Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +5

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

This version is almost all online. Only one film, Ammonite, is available solely in theatres, so it has been an interesting experience. I have never watched so many Canadian films in the festival before.


While I do miss the full film festival and cinematic experience, I like how this one went, because I actually have time to eat proper meals, I do not have to completely drop out of all obligations, and more importantly, I get a full night sleep for all 14 days.


Honestly, I would not mind an online version from now on. At the very least, when things go back to normal, I hope it could go to some sort of a hybrid version. I would love if I can spend a couple of days at home during a film fest. That way, I can actually get a breather, and not be wiped out every year.

Very cool. I'm doing the Austin Film Festival later this month since it can be done virtually, from my couch. Interested to see how the experience will be. I love theaters and miss going, but if a side effect of all that's going on is that it creates greater virtual access to some of these events and screenings, I'm not going to complain about that.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

We're the Millers (Marshall Thurber, 2013) - 3/10
The Boy (Bell, 2016) - can't they do horror films anymore? 3/10
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Bird, 2011) - not quite the DePalma original, but one of the best of the lot... it is what it is, but it's pretty good at it. 4.5/10
Exremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (Berlinger, 2019) - 5.5/10

 

[ORRFForever]

The Phenomenon (2020):

There are thousands of people who believe they've been abducted by UFO's. A friend of mine swears he was abducted many decades ago. My question has always been...

Why them?

Why don't aliens abduct Barack Obama or Stephen Hawking or me? Why is it always some jobless brain dead cracker being called up to the mother ship?

For the record, I don't believe in UFO's but the makers of The Phenomenon do. I just wish they believed in making a more interesting documentary.

Note : I was going to give The Phenomenon a 2.5, but it is narrated by Peter Coyote and he has a great narration voice so...

3.5/10

 

[The Beyonder]

Knives Out (2019)
-Had this on my queue and finally got around to it. Great film. The playful narrative style, the acting from the amazing cast, the directing, the script, itself all just top notch.
9/10

The Endless (2017)
- An interesting sci-fi horror that is barebones on budget. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The directors, who also play the lead roles, really pull you in with foreboding tone and scenes. It certainly a film that pulled me on its concept more than its execution. The special effects are really, really terrible, and the 3rd act is very rushed.
6.5/10

 

[Osprey]

Time Trap (2017) - 6/10 (Liked it)

In search of a missing professor, young people enter and become trapped in a cave in which time doesn't behave normally. This adventure/sci-fi mystery felt a bit like The Descent crossed with maybe 70s sci-fi TV shows like Land of the Lost (really dating myself here). It has a good premise that keeps it intriguing, even if it makes no sense. It's initially a little slow to get going and predictable, but it held my attention and the last half hour is a little wild and unpredictable. The ending is a bit abrupt and not wholly satisfying, but it's OK. In all, it's nothing special, but it's a decent bit of entertainment, especially considering the low budget. It's worth watching if you have 90 minutes and feel like something that's a little mysterious and a little mind bending.

It's available on Netflix and can also be watched for free on Crackle and Tubi.

 

[kihei]

Nigerian Prince (2018) Directed by Faraday Okoro 6A

Eza has been exiled to Nigeria by his Nigerian-American parents because he is getting in fights at school and because he is blissfully unconcerned about his African heritage. Thinking he is only staying for a month, Eza is astounded to find out that he is in Lagos to go to school for a year. His aunt tries to help with the transition but all Eza wants to do is get home. His cousin Pius is a good kid but a scammer for want of any other opportunity. And he is in big trouble with the local police gangster. The boys decide to join forces as a way to alleviate their respective problems. Nigeria makes more movies than any country except India, but very few of them get exported or even show up at film festivals. Director Faraday Okoro is a fine director, and he has made a likeable movie. It's a shame that it just doesn't add up to much. Nigerian Prince starts in an almost comic vein and then gets more serious as it drifts into the gangster genre. The movie is saved by the freshness of its characters and by the local colour provided by its setting. Nigerian Prince is a perfectly watchable movie that I wish could have been just a bit more than an interesting diversion.

