Rate The Last Movie You Watched

[larrymcg421]

I didn't like Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It seemed to forget that Ghostbusters is supposed to be funny. They played it completely straight, with stale storylines that really went nowhere interesting. The bright spot is McKenna Grace and then the nostalgic ending. But if the point of the movie is nostalgia, then making it a straightforward sci-fi/action movie was a huge mistake. The Paul Feig version had its share of problems, but it was at least funny.

[Critch]

Watched The Courier (2020) on Prime not really expecting much since it seemed to come and go without much attention when it was released in cinemas, but thoroughly enjoyed it.

A British business man (Benedict Cumberbatch) sent to 1960's Moscow by MI6 and the CIA when a high level Russian GRU officer tries to make contact. Based on a true story.

I am a bit of a sucker for the "realistic" spy dramas though. Based on a true story or based on a Le Carre novel is bound to draw me in.

8.5/10

[cubboyroy1826]

Watched the new Netflix movie, The Killer and thought it was a total snooze fest. Definitely different but I was pretty bored most of the way. Anyone else watch it? Was I just tired from a day full of activity?

[korme]

Originally Posted by cubboyroy1826

Watched the new Netflix movie, The Killer and thought it was a total snooze fest. Definitely different but I was pretty bored most of the way. Anyone else watch it? Was I just tired from a day full of activity?

Watch it like a black comedy.

Spoiler

For instance, he sounds so slow and methodical and you think he's this archetypical cold blooder killer assassin, but he's kind of bad at his job. He misses the target, he gets his ass kicked, he thinks the lawyer will have 6-7 minutes to live and he dies in about 10 seconds, etc.

Or like how he listens to The Smiths the entire time. That's hilarious.

[Edward64]

The Equalizer 3 - 7.5/10

Some pretty good action and very entertaining. Although the fight scenes aren't as good as John Wick or Jason Bourne, I like how relatively subdued they are, not overly over-the-top. Unfortunately, this is probably the last one for Denzel. Wish he would do more, all 3 movies have been solid.

Fuqua recently told Total Film that he didn't see himself directing another film in The Equalizer franchise and that, from his conversations with Washington, "this is the final one [for him] as well." Speaking with EW, Fuqua leaves the door open a smidge to reuniting on a fourth film with Washington, who will next be seen in the Gladiator sequel.

[Edward64]

Barbie - 6/10

My wife enjoyed it more than I did, no surprise I guess. It was okay as a one-time watch, but won't be adding to my blu-ray collection.

May have been different if daughter was watching it with us when she was younger, but as 2 adults ... mediocre.

[GrantDawg]

Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain- 6.5/10

Not the funniest movie I have ever seen, but it was funny.

[Qwikshot]

Finally got around to watching French Connection.

I'm a big fan of Friedkin but I didn't really like this one. It felt a little slow at points. The car chases are amazing but it just felt off at points.

I really like Roy Scheider and I think I expected more of a buddy cop moving but he was more of a sidekick who pops in and out.

That being said Gene Hackman is amazing.

To me, the pace was off and it never felt tense. Popeye Doyle as a character was always going to be like a bull in a china shop. He's a precursor to Dirty Harry but Clint Eastwood would never let the bad guys win. Doyle is more of a throwback to the gritty 70s where evil wins because the system is rotten.

Friedkin wouldn't give a shit about my thoughts, it is a good movie, just not something I enjoyed as much as say Taking of Pelham 123 (The original) or Serpico.

7 out of 10.

[Fidatelo]

Barbie - 5/10


I do not get what the hype was about this movie at all. Wife and oldest son didn't enjoy it either. It got a little better in the second half once the conflict was introduced but for the most part still just a mediocre comedy trying to ham-fistedly drive home gender inequality issues.


Not sure how this garnered so much buzz over the summer.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

Taking of Pelham 123 (The original)

Such a great movie, one of my all-time favorites.

[Qwikshot]

Just watched Equilizer 3 and it was fine.

