Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[Piscian]

Something a little different

The Apartment (1960)

I'm not really into classic cinema, but this popped up in my feed and I love Jack Lemmon so I settled into it this afternoon. I was pretty wow'd. Really holds up. I'm surprised this hasn't been remade, or maybe it has and I don't see online, it just seems like very little would need to be changed. For those unfamiliar Jack Lemmon plays a tax clerk at a massive insurance corporation who has gotten sorted conned by a bunch of middle managers into letting them use his apartment as a meeting place for mistresses in exchange for pushing him for a promotion to executive staff. He's kind of a pushover and desperate for the promotion so he puts up with them kicking him out of his apartment on a regular basis though it makes him kind of miserable. Things kind of escalate to the point that CEO talks him into exclusive rights the apartment in exchange for an immediate promotion to his executive assistant. This is life changing until he finds out the CEO's mistress is a co-worker he's been pining for.

It initially seems like it's going to be a comedy, but it actually gets pretty dark and destructive. Being 1960 it seems like it pushes some boundaries and becomes a sort of comedy, romance, drama about the human spirit and what it means to be a good person. 10/10

This scene really stabbed me in my soul though

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★★★½ review of Tangled (2010)

50 movies. It feels like I've been reviewing Disney movies for ages...mostly because I have. Shout-out to my friend Eric for not only inspiring me to keep going (and on at least one occasion, suffering alongside me, sorry about Home on the Range), but encouraging me to relax my reviewing style...

letterboxd.com

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

The Apartment is an absolutely brilliant film and I'm glad you enjoyed it. But I do think it's one of those films that really can't be remade today. I mean the whole plot around a "kept woman" is so antiquated. Not saying it doesn't happen in various forms IRL, because it does, but there's just no way to navigate that successfully, no audience for that sort of thing today. And frankly I'm kind of tired of everything being remade and I can't imagine any current actors matching or surpassing that very specific dynamic that Lemmon and McClain had.

I watched some movies during my flights to and from New Zealand.

Bob's Burgers Movie
It's just a very long episode of the show, basically.

Amsterdam
I was determined to like this one despite the negative reviews because I love the cast and I have very low standards for movies when I'm on an airplane (honestly I just need to be distracted from the fact that I'm in the sky in a metal cage). But- yeah, no, this movie kinda sucks. It basically is American Hustle but worse. Hustle is equal parts captivating period piece and self-indulgent stylistic nonsense, and I overall enjoyed it. But Amsterdam just extends the nonsense part of this style of film-making, sacrificing pacing, decent dialogue, and this viewer's patience.
I am already struggling with movies that are longer than 2 hours and when one has repetitive dialogue, overly long explanations, and characters bluntly explaining the themes, it's just too annoying to bear.
Worst of all, it's the first film where Margot Robbie's charms start to wear thin. Between this and the upcoming Barbie movie, which I have zero interest in, I'm no longer just going to watch anything she's in because she's so great- she's now a AAA super-star and as with all stars my viewing choice will be dependent on the film. That is- I'm still a super fan but now that she's so in demand she is going to make crap films, just like anyone else (including her co-star Christian Bale, someone else I had to start choosing carefully with this roles).

Three Thousand Years of Longing
Tilda Swinton is a loner bookish literary scholar who finds a djinn (genie) that is Idris Elba being all sexy and powerful. But really it's a 1001 Nights type of thing where the story is a framing device for a historical fantasy romance, as Elba narrative depictions of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, a Turkish genius girl, and a really bizarre tale of sexual and political fat royals. I think if the movie had gotten any kind of publicity it would have been pilloried for its "problematic" depictions of the middle-east/orientalism and body image issues, among other things- I mean it's pretty hilariously over the top. But if you put all that aside, and that the whole premise is utterly absurd, and you like these two actors, then it's pretty good!
So yeah, a lot of caveats in my recommendation, but that's what airplane movies are for- things I wasn't planning on watching but it's there in front of me so whatever.

