Movies you've just watched

[XoPachi]

Watched Prometheus. What a great direction for a prequel.

EDIT: Just finished the follow up to it. Those were really good prequels!

[xxx1993]

The Lion King on Broadway.

[Vexorg]

Top Gun Maverick: ***

It says a lot about the current problems theaters are having that this, along with Jurassic World Dominion, Thor: Love and Thunder and even Spider Man: No Way Home are currently headlining a lackluster slate of films in a mostly empty megaplex on cheap ticket Tuesday. Even so, it's two hours of Tom Cruise doing Tom Cruise things with a side of fighter jet porn. If they had left it there that would have been just fine, but then they had to add in 20 minutes of unnecessary extra WTFery after the point where they should have just quit while they were ahead, a jet fighter version of the notorious cartoonish slide whistle over the badass car corkscrew that really doesn't do anything but cheapen the whole thing. Also one of the loudest films I've seen in a while; might not be a bad idea to bring earplugs.

[xxx1993]

RRR was a pretty fun Bollywood movie!

[Stevens]

I got tickets to Police Story at Alamo next Saturday! Stoked.

[vol.2]

Was hyped to watch Platoon last night, but the gf did a switcheroo on me and I had to sit through The Lighthouse.


Hard to rate. I personally didn't like it. I usually love Defoe, but man this film was annoying to watch. I payed enough attention to get the gist; it was about each person's version of reality and the respective fragility of their own psyches.

Stylistically, it was like if you took the fleeting moments of hinted at mysticism in The Northman and you gave them much greater narrative weight; that is not to say that we are entirely asked to believe in the arcane or sacred, but that we are more forcefully confronted with those metaphors here.

I appreciate the crazy way it was shot, and I thought Defoe had some great monologues, and the other actor was excellent. But I still didn't like it; it felt like an exercise that I was watching in film school that I was paying attention to for credit. I was bored most of the time and I didn't care much what happened to the actors or what was going on in the bigger picture.

ummm. 6/10 for effort and all that tricky-ass filming with the antique cameras. I think they probably deserve a 6 just for the hell that must have been sound design in post.

I got tickets to Police Story at Alamo next Saturday! Stoked.

sick. I haven't watched that movie for like 15 years. Need to revisit.

[cj iwakura]

RRR was a pretty fun Bollywood movie!

It's great, especially the dance numbers, though I've heard it wasn't filmed in the same region as Bollywood.

Tollywood, I think? Teluga?

[Stevens]

Was hyped to watch Platoon last night, but the gf did a switcheroo on me and I had to sit through The Lighthouse.


Hard to rate. I personally didn't like it. I usually love Defoe, but man this film was annoying to watch. I payed enough attention to get the gist; it was about each person's version of reality and the respective fragility of their own psyches.

Stylistically, it was like if you took the fleeting moments of hinted at mysticism in The Northman and you gave them much greater narrative weight; that is not to say that we are entirely asked to believe in the arcane or sacred, but that we are more forcefully confronted with those metaphors here.

I appreciate the crazy way it was shot, and I thought Defoe had some great monologues, and the other actor was excellent. But I still didn't like it; it felt like an exercise that I was watching in film school that I was paying attention to for credit. I was bored most of the time and I didn't care much what happened to the actors or what was going on in the bigger picture.

ummm. 6/10 for effort and all that tricky-ass filming with the antique cameras. I think they probably deserve a 6 just for the hell that must have been sound design in post.

I got tickets to Police Story at Alamo next Saturday! Stoked.

sick. I haven't watched that movie for like 15 years. Need to revisit.

I've never seen it!

[xxx1993]

RRR was a pretty fun Bollywood movie!

It's great, especially the dance numbers, though I've heard it wasn't filmed in the same region as Bollywood.

Tollywood, I think? Teluga?

I think.

[Leandro]

I watched the new Elvis movie, it was just okay. Baz Luhrman is definitely not a director that I appreciate. The pacing is unnecessarily too quick, Tom Hanks character is so over the top.

