Sing (2016) - 8/10 - This was a rewatch in advance of going to see Sing 2 and it was still a lot of fun.
Sing 2 (2021) - 8/10 - While I don't think it was quite as good as the first movie, I still thought it was a lot of fun and enjoyed it.
On Any Sunday (1971) - 8/10 - This was a lot more fun than I was expecting. It's about motorcycle racing and has a fair amount of motocross, but also desert racing, hill climbing, drag racing, speed tests, and more. Steve McQueen makes a few appearances and competes in a couple of events, including the desert race.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Just Another Missing Kid (1981) - 8/10 - In 1978, 19 year old Eric Wilson was driving from Ottawa to Boulder, Colorado in order to attend a summer college course. He called home every night until he disappeared somewhere in Nebraska. His father and brother flew to Nebraska to look for him with no success and the police and FBI didn't seem very interested. A suspect turned up weeks later and the family hired a private detective to find out what happened because the authorities weren't pursuing the case. It's a sad indictment of the system that still rings true today.
The Gatekeepers (2012) - 8/10 - Six former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli organization in charge of internal security, candidly discuss their organization, its methods, and its failures over the years, especially in regard to the Palestinians. It's very well put together and not exactly what I expected going in.
The Gatekeepers (2012) - 8/10 - Six former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli organization in charge of internal security, candidly discuss their organization, its methods, and its failures over the years, especially in regard to the Palestinians. It's very well put together and not exactly what I expected going in.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Don't look Up (Adam McKay, 2021) 4/10
The Sting-fart joke was the single best moment in the entire film - a political satire about the sky falling. It literally does as discovered by the "Chicken Little" of this film, a grad student (Jennifer Lawrence) who discovers that an asteroid is flying towards earth which in turn is confirmed by astronomy professor (Leonardo DiCaprio who is very good) although nobody believes them including the American President (Meryl Streep doing a Trump caricature) and her obnoxious Chief of Staff / son (Jonah Hill). So they leak the news to the world via two supercilious tv reporters (Tyler Perry & Cate Blanchett) which results in an attempt to send a gung ho pilot (Ron Perlman) on a rocket to destroy the moving time bomb. However, government greed takes over - a tech zillionaire (Mark Rylance) discovers rich minerals on the asteroid - so the mission is aborted. The large cast gamely flails about - Timothée Chalamet is a street punk who wafts poetic religiosity at a crucial moment, Ariana Grande is a pop star, Melanie Lynskey is sublime as DiCaprio's forgiving wife (he fucks Blanchett) and even Bollywood star Ishaan Khattar pops up - in this mostly uneven and sadly very unfunny comedy. Dr. Strangelove it ain't but it does brightly bring to light the supreme idiocy / idiocracy (take your pick) of the American powers that be. While that may be a good thing to laugh about and say "I told you so" the film is too devoid of anything relevant or anything remotely funny. But that fart joke about Sting was a zinger.
Dhamaka (Ram Madhvani, 2021) 6/10
Highly melodramatic remake of the 2013 South Korean thriller "The Terror Live". A once celebrated news anchor (Kartik Aryan), now demoted and recently divorced, is a bitter and jaded radio jockey. When he receives a call from a man threatening to blow up a bridge he uses the situation to try and wrangle his old position back from his ratings obsessed boss. He sets himself up live on tv and begins negotiating with the man who wants a public apology from the government for the death of three poor men who died during renovation of the bridge. Things get out of hand when the government refuses to negotiate and his own boss throws him to the wolves by exposing an unsavoury incident from his past because he refuses to toe the line over the live feed. His dilemma is linked to his ex-wife who is the journalist caught on the bridge which is about to go down. Aryan, who until now played in rom-coms, shows acting chops in a very serious role and manages to nail the part. Too bad he is surrounded by characters reeking of cliché and a situation that becomes more and more hard to believe as the plot goes on to the inevitable dhamaka.
The Sting-fart joke was the single best moment in the entire film - a political satire about the sky falling. It literally does as discovered by the "Chicken Little" of this film, a grad student (Jennifer Lawrence) who discovers that an asteroid is flying towards earth which in turn is confirmed by astronomy professor (Leonardo DiCaprio who is very good) although nobody believes them including the American President (Meryl Streep doing a Trump caricature) and her obnoxious Chief of Staff / son (Jonah Hill). So they leak the news to the world via two supercilious tv reporters (Tyler Perry & Cate Blanchett) which results in an attempt to send a gung ho pilot (Ron Perlman) on a rocket to destroy the moving time bomb. However, government greed takes over - a tech zillionaire (Mark Rylance) discovers rich minerals on the asteroid - so the mission is aborted. The large cast gamely flails about - Timothée Chalamet is a street punk who wafts poetic religiosity at a crucial moment, Ariana Grande is a pop star, Melanie Lynskey is sublime as DiCaprio's forgiving wife (he fucks Blanchett) and even Bollywood star Ishaan Khattar pops up - in this mostly uneven and sadly very unfunny comedy. Dr. Strangelove it ain't but it does brightly bring to light the supreme idiocy / idiocracy (take your pick) of the American powers that be. While that may be a good thing to laugh about and say "I told you so" the film is too devoid of anything relevant or anything remotely funny. But that fart joke about Sting was a zinger.
