Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +3

[ForsbergMoDo21]

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) - 2/10 (Hated it)

A woman who will eventually become the mother of a great resistance leader is stalked by a killing machine from the future, but a human is also sent from the future to protect her. Who says that Hollywood has no original ideas? I was under the impression that this was a sequel, but I felt like I was watching a remake (at times, a remake of T1; at others, a remake of T2), except with Linda Hamilton and Arnie playing supporting characters. Speaking of which, Hamilton's acting is bad. To be fair, she's forced to deliver some of the lamest dialogue. Either way, it's cringe worthy and distracting, and her character's attitude is irritating. The writers managed to take a heroine that we liked in the first two movies and turn her into an unlikable one. Also cringe worthy are the bad attempts at humor and fan service. Arnie's character talking about his drapery business is not funny and there's a scene in which he starts to put on his sunglasses, to the thumping of the T2 soundtrack, and then doesn't that is a lame "subvert expectations" moment reminiscent of Luke tossing his lightsaber. On top of all of that, the action isn't any fun because it's way too CGIed. I'm not talking so much about the terminator (though less CGI on him would've been nice, too). All of the fights and even stunts like Mackenzie Davis' character jumping into the back of a truck are CGIed. Once upon a time, they'd use stunt doubles. Now, they just do it in computers and it looks much worse and fake. Nothing in this movie looks the least bit real. Also, everything is familiar (if not predictable) if you've seen the first two movies, which, again, this simply rips off because it's not original in the least. Finally, I won't go into details, but you can feel politics throughout the movie. In all, this is an incredibly derivative movie that adds nothing to the franchise and isn't any better than the mostly bad sequels that it retconned and was supposed to be better than. I am confused that the critic and audience scores are as good as they are because, IMO, this is a bad, run-of-the-mill, everything-that's-wrong-with-Hollywood type of movie that left me with a feeling similar to what the last two Star Wars sequels did.

I’m a huge fan of Jackie Chan movies and I’ve often thought about how genuine movie stunts are a disappearing practice because of the growing availability and capabilities of CGI. Why risk safety and costly insurance when you can use the tech instead? I think we might see creative genuine stunts become more of an indie thing in the near future.

 

[Osprey]

First the Arnold films:

Raw Deal - Saw it free on I think Amazon. From 1987 I think. Arnie in his prime I thought. What a hunk of shit. Couldn’t tell you the plot. The line “That’s why you should not get drunk and bake” was the only worthwhile part. It gets an F.

Total Recall (1990) - Hadn’t seen this in years. Interesting movie. Lauded for special effects but the story is the most interesting part. Very interesting science fiction premise about manufactured memories. B+ for me. Close to an A-.

The Running Man (1989, I think) - Initially I was confused because I thought it was a Stephen King story but the writer credited was Richard Bachman. Turns out that’s a pen name he used when he’s got tired of churning out successes under his regular moniker. Cheesy 80s action. Arnie is framed and forced onto a violent reality show where criminals are hunted and killed by gimmicky gladiators. Bonus points for one of the villains being hockey themed. Also bonus points for an old lady swearing. This one is a B-.

Raw Deal was 1986 and you could argue that it was the last of Arnie's pre-prime because he did it only to get out of a commitment to Dino de Laurentiis to not do a 3rd Conan movie (i.e. "I promised that I'd do three Conan movies for you, but let me out of that and I'll do a different movie for you, instead"). It shows. It's as if he just accepted the first script offered, even though the character didn't really suit him, just so that he could get it over with. BTW, that "drunk and bake" one liner is an example of the kind of humor that Arnie encouraged them to add to the movie because the one liners were one of the most popular things about the previous year's Commando.

The Running Man was 1987 (the same year as Predator and, I'd argue, the first year of Arnie's superstardom). Stephen King used his Richard Bachman pen name for non-horror stories like that. I think that it made sense because a horror fan who bought a King story and was disappointed that there was no horror in it might be hesistent to buy further King stories.

