Rate the Last Film you Watched

[Con 5,703]

1 minute ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

If you've not seen Adam Sandler in Uncet Gems yet you gotta see that too.

You promise it’s not going to ruin ‘The Waterboy’ for me? lol. I have ‘The King of Comedy’ on my list tonight. 

[Fido_le_muet 5,197]

A Quiet Place

OK I'm not gonna make you wait and read my whole review before telling how AWESOME this movie is ! 

9.5/10

Loved every second of it ! 

It starts very slowly with a family scavenging supplies in an abandonned store. Immediately the tone is set, they are not making any noise so you figure out instantly that they are threatened by a noise-attracted menace. I wish I didn't know what the threat was before starting the movie but I knew from the basic synopsis that the threat are alien creature. I wish I could find out in real time. But at the same time, what else could it be  ? So maybe it's not a big deal. 

Anyway, family of 5. It's day 89 (after the alien attack I guess) so they are already pretty well organised. They put sand in the streets to walk on bare foot and not make any sound. How awesome is that ? I never would have thought of that so probably wouldn't have lasted this long 😁 I love these little details, they make the environnement so much more complete and believable. Big sister is deaf so the whole family communicates with sign language. The youngest in the family spots a toy he wants, a space shuttle and climbs on a box to get it. Obviously, he drops it but his big sister saves the day and catches hit before it hits the ground. Pfffew ! Little kid brings the toy to his mom but his dad takes it away from him because it's an electronic toy that makes lights and sounds ! Probably not the best idea right now. He removes the batteries and they leave the toy. Big sister gives the shuttle back to her little bro (sans the batteries) but of course the little kid secretly grabs the batteries ! Now I was thinking that obviously that was gonna end badly later in the film but no ! It ends badly immediately when the kid powers on the toy on the way back to their house and is immediately WHACKED by a nearby alien !!! 

That was so shocking ! The Mrs next to me burst in tears ! Seriously that was hard ! And that kid was just the cutest ! He was extra cute ! And he dies horribly 5 minutes in, in front of his family ! And the screen turns black and we jump forward to Day 472. That reminded me of the kid in 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer', who was also super cute and suffered the same fate. Being a newish parent probably doesn't help in that regard. What we don't see is the immediate aftermath of the kid's death. Imagine his family watching him die and not make a sound while he gets ripped apart by the creature. I don't see how they could stay silent in this situation but I guess they do cause they're still alive more than a year later. 

They are now surviving in a farm and are living in silence. They set up a nice lights-based system of alarm in case of emergency and follow a strict routine to live to next day. Then we discover that the mother's pregnant and that the baby should arrive in the coming weeks. Dad is trying to build a better ear implant for his daughter but apparently without success and the two gets in a (quiet) fight about it and also because Dad is taking the son (second born; big bro to the kid killed earlier) on a trip to the nearby river but doesn't want the girl to come so she can stay with her mother and help her. Instead, she runs off and goes to the makeshift memorial they built at the bridge where her brother died. 

Dad and the kid go to a river and the dad reassure the kid that they can talk freely since the river and nearby waterfall make too much noise for the creature to hear them. The kid tells his dad that he needs to tell his daughter that he loves her and reassure her as well cause she blames herself for the death of her brother. 

Meanwhile, the mother is alone at home, doing laundry. Well trying to do laundry cause she is super pregnant and it's difficult for her. Her laundry bag gets caught in a nail when she goes outside, leaving the nail apparent. That's when you know it's gonna go very wrong again. My reaction before the nail thing was : "Why are they leaving her alone when she's obviously gonna give irth any moment ? They should keep a close eye on her in case the baby comes early !" And OF COURSE that's what happens ! Contractions starts and her water broke when she was in her dead kid's room. She rushes back to the basement but steps on the nail !!! You could see it coming from miles away but it still hurt to see her step on it like that. And the pain, horrific pain she must feel but without making a sound. She drops a photo she was holding and that alerts a nearby alien. She manages to activate the alarm lights and hides but the alien arrives in the basement anyway and she escapes by creating a diversion with a clock. 

