What Movies Did You Watch Last Week? (11/09-17/09) closed

Hey!

American Made - will definitely check out eventually for Cruise.

Behind the Candelabra - I've seen some clips from this and will definitely watch it sometime.

Nocturnal Animals - my favorite of last year as well. 8.5/10

Zootopia - in my top 10 of last year. 8/10

Slow West - still haven't got around to rewatching it, but I certainly liked it the first time. 7.5/10

A Single Man - Firth is very good here and the story was solid. 7/10

Alien: Covenant - 7/10


First Time Viewings:


The Hero (2017, Brett Haley)
In this one an ailing movie star comes to terms with his past and his mortality. The basic story is nothing we haven't seen before, but it's well shot, has good music choices, and is held together by a very strong performance from Sam Elliott.
7/10


I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997, Jim Gillespie)
In this one, a group of teens accidentally kill a man with their car and dispose of the body. The following year they find out someone know what they did and is coming after them. The cast is solid and there are some really good scenes in this one. I didn't really care much for the two guy characters though and the last act was weaker than the first two. Overall it's a perfectly watchable Horror movie that is fairly entertaining throughout, but never really does anything to stand out from the rest of the pack.
6/10


Baby Driver (2017, Edgar Wright)
Edgar Wright's latest film doesn't feel that much like one of his movies, but I still really enjoyed it. It has a strong cast, a terrific soundtrack, nice editing, and I really liked the story and the different places they went with it. It's pretty intense in parts and I felt the film got better as it went along. One of the best of the year and another damn good one from Edgar Wright.
8/10


The Return of the Living Dead (1985, Dan O'Bannon)
In this horror comedy classic, two bumbling employees at a warehouse accidentally unleash a deadly gas, causing the dead to rise from the grave. The cast is solid and there are a few fun characters in this one and the balance between comedy and horror was done pretty well. The soundtrack is really good and the film itself is pretty fun throughout.
7/10


Annabelle (2014, John R. Leonetti)
This prequel to The Conjuring (2013) tells the story of a young couple that begins to experience supernatural occurrences involving a vintage doll shortly after their home is invaded by satanic cultists. Annabelle Wallis is good in the lead role and the film has a few effectively creepy scenes, but for the most part it's typical haunting type stuff.
5.5/10


Annabelle: Creation (2017, David F. Sandberg)
This one serves as a prequel to the prequel and it's a step up from the first one. The cast is solid and there are some really good scenes, including the ending which does a wonderful job tying it in with the first film. It's a solid enough horror movie, but nothing special.
6/10


RocknRolla (2008, Guy Ritchie)
I've been interested in this for quite a while, but it ended up a pretty big disappointment. The cast is good and there are a few individual scenes that I really liked, but the whole film feels like Ritchie is trying to recapture the success of a couple of his earlier films, but failing.
5.5/10


The Hitcher (1986, Robert Harmon)
In this one a young man escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker, only to find himself framed for his crimes. I thought C. Thomas Howell's performance as the lead was a bit inconsistent, but Jennifer Jason Leigh turns in a good performance, and Rutger Hauer makes for a memorable villain. The score is good, the film is pretty intense in parts, and the whole thing has a dreamlike (more nightmare) quality, which I liked. I did find some parts a bit ridiculous, but overall it's a pretty good horror thriller.
7/10


The Devil's Rejects (2005, Rob Zombie)
This one follows a murderous family that is on the run with vengeful police force hot on their tail. I hated the first half of the film, as I found it disgusting and very off putting pretty much from the start. It started to make me pretty angry actually (much like Zombie's Halloween movies) because I despised the main characters and the performances did nothing to make them at least somewhat compelling or interesting. The second half turned things around and saved the movie from being complete shit. The second half was actually pretty decent, with some of the attempted humor among the depravity finally working, a few strong scenes, and more focus on William Forsythe's sheriff character, who was easily the best character and performance in the movie. This one was a pretty odd experience, but thanks to a solid second half I didn't flat out hate it. I certainly didn't like it though.
5/10




