Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[Old_Hunter_77]

god bless you, u/PsychedelicDIamond. Putting Pynchon-Lynch-California essay in space where we ***** about parry mechanics and dumb trailers lol

Around last year I was finally get into reading Lot 49 but then I was kind of burnt out on abstract stuff so I held off and then forgot about it so next time I'm at the library I will remember this.

Re: California, I've always seen it as the most American state- it's the further west, so the most frontier, and the newest, in our new frontier-culture country. It's like mini-American in the extreme. And to your point about its reputation as some baston progressivisism, it's also where Nixon and Reagan made their careers. Learning about LA and San Fran in the late 60's through the lens of rock music history really corrected a lot that misunderstanding I had about that time and place.

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★★★ review of The Boy and the Heron (2023)

“Mahito turned into a parakeet...” This film had quite a protracted production. After Hayao Miyazaki retired for realzies after making The Wind Rises, he unretired in 2016 after working on a short film called Boro the Caterpillar with the intention of making one final-final feature length film...

letterboxd.com

With the exception of The Red Turtle, which is not on streaming, I have now seen every Studio Ghibli film.

 

[Bartholen]

I watch this probably once a year or so (watched it this Halloween) and it's a great movie. I don't really think going into it not knowing anything about the movie is that big a deal because literally the first scene gives "it" away and they cut back and forth between the characters throughout the movie. By like the gas station scene, you should be picking up what's going on as the movie isn't trying to be a twist movie.

I agree to an extent, but I wasn't implying that I'd consider CitW a "twist" movie like Sixth Sense. I still think that knowing as little as possible does elevate the experience, because it helps with the sense of confusion over what the movie is actually about. The surprise with "Cabin" is more of a transition between "what", "why" and finally "how". As in, initally you're going "what is going on?", then "why is this going on?" and finally "how is this going to end up?" Like I said, in the theater I was sure the movie was about to end like 5 different times during it, and then it kept going. I don't think I'd have gotten that experience if I knew it to be a deconstructionist slasher movie from the outset.

 

[Casual Shinji]

With the exception of The Red Turtle, which is not on streaming, I have now seen every Studio Ghibli film.

Guess again. There's a short animated film based on Totoro that apparently can only be viewed at the Ghibli museum in Japan. I think it's about Mei and a little catbus kitten.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

I agree to an extent, but I wasn't implying that I'd consider CitW a "twist" movie like Sixth Sense. I still think that knowing as little as possible does elevate the experience, because it helps with the sense of confusion over what the movie is actually about. The surprise with "Cabin" is more of a transition between "what", "why" and finally "how". As in, initally you're going "what is going on?", then "why is this going on?" and finally "how is this going to end up?" Like I said, in the theater I was sure the movie was about to end like 5 different times during it, and then it kept going. I don't think I'd have gotten that experience if I knew it to be a deconstructionist slasher movie from the outset.

Yeah, it's definitely better going in not knowing anything about really any movie. There is the fun of figuring out a movie like Cabin for sure but I also feel that the overall enjoyment of the movie isn't very dependent on that as well. It's nowhere near a twist movie like Sixth Sense as you mentioned but also not like a standard mystery movie or con movie where you get a pretty noticeable diminishing return when watching those a 2nd time.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

god bless you, u/PsychedelicDIamond. Putting Pynchon-Lynch-California essay in space where we ***** about parry mechanics and dumb trailers lol

Around last year I was finally get into reading Lot 49 but then I was kind of burnt out on abstract stuff so I held off and then forgot about it so next time I'm at the library I will remember this.

Re: California, I've always seen it as the most American state- it's the further west, so the most frontier, and the newest, in our new frontier-culture country. It's like mini-American in the extreme. And to your point about its reputation as some baston progressivisism, it's also where Nixon and Reagan made their careers. Learning about LA and San Fran in the late 60's through the lens of rock music history really corrected a lot that misunderstanding I had about that time and place.

I mean, I also post that on my letterboxd so I'm not just leaving it to be buried here.

But, you know, I enjoy writing about movies and games and books that I'm passionate about. I've given up on ever getting paid for it but I'm happy enough doing it for free.

Also, definitely recommend reading Crying of Lot 49. It's funny and you can finish it in an afternoon. And it's relatively easy to follow, it's basically a detective novel, it's not like Gravity's Rainbow where you're getting jerked around all over the place, it's one single viewpoint.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The only Pynchon novel I've read is Crying of Lot 49 (which I liked) but that was not enough to make me enjoy movie Inherent Vice. Like I *get* "hysterical realism" or whatever they call it now from Pynchon and DeLillo but I find it hard to tolerate in movie form.

