What films did you watch last week (08/04 - 14/04) CLOSED

Hello again!

The House on Telegraph Hill (1951, Robert Wise)

Been a while since I've seen this one, but I remember liking it well enough. I like the gothic meets noir feel of it. 7/10

The War of the Roses (1989, Danny DeVito)

I've always really liked this one. Stylish and funny dark comedy that works on every level. 8/10

Mine:

The Breakfast Club (John Hughes, 1985)

This is probably “The” 80s teen comedy. It definitely has its moments, but it felt a bit too “group therapy” for me at the very end. Still, pretty good watch. 7/10

Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara, 1992)

I don't even know what to say about this movie. I don't know how to feel after finishing it. Keitel gives arguably the best performance of his career... it's just... damn. I honestly didn’t know if I liked it or not up to the last minute. 8/10

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (Paul Schrader, 2005)

My third Paul Schrader film in the last three weeks. Will I keep up with one of his movies a week for a while? I’m sure planning on it. I think it is an extremely flawed film, but not really bad. It's slow to an extreme extent, it also has a pretty generic score and some really bad special effects (to be fair, apparently Schrader only had something like $35,000.00 to finish post-production). It's also really not scary at all and most of the time doesn't even feel like a horror movie even on those rare moments it's trying. All that said, I stand by it not being a terrible movie (and it's certainly better than that God awful Believer movie). Exorcist really should have been a one and done movie, but this one at least doesn’t feel like a disgrace to the first film. 6/10

In the Line of Duty IV (Woo-Ping Yuen, 1989)

After the third film disappointed, I took a bit of a break from the series. When I came back to IV I was pleasantly surprised that it's easily the most action packed of the series. Of course it does sacrifice a bit of the plot and humor of the previous films, but lets face it, one does not come to these films for plot. 8/10

964 Pinocchio (Shozin Fukui, 1991)

One of the weirdest films I’ve seen from the Japanese Cyberpunk movement. It’s really bizarre and certainly not for everyone, but I enjoyed it... whatever the hell it might be. 8/10

Waiting for Guffman (Christopher Guest, 1996)

I love a good mocumentary and this one is pretty great. The entire cast does a great job with their roles which makes for a fun movie where you want them to succeed even when you know that there’s no way they’re going to pull off exactly what they’re aiming for. 8/10

Escape from L.A. (John Carpenter, 1996)

This is one of those films that I’ve never quite understood the reaction to. Pretty much everyone I know dislikes it (don’t know what consensus is here). Sure, this is nowhere near as good as Escape from New York, but that's one of Carpenter's most entertaining films. This one really is more of the same. Sure that could be used as a complaint I guess, but it’s a silly over the top good time. 7/10

Invention for Destruction (Karel Zeman, 1958)

This has to be one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen. The combination of animation and live action blend together to give it a feel like no other. Add in that all the line work (even on the real sets) are done up to give the feel of a classic woodcut illustrations. The look works even better in black and white as color would likely hurt the set designs. 8/10

I think I saw this once, but it's the sort of story you'd rather forget.

Hey Dark,

Yours:
Caged (1950, John Cromwell) 6/10

The House on Telegraph Hill (1951, Robert Wise) 5/10

Mine:
1) The Consequences of Love 2004 (4/10)

2) Locke 2013 (6/10)

3) Like Father, Like Son 2013 (6/10)

4) Little Paris 2008 (4/10)

5) London River 2009 (3/10)

6) La Belle Noiseuse 1991 (7/10)

7) Looking for Eric 2009 (7/10)

8) Love Is All You Need 2012 (6/10)

9) Billy Liar 1963 (5/10)

10) Cafe Society 2016 (5/10)

11) Julieta 2016 (4/10)



TV Series

1) The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers 1986 (6/10)

2) The Golden Girls Season 5 1989 (7/10)

Hey Dark,

Yours:
Caged (1950, John Cromwell) 6/10

The House on Telegraph Hill (1951, Robert Wise) 5/10

Mine:
1) The Consequences of Love 2004 (4/10)

2) Locke 2013 (6/10)

3) Like Father, Like Son 2013 (6/10)

4) Little Paris 2008 (4/10)

5) London River 2009 (3/10)

6) La Belle Noiseuse 1991 (7/10)

7) Looking for Eric 2009 (7/10)

8) Love Is All You Need 2012 (6/10)

9) Billy Liar 1963 (5/10)

10) Cafe Society 2016 (5/10)

11) Julieta 2016 (4/10)



TV Series

1) The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers 1986 (6/10)

2) The Golden Girls Season 5 1989 (7/10)

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) - 6.5/10
Blow Out (1981) - 7.5
Dead Gorgeous (2002)- 7.5

Welcome to the weekly watch thread hosted by me, post your weeks viewing, rate other peoples viewing, have conversations but be respectful.

