Rate The Last Movie You Saw

This is a movie that I thought was merely okay, but then I was interested to see that I came back to rewatch it several times and liked it a little more each time. I actually think Kilmer works pretty well in the role.

It wasn't even laughably bad Gideon.

The Re'Search (Re'Search Wait'S)
so far the only Trecartin film that's been too much for me.

Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann - Finally got around to watching this after only what? Four decades? I had known of it because of family members constantly citing it as one of their favorites. But I think it was from that specific early 80's period where so many of their fond memories are tied in with not so spectacular films. Fred Ward plays the titular character, an ace motocross rider competing in the Baja 1000 race. At the same time a somewhat shadowy conglomerate is busily conducting time travel experiments at an undisclosed remote location. Swann gets lost and wanders through their ground zero test site. They're in the process of sending their first living subject, a rhesus monkey, back in time 105 years.

This had more than it's share of faults. A weak story with plenty of plot holes and inconsistencies, even by time travel standards. It comes off as lazily written by ex-Monkees band member Mike Nesmith. The cast is good though. I've always been a fan of Fred Ward and there's also Peter Coyote, Ed Lauter, Richard Masur and Tracey Walter. Belinda Bauer is pretty good as the smoldering femme fatale. I think I've heard of this being called a cult classic and sometimes those are messy affairs. They throw in a last minute Futurama-like plot twist out of nowhere. If you can overlook it's various weaknesses there is some fun to be had here.

60/100

hopefully i can get it on ultra 4k

Special Section (1975) - Directed by Costa-Gavras
When it comes to political outrage, few do it better than Costa-Gavras - here it's about cowardly Vichy government leaders who subvert their laws to appease the Nazi's - like a lot of these films, it's angering.

__________________
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)

Juror #2 -

Clint's possibly final movie is a pretty good legal drama for how it explores the complications that get in the way of reaching a verdict. In Justin (Nicholas Hoult), the titular juror and father-to-be, and Faith (Toni Collette), the prosecutor, we get two disparate - or are they - reasons why James (Basso), who is accused of murdering his girlfriend, should fret. On one end, a conviction would make Faith's case for being the next district attorney, and as for Justin, well...I'll just say it's also personal and leave it at that.

It's easy to see why Clint chose this as his last project: it's old school, it's an actor's picture and nobody, not just the son/mother pair from About a Boy, is entirely good or bad. Hoult is just as skilled at expressing how in over his head Justin feels, especially since he barely needs dialogue to do so, as Collette is at expressing Faith's smug self-interest. Basso also impresses despite his limited screen time for how convincingly he professes his innocence while giving you just enough reasons to doubt him in the process. I also approve of the New Orleans-adjacent atmosphere of Savannah, Georgia (one of my favorite cities to visit, for what it's worth) and the deft way it weaves in flashbacks to the night in question.

Yes, the performances are fine and there's moral complexity to spare, but I cannot join the chorus that this is one of Clint's best movies in years. Is it unfair to compare this to classics like 12 Angry Men and Anatomy of a Murder? Probably, but the movie makes it easy, especially since it seems like some of the jury deliberation and courtroom scenes copy dialogue from them verbatim. I have also seen racial stereotyping in TitleMax commercials that is less subtle. Other reviews have credited this movie for daring to be old school, appeal to the grownups in the audience, etc., and I'll confirm that they are not wrong. I still felt like I was sitting on an airplane while watching it if you know what I mean.

pretty funny and pretty good though its also kind of just what you'd expect from a current year film by white queers.

SF = Z

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

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16057647

Peppermint Candy - (1999)

Lee Chang-Dong's Burning ended up becoming one of my favourite films ever after I saw it, but I never knew much about this filmmaker's output prior - something I'm making amends for now. So, how does his sophomore effort, 1999 film Peppermint Candy measure up? Good! I mean, it's not quite Burning's level of brilliance, but there's still brilliance and excellence there for sure - it had me emotionally gut-punched anyway. The film starts with our protagonist's suicide (dramatically via train), and from there it's a reverse-order chronology movie as we uncover, step by step, what went wrong in this guy's life. It takes a while for everything to start adding up, the route we travel, but eventually the significant answers start coming, and a life starts taking form before our eyes. Eventually we come full circle, back to where the film started at a company picnic where Kim Yong-ho (Sul Kyung-gu) meets his first love, Yun Sun-im (Moon So-ri) - and it almost seems he can sense what the future holds for him. I was very happy with Peppermint Candy and I'm very much looking forward to Oasis - all part of a Lee Chang-Dong boxed set I got for myself. This one a sad and sweet reverie on loss of innocence, missed opportunities, fate and life itself. Definitely recommended.

8/10


By POV - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20372469

The Beach - (2000)

I know Danny Boyle and John Hodge wanted to give us an inside look at Richard's (Leonardo DiCaprio) inner monologue (delivered directly to us) and the parts of Alex Garland's novel that can't be relayed through dialogue - but the narration in The Beach never felt quite right to me. I think most of us would have understood what all of this was about without any of the narration - often Richard is simply stating the obvious, and superfluous narration is never good. The movie hits a high point when a shark brutally rips into the secret community living on an idyllic beach (and what happens directly afterwards!) There's nowhere to go from that point but down however, and the whole crazed Richard on his own in the jungle part, which goes on for far too long, drags things down. This was an interesting diversion, with such a young Leonardo DiCaprio and Tilda Swinton featuring (along with the brief appearance of Robert Carlyle) but ultimately a mixed bag with an unsatisfying climax compared to the first two-thirds of the movie and an unnecessary load of thematic exposition really forcing the audience to "get it".

5/10

__________________

i was kinda confused at the start of the movie then it got good and she is im hoping to see her new films

Dersu Uzala (1975) - Akira Kurosawa: 9/10
What a magnificent epic and labour of love from Kurosawa! Truly, a masterpiece, I'm so glad I watched this!

Great druggie noir.

I thought Val was outstanding.

Sonic 3 - for me it is 7/10. This movie is perfect for my inner child

Romance & Cigarettes (2005)

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

The Substance - (2024)

Had me scratching my head in the final act, I thought: is this the same movie? But eventually I (kinda) figured it out. 7/10

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

I didn't properly watch these yesterday

Viridiana -- 1961 -- 9/10 -- one of Bunuel's great Mexican films

Flowers -- 2015 -- 7/10 -- if you can handle strong gore and serial killer themes this is a gem.

The Body Beneath -- 1970 -- 6/10 -- campy vampire stuff, i like how their skin color is and the flamboyant attire

Edvard Munch -- 1974 -- 10/10 -- i will definitely be spending more time with this very soon, perhaps before i unveil more of my collection, it speaks to a lot of things i grapple with.

The Hunters -- 1977 -- 10/10 -- i shall also be spending more time with this, as i cautiously browse reviews of it on LB to understand it better, what i have always liked is the style, the natural locations, and the happy parts, that are unfortunately always broken up by army dudes.

Love this poster never seen it before

LOL. I was just going to post how very ugly it is.

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

Yes, I love the duality of it.