Movies Rate and Discuss the Last Movie You Saw v.16

[GearSolidMetal]

Rewatched New Jack City.

I wonder how people will perceive it after all this time.
To me it's a classic and a little better than most hood movies of that time.

New Jack City was mentioned in another thread recently and it occured to me I've never seen it.
I remedied that, and with about 10 minutes left I realized I had previously watched it a very long time ago and had forgotten it...

...because it was a very forgettable movie, aside from the excellent cast.

The 5 minute action scene with Ice-T chasing Chris Rock in a bike... completely pointless with cringe directing.

And it had a great anti-drug & anti-organized-crime message, which was very much needed at the time (early 90s).

Although I watched it a week ago those are the only two points I remember from it. Still very forgettable.

I bet in another 25 years I'll be forgetting I watched it so I'll accidently watch it again.

 

[Joe_Armstrong]

New Jack City was mentioned in another thread recently and it occured to me I've never seen it.
I remedied that, and with about 10 minutes left I realized I had previously watched it a very long time ago and had forgotten it...

...because it was a very forgettable movie, aside from the excellent cast.

The 5 minute action scene with Ice-T chasing Chris Rock in a bike... completely pointless with cringe directing.

And it had a great anti-drug & anti-organized-crime message, which was very much needed at the time (early 90s).

Although I watched it a week ago those are the only two points I remember from it. Still very forgettable.

I bet in another 25 years I'll be forgetting I watched it so I'll accidently watch it again.

To me it's a hyperbole retelling of the crimes and culture of that time,
with a happy ending.

Also, could never understand that that cop was Judd Nelson compared to him
in the Breakfast Club.

 

[eddymotto]

Kill the Irishman (USA, 2011)

American crime film directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. It stars Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer.

Based on a true story, the film chronicles the rise and fall of Danny Green (Stevenson), a Cleveland based Irish mobster. It takes place in the 60's and 70's.

The film is like Goodfellas but not good. There are a lot of flaws. The biggest is probably the terrible script that leaves some very good actors looking ridiculous as they spit out dialogue that no human being would ever utter.

I like these types of crime films and so I found this movie (barely) watchable.

Rating: 4.5/10

 

[MacGregor]

Great movies from the great Sam. (Only studio lawyers call him Mr. Peckinpah)

 

[GSP_37]

American Pastoral free on PlutoTV? 6 out of 10

I remembered Jennifer Connelly on a talk show talking about her long time make up artist prepping a merkin for her nude scene, so kept in the back of my mind to watch this. She did get buck naked, but didn't show nipple or beaver, but did establish her boobs didn't shrink all the way and she did have decent small boob size and shape. Seemed like a weird mental breakdown scene to throw in and could have been much better. This was probably right before she downgraded to Snowpiercer appearance.

The story is really fooked up. The little daughter stuttered and had a therapist for it who turned out likely fooked up her mind and sent her to radicals who completed the brainwashing making her a terrorist bomber and later she leaves them for some fooked up cult and ends up a filthy squatter with decayed teeth. They don't say for sure but sounded like the therapist shared her personal details with some other girl who then used that info to get cash from the family and she was fooked up brainwashed as well.

 

[mb23100]

Alien: Romulus 8.5/10

Nothing groundbreaking here but a solid addition to the franchise. I would recommend seeing it in theaters because the special effects were really nicely done. I enjoyed how the movie didn't really dick around and didn't feel like it had any unnecessary scenes or plot lines, a big gripe of mine with recent films. Just a straight forward, free standing, well done Alien horror flick. At first I thought the actor who played the android was a poor choice but by the end i left thinking about what a great job he did.

 

[eddymotto]

Civil War (USA, 2024)

Dystopian thriller written and directed by Alex Garland, starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman.

The film is set in a near future amid a bloody American civil war. The details of the war are left ambiguous. We only know that Washington DC is under siege by the “western forces”, which are led by California and Texas. There is a separate separatist movement led by Florida.

Lee Smith (Dunst) and her colleague, Joel (Moura), take a dangerous trip to Washington DC through a warzone to interview the beleaguered President. They are accompanied by veteran journalist Sammy (Henderson) and rookie photojournalist Jessie (Spaeny).

It is helpful to understand that this is not primarily a war movie. It is a film about journalists and journalism and the concepts of objectivity and ambition in the face of human suffering. The origins and nature of the Civil War are left ambiguous by design. The war is purely context. Garland could have set the film in Syria and covered most of the same ideas. Placing it in the USA makes it much more jarring. The film spells this out when the characters get pinned down next to some snipers. The sniper gets frustrated with Joel’s questions about who they are shooting at and asks, “Are you retarded?”. They are trying to kill the opposing sniper because he is trying to kill them. What is not to understand?

