Rate The Last Movie You Saw.

[Lookwhoitis]

I try to watch every film nominated for Best Picture each year. For some reason, Lion just didn't interest me that much. For the sake of completion, I figured I should at least rent it. It didn't hurt that the rental was free. Well, I'm glad I decided to watch it. I absolutely adored the film. It's a remarkable true story. I'd recommend it to everybody.

It was definitely my favorite among all of the best picture noms

[Shannon]

Guardians 2: 3.5/5

Not as horrible as everyone is making it out to be. Less heart than the first one, not a fan of the hippy soundtrack they used this time, Nebula and Yondu were awesome, Drax not so much, and Babu Groot, from start to finish, was just about the most adorable thing ever.

[DanHocker]

I don't really get most of the complaints about Guardians 2. To me the movie just felt like more of the same from Guardians 1 with the humor dialed up a bit. It certainly wasn't as good as Guardians 1 was, but I really don't think it could have been. Guardians was such a surprise to just about everyone who watched it. No one expected that movie to be any good. Then again I like all of these Marvel movies, even the ones that most people don't like (Thor 2, Iron Man 2 & 3, The Incredible Hulk)

[Randall Flagg]

Tiny reviews:

Colossal-Person demons are monsters. Interesting to see the how someone who has hit rock bottom works to rise above; and a person she trusts does everything they can to to prevent it. Addicts love addicts and will go to great extremes to not lose a fellow addict. 3.5/6 Non-alcoholic beers on the RFSRS.

How To Be Latin Lover-Not the movies fault, but I went to a Tuesday 11am showing hoping for a small crowd. I got it. 20 people, all non-stop chatting during the movie. Four 20ish ladies sitting on front of me would not be quiet. I had to brush up on my limited Spanish to say "silencio por favor". They ignored my request. I move 5 rows up to the back row. Much to my chagrin, a young lady in front and 5 seats over had her two children ages 3 and 4 years old with her, and to make matters worse, she kept talking on her cell phone. I didn't recall how to admonish her in Spanish, so I simply said "please turn your cell phone off, or I'm going to have the manager tell you". She actually terminated the call and silenced the phone. Too bad she didn't silence the toddlers. They yapped all during the movie.

Oh-...I'm supposed to provide a quick review. Loved the concept and the raunchy factor. Predictable, but had several new jokes/scenes that were pleasntly shocking and funny. Quatro cervezas on the RFSRS.

[mae]

She actually terminated the call and silenced the phone. Too bad she didn't silence the toddlers.

For a second there my brain read "Too bad she didn't terminate the toddlers"...

[Shannon]

Loool

[Heather19]

Audiences at the movies these days suck. Everyone just seems so disrespectful. I don't know why it's so hard for people to be quite during a movie. If you want to talk, stay at home and watch it.

[mattgreenbean]

Pleasantly surprised with Arrival, would watch again in a year.

Guardians vol 2 soooooo enjoyable. I would watch again next weekend. I enjoyed the first one a lot. This one was better. It had a lot of eye candy, the jokes worked, the heartstrings were tugged, action scenes were grand. I could easily say this is my favorite movie to come along in a long time. We watched the 2d, I think I'll do 3d next time. Full crowd at 10am, I was wary but they were well behaved. Can't say that happenes much.

[Merlin1958]

Guardians 2: 3.5/5

Not as horrible as everyone is making it out to be. Less heart than the first one, not a fan of the hippy soundtrack they used this time, Nebula and Yondu were awesome, Drax not so much, and Babu Groot, from start to finish, was just about the most adorable thing ever.

Just watched this and I would go 4/5. I agree the soundtrack was not up to the 1st film's standards, but I'd add that, Kurt was pretty freaking good. It is a "set-up" film though and you can tell.

[Ricky]

Rainy day today so I had a double feature at home.

First up: Strait-Jacket.

Came across this one after seeing it portrayed in Feud: Bette and Joan. Feud made it look like it was a B-movie and a step down for Crawford and, although both are true, it's not bad at all. The effects are cheesy, there's some over-acting, but it's pretty engaging and Crawford does elevate the material.

(Heather, I'm tempted to watch Trog after seeing this one. )

Next: The Bye Bye Man.