Then when we got back we watched:
Tár
What a weird movie! It's about a powerful person getting me-too'ed, but it's a woman, and it's in classical music. The whole thing feels like it's trying so hard to be RELEVANT... so, yeah, pure Oscar bait.
But of course it's all about Cate Blanchett's performance and of course she nails it, she's great, no doubt. The best thing she captures in the first half is that smug NPR/professorial tone of loving to hear themselves speak. As a listener of NPR and classical music and all that bougey middle class pseudo intellectual nonsense- I hear it, I laugh at it, I participate in it, and it was pretty funny seeing this send it up, whether it was deliberate or not.
The film's strength and weakness is that while there are other characters in the movie, none of them really matter? Emotionally, narratively, whatever- the film is called a psychological thriller/drama but usually those are from the viewpoint of the victim not the perpetrator.

Also, the film is over 2.5 hrs long which- ugh.
So if you don't like long movies, classical movies, or love Blanchett, skip it, but otherwise if you're in the right mood for this sort of thing go for it.

 

[Chimpzy]

Glorious - Cthulhu/toilet hanky panky

JK Simmons as the voice of an eldritch abomination hiding out in a bathroom stall at a roadside stop, talking to a random dude through a gloryhole, trying to convince to help the guy to help him with his carnal desires. Yeah, what's not to love? It's actually pretty good tho. Sort of a cosmic horror comedy, if that makes any sense. Also, doesn't waste your time. I find a lot of movies these days have runtimes far in excess of what is needed to tell their simple stories. This is over and done with in 1h15, laser focused on its setup, no superfluous subplot bloat, no outstaying its welcome.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Windfall: Meh / Great

A man attempts to burglarize the vacant vacation home of a wealthy businessman and his wife only to find the couple show up as he's attempting to leave. He effectively kidnaps the couple as he attempts to extort them for more money.

Not really sure this film knows what it wants to be. It initially comes of as quirky and slightly humorous, then veers towards the dramatic, and finishes in a very dark place. You initially see the social commentary it's going for, but in the final minutes, it turns even that on its head. I think I'd have enjoyed it more had it stayed in their vein of quirky humor. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Oh, I forgot add one more we watched in our last day in New Zealand because we had a couple of hours to kill:

M3ghan
A classic fun horror flick. Kind of a comedy-horror, or satire horror? Creepy AI doll toy murders everything, that's it. Good stuff. Under 2 hours, no B.S. Great voice acting with the doll, a creepy/sweet child, and best of all Allison Williams. One of my favorite little things about movies is how Allison Williams has become kind of a horror queen. I was a fan of the show Girls (I know, not a popular sentiment amongst gamr culture) and she was my favorite because her character- Marnie- was the worst. Williams is so adept at tapping into horrible white girl energy. Jordan Peele casting her in Get Out was genius and I just want to always watch Marnie in horror movies.

 

[BrawlMan]

Oh, I forgot add one more we watched in our last day in New Zealand because we had a couple of hours to kill:

M3ghan
A classic fun horror flick. Kind of a comedy-horror, or satire horror? Creepy AI doll toy murders everything, that's it. Good stuff. Under 2 hours, no B.S. Great voice acting with the doll, a creepy/sweet child, and best of all Allison Williams. One of my favorite little things about movies is how Allison Williams has become kind of a horror queen. I was a fan of the show Girls (I know, not a popular sentiment amongst gamr culture) and she was my favorite because her character- Marnie- was the worst. Williams is so adept at tapping into horrible white girl energy. Jordan Peele casting her in Get Out was genius and I just want to always watch Marnie in horror movies.

My older brother saw it on Sunday and he loves it. I'm going to try to catch a showing next week.

 

[laggyteabag]

I watched M3GAN last night. I thought it was alright.

Here in the UK it is rated 15, but I understand that it is only rated PG13 in the US, so I wasn't expecting anything particularly gory or scary.

As it stands, it felt like a less gruesome Childs Play, so I don't really feel like it brought anything new to the table.

It was fine, but I do feel like it was held back by its rating, and I wish that it leant more into its comedy angle.

Girlfriend really enjoyed it though.

 

[Baffle]

The Untouchables, which continues to be a good film. Wouldn't mind if the suits of that era had come back rather than, you know, the Peaky Blinders ones. ACAB though, obviously.

 

[Thaluikhain]

The Untouchables, which continues to be a good film. Wouldn't mind if the suits of that era had come back rather than, you know, the Peaky Blinders ones. ACAB though, obviously.

Yeah, holds up pretty well, despite everything.

 

[Gordon_4]

Avatar: the Way of Water - 9/10

Strong opening, middle kind of drags a little but is still engaging enough and the ending is one long but awesome set piece. I think Neyteri could have been utilised a bit more though, but Saldana is still captivating.

