Rate the Last Film You Watched

[Luna]

Blade Runner 2049
It has very very beautiful shots from the beginning to the end. (And I think I totally dig that composition and style of all those frames.) Strong mood and atmosphere. Intriguing themes. Some of which do strike a very strong chord with me.
But it's so.... boring. So terribly terribly failing at keeping hold of my attention. It took me two days to finish it. I was always getting fidgety and looking away only to zap a minute back and try again.
That was so weird.

 

[ayase]

Solo

*Really do not uncover the spoilers unless you want a couple of major things spoiled - You have been warned*

I'd make a joke about my expectations for this film being so low after all the production woes, as well as being a film nobody really asked for, but I imagine it's been done (hopefully by actual print journalists so I can continue to feel I could do their job at least as well, if not better). Both Star Wars Stories so far have had the exact same issue for me, in that it takes them a while to actually get going. From the beginning through the entire initial heist I was pretty underwhelmed - Even the very solid cast couldn't seem to make much of what appeared to be a very pedestrian script, but thankfully the moment Lando (and L3! <3) showed up things things became a whole lot better.

The second half was Star Wars done very, very right - The humour struck the right tone, the characters had good chemistry with one another and of course there was the odd unecessary and groan-worthy reference "You can't make the Kessel run in less than 20 parsecs!" (which is pretty much such a staple at this point it's become strangely enjoyable). I think by the end I might have even enjoyed it slightly more than Rogue One (will have to let time decide that, perhaps it's not quite as good, but I feel like it'll have more re-watch value?) which I didn't expect at all. I don't actually know how Solo's budget compares to the other SW films at the time of writing, but the production values here seemed sky-high. I might be overreacting but I thought this film actually looked better, in its sets, costumes, CGI - Pretty much everything, than even Episodes VII and VIII. The world just felt more full, vibrant, busy and grimy... Somehow just more Star Wars.

I really, genuinely hope this film does well because Glover and Ehrenreich deserve another outing as these characters. Living up to Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams and such beloved characters was not an easy task, but I thought they both did an extremely good job with their younger interpretations of the characters. And of course we need to see what happens with Qi'ra and bloody Maul. There are things in life that make me happier than seeing Darth Maul again, but not many.

For now, I'm giving it an 8.8/10, which is lower than Rogue One, for the slow start and to put it bluntly, the seeming pointlessness of the whole Enfys Nest bit at the end- The "guy you thought was a bad guy is actually a good guy" isn't particularly original and I didn't think this early on in his story was really the time for Han to display such selflessness in giving up his score like that - Surely deciding to come back to help Luke in ANH was supposed to be a turning point for him? We'll see where those scores stand a couple of years from now.

Also Lucasfilm, please stop introducing droids with more personality than most of the main cast members and then killing them off in the same film. K-2 was bad enough, but no, NO, not L3 as well. I didn't think you'd do it a second time, but you bloody well did you monsters. ;_; This milking of droid death for pathos has got to stop.

 

[Adam-M]

I'm boycotting it. I refuse to accept that my childhood hero (well one of them, I always looked up to Stringfellow Hawk more) learnt everything he knows about being a scoundrel from Woody from Cheers. That's just wrong

as well as being a film nobody really asked for

For me (when this was announced) that was the difference between this and Rogue One. When me and my mates were kids we used to imagine what it meant in the first one when she said a lot of good pilots died to get those plans. We used to play what became Rogue One with our X-Wings when we were like 6 or something. Solo on the other hand feels like Disney wanting more as opposed to the fans.

thankfully the moment Lando (and L3! <3) showed up things things became a whole lot better.

From the trailers at least, I didn't like the character being very emotive (more so than the leads) and you're right that this seems to be a new trend. Another push for merchandising I think when I see it, and that sort of takes me out of the film and spoils the illusion. Like in The Last Jedi where all the kids have got little Rebel Alliance badges at the end and it just makes me think Happy Meals
For me at least, Rogue One was less of a Star Wars film and more like a war picture with X-Wings instead of Spitfires. Blasters instead of guns. But they stormed the beach all the same. It felt like it was aimed at a different audience to Solo. That's my personal opinion though.
Also (mild rant over) when I go to Japan in August there's a girl I'm going with who absolutely insists on going to Tokyo Disneyland (meh ) but I've already said and I do stand by it, that given we've just had Avengers and Solo, and that Ant-Man is out in July and will still be floating about cinemas, the focus will be very much on Star Wars and superheros. And no kid should be forced to watch stormtroopers marching Snow White down the street

