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

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

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

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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.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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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
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Reza wrote:
ITALIANO wrote:
Precious Doll wrote: 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.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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ITALIANO wrote:
Precious Doll wrote: 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.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Precious Doll wrote: 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.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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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
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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

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

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

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

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Rogue One (Gareth Edwardes, 2016) 8/10

The film has two very pleasant surprises - the always very bland Felicity Jones for once plays a delightfully plucky character and the resurrection (via CGI) of Peter Cushing as Grand Moss Tarkin. A "Star Wars" stand-alone spinoff has the resistance (Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Riz Ahmed) trying to steal the plans of the Death Star and use the knowledge of an in-built flaw (designed by architect Mads Mikkelson) to try and destroy it. Helping them along the way is rogue outlaw Forest Whitakar and the robot K-2SO and causing massive hinderence is Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) and Darth Vader (again voiced by James Earl Jones). Exciting battle scenes, sharp editing, witty characters and superb visual effects make this a strong entry in the series.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Jane Got a Gun (Gavin O'Connor, 2016) 5/10

Well crafted but rather boring genre piece about a plucky frontierwoman (Natalie Portman) who tries to save the life of her wounded outlaw husband (Noah Emmerich) by seeking help from a former lover (Joel Edgerton) against a smarmy cuthroat (Ewan McGregor) and his gang. The cast goes through the motions with unexciting action set pieces and silly flashbacks depicting the love affair leading to an obvious ending. Good production values cannot compensate for the silly downtrodden revenge scenario which is acted out by the listless cast.
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Swallows and Amazons (Philippa Lowthorpe, 2016) 7/10

Based on the book by Arthur Ransome this harks back to the stories of Enid Blyton with which I grew up. This is good clean family stuff with kids facing adventure and skulduggery in a fantasy Lake District during the 1935. A family on holiday in the north - Mom (Kelly Macdonald) with her brood of four kids face Russian spies and a rival gang of kids trying to lay claim to an island on a giant lake. Charmingly old fashioned tale set amongst soaring landscapes with good performances by the child actors.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Elle (Paul Verhoeven, 2016) 9/10

A woman is savagely raped by a masked intruder. After he leaves she calmy bathes and in a nonchalant manner continues her daily business - interacting with her son, his pregnant girlfriend, her botoxed mother, her group of friends and her sometime lover and husband of her best friend. Then she is raped two more times by the same intruder. Verhoeven's savage black comedy completes a trilogy about in-your-face sexually charged women (Basic Instinct and Showgirls were the other two) with a subject that is disturbing but titillating as well. A male sexual fantasy - wanting to be raped - transported to a female protagonist makes the fantasy quite bold. Isabelle Huppert gives yet another remarkable performance playing her usual bevy of "difficult" characters - a strong woman who operates with her own rules and basically thumbs her nose at the establishment. Strong subject and a must-see.
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