Rate The Last Movie You Saw

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - Michael Curtiz, William Keighley: 5/10

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Moonage Daydream - (2022)

I'd bought this on Criterion a little while back, and thought last night that it was a pretty good time to watch it again after having seen it on it's original release. At the time I wrote on Letterboxd : "Moonage Daydream elevates the David Bowie mythology to almost God-like status, but grounds it by allowing us a sense of the human behind all of the masks. It does this with wonderful use of his catalogue of songs, and rarely makes the mistake of allowing itself to be too stereotypical or hackneyed. Brett Morgen has obviously spent time, and a great deal of care assembling footage from the man's life, interviews, concert footage, films, plays and television appearances - not to mention music videos. In between there's a sense of the cosmic, but it never becomes overly lost in it's own gaze. Our search for the meaning of life in what feels like the film's first few moments made me afraid this was some deification - but instead it turned into a full-on celebration of David Bowie's music, art and life. It was a visual wonderland, and a rock 'n' roll journey using the best music you'll hear blast you through an entire film." The film kind of represents a personal journey for me as well, from my early teenage years through early adulthood on to times both wonderful and troubled.

What I thought about most last night was my last year of high school, when I found a second-hand video of the concert film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and like most things Bowie watched and rewatched it over and over again whenever I had the chance. In the pre-internet age, lacking the power to have images and video materialize at the push of a button meant you treasured what you could get your hands on. I wondered what I'd have made of Brett Morgen's Moonage Daydream back then - and how excited I would have been to get my hands on it and play it endlessly. Back in that era, the early 1990s, Bowie was at a particular low point as far as being cool was concerned, and I was definitely an oddball for being an ardent fan. My friends were into The Cure, Violent Femmes, Pixies, the Smiths etc - but I introduced as much Bowie into their music vocabulary as I possibly could. I got my first ever CD player around 1989 or 1990 and it was then that I bought all of Bowie's albums. So watching Moonage Daydream connects me to that era in my life, and all of the special things which were going on. I almost have an inner dialogue going on with my 17-year-old self, telling him "hey, watch this - it's pretty cool" - I could have only dreamed of it back then because those days nobody was talking about Bowie or making retrospective documentaries. This movie is my portal back in time - one which needs to be reevaluated as having a perfect score.

10/10

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1st Rewatch....The performances by the leading ladies keep this delicious soap opera on sizzle. Bette Davis plays Kit Forrest, a novelist who is returning to her hometown after the publication of her first book to reunite with her childhood best friend Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins), a self-absorbed housewife, expecting her first child, and so jealous of Kit's success she can't stand it. To say anymore would ruin this movie for those who have never seen it. Suffice it to say, that Hopkins almost steals the movie from Davis (not an easy feat) with her slightly over the top scenery chewing and Davis is cast against type as the good girl who knows how to push back when her back is against the wall. Classic melodrama fans will be in heaven here.

2nd Rewatch...Some terrific performances keep this often hard to swallow comedy watchable. Jason Sudeikis plays a small time drug dealer who, in order to settle a debt to a big time dealer, agrees to drive to Mexico in a Winnebago to pick up a large shipment of marijuana. In order to make him less conspicuous, he pays a stripper (Jennifer Aniston), a latch key kid in his building (Will Poulter), and a homeless girl (Emma Roberts) to travel with him, posing as his wife and children. This story goes some outrageous places and is very protective of the main characters, but it stays fun thanks to this fake family at the forefront, with standout work from Sudeikis and Poulter. Also loved Ed Helms as Sudeikis' employer, Nick Offerman as a DEA agent, and Kathryn Hahn as his wife. This is a lot of funas long as you don't think about it too much.

1st Rewatch...This raucous and surprisingly funny comedy held up beautifully on rewatch. Jason Bateman and TJ Miller are running a tech company called Zenotech that Miller's sister (Jennifer Aniston) wants to shut down unless they can land an important client (Courtney B Vance). Bateman and Miller decide the way to do it is to throw the wildest office Christmas party they can come up that gets out of hand when the flakes in the snow machine get accidentally replaced with cocaine. It's not surprising that this comedy is from the folks responsible for The Hangover franchise. Bateman is a perfect straight man for the madness and Aniston makes a superb villain, but if the truth be told the film is easily stolen by Miller and Kate McKinnon as the uptight HR manager. Just put your brain in check and enjoy.

