What was the last movie you saw?

[CupofJoe]

Have you seen Godzilla Minus One (2023)? It really seems to correspond to your likings, and it's an amazing movie.

I second that. Probably about the best film I've seen in a long time

 

[Parson]

High Treason (1929)

This sounds amazing to me. I generally hate old movies but I might make an exception here.

 

[Foxbat]

Have you seen Godzilla Minus One (2023)? It really seems to correspond to your likings, and it's an amazing movie.

Not yet but I will make the effort to see it soon

 

[Jeffbert]

TCM will show Alphaville 09/12 @ 10:45 PM est. I never heard of it before, but looking at TCM's schedule online, just noticed it. Should be interesting.


The Housemaid (1960) NOIR ALLEY's last film in July (August was Summer under the stars, & Noir Alley was off until Sept. 8) This is a Korean (S) film, that, had one familiar item that was not until the very ending.

This man Dong-sik Kim (Kim Jin-kyu) has two, count 'em, 2 kids, a pregnant wife, and teaches music at a factory that employs women from rural areas. The idea is to have them learn city culture, etc., & popular songs/ music are part of their job description. Once daily, they are away from their looms, and even change from their work clothes to their civilian ones to learn songs. Kim is pressed for cash, and takes students to teach piano lessons in his home. Because of his wife's condition, he hires a housemaid (didn't see that coming, did ya?), who witnesses the student declaring her love for the man. This inspires the maid to do likewise.

Spoiler

I was very surprised to see the element of rats in the home, needed to bring in the element of RAT POISON, which becomes necessary, just as Q must always demonstrate the weapons & gadgets that 007 will eventually use later in the film. So the audience knows about the rat poison in the kitchen cabinet, & I, for one was at that point predicting the later events in the film. bad things happen, When the wife and kids go to her mother's after the birth, the maid through her wiles seduces the husband, and becomes pregnant.

Mom returns home, dad, feeling guilty, confesses, .... mom convinces the maid to abort by falling down the stairs. But the maid now demands the death of mom's new baby. ...

the little boy, being convinced that he had swallowed rat poison, tumbled down the stairs, and died from the fall. Now the man is rather angry at the housemaid.
...
dad & maid both decide to take poison, but dad wants to dies in his wife's arms, maid will not let this happen...


& now (as the Pythons would say) for something completely different:

none of those awful events ever happened. The parents had been discussing an article the newspaper about men being seduced as the film began, & here is the end, all is well, & papa breaks the 4th wall with a warning to all men. Don't let that happen to you!

A scene that really bothered me was the daughter, being crippled, the son mocked the way she walked. As one in a similar condition since age 3, this really struck a nerve. Other than that, I really enjoyed this film.

8/10

 

[Judderman]

Twisters (2024). The original Twister movie wasn’t amazing but it was the exciting type of film it should be. But this was shocking. A decent first ten minutes but then there was barely any excitement for the rest of the film. And a poor romance story.

 

[bretbernhoft]

The most recent movie I watched is titled, "Kalki 2898 AD". Amazing to see the stories Bollywood is telling, since I tuned in last.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

The Killings at Outpost Zeta (1980)

Ultra-cheap science fiction monster movie. A team sets out for the planet Zeta to find out why the original team there, as well as two rescue teams sent after them, are out of communication. Apparently this planet is vitally important due to its location as a jumping-off point for other planets, although it's just a hunk of volcanic rock. The planet is inhabited by little rock critters that eviscerate the humans. It looks like a Star Trek fan film; they even use the term "Starfleet." Lots of talk in small sets, lots of attacks filmed from the monster's point of view. A valiant effort at trying to do something with no money, anyway.

 

[alexvss]

Longlegs (2024). A female FBI agent tracks down a serial killer that leaves coded letters behind.

A mix of Se7en (1995) and Zodiac (2007), this is 2024’s Godzilla Minus One: the surprise of the year.

The tone and mood are perfect. I’ve never heard of this writer/director, but he really knows how to make Horror.

Nicholas Cage plays the title character, and he delivers. That’s amazing because Nicholas Cage is a movie genre all by himself, and I believe that, in this case, anyone will dig his acting.

The only thing I didn’t entirely like was the main character. She’s brooding, and she hyperventilates a lot in scary situations. I had a hard time believing that she was scarred enough to be like that. I ended up believing afterwards, thinking about the movie.

Anyway, strongly recommended.

 

[KGeo777]

JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN 1969 -- First viewing since watching The Invaders. Roy Thinnes being an "invader" was kind of ironic. What's interesting if one thinks about how science fiction reaches a point where limitations in exploration becomes an idea--this film already takes that direction. It feels like they were influenced by 2001 in making it--even with the scene at the end --instead of a monolith it's the mirror that is the symbolic object. The miniature effects are very good . They even put miniature people moving on the rocket structures to give it a busy effect.

 

[KGeo777]

SEVEN GOLDEN WOMEN AGAINST TWO - 1966 - Obscure movie, and for good reason. It's truly terrible.

 

[Jeffbert]

JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN 1969 -- First viewing since watching The Invaders. Roy Thinnes being an "invader" was kind of ironic. What's interesting if one thinks about how science fiction reaches a point where limitations in exploration becomes an idea--this film already takes that direction. It feels like they were influenced by 2001 in making it--even with the scene at the end --instead of a monolith it's the mirror that is the symbolic object. The miniature effects are very good . They even put miniature people moving on the rocket structures to give it a busy effect.

