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

[T REX]

I'm in the bag for Carpenter so I may be too kind. Wouldn't push back on anyone who thinks it is hot trash though.

Prince of Darkness is one of his best films and underrated.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

8 Mile (Hanson, 2002) - I have great respect for Eminem, but for some reason stayed away from this movie. A lot more down-to-heart than I thought it'd be, with characters that are pretty dumb and hard to follow. Not bad. 4.5/10

Something Borrowed (Greenfield, 2011) - New deal with the gf where she will select a movie/week or so. Absolute garbage. 1.5/10

I have no idea why, but I'm flabbergasted you enjoy Eminem. Wouldn't have thought.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I also saw Midsommer recently but didn't write a review. Visually it is a treat, the Swedish setting is seducing; but there isn't much under the surface despite director Ari Aster teasing themes regarding grief and trauma which makes the opening of the film particularly sadistic as it doesn't have much meaning in relation to the rest of the film - you take it out and not much changes

Also as a Finnish(-Canadian) person and as someone who once dated an anthropology graduate student, I must reiterate: never trust Swedes and never date anthropologists

I wouldn't call it a great film as I don't think it has much - if any - replay value but it's easily the most primal experience I've experienced at a cinema. My wife and I were so shook afterwards we had to drink a couple of whiskeys in a dive right after walking out.

 

[Pink Mist]

I wouldn't call it a great film as I don't think it has much - if any - replay value but it's easily the most primal experience I've experienced at a cinema. My wife and I were so shook afterwards we had to drink a couple of whiskeys in a dive right after walking out.

Oh god definitely can't imagine seeing it with a partner. The opposite of the ideal date movie

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Prince of Darkness is one of his best films and underrated.

Amen. Rewatched that a few months ago and love it. Holds up well. Great example of how he squeezes the most out of a pretty limited budget.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I have no idea why, but I'm flabbergasted you enjoy Eminem. Wouldn't have thought.

There's a few rappers I enjoy! Mainly the ones that can work with speed and words, and scarlxrd too just for his sound.

My favorite is probably Gemstones, who hasn't done much.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Pain & Gain. With a new "smaller" Michael Bay movie out this weekend I finally sought out the last "smaller" movie he made. Smaller, of course, is very relative to Bay as this still clearly cost tens of millions of dollars it just doesn't cost the GDP of a small island nation like his movies typically do, especially the ones with robots.

I'd heard this sun-drenched true crime comedy starting Mark Wahlberg and The Rock was a bit of an underrated treat and I gotta say .... I totally agree with that. Based on pretty wild real events, it has the energy of some off-brand Elmore Leonard with its trio of big-dreaming crooks who definitely don't have the self-awareness to realize how dumb they are. The supporting cast of kooks only enforces that vibe. Unlike a great Leonard story there's no one really here to latch onto — as bad of people our protagonists are, their victims are even worse, and the token dogged investigator (a grizzled Ed Harris) comes in too late in the story and is too churlish to really take to. Plus the crimes are so obvious there isn't a lot of solving to actually be done.

But I was thoroughly entertained by the whole affair, particularly Wahlberg in one of his genuinely great performances. He's at his best when he's a deluded idiot (Boogie Nights, I Heart Huckabee's). He mines that very very rich vein here. He's the perfect embodiment of a certain sorta American who buys into vision board, if-I-just-believe-it betterment bullshit. Tony Shaloub is inspired casting as their kidnapping target and even smaller roles like Rebel Wilson (who normally doesn't work for me at all) fit perfect.

This all meshs with Bay's amped up style perfectly. He's an interesting choice for a story that could be played much smaller, but given the egos and sizzle involved, he's a much better fit than I would've expected.

The one piece that didn't work for me was The Rock. He can't pull off even the very slight dramatic struggles his character has and none of his comedy really lands. Very bizarrely I don't think he can play either smart OR dumb particuarly well, which is oddly a very specific talent.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Tigerland - (2000)

Directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Colin Farrell this is set in the 1970s in Louisiana as troops are made ready for war in Vietnam.

