The Leopard (1963) - 8/10 - A Sicilian prince (Burt Lancaster) and his family have to adjust to a variety of social changes during the unification of Italy. The Prince allows his nephew to marry the beautiful daughter of a wealthy landowner. The film has beautiful cinematography, sets, and costumes and makes for a very nice historical drama.
Bagdad Cafe (1987) - 8.5/10 - Jasmin (Marianne Sagebrecht) is a German tourist who ends up at the Bagdad Cafe, a gas station/cafe/motel in the middle of the Mojave Desert with nothing around for a long ways. The place is rundown, the owner is perpetually angry (CCH Pounder), and there is very little business. Jasmin starts to make a few changes and slowly wins over the people there. This is a very nice film with a very good cast.
Canyon Passage (1946) - 8/10 - Logan Stuart (Dana Andrews) has a freight company in 1850s Oregon. He's honorable, but is attracted to two women, including the girlfriend (Susan Hayward) of his best friend George (Brian Donlevy). Throw in trouble from local Native Americans and a vicious man who has it in for Logan and we have a very nice western.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Nightmare Alley (Guillermo del Toro, 2021) 7/10
Overlong remake of the classic 1947 Edward Dmytryk film based on William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 pulpy novel is dazzlingly brought to the screen by del Toro. The film is a marvel of production design evoking the 1940s with the story set in a seedy carnival. Tyrone Power, in the original film version, played the main protagonist - a drifter and a carny - as brash, ruthless and over confident while Bradley Cooper here plays it very understated and with an almost quiet stillness. A difter with a murky past involving a mysterious death joins a carnival, gets lessons in fake psychic readings from a husband (David Staithairn) - wife (Toni Collette) double act, falls in love with another performer (Rooney Mara) and leaves with her to headline their own act. Some years later they are a success working an act at a posh club conning rich folks. When a psychologist (Cate Blanchett) suspects him to be a fake he involves her in an affair and uses information on her wealthy patients to con them for huge amounts of money. As with all stories with a disturbing noir over tone the end is not pretty as the carny finds himself way over his head in a situation that involves violence and death. A case of much style (outstanding cinematography, production and costume design) over substance and the film is much too long and could easily have been more effective with a half hour shorn of its length. The wonderful ensemble cast work small miracles with vivid bits from Willem Dafoe as the carnival owner, Mary Steenburgen as a distraught woman, Richard Jenkins as a dubious man with a violent past. Best of all is a serpentine Blanchett who uses spider-like cunning to entrap Cooper thus paving the way for his spectacular downfall.
House of Gucci (Ridley Scott, 2021) 6/10
The overbaked Italian accents of Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino), his son Paolo (Jared Leto buried under mounds of prosthetics) and his younger brother Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons looking like a cross between Gomez Addams and a cadaver) is amusing at first but soon begins to grate. The screenplay focuses on the euphoric marriage of Rodolfo's son Maurizio (Adam Driver) to social climber Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) which soon shows cracks when she gets over ambitious wanting control of the Gucci empire. She is served divorce papers and, prompted by a high-society psychic (Salma Hayek), hires a pair of hitmen to rub out her husband. Surrounding this personal, often campy drama, is the struggle for power between the family members for the Company. Neither really succeeds as the screenplay is inconsistent throughout not providing any gravitas to either end of the stories - just a lot of style over substance. Lady Gaga stands out with a compelling performance and while she and Driver have great chemistry he merely reacts to her with a goofy expression on his face throughout. Wonderful production values are an asset. And that classic pair of shoes is a killer!! This is a rare Ridley Scott misfire.
Overlong remake of the classic 1947 Edward Dmytryk film based on William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 pulpy novel is dazzlingly brought to the screen by del Toro. The film is a marvel of production design evoking the 1940s with the story set in a seedy carnival. Tyrone Power, in the original film version, played the main protagonist - a drifter and a carny - as brash, ruthless and over confident while Bradley Cooper here plays it very understated and with an almost quiet stillness. A difter with a murky past involving a mysterious death joins a carnival, gets lessons in fake psychic readings from a husband (David Staithairn) - wife (Toni Collette) double act, falls in love with another performer (Rooney Mara) and leaves with her to headline their own act. Some years later they are a success working an act at a posh club conning rich folks. When a psychologist (Cate Blanchett) suspects him to be a fake he involves her in an affair and uses information on her wealthy patients to con them for huge amounts of money. As with all stories with a disturbing noir over tone the end is not pretty as the carny finds himself way over his head in a situation that involves violence and death. A case of much style (outstanding cinematography, production and costume design) over substance and the film is much too long and could easily have been more effective with a half hour shorn of its length. The wonderful ensemble cast work small miracles with vivid bits from Willem Dafoe as the carnival owner, Mary Steenburgen as a distraught woman, Richard Jenkins as a dubious man with a violent past. Best of all is a serpentine Blanchett who uses spider-like cunning to entrap Cooper thus paving the way for his spectacular downfall.
House of Gucci (Ridley Scott, 2021) 6/10
The overbaked Italian accents of Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino), his son Paolo (Jared Leto buried under mounds of prosthetics) and his younger brother Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons looking like a cross between Gomez Addams and a cadaver) is amusing at first but soon begins to grate. The screenplay focuses on the euphoric marriage of Rodolfo's son Maurizio (Adam Driver) to social climber Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) which soon shows cracks when she gets over ambitious wanting control of the Gucci empire. She is served divorce papers and, prompted by a high-society psychic (Salma Hayek), hires a pair of hitmen to rub out her husband. Surrounding this personal, often campy drama, is the struggle for power between the family members for the Company. Neither really succeeds as the screenplay is inconsistent throughout not providing any gravitas to either end of the stories - just a lot of style over substance. Lady Gaga stands out with a compelling performance and while she and Driver have great chemistry he merely reacts to her with a goofy expression on his face throughout. Wonderful production values are an asset. And that classic pair of shoes is a killer!! This is a rare Ridley Scott misfire.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) - 8/10 - Five strangers go to help a man who had a car crash in a remote area and hear his tale of having buried $350,000 in a California park. This sets off a madcap race to get to the money. The police are following their ever move under the direction of a police captain (Spencer Tracy). Tons of comedy stars play a big role including Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, and so on. There are also a lot of cameos, including The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, Jerry Lewis, etc. It's a fun and crazy movie.
Wonder Boys (2000) - 8/10 - Grady (Michael Douglas) is a college professor who wrote an award winning novel, but hasn't had anything published for years and his editor is coming to town to check on him. A weekend adventure with one of his students, promising author James Leer (Tobey Maguire), may lead to a few changes in his life. I saw this when it came out, but didn't really remember much about it so I decided to rewatch it. Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire are each very good here. We also get Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, and Robert Downey, Jr. in supporting roles.
Wonder Boys (2000) - 8/10 - Grady (Michael Douglas) is a college professor who wrote an award winning novel, but hasn't had anything published for years and his editor is coming to town to check on him. A weekend adventure with one of his students, promising author James Leer (Tobey Maguire), may lead to a few changes in his life. I saw this when it came out, but didn't really remember much about it so I decided to rewatch it. Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire are each very good here. We also get Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, and Robert Downey, Jr. in supporting roles.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
An American Werewolf in London (1981) - 8/10 - Two Americans are attacked by a werewolf while backpacking in the UK. One of them wakes up in a London hospital after the attack. There's an interesting mix of humor and horror in this picture and the film moves at a pretty quick pace. I love the Piccadilly circus scene at the end.
The Shootist (1976) - 8/10 - John Wayne plays an elderly gunfighter who is dying from cancer in 1901. He rents a room in a boarding house and plans to die in the room, but people who want a shot at him decide otherwise. I thought it was a fairly entertaining western.
The Shootist (1976) - 8/10 - John Wayne plays an elderly gunfighter who is dying from cancer in 1901. He rents a room in a boarding house and plans to die in the room, but people who want a shot at him decide otherwise. I thought it was a fairly entertaining western.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Last Night in Soho (Edgar Wright, 2021) 6/10
Tushingham, Stamp, Rigg & Margaret Nolan too....names that conjure up images of Carnaby Street and the swinging sixties in London.....all tip-toe to the beat of Cilla, Petula, Dusty, Sandie in this over-the-top schizophrenic story. At the center is a naive but wide-eyed small-town gal (Thomasin McKenzie) who says goodbye to granny (Rita Tushingham) and arrives in big bad London town to study fashion......and trying to follow in her mother's footsteps who also went there years before but sadly ended up a suicide. After clashing with her mean spirited roommate she finds digs in an old rundown building - next to a garlic-smelling, neon-lit french bistro - owned by an old lady (Diana Rigg in her last film which is dedicated to her). The plot segues into supernatural territory as the girl's life appears to mirror a sixties chick (Anya Taylor-Young), an aspiring singer, dressed in a chic chiffon mini and sporting a blonde bouffant. Both girls literally meet across a mirror with each on either side of it. Did the blonde chick live in the same room as her, but during the 1960s, or is she just part of a nightmarish dream steeped in 60s lore? There is a strong whiff of Polanski's "Repulsion" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" as the dreams keep getting more and more bizarre and violent as the singer finds herself getting in over her head at the club where she performs and is treated viciously by a pimp (Matt Smith). And the girl's mother.....where does she fit in? And what about the mysterious old playboy (Terence Stamp)? The film does a great job of recreating seedy Soho of way back when sharply dressed tarts and pimps inhabited that iconic area of London. Both McKenzie and Taylor-Young try hard to inhabit their characters but fail to even conjure up an iota of oomph despite their trendy duds and hairdos. The simmering plot ends in a fiery twist. The film gets an A for effort especially for bringing magical old faces of British cinema back on screen and who provide an automatic flash of the past to some of us who grew up during that exciting era which still seems so fresh in one's mind.
