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

[Reza]

Southside With You (Richard Tanne, 2016) 6/10

Barack Obama goes on his first date with Michelle Robinson in 1989. He is a likeable Harvard student working during the summer at a Corporate Law firm and she is his spiky advisor seemingly with a giant chip on her shoulder. Talky script follows the two characters as they walk, discuss music, visit a museum, go to a community meeting where he addresses the gathering, watch Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" and finally eat ice cream rounding up the day. Ineffectual little film not without charm.

[Reza]

Bridget Jones's Baby (Sharon Maguire, 2016) 4/10

Third time not so lucky. The wonderfully ditsy but endearing title character, played once again by Renée Zellweger, quickly becomes tiresome. Her dilemma - which of the two men she bonked - past-love Darcy (Colin Firth) or American billionaire (Patrick Dempsey) - is the father of her child. The film is replete with corny and dated pregnant-woman humor that very quickly wears out. And I won't even discuss the disaster Zellweger's face is after her pathetic attempt to look less droopy via surgery. The best bit comes on at the end where we catch a glimpse of a person who is obviously shown in order to gear him up for yet another sequel.
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[Reza]

Assassin's Creed (Justin Kurzel, 2016) 1/10

This convoluted crud of a film is based on a video game about a 15th century order of Spanish assassins who are at loggerheads with the Knight Templars over possession of the sacred apple (that holds the genetic code to man's free will.....or some such nonsense) that Eve took a bite of in heaven. Just writing this bit makes me cringe. Eve's apple. Although one must give credit to the person who thought up the apple as the sacred object people would kill for. The usual suspects so far have always been the Arc of the Covenant or other holy relics. The plot jumps from 1492 Andalusia to Madrid, London and Texas with a brief stopover in 1986 California. An assassin (Michael Fassbender), who jumps through time, finds himself coerced into an experiment by an organization run by the cadaverous Jeremy Irons and his daughter (Marion Cotillard) into going back in time via virtual reality to seek that pesky apple. The relentless action is full of bone crunching violence as characters jump up and down the walls of spectacular castles in Seville. In the present Charlotte Rampling makes a grim appearance as some sort of holy leader bankrolling the experiment that allows the assassin to go back in time. The screenplay provides no depth to any of the characters. Instead it concentrates strictly on the visuals with spectacular stunts (via CGI) which quickly become repetitive. This film is nothing but a sleep-inducing bore and yet another attempt by Hollywood to con people into watching a lousy movie using a hit video game as a premise. Skip this film like the plague.

[Reza]

Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford, 2016) 4/10

A case of more style over substance. This is basically three totally different stories forcibly crammed together with none of them interesting either separately or together as a whole. Nothing here gels. An avant garde art gallery owner (Amy Adams), dissatisfied with her career, life and husband (Armie Hammer), receives a manuscript of a novel from her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) which he has dedicated to her. The book is a repellent tale of a man (Gyllenhaal again) who is stopped on a highway by three rednecks who kidnap, rape and murder his wife and daughter. Coming to his rescue is a dying cop (Michael Shannon) who helps him confront the murderer (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Haunted by the tale she thinks back to her life with her first husband whom she chose despite opposition from her bourgeoise mother (a wickedly funny Laura Linney) and later unceremoniously dumped because she found him too weak. Pretentious nonsense with Adams posturing like a diva and Gyllenhaal acting boyish and hysterical in his two avatars. The two grotesque characters come off best - Shannon as the laconic cop coughing his way through the role and Taylor-Johnson as the rough and unrepentent killer. Using the plot of the book as a revenge motif comes off rather absurd. The wide screen cinematography by Seamus McGarvey splendidly captures the barren rural vistas and the souless architectural cityscapes evoking Antonioni.

[Reza]

Fort Apache (John Ford, 1948) 7/10

Amidst the noble Ford ladies (Anna Lee, Irene Rich, Mae Marsh), the teenage romance (John Agar and Shirley Temple) and Ford's usual stock actors playing buffoons, heroes and drunks (Victor McLaglen, Ward Bond, Guy Kibbee, Grant Withers, Pedro Armendáriz, George O'Brien) is the main plot which is a take on the Custer myth - the new Commander at the Fort, a stiff and strict disciplinarian (Henry Fonda) who makes an ill-judged decision to take on the Apache leader Cochise resulting in a suicidal battle. John Wayne is the sole voice of reason in this the first of Ford's Cavalry trilogy which glorifies Army life and chivalry. Archie Stout's magnificent cinematography shows off Ford's Monument Valley in all it's splendor.

