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

[Chili]

Day of the Jackal. 9/10. Excellent movie in my opinion. Very well acted (Fox and Lonsdale were excellent), brisk pace, and an interesting look at France in the De Gaulle era. It's a film (and book) where the "bad guy" should have come out on top.

Top notch movie of a great book (by Frederick Forsyth). It plays out like a game of chess.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Top notch movie of a great book (by Frederick Forsyth). It plays out like a game of chess.

Forsythe put out some great books that in several instances became good/great movies.

 

[Chili]

Forsythe put out some great books that in several instances became good/great movies.

True like the Odessa File.

I have his autobiography which I have yet to read (The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue).

 

[ORRFForever]

The Lie (2020):

Kayla is the teenage spawn of Satan and (unfortunately) the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Even sadder, that tree sits on a cliff that the final 30 minutes of this film fell off of...

The makers of this movie should be ashamed because there's no word to describe the level of "cheat" that goes on in The Lie.

I'd like to give the movie a lower rating but I actually enjoyed the first hour.

5/10

 

[Arizonan God]

La Belle Noiseuse (1991) dir. Jacques Rivette

Wow, that was exhausting. More thoughts later on once I think on this one a bit longer. No score for now.

Streaming on The Criterion Channel

La belle noiseuse slowly draws (heh) you in and watching the artistic process alongside human drama and tension is almost thrilling. Despite it's 4 hour run time, I never felt it to be overly dry or boring. Michel Piccoli's over the hill artist character and Emmanuelle Beart's unsure model have some brilliant moments playing off each other, both revealing more about themselves in intimate and vulnerable moments. Jane Birkin's character, the wife of the artist, is also fascinating to watch as a omnipresent source of envy towards the model. Shot in a simple but handsome style, La belle noiseuse manages to be visually striking without drawing too much attention to itself, a trap that a film like this could have easily fallen in to.

A less macabre and more nude Phantom Thread is how I would describe it. Highly recommend to anybody that feels like sitting through a 4 hour film about the artistic process and all the human drama that surrounds it.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

La Belle Noiseuse (1991) dir. Jacques Rivette

Wow, that was exhausting. More thoughts later on once I think on this one a bit longer. No score for now.

Streaming on The Criterion Channel

La belle noiseuse slowly draws (heh) you in and watching the artistic process alongside human drama and tension is almost thrilling. Despite it's 4 hour run time, I never felt it to be overly dry or boring. Michel Piccoli's over the hill artist character and Emmanuelle Beart's unsure model have some brilliant moments playing off each other, both revealing more about themselves in intimate and vulnerable moments. Jane Birkin's character, the wife of the artist, is also fascinating to watch as a omnipresent source of envy towards the model. Shot in a simple but handsome style, La belle noiseuse manages to be visually striking without drawing too much attention to itself, a trap that a film like this could have easily fallen in to.

A less macabre and more nude Phantom Thread is how I would describe it. Highly recommend to anybody that feels like sitting through a 4 hour film about the artistic process and all the human drama that surrounds it.

Written by Pascal Bonitzer, not very well-known, but one of my favorite French directors.

 

[nameless1]

Day of the Jackal. 9/10. Excellent movie in my opinion. Very well acted (Fox and Lonsdale were excellent), brisk pace, and an interesting look at France in the De Gaulle era. It's a film (and book) where the "bad guy" should have come out on top.

I am not sure how to feel about this movie. Even though the script is tight, and I am enthralled despite the rather slow pace, the story feels like one big joke, equip with a punchline. Some aspect of the movie is also dated, with the action sequences being the most notable. Frankly, they look so fake now, that they feel like comedic satire.

I have it at a 7/10. It is decent, but this is more of a relic of the past.