Denzel is looking mighty old but then again, most action heroes are. If this is the coda to the series then I guess it's pretty middling. Robert McCall finds paradise in Itlay in a place that looks much like the real version of Pixar's Luca.

But let's back up a second. This is the third entry of a retooled/revisioned television series that I grew to love starring Edward Woodward as an "retired" British spy living in NY helping those who couldn't. It had a rocking theme song by Stewart Copeland.

That McCall seemed like a less suave arrow field agent who would've scoffed at a 007 dashing Bond. He never seemed flustered and he always reminded much like Lee Marvin in Point Blank (1967), in that he was relentless in pursuing his goal of righting the wrong.

It is ironic that Edward Woodward in some ways prempted the old man action star that Liam Neeson, Clint Eastwood, Sly Stallone and a boatload of other geriatrics because let's face, the Hollywood system and our nostalgia for action movies requires recognizable stars over new blood (I mean Statham ain't no spring chicken (at 56) and Dwayne Johnson doesn't seem to dabble in the more violent films and is 51). Let's face it most action movies got sucked up into the Marvel Maelstrom.

While Edward Woodward was a more in the shadows and spycraft, Denzel's McCall is more of an avenging angel. He doesn't like to kill but he does it but all he wants is peace (not really, but man when he wants to see a wrong righted he'll kill everyone for it, even if it's just to collect someone's stolen pension).

The bad guys are Italian mafia this time and not more than cookie cutter must be killed fodder. Much more time was spent on bringing Dakota Fanning in for a Man on Fire reunion to play a character never met in the first two but once you see her you know who she's playing.

After some kills and a big plot hole driven finale (if McCall's sole interest is not to be known, then all the cameras at the ending would probably put a damper in things especially if he wants to stick around his new home), it ends. But I couldn't help but think Denzel's biggest obstacle wasn't the bad guys but all the steps he needed to walk in the Italian mountainside village.

I'd watch again, but it's not as inspired as the first two.

6 out of 10.

[RainMaker]

The movies are pretty silly when you look at it but Denzel is so good that I love them. I'm also a sucker for those vigilante style movies.

Really looking forward to Reacher season 2 in December.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

Much more time was spent on bringing Dakota Fanning in for a Man on Fire reunion to play a character never met in the first two but once you see her you know who she's playing.

Didn't make that connection with Man on Fire (have to rewatch that), thanks.

Looked up Edward Woodward. Passed away in 2009 at 79.

[GrantDawg]

Man on Fire was an excellent movie.

[Edward64]

Re-watched John Wick 4.

Overall, I'm going to say 2 > 1 > 4 > 3.

[RainMaker]

The Grey (10 out of 10) - Amazing movie. If you go in thinking it's a Liam Neeson action flick, you'll be disappointed. The wolves are a metaphor. It's a guy dealing with depression and loss and the will to keep going on. Tremendous film and maybe my favorite ending of all time (which I guess some people hated).

[MIJB#19]

Napoleon - 6.5 out of 10
I'm not quite sure what to think about it yet, leaning towards a 6 more than a 7. The way the movie flowed, it felt like they had to cut a 5-hour movie down to 2.5 hours and as a result the cohesion between scenes was lacking. I missed the whole aspect of why he was loved in France and hated yet respected in the rest of Europe. Maybe a result of trying to focus primarily on his relationship with Josephine.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Napoleon - 6.5 out of 10
I'm not quite sure what to think about it yet, leaning towards a 6 more than a 7. The way the movie flowed, it felt like they had to cut a 5-hour movie down to 2.5 hours and as a result the cohesion between scenes was lacking. I missed the whole aspect of why he was loved in France and hated yet respected in the rest of Europe. Maybe a result of trying to focus primarily on his relationship with Josephine.

I wish someone would do a "John Adams" like mini-series on Napoleon and try to root it more in facts.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Napoleon - 6.5 out of 10
I missed the whole aspect of why he was loved in France and hated yet respected in the rest of Europe. Maybe a result of trying to focus primarily on his relationship with Josephine.

