RATE or REVIEW The Last Movie You Watched.

[karamazov80]

Great performances from Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck. I saw the film as a child and as I have moved through life I always think of Fred MacMurray when I seek or think of life Insurance

Supposedly every major star turned that role down, because they thought they would be tainted by the role being so dark and disturbing. But it was ultimately a strike of genius to cast a guy who seems so genial and trustworthy to play this sociopath. In the scene where he first appears at the door of the house, the maid doesn't know what he's trying to sell, and that is a big part of why he works. He could have been selling anything door to door, and would have been believable in that role. It was particularly clever when you think of when this movie was made. There was no template for doing stuff like this. The car not starting after they plant the body became a common way of building suspense, but was never done before this movie.

 

[karamazov80]

Sorcerer: 7.5/10

This was one of those movies that got panned on initial release and has developed more appreciation years later, but is most well known as a victim of horrible timing, as it was released around the same time as Star Wars. So, it failed commercially, despite being made by one of the most well respected and accomplished directors of the time.

I thought this was really good. The suspense was off the charts in some scenes, and the pacing was good across the board. Every scene was obviously crafted with great care and skill, which you would expect from Friedkin. The truck scene on the bridge was crazy, and I'm not sure how he did it. Generally, these were unlikable characters who you didn't intuitively root for (all were in this situation because they did horrible things that put them there), which may have also been to the detriment of the film's success, but I personally love movies that focus on scoundrels and live in shades of gray.

 

[The Entity]

Meg 2: The Trench - 6.5/10
Is it a good movie? No. Did I have fun watching it? Hell yes!
It's just over the top, bat**** crazy, doesn't make any sense whatsoever, but it kept me entertained throughout. A good old popcorn flick.

 

[greygoose]

Meg 2: The Trench - 6.5/10
Is it a good movie? No. Did I have fun watching it? Hell yes!
It's just over the top, bat**** crazy, doesn't make any sense whatsoever, but it kept me entertained throughout. A good old popcorn flick.

Would have liked to have seen more action at the bottom of the trench. It had some good Deep Blue Sea vibes going on before they decided to return to the surface where it fell apart and was a rehash of the first. The third act also reminded me of the end of Battleship when on land.

 

[a-dev]

I don't like Jason Statham. I don't know what it is but when I'm flicking through the stations and I see him I immediately flick right on past. Although I did watch the first Meg.

 

[karamazov80]

The Birds: 6/10

I never saw this until yesterday. It was always held up as a masterpiece, and the tension and terror of the birds was extremely well done for the time, but the movie didn't have much else going for it. Maybe there was more subtext going on between Hedren and the guy's mother that I missed, and maybe there was more to the comment made that Hedren was evil and caused the birds to appear, but none of that was fleshed out very well, and so the story as a whole fell pretty flat with me. The last scene in the car was thought provoking, but that wasn't enough of a pay off to justify the lack of an interesting story. Acting wasn't all that great, either. Best performance was probably Newhart's TV wife and some of the kids who were screaming and running around.

I can definitely see how this would be nightmare fuel for some, though. I imagine kids in particular would be absolutely terrified by some scenes.

I don't like Jason Statham. I don't know what it is but when I'm flicking through the stations and I see him I immediately flick right on past.

Same. I think I may be more against what he represents than anything, as all his movies are lowest common denominator stuff. There will always be a place for a guy like him, but I don't relate to him, and I don't like his characters and films he is in. Having said that, I suspect he could be used really well by a good filmmaker in the right role, like the way Batista has been used, or even someone like Burt Reynolds, who chose to be in many horrible movies, but had some talent and was great when used correctly.

 

[Rotfish]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - 7/10

The lack of a strong emotional core prevented it from being as good as Spider-Verse, but man, this was great. A 12 year-old's fever dream put to a big budget with yet another innovative animation style. I really appreciate that.

 

[goatchumby]

Five Nights at Freddy’s

This was my daughter’s pick as she is a massive fan of the games and their lore. Good thing for her, the theater was packed with like-minded (and audibly-pleased) fans who got all of the in-jokes, appearances and cameos.

For the rest of us, there’s a film that is one part modern psych thriller and one part 80’s schlock horror. Fortunately for me, I welcome the occasional absurd premise when it comes to moviegoing.

