Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Call Me by Your Name - 7/10
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri - 10/10
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Brad's Status (2017) Mike White 4/10
Detroit (2017) Kathryn Bigelow 6/10
How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017) John Cameron Mitchell 1/10
Murder on the Orient Express (2017) Kenneth Branagh 2/10
Bye Bye Germany (2017) Sam Garboaski 4/10
The Untamed (2016) Amat Escalante 7/10
The Summit (2017) Santiago Mitre 4/10
Neko Atsume House (2017) Masatoshi Kirakata 4/10
Her Love Boils Bathwater (2016) Ryota Nakano 4/10
Before We Vanish (2017) Kiyoshi Kurosawa 5/10

Repeat viewings

Monte Walsh (1970) William A. Fracker 6/10
The Chase (1966) Arthur Penn 8/10
Mahogany (1975) Berry Gordy 6/10
Seven Beauties (1975) Lina Wertmuller 8/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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When I first read Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express in the 1960s, I thought it would make a great film with an all-star cast. I can't recall who I cast as Poirot in my mind, possibly David Niven, but I do remember casting Deborah Kerr in the Lauren Bacall/Michelle Pfeiffer role and Ingrid Bergman as the princess, the role Sidney Lumet originally asked her to play.

I saw the film the day it opened in New York and loved it. I loved Albert Finney's Poirot, even if he wasn't the character as written, and I loved the rest of the cast as well, especially the women - Bergman and Bacall in particular, but Wendy Hiller in the role Bergman turned down and Rachel Roberts as her maid almost as much. I thought all four actresses were Oscar worthy, though AMPAS was never going to nominate more than three of them, if that many. Speculation at the time centered on Bergman and Bacall, the big question being whether they would be nominated in support as their roles suggested or as leads due to their still potent star personas. Bacall had just come off her Tony award-winning portrayal of Margo Channing in Applause, the musical version of All About Eve. Both were finding new popularity with younger audiences who were discovering their old films on TV and in revival houses. Bergman's life story really resonated with younger audiences. Although her Oscar win was a surprise, it was a pleasant one.

I tried to watch the ghastly 2001 TV remake with Alfred Molina that Reza reviews below, but couldn't take more than a few minutes of it. Thanks, Reza, for confirming my suspicion that I would have been wasting my time to sit through the entire thing.

I very much liked the 2010 David Suchet version that was part of his long-running Poirot series. It, too, had an all-star cast that included Barbara Hershey in the Bacall/Pfeiffer role, David Morrisey in the Sean Connery/Leslie Odom Jr. role, Toby Jones in the Richard Widmark/Johnny Depp role, Eileen Atkins in the Wendy Hiller/Judi Dench role, Marie-Joée Croze in the Ingrid Bergman/Penelope Cruz role, Hugh Bonneville in the John Gielgud/Derek Jacobi role, Samuel West in the George Coulouros role and Jessica Chastain in the Vanessa Redgrave/Daisy Ridley role, the standout among the passengers in this version. She has an expanded opening sequence and a very moving scene at the end of the film with a morally repulsed Suchet who is disgusted with what he finds but reluctantly agrees to not report those findings to the authorities.

I haven't seen the new version, but probably will at some point, if I can bring myself to seeing it without wanting to pull Branagh's ridiculous pasted-on mustache off his smug face.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Murder on the Orient Express (2017) 2/10

Given Reza's review of the film, I felt an alternative view should be given.

I first saw the 1974 version in the late 1980's on video and didn't care for it. I loathed what I saw at the time as a ridiculous solution. Fast forward to 2017 and I'm culling my DVD/Blu Ray collection and one of the films I selected to be sold was Murder on the Orient Express (1974) which I had only obtained as part of an Agatha Christie box set. I thought I would watch the 'terrible ending' again to see what I thought nearly 30 years later and to my surprise it struck me with it's intensity. I decided to watch the whole film again and this time throughly enjoyed it taking particular relish with the very impressive all-star cast. I must admit that the only person who didn't impress me was Ingrid Bergman. Of the cast Lauren Bacall deserved that Oscar way more. Rather funny really because I'm a big fan of Bergman and usually don't care for Bacall but there you go.

I naturally decided to keep the film rather than sell it. Knowing how it all worked out helped make the film so much more enjoyable.

I can't say the same about Kenneth Branagh's train wreck I'm afraid. Despite running only 14 minutes less than the 1974 version the lack of character development is something of a shock. Really most of the actors don't get a chance to shine in their rather tepid moments and worst of all Branagh himself comes nowhere as close to role as either Albert Finney or Peter Ustinov, who are admirably better actors. The only person to shine in the film was Daisy Ridley. She had real spunk and seemed so grounded, almost removed in some ways from the others because she was so much better. The CGI looks impressive but I'm pretty sick of CGI these and it doesn't help the film overcome its shortcomings. Worst of all was the inside of the train carriages themselves. The Lumet version which captured the clastrophobic atmosphere of carriages and compartments with little space to move. In the Branagh version the feels large enough to swing and elephant around in.

