Last Movie You Watched

[Nostromo]

This was very well done, but also quite gory and violent.

[DavidW]

I really liked this movie. It got me to reread the novel. Most movies turn the creature into a stupid brute. However, rereading the novel I have to say that Victor Frankenstein is more sympathetic and the creature is not a noble savage. He ends up going on a homicidal rampage. Still, pretty good movie.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Rental Family. Wonderful movie about connection and loneliness. No big action or graphic effect. It's a character and story-driven movie.
I personally prefer this movie to Godzilla Minus One.

[AnotherSpin]

This was very well done, but also quite gory and violent.

For some reason I came away from this film feeling I'd expected more than I actually got.

Frankenstein plays out less as a tale of monsters and gore, and more as a sad story of people failing to see past appearances. Victor, puffed up with ambition, cobbles together a being but never recognises the bond between them, while the creature, judged only by his looks, is left to suffer rejection and loneliness.

Their clash comes from both holding too tightly to surface roles. Victor as the master of life, the creature as the unwanted outsider, without realising they're cut from the same cloth. The real horror isn't the stitched body, it's the blindness that keeps them apart, a reminder of how much pain comes when we mistake outward differences for deeper truth.

Yet the cinematography is superb, and Mia Goth is nothing short of magnificent. She further confirms that she is not merely a horror actress but a rare virtuoso who plays the genre itself as one might a Stradivarius, with fearless precision, unsettling grace, and a wicked, intoxicating command that leaves one breathless.

And I must say, Alexandre Desplat's score was a pleasure to hear.

[brewski]

Bullitt (1968, dir. Peter Yates). A perennial fave. And though the car chase gets all the attention, I really like the editing in the last half hour, with Steve McQueen pursuing a suspect through the San Francisco airport.

[Karl Henning]

Bullitt (1968, dir. Peter Yates). A perennial fave. And though the car chase gets all the attention, I really like the editing in the last half hour, with Steve McQueen pursuing a suspect through the San Francisco airport.

Time I watched this,  really. Back when the MFA's Special Exhibit was Ralph Lauren's car collection, Bullitt was one of the DVDs on sale at the Gift Shop.

[brewski]

Time I watched this,  really. Back when the MFA's Special Exhibit was Ralph Lauren's car collection, Bullitt was one of the DVDs on sale at the Gift Shop.

It's quite entertaining. PS, I just found this article on the Mustang used in the film, which is sensational. If nothing else, whatever happened to dark green as a color choice? As a non-car owner, I don't really care, but today's car world is a bit dull.

[Karl Henning]

It's quite entertaining. PS, I just found this article on the Mustang used in the film, which is sensational. If nothing else, whatever happened to dark green as a color choice? As a non-car owner, I don't really care, but today's car world is a bit dull.

Our first car as a family was a dark green Dodge Intrepid. It was one handsome set of wheels. 

[71 dB]

THE CHILL FACTOR (Christopher Webster, 1989)

Objectively this is quite bad movie, a low budget straight to video slasher. In this case released only years later in 1993 on VHS under the title Demon Possessed. Since I have become much more interested of lower budget movies from the 80's in the last 10 years or so, I checked this out on Youtube (a butchered version to avoid age restriction issues). I liked it surprisingly much and I purchased the movie on Blu-ray (Arrowfilm FCD1899). Now I have seen the whole movie with significantly better picture quality.

This movie has a strange atmosphere created by amateurish acting, new-age kind of music and certain kind of honesty that I can't put into words. The use of camera is pretty okay and the cinematography (Joseph Friedman) is even good! The cuts are pleasantly slow helping with the feel of honesty I think. It is as if the movie says to the viewer: "Look, the actors in this movie aren't the greatest, but they tried their best and we didn't try to hide bad acting with fast cuts and other tricks because we wanted to be honest." I like how the characters in this movie aren't "total jerks" nor "heroes", but feel like normal people. I like a lot the combination of the music (John Tatgenhorst), cinematography and slow cutting. I also like the fact that the plot in this movie isn't more complex than it needs to be and the movie has time to make each scene meaningful even if the runtime is only 85 minutes. The gruesome scenes look unintentionally funny rather than scary.

Some scenes are edited in a lousy/confusing way and could have been done better, but since the plot is so simple, this doesn't ruin anything really. Also, why does the voiceover narration sound a man's voice when it is Jeannie recalling the events? Why isn't Dawn Laurrie who plays Jeannie doing the voiceover? Or at least someone who doesn't sound like a man!? I also wonder why it takes so long for the snowplower driver to stop the snowplower when running over Tom? That scene makes so little sense (but I have to admit the crushing of Tom looks quite good). Well, plot holes and things that make little sense are part of movies like this. Also, I wish the soundtrack was at least stereo. It is crazy to have movies made in 1989 that have mono sound, but that's low budget straight to video for you. Despite the negative things, I like this movie surprisingly much in a guilty pleasure kind of way. It is a bad movie that happens to be to my taste thanks to good cinematography*, strange music and slow cuts. I much rather watch this than the newest Bond movies.

