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

[Ralfakick]

I watched Operation Fortune in the theater last week. I really liked Wrath of Man and I really really liked the Gentlemen it is possibly my favorite movie I’ve watched in the past year, so I was hyped for more Guy Ritchie.

Jason Stratham was great in wrath of man it really is a good movie, Hugh Grant was good in The Gentlemen, Aubrey Plaza kind of does it for me since she plays slutty roles (she’s originally from near me in Wilmington Delaware).

Anyway I thought the movie was terrible Josh Hartnett and the supporting cast were garbage, and those three weren’t that great either. The movie was quite a let down and it was the first movie I’ve seen in the theater since the new Top Gun. The pace and the story were not good at all. Very disappointed, played out like a cheap Netflix movie to me.

 

[terry.330]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit- Re-wateched the RLM Re:view and wanted to check out some of the behind the scenes stuff then watch the movie, glad I did. Definitely made me appreciate everything a bit more. It's an incredible movie from a technical perspective. It's also a family friendly movie from the days when they were still pretty loose with that. There's a lot of drinking, sexually suggestive stuff and children smoking lol. None of that shit would fly today. It was also an odd choice to make it a straight up film noir, I know it's based on a book but still an odd genre for something to adapt as a kids movie. Overall it's still extremely enjoyable but it is frantic and loud so it can be a bit grating but that's kind of to be expected. A couple of gags don't quite work and the there's no real logic behind toons coexisting with humans but whatever, the stuff that does work outweigh its problems by a lot.

 

[Lagduf]

I watched Operation Fortune in the theater last week. I really liked Wrath of Man and I really really liked the Gentlemen it is possibly my favorite movie I’ve watched in the past year, so I was hyped for more Guy Ritchie.

Jason Stratham was great in wrath of man it really is a good movie, Hugh Grant was good in The Gentlemen, Aubrey Plaza kind of does it for me since she plays slutty roles (she’s originally from near me in Wilmington Delaware).

Anyway I thought the movie was terrible Josh Hartnett and the supporting cast were garbage, and those three weren’t that great either. The movie was quite a let down and it was the first movie I’ve seen in the theater since the new Top Gun. The pace and the story were not good at all. Very disappointed, played out like a cheap Netflix movie to me.

Is Wrath of Man the one where Statham is the crime boss who kills everyone responsible for the death of his son?

I enjoyed the movie, but god damn was it dark.

 

[Ralfakick]

Is Wrath of Man the one where Statham is the crime boss who kills everyone responsible for the death of his son?

I enjoyed the movie, but god damn was it dark.

And some that weren’t (the film set)

Yes it was I liked the Gentlemen better just because it had humor as well. This is definitely lighter also.

 

[terry.330]

A huge wind storm came through here yesterday and knocked out the internet so I decided to pull a stack of movies off the old shelf.

Shaun of the Dead- Still one of the best horror comedies ever and probably the best homage to the Romero movies. They basically just took everything that worked from Spaced and made a smart zombie flick. It's also a great slacker transitioning into real adulthood piece. A lot of movies try this but this one really nails it, it's extremely relatable. In a lot of ways it's a perfect movie, it's got a simple formula, great setup, characters, dialogue and pacing. It's just a very efficient and fun movie.

Intruder- A predictable and by the numbers slasher from the tail end of the genre boom. This is almost elevated solely by the gore effects above the massive wave of forgettable slasher junk from the era. Once it gets going they really go all out with the effects. There's also some interesting editing and camera work but a lot of just doesn't work and it comes of as awkward or slightly confusing. Still at least they tried. Also special mention to Sam and Ted Raimi in their co-starring roles as well as Bruce Campbell for making a small appearance. If you ever wanted to see someone get beaten within an inch of their life with a severed head then this is the movie for you.

Lost Highway- It's David Lynch doing his thing in full so it's very much either for you or not. Incredible cast and soundtrack, beautifully shot and thick as fuck dark atmosphere. This is not a very accessible piece but is definitely worth the investment of time and attention if you're into Lynch. There's a lot to take in and process and a lot of subtleties woven throughout. Very noir and every spooky. Also Patricia Arquette is naked a lot.

Tremors- Never gets old.

