Man of Iron (1981) - 7.5/10 - Man of Marble told the story of Mateusz Birkut and the strikes in Gdansk in 1970. This film continues the story with his son, Maciej Tomczyk (played by the same actor). It is now 1980 and the Solidarity movement is happening. A reporter named Winkel is assigned do a story on Tomczyk and get information that will compromise Tomczyk. He is getting pressure from a number of sides, but sets out to find out more about Tomczyk. We find out this information as Winkel does. I thought that this was a pretty good film overall. It was made shortly after Solidarity was formed so it was pretty relevant when it was released.
Katyn (2007) - 7/10 - In 1939, the Polish army on the eastern front surrendered to the Soviets. The enlisted were released and sent home while the officers were rounded up and sent to prison camps. Many of these officers were later executed by the Soviets, though their propaganda machine blamed it on the Germans when it was uncovered. The film spends time with the prisoners, but much more time is spent with those left behind - wives, sisters, children, etc. The production values, cinematography, and soundtrack are all top notch, though it is a bit difficult at times to become attached to the people in the film as they switch back and forth between different threads of the story. Still, I think it is a good film overall and worth seeing.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté / Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (Claude Lelouch, 1988) 6/10
Lelouch coaxed Belmondo back to the movies after he took a break to return to the stage. A surprise boxoffice hit in France the film is almost an African travelogue with scenes of elephants, lions and cheetahs in the wild. An abandoned child is raised in a circus around lions, falls off a trapeze and grows up to become a successful businessman (Jean-Paul Belmondo). He gets married, has children and then fed up with the daily drudge of life decides to abandon his business and family and disappears into thin air after taking a solo voyage in his boat. While everyone thinks he is dead he surfaces in Africa but is recognised by a former employee (Richard Anconina) who is working at the hotel where he is staying incognito. They bond and he uses the young man to keep a check on his children and business back home. A story about loneliness and the importance of family in one's life. Anconina was nominated for a César award but lost the award to Belmondo who won his first and only César. The charming score by Francis Lai was also nominated.
The Missing (Ron Howard, 2003) 9/10
Ron Howard's once reviled Revisionist Western is a tough and sweeping ode to the old West. It is also an homage to John Ford's "The Searchers", taking the classic film's central plot thread and memorably adding layers to all the clichés of the genre. A frontier medicine woman (Cate Blanchett) is forced to form an alliance with her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones) when her teenage daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) is kidnapped by a renegade Apache witch-man and his gang of cutthroats. The film takes on the semblance of a thriller as the old man tracks the kidnappers through rough territory as the woman and her plucky younger daughter (Jenna Boyd) follow. The journey, fraught with difficulties, also allows the father and daughter to find some semblance of peace. None of the characters are clearly defined but as this extremely violent film progresses the screenplay gradually reveals bits and pieces about their past lives. The film also takes on a mystical hue as the battle of good (the healing powers of the Christian woman) versus evil (the witch-man's magical powers) shows the darker side of Native American beliefs. Both Jones and Blanchett are outstanding and there are vivid cameos by Aaron Eckhart as Blanchett's lover and Val Kilmer as a soldier who refuses to provide help. A great Western and a must-see
Lelouch coaxed Belmondo back to the movies after he took a break to return to the stage. A surprise boxoffice hit in France the film is almost an African travelogue with scenes of elephants, lions and cheetahs in the wild. An abandoned child is raised in a circus around lions, falls off a trapeze and grows up to become a successful businessman (Jean-Paul Belmondo). He gets married, has children and then fed up with the daily drudge of life decides to abandon his business and family and disappears into thin air after taking a solo voyage in his boat. While everyone thinks he is dead he surfaces in Africa but is recognised by a former employee (Richard Anconina) who is working at the hotel where he is staying incognito. They bond and he uses the young man to keep a check on his children and business back home. A story about loneliness and the importance of family in one's life. Anconina was nominated for a César award but lost the award to Belmondo who won his first and only César. The charming score by Francis Lai was also nominated.
The Missing (Ron Howard, 2003) 9/10
Ron Howard's once reviled Revisionist Western is a tough and sweeping ode to the old West. It is also an homage to John Ford's "The Searchers", taking the classic film's central plot thread and memorably adding layers to all the clichés of the genre. A frontier medicine woman (Cate Blanchett) is forced to form an alliance with her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones) when her teenage daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) is kidnapped by a renegade Apache witch-man and his gang of cutthroats. The film takes on the semblance of a thriller as the old man tracks the kidnappers through rough territory as the woman and her plucky younger daughter (Jenna Boyd) follow. The journey, fraught with difficulties, also allows the father and daughter to find some semblance of peace. None of the characters are clearly defined but as this extremely violent film progresses the screenplay gradually reveals bits and pieces about their past lives. The film also takes on a mystical hue as the battle of good (the healing powers of the Christian woman) versus evil (the witch-man's magical powers) shows the darker side of Native American beliefs. Both Jones and Blanchett are outstanding and there are vivid cameos by Aaron Eckhart as Blanchett's lover and Val Kilmer as a soldier who refuses to provide help. A great Western and a must-see
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Bizalom (Confidence) (1980) - 8/10 - Kata has to go into hiding near the end of WWII in Hungary due to her husband's resistance activities. She is given false papers and placed with a man named Janos who is also in hiding. The two pose as husband and wife and eventually fall in love, even though each is married to another. The movie is filled with suspicion and fear of getting caught as the two navigate through the closing days of the war. It is a pretty good film.
Son of Saul (2015) - 7/10 - Saul is a member of a sonderkommando at Auschwitz late in WWII. The sonderkommandos are prisoners who collect the belongings of those killed by the Nazis. They also burn the bodies and clean the facility before the next group comes in. Saul has been doing this for a while and is desensitized like many others until he comes across a boy who briefly survives the gas chamber and he sees the boy as his son. As such, he becomes obsessed with giving the boy a proper Jewish burial. The film is shot so that the background is often out of focus so we don't get a clear view of the horrors that are going on there. It is a decent movie, but one that left me slightly unsatisfied.
Son of Saul (2015) - 7/10 - Saul is a member of a sonderkommando at Auschwitz late in WWII. The sonderkommandos are prisoners who collect the belongings of those killed by the Nazis. They also burn the bodies and clean the facility before the next group comes in. Saul has been doing this for a while and is desensitized like many others until he comes across a boy who briefly survives the gas chamber and he sees the boy as his son. As such, he becomes obsessed with giving the boy a proper Jewish burial. The film is shot so that the background is often out of focus so we don't get a clear view of the horrors that are going on there. It is a decent movie, but one that left me slightly unsatisfied.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
A ghastly mess. I'm in complete agreement with the guy who wrote this on IMDb. even though I fortunately fell asleep and missed most of it:Reza wrote:Cinderella (Kay Cannon) 1/10
The less said the better.
Makes Cats look like a 10
Worst movie ever. I just wish my money spent at Amazon didn't fund garbage like this .
