Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[dannyboy121070]

Sorry to hear about your wife losing her job. Hopefully, she finds another one with ease.

i noticed the additions to Shudder as well. That’s part of the reason I’ve held off on getting the set, as well. The completist in me wants all the extras and the shorts and whatnot. Frankly, though, I’ve been so busy that it would just sit in the pile with about forty other movies.

It was a rough few months, but she just started a new job last week, and she loves it. Thanks for the good thoughts, Sock Monkey! Somehow we managed to keep the lights on with just my salary, lol. (Can you tell that she makes more money than me?)
What you said was another reason I don't feel too bad about skipping the box set.....I have so many movies/box sets that I just never get around to watching. I have a twelve-year-old, and between dinner, dishwashing, homework, showers, and getting him squared away and in bed.....I'm usually ready to crash. I'm lucky if I can squeeze in a movie on the weekend, and then I usually try to find something my wife would enjoy watching with me. (She sure ain't gonna enjoy anything that I have in my chest of DVDs and Blu-rays, lol.)

[Martin]

It was a rough few months, but she just started a new job last week, and she loves it. Thanks for the good thoughts, Sock Monkey! Somehow we managed to keep the lights on with just my salary, lol. (Can you tell that she makes more money than me?)
What you said was another reason I don't feel too bad about skipping the box set.....I have so many movies/box sets that I just never get around to watching. I have a twelve-year-old, and between dinner, dishwashing, homework, showers, and getting him squared away and in bed.....I'm usually ready to crash. I'm lucky if I can squeeze in a movie on the weekend, and then I usually try to find something my wife would enjoy watching with me. (She sure ain't gonna enjoy anything that I have in my chest of DVDs and Blu-rays, lol.)

Glad she was able to start a job she loves!

[dannyboy121070]

Thanks, Martin! At least one of us loves their job, lol.

[brlesh]

Saw three movies in the theater recently.

The Cursed - an old school, Gypsy curse werewolf movie, just without the werewolves.

One of the better theatrical run horror movies of recent memory.

The Batman - I liked it, but they didn’t really do anything new with the character that wasn’t already in the Nolan movies, other than changing Bruce Wayne from a philanthropist playboy to a brooding emo (playing to Robert Pattinson’s strength??).

They could also have easily shaved a half hour off the 3 hour run time. ( A friend of mine disagreed with my assessment, saying they could have easily shaved about an hour & a half & not lost any of the story!!)

On the plus side, Paul Dano was excellent as the Riddler, even if he was somewhat reminiscent of Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Liked it enough I’m in for part 2.

’X’ - billed as a homage to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the movie lacked context for it to really work for me.

B

[Ben Staad]

That is a movie I really wanted to see. Sadly the local theater didn't offer any showings for it. Sounds like it is decent so looking forward to catching this one at a later date.

Saw three movies in the theater recently.

The Cursed - an old school, Gypsy curse werewolf movie, just without the werewolves.

One of the better theatrical run horror movies of recent memory.



B

[Sock Monkey]

I've had a run of bad luck recently. I've been watching movies that have been generally well-received and they are just not clicking with me, though near the end my luck did change a bit.

NIGHTMARE ALLEY: Del Toro tackling a pitch-black noir with a cast stacked with phenomenal actors seemed like a shoe-in to be one of my favorite movies. Forget the headliners, you put Richard Jenkins in a movie and I'm there. You give him a side of David Strathairn, Toni Collette, and Willem Dafoe and I'm wondering what I've done to be so lucky. And while I thought that A Star is Born was no where as successful a film as others did, I do like that Bradley Cooper has continued to choose projects that push him out of traditional Hollywood leading man roles. Unfortunately, the stew that was concocted out of all of these ingredients was less than satisfying. The movie relies too much on the cardinal sin of telling rather than showing. Why does Cooper's Stan and Rooney Mara's Mary Cahill fall in love? Because you are told they do. Not because there's any chemistry between the two and definitely not because there anything of particular interest of Mara's portrayal of Cahill. I haven't been overwhelmed with Mara's performances in the past and this one feels just as flat. Why would Stan trust Blanchett's Dr. Lillith Ritter? Because the script says that needs to happen in lieu of developing relationships that make those decisions understood however misguided they might be. The final scene of the film spells out the entirety of the script replacing any nuance and subtlety with a clear spelling out to the audience of the what is going on. I can't give this a full failing mark as the cinematography is great and almost all of the acting is fantastic, if a little too on-the-nose. Grade: C-

THE POWER OF THE DOG: Director Jane Campion's film about one brother's anger and toxicity that leeches into the lives of those around him contains beautiful shots of cinematography containing such beautifully realized characters with consummate performances that's it's a shame that the first hour of the film feels like prologue. While one could argue that it sets the tone and builds the relationships necessary for what comes later, one would also have to wonder if they had to do it at such a glacial pace. There is a reward to be gained for those that make it through those first forty minutes or so, the question is how many actually do make it? For those with the patience, I do recommend it, though I'm not sure I'd ever feel the need to see it again. Grade: B-

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS: I like superhero movies. I don't think they're the death of cinema as some have touted, but I also don't fall in the camp that feel that the best of these movies should be contenders for Best Picture awards. They're comedy-action fantasy films that are the modern equivalent of the buddy-cop film in the '80s. Lots of fun, though maybe not that smart, and bouyed by the charisma of the actors themselves. This one, though. This one is the example that the superhero movie detractors could latch on to as an example of their complaints.