The main actor was great though, and they nail some of the themes. Still, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

Enviado de meu 2201116SG usando o Tapatalk

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

I've never seen [Polie Story]!

Man, you're in for a treat; the stunts in this film are out of this world. This, among with the other Police Story and Project A films, are peak Jackie Chan.

[emphatic]

Cop (1988) - 3/5

Having read the fantastic book, the film (while being ok) doesn't come close to the grit of the James Ellroy original, but what filmed version of his explosive style can? Ah well, a movie that could never get made today.

[vol.2]

I've never seen [Polie Story]!

Man, you're in for a treat; the stunts in this film are out of this world. This, among with the other Police Story and Project A films, are peak Jackie Chan.

Totally. It's a peak Jackie Chan, but it's not the only peak. I would say he also had a golden age in the late 70s with the traditional kung fu stuff, and then another period that sort of transitioned at Project A and solidified at Police Story, in which he made a transition to a more "modern" and "cosmopolitan" figure.

It's weird how intensely political he's gotten recently though. Chan has become a figurehead for China as a violent police state.

[null1024]

Just saw Bullet Train.
Although I feel like I lost a few brain cells in the process from how silly it got sometimes, it was relentlessly stylish, violent, and funny. Just a blast to watch.
I've got nitpicks, but like, they're nitpicks. The plot comes together pretty well by the end from the initially disconnected segments into a cohesive whole of events.

[xxx1993]

Odd Taxi: In the Woods.

[xxx1993]

End of the Road on Netflix. Pretty decent action thriller starring Queen Latifah and Ludacris that's essentially "Taken meets Unhinged meets No Country for Old Men".

[xxx1993]

Drifting Home, an average anime movie on Netflix.

[Mischief Maker]

End of the Road on Netflix. Pretty decent action thriller starring Queen Latifah and Ludacris that's essentially "Taken meets Unhinged meets No Country for Old Men".

Fascinating combination.

So Ludacris tells Queen Latifah to Move Bitch Get Out Da Way, unaware she's suffered a mental break and is ready to wreak vengeance upon him for his rudeness.

Queen Latifah is confident Ludacris is doomed because she has a very particular set of skills.

However Dolly Parton is convinced that queen Latifah is in over her head and desperately tries to track her down and get her into protective custody, only for Latifah to get killed in a hit-and-run by Drake offscreen. A dejected Parton retires and muses over the changing landscape of the music industry.

[vol.2]

On Wednesday, I went to the local theater revival of Annie Hall. I haven't watched it maybe 20 years, but I was still able to recall certain scenes from memory as they were happening.

It really is one of the best romantic comedies ever made; the metal progression in which Alvy reflects on his own interpersonal shortcomings, and ultimately comes to accept the underlying issues with his relationship are poignant and real. Watching it now, I see so many things in it that I didn't previously have a proper context for in my life. Understanding his losses in marriage and his inability to see that things weren't working, attempting to force things to work and ultimately watching it crash and burn with no one to blame but himself, and then finally realizing that it was a learning experience and that it all has intrinsic value. Just really well done, and really funny.

9.5/10

I dock it 0.5 stars for some of the exaggerated silliness with his childhood friend. It was fine as slapstick, but it's less "timeless" than the rest of the movie and it feels like an unlikely friendship and not enough is given to legitimizing it outside of a loose notion that they had roots together. He seems to exist as a meme revolving around Alvy's social anxieties and that isn't enough (imho) to justify the inclusion, especially when you consider how strong the other NPC casting was.

[xxx1993]

End of the Road on Netflix. Pretty decent action thriller starring Queen Latifah and Ludacris that's essentially "Taken meets Unhinged meets No Country for Old Men".

Fascinating combination.

So Ludacris tells Queen Latifah to Move Bitch Get Out Da Way, unaware she's suffered a mental break and is ready to wreak vengeance upon him for his rudeness.

Queen Latifah is confident Ludacris is doomed because she has a very particular set of skills.

However Dolly Parton is convinced that queen Latifah is in over her head and desperately tries to track her down and get her into protective custody, only for Latifah to get killed in a hit-and-run by Drake offscreen. A dejected Parton retires and muses over the changing landscape of the music industry.

