Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Dan Hocker]

I saw Godzilla on Friday. I loved it, but I loved both the first one and Skull Island as well. The plot was thin at best, but the spectacle of the whole thing made up for it. I don't know why anyone who didn't like the last one would think they would like this one (not saying that's anyone here). They were never going to make a movie that was all monsters fighting.

[WebInterceptor]

I saw Godzilla on Friday. I loved it, but I loved both the first one and Skull Island as well. The plot was thin at best, but the spectacle of the whole thing made up for it. I don't know why anyone who didn't like the last one would think they would like this one (not saying that's anyone here). They were never going to make a movie that was all monsters fighting.

i enjoyed Godzilla romancing the giant butterfly lmao... who would have thought of that. There was also a reference to Skull island at the end credits.

[Dan Hocker]

i enjoyed Godzilla romancing the giant butterfly lmao... who would have thought of that. There was also a reference to Skull island at the end credits.

There were a couple during the movie too. They named it at least twice and I think they mentioned Kong by name once as well.

[subie09lega]

There were a couple during the movie too. They named it at least twice and I think they mentioned Kong by name once as well.

I noticed that as well during the movie. Overall, I liked it better than its predecessor.

[dannyboy121070]

I looooved SKULL ISLAND, I saw it twice in IMAX, and I must have seen it 100 times since then with my son on HBO and Blu-Ray. I hated the last GODZILLA, and thought this one was a vast improvement, but it still bored me.

[Dan Hocker]

I looooved SKULL ISLAND, I saw it twice in IMAX, and I must have seen it 100 times since then with my son on HBO and Blu-Ray. I hated the last GODZILLA, and thought this one was a vast improvement, but it still bored me.

Interesting. I'm kinda the opposite. I like Skull Island, but much prefer the Godzilla movies. This new one was lacking heavily in the plot department though.

[Sock Monkey]

City Lights (1931): Silent films are pretty much a blank void in my cinematic knowledge. I remember my grandfather making me watch Chaplin's Gold Rush when I was younger and was only really tickled by seeing the Chaplin make the potatoes dance on forks that had been ripped off by a Hershey's commercial. I liked City Lights and found it quite charming. My one quibble is that the gags, while fun, tend to go on a beat too long to the point where it starts to lose its humorous touch. I preferred Lloyd's Safety Last a bit more. Grade: B+

Heaven Can Wait (1943): The recently deceased playboy tries to convince the devil that he deserves to be in Hell rather than in Heaven in this amusing comedy that won the Best Picture Oscar in 1943. It's a fun, rather romantic, comedy that only suffers from the fact that the lead character does runaround on his long-suffering wife and while eternal damnation would be a rather downbeat ending even by today's standards, it is rather hard to root for him. A fun film overall, though. Grade: B

Strangers On A Train (1951): Alfred Hitchcock's tale of an innocuous meeting of two men on a passenger train that results in the insinuation of sociopath into the other's life leading to murder. This is widely considered a classic and absolutely should be. While maybe not up to the level of Psycho and Vertigo (my personal favorite Hitchcock film), this a rollercoaster ride of a thriller. Completely enjoyable and subtly creepy. Grade: A



An American in Paris (1951): Gene Kelly is charming as always as Gerry, an ex-patriate artist living in France and falling unknowingly falling in love with his friend's fiancée. The songs are great, the cast is charming, the dancing is fantastic and the sets are so classic Hollywood it's hard to not feel like we are missing a little something from modern movies. All that being said, upon scrutiny Kelly's character really isn't that nice of a guy as he leads on one woman for all purposes is very pretty and never does anything beyond trying to seduce him and sneaks behind her back to seduce another woman whom he is instantly smitten with. The movie climaxes with the standard non-sensical Hollywood ending that betrays how anyone on the planet Earth would ever act. But, hey, it's the movies! I enjoyed this, but there is absolutely no way that anybody can convince that the Academy Awards made the right choice bestowing this with Best Picture honors over Sunset Boulevard. Grade: B-

[Ben Staad]

Agreed. A really good movie which I think not many people know about. As you said it's not as watchable as some of the others but still interesting and enjoyable.

