Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)
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Amongst the Wolves - nasty little Irish gangster movie with a strangely convoluted plot that somehow ends up working far better than it ought to. Good performances and one of the better endings I've seen in the genre in a while.
The Intruder - home invasion/paranoid horror thriller. Minimalist but very effective.
We're All Gonna Die - fun little indie alien apocalypse movie made better by Ashly Burch in the lead. Nice to see her finally getting a reasonable shot in movies even though they're small ones at the moment (her YouTube show is surprisingly good, also).
The Intruder - home invasion/paranoid horror thriller. Minimalist but very effective.
We're All Gonna Die - fun little indie alien apocalypse movie made better by Ashly Burch in the lead. Nice to see her finally getting a reasonable shot in movies even though they're small ones at the moment (her YouTube show is surprisingly good, also).
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When the most notable thing you can say about Face/Off is that it produced some great early memes of NIck Cage chewing scenery, it's all too telling.
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I fell behind on the Mission Impossibles a few years back and spurred on by talk here decided to get on top of things again, starting last night, with MI Fallout.
After about an hour me and the missus turned to each other and said I think we've already seen this. Another hour in and we were confident we'd seen it, which is probably my main criticism of the whole franchise.
Still fun though.
After about an hour me and the missus turned to each other and said I think we've already seen this. Another hour in and we were confident we'd seen it, which is probably my main criticism of the whole franchise.
Still fun though.
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I'd give the others a chance if you like action films and generally find Cruise watchable. I've not seen the latest MI, but I can safely say that every MI film since MI:2 is at least 100 times better than MI:2. Just pretend MI:2 doesn't exist and give the others a chance. The one with Henry Cavill in is probably the best.
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Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - heist movie starring Clint Eastwood. and a very young Jeff Bridges, directed by Michael Cimino (in his debut).
Tonally this thing is all over the place, one minute it's lighthearted, then brutal, then melancholy... yeah, it's certainly different to a lot of films I've seen of late. It also takes far too long to get going, must be 30 minutes in before any sense of plot starts to form. Still, it's nicely shot, with some solid supporting roles from George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis, plus there's a small role for a very young Gary Busey.
I had wanted to watch this for a long time, and now I've had the chance, I don't regret it, it was entertaining in its own way, the chemistry between Eastwood & Bridges is great, but I doubt I'd rush to watch it again.
Tonally this thing is all over the place, one minute it's lighthearted, then brutal, then melancholy... yeah, it's certainly different to a lot of films I've seen of late. It also takes far too long to get going, must be 30 minutes in before any sense of plot starts to form. Still, it's nicely shot, with some solid supporting roles from George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis, plus there's a small role for a very young Gary Busey.
I had wanted to watch this for a long time, and now I've had the chance, I don't regret it, it was entertaining in its own way, the chemistry between Eastwood & Bridges is great, but I doubt I'd rush to watch it again.
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A Different Man. I’ve been meaning to watch this. A disfigured man has experimental surgery to turn into Bucky from Winter Soldier. After the surgery he has a whole new set of issues I think I want to watch this again it is a dark comedy I think it could have leaned more into the body horror. “All unhappiness in life comes from not accepting what is.”
