Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

Reza
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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The Damned (Luchino Visconti, 1969) 9/10

Visconti's operatic and deliciously overblown account of the rise of Nazism as seen through the eyes of a German industrialist family (supposedly based on the Krupps) during the 1930s. The elaborate decadence is reflected in the family members some of whom are either vying for power on the coattails of the Nazis while others fall prey to savage instincts of greed and murder. The plot moves at full steam when the aged head of the family is murdered on his birthday by the lover (Dirk Bogarde) of his evil widowed daughter-in-law Sophie (Ingrid Thulin) whom she plans to place as head of the steelworks. They implicate the Vice President (Umberto Orsini) of the firm who is the old man's liberal son-in-law (Umberto Orsini) married to his young daughter (Charlotte Rampling). A power struggle breaks out for the steelworks between Sophie, the brownshirt officer heir to the works and a cousin (Helmut Griem) who is an SS leader. Adding to the chaos is Sophie's effete son (Helmut Berger), first seen performing in Marlene Dietrich drag, who goes from being a weak momma's boy to transforming himself into a rabid Nazi. Along the way he molests a young child and rapes his dope addicted mother. The film hysterically captures the era with scenes set in opulent drawing rooms, in beer halls, Nazi rallies on the streets, book burnings, a trasvestite orgy and the Night of the Long Knives. The graphic sex scenes add to the hysteria and horror. This is not Visconti's best film by any means but it has enough moments in it to make it very controversial and one is riveted to the screen watching in open mouthed wonder. As with all of his films it has sumptuous production values. A must-see.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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The Driver's Seat / Identikit (Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 1974) 1/10

Extremely bizarre film (based on the book by Muriel Spark) becomes an awful star vehicle for Elizabeth Taylor. What made her accept the part? Money? The need to appear on screen several times in a see-through bra? A chance to create a record for the worst performance EVER by a two-time Academy Award winner? Probably all of the above. A haughty (and mentally disturbed) spinster arrives in Rome in search of someone to kill her. Along the way she comes across a pervert (Ian Bannen) on the plane, a dotty old coot (Mona Washbourne) who accompanies her on shopping trips and assorted terrorists who either blow up cars or run around shooting people at airports. Liz sails through all of this with a pinched look on her face barking orders at everyone around and throwing hissy fits at the drop of a hat. The film's Eurotrash look along with the "murder" element of the plot makes this the closest La Liz got to starring in a Gialo. Awful score, ugly sets, inane dialogue and a confusing story keep this from being a camp classic.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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The Untold Story of Armistead Maupin (2017) Jennifer M. Krout 7/10
Genius (2016) Michael Grandage 4/10
Don't Blink - Robert Frank (2016) Laurel Israel 6/10
I Am Not Your Negro (2016) Raoul Peck 8/10
Norman (2017) Joseph Cedar 5/10
Melody (1971) Waris Hussein 7/10
Tschick (2016) Fatih Akin 7/10
The Climber (1975) Pasquale Squitieri 6/10

Repeat viewings

La Cérémonie (1995) Claude Chabrol 10/10
In Cold Blood (1967) Richard Brooks 10/10
Vision Quest (1985) Harold Becker 6/10
The Big Heat (1953) Fritz Lang 10/10
Housekeeping (1987) Bill Forsyth 7/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Snatched (2017) Jonathan Levine 4/10
Alien: Covenant (2017) Ridley Scott 4/10
Spencer's Mountain (1963) Delmer Davis 7/10
Dead or Alive: Final (2002) Takashi Miike 2/10
Nocturama (2016) Bertrand Bonello 7/10
Viceroy's House (2017) Gurinder Chadha 5/10
Tunnel (2016) Seong-hun Kim 4/10
Right Now, Wrong Then (2015) Song-soo Hung 6/10
Love Meetings (1964) Pier Paolo Pasolini 6/10
The Age of Shadows (2016) Jee-Woon Kim 6/10

Repeat viewings

Throne of Blood (1957) Akira Kurosawa 8/10
Bobby Deerfield (1977) Sydney Pollack 8/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Get Out (2017) Jordan Peele 7/10
Brimstone (2017) Martin Koolhoven 7/10
A Dog's Purpose (2017) Lasse Hallstrom 3/10
The Zookeeper's Wife (2017) Niki Caro 4/10
Contact High (2009) Michael Glawogger 5/10
Four Days in France (2016) Jerome Reybaud 7/10
American Pastoral (2016) Ewan McGregor 6/10
Detour (2017) Christopher Smith 5/10
Maire-Octobre (1959) Julien Duvivier 6/10
Kaili Blues (2016) Gan Bi 6/10

