Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[Bob_McMillan]

Tried and failed to watch Rebel Moon. The opening shot had me confused, because it genuinely looked so bad I was wondering if the Netflix app was fucking up.

Then after that, the dialogue, sets, and characters just felt so fucking fake that I just gave up. Didn't even get to the first action sequence.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

There is no way two Rebel Moons are cheaper than producing a third season of Mindhunter. Netflix has blood on their mitts.

 

[Bartholen]

Tried and failed to watch Rebel Moon. The opening shot had me confused, because it genuinely looked so bad I was wondering if the Netflix app was fucking up.

Then after that, the dialogue, sets, and characters just felt so fucking fake that I just gave up. Didn't even get to the first action sequence.

I was excited from the very first shot. Straight away I was going: "Please, please start with some shitty exposition dump right here" in my head. Lo and behold, it did. And then the spaceship appeared, and I was laughing non-stop for the next 40 minutes.

Another thing: who is the "Child of Fire" in the title even referring to? My money's on Snyder not even knowing himself. It's yet another element of the movie where I think he just saw a cool combination of words somewhere (my money's on the song "Child of Burning Time" by Slipknot) and decided to put it in the movie without giving it any more thought.

There is no way two Rebel Moons are cheaper than producing a third season of Mindhunter. Netflix has blood on their mitts.

I'm betting on tax writeoffs and/or money laundering. Considering the film feels in all aspects like it was made by AI, there has to be some background shenanigans going on.

 

[Casual Shinji]

A ★★★ review of True Lies (1994)

"And make it quick. My horse is getting tired." "...Your horse?" This is still a fun movie, but it does have some flaws holding it back from truly being great, for me. Special fuck you to the stunt coordinator who sexually harassed/assaulted Eliza Dushku, then rigged a stunt to injure her after...

letterboxd.com

Casting Tom Arnold in this movie while he was pretty much being vommited out by the entire world at the time was foolishly brave.

This is lowkey one of my favourite James Cameron movies. Not only is it him just (seemingly) having fun and not being so goddamn serious, the lighthearted tone of this movie emphasizes his directorial muscles even more. This is in effect a comedy, but it has the cinematic chops rarely afforded to a comedy, even an action one.

The thing with Eliza Dushku does tarnish things a bit though.

 

[Bartholen]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, 6/10

When this was released, it was living firmly in the shadow of Harry Potter and LOTR despite being one of the foundational stones of the genre. Plus there were also tons of other fantasy adaptations coming out at the time, so this never became the giant franchise Disney was clearly aiming for. However, coming up on 20 years since its release it no longer has that burden and can stand on its own. Despite that it's unfortunately just okay.

There is genuinely great and inspired stuff here. The kid actors are really good and genuinely sell being siblings, the music's good, the effects hold up mostly quite well, and the first act is legitimately great. It commits to that fairytale sensibility pretty hard, and as a result feels distinct from either HP or LOTR. It's just unfortunate that as it goes on the movie starts feeling more and more like a studio obligation, and that fairytale whimsy gives way to more poe-faced big fantasy. The script turns from "this happens, but this happens, therefore this happens" to just "this happens, and then this happens, and then this happens". At just over 2 hours it feels like it's skipping a big chunk of the second act and speedruns into the big climax. It's not that stuff feels rushed, it feels that stuff is straight up missing. This would greatly benefit from a longer runtime for better worldbuilding. As it stands it feels more like a sightseeing tour than something that would properly get you invested and immersed in the world.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Cherry 2000 (1987)

Basically an 80's cyberpunk anime OVA in live action. Extremely silly, but very entertaining.

 

[Ag3ma]

Enys Men (2022)

British very low budget folk horror set in the 1970s about a middle-aged woman on a remote Cornish island who is monitoring some flowers. The plot (such as there is, which is not much) revolves around a series of events, but the viewer is deliberately left unclear about precisely what the relationship between them and the woman is, such that it is more an unsettling melange of events revolving around that might be current events, memory, fantasy or a mix of the three, but which somehow coheres enough. It's not really scary as such, but succeeds at being an intriguing and atmospheric curio, and it's a nice touch with the 1970s low budget British horror-styled cinematography.

 

[Gordon_4]

A ★★★ review of True Lies (1994)

"And make it quick. My horse is getting tired." "...Your horse?" This is still a fun movie, but it does have some flaws holding it back from truly being great, for me. Special fuck you to the stunt coordinator who sexually harassed/assaulted Eliza Dushku, then rigged a stunt to injure her after...

letterboxd.com

Other than what happened to Dusku, the film is less funny in certain parts now because the dynamic between Harry and Helen is really uncomfortable - James Cameron was going through a divorce at the time, can you tell? - and probably qualifies as stalking legally, and is definitely controlling and borderline abusive at least until everything is laid bare. Then its just uncomfortable.

