Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Watkins, 2024





This is one of more highly rated films on horror lists this year, so I went into it with fairly high expectations. After all was said and done, Speak No Evil, which is a remake of a very recent Dutch film that came out a mere two years ago, is pretty by-the-numbers affair. It's well made and the performances are good, but nothing on either side of the camera stand out as particularly remarkable. Perhaps James McAvoy - who clearly spent the year before production slamming steroids and spending 12 hours a day at the gym - is the stand out here, as his performance is memorable, but beyond that everything plays out as expected.

Because I have just come off a string of films featuring stellar performances by female leads, such as Immaculate, The First Omen, Strange Darling, and Cuckoo, Mackenzie Davis seems outclassed here, but then again, she isn't given much to do aside from fretting about the odd family they are staying with.



What few surprises there are can be seen coming from a mile away. There are several instances of characters making inexplicably bad decisions, which perhaps help this film secure its spot as a horror film, since it's ostensibly more of a thriller. I won't split hairs too much on that, as I have included films of its ilk in my horror-thons in the past.

Anyway, I think this is one of those films that has a majority of positive feedback and reviews but only just, as it isn't a bad film or worthy of a negative review but doesn't offer anything unique or overly creative. I doubt I would watch it again.

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Unrated or R-rated?

Apparently they're making TWO more

‘Fall’ Sequel to Be Directed by ‘Jigsaw’ Helmers the Spierig Brothers for Capstone (EXCLUSIVE)

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For those of us who had never before heard about Casa Bonita in Colorado, this documentary is an absolute jaw-dropper!

Casa Bonita is, indeed, much more than a Mexican-themed restaurant; since opening in 1973, it was much closer to a theme park than a regular restaurant. There were actors performing, some cliff divers regularly jumping into a inner pool, and lots of caves to get lost in - it really has to be seen to be believed.

What's even more unbelievable is the determination of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to rescue the beloved institution from going out of business forever.

Parker and Stone initially paid $3.1 million for Casa Bonita, without fully realizing just how much maintenance and repair had been put off by the previous owner, or how expensive it would be to bring everything up to working condition and hire a top-notch Mexican chef. In the end, the documentary tells us they ended up spending more than $40 million in restorations and repairs.

There's no words to describe how amazing the place looks today, or how much I really wish I could go to Casa Bonita at the earliest possible opportunity.

This is really an amazing documentary about one of the most unique restaurants it the world.

Salem's Lot (2024) This feels like a bad tv movie. It looks cheap and ugly. Lewis Pullman falls flat in his performance, but that may be more to do with the way the character is written. Most of the characters are underdeveloped here and the actors don't have much to work with. Alfre Woodard does a decent job with her character and gives the best performance in the film. This isn't very enteraining or fun, although there are a couple cool looking moments.

I think this is the best of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies.

I knew next to nothing about Pharrell Williams before watching this, and I'm definitely not a big fan of his music - but, as an animation fan, this was pretty high on my must-see list.

To the best of my recollection, this is the first documentary about a musician (or really, about anyone at all) to be presented with LEGO animation.

It might initially seem a bit too cute, but it actually seems to work quite well, for the most part.

And, to be honest, I thought there was enough good material here to support an even longer version of the project - I think it could very easily have been expanded to a 4-part miniseries with 30-minute episodes.

There were times when I definitely wished we could have listened to longer excerpts from Pharrell's music, as well as some of the other artists who are interviewed (the part with Gwen Stefani, for example, has a small clip of "Hollaback Girl")

If you do decide to watch this, try and catch it in a Dolby Cinema theater, because with such gorgeous-looking animation and catchy music, it is definitely worth watching in a state-of-the-art auditorium.