Repeat viewing

Elle (2016) Paul Verhoeven 10/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Uncertain Glory (2017) Agusti Villarong 7/10
Free Fire (2017) Ben Wheatley 4/10
Jota de Saura (2016) Carlos Saura 6/10
Redes (1936) Emilio Gomez Muriel & Fred Zinnemann 7/10
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) Andrew Ovredal 5/10
Salt and Fire (2017) Werner Herzog 1/10
Frank & Lola (2016) Matthew Ross 7/10
Lovesong (2017) So Yong Kim 6/10
Rules Don't Apply (2016) Warren Beatty 4/10

Repeat viewings

The Beyond (1981) Lucio Fulci 2/10
Eye of the Needle (1981) Richard Marquand 9/10
Pretty Poison (1968) Noel Black 10/10
Saint Jack (1979) Peter Bogdanovich 9/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Thanks for the clarification.

I wouldn't say it was bizarre that New York didn't get Stevie until three years after L.A. It was unusual, but the original distributor went out of business in1978. It was picked up by the Samuel Goldwyn Company three years later.

Probably the most bizarre L.A. to N.Y. delay occurred with 1977's Opening Night which had its premiere in L.A. on Christmas Day, 1977 and was nominated for Best Actress (Gena Rowlands) and Supporting Actress (Joan Blondell) at the Golden Globes, but was not given an actual theatrical release in the U.S.at that time. It was shown at the N.Y. Film Festival in 1988, the year before Cassavetes' death, but still not given a theatrical release until it opened in New York on May 17, 1991.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Big Magilla wrote:
Reza wrote:The Incredible Sarah (Richard Fleischer, 1976) 5/10

Half baked screen biography of Sarah Bernhardt (Glenda Jackson), considered to be one of the greatest french actresses. The screenplay goes through all the usual clichés which make up a typical star's life - her audition and the start of her stage career as a teenager at the Comèdie Française, her increasingly eccentric behaviour (she liked to sleep in a coffin), loud temper tantrums, having a child out of wedlock by a nobleman (Simon Williams), her relationship with a playwright (Daniel Massey) and ultimate marriage to an actor (John Castle) who couldn't act. There are scenes recreated from Bernhardt's many stage performances - "Le Passant", "Phaèdre", "La Dame aux Camèlias", "King Lear" and her greatest triumph "Joan of Arc". Jackson strides through the role like a bully bellowing her lines and stops just short of being camp. It was her last star vehicle on screen and it's a pretty dismal effort.
I wouldn't say that. She was in 16 more theatrical releases through 1990 and had either first or second billing in most of them. She was still winning awards as late as 1981 with Stevie, the year of its New York release. She had considerable critical and box-office success with House Calls in 1978, Hopscotch in 1980 and to a lesser extent, Turtle Diary in 1985.

Her worst film was probably The Class of Miss MacMichael in 1978, the last film in which she played the title role. That one was even more of a pretty dismal effort.
A star vehicle in terms of a project specifically created for her. Yes Stevie came two years later - we shall discount the fact that it played in N.Y. in 1981 (although it was shown in L.A. in 1978 which is quite bizarre in itself that NY would not get to see it in its year of release). Her other successes with Matthau were not created for her.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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Reza wrote:The Incredible Sarah (Richard Fleischer, 1976) 5/10

Half baked screen biography of Sarah Bernhardt (Glenda Jackson), considered to be one of the greatest french actresses. The screenplay goes through all the usual clichés which make up a typical star's life - her audition and the start of her stage career as a teenager at the Comèdie Française, her increasingly eccentric behaviour (she liked to sleep in a coffin), loud temper tantrums, having a child out of wedlock by a nobleman (Simon Williams), her relationship with a playwright (Daniel Massey) and ultimate marriage to an actor (John Castle) who couldn't act. There are scenes recreated from Bernhardt's many stage performances - "Le Passant", "Phaèdre", "La Dame aux Camèlias", "King Lear" and her greatest triumph "Joan of Arc". Jackson strides through the role like a bully bellowing her lines and stops just short of being camp. It was her last star vehicle on screen and it's a pretty dismal effort.
I wouldn't say that. She was in 16 more theatrical releases through 1990 and had either first or second billing in most of them. She was still winning awards as late as 1981 with Stevie, the year of its New York release. She had considerable critical and box-office success with House Calls in 1978, Hopscotch in 1980 and to a lesser extent, Turtle Diary in 1985.