Despite this being a war movie none of it actually takes place in the war and entirely focuses on the male group dynamics of leadership. Farrell is really quite strong as the charismatic rebel without a cause draftee who resists the idea of the war and conforming to the Army's ideals. Farrell doesn't make a ton of top actor lists but in this film, as he often does, he delivers a reliable leading man performance. He doesn't carry this movie as there were other strong performances but clearly the story revolves around him despite being pseudo told by his friend Paxton who enrolled and is planning on writing a book about his experiences.

The characters show some real development through the film and there is no shortage of conflict between Farrell and several other recruits, his superiors, and himself. The cinematography accomplished providing a real authentic gritty feel for the movie using 16mm film. Looking it up afterwards I learned that none of the actors were provided cushy trailers, hair and makeup, or even chairs to sit in while on set which I think really added to the film's authenticity. They really pulled off the frightened and disheveled youth being sent to war look.

Overall a film that came together fairly well and is an engaging watch 7/10

Moonfall (2022) - 4/10 (Disliked it)

Man was this ever a piece of crap. Think 4/10 is even being a little generous. The acting and writing are awful, some of the worst I've seen in a contemporary big budget film. It's an interesting premise they just decided to throw money at and I agree the CGI was really only its redeeming quality. A total failure at providing the movie parts of a movie.

 

[OzzyFan]

We have opposite takes on Midsommer that I remember as just being sadistic with no redeeming features, but more curiously on We Need to Talk abput Kevin which I think I responded to when it first came out with one of my major-league rants for overstylized wretched excess and a 3A score (plus I thought a coup[le consisting of Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly was too yucky and incongruous to even think about). You certainly have gone much more deeply into the theme than I did. I vaguely remember Kevin as bringing a lot of evil nature to the table, but your take provides a different slant to think about.

By the way, I loved Lynne Ramsay's direction in You Were Never Really Here which also contains what I consider to be Joaquin Phoenix's best performance.

We Need To Talk About Kevin I thought was pretty deep in an "arty" way. I could be wrong or more specifically, my mind could be running away with things here that are less intricate, but what I wrote was exactly what I got from it and even rethinking it I feel strong enough to stand by it and see the film as an intellectual product given the feel I got from it. That couple pairing is hilariously strange though, incongruous on that level I agree, but incongruous on a deeper level, I don't think so given the circumstances of how Kevin came to be and how nonchalant child-rearing couples sometimes are. I remember the You Were Never Really Here review, I also thoroughly enjoyed the movie and performance and reviewed it some time ago.

Midsommar is what it is. I enjoyed it but totally understand people not connecting to it in any material or immaterial way.

I also saw Midsommer recently but didn't write a review. Visually it is a treat, the Swedish setting is seducing; but there isn't much under the surface despite director Ari Aster teasing themes regarding grief and trauma which makes the opening of the film particularly sadistic as it doesn't have much meaning in relation to the rest of the film - you take it out and not much changes

Also as a Finnish(-Canadian) person and as someone who once dated an anthropology graduate student, I must reiterate: never trust Swedes and never date anthropologists

Yeah, it felt kind of odd honestly. It added something to the movie for sure, but given the outcome of Pugh's character the rest of the way and the immediacy of the events right after that, it felt out of place. The most obvious reasoning for it was to foreshadow the conclusive reasoning/the big picture rather than actually set a mood for the proceeding movie and events to come.

I wouldn't call it a great film as I don't think it has much - if any - replay value but it's easily the most primal experience I've experienced at a cinema. My wife and I were so shook afterwards we had to drink a couple of whiskeys in a dive right after walking out.

That's a good way of putting it.

 

[Osprey]

Man was this ever a piece of crap. Think 4/10 is even being a little generous. The acting and writing are awful, some of the worst I've seen in a contemporary big budget film. It's an interesting premise they just decided to throw money at and I agree the CGI was really only its redeeming quality. A total failure at providing the movie parts of a movie.

