Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +2

[Tasty Biscuits]

Last Action Hero (1993) - 6/10 - This is a flawed movie and a disappointment for a Summer blockbuster, but I've still always kind of liked it in spite of those things. It's different and doesn't take itself seriously, so it still manages to be somewhat fun and amusing even though it's technically a mess. It probably would've been a disappointment, anyways, but Arnie notes that the rushed editing process (filming wrapped only a month before its premiere) and opening a week after Jurassic Park (the eventual highest grossing film of 1993) didn't help it at the box office. Watching it again, I finally got a reference that I never did before. One of the movies within the movie opens with "A Franco Columbu film." I remembering scratching my head in the past because I wasn't familiar with that name, but I now know that that was Arnie's decades-long best friend.

That tracks. A fun one for sure (though the kid is regrettably garbage, which really brings the whole enterprise down), but for a film of its ilk, 130 mins is just too much movie.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Every year the town I live in hosts a 24-hour horror movie marathon. I’ve been attending for years, but due to some travel requirements, I missed the first five movies this year. Made up for that with some movie watching during my flying/travel.

Creepshow 2. The Raft still holds up well. The other two segments are little corny. WILD to me that the bad guy in the first bit is Holt McCallany (Mindhunter’s Bill Tench) playing a Native American.

Hour of the Wolf. A spooky, full-blown horror creeper from Ingmar Bergman. Effective.

Yella. Not really horror, but was billed as a loose adaptation of Carnival of Souls, so I gave it a shot. Solid, though again not really horror.

Waxwork. Good idea. Bad movie. Not even good bad.

Killer Workout (aka Aerobicide). Bad idea. Bad movie. But good bad. Excessive 80s aerobics footage and quite possibly the worst movie cop I’ve seen. Not as good as Death Spa though.

31. Loud, gross, gory, excessive. I dug it.

The actual marathon ...

The Wretched. Rear Window meets The Witch with a splash of The Thing. Works well enough.

Crash. Cronenberg one. On the surface, it doesn’t seem to fit with his schtick but it really does. As transgressive and unsettling as anything else he’s done. The body horror is there, but in a different way. Debatable whether it’s horror ... boundary pushing for sure.

Body Melt. 1990s Aussie weirdo. Fun enough if you’re looking for a goofy, gross time.

Bliss. Vampirism = drug addiction has been done many times before. This is a good one though. Excellent use of sound, editing and light.

The Dark Red. Admittedly, I slept mostly through this. Not the movie’s fault. It was about 5 a.m.

Opera. Good Argento. Not great. Really, really drags on (though again that might be on my sleep-deprived self).

Shaun of the Dead. Still good. Always good.

(For the curious, the five movies I missed in the first half of the official marathon were Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, The Birds, Creepshow, Day of the Dead and Mandy.)

Creepshow 2 has the hit and run gig? Love that sketch, funny as hell. I haven't seen Waxwork in years, but I used to like it a lot when younger - corny, doesn't work that well, but yeah, such a cool idea. The sequel was a fun ride too (well, to me, I'd understand anybody disliking it). Crash is a rare 10/10 for me.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Creepshow 2 has the hit and run gig? Love that sketch, funny as hell. I haven't seen Waxwork in years, but I used to like it a lot when younger - corny, doesn't work that well, but yeah, such a cool idea. The sequel was a fun ride too (well, to me, I'd understand anybody disliking it). Crash is a rare 10/10 for me.

Yep. "Thanks for the ride, lady!" I feel like I watched Creepshow 2 a ton in my younger days (thanks cable!). Easy 25 years (if not more) since I'd seen it. The animated bookends and transitions are pretty cheesy. Tales from the Crypt schtick but not as funny.

Here was the weird thing about Waxwork to me — I don't know if it is the casting or acting, but Zach Galliagn is awful in the lead role. Is he an a-hole preppie? Or our likeable hero? I know his "journey" (hahaha) isn't what the movie's about but there's absolutely no transition from him being an entitled snob to him being the plucky high schooler. The Marquee De Sade character had me rolling my eyes too. BUT, it is a really fun idea for a movie. Good skeleton on which to build several little mini-horror movies. The vampire scene got way gnarlier than I was expecting.

