Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It

[kihei]

I also had difficulty with The Meyerowitz Stories earlier but nobody seemed to want to discuss it so I let it ride. I know it is a good film but I had a lot more criticisms about it than kihei's review. I can see an actor there getting an AA nod (it was such good acting), but if the movie gets nominated for other than that, I'll give my head a shake. And I like Noah Baumbach.

Sorry, I missed that signal initially. I'll throw my two cents in now if that's okay. Going on your review, I would say out biggest disagreement is the use of humour in the movie--you wanted more; I thought it was fine the way it was. Two main reasons for my opinion (which also correspond to what I liked most about the movie):
1. I thought where the audience entered the story was intriguing and fresh. Usually with dysfunctional family movies, we watch as the family goes off the rails. In the case of The Meyerowitz Stories by the time we get there, that has already happened. We are not looking at the break down; we are looking at the aftermath of that breakdown. People are worn out by the situation, but they still have to get through the day and live with themselves and come to grips with one another, past or no past. To me there is not much room for humour there, especially when the patriarch responsible for all these hurt feeling is slipping ever closer to death. Again, that would generate a lot of complex feelings, probably none of them believably humourous.
2. Often is these sorts of Sundance-y movies, humour is used as a balm, something to relieve the unhappiness or confusion or grief, whatever it is that is bedeviling the characters. I liked that this movie didn't try to soften the seriousness of what it was looking at with gratuitous bits of humour. To me to do so would compromise the power of what we see portrayed which is that all three siblings are leading lives of desperation on some level. I just don't think such humour would have rung true and that would have wreaked havoc on my suspension of disbelief. There is seldom much humour in an Ingmar Bergman movie, and while The Meyerowitz Stories is not an Ingmar Bergman movie, it deals with similar kinds of emotionally traumatic experience that arise in many Bergman films. In short, I thought Baumbach found the tone that best suited his movie and its characters.

Anyway, that's my two cents. I would be interested in hearing your take in greater detail

 

[REALTALK81]

TCM just aired Jack Clayton's 1961 classic, The Innocents and I had to watch it again. I own this film (CC verison) and always take it in around this time of year as it is one of my favorites in the horror genre.

The movie is centred around a woman named Miss Giddons (Deborah Kerr) who applies for a job as governess to a wealthy bachelor (Michael Redgrave). He is never home and does not have time for his orphaned niece and nephew who live at his sprawling country estate. Although she has no no experience, she impresses the cold hearted uncle enough to land the job.

Once there, she is quite taken by the scale of the bachelor's estate and immediately falls in love with the little niece Flora (Pamela Franklin). She also makes quick friends with the staff and becomes close to the housekeeper, Mrs Grose (Megs Jenkins).

All seems well for Miss Giddons until she learns that the nephew Miles (Martin Stephens) has been expelled from bording school and is being sent back home. She is told by the housekeeper about Miles behavior and is assured that the little boy is kind and polite. When Miles arrives, he is precisely how the housekeeper describes. Her confusion over the boy's expulsion takes a back burner to the things that she is seeing and hearing around the house. Is she going mad? All that she knows is that things are not what they seem as she tries to protect the innocents.

This film is hotly debated by my friends and I. To some it is unsatisfying. It's slow burn can be seen as boring and the quality of the ending left some of my buddies feeling unfulfilled. I happen to love how it slowly builds suspense and makes you wonder who or what lurks around the corner. The dimly lit house makes the perfect backdrop for the director as Clayton masterfully plays with the candle light and shadows. Outside is equally dreary. There is a worn down gazebo nestled next to a pond with tall grass throughout the area. Weeping willows dominate the landscape around the property and surround the tattered statues that stare menacingly in the garden. I absolutely love how the atmosphere tells a story to all who will listen.

The acting is pretty solid all around but the fantastic Deborah Kerr steals the show. I find that it shares some similarities to Robert Eggers 2015 film The Witch in terms of pace and atmospheric impact but The Innocents takes the cake. I will also note that nothing is creepier than a child singing "O Willow Waly" Highly recommend this film!

