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

[100proof]

Bubba Ho-Tep - Bruce Campbell's best acting performance and I'd argue Don Coscarelli's best movie (or at least the one that makes the most sense... the Phantasm movies are good-to-great but they're completely nonsensical).

A man who may or may not be Elvis Presley and a black man who thinks he's JFK fight to save their rest home froom a soul-sucking mummy in cowboy boots and a pimp hat. It's every bit as ridiculous and weird as the premise sounds but it's also strangely thoughtful in how it addresses regret and how we treat the elderly. Made on a shoestring after the pitch was rejected by every studio for production as well as distribution, everyone involved was warned not to do this movie (Bruce by his agent/manager, Ossie Davis by his agent, Don Coscarelli by pretty much anyone he asked) but went on to become a beloved cult movie.

 

[Tung Fu ru]

The sequels not so much.

You mean to tell me you don't like Major league 2?! It's basically as good as the first movie. But if anyone here has not seen Major League 3, please don't it sucks

 

[famicommander]

Major League 2 wasn't bad as far as comedy sequels go.

Don't even consider the 3rd one though.

 

[terry.330]

You mean to tell me you don't like Major league 2?! It's basically as good as the first movie. But if anyone here has not seen Major League 3, please don't it sucks

I might be mixing 1 and 2 into the same movie, it's been decades since I've seen either.

I remember 3 being fucking awful for sure though.

 

[lithy]

World's Fastest Indian

A fun little movie after you get past the initial tension of whether or not the movie was going to be one of those 'things go bad and cascade to worse at every turn for naive fish out of water main character'. To not spoil too much. It doesn't go that way, for the better. So just relax and enjoy it, main guy will be fine.

Probably helps to have at least an interest in the backyard wrenchers and racers that filled the ranks of all sorts of racing in the 60s and before. The final sequence was my favorite for this reason, and some of the shots at Bonneville Speed Week should be nice for a gearhead. Good nostalgia feeling movie, from some background reading it definitely seems like it was a passion project for the director.

On Prime Video if you're interested.

Hidden Figures

I thought this one was reasonably well done too. Interspersed with actual footage of launches and tests helped. The racial/racist stuff feels realistic and human and isn't endlessly browbeaten. I know he's dweeby looking but the big bang guy is a bit too noticeable for me and stood out, I might have preferred someone's little less known. Not least because he is hard to buy as the hard ass mildly racist/sexist engineer smart guy they try to sell him as.

Janelle Monae is a babe.

 

[Tarma]

I might be mixing 1 and 2 into the same movie, it's been decades since I've seen either.

I remember 3 being fucking awful for sure though.

I've not seen 2 for a long time... iirc one of the biggest criticism's is that 2 is, at heart, a rehash of the first film. I don't recall feeling that it was a bad film at all, but definitely not as good as the first.

Never seen the third, don't intend to either.

 

[Lagduf]

World's Fastest Indian

A fun little movie after you get past the initial tension of whether or not the movie was going to be one of those 'things go bad and cascade to worse at every turn for naive fish out of water main character'. To not spoil too much. It doesn't go that way, for the better. So just relax and enjoy it, main guy will be fine.

Probably helps to have at least an interest in the backyard wrenchers and racers that filled the ranks of all sorts of racing in the 60s and before. The final sequence was my favorite for this reason, and some of the shots at Bonneville Speed Week should be nice for a gearhead. Good nostalgia feeling movie, from some background reading it definitely seems like it was a passion project for the director.

On Prime Video if you're interested.

Hidden Figures

I thought this one was reasonably well done too. Interspersed with actual footage of launches and tests helped. The racial/racist stuff feels realistic and human and isn't endlessly browbeaten. I know he's dweeby looking but the big bang guy is a bit too noticeable for me and stood out, I might have preferred someone's little less known. Not least because he is hard to buy as the hard ass mildly racist/sexist engineer smart guy they try to sell him as.

Janelle Monae is a babe.

World’s Fastest Indian is indeed a fun dramatization of the real life events.

I always liked the “Offerings to the Gods of Speed” in dude’s shop.

 

[100proof]

The Fall Guy - Low stakes, meta-heavy action comedy loosely based on the early 80s TV show. Ryan Gosling is an affable if improbably handsome stuntman who's dating an up-and-coming production assistant (Emily Blunt) when he gets severely injured during a stunt. He spends 18 months recovering and feeling sorry for himself and drives away his lady friend. He finally gets back in the saddle when a producer calls because his now director ex is in trouble: the leading man on her first big break has disappeared and they need a replacement stuntman. Will they/won't they romantic subplots ensue and Gosling gets beat to shit while trying to solve the mystery.

The movie has token nods to the show (character names, the original theme song plays in the credits, Lee Majors and a rough looking Heather Thomas show up in an after-credits scene, a hint of the premise) but it's mostly just a love letter to the hard-working stuntman. Several real stuntmen have minor roles in the movie, a lot of screen time is dedicated to talking about the art of filmmaking and stuntwork and it's incredibly clear that the director (himself a stuntman before becoming an action movie director) has a genuine love for the craft. It has a very Indiana Jones quality to it (likable hero who is CONSTANTLY in way over his head and gets the crap kicked out of him a lot) and Ryan Gosling is suitably charming and has chemistry with Emily Blunt. Both of them are entirely too attractive for their roles (no stuntman on earth looks like Ryan Gosling) but it's not as distracting as I thought it could be.

There's a few fun extended action sequences, they go out of their way to use every trick in the stuntman/filmmaking 101 playbook and it has a solid 80s soundtrack. Chekov's guns out the ass too. Pretty good as popcorn movies go but I will say the tone is kind of all over the place and the movie can be a little overly goofy and meta. It's not a dealbreaker (more of a nitpick) and probably not that surprising from a guy who made a Deadpool movie but it definitely made the movie feel like it was being pulled in too many directions.

