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

[Rabid Ranger]

Real Genius. Cinematic tour de force. Kilmer at his finest. 10/10.

 

[NyQuil]

Real Genius. Cinematic tour de force. Kilmer at his finest. 10/10.

I have very fond memories of this movie but I only saw it when it had just come out.

A far better Revenge of the Nerds with a little wit and heart.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I have very fond memories of this movie but I only saw it when it had just come out.

A far better Revenge of the Nerds with a little wit and heart.

One of my favorite comedies. I laugh every time I watch it.

 

[Langdon Alger]

How do you know - 2010

Romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, with supporting performances from Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson and somehow they got Jack Nicholson to appear in this. The movie is nothing special to be honest. Not even that funny either.

4/10

 

[PK Cronin]

The Babysitter: Killer Queen

Oh god, it's awful. I really enjoyed the first movie for what it was, a light and fun horror comedy. This one wasn't fun, had a trace amount of horror, shitty writing, and had some stylized gore (much like the first). It's 20 minutes longer than the prior movie, and man is it a long 20. The first was fun because of the dynamic between the character Cole (Judah Lewis) and Bee (Samara Weaving), but that's all lost here. There is an over-emphasis on characters nobody cares about, who have no backstory, and the movie just jumps right into nonsense, while simultaneously ignoring a bunch of what happened in the prior movie.

The Babysitter was a strong 7/10 for me, while this disaster was a 1/10 and almost had me turn it off. I'd say more awful things about this flick if it didn't mean I had to keep thinking about it.

 

[Voight]

Troy (2004).

Actually a great movie. While I am a history buff, I am not always interested in movies about times that came WELL before me. (i.e. I am more familiar with events American Revolutionary War-present). However this movie was very interesting and I didn't really find any boring parts. There was of course romance but they didnt dwell on it too much and the ending was great.

I also realized in was in the middle of Bana's blockbuster run of BHD-Hulk-Troy-Munich.

 

[kihei]

Rebecca (2020) Directed by Ben Wheatley 3A

Rebecca is a remake of the kind of films I’ve reviewed recently, a ‘40s romantic/suspense thriller, this one with Gothic overtones. The original Rebecca is a highly atmospheric, beautifully structured work by Alfred Hitchcock about a young woman, an insecure church mouse really, who marries a dashing but tortured widower who possesses a beautiful mansion but also a conflicted past. He is haunted by the memory of his first wife, Rebecca, who drowned in a boating accident. Most of the servants at his estate Wanderlay, especially including the manageress, a domineering dragon of a woman who hates the new bride, haven’t gotten over the loss either. Somehow our church mouse has to grow up fast and contend with a probable murder to boot. While the movie fiddles a bit with the ending, this version is fairly faithful to the original film and to the book by Daphne du Maurier. The trouble is Ben Wheatley, who usually directs far more interesting movies than this (Down Terrace; Kill List: A Field in England), is no Hitchcock or anything close to it, and Lily James is certainly no Joan Fontaine. But where things go really off the rails is in the casting of Armie Hammer in the Laurence Olivier role as Maxim de Winter. Hammer replacing Olivier, that’s a one-sided trade if there ever was one. I like Hammer when he only has to be light and charming, but here he is so far over his head it’s embarrassing to watch. Leonardo DiCaprio would have been ideal in this role; poor Hammer just dies the death. As usual re-making classics from the distant past is generally a fool’s errand.

Netflix

 

[kihei]

It is 10/10 for me. In fact, it is on my top 3 films list. Despite its already formidable length, this is one of those rare films that I wish could be longer. Apparently, Leone's complete vision is supposed to be 5 hours plus that expands some of the relationships even more, but that never made it to the light of day. Now, all that is left is the 4 hours version, and a studio edited down chronological version that is universally panned.

