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The Last Movie(s) You Watched... (quick one or two sentence reviews)

Ender

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I finally got around to watching Into the Spider-Verse. It doesn't live up to the hype storywise, but boy is it a feast for the eyes. One thing that did kinda bug me was how 90% of the cast felt redundant. You could cut out the entire multiverse and just make Peter Parker this universe's version and eliminate all the other Spiders and most of the villains and the story would be virtually identical.
 

Eyepainter

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Please Stand By (2017)

After being diagnosed with autism this weekend, I decided to check this one out. Overall, a mixed bag. I'll give the film this. Dakota Fanning's performance is exceptional (especially considering that she's known for being a social butterfly in real life). The Star Trek stuff was handled well. And the world needs more movies about autism. Unfortunately, the second half of the film breaks from the three-act structure too many times, and the climax where she confronts the guy in the mail office felt forced. Also, Patton Oswalt's performance felt like a waste, as he's barely in the film. In summary, great character development, bad plot.
 

mnkykungfu

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Nice to catch up with what you guys have been doing in movies as I've been travelling through South America recently and pretty out of the loop.

Watched some flicks back for (alternative) Father's Day viewing....

No Escape (2015)
I'm a sucker for comedic actors trying to break serious, like Owen Wilson as this dad scrambling frantically for 90 minutes to try to keep his wife and two girls alive and well when a coup breaks out in front of their Thai hotel. It's a flawed film but deserves to be seen more, if only for the fun Brosnan supporting role.

The Squid and the Whale (2005)
I'd been looking forward to this for years because of the great cast, especially Jeff Daniels as a typically hateably euridite WASPy dad. I just really don't vibe with Baumbach's writing though and find all his characters and dialogue annoying and unbelievable.

Eighth Grade (2018)

Heard this had "one of the best movie dads ever on film" which to me was completely untrue. Also found that it seemed to want to be making a lot of clever observations about social media and how hard it is for kids these days, all of which felt very out-of-touch, obvious, and superficial. Neo-twee, I'm calling this.
 

kinnikuman

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I saw mother - kinda artsy , touchy feely, not really my genre. Like holy mountain, or eraserhead it’s kinda metaphor / subconscious stuff. But I like the director I like the performances and it’s fun to just be a long for a ride
 

Eyepainter

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I saw mother - kinda artsy , touchy feely, not really my genre. Like holy mountain, or eraserhead it’s kinda metaphor / subconscious stuff. But I like the director I like the performances and it’s fun to just be a long for a ride

I'm a huge Aronofsky fan as well, and I saw the movie when it came to theaters. It left me at a loss for words. It's one of the craziest movies I've ever seen, and I still can't decide to this day if I liked it or if I hated it.
 

mnkykungfu

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^I hated it, so did my (then podcaster) buddy. It's all an Old Testament allegory, finding room to bring that into modern environmentalist concerns. Beyond that, the film completely doesn't work. Gorgeously made and well-acted, but what's the point?
 

Ender

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Just watched Leon: The Professional. Turns out the pedo vibes weren't nearly as bad as I was bracing for.

As a movie, it was alright. It was great seeing my favorite BTAS character in live-action.
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mnkykungfu

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It (2017)
I missed this when it came out but eventually decided to give it a date night watch, which it works well for. Much less cheesy then the TV mini-series movie and with a really stellar kid cast, I thought this was one of the rare adaptations that probably works better than the book!

The Flash (2023)
Andy Muschietti moves up from It and reigns in unruly actors, an unhelpful studio, and a hostile audience to turn in one of the DCEU's best films. I don't give a flying F that some of the CG looks like a videogame while space and time are being distorted and we're peaking into other dimensions. My god, some people will just take any excuse to hate on CG and special effects and would prefer to nix those kind of visuals altogether. A lot of this movie looked fantastic, and the writers of D&D turned in another super funny script with a lot of heart and the best Michael Keaton Batman appearance...yeah, I said it!
 

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maxresdefault.jpg


You know those films that you don't hear about but later find them and go "This movie was made for me"?

This is that movie.