Follows a game of cat and mouse in the house, all the while she's giving birth to her child. And just as she starts to scream when she goes into labor, fireworks explode ! Kid and dad came back and saw the red lights in the property so the dad told the kid to light the fireworks to create a diversion. Dad rushes in the house, finds the mom and baby and bring them back to their makeshift soundproof basement in the barn. Dad goes out again to save the kids who are still outside, perched on the grain silo. We get a quick scare when the boy falls into the grain, followed by his sister who nearly 'drowns' in the silo. The creature is onto them, they narrowly escape when the alien is disturbed by the girl's electronic implant. Apparently it messes with its brain or something. Dad rescues them but the creature catches up to them. The kids hide in a nearby truck when the alien attacks. the dad sacrifices himself to save his kids. That was an emotional moment cause the dad finally tells his daughter that he loves her before being brutally killed in front of her eyes. 

Back at the house, they regroup with their mom and new baby brother but the creature arrives soon after. It crawls into the basement with them and again, is displeased with the radio waves from the girl's ear implant. They realise that this may be the creature's weakness and amplifie the static sound thanks to a microphone. The creature reacts badly to it and its skin armor opens under the pain and it seemingly collapses. They are happy but the creature wakes up almost immediately and is shot in the f*cking face by badass mom and her shotgun. 

The sound attracts 2 other creatures so the girl cranks up the volume to the max while badass Emily Blunt loads up her shotgun again. THE END ! 

Great movie. Loved the atmosphere in the first half above all else and all the little details about the family's new life. How they move around on sand barefoot. It must have taken them days and days to set this up. But it's brilliant. They seem to have thought about everything. The sound proof baby crib complete with O2 reserve so he can breathe in silence, the mattress-door, the lights alarm, the silo warning system. Interestingly, we know there are other survivors out there because they also light fires arounf the family's farm. But I like the fact that we never see them. Maybe for the sequel ? 

The sound editing was awesome. There is almost no sound during the first half and the music only appear in tense moments to add to the stress of the situation. It's brilliant. 

I absolutely loved it. Oh and the creature design is very interesting as well. We see a couple times that they have hyper sensitive ears. And they are protected under an armored skin that seems to open up only when under stress or pain, or when in attack mode. They have some sorts of valve on the skull that opens up to reveal the flesh. Cool design. I kinda want to know more about them and the early days of the invasion. Must have been a real massacre in the beginning. That could make for a very different movie ! 

I'm kinda excited for the sequel now even if it probably won't be as good as this. We'll see when this COVID clusterf*ck finally ends. 

[Con 5,703]

@Fido_le_muet only read the first paragraph of your AQP review and really cannot wait to read more. But I wanted to comment on what you said about not wanting to know about the creatures but honestly, it takes about 5 mins before they are revealed to us. I didn’t know anything about the film when I saw it and was more stunned with the repercussions of the scene. So yeah it’s no big deal that you knew...okay...back to your review. 

Here is my review of it back on page 17...In fact that week I watched , AQP, Train To Busan, and Hereditary....what a week!!! 

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Hitchcock

dir. Sacha Gervasi 

Hitchcock is a biographical film directed by Sacha Gervasi (Anvil: The Story of Anvil) detailing the production of Alfred Hitchcock's (Anthony Hopkins) most famous film, Psycho.  Despite the success of North by Northwest he was still questioned about whether it was time to retire, and in response to this he wanted to make something more daring and thrilling, turning down more prestige projects like The Diary of Anne Frank and Casino Royale in favour of a pulpy thriller novel based on the real life Ed Gein murders, Psycho.

While this is a pretty conventional biopic it is elevated by a couple of factors.  Firstly, the two lead performance by Hopkins, and Helen Mirren as his wife and collaborator, Alma Reville are fantastic.  Hopkins really hams it up as the master of suspense, and Mirren is a strong, pragmatic figure who brings her own talents and strengths to their relationship.  Scareltt Johansson and James D'Arcy are also solid as the two Psycho leads, Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins.  Secondly, the direction is pretty good.  There's a nice use of fantasy with Hitchcock imagining himself talking to Gein, and fourth wall breaking with him giving an intro and outro to the film like the TV show he had.

