Rate The Last Movie You Saw
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Star Wars Episode IV (B)
Straight up not as good as I expected. Lots parts where not much happens, not much energy at all. There's some good pulpy moments here and there, but it just isn't great. Even the iconic lines I always hear are just eh. I guess most of the good stuff I remember from Star Wars came from episode V.
Straight up not as good as I expected. Lots parts where not much happens, not much energy at all. There's some good pulpy moments here and there, but it just isn't great. Even the iconic lines I always hear are just eh. I guess most of the good stuff I remember from Star Wars came from episode V.
Shazam: Fury of the Gods
8/10.
I have not been impressed by superhero movies lately, but this, I'm happy to say, is surprisingly good. They even finally address - in a satisfying way - the "Wisdom of Solomon" which is the first 'S' in Shazam.
8/10.
I have not been impressed by superhero movies lately, but this, I'm happy to say, is surprisingly good. They even finally address - in a satisfying way - the "Wisdom of Solomon" which is the first 'S' in Shazam.
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Shazam: Fury of the Gods
8/10.
I have not been impressed by superhero movies lately, but this, I'm happy to say, is surprisingly good. They even finally address - in a satisfying way - the "Wisdom of Solomon" which is the first 'S' in Shazam.
8/10.
I have not been impressed by superhero movies lately, but this, I'm happy to say, is surprisingly good. They even finally address - in a satisfying way - the "Wisdom of Solomon" which is the first 'S' in Shazam.
I wonder how much cocaine they did before they arrived at
WARNING: "You look. You see. Seeing Cannot be Undone. You will NEVER be the same." spoilers below
Feeding Skittles to dark unicorns to enlist them into the cause of fighting minotaurs.
Hilarious product placement a la E.T.
Luther: The Fallen Sun. I know I’ve watched the show Luther and liked it but can’t remember a single damn thing about it. This follow up movie is a pretty good thriller with some surprisingly intense moments. Idris Elba continues to be able to do anything and Andy Serkis gets to ham it up as basically a Bond villain. Fun time.
The Barefoot Contessa (1954) -
As others have noted, aside from the first act, Maria's character is underdeveloped since her inner workings are left a mystery and largely occur on the peripherals of the various characters around her. Aside from a couple brief scenes here and there, we don't get to know her much, nor do we ever come to understand her thought process. In fact, her rise in Hollywood while making her three films, while this should be the most interesting part of her arc, is mostly glossed over. Her character instead exists as an idea for the various men around her to ponder over, making this a surprisingly male-focused film. Perhaps her mysterious nature is at the heart of the film's commentary on Hollywood though. Historically, actresses in Hollywood weren't treated that well. They were sought out and consumed for their talent and looks before being discarded later on to make way for younger actresses. Just as Hollywood refused to understand numerous actresses, and just as the characters in the film refused to understand Maria, we're unable to understand her either. Therefore, distancing us from her isn't done without reason. Such an unconventional concept comes with its pros and cons though. While this certainly makes for a complex film in some respects, it also underserves her character and misses out on an opportunity to flesh out an interesting trait about her. For instance, in spite of how various men in the film attempt to control her, she's shown to have enough agency to walk away from them, which was a fairly bold concept for the time. This is contrasted by Harry lacking the courage to stand up to Kirk's abuse. As it stood though, with so little insight into her inner workings, this concept was rendered superficial. In short, this is a rather difficult film to rate. On one hand, the way it handles Maria's character is generally something which leaves me cold. On the other hand though, it's clearly what it wants to be with its critique of Hollywood, so I'm hesitant to score it as low as I normally would. So, while I can somewhat excuse the movie's flaws, I can only do this to a certain extent.