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Rewatched:

8.5/10

 

[Puck]

Sorry, I missed that signal initially. I'll throw my two cents in now if that's okay. Going on your review, I would say out biggest disagreement is the use of humour in the movie--you wanted more; I thought it was fine the way it was. Two main reasons for my opinion (which also correspond to what I liked most about the movie):

Fair enough. But when I spoke of humour I did not mean jokes, or moments of outright laughter. It's just that in some scenes, a Director has a chance to bring a moment of levity to any situation even if it is just to endear the character a bit to the audience. THat's very difficult to do in a serious work and not everybody can pull it off. I might have mistaken that in this film (or lack thereof) as a flaw or inability by Baumbach to pull that off like a Wes Anderson, a Jean Pierre Jeunet or a Sofia Coppola film like Lost in Translation etc. In more serious films, I think a Director is at the top of his craft when he can draw on such moments without ruining the film with a cheap gag.

However you might be right and Baumbach might have omitted any such chance on purpose just to drive home the desperation and unhappiness. And he had many chances like at the dinner table at the beginning or the switched-coat scene at the restaurant. I thought he might have bungled that here but it might have been on purpose like you say. Although that would leave me to the conclusion that Baumbach also intentionally crafts his films with a more jaded vision than say a Wes Anderson. That's fine too I suppose, I'm really not looking for rose-colored glasses and bright sides in every movie. Another mistake of mine was probably to expect something else when I saw Adam Sadler and Ben Stiller in the credits. I quickly realized this was a more serious work. I was really fine with that. But this work was even more draining emotionally than expected (probably on purpose like you say).

But I take your points kihei. What I might have viewed as a flaw or lack of genius (to pull off certain scenes) was very well intentional. I would then recalibrate my opinion of Baumbach as a student of Wes Anderson style and see him more as Baumbach all grown up now. But that Baumbach is a tad more jaded than expected and more depressing than other NY Directors (who deal with social dysfunction in the city's artistic milieu) and I might just pass him over next time.

I just woke up and saw this (and I was up late last night). I haven't even had a cup of coffee yet so I hope this makes some sense this early in the morning.

 

[kihei]

Fair enough. But when I spoke of humour I did not mean jokes, or moments of outright laughter. It's just that in some scenes, a Director has a chance to bring a moment of levity to any situation even if it is just to endear the character a bit to the audience. THat's very difficult to do in a serious work and not everybody can pull it off. I might have mistaken that in this film (or lack thereof) as a flaw or inability by Baumbach to pull that off like a Wes Anderson, a Jean Pierre Jeunet or a Sofia Coppola film like Lost in Translation etc. In more serious films, I think a Director is at the top of his craft when he can draw on such moments without ruining the film with a cheap gag.

However you might be right and Baumbach might have omitted any such chance on purpose just to drive home the desperation and unhappiness. And he had many chances like at the dinner table at the beginning or the switched-coat scene at the restaurant. I thought he might have bungled that here but it might have been on purpose like you say. Although that would leave me to the conclusion that Baumbach also intentionally crafts his films with a more jaded vision than say a Wes Anderson. That's fine too I suppose, I'm really not looking for rose-colored glasses and bright sides in every movie. Another mistake of mine was probably to expect something else when I saw Adam Sadler and Ben Stiller in the credits. I quickly realized this was a more serious work. I was really fine with that. But this work was even more draining emotionally than expected (probably on purpose like you say).

But I take your points kihei. What I might have viewed as a flaw or lack of genius (to pull off certain scenes) was very well intentional. I would then recalibrate my opinion of Baumbach as a student of Wes Anderson style and see him more as Baumbach all grown up now. But that Baumbach is a tad more jaded than expected and more depressing than other NY Directors (who deal with social dysfunction in the city's artistic milieu) and I might just pass him over next time.

I just woke up and saw this (and I was up late last night). I haven't even had a cup of coffee yet so I hope this makes some sense this early in the morning.

