Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +1

[cupcrazyman]

Beverly Hills Cop(1984)
Eddie Murphy
8/10

 

[Osprey]

1776 (1972) - 8/10 (Loved it)

John Adams (William Daniels) and the rest of the Founding Fathers sing and dance their way to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in this adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. I usually don't review films that I've seen before, but I'll make an exception because of the holiday here in the States. Since first seeing it in a high school history class long, long ago, this has been one of my favorite musicals. It's alternately silly (with the joking and dancing around) and serious (such as when the debate turns to slavery). It's smart and funny, thanks to witty dialogue, especially from Ben Franklin (Howard Da Silva) in my favorite portrayal of him. You know how it's going to end (spoiler alert: the Declaration gets signed), but it's interesting to see how they get to that point, rather like 12 Angry Men, except that it's 12 Hesitant Delegates. It feels like a fun history lesson, even though it obviously takes historical liberties. If I have to criticize, I'd say that the songs aren't the most memorable (they're not bad and I like several, but they're not Rodgers and Hammerstein) and it drags a little in places (though not for long in each case). Despite those mild critiques, I find it to be a very enjoyable film to watch, especially around the 4th of July.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Arena. Late 80s mindless sci-crap. Like if Rocky was set in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Certainly not good by any standard, though as a person of a certain age, it hits a specific nostalgia pleasure center for relatively harmless cheapo crap. Like going through an old box and finding a chipped and rusty Go-Bot. Not the greatest toy in the world, but we enjoyed each other's company once and it was nice.

The Sister Brothers. A pretty great and entertaining western that really flew below the radar last year. It's not quite the story you think it is and its got four principals who are all great — Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Riz Ahmed, Jack Gyllenhaal. Particularly Reilly who starts as the oaf-ish type you expect him to be but proves to be the heart and soul. A small gem of a movie. I liked the way every gunshot sparked. It isn't that I hadn't seen that before, but something about the effect here felt new and fresh.

I don't care for awards, but getting down into it, I thought Riz Ahmed's performance was worthy of one. A very neat film.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Midsommar 10/10 Easily one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in a long time it’ll probably get a bad wrap because people will endlessly try and compare it to Hereditary

 

[Hippasus]

Rocketman 425

This movie was light on plot, but presented the music well to this non-fan. The movie dealt with themes like musical imagination, gay relationship, substance abuse, and self-identity.

200: distasteful and pathetic
300: mediocre or subpar
400: average, but decent
500: very good
600: superb
700: transcendental

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Spider-Man: Far From Home. Another pleasant, solid Marvel entry. Too long (they’re always too long). But Holland continues to be a home-run as a casting choice. Gyllenhaal is a good, interesting choice. (Also sorta funny ha-ha if you know your movie casting history — he nearly replaced Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 2 years ago).

Lady Sings the Blues. Do you want to know about Billie Holiday? Well don’t watch this. A bio that makes a very odd decision to not really show how and why its subject is important or notable. Mostly a string of cabaret performances interspersed with bad “I need drugs” acting. Diana Ross (Oscar nominated!) is a horrible actress. The only positives I took from it — Richard Pryor steals most of his scenes (though he becomes a little over-the-top and insufferable by the end). The other is Billy Dee Williams. The first time he appears on screen I swear I heard about 50 60-plus-year-old women in the theatre, uh lets say, make audible noises of satisfaction. Quite the amusing moment.

David Lynch: The Art Life. An interesting 90 minutes if you’re into David Lynch. Personal stories interpersed with a lot of his art. Not a ton of talk about his movies. But it’s interesting insights into one of our more intriguing filmmakers.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Just watched Midsommar. I 100% understand why this was so divisive, not just among critics vs. general audiences, but among critics themselves. I think this was actually kind of similar to the Suspiria remake, where things get so crazy you just have to go along with it, or else you will just laugh at the absurdity of it all. I think this movie teetered on that edge, but ultimately held itself in check, at least for me.

