Rate the last movie you watched.

@nutter: I mark some of it down to the zeitgeist around it and people refusing to tell me what it was about and me not just googling it sooner to realize what kind of movie it was. It wasn't what I expected in the end.

I'm not into, what I regard as schlocky B horror movies and had I know it becomes that I'd never have watched it. Though again - the lighting was amazing in the movie.

@jesus_phish: It was digitally shot, too...which kinda blew my mind. It may be the best lit digital film I’ve seen.

I get that Mandy isn’t for everyone, by the way. I just thought it was a damned trip.

Red Dragon- 4/5

I've not seen any of the "Hannibal" media, except for the first 5 episodes of the TV show with Mads, which is my next show "to watch"

I loved the blind girl, she was very earnest and cute. I loved the story and Hopkins fucking OOZES charisma in EVERY SCENE he's in

@nutter I know what you mean about season 2. After episode 16 there are some critical moments but they're dribbled across a lot of not-critical and quirky for the sake being quirky scenes. I watched the conversation with David Lynch and a couple other cast members included in "The Complete Mystery" set this time through the series and Lynch was visibly disgusted when he started talking about how the network forced him to solve the Laura Palmer mystery. I get the sense he basically went MIA after those episodes aired and others were forced to scramble together other plots to fill out the season.

Season 3 is definitely slow, but in a super-deliberate and awesome way (it might be my favorite season of TV ever).

@tds418: For a single season of television? Twin Peaks Season 3 is my favorite. I was watching on Showtime, every week, wondering how this got financed in this day and age and feeing so damned fortunate to be getting it.

As for a favorite complete series, I’d probably go Breaking Bad or The Shield, ONLY because season two of Twin Peaks had so much filler. Outside of that filler, that series is fantastic.

Game of Thrones is well on its way to being another show that told a great story start to finish without wasting the viewer’s time...

@nutter said:

Yeah, I entirely agree. As far as a single season goes, Twin Peaks S3, but Breaking Bad is a better complete series (I haven't seen the shield). I felt the same about watching TP S3 each week. I remember when Part 8 aired just being stunned it was even made. The season really subverted my expectations just about every episode.

Roma

4/5

This was interesting. For those that don't know, this movie is about the life of a maid and middle-upper class family in Mexico City in the late 1960's - early 1970's. I have a lot of takes on it, but it might be spoiler filled if I were to get into it. The short, non-spoiler version is that I think I respect this film more than I like it. It's not an entertaining film as such rather it's more intriguing. It does a great job of setting an atmosphere and sense of place as well as exploring the nature of its characters without overtly exploring either. The exploration is within the subtext, which I'm a sucker for. But, because the film is so small in scale, so are the conflicts the characters face...usually. Again, without spoilers, there was at least one moment where a very, very terrifying experience happens to a character that lies in stark contrast to the majority of the conflicts, which are mostly pedestrian. The problems should be pedestrian because it matches the tone of the film but also I found it hard at times to be invested in some of those dramas because they are so small for the medium of film (though large for a real person). Also it takes it's sweet time getting to those problems as this film moves at a glacially slow pace.

I think it's worth seeing because the film is so singular in what it's trying to do. But, also, it's not really going to entertain you. It may not even interest you a lot of the time. But I don't think that was the intent and the end result, as a viewer, was an experience that I really appreciated having. Even if at times it was a bit difficult to get through.

@tds418: I was fucking giddy watching part 8. I couldn’t believe what I was watching, that Showtime aired it at all, that Lynch and Showtime would have faith (or give few enough damns) in the audience to air part 8 right before taking a week off.

Part 8 and the third from final episode of Breaking Bad (that phone call that all the critics famously COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT OF) are the two most memorable television episodes I can recall. Both were just masterful.

Coherence 4/5

This is exactly my kind of movie. There's something I really love about low-budget sci-fi like this.

For Valentine's Day we decided what would be more romantic than eating Mexican food and going to see Alita: Battle Angel. Not too shabby you can tell a shitload of money and hours went into creating this amazing post-apocalyptic world and it's surprisingly pretty faithful to the source material with a few liberties taken for the sake of making a live action movie. The plot is pretty much the first two story arcs with parts from later in the series thrown in like Motorball and things about Alita's past. My biggest complaint would be that despite being directed by Robert Rodriguez it doesn't feel like a Robert Rodriguez movie. As a director he's a bit of a mixed bag but he brings a certain flair and grittiness this movie sorely lacked. Hell there wasn't even a Cheech Marin or Danny Trejo cameo that I saw. Overall I'd say it is the best American adaptation of a Japanese property since The Ring came out way back in the early 2000's but the story while faithful to the manga is pretty bland despite the amazing visual effects and action scenes.

