What films did you watch last week? (25/03 - 31/03) CLOSED

Hello again.

Yours:

Romancing the Stone (1984, Robert Zemeckis)

I've always really liked this one. I find it very fun and quite funny. A movie I could rewatch easily. 8/10

The Jewel of the Nile (1985, Lewis Teague)

In contrast, while I don't find it an outright bad film, it is very forgettable. 5/10

Mine:

Dog Eat Dog (Paul Schrader, 2016)

Paul Schrader is one of those directors I’ve been meaning to watch for a while as I’ve loved several of his screenplays. This was apparently not the film to start with as it is terrible. A movie with Nicholas Cage and Willem Dafoe should be a blast. This... is not. 2/10

In the Line of Duty III (Arthur Wong and Brandy Yuen, 1988)

Fun, but generic 80s Hong Kong action movie. If you remember my reviews from last week for Yes, Madam and Royal Warriors, this is technically the third film in that series... though of course they are all completely unrelated save for featuring Hong Kong police officers. Anyway, it’s fun if you like this sort of thing, but not worth seeking out if you don’t really care. 6/10

The Booth (Yoshihiro Nakamura, 2005)

A wonderful gem of a J-horror film that all takes place (save for a few flashbacks) in a recording booth at a radio station where a talk show host keeps getting increasingly weird calls and interference. Very much a slow burn, but I really liked it. 8/10

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988)

So, I had a very weird experience with this film. While watching it, I wasn't even sure I liked it. I kept checking my watch for the first 30 minutes wondering if maybe I should turn it off. Something clicked though and I began to enjoy it. I didn't think it was great, but I chuckled and was starting to have a good time. When it ended I was satisfied enough to give it 6 stars and call it a day. I went to work and that should have been the end. Then all day I've been thinking about it, chuckling, and remembering scenes fondly. It's a movie that's grown on me over the course of a day. So yeah, I went from not liking it, to liking it enough to give my lowest positive score to raising it all in the span of a day. 8/10

Killer's Mission (Shigehiro Ozawa, 1969)

Before Lone Wolf and Cub, Tomisaburō Wakayama starred in the Bounty Hunter trilogy. The first film, directed by Shigehiro Ozawa, who would later go on to make The Street Fighter with Sonny Chiba, is a fun mixture of samurai, Spaghetti Western and James Bond film. He may be a samurai style assassin, but our hero has all the gadgets and is a great shot. It doesn't have the greatest fight scenes, but it's one of those films where people have a geyser of blood when a limb is cut off. I'm not going to lie, it's not a great film, but it's the sort of thing that got me into Japanese cinema as a teenager, and so there's a nostalgic feel to it that I really enjoy. 7/10

High Tension (Alexandre Aja, 2003)

I know some people who love this one and some who hate it. Honestly, I enjoyed it but can’t really get any strong emotions from it. Some good scenes, but neither the best nor worst of what the horror genre has to offer. 6/10

Bloody Reunion (Dae-wung Lim, 2006)

Fairly generic slasher with a few good scenes. Mostly notable just because one doesn’t see many Korean films follow the slasher rules. 6/10

Giants and Toys (Yasuzô Masumura, 1958)

Deeply cynical dark comedy in which some advertising agents at a Japanese candy company wage an all out war against two of their rival companies, building up a new star and damaging a few lives in order to sell more caramels. Very clever. 7/10

Hey Dark,

Yours:
Taps (1981, Harold Becker) 7/10

Romancing the Stone (1984, Robert Zemeckis) 6/10

Cocktail (1988, Roger Donaldson) 7/10

The Jewel of the Nile (1985, Lewis Teague) 6/10

Mine:
1) Beyond the Hills 2012 (6/10)

2) Everlasting Moments 2008 (6/10)

3) Honeydripper 2007 (6/10)

4) Hue and Cry 1947 (5/10)

5) In Love with Alma Cogan 2012 (6/10)

6) For Those in Peril 2013 (3/10)

7) Katalin Varga 2009 (4/10)

8) The Kid with a Bike 2011 (3/10)

