General Entertainment ~Rate The Last Movie/TV Show You Watched Thread~

[Keyser_Soze]

4 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

I actually think this is an underrated, though very fucked up movie.

 

And that's where I think our opinions diverged. You think it's fucked up and I thought it tried to be fucked up but really wasn't.

[Greatoneshere]

9 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

And that's where I think our opinions diverged. You think it's fucked up and I thought it tried to be fucked up but really wasn't.

 

I've shown others the movie and the tone of the film is so filthy they can't even get through the movie, which is where I realized that what I thought was interesting was "fucked up" to others. I don't think it's that fucked up myself, just dark and weird. 

[Zeluge]

Devil in a Blue Dress

 

Best thing I can say is that I wanted to watch it again as soon as it was over. Carl Franklin is getting a retrospective in my household, because I totally fell for his unfussy yet purposeful direction. Denzel kills it, and I will be eternally jealous that I'll never conceive of a closing note as perfect as displayed here.

 

Annette

 

Add another movie to the love-it-or-hate-it pile. Having said that, I don't necessarily fit into either camp neatly, but lean much more towards love-it for sure. Contrary to Devil in a Blue Dress which I wanted to rewatch immediately, I feel I have to rewatch this to get a better handle of everything at play. The overt artifice of it all is constantly keeping you at bay to the point where it feels like an uphill battle to actually embrace it. Thankfully, there's some truly touching sequences peppered throughout, and it's endlessly fascinating to see this simple story take on baffling new shapes. The boldest gambit pays off in the end, and it's a beauty.

[EternallDarkness]

Jungle Cruise ...cheesy as hell but I loved it anyway 

[Bloodporne]

On 8/7/2021 at 11:04 AM, Greatoneshere said:

 

I've shown others the movie and the tone of the film is so filthy they can't even get through the movie, which is where I realized that what I thought was interesting was "fucked up" to others. I don't think it's that fucked up myself, just dark and weird. 

Is this the 2008 one with Alyssa Milano or something more obscure I can't find right now?

 

Wait...this one is directed by a fucking German, no doubt this is it as described by you two.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 minute ago, Bloodporne said:

Is this the 2008 one with Alyssa Milano

 

This one.

[Zeluge]

Pig (rewatch)

 

Saw it again with a friend, and the first time in a long while I’ve seen a movie twice in theaters (last may have been Alita?) Nice to pick up on nuances of performances, particularly Alex Wolff who’s doing some stunning stuff here. Love the restaurant chef. Covering the bakery scene in a single wide was a real sharp decision. If it hasn’t already left a theater near you, go check it out. It deserves your eyeballs!

 

Pola X

 

The sole Carax I hadn’t seen. Outside of The One Scene (unsimulated sex? By jove, I think so!), it’s maybe his most conventional work, at least comparatively. It’s an adaptation of a maligned Melville work, but what it brought to mind most was actually Sullivan’s Travels, just with a modern French sensibility. Gets dangerously close to being overly miserable, but I think it wisely focuses more on everyone’s emotional states and how fickle they can be instead of any logical thought process and trying to explain their actions under such a lens. Glad to close that gap in his filmography, and with a 35mm screening no less!

 

Boy Meets Girl (rewatch)

 

Even better than I remembered. French New Wave influences with a stark, expressionistic vibe. Also a lot funnier than I recalled. Lot of gags throughout, all played with a pretty straight face.

[elbobo]

Blackwidow

 

I though it was silly/ridiculous even by MCU standards, especially the final action sequences.

 

5.5/10

[Keyser_Soze]

 

Possessor: 7/10 - I think someone mentioned this on here so I decided to see it. Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg it certainly feels like his father made quite the impression on him. In fact this feels like he saw eXistenZ and thought, "I could do that," to the point that it even has Jennifer Jason Leigh in it. It's similar but different, it's not bad. I enjoyed it. Also, why did they have to cast Sean Bean in this? It's a dead giveaway (literally)

[Greatoneshere]

2 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Possessor: 7/10 - I think someone mentioned this on here so I decided to see it. Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg it certainly feels like his father made quite the impression on him. In fact this feels like he saw eXistenZ and thought, "I could do that," to the point that it even has Jennifer Jason Leigh in it. It's similar but different, it's not bad. I enjoyed it. Also, why did they have to cast Sean Bean in this? It's a dead giveaway (literally)

 

That might have been me - been following this guy's career, his films are very interesting. 

