What was the last movie you saw?

[CupofJoe]

Avatar: The Way of Water 2022 James Cameron
It looks wonderful but after an hour I got up to get a drink and forgot to go back. It is still in the player...

 

[REBerg]

Love and Monsters
I was expecting a chucklefest, but this turned out to be a tale of self-discovery. I suspect it was aimed more at the young adult crowd than a general audience.

 

[Toby Frost]

I watched that film on the same day that I had a Covid jab. There's a scene where the hero is drugged and the camera goes wobbly, and I really didn't know if it was the vaccination or me doing that. I remember it being an okay film, but I probably wasn't an ideal viewer!

 

[Jeffbert]

Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) a man comes to town, seeking his brother, and immediately witnesses a strange cult-like event in which a young woman is chased by men driving cars. Assured it is nothing but a harmless game, he is welcomed into the home of Morley (Christopher Lee) by his niece, Lavinia Morley (Barbara Steele), whom he comes to trust. Professor John Marsh (Boris Karloff) expert on witchcraft, is also present.

Spoiler

It turns out that Morely is a mad man, believing his niece is a descendant of a witch who was burned 300 years ago, and his role is to avenge her.

Interesting film, nice to see both Lee & Karloff in 1 film.

8/10

 

[KGeo777]

I always assumed that it was a remake of the (better) wartime film Went the Day Well?, which was loosely based on a story by Graham Greene, IIRC. I had no idea it was Lalo Shifirin!

It says "based on a book by.." but it doesn't give the title.

 

[Parson]

The Sound of Freedom (2023) This is a wonderful docudrama of a man who saved many children (80?) from sexual slavery in Columbia. This is done by the same people (Angel Studios) who did The Chosen. Knowing that might lead you to think that this some sort of sanitized Christian flick. That would be very wrong. The characters are seriously flawed. No sexual encounters are seen, but they are clearly inferred. And there is no message to flick besides the obvious one, "All God's children should be free." This is a highly popular movie. A knowledge of Spanish would be good, but the English subtitles are more than sufficient. It claims to be the 3rd most popular program being streamed.

(Free on Prime Video)

 

[Droflet]

Just finished watching Rebel Moon. OMG. what a train wreck. I'm not blamiing Zack Snyder for this mess because once again it has the unmistakeable finger prints of studio suits all over it. Hmmmm, so this is the future of cinema????

 

[Guttersnipe]

Saltburn (2023): A manipulative mastermind is obsessed with his newfound friend in a way that reminds one of The Talented Mr. Ripley. He gets into his "friend's" good graces and is invited to stay at his family's castle, Saltburn. Parties galore. Very sexual and very disturbing. The main character has no saving grace and never gets punished. Probably won't see it again.

 

[JunkMonkey]

Well the year is getting off to a cruddy start:

I got 30 minutes into Splice and gave up because... well I was just bored.
13 minutes into The Watch before I paused it and went to look it up to see if it got any better - apparently it doesn't, so stuff that.

I ended up watching The Muppets (it had Alan Arkin* in it) - which, after I got over the fact that there was going to be spontaneous human singing in it, became quite a fun little show - slightly spoiled by the usual Disney 'meaning of family' crap ladled all over the end of its far too long ending - but there we go.



*JunkMonkey Rules of Movie watching #23: If it has Alan Arkin, Rutger Hauer, Daniel Auteuil or Jeanne Tripplehorn in it it's worth watching - even if only once.

 

[KGeo777]

PERCY'S PROGRESS 1974 - A plane explodes over the ocean and releases a chemical that causes the world's male population to become impotent. The only man who never drank the water is also the recipient of the first transplanted you-know-what and so he is whisked away by the government in order to replenish the human race. I would never ever in a million years watch a movie like this except the cast got me curious--Elke Sommer, Denholm Elliot, Bernard Lee, Judy Geeson, Vincent Price, and it is so bad it makes A Carry On movie look refined.

 

[Droflet]

Well the year is getting off to a cruddy start:

I got 30 minutes into Splice and gave up because... well I was just bored.
13 minutes into The Watch before I paused it and went to look it up to see if it got any better - apparently it doesn't, so stuff that.

I ended up watching The Muppets (it had Alan Arkin* in it) - which, after I got over the fact that there was going to be spontaneous human singing in it, became quite a fun little show - slightly spoiled by the usual Disney 'meaning of family' crap ladled all over the end of its far too long ending - but there we go.