Vampires Kiss went to this new Goodwill next to the place I got my haircut and picked the dvd up for $1.99. Didn’t realize this was the origin of Nicholas Cages crazy eyes. Another dark comedy I think it has interesting parallels with American Psycho and plays out like almost the same
8 million ways to die
The last detail directed by Hal Ashby is my third favorite Jack Nicholson movie and a friend from work recommend the is to me but it felt like a made for tv movie to me I wasn’t a fan it was too hokey even with the dude as the main character
Vampires Kiss went to this new Goodwill next to the place I got my haircut and picked the dvd up for $1.99. Didn’t realize this was the origin of Nicholas Cages crazy eyes. Another dark comedy I think it has interesting parallels with American Psycho and plays out like almost the same
8 million ways to die
The last detail directed by Hal Ashby is my third favorite Jack Nicholson movie and a friend from work recommend the is to me but it felt like a made for tv movie to me I wasn’t a fan it was too hokey even with the dude as the main character
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To Live and Die in LA what a cast in this one. With Willem Dafoe as a counterfeiter and two agents trying to bust him. I’m sorry it took me so long to watch this and it had a car chase in the sewer area in many movies before
Hollywood Vice Squad. I like the Decline Series and Dudes by Penelope Spheris but this one didn’t gel with me I think it was trying to take a 50/60s hard boiled detective movie and putting it into the 80s and it just didn’t work to me
Hollywood Vice Squad. I like the Decline Series and Dudes by Penelope Spheris but this one didn’t gel with me I think it was trying to take a 50/60s hard boiled detective movie and putting it into the 80s and it just didn’t work to me
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To Live and Die in LA is awesome.
Watched the extended versions of the LOTR trilogy over the couple days. First time watching the extended versions and it’s probably been a decade for the regular versions. I don’t love them but I do respect the achievement they are. Not just for the story telling but for the filmmaking. It’s absolutely incredible that a B tier studio was willing to gamble so big on a relatively unknown and unproven director. Jackson’s biggest work up to that point was The Frighteners and Heavenly Creatures. It’s a pretty damn big leap from that to successfully adapting the most important fantasy literature of the 20th century.
I wish Jackson would go back to his roots though and make some smaller oddball stuff. Fucking around with The Beatles and AI for the last few years is lame.
At least he did that WWI documentary, that was pretty cool.
Watched the extended versions of the LOTR trilogy over the couple days. First time watching the extended versions and it’s probably been a decade for the regular versions. I don’t love them but I do respect the achievement they are. Not just for the story telling but for the filmmaking. It’s absolutely incredible that a B tier studio was willing to gamble so big on a relatively unknown and unproven director. Jackson’s biggest work up to that point was The Frighteners and Heavenly Creatures. It’s a pretty damn big leap from that to successfully adapting the most important fantasy literature of the 20th century.
I wish Jackson would go back to his roots though and make some smaller oddball stuff. Fucking around with The Beatles and AI for the last few years is lame.
At least he did that WWI documentary, that was pretty cool.
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Most actual G thing he's said in maybe 20 years.
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After the LOTR I decided to keep going with The Hobbit trilogy and holy shit what a difference. These feel more like The Pirates of the Caribbean than LOTR half the time. Bunch of self indulgent goofy bullshit and the annoying need to turn every single little piece of action into some ridiculous set piece. Like someone can’t even roll down a little hill without the camera panning and spinning everywhere like it was The Fast and Furious. It’s fucking awful.
They also look weird, everything is too clean and bright. Very artificial feeling.
Then there’s the whole issue of stretching a pretty short lightweight book into three separate three hour movies. Terrible idea and blatantly greedy. The first 20 minutes of Fellowship covers more than all of An Unexpected Journey.
Should have been a single movie.
I’d give the LOTR trilogy 8.5/10 and The Hobbit trilogy 5/10.
They also look weird, everything is too clean and bright. Very artificial feeling.
Then there’s the whole issue of stretching a pretty short lightweight book into three separate three hour movies. Terrible idea and blatantly greedy. The first 20 minutes of Fellowship covers more than all of An Unexpected Journey.
Should have been a single movie.
I’d give the LOTR trilogy 8.5/10 and The Hobbit trilogy 5/10.
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So last night the roomie and I watched Red Sonja 2025.
The only thing I can say about this unremarkable movie is that it is thoroughly mid in every aspect of its existence.
It's almost like they were trying to make something unremarkable and mid.
It's not even 'trashy good' like the best of 80s era b movie swords and sorcery flicks.
