What Was the Last Movie You Watched?

been on a silent movie spree lately, so watched these for the first time:

The Phantom of the Opera (1925):

i read there's many different cuts of this movie but i just saw two versions:
an edited cut with cleaner footage, with some colored sequences and updated symphony soundtrack.
and then a longer, more complete cut where the footage came from a less well-preserved print. with a piano soundtrack.

i prefer the longer cut due to the story and characters being fleshed out more.
but the edited one provides the better visual experience, music accompaniment and atmosphere.


Metropolis (1927):

i've always heard about this film but never sought it out until now.
i watched the complete (mostly) version released in 2010.
wow...i should've watched this sooner than i did.

this might be one of the best silent films, if not films in general, i have ever seen.
i can see how it influenced many sci-fi films that came after it and why it's listed as one of the top achievements in cinematic history.


The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920):

dug the gothic, dream-like atmosphere of this.
straight up can tell this film highly influenced tim burton.

also dug the twist ending which i did not expect - it's a good thing i avoided reading anything about this before watching it.

 

Gave this a rewatch in glorious 4k. Still a hell of a ride!

 

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ( 1974)

 

5/10

 

He Got Game



Malcolm X

 

Because I liked the concept, and Bradley is excellent in this.


Because it's sweet and silly and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

I really just wish they’d have recast T’Challa. That may be sacrilege or something but I am just not a fan of this thought that some roles are too iconic to recast. Never will be a fan of it. That being said, this was easily the best movie of phase 4 aside from No Way Home which I also had a few minor gripes with. My biggest criticism is how unearned Riri’s inclusion in the finale felt but I guess I can forgive it because everything else was just so damn good. Shuri is just too damn good in this one. I still wish they’d just recast T’Challa but I’m not gonna continuously complain about it. This is what we got it and what we got was GOOD. Namor was bad ass. I loved everything about him and Talokan as a whole. M’Baku could have been in it a little more but we still got a good amount of great character moments for him. All in all, I just really had a great time with this movie and I’m stoked to see what happens going forward.

 

Smile (2022)

 

Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022)

The third animated Green Lantern movie (fourth, if you count Justice League vs the Fatal Five, which is really a Jessica Cruz story). This one centres around former marine John Stewart (voiced by Aldis Hodge - the DCEU's live-action Hawkman), recently returned from Iraq, and struggling to cope psychologically. As he gets home one evening he witnesses a spaceship crash nearby. Looking for survivors he finds a mortally wounded Ganthet (of the Guardians) at the controls, who calls Stewart by name and shows him a power ring he says used to belong to Hal Jordan. He succumbs to his injuries before he can say more, but as he dies the ring leaves his hand and places itself on Stewart's finger. Alarmed by the ring's ability to 'talk', Stewart demands it take him to someone who might be able to remove it - and is immediately flown to the Justice League's satellite. There he meets Martian Manhunter, Vixen, and Green Arrow, and after the obligatory initial 'misunderstanding' (i.e. fight), they agree to help him. Green Arrow accompanies Stewart back to the crash-site, and from there to Oa to get answers about why John Stewart now has the ring, and what happened to Hal Jordan.

I don't read GL comics; any knowledge I have comes from reading Justice League and from animated TV/movies. So I've no investment in the 'lore of the Corps', nor any desire to keep adaptations 100% faithful. I say this because fans online seem universally upset over the combining of a number of comics storylines, all of which they feel deserved their own separate movies (Zero Hour, Rann-Thanagar War, Emerald Twilight, and Sinestro Corps War - only the first two of which I've read). But as a non-GL reader I really enjoyed this film. The animation is the best I've seen in some while, the cosmic backgrounds look gorgeous, the fight choreography is excellent, and the character designs are very good (special shoutout for Hawkgirl! ). As for voice acting, Hodge is fine as John Stewart (although anyone other than Phil LaMarr takes some getting used to). Of the other leads, Jimmi Simpson as Green Arrow sounds very Nathan Fillion-like - not a poor performance by any means, but a bit more 'quippy' than I expect from GA; Rick D. Wasserman makes a good Sinestro; and Jamie Gray Hyder does a very good job as Hawkgirl. There are others - but they're meant as a surprise and I don't want to spoil. Btw, this movie is another in what is now apparently referred to as the 'Tomorrow-verse'. 8/10

 

No better way to start the season

 

10/10

 

Blade Runner, theatrical (1982)



Not my preferred cut, but still a great film.

 

I agree to I guess everything here. I highly enjoyed that Lantern flick, and intend to rewatch it soon.


Hellraiser (2022)



I think I need another watch for a final judgement, but for me this felt just ok but missing something. I think they did good with appearantly a limited budget, and the actors did well. The effects looked mostly practical (to me at least) which is a great bonus. I guess I simply kinda "wanted more" from the cenobites if that makes any sense. And a slight more fantastical hellish surroundings, thank you?

Jamie Clayton as the new female Pinhead looked great and did well with what she had to work with, but I never really felt the same kind of hellish presence or delivering the awesome lines like Doug Bradley once achieved. I get that this is a different Pinhead but still.. The first two Hellraiser movies are the ones that count for me (don't even remember the rest, one was in space wasn't it lol?), and they aren't flawless. But still so atmospheric with such an iconic monster/villian/antagonist/demon etc. This wasn't bad, and I appreciate the effort but I guess I was expecting more.

 

The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
Heat (1995)
Four (2011)
Amor idiota / Idiot Love (2004)
Human Capital (2019)

 

Ditto

 

Sweeney! (1977)

I own all four seasons, the pilot, and both movies, but still couldn't resist watching this when it came on. John Thaw and Dennis Waterman (RIP) were perfect. An absolute classic. 'Shut it!'

 

Batman

Batman Returns

 

Bullet Train

 

New York Ninja
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
The Omega Man

 

First time rewatching this since at least 2001, and it may have been even earlier than that. I didn't remember anything from this movie, but overall on rewatch it's not bad. Definitely not on the level of Goldeneye though.

 

5/10

 

8/10

 

Olympus Has Fallen