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

hothstation

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Moe_Syzlak said:
hothstation said:
I just watched The Trial of the Chicago 7 via Netflix last night; it is a great movie in my opinion.

I was coming here to post my thoughts on this after watching last night. I wish I could share your review. I thought it was one of Sorkin’s weaker scripts, plagued by lack of depth in the characters (despite some great performances) and forced sentimentality. This severely undermines the modern relevance. Not to mention, the movie is lacking in any sophistication in its presentation. I really wanted to like this one more.

Yes, I do agree with your stance on the film lacking depth, but I think another hour in an already 2-hour film would have deterred many moviegoers [this was originally scheduled to be released in theaters] from paying to see it.
 

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Rear Window (1954)
I've been "hating" on some old Hitchcock films that I don't feel hold up (I mean, they're as old as my grandparents...and they're dead!) but this one totally does. It's still my favorite, and one of the very few films I consider a Perfect Movie. Thoughts on underappreciated writer John Michael Hayes here.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005)
Put out by the non-profit documentary company Brave New Films, this TV budget movie made waves when it first came out. I figured I already knew why Wal-Mart was evil, but I was still surprised when I finally got around to watching it. The parallels between how they do business and how Trump does politics are stunning. Deets here.
 

mnkykungfu

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Mission Impossible (1996)
Decided to give this a re-watch before watching Fallout for the first time, as podcast The Next Picture Show was doing a comparison. Ethan Hunt definitely starts differently here, as a somewhat typical Tom Cruise cocky-yet-compelling action dude. There's not much else to his or anyone else's characters here, as this is the closest the series has to a true spycraft, Tinker-Tailor-Soldier-Spy, multiple-weaving-crosses-and-double-crosses kind of story. Thoughts on why the story was famously difficult for audiences here.

Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)
I should've rewatched MI: Rogue Nation before watching this, as I was unprepared for how interconnected they would be. Typically, the MI films just dispense with whoever the new awesome female actress was from the last one (funny how they work around all the men's schedules but the actresses are always in some kind of schedule conflict...) and only have a couple carryover characters. No Jeremy Renner here, instead the young upstart challenging Cruise's Hunt is Henry Cavill, repping one of the ugliest mustaches you can imagine but doing the work of a good brick. Frankly, for all the focus on drama and character here, it felt like too-much-Talky, not-enough-Showy. These movies always plan the stunts well in advance and write the script as they go...it shows.
 

DigModiFicaTion

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JoJo Rabbit (2019)
It's hard to put into words the response that I had to this movie. I found the in the moment shift in tones to be a bit of whiplash at times. I knew about a major character event that occurs, but the way it was done was almost too much even knowing what was going to happen. I actually caught myself say, "Oh...." out loud when the moment is revealed. I believe this was purposeful, but I just have a hard time with drastic tonal shifts, especially when it involves humor and then trauma. The movie was unashamedly direct in presenting its ideas and the absurdity of what was happening. The actors were on point on their line deliveries, but I ultimately never felt connected to any of the characters. There was a distance and unconnectable nature to almost all of the characters. The two shining moments in the film for me were when Scarlett Johansson describes what it means to be free and alive and Sam Rockwell's final scene with JoJo. These two characters brought humanity to this film that was neck deep in dark satire. I probably won't return to this film, but I'd recommend at least one watch for those who enjoy Taika Waititi and/or for those who are curious about seeing an over the top caricature of the Nazi mindset though the eyes of a young boy. 6.89/10

Nacho Libre (2006)
After watching some episodes of Jablinski games and realizing that I really enjoyed most of Jack Black's zanniness, I decided to give this one a go. Jack Black is hilarious as always, but I'll admit that I had a hard time with this one and kept thinking that it probably stepped over the line in its caricature of Mexican culture. I doubt Jack Black meant this movie to be offensive and I would hope that it isn't, but I can't help but think that it probably ultimately is.
 