Netflix

 

[ORRFForever]

The Wolf Of Snow Hollow (2020):

* A werewolf is killing women in a small northern town - this is suppose to be "scary", but it's not.

* Everyone in town is upset because the incompetent police are, well, incompetent - this is suppose to be "funny", but it's not.

* The characters scream at each other for 85 minutes - this is suppose to be... I don't know... "Clever"? "Original"? Whatever it's suppose to be, it's not.

* Music blares from start to finish.

The Wolf Of Snow Hollow is currently 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not since BlackKKlansman have I disagreed with the critics to this degree.

The Wolf Of Snow Hollow feels like a really bad Twin Peaks + Fargo remake and is a candidate for the worst movie of the year.
2/10

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Miracle Mile (1988) - 6.5/10

Crazy 80s film similar to After Hours where the whole film becomes a nightmare over one night. Very energetic and crazy but maybe a bit too abrupt and too chaotic as well to fully enjoy. Acting felt very budget, wouldn't mind seeing it re-made but it wouldn't really be possible since we're not in the Cold War anymore.

The Sixth Sense (1999) - 7.5/10

I like the style but and I like the premise but I don't think that they do enoughof interest with the whole dead people thing and fully exploring it and I think the film's ending was maybe a bit too reliant on the twist which didn't feel like enough of a payout.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

The Paramedic

with Spanish people. And a French girl who speaks Spanish.

Angel is a paramedic somewhere in Spain. He lives with a cute chick named Vanesa, his driver partner is annoying as f***, and he's one of those quiet guys who never shows much emotion or reacts to much. Oh yeah, he likes to pilfer personal items from accident scenes and sell them for quick cash on the side. Nice guy, huh? After one nasty accident, the ambulance he's riding in is itself involved in a crash, and he's rendered paraplegic. As you'd imagine, it's a big upset to everything in his life. Vanesa helps him, but Angel grows possessive, jealous, and more asshole-ish than he was before the accident. Soon, she's had enough and bails. But he's not done yet, oh no. Being in a wheelchair forces him to get creative, but he still covets Vanesa. And...oh yeah, the former ambulance driver partner and his neighbour across the hall with the dog who never shuts up are in for a surprise as well.

Supposed thriller that ends up a snoozer with a couple of wrinkles. Neither are much to write home about. Guy who plays Angel reminds me a lot of the guy who played Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket...yeah, that's the guy. He has the vacant, predatory stare down well. That's about it, though. Tedious and forgettable.

On Netflix.

Your make-out music might not be working, dude...

 

[Langdon Alger]

Miracle Mile (1988) - 6.5/10

Crazy 80s film similar to After Hours where the whole film becomes a nightmare over one night. Very energetic and crazy but maybe a bit too abrupt and too chaotic as well to fully enjoy. Acting felt very budget, wouldn't mind seeing it re-made but it wouldn't really be possible since we're not in the Cold War anymore.

The Sixth Sense (1999) - 7.5/10

I like the style but and I like the premise but I don't think that they do enoughof interest with the whole dead people thing and fully exploring it and I think the film's ending was maybe a bit too reliant on the twist which didn't feel like enough of a payout.

I’d like to revisit the Sixth Sense. I saw it around 20 years ago. Of course, someone had to spoil the ending for me, so that wasn’t great. I remember it was a good movie though.

