What was the last movie you saw?

[Jeffbert]

As I recall, the DVD of the film actually lacked the Apocalypse part at the ending.

 

[KGeo777]

Apocalypse Later

 

[therapist]

Phantom Thread (2017) by Paul Thomas Anderson

I watched this film twice last month because I loved it so much. It follows a revered dress maker (superbly acted by Daniel Day-Lewis) who is highly meticulous and demanding of everyone around him. He meets a clumsy and headstrong waitress, and we watch the collision of these two personalities unfold in unconventional ways.
Paul Thomas Anderson is clearly a very skilled film maker, and I think this is his best work. It is similar in tone to his film 'Punch-Drunk Love'. And I found it more enjoyable than his other more popular films such as 'Boogie Nights' and 'There Will be Blood'.

 

[KGeo777]

A THUNDER OF DRUMS 1961 - First time I saw this I was distracted by the implausibility of George Hamilton beating Charles Bronson in a fight. However, it wasn't as ridiculous as I had remembered it to be. As a cavalry in an outpost yarn it is ok. Typical stock melodramatics made palatable by Richard Boone as the crusty captain of the command post. The sequences with them searching for the victims of the hostiles and then setting up a decoy scheme to lure them into attack generates some decent suspense for what is likely a standard 60s studio western before the revisionist approach took over.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Arrival (2016)

Intelligent science fiction film adapted from Ted Chiang's award-winning novella "Story of Your Life." I will not discuss the plot, in case anybody here is not familiar with film or story. Suffice to say that the movie reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey, Childhood's End, and Rendezvous with Rama, to be specific) but is also much more intimate in many ways. The main plot twist raises serious philosophical issues. Beautifully filmed and well acted. The aliens and their strange written language are brilliantly realized. Fine music, too. Highly recommended.

 

[Randy M.]

SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INFINITY (1987) dir. Ken Dixon; starring Elizabeth Kaitan, Cindy Beal, Don Scribner

IMDB acknowledges this is a s.f. (sort of) version of Richard Connell's short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," but I didn't see anything in the credits acknowledging it.

In this version of our space-faring future, people still indulge buddy-cop banter and smoke cigarettes, while female slaves wear faux-hide bikinis and sport big hair teased to the point of rebellion only quelled by hairspray. Lots of hairspray, though you never see where it comes from. Daria (Kaitan) and Tisa (Beal) escape from a slave ship, they rocket to a nearby planet, get caught in a tractor beam and land near a once abandoned fort now used by Zed. Zed is a hunter and this is when the movie changes tone a little and actually gets more interesting. That opening is pretty rocky, but where they stick to the short story -- which I think they drew some dialog from, since there's a tonal difference from earlier dialog -- it actually generates some suspense. The setting is obviously a stage somewhere, but the fort isn't bad, and some outdoor shots are quite nice; the space ship special effects are not terribly convincing, but the acting becomes somewhat more settled and convincing, at least for a time. There is some requisite '80s toplessness, some maybe unnecessary zombie-like and mutant-like beings, and Connell's dogs become robots.

I remember seeing this in the '80s and gleefully recognizing what they were doing, if clumsily. For what it is, it's entertaining and oddly leaves the impression of being an upbeat relic of a simpler time.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Futureworld

How can you have watched a movie and forgotten nearly everything about it? Well, I certainly had with this movie. I thought that it was actually really well made, and a good follow up to Westworld. In many ways, I wish that the tv show had followed this route than the one that it did.

 

[KGeo777]

I can hardly remember Futureworld too--I know it was the first film to create a digital replica of someone's face.


SOYLENT GREEN 1973 - A movie that has aged well which is not a good thing in this case because it suggests some of the dire predictions came true. During the opening montage we see people walking around in surgical masks. Two points for that right off the bat. On the tech front, Heston uses a cordless phone and there's an arcade video game. The sequence of going home with Edward G Robinson is very effective-especially with Heston seeing the footage of Nature and being moved by the fact that he had never known any of it. Released 50 years and two weeks ago.

 

[Randy M.]

Giallo Double-Feature, Mystery More than Horror


So Sweet … So Perverse (1969) dir. Umberto Lenzi; starring Carroll Baker, Jean-Louis Trintgnant, Erika Blanc

Shudder calls this, “A kinky retelling of Diabolique …”. It’s been a few years since I saw Diabolique so my memory is somewhat fuzzy, but I think that’s about right.

