What was the last movie you saw?

[KGeo777]

Devil’s Express (1976) A curious potpurri of blaxploitation spiritual martial arts gang warfare mismatched cop team zombie subway movie. Terrible acting, rotten fight choreography, awful script, and laughable plot, and yet it is quite entertaining. Decent street filming of 1970s New York is always a bonus, as is the lead actor Warhawk Tanzania, who does his moves in gold velvet flared dungarees.
On Amazon. Quite good fun.

The creature suit in that is very good for the time and budget. It looks like a 1980s professionally made spfx costume. There were not many full costume monster suits outside of Japan in those days.

 

[Vince W]

Coming 2 America. Woof. I had only moderate praise for the original, but this adds nothing to its predecessor and in places detracts from it. The only real laughs were when Murphy and Hall put on the make up again and let themselves go. And there wasn't much of that. I think Murphy should just enjoy his money and move on from acting.

 

[Toby Frost]

I watched the first half of Ghostbusters (1984) for the first time in twenty years or so. Wow, this hasn't aged terribly well. The three leads are basically characterised as a nerdy scientist, a jolly fool and... er... a dirty old man who's not actually very old? I'm prepared to give older films some leeway but this isn't great. I kept expecting Sigourney Weaver to punch him, tape some guns together and deal with Hell by herself.

 

[Extollager]

The White Countess (2005), a Merchant Ivory movie. It is not a movie for people who want a lot of fast action, witty repartee, & so on. I think it was an original screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro, but it could be taken for an adaptation of a literary novel. The missus and I quite liked it.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Up next GENIOUS with Colin Firth.

 

[Mouse]

New Mutants. Good, horror-y X-Men film. Magik needs her own film though.

 

[Randy M.]

Coffy (1973) dir. Jack Hill; starring Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, William Elliot

Black exploitation movie, the one that made Grier a star. As Hitmouse mentioned above, too often the director and writer created opportunities to get Grier's clothes off or half-off. The acting is sometimes awkward and not helped by ham-handed dialog or editing that isn't exactly on point, but there's a wild energy to the movie, a kind of The Bride Wore Black vibe mixed with legitimate community concerns about drug dealing and corruption in local government, that carries it along. Doesn't hurt to have Alan Arbus playing a bad guy (M*A*S*H fans will recall his appearances on that show) and Sid Haig chewing some scenery.

I have the opportunity to watch Foxy Brown and may take it before pulling out Jackie Brown, which I've had on DVR for a while and should get to. I've seen Grier in some later roles -- like a grandmother on This is Us -- and it's fascinating to see how much better she's become while not losing the charisma that pulls your eyes to her when she's in a scene.


And now, for something completely different ...

Enola Holmes (2020)

(You thought it'd be something Pythonesque, right? Sorry.) Millie Bobbie Brown is a force to be reckoned with and will probably continue to be if she chooses her roles wisely. I liked her in Strange Things and she's every bit as engaging here and in a mostly different emotional register. This is a well-produced, smartly directed movie but it holds together because she is the center of the movie and holds it together. I wasn't impressed by casting Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes, but he does rather better than I'd expected; his scenes with Brown are good. Even better are Brown's scenes with Helena Bonham Carter; I wish there had been more of them.

Not a great movie (interesting, somewhat critical review of it from one of the sharpest writers at CrimeReads) but maybe an indication of things to come from Brown.

 

[Parson]

Finished all 5 seasons of The Expanse. I limited myself to episode a night to savor one of the best SF television series ever.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Just finished Your Honour in 3 nights. The Judge trying to explain himself out of situations was Walter White all over again. It was good, but I'm not sure it's close to being Breaking Bad brilliant.

 

[alexvss]

Primer (2004) is one of the movies I've watched this weekend--and boy, did I like it! It's a indie flick written, directed, produced and starred by the same guy. It's about two engineers who build a time machine that takes them back some hours in the past, so they can have 36 hour-days. They now know the movement of the stock market. A murder also happens, so they come back to intervene. It's difficult to understand and mindblowing. Looks like (I'm not sure) that they also created another dimension, and the dimensions intertwined, so they were living with themselves in the same dimension.

My reaction after watching it:

 

[KGeo777]

Vendetta di Ercole 1960 -also known as Goliath and the Dragon--the Italian version is superior for the story--since it doesnt have the over the top dubbing which I usually like but in this case having watched the other version--the drama works much better without the unintentional comedy of the english voice overs. And the musical score is less intrusive in the Italian version.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Contact (1997)

Well, what do you know. An intelligent science fiction movie. Completely convincing, too, despite some melodramatic and even mystical (in the sense of "any sufficiently advanced technology . . .") events in the plot. The most believable working scientists I've ever seen on film. The way that the general public reacts to First Contact made me nod my head and say "Yep, that's exactly what would happen." Works as a human drama as well. Very nicely filmed, excellently acted, good restrained use of gosh-wow special effects. It sure doesn't seem like it's nearly a quarter of a century old.

