What is The Last Movie You Watched?

[Stavros]

Red Sparrow (Francis Lawrence,201 eight) [why is there always a smiley face instead of the digit eight?]

The good news first: if you like seeing Jennifer Lawrence's arse, unwrapped, this film will occasionally satisfy your hunger, or fetish, or whatever the attraction is for you.

The bad news: the film is rubbish, and lasts for more than two hours by which time you should have identified the Mole at the heart of Russian intelligence, but if you did not, it really does not matter. According to IMDB Red Sparrow is the first of a trilogy of spy thrillers written by a retired CIA agent, one can only hope there isn't a follow up to this drivel.

The director -no relation to Jennifer- directed the Hunger Games films except the first one, but has mostly directed rock/music videos. The script is dire and the acting so muted from the very start it is hard if not impossible to engage with the characters who never seem excited in their roles, and rarely express any emotion. If this was meant to give Lawrence the 'ice cool' persona of a ruthless agent, it failed, as it is just cold, as in -dead, lifeless, comatose.

There are numerous daft scenes -Lawrence is a star of the Bolshoi ballet, a fact which would suggest a reasonable degree of world fame making her the last person to choose as an undercover spy unless her fame is the cover. He ballet career ends when she is injured in an 'accident' so absurd it is actually offensive to anyone who knows anything about ballet. Needless to say, as with Black Swan, this is a hugely successful dancer who doesn't have a boyfriend, let alone girlfriends and lives in a modest flat with her mum. One could find numerous other idiocies in the film, some in the IMDB, but this is as far as it goes. As in, nowhere.

[Stavros]

In my review of Red Sparrow above, I forgot to mention an extraordinary sex scene in which Jennifer Lawrence climbs onto Joel Edgerton's cock. I timed the whole manoeuvre from insertion to ejaculation at 29 seconds. Is this a record? I have not previously timed sex scenes in films to draw up a list of the fastest and the slowest, it may prove to be an interesting exercise if anyone wants to do it.

As for the best sex scene in film, I have no idea what it might be. Any suggestions?

[blackchubby38]

Yes! That's bullshit! Granted, the 1984 version didn't age very well, its difficult to watch. Venkman was obviously a sexual predator.

Its not funny, at all. Can anyone name a scene that was funny?

And this, wtf?

I really hope you're joking. Just hitting on a woman doesn't make a guy a sexual predator.

I watched it about a month ago and the movie still holds up.

Ray was having a wet dream about getting a blowjob from a ghost. What's so hard to understand about that.

[decastro]

I watched M Night Shyamalan's The Visit (2015) on tv last night.

Although I thought the plot twist was well done, it didn't matter because we have seen all this before. The House in the Woods far from any neighbours; the basement that contains unimaginable terrors; creaking doors; things -or people- that go 'bump' -or worse- in the night. The film within a film, the innocence of childhood violated by selfish, uncaring adults, etc etc. When the soupy music from homely 1940s/50s musicals capped the last scene I wasn't sure whether to laugh with derision or just shake my head. I did the obvious: turned off the tv. Shyamalan is basically a fraud.

Lol i watched this movie recently too, I thought it was hilarious. Old lady chasing the kids around under the house screaming im gonna eat you then gets up casually with her ass hangin out. That scene was bugged out. I think in his recent movies hes been exploring mental health issues, dramatizing what they can do to people, but if you've ever experienced it yourself or know/work with people, it really can be terrifying. Way scarier than some off brand villain shit because you're not in control. That disease the old woman had? the thing where she gets crazy at night, sounds like a stupid plot twist but its a very real and common affliction. So yea, you definitely know whats going to happen for the most part but i appreciated the movie. Its worth saying, I was bored as fuck.