I saw Crash in its original release. Safe to say I am far more mature now than I was then. Used to think of it as a tawdry curiosity, a bit of a high-brow dirty movie. Really much more affecting than that though. It is sexy and sad and unsettling. Way more of a piece with his more genre-y work than I've ever given it credit for. Great joke I never noticed before -- Vaughn initially tells Ballard he is exploring how technology transforms the human body but later just passes that off as just something he says. I actually LOL'd in the theater. One for the real Cronenberg heads there.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Yep. "Thanks for the ride, lady!" I feel like I watched Creepshow 2 a ton in my younger days (thanks cable!). Easy 25 years (if not more) since I'd seen it. The animated bookends and transitions are pretty cheesy. Tales from the Crypt schtick but not as funny.

Here was the weird thing about Waxwork to me — I don't know if it is the casting or acting, but Zach Galliagn is awful in the lead role. Is he an a-hole preppie? Or our likeable hero? I know his "journey" (hahaha) isn't what the movie's about but there's absolutely no transition from him being an entitled snob to him being the plucky high schooler. The Marquee De Sade character had me rolling my eyes too. BUT, it is a really fun idea for a movie. Good skeleton on which to build several little mini-horror movies. The vampire scene got way gnarlier than I was expecting.

I saw Crash in its original release. Safe to say I am far more mature now than I was then. Used to think of it as a tawdry curiosity, a bit of a high-brow dirty movie. Really much more affecting than that though. It is sexy and sad and unsettling. Way more of a piece with his more genre-y work than I've ever given it credit for. Great joke I never noticed before -- Vaughn initially tells Ballard he is exploring how technology transforms the human body but later just passes that off as just something he says. I actually LOL'd in the theater. One for the real Cronenberg heads there.

Galligan is indeed pretty bad. Try Waxwork 2 if you haven't seen it. It's a lot more self conscious, and funnier. The Bruce Campbell part is pretty funny.

I saw Crash 3 times in its original run! Every screening had people leaving the theater at the gay scene between Spader and Koteas.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Galligan is indeed pretty bad. Try Waxwork 2 if you haven't seen it. It's a lot more self conscious, and funnier. The Bruce Campbell part is pretty funny.

I saw Crash 3 times in its original run! Every screening had people leaving the theater at the gay scene between Spader and Koteas.

There were definitely vocal objections to that scene in the theater when I saw it back in the 1990s.

One of the organizers of the 24-Hour marathon I go to is a devout Cronenberg fan (the preview event in August was a five-movie Cronenberg-a-thon). Talking to him afterward, he admitted he was a little nervous about putting Crash into the lineup. As you can expect, it's a lively crowd mostly for the better, but sometimes for the worse. it got a fair amount of applause as the credits rolled so it was ultimately well received. If there were objections, none were shared aloud. I was glad that was the case.

 

[kihei]

I am not as high as you on this one. Perhaps I am not used to his style, but I am pretty bored by it. There are some funny moments, but those are no more than a chuckle, and a lot of scenes goes above my head. Particularly, the scenes in America, while funny, are caricature at best. It is not terrible, but I really cannot recommend it, and I give it no more than 5.5/10.

This is our one really big disagreement. I absolutely loved It Must Be Heaven which I took to be a stylish, insightful comment on life in general and being an ex-pat Palestinian in particular. I thought the vignettes were, for the most part, very droll and funny, but full of life and humanity. And I also thought the cinematography fit the piece perfectly. The film reminded me in spirit more than form of some of Agnes Varda's very personal later works. I just think the movie is a gem, a tiny one, maybe, but a gem nonetheless.

I think you have commented on all the films that I would have wanted more info on, but I am curious to find out just how bad Synonyms is as it is coming soon to Toronto and I was planning to pick it up.

Nice to have you back.

 

[nameless1]

This is our one really big disagreement. I absolutely loved It Must Be Heaven which I took to be a stylish, insightful comment on life in general and being an ex-pat Palestinian in particular. I thought the vignettes were, for the most part, very droll and funny, but full of life and humanity. And I also thought the cinematography fit the piece perfectly. The film reminded me in spirit more than form of some of Agnes Varda's very personal later works. I just think the movie is a gem, a tiny one, maybe, but a gem nonetheless.