Yeah, I was definitely being generous with the 4/10. Sci-fi is my favorite genre and I usually rate it a little higher. Unless it's recent Star Trek, you can figure that you'll like a piece of sci-fi a little less than me, and if I give it a 4/10 or worse, count on it being really terrible.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Just watched All The Old Knives on Prime.....Hmm. Liked Pine. Very well suited for this role. He and Newton had good chemistry. I would say the first 2/3rds of the movie was very good. I hadn't read the book so the ending was a bit of a surprise to me in how pedestrian it was. It didn't grab me. 7/10.

 

[sr edler]

The Devils (1971) by Ken Russell – 7/10

This film was certainly quite good, though I didn't like the guy who played the witch-hunter, I thought he overacted like crazy and looked out of place, and it kinda brought the whole thing down a little bit, because he had so much screen time. It almost felt like a B movie whenever he was in the center of a scene.

But other than that, great performances by Oliver Reed and Dudley Sutton, and the scenography and cinematography were great too, particularly the town visuals and some of the outfits. Also shoutout to the guy playing the king, really low key chilling performance overall.

There's kinda a lot to stomach with this film, but it never felt like the over the top hysteria thing took over from the central story and theme. I think it's partly dubbed as a horror film by some people, but it really wasn't a scary film for me, though I think it still did quite a good job in building a general menacing and brooding tone.

There's a scene towards the end of the film where they're out somewhere in the woods about to kill a bunch of nuns, but then they suddenly change their mind about it, and there's a short sequence where a soldier makes this "what the hell is this shit all about?" type of face, and it kinda cracked me up a little bit, because that's kinda how I felt myself about much of the film, though not necessarily in an entirely negative way.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Class of 1984 (1982) -

Wife was on vacation and kids were doing their thing. So I had a day all to myself and since my back was injured, figured I’d do some lazy morning film watching (my favorite kind of course).

Came across this uh… interesting piece of 80s nostalgia.

Class of 1984 can best be described as The Principal meets Beat It, with an opening act by the Sex Pistols.

With acting that would make Death Wish fans roll their eyes, I could only get about 15 minutes in before I was pining for the likes of Satan’s Little Helper.

When you have lines like “I’m gonna carve me some white meat”, and a mop top Michael J Fox lighting up a doobie in the school bathroom, you just know these toughs are gonna make the new teach pay - in blood!

Final words of wisdom - watch Class of 1999 instead.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Class of 1984 (1982) -

Wife was on vacation and kids were doing their thing. So I had a day all to myself and since my back was injured, figured I’d do some lazy morning film watching (my favorite kind of course).

Came across this uh… interesting piece of 80s nostalgia.

Class of 1984 can best be described as The Principal meets Beat It, with an opening act by the Sex Pistols.

With acting that would make Death Wish fans roll their eyes, I could only get about 15 minutes in before I was pining for the likes of Satan’s Little Helper.

When you have lines like “I’m gonna carve me some white meat”, and a mop top Michael J Fox lighting up a doobie in the school bathroom, you just know these toughs are gonna make the new teach pay - in blood!

Final words of wisdom - watch Class of 1999 instead.

I say watch both!

 

[Osprey]

Bull (2021) - 5/10

A thug (Neil Maskell) mysteriously returns after 10 years to get revenge on his former gang associates for double crossing him. It's a low budget British crime thriller that isn't for the faint of heart. It's a twist on your standard revenge tale because the victim is a bad guy, himself. 'Bull' doesn't hesitate in maiming or killing people who resist the gang, and after the gang turns on him, he really flips. Maskell manages to be rather terrifying, despite looking like a typical, middle-aged dad. There's something rather uncomfortable about rooting for a psychopath, though, even one that's been wronged by others. The director tries to ease that by repeatedly reminding us of what they did to him and showing his family life beforehand, but it didn't help much. It just made the film feel discontinuous. Frequently and without warning, it flashes back to events 10 years ago to dole out the backstory a little bit at a time. It made it a bit of a chore to follow and kept interrupting the revenge. Some of the actors were also hard to understand, due to their thick accents and lack of enunciation. I eventually turned on subtitles and just left them on. There isn't much story or action, just scenes of intimidation and violence, and the ending is a bit strange. It didn't work for me, but it may scratch an itch if you need a dark and violent thrill.

