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

[mnkykungfu]

^Generations is def a merging of the sensibilities of the two shows, so that affects the feel of it... I liked it, though.

Gall Force - Rhea (1989)
Speaking of military sci-fi... I just recently caught this anime OVA on Youtube and went down a rabbit hole finding out about the Gall Force series. It's a kind of weird under-the-radar moderately-enjoyable 80s series, but this one is in the middle and (even though it features different characters) I think it'd be better to start with the first arc, "Eternal Story".

Total Excess: How Carolco Changed Hollywood (2020)
Also caught this documentary on Youtube, about the film production company Carolco, heroes of my youth. From basically '82 - '95, they made a string of balls-out ridiculously fun movies, until Cutthroat Island finally killed off the company. This is their story, highly recommended for film fans.

Monos (2019)
And now for something completely different... Colombian film about two things that still exist today, although just a tiny percentage of how problematic they were 20 years back: kidnappings and child soldiers. We follow the experience of these guerillas camped out in the Amazon as the routines which kept them as a cohesive unit start to unravel with the death of a cow. Deserves all its indy cred.

 

[Jrzag42]

^Generations is def a merging of the sensibilities of the two shows, so that affects the feel of it... I liked it, though.

I like the stuff with Kirk, everything else I just found boring.

 

[Jrzag42]

Finally watched Inception, it was pretty good.

 

[Jrzag42]

Finally watched Inception, it was pretty good.

I decided to rewatch The Prestige afterwards. Truly Nolan's masterpiece.
When I first watched it with my dad (who had of course already seen it), at one point he said something like "I forget who plays Fallon, I think it's Brad Pitt" to throw me off. I'm bad with faces, so I believed it, and I was totally surprised by the reveal. Good times.
Already knowing the twists and turns doesn't hinder the movie at all, it's just as good upon rewatch. I generally want to hate Christopher Nolan, but I can't deny that he makes good films sometimes.

 

[mnkykungfu]

Werewolf (By Night) (2022)
Marvel's Halloween Special throwback is a lean 54 minutes of old skool Horror, a loving homage to the Universal monsters that doesn't look or feel like anything else in the MCU. I'm not one who thinks an auteur style automatically makes something better, or that playing in a multiplex automatically makes something artistically bankrupt...but I desperately hope Marvel makes more stuff like this instead of everything else they've put out lately.

Army of the Dead (2021)
You'd expect this to be Snyder returning to his Dawn of the Dead roots, but this isn't really a zombie movie. It's honestly a movie about Las Vegas getting taken over by alien barbarians, with streets filled with their carcasses and hotels filled with their weird rituals. There's some kind of social commentary there, but it's buried in a needlessly-dumb two-and-a-half-hour heist plot led by weak acting and bad cinematography.

Mumako (1990)
This trio of stories written by Fujiko Fujio A (half the duo who created Doraemon) all feature Mumako (literally "cute dream devil girl"), who is a kind of wandering genie that offers wishes to Japanese people stymied in their societal roles. The Doraemon-esque animation belies darker, more mature undercurrents to the stories, which I really dug. This anthology is pretty obscure it seems, but I found links and posted them in my full review.

 

[Jrzag42]

Just watched Everything Everywhere All At Once (can't hear that title without thinking of Bo Burnham, "A little bit of everything all of the time").
Real good. Gave me John Dies At The End vibes, so it doesn't surprise me to find out that Jason Pargin regards it as one of the best films ever made. It also doesn't surprise me that my mother wasn't big on this movie. For such a well regarded film, I didn't expect it so (for lack of a better word) weird. I think I got a bit lost in the second half, but it's all good. Big fan of the inclusion of lesbians. What else do I say about this movie? Might have to watch Temple Of Doom after this. It's coincidentally the only Indiana Jones movie I currently own.

 

[Jrzag42]

Watched the movie Legion. I was expecting Terminator with angels, the first scenes seemed like it was going in that direction, but then it seemed like The Mist, and then at some point I just started drawing and not focussing on the movie but from the background noise I think it became Terminator again. It was definitely a movie. Twists on christian mythology are neat sometimes. Still don't like Paul Bettany's face.
Just go watch the unrelated show Legion instead.

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

Captain Phillips (2013)
It's nothing spectacular as a movie, but where it shines is the quality of acting. It feels authentic and the only thing that really gives it away is the fact that Tom Hanks is the lead. As always, he's fantastic. The supporting cast, especially the Somalian pirates give great performances.

 

[mnkykungfu]

Just watched Everything Everywhere All At Once
Real good.
Might have to watch Temple Of Doom after this.

If your goal is to see more Ke Huy Quan, then besides that and The Goonies, he was also a main cast member in seasons 4 & 5 of Head of the Class, which was a really funny, light-hearted TV series. I'd also recommend checking out some Wong Kar Wai movies for further appreciation of EEAAO, as multiple scenes in the film are direct homages to his work.