Jean (Trintignant) is a businessman with an icy wife, Danielle (Blanc). Nicole (Baker) moves into the apartment above them, and when Jean overhears Nicole being attacked by her ex, he becomes obsessed with her, and Danielle knows it. The story it quite good, the writer, director and cast taking their time to lay out the foundation and work toward a satisfactory conclusion via multiple plot twists and

Spoiler

Baker actually survives this giallo!

(Note that giallo stalwart, Ernesto Gastaldi, wrote the screenplay, according to IMDB.)

All good things said about this movie, I could have done without the song sung over the opening credits, “Why?” by Riz Ortolani and sung by J. Vincent Edward. Soppy music and a soppy vocal combined with lyrics composed of a succession of plaintive rhetorical questions that are vaguely tied to one of the movie’s themes and singularly annoying until it reappears three or four times later, making it triply or quadruplely annoying.


My Dear Killer (1972) dir. Tonino Valerii; starring George Hilton, Salvo Randone, William Berger

This one deals with a serial killer and a couple of the killings are rather graphic. The most affecting, though, is not shown.

Inspector Peretti (Hilton) investigates the case of a former insurance investigator who was beheaded by an excavator (did I mention graphic?). As Peretti slowly gathers his clues, constantly a step behind the killer who seeks to eradicate anyone or anything that might lead to him, we find the investigator’s death ties into one of his past cases, the kidnapping and murder of a little girl and her father.

There’s a bit of clumsiness in the handling of Peretti’s relationship with his girlfriend, who hectors him about how his job has changed him and how little time they spend together, which doesn’t entirely make sense because she’s a doctor and I would think his job wouldn’t be the only one limiting their time together. Anyway, it does lead to a scene late in the movie that turns on the lightbulb over his head so he realizes what happened to the investigator, the father and the little girl. The rest is a pretty solid criminal investigation, delving into a family’s dysfunction, complete with an ending where all the suspects are gathered and Peretti unmasks the killer.

 

[KGeo777]

NIGHTMARES COME AT MIDNIGHT 1970


I guess a Jesus Franco movie is something you don't watch, you witness it like a car crash or exhibitionists performing an orgy in an alley you pass by on the way to an AA meeting.

You know you shouldn't look but can't help it.

I only watched it out of curiosity to see euro actress Diane Lorys and she does a decent dignified performance in what seems to be mostly an out of of focus lesbian porno.
It's such a bad movie and yet somehow kind of fascinating--it isn't boring just bad.
Franco likes to have out of focus shots and pointless camera moves to closeup of things that don't matter--at least you learn something about anatomy in this case.
The dubbing for this was not helpful--I don't think it mattered since the story was so worthless but it was a modern dub so he voices were boring and they used modern phrasing like "this sucks," which certainly sums up the movie.

 

[CupofJoe]

Blinded by the Light [2019, Gurinder Chadha]
Inspired by the life of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, this film is an ode to growing up different from everyone, with a Bruce Springsteen soundtrack.
With the background of the mid-80s in Thatcher's Britain and racial tensions in Luton misfit Javed Khan [Viveik Kalra] discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen. The songs speak to him and his world's hopes and expectations, begin to change.
Viveik Kalra is believable as a slightly lost young man coming to grips with the world around him.
The other young leads are just as good.
A solid British cast includes Kulvinder Ghir, Sally Phillips, Rob Brydon, and Hayley Atwell.
It is from the same director as Bend It Like Beckham, so don't expect neo-realism but the trial and tribulation of life are not ignored.
The songs are used perfectly. There is even a hint of Bollywood Bruce.

Update: I bought the OST. It is the film distilled into 50 minutes and wonderful for it. All the songs from the film [but not all from The Boss, including a Boss rarity I am told] interspersed with some of the better bits of dialogue. £2.35 well spent!

 

[alexvss]

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. After Rocket is attacked by Adam Warlock, a self-destruct system is triggered, so the Guardians have to retrieve the password that will save his friend from a villain that creates “utopias” across the galaxy.

This movie is on the level that you’d expect from a James Gunn Guardians of the Galaxy movie. It’s genuinely funny, and the action and drama are on point. Everyone is funny here, even Nebula. But the other movies are so good that I don’t think this one will be anyone’s favorite.

Needle dropping is still a thing here, as it should. Star Lord listens to songs to make him concentrate, and to set the tone in fights. I didn’t like the score on dramatic scenes though: it seems that they’re forcing you to cry.