Directed by William Wyler (Aviva Slesin, 1986) 8/10
The greats - friends & co-workers - talk about the genius of Willy. Excerpts from Wyler's many classics and glowing words from the likes of Olivier, Richardson, Wilder, Huston, Peck, Hepburn, Heston, Garson, Streisand, Eggar, Hellman, Stamp, Tally his wife of 43 years and Bette Davis his lover and tempestuous leading lady through three turbulent films - Jezebel (1938), The Letter (1940) & The Little Foxes (1941). Straight-off awe for his talent and generous praise from his stars who were often put through the mill on set as he took take after take.....after take.
Der Hauptmann von Köpenick / The Captain from Köpenick (Helmut Käutner, 1956) 8/10
Hit film version of Carl Zuckmayer's 1931 satirical play with a memorable performance by Heinz Rühmann. A German "fairy tale" which celebrates the cult of the Prussian uniform and how it changes perception about the person who dons it. A shoemaker (Heinz Rühmann) who has spent most of his life in prison for petty crimes is finally released. Wishing to finally make an honest living in his advanced age discovers to his horror and frustration the inflexible society of the late German Empire which offers practically nothing to citizens who have not served in the military. Without legal registration he can't get any work, and without any work he can't get a legal registration - a vicious circle which leads him to procure a military uniform, recruit a group of grenadiers and proceed to the city hall where he has the Mayor and the whole city council arrested.
The publicity which ensues label him a folk hero and prankster. The plot criticizes the proverb "Clothes Make the Man" wherein the "little man" protagonist is left with nothing facing a bleak future but as soon as he puts on a slick uniform the world around views him with different eyes and respect. Rühmann, one of Germany's most celebrated comic stars, is superb in a character part. German production (with great sets and costumes) in colour was nominated for an Oscar in the foreign film category.
Qivitoq (Erik Balling, 1956) 8/10
The spectacular location of the film overwhelms the two simplistic romances in the plot. A teacher arrives in Greenland from Denmark to surprise her boyfriend. Unfortunately she gets the surprise when a nurse at a hospital rudely informs her that her doctor boyfriend no longer wants anything to do with her as he is now involved with her. Upset she leaves for a remote fishing village to await a boat to take her back home. At the village she encounters the grouchy manager of the trading post who is not happy to see a woman invade his space. During a medical emergency - some dogs attack a small child - the couple bond while treating the child. Meanwhile an estranged local couple have problems of their own when the man takes off alone in his boat to become a wanderer or qivitoq in the icy wilderness. The manager goes after him and there is a chase over icy hills and a terrible fall into a ravine. Shot entirely in Greenland during the summer with floating ice floes in the sea and mountains of ice towering high above the skyline. There are incredible shots of falling glaciers into the sea causing tsunamis. The film was nominated for an Oscar as Denmark's entry for the foreign film category.
L'Horloger de Saint-Paul / The Clockmaker of St. Paul (Bertrand Tavernier, 1974) 6/10
Tavernier's first film, an adaptation of a novel by Georges Simenon, is at first glance about a murder and the police procedural that follows. A teenager murders a man and goes on the run with his girlfriend - but the screenplay instead focuses on the boy's incredulous father (Philippe Noiret), a widowed watchmaker, totally oblivious as to why his son would commit such a crime. The intrusive conversations with the investigating cop (Jean Rochefort) make him realise his lack of a relationship with his son. He is told by people around him that his son loved him yet the boy was secretive around his father. While the search goes on for the two youngsters the old man decides to do his utmost to stand by the pair despite their crime. Astute character study about a bewildered man who has to suddenly confront the police, probing journalists, right-wing thugs who smash his store windows and the generation gap that exists between a parent and child. The film put Noiret on the international map although he had been around forever.
Gemini Man (Ang Lee, 2019) 6/10
When a hitman (Will Smith) decides to retire the agency (Clive Owen, Linda Emond) sends an assassin after him who turns out to be his own much younger clone. A woefully generic plot has the sole attraction of visual effects tampering with the face of the actor Victor Hugo and making him look like a younger version of Will Smith. Lots of action, chase sequences, both on foot and on bikes, and fisticuffs between Smith & Smith. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stands out as another operative who is assigned to shadow the hitman but who instead ends up going on the run with him. Mindless and totally forgettable film is fun while it lasts.
Eternals (Chloë Zhao, 2021) 8/10
This Marvel universe was fascinating as it incorporates world history - the Babylonian & Gupta eras down to the present - as it charts the path of an immortal race of synthetic superpowered beings, controlled by the God-like Arishem, to rid planets of Deviants (ferocious creatures) in order to ensure the continual growth of their native populations. A group of nine Eternals are sent to earth, under their spiritual leader (Salma Hayek), where they help humanity progress while refraining from interfering in human conflicts. After centuries of living in peace, but separately, the Eternals once more come together to confront the deviants who have returned to create havoc on earth. Each Eternal is not without a quirk. There are the youngsters - the pixie-ish Eternal (Lia McHugh), the deaf Eternal (played by deaf actor Lauren Ridloff), the aloof Eternal (Barry Keoghan) - and amongst the adults - the empathetic Eternal (Gemma Chan) who becomes the new leader who is in love with an earthling (Kit Harrington), her former lover the flying Eternal (Richard Madden), the gay Eternal (Brian Tyree Henry) with a husband and child, the strongest Eternal (Don Lee) and protector of the conflicted warrior Eternal (Angelina Jolie) with whom he is in love and the Bollywood Eternal (Kumail Nanjiani) who has turned to Indian movies and the life of a vain (and very funny) actor and director. Zhao brings a sense of elegance, seriousness and tranquility to the proceedings while all the characters wear their vulnerability proudly on their sleeves making each extremely relatable. They are not mere invincible super heroes but have an element of depth. The repetitious action sequences don't seen like a chore but blend seamlessly into the plot. Looking forward to the sequel.
Tushingham, Stamp, Rigg & Margaret Nolan too....names that conjure up images of Carnaby Street and the swinging sixties in London.....all tip-toe to the beat of Cilla, Petula, Dusty, Sandie in this over-the-top schizophrenic story. At the center is a naive but wide-eyed small-town gal (Thomasin McKenzie) who says goodbye to granny (Rita Tushingham) and arrives in big bad London town to study fashion......and trying to follow in her mother's footsteps who also went there years before but sadly ended up a suicide. After clashing with her mean spirited roommate she finds digs in an old rundown building - next to a garlic-smelling, neon-lit french bistro - owned by an old lady (Diana Rigg in her last film which is dedicated to her). The plot segues into supernatural territory as the girl's life appears to mirror a sixties chick (Anya Taylor-Young), an aspiring singer, dressed in a chic chiffon mini and sporting a blonde bouffant. Both girls literally meet across a mirror with each on either side of it. Did the blonde chick live in the same room as her, but during the 1960s, or is she just part of a nightmarish dream steeped in 60s lore? There is a strong whiff of Polanski's "Repulsion" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" as the dreams keep getting more and more bizarre and violent as the singer finds herself getting in over her head at the club where she performs and is treated viciously by a pimp (Matt Smith). And the girl's mother.....where does she fit in? And what about the mysterious old playboy (Terence Stamp)? The film does a great job of recreating seedy Soho of way back when sharply dressed tarts and pimps inhabited that iconic area of London. Both McKenzie and Taylor-Young try hard to inhabit their characters but fail to even conjure up an iota of oomph despite their trendy duds and hairdos. The simmering plot ends in a fiery twist. The film gets an A for effort especially for bringing magical old faces of British cinema back on screen and who provide an automatic flash of the past to some of us who grew up during that exciting era which still seems so fresh in one's mind.
