Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

We watched GODZILLA MINUS ONE the other night, and we both loved it. My wife is NOT a monster-movie fan, but she has been raving about it to everyone we've seen over the past few days. The effects were amazing, especially the scenes of Godzilla pursuing the small boats...nerve-wracking stuff. Definitely the best Godzilla film I've ever seen.

Lat night I had a hankering to finally catch a film I've wanted to see since I was a kid: BINGO LONG'S TRAVELING ALL-STARS AND MOTOR KINGS. A semi-whimsical movie about negro-league ballplayers who leave their oppressive team-owners and start a barnstorming team of their own, the first half was charming and fun, and the second half got a little more serious, which moved it from "I loved it!!!" territory to just "Really good". Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones were outstanding.

I also finished up Denzel's EQUALIZER trilogy, and the law of diminishing returns was in full effect in these three films, with the third being a pointless killfest from start to finish. I was nice seeing Denzel reunited with Dakota Fanning, his MAN ON FIRE costar, but other than that and some truly eye-popping kills, there was nothing much to recommend. I find Director Antoine Fuqua to be a filmmaker who has coasted by on having made one truly great film (TRAINING DAY), and it's been all mediocrity ever since.

I saw GODZILLA MINUS ONE pop up and I'm pretty excited to check it out. I really, really want to like a Godzilla movie, but, to be honest, I've never seen a single one that I've enjoyed. Now, I also have never seen the original nor the highly recommended SHIN GODZILLA, mostly catching some of the other sequels (SMOG MONSTER, MECHAGODZILLA) and I honestly don't know if I ever made it through any of them. I did see the 2014 American remake, but wasn't blown a way. (It might be sacrilegious to say, but I think that CLOVERFIELD is the best that America has done with a kaiju-type film.) I'm hoping that this one will break my Godzilla trend. I plan on watching it with the wife, so it might be a week or two before I get to check it out. Fingers crossed because I really want to like it.

As far as Antoine Fuqua's filmography, I find it hard to disagree. I don't think that he necessarily makes bad films, just nothing that really stands out, fading from memory rapidly after watching them. I remember watching TEARS OF THE SUN a couple of times, but always though at the time that it was lesser Bruce Willis. SOUTHPAW I also really wanted to enjoy due to the talent involved but it just didn't work for me. Same could be said for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN remake, which was fine, but lacked any kind of heart. Most of his other film just never piqued my interest. TRAINING DAY, though, is still a really good watch.

[dannyboy121070]

We watched GODZILLA MINUS ONE the other night, and we both loved it. My wife is NOT a monster-movie fan, but she has been raving about it to everyone we've seen over the past few days. The effects were amazing, especially the scenes of Godzilla pursuing the small boats...nerve-wracking stuff. Definitely the best Godzilla film I've ever seen.

Lat night I had a hankering to finally catch a film I've wanted to see since I was a kid: BINGO LONG'S TRAVELING ALL-STARS AND MOTOR KINGS. A semi-whimsical movie about negro-league ballplayers who leave their oppressive team-owners and start a barnstorming team of their own, the first half was charming and fun, and the second half got a little more serious, which moved it from "I loved it!!!" territory to just "Really good". Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones were outstanding.

I also finished up Denzel's EQUALIZER trilogy, and the law of diminishing returns was in full effect in these three films, with the third being a pointless killfest from start to finish. I was nice seeing Denzel reunited with Dakota Fanning, his MAN ON FIRE costar, but other than that and some truly eye-popping kills, there was nothing much to recommend. I find Director Antoine Fuqua to be a filmmaker who has coasted by on having made one truly great film (TRAINING DAY), and it's been all mediocrity ever since.

[sholloman81]

I've just started working through the Vinnegar Syndrome Lost Picture Show boxed set. All the films in this set were considered lost and were located & restored by Vinegar Syndrome. Most of the films are low-budget genre pics from the early 60's-70's. Watched the first film last night, Carlos Tobalina's "What's Love?" and was pleasantly surprised. Very sleazy low-budget film about the devil coming to earth and seducing three sets of people: a cop, a priest, and a troubled married couple. Has all sorts of neat 70's type freakouts, a fun soundtrack, and much more nudity than I had expected, including the infamous Ginger Lynn. Overall, while not a great film by any standards, I am glad to have seen this and think it was a fine start to this box set.