[Stavros]

Lol i watched this movie recently too, I thought it was hilarious. Old lady chasing the kids around under the house screaming im gonna eat you then gets up casually with her ass hangin out. That scene was bugged out. I think in his recent movies hes been exploring mental health issues, dramatizing what they can do to people, but if you've ever experienced it yourself or know/work with people, it really can be terrifying. Way scarier than some off brand villain shit because you're not in control. That disease the old woman had? the thing where she gets crazy at night, sounds like a stupid plot twist but its a very real and common affliction. So yea, you definitely know whats going to happen for the most part but i appreciated the movie. Its worth saying, I was bored as fuck.

I am not sure a distressing mental condition should be used solely for the purposes of entertainment (we have had it before with autism), but the strength or weakness of Shyamalan's films depends on the plot twist on which his films pivot. Although I had worked out the twist in The Sixth Sense before the great reveal I thought he handled it well and it remains, of those I have seen, his best film, whereas with The Visit the plot twist did not have the impact the film needed, and the subsequent descent into violence made a poor situation worse. The more obvious problem is that if a director creates a reputation around a cinematic device, like a plot twist which emerges just before the end, you expect it in his other films and look for it, so the tension does not have its desired effect. I also find much of his films visually boring, he could do more with what he has.

[slave2u]

twisted - starring ashley judd, part of that run where she played kick arse characters. unfortunately she looks cute and playing a drunken sot who gets drugged a lot is a bit beyond her. not helped by the fact she is as good at action as ben affleck is.
all in all not bad, would be interesting to see the story made with a less photogenic actress.

also worth it for the moments of sam l jackson (with hair) and andy garcia over acting.

[decastro]

I am not sure a distressing mental condition should be used solely for the purposes of entertainment (we have had it before with autism), but the strength or weakness of Shyamalan's films depends on the plot twist on which his films pivot. Although I had worked out the twist in The Sixth Sense before the great reveal I thought he handled it well and it remains, of those I have seen, his best film, whereas with The Visit the plot twist did not have the impact the film needed, and the subsequent descent into violence made a poor situation worse. The more obvious problem is that if a director creates a reputation around a cinematic device, like a plot twist which emerges just before the end, you expect it in his other films and look for it, so the tension does not have its desired effect. I also find much of his films visually boring, he could do more with what he has.

yea definitely shouldnt be used solely for entertainment purposes but unfortunately a lot of these mental health issues dont get talked about any other way. I've worked with people who have mental health issues and like many things in life, it can be equal parts terrifying, hilarious, and serious. I think the movie hit on that, as well as how awkward it can be when you dont know whether to laugh, to be scared, or maybe to alert somebody. Because of the ambiguity of these issues in our society most people arent really coached on how to deal with them, until you experience it. I dont know if that was his intent but thats what i picked up. You might also be surprised by how many special needs individuals, regardless of age, have violent tendencies.
Idk, I understand your point about the plot twist but I think that was something he became known for, I dont think its something he needs to be a good writer/director. Signs was good on its own merit, i liked unbreakable, split, and even that weird movie he did lady in the water. I guess it also depends on how u define plot twist. in the Visit, i know what part you're referring to but I didnt see it as a plot twist that the film pivots around. I mean, regardless, we knew those kids were in danger right? lol. I'm not a big shamalayan fan like i sound, definitely dont watch this movie unless you have nothin else to do, but for my part I enjoyed it.

[Stavros]

The Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard, 2011)
I saw this on tv last night, having heard it was not the usual kind of 'horror/slasher' film, a genre I usually avoid (though I have Dario Argento's Suspiria on my DVD pile). It gets a 7 rating on IMDB which is way above most other better films.

Yes, it is quite different, but is loaded with references to other films, from Carrie to The Hunger Games and many more, but other than that the script is bad, the acting is bad, and the meaning of the film in the reveal at the end ludicrous in its own apocalyptic way, with no explanation for the sudden appearance of Ripley, the Gods, or the end of the world. I was just glad to get to the end of the film.

