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

[anonymous1980]

Temptation Island (Joey Gosiengfiao) 8/10

This is considered a camp classic in Filipino cinema. Four beauty pageant contestants and their respective entourage get shipwrecked in a desert island. This film feels a bit like a Russ Meyer movie with generous sprinklings of Federico Fellini, Luis Bunuel and Alejandro Jodorowsky and it's quite terrific. There are plenty of twisted, over-the-top, surreal and hilarious moments (including an unforgettable sequence involving the song "Somewhere"). It's actually less racy than I thought it would be. Sure, there are naughty bits involving scantily clad women but they're relatively mild. But still, the beautiful photography coupled with the campy humor makes it fun to watch still. There are moments of bad acting but it adds to the camp quality of the piece.

[Big Magilla]

Summertime (David Lean) - 6.5/10

Why such a low rating for one of my favorite films?

[kaytodd]

Downfall (2004) rating: 8/10
director: Oliver Hirschbiegel

Bruno Ganz' performance as Hitler was off the chart terrific but the other actors were fine but only servicable. But I had a hard time keeping my eyes off Corinna Harfouch as she played Frau Goebbels but that might have been because I knew what she was going to do. She was fascinating since I saw in her character signs of both fanatical loyalty to Hitler and Nazism and anger and contempt for her husband for getting her and her family into that situation. Good work by Harfouch. I watched her penultimate scene with her family through gaps in my fingers as my hands covered my face. My sense of morbidness and voyeurism were very satisfied by this film. It was a nice touch that a few scenes were viewed by characters who happened upon them by accident and watched them through doorways. Hitler turning away in anguish as his dog Blondi was poisoned; Hitler's secretary watching his wedding to Eva Braun through a partially open door; another character watching through another partially open door as a doctor gives Hitler advice on how to most effectively commit suicide, etc.

Hirschbiegel and his crew did good work with a budget under 20 million dollars. The scenes in the streets of Berlin and the claustrophic bunker were perfect, as were the costumes. And I have to give special props again to Bruno Ganz. Portraying Hitler as the human being he was is always controversial. He is still seen as this cartoon character. But even ths most evil people have to show a human side if they are going to be successful in politics.

There was no nation more cosmopolitan and advanced than Germany in the 1930's. A raving lunatic would not have risen to power anywhere in the world, but especially not there. But, for obvious reasons, that is how Hitler is almost always portrayed and attempts to portray him as he probably actually was are controversial. There is a scene at the beginning of the film when Hitler is hiring a group of female secretaries in 1942, when he was at the height of his powers and before his dementia really set in. One of the girls is nervous but he goes out of his way to put her at ease and even makes self deprecating jokes to relax her. I like the idea of Hitler remaining an icon of evil (for that is what he was) but I admired Ganz and Hirschbiegel for going this route. I am sure it was a controversial decision. But this film was the story of a young girl who was very honored to work for the person she probably admired more than anyone in the world. Like almost everyone else in that bunker three years later, she still admired and loved him for they were sheltered in his orbit. Ganz' acting chops helped me understand just how these people could be so deluded. Good work. I recommend this film highly. I was riveted from beginning to end.

[anonymous1980]

Summertime (David Lean) - 6.5/10

[anonymous1980]

Family Plot (Alfred Hitchcock) - 8/10

[mlrg]

The Tree of Life (2011 - Terrence Mallick)

10/10

[anonymous1980]

Paisan (Roberto Rossellini) - 9/10

[anonymous1980]

Week End (Jean Luc Godard) - 9.5/10

[Reza]

The Propreitor (Ismail Merchant, 1996) 4/10

Slow tedious film.......but then what can you expect when the Merchant/Ivory team reverse their roles? A famous french author long settled in New York after escaping France during WWII.....her mother was carted off by the Nazis......decides to return to Paris when she learns that the apartment she lived in as a child is up for auction. The story revolves around her attempt to buy the apartment while her memories of her mother and her childhood keep haunting her. The film gets points for the lovely Parisian locations, the authentic sets and for the presence of the great Jeanne Moreau in whose face you get to see a lifetime of sorrow and joy.

A Home at the End of the Word (Michael Mayer, 2005) 5/10

Long rambling story about two childhood friends in love with each other.....or are they just in experiment mode? The story also involves an older woman who loves them both....... and they love her. There is a death, a pregnancy and suspected AIDS to deal with. Colin Farrell is cast against type and Sissy Spacek, as a quirky Mom, is exceptional.

Limitless (Neil Burger, 2011) 3/10

Chase film with a new twist....man at the end of his rope discovers a wonder drug that enhances his senses allowing him to become successful in life. Of course there is a price to pay.......serious side effects of the drug along with the bad guys who are after him for the drugs. Interesting premise which at the end of the day is merely a ho hum film. Bradley Cooper (the Hangover guy) is not bad while De Niro makes yet another appearance in a film to ensure he has enough spending money for the next three months of his life.

Ship of Fools (Stanley Kramer, 1965) 6/10

Passengers travelling on a boat from Mexico to Europe during the 1930s represent society during the era. Heavy handed story churns out the usual breast beating about the Jewish ''anguish'' at the hands of just about everyone around including the ''dreaded'' German Nazis. Nevertheless it is facinating to see the superb cast, some at their best (Oskar Werner, Simone Signoret, Heinz Ruehmann), some at their worst (Jose Ferrer), some campy (Vivien Leigh, Lee Marvin, Jose Freco) and some indifferent (George Segal, Elizabeth Ashley). Exquisitely photographed in black and white with great sets and costumes.