I'm not a Wes Anderson fan (he strikes me as "look at me" kind of director) and while I like Jeunet, I find a little of his whimsy goes a long ways. So that may explain part of my response to the lack of humour in The Meyerowitz Stories. But Sofia Coppola got me thinking. My favourite movie of hers is Somewhere which I think is among the best half dozen US films of the century so far. I've seen it several times, and I don't remember any humour in there. I could be missing something, just nothing readily comes to mind. Lost in Translation, I agree, has some fine light moments and they complement the characters and the story. Which I guess is the point in a nutshell. Directors/screenwriters have to gauge what works best for each particular set of characters and the story that they are trying to tell and that is going to vary significantly from movie to movie.

 

[Puck]

I'm not a Wes Anderson fan (he strikes me as "look at me" kind of director) and while I like Jeunet, I find a little of his whimsy goes a long ways. So that may explain part of my response to the lack of humour in The Meyerowitz Stories. But Sofia Coppola got me thinking. My favourite movie of hers is Somewhere which I think is among the best half dozen US films of the century so far. I've seen it several times, and I don't remember any humour in there. I could be missing something, just nothing readily comes to mind. Lost in Translation, I agree, has some fine light moments and they complement the characters and the story. Which I guess is the point in a nutshell. Directors/screenwriters have to gauge what works best for each particular set of characters and the story that they are trying to tell and that is going to vary significantly from movie to movie.

I guess you have to 'buy into' the movie and I don't know why I didn't. I think my thought processes went like this. 1. Oh nice, a NY Directors Woody Allen type movie. 2. Oh, this is more like The Royal Tenenbaums by Anderson. 3. Geez this is serious, this is more like a 'Fences' but the patriarchal figure hurting his family is a white NY sculptor and the young daughter is the saving grace again 4. Ugh this is depressing, where is the fast forward button... no try to stick through this.

I know and have admitted this is a quality film. I have no problem with anyone liking this, we're all different. It's a good vehicle for an actor to show his stuff, there is a fine cast and Sandler gains much rep. But not Baumbach. I loved Frances Ha but he lost me on this one. He is also becoming repetitive with the disgruntled artist who is not fulfilled or successful narrative. I'll pass on the next one.

 

[nameless1]

Columbus (2017) Directed by Kogonada 4B

Set in Columbus, Indiana, a small town with a lot of noteworthy modern architecture, Jin (John Cho, from J. J. Abrams' Star Trek) waits impatiently for his already hospitalized father to die, while Casey, a year out of high school, stays home to look after her mother, a recovering meth addict. Jin and Casey develop a relationship based mainly on discussions that take place while they are observing various historical buildings. In Columbus, the colour is muted; the cinematography is muted; the characters are muted; the dialogue is muted; and if mutes appeared in the film, they would no doubt be even more muted. If you can keep your eyelids open, it's kind of an interesting approach, emphasis on the "kind of." Columbus has a glowing 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, I thought the movie was starter-kit Michelangelo Antonioni complete with the great Italian director's preoccupation with how characters' feelings are influenced by their physical environment but minus the existential grounding that lends deeper meaning to so many of his movies. So, yes, the movie is a little different from standard Sundance fare, but its relative novelty is overwhelmed by how ponderous the whole enterprise seems.

That is one of my the ones I liked from the festival, mainly because of the cinematography. Even though the camera barely moves, I am never bored, due to the impeccable frames. Every shot can be used as a postcard, and it feels very fresh as a result.

You noted how mute everything is. but I find that aspect compliments the film rather well. I also really like that John Cho finally gets a leading role in a English-speaking film, a rarity in North America. My only problem is with with the plot, as it missed a scene or two from a very complete story. As a result, it is about a 7/10 for me.

I do like your Antonioni comment though. I very much agree with it, but there is nothing wrong with being Antonioni-lite, and it certainly does not take away from what the first-time director wants to accomplish.

 

[Arizonan God]

Really, really enjoyed The Meyerowitz Stories. Only other Baumbach film I've seen is The Squid and the Whale, which I loved. The Meyerowitz Stories almost felt like a loose sequel to The Squid and the Whale.