---

Infinite Storm (2022) - 5/10

After getting caught in a blizzard while making an ascent, a climber (Naomi Watts) discovers a nearly frozen stranger and tries to get them both through the storm and down the mountain. It's a survival drama with good scenery. If nothing else, the snowy mountain shots are pretty to look at. It's a rather physically demanding role for the 52-year-old Watts, and she does it without makeup or nice hair, all of which I applaud her for. Unfortunately, not a whole lot happens in the film. It's a true story that they seemingly didn't dramatize much, if at all, which is admirable, but it makes for a rather uneventful movie. There are slips and falls, but no really extreme dangers. It's very slowly paced and pretty quiet, with not much dialogue and no soundtrack whatsoever. There's almost a documentary feel to it. It's decently made and genuinely tries to be an inspirational story about coping with grief, but we don't get much of that or even learn much about the characters until the very end. It ultimately has a good message, but not a strong enough one or an enjoyable enough journey to get to that point to recommend it.

 

[SniperHF]

Haven't seen this one talked about much so:
Everything Everywhere All at Once.

It's a very enjoyable movie, the opening and first act is the strongest. It's very cleverly written to where a lot of little details matter and not much is wasted.
It's mostly not laugh out loud funny as a comedy but more so .....generally humorous if that makes sense. The action elements are very well done drawing from martial arts films and The Matrix (which is sort of a martial arts action style film itself I guess in some ways, and it's cribbed pretty directly many times as a callback). Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, and James Hong are tremendous. The rest of the cast is well above average. IMO this movie incorporates such a wide breadth of styles of story telling in a way that's as good as it has ever been done for the most part. Living up to its title I suppose.

My two biggest complaints that I think hold it back from being a new classic instead of just a very good movie (Semi spoilery)
1. The daughter Joy is really underdeveloped. There's a lot of really well done exposition that flows well into the action sequences but she's just very underserved in all of it. Given how important her character becomes as the film goes on I think this was a critical mistake.
2. Some of the "adult" humor is really out of place and all tends to be packed in about 3 scenes where it's just overload.


A lesser issue, but still one IMO, is some of the action scenes in the middle and the final one could have really been trimmed by about 10 minutes total and no one would have missed it.

Unless you watch nothing but Oscar bait I think just about every moviegoer would like this one on some level.

 

[OzzyFan]

The Killers (1946)
3.10 out of 4stars

"Based on Hemingway's short story, an insurance detective investigates the execution by two professional killers of a gas station attendant who was unresisting to his own murder."
A great entertaining flashback style noir full of twists about an exhausted soul, trust, and fate. The cards we are dealt in life and people we meet shape our lives out for themselves in this movie, good bad or neutral. Coincidence is non-existent, we are just pieces in a game being played out beyond our control as our personalities push us through the path of destiny. There is no trust amongst criminals and they will almost always act out of doubt and fear, sometimes in the most illogical ways. This is also another movie where it's hard to talk about literally because it's domino effect of events, so I'll leave that as is. It's definitely a lot more entertaining than thought provoking, but easily held my interest throughout.

The Hidden Room (1949)
2.95 out of 4stars

"In London, a psychiatrist locks his wife's lover in a cellar after he catches news of the affair and now plans to commit the perfect murder."
A great noir that takes a cerebral and meta interpretation on the murdering of a wife's lover trope, enhanced greatly by Newton's performance in the lead. A bleak game of chess plays out over the course of the movie amongst our few main characters in a diabolically fun way with lots of specific and indirect commentary on the situation at hand. I was pleasantly surprised at how smart this movie was in the follow through of it's plot and how it's method of delivery keeps you on your toes and guessing all the way to the ending.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
2.85 out of 4stars

