lurk in the garbage collected from her trailer during the shoot.

There really are no big questions in this movie, just small human interactions that build up over time. It's a nice change of pace from what you usually find in modern scifi. It's a small story that somehow manages to say more than the entire new Star Wars trilogy. And the other two Star Wars movies that also came out.

Oh, and the wikipedia article about it gives a totally f***ed recap. FYI.

On Prime.

And then, the sparkly vampire said: "I wanna be taken seriously as an actor!"