But, the scenes with the Harrier will never not be awesome, and the bits when they drug Arnie to tell the truth are gold:

"Have you killed people before?"

"Yeah, but they were all bad"

 

[thebobmaster]

Other than what happened to Dusku, the film is less funny in certain parts now because the dynamic between Harry and Helen is really uncomfortable - James Cameron was going through a divorce at the time, can you tell? - and probably qualifies as stalking legally, and is definitely controlling and borderline abusive at least until everything is laid bare. Then its just uncomfortable.

But, the scenes with the Harrier will never not be awesome, and the bits when they drug Arnie to tell the truth are gold:

"Have you killed people before?"

"Yeah, but they were all bad"

One touch I like about the Arnie drugging scene as well is that throughout the movie, Arnie is actually putting on a mostly American accent, and only starts lapsing into his Austrian accent after being drugged.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Other than what happened to Dusku, the film is less funny in certain parts now because the dynamic between Harry and Helen is really uncomfortable - James Cameron was going through a divorce at the time, can you tell? - and probably qualifies as stalking legally, and is definitely controlling and borderline abusive at least until everything is laid bare. Then its just uncomfortable.

But, the scenes with the Harrier will never not be awesome, and the bits when they drug Arnie to tell the truth are gold:

"Have you killed people before?"

"Yeah, but they were all bad"

There are scenes that frame Harry in a nefarious way though regarding Helen, so the movie isn't totally unaware. That dinner scene after he found out Helen's "cheating", and we get the zoom-in on his face that's just filled with murderous intent. And then later when he goes to get her bag to be bugged the movie purposely puts ominous thunder and lighting over Harry slowly walking up the stairs. The movie is oddly aware and unaware of what it's doing. Lindsay Ellis put it well in her review when she pretty much stated that Harry should thank his lucky stars when those terrorists showed up at the hotel room when they did, because if they hadn't he'd be so thoroughly fucked with Helen.

 

[thebobmaster]

For the record, Jamie Lee Curtis is on record as being in favor of the stripping scene. She's said that it was basically Helen taking control of the scenario and being sexy in her own right, and pointed out that if Helen wanted to, she could have walked out at any time, which is exactly what she tries to do when Harry goes too far.

 

[Thaluikhain]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, 6/10

When this was released, it was living firmly in the shadow of Harry Potter and LOTR despite being one of the foundational stones of the genre. Plus there were also tons of other fantasy adaptations coming out at the time, so this never became the giant franchise Disney was clearly aiming for. However, coming up on 20 years since its release it no longer has that burden and can stand on its own. In that regard it's unfortunately just okay.

There is genuinely great and inspired stuff here. The kid actors are really good and genuinely sell being siblings, the music's good, the effects hold up mostly quite well, and the first act is legitimately great. It commits to that fairytale sensibility pretty hard, and as a result feels distinct from either HP or LOTR. It's just unfortunate that as it goes on the movie starts feeling more and more like a studio obligation, and that fairytale whimsy gives way to more poe-faced big fantasy. The script turns from "this happens, but this happens, therefore this happens" to just "this happens, and then this happens, and then this happens". At just over 2 hours it feels like it's skipping a big chunk of the second act and speedruns into the big climax. It's not that stuff feels rushed, it feels that stuff is straight up missing. This would greatly benefit from a longer runtime for better worldbuilding. As it stands it feels more like a sightseeing tour than something that would properly get you invested and immersed in the world.

Yeah, this very much was a cash-in job, but I really liked Tilda Swinton playing someone that wasn't the White Witch, but was entertaining regardless.

 

[gorfias]

The Equalizer 3

It's more Equalizer! Better than Taken 3, not as good as John Wick 3, The Equalizer 3 stars the ever compelling Denzel Washington, of whom I'm legally required to mention is a credible action fogey at 68. But I also think there's nothing THAT special about the movie. It's partly marketed as a reunion with Dakota Fanning, kinda like how Magnificent Seven boasted a Denzel-Ethan reunion, but the script doesn't really acknowledge that.

It's good enough. I don't know what else to tell you.

Finally saw it on Netflix.
Dunno why it makes me think of 1987's "Malone".

