What movies have you seen recently?

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Force Awakens
I think this was my third time watching the movie. It still has some of that "magic" that surrounded the movie when it was first released, but it started sputtering through it roughly halfway through this time. Lots of "legacy" Star Wars head scratches throughout (ie: basically the Return of the Jedi introduction in long-form) but still somewhat fun throughout.

Personally this is behind the original trilogy (maybe with Return of the Jedi depending on the mood) and most likely tied with Revenge of the Sith.

[BDKiiing]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Uncut Gems was ****ing awesome. Very much enjoyed that one. Sandler was great. The last 30 minutes or so had me sweating. It was wild.

[doubledeuceR6]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

6 Underground on a recommendation from a co-worker. Wish I had not taken his recommendation.


5/10

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Starting out the new year with some repeats:

Edge of Tomorrow .... I think it's the editing and presentation that makes this so good. But I still don't understand why every alien life form out their always looks so primitive and aggressive, but always has advanced strength, skill, weaponry and technology than we do!


Mile 22 .... actually one of my favorite Marky Mark movies. His chirping in this movie is top notch. His confrontation with the opposing spec ops leader might be my favorite scene, that and on the streets.

[Chip Douglass]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Saw The Matrix for the first time in over a decade. Still amazing.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Saw The Matrix for the first time in over a decade. Still amazing.

I simply make pretend the sequels never ever happened.

It is a great stand alone movie.

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I simply make pretend the sequels never ever happened.

It is a great stand alone movie.

For sure ... other than the Superman ending

[KSUowls]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Frozen 2 (6/10):

My wife and I watched this the other day. I thought the first movie was really fun (like most Disney movies). This one wasn't bad, but it was pretty forgettable. Oddly, the CGI looked really good, but I found myself missing the look of the original. It had it's funny moments and it's fun sequences to make it worth watching.

Good for a kids movie, but not as good of an adult movie (compared to the first one).

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Grudge

(There is a Grudge 2 [2006] spoiler in the fourth paragraph)

This played out like a soft reboot, similar to Rings (sequel from The Ring, which ignored The Ring Two). It clearly exists in the same universe as the previous three American releases, but with time between them and other characters into the mix (plus new audiences watching), it kind of throws elements at you that the previous films had. Therein lies the problem.

Although this may be the slightly superior film to Rings, it also was a less necessary sequel. When you look back at what you saw, you ask yourself how the pitch meeting went to green-lighting this installment. I mean, what was the lure that got them to say this was worthy? Rings happened to evolve and modernize its story in a very sensical manner, but The Grudge didn't really breathe new life... and when it tried to, it fell a little flat on its face.

I don't know how much money was thrown at this, but it felt a little too produced. A lot of it had to do with the fact that it was brought to the States. I know that little Asian ghost girl horror was so two decades ago, but having that traditional Japanese setting that stemmed from the Ju-On series (shot on a taller frame and on film) gave the previous movies a bit of a chill factor that this one loses. Not to mention the way they edit the jump scares this time around is Rings-cheesy. They are by far the worst parts of the movie, sadly enough. Props for the R-rating and I think that was excellently used, but I don't think the tone matched the maturer audience that was watching it... as it still had a PG-13 feel to the scares.

The thing that I liked most about this movie though was the nonlinear storytelling. They borrowed this from The Grudge 2, although that was kind of a twist in that film that you were jumping different timelines. I liked it so much from that one that you really had to work hard in what you were watching, and all it had to take from this movie was removing the big white lettering telling the year that it was in on shots. The timelessness feel kind of became a theme to the movie, and I think if they made the audience work a little harder at it then it would have a nice full circle feeling to it. But alas, you are always reminded where you are at in the film, so it's not quite as fun. Nevertheless, it was a cool ride to flash back and forward, though it was all exposition vomit anyway. I could have allowed them to stretch the film another 15-20 minutes for more present day substance if they could have found a way to fill it, but for what it did I'd say it was okay.

The movie whimpers out at the end for me though, and that was really where I wish it had something else to say about the franchise's evolution when it plainly couldn't. I think that's where it hits its weakest stride. I can imagine sequels to this happening, but they just won't be as fun or freaky unless they return to Tokyo again and have Kayako and Toshio again, throwing less money at it and making it raw and gritty if they're able to. This is a skipper, even for die-hard Grudgies.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this movie has the intentionally funniest scene transition since Napoleon Dynamite's "It's a sledgehammer" moment. That alone was actually worth the price of admission.

[NinerFan1983]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The last two movies I saw were Star Wars Episode IX, and The Bourne Identity.

[jake44np]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Knives Out. 8/10
Loved it. Great cast.
I thought Daniel Craig was awesome

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Knives Out. 8/10
Loved it. Great cast.
I thought Daniel Craig was awesome

His first line of dialogue had people squealing when I saw it. Awesome movie from top to bottom.

[KSUowls]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Midway (2019) - 7/10

I didn't realize that it had some big actors in it.

I think I saw the original as a kid, but I don't remember it well. Overall this was a solid WWII movie. There were a lot of time skips as it went through all of the major scenarios that led to the battle at Midway. It did a good job of doing each of these events justice though so that it did not just feel like a bunch of random scenes thrown together.

I always find WWII movies fascinating, even though they don't really happen much anymore.

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I always find WWII movies fascinating, even though they don't really happen much anymore.

You didn't see Fury?

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I always find WWII movies fascinating, even though they don't really happen much anymore.

You didn't see Fury?

Or Dunkirk?

Hacksaw Ridge?

Allied?

Darkest Hour?

The 12th Man?

Overlord?

Spoiler