Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It (Part XXVI)

[hototogisu]

If anything, I think you're being kind to it. It was pretty widely panned, for good reason, IMO.

I thought that was the case too, but it actually has good reviews on RT. Well, 75% (a far cry from the 92% of the original) but overall I thought it did much worse critically.

Usually I'm able to articulate what I didn't like about a movie (sometimes I take great pleasure in doing so) but for this one is just amounts to "it was kinda boring".

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Everybody wants some!! - Boy, oh boy, did Linklater disappoint me on this one. He's one of my favorites, but I feel like there's way too much two dollar philosophy in this one (The 30 year old ball player telling Jake to enjoy his weirdness in the bar scene was disgustingly takcy). I did like the final scene in the classroom though, nice imagery with Jake finally, truly closing his eyes at the beginning of his first class after a couple of long and eventful days.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

Just watched 10 Cloverfield lane.

Thought it was good but fell apart at the end. 6/10

 

[Doublechin]

Everybody wants some!! - Boy, oh boy, did Linklater disappoint me on this one. He's one of my favorites, but I feel like there's way too much two dollar philosophy in this one (The 30 year old ball player telling Jake to enjoy his weirdness in the bar scene was disgustingly takcy). I did like the final scene in the classroom though, nice imagery with Jake finally, truly closing his eyes at the beginning of his first class after a couple of long and eventful days.

I enjoyed it a lot , solid 8/10 for me

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I enjoyed it a lot , solid 8/10 for me

It's not bad, but certainly Linklater's weakest film in a long time.

 

[OzzyFan]

BFG
2.5 out of 4

Haven't read the book, so I can't compare or give reasoning on that. "A solid kids movie with Oscar worthy visuals", I'd conclude it as. Visually amazing, well-acted, well-directed, but it just didn't feel very satisfying at the end. I'm trying to figure out why, but the best conclusion I come to is that "it's a kid movie made for kids". If you're a kid with an imagination and of elementary school level, you'll love the movie and it's perfect for you. If you're an adult taking a kid to see it or you want to see it yourself, I think you'll be slightly underwhelmed. The antagonists don't hit hard enough, nor does the BFG's plights or past issues with them strike them as hard as they should (which I presume, due to the targeted audience). That and the BFG's hit and miss "special" vocab, and lack of dialogue at times(forgivable given scenery though) are my 2 larger complaints I expected a little more out of Spielberg, but I'm not sure if that's because he kept it with the book as close as possible or what have you. You want to see a creative eye pleasing world and don't mind a decent kid's story "for kids", see this in theaters. But beware on it "connecting" with adults or taking you back to your childhood in some way, as many would have hoped it to do (like for example, Fantastic Mr.Fox, also a Roald Dahl story).

 

[kihei]

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016) Directed by Thorsten Shutte (documentary) 7A

This documentary lets iconic rock musician Frank Zappa speak for himself. It contains a collection of archival interviews interspersed with some concert footage and a few rehearsals. Thus in his own words, Zappa, who died of prostate cancer in 1993, articulates his interest in music and his view of his sometimes stormy career. As well, he is an exceptionally insightful observer on the cultural scene with many of his comments as relevant today as they were when he first uttered them. He is well aware of the central irony of his career--he managed to become a big star through the force of his intense personality, but few people actually listened to his music, which could be very demanding of his audience. His major influences weren't popular musicians or styles but revolutionary composers like Edgar Varese, Anton Webern and Igor Stravinsky. Zappa never had any interest whatsoever in compromising his own artistic integrity so he wrote the music he wanted to make and hoped that others might like it, too. Some did; most didn't. He had harsh things to say about the music business, about popular taste, and about American culture in general which he pretty much thought amounted to little more than hamburgers and Coca-Cola. As a commentator on any subject, he was one of those guys who was not only smart as a whip, but able to transform his thoughts in an instant into very economic, coherent, persuasive speech. While I've never been a big fan of his music, I still found this documentary a fascinating portrait of a very complex and somehow praiseworthy guy. It was a shame to lose this lucid, perceptive man when he still had so much left to offer.

 

[Shareefruck]

Love going down the Youtube worm-hole of watching non-stop Zappa interviews.

