Rate The Last Movie You Saw

All Fall Down (1962)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Longlegs (Oz Perkins, 2024)

For as creepy and well-made as this film is (and I think it's both), I am hoping the hype train doesn't kill it, simply because too often a movie deserving of love can be tainted by hyperbole. Fortunately, because this is a movie that works due to the subtlety and nuance in its craft and horror, I do think it'll have staying power. I hope it does. Everything about it works, including the humor that *should* feel out of place but doesn't. Cage delivers here, with a theatrical and chilling performance, and although my appreciation for his bewildering character is growing, I still think I actually liked everything surrounding his creepy killer (one whose presence is always felt, if not always seen) more than the killer himself - from Monroe's different but possibly superior performance, to the excellent revelation/explanation at the end that was compelling and vague enough to not feel cheesy or contrived, like I was worried about, and was instead extremely captivating and creative. Moreover, Perkins shines here as writer/director, never falling into cliche, and it's time people pay attention to him if they aren't already.

When people like @Swan and @TheUsualSuspect talk about a horror film that well, I take notice. I don't have netflix but I'll keep an eye out.


The Eyes Of Laura Mars - + It wasn't well liked at the time and it's not well remembered, but there's something about this that I like. In part it's nostalgia, but it has the feeling of a low key Giallo but it's very much if its time and culture. There's nothing great or showy about it, but it has a strong cast, a decent director and John Carpenter was one of the writers and feels very evocative of its time.

Food Of The Gods + It is what it is, a 70's humans are ****ing up the world and nature will fight back genre with some wonderfully 'outsized' animals but also some effects which are genuinely good (the way the animals look as if they actually have been shot is very effective) which does help put it a little above the people being attacked by obviously friendly or disinterested animals films of this type. A definite alcohol/snacks/friends movie but if you like the genre there's probably enough for you here to enjoy.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Furiosa A Mad Max Saga - (George Miller, 2024)

9/10

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

LONGLEGS is a shaggy-dog story with a Razzie-level performance and a perfunctory screenplay.

Having said that, tech credits are particularly strong, none so more than the exquisite, nimble cinematography by Andrés Arochi, making his feature debut after working on short films and music videos. He's definitely a talent worth keeping an eye out for.


Arochi's lensing makes the most of the movie's Pacific Northwest locations, which are one of the film's chief assets (British Columbia, as usual, dubs for the Oregon locations).

The movie's visual beauty helps to make up for what's missing in the story department, as writer-director Oz Perkins's story is really rather predictable all the way through, with a hearty dose of hocus pocus and an even bigger ration of plot holes.

As the FBI agent who becomes central to the pursuit of the chief suspect here, Maika Monroe does the best she can with a part that, as written, can't help but come off as a pale imitation of Clarice Starling, complete with a lot of childhood baggage.

I enjoyed LONGLEGS mostly on a purely visual level - tech credits are all uniformly strong, even if the story and the performances are decidedly a mixed bag (some critics have called it "a grueling collage of far better films").

The comparisons with The Silence of the Lambs may be a bit unfair, as Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winner was a real tour de force in every single regard that pushed the envelope way further than anyone back then thought it could be pushed.

Oh well. At least I know I can definitely look forward to Arochi's next film as DP.

Fun and Fancy Free (1947) I liked the animation and the bears in the first segment are cute, but the two stories are pretty mediocre. The parts with the little girls and the dummies felt odd and out of place. Why is this little girl hanging out by herself with a man and his dummies? If it is a party, shouldn't there be other children there? Where are the girl's parents? The structure of this doesn't work, but there are some amusing moments.

Longlegs (2024) I liked Nicolas Cage's performance here, but felt he was underused. I wanted more Cage! Maika Monroe felt a little too reserved and almost wooden at times, but I think that was intentional for the character. I didn't find it scary, but it is creepy and atmospheric and I was engaged to see where they were going with it. The story didn't completely work for me, as there are things that were not explained and didn't really make sense. The actions of various characters stretched believability in some instances. There are some entertaining elements to the film, but for me it doesn't make my list of the best films of the year.

This performance would have worn thin if given too much screen time imho

That is a possible risk, but I still wanted a little more of Cage.

