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

[Reza]

Appointment With Death (Michael Winner, 1988) 5/10

Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot solves a murder case in Israel with an all star cast in tow. These films are always great fun especially watching the stars chewing up the scenery. Here Lauren Bacall and Piper Laurie do the honours.

Boom! (Joseph Losey, 1968) 2/10

A nasty, rich eccentric woman who is ill, lives on a secluded island. A man washes up on shore and visits her. Is he the Angel of Death? What a big dissapointment, especially as it has these two big stars in a film adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play. La Liz spends the whole film screaming at everyone around her and makes no sense. Burton remains cool and collected throughout and, as usual, it is a pleasure to just hear his voice. The film is beautifully photographed and has an amusing cameo by Noel Coward as the Witch of Capri. Strangely enough this was Williams personal favorite film adaptation out of all his plays.

Opening Night (John Cassavetes, 1978) 5/10

An actress suffers a breakdown after she witnesses a fan get killed in a car accident. The story is set during the performance of a play the star is acting in. Long, indulgent and rambling drama in typical Cassavetes fashion. Gena Rowlands is very good as the star whose fear of ageing may have triggered off the breakdown. Nice to see Joan Blondell as the author of the play.

A Special Day (Ettore Scola, 1977) 5/10

Rome 1938: Hitler visits the Eternal City and is a guest of Il Duce. The whole city turns out to welcome the Fuhrer. Sophia plays a drab (Yes, she doesn't look drab at all despite that dress), neglected wife and mother of six whose husband and kids go into the city to join in the celebrations. Left alone in the apartment she encounters a neighbour and through the course of the film share intimate details about their lonely lives. Obvious and contrived, the film nevertheless is wonderful to watch as two great stars do their thing. Surprisingly Mastroianni was nominated for an Oscar although Loren is even better.

[Sabin]

/Lost in America/ (Albert Brooks) - 8.5/10

Interesting. The first time I saw Lost in America, I thought that the second half of the film loses considerable steam after they go bust immediately. I still do feel that way but it becomes a charming beast of its own, a sitcom about two yuppies living in a mobile home. After watching Mother, I now think that Albert Brooks (along with the late Monica Johnson) has problems with the second halves of his second acts. As his plots complicate past peak, they get a bit sloppy. But Lost in America has a great dingbat foil for Brooks in Julie Hagerty. I wish more comedies had the audacity to feature characters who not only don't learn, but actively regress.

A Midsummer Night's Comedy (Woody Allen) - 4/10

Yeah, really shoulda watched Smiles of a Summer Night before this. There is a simple-mindedness to a lot of these characters, and simple-mindedness requires a more intense, manic touch. But Woody Allen allows his actors to wander directionless, and they're miscast actors at that. Woody Allen as a crackpot inventor feels like an outtake from Sleeper, and a bad one. Mia Farrow is at her most boring as a former libertine center of projection and lust. Tony Roberts doesn't convince at all as a lovelorn charlatan. Mary Steenburgen is utterly miscast as sexually frigid. Without an ensemble to back him up, José Ferrer just comes across as annoying. Only Julie Hagerty finds the right balance in sincere caricature. The film is almost doomed from the get-go. I love films with structure like these, but not this one. It's actively busy being forgotten while it's being made.

[Cinemanolis]

The Tree of Life 10/10
My favourite Mailck film. A masterpiece. I'm speechless.

[anonymous1980]

The Saragossa Manuscript (Woljciech Has) 9.5/10

[Sabin]

/The Goodbye Girl/ (Herbert Ross) - 3/10

UGH! Has this child ever existed? I guess it's not her fault, she's not that unappealing especially considering who her mother is. Marsha Mason is about the least attractive woman I've ever seen. Physically, she's a shrew. Emotionally, she's unbearable! I could see this film working with a Diane Keaton or Jill Clayburgh in the part, but you don't want this person to get what she wants without changing for the part. Neil Simon and her are a good fit because he's impossibly absorbed with himself too. This dialogue is so absurdly cutesy that I couldn't really deal with it, although some of it works. But he is terrible with plots. Terrible, terrible, terrible!