3rd Rewatch....Jim Carrey was actually paid $20,000,000 to appear in this totally bizarre black comedy effectively directed by Ben Stiller. Carrey plays a cable installer who becomes a little too personally involved in the life of his latest installation, recently dumped executive named Steven Kovacks (Matthew Broderick). This film starts off promising, but the black comedy gets a little too black, with Carrey playing a character who becomes more scary than he is funny. Stiller's direction is on the money though and second only to Tropic Thunder, this is Stiller's strongest work behind the camera.

4th Rewatch...This romanticized biopic of jazz singer Billie Holiday did not hold up as well on this rewatch and is definitely starting to creak around the edges. Despite a spectacular performance by Diana Ross, in her film debut, that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, this, this film is rich with every showbiz cliche we've ever seen in a biopic and there are scenes that come off as almost laughable now, like the encounter the band bus has with an angry group of klansmen or when Piano man gets beat up drug dealers he apparently stole heroine from. Ross is spectacular though and even though she doesn't sound like Billie Holiday, she captures the vocal spirit of Holiday. And the scene where she threatens husband Louis McKay (Billy Dee Williams) with a razor unless he gives her her stash back is still one of the most terrifying things I have ever seen. In addition to Ross' nomination, the film received four other nominations, including one for the screenplay, which is a joke. Richard Pryor was robbed of a Supporting Actor nomination for his Piano Man and that heroine dealer hooking Billie up in her dressing room is Motown legend Berry Gordy.

Umpteenth Rewatch...Goldie Hawn had one of the biggest hits of her career as the star and executive producer of this 1980 feminist comedy about a pampered princess whose second husband dies of a heart attack on their wedding night. Clueless as what to do with the rest of her life, Judy lets herself be conned into joining the army and finds it to be nothing like she was told. Hawn's feminist sensibilities are all over this comedy that starts out quite nicely. Love the scene where the recruiter (Harry Dean Stanton) talks her into joining the army and inquiring if the army uniforms come in any color but green. Also love the scene where Judy's parents (Sam Wanamaker, Barbara Barrie) arrive at the base to take Judy home and she decides to stay. The film begins to run out of gas when Judy meets a sexy French playboy (Armand Assante) in Europe, but it's a lot of fun until then. Hawn received a Best Actress nomination for her performance and the late Eileen Brennan received a supporting actress nomination for playing Judy's hard-nosed commanding officer, Captain Doreen Lewis. The screenplay doesn't bear too close scrutiny, but for Hawn fans, this is appointment viewing.

Night Moves (1975)

Gene Hackman plays the ex-American footballer turned PI in this modern (perhaps noir) thriller. A girl (a young Melanie Griffiths) has gone missing and he is asked to find her. Primarily because the mother requires the girl to live with her to receive the trust fund in her name. Harry's (the PI) marriage is also falling apart after he finds out, during a stake out, that his wife is having an affair. Add into this a film aspect including James Woods as a mechanic involved with the missing girl and a stuntman involved with *both* the mother and daughter and it's a heady brew. The ending was rather unexpected but this is a good solid mystery with Hackman at the peak of his powers in an Arthur Penn movie.
Strong

History of Rock n Roll Ep.8 The 70s Full Movie Vol.4

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Utopia (1983) -



As for the rest of the film, it's very depressing. One user described this as a toned down version of Salò and, while I recognize the emotional registers of both films are different since the characters in Pasolini's film make no attempt to break free from their harsh reality, Utopia is similar in the way the characters frequently seem unwilling/unable to act on their plans. Still though, instead of the externalized horrors of Salò, the horror of this film is more internalized. Therefore, I would describe this as a slow-burn, low key extreme film in a sense. I hadn't heard of Shalid-Saless until a few days ago, but I'm definitely going to keep a close eye on him going forward.