It really was such a shame seeing a group of actors who have all done better work in the past wasted with precious little to do. Any film that wastes Derek Jacobi get instant displeasure from me. Michelle Pfieffer gets the Razzie for this effort - plain ridiculous, mechanical and lumbered with the worst dialogue.

I really doubt this will make even the costume design line-up. There is no real sense of costumes and like most of the film they almost look GI generated. Worst of all we appear to being set up for Death on the Nile.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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The Hitman's Bodyguard (Patrick Hughes, 2017) 2/10

Too much of anything is not good. It can be sometimes funny hearing the word "f**k or mother****er and it can be exciting watching car chases and crashes. However, when every second piece of dialogue is riddled with those words and the screenplay is one long chase sequence with vehicles going at breakneck speed and crashing in spectacular fashion it gets tiresome pretty fast. The plot covers nothing we haven't seen before - a Russian dictator (Gary Oldman) is captured and his trial for crimes against humanity is due at the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands. The only witness who can convict him is a hitman (Samuel L. Jackson) who is pulled out of jail and the world's top bodyguard (Ryan Reynolds) gets to escort him to court. It's a dubious task as both men hate each other and bicker all through the deadly journey with the criminal's goons out to get them. Car, boat and motor bike chases ensue through the narrow roads and canals of Amsterdam. The non-stop noisy and cartoonish action and violent scenes just go on and on with no end in sight. Salma Hayek is around as Jackson's wife spouting obscenities ad nauseum. This is absolute trash with not an iota of suspense or sense of fun.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Zinda (Sanjay Gupta, 2006) 6/10

A man (Sanjay Dutt) is incarcerated in a Bangkok prison for 14 years and then suddenly without any explanation is released. Trying to recover the pieces of his life he finds help from a taxi driver (Lara Dutta) and his childhood friend (Mahesh Manjrekar) and discovers to his horror that his wife (Celina Jaitly) was killed and the answer to the mystery lies with a business tycoon (John Abraham). Unofficial Bollywood remake of Chan-wook Park's Korean thriller "Oldboy" - the makers of that film sent the Indian producers a legal notice for copying without permission. The screenplay here apparently dispenses with a lot of the shocking scenes from the original adding instead a sensibility more in tune with "local" sentiments. Dutt, looking gaunt and wearing a hideous wig, goes from one crises to another battling goons with bone crunching violence as his means for survival to get to the truth. Lara Dutta is very good as his concerned partner in the quest to rediscover his lost life. The haunting theme song - "Yeh Hai Mayree Kahani, Khamosh Zindagani" - is sung by Sanjay Dutt and was a huge hit.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Murder on the Orient Express (Kenneth Branagh, 2017) 8/10

Agatha Christie's murder mystery with the famous twist ending gets a big screen remake with some interesting flourishes. Branagh opens up the plot, which is confined to a train, with scenes shot outside giving the story a fresh outlook. Hercule Poirot (Sir Kenneth Branagh) is faced by a baffling crime - a crooked antique dealer (Johnny Depp) is found dead with multiple stab wounds on a train stranded in the snow caused by an avalanche. As with all Poirot mysteries the train is full of colorful suspects - a garrulous American divorcée (Michelle Pfeiffer), the dead man's valet (Sir Derek Jacobi), his accountant (Josh Gad), a spanish missionary (Penélope Cruz), a doctor (Lesley Odom Jr), a governess (Daisy Ridley), a countess (Lucy Boynton), a german scientist (Willem Dafoe), a princess (Dame Judi Dench) and her maid (Olivia Colman) among others. Lavishly filmed but cannot quite match the aura and glamour of the 1974 Sidney Lumet version with it's star studded cast, sumptuous costumes and Richard Rodney Bennett's magnificent score. Branagh brings changes to the book - an inter-racial relationship is substituted, a count shows sudden moves that would be a norm in a Jackie Chan film, Poirot gets shot, CGI rules supreme in the breathtaking shots of old Istanbul and during the scenes of the train moving through snow covered mountains. The interrogation scenes are filmed in an interesting way with the camera cross-cutting between the different characters. The murder is filmed in sepia with Patrick Doyle's swirling score turning the gruesome moment into an extraordinarily emotional moment. Amongst all the stars only Michelle Pfeiffer stands out as she gets the most scenes and also sings during the closing credits. This remake takes some interesting diversions even if not quite managing to hold its own against the more celebrated original but is in fact better paced due to the interesting little touches the director brings to his version. Christie would be pleased to see her favourite book get an exciting new adaptation.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Murder on the Orient Express (Carl Schenkel, 2001) 1/10

