Rate The Last Movie You Saw

i keep waiting for Alice Maio Mackay to take a step and each new movie is like, the tiniest tip-toe forward.

Strike (1925) 9.75
The blueprint for a film masterpiece.
A guidebook for film making.

2nd Rewatch...Joan Crawford really chews the scenery in this technicolor melodrama playing a tough as nails Broadway diva who falls for the new pianist in her show (Michael Wilding), who is blind and wth whom she shares a past she has forgotten about. Crawford is the show here, giving her fans exactly what they expect from her and Majorie Rambeau is terrific as her alcoholioc mother.

4th Rewatch...Believe it or not , this film features my favorite Harrison Ford performance. Ford plays a rich and brilliant attorney who goes out to the corner store one night for cigarettes. A robber comes into the store and changes Ford's life forever when he shoots him in the head. We watch Henry face a long rehabilitation where he has to learn how to walk and talk again, but the drama isn't over when Henry tries to return to work before he's ready. This movie is just heartbreaking and I have never enjoyed Ford onscreen more.

Day for Night (1973) - The following is what I had on my bingo card for this movie (spoilers ahead)

1. A director who’s unsure what he wants...
2. Or does know but has to handle challenges of filmmaking
3. All kinds of loons a.la Hail Caesar! It’s all worth it for the joy of making films
4. Snob critics, out of touch actors
5. A sweet kid at the center

Well I got the 2, 3 and half of the 4 right... but what gets me about Truffaut in his best moments (which applies to 99% of here) is his wave of humanity that just washes over the viewer.
Yes it's an unfiltered documentation on how a portion of filmmaking process is done but he never loses care for these character. The international actress, her outsider husband, the man-child romantic, the helpful crew members, the senior one who shockingly passes away at the end and he's the one to affect the whole production, the cat who doesn't play along... you could feel the affection he has for them in the general picture, however questionabale their actions are. Lots of movies have been made in recent years as "LoVe LeTtErS to ciNeMA" (which shaped the basis of my expectations numbered above) but none of them touched me or made me laugh like this one did...



strong 8/10, maybe a 9...

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HEI guys.

Umpteenth Rewatch...I have no idea how many times I've watched this movie but I never tire of re-watching it and if I run into it, I will always watch. In probably the biggest hit of his career, Jack Black plays Dewey Flynn, a wanna be rock and roller who takes a job as a substitute teacher at a grade school under the indentity of his best friend and instead of teaching, turns the students into a rock and roll band. This was the defining role of Black's career and made him an official movie star. Joan Cusack also manags to garner laughs as the tight-assed school prinicpal. Mike White, who plays Dewey's BFF, would go on to create the HBO series The White Lotus.

5th Rewatch...My favorite Steven Spielberg film, a textbook on the art of cinematic storytelling. This is the fact based story of a 17 year old con man named Frank William Abignale Jr (Leonardo DiCaprio), the son of a con man (Christopher Walken), who goes on a nationwide crime spree which includes cashing over a million dollars in fraudulent checks, and impersonating a doctor, a lawyer, and a pilot. Frank Jr's crimes find him in an intricate cat and mouse game with an FBI agent named Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks). Spielberg's splendid direction is the reason this movie is mesmerizing from start to finish. I love near the beginning of the film where we see Frank appear on To Tell The Truth. DiCaprio was robbed of an Oscar nomination for his charismatic performance as Frank Jr, though Walken's lovely performance as Frank Sr did earn him a supporting actor nomination. The solid supporting cast includes Martin Sheen, Amy Adams, Jennfer Garner, James Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, and Ellen Pompeo. John Williams' music also snagged a richly deserved nomination. Slam-bang entertainment from the mighty Spielberg.

Umpteenth Rewatch...The strongest of the four films starring Christoper Reeve finds the Man of Steel finally heading toward romance with Lois Lane while battling three criminals from Krypton who were imprisoned by Superman's father and have escaped. Reeve is sincere in the starring role and Gene Hackman steals every scene he's in as Lex Luthor. Love Terrence Stamp as General Zod too.

The Worst Person in the World, 2021

Julie (Renate Reinsve) sets out into the world uncertain of what she wants to do with her life. While she is good at navigating social situations, she fails to find a passion and thus pursues various vocations in fits and starts. Just as quickly as she hops from job to job, she hops from one romance to another.