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Cinderella (Kay Cannon) 1/10
The less said the better.
The Battle of the River Plate (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1956) 5/10
Highly popular (at the boxoffice), tediously slow and surprisingly routine WWII battle of wits between three British Naval ships trying to bring down a mighty German battleship. The British Naval ships are led by stiff upper lip officers John Gregson, Bernard Lee, Ian Hunter and Anthony Quayle as they take on the German ship "Graf Spee". Powell-Pressburger's sympathetic treatment of the "enemy" depicts the officers from both sides highly congenial and respectful in their actions towards each other. The gallant heroism of both the British Navy and the German Captain Langsdorff (Peter Finch), who scuttles his own ship rather than face defeat, is the subject dealt without any of the usual propaganda. During the 1950s British studios continued to churn out films about WWII to satiate the public's appetites with stories of British victories at a time when the country was still suffering from the economic hardships brought on by the financial cost of the war. The film omits the tragic final act of the Graf Spee story. In a hotel room in Buenos Aires a few days after scuttling his own ship and, unable to cope with defeat, Captain Langsdorff committed suicide. His body was found dressed in full uniform and wrapped in the battle-flag of his sunken vessel. The stunning colour cinematography by Christopher Challis is a major plus.
Deported (Robert Siodmak, 1950) 7/10
Atmospheric B-movie is very loosely based on events in the life of Lucky Luciano. An Italian-American gangster (Jeff Chandler) is deported to Italy after spending five years in jail for a robbery in New York. The tough, cynical man finds that the local people in his village look up to him, the street urchins love him and the local Countess (Märta Torén), a widow, is enamoured of him and likes his company. A local cop (Claude Dauphin) is suspicious and lies await for the crook to get the stolen loot across from America. Siodmak, back in Europe after many years in Hollywood, creates an interesting little film which also turns out to be an Italian travelogue with scenes shot by the great William Daniels in Naples, Siena and Tuscany. There is great chemistry between Chandler and Märta Torén while lovely Marina Berti adds to the local colour.
Escape From East Berlin (Robert Siodmak, 1962) 7/10
The on location filming in Berlin - the West side doubling for the East side - gives this story an urgent authenticity. The drab run-down buildings, control towers, barbed wire everywhere and the high thick wall evoke a sense of claustrophobia and constant danger. The screenplay, based on true events, focuses on a family living in a dilapidated house very close to the Wall. It is soon after the Berlin Wall went up. The catalyst for the family's escape is a young man who attempts to drive through the wall, fails and is shot by guards. His sister (Christine Kaufman) goes looking for him and questions his friend (Don Murray) of his whereabouts. Through a twist of fate she gets stuck with him and his family in their house where the subject of escaping from their closeted life results in a plan to dig through the walls of their basement and under the Wall to freedom. Will they make it or are they doomed to fail? This gritty, dimly lit suspense tale is directed with a sure hand by Siodmak evoking memories of the many brilliant film noirs he made in Hollywood during the 1940s.
Betrayed (Cost-Gavras, 1988) 4/10
Costa-Gavras, who specialized in exposing clandestine right-wing groups in movies like “Z” and “Missing”, comes up with a cropper with this one. While it puts a light on American neo-Nazi and white supremist groups the screenplay either pussy-foots with the subject or the studio chickened out and made heavy cuts. He inserts a gut-wrenching cringy sequence involving a black man being hunted like an animal by white supremists but then fails to link the scene later to a cathartic moment thus rendering that sequence totally
gratuitous and unnecessary. An itinerant farm laborer (Debra Winger) works at harvesting fields in Iowa. She meets a lonely widower (Tom Berenger), takes a shine to him and his two kids and moves in with them on their farm. Both hide their true identities from each other - she is an undercover FBI agent on the lookout for white supremists in the Midwest while he and his buddies all turn out to be the racist bunch she is staking out. In love with the suspect she finds she can no longer do her job but is forced by her boss (John Heard) - and former lover - to maintain her position and continue to spy. It is only a matter of time before she is betrayed and her lover finds out. The film totally lacks tension and the last section of the plot takes on an absurd abrupt turn which really makes no sense. Winger is very good throughout as the tough woman who finds her loyalties in a confused state. Berenger comes off like a spoilt child trying to act mean and racist. Just like the romance between them it's hard to buy his mood swings and actions. The script also points a finger at corruption within the American government but the whole movie seems half baked and none of the points being made truly register which is a pity.
Middle of the Night (Delbert Mann, 1959) 8/10
Paddy Chayefsky adapts his own play - a Tony nominated hit on Broadway with Edward G. Robinson and Gena Rowlands - about a shaky May-December romance. A successful businessman (Fredric March) gets infatuated with a receptionist (Kim Novak) at his office who is as old as his daughter. He is a lonely widower and she is a recent divorcée scarred by her failed marriage. Their seesaw relationship is a mixture of euphoric sex, sudden doubts, petty jealousies and quiet happy moments. His age is a big issue for her as she vacilates between wanting to marry him and wondering if she is heading for disaster. They manage to ignore the protests and snide remarks of their families - her mother (Glenda Farrell) and best friend (Lee Grant) and his spinster sister (Edith Meiser) and daughter (Joan Copeland) - but their own confused minds cause them to take a pause in the relationship. It is to Chayefsky's credit that both characters, as written, come off with a great deal of sympathy. He is not a creepy middle-aged sexual predator and she is not a golddigger. Both are decent human beings who through loneliness find a connection. March gives a moving performance and Novak matches him every step of the way.
The less said the better.
The Battle of the River Plate (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1956) 5/10
Highly popular (at the boxoffice), tediously slow and surprisingly routine WWII battle of wits between three British Naval ships trying to bring down a mighty German battleship. The British Naval ships are led by stiff upper lip officers John Gregson, Bernard Lee, Ian Hunter and Anthony Quayle as they take on the German ship "Graf Spee". Powell-Pressburger's sympathetic treatment of the "enemy" depicts the officers from both sides highly congenial and respectful in their actions towards each other. The gallant heroism of both the British Navy and the German Captain Langsdorff (Peter Finch), who scuttles his own ship rather than face defeat, is the subject dealt without any of the usual propaganda. During the 1950s British studios continued to churn out films about WWII to satiate the public's appetites with stories of British victories at a time when the country was still suffering from the economic hardships brought on by the financial cost of the war. The film omits the tragic final act of the Graf Spee story. In a hotel room in Buenos Aires a few days after scuttling his own ship and, unable to cope with defeat, Captain Langsdorff committed suicide. His body was found dressed in full uniform and wrapped in the battle-flag of his sunken vessel. The stunning colour cinematography by Christopher Challis is a major plus.
