What movies have you seen recently?

[Blzer]

Oh man, that's a lot of 🍿 !!

I always eat beforehand. Combining my Regal Unlimited and free advance screening passes, I haven't even spent $50 seeing all these movies!

[Blzer]

Materialists

In the rom-com-dram genre, this is certainly less comedy and more drama. In fact, I would call most of this movie serious and cynical, and being far from a typical date movie (YMMV). This is also definitely Dakota Johnson's movie. Having avoided trailers, from what I heard about this my only understanding of the plot was "Who ends up with the girl?" So I thought this was more the guys' film with Johnson playing the McGuffin, but that was most definitely not the case.

Celine Song does another tremendous job at displaying a situation with a lot of pragmatism. Her films are nuanced and have a lot of breathing room, but I do think a lot more of the thematic elements were on the surface and in the dialogue itself than, say, Past Lives. In a movie featured around romance, I did not get as much of that feeling between the characters simply because they had to explain their feelings so often (as was rooted in the story), and because of that the silence between their words didn't leave me thinking too much about what they were thinking. By comparison, Past Lives was all about what was happening between the dialogue and what we were thinking as audience members. I only compare because both films have a similar pacing structure, but Materialists made less sense for it.

By the way, this was the first time I really felt the Pedro Pascal oversaturation. Not in that I'm sick of seeing him everywhere, but where he seems so busy filming everything that his role almost comes off as a "glorified extended cameo." He's not asked to do too much other than watch Dakota talk. I'm not saying he doesn't serve an important function in the story of that he was missing for film acts, but as an actor he was absolutely replaceable with anybody else who can fit his physical profile and natural charm. It just feels to me like he came in for about a week, and then dipped out to shoot his next project.

Spoiler

Now, I personally do feel he was missing in the final act, although his function was over in Dakota's story arc. I wish that he ended up with Zoe Winters' character in the end, and part of me feels his arc would feel more complete if you saw them in the park together and saw that they were happy, but then we're probably trending into typical Hollywood crap that this movie was avoiding. However, if he was there, I probably wouldn't feel the same way about Pedro's inclusion.

I also wish there was a conversation between Harry and Pedro in the bar after the play. Nothing competitive or animus, just some classy version of "So you're the new guy" and "You're the ex," even if implied in whatever they mention (breaking any potential awkward tension). If I were to guess, something was shot, but edited out for the sake of pacing and keeping the focus on Lucy.

Fine acting and wonderfully shot, nonetheless. Song continues to tell personal stories that are attractive on multiple levels, and I thought Johnson did a great job in the lead role. This ain't no Past Lives, but it's still a winner.

[Gotmadskillzson]

The Accountant 2 - 9 out of 10. Very good movie.

[KSUowls]

Ballerina

I enjoyed it. Lots of action, and it was relatively grounded which I appreciated it. I also had the same thought as Blzer with the grenades after seeing the Phoenician Scheme 🤣

Spoiler

Obviously "grounded" is a relative term. It's the John Wick Universe so it's still very over the top. There were two things that I really appreciated about their portrayal of Eve's character:
1 - She won a lot of fights, but she also struggled. She's implied to still be fairly young, and most of the movie takes place just 2 months after her completing her first job as an assassin. So, it's good to see her still being kind of raw.
2 - The fight with John Wick...I was so scared that they were going to have her somehow beat Wick or push him to a stalemate, like so often happens in these kinds of spinoffs. I was very happy to see that she was outclassed by him in every way. It would have been so dumb to have an entire movie franchise explaining how much of a super being that John Wick was, only to have a virtual rookie best him just because it's 'their' movie. So, I was really happy how it played out there.

[Blzer]

Elio

Pixar always has my birthday (June 21st) in mind for its theatrical release dates. Normally I use it as an excuse to take my family along with me for a birthday viewing, but I wasn't sure if this one would fit the bill for them so I went stag, and I'm kind of glad that I did.

Although I'm big on avoiding trailers, even I have stumbled across a shot or two of this movie, and I was honestly very underwhelmed. Superficially, I thought the animation appeared to not have evolved very much. Once I saw the movie though, any shots grounded on Earth show me that Pixar has continued to improve its visual flair in most every way in a cinematographic way, except when it comes to character model choices. The "lenses" used, communicating a filmic medium with soft grain, material rendering, etc. are absolutely off the charts, and show that they are continuing to astonish with every passing film. But character models were important for a movie like this, and once they are in space it loses that visual fidelity for me, becoming very generic in the end. I liked the look of Glordon, but the rest were cannon fodder.