The characters do not care about the broader war. They want pictures of mayhem and an interview with the President, whom they are convinced is unlikely to inhabit this earthy plane of existence for much longer. Lee and Sammy are cynical and seem almost resigned to their ragged pursuit of the big scoop. Jessie is vaguely idealistic, but mostly ambitious. Joel is macho, claiming that distant fighting gives him an erection, until the violence hits home and he is left in tears.

The characters are various types of unlikable, even if Garland is careful not to make them outright monstrous. Combined with slow pacing in the first hour, the film has a definite ceiling. The action, and the characters, heat up on the second half and the film has a worthwhile and memorable ending.

Rating: 7.5/10

 

[I Am Legion]

Nandor Fodor and The Talking Mongoose--6.0/10
Based on real events that took place in the 30's, this is about a Paranormal Researcher named Nandor (Simon Pegg), who along with his assistant Anne (Minnie Driver) go to investigate the legend of Gef. Gef the Mongoose, is a local legend on the Isle of Man, that apparently speaks wisdom to the locals and lives on a farm owned by the Irving family. This is a quirky little black comedy that misses the mark across the boards but is still an enjoyable watch for those that like quirky little weird movies. Pegg plays this part in a way that showcases his talent but the director holds him back from going full Wes Anderson. Had it gone full comedy, like say "The Royal Tenenbaums" it might have worked better. Interesting and enjoyable parts played by Christopher LLoyd and Minnie Driver.

 

[Highway99]

Has anyone not seen Nosferatu the Vampyre? Just re-watched it...What a beautifully shot, atmospheric Victorian gothic masterpiece.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Holy shit. Never knew this happened.

 

[Gene Tunney]

Necessary Roughness (1991)

Necessary Roughness has a few great dialog sequences (at least two), fine acting from fine actors who have excelled in other projects, including a bodaciously unfettered Sinbad and Kathy Ireland who is quite awesome.

However, Necessary Roughness does not have much of a soul. It doesn't know if it wants to be an introspective quest or a goofball romp. I don't like the plainness of the cinematography. It feels cheap (that was the 90's for you), as if half of the budget went to the evander "real deal" holyfield, dick butkus, and jim kelly cameos.

4.3/10

 

[eddymotto]

Boiling Point (Japan, 1990)

Japanese crime film, with a heavy dose of black comedy, written and directed by Takeshi Kitano. Kitano also plays one of the major characters.

Masaki (Yurei Yanagi) is a quiet and uncharismatic young baseball player. He is the worst player on a perpetually losing local amateur team.

Masaki works at a local car wash and gets into an altercation with a bullying yakuza thug. The incident sets off a chain of events that includes Masiki and another member of the baseball team travelling to Okinawa to buy guns. There they meet Uehara (Kitano), a disgraced yakuza with a penchant for violence.

Boiling Point was Kitano’s second film, and it already shows many facets of what would become Kitano’s signatures: black humour, sudden intense violence, gangsters, sex, love, revenge, and a surprising ending.

Characters often stare into the camera without much expression or reaction to what is going on around them. Humorous scenes can turn violent without warning and vice versa. There are a lot of long takes and it moves from scene to scene without explanation or set up. It has a curiously deadpan tone. Take away the violence and add some bright colors and it feels like a distant cousin to a Wes Anderson film, as bizarre as that feels to say.

The ambiguous ending requires a careful reevaluation of the rest of the film.

Rating: 7.5/10

 

[Patrick Jane]

Derailed (2002)

You know, i've long stubbornly refused to watch Under Siege 2 because once i saw the shitty train cover with Seagal photoshopped in, i believe i remembered that it was rated extremely poorly, despite me being interested after reading Seagal actually did some proper grappling moves like a guard and an RNC in the film.

Yesterday i found out that i was thinking of the wrong movie. The movie i was confusing it with was a direct to video JCVD movie called "Derailed", which looks deceptively similar on the cover. To my shock, they didn't just copy the plot of the film here but even copied the fight scenes. Van Damme even literally does an Aikido style Ikkyo in one scene to disarm one of his enemies.

While i love low effort action films, this one seems to not understand it's place, trying to implement large scale action setpieces with explosions, helicopters and collapsing bridges into it. But since it's low budget, it has some of the absolute worst special effects i have ever seen. Abysmal greenscreen, abysmal CGI and even abysmal miniatures. All of this shit could have been completely deleted from the script and the movie would have been better. The film also has some weird editing.

The film also stars Van Dammes real life son as well as the ex-wife of the great-great-grandson of Otto von Bismarck for good measure. I swear i am not making this up.

I will give this one a 5/10 but i actually like the movie. It's just that the unnecessary special effects and poor editing drag it down a bit.

 

[HUGHPHUG]

Has anyone not seen Nosferatu the Vampyre? Just re-watched it...What a beautifully shot, atmospheric Victorian gothic masterpiece.

Love this movie, the scene when Ganz and Kinski are eating at the table having first met is one of my favourite scenes in cinema history.

