Rate The Last Movie You Saw

It's right on that line where it's not so bad that I'd tell someone to avoid it, yet see absolutely no reason to recommend it.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo - Upon further reflection, this is not the film with which to introduce yourself to the Zatoichi universe. I mean 26 movies going all the way back to 1962's Tales of Zatoichi? But hey, TCM was running it and since I had already seen Yojimbo I figured why not? Well, turns out there are plenty of reasons why not. Starting with not knowing much of anything about the character. Was he always a comic sort of figure? Not cartoonish but certainly not anything like Ogami Itto, the character that Shintarô Katsu's (Zatoichi) real life brother Tomisaburô Wakayama played in the Lone Wolf and Cub series. There are moments of humor that I'm sure were earned through previous films. And it's not that they don't land, it's just that there's no reference point so they don't necessarily carry the weight intended.

I knew diddily squat about the character. I knew he was blind but didn't know he was a masseur. When he shows up at a small village and talks to certain other characters like he'd known them previously I had no idea why that particular village held such significance or who these people were. And it doesn't help that the plot is a little convoluted with a lot of familiar elements from other Chanbara films. Two warring factions. Gold embezzled from the Shogunate. Wandering ronin. An imperiled and indebted young woman. Lots of double dealing and skullduggery.

This sounds like I'm complaining but I'm not. I like just about anything Toshiro Mifune appears in. I liked the rich color palette of the cinematography. I liked the clever, subversive humor. And I liked Katsu's portrayal of the blind, wandering swordsman, gambler and self described crook. I just regret not having acquainted myself sooner with this fascinating character.

80/100

A big YES to both of these statements. First time I caught Slate was in the TV series Married playing Paul Reiser's much younger wife. And Williams was such a heartbreaker in Wendy and Lucy. That whole movie was.

And you're 100% right about Venom.

Listen to Tak. It's dumb and boils down to it being a big waste of time. Another Marvel misfire. Never bothered with the sequel.

I love Jenny Slate so much. I'm glad she's stayed so visible for so long, because she's the kind of quirky that people can be interested in for a little bit and then discard.

Also, it was so bizarre that they just (Venom SPOILERS)

Stewie would disagree with that point, I'm afraid:

Hotel Artemis, Gifted, Bob's Burgers. I also liked her in Parks and Recreation. She and Ben Schwartz made such a great brother and sister. And I'm curious about I Want You Back with Charlie Day.
Just subpar writing all around.

That's enough reason for me to avoid something. There are only so many hours in my life.

I am also a Slate-lover.
Looking forward to Marcel The Shell.

Why Don't You Play in Hell?, 2013

Multiple characters and groups intersect in this story about a crew of young filmmakers who find themselves in the middle of a feud between two gangs. At the heart of the conflict is Mitsuko (Fumi Nikaidô), the daughter of one of the gangsters. Mitsuko, who aspires to be an actress, captures the hearts of one of the filmmakers, Koji (Gen Hoshino), and the leader of the opposing gang, Ikegami (Shin'ichi Tsutsumi).

We've all been there: you're watching a film and thinking to yourself "It seems like I should like this . . . but I don't." I can normally appreciate well-crafted chaos, but this one left me cold and tested my patience at the same time.

I had high hopes for about the first 20 minutes. There are some really fun over-the-top elements. While these lost their charm for me a bit as the film went on, the visual gags are well-constructed and show a solid understanding of how to mix gore and comedy. In an early scene, a young Mitsuko returns to find a literal bloodbath in her family's apartment---about two inches of standing blood that she slides through before discovering a wounded Ikegami. There are outlandish action scenes involving shootouts and sword fights.

Criticizing the acting here is complicated, because I feel as if the actors were delivering what they were supposed to deliver. But that's not something that I was enjoying as a viewer. The film goes back to the same well over and over again. There's a repeating joke about Ikegami speaking in a soft voice whenever he thinks of Mitsuko before realizing what he's doing an putting on a more gruff voice for the benefit of his men.