DigModiFicaTion

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Frozen II (2019)
Ugh....Olaf is great. This movie is terrible. The music was even worse than the first and the grand finale was ridiculous. An ice wall doesn't change the fact that the water level would have risen to a level that drowned out their kingdom....The animation was really bad, especially near the end. The voices didn't seem to sync right. Almost like the animation was slowed down. This is just mindless Deus ex Machina fodder to sell more toys. an abysmal 1/10
 

DigModiFicaTion

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The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
I still didn't care for this movie, but I realized this time that it wasn't made for my generation. I grew up with the Tobey Maguire Spidey and he still remains the purest Spidey of the live actions, imho. This movie was ok and I found myself realizing that Andrew Garfield was actually probably a better in costume Spidey in terms of fitting the iconic look of Spider-Man from the comics. I get why they would want to move quickly through the origin story as we've all seen it before, but I wish they would have just dropped us into a story and then worked more on the characters and how they relate to each other. For example, Flash goes from Peter's bully to best friend without any explanation. The CGI was eh...The story was eh...Definitely not the best, but not the worst super hero movie I've seen. 5.75/10

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The music in this was SO distracting. I love Hans Zimmer and Mike Einziger, but this was just too much bombastic synthy superman ripoff techno crunch for me. I also felt the Phillips Phillips song was a little on the nose and tv sitcom-ish. Characters here are hollow and connections to Harry are unexplained and ultimately lacking. Everything happens too quickly and Gwen and Peter are magically back together at the beginning after being split at the end of the first outing...Oh and even Spidey couldn't have survived all of that current. Speaking of, Jamie Foxx's talent was grosely misused here and he was reduced to a side note....in fact there isn't even a real main bad guy in this movie. The main antagonist seems to be the relationship between Peter and Gwen. This movie was like a slimfast shake trying to pretend it was a 1950's malt shake. Chalky and synthetic. 4.5/10
 

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DigModiFicaTion said:
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
I still didn't care for this movie, but I realized this time that it wasn't made for my generation.

Okay, you've given me an excuse to post this rather thoughtful review/essay I watched only a few days ago:  ;)


 
DigModiFicaTion said:
I get why they would want to move quickly through the origin story as we've all seen it before

Er... as the above video notes, Peter doesn't really become Spider-Man until over an hour into the movie, which is longer than Raimi took. Moreover, the movie is fifteen minutes longer than Spider-Man '02, and the main story almost certainly covers a shorter time period. So, at least in comparison to the Raimi movies, I think this is quite objectively not "moving quickly" through the origin.

 
DigModiFicaTion said:
For example, Flash goes from Peter's bully to best friend without any explanation.

I don't think this is fair at all. Flash goes from a bully to someone who's probably still a bully, but connects with Peter over the loss of a parent/uncle. (Also, Peter's unexpected feats of strength may make him question his pride in his own machismo.) By the end, he's found a better role model in Spider-Man than whatever one he may have been following before, and he and Peter share another moment of connection in admiring him. Not only is this clearly and succinctly explained, it doesn't make them "best friends," as they still probably have very little in common, and no interest in spending time together. IMO, all this makes far more sense than Peter and Harry's completely unexplained friendship in Spider-Man '02.

 
DigModiFicaTion said:
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Gwen and Peter are magically back together at the beginning after being split at the end of the first outing...

With respect, again, no. Peter's final line in ASM1 about not being able to keep promises is quite clearly him asking her to take him back, and her smile, even if he can't see it, tells us she will. And that, frankly, should have been the end of their relationship melodrama - at least until the end of the second film, in which she shouldn't have died, either, but that's another story...

I don't have much positive to say about ASM2, as I view it as a betrayal of its predecessor in many ways, likely due in large part to its Orci/Kurtzman script. But, I genuinely love ASM1, and will stick up for it where appropriate. :)
 

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The Lone Ranger (2013)
Well, at least is was self-aware of what it is. It's a silly nod to the old TV shows. They did wait until the final sequence to hit you with the William Tell Overture and some of the old tag lines. Those were definitely in the framework of "OK, you were expecting this, so here you go" The context of how the story is being told is kind of weird, but doesn't interfere with the movie. It was an amusing couple of hours, but I don't need to watch it again.
 

