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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Every Day (Michael Sucsy, 2018) 3/10

Pretty high schooler falls for a person called "A" who inhabits a different person's body - boys and girls of every race and gender possible which in itself is the glaring message - every 24 hours making the relationship kinda dicey. Stupid premise, based on a book that was unbelievably a New York Times bestseller, has an appealing lead (Angourie Rice) struggling to keep afloat what is basically a rather average teen romance.

The Making of a Lady (Richard Curson Smith, 2012) 4/10

Old fashioned period piece with gothic overtones hinting at a bodice ripper but more in line with the Barbara Cartland school of melodramatic literature. It has elements of a thriller which becomes an outright horror effort. An educated lady (Lydia Wilson) with no means is taken in as a companion to a lady (Joanna Lumley) only to be dismissed curtly. Taking pity on her the lady's nephew (Linus Roache), a widower in line to a great fortune, takes her as his bride and brings her to his huge isolated mansion in the countryside (shades of Daphne Du Maurier's Manderly) complete with a butler and maid who both suspiciously resemble Mrs Danvers. The plot takes on a melodramatic turn after the husband is recalled to India by his regiment and his nasty cousin (James D'Arcy) and Indian wife turn up on her doorstep. Soon they are trying to poison her and kill her unborn child in order to take over the estate. Rambling story keeps getting more and more absurd with the screenplay (based on a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett) tossing in a drowning, death by gunshot and an attemped smothering as the heroine is subjected to peril at every ten minute intervals. The rapid pace condensing far too much plot into a short running time hampers the film considerably.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Reza wrote: Aus dem Nichts / In the Fade (Fatih Akin, 2017) 5/10
Kruger goes through the motions with a dead-pan expression and was surprisingly awarded the best actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Kruger's Cannes win wasn't all that surprising. Last year (2017) you may recall lots of handwringing at the lack of female directors included in the main competition at Cannes. Films like Western (Valeska Grisebacj), Faces, Places (Agnes Varda) & Let the Sunshine In (Claire Denis) were regulated to side-bar competitions whilst lesser films were in the main competition. Any three of those would have been a better choice than Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled wh0 clearly won director due to the lack of female representation in the Competition because the film has little to command it.

What few people noticed was the that films selected for competition lacked great roles for women. Of the 19 films in competition only 10 had 'a leading lady' but not a single performance in any of those films screamed 'great performance'. The nearest to great was easily Maryana Spivak for Loveless. I thought Diane Kruger was good within the constraints of the film narrative but its not a performance worthy of best, but given the weak competition she was in some respects a no-brainer for that award.
"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 Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2018) 9/10

The Coen brothers have come up with a quirky anthology film set in the far distant West with death as the common theme in all six tales. Clearly a pastiche as the brothers tip a witty hat to the films of Ford, Leone, Corbucci and Tarantino along with a slapstick touch of Mel Brooks. The witty screenplay plays havoc with the genre as the film's first tale begins in Ford's familiar Monument Valley with the camera zooming on to Buster Scruggs (William Blake Nelson), a singing cowboy on a horse - not unlike Gene Autry or Roy Rogers - whose goofy grin disguises his sharp shooting skills which he proceeds to use with much glee. The body count in all but one of the tales is very high, often coming up unexpectedly and in vicious fashion. An eclectic cast plays assorted characters familiar to the genre - a bank robber (James Franco), a traveling showman (Liam Neeson), a grizzled gold prospector (Tom Waits), a young girl (Zoe Kazan) on a wagon train and passengers (Brendan Gleeson, Tyne Daly) on a stagecoach. The hilarious screenplay (with romantic, comedic and tragic elements), Bruno Delbonnel's glowing cinematography which captures the spectacular western locations, the costumes, production design and special effects all combine together to create one of the most impressive Westerns in some time. And Delbonnel desrves an Oscar for his outstanding work.

Love, Simon (Gregg Berlanti, 2018) 8/10

Extremely perceptive screenplay about the coming-of-age of a gay high school teenager. What is astonishing is that a major studio chose to go ahead with this subject usually a trope of independent cinema. Simon (Nick Robinson), a typical popular teenager with a close group of friends, comes from a well adjusted family with cool parents (Josh Duhamel & Jennifer Garner) and a kid sister. But he has a secret. He is gay which he has kept hidden from all close to him. When that secret is exposed he has to face family, friends, the entire school and his secret love with whom he has been annonymously carrying on a regular chat on the net. The film is a bit too clean-cut but nevertheless has many laugh-out-loud and crowd pleasing moments along with a great scene between mother and son which delivers the film's main message of love, acceptance and tolerance. Charming and heartfelt film with a wonderfully nuanced performance by Nick Robinson.

Searching (Aneesh Chaganty, 2018) 8/10

The highly innovative and original structure of this mystery uses the internet to tell a story about a missing girl (Michelle La). Her father (John Cho) uses the net - jumping through facebook, twitter, instagram, tumblr, YouTube - to try and find clues to her whereabouts. A detective (Debra Messing) also doggedly pursues the case with both working in tandem. Our vantage point throughout the film is limited to a computer screen as we watch the events unfold - the disappearance, the man's desperate interrogation of people who knew his daughter, his interactions with the detective, the discovery of the girl's car, the detective's deduction of abduction and murder which then leads to an unexpected conclusion. The suspenseful twists and turns of the screenplay, superb direction and the excellent performances by Cho and Messing make this a highly unique film and a must-see.

The Nun (Corin Hardy, 2018) 3/10

The demonic nun from "The Conjuring 2" gets her own spinoff film which here explains her origin. Extremely atmospheric film is derivitive to the point of being silly and absurd with by-the-numbers scenes that are meant to provide shock and horror but provide only memories of far better horror films from the past where all that goes on here was done better there. A nun's suicide at a remote Romanian Abbey sets off a chain of events that unleash unbridled horror. The Vatican sends a priest (Demiàn Bichir) and a young novitate (Taissa Farmiga - sister of "The Conjuring" star Vera) to investigate. Arriving at the eerie abbey (Corbin Castle in Romania is used as location which is famous for being Dracula's castle) and things immediately start going bump in the night. The nuns at the abbey act jumpy, there is talk of a portal which may be open through which evil is unleashed, vicious attacks take place on the priest and the novitate which involve demons from their own past leading up to the titular nun's appearance who looks like a clown dressed in a habit. The fantastic location is a major plus but it cannot compensate for a script that is downright silly and has more laughs than scares. Skip this.

Blue Night / Here and Now (Fabien Constant, 2018) 1/10

Dull maudlin drama about a singer (Sarah Jessica Parker) who is medically diagnosed with a fatal disease. She spends the whole day walking around in a trance, absent mindedly interacting with friends, her band members (she even manages to sleep with the drummer despite her trauma), outwardly pretending nothing is wrong but inwardly cringing at the possible outcome. Parker is one note throughout in an underwritten role and her character is totally unbelivable. She gives no impression of playing a legendary jazz singer. The film tries to recall Agnés Varda but doesn't even come close.

