Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate it | {Insert Appropriate Seasonal Greeting Here}

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The Beekeeper (2024) Directed by David Ayer 3A

Killing time between tennis matches on the weekend, I watched The Beekeeper, a goofily conceived, visually competent thriller about a former member of an elite, super covert CIA outfit called The Beekeepers. Jason Statham plays Adam Clay who takes revenge on a bunch of ultra-rich scammers with political connections whose corporation is responsible for the suicide of a nice black woman who they ripped off, the only person to befriend the now retired Beekeeper. Does anyone doubt what happens next? The Beekeeper is the kind of movie that requires only part of you to be there when watching it. About 70% of your consciousness can be excused to ponder other things. The Beekeeper held my attention because something interesting would emerge from the predictability for just a brief moment before slinking back into the primal slime, such as Jeremy Irons opening scene, where he blissfully dismisses his psychopath's stepsons attempts to involve him in his cash cow scam efforts. Oh, boy, I thought, Irons will be fun. Nope, the moment passes and future Irons appearances are just stock stuff. But I was still sitting there watching this product, wasn't I? I hadn't moved or turned it off. In retrospect I felt a little irritated at myself. The Beekeeper plays on the fact that I have already sold out, already been sufficiently dumbed down by similar stupid movies that I don't even try to resist anymore.

How have my standards stooped so low that I flip this thing on even as a time killer? Statham has settled once again for a grumpy pit bull persona that is as charmless as it is boring. He's hardly the only problem, though. The fact that a beehive analogy is made so often by so many characters in the movie just seemed like the AI got stuck on a single note and repeated it too frequently. The twist that comes nearing the conclusion is a howler, one so bad that briefly the movie seems actually more engaging because of it. But then the lights dim again, as from there on out, things just get dumber and dumber. As in so many of these movies, our ostensible hero is just another superhero who can never really be threatened, defeated or killed because presumbably a dumb audience fears uncertainty, even a tiny drop, more than anything else in their movies. The Beekeeper doesn't dumb you down as much as it assumes that you have already been dumb-downed and are an easy target for more twaddle.

I also describe myself as "goofily conceived, visually competent."

 

[Unholy Diver]

Wait until you watch the one where they go to space!

Or the 5th entry in the series: Leprechaun 5 in the Hood co-starring Ice T

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Death Wish II (Winner, 1982) - The ancestors of the Taken films, but with gloom and grit (2 rapes, a third attempted one, and probably some offscreen inappropriate conduct on set too), this one makes a very compelling case in favor of the death penalty for stiff acting. It has Fishburne as a thug (first one had Goldblum), 2/10

 

[Nakatomi]

Death Wish II (Winner, 1982) - The ancestors of the Taken films, but with gloom and grit (2 rapes, a third attempted one, and probably some offscreen inappropriate conduct on set too), this one makes a very compelling case in favor of the death penalty for stiff acting. It has Fishburne as a thug (first one had Goldblum), 2/10

Deep Cover is a Fishburne and Goldblum movie I'd say is worth a watch. I quite liked it.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

If you enjoy The Room and Neil Breen then I've never been more confident in a recomendation than saying you'll enjoy Samurai Cop.

Thank you for this, Kallio, you nailed it. Just finished the movie and loved it. What a ridiculous and stupid but fun film.

The music was unironically good though.

 

[Osprey]