Directed by William Wyler (Aviva Slesin, 1986) 8/10
The greats - friends & co-workers - talk about the genius of Willy. Excerpts from Wyler's many classics and glowing words from the likes of Olivier, Richardson, Wilder, Huston, Peck, Hepburn, Heston, Garson, Streisand, Eggar, Hellman, Stamp, Tally his wife of 43 years and Bette Davis his lover and tempestuous leading lady through three turbulent films - Jezebel (1938), The Letter (1940) & The Little Foxes (1941). Straight-off awe for his talent and generous praise from his stars who were often put through the mill on set as he took take after take.....after take.
Der Hauptmann von Köpenick / The Captain from Köpenick (Helmut Käutner, 1956) 8/10
Hit film version of Carl Zuckmayer's 1931 satirical play with a memorable performance by Heinz Rühmann. A German "fairy tale" which celebrates the cult of the Prussian uniform and how it changes perception about the person who dons it. A shoemaker (Heinz Rühmann) who has spent most of his life in prison for petty crimes is finally released. Wishing to finally make an honest living in his advanced age discovers to his horror and frustration the inflexible society of the late German Empire which offers practically nothing to citizens who have not served in the military. Without legal registration he can't get any work, and without any work he can't get a legal registration - a vicious circle which leads him to procure a military uniform, recruit a group of grenadiers and proceed to the city hall where he has the Mayor and the whole city council arrested.
The publicity which ensues label him a folk hero and prankster. The plot criticizes the proverb "Clothes Make the Man" wherein the "little man" protagonist is left with nothing facing a bleak future but as soon as he puts on a slick uniform the world around views him with different eyes and respect. Rühmann, one of Germany's most celebrated comic stars, is superb in a character part. German production (with great sets and costumes) in colour was nominated for an Oscar in the foreign film category.
Qivitoq (Erik Balling, 1956) 8/10
The spectacular location of the film overwhelms the two simplistic romances in the plot. A teacher arrives in Greenland from Denmark to surprise her boyfriend. Unfortunately she gets the surprise when a nurse at a hospital rudely informs her that her doctor boyfriend no longer wants anything to do with her as he is now involved with her. Upset she leaves for a remote fishing village to await a boat to take her back home. At the village she encounters the grouchy manager of the trading post who is not happy to see a woman invade his space. During a medical emergency - some dogs attack a small child - the couple bond while treating the child. Meanwhile an estranged local couple have problems of their own when the man takes off alone in his boat to become a wanderer or qivitoq in the icy wilderness. The manager goes after him and there is a chase over icy hills and a terrible fall into a ravine. Shot entirely in Greenland during the summer with floating ice floes in the sea and mountains of ice towering high above the skyline. There are incredible shots of falling glaciers into the sea causing tsunamis. The film was nominated for an Oscar as Denmark's entry for the foreign film category.
L'Horloger de Saint-Paul / The Clockmaker of St. Paul (Bertrand Tavernier, 1974) 6/10
Tavernier's first film, an adaptation of a novel by Georges Simenon, is at first glance about a murder and the police procedural that follows. A teenager murders a man and goes on the run with his girlfriend - but the screenplay instead focuses on the boy's incredulous father (Philippe Noiret), a widowed watchmaker, totally oblivious as to why his son would commit such a crime. The intrusive conversations with the investigating cop (Jean Rochefort) make him realise his lack of a relationship with his son. He is told by people around him that his son loved him yet the boy was secretive around his father. While the search goes on for the two youngsters the old man decides to do his utmost to stand by the pair despite their crime. Astute character study about a bewildered man who has to suddenly confront the police, probing journalists, right-wing thugs who smash his store windows and the generation gap that exists between a parent and child. The film put Noiret on the international map although he had been around forever.
Gemini Man (Ang Lee, 2019) 6/10
When a hitman (Will Smith) decides to retire the agency (Clive Owen, Linda Emond) sends an assassin after him who turns out to be his own much younger clone. A woefully generic plot has the sole attraction of visual effects tampering with the face of the actor Victor Hugo and making him look like a younger version of Will Smith. Lots of action, chase sequences, both on foot and on bikes, and fisticuffs between Smith & Smith. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stands out as another operative who is assigned to shadow the hitman but who instead ends up going on the run with him. Mindless and totally forgettable film is fun while it lasts.
Eternals (Chloë Zhao, 2021) 8/10
This Marvel universe was fascinating as it incorporates world history - the Babylonian & Gupta eras down to the present - as it charts the path of an immortal race of synthetic superpowered beings, controlled by the God-like Arishem, to rid planets of Deviants (ferocious creatures) in order to ensure the continual growth of their native populations. A group of nine Eternals are sent to earth, under their spiritual leader (Salma Hayek), where they help humanity progress while refraining from interfering in human conflicts. After centuries of living in peace, but separately, the Eternals once more come together to confront the deviants who have returned to create havoc on earth. Each Eternal is not without a quirk. There are the youngsters - the pixie-ish Eternal (Lia McHugh), the deaf Eternal (played by deaf actor Lauren Ridloff), the aloof Eternal (Barry Keoghan) - and amongst the adults - the empathetic Eternal (Gemma Chan) who becomes the new leader who is in love with an earthling (Kit Harrington), her former lover the flying Eternal (Richard Madden), the gay Eternal (Brian Tyree Henry) with a husband and child, the strongest Eternal (Don Lee) and protector of the conflicted warrior Eternal (Angelina Jolie) with whom he is in love and the Bollywood Eternal (Kumail Nanjiani) who has turned to Indian movies and the life of a vain (and very funny) actor and director. Zhao brings a sense of elegance, seriousness and tranquility to the proceedings while all the characters wear their vulnerability proudly on their sleeves making each extremely relatable. They are not mere invincible super heroes but have an element of depth. The repetitious action sequences don't seen like a chore but blend seamlessly into the plot. Looking forward to the sequel.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The 355 (Simon Kinberg, 2022) 6/10
A chase all over the world - London, Paris, Marrakesh, Washington & Shanghai - for a top-secret weapon that gets into the hands of a Spanish agent (Édgar Ramirez) in Bogota. When he tries to sell it to the CIA one of their top agents (Jessica Chastain) is assigned to intercept him and she finds herself helped by her friend from MI6 (Lupita Nyong'o) and chased by agents from Germany (Diane Kruger), Spain (Penélope Cruz) and China (Fan Bingbing) - all wanting to get their hands on the weapon. When they all find themselves made rogues by their agencies they unwillingly join hands to ensure the weapon stays out of reach of their own colleagues. A steller cast is stuck in the midst of a ridiculous plot full of potholes which one needs to totally ignore and just go with the flow which these actors also seem to be doing. It's not enough to have a slew of kick-ass women spies going all James Bond if they are not backed by a strong screenplay. The five stars try their best with Nyong'o the only one who comes through with flying colours. The film's concept came from Chastain. Moderately enjoyable spy action thriller which is instantly forgettable.
Quelque chose à te dire / Blame it on Mum (Cécile Telerman, 2009) 4/10
Rather tiresome look at a dysfunctional french bourgeois family with every member more screwed up than the other. Presiding over them all is the elegant matriarch (Charlotte Rampling) who is basically a cold selfish bitch incapable of giving love to her three grownup kids or long suffering husband. It all comes to a close during the parents' wedding anniversary party. An upbeat postscript shows the result of coming to terms with each other and the happy result of two pregnancies.
Munich: The Edge of War (Christian Schwochow, 2022) 6/10
In the name of suspense Robert Harris blends fact and fiction together in this adaptation of his novel "Munich". Set during the tense time in 1940 when Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Jeremy Irons) attended the Munich Agreement (concluded by Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy) which provided cession to Germany of the Sudeten German territory of Czechoslovakia in a bid to prevent war on the continent. This was what Hitler (Ullrich Matthes) wanted as he announced that it was to be his last terretorial claim and the European powers were all too happy to agree in order to prevent war. However, history proved to be quite the opposite. With this historic meeting at the center the screenplay invents an espionage drama involving two friends who reunite years after their time spent together as students at Oxford University - an attaché (George MacKay) to the Prime Minister who is approached by a German diplomat (Jannis Niewohner) with papers proving that Hitler has no intention of sticking to the Munich Agreement and has every intention to attack and annex the rest of Europe. A clandestine meeting is arranged between the young German and the British PM. This fictionalized dramatization of events raises questions on Chamberlain's controversial legacy - did Hitler outmaneuver Chamberlain or was the latter trying to buy much needed time for Britain to prepare for war by building up military strength together with allies? The espionage bit does not quite come off especially since the eventual outcome is known. The film's superb production values enhance what is at best an average film although Irons provides a superb interpretation of the Prime Minister who eventually fell from grace, resigned and paved the way for Winston Churchill to dominate British politics during the war years.