Strangers On A Train (1951): Alfred Hitchcock's tale of an innocuous meeting of two men on a passenger train that results in the insinuation of sociopath into the other's life leading to murder. This is widely considered a classic and absolutely should be. While maybe not up to the level of Psycho and Vertigo (my personal favorite Hitchcock film), this a rollercoaster ride of a thriller. Completely enjoyable and subtly creepy. Grade: A

[Sock Monkey]

Prisoners (2013): Denis Villeneuve has become one of my favorite modern directors so I was more than happy to revisit his bleak thriller starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal has made a name for himself in dark offbeat movies so his turn as rather anti-social police detective Loki isn’t as earth-shattering, but rather Jackman’s emotional angry turn as a father who will do anything it takes to find as daughter that gave me the most surprises during this viewing. It’s a methodical watch rather than pulse-pounding as Villeneuve is more interested in letting the viewer stew in the atmosphere rather than race them through the plot points, but it’s also a movie that we don’t get too often from Hollywood: an adult suspense thriller with A-list stars. Very good. Grade: B+

The Keeping Room (2014): A trio of women have to fend for themselves against the harsh landscape and vicious soldiers in this Civil War-era set “thriller”. More of a character drama with a few thriller elements, I’m always in for a movie with a few “Western” movie vibes and this one has it in spades. It doesn’t quite work as the movie can’t quite decide how to balance its pulpier home-invasion elements versus its loftier character-driven ideals, but I enjoyed it all the same. It was a nice reminder of Hailee Steinfeld’s ability as an actress and hope that we get to see her in a few more dramatic roles (though I absolutely LOVE Edge of Seventeen). Grade: C+

You Were Never Really Here (2018): The best way to explain this movie would be an arthouse “Man on Fire”. If that sounds like your jam then you’d probably enjoy this tale of an ex-soldier-turned-FBI-agent-turned-social-recluse who also does pretty brutal things to nasty men who traffic young girls. Joaquin Phoenix has always been one of my favorite actors and though I might not like every movie he does (The Master was not my cup of tea), I’m always in to see what he brings to the screen. Just don’t go into this movie hoping for any sense of catharsis. Grade: B+

The Odd Couple (1968): I was fan of the TV show growing up but never had a chance to catch the film it was based on and was rather pleased with this version of the up-tight Felix and the sloppy Oscar. The movie as whole doesn’t quite hit the mark as there is too much emphasis on comedic set-pieces that the movie can’t quite deliver on the character arc resolutions it tries to pitch in the movie’s final minutes. There's no denying the chemistry between Lemmon and Matthau and ultimately that’s what one wants from this film. Grade: B-

[Sock Monkey]

Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018): There are a lot of interesting ideas at play in this sequel dealing with a covert operation to disrupt the Mexican drug cartels that involves kidnapping a drug kingpin’s young daughter and a whole lot of bullets. Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro reprise their roles from the original film and do an admirable job of carrying the film even when the third act lets them down. There’s a bold moment where I thought the movie was going to subvert the viewers’ expectations, but instead it opts to set up a sequel that we’ll probably never get. Enjoyable but without any defined character arcs it feels more like treading water. Grade: C+

Revenge (2018): Sometimes heightened expectations can taint a film for a viewer as was the case for this film about a young woman who must fight for her survival and vengeance after she is raped and left for dead in the wilderness.

The back of the movie case states “A white knuckle tale of transgression and transformation, REVENGE gloriously blurs the lines of vengeance and survival while simultaneously delivering a ferocious dissection of gender and genre”. While movie descriptions are always full of hyperbole, I’d heard unanimous praise about this film from various sites and podcasts. So I when I settled down for the film I was ready to be impressed. And to certain extant I was. Director Coralie Fargeat permeates her film with a kinetic unique style that keeps the viewer engaged and star Matilda Lutz gives a fantastic performance.