Tonight I watched Last Action Hero (1993). This is a hard one to pin down. It’s an interesting satire of the over the top action movies of the 80s, and has a lot of funny meta jokes (like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character Jack Slater learning he is a movie character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and being unable to pronounce his name). There’s something lacking in this movie though and I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe with a slightly older kid costar and an R rating instead of PG 13 it would’ve been better. It’s still better than its reputation though. Also, apparently it was released a week after Jurassic Park. That’s rough... B-

Those were pretty much my thoughts when I watched it last Fall. Something that I appreciated more that time around was Charles Dance's performance. I didn't even really realize that he was in it until I re-watched it because I hadn't seen it since GoT made him super popular. He definitely made my re-watch seem somewhat fresh.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Raw Deal was 1986 and you could argue that it was the last of Arnie's pre-prime because he did it only to get out of a commitment to Dino de Laurentiis to not do a 3rd Conan movie (i.e. "I promised that I'd do three Conan movies for you, but let me out of that and I'll do a different movie for you, instead"). It shows. It's as if he just accepted the first script offered, even though the character didn't really suit him, just so that he could get it over with.

That all makes sense. As a big Arnie fan, this was a complete and total letdown.

And yeah, to me, the biggest affront in Last Action Hero is the kid, by far. The fact that the movie is still watchable, and even enjoyable in parts in spite of this, is nothing short of a miracle.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Raw Deal was 1986 and you could argue that it was the last of Arnie's pre-prime because he did it only to get out of a commitment to Dino de Laurentiis to not do a 3rd Conan movie (i.e. "I promised that I'd do three Conan movies for you, but let me out of that and I'll do a different movie for you, instead"). It shows. It's as if he just accepted the first script offered, even though the character didn't really suit him, just so that he could get it over with. BTW, that "drunk and bake" one liner is an example of the kind of humor that Arnie encouraged them to add to the script because the one liners were one of the most popular things about the previous year's Commando.

Interesting, really puts a whole new spin on the film's title.

 

[Osprey]

That all makes sense. As a big Arnie fan, this was a complete and total letdown.

When I re-watched it in the Fall, I was surprised by how much it felt like a TV or straight-to-cable movie. It was promising in the first 15 minutes, which I liked, but then quickly started feeling very 80s in the bad kind of way, not the good kind of way that most of Arnie's movies from the decade felt.

Interesting, really puts a whole new spin on the film's title.

Yeah, Arnie, himself, made a joke about that in his autobiography. He joked that the movie was a raw deal for him, and that he just had to bite the bullet and get it over with so that he could get out of his commitments and go on to make movies that he wanted to make (starting with Predator).

 

[Osprey]

I’m a huge fan of Jackie Chan movies and I’ve often thought about how genuine movie stunts are a disappearing practice because of the growing availability and capabilities of CGI. Why risk safety and costly insurance when you can use the tech instead? I think we might see creative genuine stunts become more of an indie thing in the near future.

It's as if hardly anyone cares whether action looks believable or not. They just do whatever is safest and most convenient, as you said. I can barely stand today's superhero movies because most of them just look too fake, so it really irritates me when something like a Terminator movie, which could (and once did) use a lot of real stunt work and practical effects, doesn't.

It's one of the main reasons why I find myself appreciating Tom Cruise movies more and more. He wants to do all of his stunts. I think that it's a big reason why the more recent Mission Impossible movies have been so well received. The Daniel Craig Bond movies are similar, I think. Moviegoers eat up action movies that look real. Of course, they also eat up CGIed-to-death superhero movies, but that's no excuse to CGI-to-death the action movies, which results in something like Terminator: Dark Fate, which bombed at the box office.

I realize that not every star wants to do his or her own stunts like Tom Cruise and Daniel Craig, but that's what stunt doubles are for. If necessary, you can even use CGI to paint the stars' faces over them, which you couldn't do decades ago. That would be preferable to painting them onto CGI bodies, IMO. Also, if a stunt requires something unrealistic like a superhuman jump, try putting a harness on the actor or stunt double and then digitally removing it and the wire later. I love computers and CGI (and almost became a computer animator), but I think that Hollywood too often jumps straight to using technology when a similar but more realistic effect could be achieved via more practical means.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I’ve watched more movies in the past month than I have in a few years. I like trolling Vudu for digital sales (e.g. 99 cent rentals or $5 buys).