Road House (2024) - 5/10

A former UFC fighter (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a rowdy Florida Keys bar and quickly makes friends with the locals. There are many differences from the 1989 cult favorite, especially the setting, but also many similarities and it's basically the same story. Gyllenhaal does an admirable job as Dalton, I'd say. He has the physique, calm demeanor and smirk. He's even cheekier than Swayze's version and mocks the tough guys before and after breaking their arms and fingers. The movie really doesn't take itself seriously and frequently leans into humor like that. That's especially the case when it comes to actual UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who plays the ultimate heavy and is probably the most memorable thing about the movie. He's so over the top, strutting around with a huge grin all of the time like the happiest Irish thug or a cartoon villain come to life. I've read others calling his acting horrible, presumably because it's so cartoonish, but his character is a lunatic and supposed to be outrageous. If it isn't acting, then McGregor is just a lunatic in real life, which he may be, for all I know. Either way, he's bound to be one of the best or one of the worst things about the movie, depending on how amusing you find him. Speaking of bad acting, though, some of the side actors are especially weak, but it doesn't help that the dialogue throughout isn't good, either. The movie has a good bit of action, mostly hand-to-hand fight scenes that seem well choreographed, though I wasn't a fan of the overly stylized camerawork and CGI. Overall, the movie wasn't as bad as I feared, but also not good enough for my liking. If you don't have a fondness for the original, you may find it to be a surprisingly fun movie. If you do compare it, though, you may be disappointed. I'll give it a generous score because I found it watchable, but I'd rather re-watch the original in the future. Both are on Amazon Prime.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

View attachment 839790

Road House (2024) - 5/10

A former UFC fighter (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a rowdy Florida Keys bar and quickly makes friends with the locals. There are many differences from the 1989 cult favorite, especially the setting, but also many similarities and it's basically the same story. Gyllenhaal does an admirable job as Dalton, I'd say. He has the physique, calm demeanor and smirk. He's even cheekier than Swayze's version and mocks the tough guys before and after breaking their arms and fingers. The movie really doesn't take itself seriously and frequently leans into humor like that. It's especially seen when it comes to actual UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who plays the ultimate heavy and is probably the most memorable thing about the movie. He's so over the top, strutting around with a huge grin all of the time, like the happiest Irish thug or a cartoon villain come to life. I've read others calling his acting horrible, presumably because it's so cartoonish, but I think that that was the point. His character is a lunatic and supposed to be outrageous. If it isn't acting, then he's just a lunatic in real life, which he may be, for all I know. Either way, he's bound to be either one of the best or one of the worst things about the movie, depending on how amusing you find him. Speaking of bad acting, though, some of the side actors are especially weak, but it doesn't help that the dialogue throughout isn't good, either. The movie has a good bit of action, mostly hand-to-hand fight scenes that seem well choreographed, though I wasn't a fan of the overly stylized camerawork and CGI. Overall, the movie wasn't as bad as I feared, but it wasn't as good as I would've liked. If you don't have a fondness for the original, you may find it to be a fun movie. If you do compare it, though, you may be disappointed. I'm giving it a generous score because I found it watchable, but I'd much rather re-watch the original in the future. Both are on Amazon Prime.

Watched it last night too. I liked it quite a bit, it walked the line between "serious" and silly like the best b-movies do. It's self-awareness is a little dumb (the notorious, the road house in two words), but otherwise the film is often funny and only miss on a few one liners that tried too hard. I really don't care for the original, I guess it helped me appreciate this one. And I thought McGregor was fantastic, your description of his performance is right on. Whatever people say, he's certainly a much better actor than GSP. I would tend to go for something like a 5 too, maybe 4,5, I have a feeling that the film will age just as well as the original (following-wise).

 

[kihei]

