[Movies] Last Movie You Saw and What You Would Rate it Out of 10

[Luxeley]

Last Movie - Derailed 2005
Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston
6/10 A somewhat derailed and disconnected suspense thriller with quite a few obvious plot holes. I only continued watching cause I do admit the story triggered curiosity and I wanted to see if I correctly predicted the plot twist and ending. Yes, I did.

Last Movie in theater - Top Gun Maverick
Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connoly
9/10 From the moment I knew a Top Gun sequel was in the works, I refused to provide $$$ for what I firmly believed to be a shameless $$$ grab. I couldn't have been more wrong. The movie proved to be not only better than the original, but also superior.

[Fencers]

Tár: 8/10

There Will Be Blood set in the modern time. Megalomania, sociopathy, cancel culture, social media, this film kinda bites off more than it can chew, and it will likely go over most people's heads. Ultimately comes across as contrived, pretentious and long-winded, a shorter but more to the point film would have made some huge waves. Despite all that, I enjoyed it, but left thoroughly disappointed because of what could have been.

I agree with this in part. What stayed my hand from giving Tar a higher score was the third act felt it tried to get itself around a lot of things the film didn't lay enough of a foundation on beforehand. One might look at it as saying, all those things from her literal and physical fall to the end were a kind of summing up or gestalt interpretation of what Tar has wrought.

Though I would say the film lacked some of the impact of those scenes because they moved so quickly or were underexplored. Like Tar hearing the vibration of the vents on her car, letting her partner out of the car early rather than slowing down, the woman missing her paper down the hall or the fella who made sure his hangers were pointed in the same direction. In isolation, I think those are all fine points and metaphors if any one of them had been followed logically with direct action. Though it all came together and the sheer broadness of it blunted what I think Field was going for.

Historically, Field is an extremely subtle filmmaker. It might be poor to constantly compare his subsequent work to the nearly perfect in the Bedroom. I don't mean to undercut Field like that either- but I do think he had flashes of where he wanted to go like when tar walks out of the dressing room for the final scene and is framed walking down the final hallway. Or the reverse transitions to the podium after the rehearsals are finalized for the actual recording.

A magnificent film nonetheless. Though I would agree it didn't exactly stick the landing. It could have been either trimmer/succinct or longer to give some themes time to set.

I do think the ending shot and reveal is a whopper of a statement on commercial art.

Cate Blanchett killed it, she is going to get that third Oscar.

I do think this was the best lead performance of the year. But I think Yeoh will get the oscar.

[Rasulis]

Tár: 8/10

There Will Be Blood set in the modern time. Megalomania, sociopathy, cancel culture, social media, this film kinda bites off more than it can chew, and it will likely go over most people's heads. Ultimately comes across as contrived, pretentious and long-winded, a shorter but more to the point film would have made some huge waves. Despite all that, I enjoyed it, but left thoroughly disappointed because of what could have been.

Cate Blanchett killed it, she is going to get that third Oscar.

Not sure how to score this movie. A low score feels disrespectful to Cate Blanchett great performance. On the other hand, watching a narcissist going through a self-induced meltdown for over 2.5 hours is not my idea of fun either.

- - - Updated - - -

I do think this was the best lead performance of the year. But I think Yeoh will get the oscar.

I remember watching The Owl vs. Bombo. Which was her very first movie. Even by 1980's HK standards, her acting was raw. Understandable since she barely spoke Cantonese back then. Which was why she decided to go into action, since with her limited Cantonese, drama and comedy were out of the question. Forty years later, she is nominated for Oscar Best Actress. Totally bonkers.

[RobertoCarlos]

RRR - 9.5/10

Holy shit, I havent seen anything this creative for awhile. I'd compare this easily to the best that hollywood can offer.

Its got a very striking visual style, and the set design/costumes are just all on point. Its over the top in the best way possible, the sound quality is crazy where not only do the songs sound good but the audio just really stands out and is great with headphones. The over the top british villains are great and still probably dont even come close to the real thing. The CGI is kind of uncanny but it totally works. And it just oozes charm and creativity. Hopefully bollywood can throw out more of these kind of movies.