Dhamaka (Ram Madhvani, 2021) 6/10
Highly melodramatic remake of the 2013 South Korean thriller "The Terror Live". A once celebrated news anchor (Kartik Aryan), now demoted and recently divorced, is a bitter and jaded radio jockey. When he receives a call from a man threatening to blow up a bridge he uses the situation to try and wrangle his old position back from his ratings obsessed boss. He sets himself up live on tv and begins negotiating with the man who wants a public apology from the government for the death of three poor men who died during renovation of the bridge. Things get out of hand when the government refuses to negotiate and his own boss throws him to the wolves by exposing an unsavoury incident from his past because he refuses to toe the line over the live feed. His dilemma is linked to his ex-wife who is the journalist caught on the bridge which is about to go down. Aryan, who until now played in rom-coms, shows acting chops in a very serious role and manages to nail the part. Too bad he is surrounded by characters reeking of cliché and a situation that becomes more and more hard to believe as the plot goes on to the inevitable dhamaka.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988) - 7.5/10 - Klaus Barbie was a brutal Nazi who evaded capture for nearly 40 years after WWII, working part of that time for the CIA, and later living in Bolivia. This film is very good and very thorough, but it is nearly 4.5 hours and I started losing interest around the 3 hour mark. I think that Ophüls could have edited it down just a bit more, though I suppose that I could have taken a break and come back to it later.
Flee (2021) - 8.5/10 - A mostly animated story about a man who fled Afghanistan with his family as a kid, ending up in Russia. Amin later arrived in Denmark as an unaccompanied minor and gained asylum, but kept his real story a secret from most people until finally confiding to a friend. I thought it was very good. The live action footage (mostly archival I'd guess) was mixed in well and served to better illustrate the story.
Flee (2021) - 8.5/10 - A mostly animated story about a man who fled Afghanistan with his family as a kid, ending up in Russia. Amin later arrived in Denmark as an unaccompanied minor and gained asylum, but kept his real story a secret from most people until finally confiding to a friend. I thought it was very good. The live action footage (mostly archival I'd guess) was mixed in well and served to better illustrate the story.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Being the Ricardos (Aaron Sorkin, 2021) 5/10
Hollywood star Lucille Ball's second pregnancy was famously and innovatively incorporated into the sitcom - "I Love Lucy" - on which she co-starred with her husband Desi Arnaz. That is just one of the plot points Sorkin uses in this film along with the more dramatic fare of Lucy accused of being a communist (it's the early 1950s when the Yanks were all up in arms about any and all connection to Mother Russia) and trouble in paradise with Lucy rightfully suspicious and angry at Desi for having affairs which the media constantly reports on. Sorkin incorporates all these different crises while the two stars have script readings, act out actual familiar episodes (Lucy stomping grapes which is shot in black and white) and interact with their squabbling co-stars William Frawley (J. K. Simmons) and Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda). From the get-go the frantic premise seems forced and certainly not helped by Nicole Kidman's dour monotone reading of Sorkin's rat-a-tat script. Of course she looks nothing like Lucy and neither does Javier Bardem as Desi but that's fine as it's supposed to be an approximation. The film scores big time firstly during the scene with Lucy being a very savvy businesswoman taking on a bunch of CBS executives when she pitches them the sitcom co-starring her Cuban husband. She is wary of her husband's over active libido. She barely gets to see him while she was under contract at RKO studio busy in film after film while he plays with his band at the nightclub Ciro. The two have different working hours and are kept apart by their schedules. So a sitcom together is her way of ensuring her marriage survives. The second great moment - and a rousing one - is when Desi proves to the studio audience and journalists on set that Lucy is commie free and as pure as American apple pie. The film's outstanding period design is superbly evoked throughout but Lucy's first appearance on screen in an incorrect hairstyle (wrong wig) is extremely jarring and throws the impersonation all off. That's how it is throughout - Kidman being very much Kidman instead of being Lucy.
Off the Rails (Jules Williamson, 2021) 5/10
Rather tired road movie with three close friends (Jenny Seagrove, Kelly Preston, Sally Phillips) who depart on a European rail trip through France, Italy, and Spain in memory of their college graduation trip three decades before. This is at the behest of their late friend's wishes whose mother - Dame Judi Dench in a cameo giving an awkward eulogy at the funeral - provides the women the tickets with an added provision that their late friend's teenage daughter (Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips) must accompany them. So off they go to the beat of the rock group Blondie. Seemingly the entire oeuvre of the band's songs are on the soundtrack which actually proves to be a good thing as the familiar tracks distract when the screenplay resorts to every damn buddy road movie cliché in the book. Petty jealousies get aired, secrets are revealed, maudlin back stories are brought to the front as the foursome drink, dance, hook up with men - Preston meets cute briefly with Franco Nero who is now very old but manages to still represent Italian hunkdom at its best - miss train connections, lose their passports but manage to reach a cathederal in Palma where they witness a light show through a stained-glass window which the ladies failed to see on their last trip and which was their late friend's wish for them to witness. Lovely location work and Blondie on the soundtrack are highlights. The film is dedicated to Preston who died soon after the film's shoot.
