Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It

[ThePhoenixx]

Flags of our Fathers 8.5

This was my third time watching Flags so it has gone down to a six for me. Still fairly re-watchable.

 

[kihei]

The Mountain Between Us (2017) Directed by Hany Abu-Assad 4A

The Mountain Between Us may look like a survival movie in its trailer but really it is a Harlequin Romance set in snowy mountain tops. Alex (Kate Winslett), a risk taking photojournalist off to be married the next day, and Ben (Idris Elba, complete with his lovely natural British accent), a neurosurgeon desperately needed elsewhere, decide to rent a small plane to get to their destination. Said plane crashes in the photogenic mountains of Utah, and now the pair of strangers needs to find a way out of their predicament. Although less time is spent on thrills than on relationship development, characterization remains skin deep at best. We get a lot of the couple getting to know one another and because Elba is Elba this part of the movie is easier to take than it should be. Odd thing, though, neither one seems to get very cold...but I digress. Oh, yeah, I forgot, there is an adorable golden labrador along for the ride. Unlikely occurrences pop up all the time, but mostly Ben and Alex really just primarily get to know one another a little better. Will they survive and find love? Who will get the pooch? All these questions and more are predictably answered by the end of the movie. Shallow though The Mountain Between Us is, a lot of women over 30-years-old are going to want to see this movie, perhaps more than once. Some in my very own family, I suspect.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

The Mountain Between Us (2017) Directed by Hany Abu-Assad 4A

The Mountain Between Us may look like a survival movie in its trailer but really it is a Harlequin Romance set in snowy mountain tops. Alex (Kate Winslett), a risk taking photojournalist off to be married the next day, and Ben (Idris Elba, complete with his lovely natural British accent), a neurosurgeon desperately needed elsewhere, decide to rent a small plane to get to their destination. Said plane crashes in the photogenic mountains of Utah, and now the pair of strangers needs to find a way out of their predicament. Although less time is spent on thrills than on relationship development, characterization remains skin deep at best. We get a lot of the couple getting to know one another and because Elba is Elba this part of the movie is easier to take than it should be. Odd thing, though, neither one seems to get very cold...but I digress. Oh, yeah, I forgot, there is an adorable golden labrador along for the ride. Unlikely occurrences pop up all the time, but mostly Ben and Alex really just primarily get to know one another a little better. Will they survive and find love? Who will get the pooch? All these questions and more are predictably answered by the end of the movie. Shallow though The Mountain Between Us is, a lot of women over 30-years-old are going to want to see this movie, perhaps more than once. Some in my very own family, I suspect.

I sense a tinge of bitterness here.

 

[kihei]

I sense a tinge of bitterness here.

I forced them to watch Luther. I have no one to blame but myself.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

I forced them to watch Luther. I have no one to blame but myself.

That reminds me of the time I was on the phone with my mom and told her all about the Rammstein concert. The explosions, the drop-down walkway where the band crawled across like dogs being whipped by the drummer in drag as they went to the small stage in the middle of the floor for the homoerotic S&M themed portion of the show, the singer sexually assaulting the keyboard player with a giant, squirting *word will be filtered*...yeah, I always thought Mann Gegen Mann (Man against Man) was about mankind's violent struggle against itself...turns out it's not. Anyway, the finale had the singer riding a giant penis cannon that shot geysers of foam all over the audience on the floor. Like, the entire floor of Rogers Arena.

My mom wasn't impressed. She retaliated by inviting herself and my dad over for brunch the next week.

 

[BonMorrison]

The Disaster Artist - 9/10

James Franco's second tour de force acting performance (after Spring Breakers) - give him all the Oscars. Based on the book that documents the chaos of filming bad-movie-cult-classic The Room, the Franco brothers take the helm of portraying the wild Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero. This was probably the funniest movie I've seen this year - from the opening scene all the way until the credits finished rolling. James Franco engulfs himself into the role of Wiseau, brilliantly executing his voice and mannerisms to the point where during the Q&A after, it was indistinguishable. There is also a surprising amount of heart to the film, largely carried by Dave Franco's portrayal of Greg Sestero who during the filming of The Room was a struggling actor trying to make it in Hollywood. As you would expect, the film was also packed heavy on cameos - all of which were used effectively without being excessive. Paul Scheer put it best after the movie - you do not need to see The Room to thoroughly enjoy this movie. "If you've never seen The Room, this is like a prequel. If you have seen it, this is like a sequel."

