Movies Rate and Discuss the Last Movie You Saw v.16

[llperez22]

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 5/5

The chain theater downtown was screening Across the Spider-Verse in the matinee slot at the IMAX all week, so i lied about a doctor's appointment and left work early the other day to catch one of them. i missed it in IMAX back at release because it literally only had a single weekend IMAX run here before getting bumped for the new Transformers movie. so yeah, i jumped at the opportunity to finally see it on the most aggressively large screen w/ the most aggresively textured sound.

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it's no mystery that i fucking love this movie. it's easily my #1 movie of 2023 and it's maybe the only movie released within a decade that i've watched more 10 times easy. and let's put something to bed right now—Across the Spider-Verse is in no way an "incomplete" movie. i assume the people mad about the cliffhanger ending, who act as though it's some sort of catastrophic storytelling faux pas, were too busy texting to actual pay attention to anything. & god bless the unstable tin foil mouth breathers, who have convinced themselves that it's actually some nefarious Hollywood scheme, mired in box office greed, designed to cheat us out of our money by dangling the proverbial carrot in front of our stupid drooling faces.

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the way i see it, Across the Spider-Verse is Gwen's movie just as much as it's Miles's, except i'd argue that it is Gwen's arc (which literally bookends the movie) serving as the heart and lungs at the narrative's core, breathing life into the characters' actions & motivations. idk how people can watch that prologue, w/ Gwen's omniscient first person voiceover narration (that reaches its conclusion when we return to it at the very end) & somehow come away feeling cheated once the end credits roll.

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discombobulated rant aside, people should really just sit their asses down, shut their pretty little mouths, & let the cornucopia of visual delights sex their eyeballs until the crotch of their pants are glued to their pelvis.

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if anyone is interested in way more Across the Spider-Verse screen grabs, i uploaded all of mine to a google drive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kH_e5-fW7o5WkD8BTTBlYP1WEvHtonC3?usp=drive_link

go nuts

The first spider verse movie was a major surprise for me and I loved it. Started watching the sequel a couple months ago and stopped after about 30 minutes. I’ll have to revisit it but I felt like a lot of the appeal from the first one was the charm of the characters, the humor, the soundtrack, the special effects and balls to the wall action scenes. Even the bad guy who turned out to be Miles uncle was enthralling.

But with the sequel , at least the first 30 minutes that I watched, it seemed like they were just trying to turn the dial up to 11 on the action and the special effects and they made the humor over the top. The bad guy with the spots who goes from portal to portal was annoying as hell and I just had this bad taste in my mouth that they were so focused on being cool they forgot about creating a good story that the original accomplished.

 

[HenryFlower]

The first spider verse movie was a major surprise for me and I loved it. Started watching the sequel a couple months ago and stopped after about 30 minutes. I’ll have to revisit it but I felt like a lot of the appeal from the first one was the charm of the characters, the humor, the soundtrack, the special effects and balls to the wall action scenes. Even the bad guy who turned out to be Miles uncle was enthralling.

But with the sequel , at least the first 30 minutes that I watched, it seemed like they were just trying to turn the dial up to 11 on the action and the special effects and they made the humor over the top. The bad guy with the spots who goes from portal to portal was annoying as hell and I just had this bad taste in my mouth that they were so focused on being cool they forgot about creating a good story that the original accomplished.

jeez, did your dog die the day you watched it?

 

[BisexualMMA]

CHERNOBYL (2019)

Five episode miniseries about the real life nuclear reactor meltdown in the 80s. Excellent work from Stellan Skarsgaard and the rest of the cast. Extremely well made. It feels sort of like a spiritual companion piece to the movie Citizen X where a few people had to work against the Russian bureaucracy to catch a serial killer. It has received stellar reviews so I'm not adding anything new here but anyway...

9.something / 10.

 

[revoltub]

Spirited Away (2001)

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I've been meaning to get caught up on studio ghibli animation for a while now. I watched my Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's delivery service many years ago and both left enough of an impression on me that I can still recall a lot of the worlds they built and visual atmospheres.

And this one is no different. Really great dreamscape type fantasy escapism. But with a plot that still makes sense. Really fun characters and beautiful animation and art throughout.

Definitely geared more toward kids but I never felt like it was too dumbed down for me being an adult. You cant really ask for much more from a PG animated film.