The titular character is weird. I know that was an intentional choice, and was part of its "be uniquely you and be accepted" messaging, but it goes beyond that for me. I wasn't surprised to hear the director of Turning Red had her hands on this one when I him spas out time to time with that shrinking iris & pupil effect she also did in that film, and it was a bit off-putting in part of the earlier acts. Yes, his parents are dead (a tired trope in animation) so they are asking us to forgive the behavior, but you can tell he was like that before they passed, too. This plays off better when he is in space, but it was hard to look past at times.

I am of the notion this movie asked me to feel many different times during this, but outside of a couple of chuckles I did not really feel much else. No tears, choking up, goosebumps, dread, or anything of the sort. I think if I were an eighties kid, some of the first act would've tapped into my sci-fi boyhood wonder, but that is quickly replaced with their version of extraterrestrial life and it leaves out a lot of mystery for the mind. I think there is potential in a movie like this to function a little more like Arrival, but I don't think they were bold enough to try that for modern young audiences.

Even still, I support Pixar's valiance for placing originals between sequels. I mean what are sequels without originals to begin with, after all? One might find Elio 2 to become a smash hit despite the original's failures. However, films like Toy Story, The Incredibles, and Inside Out were all pre-pandemic releases, at a time where movies did not compete with streaming. You really have to hit a home run with something special if you want that Pixar charm to work again in the theaters, and this did not do that to the greatest extent. Decent enough, but not recommended fully. As far as recent Pixar efforts go, this sits above Elemental, Turning Red, Lightyear, and Onward for me, but is below Soul, Luca, and Inside Out 2, and is in the bottom third of the overall list.

[Blzer]

Jurassic World Rebirth

I have a soft spot for sequels that have "return to form" elements that some other installments lose, and most of that is based around tone and feel. I might rate a film higher just because of that (Jason Bourne and Rings both come immediately to mind). After the sour taste of some of the previous Jurassic World films, I probably feel this same with Rebirth.

What Rebirth did right was it tried to ground the franchise again. We just came off of Chris Pratt being an ***-kicking dino wrangler, and this franchise had to put the monster back into these creatures without losing too much focus on B-storylines (like a dino auction or locusts). There is scale in the mayhem, and characters are mostly treated with care that make you fearful and hopeful for their safety. When the previous trilogy was filled with "action" scenes, these were more "survival" scenes, and that's the feeling that the original Park trilogy had.

There's a lot of modernization here, though. Thankfully it was shot on film, but I was extremely sensitive to the use of green screening whenever it popped up. Every actor/actress cast has a model physique and flash some skin, curves, or muscles when they could. Animatronics were left to the wayside, minus one or two instances. Thankfully, Gareth Edwards has a keen eye for blending CGI in the environments and shot selections, but unlike Fallen Kingdom the majority of scenes take place under sunny daylight.

I haven't seen the trailers, but I'm certain it will reveal the mutated creature designs that this movie offered. I have to say that I found the majority of them to be a bit jarring and freakish. Ever since Jurassic World, there has been this meta running theme that people are bored by conventional dinosaurs and they have to keep doing different things to bring excitement to the table. I disagree with this notion, and when I see this as a response to it I wish they didn't have that mantra. I found the Indominous species' to be fun in the World trilogy, but Rexy was always the alpha in our eyes still. Speaking of which, I'm glad they brought back the OG T-Rex roar, and I'm also relieved they didn't continue feathering dinosaurs like Dominion did, even if it's more scientifically accurate. It could be because the story brought us back to beginning creations, but it's a relief nonetheless.

Though to hit a previous point home, if it wasn't for the T-Rex inclusion and the film's score, this could really have been any other monster movie and been Jurassic World in name only. I think some of the franchise's identity has waned despite returning to form in its groundedness, so it's not going to get the highest of marks that Jurassic Park and The Lost World have earned (yes, TLW is great to me). In a scene that obviously replaced raptors for another mutant dinosaur, I was hoping that they would simplify things a little more. They made excellent use of water in this movie though no matter the encounter, and I think you needed some mutants for that to be effective.