It possesses none of its lurid qualities, none of its self aware wit (except for the scene where Sonja gets her chainmail bikini), its effects aren't cheesy enough to even be considered 'fun' and it is a nearly sexless movie. Every character may as well be the same person except for the villain, and that's only because he's only more well developed by fractions of a percentage point than the others. Even the fighting is 'mid'.
It 'exists'. Don't pay to watch it like I did.
1 out of 5 stars.
The only thing I can say about this unremarkable movie is that it is thoroughly mid in every aspect of its existence.
It's almost like they were trying to make something unremarkable and mid.
It's not even 'trashy good' like the best of 80s era b movie swords and sorcery flicks.
It possesses none of its lurid qualities, none of its self aware wit (except for the scene where Sonja gets her chainmail bikini), its effects aren't cheesy enough to even be considered 'fun' and it is a nearly sexless movie. Every character may as well be the same person except for the villain, and that's only because he's only more well developed by fractions of a percentage point than the others. Even the fighting is 'mid'.
It 'exists'. Don't pay to watch it like I did.
1 out of 5 stars.
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Check out the fan edit Hobbit M4 book edition.
It combines all three movies into one and only contains the stuff from the book. They even redid some VFX in a few shots seamlessly to make it work and to be true to the book, it’s really impressive.
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Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home
I vaguely remember this on HBO as a kid. I like some of these 80s Prep School Movies like Class, Making the Grade, and Private School For Girls, but this one is bad. It had potential the chemistry between Jon Cryer and the female isn’t bad and the premise could be good like a Ferris Bueller type but it is an Alan Smithee movie for a reason. If you want to watch a Jon Cryer 80s movie watch Dudes or Hiding Out
I vaguely remember this on HBO as a kid. I like some of these 80s Prep School Movies like Class, Making the Grade, and Private School For Girls, but this one is bad. It had potential the chemistry between Jon Cryer and the female isn’t bad and the premise could be good like a Ferris Bueller type but it is an Alan Smithee movie for a reason. If you want to watch a Jon Cryer 80s movie watch Dudes or Hiding Out
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Buffy The Vampire Slayer- What weird little movie, I can’t believe it spawned an entire franchise.
Kristi Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Paul Reubens, David Arquette, Hillary Swank, Stephan Root, even Tom Jane and Ben Affleck are in it. That is an insane cast for something like this.
It’s a terrible movie though, enjoyable but thoroughly terrible. It has none of the charm the TV series would have. The writing and dialogue are cringe. The production value is pathetic. The soundtrack is awful. The action is awkward and embarrassing.
A lot of it also feels improvised, there’s a lot of weird little performance details and lines. It also feels like it was edited down and there are little snippets missing here and there.
Still it’s goofy early 90’s fun and it’s a trip to watch Sutherland, Hauer and Reubens. Kristi Swanson is a definite babe but she’s lacking that it factor that SMG would bring to the character.
Overall it’s not exactly forgotten gem, more of a nostalgic curiosity.
Kristi Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Paul Reubens, David Arquette, Hillary Swank, Stephan Root, even Tom Jane and Ben Affleck are in it. That is an insane cast for something like this.
It’s a terrible movie though, enjoyable but thoroughly terrible. It has none of the charm the TV series would have. The writing and dialogue are cringe. The production value is pathetic. The soundtrack is awful. The action is awkward and embarrassing.
A lot of it also feels improvised, there’s a lot of weird little performance details and lines. It also feels like it was edited down and there are little snippets missing here and there.
Still it’s goofy early 90’s fun and it’s a trip to watch Sutherland, Hauer and Reubens. Kristi Swanson is a definite babe but she’s lacking that it factor that SMG would bring to the character.
Overall it’s not exactly forgotten gem, more of a nostalgic curiosity.
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Who's Minding The Store?
Probably my favorite of the Jerry Lewis 'heyday' comedies. I love The Ladies Man (not to be confused with the horrible Tim Meadows character even though Meadows rocks) but this one seems to get me chuckling more than The Ladies Man.
