Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It

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OzzyFan

Registered User
Sep 17, 2012
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Logan Lucky
2.75 out of 4stars

Goofball redneck ocean's 11. Fast paced, more complex than it needed to be, and a good dose of fun and humor. I should add, Daniel Craig as Joe Bang was a somewhat surprising fun and scene stealing turn. If I had to use Kihei's ranking system, this would definitely get a B or C attached to it, because a number of people leaving the theater did not enjoy it for what it was, but I blame the advertising/promotion for it on that (which I think they did a poor job with, making it look more like a pure stupid humor comedy instead of the fun heist movie it was).
 

nameless1

Registered User
Apr 29, 2009
18,202
1,019
Logan Lucky
2.75 out of 4stars

Goofball redneck ocean's 11. Fast paced, more complex than it needed to be, and a good dose of fun and humor. I should add, Daniel Craig as Joe Bang was a somewhat surprising fun and scene stealing turn. If I had to use Kihei's ranking system, this would definitely get a B or C attached to it, because a number of people leaving the theater did not enjoy it for what it was, but I blame the advertising/promotion for it on that (which I think they did a poor job with, making it look more like a pure stupid humor comedy instead of the fun heist movie it was).

That is an interesting observation. Based on the trailer, I thought it was very clear, and I got exactly what I was advertised.

Regardless of how others felt, I thought it was really fun, and I really enjoyed it. Sometimes, it is good to just watch a mindless but highly entertaining flick.
 

nameless1

Registered User
Apr 29, 2009
18,202
1,019
Also, thank you kihei and BonMorrison for your TIFF reviews. I will go to VIFF again this year, and your reviews are very helpful with my selection process. Loveless and The Other Side of Hope are both on my list thus far.

Also, do any of you have BPM (Beats Per Minute) on your list? I heard a lot of great things about it.
 

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,664
10,239
Toronto
1265230_The-Journey.jpg


The Journey (2017) Directed by Mohamed Al Daradji 7A

It's ironic. There are at least a half dozen world class directors from Iran, whereas it is a rare occurrence indeed to see any films at all from Iraq. Set during the re-opening of the Baghdad train station after a three year hiatus caused by war and civil unrest, The Journey is about Sara, a potential suicide bomber, who when confronted by a fast talking con-man takes him hostage and threatens to blow him and herself up. Salam tries desperately to talk her out of it. I was surprised how entertaining this film was, entertaining in the old school Hollywood sense. There are a rich collection of characters, including a baby (great baby), a collection of street urchins right out of Charles Dickens, a likable and involving plot that builds a lot of suspense, and several very good and memorable performances by mostly amateur actors. Everyone is humanized in the film, including an American soldier who seems to think that the only way to deal with Iraqis is to scream at them until they are thoroughly terrified. Even he does the right thing in the end. As for suicide bombers, the film makes plain that they are viewed by rational Iraqis the same way we view them in Canada: with fear and disbelief. Like other understated political issues raised in The Journey, these points are important, but they are made gently, with no grinding of any axes. As in most Hollywood entertainment movies, things happen that aren't always completely credible, and some of the situations feel a bit contrived. Yet this time around those are minor flaws. The overall effect of the film is both pleasing and strangely comforting. Definitely top twenty material for the year.

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Puck

Ninja
Jun 10, 2003
10,771
417
Ottawa
Interesting thing about films from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon etc., is how the Directors try to convey a message (sometimes political) by being subtle and diplomatic to get through their censorship boards. They play nice for censors but some ideas still get through.

