Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

[jro]

I love this one, not totally sure why. The kind of calm cynical vibe maybe. I dig the fakeness, it fits the subject matter and characters. Totally understandable why some people wouldn't dig that particular aspect of it, it's a bit off-putting. The ending is a bit of a letdown though. I'd put it in the same category as Stoker.

I quite liked how Yelchin's character is obviously the worst, on a surface level, but how he's also the one that gets to react to the situations like a normal person and nearly break the girls out of their self-sustaining nihilism a few times. Not a big role, but very well acted and really adds a lot.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Finally saw The Many Saints of Newark, now that it's hit netflix.

I'd heard a lot of complaining about this movie, so my expectations were very low. But this was actually pretty great. The only thing hurting it was the runtime, being a two hour movie of a story that easily would have filled a season of television. But given that limitation, I thought it was really well done. And I liked the idea of building the story around the Newark riots.

The choice to have Christopher narrate the beginning was odd as fuck, but I dunno. It kind of worked.

 

[madmanjock]

I’ve just seen Thor Love and Thunder. It’s not as good as Ragnarok, but thankfully alot better that the latest Dr Strange film so there might still be (a small) amount of blood left in the marvel film franchise. I’d put it on the high side of average, worth watching if you like other Marvel films - but it won’t convert you if you don’t.

Chris Bale puts in a good performance as the lead bad. Russell Crowe had alot of hype as Zeus but I didn’t feel he played the slightly comical role too well. Natalie Portman looked pretty disinterested in most the scenes she was in and clearly just wanted the paycheque. Thor was Thor.

I saw Elvis in the cinema a week ago too. It felt like it needed a good edit as it’s run time left me watching the clock by the end. A good arty take on Elvis’s career but man it dragged on in the 2nd half.

 

[Lagduf]

I’ve just seen Thor Love and Thunder. It’s not as good as Ragnarok, but thankfully alot better that the latest Dr Strange film so there might still be (a small) amount of blood left in the marvel film franchise. I’d put it on the high side of average, worth watching if you like other Marvel films - but it won’t convert you if you don’t.

Chris Bale puts in a good performance as the lead bad. Russell Crowe had alot of hype as Zeus but I didn’t feel he played the slightly comical role too well. Natalie Portman looked pretty disinterested in most the scenes she was in and clearly just wanted the paycheque. Thor was Thor.

I saw Elvis in the cinema a week ago too. It felt like it needed a good edit as it’s run time left me watching the clock by the end. A good arty take on Elvis’s career but man it dragged on in the 2nd half.

I felt similarly about Love and Thunder. If you like Marvel you'll like it - and I think it was better than Dr. Strange 2 and maybe also No Way Home.

The first half of the movie had some entertaining moments, however, a lot of it felt forced and like they were trying too hard to recapture the action-comedy magic of Ragnarok. I liked the second half a lot better - I'd agree with you that (for me) early on in the movie it seemed like people were disinterested but I did find the movie post attack on zeus to be a bit more genuine, and frankly a bit heartwarming.

I liked the resolution of the film, it was a nice change of pace from just walloping the badguys - as frankly, was the bad guy even that bad? I genuinely thought the ending was sweet.

The post final credits scene was really great too.

Frankly, I think they made this movie for Dads around my age.

The stand-up performance of the film of course was Matt Damon who continues to play an Asgardian actor playing Loki on the small stage. Bravo.

I hadn't read any hype about Russel Crowe being in this. His character was silly, but it worked for what it was - to show people that gods and others are not great because they are powerful, but because they use their power for good.

I couldn't understand Crowe in the end credits scene when Zeus said his son's name though. Whoever it was looked...silly.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I can't imagine working up enough interest to see an Elvis movie. Motherfuck him and John Wayne.

 

[madmanjock]

I felt similarly about Love and Thunder. If you like Marvel you'll like it - and I think it was better than Dr. Strange 2 and maybe also No Way Home.

The first half of the movie had some entertaining moments, however, a lot of it felt forced and like they were trying too hard to recapture the action-comedy magic of Ragnarok. I liked the second half a lot better - I'd agree with you that (for me) early on in the movie it seemed like people were disinterested but I did find the movie post attack on zeus to be a bit more genuine, and frankly a bit heartwarming.