Hollywood star Lucille Ball's second pregnancy was famously and innovatively incorporated into the sitcom - "I Love Lucy" - on which she co-starred with her husband Desi Arnaz. That is just one of the plot points Sorkin uses in this film along with the more dramatic fare of Lucy accused of being a communist (it's the early 1950s when the Yanks were all up in arms about any and all connection to Mother Russia) and trouble in paradise with Lucy rightfully suspicious and angry at Desi for having affairs which the media constantly reports on. Sorkin incorporates all these different crises while the two stars have script readings, act out actual familiar episodes (Lucy stomping grapes which is shot in black and white) and interact with their squabbling co-stars William Frawley (J. K. Simmons) and Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda). From the get-go the frantic premise seems forced and certainly not helped by Nicole Kidman's dour monotone reading of Sorkin's rat-a-tat script. Of course she looks nothing like Lucy and neither does Javier Bardem as Desi but that's fine as it's supposed to be an approximation. The film scores big time firstly during the scene with Lucy being a very savvy businesswoman taking on a bunch of CBS executives when she pitches them the sitcom co-starring her Cuban husband. She is wary of her husband's over active libido. She barely gets to see him while she was under contract at RKO studio busy in film after film while he plays with his band at the nightclub Ciro. The two have different working hours and are kept apart by their schedules. So a sitcom together is her way of ensuring her marriage survives. The second great moment - and a rousing one - is when Desi proves to the studio audience and journalists on set that Lucy is commie free and as pure as American apple pie. The film's outstanding period design is superbly evoked throughout but Lucy's first appearance on screen in an incorrect hairstyle (wrong wig) is extremely jarring and throws the impersonation all off. That's how it is throughout - Kidman being very much Kidman instead of being Lucy.
Off the Rails (Jules Williamson, 2021) 5/10
Rather tired road movie with three close friends (Jenny Seagrove, Kelly Preston, Sally Phillips) who depart on a European rail trip through France, Italy, and Spain in memory of their college graduation trip three decades before. This is at the behest of their late friend's wishes whose mother - Dame Judi Dench in a cameo giving an awkward eulogy at the funeral - provides the women the tickets with an added provision that their late friend's teenage daughter (Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips) must accompany them. So off they go to the beat of the rock group Blondie. Seemingly the entire oeuvre of the band's songs are on the soundtrack which actually proves to be a good thing as the familiar tracks distract when the screenplay resorts to every damn buddy road movie cliché in the book. Petty jealousies get aired, secrets are revealed, maudlin back stories are brought to the front as the foursome drink, dance, hook up with men - Preston meets cute briefly with Franco Nero who is now very old but manages to still represent Italian hunkdom at its best - miss train connections, lose their passports but manage to reach a cathederal in Palma where they witness a light show through a stained-glass window which the ladies failed to see on their last trip and which was their late friend's wish for them to witness. Lovely location work and Blondie on the soundtrack are highlights. The film is dedicated to Preston who died soon after the film's shoot.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (1998) - 7/10 - I read a few of Rand's books back in the 1980s and they didn't do much for me, but I thought this was a somewhat interesting biography and helped me understand her a bit more.
King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis (1970) - 8/10 - A biography of Martin Luther King as told (mostly) through archival footage from the 1950s and 1960s. It's pretty well done.
Woodstock (1970) - 9/10 - The music is great and this serves as a very nice time capsule for that era.
King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis (1970) - 8/10 - A biography of Martin Luther King as told (mostly) through archival footage from the 1950s and 1960s. It's pretty well done.