 

[ayase]

I'm boycotting it. I refuse to accept that my childhood hero (well one of them, I always looked up to Stringfellow Hawk more) learnt everything he knows about being a scoundrel from Woody from Cheers. That's just wrong

You do you of course, but there's not a whole lot of focus on that honestly. I know a lot of pre-release press coverage described his character as a "mentor" but he never really does any explicit "mentoring" (and Han doesen't necessarily pay his advice much heed) so I think that's a bit inaccurate. It's really more that he knows about smuggling, pulling of heists and has the underworld connections and Han doesn't, so he just sort of serves as his introduction to the lifestyle (more by accident than design on both their parts). Han is pretty much scoundrel Han from the get-go, if a little less savvy and more idealistic to begin with, but that's mainly to do with his relative youth and inexperience. I'd say it's the events of the film he learns from more than any character in particular.

From the trailers at least, I didn't like the character being very emotive (more so than the leads) and you're right that this seems to be a new trend. Another push for merchandising I think when I see it, and that sort of takes me out of the film and spoils the illusion.

I think I only saw one trailer in which L3 had only one line, so I didn't really know what to expect from her character at all. But she turned out to be equal parts teenage rebel and domineering wife, and straightforward telling it like it is and taking no sh*t from anyone are characteristics I admire in general so of course I loved her. Best female SW film character since Leia, I'd say. I'll certainly be buying a figure to sit on my PC case so I guess if it was a merchandising ploy, it worked

 

[Professor Irony]

Some sequels I have watched. Yoda voice, intend to read that in, I did not.

Deadpool 2

Despite having read some middling reviews before seeing this, I actually enjoyed it more than the first one. Maybe it's because it's no longer saddled with the requisite origin story, or maybe it's just that it doesn't suffer that 'third act fade' that seems to trouble so many Marvel films, but I found this more consistent than the first outing, that wisely pivots its story around the excellent Julian Dennison, rather than the ineffiable red merc. Josh Brolin is also good value as Cable, but Zazie Beetz is an absolute joy as Domino - perhaps disappointing that she didn't have more screentime.

Anchorman 2

This works pretty well for the first half-hour or so, but Ron Burgundy's return to the big screen is only fitfully entertaining, with added celebrity cameos failing to mask how stale many of the gags have become since the original.

Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

With Freddy Kruger attempting to possess a teenage boy as his murderous new avatar, what could easily have been a rote rerun of the original film is rendered much more engaging by some surprising subversion of genre gender roles, as the male lead is subjected to the sort of leering camera gaze, sexualised menace and general lack of agency so often reserved for the slasher film's female stars. With the protagonist's apparent desire to explore new ways of self-expression shouted down by those around him, Freddy's inevitable killings even start to come across like a big, unsubtle metaphor for toxic masculinity. The film does revert somewhat to type as it hits the final reel, but it's an interesting take on familiar material.

 

[Captaaainuniverse]

Oh this came back xD awesome
in the interest of time keeping this will be short
Doctor Strange
not as good as some other ones I've been watching (black panther, thor ragnorok) but it's got some brilliant effects and Steven Strange himself goes through a character arc that not many of the marvel films do, I wouldn't say what it is as it's most of the film, but the effects sure are trippy and the world is understandable... probably... (probably better you don't understand everything in it's world)
a human story filled with mysticism 8/10

 

[Patient-X]

Tonight's viewing:

The Greatest Showman
I really like musicals and this didn't disappoint. Definitely a feel good movie with some great songs and dancing. Probably not factually correct but entertaining none the less. The 4K disc looked stunning and the Atmos sound was great. 8.5/10

The Terminal
Not exactly top tier Spielberg but pretty good. Tom Hanks was great, as usual. 6.5/10

 

[Patient-X]

A Matter of Life and Death.

Watched the US Criterion Blu-ray tonight. I've seen it many times but this new restoration was like watching a completely new film. I love the colour palette you get from three strip technicolour film and the colours on the Blu-ray were stunning.

AMOLAD isn't my favourite Powell and Pressburger movie, that would probably be Colonel Blimp or Tales of Hoffman but it's still a superb film. The extras are really good, especially the interview with Thelma Schoonmaker (Michael Powell's widow).

Criterion were supposed to be releasing it in the UK but it got pulled. ITV are releasing a region B steelbook soon, hopefully it will use the same master.