A chase all over the world - London, Paris, Marrakesh, Washington & Shanghai - for a top-secret weapon that gets into the hands of a Spanish agent (Édgar Ramirez) in Bogota. When he tries to sell it to the CIA one of their top agents (Jessica Chastain) is assigned to intercept him and she finds herself helped by her friend from MI6 (Lupita Nyong'o) and chased by agents from Germany (Diane Kruger), Spain (Penélope Cruz) and China (Fan Bingbing) - all wanting to get their hands on the weapon. When they all find themselves made rogues by their agencies they unwillingly join hands to ensure the weapon stays out of reach of their own colleagues. A steller cast is stuck in the midst of a ridiculous plot full of potholes which one needs to totally ignore and just go with the flow which these actors also seem to be doing. It's not enough to have a slew of kick-ass women spies going all James Bond if they are not backed by a strong screenplay. The five stars try their best with Nyong'o the only one who comes through with flying colours. The film's concept came from Chastain. Moderately enjoyable spy action thriller which is instantly forgettable.
Quelque chose à te dire / Blame it on Mum (Cécile Telerman, 2009) 4/10
Rather tiresome look at a dysfunctional french bourgeois family with every member more screwed up than the other. Presiding over them all is the elegant matriarch (Charlotte Rampling) who is basically a cold selfish bitch incapable of giving love to her three grownup kids or long suffering husband. It all comes to a close during the parents' wedding anniversary party. An upbeat postscript shows the result of coming to terms with each other and the happy result of two pregnancies.
Munich: The Edge of War (Christian Schwochow, 2022) 6/10
In the name of suspense Robert Harris blends fact and fiction together in this adaptation of his novel "Munich". Set during the tense time in 1940 when Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Jeremy Irons) attended the Munich Agreement (concluded by Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy) which provided cession to Germany of the Sudeten German territory of Czechoslovakia in a bid to prevent war on the continent. This was what Hitler (Ullrich Matthes) wanted as he announced that it was to be his last terretorial claim and the European powers were all too happy to agree in order to prevent war. However, history proved to be quite the opposite. With this historic meeting at the center the screenplay invents an espionage drama involving two friends who reunite years after their time spent together as students at Oxford University - an attaché (George MacKay) to the Prime Minister who is approached by a German diplomat (Jannis Niewohner) with papers proving that Hitler has no intention of sticking to the Munich Agreement and has every intention to attack and annex the rest of Europe. A clandestine meeting is arranged between the young German and the British PM. This fictionalized dramatization of events raises questions on Chamberlain's controversial legacy - did Hitler outmaneuver Chamberlain or was the latter trying to buy much needed time for Britain to prepare for war by building up military strength together with allies? The espionage bit does not quite come off especially since the eventual outcome is known. The film's superb production values enhance what is at best an average film although Irons provides a superb interpretation of the Prime Minister who eventually fell from grace, resigned and paved the way for Winston Churchill to dominate British politics during the war years.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Downfall (2004) - 8/10 - The last days of the Third Reich are shown in Berlin, starting on Hitler's birthday in 1945 and going through the surrender of Berlin to the Soviets. It's pretty realistic and Bruno Ganz seems to channel Hitler in his performance.
Beyond Silence (1996) - 8.5/10 - Lara is the daughter of two deaf parents who has to translate for them a lot while growing up. She develops a love for music at age 10 when her aunt gives her a clarinet and it turns out that Lara is a gifted musician. However, music is a world that her parents can't understand and her father is afraid of losing her. I thought the film was very well acted and had a good mix of humor and sadness. It's a very good film.
Beyond Silence (1996) - 8.5/10 - Lara is the daughter of two deaf parents who has to translate for them a lot while growing up. She develops a love for music at age 10 when her aunt gives her a clarinet and it turns out that Lara is a gifted musician. However, music is a world that her parents can't understand and her father is afraid of losing her. I thought the film was very well acted and had a good mix of humor and sadness. It's a very good film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The White Ribbon (2009) - 7.5/10 - In a small German village in 1914, a series of incidents lead to the town doctor being injured, a farmer's wife dying, several children being attacked, and so on. There seems to be a lot of abuse and repression going on in the town. The narrator is the local schoolteacher relating the events many years later. It's a good film, though I thought it dragged a bit at times.
Nowhere in Africa (2001) - 9/10 - A Jewish woman and her daughter leave Germany in 1938 to join her husband in Kenya. The husband was a lawyer who saw the danger in staying in Germany and now has a farm. He was unable to convince the rest of his family to leave Germany. The daughter soon acclimates to life in Africa and becomes close friends with the native cook. The wife takes quite a bit longer to adjust. I loved this one.
Great Freedom (2021) - 7/10 - Hans is arrested for homosexual activities in Germany in 1968. He has been in and out of prison since WWII ended and the only stable relationship he's really had is with his cellmate. The film is very slow and meditative. It works for the story, though it didn't really help to draw me in.
Nowhere in Africa (2001) - 9/10 - A Jewish woman and her daughter leave Germany in 1938 to join her husband in Kenya. The husband was a lawyer who saw the danger in staying in Germany and now has a farm. He was unable to convince the rest of his family to leave Germany. The daughter soon acclimates to life in Africa and becomes close friends with the native cook. The wife takes quite a bit longer to adjust. I loved this one.
Great Freedom (2021) - 7/10 - Hans is arrested for homosexual activities in Germany in 1968. He has been in and out of prison since WWII ended and the only stable relationship he's really had is with his cellmate. The film is very slow and meditative. It works for the story, though it didn't really help to draw me in.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Tragedy of Macbeth (Joel Coen, 2021) 8/10
Visually arresting film harks back to Kurosawa and Welles choosing to follow their very stark interpretations of Shakespeare's tragic play. Coen shoots the film in vivid monochrome - Bruno Delbonnel's stunning deep focus cinematography resembles german expressionism casting deep shadows all around - and on very stylized yet modern sets with architecture designed with linear lines giving the story an eerie icy touch. The familiar language flows like poetry as characters act despicably towards each other which is the bane of every tragedy by the playwright. The three witches (a superb Kathryn Hunter - grotesquely twirling her arms in hindu-goddess fashion) prophesize about Macbeth (Denzel Washington) soon becoming King of Scotland. He is stunned as he has just returned victorious as general heading the army of King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson) but sends word to Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) about this news. She urges him to kill the king and usurp the throne. With the deed done it is only a matter of time before the murder comes back to haunt both husband and wife. Washington is surprisingly effective and very empathetic speaking the lines as if to the manor born - the actor has had ample practice with the Bard on stage. McDormand - looking like a cross between Judith Anderson and Ruth Gordon - gets to do the memorable sleepwalking and hand washing scene. As with most screen versions of this play its the production that stands out more than the actors although they are all fine here. The sparse look of the film with its startling imagery of tree branches, falling leaves and crows, the simple yet striking costumes, Carter Burwell's score, the memorable sets and the cinematography take top marks. Surprisingly the film lacks blood, gore and the murderous lust for power which is missing in both the two leads' performances.
Pride and Prejudice (Robert Z. Leonard, 1940) 9/10
Classic MGM version of Jane Austen's novel of snobbery and manners with a screenplay by Aldous Huxley downplays the novel's biting dialogue and sharp social satire and turns it into more of a romantic comedy. The novel, set in Regency England, is set by the studio at a later time. The reason was that women's clothing during the Regency period looked too much like nightgowns (which can be viewed in the much later BBC tv version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle) and to satisfy the public's taste for more flamboyant costumes the story's period was changed to reflect the Victorian era. Briskly paced film covers all the important events seen later in 6 parts on tv although there are a few key moments that are changed from the novel. The central love story that begins with hate at first sight is between rich eligible bachelor Mr Darcy (Laurence Olivier) who is a snob of the highest order and witty and stubborn Elizabeth Bennet (Greer Garson) daughter of a middle-class family of almost impoversished countryside background. He looks down on her family - the vulgar mother (a very amusing Mary Boland) obsessed with finding rich husbands for her five daughters, her intelligent and sarcastic father (Edmund Gwenn) and four sisters (Maureen O'Sullivan, Marsha Hunt, Ann Rutherford, Heather Angel). She retaliates by giving him as good as she gets. Various musunderstandings involving pride and prejudice come in the way before matters get resolved. Olivier and Garson make a very handsome couple and there are wonderful supporting turns by Melville Cooper, Freida Inescourt, Karen Morley and especially the formidable Edna May Oliver as Darcy's haughty aunt. The film won an Oscar for its production design. Olivier was not fond of the film as he wanted Vivien Leigh to play opposite him which the studio instead gave to up and coming Greer Garson who would soon become the studio's top star and grand lady.
Pride and Prejudice (Simon Langton, 1995) 8/10
Celebrated BBC tv series put Colin Firth on the world map. Proud, arrogant and snobbish Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) meets his match - in wit only - in the beautiful Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle). She and her four sisters live in the countryside with her vulgar, marriage-obsessed mother (Allison Steadman) and her intelligent and sarcastic father (Benjamin Whitrow). Overlong but handsomely produced adaptation of Jane Austen's book about class, pride and prejudice and how biases are overcome before love can bloom. Despite a lot of outdated views on hand about marriage and relationships it finds a very bitter truth in each of those views that still remain relevant today.