Fundamentally my struggle is that I have a hard time with movies where I don't care about the characters. And the characters don't have to be realistic, or good people, or whatever. They just need to be human in some way that I can grasp. The characters in this movie mostly felt like pawns to me, being navigated from scene to scene but with no real growth.

I also had one of those "is this the character or the movie?" moments in terms of how Mitsuko is viewed. Is she sexually objectified by, like, all the main characters, including her dad? Yes, absolutely. Does this start, in two cases, when she is a child? Also yes. Does the film see this as a problem? Um, doesn't seem like it! As the film goes on, Mitsuko is put in a lot of fetish-like scenarios, with lots of pans up and down her body. It just started to feel icky, especially the constant reminders that Ikegami has lusted after her since she was 10 years old.

I've had this movie on my watchlist basically since it came out, but I was pretty disappointed in it.

As a person who likes having movies on while I do other things, it's a film that you could put on while vacuuming or doing the dishes. Not recommended as a "sit down and give full attention" film.

I hear ya. I don't do that though. If I'm watching a movie, I'm watching it, full attention, all the way through. And I don't think Venom deserves that.

You are correct.

By Box Office Mojo, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56708058

Boyhood - (2014)

To make a film about a boy growing up, and film it over 12 years so we actually see the same actor (and other characters) growing older is a very Richard Linklater thing to do. This film is the last entry in the excellent Penguin Random House's Movie Book - which means they obviously regard it as one of the most important films of the 2010s (I wonder if it'll show on the Countdown.) I think it's great, with Linklater stalwart Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette providing crucial support to Ellar Coltrane, who grows from a small boy into an adult before our eyes. Revolutionary stuff - even if the Up series of films had already done something similar, only in documentary-type fashion. It would all be for naught if it's down to earth, real life quality didn't show such emotional clarity, and the film moves at a rapid pace, so it's long runtime doesn't feel too drawn out.

8/10


By moviegoods.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6628905

Battle of the Bulge - (1965)

Battle of the Bulge works and doesn't work depending on how you're viewing it. As accurate recreation, it's about as off the mark as you can get, inventing some things, using American M47 Pattons as German King Tiger tanks (which just looks odd to me) and condensing an event that involved a million soldiers into an adventure that seems to involve a few dozen. However, as pure war/adventure, with Robert Shaw, Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Telly Savalas chewing the scenery, it's enjoyable enough entertainment. The film is photographed beautifully, and when you see it on Blu-Ray it's a sight to behold. The soundtrack is awesome, as most of the scores to these 60s/70s war epics were. Ken Annakin had already directed The Longest Day - so he was a steady hand. Just don't watch this in place of a history lesson, it's an approximation - but an enjoyable one.

7/10


By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20757183

The United States of Leland - (2003)

Depending on which way you look at it, The United States of Leland can be a pretentious, pondering and ham-fisted philosophical enquiry into depression and sadness, or a low-key, well-acted and down to earth drama that explores how fallible us human beings can be. I've seen it twice, and had two different reactions to it.

5/10

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Movie time with the wife. We both liked it, didn't feel that long, despite being almost 3h long.

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

Very silly (what a surprise), but I enjoyed it. The CGI dog was really excellent.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

Absolutely loved Wendy and Lucy

Set approximately 10 years after T2, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines follows John (Nick Stahl) as he lives off the grid now, unable to adapt to a normal life. When a new Terminator is sent back to target his "future" lieutenants, another obsolete T-101 is taken off the assembly line and sent again to protect John. Meanwhile, they realize that the Skynet project has been taken over by the military. But can they do something to stop it and save humanity again?

To me, it succeeds in showing us a flawed and reluctant hero in John Connor, a young man that was essentially "groomed" since he was a child to be this leader of the future. But when that is supposedly gone, he finds himself aimless and without purpose. A man that is burdened and haunted by a future that hasn't happened or might not even happen. I think Stahl did a great job of showing that. Even if the script doesn't fully dive into his psyche, you can see that insecurity, paranoia, and reluctance is there.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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Me too.