Official last movie you saw thread

Smart Money (1931)

American crime drama film. It's about a small-town barber who becomes a successful poker player in the city, but falls victim to con artists and pretty blondes. Amazing cast, especially considering it includes Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney and Boris Karloff. Just a year later such a cast would've been unthinkable, with each of those three becoming superstars. Robinson's masterpiece (and one of the greatest movies of all time) Little Caesar (1931) was just released right before this movie was shot. Cagney's breakthrough movie The Public Enemy (1931) (and again one of the greatest movies of all time) was shot at the same time as this one. And Karloff (who wasn't even credited in this one) played the title role in his masterpiece (yet again one of the greatest movies of all time) Frankenstein (1931) later that years, so through luck or coincidence this movie had three massive future stars in it, something that would be impossible just a year later. Karloff only had an uncredited bit part with just a handful of lines in this so he couldn't really show off much of his talent, but Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney definitely delivered great performances. But yeah, the movie is very entertaining and the story is really good (the writers even got nominated for an Oscar for Best Story (which is a category that was awarded until 1956) at the 4th Academy Awards). Overall I can definitely recommend this one!

Fright Night (2011)

American supernatural horror comedy film. It's about a teenager who discovers that his new neighbor is a vampire and who then teams up with a TV show host to stop him. It's not as bad as I thought but it definitely doesn't come close to the original from 1985. The practical effects used in that were way better than the CGI used in this one, for example. But it has a great cast (Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, Dave Franco and more) who all delivered very good performances. It even has a cameo from Chris Sarandon who played the main antagonist in the original movie. And it's also entertaining, so while I prefer the original, I can still recommend this one, too.

The Glenn Miller Story (1954)

American biographical drama film. It's about the life and music of famous American band-leader Glenn Miller. James Stewart delivers a great performance as Glenn Miller and the supporting cast does, too. And we also have a lot of cameo appearances from musicians who worked with Glenn Miller, the most recognizable to a modern audience being Louis Armstrong. The movie also features many of Miller’s popular songs. Overall it's very entertaining. Can recommend!

Spirited Away (2001)

Japanese animated fantasy film. It's about a young girl who enters a magical world where she must work in order to save her parents who have been turned into pigs. I feel like I was the last person who had never seen a Studio Ghibli movie but now I've changed that. And I'm glad I did. This is a great movie and I can highly recommend it!

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3
Wow.. Just wow...
Such an amazing movie. A perfect sendoff for the original team. LOVE the backstory for Rocket.

If the MCU can only follow this formula, then maybe JUST MAYBE, they can get back on the right track and not make horrifically craptastic movies.

M3GAN (2022)

American science fiction horror film. It's about a very advanced artificially intelligent doll, who becomes self-aware and hostile. It isn't super scary but it's definitely entertaining, so I can recommend this.

Creepshow (1982)

American horror comedy anthology film. Due to the anthology nature of this I'll do a short summary of each segment and give my final thoughts afterwards.

"Father's Day"
It's about a wealthy family that is being terrorized by the vengeful zombie of their patriarch, who was killed by his daughter on Father’s Day years ago and now wants his cake.

"The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill"
It's about a redneck who finds a meteor but when he touches it some kind of plant matter starts growing on him and it won't stop.

"Something to Tide You Over"
It's about a guy who buries his cheating wife and her lover up to their necks on the beach and watches them drown, only to be haunted by their waterlogged corpses.

"The Crate"
It's about a professor who fantasizes about killing his nagging wife when his colleague discovers a ferocious creature inside an old crate.

"They're Creeping Up on You!"
It's about a germophobe who's being attacked by bugs.

There are some iconic horror characters in this movie, for example the zombie in Father's Day or the creature in The Crate. But I wouldn't say they're the scariest bits. Let's just say if you can't stand cockroaches the last segment might be the worst one for you. I'm not afraid of cockroaches but that one definitely made me uneasy. It's just too many.
Great cast including Stephen King (who played the redneck in "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill"), Tom Savini, Leslie Nielsen (who plays an fantastic villain in "Something to Tide You Over"), Hal Holbrook, Ed Harris, Ted Danson, Joe Hill and many more. Sure, some parts might be a bit cheesy by today's standards but just imagine watching this as a kid when it came out. There are definitely a lot of nightmare-inducing moments there if you've watched it too young. Overall this is definitely something I can recommend!