Another good Iraqi film (albeit Kurdish in Iraq) is My Sweet Pepperland. For little to no budget it really surprised. The setting is like a modern day Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. A new Sheriff in town has to deal with old prejudiced ideas from the town folk regarding their new female elementary school teacher. Things get rough but love prevails.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2875926/
 

BonMorrison

Registered User
Jun 17, 2011
33,651
9,391
Toronto, ON
Mom and Dad - 7.5/10

An absolute mess in the best way possible. I mean if the film on paper is a movie about Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair getting infected by an unknown disease that makes them want to kill their children, you know you're gonna be in for a ride. Throw in the cinematography, editing, and music styles of all the Crank films and yeah - holy ****. Cage and Blair both turn in hilariously off-beat and ridiculous performances that will likely go viral on YouTube compilations of their greatest acting moments. This was just a whole lot of fun, perfect for midnight madness, and also aided by drunk Nicolas Cage guffawing loudly in the audience for the entirety of the film.
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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Apr 29, 2012
45,044
42,346
Caverns of Draconis
In theatres: Spider-Man Homecoming, 7/10. For a marvel movie I was disappointed by it honestly, but in general still a pretty decent enjoyable movie.


At home: Arrival, 8.5/10. Always a huge fan of Sci-Fi type movies and this one had a particularly enjoyable twist which is always something I enjoy out of movies. Especially when it's one I dont quite guess before it's revealed.
 

ProstheticConscience

Check dein Limit
Apr 30, 2010
18,459
10,107
Canuck Nation
Eat the Rich

with British people you mostly won't recognize outside of some cameos

Punkish, surrealist British black comedy from the mid-late 80's. Alex gets fired from a snooty upper-class restaurant, witnesses an act of terrorism on an embassy in London, then decides to (why not?) rob a benefits office and goes on the run. Meanwhile, a monosyllabic bullying idiot named Nosher becomes Home Secretary and the darling of the voters despite a complete lack of competence, knowledge or class (sounds familiar...) and runs rampant. Alex plots revenge on the snobs who fired him, Nosher plots revenge on everyone for everything. Motorhead does the soundtrack, and Lemmy Kilmister appears as an evil lieutenant trying to bring Nosher down.

One of the weirder movies you'll see. A critical and commercial flop at the time, it manages to be timely now. Tries and fails for Pythonesque but still biting, British and anti-Thatcherite.

Rating: I need more Motorhead on my phone.
 

Tkachuk4MVP

32 Years of Fail
Apr 15, 2006
14,798
2,680
San Diego, CA
Mom and Dad - 7.5/10

An absolute mess in the best way possible. I mean if the film on paper is a movie about Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair getting infected by an unknown disease that makes them want to kill their children, you know you're gonna be in for a ride. Throw in the cinematography, editing, and music styles of all the Crank films and yeah - holy ****. Cage and Blair both turn in hilariously off-beat and ridiculous performances that will likely go viral on YouTube compilations of their greatest acting moments. This was just a whole lot of fun, perfect for midnight madness, and also aided by drunk Nicolas Cage guffawing loudly in the audience for the entirety of the film.


I am so freakin jealous reading this right now. Cage was actually in the audience while you watched the film?
 

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,664
10,239
Toronto
the-killing-of-a-sacred-deer.jpg


The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) Directed by 8C

Steven (Colin Farrel), a very successful surgeon, befriends Martin (Barry Keoghan), a young teenage boy. Steven allows Martin to visit him at the hospital and even gives him a very expensive watch. Steven's wife, Anna (Nicole Kidman) knows nothing about this relationship and Steven doesn't want her to find out. But there is more going on in this relationship than immediately meets the eye. I'm not even going to hint at what that "more" is, but I will say that your first guess will be wrong, and as for your second guess, don't even bother trying. For about a half hour I wasn't very impressed with this movie. Yes, the characters were a little oddball, saying polite things mixed with whatever popped into their head, but I couldn't see what all the excitement was about. Then the movie takes a very sharp turn into virtually fathomless waters. A relationship develops between Martin and the entire family that has the kind of potential consequences that can still shock an audience. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is hard to characterize. One could call the film a pitch black absurdist comic drama, but that doesn't take into account the degree of narrative cruelty that will be hard for some to take. Once the first half hour got out of the way. I found the film beautifully made and absolutely riveting to watch. By far Lanthimos' best movie since Dogtooth, The Killing of a Sacred Deer will leave the audience in a similar state of shock. I wouldn't call Lanthimos a sick puppy, but the dude really knows how to push people's envelopes. Be forewarned, this one is off the beaten path. But a hell of a lot of fun if it hits an audience in the right mood.