This was far more consistent/steady of an escalation than Hereditary though. Where that movie held itself back until it went haywire at the end, this movie definitely steadily builds up to its crescendo. Also, different than Hereditary, there is intentional humor here, not just in the obvious attempts at humor (mostly provided by Will Poulter's character), but also in moments where it's supposed to be creepy/unsettling. It's an odd mix, but it worked for me.

Overall, really enjoyed this. Need a bit more time to digest it to see how exactly I'd rate it.

 

[ORRFForever]

Just watched Midsommar. I 100% understand why this was so divisive, not just among critics vs. general audiences, but among critics themselves. I think this was actually kind of similar to the Suspiria remake, where things get so crazy you just have to go along with it, or else you will just laugh at the absurdity of it all. I think this movie teetered on that edge, but ultimately held itself in check, at least for me.

This was far more consistent/steady of an escalation than Hereditary though. Where that movie held itself back until it went haywire at the end, this movie definitely steadily builds up to its crescendo. Also, different than Hereditary, there is intentional humor here, not just in the obvious attempts at humor (mostly provided by Will Poulter's character), but also in moments where it's supposed to be creepy/unsettling. It's an odd mix, but it worked for me.

Overall, really enjoyed this. Need a bit more time to digest it to see how exactly I'd rate it.

I went last night and when I arrived, the theater was near empty. I thought, "Perfect! Just the right atmosphere". For the next 20 minutes, people filed in. Pretty soon, I was surrounded by a bunch of people who I knew would be "talkers" during the movies, so I left and got a refund.

Can't wait until it comes on line.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I went last night and when I arrived, the theater was near empty. I thought, "Perfect! Just the right atmosphere". For the next 20 minutes, people filed in. Pretty soon, I was surrounded by a bunch of people who I knew would be "talkers" during the movies, so I left and got a refund.

Can't wait until it comes on line.

There were about 10 people in mine and it was surprisingly great. I saw Hereditary in theaters twice and the first time there were a bunch of people laughing/talking, but the other time was similar to my Midsommar viewing experience.

 

[ORRFForever]

There were about 10 people in mine and it was surprisingly great. I saw Hereditary in theaters twice and the first time there were a bunch of people laughing/talking, but the other time was similar to my Midsommar viewing experience.

I try NOT to hate in life, but, God help me, I HATE people who talk during movies - the death penalty is too good for these people.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I try NOT to hate in life, but, God help me, I HATE people who talk during movies - the death penalty is too good for these people.

It's good to hate on these people, but just so you know, laughing at a horror movie can be a normal human reaction to abjection. Don't hate on everybody!

 

[ORRFForever]

It's good to hate on these people, but just so you know, laughing at a horror movie can be a normal human reaction to abjection. Don't hate on everybody!

Fair enough. Just the inconsiderate dummies.

 

[Pilky01]

Jumanji reboot - Good dumb fun. 7/10

Behemian Rhapsody - Absolute f***ing garbage. An embarrassingly shallow film. 2/10.

 

[Shareefruck]

That editing..

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Underrated bad part of Bohemian Rhapsody: the writing.
Sheesh. I know every line of dialogue probably wasn't a cliche or some predictable bit of tripe, but man it felt like it.

For the second time in recentish memory (that I remember) I went into the movie thinking "there's no way this can be as bad as people say" and walked away with the conclusion that it's actually worse.

The other was Batman v. Superman.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Bohemian Rhapsody is one of those movies I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I would never like. May sound ignorant, but I've seen enough movies to know exactly what it would be.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I held out on Phantom Thread way too long. Even though I knew who the director was, for some reason I thought it was just going to be a stuffy period piece. Couldn't have been more wrong. Amazing performance by the two leads and a fantastic character study of those two characters, some very memorable shots, and really awesome production design (that house just felt so lived in and authentic). I thought it was also quite funny as well.

The score was probably the highlight though. I thought we might get something a bit more experimental from Jonny Greenwood, but he kept it pretty consistent throughout. It was all just so elegant and fit the movie perfectly.