7.7/10 range

 

[llperez22]

Malignant
7/10

I had scrolled past this movie on streaming numerous times and without knowing anything about it I figured it was run of the mil creepy ghost story jump scares.

Someone recommended it to me and I just now finished it. I have to say I enjoyed it. Pleasantly surprised that it was a bit different than your typical evil spirit jump scare film. The techno soundtrack , the transitions from scene to scene, the high octane action sequences and old fashioned gore effects and slasher film style kills made the movie fun. I had the twist ruined for me so unfortunately I couldn’t experience that naturally but it was so over the top that it made the movie kind of laughable but in a good doesn’t take itself too serious way.

 

[AFanNotAFighter]

CHERNOBYL (2019)

Five episode miniseries about the real life nuclear reactor meltdown in the 80s. Excellent work from Stellan Skarsgaard and the rest of the cast. Extremely well made. It feels sort of like a spiritual companion piece to the movie Citizen X where a few people had to work against the Russian bureaucracy to catch a serial killer. It has received stellar reviews so I'm not adding anything new here but anyway...

9.something / 10.

Saw that on my On Demand library. Is it reality/documentary-like or does it take a lot of fictional liberties to keep it entertaining?

 

[HenryFlower]

Saw that on my On Demand library. Is it reality/documentary-like or does it take a lot of fictional liberties to keep it entertaining?

it’s a mostly accurate portrayal of what went down. minor tweaks, & some people are combined into a composite fictional character, etc

but overall, i thought the series was really very “pretty good”

 

[Batjester]

Just watched the new Mission Impossible. Not bad, but it's time for the franchise to end. Cruise is starting to look his age.

Probably a 7ish outta 10

 

[eddymotto]

Aguirre, The Wrath of God (Germany/Mexico, 1972)

Historical drama produced and directed by Werner Herzog.

Set in 1560/61, a group of Spanish conquistadors seek the fabled "City of Gold" (El Dorado) in the Amazon. The expedition has managed to drag heavy cannons and other supplies over the Andes but are now exhausted and running low on food. A group of 40 people are sent ahead on rafts as part of an advanced scouting party.

Trouble begins almost immediately for the scouting party as they face a hostile environment and hostile natives. Aguirre, one of the soldiers in the group, stages a mutiny.

The preamble to the film has already told us that this is a doomed expedition. The film examines the combination of irrationality, grandiose ambition, and cut throat greed that leads to their doom. The leader of the scout team has himself christened "Emperor of El Dorado" and writes ridiculous legal documents proclaiming his independence from the Spanish crown. Even as the group dwindles and the starving survivors cling to a half submerged raft, the "Emperor" still gleefully annexes all the land that he sees and brags in his letters that he is now the ruler of a land six times bigger than the Spanish Empire. In the end, Aguirre is giving speeches of conquest to literal monkeys.

This is a lean hallucinatory masterpiece. Every scene feels pared down to its essentials. The crew was probably suffering during the filming and it creates the atmosphere that Herzog sought.

The opening extended shot is of the entire expedition decending from the Andes. It is brilliant cinematography. Not only is the shot beautiful but it tells us so much about these conquistadors without having to say a word. We see their cruelty in the chained Indian slaves. We see them clinging to social norms with their insistence of having the 2 women in the group carried down the mountain in litters. We see their misunderstanding of the environment in their clothes and with the heavy cannons and horses they bring with them. We also see a copious reserve of physical and mental courage. It is a stunning way to start the film.

The expedition cited in the film never existed but Herzog did pull many of the themes and people from actually historical events.

My chief complaint is the brutal dubbing. The film was shot in English but due to the filming conditions the sound recordings were low quality. The sound was re-done in a studio (not that uncommon) but it is very poorly done. The dialogue is consistently out of synch with the actors. This is a petty complaint but it the issue is pervasive and annoying.

Rating: 8.5/10

The trailer is in German but I watched the film in English.

 

[BisexualMMA]

FERRARI (2023)

My goodness it's like the Miami Vice movie all over again. Nobody seems to be having any fun in making this. It's just one dour scene with dour characters after another. I'm an hour in and other than the prologue there has also been no car racing. I've been given almost no reason to like or even take an interest in Enzo Ferrari. Adam Driver is a weird one...I dislike looking at his face in whatever he is in but he's a good enough actor that he keeps you watching. But with this one there has been very little for him to work with dramatically. The movie is well shot. Michael Mann hasn't lost it there...but it's the same story as Miami Vice and Public Enemies. He hasn't made me care about the characters or their fates. I think he's really lost something there compared to the days of Last of the Mohicans or Heat or Manhunter.