[Reza]

Captain Fantastic (Matt Ross, 2016) 8/10

A control-freak Dad (Viggo Mortensen) lives an unconventional life in the wilderness and has raised and trained his six children to survive the elements. They hunt animals for food, go through extreme rituals of exercise to keep body and spirit alive and follow an advance form of education courtesy of Nabakov's "Lolita" and Dostoevsky's " The Brothers Karamazov" along with impromptu musical jams. When his wife commits suicide he is forced to "re-enter" civilization which the kids find confusing and overwhelming. Giving him strong opposition is his grief stricken father-in-law (Frank Langella) who is horrified at the way his grandchildren are being raised. Interesting (and very funny) social commentary on education, parenting, handling grief, societal norms and societal influences. The film is superbly acted by the entire cast with Viggo Mortensen heartbreaking as the proud father who's visionary life begins to crash as soon as his children are exposed to the "world".

[Precious Doll]

A Man Called Ove (2015) Hannes Holm 7/10
Masterminds (2015) Jared Hess 4/10
The Confirmation (2016) Bob Nelson 2/10
Jackie (2016) Pablo Larrain 8/10
O.J.: Made in America (2016) Ezra Edelman 9/10

Repeat viewings

The Quiet Man (1952) John Ford 9/10
Election (1999) Alexander Payne 9/10
Doomwatch (1972) Peter Sasdy 6/10
Valkyrie (2008) Bryan Singer 7/10
Tony Manero (2008) Pablo Larrain 8/10
Trafic (1971) Jacques Tati 6/10
Post Mortem (2010) Pablo Larrain 8/10
The Goodbye Girl (1977) Herbert Ross 7/10

I hate lowing ratings for films on a second viewing and don't do it. The Goodbye Girl is a case in point. When I first saw the film at the cinema I found it very engaging and likeable. It was the first Neil Simon film I had ever seen. However, my second viewing 39 year later was a major disappointment. The film has aged terribly and Neil Simons screenplay is a clunky as most of his work. Marsha Mason and Quinn Cummings were both terrible . The saving grace of the film is Richard Dreyfuss. His performance is still so fresh and alive, Elliott feels like a real human being not just a cog in the screenplay like Mason & Cummings. I'd give the film 4/10 now and that is really for Dreyfuss.

[Precious Doll]

Perfect Obedience (2014) Luis Urquiza 4/10
The Intervention (2016) Clea DuVall 6/10
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016) Thorsten Schutte 6/10

Repeat viewings

Boom (1968) Joseph Losey 3/10
Something for Everyone (1970) Harold Prince 7/10
Dangerous Liaisons (1988) Stephen Frears 9/10
The Devil Rides Out (1968) Terence Fisher 6/10
The Apartment (1960) Billy Wilder 9/10
The Lion in Winter (1968) Anthony Harvey 10/10
Fargo (1996) Joel Coen 9/10
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Richard Brooks 8/10
The Night Porter (1974) Liliana Cavani 10/10
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Arthur Penn 9/10
The Elephant Man (1980) David Lynch 10/10

[ITALIANO]

La Luna (1979) Bernardo Bertolucci 10/10

This is, of course, one of Bertolucci's rare commercial (and critical) flops - maybe his only one. But I'm sure that - seen today - it would still be much better than most of today's movies.

It most certainly is. I remember seeing it when it came out and I liked it. Then saw it a couple of years ago agian. It holds up. Jill Clayburgh is very good in the film. She was then riding very high in a series of films.

When it first came out, it got scathing and sometimes even offensive reviews (in America especially; Italian critics were more respectful but still not positive) - but I guess the theme was really taboo back then, and that played a role. I saw it years ago, and should see it again.

[Reza]

La Luna (1979) Bernardo Bertolucci 10/10

This is, of course, one of Bertolucci's rare commercial (and critical) flops - maybe his only one. But I'm sure that - seen today - it would still be much better than most of today's movies.

