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

[HHJ]

Super late to the party but Wolf of Wall Street

I enjoyed this way more than I ever thought I would, the dialogue, the exchanges, are all fantastic.

You kind of wish the story would keep going so you can get more out of these characters.

High entertainment 9/10

 

[eddymotto]

The Hudsucker Proxy (USA, 1994)

Joel and Ethan Coen’s The Hudsucker Proxy is a visually dazzling, whimsical throwback to the screwball comedies and aw-shucks optimism of Hollywood’s Golden Age, filtered through their signature deadpan surrealism. It is a film of immaculate design, relentless visual gags, rapid-fire dialogue, and biting satire of corporate greed.

Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), an ambitious but clueless mailroom clerk is unwittingly promoted to CEO by cynical board members hoping to tank Hudsucker Industries for financial gain. What follows is a frenetic blend of farce, romance, and pointed social commentary. Fast-talking journalist Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is determined to expose Norville as an empty suit. Paul Newman, the scheming executive Sidney J. Mussburger, delivers a brilliantly villainous performance.

The cinematography creates a world of towering skyscrapers, dramatic lighting, perfect symmetry, and impossibly long hallways. It is a spectacle. Real film buffs will probably identify dozens of clever references. For the rest of us, the film merely looks amazing.

The genius of the Coens is on full display as they create this slightly dreamlike world and populate it with ridiculous characters in a ludicrous plot (a literal deus ex machina device seals the ending) and it still kinda mostly works.

It is funny, playful, original, and beautiful. I laughed out loud a few times. It also feels a bit hollow and drags on. In many ways Leigh's character encapsulate the film - clever and interesting but the entire performance eventually begins to feel like an exhausting exercise in affectation. The film ultimately lacks the emotional weight of the Coen's best films.

Rating: 7/10

 

[eddymotto]

Nosferatu (USA, 2024)

A curiously limp retelling of Dracula.

While Robert Eggers crafts an atmospheric and visually arresting world (like, duh), the film itself struggles to ignite. The dialogue occasionally falters, leaving the actors underserved, and the familiarity of the story robs it of tension—there are no surprises in the narrative, only in Eggers’ stylistic choices. Unfortunately, the film’s pacing and structure lack enough momentum to sustain itself.

That said, Eggers’ eerie, immersive aesthetic makes it worth a watch, even if it ultimately feels more like an exercise in mood than a compelling reimagining.

Rating: 6/10