 

[Fugazy]

Days of Thunder - 6.5/10

 

[kihei]

If You Saw His Heart (2017) Directed by Joan Chemla 4B

If You Saw His Heart isn't a very good movie. It is an attempt at a serious noir about a small time crook who lives in a fleabag hotel populated by con artists, psychos, hookers, and people who like to **** on the walls. Daniel (Gael Garcia Bernal) is bright enough but has not much to offer the world and drifts deeper into irrelevance. In an unlikely turn of events, a pretty girl (Marine Vacth) pops up in this purgatory, providing Daniel with a smidgen of hope. But not for long. Although the movie is certainly stylish enough, we never are given any reason to care about its characters. The jumpy direction flashes forwards and backwards on too many occasions to no great purpose. However, the relentless despair hangs on for so long that the movie actually acquires a certain existential weight by the end. Still, even though Bernal makes as much as he can out of nothing, If You Saw His Heart is easily dismissible.

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[kihei]

The Seen and the Unseen (2017) Directed by Kamila Andini 8B

This beautiful Indonesian film reminded me a little bit of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's mesmerizing Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives. In rural Indonesia, a young girl mourns the gradual loss of her twin brother as he gets sicker and sicker. She copes by creating a dream world that allows her to stay connected to him even as his senses fade. While The Seen and the Unseen does not have the depth of Weerasethakul's work, we nonetheless are introduced to a culture so very different from our own and glimpse its ways of dealing with loss. The dreamworld that is created relies not a bit on special effects. Rather simple props like colored paper, ribbons and face paint, along with the children's impressive dance and mime skills, are used to achieve magical and often haunting effects. The Seen and the Unseen employs very little dialogue but depends instead on some of the most beautiful cinematography that I have seen all year to communicate its story. To be honest, the movie is a demanding one because it is so deliberately paced and so "other." However, the film is very rewarding if you are into visual cinema and can let yourself be swept along by the mood that it creates. Some of the images, especially toward the end of the movie, invoke a kind of stillness mixed with awe that made me think of the moment you see a deer in the woods just before it moves. The Seen and the Unseen is wonderfully delicate film making and a considerable achievement.

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[kihei]

Thelma (2017) Directed by Joachim Trier 7A

After a brief but very disturbing scene opens the movie, Thelma begins by seemingly being a coming-of-age story abouit a Christian girl (EilI Harboe, a fresh face and talented) going off to university and gradually finding that her values are not the same as her straight-laced parents' values. She tries a little alcohol, is willing to get high, and begins to make friends with another girl to whom she becomes closer and closer. But Thelma is a little more complicated than that. Thelma has a past history and a distressing one, one that her parents have tried to control, sometimes to their daughter's detriment. Exactly what Thelma's feelings are remain cloudy. Suddenly all the pressures began to frighten her and things begin to go very wrong. Obviously, there is a strong Carrie vibe going on here; Thelma is derivative of another European movie, whose title I can't think of at the moment, about a girl who goes off to college and is afflicted by a strange mental disorder. So although director Joachim Trier loses points for originality, he gains points for execution. Trier delivers such a masterful piece of direction that Thelma remains among the most thematically complex and generally satisfying of recent European horror films.

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Top Ten of '17 so far

Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos, Irelan/US
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway
The Seen and the Unseen, Indonesia
After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
Get Out, Peel, US
Happy End, Haneke, France
Thelma, Trier, Norway
Staying Vertical, Guiraudie, France

 

[Emperoreddy]

A Monster Calls: ****

Really well done, and the movie was just a giant punch in the feels.

 

[BonMorrison]

A Fantastic Woman - 8/10

A harrowing film about a transgender woman who has to deal with the grief of losing her boyfriend and the aftershock and poor treatment from the people around her. This film is anchored by a deeply personal and powerful performance from Daniela Vega in one of her first on-screen roles. Beautifully written, shot, and constructed - this was well deserving of the standing ovation it received.

 

[SeidoN]

Baby Driver - 9.999999 out ****ing standing

 

[BonMorrison]

Mudbound - 8/10

Set in 1940s Mississippi, this film examines the racial divide between two families - one black and one white - during the Second World War. This was really good though I did have some issues that tend to pop up in films that tackle this subject matter. Mainly there were definitely some white saviour moments that rubbed me the wrong way especially considering up to that point most of the characters had managed to avoid being caricatures and were nicely layered and nuanced and didn't need this complex to occur. Aside from that though, this film from top to bottom was very well constructed - paced extremely effectively, shot beautifully, a great script, and as just stated - interesting characters. Some extremely powerful moments sprinkled throughout the film really hammer home how much work the world still needs to do in regards to racism and how at this point being "shocked" and "surprised" isn't enough. Throw this immediately on your Netflix cue when it comes out in November.