I really enjoyed it and it totally surprised me. Well-paced, characters that don't make stupid decisions, and a generally creepy atmosphere and sense of dread. I think this is one that was failed by its own marketing. The lame trailers and title (which definitely didn't help it any) made it so that I had no interest in seeing it when it was released. It's not ground-breaking, but it was very entertaining and kept me interested and engaged the whole time. My only "complaint" is that not enough backstory was given about the Bye Bye Man himself. The ending sets it up for a sequel (which I would gladly see), so maybe they're saving it like Ouija 2 did. If you're looking for an easy-to-watch horror film with great atmosphere, give this one a shot.

[Tommy]

Rainy day today so I had a double feature at home.

First up: Strait-Jacket.

Came across this one after seeing it portrayed in Feud: Bette and Joan. Feud made it look like it was a B-movie and a step down for Crawford and, although both are true, it's not bad at all. The effects are cheesy, there's some over-acting, but it's pretty engaging and Crawford does elevate the material.

(Heather, I'm tempted to watch Trog after seeing this one. )

Next: The Bye Bye Man.

I really enjoyed it and it totally surprised me. Well-paced, characters that don't make stupid decisions, and a generally creepy atmosphere and sense of dread. I think this is one that was failed by its own marketing. The lame trailers and title (which definitely didn't help it any) made it so that I had no interest in seeing it when it was released. It's not ground-breaking, but it was very entertaining and kept me interested and engaged the whole time. My only "complaint" is that not enough backstory was given about the Bye Bye Man himself. The ending sets it up for a sequel (which I would gladly see), so maybe they're saving it like Ouija 2 did. If you're looking for an easy-to-watch horror film with great atmosphere, give this one a shot.

SPOILERS in this clip.

Battle Axe: The Making Of Strait-Jacket

I must see Trog now as well.

[DoctorDodge]

It's funny you mention Strait-Jacket, Ricky. They've got that playing at the local cult movie theater this week on my birthday. Genuinely curious to check it out, I must say.

[needfulthings]

[Ricky]

I think you'd enjoy it, James. It's campy at times, but not bad. It was written by Robert Bloch (Psycho), so there's some psychological aspects to it as well.

[TravelinJack]

Audiences at the movies these days suck. Everyone just seems so disrespectful. I don't know why it's so hard for people to be quite during a movie. If you want to talk, stay at home and watch it.

Terrible. One of the main reasons I built a theater and haven't been to public theater in years. Not just the talking but the texting and phone usage. I don't understand some people. I'd feel horrible causing distraction.

[DoctorDodge]

I think you'd enjoy it, James. It's campy at times, but not bad. It was written by Robert Bloch (Psycho), so there's some psychological aspects to it as well.

Awesome. Sounds like a nice cult film to watch on my birthday then.

I saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2 on Friday. It's not as good as the first one. I think there was a better balance between action sequences and story in the original film, plus you had the story of how this group of very different characters become a team, and that's very difficult to top. Mind you, having said that, I think the 2nd film did a pretty good job overall. It built on themes of the first film and explored ideas of family and what it means to be part of one. A little on the nose about it a lot of the time, but I still appreciated them. I also thought that the villain was a much more interesting character than in the first one. It also avoided the story of just breaking the team apart, which would've been the easy choice. I don't mind those kind of stories (honestly, I thought Civil War did it very well), but not in the second film, which some film series try to do.

Overall, I really liked it. It's hardly The Empire Strikes Back, but an enjoyable sci-fi comic book movie, really.

[divemaster]

The Life of Oharu (1952). Young lady causes her and her family to be exiled from their moderately high ranking position in the Shogunate court due to her dalliance with a lower ranking samurai retainer. The movie depicts the next 20 years or so as she tracks a downwardly mobile path (from esteemed concubine, to working in a brothel, to common streetwalker). In between stations she ends up back home, much to the chagrin of her status-seeking father who can't forgive her for ruining the family's chances. Fantastic acting all around. Toshiro Mifune has a small but powerful role (about 10 minutes of screen time) as the low ranking samurai who helped cause all the trouble in the first place. Kinuyo Tanaka is spot on as Oharu. I found the story to be moderately interesting; and the movie runs a bit long. But I'm just such a huge fan of these mid-century Japanese period dramas. 3.5 stars (out of 5).

[DoctorZaius]

Finally saw Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 - enjoyed it very much. I don't see what all the consternation was about it. It was summer fun. You just gotta accept that what comes out after April school vacation is not meant to tax your brain cells too much. I give it a sold 8.5/10.

