list/discuss/rate - your recently watched movies

Looks like I need to do a trilogy of Bong Joon Ho films. I've got the time certainly. However not sure I can watch Mickey 17 yet as it is quite expensive to stream unless I go to the cinema (haven't done that for a long while).

Into the Labyrinth (2019) - an Italian thriller starring Dustin Hoffman, Toni Servillo, and Valentina Bellè. It starts off as a story about a girl kidnapped for 15 years living in some sort of underground labyrinth where she had to complete games/puzzles in order to get food, water, etc. Hoffman plays the role of a psychologist that tries to break through her mental barriers to recover memories of her experience and find out who her abductor is. The movie gets stranger and stranger as it continues and eventually turns into a big rabbit hole where you're never really sure who is who and how this all came to be. Some might find this confusing, but I've always been attracted to movies that go off the deep end even if I have troubles understanding them myself. There's a really good explanation of the plot on The Cinemaholic website if you're interested (spoilers though): https://thecinemaholic.com/into-the-labyrinth-ending-explained/

I'm giving this an 8/10.

^ have to admit that I still haven't watched Parasite. Maybe I'll do a double bill with Mickey 17 ( I won't bother with Snowpiercer having watched the TV series)

The Return

Slow but compelling interpretation of the end of Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus survives his self-exile years after the Trojan War and secretly returns to Ithica as his wife is compelled to choose a new husband.   When Odysseus shoots an arrow through twelve axe heads, his reemergence is revealed.   A sinewy but cut Ralph Fiennes brings quiet dignity to his role as the fallen King and Juliette Binoche his long-mourning widow is an elegant Penelope.   Appreciation is given to the Greek worship of the human body in its true state, the natural beauty of the Greek Isles, and a non-mythic telling of the legendary tale.

Gladiator II

In an effort to recreate the original from 2000, Ridley Scott has directed more of an upgraded imitation of Gladitor than a worthy followup, with plenty of texture and detail amongst the dust and sweat and blood of the Colosseum but little of the romantic spirit of the first film.   A fine cast does its best with David Scarpa & Peter Craig's material as the son of Maximus returns to Rome as a slave-turned-combatant, mentored by powerbroker Macrinus to overthrow the evil twin Emperors.   But despite numerous striking scenes of battle, sets, costumes, and photography, it fails as a superior historic drama.

Hi,

Edited by moshkito - March 15 2025 at 00:44

The Electric State - loosely based on the excellent graphic book The Electric State by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag. I quite enjoyed this film, but something never felt right from the beginning. After chatting to my wife afterwards we both agreed that it was Millie Bobby Brown that's the issue. She simply can't act. Chris Pratt has lots of charisma and played his part pretty much like that in Guardians of the Galaxy and is great to watch. The effects and all the robots are brilliant and one forgets that most of this is CGI and when that happens (like in Paddington the movie), everything becomes natural and the norm. The story ticked along at a pleasant pace but sagged half way through before a quite brilliant, action-packed finale. The TV series Tales from the Loop (also based on the book by Simon Stålenhag) is far, far better than this Hollywood effort, but worth a watch to kill a couple of hours - just try to ignore  Millie Bobby Brown 6.5/10

Just watched 2001: Space odyssey... it was weird. the movie captures many themes like evil AI that goes against the spacemen.

Teleios (2017) - A crew of genetically-enhanced humans travels to Titan to find out what happened to a mining mission which was retrieving minerals needed to help heal the Earth's climate problems. The story was difficult to follow as most of the crew seems to fall apart to unclear forces, like the crew of the mining vessel. A lot of different themes twist in and out of the storyline - genetically-enhanced vs. unenhanced, rights of robots, etc. The writing seemed subpar and the CGI effects look like they could've been pulled out of a 1990s SyFy Channel-made film. 5/10 is being generous.

Fellini's Casanova (1976) - Amazing psychedelic movie, on par with his Satyricon, one of the craziest movie I have ever seen. Donald Sutherland (RIP) is amazing, and the film is probably Fellini's darkest work. Very creepy at times.