Woodstock (1970) - 9/10 - The music is great and this serves as a very nice time capsule for that era.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Benedetta (Paul Verhoeven, 2021) 8/10
Provacative, lurid and erotic drama is right up Verhoeven's alley as he explores sadism, masochism, perversion, repression, rebellion, and sex. Lots of sex in a 17th century Italian convent. A loose adaptation of Judith C. Brown's non-fiction book, "Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy", covers the life of Benedetta Carlini (Virginie Efira) a nun in the abbey of a convent in plague ravaged Tuscany. She is brought to the convent as a child by her wealthy parents who pay a heavy dowry to the very business-like Mother Superior (Charlotte Rampling). Many years later they also bequeath a companion for their daughter - a young woman (Daphne Patakia) who is being raped daily by her father and brother and desperately seeks shelter. Benedetta's visions of Jesus, her stigmata - palms bleeding - and dreams of being raped and saved by Jesus are intercut with both women indulging in an affair. The Mother Superior is sceptical about Benedetta's visions and the public's proclamation of her being a saint but is secretly happy that it brings the convent good tidings in the form of money and gifts. When Benedetta becomes the new Mother Superior she brazenly indulges in sex (bordering on S&M - bondage, flagellation) with her female lover in the confines of larger quarters until the jig is exposed and she is brought to trial - the Catholic church’s only known lesbian trial at the hands of a hilariously sneering and oily Papal Nuncio (Lambert Wilson). Verhoeven keeps the nun's visions and her painful body attacks very real maintaining a strong sense of mystery where it seems she could well be telling the truth. At the same time the film is full of normal human bodily functions - from scenes of defecation to regular sexual urges which are dutifully obeyed via fingering, frottage and the use of a small wooden Virgin Mary statue which is inventively used as a dildo during the many sexually explicit moments which Verhoeven shoots with full abandon - its a wonder the oft-nude Efira did not come down with pneumonia in the stone-walled draughty convent. In addition the film exposes the hypocrisy and greed of the Church while mischievously indulging in kitchsy scenes where a pregnant peasant woman exposes her breast and squirts milk at Charlotte Rampling or hysterically gothic moments where Benedetta is taken on by another nun in a mad scene straight out of "Black Narcisuss". What Verhoeven bravely states here is that religion is an inherently lunatic and absurd thing. Which if you really think carefully is not too far away from the truth. The film is not overtly blasphemous like Ken Russell's "The Devils" but has more of a tongue-in-cheek quality to it making it an equally brave if amusing soft porn film.
Jeepers Creepers (Victor Salva, 2001) 7/10
The teenage siblings in this slasher horror film have to be the two most stupid people on earth. But then they have to be stupid....VERY stupid.. if the horror elements in this film need to work. A typical bickering brother (Justin Long) and sister (Gina Philips) decide to drive home through Florida black roads during Spring break. They are almost run over by a mysterious truck and a little later see the driver dumping two wrapped bodies down a shute next to a dilapidated church. The kids decide to investigate and discover a basement full of dead bodies. The truck driver, who turns out to be a ferocious winged creature, comes after them as they along with the police, a psychic and an old woman (Eileen Brennan) get ready for a deadly battle. Creepy film has all the appropriate jump scares along with gruesome acts of violence making this a superior entry in the genre.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (Jon Watts, 2021) 7/10
Convoluted return to the Spider's abode where the Man (Tom Holland) whose identity is revealed to the world calls on Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to help cast a spell so the identity becomes a secret again. However, the spell goes awry and out pop a slew of past villains from different universes - Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Lizard (Rhys Ifans) - to create havoc for our hero, his plucky girlfriend (Zendaya), best buddy (a much thinned down Jacob Batalon) and the ole reliable aunt (Marisa Tomei). But wait a minute who are the two "helpers" who also arrive from different universes to help Peter Parker aka Spider-Man fight all the dastardly villains? Slam bang action is very annoyingly all shot at night making it difficult to see all the swinging between buildings - the Statue of Liberty becomes a major location on top of which a lot of the action takes place. The only member of the cast who fails to make much of an impression is Cumberbatch in an underwritten role where his annoyance and quips go way under the radar. A dark entry that nurses tragedy and despair in between bouts of fast paced action.
6 Underground (Michael Bay, 2019) 6/10
An American billionaire and philanthropist (Ryan Reynolds), disgusted by the cruel regime in Turgistan, fakes his own death and forms a vigilante group by hiring five others to join his cause. Each is given a numbered nickname - Two is a spy (Mélanie Laurent); Three, a hitman (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo); Four, a thief (Ben Hardy); Five, a doctor (Adria Arjona); and Six, a driver (Dave Franco). During their first mission in Florence - which is one long batshit crazy car chase sequence as they zoom in a dayglow green Alfa Romeo Giulia with the Mafia and the Italian police giving chase. When the driver is killed a former sniper (Corey Hawkins) suffering from survivor guilt is hired as Seven. The team goes after the vicious dictator and hope to replace him with his younger brother (Peyman Maadi). Since this is a Michael Bay film the action scenes are not only outrageous but gruesome as well with a no holds barred attitude in violence and non-stop catty banter between the cast. There is nothing new here as it regurgitate's moments from a number of the "Fast and Furious" franchise. Loud, obnoxious and repetitive yet still manages to be quite watchable. Abu Dhabi substitutes for the fictional Central Asian nation of Turgistan.