[mae]

The Life of Oharu (1952). Young lady causes her and her family to be exiled from their moderately high ranking position in the Shogunate court due to her dalliance with a lower ranking samurai retainer. The movie depicts the next 20 years or so as she tracks a downwardly mobile path (from esteemed concubine, to working in a brothel, to common streetwalker). In between stations she ends up back home, much to the chagrin of her status-seeking father who can't forgive her for ruining the family's chances. Fantastic acting all around. Toshiro Mifune has a small but powerful role (about 10 minutes of screen time) as the low ranking samurai who helped cause all the trouble in the first place. Kinuyo Tanaka is spot on as Oharu. I found the story to be moderately interesting; and the movie runs a bit long. But I'm just such a huge fan of these mid-century Japanese period dramas. 3.5 stars (out of 5).

Hey it's Mizoguchi so by default it's good. Have you seen Ugetsu, which is often said is one of, if not the best Japanese film of all time?

[Still Servant]

I enjoyed Guardians 2. It doesn't come close to the original for me. I really loved that one, but I'm not sure why so many people are having issues with it either.

One complaint Webstar had was that there was too much banter. I wouldn't say there was too much, but much of it fell flat. Maybe that's where he's coming from in regards to that. I'm not sure.

As for the scene where Star Lord and his father play catch, I don't see where he's coming from on that front. It's so tongue-in-cheek that you can't possibly take it seriously. It's also like 15 seconds long.

[divemaster]

The Life of Oharu (1952). Young lady causes her and her family to be exiled from their moderately high ranking position in the Shogunate court due to her dalliance with a lower ranking samurai retainer. The movie depicts the next 20 years or so as she tracks a downwardly mobile path (from esteemed concubine, to working in a brothel, to common streetwalker). In between stations she ends up back home, much to the chagrin of her status-seeking father who can't forgive her for ruining the family's chances. Fantastic acting all around. Toshiro Mifune has a small but powerful role (about 10 minutes of screen time) as the low ranking samurai who helped cause all the trouble in the first place. Kinuyo Tanaka is spot on as Oharu. I found the story to be moderately interesting; and the movie runs a bit long. But I'm just such a huge fan of these mid-century Japanese period dramas. 3.5 stars (out of 5).

Hey it's Mizoguchi so by default it's good. Have you seen Ugetsu, which is often said is one of, if not the best Japanese film of all time?

I have seen Ugetsu. It is very good. I rated it 4 stars, which is just outside my threshold of greatness (4.5 or 5 stars).

[webstar1000]

I enjoyed Guardians 2. It doesn't come close to the original for me. I really loved that one, but I'm not sure why so many people are having issues with it either.

One complaint Webstar had was that there was too much banter. I wouldn't say there was too much, but much of it fell flat. Maybe that's where he's coming from in regards to that. I'm not sure.

As for the scene where Star Lord and his father play catch, I don't see where he's coming from on that front. It's so tongue-in-cheek that you can't possibly take it seriously. It's also like 15 seconds long.

Flat is a great way to describe it. I will never be a fan of useless, non-funny banter that serves no purpose other than filler for a film. The catch scene was small however the cheese it radiated was what turned me off the film. It is my least favorite where the first is one of my favorites.

[Ricky]

Watched Homicidal last night. It was on the same disc. as Strait-Jacket that Netflix sent me so I figured why not.

Some parts are so cheesy that they're laugh-out-loud funny. The acting's not great, the story is a little lean and choppy, and there's not a ton of suspense or scares to make it memorable (though I can see how it would've been at the time). I think I love William Castle, though. Such a great showman and marketer. It's obvious that he admired (copy may be too strong a word) Hitchcock, and the marketing gimmicks of his films, as well as Strait-Jacket itself (the plot, uneasy hotel scenes, similar house sets, similarly-styled twist) echo that. The special features showed the film's premiere and all its marketing gimmicks which made me wish films were still marketed that way. So much fun.

Currently looking for a book to read on Castle, so if anyone has a recommendation they'd like to share I'd be appreciative.

[Heather19]

I need to check those out soon. I'm fascinated by William Castle as well. Wouldn't it of been so much fun to live in that time period and experience some of his crazy antics with his films? I heard that during showings of The Tingler he had some seats rigged that would randomly shock people

[Ricky]

That's great. I can imagine the lawsuits if it was done today.