The gore is purposefully toned down for the pre-teen fans, but there are two sequences that are gruesome enough to have a pair of uninitiated parents leading their toddlers out of the theater. The themes of child abduction and trauma might be enough to keep older viewer’s involved, but the giant animatronics might be a bit of a hill to climb for those looking for a more plausible thriller.

The film tries to please audiences dedicated for each of its hybrid themes, but ultimately it is the fans who will come away loving this one the most. That is great, as my 13-year-old franchise fan was most pleased with her time at the movies.

 

[Sassafras]

Suicide Squad #2. IMO this was
Whatever redeeming qualities #1 had, even Alba and Robey couldn't make a turkey out of this bucket of offal.
It was just stupid. And sticky. Think every scene had to have goo of some kind in it.

 

[The Entity]

The Nun II - 5/10
I liked the story better than the first one, but the lack of the Nun herself made it fall short for me. She's barely in it. According to IMDb a whopping 2 minutes and 57 seconds in an eponymous movie that's 1 hour and 55 minutes long...
I seem to remember reading somewhere that Bonnie Aarons was suing Warner for something or another about payment etc. and I'm not sure if that has something to do with it, but more than half the time we saw her she looked CGI fake. So yeah... Not quite a bad movie, but it was lacking IMO. Also not really scary.

 

[choombaz]

Doom 4/10
Great cast, awful film. Nuff said.

Crank 3/10
I’ve been really disappointed in some of my choices lately although the sex scene in the middle of this film has to be seen to be believed. No studio would want to have that scene today. I can’t believe the good rep this film supposedly has.

The Long Goodbye 6.5/10
The Robert Altman version with Elliot Gould. There is a lot to like about this, Gould just cracks me up with his behaviors, the way he keeps finding different ways of lighting a match (superb!), the LA location work is great and some of the plotting is fantastic (it is Chandler after all) But it didn’t quite hang together for me.

Fright Night 8.5/10
Love love love this. My Halloween film this year and the UHD came just in time. The picture quality is staggering and Brad Fiedel’s awesome eighties soundtrack is fantastic. The writing, directing and acting in this is so good. Sarandon just oozes sex appeal even if his wardrobe is hysterical. Tom Holland does so much good work in making all of these characters relatable and gives them backstory and full lives, even the smaller characters. Some of the effects are terrific but some are really shoddy and the 4K unfortunately highlights that. But I don’t care.

Beverly Hills Cop 9/10
My son has been pestering me for nearly a year to watch this and he’s 12 now so I figured ok. He loved it and wants to watch the others now (oh no!). The sequels can’t hold anything to this because no matter how silly it gets, it still seems reasonably plausible. The sequels just got more and more unrealistic (and unfunny). I love the grittiness of this one. Those opening shots of Detroit really constant nicely with LA. The writing is tight but there is obviously a lot of improv as well. The bad guys are really bad and Berkoff and Jonathan Banks (so so young!) are off the charts evil. Ashton and Reinhold are a great comedy team but also work so well with Ronny Cox who plays it very straight. So much quotable dialogue. It was one of those films we quoted endlessly at school. “Is this the man who wrecked the buffet at the Harrow Club this morning?”. Lisa Eilbacher was someone in the eighties who I thought deserved a lot better. She works so well with Murphy and has some incredible moments where she just stops talking and pauses. She gives great pause. And the film is only about 100 minutes long! Such a tight, efficient perfect film.

 

[Sixth Scale Man]

At Close Range 7.5/10
Another older film that still has a lot of power behind it. Sean Penn and Christopher Walken are fantastic. Walken especially is just so amazingly seductive and charming. He plays it a little bit like a vampire basically. And i had forgotten what a stacked supporting cast this has - Chris Penn, Stephen Geoffreys (Evil Ed from Fright Night), Mary Stuart Masterson (sigh, who is so lovely. Makes me want to watch Some Kind Of Wonderful again), Candy Clark, Kiefer Sutherland, David Strathairn (who barely says a word but has a great intense presence), Tracey Walter and Crispin Glover!

This Is Spinal Tap 11/10
Still a masterpiece.

Wish I could like more than once for the score you gave Spinal Tap.