Pure cinematic gold 10/10.

 

[Professor Irony]

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

After meeting a maker of tourist souvenirs, a meek bank clerk hatches a plan to rob his employers' bullion delivery and smuggle the gold out of the country, in this witty, well paced comedy heist. Having never seen Alec Guiness in anything other than Tinker Tailor and Star Wars, seeing him in one of the Ealing films was quite a departure - he was a really gifted comic actor! Also look out for a very young Audrey Hepburn in a tiny cameo.

Watched two movies yesterday:
Hana-Bi (1997) Takeshi Kitano
Looking forward to many more of his titles. 8/10

I really like Kitano's work, but of the gangster films I've seen him in, I think that was my least favourite - there's some great moments of dark comedy, but it's a pretty bleak movie. Would recommend Sonatine if you're going through his other stuff though; it goes to some pretty dark places too, but strangely, I didn't find it as much of a downer.

 

[Patient-X]

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

After meeting a maker of tourist souvenirs, a meek bank clerk hatches a plan to rob his employers' bullion delivery and smuggle the gold out of the country, in this witty, well paced comedy heist. Having never seen Alec Guiness in anything other than Tinker Tailor and Star Wars, seeing him in one of the Ealing films was quite a departure - he was a really gifted comic actor! Also look out for a very young Audrey Hepburn in a tiny cameo.

If you liked Alec Guiness in this then check out some of the other Ealing comedies with him. Kind Hearts and Coronets, Man in the White Suit but especially The Ladykillers.

 

[Professor Irony]

Streets of Fire (1984)

Walter Hill's psuedo-1950s 'Rock n Roll Fable', about a drifter out to rescue his former lover from a greaser bike gang, looks great and sounds great, but I think it falls into the same trap as many productions based on nostalgia, in that it slavishly repeats much of what was wrong with its touchstones, as well as what was right. In this case, the wonderful, glowing neo-noir cinematography is let down by a script that feels corny and predictable, with only a few unconventional undercurrents stopping it feeling like a rote b-movie or pulp novel of the period. It's still very watchable though, and would make an interesting double-bill with Hill's The Warriors.

 

[Professor Irony]

Phenomena (1985)

A typically werid horror outing from Dario Argento, which sees Jennifer Connelly (in her first starring role) as a young boarding school girl in Switzerland, whose psychic affinity with insects may allow her to identify a mysterious killer preying on young women. Despite some haunting sequences, impressive cinematography and an absolutely bonkers finale, it's bitty and episodic - the overall feeling is that Argento is making two, or even three films at once here, that only occasionally fit together as they ought to. It'll certainly stick in the mind, but it's not on a par with Suspiria or Profondo Rosso.

 

[-Danielle-]

Voices of a Distant Star. 6/10. The premise was good but I couldn't get into it the way I jump in with Shinkai's other work. I really hated the animation back then too. I'd of preferred they kept it Bebop like for the time it was released. The main lass in it looked uuuugly.

I have The Place Promised in our Early Days next as it's the due pack from AL, so I'm hoping i'll enjoy it.

Garden of Words is still my number 1 of his. I've rewatched it loads and still cry every time.

Your Name opening though with it's theme song, I still remember seeing it in the cinema, my face and the delight on it. Anime belongs in the cinema, always will.

 

[Adam-M]

Back when Voices of a Distant Star was first released, the animation was really not frowned upon. I've got it on DVD somewhere with all my old ADV stuff but I remember it being amazing at the time

 

[D1tchd1gger]

they

He did it on his own! He even voiced the male character, I believe it's on the disc as well as the professional VA. The only thing he didn't do was the music.
He made cut scenes for video games, so used the same tech to make the film, so that's why it looks like it does. For the music he asked a composer from the same gaming company to make it for him.

 

[-Danielle-]

Oh wow, I didn't know that! Definitely makes me appreciate it so so much more.

It's defaulted to dub so maybe i'll rewatch the sub sometime and give it another go. Thanks

 

[Professor Irony]

Some thoroughly random viewing.

Hang 'Em High (1968)

Although a critical and commercial success, I found this Clint Eastwood western, about an ex-lawman looking for revenge on a lynch mob, a bit stodgy. The setup is fine and there's a tense sequence of Eastwood leading several captives across a remote desert, but it's long winded and the action lacks flair. The most interesting thing about it is that it seems to straddle the divide between more traditional Hollywood westerns and the rising influence of the nihilistic Spaghettis, but the two approaches don't really gel.