Just watched two more movies from this set: Larry Crane's "Beware the Black Widow" and Joe Sarno's "Deep Inside". Both were enjoyable. Sarno's film reminded me a little of "Cruel Intentions" however with lots of nudity and was basically about a group of friends' Summer beach retreat and how one of the girls within the group subverts the relationships of the other girls within the group and eventually gets her just desserts. Crane's film was basically a proto-giallo about a group of rapists being picked-off one by one. It's pretty easy to guess the killer, but beyond that, the film's loads of fun, also has tons of nudity, violence, and a very fun/unexpected soundtrack. Also fun seeing 60's New York city on screen. These little regional affairs always make me nostalgic for old architecture and before major cities were Disneyfied into sameness. Overall, while both films are no budget regional genre pics, I found both totally watchable and am happy to have see them. So far, this boxed set is off to a very good start!

[Sock Monkey]

For some reason I typically like these cheesy movies. There is something about them I find charming in a weird and twisted way.



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You know, I wish that I had same appreciation for them--it would definitely open up my viewing options--and I can see your point of view. I'm by no means snobby about film as I can forgive some shortcomings, especially in low budget affairs, but the cheesy films just don't scratch the itch for me. However, I'm glad that they have an audience as I'm not one to feel that something should be dismissed or ignored just because I don't enjoy it.

[Ben Staad]

For some reason I typically like these cheesy movies. There is something about them I find charming in a weird and twisted way.

I'm always intrigued by these box sets, but I'm always afraid they're gonna be a bust, so I never buy them. However, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the rest of the films in the set. This reminds me that I still need to pick up their VILLAGES OF THE DAMNED set. I see that I just missed their Halfway to Black Friday sale. To ward off my disappointment, I'm pretending that everything they had for sale was of no interest to me.

 

[Sock Monkey]

I've just started working through the Vinnegar Syndrome Lost Picture Show boxed set. All the films in this set were considered lost and were located & restored by Vinegar Syndrome. Most of the films are low-budget genre pics from the early 60's-70's. Watched the first film last night, Carlos Tobalina's "What's Love?" and was pleasantly surprised. Very sleazy low-budget film about the devil coming to earth and seducing three sets of people: a cop, a priest, and a troubled married couple. Has all sorts of neat 70's type freakouts, a fun soundtrack, and much more nudity than I had expected, including the infamous Ginger Lynn. Overall, while not a great film by any standards, I am glad to have seen this and think it was a fine start to this box set.

I'm always intrigued by these box sets, but I'm always afraid they're gonna be a bust, so I never buy them. However, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the rest of the films in the set. This reminds me that I still need to pick up their VILLAGES OF THE DAMNED set. I see that I just missed their Halfway to Black Friday sale. To ward off my disappointment, I'm pretending that everything they had for sale was of no interest to me.

[sholloman81]

I've just started working through the Vinnegar Syndrome Lost Picture Show boxed set. All the films in this set were considered lost and were located & restored by Vinegar Syndrome. Most of the films are low-budget genre pics from the early 60's-70's. Watched the first film last night, Carlos Tobalina's "What's Love?" and was pleasantly surprised. Very sleazy low-budget film about the devil coming to earth and seducing three sets of people: a cop, a priest, and a troubled married couple. Has all sorts of neat 70's type freakouts, a fun soundtrack, and much more nudity than I had expected, including the infamous Ginger Lynn. Overall, while not a great film by any standards, I am glad to have seen this and think it was a fine start to this box set.

