What is the last movie you saw? and rate it.

[kiz_paws]

Secondhand Lions
10/10

I loved this movie.
Robert Duvall and Michael Caine play very convincing eccentric old codger-like great uncles in this movie about a boy who is basically dropped off by his flaky mother for the summer.
The boy is played by Haley Joel Osment, and he is very loveable in his role in the movie.
This movie has you laughing, angry, sad, and all in all I found it to be a very entertaining 110 minutes.

[Janine]

Secondhand Lions
10/10

I loved this movie.
Robert Duvall and Michael Caine play very convincing eccentric old codger-like great uncles in this movie about a boy who is basically dropped off by his flaky mother for the summer.
The boy is played by Haley Joel Osment, and he is very loveable in his role in the movie.
This movie has you laughing, angry, sad, and all in all I found it to be a very entertaining 110 minutes.

Kiz, I saw this movie awhile back and I loved it, too! I got such a kick out of the "old codger-like great uncles" haha..such an appropriate way to describe them. I thought they played it just right; they were great together. I laughed when Duvall went out to the lake with a plunger - wasn't it a plunger and he was fencing with it; I forget now? I have always love films featuring Haley Joel Osment. He is in another film, which I think is wonderful called "Pieces of the Lord", shot in rural Poland, during the Nazi occupation. It basically is from the kids' point of view and such a great screenplay; if you ever have a change, I highly recommend it; but unlike "Second Hand Lions", it is much more serious a role for Osment. "Second Hand Lions" is all you pointed out in your last statement. I wish to see that film again and since my library owns it, I should check it out soon. I recall it was totally enjoyable and all the characters were just great.

[Janine]

I'm a big fan of Woody Allen and I really enjoy his tragedies, Match Point is one of my favorite films, but the miscasting of Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell is a case of what could have been ... of course I own it, lol; I couldn't have an incomplete collection.

To be honest with you, I am still a bit undecided about "Cassandra's Dream"; it is rather different and actually not at all like other Allen films. I didn't even realise it was done by him. I am a big fan of McGregors but you may be right about the miscasting. I don't know, something about the film bugs me, but so far I haven't figured out exactly what. I own the film also, since a friend on Youtube highly recommended it. I think that some parts just went 'over the top' in some strange way - can't really explain that; perhaps it was mostly the actions of the characters or something that did not feel authentic to the times, or appropriate. I usually like Richard E. Grant, but I was not too sure about his role in this film either. Maybe I didn't like it as well because these stars did not seem to believable to me. I agree, I don't know if Ewan was believable at all in the film. I prefer him in other films I have seen him in such as "Young Adam" and "Eye of the Beholder"...in those I believed he was the character. Maybe it was his silly accent and his stupid looking long wig, that threw me way off in "Cassandra's Dream."

I agree with you, I like Woody's tragedies probably the best. I liked his older works, such as "Hannah and Her Sisters", "The Purple Rose of Cairo", "Husbands and Wives" and I also loved "Match Point." There are so many I hope to see someday.

[saba]

Today I had the chance to sit down and watch three wonderful films (I had the day off of work and it's 20 degrees below 0 where I live - so a few hours of cinema seemed necessary). I don't know how many people on this board are interested in cinema as a art form (as opposed to a conventional form of entertainment), but I would like to share to any interested parties on these small treasures I had the joy of watching...

La Jetée/Sans Soleil by Chris Marker


Chris Marker is a French multimedia artist who is best known for his documentaries. The first piece I watched was his 28-minute short film La Jetée. The film takes place in a apocalyptic Paris after World War III, where the survivors of the aftermath live underground. There scientists spend their days researching time travel, in hopes that they could go back in time and erase the destruction of the past. After a series of trial and error, the scientists discover that time travel will only be successful on a participant who has proficient memory. They meet a man with an obsessive childhood memory that involved a mysterious woman that is linked to his life in some way. With the aid of this man, the scientists can successfully go back in time as well as into the future...



What I found most interesting about this film was that it was almost entirely composed from still shots.



The entire short can be seen on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw0UIhLArTM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBnQKslFQYQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5YJi_XuEE

The second film I saw was Chris Marker's documentary Sans Soleil. This film is a meditation on the nature of memory and the inability to recall context and distinction of memory as a form of personal or historic significance. The film is a experimental essay of beautiful thoughts, images, and scenes, most notably from Japan and Guinea-Bissau. There is a marvelous contrast between the two nations (Japan for their complex modernity, Africa for their primitive simplicity). There are some interesting references to Hitchock's Vertigo and Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker. This film was overall more interesting and complex than La Jetée, but La Jetée felt more complete as a film. There are numerous scenes during Sans Soleil that are unforgettable (Japanese museum of animal erotica, the killing of a giraffe, etc.) Highly recommended.

Opening scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKOJUgTqFtY

À nos amours by Maurice Pialat


Maurice Pilate's first film is a very nice one. Suzanne (played by the gorgeous Sandrine Bonnaire) is a fifteen year old Parisian who plunges into a world of sexual rampage, in an effort to isolate herself from her domineering but loving father, and ineffectual mother and brother who decide to execute violence upon her life. What makes the film so successful is it's simplicity and rawness in nature, in design and how the character's interact with each other. The film may seem controversial to some because of it's openness to sexuality and full body nudity of a 16 year old actress, but it is a beautiful, brief film about a young adolescent growing up into womanhood. Very intimate and compelling.



