Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[dave jenkins]

The Gentlemen (2019) - 8/10. Guy Ritchie is back! And with a very funny Tarantino knock-off. I LMRIAO (OK, I'm not royal, not Irish, but I do have an ass). It's not up there with Wrath of Man (which is rock-solid serious), but it sure is fun. Great song selection, too: a Dave Rawlins tune, Can's "Vitamin C", The Jam's "That's Entertainment" to finish. Yeah, that's entertainment, all right (which is probably why n_L doesn't like it). Glad I've got the blu so I can spin it again and again.

[noodles_leone]

(which is probably why n_L doesn't like it)

I think you're only demonstrating that I trust, respect and love entertainment much more than you do! Entertainment doesn't mean you cannot reach stratospheric heights. Pure entertainment has the power of changing you as a person. "10/10" entertainment needs to be ambitious. GBU is a real entertainment masterpiece and shows off the true power of an actual "Yeah, baby!" movie. Something that is " lots of fun and next to 0 objective flaw" (which isn't what Ritchie has delivered for the past 20 years) and is forgotten within the next 48h is still considerably less good than GBU - as in: not in the same league, not even in the same world. I think we both agree on that. Where we differ is that I don't automatically change my rating scale just because it's pure entertainment: I'm still rating the film somewhere between turd level and GBU.

Glad you like Can's Vitamin C though. To me its best use in a movie so far is in Inherent Vice - the song seems to have been composed for that movie.

I'm also glad that you give The Gentlemen a 8 and not a 10, it gives me higher hopes for Wrath of Man!

[dave jenkins]

I'm also glad that you give The Gentlemen a 8 and not a 10, it gives me higher hopes for Wrath of Man!

Note that I was rating the IMAX version of WOM. Without IMAX, it too is more like an 8.

[noodles_leone]

Ha, ok then.

[dave jenkins]

They Won't Believe Me (1947) - 9/10. Any film that includes both Jane Greer and Susan Hayward is an event. But an even stronger visual draw are all those fabulous suits Robert Young wears throughout the picture. He never seems to wear the same one twice. In the courtroom framing device he exhibits a conservative gray-almost-white double-breasted job with a loud tie (we get that Bob is a flamboyant-tie kind of guy). When the flashback begins we see Bob in another double-breasted suit, this time with a light check pattern, and another loud tie, the proper attire for a kept husband who cheats. For his second illicit rendezvous with Jane Greer, he wears another light gray suit, this time with a window-pane motif (and yes, with another wild tie). Back home to pack and leave Greta (Rita Johnson), Bob has changed into tweeds, but it isn't long before he's lounging in silk PJs in his Pullman sleeper on the way to California. For his new job as an LA broker, Bob dons a charcoal gray (possibly navy) pin-striped double-breasted suit, this time complemented by a polka-dot tie. Later, when he runs into Janice (Jane Greer), he's wearing a similar suit but with a different (much louder) tie. Giving dictation at the office later, he sports a (brown or gray) 3-button, single-breasted number with wide stripes. At a concert with Greta he's in tux and black bow tie, and for his second confrontation scene with Greta he models another double-breasted dark suit with yet another striped pattern (this time the tie has paisleys). For the kiss-off scene with Velda (Susan Hayward) Bob makes good use of a gray pin-stripe with a fantastic tie of vertical stripes. At the Tulare County ranch house, Bob arrives in something resembling a shooting jacket, but later we see him in a checked shirt and trousers. Back in LA for his reunion with Velda, the well-dressed cad is wearing a light 3-piece suit with a grid pattern (and another crazy tie). For his escape to Reno with Velda, Bob dons a herringbone tweed jacket, which he is seen wearing at the hospital after the accident. In "Jamaica" (played by the California coast), Bob sits comfortably in a light gray, single-breasted suit with electric tie when he sees Janice yet again. For the plane ride home Bob wears a dark 3-piece with a subdued tie, but later, in the same suit, we see he's swapped out the first tie for one of his usual suspects (the return of the tie with the vertical stripes!). Later, for his confrontation with Trenton (Tom Powers), the suit has been swapped but the tie retained--it's in that tie that ultimately he's taken into police custody. Out of the flashback, we return to the courtroom and Bob's original suit, the tie now loosened, askew. When the sartorial niceties are no longer observed, things are certainly looking bad for our Bob.