If you know anything about the real Hitchcock you will see that this film smooths off his rough edges.  In reality he was much more of an egomaniac, and much harsher towards his leading ladies.  We see a bit of this during the filming of the shower scene, but by all accounts he was a bit of a monster on set.  Despite this, I still enjoyed the film, being a Hitchcock fan it was great to see behind the scenes of his most famous film, and having an actor the quality of Hopkins play him really does the man justice 8/10

 

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Strangers on a Train

dir. Alfred Hitchcock

After watching Hitchcock I watched this, because there's no substitute for the real thing.  Strangers on a Train tells the story of Guy (Farley Granger), a tennis player with a cheating wife who won't give him a divorce.  One day he meets a stranger on a train, Bruno (Robert Walker), a smooth talking rich boy with daddy issues.  Bruno proposes that, to solve both their problems, they swap murders.  He'll kill Guy's wife and Guy will kill his father.  That way they will be killing strangers, leaving no motive.  The perfect crime.  Guy laughs this off as just some crazy talk, but Bruno goes through with his part of the deal anyway, and expects Guy to do the same, and he won't take no for an answer.

This is a fantastic film and a prime example of why Hitchcock was known as "the master of suspense".  The way he uses the camera to show different viewpoints, the use of montage to build tension, and his trademark voyeuristic setups all lead to a thrilling film.  Walker is superb as the unhinged Bruno, all charisma and charm but with a manic edge that leaves you uncomfortable.  Granger is solid but unspectacular as the innocent man thrust into a world of murder, but his righteousness and refusal to play Bruno's games come across as genuine.  

This is also a funny film, Hitchcock never passing up the opportunity for a gag, and it's the same here.  His daughter, Patricia Hitchcock, plays the sister of the woman Guy wants to leave his wife for, and got a laugh or two in every scene she was in.  If you've never seen a Hitchcock film before, or only seen Psycho, you couldn't pick many better films to start off with as this is a classic example of why Hitchcock is considered one of the greatest of all time 9/10

 

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Le Notti di Cabiria (Nights of Cabiria)

dir. Federico Fellini

Nights of Cabiria is an Italian drama from Federico Fellini and starring his wife Giulietta Masina as the titular Cabiria, a prostitute suffering a run of bad luck and let-downs.  The film opens with her frolicing with the love of her life, Giorgio, by a river.  He then proceeds to snatch her purse and shove her in the river, knowing that she can't swim.  This film isn't really made up of a plot, more of a series of episodes as we follow Cabiria across several days following her near death experience.  She finds herself escorting a famous actor after he breaks up with his actress girlfriend, and we get to see Cabiria out of her element in a fancy club, exuberant and unrestrained, she dances a wild mambo while everyone else is formal and regimented.  At the actor's apartment, just as they seem to be making a real connection, his ex arrives and Cabiria is forced to hide in the bathroom while they have make-up s*x, the actor ushering her out while his girlfriend is asleep.

There are scenes of Cabiria at a huge mass packed full of people and interacting with nuns and priests as she searches for redemption, seeking a way to change.  This seems to be her ultimate goal, rather than trying to find redemption through a man like Pretty Woman or other films about gold-hearted prostitutes.  This is what makes this film stand above those films, the way it portrays the main character not as someone who needs to be saved by someone else, but who is searching, sometimes in vain, for a way to save herself.

The shining star of this film is Masina as Cabiria.  This is an incredible performance.  She is tragic and pathetic and brash and aggressive and funny and romantic and human.  She has an incredibly expressive face with her crooked smile and wide-eyed wonder, the same with her body.  I've already mentioned her dancing, but just the way she moves tells us everything about her character.  I've read some reviews that compare her with Chaplin, and I totally see it.  She has the perfect way of moving that is almost over expressive, like a silent film performance, but she is able to restrain it just enough to ground it in reality and make it seem totally natural.  The direction is also incredibly well done with Fellini really using the camera in a sympathetic way, showing us the world from Cabiria's point of view.  He also shoots Masina in such a way that you can feel his love for her, and that makes you love her yourself.  The ending of the film, just like everything about the character of Cabiria, is beautifully bittersweet and leaves a real impression.  I can't recommend this highly enough 10/10

 

 

[CatManDoza 3,473]

On 3/26/2020 at 11:08 PM, LimeGreenLegend said:

If you've not seen Adam Sandler in Uncet Gems yet you gotta see that too.

