Rate The Last Movie You Saw

By J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors - http://uk.movieposter.com/poster/MPW...wo_Cities.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36899507

A Tale of Two Cities - (1958)

This won't completely fill you in as to the Dickens classic, but for a British Pinewood Studios production it does a good job of transporting you at stages to revolutionary France. It truncates everything well also, so as long as you're not expecting every part of the novel it's fun enough to watch as a standalone film. Also, you get to watch a few early performances from the likes of Leo McKern, Donald Pleasence and Christopher Lee, who have small roles in this. I haven't seen many adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities, but this Dirk Bogarde-led effort isn't too bad, and is a good introduction to the likes of the story, which connects to "Little Dorrit" and "Great Expectations" in the Dickens Cinematic Universe™.

7/10


By Artist: Eric Pulford - http://frontrowposters.co.uk/pd-high...uad-poster.cfm, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53105362


The High Bright Sun - (1964)

Okay, we're seriously slipping down Dirk Bogarde's filmography here. While it's not the least of High Bright Sun's problems, Bogarde has absolutely no chemistry with female lead Susan Strasberg, and plays a pretty stiff British Major trying to quell EOKA in Cyprus. One of the locals is played by George Chakiris, and it was when I saw him that my mind started playing "America" over and over and over again. I should have just relented and put West Side Story on instead. I don't know whose side we're supposed to be on here - except for Denholm Elliott's, because as soon as he appears he gives the film a real boost. Should I discuss the plot? Juno (Strasberg) gets herself in trouble when she spies an EOKA resistance leader at the country estate she's staying at, and since she has a kind of prickly relationship with Major McGuire (Bogarde) the various fighters decide that perhaps she should die - but it takes a long time for all that to happen. When she finally ends up at McGuire's besieged apartment they say they love each other but I have the feeling both performers hated each other. This was made in Britain, so of course we see everything from the colonist's point of view - and I think in England everybody would have stood for "God Save the Queen" before the movie actually started.

5/10

__________________

Yôjinbô (1961) – Akira Kurosawa: 7.5/10

French Exit (2020)

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

I always thought that Kitano couldn't surpass Sonatine in terms of nihilism, but I was wrong.



Boring actors doing boring things. This movie is a compilation of idiotic dialog and mediocre situations.



Action with interesting comedy. Stallone wakes up in a world where political correctness is the new normal. The funniest thing about this movie is how it manages, in the 90s, to show the cancer of today. Political correctness must be destroyed, just like in the movie.



Maybe, the loneliness of the tiger in the forest is bigger than that of the samurai... well, maybe... The difference is that the concrete forest is more hostile and meaningless.

__________________
"This Would Sharpen You Up And Make You Ready For A Bit Of The Old Ultra-Violence."

I didn't love this either. While I love Pearl, I can take or leave X and this movie. I wrote something about it below.

MaXXXine -

After this movie ended, I thought about an '80s movie, but I regret to inform it is not a slasher. Instead, it is Back to the Future II. There's a scene where the villain, Biff, believes that Marty, the hero, has disappeared, so he has a flabbergasted reaction amounting to "that's it?" That's not how I want to react to any movie, but especially not one with all the promise this trilogy's second entry, Pearl, instills. Unfortunately, it falls into the same trap X falls into in that it's more love letter than anything else. I'll at least say that like in X, the look, feel, sounds and needle drops - especially a ZZ Top one - are praiseworthy. There are also a bunch of familiar faces to help close the trilogy out and they add as much substance as they can, especially Kevin Bacon's sleazy, scenery chewing P.I. and Bobby Cannavale's hilariously pitiable wannabe actor turned cop. Despite their efforts, all the payoff is slim to superficial. When I'm done watching a slasher, giallo, etc., I want to feel like I've been stabbed in the gut myself, but like in X, the resolution is too neat and clean for that to happen from Maxine's arc to anything involving the "Satanic Panic" of that decade. My limited response to what happens to Maxine is especially disappointing given how much Goth moved me in the previous two movies. Not only did she leave me cold most of the time, but she is also hard to like. There is also a general lack of surprise; in other words, if you have seen at least a few giallos, the whole thing will seem very paint by number to you.

There's another movie this made me think about that might as well have been its main inspiration, and no, it's not an '80s movie: it's Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood. Nobody writes love letters to his inspirations like Tarantino does, but he gives us so much more to chew on in that one beyond "aren't '60s movies so cool?" On the other hand, replace '80s with '60s and that is mostly what we have to chew on here. If you have also seen X and Pearl and you are more hesitant to finish it than you were before, I say grit your teeth and finish it anyway. I'll at least admit that I'm sad the trilogy is over. Now, the last season of Stranger Things notwithstanding, I also do not want to witness any more love letters, homages, what have you to Reagan era genre fare for a long time.

Twilight (1998)

Detective noir starring Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon and Gene Hackman. Ex cop and PI Harry basically lives as a lackey for his 2 friends that are ex-movie stars. Running errands doing a bit of maintenance. This follows an incident where he get's shot retrieving their daughter from Mexico. This in turn leads to a blackmail loop that Harry ends up caught in the middle of. All the performances are great as is the direction but the actual plot mystery-wise is a lot slighter than the human aspect (although both are intertwined). Perfect watching for a rainy Monday afternoon but just lacked that honed plot that would lift it out of melodrama status.
Still

Huge fan of Mia Goth. I enjoyed the entire trilogy.