First, the things I loved: I loved the integration of Chinese myth, including the mystically parting forests and flying dragons that live in the water and all of those amazing little touches that abound in the movie's best parts. These things showed the potential of the movie, of what it might have been, which leads me to the things that hindered the movie for me. For the first time in a long time, I just didn't find the main characters that likeable. As mentioned before, these movies are really elevated by the charisma of the actors in them and in SHANG-CHI...not so much of that was working for me. The jokes felt forced and the CGI, especially in the big scene on the bus, just looked bad. Overall, I found the movie rather dull and it had me thinking that maybe these types of movies had run their course for me. Grade: D

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME: And then I watched the last of the new Spider-Man trilogy and my faith was restored as this movie just flat-out worked for me. I felt there might be a tipping point where too many characters were being introduced and there wouldn't be enough time to do anything with them, but besides the lack of use of one of the villains, the movie did a good job balancing out all the various characters and giving a couple of really great moments of closure for others. Is this a movie that makes you reevaluate your life and the world you live in? Absolutely not. Does it allow fans a lot of great fist-pumping moments of pure fun? Definitely. Grade: A

I also rewatched SEVEN which still absolutely holds up. I don't revisit it too often as I don't want it to lose its luster, but I still think that even over 25 years later there is still power in the movie to not just shock, but also to discuss the plight of the protagonists, all whom, whether they want to admit it or not, desperately want to believe in a world that is better than what they see on the streets around them. Fantastic movie. Grade: A

And finally, also rewatched EDEN LAKE. If you haven't had a chance to catch this underrated gem from 2008, I highly recommend you track it down. A tense and brutal story of a young couple's encounter with a group of youths during a weekend trip transcends the genre trappings but not allowing for easy answers or cheap catharsis. Highly recommended. Grade: A

[Ben Staad]

The Platform:

This is a Spanish film which I watched on Netflix. It's an allegory with very few twists to it however it had some interesting dialogue, drama, and more than enough gore. Essentially this story follows a character in a prison which is multi leveled. Each level holds two people with a hole in the center of the floor. Each day a platform of food lowers to each level allowing the prisoners a chance to eat for two minutes. The quality and quantity of food obviously degrades as the platform goes to each lower level. Each month the prisoners are drugged and moved to another level with no discernible pattern. The lead is confronted with the ugliness of the place, the atrocity of other people, and tries to come to grips with humanity.

I liked it. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Sock Monkey]

The Platform:

This is a Spanish film which I watched on Netflix. It's an allegory with very few twists to it however it had some interesting dialogue, drama, and more than enough gore. Essentially this story follows a character in a prison which is multi leveled. Each level holds two people with a hole in the center of the floor. Each day a platform of food lowers to each level allowing the prisoners a chance to eat for two minutes. The quality and quantity of food obviously degrades as the platform goes to each lower level. Each month the prisoners are drugged and moved to another level with no discernible pattern. The lead is confronted with the ugliness of the place, the atrocity of other people, and tries to come to grips with humanity.

I liked it. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I really like THE PLATFORM. Caught it at Fantastic Fest one year and it was one of my favorites from that year’s lineup. I’d probably rate it a tad bit higher than you (maybe a 4.2 out of 5), but I’m a big fan of both Spanish thrillers and dystopian stories so this hit a sweet spot for me.

[Ben Staad]

Cool. I thought it was a very interesting movie and would have rated it 4 out of 5 if it had tied a little bow to the end of the movie.

Spoiler!

I don't mind having the viewer draw conclusions however I think this movie would have been a bit stronger if they showed the wait staffs reaction to the child showing up or, at the least, showing the child arrive at the top floor.

I really like THE PLATFORM. Caught it at Fantastic Fest one year and it was one of my favorites from that year’s lineup. I’d probably rate it a tad bit higher than you (maybe a 4.2 out of 5), but I’m a big fan of both Spanish thrillers and dystopian stories so this hit a sweet spot for me.

[TacomaDiver]

I think the last movie I watched was a revisiting of RoboCop. I bought the new 4k edition and had to see how it looked upgraded like that. My wife hadn't ever seen it, so it was her first time.

Some of the special effects look a little dated, but overall, it holds up well. Still a damn fine movie.

OH! I guess we did see the most recent Spider-Man - No Way Home. Really enjoyed this one - movie audiences are lucky to have Tom Holland - he's a treasure. Almost as much of a treasure as Zendaya.

Anyways, I took the day off (to celebrate my wife's birthday) and we are headed out to see the new Doctor Strange movie.

[Ben Staad]

I re-watched Robocop recently as well and thought it's held up to time. There is a good amount of drama which I didn't remember and think it's still a solid movie.

I think the last movie I watched was a revisiting of RoboCop. I bought the new 4k edition and had to see how it looked upgraded like that. My wife hadn't ever seen it, so it was her first time.

Some of the special effects look a little dated, but overall, it holds up well. Still a damn fine movie.

[sholloman81]

[brlesh]

Went to see The Northman the other night, which was basically Shakespeare’s Hamlet told from a Viking perspective.

What a disappointment. It was awful!

B

[Ben Staad]

The Silence starring Stanley Tucci. This is A Quiet Place with different bad guys and not done as well. I'm still a sucker for end of the World stories and thought this one was entertaining enough with a strong performance from the younger female lead. 3 out of 5 stars.

So if you have a free afternoon, like end of the world stuff, creatures, and survival flicks give this one a try.

[Martin]

The Silence starring Stanley Tucci. This is A Quiet Place with different bad guys and not done as well. I'm still a sucker for end of the World stories and thought this one was entertaining enough with a strong performance from the younger female lead. 3 out of 5 stars.

So if you have a free afternoon, like end of the world stuff, creatures, and survival flicks give this one a try.

The book is much better than the movie in my opinion. I have not seen A Quiet Place yet, but it sounds a lot like The Silence to me.