What was the last movie you saw?

"St. Vincent" - a drunk degenerate gambler becomes a last resort babysitter for a recently divorced mother and her son.

If there is one thing I like about Bill Murray it is that he takes the roles he wants to take, if there is one thing I hate about Bill Murray it is that he takes the roles he wants to take. The dude has made his fair share of stinkers as of late. Despite the cliche premise, I really enjoyed it. I may be a little bias though as, anyone from where I am from knows a Vincent -- a blue collar curmudgeon with that North East pessimism. Like a 2000s version of Archie Bunker.
 
84 Charing Cross Road (1987). Very nice. The acting of Anthony Hopkins and what's-her-name is superb. According to wiki, after the book store closed it changed a few times to retailer shop, restaurant, etc., now MacDonald's. :(
 
Focus

Will Smith is a confidence man. Tons of sneaky, twisty-turny surprises and plenty of chuckle-out-loud lines.

I dare not say much more, for fear of spoilers.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys the sting/congame/heist sort of movie.
 
Jason Bourne. Another very entertaining Bourne movie. It is not as good as the Bourne Ultimatum and there is some element of repetition through the series. The storyline isn't anything amazing either though we find out more on Jason's mysterious background. But I just love this series. I thought the first three were amongst the best ever film trilogies and this is a worthy addition.
Compared to James Bond films, Mission Impossible and various other action films with a hero this just seems so much more believable and compelling. Ok his skills at noticing when people are following or looking at him are a bit too good but otherwise the action scenes in Bourne films always work so well. They rarely have an absurd way to end, they have solid looking fighting, not too much magically avoiding bullets etc and they keep you glued to the screen. IT is always great to see how he will evade the surveillance when he is meeting someone. Though the last car chase scene is a bit nuts hollywood style. The earlier one set in Greece is great.

Finally got to see Jason Bourne. I liked it, and I generally agree with much of what @Judderman said about it. But I have, perhaps, a bit more to say.

I thought that the first three films in the series were terrific, downright masterpieces. I heard, some time later, that Matt Damon had turned down a script for a fourth film; and I admired him for that, feeling that if he felt the script presented to him wasn't good enough, he was right. (They then churned out a fourth so-called "Bourne" film, without Bourne; it was eminently forgettable...)

So, I was surprised to learn about this new one; and I had to conclude that Damon has good reasons for agreeing to it. And after seeing it, I think I know that reason (or at least one of a number of reasons).

Understand, this film has a lot of action, and more of the various sorts of Bourne's ability to understand what his opponents are trying to do and plan to counter it...it's true, as @Judderman said, that some of his anti-surveillance skills seem "a bit too good," but maybe that's what you can expect from the super-agent... But it does serve to make the film more fun, more interesting.

Another thing about this film, though, that I found interesting: filmed years after the first three, it made no attempt to disguise the passage of time. Bourne himself displayed a certain gray, grizzled appearance indicative of aging; as did several of the other characters brought over from the previous films -- including Nikki Parsons and the Asset played by Vincent Cassel (the latter, apparently filled with animus because Bourne defeated him before, pursues Bourne throughout this film, until they engage in a long hand-to-hand (and whatever happened to be lying around). And I was thinking, throughout that long fight, that you don't often see two super-agents, clearly in their forties, taking, and giving out, such punishment... (But maybe that's part of the difference between myself and super-agents.)

Oh, those reasons for thinking I understand why Damon did this film? I think it lies in the film's presentation of a CIA plot to obtain new technology that would enable 24/7 surveillance of, well -- of everybody! I think Damon was sending a message about government surveillance and the tendency of people in power to try to enhance that power...

It's a warning.
 
I'm getting old. Daughter Number One wanted to share a film with me today. It's her favourite film at the moment. She is 14. They'd studied the film at school earlier this year and she'd borrowed the disc from her teacher and bought it home. The film was The Danish Girl. When I was her age the film would have been an X (that's an 18 in the modern rating system). Subject matter aside, the nudity alone (male and female) would have made it out of bounds to anyone under voting age. Now it's suitable for teens. About bloody time too.

The film was wonderful. I cried. More than once.

I have this long-held theory, which I have expounded often and will again, that a great film makes you move differently. You respond physically to a film if it inhabits you, if it gets under your skin. You come out of a great action adventure zipping and bouncing, a wire-fu, chop socky opera leaping about like some ninja gazelle - after The Danish Girl I found myself (unconsciously) doing strange, self-concious hand to face gestures like the character Lili. It got to me.

Loved it to bits.
 