Deported (Robert Siodmak, 1950) 7/10
Atmospheric B-movie is very loosely based on events in the life of Lucky Luciano. An Italian-American gangster (Jeff Chandler) is deported to Italy after spending five years in jail for a robbery in New York. The tough, cynical man finds that the local people in his village look up to him, the street urchins love him and the local Countess (Märta Torén), a widow, is enamoured of him and likes his company. A local cop (Claude Dauphin) is suspicious and lies await for the crook to get the stolen loot across from America. Siodmak, back in Europe after many years in Hollywood, creates an interesting little film which also turns out to be an Italian travelogue with scenes shot by the great William Daniels in Naples, Siena and Tuscany. There is great chemistry between Chandler and Märta Torén while lovely Marina Berti adds to the local colour.
Escape From East Berlin (Robert Siodmak, 1962) 7/10
The on location filming in Berlin - the West side doubling for the East side - gives this story an urgent authenticity. The drab run-down buildings, control towers, barbed wire everywhere and the high thick wall evoke a sense of claustrophobia and constant danger. The screenplay, based on true events, focuses on a family living in a dilapidated house very close to the Wall. It is soon after the Berlin Wall went up. The catalyst for the family's escape is a young man who attempts to drive through the wall, fails and is shot by guards. His sister (Christine Kaufman) goes looking for him and questions his friend (Don Murray) of his whereabouts. Through a twist of fate she gets stuck with him and his family in their house where the subject of escaping from their closeted life results in a plan to dig through the walls of their basement and under the Wall to freedom. Will they make it or are they doomed to fail? This gritty, dimly lit suspense tale is directed with a sure hand by Siodmak evoking memories of the many brilliant film noirs he made in Hollywood during the 1940s.
Betrayed (Cost-Gavras, 1988) 4/10
Costa-Gavras, who specialized in exposing clandestine right-wing groups in movies like “Z” and “Missing”, comes up with a cropper with this one. While it puts a light on American neo-Nazi and white supremist groups the screenplay either pussy-foots with the subject or the studio chickened out and made heavy cuts. He inserts a gut-wrenching cringy sequence involving a black man being hunted like an animal by white supremists but then fails to link the scene later to a cathartic moment thus rendering that sequence totally
gratuitous and unnecessary. An itinerant farm laborer (Debra Winger) works at harvesting fields in Iowa. She meets a lonely widower (Tom Berenger), takes a shine to him and his two kids and moves in with them on their farm. Both hide their true identities from each other - she is an undercover FBI agent on the lookout for white supremists in the Midwest while he and his buddies all turn out to be the racist bunch she is staking out. In love with the suspect she finds she can no longer do her job but is forced by her boss (John Heard) - and former lover - to maintain her position and continue to spy. It is only a matter of time before she is betrayed and her lover finds out. The film totally lacks tension and the last section of the plot takes on an absurd abrupt turn which really makes no sense. Winger is very good throughout as the tough woman who finds her loyalties in a confused state. Berenger comes off like a spoilt child trying to act mean and racist. Just like the romance between them it's hard to buy his mood swings and actions. The script also points a finger at corruption within the American government but the whole movie seems half baked and none of the points being made truly register which is a pity.
Middle of the Night (Delbert Mann, 1959) 8/10
Paddy Chayefsky adapts his own play - a Tony nominated hit on Broadway with Edward G. Robinson and Gena Rowlands - about a shaky May-December romance. A successful businessman (Fredric March) gets infatuated with a receptionist (Kim Novak) at his office who is as old as his daughter. He is a lonely widower and she is a recent divorcée scarred by her failed marriage. Their seesaw relationship is a mixture of euphoric sex, sudden doubts, petty jealousies and quiet happy moments. His age is a big issue for her as she vacilates between wanting to marry him and wondering if she is heading for disaster. They manage to ignore the protests and snide remarks of their families - her mother (Glenda Farrell) and best friend (Lee Grant) and his spinster sister (Edith Meiser) and daughter (Joan Copeland) - but their own confused minds cause them to take a pause in the relationship. It is to Chayefsky's credit that both characters, as written, come off with a great deal of sympathy. He is not a creepy middle-aged sexual predator and she is not a golddigger. Both are decent human beings who through loneliness find a connection. March gives a moving performance and Novak matches him every step of the way.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Revolt of Job (1983) - 7/10 - An older Jewish shepherd and his wife live in a Hungarian village as the Nazi threat comes ever closer. All of their children are dead so they decide to adopt a young Christian orphan so that they will have someone to leave their wealth and some of their knowledge. The boy they choose is headstrong and somewhat hard to control, though he comes around some as he becomes acclimated to his new situation. The movie was good, though kind of meandering at times.
The Elementary School (1991) - 8/10 - Eda is a young boy who lives in a town just outside of Prague in the fall of 1945. He hangs out a lot with his best friend, Tonda. Their elementary school class consists of only boys and they are very wild, causing their female teacher to just walk out one day. The replacement is a veteran and strict disciplinarian who uses corporal punishment with a switch, but still wins over the class and causes great improvement in their behavior in school. He has a weakness for younger women, though, and this could get him in trouble. The film takes place over the course of the school year and is pretty charming and entertaining.
Kolya (1996) - 6.5/10 - Louka is a talented musician in his mid-50s who plays at funerals and is a confirmed bachelor. He has money troubles thanks in part to supporting his mother and her house. He agrees to a fake marriage with a Russian woman so that she can stay in Czechoslovakia. A short time later, she defects to the West, leaving behind her five year old son who ends up in the care of Louka, much to his chagrin. The movie was enjoyable enough, but felt fairly superficial and the ending seemed kind of sudden.
Zdenek Sverák wrote (and played a lead role) in both Kolya and The Elementary School with his son Jan directing. Kolya won the Oscar, but is very much inferior to The Elementary School which was only nominated.
The Elementary School (1991) - 8/10 - Eda is a young boy who lives in a town just outside of Prague in the fall of 1945. He hangs out a lot with his best friend, Tonda. Their elementary school class consists of only boys and they are very wild, causing their female teacher to just walk out one day. The replacement is a veteran and strict disciplinarian who uses corporal punishment with a switch, but still wins over the class and causes great improvement in their behavior in school. He has a weakness for younger women, though, and this could get him in trouble. The film takes place over the course of the school year and is pretty charming and entertaining.
Kolya (1996) - 6.5/10 - Louka is a talented musician in his mid-50s who plays at funerals and is a confirmed bachelor. He has money troubles thanks in part to supporting his mother and her house. He agrees to a fake marriage with a Russian woman so that she can stay in Czechoslovakia. A short time later, she defects to the West, leaving behind her five year old son who ends up in the care of Louka, much to his chagrin. The movie was enjoyable enough, but felt fairly superficial and the ending seemed kind of sudden.
