What Was the Last Movie You Watched?

Paladin1950 said:
I saw it on Off Broadway at the Sullivan Street Theater in Manhattan in 1982. It was in it's 22nd year. Little did I know at the time that the show would run for another 20 years. It ended it's 42 year run in 2002. Try to Remember, is by far the best song in the musical.
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ALWAYS starring Dryfus and Hunter Underlying theme is we should let our mates know its ok for them to find another love after we die. Especially timely message for us Seniors. I had a very hard time letting my wife go (she was in ICU for two weeks) and an even harder time accepting the fact that she had told me ON HER DEATH BED it was ok to find another love.
 
I received a DVD of the original The Thing from the 1950s. It scared the tar out of me then, now not scary at all, and sadly, not theatrically interesting other than a reflection of movie making from that era, which I enjoyed reflecting on.
 
JeeperDon said:
Just watched 'Carry-On' on Netflix, a tense two hours, liked it!
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Good recommendation, Don. The story is hare brained, but if you put that aside, it's watchable as a good action thriller.

I'm not sure that Edgerton was the best choice for the lead, but he gave it 100%. What was impressive to me was the first rate cinematography, especially in the live action sequences.
 
'Jupiter Ascending' w/ Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis - took me probably half way through to figure out it wasn't my normal viewing choice. I like Channing especially 'The Lost City" with him & Sandra Bullock, but this was a little fast for me to follow the plot.. I wouldn't recommend it if you're over 30. It was different.
 
ChiroDoc said:
Good recommendation, Don. The story is hare brained, but if you put that aside, it's watchable as a good action thriller.

I'm not sure that Edgerton was the best choice for the lead, but he gave it 100%. What was impressive to me was the first rate cinematography, especially in the live action sequences.
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I had to watch one of the lame Xmas shows ('Heidelberg Holiday') after watching 'Carry On', fast action throughout (wore me down) so I needed something light. I had actually been to the Heidelberg Castle 3-4 times when stationed in Darmstadt, never was there during Xmas but did see what was called the lighting of the castle & bridge with fireworks, quite a show.

The pilots during WWII were told the castle is off limits, so the old part of town remained. They sure made a shambles of the train station.
 
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JBR said:
Two from the mid 1940s. "Key Largo" and "Out of the Past". Both well done. Good lighting, cinematography, direction, acting, and plots with various twists.
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Both good movies, but, "Key Largo," is one of my very favorites. All the acting is great and Bogart's character is so complicated and admirable I never get tired of watching it.
 
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gilead said:
'Jupiter Ascending' w/ Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis - took me probably half way through to figure out it wasn't my normal viewing choice. I like Channing especially 'The Lost City" with him & Sandra Bullock, but this was a little fast for me to follow the plot.. I wouldn't recommend it if you're over 30. It was different.
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'Preciate the heads-up. I like some SciFi, but this one doesn't sound like my piece of cake.
 
JBR said:
Two from the mid 1940s. "Key Largo" and "Out of the Past". Both well done. Good lighting, cinematography, direction, acting, and plots with various twists.
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Out of the Past is #4 on my list of top 25 classic noir films. Some commentary:
Out of the Past (1947)

This is a noir’s noir-- one of the greatest examples in the entire movement. Director Jacques Tourneur guides this dark tale of revenge, double cross, and sexual attraction; along with impressive photography by one of the top 3 noir cinematographers, the great Nicholas Musaraca. It’s perfectly cast with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, and Rhonda Fleming, expressing a brilliant script by author/screen writer Daniel Mainwaring.

An ex investigator living a new life is dragged back into the past where we learn that he had been hired by a gambling boss to track down the boss’s girlfriend who ran off with $40K of his money. The investigator finds her, at which point the story becomes complicated with murders, double crosses, and twists which is kept on track by Mitchum as narrator. In the end everyone gets what’s coming to them.

The dialogue and staging are perfect. Jane Greer’s Kathie Moffat is one of the most cold blooded femme fatales in all of noir, rivaling anything by Bette Davis or Anne Savage. She’s drop dead gorgeous, with alluring limpid eyes, and has a predilection for the use of a gat.

The film is one of the greatest classical noirs. 10/10
 
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Juror #2 (2024)

This is a trustworthy good old fashioned studio film, the likes of which are no longer common in modern times. It’s a well thought out story that quickly puts both the protagonist and audience in a quandary that inexorably causes unrelenting tension and suspense that doesn’t let up until the final scene.