Bad Lieutenant (1992). Who would have thought Harvey Keitel could act as good as this. Highly recommended.

Creepshow 2 (1987)

American comedy horror anthology film. Again, I'll do a short summary of each segment and give my final thoughts afterwards.

"Old Chief Wood'nhead"
It's about a wooden statue of a Native American chief that stands outside a small town general store owned by a kind elderly couple but then their peaceful life is disrupted.

"The Raft"
It's about four college students who go for a swim in a remote lake, only to find themselves trapped on a wooden raft by a mysterious and deadly creature that lurks in the water.

"The Hitch-hiker"
It's about a woman who hits and kills a hitchhiker with her car, and then tries to escape from his vengeful and undead spirit that keeps following her.

It's not as iconic as the original, but the stories are still very good. The last story is definitely the goriest, but overall this isn't as good as Creepshow (1982). Still, good cast with Stephen King, Tom Savini, George Kennedy and more. So I'd say watching this one isn't necessarily needed but I can still recommend it.

Shallow Grave (1994)

British black comedy crime film. It's about three fun-loving flatmates but after having to dismember the body of some guy who died in their apartment the mental state of one of them suddenly takes a dark turn. Really good cast (Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox, Peter Mullan, Tony Curran and more, with the first three playing the flatmates) who deliver incredible performances considering each of the three only started acting a few years prior, none of them before 1990. In the end I found a possible reason why this movie was so great. It was Danny Boyle's first movie, who went on to direct other great movies such as Trainspotting (1996), The Beach (2000), 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), 127 Hours (2010), Steve Jobs (2015) and more. If you've seen and enjoyed any of those other movies you'll love this one too. It's probably the best movie I've seen in a while. If you only watch one movie this week, make it this one. It's a really great one. Highly recommended!

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead.

Japanese zombie movie that was surprisingly good. Accidentally stumbled across the first four episodes of the anime yesterday and loved it. Then it told me about the live action.

7/10 Pretty good.

Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)

American science fiction Western film. It's about a dirt bike racer who accidentally gets sent back to 1877 where a bunch of outlaws steal his machine, so he needs to get it back. That's basically the whole plot. It's nothing to write home about, but I still enjoyed it. So if you're looking for some light entertainment I can recommend this.

Oppenheimer (2023)

American-British epic biographical thriller film. Watched this at the cinema yesterday. It's about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. First of all, the cast is stacked like a Wes Anderson movie. Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Macon Blair, Kenneth Branagh, David Krumholtz, Matthias Schweighöfer, Josh Hartnett, Alex Wolff, Florence Pugh, Matthew Modine, David Dastmalchian, Matt Damon, Dane DeHaan, Josh Peck, Jack Quaid, Benny Safdie, Gustaf Skarsgård, Trond Fausa, Rami Malek, Casey Affleck, Gary Oldman and more. I feel like this will probably be the frontrunner at the next Academy Awards. I can think of quite a few categories it could be nominated for and some it should surely already have secured, like Best Sound. It's also RDJ's best performance since Chaplin (1992), so he might have a good shot at Best Supporting Actor. Overall this was amazing on the big screen and if you plan on watching it (which you definitely should), definitely choose the cinema over streaming later. The sound system at the cinema alone is worth it. And the movie deserves it. Highly recommended!

The Guard (2011)

Irish buddy cop comedy thriller film. It's about an Irish policeman who teams up with an FBI agent to stop a drug-smuggling ring. Very good cast (Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham and more) in this entertaining 90 minute movie. Can recommend!

Killer Joe (2011)

American Southern Gothic black comedy crime psychological thriller film. It's about a young drug dealer who hires a corrupt cop and hitman to kill his mother for the insurance money, but then things start going sideways. Good cast (Matthew McConaughey, Thomas Haden Church, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon and more) delivering great performances. The movie is definitely interesting (and kinda fucked up I'll only mention "chicken leg fellatio scene" here once) but I don't think it's one I'll ever rewatch. Still, can recommend.