As others have noted, aside from the first act, Maria's character is underdeveloped since her inner workings are left a mystery and largely occur on the peripherals of the various characters around her. Aside from a couple brief scenes here and there, we don't get to know her much, nor do we ever come to understand her thought process. In fact, her rise in Hollywood while making her three films, while this should be the most interesting part of her arc, is mostly glossed over. Her character instead exists as an idea for the various men around her to ponder over, making this a surprisingly male-focused film. Perhaps her mysterious nature is at the heart of the film's commentary on Hollywood though. Historically, actresses in Hollywood weren't treated that well. They were sought out and consumed for their talent and looks before being discarded later on to make way for younger actresses. Just as Hollywood refused to understand numerous actresses, and just as the characters in the film refused to understand Maria, we're unable to understand her either. Therefore, distancing us from her isn't done without reason. Such an unconventional concept comes with its pros and cons though. While this certainly makes for a complex film in some respects, it also underserves her character and misses out on an opportunity to flesh out an interesting trait about her. For instance, in spite of how various men in the film attempt to control her, she's shown to have enough agency to walk away from them, which was a fairly bold concept for the time. This is contrasted by Harry lacking the courage to stand up to Kirk's abuse. As it stood though, with so little insight into her inner workings, this concept was rendered superficial. In short, this is a rather difficult film to rate. On one hand, the way it handles Maria's character is generally something which leaves me cold. On the other hand though, it's clearly what it wants to be with its critique of Hollywood, so I'm hesitant to score it as low as I normally would. So, while I can somewhat excuse the movie's flaws, I can only do this to a certain extent.
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Scream 6 (2023)
So I’ll start with the negatives. This addition has some of the the most cringe worthy script lines out of the entire franchise. There were many moments where people were looking at each other, not quite believing what cheesy line had just been said. Some of the acting especially in the reveal was also so ropey/OTT that it bordered on comical.
Having said that on leaving the cinema I felt like this movie was good fun. It was a good choice to take the setting out of the fictional town and base it in New York. It certainly brought a fresh feel to the movie. I did not feel that the absence of Neve Campbell took anything away from the plot. Jamie Lee Curtis not being in a Halloween film seems that there is something badly missing but here it did not seem the case.
I overheard people saying how scary and bloody it was but I didn’t feel that it was any more graphic than its previous entries.
So in summary, if you are a die hard fan of this series you will probably enjoy this. With a less cheesy script it could’ve been vastly improved but it’s not the worst in the series.
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What would Hitchcock do?
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Big Boys Don't Cry (2020)
A disturbing true story of the man Paul Connolly who was abused in a children's home. Not an easy watch but a rewarding one. How he managed to move on and build a life when there were numerous suicides after St Leonards is truly admirable.
Got to say Michael Socha is amazing portraying the aggressiveness and vulnerability of Paul.
Hard to rate:
A disturbing true story of the man Paul Connolly who was abused in a children's home. Not an easy watch but a rewarding one. How he managed to move on and build a life when there were numerous suicides after St Leonards is truly admirable.
Got to say Michael Socha is amazing portraying the aggressiveness and vulnerability of Paul.
Hard to rate:
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)
Set in London and Paris of the late 1950s, this is a delightful tale of a widowed English cleaning lady who, after being overcome by a lovely Christian Dior dress she sees which was recently purchased by her employer, becomes captivated by a fanciful determination to find a way to travel to Paris to purchase a Dior gown of her own. The title sounds a bit like a Jacques Tati film, but it is a cinematic adaption of the Paul Gallico novel, Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris (1958). It’s directed by Anthony Fabian from a screenplay by Olivia Hetreed (Girl With a Pearl Earring).
The Veteran Lesley Manville (Mr. Turner; Phantom Thread) gives a perfect and nuanced portrayal of the titular character, and is supported by a seasoned cast including Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher; Elle), Lambert Wilson (The Matrix films), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter films; Hotel Mumbai), and Ellen Thomas (Teachers; Dr. Who).