The American CBS television channel came up with this travesty when they decided to adapt Agatha Christie's celebrated mystery novel by updating the story to the contemporary era. The desecration starts with the most important element of the story - the train itself. The original steam locomotive has been replaced by the modern diesel engine, sleek but totally without character which in the original was an integral part of a glamourous world gone by. The famous Belgian detective is played by Alfred Molina whose accent is a combination of "Little Italy" and "Queens". Gone are the suspects of the original story - an Army Colonel, a Princess, a Countess, valets etc - we instead get fitness experts, I.T. moguls running around in T-shirts and sports coats which absolutely kills the concept of the Orient Express train which was famous for the kind of people who traveled on it - people of glamour and breeding dressed a certain way and enjoying a decadent way of life. The cast here is strictly American tv - mostly unknown faces with names that would ring no bell. Only two "name" actors appear - the murder victim is played by Peter Strauss while Meredith Baxter is the talkative American actress who finds herself on the train after getting bumped off a miniseries that was to have been shot in Turkey. The producers did manage to rope in one movie star - Leslie Caron - who looks angry and trapped in the surroundings. Since this is an obviously very low budget film we get no scenes of Istanbul. Also annoying are the constant references to computers (yes, Poirot uses one albeit rather reluctantly), videotapes, air travel and the internet. The most absurd plot point is a love interest the screenplay brings on for Poirot which is the final nail in this coffin. Molina looks bored throughout and merely goes through the motions. This film is absolute merde and should be avoided at all costs.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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And So They Were Married (Elliott Nugent, 1936) 7/10

Charming fluff has great chemistry between the two leads. A bitter divorcée (Mary Astor) and a widower (Melvyn Douglas) meet at a hotel up in the mountains and come together despite fierce opposition from their kids. The two child actors are annoying and appealing at the same time causing many amusing moments. Above average romantic comedy with Douglas showing his excellent comic timing.
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There's Always a Woman (Alexander Hall, 1938) 5/10

Yet another mystery-comedy in the same vein as "The Thin Man" - a couple of sleuths, a cop (Melvyn Douglas) and his daffy amateur detective wife (Joan Blondell), trying to solve the murder of a socialite's (Mary Astor) husband. Great chemistry between the two leads but it's all very run-of-the-mill. Pity the great Mary Astor, on her way down in Hollywood as a lead, is wasted in a supporting part.
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Our Wife (John M. Stahl, 1941) 8/10

Sparkling, witty comedy about a talented but depressed (and very drunk) musician (Melvyn Douglas) - his wife has divorced him - meets and falls in love with a scientist (Ruth Hussey). Just as they declare their love for each other his unscrupulous wife (Ellen Drew) returns and wants him back. Charming film has many laughs with the stars in fine form.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Wild Geese Calling (John Brahm, 1941) 5/10

A lumberjack (Henry Fonda) with a wanderlust (hence the film's title) follows his best buddy (Warren William) to Alaska in search of gold. However, there's a problem. He's just married a dance hall girl (Joan Bennett) who unbeknownst to him was once his friend's former girlfriend. Loud frontier drama with a lot of shouting and he-man heroics. There are some interesting stock shots of the icy ocean with waves crashing on a boat. Ona Munson steals every scene playing a variation of her Belle Watling from GWTW and there is a childbirth scene with Bennett which she takes charge of â la Scarlett. Strictly formula (which Fonda was forced to endure due to his contract at Fox) but the stars are good.
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Good Time (Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, 2017) 8/10

A gritty mix of Abel Ferrera and Tarantino in this film about a crime that goes awry. A grungy dysfunctional bank robber (Robert Pattinson) goes on the run with his mentally impaired brother (Benny Safdie) after a bank robbery goes wrong. When his brother gets caught and beaten up badly in prison he attempts to lift him from hospital with surprising results. Edgy thriller is filmed on location with the directors using many non-actors shot in claustrophobic closeup as the handheld camera sweeps all over the place capturing the flouroscent and surreal colours of nightime New York. The loud pulsating score adds to the sense of nightmarish confusion the characters often feel. Pattinson is superb giving an extremely raw performance full of urgency. There is a sharp cameo by Jennifer Jason Leigh, playing his girlfriend, in her typically distinct manner. Inventive storytelling filmed with edgy realism.
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Twin Beds (Tim Whelan, 1942) 5/10

Screwball farce which is unfortunately silly beyond belief. A man (George Brent) wants to spend alone time at his home with his wife (Joan Bennett) but they are rudely interrupted by assorted zany characters. The two stars get into the spirit of the proceedings but with middling success though it's an interesting change to see Bennett in a change of pace from her usual tough femme fatales. The sparkling supporting cast - Mischa Auer, Margaret Hamilton, Una Merkel, Glenda Farrell, Cecil Cunningham, Ernest Truex - add a touch of zest. The scene with Joan Bennett dancing the Conga with Mischa Auer (playing yet another Russian) is amusing.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Never Look Back (Francis Searle, 1952) 6/10

Good courtroom melodrama - a newly appointed female QC (Rosamund John) defends a former lover (Guy Middleton) on a murder charge while her current lover (Hugh Sinclair) is the prosecutor on the case. Rare early Hammer production (before the studio became famous for its horror output) captures post-war British atmosphere with help from an excellent cast of character actors - Brenda de Banzie, Henry Edwards, Terence Longdon.
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