So if I can have a self indulgent super long post to help relax me into hopefully falling asleep, here is what I’ve watched recently...

First the Arnold films:

Raw Deal - Saw it free on I think Amazon. From 1987 I think. Arnie in his prime I thought. What a hunk of shit. Couldn’t tell you the plot. The line “That’s why you should not get drunk and bake” was the only worthwhile part. It gets an F.

Total Recall (1990) - Hadn’t seen this in years. Interesting movie. Lauded for special effects but the story is the most interesting part. Very interesting science fiction premise about manufactured memories. B+ for me. Close to an A-.

The Running Man (1989, I think) - Initially I was confused because I thought it was a Stephen King story but the writer credited was Richard Bachman. Turns out that’s a pen name he used when he’s got tired of churning out successes under his regular moniker. Cheesy 80s action. Arnie is framed and forced onto a violent reality show where criminals are hunted and killed by gimmicky gladiators. Bonus points for one of the villains being hockey themed. Also bonus points for an old lady swearing. This one is a B-.

Deadpool 1 & 2 - I find superhero movies to be incredibly boring. Nothings at stake and I’m not wowed by over produced action sequences. So I appreciate a movie/hero that will address those tired tropes. Not that I know anything about the comics but Ryan Reynolds seems like a perfect fit for this character. I enjoyed these movies. B+ for both (they were virtually identical to me)

Waterworld (1995) - Always had a soft spot for the Costner post-apocalyptic movies (The Postman is next). The kind of movies you don’t love but often get caught up in on TV and suddenly 3 hours have passed. Got the UHD on Vudu and it was beautiful. The end gets a little sloppy and it would've been nice to get more story/character development. Ultimately it was a fun world to get lost in for a couple hours. So it’s a B-.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - Can’t believe this movie is that old already. Found it on Netflix. Loosely aware of its critical darling status. Found it well acted but highly overrated and poorly written. The scene after the football game where everyone (including the shrink) is at the house and they set up the dance bet is when I turned to my girlfriend and said I hate every character in this movie. To sort of borrow some language from a negative review I found, this is a cheesy rom com masquerading as a thoughtful portrayal of people with mental illness. C+

Blast from the Past (1999) - Brendan Fraser grows up in a bomb shelter and sees the world for the first time at 35. Bonus points for a quirky Christopher Walken muttering about commies and being the uniquely Walken-esque combination of weird and charming. To quote the gf “it was a cute movie.” C+ bordering B-

Poolhall Junkies (2004ish) - Speaking of Walken, another movie with him in a supporting role. Always loved this movie. Cult status. If you don’t like the humor the acting and story certainly won’t save it, but it’s not terrible. Factoring in my personal bias, it’s an A- for me.

The Departed (2006) - Wait, Mark Wahlberg got a best supporting actor nom fit this? He’s not even in it that much. A solid crime movie. I feel like what criticism it does suffer is half attributable to the high bar Scorsese has set for himself. Still an A- movie at worst in my opinion.

Blank Check (1994) - Liked this movie a lot as a kid. Saw it on Disney +. It’s actually pretty terrible. Kid steals money from a criminal. Buys a house, toys, and a limo driver friend. Somehow dates and kisses an adult woman. Weird. D+

Hot Rod (20 something) - Heard it referenced on a podcast and needed something on the screen while I planned my garden. Even though I mostly dislike Andy Samberg. I’m softening a little. And Bill Hader with Danny McBride as comedic support seemed promising. About what I expected. C

The Foot Fist Way (early 2000?) - Old Danny McBride/Jody Hill movie. About a strip mall martial arts instructor. Dark, weird, rarely interesting, funny, or well acted. C- feels generous.

Say Anything (late 80s) - John Cusack holds a stereo outside of Ione Skyes bedroom playing In Your Eyes. She never even gets out of bed and goes to the window. Had some Mandela effect going with that, apparently. I guess for its time it was a more notable variation on teen romance. C+

Can’t Hardly Wait (1998?) - I remembered it as a classic 90s teen movie. But holy hell, the “romance” plot between Ethan Embry and Jennifer Love Hewitt was ridiculously thin. Cringeworthy. Otherwise, the movie is what it is. And that’s a C.