Columbus (Kogonada, 2017) 9/10

Not since Antonioni (and to a lesser extent, Woody Allen) has architecture played such a stunning role in a film. Kogonada, along with his cinematographer (Elisha Christian), has created simple but spectacular images on screen chosing Columbus, Indiana as the film's setting. The city, known for its modern architecture and public art, becomes an eclectic backdrop for the characters in the story who are placed in interesting ways positioned in front of important buildings, churches, alleyways, doorways, sculptures and interiors of rooms. The exquisitely sparse screenplay is in turns moving, full of sadness but also exhilarating at the same time. A Korean-born man (John Cho) travels to Columbus to care for his father, an eminent architect, who is in a coma. We also meet a young girl (Hayley Lu Richardson), obsessed by architecture, who works in a library, cares for her mother who was a former meth addict, and who has long discussions with a co-worker (Rory Culkin). A chance encounter with the old architect's son allows the two to wander the city as she talks to him about the buildings. Their conversations become more personal - they discuss his lack of feelings for his comatose dad and her fear of leaving her mother and going out into the world to use her talent. Delicately acted by both leads, this is a remarkable first film from Kogonada. The visually hypnotic images will stay with you for a long time.

Aus dem Nichts / In the Fade (Fatih Akin, 2017) 5/10

For a film that won numerous awards from around the world this is shockingly quite ordinary. A German woman (Diane Kruger) is devastated when her ex-convict Turkish husband and son are killed in a bomb attack. The police suspect the man's shady past as cause for the attack even though she describes seeing a suspicious woman leave a bicycle outside the office where the blast took place. Eventually the police round up a Neo-Nazi couple who are suspects. During the long trial the accused couple are let off on a technicality so the woman decides to take matters into her own hands. The conventional screenplay, based on similar attacks on minorities in Germany by Neo-Nazi groups, is presented in an extremely banal way with no sense of urgency or tension. The film is presented in three static acts making it seem like a stiff play. The director lingers through scenes where often nothing much happens slowing down the action considerably. The film boils down to being merely a revenge drama with absolutely nothing to say about racism or explaining why the attackers targeted minority groups. Kruger goes through the motions with a dead-pan expression and was surprisingly awarded the best actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) 9/10

Incredibly Carpenter's horror film - a re-imagined remake of the 1951 Howard Hawks classic - flopped upon its release. The film was unfairly thought of as an "Alien" rip-off and had the bad luck to arrive on the heels of the overated "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial" with its child-friendly cute alien. The form-changing version on display here is all gnashing teeth, a blood and guts soaked piece of wobbly flesh that attacks its prey and transforms itself into the dead host but not before creepily scurrying like a giant spider with huge tentacles which it uses to pry open human flesh. Norwegian scientists discover a crashed alien spaceship buried under ice for thousands of years in the Antarctic. An awakened alien destroys their research station killing all the scientists and using a dog as its host arrives at a nearby American research station. It soon creates havoc as one by one it starts killing off the scientists. A gruff alcoholic pilot (Kurt Russell) deduces what is going on and he and his mates (Wilford Brimley, David Clennon, Donald Moffat, Richard Dysart, Keith David, T.K. Carter, Richard Masur) spend their time in a state of terror and paranoia trying to guess which of them have fallen prey to the monster alien. Carpenter starts off slowly but soon goes for the jugular as flesh is torn, limbs are flayed apart, blood gushes profusely and the death count rises. Spectacular make-up effects, Dean Cundey's crisp and striking cinematography, taut editing and a sparse score by Ennio Morricone help to create a horror masterpiece which has rightfully now been accepted as a classic of the genre.

Innocent Bystanders (Peter Collinson, 1972) 5/10

Frantic spy thriller, one of many imitations of the Bond franchise, is not only terribly dated but tries to use violence, rapid fire editing and a flippant attitude to appear hip. A Soviet scientist (Vladek Sheybal), holding an important formula, defects and various factions are out to get him. The heads of the American and British Intelligence (Dana Andrews & Donald Pleasance) use a washed up agent (Stanley Baker) as a decoy but he, along with an "innocent bystander" (Geraldine Chaplin) whom he kidnaps, prove far more resourceful than the two bumbling agents actually assigned to the case. Globe-trotting chase film has a couple of thrills and anusing moments but its all pretty deja vu. Baker, too long in the tooth and wearing a hideous toupée, has non-stop fight sequences â la Bond. A miscast Chaplin appears to be at sea in this genre but she manages to create an interesting character and holds her own in what is a rather messy film.

The Dinner (Oren Moverman, 2017) 2/10

Two boys pull a mean and nasty prank on a homeless woman by burning her alive, videotaping her death and loading the film onto YouTube. Their fathers - a politician (Richard Gere) and his estranged brother (Steve Coogan), a former high school teacher, along with their wives (Rebecca Hall & Laura Linney) meet up for dinner at a posh restaurant to discuss the situation their sons are in. Shrill, hysterical drama has the four characters involved in a shout fest as the director tries to deflect this stagy material with assorted flashbacks showing how fucked up everyone was in the past just as they all still are in the present. None of the characters are appealing and the film's abrupt ending adds to the overall fiasco this project proves to be. Skip this lousy film.

Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (R.S. Prasanna, 2017) 8/10

Bollywood has certainly come a long way and is increasingly coming up with screenplays about audacious social issues. Here it not only attempts to handle pre-marital sex between an engaged middle class couple but takes it a step further in dealing with the man's performance anxiety which leads to erectile dysfunction. A serious issue is presented with humour (playing to a section of the male movie going public) but hitting home with its underlying serious message thanks to very funny dialogue and hilariously camouflaged quips. Despite a second half that tends to go in a different direction to close loose ends this is a film that sensitively handles a prickly subject and superbly presents a middle class Delhi mileu through outstanding production design and a slew of accurately drawn characters. The leads are played by the charming Ayushmann Khurana and Bhumi Pednekar who maintain their great screen chemistry after their first film "Dum Laga Ke Haisha". The film is stolen by Seema Bhargava as the girl's outspoken mother who explains "the birds and the bees" to her using Ali Baba (of 40 thieves fame) entering the cave as a veiled analogy.
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Raazi (Meghna Gulzar, 2018) 5/10

There is something very unreal about this supposed true story. Young Kashmiri Muslim girl (Alia Bhatt) is coerced by her dying father to spy for India. The period is during the tensions of the Indo-Pak war of 1971. A marriage is arranged for her with a young Pakistani army officer (Vicky Kaushal) and she is trained to get secret information across to India through a convoluted method using a series of undercover Indian agents. Bollywood has never been able to capture the actual nuances of a Pakistani milieu (although this time round it is still better than "Veer-Zaara" where all Pakistanis appeared to be exiles from Lucknow). The film is also hindered by a terrible score (by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) that recalls tv serials where every emotional or suspenseful moment is highlighted by the intrusive music. The film's saving grace is Alia Bhatt who superbly balances her character's many faces - starting off as a naive student and going from plucky trainee to shy bride to loving wife and ending up as a cold blooded killer. Yet she manages to keep her character very human as guilt eats at her soul for harming the family she has feelings for and with whom she has integrated into as a wife and daughter. This film is also regressive in continuing to spread hatred between both India and Pakistan in the name of patriotism. The film was a massive hit in India and banned in Pakistan. Do we really need art to cause rifts? I guess we do if it brings in money and plays on our patriotic emotions to continue feeding the ego of our armed forces. Sad and a reality for both countries.