2nd Rewatch...The best MGM musical that nobody saw. This is becoming one of those movies that I never tire of re-watching and I'm crushed that I left it off my list for the musical countdown. From the creative team behind Singin in the Rain, this 1955 film was originally conceived as a sequel to On the Town, but Jules Munshin was having health issues and Frank Sinatra was making The Man with the Golden Arm, so Gene Kelly recruited Dan Dailey and future Tony winning Broadway director and choreographer Michael Kidd to join him in this story of three soldiers returning home from WWII who swear they will be BFF's and promise to reunite at a bar in Manhattan ten years later. Even though each one thinks the other two won't show up, they all do but find they are very different people. They accidentally meet a programming executive named Jackie Leighton (Cyd Charisse) who decides to exploit their reunion on the TV show, she works on, a "This is Your Life" type program hosted by the vivacious Madeline Bradville (Delores Gray). The film is actually anchored by a near brilliant screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who also wrote Singin in the Rain that actually takes some effective potshots at the television and advertising industries, and earned Comden and Green an Oscar nomination. This film is mostly remembered for a musical number called "I Like Myself" where Kelly dances on roller skates, but every number in this movie works...love the number in the restaurant with the three guys munching on celery, the ashcan dance, Charisse's "Baby You Knock Me Out", Dailey's "Situation Wise" and Gray stops the show with "Thanks Baby, But No Thanks." Didn't really notice it until this viewing, but Dailey, Kidd, and Gray kind of own this movie, Kelly kind of throws it to them. If I had a minor quibble, it would be that Charisse is only given a single dance number, but other than that, this is a winner.

Umpteenth Rewatch...Bill Murray's laid back, slightly smarmy comic genius and some eye-popping (for 1984) special effects are still the anchor for this instant comedy classic that still brings the same funny it did 40 years ago. The film has inspired four sequels, but none of them hold a candle to this one.

This is yet another film I saw to put another notch on my Vincent Price belt. Unlike Shock, this is one I had heard often. The film is based on the novel I Am Legend, which was also adapted recently with Will Smith in the lead. I was actually quite surprised by how similar both films are. It is not an exact carbon copy, but it does feature most of the same story elements.

I also appreciated that the film has a more pensive and mournful vibe to it, instead of focusing on scares and thrills. Director Sidney Salkow makes an effort to show the toll that this isolated life has taken on Morgan's life, and Price does a pretty good job transmitting it. The few sequences of him dumping bodies in a firepit were quite striking.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

Earth vs. The Flying Saucers follows Dr. Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife Carol (Joan Taylor) as they try to stop the threat of a flying saucer invasion on Earth. Marvin, who is a scientist in charge of a space project himself, has to figure out a way to figure out what's happening. Things get complicated when the actual arrival of one of these saucers is met with immediate violence, instead of "tea and cookies".

I've been on a kick for "cheap", 50s sci-fi/horror films and this one fit that to a tee. From the grandiose title to the goofy costumes and special effects, it's hard not to love that. But Earth vs. The Flying Saucers does give a bit more than that. For example, there is a certain eeriness to the aliens appearance, even with their goofy space costumes. Their bizarre look and strength still have some impact.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

That's how geologist Michael Webster (Brendan Fehr) describes this sudden threat to his superior (Victor Garber). Something that he had never seen before, probably like this SyFy film. Ice Quake follows Michael's attempts to survive this "ice quake", along with his family, while also trying to prevent a catastrophe on Earth.

What we get is this mostly dull survival journey of this family as they try to stay safe, followed by a race against time to blow some explosives that will somehow stop the methane flow from creating this "ice quakes"...? Yeah, whatever. The thing is that it lacks the tension and thrill to make us care about anything, especially since we know how it will all end.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

I have never seen Bloodhounds on Broadway but I have seen a lot of her work and have always enjoyed her I just didn’t like her in this particular movie

Bloodhounds on Broadway (1952) isn't an easy movie to find, but I have a link, I'll send it to you.