3 disturbing anime eyes out of 5

Yes. 100X yes.

These two episodes are the best episodes of television period.

@frostyryan: The telephone call from Breaking Bad was fucking beautiful. It’s up there with the best material in The Godfather Parts I & II.

Part 8...I was so happy Showtime seems to have let Lynch do his thing. The man is an artist in the truest sense.

I saw Miss Bala. It was alright, not great, not too bad.

Saw Alita COLON Battle Angel

Review:

The writing/script is terrible, probably the worst part of the film. On top of that, character motivations suddenly shift without any good reason or foreshadowing. I've seen people criticise some of the actors for being bad but I really think it's more the writing/script letting them down some of those lines... yeesh

It also has the CGI film problem of a decrepit slum/city looking too clean.

Good Robert Rodriguez-style action, a lot of brutality they got away with due to most of the characters being cyborgs. Decapitations, bifurcations, quartering, etc. A lot of remorseless killing by the main character.

They try to cram a lot of the source material into the film but at the same time it's mostly a setup for a sequel.

2/5?

3/5 if I'm being generous.

The Matrix- 5/5

Seen it a million times, but I rewatched last night. Fuck me it's good. The CGI looks like SHITE nowadays, and some of the lines are so cheesy, but it's a good film. The martial arts are wicked

Alita: Battle Angel.

It had problems with pacing, the acting was flat from several actors, and the scrap world was way to clean and nice. On the other side it was quite faithful to the manga (though quite condensed), and the actors performance as Alita was perfect.

The action was amazing and pushed the PG 13 to it's breaking point, reminding me of classic 80's action movies with blood and limbs flying. It was simply fun and entertaining, a great big screen cinema experience.

I hope for a sequel, but we'll have to see if it's realistic or not.

Isn't It Romantic 7/10 Rebel Wilson rocks. Despite it being OK.

Instant Family 5/5
I really wasn't expect to be as into this movie as I was, but It grabbed my attention in a way few films do. A super wholesome and emotional tale about adoption.

Transformers Bumblebee.

Its pretty good. Not mind-blowing, but coming from one of the worst blockbuster franchises in recent times, it certainly feels like a step in the right direction. I hope we get a sequel without involving hack tool Bay in the middle, because that movie had more heart that all the previous ones crammed together.

The Favourite.

It's perfect. Go see it. Or get it on Amazon or whatever. Just see this movie.

Ichi the Killer - Revising the first Takashi Miike movie I ever saw and I still love it. Still didn't understand half of what was going on but I think that works to the benefit of a lot of Takashi Miike's movies especially his many gruesome Yakuza movies. What a fucked up disgusting yet wonderful movie. 5 Severed Tongue Tips out 5 Severed Tongue Tips.

Anyone read the manga it's based off or seen the prequel movie? Curious if those are worth checking out.

I don't know if this is technically a film but it's at least film length. The Fyre Festival doc on Netflix - Absolutely unbelievable the money people will pay to watch Blink 182 on a desert island 8/10

Captain Marvel - Do you like Marvel movies? It's one of those and a pretty decent one at that. Really doesn't do anything to break the tried and true Marvel Studios formula which I still find fun but getting a bit long in the tooth. Brie Larson was pretty good and the de-aging make-up and CGI they did to Samuel L Jackson worked surprisingly well considering the dude is 70. Kinda wished they would have done more with the whole set in the 90's thing other than a few gags and some really obvious soundtrack choices but that's a fine balance to walk because too far and you're pandering like Stranger Things. Also a really good Stan Lee cameo which is weird but apparently James Gunn before he became persona non grata at Disney knocked out a bunch of these cameos around the time of Guardians of the Galaxy 1 or 2. I guess I give it 3 Skrull out of 5

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. The first HTTYD is up there as one of my favourite animated movies, and this one was probably the weakest out of the trilogy, but it was still a beautiful ending to the series.

Captain Marvel. Good movie. It's definitely one of those Marvel movies that set up a character. They're always, in hindsight, good, but don't have the pop that the latter films the character is involved in have. This one felt that way. It was just very well-done, but not particularly impressive. But I feel like that's good. The first Marvel movie helmed by a woman is good and I'm sure it'll do well at the box office, but all it really needs to do is start the hype for the big one next month. 3/5 stars.

