Rate The Last Movie You Saw

I finished with the first part, would give it around a 4.5. But decided to switch over and watch the referenced films themselves, starting with Nazi Concentration Camps (1945), directed by George Stevens. And Jesus H... I can't begin to fathom the depths of evil that human beings sink to. I've seen these images before or ones like them (Resnais' "Night and Fog") but it never fails to devastate me. Horrific - I can't really grade a movie like this.

Wow....was this one ever tense, September 5. Back in 1972 a group of Palestinian Black September terrorists kidnapped a group of Israeli athletes during the Olympics, holding them hostage against the release of a large number of prisoners. The outcome ended when German officials stormed the building, resulting in the deaths of both hostages and terrorists.

This was portrayed in grim detail in this movie, from the perspective of German police/military who attempt to negotiate but end up storming the building. It's all about as tense and grim as you might expect. I don't know enough details about the event to judge whether it was operationally accurate, but the situation and the outcome conforms to the history.

The movie is tense, pretty much from beginning to end. The only cast member I'm familiar with is Peter Saarsgard. The director is Tim Fehlbaum. I knew pretty much what I was getting into in this movie, but when it was over, I found myself wishing that the theater showed a couple of old Mickey Mouse cartoons after the movie so I could de-compress before I left the building. It seems quite documentary, names names of the broadcasters who intended to be narrating Olympic sports and ended up covering this awful event. It appears that the shaky-cam production was melded with actual footage from the event, since actual broadcasters from the time were mentioned in the credits.

By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31876962

Children of a Lesser God - (1986)

I've always loved this film's title (would it be as good if it had a title like "Gettin' it On!"?), but I'm not sure if I'd seen the movie before in it's entirety. James Leeds (William Hurt) is a teacher of deaf children who meets an employee of the school he's arrived at - the combative, bad-tempered and passionate Sarah Norman (Marlee Matlin), a deaf woman with unresolved issues reaching back to a difficult childhood. He's a little clumsy in the way he expresses himself, and she's quick-witted and fierce - a difficult combination, but soon the two become attracted to each other and start to learn about themselves through their interactions. It's a messy, yet productive relationship - the only thing stopping them the question of can something that passionate last without burning itself out? Two great performances lift this one beyond mere melodrama - the apparent drug use and physical violence behind the scenes the only black spot on an otherwise compelling, Best Picture Oscar-nominated Eighties film.

7/10


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The Game - (1997)

I've never been completely sold on The Game, but I have to admit now that I've seen it so many times that there must be something to it. There's some really sterling intrigue that still hooks me in even well and truly after I know all the secrets and what's really going on, and the character of Nicholas Van Orton suits Michael Douglas more than just about any other character he's ever played. It's not in the least believable, but as time has gone on I've let go of that aspect a little more and a little more until I get to a point now where I just enjoy the ride - Nick is an ultra-wealthy investment banker who is given the "gift" of a "game" by his wayward brother Conrad (Sean Penn) - but is it really a game, or is Nick being manipulated and slowly destroyed by a shadowy organisation which fools and tricks him into not knowing what's real and what's not? I love the slow build-up and the ratcheting up of Nick's dissolution from reality. Excellent movie.

7/10


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Despicable Me - (2010)

Really cute and funny animated film where supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) adopts three young girls to deliver robot cookies to his arch-nemesis Vector (voiced by Jason Segel). His little yellow minions proved such a hit that they instantly became a huge property themselves and featured in spin-off films. Finally have this on Blu-Ray - but does that make me a big kid? Nah. This kind of animation knows no age boundaries.

7/10


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The Lemon Drop Kid - (1951)

The Lemon Drop Kid has every element that makes Bob Hope films what they are. He gets to croon a few numbers and is the absolute focal point in a movie where fun and laughter takes precedence over story - normally that would be a criticism from me, but in this guy's films he should be given the stage and just let loose. I liked it a lot. Full review here, in my watchlist thread.

7/10

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I have not seen this, but I did grow up around some people who witnessed the actual events and said that no media version could ever come close.

Wicked
8/10
I can see a movie like this sparking a return of the musical to the big screen, the way musicals were big in the '40s and '50s.
Having said that, while the dancing was great, none of the actual songs really stood out to me. Everything else about the movie was well done: the story, what they did with the characters, the sets, the special effects, etc.
I'm looking forward to the second part.

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Boldly going.

According to the doc, in regard to the camps, they didn't know what they were coming upon, they heard rumblings, and thought it would be like a prison situation, they weren't expecting to walk in and find a nightmare.

I just finished the full doc and I'm still shaking, I can't imagine what it was like for people who witnessed it firsthand.

Kill Your Darlings (2013)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Blink Twice (last year)



From Demi Moore to Geena Davis horror, and Channing Tatum (or is it Tatum Channing?) performs an apology that looks as if they've inserted a popular meme GIF into the film.
Basically, this is ROPE. Take a hypothesis and work it out to the extreme, and then remake it as the enjoyable Stepford Wives remake we didn't get in 2004.