Maybe I'll finish this, maybe not. Maybe the second hour is just action packed high drama...but thus far there is little indication that it is heading that way. There must be car races and such, how can there not be, but I haven't even begun to care about Enzo or his wife or his mistress, never mind any of the people who might be behind the wheel.

Tentatively a 5.4 so far I guess. The second hour has to be better.

 

[BisexualMMA]

Saw that on my On Demand library. Is it reality/documentary-like or does it take a lot of fictional liberties to keep it entertaining?

It sticks pretty close to the facts as I understand them and pretty close to the real life people that were involved. It does what the movie Donnie Brasco did and combines some people into one character but it is probably to the benefit of the final product on screen.

 

[HenryFlower]

Mann’s Miami Vice deserves reappraisal imo. that movie kinda fuckin’ rules

 

[revoltub]

Top gun (1986)

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/10

 

[the ambush]

Fighting ISIS: Behind the Global Power Struggle

ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. As political leaders in the region, both Saudi Arabia and Iran oppose the ISIS terrorist group. Saudi Arabia went as far as constructing a border wall between Iraq. In the documentary's conclusion, a religious Monastery in Iraq is displayed and it's large enough to resemble a castle. I would have preferred a walk through of the Monastery.

The steady pulse of the documentary is various political and government authorities speaking in interviews. If that is what you are looking for this might be for you

 

[BisexualMMA]

Mann’s Miami Vice deserves reappraisal imo. that movie kinda fuckin’ rules

I just rewatched it for that purpose and it's pretty much how I remember it.

The Bears are who we thought they were.

I liked one scene in the movie...where John Ortiz is watching Colin Farrell dance with his boss' girlfriend in the nightclub to Pennies in My Pocket. The movie also had a pretty good choice of songs for the year in which it was made.

It just failed to make the characters interesting for me, especially given how the characters were developed in the TV show. The only person on the team of good guys I cared about in the movie at all was Colin Farrell and I didn't care very much. I cared more about Switeck and Zito the occasionally annoying supporting characters in the TV show than I cared about the star of this movie.

The movie gets a pass for good visual execution but I couldn't give it much more than a marginal pass on the whole. Michael Mann set up all the pieces and then forgot to develop the characters or give me a reason to invest in any of the couples or romances other than scenes of them banging, which isn't really high level character development.

It wasn't a bad movie. I'll give it that.

 

[ufcfan4]

I just rewatched it for that purpose and it's pretty much how I remember it.

The Bears are who we thought they were.

I liked one scene in the movie...where John Ortiz is watching Colin Farrell dance with his boss' girlfriend in the nightclub to Pennies in My Pocket. The movie also had a pretty good choice of songs for the year in which it was made.

It just failed to make the characters interesting for me, especially given how the characters were developed in the TV show. The only person on the team of good guys I cared about in the movie at all was Colin Farrell and I didn't care very much. I cared more about Switeck and Zito the occasionally annoying supporting characters in the TV show than I cared about the star of this movie.

The movie gets a pass for good visual execution but I couldn't give it much more than a marginal pass. Michael Mann set up all the pieces and then forgot to develop the characters or give me a reason to invest in any of the couples or romances other than scenes of them banging, which isn't really high level character development.

It wasn't a bad movie. I'll give it that.

I remember seeing Miami Vice with my brother and dad in the theater. I thought it was pretty damn cool while my brother and dad were bored to tears. I watched it a second time and it was sort of a chore to get through. Definitely felt like style over substance.

Ali was sort of the opposite experience for me. Wasn’t impressed when I saw it in the theater other than by Smith’s and Foxx’s
very entertaining performances. But I’ve liked it much more in subsequent watches and feel like it’s actually very good and sort of overlooked.

Have you watched The Insider recently? I go back to scenes from that one quite a bit. That’s some of Mann’s and Pacino’s best work of the past two and a half decades. Pacino, Crowe, and Christopher Plummer are all great in it. Plus there’s a bunch of strong supporting work from good actors like Steve Tobolowsky, Phillip Baker Hall, Gina Gershon, Michael Gambon (RIP), Bruce McGill, etc. A little over long and really no levity to speak of but it’s borderline great in my opinion.

