Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[dave jenkins]

Pride and Prejudice (1940) - 7/10. Larry Olivier and Greer Garson are Darcy and Liza, respectively, and although Garson is a bit too old for her part, both actors give creditable performances. The screenplay by Aldous Huxley and Someone Unfamous is a masterpiece of concision--what takes 5 hours in TV adaptations gets covered here in 2. Remarkably, almost all the scenes stay in, although some of the characters do not. There is also a bit of fudging with one character at the end, causing a bit of sentimentality to creep into Miss Austen's otherwise wry story, but it is brief and easy to overlook. The filmmakers, though, decided that Regency period fashions were too bland, so they relocated things to a time when women wore incredibly ludicrous clothes. I guess if anachronisms don't bother you, you can find some comedy relief in all those absurd hats and dresses.

[noodles_leone]

Last of us - part II 10/10

Yeah the two Last of us are officially video games (until the upcoming HBO show gets released) but they?re actually interactive movies. The first one was groundbreaking, and the second one, that lasts as long as a 3 season shows (about 30 hours of gameplay, cutscenes and everything in between) manages to build on that and gave me the most powerful and emotional experience I ever had with a game. It?s exactly as good as a great, great movie and makes you question some things about life. In short, in gets much further than any revenge movie ever went.

Now, it isn?t flawless. It shares the weaknesses of most 3 saison shows, where subplots feel like fillers while they?re actually doing character development more than movie the story forward. Some plot and gameplay points feel like it?s from some stupid 90?s video game. But all in all, it?s the best video game I?ve ever played through, it movies the media forward and goes where no other media could ever go: make the audience actively do stuff they aren?t on board with. It creates a very unique and incredibly strong feeling.

EDIT: I know 99% of you won't bother even checking out what this whole thing is about, but just in case, you've got a (mostly) full walkthrough here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iss5bRQ7yVM

[Cusser]

Soylent Green 6.5/10.

I hadn't seen this before, was on TCM.  The look of the future 2022 was sure depressing.  Leigh Taylor-Young was pretty fetching.

[Jill]

Taikoki (1987) - a fairly long TV movie about Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Rather cheesy at times but fun. Sonny Chiba kind of steals the show as Mitsuhide, who at first seems to be the bad guy but by the end he's a tragic anti-hero. It's very much historical fanfiction, for example, Nobunaga and Mitsuhide have an epic duel(!) in the flames of Honno-ji (that's extremely not how it happened). What is this, a Samurai Warriors game?  Later, after being defeated at Yamazaki, Mitsuhide commits seppuku (instead of being killed by some bandit) and delivers a dramatic monologue to Hideyoshi who politely listens. At this point I'm fairly sure I'm watching an Italian opera.

https://simone-boccanegra.tumblr.com/post/624768102541017088/so-im-watching-an-older-movie-about-hideyoshi-and

Here's my sort-of commentary and some screenshots.

[T.H.]

Soylent Green 6.5/10.

I hadn't seen this before, was on TCM.  The look of the future 2022 was sure depressing.  Leigh Taylor-Young was pretty fetching.

The 70's is probably, objectively speaking, the greatest decade in the history of movies, but it did not earn that distinction because of its sci-fi output. It's almost as if nearly every sci-fi movie from that era tried harder than the next to look like a murky and dreary John G. Avildsen flick.

[dave jenkins]

125 rue Montmartre (1959) - 5/10. Lino Ventura, getting it together again for the first time! This time Lino is Pascal, a humble hawker of newspapers. One day, a couple elect to make him Patsy #1, then proceed to Gaslight him. When this becomes apparent, half way through the film, all the air goes out of the adventure. The rest of the film is just Lino piecing it all together while the police stand by and cheer. Having seen the movie once, no one need ever watch it again. I never did figure out the significance of the title, though. Yeah, it's an address, but to what?

[noodles_leone]

Fitzcarraldo (1982) - 6.5/10
I like the idea (and the fact that they actually did it) way more than the actual film. But for Klaus, Claudia and the boat on the hill, the whole thing is worth it.

Also, for those who like the movie and its legend, the following short is a most see:

KILLING KLAUS KINSKI
BY SPIROS STATHOULOPOULOS
Clermont-Ferrand Competition
A Stathoulopoulos-style revision of the infamous myth of cinema history when, during filming Fitzcarraldo, Werner Herzog fantasized about killing Klaus Kinski.
https://vimeo.com/274979390

[Cusser]

Spaceballs, late 1980s, Mel Brooks spoof of Star Wars films.  Amusing, and some cute references to other films too such as Wizard of Oz, Planet of the Apes. 