I thought that was the case too, but it actually has good reviews on RT. Well, 75% (a far cry from the 92% of the original) but overall I thought it did much worse critically.

Usually I'm able to articulate what I didn't like about a movie (sometimes I take great pleasure in doing so) but for this one is just amounts to "it was kinda boring".

Wow, I had no idea. Could have sworn it was trashed.

 

[Pilky01]

Iron Man 2

Definitely one of the weaker Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, but still entertaining.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012) dir. Don Hertzfeldt

Nope.

 

[aufheben]

The Lobster (2015) - 1.5/5
Yorgos Lanthimos

Just a total chore on every level. Kafka yeah, yeah.

 

[aufheben]

Sing Street (2016) - 3.5/5
John Carney

Adorable and hilarious film.

 

[kihei]

Closet Monster (2015) Directed by Stephen Dunn 7A

Oscar (Connor Jessup) is a Newfoundland teen with a lot of problems. As a child, he had to cope with his mother walking out on his out-of-control, emotional wreck of a father and, as well, he witnessed a horrendous hate crime. Now on the cusp of adulthood he is trying to put all that in perspective while finally coming to the realization that he is gay. However, even his emerging gayness is a little tentative like he is trying on a suit of clothes that he feels looks good on him but isn't sure it will fit. A budding special effects make-up artist, he is best friends with a girl, but the relationship stays stubbornly platonic. He grows attracted to Wilder, a guy his age at work, who sexual preferences seem pretty flexible. Adding some different seasoning, Oscar has a hamster, Buffy, who talks to him occasionally (voiced absolutely perfectly by Isabella Rossellini), an idea that may sound twee but definitely isn't. All this must sound like pretty standard-issue coming-of-age movie stuff, but it doesn't play that way at all. Two reasons why this is so: everybody is pleasingly and believably complex, including the crazy father, and Connor Jessup is not James Dean awesome, but the next closest thing to it as the highly conflicted but still immensely likeable Oscar. Oscar is a character with no end of hidden edges and dimensions, and Jessup judges all of them beautifully. Maybe his life will be okay, maybe not. He's a good kid so you just got to hope for the best. Closet Monster was voted the best Canadian film at last year's TIFF. It had some stiff competition, too, like Sleeping Giant and The Forbidden Room. I liked both those movies a lot, but I think the right movie won.

Best of '16 so far

The Wailing, Na, South Korea 8B
Closet Monster, Dunn, Canada 7A
Disorder, Winocour, France 7B
Chevalier, Tsangari, Greece. 7B

 

[aleshemsky83]

I thought that was the case too, but it actually has good reviews on RT. Well, 75% (a far cry from the 92% of the original) but overall I thought it did much worse critically.

Usually I'm able to articulate what I didn't like about a movie (sometimes I take great pleasure in doing so) but for this one is just amounts to "it was kinda boring".

What did you think about the opening battle scene? I thought the cgi was so horrible it could be compared to something 10 years ago.

 

[member 51464]

The Queen of Versailles - 7/10 That was fun! A family is building the largest home in America when the economy falls off a cliff and being poor ensues.

The look on the Hertz rental guy's face when she asked about what her driver's name was was absolutely priceless, haha.

 

[kihei]

The Innocents (2016) Directed by Anne Fontaine 7A

Concerning movies about war, conflict is very seldom seen from a female point of view, but The Innocents is a very forceful and welcome exception. It's December of 1945 in rural Poland, and the war has been over for some months. The German troops have fled and the Russian occupiers have begun to move in. A small nunnery struggles with a spiritual and physical crisis that follows in the wake of these terrible events. Having been raped by the invaders, six or seven nuns are now pregnant. As if the devastation of such a violation wasn't enough of a cross to bear, the unwanted pregnancies now bring shame, even greater trauma, and, to the Mother Superior of the convent, the possibility of scandal. An inexperienced French doctor serving with the Red Cross provides some assistance, but she is powerless to defuse the situation entirely. Some of the beleaguered nuns respond bravely while others are overwhelmed by the inescapable realities that they face. Faith is called upon, but the answers it provides remain dangerously ambiguous. While The Innocents is not a suspense movie, I found myself awaiting the next scene in the story's progression with acute interest. So much is executed so well in this film--the volatile emotions on display; the various ways the characters respond and develop; the spare but revealing dialogue; the understated cinematography--that I was a little disappointed by an ending that is too neat and tidy for its own good. But that really is a minor quibble. The Innocents is very powerful movie that will likely stay with me for some time.

