Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

Sock Monkey Nice reviews. In particular The Damned sounds interesting enough to me. At the short run time I may give that one a guy regardless of the let down.

Thanks. And I'd be curious as to your thoughts if you do get around to watching The Damned. I wouldn't necessarily steer someone away from it--though my review surely states otherwise--because there are some very interesting elements to it, especially if you like a slower burn. Maybe with lowered expectations and a heads up about the ending, it might work better.

[sholloman81]

The Substance (2024): I've had this on disc for a few months now and kept putting off watching it because (a) my wife noped the heck out of this one, therefore limiting me to watching it when she wasn't home, and (b) the hype around it kinda turned me off a bit. I'm glad that I waited to watch it on my own terms separate from the awards clamor because it really allowed me to approach the film on its own terms and not with some high and lofty expectations. Overall, the story of an aging star (Demi Moore) turning to a strange substance to unleash a "better version" of her (played by Margaret Qualley) is a Cronenbergian nightmare that doesn't shy away from the body horror or the use of practical effects. Though Demi Moore deserves the praise for her portrayal, I really need to give some love to Margaret Qualley whose performance as a purposefully oversexualized and objectified character is just as brave as her more esteemed co-star. It doesn't hurt that I've been a fan of Qualley's since The Leftovers, but she really does a great job as a counterbalance to Moore's performance. Dennis Quad's over-the-top performance could make or break some people's enjoyment of the film, but I thought he nailed it and it was great to see him back on the screen. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Grade: B+

Too funny! I have had this in my to-watch pile (yay, physical media!) for a while but have been putting it off as well. I think I may try to finally get to this over the weekend after reading your review!

[Sock Monkey]

Too funny! I have had this in my to-watch pile (yay, physical media!) for a while but have been putting it off as well. I think I may try to finally get to this over the weekend after reading your review!

Physical media is the best! And, yes, check the movie out. I'm curious as to what your thoughts will be.

[Sock Monkey]

Broadcast News (1987): Have you ever had the feeling while watching a film that you might not been on film's wavelength at that precise moment, something just isn't clicking for you, but you know on a rewatch you're gonna love it? Well, that exact feeling encapsulates my experience with James L. Brooks's multiple Oscar-winning film, Broadcast News. Centered around an overlapping love/work triangle between Holly Hunter's news producer, her friend and pillar of journalistic integrity (Albert Brooks) and the up-and-coming news anchor (William Hurt), who might not have as much integrity as Hunter's character wants to believe, the film, like a lot of the director's films, straddles the line between comedy and drama, while also critiquing the erosion of television journalism. This last aspect, unfortunately, winds up lacking some teeth, feeling rather quaint in regards to the big revelation that occurs in the third act, in light of just how far we've fallen as a nation in this regard, but it's still compelling in how well the story is told.

While this is a film I've been meaning to get around to watching for a long time, I just kept putting it off. I finally pulled the trigger in preparation for attending "An Evening with Albert Brooks" (I posted about this in the Random Thoughts thread), and while I liked the film a lot, I also felt like I was a half-step out of sync with it, settling too much into the drama and being left behind as it moves into the comedy and vice versa. Upon the film's ending, it wasn't that I didn't like the film, I just wanted to like so much more than I did and, going back to my initial statement at the start of this review, I feel like I will on subsequent viewings.

I will also note that while I expected to enjoy William Hurt and Albert Brooks as I'm already fans of them, and James L. Brooks's As Good as It Gets and Spanglish are favorites in this household, I've never really understood the appeal of Holly Hunter. Now, I'm not saying she's not a good actress, but nothing she's done has really drawn me in. However, I really enjoyed her in this film and her portrayal of Jane's feisty innocence as she torn between these two men and their conflicting values, having to choose which side she's going to land on. Maybe I need to give some of her other films another shot.

Grade: B

[Ben Staad]

I am late to the party but finally watched "Pig".

I enjoyed this movie a lot. Nic Cage was very good and the entire cast worked well with the story. A seemingly simple story, made strong with excellent writing, acting, scenery, and music.

4.5 out of 5.

[Sock Monkey]

I am late to the party but finally watched "Pig".

I enjoyed this movie a lot. Nic Cage was very good and the entire cast worked well with the story. A seemingly simple story, made strong with excellent writing, acting, scenery, and music.

4.5 out of 5.

I heard really good things about this when it first came out, but I never got around to watching it. I'm not the biggest Cage fan, but I am intrigued as your review seems to echo the same sentiment of others I've read.

[Sock Monkey]

Mickey 17 (2025): In a bid to get away from a notorious and violent loan shark, Mickey Barnes and his friend Timo sign up as part of a large crew to colonize an icy and inhospitable planet, Niflheim. While Timo gets to be pilot, Mickey signs himself up to be an "expendable," a disposable human to be brought back again and again due to a cloning procedure that is illegal on earth, but allowed in space. Mickey's various lives and deaths are detailed to darkly comic effect, until one day, during his 17th life, Mickey doesn't quite die as expected and instead is saved by the alien Creepers on Niflheim, kicking off a chain of potentially disastrous events.