FWIW a writer friend of mine had essentially same complaint: that there wasn't much explanation about why many of things in the movie occurred / were as they were.

[albionmoonlight]

Saw it last night. 6 out of 10 feels just right.

Good not great. Too disjointed.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

FWIW a writer friend of mine had essentially same complaint: that there wasn't much explanation about why many of things in the movie occurred / were as they were.

Exactly, that's a better way to describe it.
The movie was an ongoing chain of "yeah, I remember reading about that event" moments, but even while having more than the basic lecture buried deep in memory, I felt that they completely forgot to include the why parts in the movie.

[RainMaker]

It felt too short to cover his life. Maybe if they had focused on one event with some background it would have been better. I enjoyed it but I like Ridley Scott stuff. But it isn't the epic we were all expecting.

With that said, supposedly there is a 4-hour version of the movie that will be released on Apple+ when it leaves theaters. The Director's Cut of Kingdom of Heaven made that movie terrific. So maybe an extra hour or so will make this movie better.

[RainMaker]

While Joaquin Phoenix is a terrific actor, I do question that casting decision. One of the most essential aspects of Napoleon was how young he was when he was doing this stuff. Having a 50 year old man portray someone in their 20's seemed weird.

[flere-imsaho]

Timothee Chalamet can only do so many films at once.

[tarcone]

Napolean was terrible. Why do I want to watch him fully clothed banging a fully clothed Josephine from behind when I could see important battles that led to his historical importance.

Godzilla: Minus One--8-10 If you love Godzilla you will love this. The protagonist in this movie was har to take. I did not enjoy him at all. It is an origin movie, and you see Godzilla as a dinosaur. Pretty cool. I loved it.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Timothee Chalamet can only do so many films at once.

And the other 50 year old actor the plays everything Leonardo DiCaprio was busy playing another person in their 20's.

[sovereignstar v2]

There was a one night-only showing of a remastered version of James Cameron's The Abyss playing at theaters last night. I had only seen bits and pieces of it when I was a kid and it had long been on my radar as it never got a blu-ray release. It was really good even though some of the VFX were dated.

https://www.ign.com/articles/james-c...proper-release

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

There was a one night-only showing of a remastered version of James Cameron's The Abyss playing at theaters last night. I had only seen bits and pieces of it when I was a kid and it had long been on my radar as it never got a blu-ray release. It was really good even though some of the VFX were dated.

IGN Error 403 - Unavailable (IFW-U02)

The Abyss is really good, especially the director's cut.

[Kodos]

It’s kinda slow moving.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Kodos

It’s kinda slow moving.

Nothing wrong with that. Arrival is also slow-moving and it's the best science fiction movie of the 21st century.

[Kodos]

I liked them both, but didn’t enjoy The Abyss as much the second time I watched it.

[Edward64]

Slow moving? I couldn’t get thru ‘Nope’

[korme]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Slow moving? I couldn’t get thru ‘Nope’

Millennials am I right

[sovereignstar v2]

I thought this was a tough crowd when someone said Dune wasn't funny enough

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by korme

Millennials am I right

Nope. Just slooowwwww.

As in molasses or snail.

[Edward64]

Hypnotic - 5/10

Started off pretty interesting but then falls apart in the 2nd half. Too much Deus Machina. I like Ben Affleck (and know he ain't no Tom Cruise) but this seems below what he could get.

Free on Peacock so can't beat that. Good for one watch if looking for something, but don't expect too much.

[Ghost Econ]

Leave The World Behind: 5-6/10.

It was fine. Nice suspense, but had a tendency to linger to goose that suspense. Was basically a non-comedy version of Don't Look Up, which each character being cypher for their race/sex. The ending basically assumed the audience was too dumb to understand the last 2 hours without explaining.

The worst thing was finding out the only copies of Next's "Rated Next" available online are clean versions. I may as well just listen to static for 50 minutes.

