Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Yes, of course. That's what I was referring to.

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

An extreme film by Pasolini. It's reputation probably makes any rational review meaningless.
Children are captured, children are raped, children are killed. I know it's allegorical as to the fall of the Italian Fascist powers in the North of the country married to the writings of de Sade.

It's a lot to take in and I think the utter bleakness of the film reflects Pasolini's total disgust in humanity. It is,however, well shot, phrased (the "stories" of the whores are interesting) and the internecine actions of those in captivity are as disturbing as the violence that they encounter. What I can say is that it is a profound film directed by a man who was obviously at odds with the world he lived in. Mad humerous cameos and scenes depicting ennui amongst the chaos and torture counterpoint the utter dread. Just don't watch with your grandmother

Heh, heh. Well, the audiences (I among them) didn't think it was ridiculous in 1959.. In fact it was the #1 box office success in the U.S. for its first 2 months. Critics loved the picture. Unfortunately it was up against Ben-Hur (now there's a boring picture but for the chariot race), as well as Anatomy of a Murder, Some Like It Hot, The Last Angry Man, and other great films, so it didn't do much at the Oscars.

I was blown away by the picture, and I still love it after umpteen viewings. Everything clicked in that movie: the great actors, the script, Hitchcock's direction, and one of the greatest of music scores in film by the legendary Bernard Herrmann.

The excitement generated right from the opening credits with innovative graphics and Herrmann's driving score instantly draws the viewer in. It's top 3 Hitchcock.

I'm glad to hear that you've become a convert!...

Whatever your feelings about the movie itself, the 4DX presentation of Twisters should be considered a new benchmark for the format.

An almost perfect marriage of movie and film format, the 4DX effects that accompany this movie will shake you up, twist you around until you almost beg for mercy, and leave you feeling like you've just been through, well, a major tornado.

As could be expected, the wind and breeze effects are the major attraction here, but don't underestimate the motion effects. When a truck rolls over several times while the protagonist is tucked inside - believe me, you will feel exactly what that person would have felt, if the rollover had been real.

Now, if that doesn't sound like your idea of fun - that's fine. The format has always appealed to the most adventurous moviegoers and, frankly, it's perfectly understandable that a lot of people prefer the "regular" presentation for action movies.

It had been quite a while since I had as much fun attending a 4DX show, and it definitely sets a high bar for the films that will follow this summer and fall.

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

The Rewrite (2014)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

I mentioned in the top5 from each decade thread that I hadn't watched Day of wrath, so to fill that gap I saw it today.
It was amazing. Gorgeous in a lot of ways, in the way it's shot, in the way it flows, in the writing, in its approach to the characters, its overall gravity... and above all, it is a story about spirituality in the particularly dark and disheartening context of witch hunts, but one that makes a genuine effort to understand that spirituality in how it affects people and define their values. For a story that could very easily be catalogued as a horror, a psychological drama or an aggressive criticism of the authoritarian use of faith to control society and morality, what I find most amazing is that, being all that, it's mostly a humanistic tale of people whose ideas of happiness or guilt, and their entire lives actually, can only be defined in the context and expectations set by their own faith.
Dreyer is profoundly critical, but also respectful and even mesmerized by how spirituality makes the characters what they are, and he doesn't offer an alternative to that, not because he doesn't want to, but because it wouldn't make sense for them to consider another reality or mindset than the one they are deeply rooted into. To me, this is a masterpiece and another excellent take on Christianity and faith by Dreyer.

Goonies (1985) - 8/10

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Set in a dystopian near future, The Purge follows the annual titular event: a period of 12 hours where any type of crime is permitted as a way of controlling population and improving the economy. Right in the middle of it is James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) who makes a living selling security systems designed to withstand the event. But when he and his family are targeted by a ruthless gang of murderers, they have to find ways to make it through the night.

The thing is that The Purge presents a compelling premise; a society that has essentially found a way to justify and condone crime by giving up to primal impulses, while creating social safeguards around it to pretend that they care. Unfortunately, that premise is then limited for the most part to a basic home invasion film. The novelty of what "the purge" is gets lost in a movie that's really not different from any other home invasion movie.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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I am not familiar with the "Old Man Logan" comics storyline, but I can only imagine it must be better than this!

A blatantly manipulative mess of a film that never quite feels like it has a single genuine emotion in it, further marred by some horribly-shot action scenes, this might also be the worst thing that James Mangold ever directed.

It was once meant to be a final goodbye to the Wolverine character, at least as portrayed by Hugh Jackman (We all know why it's not his final goodbye to the character).

The sole saving graces here are Dafne Keen as Wolverine's daughter, Laura, and the ever-reliable Patrick Stewart, in another not-quite-final turn as Professor Xavier.