 

[nameless1]

Sunday’s Illness (2018) Directed by Ramon Salazar 9B

Abigail (Suzi Sanchez) is just entering old age. She is very well off, elegant, but a little on the icy side as well, restrained, inward. Her comfortably settled life is interrupted when Chiara shows up after a dinner party. Chiara (Barbara Lennie) is Abagail’s daughter, the one she walked out on 35 years ago when the child was eight-years old and never saw again. Abigail’s rich husband thinks that Chiara is looking for a handout, but Chiara has a very different request in mind. She asks her mother to spend ten days in a cottage with her deep in the Spanish countryside. If you think you can guess the direction Sunday’s Illness is going in, you can’t. The movie is a deliberately paced, highly atmospheric, deeply moving glimpse at the inner world of two women, flesh and blood to one another, trying to negotiate feelings that are impossible to express in the time they have together, that still might be impossible to express if they had all the time in the world. Sunday’s Illness is about the price of abandonment and the primal debt that is left in its wake. Ultimately the movie is about love and the acceptance of responsibility. Both Lennie and, especially, Sanchez are superb. Sunday’s Illness is among the most beautifully realized films that I have seen in some time.

subtitles

Netflix


Top Ten so far this year

1) First Cow, Reichardt, US
2) Sunday’s Illness, Salazar, Spain
3) Corpus Christi, Komasa, Poland
4) Seducio da Carne, Bressane, Brazil
5) Before We Vanish, Kurosawa, Japan
6) Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hittman, US
7) Beanpole, Balagov, Russia
8) The Portuguese Woman, Gomes, Portugal
9) Only the Animals, Moll, France
10) The Forest of Love, Sono, Japan

I just watched it, and this is a gut punch. The pace is very deliberate, but at no point am I bored. The framing, lighting and the score maintain a mysterious atmosphere, so much so, that I continue to be intrigued, and that allows me to be patient enough for the mystery to reveal. In fact, for the first hour and 15 minutes, I actually expected the film to go one way, with all the horror troupes, only for the director to seamlessly turn it all around and evolve into something different. That is not a gimmick either, because it actually ties in nicely with the plot. Frankly, this is just a masterclass in filmmaking.

Both actresses are great too, and they deserve a lot of credit for how they pretty carry the movie. I know you noted Suzi Sanchez, and she is indeed great, but Barbara Lennie actually delivered multiple quality performances the year this was released, in this one, and in Petra. She also made an appearance in Asghar Farhadi's Everyone Knows in the same year, and while I have not seen it, it is safe to say that she had a great 2018.

While my score is lower than yours, as I have it at a 8.25/10, it is a great movie, and definitely one of the best I have seen this year. Unfortunately, I am not as moved by it, as I feel it is a little bit emotionally manipulative. The question is too hard, and the transgression is too great, that it inadvertently drives the movie into a melodramatic direction, even if it is just a small margin. Regardless, I appreciate that you wrote the review for it, because I watched it solely on your recommendation.

 

[Osprey]

Zardoz (1974) - 3/10 (Really disliked it)

In the future, a brutal killer and rapist (Sean Connery) finds himself magically transported to an oasis where more evolved people treat him like an animal, study him and try to sexually stimulate him. It's not always that coherent, though. The movie also features a disembodied head delivering a monologue, a large flying stone head that declares that "the penis is evil" before vomiting guns all over the ground and men riding around on horses in underwear... and that's just in the first 5 minutes, before the credits have even finished. It defies comparison, but I guess that I would describe it as sort of a cross between Planet of the Apes, The Wicker Man, an acid trip and a 70s porno, not necessarily in that order. At any point, you might encounter philosophical statements, psychedelic imagery or topless women. Sean Connery spends almost the whole movie wearing red underwear with matching red suspenders... and did I mention that he's playing a killer and a rapist? You have to wonder what in the world he was thinking. Was he so eager to do something different from James Bond that he asked his agent to find him the most absurd script? Did he put too much faith into director John Boorman, who had just been nominated for Best Director for Deliverance? Anyways, I was afraid to watch this for so long because it often comes up in "worst movies of all time" lists. I now see why. That said, it's so bizarre and so early 70s that it was hard to stop watching. It's also just amusing to think that this counted as mainstream sci-fi before George Lucas and Steven Spielberg came along.