[drinkanddestroy]

They Won't Believe Me (1947) - 9/10. Any film that includes both Jane Greer and Susan Hayward is an event. But an even stronger visual draw are all those fabulous suits Robert Young wears throughout the picture. He never seems to wear the same one twice. In the courtroom framing device he exhibits a conservative gray-almost-white double-breasted job with a loud tie (we get that Bob is a flamboyant-tie kind of guy). When the flashback begins we see Bob in another double-breasted suit, this time with a light check pattern, and another loud tie, the proper attire for a kept husband who cheats. For his second illicit rendezvous with Jane Greer, he wears another light gray suit, this time with a window-pane motif (and yes, with another wild tie). Back home to pack and leave Greta (Rita Johnson), Bob has changed into tweeds, but it isn't long before he's lounging in silk PJs in his Pullman sleeper on the way to California. For his new job as an LA broker, Bob dons a charcoal gray (possibly navy) pin-striped double-breasted suit, this time complemented by a polka-dot tie. Later, when he runs into Janice (Jane Greer), he's wearing a similar suit but with a different (much louder) tie. Giving dictation at the office later, he sports a (brown or gray) 3-button, single-breasted number with wide stripes. At a concert with Greta he's in tux and black bow tie, and for his second confrontation scene with Greta he models another double-breasted dark suit with yet another striped pattern (this time the tie has paisleys). For the kiss-off scene with Velda (Susan Hayward) Bob makes good use of a gray pin-stripe with a fantastic tie of vertical stripes. At the Tulare County ranch house, Bob arrives in something resembling a shooting jacket, but later we see him in a checked shirt and trousers. Back in LA for his reunion with Velda, the well-dressed cad is wearing a light 3-piece suit with a grid pattern (and another crazy tie). For his escape to Reno with Velda, Bob dons a herringbone tweed jacket, which he is seen wearing at the hospital after the accident. In "Jamaica" (played by the California coast), Bob sits comfortably in a light gray, single-breasted suit with electric tie when he sees Janice yet again. For the plane ride home Bob wears a dark 3-piece with a subdued tie, but later, in the same suit, we see he's swapped out the first tie for one of his usual suspects (the return of the tie with the vertical stripes!). Later, for his confrontation with Trenton (Tom Powers), the suit has been swapped but the tie retained--it's in that tie that ultimately he's taken into police custody. Out of the flashback, we return to the courtroom and Bob's original suit, the tie now loosened, askew. When the sartorial niceties are no longer observed, things are certainly looking bad for our Bob.

so dj tosses aside Jane Greer and Susan Hayward with a brief mention, then we get a thesis on the leading man's suits. I think dj is a living gay subtext

[dave jenkins]

The Web (1947) - 8/10. Features a really wonderfully evil Vincent Price while Ella Raines and Edmond O'Brien do some great verbal sparring. When Ella tells Eddie he should give up trying to make her because she's leaving town in a week, he has the perfect comeback: "A lot can happen in a week. France fell in 18 days, and you're not as tough as France." William Bendix is fantastic as the police force buddy who seemingly won't give his pal a break. The plot isn't bad, but they have to rely on the bad guy overplaying his hand for a happy finish. Still, was 1947 a great year for film, or what?

[noodles_leone]

Thin Red Line (1998) 8.5/10
Haden't seen it in a while. Great first part, it looses steam in the second part. It's still good, but the "calm" dialogue scenes never reach the intensity Malick was able to offer in the most "linear" scenes from his subsequent movies.
Now here are two issues I have with Terrence that are linked: people and nature are always too beautiful. He should definitely cast people who aren't among the 20 most beautiful people alive. And he should also show roten, violent nature. Especially here in TRL, where a character even mentions how nature is actually cruel and violent too. Malick's film would feel richer and truer to themselves if he wouldn't hide these things.

