Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[T.H.]

Fight Club (1999) - Where is this movie's mind? While it certainly feels, and sure as hell looks like some type of masterwork, it's one gigantic narrative cheat and not very bright. The book and subsequent movie are the type of works that spring up when times are generally pretty damn good -- though I'll give this movie credit for nailing and lampooning that strange late 90's/early 2000's Limp Bizkit/Woodstock '99 era. But so many of those kids misunderstood this movie, and what's actually to be understood, isn't very thought provoking. But it's masterfully shot outside of those dated CGI zooms of wires. B


Dirty Work (1998) - Yeah, well, things could be worse, you know....I could have got my nose bit off by a Saigon whore! RIP Norm

[uncknown]

Zappa (2020) - 10/10. Surprisingly well balanced, comprehensive, even affecting. I liked all the attention given his concert music. This is one of the rare cases where the talking heads actually have intelligent things to say. In this case, they actually know what they're talking about. Particularly insightful is Ruth Underwood, who was there at the beginning, there at the end, and still knows how to perform "Black Page" (which we see a snippet of her doing). On the blu there is even a deleted scene of Haskell Wexler talking about filming Uncle Meat. Now I guess I'll re-watch Medium Cool . . . (for which Zappa wrote the music).

Zappa appears in a club scene.
He sings one of his worst songs; another in his tiresome denounciations  of the counterculture.
He was a real reactionary at heart, despite his radical musical ideas.

[dave jenkins]

I Am Waiting (1957) - 6/10. Nikkatsu noir. A Yokohama cafe owner searches for his missing brother. I heard Eddie Muller in a podcast say good things about this film, so I had to try it. It's pretty much just a Japanese imitation of American crime films of the period, though. Nothing special.

Straight Time (1978) - 8/10. Dustin Hoffman violates his parole in order to rob banks with Harry Dean Stanton. Hey, Harry is a stand-up guy, why not? Great cast in addition to HDS: Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, M. Emmet Walsh, Kathy Bates, even an appearance by Eddie Bunker (who wrote the novel on which the movie is based). The only thing that doesn't really play is Dusty trying to throw his weight around. Who would credit that midget with being a heavy? Still, probably the greatest exploration of an ex-con's relationship with his parole officer. The new blu looks very good, in fact, probably better than the way the film looked in cinemas back in the day.