Typical Jerry Lewis fare with the facial expressions, prat falls, goofy sound effects etc. Lots of fun. Premise is Lewis' character is dating a gal who happens to be an heiress to the Tuttle Department Store franchise, but she doesnt tell him shes rich because he "wants to make his way in the world on his own." He gets a job at the store where she's working undercover as an elevator operator. Standard Jerry Lewis hijinks ensue while he gets every shit job in the company because his future mother in law hates him and wants him to quit. Always enjoy a good Lewis comedy.
Also, Jill St. John plays the main girl, Barbara. That 1960 issue of Playboy was uh.. pretty nice.
Also also, there's a quick reference to JFK and Jackie Kennedy in it. The movie came out November 27 1963. JFK died on November 22. Just thought that was interesting. Obviously they wouldn't have even expected that to happen while filming the movie. I can imagine people going to see the flick 5 days after the assassination might've thought "too soon" like dumb people do anytime the Twin Towers show up in a movie/TV show from the pre-9/11 era.
Probably my favorite of the Jerry Lewis 'heyday' comedies. I love The Ladies Man (not to be confused with the horrible Tim Meadows character even though Meadows rocks) but this one seems to get me chuckling more than The Ladies Man.
Typical Jerry Lewis fare with the facial expressions, prat falls, goofy sound effects etc. Lots of fun. Premise is Lewis' character is dating a gal who happens to be an heiress to the Tuttle Department Store franchise, but she doesnt tell him shes rich because he "wants to make his way in the world on his own." He gets a job at the store where she's working undercover as an elevator operator. Standard Jerry Lewis hijinks ensue while he gets every shit job in the company because his future mother in law hates him and wants him to quit. Always enjoy a good Lewis comedy.
Also, Jill St. John plays the main girl, Barbara. That 1960 issue of Playboy was uh.. pretty nice.
Also also, there's a quick reference to JFK and Jackie Kennedy in it. The movie came out November 27 1963. JFK died on November 22. Just thought that was interesting. Obviously they wouldn't have even expected that to happen while filming the movie. I can imagine people going to see the flick 5 days after the assassination might've thought "too soon" like dumb people do anytime the Twin Towers show up in a movie/TV show from the pre-9/11 era.
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Scarface - Brian De Palma's 1983 tour de force with Al Pacino as Tony Montana (no relation to Joe) as a Cuban refugee who rises through the ranks of the Florida underworld to become Miami's biggest drug dealer.
Cracking sound track from Giorgio Moroder, and a strong cast featuring Robert Loggia, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, and F. Murray Abraham. An uncompromising performance with Pacino in one of his most famous roles, and De Palma keeps the whole thing moving at a pretty good pace despite its near 3 hour run time.
TLDR; it's a bit like Citizen Kane but a French existential surrealist art film.
Cracking sound track from Giorgio Moroder, and a strong cast featuring Robert Loggia, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, and F. Murray Abraham. An uncompromising performance with Pacino in one of his most famous roles, and De Palma keeps the whole thing moving at a pretty good pace despite its near 3 hour run time.
TLDR; it's a bit like Citizen Kane but a French existential surrealist art film.
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Sexy Beast
Going by the name, I thought this was a weird drama movie but it's actually a dark comedy crime thriller by Jonathan Glazer, who made Under the Skin, one of my favorites. A British bank robber retires to Spain until his boss' psychotic lackey shows up at his villa. Ben Kingsley steals the show. Definitely worth a watch.
The Highlander
Boy, they don't make 'em like this anymore. What a weird movie. Bad acting, wild casting, bonkers story, and it all somehow is pretty entertaining.
Chinatown
Probably in my top 50. I like that it doesn't go full noire (no narration, minimal soundtrack, etc.) and that it's both a private eye movie and a conspiracy movie. Too bad it was made by a pedo.