On the other hand, it's a revenge film and hits the mark of what one would expect: The men are despicable self-centered jerks and the woman is stronger than she appears and originally thinks she is. Maybe if someone wasn’t familiar with the genre they would be surprised, but to me it didn’t quite deliver on the “ferocious dissection of gender and genre”, it delivers on exactly what this subgenre promises but I was expecting something more. Well-made and bloody as all get out, just not as mind-blowing as touted. Grade: B-

Scalpel (1977): A sleazy slice of southern gothic thriller, this movie follows a plastic surgeon who transforms a “Jane Doe” into the spitting image of his missing daughter so he can gain access to her inheritance. Strange and slightly surreal, this movie goes all in with its concept. Robert Lansing oozes sleaze, while Judith Chapman is so charismatic in her roles. While it is hard to call this a “great film” it is a nice little gem for those that like these kind of films. I really enjoyed this, faults and all. Grade: B-

[Ben Staad]

Gentlemen Broncos.

I'm not really sure what to think of this film. I laughed more than a few times and left feeling slightly confused. Not sure I would recommend this but at the same time there are scenes with very funny lines and one gross kiss.

2 out of 5 stars overall for this odd movie.

[Ben Staad]

I cannot rate it but did try watching "The Wandering Earth" on Netflix. I couldn't get past the first 15 minutes or so. It was boring and the dubbed in voices are atrocious.

[Sock Monkey]

Shutter (2004): One of the very first Asian horror films I ever saw, this creepy little ghost story kept me interested during this recent rewatch. During the drive home from a wedding, a young couple hit a female pedestrian and flee the scene. Secrets begin to emerge and not everything is quite what it seems to be. The scares feel derivative after so many other “pale, dark-haired ghost” movies, but the twists are still interesting and the ending haunting. Grade: B+

The Perfect Host (2010): If this film had been made in the 90s it would have been on regular rotation on HBO late night and be praised when a boutique label like Scream Factory or Arrow put out the blu-ray. Instead, this admittedly flawed and rather bonkers movie will probably have to wait a while to find its audience.

John Taylor has just robbed a bank and needs to place to hide out. When he finds Warwick (played by David Hyde Pierce) at home alone, he thinks he’s found the perfect spot. Unfortunately, Warwick has a dinner party planned and…then the movie descends into bonkers territory.

What starts out as a fairly predictable cat-and-mouse role reversal movie shifts and changes throughout the movie’s runtime. David Hyde Pierce gives a fantastic performance as the unhinged Warwick and co-writer and director Nick Tomnay swings for the fences every chance he gets. The movie doesn’t quite work with its mish-mash of crime and suspense thriller genres and there are a couple pretty big plot contrivances, so it is hard to recommend, but as entertainment value goes, it does provide for an interesting 90 minutes. Grade (on how much I was entertained): B-

Whispering Corridors (1998): Though this is listed as a horror movie and supposedly kicked off the Korean horror boom, this is much more of a drama with supernatural elements. And as a simple ghost story that takes place at an all-girls school, it works. The cast are all pretty charismatic and the storyline does provide a few twists and turns. Unfortunately, horror fans will most likely be bored by the rather tame scares the movie provides. I enjoy ghost stories and South Korean cinema so it was a win for me. Grade: C+

[Sock Monkey]

I cannot rate it but did try watching "The Wandering Earth" on Netflix. I couldn't get past the first 15 minutes or so. It was boring and the dubbed in voices are atrocious.

I can't do dubbed. If I'm watching a foreign film, it's subtitles or nothing. I completely understand that some people don't like subtitles (getting into the rhythm can be rather challenging at first), but dubbing completely takes me out of the film.

[Ben Staad]

I did a little internet searching today and it appears I can turn this off and turn on subtitles. I will see if that works and maybe try this one again.

I can't do dubbed. If I'm watching a foreign film, it's subtitles or nothing. I completely understand that some people don't like subtitles (getting into the rhythm can be rather challenging at first), but dubbing completely takes me out of the film.