What movies have you seen recently?

[LowerWolf]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Might be my favorite MCU movie.

[Master Live 013]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

• Aftersun: 6/10
• Modern Times: 5/10
• Fleabag: 6/10
• Perry Mason (2020): 6/10
• Prime Suspect 1: 5/10
• Pride and Prejudice (1995): 5/10
• Three Thousand Years of Longing: 4/10
• Extraction: 6/10
• A Star Is Born (1937): 5/10
• Extraction 2: 4/10

[Armor and Sword]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Wow not a lot of folks with any comments on the new Indiana Jones movie.

I can’t wait to see it again when it comes to a streaming service. Then when the 4K BD is out….100% purchase.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[LambertandHam]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

• Pride and Prejudice (1995): 5/10

I like the 2005 version with Keira better. Think it's back on one of the streaming services this month, perfect period piece movie imho.

[Majingir]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Finally saw Black Panther 2.

It's definitely sadder when you remember the whole movie was literally (re)written because Chadwick died.

At times it does just feel like he's done with the MCU like the other main avengers were and this movie is about the next black panther, but when you remember that he actually died, it's much sadder, especially when they show the flashback clips of him.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Finally saw Black Panther 2.

It's definitely sadder when you remember the whole movie was literally (re)written because Chadwick died.

At times it does just feel like he's done with the MCU like the other main avengers were and this movie is about the next black panther, but when you remember that he actually died, it's much sadder, especially when they show the flashback clips of him.

I gotta be honest, and I think I said it in my initial impressions for it... I don't see a lot of this movie having been rewritten, plot-wise. Yes, you have to work around his death, but the main movie's conflict and all seems like it would essentially have the same core.

I'm sure you weren't trying to dispute that necessarily, but I don't think the entire movie had to be rethought out. Big portions did, but the main story still seems to be there.

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

This is a great time at the theater and is a reminder for why we have an affinity to see movies in theaters versus on streaming, but Part Two better be coming out sooner than later, or else we will have some lingering problems. I'm not saying that this movie ends on a cliffhanger or anything of the sort, but I feel the impact of this film making a lot more sense by having Part Two come to fruition. There were also so many characters, which bolsters that need for Part Two even more.

The action is diverse with fights, gunplay, chases, pursuits, Tom Cruise stunts, the works. Yet, even still, I didn't feel this movie had as much action as any of the previous films sans the original, and this sequel felt more like the original than any other sequel. There was more exposition vomit than I could catch up with, I think the set pieces themselves took over more than the action itself would dictate, and I feel the score played too often and too repetitively, so overall it made for a directorial kerfuffle. I know McQ tries hard to make every M:I film feel different than the ones before it, but I think that got in the way of ensuring tighter storytelling this time around. I don't see this as a movie that would bring people to the franchise who maybe weren't a fan before, especially if they only returned for Top Gun: Maverick.

While this movie's McGuffin seems to cater to our world today very well, it didn't feel as tangible as previous films. In fact, I as an audience member struggled with this film's mission not necessarily seemingly that impossible, yet facing a threat they are powerless against. It was hard to know what to trust or rely on. This was also weak in the antagonist department. In fact, many situations felt more driven by the protagonists rather than the antagonists. Some of the stronger points in previous M:I films took villains head-on as strengths and Part One struggled in comparison here. Davian and Lane were partly what make III and Rogue Nation my favorites of the bunch.

This isn't the action movie to end all action movies in any sort of way, but you have to commend Cruise for still balling out and giving us something special to watch on the big screen. I think this movie can be enhanced by what Part Two ends up giving us, and I'm totally going to be here for it.

1) Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
2) Mission: Impossible III
3) Mission: Impossible - Fallout
4) Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1
5) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
6) Mission: Impossible
7) Mission: Impossible 2

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Sound of Freedom

This one hit right. It was powerful, gripping, and heavy for a PG-13 film. The message during the credits was invigorating. Jim Caviezel handpicks his roles very meticulously, and you can see why he took on this one. I even got my own little Person of Interest fix in this film when I felt it was appropriate to put on that hat, minus the technology.