 

[Syn]

Smile

It reminded me of a few movies like It Follows. It's okay, nothing special. While I don't feel time was wasted, it could have been spent better.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Lost Highway- It's David Lynch doing his thing in full so it's very much either for you or not. Incredible cast and soundtrack, beautifully shot and thick as fuck dark atmosphere. This is not a very accessible piece but is definitely worth the investment of time and attention if you're into Lynch. There's a lot to take in and process and a lot of subtleties woven throughout. Very noir and every spooky. Also Patricia Arquette is naked a lot.

My favorite Lynch movie, and maybe my #2 favorite movie ever. Co-written by the guy who wrote the novel Lynch adapted Wild at Heart from, which ironically, I don't like much. But Lost Highway, I could watch a million times and never get tired of.

In a weird way, I kind of feel like Mulholland Drive was Lynch wanting to redo Lost Highway but write everything himself, since it covers some of the same themes and elements. And for whatever reason, Mulholland Drive seemed to be more accessible to general audiences. It's great, but it's no Lost Highway.

"There's nine people down here, and you can ask seven of them. If you can get that price from one of them, I'll let you ask the other two."

 

[SouthtownKid]

He spends the first 30 or so seconds talking about how he can't remember much, but after that, there's some good stuff.

 

[2Heed]

My wife and I saw 65 in the theater the other day. Best movie featuring dinosaurs of the last 30 years, and by an enormous margin. They're used much more sparingly, as this is first and foremost a survival/suspense/adventure film which just features a handful of them overall. I thought this would be a great reference point if a Metroid film is ever made. Survivor stranded on an alien world with a smattering of tech to just barely help get them through some tight spots, a dark and subdued atmosphere, excellent sound design...it even has a countdown escape sequence at the end. Eminently rewatchable movie.

 

[terry.330]

My favorite Lynch movie, and maybe my #2 favorite movie ever. Co-written by the guy who wrote the novel Lynch adapted Wild at Heart from, which ironically, I don't like much. But Lost Highway, I could watch a million times and never get tired of.

In a weird way, I kind of feel like Mulholland Drive was Lynch wanting to redo Lost Highway but write everything himself, since it covers some of the same themes and elements. And for whatever reason, Mulholland Drive seemed to be more accessible to general audiences. It's great, but it's no Lost Highway.

"There's nine people down here, and you can ask seven of them. If you can get that price from one of them, I'll let you ask the other two."

Robert Blake as the mystery man is one of the best casting choices ever.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Robert Blake as the mystery man is one of the best casting choices ever.

Pre-murderer Robert Blake! Lynch must have seen something in him before the rest of us.

 

[Tripredacus]

Big Lots is selling the Rampage BD for $1.50. Not terrible.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Big Lots is selling the Rampage BD for $1.50. Not terrible.

Not a bad price if you're one coaster short of a set. Overpriced as a movie, though.

 

[terry.330]

Dead and Buried- A genuinely creepy little movie from the writers of Alien, starring the grandpa from Willy Wonka. For a movie that came out in 1981 it really feels more like something from totally different era, It's slow and weird and favors atmosphere over gore and jumps scares. Just a very different type of horror than what was popular at the time. It's not an amazing movie but it is very well made, creepy and is heavy with a sense of dread that few movies can match. Almost seems like a Stephen King story but without all of his usual bullshit. This was a staple on cable when I was young and it really holds up well. Also Lisa Blount is smoking hot in an evil way that still does it for me.

 

[terry.330]

Creature From Black Lake- So this is supposedly one of the best Bigfoot movies ever made, or at least that's what I have read. In reality it's a hokey 70s made for TV movie that rides off the popularity of the Patterson Bigfoot footage. It's unbelievably dated, slow and just kind of dumb. If I was 9 years old and it was 1976 it would have probably been awesome. As it is it's a goofy country fried curiosity. I also find it weird that it's set in Louisiana, pretty sure Bigfoot isn't a swamp monster. Really the only interesting thing about it that the cinematographer is Dean Cundy who went on to work with Spielberg and there's some great shots in-between all the boring and awkward dialogue scenes.

 

[100proof]

Cundey was also John Carpenter's guy for most of his good run.

The other Bigfoot movie people always recommend is Legend of Boggy Creek from the same general timeframe and that movie suuuuuucks. Apparently it was a huge hit in the drive-in circuit for years.

 

[LoneSage]

Speaking of 70s made for TV movies and Carpenter, his Elvis movie is worth a watch.

 

[terry.330]

Cundey was also John Carpenter's guy for most of his good run.