Zdenek Sverák wrote (and played a lead role) in both Kolya and The Elementary School with his son Jan directing. Kolya won the Oscar, but is very much inferior to The Elementary School which was only nominated.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Respect (Liesl Tommy, 2021) 7/10
A long and dramatic life gets the fast-forward treatment here as it rushes through sad and exhilarating moments in the life of American singer Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson). All the screen biography tropes are present and well hammered in by the screenplay. A singing sensation at any early age at the church of her Minister father (Forest Whitaker), the trauma of losing her mother (Audra MacDonald), a victim of sexual abuse, two early pregnancies, a record contract that produces nine albums but no hits, hooking up against her family's wishes with a man who becomes her manager and husband, tasting big success with her first single and finally becoming a huge star which comes with a further price - domestic violence and alcoholism. Was there ever any star in Hollywood or in the world of music that didn't have ugly stepping stones to walk over? This by-the-numbers film (with superb period detail) is compensated by Franklin's memorable songs performed in great voice by Jennifer Hudson herself. All the familiar songs get showcased - "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "Respect" which became her signature song, "Ain't No Way", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" which was another signature song, "Chain of Fools", "I Say a Little Prayer", "Amazing Grace" and many more. Both Whitaker and Mary J. Blige (as a bitchy Dinah Washington) are very good but its Hudson who transcends the material and soars with a memorable performance - mostly underplayed - showing quiet dignity and respect to the late singer's memory. This performance proves that Hudson's Oscar win for "Dreamgirls" was no fluke and she is more than likely to be a strong contender for awards next year too.
The Dam Busters (Michael Anderson, 1956) 8/10
British historical film that details the work of English scientist, engineer and inventor, Barnes Wallis (Michael Redgrave), who conceived the idea of bouncing bombs to be used in destroying three German dams during WWII. Operation Chastise was carried out by a Royal Air Force Squadron led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson (Richard Todd). Epic film covers first the painstaking process of perfecting the bomb followed by the Squadron doing practice runs flying at a low altitude. Redgrave, as the rather eccentric inventor, and Todd as the dashing leader of the Squadron are both very good. The sequence depicting the attack is memorable with the film's special effects team earning an Academy Award nomination. Much later there was controversy when the film was censored during a tv showing - Guy Gibson's beloved black labrador named "Nigger" was the cause of the censorship when the tv channel censored the dog's name causing continuity issues. Another version on tv dubbed the name "Nigger" into "Trigger". The final attack on the Death Star at the climax of "Star Wars" is a deliberate and acknowledged homage to the exciting climatic sequence in this film.
A long and dramatic life gets the fast-forward treatment here as it rushes through sad and exhilarating moments in the life of American singer Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson). All the screen biography tropes are present and well hammered in by the screenplay. A singing sensation at any early age at the church of her Minister father (Forest Whitaker), the trauma of losing her mother (Audra MacDonald), a victim of sexual abuse, two early pregnancies, a record contract that produces nine albums but no hits, hooking up against her family's wishes with a man who becomes her manager and husband, tasting big success with her first single and finally becoming a huge star which comes with a further price - domestic violence and alcoholism. Was there ever any star in Hollywood or in the world of music that didn't have ugly stepping stones to walk over? This by-the-numbers film (with superb period detail) is compensated by Franklin's memorable songs performed in great voice by Jennifer Hudson herself. All the familiar songs get showcased - "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "Respect" which became her signature song, "Ain't No Way", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" which was another signature song, "Chain of Fools", "I Say a Little Prayer", "Amazing Grace" and many more. Both Whitaker and Mary J. Blige (as a bitchy Dinah Washington) are very good but its Hudson who transcends the material and soars with a memorable performance - mostly underplayed - showing quiet dignity and respect to the late singer's memory. This performance proves that Hudson's Oscar win for "Dreamgirls" was no fluke and she is more than likely to be a strong contender for awards next year too.
The Dam Busters (Michael Anderson, 1956) 8/10
British historical film that details the work of English scientist, engineer and inventor, Barnes Wallis (Michael Redgrave), who conceived the idea of bouncing bombs to be used in destroying three German dams during WWII. Operation Chastise was carried out by a Royal Air Force Squadron led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson (Richard Todd). Epic film covers first the painstaking process of perfecting the bomb followed by the Squadron doing practice runs flying at a low altitude. Redgrave, as the rather eccentric inventor, and Todd as the dashing leader of the Squadron are both very good. The sequence depicting the attack is memorable with the film's special effects team earning an Academy Award nomination. Much later there was controversy when the film was censored during a tv showing - Guy Gibson's beloved black labrador named "Nigger" was the cause of the censorship when the tv channel censored the dog's name causing continuity issues. Another version on tv dubbed the name "Nigger" into "Trigger". The final attack on the Death Star at the climax of "Star Wars" is a deliberate and acknowledged homage to the exciting climatic sequence in this film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Beyond Imagining: Margaret Anderson and the Little Review (1991) - 7.5/10 - The Little Review was an influential literary magazine published from 1914-1929. It was founded by an eccentric woman named Margaret Anderson and was later taken over by Anderson's lover, Jane Heap. Anderson and Heap had to go to court to face obscenity charges for serializing James Joyce's Ulysses as he wrote it. Anderson split from Heap and moved to France during the 1920s. The film does a nice job covering Anderson's time on The Little Review and then skims through the rest of her life. It is told mostly through narration (with an actor portraying Anderson's voice) and an interview with a Professor of English. It was interesting.
City Out of Wilderness (1974) - 7.5/10 - This film is a brief history of Washington, D.C., from its planning and construction in the 1790s on a site that was filled with swamps and forest to the (then) present day. The film highlights aspects of the growing city and major events that took place there as it skips through the decades. We see the city becoming more modern as buildings are remodeled, streets are paved, and the wilderness and farm areas gradually disappear. The last part of the film explores Washington, D.C. as it looked in the 1970s. I thought it was a nice film and it was interesting to see some of the changes over the years.
The Silent Village (1943) - 6.5/10 - The massacre of Lidice by the Nazis is re-enacted as if it took place in Wales instead. It was fairly effective, but could have been much better.
Baelin's Route (2021) - 9/10 - Baelin is an NPC fisherman in a video game who can only a couple of lines. He gets recruited by an adventurer to help on a quest and discovers that he has abilities beyond just fishing. Rowan Bettjeman does a nice job as Baelin and Phoenix Cross is really good as the princess who needs help. She is also pretty good at interpreting the way Baelin says his line. The film is funny and a good short adventure as well.
Harvest (1967) - 5/10 - The film features sparse narration and plenty of images of farmers at harvest time from Texas north to Canada. The images are okay and the background music is pretty good, but the narration and the film itself are rather dull.
For God and Country (1943) - 4/10 - Ronald Reagan stars in this somewhat uninspired WWII film about U.S. Army chaplains as they get training and then deploy with the troops. It wasn't very interesting or convincing.
The Naked Eye (1956) - 9/10 - This documentary starts with a history of photography up through the 1950s and is followed by profiles of several prominent photographers of the day, including Alfred Eisenstaedt of Life magazine, a photojournalist known as Weegee who photographed the gamut from murder scenes to opera, and Edward Weston. We get to see each man briefly in the film and get insight into their lives as photographers through the narration and through many of their photos. The film is expertly narrated by Raymond Massey, has a very nice soundtrack, and seems to be lovingly made by director Louis Stoumen, himself a photographer in addition to directing and producing films. Stoumen won two Academy Awards, but this one lost to Jacques Cousteau's The Silent World. It's a shame that this film isn't as widely viewed as that one.
