Official last movie you saw thread

Val (2021)

American documentary film. It's about the life and career of Val Kilmer. It's narrated beautifully by his son Jack Kilmer, because Val couldn't talk that much anymore and his speaking sadly wasn't very comprehensible anyway. There are lots of clips shot by Val Kilmer himself during the times he was doing his movies, and also new clips of the stuff he was doing while that documentary was shot, like for example attend a screening of Tombstone (1993) in a Western town, signing autographs or stuff like that. So we get some of the old, some of the new, but mostly about the person Val Kilmer. It's a great documentary and I can very much recommend it.

In a review of a Val Kilmer-led movie in the '90s Roger Ebert wrote "If there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Val Kilmer should get it." and I can absolutely agree. What a fantastic actor he was and what a range he had. And he really didn't get as much praise as he deserved. And now, even after beating his cancer, he's passed away. Way too young. I'm sure he would've had more to give. If his voice would've let him. RIP Val Kilmer

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5027774/

Sinners (2025)

American Southern Gothic horror film. It's about twin brothers who return to their hometown to try to leave their troubled lives behind and start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. Watched this at the cinema yesterday. I can't praise this enough. It starts off as a great period drama and then at some point snap vampires. Everything about it is amazing. I don't want to get into spoiler territory (because it literally just came out), so I'll just say this: It's an instant classic and if you're even a little curious about it, go watch it on the big screen. Highly recommended!

The Last Supper (1995)

American satirical black comedy film. It's about five liberal graduate school students who invite a string of extreme conservatives to dinner in order to murder them. Very good cast (Cameron Diaz, Jonathan Penner, Ron Eldard, Annabeth Gish and Courtney B. Vance as the five students, Ron Perlman, Bill Paxton, Mark Harmon, Jason Alexander, Charles Durning and more as various other characters). Overall I thought this was very good and I can recommend it.

Heat https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113277/

A Night at the Opera (1935)

American comedy film. It's about a sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy who help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies. It's a Marx Brothers movie, what more is there to say? Obviously it's very funny and witty. Overall I can very much recommend it.

Death Line (1972)

British-American horror film. It's about several people going missing in the London tunnels and Scotland Yard investigating. It's a good cannibal horror movie with a great cast (Donald Pleasence, Christopher Lee, Clive Swift and more). It has some very eerie scenes and overall I enjoyed it. It's worth the watch even just for the cast alone. Can recommend.

Ball of Fire (1941)

American screwball comedy film. It's about a group of professors working on a new encyclopedia while living in a Manhattan mansion who take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover. Very good cast (Gary Cooper, Oskar Homolka, Henry Travers, Szőke Szakáll, Tully Marshall, Leonid Kinskey, Richard Haydn and Aubrey Mather as the eight professors, Barbara Stanwyck as the nightclub singer; and others). Due to Gary Cooper's character being a linguistics professor whose chapter of the encyclopedia is about modern slang you get a nice look into real 1940s slang. And this is just a delightful movie, directed by the great Howard Hawks with a screenplay by the equally as great Billy Wilder and his frequent collaborator Charles Brackett. Overall I thought this was very good and it definitely doesn't feel like an 84 year old movie. I can very much recommend it.

A Song Is Born (1948)

American screwball comedy musical film. It's about a group of music professors working on a new music encyclopedia while living in a New York City mansion who take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover. No, you're not having a déjà vu right now, this is just a remake of the movie I've watched yesterday. It's also directed by Howard Hawks and although I don't understand why you would remake your own movie so soon after at least he's put a different spin on it with this one being a musical. (Okay, I just read that Hawks had no interest in making this movie but was convinced by a $250000 salary, which would be about $3.5 million in today's money and suddenly I do understand him.) Very good cast (Danny Kaye, Benny Goodman, Hugh Herbert, Felix Bressart, Ludwig Stössel and O. Z. Whitehead as some of the eight professors (couldn't definitively find out every one of them), Virginia Mayo as the nightclub singer; and a whole bunch of actual musical and entertainer legends like Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Barnet, Lionel Hampton, Mel Powell, Louie Bellson, Buck and Bubbles, The Page Cavanaugh Trio, The Golden Gate Quartet and more). If you love music, you'll definitely enjoy this. So now how does it compare to the original? Danny Kaye is no Gary Cooper, but they each fit their version of the movie quite well. So do Barbara Stanwyck and Virginia Mayo of course. Overall I don't think I can choose a favourite between the two. But if you enjoyed one, you'll enjoy the other just as much. Can very much recommend this one, too.

