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What did you watch this week eh? (09/12-09/18) CLOSED

posted 3 years ago by StoneKeeper (28408)
46 replies | jump to latest

Not the best week for me but not the worst either:

Foxcatcher (2014 TV): The story is interesting but this movie is not for me. I never really liked Steve Carell to start with and that might be his worst movie for me. It was disgusting. Channing Tatum was surprisingly unattractive which makes Mark Ruffalo the highlight with a solid performance. Otherwise, it’s a very gray movie. I don’t like gray. My rating: 4/10

Trespass (2011 TV): AKA « How to beat around the bush 101 ». I mean, how many times did he ask him to open the safe? I always enjoy seeing Cam Gigandet cuz he was in The OC. This movie gave me a headache though. Wasn’t fun like Uncut gems for example. It actually has good production values but I feel like they stretched 30 minutes of material into a full movie. Nah. 4/10 (on a positive note: my wife LOVED it.)

Familia (2005 TV):” This emotionally-charged story of mothers and daughters explores beauty, addiction, and family. It asks the question--is it possible to change your destiny? Canada. French w/Eng. subtitles. Winner - Toronto FF, Winner Canadian Oscars. This movie slowly moved me and in the end I was wowed. Wow. 8/10

Wonder Woman 84(2020 DVD): I liked the first one so much that I didn’t want to believe that the sequel would suck so I bought the DVD… It wasn’t THAT bad but it was quite bad. It was cheesy more than anything. I found the BEST way to describe this movie; you know when you’re watching the beginning of a movie and then suddenly you hear a director say « cut » and you realize that this was not the movie but a movie within the movie? Well this movie feels like this but the director never yells cut. It looks like a movie set, not a movie. I also have to mentioned that I missed about 20 minutes of the first hour when I dozed off and didn’t feel like rewinding because the kids were there. My rating: 4.5/10 (my kids liked it)

Up (2009 Disney): I loved the first 20 minutes but then, What I thought would be a heartfelt and poetic story became a goofy chase between humans and a bird, bird and dogs, pilot dogs and talking dogs... kind of strange. It’s all well made, sure, but I look at all the raving critics and I wasn’t wowed. It was funny at times but my kids laughed way more than I did. Maybe the child inside me was just asleep that day. Idk. My rating: 6/10

Love and monsters (2021 Netflix): Enjoyable flick with nice special effects. Sometimes I had fun pretending I was watching Seth Cohen so much this actor looks like Adam Brody from The OC. I loved the dog. It’s hard for me to say if I’d watch it again though. My rating: 7/10

[–] capuchin (3369) 3 years ago

Hey, hey:

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (Martin Scorsese, Michael Henry Wilson, 1995)

Hell of a title, isn’t it? I think all films should have such literal titles. Dorothy Gets Caught Up In A Tornado & Ends Up in a Strange New Place Known By Its Inhabitants as Oz was a stone-cold classic. Anyway: I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as Scorsese’s documentary on Italian cinema, simply because this covers more films in a shorter time - so you don’t quite get the depth. But who doesn’t enjoy Scorsese (already in his avuncular phase by the mid-90s) talking you through his obsessions? 4/5

Hitler’s Hollywood (Rutger Suchsland, 2017)

Suchsland’s second documentary on German cinema. His first, Caligari to Hitler, covered the Weimar Republic and bunches of films that many film fans are already pretty familiar with and posits a thesis that you can see the shadow of the upcoming Third Reich in some of them. Which I found a wee bit far-fetched. Hitler’s Hollywood - covering 1933 to 1945 - has no such issues, as you can definitely see the Third Reich in these films. Strange, that. Lots of interesting clips from films no-one watches any more and basically demonstrates that for the most part the products of Joseph Goebbels’s propaganda machine were a lot like regular movies, but a bit more Nazi. 3/5

Alice in Panchalinadu (Sudhin Vamattam, 2021)

