Post by william on May 7, 2018 0:56:19 GMT
Welcome back to another week of the BEST & WORST edition of 'what movies did you see last week?' thread. For those who haven't been part of it before, basically your hosts (us) posts our weekly movies and you can comment on those and list your movie for the same time frame. We will get back to you on yours and you can talk to other users here about their films. It's a great place to talk about film.
FIRST TIME MOVIE VIEWING
Don't Bother to Knock (1952, Roy Baker)
Determined to be taken more seriously as an actress, Marilyn Monroe finds herself in a curious film noir starring Richard Widmark (Night and the City)as an airline pilot who after being dumped by his girlfriend (Anne Bancroft), pursues a babysitter (Monroe) in his hotel and gradually realizes she's dangerous. The film has a good premise and an interesting style and pace for the time but lacks the directional flare needed for a mostly single location film.
6.5/10
Solace (2015, Alfonso Poyart)
tv
This thriller about a psychic (Anthony Hopkins) who works with the F.B.I., in order to hunt down a serial killer feels cheap and inconsequential with its digital photography that looks like a television production.
It is a perfectly fine time-waster but little more.
5/10
Niagara (1953, Henry Hathaway)
This technicolor film noir that follows two couples are visiting Niagara Falls makes the most of the beautiful location and the stunning Marilyn Monroe to make the film a visual treat. However the fairly cliche'd premise is not helped by the lack of a solid through line in the narrative or a real lead character.
5/10
The Dark Tower (2017, Nikolaj Arcel)
tv
I have never read the source material for this Steven King adaptation so I have no expectations going in but even I could tell that the story was crammed and rushed. It was not as bad as it's reputation and has some good casting with some memorable scenes. It kind of felt like a horror version of The Never Ending Story.
4.5/10
Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969, Robert Parrish)
The film sees the European Space Exploration Council sending two astronauts to explore a planet similar to the Earth but located on the opposite side of the sun.
The premise throughout is great but the execution of the story is very poor. The film takes forever to get going focusing on things that do not move the story forward at all.
3.5/10
REPEAT MOVIE VIEWING
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, Bryan Singer)
blu ray
The third part of the prequel trilogy of X-Men films is the worst of the bunch with a rushed story, weak character design and an over reliance on digital effects. It still has some amazing moments, especially involving Magneto in the first half of the film.
6.5/10
Great Balls of Fire! (1989, Jim McBride)
tv
This oddball biopic covers the life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid).
5.5/10
FIRST TIME DOCUMENTARY VIEWING
The Rachel Divide (2018, Laura Brownson)
netflix
Rachel Dolezal becomes a social phenomenon when she passes herself off as an African American and becomes the head of her local N.A.A.C.P. chapter.
The film is interesting but I think they let her off to lightly in exchange for her co-operation.
Somewhat Recommended
FIRST TIME TV VIEWING
The Walking Dead (2017-2018 Season EIGHT)
tv
Not a great season, a coupe of better episodes but a lot of water treading. Show desperately needs a new direction but did not get one.
Not Recommended
WEEKLY AWARDS
BEST FILM: X-Men: Apocalypse
BEST ACTOR: Michael Fassbender - X-Men Apocalypse
BEST ACTRESS: Winona Ryder - Great Balls of Fire
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Solace
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Marilyn Monroe - Don't Bother to Knock
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Joseph McDonald - Niagara
BEST DIRECTOR: Henry Hathaway - Niagara
10/10 - Perfection (or as close to it as possible)
09/10 - An Excellent film
08/10 - A VERY Good film
07/10 - A Good film
06/10 - A Solid film
05/10 - An Average film
04/10 - Below Average film
03/10 - A mostly bad film
02/10 - A mostly terrible film
01/10 - Awful through and through
00/10 - Not only awful but offensive too
Yours:
Don't Bother to Knock 7.5/10
I enjoyed it, I thought Marilyn was very good in the role, kind of creepy but very human too.
Niagara 8/10
I liked it, it's beautiful visually and the cast is good. I actually liked that there's no clear lead, what happens to Marilyn's character really caught me by surprise, I wasn't expecting it.
X Men: Apocalypse 5/10
Didn't like it much. It felt too long, IMO, and too much CGI...
Great Balls of Fire 7.5/10
Watched it a while ago, I remember enjoying it but not much else.
Mine:
You Were Never Really Here 6/10
It's Lynne Ramsay movie with Joaquin Phoenix. He's good, I thought the movie was so-so though, I didn't care much for the style, I found it a bit annoying.
Detective Story 7.5/10
It's a William Wyler movie, with Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker, it's about a day in a New York police precint. Some parts feel a bit dated, but Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker are very good. It gets really dark, I wasn't expecting that.
Urban Cowboy 8/10
The movie with John Travolta and Debra Winger. I like it, I think it's underrated. I like the atmosphere, and Debra Winger is great.