Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Spring 2021 Edition

[ItsFineImFine]

The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) - 7/10

Was excited about this one as it was directed by Val Guest who made the excellent British sci-fi thriller 'The Day The Earth Caught Fire' which is in my 60s top 10. This one unfortunately is a bit more on the budget side, it's better in the first half before it devolves into a bit more of a standard monster/sci-fi film. Still, at 80 minutes in length, worth seeking out for a bit of comfortable classic sci-fi viewing, had to google it with the word mkv and found it on some open directory. There was a poorly recieved 2005 BBC tv remake with David Tennant.

 

[OzzyFan]

We Don't Deserve Dogs
2.50 out of 4stars

"A contemplative odyssey across our planet, looking at the simple and extraordinary ways that dogs influence our daily lives. A documentary with subtitles." People around the world from all different backgrounds explain the direct and indirect roles that dogs have had and continue to have on their lives. Does exactly what it says, and also includes many scenes without dialogue of dogs alone/interacting with people/interacting with animals and other dogs. While it does it's job of showing dogs through "the average person's eyes" as the most openly loving and affectionate pets in the world that have significant meanings in their owner's lives and notable amounts of intelligence, I believe it also reminds us how dark humans can be in their own nature on and off throughout the movie. Nothing is visibly shown of the evils of what humans can and have done (and not just involving dogs), but the reminders on and off throughout the movie of graphic violence, physical abuse, murder, neglect, abandonment, verbal attacks, and more stood out to me at times throughout this movie when they were brought up, even more so probably because this is a real life documentary, not a fictional movie.


The Unholy (2021)
2.00 out of 4stars

A mute deaf girl obtains the ability to speak and hear and is able to heal the sick in her local community, claiming her gifts are from the Christian Mary, mother of Jesus. All the actors are game and it's mildly interesting, but if you've seen 1 middle of the road Christian horror film, it's all repetitive with nothing new and nothing noteworthy. That said, I personally wouldn't even call it horror per say, feels more like a religious drama with a few horror elements than a horror movie with other side elements. Man, movies released in theaters now are going through some heavy dry spells, I need to search my local movie theaters harder now for options.


The New Mutants
1.70 out of 4stars

A very messy x-men spinoff that has a couple decent action sequences/characters and that's about it. Kids with supernatural powers are locked in a contained community of a few buildings, a juvenile hall so to speak, after committing crimes, with a head doctor as the sole person in charge of them. Everything's underdeveloped. Everything doesn't flow. Not everything connects. Some things are just oddly thrown in almost for the hell of it. Not to mention, at least 1 of the characters I feel are completely uninspired (Johnny Storm anyone?).


The End of Evangelion
???

Bluntly honest, I know and knew nothing of the "Neon Genesis Evangelion" TV series going in, but this movie's premise sounded very intriguing so I bit and watched it. I don't know who was what or what the hell was going on for most of the movie, but the ideas explored and world I was brought into were excellent. Got me thinking about some things and has some refreshing sci fi concepts. Just wish I could have fairly absorbed it all and understand what was going on throughout and who was who to fully appreciate this movie.

 

[kihei]

I know that some here haven't been fans of Liam Neesn's most recent movies, but all of them are way better than Willis' most recent. In fact, maybe kihei and Pranzo should watch one or two recent Willis action movies so that they'd have a whole new appreciation for Neeson's.

Whoa! whoa! whoa! Let's not go insane here. It's that other guy, not me. I usually quite enjoy bad Liam Neeson movies; I just had to draw the line at Honest Thief, the only recent film of his that I have savaged. Watching two Willis movies for any transgression seems like the very definition of cruel and unusual punishment to me.

 

[kihei]

Hope [Håp] (2019) directed by Maria Sødahl

A woman in her 40s (Andrea Bræin Hovig), who is married to a much older man (Stellan Skarsgård) and has a large blended family of his and her own children, is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer over the Christmas holidays. With weeks to live, the couple struggle to manager her diagnosis but in the process begin to mend their fractured relationship. I’ve been meaning to watch this one for a long time, and I finally tracked it down last night. It was definitely worth the wait. Sødahl crafts a superb character study on grief and illness and its impact on relationships and family. I read that the story is personal, based on Sødahl’s own life, and you can tell that it is a very personal project, and it feels very authentic. Hovig and Skarsgård’s performances are a tour de force as they display a very intimate and nuanced relationship. The film tears at your heartstrings without being sentimental and without the usual cancer-movie cliché. Very powerful movie.

Glad you liked it.

 

[cupcrazyman]

Wayne's World-1992

Excellent !!!