 

[Sixth Scale Man]

Midsommar 8/10
Whoa. Is Ari Aster ok? Seriously though, slow burn and dread in a beautiful and serene environment. Florence Pugh is incredible. Just kept thinking “Leave now!” after the 72year olds did what they did. I’m sure it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but Aster is quite the storyteller.

Color Out Of Space 5/10
Dunno. The art direction was pretty amazing and it had some creepy and gooey physical effects but it didn’t quite “congeal” for me. The characters made some strange decisions, but maybe it was the influence of the meteor. I thought Annihilation did more with the concept of the Shimmer.

Invaders From Mars 2/10
The score is for the fun creatures by Stan Winston. Everything else around it was dreck. One of those 80’s films I remember liking as a kid but did not hold up to adult eyes.

 

[choombaz]

Midsommar 8/10
Whoa. Is Ari Aster ok? Seriously though, slow burn and dread in a beautiful and serene environment. Florence Pugh is incredible. Just kept thinking “Leave now!” after the 72year olds did what they did. I’m sure it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but Aster is quite the storyteller.

Color Out Of Space 5/10
Dunno. The art direction was pretty amazing and it had some creepy and gooey physical effects but it didn’t quite “congeal” for me. The characters made some strange decisions, but maybe it was the influence of the meteor. I thought Annihilation did more with the concept of the Shimmer.

Invaders From Mars 2/10
The score is for the fun creatures by Stan Winston. Everything else around it was dreck. One of those 80’s films I remember liking as a kid but did not hold up to adult eyes.

Pretty much agree with everything you’ve said. Although Annihilation I didn’t really like at the time but want to go back and give it another chance. And although I’m the same about Invaders when I saw it as a kid there was always something that bugged me about it and yeah watching it now, it’s just embarrassingly bad. Such awful writing and acting. I’m normally a Hooper defender but not this one.

Out Of Sight 8.5/10
Watched this for the billionth time and first time in UHD. Love love love it. Everything about it. Jennifer Lopez kicks @##, Clooney is the best when he’s a bit goofy, but he’s also incredibly charming with a Cary Grant quality, Steve Zahn is hysterical (“I’m not stealing this car. I already stole it …. Last week.”), one of best Ving Rhames support roles, love his constant ringing his sister with his robbery guilt. Exceptionally well written and performed and Soderbergh just nails the styles to the locations. I’m a sucker for Elmore Leonard movies. And that sting. Well I will just say, a certain Marvel honcho must have been watching.

 

[karamazov80]

Yojimbo: 9.5/10

Masterpiece. One of the most iconic screen performances there is. Also one of the best title sequences in my opinion. Simple but perfect.

 

[Sixth Scale Man]

Yojimbo: 9.5/10

Masterpiece. One of the most iconic screen performances there is. Also one of the best title sequences in my opinion. Simple but perfect.

I have a Kurosawa sized hole in my film viewing. Must rectify.

 

[choombaz]

Yojimbo: 9.5/10

Masterpiece. One of the most iconic screen performances there is. Also one of the best title sequences in my opinion. Simple but perfect.

I have a Kurosawa sized hole in my film viewing. Must rectify.

Yeah I love Kurosawa but really haven’t seen enough. Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Rashomon are my favorites but there are a **lot** I have to catch up on as well - i think Throne Of Blood will be next on my list.

 

[karamazov80]

Following up, I was watching the Criterion Blu Ray and it has a great mini documentary on the film. Sometimes these are more interesting than others, but this one really gets into Kurosawa's approach and mindset, his relationship with Mifune and other actors, and some of the technical stuff that I wondered about when watching the film such as how they made that great, severed human hand and how they handled the wind and sand, which was really involved.

 

[choombaz]

Following up, I was watching the Criterion Blu Ray and it has a great mini documentary on the film. Sometimes these are more interesting than others, but this one really gets into Kurosawa's approach and mindset, his relationship with Mifune and other actors, and some of the technical stuff that I wondered about when watching the film such as how they made that great, severed human hand and how they handled the wind and sand, which was really involved.

That’s great thanks. I’ve got that bluray and haven’t watched anything on it yet.

 

[Remembermyname]

The Killer... Michael Fassbender.For me 9/10 but you choose. Slick entertainment featuring dialogue that shall be recited on this forum and elsewhere in the fullness of time....Enjoy.