I saw the full-length version and realized, somewhat to my surprise, that I hadn't seen the film before. I thought it was excellent. I wouldn't rate it as highly as you but I would be comfortable with a 8B, the "B" primarily for its length and a couple of structural concerns. I think Once upon a Time in America is far superior to The Godfather trilogy. Where those Coppola films seemed bloated grand opera to me, this film, despite its length felt more believable and personal with litle romanticizing evident. It wasn't what I expected from Leone and I was surprised that this tale of Jewish gangsters in New York meant so much to an Italian director out of his native element. In one way, I would compare the movie to Spielberg's Munich--I think in both works, the directors try to find the images and words to express feelings that they really don't have the means to explain. I get this with Melville sometimes: that he has thoughts that he finds difficult to express with the words at his disposal. I think you see this in the character of Noodles, one of De Niro's most complex performances. On one level he does unspeakably cruel things to the woman he has loved since childhood (her rape is perhaps the ultimate gangster scene in movies); on the other hand, his life has been a disaster with nothing really to show for it. The complexity of Noodles' character and De Niro's performance. to me, is the best thing about the movie. I think Leone could have actually used that fifth hour. While I love how he used flashbacks at the beginning of the movie (I really had to pay attention to follow it but that's fair game), the final act of the movie, the last hour or so, seemed actually rushed. I know I would have welcomed it.I had to read a Wiki synopsis afterwards to make sure I had understood what is going on. Max's reemergence as Bailey could have been better handled and less rushed. But, funny thing to say about a four-hour movie, but the core of Once upon a Time in America felt personal and intimate.

 

[nameless1]

I saw the full-length version and realized, somewhat to my surprise, that I hadn't seen the film before. I thought it was excellent. I wouldn't rate it as highly as you but I would be comfortable with a 8B, the "B" primarily for its length and a couple of structural concerns. I think Once upon a Time in America is far superior to The Godfather trilogy. Where those Coppola films seemed bloated grand opera to me, this film, despite its length felt more believable and personal with litle romanticizing evident. It wasn't what I expected from Leone and I was surprised that this tale of Jewish gangsters in New York meant so much to an Italian director out of his native element. In one way, I would compare the movie to Spielberg's Munich--I think in both works, the directors try to find the images and words to express feelings that they really don't have the means to explain. I get this with Melville sometimes: that he has thoughts that he finds difficult to express with the words at his disposal. I think you see this in the character of Noodles, one of De Niro's most complex performances. On one level he does unspeakably cruel things to the woman he has loved since childhood (her rape is perhaps the ultimate gangster scene in movies); on the other hand, his life has been a disaster with nothing really to show for it. The complexity of Noodles' character and De Niro's performance. to me, is the best thing about the movie. I think Leone could have actually used that fifth hour. While I love how he used flashbacks at the beginning of the movie (I really had to pay attention to follow it but that's fair game), the final act of the movie, the last hour or so, seemed actually rushed. I know I would have welcomed it.I had to read a Wiki synopsis afterwards to make sure I had understood what is going on. Max's reemergence as Bailey could have been better handled and less rushed. But, funny thing to say about a four-hour movie, but the core of Once upon a Time in America felt personal and intimate.

I am surprised you have actually never seen it, but I am glad you liked it. While I am impressed by the layers and complexity of the story, some very iconic shots, and how realistic and fleshed out the characters are, the part that stood out to me the most is that for a four hours film, I still want more.

From what I read, Leone wanted to develop more on Treat William's union boss character, and his further interactions with the gang. Mainly, it would probably show how he helped Max become Bailey, and that would probably complete the story even more, as it would give more depth to the assassination, and how it is both business and personal. That said, I do not feel that the film is rushed at all in the third arc. One may think Noodle's interaction with Bailey to be a cop-out, as the first two-thirds of the film seems to establish a revenge motive, and then the whole thing turns out to be an opium induced dream. However, the whole time, he simply wants to absolve himself of the guilt he feels when he sold out his gang. That is why he smiled at the end, which is also an unspoken condemnation of the gangster lifestyle by Leone. Perhaps I read too much into it, but this film is a true epic, with so many spoken and unspoken ideas and messages. To this day, it continues to be the top 3 films on my personal list, even though many critics calls it the Jewish Godfather, an unfair characterization.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