Ramchand Pakistani (Mehreen Jabbar, 2008) 8/10

Emotionally heartbreaking film, adapted from real events, that began in 2002 when an eight-year-old boy from the ‘’untouchable’’ Hindu Dalit caste in the Thar Desert accidently crosses the Pakistani- Indian border. Precocious young Ramchand (Syed Hassan Fazal), angry at his mother Champa (Nandita Das), runs away from his village and wanders over the border into neighboring India. His father Shankar (Rashid Farooqi) anxiously chases after him but both father and son are captured by the Indian border patrol and jailed. Their fellow detainees are mostly people, who like them, have walked unwittingly across the border and have remained imprisoned for many years, some losing their minds and others losing hope. Meanwhile the distraught Champa refuses to give up hope and waits for years for the return of her husband and son. Simply told story details the lives of the poor who have been incarcerated due to unmitigated red tape and bureaucracy which, due to tensions between both countries, spells doom for poor people whose lives are spent in waiting. The screenplay follows the day-to-day life of the child as he interacts with other prisoners, the male prison warden and one female warden (Maria Wasti) who is made responsible for the child’s education. She is a mother-figure, but refuses to touch the child because of his low caste. Mehreen Jabbar delicately touches on themes of class barriers without taking sides allowing no judgment or finger pointing which lets us, the viewers, focus instead on the human story. Poignant and moving tale which dramatizes one family’s struggle against social and religious discrimination to contextualize the complicated relationship between the two countries.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Lust For Gold (S. Sylvan Simon & George Marshall, 1949) 5/10

A fortune hunter, searching for gold in the Arizona mountains hidden by his German grandfather decades before, relentlessly pursues a myth. In flashback we get to see the story of the immoral German (Glenn Ford) who discovers by chance a cave full of gold and who commits multiple murders in order to hide the location of the cave. The man is seduced by a grasping greedy woman (Ida Lupino) who plans with her husband (Gig Young) to dupe him out of all his gold. Discovering her plan he confronts them both at the entrance of the cave with dire results. B-film is a weak variation on "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Ford looking bored but Lupino in fine form as the calculating femme fatale.

Summer of '84 (François Simard, Anouk Whissell & Yoann-Karl Whissell, 2018) 6/10

A slasher film, steeped in 80s nostalgia, goes a very familiar route but ends up going into directions one is not expecting. As with most such films bits and pieces are glued together to form a whole as memories of "The Goonies", "Rear Window", "It" and assorted slasher films are regurgitated to come up with what we get to see here. Four horny tweens get upto mischief in suburbia during their summer vacation. One is obsessed with conspiracy theories and suspects the next door neighbour cop of being the serial killer in the news who has murdered 13 teenage boys. His posse of friends include a fat kid, a nerd and the cool kid wearing a leather jacket. All four get into the act and start spying on and following the cop. The cool chick next door, who baby sat one of the boys, also gets in on the act and helps the boys. The adults, when told, are angry and sceptical. The screenplay follows the usual tropes of all such films with familiar shocks but goes a disturbing step beyond which differentiates this film from most similar slasher films.

Occupation (Luke Sparke, 2018) 6/10

Aliens attack Australia and small communities band together and fight back. Similar to "Independence Day" and shot on a low budget without managing to maintain any sense of credibility but then which film about aliens does? Such premises are always so far fetched and to get into the groove of these plots you just need to go with the flow, ignore the absurd reasonings provided and sit back and enjoy the suspense sequences rooting for the characters to kick ass and get out alive. The unknown (at least to me) Aussie cast all do well going through the motions.

iBoy (Adam Randall, 2018) 4/10

Movie plots keep getting more and more absurd. An awkward introvert (Bill Milner) is shot in the head by a gang of hoodlums whom he comes upon when visting his girlfriend (Maisie Williams). The girl is raped and he is left in a coma. Waking up he is told that fragments of his shattered iPhone are now imbedded in his brain. This gives him freaky superpowers where he can use his mind to send texts, hack and explode phones and set off electrical fires. This silly premise sets him up as a vigilante - the male version of "Carrie" - as he goes after the street hoodlums (all of them his childhood chums) and the sleazy gangster (the superb Rory Kinnear) who controls them. Milner plays such a lifeless character that instead of rooting for him you just end up cringing at his helplessness. Maisie, on the other hand, is a standout as the strong willed ferocious girl who uses her anger to lash out. Miranda Richardson plays the boy's sassy old grandmother.

Ah-ga-ssi / The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016) 8/10

Exquisite re-working of Sarah Waters' book, "Fingersmith", with the story transported from 18th century England to early 20th century Japanese-occupied Korea. This kinky erotic period thriller, with shades of Hitchcock and a tip of the hat to "Gaslight" and "Les diaboliques", can easily be termed a lurid lesbian potboiler or a masturbatory male fantasy. However, the director brings to it a heightened sensuality in depicting female emancipation through sex while exposing how grotesque male sexuality is in comparison. The story is presented in three acts with each viewed from the perspective of different characters. A suave but low-born Korean crook plots to swindle a Japanese heiress of her fortune and hires a petty pickpocket to act as her maid and help him woo the lady. The plan is to seduce and marry the rich woman and then have her committed to an asylum after taking over her fortune. The heiress lives with her elderly uncle who plans to marry her himself and has trained her to read aloud erotic literature to him and his audience of male friends. The plan goes awry in more ways than one. The maid falls in love with the lady and in a twist to the original plan finds herself incarcerated in the asylum instead as the swindler and lady run off together. The second act depicts the entire story from the rich woman's perspective and things seem very different as the revealed double cross evolves into a lurid triple cross ending with a scene involving sadomasochism with flashes of torture involving a paper cutter and drill. Superbly designed film has gothic mise en scène mixed with minimalist japanese interiors giving the film a stylish flourish. The director boldly shoots graphic sex scenes between his two actresses giving those scenes a voyeuristic feel adding to the film's mystery and twisted depravity which ultimately leads to triumphant liberation.

