Last Movie Watched

[Bill Hicks]

Genius on drums - Madman the rest of the time.
Great Documentary

 

[nocturn]

God I really wanted to like this movie. The concept is f****** great, the CGI was great but the directing, screenplay writing, and acting were garbage. That and plot holes galore.

I honestly think NP is a crap actor. She seems to be disingenuous and has a laziness about her. Meh

In the right hands (Doug Liman?), this could have been amazing, but alas.

 

[jerseydevil]

God I really wanted to like this movie. The concept is f****** great, the CGI was great but the directing, screenplay writing, and acting were garbage. That and plot holes galore.

I honestly think NP is a crap actor. She seems to be disingenuous and has a laziness about her. Meh

In the right hands (Doug Liman?), this could have been amazing, but alas.

You are right. Completely...except, i.m.o. about the directing. I thought Garland did a good job on a movie that the studio lost faith in after the fact. Portman...so true. How was she such a great child actor and yet a vacant eyed Stepford wife since.

btw, I managed to enjoy it a lot despite flaws. You need to watch The Ritual on Netflix.

 

[orpheus]

Nobody gonna criticize Natalie Portman on my watch! :33smile:

mhihi:

 

[jerseydevil]

Ladies and gents, I had a #throwbackSaturday...

Like Hot Dog:The Movie, Skateboard:The Movie, Ski School, and many other C-list classics before it, the poster says it all. Infinitely low budge, guilty pleasure flick that survives a LOT of faults simply by the charm of the cast. Sure, kinda hard to watch a well worn Johnny Knoxville take endless head and crotch shots but he's so damned likable that you power thru.

Well this...this is everything you would expect. A Vestron Video classic, guaranteed to be a guilty pleasure beer and pizza flick. Like all good half baked flicks, the science of it is laughable and stretched pretty thin. But the action...the action is sweet. Imagine Evil Dead 2 physicality with Matrix like action. On a shoestring budget. The lead is a not-quite-Tom-Hardy and the villain(?) is Jared Leto lite by way of the white haired kid from Harry Potter. The ending cements it as a true ****ed up soon to be not classic classic. SEE IT

 

[santiclaws]

Ladies and gents, I had a #throwbackSaturday...

Well this...this is everything you would expect. A Vestron Video classic, guaranteed to be a guilty pleasure beer and pizza flick. Like all good half baked flicks, the science of it is laughable and stretched pretty thin. But the action...the action is sweet. Imagine Evil Dead 2 physicality with Matrix like action. On a shoestring budget. The lead is a not-quite-Tom-Hardy and the villain(?) is Jared Leto lite by way of the white haired kid from Harry Potter. The ending cements it as a true ****ed up soon to be not classic classic. SEE IT

Old-fashioned grindhouse. Start with a store-brand cross between Jamie Dornan and Tom Hardy. Add a little bit of Death Wish, The Matrix, and 2001. Stir. Top with a generous dollop of the old ultra-violence. Done!

A terrific popcorn flick.

 

[jerseydevil]

Honestly...I have had violent mood swings as far as my opinion on this one. I can honestly tell you, that this is a highly engaging movie from a possibly 'to be watched' writer/director. I can tell you it is Ridiculously rich in potential...all while telling you that it is a deeply, almost amateur hour flawed and clumsy film. But I can't tell you it wasn't MESMERIZING. From the first hour and a half that had my showing audience uncomfortably anxious and irritated. Early shock that changes the entire perception of the movie so far...and then it gets equal parts STRANGE and mundane, a foot in each door anchored by the really good cast. Gabriel Byrne was fantastic as you watched quiet and 'go along to get along' dad, who descends into a very gradual madness that is entirely relatable.


At 2 hrs and change it feels bloated, yet the original cut was 3 hours. I would like to see that cut. Because there are huge holes in this movie. HUGE. Yet, I can't not recommend it. It's a challenge probably like what MOTHER was last year.

Ann Dowd(leftovers) is also tremendous. Playing what could have been a very predictable character, she subverts the thing and has you flip flopping on what you expect her character is...Trying not to spoil, so that last sentence was meant to be vague.

