Last Movie You Watched

[Kalevala]

Currently watching Conclave with Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossallini and others.  And, yes, it's about what you would think it would be about:  the election of the new pope after the last one has passed away.  About halfway through it.  I had started it the other day, but too late in the day.

Really enjoying it!  Off to take care of some laundry, then back to it.

K

[SimonNZ]

Director Julie Taymor's commentary track

[LKB]

I just re-watched ( again! ) 2019's The Lighthouse, featuring exceptional performances by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe.

Check it out if you haven't already, but be warned: This is, in some ways, more of a David Lynch film than anything Maestro Lynch was actually able to bring to fruition.

Very graphic in a few places, but also featuring a world-beating monologue for Dafoe, as well as a some amazing work by Pattinson.

[Madiel]

At this moment I'm pausing halfway through the Irish film The Quiet Girl



I'll come back when I'm done.

EDIT: A lovely small-scale film, a little bit sad, and honestly a bit emotionally manipulative right near the end but I didn't resent that at all.

There are some really beautiful shots in there as well. The whole film looks good, but certain moments made me want to sort of sink into the landscape.

[hopefullytrusting]

At least one from each:

[relm1]

I saw Minari yesterday.  This was a very good film.  Nothing big, very subtle but so deeply honest and heartfelt.  I related to every character and understood the sacrifices and needs they had.  Excellent performances and script showing you don't need a villain or loud volume or overt performances for a film to be great.  By the time it ended, I felt so invested in this little family and their experiences and really connected with them.  I had so many thoughts afterwords, it's been a very long time since a film did that to me.

[DavidW]

Nosferatu captures the atmosphere of the Klaus Kinski version with its unique cinematography. It is also much more explicit in terms of violence, sex, and nudity.

Bill Skarsgard stands out for finding a way to deliver his own interesting performance and move out of Klaus Kinski's shadow.

And yes I am familiar with the 1922 original, I just think this feels like a remake of the newer one.

[Cato]

At this moment I'm pausing halfway through the Irish film The Quiet Girl



I'll come back when I'm done.

EDIT: A lovely small-scale film, a little bit sad, and honestly a bit emotionally manipulative right near the end but I didn't resent that at all.

There are some really beautiful shots in there as well. The whole film looks good, but certain moments made me want to sort of sink into the landscape.

Yes, The Quiet Girl is a marvelous movie!

I saw Wicked yesterday, which apparently will be more than twice as long as the stage musical!  (2 hours and a half).  "Part I" is basically the first act: Part I lasts 2 hours and 40 minutes!

I knew nothing about the musical, except that it had made stars out of Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel 20 years ago or so, and that it was a "prequel" to The Wizard of Oz.

My impressions: for most of the movie, I thought I was watching one of Reese Witherspoon's Legally Blonde epics: the only thing seemingly missing was a chihuahua!   

It is preachy beyond belief: did you know what being different is just fine?  Well, it is!!!  BEING DIFFERENT IS JUST FINE!!!          

And bad people are sometimes made bad because of the way people treat them!  And good people are sometimes bad!!!  Did you know THAT?   

The movie will beat you over the head with those ideas!    

The music I found uninteresting, even clumsy, and the "dancing" is, I suppose, typical of what passes today for "dancing."  The leads tend to shout words rather than sing musical notes.

Jeff Goldblum is terrible, seeming to be showing up at a talk show for off-the cuff banter.

Michelle Yeoh seems to have been injected with too much botox, as she seems frozen stiff in many scenes.

The editing spoils many things: the camera rarely lingers on any of the admittedly colorful and fascinating sets, unless it is on the face of one of the leads, which means you will see either an emotionless actress staring or an actress staring with one emotion. One scene has a "library wheel" which is interesting, but which is impossible to see clearly because you get 2-second glimpses of it, as the editor apparently suffered from Adult ADHD.

On the other hand, we only paid $3.00 for the tickets at a little local theater, so we got our money's worth!      Mrs. Cato liked the movie in general, enjoying the sets and computer animation, which were very nice!