I second that emotion. Really good film

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

The Elephant Man

dir. David Lynch

The Elephant Man is a biographical film about the life of John Merrick (real name Joseph), played by John Hurt.  Merrick suffered from severe disfigurements and tumours covering most of his body, and spent his life as a sideshow freak called the Elephant Man.  That is until he is rescued by Dr. Frederick Treves, who takes him to London Hospital to examine him.  Over time he discovers that John is intelligent and articulate, but is so withdrawn due to the awful life he has led up until that point.  Roger Ebert once said something along the lines of "film is a machine that generates empathy," and The Elephant Man is a beast of a machine.  Hurt is incredible as Merrick.  Even buried under prosthetic make-up (which still looks great today) he manages to convey so much emotion, sometimes with just a flicker of his eyes.  Hopkins is equally brilliant as Treves, there's an incredible slow zoom into a close up of his face the first time he sees Merrick that ends with him letting a single tear drop from his eye which shows his sympathy and his need to help a fellow human being, it's so powerful.

The direction is fantastic too.  This, along with The Straight Story, is probably the most conventional film Lynch has made, but he still uses some of his surrealist trademarks to make this film stand apart.  There are several montages, some nightmarish like the opening scene of the film where we see John's mother get trampled by elephants, and some are like beautiful dreams, specifically the theatre scene.  The sound design is full of mechanical, industrial noise which fits the Victorian setting, and there is a recurring carnival theme with a bassy marching drumline which sounds like marching elephants.  Lynch also isn't one for manipulating the audience by pulling at their heartstrings, he's never sentimental.  Like other surrealist filmmakers he shoots with a detached, almost clinical eye, merely an observer.  He also shoots this film with a very static camera, and when it does move it's slow and deliberate.  This also fits with the Victorian setting, and this detached feeling means that when we are moved by this film (and I was, many times) it's because of a real empathy with the characters, the strength of the performances and the brilliant score, not because of any tricks or manipulation.  

If you've never seen this film, watch it.  If you have seen this film , watch it again.  It's a gorgeously shot film with beautiful black and white photography that tells an achingly human story.  If you don't get moved by Merrick crying out, pleading, to a baying crowd "I am not an animal.  I am a human being," you clearly have no soul 10/10

 

 

[JuniorChubb 3,359]

@LimeGreenLegend It's a great film, I remember watching it as a kid at thought it was and old film as it was black and white. It confused the f*ck out of me when Michael Elphick turned up in Boon not looking much older than he was in that old black and white film I had just watched. 😅

[CatManDoza 3,473]

Ferris buellers day off. 

Being as I'm laid up in bed, seemed as good a time as any to finally watch it. 

Good fun film, with a beautiful supporting actor in a ferrari. Not lol funny, but a few chortle here and there. Remind sme of my says bunking off school, but there was more PlayStation and p*rn involved when I did it. 

7.5/10

[Con 5,703]

22 minutes ago, CatManDoza said:

Ferris buellers day off. 

Being as I'm laid up in bed, seemed as good a time as any to finally watch it. 

Good fun film, with a beautiful supporting actor in a ferrari. Not lol funny, but a few chortle here and there. Remind sme of my says bunking off school, but there was more PlayStation and p*rn involved when I did it. 

7.5/10

So I take it your fave part was when they drove the Ferrari around the city? 

[CatManDoza 3,473]

1 hour ago, Con said:

So I take it your fave part was when they drove the Ferrari around the city? 

Defiantly not when they drove it out the garage window. 

Just watched The Gentlemen, love a guy Ritchie film. Though Hugh grant was very good in his part. Always love Colin farell as a cheeky Irish chappie. Still expect Charlie hun am to throw on a cut and get all edgy like jax teller. 

Very good film 8/10

[CatManDoza 3,473]

Jojo rabbit 6/10 camp Hitler made me chuckle a few times, as did the one eyed captain. Marked down purely for having rebel Wilson in, saved 1 point for having theon greyjoy in. 

Nice to see the redemption of a mini n*zi to a nice young lad, bit didn't grab me as I thought it might. 