Provacative, lurid and erotic drama is right up Verhoeven's alley as he explores sadism, masochism, perversion, repression, rebellion, and sex. Lots of sex in a 17th century Italian convent. A loose adaptation of Judith C. Brown's non-fiction book, "Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy", covers the life of Benedetta Carlini (Virginie Efira) a nun in the abbey of a convent in plague ravaged Tuscany. She is brought to the convent as a child by her wealthy parents who pay a heavy dowry to the very business-like Mother Superior (Charlotte Rampling). Many years later they also bequeath a companion for their daughter - a young woman (Daphne Patakia) who is being raped daily by her father and brother and desperately seeks shelter. Benedetta's visions of Jesus, her stigmata - palms bleeding - and dreams of being raped and saved by Jesus are intercut with both women indulging in an affair. The Mother Superior is sceptical about Benedetta's visions and the public's proclamation of her being a saint but is secretly happy that it brings the convent good tidings in the form of money and gifts. When Benedetta becomes the new Mother Superior she brazenly indulges in sex (bordering on S&M - bondage, flagellation) with her female lover in the confines of larger quarters until the jig is exposed and she is brought to trial - the Catholic church’s only known lesbian trial at the hands of a hilariously sneering and oily Papal Nuncio (Lambert Wilson). Verhoeven keeps the nun's visions and her painful body attacks very real maintaining a strong sense of mystery where it seems she could well be telling the truth. At the same time the film is full of normal human bodily functions - from scenes of defecation to regular sexual urges which are dutifully obeyed via fingering, frottage and the use of a small wooden Virgin Mary statue which is inventively used as a dildo during the many sexually explicit moments which Verhoeven shoots with full abandon - its a wonder the oft-nude Efira did not come down with pneumonia in the stone-walled draughty convent. In addition the film exposes the hypocrisy and greed of the Church while mischievously indulging in kitchsy scenes where a pregnant peasant woman exposes her breast and squirts milk at Charlotte Rampling or hysterically gothic moments where Benedetta is taken on by another nun in a mad scene straight out of "Black Narcisuss". What Verhoeven bravely states here is that religion is an inherently lunatic and absurd thing. Which if you really think carefully is not too far away from the truth. The film is not overtly blasphemous like Ken Russell's "The Devils" but has more of a tongue-in-cheek quality to it making it an equally brave if amusing soft porn film.
Jeepers Creepers (Victor Salva, 2001) 7/10
The teenage siblings in this slasher horror film have to be the two most stupid people on earth. But then they have to be stupid....VERY stupid.. if the horror elements in this film need to work. A typical bickering brother (Justin Long) and sister (Gina Philips) decide to drive home through Florida black roads during Spring break. They are almost run over by a mysterious truck and a little later see the driver dumping two wrapped bodies down a shute next to a dilapidated church. The kids decide to investigate and discover a basement full of dead bodies. The truck driver, who turns out to be a ferocious winged creature, comes after them as they along with the police, a psychic and an old woman (Eileen Brennan) get ready for a deadly battle. Creepy film has all the appropriate jump scares along with gruesome acts of violence making this a superior entry in the genre.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (Jon Watts, 2021) 7/10
Convoluted return to the Spider's abode where the Man (Tom Holland) whose identity is revealed to the world calls on Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to help cast a spell so the identity becomes a secret again. However, the spell goes awry and out pop a slew of past villains from different universes - Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Lizard (Rhys Ifans) - to create havoc for our hero, his plucky girlfriend (Zendaya), best buddy (a much thinned down Jacob Batalon) and the ole reliable aunt (Marisa Tomei). But wait a minute who are the two "helpers" who also arrive from different universes to help Peter Parker aka Spider-Man fight all the dastardly villains? Slam bang action is very annoyingly all shot at night making it difficult to see all the swinging between buildings - the Statue of Liberty becomes a major location on top of which a lot of the action takes place. The only member of the cast who fails to make much of an impression is Cumberbatch in an underwritten role where his annoyance and quips go way under the radar. A dark entry that nurses tragedy and despair in between bouts of fast paced action.
6 Underground (Michael Bay, 2019) 6/10
An American billionaire and philanthropist (Ryan Reynolds), disgusted by the cruel regime in Turgistan, fakes his own death and forms a vigilante group by hiring five others to join his cause. Each is given a numbered nickname - Two is a spy (Mélanie Laurent); Three, a hitman (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo); Four, a thief (Ben Hardy); Five, a doctor (Adria Arjona); and Six, a driver (Dave Franco). During their first mission in Florence - which is one long batshit crazy car chase sequence as they zoom in a dayglow green Alfa Romeo Giulia with the Mafia and the Italian police giving chase. When the driver is killed a former sniper (Corey Hawkins) suffering from survivor guilt is hired as Seven. The team goes after the vicious dictator and hope to replace him with his younger brother (Peyman Maadi). Since this is a Michael Bay film the action scenes are not only outrageous but gruesome as well with a no holds barred attitude in violence and non-stop catty banter between the cast. There is nothing new here as it regurgitate's moments from a number of the "Fast and Furious" franchise. Loud, obnoxious and repetitive yet still manages to be quite watchable. Abu Dhabi substitutes for the fictional Central Asian nation of Turgistan.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Fog of War (2003) - 7.5/10 - Robert McNamara looks back on his life and discusses his time in the service during WWII, his time at Ford, and his time as Secretary of Defense, among other topics. Eleven lessons from his experience are presented and supported by what he discusses and archival footage.