 

[Samtemdo8]

The Twilight Zone - The Movie.

Nancy Cartwright was sent to cartoon land in this movie. She's literally forever cursed to play a Cartoon character lol

Jerry Goldsmith's score goes hard in the Nightmare at 20,000 feet segment.

And yes the tragedy of the John Landis segment makes sense now that I see the movie in full context.

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★★★ review of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

“What does the diary tell you that it does not tell us?” “It tells me that goose-stepping morons like yourself should try reading books instead of burning them!” This film's production was fairly straightforward, but pre-production was an entirely different story. The writing process was...

letterboxd.com

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

The only Pynchon novel I've read is Crying of Lot 49 (which I liked) but that was not enough to make me enjoy movie Inherent Vice. Like I *get* "hysterical realism" or whatever they call it now from Pynchon and DeLillo but I find it hard to tolerate in movie form.

Pynchon is an author uniquely concerned with where we are, how we got here and what it means and can write about it in a way that doesn't put me to sleep. Which I appreciate greatly. Reading Gravity's Rainbow (for the second time, first time I hardly understood a thing) was one of those times where something just clicked with me and I started to understand things differently. Very formative experience.

That said, the P.T. Anderson movie is really only a passable adaptation of Inherent Vice. Leaves a lot out and muddles what's already a very ambiguous plot. Also, Phoenix as Doc doesn't quite work. Love the guy but he plays him too dopey and not groovy enough.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

The Twilight Zone - The Movie.

Nancy Cartwright was sent to cartoon land in this movie. She's literally forever cursed to play a Cartoon character lol

What year was this? Because somewhat ironically she made an announcement about retiring from The Simpsons after what, 35 years now.

 

[thebobmaster]

What year was this? Because somewhat ironically she made an announcement about retiring from The Simpsons after what, 35 years now.

The movie came out in 1983, so 6 years before The Simpsons premiered.

 

[FakeSympathy]

Ray (2004)

My second viewing. This is how I was introduced to the late Ray Charles with my first viewing, and my god the second viewing is just as emotional.

I normally don't watch biography/base-on-true-story films, because they tend to dramatize the actual events or completely fabricate story bits. Don't get me wrong, creative liberties need to be taken to tell a good cinematography narrative, but these movies sometimes cross the line; I'm looking at you, Patch Adams and The Blindside!

But Ray movie is different. It humbles the main character, and shows that behind all the success, he is a boy who just wanted to keep the promises with his mom. The movie does take creative liberty here and there, and there are tons of inaccuracies. Most notably that scene where he sees a vision of his mother, which I'm willing to bet is the portrayal of his struggle after her death and his relationship with her. But seeing as the actual Ray Charles endorsed the movie before his passing I am willing to let them slide.

Jamie Foxx KILLED IT! There is a behind-the-scene video of him jamming out with actual Ray Charles, and I swear I was seeing a doppleganger. And thorughout the film, Jamie clearly understood who Ray was.

I also went to watch his performance of "America, the beautiful" on youtube. Idk, maybe that's what made me love this movie even more.

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★½ review of MaXXXine (2024)

“I will not accept a life I do not deserve.” This film takes place in 1985, and follows the sole survivor of X, Maxine (Mia Goth). She has made it as a porn star, and is now seeking to use a horror sequel by the name of The Puritan II to make her break into Hollywood proper, with the help of her...

letterboxd.com

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Red One

You know that joke about how The Rock always does jungle movies? I posit he also always makes this other kind of movie, where he's the straight man to a twerpy jokester/lowlife. First there was Stifler, then Kevin Hart, then Ryan Reynolds, and now Chris Evans in his latest in a series of campaigns of playing a douchebag.

This is an aggressively soulless Christmas action comedy with little to no action or comedy. Santa Claus is kidnapped (J.K. Simmons, playing buff St. Nick as a nod to those viral gym pics I think) 24 hours before Christmas and his bodyguard (La Roca) teams up with the wascally wabbit who unwittingly sold him out (La Antorcha Humana) to rescue him. Lucy Liu phones it in, as Lucy Liu will do, while the villain is a bafflingly miscast Sally Draper.