Angel Studios probably had to go through hell getting this one in theaters, and I'm not in the know about how well this true story was portrayed, but props for making me feel a certain way after watching it regardless (the best way to describe the feeling is "empty," and not in a disparaging way to the film).

My emotions aren't quite balanced after watching it, and I think for the content's sake that is perfectly okay. It gets a recommended "watch in theaters" from me, but man if Oppenheimer ends up making me feel equally as horrified come release, this is going to be one solemn week.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Insidious: The Red Door

This was a clunker. Then again, this horror franchise has not been the strongest out there. James Wan kicked things off freshly with the first film, and each film since has introduced some neat concepts especially involving time and interconnectedness. The Red Door is no different in that regard, but the majority of the 107 minute runtime is built around the hypnotic amnesia implemented into two of our characters in Chapter 2 (which this is the subsequent film to by the way, as 3 and 4 are prequels) for repressed memories that we are the audience are already privy to, and any mystery surrounding their new endeavors develop far too slowly into little narrative or cinematic payoff. It kind of had some Halloween Ends vibes and I was fine with that, but it didn't delve away enough to see that kind of intent gain fruition.

What's worse is that it's a horror film that's not only not scary, but that it forgets to be scary. I don't remember a single attempt of building tension or fear within the first half hour of this film. It's okay to backload your horror elements if you're world-building, driving mystique, or developing characters (or simply entertaining the audience), but again this is the fifth time we've been in this universe so not much is new on that front. Indeed however, we are revisiting them nine years later, which was nice to see the child actors grown up and Patrick Wilson not age a day in the past two decades at all, but the plot devices that place them where they are is established immediately and the throughline is a slog of dramatic irony. I was hoping there were two things introduced that they were going to throw into the horror portions of the story, and they never came to be. Admittedly there was one nice horror scene, set up well in a Wan-esque kind of way and its punch was effective, but it came and went within a minute. I'm not looking for jump scares, I'm just looking for effective horror. This can't ever be too visceral with its PG-13 rating, but Chapter 1 is the template to follow if you want inspiration.

as entertainment goes, they tried to be funny, but jokes landed flat almost every time. I don't think it was the lines themselves because some were clever (or you can laugh at the cringier ones), but it was the timing and delivery of them. Even the inclusion of Specs and Tucker was dry, which seems impossible to achieve. While we can blame the actors, we can just as easily blame the director, Patrick Wilson himself. This is his directorial debut, and unlike my praise of some other recent amateur directors this summer, I think he still has a lot of work to do. The audience's emotional engagement was not there. I thought some of the rediscovery was fun which kept me intrigued so I was along for the ride, but again the payoff yielded diminishing returns. Maybe there wasn't much of a story to tell, but talented directors can instill levity, melancholy, and fear despite weaknesses in the script. That just means he has to get out there and do it more. I appreciate his passion for cinema and the franchise, as he also played Ed Warren in the Conjuring universe (which also had a third film that paled to the first two mightily), so I'm sure he'll be able to give it another go again someday and build off of it. It's just a shame because this summer needs as much saving as possible from perceived mediocrity, and not counting The Blackening it would've been nice for a horror film to step up. This was not the one.

[Armor and Sword]

What movies have you seen recently?

Great write up Blzer. Agree 100%.

I actually love all 4 of the previous Insidious movies. The first one obviously is clearly the best. But the 2nd and third were equally terrifying and The Last Key on repeated viewings get’s more and more rewarding with the back story of Elaine and The Further and her relationship with the boys.

The Red Door was a dud and nit worthy of this series.

Also agree about The Conjuring 3…..another big dud and paled in comparison to the incredibly scary prt 1 and the worthy sequel in part 2.




Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Great write up Blzer. Agree 100%.