I've been meaning to see Miller's Crossing for a long time; finally saw it today. I thought it was okay. As I've come to expect of a Coens' movies, it's not a simple genre exercise. The dialogue is ornate and often witty. I think Ken Levine mentioned the movie influenced how he wrote the dialogue for Bioshock, and it shows. I didn't find the movie very engaging mainly because none of the characters – despite the good cast – were very sympathetic. The labyrinthine plot didn't help in that regard either.

I also rewatched No Country for Old Men, this time after having read the novel. The only reason why I prefer the novel is that there's more of it. I think, while the philosophical subtext is more present and coherent in the novel, the adaptation is still near-perfect. I've seen the movie three times now, yet many of the scenes are still edge-of-your-seat thrilling.

Over the past few weeks, I watched Yorgos Lanthimos' latest movies. All of which were great, in particular The Favourite and The Lobster.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - A Spielberg classic from back when he still had an imagination that is a must watch. Little side note I always felt bad for Teri Garr's character as Richard Dreyfuss' wife who has to deal with his UFO obsession and three of the most bratty kids ever put on film. What's she get for all this? Richard Dreyfuss kissing another woman and abandoning Garr and his three young kids to explore the cosmos. 4 UFOs from that Boston album cover out of 5

Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse - 5/5

Everyone's already raved about this here movie at length, so suffice to say: Yes sir, I liked it. MCU fatigue has set in for me, so these more unique asides are extremely appealing lately.

I saw Blackkklansman.

I’m not really sure where I land on it. I think it told a capable Scorsese-style story and had a fantastic lead in John David Washington. Corey Hawkins’ brief role was also fantastic. I want to see more of both of them. Washington kinda reminded me of a young Pacino. I’d love to see him develop and blow my mind as an actor. I think he could be up there with Al Pacino and Tom Hardy, easily. I can’t underscore enough how impressed I was with him.

I have a lot of thoughts about the film, but they’d mostly spoil the movie. Spike Lee is not subtle, the film beats you across the face with its message in a pretty insulting way. If the idea was that the film needs to be SUPER FUCKING BROAD so everyone gets every point, even if they’re looking at their phones instead of the film, mission accomplished.

I also think the portrayal of the cops and the klan is...interesting. There were several spots in the movie where scenes played out very differently to me than I think he intended.

When it’s telling a straight-forward crime movie, it’s very competent, moves along briskly, and is pretty absorbing. When it’s not, it’s jarringly bizarre, like Lee suddenly starts doing a Tarantino or Oliver Stone impression for a scene here or there.

It’s also jarring when Spike Lee basically puts actors on soap boxes to speak directly to the audiance. I think some subtlety would go a long way. I want to hate the Harry Belafonte scene (basically a lecture to the audiance), but it was effective due to the power of the story and the performance.

Anyhow, lots of very specific thought. I enjoyed the movie enough, but found the delivery of the message flawed. There were also a couple of plot points that felt incongruent. Seeing Washington perform for the first time was a joy.

Doomsday - This movie is why I'm not worried about the new Hellboy sucking. Neil Marshall made a fun ass post-apocalyptic tribute to Escape from New York and Mad Max with a female lead way back in 2008 that was sadly ignored much like the wonderful Dredd. Rhona Mitra is great as the lead playing pretty much lady Snake Plissken including the missing eye. Plus you got the late great Bob Hoskins and the still alive Malcolm McDowell hamming it up. Honestly I can't recommend this movie enough. 5 bad ass car chases set to a remix of Two Tribes by Frankie Goes to Hollywood out of 5

The more I think about Captain Marvel the less I like it. It is hobbled by a few poorly thought out retcons, in particular Nick Fury takes a big hit in favour of comedy only some of which works. The action is largely kind of bland and uninspired, the plot is pretty uninteresting (save for one big shift in the Marvel paradigm which is pretty good), the 90s setting isn't well utilised apart from one gag about technology, and the film easily has the worst villains the MCU has had for some time. The whole thing has this pall over it like Marvel Studios were incredibly self-conscious about being beaten to this particular punch by Wonder Woman and that feels like it has dictated a lot of the movie's worst choices.

Astonishingly, the worst part of Captain Marvel is the Captain herself. They clearly didn't have an idea of what they were going to do with her and seem almost scared to take any risks with her. Which leaves Brie Larson playing the most forgettable part in her own movie.I'm hoping Russos can rework Captain Marvel in the same way they have a bunch of other characters.