View attachment 839790

Road House (2024) - 5/10

A former UFC fighter (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a rowdy Florida Keys bar and quickly makes friends with the locals. There are many differences from the 1989 cult favorite, especially the setting, but also many similarities and it's basically the same story. Gyllenhaal does an admirable job as Dalton, I'd say. He has the physique, calm demeanor and smirk. He's even cheekier than Swayze's version and mocks the tough guys before and after breaking their arms and fingers. The movie really doesn't take itself seriously and frequently leans into humor like that. It's especially seen when it comes to actual UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who plays the ultimate heavy and is probably the most memorable thing about the movie. He's so over the top, strutting around with a huge grin all of the time, like the happiest Irish thug or a cartoon villain come to life. I've read others calling his acting horrible, presumably because it's so cartoonish, but I think that that was the point. His character is a lunatic and supposed to be outrageous. If it isn't acting, then he's just a lunatic in real life, which he may be, for all I know. Either way, he's bound to be either one of the best or one of the worst things about the movie, depending on how amusing you find him. Speaking of bad acting, though, some of the side actors are especially weak, but it doesn't help that the dialogue throughout isn't good, either. The movie has a good bit of action, mostly hand-to-hand fight scenes that seem well choreographed, though I wasn't a fan of the overly stylized camerawork and CGI. Overall, the movie wasn't as bad as I feared, but it wasn't as good as I would've liked. If you don't have a fondness for the original, you may find it to be a fun movie. If you do compare it, though, you may be disappointed. I'm giving it a generous score because I found it watchable, but I'd much rather re-watch the original in the future. Both are on Amazon Prime.

I couldn't get over how much the ineffectual villain looked like Joe Burrow.

 

[The Macho King]

So decided to watch The Town after all the discourse.

Is there a more annoying sound in the world than a Boston accent? I don't think so. It's impossible to avoid comparisons with Heat, and I think it suffers for the comparison just because Heat is pretty close to perfect. Overall, I felt like the acting was solid if not spectacular. Affleck is a *much* better director than he is an actor though (except for like... Gone Girl where he may be the perfect casting for a scummy, dumb husband). I thought Hamm was probably the best performer of the bunch.

All of that being said - very good movie. I think this is very well directed, and the chases through Boston streets are an excellent "city as character" moments. Good film, if a lesser Heat. 7/10.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Watched it last night too. I liked it quite a bit, it walked the line between "serious" and silly like the best b-movies do. It's self-awareness is a little dumb (the notorious, the road house in two words), but otherwise the film is often funny and only miss on a few one liners that tried too hard. I really don't care for the original, I guess it helped me appreciate this one. And I thought McGregor was fantastic, your description of his performance is right on. Whatever people say, he's certainly a much better actor than GSP. I would tend to go for something like a 5 too, maybe 4,5, I have a feeling that the film will age just as well as the original (following-wise).

I also watched it last night. I thought McGregor was bad but not to a detrimental degree. Otherwise pretty much agree with your assessment. (Though I am a fan of the original).

Fun time that pretty much knows exactly what it is. No more. No less.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Hero (1992)

I'm surprised I didn't see this back in the day. It's pretty damn good.
Dustin Hoffman is a petty criminal, and mostly absentee dad.. but he becomes a reluctant hero, when a passenger plane crashes near his car one night..

Good cast of that era: Geena Davis, Chevy Chase, Andy Garcia.. and Hoffman's son is played by an actor named James Madio. I wasn't previously aware of Madio's role in Hero.. but in the early 2ooos, I was living in an apt. building down in Hollyweird, and he used to be friends with one of my neighbors. I recognized him back then, but from his role on the ol' 'USA High'..
Anyways, Hero is a good story. Streaming on Hulu.

 

[Bahama Mama]

What a fun delightful movie, really enjoyed it.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

The 2024 Roadhouse 2/10
Violence. Not much else

 

[93gilmour93]

Late Night with the Devil 9/10

This is a great movie. Its a slower burn of a movie to start and it really picks up in the second half with a twist ending i didn’t see coming. With the movie taking place on Halloween in 1977, they really captured the feel of the 70s and delivered what could end up being a cult classic.

 

[Chili]

Kiss Me Deadly-1955

'Remember me'

From a Mickey Spillane novel, Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) as a private investigator who gets involved in a dangerous mystery with plenty of twists and turns. Gripping start to film as a woman (Cloris Leachman in her first film) is desperately trying to flag down a ride on a highway at night, when along comes Mike. He soon realizes she is in trouble and on the run. Lots of nasty stuff in the story, like Mike smiling while torturing a little old man at a mortuary. Cool two seater Maserati that Mike drives with interesting shots from the rear while the car is in motion. Apparently, a Robert Aldrich film that influenced a number of other directors. Very violent suspenseful noir.