You have seen it, right?

[GaijinPunch]

Elvis
Pretty good. Some liberties taken, which I guess is expected. Always been a big Elvis fan, including most of what he stood for - at least the flamboyance and gaudiness. Maybe the commercialism was taken to extremes, but that was ages ago and I probably would have done the same. Loved the credit roll, especially with it ending with one of my favorite Elvis tunes, "In the ghetto", which some may recognize from a very brief blip in the KLF's quintessential ambient album "Chill Out". Minus a full point for not featuring Blue Christmas in the TV special. They also seemed to omit his addiction to horrible food. He apparently loved peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. Take him or leave him, there's no denying the man was an absolute force to be reckoned with, and kept his style and voice up to the bitter end - when he was fat and his body near collapse.

All the President's Men
Very rare is it when my mom tells me to watch a flick that isn't a documentary or feel good. This story follows the two journalists at the Washington Post, played by Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, who uncovered the Watergate Scandal. There should be a renewed interested in this given our current political climate. Good old school, slow burn.

The Informer
Somewhat generic action flick on Netflix that I actually watched during this years iteration of the fist fuck known as Burning Man Exodus. (Spoiler - it was not the worst I've been in at all - don't know why everyone is bitching). Anyway, I had really low hopes for this one but it actually was pretty enjoyable. Decent action, and pretty decent tension. I mean, it has Common in it who isn't the most subtle of actors but whatever. It was an enjoyable way to pass the time.

[vol.2]

Barbarian (2022) 6.5/10

This one is intense. I can't really give you any details without essentially ruining the movie for you, so I'll just talk in general terms.

It's a psychological horror flick with some points to make. Altogether worthwhile examination of the aftermath of trauma and of gentrification of (specifically and generally) Detroit.

It's also a movie that follows what seems to me to be a trend of having a lot of different points to make, without spending enough time on any one of them, dropping social issues like a celebrity name-drop (Nope). Another criticism is that I found myself occasionally bored with the editing or narrative choices; there is some lingering time spent on scenes that don't feel deserving, making an hour forty-five minutes feel a hell of a lot longer. However, it's got enough "on the edge of your seat" moments to pull it out, and I laughed out loud a few times.

Skip it in the theater, but do watch it.

[BryanM]

Saw the Little Mermaid trailer. Honestly, when the music kicked in I got some nostalgia tingles for a few seconds. And it showed a version of these remakes that I'd actually want to see: Animated. 3d, 2d, a mix of both.. as long as it didn't aspire to realism. Toss a few new songs in, a couple more characters, don't change the old ones that much.. I would watch it.

Ah... unfortunately googling "little mermaid" on the google youtubes didn't provide me any old little mermaid content, just... you know. The most shallow and uninteresting conversation possible... "pee pee doo doo out of my mouth into yer brain." Way to ruin everything internet, mission accomplished.

Thankfully I have no emotional attachment to anything past 2010, so I'll be safe eventually.

[Stevens]

Police Story

Thanks Alamo for having a fucking KUNG FU THEMED THEATRE 30 minutes away.

Oh PS? Most of you have seen it, I was the one late to the party. The last act alone was worth the price of admission.

Going back to see The Lost Boys in a few weeks.

[GaijinPunch]

Strange I watched it for the first time as well. Most of the time I kind of longed for the more over-the-top pacing of Rumble in the Bronx, but fucking hell that last scene truly delivered. Looks like the two sequels aren't too bad either. On the list they go.

[GaijinPunch]

Realizing now I didn't write my latest two.

Police Story
On HBO Max now. Definitely worse ways to spend a Sunday. As per Stevens comment, the last fight scene is worth the price of admission. Fun to look at all the 80s HK vibe.

Prey
Not a slam dunk but definitely the best thing in the franchise for a while. I actually quite liked Predators which took a pretty unique twist for the series, and trimmed it down to basically what anyone cares about: action. While I knew the natives would speak English in this iteration, I think they could have made them a bit more reticent to make them a little more menacing. Still better than I expected.

