Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Yeah, it is incredible rewatchable, I could see this become a comfort movie for me.

Huh?

The Little Things



Copied from my letterboxd...

A solid police procedural made in the shadow of Fincher's works, which places it in the realm of Prisoners, True Detective and Denzel's own Bone Collector.*

With a strong sense of tension and atmosphere, the film glides through its perfunctory plot with minor but upsetting stumbles in the direct build towards its climax. One could complain that the film is largely predictable but I find it culminates into something I haven't quite seen explored in a movie like this (and it's very easy to find many movies like this.)

The performances are uniformly strong, including Leto, who appears to be trying to transform into Johnny Depp at this stage in his career but succeeds in making the most of his make-up and contacts as he transforms into an almost comedic level of creep (emphasis on almost).*

There's not a lot to complain about, outside of a few rushed plot points and easy contrivances in the 3rd act. I doubt this will set anyone's world on fire but if you're a fan of this subgenre, especially of the series True Detective, of which this feels strongly akin, there's a lot to enjoy.*

Genre pulp taken seriously and executed effectively. Sometimes, it's hard to ask for more.

The Spy in Black (1939)
D: Michael Powell
Starring: Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Sebastian Shaw, Marius Goring

With the screenplay partly written by Emeric Pressburger, it marked the first collaboration of the famous Powell & Pressburger duo. Conrad Veidt plays Captain Hardt, a First World War German U-boat commander who is tasked with a special assignment against the British fleet at Scapa Flow. He lands on the Orkney Islands in disguise and makes his way to his pre-arranged contact Fräulein Tiel, played by Valerie Hobson. There he must gather information for an upcoming surprise attack. Captain Hardt is an interesting character, a sort of anti-hero who as the German is naturally the villain, but is portrayed with enough humanity so one can understand and appreciate his position.

The story maintains a decent pace throughout and is full of interesting dialogue, some of it quite humorous, as well as some good plot twists. An early scene in a smoke filled bar/restaurant looks remarkably similar to a scene from Das Boot (1981). Good quality naval scenes as well with a mix of genuine footage (albeit 1930's vintage) and respectable looking models (the seagoing type). The film was released merely weeks prior to Britain declaring war on Germany for their part in the Second World War.

9/10

The Secret in Their Eyes, 2009

In the late 1990s in Argentina, a former judicial investigator named Esposito (Ricardo Darin) is haunted by the lack of resolution he feels over a case from the mid 1970s in which he investigated the rape and murder of a young woman. Turning his memories into a novel, Esposito brings his writing to a former colleague, Irene (Soledad Villamil), and eventually to the bereaved husband, Ricardo (Pablo Rago) in an attempt to make sense of what happened and his own feelings about it.

This movie has been on my radar ever since it came out, and I can only point to the lack of availability on streaming services as to why I hadn't seen it before. I expected to really like it and I did.

The entire film operates under a fascinating interplay of reality, memory, and fiction. The question of perspective and point of view, both in the literal and figurative sense, haunts almost every scene. Esposito is telling his version of the story. And as he writes and has conversations with Irene and Ricardo, he must reconcile his own reality with theirs.

The embedded idea of perspective is wonderfully realized in the way that the film is shot. Frequently we see characters in motion, and as the camera moves we see something that they failed to see: someone standing in a doorway, or another person moving behind them. Things that are there that you don't know are there is a running theme, and it plays thematically as Esposito himself begins to discover truths. Probably my favorite sequence in the film that demonstrates the way that the camera seems to fluidly move from objective to subjective is a scene where the police chase a man through a busy soccer stadium. As the camera (seemingly floating around objectively) follows the man, he suddenly ducks down a flight of stairs and the camera, surprisingly, remains on the upper level, following where you think the man is running, and forcing a horrible suspense as you wait for a clearer view to see if he is still there.