Great Expectations-1946

The classic Charles Dickens tale of a young man nicknamed Pip (John Mills) who is gifted the chance to become a gentleman by an unknown patron. The cast is so good, I would imagine that they were all very familiar with the book. Alec Guinness (in his first real film role as Herbert Pocket) was playing the same role in a stage play that David Lean saw and that was when he decided to make a film of the story. The film opens with a young woman running across the marshes on a dark and stormy night until she sees a light in the distance through the mist. It takes much of the movie to learn her full story. There are a number of other versions of Great Expectations, although this one seems to be considered by far the best. A great tale of mystery, suspense and romance.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool-2017

As a fan of Gloria Grahame (very well played by Annette Bening) and several of her films, this story from late in her life was a must see for me. The film is based on a book written by Peter Turner (well played by Jamie Bell) and his time with Gloria near the end of her life. He was around half her age but the film portrays their relationship as being one of mutual deep affection. Wouldn't classify it as a biopic, it's a sad story of someone facing the approaching end of the trail. I do wish there was more of her story here but apparently she was a very private person. Nice touch at the end of the film showing the actual clip of her receiving the Academy Award for The Bad and the Beautiful, the first time the awards were televised.

Lion-2016

Incredible true story of a young boy's odyssey after he is separated from his older brother in a train station in India and ends up all alone, far away from his home & family. Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel and the young boy Sunny Pawar are all very good. Beautifully shot, great film.

 

[The Macho King]

Alright so I watched Road House (2024).

This was really f***ing bad. I am basically the target audience minus I'm not an MMA fan. But give me a dumb plot with good action and I'm f***ing in.

This fails on every level. Too much plot and the plot is terrible. Jake is the only actor worth a damn but the script gives him nothing to work with. McGregor is bad but whatever if the action was better I would not give a shit.

I didn't care about the backstory. It was just boring. Action was too sparse and not great. I want to watch the old one as a palate cleanser.

3/10

 

[kihei]

Alright so I watched Road House (2024).

This was really f***ing bad. I am basically the target audience minus I'm not an MMA fan. But give me a dumb plot with good action and I'm f***ing in.

This fails on every level. Too much plot and the plot is terrible. Jake is the only actor worth a damn but the script gives him nothing to work with. McGregor is bad but whatever if the action was better I would not give a shit.

I didn't care about the backstory. It was just boring. Action was too sparse and not great. I want to watch the old one as a palate cleanser.

3/10

Like most, in fact, almost all remakes, Road House never really found a sense of purpose, nor, in this case, did it even seem to seek one. It brought less to the original, not more or better or different. Remakes can at least tenuously stand with their originals, but it takes something--a manic performance in Scarface; a reconstruction of the material in The Magnificent Seven and A Few Dollars More; imaginative set pieces that the original lacked in Sorcerer; even respect for the craftsmanship of the original, 3:10 to Yuma and The Thing. Road House has none of these things. The characters could be played by cartoon characters just as effectively. Dalton could be played by a wily fox ala Zootopia, the villains by various Roger Rabbit-type weasels and McGregor could be cast as Warner Brothers' Tasmanian devil. Probably would have worked just fine, maybe better. Road House is just product trying to attract the MMA crowd.

 

[93gilmour93]

Knock at the Cabin 2/10

This was a terrible movie.....

M. Night Shyamalan has really fallen off from his earlier movies. Usually the movies I've seen of his have a twist at the end but not this one. Lots of bad acting to go around in this movie also.....

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Road House is just product trying to attract the MMA crowd.

I think there's more people watching the WNBA playoffs than the UFC PPVs (they can't even pay their fighters), maybe not that great of a business plan.