[Qwikshot]

Asteroid City

I enjoy Wes Anderson, so if you like his works then you'll already feel at home with his style and tropes.

That being said, I by far, loved this movie than some of his other works. I actually laughed at parts which I didn't really do in prior films and there were parts that perhaps were maudlin or meant to make the viewer emotional, but they worked for me. (I enjoyed Fantastic Mr. Fox which had some of the same beats/tone but is not an original Anderson work).

Just like Grand Budpest or Royal Tennenbaums or French Dispatch, there is the movie and then there is the media where the story comes from (i.e. Royal Tennabaums is a book, Grand Budapest has a documentary cut into it, French Dispatch is stories in a New Yorker style magazine). In Asteroid, it's a tv show documentary, on the creation of the play of the actual movie. So yeah, layers, but I never felt confused.

I didn't pick up on it until reading some other reviews, but this is Anderson COVID movie (there is a quarentine) and this is probably Anderson's biggest movie about life and death and the future of art ( plays, films, etc), which I think French Dispatch also wrestled with but moreso with printed media as opposed to theartical/tv/cinema.

The biggest mantra in the film is something along the likes of "you wake up if you don't fall asleep" which I suppose is like you have accept that you will die in order to learn how to live. Which may have been my deeper than it is opinion, but there is much about "we don't know what we don't know" which is brought up a few times in the film when questions on what is important, or why certain characters did certain actions in the film, they don't know, but perhaps that is it, we just don't know and we don't need to.

It's a brighter film than most of his other works. It's a Western backdrop to a science fiction theme, but it's about family and love and loss.

I never felt bored or lost with this work. Perhaps I'm immune to the tics that annoy other viewers of Anderson's work.

The best line that reverberated with me "If you wanted to live a nice quiet peaceful life, you picked the wrong time to get born". I think that can be said for all generations.

I think it's one of his best works.

9 out of 10.

[jcard]

Recently read:

Wes Anderson and Jake Perlin’s “Do Not Detonate Without Presidential Approval� | Los Angeles Review of Books

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by jcard

Recently read:

Wes Anderson and Jake Perlin’s “Do Not Detonate Without Presidential Approval� | Los Angeles Review of Books

Thanks for that. I actually was able to buy one that was signed by Wes Anderson.

[Edward64]

Got into the Christmas spirit and did the annual watch of "Elf". Will Ferrell at his best.

Also watched the specials on my Blu-Ray. Pretty neat seeing all the behind the scenes stuff.

And yes, for Christmas movies ... Elf > Die Hard.

[NobodyHere]

My annual Christmas movies are Muppets Christmas Carol and the Rifftrax verson of Father Frost and Whizzo's Christmas Circus.

[Fidatelo]

My annual Christmas movie is The Night Before, which I always watch on Christmas Eve after the rest of the house is asleep.

[GrantDawg]

Scrooged, Christmas Vacation and Love Actually.

[Qwikshot]

With the family: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Muppet's Christmas Carol and Mickey's Christmas Carol

For me: It's a Wonderful Life.

[RainMaker]

Christmas Story is required watching at my Mom's for the holidays. I think TBS runs a marathon of that on Christmas Eve and she's fine watching it over and over.

[molson]

Maybe I was just in the right silly mood, but Wonka was hilarious. Especially Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa, the corporate chocolate villains, and Keegan-Michael Key as the corrupt police chief easily bribed by chocolate. And the songs were catchy, and the movie definitely had a heart. It's a Willie Wonka origin story, and I totally bought the character as a young, naïve, pre-cynical version of Gene Wilder's character. Many many easter eggs from the original.

Seems like a movie everybody was trashing the concept of since it was announced, but is well received now.

[Critch]

Not a Christmas movie, but Christmas isnt Christmas without a The Wizard of Oz viewing. Love that movie.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Critch

Not a Christmas movie, but Christmas isnt Christmas without a The Wizard of Oz viewing. Love that movie.

Do you watch it while listening to Dark Side of the Moon?

[korme]

Posted this to IG the other day, might as well share here.