I've read this is based on the life of Dustin Hoffman after he became a star and I could see that working. Richard Dreyfuss is by no means Oscar-worthy but he almost successfully sells his characters' arc and I must give him credit for that. He starts off very strong and as the film grows maudlin so does he against his every effort.

A bad movie. A terrible central performance. And a self-absorbed screenplay.

[Sabin]

/Mother/ (Albert Brooks): 6/10

Will the real Albert Brooks stand up?

Half of Mother isn't just a very funny movie but a welcome one, one that takes its time with long stretches of scenes that pay off naturally and truly explore the mother/son dynamic with unforced gags. The other half is far too soft in the middle. This film takes forever to reach its conclusion: that she resents him. That is the kind of untapped comedic possibility that could propel an entire film, if at least not half the film. Ultimately, the time that Brooks with his long scenes distract from the sad fact that he doesn't know where his project is going or know how to deal with it once it gets there. This is very disappointing and ultimately makes the film feel like pop psychology, especially considering that Brooks just loads on the brother character to say that at least he's not as bad off as this guy. Lazy! I'm surprised to see that the film won a screenplay award.

On the other hand, Debbie Reynolds is so wonderful you'd have to be made of stone not to be a generous grader. She is such a natural presence in this film that she outclasses it. I can actually understand why she wasn't nominated because nothing that she does looks like acting. This is a shame because I think she would win any other year.

[Reza]

The Cheat (Cecil B. De Mille, 1915) 3/10

Dated melodrama with Fannie Ward playing a very melodramatic wife who is a spendthrift. She borrows money from a friend to pay back money she has lost only to discover that her friend wants to have it off with her in return. The friend is a Burmese hence all the hysteria.........how could a white woman allow herself to get fucked by.........drum roll..........a Burmese man? Quite ridiculous today but it was a sensation back then. The only novelty is seeing a young and suave Sessue Hayakawa as the dreaded Burmese. Fannie Ward plays the woman in true silent fashion with hands wringing her hair and with full facial contortions.

Posession (Andrzej Zulawski, 1981) 0/10

You haven't seen crap until you've seen THIS crap !! A married couple (Neill & Adjani) appear to be in a VERY messy marriage with a lot of verbal AND physical abuse thrown at each other. There is a child in the background who seems quite unaware how loony his parents are. The wife then gets posessed (a manic Adjani bangs around in an underground walkway), murders assorted friends and lovers and ends up in an empty apartment on a bed having sex with a slimy and oozing monster that looks like a combination of human entrails and a giant embryo. All this while Neill goes around gnashing his teeth - in closeup the actor has horrendous front teeth which he appears to have fixed later on in life. The MOST bizarre ending to this whole messy film is that the Cannes jury awarded Adjani their best actress award at the festival. I think this should be required viewing for all cinephiles - THE movie to watch before you die !!

The Member of the Wedding (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) 3/10

A film about a lonely 12 year old girl coming of age in the South. All I can say is that I'm glad they filmed it as it preserves Julie Harris' acclaimed performance on Broadway. I personally did NOT buy her as a 12 year old at all and found her incessant whining a total turn off. The film also preserves the stage performances of both Ethel Waters and Brandon de Wilde and both are very good.

The Group (Sidney Lumet, 1966) 4/10

A great cast of female future stars all at the beginning of their careers here. Unfortunately none of the characters are very interesting and Lumet does nothing to make the film move along. A dissapointment.

Oedipus Rex (Pier Paolo Pasolino, 1967) 4/10

King Oedipus discovers that he has killed his father, married his mother and has had children by her. His wife / mother kills herself and he blinds himself. Greek tragedy unevenly filmed by Pasolino with his usual stamp on the project - great shots of barren landscapes, badly dubbed actors, non-actors in lead roles who don't know how to act or even try acting and assorted grotesque looking characters (straight out of Fellini) playing supporting roles. Silvana Mangano plays the wife / mother and she at least tries but the film is totally let down by the amateur actor playing the lead.