Encino Man (1992) - Sean Astin and the weasel Pauly Shore find a frozen Brendan Fraser caveman in their yard and thaw him out so they can bring him to high school. Bonus points for a hockey scene. I always had a weird enjoyment of Pauly Shore movies even before I ever did a marijuana and despite my awareness that he is mostly stupid and annoying. Watch with caution. C+ (including my bias bump).

Gemini Man (2019) - Will Smith tries to retire from being a super sniper but knows too much so an insidious agency sends a young clone to kill him and the woman that’s with him for paper thin reasons. To play his younger self Smith talks with a higher pitch and occasional lisp. I usually like him but he was bad in this and the story was a colossal disappointment. Film couldn’t decide if it was about characters or story, so it just did both in a subpar fashion. Reminded me of Ad Astra in that regard. UHD looked amazing at least. C- (it gets the extra minus because it should’ve been a much cooler premise)

Step Brothers (2003?) - Finally got around to seeing this. I thought it was too stupid when it came out and I was a stoner teenager. Just so ridiculous and not funny enough to make me tolerate it. Another C

Bad Words (2013) - Jason Bateman is an adult and an asshole competing in children’s spelling bees. Not much of a plot. Bonus points for its schtick essentially being adults being inappropriately mean to children, which is funny to me because I’m a bad person. Also bonus points for ending with one of my favorite Smashing Pumpkins songs (Snail). B- for this one.

Wayne’s World 1 & 2 (early/mid 90s) - Two of my favorites as a kid. As an adult, I kind of respect how clean all the humor is (not counting sex jokes which are still relatively timid). The second may be funnier, although the Alice Cooper bit is still the best scene in either movie. B+ approaching A-for me for being funny and good spirited but not corny movies.

The Naked Gun (87?) - Probable double murderer and probable statutory rape victim help a hardboiled noir detective/Enrico Palazzo impersonator stop Mr. October from assassinating the Queen of England. Need I say more? A comedy classic. B+

Get Him to the Greek (2008ish?) - Jonah Hill is a record company intern that needs to get unstable rock star Russell Brand to a concert. It was okay. Nothing memorably funny. C+

The Hangover (20 something) - Needs no description. Hadn't seen it since it came out. It’s a decent comedy. B- or a B.

Eurotrip (2003) - A group of young actors I’ve never seen in anything else travel Europe and meet both Bullet Tooth Tony and Boris the Blade from Snatch along the way. Matt Damon singing Scotty Doesn’t Know bumps it up half a letter. Also it’s appropriate that the main character’s best friend is like bargain bin David Spade, because Spade’s stand up bit about some movies being made “just to show some boob” came to mind. C+

Clerks (1994) - Slightly better than I remembered. Life as a 20 something in a miserable state with a miserable job. Hockey bonus. Very funny A-

Clerks 2 (2007ish) - Notably worse than I remembered. Not great or as funny as I wanted it to be. C+

Chasing Amy (1997) - A very good movie exploring sexuality (and feeling fairly forward-thinking for the mid 90s). Mega bonus points for a hockey scene taking place at a rink I’ve skated at and recognized the front of. I think this is a movie that hits a lot harder if you have some personal experience with some of what happens in the movie. An A for me.

Dogma (1999) - Two outcast angels find a loophole back to heaven and must be stopped. Liked it even more than I remembered. Bonus points for the most perfect George Carlin film role. This movie manages to be a gross ridiculous comedy that satires religion while simultaneously treating it with some reverence and respect. It was an impressive balance. A for me.

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) - Saw this was on Amazon so figured I’d watch it. Better than I expected (expectations were low) and what set me on my Kevin Smith rewatch series. Still probably a C+ at best. Maybe a B- if I still did drugs. Bonus points for Smith wearing a Carlin tshirt and the self deprecating humor. I do appreciate his attention to small details in this.

Teen Wolf (1986) - Michael J Fox is a teen. Also he’s a wolf. But hopefully not a you know what because Styles couldn’t handle that (funny to see a PG movie have lines that probably wouldn’t fly in an R movie these days). Not as good as I remembered (which wasn’t great). Also the girls name in it is “Boof” and that means something else to me these days. Anyway, it’s a C

And going back to slightly before the coronapocalypse, Back to the Future 2 & 3. Out of every movie I’ve listed this series is my only must watch. BttF 1 is an A+. The second movie is an A and the 3rd is a B+.