I wouldn't have thought of you as someone who'd fall into that nostalgic revisionist pit, but that's some pretty good films you use to argue about Road House. You can't really bring less to the original, it was pure caca. Fun to some, but still a pretty bad film. I think the remake is just as fun, and just as bad.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I was watching a doc series called Reel Britannia over the weekend about the history of British film from the 60s to the present. It's solid. Kinda rapid-fire wikipedia at times, but they'll hit pause and dig a little into mini-movements or studios or filmmakers at moments. Solid info and a bit of a sense of humor. At one point near the end of episode one they bring up Ken Russell and the voice over says, "I haven't got the energy to explain Ken Russell so that'll have to wait until part 2," which made me laugh.

The side joy of docs like this (In Search of Darkness, Not Quite Hollywood, etc.) is that they'll inevitably hit on filmmakers or films you haven't seen or maybe even heard of and the brief snippet makes you put it on your watch list.

Well the first discovery here which I immediately watched was Apaches. It's a late 70s PSA that was shown to schoolkids to warn them about the dangers on farms. Directed by John MacKenzie who'd follow this with the excellent The Long Good Friday (in case you need a non-traditional Easter weekend watch), it's about 27 minutes and I'll just say I can see why it traumatized kids. It's wild. I enjoyed it immensely. It's easily findable for free out there on Dailymotion and other internet sites.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Hit the theaters a twice this weekend


Luca - 8/10 - a Pixar movie that never made it to theaters during the pandemic, enjoyable story about two young sea monsters hiding on land as human children, befriending another outcast child, and changing the mindset of an Italian seaside town about how they viewed the sea monsters, a fun cute movie


Ghostbusters Frozen Empire - 7.5/10 - it was fun to revisit NYC and see the remnants of the old gang, and even Walter Peck, who remains dickless. A few parts that made my soon to be 7 year old squirm, but afterwards she said there were no scary parts, so it is pretty family friendly, and there was good nostalgia. The little marshmallow men were adorable.

 

[The Macho King]

Skipped half a day of work to finally see Dune Part 2.

Dune 2 asks the question "what if movies were f***ing awesome?" I really enjoyed it. Paced well, gorgeous, and great performances all around. Bardem and Butler were standouts but other than Walken i thought everyone fit. Also - it probably is said a lot but I don't really know so I'll say it - Zendaya is f***ing gorgeous.

A good bit of differences from the book but not to the movies detriment.

If I had criticisms, DV has the same issue as Nolan to me, but not as severe. There's just something a little... antiseptic about his stuff. I like his stuff, but fall short of loving it.

Still, this was a damn good movie. 8/10.

 

[Osprey]

I wouldn't have thought of you as someone who'd fall into that nostalgic revisionist pit, but that's some pretty good films you use to argue about Road House. You can't really bring less to the original, it was pure caca. Fun to some, but still a pretty bad film. I think the remake is just as fun, and just as bad.

I think that you can bring less than the original when you bring nothing new and the original did. The 1989 movie is no masterpiece and is full of cliches, but it did stand out a little in a sea of other cliched action movies because the character of Dalton wasn't a cliche. He was educated (in philosophy, no less), thoughtful, polite and predisposed to nonviolence, yet worked as a bouncer and had a reputation for ripping people's throats out. He was a contradiction and a different kind of action hero. That was certainly apparent early in the movie, when bar stools and beer bottles were flying around the Double Deuce and he just stood there and watched, instead of jumping in and stopping it, like we expected. I think that a lot of the fondness for the movie is due to how different, surprising and cool that main character was back then. The remake tries to copy that, but it's not new anymore, so it's missing something to make it similarly stand out from the crowd.

Besides, it brings less than the original because it doesn't have this gorgeous specimen.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

This is great.

 

[kihei]

I wouldn't have thought of you as someone who'd fall into that nostalgic revisionist pit, but that's some pretty good films you use to argue about Road House.

"That nostalgic revisionist pit"?---are you f***in' daft? Or have you been reading those esoteric academic film journals again that your doctor warned you against? I listed good remakes, that's all.