American Factory (2019) - 8/10 - A Chinese glass company opens a factory in a closed Ohio auto factory (see The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant from 2009). Everything seems great and optimistic at first, but it isn't long before the Chinese management starts getting frustrated with the expectations and work of their American employees and the American employees bridle at some of the demands that are put on them and the lack of concern for environmental and safety standards. It's a pretty good film about the clash of cultures, at least in part.
American Factory (2019) - 8/10 - A Chinese glass company opens a factory in a closed Ohio auto factory (see The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant from 2009). Everything seems great and optimistic at first, but it isn't long before the Chinese management starts getting frustrated with the expectations and work of their American employees and the American employees bridle at some of the demands that are put on them and the lack of concern for environmental and safety standards. It's a pretty good film about the clash of cultures, at least in part.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) - 7.5/10 - In 1938 and 1939, thousands of (mostly Jewish) children were rescued from Germany and allowed to go to England, thus allowing them to escape what was to come. Most lost their parents during the war. A number of the children selected for this program are interviewed here along with one of the women who took a child in.
I Am Not Your Negro (2016) - 8/10 - Samuel L. Jackson narrates this movie which uses James Baldwin's unfinished novel as its basis. It's a pretty strong film about being black in the U.S.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - 8.5/10 - Nicely done. Very nicely done. I enjoyed it about the same as the previous two installments.
I Am Not Your Negro (2016) - 8/10 - Samuel L. Jackson narrates this movie which uses James Baldwin's unfinished novel as its basis. It's a pretty strong film about being black in the U.S.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - 8.5/10 - Nicely done. Very nicely done. I enjoyed it about the same as the previous two installments.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
To me it’s not about the authenticity of the accents (I certainly don’t claim to be an expert either, though to my ear there was something about Wood’s accent that sounded off). It’s about Hollywood’s long history of privileging white actors by continually casting them in non-white roles. I’m sure it was thought to be a wise financial decision. Of course It had the effect, like in virtually all other institutions, of keeping white people in power and perpetuating the idea that white people can only relate to other white people.
I’m not one to think that each role has to be played by an actor who exactly matches the demographics of the character. Actors should be able to act. However, I am an advocate for leveling the playing field. Spielberg, whose movies have generally been white-centric, deserves some credit for moving in that direction.
I’m not one to think that each role has to be played by an actor who exactly matches the demographics of the character. Actors should be able to act. However, I am an advocate for leveling the playing field. Spielberg, whose movies have generally been white-centric, deserves some credit for moving in that direction.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Not an expert but was around many at University in the United States who, to my untrained ear, sounded very much like Natalie Wood and the cast of the Spielberg version. The point I was trying to make was that unnecessary pressure was put on Wood ridiculing her accent (and the dubbing and darkening her skin color with makeup) when the lot in this remake also sound just like her. Whether an actual Puerto Rican speaks English with such an accent is besides the point.danfrank wrote:Reza wrote: Natalie Wood, used then for boxoffice assurance, especially got a major drubbing for her accent and for her dubbed singing. She was ridiculed for speaking with a faux hispanic accent in the original film while the entire Hispanic cast here speaks english with the exact same accent as Wood.
Reza, I didn’t realize that you were an expert on Puerto Rican accents. Impressive!
Puerto Ricans who want strictly Puerto Ricans to play that ethnic group in a major Hollywood production is of course a ridiculous dream. With so much money riding on a film the best possible choice is always going to be the best option.
Was Olivier as Othello the best option?
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Reza, the Hispanic characters are Puerto Rican. There's an issue with some in the Puerto Rican community about the casting of Rachel Zegler who is Colombian, Polish, Italian & German descent, not Puerto Rican. They want only Puerto Ricans to play Puerto Ricans.
I don't recall any issues with Natalie Wood's accent in the original. There was a bit of a fuss over her voice being dubbed but I don't think that came out until after Audrey Hepburn being dubbed in My Fair Lady when Marni Nixon became famous for having dubbed her as well as Wood and Deborah Kerr, the latter in both The King and I and An Affair to Remember. Why, I don't know. Actors and actresses, unless they were highly trained singers, were almost always dubbed.
Also, the Spielberg film does not re-order the songs, it uses them in the order in which they were sung in the original 1957 Broadway production. "I Feel Pretty" was always intended to be ironic. It's the staging that has changed.
I don't recall any issues with Natalie Wood's accent in the original. There was a bit of a fuss over her voice being dubbed but I don't think that came out until after Audrey Hepburn being dubbed in My Fair Lady when Marni Nixon became famous for having dubbed her as well as Wood and Deborah Kerr, the latter in both The King and I and An Affair to Remember. Why, I don't know. Actors and actresses, unless they were highly trained singers, were almost always dubbed.
