What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[accies1874]

No spoilers below but put all in tags to not have a wall of text. Also got another batch after this so cut it in half. 

139. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022)* - Netflix

Spoiler

Quite a pleasant film that does a decent job of straddling the line between embracing nostalgia and understanding that not everything was perfect which is exemplified by the main character’s desperation for escape despite living in the rose-tinted reflection. It felt to me to sway more to the former, especially as I’m presuming that Linklater (born in 1960) is depicting a certain version of his youth. The structure is slightly odd as it discards what might be the main attraction of the film to audiences (a kid getting sent to space) in order to convey the loneliness of childhood which again gives a decent counterbalance to the seductive tone. Some reviews seem to have focused in on it being boomer nostalgia, but I think it’s more about childhood nostalgia and how legitimate that actually is.

The most memorable thing for me was how they animated some of the TV shows, films and other things that exist in our lives. It might have been pointless but I was impressed by it.

140. The American Friend (1977)* - All4

Spoiler

I abandoned thinking about the plot pretty early on as I was completely taken by what was happening on screen. Its use of colours, especially red and yellow, and perfectly composed shots grabbed a hold of my eyes and didn’t let go, and there’s just something about the way things moved within the frame that gave it a really nice rhythm. 

It takes the world we know and makes it feel like a dream narratively as, after one viewing, it doesn’t seem to have much interest in making a whole lot of sense and tries to mix arty cinema with a gritty thriller which can sometimes frustrate me but I loved it in this. There’s probably much more to be gleaned from the script than I found after just one watch as, like I said, it was almost all about the sensory reactions first time around.

141. Get Out (2017) - DVD

Spoiler

A modern classic imo, and one that I’ve enjoyed watching regularly since it came out. I don’t wanna repeat myself too much when talking about the other Peele films so might try and keep this brief, but his scripts for both this and Us are incredibly satisfying due to how he sets things up and knocks them down throughout the entire film. Doing this while also being fun/ny, unnerving and good satirically is just great and I’m willing to cut him plenty of slack for when there are stumbling points in these two in particular. Cutting that slack isn't always enough though...

142. Us (2019) - Digital Rental

Spoiler

The first hour or so of this is near-perfect imo. The family are perfectly written, the score is creepy, the slower parts are great and the exciting parts are fun, plus there’s the build-up of what the heck is going on.

The next 20 minutes are pretty good but did start to feel like we were going over old ground.

The last half-hour is, imo, garbagio. So much of it is bogged down by over-explanation of an intriguing concept that made ask questions of plot mechanics rather than the interesting stuff set up by the film. I usually try and ignore “plot holes” when talking about films, but when they commit a great deal of time to explanations then that becomes hard – even if there is some satirical subtext. I’m sure I’ve referenced Us a few times before, mostly because it’s my go-to example of when you should keep a vague idea vague.

It's sad as I actually think this is a more accomplished script for the most part as the foreshadowing and stuff feels less sloppy and the character interactions are wonderful, but I’ve seen this a few times now and every time I start out going “man I was wrong, this is actually amazing; wait no, it’s lost me again.”

143. Logan Lucky (2017) - Sky Cinema

Spoiler

Sometimes my reasons for watching something can be a bit contrived – this was a result of playing a Hitman level that reminded me of enjoying Logan Lucky.

Much of Logan Lucky can be tossed aside, but I enjoyed some of the things it did differently. You've got a load of below-average-intelligence characters in a situation usually reserved for the George Clooneys of this world which is, imo, more fun to watch, plus it plays into what is essentially a final act showing the investigation into the heist. It also teaches you about the heist while on the job which is quite unconventional, less satisfying but allowed for a bit more time to be spent enjoying the practicalities of it rather than rushing through them. 

144. Nope (2022)* - Cinema

Spoiler

The first time I saw Get Out I thought it was pretty good, but upon rewatch I thought it was wonderful. The first time I saw Us I thought it wasn’t very good, but upon rewatch I appreciated the first hour a lot. So it’s hard to come to a definitive conclusion about Nope after just seeing it once, as the main thing I associate Jordan Peele’s films with is his playful foreshadowing which you don’t notice as much, if at all, in one viewing.

