Movie What's the last movie you saw? (7)

[Carbine Chaos]

Smile 2

Thought the first one was fine, but wasn't that interested in a sequel - this one crept me the **** out.

Saw it tonight. A very effective horror movie, with some genuinely creepy set pieces. To be ultra critical, if you've seen the first, you've seen this one - so nothing comes as a shock. The predictability was the main downfall - as the performances, a vast majority of the effects - were very well done.

Rippy the bush kangaroo.

Absolute garbage.

I mean, what were you expecting? Haha.

 

[PieBeast]

his 2007 debut Murder Party is great low budget horror fun.

Awesome B-Grade, ta for the recommendation.

 

[spinynorman]

Continuing with the John Ford Discography and 21st Century LOTE films watch -

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) -

Knocked out the one John Ford film I had on the watchlist prior to the fantastic suggestions by spinynorman . The reason for hesitancy being an aversion to seeing adaptations of books I love. Whilst this won't be remembered as fondly as the book it more than stands up on own two feet. Oh yeah, the plot. A highly charismatic Henry Fonda and his extended family are driven out of Dust Bowl era Oklahoma and seek a new life in California aboard their jalopy. It's a miracle this was made in the early days of the American Red Scare considering it sympathetically delves into the struggles of the poor and their fight for better pay/conditions. I guess the more optimistic ending was a minimum requirement. This was a great insight for the time that doesn't deify the family who are regular Joe's/Jane's trying to make the best of it (in fact the biggest swing and miss is a scene where they secretly drug the Grandfather to come along when he refuses, not sure that passes the modern morality lens especially when he dies in the next scene after a travel montage!)

8/10 (but read the book if debating between the two).

With the Cold War, John Ford became increasingly conservative but his films before then were those of a New Deal Democrat - How Green was My Valley the following year is a very union-sympathetic story of a Welsh coal mining town. But then I don't think it's that uncommon for films at the time, with both the effects of the Depression and the incoming World War where the US aligned with the USSR. Ninotchka in 1939 is broadly sympathetic towards its Soviet lead character (or, at least, not critical of her in the way that you would expect it to be).

And yeah, the Steinbeck book is pretty obviously an all time classic but it's a beautiful film.

 

[Grogg]

I really enjoyed the novel from a few years back but I have not heard good things about the film. A pity, as there is a good film in there.

Going in, I had no idea what the movie was about and I agree there could be a good film in there.

 

[edgie]

Spider-man: Across the Spiderverse

Wow.

This was a work of art. A sprawling, unique, engaging, thrilling, moving, epic work of art.

9.5/10

 

[phantom13]

Woman of the Hour

Its interesting because in reality this film doesnt do anything new but it does feel like a very different lens to me.

The stuff that actually impacts and actually creates tension is very different to what you usually see. Im not sure that its all down to a female film makers perspective but i have to think thats a decent part of it.

 

[Ocha905]

Watched Train to Busan with my daughter several years ago. Due to the father-daughter relationship it was quite affecting and we were both a little emotional towards the end. Unfortunately it did seem to go off the rails (NPI) in the final act, but up to then it was very effective.

That sounds like a weirdly heartening experience haha and would elevate it for sure!

With the Cold War, John Ford became increasingly conservative but his films before then were those of a New Deal Democrat - How Green was My Valley the following year is a very union-sympathetic story of a Welsh coal mining town. But then I don't think it's that uncommon for films at the time, with both the effects of the Depression and the incoming World War where the US aligned with the USSR. Ninotchka in 1939 is broadly sympathetic towards its Soviet lead character (or, at least, not critical of her in the way that you would expect it to be).

Thanks for the info (added Ninotchka) and good timing since How Green was My Valley is the next watch.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (2024). Telugu with subtitles.

A troubled boy makes a pledge to his dying mother that he will only act on his anger one day a week. He carries this code of honour into adulthood to help the downtrodden.

I like an OTT Indian epic and this has elements of that. 2 hours 50 of good guy against the bad guys. There's stylised fights set to music. A love affair. But at times the plot didn't make sense and sometimes it started to feel like a soap opera.

Watchable but not great. The concept was good though. I could see a Hollywood version of it doing well.

5/10

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

The Substance

wtf did I just watch..!

 

[Catfish Alley]

I really enjoyed The Substance. Swung for the fences with something different.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

It's a ****ing great movie

 

[CasuallyDressed]

Saw it tonight. A very effective horror movie, with some genuinely creepy set pieces. To be ultra critical, if you've seen the first, you've seen this one - so nothing comes as a shock. The predictability was the main downfall - as the performances, a vast majority of the effects - were very well done.


