Last Movie You Watched

[SonicMan46]

Just bought this and 3 other Stewart westerns in a wee box. I might have seen this long ago. DVD though -- it was 5.19 for the four, shipped!
I'll let you know my review.

Ken - will look forward to your comments - might put another one on tonight?  Dave

[NikF]

Alien: Covenant (2017) Directed by Ridley Scott.

There's a tl:dr at the end of this post.

I watched this in the company of my neighbour and her friends. It's a pleasure to be among such a cheerful and charming bunch. But if I fade them out and then step back and away to watch it from afar with the whole series in mind, it creates one major impression upon me. You remember some of those old Hanna-Barbera cartoons? More exactly, the background of those cartoons? There's a character running along or driving along and they pass a house that has a green bush on one side and an overflowing dustbin on the other. Then they pass an uneven hedge which ends at a house with a red mailbox out front and a crooked antenna on the roof. Then we roll by a fence with the fifth and ninth slats missing completely and the eleventh one hanging off at an angle. That ends and it's time to pass a house that has a green bush on one side and an overflowing dustbin on the other. Then there's the uneven hedge again which as usual and always and forever ends at a house with a red mailbox out front and a crooked antenna on the roof. And here comes the fence...
I know that the first job of such a movie is to make money and that a way to goal is in the form of the familiar held dear by the fanbase. Ah, and generally there's nothing new under the sun. But this is BS. We spend a fortune making and consuming this media and the reward turns out like a little kid playing with a Jack-in-the-box, enthusiastically turning the handle over and again never tired of it, constantly entertained, high on anticipation while guided by the familiar landmark of the melody "...that's the way the money goes, Pop! goes the weasel." Crap.

tl:dr: Crap.

[aligreto]

Dead Man Down....





I enjoyed this one.

[Drasko]

That happens to me with La Notte...I should revist L'Eclisse soon, anyway...

La Notte is my second favourite, and the same method of viewing can apply. But not with L'Avventura, maybe it's rural vs city setting, at least to some extent, the angles are missing.

[Karl Henning]

Alien: Covenant (2017) Directed by Ridley Scott.

There's a tl:dr at the end of this post.

I watched this in the company of my neighbour and her friends. It's a pleasure to be among such a cheerful and charming bunch. But if I fade them out and then step back and away to watch it from afar with the whole series in mind, it creates one major impression upon me. You remember some of those old Hanna-Barbera cartoons? More exactly, the background of those cartoons? There's a character running along or driving along and they pass a house that has a green bush on one side and an overflowing dustbin on the other. Then they pass an uneven hedge which ends at a house with a red mailbox out front and a crooked antenna on the roof. Then we roll by a fence with the fifth and ninth slats missing completely and the eleventh one hanging off at an angle. That ends and it's time to pass a house that has a green bush on one side and an overflowing dustbin on the other. Then there's the uneven hedge again which as usual and always and forever ends at a house with a red mailbox out front and a crooked antenna on the roof. And here comes the fence...
I know that the first job of such a movie is to make money and that a way to goal is in the form of the familiar held dear by the fanbase. Ah, and generally there's nothing new under the sun. But this is BS. We spend a fortune making and consuming this media and the reward turns out like a little kid playing with a Jack-in-the-box, enthusiastically turning the handle over and again never tired of it, constantly entertained, high on anticipation while guided by the familiar landmark of the melody "...that's the way the money goes, Pop! goes the weasel." Crap.

tl:dr: Crap.

Alien (the franchise, not me) died in 1992  0:)

I watched Prometheus when my brother had lent me the disc (along with the Box).  But . . . I cannot bring myself to watch Alien: Covenant.

[Karl Henning]

It is not in fact the Last Movie I Watched, but . . . this struck me as a curiosity:

Escape from L.A. is better than the first movie. Ten times better. It's got more to it. It's more mature. It's got a lot more to it. I think some people didn't like it because they felt it was a remake, not a sequel... I suppose it's the old question of whether you like Rio Bravo or El Dorado better? They're essentially the same movie. They both had their strengths and weaknesses.

Personally, I am "agnostic" (I have never seen Escape from L.A.) . . . anyone have thoughts on whether the director is right, wrong, or simply an interested party?

[Drasko]

It's pretty good, as sequels go.

[SimonNZ]

It is not in fact the Last Movie I Watched, but . . . this struck me as a curiosity:

Personally, I am "agnostic" (I have never seen Escape from L.A.) . . . anyone have thoughts on whether the director is right, wrong, or simply an interested party?

Very wrong.

[Ken B]

Miss Sloane

An intriguing premise -- a somewhat dubious lobbyist, expert in playing the game, takes on the gun lobby -- but a weak script. Watchable but no more.

[Bogey]

I love high drama/thrillers that have the press as a main theme.  This one was exceptional.

[Karl Henning]

Very wrong.

Thanks.  After I have revisited the first of the twain, I shall see if the BPL have t'other.