BlacKkKlansman

Not as much of a comedy as some of the trailers and reviews make it out to be, but its suprisingly measured, low-key approach to a black police officer's audacious attempt to inflitrate the KKK, feels entirely appropriate, given the kind of everyday monstrosity the film is dealing with. A timely film which is absorbing, accessible and impeccably acted.

Return of the Living Dead (1985)

I was all ready to put the boot in to this tongue-in-cheek alternative sequel for Romero's zombie classic, as everything I'd read about it suggested I'd hate it, but to my surprise, it's actually a rather charming slice of cold-war farce, which sees a pair of unwitting medical supply company caretakers crack a case of misplaced chemical contagen, causing the dead to rise. The first half-hour appealed to me the most, with a kind of screwball double-act between the middle-aged janitor and his young assistant, but even as it moves away from them, there are still plenty of interesting ideas in the mix, even if the film is held together more by its satirical desire to show the world's end brought on by incompetence, than any compelling character development.

 

[IncendiaryLemon]

Halloween (2007)

With the newest attempt at reviving the never-ending Halloween franchise arriving in cinemas this October, it occured to me that I never checked out the last attempt at a reboot, which was Rob Zombie's Halloween from 2007. I'd always heard mixed things about this one, as it seemed rather polarizing, and after watching it, I can't help but feel that I'm somewhat on the fence myself.

The most glaring and obvious issue with this film is the fact that it wasn't content with being a simple remake of the 1978 cult classic, but instead a prequel/remake hybrid. Michael Myers, at least in the original, was a total force of nature, a psychopath with totally unknown motivations and whose past is shrouded in secrecy, and this is essential to what makes him scary. You don't know who he is or why he's doing what he's doing, but he can't be stopped. This remake seems to stomp all over this notion by dedicating the entire first half reveal the history of the character, and even try and generate sympathy for the maniac by showing his tragic upbringing, a mix of an abusive step father, stripper mother, uncaring sister and undiagnosed and untreated mental illness. Not only is it totally unnecessary to show all this, it strips the character, at least in part, of what makes him scary. It gives emotions and feelings to what is supposed to be an unstoppable killing machine. I'm not entirely sure what Rob Zombie's intent was with taking the character in this direction, but it sure didn't work very well.

What could have mitigated this was if the backstory bit was far shorter than what it ends up being in the final cut. At a little under 2 hours in length, there are great chunks that could have been lifted from this to get it down to a leaner, meaner running time, especially from the start. Outside of Michael killing his sister and step-father, there isn't a whole lot that really needed to be here, such as him killing the bully, his sister's sex scene, and most of the metal hospital scenes before the flash forward. The less they show of Michael's childhood, the better, and if you edited this film down to ~90 minutes or so, it'd have been a lot better for it.

Lastly, there is the use of John Carpenter's original score within this film which, whilst good intentioned, doesn't work well at all. It just isn't suited to the tone or visuals at all, and feels crowbarred in to evoke a sense of nostalgia of familiarity amongst the audience, which is a pretty cheap way of trying to people like your film.

Although at this point it may sound like I wasn't a fan of Halloween, I actually still enjoyed it quite a bit, in spite of its flaws. A lot of this can be directly attributed to the musician-turned-director at the helm, Rob Zombie. His grunge aesthetic, carried over from his music, is a rather unique one amongst horror directors, and it is abundantly clear the he had a clear vision in mind of the kind of Halloween movie he wanted to make, and he executed it very well. At this point in time, the franchise was a laughing stock, losing credibility with every sequel, and becoming increasingly absurd to boot, so handing the reins over to an auteur such as Zombie to give a totally new and fresh take on the decades old series was the shot in the arm it needed. Zombie, as a filmmaker, is just as polarizing as the film itself, but I do love it when you can tell who directed a film just by watching it, and this is certainly achieved here.

Given the gore-heavy horror films were in vogue around the time this film was produced, it's no surprise that this is the most violent and gory franchise entry to date, which is something I can get behind. I do love a good splatterfest, and in this regard, Halloween delivers in spades. There's nothing too creative, mostly just stabbings and slashings, but it all feels very viceral and effective. Nothing feels over the top, showing a surprising amount of self-restraint in places, especially given it's peers at the time such as Hostel and Saw.