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

Not to be vulgar, but Qualley’s press-on breasts accentuated her pretty figure in the most delightful way. If it were me, I wouldn’t let those prosthetics go.

Not a bad movie by any means. Though it fell apart in gushes of blood in the last 30 minutes or so.

Demi Moore looks excellent for her age.



I see this as a young adult movie, which I didn’t know going in. Interesting story with good actors. Never heard of Canadian Maisy Stella, but she’s very talented. And Aubrey Plaza always delivers.

Romancing the Stone follows romance novelist Joann Wilder (Kathleen Turner), who lives alone in her apartment while writing her novels, waiting for the moment when she gets to meet the man of her dreams. When her sister is kidnapped by a group of criminals looking for a hidden treasure, Joann must travel to Colombia to find her. In the process, she enlists the help of Jack T. Colton (Michael Douglas), a rogue smuggler and adventurer.

The truth is that the sister's subplot is severely underwritten and serves mostly as a plot device to put all these characters in march towards the same goal. We can say it's all an excuse to put Joann like a fish-out-of-water in this spectacular and exaggerated situations settings and situations. Most of the first act follows that "buddy cop" vibe of two completely different persons learning to work together. They argue and bicker, and *surprise, surprise* fall in love.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

__________________

I've seen Romancing the Stone once or twice and found it pretty enjoyable. It's definitely just a fluffy movie and I mean that with positivity. The film is an enjoyable jungle romp. Shutting your brain down and just grabbing popcorn and watching the film is a good way to approach it.

__________________
I destroyed the dastardly dairy dame! I made mad milk maid mulch!

The Goonies follows a group of friends from the "Goon Docks" in Astoria, Oregon. When their homes are threatened by foreclosure because of the expansion of a wealthy country club, they set out in an adventure to find the long-lost treasure of pirate One-Eyed Willy. Meanwhile, they must also avoid The Fratellis, a family of criminals who are also looking for the treasure.

This is yet another one of those films I've seen dozens of times, but I wanted my kids to watch it. I've always enjoyed the thrills and fun of the kids' adventure and thought it would be a good fit for them. Even though there's a lot of danger and murder, I love how it's mostly treated in such a playful and whimsical way, while carrying a message of persistence and never giving up; you know, Goonies never say die!

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

LOVED The Substance

I haven't watched Yojimbo in some time. I've always loved it though. I have a copy here somewhere.

By IMPAwards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10393325

Indecent Proposal - (1993)

It's been a lifetime since I last saw Indecent Proposal (I am now much closer to Robert Redford's character's age than I am to Woody and Demi's age) and it's interesting to reflect on how I feel about it. First of all, I remember people complaining about the ending back when it came out, and it only really works if you're looking at the movie in a certain way - probably in a way older audiences might. Also, one more non-controversial thing I can say is that nowadays $1 million doesn't really seem as awe-inspiringly gargantuan as it did in 1993. Would the movie have been better if Di (Demi Moore) had of left both men? Why is John Gage (Robert Redford) given the leeway to come out a "good guy" after his behaviour up to that point paints him as a gag-inducing misogynist and capitalist monster? He not only "buys" Di for a night of sex, but he shiftily takes Di and her husband's property in an effort to sabotage their happiness - and then proceeds to stalk Di, turning up wherever she goes - always trying to impress her with his wealth. It's a method of wooing that you often see in movies, and I often wonder if guys see it and think to themselves "that's what I'll do. I'll follow her everywhere and never give up!" Love is a game in Adrian Lyne's movie, but the possessive nature it depicts makes me want to see Di wriggle free of both David (Woody Harrelson) and John's demanding entreaties and manipulation. Trust a businessman billionaire to see love in terms of ownership, and spread that belief wherever he goes. There's really no happy ending to this one, although

At one stage Billy Bob Thornton shows up as a Las Vegas gambler and his character emphasises the vibe of this film as a whole. Overall it's an interesting movie but one that has been fiddled with too much by various producers and script polishers (and Robert Redford) who have robbed it of it's teeth and deeper meaning. Instead it sits in an uncomfortable mainstream place which doesn't suit the subject matter. It's still worth seeing though.

6/10

Tokyo Twilight (1957)

Finally saw this heavy and tragic drama about a broken family and two very different sisters. One is able to cope to a degree and the other just can't seem to find a place in the world. It all stems from their mother who left them (and a brother we don't see) when they were young to be raised by their father,

The mother comes back into their lives to a limited degree and causes more turmoil than good. I think it would have been better if she had stayed away. Which brings me to the question if we were suppose to have sympathy for the mother and exactly why did she leave? This is not explored at all in the movie. Would have been the first question I would have asked her.

An effective use of sets and weather to create a bleak and desperate mood especially the gambling joints, diners and the the snowy scenes. Just a feeling that this movie is not going to end on a happy note. It doesn't.

The actress who plays the younger sister is very good. The only downside is the length and it is slow of pace, so stick with it. 8/10

I liked Pearl a lot more than X as well.

Somehow I always confuse it with "Disclosure".

Oldboy (2013)



An outrageous revenge/counter-revenge story with a cheesy villain, and I was a little bit disappointed that I could guess the big plot twist early on in the story.
Nevertheless it's non-stop entertaining and wickedly brutal therefore I'm glad I've watched it.
Apparently it's a remake of a Korean film but I never watch those, so....

6/10