I've probably missed an obvious meaning, but I'm not that clever

[CatManDoza 3,473]

Still confined to bed. So we start today with..... 

1917 9/10

What a bloody fantastic film. Not much more to say than that. Beautifully shot, gers you right in the feels. Great film

[Con 5,703]

1 hour ago, CatManDoza said:

Still confined to bed. So we start today with..... 

1917 9/10

What a bloody fantastic film. Not much more to say than that. Beautifully shot, gers you right in the feels. Great film

I think SPR hit me more emotionally but this was still fun to watch! 

Now you can read my 1917 review on page 26 ...

 

 

 

[Fido_le_muet 5,197]

Quick review of : 

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

 

First I wanna say that this is a very cool title for a movie. It immediately attracts me ! I have no idea what a city of a thousand planets can be but I wanna find out ! 

Directed by Luc Besson, who made one of my favorite movie of all time : The Fifth Element, I hoped to see a movie kinda similar to that. 

And visually, it delivers ! It is beautiful ! Colors everywhere, creatures, vehicles, locations are all amazingly detailed and wonderfully done. This isn't unlike The 5th Element in that regard and I love that ! The planet Mul at the beginning of the film is beautiful and the Alpha Station (the city from the title) is a patchwork of civilizations and aliens and it is fantastic. Visual effects are a treat here and that is my favorite aspect of the movie by far ! 

After saying that, the rest is just meh unfortunately. Basic story you see coming from miles away. Lead characters aren't very interesting and not fleshed out at all. It's the bare minimum IMO. It's entertaining but you're not very invested in what's happening to these characters. It's a succession of cool action scenes (thanks you visual effects teams) and then it stops for a while so that the plot can advance a little bit and then actions scenes again... repeat until the end of the film. 

It is based on a comic which I know nothing about. I would have loved to know more about all the different people populatins Alpha Station. Where they come from, why are they here, how they speak and behave, what skills they can have... I don't know if the comics are more fleshed out in that regard. Need to check a few to get an idea. 

All around, an entertaining movie with mind blowing visuals and a colorful and diverse world and creatures but a sub par, mostly uninteresting story and main characters. 

6/10

 

[Con 5,703]

3 hours ago, Fido_le_muet said:

Quick review of : 

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

All around, an entertaining movie with mind blowing visuals and a colorful and diverse world and creatures but a sub par, mostly uninteresting story and main characters. 

6/10

Awesome review. I think you hit it on the head. We have to give the original material credit as it is what inspired, Star Wars!!!!!  You can find my review of Valerian.... on Page 17 for the next time you are in the crapper, pal.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Rope

dir. Alfred Hitchcock

Rope is a suspenseful thriller starring John Dall and Farley Granger as two rich young recent graduates who, at the very start of the film, murder a former classmate by strangling him with a length of rope before stuffing his body in a chest.  They then proceed to host a dinner party with guests including his father and aunt, his girlfriend, his best friend, and all three of theirs former schoolmaster, played by James Stewart.  They kill for the thrill of it, believing that their intelligence and wealth makes them superior to most other people and thus above the law.  However, right after the kill, they both have different reactions.  Granger becomes instantly regretful, while Dall relishes in the act, considering it a work of art, proud of what they've done.

This battle between the arrogance of Dall and the remorse of Granger plays out in real time over the course of 80 minutes, with Hitchcock choosing to shoot the film as if it were one take, like the recent 1917.  Limitations at the time forced him to shoot in ten minute blocks, cameras not being able to film any more than that, and the zooms into character's backs to hide the edits are obvious, but the effect still works.  We feel like a ghost at the party, drifting through their lavish New York apartment, observing the guests interplay like it was a dance.  Because we know about the body in the chest, every mention of David (the victim), and why he hasn't turned up even though he was invited ramps up the tension to unbearable levels.