À nos amours trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_gcsG4-5vw

[*Classic*Charm*]

Suspicion- 8.5/10

Joan Fontaine was underrated, I think. Poor thing.
And Alfred does some excellent camera work, as per usual. No one could do an interesting perspective shot like he could. When he puts you into Joan's eyes and shows Carey Grant lounging on the fancy chair staring right at you, it's incredible!


Oh Hitch, how I've missed you the past two weeks while school started!

[JacobF]

Religulous -- 9/10

I approached this movie as if it was going to be a religion bashing-fest, but it wasn't -- and I'm glad for that fact. A lot of the interviewees did a good job of making fun of themselves. Bill Maher was hilarious, and seemed genuine throughout the entire thing. The only part where the movie got serious was the very end, when Maher did a little rant on religion. Even if you are a religious person, you can enjoy this movie.

[kiz_paws]

Kiz, I saw this movie awhile back and I loved it, too! I got such a kick out of the "old codger-like great uncles" haha..such an appropriate way to describe them. I thought they played it just right; they were great together. I laughed when Duvall went out to the lake with a plunger - wasn't it a plunger and he was fencing with it; I forget now? I have always love films featuring Haley Joel Osment. He is in another film, which I think is wonderful called "Pieces of the Lord", shot in rural Poland, during the Nazi occupation. It basically is from the kids' point of view and such a great screenplay; if you ever have a change, I highly recommend it; but unlike "Second Hand Lions", it is much more serious a role for Osment. "Second Hand Lions" is all you pointed out in your last statement. I wish to see that film again and since my library owns it, I should check it out soon. I recall it was totally enjoyable and all the characters were just great.

Ha ha, yes, Duvall was fencing in his billowing nightshirt with a plunger (hilarious!)

I thank you for your tip on the more serious film of Osment, Janine. I will definitely need to check this out.

[AshleyEliz]

The last movie I saw was "Reign Over Me"

Of 5 stars, I'd give it a 4. I was very moved by the movie, and I thought that Sandler did a very good job with such a serious role. It's not very often you see him step from his usual comedic light, into a much more serious one, and fit the part so well.

I felt as if he really was this terribly heartbroken, destroyed man who had lost everything that had ever meant anything to him in one fell swoop.

[*Classic*Charm*]

Pathology 2/10

SCREWED UP! By far the most disturbing film I have ever seen.

[Janine]

Ha ha, yes, Duvall was fencing in his billowing nightshirt with a plunger (hilarious!)

I thank you for your tip on the more serious film of Osment, Janine. I will definitely need to check this out.

I thought the film was a riot at that point, too.

The other film is exceptional, I think. The smallest kid in it is amazing. He is luminous in this very intense and complex role and he can't be very old. Kid actors do amaze me. Osment, likewise is terrific and deep. I love the part where he talks with the priest and what says about the communion waffers; this is the symbolism of the title and the story. It has a great ending, too. I will try looking it up on Amazon for you.

Edit: opps I am wrong - the film is called "Edges of the Lord"; not 'Pieces'....here is the Amazon link...http://www.amazon.com/Edges-Lord-Hal...VE/ref=sr_1_3?

[Zee.]

Harold and Kumar, the second one..
again.

9/10
Could not stop laughing.

[kandaurov]

The very last was yesterday, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail (11/10, the best comedy of all time), but we didn't watch all the way to the end, so...

Slumdog Millionaire: 7.5/10

Basically, the chap's an indian Forrest Gump. A movie with one of the most gripping first halves I've seen in a while. Sadly, it sort of goes downhill towards the end - not at all as congruent and satisfying an ending as in Forrest Gump. Though they were essentially artistic liberties crucial to the story, some things still struck me as very forced, like the show being recorded live and [what follows isn't really a spoiler, but then again it kind of is] the fact that the last question was not final question material at all.

[subterranean]

I finally watched Shrek(2). For some reason, I always thought it was a crappy movie. But after seeing it, I fall in love with it from the first minute. Totally hillarious!

[Alexei]

I'm a big fan of Woody Allen and I really enjoy his tragedies, Match Point is one of my favorite films, but the miscasting of Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell is a case of what could have been ... of course I own it, lol; I couldn't have an incomplete collection.

I've seen parts from Match Point. I caught the last ten minutes of it while they were broadcasting it on TV. They made me want to watch the whole film, but it will have to wait. Same with Cassandra's Dream unfortunately. I don't know maybe I am not missing a lot with the last one as you and Janine seem to think, but I want to see for myself If I don't like it I can at least try to understand what exactly is wrong with it

Saba, great post. Thank you for the reviews. I like French cinema, but I don't have much information and I usually choose the French films I watch rather randomly. The three you made the reviews of seems very interesting to me and I will add them to my 'to watch' list You really got me interested in Sans Soleil especially with the references to Stalker. It's one of my favourite films. Well, I am not great fan of the plot, but the way it was made really impressed me. Although it is so slow and hard to watch some the scenes were really beautiful. Same goes with The Mirror, the other Tarkovsky's film I've seen.

[Janine]

The very last was yesterday, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail (11/10, the best comedy of all time), but we didn't watch all the way to the end, so...

Love MP! I think it was a classic too...just too funny for anything. I love it.