Visually arresting film harks back to Kurosawa and Welles choosing to follow their very stark interpretations of Shakespeare's tragic play. Coen shoots the film in vivid monochrome - Bruno Delbonnel's stunning deep focus cinematography resembles german expressionism casting deep shadows all around - and on very stylized yet modern sets with architecture designed with linear lines giving the story an eerie icy touch. The familiar language flows like poetry as characters act despicably towards each other which is the bane of every tragedy by the playwright. The three witches (a superb Kathryn Hunter - grotesquely twirling her arms in hindu-goddess fashion) prophesize about Macbeth (Denzel Washington) soon becoming King of Scotland. He is stunned as he has just returned victorious as general heading the army of King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson) but sends word to Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) about this news. She urges him to kill the king and usurp the throne. With the deed done it is only a matter of time before the murder comes back to haunt both husband and wife. Washington is surprisingly effective and very empathetic speaking the lines as if to the manor born - the actor has had ample practice with the Bard on stage. McDormand - looking like a cross between Judith Anderson and Ruth Gordon - gets to do the memorable sleepwalking and hand washing scene. As with most screen versions of this play its the production that stands out more than the actors although they are all fine here. The sparse look of the film with its startling imagery of tree branches, falling leaves and crows, the simple yet striking costumes, Carter Burwell's score, the memorable sets and the cinematography take top marks. Surprisingly the film lacks blood, gore and the murderous lust for power which is missing in both the two leads' performances.
Pride and Prejudice (Robert Z. Leonard, 1940) 9/10
Classic MGM version of Jane Austen's novel of snobbery and manners with a screenplay by Aldous Huxley downplays the novel's biting dialogue and sharp social satire and turns it into more of a romantic comedy. The novel, set in Regency England, is set by the studio at a later time. The reason was that women's clothing during the Regency period looked too much like nightgowns (which can be viewed in the much later BBC tv version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle) and to satisfy the public's taste for more flamboyant costumes the story's period was changed to reflect the Victorian era. Briskly paced film covers all the important events seen later in 6 parts on tv although there are a few key moments that are changed from the novel. The central love story that begins with hate at first sight is between rich eligible bachelor Mr Darcy (Laurence Olivier) who is a snob of the highest order and witty and stubborn Elizabeth Bennet (Greer Garson) daughter of a middle-class family of almost impoversished countryside background. He looks down on her family - the vulgar mother (a very amusing Mary Boland) obsessed with finding rich husbands for her five daughters, her intelligent and sarcastic father (Edmund Gwenn) and four sisters (Maureen O'Sullivan, Marsha Hunt, Ann Rutherford, Heather Angel). She retaliates by giving him as good as she gets. Various musunderstandings involving pride and prejudice come in the way before matters get resolved. Olivier and Garson make a very handsome couple and there are wonderful supporting turns by Melville Cooper, Freida Inescourt, Karen Morley and especially the formidable Edna May Oliver as Darcy's haughty aunt. The film won an Oscar for its production design. Olivier was not fond of the film as he wanted Vivien Leigh to play opposite him which the studio instead gave to up and coming Greer Garson who would soon become the studio's top star and grand lady.
Pride and Prejudice (Simon Langton, 1995) 8/10
Celebrated BBC tv series put Colin Firth on the world map. Proud, arrogant and snobbish Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) meets his match - in wit only - in the beautiful Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle). She and her four sisters live in the countryside with her vulgar, marriage-obsessed mother (Allison Steadman) and her intelligent and sarcastic father (Benjamin Whitrow). Overlong but handsomely produced adaptation of Jane Austen's book about class, pride and prejudice and how biases are overcome before love can bloom. Despite a lot of outdated views on hand about marriage and relationships it finds a very bitter truth in each of those views that still remain relevant today.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Slightly Dangerous (Wesley Ruggles, 1943) 7/10
Lana goes screwball. Well almost. Bored hick town soda jerk (Lana Turner), gets into a tangle with her boss (Robert Young), and ups and leaves for New York leaving behind a written note that is interpreted as a bid for suicide. She ingratiates herself in the household of a millionaire (Walter Brennan) posing as his long lost daughter. Meanwhile her boss turns up after seeing her photo in the papers. Chaos ensues. Lovely Turner has a ball tip-toeing through slapstick routines around her - her blindfolded soda jerk sequence is a superb bit which was directed by the great Buster Keaton. The wonderful supporting cast - Dame May Whitty, Ward Bond, Alan Mowbray, Florence Bates, Eugene Pallette - add a lot to the main plot.
These Glamour Girls (S. Sylvan Simon, 1939) 6/10
Drunk rich college student (Lew Ayres) invites a dance hall girl (Lana Turner) to the big college dance. When she turns up he has no recollection of her but she proves to be popular with the rest of the boys and shows two fingers to the all the snooty girls who look down at her. Ayres is too old to be convincing as a college student while glamourous Lana Turner does not look like a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Its fantasy and the plot moves accordingly. Smart Jane Bryan, tragic Marsha Hunt, dimwit Ann Rutherford and bitchy Anita Louise play assorted girls with problems of their own. But clearly Lana is the whole show dancing up a storm as MGM grooms her for stardom which was just around the corner.
Train d'enfer/Operation Double Cross (Gilles Grangier, 1965) 5/10
One of many James Bond rip-offs that came in the wake of the real deal. This one has a convoluted plot bordering on the nonsensical involving a Nazi scientist and his laser gun. Jean Marais is far too old as the secret agent trying to solve the mystery which begins with the discovery of a dead chauffeur found in the sea with a dumbell tied around his neck. One winces each time he gets socked during the many fist fights shot in and around lavish homes. Tall willowy Marisa Mell is a stunner as the femme fatale and the film uses lovely seaside and rural locations in Spain. The bombastic score accompanying the action is by André Hossein father of director-actor Robert Hossein.
Orders to Kill (Anthony Asquith, 1958) 8/10
Grounded American bomber pilot (Paul Massie) is tasked with assassinating a french resistance worker who is a double agent. The assignment becomes difficult for him once he meets and gets to know the man. Tautly directed psychological thriller starts off as a straightforward action piece as the man goes through intense training for the mission via his handlers (Eddie Albert & James Robertson Justice). However, the mood of the film switches once the agent begins to doubt that his proposed victim is a traitor. He is tartly put back on track by his french contact (Irene Worth) who berates him on his cowardice and lack of maturity. Worth, in two brief appearances, runs off with the film - she won a Bafta award. As did Massie and the screenplay by Paul Dehn. In a delightful cameo Lillian Gish is strangely cast as the agent's elderly mother.
Atrangi Re / Funnily Weird (Anand L. Rai, 2021) 6/10
A madcap girl (Sara Ali Khan) tries to elope with her lover (Akshay Kumar) but is forced by her family to get married to the first available bachelor (Dhanush) who goes through the deed while kidnapped and drugged. Later both decide to go their separate ways with their respective love partners but their wedding video goes viral and his fiancé calls off their wedding. Further chaos ensues when the newly-wed groom discovers he is now in love with his wife while a bizzare truth is revealed about her boyfriend that involves her tragic childhood. Only Bollywood can come up with a screwball comedy with heavy dollops of heartbreak punctuated throughout making this a very unusual love story. Both Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan are memorable. The melancholy score is typical of A.R. Rahman.
Sardar Udham (Shoojit Sircar, 2021) 8/10
Udham Singh (Vicky Kaushal), an Indian Revolutionary, travels all the way to London and assassinates Michael O'Dwyer (Shaun Scott) to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. During intense rioting against British rule, O'Dwyer - the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in British India - gives orders to shoot at sight during all public gatherings. A peaceful gathering of men, women and children in a public park ends in a massacre when General Dyer orders his troops to shoot, repeatedly killing almost 400 innocent civilians while gravely injuring over a thousand. The screenplay charts Singh's journey across continents, his life in London as a salesman and a welder, his final act of revenge 21 years after the massacre, his prison sentence, trial and hanging. The film's highlight is the harrowing massacre shown in flashback at the end as human beings are literally mowed down with bullets and Singh and a few other people desperately attempt to save wounded people left to die out in the open by the British. Kaushal gives a quietly moving performance. Painful true story was just one of several different but equally harrowing events through the centuries of British colonial rule in India. Wherever you had the white man it was always tinged with rampant racism, greed, a divisive form of rule and outright robbery.