I think you have commented on all the films that I would have wanted more info on, but I am curious to find out just how bad Synonyms is as it is coming soon to Toronto and I was planning to pick it up.

Nice to have you back.

Yeah, I think we will have to agree to disagree on It Must Be Heaven. Like a lot of other people I talked to, we find it boring and says nothing, and the attempts at humour largely go over our heads. Some even have a problem with the silent protagonist, but that is an aspect I can stomach, as it is the director's unique style. That said, it is likely that we are just not used to him. Perhaps it will be better if I watched his previous works, and have a better idea of what he is about.

Synonyms is pure unadulterated crap. While I think it is about the meaning of identity and how one fits within a new society, I absolutely hate the approach, which serves nothing more to confuse to audience. Everyone else seem to agree, as they all want an explanation, and while there is a lone person who likes the movie, his sole reason is that it reminds him of Paris. Otherwise, he cannot explain the movie either.

That is not the only aspect too. I hate the camera work, because there are scenes where it is obvious that he uses a different type of camera, for no reason at all, and it completely disrupt the rhythm and flow of the experience. Finally, I have no idea why he forces the audience to stare at a penis for what feels like 20 minutes in two main scenes. It is fine if there is a reason, but I just cannot explain it. At the end of the day, if you stay for the entirety of the movie out of respect for the filmmakers, it feels like cruel and unusual punishment. I honestly wish I would just walk out of it, like so many people I talked to.

The only reason I still gave it 0.5 points is because an effort is made, and it is not the worst thing I have ever seen. Mango Stand still takes the cake for that title.

 

[nameless1]

La Belle Epoque (2019) Directed by Nicolas Bedos 6A

With Victor's long-term marriage to Marianne (Fanny Ardant) falling apart, he (Daniel Auteuil) calls upon a friend of his son's who manufactures elaborate period fantasies for those who can afford them, to concoct a re-creation of when he and Marianne first met and fell in love 30 years ago. The recreation works so well that Victor begins to fall in love with the young actress who plays "Marianne." Things get complicated. While the movie feels like a slight ripoff of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, there are plenty of pleasing twists and acidic one-liners that keep everything moving nicely along. La Belle Epoque is a good example of mainstream French comedy these days trying to cash in the nostalgia that many middle-aged people feel toward their long lost youth. But Auteuil and Ardant are at the top of their game and the result is a pleasing diversion, maybe a little too slick for comfort but enjoyable nonetheless.

subtitles

I probably like it because of the script, which I thought is very well-written and smart, and I cannot predict where it will go next. I also like the rather open ending, which Auteuil helps to punctuate with his facial expressions. Otherwise, I largely agree with you. It is pretty much empty calories, as it is entertaining, but really does not say anything interesting. The lack of fun and easy viewing in my itinerary probably boosted its grade too, and I suspect that in a couple of months, my grade for it will likely drop it closer to your grade.

 

[nameless1]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) Directed by Celine Sciamma 9A (beautifully done; leisurely paced but rich with incidents)

Marianne is commissioned by a rich patron to paint the portrait of her reluctant daughter Heloise, soon to be married off but not enthusiastic about the prospect. The trappings are 18th century Gothic--Marianne sails to a desolate estate where her subject awaits her in a mansion overlooking a tempestuous sea. Alone together, they get to know one another and bit by bit love blooms. As she did in Tomboy, a movie about an 11-year-old girl with transgender issues, director Celine Sciamma pitches the filmic equivalent of a perfect game. The direction is beautiful, the mise-en-scene used expertly, the cinematography and lighting worthy of Barry Lydon, and the script among the best in years. It is impossible not to watch this movie and compare it to Blue Is the Warmest Colour directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. One movie is made incorporating a traditional male gaze; the other tackles similar material but from the perspective of a female. What's the difference? Take the controversial explicit sex scenes in Blue Is the Warmest Colour. While they are absolutely necessary, these sex scenes are shot in a way that is very similar to what you might see in a porno movie about lesbians directed for a male, heterosexual audience. Likewise the two central characters never quite get beyond being types that we have seen before at the movies. In contrast, though she incorporates sex scenes, Sciamma engages in no sexual objectification whatsoever. This is a film about a slowly growing relationship between two very specific and believable young women. It's not just that Sciamma handles the sex scenes with a lightness of touch that divorces them from the prurient, she is also way more concerned not with passion and heat, though their importance is not ignored, but with the slowly growing awakenings of each partner, awakenings that lead to the love and desire which make sexual union natural and inevitable. Ultimate Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a humane and beautiful work that deals with love both as it happens as well as how it is remembered when it departs. Few movies have ever done it better.