Spring and Port Wine (1970)

Strange one this, I'd heard the title many times but never seen it, only stills. I presumed it was a "Kitchen Sink Drama" in the ilk of a John Osbourne or Alan Sillitoe film but was well off. It's more a soap opera under the disapproving eye of the (completely miscast but still great) James Mason's Rafe. It's of it's era but completely non challenging film-wise.

The Holdovers
7/10.
This is not usually my kind of movie, but I found myself enjoying this one.

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Boldly going.

Saturday Night might just be the best movie about live television ever made.

Those who have never worked in a live broadcast probably couldn't begin to imagine the massive levels of adrenaline that must be pumped in the process of getting something ready to air, nor the absolute ecstasy that comes with getting a broadcast just right.

Jason Reitman's new film comes as close as possible to illustrating what that's like on the people responsible for a live broadcast.

The movie captures the zeitgeist of the era, even if one could debate endlessly whether or not individual characterizations are spot-on or not quite (for the record, I think they are all, for the most part, unbelievably accurate)

Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Matt Wood as John Belushi, J. K. Simmons as Milton Berle and Willem Dafoe as NBC executive David Tebet are particularly memorable, but everyone here really gives it their all (and see if you can tell, while watching the movie, which actor is playing two entirely different comedians).

This love letter to SNL makes the most of its premise, taking place in real time during the last 90 minutes before the first show aired on Oct. 11th, 1975.

Those 90 minutes were as grueling on everyone in the show as anyone could have imagined, with additional pressure from NBC execs who kept threatening, up until the last second before the show started, to air a rerun of the Johnny Carson instead.

I never would have imagined what it was like over at 30 Rockefeller Plaza right before the show that would become a cultural institution aired its first broadcast; short of having a time machine and access to Studio 8H, this is the next best thing.

Fallen (1998)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57168198

The Equalizer 2 - (2018)

Pretty much what you'd expect here, if you've seen the first Equalizer. Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) sees a lot wrong with the world today, and he does his bit to solve it by breaking bones, making pretty bad contusions, stabbing, shooting, burning or otherwise hurting those people that make us really mad. When someone murders friend Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) you better believe there's going to be more work for the coroner than he can handle, meaning a cancelled fishing trip. McCall is a human terminator, and can sense a butterflies wings flapping 5 miles away with his epic concentration, so no matter what you plan to do, he's going to break your arm before you can explain yourself - keep out of his way. Breaking bones is like popping bubble-wrap for him. He just can't stop at one.

6/10


By Poster found at http://www.impawards.com/1985/jewel_of_the_nile.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8198300

The Jewel of the Nile - (1985)

There's some slick Hollywood packaging around this Romancing the Stone follow-up, but a real lack of screenplay punch or narrative excitement. Set-pieces include a getaway through Arabian streets in a jet, a train chase, Michael Douglas wrestling an African giant and a Batman trap. Not one memorable line is uttered - and this seems a case of Michael Douglas and Lewis Teague doing just enough to not completely alienate the audience. The characters are enjoyable, despite never landing a knock-out blow (or, come to think of it, any blows at all.) Billy Ocean's 'When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going' was unstoppable though.

5/10


By from imdb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9009202

The Murderers Are Among Us - (1946)

The Murderers Are Among Us captures a moment in time unique in world history. A nation remaking itself from the ground up. Nothing needed to be faked or exaggerated, and there's a grim sense of fascination I have regarding how people survived this terrible situation after years of Hitler's rule. Full review here, in my watchlist thread.

8/10


By It is believed that the cover art can or could be obtained from the publisher or studio., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26528095

Poison For the Fairies (Veneno para las hadas) - (1986)

I really loved this movie, and was blown away by the ending - what a great pair of child actresses as well! Oh, and well done to Ana Patricia Rojo for what looks like handling a really, really big spider. I shuddered at the thought of that. Full review here, in my watchlist thread.

9/10

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Amongst plenty of other films, I've watched two very different masterpieces this week:





Sansho the Bailiff and All That Jazz.

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