In terms of the lead roles, Jonathan Bailey was my favorite, followed by Scarlett Johansson and then Mahershela Ali. There were some characters which were immediately seen as expendable dinosaur food, and other characters that were protected with a giant suit of plot armor. Ultimately though, I find it hilariously ironic that while I like these characters more and the mutants less, you'll leave this film remembering a dinosaur's name more than any human's name.

This is a great summer blockbuster that knew what to dial back, and I think Rebirth does right in respecting both the horror and magic that seeing a dinosaur on the big screen will bring, fascinating audiences enough for yet another billion dollar return. Admittedly it does play things rather safely, but until they go full R-rated mode with the franchise (which I don't think is a bad idea), they might feel a need to protect the IP to keep all venues open in future sequels. I don't know where they go next in this trilogy, save for one mutation that they teased next time around, but I hope they maintain these same sensibilities (with more animatronics) and I will be there for it.

[Madden08PCgmr]

Parthenope

Almost impossible to offer commentary beacuse Celeste Dalla Porta steals every scene. I am a god-fearing man, at the risk of blasphemy, dare I say, she's a goddess.

Very artsy film, and the director is known for that.. Not a feel good movie by any stretch.. not sure I'd recommend this.. but if you do watch, have a bib handy, and try not to catch flies.

[Dead2009]

Both M3GAN movies. I enjoyed the 2nd one better than the first, even if it did abandon it's full blown horror roots.

[KSUowls]

Both M3GAN movies. I enjoyed the 2nd one better than the first, even if it did abandon it's full blown horror roots.

Yeah M3gan 2.0 completely abandoned any semblance of being a horror film, but I liked it even better because of it. It really embraced the action/comedy that I think was the best parts of the first one.

[KSUowls]

Jurassic World: Rebirth

Some of the corniest dialogue and delivery that I've seen in a while. It was almost painful. The opening scene has a pretty silly catalyst, and yeah...painful.

[Majingir]

Watched Lilo & Stitch over the weekend. Thought it was a really good live-action version.

I agree. It was cute.

There was a lot of Nani in this, and it worked well. Not sure if that was true of the animated version, since I haven't seen it before. Despite it pushing upward to two hours, I in fact easily could've used another 5-10 additional minutes of this movie in the middle act with Lilo and Stitch. Somewhere that I found more of Stitch's development (especially with language) or Lilo standing prouder against her little bullies.

But the actress who played Lilo? Stop it. She is so adorable. She won me over the first minute she was on screen.

It took me a moment to buy in to the movie at the start, though. The alien stuff felt like it was out of an animated movie, probably because of the shoddy CGI (it didn't even try to pass off as "live-action adjacent"). I didn't know Stitch started out with six limbs so for a while I wondered if I had simply Mandela-effected his appearance. Things figured themselves out shortly after.

Also random, but for a while I didn't recognize that was Zach Galifianakis. Then I saw more of his isms and I couldn't unsee him after that.

The parts I hated about that movie was everything to do with the aliens. Just felt like such poor jobs of what those characters were in the original movie and later the tv series. Though an interesting twist on making Jumba the antagonist the entire time.

No Gantu or anyone like that either. Lack of alien moments at times just made it feel like they wanted to keep costs low so they had as little alien screen moments as possible minus Stitch.

But in terms of the good stuff, I liked that this really had a lot of Nani/Lilo moments. Maybe it's the fact that I'm watching it older now than when I saw the original, but Nani doesn't just feel like a nagging sister trying to play mom, they really built her up way more with her own stories and struggles. It really surprised me when she "gave Lilo up". It technically makes more sense from a reality standpoint, but was still surprising to see, especially for a Disney movie.

And speaking of parental figure, they didn't think Nani giving Lilo up would be too dark but skipped around what happened to their parents? We know they died, but it's never addressed how. I liked the fan theory that Lilo was giving the fish a sandwich as a peace offering to give them good weather because a storm caused their parents car crash. But I liked how they added a neighbour who is essentially like a grandmother figure to them, especially since she knew their parents too.


But between this and Moana (and the eventual live action version of that), I like that Disney has these kinds of movies out for a new generation. Moana was a new one, but Lilo and Stitch can now be consumed by a new generation too.

[Blzer]

Oh, Hi!

I saw this last night at a mystery pre-screening. Hadn't heard of it before and it opened without an introduction, so it was an entirely blind viewing for me.

