Post by darksidebeadle on Nov 19, 2020 11:20:42 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 host (me) posts my weekly movies and you can comment on those and list your movie for the same time frame. I 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
On the Rocks (2020, Sofia Coppola)
Whilst this has to be the directors best work since Lost in Translation, it dies feel a little slight and certainly doesn't penetrate your soul. However when ever Bill Murray is on screen it is an absolute joy to watch. The rest of the cast are fiine, its nice to look at but the writing does feel like a timely antidote to whats been going on in the world whether its meant to or not.
7/10
The Sniper (Edward Dymtryk)
This film noir is pretty riveting and hard hitting. It follows an angry man who is shooting women that have annoyed him and the police who are trying to track him down. It for the most part handled well throughout but the ending is a real letdown and kind of soured me on it,
6/10
Moonstruck (1987, Norman Jewison)
This New York set love story starring Cher (Mask) and Nicolas Cage (Vampire's Kiss) is passable enough for the first two acts but I felt the B story with Olympia Dukakis (Steel Magnolias). Nicolas Cage is pretty terrible and does not suit the tone of the film but I will say it comes together much better in the final act which somewhat saves the film.
6/10
A Life in the Balance (1955, Harry Horner, Rafael Portillo)
Ricardo Montalban (Border Incident) plays a man in Mexio city who is mistaken for a serial killer. This thriller has a good cast but never jives quite right.
4.5/10
REPEAT MOVIE VIEWING
Laura (1944, Otto Preminger)
This Film Noir is a glossy respectable A-Film that I saw a very long time ago but did not like as much as its reputation. So I gave it another attempt and this time it really worked for me and I found it quite thrilling.
7.5/10
Donnie Brasco (1997, Mike Newell)
Netflix
This true story gangster film has always sat in the shadows of films like Goodfellas as a second tier gangster film despite its casts pedigree. Depp is at his best in these straighter roles and Pacino is wonderful playing against type for these kind of films.
7.5/10
Murder My Sweet (1944, Edward Dymtryk)
blu ray
This is the first film to put the famous Raymond Chandler pulp novel detective Philip Marlowe to the big screen. Dick Powell has the honour of being the first and for my money is the best. Not unlike most of Chandlers stories this one is pretty convoluted, non sensical, hard to follow and a good time.
6.5/10
Out of the Past (1947, Jacques Tourneur)
blu ray
Robert Mitchum plays a private eye who escapes his past to run a gas station in a small town, but his past catches up with him. Now he must return to the big city world of danger, corruption, double crosses and duplicitous dames.
The film has a lot going on in it and it does it well but teh second half becomes a little hard to follow as it over complicates itself.
6.5/10
The Asphalt Jungle (1950, John Huston)
This was the third of three noirs I was revisiting to see if they faired better. This film is well made but it just does not feel urgent enough and meanders. The actual heist in the film is the best part but the rest I can not agree with its reputation.
5.5/10
FIRST TIME DOCUMENTARY VIEWING
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011, Michael Rappaport)
Great documentary about the legandary alternative rap group A Tribe Called Quest.
Recommended
WEEKLY FILM AWARDS
BEST FILM: Laura
BEST ACTOR: Bill Murray - On the Rocks
BEST ACTRESS: Jane Greer - Out of the Past
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Al Pacino - Donnie Brasco
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Olympia Dukakis - Moonstruck
BEST EDITING: Joseph Noriega - Murder My Sweet
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Joseph LaShelle - Laura
BEST SCRIPT: Jay Dratler - Laura
BEST SCORE: George Anthiel - The Sniper
BEST DIRECTOR: Otto Preminger - Laura
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
Here I am.
I'm definitely going to see On the Rocks.
Yours:
Laura 8/10
I liked it. Loved Gene Tierney. I like Dana Andrews too.
Donnie Brasco 7.5/10
I enjoyed it, maybe less than other people, though. The cast was great. Loved Al.
Murder, My Sweet 7.5/10
I enjoyed it. I like Dick Powell in the role.
Out of the Past 9/10
Classic, for me. Love the atrmosphere. Maybe I felt the ending was a bit abrubt, but I didn't mind that.
The Asphalt Jungle 10/10
Oh, masterpiece for me. I found it really moving too. The acting is fantastic.
Mine:
Sunlight Jr. 7/10
It's a movie with Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon, it's about a couple, he's paralyzed and she works a crap job, they barely make ends meet, then she gets pregnant and things get messy. I though it was O.K., Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon are good, it felt a bit bland though. I don't know, it should have felt grittier, IMO.
12 Angry Men 9/10
Sidney Lumet movie, with Henry Fonda. Classic, it's very intense. The cast is great, loved Henry Fonda. Lee J. Cobb too.
The Moon is Blue 6/10
It's a Otto Preminger movie, with William Holden and David Niven, it's a comedy, it's about a playboy architect who tries to seduce a struggling actress/model, but then the father of his ex fianceè, who's also a playboy. I thought it was so-so, I liked the second part more. David Niven was funny, he played the fianceè's father, but he was either too young for the role, or William Holden was too old, IMO.
China Girl 8/10
It's an Abel Ferrara movie. It's basically Romeo and Juliet, only set between NY gangs, it's about the member of a Little Italy gang and the sister of the leader of an enemy Chinatown gang who fall in love. I liked it, I liked the style, the gritty 80s NY vibe. The score too.
nor heard of Sunlight Jr.
China girl is on my watchlist
12 Angry Men - an absolute classic. Great cast. The Friedkin remake is great too if you can find it. 8/10