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

[Reza]

Dream Wife (Sidney Sheldon, 1953) 2/10

Misogynist, extremely dated and stupid comedy rife with stereotypes about the battle of the sexes. A business tycoon (Cary Grant) expects his wife-to-be (Deborah Kerr), a career diplomat, to give up her work and be a homemaker. When she breaks off the engagement he proposes to an Arab princess (Betta St. John) from the oil rich country of Bukistan. To keep the King happy the State department (represented by Walter Pidgeon) assigns the diplomat to ensure there are no hitches in the upcoming marriage and she connives to mess up the relationship in order to win back her man. Corny situations with Grant and Kerr (wearing Oscar nominated costumes) both looking bored stiff. This has to be Grant's worst movie.

[Reza]

Rollercoaster (James Goldstone, 1977) 4/10

Lackluster "disaster" film about a terrorist (Timothy Bottoms) bombing rollercoasters in amusement parks and playing a cat and mouse game with a safety inspector (George Segal), his boss (Henry Fonda) and the cops (Richard Widmark, Harry Guardino) who are hell bent on trying to track him down. A film totally devoid of suspense that also wastes the talents of Susan Strasberg and a very young Helen Hunt as Segal's wife and daughter. Skip this.

[Reza]

Our Brand Is Crisis (David Gordon Green, 2015) 6/10

A "retired" political campaign strategist (Sandra Bullock) sent to help a controversial Presidential candidate in Bolivia discovers that her rival (Billy Bob Thornton) is working for another candidate. Perky Bullock, the La Paz locations and the ruthless win-at-all-costs methods used by the strategists make this a fairly fun ride although with this particular star in the central role the plot lacks bite and could have benefitted more with someone like a younger Faye Dunaway who could have brought a more ruthless flavor to the part.

[Reza]

Girl With Green Eyes (Desmond Davis, 1964) 9/10

One of the forgotten British films that came out during the cycle of kitchen sink dramas which, in fact, is a mature May-December love story (screenplay by Edna O'Brien) about two lonely individuals from vastly different backgrounds. In Dublin a lonely, gauche shopgirl (Rita Tushingham) falls in love with a sophisticated and much traveled writer and landlord (Peter Finch) who happens to be in a bad marriage. She is in awe of him while he hesitatingly gets into the relationship. Sharply acted by Rita Tushingham who, for a brief period during the 1960s, managed to appear in a number of iconic films. Her homely face, expressive large eyes and shy demeanor made this actress easy to identify with. Finch is excellent as the jaded older lover who prefers to make love but does not particularly care to fall in love. Tender, sad and moving slice of life with a hilarious performance by a young Lynn Redgrave as the annoying chatterbox friend.

[Reza]

Forsaken (John Cassar, 2016) 8/10

Low key brooding Western, simmering just below the surface, with all the genre's clichés well intact. A bitter gunslinger (Kiefer Sutherland), harboring a guilt, rides back into town after being away fighting during the Civil War. His estranged father (Donald Sutherland), the town preacher, berates him for his ways. His former lover (Demi Moore), whom he had abandoned but still carries a torch for, is now married. Trying to lay low he is forced to get involved when a greedy land grabber (Brian Cox) hires a gunman (the elegant and smooth talking Michael Wincott) to wrest land from the locals. The slow buildup to the final shootout is exciting in the true classic sense of the genre. Both actors - father and son - play superbly off each other with Keifer Sutherland making a fine Western hero - shades of Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven". Beautifully photographed film with Alberta subbing in for Wyoming.

[Reza]

Freeheld (Peter Sollet, 2015) 4/10

A film about two people in love who are denied their basic rights comes off as mawkish and lifeless with everything happening in fast forward mode. A gay cop (Julianne Moore) meets a younger woman (Ellen Page), falls in love and they both move in together. Then life gets upturned as cancer grips the cop and the two try to convince the poilce force that pension benefits should be paid to the surviving partner. The matter becomes a media circus as a gay rights activist (a grotesquely miscast Steve Carrell) tries to cash in on the debate. None of it is convincing as presented in this dull film which, although based on true events, never rises above a limp television disease of the week fare.

[Reza]

The Man in the High Castle (2015) 9/10

Riveting television adaptation of Phillip K. Dick's novel set in a 1962 American dystopia imagines a horrifying “what if” scenario of an Allied defeat during WWII. The Pacific West coast of America is controlled by the Japanese and the East coast by the Nazis. The central Rockies is a neutral buffer zone. There is a resistance movement against the two mighty powers each of whom are also vying for total control. The film's subtle production design, costumes and the shadowy cinematography create a world that brings to mind Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" although remains faithful to the recreated period. Well worth watching the 10 episodes as two characters, one from each coast, come together to take on the might of the oppressive rulers. A must-see.