I liked the resolution of the film, it was a nice change of pace from just walloping the badguys - as frankly, was the bad guy even that bad? I genuinely thought the ending was sweet.

The post final credits scene was really great too.

Frankly, I think they made this movie for Dads around my age.

The stand-up performance of the film of course was Matt Damon who continues to play an Asgardian actor playing Loki on the small stage. Bravo.

I hadn't read any hype about Russel Crowe being in this. His character was silly, but it worked for what it was - to show people that gods and others are not great because they are powerful, but because they use their power for good.

I couldn't understand Crowe in the end credits scene when Zeus said his son's name though. Whoever it was looked...silly.

Yeah I pretty much agree with that assessment that it picked up 2nd half. I think it makes me appreciate how special Ragnarok was in hindsight that it was so difficult to bottle the same magic twice. I read some stuff about Zeus being ‘Russell Crowe parodying his gladiator persona’ and ‘a big development that Zeus is now in Marvel’ but the actual reveal felt more like a wet fart.

I can't imagine working up enough interest to see an Elvis movie. Motherfuck him and John Wayne.

Well yeah a friend wanted to see it but I should have passed in hindsight. At least I had a couple of beers before and after.

 

[100proof]

Went to The Black Phone last night. Seems like I've been going to other movies on the opening Thursdays of big blockbuster movies a lot this summer. Same happened with Top Gun and Dr Strange. Nice because my theater is more or less empty while 5 showings of Thor go on in the background.

Anyway, Black Phone is based on a short story by Stephen King's kid which makes a lot of sense. It definitely has the Stephen King brand of "psychic powers glazed on top of a standard genre story" (see Carrie, Shining, Firestarter, etc.). Serial killer in the 70s kidnaps kids and tortures/kills them. Boy that comes from a rough background gets kidnapped and thrown in to the villain's kill basement and starts getting phone calls on a phone that isn't plugged in from the ghosts of other kids who were killed by this guy. Then there's sixty minutes of cat and mouse escape plans and Ethan Hawke hamming it up. Also, the kid's sister has psychic dreams. Sure, why not.

The writing is generally pretty good (the kids in particular are written naturally... apparently Stephen King gave his kid a few pointers on that front or it's somehow genetic). The kid actors are also pretty good for the most part (the little girl is a bit much at times but also gets a few legitimate laughs) and while Ethan Hawke does his job as the villain, he doesn't really do anything interesting with what is traditionally an actor's chance to flex their muscles. He's not too over the top but he also just doesn't make an impression. What's interesting about the movie is the character stuff (the kids' dad is a broken, abusive alcoholic and the movie captures that dynamic pretty well, the little girl praying to Jesus and cursing out cops, a couple of other subtle little moments between characters) but the actual minute-to-minute of this kid trying to figure out how to escape (which is most of the last two-thirds of the movie) is just dull and has been done better in other movies.

I admit I'm generally not big on anything with ghosts. Or at least traditional "people with pale faces and inanimate objects moving" ghost stories. That shit bores me to tears. And in this movie, the ghost stuff is so minor that they practically act as a video game hint system to help the kid get out. Which makes his attempting to escape somehow even less interesting because it makes him seem less clever or resourceful. He just has cheat mode enabled.

In short, it's competently made and has good character writing but the actual main plot is unremarkable and didn't do much for me.

 

[SouthtownKid]

and ‘a big development that Zeus is now in Marvel’

Well, now in Marvel movies. Zeus has been in Marvel comics since the 1960s, and his son Hercules is a somewhat major Marvel character and longtime member of the Avengers.

Not that anyone was actually curious, but here's Thor, Hercules and Zeus together:

 

[100proof]

Haven't seen Thor and likely won't but the couple of friends who did last night said that they went too far with the comedy stuff to the point that it was a farce that completely undermined any of the movie's serious story beats. And these are people who are generally big on these movies. It really does seem like the Marvel thing is running out of steam creatively. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.

 

[Lagduf]

I don’t think they’ll be able to recapture the magic of the Thanos Arc, maybe after whatever this current arc, and/or when they reintroduce the X-Men.