There was also something that was so unbelievably visceral about all the food-related scenes. I can't really describe it.

All in all, thought this was exceptional, it would be right up there with my favorites of 2017 along with The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Just one of those movies that sucks you in immediately and kind of puts you in a trance.

 

[Osprey]

I finally watched Bohemian Rhapsody last week and I didn't like it, either. It's not a good sign when the thing that people praise the most about a film is the music which is roughly 40 years old. That's sort of like praising the latest Star Wars film because the score borrows so heavily from the 1977 original. Also, I wasn't particularly impressed with the performance that won Malek Best Actor. It was competent, but I suspect that most of the "wow, he really is Freddie Mercury" vibes was due to the fake teeth, mustache and wardrobe. Speaking of which, I found the fake teeth to be distracting. I think that that's a case where a more natural look and a little suspension of disbelief would've been better than accentuating a recognizable feature.

 

[Spawn]

There were about 10 people in mine and it was surprisingly great. I saw Hereditary in theaters twice and the first time there were a bunch of people laughing/talking, but the other time was similar to my Midsommar viewing experience.

I saw it on Sunday and the theatre was packed.

There was definitely some laughter at times. But most of the time it was appropriate. There was definitely a lot of laughter at one prolonged scene in particular lol. At a certain point you just have to laugh out how absurd it gets.

I enjoyed the movie though. It wasn't as good as Hereditary imo, which I thought was a masterpiece.

 

[ORRFForever]

yeah, I've basically hated the last few years of summer movies. Non-stop Marvel movies (or remakes). And it seems each year Marvel has to go deeper in to their obscure characters. Used to be Superman & Batman (DC) franchises, now we're down to Ant-man, etc. /peace

Yes, and it gets worse by the year.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I saw it on Sunday and the theatre was packed.

There was definitely some laughter at times. But most of the time it was appropriate. There was definitely a lot of laughter at one prolonged scene in particular lol. At a certain point you just have to laugh out how absurd it gets.

I enjoyed the movie though. It wasn't as good as Hereditary imo, which I thought was a masterpiece.

That scene had intentional humor in it. There was actually quite a bit of humor in this compared to Hereditary

 

[Spawn]

That scene had intentional humor in it. There was actually quite a bit of humor in this compared to Hereditary

Oh for sure.

It was certainly a wild ride.

 

[Suxnet]

John Wick 3

I've always enjoyed good action flicks with lots of violence, and this is one, but I'd wish they'd tone down some of the graphic-ness of the kills. It can get a bit difficult to watch for me.

4/5

 

[Babe Ruth]

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

Movie that spawned the TV series: Alice. Good mid-70s slice of life story.

In the movie, the diner was featured less than in the TV show. Movie focused more on Alice's personal life & struggles.
I rate it 6 (on 10 point scale).

 

[Osprey]

Phantom Thread (2017) - 4/10 (Didn't like it)

A famous dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his much younger assistant (Vicky Krieps) fall for each other and maintain an unhealthy relationship. The acting is very strong and the aesthetic is nice, but I found it painfully boring. The first half is especially so and it gets only slightly better in the second half. Very little of interest happens. It's very much a character study, but I didn't find the characters interesting. Neither the dressmaker nor the assistant has any personality and both speak in low, slow, measured voices and aren't very likable (especially the dressmaker, who is narcissistic and rude to the other on his good days). In addition to that, I never felt the attraction between them, which is supposed to be the thing that holds the relationship and the story together.

Reading up on the praise for the film, so much of what others got from it just missed the mark for me. One description that I read said that it's supported by humor and romantic tension, but I can't remember laughing once and I felt no romantic tension because of the lack of attraction and chemistry. I just didn't connect to anything. I realize that this may make me look like a popcorn muncher who should stick to superhero movies (even if I dislike both), but I'm not adverse to slow character dramas and have liked many films that others have called boring. I just didn't like this one. If you tend to like most critically acclaimed films and appreciate good acting over all else, it may be your cup of tea, but if not (and, especially, if you're not into really slow films), you may want to pass.