[loras]

Puss in boots: The last wish
8/10

Didn't expect anything yet got pleasantly surprised, it's uncomplicated yet it does what it sets out tto do well, and that with an unexpected but wholly welcome and well done nuance to the themes involved.

[Syegfryed]

Saw Alita battle angel, i delayed a lot cause some shots gave uncanny valley shenanigans, but it worked in the movie fine. It was awesome but just a 7/10, cause the final was trash, and it could have being better.

[Malkiah]

Swiss Army Man: 9.5/10

with the assorted buzz about everything everywhere all at once, i have been reminded of how gut-wrenchingly disappointed i was in that movie and it depressed the absolute shit out of me for months after i saw it that it was so mediocre, and so i rewatched the film that made me so excited for EEAAO in the first place: the infinitely, incalculably superior first film by the writer/director duo.

this movie is so remarkable... a deeply unique and insightful meditation on loneliness, sadness, mental illness, and the coping mechanisms that we employ to deal with those feelings within the framework of an absurdist comedy.
while also being an often hilarious body-horror, a character driven performance piece, a buddy-duo road trip, *and* a delightful meta romp about movies in general.
it's all of these simultaneously but never feels overstuffed or like its losing its central identity, it's like a perfectly blended soup bringing multiple disparate elements together into a perfectly unified whole.

it has one of if not the greatest movie soundtrack i've ever heard that isn't on the "badass" spectrum - by that, i mean that the soundtrack doesn't kick ass (like say fury road) but it's just fucking amazing, and the way it weaves through the movie both diegetically and non-diegetically is incredible and something you rarely ever seen in film.

definitely in my top 5 best movies of the last 20 years, and probably in my top 10 of all time.

[melodramocracy]

You People: no score as I couldn't even finish it. If the rest of it continues to beat you over the head with the subtlety of an ABC afterschool special, I didn't miss much.

[Kreuger]

Black Panther Wakanda 6/10

First half alot better then the second half, could have cut atleast 30min aswell.

[The Stormbringer]

Princess Mononoke: 9/10

This movie is fantastic, and while I've seen it before, I just recently watched it again and noticed things I had missed before. Great artwork, great animation, excellent soundtrack, and even the English dub is solid and entertaining.

EDIT: Only rating it a 9/10 because it's not close enough to perfect for me to say 10/10, though it is definitely one of my favorite films of all time, and a powerful contender in the Ghibli animated sphere. An example of issues would be that some of the wide, sweeping shots weren't as smooth as I would've liked. Not sure if that was the stream or just due to the age of the film. Making the movie longer to help flesh out the characters a bit more could've gone a long way, like more backstory to give their personalities more punch.

[Ivanstone]

Avatar Way of Water 7/10

Yeah I'm shocked with this rating too. Its got about an hour of hacky story and its about two hours of alien world travelogue.

Yet it looks fucking spectacular, the action scenes are pretty good and doesn't drag too badly despite being over 3 hours.

[Nerph-]

Hell or High Water - 8/10

As soon as I started watching this I had deja-vu, probably because I'd already seen it and somehow had forgotten mostly everything about it.

Anyway, as for the actual film, really good. Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges have solid performances, among others of course. The music is great at setting the right atmosphere too. Glad I watched it (again).

[melodramocracy]

The Banshees of Inishirin: 9/10 - still chewing on this one a bit. I have a bit of a different view of the what the movie was trying for with the events on the mainland, and I thought the injected humor fell flat. Nonetheless, what's going on under the hood is definitely interesting, and makes for a great and fairly unique movie.

[Ivanstone]

Smiley Face 5/10

Anna Faris is funny as someone who did an apocalyptic amount of weed and needs to be responsible for a change. It’s still a lot lighter on good jokes than it should be. The Danny Masterson skull fucking scene seems oddly, uh…. , prescient now.