9) In the Year of the Pig 1968 (6/10)

10) The Congress 2013 (5/10)

11) Jailhouse Rock 1957 (6/10)

12) Jimmy's Hall 2014 (6/10)

13) Kirikou and the Sorceress 1998 (4/10)

First Time Viewing:

Killer Joe (2011; William Friedkin) – This movie stirred up some controversy on release, although having now watched it, I’m not sure what all the fuss was about. Matthew McConaughey is charismatic as the titular psycho, but the film looked cheaply-made and couldn’t fully engage me.
4/10

Waltz with Bashir (2008; Ari Folman) – This Israeli war movie is unusual in being an animated documentary and this original approach initially pulled me in, but I would’ve needed more historical background to fully appreciate its take on the Israeli-Lebanese conflict.
5/10


Repeat Viewing:

The Big Lebowski (1998; The Coens) – This used to be one of my favourite comedies. I recall it being rip-roaringly funny, however on this rewatch it didn’t hold up that well. It’s still a good movie, but I didn’t laugh as often as I should’ve.
8/10

First Time Viewing:

Killer Joe (2011; William Friedkin) – This movie stirred up some controversy on release, although having now watched it, I’m not sure what all the fuss was about. Matthew McConaughey is charismatic as the titular psycho, but the film looked cheaply-made and couldn’t fully engage me.
4/10

Waltz with Bashir (2008; Ari Folman) – This Israeli war movie is unusual in being an animated documentary and this original approach initially pulled me in, but I would’ve needed more historical background to fully appreciate its take on the Israeli-Lebanese conflict.
5/10


Repeat Viewing:

The Big Lebowski (1998; The Coens) – This used to be one of my favourite comedies. I recall it being rip-roaringly funny, however on this rewatch it didn’t hold up that well. It’s still a good movie, but I didn’t laugh as often as I should’ve.
8/10

Hi, Dark.

Here I am.

Happy belated Easter! [bunny]

I've seen only the very beginning of Taps, I'm curious to check it out.


Yours:

Romancing the Stone 8.5/10

I love it. It's really fun, Michael Douglas is great.

Cocktail 6/10

I thought it was so-so, but yeah, some parts are entertaining.

The Jewel of the Nile 5/10

I haven't seen it in forever, but I remember not liking it much. Yeah, the original is much better.


Mine:

Immaculate 8/10

It's the horror with Sydney Sweeney, it's about a nun who arrives to an ancient convent near Rome, which is now used as a caring facility for sick elderly nuns, but she finds soon that there's also something very eerie about it. I really liked it, it's pretty wild and it gets gory too. I really liked the atmosphere, it's very old school, the score as well and the twist is pretty insane, I thought I had it figured it out from the trailer but I was way off. The ending is quite something. Also, I loved Sydney Sweeney, she really has quite a presence.

Hook 6/10

It's Steven Spielberg movie, with Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts. It's about Peter Pan, who's now grown up, works as a lawyer in out world and has forgotten about Neverland and his childhood, until Captain Hook kidnaps his children and he has to go back there to save them. It's so-so, it does feel stagey, but not in a nice way, IMO. Some parts are nice visually though and I really liked Julia Roberts.

The Nutty Professor (1963) 8/10

It's Jerry Lewis movie, the original one, about a shy, ugly professor, who after he takes a serum, turns himself into the charming playboy Buddy Love. I thought it was pretty funny, Jerry Lewis is genius in the double role.

Memory 7.5/10

It's the movie with Jessica Chastain and Peter Sasgaard, it's about an ex alcoholic woman, with a pretty dark past, who at a school reunion meets and a guy whom she's convinced was part of a group who abused her and who now suffers fom early dementia and don't remember a thing about it. I enjoyed it, both Jessica Chastain and Peter Sasgaard are great. It gets a bit too over the top for me though. Also, I'm not sure it all makes sense, but yeah...

Hook - I never saw this when I was a kid and didn't care for it the first time I watched it. I rewatched it last year and actually thought it was pretty good. Dustin Hoffman is awesome here and John Williams's score is very good. I actually don't care for Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell though. 7/10