Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

Wang is the new boobs. Everything has wang in it these days.

This is so true. The amount of male full frontal I've seen in films over the last three to five years seems to have grown exponentially (no pun intended).

[dannyboy121070]

This is so true. The amount of male full frontal I've seen in films over the last three to five years seems to have grown exponentially (no pun intended).

Pun or not, thanks for the laugh!

[brlesh]

Just saw Wolf Man, and first impressions were I liked it quite a bit, more than I was expecting based on the reviews I read.

The acting was decent, the effects (all practical, I believe, no CGI) were good, and at a 90 minute run time, the story moved along at a good pace. The script was a little cringy at times, but hey, it’s a horror movie.

I give the filmmakers props, they tried to do something different with the traditional werewolf story.

Overall, I definitely thought Wolf Man was worth a view.

B

[Sock Monkey]

Finally got a chance to check out the local revival house theater in town (Come on, I mean, it's only been three years...) and wound up having a great time. They were showing the new 4K restoration of Seven. I was only 16 or 17 when the film came out and wound up watching it alone on some satellite pay-per-view channel, and I was not prepared for the oppressive bleakness of the film. Almost 30 years later (dear god...), I couldn't miss out on seeing the film on the big screen. I took my nephew, who I have taken under my wing in order to improve his cinematic education, and while I had shown him the film about a year ago, he enjoyed it maybe more this time.

First, the new restoration was very nice and a much-needed improvement over my incredibly old DVD. I was worried that the film would look too nice as some of the film's atmospheric texture comes from how dark it is, but that worry was for naught. It's still as dark as ever, but just more crisp in appearance. The audio track was much improved with a greater clarity of voices. So I will definitely be picking up the disc one of these days.

Second, I was worried the film wouldn't hold up for the audience, which was a mix of middle-aged folks, college students, and one awesome elderly couple that had to be in their 70s. Now, the audience is definitely different for a revival house than a regular cinema, with the assumption that since there are a lot easier and cheaper ways to watch the film, the people there are actually there on purpose and not to kill time. Even with that in mind, once the film locked in, you could hear a pin drop in the theatre. There were laughs ("the soothing, relaxing, vibrating home") and cries of shock (the "sloth" victim), but it was all from an audience just held in the palm of a film. Watching people who had no idea what they were getting into walk out like they had just been kicked in the stomach was a lot of fun. It sounds weird, but I just couldn't stop smiling. It was great to see the film still had its power. The elderly couple, though, walked out arm-in-arm with smiles on their faces like they had just watched When Harry Met Sally or something. Man, I want that to be me and my wife when we're that age.

[Ben Staad]

That is awesome. Glad to hear that the magic of Cinema is still alive.

There is something special about watching a good story at the theater that I don't think can ever be replicated at home.

Finally got a chance to check out the local revival house theater in town (Come on, I mean, it's only been three years...) and wound up having a great time. They were showing the new 4K restoration of Seven. I was only 16 or 17 when the film came out and wound up watching it alone on some satellite pay-per-view channel, and I was not prepared for the oppressive bleakness of the film. Almost 30 years later (dear god...), I couldn't miss out on seeing the film on the big screen. I took my nephew, who I have taken under my wing in order to improve his cinematic education, and while I had shown him the film about a year ago, he enjoyed it maybe more this time.

First, the new restoration was very nice and a much-needed improvement over my incredibly old DVD. I was worried that the film would look too nice as some of the film's atmospheric texture comes from how dark it is, but that worry was for naught. It's still as dark as ever, but just more crisp in appearance. The audio track was much improved with a greater clarity of voices. So I will definitely be picking up the disc one of these days.

Second, I was worried the film wouldn't hold up for the audience, which was a mix of middle-aged folks, college students, and one awesome elderly couple that had to be in their 70s. Now, the audience is definitely different for a revival house than a regular cinema, with the assumption that since there are a lot easier and cheaper ways to watch the film, the people there are actually there on purpose and not to kill time. Even with that in mind, once the film locked in, you could hear a pin drop in the theatre. There were laughs ("the soothing, relaxing, vibrating home") and cries of shock (the "sloth" victim), but it was all from an audience just held in the palm of a film. Watching people who had no idea what they were getting into walk out like they had just been kicked in the stomach was a lot of fun. It sounds weird, but I just couldn't stop smiling. It was great to see the film still had its power. The elderly couple, though, walked out arm-in-arm with smiles on their faces like they had just watched When Harry Met Sally or something. Man, I want that to be me and my wife when we're that age.

