Movies We've Seen Thread

[PFSIKH]

On 3/6/2022 at 12:18 AM, RutgersJetFan said:

Some thoughts on The Batman

- It’s the best physical portrayal of Gotham City that’s ever been done. Hands down not even up for debate. 

- It’s a great portrayal of the character. Burton and Nolan always wanted the TDKR Batman, and that’s fine, but Reeves takes a different approach and it’s refreshing. It’s a blend of the Batman from Arkham Asylum and a bunch of old Detective Comics stories. Total 180 from Affleck’s Batman. 

- Paul Dano gives a Heath Ledger-esque performance and his Riddler is 1B to Ledger’s Joker. Just an incredible version of the character that’s straight out of a horror movie. 

- Emo is a dumb word and I don’t think it sums up Pattinson’s Batman at all. Confused is probably a better way to sum it up and I mean that in a good way. Pattinson was probably the ideal guy to take up the role of a smart, traumatized guy constantly questioning what he’s doing. Bale was probably better for the part but that’s not a knock on Pattinson. He’s fine. Bale, Affleck, and Keaton’s Batman were sure of what they were doing and Pattinson’s isn’t. It’s a small difference in iterations that means a whole lot and both have bases in different versions of the comics. 

- Overall first impression it’s the third best Batman movie ever made, with The Dark Knight and Burton’s first being 1 and 2 for me. It was a bit too long but it never felt like it was lagging and I’m also not sure what they could have cut out considering the depth of the story is what gives the Riddler his teeth. Matt Reeves is really a master at taking old premises and giving them a refreshing take that still feels classic. He did it with Apes and now Batman for sure.

I agree with most of this.

One, I will say that the pace was a little choppy at the end.  I do not think it was too long as the pace was good for the first 3/4ths of the movie.  Once Riddler is caught, to me, it seemed to drag a little bit.  Like you, I do not know what they could cut, but tighten it up....maybe a little.

I read a review on Batman and the author did not use emo, but said his character seemed be a 'newish' Batman.  Somewhere between the Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  He has been doing it awhile and is wondering why.

[munchmemory]

55 minutes ago, Biggs said:

I liked the movie but it killed the story that was told in the book.  Always love slices of life in NYC or the area.  Best part of the movie.  The book is a pretty good read especially if you grew up around Manhassett, Port Washington and Great Neck.  

I think it probably didn't get well reviewed because it deviated so far from the book. 

Thanks for this, Biggs.   I have not read the book.   Sounds like I should.

[RutgersJetFan]

4 hours ago, PFSIKH said:

I agree with most of this.

One, I will say that the pace was a little choppy at the end.  I do not think it was too long as the pace was good for the first 3/4ths of the movie.  Once Riddler is caught, to me, it seemed to drag a little bit.  Like you, I do not know what they could cut, but tighten it up....maybe a little.

I read a review on Batman and the author did not use emo, but said his character seemed be a 'newish' Batman.  Somewhere between the Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  He has been doing it awhile and is wondering why.

It's a new Batman on screen that's for sure. Not new in the comics, but up till now it's either been the Frank Miller Batman or the Adam West Batman (Kilmer and Clooney included) on screen. This was Scott Snyder and Grant Morrison's Batman on screen and I was all about it.

I had the same feeling about the ending up until the point where the incel-aspects of the Riddler really became violently clear (won't spoil it here). The road to getting there was a bit confusing (I couldn't figure if Bruce was dreaming or not) but once it was clear it was happening I was back in it. The part with Selena magically coming back didn't make a ton of sense to me either, but whatever, end of the day it's fiction. I don't think anyone is under the impression that this was a perfect movie, but neither was Batman Begins and I have high hopes for part 2.

[IndianaJet]

Sign me up ???
 

[JustInFudge]

The Batman was a welcomed and different take then we’ve never seen on screen and I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed the conflict, not only the internal conflict Batman was facing but also the trust factor between him and Gordon vs the rest of the Police and his presence in Gotham and the idea of his family legacy.  
 

This was a detective gum shoe whodunit movie, much more than a super hero movie IMO.  A somewhat realistic gritty representation of Gotham that had a realistic modern day serial killer.  The whole chat room, followers thing, and how it was designed, was buyable.  I could totally see it happening.  The exposing of corrupted official was relevant.  