A brief rundown of what I’ve been watching via the (virtual) Austin Film Festival, categorized and laid out best to worst:

Best I saw, worth tracking down:
The Catch. A nice, patient little thriller about people driven to criminal extermes by economic circumstances. Woman on the run returns home to a New England fishing town. Family caught between corporate encroaching and drug-transport opportunities. Katie Winter as the lead particularly stood out, but the rest of the cast was solid as well.

Professionally done European quirks:
Standard. A Spanish comedy about a meticulous grocery clerk who finds a co-worker dead (or is she?) and sets out to solve the crime.

Time for Love. A Polish “comedy” of love-at-first-sight, mistaken identities and and an assortment of oddballs stuck together on a train. I liked it, but it’s that type of dry, deadpan European humor that doesn’t quite scream laughter.

If you like Lamorne Morris (of New Girl):
Death of a Telemarketer. Morris plays a slick telemarketer whose ruthless ways angers one of the people he calls resulting in a hostage situation. Pretty solid laughs. I like Morris a lot from his TV work so that carries this a long way. Jackie Earle Haley and Haley Joel Osment are in supporting roles and Osment in particular continues to be a reliably funny presence in whatever he pops up in.

Flawed indies:
The Get-Together. Lives of young people intersecting at a house party in one night. I’ve seen just about every element of this movie before from stories to characters. The first of three segments feels like cut scenes from Booksmart, for instance. But despite how derivative and predictable it is, there are several really charming actors in this who make an impression despite flimsy material —Alejandro Rose-Garcia, Johanna Braddy, in particular. Likable in spite of its faults. Good music too.

Hard Luck Love Song. About two-thirds a solid movie. I like Michael Dorman a lot (watch the show Patriot on Amazon!). A down on his luck drifter rolls into town, hustles some pool, runs into an old love. (Adapted from a song, apparently). The last third really fell apart for me. Some more recognizable faces in small rolls here — Eric Roberts is good as a bar owner, Dermont Mulroney is bad as a thug and the RZA pops up as ... something.

Murder Bury Win. A trio of friends invent a board game but an unscrupulous game maker trys to steal it. A fun premise (this was a actually the first movie I watched), but the script needs the characters to be a little dumber than it feels like they would be for a lot of it to work. The director has a few playful, creative touches. But one of the actors has a real poor man’s Adam DeVine vibe to him and the real thing is trying enough let alone a worse imitation.

Just bad, even trying to forgive for low-budget/indie limitations:
Blinders. “Uber” driver stalks and terrorizes a sad sack who is new to LA. There isn’t a single plot point here that hasn’t been done much better before. The two leads are a real tough hang. Typical low-budget bad actors. The love interest here, Christine Ko, is good. But the story is ulitimately pretty dumb and doesn’t hold together with a few seconds of thought.

The Two Deaths of Henry Baker. One of the worst movies I’ve seen in a while. Bad Texas neo-noir story trying to coast on some serious No Country For Old Men fumes (even the poster makes this obvious). Twisty, dumb, awful and perplexing music throughout. Not a single redeeming performance.

 

[ORRFForever]

Fatal Attraction (1987) :

"Behind every successful man is a woman, and behind every beautiful woman is a man who is happy to be rid of her." - Bill Maher

33 years ago, I was blown away by this movie.

33 years later, I can't believe what an awful movie it is.

2.5/10

 

[Langdon Alger]

Fatal Attraction (1987) :

"Behind every successful man is a woman, and behind every beautiful woman is a man who is happy to be rid of her." - Bill Maher

33 years ago, I was blown away by this movie.

33 years later, I can't believe what a mean spirited movie this is.

