Last Movie You Saw, Name & Review Movie • Page 189

they aren’t but an earnest debate about the Flinstones vs Night of the Hunter isn’t necessary. History holds their reputations in correct esteem.

 

Hah listen everyone love what you love, that particular back to back just made me chuckle

I’d give the same numerical rating to Paths of Glory and Addams Family Values and I’d expect the same response.

 

You're right. Flintstones is S tier whilst the other is A.

 

Migration
5/10

illumination fodder. that one guy was terrible in this, the marvel guy what’s his name. Elizabeth Banks and Keagan Michael Key were good. Only reason it’s not lower is because there are some absolutely gorgeous, I mean breathtaking shots in here that a movie like this doesn’t deserve to have lol

 

Like Madagascar came on after and these shots look like badly cobbled together video game cutscenes

 

And I'm about to rate Donnie Darko higher than either of them so watch out

 

In all seriousness, I know "rating" movies might be dumb but having a system helps me to look back and recognize how much I actually enjoyed a film based on more than just what I wrote about it. The first thing I do is ask myself if I enjoyed the movie, and honestly, I love movies, so I'm pretty easy to please. Then I ask myself if I thought it was good. My system looks like this:

10 - perfect
9- great
8 - could be great (usually something holding it back or I need to chew on it more)
7 - good
6 - more good than not
5 - not outright bad, but not good either
4 - bad
3 - really bad
2 - one of the worst I've ever seen
1 - irredeemable

Letterboxd is 0-5, but 0-10 on this site gives me those half-steps if I think a film falls somewhere between two levels. But yes, I think The Flintstones could be great, and having only seen The Night of the Hunter once, I also think it could be great lol

 

Ten point scales are better than five point scales

 

3 star scale should be standard. Bad, Good, Great.

 

Whyt

(Which is "why" and "what")

 

The Goodbye Place - 7.5/10
Kind of the anti-Skinamarink, and even though I love that film, I mean that as a compliment. Richard Kelly has a strong concept here, thoughtfully executed considering the budgetary restraints. It's really fascinating to see a short that would eventually lend itself to one of my favorite directorial debuts of all-time.

Donnie Darko - 10/10
This is The One. You get worried when you see a film you love lumped in with other formative angsty teen boy movies, but this just feels like so much more than that, from a technical standpoint and otherwise. The older you get, the more you realize the time travel/time loop stuff is secondary to the idea of extraordinary things happening in a very ordinary, conservative suburban area in the late-80s. The atmosphere, the music (both score and soundtrack), the casting/performances, and the uniquely complex and stylish writing/directing from a VERY young Richard Kelly...it just all comes together in one of the most memorable directorial debuts of all-time. When people talk about enjoying Lynch films because of the way they make you feel as oppose dto actually understanding them structurally, I can't help but think that Donnie Darko works in a way other complex logic vs. feeling films haven't for me in the past.

This film is a series of open-ended questions about free will and destiny, dressed up as the science of time travel, centered around all of the complicated emotions that come with growing into an adult. It's nostalgic, tragic ("How does it feel to have a wacko for a son?" "It feels wonderful."), funny (the Smurfs scene is an all-timer), deeply unsettling, and over 20 years later, it bends genres in a way I haven't quite seen repeated.

Gyllenhaal calling Swayze "the fucking anti-Christ" is quite possibly my favorite moment in film of all-time. Also, they threw Richard Kelly in Diretor Jail because he wouldn't stop making movies with portals in them and we need to free my man.

Deadline - 7.5/10
Still feels like a fascinating, low-budget, Canadian analog to The Shining in which a horror writer's family life begins to fall apart, causing him to confuse his own writing with reality. Lots of fun, bloody cutaway scenes that showcase the author's writing or a movie he's working on, and that's where most of the actual horror comes from here. In reality, it's more of an over-the-top psychological drama, well-directed and fun, but also occasionally unsettling in a way lots of low-budget horror never manages to be.

 

There we have it folks, Donnie Darko and Flintstones are two of the best movies you need to see

 

Haha, just because I had a personal story about visiting the sets of your last movie review.

I now live like 2 minutes from the neighborhood they shot Donnie Darko. The Darko house and Swayze's house are on the same street a couple houses down from each other. They're also next to the Ferris Bueller house and a street away from Jim's house from American Pie (and allegedly the house the guys are painting in American Pie 2, but I haven't been able to confirm this one yet). We love riding bike's through there, and visit every Halloween and Christmas to see the insane decorations the rich people set up. On the off chance you ever find yourself in Long Beach, it's a must visit.

 

That's crazy. Thanks for the tip!