In what's probably Joe Dante's best movie, he crafts not only a loving tribute to the films of yore (from Sci-Fi monster films but also inserting a knowing reference to Disney inanimate object movies) but also just a great film about youth that would honestly put Spielberg's films to shame. All wrapped up with a wonderful score by Jerry Goldsmith that combines his signature 80's touch with classic themes from Universal Genre classics.

If you haven't seen it yet, do so. You won't regret it.

10/10
 

Eyepainter

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Temple Grandin (2010)

It saddens me that a "meh" film about autism like "Please Stand By" managed to get a theatrical release, while this film with far more heart, character development, emotional resonance, depth, and effective plotting only made it to HBO. Claire Danes is phenomenal in the title role, and it's clear that everyone involved with this film cared about the subject matter. This is also one of the few movies I've seen that makes farm life interesting. Great message, fantastic writing. Highly recommended especially for those who are curious about autism.
 

mnkykungfu

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Like Father, Like Son (2013)
A film delving into deep and rigid Japanese belief systems about bloodline and heritage. It's a deliberate, delicate film filled with moments of quiet devastation.

The Father (2020)
Anyone who has faced issues with an aging parent with deteriorating abilities will recognize a lot in the way this story is presented. It's a heartbreaking film filled with exquisite performances, including Hopkins giving one that towers over a career of many all-time-great performances.

The Breadwinner (2017)
This is a story about how difficult and oppressive life can be when you live in a society where all freedom is given to the men and you suddenly have no man in your family. The story-within-a-story felt a bit forced to me, but it was clear the narrative was based on many real experiences and the voice performances were fantastic.

Morris From America (2016)
Craig Robinson kills it as the movie dad of "Morris", a 13-year-old African-American who has moved with his dad to Heidelberg, Germany. This coming-of-age tale has so many weirdly-specific quirks and is in some ways unmarketable, which just makes it even more of a gem for me.
 

Eyepainter

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Tron (1982)

When I first saw this film, I had no idea what was going on. Now that I've seen it again, I can confirm that I still have no idea what is going on. Sure, the special effects are groundbreaking for their time. No denying that. But I've built my own PC now, and my brain still hurts watching this. I've seen Christopher Nolan movies that were easier to follow. I had to rewind so many moments to make sure I heard something correctly. I hate to say it's bad, but I'm afraid that's more honest.

Also, did anyone have a hard time trying to figure out who's who? Even with Jeff Bridges and 1080p high definition, I couldn't distinguish which character was which without them saying each others' names. All I understood was blue guys vs. red and yellow guys.
 

mnkykungfu

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The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (1994-2008)
Pardon the longer review here, but I'm encapsulating 22 films!
This is a TV/DV movie series which started after the cancelation of the TV show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. After a few films, they began re-editing previous episodes to make feature-length movies, usually with some additional footage. The final "movies" were eventually released many years later on DVD and Blu-Ray and contained up to 50% new footage in some cases, the last of it having been shot in 1997, four years after the show had been cancelled! This is a demonstration of how much money Lucasfilm sunk into the production of this, and most of the episodes still look and sound far better than anything on TV in the 90s.

As narrative films though, few of these approach anything like the quality of even the worst Indiana Jones movies, even the prologue to The Last Crusade with River Phoenix (who sadly refused the offer to reprise his role for the series.) I've spent the last year or so filling in the gaps in my childhood memories of this series, and I have to say that what holds up the best is still the World War I soldiering episodes. In particular I'd recommend-
The Trenches of Hell (1999)- harrowing action during the Battle of the Somme
The Demons of Deception (1999)- Indy goes from Verdun to an affair with Mata Hari
The Daredevils of the Desert (1999)- Indy assists the Australian Lighthorsemen in Turkey

I mostly didn't much like the films focusing on child Indy, his nanny, and his doting mother and pompous father. The "EDU" part of edutainment was front and center in these and every episode tended to be more about the historical figure guest stars than Indy himself. That said, if you're going to check one out, maybe try-
The Perils of Cupid (2000)- wherein Indy gets his first crush (directed by Mike Newell) and his mother has a minor affair!

Sadly, some of the most interesting episodes were only written up as stories by Lucas, but never scripted or produced. If the movies had found a way for Indiana Jones to feel like Indiana Jones after the War, maybe these would've been made. Somewhere in a parallel universe maybe.

