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

[flipp525]

American Dream (dir. Barbara Kopple, 1990) 5/10

Hormel gets the "villain meat-packer" edit in this overlong documentary that seems to be more about how ugly clothes really got in mid-80's Minnesota than it does about one of the biggest labor disputes of that decade. Kopple loses out on the golden opportunity to make this a more personal experience by showing the effects of the strike on the community of Austin, Minn, which is something she achieved more effectively in Harlan County, USA. Only towards the end of the film do we get a poignant scene of one wife packing up her soon-to-be-foreclosed home as a result of lost jobs, lost dreams. Inexplicably won the Oscar for Best Documentary over the seminal, non-nominated (and far-superior) Paris is Burning.

The Tenant (dir. Roman Polanski, 1976) 7/10

If you've ever wanted to see Roman Polanski in a dress, this is your film. Directing and starring in this Kafka-esque exercise in claustrophobia and paranoia, Polanski as "Trelkovsky", a timid clerk, takes over the lease of a squalid Paris apartment recently vacated by a mysterious woman who jumped from the window to her death into the building's courtyard and through a glass porch. Slowly becoming obsessed with her while convincing himself that the other tenants of the building drove her mad, Polanski delves deeper and deeper into her psychosis. A veritable feast of Oscar winners of yore appear in cameos (Jo Van Fleet, Melvyn Douglas, Shelley Winters, Lila Kedrova, etc.), and there is also a young Isabelle Adjani to behold. Not bad, but only gets really interesting in the last third. Trelkovsky's passivity began to grate.

I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (dir. Jack Hofsiss, 1982) 3/10

Horrid and disturbing "Valium-is-Bad!" Jill Clayburgh showcase. For a more extensive review, please see further downthread.



Edited By flipp525 on 1241706484

[flipp525]

The Sinful Dwarf (1973) Vidal Raski 7/10 (Guilty pleasure)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) Richard Thorpe 4/10
Paris 36 (2008) Christophe Barratier 3/10
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) Mamoru Hosoda 7/10
Tenderness (2009) John Polson 1/10
The Garden Murder Cased (1936) Edwin L Marin 4/10
The Casino Murder Case (1935) Edwin L Marin 4/10

My lord, you watch a lot of movies. I've been so busy lately, I think I've watched maybe 3 in the same number of weeks. Are you a movie critic or something?

[Precious Doll]

The Sinful Dwarf (1973) Vidal Raski 7/10 (Guilty pleasure)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) Richard Thorpe 4/10
Paris 36 (2008) Christophe Barratier 3/10
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) Mamoru Hosoda 7/10
Tenderness (2009) John Polson 1/10
The Garden Murder Cased (1936) Edwin L Marin 4/10
The Casino Murder Case (1935) Edwin L Marin 4/10

[cfliau]

Safety Last 9/10
Girl Shy 7/10
For Heaven's Sake 7/10
The Freshman 7/10

I do find Harold Lloyds's films more appealing to a modern audience than Chaplin's sentimental movies.

[flipp525]

I think Kathy Baker was totally robbed of an oscar nomination (and possible win).

Agreed, although I would stop at a nomination. Baker is fantastic in Street Smart.

[mlrg]

Street Smart (1987) - Jerry Schatzberg

7/10

Was positevly surprised by this one, as I was expecting another mid 80's trashy movie. Morgan Freeman fully deserved his nomination and I think Kathy Baker was totally robbed of an oscar nomination (and possible win).

[dreaMaker]

Brokeback Mountain

9/10

[dreaMaker]

Into the Wild (2007, Sean Penn)

10/10

[dreaMaker]

The Bridges of Madison County

10/10

What more can you ask from this masterpiece?

[inky]

Inky's weekly update (watched a few European Union Film Festival screeners over the weekend):

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009; USA) - 4/10
The Way We Are (2008; HK) - 7/10
Star Trek Zero (2009; USA) - 5.5/10
Fireflies in the Garden (2008; USA) - 5.5/10
The Stud and the Nympho (1980; HK) - 3/10
Arabian Nights (2007; Luxembourg) - 5.5/10
Black and White (2008; Italy) - 5.5/10
The Meerkats (2008; UK) - 5/10
Magnus (2007; Estonia) - 6.5/10
Adultery, Chinese Style (1973; HK) - 3/10
Wolf (2007; Sweden) - 5.5/10
Playing Solo (2007; Finland) - 5/10

[Big Magilla]

So This Is Love (Gordon Douglas, 1953) 6/10

Kathryn Grayson as Grace Moore in biopic of her early life. Standard biopic oddly ends in 1927 when Moore makes her first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera, before her great success in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931 and her Oscar nominated performance in 1934's One Night of Love.

Maybe they were planning a sequel which never got made that would have followed her life to its tragic end in a plane crash in January, 1947.

Interesting supporting cast includes Merv Griffin, Douglas Dick, Joan Weldon, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeff Donnell and Margaret Field (Sally's mom).

[Zahveed]

Wilby Wonderful - 7/10

[Sabin]

La Vie en Rose - 4

See my comments elsewhere. Had I seen this film upon release, I'd have predicted Cotillard for the Oscar. Had I seen this film upon release, I'd be complaining about her inevitable triumph over Christie for about as long.

[mlrg]

The Apostle (1997) - Robert Duvall

6.5/10

A true labour of love by Robert Duvall, with a fantastic performance as the Apostle. However, I think the script lacks some character development.

[Zahveed]

Bedtime Stories - 5/10

I don't loathe Adam Sandler like most members of the board and this flick has its moments, even if the best ones come from Russel Brand and the prolific use of Deux Ex Machina. Definitely lacks subtlety in the dialogue department though: "So the kid's control the story", "something's going to happen", "so that's how it connects, fire!"