Well, it's a good thing that comic-book characters seldom ever truly die.

i really enjoyed the movie and loved the gore and the characters and the music

July 23, 2024

TWISTERS (Lee Isaac Chung / 2024)

Well, I don't really have much to say beyond the fact that I enjoyed it, and I had fun. : I saw the original 1996 Jan De Bont Twister only once in my lifetime, during its original theatrical run (a loooooooooong time ago! ), so I don't really remember that much about it. Not that it's particularly relevant in the case of this sequel, because it's a standalone film that's not really dependent on one's having seen the '96 original.

No spoilers, but a few observations:

1) If you've seen the trailer, you will recall the character of Boone (Brandon Perea) screaming "We've got twins! Twins!!" In the actual movie, it's a scream of joyous amazement, not terror. And the twin tornadoes come fairly early on in the movie, and it's mainly a plot device to split the characters up, in terms of "Which one do we chase?"

2) This is one of those increasingly rare Hollywood blockbusters which does put a lot of destruction and devastation onscreen, but which is also actually quite mindful of the real-life human cost of such destruction and devastation. A couple of times in the movie, we are shown the destruction of entire neighborhoods and communities, and we see the main characters coming to the aid of people in the aftermath of a tornado, and during the film's intense climax (quite well-executed, I might add) they help to get the townspeople into a movie theater. (BTW, remember The Shining playing at the drive-in during the '96 film? This time it's the original Frankenstein with the famous line "It's alive! It's alive!!" coming just before the screen gets ripped away!) These days, when Godzilla and King Kong beat the crap out of each other (or other monsters) and smash each other into buildings, nobody ever talks about or mentions whether or not people are actually in those structures or if everybody got evacuated when they received word that the "Titans" were in town. The difference is, Godzilla and Kong are not real and tornadoes very much are, and I'm pleased that this movie - while primarily seeking to thrill and entertain - is astute enough to take the human factor into consideration. In addition, there's a little subplot about how information about tornadoes is being fed to a local real estate mogul and developer who uses the information to profit from the destruction, and how this creates a minor conflict between two of the characters and a crisis of conscience for one of them. (No prizes for guessing which way this character will fall.)

In short, not exactly great, but I would still classify it as a superior example of Hollywood franchise filmmaking, which by my reckoning tends to be not all that superior these days. I'm thinking that this is the kind of movie that the late Roger Ebert would have described as a Bruised Forearm Movie (and he also puts the best Indiana Jones and Lethal Weapon movies in this category), "the kind of movie where your date is always grabbing your forearm in a viselike grip, as unbearable excitement unfolds on the screen. After the movie is over, you've had a great time but your arm is black-and-blue for a week."

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"Well, it's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid" - Clint Eastwood as The Stranger, High Plains Drifter (1973)

"I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours" - Bob Dylan, Talkin' World War III Blues (1963)

The potential that these movies wasted I swear...

Election (1999)

Three Kings (1999)

The Nanny Diaries (2007)

Space Cadet (2024)

Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

As I'm sure you know, Cary Grant's stylish gray suit was voted the best suit in film of all time, according to GQ magazine.

What cracked me up though was that in the story he wore that gray suit in nearly every scene in the movie, including when he was diving in the dirt in the airplane scene. But he only had it sent out to be "brushed" once!! Gotta figure that suit got pretty rank...

Oddity (2024)


The second perfect horror film of the year after Late Night with the Devil. I don't want to give away too much about the film, only that it opens with a man knocking at a strange door and telling a woman that someone is in her house.

The film does several things well...it almost has an ontology feel to it as each act it almost a different style/type of horror (similar to Longlegs) but the scripting is so tight that you value the craftsmanship. The film also manages to do the right things when it comes to it's technical touches. The sound design, production design and most importantly the lighting is perfect. So when the jump scares start happening it doesn't feel cheap rather it feels earned because the setting is so well done.

My only complaint is it's really a four actor story with a sppoky house which is cliche'd

I actually didn't know that. Thanks!

Grant's suit was "pressed and sponged" IIRC.

I actually thought Martin Landau's was the best by the way. In the scenes at the house at Mount Rushmore.

By the way, I think Eva Marie Saint is still with us. One of the oldest survivors of Hollywood. Yes, she has just had her 100th birthday. x

A Passage to India - 1984

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“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Gandhi​

The Hanging Tree (1959)

Escape from the Planet of the Apes is the third installment in the original Planet of the Apes franchise. Set immediately after the events of Beneath the Planet of the Apes where Earth was destroyed, it follows the surviving chimpanzees Cornelius and Zira (Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall) who have just ended in "present" Earth as a result of a time warp. As the two chimpanzees adjust to life on the planet, they have to also adjust to human's violent nature, which could ultimately threaten them.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes does have its share of plot contrivances and "silly" moments, particularly in the middle act as we see the many ways that Cornelius and Zira are embraced by the general public. However, it does present an interesting dilemma for its human characters. What do you do upon learning the fate of humanity from Cornelius and Zira? What if you could change things, stop them from happening?

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Full review on my Movie Loot