[Sock Monkey]

Pickup on South Street (1953):

MV5BOTJmYjMwMWItODMzNC00M2M3LTk1NzEtMjg2YjI1MmFlZDM4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc1NTYyMjg@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg

After my very positive experience catching Seven at the local revival theater, I decided to treat myself the following week by catching the first in their series showcasing films by Samuel Fuller. Fuller's work is a blind spot for me, so this seemed a good chance to catch one of his films on the big screen. Man, it did not disappoint. I love a good noir, but I wasn't prepared for just how charming the cast is. Richard Widmark as an ex-con pickpocket who gets caught up in espionage when he steals a purse on the subway plays it to his cocky best and Thelma Ritter as Moe, a low-level information hawker just trying to get enough money to buy a nice grave and headstone before she dies, provides both humor and gravitas to a role that could have been forgettable. The true MVP for me was Jean Peters as Candy, a prostitute whose purse is stolen by Widmark's character only to find out, unbeknownst to her, she was delivering U.S. info to communists. Not only is she beautiful, but she switches from doe-eyed sweetness to cheeky cynicism without batting an eye or feeling out of character. While I came for the noir, I really fell for just how darn delightful the movie could be. Maybe my perception is tainted due to not expecting this aspect at all, but, honestly, it really would be a perfect date night movie with that combination of charming romance and super-dark spy noir. Fantastic film! Grade: A

[Sock Monkey]

the-gorge-poster.jpg

Checked out The Gorge last night on Apple+ and while it didn't really do anything new, I had a good time with the film. I'm rather ambivalent towards Miles Teller, but I could watch Anya Taylor Joy vacuum for two hours and be transfixed. I don't know what it is, but I find her very charismatic. The chemistry between the two is fantastic and the film leans into this for its first half before descending into horror-action shenanigans. The short pitch would be Vandermeer's Area X meets Call of Duty with a love story. Yeah, the ending doesn't quite live up to the promise of its first half, but I enjoyed it enough that I just couldn't be mad at it. If people told me they loved it, I'd understand. If people told me they hated it, I'd get that, too. I fall somewhere in between. Grade: B-

[dannyboy121070]

the-gorge-poster.jpg

Checked out The Gorge last night on Apple+ and while it didn't really do anything new, I had a good time with the film. I'm rather ambivalent towards Miles Teller, but I could watch Anya Taylor Joy vacuum for two hours and be transfixed. I don't know what it is, but I find her very charismatic. The chemistry between the two is fantastic and the film leans into this for its first half before descending into horror-action shenanigans. The short pitch would be Vandermeer's Area X meets Call of Duty with a love story. Yeah, the ending doesn't quite live up to the promise of its first half, but I enjoyed it enough that I just couldn't be mad at it. If people told me they loved it, I'd understand. If people told me they hated it, I'd get that, too. I fall somewhere in between. Grade: B-

We watched this last night, and I thought the first half was fantastic. I could have done with a whole film of them just getting to know each other and patrolling the gorge. Once we got to the second half, and the explanation of just what is going on, I stopped caring, and found it very hard to keep watching and stay awake. My wife, who hates films like this, loved it. Go figure. I enjoyed her screaming in terror more than I enjoyed the last half of the film, lol.

[dannyboy121070]

My wife surprised me and my son with tickets, and her chauffeuring skills, to the new Captain America film. (We're having some heavy snow this weekend, and my favorite theater is about 30 minutes away, so I was resigned to just waiting until next week, but she has a tank with 4-wheel drive, and is afraid of nothing, so she volunteered to do the driving. I drive a 2010 deathtrap, and I've been in some bad accidents in the snow, so my default is to stay home, lol.)

She spent a good deal of the film napping under a blanket in her reclining seat...she's a take-it-or-leave-it Marvel filmgoer. My son loved it, and I was somewhere in the middle, maybe a 7 out of 10. It was great to see Marvel finally pick up some of the threads of two of their most-hated films (THE INCREDIBLE HULK and THE ETERNALS, both of which I loved.), Anthony Mackie and Giancarlo Esposito were both great, and Harrison Ford seemed to be having fun filling the late William Hurt's shoes. Not one of the GREAT Marvel films, unfortunately, but it was a good time. REALLY looking forward to the rest of the Marvel slate for the year, THUNDERBOLTS and FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, and hoping they will be a return to form for the franchise.