It has a good mix of drama, comedy, and suspense. I've missed seeing Logan Lerman on screen for sure. I think the first act was the most engaging, but that's just because the story got to keep evolving. Once it hits its standstill, it stays there for a while, but isn't still without its charm (and where most of the comedy comes from, and I'd say this one is mostly a dark comedy).

This is my first exposure to Molly Gordon, who was asked to do a lot with a little, and she did great. This movie works best when it's just Gordon and Lerman on screen. The tough beats for me were trying to figure out whose lens we were seeing the movie through since it shifted often, as well as deciding a most favorable outcome for these two. Also, after that first act I was really wondering where they wanted to take things because this build-up could've led many different directions.

Overall, I think this movie worked in several ways, probably more so as a blind viewing.

[Blzer]

By the way, now that we're past June, as movie pundits are giving their top ten lists of the midyear, I too will give mine (I have seen 36 movies in theater so far this year).

And for context, of those 36, I have marked 27 as "fresh" and nine as "rotten," so I had to leave out 17 films from this list.

10) Clown in a Cornfield
9) How to Train Your Dragon
8) Ballerina
7) Thunderbolts
6) Warfare
5) F1
4) Black Bag
3) Freaky Tales
2) The Life of Chuck
1) Sinners

[Blzer]

Superman

This was pretty okay for me. Half of this movie really hit for me, and the other half I can really see hitting for others, but it wasn't so much my vibe.

I think part of it was that this was a movie called Superman. Not Superman: The Movie, not Superman Returns, not Man of Steel, not Superman: Legacy... Superman. Despite him very much being the main character in his own movie, I was really hoping for this version to be the defacto installment that all would always point to and lean on for future reference, and other heroes (such as Krypto and Mr. Terrific) wouldn't steal the show as much.

This was also kickstarting a brand new universe, so it was going to set the tone and it's often hard to de-escalate from here. Gunn made a choice to enter this universe with gods and monsters already among us, and it felt a little jarring that I felt like I should already know these characters and this universe. Not like I wasn't well introduced, but that I missed out on a lot, especially with the citizens who find anything which occurs as just another Tuesday.

When Gunn was slated to pen the script, my fear was how much silliness he'd bring on, and I was hoping that he would reserve himself for such an important movie. He is indeed a funny man and made me laugh, but not every character needs to be comic relief, and not every emotional beat needs to be immediately followed by a joke of some sort. I wasn't rolling my eyes, but the placement was also often incorrect, out of sorts, and frankly I felt a little disrespectful given the stakes of certain moments. I'm not asking at all for dark and gritty, not in the slightest. There is just time and place, some which were served well and others which are going to validate the concerns people had before this project took off.

Boy were there some wonderful moments, though. Any time that Corenswet and Brosnahan are on screen together was absolutely engrossing. Much more of that would've gone a long way. Krypto is also adorable (as a dog lover myself), and Holy plays a great Lex but he only has word vomit to let his motivations speak for him. Mr. Terrific has the best action scene of the movie, Guy Gardner wasn't intolerable, and Hawkgirl was absolutely unnecessary. I liked Jimmy Olsen, and wish that Parry White had more overall character. I do feel again that the mesh between ordinary citizens and metahumans was a bit too comfortable for a first film in the universe, and there were story elements that could've used a greater focus between their dichotomy that fell to the wayside.

This movie is absolute hate-fuel for Snyder Bros. Save some action moments, these couldn't be any further apart. I think Superman in a modern setting ultimately isn't my biggest vibe, but I think James Gunn really mortalized him better than I could ever imagine, perhaps to a fault but it is welcomed for the character. I had fun and am still hopeful for the universe, and personally am more excited about Supergirl than I ever was before. I also feel this movie hits those four quadrants in such a way that it is kind of one of those fresh superhero movies we need, even if it's not the best that they have to offer. Given the title and DCU introduction though, I would've gone for more Superman (and Lois with him) and less other metahumans and humor to avoid making this sometimes seem like a mess, but that doesn't take away from the entertainment that it does have to offer.

[KSUowls]

Finally saw F1 last night. Really enjoyed it. That puts me at 18 movies this year. I started to rank them like Blzer, and I realized that while not many of them were terrible, a lot were kind of mediocre 😂

My list would probably go like this
1 - Companion
2 - F1
3 - M3gan 2.0
4 - The Phoenician Scheme
5 - The Amateur
6 - Ballerina
7 - A Working Man
8 - Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning
9 - Warfare