[SimpleG]

3 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

That might have been me - been following this guy's career, his films are very interesting. 

It was me and @TheLeon, quit trying to taking my street cred .

[SimpleG]

5 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Possessor: 7/10 - I think someone mentioned this on here so I decided to see it. Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg it certainly feels like his father made quite the impression on him. In fact this feels like he saw eXistenZ and thought, "I could do that," to the point that it even has Jennifer Jason Leigh in it. It's similar but different, it's not bad. I enjoyed it. Also, why did they have to cast Sean Bean in this? It's a dead giveaway (literally)

It really apes his father style maybe a bit to much. Something was off about the pacing, it drug down a bit like he wanted to do something but wasnt sure of him self. I think given time he will come into his own but I think he needs to find his own vision.

[Greatoneshere]

8 minutes ago, SimpleG said:

It was me and @TheLeon, quit trying to taking my street cred .

 

Hey I said might!  

[TheLeon]

I wasn’t going to take credit, because I don’t remember exactly what I said about that movie, but it probably wasn’t positive. 

[Keyser_Soze]

6 hours ago, SimpleG said:

It was me and @TheLeon, quit trying to taking my street cred .

 

Yeah I was pretty sure it was you but didn't want to hurt @Greatoneshere's feelings.

[heydude93]

Hard Candy - Almost felt like an especially engaging Black Mirror episode. The fact that it's filmed almost entirely in one house, and only a few rooms in said house with the suspense and twists never relenting is impressive. 8/10

 

Nasty Baby -  It’s tough to think of anything substantial about this without getting into spoilers. I’ll just say something happens later and suddenly there’s a stark tonal shift that gut punches you and makes it difficult to forget. 8/10

[CayceG]

Following up on the last few months of moviefilms I've taken in. Again, I'm a long time fan of bad movies, a la MST3k fame. But over the pandemic I decided I wanted to really get acquainted with the top of the range in filmmaking. This time, I've taken a trip into Film Noir. 

 

These are in no particular order. 

 

Battle of Algiers - 10/10

Back around July 4th I thought I'd celebrate Independence Day by watching a great film about a colony breaking away from its imperial oppressors. No aliens though. So I picked this wonderful film I've been meaning to watch for ages. It's about the resistance to French rule in Algiers, Algeria, and the French efforts to bring the area under control with paratroopers. It's almost documentary style while still retaining the narrative of a drama film. The most fascinating part to me was that a large amount of the actors (especially the Algerians) were active in the National Liberation Front against the French in real life. It's a well told drama with a compelling story. The cinematics and direction of some of the scenes (such as the bombings) are gripping. And the views of the Casbah used to establish the mood throughout the movie are striking. 

 

One of the things I've always recognized with this is the Colonel Mathieu character, played by French actor Jean Martin. His sharp cheekbones and stoic face behind his sunglasses as he marches his paratroopers into Algiers is iconic. His juxtaposition against his adversary Ali La Pointe, the NLF leader, makes for a great cat and mouse game. 

 

The Day of the Jackal - 8/10

I turned July 4th weekend into a double feature and followed Battle of Algiers up with this. The Day of the Jackal is a thriller that honestly serves as an indirect sequel to Battle of Algiers. The premise is that after the French are unable to pacify Algiers and leave the country on the path to independence, a group of far-right paramilitaries inside France begin a campaign to prevent this from happening. This group, the OAS, was made up of ex-paratroopers and other soldiers that had served in Indochina and Algiers as well as right-wing politicians. 

 

The film follows an assassin contracted by the OAS to assassinate the President of France, Charles de Gaulle, as well as the detective that tries to stop the assassin before this can happen. The movie is a great thriller/spy flick that ramps the suspense up as the plot progresses and the assassin closes in on de Gaulle--and the police work to try to stay ahead of the assassin. I loved it. It was compelling and jumped across western Europe like a Bond film, but without all the ridiculousness. 

 

But the wildest part of this movie is this... Jean Martin plays an OAS operative that is in league to kill de Gaulle. His character has a different name, but he's still a paratrooper. And he still served in Algiers during the same time when Battle of Algiers took place!

 

 

There's no direct connection between the two movies, but Martin's appearance in both of them as essentially the same character is enough for me. If you watch one, be sure to watch the other. 