Ninja Assassin (James McTeigue, 2009) 5/10

This is such a camp fest - kick-ass action scenes with ripe dialogue to boot courtesy of old chinaman talking in syllables as he doles out advice to his army of students being trained as deadly ninjas. When his most prized student (South Korean pop star Rain) goes rogue all hell breaks loose as the ninjas come after him in droves flying almost invisibly through the air dressed in tight black body suits â la Mrs Peel. The body count involves stabbings, gouging, decapitation and every know form of violent death as blades slice open bodies and blood gushes. Naomie Harris is the Europol investigator who unwittingly gets involved in the war between the lone ninja and his former colleagues and in particular his master who wants him dead. Great fun but instantly forgettable.

Miami Vice (Michael Mann, 2006) 5/10

The hit 80s tv series about two hip and cool pastel-outfitted detectives, James Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, was made famous by Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas. In Mann's slick, stylish but empty big screen adaptation the roles are taken by Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx with the two going through a typical police procedural plot involving undercover work trying to get a drug baron. Mann's flashy direction works during a sequence involving a tense raid followed by a shootout which is filmed with an intense pulsating immediacy but his screenplay is derivative. The romantic angle of the plot has Crockett involved in a bittersweet affair with the drug baron's wife (Gong-Li, tough and sexy) while Tubbs has to see his girlfriend (Naomie Harris) suffer through a kidnapping and hostage situation. This is Mann using a huge budget but coming up with what is strictly a B-film. I did like the ultra-cool, spur-of-the-moment idea of Farrell & Gong-Li getting into a high speed boat and zoom across the bay to Havana just to drink mojitos. Dion Bebe's cinematography gives the film gloss.

The Remains of the Day (James Ivory, 1993) 8/10

Tragic story about repressed emotions, misplaced politics and sticking to a regimental way of life without thinking about life's consequences. Ruth Prawar Jhabvala's exquisite adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's book becomes a sumptuously produced film by the Merchant-Ivory team, most of whom here had already worked together on their previous film "Howards End". The story takes the form of a road trip and becomes a memory piece as a butler tries to amend his past by seeking someone he admired a long time back. A rigid butler (Anthony Hopkins) and a housekeeper (Emma Thompson) circle each other with deeply repressed feelings while in the employ of Lord Darlington (James Fox) at his huge estate. The screenplay covers in great detail the fascinating heirarchy and workings of staff at a huge estate. The Pas de deux between Hopkins and Thompson is the crux of the story and both actors give magnificent performances. Hopkins' sad eyes convey vast depths of sadness as he rigidly goes about his job working for a Nazi sympathiser without letting politics cloud his propensity to serve his master. Thompson, with a sharp tongue and a no-nonsense manner, falls in love with the butler but she holds back her feelings because he too fails to reciprocate. Twenty years on after she had left her job and having gotten married, he seeks her out to try and get her to return to Darlington Hall now owned by a rich American (Christopher Reeve). Quietly introspective film harbors an emotionally wrenching core at its center.

Three Hours to Kill (Alfred L. Werker, 1954) 6/10

Tough cowboy (Dana Andrews) on the verge of marrying his pregnant sweetheart (Donna Reed) is framed for the murder of her brother. Almost lynched and hanged by the town folk he manages to escape but returns three years later to find the killer and clear his name. His former girlfriend and mother of his son is now married to one of the suspected killers. Whodunnit western has good action scenes and a lovely performance by Dianne Foster as the saloon girl in love with Andrews. The end, not quite an homage, is lifted straight off "Shane" but without being moving like that classic film.

I Remember Mama (George Stevens, 1948) 9/10

Charming, sentimental and nostalgic Americana is about an immigrant Norwegian family in turn of the century San Francisco. Based on the play by John Van Druten which was in turn adapted from a book by Kathryn Forbes about her Norwegian-born grandmother. The plot revolves around a family of four siblings, their hard working dad (Phillip Dorn) and the no-nonsense but kindhearted "Mama" (Irene Dunne) of the title. The film, a series of funny and poignant vignettes involving colorful family members and friends, is directed with a light touch by George Stevens. Mama handling money matters, a child going through an operation, a sick cat being put to sleep, a timid spinster aunt (Ellen Corby) daring to get married, a lodger (Cedric Hardwicke) reading aloud Dickens and Conan Doyle to the family, the scary boistrous Uncle (Oscar Homolka) who proves to have a heart of gold and the eldest daughter (Barbara Bel Geddes) who is an aspiring writer. Dunne, speaking with a Norwegian lilt, is the heart of the film as she holds the family together through thick and thin. Superbly acted by the entire cast - Dunne, Homolka, Corby and Bel Geddes were all nominated for Oscars - this is the kind of old fashioned entertainment no longer found at the cinema but is a reminder that such films had heart and were a wonderful throwback to one's own childhood leaving you with a tear and a smile.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Roma (2018) Alfonso Cuaron 4/10
Widows (2018) Steve McQueen 4/10
She's Out - Sequel to Widows Season 2 (1995) Ian Toynton 5/10
Fast Workers (1933) Tod Browning 4/10
Offenders (2018) Dejan Zecevic 4/10
Amanda Knox (2016) Rod Blackhurst & Brian McGinn 7/10
Our Souls at Night (2017) Ritesh Batra 6/10
Thunder Road (2018) Jim Cummings 5/10

Repeat viewing

American Horror Story - Season One (2011) Various 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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El Angel (2018) Luis Ortega 6/10
They Will Not Grow Old (2018) Peter Jackson 6/10
The Cured (2018) David Freyne 3/10
Gotti (2018) Kevin Connolly 1/10
Eighth Grade (2018) Bo Burnham 6/10
First Reformed (2018) Paul Schrader 8/10
Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? (2018) Travis Wilkerson 6/10
What Will People Say (2017) Iram Haq 4/10
Widows TV Series (1983) Ian Toynton 6/10
Widows 2 TV Series (1985) Paul Annett 6/10
"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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Precious Doll wrote: Would also like to see how We the Living holds up. It was restored in the early 1980's and seems to have disappeared to fingers crossed with that one.
Good luck with We the Living. The original version - the one which was shown at Venice and then distributed in two separate parts in cinemas because of its 4-hours-plus running time - seems to be very difficult to find here. I have only found a much shorter version. obviously heavily cut. But it's certainly a historically important film.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Submergence (Wim Wenders, 2018) 2/10

Trite romantic film lacks chemistry between the two stars and is boring to boot. A bio mathematician (Alicia Vikander), about to go down into the depths of the ocean for research, anxiously awaits a message from a man she met and fell in love with some time ago. He (James McAvoy) is an expert on wells but in reality a spy who is rotting in a cell in Djibouti captured by Islamic jihadists. Both recall their brief time spent in a tavern on a remote coast in Normandy where they met on a beach and fell deeply in love over a three-day period. Flashbacks show them walking alongside towering cliffs, frolicking on the beach and in the sea and making love in their hotel room. She talks endlessly about her work and the threat of suffocating at the bottom of the ocean in a submarine. Vikander spends most of the film staring at her phone while McAvoy tries to survive his hellish captivity by engaging a doctor (Alexander Siddig), who works for suicide bombers, in philosophical discussions. Strange film from Wenders which wastes the talent of both stars and also glaringly reminds that the director's truly great films were made over three decades ago. The only saving graces are the cinematography of Benoît Debie and the score by Fernando Velázquez.