At its heart, the film is about guilt as a source of self-devaluation. Or maybe its about the devaluation of life by corporations. Or even possibly about colonialism and genocide. Or maybe... And that's part of the problem. There is both so many themes and so little actually going on, the film struggles to fully develop any of these themes, more content with hopping from one to the next as quickly as the space colony cranks out a new Mickey. To be fair, any film Bong Joon Ho chose to tackle after his masterful Parasite was going to have difficulty matching up, but this one faltered a little more than I had expected. Pattinson gives a fantastic performance as the rather innocent Mickey 17 and Steven Yeung as Timo is smarmy and coldhearted, but neither characters get to be anything more than this. Mark Ruffalo's character, who is clearly mocking Trump, is a one-note baddy whose schtick wears thin by the film's end, even if that schtick is a good one. And then there's a weird subplot involving a potential love triangle (or two) involving Mickey that goes nowhere, with one taking a very weird turn for one love interest that left a bad taste in my mouth, and the other love interest as being superfluous to the plot in general.

Now, the film is flawed, but it does still maintain some of Bong Joon Ho's trademark weirdness and it is directed incredibly well. Unfortunately, it just doesn't amount to much. Grade: C+

The Iron Claw (2023): Now, I have to be honest, I'm not a wrestling fan and never have been, so I had no clue who the Von Erich family was in relation to the sport's history. I do, however, love sports movies. And this one, detailing the tragedies that befall the Von Erich brothers is both understated in its melodramatics yet a gut punch in the emotions. Anchoring the film is Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich and this just might be the performance of his career. Eschewing his charming, handsome Hollywood persona, Efron delivers an amazingly restrained and internalized depiction of the loving and rather awkward Kevin. Surrounding him are just fantastic performance after fantastic performance from Holt McCallany as the domineering Von Erich patriarch, Jeremy Allen White as the spiraling Kerry, and Lily James as a bright spot in all the gloom, among others. Maura Tierney, though, delivers a powerful scene that cuts to heart of the Von Erich matriarchs grief. To the screenplay's credit, the film also withholds judging its characters, instead just laying out a family's tragedies with a kind eye toward human frailty. Truly a fantastic film.
Grade: A-

[sholloman81]

Mickey 17 (2025): In a bid to get away from a notorious and violent loan shark, Mickey Barnes and his friend Timo sign up as part of a large crew to colonize an icy and inhospitable planet, Niflheim. While Timo gets to be pilot, Mickey signs himself up to be an "expendable," a disposable human to be brought back again and again due to a cloning procedure that is illegal on earth, but allowed in space. Mickey's various lives and deaths are detailed to darkly comic effect, until one day, during his 17th life, Mickey doesn't quite die as expected and instead is saved by the alien Creepers on Niflheim, kicking off a chain of potentially disastrous events.

At its heart, the film is about guilt as a source of self-devaluation. Or maybe its about the devaluation of life by corporations. Or even possibly about colonialism and genocide. Or maybe... And that's part of the problem. There is both so many themes and so little actually going on, the film struggles to fully develop any of these themes, more content with hopping from one to the next as quickly as the space colony cranks out a new Mickey. To be fair, any film Bong Joon Ho chose to tackle after his masterful Parasite was going to have difficulty matching up, but this one faltered a little more than I had expected. Pattinson gives a fantastic performance as the rather innocent Mickey 17 and Steven Yeung as Timo is smarmy and coldhearted, but neither characters get to be anything more than this. Mark Ruffalo's character, who is clearly mocking Trump, is a one-note baddy whose schtick wears thin by the film's end, even if that schtick is a good one. And then there's a weird subplot involving a potential love triangle (or two) involving Mickey that goes nowhere, with one taking a very weird turn for one love interest that left a bad taste in my mouth, and the other love interest as being superfluous to the plot in general.

Now, the film is flawed, but it does still maintain some of Bong Joon Ho's trademark weirdness and it is directed incredibly well. Unfortunately, it just doesn't amount to much.

That's too bad to hear about Mickey 17. Have had this one on my to watch radar for a while but have delayed picking it up as I'm not a huge Pattinson fan and I had heard that they altered the book a good deal. Maybe up the road...

[Sock Monkey]

That's too bad to hear about Mickey 17. Have had this one on my to watch radar for a while but have delayed picking it up as I'm not a huge Pattinson fan and I had heard that they altered the book a good deal. Maybe up the road...

I'm sure there will be some people who love it, but it just didn't hit for me. If you are interested in a very good movie that touches on some of the same plot points, I highly recommend Moon from 2009 with Sam Rockwell. Tonally a very different film than MIckey 17, but one of my favorites.

[Ben Staad]

It's a slow paced film with limited dialogue. My speed but likely not very everyone.

I heard really good things about this when it first came out, but I never got around to watching it. I'm not the biggest Cage fan, but I am intrigued as your review seems to echo the same sentiment of others I've read.

[Sock Monkey]

It's a slow paced film with limited dialogue. My speed but likely not very everyone.

Thanks for the heads up. I don’t mind a slow pace, but I definitely like to be in the right mindset when approaching those types of films. I’ll plan accordingly.