Picnic (Joshua Logan, 1955) 6/10

William Holden is very good (if rather old) as the drifter who comes into a small town and turns the head of all the lonely women living there. He falls in love with Kim Novak who is unbelievably wooden. Susan Strasberg and Arthur O'Connell take the acting honours while Rosalind Russell overacts as the spinster who throws herself at Holden and at O'Connell. Beautifully photographed in colour. The highlight of the film: Holden and Novak dancing to the tune of ''Moonglow''. And both leads certainly look amazing as a couple. Trivia: To appease the Hollywood censors Holden had to shave off his chest for all the scenes where he is shown with his shirt off. Nothing new, I suppose, as Salman Khan does that for every Bollywood film he appears in. Although in the case of Salman the shaved chest is to show off his muscular boobs !!

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966) 9/10

Hilarious black comedy about an ongoing marital spat with Burton and La Liz at the peak of their vicious powers as the battling couple. Segal and Dennis are the unsuspecting couple who get roped into the night of verbal abuse. Brilliantly directed by Mike Nichols with all four leads in top form. Every part of the production is top notch.....from the photography to the sets and costumes to the editing and the score. A film to watch in order to savour the intense but often very funny dialogue. This is Elizabeth Taylor's finest performance. Burton is also very good but I stand by my preference of Scofield taking the Oscar that year.

Carmen (Cecil B. De Mille, 1915) 7/10

One needs to get past the earthy quality....read UGLY.....of Geraldine Farrar as Carmen. Once you accept that, the film becomes enjoyable. Farrar uses that earthiness to create a character who is not afraid of men and ends up not only destroying the Officer (matinee idol Wallace Reid) but also herself. It's a great performance full of passion. She proves that one need not have beauty to drive a man insane.

[Hustler]

The Human Resources Manager (Eran Riklis) 8/10


The Adjustment Bureau (George Nolfi) 6/10

[Reza]

Due Date (Todd Phillips, 2010) 1/10

I think road movies should be banned going forward if this is the sort of crap we get to see. I didn't expect this to be a classic but at least I thought I'd get to laugh a couple of times even if I very well knew it was going to be a rehash of all other road movies before. But this is totally unfunny, vile crap.

Robert Downey..........go and stand in the fucking corner and NEVER turn around!!

Hanna (Joe Wright, 20100) 3/10

A chase film that just goes on and on and has nothing much to say. Cate Blanchett needs to seriously retire that butch wig and start playing normal again. The interesting kid from Wright's Atonement is just plain bland in the lead. The loud soundtrack also got on my nerves.

Aradhana (Shakti Samanta, 1969) 8/10

Bollywood remake of that old chestnut ''To Each His Own'' for which Olivia de Havilland won an Oscar in 1946. It is obvious that the part is foolproof as Sharmila Tagore goes all out as a young unwed mother who has to give up her son, goes to jail on a false murder charge and grows old interacting with her son without him knowing her whole sob story. Tagore is superb and deservedly won the Filmfare award. What makes the film really jump start is her pairing with heartthrob Rajesh Khanna in the dual role of the lover and son and the timeless Kishore Kumar songs that Khanna ''sings''. The ''Roop Tera Mastana'' song sung during the sex scene is a Bollywood classic. And my favorite song.......''Mairay Sapnon Ki Rani....''.

The Killer Inside Me (Michael Winterbottom, 2010) 3/10

An interesting performance by Casey Affleck cannot save this extremely slow and tedious film. That one scene of violence is truly stomach churning.

[anonymous1980]

Django (Sergio Corbucci) - 9.5/10

[Reza]

Goya's Ghosts (Milos Forman, 2007) 3/10

Absurd melodrama about a woman (Natalie Portman) falsely imprisoned for heresy by the Spanish Inquisition, a priest (Javier Bardem) who rapes her and the painter Goya (Stellan Skarsgaard) who champions the cause of the imprisoned woman. The film is shockingly bad with the highlight being Goya painting the priest while he is being executed at the stake.

All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakulla, 1976) 9/10

I was so bored while watching this film almost 34 years back that I kept falling asleep.....and I've avoided re-watching it ever since. Until last night. The word ''riveting'' has often been used by critics to describe the film and it most certainly IS.......from start to finish. The Watergate scandal as exposed by Redford and Hoffman......err Woodward and Bernstein. The film is wonderfully acted by everyone starting with the two stars down to the actors playing the smallest parts. Special mention goes to Jason Robards, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Jane Alexander, Stephen Collins and Penny Fuller. A great film !!

The Kennedys (Jon Cassar, 2011) 7/10

The saga of the Kennedy clan. One of the best soap operas on TV this year. It has every possible ingredient that makes a soap watchable. Well acted by everyone in the cast especially by Tom Wilkinson who deserves to win an Emmy for playing the ruthless, ambitious and womanizing Joseph Kennedy Sr. Pity Gloria Swanson only got mentioned in a throwaway line by Sam Giancana.

[Reza]

Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles, 1955) 4/10

Ok, I didn't get this at all. Welles seems to be re-churning Citizen Kane under a different guise. It didn't work for me despite the wonderful European location work, the off beat camera angles, the lighting and the eclecticly weird cast. Welles, himself, looks like a waxwork under that huge beard.

[Reza]

Character (Mike van Diem, 1997) 5/10

Oscar winning Dutch film about a young man who grows up unloved by his mother and is constantly persecuted (or so he thinks) by his father. The film is a marvel of production design with the filmmakers recreating Rotterdam of the 1920s. Extremely bleak and often very melodramatic.

I guess I need to rewatch it but I remember really liking it for some reason back then. It was one of the first films I commented here and someone told me something like "another one who felt under the notion that this is an important film". I even felt scolded!

.....but that's the best part of being part of this Board.........getting scolded !!