 

[kihei]

The Angel (2018) Directed by Ariel Vroman 5A

Marwan Kazari, the son-in-law of President Nassar of Egypt, and later adviser to his successor General Sadat, becomes a secret agent working for the Israelis. Or is he still working for Egypt? With double agents, it is so hard to tell. Actually, Marwan has an agenda of his own, and The Angel documents just what happened in real life and why it was so important to peace in the Middle East. This movie should be a crackling good spy thriller, but it is directed with the faceless anonymity that undermines so many Netflix films. Director Ariel Vroman does manage to communicate the gist of the story adequately. However, I kept thinking of Prince of the City, a 1981 cop thriller, in which a detective played by Treat Williams clandestinely investigates his fellow officers in order to apprehend crooked cops and what a wrenching experiencing watching the character’s personal torments was. There is not a hint of emotional turmoil in The Angel. Marwan is simply a man on a mission certain of his cause even if it costs him his family. It’s a good story about a courageous man, but The Angel is undistinguished movie making.

mix of subtitles and spoken English

Netflix

 

[ORRFForever]

The Jigsaw (2014):

"If life's really hard, at least it's short" - Amy Coney Barrett

Wonderful 7 minute short. Direction is amazing, acting is strong, story is smart and involving. Well worth your time.

8/10

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

The Jigsaw (2014):

"If life's really hard, at least it's short" - Amy Coney Barrett

Wonderful 7 minute short. Direction is amazing, acting is strong, story is smart and involving. Well worth your time.

8/10

I wouldn't say it wasn't worth my time, because it's really short, but I disagree on pretty much everything. Direction is overdone (feels like a student film), the merchant is pretty bad, and the whole thing is kind of predictable.

 

[ORRFForever]

I wouldn't say it wasn't worth my time, because it's really short, but I disagree on pretty much everything. Direction is overdone (feels like a student film), the merchant is pretty bad, and the whole thing is kind of predictable.

Really? I thought it was terrific.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Really? I thought it was terrific.

Well I'm sure glad you did. Short films need lots of love.

 

[ORRFForever]

The Mortuary Collection (2020):

A confident young lady applies for a job at a funeral home. There she meets the old man in charge - Montgomery Dark. They share 4 stories, each more gruesome than the last, each with its own morality lesson. The stories are more funny than scary. The 4th story is by far the best...

The Baby Sitter vs. The Tooth Fairy Killer
=
Worst Case Of Herpes EVER !!!
Stay Out Of Other People's Medicine Cabinets
-
The BLOODY Ball And Chain

I'm not a fan of these type of movies (anthologies) even if, like this one, it's really well done.
6.5/10

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

The Hospital (Hiller, 1971) - Weird little film with a serious director, a serious author (Chayefsky, who wrote Network and Altered States), a serious actor (George C. Scott, great as usual) and pretty serious subject matters (the bureaucratic incompetence of the health system and other social problematics of the late 60s), but with a tone that's all over the place, from comedy to dark social assessment to quasi-horror thriller. The result is intriguing if not always interesting. 6/10
* If you're interested, I can give you a link to get a pretty good copy

Hubie Halloween (Brill, 2020) - Complete opposite here: a bland conventional film with a crappy director (looks like he's mostly just a friend of Sandler), a crappy writer (another Sandler friend), and mostly crappy acting (Sandler himself, terrible as usual). A few fun jokes doesn't save the film: un-rewatchable (in general, when you feel the need to add tons of bloopers in the credits, it's because you know the previous 90 minutes failed as a comedy). 2.5/10

Xtro 3: Watch the Skies (Davenport, 1995) - For the many regulars here who I'm sure are keeping track of my inspired comments, you'll remember that a few months ago I rewatched the original Xtro (that I love) and its abysmal sequel. Now this one I hadn't seen before. It's even worse. Parts of it you just can't explain (the mishandling of perspective on some effects are mind-corroding). The guy tries to mate The Predator and Alien into his rubber garbage of a creature, and pretends to early 50s sci-fi relevance, ending the film on a "Watch the skies" title card. Contrarily to the second film, this one is so bad that it's good for a laugh (it's still not as funny as Davenport's interviews trashing his own films though). 1/5

 

[kihei]

Shampoo (1975) Directed by Hal Ashby 7A

I’d like to know how they pitched this one. Warren Beatty plays George, a heterosexual hair dresser who hops in bed with every woman who ventures in close proximity and who desperately wants to open his own hair salon in LA. Shampoo is about him finding financing for this business venture and about his sexually exhaustive relationships with three women at the same time, played, respectively, by Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn and Lee Grant. George is a terminally shallow man and Beatty plays him with just enough nuance to let us know that there is a struggling human being in there somewhere who just can’t get out of his own way. On Rotten Tomatoes, I am always amazed at how movies that got middling to awful reviews when first released, somehow have become masterpieces with age, all being forgiven through the anaesthesia of time. Shampoo works the other way around. The movie got terrific reviews when it opened but now everybody seems to hate it. The mid ‘70s will do that to you. I guess.

