Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

Recently re-watched The Ritual. I remember liking it a lot, but this time it really knocked me back in my seat. It pares down the novel--which I thought was kind of a slog--and makes it a lean and mean horror movie. The horror starts fairly early in the runtime and never lets up, but it all feels so well-paced and brooding. Just a great movie.

Also, re-watched Christopher Nolan's Memento. I've seen this movie probably close to a dozen times, but every time I walk away with how well-crafted it is. At it's heart, it's a very simple narrative and could be viewed as nothing more than a gimmick, but that "gimmick" of a film that plays each scene in reverse-chronological order is so important to the disorienting narrative of the film. Just a masterpiece.

[Sock Monkey]

Went to the theater last night and saw "X". Totally loved it. By far my favorite Ti West movie. The first half does build slowly; however, the payoff in the 2nd half is more than worth it. That slow first half is also very intentional in my opinion as it thoroughly builds the characters and creates a very creepy and dreadful atmosphere for when everything finally does go batshit crazy. Also, there was a bunch of humor in this one. Normally, I'm not a big fan of that; however, this time around, it seemed to land perfectly and felt very realistic to the situations the characters were facing. Overall, if you enjoy horror movies, you have to see this one!

I can't wait to see this. I'm a big fan of Ti West. House of the Devil is a classic. My wife and I recently re-watched The Innkeepers and I think I liked it better the second time around. I also like The Sacrament for what it was, but wasn't necessary blown away by it. In The Valley Of Violence...I just don't know what that movie was supposed to be. It didn't quite work for me, though I might need to revisit it. This new film has been getting a lot of buzz and I'm hoping we'll continue to see West dig into the horror genre.

[Sock Monkey]

I started watching King's Man and then stopped...just didn't catch me.

I plan on watching Death on the Nile this weekend or next. It has hit HBO.

My latest film watched is the latest Scream. Always enjoyed that series and felt it represented a seminal turning point in horror films aimed at the mainstream (and I would include myself in the latter). After the original, it seemed like filmmaking in general got better, especially in terms of the way the camera moves. I enjoyed this 2022 version; the original cast members weren't in it that much, and I'd suspect that has to do with budgetary considerations. Nothing complex, just a fun film...

My wife and I recently re-watched the first three films. She had only seen the original and none of the sequels. The original still holds up and I liked Scream 2 quite a bit. The third one, though...man, I didn't like it that much since I saw it in the theater, and I just can't get into now. It has some great moments but it struggles to keep itself on the the rails. We still need to watch Scream 4 (which I remember liking, though it wasn't groundbreaking as the advertising suggested: "New Decade. New Rules." Yeah, not so much) and will probably do a part 4 and 5 double-feature.

[sholloman81]

Went to the theater last night and saw "X". Totally loved it. By far my favorite Ti West movie. The first half does build slowly; however, the payoff in the 2nd half is more than worth it. That slow first half is also very intentional in my opinion as it thoroughly builds the characters and creates a very creepy and dreadful atmosphere for when everything finally does go batshit crazy. Also, there was a bunch of humor in this one. Normally, I'm not a big fan of that; however, this time around, it seemed to land perfectly and felt very realistic to the situations the characters were facing. Overall, if you enjoy horror movies, you have to see this one!

[JJ123]

I started watching King's Man and then stopped...just didn't catch me.

I plan on watching Death on the Nile this weekend or next. It has hit HBO.

My latest film watched is the latest Scream. Always enjoyed that series and felt it represented a seminal turning point in horror films aimed at the mainstream (and I would include myself in the latter). After the original, it seemed like filmmaking in general got better, especially in terms of the way the camera moves. I enjoyed this 2022 version; the original cast members weren't in it that much, and I'd suspect that has to do with budgetary considerations. Nothing complex, just a fun film...

[dannyboy121070]

I've been frantically watching everything that I can on our streaming channels before we have to ditch them all and cancel our cable at the end of the month. I watched an excellent documentary about Folk-Horror on Shudder called WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED, which I highly recommend, another documentary about the films and life of Al Adamson called BLOOD AND FLESH, which was both hilariously funny and terribly disturbing, also highly recommended. I have never seen an Al Adamson film, and this documentary didn't make me want to change that, but, wow...what a life, and what a death.