"Dr. Steven Murphy is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who presides over a spotless household with his wife and two children. Martin, a fatherless teen forces himself into the doctor's life in gradually unsettling ways. Soon, the full scope of Martin's intent becomes menacingly clear when he confronts Steven with a long-forgotten wrongdoing that will change his life forever."
A great psychological horror that contains Lanthimos's signature deadpan delivery and dark comedy touches throughout. This movie is a new age interpretation of the Greek allegory it's title states, with themes of guilt, sin, and true justice. Guilt and repentance is not enough to warrant forgiveness for one's sins due to it's simplicity and shallowness. True justice needs to be absolute relative to the sin committed. One can't comprehend or experience a wrong they committed to another without themselves being put through a similar situation, and even comprehending the depths of said situation through a decision making process. A sort of eye for an eye karmic fate. Now, I enjoy Lanthimos' style, but you will either like his schtick or be put off by it, so be warned on that. If you can live with or enjoy it's method of delivery, there is some great creepy, weird, disturbing, and pitch black humor material here. The score also adds nicely to the material at hand as an undertone enhancer.

Heathers (1988)
2.85 out of 4stars

"The film portrays four teenage girls—three of whom are named Heather—in a clique at an Ohio high school, one of whose lives is disrupted by the arrival of a sociopathic student intent on shaking up the school's popularity politics through any means necessary."
A great dark comedy satire on the high school social hierarchy, teen angst, and "teen deaths/lives". Before there was Mean Girls, there was Heathers. During the time of John Hughes teen focused movies, this was a refreshingly unexpected turn the genre on it's head cult film. The movie is smart, honest, and funny on multiple levels, while it's delivery being oftenly profane and not politically correct in the slightest. Continuing on the not politically correct in the slightest vibe, the mockery and glorification of teen's lives by adults/parents, especially at times of death, is a praise worthy risk taken here that I was surprised by (not sure how many viewers even meditated on this beyond it's initial dark comedic meaning). We all have been to high school, we all know the immaturity, childishness, and marked flaws beridden of students there (self-inflicted and otherwise), some that people never grow out of. That said, don't get me wrong. Not all teens that meet tragedy or whom are victims of violence are morally tainted or personally despicable, but nowhere close to every teen that meets this end is a model citizen beloved by everyone as the media and post mortem character references state, and their deaths don't always have or need meaning to stand for something greater than what they were or incorrectly represent something they were never even to begin with. Not to mention, there are countless or a majority of students/teens that are just plain normal or average and lived normal or average lives prior to tragedy.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
3.75 out of 4stars

"An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes connecting with the lives she could have led."
An endlessly imaginative, conglomeration of genres, tale of existentialism and humanity on a large and intimate scale. Wow, regardless of how much you enjoy or absorb or connect with the movie and it's crazy all over the place delivery and story, far and away one must acknowledge the amazing accomplish of the Daniels here. The mixing of everything here, styles-tones-forms-topics-themes-story layers-absurdities-etc, into a coherent connective smooth product is nothing short of astounding. It's entertaining in so many ways and reasons, on the surface and intellectually. It's funny, it's fun, it's a manageable sensory overlord, it's thoughtful, and it's popcorn-ish joy. One can probably right a vast essay on this movie easily and need multiple viewings to take in everything. At it's most broad definement, it's a sci-fi drama comedy action film about a woman going through a mid-life crisis and at the same time thrown into a multiverse battle for world salvation against her own daughter. Themes explored but not limited to are life, family, virtues, possibility/potential, and time. I know nothing of the Daniels, but if they imagined this and brought this to life without any use of drugs or mind altering substances/techniques, many many applauses to them.

 

[nameless1]

I finally caught up to some of the blockbusters from last year, and just what happened with the Fast and Furious series? I remember I wrote after the eighth one that the whole franchise jumped the shark, because it no longer resembled the original, and I believe an idea can do that, but not many here agreed with my definition. Now, after F9, I will stick with my definition.

For full disclosure, I basically quit the franchise after Tokyo Drift, and only went back with the 8th one, so I have no idea when the franchise changed from drag race crime action movies to a superspy series. To be fair, it was probably a smart decision, because the original movies were not that good to begin with anyways, and the box offices now far exceed the original movie, but when the cars can now drive in space, and they use scuba suits as space suits, there can no longer be any denial that the franchise has gone off the rail. The notion is so ridiculous, that no amount of suspension of disbelief can make it work, and while it could be argued that I was premature in my assessment after The Fate of the Furious, I am now fully convinced that the franchise has indeed jumped the shark, perhaps even long before what I had stated.