[dave jenkins]

Thin Red Line (1998) 8.5/10

Now here are two issues I have with Terrence that are linked: people and nature are always too beautiful. He should definitely cast people who aren't among the 20 most beautiful people alive. And he should also show roten, violent nature. Especially here in TRL, where a character even mentions how nature is actually cruel and violent too. Malick's film would feel richer and truer to themselves if he wouldn't hide these things.

This is a really astute comment.

[drinkanddestroy]

Thin Red Line (1998) 8.5/10
Haden't seen it in a while. Great first part, it looses steam in the second part. It's still good, but the "calm" dialogue scenes never reach the intensity Malick was able to offer in the most "linear" scenes from his subsequent movies.
Now here are two issues I have with Terrence that are linked: people and nature are always too beautiful. He should definitely cast people who aren't among the 20 most beautiful people alive. And he should also show roten, violent nature. Especially here in TRL, where a character even mentions how nature is actually cruel and violent too. Malick's film would feel richer and truer to themselves if he wouldn't hide these things.

I remember in Days of Heaven, Richard Gere was supposed to be a poor farmworker, but always had a crisp clean shirt and never a hair out of place

[noodles_leone]

I remember in Days of Heaven, Richard Gere was supposed to be a poor farmworker, but always had a crisp clean shirt and never a hair out of place

Exactly. He learned to do better after that. Since TRL the characters are all dirty and all when they should be. But they're still incredibly beautiful. They aren't even hollywood beautiful, they're fashion magazine cover beautiful. It didn't bother me too much in TRD but in Song to Song and even ToL it's a big issue. It's even worst in A Hidden Life (which is a good movie) because the actors are unknown to me.  In TRL, nature is the true issue.


Love, Death and Robots, season 2 (2021) 7/10
Another round of animated scifi anthology. Perfect lunch shorts. Lots of good ideas, but overall, these films are little more than technical and visual showreels for the different studios involved. It makes you want to watch or make good scifi, so that's good. Your little dose of inspiration. One of the shorts features the only example I have of horror "working" in an animated format: i mean that i felt fear. It would be ok in a live action short, it's incredibly rare in animation so it's an impressive feat. Weirdly enough, the best short of the bunch is done by Tim Miller himself. It's also the quieter.
Season 3 (which is probably just the second half of season 2) coming in a few months.

[Cusser]

I remember in Days of Heaven, Richard Gere was supposed to be a poor farmworker, but always had a crisp clean shirt and never a hair out of place

That always bothered me in American westerns: crisp clean clothes, all had perfect teeth, most clean shaven even on the trail...

[stanton]

That always bothered me in American westerns: crisp clean clothes, all had perfect teeth, most clean shaven even on the trail...

Depends very much which US westerns you watch.
In the 60s the dirtyness was already increasing before any Spag reached the states, but there are enough earlier westerns which have also a pretty dirty look.

[dave jenkins]

Johnny O'Clock (1947) - Third viewing.

Watched this again--man, what a film. Evelyn Keyes is quite fetching, and has a lot of fun with the verbal fencing. Dick Powell does his usual world-weary snark routine and to perfection. I liked the bit where, after learning a friend has betrayed him, he rips the guy's shirt off (earlier he'd given the guy the shirt as a gift). True, there's not a lot to the plot, but it's more than nothing. Ellen Drew makes a good lush and conniver. Thomas Gomez is good as the heavy heavy. There are a lot of non-essential bits that really make the film. There's a great routine where a nosy neighbor in an apartment building comes to see what police inspector Lee J. Cobb is up to and he sends her packing. Their exchange is a scream. The ending is rather lame and there isn't enough gun play, but on balance this rates an 8/10.

I'll stay pat with this review and rating. Was 1947 a great year for film, or what?

[dave jenkins]

The Panic in Needle Park (1971) - 10/10. Brilliantly executed and (therefore) really difficult to watch. Pacino and Richard Bright were never better. Whatever happened to Kitty Winn?