Top Ten of '17 so far


The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos, Irelan/US
After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
Get Out, Peel, US
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway
Staying Vertical, Guiraudie, France
Our Time Will Come, Hui, Hong Kong
Graduation, Mungiu, Romania
Wind River, Sheridan, US
 

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,664
10,239
Toronto
square-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqHAZVWx1HFA7_OajzhS9VezqFnpLh5wjcaIDu-Ojf3tk.jpg


The Square (2017) Directed by Ruben Ostlund 7B

The Square is an often hilarious movie about the curator of a modern art museum in Sweden who has his wallet and cell phone stolen during a clever scam. Once he figures out what happens and where the thief might live, he decides to take revenge by handing out a nasty note demanding his possessions be returned and dropping it through the mail slot of every apartment in a certain building. He actually gets a response and his valuables are returned to him. Then he gets another totally unexpected second response that he finds he has to cope with. All this distracts him from several important decisions at the museum, including one involving a new conceptual art exhibit, and as a result, he gets into more and more hot water. As in Force Majeure, director Ruben Ostlund is an examiner of social mores and social conventions. Where he explored the male propensity to save face with disastrous results in Force Majeure, here he takes a look at our lack of trust in one another and our tendencies to make bad situations worse when perhaps a simple apology might suffice. Multiple targets get zapped with male privilege, ethical duplicity, political correctness, and art world idiocy foremost among them. The movie is more like a series of skits than a traditional narrative, and, at times, it all seems too didactic for its own good. However, The Square is often very laugh-out-loud funny in a manner designed to start a lot of intelligent conversations.

subtitles


Top Ten of '17 so far

The Death of Louis XIV
, Serra, Spain/France
Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos, Ireland/US
After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
Get Out, Peel, US
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway
The Square, Ostlund, Sweden
Staying Vertical, Guiraudie, France
Our Time Will Come, Hui, Hong Kong
Graduation, Mungiu, Romania
 
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BonMorrison

Registered User
Jun 17, 2011
33,651
9,391
Toronto, ON
The Square - 7/10

Ostlund's latest comedic satire that takes a ruthless swipe at the world of modern art as well as the relationship between the rich and the poor. The first two acts of this film are an absolute treat - laugh out loud hilarious with biting satire that while lacking subtlety, is still extremely well done. Unfortunately the final act of the film spiralled off the rails a bit for me, the humour that carried the film to this point faded away and it got a bit too serious for it's own good. The film ends somewhat abruptly and almost feels incomplete with how the final act was handled. A good film that could've been great if it was thirty minutes shorter.

Sidenote - so many people walked out of my screening after Terry Notary's iconic scene in this.
 

OzzyFan

Registered User
Sep 17, 2012
3,653
960
the-killing-of-a-sacred-deer.jpg


The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) Directed by 8C

Steven (Colin Farrel), a very successful surgeon, befriends Martin (Barry Keoghan), a young teenage boy. Steven allows Martin to visit him at the hospital and even gives him a very expensive watch. Steven's wife, Anna (Nicole Kidman) knows nothing about this relationship and Steven doesn't want her to find out. But there is more going on in this relationship than immediately meets the eye. I'm not even going to hint at what that "more" is, but I will say that your first guess will be wrong, and as for your second guess, don't even bother trying. For about a half hour I wasn't very impressed with this movie. Yes, the characters were a little oddball, saying polite things mixed with whatever popped into their head, but I couldn't see what all the excitement was about. Then the movie takes a very sharp turn into virtually fathomless waters. A relationship develops between Martin and the entire family that has the kind of potential consequences that can still shock an audience. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is hard to characterize. One could call the film a pitch black absurdist comic drama, but that doesn't take into account the degree of narrative cruelty that will be hard for some to take. Once the first half hour got out of the way. I found the film beautifully made and absolutely riveting to watch. By far Lanthimos' best movie since Dogtooth, The Killing of a Sacred Deer will leave the audience in a similar state of shock. I wouldn't call Lanthimos a sick puppy, but the dude really knows how to push people's envelopes. Be forewarned, this one is off the beaten path. But a hell of a lot of fun if it hits an audience in the right mood.