*JunkMonkey Rules of Movie watching #23: If it has Alan Arkin, Rutger Hauer, Daniel Auteuil or Jeanne Tripplehorn in it it's worth watching - even if only once.

You might want to avoid Rebel Moon. It truely stinks.

 

[Guttersnipe]

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017): Based on an ancient Greek play. A young man manipulates the life of a doctor responsible for his father's death. The young man somehow curses the doctor and his family, causing them to go through some kind of disease where they go limp and lose the desire to eat, among other things. Very strange and very horrifying. Would recommend.

 

[Jeffbert]

The Bride Goes Wild (1948) John McGrath (Hume Cronyn) is the publisher of children's books, including the UNCLE [SORRY, I ALREADY FORGOT] series, & an illustrator is chosen by the kids for the next book in the series, THE BASHFUL BULL. Yet, the real author, Greg Rawlings (Van Johnson) wants nothing to do with children, and is an alcoholic. Martha Terryton (June Allyson) is the chosen illustrator, and she expects to see a child-loving Uncle whatshisname, not a guy who hates kids.

A comedy that goes wild! Silly, but enjoyable; 8/10.

 

[Jeffbert]

Beware My Lovely (1952) NOIR ALLEY.


Helen Gordon (Ida Lupino) hires a household handyman, Howard Wilton (Robert Ryan) who has very serious psychological / mental problems, including memory loss and a violent temper. So, at his last job, he realized that he had murdered his employer, ran for the nearest boxcar, and arrived in another town, having completely forgotten the entire incident. What a total psycho!

So, initially he is respectful of and polite to Gordon, but soon after he has gained her trust, he becomes violent. But, a few minutes later, he has forgotten his rage, and is polite again. This is repeated several times, and poor Gordon is at her wit's end. Is this noir, or horror?

In a house of that time, keys are needed to go in or out, and he had locked the doors and absentmindedly dropped the keys to both the front and back doors in his shirt pocket. Now Gordon is trapped in her own house.

10/10; wonderful, though not enjoyable! Whether noir or horror, an unforgettable film.

 

[CupofJoe]

Barbie [2023 Greta Gerwig]
The film was a great deal of fun and entertaining. I loved the surreal and at the same time totally fake and believable reality that is Barbieland.
The plot make little sense, but if you are watching Barbie don’t expect it to.
Some praise has to go to Mattel for letting one of their major brands take such a risky approach. It would have been a lot easier to make a “safer” film, but they went out and swung for the bleachers [as I believe the saying goes].
What I’d like to know is how much of the plot was decided before Mattel gave the okay. It has the feel of a director’s private project as Gerwig was a co-writer as well. In some ways this has a slightly old-school Hollywood feel.
As for the performances...
There are just hints of Harley Quinn in some of Margot Robbie’s Barbie, that give what might have been a fluffy line, just that hint of a steel edge.
America Ferrera was great as the struggling mom. And so was Ariana Greenblatt as her daughter. Their dynamic and chemistry really worked for me. was
Actually the whole cast was pretty good and it was nice to see Rob Brydon pop-up [No, he’s Sugar and I’m his Daddy].
Some of the Kens were under used but the film is called Barbie after all [and now we know what the Doctor does with their time off].
And a special shout-out has to go to Helen Mirren as the Narrator and Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler.
I am sure that there were lots of bits in the film I didn’t [fully] get the importance of as a male [and therefore part of the patriarchy - it's not just about Horses] but it was 2 hours well spent.

 

[Parson]

Barbie [2023 Greta Gerwig]
The film was a great deal of fun and entertaining. I loved the surreal and at the same time totally fake and believable reality that is Barbieland.
The plot make little sense, but if you are watching Barbie don’t expect it to.
Some praise has to go to Mattel for letting one of their major brands take such a risky approach. It would have been a lot easier to make a “safer” film, but they went out and swung for the bleachers [as I believe the saying goes].
What I’d like to know is how much of the plot was decided before Mattel gave the okay. It has the feel of a director’s private project as Gerwig was a co-writer as well. In some ways this has a slightly old-school Hollywood feel.
As for the performances...
There are just hints of Harley Quinn in some of Margot Robbie’s Barbie, that give what might have been a fluffy line, just that hint of a steel edge.
America Ferrera was great as the struggling mom. And so was Ariana Greenblatt as her daughter. Their dynamic and chemistry really worked for me. was
Actually the whole cast was pretty good and it was nice to see Rob Brydon pop-up [No, he’s Sugar and I’m his Daddy].
Some of the Kens were under used but the film is called Barbie after all [and now we know what the Doctor does with their time off].
And a special shout-out has to go to Helen Mirren as the Narrator and Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler.
I am sure that there were lots of bits in the film I didn’t [fully] get the importance of as a male [and therefore part of the patriarchy - it's not just about Horses] but it was 2 hours well spent.