And hey, Adam Sandler reminds us he can actually act.

8/10

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

"Carrie" (1976)

8/10

 

[Puck]

Really, really enjoyed The Meyerowitz Stories. Only other Baumbach film I've seen is The Squid and the Whale, which I loved. The Meyerowitz Stories almost felt like a loose sequel to The Squid and the Whale.

And hey, Adam Sandler reminds us he can actually act.

8/10

yeah, I think I'm definitely going to be in the minority and going against the grain by whining about Meyerowitz. When I heard NY Director style I was thinking Woody Allen or Wes Anderson and Netflix has it labeled comedy, drama. Instead of 'yuks' I got 'uncomfortable' and 'unhappy'. I got thrown off course there.

 

[NyQuil]

Sorry, I missed that signal initially. I'll throw my two cents in now if that's okay. Going on your review, I would say out biggest disagreement is the use of humour in the movie--you wanted more; I thought it was fine the way it was. Two main reasons for my opinion (which also correspond to what I liked most about the movie):
1. I thought where the audience entered the story was intriguing and fresh. Usually with dysfunctional family movies, we watch as the family goes off the rails. In the case of The Meyerowitz Stories by the time we get there, that has already happened. We are not looking at the break down; we are looking at the aftermath of that breakdown. People are worn out by the situation, but they still have to get through the day and live with themselves and come to grips with one another, past or no past. To me there is not much room for humour there, especially when the patriarch responsible for all these hurt feeling is slipping ever closer to death. Again, that would generate a lot of complex feelings, probably none of them believably humourous.
2. Often is these sorts of Sundance-y movies, humour is used as a balm, something to relieve the unhappiness or confusion or grief, whatever it is that is bedeviling the characters. I liked that this movie didn't try to soften the seriousness of what it was looking at with gratuitous bits of humour. To me to do so would compromise the power of what we see portrayed which is that all three siblings are leading lives of desperation on some level. I just don't think such humour would have rung true and that would have wreaked havoc on my suspension of disbelief. There is seldom much humour in an Ingmar Bergman movie, and while The Meyerowitz Stories is not an Ingmar Bergman movie, it deals with similar kinds of emotionally traumatic experience that arise in many Bergman films. In short, I thought Baumbach found the tone that best suited his movie and its characters.

Anyway, that's my two cents. I would be interested in hearing your take in greater detail

I just caught this one yesterday.

I thought the performances were strong. The interplay between Elizabeth Marvel, Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler was believable enough to prevent the film from veering off into satire or absurdity.

Dustin Hoffman was channeling his delusional Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman but with such a callous, selfish streak that it was almost painful to watch at times. As you say, the humour helped blunt the sheer abusiveness of his emotional manipulations. No one escaped unscathed from his tendrils.

In fact, if there was a fault in the movie, it was the seeming lack of positive interactions that he had with anyone, begging the question of why so many were desperate for his attention and approval. People repeatedly spoke of his charm and teaching acumen, but seeing him only through the lens of his children and new spouse, it remained elusive and suspect. I suppose that was the point - that he sacrificed his relationships with his family in a vain quest for fame and recognition. Not seeing the magnetic side of his personality left him a bit of an enigma in the end.

The other movie that it reminded me of was the Royal Tennenbaums, only in this one, the patriach never developed any interest in reconnecting with his largely abandoned children. The styles were obviously different, with this one focusing on banal snippets of interaction between characters to provide clues as to the nature of the underlying relationships, while Wes Anderson employed grand set-piece events throughout.

Thinking about that "Sundance" style of humour that you refer to also made me think of Little Miss Sunshine, where family pain distributed among an ensemble cast is offset with moments of levity.

EDIT: Just saw Puck's references to Wes Anderson - I suppose Baumbach's style invites immediate comparison.

 

[t0nedeff]

Brawl in Cell Block 99 7.5/10

Some real real graphic violence in this movie.

Oh and Gareth Evans being linked to a Deathstroke is probably the most interesting thing to come from the comic genre in a long time.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

"Cujo"

3/10

 

[Arizonan God]

I just caught this one yesterday.