City Out of Wilderness (1974) - 7.5/10 - This film is a brief history of Washington, D.C., from its planning and construction in the 1790s on a site that was filled with swamps and forest to the (then) present day. The film highlights aspects of the growing city and major events that took place there as it skips through the decades. We see the city becoming more modern as buildings are remodeled, streets are paved, and the wilderness and farm areas gradually disappear. The last part of the film explores Washington, D.C. as it looked in the 1970s. I thought it was a nice film and it was interesting to see some of the changes over the years.
The Silent Village (1943) - 6.5/10 - The massacre of Lidice by the Nazis is re-enacted as if it took place in Wales instead. It was fairly effective, but could have been much better.
Baelin's Route (2021) - 9/10 - Baelin is an NPC fisherman in a video game who can only a couple of lines. He gets recruited by an adventurer to help on a quest and discovers that he has abilities beyond just fishing. Rowan Bettjeman does a nice job as Baelin and Phoenix Cross is really good as the princess who needs help. She is also pretty good at interpreting the way Baelin says his line. The film is funny and a good short adventure as well.
Harvest (1967) - 5/10 - The film features sparse narration and plenty of images of farmers at harvest time from Texas north to Canada. The images are okay and the background music is pretty good, but the narration and the film itself are rather dull.
For God and Country (1943) - 4/10 - Ronald Reagan stars in this somewhat uninspired WWII film about U.S. Army chaplains as they get training and then deploy with the troops. It wasn't very interesting or convincing.
The Naked Eye (1956) - 9/10 - This documentary starts with a history of photography up through the 1950s and is followed by profiles of several prominent photographers of the day, including Alfred Eisenstaedt of Life magazine, a photojournalist known as Weegee who photographed the gamut from murder scenes to opera, and Edward Weston. We get to see each man briefly in the film and get insight into their lives as photographers through the narration and through many of their photos. The film is expertly narrated by Raymond Massey, has a very nice soundtrack, and seems to be lovingly made by director Louis Stoumen, himself a photographer in addition to directing and producing films. Stoumen won two Academy Awards, but this one lost to Jacques Cousteau's The Silent World. It's a shame that this film isn't as widely viewed as that one.
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Death on the Job (1991) - 8/10 - This documentary exposes some of the problems that led to the deaths of workers in commercial fishing, coal mining, and at petroleum refineries. The common theme was a disregard for safety protocols by the people in charge. OSHA was mentioned as having been created over 20 years earlier to cut down on these types of incidents, but it was rather toothless and ineffectual. Companies would make a show of bringing things up to safety standards on the rare occasions that OSHA would show up and then stop worrying about it. Workers were pushed to be more productive and make greater profits with little concern for their well being. I thought this was a very good documentary, though how much it helped change things is difficult to say.
Spaces: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph (1983) - 7/10 - Paul Rudolph was a talented architect who designed buildings at Yale, Emory University, the Tuskegee Institute, and elsewhere. His designs were usually complex and tied in to his personal vision, though they occasionally clashed with the needs or view of his clients. This film takes us a bit behind the scenes with Rudolph's thoughts as he designs and builds a chapel at Emory. They also visit a few of his earlier works.
Children Without (1965) - 7/10 - This film is shot in and around an inner city Detroit school and focuses on some of the needs of the poor children that attend the school and how the school can help them. I think that the needs of the children are (and were) real, but the ability of the school to correct or compensate for these issues is highly exaggerated, even for the time period this took place in. The one father in the film is portrayed as having no interest in his kids, spending his time sleeping or drinking or watching tv while neglecting his kids. That seemed overly exaggerated as well.
Last Breeze of Summer (1991) - 8/10 - A woman reminisces back to when she was 14 and became the first black student at an otherwise all white school in the South. It isn't easy, but she is determined to see it through. This was a pretty good short that doesn't delve too deeply into the topic, but captures the essence of that time nonetheless.
The Yanks are Coming (1963) - 8/10 - Richard Basehart narrated this WWI documentary. It uses archival footage as Basehart follows the course of the war from a U.S. perspective. At first, the U.S. tries to stay out of the 'European War', but is eventually drawn in as American lives are lost to German u-boats. The film gives a decent surface review of the war, though it would have to be a lot longer to have real depth.
High Schools (1983) - 9/10 - This is an excellent documentary about the state of high schools in the U.S. in 1983. I related to it quite a bit on two levels - first as a student since I started high school myself in 1984 and second as a teacher who spent 27 years in high schools. Many things were covered here, both from student and teacher perspectives. The film suggests that teacher education programs at the time were not very relevant to the actual needs of prospective teachers and this was my experience as well when I was in college. The need for teaching reading and writing across the curriculum is something that I saw being pushed 25 years later. This was filmed in seven high schools over a school year and sees many interactions and discusses a wide range of topics, many of which are still very relevant today. One thing that I think is unfortunate, though, is the great decline in programs such as automotive, shop classes, and culinary arts. These have taken a back seat in the push to have every student attend college and increase standardized tests scores under the myth that schools were failing and this does a disservice to a number of students who would benefit from those classes.
Eight Minutes to Midnight: A Portrait of Dr. Helen Caldicott (1981) - 7/10 - Helen Caldicott is an Australian pediatrician who gave up her medical practice and also her teaching job at Harvard to pursue her anti-nuclear beliefs. She has written a number of books, started organizations, and traveled around the world to speak against uranium mining, nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons, etc. She speaks to the danger of cancer, birth defects, and other other issues related to nuclear power and weapons. It wasn't bad, though it seemed a bit repetitive as it went on. Hopefully her advocacy helped lead to an increase in safety standards.
Six-Sided Triangle (1963) - 5/10 - A love triangle of two men and a woman is repeated (by the same actors) in six different cultures, usually with similar results. I didn't find most of it all that interesting.
Don't Mess with Bill (1980) - 6/10 - This short film features Bill Underwood, the man who created an unarmed martial art called Defendo that he traveled across several countries teaching to law enforcement officers. He was already 84 when they made this film and he was still at it. He had a few decent stories, but it was difficult to get a real understanding of his technique just from this brief documentary.
Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date (1985) - 7/10 - This film analyzes Keats and his famous poem "Ode to a Nightingale" by interviewing teachers, students, and others to read and attempt to interpret the poem. They also give a bit of context into Keats and his life along with what he was going through at the time he wrote the poem (the death of his younger brother). I'm not a fan of poetry, but the film is well made and somewhat interesting even to those of us who do not aspire to creative verse such as this.