Thank God for this. Terribly pseudo Tarentino by way of Smoking Aces. Real nice character acting by Jodie Foster, who is shadowed and shielded by a why am I surprised he was that good still Dave Bautista. Most of the characters get a chance to shine, sadly, Charlie Day is a coke fueled little man annoyance without any of his usual charm. This is another good beer and pizza flick.

 

[LetTigerIn]

Heredity
I'm with [MENTION=5800]jerseydevil[/MENTION] on this one pretty much entirely. I was disappointed by some promise of depth that never materialized, but I was encouraged by some of the unique aspects of it. I will say that this is one of those movies where the movie is not exactly what the trailer promises, but it's at least enough in the ballpark that it doesn't lose the audience in that regard. I saw it in a full house, and the audience seemed engaged the whole way. It's a marginal recommend from me due to the areas where it does not deliver. However, it joins Annihilation and You Were Never Really Here in a year that is turning out to have some films with fascinating pace and atmosphere. Oops. Almost forgot to mention in addition to the rest of the wonderful cast… Ann Dowd! And here I finally just finished watching The Leftovers.

Red Sparrow
This one's onto home video already, but I thought I'd mention it along with Heredity, because I think it suffered some audience backlash from not being remotely what the trailer promised. Not that it was destined to be a blockbuster in any case, but it's more of a cold war thriller than an actioner. And by that measure, I thought it was good. The advertising campaign reminds me of The American, which was my favorite film of 2009(?), I think it was. I saw that one in a theater full of angry people who were expecting to see something more like George Clooney as Jason Bourne.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Like RBG, this is a documentary that is pretty thin on impact or creative substance, but whose subject matter is so endearing and fascinating that it scarcely matters. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood is such an essential part of my childhood that there was no way this one could lose. I wish there was maybe just a little more about the real man inside the sweater, the documentary does a great job of exploring the real depth behind the show and left me thinking we could use as many Fred Rogerses (and RBG's) as we can get right about now.

RBG
See above.

 

[Mondo Blando]

I also saw Hereditary this weekend, and most definitely enjoyed it more than JD and Tiger above.

It's a perfect film for this subject matter, and I found no plot holes at all - it's a slow, long build, or rather deteriorating crawl where the lines of mental illness and the supernatural are not blurred, but intertwined. Even what could have been a stock husband character played by Gabriel Byrne isn't your ordinary "this is all in your head" type - he feels every ounce of pain in the reality of his family's situation, and copes accordingly without ever resorting to the pat responses usually offered.

It's not a scary movie at all, and it doesn't intend to be. It's about dread. The dollhouse metaphor is the key to understanding the difference between this and other demonic themed movies. Someone is in control at all times, and that manipulation is never fully explained, it unfolds in front of you. All the answers are there, they just don't hit you over the head, they arrive naturally.

I am glad for the differences from the trailer. The less you know about the plot, the better. Expectations detract from the experience.

I liked this film more than any other I have seen since Under the Skin. It's a rough ride for sure, and like that movie it is very difficult to recommend. Not everybody is going to enjoy sitting thru that much despair, and at that pace. If you enjoyed The VVitch, this is right up your alley. Hopefully Collette and Dowd will be remembered at Oscar time.

 

[jerseydevil]

I also saw Hereditary this weekend, and most definitely enjoyed it more than JD and Tiger above.

It's a perfect film for this subject matter, and I found no plot holes at all - it's a slow, long build, or rather deteriorating crawl where the lines of mental illness and the supernatural are not blurred, but intertwined. Even what could have been a stock husband character played by Gabriel Byrne isn't your ordinary "this is all in your head" type - he feels every ounce of pain in the reality of his family's situation, and copes accordingly without ever resorting to the pat responses usually offered.

It's not a scary movie at all, and it doesn't intend to be. It's about dread. The dollhouse metaphor is the key to understanding the difference between this and other demonic themed movies. Someone is in control at all times, and that manipulation is never fully explained, it unfolds in front of you. All the answers are there, they just don't hit you over the head, they arrive naturally.