The other Bigfoot movie people always recommend is Legend of Boggy Creek from the same general timeframe and that movie suuuuuucks. Apparently it was a huge hit in the drive-in circuit for years.

Yeah Boggy Creek came up in a bunch of reviews, I looked at some clips on Youtube and it look even worse than Creature. I think I'll stick with Abominable and Suburban Sasquatch for my Squatch fix.

 

[HornheaDD]

Legend of Boggy Creek 2 is absolute gold for bad movie night, especially with the MST3K guys.

 

[jro]

Jug Face - I think I had unrealistically high expectations for this going into it. Didn't care much for it at all other than a few solid performances.

 

[Syn]

rec 3

Guests at a wedding party start turning into zombies. Typical European ending to a mediocre movie.

 

[100proof]

Keanu Reeves Murder Simulator 2023 (John Wick Chapter 4) - Two hours and forty-five minutes of gorgeous landscape shots, stuntmen getting thrown around all over the world and Keanu Reeves in various states of glowering/grimacing. I've been out on the "story" of John Wick since about two-thirds of the way through the second one (the high table/underground urban fantasy stuff just became kind of laughable after a while) but goddamn do those guys know how to assemble and shoot a good action scene. The Arc d'Triumphe sequence, the stairs of the Sacre-Coeur, the German techno club with Scott Atkins looking like comic book Kingpin, the Osaka Continental sequence... just incredible. And the violence comes in so many interesting and varied ways. The movie definitely has some western (both American and Italian) influences in addition to the varying types of martial arts and revenge flick stereotypes from the earlier movies.

A lot of great actors get to shine in smaller parts. Larry Fishburne gets to chew up the scenery some more, a great and fitting final performance for Lance Reddick, Clancy Brown, Scott Atkins, Hiroyuki Sanada. All topped off with Donnie Yen getting to more or less cap off his career with a solid American action film role that could've easily been a glorified henchman in lesser hands.

It's definitely a little bit too much of a good thing (multiple fight scenes seem like they could be a few minutes shorter) and certain characters take some Looney Tunes level violence and brush it off and I sincerely hope that the John Wick character stays dead and buried but they definitely pulled out all the stops with this one. I would see it if for no other reason than to appreciate the craftmanship of the stuntwork and some of the amazing landscape and architecture backdrops.

 

[terry.330]

I've been out on the "story" of John Wick since about two-thirds of the way through the second one (the high table/underground urban fantasy stuff just became kind of laughable after a while)

That's my only issue with the series. I don't think they ever imagined they would have to turn it into a series. Glad movies like these can still get made and do well, for a long time it was just a handful of things trickling out of Asia (Ong Bak, The Raid etc.) and they weren't exactly on most peoples radar.

I still want Dredd 2 goddmanit.

 

[LoneSage]

Keanu Reeves Murder Simulator 2023 (John Wick Chapter 4) - Two hours and forty-five minutes of gorgeous landscape shots, stuntmen getting thrown around all over the world and Keanu Reeves in various states of glowering/grimacing. I've been out on the "story" of John Wick since about two-thirds of the way through the second one (the high table/underground urban fantasy stuff just became kind of laughable after a while) but goddamn do those guys know how to assemble and shoot a good action scene. The Arc d'Triumphe sequence, the stairs of the Sacre-Coeur, the German techno club with Scott Atkins looking like comic book Kingpin, the Osaka Continental sequence... just incredible. And the violence comes in so many interesting and varied ways. The movie definitely has some western (both American and Italian) influences in addition to the varying types of martial arts and revenge flick stereotypes from the earlier movies.

A lot of great actors get to shine in smaller parts. Larry Fishburne gets to chew up the scenery some more, a great and fitting final performance for Lance Reddick, Clancy Brown, Scott Atkins, Hiroyuki Sanada. All topped off with Donnie Yen getting to more or less cap off his career with a solid American action film role that could've easily been a glorified henchman in lesser hands.

It's definitely a little bit too much of a good thing (multiple fight scenes seem like they could be a few minutes shorter) and certain characters take some Looney Tunes level violence and brush it off and I sincerely hope that the John Wick character stays dead and buried but they definitely pulled out all the stops with this one. I would see it if for no other reason than to appreciate the craftmanship of the stuntwork and some of the amazing landscape and architecture backdrops.

Awesome review. I've never even watched John Wick.

 

[famicommander]

They're never going to stop making John Wick movies at this rate. They just keep making more money and getting better reviews. Keanu gonna be making these when he's 80.