Also of note is I saw this in 3D, and I’ll be honest I think the underwater setting lends itself better to the effect than (most) of the forest and mountains did in the first one.

And holy fucking shit some of the shots in this movie are BEAUTIFUL. Like I know Cameron’s got an eye, but this shit is scary. And it works both ways with the RDA because all of their shit is the stuff sci-fi porn is made of.

Okay Cameron you mad son of a *****, I’m buying in for part three. Just don’t take fourteen years this time.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Avatar: the Way of Water - 9/10

Strong opening, middle kind of drags a little but is still engaging enough and the ending is one long but awesome set piece. I think Neyteri could have been utilised a bit more though, but Saldana is still captivating.

Also of note is I saw this in 3D, and I’ll be honest I think the underwater setting lends itself better to the effect than (most) of the forest and mountains did in the first one.

And holy fucking shit some of the shots in this movie are BEAUTIFUL. Like I know Cameron’s got an eye, but this shit is scary. And it works both ways with the RDA because all of their shit is the stuff sci-fi porn is made of.

Okay Cameron you mad son of a *****, I’m buying in for part three. Just don’t take fourteen years this time.

A non-cynical appreciation of a movie everyone loves to hate on because "popular"?

 

[Hawki]

A non-cynical appreciation of a movie everyone loves to hate on because "popular"?

Damn it, I'm so torn. I love the first Avatar, and think it's hated on for such that reason, but I'm really not fond of WOW...

HELP!

 

[Gordon_4]

Damn it, I'm so torn. I love the first Avatar, and think it's hated on for such that reason, but I'm really not fond of WOW...

HELP!

Could it be that Avatar was a story with a clear beginning, middle and end and Way of Water is a more obvious middle of a trilogy sort of film? The individual story is over but you know the bigger story is still yet to climax?

 

[BrawlMan]

A non-cynical appreciation of a movie everyone loves to hate on because "popular"?

Avatar: the Way of Water - 9/10

Strong opening, middle kind of drags a little but is still engaging enough and the ending is one long but awesome set piece. I think Neyteri could have been utilised a bit more though, but Saldana is still captivating.

Also of note is I saw this in 3D, and I’ll be honest I think the underwater setting lends itself better to the effect than (most) of the forest and mountains did in the first one.

And holy fucking shit some of the shots in this movie are BEAUTIFUL. Like I know Cameron’s got an eye, but this shit is scary. And it works both ways with the RDA because all of their shit is the stuff sci-fi porn is made of.

Okay Cameron you mad son of a *****, I’m buying in for part three. Just don’t take fourteen years this time.

Damn it, I'm so torn. I love the first Avatar, and think it's hated on for such that reason, but I'm really not fond of WOW...

HELP!

​

 

[Xprimentyl]

Damn it, I'm so torn. I love the first Avatar, and think it's hated on for such that reason, but I'm really not fond of WOW...

HELP!

Easy Peasy: Avatar is a film you enjoyed; Avatar: The Way of Water is one you did not. Enjoying one thing does not make you beholden to anything else relative to it. Orbital is the duo that got me into electronic music with their album "In Sides" in the '90s. I'd argue they peaked there, and I've not been as big a fan of any of their stuff since. I don't fault Orbital or think less of them, nor do I feel any need to shoehorn their later works into my repertoire because "Orbital." There's no dissonance or conflict.

People seem to forget that movies are entertainment, and critics like to ruin the fun by quibbling over niggling details. It's the reason words like "critic" and "critique" come with an inherently negative connotation. Yeah, it's fun and engaging to share one's opinion, but expecting it to affect anyone else's is the kind of hubris that makes pride one of the seven deadly sins.

Was WOW perfect? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes, quite so, and I don't need Double Toasted or any other YouTube University alumnus to confirm or deny that personal fact.

EDIT: I also fault The Lord of the Rings initial trilogy for setting a Hollywood standard that everything comes in threes at a minimum. It's felt like ever since the astronomic success of the first LotR movies, few have sought to release solid standalone films that don't bait the audience for more. At least Avatar put a decade plus between it's first and second installment of what's sure to be a cash grab for the next several years; I respect that much at least.