DigModiFicaTion

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Gaith said:
I don't have much positive to say about ASM2, as I view it as a betrayal of its predecessor in many ways, likely due in large part to its Orci/Kurtzman script. But, I genuinely love ASM1, and will stick up for it where appropriate. :)

I appreciate your passion for the first movie, I just don't share it ;) My comment on speed is that it doesn't use the time to develop anyone beyond Peter himself, but even then it's really developing a mysterious persona for his parents that ultimately isn't really revealed until the second movie. There's a lot of distraction in this movie. As far as Flash, I think it was fair. He's on screen very minimally and goes from being humiliated to friendly to pal. I'm no saying that isn't a great progression (I prefer that story line for his character) it just wasn't executed well to have any real weight. Instead it became a distraction because it was just thrown at the viewer. With a story that is so well known, any major adjustments to characters need to have some story telling attached or it's going to be majorly distracting. Even Han Solo's few lines about he and Leia in TFA were more than what we got here. I guess what I'm saying is that I feel like there isn't enough relationship building to warrant any emotional response to characters that the movie is pleading for its viewers to make. Sure, show don't tell is a great method, but if you are relying on inferences to be made from vague visuals that aren't really explained for many of the plot points along the way you're either going to end up with a Christopher Nolan masterpiece, or a convoluted dud. But that's the beauty of subjectivity, it results in different responses by different people to different things. I just don't resonate with these movies. But again I appreciate you and hope that when we are in peril you'll done this Spidey's spandex and come and save us :)
 

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DigModiFicaTion said:
Frozen II (2019)
Ugh....Olaf is great. This movie is terrible. The music was even worse than the first and the grand finale was ridiculous. An ice wall doesn't change the fact that the water level would have risen to a level that drowned out their kingdom....The animation was really bad, especially near the end. The voices didn't seem to sync right. Almost like the animation was slowed down. This is just mindless Deus ex Machina fodder to sell more toys. an abysmal 1/10

I saw the teaser trailer for this and it had some fall leaves blowing, and not much else. I immediately thought "oh cool someone with 'autumn powers', they must be doing like one for each season", and we'd find out there's more with powers and they'd meet. Thought that's kind of a neat direction, if a little derivative of Marvel/superheroes.

Then I heard it was nothing like that, and it was bad, so I chose not to watch it. My kids isn't obsessed with Disney princesses (for her it's Daniel Tiger, and to a lesser extent Peppa Pig) so I haven't been forced yet. I feel lucky.
 

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Whoa there @"DigModiFicaTion" I'll not tolerate any slander of Frozen 2. It was the first film I saw in the cinema with my daughter and I am still singing the songs in the car to her. Am I bias, almost certainly, but when it comes to your hatred of Frozen 2 I think it's time that you
Nadkz3t.gif
 

Gaith

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Malthus said:
I'll not tolerate any slander of Frozen 2. It was first film I saw in the cinema with my daughter and I am still singing the songs in the car to her.

So, if I'd won the lottery last year, and, in a joyous haze, decided to go see Cats that same day, would that have made Cats a great film worth defending to others online? :p 

 
DigModiFicaTion said:
I guess what I'm saying is that I feel like there isn't enough relationship building to warrant any emotional response to characters that the movie is pleading for its viewers to make.

Again, I gotta disagree, especially when compared to Spider-Man '02. Anyone is of course perfectly entitled to prefer the various characterizations of that movie, but, if one were counting screen time and distinct character beats, I think one would find that ASM1's Ben, May, and Gwen all get objectively more development than SM1's Ben, May, and MJ. (Connors and Norman Osborn probably get similar amounts of development, and I'll freely admit Connors' characterization lifts a lot from SM2's Doc Ock.) And, I think the Peter-Gwen relationship is far more built up and credible than Maguire and Dunst making drippy faces at each other, particularly since ASM1's Peter doesn't gaslight his crush by maintaining his double identity. :p

(And, again, I gotta ask: why are Peter and Harry such close friends in SM1, such that they share an apartment? What do a rich lout who's flunked out of several private schools and a painfully shy nerd have in common? IIRC, the movie cheats by having them start out as best friends, albeit for no discernible reason.)
 

