what was the last movie you watched?

Warhawk

Warhawk

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Just finished Rashomon a bit ago. An interesting concept for a film from 1950 (a rape and murder happen in a forest in Japan and what happened is told by several different people in completely different ways), but man is the acting over the top at times. Seems like at some point in the film at least half the actors start laughing like they are bat-**** crazy. And the swordfight scenes were often downright comical. But I liked it overall.

Edit - and yes, I went through the last movie draft list to pick out a bunch of films I'd like to watch. That's how this one landed on my radar. Thanks to all who participated!
 
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Chupacabra

Chupacabra

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#3,602
#3,602
Ghost Dog: One of my favorites. Young Forest Whitaker is rescued by a member of the Italian mafia in New York when he is about to be shot to death by street hoodlums. Forest Whitaker becomes a loyal samurai assassin that stays true to the code of the samurai until the end. Very unique film with an awesome score.
 
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Löwenherz

Löwenherz

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#3,603
#3,603
Chupacabra said:
Ghost Dog: One of my favorites. Young Forest Whitaker is rescued by a member of the Italian mafia in New York when he is about to be shot to death by street hoodlums. Forest Whitaker becomes a loyal samurai assassin that stays true to the code of the samurai until the end. Very unique film with an awesome score.
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Might interest you to know Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a "played-straight" homage or remake of Melville's Le Samourai (aka The Godson), right down to the car key angle, and "birds as messengers" metaphor.

The major difference between the two, aside from setting of course, is the commitment to the Samurai motif. The original has this, charitably-speaking, "mystically loose" connection to the Bushido (less charitably-speaking "totally made-up and non-existent" connection).

Ghost Dog takes the concept literally, using actual quotes from the Bushido, having Whitaker work on retainer, demanding to be paid only on the first day of Autumn, et al.

Le Samourai is one of my personal favorites, but I found Ghost Dog to be one of the few times a remake brought an interesting twist and worthy exploration of a great original's themes.
 
Löwenherz

Löwenherz

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#3,604
#3,604
Warhawk said:
Just finished Rashomon a bit ago. An interesting concept for a film from 1950 (a rape and murder happen in a forest in Japan and what happened is told by several different people in completely different ways), but man is the acting over the top at times. Seems like at some point in the film at least half the actors start laughing like they are bat-**** crazy. And the swordfight scenes were often downright comical. But I liked it overall.

Edit - and yes, I went through the last movie draft list to pick out a bunch of films I'd like to watch. That's how this one landed on my radar. Thanks to all who participated!
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Ah, I see you've now experienced the rabid work of Toshiro Mifune. Being bat-**** crazy was kinda his thing. He brought that same maniacal intensity when he was playing a women's shoe store owner in High and Low.

You're right though, the performances in Rashomon can be a tad more "theatrical" than the method approach we've come to revere and celebrate. I've read a few articles suggesting this is demonstrative of kabuki theater's influence on early Kurosawa films and Japanese cinema as a whole, but I think that might be a bit reductive.

If you ever get around to watching Ran, Tatsuya Nakadai plays Lord Hidetora with that same "kabuki-quality" theatrics as an over-the-top expression of his character going insane. It might hold true with Rashomon in that whenever Kurosawa wanted to showcase a character was losing or had lost his mind, he had the actor go full kabuki.

Glad you liked it overall. Excited to see what else you choose to explore from everyone's draft list.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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Löwenherz said:
Ah, I see you've now experienced the rabid work of Toshiro Mifune. Being bat-**** crazy was kinda his thing. He brought that same maniacal intensity when he was playing a women's shoe store owner in High and Low.

You're right though, the performances in Rashomon can be a tad more "theatrical" than the method approach we've come to revere and celebrate. I've read a few articles suggesting this is demonstrative of kabuki theater's influence on early Kurosawa films and Japanese cinema as a whole, but I think that might be a bit reductive.

If you ever get around to watching Ran, Tatsuya Nakadai plays Lord Hidetora with that same "kabuki-quality" theatrics as an over-the-top expression of his character going insane. It might hold true with Rashomon in that whenever Kurosawa wanted to showcase a character was losing or had lost his mind, he had the actor go full kabuki.

Glad you liked it overall. Excited to see what else you choose to explore from everyone's draft list.
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Like I said after the draft, I think I picked something like 100 movies to watch whenever I can, but a lot of that will be dictated by availability. Some pop up on free channels, some might be on Netflix or Amazon Prime, etc., but some I can't seem to find anywhere.
 
Hoovtrain

Hoovtrain

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Warhawk said:
Just finished up Rear Window, (Hitchcock with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly) - I'm glad to be making an effort to catch a lot of these older films I've never seen before. Obviously, a good flick and I've always enjoyed Jimmy when I've seen him in something. This is the first time I think I've seen Grace Kelly in a film before, and I'm glad to be able to put a performance to a name. Recommended.
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one of my favorites And set the bar for thrillers IMO . I highly advise checking out Some Like it Hot as well. great movie that was ahead of its time
 
Hoovtrain

Hoovtrain

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Tetsujin said:
Nobody follows the same formula as John Wick but delivers a solid visceral action punch with a solid cast of guys who you wouldn’t expect to be able to carry an action film and RZA, who has pretty much been gunning to be an action hero since the day he was born.

it’s also apparently part of the John Wick cinematic universe
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wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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Figured I'd continue with Hitchcock for the moment and watched The Birds today. Good flick overall, but it is always interesting to me to see the culture changes from "then" to today. The role of women in films and society then vs. something like, say, Aliens, is quite a shift. :)

The special effects with the birds was fairly well done (for the time), but I laugh at the scenes where someone is supposed to be driving and there are obvious differences in what the character and the car are doing. Also, she's driving pretty normally and there are obvious and frequent tire screeching noises going on. Vroom, vroom!
 
