Movies We've Seen Thread

[Peace Frog]

12 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

Fiennes gives a fantastic, nuanced, performance in The Dig.  And I don't mind slow when the story is executed well.  The Dig kept our interest throughout.  Felt almost like a play.

Have not seen In Burges.  I respect your opinion.  Is it worth checking out?

In Bruges is a top 50 movie of all time. 

But that’s the first time you watch it. 

Next time it’s top 25. Time after that too 15. It is absolutely brilliant. Michael McDonough is one of the great writers/directors of this age. I watch it once a year just to remind myself. 

The darkest of dark comedy/dramas. 

Having been to Bruges doesn’t hurt but you’ll want to go afterward. “It’s like a fairytale” lol. A line from Fiennes in the movie. 

Watch as soon as possible. 
 

[munchmemory]

11 hours ago, Peace Frog said:

In Bruges is a top 50 movie of all time. 

But that’s the first time you watch it. 

Next time it’s top 25. Time after that too 15. It is absolutely brilliant. Michael McDonough is one of the great writers/directors of this age. I watch it once a year just to remind myself. 

The darkest of dark comedy/dramas. 

Having been to Bruges doesn’t hurt but you’ll want to go afterward. “It’s like a fairytale” lol. A line from Fiennes in the movie. 

Watch as soon as possible. 
 

Wow, thanks for your review.  I'm putting it as next on the queue.  

On the opposite side of the spectrum, is United States vs Billy Holiday which we watched last night.   Good Lord, this thing is a complete disaster.  Lee Daniels continues to show that he is one of cinema's greatest hacks.  Took a compelling story involving one of my favorite artists and turned it into a poorly executed cartoon.  Other than a few gratuitous, laborious sex scenes, the film had the look of some cheap TV flick you might see on Lifetime or BET.  Awful script and acting as well.

Only positive aspect of the film is for the folks out there who are enamored with dissolves.  No joke, Daniels must have used 20 dissolves in the first three minutes of the flick.  And the pace kept up throughout this POS.  Just pitiful.

[RutgersJetFan]

Nobody is a shameless and meta lark, but it's a damned fun one. John Wick, Dredd, and The Raid are obviously the standards for the current ultraviolence hyperentertainment genre, but Odenkirk brings something that guys like Keanu and Karl Urban can't, he's the most unlikely actor you'd assume for something like this and it translates over so well because that's the exact point of the movie. Long live Hutch Mansell. 

[isired]

Wow, thanks for your review.  I'm putting it as next on the queue.  
On the opposite side of the spectrum, is United States vs Billy Holiday which we watched last night.   Good Lord, this thing is a complete disaster.  Lee Daniels continues to show that he is one of cinema's greatest hacks.  Took a compelling story involving one of my favorite artists and turned it into a poorly executed cartoon.  Other than a few gratuitous, laborious sex scenes, the film had the look of some cheap TV flick you might see on Lifetime or BET.  Awful script and acting as well.
Only positive aspect of the film is for the folks out there who are enamored with dissolves.  No joke, Daniels must have used 20 dissolves in the first three minutes of the flick.  And the pace kept up throughout this POS.  Just pitiful.

Glad it wasn't just us. We wanted to like it, as your said it's a compelling story, she's a great artist, and it was terrible.

[Integrity28]

On 3/19/2021 at 12:58 AM, RutgersJetFan said:

I'm about halfway through Snyder's JL and holy hell. Completely different flick. There is an entire movie about Cyborg within this thing. Joss Whedon is a monster. 

The Cyborg story was the movie. The rest was a distraction. It’s still clumsy and tries to cover too much ground, but I’m just stoked it happened. 

[Integrity28]

The movie Irresistable was excellent.

[munchmemory]

11 hours ago, isired said:

 

 

Glad it wasn't just us. We wanted to like it, as your said it's a compelling story, she's a great artist, and it was terrible.

 

Yeah, we were still talking about how bad it was last night.  My wife made the comment that "Lady Sings the Blues" with Diana Ross was much more impactful than this version.   Andra Day did a credible job, especially as she sounded very much like the great Billie Holliday.  But she was hampered by a terrible script and a director who has no clue about his role.

[Biggs]

Just watched the dig.  Surprisingly good.

[isired]

Yeah, we were still talking about how bad it was last night.  My wife made the comment that "Lady Sings the Blues" with Diana Ross was much more impactful than this version.   Andra Day did a credible job, especially as she sounded very much like the great Billie Holliday.  But she was hampered by a terrible script and a director who has no clue about his role.

I think the theme behind vs. is more true to her story than Lady's romanticized version (it's hard to stomach a film based around BDW's Louis as the saintly, doting husband - they knew better in 1972, and we know better now). But they just didn't execute on that in the story/dialogue well at all.

And the singing and look of Andra Day for Billie vs. Diana Ross makes that aspect much better in the current version. But nobody's made a good version of a good story yet, IMO.

[Peace Frog]

7 hours ago, Biggs said:

Just watched the dig.  Surprisingly good.

Just good storytelling, fine acting and nice filmwork.