But I wasn’t too fond of this. It might have some of his best horror work and the characters are likeable enough if underwritten, however there’s none of the excitement of his other work and, weirdly, I found it really miserable – actually surprisingly depressing. That’s not necessarily bad but I was taken aback by it and it added to my apathy. 

Get Out and Us were a bit more straightforward regarding what they were about but I struggled more with Nope as it aims much higher than those two. I'll give it another bash one day though. 

[MSU]

113 Freddy vs Jason -- At this point in the series, I don't really care anymore and if anything having Jason run alongside Freddy just underlines what a dull character he's become. It's not the worst Friday the 13th movie, it's not the worst Nightmare on Elm Street movie, but other than obvious cash grab is obvious, I'm struggling to find a reason for it existing. 4/10 with an entire point for the vertigo zoom.

114 Friday the 13th -- The 2009 reboot that no one was asking for has two cold openings. Two. The backstory gets its own backstory. Kinda smacks like they were struggling to fill an hour and a half. What remains isn't all bad, and the references to Julianna Guill's "perfectly positioned nipples" were amusing and entirely correct. But again, why bother? So that's the end of the Friday the 13th marathon. Out of the 12 movies, I probably liked two, thought another two were somewhat enjoyable, and the rest, including this, were pretty forgettable. 5/10

115 Jaws -- Back on the big screen! I couldn't get out of my pit in time to catch the IMAX presentation so I had to make do with the 3D. I've never been a fan of 3D. The only movie I thought it added anything was Avatar. It wasn't bad here. It didn't add anything but it didn't really spoil anything either and after 20 minutes I forgot all about it. This is the first time I'd seen Jaws on the big screen and I highly recommend it. Everything seems to work that little bit better. You get a better sense of the Orca's isolation, the panic on the beach scenes and the vertigo zoom are incredible, and even old Bruce manages to look less mechanical. Still wish I'd seen it on IMAX or just a regular screen, but as we approach its 50th anniversary, it's really remarkable how this story has stood up and batted away attempts from pretenders. 10/10

116 The Ballad of Lefty Brown (#60 in the A24 series) -- Aw, boo. The A24 catalogue has dropped from Showtime so I need to start renting these from Amazon or iTunes now. I think this is a mission in Red Dead Redemption 2, sadly not one of the standouts. Bill Pullman is great as Lefty, a bit of a sidekick who goes off to avenge the murder of his buddy Ed, the local lawman and newly voted Senator, played by Peter Fonda. The further Lefty travels, the closer to home the story becomes. Really good cast, lovely to look at, but it's a dull couple of hours. Despite it's $8m budget, it pulled in a mere $8k at the box-office and received no marketing backing from A24. There are worse movies, which makes it all a bit weirder. Why people invest in movies is a mystery to me.

117 Barbarian -- Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives in Detroit in the middle of the night ahead of a job interview the next day. She checks in at her Air BnB to find that there has been a double booking and Keith (Bill Skarsgård) is already there and against her better judgement, she accepts his offer to spend the night anyway. If you are going to see this, I recommend avoiding anymore information than that and to go in with your patient hat on. It's probably the best horror movie I've seen this year, certainly the most enjoyable. 8.5/10

[Detournement]

@accies 1874

I watched The American Friend during lockdown when I was polishing off a bottle of red most nights so the plot is a bit hazy to me as well but I do remember Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz being very good. Wenders was great at filming cities. In TAF you get crumbling Hamburg and modernist Paris, in Paris, Texas you see car dominated LA and Houston and Wings Of Desire is a visual love letter to West Berlin.

@MSU

Get on Pirate Bay

Last night I watched Licorice Pizza again. It's still great. 