I think that the film walks just the right line with the character of Esposito in terms of showing the way that we all process the actions of others through our own understanding of the universe and human behavior. As he begins to confront the decisions he made in the past, Esposito must contend with the way that the others have chosen to regard that time. In one scene, Irene pushes back a bit on Esposito's portrayal of her in his writing. When he responds that it's the truth, she then questions why he didn't make a different decision. We find Esposito at the tipping point between looking to the past and trying to formulate a future. There are regrets, yes, but I really appreciated that the film didn't play into the bias that once characters pass middle age all they can do is rue their incorrect decisions. Even in their 50s, these characters are still emotionally "in the moment" and can find a way forward.

It's rare that I want more exposition in a film--and maybe to a certain degree it isn't needed--but I did want a bit more insight into the political dynamics in terms of the government and the judicial branch. A young woman being raped and murdered would be quite the scandal in most communities, and at times I wish there had been more clarity about why events were able to evolve the way that they did. (Trying to keep that vague for spoiler purposes).

On a personal note, one of my favorite Spanish instructors in college was Argentinian, and I was surprised at how much nostalgia I had for the Argentinian accent. (And the shock of remembering the prolific use of "vos" as second person!).

Nomadland (2020) - 8/10. Watched this early December. Having lived through recession, this was a special treat. Absolutely heart warming and fabulous. Loved every minute of it. Wonderfully directed. Well acted. McDormand might be in for another Oscar with this one. It will be between Vaiola and Frances for now. I haven't seen The Father, let's see what Olivia Coleman does on that. But this is a must watch.

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My Favorite Films

Zyzzyx Road, 2006 (C)

Finally got my hands on the biggest box office bomb of all time!

The movie is about a guy and a gal in a car, after apparently (or did they?) killing a guy who burst into their motel room and tried to kill the lady. They're headed to bury him in the desert, but he's not there after the guy turns around to see the trunk again.

The movie starts with some promise. Some sort of vaguely Lynchian slapstick noir, where you wonder why Heigl's character is acting like a weird, baby, talking about Britney Spears while sucking on a ring candy.

It's not entirely coherent, mostly pointless, and the directing is generally discohesive. It starts interesting enough, but it's as if the director was looking at every scene and saying nah, I'll try another vibe for the next scene. A significant portion of the movie is about a pathetic, out of shape, middle aged guy running around the desert trying to find the person he's trying to kill. The movie starts out not terribly ugly, if a bit dark, and at dawn, goes between an ugly, overly saturated yellow and a desatured, even uglier mess.

Not a movie that'll disgust you with how bad it is, but if you're not interested in this for being the biggest flop ever, then you have no reason to watch it.

The Kid:
4/5
Also watched the commentary, what a delightful film.

The Gold Rush:
4/5

The Thing:
4/5

Would've been better if it was shorter, like Kung Fury. It was fun for the first 15-20min, but it got old pretty quickly. At least it seemed like Adkins was having fun, so that's a plus... I guess

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There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?

Shame is a story about the deterioration of this couple at the mercy of a war that ravages them from both sides, it's a story of survival at the expense of life itself. A story of great guilt, great pain, and great fear.

Grade:

Full review on my Movie Loot

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Predator 2

*** out of *****

Drop of quality and directing from the first, but still has good visuals, good acting and good action scenes. An enjoyable sequel overall.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - 1945 urbane horror thriller starring Hurd Hatfield in the title role as a well to do and ostensibly pure of heart young man. As the films opens Gray is having his portrait painted by his friend Basil Hallward. The garrulous and amoral Lord Henry Wotton (played to perfection by George Sanders) stops by for a visit and is immediately taken with the mysterious young man. Since he is naturally inclined to share his opinions at length and on most anything, Lord Wotton holds forth on morality and man's inclination to deny themselves the pleasures of life. Gray takes it to heart and wishes out loud that he would love to stay young and let his portrait age in his stead. Regrettably, he does so in front of a carved statue of an Egyptian cat imbued with supposed mystical powers.

So starts Gray's inexorable downfall as he first falls in love with the lovely and innocent Sybil Vane (a beautiful and young Angela Lansbury) who works as a singer in a local revue. He first romances her then, again following Wotton's morally questionable advice, spurns her. This of course leads to tragedy and to Gray fully embracing the dark side.