FIRST TIME VIEWING

Snack Shack (2024, Adam Rehmeier)
Set in 1991, two best friends get the chance to run the swimming pool snack shack, that later comes to be the perfect scenario for transgression, fun, personal discovery and romance.
this dramedy starts off pretty goofy but soon strives for something more from
its characters. Best film of 2024 so far.
7/10

Civil War (2024, Alex Garland)
Cinema
Well this wasn’t as good as I expected. It’s a road movie following war photojournalist’s covering a modern day American civil war. I like that it’s not preachy or filled with propaganda but like a lot of road movies there is a lot of faffing around. The story and characters are fairly thin but the film is well made with some great set pieces. It will certainly generate interesting conversations afterwards too. The finale of it is great I just wish the build up to it was more consistently compelling.
6.5-7/10

Caged (1950, John Cromwell)
Plex
This is a women’s prison movie. It sees a gentle, naive, pregnant 19-year-old widow slowly, inexorably ground down by the hardened criminals, and sadistic guards.
it feels ahead of its time with its characters and brutality. Its well done but I didn’t find it consistently entertaining.
6-6.5/10

The House on Telegraph Hill (1951, Robert Wise)
Plex
This is my 13th from from director Robert Wise. It sees Concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska finding herself involved in mystery, greed, and murder after she assumes the identity of a dead friend in order to gain passage to America.
Pretty solid all
around with some good tension.
6/10

An American Crime (2007, Tommy O’Haver)
Plex
Catherine Keener and Ellen Page star in this true story of a suburban housewife who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.
The story is more interesting than the presentation of it but it was solid.
6/10

Dune 2 (2024, Denis Villeneuve)
I did not care for the previous entry as I felt it was barely a movie as it just set up the world but nothing much happened. Part 2 on the other hand has all the story to tell and is the better film obviously. 
However I just don’t find it engaging bar a few scenes with strong monologues. Most of the actors are fine but I didn’t like the look of the film, or the design. I think overall I still prefer Lynches version.
5.5/10

REPEAT VIEWING
 
The War of the Roses (1989, Danny DeVito)
blu ray
This stylishly made dark comedy reunites Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito on screen for a third time. This time in a twisted tale of a couple who are breaking off and are fighting over who keeps the house.
Whilst watching it this time I noticed a lot of cinematic tricks you see in Brian De Palma thrillers only to find out that the director of photography is De Palma’s long time cinematographer.
8/10

FIRST TIME TV VIEWING

Curb Your Enthusiasm (2024, Season Twelve)
This is the final season of the beloved show and whilst it doesn’t reach the heights of the best seasons, it’s certainly better than the last couple. Good series finale also.
Great TV

WEEKLY FILM AWARDS

BEST FILM: The War of the Roses
BEST ACTOR: Michael Douglas - The War of the Roses
BEST ACTRESS: Kathleen Turner - The War of the Roses
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jesse Plemons - Civil War
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Rebecca Ferguson - Dune 2
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Stephen H. Burum - The War of the Roses
BEST EDITING: Lynzee Kilingman - The War of the Roses
BEST SCORE: David Newman - The War of the Roses
BEST WRITING: Michael Leeson - The War of the Roses
BEST DIRECTOR: Danny DeVito - The War of the Roses

Hi, Dark.

Here I am. 

I'm watching Civil War this week. 


Yours:

Dune 2 8/10

I don't know if I prefer the David Lynch's version, although I'm one of those who like it. I like Denis Villeneuve version though, and I think i slightly prefer Dune 2 to the first one.

The War of the Roses 8/10

I remembered not being a fan much when I first saw it, but I watched it again recently, and I did like it. I didn't know that the cinematographer also worked for De Palma, it makes sense.


Mine:

Gloria! 6/10

It's an Italian movie about a girls orphanage in 1800 near Venice, ran by the Catholic church, where the girls study music. A piano arrive to the school, it was still a new instrument back then, and the girls study it in secret to rebel against the orphanage authorities. I found it so-so. Visually, it's nice but I think it needed a better script, it drags a lot, IMO. Also, I thought the lead actress, Galatea Bellugi, was kind of weak.

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III 4.5/10

The third one, Viggo Mortensen is also in it. I didn't like it, it's really messy, but I read the production wasn't easy, they fired a director too. 

Scarface (1983) 9/10

It's Brian De Palma's version with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer,, a classic for me. I actually love it more now than I used to. Al Pacino is really fantastic, but the cast is great in general, Robert Loggia, Paul Shenar...I really loved Michelle too. And the score is so great.

The Banishing 8/10

It's a horror movie with Jessica Brown Findlay, it's about the wife of a protestant reverend who moves to a new house with her husband, only to find the place is haunted and it all might be connected to an ancient sect of monks, who used to torture the people they deemed to be sinners. I liked it actually, it's kind of old school, there's a great atmosphere, it's quite spooky. I really liked Jessica Brown Findlay too.