I've always thought Kevin Smith gets a bit too much of a bum reputation. His work in the 21st century is worthless, but he went on a good run in the 90s. He can't edit to save his life and his films do have some weak moments but Chasing Amy and Dogma are both good films.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I thought it was easily one of Penn's best performances, and maybe Walken's, too. That last moment in the courtroom where Penn is asked to recognize his father still gives me chills.

It's certainly up there for both. I watched The Falcon and the Snowman at some point in the past year and I'd put that up near the top for Penn too. It's a more showy/nervy performance, but also pretty great. I'd certainly stack both of those against a lot of his later career work.

As for Walken, he's long slid into parody. Even when he's a psycho, he plays for laughs. But there's nothing funny about him here. You see exactly enough appeal to see why a directionless kid would be drawn to him. And then you get the real monster underneath.

 

[kihei]

Ema, directed by Pablo Larrain is released on MUBI for a month. Though I ranked several movies above it at last year's TIFF, it is an thoughtful piece of work by a skilled director. For those interested, here is my review at the time:

Ema (2019) Directed by Paulo Larrain 7B

Ema (Maria Di Girolamo), a dancer, and her headstrong choreographer husband Gaston (Gael Garcia Bernal) have adopted a small boy. When he acts badly and almost disfigures Ema's sister, Ema sends him back to the orphanage. All their friends and colleagues are outraged--you don'treat a child that way, like throwing a fish back into the sea because you no longer want him. The marriage breaks down and both partners go on a hedonistic binge, hopping in bed with whomever they fancy. All this is communicated in a modernist style that keeps the audience at an emotional distance from the material. I couldn't figure out why director Pablo Larrain was interested in these shallow bimbos. The movie seemed pretentious, superficial and a little silly, an exercise in style for the sake of style. But magically Larraine eventually pulls all the pieces together brilliantly. Rather than looking like some self-centred sociopath, Ema is revealed to have more than a little method to her madness, and in the end, the result is surprising if a bit uncomfortable. Having not seen the ending coming, I have to credit Larrain with a marvelous piece of direction. He also ends up saying some interesting things about the notion of family, personal freedom, and deceptive appearances that cause us to rush to judgement. I do wonder how many people will be willing to stick with Ema and Gaston to the end, but if you do, there is certainly a payoff (my first response was to laugh, which Larrain encourages, but the more everything sunk in, the more clever it all seemed). The style and structure of Ema display the kind of sophisticated manipulation that only very confident and masterful directors are capable of. Basically Ema shows Larrain pulling off a tour de force piece of direction. Even the chilly style serves a purpose.

Larrain is an intriguing director. He is a stylist, but he uses style to fit the subject matter. As a result, no two of his films look that much alike (No; The Club; Neruda; Jackie). He would drive a auteur critic crazy in that regard. In Ema, his visual style is eye-catching, distant, superficial and glib--right in line with the protagonists in this film.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Forrest Gump (1994) - What a corny piece of shit. Anything about it that's halfway clever or funny gets ruined in the delivery.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I've been obsessed with this song and scene recently. Extra credit for the crushing ' light a cigarette with the previous one ' move.

 

[member 51464]

Blue Story - A movie with a plot you've all seen before. Two young friends in a rough neighborhood of South London join rival games and street life, with its escalating but fairly predictable, violence ensues.

The one memorable thing about this is that there are multiple rap interludes where the director raps about what has gone on or tells a little story about what is happening during a montage we see.

6/10

 

[Trap Jesus]

I've been obsessed with this song and scene recently. Extra credit for the crushing ' light a cigarette with the previous one ' move.

I really love this scene, especially the start of it (right before this clip). Close-up of the singer's face so you think it's a live performance, then sloooooooowly zooms out to reveal that it's through a recording studio window with all the recording equipment in the foreground, then keeps creeping out a little further so you see the guy recording it on a huge camera, then the cardboard cutout of a movie set itself that the singers are in comes into the frame, then it swings upwards to reveal the whole scope of the warehouse area they're in with the massive amount of people mulling around the background and foreground on the set. I just love that level of artifice that is constantly layered in.