2.5/10

Surprised you gave this movie such a low score. It’s a good movie and Close is very good. The bunny on the stove is a bit much, even Glenn Close thought it was too much when she read the script. Still, I think it’s a very entertaining movie, but I guess maybe it’s not for everyone.

 

[ORRFForever]

Surprised you gave this movie such a low score. It’s a good movie and Close is very good. The bunny on the stove is a bit much, even Glenn Close thought it was too much when she read the script. Still, I think it’s a very entertaining movie, but I guess maybe it’s not for everyone.

As a feminist, I found it offensive.

 

[Langdon Alger]

As a feminist, I found it offensive.

It’s interesting to watch how she just can’t let him go no matter what. She goes to extreme lengths to be with him despite the fact he wanted nothing to do with her. Just watching where she was at the beginning of the film to where she ends up is fascinating to me, and like I said before, Close plays the character extremely well.

 

[ORRFForever]

It’s interesting to watch how she just can’t let him go no matter what. She goes to extreme lengths to be with him despite the fact he wanted nothing to do with her. Just watching where she was at the beginning of the film to where she ends up is fascinating to me, and like I said before, Close plays the character extremely well.

I just found it manipulative and empty.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Some other movie catch-up too.

Vampires vs. The Bronx. An endearing, Lost Boys-riffing romp. Actually wanted to larger scope and scale from it. It’s a little held back by its budget. But it’s fun enough.

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats. It’s all there in the title. An artsy absurdity that I would buy being made either straight or as spoof. It really works both ways. At about an hour and 20 minutes it almost manages to wear out its weird welcome. Almost.

The Houses October Built and Hell House LLC. Two sides of the same coin. Found-footage “documentaries” (though October includes real doc footage). I have limited patience for found footage horror but both of these were solid. I have no interest in the sequels as I can’t believe how either can carry the bit beyond one movie. But both of these goosed me enough.

Papi Ramirez vs. Giant Scorpions. Only about 50 minutes long. A monster movie throwback made by one guy and his green screen in a storage unit (seriously). There are a few actors in some scenes, but for the most part its the main guy and some low-level but charming special effects. Impressed both as a feat of DIY moviemaking, but as a movie itself. Funny, oddly sweet. Nice horror-adjacent palat cleanser from some of the heavier stuff I’d been watching.

Let’s Scare Jessica to Death. A creepy slow-burn is she crazy or not mystery. Helped immensely by its cheapness which gives it a natural, dirty atmosphere.

Basket Case. Man, they just don’t make them like Frank Henenlotter.

Strange Behavior (aka Dead Kids). I have no clue how two otherwise respectable actors — Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher only a few years removed from an Oscar win — ended up in this low budget otherwise poorly acted mess about potential shenanigans happening at the local university.

Dracula. Hammer/Christopher Lee version. Again trying some more Hammer. This one didn’t do much for me despite launching this version of the series. Perhaps I’m just warn out of the classic Drac story even if there are a few variations here. Still, points for atmosphere and bare shoulders.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (78). The sci-if equivalent to A Star Is Born. Every generation gets its version. Understandable. It’s a timeless, sturdy premise. I think this is my favorite version. It’s Kaufman’s style and the cast of already nervy actor types that elevates slightly above the 50s version for me.

 

[Langdon Alger]

I just found it manipulative and empty.

Well, like I said, it’s not for everyone. I enjoyed it.

 

[ORRFForever]

Well, like I said, it’s not for everyone. I enjoyed it.

If a woman slept with ME and got addicted after a shot of "Vitamin ORRFF", I get the obsession, but Michael Douglas?

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Let’s Scare Jessica to Death. A creepy slow-burn is she crazy or not mystery. Helped immensely by its cheapness which gives it a natural, dirty atmosphere.

Basket Case. Man, they just don’t make them like Frank Henenlotter.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (78). The sci-if equivalent to A Star Is Born. Every generation gets its version. Understandable. It’s a timeless, sturdy premise. I think this is my favorite version. It’s Kaufman’s style and the cast of already nervy actor types that elevates slightly above the 50s version for me.