I thought the performances were strong. The interplay between Elizabeth Marvel, Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler was believable enough to prevent the film from veering off into satire or absurdity.

Dustin Hoffman was channeling his delusional Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman but with such a callous, selfish streak that it was almost painful to watch at times. As you say, the humour helped blunt the sheer abusiveness of his emotional manipulations. No one escaped unscathed from his tendrils.

In fact, if there was a fault in the movie, it was the seeming lack of positive interactions that he had with anyone, begging the question of why so many were desperate for his attention and approval. People repeatedly spoke of his charm and teaching acumen, but seeing him only through the lens of his children and new spouse, it remained elusive and suspect. I suppose that was the point - that he sacrificed his relationships with his family in a vain quest for fame and recognition. Not seeing the magnetic side of his personality left him a bit of an enigma in the end.

The other movie that it reminded me of was the Royal Tennenbaums, only in this one, the patriach never developed any interest in reconnecting with his largely abandoned children. The styles were obviously different, with this one focusing on banal snippets of interaction between characters to provide clues as to the nature of the underlying relationships, while Wes Anderson employed grand set-piece events throughout.

Thinking about that "Sundance" style of humour that you refer to also made me think of Little Miss Sunshine, where family pain distributed among an ensemble cast is offset with moments of levity.

EDIT: Just saw Puck's references to Wes Anderson - I suppose Baumbach's style invites immediate comparison.

Wasn’t the father’s characters behavior at least partially explained by his head injury?

 

[NyQuil]

Wasn’t the father’s characters behavior at least partially explained by his head injury?

Yeah, that's a good point, but it kind of reinforces the aspect of the film where you don't actually see him in his prime at any time, so you have to imagine what he might have been like.

Ultimately, with all of his children so scarred, you can possibly envision him being more subtle with his narcissistic cruelty but it was obviously still there nonetheless.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Just saw the original '78 version of "Halloween" at my local hole in the wall indie theatre. I'm stoked I finally got to see this on the big screen!!

4/5

 

[Puck]

Well I watched Baby Driver a second time. As promised to Led Zappa. Stoned on space cake brownies this time to get into a younger frame of mind. I'm told you can do that now in Canada so I'm just going with the flow and doing it for serious film business. I noticed the movie had a more complex construction to it than last time. The colours in the apartment were a bright green which reminded me of Wes Anderson or Jeunet (two Directors brought up recently). As were the colours in the coffee shop. More bright green during the foot chase scene toward the end. The visuals were all intentional and missed it sober. The dialogue for the lady in the Post Office was quoting a Dolly Parton song. That made me laugh (so they put more time in the dialogue than I thought). One of my original complaints was that the dialogue was adolescent but I realize now that was just in the first half and it changes in the second half during the Paul Williams gun scene (the short guy in white). That was also done intentionally I believe to show a maturation in Baby Driver.

So I'm marking Baby Driver up on my point scale. It's not a comedy and had more subtle humour in the first 30 minutes than The Meyerowitz Stories and that's supposed to be a comedy. I still think the dialogue was a bit weak but it was the same for Wheelman and that might be a thing for this genre (target audience). But I liked it better this time LZ, I see your enthusiasm. I won't be watching Meyerowitz over, I don't think THC would help.

 

[darko]

Just watched 15 mins of the worst movie of all time. British movie called Aaaaahh. No dialogue just people acting like monkeys.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

 

[Puck]

Is it just me or is Atomic Blonde better than expected? I thought this was just going to be a fun double-agent ride but it was a bit better than I thought it would. Mind you I prefer more serious secret agent films like A Most Wanted Man. I thought Atomic Blonde was just going to be a fight-choreographed caper like Fast and Furious (Charlize Theron's last flick) in a double-agent setting or another John WIck. But they got a lot of things right like the history for mood, cinematography style (more European than Hollywood), the classic double-agent mindsets, and the music was great not to mention the fight scenes but the latter was expected. I'd quibble about the plotline somewhat, they might have stitched that together in a writer's committee but still better than the complaints I'd heard. I was just expecting a female John Wick but the characters here were better defined than a Wick excursion and the Hollywood writers committee spent a bit more time on their research than usual to be a tad more serious. I'm not sure how to rate this though, I find my expectations before going into a film are influencing my decisions recently (might be a mood thing) and I admit it was low for this, that might be why I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Nalens Oga]

Anyone got some really good obscure or lesser-known 70s thrillers? Not popular stuff like All The President's Men, 3 Days of The Condor, Parallax View, Day of The Jackal, etc....more of the lesser known.