DigModiFicaTion

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Malthus said:
Whoa there @"DigModiFicaTion" I'll not tolerate any slander of Frozen 2. It was first film I saw in the cinema with my daughter and I am still singing the songs in the car to her. Am I bias, almost certainly, but when it comes to your hatred of Frozen 2 I think it's time that you
Nadkz3t.gif

I'll let it go in SUMMMER!!!
285a5964512f7305-olaf-in-summer-gif-images.gif
 

mnkykungfu

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The War at Home (1996)
There are (maybe literally) a million Christmas movies and more crappy ones being dumped on the market every year. But it's common to hear Americans complain that there are no Thanksgiving movies. It's the forgotten holiday, lumped between Xmas and Halloween, unloved by a capitalist marketplace who hasn't yet figured out a great way to profit from it other than Black Friday...which is the first day of Xmas shopping. But lo! There are indeed some Thanksgiving movies, and they're a ripe time to explore family drama. This one doesn't quite hit the heights it's going for as a post-war film, but as a holiday movie I think it's unique enough to recommend.
 

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The New Mutants: Not as bad as everyone thinks, but is a slightly weak coda to a decades old superhero franchise.
 

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Walk Hard. I’m not a big fan of biopics and I really dislike most music biopics. So this was a fantastic satire if the genre for me. It really nails the cliches of the genre.
 

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kidjupiter92 said:
The New Mutants: Not as bad as everyone thinks, but is a slightly weak coda to a decades old superhero franchise.

Is it at least better than Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix?
 

bionicbob

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asterixsmeagol said:
kidjupiter92 said:
The New Mutants: Not as bad as everyone thinks, but is a slightly weak coda to a decades old superhero franchise.

Is it at least better than Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix?

THE NEW MUTANTS (2020)

The 13th and final entry in the FOX X-Men franchise...

I went into this movie with very low expectations, as I was pretty disappointed with the last couple of X-Men entries and I was aware of some of the history of this very delayed released movie. Shot back in 2017, it was originally going to be a follow up to X-MEN APOCALYPSE and be set in the 80s, with the hopes of launching a new, separate spin-off trilogy. But Apocalypse under performed at the Box Office and the mercurial FOX suits wanted changes to the script and tone of the New Mutants movie. Even once the filming was completed, the Studio was uncertain what they wanted to do with the movie or how they wanted to promote it and were discussing doing extensive re-shoots. And of course during this time, X-MEN DARK PHOENIX went into production and was riddled with problems, leading to the entire third act being re-shot. And of course, during all this chaos, Disney (which already owns MARVEL Studios) bought FOX, and it was unclear if they were ever going to release The New Mutants in any form or just permanently shelve it.

But then, with little to no fan page, Disney released it.

And the experience was bittersweet.

This a good movie. It is NOT great. It is far from perfect. But it is decent and fun.

It is completely different than any other X-Men movie. It has an Indy, Low Budget Horror movie vibe... though I would not call it a horror movie. More like Buffy the Vampire Slayer in style and tone. It is more character centric than action, though the third act is very exciting.

While the X-Men do get a name drop, the movie is a completely separate entity and you do not have to be familiar with the previous X-movies or New Mutant comic to understand the movie. However, it you are an old fart like me, you will definitely smile and appreciate the call backs to the original comic book.

While this movie may not break any real new ground, it is a well constructed film with a very nice cast. I certainly enjoyed it more than the disaster CGI porn of Apocalypse or the Studio fumbled Dark Phoenix.

If you are an X-Men fan, it is definitely worth a watch.
 

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Kingsman; the answer to what if Deadpool and Austin Powers had a baby
 

bionicbob

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Malthus said:
Kingsman; the answer to what if Deadpool and Austin Powers had a baby

KINGSMAN the first one -- FANTASTIC!!!

KINGSMAN 2 -- disappointing.

KINGSMAN 3 (prequel) -- fingers crosssed.

:D
 
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