 

[kihei]

3 Faces (2019) Directed by Jafar Panahi 7B

A famous Iranian actress is shocked when she receives a telephone video message from a young woman with a sad story who appears to commit suicide in a far-off region of Iran. She enlists the assistance of director Jafar Panahi and together they go on a road trip to the girl’s home in the middle of nowhere to see what happened to her. This is not a documentary. (I thought it might be at first, and then I noticed the sophisticated camera set ups and major league editing skills). Panahi is merely a character in his own movie, which is a gently comic but revealing look at social and gender viewpoints toward women in this rural village far from Tehran. The people are invariably friendly, polite and considerate. To the interloper's face, anyway. Yet their attitudes are stuck somewhere in the 12th century. 3 Faces has charm, suspense and memorable characters. And it reveals, often with humour, just how crazily unjust the gender disparities get in Iran. Panahi has had serious conflicts with the regime himself. In 2010 Panahi, who still can't leave the country, was convicted of crimes against the state as his movies were deemed critical of the regime. He appears to be under a limited form of house arrest, and he was forbidden from writing or directing movies for twenty years. Somehow during this period of time, he has still managed to direct four movies with very modest means and they are all good ones, as technically sophisticated and professionally polished as commercial films with far greater budgets. 3 Faces is as entertaining, delicately subversive work by one of the world’s great humanist directors. Of course, it was his entertaining, delicately subversive works that got him in trouble in the first place.

subtitles

Criterion Channel


Top Ten so far

1) First Cow, Reichardt, US
2) Sunday’s Illness, Salazar, Spain
3) Corpus Christi, Komasa, Poland
4) Before We Vanish, Kurosawa, Japan
5) Seducio da Carne, Bressane, Brazil
6) Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hittman, US
7) 3 Faces, Panahi, Iran
8) Beanpole, Balagov, Russia
9) The Portuguese Woman, Gomes, Portugal
10) Only the Animals, Moll, France

 

[Chili]

The Indian Runner-1991

Sean Penn's directorial debut. Story of a troubled Vietnam vet who his brother tries to help out. Impressive cast in small roles. Viggo Mortensen stands out as the vet. Liked it, not clichéd.

 

[nameless1]

3 Faces (2019) Directed by Jafar Panahi 7B

A famous Iranian actress is shocked when she receives a telephone video message from a young woman with a sad story who appears to commit suicide in a far-off region of Iran. She enlists the assistance of director Jafar Panahi and together they go on a road trip to the girl’s home in the middle of nowhere to see what happened to her. This is not a documentary. (I thought it might be at first, and then I noticed the sophisticated camera set ups and major league editing skills). Panahi is merely a character in his own movie, which is a gently comic but revealing look at social and gender viewpoints toward women in this rural village far from Tehran. The people are invariably friendly, polite and considerate. To the interloper's face, anyway. Yet their attitudes are stuck somewhere in the 12th century. 3 Faces has charm, suspense and memorable characters. And it reveals, often with humour, just how crazily unjust the gender disparities get in Iran. Panahi has had serious conflicts with the regime himself. In 2010 Panahi, who still can't leave the country, was convicted of crimes against the state as his movies were deemed critical of the regime. He appears to be under a limited form of house arrest, and he was forbidden from writing or directing movies for twenty years. Somehow during this period of time, he has still managed to direct four movies with very modest means and they are all good ones, as technically sophisticated and professionally polished as commercial films with far greater budgets. 3 Faces is as entertaining, delicately subversive work by one of the world’s great humanist directors. Of course, it was his entertaining, delicately subversive works that got him in trouble in the first place.

subtitles

Criterion Channel


Top Ten so far

1) First Cow, Reichardt, US
2) Sunday’s Illness, Salazar, Spain
3) Corpus Christi, Komasa, Poland
4) Before We Vanish, Kurosawa, Japan
5) Seducio da Carne, Bressane, Brazil
6) Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hittman, US
7) 3 Faces, Panahi, Iran
8) Beanpole, Balagov, Russia
9) The Portuguese Woman, Gomes, Portugal
10) Only the Animals, Moll, France

I remember that I greatly enjoyed this one. Somehow, the more restricted he is, the more creative he becomes. Behnaz Jafari also appeared in Yalda, one of the movies that played at the film fest this year, and her personality is the same in the two movies. It is possible that this is just who she is.


