Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Jojo Rabbit (2019) — Thought the first 35-40 minutes to be rather dull and unfunny, however the rest really brought the film together and made the first part make more sense what Waititi was doing. Some nice moments with Davis and McKenzie although can't say I fell in love with this, but still glad I watched. ***½/*****

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...968f169112.jpg


Taped it during the EPIX free trial

Eva Mendes has not been in a movie since 2014

I know she is busy raising a family and maybe it is true or false she had bad plastic surgery?

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Brokeback Mountain- This was quite the emotional romance, amazing performance by Jake Gyllenhaal + Heath Ledger, I definitely would recommend it.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Midway (2019) — Admittedly I have a love for anything involving World War II and although the dialogue was a bit spotty and some of the visual effects were okay at best, I still found this to be a pretty good war movie and nice performances all around. Probably doesn't rank all that high compared to others about Midway and Pearl Harbor, yet still found it to be worth checking out. ***¾/*****

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...fb3c22faf1.jpg


One of James Wan's early films

I don't think it was as bad as the reviews and not intended to be Oscar quality.

It was a fun movie

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Macbeth - The 2015 version directed by Justin Kurzel starring Fassbender and Cotillard. Really great adaptation of my personal favorite Shakespeare play. Visually stunning, with great acting from the two leads as well as supporting players like Sean Harris, Paddy Considine, Jack Reynor, and David Thewlis. The music is also very eerie does a superb job of helping to set the mood of the picture. The battle scenes are very well shot; in fact, the direction as a whole is extremely adept. The battle scene towards the end that is bathed in red is beautiful and compelling to look at. While I still slightly prefer Polanski's version over this one, they're both excellent adaptations. Now I guess we can look forward to Joel Coen's take which is due out this year with Denzel and McDormand...should be interesting...

Home Alone - Rewatched this for the umpteenth time, only on this occasion I turned on the commentary track from Chris Columbus and Macauley Culkin. Really great track, full of neat little tidbits of information and reminisces...Surprised I hadn't listened to this before. Thought the track was a lot more valuable than the various little docs and behind-the-scenes stuff on the disc...

The Gift - This time watched with Joel Edgerton's commentary, in which he is accompanied by the film's editor. Really fascinating track that has a lot of in-depth discussion about how movies are made and why the decisions that were made were made on this film. Talks a lot about contributions from other members of the crew and the importance of having a plan yet still allowing for improvisation and collaboration over the course of making a film. Just a really solid track from a very smart filmmaker/actor...

Other than that, have been crazy binging episodes of Dexter...Just starting season four either tonight or tomorrow, but planning on squeezing in at least a couple of more movies before that...

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

The Sicilian - The Director's Cut Shout Factory Blu-Ray. Extremely weak Cimino film that has really lofty aspirations but really just fails on every level. It's based on a Mario Puzo novel but it's hard to tell whether or not the source material was any good because the resulting movie certainly wasn't. The movie really wants to be an epic along the lines of The Godfather but just doesn't have a strong or compelling enough story to make that happen. It doesn't help that Lambert is very weak in the main role, and the supporting cast doesn't add much...even John Turturro seems kind of off in his role, and Joss Ackland, who I usually like, isn't all that great. Also, at close to two and a half hours, it really drags at time. Still nice to have finally seen this one, but it's not some sort of lost Cimino masterpiece...It's just a misfire and a bad movie (probably my least favorite Cimino movie, behind such others as Sunchaser and Desperate Hours). The disc itself doesn't have any special features and probably doesn't really need any anyway (I suppose a trailer would've been nice but oh well)...

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...7b94140f74.jpg



I would never pay to see it in the theater but for a Wed night at home it passes the time

Taped it during the Epix free trial.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Drug War - Awesome Johnnie To movie that still holds up after several viewings. Great acting and an awesome script filled with surprises and double-crosses, loaded with terrific action sequences. Especially loved the "mute brothers" and the major set-pieces towards the end of the movie. Doesn't dumb itself down, and really relies on viewers to pay attention and follow along through the many betrayals and subterfuge strewn throughout the movie. Just a great action movie that's fun to watch once every year or so...