I mean, what were you expecting? Haha.

I thought it was a fair bit scarier and intense than the first one...

The scene with her dancing group in the apartment scared the life back into me. Lol

 

[dumb]

woman of the hour (netflix)

i never know what to make of movies like this. it's reasonably entertaining and well-made but there's a unique kind of pointlessness baked into it like other 'based on's. take a true story and add things that didn't happen. we can like musical covers that take things and make them different. how do i feel about bits added to a story about real life murdered girls so that an actress gets to spend more time on screen? not quite the same. it feels less exploitative than most true crime stuff, though. there's quite a lot of netflix content built on the backs of dead women.

i don't have a problem with how men are portrayed in this, there's an overarching truth in that. playing with the dialog of the dating show is an interesting way of portraying the ridiculous hoops and inanity women were/are subjected to in a less friendly society. cheryl/anna kendrick a victim of the system. then netflix comes along hoping to make money out of stories of those victims of the system, finishes the movie with some nice words to wrap a bow around it.
but would anyone think about any of this stuff if netflix didn't cover the content? maybe not.

 

[phantom13]

woman of the hour (netflix)

i never know what to make of movies like this. it's reasonably entertaining and well-made but there's a unique kind of pointlessness baked into it like other 'based on's. take a true story and add things that didn't happen. we can like musical covers that take things and make them different. how do i feel about bits added to a story about real life murdered girls so that an actress gets to spend more time on screen? not quite the same. it feels less exploitative than most true crime stuff, though. there's quite a lot of netflix content built on the backs of dead women.

i don't have a problem with how men are portrayed in this, there's an overarching truth in that. playing with the dialog of the dating show is an interesting way of portraying the ridiculous hoops and inanity women were/are subjected to in a less friendly society. cheryl/anna kendrick a victim of the system. then netflix comes along hoping to make money out of stories of those victims of the system, finishes the movie with some nice words to wrap a bow around it.
but would anyone think about any of this stuff if netflix didn't cover the content? maybe not.

To me that politeness was pretty critical to the story and was absolutely a deliberate decision and choice to demonstrate something women have long since suffered. The bolded is the point to me and its shown in a really quite comical and light hearted way on the dating show to juxtapose the more serious instances of it in the film (and real life).

 

[SnakeMan86]

Below is the actual Dating Game segment depicted in the movie. It's pretty cringe.

Spoiler for those yet to watch the film

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Imagine being in the middle of a killing spree and deciding that appearing on a national dating show would be a good idea?!

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I thought it was a fair bit scarier and intense than the first one...

The scene with her dancing group in the apartment scared the life back into me. Lol

That scene reminded me of the angels from Dr. Who, very effective.

My favourite part of the movie was probably Skye visiting the drug dealer friend, that scene (albeit spoiled in the trailers) looked so damn good.

 

[sandeano]

Sands of the Kalahari (1965)

For director Cy Endfield and producer-star Stanley Baker this was their follow-up to the highly successful Zulu from the year before.

A plane crashes in the desert of Namibia. The survivors make do as best they can with one - an American (Stuart Whitman) - determined to show he is the alpha of the group. All well and good, except for the fact that there is a troop of baboons that are fiercely protective of their territory and start attacking and killing the survivors.

A plane crash, killer baboons, Susannah York in revealing clothing. I could not ask for a better movie when i was twelve years old. The thing is, it holds up. Great supporting cast among the survivors - Baker, Harry Andrews, Theodore Bikel, Nigel Davenport - and the themes of toxic masculinity are even more pertinent today. The cinematography of the African wilderness is excellent and Endfield builds the suspense until the end.

8/10

 

[Frank Bunn]

Imagine being in the middle of a killing spree and deciding that appearing on a national dating show would be a good idea?!

There wasn't an awareness of a serial killer at large.

The movie is based around a fairly unremarkable woman who had a chance 15 minutes in her life. Cheryl Bradshaw had very little to do with Rodney Alcala. She spoke to him for a few minutes behind the barrier set up by the show but she didn't take up the prize of a day out with him. It's not clear whether that was good luck or judgment. But her back story as depicted was not compelling viewing.

 

[sandeano]

woman of the hour (netflix)

i never know what to make of movies like this. it's reasonably entertaining and well-made but there's a unique kind of pointlessness baked into it like other 'based on's. take a true story and add things that didn't happen. we can like musical covers that take things and make them different. how do i feel about bits added to a story about real life murdered girls so that an actress gets to spend more time on screen? not quite the same. it feels less exploitative than most true crime stuff, though. there's quite a lot of netflix content built on the backs of dead women.

i don't have a problem with how men are portrayed in this, there's an overarching truth in that. playing with the dialog of the dating show is an interesting way of portraying the ridiculous hoops and inanity women were/are subjected to in a less friendly society. cheryl/anna kendrick a victim of the system. then netflix comes along hoping to make money out of stories of those victims of the system, finishes the movie with some nice words to wrap a bow around it.
but would anyone think about any of this stuff if netflix didn't cover the content? maybe not.