There is another film on a similar idea, except, I think it actually is a pilot film. The Stranger (1973) I saw it once, and recall the astronaut eventually realizing that this Earth is not his Earth when he is driving a car, and the radio turns on by itself, and the tyrannical Govt. information broadcast, etc. Wanted to see it again.

Also saw JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN, though cannot recall much.

 

[KGeo777]

There is another film on a similar idea, except, I think it actually is a pilot film. The Stranger (1973) I saw it once, and recall the astronaut eventually realizing that this Earth is not his Earth when he is driving a car, and the radio turns on by itself, and the tyrannical Govt. information broadcast, etc. Wanted to see it again.

Also saw JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN, though cannot recall much.

I heard of that pilot--have it on a bookmark.
Interesting idea since each week the character would be going around--either to encounter people he knew from the alternate earth and wondering if he can trust them.

Sort of like Sliders combined with the Fugitive.

 

[KGeo777]

HAMMERHEAD 1968 - Strange-o spy comedy that has a Bond-ish theme song (although it is heard as background music mostly). It has a lot of hippie girls dancing around and Douglas Wilmer in an odd part as a hippie artist. Seen it before but revisit now and then to try to decipher its mysteries. David Prowse has a speaking role.

 

[Judderman]

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
I was hoping this would be a good one as it links back to humanity again generations after the apes took control. It was not bad but a little disappointing as the main character is similar to the Caeser character of earlier films, and again the focus is on an aggressive leader vs a more reasonable one. But it is not bad either. It seems the franchise will go on even if it is no longer inspiring.

 

[CupofJoe]

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

It seems I'm in the minority looking at all the good reviews of this movie. I thought it was pretty ho-hum. There was plenty of muckle monster action and SFX galore but it didn't really do anything for me. I think, in the end, there was too much anthropomorphising going on. I like my giant monsters to be unimaginably different from us, not the same. I want to be filled with awe and fear, not familiarity.

Exceedingly average and the weakest of the bunch.

My digital copy glitched after about the first 15 minutes and I lost the spoken [okay usually shouted] audio.
This, I believe, improved the film as I didn't have to listen to dialogue and exposition and just watch the monsters wailing on each other.

 

[Jeffbert]

Assignment in Brittany (1943) During WWII, a Free-French soldier Captain Metard (Pierre Aumont? 1st I heard of him) is assigned to impersonate Bertrand Corlay, sneak into France and locate U-boat pens, so the Allies can destroy them. Unknown to the Allies, Corlay was collaborating with the Enemy, a thing that has both pros & cons to Metard.

A rather tense film, 8/10

 

[Jeffbert]

Crossroads (1942) David Talbot (William Powell) is a diplomat who, some years ago, had suffered amnesia, and since then, had lived a respectable life. Having no memory of his life prior to the injury that caused the memory loss, he is vulnerable to suggestions that he had been a career criminal, as Carlos Le Duc (Vladimir Sokoloff; remember his Twilight Zone role in Dust? "you must heed the magic") suggests. He owes him a large sum of money, and demands that he toss it into a certain place at a certain time, or he will reveal his former identity to the authorities.

Unsure of his previous life, Talbot tosses a package over the fence, & drives away, but had laid a trap, and the blackmailer is caught. At the trail, the defense scrutinizes the very possibility that Amnesia is even real. Dr. Andre Tessier (Felix Bressart) goes against Dr. Alex Dubroc (Sig Ruman) on the issue, the former on Talbot's side, as his physician ever since his injury, and the latter on Le Duc's side.

Enough of the plot! Great film, wonderful cast, etc., & behind it all: Henri Sarrou (Basil Rathbone), attempting to scam the guy who lost his memory of all things prior to the train wreck.

Lucienne Talbot (Hedy Lamarr).

8/10

 

[pogopossum]

Star Wars: 4,5,6,1,2,3. In that order.
It has been decades and my spouse actually expressed interest as way back, she had only seen 4 & 5.
I know that posters here are not judgemental. However if anyone were to question my choices, the punishment of watching both Jar Jar Binks and the animated Yoda (not the Jim henson version) was punishment enough.
I was pleasantly surprised that 1 & 2 actually had plot & characterization. Things that I did not notice 20+ years ago.

 

[Jeffbert]

China Sky (1945) TCM ran a bunch of films featuring Yellow-face American actors portraying Asians. This was among them, featuring Chen-Ta (Anthony Quinn), a warlord fighting the Japanese Army in China. Plenty of actual actors of Asian descent, but they needed American names to attract white American audience, at least they though so.

So, an American surgeon Dr. Gray Thompson (Randolph Scott) is away in the States gathering financial support from rich people for his clinic in China. His assistant Dr. Sara Durand (Ruth Warrick) he left in charge, to the annoyance of a Chinese physician, Dr. Kim (Philip Ahn; most remembered for his role in the 1970s series, KUNG-FU) who believes it is an offense for himself to be subordinate to a woman. Anyway, Gray finally returns, having married the wealthy Louise Thompson (Ellen Drew) who does not appreciate the hardships of living in China during WWII.

Interesting war film with a mix or romance & intrigue.

8/10

 

[Jeffbert]

Another yellow-face film.

Sayonara (1957) An American Airforce Officer Major Lloyd "Ace" Gruver, USAF (Marlon Brando) stationed in Japan, falls in love with a Japanese dancer Hana-ogi (Miiko Taka), which is discouraged by the Airforce, and forbidden by the dance company, that expects her to renounce love altogether, because it is tradition.


supporting cast/characters:
Captain Mike Bailey, USMC (James Garner); Airman Joe Kelly (Red Buttons); and in yellow-face:
Nakamura (Ricardo Montalbán; AKA Khan!!!!).


Intense! 9/10.