When the story opens with characters taken to an idyllic island then it usually doesn't bode very well. Once it's revealed what is going on it also reveals what didn't happen, and why that was a clue hidden in plain sight.
The scenery doesn't look like a typical island at all and the cinematography is a little too "instagram" for my old-fashioned taste, but older Channing/Tatum appears more believable as a character actor. The pin-up appeal has been replaced with redneck hotness and that's certainly not a bad thing.
Naomi Ackie would be my first choice for a Donna Summer biopic, if she hasn't done it already.
Kyle MacLachlan co-stars in a mysterious supporting role and I'm still trying to figure out how he fits in. He might be the cause of everything that happens...it wouldn't be the first time.

I don't think this is going to be a very memorable film but overall it seems to achieve what it sets out to do.

^ Just finished watching that.





SF = Z

Viewed: Amazon Prime


First ever film I've seen with a trigger warning before it starts...




[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

What if someone made a Hammer Horror film in 2013? This improbable question has an answer.

The location of the shoot appears to be a tourist trap town, probably in Northern Italy. Montalto Dora Castle stands in as Castle Dracula. The shots are locked off. One gets the sense that if the camera moved an inch upwards or to the left we would see an "Exit" sign or entrance to a gift shop. The buildings are old, but with new stonework. The castle looks old enough, but has red brick reconstructed(?) crenellations. The sets are harshly overlit. The DP is not someone I would ever hire again. The look is strangely flat, especially for a 3D movie. The CGI would have been acceptable in a film made in 1997 or 2003, but not 2013. Praying Mantis-form Dracula is hilariously bad. Rutger Hauer sleepwalks through as Van Helson. His mobility appears limited here and his fights are one-move affairs where he dispatches his opponents with a single move.

In this version, there is no move to London. Renfield, no longer a Londoner, lives near the Castle. Jonathan and Mina Harker and Van Helsing oblige the limited budget by coming to and staying near Castle Dracula. The voyage of the Demeter is out, a cozy (one?) location shoot is in.

This is a one-star quality film, but it is also curious as it looks like a film shot in the 60s or 70s.

The People's Joker (2022 but it's '24)... Took me a while to get used to the self-deprecating humor of this - maybe I never did, but what made it bearable was the surprising emotional weight which became more apparent the further it went on. I salut Vera Drew for throwing enough movies and internet-culture refrences up there to make this not boring for a second, even if I don't get behind parts of her philosophy (not her lived experience; but views on identity).

5/10 for the visuals (diverse in style but always decidedly jerky), 7 and up for it's emotional punch. I sit for 6 for now but I love that it had success, all things considered.

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HEI guys.

the score rocks and its pretty good visually but nothing else about it made me feel much.

Dawn of a New Day - 6.5/10
Egyptian melodrama in the ballpark of "All That Heaven Allows" and "Harold and Maude". There are so many better Egyptian movies than this, though.

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https://www.youtube.com/c/LoyalOpposition

Matt, have you seen The Night of Counting the Years?

I thought that was a very good Egyptian film.

Yep. The old folks would NOT talk about it with the kids. Period. I met some direct survivors and, as kids, we were not supposed to ask. I got to go on with my comfortable suburban life until I started reading about history.

I haven't, but now I'm interested after reading the first line of the IMDB description. Thanks!


Have you seen:
-Chitchat on the Nile
-Cairo Station
-River of Love
-Cairo '30
-Empire M

No. JJ nominated that film for a HOF. It's the only Egyptian film I can recall seeing.

the 13th camp blood movie i've seen and one of the better ones unfortunately. loved the shark effects.

Umpteenth Rewatch...I love this cinematic nightmare, even if I might not completely understand it. Edward Norton plays aninsomniac whose life is changed forever when he meets an enigmatic soap salesman named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who start an underground boxing club for which Tyler has a much more dangerous agenda. Tis film has the same dark and dirty atmosphere a another David Fincher classic, Se7en. Just like Stanley Kurbick's Eyes Wide Shut, I don't understand everything that is going on here, but I still find the film endlessluy fascinating.

1st Rewatch...Most Astaire/Rogers fans consider this their best film, though I waffle between this film and Roberta. Astaire plays a Broadway hoofer named Jerry Travers who is brought to London to star in a show produced by his BFF (Edward Everett Horton) and meets an elegant fashion model named Dale Tremont (Rogers) who even though she is keeping a hot-blooded Italian (Erik Rhodes) at arm's length is attracted to Jerry, who for some reason, is under the impression that he is Horton's character, who is married to her best friend (Helen Broderick). The plot has just enough meat on it to justify some fantastic dance numbers by Hollywood's most famous dance team with "It's a Lovely Day", "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails", "Cheek to Cheek" and the Busby Berkley style finale "The Piccolino." If you've never had the pleasure of watching Fred and Ginger and wondered what all the fuss was about, this is a good place to start.