[leorana]

Seven pounds (will smith).

It's an oldie.

8/10. Too much lovy-dovy near the end, but other than that it is a great movie

[Ayirasi]

Crimes of the Future (2022): 6/10 Spoilers? Something something, surgury is the new sex. Something something, eat plastic. Something something, glorious boobs. Something something, lick a dude with an abdominal zipper. Something something, unneeded weiner shot.

Vikingulven (Viking Wolf): 6/10 Needed more vikings. I kid. It's an OK werewolf movie, with some passable CGI and gore. Took a while for me to realize a character (actor?) had heterochromia. I prefer the 'ending' before it cuts to black.

[Relapses]

Avatar: The Way of Water - 7/10

I'm a bit torn on this movie. On the one hand, I love that Cameron has the fuck-you bankable power to make literally whatever-the-fuck he wants. That's fucking awesome and I wish more creative directors had even a tenth of the liberties I'm sure he's afforded. But on the other, I just... don't get it. This movie is beautiful, no doubt about it. It's layered. It has a meaning. But outside of a stellar action sequence towards the last half of the film, I can't say all that much stuck with me. Where the original Avatar was spectacle, this movie was simply... exceptional. The CG looks great, especially the underwater scenes which are absolutely breathtaking and on their own nearly worth the price of admission. You can pause this movie at any point and each frame is its own individual work of art. The detail is mind-blowing.

Sadly, the sum of its parts is less than its predecessor and overall a bit lacking. The plot is serviceable. It mostly sticks the landing with its message. It's beautiful to look at. But I fucking fell asleep during the second act and it didn't exactly pick up from there. The movie needed to be edited down significantly and it's clear Cameron's attachment to the material is the reason it is the way it is. c'est la vie.

Infinity Pool - ∞/10

This movie is unhinged... and I loved every incoherent moment of it. This is not a movie driven by plot. I think there's a bit of a message somewhere in the chaos but it's not exactly obvious. The scenes feel tangentially related to one another but the overarching plot is a bit of a mess. You're just along for the ride. Alexander Skaarsgard and Mia Goth kill it in their respective roles, though I think Goth may have gone a bit too ham at some points. It's an incredible experience, unlike anything I've seen in ages.

[Kyphael]

Wakanda Forever - 7/10

It's a well-crafted movie, and by sheer emotional weight of its real-life tragedy, extremely well-acted by most of the cast but Tenoch Huerta. Now, Huerta's Namor wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but he wasn't as great as the role he plays demanded, either. He was serviceable. If anything, a forgettable villain that will probably make a less than impressive anti-hero. The writing really did him no justice, and his acting couldn't over-compensate for it.

I will say the action and CGI was great, though. The way Namor flies was very creative, with swimming-like motions, almost like the wings just barely propel the weight of his body but are just strong enough for bursts of flight that amplify his superhuman strength when he collides with something, or swings a chopper around. Got to give it to Coogler for that. The chase scene with Riri Williams was also very fun, Nakia's character was great to see, and Angela Basset stole the show. I see now why she's nominated for best supporting actress.

Not much on the replay value since it's so emotionally heavy, but a worthwhile sequel that segways into the future and potentially closes the book on the stories of all the first movie's characters.

[melodramocracy]

Tár - 9/10: While I gave Banshees the same score, I'd rank this as a better movie, and definitely the best I'd seen in the past 12 months. Stellar acting, sets, sound, script.. everything.

[Ophenia]

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania: 8/10

I feared it a bit but I enjoyed it a lot, especially next to the other recent MCU entries. Just taken a few points for no Luis and some dumb stuff here and there (as all stories talking about multiverse / time travel), but overall a very enjoyable experience on my side. Actors have good chemistry, CGI was on point (some say "overused" but that's normal in this context tbh), no slow moment dropping the flow in the middle of the action.
Not sure I get where all that Multiverse Saga is heading towards though