Lust For Gold (S. Sylvan Simon & George Marshall, 1949) 5/10

A fortune hunter, searching for gold in the Arizona mountains hidden by his German grandfather decades before, relentlessly pursues a myth. In flashback we get to see the story of the immoral German (Glenn Ford) who discovers by chance a cave full of gold and who commits multiple murders in order to hide the location of the cave. The man is seduced by a grasping greedy woman (Ida Lupino) who plans with her husband (Gig Young) to dupe him out of all his gold. Discovering her plan he confronts them both at the entrance of the cave with dire results. B-film is a weak variation on "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Ford looking bored but Lupino in fine form as the calculating femme fatale.
Reza
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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The Equalizer 2 (Antoine Fuqua, 2018) 5/10

Denzel Washington returns in this sequel as retired CIA black op to clean the "filth" around him â la "Death Wish". This time round his anger is directed at the goons who kill his friend (Melissa Leo) who was investigating a double murder in Brussels. He discovers the mystery behind her death is related to his own past. Derivative action thriller is nevertheless a catharsis of sorts as scum get their comeuppance at the hands of Washington who uses his expertise to efficiently smash, knife and shoot. The star's charismatic badass presence holds this formulaic drama together although a third outing would not be welcome at all.

Alpha (Albert Hughes, 2018) 6/10

A young boy comes of age when he is separated from his tribe during a bison hunt and is forced to survive the elements with only a wild wolf as his companion. Old fashioned adventure story is set in the past - 20,000 years ago to be exact - with beautiful shots of barren pre-historic Europe (the film was shot in British Columbia) of steppes, canyons and volcanos all courtesy of CGI. At the forefront of the plot is how man and "dog" came to form a bond which here is forged through necessity - both need each other to survive as both find themselves abandoned with imminent danger around every corner. The film is a delight for all dog lovers with enough sentimentality imbued to make this a thrilling viewing experience. Kudos to the stunning cinematography of Martin Gschlacht who creates images of great warmth.

Le Notti Bianche / White Nights (Luchino Visconti, 1957) 10/10

Visconti's exquisite film about unrequited love is based on a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky with its setting changed from 19th century St. Petersburg to Italy's modern-day Tuscan city of Livorno. The film is a bridge between the director's neorealist period and his later more elaborate operatic romantic melodramas. It is unusual in that the entire film was shot on a constructed set with small alleys, cafe, an Esso petrol station, houses and a small bridge over a canal which becomes the principle spot where the two lovers meet. A young lonely man (Marcello Mastroianni) encounters a weeping woman (Maria Schell) on a small bridge. He tries to help her but she runs off but later they encounter each other again. Persistent in his pursuit of her she agrees to meet him regularly over the next four days. She tells him that she loves another man (Jean Marais) who left town a year before but promising to return to her. Despite her story the young man falls hopelessly in love with her and they spend time together walking the streets and going to a nightclub where they spend a fun evening dancing together. Just when the shy but slightly hysterical girl are starting to get emotionally close her former lover returns. Heartbreaking film is like a fairy tale with the couple's high emotions reaching a fever pitch before crashing down just as suddenly as it had begun. Sensitively directed film is superbly shot in stunning black and white by Giuseppe Rotunno with a lovely score by Nino Rota. This is one of Mastroianni's most memorable performances with Schell matching him every step of the way as the anguished woman torn between waiting for a lover who may never come and the possibility of new love. A great film and a must-see.

Thugs of Hindostan (Vijay Krishna Acharya, 2018) 8/10

Going into this film I was extremely wary after having earlier watched the film's cheesy premise in the trailer. The film has been torn to shreds by critics and while I made fun of friends who actually enjoyed it there was a nagging feeling deep within that I had to see it for myself. I'm so glad I did and it helped greatly that the cinema screen was ginormous (with a seat that reclined into a bed). This is a fantastic film. Cheesy? Most certainly, but this epic film is what cinema is all about which is to provide entertainment with a capital E. The film not only pays homage to swashbuckling films from Hollywood (the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series comes foremost to mind) but more than that it tugs at one's patriotic nerve bringing back memories of Bollywood films of Manoj Kumar from the 1970s. The film is deeply entrenched in cinema of that decade - the reigning superstar then has the lead role here, the sexy babe who provides two hot item numbers instantly brings back memories of Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi, while the film's main raison d'être was the first time on screen teaming of veteran superstar Amitabh Bachchan with Aamir Khan, who is Bollywood's most versatile and picky actor who makes only one film a year which he chooses with great care. Film critics are aghast at Aamir Khan's choice of this film and wondering if he was blind while reading the script. The answer is so simple once you watch his performance in a role any actor would die to play - a character who balances being outwardly a buffoon but alternatively showing flashes of a heroic nature along with despicable deceit which the actor superbly manages often within the same scene through his facial expressions. It's 1795 and the East India Company has firmly entrenched themselves in India taking over princely states to loot and pillage for their coffers back home in "ye merrie olde England". One state resists but the Prince, his wife and son are killed and their fort taken over by an evil British Commander. Only the Prince's young daughter survives after she is saved by the old family retainer (Amitabh Bachchan). Years pass and the old man and the young woman (Fatima Sana Shaikh) now lead a band of thugs hoping to overthrow the British who use a fawning two-faced small-time crook (Aamir Khan) to infiltrate the gang of thugs to capture their leader. The crook proves difficult to fathom as just when he appears to have become loyal to the thugs' cause he turns reptilian and betrays them. Rousing action-adventure film is a feast for the eyes with jaw dropping stunts, hilariously cheesy interludes with the British cast who speak their entire dialogue in pidgin Hindi (just as they did back in the 1970s), the appearance of stunning Katrina Kaif (with botoxed lips to boot) who performs two sexy dance numbers - "Suraiyya" with Aamir Khan matching her steps, where she brings back strong memories of Zeenat Aman and "Manzoor-e-Khudda" which she performs with both Bachchan and Aamir Khan while wearing what was probably the latest in 1795 fashion - silver sequined hot pants and bra straight out of an old Parveen Babi cabaret production number. The film, produced by Aditiya Chopra, is total 'paisa vasool' with an end that will not only have you cheering but anxiously awaiting the hinted at sequel as Aamir and Katrina sail off towards England to sort out further the bloody Brits, this time on their home soil.