Repeat Viewings:


Tomorrow Never Dies (1997, Robert Spottiswoode)
Pierce Brosnan's second outing as Bond is a fun one, with a good villain, cool action, a badass main Bond girl, and a good storyline.
7/10


The World is Not Enough (1999, Michael Apted)
When I was a kid this was actually my favorite bond movie. I don't like it nearly as much these days, but I still enjoy it. It has a good villain, a solid storyline, and it's pretty fun throughout.
7/10


Die Another Day (2002, Lee Tamahori)
In the past I kind of hate this one, but on this viewing I didn't dislike it nearly as much. I still think it's easily the worst official Bond movie (and the only one I don't like), but the first half of the film is actually pretty solid. It's really just the second half where it loses me. I still hate Halle Berry's character and performance, some of the effects are terrible, and the villain is pretty damn weak. I also dislike some of the camerawork and editing and Madonna's theme is awful. There are a few fun action scenes though, Brosnan is still very good, and it's pretty well paced.
5.5/10


Casino Royale (2006, Martin Campbell)
For me this is the best of the series. Daniel Craig is the most badass Bond, the action scenes are brilliant, it has one of the best Bond girls, a really good score, a great villain, and a great story.
9/10


Quantum of Solace (2008, Marc Forster)
As a follow up to Casino Royale this one is definitely disappointing, but I've still always enjoyed it. The shaky cam and fast editing in the action scenes can be a bit annoying, but I've seen worse. I feel like the film could have been longer, so it could flesh out the story more, but overall it's a fun entry in the series, but one that could have been much better.
7/10


Skyfall (2012, Sam Mendes)
This one has the best villain of the series, the best song of the series, and the best cinematography of the series. The story has a few issues, but it makes up for many of its flaws with the things I previously mentioned. It also has a great score and is one of the most emotionally gripping films of the series.
8.5/10


Spectre (2015, Sam Mendes)
The latest Bond film is unfairly criticized in my opinion. Sure it has some problems, but it has most of the elements to make a classic Bond film. It's also just a lot of fun and has great pacing.
8/10


Split (2017, M. Night Shyamalan)
I really enjoyed this at the theater, but I liked it even more this time. The story is really well done and the tie in at the end is pretty cool. James McAvoy is brilliant here and Anya Taylor-Joy and Betty Buckley are both very good as well. It also has a great score, good cinematography, and many fantastic scenes.
8/10




Movie Awards:


BEST FILM - Casino Royale
BEST ACTOR - James McAvoy (Split)
BEST ACTRESS - Anya Taylor-Joy (Split)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Javier Bardem (Skyfall)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Betty Buckley (Split)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - Roger Deakins (Skyfall)
BEST SCORE - Thomas Newman (Skyfall)
BEST SCRIPT - Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis (Casino Royale)
BEST DIRECTOR - Martin Campbell (Casino Royale)

Are Escape from New York and Christine a tie?

I disagree. She is awful.

The acting isn't my problem with RocknRolla, though I do think Butler is bland as usual.

Return of the Living Dead is just a lot of fun and easily the ost creative zombie movie I have seen.

I agree Waltz is somewhat doing the same thing again but he does it very effectively. If I didn't like his performance as much as I do, I would rate the movie 6.5/10. He is creepy as hell in it imo and he plays it fully serious here, which is different from the two Tarantino movies.

Interesting that you liked the beginning of Baby Driver more and I liked the ending more. It's my least favorite of his well known movies as well, but I rate all 5 of them 8/10.

Though there were many things I liked about The Hitcher, Rutger Hauer was what made it work overall for me.

I also like the first half of Baby Driver better than the rest.

Rutger Hauer and the dreamlike tone (cinematography and score) are why I like it so much. I think it is a creepy movie.

I liked the dreamlike tone as well, but had someone else played the villain to lesser effect, it probably wouldn't have got a thumbs up from me.