Last Movie You Watched.

Rogue One is indeed good stuff. Solo starts well, but goes awry. Its box-office failure was interesting ... one assumes that Disney were under the impression that anything Star Wars would automatically rake in the dollars, and here was proof to the contrary.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Rogue One is indeed good stuff. Solo starts well, but goes awry. Its box-office failure was interesting ... one assumes that Disney were under the impression that anything Star Wars would automatically rake in the dollars, and here was proof to the contrary.  

Given that they switched out directors in midstream, gotta figure they thought something was wrong. Then again, all that act 3 switchy/changey stuff they did on ROGUE ONE apparently didn't hurt things. Maybe they were just coasting on inertia at the box office and didn't realize that could be the determining factor.

The Last Jedi is a mess. So much of it is bad, but it gets somewhat redeemed by a few good scenes, especially the last sequence.

STAR WARS Episode IX THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Not as great as I remembered it. It has some clear script issues, but also a few powerful and excellent scenes. RIP Palpatine, such a decent emperor.

The "I have a bad feeling about this" quotes throughout the series:
Ep IV: Luke, then Han.
Ep V: Leia
Ep VI: C-3PO, then Han
Ep I: Obi-Wan
Ep II: Anakin
Ep III: Obi-Wan
Ep VII: Han
Rogue One: K2-SO
Ep VIII: Nothing, but apparently BB-8 says it in binary
Solo: A reversal. Han says: "I have a good feeling about this."
Ep IX: Lando.

In addition, Indy says it in Crystal Skull.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), special edition

A raw, unadorned, unsentimental depiction of sheriff Pat Garrett tracking down former friend William Bonney, who had escaped from Garrett's jail. Whether Garrett likes the job or not, it's what he's being paid for, and he is bound to do his duty. There are no heroes or villains in this film, just a bunch of rough, crude, simple folk trying to scratch out a living in a harsh, forbidding world. James Coburn as Garrett, incidentally, is brilliant. The performance was Oscar-worthy. Alas, the theatrical release of this film was garbage and Coburn's excellence was wasted in it. Had Sam Peckinpah's cut been released, Coburn may have won some hardware and this film would have been termed an instant western classic. Penny-wise, pound-foolish studio bosses can do immense damage, alas.

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

They went out with a bang with this one, Mangold is the man Spielberg could no longer be. It is a great script, Ford gives his best performance, acting-wise, Williams delivers his most solid score for the series, it has a brilliant opening (so did the previous one, but things deteriorated later on in that one), the car chase in Tangiers is one of the few I find exciting, original and entertaining. Also, this has more heart than the others did.

If I should rank the Lucasfilm output combined, meaning Star Wars and Indiana Jones, after rewatching most of them, it would go something like this:

1 INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
2 STAR WARS Episode III REVENGE OF THE SITH
3 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
4 STAR WARS
5 INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
6 STAR WARS Episode V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
7 ROGUE ONE
8 STAR WARS Episode VII THE FORCE AWAKENS
9 STAR WARS Episode IX THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
10 STAR WARS Episode I THE PHANTOM MENACE
11 INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
12 INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
13 STAR WARS Episode VIII THE LAST JEDI
14 STAR WARS Episode II ATTACK OF THE CLONES
15 STAR WARS Episode VI RETURN OF THE JEDI
16 SOLO

Demon Seed - loopy bit of late-70s sci-fi in which AI supercomputer Proteus (voiced in a silkily sinister fashion by an uncredited Robert Vaughn) imprisons and impregnates ('synthetic sperm', anyone?) its creator's ex-wife, Julie Christie.

Any 'rise of the machines' cautionary tale intentions get buried beneath the sheer silliness of the premise. Still Vaughn gives good bad guy (even in voiceover form), there are some pretty decent SFX and Christie gets her kit off.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER

This looked fantastic on the big screen, and it was cool that they focused on this lesser known part of his career, but the rewatch value turned out to be very low.

Bloodbath At The House Of Death - 80s British comedy horror. Mildly amusing way to pass 100 minutes on a NYD afternoon, and as a bonus it featured brief toplessness by Pamela Stephenson.

Toplessness, then headlessness?

Bonnie And Clyde - first time for me with this depiction of the notorious Depression-era bank robbers. It was largely unpopular with critics, but was a box-office hit and a winner of 2 Oscars. Groundbreaking in its depiction of sexuality (found 'swordsman' Warren Beatty playing the largely impotent Clyde Barrow quite amusing) and violence (the blood flows pretty freely, and that ending still packs a punch).

Let The Wrong One In - Irish horror-comedy involving vampires (as you may have guessed from the title). Low-budget and consequently a little rough around the edges, but quite amusing (there's a fun turn from Anthony Head as Dublin's answer to Van Helsing).

THE ABYSS

Cameron was always leading the way, and this was very impressive when it came out. It still is, but the novelty factor is obviously not there anymore. The cgi was very good for its time, and 70 percent of it was shot underwater for real.

AD ASTRA


It looks great, partly thanks to Hoytema, pretty good story although a couple things don´t make sense, but hey it´s a film it´s ok. Fine performances all around. It is a bit reminiscent of Apocalypse Now, only it is in space.

AGUIRRE, DER ZORN GOTTES

Herzog and Kinski had a few great collaborations, such as Nosferatu and Fitzcarraldo, but I think my favourite remains Aguirre, the Wrath of God.

ANGEL HEART

I have seen this countless times now, and never tire of it. The book it is based on is pretty good, but the film version is a lot better. Alan Parker envisaged DeNiro in the role of Harry Angel at first. It was DeNiro himself who wanted the other part and got it. Rourke was a stellar alternative.

One of the great supernatural horror films of all time.

PK, it sure is. I consider it Alan Parker´s masterpiece.

ARRIVAL


Villeneuve is in the same cinematic garden as Nolan. This is intelligent and original, a sci fi classic.

Evil Under The Sun - four-time Bond director Guy Hamilton helms this Peter Ustinov Poirot as a veritable plethora of stalwart British character actors assemble on an Adriatic island, murder most foul occurs, and Poirot engages his 'leetle grey cells' to solve the crime. Pleasing escapism for this most cold and grey time of year, with Poirot presented as a slightly more comedic figure than in other versions of one of Agatha Christie's most famous creations.

INTERDIT AUX CHIENS ET AUX ITALIENS (No dogs or Italians allowed)

A little gem of a really well made and captivating film about the filmmaker´s family history I presume.

A SCANNER DARKLY


Magnificent movie. One of my favourites. Based on a Philip K. Dick novel.This is something of its own, but deals with identity as usual. This time in several ways. Takes place in the law enforcement and drug community.

Looks like Mads Mikkelson on a bad-hair day.

PK, that is Keanu Reeves.

POOR THINGS

Refreshing to see a film without cliches, you never know what happens next. I loved this, bizarre, macabre and fun. Looks great, too. Both the b/w portion, and the colour portion. The score is as quirky and intriguing as the film, which is apt. Good performances from the main cast. Emma Stone is a dish, Dafoe portrays one of the bizarrest characters of his career (and that says a lot). Ruffalo does a role that is absolutely not typical for him. I have not seen the other films this director has done, but this made me want to check them out. (The Lobster, The Favourite)

Blind Fury - Rutger Hauer stars as a sightless swordsman on the trail of his old military buddy who's gotten himself into a tight spot with a crooked Reno casino owner. Tongue-in-cheek action fun, coming in at a trim 86 minutes. Also starring Terry O'Quinn.

PITCH BLACK

Not bad, but I like THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK much better.

TOGO

Uruguayan social drama with a big heart and natural performances. I liked this a lot.