Rate The Last Movie You Saw

I just finished watching the new Cheaper by the Dozen movie on Disney+. It was pretty predictable and some parts were a little cringe, but I still liked it. Gabrielle Union and Zach Braff had a nice chemistry and there are some laughs and enough cute moments to make it worthwhile. I would rate it a .

By Searchlight Pictures - https://press.searchlightpictures.com/antlers/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69621604

Antlers - (2021)

American Indian culture is a great source of inspiration for supernatural horror films, and in this the 'wendigo' is called upon to seek retribution for our crimes against Mother Earth. The theme this most closely expounds on though, is one of parenting, familial love and growing up with parents who are monsters - which this film takes to literal lengths. To be fair, Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas) has a meth-addict and dealing father who is pretty bad before he gets attacked in werewolf fashion by a wendigo and turns into one, infecting his younger son Aiden in the process. It's up to Lucas's schoolteacher Julia (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother Paul (Jesse Plemons) to figure out why townspeople are being ripped apart and how to stop the wendigo. This horror film follows all the same beats as many of the films that have gone before it, and that predictability lends a bit of averageness to Antlers. The creature looks great, and it's genesis is outstanding, but we don't get to see too much of it - the filmmakers here not being overly confident in what they've constructed. This is directed by Crazy Heart's Scott Cooper and produced by Guillermo del Toro, a particularly high pedigree for a basic supernatural horror film, and it's not too bad, but nothing to get particularly excited about.

6.5/10


By Studio and or Graphic Artist - Can be obtained from the film's distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60691739

The Farewell - (2019)

I have a Chinese-Australian friend who is, much to my envy, a successful author over here and she has done much to introduce me to the peculiarity of how Chinese families function (she dragged me to see Crazy Rich Asians on it's opening day.) The Farewell seemed to me to be more my kind of film about Chinese family-dynamics, and it does have much more emotional appeal. Billi Wang (Awkwafina) has a grandmother she loves dearly, so when she hears she has cancer and only 3 months to live she's desperate to go see her with the rest of the family. Only thing is, as is common in China, nobody will tell her she has terminal cancer. The family gather around her on the pretext of a fake wedding (which provides much of the film's humour) and struggle to maintain a happy façade during the get-together. This is an extraordinarily 'nice' movie, and it's moving, so I enjoyed it. It has a realness to it that gives it the feeling of not being overly scripted - as if many of the situations and conversations have taken place nearly verbatim, which to some will be it's charm, but others will leave feeling it lacked a bit of polish. Explores the morality behind the "good lie" in context with other small lies we tell all the time - Billi struggles mightily with the desire to tell her grandmother, so she can say goodbye properly and make that final connection with her.

7/10

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Yeah, I think that was at the root of my reaction to Del Toro's remake. Maybe if I had gone in cold. You are right about it being a good looking movie but it seemed too much like covering old territory.

I preferred Del Toro’s film to the original by the slightest of margins. Loved both but I preferred the visual grandeur, heightened noir-isms, scenery chewing performances and uncompromised ending of his film to the original.

It’s close though.

I plan on giving it another shot in the future. Let the original fade a bit from my memory.

Narratively, it does tread very closely to the original. However, it is liberated from the Hayes Codes concerns that constrained the original and Del Toro is allowed to go full bore with the depravity and style in equal measure. That he also assembled an outstanding cast (Blanchett truly dominates the character and chews up every scene she’s in) within that familiar narrative truly makes it standout.

I love the original but there were numerous times I felt it was forced to pull punches and it wasn’t as “noir” as I’d hoped. Del Toro’s film seemed tailor made to address those concerns.

North Country (2005)

I'm not sure....is it a drama or a very dark, dark comedy - The Outfit - In which a very geeky guy (Mark Rylance) has a tailor shop. He hand-makes very expensive men's suits for an exclusive clientele. He's an expatriate Brit, living in Chicago in the 1950's. What's odd is that many of his customers look like stereotypic gangsters. His storefront assistant seems to have some sketchy friends. He also has foot traffic in his shop, wise-guys who drop thick envelopes into a drop box.

At the same time, he carefully protects his suit-making craft, staying aloof from his sketchy customers, making perfect suits.

So what is this guy's angle. Sooner or later, you know that blood will spash, bodies will fall since several rival gangs seem to haunt that drop box.

Before it's over, there are plenty of bodies. Somebody survives, some don't, the bodies get buried, the cops are clueless or are the cops in on it. I'm not telling. I think I need to see it again to unravel all the clues and false leads. It's pretty good in a very subtle, understated way.

Master (2022) is an atmospheric horror film with strong performances and effective cinematography and score. The film does a good job building suspense, but doesn't quite reach its full potential. Some elements could have been a little better developed, but for the most part the film works pretty well. Definitely worth checking out. Master is currently streaming on Prime video.

SF = Z


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

By Studio and or Graphic Artist - Can be obtained from film's distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61165674

After the Wedding - (2019)

I wasn't familiar with the 2006 Dutch film with the same name this is based on - it stars Mads Mikkelsen and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (up against The Lives of Others and Pan's Labyrinth - a tough year to be nominated.) Finding out about that has greatly complicated my relationship with After the Wedding - I wouldn't have bothered watching the 2019 version if I'd known, and now that I have I've blunted the effect the 2006 version might have had. All this after really enjoying my time with the remake which greatly benefits from an emotionally-charged story with surprising twists and turns - if this had of been an original film it would have got a high score from me, but I'm simply left wondering why such a large percentage of todays films are either remakes of foreign films, plain old remakes or based on television shows. At the very least, I had a very entertaining night with a film that I don't respect as much the morning after.

If you haven't heard of either, grab the Dutch version and see it - the film tells a great story that will really reel you in - the remake got to me, and from what I read the Dutch version tells the story using it's actors and filmmaking prowess in a much more powerful way.

7/10

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Boring.

Dark Knight (2008)

Copycat (1995)

I didn't watch these movies in that order, but nothing wrong with a little OCD display!

THE HAND OF GOD

Sorrentino directs in the spirit of Fellini with the sleek, technical precision of Fincher. His vision is absolutely gorgeous and exacting, elevating yet another loose biopic art film into something truly gripping.

5/5

I also really enjoyed that one. I should check out more Sorrentino.

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I’ve only seen The Great Beauty in addition to this but it was similarly sumptuous and gorgeous. That one leans perhaps even heavier on the Fellini influence, feeling almost like it could be called 2 Dolce 2 Vita.

That one's been on my watchlist for a while. I'll have to check it out.

Hope you love that one as much as I did. It has much more Toni Servillo, which is an obvious benefit.

Speaking of, I have Il Divo and need to watch that soon.