Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[dave jenkins]

Meltdown: King Crimson Live in Mexico (2018) 10/10. The best incarnation of the best band giving very good performances of the best set list ever ("Cirkus"! Highlights from Lizard! "Islands"! "Fractured"!!!). The blu is shot on digital and looks crisp if somewhat cold. The use of split screen for the trio of drummers is particularly effective, a huge improvement over the approach used for 2016's Live in Japan video. The show lasts about 2 hours. 3CDs are included.

[moorman]

Sicilian Clan (1969)  Everybody is here.  Jean Gabin. Lino Ventura. Alain Delon, Enrico Morricone.  A SOLID ensemble of some of the best of French Noir/Gangster films.  I was pleasantly surprised by this.  Most times when a allstar cast is put together the resulting project is a wreck.  Not in this one.  Outside of a weak scene involving the plane landing this was a solid picture through out.  I rank it 8.5 out of 10...

[moorman]

Naked City (1948)  Dassin created a beautiful picture of New York City with this but it was backed by a horrible script.  This puts it right in the middle of a 5 out of 10.

[moorman]

Un Flic (1972)  Most people consider this the weakest of the Melville gangster/heist films and they are correct.  Its a damn good film.  Two things hold it back. First is the horrible helicopter scenes.   Very against the attention to detail that Melville is known for.  Second is the love triangle in the film.  It was VERY contrived because none of the characters had been developed enough for us to care for any of them in that regard.  Other than that Melville put together a pretty solid film. I rank this 7 out of 10...

[moorman]

Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954)  A VERY good gangster film from Jacques Becker.  Jean Gabin is in the lead.  Lino Ventura makes a appearance. I was pleasantly surprised at how the director nailed the American Gangster films.  Again, the French RAWNESS and GRITTINESS makes this a step above what you normally see in the American Genres of the same.  The moral codes of honor touched about are just nailed in the performance of Gabin.  This is a solid 9 out of 10...

[moorman]

Plein Soleil (1960)  This film snuck up on me.  For about the first 30 minutes or so I didn't particularly like the script.  The relationship between the two leads, Alain Delon and Maurice Ronet seemed kinda weird.  After viewing the whole film the first part fit.  This took me by surprise.  Tom Ripley ( Alain Delon ) is sent to Italy by the father of playboy Phillip Greenleaf ( Maurice Ronet) with instructions to bring him back to the United States.  You guys know the rest.  Excellent performances by all the lead characters and a script that took off and surprised you.  I haven't seen the remake with Matt Damon but I feel that this was a project that Leonardo Capricio should've done if anybody.  I rank this one a 9 out of 10...

[dave jenkins]

The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1971) DCP - 10/10. A goalie misses a save, then wanders around for two hours of screen time. There is also a murder.  It's basically The Stranger set in Vienna, but retold so that the Meursault-like character never pays for his crime. Wenders packs in shots of trains, jukeboxes, bottles of beer. Robby Muller's colors are delirious; the score is both whimsical and menacing. It's hard to believe I've had to wait 43 years to see this masterpiece.

Watched the new Blu-ray from the UK: a very faithful transfer of the DCP. There are a couple of interesting-sounding extras that I haven't had time to watch yet. Nice booklet, too.

[moorman]

Le Trou (1960)  A very good film.  Based on a true event and with 4 of the real characters involved in the film.   I rate this one a 10 out of 10...

[dave jenkins]

L'amour d'une femme / The Love of a Woman (1953). 8/10. A woman doctor (Micheline Presle) accepts a post on the island of Ouessant and meets an engineer (Massimo Girotti) on temporary assignment but in permanent caveman mode. The question for the heroine then is whether to continue her career aiding the people of the island or give it up to run off with Mr. Hunk when he leaves. Don't worry, PC-watchers, she makes the right decision. I'm not a huge fan of Gremillon--Remorques and Lumiere d'ete do nothing for me--but I enjoyed this, due no doubt to all the wonderful location work and the beauty of the leads. And the story--a Gremillon original--spends a lot of time with the characters, major and minor, and makes them real. Unusually, we get to see people actually doing their jobs (we even witness what appears to be a real appendectomy). There are even a pair of children who have nothing to do with the plot who are observed with great care. This is a woman's picture, but one of quality.

[cigar joe]

They Drive by Night (1938) Brit Noir, Directed by Arthur B. Woods, starred Emlyn Williams, Anna Konstam, and Allan Jeayes. Williams a convict, just out of prison, is the main suspect in the murder of a taxi dancer gal pal, who he finds dead. The reason is that he's seen by the landlady acting strange as he leaves the boarding house. He splits, heading North with a lorry driver. 6-7/10.

Source Rare Film "The Cave Of Forgotten Films"

[dave jenkins]

Legend of the Holy Drinker (1988) 7/10. Olmi adapts Joseph Roth. In Paris, a homeless man (Rutger Hauer) is given 200 Francs and told to use it as he sees fit. The man is proud and insists he can take the money only if it is considered a loan. His benefactor says, Fine, if you want to pay it back, take it to the statue of St. Theresa in such-and-such a church and offer it to her. The man is determined to make good, but people and circumstances interfere (he likes women, he drinks, you get the picture). Nonetheless, every time he fails he is (miraculously?) granted another chance.  Beautifully filmed at several great locations (including Fontainebleau), the Blu-ray transfer (overseen by James White) of the restored film is immaculate.