It actually reminds me of the Bond series, since this is clearly what Vin Diesel and the studios want to emulate, and both are plagued by the same problem. At various points through the Bond franchise's history, there had been moments when the movie got too ridiculous, like when Moore's Bond too went to space and had a space laser fight in Moonraker. The Bond series producers, though, are able to see and recognize it quickly, and they always pulled back, either with a actor change, or just go back to the tried-and-true formula established in the first couple of movies. That has allowed the franchise to stay alive, and not become a parody of itself.

While the Fast and Furious series has remained profitable, it is at that same point now where it has to either pull back, or just straight up end. Personally, I wish it will just end, because the whole thing has become a monstrosity with its own spin-off of equally terrible B-movie scripts with A-movie budget, but I do understand that people would not mind a mindless big budget action flick every two years or so that allows for over 2 hours of mental escape. I just wish in the 10th one, which is rumoured to be the last one of the main branch, and all the subsequent Hobbs & Shaw sequels, they will just pull back and let it be a tiny bit more grounded in reality. The whole thing has become so dumb, that I am actually distracted by it.

I will give this one 3/10. The action is decent enough, but everything is just an insult to my intelligence, which is exacerbated by the constant recon of the characters' backstory. I will not be surprised if the Toretto family suddenly has another sibling no one knew or ever talked about in future movies, or someone suddenly escaped death and come back to life.

 

[Chili]

Gimme Shelter-1970

Bell bottoms, gator boots, long scarves and the Stones. Footage of a performance at MSG, plus the infamous Altamonte concert and alot of behind the scenes footage. Includes some of their vintage tunes (Jumpin' Jack Flash, Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Women...). Favorite scene was watching the reactions to the Stones listening to their classic Wild Horses (Mick claps at the end). Low points, footage of the violence at Altamonte, alot different from Woodstock. Includes Tina Turner performing 'I've been loving you too long' (sex-y). Captures the time and place but doesn't seem dated. Appreciated that it was not narrated. The Stones were my first favorite band so I'm biased but was engaged from start to finish.

Brute Force-1947

Gripping prison drama. Captain of the guards Munsey (Hume Cronyn) seeks to replace the warden and is finding ways of undermining his authority, using informants (willing or not) with tragic results. Collins (Burt Lancaster) is one of his targets. Some men have had enough and plan an escape attempt. Interesting that the film flashes back to several inmates story of how they ended up in prison. Calypso singer Sir Lancelot adds some humour to a very serious story. Builds nicely to the climax. One of the better prison films I've seen. It's on YouTube.

 

[Spawn]

Re: Everything Everywhere All At Once

I think the first act and the final act are brilliant. Agree with @SniperHF I think you probably could have cut out ~15-20 minutes from the middle act where the novelty of the situation begins to wear off and some of the whimsy of the switches start to feel a little weary.

Overall fantastic movie and a really fun movie going experience.

 

[Pink Mist]

Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)

Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles (or Jeanne Dielman for short) has a reputation from cinephiles for being one of the most frustrating and challenging films out there. Jeanne Dielman is a slow art house film where we watch a lonely and bored widow do household chores in real time for three and a half hours. Have I sold you on it? I don’t even enjoy doing chores myself but there is something mesmerizing about the film where you become entranced by the monotonous routine of the protagonist’s life. Shot with long static takes and confined primarily to the kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and bedroom of her apartment the film meticulously documents her routine and her depressing life. You become so used to her routine and able to anticipate it that when something becomes lightly off, like her accidentally dropping a spoon while cleaning, it feels like an existential crisis for her – like a thriller about housework. Most definitely not a film for everyone, it requires a lot of patience as the long runtime and the monotony is part of the point, but for patient viewers it is a really rewarding experience.

 

[sr edler]

The Shining (1980) by Stanley Kubrick – 3/10

I found this film incredibly boring. I actually had to watch it in three stages over three days, and force myself back each time, because it bored the crap out of me.