 

[Pliny Pete]

Watched Fly Me To The Moon the other day, enjoyed it very much, it was a fun little period piece full of 60's kitschy nostalgia and lots of A-list actors that all put in solid performances

Scarlett Johansson was hot as fuck as usual, Woody Harrelson was his charming best as the nameless CIA spook and the flamboyant over the top gay director was hilarious, plus it had a lot of beautiful classic cars in it

Story was straight forward, they gotta secretly film the moon landing on a sound stage to use as an emergency back up just in case the television broadcast equipment on the real moon landing mission malfunctions, lots of funny moments and wild slapstick comedy ensues along the way

There were a few genuine sad moments as we relived the horrible failures of the early Apollo missions

The rom com elements is paint by numbers but nothing wrong with that as its a side piece to the main storyline, figuring out how the heck they were gonna pull off this massive deception in front of the whole wide world with no one noticing

Loved seeing all that primitive retro technology and the conspiracy shenanigans was right up my alley

The producers did a great job recreating the 60's that we know from television, it reminded me a lot of Back To The Future in that way


All in all, a fun trip to the stars that I highly recommend if youre in the mood for a wacky little adventure thats full of charm and some genuine heartfelt emotion


Its exactly what you expect it to be from the trailer so if you like that, you'll like the movie


6.7 Thumbs Up Outta 7

 

[HenryFlower]

S E P T E M B E R . . .

mid:

Haywire (USA, 2011) - 2.5/5
Rebel Ridge (USA, 2024) - 2.5/5
Snack Shack (USA, 2024) - 2.5/5

decent:

Problemista (USA, 2023) - 3/5
Wicked Little Letters (UK, 2023) - 3/5
Joy Ride (USA, 2023) - 3/5
The French Dispatch (USA, 2021) - 3/5

good:

Magic Crystal (Hong Kong, 1986) - 3/5
Kinds of Kindness (USA/UK/Ireland, 2024) - 3/5

very good:

Election (USA, 1999) - 3.5/5
Junkyard Dog (France, 2023) - 3.5/5

great+:

Carol (USA/UK, 2015) - 4/5
Network (USA, 1976) - 4/5
House of Tolerance (France, 2011) - 4/5

can't be put in a box:

Mission: Killfast (USA, 1991) - 2/5

 

[eddymotto]

Un Flic (France, 1972)

French crime thriller directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. It was Melville's last film. It stars Alain Delon, Richard Crenna, and Catherine Deneuve.

Simon (Crenna) leads a group of sophisticated thieves who execute daring, but meticulously planned, heists. Detective ("Commissaire") Edouard Coleman (Delon) is the cop who is out to catch them.

The plot is a variation of something you have seen many times before. Melville works his usual magic with subdued palettes and carefully shot heist scenes.There are two long robbery scenes that are brilliantly executed. Melville includes almost no exposition. He points the camera and lets us soak in the details and tension of the robberies. In one scene he relies on obvious models as special effects. It does not look good in 2024. Luckily it is only a small distraction from an elaborate and brilliant train heist.

Simon is cool, calculating, and ruthless. So is Delon. They are very much two sides of the same coin, right down to their interest in the same woman. Simon brutally eliminates a loose end when required. Coleman beats and threatens a transexual informant when her information turns out to be unreliable. These are not men concerned with right and wrong, but rather men who operate within the dictates of their chosen professions. It helps that Crenna is charismatic enough to stand up to Delon's natural on-screen presence.

The weakness is a plot that is both simplistic and incoherent. The heists are so meticulously shot. Then we are let down with some key plot points that just seem to randomly happen. The missing parts undermine what could have been a great finish to the film.

Un Flic is not Melville's best, but it is a solid noir crime thriller for genre fans.

Rating: 6.5/10

Great trailer.

 

[eddymotto]

S E P T E M B E R . . .

mid:

Haywire (USA, 2011) - 2.5/5
Rebel Ridge (USA, 2024) - 2.5/5
Snack Shack (USA, 2024) - 2.5/5

decent:

Problemista (USA, 2023) - 3/5
Wicked Little Letters (UK, 2023) - 3/5
Joy Ride (USA, 2023) - 3/5
The French Dispatch (USA, 2021) - 3/5

good:

Magic Crystal (Hong Kong, 1986) - 3/5
Kinds of Kindness (USA/UK/Ireland, 2024) - 3/5

very good:

Election (USA, 1999) - 3.5/5
Junkyard Dog (France, 2023) - 3.5/5

great+:

Carol (USA/UK, 2015) - 4/5
Network (USA, 1976) - 4/5
House of Tolerance (France, 2011) - 4/5

can't be put in a box:

Mission: Killfast (USA, 1991) - 2/5

Pulling out the deep cuts like Mission Killfast -- you always deliver.

 

[HenryFlower]