The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice, 1973) 5/10

A young child watches the film Frankenstein and becomes convinced that he actually exists. Lyrical story seen mostly through the eyes of a child. Stunningly shot in shades of honey tones. Reminded me a lot of a Terence Malick film - great visual beauty and overrated content.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007) 4/10

True story about the editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who has a sudden stroke and becomes completely paralyzed. Only his left eye and brain function. By a painstaking process of blinking he manages to dictate a book about himself.The director films the story completely from the perspective of the paralyzed man and I found this stunt rather disconcerting. Felt seasick. I didn't also particularly care for the character who was pretty much a louse before the ailment and remains so till the end.

The Little Foxes (George Schafer, 1956) 4/10

A tv adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play about greed amongst a southern family. Greer Garson is too genteel for the part of Regina but gives it a good try. However, she cannot erase memories of Bette Davis in the part. Eileen Heckart is superb as Birdie, the sad alcoholic sister-in-law.

The Sea Inside (Alejandro Amenabar, 2004) 6/10

A true story about a Spaniard who in a diving accident becomes paralyzed. The story revolves around his battle to end his life after being confined to a bed for 30 years. Bardem is superb and is aided by a wonderful cast playing his loving family, friends and lawyers. Wonderfully photographed film with the camera showing us what all Bardem's active mind wants to see and enjoy.

Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975) 9/10

A Masala Western and one that is rightfully considered to be a classic of Bollywood cinema. The plot is lifted from The Magnificent Seven except here the saviours of the village from bandits are only two men. A perfect combination of action, melodrama, comedy and music. The stars all fit perfectly in their parts. Highlights: The attack on the train, the memorably profane dialogue, the gentle wooing of widow Jaya Bhaduri by Amitabh Bachchan, all of Amjad Khan's scenes as the villain Gabbar Singh, the ''Mehbooba Mehbooba'' dance number sequence by Helen, the dance on shattered glass by Hema Malini to save her lover Dharmendra's life and the towering performance by the great Sanjeev Kumar. Great camera work throughout.

Harry and Tonto (Paul Mazursky, 1974) 7/10

An old widower (Art Carney) is evicted out of his apartment and has to go live with his son. From there he decides to take a road trip across America (with his pet cat Tonto) to go visit his daughter (Ellen Burstyn) in Chicago and his other son (Larry Hagman) in California. Also accompanying him is a 15 year old hitch hiker and his young nephew. Lovely, humorous film about old age and the difficulties faced by people placed in that ''situation''. Art Carney as the ''old'' man is wonderful in the part and won an Oscar. The scene with the hooker is priceless. And there is a wonderful cameo appearance by Geraldine Fitzgerald as Harry's old flame who has lost her memory. Great score by Bill Conti.

Darling (John Schlesinger, 1965) 6/10

London: The Swinging Sixties in all it's glory. The story about a young girl who rises in the world of fashion and movies by clawing and sleeping her way to the top, throwing aside a husband and various boyfriends along the way. She ends up with everything but love and not knowing what she wants with life. Terribly dated film but with a magnificent central performance by Julie Christie who won an Oscar and became an instant star. She is provided wonderful support by Dirk Bogarde and a catty Laurence Harvey. Great black and white photography.

[Sabin]

/Born on the Fourth of July/ (Oliver Stone) - 4/10

Haven't seen this one in ages, and ultimately I think there are two problems with this film: Oliver Stone and Tom Cruise, and the greater fault lies with the former. Stone starts the film off as an evocation of Norman Rockwell, a succession of imagery that he will eventually subvert as the film continues onward. However the tempo created by Oliver Stone sustains itself throughout the film, so ultimately the film becomes a non-step crescendo of Fake America, Vietnam, Coming Home, Mexico, etc. And the script doesn't have time for pauses, for moments that really bring us into the life of Ron Kovic. It's all surface and soundtrack, and for what purpose really? The film's outrage is so palpable that I kept wanting to look away, and I'm not sure I was really bettered by it. This is not a great performance by Tom Cruise, but it's not really his fault. Oliver Stone doesn't allow for him to dive into this character. He uses - emphasis on "use" - Tom Cruise's sunny all-American marquee looks to show us the effects of Vietnam on a generation that was lied to. But because we are introduced to Tom Cruise during the fake-as-hell Norman Rockwell scenes, he never starts as a character and his evolution has the same tempo so he never really evolves into a character.