Adam Warlock is a little weird here. He was just born so he acts like a child. I’ve never read his comics (although I know he was the one who killed Thanos), but I must say that I didn’t like him in this movie very much.

There’s a mid-credit scene and a post-credit scene. Only the former is worth your time.

All in all, not a masterpiece, but definitely worth two and a half hours of your limited, priceless life.

 

[Droflet]

The Pope's Exorcist.
There's nothing particularly original about this one, which is saved by a great performance from Russel Crowe. Better than I expected but not great.

 

[alexvss]

Better than I expected but not great.

That's precisely how I'd define it!

 

[alexvss]

Seven Samurai (1954). Tired of being ravaged by bandits, a group of villagers go on a quest to hire samurai to defend them, but the only thing they can offer is rice.

First chanbara by Akira Kurosawa, it’s one of the best movies ever made, and the most expensive at the time. It’s the definition of every frame a painting. Kurosawa really was a king of the mise-an-scene. Also, it’s pretty long (three and a half hours), but you notice that that’s the necessary runtime for the story.

I highly recommend it.

 

[alexvss]

Yojimbo (1961). In a town dominated by two gangs, a ronin profits (and has a lot of fun) by playing with both sides and making a fool of them.

Another classic by Akira Kurosawa, and one that has inspired many Western movies (including one that copied it almost frame by frame). Like in Seven Samurai (1954), I really like how uplifting it is. The protagonist does everything with a smile, and is not looking for money at all, just for the fun and the glory of liberating the village.

There is a sequel, Sanjuro, which I saw too. Yojimbo is a better movie overall, but Sanjuro has the best ending. The bloodspurt duel scene is one of the best fight scenes in cinema.

Spoiler: Sanjuro ending scene

 

[KGeo777]

JACK THE GIANT SLAYER 2013 -- One I wish I could like better but it makes a lot of bad decisions. The big one is the use of motion capture cgi when the giants are so anonymous and human-like. They could have easily done it with make up and slowed the footage down for a lumbering effect and it would have looked more serious and real. Next problem--the casting. Other than Ewan McGregor who gets to be the Obi Wan Kenobi he could not be in the prequels, the cast is bland. Stanley Tucci seems to be doing an Alan Rickman character but he's no Alan Rickman.
The lead is not an actor I dislike but he's kind of wimpy and not convincing as a farmer's son. And the princess---you get the impression she is going to be a confident adult based on her intro but she ends up so underwritten and mild. I prefer the 1960s version. Another thing that is hard to take with modern movies besides bad writing and weak acting voices is the rapid editing. An average shot is 2 seconds.

 

[REBerg]

Jason X
Entertaining mix of sci-fi, horror and humor. Memorable Andromeda moment: Lexa Doig peers at Lisa Ryder and tells her she doesn't look real.

 

[dask]

Arrival (2016)

Found it on Roku and watching it in the mornings before my wife gets up. So far high quality production, inventive, and well thought out.

 

[Jeffbert]

THE LAST COMMAND (1928) Silent. A Russian who emigrated to the USA is working in Hollywood as an extra. The film's director Leo Andreyev (William Powell) was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries ten years earlier, and had met this man at the time. Grand Duke Sergius Alexander (Emil Jannings; sad story of the actor almost as bad as the character), had fled to America, and was now about to take a minor role in a film directed by the guy he had contemplated shooting as an enemy 10 years ago.

The poor guy is constantly shaking his head, and is shown going through the series of receiving his costume, etc., being squeezed by other extras. Then, the flashback.

Spoiler

Here is the war against the Germans, and the Czar wants to take an entire division from the front lines, so he can inspect the troops. Then, he wants to have them engage in an attack, just so he can watch. Grand Duke Sergius Alexander, a top General, refuses to cooperate, and this greatly changes the mind of the woman Natalie Dabrova (Evelyn Brent) who was captured with Leo Andreyev, and identified as Bolsheviks. She was going to seduce and then kill him, but realizes he is not the type she assumed he was. Once the Bolsheviks overrun the headquarters, She helps him escape from the other Bolsheviks who had captured him, intending to torture him in public.

Once the flashback is over, it seems that the director has plans to humiliate the former General, but once 'Action!' is yelled, the guy, who is outfitted as a Russian General, becomes fired-up, and begins issuing realistic orders to the extras playing the troops, and becomes so excited, grabs the Russian flag, and acts as though really in combat. He suffers a fatal heart attack. The director, who had intended to humiliate the guy, cradles his head in his arms, and realizes he had been on the wrong side.

Truly touching!