[vol.2]

Going back to see The Lost Boys in a few weeks.

I rewatched that pretty recently. I think it holds up in that the silliness has been tempered with nostalgia. Even if you weren't alive and aware, it still oozes with the production style of the time, and even the stuff that isn't so good seems charming to me now. I don't afford everything from the time the same luxury, but this one gets a pass, for Alex Winter if nothing else.


Last night I watched Out of The Blue (1980) 8/10

This was Dennis Hopper's "comeback" movie after spending a decade ostracized by hollywood for making The Last Movie, in which he was openly critical of the industry.

The plot follows the life of Cebe, a young teen who's alcoholic father is getting out of jail for manslaughter and whose mother is addicted to heroin. It takes place in the suburbs of Vancouver, and highlights the terrible heroin problems that have plagued the Pacific NW for decades. Idk how that's going now, but it was fucking grim in 1980.

In any case, the character of Cebe is tremendous, and the actress Linda Manz does an incredible job of showing her as a complete person facing intense issues. The movie deals with some extremely serious issues that I won't spell out here because I think it would lessen the impact of the film if I did, and I fully encourage everyone to watch it. Just make sure you're ready for an extremely serious movie and don't make it a date night.

[Stevens]

Haha. Lost Boys is dope. I watch it every year. The scariest thing in the movie is

Spoiler

Corey Haim's taste in posters.

[BIL]

El Camino (2019)



Subtitled "A Breaking Bad Movie," this is better approached as an epilogue; a two-hour series finale. This post could've happily gone in the TV thread, tbh - particularly having finished BB's companion series Better Call Saul. Ironically, BCS's final episodes provide a decidedly more filmic experience, with their bleak exile into B&W neo-noir.

As expected with Vince Gilligan himself at the helm, BB's strengths are well-inherited; the cornered desperation laced with virtuoso black comedy, the ingenious compositions and poignantly lyrical timeline shifts. If you love BB, and want a shot of closure, this'll be warm blanket-inviting. If you've not seen BB, don't bother (or at least watch BB first). Oblivious to the abyssal vice and bloody mayhem that made this haunted world, blind viewers will find only a competent street-level crime/drama.

While the least essential of Gilligan's triptych by far, it's easily as well-made as its televisual peers, and easily recommended to fans of. As a stand-alone film, by exactly the same token, it's a relative non-starter. Clearly more suited to a limited TV run, still a potential good time if you know what you're going into.

Spoilers for collective series (BrBa/BCS/Camino)

Spoiler

I have to say, I was never overly fond of Jesse and his orbit, preferring Walter's contemplative glimpse of a troubled genius haplessly compounding his own tragic end; and I always found Jesse's pivotal snapping over Brock slightly hard to believe, given some of the other shit Walt had done. Atrocious, certainly, but a little too self-indulgently short-sighted for a steadily-maturing deuteragonist. They missed a trick not making Walt's murder of Jesse's newfound mentor Mike the more explicit trigger, I think.

So a return to his storyline didn't really hook me, the way another characters' might've. More Mike, or Gus, or Hector, or Huell? Hell yeah. The kid, not so much.

That said, the character's metaphorical death, descent into hell, and improbable redemption were always grimly compelling, and Aaron Paul and Jesse Plemons are both superb actors; it's enjoyable work for sure, Gilligan's stated intent of taking Jesse "from a boy to a man" undertaken with heart and elan. Undeniably scintillating seeing his final TV scene slam head-on into the wailing sirens and flashing lights of What Happened Next.

Badger and Pete were more lovable than ever, with their window back to dubiously happier times for Jesse. Robert Forster turns in a characteristically warm final performance as Ed The Disappearer. Bryan Cranston and Jonathan Banks treasures as always, in their brief cameos.

[GaijinPunch]

I think my review of El Camino in this very thread was, "Great, but totally unnecessary". It was very enjoyable... if nothing else for more Badger and Skinny Pete (the true spin off we all deserve).