 

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) - 9/10

Back to Hitchcock for me. I was on a Jimmy Stewart kick, so I didn't watch the original with Peter Lorre. I think I watched this one not too long after I watched North by Northwest. I really like these sprawling thrillers that Hitchcock did. This time, it was another assassination plot, but picked up not by the police, but by plucky everyman, Jimmy Stewart and his wife Doris Day, who is a stone cold fox. As per usual with Hitchcock, this one was composed of gorgeous shots in lively color and featured twists, turns, and a great resolution. I didn't know this, but the song "Que Sera, Sera" was written for and popularized by this movie. How neat! It was stuck in my head for days after watching this. 

 

The 39 Steps (1935) - 9/10

This one popped up as recommended on HBO Max and I took a chance on it because it seemed like a proto-Man Who Knew Too Much. And it didn't disappoint. For 1935, the atmosphere of inter-war Britain was way different than post-war, but the international spy drama stuff was still pretty thick. And the melodrama of a typical 30s movie was there too. And it was wonderful. 

I kinda gave it short shrift at first because it's just so OLD. But the story starts quickly and really grabs you, even if the cinematics and visuals don't. Robert Donat is a compelling lead and rather likeable, especially when he starts galloping between lies to get himself out of situations. This movie also put Madeleine Carroll on the map, and it's obvious why. She's a great second to Donat and their chemistry is enjoyable to watch. You can really see the influence of this movie on The Man Who Knew Too Much. 

 

The Maltese Falcon - 8/10

I just finished this one tonight. It's the second Humphrey Bogart picture I've seen now, after Casablanca. And... he's basically just Humphrey Bogart in each. Which is good. This one was a little tough at first because the characters just talk so much and so quickly. What I found humorous was the slang that Bogart's character uses. It's all so dated and prototypical of the 30s and 40s... Then I recognized how I knew some of it: Bugs Bunny cartoons. Bugs Bunny doing a Bogart impression would always dip into this 30s gangster/detective/noir slang, but what I realized watching this was that they never had to dip too far in. It literally was that thick. 

 

It was an enjoyable heist/detective story about the personalities after a mcguffin. The only thing I was sort of put off by was Bogart's love interest. I can't say it felt forced because it was generally just not really felt at all. Then at the end they share their feelings. But it doesn't feel earned. I suppose that's just because that's how movies were written. I didn't see it in the characters I guess. Still a great movie. One of the classics. And, with this one starring Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre, it's pretty much the same cast as Casablanca!

 

 

 

Next on my list are some heavy hitters:

 

Night of the Hunter, and... I'm finally going to do it... 

Citizen Kane

 

 

 

 

[SimpleG]

8 hours ago, CayceG said:

Which is good. This one was a little tough at first because the characters just talk so much and so quickly. What I found humorous was the slang that Bogart's character uses. It's all so dated and prototypical of the 30s and 40s... Then I recognized how I knew some of it: Bugs Bunny cartoons. Bugs Bunny doing a Bogart impression would always dip into this 30s gangster/detective/noir slang, but what I realized watching this was that they never had to dip too far in. It literally was that thick. 

If you enjoy that type of dialogue give His Girl Friday a spin. It’s a comedy so it’s different type of film.

[SimpleG]

8 hours ago, CayceG said:

Night of the Hunter, and... I'm finally going to do it... 

Citizen Kane

Night of the Hunter is one of my favorites and I know I am old school physical but it’s criterion blu ray looks so damn good . CK is also getting a 4K release this year.

[Keyser_Soze]

How were you not forced to watch Citizen Kane in high school though?

[CayceG]

57 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

How were you not forced to watch Citizen Kane in high school though?

 

We watched shit like The Ten Commandments for our 'high film' viewings. Mostly it was just The Sandlot and October Sky on repeat. 

[Bloodporne]

Some movie nerd news but apparently Sonny Chiba has passed away at age 82 from Covid. Saw it posted on Reddit with a Japanese article, forgot to copy the link. 

 

 

[Greatoneshere]

9 hours ago, Bloodporne said:

Some movie nerd news but apparently Sonny Chiba has passed away at age 82 from Covid. Saw it posted on Reddit with a Japanese article, forgot to copy the link. 

 

 

 

Sonny Chiba is dead? Man, that sucks. What a legend.