[Karl Henning]

Quite off-season by now: A Christmas Story. Having seen buts of it now and then, I'd been meaning to watch the whole. This was thw second year when it was checked out from the Library. This year, I chanced to check the shelf and lo! it was there. My overall feeling is on the lines of "that's 90 minutes I'll never get back." There is no sharp resentment, since the whole is in harmony with the parts I had seen (and long ago I read one of Jean Shepherd's books, which failed to spark enthusiasm in me like unto that of some schoolmates.) I didn't hate it, but it doesn't really resonate with me, somehow. Unlike many another Christmas movie, I'll never watch this again.

[hopefullytrusting]

I love 1990s hacking: Under Siege 2

[Number Six]

Green and Gold

Saw this one at the cinema yesterday. Stars Craig T Nelson as an elderly Wisconsin dairy farmer in the mid-1990s who holds on to the old ways. He's in conflict with his granddaughter, who wants to be a musician not a farmer. And he's in conflict with the bank.

It's a well-acted and beautifully shot meditation on holding true to your principles and slowing down to appreciate life. The script is a bit messily edited (a lot of reviews called it Hallmark level writing, but I think it's a little better than that).

Oh, and our protagonist is a massive Packers superfan (hence the film's title).

I decided earlier this week that I needed a break from all the doomscrolling and dark media that's been my habit, and so this movie really hit the spot. Other viewers are likely to find it a bit saccharine. I am glad I watched this instead of my intended film, Companion.

[Karl Henning]

The first year I'm watching Groundhog Day in a timely manner. Added bonus: we've got some holistically appropriate snow a-falling!

[LKB]

Quite off-season by now: A Christmas Story. Having seen buts of it now and then, I'd been meaning to watch the whole. This was thw second year when it was checked out from the Library. This year, I chanced to check the shelf and lo! it was there. My overall feeling is on the lines of "that's 90 minutes I'll never get back." There is no sharp resentment, since the whole is in harmony with the parts I had seen (and long ago I read one of Jean Shepherd's books, which failed to spark enthusiasm in me like unto that of some schoolmates.) I didn't hate it, but it doesn't really resonate with me, somehow. Unlike many another Christmas movie, I'll never watch this again.

Karl, while it's unfortunate that your reaction to the film was, shall we say, " unimpressed ", I'd say your willingness to take on such a seasonal offering in February is at least notable.

I myself have no problem re-watching reactions to the various iterations of A Christmas Carol. Whether it's Scott, Stewart or Sim, the main message is every bit as important at any time, as it is during the Holidays.

[Number Six]

the main message is every bit as important at any time, as it is during the Holidays.

It was important enough to inspire Madame Web that she could change the future, too!

[Karl Henning]

Karl, while it's unfortunate that your reaction to the film was, shall we say, " unimpressed ", I'd say your willingness to take on such a seasonal offering in February is at least notable.

I myself have no problem re-watching reactions to the various iterations of A Christmas Carol. Whether it's Scott, Stewart or Sim, the main message is every bit as important at any time, as it is during the Holidays.

Aye, A Christmas Carol I can watch anytime. 

[hopefullytrusting]

A standout in a genre that, for me, far too often blends together: Goodfellas



It really is the Ray Liotta show; he's the one who sells it, in my opinion.

[relm1]

A standout in a genre that, for me, far too often blends together: Goodfellas



It really is the Ray Liotta show; he's the one who sells it, in my opinion.

I think it's Joe Pesci's show. 

[hopefullytrusting]

I think it's Joe Pesci's show. 

I find him too similar that many of his characters simply blend together for me.

[SonicMan46]

Last few nights, talked Susan into watching two non-musical versions of Anna and the King of Siam:

1999 w/ Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat - filmed in Malaysia in gorgeous color and scenery - Foster rather staid in her role - ratings 2 1/2*/4* in both Videohound & Maltin; Roger Ebert's review HERE, if interested - we liked the film for its imagery, less for the acting - I'd do a 3/5 rating on Amazon.

1946 w/ Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison (his first film) - excellent acting (even Lee J. Cobb as the main aide to the king!) - story carried to the end w/ the king's death and ascendancy of his eldest son, educated by Anna - we both feel this was a much better film; 3 1/2*/4* in the sources above - here I'd do a 4/5 on Amazon.  Dave

 

[hopefullytrusting]

Narc is the film that caused me to go back and rewatch Ray Liotta; he was so imposing and intimidating (he's a born scene stealer):