 

[Lagduf]

Well, now in Marvel movies. Zeus has been in Marvel comics since the 1960s, and his son Hercules is a somewhat major Marvel character and longtime member of the Avengers.

Not that anyone was actually curious, but here's Thor, Hercules and Zeus together:

Who is better DC’s Hercules or Marvels?

 

[wataru330]

King Boxer.

I’m spending all weekend w/ the Shaw Bros. ShawScope boxed set.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Who is better DC’s Hercules or Marvels?

DC's Hercules was a bad guy who helped enslave the Amazons. At least back in the '80s/'90s. I have no idea about now.

 

[fake]

Band of Outsiders
A group of three horny whippersnappers catch wind of a large sum of cash. They figure if they can steal it, they can start their young lives over somewhere else. The love triangle complicates things, as does greed. It's feels like a look into two 1960s French boys trying to recreate Hollywood gangster films in their own lives – which I think is the whole point. I don't know if it's still as charming as it probably was several decades ago, but it's still worth a watch. Recommended.

 

[fake]

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
A mockumentary of a talking shell who lives in a human house with his grandmother. They used to be part of a big community of inanimate objects, but most of the things were mysteriously taken away. A guy (who mostly remains behind the camera) is renting the house and discovers Marcel. They try to find out what happened to his friends and family by posting videos on YouTube and appearing on 60 Minutes. It takes a while to get going, but it's very sweet and the CGI / stop-motion is very well done. It seems like a limited release, but it's worth the drive if there aren't any theaters in the immediate area screening it. Recommended.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Infinite, starring Marky Mark and the bad guy from Serenity. Ohhhhhhhh how I wish we had not watched this. I can't believe the director of Training Day made this monument to stupidity. And so inconceivably boring. Avoid at all cost.

 

[terry.330]

Everything Everywhere all at Once- Well that was definitely a lot to take in. It's certainly an achievement in story telling, editing and really just as an overall experience in creativity. All the actors were fantastic and it's nice that the family drama wasn't lost in all the insanity. If this had been handled by any other filmmakers it would have been either a total mess or a masturbatory exercise in pretentiousness. The only issue I had is that since it's such a relentless barrage of stuff it gets a little tiring at times. Some scene needed at least a beat or two extra to let them breathe. But honestly it's so incredibly well crafted that is just a small nitpick. It's an amazing piece of work.

 

[NeoSneth]

Jurassic World : Dominion
What a mess. I feel like it was put together by the same team as Rise of Skywalker. There is no reason for 75% of the cast, but they MacGuffined them together for whatever reasons. It plays out like bad fan fiction. I'm glad they use a lot of practical effects. I'll end with that positive comment.

 

[jro]

I re-watched Coherence again, and it still keeps me glued to the screen and paying attention. I have a few minor nitpicks with how the ending is handled, but overall I still think it's quite an achievement, very entertaining and amazingly re-watchable.

On a similar vibe, I think I'm going to have to also re-watch Primer and Upstream Color.

 

[fake]

I re-watched Coherence again, and it still keeps me glued to the screen and paying attention. I have a few minor nitpicks with how the ending is handled, but overall I still think it's quite an achievement, very entertaining and amazingly re-watchable.

On a similar vibe, I think I'm going to have to also re-watch Primer and Upstream Color.

I really like Upstream Color.

 

[Syn]

Wrath of Man

Mob boss's son gets killed during armored truck robbery, mob boss hunts down killer. Jason Statham show that doesn't really standout but is serviceable.

 

[HornheaDD]

I really like Upstream Color.

Fucking why.

Shane Carruth peaked with Primer. Upstream was an exercise in stale camera shots and random ass "story"

 

[fake]

Fucking why.

Shane Carruth peaked with Primer. Upstream was an exercise in stale camera shots and random ass "story"

 

[terry.330]

The Bob's Burgers Movie- It's exactly what it says it is, a quality hour and a half long episode. The animation definitely got a nice upgrade without losing any of it's simple charm. It is a musical though, which I did not know. I expected a couple musical numbers and enjoy Gene doing music stuff every now and again but it was a bit too much for me. If you're a fan of the show there's a lot to like here.

 

[LoneSage]

Despite being primetime and running for 10 years, BB still feels kind of underground. Or maybe I'm just talking out my ass and it's quite popular.