All that said, a bad Marvel movie is kind of like a bad Bond movie, at its worst it is a passable popcorn muncher.

As a side note, I'm fine with Skrulls being space Australians. It's kind of endearing. 2.5/5 punches to evil grandmas

Into the Spider-Verse 4/5, excellent movie.

Captain Marvel (2019)
3/5 Flerkens (meow)

I liked it, I had a fun time with it. [You know saying anything else will get me yelled at, but truly I don't care. This was not the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, but it was not the worst either - not the worst when Ed Norton's Incredible Hulk is still canon and Thor Ragnarok exists. Captain America, the movie, the actress, the story,is fine. If it just being 'fine' means people hurl insults at whole production...well damn, this is a low point in culture. You don't have to love it, but at least but you dislike is some sort of context that fits the fact the movie hasn't killed anyone.] With that out of the way, I was hoping Goose would be in more of the story...kitties!!!

To mix things up a bit:

Into the Spider-verse (2018) - 3/5 maybe?

Eh. Visually, it felt too busy/chaotic at times.. which is probably what the kids want these days. I got that same feeling watching one or two of the Lego movies and then I realized these have the same people involved I think? It's hard for me to process what is going on in an action scene to the point where I found myself looking away at times. It does get props for having a pretty original approach though. A couple neat stylistic nods to comic books and stuff. Wasn't anything special for me.

Aquaman (2018) - 3/5 - Just another super hero movie. I guess impressive at times from a technical standpoint. Armor/costume design for the main villain at the end was cool looking.

Actually, it's been a long time since I posted in here and I've watched a whole lotta movies--new and old--but I'm overwhelmed and lazy at the thought of writing all that. Maybe just a score or shallow thought.

A Star is Born (2018) - 1/5 - I think I made it half way through. Outside of this movie, I like Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliot and some of Lady Gaga's music, but that basically has nothing to do with this and this seemed to fit that "Oscar-bait" term to a T if I were to guess. It's like Bradley was doing a Sam Elliot impression the whole time. And then when Sam Elliot literally says "You stole my voice!" I said "Oh my god" out loud and checked out.

Top Secret! (1984) - 4/5 - If you like the Naked Gun movies or Airplane, this is worth a watch a think. Val Kilmer's first movie?

Creed II (2018) - 3/5 - Predictable. Alright. Not enough Dolph vs Stallone stuff.

Backdraft (1991) - 4/5 - Another I saw a long time ago. Held up to what I remember. "Was that before or after you realized you were standing IN A LAKE OF GASOLINE!?" - De Niro

Anaconda (1997) - 2/5 - I remember seeing this when it came out, maybe in a theater. Worse than I remember. Holy crap Jon Voight don't give a fuuuuuck in this one.

Green Book (2018) - 4/5 - An enjoyable watch. I like the sorta role reversal here.

Mortal Engines (2018) - 4/5 - Just because I had zero idea what this even was going in and it turned out to be some super weird/unique epic from Peter Jackson? Awesome visually and such. Story was eh.

Instant Family (2018) - 4/5 - Fairly fun.

Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - 5/5 - Wonderfully weird and unique. Seen it a handful of times. Kim Cattrall looked great in this. Also the one actor who does Shen's voice in Diablo 3 so that is all I hear whenever he or his voice is in anything. Busting him out of a barrel in a sewer.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) - 4/5 - Some impressive visuals and I like that they sort've retconned his character. Ending was kinda meh.

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) - 3/5 - Real world things/brands being reinterpreted and conveyed in a manner that is more visually tangible or slightly understandable to a child is always fun. Rest of it was whatever.

Cobra (1986) - 3/5 - First time watch. So this is what that movie poster at Giant Bomb is all about.. weird. It was okay. Opening scene was good. Also, the same bad guy actor as Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (which I thing is dumb-good!)

Buffalo '66 (1998) - 3/5 - Kinda weird. Not gonna lie, I watched this because I used to hook up with a girl that looked a lot like a young Christina Ricci. Basically thought about her the whole time. Really cute. The scene in the stick shift AE86 coupe was amusing.

Prospect (2018) - 4/5 - Nice to see a sci-fi movie that felt a bit grounded. Like something out of the 80s or 90s. Worth a watch if you're into slow sci-fi stuff.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) - 3/5 - It was alright? I'm not deep on Queen though so.. it could all be lies for all I know or care. I like some of their songs though which is why I watched it, as I imagine most people did.