It most certainly is. I remember seeing it when it came out and I liked it. Then saw it a couple of years ago agian. It holds up. Jill Clayburgh is very good in the film. She was then riding very high in a series of films.

[ITALIANO]

La Luna (1979) Bernardo Bertolucci 10/10

This is, of course, one of Bertolucci's rare commercial (and critical) flops - maybe his only one. But I'm sure that - seen today - it would still be much better than most of today's movies.

[Precious Doll]

Still Alive (2007) Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz 6/10
Allied (2016) Robert Zemeckis 2/10
Pesonnel (1975) Krzysztof Kieslowski 4/10
The Calm (1980) Krzysztof Kieslowski 5/10
Passengers (2016) Morten Tyldum 4/10

Repeat viewings

Sudden Fear (1952) David Miller 9/10
The Double Life of Veronique (1991) Krzysztof Kieslowski 9/10
La Luna (1979) Bernardo Bertolucci 10/10
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Mike Nichols 10/10
52 Pick-Up (1986) John Frankenheimer 8/10
The Quiet Earth (1985) Geoff Murphy 8/10
Ugly, Dirty & Bad (1976) Ettore Scola 9/10

[Reza]

The Light Between Oceans (Derek Cianfrance, 2016) 5/10

On a remote island a lighthouse keeper (Michael Fassbender) and his bereft wife (Alicia Vikander) - she has had two miscarriages - rescue an adrift boat with a dead man and a baby who is alive. When the wife insists she wants to keep the baby he very reluctantly agrees and buries the dead man. Time passes and they lead a happy existence with their "adopted" daughter when suddenly they discover that the child's real mother (Rachel Weisz) is still around. Overwrought weepie is a gorgeously filmed bore. The two actors pose - Fassbender is stiff and lifeless while Vikander flails about dramatically - against the stunning backdrops of Tasmanian and New Zealand shot luminously by Adam Arkapaw as the beautiful score by Alexander Desplat plays in the background of this old fashioned saga of betrayal and sacrifice. A big disappointment.

[Reza]

Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford, 2016) 4/10

A case of more style over substance. This is basically three totally different stories forcibly crammed together with none of them interesting either separately or together as a whole. Nothing here gels. An avant garde art gallery owner (Amy Adams), dissatisfied with her career, life and husband (Armie Hammer), receives a manuscript of a novel from her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) which he has dedicated to her. The book is a repellent tale of a man (Gyllenhaal again) who is stopped on a highway by three rednecks who kidnap, rape and murder his wife and daughter. Coming to his rescue is a dying cop (Michael Shannon) who helps him confront the murderer (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Haunted by the tale she thinks back to her life with her first husband whom she chose despite opposition from her bourgeoise mother (a wickedly funny Laura Linney) and later unceremoniously dumped because she found him too weak. Pretentious nonsense with Adams posturing like a diva and Gyllenhaal acting boyish and hysterical in his two avatars. The two grotesque characters come off best - Shannon as the laconic cop coughing his way through the role and Taylor-Johnson as the rough and unrepentent killer. Using the plot of the book as a revenge motif comes off rather absurd. The wide screen cinematography by Seamus McGarvey splendidly captures the barren rural vistas and the souless architectural cityscapes evoking Antonioni.

[Reza]

Fort Apache (John Ford, 1948) 7/10

Amidst the noble Ford ladies (Anna Lee, Irene Rich, Mae Marsh), the teenage romance (John Agar and Shirley Temple) and Ford's usual stock actors playing buffoons, heroes and drunks (Victor McLaglen, Ward Bond, Guy Kibbee, Grant Withers, Pedro Armendáriz, George O'Brien) is the main plot which is a take on the Custer myth - the new Commander at the Fort, a stiff and strict disciplinarian (Henry Fonda) who makes an ill-judged decision to take on the Apache leader Cochise resulting in a suicidal battle. John Wayne is the sole voice of reason in this the first of Ford's Cavalry trilogy which glorifies Army life and chivalry. Archie Stout's magnificent cinematography shows off Ford's Monument Valley in all it's splendor.