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Out of the Furnace - Rewatched this Scott Cooper film from several years back. Still impressed. One of the best casts you could ever hope to assemble, including Bale, Harrelson, Casey Affleck (probably the standout of the entire cast), Zoe Saldana, Sam Shepard (his quiet presence was extremely well acted; he can do a helluva lot of acting without even speaking), Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, etc. While I don't think the script quite reaches the level that you would hope given that amazing cast, it's still an altogether great movie. Just kind of wish it was a bit more memorable or profound. The scenes between Bale, Affleck, and Shepard are just wonderful, and I loved the griminess of the whole picture. The set/production design really felt like a character in the movie (seemed at times like it was paying homage to The Deer Hunter, which was obviously also set in Pennsylvania). The score was also very good and seemed very true to the region in which the movie was based. I guess the one thing I kind of questioned was...



Nevertheless, a solid movie...Glad I revisited it...

Also, they have an awesome extra on the Blu-Ray titled "Finding Inspiration". It's basically just each of the major actors just briefly talking about the movies and/or actors/actresses that inspired them to try and make it in the film industry. Unfortunately, it's only like three minutes long but I could've listened to them talk and elaborate about their movie inspirations for an hour. Really wish they had expanded it as it's just cool finding out what their favorite movies are...This is the kind of feature I wish more movies had.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Hostiles - Did not like the first hour or so, as I thought it was boring, cliched, and slow. However, it really, really picks up after that, around the time when they have an encounter with three fur traders, and soon after Ben Foster enters the picture. From then on, the movie was phenomenal. It actually seemed very much influenced by Malick over the course of the final hour of the movie, just in terms of pacing, editing, and music. And the performances really picked up after that, particularly Bale, Pike, Studi, Adam Beach, and Rory Cochrane. Had seen this once before but liked it a lot more this second viewing (even though, like I said, I thought the first half dragged). The last fifteen minutes or so were especially compelling, and I was very satisfied with the ending. Easily Cooper's best movie (a touch better than Out of the Furnace, mainly based on the impact felt by the ending of the movie, and miles better than Black Mass, which I really didn't like). Was also nice seeing some other actors in smaller roles like Bill Camp, Stephen Lang, and Q'Orianka Kilcher...and even Timothee Chalamet is in this one (I recognize him now but don't think I had any idea who he was the first time I watched the movie)...

The score was also just perfect for the film...

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

What Just Happened - Very funny Barry Levinson-directed comedy from a book/memoir written by Hollywood producer Art Linson. Going in, I was worried that some of the positive blurbs the movie got were mostly generated because it was an "insider Hollywood" movie, and a lot of critics can fall over themselves praising movies like that. Turns out I needn't have worried, as the movie is hilarious and subversive and really sends up a lot of cliches that come out of Hollywood. I was laughing my ass off when they initially showed the "pretentious Hollywood director's" cut of his arty action movie starring Sean Penn and a dog (Michael Wincott nailed the role as the director in question). I didn't expect what happened to happen and just thought it was perfect. Bruce Willis also impresses acting like a spoiled brat of an actor, and De Niro's character comes across as being very self-deprecating, which is refreshing. Robin Wright had a decent role, although to be honest her scenes with De Niro were one of the few subplots that probably could've been trimmed, at least a bit. Kirsten Stewart was okay and not annoying. Stanley Tucci was okay. John Turturro was hilarious as an agent, and seemed to have a lot of fun in the role. Anyway, I was surprised and impressed by how much I liked this movie. Kind of surprised when it came out it received such little fanfare...