I love me some slow paced films, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Bridge on the River Kwai or Rear Window, but the slow pace here was simply annoying and seemed self-indulgent. And the constant slow camera movements, also annoying and self-indulgent.

There was no good build-up whatsoever. Bombastic over the top music from the get go, and Jack Nicholson's character felt completely off and was unlikable from the first scene. And then some random flash cuts to supposedly scary stuff that wasn't scary.

It also didn't seem to make too much sense, even on a ghost level, which made it feel kinda cheap and lazy.

Only thing I liked with this film was the bartender.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I finally caught up to some of the blockbusters from last year, and just what happened with the Fast and Furious series? I remember I wrote after the eighth one that the whole franchise jumped the shark, because it no longer resembled the original, and I believe an idea can do that, but not many here agreed with my definition. Now, after F9, I will stick with my definition.

For full disclosure, I basically quit the franchise after Tokyo Drift, and only went back with the 8th one, so I have no idea when the franchise changed from drag race crime action movies to a superspy series. To be fair, it was probably a smart decision, because the original movies were not that good to begin with anyways, and the box offices now far exceed the original movie, but when the cars can now drive in space, and they use scuba suits as space suits, there can no longer be any denial that the franchise has gone off the rail. The notion is so ridiculous, that no amount of suspension of disbelief can make it work, and while it could be argued that I was premature in my assessment after The Fate of the Furious, I am now fully convinced that the franchise has indeed jumped the shark, perhaps even long before what I had stated.

It actually reminds me of the Bond series, since this is clearly what Vin Diesel and the studios want to emulate, and both are plagued by the same problem. At times through the Bond franchise's history, there had been moments when the movie got too ridiculous, like when Moore's Bond too went to space and had a space laser fight in Moonraker. The Bond series producers, though, are able to see and recognize it quickly, and they always pulled back, either with a actor change, or just go back to the tried-and-true formula established in the first couple of movies. That has allowed the franchise to stay alive, and not become a parody of itself.

While the Fast and Furious series has remained profitable, it is at that same point now where it has to either pull back, or just straight up end. Personally, I wish it will just end, because the whole thing has become a monstrosity with its own spin-off of equally terrible B-movie scripts with A-movie budget, but I do understand that people would not mind a mindless big budget action flick every two years or so that allows for over 2 hours of mental escape. I just wish in the 10th one, which is rumoured to be the last one of the main branch, and all the subsequent Hobbs & Shaw sequels, they will just pull back and let it be a tiny bit more grounded in reality. The whole thing has become so dumb, that I am actually distracted by it.

I will give this one 3/10. The action is decent enough, but it is just so dumb, which is exacerbated by the constant recon of the character's backstory. I will not be surprised if the Toretto family suddenly has another sibling no one knew or ever talked about in future movies, or someone suddenly escaped death and come back to life.

I’m in the minority I’m sure, but Tokyo Drift is the only one I go back and rewatch again and again.

Just an enjoyable movie for me… straight fwd plot with likable characters, good action and a cool setting.

Doesn’t get into all of the insane heists and way over the top shit.

Always felt TD never got the love it deserved.

 

[justloveleafs]

The Pilot... Russian war film. Incredible. My first post here, So I don't want to go overboard, but it definitely grabbed me big time.

I have seen it three times which is something I just don't do.

Saw it twice with English subtitles and once with English Dubbing. All three were great.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Here's a few:

Metal Lords (Sollett, 2022) - Kind of charming and fun, but ultimately doesn't do much - ok, I'll boost it by .5 for the War Pigs cover. 3.5/10

Under the Tuscan Sun (Wells, 2003) - Part of the gf deal. Was better than last weeks' movie. 3/10

Week-Ends (Villacèque, 2014) - A long series of awkward situations, told in pretty weird narrative format (lots of missing pieces, and a very literary punctual narration that doesn't belong). The result is pretty boring, but it tries stuff. 4/10

The Kids Are All Right (Cholodenko, 2010) - Great performances, cute film. Banal, but I liked it. Weird that the director didn't make another film since. 5.5/10