[Reza]

All Roads Lead to Rome (Ella Lemhagen, 2015) 1/10

Hideously bad rom-com / road movie which makes a criminal mistake - it makes Italy look boring. Stupid plot doesn't deserve any mention with the actors floundering. Sarah Jessica Parker (looking tired) has no chemistry with Raoul Bova (who seems to be the go-to continental actor - like Rosanno Brazzi during the 1950s - for romancing American actresses on Italian soil). The screechy American teen actress (Rosie Day) is annoying beyond belief. The once stunning beauty - Claudia Cardinale - shows a few sparks in an underwritten role but is eventually defeated by the ugly woollen cap she has on her head throughout the film. Avoid this film like the plague.

[Reza]

And Then There Were None (Basi Akpabio, Rebecca Keane & Craig Viveiros, 2015) 7/10

Umpteenth adaptation of Agatha Christie's book "Ten Little Niggers". The original title of her book, based on a popular song from the mid 19th century, was changed to "Injuns", "Indians" & "Soldiers" and it's current movie title "And Then There Were None" due to the obvious racist elements. Ten strangers are invited to an isolated place (here an island) by a mysterious host and they die one by one according to the song. Who is the murderer? Is he one of them? This one follows the book's conclusion unlike most of the other film versions of which there have been numerous. Handsomely produced BBC film shot on an island off Cornwall with stunning scenic views and an interesting cast of veterans - Charles Dance, Miranda Richardson, Sam Neill, Toby Stephens - playing the assorted victims.

[Precious Doll]

Hi-So (2010) Adity Assarat 6/10
Greg Louganis: Back on Board (2014) Cheryl Furjanic 6/10
Croc A Dyke Dundee (2014) Fiona Cunningham-Reid 7/10
Summertime (2015) Catherine Corsini 7/10
Microbe and Gasoil (2015) Michel Gondry 4/10
The Search (2014) Michel Hazanavicius 1/10
Racing Extinction (2015) Louis Psihoyos 6/10
The World of Kanako (2014) Tetsuya Nakashima 6/10
I Knew Her Well (1965) Antonion Pietrangeli 6/10

[Precious Doll]

Birds in Peru (1968) Romain Gary 1/10
Pawn Sacrifice (2015) Edward Zwick 3/10
Dark Blood (1993/2012) George Sluzier 4/10
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) Burr Stevens 4/10
Trumbo (2015) Jay Roach 4/10
Hail, Caesar (2015) Ethan & Joel Coen 2/10

Repeat viewings

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) Larry Charles 9/10
The Emigrants (1971) Jan Toell 6/10
The New Land (1972) Jan Troell 8/10

[Precious Doll]

How to Win at Checkers [Every Time] (2015) Josh Kim 6/10
Portia on Trial (1937) George Nicholls Jr. 6/10
The Passover Plot (1976) Michael Campus 4/10
Happy Christmas (2014) Joe Swanberg 4/10
My Nazi Legacy (2015) David Evans 7/10
Scalene (2011) Zack Parker 6/10
My Straight Son (2012) Miguel Ferrari 6/10
Pleasure Island (2015) Mike Doxford 4/10
Immortal Love (1961) Keisuko Kinoshita 6/10

Repeat viewings

The Passage (1979) J. Lee Thompson 4/10
3 Women (1977) Robert Altman 10/10

[Reza]

Prince of Foxes (Henry King, 1949) 6/10

One of the most beautiful looking films to come out of Hollywood - set in 1500 Italy during the Renaisance era and actually filmed on location in Rome, Florence, San Marino and Venice with opulent sets, and Oscar nominated costumes and cinematography (with Leon Shamroy behind the camera). The film cries out for colour which was hard to come by in post war Italy. The plot involves the evil machinations of Cesare Borgia (Orson Welles having a high time with the role) who plans to invade peaceful Cittá del Monte and sends his unscrupulous aide (Tyrone Power) to try and dupe the elderly Count (Felix Aylmer). Planning to seduce the Count's much younger wife (Wanda Hendrix) he has a change of heart and switches sides against Borgia. The film has plenty of intrigue, battle sequences and swashbuckling but the screenplay's leaden pace stops things dead in its tracks.Everett Sloane, as a slimy assassin, is the best part of this film.

[Reza]

Conspiracy of Hearts (Ralph Thomas, 1960) 7/10

In Italy during the waning years of WWII a group of nuns - headed by the Mother Superior (Lilli Palmer), a novice (Sylvia Syms) and an aloof and haughty nun (Yvonne Mitchell), help smuggle orphan jewish children out of a nearby internment camp. The children are then handed over to the local partisans who arrange their safe passage to Palestine. The arrival of the Nazis makes the situation volatile. Moving film.

[Reza]

The Young Savages (John Frankenheimer, 1961) 7/10

Street gang violence in New York City as three Italian teenagers stab a blind Puerto Rican boy in a racially instigated attack. The Assistant D. A. (Burt Lancaster), who grew up in the same neighborhood, discovers there's more to the facts than what seems apparent. Gritty look at the social effects of gang warfare. Good cast although the screenplay touches on various themes (hiding one's true heritage in order to avoid racial classification) but fails to carry them through.