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

The Sisters Brothers - A sublime Western that I just watched for the second time. Loved the chemistry between Phoenix and Reilly. They were great in their roles. I also loved their dialogue, as it had a certain rhythm and cadence that was unusual but memorable. Ahmed and Gyllenhaal were good, although the movie definitely takes a somewhat bizarre turn about 2/3s of the way through. That said, it was a really good "character movie." The shootouts were good; not overly dramatized, it was just them doing what they had to do to live to see another day. The music was also really good. Hope Phoenix continues the roll he's been on for the past few years, as I've liked him in pretty much everything he's done (although, I should say, like a lot of people here, it seems, I still feel that Joker was and is overrated)...

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Frozen II (2019) — Better than the first film which I found lackluster in almost every area outside the animation, this one had a stronger story and character development and while I can't say there was one highly memorable song, it did flow a bit better in the sequel. ***¾/*****

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Candyman (Unrated Cut)

I love every frame of this film. The mythos is fantastic as is the set design.

Even though it only amounts to a few seconds, this was the first time that I had ever seen the Unrated Cut.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...cc288247f.jpeg

Annabelle Wallis might be one of the few women to go through all this mess to get her back

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...51d08b68f4.jpg


It was not perfect but I was entertained.

Too bad they don't make a lot of movies like this anymore and the police thriller or cop dramas were more common in the 90's.

Did not know Taylor Kitsch played one of the robbers.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...9dad1707b2.jpg

Kind of long and overrated

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...d18aa5acea.jpg
Mandy (2018)

I was excited at first with the opening shots over King Crimson's "Starless". All the visual were stunning and the mood was excellent. But then after a few scenes it was a big case of form over content. There's only so much ominous music and hyper-stylised (and flashing) lighting can do. If your script is empty then all the gimmick you can use won't help. Would have made a great short film but the vacuousness of the story is just overbearing. Like Luc Besson, this promising director should NOT write his own films but direct stories by real scriptwriters.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

Contagion (2011) — Decided for no particular reason to re-visit this drama-thriller from Soderbergh and while it is cold in its presentation, and some may find the focus on some of the technical aspects of investigation the origins of the virus to be a tad dull, I thought it was rather interesting, and the performances were adequate enough, highlighted by Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and Kate Winslet. ***¾/*****

Given current events, wouldn't surprise me if some studio/network could turn this into a mini-series (kind of like Traffic). Probably could draw similar talent.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

I read the book and enjoyed it as an insider's look. However, this is a fictionalized story that has nothing to do with the book (other than it's about the film industry).

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://images.static-bluray.com/mov...g?t=1554003482
Matinee Shout! Factory Blu-Ray
John Goodman. Directed by Joe Dante. 1993
A showman introduces a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalizes on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitschy horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and actors in rubber suits in this salute to the B-movie.

This is the mostly Comedic story of a William Castle-ish Exploitation Producer/Director visiting a small Florida town to premiere his new film "Mant!" on the eve of the Cuban Missle Crisis in 1962. The story concerns local teens planning to meet up to see the film while having to contend with Civil Defense drills and other dramas. I remember renting this film in the early '90s and enjoying it quite a bit. 25 years later (wow!) it's certainly well-produced with great attention to detail, but it just didn't generate the warm satisfaction I had hoped for. There's something very TV-ish about it, as opposed to "American Graffiti" or "Porky's". One odd thing, the movie theater scenes are as brightly lit as the average Living Room, which the DP called out director Joe Dante on (but that's what he wanted).

I will say the Shout! Factory disc is terrific and filled to the brim with all the features you could ever want.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

I think I have seen Matinee 3 times on cable.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...e1a00d924b.jpg

Pretty good and also had some moments of sadness.

Hard to believe a guy like this existed in our cynical world and he was the real deal and not a phony.

Maybe he was an angel disguised as a Children's TV performer.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...747c407135.jpg


At first I thought it was a horror movie but more of a drama or Olivia Coleman and Walter Goggins might have passed.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...7002671b23.jpg


Saw it for a second time and thought maybe the first time I did not appreciate it but it was an average movie