 

[Nalens Oga]

A Short Film About Love (1988) - 7/10

First half hour is weak, these Kieslowski films all start to blend in a bit after seeing the Three Colours trilogy, it's a bit monotone.

 

[Puck]

The Disaster Artist seems to be doing well at TIFF.

https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/13/16295900/the-disaster-artist-movie-review-james-franco-the-room

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I'm surprised. I thought the trailers looked awful. I'll check it out when it comes out.

 

[kihei]

In the Fade (2017) Directed by Fatih Akin 4A

In Germany, a bomb attack kills Katja's Turkish husband Nuri and their young son. At first the authorities think because Nuri once sold drugs, the death is related to that scene. But it turns out drugs had nothing to do with it--the murders were committed by a German couple who are neo-Nazis and are part of an organization that kills immigrants. What follows is a way too slick courtroom/semi-thriller that is well directed and acted, but which seems to rather trivialize an important subject. Usually director Fatih Akin is not a thriller sort of guy. He has built a solid reputation by making homely but likeable movies about Turkish immigrants and other people who struggle to make a life for themselves in Germany, films that mix serious problems with a dose of humour (The Edge of Heaven; Soul Kitchen). He's probably reaching for a broader audience here with In the Fade, but the result is that the work is faceless and generic.

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[kihei]

A Fantastic Woman (2017) Directed by Sebastian Lelio 7A

Marina (Daniela Varga), once a man, now a woman, has her world turned upside down when her lover Orlando (Francisco Reyes) dies suddenly of a stroke. The police treat her with contempt or suspicion, and most of Francisco's family behaves unconscionably badly toward her. She loses everything that made life worth living, including her dog. A Fantastic Woman deals with how she copes with all this. Roger Ebert called movies "machines that build empathy," and quite clearly that is one of the things this movie wants to do, and, indeed, does very well. But it would be erroneous to view this movie as just a "message" movie promoting greater understanding and compassion toward transgender people while accomplishing nothing else. Aimed directly at a straight audience, A Fantastic Woman is a lovely, detailed character study anchored by perhaps the best performance of the year so far by an actress. The film doesn't shy away from any aspect of Marina, but the story unfolds with a real warmth and sense of proportion that make it a pleasure to watch. At the start of the film, I saw Marina as a trangender person coping with grief; by the end of the film I just saw a woman getting on with her life. That shift in my perspective is a considerable accomplishment by all concerned.

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Top Ten of '17 so far

Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos, Ireland/US
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway
The Seen and the Unseen, Andini, Indonesia
A Fantastic Woman, Leilo, Chile
After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
Get Out, Peel, US
Thelma, Trier, Norway
Happy End, Haneke, France

 

[BonMorrison]

mother! - NA/10

I am not sure if I am ever going to see anything like that again. It's beyond giving a proper review. It's absolute cinematic ****ing insanity. It's Aronofsky jacking off on every negative review he's ever gotten. It's simultaneously masterclass filmmaking and overly pretentious trash. I ****ing can't even deal with what I just witnessed. One of the most bold and ambitious films I've seen in a long while and I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet. This is beyond rating.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Just Watched:

5/10

 

[Savi]

mother! - NA/10

I am not sure if I am ever going to see anything like that again. It's beyond giving a proper review. It's absolute cinematic ****ing insanity. It's Aronofsky jacking off on every negative review he's ever gotten. It's simultaneously masterclass filmmaking and overly pretentious trash. I ****ing can't even deal with what I just witnessed. One of the most bold and ambitious films I've seen in a long while and I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet. This is beyond rating.

Looking forward to it

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

mother! - NA/10

I am not sure if I am ever going to see anything like that again. It's beyond giving a proper review. It's absolute cinematic ****ing insanity. It's Aronofsky jacking off on every negative review he's ever gotten. It's simultaneously masterclass filmmaking and overly pretentious trash. I ****ing can't even deal with what I just witnessed. One of the most bold and ambitious films I've seen in a long while and I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet. This is beyond rating.

This has me more excited to see it than a 10/10 review.

 

[BonMorrison]

Good, I need everyone to see it and I want to discuss this until the end of time.

 

[BonMorrison]

Manhunt - 3/10

In a pre taped message to TIFF, John Woo told us all to enjoy and good luck. Everyone had a laugh at the good luck because it seemed like a strange thing to say when introducing your movie but whatever. I now understand that good luck so clearly because holy hell that was terrible. John, I love you but please never make another action film again. The only redeeming factor is that the dialogue is so shockingly terrible that it was occasionally laugh out loud funny. God almighty.