Spaces: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph (1983) - 7/10 - Paul Rudolph was a talented architect who designed buildings at Yale, Emory University, the Tuskegee Institute, and elsewhere. His designs were usually complex and tied in to his personal vision, though they occasionally clashed with the needs or view of his clients. This film takes us a bit behind the scenes with Rudolph's thoughts as he designs and builds a chapel at Emory. They also visit a few of his earlier works.
Children Without (1965) - 7/10 - This film is shot in and around an inner city Detroit school and focuses on some of the needs of the poor children that attend the school and how the school can help them. I think that the needs of the children are (and were) real, but the ability of the school to correct or compensate for these issues is highly exaggerated, even for the time period this took place in. The one father in the film is portrayed as having no interest in his kids, spending his time sleeping or drinking or watching tv while neglecting his kids. That seemed overly exaggerated as well.
Last Breeze of Summer (1991) - 8/10 - A woman reminisces back to when she was 14 and became the first black student at an otherwise all white school in the South. It isn't easy, but she is determined to see it through. This was a pretty good short that doesn't delve too deeply into the topic, but captures the essence of that time nonetheless.
The Yanks are Coming (1963) - 8/10 - Richard Basehart narrated this WWI documentary. It uses archival footage as Basehart follows the course of the war from a U.S. perspective. At first, the U.S. tries to stay out of the 'European War', but is eventually drawn in as American lives are lost to German u-boats. The film gives a decent surface review of the war, though it would have to be a lot longer to have real depth.
High Schools (1983) - 9/10 - This is an excellent documentary about the state of high schools in the U.S. in 1983. I related to it quite a bit on two levels - first as a student since I started high school myself in 1984 and second as a teacher who spent 27 years in high schools. Many things were covered here, both from student and teacher perspectives. The film suggests that teacher education programs at the time were not very relevant to the actual needs of prospective teachers and this was my experience as well when I was in college. The need for teaching reading and writing across the curriculum is something that I saw being pushed 25 years later. This was filmed in seven high schools over a school year and sees many interactions and discusses a wide range of topics, many of which are still very relevant today. One thing that I think is unfortunate, though, is the great decline in programs such as automotive, shop classes, and culinary arts. These have taken a back seat in the push to have every student attend college and increase standardized tests scores under the myth that schools were failing and this does a disservice to a number of students who would benefit from those classes.
Eight Minutes to Midnight: A Portrait of Dr. Helen Caldicott (1981) - 7/10 - Helen Caldicott is an Australian pediatrician who gave up her medical practice and also her teaching job at Harvard to pursue her anti-nuclear beliefs. She has written a number of books, started organizations, and traveled around the world to speak against uranium mining, nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons, etc. She speaks to the danger of cancer, birth defects, and other other issues related to nuclear power and weapons. It wasn't bad, though it seemed a bit repetitive as it went on. Hopefully her advocacy helped lead to an increase in safety standards.
Six-Sided Triangle (1963) - 5/10 - A love triangle of two men and a woman is repeated (by the same actors) in six different cultures, usually with similar results. I didn't find most of it all that interesting.
Don't Mess with Bill (1980) - 6/10 - This short film features Bill Underwood, the man who created an unarmed martial art called Defendo that he traveled across several countries teaching to law enforcement officers. He was already 84 when they made this film and he was still at it. He had a few decent stories, but it was difficult to get a real understanding of his technique just from this brief documentary.
Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date (1985) - 7/10 - This film analyzes Keats and his famous poem "Ode to a Nightingale" by interviewing teachers, students, and others to read and attempt to interpret the poem. They also give a bit of context into Keats and his life along with what he was going through at the time he wrote the poem (the death of his younger brother). I'm not a fan of poetry, but the film is well made and somewhat interesting even to those of us who do not aspire to creative verse such as this.
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Snake Eyes (Robert Schwentke, 2021) 7/10
American superhero film with a predominantly Asian cast is like a Hong Kong martial arts actioner. Snake Eyes (Henry Golding), heroic masked agent of the G.I. Joe organization, gets a spin-off film all to himself with the screenplay here providing him his origin. When his dad is assassinated a young boy grows up looking for vengeance and becomes a tough martial arts fighter. He attracts the attention of a rich Yakuza boss who offers to find his father's killer provided he works for him. When he is asked to shoot a traitor he refuses and instead saves the man's life. This involves him in the family power struggle of the Arashikage clan in Japan where he takes a test to become part of the clan, betrays them for his own selfish reasons, returns to atone for his mistake and finally faces his father's killer. He also discovers the true identity of his own father which sets the film up very conveniently for a sequel. The choppily edited slam-bang action sequences - and there are countless which all become a blur of sound and movement - are familiar tropes of the genre. Golding, a very charismatic looking actor, is almost robotic in his demeanor showing zero emotion tbroughout. It's almost as if he is unsure if he can carry off this leading part. And his American accent comes and goes - if only they had just stuck with the actor's natural British accent. The film's production design and location work in Japan is outstanding as we get to view the fascinating homes and gardens so unique to that country. Maybe Golding will fare better in the sequel as he gets more comfortable with the part. Here he sadly lacks the sexy energy he brought to his role in "Crazy Rich Asians". Luckily that film too gets a sequel. Two in fact. Back to back.
Pushover (Richard Quine, 1954) 8/10
A bank robbery. The robber's sexy moll (Kim Novak - in her first starring role). An undercover cop (Fred MacMurray) on the stakeout with his partner (Philip Carey) spying on the moll and her clean cut neighbor (Dorothy Malone). Then the cop falls for the moll and her plan - kill her boyfriend and abscond with the loot. MacMurray was in the classic "Double Indemnity" which had a similar sort of plot. Most of the film is shot in a claustrophobic manner in rooms and hallways with voyeuristic moments as in Hitchcock's "Rear Window". Every trope of an excellent noir gets regurgitated putting this film right up there with many of the best. MacMurray is fine but Novak is extremely memorable as the cold yet vulnerable femme fatale.
Sea of Sand (Guy Green, 1958) 7/10
Unlike the American studios, which made a number of WWII propaganda films while the war was still raging, the British studios continued with many such themed films during the 1950s. Every big British star, at one point or the other, showed up in uniform on screen. With the war won but its Empire gradually crashing down these films were a positive morale booster. Each film regurgitated all the obvious tropes of the genre while exploring heroics in different parts of the world where British troops once fought. A commando unit is sent into the desert (the film was shot on location in in Libya) to destroy a German fuel dump. When the group discover a huge contingent of tanks parked at the dump their return journey becomes a hazardous death trap as they rush to warn HQ. The motley group of officers (John Gregson, Michael Craig) and soldiers (Richard Attenborough, Percy Herbert, Barry Foster, Ray McAnnaly) have to dodge German patrols, land mines and aircrafts while battling injuries, the excessive heat, boredom and lack of water. Exciting, suspenseful film is one of the better films in the genre with superb photography capturing the remote loneliness of the vast desert. The film and Michael Craig received Bafta nominations.
