Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[cigar joe]

Lawrence of Arabia - 8/10
Hadn't seen it in a while. WAY TOO LONG, WAY TOO MUCH MUSIC, WAY TOO MUCH PRE-BRANDO OVERACTING. The rest of it is still as great as they say it is. I swear to the gods of cinema that one day I'll make an epic movie one day that will have as much materiality/physicality/howeveryoucallit as this.

you mean by Peter O'Toole I assume

[noodles_leone]

The overacting? Yes, Peter O'Toole is the main culprit here. Obi-Wan and Omar Sharif are great. Some extras do tend to act a bit ike characters from a Kurosawa movie too but nothing too bad.

[stanton]

Post-Brando, not pre. Or?

Lawrence has some great stuff, of course,  but also too much Hollywood-cliche-characters, and the whole long ending is way too talky for a film. 8/10 will do it

[T.H.]

Cruising (1980) - While it's not on the level of Straight Time and Hardcore in terms of the meeting of character studies and crime yarns, it's a beautifully shot movie that doesn't quite stick the landing in its crime or character elements. Still a good movie, and to quote Norm....not gay enough. B

Sea of Love (1989) - Great pace, premise and cast, but it's dated visually and the twist is out of nowhere, and you know there's going to be some kind of twist or out. In a Lonely Place does this story incredibly better, but it's not bad whatsoever. It just needed a better director. B-

Miller's Crossing (1990) - A great retelling of Red Harvest/Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars with maybe some Le Doulos tossed in there. Excellent all around and gets better every time I see it. A-

Losin' It (1983) - A good bad movie where the atmosphere, cast and oldies soundtrack elevates a less than spectacular script. Even though it was shot in the early 80's, this movie's version of late 50's Tijuana feels like the late 50's with some very cool bars/clubs/brothel type places. The first hour is pretty fun but then things begin to drag -- but ultimately it's a fun late night movie to visit every now and then. For me, anyways. C

[noodles_leone]

Miller's Crossing (1990) - A great retelling of Red Harvest/Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars with maybe some Le Doulos tossed in there. Excellent all around and gets better every time I see it. A-

It does get better every time. The one thing that keeps bothering me is how slow and fake the action scene feels.

[dave jenkins]

Miller's Crossing (1990) - A great retelling of Red Harvest/Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars with maybe some Le Doulos tossed in there. Excellent all around and gets better every time I see it. A-

Uh . . . The Glass Key? You couldn't mention that one (and it's the nearest match)?

[dave jenkins]

The way I see it, Don't look Now is the missing link between Peckinpah's experiments and a whole new school of editing that I have trouble finding a word for, but here are some of the films I include in it:


- Maybe even the "blue flashes/close ups" in Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs : Bleu

Speaking of which, for the 4K, how could they fuck up the blue in a film called Bleu ? https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Three-Colors-Blue-4K-Blu-ray/327469/#Review

[T.H.]

It does get better every time. The one thing that keeps bothering me is how slow and fake the action scene feels.

The tommy gun scene set to 'Danny Boy' is great though. I found it much more surreal than unrealistic, though it can be accused of that.

Uh . . . The Glass Key? You couldn't mention that one (and it's the nearest match)?

I honestly don't remember much of the story and need to at least give the '42 movie another watch.

[T.H.]

State of Grace (1990) - This just doesn't have anything close to the visual flair of Phil Joanou's excellent debut, Three O'Clock High. It's mostly of its time, and not in a good way. It is scored by the maestro, but that type of score feels very out of place for a (then) contemporary movie set in Hell's Kitchen. The pace of this really slows down in the last hour or so, and the story just doesn't pay off the way you want it to. It doesn't know if it wants to be more of an epic or a character driven movie. This just didn't hold up the way I was expecting it to, and Gary Oldman is such a showy actor. I'd argue very selfish as well, though his performance can range from terrific to ostentatious. C 

[dave jenkins]

Sasame Yuki/ The Makioka Sisters (1983) - 8/10.  In the 1930s, four sisters, Osakan department store heiresses, must navigate a changing world. From a famous novel by Tanizaki (one of many adaptations). The synthesizer score and the high key lighting make this appear, at times, like an 80s TV ad, but the story is compelling and the acting is, although stagey, always engaging. There's also plenty of humor.

[dave jenkins]

Searching For Ingmar Bergman (2018) - 10/10. Margarethe von Trotta's very personal take on her idol, with great comments along the way from Olivier Assayas, Mia Hansen-Love, Carlos Saura, and many others. Bergman's son Daniel has some truly amazing things to say. Special attention is given to the years Bergman spent in Munich. MvT credits Bergman with inspiring her own career as a director, so this film is especially good for those interested in both filmmakers.

[T.H.]

Uh . . . The Glass Key? You couldn't mention that one (and it's the nearest match)?

Okay, I agree, and now that stiff comment makes a lot more sense:

The Glass Key (1942) - Very liberated and feels more like a 50's French noir than an early Hollywood one. This might be better than The Maltese Falcon since there is a little more scope and some violent scenes like Ladd escaping his captors, which holds up incredibly well. A-


They Live (1988) - One of the quickest 90 minutes you'll ever experience. This is such a well crafted movie, and a huge accomplishment considering its budget. Carpenter is one of the best to ever do it. Period. A

[dave jenkins]

The Glass Key (1942) - Very liberated and feels more like a 50's French noir than an early Hollywood one. This might be better than The Maltese Falcon since there is a little more scope and some violent scenes like Ladd escaping his captors, which holds up incredibly well. A-

The sadomasochism from William Bendix is almost impossible to believe. I guess the censors didn't get it.

[dave jenkins]

Hour of the Wolf (1968) - 5/10. I've gone back to this film time and time again, waiting for the wolf to appear. Nary a glimpse. Effing Bergman!

Boku wa Ryoshi ni Natta / I am Become a Hunter (2021) - 9/10. An NHK documentary on Shinya Senmatsu, Japan's #1 DIY guide to hunting in the land of the rising sun. Actually trapping (he uses neither a rifle or bow). There's no wolf in this one either (unless you count Senmatsu-san). Mostly we see him dispatching wild boar, occasionally deer as well. He traps them, clubs them, then gives them a shiv in the heart. He does his own butchering (and gets his kids involved). He uses every part of the animals he can. He always eats the heart first, pan fried in the animal's grease. Great how-to video. So far this is only available on a Japanese DVD without English subtitles, but even without language it is easy to understand, especially when the knives come out.

[stanton]

Hour of the Wolf (1968) - 5/10. I've gone back to this film time and time again, waiting for the wolf to appear. Nary a glimpse. Effing Bergman!

Oh, come on, what's wrong  with the drinking water in NY? This is actually his best film (together with Persona meanwhile), a really excellent film. 10/10 yes, yes, yes ...