I am glad for the differences from the trailer. The less you know about the plot, the better. Expectations detract from the experience.

I liked this film more than any other I have seen since Under the Skin. It's a rough ride for sure, and like that movie it is very difficult to recommend. Not everybody is going to enjoy sitting thru that much despair, and at that pace. If you enjoyed The VVitch, this is right up your alley. Hopefully Collette and Dowd will be remembered at Oscar time.

I am so on board with the Byrne/Dowd love. Collette is amazing. And this movie succeeds, despite itself, in being a challenging R rated original idea. Perceived plot issues be damned, I haven't stopped thinking about this movie since I saw it. And I still don't know how I feel

 

[LetTigerIn]

First Reformed
I'm not sure how the box office is holding up, but I think this is proving to be a quality movie year (even for the blockbusters). I had to add this one quickly, because, I thought it paired nicely with, of all things, Won't You Be My Neighbor?. About the only thing I knew about this one going in is that it is written and directed by Paul Schrader, and even if his name were not shown on the credits, it would undoubtedly come up in discussing the film. Off the top of my head, I think this is the best written film of the year so far, and the performances are equally brilliant. Ethan Hawke is brilliant. Philip Ettinger is also a standout in the film. Amanda Seyfried and Cedric the Entertainer are good as well. Really glad I caught this in the cinema, because even a small audience really contributed to this film.

 

[LetTigerIn]

American Animals
There is a big group of movies amassing at the top of my favorite movies of 2018 list, and this one is joining that menagerie. I didn't know too much about this one going in, so I was caught a little bit by surprise, and I was mesmerized by this. Among its other virtues, it includes some really nice performances from a cast that includes Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer; Dunkirk), Evan Peters (American Horror Story); and Ann Dowd (who is in the list twice now thanks to Hereditary). I was fascinated by this movie on pretty much every level. For the curious, I'd recommend maybe just watching the trailer and steering clear of any spoiler-y reviews. It's in theaters, but it looks like it's also on Vudu, if that's more your bag. However, I'm really glad I caught it at the local cinema.

 

[santiclaws]

American Animals
There is a big group of movies amassing at the top of my favorite movies of 2018 list, and this one is joining that menagerie. I didn't know too much about this one going in, so I was caught a little bit by surprise, and I was mesmerized by this. Among its other virtues, it includes some really nice performances from a cast that includes Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer; Dunkirk), Evan Peters (American Horror Story); and Ann Dowd (who is in the list twice now thanks to Hereditary). I was fascinated by this movie on pretty much every level. For the curious, I'd recommend maybe just watching the trailer and steering clear of any spoiler-y reviews. It's in theaters, but it looks like it's also on Vudu, if that's more your bag. However, I'm really glad I caught it at the local cinema.

I liked it quite a bit myself. Interesting story.

 

[roenick]

My wife and I saw this last night and loved it. Amazing man who stayed on message throughout his life. Very cool to hear what he wanted to do and how to do it and that sometimes he had doubts, fears and concerns but stayed focus on helping children gain confidence in themselves and know that what they are going through and feeling wasn't strange or new. Lived by two simple rules: Love your neighbor and Love yourself. I think we are missing his voice right now and it makes me sad. Have a great day everyone!

 

[jerseydevil]

Everything I needed this to be. Wet eyes throughout, and I actually made a gut punch noise out loud with one line of dialogue that just ruined me. But, it's gentle with it's sadness...as you would expect. Just lovely really.

We made the mistake of seeing this second. Not that it was bad, but...it was tonally the most inappropriate movie to see after the gentle breeze of Pooh. When I saw the trailer, I was interested. Part of me was leery, because if you saw the 'white voice' part of the trailer, it was easy to predict that this might be heavy handed with it's message. I can honestly tell you that that is the least bizarre part of the movie. I described it as Film school Spike Lee meets Troma studios. Some weird and uncomfortable stuff goes down in the third act, to the point that I had to check with Kingsqueen, 'You saw that too, right?' Lakeith Stanfield is perfectly charismatic as the eye of the weird storm. Tessa Thompson, dependable as usual. And I have NO idea what Armie Hammer was thinking. There is one part of this flick that may go down as one of the most uncomfortable movie going experiences I have had...and that is saying something. It's the kind of nonsensical movie my sister would hate...and that's just one part of why I liked it so much. Definitely not for everyone.