subtitles


Best of '19 so far

Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Sciamma, France
An Elephant Sitting Still, Hu, China
High Life, Denis, France/US

I really diverge with you, and many other critics, on this one. It is critically acclaimed, but strangely, this just does nothing for me. While I agree with everything you wrote, especially on the comparison with Blue Is the Warmest Colour and the difference between the male and female gaze, I feel absolutely no connection with it. In fact, it flies largely over my head, and I find it very forgettable. It is well-produced, the leads are good, and the pace is brisk enough that I am not bored, but I absolutely do not care about it. I cannot grade it more than a 6/10.

 

[kihei]

Yeah, I think we will have to agree to disagree on It Must Be Heaven. Like a lot of other people I talked to, we find it boring and says nothing, and the attempts at humour largely goes over our heads. Some even have problem with the silent protagonist, but that is an aspect I can stomach, as it is the director's unique style. That said, it is likely that we are just not used to him. Perhaps it will be better if I watched his previous work, and have a better idea of what he is about.

Synonyms is pure unadulterated crap. While I think it is about the meaning of identity and how one fits within a new society, I absolutely hate the approach, which serves nothing more to confuse to audience. Everyone else seem to agree, as they all want an explanation, and while there is a lone person who likes the movie, his sole reason is that it reminds him of Paris. Otherwise, he cannot explain the movie either.

That is not the only aspect too. I hate the camera work, because there are scenes where it is obvious that he uses a different type of camera, for no reason at all, and it completely disrupt the rhythm and flow of the experience. Finally, I have no idea why he forces the audience to stare at a penis for what feels like 20 minutes in two main scenes. It is fine if there is a reason, but I just cannot explain it. At the end of the day, if you stay for the entirety of the movie out of respect for the filmmakers, it feels like cruel and unusual punishment. I honestly wish I would just walk out of it, like so many people I talked to.

The only reason I still gave it 0.5 points is because an effort is made, and it is not the worst thing I have ever seen. Mango Stand still takes the cake for that title.

I'd recommend Suleiman's The Time That Remains (2009), about a Palestinian family suddenly living in Israel, a land they no longer can claim as their own, from 1948 to the (then) present. It has one short comic scene that is among my all-time favourites in movies. It involves a tank and you will know it when you see it.

 

[nameless1]

I'd recommend Suleiman's The Time That Remains (2009), about a Palestinian family suddenly living in Israel, a land they no longer can claim as their own, from 1948 to the (then) present. It has one short comic scene that is among my all-time favourites in movies. It involves a tank and you will know it when you see it.

Thanks kihei. I have heard really good things about The Time That Remains, and hopefully, I will have time to see it.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Joker - 6.5/10. A little too slow for my liking. Phoenix' performance was great however.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Night of the Lepus

with Janet Leigh (somehow), Rory Calhoun, the original Bones McCoy, and other people.

Small-town 1972 Arizona is being inundated by a terrifying plague of...bunnies! The rabbit population is exploding after ranchers killed off all the coyotes, and people just don't know what to do. For ridiculous reasons, they decide to conduct an experiment whereby they inject one bunny with a hormone that might cause birth defects...and the main character's little girl decides she wuvs it soooooo much, she swaps it with one of the control group when nobody is looking, and it promptly escapes back to the warren. Nobody tell dad, okay? Before you know it, mutant killer rabbits are on the loose. Innocent people are found horribly...posed on the floor with torn clothing and covered in red paint! *gasp!* Seriously, this film must have had to make two, maybe even three trips to the store for red paint. We're subjected to the terror of close-up shots of...bunny teeth! And people in bunny costumes that wouldn't be out of place at an elementary school play. Will the plucky ranchers survive? Will the mutant bunnies be overcome? Will anyone care? Lose valuable time out of your life and find out if you must.