[Sock Monkey]

Watched two films this weekend:

The Trip, a dark comedy about a disgruntled married couple who both have secretly planned to murder the other while on their trip to the family cabin only to be taken captive by three escaped convicts, struggled to hit and maintain the proper tone to make the film work. The dark comedy mostly works until a scene that starts off with a funny gag, then stays on this beat for too long and becomes rather disturbing. I thought this was going to signal a shift in the narrative to a more serious tone, but the film veers back into over-the-top, almost slapstick, violence and silly gags about hiding billiard balls up one's bum. At almost two hours, the film also overstays its welcome. I love dark comedies, but this one just did not hit for me. Grade: C-

Hacksaw Ridge was a rewatch and the problems I had with on my first viewing are the same that I have on this one. The film is almost 2.5 hours long and even though I like all the actors involved, all the characters feel like stereotypes and their arcs are exactly what you'd expect. The film's power comes from the depiction of Doss's heroic actions by staying behind to rescue injured soldiers. This isn't a bad film, and Doss is a great subject for a film, but for me, it quickly fades from memory. Grade: C+

[Sock Monkey]

Re-watched Adventures in Babysitting last night. Nostalgia with this one but overall a fun, silly, and enjoyable film. So many of these films from my earlier days just don't hold up but this one is still good enough for a watch every now and again. 3 out of 5 stars.

I remember Adventures in Babysitting. I'm not entirely sure that I watched it all the way through, though. I just remember that I was pumped because the little girl was obsessed with Thor and being a big comic book nerd, I was happy anytime that comics were on film.

Even though my pre-teen years were in the 80s, I have little to no nostalgia for films of the era. There are outliers of course, like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Back to the Future. My recollection of the admittedly limited movies I watched in the 80s were that they were fine, but I don't feel the pull to revisit films from that era too often. My prime movie-watching period was the 90s and that era constantly pulls me back in. The stories seem darker from that period than the 80s, almost like a throwback to the darker cynicism of the films of the 70s. Whether it's the desperation of Jack Lemmon's character in Glengarry Glen Ross, the one-two punch of Brad Pitt in Seven and Fight Club, the redemptive power of The Shawshank Redemption, or all the tons of indie films that crammed the video store shelves during that time, I just keep going back to it.

[Ben Staad]

Re-watched Adventures in Babysitting last night. Nostalgia with this one but overall a fun, silly, and enjoyable film. So many of these films from my earlier days just don't hold up but this one is still good enough for a watch every now and again. 3 out of 5 stars.

[Ben Staad]

Re-watched Terminator 1 and 2 over the weekend. Solid action flicks that are still watchable although dated. I'm not rating these but I will say plot holes abound however the nostalgia is strong in these for me. In particular the music in T2 brings back memories of my teen years.

[dannyboy121070]

We saw FURIOSA today at the IMAX, and I was soooo disappointed. I thought FURY ROAD was one of the best FILMS, period, that I've ever seen. I never get sick of watching it. Maybe it's my general distaste of prequels. I don't need to know the minutiae of how Darth Vader became Darth Vader. I saw the original films, and just assumed Anakin Skywalker was a dick. They spent three films and hundreds of millions of dollars to show me that...he was a dick. Backstory isn't always necessary.

And it sure wasn't necessary here. FURY ROAD told me, between the lines, all I needed to know about Furiosa. She was stolen as a child, and had a shitty, shitty life. I don't need a whole film devoted to it.

The mainly practical effects of FURY ROAD are replaced by a lot of CGI, green screen, just plain fake stuff, that really takes you out of the film.

Plus, George Miller is around 80, and i doubt he has another one of these in him. He could have made a Mad Max sequel and wrapped up his series, instead of telling a completely useless, predictable story.

Not terrible, just very rote, standard stuff. And SO....SO...long.

[Sock Monkey]

We watched BRIDGE OF SPIES on Apple last night. Really good Hanks/Spielberg cold war thriller. Very well done.

It's been a very long time since I've seen that one. I don't remember liking it that much, but I think I need to give it another shot.

[dannyboy121070]

Watched Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes today at the theater. It was very long.

Visually it was well done. Beyond that there are huge holes in the story along with some puzzling reveals. I can't imagine ever wanting to watch this again even casually. 2 out of 5.

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It WAS way too long, and definitely one of those "Don't think too hard about any of this" kind of movies.

We watched BRIDGE OF SPIES on Apple last night. Really good Hanks/Spielberg cold war thriller. Very well done.

[Ben Staad]

Watched Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes today at the theater. It was very long.

Visually it was well done. Beyond that there are huge holes in the story along with some puzzling reveals. I can't imagine ever wanting to watch this again even casually. 2 out of 5.