I don't hate the film. Some of it is all right, and I can't deny the craft of the filmmaking. But really I just found it annoying. People speak of Driving Miss Daisy "robbing" Do the Right Thing for the Oscar, but really it "robbed" Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, and My Left Foot -- and really only the latter. And the divide in quality between Driving Miss Daisy and My Left Foot is relatively marginal, as they're both very good films. But Oliver Stone winning Best Director over Kenneth Branagh, Woody Allen, and Jim Sheridan (none of whom had a shot in hell) is the far bigger crime. It didn't deserve its editing Oscar either.

[anonymous1980]

Summertime (David Lean) - 6.5/10

Why such a low rating for one of my favorite films?

It felt kind of generic and failed to connect with me in a significant way. I liked the ending and Katharine Hepburn was great, as usual. Plus it made me wanna go to Venice.

[anonymous1980]

Temptation Island (Joey Gosiengfiao) 8/10

This is considered a camp classic in Filipino cinema. Four beauty pageant contestants and their respective entourage get shipwrecked in a desert island. This film feels a bit like a Russ Meyer movie with generous sprinklings of Federico Fellini, Luis Bunuel and Alejandro Jodorowsky and it's quite terrific. There are plenty of twisted, over-the-top, surreal and hilarious moments (including an unforgettable sequence involving the song "Somewhere"). It's actually less racy than I thought it would be. Sure, there are naughty bits involving scantily clad women but they're relatively mild. But still, the beautiful photography coupled with the campy humor makes it fun to watch still. There are moments of bad acting but it adds to the camp quality of the piece.

[Big Magilla]

Summertime (David Lean) - 6.5/10

Why such a low rating for one of my favorite films?

[kaytodd]

Downfall (2004) rating: 8/10
director: Oliver Hirschbiegel

Bruno Ganz' performance as Hitler was off the chart terrific but the other actors were fine but only servicable. But I had a hard time keeping my eyes off Corinna Harfouch as she played Frau Goebbels but that might have been because I knew what she was going to do. She was fascinating since I saw in her character signs of both fanatical loyalty to Hitler and Nazism and anger and contempt for her husband for getting her and her family into that situation. Good work by Harfouch. I watched her penultimate scene with her family through gaps in my fingers as my hands covered my face. My sense of morbidness and voyeurism were very satisfied by this film. It was a nice touch that a few scenes were viewed by characters who happened upon them by accident and watched them through doorways. Hitler turning away in anguish as his dog Blondi was poisoned; Hitler's secretary watching his wedding to Eva Braun through a partially open door; another character watching through another partially open door as a doctor gives Hitler advice on how to most effectively commit suicide, etc.

Hirschbiegel and his crew did good work with a budget under 20 million dollars. The scenes in the streets of Berlin and the claustrophic bunker were perfect, as were the costumes. And I have to give special props again to Bruno Ganz. Portraying Hitler as the human being he was is always controversial. He is still seen as this cartoon character. But even ths most evil people have to show a human side if they are going to be successful in politics.

There was no nation more cosmopolitan and advanced than Germany in the 1930's. A raving lunatic would not have risen to power anywhere in the world, but especially not there. But, for obvious reasons, that is how Hitler is almost always portrayed and attempts to portray him as he probably actually was are controversial. There is a scene at the beginning of the film when Hitler is hiring a group of female secretaries in 1942, when he was at the height of his powers and before his dementia really set in. One of the girls is nervous but he goes out of his way to put her at ease and even makes self deprecating jokes to relax her. I like the idea of Hitler remaining an icon of evil (for that is what he was) but I admired Ganz and Hirschbiegel for going this route. I am sure it was a controversial decision. But this film was the story of a young girl who was very honored to work for the person she probably admired more than anyone in the world. Like almost everyone else in that bunker three years later, she still admired and loved him for they were sheltered in his orbit. Ganz' acting chops helped me understand just how these people could be so deluded. Good work. I recommend this film highly. I was riveted from beginning to end.

[anonymous1980]

Summertime (David Lean) - 6.5/10

[anonymous1980]

Family Plot (Alfred Hitchcock) - 8/10

[mlrg]

The Tree of Life (2011 - Terrence Mallick)

10/10