Spoiler

The movie starts by establishing that the Equalizer is a one man army that can and does single handed, wipe out entire armies of bad guys. I do hate "merciful bad guys or bad guys that act like they're arresting the good guy once they have him dead bang after several minutes of trying to kill him. They have Denzel. All they have to do is shoot him as he sits there. Instead, they wait for him to kill them all. Maybe worse than Dr. Evil plan to deal with Austin Powers. Then we spend 2/3 of the movie establishing some very bad men we would like to see gruesomely dispatched. Well, we know the Equalizer is up to that task. He did it at the beginning of the dang movie!!! Aaaand then he does so.

Rating: Fast Forward to some fun parts.

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★★★★ review of Perfect Blue (1997)

"This blood...Rumi, is it real?" The plot of this film follows Mima (Junko Iwau), a former idol singer who has decided to switch career paths to become an actress. Working on a television drama called Double Bind, under the direction of Tadokoro (Shinpachi Tsuji), things start to get weird for...

letterboxd.com

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

A ★★★ review of True Lies (1994)

"And make it quick. My horse is getting tired." "...Your horse?" This is still a fun movie, but it does have some flaws holding it back from truly being great, for me. Special fuck you to the stunt coordinator who sexually harassed/assaulted Eliza Dushku, then rigged a stunt to injure her after...

letterboxd.com

Stunt Coordinator Allegedly Broke Arnold Schwarzenegger's $120M Movie Co-Star's Ribs after She Accused Him of S*xual Molestation

Arnold Schwarzenegger supports Eliza Dushku as she accuses True Lies stunt coordinator Joel Kramer of s*xually molesting her when she was 12.

fandomwire.com

Her full post -

https://www.reddit.com/r/news/s/ufWwqsVlG1

Wasn’t the only one either -

After Eliza Dushku’s Allegations, Other Women Accuse Joel Kramer of Misconduct

Eliza Dushku claimed that stunt coordinator Joel Kramer molested her on the set of True Lies when she was 12 years old.

www.vulture.com

Oddly cannot find anything after this time period about whatever happened to the guy, but hopefully he’s not in the field anymore.

 

[Ag3ma]

Flux Gourmet (2022)

I suppose this is an arthouse black comedy. It's by the reliably weird and entertaining Peter Strickland, following a couple of horror movies ("Berberian Sound Studio" and "In Fabric"). The plot appears to be about an art project where a team of artists make sonic cooking, as narrated by a journalist who visits them alongside also getting diagnosis of his gastrointestinal disorder, thus is a sort of fake documentary. Broadly, I suppose it's really a satire of artistic pomposity, based around the power struggles, artistic disagreements and rivalries between the members of the group, the patron funding their project, and various other characters.

Strickland has a very distinctive style, and this is well in his groove although not his best. It's not hilarious so much as amusing, frequently somewhat nauseating, but I feel better for having watched it because it was entertaining, and it's healthy to watch stuff that's so defiantly offbeat. God knows someone has to, otherwise no-one will make any.

 

[Gordon_4]

A ★★★★★ review of Perfect Blue (1997)

"This blood...Rumi, is it real?" The plot of this film follows Mima (Junko Iwau), a former idol singer who has decided to switch career paths to become an actress. Working on a television drama called Double Bind, under the direction of Tadokoro (Shinpachi Tsuji), things start to get weird for...

letterboxd.com

I saw that when I was 14, a friend loaned me the imported VHS (oh God I feel old) and I loaned him my copy of Ninja Scroll. Perfect Blue, well, blew my fucking mind.

 

[BrawlMan]

A ★★★★★ review of Perfect Blue (1997)

"This blood...Rumi, is it real?" The plot of this film follows Mima (Junko Iwau), a former idol singer who has decided to switch career paths to become an actress. Working on a television drama called Double Bind, under the direction of Tadokoro (Shinpachi Tsuji), things start to get weird for...

letterboxd.com

I saw that when I was 14, a friend loaned me the imported VHS (oh God I feel old) and I loaned him my copy of Ninja Scroll. Perfect Blue, well, blew my fucking mind.

I remember seeing the ads and previews for this when I was about 8 or 9 at the time. They creeped the fuck out. Little kid me did not want to know what was going back then.

 

[thebobmaster]

That shot/moment near the end of the movie, where Rumi is about to be hit by the truck and hallucinates the headlights as spotlights, hearing a phantom crowd cheering and spreading her arms in an ovation...FUCKING CHILLS.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Oddly cannot find anything after this time period about whatever happened to the guy, but hopefully he’s not in the field anymore.

According to IMDB, he hasn't done anything since that's been released since 2017, but there is an upcoming thing called Western Conviction which he is the stunt co-ordinator for.