American superhero film with a predominantly Asian cast is like a Hong Kong martial arts actioner. Snake Eyes (Henry Golding), heroic masked agent of the G.I. Joe organization, gets a spin-off film all to himself with the screenplay here providing him his origin. When his dad is assassinated a young boy grows up looking for vengeance and becomes a tough martial arts fighter. He attracts the attention of a rich Yakuza boss who offers to find his father's killer provided he works for him. When he is asked to shoot a traitor he refuses and instead saves the man's life. This involves him in the family power struggle of the Arashikage clan in Japan where he takes a test to become part of the clan, betrays them for his own selfish reasons, returns to atone for his mistake and finally faces his father's killer. He also discovers the true identity of his own father which sets the film up very conveniently for a sequel. The choppily edited slam-bang action sequences - and there are countless which all become a blur of sound and movement - are familiar tropes of the genre. Golding, a very charismatic looking actor, is almost robotic in his demeanor showing zero emotion tbroughout. It's almost as if he is unsure if he can carry off this leading part. And his American accent comes and goes - if only they had just stuck with the actor's natural British accent. The film's production design and location work in Japan is outstanding as we get to view the fascinating homes and gardens so unique to that country. Maybe Golding will fare better in the sequel as he gets more comfortable with the part. Here he sadly lacks the sexy energy he brought to his role in "Crazy Rich Asians". Luckily that film too gets a sequel. Two in fact. Back to back.
Pushover (Richard Quine, 1954) 8/10
A bank robbery. The robber's sexy moll (Kim Novak - in her first starring role). An undercover cop (Fred MacMurray) on the stakeout with his partner (Philip Carey) spying on the moll and her clean cut neighbor (Dorothy Malone). Then the cop falls for the moll and her plan - kill her boyfriend and abscond with the loot. MacMurray was in the classic "Double Indemnity" which had a similar sort of plot. Most of the film is shot in a claustrophobic manner in rooms and hallways with voyeuristic moments as in Hitchcock's "Rear Window". Every trope of an excellent noir gets regurgitated putting this film right up there with many of the best. MacMurray is fine but Novak is extremely memorable as the cold yet vulnerable femme fatale.
Sea of Sand (Guy Green, 1958) 7/10
Unlike the American studios, which made a number of WWII propaganda films while the war was still raging, the British studios continued with many such themed films during the 1950s. Every big British star, at one point or the other, showed up in uniform on screen. With the war won but its Empire gradually crashing down these films were a positive morale booster. Each film regurgitated all the obvious tropes of the genre while exploring heroics in different parts of the world where British troops once fought. A commando unit is sent into the desert (the film was shot on location in in Libya) to destroy a German fuel dump. When the group discover a huge contingent of tanks parked at the dump their return journey becomes a hazardous death trap as they rush to warn HQ. The motley group of officers (John Gregson, Michael Craig) and soldiers (Richard Attenborough, Percy Herbert, Barry Foster, Ray McAnnaly) have to dodge German patrols, land mines and aircrafts while battling injuries, the excessive heat, boredom and lack of water. Exciting, suspenseful film is one of the better films in the genre with superb photography capturing the remote loneliness of the vast desert. The film and Michael Craig received Bafta nominations.
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Kenji Comes Home (1949) - 7.5/10 - Kenji was a Japanese soldier during WWII and he finally returns to his hometown in 1947 to find that things have changed a lot. His family home is in ruins, most of the people that he knew are dead or no longer live there, and jobs are scarce. He adopts a street orphan boy that he meets and befriends the sister of one of his late friends. He eventually finds work, but has to decide to follow the communist principles that are promoted there or the Christian teachings that his girlfriend Aki believes in. This is an anti-Communist, pro-Christianity short film, but it is still a decent enough film nonetheless and the actors do a nice job, though the story is told through narration rather than dialogue.
Eyewitness (1999) - 8.5/10 - Many artists were murdered in the concentration camps during WWII. A number of these artists created drawings and paintings in secret that documented conditions in the camps. A few were also recruited to create art for the Nazi officers and this helped them stay alive. Two survivors were interviewed about their time in the camps and pictures of their surviving art is shown along with artwork created by the numerous artists who didn't survive. Overall, it is a very interesting and somewhat haunting film.
Eyewitness (1999) - 8.5/10 - Many artists were murdered in the concentration camps during WWII. A number of these artists created drawings and paintings in secret that documented conditions in the camps. A few were also recruited to create art for the Nazi officers and this helped them stay alive. Two survivors were interviewed about their time in the camps and pictures of their surviving art is shown along with artwork created by the numerous artists who didn't survive. Overall, it is a very interesting and somewhat haunting film.
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Stillwater (Tom McCarthy, 2021) 8/10
This sensitive screenplay covers a number of themes - the clash and acceptance of different cultures, racial tensions and socioeconomic disparities that exist in both France and the United States, parent child bonding, life's many screw-ups and the ability to find redemption. At the center of the plot is a murder-mystery - inspired by a true case - which is played out very slowly while each character finds ways to connect with each other. An oil worker (Matt Damon) from Oklahoma travels to Marseille to be close to his daughter (Abigale Breslin in an underwritten part) who is serving a jail sentence for murdering her unfaithful lover. She claims she is innocent and is sure that a mutual friend committed the crime. Both father and daughter have a very strained relationship from their difficult past which he now hopes to rectify. He befriends a french woman (Camille Cottin) and grows close to her young daughter. Their role in the story not only helps to soften his hard-edged, almost shy, exterior but also helps him to navigate his way through the bureaucracy of the french legal system he encounters. Damon gives a quietly searing performance as the closed-off rigid roughneck who gradually opens up to himself and the world around. The film's third act goes, almost jarringly, back to the investigation of the crime which although gets resolved but leaves a bitter taste - I can well imagine why the lady whose life inspired this film came down hard on the filmmakers. "Life is brutal" is echoed by both father and daughter at different times during the film. Yes it can be brutal although it is sometimes also possible to find peace and a change of perspective through it all.
Sweet Girl (Brian Andrew Mendoza, 2021) 2/10
A woman dies of cancer after a life saving drug is suddenly taken off the market. Her devastated, burly, shaggy-haired husband (Jason Momoa) goes ballistic and goes after the CEO of the medical company dragging his young daughter (Isabela Merced) along. Bone crunching violence ensues as killers sent after them by a senator (Amy Brenneman) are doffed off one by one. And then, by way of a twist ending, you realize the screenplay has lied to the audience all along. Even Hitchcock played such a cheap trick many moons ago. So no big deal. However, here the plot takes on a prepostrous route after the big reveal that is just too unbelievable for any of this story to make sense. Avoid this terrible film like the plague. Instead send a donation to Jason Momoa so he can get a haircut and get rid of all that unruly hair off his face.