Mile 22 (Peter Berg, 2018) 5/10

The Berg/Wahlberg team come up with yet another generic action thriller in what is now beginning to feel like sheer paranoia on part of the United States by way of stupid Hollywood flicks. Why is it that this country is always under threat by....fill in the blanks....the Russians, Koreans, Mexicans, Chinese, South American drug cartels and Muslims from the Middle East, Africa, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan? Has the world gone mad and countries have made it their aim to bring down the United States? Or could it be karma and/or the biblical idiom "as you sow, so shall you reap"? Here we have the old "get-the-witness-to-the-court-to-testify" plot as mayhem breaks loose all around with factions trying to do him in while a group of elite operatives risk their lives to save him. The "witness" here is a South-East Asian cop (Iko Uwais) with vital information about a terrorist attack and who has to be transported 22 miles from the American Embassy to a remote airfield so he can be flown out and given asylum in exchange for what he knows. Leading the rescue team is a group headed by Mark Wahlberg and his team of killing machines who are moved like chess pieces from a control room in the USA by "Mother" (John Malkovich having a field day calmly barking orders dripping with sarcasm). The journey is fraught with danger as goons keep crawling out of the woodwork and the collateral damage keeps rising at a horrifically alarming rate. Berg films all of this using rapid editing, shaky cam, cross cutting between different characters and overlapping dialogue spoken at breakneck speed. The death count is appalling with scenes of grisly violence of every possible sort. It's like a brainless video game where you numbly kill with no sense of feeling whatsoever. The star of the film is Indonesian actor Iko Uwais who is trained in the traditional martial art of silat. The action scenes that revolve around him are superbly choreographed and shot while the gung-ho American patriotism of Wahlberg and team tastes of extremely sour wine especially in this day and age when the world knows far too much about the United States and its so called foreign policy.

The Little Stranger (Lenny Abrahamson, 2018) 8/10

Slow-burn horror film is low on scares and high on atmosphere. It also touches on the British class system, guilt and intense envy as a group of people come together under the roof of a once grand 18th-century country mansion now facing shabby ruin. Based on the gothic novel by Sarah Waters the story is set in post-war austerity driven Britain. A doctor (Domhnall Gleason), whose mother once worked as a maid at the grand "Hundreds Hall", reaquaints himself with the family who reside there and whom he looked up to with envy as a child. The elegant matriarch (Charlotte Rampling) lives with her son (Will Poulter), facially and mentally scarred during the War, and spinster daughter (Ruth Wilson). Another daughter died as a child and the present mysterious goings on - strange noises, bells ringing - are attributed to her ghostly presence. Subtle, deliberately paced film simmers along with a feeling of dread and menace leading up to a twist ending.

Tous les matins du monde / All the Mornings of the World (Alain Corneau, 1991) 8/10

Stately historical drama is a celebration of music, the bitter pain of losing a perfect love and stifling one's feelings in remembrance of that which was lost. A famous court musician (Gerard Depardieu) who sold his talent to gain fame playing for royalty thinks back to his youth when he as a young man (Guillaume Depardieu) first encountered the master viola player, Sainte Colombe (Jean-Pierre Marielle), whom he begged to learn from. Once a great court musician the old man has gone into seclusion after the death of his wife. The old man at first refuses to tutor the young musician because he feels that although he has great talent his music lacks feeling. But he relents only to have the man betray him by having an affair with his daughter (Anne Brochet). Banished from the house he continues to learn the master's secrets hiding under the rehearsal shed. He abandons the young woman after she gets pregnant and choses a life of privilge at court leaving her devastated and eventually bedridden and a suicide. This is a sad film with a heavy air of melancholia hanging over the characters punctuated by soaring musical interludes which lift the spirit. Winner of 7 Cesar awards for best picture, Corneau's sublime direction, Anne Brochet's heartrending performance, the music score, cinematography, costumes and for sound design. Marielle was nominated for his outstanding lead performance as was young Depardieu in his film debut who here worked for the first time on screen with his legendary father with both actors playing the same character but at different time spans in the film.

After the Sunset (Brett Ratner, 2004) 5/10

While this is nowhere near Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" it tries to channel that classic film's breezy charm. The location here is equally solid - Bahamas as a substitute for the South of France - and a cast that seems game going through the motions. A relentless FBI agent (Woody Harrelson) is in hot pursuit of a jewel thief (Pierce Brosnan) and his sexy girlfriend (Salma Hayak) who have time and again eluded capture. Now retired on an exotic island the thief is persuaded by the local Bahamian gangster (Don Cheadle) to go into partnership with him and steal a large diamond which is currently on exhibit on a highly guarded yacht out on the ocean. The agent teams up with a local cop (Naomie Harris) to try and foil the robbery. This is absolute fluff and a pleasant time pass with beautiful people - Hayak and her plunging neckline, exposing her ample décolletage, is one of the consistently exotic highlights on view - along with sun drenched beaches and a plug in for the Atlantis Resort Hotel on the island where most of the action takes place. This was Brosnan's first film right after being booted off the Bond franchise. Notwithstanding the clichés and potholes in the plot think of it as a two-hour vacation involving scuba diving and a jewel robbery while sipping alcohol tinged fruity drinks from an umbrella-adorned martini glass.

Outlaw King (David Mackenzie, 2018) 6/10

More than its historical lesson this film celebrates the spectacular Scottish scenery as the camera takes in the majesterial landscape where the drama takes place. In 1304 Scottish rebel leader, Robert Bruce (Chris Pines), crowns himself king and takes on the mighty English army under King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) and his hot headed son, Edward, the Prince of Wales (Billy Howle). At first badly routed by the English and forced to go on the run with a small group of Scots, the rebel King manages to raise an army and during the decisive battle of Loudoun Hill badly defeat the mighty english army. His english Queen (Florence Pugh) and daughter are both captured and imprisoned. The screenplay condenses the time frame of the story for dramatic effect instead focusing on a couple of skirmishes and the final battle which is shot with remarkable ferocity keeping the audience in the thick of the action. Mighty swords clash, mud-splattered soldiers die in brutal and agonizing ways as blood flies in every direction. This is the first time ever I have seen a battle depicted on screen where horses are speared and stabbed to bring down the riders - an act which makes perfect logical sense but previously never shown in Hollywood films. The screenplay makes Pine a rather dull but politically correct hero who not only radiates goodness but does not force himself on his wife on their wedding night which downplays brutal myths about not only the man but also about the lack of chivalry during that era. Their romance plays out like a Mills and Boon novel complete with romantic foreplay under rose tinted candle light as the King and Queen finally consumate their marriage. Apparently the film's original cut was 4 hours which would have made more sense of the story if presented as a mini series.
Reza
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Dishonored (Josef von Sternberg, 1931) 9/10