OK. It’s called Alice in Panchalinadu. But our title character doesn’t turn up for 50 minutes and then promptly disappears for another 40. And she was barely necessary to what passes for a plot anyway. That’s the best illustration of the film’s messiness. Although there’s a reasonable attempt at the end to tie things together and give the illusion of structure, it’s far too late by then. This is just stuff happening to characters you don’t know. 1/5

[–] capuchin (3369) 3 years ago

May’s Child (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1958)

Have you ever seen a film - maybe a Hays Code era film - where the ending jars so roughly with everything that preceded it that you think the director must have balked at the production notes and said ‘Screw it! I’ll make that as unnatural as possible, so the audience knows damn well I don’t believe in it’? I think that’s what happened here. A seventeen year old girl marries an older architect - but no-one cares about the age-gap, because it’s the 1950s. They are, however, completely incompatible. He’s aloof and stuck in his ways. She’s abrupt, rude and jealous. It’s a strength of the film that even though it’s definitely the girl’s story and we understand why he’s a problem, she isn’t an especially sympathetic character. We have a scene towards the end where an unequal 1950s style marriage is compared and contrasted with prostitution, and then… that false note ending. Anyway, it’s quite good if very much a product of its era. 3/5

Malaise (Rituparno Ghosh, 1999)

A simple story: a successful actor in Kolkata goes back home because her mother is ill. She and her father await test results. Meantime, some juicy gossip from her dayjob is about to drop in the newspapers. But the characters are properly complex. Her relationship with her father is slightly strained, in a perfectly believable way, but neither of them ever talk about it. Terrific acting and beautifully observed. Not eventful in the least, but I found it absorbing. 4/5

Puzzle (Duccio Tessari, 1974)

Perfectly acceptable thriller about an amnesiac, the wife he can’t remember and some sausages filled with drugs. 3/5

[–] capuchin (3369) 3 years ago

Train to Busan (2016), Peninsula (2020) (Both: Yeon Sang-ho)

Somehow I didn’t know anything about Train to Busan, other than it was well-liked. So I went in more or less blind. I’ll confess that my heart sank a bit right at the beginning, with the roadkill scene and all the talk of a virus. ‘Oh, we’re doing this again. I might be tapped-out on these.’ But it quickly won me over, because it’s a very fine example indeed of its genre. Tightly constructed, tense, exciting and even remembers to give you characters to care about. I don’t think he approved of the fast type, but I bet Romero kicked himself that he’d never thought to set one on a train. And an unexpectedly emotional ending too…

… which the sequel, Peninsula, kind of attempts to replicate - and messes up quite badly. The second story is more expansive, but also quite a step down. I see people were thoroughly disappointed by it, and I mostly concur. But I enjoyed it well enough anyway, feeling it was probably on a par with Land of the Dead. Yeon just skipped a few films of steadier decline on the way here. 4/5, 3/5 respectively.

Sweat (Magnus von Horn, 2020)

The message of this thing may be a bit trite by this stage: Internet fame is a bit hollow and unsatisfying. Anyway, we follow a successful Instagrammer around as that message steadily dawns on her, and other, quite unpleasant stuff happens both to and around her. The ending’s a bit pat, and I hovered between three and four stars because of it - but ultimately decided it was worth a four on the strength of the central performance. Magdalena Kolesnik carries this; it may be what we used to call a ‘star turn’. 4/5

Mother (Bong Joon-ho, 2009)

The best movie so far made with the title Mother. And I will fight you. 5/5

[–] capuchin (3369) 3 years ago

Bridgend (Jeppe Ronde, 2015)

In the county of Bridgend, Wales there was - and may well still be - a higher than average number of suicides. That bit is true. As far as I’m aware, the rest of this is made up, so you do sort of wonder why they didn’t make up something more interesting or plausible. Sensibly, the film doesn’t attempt to provide an explanation. It doesn’t need one. Is it the alienation and boredom of living in a rural community? Is it a kind of cult? It floats these ideas and leaves the viewer to decide… but the narrative is still fairly dull and the interactions between characters feel like they were written by someone who hasn’t yet met humans. 2/5

