Locked Rate and Discuss the Last Movie You Saw v.15

[Adamant]

Why is Anna Kendrick always falling for shit men?

It's a total B-movie, except with a stunning cast. It's so uneven that it feels like it should have been a tv show. But I agree it has some moments. I hear they're thinking about a sequel, which is okay, but honestly it's a bad concept. Autistic killer isn't a fantasy you should root for; the inherent nature of the character is the only way he can relate to people is by killing them ... but he's got this reason? So what happens is you buy into the fantasy, which gets undercut with the reality moral about autism, creating a movie at odds with itself. Disparate.

It's a lot like MR. BROOKS, and I guess AMERICAN PSYCHO, except PSYCHO gels together pretty well.

Well I feel like there's a lot of potential in there somewhere but what we got with this film was just sort of meh. I'd be open to a sequel to see where they can take it. Honestly, I'd like to see more action, more of a chase, a bigger heist, and more of Affleck's character using his incredible brain power. I feel like the ending left things in an interesting place. If they can tap into the potential, they'll have an excellent movie on their hands. This could be Affleck's Bourne. Potentially.

 

[SammyPops]

The Founder 6/10

An overall uninspired movie, like a vanilla McDonald's milkshake. The movie lacked any cool/interesting hooks or ethical outrage like we saw in The Big Short.

 

[moreorless87]

John Wick 2
Enjoyed it. Didn't love the first one as much as some people but I liked it, last night I was in the mood for some mindless all-out action, and it delivered.
7/10

I think it made the correct choice though, it couldn't really have the smaller scale drama of the original so the answer was to delve more into the hit man subculture.

 

[HereticBD]

Hell Or High Water

Worthy of the accolades. It's not gonna blow your mind, but it's just a simple story that's executed to perfection. Two brothers are robbing banks down south, and a Sheriff is out to stop them. The movie is more of a character study, and has a lot going on beneath the surface that I won't get into here.

You come for the story, but stay for the performances, which are excellent across the board. Ben Foster, the most underrated actor in Hollywood, brings it as usual. Jeff Bridges is great, as usual. The guy who really surprised me though, was Chris Pine. I've never thought much of the guy, and always considered him a run of the mill leading man. He impressed me here though, with a more subtle, yet complex performance, and proved he's not just another pretty face.

Not much more to say, really. It's just a damn solid flick. Check it out.

9/10

 

[Treeloy]

Death Note 6.5/10

I thought it had a good start but I think they could have developed the story better. It was ok

 

[Buddy Revell]

Valerian


It was enjoyable enough but could've been much better had it not been cast with a merely serviceable lead in Dane Dehaan. He's the title character, an action hero, and a love interest... and he's uninspiring in all capacities.

Best aspect of the movie was the stuff involiving the pearl aliens who, along with their planet, were reall cool (dare i say cooler than any alien planet or creature i've seen introduced in a sci-fi movie since Avatar). I Would've been up for a whole movie involving them on their planet. I guess James Cameron had the right idea.

6.5/10



Dunkirk

The first ninety minutes was pretty much what i'd come to expect from Nolan: great technical filmmmaking and thought provoking non-linear storytelling that was short on heart and humanity. But the last 15 minutes or so we're very life affirming and inspirational, without betraying the movies sober tone. Really well done.

8.5/10



War for the Planet of the Apes

It was too short on spectacle to be a really satisfying summer movie but, it was extremely enjoyable for what it was, an expertly crafted and poetic send off for the apes trilogy and Ceaser.

The way the last human soldiers, and maybe the last hope for humanity, die out bordered on the absurd, but really reasonated with me in a hauntingly ironic way.

8.5/10

 

[Protectandserve]

Hell Or High Water

Worthy of the accolades. It's not gonna blow your mind, but it's just a simple story that's executed to perfection. Two brothers are robbing banks down south, and a Sheriff is out to stop them. The movie is more of a character study, and has a lot going on beneath the surface that I won't get into here.

You come for the story, but stay for the performances, which are excellent across the board. Ben Foster, the most underrated actor in Hollywood, brings it as usual. Jeff Bridges is great, as usual. The guy who really surprised me though, was Chris Pine. I've never thought much of the guy, and always considered him a run of the mill leading man. He impressed me here though, with a more subtle, yet complex performance, and proved he's not just another pretty face.

Not much more to say, really. It's just a damn solid flick. Check it out.

9/10

Really liked this movie. Foster and Pine were phenomenal. Bridges played great crusty Texas Ranger.

The acting in it is just so damn good.

 

[Adamant]

The Guest - 7/10 - Good movie. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Loved the score. Dan Stevens looks like he could be Captain America's brother. If he was 30lbs heavier (muscle) he's be a shoe-in for Cap. I hope they make a sequel.