I do worry that when an overly generous helping of mayo is spread over the top of a mildly interesting story to make a feature film. And then to turn the whole of The Dating Game (for this film) into some creepy sleazefest is somewhat of a stretch.

Yes, today it looks archaic, but at the time few eyebrows were raised. Perhaps they should have been but these were different times. (Not for the better, obviously).

But remember, this was a slightly sleazy gameshow (basically "Perfect Match" for those that remember it) on which everyone knew what they were in for and it was a stepping stone for aspiring actors and actresses.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

There wasn't an awareness of a serial killer at large.

The movie is based around a fairly unremarkable woman who had a chance 15 minutes in her life. Cheryl Bradshaw had very little to do with Rodney Alcala. She spoke to him for a few minutes behind the barrier set up by the show but she didn't take up the prize of a day out with him. It's not clear whether that was good luck or judgment. But her back story as depicted was not compelling viewing.

By the time he appeared on the show he had already served two terms including one for child molestation in whom he r*ped ams badly beaten an 8yo with a steel bar. He had been on top 10 most wanted. Within a year prior to appearing on the show he’d suspected of killing at least 3 women. Yes he wasn’t known as a serial killer obviously but they had called him in as a suspect in Hillside strangler. So even the fact he know there were several unsolved killings going on a show like that was crazy.

With all this background it’s incredible the show allowed him on the show..clearly no checks

 

[dumb]

late night with the devil

points for style and delivering genre in a different way. captured my experience of late night american tv, bits that make you chuckle, between the bits that fall flat and the in-jokes that regular viewers might understand but you'll scratch your head if you only watch occasionally. aside from that didn't find it very entertaining.
bit of a willie wonka moment with the perfect amount of seating.
enjoyed the ending in that it confused me outside of expecting some of what happened... it was probably there in black and white and over my head or i missed it.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Sands of the Kalahari (1965)

For director Cy Endfield and producer-star Stanley Baker this was their follow-up to the highly successful Zulu from the year before.

A plane crashes in the desert of Namibia. The survivors make do as best they can with one - an American (Stuart Whitman) - determined to show he is the alpha of the group. All well and good, except for the fact that there is a troop of baboons that are fiercely protective of their territory and start attacking and killing the survivors.

A plane crash, killer baboons, Susannah York in revealing clothing. I could not ask for a better movie when i was twelve years old. The thing is, it holds up. Great supporting cast among the survivors - Baker, Harry Andrews, Theodore Bikel, Nigel Davenport - and the themes of toxic masculinity are even more pertinent today. The cinematography of the African wilderness is excellent and Endfield builds the suspense until the end.

8/10

I tracked down a copy and watched it. Good story. Great cinematography. Some iffy acting. Whitman had a fine set of pecs. I liked the doctor character but we don't find out what happened to him. It looked like a lot of wildlife was shot! It was jarring in the modern context to see such a weak female character. There are two interpretations of the ending.

Spoiler

That O'Brien was killed by the baboons after he fell to the ground exhausted. But I'm going with that by killing the head baboon he became their leader.

 

[sandeano]

I tracked down a copy and watched it. Good story. Great cinematography. Some iffy acting. Whitman had a fine set of pecs. I liked the doctor character but we don't find out what happened to him. It looked like a lot of wildlife was shot! It was jarring in the modern context to see such a weak female character. There are two interpretations of the ending.

Spoiler

That O'Brien was killed by the baboons after he fell to the ground exhausted. But I'm going with that by killing the head baboon he became their leader.

That was my interpretation too.

Kinda destiny that he ends up as such

 

[offtherails9]

I do worry that when an overly generous helping of mayo is spread over the top of a mildly interesting story to make a feature film. And then to turn the whole of The Dating Game (for this film) into some creepy sleazefest is somewhat of a stretch.

Yes, today it looks archaic, but at the time few eyebrows were raised. Perhaps they should have been but these were different times. (Not for the better, obviously).

But remember, this was a slightly sleazy gameshow (basically "Perfect Match" for those that remember it) on which everyone knew what they were in for and it was a stepping stone for aspiring actors and actresses.

Steering clear of this one and this post makes me happy I'm doing that. I really don't like applying today's standards to the past like that at all.