What is The Last Movie You Watched?

[Stavros]

Passengers (Morten Tyldum, 2016)
I went to see this expecting the worst, but it was not as bad as some reviews have suggested. Don't go expecting a profound experience. There is a problem with the story which mixes a pioneer theme with a rescue mission, and has a moral problem which the rescue sort of resolves, whereas in The Guardian a few days ago the film was accused of justifying stalking. Jennifer Lawrence is hardly pushed to the limit of her abilities and as usual looks good dressed or undressed, but so too does this film, with one of cinema's best spaceships in Avalon. Yes there are plot holes and some silliness, but it is Christmas and the film entertains for a couple of hours.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355644/

[Stavros]

Victoria (Sebastian Schipper, 2015)
This film, shot in one take over just over two hours in Berlin, tells the story of a Spanish woman who meets some guys being thrown out of a club between 4-5am and gets involved in their adventure, climaxing around 6.30am. She emerges at the end as a paid up member of the 'self-preservation society' though one does wonder at times if her behaviour was so reckless she ought not have survived at all. A bravura piece of film-making, but disappointing that crime seems to be the driver of this drama, not least because it leads to some of the least convincing scenes in the film. Nevertheless, worth watching.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4226388/

[holzz]

Adangamaan.

[Stavros]

The English actor John Hurt has died at the age of 77. He appeared in some notable films, such as The Elephant Man, the first of the Alien series, and was a regular on TV in the UK for many years. An actor of great sensitivity often portraying, when younger, vulnerable characters as he grew older he graduated to more senior, often world-weary establishment types associated with government. In his early career he stood out in A Man for All Seasons as the ambitious lawyer Richard Rich who, in this scene, advised by Sir Thomas More to teach rather than seek a position at court, uses his resentment to smear More's reputation and play a role in his eventual execution. He made some crap films, as do most actors, but at his best he could give a film depth through his skills.

[Stavros]

Westworld (Michael Crichton, 1973)
I don't recall seeing this when it was released, and have not seen the TV series so I thought I would begin with the original. Although quite interesting the film has no depth, a poor script, some poor acting, and a low budget that makes it all rather flat and lacking the sensational drama the plot seems to demand. I can't imagine the TV series being better, but it can hardly be worse- can it?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/

[trish]

Manchester By The Sea
The sad story of a man whose understandable inability to forgive himself inhibits his ability to help and relate to others - and his one an incremental step toward progress. Depressing, but well written, with incredible performances.

[Stavros]

Manchester By The Sea
The sad story of a man whose understandable inability to forgive himself inhibits his ability to help and relate to others - and his one an incremental step toward progress. Depressing, but well written, with incredible performances.

I would like to see this film but it is not on general release in the UK I will have to travel to a large city to see it, and that is no guarantee.

Logan's Run (Michael Anderson, 1976)
Set in the year 2274 when people cannot live beyond the age of 30 (in the original book, which I have not read, it is 21), the film exploits the 'little man against the system' in the form of a 'Sandman' who hunts and kills 'runners' who want to live beyond 30. One Sandman questions the system after meeting a young woman and together they escape from the 'Dome' in which they live to discover a living world outside -Washington DC in ruins- and an old man living in Congress -they return to the Dome to destroy it and liberate the people from an early death. This occasionally good looking film has a terrible script, terrible acting and thus resembles an episode of Star Trek or Dr Who. Whether or not a remake is justified I can't say, but I can't see any point to it either.

[Gillian]

Logan's Run (Michael Anderson, 1976)...
This occasionally good looking film has a terrible script, terrible acting and thus resembles an episode of Star Trek or Dr Who.

The point is that is has Jenny Agutter in it and is therefore a good film. End of ...

[Stavros]

The point is that is has Jenny Agutter in it and is therefore a good film. End of ...

An actress of stunning mediocrity.

[Stavros]

Apocalypto (Mel Gibson, 2006)
This film aired on tv a week or so ago. I had not seen it before as I do not intentionally purchase anything by Gibson, and was going to turn it off and go to bed but decided to see it through to the end. Gibson's reputation for ignoring, or distorting history can be found in Braveheart, and also in this truly dismal film which makes some claim to concern the Mayan civilization in decline and the self-inflicted violence that tore it apart. The truth, of course, lies elsewhere, and is not helped by Gibson appearing to confuse Mayan and Aztec rituals, quite apart from the basic premise devaluing the Mayan people he presents as head-chopping lunatics. According to imdb, the budget for the film was $40m, money that could have been better spent on the relief of the poor. In addition to the imdb link there is a powerful critique of the film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472043/

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1217-24.htm