I didn’t know what to make of the final jail scene and the interaction.  It clearly wasn’t Phoenix’s portrayal, and it just seemed forced.  Otherwise, I appreciated the entire presentation.  Visually stunning, the score is still ringing in my head, and I thought everyone gave great performances and welcomed portrayal of their character.  The only one that really wasn’t too far off typical brand was Catwoman, otherwise I thought everyone had a welcomed unique spin to their roles.  Very much a nod to the comics, some of the animated features and even the video games seem represented.  Very good, different adaptation.  Not sure where I’d “rank” it per say.  It doesn’t hit like the other Batman movies do because it’s not really a super hero movie in so many ways and the major incidents weren’t as radical and ludicrous.  Probably need another watch but this was totally different and really cool.  

[Lith]

On 3/7/2022 at 2:18 PM, Fantasy Island said:

Batman was the best sleeping pill ever.  Too slow and long.  As good as the last Spider-Man was , Batman was on the other end of the spectrum.  Rain and dark music that was 75% of the movie.

I just came back from the movie.  and yes, I nodded off for about 10 minutes at the start of the movie.  Did not feel like I miised anything, which would kind of indicate that maybe the movie could have been edited down a bit. Lean back, in the dark, Saturday afternoon and this old man's nap reflex just kicks on.  Nothing I could do about it. 

Never been a big fan of comic book movies in general or Batman movies specifically, but I did enjoy the movie. 

At least the 2 hours and 45 minutes of it that I saw.

[Untouchable]

The Batman was completely mediocre 

There’s no reason this shouldn’t have been 2 hours or even shorter. It wasn’t even a case of cramming too many villains into the main storyline (much to my surprise) or showcasing Batman as more of a detective (which should’ve always been the case), there’s just too much trivial downtime.

Pattinson plays a solid Batman, but was sh*t as Bruce Wayne. Basically the polar opposite of Christian Bale.

I agree that Gotham itself was fantastic. That’s the template they should use moving forward. But that’s the best praise I can give it. Other than Collin Farrell was unrecognizable as Penguin…okay…awesome…

They had the perfect opportunity to center this movie around Riddler (maybe my favorite Batman antagonist going back to being a kid in the 70’s) and dressed him in trash bags and made him some blatantly obvious, heavy handed incel goof and ruined it. And don’t even get me started on the ending. Of course a modern Batman movie had to go there…

As a self admitted comic book nerd going back nearly 50 years…these movies from both Marvel and DC need to f*ck off already and take a rest.

Hollywood is in desperate need of some new, original ideas more than ever.

[Rangers9]

We just watched the new version of West Side Story on HBO tonight. Stephen Spielberg directed with a cast of unknowns but great talent it was a great production. The dancing cinematography and set design and directing etc top notch.  I can’t say I loved the entire movie years ago I saw the original. Just not a big fan of the Romeo and Juliet story and although very fast moving esp with the great dance scenes at times imo bogged down. I was surprised for a remake they stuck to the 1950s they could have updated to the present if they’d wanted to. 

[RutgersJetFan]

The Adam Project made me cry like 7 times at least. 

[JetPotato]

15 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

The Adam Project made me cry like 7 times at least. 

Been waiting for this to come out. Just genius level casting with Ryan Reynolds as the sarcastic but lovable action hero. I bet this makes The Lighthouse look like Pete's Dragon.

[RutgersJetFan]

10 minutes ago, JetPotato said:

Been waiting for this to come out. Just genius level casting with Ryan Reynolds as the sarcastic but lovable action hero. I bet this makes The Lighthouse look like Pete's Dragon.

There's a really great interview with Shawn Levy floating around about how he thinks this is the movie where he finally figured out how to give audiences what they want. Part of the appeal of movies in the 80s with guys like Robert Zemeckis and John Hughes was they never really tried to do too much with dialogue and a story. If you can write characters that you think will tug on the heart strings of people, stick with that and don't try to do too much beyond it. There's a scene at the end where they had a bunch more lines scripted and instead that decided to let the scene just play out, because if the audience had stuck through the entire movie at that point, there was no need to keep trying to draw them in. I really liked that about the movie. Nothing about it felt original and yet nothing ever felt old about it either. For example, Ruffalo's dad could just as easily been a guy out of literally any John Hughes movie and on the other hand he felt like an original take on things.  

That said I'm sure some people will hate it. But I'm a sucker for homages and nostalgia. 