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Minari (2020) - 7/10

I think the reason Nomadland is the better film is...well partly because it feels a bit more unique but also because it does a better job of the whole bittersweet thing. Minari forces a bit too much heavyhanded emotional tension throughout. It isn't sweet or as touching as say a Koreeda film will be despite having many of the same elements right down to the kooky grandmother and the adorable child.

 

[nameless1]

Out of all the Best Picture Oscar nominees, Minari is by-far the weakest one. It is a sweet story with likeable characters that one cannot help but root for, and I get why people will like it, but everything about it paints an overly rosy picture of the American Dream that just feel forced and ultimately phony.

Spoiler

A Korean family moves to Arkansas, in the American deep south. Somehow, everyone is friendly, and they experienced little to no racism. When they do, the movie brushes it off as innocence of children. That is just hard to believe, especially in the 1980s, when the movie was set.

Frankly, the whole movie is just pure propaganda, and I am rather annoyed by it.

Spoiler

I especially hate how the dad finally hire the local water finder in the end. It perpetuates the ideal of the American melting pot, as the filmmakers believe that in order to succeed, one must accept mainstream American value and culture.

To me, it is not higher than 5.5/10.

 

[Osprey]

Out of all the Best Picture Oscar nominees, Minari is by-far the weakest one. It is a sweet story with likeable characters that one cannot help but root for, and I get why people will like it, but everything about it paints an overly rosy picture of the American Dream that just feel forced and ultimately phony.

Spoiler

A Korean family moves to Arkansas, in the American deep south. Somehow, everyone is friendly, and they experienced little to no racism. When they do, the movie brushes it off as innocence of children. That is just hard to believe, especially in the 1980s, when the movie was set.

Frankly, the whole movie is just pure propaganda, and I am rather annoyed by it.

Spoiler

I especially hate how the dad finally hire the local water finder in the end. It perpetuates the ideal of the American melting pot, as the filmmakers believe that in order to succeed, one must accept mainstream American value and culture.

To me, it is not higher than 5.5/10.

From what I'm reading, it's a semi-autobiographical film written and directed by a Korean American who grew up in Arkansas in the 1980s, himself. If that represents his experience, who are we to judge? Perhaps he didn't pick up on much else because he was young at the time or he just wanted to make a feel-good picture, which I think is fine. Every film about minorities doesn't need to be about racism, IMO.

I haven't seen it yet, but I don't think that there's anything wrong in general with trying to fit into society. A lot of immigrants and minorities embrace mainstream values and culture because they want to blend in and feel less like outsiders. I don't see that as a bad thing or even a uniquely American thing. I imagine that various minorities in Canada take up hockey for a similar reason.

Anyways, the film wasn't on my radar, but I'm interested now. Thanks, even though it seemingly wasn't your intention to recommend it.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The Last Boy Scout. I will forever have a soft spot (for better and perhaps worse) for Shane Black's quippy, crass style of writing and his busted-ass defective detective protagonists. They'd be intolerable in real life, but they're often entertaining on the screen. Pair that with Tony Scott's pyrotechnics and this is a fun, if a little dumb, ride. Enjoyed revisiting it after years. Moderately interesting that some of the issues it raises about football are still present today ...

The Neverending Story. Proudly introducing children to the concept of existential despair since 1984!

Victory. WWII POWs recruited to play an exhibition against the German National team. Another fun, if a tad silly, crowd pleaser that I couldn't help but get swept up in in the end. I enjoyed the chemistry between Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone.

The Twentieth Century. I don't know much about Canadian history and politics so I'll just assume every word and scene of this demented little gem is 100% true. It's like Monty Python adapting a lost Dickens story with David Lynch occasionally contributing notes.

Chungking Express. My third stop on my Wong Kar-Wai retrospective. The film of his I've seen the most. My introduction as a teenager to contemporary international cinema, so it holds a large amount of personal importance to me. Seen it many times now and it never loses its magic. I lean toward cynical and this always smashes right through it. Those impervious to its charms could easily label it as cutesy or corny. Not I. It's big-eyed and romantic and is one of the great getting over heartbreak movies.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Black Eagle (Karson, 1988) - I remember being very disappointed as a kid for the cash spent to see this one on screen. JCVD is a villain, and not a very competent one, who overuses his split and screaming open-hand punch. His demise is just ridiculous enough. The film has a lot of involuntary humor, but it's still mostly boring (it's a slower action film, but with nothing to support it's pace). 3/10

 

[Osprey]

The Neverending Story. Proudly introducing children to the concept of existential despair since 1984!

This was the first movie that our family rented when we bought our first VCR. My dad tried to persuade me to pick Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the man on the cover with the whip seemed a little naughty, while The Neverending Story had a big furry animal on it, so existential despair it was. I bet that my dad was thrilled with the choice. I also remember that we paused it halfway through so that my little sister could go to the bathroom, but she took so long that the VCR stopped the movie and we all freaked out because we thought that it broke. Why do I remember these things... and why am I telling all of you?