Captain Phillips (2013)
where it shines is the quality of acting

I actually think this one has somehow slipped out of people's memories, despite it winning so many awards. The dual performances of the two captains are amazing, and I actually think Greengrass' directing style works really well here (I can't stand it in the Bourne sequels). This was one of my choices for the poll about Tom Hanks' "four pretty good movies". Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[TM2YC]

I'd also recommend checking out some Wong Kar Wai movies for further appreciation of EEAAO, as multiple scenes in the film are direct homages to his work.

Ah, then I think I'll park EEAAO until I've got round to watching those first.

 

[Jrzag42]

Don't Breathe - This 80 minute horror film has more moments where you'd expect it to end than Return Of The King.

 

[mnkykungfu]

^Those caricatures are so dumb I expected it to end in the first 15 minutes. How is it possible they lived any longer?

Ah, then I think I'll park EEAAO until I've got round to watching those first.

It might actually be better to REwatch EEAAO after. It's so frickin dense that there's plenty to think about without the WKW references. It's also a massive mish-mash of vibes, so you'll likely miss things the first watch just because you'll be either too busy laughing or saying "what the *&%$???!"

 

[Eyepainter]

Don't Breathe - This 80 minute horror film has more moments where you'd expect it to end than Return Of The King.

My feelings exactly. The person who wrote and directed Don't Breathe, Fede Alvarez, also wrote and directed the Evil Dead remake. That movie had a zillion false endings too! I don't understand the appeal, but Alvarez likes making his films seem endless for some reason.

 

[Jrzag42]

My feelings exactly. The person who wrote and directed Don't Breathe, Fede Alvarez, also wrote and directed the Evil Dead remake. That movie had a zillion false endings too! I don't understand the appeal, but Alvarez likes making his films seem endless for some reason.

This post was kinda a joke, didn't expect anyone to actually agree.
I did actually mostly enjoyed Don't Breathe. Actually now that I'm saying it, I'm not so sure.
The Evil Dead remake was dreadful though.

 

[mnkykungfu]

Midsommar (2019)
Is it bad that the beginning of this film made me think of the beginning of Up? I kind of just wanted to watch the rest of a movie about dealing with family trauma, which is what Ari Aster is great at. Unfortunately, he's obsessed with portraying elaborate rituals, so this film does backflips to give characters reasons to see those...

CAM (2018)
Not a bad little indie, this Thriller focuses on a cam-girl who is hyper-focused on breaking into the top 50 ranking on her site, and will become whatever she needs to be to do it. No small amount of Alice in Wonderland references dot this script about losing your identity, but it does have a few plot holes later in the game that prevented me from absolutely loving it.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
Bizarrely not as much exorcism in this as there is trial lawyering. Scott Derrickson's first big hit showcases Jennifer Carpenter slaying it in some Horror scenes, but the film is more than 50% legal drama, and that part is so preposterous I felt like I was watching an episode of Law & Order. Maybe watch with one finger on the fast forward button?

 

[Editzilla]

The Evil Dead remake was dreadful though.

I thought the remake was OK. Lacked the fun of the original but still a neat little horror machine.

I'm also one of those weirdos that had a blast with the Texas Chainsaw film he produced as well though so................

 

[Jrzag42]

I thought the remake was OK. Lacked the fun of the original but still a neat little horror machine.

I'm also one of those weirdos that had a blast with the Texas Chainsaw film he produced as well though so................

Oh I also had a blast with that, no idea he had any involvement. I still don't know if it's supposed to be a parody of movies like Halloween 2018, or if it's just an actually bad tropey mess, but I laughed a ton either way.

 

[Editzilla]

Oh I also had a blast with that, no idea he had any involvement. I still don't know if it's supposed to be a parody of movies like Halloween 2018, or if it's just an actually bad tropey mess, but I laughed a ton either way.

Yeah, that's the beauty of TCM films. Often times, they're either gritty realistic horror films or some of the greatest comedies ever made.

...............except Leatherface 2017. Fuck that noise.

 

[Jrzag42]

Yeah, that's the beauty of TCM films. Often times, they're either gritty realistic horror films or some of the greatest comedies ever made.

...............except Leatherface 2017. Fuck that noise.

...I kinda loved Leatherface 2017. I refused to watch it after seeing an awful review, but I ended up watching it after the new one came out. I already knew ahead of time that there was a dumb fakeout, so that aspect didn't bother me as much as it bothered those first reviewers.
It's of course highly unnecessary, but I thought it was enjoyable and mostly well made.

TCM 2 is the best though in any case.

 

[Editzilla]

Just saw Halloween Ends today.

2018 was enjoyable but meh. Kills was a blast and a step up. Ends..........holy shit this was amazing. Less of a Halloween film and more of a take on Carpenter's Christine, it's nonetheless stands as an astounding film.

Come at me if you want, but I fucking loved this film