[Stavros]

Out of the Furnace (Scott Cooper, 2013)
Saw this on tv last night.
Another grim film about decline in an industrial town. The father lies dying, the eldest son works in a steel mill earmarked for closure, the younger son keeps going and coming from tours of duty in Iraq. Then the eldest son is imprisoned for a fatal accident that was not his fault (but he had been drinking), and on release discovers he has lost his girlfriend, and his brother is making money from bare-knuckle fights in a world of loan sharks and drug dealers. Gloom and doom pile onto each other in a society where the law is ineffective and the gun or the fist the first and the last word. There are echoes of The Deer Hunter in the film which don't work, and while the photography is good and the script better than average, it makes one wonder if the 'two Americas' are ever going to be reconciled when the citizens have so little respect for the law, and the law has such little respect for them. Even if it explains the outcome of the 2016 Election, it does not explain what a great America would look like, and one fears that for these people, it will just be more of the same.

[josehip]

cont

132 The Edge of Seventeen 2016 Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig 3/5
133 The Boy Downstairs 2017 Directed by Sophie Brooks 3/5
133 The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson 2017 Directed by David France 5/5
134 A Kid Like Jake 2018 Directed by Silas Howard 4/5
135 Tragedy Girls 2017 Directed by Tyler MacIntyre 2/5
135 Halloween 1978 Directed by John Carpenter 5/5
136 Blue Steel 1990 Directed by Kathryn Bigelow 3/5
137 Thoroughbreds 2017 Directed by Cory Finley 1/5
138 Halloween II 1981 Directed by Rick Rosenthal 2/5
139 The Lure 2015 ‘Córki dancingu’ Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska 5/5
139 Alex Strangelove 2018 Directed by Craig Johnson 2/5
140 Women Who Kill 2016 Directed by Ingrid Jungermann 5/5
141 Fahrenheit 451 1966 Directed by François Truffaut 5/5
142 Ready Player One 2018 Directed by Steven Spielberg 5/5

JULY
143 The Birth of a Nation 1915 Directed by D.W. Griffith 5/5
144 Mazurka 1935 Directed by Willi Forst 5/5
145 I Feel Pretty 2018 Directed by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein 3/5
146 Sumurun 1920 Directed by Ernst Lubitsch 4/5
147 Way Down East 1920 Directed by D.W. Griffith 4/5
148 Ghostbusters 2016 Directed by Paul Feig 3/5
149 Ghostbusters 1984 Directed by Ivan Reitman 2/5
150 Unbreakable 2000 Directed by M. Night Shyamalan 2/5

cont

151 The Fifth Element 1997 Directed by Luc Besson 3/5
152 Metropolis 1927 Directed by Fritz Lang 5/5
153 The Last Airbender 2010 Directed by M. Night Shyamalan 2/5
154 Gattaca 1997 Directed by Andrew Niccol 1/5
155 Frau Im Mond 1927 Directed by Fritz Lang 4/5
156 Minority Report 2002 Directed by Steven Spielberg 4/5
157 Eyes Wide Shut 1999 Directed by Stanley Kubrick 2/5
158 ‎Destiny 1921 Directed by Fritz Lang 4/5
159 Shockproof 1949 Directed by Douglas Sirk 4/5
160 Charley Varrick 1973 Directed by Don Siegel 2/5
161 The Friends of Eddie Coyle 1973 Directed by Peter Yates 2/5

AUGUST
162 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 Directed by Joe Russo, Anthony Russo 4/5
164 He Did and He Didn’t 1916 Directed by Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle 2/5
165 Wished on Mabel 1915 Directed by Mabel Normand 3/5
166 Hannah Gadsby: Nanette 2018 Directed by Madeleine Parry, Jon Olb 5/5
167 Princess Mononoke 1997 ‘もののけ姫’ Directed by Hayao Miyazaki 4/5
168 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017 Directed by Rian Johnson 5/5
169 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 Directed by J.J. Abrams 5/5