 

Kicking & Screaming (2005) 2.5/5

cute but not very funny at all. it’s not bad and I probably would’ve liked it when I was like 12 years old which makes sense because it’s a pg-13 movie but that doesn’t have to mean sanitized especially for the standards of 2005 but unfortunately in this case it very much is

 

Men - 7.5/10
Wanted to revisit this before seeing Civil War -- a film I'm skeptical, but morbidly curious of -- especially considering I loved it quite a bit initially and know it has a reputation for being Garland's most polarizing work, at least until now. Well, I may have cooled on it, and I understand the primary complaints -- it is somehow both on the nose and painted with broad strokes, and its execution is occasionally questionable (especially Harper's characterization through trauma) -- but I still think it's fascinating at worst and very unsettling at best. The film looks gorgeous, it's complemented by a unique score, and propelled by two masterful performances by Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear. Your mileage may vary with the amount of murky ambiguity throughout the film's third act, not to mention it's all-timer gross-out finale, but Garland's direction feels as purposeful as ever. The choice to have Kinnear play every man in the film, as recognized by the audience, but not have Harper notice or comment on it gives us such an interesting window to view the film's allegories through. It feels like an ambitious failure, but one that may be more appreciated over time.

 

I found it kinda weird that the husband character was played by a black actor, the only person of color in an admittedly very small cast. I'm reminded of it because of this:

 

I haven't given it too much thought as there are only four actors in the film, and he is an abusive character, but to me, the film feels like it defies stereotyping black men by showcasing his character's actions first and then proceeding to show numerous variations of aggression and abuse by white men, but that's just my initial thought. I'd have to chew on it longer.

 

damn check ebay

 

Ready or Not - 8.5/10
I am pleased to report this is still one of the most fun, funny, and well-paced action-horror flicks of the 2010s. This thing barely wastes a minute - 10 minutes of introduction, 20 minutes of exposition, and an hour of nonstop occult action and jokes. The film has a unique visual style and is perfectly cast. Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, and Andie MacDowell? Come on. Everyone is having fun and no one is pretending the movie is any deeper than it needs to be. Fuckin' in-laws.

I am now very excited for Abigail tonight.

 

Crumb (1998) - How much can a documentary about one creepy dude and his drawings say about art, culture, psychology, morality, society and their intersection. A lot. I guess this is what I get for dismissing this exact type of lewd art last month in my review of Funny Pages. I was wrong, the experiences the freaks went through and how that shaped the art they produced and then was interrupted and influenced by society are valid, it's insane and disgusting but it's part of what we are. That is a nice approach for art, that a damaged society should accept the damaged art it produces. Crumb then shows us his brothers and the reality that the vast majority of damaged people will not become famous artists and there is no acceptance to be found.

Bicycle Thieves (1948) - This has been a gap in my cannon watching for a long time. Recently I did some reading on neorealism for context to watching Fellini. Post war Rome becoming its own character similar to Ossos.

Certain Women (2016) - What are we to do in a world that constantly undermines you, these women are asked to endure it gracefully. In our first vinaigrette we see the contrast, Laura (Laura Dern) a smart capable lawyer vs her client Fuller (Jared Harris). Laura works for her client as he dismisses her advice. Fuller is unwilling to quietly accept the unfair reality of his situation, other movies frame men who would rather burn down all they have than suffer their injustice impotently as brave rebellious underdogs but here it is exposed as inconsiderate and childish. We watch Laura mask her frustration and maintain professionalism, we watch men hand wave her well past that line into a hostage situation. Kelly uses a different vinaigrette later to show us Laura in the background back to work, stressed and late getting on with life. Her final we see her visitation with Fuller, the camera letting us admire her unseen perseverance.

The second story has Michelle Williams and a family dynamic but we are skipping to the more interesting final story double feature, two women. Kristen Stewart the stressed teacher and Lily Gladstone a lonely farm hand. Is life a game that can be played and won with clever strategies and determination? Or it is a sequence of events to be endured. The desperation of Lily's solitude ignited by a taste of hope forces her into grand action, similar to Fuller but where they diverge is in Lily's acceptance and realisation that she has misread the situation, that she was about to unwillingly become an unpleasant event to endure for Steward. Go watch this movie, watch Lily Gladstone drive home with her loneliness.

 

I love Crumb.

 

Its an incredible documentary. Facinating personal study that keeps getting more interesting, doesnt hide the critismn and the cultural aspects feel fairly addressed. Then theres the line in the credits that the sisters refused to take part.

 

Crumb is very, very good.

 

Even for someone who's not into the man's art, the movie is fascinating.