Lana goes screwball. Well almost. Bored hick town soda jerk (Lana Turner), gets into a tangle with her boss (Robert Young), and ups and leaves for New York leaving behind a written note that is interpreted as a bid for suicide. She ingratiates herself in the household of a millionaire (Walter Brennan) posing as his long lost daughter. Meanwhile her boss turns up after seeing her photo in the papers. Chaos ensues. Lovely Turner has a ball tip-toeing through slapstick routines around her - her blindfolded soda jerk sequence is a superb bit which was directed by the great Buster Keaton. The wonderful supporting cast - Dame May Whitty, Ward Bond, Alan Mowbray, Florence Bates, Eugene Pallette - add a lot to the main plot.
These Glamour Girls (S. Sylvan Simon, 1939) 6/10
Drunk rich college student (Lew Ayres) invites a dance hall girl (Lana Turner) to the big college dance. When she turns up he has no recollection of her but she proves to be popular with the rest of the boys and shows two fingers to the all the snooty girls who look down at her. Ayres is too old to be convincing as a college student while glamourous Lana Turner does not look like a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Its fantasy and the plot moves accordingly. Smart Jane Bryan, tragic Marsha Hunt, dimwit Ann Rutherford and bitchy Anita Louise play assorted girls with problems of their own. But clearly Lana is the whole show dancing up a storm as MGM grooms her for stardom which was just around the corner.
Train d'enfer/Operation Double Cross (Gilles Grangier, 1965) 5/10
One of many James Bond rip-offs that came in the wake of the real deal. This one has a convoluted plot bordering on the nonsensical involving a Nazi scientist and his laser gun. Jean Marais is far too old as the secret agent trying to solve the mystery which begins with the discovery of a dead chauffeur found in the sea with a dumbell tied around his neck. One winces each time he gets socked during the many fist fights shot in and around lavish homes. Tall willowy Marisa Mell is a stunner as the femme fatale and the film uses lovely seaside and rural locations in Spain. The bombastic score accompanying the action is by André Hossein father of director-actor Robert Hossein.
Orders to Kill (Anthony Asquith, 1958) 8/10
Grounded American bomber pilot (Paul Massie) is tasked with assassinating a french resistance worker who is a double agent. The assignment becomes difficult for him once he meets and gets to know the man. Tautly directed psychological thriller starts off as a straightforward action piece as the man goes through intense training for the mission via his handlers (Eddie Albert & James Robertson Justice). However, the mood of the film switches once the agent begins to doubt that his proposed victim is a traitor. He is tartly put back on track by his french contact (Irene Worth) who berates him on his cowardice and lack of maturity. Worth, in two brief appearances, runs off with the film - she won a Bafta award. As did Massie and the screenplay by Paul Dehn. In a delightful cameo Lillian Gish is strangely cast as the agent's elderly mother.
Atrangi Re / Funnily Weird (Anand L. Rai, 2021) 6/10
A madcap girl (Sara Ali Khan) tries to elope with her lover (Akshay Kumar) but is forced by her family to get married to the first available bachelor (Dhanush) who goes through the deed while kidnapped and drugged. Later both decide to go their separate ways with their respective love partners but their wedding video goes viral and his fiancé calls off their wedding. Further chaos ensues when the newly-wed groom discovers he is now in love with his wife while a bizzare truth is revealed about her boyfriend that involves her tragic childhood. Only Bollywood can come up with a screwball comedy with heavy dollops of heartbreak punctuated throughout making this a very unusual love story. Both Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan are memorable. The melancholy score is typical of A.R. Rahman.
Sardar Udham (Shoojit Sircar, 2021) 8/10
Udham Singh (Vicky Kaushal), an Indian Revolutionary, travels all the way to London and assassinates Michael O'Dwyer (Shaun Scott) to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. During intense rioting against British rule, O'Dwyer - the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in British India - gives orders to shoot at sight during all public gatherings. A peaceful gathering of men, women and children in a public park ends in a massacre when General Dyer orders his troops to shoot, repeatedly killing almost 400 innocent civilians while gravely injuring over a thousand. The screenplay charts Singh's journey across continents, his life in London as a salesman and a welder, his final act of revenge 21 years after the massacre, his prison sentence, trial and hanging. The film's highlight is the harrowing massacre shown in flashback at the end as human beings are literally mowed down with bullets and Singh and a few other people desperately attempt to save wounded people left to die out in the open by the British. Kaushal gives a quietly moving performance. Painful true story was just one of several different but equally harrowing events through the centuries of British colonial rule in India. Wherever you had the white man it was always tinged with rampant racism, greed, a divisive form of rule and outright robbery.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) - Sophie Scholl was arrested in February 1943 along with her brother Hans for distributing leaflets calling for an end to the war. They were part of a non-violent group called The White Rose. Trial and sentencing were carried out with great speed. Julia Jentsch did a very nice job as Sophie and the movie kept my interest throughout.
Toni Erdmann (2016) - A father who likes to play (dumb) pranks visits his daughter in Bucharest just before her birthday. She is an executive at a consulting company and her whole life seems to revolve around her job. It makes for a pretty awkward visit much of the time. I did like the movie, but it is slow and meandering and much of the humor wasn't really all that funny.
The Tomorrow War (2021) - Aliens show up in the late 2040s and by 2051, humanity is almost wiped out. They send soldiers back to 2022 to recruit people from the past to try and protect the future. Chris Pratt stars as a former soldier turned science teacher who gets drafted and sent to the future. It was pretty entertaining even if the premise is a bit out there..
Dangerous Moves (1984) - A Soviet World Chess Champion takes on his former student who has since defected to the West. There is political intrigue and plenty of tension during this Cold War confrontation. I thought it was pretty good.
Toni Erdmann (2016) - A father who likes to play (dumb) pranks visits his daughter in Bucharest just before her birthday. She is an executive at a consulting company and her whole life seems to revolve around her job. It makes for a pretty awkward visit much of the time. I did like the movie, but it is slow and meandering and much of the humor wasn't really all that funny.
The Tomorrow War (2021) - Aliens show up in the late 2040s and by 2051, humanity is almost wiped out. They send soldiers back to 2022 to recruit people from the past to try and protect the future. Chris Pratt stars as a former soldier turned science teacher who gets drafted and sent to the future. It was pretty entertaining even if the premise is a bit out there..
Dangerous Moves (1984) - A Soviet World Chess Champion takes on his former student who has since defected to the West. There is political intrigue and plenty of tension during this Cold War confrontation. I thought it was pretty good.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Deep Impact (Mimi Leder, 1998) 6/10
Why is Vanessa Redgrave in this film when the script only allows her about 2 very short scenes? And she does nothing of significance during her cameo appearance. I think Netflix is running a cut version as I distinctly remember what happens to the Redgrave character. Anyway long story short - a comet is headed earth's way and the upcoming catastrophic event is to be combatted by a mission of young'un astronauts led by a gung-ho oldie (Robert Duvall) who plan on attaching nukes on the comet to blow it up. Mission fails as it breaks into two pieces but still moves towards earth. The concerned *gasp* black U.S. President (Morgan Freeman) - who thought back then this was even possible in a racist country like the United States as Obama was still years away in the future? - keeps making telly announcements giving hope. Téa Leoni is a newscaster and daughter of an estranged couple - Redgrave & Maximillian Schell - while Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski play teenage lovers and the original discoverers of the giant comet. The damn thing hits, causing gigantic tidal waves knocking off the head of the Statue of Liberty and collapsing the World Trade Center buildings - a sign of things to come for these buildings in three short years where they would go down but under very different circumstances that would permanently change things around the world. A huge sacrifice by the space mission results in one part of the comet deteriorating but only after the first one hits and causes big-ass tsunamis. The idea was to remake the 1951 When Worlds Collide with Spielberg at the helm but he passed on the film to Leder who thankfully concentrates more on the human element of the story instead of on special effects. So who remembers what happened to the Redgrave character?
Mimi (Laxman Utekar, 2021) 6/10
Small town dancer and Bollywood-actress aspirant (Kriti Sanon) opts to be a surrogate mother for a foreign couple in exchange for a large sum of money. Chaos ensues. A serious subject is looked at through humour especially with the hilarious reactions of the girl's horrified parents (Manoj Pahwa & Supriya Pathak), a local taxi driver (Pankaj Tripathy) who initiates and involves the girl in the foreign couple's plan and her best friend (Sai Tamhankar) who is a solid support when things don't go according to plan. A test result shows that the unborn baby could have Downs Syndrome so the American couple decide not to take the baby after all which causes more mayhem for the unwed mother as none of her family members understand the concept of surrogacy and how that works - the taxi driver is automatically assumed to be the baby's father which causes further hilarity as he is married and his wife and mother also join the horrified spectators wanting quick answers. Contrived plot is saved by the delightful supporting cast while Kriti Sanon's small-town accent comes and goes. The ending goes into full overdrive to wring tears in true melodramatic fashion and succeeds pretty well on that front.
Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (Abhishek Kapoor, 2021) 9/10
If it's an Ayushmann Khurrana movie it's invariably going to deal with a "difficult", yaa "hutt-kay", taboo subject that is going to be an eye opener for the conservative movie-going public of the Sub-Continent. People are well aware of these topics but nobody likes to discuss them. Its much easier to scoff, brush them under the carpet or ridicule them. The amazing thing is that the Bollywood screenplays effortlessly incorporate these subjects in such a seamless way fitting the "subject" into a middle class milieu and often shown with great humour that is never at the expense of anyone. Topics as diverse as sperm donation, the marriage between an illiterate man and his literate but extremely overweight wife, male impotence, late-age pregnancy, a cross-dressing male performer, male pattern baldness and homosexuality. Now here comes a romance between a bodybuilder (Ayushman Khurrana) and a sexy Zumba teacher (Vaani Kapoor). Set in the Chandigarh Punjabi milieu the film draws laughs from the antics of a typical middle class family - old loving grandfather, a randy widowed father with an eye towards remarriage, two spinster daughters who make life miserable for their only brother as they keep trying to set him up with a girl so he can settle down. The guy is not interested in marriage and his only ambition in life is to win an annual contest that declares the strongest man. Then suddenly he falls head over heels in love with the teacher at his gym which evolves into a sexual relationship. When she informs him that she is a trans woman all hell breaks loose. Raises a number of important issues involving various intense reactions - anger, ridicule, understanding and finally acceptance. No doubt the screenplay over simplifies a sensitive subject yet it gently cajoles the viewer into exploring with an open mind what appears to be taboo. Acceptance and tolerance are the two strong messages the film hopes to convey. At the center is the remarkably sensitive and sensual performance by Vaani Kapoor who creates such a unique character and makes her acceptable despite the uproar around her. Khurrana matches her every step of the way with his character mirroring our unaccepting and ignorant society whose immediate knee-jerk reaction is to ridicule, abuse and make fun of anything that is out of the ordinary. Both actors deserve to win awards for their wonderful performances.
Why is Vanessa Redgrave in this film when the script only allows her about 2 very short scenes? And she does nothing of significance during her cameo appearance. I think Netflix is running a cut version as I distinctly remember what happens to the Redgrave character. Anyway long story short - a comet is headed earth's way and the upcoming catastrophic event is to be combatted by a mission of young'un astronauts led by a gung-ho oldie (Robert Duvall) who plan on attaching nukes on the comet to blow it up. Mission fails as it breaks into two pieces but still moves towards earth. The concerned *gasp* black U.S. President (Morgan Freeman) - who thought back then this was even possible in a racist country like the United States as Obama was still years away in the future? - keeps making telly announcements giving hope. Téa Leoni is a newscaster and daughter of an estranged couple - Redgrave & Maximillian Schell - while Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski play teenage lovers and the original discoverers of the giant comet. The damn thing hits, causing gigantic tidal waves knocking off the head of the Statue of Liberty and collapsing the World Trade Center buildings - a sign of things to come for these buildings in three short years where they would go down but under very different circumstances that would permanently change things around the world. A huge sacrifice by the space mission results in one part of the comet deteriorating but only after the first one hits and causes big-ass tsunamis. The idea was to remake the 1951 When Worlds Collide with Spielberg at the helm but he passed on the film to Leder who thankfully concentrates more on the human element of the story instead of on special effects. So who remembers what happened to the Redgrave character?
Mimi (Laxman Utekar, 2021) 6/10
Small town dancer and Bollywood-actress aspirant (Kriti Sanon) opts to be a surrogate mother for a foreign couple in exchange for a large sum of money. Chaos ensues. A serious subject is looked at through humour especially with the hilarious reactions of the girl's horrified parents (Manoj Pahwa & Supriya Pathak), a local taxi driver (Pankaj Tripathy) who initiates and involves the girl in the foreign couple's plan and her best friend (Sai Tamhankar) who is a solid support when things don't go according to plan. A test result shows that the unborn baby could have Downs Syndrome so the American couple decide not to take the baby after all which causes more mayhem for the unwed mother as none of her family members understand the concept of surrogacy and how that works - the taxi driver is automatically assumed to be the baby's father which causes further hilarity as he is married and his wife and mother also join the horrified spectators wanting quick answers. Contrived plot is saved by the delightful supporting cast while Kriti Sanon's small-town accent comes and goes. The ending goes into full overdrive to wring tears in true melodramatic fashion and succeeds pretty well on that front.
Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (Abhishek Kapoor, 2021) 9/10
If it's an Ayushmann Khurrana movie it's invariably going to deal with a "difficult", yaa "hutt-kay", taboo subject that is going to be an eye opener for the conservative movie-going public of the Sub-Continent. People are well aware of these topics but nobody likes to discuss them. Its much easier to scoff, brush them under the carpet or ridicule them. The amazing thing is that the Bollywood screenplays effortlessly incorporate these subjects in such a seamless way fitting the "subject" into a middle class milieu and often shown with great humour that is never at the expense of anyone. Topics as diverse as sperm donation, the marriage between an illiterate man and his literate but extremely overweight wife, male impotence, late-age pregnancy, a cross-dressing male performer, male pattern baldness and homosexuality. Now here comes a romance between a bodybuilder (Ayushman Khurrana) and a sexy Zumba teacher (Vaani Kapoor). Set in the Chandigarh Punjabi milieu the film draws laughs from the antics of a typical middle class family - old loving grandfather, a randy widowed father with an eye towards remarriage, two spinster daughters who make life miserable for their only brother as they keep trying to set him up with a girl so he can settle down. The guy is not interested in marriage and his only ambition in life is to win an annual contest that declares the strongest man. Then suddenly he falls head over heels in love with the teacher at his gym which evolves into a sexual relationship. When she informs him that she is a trans woman all hell breaks loose. Raises a number of important issues involving various intense reactions - anger, ridicule, understanding and finally acceptance. No doubt the screenplay over simplifies a sensitive subject yet it gently cajoles the viewer into exploring with an open mind what appears to be taboo. Acceptance and tolerance are the two strong messages the film hopes to convey. At the center is the remarkably sensitive and sensual performance by Vaani Kapoor who creates such a unique character and makes her acceptable despite the uproar around her. Khurrana matches her every step of the way with his character mirroring our unaccepting and ignorant society whose immediate knee-jerk reaction is to ridicule, abuse and make fun of anything that is out of the ordinary. Both actors deserve to win awards for their wonderful performances.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001) - 8/10 - This documentary covers the trial of a 15 year old black boy who was coerced by police into confessing to the murder of a woman outside a Jacksonville motel early on a Sunday morning. The police did almost no investigating and just picked the boy off the street as he was walking to Blockbuster in hopes of getting a job there. It's a good documentary, but a sad situation and a very bad look for the Jacksonville police.
Muddy River (1981) - 8/10 - Nobuo is a third grader who lives with his family in their noodle shop by the river in postwar Osaka. He befriends a boy his age named Kiichi who lives in a houseboat with his sister and mother and just arrived in the area. This is a very nice film. It's kind of melancholy overall, but has good performances all around. I think being shot in black and white fits the movie well.
The Visit (1964) - 8/10 - Ingrid Bergman plays Karla, a self made millionaire who returns to the town that forced her out of town 20 years earlier as a pregnant 17 year old. They think that she is there to be generous to her old hometown, but she is intent on revenge against Serge (Anthony Quinn), the man who fathered her child and then denied it. Nice performances and one that maintains its momentum throughout.
The Promised Land (1975) - 7.5/10 - Three friends - a Pole, a German, and a Jew - decide to open up a textile factory in 1880s Lodz. The film shows the callous exploitation of labor by the few people with money who controlled businesses. It's a good film and is based on a novel from the late 1890s.
Muddy River (1981) - 8/10 - Nobuo is a third grader who lives with his family in their noodle shop by the river in postwar Osaka. He befriends a boy his age named Kiichi who lives in a houseboat with his sister and mother and just arrived in the area. This is a very nice film. It's kind of melancholy overall, but has good performances all around. I think being shot in black and white fits the movie well.
The Visit (1964) - 8/10 - Ingrid Bergman plays Karla, a self made millionaire who returns to the town that forced her out of town 20 years earlier as a pregnant 17 year old. They think that she is there to be generous to her old hometown, but she is intent on revenge against Serge (Anthony Quinn), the man who fathered her child and then denied it. Nice performances and one that maintains its momentum throughout.
The Promised Land (1975) - 7.5/10 - Three friends - a Pole, a German, and a Jew - decide to open up a textile factory in 1880s Lodz. The film shows the callous exploitation of labor by the few people with money who controlled businesses. It's a good film and is based on a novel from the late 1890s.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
None Shall Escape (1944) - 7/10 - The trial of a Nazi war criminal in Poland after the end of WWII is shown with flashbacks to his earlier life and crimes. It was no Judgment at Nuremberg, but it wasn't bad.