This is a well-acted, grounded-but-empathetic film about the dangers of always watching the horizon.



FULL REVIEW

Flow (2024)

In what has been a stellar year for small indie films this might be the best of the bunch. Flow is the story of a cat in a flood on earth...maybe. The film is a paradox a series of complex 2001 esque influences combined with the very simple story of a cat and other animals just trying to survive a disaster. This is perhaps the first sign of generations inspired by Miyazaki to go out and put their own imprint on cinema.

It's a silent film of sorts an adventure that's filled with gorgeous vistas and interesting ideas. It's a boat ride with animals with the star being the cat but it's not only about the cat. This film offers a number of character studies from the other animals that many a YouTube will dissect and discuss over the next year or so.

I fully expect this film to be a double nom...and perhaps a double winner when the Oscars come around.

September 5th (2024)

Sometimes you need to just hold a movie...give it some space when current times and other films have already come out. On it's own merit September 5th is a good film...I think if it came out a year from now it would have been great. The problem with September 5th is it's basically Saturday Night but with terrorists and it just felt like a cheaper version of the story.

This is the story of 24 hours or so when Black September kidnapped and murdered Jewish coaches and athletes during the Munich Olympics. If you saw Spielberg's Munich this works as a companion piece. This is a film about technology and tension how a group of night shift ABC sports producers dealt with this giant story falling right on top of them. And it's a good movie but the politics of October 7th is an albatross for the film. We never get to deep into the politics of Palestine, Germany, and Israel rather we get some clumsy gender and race stuff.

And this is the problem with September 5th (and Munich) the focus is on mood and atmosphere in a time when you need to have a stronger perspective and point of view. It also doesn't help that the lead is John Magaro who is very Jewish playing a character who in real life was incredibly white. Some of you will be able to turn your brains off to the propaganda but I couldn't which is a shame because the film has merit. The story could have been told well, but it felt like a direct to streaming film that got raised up to prestige this year and it really shouldn't have.

Django (1966) - Sergio Corbucci: 6.5/10

One of my faves and the film that got me obsessed on pigs. Babe is adorable and the music and bucolic atmosphere are dreamy, cosy and epic all at once, so much nostalgia!

I watched Batman Bad Blood tonight. It's awesome. The fisticuffs are exciting, the story is good, and the flow is great. I loved it. It's my favorite of the four animated straight-to-DVD Batman animated films in the 18-movie collection I've watched so far. Maybe I should just buy my own copy. I'll have to look for it.

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

I hate insomnia. Oh yeah. Last year I had four cases of it, and each time it lasted three months.

Kiss the Girls (1997)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Wolfs (2024)
Jon Watts is an average director who makes average movies, and while this has several peaks, there are also too many valleys, scenes that ran overlong, moments where I lost interest - I don't know, it was just a movie, neither here nor there. 2.5 or 3

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Completed Extant Filmographies: Luis Buñuel, Federico Fellini, Satyajit Ray, Fritz Lang, Andrei Tarkovsky, Buster Keaton, Yasujirō Ozu - (for favorite directors who have passed or retired, 10 minimum)

Enter the Ninja follows Cole (Franco Nero), an American ninja and former soldier. After completing his ninjitsu training in Japan, he travels to the Philippines to visit his best friend Frank (Alex Courtney) and his wife, but finds himself in the middle of a clash between Frank and a ruthless businessman that wants his land. Cole then has to use his ninja skills to protect his best friend.

Seeing it now wasn't as novel as it was back then. The truth is that the film has a lot of flaws, starting with a poorly conceived script and a weak lead in Nero. I mean, he does have the tough look, but there's literally no other emotion in him. As a result, his backstory with Frank, and the ill-conceived attempt at a relationship with his wife, don't work at all. If anything, the bad guys had a more assorted array of colorful and fun characters.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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Oh well. That's my favorite of the three Ninja movies. If anything, I'm a bit more partial to Mr. Nero (obviously).

Anyway, I'm eager to read your thoughts about the other two if you plan on watching them. I thought the second one was sleazy crap and the third, while an improvement, does not quite reach the heights of the first one. It's the silliest and most shamelessly "'80s" one, though.

The plot of the third one seems crazy

Hugely entertaining.

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