[Untouchable]

[RutgersJetFan]

I live in LA and am fortunate enough to have friends in entertainment that know I am a massive Nicolas Cage fan. I got to see a screening of Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and all I can say is that it might very well be the greatest film ever made. And I do mean film. Movie, flick, or picture will not do how amazing a piece of art this work is justice. Sheer brilliance.

[Dcat]

10 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

I live in LA and am fortunate enough to have friends in entertainment that know I am a massive Nicolas Cage fan. I got to see a screening of Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and all I can say is that it might very well be the greatest film ever made. And I do mean film. Movie, flick, or picture will not do how amazing a piece of art this work is justice. Sheer brilliance.

awesome.  Looking forward to it.  Last Nic Cage fil I saw was with the pig.  I always find him amusing. 

p.s.  saw his pyramid shaped tomb that he pre purchased in that famous New Orleans cemetery.  He's a weird dude for sure.

[RutgersJetFan]

2 minutes ago, Dcat said:

awesome.  Looking forward to it.  Last Nic Cage fil I saw was with the pig.  I always find him amusing. 

p.s.  saw his pyramid shaped tomb that he pre purchased in that famous New Orleans cemetery.  He's a weird dude for sure.

IMO Pig is his best movie ever. He's had an incredible run of legit performances over the last several years. Mandy, Colour Out of Space...etc, sprinkled in with the incredibly ridiculous sh*t he does like Willy's Wonderland. Unbearable Weight is literally about all of that and if you've ever enjoyed the guy it's so good.

[chirorob]

On 3/8/2022 at 12:40 PM, PFSIKH said:

I agree with most of this.

One, I will say that the pace was a little choppy at the end.  I do not think it was too long as the pace was good for the first 3/4ths of the movie.  Once Riddler is caught, to me, it seemed to drag a little bit.  Like you, I do not know what they could cut, but tighten it up....maybe a little.

It really dragged after he was caught, the whole finale was real bad in my opinion.

I liked the first 2ish hours, but the last 45 or so was not good.

[Mogglez]

Looking for for a movie to watch with the lady tonight.  Haven’t watched much in the last year or so and am “behind”, so any recommendations are welcome.

Side note: I just bought an LG C1 OLED television 2 weeks ago, calibrated it, and, fellas, it is the best damn investment I have ever made.  If you are a big movie person and gamer, I cannot recommend the set enough.

[munchmemory]

Streamed Paul Thomas Anderson's latest, Licorice Pizza, last night.  I'm a fan of the director's work, so have been anticipating the flick.  Other than charming performances by Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman (son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), I did not think much of the movie.  Interesting scenes throughout, but not much of a main story holding it all together.  6/10

[Jet_Engine1]

I just watched The Kings Man with my kids. 

 

It's been a very long time since I've been as entertained by a movie as I was by this one. 

[munchmemory]

10 hours ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

I just watched The Kings Man with my kids. 

 

It's been a very long time since I've been as entertained by a movie as I was by this one. 

I could watch the Colin Firth umbrella fight scene a thousand times and never tire of it.  Beyond cool, fun and beautifully choreographed/shot.   Matthew Vaughn hit a homerun with that flick.   

[Jet_Engine1]

1 hour ago, munchmemory said:

I could watch the Colin Firth umbrella fight scene a thousand times and never tire of it.  Beyond cool, fun and beautifully choreographed/shot.   Matthew Vaughn hit a homerun with that flick.   

I watched The Kings Man, it's a "prequel" starring Ralph Fiennes, set during WWI. 

 

Watch it, it's batsh*t crazy good.

[munchmemory]

2 minutes ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

I watched The Kings Man, it's a "prequel" starring Ralph Fiennes, set during WWI. 

 

Watch it, it's batsh*t crazy good.

I was wondering about this.   Whether it would be a disaster.   After your recommendation, just asked my wife to add it to our queue.  Thanks, dude.

[Jet_Engine1]

Just now, munchmemory said:

I was wondering about this.   Whether it would be a disaster.   After your recommendation, just asked my wife to add it to our queue.  Thanks, dude.

The Rasputin Fight....lol

[munchmemory]

2 minutes ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

The Rasputin Fight....lol

Can't wait.  Just saw that the flick is on HBO Max.   At the very least, will watch on the weekend.   Thanks again.

[Integrity28]

On 3/22/2022 at 8:55 AM, Jet_Engine1 said:

I watched The Kings Man, it's a "prequel" starring Ralph Fiennes, set during WWI. 