Just the first minute of this:

 

[kihei]

Le Silence de la Mere (1949) Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville 7B

Le Silence de la Mere is a study of life under the Occupation of France by Germany during World War II, but from a really different angle. A German officer is authorized to stay as a lodger in a cottage inhabited by an old man and his lovely daughter. The old man and the daughter remain steadfastly silent throughout his stay. But the German officer, dressed impeccably after removing his uniform at the end of the day, visits them in their cozy living room, often warming himself by the fire as the daughter dutifully knits away and the old man smokes his pipe and reads. The officer does brief monologues, ones that require no responses from his mute hosts. It turns out the soldier is a musician and composer who loves French culture. He has a very idealistic view of the Occupation and of Germany itself, but not an obnoxious or overbearing one. He is always courteous and polite, elegant even, never the least threatening. Then one of his dreams come true and he visits Paris for the firs time, only he returns a changed man. He has realized that his nation does not share his ideals; rather his friends and fellow officers scoff at them. Finally realizing his country is a monster, he volunteers for the front lines, a form of self-sacrifice in his case. Le Silence de la Mer is one of those chamber pieces that is just perfectly executed. While the work could be presented as theatre, a young Jean-Pierre Melville, for whom this is his first feature film, finds cinematic ways to make the story work very well as a movie. His use of shadows, lighting, camera angles and general ambiance combined with lovely black and white cinematography give the film a quality that seems both warm and dark simultaneously. Narration, provided by the old man, for once, does adds to the atmosphere, and the theme and ideas explored are meaty ones worth thinking about. Altogether, a very memorable and impressive debut.

subtitles

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Margin Call (2011) - 7/10

Sold film that I'd probably give it a slightly higher rating if I had never seen The Big Short which overshadows it. This is a bit joyless and it becomes more apparent after the fun style from The Big Short. There's some good acting here (especially from Paul Bettany and Jeremy Irons) but it has a bit of a TV-movie quality to it. The cynycism and weariness also starts to wear a bit thin at the end but a very easy watch for the most part.

 

[Chili]

Bingo Long Travelling All Stars & Motor Kings - 1976

Fictional Hollywood type script loosely based on barnstorming baseball in the late 1930's/1940's (including the prejudice of the era) . Predictable but well done, a fun movie . Enjoyed the performances of Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones & Richard Pryor, nice chemistry. Scenic with some great old cars.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I really love this scene, especially the start of it (right before this clip). Close-up of the singer's face so you think it's a live performance, then sloooooooowly zooms out to reveal that it's through a recording studio window with all the recording equipment in the foreground, then keeps creeping out a little further so you see the guy recording it on a huge camera, then the cardboard cutout of a movie set itself that the singers are in comes into the frame, then it swings upwards to reveal the whole scope of the warehouse area they're in with the massive amount of people mulling around the background and foreground on the set. I just love that level of artifice that is constantly layered in.

Just the first minute of this:

Good eye. Very nice touch.

 

[Osprey]

I'm tempted to re-watch Forrest Gump and then write a gushing review . I would watch it tonight, but I feel strangely compelled to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Maybe I'll watch it in Spanish! La vida es como una caja de chocolates?

 

[kihei]

I'm tempted to re-watch Forrest Gump and then write a gushing review . I would watch it tonight, but I feel strangely compelled to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Maybe I'll watch it in Spanish! La vida es como una caja de chocolates?

You could watch it in Martian and it still would be a piece of right-wing crap.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

You could watch it in Martian and it still would be a piece of right-wing crap.

Whatever politics there is in the movie has never concerned me (beyond the fact that American conservatism tends to lead to idiotic conclusions) but more that the entire film feels like a high-budget hallmark card. Just an incredibly manipulative film. It comes across as so cheap. It's a decent concept that gets dominated by corporate robots, but even a robot I'd be willing to entertain the notion of a soul or distinct voice. It's a movie of strictly props, which would be fine if it was clever about it. The biggest joke of the film - a 142 minutes joke - is played on the character of the oblivious Gump himself. Even the best satirists aren't that cruel, mostly because they're aware of what they're doing.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Never did get around to seeing that one.