Everything that happens in the movie feels like a pointless detour, and then it ends. I'll give them credit for two jokes: "The trolls are scouring the internet" (cue fantasy trolls behaving like you know what at their desks) and a recurring gag about how every toy store in the world apparently has a Karen complaining about "essential oils". Written and directed by Jake Kasdan, son of Lawrence. Sometimes it's not who you know, it's who your dad knows.

Juror #2

A very good movie about a juror at a murder trial who begins wondering whether he himself committed the crime being prosecuted. Maybe that wasn't a deer he hit that rainy night about a year ago, when that girl was found dead at the bottom of a gorge by the road. Everybody else in the jury is satisfied but juror #2 decides to pull a juror #8 and introduce the idea of reasonable doubt, more out of a sense of guilt than a sense for justice.

"Sometimes justice isn't about the truth," he says at one point. Is he willing to send an innocent but violent asshole to jail so he can enjoy his second chance at life (he's a recovering alcoholic), stay by his pregnant wife and raise their daughter? While I appreciated the dilemma being played for pathos I was never fully convinced that this man's life would be ruined should he be found, worst case scenario, of involuntary manslaughter. He didn't realize he'd killed someone (did he?) and he wasn't even drinking, although try proving that in court.

Toni Collette is prosecuting the boyfriend, Chris Messina is defending him. I liked that they made the lawyers basically friends outside of court, rather than play up a melodramatic rivalry. J.K. Simmons shows up as a fellow juror who's an ex cop and starts snooping around in his own time. Kiefer Sutherland has a few scenes as Hoult's sponsor, who's also a lawyer, although I don't think the movie fully delivered on the character.

I liked the movie and if this is Clint's final one so be it. I'm kinda tired of considering every new movie he makes as a send-off. Every goddamn movie he's made since 1992's Unforgiven is labeled a send-off of some sort.

 

[bluegate]

Mufasa

One thing I am confident about is that this movie's songs won't be heard in musicals three decades from now. Or maybe even any musical.

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★★★½ review of Home Alone (1990)

"Do you guys give up, or are you thirsty for more?" This film did have a few bumps in production. One of the biggest ones that almost killed the movie was John Hughes promising distributors Warner Bros. that he could make the film on a $10 million budget. Knowing how big of a bind he was risking...

letterboxd.com

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Lions for Lambs

Robert Redford's terribly urgent 2007 take on America's war on terror and the invasion of Afghanistan, which boils down to "Sucks that we're here but what are we supposed to do, leave?". Took you long enough.

My hot take is that it's boring as sin, on top of not very interesting. It's from a time in history when Bin Laden was the bogeyman of every war drama and the most scandalous thing that could happen in politics was Clinton would facefuck an intern or W would say something funny. Maybe 5 years ago I would've tolerated it as a time capsule. Post-2020 I don't care and I don't get anything out of it.

It stars Redford, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, each of them stuck in conversations that roughly take up two thirds of the movie. The other third is boilerplate: two soldiers trapped behind enemy lines, firing at enemies off camera.

Redford is lecturing student Andrew Garfield about civic duty, while The Cruise and The Streep trade barbs as politician and reporter, respectively. Here I posit Tom is wrong for any part that has him sitting behind a desk, droning on about what he's going to do when he gets around to do it, and Meryl is no fun when she isn't having fun.

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★★★★ review of The Secret of NIMH (1982)

“Courage of the heart is very rare. The stone has a power when it's there.” As you might expect for the feature film debut for a director auteur, this did not have the smoothest of productions. It wasn't as rough as some, but much like Walt Disney had decades earlier, Don Bluth put a lot on the...

letterboxd.com

 

[Casual Shinji]

I just watched Deadpool and Wolverine, and it was predictably not to my taste at all. I didn't much like the previous movies either, but curiosity ultimately won out. I can't say I laughed once or was entertained, but that might be because at all times I was bracing myself for Ryan Reynolds' cringey 'dad at the school playground telling fart jokes to pre-teens' attempts at humor. Don't know how else to discribe it really. From the aggressive attempts at tame 'dick sucking/crotch grabbing' jokes at every turn, to the insertion of popsongs to make the audience go 'Hey, there shouldn't be a popsong here, now that's just silly lol'. You'd think with how provocative this movie wants to be it'd actually show some gay stuff, but instead it just mentions dick jokes and butt sex to get a snicker out of folks who still think it's 20 years ago.

Matthew MacFaydyen was neat though, I guess.