Top Ten of '17 so far


The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos, Irelan/US
After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
Get Out, Peel, US
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway
Staying Vertical, Guiraudie, France
Our Time Will Come, Hui, Hong Kong
Graduation, Mungiu, Romania
Wind River, Sheridan, US

Care to spoil the twist in spoiler quotes for those curious?

That warms my heart to hear. Cage has long been one of my favorite people in Hollywood.

I always thought of him from interviews and career choices as one of the more personable people in hollywood.
 

H3ckt1k

Registered User
Jan 9, 2015
2,164
1,419
It: 10/10. One of the best movies I've ever seen, definitely thought it lived up to the book. Loved basically everything about it.
 

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,664
10,239
Toronto
Happy-End-with-Mathieu-Kassovitz-and-Isabelle-Huppert.jpg


Happy End (2017) Directed by Michael Haneke 7B

After his most humanist work Amour, Happy End finds director Michael Haneke back to attacking his favourite target: the moral and ethical failings of the French upper-middleclass. While similar critiques have been apparent in films such as The Piano Teacher, Funny Games and Cache, here he is a lot more subtle. You don't really notice the shiv going in between the ribs until he twists it a little at the end. For most of the movie, we just watch a very privileged and well off extended family struggle with various problems: an accident their company is responsible for; a husband coping with his former wife's suicide and with the feelings of his young daughter from that marriage; a son's failure to get on with his life; and even more suicide attempts. It is not really until the end during a quiet confrontation between the young daughter and her father that the child states the main point of the movie in a single sentence. Haneke uses a great deal of ruthless humour to get at the failings of these self-absorbed, ethically challenged, amoral people who get through life disguised as fairly normal human beings. Jean Louis Trintingant and Isabelle Huppert reprise their characters from Amour, though why Haneke chooses to incorporate them in this new narrative doesn't seem clear or necessary. They are not quite as sympathetic in Happy End. Maybe Haneke wanted to **** on his masterpiece a little. He's that kind of guy. I will say that I think he has gotten all the mileage there is to get from this particular set of themes now. In fact, Happy End may strike some people as one too many trips to the well. But it is certainly sophisticated movie making with a real point of view.

subtitles


Top Ten of '17 so far

The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos, Irelan/US
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway
After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
Get Out, Peel, US
Happy End, Haneke, France,
Staying Vertical, Guiraudie, France
The Square, Ostlund, Sweden
Our Time Will Come, Hui, Hong Kong
 
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kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,664
10,239
Toronto
Dark-is-the-Night-560x280.jpg


Dark Is the Night (2017) Directed by Alolfo Alix, Jr. unrated

Dark Is the Night is a low budget, hand-held camera examination of the circle of hell that encompasses the drug scene in the Philippines at the moment. It is a film low on technique and high on impact. With death squads on the loose everywhere in the terrible slums, a middle-aged couple are justifiably concerned when their son goes missing. They are not innocent bystanders but dealers themselves, very small fish in a sea of bigger fish with far sharper teeth. President Duterte declared open season on both dealers and users. The police enthusiastically wade in, guns blazing, bodies literally piling up in the streets--but they wade in with reservations. The corrupt police force profits hugely from the sales of drugs themselves so they make sure that the kingpins of the drug scene are not touched while all the easily replaceable small fry become immediately disposable. As the search for the son continues we see the twisted society and the power of the abusive authorities to get victims to kill other victims. This is not a Filipino action movie where the violence is fun; rather, this movie is often hard to watch and deeply disturbing. Dark Is the Night will never get picked up in North America for probably many reasons, and I have to wonder if it will ever be shown in the Philippines. I have no idea how to rate a work such as this. It makes ratings seem like a bourgeois affectation. I certainly respect the bravery of the people who made it, though.

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