Her worst film was probably The Class of Miss MacMichael in 1978, the last film in which she played the title role. That one was even more of a pretty dismal effort.
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Four Faces West (Alfred E. Green, 1948) 6/10

An unlikely outlaw (Joel McCrea) robs a bank and goes on the run with a sheriff (Charles Bickford) in close pursuit. Along the way he is helped by a nurse (Frances Dee) and a Mexican casino owner (Joseph Calleia) both of whom guess what he has done but are impressed by his polite demeanor which later the sheriff also realises when he discovers the robber is using the money to help the poor. Old fashioned but charming story is beautifully filmed on location in New Mexico.
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'Tis Pity She's a Whore (Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 1971) 8/10

John Ford's 17th century stage play is too theatrical and melodramatic for the medium of film. However, this Italian production is beautifully filmed with a cast that exudes sexuality during the lyrically filmed sex scenes. During the Italian renaissance a beautiful young girl (Charlotte Rampling) falls passionately in love with her older brother (Oliver Tobias). After she gets pregnant by him she is hastily married off to one of many suitors - an arrogant nobleman (Fabio Testi). When her past is discovered jealousy rears it's ugly head leading to a bloody finalé. The acting is stiff although the youthful animal magnetism of both male stars comes through with full force. The camera is obviously in love with Charlotte Rampling who was never more radiant on screen. The film has wonderful production values with Gabriella Pescucci's costumes, Vittorio Storaro's glowing cinematography and Ennio Morricone's score all of which help to highlight this cult film.
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Brimstone (Martin Koolhoven, 2016) 9/10

Savage critique of religion in this gory yet elgiac Western. The relentless violence which religion "promotes" through the gospels on it's way to salvation is put forth here in a brutal way that is almost balletic in nature - stabbings, gouging, hangings, flogging, flagellations, shootings, rape, molesting and blood letting involving intestinal ooze, menstruation, animal decaptation - as the screenplay pokes a mean jab at Christian symbolism. The main plot involves a chase and tussle between "good" & "evil" with a mysterious man of the cloth (Guy Pearce) chasing a dumb woman (Dakota Fanning). The story is presented in four parts titled - Revelation, Exodus, Genesis, Redemption - and the plot moves backward in time during the first three sections with the story coming full circle in the last part as the chase comes to it's bitersweet conclusion with the promise of "hope". Pearce is truly frightening as the low voiced "man of God" with a Satanic aura about him who believes he is on a special agenda for the Lord and justifies his actions thinking he is already damned. This is an intriguing Western (set amongst the early Dutch settlers) and filmed on locations in Europe which substitute for the Old West.
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Old Yeller (Robert Stevenson, 1957) 8/10

Disney film with a horrific finalé that is sure to bring on nightmares. A teenager (Tommy Kirk) learns to love and depend on a stray dog - Yeller - while his father (Fess Parker) is away on a cattle drive. The boy lives with his mother (Dorothy McGuire) and kid brother (Kevin Corcoran) on their farm in Texas. Typical Disney fare celebrating family, nature and animals - the plot involves horses, cows, wild boar, toads and lizards but mainly revolves around the yellow mutt which becomes part of the boy's family. The famous ending is immediately followed by a cathartic development which is in tune with life and it's traumas.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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The Incredible Sarah (Richard Fleischer, 1976) 5/10

Half baked screen biography of Sarah Bernhardt (Glenda Jackson), considered to be one of the greatest french actresses. The screenplay goes through all the usual clichés which make up a typical star's life - her audition and the start of her stage career as a teenager at the Comèdie Française, her increasingly eccentric behaviour (she liked to sleep in a coffin), loud temper tantrums, having a child out of wedlock by a nobleman (Simon Williams), her relationship with a playwright (Daniel Massey) and ultimate marriage to an actor (John Castle) who couldn't act. There are scenes recreated from Bernhardt's many stage performances - "Le Passant", "Phaèdre", "La Dame aux Camèlias", "King Lear" and her greatest triumph "Joan of Arc". Jackson strides through the role like a bully bellowing her lines and stops just short of being camp. It was her last star vehicle on screen and it's a pretty dismal effort.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

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The Halliday Brand (Joseph H. Lewis, 1957) 8/10

Superb psychological Western that pits father (Ward Bond), a racist sheriff, against his favorite son (Joseph Cotten). When the sheriff refuses to allow his daughter (Betsy Blair) to marry a half breed ranch hand the young man is lynched and killed by the townfolk. Having fallen in love with the lynched man's sister (Viveca Lindfors) the son turns against his father and vows to see him step down as the corrupt lawman. A dark Western full of paranoia and hateful obsession with stylish camera angles (courtesy of Ray Rennahan's stark black and white photography which is surprising considering he shot and won his Oscars for lavish colour lensing) emphasizing the psychological aspects of the screenplay. The actors are all very good but Ward Bond stands out in his portrayal of the constantly bellowing bigot who can't stop bragging about his ruthless power. A neglected Western in need of rediscovery.
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