Unlike most thrillers, even Hitchcock ones, this film doesn't end with a huge spectacle, or shoot-out, or car chase, but rather a brilliant confrontation between Stewart, Dall and Granger after the other guests have left.  The quiet, slow ending gives you time to breathe after the suspenseful events of the party.  Here we see Stewart giving one of his most underrated performances that for me ranks up there with his best, such as Rear Window or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.  Dall is also excellent as the game-playing manipulative psycho.  However, just like in Strangers on a Train, Granger is overshadowed by his much better co-stars.  This doesn't let the film down though, and, to me, this is up there with Hitchcock's classics 9/10

 

 

[JuniorChubb 3,359]

11 hours ago, Fido_le_muet said:

All around, an entertaining movie with mind blowing visuals and a colorful and diverse world and creatures but a sub par, mostly uninteresting story and main characters. 

6/10

 

Yup, I found this to be a little flat too, especially from the male lead, he seemed so out of place. It's a shame as there is so much potential with this.

[JuniorChubb 3,359]

 

Quarantine (2008)

This starts of slowly and a little cringeworthy but soon explodes into a great 'zombie' flick before going back to cringe for the ending.

The whole movie is seen through the camera of a local news team (Blair Witch style) who are shadowing the local fire department, once we get over the intro the team are called out to a buildingto investigate an incident. This is where things take off really well and it's a great take on a 'realisitic' zombie outbreak, the middle of the film is fantastic IMO.

However then comes the ending, it starts to get a little interesting (depending on what you like from a zombie film) before ending abruptly without exploring the intersting ideas it throws at you.

Quarantintine: 7/10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

The Host

dir. b*ng Joon-ho

The Host is a South Korean monster movie directed by the Oscar winning b*ng Joon-ho, who made the incredible Parasite (if you've not seen that, see it).  It stars Song Kang-ho (also in Parasite) as Park Gang-du, a lazy, stupid single father who works at a food stand with his father.  Life is ticking along as usual until a giant mutated fish monster attacks a crowd near the river where his food stand is located.  During this attack, his daughter is taken by the monster, and Gang-du is suspected of carrying a virus caught from the creature.  

What follows is a mashup of monster movie, political commentary about the reaction of government agencies to the threat of a virus (how topical), and part comedy.  For the most part these mesh quite well, but sometimes it can be jarring.  b*ng, at this point in his career, didn't have the skill at making something like that work perfectly, as it does in Parasite (have I mentioned that you should watch that film yet?).  However, it is still fantastically directed, he really knows when to show something and when not to, and his use of close-ups and slow motions is really effective at selling the emotions of the scene and the characters.  

What is a slight negative is the cgi for the creature.  It hasn't aged well.  In most scenes it looks too shiny and rubbery, but there are times when it does look good.  These are mostly the sewer scenes where it is bathed in shadow, and also a scene at the end where it is shrouded in smoke.  The actual design is good, like a big freaky fish with legs and tentacles, and I like the animation and the way it moves.  It's just done with bad cgi.  But the film isn't about the creature, it's about this one family in a desperate situation, and that is something that b*ng is excellent at (again, Parasite).  8/10

 

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

The filter doesn't like the name of the director B ong Joon-ho 😄 

[Con 5,703]

8 hours ago, JuniorChubb said:

Quarantine (2008)

Nice review. 

Make sure you watch the original too...

    

It gets far more praise than Quarantine. So check it out. 

[Con 5,703]

8 hours ago, JuniorChubb said:

Yup, I found this to be a little flat too, especially from the male lead, he seemed so out of place. It's a shame as there is so much potential with this.

Absolutely. The male lead seemed miscast and didn't have the natural charisma for this particular role. He weighs the film down whenever he comes on screen. I guess I just feel that Valerian the space playboy doesnt come across as iconic in this film. Did you know this is the material that inspired Star Wars????

[JuniorChubb 3,359]

Just now, Con said:

Absolutely. The male lead seemed miscast and didn't have the natural charisma for this particular role. He weighs the film down whenever he comes on screen. I guess I just feel that Valerian the space playboy doesnt come across as iconic in this film. Did you know this is the material that inspired Star Wars????

I read that in Fido’s post, nope didn’t know before hand.

Depsite my current feelings about them I think this is the kind of material Disney could have done wonders with. A real family space adventure.

[Fido_le_muet 5,197]

Definitely bad casting for DeHaan as Valerian. Never read the source material but I'm guessing he is a guy you get attached to and that's not the case at all in the film. I couldn't care less about what was happening to him. I was almost relieved when he disappeared into the dead zone...