[SonicMan46]

Last few nights, a couple of documentaries streamed from Amazon and a Jimmy Stewart-Anthony Mann production:

Raising Bertie (2016) - a documentary about a eastern North Carolina county (one near Edenton and an area I've travelled through a number of times) - short synopsis below; ratings: 7.2/10, IMDB; 3/4, Roger Ebert; and 5/5*, Amazon (limited number of comments) - about a community just 4 hours from me - lot of poverty and little opportunity to improve your life, but the adults are encouraging - can be a downer at times and depressing, but worth a watch - I'd probably do a 4*/5* on Amazon - recommended.

Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent (2016) - another documentary about a complicated, influential and extraordinary American chef; second synopsis below; ratings: 6.9/10, IMDB; 81%, Rotten Tomatoes; 2.5/4*, Roger Ebert, the latter a good balanced review.  We enjoyed the bioptic - Tower is indeed complex as was/is his career - I'd do 3 1/2*/5* on Amazon - recommended if interested in the development of American cuisine and stories about 'famous' chefs - plenty of interviews of others. 

Winchester '73 (1950) w/ James Stewart, Millard Mitchell, et al; Anthony Mann, director - Stewart & Mann's first western collaboration - filmed in B&W (a blu-ray restoration would be great!) - see third quote below - on location shooting included the Tucson, Arizona area and the Saguaro National Park, which we've visited decades ago - a MUST watch if you're into these Mann westerns.  Dave

Raising Bertie is a longitudinal documentary feature following three young African American boys over the course of six years as they grow into adulthood in Bertie County, a rural African American-led community in Eastern North Carolina. Through the intimate portrayal of these boys, this powerful vérité film offers a rare in-depth look at the issues facing America's rural youth and the complex relationships between generational poverty, educational equity, and race. The evocative result is an experience that encourages us to recognize the value and complexity in lives all too often ignored.

Both a biopic of a complicated man and an exploration of the gathering forces that converged to shape a new American cuisine and create the cult of "celebrity chef"... A consummate hedonist, Jeremiah Tower's career spans the riotous sexual revolution of the 70's to the high rolling "greed-is-good" spirit of the '80s. Key interviews with celebrities & celebrity chefs cement Tower's influence on today's food culture and reveal how he transformed the restaurant industry and in the process changed the way we eat.

Lin McAdam (James Stewart) pursues notorious outlaw Henry "Dutch" Brown (Millard Mitchell) into Dodge City, Kansas. There, in an effort to flush out the criminal, McAdam enters a sharp-shooting contest and wins the top prize: the eponymous Winchester rifle. Brown, desiring the rifle for himself, sneaks into McAdam's room and makes off with it. After finding the rifle missing, McAdam chases Brown across the state and toward an epic confrontation.

 

 

[James]

Land of the Dead
2005 ‧ Horror/Post-Apocalyptic fiction ‧ 1h 37m

In a world where zombies form the majority of the population, the remaining humans build a feudal society away from the undead. Ruthless Paul Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) rules and protects this microcosm but enforces painful class distinctions. Second-in-command Cholo DeMora (John Leguizamo) attempts to lead a secret rebellion against Kaufman's tyranny, but when the zombies begin to evolve, the survivors must discover a way to protect themselves from a zombie hoard that can learn and adapt.

[asin]B001CW7ZVC[/asin]

[aligreto]

Argo....





For a film with such a serious plot and which was based on fact it had some of the funniest lines that I have heard in a long time. I was laughing out loud a lot at some of the really good writing.

[Karl Henning]

Argo....




For a film with such a serious plot and which was based on fact it had some of the funniest lines that I have heard in a long time. I was laughing out loud a lot at some of the really good writing.

Cool. and with Alan Arkin and John Goodman, it ought to have some funny lines!

[aligreto]

Cool. and with Alan Arkin and John Goodman, it ought to have some funny lines!

They certainly did not disappoint 

[Autumn Leaves]

Todays viewing:



Another "blind" viewing, as it were - Although it's another in the long-running trend of "re-imaginings" I found this to be on a par with Peter Jackson's version of Kong.
Not the sort of movie one should take too seriously - it has plenty of action though and the SFX are great, as would be expected.
I thought Samuel L. Jackson wasn't going to say the MF word at one stage but he did manage to squeeze it in near the end of the movie (although it got cut short by the action) .

[SonicMan46]

Dunkirk (2017) w/ Fionn Whitehead, Damien Bonnard, Aneurin Barnard, and many others - saw at our local IMAX theater (huge screen and stupendous sound) - cannot imagine appreciating this viewing as much on my den 42" HDTV -    Dave

[James]

Train To Busan
2016 ‧ Drama film/Disaster Film ‧ 1h 58m

A man (Gong Yoo), his estranged daughter and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea.

[asin]B01M32LRPX[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Well, at last, I watched MI: Rogue Nation last night.  Great fun, as were the first four.