Capt. Factorial

Capt. Factorial

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#3,611
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I'm a bit torn on The Birds as a film. I really don't think it's that great of a movie, especially compared to his output in the previous decade (at least five sublime films in that time frame, and no, I am not counting Psycho among those five). But at the same time, it's a far, far better film than any movie with the premise "birds begin to randomly murder people" has any right to be. It's almost as if The Birds is Hitchcock's cocky way of saying "I can film a turd sandwich molding in the gutter and make it worth watching".
 
D

dude12

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#3,613
#3,613
Movies I’m going to watch as soon as I get time
Sound of Metal on Prime
Without Remorse on Prime
Billie Holiday story with Andra Day on Hulu
Things Heard and Seen on Netflix
Also, want to check out the series Shadow and Bone on Netflix.

There are some bigger movies coming on HBO and Netflix soon that look interesting
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#3,614
I watched Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (Prime Video) Friday night with a friend - I'll start by saying I read the book but it's been about a decade so I can't recall how closely the movie actually follows it. I do remember really enjoying the book. And while the movie is entertaining, it is somewhat predictable (some plot points are easily seen coming a mile away) and there are some plot holes that are obvious. That being said, it is a good action flick and Michael B. Jordan does well in this. Recommended for good action entertainment value, but not a great film by any means. The Bourne films are much better, for example.
 
Hoovtrain

Hoovtrain

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#3,615
#3,615
Those Who Wish Me Dead on HBO Max was a good watch. I’m all in on anything Taylor Sheridan. And while the writing wasn’t up there with some of his other movies, it was still a solid watch and you can get invested in the characters
 
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dude12

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#3,616
#3,616
Fit in a few movies this weekend and last

For those who wish me dead. HBO Max. Angelina Jolie movie with quite a few top supporting actors in it. Hard for me to buy her in her role but if you can get past that it’s a solid action flick.

Woman in the Window. Netflix. Amy Adams. It was fine, just didn’t sizzle for me.

Oxygen. Netflix. A woman wakes up in a Cryogenics chamber with little memory of how she got there and unable to get out. Actually liked this one a bit. Foreign film with dubbed in English.

Last weekend the wife and I watched Sound of Metal on Prime. Recommend this one. Very good flick.
 
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dude12

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#3,617
Rented Minari. Thought it was really good. Good acting, if you follow the awards you know about the ones who were up for awards but Will Patton in a smaller but important role was kind of a hoot.

Watched Army of the Dead on Netflix. Zack Snyder movie. Zombies. Dave Bautista. Entertaining enough.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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Saw a couple of flicks today online - the first was Infinite with Mark Wahlberg (Paramount+, I believe) which was pretty meh. Stunts were too over the top, and the premise and follow through were pretty middle of the road.

The second, The Tomorrow War with Chris Pratt on Prime, was much better overall. The story held together much better and it was just a more enjoyable flick. While yes, it copied from other alien battle flicks (what movie doesn't to a certain extent at this point), the special effects were pretty well done, the acting was good, and I just like Chris as an actor. This one is definitely more recommended of the two.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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Went to see Black Widow in the theater today - the first movie I've seen in one in a year and a half. Our entire family is vaccinated, and so are my friends/dad who went with me, so no worries on my end about going out to do things again.

I liked it overall - some of the sequences are kinda over the top, and the fight scenes could sometimes be better filmed or choreographed, but it is entertaining and fun to watch. Don't go in expecting it to be one of the best Marvel movies, just enjoy it for what it is. I've always liked the Black Widow character and her portrayal of it, and this doesn't detract from that at all. The end credit scene is interesting, too.
 
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dude12

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#3,621
Warhawk said:
Went to see Black Widow in the theater today - the first movie I've seen in one in a year and a half. Our entire family is vaccinated, and so are my friends/dad who went with me, so no worries on my end about going out to do things again.

I liked it overall - some of the sequences are kinda over the top, and the fight scenes could sometimes be better filmed or choreographed, but it is entertaining and fun to watch. Don't go in expecting it to be one of the best Marvel movies, just enjoy it for what it is. I've always liked the Black Widow character and her portrayal of it, and this doesn't detract from that at all. The end credit scene is interesting, too.
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Been debating going or just waiting until Disney plus posts it
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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dude12 said:
Been debating going or just waiting until Disney plus posts it
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We all were ready to just go see a decent movie in the theater on a big screen (I splurged for IMAX, what the heck). :) I wouldn't really bother with the IMAX treatment for this one, but it was definitely nice to go to a theater again.

I believe it is available on Disney+ for a premium fee ($30). Not sure how long it will be until the fee is removed. Frankly that would have been cheaper than the movie tickets!
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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Sluggah said:
I think I enjoyed Black Widow a bit more than Warhawk. Glad I saw it on the big screen. Florence Pugh and David Harbour were great. Pretty mixed feelings on the Taskmaster treatment though.
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Oh, I enjoyed it. I liked the story it told. I just think there were some areas that could have been improved a bit.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

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We watched the new Space Jam last night. I didn't think much of the original movie when it came out since I was in my early 20s, so I feel like this must be the equivalent for many 90s kids that the Phantom Menace was for me a few years later as I understand there are a lot of angry 30 something out there right now.

I actually didn't hate it and liked quite a few things about it, like the Don Cheadle character, since most of my friends are obsessed with how youtube creates its content algorithms for us and comparing the overlaps.
 
GWD

GWD

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#3,628
#3,628
Pulp Fiction when it came out many years ago. It turned me off to movies so much that I haven't watched one since then.

Oh, and the movie before that was Three Amigos. Never again a comedy after that disaster.
 
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