It is my understanding that Mattel was pretty hands off. They wanted a successful movie, more than they wanted to protect the image of their product. ---- That strikes me as being pretty savvy. This movie was aimed at young women, who grew up playing with Barbie and probably hoped to look like Barbie when they were very young, only to come face-to-face with the reality of living outside of a fantasy world. ---- I read a couple of women who discussed this in the paper (New York Times?) and their greatest fear was that Hollywood would learn the wrong lesson from Barbie. Instead of making smart movies for women, they would make more movies about toys coming to life. I'd make that almost a certain bet.

 

[CupofJoe]

Instead of making smart movies for women, they would make more movies about toys coming to life. I'd make that almost a certain bet.

Fortunately for my bank balance, I won't be taking that bet.

 

[svalbard]

Saltburn (2023): A manipulative mastermind is obsessed with his newfound friend in a way that reminds one of The Talented Mr. Ripley. He gets into his "friend's" good graces and is invited to stay at his family's castle, Saltburn. Parties galore. Very sexual and very disturbing. The main character has no saving grace and never gets punished. Probably won't see it again.

Watched it the other night. There are scenes that I wish I could unsee, but are now burned onto my consciousness. That said it was brilliantly acted from the whole cast. It looked absolutely gorgeous and the soundtrack is fab. Barry Keoghan makes for a brilliant villain.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Watched it the other night. There are scenes that I wish I could unsee, but are now burned onto my consciousness. That said it was brilliantly acted from the whole cast. It looked absolutely gorgeous and the soundtrack is fab. Barry Keoghan makes for a brilliant villain.

I don't think I'll ever watch it again. I saw the tub scene where Barry drinks the water (among other things) and that did it for me.

 

[Randy M.]

First movies of the year:

Dangerous Love (1988) dir. Marty Ollstein; starring Lawrence Monoson, Brenda Bakke, Elliot Gould

Decent performances by Monoson and Bakke are undercut by bland direction and a highly implausible script that saves the motivation for the entire movie until a few lines of dialog near the end. Part of the plot involves a physical dating site (owner played by Anthony Geary), the selection process done through shared video tapes. Defter direction would have pulled some comedy from this, but an early attempt is ham-handed. Gould, past his M*A*S*H heyday must have needed money at the time, though he has a late scene that might have appealed to his sense of humor. IMDB Shows that Bakke and Monoson have both had long careers; I suspect a luckier break would have put Bakke at the same level as Virgina Madsen, but apparently that break didn't happen.


Gone Baby, Gone (2007) dir. Ben Affleck; starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris

Excellent, if depressing, movie that's a character study of Patrick Mackenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Monaghan). A missing child is reported by her aunt (strong performance by Amy Madigan), her junkie good-times mother (Amy Ryan, also very good) seems unconcerned. Several twists and turns in the motivations behind the -- disappearance? abduction? kidnapping? -- lead to difficult decisions for Mackenzie and Gennaro. Probably one of the best crime/detective movies so far in this still young century. The final scene is heartbreaking.


Marlowe (2022) dir. Neil Jordan; starring Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange

Probably not one of the best crime/detective movies so far in this still young century. Still, better than I was expecting, though Jordan and writer John Banville's Marlowe doesn't seem exactly like Raymond Chandler's. Anyway, a woman (Kruger) wants to find her lover, who's disappeared and hires Marlowe. Neeson is 30+ years too old for Chandler's Marlowe, but Jordan/Banville account for that (sort of), mixing the fictional Marlowe's backstory (losing his D.A. investigator job) with the real life Chandler's history (worked in the oil industry). Take the lovers (Kruger and Francis Arnaud), mix in movie studio politics, a Southern crime boss and his henchman (Alan Cummings and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, both good), the manager of a country club devoted to its members' licentiousness (Danny Huston, also good), faded movie star (Lange) and her lover/financial advisor, soon to be Ambassador to England, and a nod or two towards Chinatown, and you have a typically complicated Chandleresque mystery involving corruption among L.A. police, politicians and studio execs. Solid lead performances and quite good supporting performances. Worth a watch, and maybe better than reviewers gave it credit for; maybe even more than I'm giving it credit for.