Last night my wife and I watched THE KING'S MAN, which I was really looking forward to, but it just didn't connect with me. My wife, oddly enough, loved it.

[Ben Staad]

Death on the Nile. 3.75 out of 5 stars. This was a standard murder mystery that was visually striking, well acted, and had some characters I greatly enjoyed. The few issues I had were related to elements of the film which pushed it outside of the period piece this was meant to be. These were mild indulgences by the director/writer/whoever meant to pander to today's societal views.

I would imagine that this is a film that would be most enjoyed in the theater. It has that movie theater feel.

Spoiler!

The score took a minor hit because I guessed the main plot early on in the film. It didn't really take away from my enjoyment.

[JJ123]

I recently watched The Final Wish. Nothing spectacular about it, but I do really enjoy these simple, formulaic horror films that are shot decently and present not necessarily the most original story/plot (although this one had a neat riff on the whole genie/wish thing, at least in the way I thought about it) but one that is nevertheless entertaining. I believe this was from either someone or some team responsible for Final Destination.

Also rewatched Midnight in Paris, by Woody Allen. Really enjoyed that one. One of the funniest scenes was when the Owen Wilson character tells the director of The Exterminating Angel that he should consider an idea for a movie that centers on a dinner party where no one can leave the room; the director asks why wouldn't they just leave, if I recall. Never actually saw the referenced movie, but will try to at some point. I think there was another Allen film that referenced this, might have been Anything Else.

I also rewatched this week one of my favorite movies of recent times, Limitless. That is a master class in high-octane, intelligent screenwriting. It is packed with smart, plot-propelling ideas I would never think of as solutions for segueing to the next sequence. It's a terrific Friday-night film (too bad I watched it earlier in the week!). It's also a case where the movie is far better than the book...I almost imagine the author must have been heartbroken when he saw it, thinking how they took his blueprint and polished it into such a gem. I've read the book too (after the fact of the film) and enjoyed it, especially the certain sequences that had this technical poetry of what was going on during the mind-altering affects afforded by the drug, but the choices on the pages were simply put not as exciting as the choices on the silver screen (and now in its post-theatrical life, on the digital screen). That's okay, though, because as soon as I locate my copy of the tome (don't you hate it when you have a lot of stuff in containers down in the basement, and it's a pain to go through them, especially when you haven't cataloged anything properly), I want to give it another read (or at least, sections of it another read). Cooper really did well in the movie, which reminds me I am currently making my way through Nightmare Alley. Not my type of film, honestly, and I am not a big fan of the director, but I am still watching and getting something out of it, especially (some of) the atmosphere and Dafoe's supporting thespianism (would Dafoe be a poor man's Jeff Goldblum or a Goldblum's Goldblum?).

[Ben Staad]

I didn't make it to the point where Arnold shows up. However according to IMDB he is in the movie.

Is Escape Plan also with Schwarzenegger? Haven't seen this one, but I believe I remember when it was being promoted.

[JJ123]

Is Escape Plan also with Schwarzenegger? Haven't seen this one, but I believe I remember when it was being promoted. I haven't watched movies like that lately, but I did sort of want to get around to that someday. I've never seen Expendables either, but keep meaning to. Then again, judging by what you say, maybe I should just avoid all these action films that have a direct-to-video feel.

I finished watching that film I mentioned before, Dead of Night. Turned out pretty well. The grand finale story with the ventriloquist dummy was creepy, even for a film from so long ago. Also had a Magic feeling to it.

The other day I caught Scorsese's The King of Comedy. Enjoyed it a lot, even if the Rupert Pupkin (which I at first thought was Pumpkin, which perhaps was the idea) character could have been played a little differently, in my opinion (the name itself almost made the movie, and maybe should have been the title!). Seems the Joker film from a few years ago was influenced by it. For those who have seen it, I am still thinking over the ending...

[Ben Staad]

Woo. Watched the first 10-15 minutes of Escape Plan starring Sly Stallone. Maybe the movie improves from there but I felt after the first sequence I had seen enough. To me this is a real stinker. 0 out of 5.

