Rate The Last Movie You Saw

First What Is a Woman?, then Am I Racist?. The next one in the Question Trilogy is bound to be Am I a Racist Woman?.

__________________
San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Sidney Lumet, 2007)



Good performances, competently made, but despite the shifting narrative structure the whole thing is pretty straightforward. Very dark and depressing, does a good job of capturing dread and the feeling of hopelessness.

Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001)



Strangely I feel quite similar about this. Competent all round, good performances, but a little too dark and depressing. I felt pretty hopeless and depressed watching this, maybe even more so than BTDKYD. Life is sad and cruel, the world can be a difficult place to live in. We all have to lose our innocence when we grow up.

__________________

Are psychics real?

Well, they are real in the sense that they definitely exist and that some people believe in what they claim to do.

There is, of course, no scientific proof - as far as I know - that something real and measurable is happening when people claim to use psychic powers to communicate with what can't be seen (or even with living animals).

But this documentary by Lana Wilson - whose other recent subjects include Taylor Swift and Brooke Shields - doesn't really seem interested in whether or not science can prove or disprove anything in regards to psychics.

The documentary seems to be much more interested in what drives the desire for certain kinds of connection - the need to have a "connection" with a lost one, or a pet that obviously can't speak, etc. - and what someone can evidently do to make that person feel that connection (whether it's just some kind of grift or a genuine gift is left up to the viewer).

I am, of course, skeptical about anything that can't be scientifically proven, so I can't say I exactly believe in what psychics claim to be able to do. But I can definitely believe - because the documentary offers plenty of evidence - that there is a real human need for the things they claim to be able to provide, and that very real need is something that lies very deep inside some people; feeling that they have achieved the "connection" can seemingly bring about great relief.

This is definitely - by far - the better of two documentaries that I've watched this weekend; this one concerns folks who, whether or not they are able to do what they say they do, have a genuine gift for making those who come to them feel better; the other one was about a cruel and heartless grifter who cons innocent, well-meaning people in order to, well, just in order to profit off of them.

You don't have to be a psychic to know which one I feel is the morally repugnant one.

Superman The Movie (Extended version) - (Richard Donner, 1978)


First time seeing it with my 16 year old son. A lot of additional scenes compared to the theatrical version, which is the one I'm used to. Most of these scenes are silly, but there a few quite interesting ones. 11/10

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

By May be found at the following website: http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/e5b5fd4c, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34444825

Bread and Tulips - (2000)

If you're a housewife, your husband constantly berates you, your kids find it an inconvenience to constantly have to ignore you and you work like a slave for these people - then this is your fantasy movie. I mean, it would be nice to find yourself suddenly living in Venice, starting a new career as a florist, finding new and interesting best friends and starting a love affair with Bruno Ganz. This is what happens to Rosalba Barletta (Licia Maglietta) when a tour bus with her family on it leaves her stranded in Greece, and her supposed loved ones don't even notice right away. She decides to make her own way home, but on the way detours to Venice (she's never been) and that's where she meets new people, gets a new job and starts a new life - while in the meantime her husband, Mimmo (Antonio Catania) hires a private investigator, Costantino (Giuseppe Battiston), to try and track her down. Every so often I'll watch a movie that I don't see myself as the target audience for - that's the case here, and I don't think I was ever going to love Break and Tulips regardless of how good the performances in it were, or the fact that it won 9 David di Donatello awards (and 5 Nastro d'Argento awards.) Licia Maglietta was a huge surprise though - I wish I could see more of her. Ganz, as depressed Icelandic landlord/restauranteur Fernando made it worth my while as well. Sounds like this was the movie of the year in Italy during 2000, but for me it pretty much hit the region I'd call "average". It was okay.

6/10

__________________

I saw this in the theater when it first came out and just thought it was really sweet. Nothing super special, but fun and cute. It was definitely a crowd-pleaser in the theater.

It hit that exact spot for me, where I didn't dislike it, didn't love it - it had plenty of nice moments, and that kind of fantasy vibe to it. Go to Venice, start your dream job, meet interesting new people who you gel with immediately and become your de facto family. I've yet to see Venice - but it's more than a drive for me.

Costa Rican Summer (2010) -

The filmmakers certainly intended for this to be a critique of the objectification of the female body, but I'd argue they didn't handle these points with a deft hand and lacked the maturity to go all the way on it. The portrayal of the unhinged characters is handled so obnoxiously, the nudity feels so exploitative and forced (to cut the film some slack, the men are sexualized a bit as well), and the dreamlike score whenever Pamela Anderson appeared onscreen made me check out entirely. While we're not asked to approve of the characters' behaviors, given the over-the-top direction of these elements, the intentions of the film weren't always clear. Whenever a film is critiquing nudity/sexuality, there's a thin line as to how much of that subject it can depict and how it portrays it before its commentary becomes muddled. The more it shows and the more emphasis it places on such, the more its points get diluted and the more it seems like depicting the "titillating" content is all the film wants to do. While I've encountered worse cases over the years (e.g. Cuties), this film still felt shallow. As for the rest of the film, it has the standard flaws I've seen in other terrible films, like bad acting, poorly-written dialogue, an overbearing and obnoxious score, poor cinematography, and an uninspired story. Of course, it's not like this is the only poorly made film out there which is disposable entertainment, but I think the reason this film bugged me so much was because it was pretending to be something else. At least Jurassic Shark and Meet the Spartans weren't trying to do this. I will grant that the second half is a slight improvement over the first half since it's more toned down, but not by much. Overall, this is horrendously bad on almost all levels and whatever undercurrents of quality are sprinkled in were ultimately overshadowed.