Supposedly in the "so bad it's good" cult movie section but I just thought it was just plain boring and bad. Laughably poor at everything, most notably at realizing that rabbits just aren't scary. You might find it as a late-night movie on METV, like I did. Not sure why you'd want to, though.

 

[NyQuil]

 

[ProstheticConscience]

That was totally the first thing I thought of when I saw his name.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Male gaze special tonight...

I Spit On Your Grave 2: Oh well, that was unnecessary. Cute girl though, too bad she can't really act. 2/10

A Boy And His Dog: I had weirdly never seen that one. Kind of a cult classic. The direction is bad, the sound work is crap, and the story is dumb, but the premise is very original and somewhat amusing. The punchline's the real deal. 4/10

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Parasite - 9.5/10

May very well be my favorite film of the year. Weird and exaggerated, yet still find a way to be ground. The theme is almost thrown in your face, but finds way to still be subtle at the same time. Only complaint would be a somewhat anti-climactic ending scene, but it still did a good job wrapping up. My favorite part of the movie was deciphering who to "root" for, in a sense. Not that you need to root for someone in every film, but this movie is clearly trying to raise the question of whose side is "right," though it leaves certain aspects up for interpretation.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Parasite - 9.5/10

May very well be my favorite film of the year. Weird and exaggerated, yet still find a way to be ground. The theme is almost thrown in your face, but finds way to still be subtle at the same time. Only complaint would be a somewhat anti-climactic ending scene, but it still did a good job wrapping up. My favorite part of the movie was deciphering who to "root" for, in a sense. Not that you need to root for someone in every film, but this movie is clearly trying to raise the question of whose side is "right," though it leaves certain aspects up for interpretation.

It doesn't come out here til November unfortunately. That and The Lighthouse come out on the same day, and I'm wondering if it would just be overload to see them in the same day as they're my two most anticipated movies of the year.

I've always been super impressed with Korean cinema for how well a lot of the movies balance different tones/genres, and I have the suspicion that this will do that as well. I look back at Bong Joon Ho's The Host, and that thing was legitimately hilarious, but at the same time it wasn't at the cost of being a satire or anything like a lot of other horror/comedies, they just seamlessly blended humor, drama and horror together in a way I don't really see with American movies. Then you look at something like Burning from last year and it's such a tonal/genre jumble that I honestly still couldn't tell you what I'd classify it as. But at the same time it just worked. It keeps the audience guessing and on its toes.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

It doesn't come out here til November unfortunately. That and The Lighthouse come out on the same day, and I'm wondering if it would just be overload to see them in the same day as they're my two most anticipated movies of the year.

I've always been super impressed with Korean cinema for how well a lot of the movies balance different tones/genres, and I have the suspicion that this will do that as well. I look back at Bong Joon Ho's The Host, and that thing was legitimately hilarious, but at the same time it wasn't at the cost of being a satire or anything like a lot of other horror/comedies, they just seamlessly blended humor, drama and horror together in a way I don't really see with American movies. Then you look at something like Burning from last year and it's such a tonal/genre jumble that I honestly still couldn't tell you what I'd classify it as. But at the same time it just worked. It keeps the audience guessing and on its toes.

I need to check-out The Host now. I wouldn't say Parasite is hilarious, but there is definitely dark humor within in, and it's the same thing were there is a seamless blend of humor, drama, and horror, at least to me. Wondering if you'll get the same pleasure as I did. Maybe it's because I haven't seen many other films like it, but I certainly got a lot of entertainment from it.

Also, just my opinion, but I would personally not like to see Parasite and The Lighthouse on the same day. Well, unless you can get a bit of a break between the films. That's just my perspective on it, though.