Om Dar-B-Dar (Karmal Swaroop, 1988)

A teacher paces up and down a courtyard carrying a massive frog. Inside the classroom, one of his students fails to answer the teacher’s question satisfactorily, so the teacher slaps him remotely with the frog. Just one of the truly extraordinary and baffling scenes in the frog-obsessed Om Dar-B-Dar, a movie I am not going to pretend to have understood. But one that manages to be continuously strange without being at all alienating. I stopped attempting to make sense of it after the first ten minutes or so, and just enjoyed being confused by it. Some wonderful stuff in here - dadaist, I suppose - but your guess is really as good as mine. 4/5

[–] StoneKeeper (28408) 3 years ago

Interesting.

Train to Busan: 7.5/10
I bought peninsula
Mother: 8/10

You haven’t seen any of mine?

[–] capuchin (3369) 3 years ago

Of yours, I've only seen Up, and it was too long ago for me to have clear memories of it. I don't think I've seen it since it was in cinemas.

As far as I do remember it though, I pretty much agree with your write up: a truly great opening attached to a so-so movie (at least by Pixar's high standards). Let's put it this way: I still remember the opening sequence; the rest of the movie is a bit of a blur.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

i liked sweat quite a bit too. one of my favourite 2021 releases (i'm including it with 2021 cuz i believe it was only available in north america this year). does some interesting things to make me feel sympathy for someone i don't feel naturally inclined to feel sympathetic towards, if that makes sense.

[–] capuchin (3369) 3 years ago

Yeah. That makes sense. I thought it was a fairly persuasive character study of someone who, well, doesn't really know her own character outside of her online persona.

[–] sslssg (35199) 3 years ago

I agree with Mother. It's a great movie. Twisty turny.

[–] capuchin (3369) 3 years ago

Bong Joon-ho could make a movie called Twisty Turny. It could be a sequel to his Oooh, Tonal Shift.

[–] sslssg (35199) 3 years ago

Ok, that made me giggle

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Hey,

Foxcatcher 8/10
Wonder Woman 84 7/10
Up 9/10

I watched:
The Voyeurs (2021) 7/10
Mix Up in the Mediterranean (2021) 7/10
Antwone Fisher (2002) 7/10
The Jerk (1979) 8/10 rewatch
Malignant (2021) 8/10
The Lonely Guy (1984) 8/10
Annabelle (2014) 8/10 rewatch
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021) 8/10
The Invisible Man (1933) 8/10 rewatch

I'm on vacation this week so I should be watching more movies than usual! Feel free to make recommendations!

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

have you seen cutter's way? it's leaving criterion at the end of the month. i watched it recently and really loved it. feels like a bit of a 70s hang-over movie, a bit similar to night moves or blow out in some ways. would be very interested to hear what you think of it if you have seen it.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

No, I haven't seen it. I'll have to check it out.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

have you seen Old (2021)?

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Yes, I liked Old and rated it a 7/10.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

i would give Old a 6/10
have you seen Don't Breathe 2?

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

No, I haven't seen Don't Breathe 2. I liked the first one, but I have heard mixed things about the second.

[–] StoneKeeper (28408) 3 years ago

Antwone Fisher: 7/10
The jerk: 7/10
Annabelle: could
Not finish

I’ll think about my recommendations but I’ll watch Le guide de la famille parfaite on Netflix.

[–] tcrum (31863) 3 years ago

I'm glad i'm not the only one who didn't like Up.

[–] StoneKeeper (28408) 3 years ago

Word

[–] sslssg (35199) 3 years ago

Greetings

Of yours I have seen
Foxcatcher - 5/10
Trespass - 5/10
Up - 7/10

My week
Haunt (2019) 7/10 - This was a rewatch for me, and I still feel the same the same way. I love Halloween, I love haunts, and this delivered some decent gore. It was believable for the most part. Not a great a film, but for the genre, pretty decent.