This is a good looking production and no expense seems to have been spared to portray the lives of the blasé and idle rich. And in keeping with their pursuits it's also an intellectual sort of screenplay with numerous references made to the classics. The cast is first rate and also features Donna Reed and Peter Lawford. 90/100

It's the little things that kill
Tearing at my brains again
The little things that kill
It's the little things that kill
Tearing at my brains again
The little things that kill

I also watched this recently and I really liked it.

The Deer Hunter, 1978

Among a larger group of friends are three men, Nick (Christopher Walken), Mike (Robert De Niro), and Steve (John Savage), who are slated to leave for service in the Vietnam War. After a boistrous wedding between Steve and Angela (Rutanya Alda). Before they leave, Nick asks Linda (Meryl Streep) to marry him and she agrees. After a final deer hunt as a group we jump to their time in Vietnam where the men endure horrific treatment. After returning from the war, their experiences haunt them (and their loved ones) in different ways.

I have avoided watching this movie for a long, long time. It's not a good sign when even the cover of a film gives you the shivers. As I imagined, this film was both incredibly strong and it really hit me on an emotional level.

There is something amazing when a director is able to hit that special pace where an hour can feel like nothing at all. This is probably one of the shortest feeling 3 hour films I've ever seen. In my brain, there were three main parts (the wedding, the war, the final act), and the arc between them managed to both fly by and build suspense.

I think that what this film best captured for me was the way that surviving an intense experience changes who you are. It doesn't matter which man breaks, which man dissociates, or which man stays "strong"--in the end their trauma lives inside of them and unavoidably rears its head in even the smallest of moments. Of the three men, Mike is the one who comes out of the experience the most "normal", and yet he has also been fundamentally altered. And whatever degree of normalcy he can hold onto is further shaken by the ripple effect that everything has had on his friends from the war and those left back at home.

There is also a powerful exploration of violence--what it means to witness it and the capacity for it. Mike has a rule about always taking a deer with one shot, and when the film gets into the Vietnam sequences and the infamous Russian roulette scenes, the idea of "one shot" adopts a new meaning. In an interesting dichotomy, after returning home from the war Mike has both an uncomfortable relationship with violence (finding himself unable to take a shot at a deer) and an explosive reaction to encountering it (majorly losing his cool when one friend jokingly points a pistol at another).

The performances are, of course, amazing. I'm enjoying seeing more of De Niro's earlier work, and Walken's performance as Nick is heartbreaking and haunting. Meryl Streep is head-turning in her role as Linda and her presence on screen is undeniable. While the focus is obviously on the main characters, and specifically Mike, the film gives each character a moment--even if it's just a short, quiet sob alone in a kitchen--and it's a compliment to the entire supporting cast that all of the characters feel real and the connections between the larger group feel legitimate. You can feel the shift in the aftermath of the war, and there's a good deal of empathy to go around. Characters like Linda obviously didn't go through what Mike and Nick and Steve experienced, but they have also been impacted and as part of the landscape for the veterans, their pain also matters.

I haven't read anything about this film, and I'll be interested to hear what others have written. I did think that the Vietnamese characters were all of a similar type, but at the same time it reflects the experience of the characters. On the other hand, cruelty and atrocities were not only confined to one side of the conflict. I'm a bit torn on this aspect of the film.

This was a really hard movie to watch. The last two hours are varying degrees of pain and suffering. I sort of regret watching it so late at night and am now trying to use some comfort TV to regain my equilibrium. I'm not sure that I could watch it again anytime soon.

That said, this was an amazing film. I would unhesitatingly recommend it. I found no major flaws with it, aside from being put through the emotional wringer.

Bloody Birthday (1981)

Lots of good stuff that I've had on my watchlist for ages on TubiTV. Another decent slasher. It's definitely campier than Black Christmas, but quite entertaining. I guess Debbie's peepshow to her sister's room was the highlight of the film.

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Yeah, as I think maybe Tak and I were talking about recently (I think), this is a surprisingly good film and I mean that it really seems to step outside of its time a bit

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“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” ~ Rocky Balboa