Had several jokes that seemed to be like "Things you'd like to see" from Mad Magazine.

[cigar joe]

Spaceballs, late 1980s, Mel Brooks spoof of Star Wars films.  Amusing, and some cute references to other films too such as Wizard of Oz, Planet of the Apes. 

Had several jokes that seemed to be like "Things you'd like to see" from Mad Magazine.

You ever watch The Ice Pirates? That space opera spoof is a hoot also

[T.H.]

Hard Eight (1996) - There's a stoic, nuanced maturity here that's lacking in Magnolia, and Boogie Nights to a lesser extent - even if the latter is a personal favorite. While the second half doesn't quite hold up to the first half, the visuals, performances and beautifully tacky mid 90s Reno atmosphere carry this to the finish line - though it probably could have used another plotline later on. But anything inspired by Bob the Gambler is good in my book. I wish Anderson would make another full blown crime film. B+

[noodles_leone]

Hard Eight (1996) - There's a stoic, nuanced maturity here that's lacking in Magnolia, and Boogie Nights to a lesser extent - even if the latter is a personal favorite. While the second half doesn't quite hold up to the first half, the visuals, performances and beautifully tacky mid 90s Reno atmosphere carry this to the finish line - though it probably could have used another plotline later on. But anything inspired by Bob the Gambler is good in my book. I wish Anderson would make another full blown crime film. B+

Do you think there is a nuanced maturity that isn?t in the following films or Is it just that one of the main characters is older than most PTA?s characters from the 90?s and has these qualities?

[dave jenkins]

The maturity comes from the fact PTA leans so hard on Melville's earlier film. Phillip Baker Hall is a great actor, but he has to have a character to inhabit, and the filmmakers write him a very good one.

Good analysis, T. H. As you usual, you know what you're talking about.

[T.H.]

Swingers (1996) - A personal favorite, so it's hard to rate. It's not perfect, but this still feels fresh over two decades later when so many of the slice of life indie movies are way too afraid to ever poke fun at themselves (or the characters) and often feature young characters that foolishly think they're smarter than everyone else -- Trent and Mikey of Swingers are relatable, likable idiots and people that actually exist in real life. I would have loved to see more of 90's LA, but the budget was severely limited and it's a minor miracle that it came out looking so professional for the most part. B+

The maturity comes from the fact PTA leans so hard on Melville's earlier film. Phillip Baker Hall is a great actor, but he has to have a character to inhabit, and the filmmakers write him a very good one.

Good analysis, T. H. As you usual, you know what you're talking about.

It takes a lot to overlook my love of sleaze and B movies, I appreciate it haha.

You answered the question, and to go into specifics, examine how the hotel kidnapping scene is handled in Hard Eight vs any dramatic scene in Boogie Nights or Magnolia (Julianne Moore's overacting stands out).  Hard Eight is naturally reserved and cool while Boogie Nights and (especially) Magnolia are incredibly ambitious and melodramatic. I say that with Boogie Nights firmly in my top 50 favorite movies.

[PowerRR]

Local PTA defender and obsessive here. Of course I love all his work. Hard Eight is definitely much more subtle and wwaaaayy waaay less melodramatic than especially Magnolia. But of course there's a ton of fun in melodrama and theatricality and I think that's one of the reasons his films are adored so much. His characters tread the line, if not cross the line, of cartoon characters (Barry Egan in PDL literally wears the same outfit every day). But the performances are so good that they work, and are generally career-best performances by the actors.

But I've also heard criticisms here (I think TH and maybe DJ?) of wanting PTA to go back to his early, more stylistic, poppier years rather than his quieter Ophuls-inspired films of late. To me, Hard Eight is much more in tune with the quieter post-TWBB movies. Yet TWBB and beyond are generally hated on this board, while Hard Eight is adored. What gives? What does SLWB really want from PTA? I suppose Hard Eight is a bit less theatrical and more simple than his other recent movies, but not by a ton.

There's nothing I personally want more than to have no fucking idea what the style of his next movie is. Which, since I've been watching, I haven't been let down with.

[noodles_leone]

@DJ: good point about Melville.

@Roy: This board loves noir films. End of story.