What was the last movie you saw?

[Remedy]

Having watched the first two last week, we finished our Star Trek film-athon this week, watching:

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Nemesis

It was our second run-through of the movie box set. Never really watched the series much, but I love the films.

I don't think any of them are worth missing. I like how accessible they are to non-trekkies too.

 

[bedlamite]

Jodorwosky's Dune. A documentary of the adaptation that was never made. After watching this I'm very happy it didn't.

That sounds interesting ~ I'm going to check that out.

Last film I watched: John Wick. Keanu on form as a killing machine taking revenge on the Russian Mob. Formulaic ultraviolence, but with enough about it to make it a decent watch for most. I find The Cool Breeze a really watchable actor, despite a lot of opinion to the contrary.

 

[kythe]

I just saw Earth to Echo with my daughter. It was okay, but really wasn't unique. It felt like a cross between E.T. and The Goonies, both of which are much better movies.

In its favor, the child actors did carry the movie well. They looked very natural and had good chemistry together.

 

[JunkMonkey]

It's obviously watching films with your daughter week. I just watched Barbarella up on the big screen with my eldest daughter. The first time she'd seen it and the first time I'd seen a non panned and scanned copy. I hadn't realised before just how much female nudity there was on display - not that we're complaining.

Jodorwosky's Dune. A documentary of the adaptation that was never made. After watching this I'm very happy it didn't.

Having seen Jodorwosky's El Topo - a film I rates high in my Most Pretentious Pile of Wank Movies of All Time list - I have been happy about this for years.

 

[Vince W]

Spy. A few funny moments, but overall a plodding film with little to recommend it.

 

[Cli-Fi]

Over the past few weeks, since there is no summer TV out just yet. I have been catching up on some of the movies that have been released over the past few years.

Starting with:
American Sniper (one of the better films in this whole collection)
Whiplash- Classic JK Simmons on full throttle! So if you don't like him, you won't like this movie.
Going Clear: Scientology Documentary- I think the promos rather spoiled the mystery of what they were going to expose. Happy to see many surprising celebs reject the craziness that is Scientology. However, if you've followed anything about Tom Cruse's personal life there is nothing there that is new.
Hot Tub Time Machine 2- Not sure if I missed John Cusack or not.
Divergent- A hot mess that made no sense to me whatsoever. I went in with no expectations, but might read the books to find out more...
The Equalizer- A rare Denzel Washington film that isn't that great. Go back to making high speed thrillers. Leave the mob to DareDevil!
Macfarland USA- Not as inspiring as any number of other sports movies and perhaps a bit racist...
Kingsman: The Secret Service- Samuel L. Jackson making fun of environmentalists was a surprising highlight for me.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- Perhaps my favorite movie out of this whole list. I wonder how well it matches up with the book?
Edge of Tomorrow- Pretty good film but it was a predictable groundhog day set in the future. Some Cruise stunts were pretty unrealistic.
Jupiter Ascending- This movie despite its bad press was the one that has left an impression on me and it was very visual as well. It had big ideas but lacked characters. I heard best for tween girls (which I am not)
John Wick- I turned it off when

Spoiler

they killed the dog

 

[Lenny]

John Wick- I turned it off when

Spoiler

they killed the dog

If you're expecting the rest of the film to be like it is up until that point, then you couldn't have picked a worse time to turn it off. Maybe five or ten more minutes of setting up story and characters, and then total action to the end. Best action film I've seen for a long time.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

a humorous thingy with the word "shrubbery"being brandished about
and also "Moose" ,anarchosyndicalist community..

 

[Starbeast]

Paradox Alice (2012)

A weird sci-fi independent film that was surprisingly good. All I'll say (without giving anything away) is it's about a Jupiter moon mission.

Pontypool (2009)

A mind-drilling horror flick that is centered around a Canadian radio station, and hordes of people are turning into homicidal manics. A very, very strange movie.

 

[JunkMonkey]

a humorous thingy with the word "shrubbery"being brandished about
and also "Moose" ,anarchosyndicalist community..

and my plumber...

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Impact (1949)

I tracked this one down on the recommendation of an acquaintance who knew my tendency to seek out free public domain films on-line. I'll start with his own review of it.

I decided to take a break from the kung fu and giant monster movies I've been delving into lately to check out this black n' white (and public domain - hint hint, Victoria Silverwolf) crime/noir film. A successful operations manager of an automobile company (Brian Donlevy) is almost done in by his wife's idiot lover, but survives the murder attempt (the lover doesn't). Distraught at his wife's treachery (the man was an incredibly doting husband), he wanders around and ends up in a small Idaho town called Larkspur, where finds work as a mechanic for the local gás station owner (the gorgeous Ella Raines). Everybody back home thinks he's dead, but he eventually decides to return to set the record straight...but things get hairy from there. It was a bit slow at first, but once it got moving, it had my attention until the end. And I could probably look at Ella for hours on end, although she's not quite as feisty as she was in Tall in the Saddle. Worth a watch.

My own response:

Not bad at all. Ella Raines is certainly quite strikingly beautiful.

It's interesting to note that the Bad Girl is a seemingly sweet and innocent blonde, and the Good Girl is dark and exotic. (Although the character she plays, quite well, is a small town girl-next-door.)

This might be called Film Noir Light, as well as a B-movie with an A budget and stars. Nice use of location shooting, with San Francisco starring as itself and Larkspur, California in the role of Larkspur, Idaho. Charles Coburn was enjoyable as a seemingly harmless but wily police lieutenant. It was interesting to see Anna May Wong, the first Chinese-American movie star, show up here, some time after the peak of her fame in the 1920's and 1930's. Her uncle was played by Philip Ahn, of Kung Fu fame, in Old Man disguise, but his calm and dignified voice was unmistakable.