 

[CupofJoe]

Legend [1985 - Ridley Scott]
There is so much wrong with this film but I still love it. The chemistry between the leads is totally absent. Tom Cruise [who was in his 30s at this time] just doesn't have the acting chops. Mia Sara looks suitably as a damsel-in-distress.
And after several viewing over the years, i am still not certain what the plot is...
So why do I love it?
Tim Curry as the Big Bad. He over acts so wonderfully that I end up rooting for him.
And it looks amazing. Whatever might be said about Sir Ridley Scott, he can make beautiful looking films...

 

[Toby Frost]

Whatever might be said about Sir Ridley Scott, he cam make beautiful looking films...

Very true - it's a great strength and a massive flaw!

 

[Vince W]

Contact (1997)

Well, what do you know. An intelligent science fiction movie. Completely convincing, too, despite some melodramatic and even mystical (in the sense of "any sufficiently advanced technology . . .") events in the plot. The most believable working scientists I've ever seen on film. The way that the general public reacts to First Contact made me nod my head and say "Yep, that's exactly what would happen." Works as a human drama as well. Very nicely filmed, excellently acted, good restrained use of gosh-wow special effects. It sure doesn't seem like it's nearly a quarter of a century old.

It gets watched at least once a year in my home. It never disappoints.

 

[Toby Frost]

I finished Ghostbusters (1984). It picks up a good deal in the second half and becomes pretty entertaining. However, it still feels like a first attempt at this sort of film: it's never especially exciting or funny, although it's amusing, and there are a few oddly adult jokes amid the silliness. The hero is a jerk, but the supporting cast are all very likeable. The lead characters all smoke! 6.5 out of 10.

 

[AlexH]

Primer (2004) is one of the movies I've watched this weekend--and boy, did I like it! It's a indie flick written, directed, produced and starred by the same guy. It's about two engineers who build a time machine that takes them back some hours in the past, so they can have 36 hour-days. They now know the movement of the stock market. A murder also happens, so they come back to intervene. It's difficult to understand and mindblowing. Looks like (I'm not sure) that they also created another dimension, and the dimensions intertwined, so they were living with themselves in the same dimension.

My reaction after watching it:

View attachment 76561

I'm glad you liked Primer! Have you seen Moon, Coherence, The Man from Earth or Another Earth? Other great low budget sci-fi films that get the mind going I think (though maybe not quite in the same way as Primer). Upstream Colour was the follow-up film from the guy who made Primer, but it was too mind-bending for me.

 

[Randy M.]

I finished Ghostbusters (1984). It picks up a good deal in the second half and becomes pretty entertaining. However, it still feels like a first attempt at this sort of film: it's never especially exciting or funny,

Not exciting in an action/adventure way, but I found it funny and the audience I saw it with in '84 did, too. Last I saw it a few years ago it still made me laugh, though there's probably an element of nostalgia to account for in that.

although it's amusing, and there are a few oddly adult jokes amid the silliness.

It wasn't aimed at kids. It was from the folks who gave us Caddyshack, Meatballs, Stripes and Animal House. As I recall, John Belushi was supposed to be in the Bill Murray role but died too soon.

The hero is a jerk,

Bill Murray. He's a good actor but sometimes plays himself., apparently.

but the supporting cast are all very likeable. The lead characters all smoke!

As many were still doing in restaurants, bowling alleys, office buildings, college class rooms ...

 

[Jeffbert]

PARDON US () L&H in what was intended to be a 2 reel short film, but because of the cost involved in building the prison set, was about an hour. L&H decide to become bootleggers, but end up in prison. Laurel has an odd speech impediment because of a loose tooth. So, when he says certain sounds, he adds a Bronx cheer, which annoys the Warden And the Tiger (the toughest guy in prison). So, they are tossed in with 5 others in a 6 bunk cell. Obviously, they end up sharing one of the top bunks. While Laurel was trying to make himself comfortable, he was squirming around, & I just knew the whole thing was going to collapse.

TCM followed this with a short narrated by Luke Skywalker (sorry, cannot think of actor's name) about L&H, even funnier than this film.

 

[alexvss]

I'm glad you liked Primer! Have you seen Moon, Coherence, The Man from Earth or Another Earth? Other great low budget sci-fi films that get the mind going I think (though maybe not quite in the same way as Primer). Upstream Colour was the follow-up film from the guy who made Primer, but it was too mind-bending for me.

From the ones you mentioned, I've just seen Moon. It's great! I'll check out the other ones. Have you seen Sunshine (2007)? Another one I liked. It's less brainy but it's fun.