When MGM announced that "Mata Hari" was going to be Garbo's next film Paramount counter-acted by also casting Dietrich as a spy (here called X27) in this her third collaboraration (and second American film) under the "guidance' of her mentor von Sternberg. This creaky early sound film borders on camp but the director, helped in great part by the shimmering cinematography of Lee Garmes, manages to create a baroque melodrama which allows Dietrich to use her dizzying sensuality to make this seem like high art. The widow (Marlene Dietrich) of an army officer, now a Viennese prostitute, is hired by the head of the Austrian secret service (Gustav von Seyffertitz) to spy on the Russians. She exposes a traitor (Warner Oland) and plays cat-and-mouse with a Russian agent (a very debonair Victor McLaglen) with whom she falls in love. Slinking across the screen dressed in furs and provocative outfits (courtesy of Travis Banton) she creates an alluring femme fatale. The film has a justifiably famous ending. Condemned to death for helping her lover escape she calmly fixes her veil looking at her face reflected in an officer's sabre followed by adjusting her stocking and applying lipstick one last time before calmly facing the firing squad. The film was her third of seven films for von Sternberg and they would continue creating more magic on screen in projects that would continue to be audacious in their outrageousness.

Blonde Venus (Josef von Sternberg, 1932) 8/10

Dietrich had played a series of exotic women in exotic settings but here von Sternberg presented her in a new avatar as a devoted mother. She is a former cabaret performer turned hausfrau (a role the bi-sexual Dietrich actually relished offscreen while cooking and keeping house for all her lovers) complete with a cherubic kid (Dickie Moore) and a husband (Herbert Marshall) on the verge of dying from radium poisoning. Needing money for his cure she goes back to work on stage. The plot takes only a few minutes to put Dietrich back on familiar ground as her husband is packed off for a cure thanks to money received from a rich and eager playboy (the impossibly youthful Cary Grant) to whom she returns the favour by becoming his mistress. What would a Dietrich film be without an exotic wardrobe and jewels? And she gets to perform the spectacular "Hot Voodoo" number, dressed in a gorilla suit and surrounded by a group of African women (white women in black face) gyrating to drums. She peels off the ape mask and suit, dons a blonde afro wig and charms the pants off Cary Grant. The plot then goes the route of many films from that era with the husband discovering her new life while he was away, wanting his kid back while she goes on the run suffering through one maudlin hardship after another. But all is not lost because Grant comes back into her life allowing her to dress in drag - top hat and tails, a spectacular vision in all-white - as she once again delights in singing for her supper. The Dietrich magic carries the film helped yet again by the lavish Travis Banton outfits although her close-ups are lit this time by Bert Glennon who manages to make her look exotic even when her face is scrubbed clean as the hausfrau at the start. The magic of the star-director duo continues as von Sternberg puts her through the paces whether she is skinny dipping in the film's opening moments, acting noble and concerned with Herbert Marshall, saintly with the kid or having a fiendishly good time on stage and in the arms of the dashing Cary Grant.

The Song of Songs (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933) 8/10

Paramount tried to ween Dietrich away from von Sternberg and she made this film in between films for her mentor. Although directed by Mamoulian the film appears to have the stamp of von Sternberg all over it. She again has two men who humiliate her, is stranded in baroque surroundings alternating between poverty and extraordinary riches. A naive German peasant girl (Marlene Dietrich), armed with her late father's Bible, arrives in Berlin to live with her garrulous tipsy aunt (Alison Skipworth) and soon finds her life changing with a jolt. A sculptor (Brian Aherne) convinces her to pose nude for him and the aunt pimps her to a rich Baron (Lionel Atwill) who has commissioned the nude statue of her from the sculptor. She is jilted by the sculptor and gets married to the lecherous Baron who transforms her into a lady. The melodramatic plot is full of sexual innuendos starting with her nude statue with erect nipples, images of which Mamoulian incorporates into the plot in inventive ways signifying various moments in her life involving sex - from her innocent frolics with the sculptor to her wedding night with the Baron who twirls his moustache before entering the conjugal bedroom where she is heard weeping with fright. Hans Drier's oppulent sets have an overpowering effect adding to the woman's misery which will also include almost getting killed in a fire and in danger of getting shot by her jealous husband. Dietrich's mask-like face finally comes alive when she gets to sing at a nightclub and when in a fit of fury destroys the nude statue which signifies her innocence and virginity. Victor Milner's swooning camera movements create a giddying effect signifying the turmoil Dietrich goes through from beginning to end. It remains one of her best performances and the film's dazzling visuals are due to the expert direction of Mamoulian who keeps the tension flowing throughout.

The Scarlet Empress (Josef von Sternberg, 1934) 9/10

There are many urban legends about the flamboyant Empress Catherine II of Russia. She was a nymphomaniac and had 22 male lovers, liked to collect erotic furniture and died copulating with a horse. Actually she died of a stroke. How can you resist not making a movie about such a character and of course Hollywood jumped at it even though the censors had their claws ready. That didn't deter von Sternberg from creating this film for Dietrich with his usual over-the-top stylish flourishes. Using Hans Dreier's gigantic sets of palaces, ornamental staircases, gargoyles jutting out of walls and twisty gothic furniture he manages to create a film that not only looks bizarre but does so in a sexually depraved way. He intentionally shoots scenes in tight close-ups or medium shots with actors surrounded by overpowering paraphernalia making them look either frightened or menacing in an exaggerated manner. Dietrich starts off in innocent mode as she first merely reacts to her surroundings and the people she comes into contact with - the young princess from Prussia is carted off to become the bride of Grand Duke Peter of Russia. A series of rude shocks await the hopelessly naive and romantic woman - enroute she is seduced by the Count (John Lodge) ordered to escort her to the Russian court, her name is changed upon her arrival by the haughty Empress Elizabeth (a no-nonsense Louise Dresser hilariously speaking in a flat Midwestern accent) who bids her to produce a male heir and is horrified to discover that her intended husband (Sam Jaffe) is an imbecile with a goofy grin, a mistress in tow and a strange fascination for toy soldiers. They get married but hate each other. Soon Catherine is inspecting the soldiers mouthing dialogue dripping with sexual innuendo and ensuring what she doesn't get from her husband she gets from the men in uniform all around her. Pregnant by one of her guards she thrills the Empress by producing a male heir. The campy goings on keep getting campier - with the death of the old Empress her husband, who is now Czar, orders that his wife be put to death. Having slept through the soldier ranks the army is on her side and gets the Czar assassinated. Dressed in male attire she leads her soldiers and gallops on horseback into the Imperial Palace up the massive staircase straight upto the gigantic throne which she claims. The screenplay is an odd mixture of Marx brothers lunacy and menacing drama built on violence and fear. Through it all the camera gazes lovingly at Dietrich's extraordinary face which commands every scene which von Sternberg carefully designed ensuring his star shone bright in this glorious cinematic kitsch that ultimately becomes a fetishistic ode to his glamourous star.

Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song (David Riva, 2002) 7/10

The life of an iconic star is lovingly narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis and directed by the star's grandson. All the career highlights - the movies, the concerts, her triumphant role during WWII - are discussed and analyzed by people who knew, lived and worked with her. Interviews with her daughter Maria Riva, musician Burt Bacharach, singer Rosemary Clooney, actress Hildegard Knef, Nazi hunter Beate Klarsfeld and director Volker Schlöndorff all of whom pay tribute to a fascinating woman.

The Devil is a Woman (Josef von Sternberg, 1935) 5/10

This was Dietrich's last collaboration on screen with von Sternberg which she agreed to do after initially having a fall-out with him after the disastrous boxoffice results of their previous outing. She plays a Spanish femme fatale in Seville allowing the director to drape her in exotic costumes and head dresses as she flirts, pouts, seduces and extorts money from an elderly government official (Lionel Atwill) who she turns into a quivering mess. She is the proverbial "cock teaser" for want of a better phrase. He warns a young revolutionary (Cesar Romero) who is smitten with her but in vain as the young man also discovers the woman's deadly charms. Dietrich flounces all over the place - there is one great musical sequence in a cantiña - batting her eyelashes and over-acting seductively. Out of all her films she said this was her most favourite because she looked the most beautiful in it. Unfortunately she looks like a drag queen gone to town with too much makeup all over her face giving her a clown-like visage. Both Atwill and Romero act circles around her while she provides a superficial performance made up of facial posturings although this is the first time she plays a character in total control of her emotions with complete sexual power over her male "victims" just like a deadly tarantula. This is a rather weak entry amongst their seven films even though von Sternberg tries to liven up the proceedings by creating a festive mood amongst the extras with masks and a lot of confetti being thrown during the boistrous party sequences. However, the story is too trite and there is little bite to it.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Barton Fink (Joel Coen, 1991) 6/10
Il deserto rosso / Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964) 8/10
By Sidney Lumet (Nancy Buirsky, 2015) 7/10
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (Michael Hazanavicius, 2006) 3/10
OSS 117: Lost in Rio (Michael Hazanavicius, 2009) 4/10
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Caravan to Vaccarès (Geoffrey Reeve, 1974) 4/10

Dull cat-and-mouse yarn, based on a novel by Alistair Maclean, is set in Provence. An American drifter (David Birney), wandering around Europe, meets up with a British photographer (Charlotte Rampling) and both are persuaded by a French nobleman (Michel Lonsdale) to smuggle a scientist holding a secret formula to New York. The duo are chased all over the place by a sinister gypsy (Marcel Bozzuffi) and his gang of thugs on horseback in a bid to kill the scientist. Low budget film has a dull leading man and the only thing going for this boring film is a nude scene performed by a magnetic Charlotte Rampling who looks stunning throughout although has nothing much to do. Also there are no caravans in sight anywhere in this film.

The Kid Stays in the Picture (Nanette Burstein & Brett Morgen, 2002) 7/10

Vanity thy name is Robert Evans as this documentary charts his rise from failed actor to head of Paramount studios where he supervised the productions of "Rosemary's Baby", "Love Story", "The Godfather 1 & 2" and "Chinatown" among many other hit films. Evans' skewed narration is a hilarious mixture of love and loathing for himself as he describes winning Ali MacGraw as his wife (star of "Love Story") treating her like a prized possession only to lose her when she runs off with Steve McQueen a couple years later. His fall from grace is equally spectacular involving cocaine binges, flop movies and the mysterious murder of one of his film's financiers to which he was linked via gossip resulting in a stay at a mental hospital. A sharply drawn portrait of what the real Hollywood is all about - a mixture of success, broads, booze, drugs and failure.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee, 2018) 8/10

Poor Spike Lee has spent his entire career trying to bring awareness (as if the world was ever blind) about rampant racism in the United States. This timely and topical film coincides with the virulent resurgence of white supremacy during President Trump's Administration. The wicked screenplay, dripping with black humour and unbridled anger, takes a sharp dig at the white vs black phenomena in the country. This bizarre, but true story, revolves around a black Colorado Springs cop (John David Washington) who, posing as a white guy, infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan via telephone by pretending to hate blacks and jews. Once invited to visit them he asks fellow cop (Adam Driver), a jew, to take his place using a wire to spy on their activities. Savage satire which doesn't wince from using vicious derogatory words to hit home its point along with a history lesson using cinema as a metaphor - Lee intercuts scenes of the Klan watching with sheer joy D.W. Griffith's silent film, "The Birth of a Nation", with its racist scenes of violence towards blacks alternating with scenes where an aged black activist (Harry Belafonte) explains to a horrified group of young black activists how that film was a catalyst for the Klan to incite violence a year after the film came out in 1915, describing in horrific detail the vicious way people were killed. Although the film has a tendency to preach the story is brought into sharp focus thanks to the superb chemistry and witty interaction between Washington (Denzel's son) and Driver. An important film and a return to form on the big screen for director Lee who proves once again that racism against blacks continues unabated as witnessed during a clip from last year's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia when a car mowed down a group of counter-protesters at a white-supremist rally with Trump openly defending the perpetrators on national television.

Befikre / Carefree (Aditya Chopra, 2016) 5/10

Silly trite screenplay full of clichés is somewhat saved by the sparkling chemistry between the two leads. Delhi boy and standup comic (Ranveer Singh) arrives in Paris and instantly falls in love with French-Indian girl (Vaani Kapoor). The film begins with their breakup and we see in flashback how they met, moved in together, had constant wild passionate sex and then parted. The plot has them then hooked to others but its obvious where the ending will lead to. Ranveer Singh plays an over-the-top brash character (quite like his real self) who has sex on the brain and quickly starts to grate as the film goes on and on and his silly antics just won't stop. In contrast Vaani Kapoor gives an assured performance as the hip Parisienne who tries to help the hick Indian find some level of maturity. Slickly shot film on lovely locations has both stars in superb form on the dance floor but the silly screenplay (with an over emphasis on people constantly smooching and at the drop of a hat stripping and jumping between the sheets) lets it down. This is a major misfire from the usually reliable Aditya Chopra.
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