 

Watch it, it's batsh*t crazy good.

 

On 3/22/2022 at 8:58 AM, munchmemory said:

I was wondering about this.   Whether it would be a disaster.   After your recommendation, just asked my wife to add it to our queue.  Thanks, dude.

 

On 3/22/2022 at 8:59 AM, Jet_Engine1 said:

The Rasputin Fight....lol

Maybe I’ll try it again.

I turned it off about 10-15 minutes in, which takes a lot for me to do.

The dialogue was pathetic. Period film, historic figures speaking like Tik Tok kids.

[Integrity28]

The ADAM Project was fun. Nothing ground breaking, but enjoyable just the same. The kid they cast as young RR nailed his 1-liners.

[munchmemory]

43 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

 

 

Maybe I’ll try it again.

I turned it off about 10-15 minutes in, which takes a lot for me to do.

The dialogue was pathetic. Period film, historic figures speaking like Tik Tok kids.

We watched it last night.   Sorry to say I was disappointed.   A far cry from the original, and a bit goofy in its attempts to incorporate historical figures into the story.   I thought the Rasputin "dance number" was one or the worst/most idiotic sequences I've ever seen.  We kept waiting for the movie to kick in with the same vibe as the first.   Just never happened.  

[Jimmy 2 Times]

28 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

We watched it last night.   Sorry to say I was disappointed.   A far cry from the original, and a bit goofy in its attempts to incorporate historical figures into the story.   I thought the Rasputin "dance number" was one or the worst/most idiotic sequences I've ever seen.  We kept waiting for the movie to kick in with the same vibe as the first.   Just never happened.  

Agreed.

I sat through the whole thing waiting for anything resembling the first film to happen.  It was pretty bad. 

[RutgersJetFan]

I tried Windfall and only made it about halfway through, which is odd. I love Hitchcock movies and they tried their damned hardest to make one. It felt miscast, which is also odd because I like both Plemons and Jason Segal in almost everything else. And it felt super slow, which again is odd because it's a short movie. Odd flick that just never feels right from the moment it starts and it's hard to put a finger on why.

[Dunnie]

I just watched the Green Knight and I thought it was awful. 

You are correct sir

[Dunnie]

I can't really comment on "the Batman" 'cuz I'm a comic book movie nerd love all these types of movies but for the first in quite some time, my wife who was a film studies major in college attended the move with me.  She really hates the super hero movie genre and yet she actually enjoyed this one.
This was more a detective movie than anything else.

Prolly liked Joker and Watchmen too ... like me.

[Jet_Engine1]

3 hours ago, munchmemory said:

We watched it last night.   Sorry to say I was disappointed.   A far cry from the original, and a bit goofy in its attempts to incorporate historical figures into the story.   I thought the Rasputin "dance number" was one or the worst/most idiotic sequences I've ever seen.  We kept waiting for the movie to kick in with the same vibe as the first.   Just never happened.  

 

3 hours ago, Jimmy 2 Times said:

Agreed.

I sat through the whole thing waiting for anything resembling the first film to happen.  It was pretty bad. 

And I hated the 2 movies with Firth,  etc. I thought they were total trash.

 

We shall agree to disagree. 

[T0mShane]

7 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

I tried Windfall and only made it about halfway through, which is odd. I love Hitchcock movies and they tried their damned hardest to make one. It felt miscast, which is also odd because I like both Plemons and Jason Segal in almost everything else. And it felt super slow, which again is odd because it's a short movie. Odd flick that just never feels right from the moment it starts and it's hard to put a finger on why.

I watched it all the way through. It’s mostly just Plemons and Segal doing commentary on the inherent evils of capitalism and closes with a twisty, amusing ending you didn’t see coming and makes you say, “ah, ok.” 

[T0mShane]

Just got back from seeing “X”—a little indy slasher/horror/gross out flick by the guy who did The Innkeepers. It was a note by note homage to 70’s and 80’s horror movies and was good fun. I wouldn’t recommend seeing it in a theater, probably, but when it comes up on Prime in a few months, it’s worth the time to check it out. Some good scares, some boobs, lots of blood. Fun.

[IndianaJet]

On 8/24/2021 at 3:27 PM, IndianaJet said:

Go watch CODA on Apple TV+

And bring a box of tissues....lots of tissues.