 

[jerseydevil]

Hurm. Remember when folks bitched about product placement being blatant pandering. Well, now...the wooing and concessions to foreign box office have become so blatant and insidious that they have become laughable. The one export we clearly had has been co-opted. That being said, it's a lot of fun, despite it's flaws. The reason for that, THE STATHAM. Very glad to see him finally get a franchise worthy of his particular skills. It's filled with groan inducing ridiculousness, while feeling like the hard edges were sanded down. So, the tone is a little hit and miss. The shark isn't ever really as frightening as it should be. But still, the STATHAM. Silly fun that could have been magical if they hadn't constantly put the brakes on embracing the madness. Perfect summer film.

 

[lagwagon0]

A non-existent plot but it didn't really matter because Kate McKinnon stole every scene. B-

JD feeling very generous . I was extremely disappointed by how half-assed the whole film felt. 1/3 of the time they kinda embraced the lunacy within a PG-13 rating, the rest was overlong filler sprinkled with "heartfelt" moments that were beyond cringe worthy. It's awkward watching a movie try to convince you we're having a serious moment following a script that occasionally felt like Sharknado. There was just so many times the movie seemed unaware of what it was trying to be and just took such a neutered line. My disappointment aside(because that's really all it is), there were a few awesome sequences with the shark that looked great in IMAX. C+

Other movies I've watched in the past month or so:
Equalizer 2 - more Denzel destruction, with less cohesiveness and bigger plot gaps then the first film. B-
Antman and the Wasp - Light enjoyable fare that filled in nicely after the intensity of Infinity War. B+
Teen Titans Go to the Movies - Haven't seen the TV series, chuckled fairly often but a little too meta for me and don't expect it to be memorable. B
Skyscraper - Such a lazy action film with zero originality. C
The First Purge - The worst film I've seen this year. F
Unfriended: Dark Web - I actually enjoyed the first, didn't think this was terrible but missing the uniqueness the 2nd time around. B-
I'm not going to talk about Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom because I am still angry almost two months later.

 

[jerseydevil]

Saw this last night...what a blast. It'll only be in theaters for a minute, so hurry out and watch it with a crowd. Some honestly wonderful effed up stuff. Low budge, as it should be, with amazing practical fx. Now, be warned, when I say amazing I mean in the 'I spent my formative years behind the counter of a video store', so what it lacks in polish it makes up for in over-the-top messy charm. A true homage to the original series and a very good sign that the rebirth of Fangoria is in good hands(the producer is the man who bought the brand and is relaunching the magazine in October. With the viability of horror as the one genre that can still make money, maybe we are seeing a return to the heyday of trash cinema.

 

[jerseydevil]

Lovely. Good people helping beautiful animals. What's not to like. Imax and 3d, so, yeah it was stunning.

Entertaining. Sometimes the movie got lost in the message...but yeah, Spike Lee's best movie since the other one. Ending quieted entire audience I saw it with. I never trusted Topher Grace. I was right.

 

[lagwagon0]

Saw this last night...what a blast. It'll only be in theaters for a minute, so hurry out and watch it with a crowd. Some honestly wonderful effed up stuff. Low budge, as it should be, with amazing practical fx. Now, be warned, when I say amazing I mean in the 'I spent my formative years behind the counter of a video store', so what it lacks in polish it makes up for in over-the-top messy charm. A true homage to the original series and a very good sign that the rebirth of Fangoria is in good hands(the producer is the man who bought the brand and is relaunching the magazine in October. With the viability of horror as the one genre that can still make money, maybe we are seeing a return to the heyday of trash cinema.

I have to check this out, especially after seeing who wrote this one. I loved Bone Tomahawk and Brawl.