At a film fest two years ago, I actually asked an Iranian director if he feels shackled by the censors, and while he is reluctant to answer at first, he mentions that it only makes them more creative. I think that simply demonstrate the resiliency of the Iranian people, and they will always find a way to get through obstacles.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Trompe l'oeil (d'Anna, 1975) - It's a shame that the mkv copy I found of this little known gem is of such poor quality. Starting on a shot of Jan Van Eyck's famour mirror, the film calls for attention to details, which are most often lost in dark backgrounds in this shitty copy. Still, the film is masterfuly framed (and photographed, as I read), and of great ambitions. It's the type of film you are grateful to be able to watch with Google: Passage de Milan, second sight, Étangs Noirs, there's hints that should lead you from Freud to Butor and back to the film. Could have been jouissif, but d'Anna couldn't maintain the level of complexity he was aiming for. Even the film's gorgeous aesthetics fall to pieces with the final (and only) absolutely ridiculous F/X shot. Still a very nice find, despite the obnoxious characters and often poor acting and Von Sydow's chewed on French. 8.5/10

If anybody wants it, I have a French copy without subs.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Funny People - 2009

I enjoy this one more than other people I’ve spoken to who have seen it. I typically don’t like Adam Sandler movies, but this one was pretty good. It’s too long though, and I think they could have gone a different way with some of the story, but the humour is right up my alley and made for an enjoyable experience.

7/10

 

[ORRFForever]

Kingdom Of Silence (2020):

Documentary about the life, career and murder of Jamal Kasshogi is a bore.

4/10

 

[ORRFForever]

American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020):

If you've ever looked at a friend's life and thought, "Wow! Their life is so perfect and so much better than mine. I wish I had his/her life", this documentary proves the grass isn't always greener and how so much of what people project on facebook / instagram is a lie.

American Murder: The Family Next Door is NOT an easy watch - especially knowing the little girl's fate.

May he rot in Hell.
6/10

 

[Langdon Alger]

American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020):

If you've ever looked at a friend's life and thought, "Wow! Their life is so perfect and so much better than mine. I wish I had his/her life", this documentary proves the grass isn't always greener and how much of what people project to others is fake - especially on facebook.

American Murder: The Family Next Door is NOT an easy watch - especially when you see the little girls and know their fate.

May he rot in Hell.
7.5/10

Oh man, I don’t think I could watch this. Too horrible to even think about.

 

[ORRFForever]

Oh man, I don’t think I could watch this. Too horrible to even think about.

It wasn't easy. Those poor little girls.

Full disclosure : I'd seen the story on Dateline and I knew how it would play out, so I turned it off about 2/3rds of the way thru - as you said, too depressing.

 

[Osprey]

Sightseers (2012) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)

A very ordinary 30-something British couple (Alice Lowe, Steve Oram) takes a holiday road trip that turns into a serial killing spree. It begins with an accident, but escalates into deliberately offing any total stranger who crosses them and sours their holiday. It's a very dry British indie dark comedy that's wickedly funny here and there, but maybe a little too dry in between. Aside from the brief moments of violence, it has a feeling of a home video of a real couple's vacation. They argue, they discuss their work and the future, they complain about her mother and so on. I didn't find those sections particularly interesting or entertaining, but my guess is that that was partly the point. By making them appear as ordinary and boring as any couple, the outrageous moments come out of nowhere and are funnier... but you still have to sit through the former to get to the latter. I had some good laughs and wanted to like the film overall because I do love dark comedy, but I just didn't quite find it consistently entertaining enough. I think that that largely comes down to the fact that it's a feature length version of a short film (and, before that, a stage routine), so what was likely brilliant in short form is stretched thin at even just 85 minutes. Others may like it a bit more, though, especially since I'm slightly in the minority according to the RT ratings. It's available on The Criterion Channel or to rent on most other services.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Scare Me. Interesting idea. Two (eventually three) people stuck in a cabin tell themselves scary stories. Ultimately feels more like it should have been a 30 minute short than an hour and 40 minute movie. Just not enough there there so it gets a bit tedious. I laughed a few times (definitely a comedy more than horror) but it feels more like a prolonged improv exercise than a movie. I do like where it goes ... but it's hard to recommend given how long it takes to get there.

