What Films did You Watch Last Week (22/08 - 28/08) CLOSED

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

Model Shop (1969, Jacques Demy)
This film was one of the inspirations for Tarantino's Once Upon a time in Hollywood with its long takes of Driving around LA. It follows an unemployed, broke man who is  about to be drafted to Vietnam who  suddenly madly in love with the divine Lola (of the film Lola from 1961), a woman he has only briefly glimpsed. It is a real hangout film with no complex plot, just characters and scenery, it wont be for everyone but I dug it.
7/10

Don Juan DeMarco (1994, Jeremy Leven)
I saw the last third of this film years ago but never the whole thing. It stars Marlon Brando as a psychiatrist who must cure a young patient (Johnny Depp) who presents himself as Don Juan, the world's greatest lover. It is pretty light and fun with good performances.
6.5/10

Breezy (1973, Clint Eastwood)
This is the first film Eastwood directed that he did not star in and its a romance drama film. It has strong performances and is quite engaging but the age different of the leads doesn't lend itself credibly to the screen. Despite this its pretty good.
6-6.5/10

Betsy's Wedding (1990, Alan Alda)
Alda writes, directs and stars in this all star vehicle that is mostly pretty amusing. Alda is obviously aping Woody Allens writing a but but its not as consistent. The film drags in the middle a bit but finishes strong.
6/10

The Boxer (1997, Jim Sheriden)
I watched this for Daniel Day-Lewis who plays Danny Flynn  who is released from prison 14 years after "taking the rap" for the IRA and tries to rebuild his life in his old Belfast neighbourhood. It is a pretty small story told well enough and everyone in it is good but its not the juicy role that lets Lewis shine like you are used to.
6/10

The Phantom of the Open (2022, Craig Roberts)
Wryly amusing true story of Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist who manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.  Mark Rylance is great in the lead, its a good enough time passer.
6/10

Nothing But the Truth (2008, Rod Lurie)
Set in Washington, D.C., a reporter (Kate Beckinsale) faces a possible jail sentence for outing a CIA agent (Vera Farmiga) and refusing to reveal her source. It is a good cast and a realistically told story but the direction is uninspired, feeling like made for TV when it wasn't.
5.5-6/10

Blood & Wine (1996, Bob Rafelson)
This film had all the pieces in place, a crime story with a great cast and a suitable budget but it just doesn't come together. Jack Nicholson stars as a man who has failed as a father and husband who commits a heist to make money for his fledging business, but things become complicated when his wife interferes. I wish this was better but alas no.
4.5/10

REPEAT MOVIE VIEWING

Drive (2011, Nicolas Winding Refn)
4k UHD Disc
I watched this a few weeks back after years of not viewing and now I have returned to it much quicker. My review from weeks ago below.
I suspect this film has lost some of its societal lustre from the lesser reaction of his subsequent films and that the director dies not come off that great in interviews. I was curious if a long overdue rewatch would leave me as impressed as I was a decade ago. In short I was blown away at the atmosphere this creates and the film seemed better than ever to me.
8.5/10

The Devil in a Blue Dress (1995, Carl Franklin)
4k UHD Disc
This great mostly black cast Neo Noir set in the classic period stars Denzel Washington as an amateur investigator trying to track down a white woman but there are a lot of interested parties. Great production design and a superb cast makes this a good film, but not a great one.
7.5/10

The Relic (1997, Peter Hyams)
Not seen since the cinema in 97 and it was about what it was then, an okay enough time passer monster movie with minimal character development.
5/10

Videodrome (1983, David Cronenberg)
I am not the biggest Cronenberg fan, I only really like three of his films. So it took me a long time to return to this one as I di not like it although admittedly I was very tired when I first saw it. It fared a little better this time but I still do not like it much.
5/10

FIRST TIME TV VIEWING

The Rehearsal (2022, Season One)
This funny documentary/ reality tv series with high concept leanings is quite something. It is hard to explain but the basic set up is that Nathan Fielder gives people a chance to rehearse for their own lives in a world where nothing ever works out as expected.
Great TV

Derry Girls (2018, Season One)
Netflix
This Irish comedy is fairly amusing but I would recommend subtitles
Good TV

REPEAT TV WATCHING

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2009, Season Two)
blu ray
My third time through this show, it is really great. It is the sequel to the first two Terminator films creating its own disticnt tmeline that is superior to any of the sequel movies.
Great TV

WEEKLY FILM AWARDS

BEST FILM: Drive
BEST ACTOR: Denzel Washington - Devil in a blue dress
BEST ACTRESS: Kay Lenz - Breezy
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Oscar Isaac - Drive
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Beals - Devil in a Blue Dress
BEST EDITING: Carole Kravetz - Devil in a blue dress
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Newton Thomas Sigel - Drive
BEST SCORE: Cliff Martinez - Drive
BEST SCRIPT: Jeremy Leven - Don Juan DeMarco
BEST DIRECTOR: Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive

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