Sudden Death (1995) - 3/5 - Not too shabby. Van Damme movie. I'm sure I saw this as a kid, it seemed familiar. The 90's were great. Powers Boothe makes me think of Sony's own Shawn Layden.

The Grinch (2018) - 3/5 - Standard kids Grinch movie.

Tombstone (1993) - 4/5 - Pretty sure I saw this a long time ago. Whole time I kept thinking that it felt like it was adapted from a stage play. The way everything was filmed, acted, etc. Good, but weird stuff.

Crimes of Grindlewald (2018) - 2/5 - Who cares. I already forgot I even watched it.

I give up. Seems I haven't posted in here in 4-5 months and there is still another dozen or two movies. Meh. Just dumping my opinion into the void.

@monkeyking1969: WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT...

Thor Ragnarok is easily one of the best Marvel Movies. Jeff Goldblum alone makes an outstanding case for that movie.

Were you thinking of that second Thor movie?

Maybe, I was thinking of Thor Dark World; because you are right Thor: Ragnarok was fun...so when you're right, you're right.

@monkeyking1969: Yeah, I’m not a huge comics guy, but I have 8 & 10 year olds, so I’ve seen most of the movies with them.

I thought that first Thor was kinda a cool idea that maybe didn’t quite deliver, the second one was...I don’t even remember it. It was super forgettable. I think that third one is legitimately a super fun movie that people should see.

First Reformed - Apparently this incredible movie from last year wasn't as good as Bohemian Rhapsody or Green Book? Great movies like this getting overlooked prove why the Oscars are pointless. Plus it's kind of a shame that Ethan Hawke while still having a solid career was never a huge star. The guy is an amazing actor and this might be one of my favorite performances from him. It's on Amazon Prime I can't recommend it enough that I'm not even going to bother giving it a cutesy rating because it is a real film.

The Terminal 3/5

Basically, an Eastern European caricature gets stuck in an airport for several months and a bunch of improbable things happen.

I know some people love this movie, but I can't say I really cared for it. If you do plan on watching it, try to switch your brain off beforehand; this is definitely a movie that doesn't want you to think too hard about any of its plot points.

@not_a_bumblebee: Incredible film.

@beachthunder: People liked The Terminal? I thought it was widely considered one of Spielberg's worst movies.

Last Action Hero 3/5

This was a dumb movie - occasionally in a good way.

Watched two horror movies last night one good and one bad.

Bad Samaritan - This is the bad one. It's about a valet who robs houses and stumbles upon the home of a serial killer who is holding a woman hostage. Yadda yadda cat and mouse games happen and all works out in the end. What makes this truly awful is our protagonist speaks with an Irish brogue while our serial killer who is played by David Tennant who is inexplicably speaking with an American accent. It's not as bad as Eddie Izzard's American accent but it's not great either and it's rather off-putting. Did the director not want two characters speaking with an accent or did David Tennant take this job on a low budget very obviously filmed in Canada movie to practice his American accent? 2 Doctor Who Decided Tennant Should Speak in an American Accent out of 5

Cheap Thrills - This was a pleasant surprise. It's about two childhood friends down on their luck, one a failed writer and the other a thug who's been in and out of trouble with the law. They run into a rich couple at a dive bar who begins offering them money for increasingly messed up dares. Does a great job of balancing horror and comedy while also managing to be quite dark. 4 Pat Healy looks like he could be Bill Burr's brother out of 5

Triple Frontier – 2/5

It was not what I expected, and not in a good way. At the same time it felt a lot like a typical Netflix movie - kinda of rough, flavorless, undeveloped. With such a good cast, and Charlie Hunnam, I was expecting at least good characters but it seems like everyone came in for a weekend shoot of sorts. I got worried when the part of the movie that the trailers advertise ends, and after a quick glance realized there was over an hour of the movie left. That hour does not fly by particularly well. There is plenty to complain about, plot inconsistencies, character motivations, some really weird leaps of logic, but I guess it all just boils down to a pretty bad script.

I watched Casino. I liked it a lot. I'd probably give it a 9/10

just watch captain marvel recently, compare to a standard of great film, it struggles to meet the line, but overall i think it's an ok one to watch for entertainment. it's fun and apart of the MU that helps to explain and support the next film avenger end game. i also read the critics comments of the movie in an app at apknite, they are all saying it's not a good film with no deep storyline. So if you have high hope for it, sorry that you will be disapointed, but your hope can keep for the end game episode, think thye wont mess up it! so overall i give the fim 7.5/10.