Victory. WWII POWs recruited to play an exhibition against the German National team. A fun, if a tad silly, crowd pleaser that I couldn't help but get swept up in in the end. I enjoyed the chemistry between Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone.

This is a favorite of mine. It's the best prison break soccer movie ever, bar none!

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

This was the first movie that our family rented when we bought our first VCR. My dad tried to persuade me to pick Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the man on the cover with the whip seemed a little naughty, while The Neverending Story had a big furry animal on it, so existential despair it was. I bet that my dad was thrilled with the choice. I also remember that we paused it halfway through so that my little sister could go to the bathroom, but she took so long that the VCR stopped the movie and we all freaked out because we thought that it broke. Why do I remember these things... and why am I telling all of you?


This is a favorite of mine. It's the best prison break soccer movie ever, bar none!

Speaking of VHS, I'd never seen Victory until yesterday but I have very clear memories of the video box sitting on the shelf at the video store in my youth. For whatever reason that's a visual that has stuck in my mind forever. I even went to double check and it's almost exactly how I remembered it.

 

[Pink Mist]

The Passion of Joan of Arc [La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc] (1928) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

Based on original transcripts, this silent film classic documents the interrogation, humiliation, and execution of Joan of Arc (Renée Jeanne Falconetti). I have to sheepishly admit I knew little about Joan of Arc, other than that she is a) a Saint b) a French national hero, and c) that like 1 in 5 catholic schools in Ontario are named after her. But little background knowledge is needed for this film to be blown away. As soon as I finished watching it, I immediately had to watch it again – something I rarely do with films. Told mainly through closeups of Falconetti and her interrogators faces, and very few establishing shots, Dreyer paints a moving portrayal of the power of Joan’s conviction in her beliefs. Falconetti has the perfect face for this technique, her facial expressions and ability to emote are haunting and helps bring out the essence of her character. Dreyer’s direction, shots, editing, and framing is outstanding. It is like a perfect blend of French impressionist, German expressionist, and Russian montage from the 1920s. The score from the version I watched, Voices of Light composed by Richard Einhorn, deserves a mention as it is extremely beautiful and moving, without overpowering or distracting from the film itself, and could definitely be enjoyed as a great standalone work in of itself, but combined with the film adds a whole other dimension to Dreyer’s work to make both works even more captivating. A landmark film and very deserving of being considered of one of the greats in the history of cinema.

 

[Pink Mist]

The Twentieth Century. I don't know much about Canadian history and politics so I'll just assume every word and scene of this demented little gem is 100% true. It's like Monty Python adapting a lost Dickens story with David Lynch occasionally contributing notes.

The Twentieth Century is an absolute trip of a film and definitely a hidden gem from last year. I read a great review of it on Letterboxd that I think is a great and accurate description of the film:

When Lin Manuel-Miranda read Ron Chernow’s biography on Alexander Hamilton, he was inspired to reach into the past and write a culture-devouring hip-hop musical that would rescue one of America’s Founding Fathers from the airlessness of history, restore his manhood, and lionize his non-stop genius. When filmmaker Matthew Rankin read the diary of William Lyon Mackenzie King — three-time Canadian prime minister and the nation’s most dominant political figure across the first half of the 20th century — he was inspired to reach into the past and create a funny, phantasmagorical nightmare of a biopic that sublimates King’s formative years into a Freudian soup of shoe fetishism, ejaculating cactuses, baby seal-clubbing, endurance tickling, and some of the weirdest movie kisses since George Peppard kissed Audrey Hepburn’s yawning mouth at the end of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

 

[nameless1]

From what I'm reading, it's a semi-autobiographical film written and directed by a Korean American who grew up in Arkansas in the 1980s, himself. If that represents his experience, who are we to judge? Perhaps he didn't pick up on much else because he was young at the time or he just wanted to make a feel-good picture, which I think is fine. Every film about minorities doesn't need to be about racism, IMO.

I haven't seen it yet, but I don't think that there's anything wrong in general with trying to fit into society. A lot of immigrants and minorities embrace mainstream values and culture because they want to blend in and feel less like outsiders. I don't see that as a bad thing or even a uniquely American thing. I imagine that various minorities in Canada take up hockey for a similar reason.

Anyways, the film wasn't on my radar, but I'm interested now. Thanks, even though it seemingly wasn't your intention to recommend it.

Race has everything to do with the movie. In fact, it is the only reason why it got its initial buzz, as more than one critic compared it to Parasite, even when the only similarity between the two is that they feature ethnic Korean families.