Although her stingy employer, Lady Dant (Anna Chancellor), finds excuses to deny Harris her overdue salary, Mrs. Harris’ dream of purchasing her own Dior gown becomes possible as she unexpectedly comes into some money from several sources. This allows her to travel to Paris and to approach the lofty House of Dior. Her reception there, the ups and downs of her quest, along with the relationships she acquires, form the basis for the movie. In time honored fashion every character in the film arrives to a gratifying outcome.
Pictures like this one don’t come along very often in modern times. With today’s assault of razzmatazz, violence, social justice, and salacious productions, it’s refreshing to become emerged into a simple, gracious story that respectfully tugs at one’s heart strings. The viewers quickly find themselves drawn into Mrs. Harris’ quest, and soon learn that they’re pulling for her success. Lesley Manville’s compelling and memorable performance resulted in a well deserved Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress.
Doc’s rating: 9/10
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65 (2023)
Adam Driver crash-lands his spaceship on a planet full of dinosaurs and proceeds to have less fun than that summary might suggest. Teaming up with the kid from Stuck in the Middle, he has to get to his escape pod 15km away.
On the plus side, it's nice to see a sci-fi(ish) action(ish) movie that isn't a superhero franchise. There are a couple of scenes which are quite tense, especially if you find caves tense. It's not the worst thing you could put on while eating your popcorn.
Unfortunately there is very little that's fresh about it. There's a lot of sci-fi shorthand that just doesn't add up (like why has an exploratory mission got cryo-frozen passengers anyway). The computer states the obvious for the benefit of the audience, "initiating proximity scan" (imagine if your phone told you that out loud every time you tried to use Google maps...). There is a handy bit of tech for every plot eventuality.
Because there are only two characters, you know they aren't going to die yet, so the constant peril doesn't have the tension it should and the jump scares get tedious ten minutes in. There's nothing here to rival the car scene or the kitchen scene in Jurassic Park. The narrative beats are painfully guessable - every time it looks like certain death for a character, you just know the other one is going to appear out of nowhere and save them. The storyline about his sick daughter was, like everything else, a little too on the nose.
I guessed the ending quite early on and still facepalmed when it happened.
What this film reminded me of most of all was The Good Dinosaur. I'm still not sure exactly who it was for - too cheesy for adults and too scary for kids.
Adam Driver crash-lands his spaceship on a planet full of dinosaurs and proceeds to have less fun than that summary might suggest. Teaming up with the kid from Stuck in the Middle, he has to get to his escape pod 15km away.
On the plus side, it's nice to see a sci-fi(ish) action(ish) movie that isn't a superhero franchise. There are a couple of scenes which are quite tense, especially if you find caves tense. It's not the worst thing you could put on while eating your popcorn.
Unfortunately there is very little that's fresh about it. There's a lot of sci-fi shorthand that just doesn't add up (like why has an exploratory mission got cryo-frozen passengers anyway). The computer states the obvious for the benefit of the audience, "initiating proximity scan" (imagine if your phone told you that out loud every time you tried to use Google maps...). There is a handy bit of tech for every plot eventuality.
Because there are only two characters, you know they aren't going to die yet, so the constant peril doesn't have the tension it should and the jump scares get tedious ten minutes in. There's nothing here to rival the car scene or the kitchen scene in Jurassic Park. The narrative beats are painfully guessable - every time it looks like certain death for a character, you just know the other one is going to appear out of nowhere and save them. The storyline about his sick daughter was, like everything else, a little too on the nose.
I guessed the ending quite early on and still facepalmed when it happened.
What this film reminded me of most of all was The Good Dinosaur. I'm still not sure exactly who it was for - too cheesy for adults and too scary for kids.
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The Imitation Game (2014)
I knew nothing about this story going in so I didn't expect the revelation about the lead character. I was enjoying it more prior when it was about cracking the code. Once it became more personal about the man it felt a little rushed and incomplete. The whole story is definitely one worth being told. After watching a few foreign classics it was striking, not necessarily in a bad way, how Hollywood the film was. It was pretty good but that's about it.
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Entertaining, solid performances, good story. I recommendi it.
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There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?
There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?
