Official last movie you saw thread

Pig (2021)

American drama film. Rewatched this yesterday and it's still really good.

The Baker (2022)

The blurb on the tin:
An elderly baker must do everything he can to protect his granddaughter from gangsters.
My take:
By the book vigilante flick. Two sizes too small for the lead actor Ron Perlman (the original Hellboy). Goes down well with popcorn.

Road to Perdition (2002)

American crime drama film. It's about a father and son who go on the run from the mob after witnessing a murder, and their journey of revenge and redemption. Great cast (Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ciarán Hinds, Tyler Hoechlin, Dylan Baker and more) delivering great performances. Overall it's a great movie, especially the last half hour. Highly recommended!

Edge of Sanity (1989)

American slasher film. It's about a doctor experimenting with the human psyche when he accidentally ingests a mix of ether and cocaine and goes insane. Pretty much Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde combined with the tales of Jack the Ripper. And it has Anthony Perkins in the lead role! It's maybe not great, but it definitely has a few things going for it. The Jekyll and Hyde aspect, the Jack the Ripper aspect and the Anthony Perkins aspect. Those are three very good reasons to watch this. And it was very entertaining. Overall I can definitely recommend it.

The Retirement Plan (2023)

"When Ashley and her young daughter Sarah get caught up in a criminal enterprise that puts their lives at risk, she turns to estranged father Matt, currently living the life of a retired beach bum in the Cayman Islands."

This comes from the same producers of The Baker, with some of the same cast members, and a pretty similar story. This time the lead is Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman is a villain. And again there's a kid girl that steals the show. The trailer suggests it should be a fun movie. But it ain't.

The first half of the movie is decent, but then it just goes down hill. It's not funny, the acting is bad, the action sequences are lame and the story is predictable (ok, it's stupid).

I watched it so you don't have to. Keep away.

Master of the World (1961)

American science fiction film. It's about a scientist and his team who are kidnapped by a fanatical pacifist who uses his flying ship to destroy military targets on Earth. Even if you don't know about the Jules Verne novels this is based on (Robur the Conqueror from 1886 and Master of the World from 1904), this feels very much like Jules Verne. The early science fiction concepts like for example the flying ship called Albatross, I mean, if that doesn't sound like Jules Verne to you I don't know either. The screenplay was written by Richard Matheson, a great science fiction author in his own right. His 1954 novel "I am Legend" might be his most well-known nowadays. And on top of great source material and a great script written from it we also have a great cast (Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, David Frankham, Henry Hull and more). So overall this is very entertaining and I can only recommend it.

"65" (2023)

Haven't seen any promo-materials for this one and has been made aware of it just 'cause of the YT-video called "The most disapointing movies of 2023". TBH though, the movie wasn't disapointing, like AT ALL.
A little bit of personal drama, insane speical effects and...DINOSAURS!!!
Very good movie, especially considering that we haven't got too much of good stuff this year.

"No One Will Save You" (2023)

Great spin on the alien abduction theme (seriously, when the latest movie of this genre came out?).
Neat fusion between thoughtful dramatic character development and the almost non-stop action thriller, and all of this almost without any lines.
Has been made aware of this by the one and only trailer and it made me instantly in love with this movie, and I haven't been disapointed after I've watched it.

Tetris (2023), pretty good, a bit dramatized and more "action" than you'd expect. But if you're a Tetris fan like me and don't know much about the story, it's a cool movie. 6,5/10.

Joint Security Area (2000)

South Korean action thriller film. It's about the friendship and betrayal of four soldiers from North and South Korea who secretly meet at the border, and the investigation that follows their fatal encounter. Great performances, especially by Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Lee Young-ae. Overall I think this is a very good movie. But then again, it's directed by Park Chan-wook, so I shouldn't be surprised. I can definitely recommend it.

The Whale (2022)

Man! What a movie! What an experience! I remember reading about how Brendan Fraser got a Standing ovation for it in Venice. And I remember thinking hmm yea probably will watch it one day....eventually.
That day was today, Im glad I never checked out the reviews or the plot..not even the trailer. I went in blind.
And now I feel simply thankful for having watched it.

That standing ovation and the later Oscar win was 100% justified. Highly recommended

No One Will Save You (2023)

American science fiction horror film. This is actually really good for what it is. The aliens are creepy, the acting is good, the movie itself is a tight 90 minutes long and very suspenseful. Overall definitely one of the better recent indie horror movies. Go and check this one out. Can recommend!

The Creator (2023)

While not overly deep thematically, the world building is second to none, and the visuals look better than most movies that cost two or three times as much. Made on a production budget of $80-90 million, the film is worth seeing even just to appreciate how far that budget has been stretched. I hope people go out to see this one to support original blockbuster sci-fi and so that these film making techniques might become more widely adopted.