Overall, I can't say it's a great use of time to watch all of these, even though they have a good boxset, were recently added to Disney+, and have been up on Youtube for years! I think the best format was actually the original television episodes, but Lucas has sadly pulled a Lucas and made sure only the new edits are available. What actually is better than the series though (typical Rick McCallum) is the production of all the special features. There are nearly one hundred short documentaries to flesh out the real history that's the basis of each movie, and those are all up on Youtube here!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Also squeezed in a rewatch of this with my girlfriend, who'd never seen it. My love of Ke Huy Quan overshadows pretty much all criticisms I have of this film, and the entire human sacrifice scene and the subsequent Indy version remains an all-time cinema high point for me.
 

Jrzag42

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I finally started watching Better Call Saul, just finished season 4. I decided to rewatch El Camino between seasons 4 and 5 in case it ends up being relevant. El Camino is still really good, and I really need to rewatch Breaking Bad proper at some point. I genuinely don't remember Todd in the show whatsoever, or that whole storyline.
 

mnkykungfu

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^Todd only pops up in the last season or two. He's a major figure in like one episode, besides that he's just the guy that keeps Jessie chained up. He's also about 30 lbs. lighter so pretty hard to recognize in El Camino if you aren't familiar with the actor.

I'm also watching Better Call Saul and finding it a far cry from either El Camino or BB. It's super slow and indulgent, the kind of show that would never get greenlit (much less renewed for multiple seasons) without all the previous investment from BB. I suppose Vince Gilligan knew that when writing though and took full advantage.
 

Jrzag42

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^Todd only pops up in the last season or two. He's a major figure in like one episode, besides that he's just the guy that keeps Jessie chained up. He's also about 30 lbs. lighter so pretty hard to recognize in El Camino if you aren't familiar with the actor.
I may have exaggerated slightly. I do remember his face, I remember him existing, but I definitely didn't remember his name or anything he did, I didn't remember the cage at all. It's funny that you mention him being hard to recognize, I think he has a distinct enough face.
I'm also watching Better Call Saul and finding it a far cry from either El Camino or BB. It's super slow and indulgent, the kind of show that would never get greenlit (much less renewed for multiple seasons) without all the previous investment from BB. I suppose Vince Gilligan knew that when writing though and took full advantage.
Frankly, I find myself agreeing with those people who say that it's on par with BB, if not better. I think it's fantastic. I do really need to watch Breaking Bad again though, I just remembered that the first time I watched it was on a phone screen whilst multitasking with video games, so I may have not had the optimal experience.
 

mnkykungfu

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It's funny that you mention him being hard to recognize, I think he has a distinct enough face.
I think of him as pale, pudgy Matt Damon. I think once you pay attention to him, he's recognizable like that, but when I first saw El Camino, I literally only knew him from BB, and it was jarring. I hadn't seen him in anything in the interim.

Frankly, I find myself agreeing with those people who say that it's on par with BB, if not better. I think it's fantastic. I do really need to watch Breaking Bad again though, I just remembered that the first time I watched it was on a phone screen whilst multitasking with video games, so I may have not had the optimal experience.
Uh...yeah, that is definitely not the "optimal experience" lol. If you're watching Saul the same way, I'd say it might be equal, but then again, Saul moves SO much slower that maybe it's actually better served by that. Breaking Bad is one of my favorite series of all time, so incredibly nuanced and such a perfect example of smooth, genius character development. I wonder if people who watched that when they were younger are just appreciating the style in Saul more because they're simply older now? I'd fully recommend a rewatch of BB!

Also: a review!
Advantageous (2015)
This little indie on Netflix tackles a lot of interesting dilemmas about being an working woman who's getting older, finding it harder to compete and also be a mom. This sets up a nice Sci-Fi body-swapping story but disappointingly, the film sabotages its own message through the character's petty actions and poor choices.
 

kinnikuman

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The bakers wife - I loved this movie! It’s got a few slapstick jokes that don’t work but overall I found this movie hilarious. Great casting choices, and completely original script. It reminds me of a Shakespeare play where you get a slice of a life of people you don’t necessarily relate to but find your self completely understanding and even feeling like you already know them! 5/5
 
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