The opening sequence involved a ton of vague, ludicrous, improbable, and stupid events.

[JJ123]

I saw Going in Style as well, a while ago. I would agree with your assessment...it was a skillfully-made, plot-driven film. I laughed at the part about the dogs - if they weren't agitated by it, one can assume they approved as well! However, I should point out I have never seen the original, and want to (with George Burns). Interestingly, seems that show Good Girls was based on this premise (have seen that series; not bad, although it went off track sometimes).

I sometimes try to watch classic films. This week I watched Coppola's The Conversation with Gene Hackman. It was a cool movie, but I unfortunately did not experience it in the way I should have; I found this out after reading about it after I was confused by the ending. While reading about the ending, I found out another aspect - that I missed the whole thing about the conversation itself (and by that I mean a very specific thing, not the twist itself; I got the twist, but not what generated the twist)! (I presume those who have seen the film or read about it will know what I mean; otherwise, I won't say what it is). One criticism: wish it was more a plot-driven (there's that term again) thriller than a character-driven work, although that is really more a thing of taste as opposed to a criticism.

Also watching a movie called Dead of Night from 1945. An anthology. One of the stories is based on a tale by H.G. Wells. Hope that turns out well in the end (so far, so good, entertaining enough, even with the dated presentation; the film looks cleaned up, though, and it implies a Twilight-Zone-type setup).....

[Ben Staad]

Going in Style starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin. This is a standard fare movie about a group of old buddies screwed over by the man and look to get even by planning a bank heist. The surprising thing is this lighthearted comedy was fun, easy to watch, and just enough cheese to be entertaining.

If your looking for a basic old school buddy film this one may be for you. I liked it, my wife liked it, and our two dogs -well- they slept through the whole thing. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[JJ123]

Here's a unique one I just finished watching, Gallery of Horror with John Carradine. It's an interesting picture, an anthology that almost is a series of stage plays. In fact, any location footage one sees is stock footage from something else. (And I have to ask: what is that famous castle you sometimes see, almost used at times as insert shots denoting scene breaks/setups - if you understand what I mean - within episodes of Gilligan's Island or Night Gallery? That seemed to be used here, and it's a castle beside an ocean, I think, sometimes with animated lightning. Must be from some other film.)

I guess the word on this isn't too good, but I really appreciated the atmosphere and so much wish I had discovered the movie this past October, it begs to be watched on Halloween. It's low low-budget, but I appreciated the cleverness of the presentation. Carradine sets the tales up like a lecturing professor, one who is dedicated to educating students on werewolves, vampires, and witches. The acting is bland, but not offensive (to me, anyway); it is purposefully stilted and simply a recitation of dialogue that actually is done pretty well by the actors (many will disagree with my generous assessment; maybe I was in a good mood while watching!). The episodes are short and to the point, basically no effects, any horror is economically stowed offscreen, and seriously, I appreciated the creativity of that, it must have stretched the budget, heck, even spaghettified the budget. These segments are more like vignettes, nothing plot-driven, no true characters. Sometimes it's nice to watch a movie that is not so busy, something that is simply a celebration of mood and decorum and nostalgic film stock. I want to say this was from 1967. Lon Chaney (Jr?) was in it as well, which was cool (one comment at a review site said he looked bad in it, but I didn't think that was the case; it reminded me of Chaney in another low-budget affair, Dracula vs. Frankenstein, also a great Halloween watch...I even like the song playing in the beach scene!).

Anyone ever see this one?...(might not be for everyone, I should add)...

[JJ123]

Brian, I am eagerly anticipating the new Cage film coming out from Lionsgate (I want to say). In a way, it seems to be something along the lines of Adaptation in terms of intent. I have to say, that's cool that you haven't seen the latter yet...like they say, I envy someone watching it for the first time. If you end up doing so at some point, I just hope you like it...

I will try to see Get Out and Us at some point as well. I sort of know the basic plot of the former, and I have to see, there's one plot point in there that has me confused, so perhaps watching it will answer my question. It seems pretty scary too, probably because it is a comment on our own social reality. Hope Peele continues to surprise us with these concept-driven films (I enjoyed some of his Twilight Zone)...