Soprano (1999) S1 E1

It's a Gift (1923)

American short comedy film. It's about an inventor who gets out of bed in the morning through the help of wacky Rube Goldberg-like contraptions and later tries to sell his alternative mode of transportation (a little car with a big magnet in front) to a wealthy businessman. Didn't know about Snub Pollard before discovering this, but I'm glad I found him. This movie is very good, it has funny jokes (one intertitle for example reads "Edison works twenty hours - sleeps four. Pollard's hours are longer - sleeps twenty-four."), amusing sight gags (like a rope being pulled and the bed sheets fly towards the window and are now curtains) and overall just a good old time. It is genuinely a hilarious short film, so if you have 14 minutes go and watch this. You won't regret it. Highly recommended!

Control (2004)

Pretty Good movie featuring Ray Liotta & Willem Dafoe.

"A sociopath on death row (Ray Liotta) is given a chance to live if he agrees to take part in a chemical behavioral modification program."

The Hunt - 2021
A frankly rubbish Australian version of Hostel with a LOT less gore and some questionable acting, watched in tandem with The 7th Hunt which is exactly the same movie, in every single way except it has an added scene over the end credits, and was released 12 years earlier.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Japanese animated fantasy film. It's about a young woman who is cursed by a witch to become an old lady, and her adventures with a mysterious wizard and his magical moving castle. I'm slowly working through all the Studio Ghibli movies and this one was, like the others I've seen, just magical. Beautiful story, stunning art, if you haven't seen it, you should. Highly recommended. (Watched this yesterday but looks like I forgot to post it at the time.)

Lucy (2014)

French science fiction action film. Rewatched this yesterday and it's still very good, despite the obvious scientifically wrong premise.

I watched the My Hero Academia movies yesterday. If you like the show then I would recommend watching the movies.

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (1), 8/10
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2) 8/10
My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (3) 7/10

Mirror Mirror (1990) 6/10, just what you would expect from a DTV horror movie from that era. Who doesn't love it when a goth girl makes out with a mirror so she magically turns from goth Boy George to peak goth Wynona Ryder.

Just watched the new Wes Anderson shorts together, so I put the reviews into one reply instead of one for every short.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

American fantasy short film. It's about a wealthy man who learns to see without his eyes from a mysterious book, and uses his abilities to cheat at gambling. Great cast (Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Richard Ayoade and more).

The Swan (2023)

American drama short film. It's about the cruelty of two bullies who shoot a swan and torture a boy who tries to stop them. Great cast (Rupert Friend, Ralph Fiennes and more).

The Rat Catcher (2023)

American thriller short film. It's about a rat-obsessed exterminator who reveals his gruesome methods and secrets to two unsuspecting men in a rural village. Great cast (Richard Ayoade, Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Friend and more).

Poison (2023)

American thriller short film. It's about a man who fears he has a deadly snake on his chest and his friend who tries to save him. Great cast (Dev Patel, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley and more).

Overall these are great. Each of them not strictly adhering to one genre like I wrote here, but all very captivating and extremely supenseful. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) is 40 minutes long and the other three are 15 minutes each. So I can definitely highly recommend them!

Let Me In (2010)

Great reimagining of the swedish novel and movie. Works out just about as well, but i prefer the original a little bit over it. Now to rewatch the original movie and eventually read the book too. The whole story asks a lot more questions than it gives answers which is a good thing in this case. Happy spooktober too!

The Dead Don't Die(2019) I've been a longtime Jim Jarmusch fan so I knew what I was getting into with this film and enjoyed it a lot,especially because I am so desensitized and abjectly bored by the zombie genre. I enjoyed how deadpan (no pun intended) this was while still being gorey and showcasing his unique auteur style. I also loved the in-jokes to some of his other films and the obvious love for the horror genre in general.

The Creator (2023)

American science fiction film. It's about humans who are at war with AI in 2055, a former soldier and a powerful weapon that could end the war. I don't want to say anything more because this movie was literally just released days ago. So anyway, I watched this at the cinema yesterday and it's crazy to see how far you can go with an $80 million budget, because this looks just incredible. If you want more original movies, go and support this one, it deserves to be as successful as it can be. Gareth Edwards, the director of this movie, also directed Godzilla (2014) and Rogue One (2016), definitely shines the most with this one, where he also wrote the story and everything. This is definitely one of the best movies of the year and I feel like Edwards might even have a chance at a few Oscars. Overall this was very good and you should watch it on as big a screen as you can find.

And with this I've started my Decade Countdown Movie Challenge for this year where I watch a new movie, one from 10 years ago, one from 20 years ago and so on. (Yes, I've finally come up with a name, although I'm still not sure I'll stick with this one.)

Halloween (1978)

Great horror by one of my fav directors. Still did work 20 years later too :)