[Greatoneshere]

10 hours ago, CayceG said:

 

We watched shit like The Ten Commandments for our 'high film' viewings. Mostly it was just The Sandlot and October Sky on repeat. 

 

I'm not a big The Sandlot fan (white kids in the 80's movies like Sandlot and such I don't care for) but October Sky is money.

[Keyser_Soze]

 

Election: 6/10 - I thought this movie would be a lot more intense, at least judging from the poster / cover art. But really it's a bunch of really old triad members trying to uphold an election. The election is between BIG D and Lok, one guy trying to influence the election by money the other by being an actual good candidate. So when one loses you can figure the other guy isn't going to take the loss lightly (sounds like a familiar trend these days ) - But it's very dry, a lot of politics and there are bits of exciting parts but mostly it feels very tame. There is a cool part towards the middle of the movie that reminded me of @SaysWho? perhaps this is enough to persuade him to see it

 

Spoiler

 

[Greatoneshere]

5 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Election: 6/10 - I thought this movie would be a lot more intense, at least judging from the poster / cover art. But really it's a bunch of really old triad members trying to uphold an election. The election is between BIG D and Lok, one guy trying to influence the election by money the other by being an actual good candidate. So when one loses you can figure the other guy isn't going to take the loss lightly (sounds like a familiar trend these days ) - But it's very dry, a lot of politics and there are bits of exciting parts but mostly it feels very tame. There is a cool part towards the middle of the movie that reminded me of @SaysWho? perhaps this is enough to persuade him to see it

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

I like director Johnnie To and I wasn't a big Election fan either. However, the sequel Election 2 (also known as Triad Election) that came out the following year I thought was very good. You have to watch the first to get to the second's good stuff.

[Keyser_Soze]

18 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

I like director Johnnie To and I wasn't a big Election fan either. However, the sequel Election 2 (also known as Triad Election) that came out the following year I thought was very good. You have to watch the first to get to the second's good stuff.

 

Yeah but what do you think about what I put in the spoilers?

[Greatoneshere]

12 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Yeah but what do you think about what I put in the spoilers?

 

I didn't immediately think of it but @SaysWho? won't watch.  

[Keyser_Soze]

12 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

I didn't immediately think of it but @SaysWho? won't watch.  

 

@SaysWho? will decide if he will watch.

[Greatoneshere]

46 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

@SaysWho? will decide if he will watch.

 

He won't though.

[SaysWho?]

I looked at the spoiler and loved that I was thought of 😂🥰

[gamer.tv]

Downton Abbey (the movie). Shit if you hate or haven’t watched the show, lovely if you have - just complete fan service.

[johnny]

Coda - 4/5 

 

this was a pleasure to watch

[Fizzzzle]

Wrath of Man - 3/10

 

First of all, Guy Ritchie needs to learn to tone it the fuck down with the score, jesus christ. No need to blast my damn ear drums with the string section. It's like ever since Sherlock Holmes he wants the string section to be at 11/10.

 

Second, the movie itself was... eh. It was alright, but it was definitely too far up its own ass. It just tried to get too fucky with the timeline bullshit. It got to a point where it's like "OH! Now I get it! Also I just watched 30 minutes of sreen time without knowing why I was supposed to care about any of it while it was happening. But now I do in retrospect!" Maybe just do the part that makes me actually give a fuck about the characters BEFORE anything else, so that, y'know... I give a fuck.

 

Also, just lots of unearned... everything. The death of every character is completely uneventful.

 

Actually, I'm changing the score as I write this. The more that I think about it, the more I think it sucks. There's no payoff, no catharsis, barely any structure, it's a movie that would be at best a 10 minute long short stretched out over 2 hours. The action scenes aren't even good.

 

Fuck it, 2/10. To me, it actually is aggressively bad the longer I think about it.

 

I have loved everything Guy Ritchie has directed up through Game of Shadows. Hell, I even liked The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to a point. King Arthur sucked, Wrath of Man sucked, Aladdin sucked. I haven't seen The Gentlemen, apparently that one's alright.

[silentbob]

The Gentlemen was good. Maybe a bit slow at times, but some great performances. Especially from Hugh Grant who just chews up the screen whenever he’s present. Also wanna say that I enjoyed Rock ‘N Rolla too, and seems underrated at times from his movie catalogue.