Yes x3!! (except for the "slightly", to me the 78 version is one of the best sci-fi and one of the best horror films ever)

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Borat 2

Sacha Baron Cohen continues to be the hero we need, not necessarily the hero we deserve. Well, some of us.

I don't think I ever sat down and watched the first Borat movie although I did watch Who Is America...which was terrifying. This continues to be. Some people you can give the benefit of the doubt to. The vet supply shop guy, the cake store lady (well, maybe...); some of the "normal" people, you can say that they just went "Okay, here's some weird foreign guy saying ridiculous things, whatever, say yes, nod politely, get him to go away." Sure. I can buy that with some of them. But others, not so much. The plastic surgeon people, the debutant ball people, (I have a daughter myself and I needed a break after that...these f***ing people...seriously...), the "women's health" clinic guy, everyone at the rally...go f*** yourself and never reproduce.

SBC moves between horrifying and hilarious like nobody else can in this generation. He holds a mirror up to the US, and the reflection isn't terribly flattering to certain folks. But in some cases, he's fair. Like the two guys he shacks up with after covid takes hold; on one hand, they're decent enough people to take in a total stranger who comes with his own camera crew. On the other, they believe total propaganda bullshit. On one hand, they care enough to get his daughter's attention and bring her back around. On the other, they happily join in with Borat's song at the rally. The song which gets folks spontaneously making Nazi salutes. Yeah, they do that at the anti-mask rally in Olympia, which is uncomfortably close to the Sane/Insane border at the 49th parallel.

Full marks to the actress playing Borat's daughter. She really went all out, and the whole thing falls apart with her. The Republican ladies seminar where she discovers her vagina doesn't have teeth and won't eat her arm if she masturbates was classic. The mirror's uncomfortable glare shines on a few people, not least of which of course, is Rudy Giuliani. Heard a lot, saw the stills, saw the talk...and man. The problem wasn't so much that he's a sleaze. Or that he rummaged around in his pants. The problem is that a man with direct, immediate access to the President of the United States of America, who is at this very instant is pushing a bullshit story (Laptop! Sex! Drugs! Pedophile! Human Trafficker!) about his political adversary in every medium he can find, is about as secure as a 7-11 graveyard employee's cellphone. And if you want to "Both sides!!!1!" that, you ARE the problem.

They got you. They really did.

Hey who are you voting for?

 

[Osprey]

Hey who are you voting for?

Sometimes, I wonder if Canadians follow and are opinionated about our politics more than their own.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Sometimes, I wonder if Canadians follow and are opinionated about our politics more than their own.

Definitely exists and is rather stupid, although proximity, the sheer circus and the importance of American politics across the world makes some sense of it. In the same vein, there is little more senseless than a Canadian Trump supporter, a politician who has been openly hostile and desiring to screw with the economy of their own nation.

 

[kihei]

Sometimes, I wonder if Canadians follow and are opinionated about our politics more than their own.

Well, populist sociopaths in high places do tend to grab everyone's attention. Hopefully in a week (or maybe not until the inauguration) we Canadians can all go back to discussing lobster quotas in Newfoundland or something. Though I ain't countin' those lobsters before they are hatched.

 

[ORRFForever]

Paradise Z / Dead Earth (2020) :

Have you ever noticed how B-movie actresses are always "kinda" pretty? But there's always something slightly "off" with their looks that keeps them from being "beautiful". A jaw line that's a little too strong, a nose that's kinda flat, or eyes that are a bit too squinty. There's always something amiss.

Paradise Z has two such actresses playing a lesbian couple fighting off zombies.

Director Wych Kaosayananda is known for making junk and Dead Earth doesn't disappoint.

1/10

 

[Langdon Alger]

If a woman slept with ME and got addicted after a shot of "Vitamin ORRFF", I get the obsession, but Michael Douglas?

Well, not everyone is as irresistible as you are.