The Ninth Circle (1960) - 8/10 - A Croatian family arranges to save the 17 year old Jewish daughter of their friends from being rounded up during WWII by having her marry their 19 year old son. It goes well at first, but causes a number of complications. This is a well made film.
Journey of Hope (1990) - 8/10 - Haydar lives in a small village in Turkey and hears from his cousin how well Turks are doing who have emigrated to Switzerland. He sells most of his belongings and travels with his wife and one son on a journey to Switzerland in hoped of greater prosperity. His other six children are left in the care of relatives until he can hopefully send for them. The journey turns out to be more expensive and arduous than he expected. This is a good film about illegal immigration and how the expectations don't necessarily live up to reality.
The Ninth Circle (1960) - 8/10 - A Croatian family arranges to save the 17 year old Jewish daughter of their friends from being rounded up during WWII by having her marry their 19 year old son. It goes well at first, but causes a number of complications. This is a well made film.
Journey of Hope (1990) - 8/10 - Haydar lives in a small village in Turkey and hears from his cousin how well Turks are doing who have emigrated to Switzerland. He sells most of his belongings and travels with his wife and one son on a journey to Switzerland in hoped of greater prosperity. His other six children are left in the care of relatives until he can hopefully send for them. The journey turns out to be more expensive and arduous than he expected. This is a good film about illegal immigration and how the expectations don't necessarily live up to reality.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Salvatore Giuliano (Francesco Rosi, 1962) 8/10
The life of the Sicilian bandit is shot by Rosi in a neo-realist documentary style which is as much a portrait of post-war Sicily as it is of the man who managed to elude the police for a number of years. The film opens with the bandit's corpse sprawled in a street face down - shot to death - and tells his story in a non-linear manner with sudden flashbacks. Giuliano is seen numerous times but only as a corpse while the screenplay focuses on the people around him. A petty black marketeer to make ends meet he is caught at a checkpost and shoots a cop and gets away. Later he shoots another cop and goes into hiding in the hills surrounding his small town and gradually turns into a folk hero while briefly also dabbling in Sicily's separatist movement. His downfall began with the massacre of unarmed communist demonstrators at a rally with many factions turning against him until his final betrayal by a close comrade. Rosi's film was the precursor to a slew of hard-hitting political films that came in its wake like Gillo Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers (1966) and Costa Gavras’ Z (1969). The screenplay, via a narrator, covers a great deal of historical background which tends to get rather confusing but the film is full of brilliantly staged stark images (courtesy of the great Gianni Di Venanzo) as Rosi uses his cast of non professional actors to enact the dramatic life of Giuliano.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) 5/10
Lee Marvin steals the film away from his far more famous co-stars, John Wayne and James Stewart, who were both appearing on screen together for the first time. Ford shoots the entire film on sets giving it a stagy feel as he handles a love triangle between a tenderfoot lawyer (James Stewart), a gunslinger (John Wayne) and the woman (Vera Miles) they both love. The story's main conflict lies with the hired killer (Lee Marvin) who tries to break up the town moving towards self governance. There are the usual (corny) comic Ford touches involving a cowardly Marshall (Andy Devine) and an alcoholic newspaper editor (Edmond O'Brien). Stylish but slow film, pining nostalgia, is set in a changing West with the legacy of legend superceding fact. Stewart is badly miscast - he is far too old to be playing a lawyer just starting out and his excessive (natural trademark) drawl begins to get on one's nerves especially coming after a decade worth of tough brutal roles where he spoke in a normal voice. While Wayne is his usual flamboyant heroic self his part merely requires him to sporadically wander in and out of the action. Marvin is the whole show as the mean, vicious killer who has absolutely no redeeming quality. One understands why he went on to win an Oscar three years later. Edith Head's costume designs were nominated for an Oscar.
The Mark of the Hawk (Michael Audley, 1957) 5/10
Like most of Sidney Poitier's films this too was one with a political message. Set in an un-named British colonial African country bristling with hatred for the white man where one soul (Sidney Poitier) speaks out for independence but in a non-violent way. Often preachy film has Poitier in fine form in one of his early lead roles. John McIntire is a preacher who has spent an earlier tragic life in communist China - the film goes off into a tangent with a long flashback although there are similarities in the way countries got invaded and locals became prisoners of the occupiers. Eartha Kitt plays Poitier's wife and gets to sing as well.
Ships With Wings (Sergei Nolbandov, 1941) 7/10
WWII British propaganda film disliked by Churchill who felt it showed far too many British casualties and hence bad for morale. It was also criticized for its lack of realism but the film was a huge hit at the boxoffice for all the derring do on display. The plot revolves around a reckless RAF pilot (John Clements) who is expelled from the Fleet Air Arm (one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy) but redeems himself later during the Battle of Greece in 1940-41. There is a love triangle with him and two women - a sultry nightclub singer (Ann Todd) is madly in love with him while he is in love with the daughter (Jane Baxter) of the Vice Admiral (Leslie Banks). However, she ends up married to another officer (Michael Wilding) after he gets dismissed from service. Despite the incredibly shoddy special effects this is a good war film with espionage thrown in on a greek island and torture and murder by the Nazis. Michael Rennie, Cecil Parker and Hugh Williams appear in brief but vivid roles.
The life of the Sicilian bandit is shot by Rosi in a neo-realist documentary style which is as much a portrait of post-war Sicily as it is of the man who managed to elude the police for a number of years. The film opens with the bandit's corpse sprawled in a street face down - shot to death - and tells his story in a non-linear manner with sudden flashbacks. Giuliano is seen numerous times but only as a corpse while the screenplay focuses on the people around him. A petty black marketeer to make ends meet he is caught at a checkpost and shoots a cop and gets away. Later he shoots another cop and goes into hiding in the hills surrounding his small town and gradually turns into a folk hero while briefly also dabbling in Sicily's separatist movement. His downfall began with the massacre of unarmed communist demonstrators at a rally with many factions turning against him until his final betrayal by a close comrade. Rosi's film was the precursor to a slew of hard-hitting political films that came in its wake like Gillo Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers (1966) and Costa Gavras’ Z (1969). The screenplay, via a narrator, covers a great deal of historical background which tends to get rather confusing but the film is full of brilliantly staged stark images (courtesy of the great Gianni Di Venanzo) as Rosi uses his cast of non professional actors to enact the dramatic life of Giuliano.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) 5/10
Lee Marvin steals the film away from his far more famous co-stars, John Wayne and James Stewart, who were both appearing on screen together for the first time. Ford shoots the entire film on sets giving it a stagy feel as he handles a love triangle between a tenderfoot lawyer (James Stewart), a gunslinger (John Wayne) and the woman (Vera Miles) they both love. The story's main conflict lies with the hired killer (Lee Marvin) who tries to break up the town moving towards self governance. There are the usual (corny) comic Ford touches involving a cowardly Marshall (Andy Devine) and an alcoholic newspaper editor (Edmond O'Brien). Stylish but slow film, pining nostalgia, is set in a changing West with the legacy of legend superceding fact. Stewart is badly miscast - he is far too old to be playing a lawyer just starting out and his excessive (natural trademark) drawl begins to get on one's nerves especially coming after a decade worth of tough brutal roles where he spoke in a normal voice. While Wayne is his usual flamboyant heroic self his part merely requires him to sporadically wander in and out of the action. Marvin is the whole show as the mean, vicious killer who has absolutely no redeeming quality. One understands why he went on to win an Oscar three years later. Edith Head's costume designs were nominated for an Oscar.
The Mark of the Hawk (Michael Audley, 1957) 5/10
Like most of Sidney Poitier's films this too was one with a political message. Set in an un-named British colonial African country bristling with hatred for the white man where one soul (Sidney Poitier) speaks out for independence but in a non-violent way. Often preachy film has Poitier in fine form in one of his early lead roles. John McIntire is a preacher who has spent an earlier tragic life in communist China - the film goes off into a tangent with a long flashback although there are similarities in the way countries got invaded and locals became prisoners of the occupiers. Eartha Kitt plays Poitier's wife and gets to sing as well.
Ships With Wings (Sergei Nolbandov, 1941) 7/10
WWII British propaganda film disliked by Churchill who felt it showed far too many British casualties and hence bad for morale. It was also criticized for its lack of realism but the film was a huge hit at the boxoffice for all the derring do on display. The plot revolves around a reckless RAF pilot (John Clements) who is expelled from the Fleet Air Arm (one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy) but redeems himself later during the Battle of Greece in 1940-41. There is a love triangle with him and two women - a sultry nightclub singer (Ann Todd) is madly in love with him while he is in love with the daughter (Jane Baxter) of the Vice Admiral (Leslie Banks). However, she ends up married to another officer (Michael Wilding) after he gets dismissed from service. Despite the incredibly shoddy special effects this is a good war film with espionage thrown in on a greek island and torture and murder by the Nazis. Michael Rennie, Cecil Parker and Hugh Williams appear in brief but vivid roles.