 

[nameless1]

The Indian Horse

I actually wanted to take a little bit more time before I write some reviews, but I want to write one now, because this is one of the most memorable films I have ever seen in the festival. However, that is not because of anything shown on screen; rather, it is the way the movie is presented, and what happened during the Q & A period.

Now, as for the movie itself, I thought it is a honest and heartfelt story of an Aboriginal man who survived the residential school system, and how he eventually came to terms with the demons later in life. The plot is very logical, and the pace, while slow in parts, moves quite briskly overall, so it is a very easy and accessible watch. While it can feel heavy-handed at times, due to the abuses portrayed on screen, and how some horrific events only appear as flashbacks near the end, the filmmakers did not seem to exaggerate, because they are very much in-line with what I have read and studied. While it is not perfect, I thought it is one of the better English Canada films I have seen in the last couple of years, and I had it at 7/10.

What made this such a powerful experience, was what happened outside of the screening. Before the movie started, the filmmakers bought out Aboriginal leaders, many of whom have attended residential schools, and one of them led a prayer in his native language. Then, after the film, during the Q & A period, many in the audience, through tears, shared their own tales in residential schools, and they all thanked the filmmakers for being honest, and the lack of sugar coat. Then, at the end, the one who led the prayers shared his own time in residential schools, and then led another prayer, this time to take on all the pain and suffering in the room.

That is why I love film festivals, because one just does not get these types of experiences anywhere else. It was something I will never forget, and I am very glad the festival did something like this.

 

[Puck]

Anyone got some really good obscure or lesser-known 70s thrillers? Not popular stuff like All The President's Men, 3 Days of The Condor, Parallax View, Day of The Jackal, etc....more of the lesser known.

Define obscure. I never saw Parallax View in that list. Looking back that far, one man's obscure might be another's popular cult favorite.

I checked some out off the top of my head and they were 1960's. I then Googled and got this list. All the films I've seen from that era are usually pop favorites and the one's I haven't of course are obscure to me but everyone's mileage varies on that score for sure. So here is the list and someone better versed than me can take a look and chime in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thriller_films_of_the_1970s

 

[kihei]

Wonderstruck (2017) Directed by Todd Haynes 5A

Wonderstruck follows two parallel stories of two twelve-year-old children, one living in the '30s and one in the '70s, both looking to make a connection with family members. Each eventually runs away from home; each eventually finds herself/himself in New York's Museum of Natural History. After many coincidences, their stories intersect with one another. This movie is an elaborate bit of not very much at all. Switching constantly back and forth between the two stories eventually became annoying as I had trouble making any real emotional connection with the two kids. Plus, what happens to them isn't exactly thrilling. Although Todd Haynes has done some good experimental work, when he tackles Oscar bait-type flicks, such movies (Carol; Far from Heaven; this one) seem bloodless and effete. He is meticulous about all the little details (great mise en scene, for instance), but I always end up with the feeling that less is there beneath the polished surface rather than more. For long stretches, Wonderstruck seems aimed at children, but I can't imagine a kid wanting to sit though this. Although adults may be impressed by the technique on display, the punch line does not seem worth all the time spent on the complicated build up.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Just saw the original '74 version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" at my local hole in the wall indie theatre.

Having now seen it on the big screen for the first time....I've now come away with an even greater appreciation for this great film.

4/5

 

[Oscar Acosta]

Watched Baby Driver the other night. What can I say I was surprised how awesome it was.

Just a really good movie. 9/10 although I keep thinking about it 2 days later and want to watch it again.