Criterion Channel

 

[ItsFineImFine]

After Life (1998) - 6.5/10

Early Koreeda film. Great concept, good start, but it becomes a bit of a lifeless execution. Too documentary-like at times because I guess that was his background. His later films I saw were much better.

 

[ORRFForever]

Shampoo (1975) Directed by Hal Ashby 7A

I’d like to know how they pitched this one. Warren Beatty plays George, a heterosexual hair dresser who hops in bed with every woman who ventures in close proximity and who desperately wants to open his own hair salon in LA. Shampoo is about him finding financing for this business venture and about his sexually exhaustive relationships with three women at the same time, played, respectively, by Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn and Lee Grant. George is a terminally shallow man and Beatty plays him with just enough nuance to let us know that there is a struggling human being in there somewhere who just can’t get out of his own way. On Rotten Tomatoes, I am always amazed at how movies that got middling to awful reviews when first released, somehow have become masterpieces with age, all being forgiven through the anaesthesia of time. Shampoo works the other way around. The movie got terrific reviews when it opened but now everybody seems to hate it. The mid ‘70s will do that to you. I guess.

Criterion Channel

When I was younger, Warren Beatty was one of my heroes. I idolized him. I use to say, "All my friends want to be football players. They all want to be Warren Moon. I just want to be Warren Beatty." Of course, I had NO where near his success rate.

As for Shampoo, I use to use Warren`s line, "I don't trust anybody but you", with women - see the clip below, 2 minutes in.



It's a really good "line"!

 

[ORRFForever]

The Hospital (Hiller, 1971) - Weird little film with a serious director, a serious author (Chayefsky, who wrote Network and Altered States), a serious actor (George C. Scott, great as usual) and pretty serious subject matters (the bureaucratic incompetence of the health system and other social problematics of the late 60s), but with a tone that's all over the place, from comedy to dark social assessment to quasi-horror thriller. The result is intriguing if not always interesting. 6/10
* If you're interested, I can give you a link to get a pretty good copy

Hubie Halloween (Brill, 2020) - Complete opposite here: a bland conventional film with a crappy director (looks like he's mostly just a friend of Sandler), a crappy writer (another Sandler friend), and mostly crappy acting (Sandler himself, terrible as usual). A few fun jokes doesn't save the film: un-rewatchable (in general, when you feel the need to add tons of bloopers in the credits, it's because you know the previous 90 minutes failed as a comedy). 2.5/10

Xtro 3: Watch the Skies (Davenport, 1995) - For the many regulars here who I'm sure are keeping track of my inspired comments, you'll remember that a few months ago I rewatched the original Xtro (that I love) and its abysmal sequel. Now this one I hadn't seen before. It's even worse. Parts of it you just can't explain (the mishandling of perspective on some effects are mind-corroding). The guy tries to mate The Predator and Alien into his rubber garbage of a creature, and pretends to early 50s sci-fi relevance, ending the film on a "Watch the skies" title card. Contrarily to the second film, this one is so bad that it's good for a laugh (it's still not as funny as Davenport's interviews trashing his own films though). 1/5

There was a T.V. trailer from 1980(?) from a horror movie that took place in a hospital. All they showed in the clip was a long hospital corridor with a door at the end and screaming(?) coming from beyond the doors - I was young but it stood out in my mind because it spooked me.

I know that's NOT a lot of info to go on but if anyone would know it would be you. Any idea what the movie is, P.O.?