 

[JMCx4]

... A Boy And His Dog: I had weirdly never seen that one. Kind of a cult classic. The direction is bad, the sound work is crap, and the story is dumb, but the premise is very original and somewhat amusing. The punchline's the real deal. 4/10

That was the perfect movie to see drunk when I was in my late teens. All of the negative aspects you mentioned were muted by that condition. I wouldn't dare rescreen it now.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I need to check-out The Host now. I wouldn't say Parasite is hilarious, but there is definitely dark humor within in, and it's the same thing were there is a seamless blend of humor, drama, and horror, at least to me. Wondering if you'll get the same pleasure as I did. Maybe it's because I haven't seen many other films like it, but I certainly got a lot of entertainment from it.

Also, just my opinion, but I would personally not like to see Parasite and The Lighthouse on the same day. Well, unless you can get a bit of a break between the films. That's just my perspective on it, though.

I want to do that with those two movies but I feel like I'll just cave and watch both in the same day.

And yeah, it doesn't necessarily have to be humor, just a jumble of different kind of tones in the same movie. I think even something like Train to Busan, which is a more straightforward and in a way generic movie, just finds a way to bring different emotions out of the audience in a way I haven't seen with a zombie movie from the States. That's not to say all Korean movies are like this, but it's definitely a trend I'm noticing from the ones I've seen.

The Host is crazy for this though. It's a monster movie but they'll throw in absurdist humor out of seemingly nowhere. Like it's not like something like Shaun of the Dead or The Cabin in the Woods where they're channeling the humor through satire, or even like Get Out where there seems to be a split in the horror and comedy (ie. horror scene, followed by comedy scene or obvious joke set-up, then back to another horror scene, etc.). I don't really know how to describe it but it just seems to flow so naturally.

 

[nameless1]

It will be fine to watch The Lighthouse and Parasite on the same day. They are not that heavy, and both are fine entertainment vehicles.

I am not that high on The Lighthouse though. Perhaps I had trouble with the language, because the dialogue is inspired by seamen diaries from that era, but I thought it was all too predictable, and I could see the ending from a mile away. As a result, I was pretty bored by it, and I do not share the critical acclaim this movie has gotten.

 

[Osprey]

Near Dark (1987) - 6/10 (Liked it)

A young man (Adrian Pasdar) in a rural southwestern town falls for a pretty stranger (Jenny Wright) who turns out to be a member of a gang of bloodthirsty vampires. There's a little romance, but it's far from Twilight. It's an R-rated horror film that's serious and violent, more like The Lost Boys, which came out the same year. The vampirism is important to the plot, but downplayed to keep it serious and non-campy. For example, there are no shots of elongated teeth or even mentions of the word "vampire." The characters simply behave like vampires, so we're to assume that that's what they are.

This is one of the earliest films from director/writer Kathryn Bigelow (who would eventually win Best Director for The Hurt Locker). I was motivated to watch it when I learned that it has three of the cast members of Aliens in it: Bill Paxton , Lance Henriksen and Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez), playing most of the members of the vampire gang. Bigelow and James Cameron would end up getting married a couple years later, so that's probably not a coincidence (nor the fact that "Aliens" is on the marquee of a theater in one scene). Paxton is a real treat to watch in this, playing a slightly crazy tough character similar to his characters in The Terminator and Aliens. Speaking of The Terminator, I was reminded of it frequently by how the movie is filmed mostly at night on a low budget, has the taboo romance angle and has several similar scenes (such as a shootout with cops and one with a semi truck). I imagine that that and her relationship with Cameron were big influences.

The movie starts slowly and doesn't get very violent or intense until the second half, but it held my attention enough and the payoff was worth it. I wasn't sure how I felt about the movie until the middle of the second half, when I got an idea of where it was going, but I liked the ending, so I'd say that I ultimately liked the movie and would watch it again. I recommend it if you like gritty 80s movies, want to see three cast members of Aliens together again and/or are just a fan of Bill Paxton's (in which case, it's a performance that you don't want to miss).

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I recommend it if you like gritty 80s movies, want to see three cast members of Aliens together again and/or are just a fan of Bill Paxton's

Or if you're a fan of vampires, of horror films, or of movies in general. Quite a nice little flick.
(I think I'd agree with the 6/10 here)

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Fight Club - 7/10

There were some moments I REALLY liked, but I wasn’t totally blown away by it. Enjoyed it, but probably won’t watch it again. Pitt is fantastic in it, though, for sure.