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Detournement

[accies1874]

[mention=16134]accies 1874[/mention]
I watched The American Friend during lockdown when I was polishing off a bottle of red most nights so the plot is a bit hazy to me as well but I do remember Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz being very good. Wenders was great at filming cities. In TAF you get crumbling Hamburg and modernist Paris, in Paris, Texas you see car dominated LA and Houston and Wings Of Desire is a visual love letter to West Berlin.
[mention=65435]MSU[/mention]
Get on Pirate Bay
Last night I watched Licorice Pizza again. It's still great. 
 

Well I was sober on a Sunday morning and the plot was still hazy for me. I was gonna watch Paris, Texas as it was on All4 too but it came off before I got to watch it. Will defos make time for it soon as well as his other stuff.

[BigDoddyKane]

Drive with Ryan Gosling and Cary Mulligan. I had watched a bit of it before but never got into it  This time though I really enjoyed it. Gosling and Mulligan had a good chemistry. The dialogue at times is sparse but that gives you time to really watch the expressions and Mulligan is so good. The supporting cast is really strong too. 

Byran Cranston from breaking bad is good as is Perlman from sons of anarchy but I thought the guy playing the main Jewish Gangster was the best, he played it with a nice understatement. He had that moments in scenes where it was open enough to make you wonder what he meant by his expression and acting. 

Its well filmed, theres a hint of Miami Vice at times and MIchael Mann. 

Very enjoyable watch

 

 

 

[Stellaboz]

Started Between Two Ferns last night. Absolutely hilarious. 

[Busta Nut]

Clerks III

It was great, loads of fan pleasing moments.

[Detournement]

Sorcerer 

All I knew about this was it stars Rod Steiger and is directed by William Friedkin. A very long opening sets up very interesting back stories for the four main characters which is a complete waste of time as it ends up just being about driving lorries through the jungle. Underwhelming but the Tangerine Dream electro soundtrack is class. 

[BFTD]

3 minutes ago, Detournement said:

Sorcerer 

All I knew about this was it stars Rod Steiger and is directed by William Friedkin. A very long opening sets up very interesting back stories for the four main characters which is a complete waste of time as it ends up just being about driving lorries through the jungle. Underwhelming but the Tangerine Dream electro soundtrack is class. 

I remember some film critic claiming that this was the greatest film of all time. Still haven't seen it.

Not sure if Mark Kermode is still banging on about The Exorcist being the best. William Friedkin seems to have a very strange effect on some people; the first one of his films I ever saw was The Guardian, and I think it made me immune to his charms.

[pittsburgh phil]

Sorcerer 
All I knew about this was it stars Rod Steiger and is directed by William Friedkin. A very long opening sets up very interesting back stories for the four main characters which is a complete waste of time as it ends up just being about driving lorries through the jungle. Underwhelming but the Tangerine Dream electro soundtrack is class. 

Roy Scheider wasn't it?

[Detournement]

52 minutes ago, pittsburgh phil said:

3 hours ago, Detournement said:

Sorcerer 
All I knew about this was it stars Rod Steiger and is directed by William Friedkin. A very long opening sets up very interesting back stories for the four main characters which is a complete waste of time as it ends up just being about driving lorries through the jungle. Underwhelming but the Tangerine Dream electro soundtrack is class. 

Roy Scheider wasn't it?

Aye. I'm operating on reduced brain power this week. 

[scottsdad]

Jaws

Went to see this at the cinema tonight. It was showing in 3D.

I have seen 3D movies before, like the recent pisspoor Star Wars ones. But nothing has ever compared to this. 

It helps that this is an absolute classic. As a movie it excels. But in 3D it was at another level, particularly in the final act set on the Orca. Honestly felt like the shark was coming at me. This film hasn't scared me in a long time but it did tonight. 

Just wonderful. 

[Ewan8472]

I watched Zodiac fairly recently.

Well done.

However Wikipedia does not seem to be as sure of the killer's identity as the film

 

[Ewan8472]

On 20/08/2022 at 21:54, Mark Connolly said:

Currently watching The World is Not Enough on ITV

It's entertaining enough, as with most Bond films. Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist though. And calling her "Christmas", just for some double entendre opportunities.

Carlyle and Coltrane.

AND  Sophie Marceau as well !