The Mummy. Late-50s Hammer version. It's just hard to shake the fact that classic conception of the/a mummy is a really lame monster. Looks cool. Interesting backstory, but I just can't take it seriously. And it's not even that fun. I was greatly amused at Peter Cushing (pushing 50 here and looking even older) being the "kid" in the story. Yeah he's working for his dad, but there's something comedically jarring about seeing someone of Cushing's age being "the boy."

The Nightcomers. Was SUPER excited to watch this. I never knew about it until recent but I adore The Innocents and Henry James' The Turn of the Screw is such a sturdy and fertile basis for horror (Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor uses it as well). So learning that Marlon Brando started in a prequel explaining some of the events prior to that story (directed by the director of ... Death Wish?) had me quite intrigued. Honestly, it was a bore. Brando isn't full ham (maybe half ham) with a ridiculous Irish accent. He was nominated for a BAFTA but I gotta believe part of that is just coasting on reputation. There are a few lurid moments of S&M that try to give this otherwise stately creeper some edge, but it really didn't work for me. The biggest sin is this though -- adding further explanation/exposition to The Turn of The Screw (or whatever filmic version you prefer completely undermines that far superior story). I can't imagine someone coming to this before the others but if one were to it really drains the original source. This is yet another piece of proof that filmmakers have LONG been capable to striping existing intellectual property to create inferior work. Unnecessary remakes and prequels are as old as movies themselves. This isn't a new phenomenon.

And a non-horror entry:
Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's Fantastic Four. The target audience for this probably already knows the back story. But it's still an interesting retrospective on a famed "lost" film. It's hard not to be sympathetic to the folks who worked on the project and got caught up in business machinations that ultimately benefited the powerful people across multiple studios, but none of the cast and crew putting in the work.

 

[kihei]

Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020) Directed by Kirsten Johnson 7A (documentary)

...except he isn't. Documentarian Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson) and her 85-year-old father stage his death over and over in various fashions and in copious detail as a means for them to confront his mortality and, in her case, to cope with the eventual loss. They even stage his funeral complete with friends and family as mourners. The documentary is meant to avoid heaviness and is actually very entertaining in a strange way. Dick Johnson Is Dead gently confronts issues about our attitudes toward death and loss, but, as well, it raises some hard-to-answer questions about Kirsten Johnson's motivations. I mean, Jesus, girl, this is a weird thing to do. Dick, himself, is a charming, instantly likeable man, a real sweetheart of a guy. Despite his advanced years, he is a practicing psychiatrist when we meet him, and he fully consents to this project. It is obvious that he has been a good, supportive and loving father for Kirsten's whole life, a fact which shines through every moment of this movie. His daughter really puts him (and his stunt double) through some hoops, and he cheerfully goes along with it all. As he gets older, though, his memory loss becomes more acute and it is clear that he has Alzheimer's. At this point, some of what his daughter asks of him is more than a little questionable, not to mention what she asks of some of his friends who are overwhelmed to think of his loss. In one of the elaborately staged scenes, his best friend, a minister, is especially devastated. Hopefully this documentary will make it a bit easier for all of them when the time comes. There certainly is nothing quite like it.

Netflix

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Raging Bull (1980) - 7.5/10

Wait I've seen this one before! Well not really but if I hadn't seen Casino or Goodfellas or The Wolf of Wall Street then I'd probably rate this higher. It's a fairly compelling drama on its own but this gets a bit repetitive. The storyline gets is fairly cyclic too, it feels very much like a biography on a one-dimensional character and there's something slightly tedious about that. Angry Joe Pesci on the other hand never gets old.