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a couple of rewatches

Inside Out 2 - This was a worthy sequel and a certified hit for Pixar, nearly doubling the originals box office take and becoming the #1 highest grossing animated film of all time. I liked the first one more mostly because of it's originality. This hit a lot of the same beats with a "what did we learn here today" ultimate conceit mirroring the first one's. Namely that a person's fundamental happiness and character traits are an amalgam of the good and the bad and the sweet and the sour. But like the first one it does so in an engaging, creative way. Some stellar voice work from Amy Poehler, the late Lewis Black and newcomer Maya Hawke.

80/100

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The Handmaiden - (2016)

I watched The Handmaiden and reviewed it back in July for my watchlist thread and then someone (FilmBuff I believe) said "make sure you see the extended cut" and I thought gosh darn it, I saw the shorter version. So, here I am four months later watching it again in it's longer glory - it's a very nice, erotic, visually exciting crime thriller from a filmmaker I like a great deal - Park Chan-wook. I saw Joint Security Area this year as well - one of his first - and thought it was just as terrific. Anyway, I don't have much more to add regarding The Handmaiden - masterfully erotic, funny and loads of enjoyment to be had.

9/10


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La Commune (Paris, 1871) - (2000)

An insane movie-making feat that does something profound to both filmmaker and spectator. Full review here, in my watchlist thread.

10/10

Sing Street - B-

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Lewis Black is still alive, no?

Not bad. Three leads very good. Dozed off a couple of times. It’s that kind of movie that is more like a play.

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Rolling Thunder -

Fans of John Wick as well as action and horror movies like it need to check out this entry that likely inspired them. Just be warned it is a lot less fantastical. This is another heart wrenching study by Paul Schrader (who co-wrote) of Vietnam veterans returning home feeling like they had been chewed up and spit out. It would not be wrong to describe it as "Taxi Driver in the Heartland," in other words.

I've only seen William Devane in 24, whose performance I enjoyed on that show even though I found him a bit cold and hard to read. Those aspects work in his favor here since Major Charles Rane tries his best to be grateful for the warm reception, gifts and affection of man-in-uniform admirer Linda (Linda Haynes) he receives upon returning to good ol' "San Anton'," but he can only mask his emptiness for so long. Schrader and company couldn't have made his mental state more justified given that his wife is seeing another man and his son was just starting to walk before boarding the plane. If you're starting to think this is not the popcorn flick that John Wick is, you would be right, especially since there are fewer action scenes. The ones it has hit hard, though, and they're not only fueled by a desire for justice, but also come from a real place. I will not soon forget Haynes' work for how convincing she makes Linda's desire to find a good man and how she provides a reason for Charles to rethink his revenge plans. A young Tommy Lee Jones also shines as Johnny, Rane's military buddy who thinks he has readjusted to civilian life - at least better than Rane has - but who may be kidding himself.

Not to count out director John Flynn and co-writer Heywood Gould, whose other work I will explore, but I must once again credit Schrader for crafting yet another great story of a broken man who is not sure how to solve his problems. While I love the John Wick franchise, Nobody, et al, it is nice to see an entry call into question the belief that their only solution lies at the end of a gun. Again, there are fewer action scenes, but in this now subgenre's fashion, it does save the best one for last. Just be prepared to do something you might not always do when it's over: stare at the screen until all the end credits go by.

Megalopolis (2024)

Firstly, what a strange film! I'm probably not the target audience for this but the fact that Coppola was fighting to have this made and released since the 80s is just wild. It's a fairly pat story with nice effects but, to me, has no real substance and I did struggle to keep interest in the Cesar vs Cicero battle. Any scene with Shia LaBeouf in is overacted and silly, I think that was supposed to be the comedic element in amongst the over-wraught grand gesturing of the central story, it didn't work. Nice costumes, scenery and effects but a paper thin reason for even existing never mind fighting for 40-odd years to have it made!

I need to check it out.