[Biggs]

48 minutes ago, Peace Frog said:

Just good storytelling, fine acting and nice filmwork.

Exactly.  I've watched so much crap since the pandemic.  It was really surprisingly nice to watch a well crafted, well written and acted movie.  Who new writing, acting and directing the story makes a the movie?

[chirorob]

9 hours ago, Biggs said:

Just watched the dig.  Surprisingly good.

What streaming is it on?

Netflix, Amazon..

[Biggs]

16 hours ago, chirorob said:

What streaming is it on?

Netflix, Amazon..

Netflix

[munchmemory]

22 hours ago, Biggs said:

Exactly.  I've watched so much crap since the pandemic.  It was really surprisingly nice to watch a well crafted, well written and acted movie.  Who new writing, acting and directing the story makes a the movie?

Often overlooked, don't forget the cinematography.  The look of a film means so much.  That flick is beautifully shot.

[Dcat]

On 3/23/2021 at 8:43 PM, isired said:

Glad it wasn't just us. We wanted to like it, as your said it's a compelling story, she's a great artist, and it was terrible.

We thought it was awful too. 

[Peace Frog]

So Promising Young Woman. 

Meh. First 5 minutes seemed like it could have been great and then, for me, spiraled into a boring and overplayed trope on toxic masculinity.

And it could have been saved by a gangbuster ending but it fizzled. 

Love Carey Mulligan and it’s going to be nominated and win awards but IMHO because of the politically correct #metoo woman power movement, not that it was particularly good. 

Could have been great. 

[munchmemory]

2 hours ago, Peace Frog said:

So Promising Young Woman. 

Meh. First 5 minutes seemed like it could have been great and then, for me, spiraled into a boring and overplayed trope on toxic masculinity.

And it could have been saved by a gangbuster ending but it fizzled. 

Love Carey Mulligan and it’s going to be nominated and win awards but IMHO because of the politically correct #metoo woman power movement, not that it was particularly good. 

Could have been great. 

I liked it better than you (gave it 8/10).   But your points are fair and I could see lowering my score to 7/10.  I did not mind the ending.

[Peace Frog]

1 hour ago, munchmemory said:

I liked it better than you (gave it 8/10).   But your points are fair and I could see lowering my score to 7/10.  I did not mind the ending.

I guess I was expecting something really sinister from her given the opening scene. 

Did you see In Bruges yet? 

Looking forward to Nobody. 

[munchmemory]

9 minutes ago, Peace Frog said:

I guess I was expecting something really sinister from her given the opening scene. 

Did you see In Bruges yet? 

Looking forward to Nobody. 

I wanted the "bachelor party" scene to be darker.

Have not seen In Buges yet.  Soon.  Maybe tonight.

[munchmemory]

My son was insistent on watching Another Round last night.  It's an offering from Denmark, which is nominated for Best International Film and Best Director.  The flick stars Mads Mikkelsen, who you might recognize from the film Dr. Strange and the series Hannibal.  He's a quality character actor, who gives an excellent, nuanced, performance in this movie.

Another Round is at its heart a story about friendships and other relationships.  It follows the lives of four teachers who undertake a unique experiment involving alcohol.    Thought it was a good, not great, film with a few slow moments.  Overall, enjoyed the movie. 7-8/10

[munchmemory]

Double post.  @Maxman Max, please put back the old edit button.  This is already a dunce like me posted twice when making a spelling correction.  Thanks.

[Maxman]

41 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

Double post.  @Maxman Max, please put back the old edit button.  This is already a dunce like me posted twice when making a spelling correction.  Thanks.

...

[Bugg]

On 3/25/2021 at 9:37 AM, Biggs said:

Just watched the dig.  Surprisingly good.

Liked it.

But as with "In Bruges" inner monolgue wanted Fiennes to scream at the hoi polloi archeologists something about inanimate f___ing objects. 

 

[Philc1]

Recent movies I’ve seen that are actually new:

 

Tenet - awesome

Unhinged - mediocre drivel 

[RutgersJetFan]

Godzilla v Kong delivers the campy battle goodness. No more ******* around with stupid character stories. A+++++

[Peace Frog]

On 3/28/2021 at 8:25 PM, Bugg said:

 inanimate f___ing objects. 

 

One of the great rants in cinematic history.  

[Peace Frog]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:22 PM, munchmemory said:

My son was insistent on watching Another Round last night.  It's an offering from Denmark, which is nominated for Best International Film and Best Director.  The flick stars Mads Mikkelsen, who you might recognize from the film Dr. Strange and the series Hannibal.  He's a quality character actor, who gives an excellent, nuanced, performance in this movie.

Another Round is at its heart a story about friendships and other relationships.  It follows the lives of four teachers who undertake a unique experiment involving alcohol.    Thought it was a good, not great, film with a few slow moments.  Overall, enjoyed the movie. 7-8/10

Big Mads fan here, my fiance loves the guy.  Hannibal was such an intelligent, beautifully filmed show and we were bummed when it wasn't picked up again.  Word is some other outlet may pick it up right where they left off.  Can't wait.

It's so weird what drivel continues to get renewed but smart shows like Hannibal or Penny Dreadful don't (although I think the writer for PD wanted it done).