Also, the Spielberg film does not re-order the songs, it uses them in the order in which they were sung in the original 1957 Broadway production. "I Feel Pretty" was always intended to be ironic. It's the staging that has changed.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Reza wrote: Natalie Wood, used then for boxoffice assurance, especially got a major drubbing for her accent and for her dubbed singing. She was ridiculed for speaking with a faux hispanic accent in the original film while the entire Hispanic cast here speaks english with the exact same accent as Wood.
Reza, I didn’t realize that you were an expert on Puerto Rican accents. Impressive!
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Undefeated (2011) - 8/10 - The story of a Memphis, Tennessee high school football team where the team has never had much success and the students face many challenges. The coach tries to teach them how to play winning football, but also, more importantly, how to overcome adversity and succeed in life. It's a pretty good film.
Anne Frank Remembered (1995) - 8/10 - Interviews with people who knew the Franks, including those who helped hide the family and some who were interned with her is combined with archival material to paint a more complete picture of Anne Frank.
Tupac: Resurrection (2003) - 8/10 - The story of Tupac's life is told through movies, photographs, and interviews. A lot of my students were fans of Tupac around the time this film came out, but I was only slightly aware of who he was at the time, other than being a rapper. Still, I thought the movie was pretty good.
Anne Frank Remembered (1995) - 8/10 - Interviews with people who knew the Franks, including those who helped hide the family and some who were interned with her is combined with archival material to paint a more complete picture of Anne Frank.
Tupac: Resurrection (2003) - 8/10 - The story of Tupac's life is told through movies, photographs, and interviews. A lot of my students were fans of Tupac around the time this film came out, but I was only slightly aware of who he was at the time, other than being a rapper. Still, I thought the movie was pretty good.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
West Side Story (Steven Spielberg, 2021) 5/10
It appears the germ for this remake grew in Spielberg's mind during the racist and troubled Trump Administration. The United States was then increasingly in the throes of issues stemming from skin color which took a turn for the worst with outbreaks of repeated violence not seen since the 1960s and before. The story (with its central theme taken from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet") is a screen adaptation of the celebrated 1957 Broadway musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim which was in 1961 adapted into an Oscar winning film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins whose groundbreaking choreography was brought to the screen intact. Elements of that choreography can be seen in this remake as well along with a number of the songs which are shot at different locations compared to in the first film. Two street gangs are at odds with each other and ever ready to "rumble" using fists, chains or knives for control over a neighborhood on the West Side of Manhattan - the white American Jets vs the Puerto Rican Sharks. Riff (Mike Faist), the leader of the Jets, proposes a rumble but his mentor Tony (Ansel Elgort) tries to dissuade him. At a local dance Tony falls helplessly in love with Maria (Rachel Zegler) sister of Shark leader Bernardo (David Alvarez) which does not go down well with the latter. During a heated exchange at the rumble a knife is brought out leading to death and tragedy. The film's central romance is rather troublesome and a little hard to comprehend - the two lovers fall instantly in love and then later not even the murder of a close relative dampens that love which is rather hard to digest. However, the love duet "Tonight" which the lovers perform on the fire escape is magical and equivalent to the balcony scene in Shakespeare's play. Some of the songs get their locations moved. The dynamic "America" originally sung and danced on the rooftop is now performed on the street, while "Gee, Officer Krupke" is moved from the street to inside a police precinct in this remake. Tony Kushner's screenplay is from start to finish a desperate cry for love and brotherhood with its relentless message for people to tolerate each other despite difference in skin color. The song "I Feel Pretty", sung originally by Maria in the dress shop where she works, is here moved to a huge department store where Maria and her friends work as cleaners. Hispanic cleaners - a stereotype which Kushner rubs in deep. While there are a few exciting bits - mostly revolving around Bernardo's fiery and sassy girlfriend Anita (Ariana DeBose) who performs the exhuberant "America" with flashing legs and swishing skirts in a dazzle of color and movement - this role brought Rita Moreno an Oscar in the original film version and Spielberg uses the now 94-year old actress as a mascot creating a new role for her as the owner of a drugstore and close confidante to Tony. The rest of the film doesn't hold a candle to the original which still remains electrifying. This version seems very flat with its "authentic" hispanic cast looking like kids play acting during a high school production. The previous version was criticised for not using Hispanic actors. Natalie Wood, used then for boxoffice assurance, especially got a major drubbing for her accent and for her dubbed singing. She was ridiculed for speaking with a faux hispanic accent in the original film while the entire Hispanic cast here speaks english with the exact same accent as Wood. While this remake is well intentioned because of its themes, its overall a monumental waste of time and talent especially since Spielberg brings nothing new to the material. It's all churned out intact with a few wispy changes here and there which make no impact whatsoever. Zegler makes an appealing debut and has a good voice but does not have Natalie Wood's beauty. The less said about Elgort the better. The production and costume design are outstanding though. With the exciting 1961 movie so easily available it was a mistake to regurgitate it again. Go watch the memorable original instead of this.