 

[Sycho Sid]

Really liked this movie. Foster and Pine were phenomenal. Bridges played great crusty Texas Ranger.

The acting in it is just so damn good.

That waitress in the steakhouse was just perfect.

 

[Buddy Revell]

Terminator 2 3D

First things first, the movie looked great but the 3D (and I know this is cliche) didn't really add much to the experience. That being said, it still holds up as arguably the greatest action movie ever made. The performances and character work were fantastic, and the scripting and directing delivered thrill after thrill while never rushing (no quick cuts. no continuity tomfoolery).
And the ending where the T2, who John had taken as a father figure, tells he and Sarah it has to self destruct:

JOHN

No, You can't! You can't!

(Tears roll down his cheek)

I order you. I order you not to!


Yeah, I admit it. My eyes got a little dewey...


9.5/10 (the movie)

7/10 (theatrical and 3D presentation)

 

[minute bull]

JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2

I'm enjoying the series. The first one is okay; the second one reminds me of Brian Azzarello's 100 BULLETS comic book (which Tom Hardy may or may not be developing) but only better. Obviously the focus here is on the continuous action, which is deceptively difficult to capture in still pictures. While the art is great, the action is confined to static frames and so the imagination needs fuel to give them weight. The story, however, gets a little too far-fetched and loses the reader a bit. While JOHN WICK is no less contrived than 100 BULLETS -- hell it might be even cornier -- by counterpoint its shortcomings are more prettily buried by the frenetic movement, poppy lights, and sound imagery. With JOHN WICK I bought the contrivance more easily, plus it doesn't try to revise a secret history of the United States. John Wick is cut from the same cloth as many Kazuo Koike principle characters, such as Itto Ogami and Crying Freeman. Unstoppable, implacable killing machines more befitting villainy, aside from their rigid moral codes.

The weird thing about John's code is that he's just fixated on little things that he can't really protect. All of which are replaceable, since the real thing he cherishes is his memory. But this only a figment of a life that he thinks that he wants, when in reality he truly is the force of nature everyone else deems him to be. The Boogeyman. Yeah, that's pretty corny, but I like this version of Ass Kicking Old Guy much better than the TAKEN series or the Chuck Norris meme.

PS Common is a terrible fucking physical actor, but props to him for trying something.

 

[moreorless87]

3D gives me eye strain due to astigmatism so I wish they'd just put out T2 in standard form(or maybe updated the T-1000 FX a bit?) again, I'd have loved to see that on the big screen.

 

[moreorless87]

War On Everyone - 8/10

Yeah another LA bad cop drama although much more in the Taratino mold (from John Michael McDonagh on Brit funding) than say Pena's previous End of Watch, Indeed it feels almost like a Taratino pisstake at points pushing the style to the extreme seeing just how many oddball philosophical, historical and artistic references characters can cram in.

I must admit I did get somewhat the impression that its never quite as clever/witty as it thinks it is but that's not to say its neither of those things and definitely worth a watch, Pena especially does play the deadpan role very well. I spose the problem is partly the same thing the Nice Guys had, this kind of oddball LA capper is always going to be compared to the Big Lebowski which is a near impossible standard to meet.

I would say as well stick with it, the first half hour of so does feel a bit ropey but the style does come together more as it progresses.

 

[BisexualMMA]

We're No Animals (2013)

It has been observed that John Cusack is somewhat inexplicably appearing in pathetic dog shit action movies like Arsenal and The Prince, which is somewhat embarrassing.

So I checked out this pretentious artsy fartsy film with John Cusack (and Al Pacino) and I honestly can't tell which is worse...shit like Arsenal or shit like We're No Animals.

I think it might be the most pretentious thing I've ever seen, and I've seen some hardcore pretentious bullshit. The whole thing seems improved and it is basically just them filming some slapped together nonsense and sort of playing characters while relaxing in Argentina. Who needs a script, fuck it. Who needs characters, fuck it.

Big surprise, John Cusack plays a jaded fading star actor on a vacation to try to recapture his artistic integrity.

I'm glad to see him in something that isn't your typical late-career Bruce Willis / Nicolas Cage low budget revenge / dirty cop / save the kidnapped daughter / shitty bank robbery movie, but the pendulum swings so far in the opposite direction here that I think this is probably even worse.

This is the worst type of film, where big name actors just hang out and film some random bullshit when they're on vacation and think they can pass it off as a movie.

2.0 / 10?