The new version of The Jungle Book. I thought it was generally rather splendid and Shere Khan was quite terrifying. Although I wasn't overly keen on what they did with King Louie it was worth it just to hear Christopher Walken's take on 'I Wanna Be Like You' :)
 
Okay, Strange Magic. Aminated princesses n' ogres n' cute giant centipedes and other weird critters... all have a big adventure, and burst into song at many junctures. (Sugar Pie, Honeybunch!)... there's a love potion, see... made from magic flowers... and the wrong princess gets it, and sees the bad giant bad buggy guy... and he sings too... and there's songs, quite a few, even People Are Strange by the Doors... and a bit of Deep Purple, and lots other familiar pop/love songs... that they sing, and the amination is very nice. Get through the first ten min. and it is quite loverly.
 
The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

Since I recently read F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story "Babylon Revisited," I decided to check out this very loose adaptation. It's pretty much a classy soap opera. The very bones of the plot are still there -- guy goes back to Paris after being away for a while in an attempt to win back custody of his daughter -- but a lot of extra flesh has been added. It also makes a huge difference to change the time the story takes place from the Depression, looking back on the Roaring Twenties, to the 1950's, looking back to the end of WWII. Good performances from Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson in the leading roles, decent support from Donna Reed as Taylor's sister. Walter Pidgeon steals the film as Taylor's aging playboy father. Interesting small roles for Eva Gabor and a very young Roger Moore.
 
Caught Shane on TCM. Been a while since I'd last seen it. I was once again impressed by the cinematography amid the Grand Tetons background. The style of filming with both near and far focus helps to tell the story and carries the viewer along. The film editing, especially in the climactic barroom gunfight, is a heuristic device for any budding filmmaker. Jean Arthur was in her mid fifties when this movie was made, but carries the role of the young(ish) wife and mother off well. A host of character actors of the time all acquitted themselves well. Alan Ladd could have been replaced by a department store manikin but didn't hurt the overall feel of the film very much. Always worth a watch.
 
The Imposter (2012)-Excellent documentary film about a European man impersonating an abducted Texas teenager and then moving in with the abductees parents after they are told he has been "found". Very interesting.

The Equalizer (2014) -A Denzel Washington film in the Taken and History of Violence style. Not quite as good as either of those but an entertaining Friday night movie if you like that Genre. I enjoyed it.
 
Saw Money Monster the other night... wow! What a brilliant movie. At first I was not so sure where is was going but.. wow! That ending really packed a punch!
 
Okay, Strange Magic. Aminated princesses n' ogres n' cute giant centipedes and other weird critters... all have a big adventure, and burst into song at many junctures. (Sugar Pie, Honeybunch!)... there's a love potion, see... made from magic flowers... and the wrong princess gets it, and sees the bad giant bad buggy guy... and he sings too... and there's songs, quite a few, even People Are Strange by the Doors... and a bit of Deep Purple, and lots other familiar pop/love songs... that they sing, and the amination is very nice. Get through the first ten min. and it is quite loverly.

music to include Deep Purple and The Doors? SOLD!!!



Back on topic - I re-watched Gladiator at the weekend, most excellent
 
American Psycho (2000) Quite an interesting film, with an amazing ending that I did not expect. Excellent.

The Signal (2014) Surprisingly good science fiction flick. Fantastic.

My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Wonderful animated fantasy movie. Cute and heart-warming.
 
I re-watched Gladiator at the weekend, most excellent

I also watched this yesterday, and I agree, most excellent.
Interesting factoid, Nick Cave wrote a script for a sequel to the Gladiator, where Maximus was reincarnated by the Roman Gods. I think time travel was also involved.
 
Ghostbusters 2016 finally made its way out to Korea. It was interesting. I can't say I understand what the whiners were on about. It had its funny moments. I'd say the original was funny and this movie roughly captured the zeitghost of the original. I really liked the fire station gag in the middle and end of the movie.
 
Thor the dark world - hit him with the hammer, hit him again, keep hitting him.

With both the Thor movies I had the nagging feeling that they could have done so much better than they did. There was nothing truly wrong with them as the actors acted well and there weren't really any BIG holes in the plots but.... :unsure:
 
Last movie I saw? Thinking, thinking...geez but it's been awhile. Trying to get kids through high school and college really cuts into the screen time...

Last one I remember watching was Twelve Angry Men (the original with Henry Fonda), and it was an event. I deliberately rented it and deliberately sat down to watch it.

Love it. Every time. Feeds the soul.:barefoot:
 

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