July 9, 2024

DESPICABLE ME 4 (Chris Renaud / 2024)
INSIDE OUT 2 (Kelsey Mann / 2024)

Well, I just thought I'd take a break from live action for just one week and check out what all the younglings are into these days. I find animated features to be a lot of fun sometimes... in measured doses! While I don't really want to go full-on in-depth on the two that I saw last Tuesday, I will once again say that this is my first viewing experience of either of these franchises. (And anyone who's familiar with my posts will find that a very familiar refrain by now! )

Despicable Me 4 is the further adventures of Anti-Villain League agent Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his family. This time around Gru and his ever-present Minions are up against Maxime Le Mal (voiced by an almost unrecognizable Will Farrell), an old school rival who has made himself into a human cockroach and aims to kidnap Gru's infant son Gru Jr.

While all that was good fun, it was Inside Out 2 that really jumped out at me. I really enjoyed this one a lot. I thought it was rather sophisticated in its portrayal of the turbulent adolescent emotions of Riley Anderson, who's just turned 13. If you've seen the original 2015 film - and I haven't yet - you'll know that this movie deals with the personified emotions Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger who have to work together inside the 11-year-old Riley Anderson's mind. This time around, however, the onset of puberty has triggered the arrival of five new emotions: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui and Nostalgia. And all this while Riley has gone to an ice hockey camp with her old friends and is desperately trying to fit in with new friends and create a good impression on the coach. What could go wrong, you ask? Much hilarity, poignancy, invention and outright suspense ensues, resulting in a surprisingly affecting film. I would heartily recommend this.

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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 Death Kiss, 1932

On a film set overseen by studio manager Joseph (Bela Lugosi), an actor is killed during the filming of a scene. While the studio wants to bury the incident as an accident and keep filming, screenwriter Franklyn (David Manners) finds evidence that the killing was intentional. With the assistance of studio security man Gulliver (Vince Barnett), Franklyn follows a series of tangled curls to find the killer.

This is a brisk, old-school murder mystery.



FULL REVIEW

I’ve seen a number of reviews that make the same criticisms that you do concerning The Bikeriders. I thought may be the reason for the lack of plot might be because it keeps too close to the source material.

Haven't had a lot of time to post in the past week or so, but...

Pretty Poison (1968, Noel Black) - A-
The Honey Pot (1967, Joseph Mankiewicz) - C+
The More the Merrier (1943, George Stevens) - A-
It Should Happen to You (1954, George Cukor) - C

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I loved it and gave it a same rating of an A- or 9/10. I gave Fury Road and A+ and it was one of my top 15 of the decade (2010-2019). Furiosa should have made waaaaayyyy more money than what it did, but you know people are stupid these days and only Marvel super hero movies make any money.

The 20-30 minute or so sequence in the middle of the film when Furiosa's identity is revealed when she teams up with Jack to defend the war rig is pure brilliance of action, storytelling, and character reveal. Also unlike, so many action films these days, George Miller knows how to frame movement so the screen doesn't look like a bunch of jagged and random images flashing at the audience and Miller knows how to pace and have sequences shot and edited so we know exactly where the characters are, objects, spatial relationships, and forward movement. That sequence is a masterpiece and done with minimal and non-intrusive CGI. Most of the big budget action films these days, which tend to be the dime a dozen super hero movies, play out more like a video game cut scene and are beyond boring and numbing. Oh and listen to the soundtrack too during that sequence with the droning score and onward pushing drumbeats that never become overbearing, but act as subtext to heightening the action and intensity that the action has earned. This is very much UNLIKE a Christopher Nolan film where he tries to compensate for erratic action and annoying framing and camera movement and a real sense of urgency with load and obnoxious musical scores. Of course George Miller is twice the director that Chris Nolan is... or at least a post Batman Begins Chris Nolan I should say. His first three films were wonderful.

Yeah, but Nostalgia isn't really supposed to be there yet.

I don't know, I remember my niece when she was 9 saying, back in the day. I told her, you haven't had a day yet.

No, in the movie, Nostalgia is told that she's not supposed to be there yet.

Bad Boys (1995)

Bad Boys II (2003)

The Invention of Lying - (2009)

I enjoyed it quite a bit, reminded me of Yesterday (2019), kinda the same vibe here, although this is a lot more funny... Rick Gervais funny, if you don't like it, avoid it.