Plus, I came from an immigrant background myself, and I live in a city where Caucasians are actually an minority, but even then, I have been called racial slurs more than once. That is why I am not convinced by the cheery and wholesome atmosphere.

The director wants to create a feel-good immigrant story without any racism, but he actually takes away all the conflicts, and the movie becomes an absolute predictable bore to watch that is also manipulative. Frankly, it is just a bad movie.

 

[NyQuil]

Speaking of VHS, I'd never seen Victory until yesterday but I have very clear memories of the video box sitting on the shelf at the video store in my youth. For whatever reason that's a visual that has stuck in my mind forever. I even went to double check and it's almost exactly how I remembered it.

The weirdest movie box that I can remember with my eyes closed and have never actually seen the movie is this:

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

Out of all the Best Picture Oscar nominees, Minari is by-far the weakest one. It is a sweet story with likeable characters that one cannot help but root for, and I get why people will like it, but everything about it paints an overly rosy picture of the American Dream that just feel forced and ultimately phony.

Spoiler

A Korean family moves to Arkansas, in the American deep south. Somehow, everyone is friendly, and they experienced little to no racism. When they do, the movie brushes it off as innocence of children. That is just hard to believe, especially in the 1980s, when the movie was set.

Frankly, the whole movie is just pure propaganda, and I am rather annoyed by it.

Spoiler

I especially hate how the dad finally hire the local water finder in the end. It perpetuates the ideal of the American melting pot, as the filmmakers believe that in order to succeed, one must accept mainstream American value and culture.

To me, it is not higher than 5.5/10.

I didn't think it was rosy at all, I was actually pretty bummed out through most of it. And I didn't need scenes with white people making racist comments to highlight this family's struggle, there was more than enough going on within the family unit to make me feel for them.

As for BP rankings, I have this ahead of Nomadland and Judas, both of which were big disappointments for me.

 

[kihei]

Speaking of VHS, I'd never seen Victory until yesterday but I have very clear memories of the video box sitting on the shelf at the video store in my youth. For whatever reason that's a visual that has stuck in my mind forever. I even went to double check and it's almost exactly how I remembered it.

View attachment 424193

Not the sort of cast you will find everyday.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Not the sort of cast you will find everyday.

Ossie Ardiles' goal is still probably a top 10 highlight for Tottenham in the last 45 years.

 

[kihei]

Night in Paradise (2020) Directed by Park Hun-jeong 6A

After family are targeted by a rival gang, Tae Gu, a young gangster with potential, is sent to lay low for a while on Jeju Island off the coast of South Korea. There he meets Jay-Yeon, a girl with a hell of an attitude and a potentially short life expectancy herself. Meanwhile back in Seoul, rival gangs have agreed to make Tae Gu the fall guy. You might guess how all this plays out, but you would almost certainly guess wrong. Night in Paradise (Week in Paradise? Why "paradise" at all as Jeju is not exactly Kuaui) is a curious mix of gangster tropes and off-beat romance beats. There is way more exposition provided in this movie than some people will be comfortable with and a couple of scenes could be obviously trimmed, but...but...but...I never knew what to expect from one scene to the next; plus, the movie is full of dry humour that tended to catch me a little off guard, too. While Night in Paradise is not top-of-the-line South Korea genre stuff---this ain't no Memories of Murder or Mother or Old Boy or The Chaser or Parasite--it is still a pretty good movie and presents another talented director to add to the South Korean list who just might get a whole lot better real fast.

subtitles

Netflix

 

[Spring in Fialta]

The Twentieth Century is an absolute trip of a film and definitely a hidden gem from last year. I read a great review of it on Letterboxd that I think is a great and accurate description of the film:

My brother-in-law plays in that and I still haven't seen it. I promised him I would too.

It looks like a great film.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Ossie Ardiles' goal is still probably a top 10 highlight for Tottenham in the last 45 years.

Tottenham definitely isn't winning anything anytime soon now!

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The weirdest movie box that I can remember with my eyes closed and have never actually seen the movie is this:

I had never heard of this movie until the last year or so (How Did This Get Made did an episode on it). I don't know HOW I missed the existence of it as it seems like something young me absolutely would have loved. It's sitting on my to do list because I have a feeling adult me might find some joy in it as well.

Seeing this reminds me of yet another VHS of my youth. I definitely made my parents rent this for me. This has been on my rewatch list too for a while. Guessing it does not hold up to my youthful memories ...

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Tottenham definitely isn't winning anything anytime soon now!

Will not miss a chance to plug my favorite Tottenham in film moment.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Will not miss a chance to plug my favorite Tottenham in film moment.

I knew it'd come up.