Luxembourg, Luxembourg (2022)
Great road movie about two twin brothers making a trip from Ukraine to Luxembourg in hope of meeting their estranged father. Very funny film, beatifully shot and greatly performed by unprofessional actors. If anyone want to have a peek into Ukrainian soul - this film captured essense of it.

The Navigator (1924)

American comedy film. It's about a spoiled and clueless millionaire and his neighbor who end up stranded on a drifting ship and have to face various challenges and dangers. Very funny 60 minute Buster Keaton movie. Overall not really one of his greatest but then again, he made some absolute masterpieces. Still a very good one, though. Can recommend.

Oppenheimer (2023)

American-British epic biographical thriller film. Yes, I watched it again at the cinema. It's still as great as it was the first time. Maybe a bit more even, because you know how much more movie there is after the big explosion. On my first viewing I thought "how much longer is this gonna be, what's even gonna happen now?" but because I knew the answer to both of those questions I enjoyed that part a lot more than last time. Overall I can still highly recommend it.

The French Connection (1971)

American neo-noir action thriller film. It's about two New York City detectives who try to stop a major heroin shipment from France while facing danger, corruption, and betrayal. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider were amazing at portraying their respective characters in this movie. Both were nominated for an Oscar for their roles with Hackman ultimately taking home the Best Actor award that night. And that wasn't the only Oscar that went to this movie, it was the big winner of that year, also winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium (which is called Best Adapted Screenplay now) and Best Film Editing. And it definitely deserved those awards. It's a great movie and probably William Friedkin's first masterpiece (his second of course coming out 2 years later being called The Exorcist). So yeah, I can highly recommend this one!

French Connection II (1975)

American neo-noir action thriller film. It's about the main character from the original travelling to Marseille to track down the guy who escaped at the end of the first film. The only returning cast members from the original are Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey who play both of those guys I mentioned. It's definitely not as great as the original but it's a good movie in its own right. So I can recommend it.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

British-American-German adventure fantasy film. It's about... well, the adventures of Baron von Münchhausen. As a German I of course know all about Münchhausen and I can say that this movie translates his stories very well to the screen. Great cast (John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams, Jack Purvis, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson and more). The movie is visually stunning, so imaginative. Overall this is a very good movie that I can definitely recommend.

Sisu (2022)

Finnish-American historical action thriller film. It's about a former Finnish soldier and gold miner who defends his treasure from a Nazi squad in the Arctic wilderness. I'm not usually one for action movies but this one was very well done. It was creative and bloody, the main character was badass and always seemed to find a new way to kill those Nazis. Overall this is really good for an action movie. Highly recommended!

Went with my partner last week to see both Oppenheimer and Barbie. Sadly we didn't have time for a proper "Barbenheimer" watch, but both movies were extremely enjoyable and had timely and well-portrayed messages.

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

American black comedy film. It's about a man who, after being told he is dying of a rare disease, agrees to jump into a volcano on a remote island for a wealthy businessman, but falls in love with the woman who accompanies him on his journey. Good cast (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Amanda Plummer, Ossie Davis, Abe Vigoda and more). The far-out premise didn't really work so I think this is rightfully one of Tom Hanks' (and Meg Ryan's for that matter) lesser known movies but if you just want an entertaining romance between those two I guess it's still worth watching. Under those conditions I can recommend it, otherwise not so much.

Foxcatcher (2014)

American biographical psychological sports film. It's about eccentric billionaire John du Pont who wanted to build the world's best wrestling team and recruited Mark and Dave Schultz, but ended up killing Dave. Based on actual events, so that wasn't really a spoiler. Very good cast (Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave and more) delivering great performances. Carell was even nominated for an Oscar for this. Overall, despite this being a sports movie (and me not really being an avid watcher of sports movies) it's actually very good. It's not much about the sport at all but mainly about these characters who happen to be Olympic wrestling champions. So yeah, I can recommend this.