I actually love all 4 of the previous Insidious movies. The first one obviously is clearly the best. But the 2nd and third were equally terrifying and The Last Key on repeated viewings get’s more and more rewarding with the back story of Elaine and The Further and her relationship with the boys.

The Red Door was a dud and nit worthy of this series.

Also agree about The Conjuring 3…..another big dud and paled in comparison to the incredibly scary prt 1 and the worthy sequel in part 2.




Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

I'll have to watch 3 and 4 again for Insidious. I saw them both once I think as Redbox rentals. I'm sure they're okay, but for this story's sake I wanted to just catch up with the Lambert's.

Yeah, I tried the third Conjuring film three times (first time in theaters). I'll rewatch 1 and 2 over and over again and absolutely love how different both of them are. 1 is more frightening but I like 2 more. 3 seems to make every mistake out there. I'm going to read my impressions again on that third film and see if my memory still aligns with how underconstructed it was.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Talk to Me

Australian supernatural horror distributed by A24, why not?

Believe it or not, there really seems to be an Australian factor in here. Not just because of accents, a kangaroo, and driving on the left side of the road, but in the writing you felt a different social/familial culture, something that wouldn't feel right if it was shot in the U.S. It may have brought me into their world a bit more and may have even let me excuse bad writing if it was present. If I were to niggle at weak writing points, it's where some characters didn't always make decisions in line with how they were initially established.

This was paced well, and not knowing what it was about beforehand made the development and revelations seemingly mysterious the entire time. When the film went into what seemed more like psychological horror, I dug it most. It was not afraid to explore its own concepts but leave you with many questions about them once it was over, and that could be frustrating for some films but I think it was satisfactory doing that here.

At times this felt very low budget on a production level, and it's certainly not a movie that tries to push you to too many scares which I think was effective. Regardless, I think A24 knows what they're doing picking this up and releasing it around Blockbuster films during the summer, even when Insidious: The Red Door is out at the same time. This was the superior of the two horror films, but I somewhat wish it had a little more to say. Maybe save it for a sequel.

[J_Posse]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Talk to Me

Australian supernatural horror distributed by A24, why not?

Believe it or not, there really seems to be an Australian factor in here. Not just because of accents, a kangaroo, and driving on the left side of the road, but in the writing you felt a different social/familial culture, something that wouldn't feel right if it was shot in the U.S. It may have brought me into their world a bit more and may have even let me excuse bad writing if it was present. If I were to niggle at weak writing points, it's where some characters didn't always make decisions in line with how they were initially established.

This was paced well, and not knowing what it was about beforehand made the development and revelations seemingly mysterious the entire time. When the film went into what seemed more like psychological horror, I dug it most. It was not afraid to explore its own concepts but leave you with many questions about them once it was over, and that could be frustrating for some films but I think it was satisfactory doing that here.

At times this felt very low budget on a production level, and it's certainly not a movie that tries to push you to too many scares which I think was effective. Regardless, I think A24 knows what they're doing picking this up and releasing it around Blockbuster films during the summer, even when Insidious: The Red Door is out at the same time. This was the superior of the two horror films, but I somewhat wish it had a little more to say. Maybe save it for a sequel.

It involves two of my least favorite recent tropes/subgenres (possession and teenagers as the main protagonists) in Horror, but the creep factor looks pretty high.

Can't wait to see it in another 8 days.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

It involves two of my least favorite recent tropes/subgenres (possession and teenagers as the main protagonists) in Horror, but the creep factor looks pretty high.

Can't wait to see it in another 8 days.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

In some ways, they actually spin the "creep" into "fun." Being that they are teenagers, they either think they're shielded, can surmount to peer pressure, or play the "you only live once" card.

But yes, like I said, when things play more psychologically than anything else is when it becomes most effective. It also doesn't mind getting brutal time to time.

[helmbreaker]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Babadook (2014)
Don't know why I kept forgetting to see it for so long, but super-glad I finally did!
Awesome movie - slowly building suspense, well envisioned and thought-provoking premise, the movie doesn't rely on jumpscares - I give it a 9/10 overall!