I Used to Go Here (2020) 6/10 I liked it. The pacing was a little slow, but overall it was an enjoyable watch. I think mid-life crises can hit us at anytime, but the sad truth is that we can't ever really home again. I liked the cast, and the line “Just because a connection with a person doesn’t last forever, that doesn’t mean it’s not real.” struck a chord. Sweet movie, not a ton of substance.

Paradise Hills (2019) 6/10 I ended up liking this one more than I thought I was going to. It is a very stylish film, that looks gorgeous. I am not the biggest fan of either Emma Roberts or Milla Jovovich, but didn't hate them in this. Jovovich is the same in every roll to me and she wasn't breaking any boundaries here. The premise was very interesting, not wholly original, but a fresh take on the ideas it presented. It didn't live up to it's potential unfortunately. I do think that the parts which work do outweigh the ones that don't.

Warlock: The Armageddon (1993) 4.5/10 That was meh. Very different in tone from the first one. I had always put off seeing it because I didn't think it looked very good. I was right. I mean it wasn't awful, but it just wasn't good.

[–] sslssg (35199) 3 years ago

The Host (2013) 5/10 I apparently didn't hate this movie as much as many others did. I read the book so long ago that I remembered the gist of it but not all the details, but I do think the book was better. The movie is a little too long, and the inner dialogue can get a little tiresome when it's about the boys, but I think it's a bit of an interesting concept. The movie looks good, and has a great cast. I'd say it's a pretty average story. I won't watch it again, but I've seen a lot worse.

Romance on the Menu (2021) 4/10 (AKA Hearts Down Under) I said I was going to take a break from Hallmark movies, and I just didn't. This one stuck to the formula almost too much. Everything that happened was just so predictable. I mean I like the formula, but when it gets to the point that you don't remember what the movie is 2 minutes after you watch it because it blurs with so many other movies, that's not the best.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021) 8/10 I will almost always prefer stage versions of musicals, as I feel there is just a bit of magic missing when it's translated on film. That didn't change here, there's just a little something lacking. But it is little. I really liked the cast. I missed The Legend of Loco Chanelle, but the change really worked in the movie. I am so happy with the resurgence of musicals. This one is fun, touching, and funny and based on a true story. 100% worth the watch.

[–] StoneKeeper (28408) 3 years ago

Haunt: Agreed. 7/10

I like Jovovich quite a bit. Never heard of Paradise hills before. It looks interesting.

[–] Rockman4 (1726) 3 years ago

Cry Macho (2021) - 6/10
Free Guy (2021) - 7/10
Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021) - 7/10
Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021) - 6/10
The Gateway (2021) - 5/10
Regression (2015) - 7/10
Crime Story (1993) - 8/10

And out of the ones you watched

Foxcatcher (2014) - 7/10
Trespass (2011) - 5/10
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) - 5/10
Up (2009) - 8/10
Love and Monsters (2020) - 7/10

[–] StoneKeeper (28408) 3 years ago

Jackie Chan is in my top 5 favorite actors and Im sure I've seen Crime Story but it's among those I need to rewatch. 8/10 sounds about right though,

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Up - 6.5
Foxcatcher - 7

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Old (2021) - This an outstanding 6/10. Reminded of The Village. I had no idea what the twist would be and it was underwhelming.

Nebraska (2014) -A very funny and moving movie. What took me so long. Bruce Dern and Will Forte were great. 8/10

Don't Breathe 2 (2021) - A complete turn around from the first one. The plot was a little ridiculous especially the medical angle. There were some good scenes so this is another 6/10

The Silence (2019) - What was Stanley Tucci doing in this? Plot holes everywhere and the premise is just not feasible. Then they throw in a cult. 5/10

[–] StoneKeeper (28408) 3 years ago

Old looks pretty good.

nebraska is on my list.

[–] TheMan18 (13188) 3 years ago

Fritz Lang's "M" (1931) film, still brilliant, haunting and thought-provoking, one of Lang's top 3 best works for sure.

[–] StoneKeeper (28408) 3 years ago

I'd watch it if I had the chance for sure but wouldn't seek it out.