I keep waiting for another season of Taboo to come out.  

Will definitley put this on our list--wasn't expecting a blockbuster but Mads usually gives a great performance.  

[Dunnie]

13 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

Godzilla v Kong delivers the campy battle goodness. No more ******* around with stupid character stories. A+++++

just as long as its not a snoozefest of cgi fighting with no script - ala Peter Jacksons King Kong T REx Scene

[munchmemory]

59 minutes ago, Peace Frog said:

Big Mads fan here, my fiance loves the guy.  Hannibal was such an intelligent, beautifully filmed show and we were bummed when it wasn't picked up again.  Word is some other outlet may pick it up right where they left off.  Can't wait.

It's so weird what drivel continues to get renewed but smart shows like Hannibal or Penny Dreadful don't (although I think the writer for PD wanted it done).

I keep waiting for another season of Taboo to come out.  

Will definitley put this on our list--wasn't expecting a blockbuster but Mads usually gives a great performance.  

As a Mads' fan, you will appreciate his work in Another Round.  As we were watching, I commented  (got chastised for it as my wife hates when anyone talks during a movie lol) on how much emotion he could show in a few seconds of film time just with subtle facial changes.  The guy is top shelf.

Totally agree on PD and Hannibal.  Quality storytelling.  

[Dunnie]

59 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

As a Mads' fan, you will appreciate his work in Another Round.  As we were watching, I commented  (got chastised for it as my wife hates when anyone talks during a movie lol) on how much emotion he could show in a few seconds of film time just with subtle facial changes.  The guy is top shelf.

Totally agree on PD and Hannibal.  Quality storytelling.  

Just a side note ... if you liked Hannibal ... I did the special FX for the first few episodes ? Mads is the man.

[munchmemory]

9 minutes ago, Dunnie said:

Just a side note ... if you liked Hannibal ... I did the special FX for the first few episodes ? Mads is the man.

Have not checked these out.   Thanks very much for the suggestion.  

[munchmemory]

@Peace Frog Finally watched In Bruges last night.  We all enjoyed it very, very much.  Felt like a combination of a Tarantino/Coen Brothers flick.   Clearly, Martin McDonagh has been influenced by both.  

Like Tarantino, he has the rare gift of writing dialog which is compelling and often funny in the oddest places, keeping the audience constantly off balance.  Conversations between Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are priceless. Both give excellent performances.  And let's just say that Ralph Fiennes' work on screen and the phone is fantastic.   The phone conversation between Ken and Harry discussing the magical aspects of Bruges as Harry explains the reason for the trip is one for the books.  

Thanks again for the recommendation, PF.   Will definitely rewatch In Bruges.  Cheers.

[chirorob]

On 3/31/2021 at 10:09 PM, RutgersJetFan said:

Godzilla v Kong delivers the campy battle goodness. No more ******* around with stupid character stories. A+++++

Movies need to know what they are.

Godzilla vs Kong was about a big a$$ lizard and a big a$$ gorilla punching each other and destroying cities in Asia.  And it delivered on that perfectly.

I actually took my kids to the theater to watch it (both my son's request).  While it is great to go out and watch a movie, $60 for tickets and another 12 on popcorn and soda is really pricey.

[Peace Frog]

6 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

@Peace Frog Finally watched In Bruges last night.  We all enjoyed it very, very much.  Felt like a combination of a Tarantino/Coen Brothers flick.   Clearly, Martin McDonagh has been influenced by both.  

Like Tarantino, he has the rare gift of writing dialog which is compelling and often funny in the oddest places, keeping the audience constantly off balance.  Conversations between Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are priceless. Both give excellent performances.  And let's just say that Ralph Fiennes' work on screen and the phone is fantastic.   The phone conversation between Ken and Harry discussing the magical aspects of Bruges as Harry explains the reason for the trip is one for the books.  

Thanks again for the recommendation, PF.   Will definitely rewatch In Bruges.  Cheers.

Glad you like it.  Seriously, it get better every time you watch it.  Not for everyone, very dark humor.  

"It's a fairytale town, isn't it? How's a fairytale town not somebody's ******* thing?"

The tower scenes are great.  We went years ago, it's really a beautiful town, perfectly preserved. 

[munchmemory]

52 minutes ago, Peace Frog said:

Glad you like it.  Seriously, it get better every time you watch it.  Not for everyone, very dark humor.  

"It's a fairytale town, isn't it? How's a fairytale town not somebody's ******* thing?"

The tower scenes are great.  We went years ago, it's really a beautiful town, perfectly preserved. 

Within the context of what Ken and Harry are discussing, that discourse is hysterical.  We all had true LOL moments throughout the flick.  Yet plenty of shocking times, too.  

Like you, we're all fans of dark humor, so appreciated McDonagh's ability to skillfully navigate through it in the film.  As a character actor, Gleeson is a movie treasure.  He's great in everything.  And I'd put Colin Farrell's performance in In Bruges as some of his finest work ever.

Bruges really does look like a beautiful/historic city with lots of places and things to explore.  Awesome that you actually toured it.