 

[SouthtownKid]

That actually sounds pretty great to me. Not enough to go to the theater, but I'll definitely check it out when it hits streaming.

 

[Average Joe]

I had Madame Web on due to morbid curiosity and it was honestly kind of fascinating due to its sheer terribleness. Unfortunately, it is not so bad that it is good, but it is honestly so bad that it could be shown in film/writing courses as an example of how not to do things. I had it on in the background and it legit pulled me away several times just so I could watch the awfulness unfold.

 

[100proof]

That actually sounds pretty great to me. Not enough to go to the theater, but I'll definitely check it out when it hits streaming.

Totally would. The only warning I would give is that this guy's previous movie was "Bullet Train" which I know you hated. It's not the same kind of movie but the ridiculousness that I didn't like in this movie in small doses is what that movie was in totality.

 

[famicommander]

Ryan Reynolds: too attractive for 100proof, but not for STK

 

[SouthtownKid]

Ryan Reynolds: too attractive for 100proof, but not for STK

fami's turn for a senior moment. Who was talking about Ryan Reynolds?

 

[famicommander]

fami's turn for a senior moment. Who was talking about Ryan Reynolds?

Prove to me that Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, and mjmjmjmjmjr aren't the same guy.

 

[Lagduf]

I had Madame Web on due to morbid curiosity and it was honestly kind of fascinating due to its sheer terribleness. Unfortunately, it is not so bad that it is good, but it is honestly so bad that it could be shown in film/writing courses as an example of how not to do things. I had it on in the background and it legit pulled me away several times just so I could watch the awfulness unfold.

That bad, damn lol.

Did you watch Morbius?

 

[StevenK]

Prove to me that Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, and mjmjmjmjmjr aren't the same guy.

I liked him in Smokey and the Bandit

 

[terry.330]

The Iron Claw- All around pretty excellent, definitely emotional in the second half. I'm not much of a wrestling fan but I do watch Dark Side Of The Ring so I was somewhat familiar with the Von Erich's story. This was certainly aimed at a larger audience and I can see why some stuff was left out and that the focus was on Kevin in particular rather than the actual ins and outs of wrestling and the backstage drama. The performances were all pretty solid and they did a good job with the time period and setting.

The only thing that really bugged me was that even though the actors beefed up they were still noticeably short. You just can't be 5' 8" and have the same musculature as someone who's 6' 2". Also Flair was good in the promo but the in ring stuff with him didn't feel or look right. Still it was very well made and really strong emotionally without being too much of a tear jerker.

 

[Tarma]

Major League 2 - so I dug out the LD to see whether this was a strike out, or whether it had the legs to go the distance. It's definitely not as good as the original but it's not a bad film by any stretch. I think one of it's weaknesses is that it's aiming at a PG-13 audience instead of the R-Rating of the original... so toning it down makes it lose some of the edge the original had, and that definitely affects the comedy.
The cast is pretty solid, Omar Epps does a good job replacing Wesley Snipes, but it's a shame Chelcie Ross didn't return, and Corbin Bernsen's character is relegated to not much more than a bit part - Randy Quaid probably has more screen time than Bernsen, yet the latter is third billed. Quaid's heckler, probably has too much time on screen, once you've seen him rant once at the failing Indians, you've seen it all, and it isn't particularly amusing. Perhaps if he'd been allowed to use profanity it may have been... but, then again, perhaps not.
It's Charlie Sheen's movie overall, even Tom Berenger does not get the screen time he did in the first, but we do get a cameo from Rene Russo.
This is a good mid-week movie - it's worth watching if you liked the first, it has its charm, but it's never going to win a penant.

 

[Average Joe]

That bad, damn lol.

Did you watch Morbius?

I did and this was worse.

 

[Taiso]

I did and this was worse.

Morbius had the great Matt Smith scene to Off the Meds. That was a fun scene in a film that needed it.

I always felt that there was an extended or director's cut of that film that would have helped tremendously. The theatrical cut reeks of studio interference to improve run times and increase showings.

I feel bad for Jared Leto. He seemed born to play Michael Morbius but Sony did him no favors.

Then again, superhero movies have all turned lame so maybe they did him a favor so he can look elsewhere.

Madame Web had Sydney Sweeney's magnificent bosom but Hollywood is so scared to celebrate breasts anymore that it didn't help. Don't want to cater to the 'male gaze', after all.

Spoiler:

Even though sex appeal has always been a major factor in bringing adolescent male audiences, the genre's undeniably largest demographic, into the fold and made it both successful and lucrative.

 

[terry.330]

I feel bad for Jared Leto.

Don't, he's a total piece of shit and it's only a matter of time before some really heinous shit comes out about him. He's Ezra Miller levels of dangerously crazy.

 

[Taiso]

Don't, he's a total piece of shit and it's only a matter of time before some really heinous shit comes out about him. He's Ezra Miller levels of dangerously crazy.

Really? I haven't heard anything about this.

What he do?

 

[terry.330]

Really? I haven't heard anything about this.

What he do?

He basically runs a cult on a private island off the coast of Croatia called Mars.

He's also generally considered a legit psychopath by everyone who's ever worked with him.

 

[Average Joe]

Morbius had the great Matt Smith scene to Off the Meds. That was a fun scene in a film that needed it.

That is legit the only scene I remember haha

 

[famicommander]

Really? I haven't heard anything about this.

What he do?

The Problem With Jared Leto: A Timeline

While Jared Leto has enjoyed success as a musician and actor, he has also been at the center of a few serious and bizarre controversies.

www.themarysue.com