The plot turned into a combination of Nancy Drew and Perry Mason near the end, but otherwise it was quite interesting. It seems to be divided into a three act structure, with Act One as the Film Noir, Act Two as a psychological drama/character study as Donlevy makes a new life for himself in Larkspur, and Act Three as a mystery/courtroom drama.

 

[Jesse412]

Mean Streets (1973)

Underrated Martin Scorsese mob film and his earliest. Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro have great on screen chemistry together. De Niro gives an outstanding performance as the arrogant and often unlikeable Johnny Boy and he has some great lines as well. It sounds like Scorsese actually narrates the inner monologue for Keitel's character Charlie in a couple scenes whose inner conflict is the main focus of the story. The movie has a very candid feel to it and some of the editing seems pretty inventive for the time. The soundtrack is excellent and the score fits each scene perfectly. Fantastic and intense ending. A must see for fans of the gangster genre.

 

[Remedy]

Mean Streets (1973)

Underrated Martin Scorsese mob film and his earliest. Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro have great on screen chemistry together. De Niro gives an outstanding performance as the arrogant and often unlikeable Johnny Boy and he has some great lines as well. It sounds like Scorsese actually narrates the inner monologue for Keitel's character Charlie in a couple scenes whose inner conflict is the main focus of the story. The movie has a very candid feel to it and some of the editing seems pretty inventive for the time. The soundtrack is excellent and the score fits each scene perfectly. Fantastic and intense ending. A must see for fans of the gangster genre.

Hadn't heard of this one. I'll check it out!

 

[Jesse412]

Soylent Green (1973)

Interesting scenario. I can't imagine what the sewage situation must be like in a city with 40 million people. I can't say I was surprised by the "twist". When something like that is worked up to being a great mystery and the question is repeated over and over in the trailer, my mind begins thinking of the most shocking twist, and then it's not really shocking anymore.

I love this movie. Looking back the last scene with Edward G. Robinson is actually really touching now knowing it was his last film before he died. Great performance by Charlton Heston as well.

 

[clovis-man]

Man Hunt (1941)
Watched this on TCM. Iconic director Fritz Lang almost seems to be channeling Quentin Tarantino. A story about a Brit (Walter Pidgeon) in Bavaria who happens to get the Furher in his rifle sights before being captured, tortured by George Sanders' henchmen and eventually chased throughout London and environs by pre-war Nazi agents. John Carradine and Sanders seem unlikely Nazis, but are effective nonetheless.

Spoiler

The focus of the film's ending is an ongoing quest to really assassinate Hitler. Hey, it worked in Inglourious Basterds, why not in mid WWII in a film directed by a man forced to flee Germany at the time.

Good supporting cast, including Roddy McDowell and Joan Bennett. Worth a watch for sure.

 

[Alias Black]

Just caught Mad Max: Fury Road today. Brilliant film. I felt the characters could be stronger though, especially the protagonist, Max.

 

[bedlamite]

So, tonight a few friends and I watched Zulu (1964). Required viewing for all Welsh boys when we were young, it does stand the test of time, even on a murky print. Historically inaccurate, but the facts were that a small force resisted a large one (40 to 1), and despatched 20 enemy for every man lost. Enjoyed, but you have to take it as a product of its time, especially the soldier's references to the indigenous folk, and you should keep in mind the fact that it presents one pretty biased viewpoint of what was an Empire's war machine taking on traditionally armed native people.

 

[clovis-man]

So, tonight a few friends and I watched Zulu (1964). Required viewing for all Welsh boys when we were young, it does stand the test of time, even on a murky print. Historically inaccurate, but the facts were that a small force resisted a large one (40 to 1), and despatched 20 enemy for every man lost. Enjoyed, but you have to take it as a product of its time, especially the soldier's references to the indigenous folk, and you should keep in mind the fact that it presents one pretty biased viewpoint of what was an Empire's war machine taking on traditionally armed native people.

But pretty good film overall. Good acting jobs by Jack Hawkins, Michael Caine (in his first major film) and various supporting actors. At the time of its release, the apartheid South African government prohibited Zulu people from seeing it, even though (or perhaps because) many Zulus were involved in the roles.
Some great lines:
Bromhead: Who said you could use my men?
Lieutenant John Chard: They were sitting around on their backsides, doing nothing.
Bromhead: Rather you asked first, old boy.
Lieutenant John Chard: I was told that their officer was out hunting.
Bromhead: Err... yes.
[spurs on horse]
Bromhead: I'll tell my man to clean your kit.
Lieutenant John Chard: Don't bother!
Bromhead: No bother... I'm not offering to clean it myself! Still, a chap ought to look smart in front of the men, don't you think? Well chin-chin... do carry on with your mud pies.

 

[bedlamite]

Jack Hawkins is great. I love Nigel Green as Colour Sergeant Bourne. Also well known as Hercules in Jason & The Argonauts.

 

[bedlamite]

So, last night we went to see Jurassic World, at one of our local community run cinemas.

Dinosaurs, amok, again - surely that isn't a spoiler. Enjoyable hokum with great effects work. A bit 'meta' in some of the plot, or I could be over-crediting the screenplay. A few interesting little plot lines which never got followed up; I think there may have been some rewrites of more interesting themes along the way.

Still not as good as The Valley of Gwangi.