This sensitive screenplay covers a number of themes - the clash and acceptance of different cultures, racial tensions and socioeconomic disparities that exist in both France and the United States, parent child bonding, life's many screw-ups and the ability to find redemption. At the center of the plot is a murder-mystery - inspired by a true case - which is played out very slowly while each character finds ways to connect with each other. An oil worker (Matt Damon) from Oklahoma travels to Marseille to be close to his daughter (Abigale Breslin in an underwritten part) who is serving a jail sentence for murdering her unfaithful lover. She claims she is innocent and is sure that a mutual friend committed the crime. Both father and daughter have a very strained relationship from their difficult past which he now hopes to rectify. He befriends a french woman (Camille Cottin) and grows close to her young daughter. Their role in the story not only helps to soften his hard-edged, almost shy, exterior but also helps him to navigate his way through the bureaucracy of the french legal system he encounters. Damon gives a quietly searing performance as the closed-off rigid roughneck who gradually opens up to himself and the world around. The film's third act goes, almost jarringly, back to the investigation of the crime which although gets resolved but leaves a bitter taste - I can well imagine why the lady whose life inspired this film came down hard on the filmmakers. "Life is brutal" is echoed by both father and daughter at different times during the film. Yes it can be brutal although it is sometimes also possible to find peace and a change of perspective through it all.
Sweet Girl (Brian Andrew Mendoza, 2021) 2/10
A woman dies of cancer after a life saving drug is suddenly taken off the market. Her devastated, burly, shaggy-haired husband (Jason Momoa) goes ballistic and goes after the CEO of the medical company dragging his young daughter (Isabela Merced) along. Bone crunching violence ensues as killers sent after them by a senator (Amy Brenneman) are doffed off one by one. And then, by way of a twist ending, you realize the screenplay has lied to the audience all along. Even Hitchcock played such a cheap trick many moons ago. So no big deal. However, here the plot takes on a prepostrous route after the big reveal that is just too unbelievable for any of this story to make sense. Avoid this terrible film like the plague. Instead send a donation to Jason Momoa so he can get a haircut and get rid of all that unruly hair off his face.
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They showed that quite a bit. Groups of men standing around waiting their turn to try and grab the bull's head. They also had a preliminary entertainment where a man timed it so that he dove over the bull as he charged and then rolled safely to a standing position on the other side. It definitely takes a certain type of bravery (or foolishnessmlrg wrote: Nowadays bullfighting has almost dissapeared and it is different from the spanish tradition. First of the bull is never killed in the arena and in Portugal there is a tradition where a group of men meet the bull head. This is called "pega de caras" which means, under literal translation "grab him by the face".
) to meet the bull head on like that.Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Well, Portugal in 1957 was a very very different country that it is today. The country was under a dictatorship between 1926 and 1974. Just to give you an example only 50% of the population older than 35 knew how to read and write during the 50´s.gunnar wrote:Portugal (1957) - 6/10 - Disney's People and Places travels to Portugal and looks at the people and geography. We visit a group of people collecting grapes and making wine to be shipped off. Next, we visit people who harvest cork and make things out of it. Finally, the rest of the film is devoted to bulls and bullfighting, though it appears to be a bit different than it is in Spain with groups of men meeting the bull head on without trying for a killing shot with a sword. It wasn't a great travelogue, but it was okay.
Nowadays bullfighting has almost dissapeared and it is different from the spanish tradition. First of the bull is never killed in the arena and in Portugal there is a tradition where a group of men meet the bull head. This is called "pega de caras" which means, under literal translation "grab him by the face".
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Portugal (1957) - 6/10 - Disney's People and Places travels to Portugal and looks at the people and geography. We visit a group of people collecting grapes and making wine to be shipped off. Next, we visit people who harvest cork and make things out of it. Finally, the rest of the film is devoted to bulls and bullfighting, though it appears to be a bit different than it is in Spain with groups of men meeting the bull head on without trying for a killing shot with a sword. It wasn't a great travelogue, but it was okay.
The Spirit of America (1963) - 7.5/10 - This documentary is about the design, construction, and testing of a car to break the land speed record along with the actual attempts on the record. There was a lot of information about the work that went into it and I thought it was a nice documentary. They made the attempts at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
The Children of Soong Ching Ling (1984) - 7.5/10 - This documentary talks about the activities that Soong Ching Ling, widow of Sun Yat-sen, pursued from the 1940s until her death in 1981. She was concerned about the welfare of children and promoted better healthcare, vaccinations, more teachers, and a cultured outlook. The film examines a number of the changes in China from the late 1940s, including the huge increase in population and the one child policy that had been implemented to curb the population growth. It is a pretty good film, though the ties to Soong Ching Ling are not really explored very deeply.
On Hope (1994) - 7.5/10 - Annette O'Toole plays Hope, a well dressed and mannered suburban woman who is married, but childless. She literally runs into a woman named Wendy (Mercedes Ruehl) at a supermarket who is her opposite in many ways - lively, outgoing, etc.- and discovers that they live on the same street. They quickly become best friends and are almost inseparable. It is a pretty good short film.
Switzerland (1955) - 8/10 - This Disney People and Places short starts with aerial shots oft he Swiss Alps and of several major cities in Switzerland. We get a bit of insight into a traditional wedding ceremony before a fair amount of time is spent in a remote mountain village that would not be out of place in the 18th or 19th centuries. The villagers go about their daily work and during the winter, celebrate Christmas and other holidays. The film concludes with a look at (then) modern Swiss activities, including skiing, bobsledding, and mountain climbing. Overall, it was a nice travelogue with the village life being the most interesting part.
The Spirit of America (1963) - 7.5/10 - This documentary is about the design, construction, and testing of a car to break the land speed record along with the actual attempts on the record. There was a lot of information about the work that went into it and I thought it was a nice documentary. They made the attempts at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
The Children of Soong Ching Ling (1984) - 7.5/10 - This documentary talks about the activities that Soong Ching Ling, widow of Sun Yat-sen, pursued from the 1940s until her death in 1981. She was concerned about the welfare of children and promoted better healthcare, vaccinations, more teachers, and a cultured outlook. The film examines a number of the changes in China from the late 1940s, including the huge increase in population and the one child policy that had been implemented to curb the population growth. It is a pretty good film, though the ties to Soong Ching Ling are not really explored very deeply.
On Hope (1994) - 7.5/10 - Annette O'Toole plays Hope, a well dressed and mannered suburban woman who is married, but childless. She literally runs into a woman named Wendy (Mercedes Ruehl) at a supermarket who is her opposite in many ways - lively, outgoing, etc.- and discovers that they live on the same street. They quickly become best friends and are almost inseparable. It is a pretty good short film.
Switzerland (1955) - 8/10 - This Disney People and Places short starts with aerial shots oft he Swiss Alps and of several major cities in Switzerland. We get a bit of insight into a traditional wedding ceremony before a fair amount of time is spent in a remote mountain village that would not be out of place in the 18th or 19th centuries. The villagers go about their daily work and during the winter, celebrate Christmas and other holidays. The film concludes with a look at (then) modern Swiss activities, including skiing, bobsledding, and mountain climbing. Overall, it was a nice travelogue with the village life being the most interesting part.