 

[MacDuffle]

JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2

I'm enjoying the series. The first one is okay; the second one reminds me of Brian Azzarello's 100 BULLETS comic book (which Tom Hardy may or may not be developing) but only better. Obviously the focus here is on the continuous action, which is deceptively difficult to capture in still pictures. While the art is great, the action is confined to static frames and so the imagination needs fuel to give them weight. The story, however, gets a little too far-fetched and loses the reader a bit. While JOHN WICK is no less contrived than 100 BULLETS -- hell it might be even cornier -- by counterpoint its shortcomings are more prettily buried by the frenetic movement, poppy lights, and sound imagery. With JOHN WICK I bought the contrivance more easily, plus it doesn't try to revise a secret history of the United States. John Wick is cut from the same cloth as many Kazuo Koike principle characters, such as Itto Ogami and Crying Freeman. Unstoppable, implacable killing machines more befitting villainy, aside from their rigid moral codes.

The weird thing about John's code is that he's just fixated on little things that he can't really protect. All of which are replaceable, since the real thing he cherishes is his memory. But this only a figment of a life that he thinks that he wants, when in reality he truly is the force of nature everyone else deems him to be. The Boogeyman. Yeah, that's pretty corny, but I like this version of Ass Kicking Old Guy much better than the TAKEN series or the Chuck Norris meme.

PS Common is a terrible fucking physical actor, but props to him for trying something.

I didn't like Common in that movie either, but if anyone's skeptical of his acting chops they should watch him out-act every last motherfucker on the Hell on Wheels tv series

guy gets lynched in the middle of a gun battle and doesn't give a fuck

It's a seriously amazing performance

 

[SoberAwakening]

Birth of a Dragon = 6/10

It was more based in fantasy than reality. They made Bruce Lee look like a huge douche who needed a guy like Wong Jack Man to show him the errors in his technique and help him break his limits as a martial artists.

Not only that, the movie revolves around a fictional character, which is something you don't pick up from the trailers.

Could've been way better.

 

[Jesus X]

the Rise of thadland 3/10

it was sad to watch because it was nothing like the show and I lpved the show.

it was a poor concept with bad writing none of the characters seems to act like they did in the show. it had bad pacing.

they could have done so much with the character of thad having millions of dollars and instead they came up with some lame party idea that because redundant really fast.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Shimmer Lake
I usually love slow-burning movies with not much happening in them, but this was just flat-out boring. Just couldn't get into it in the slightest, dull movie.
4/10

 

[ufcfan4]

Why is Anna Kendrick always falling for shit men?

It's a total B-movie, except with a stunning cast. It's so uneven that it feels like it should have been a tv show. But I agree it has some moments. I hear they're thinking about a sequel, which is okay, but honestly it's a bad concept. Autistic killer isn't a fantasy you should root for; the inherent nature of the character is the only way he can relate to people is by killing them ... but he's got this reason? So what happens is you buy into the fantasy, which gets undercut with the reality moral about autism, creating a movie at odds with itself. Disparate.

It's a lot like MR. BROOKS, and I guess AMERICAN PSYCHO, except PSYCHO gels together pretty well.

It was a like a decent enough little action movie. Nothing outstanding or remarkable about it at all. Nothing glaringly atrocious. It was just sort of there. I liked Affleck's performance.

 

[ufcfan4]

Hell Or High Water

Worthy of the accolades. It's not gonna blow your mind, but it's just a simple story that's executed to perfection. Two brothers are robbing banks down south, and a Sheriff is out to stop them. The movie is more of a character study, and has a lot going on beneath the surface that I won't get into here.

You come for the story, but stay for the performances, which are excellent across the board. Ben Foster, the most underrated actor in Hollywood, brings it as usual. Jeff Bridges is great, as usual. The guy who really surprised me though, was Chris Pine. I've never thought much of the guy, and always considered him a run of the mill leading man. He impressed me here though, with a more subtle, yet complex performance, and proved he's not just another pretty face.

Not much more to say, really. It's just a damn solid flick. Check it out.

9/10

I thought it was a bit overrated as it was quite a standard movie that was, as you said, just done really well. That said, Foster is great, but that's no surprise. He often steals movies. I still think back to how good both Bale and Crowe were in the awesome 3:10 to Yuma and yet it was Foster who stole any scene he was in.

Great call on Pine. That scene with him and his sons was one of the best in the film in my opinion. Really shed insight into what type of dude this guy was. Nice, understated acting and a performance different from the ones I've seen him do in the past.

Bridges is my only point of contention. Phenomenal actor, but I thought he was channeling his Cogburn accent a bit too much and I feel as though this is the type of role he could play in his sleep at this point. Not to say at all that he wasn't good. Cool character and solid, as usual, performance, but I thought if you are going to nominate someone for supporting actor accolades, Foster was the clearer choice.