subtitles


Best of '16 so far

The Wailing, Na, South Korea 8B
Closet Monster, Dunn, Canada 7A
The Innocents, Fontaine, France/Poland 7A
Disorder, Winocour, France 7B
Chevalier, Tsangari, Greece. 7B

 

[Philly85*]

Room - 8.1/10 (hard to watch)
Black Mass - 6/10 (worse the second go round, how very disappointing)
Big Eyes - 7.4/10
Sicario - 8.9/10
Spy - 7.2/10
Walk The Line - 8.2/10 (both Phoenix and Witherspoon are so good, so enjoyable)
Salo, 120 Days of Sodom - 7/10 (curveball!)
Roxanne - 7.5/10

 

[aleshemsky83]

Judge Dredd (1995) - Not nearly as bad as its made out to be. Certainly several thousand leagues below Dredd (2012), but a decent movie to watch if its on tv with special effects that actually holds up which is shocking because almost none from that time period do. Great set design and costumes as well. And as terrible as Rob Schneider movies are, he's actually kind of funny in this.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

Concussion - C

For a subject matter as serious as CTE, I thought this movie was a little bland. It had a great performance from Smith (Though I'm not sure it was Oscar Worthy) but all the other characters for kind of forgettable. What saves this movie other than Smith's performance was the scenes with the NFL players. We needed more powerful moments like that in this movie to really nail the point home. They were chilling and hit you in the stomach as to how serious this issue is and how the NFL keeps denying it.

 

[Johnny LaRue]

Now You See Me: 1/5.

It's bad, really bad.

 

[kihei]

Genius (2016) Directed by Michael Grandage 5A

There aren't too many movies about the relationship between a great writer and his editor, so I was looking forward to seeing this one. Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law), author of Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River, was a contemporary of Fitzgerald and Hemingway, and Max Perkins (Colin Firth) was at one time or another each of those author's distinguished editor. The movie focuses on the near father/son relationship that developed between Wolfe and Perkins, who both sacrificed greatly for the sake of honing Wolfe's difficult prose which was dense and verbose but often capable of delivering phenomenal insights as well. Employing a North Carolina drawl, Law gives such a prodigiously broad performance that the other actors have to devise strategies not to get blown off the screen by him. As Wolfe's mistress, Nicole Kidman turns up the intensity and narrow-eyed bitterness whereas Firth as Wolfe's long-suffering editor underplays everything with a sort of self-contained refinement and never takes off his hat even when he is wearing pajamas. All this leads to some vivid characters, but vivid in the theatrical sense, not the more true-to-life realism that cinema can provide. In addition, Dominic West and Guy Pearce have brief turns as respectively Hemingway and Fitzgerald. They're fine, especially Pearce, but, jesus, are there no American actors who can play any of these writers? It just seems weird to cast an ongoing succession of Brits and Aussies in these roles. Of course, if I am noticing stuff like that, the movie must not be holding my attention very well. As for genius, allegedly the subject of this movie, I don't know any more about it now than I did when I went into this movie. I can't say the topic actually came up.

 

[hototogisu]

What did you think about the opening battle scene? I thought the cgi was so horrible it could be compared to something 10 years ago.

I didn't think it was noticeably bad but I'm admittedly a pretty poor judge of stuff like that.

 

[Led Zappa]

Sisters 6/10 - Pretty much what I expected. Formula, slapstick, gross humor with some sentimentality added in. A Sunday afternoon flick where I could turn my brain off and get a couple laughs out if it.

 

[Muzzinga]

Was just looking through recent years for how good films were, and my god was 2014 an incredible year for film. May not have hit the peak of other years, like 1994, but for the consistency of great movies, it might be the best year in film ever. There are too many great movies to just list, like hitting 25 or 30, so just look up yourselves.

 

[Nalens Oga]

Were there a lot of bad space films made in the late 90s and early 2000s and did they stop making as many after during the decade because of it?