Objectively 1/5
Subjectively (to my liking) 4/5


* Modern movies in general have dull "Netflix cinematography". Since modern digital cameras can capture noise-free images in almost any lighting, the art of lighting the scenes has been disappearing. Movies are nowadays shot using dull lighting that allows maximal flexibility in the post production. It is efficient, but it means many modern movies even with large budgets look garbage. A low-budget straight to video slasher from 1989 can have superior cinematography.

[brewski]

No Country for Old Men (2007, dir. Joel and Ethan Coen). Despite being a big fan of the Coen Brothers, I had never seen this film, and it's one of their best. Between the screenplay (co-written by Cormac McCarthy), the performances, and the photography by Roger Deakins, there is a lot to admire. Since this is a music board, I also loved the use of sound. The score is credited to Carter Burwell, but there's only about 10 minutes or so of music in the entire two hours. Most of what you hear are natural sounds, often very quiet.

[Karl Henning]

No Country for Old Men (2007, dir. Joel and Ethan Coen). Despite being a big fan of the Coen Brothers, I had never seen this film, and it's one of their best. Between the screenplay (co-written by Cormac McCarthy), the performances, and the photography by Roger Deakins, there is a lot to admire. Since this is a music board, I also loved the use of sound. The score is credited to Carter Burwell, but there's only about 10 minutes or so of music in the entire two hours. Most of what you hear are natural sounds, often very quiet.

I was late to watch this, too. Agreed that it is at the top of their game. Not sure I quite like it, but I should watch again and revisit it.

[brewski]

I was late to watch this, too. Agreed that it is at the top of their game. Not sure I quite like it, but I should watch again and revisit it.

Javier Bardem has to be one of the most dispassionate psychopaths in film history, coupled with a lot of violence. I was most wowed with the photography and the sound. The quietude of the final scene sneaked up on me.

[Karl Henning]

Javier Bardem has to be one of the most dispassionate psychopaths in film history, coupled with a lot of violence. I was most wowed with the photography and the sound. The quietude of the final scene sneaked up on me.

It's an astounding performance,  and a deeply disturbing character/scenario.

[Cato]

* Modern movies in general have dull "Netflix cinematography". Since modern digital cameras can capture noise-free images in almost any lighting, the art of lighting the scenes has been disappearing. Movies are nowadays shot using dull lighting that allows maximal flexibility in the post production. It is efficient, but it means many modern movies even with large budgets look like garbage. A low-budget straight to video slasher from 1989 can have superior cinematography.

This topic has been making the rounds of various YouTube critics:

...and...

On topic, and as an example of great cinematography under difficult conditions, in addition to a great story and performances...

Sorcerer, directed by William Friedkin in the 1970's. 


In one sense, a "guy movie," but a strange spirituality haunts (at least some of) the Hell-bent main characters.

[Karl Henning]

@brewski here was my first take:

Not my favorite of their output. Let's say I have at best a limited interest in a study of the biodiversity of "Second Amendment People." Okay, so we've got the psychopathic Javier Bardem, the coolly businesslike Woody Harrelson and the more-or-less everyman Josh Brolin. And they're not going to sing Kumbaya together at the campfire. I suppose what I liked best about the yarn is that Tommy Lee Jones' sheriff is easily the most humane character, but as he sadly observes, he's "overmatched." Nihilistic conclusion: mere law-abiding humanity is no match for the sociopathy around us. Sadly on point for our day, but that doesn't inspire love on my part. YMMV.

I mean, the execution (on the part of the Bros Coen) is characteristically excellent, and the movie deserved its awards.

[Karl Henning]

TD: For the Day: Hannah and Her Sisters.

[Karl Henning]

TD: For the Day: Hannah and Her Sisters.

When you're right, you're right. 
Max von Sydow: "He's a glorified accountant, and he's after you."

[Karl Henning]

TD: For the Day: Hannah and Her Sisters.

"I'll dye Easter eggs, if it works...."

[Karl Henning]

TD: For the Day: Hannah and Her Sisters.

As with a book, one gets different things out of a good movie with each visitation. I'm conscious that in past viewings I concentrated on Elliot's being such a reckless heel, and how poorly he treats Hannah. Today I was strongly impressed with how soft a landing the drama comes to, better than Elliot deserves, but a mercy to the much-suffering Hannah; the fact that no, Elliot didn't foul up Lee's ife; the "happy echo" of Mickey's "migrating" to another sister;  and thus how satisfying the ending really is.

[Karl Henning]

Also for the Day: Planes, Trains & Automobiles.