CODA (Sian Heder, 2021) 7/10
Charming coming-of-age story is certainly formulaic but has great heart. Ruby (Emilia Jones) is a child of deaf adults (CODA). She is the only hearing member of her family and lives with her hearing impared parents (Troy Kutsur & Marlee Matlin) and older brother (Daniel Durant) and has been their interpreter forever. She helps with the family business - going out to sea early every morning on a boat with her father and brother to catch fish which they sell to earn their living - and attends school later in the day. An awkward kid because of her situation she longs for friends and a life of her own. When she decides to pursue her passion for singing, encouraged by a teacher to apply for a scholarship, she feels guilty for abandoning her family. Feel-good film comes alive in all the scenes between Ruby and her family as they joke, argue and go through everyday life. Jones and especially Kotsur (very funny) are standouts in a great ensemble cast.
It appears the germ for this remake grew in Spielberg's mind during the racist and troubled Trump Administration. The United States was then increasingly in the throes of issues stemming from skin color which took a turn for the worst with outbreaks of repeated violence not seen since the 1960s and before. The story (with its central theme taken from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet") is a screen adaptation of the celebrated 1957 Broadway musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim which was in 1961 adapted into an Oscar winning film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins whose groundbreaking choreography was brought to the screen intact. Elements of that choreography can be seen in this remake as well along with a number of the songs which are shot at different locations compared to in the first film. Two street gangs are at odds with each other and ever ready to "rumble" using fists, chains or knives for control over a neighborhood on the West Side of Manhattan - the white American Jets vs the Puerto Rican Sharks. Riff (Mike Faist), the leader of the Jets, proposes a rumble but his mentor Tony (Ansel Elgort) tries to dissuade him. At a local dance Tony falls helplessly in love with Maria (Rachel Zegler) sister of Shark leader Bernardo (David Alvarez) which does not go down well with the latter. During a heated exchange at the rumble a knife is brought out leading to death and tragedy. The film's central romance is rather troublesome and a little hard to comprehend - the two lovers fall instantly in love and then later not even the murder of a close relative dampens that love which is rather hard to digest. However, the love duet "Tonight" which the lovers perform on the fire escape is magical and equivalent to the balcony scene in Shakespeare's play. Some of the songs get their locations moved. The dynamic "America" originally sung and danced on the rooftop is now performed on the street, while "Gee, Officer Krupke" is moved from the street to inside a police precinct in this remake. Tony Kushner's screenplay is from start to finish a desperate cry for love and brotherhood with its relentless message for people to tolerate each other despite difference in skin color. The song "I Feel Pretty", sung originally by Maria in the dress shop where she works, is here moved to a huge department store where Maria and her friends work as cleaners. Hispanic cleaners - a stereotype which Kushner rubs in deep. While there are a few exciting bits - mostly revolving around Bernardo's fiery and sassy girlfriend Anita (Ariana DeBose) who performs the exhuberant "America" with flashing legs and swishing skirts in a dazzle of color and movement - this role brought Rita Moreno an Oscar in the original film version and Spielberg uses the now 94-year old actress as a mascot creating a new role for her as the owner of a drugstore and close confidante to Tony. The rest of the film doesn't hold a candle to the original which still remains electrifying. This version seems very flat with its "authentic" hispanic cast looking like kids play acting during a high school production. The previous version was criticised for not using Hispanic actors. Natalie Wood, used then for boxoffice assurance, especially got a major drubbing for her accent and for her dubbed singing. She was ridiculed for speaking with a faux hispanic accent in the original film while the entire Hispanic cast here speaks english with the exact same accent as Wood. While this remake is well intentioned because of its themes, its overall a monumental waste of time and talent especially since Spielberg brings nothing new to the material. It's all churned out intact with a few wispy changes here and there which make no impact whatsoever. Zegler makes an appealing debut and has a good voice but does not have Natalie Wood's beauty. The less said about Elgort the better. The production and costume design are outstanding though. With the exciting 1961 movie so easily available it was a mistake to regurgitate it again. Go watch the memorable original instead of this.
CODA (Sian Heder, 2021) 7/10
Charming coming-of-age story is certainly formulaic but has great heart. Ruby (Emilia Jones) is a child of deaf adults (CODA). She is the only hearing member of her family and lives with her hearing impared parents (Troy Kutsur & Marlee Matlin) and older brother (Daniel Durant) and has been their interpreter forever. She helps with the family business - going out to sea early every morning on a boat with her father and brother to catch fish which they sell to earn their living - and attends school later in the day. An awkward kid because of her situation she longs for friends and a life of her own. When she decides to pursue her passion for singing, encouraged by a teacher to apply for a scholarship, she feels guilty for abandoning her family. Feel-good film comes alive in all the scenes between Ruby and her family as they joke, argue and go through everyday life. Jones and especially Kotsur (very funny) are standouts in a great ensemble cast.