__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd

Honestly, now that I know a lot more women who have children, it makes a lot more sense to me why this one struck a chord with so many people. The dual exhaustion of either having everyone (other adults included!) clamoring for your attention and then being ignored/disregarded when you're not in the act of serving someone else . . . yeah, oops I found a dream life where I'm appreciated makes a lot more sense as a fantasy.

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)


An average rom-com that I hope would elevate to being above-average given the cast. Gosling doesn't seem to hit the right notes for a character more suited for someone like Ryan Reynolds. The script follows mostly predictable paths, but it does veer off wildly once or twice which were the funniest and best parts for me.

I know the bar isn't high but this is one of my favorite rom-coms of the last 20 years. The cast do lovely work and I lose it everytime I get to the bit you posted with that picture

__________________
HEI guys.

Marie-Claude Treilhou's directing debut isn't overly concerned with conventional narrative tropes, it seem perfectly happy to just observe Simone Barbès (Ingrid Bourgoin) as she goes through a regular workday.

And what does Simone do? She is an usher at an XXX theater in Paris - and this movie makes that seem even more tedious than it might sound at first.

Treilhou's gift for quiet observation will reward patient viewers and is better at simply recording a time and place in history that is long gone; there is certainly something about the locations (not just the XXX theater, but also a lesbian nightclub where Simone goes after work) that feels so much more quaint now than when the movie was brand new in 1980.

SF = Zzzzz

Viewed: Blu ray


[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

Last week I saw the Regular Cut with my two kids (10 and 11) and it didn't go as well That middle act almost made them give up

Josef von Sternberg's silent classic may not be the first gangster movie ever made, but it is certainly credited as being the one that made moviegoers fall in love with the genre.

The movie also marked the beginning of a long and fruitful 8-year period of Sternberg at Paramount, where he would go on to make a few other classics, including some memorable films with Marlene Dietrich.

Underworld's staggering success made it the first movie in the US to have round-the-clock showings; people in the late 20s couldn't get enough of this new, raw gangster action!

The film's success also extended to screenwriter Ben Hecht, who won the first-ever Oscar for best original screenplay when the Academy held its first awards ceremony in 1929.

I almost fell asleep watching the trailer for this. It's a sad state of affairs when you can't manage to string together enough interesting moments to make your movie at least appear palatable.

Umpteenth Rewatch...One of my favorite Carrey comedies that I never get tired of re-watching. Carrey plays a divorced workaholic attorney who has neglected his son so much that, at his fifth birthday party, the child makes a birthday wish that his father can't tell a lie for a whole day and the wish actually cmoes true. The guy can't tell a lie for 24 hours which, of course, complicates his life and career to no end. This movie is funny as hell, features a terrific cast supporting Carrey and still gets my vote for the funniest outtakes shown during the closing credits.

5th Rewatch...Robbed of the Best Picture Oscar of 1994, this sweeping and emotionally charged epic just seems to grow richer with each viewing. It's the story of a young banker named Andy Dufrane who goes to jail for the murder of his wife and his lover, even though he didn't do it. We thjen watch Andy go through the typical "fresh meat" routine we always see in prison movis, but we watch Andy not only learn how to survival prison but how to improve the conditions and eventually overcome them. Based on a novel by Stephen King, director Frank Darabont, who also brought another Stephe King story to the screen The Green Mile, employs sp[ectacular production values and a sensitive directorial eye to this story that makes you wait for a happy ending, but the journey is well worth it. Tim Robbins offIcially became a movie star with his performance as Andy and Morgan Freeman earned a Best Actor nomination for his performance as Andy's best friend, Red. Still scratching my head as to how Forrest Gump won Best Picture over this.

1st Rewatch...A superb ensemble cast is the main selling point of this sparkling 1952 comedy about a dotty justice of the peace who marries five couples before his license was actually valid and no one noticed for two years, so the five couples are informed by letter that they are no longer legally married. Funny thing is, this news is only a bad thing for one of the five couples. My favorites of the five stories are Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers as the stars of a radio show whose show is contractually dependent on their marriage; Marilyn Monroe and David Wayne as a couple who think they have to re-think their lives because Marilyn can no longer enter beautiy contests for married women; and Louis Calhern as a wealthy businessman who is about to be taken to the cleaners by his gold digging wife (Zsa Zsa Gabor). Victor Moore is a riot as the justic of the peace at the center of the nuttiness and yes, that's Oscar winner Jane Darwell playiing his wife. This one is a lot of fun.