Don't put too much effort into thinking about it. It's not worth it. I was just curious if you knew off hand.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

There was a T.V. trailer from 1980(?) from a horror movie that took place in a hospital. All they showed in the clip was a long hospital corridor with a door at the end and screaming(?) coming from beyond the doors - I was young but it stood out in my mind because it spooked me.

I know that's NOT a lot of info to go on but if anyone would know it would be you. Any idea what the movie is, P.O.?

Don't put too much effort into thinking about it. It's not worth it. I was just curious if you knew off hand.

Hmmmmmmm.... the only thing that comes to mind is maybe the first shot from The Dead Pit trailer, but it came almost 10 years later...

 

[ORRFForever]

Hmmmmmmm.... the only thing that comes to mind is maybe the first shot from The Dead Pit trailer, but it came almost 10 years later...

Thanks, meng.

Looks good but, like you said, the timeline doesn't work.
Oh well... I guess it will remain a mystery.

 

[OzzyFan]

I'm curious because I've only seen a couple of Warren Beatty's films, but is he considered a great/respectable actor? Or is he more famous for his off screen stuff?


So, I just felt like going on a Halloween themed streak of movies I've never seen that were available to me the past couple weeks. Mostly were mediocre, but I'll rank them off by where they sit for me:

3.25 out of 4stars
Rosemary's Baby

2.75 out of 4stars
Sinister

1.80-2.25 out of 4stars:
The First Purge
The Purge Anarchy
The Strangers Prey at Night
Jigsaw


What have I learned from this?

-Rosemary's Baby is fun and factually frightening in a number of ways (I can't believe it's over 50years old too, doesn't feel dated at all to me(setting related pieces aside, which I will add are beautifully filmed)).
-Sinister has a couple of nice original twists to a couple of muddled horror subgenres.
-It appears slasher films are generally tedious unless they have fresh twists and the only thing that makes them half livable, without the previously said necessity, is charismatic "and" believable main actor(s)/lead(s).

 

[ORRFForever]

I'm curious because I've only seen a couple of Warren Beatty's films, but is he considered a great/respectable actor? Or is he more famous for his off screen stuff?

Warren Beatty is a terrible actor. He was, however, :

1) Shirley MacLaine's handsome younger brother;
2) Someone who slept with every woman in Hollywood;
3) A talented writer, director and producer;
4) Ambitious as hell : "He had the energy, a very keen intelligence, and more chutzpah than any Jew I've ever known" - Elia Kazan.
.

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

Watched The Trial of the Chicago Seven last night and thought it was phenomenal. I didn't know much about the story (not American and relatively young), it was enthralling and left you bitter at the system. Sacha Baron Cohen was phenomenal. I'll give it an 8/10.

 

[ORRFForever]

Watched The Trial of the Chicago Seven last night and thought it was phenomenal. I didn't know much about the story (not American and relatively young), it was enthralling and left you bitter at the system. Sacha Baron Cohen was phenomenal. I'll give it an 8/10.

I may watch that soon. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Chili]

Shampoo (1975) Directed by Hal Ashby 7A

I’d like to know how they pitched this one. Warren Beatty plays George, a heterosexual hair dresser who hops in bed with every woman who ventures in close proximity and who desperately wants to open his own hair salon in LA. Shampoo is about him finding financing for this business venture and about his sexually exhaustive relationships with three women at the same time, played, respectively, by Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn and Lee Grant. George is a terminally shallow man and Beatty plays him with just enough nuance to let us know that there is a struggling human being in there somewhere who just can’t get out of his own way. On Rotten Tomatoes, I am always amazed at how movies that got middling to awful reviews when first released, somehow have become masterpieces with age, all being forgiven through the anaesthesia of time. Shampoo works the other way around. The movie got terrific reviews when it opened but now everybody seems to hate it. The mid ‘70s will do that to you. I guess.

Criterion Channel

I re-watched this movie not long ago. It did have more of an impact with me way back when, maybe it's a snapshot of the era. Colourful language was still not common. Still got a kick out of Julie Christie's line of what she wanted to do to Beatty's character. The director probably had better films with Harold and Maude or The Last Detail. Maybe they have aged better.