Conclave (2024)

British-American political thriller film. It's about a Cardinal who organises a conclave to elect the next pope and finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about the major candidates. Rewatched this at the cinema. Originally I sadly didn't manage to catch at the cinema and had to watch it at home but I swore to myself that if I could watch it on the big screen I'd go. It's a great movie and I would've shown it to my dad anyway some time if it came to streaming, but after the actual pope died the cinema I usually go to decided to add two screenings. One today, 16:50, one on Sunday at 11:10 (which is a very weird time but okay; I don't think I've ever seen a movie at the cinema at 10 past 11 in the morning). Decided on today's screening as there were still two great seats available (and again, Sunday morning feels weird, but maybe they added a screening at that time for people who go to church and then see a movie about the church, idk). And the movie was still great. The visuals are even better on the big screen. Stéphane Fontaine is a master cinematographer. If you have the chance to watch or rewatch this movie at the cinema you should take it. Highly recommended!

And this is also part 1 of kind of a little "Saints & Sinners" double feature, although a few days (and multiple movies) apart, because on Sunday (in the evening, don't worry) I'll rewatch Sinners (2025), also showing it to my dad, which I'm frankly even more excited about. But yeah, go support great movies and watch them at the cinema!

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Watching the third chapter (and sixth film) in the Star Wars series - once upon a time, this was definitively the final episode - I kept glimpsing the grand thrilling beautiful movie we might have had in place of this stumbling inelegant mess. There is still punch in the final interleaved battles between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (Ewan McGregor and the utterly dreadful Hayden Christensen), set along a lava river, and Emperor/Chancellor/SithMaster Palpatine and bing-bing-bing Bouncy Yoda (Ian McDiarmid and Frank Oz via a battery of computers), set in the business part of the dying Republic. The grim execution of Order 66 (let's not spoil) is shocking even in a time of emergent fascism. There is still the much-loved galaxy far, far away. There is so much matter here.

And there's also 140 minutes of drek to get through, because make no mistake, this is one terrible picture. If George Lucas had left the writing and direction to others, this might have been a breathtaking experience; instead we had to wait for Rogue One to give us real impact in the Star Wars saga. It's a shame. The story here is great. The epic scale of the story is inspired. The writing is shockingly bad; the direction is even worse. It feels like Lucas watched an episode of an old Saturday morning cartoon, Jonny Quest say, and thought to himself, Yep, that's how we need to do my next picture, just like that but prettier.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is in spruced-up limited release right now for its 20th anniversary, which will smack most of us with some form of a "HOW many years?" slap. It looks fantastic. The opening grand orbital battle is gorgeous and full of explosive action, through which Obi-Wan and Anakin scoot in their little nimble ships. A squadron of X-Wing fighters moves into position to punch through the enemy fighter waves. Awesome! We're ready to fly into adventure when, abruptly, someone talks. And all the air gushes out of the scene in a rush of awkward narration and limp detail. The camera drops the action. The actors chat as if they're at a local Forcebucks coffee joint. "Oh I say, Anakin, be a good fellow and do something about this attack droid. Unless you'd rather go ahead and I'll meet you back at the ship. Nice work, R2, jolly well done." This is pretty much the pace of the whole movie, until events pick up at the very end.

It's a frustrating lost opportunity, because this had all the story it needed to be a jewel and as is it is very much just a rock. But it still has frayed and damaged magic in it. I sat next to a couple with their young son, and I asked if this was his first time. "Not seeing Star Wars," they said, "but first time seeing Star Wars in a movie theater? Yes it is." He was silent throughout, and at the end he was vibrant. "I liked it," he whispered, as if it were a secret treasure.

Seal Team (S01) 👍🏻

A Working Man 🤙🏻

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

American dark fantasy film. It's about a small American town where a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor prey on the townsfolk. If I would've watched this movie as a kid I just know that I would've adored it. It's just the right mixture of mysterious and creepy (as creepy as you can get in 1983 with a Disney produced movie if you still want to get rated PG) with intriguing characters played by a very good cast (Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd, Royal Dano, Angelo Rossitto, Pam Grier, James Stacy and more). Overall I thought this was very good and I can definitely recommend it.