 

[ForsbergMoDo21]

Raw Deal was 1986 and you could argue that it was the last of Arnie's pre-prime because he did it only to get out of a commitment to Dino de Laurentiis to not do a 3rd Conan movie (i.e. "I promised that I'd do three Conan movies for you, but let me out of that and I'll do a different movie for you, instead"). It shows. It's as if he just accepted the first script offered, even though the character didn't really suit him, just so that he could get it over with. BTW, that "drunk and bake" one liner is an example of the kind of humor that Arnie encouraged them to add to the movie because the one liners were one of the most popular things about the previous year's Commando.

That’s interesting to know, thanks. It really does explain a lot.

I watched Commando tonight. Throwback to college where this was a favorite “so bad it’s good” movie. I still laughed a lot at the ridiculousness and one liners. Probably laughed the hardest when he picks up the phone booth with Sully in it and body slams both. And also at the dude that is clearly not Arnold doing the swinging stunt.

And Vernon Wells’ Bennett was so weird and distinctly out of place. I usually hate English class style reading into things, but the whole movie felt like Arnold’s traditional masculinity vs. Wells’ Freddie Mercury style homosexuality. Given the era and culture, there’s a lot that could be read into.

Or maybe it was simply a movie about a dude saying cheesy lines and killing a small army that could rival stormtroopers with their ineffectiveness. I’d give it a B- but that’s based on enjoyment and not any sort of refined metric of quality.

I've always thought Kevin Smith gets a bit too much of a bum reputation. His work in the 21st century is worthless, but he went on a good run in the 90s. He can't edit to save his life and his films do have some weak moments but Chasing Amy and Dogma are both good films.

Agreed. It’s kind of surprising he hasn’t put out something better this century although to be fair I haven’t seen most of them. Actually, I remember finding Zack and Miri pretty funny. I wouldn’t call it a “good” film like Clerks, Chasing Amy, or Dogma, but it was decent.

One movie I want to go back and watch is Jersey Girl. I recently heard him talking about how it coming on the heels of Gigli resulted in it getting unfairly trashed. I remember seeing it in the theater and it seemed ok, although I was still in high school and had a lot of very different takes on movies. I’m also biased because George Carlin is my favorite person ever. I suspect it’s much better than it’s remembered but still not great. I think its on one of the streaming services.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Or maybe it was simply a movie about a dude saying cheesy lines and killing a small army that could rival stormtroopers with their ineffectiveness. I’d give it a B- but that’s based on enjoyment and not any sort of refined metric of quality.

The day Rambo saved Kramer.

 

[OzzyFan]

Never did get around to seeing that one.

I for one, would love to read a ProstheticConcscience review for Forest Gump.

 

[Osprey]

You could watch it in Martian and it still would be a piece of right-wing crap.

"The film is nonpolitical and thus nonjudgmental" —Tom Hanks

"All over the political map, people have been calling Forrest their own. But, Forrest Gump isn't about politics or conservative values. It's about humanity, it's about respect, tolerance and unconditional love."
—producer Steve Tisch

Hanks, Tisch and director Zemeckis are all contributors to Democratic candidates. The film was basically made by Democrats, and left-leaning Hollywood awarded it 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. I think that your interpretation is off and misguided, honestly. Something that I keep reading about the film is that it's actually so apolitical that it allows for interpretation. For whatever reason, conservatives interpreted it positively and embraced it in the months leading up to the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress and it's apparently had a reputation as a "conservative" film ever since. I think that that, in turn, has cultivated a backlash against the film from some on the left who feel that they need to put it down for that reason. It's unfortunate, IMO, especially because it's such an innocent, feel-good film. In fact, you could say that it's a completely uncynical film, which raises the question of just how cynical we've become as a society if we're now turned off by that.

Here's an excellent article on the subject:
Should "Forrest Gump" be viewed as conservative propaganda | ScreenPrism

Also, for those who have seen A Quiet Place (because it contains spoilers), here's a terrific video analysis of a similar situation with that film:

Spoiler