 

[BrawlMan]

EDIT: I also fault The Lord of the Rings initial trilogy for setting a Hollywood standard that everything comes in threes at a minimum. It's felt like ever since the astronomic success of the first LotR movies, few have sought to release solid standalone films that don't bait the audience for more. At least Avatar put a decade plus between it's first and second installment of what's sure to be a cash grab for the next several years; I respect that much at least.

That was already a problem, even before Lord of the Rings. There were plenty of movies from the 80s or '90s that tried to either end things in threes, or kept going. I'm excluding most straight to video actions sequels & horror films on the list. There were a few comedies from the late '80s and early 90s that ended in threes. Or at least tried to.

 

[Hawki]

Could it be that Avatar was a story with a clear beginning, middle and end and Way of Water is a more obvious middle of a trilogy sort of film? The individual story is over but you know the bigger story is still yet to climax?

Well, no, not really. You can see my review further back, But as to this specific point:

-Way of Water is no longer the middle of a trilogy, since Avatar 4 and 5 will now go ahead.

-Even if that wasn't the case, WOW has the problem of other trilogies where the trilogy part clearly came later. First film is stand-alone, makes big bucks, add-ons come later. So by itself, WOW doesn't work well, and as a bridge, I'm not sure how well it works either. You've got the main characters doing very little, so if Cameron had to wrap up his 'trilogy' with Avatar 3, very little groundwork has been set up for it. Bearing in mind that Avatar 3 is set to introduce two new major clans, so if Avatar 3 had to do that, plus resolve the conflict on Pandora? Yeah...

TBH, WOW feels more like the start of a story rather than the continuation of one. You have a massive time jump, plus the establishment of a new status quo within the first 10-20 minutes that obliterates the status quo established at the end of the last movie.

Easy Peasy: Avatar is a film you enjoyed; Avatar: The Way of Water is one you did not. Enjoying one thing does not make you beholden to anything else relative to it.

Um, thanks, but you understand I was being self-depricating, right? As in:

Avatar 1, Bob: I hate this film!

Avatar 1, Me: Liar! You only hate it because it's popular to hate it!

Avatar 2, Bob: I hate this film!

Avatar 2, Me: I do too! You're objective in your critique.

Mentioned this awhile ago, but every criticism I've seen levied at Avatar 1 over the years is criticism I've applied myself to Avatar 2. Which is kinda interesting, because from what I've seen on places like Reddit, the question as to which film is better seems to be a 50/50 split.

EDIT: I also fault The Lord of the Rings initial trilogy for setting a Hollywood standard that everything comes in threes at a minimum. It's felt like ever since the astronomic success of the first LotR movies, few have sought to release solid standalone films that don't bait the audience for more. At least Avatar put a decade plus between it's first and second installment of what's sure to be a cash grab for the next several years; I respect that much at least.

I hardly think LotR can be held responsible for this. Move trilogies existed well before LotR (see the first two Star Wars trilogies for instance), and LotR is definitely a case where it makes sense to have one film per book, especially since the main reason LotR became a trilogy was because of paper shortages at the time (the three books were written as one single work before publication), and Jackson had to fight for a three film adaptation rather than two.

On the other hand, Hollywood certainly has a fixation with trilogies, and it can be downright embarassing when the first 'epic installment' is never followed up, but, well, you win some, you lose some. Then again, Avatar's set to be a pentalogy at this point, so, um, yay?

 

[BrawlMan]

Um, thanks, but you understand I was being self-depricating, right? As in:

Avatar 1, Bob: I hate this film!

Avatar 1, Me: Liar! You only hate it because it's popular to hate it!

Avatar 2, Bob: I hate this film!

Avatar 2, Me: I do too! You're objective in your critique.

Mentioned this awhile ago, but every criticism I've seen levied at Avatar 1 over the years is criticism I've applied myself to Avatar 2. Which is kinda interesting, because from what I've seen on places like Reddit, the question as to which film is better seems to be a 50/50 split.

Spoiler: Beevs Avatar

 

[Gordon_4]

That was already a problem, even before Lord of the Rings. There were plenty of movies from the 80s or '90s that tried to either end things in threes, or kept going. I'm excluding most straight to video actions sequels & horror films on the list. There were a few comedies from the late '80s and early 90s that ended in threes. Or at least tried to.

I think while the Matrix and Lord of the Rings certainly weren’t the first or last trilogies ever made, I feel very confident their success is what really locked the blockbuster trilogy notion into the mindset of the execs in movie studios in the late 1990s early 2000s.