Nicholas Hoult stars as Justin Kemp, a recovered alcoholic whose wife (Zoey Deutch) is expecting a baby. To his and her chagrin he’s been selected for jury duty in a murder trial. As he hears the evidence against the accused killer, he gradually realizes that he may have been involved in the incident. As his culpability becomes apparent to him, how will this knowledge guide his actions in the jury deliberations, and also at home?

Toni Collette shines as a determined prosecutor who is looking for slam dunk win to help in her campaign for District Attorney, and Chris Messina delivers a nuanced and varied performance as the public defender who represents the accused. In addition we’re treated to a few famous veteran actors in surprisingly smaller roles: J.K. Simmons as a juror who raises doubt about the defendant’s guilt; Kiefer Sutherland plays Justin’s AA sponsor who is also a defense attorney; and a solid turn by Amy Aquino (Lt. Grace Billets in Bosch) as the trial judge.

Several characters are trapped in moral dilemmas. Justin is pulled into conflict with his wife, his 12-step principles, his sponsor, the attorneys, and his basic morality. The prosecuting attorney soon faces a circumstance which conflicts with her early determination, her zeal to become D.A., and her eventual truth seeking. Simmons’ juror wrestles with his sworn duty which is in contrast to his previous work as a police detective. And Justin’s wife struggles to protect her baby and husband from her fear that Justin may have been involved in the crime.

There are a few mentionable detractions. The lead could have been better cast than with Nicholas Hoult. His inherent diffident personality did not really fit the story. In a way Hoult put me in mind of director Eastwood’s real life personality. Perhaps Hoult was signed because he is a very popular actor with the younger set.

The story itself is appealing and somewhat fresh, whose essence is very reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock suspense tale. But some of the dialogue, especially in the jury deliberations scenes, was almost trite. For example Cedric Yarbrough’s performance as the angry black male juror was burdened with rather hackneyed lines, which, despite his best efforts, sounded inauthentic. Gabriel Basso as the accused suffered with poor dialogue, so one could never really feel his anguish. It’s surprising that Jonathan Abrams was tasked with the screenplay, given his lack of previous credits. Surely Eastwood could have lassoed a heftier writer. And, presumably as an “in” joke, Eastwood’s daughter Francesca was cast as the murder victim, and she did a fine job.

Warner Bros. reportedly had intended the picture originally as a streaming release, but after the positive stir, they released it in a very limited fashion to theaters. I think it would have done well as a major general release. Keep in mind that Clint Eastwood has made billions of dollars for Warners over the years. Much has been made of this as supposedly being Eastwood’s final directed film. Hopefully he’ll change his mind. There have been few directors left who can spin a tale as can Eastwood. Most of his pictures feel very authentic and true to life. Maybe he has another one left in him.

Doc’s rating: 7/10
 
Last night I watched Brief Encounter. It was all right, but I wouldn't give it the 8 rating that IMDB did. Also it was touted as noir, but nothing in the subject matter was noir-ish at all, basically about two people who resist the affair they both want.
 
Still on my latest thing of watching classic cult movies that I never got around to... last night I watched The Matrix. It was ok. Nothing I'd watch again but ok. Now need to ask my Son if the others in the series are worth bothering with!
 
-Oy- said:
Still on my latest thing of watching classic cult movies that I never got around to... last night I watched The Matrix. It was ok. Nothing I'd watch again but ok. Now need to ask my Son if the others in the series are worth bothering with!
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I recently re-watched the Matrix. Thought I'd missed something bc I wasn't as gaga about it as the rest of the world. Meh.
 
Marcy Sheiner said:
Last night I watched Brief Encounter. It was all right, but I wouldn't give it the 8 rating that IMDB did. Also it was touted as noir, but nothing in the subject matter was noir-ish at all, basically about two people who resist the affair they both want.
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Agree 100%. I can't imagine why anyone would consider Brief Encounter (1945) a noir. It's a very good classic romantic drama starring the great Celia Johnson, and Trevor Howard. I liked it more than you did. Sometimes I think that people tend to consider any '40s B&W film to be a
noir..o_O

Do you recall Celia Johnson in 1969's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie? She won the BAFTA award for that role as the headmistress, and she was superb. IMO "Jean Brodie" was a wonderful film. Really put Maggie Smith on the international map.
 
I watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang last night. Library DVD. I'd never seen this comedy before. It fully deserves its 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Stars Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer.
 
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