Going by the name, I thought this was a weird drama movie but it's actually a dark comedy crime thriller by Jonathan Glazer, who made Under the Skin, one of my favorites. A British bank robber retires to Spain until his boss' psychotic lackey shows up at his villa. Ben Kingsley steals the show. Definitely worth a watch.
The Highlander
Boy, they don't make 'em like this anymore. What a weird movie. Bad acting, wild casting, bonkers story, and it all somehow is pretty entertaining.
Chinatown
Probably in my top 50. I like that it doesn't go full noire (no narration, minimal soundtrack, etc.) and that it's both a private eye movie and a conspiracy movie. Too bad it was made by a pedo.
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Even Joss Whedon and Donald Sutherland both hated this movie (and each other).
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Hell of a Summer- So Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things made a throwback 80’s summer camp slasher parody and it’s very not good. Which isn’t surprising but what is is just how dull and unfunny it actually is.
Of course there‘s almost no gore and zero nudity since it’s made by a bunch of zoomers. That’s not the problem though as it wouldn’t matter if the movie had something else to offer, but it doesn’t.
The characters suck, there’s no tension, the kills are basic, the big killer reveal and their motivation is ultra lame. The whole thing is just kind of annoying and boring. The summer camp slasher is rife for parody and reference but they don’t do anything fun or creative with it. Total waste.
Of course there‘s almost no gore and zero nudity since it’s made by a bunch of zoomers. That’s not the problem though as it wouldn’t matter if the movie had something else to offer, but it doesn’t.
The characters suck, there’s no tension, the kills are basic, the big killer reveal and their motivation is ultra lame. The whole thing is just kind of annoying and boring. The summer camp slasher is rife for parody and reference but they don’t do anything fun or creative with it. Total waste.
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Just saw the new Toxic Avenger unrated at the newly remodeled theater with big lazy boy chairs with swivel trays for obese fucks. 6.5/7 out of 10. Peter Dinklage pisses in his own face. Worth a watch.
EDIT: should have also mentioned the only people in the theater were fat 45-50 year old dudes in bad band t-shirts, about 6 goth chicks in skirts and fishnets i would have dicked down, and a few queers. I would have sent the They/Them roster including the 6’3” man in a skirt wearing cat ears Fami’s way to share the love.
EDIT: should have also mentioned the only people in the theater were fat 45-50 year old dudes in bad band t-shirts, about 6 goth chicks in skirts and fishnets i would have dicked down, and a few queers. I would have sent the They/Them roster including the 6’3” man in a skirt wearing cat ears Fami’s way to share the love.
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Brotherhood of the Wolf- A French period piece/horror/drama/martial arts… thing. Talk about jack of all trades and master of none. This thing is all over the place and the only thing it really nails is the cinematography. On top of that it’s extremely French with all the problems that come along with that. Plus for some reason it’s two and a half hours long.
The action is serviceable but very early 00’s. The horror angle never feels all that well thought out and promises more than it delivers. It’s also pretty predictable past about the halfway point.
Still it’s pretty entertaining and looks fantastic. With excellent locations and costumes. Marc Decascos character is awesome and his performance is solid. The main character being a secret badass is pretty lame but at that point you’re so far in it’s kind of whatever. Monica Bellucci is stunning as always and shows off the goods.
Overall it’s an unusual mix that favors style over substance but still gets enough right. It’s worth watching just for the settings and costumes. I just wish it was at least 30 minutes shorter.
The action is serviceable but very early 00’s. The horror angle never feels all that well thought out and promises more than it delivers. It’s also pretty predictable past about the halfway point.
Still it’s pretty entertaining and looks fantastic. With excellent locations and costumes. Marc Decascos character is awesome and his performance is solid. The main character being a secret badass is pretty lame but at that point you’re so far in it’s kind of whatever. Monica Bellucci is stunning as always and shows off the goods.
Overall it’s an unusual mix that favors style over substance but still gets enough right. It’s worth watching just for the settings and costumes. I just wish it was at least 30 minutes shorter.