 

[jimmy boo]

Sorcerer 
All I knew about this was it stars Rod Steiger and is directed by William Friedkin. A very long opening sets up very interesting back stories for the four main characters which is a complete waste of time as it ends up just being about driving lorries through the jungle. Underwhelming but the Tangerine Dream electro soundtrack is class. 

I only got round to watching the film last year despite having the soundtrack LP for decades along with dozens more by Tangerine Dream. Decent enough if a bit low budget and dated looking.

[Paul Kersey]

On 14/09/2022 at 15:24, Detournement said:

Sorcerer 

All I knew about this was it stars Rod Steiger and is directed by William Friedkin. A very long opening sets up very interesting back stories for the four main characters which is a complete waste of time as it ends up just being about driving lorries through the jungle. Underwhelming but the Tangerine Dream electro soundtrack is class. 

I enjoyed it. One of the films where not much happens but it's strangely compelling.

On 14/09/2022 at 15:33, BFTD said:

I remember some film critic claiming that this was the greatest film of all time. Still haven't seen it.

Not sure if Mark Kermode is still banging on about The Exorcist being the best. William Friedkin seems to have a very strange effect on some people; the first one of his films I ever saw was The Guardian, and I think it made me immune to his charms.

Friedkin made Cruising and To Live and Die in LA.

Two of my all time favourites.

[UpInTheAyr]

The Alpinist.

If you've seen Free Solo it's like that but more extreme.

[UpInTheAyr]

Friedkin made Cruising and To Live and Die in LA.
Two of my all time favourites.

Yeah big fan of Cruising, although feels like I shouldn't be.

[MSU]

118 The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (#61 in the A24 series) -- Yikes. Sidney Hall is a genius writer and we know this because everyone he meets in the movie tells him this. Also, women are helplessly needy because every woman in this movie are helplessly needy. It's not hard to imagine that this is how the writer and director Shawn Christensen imagines himself. Self-indulgant and wanky. 3/10, mostly for Elle Fanning.

119 The Broadway Melody (#2 in the Best Picture Oscar series) -- The second movie to pick up Best Picture at the Oscars is a musical, and not a very good one. The title song is only memorable because they sing it every few minutes. Badly written and acted, I assume it got Best Picture because there was sound and people were signing. 2/10

120 The Last Movie Star (#62 in the A24 series) -- Burt Reynolds plays a version of himself, an aging movie star duped into travelling to a small indie film festival in Nashville to receive a lifetime achievement award, where he meets Lil, his aggressively feisty chauffeur, and [cue music] maybe learns a little something about himself. I liked it quite a lot of this despite it being kinda obvious. I'd have liked it a lot more with a toned down schmaltzy ending, but it's hard not to love Burt Reynolds. 7/10

121 Lean on Pete (#63 in the A24 series) -- 15 year old Charley (Charlie Plummer) lives with his mostly absent father and finds purpose working as a horse trainer. When he learns an aging racehorse is destined for an adhesive end, he kidnaps the beast and goes on a coming of age style journey across country. Poignant in places and Plummer turns in a far better performance here than he will do some years later in Moonfall. 6/10

122 Pearl (#120 in the A24 series) -- This is a prequel to X, which I thought was okay, that supposedly is an origin story for Pearl, the horny killer granny villain. It falls into the same traps as X where despite being interesting and promising, it has difficulty turning the promise into a decent third act. A lot will be made of Mia Goth, who is the best thing in it, and a 6 minute monologue, but it's no substitute for a satisfying ending and now I'm not sure Ti West knows how to write one. And despite it being an origin story, I'm not sure I learned a single thing about Pearl's character I didn't already know from X. 4/10

123 See How They Run -- Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan are great in this old-fashioned British murder-mystery based around The Mousetrap which manages to also work as a decent spoof of itself. It's like the movie is in massive air quotes. Tim Key as the police commissioner manages to steal every scene he's in. 8/10

[UpInTheAyr]

The Devils (1971)

Favourite of mine from Ken Russell, just got round to watching it again. Proper weird freaky shit. Probably the best way to sum it up.