Overall, it isn't hard to see why fans and non-fans alike are so split on this particular film. It has a lot of strengths, but at the same time, is undermined by an overlong running time and too much backstory. I wouldn't go so far to call Halloween (2007) a good movie, but nonetheless, I still enjoyed it.

 

[HWR]

Halloween (2007)

With the newest attempt at reviving the never-ending Halloween franchise arriving in cinemas this October, it occured to me that I never checked out the last attempt at a reboot, which was Rob Zombie's Halloween from 2007. I'd always heard mixed things about this one, as it seemed rather polarizing, and after watching it, I can't help but feel that I'm somewhat on the fence myself.

The most glaring and obvious issue with this film is the fact that it wasn't content with being a simple remake of the 1978 cult classic, but instead a prequel/remake hybrid. Michael Myers, at least in the original, was a total force of nature, a psychopath with totally unknown motivations and whose past is shrouded in secrecy, and this is essential to what makes him scary. You don't know who he is or why he's doing what he's doing, but he can't be stopped. This remake seems to stomp all over this notion by dedicating the entire first half reveal the history of the character, and even try and generate sympathy for the maniac by showing his tragic upbringing, a mix of an abusive step father, stripper mother, uncaring sister and undiagnosed and untreated mental illness. Not only is it totally unnecessary to show all this, it strips the character, at least in part, of what makes him scary. It gives emotions and feelings to what is supposed to be an unstoppable killing machine. I'm not entirely sure what Rob Zombie's intent was with taking the character in this direction, but it sure didn't work very well.

What could have mitigated this was if the backstory bit was far shorter than what it ends up being in the final cut. At a little under 2 hours in length, there are great chunks that could have been lifted from this to get it down to a leaner, meaner running time, especially from the start. Outside of Michael killing his sister and step-father, there isn't a whole lot that really needed to be here, such as him killing the bully, his sister's sex scene, and most of the metal hospital scenes before the flash forward. The less they show of Michael's childhood, the better, and if you edited this film down to ~90 minutes or so, it'd have been a lot better for it.

Lastly, there is the use of John Carpenter's original score within this film which, whilst good intentioned, doesn't work well at all. It just isn't suited to the tone or visuals at all, and feels crowbarred in to evoke a sense of nostalgia of familiarity amongst the audience, which is a pretty cheap way of trying to people like your film.

Although at this point it may sound like I wasn't a fan of Halloween, I actually still enjoyed it quite a bit, in spite of its flaws. A lot of this can be directly attributed to the musician-turned-director at the helm, Rob Zombie. His grunge aesthetic, carried over from his music, is a rather unique one amongst horror directors, and it is abundantly clear the he had a clear vision in mind of the kind of Halloween movie he wanted to make, and he executed it very well. At this point in time, the franchise was a laughing stock, losing credibility with every sequel, and becoming increasingly absurd to boot, so handing the reins over to an auteur such as Zombie to give a totally new and fresh take on the decades old series was the shot in the arm it needed. Zombie, as a filmmaker, is just as polarizing as the film itself, but I do love it when you can tell who directed a film just by watching it, and this is certainly achieved here.

Given the gore-heavy horror films were in vogue around the time this film was produced, it's no surprise that this is the most violent and gory franchise entry to date, which is something I can get behind. I do love a good splatterfest, and in this regard, Halloween delivers in spades. There's nothing too creative, mostly just stabbings and slashings, but it all feels very viceral and effective. Nothing feels over the top, showing a surprising amount of self-restraint in places, especially given it's peers at the time such as Hostel and Saw.

Overall, it isn't hard to see why fans and non-fans alike are so split on this particular film. It has a lot of strengths, but at the same time, is undermined by an overlong running time and too much backstory. I wouldn't go so far to call Halloween (2007) a good movie, but nonetheless, I still enjoyed it.

I always felt that they misused the Halloween Theme, where it appears here seems premature, like they blew their load too quickly. I do like this remake for what it is, though see it as a reimagining more so than anything else.

Malcom McDowell was an inspired choice for Loomis, and Brad Dourif was decent as well.

 

[IncendiaryLemon]

I always felt that they misused the Halloween Theme, where it appears here seems premature, like they blew their load too quickly. I do like this remake for what it is, though see it as a reimagining more so than anything else.

Malcom McDowell was an inspired choice for Loomis, and Brad Dourif was decent as well.

Yeah, when he was just randomly running down the hallway, it was just ... there. When he was digging out the mask towards the end, it was totally justified, but the fact they already played it once dampened it massively. No idea why that first use was there at all.