 

[BisexualMMA]

I remember seeing Miami Vice with my brother and dad in the theater. I thought it was pretty damn cool while my brother and dad were bored to tears. I watched it a second time and it was sort of a chore to get through. Definitely felt like style over substance.

Ali was sort of the opposite experience for me. Wasn’t impressed when I saw it in the theater other than by Smith’s and Foxx’s
very entertaining performances. But I’ve liked it much more in subsequent watches and feel like it’s actually very good and sort of overlooked.

Have you watched The Insider recently? I go back to scenes from that one quite a bit. That’s some of Mann’s and Pacino’s best work of the past two and a half decades. Pacino, Crowe, and Christopher Plummer are all great in it. Plus there’s a bunch of strong supporting work from good actors like Steve Tobolowsky, Phillip Baker Hall, Gina Gershon, Michael Gambon (RIP), Bruce McGill, etc. A little over long and really no levity to speak of but it’s borderline great in my opinion.

I haven't seen The Insider or Ali since the first time I watched them. They have both been in the back of my mind to give another go around.

I really didn't like Jamie Foxx in Miami Vice. He dragged the whole movie down by being dour and boring. He's a guy kind of like Bill Paxton where if you're gonna cast him don't handcuff his energy (or let him choose to handcuff himself in an attempt to be super serious).

 

[ufcfan4]

I haven't seen The Insider or Ali since the first time I watched them. They have both been in the back of my mind to give another go around.

I really didn't like Jamie Foxx in Miami Vice. He dragged the whole movie down by being dour and boring. He's a guy kind of like Bill Paxton where if you're gonna cast him don't handcuff his energy (or let him choose to handcuff himself in an attempt to be super serious).

Yeah you’ve made that point and it’s a really good one. When he’s on though- when he’s not holding back or trying to be gritty and ultra serious, he can be really good. Ali was one of the first times I noticed how well he could strike the balance between comedic and dramatic. Ray, Collateral, and that relatively recent film with Michael B. and Brie Larson, Just Mercy- I thought he was damn good in all of those.

Django is another one where a lot of people have an issue with his performance there but I actually like him in that one quite a bit too. I just think the issue is more than Waltz, Leo, and Sam are chewing scenery and absolutely stealing scenes so Foxx’s stoic lead is sort of less dynamic by comparison. But I feel he did pretty much exactly what needed to be done with the character.

I get the vibe that Django is supposed to be more of the strong, silent type not some ultra-charismatic lead.

By the way, I feel that scene with Tarantino and Michael parks is the real nadir of that movie and slows it to a near halt right before the finale. Someone on here recently said the movie should have ended with that big Django vs. entirety of candieland showdown but with him ultimately triumphing and leaving with his wife then and there.

Never thought of that lol. But it very well might have been the better way to go. Big fan of that film though. One of my top five favorite Tarantinos.

 

[eddymotto]

I haven't seen The Insider or Ali since the first time I watched them. They have both been in the back of my mind to give another go around.

I really didn't like Jamie Foxx in Miami Vice. He dragged the whole movie down by being dour and boring. He's a guy kind of like Bill Paxton where if you're gonna cast him don't handcuff his energy (or let him choose to handcuff himself in an attempt to be super serious).

In hindsight, Colin Farrell was also the wrong person for the film too. I may have the order wrong (and lots of projects are signed and/or shot out in a different sequence to their release) but I feel like this was close to the last of the "Colin Farrell as handsome leading man" roles (except for the terrible Total Recall re-make) and then he started making things like In Bruges and is now one of the most fascinating actors working today.

I understand why they cast both leads but they were both wrong for the actual roles.

I still don't think that the film would have been very good but maybe it would have been better?

 

[eddymotto]

Yeah you’ve made that point and it’s a really good one. When he’s on though- when he’s not holding back or trying to be gritty and ultra serious, he can be really good. Ali was one of the first times I noticed how well he could strike the balance between comedic and dramatic. Ray, Collateral, and that relatively recent film with Michael B. and Brie Larson, Just Mercy- I thought he was damn good in all of those.

Django is another one where a lot of people have an issue with his performance there but I actually like him in that one quite a bit too. I just think the issue is more than Waltz, Leo, and Sam are chewing scenery and absolutely stealing scenes so Foxx’s stoic lead is sort of less dynamic by comparison. But I feel he did pretty much exactly what needed to be done with the character.

I get the vibe that Django is supposed to be more of the strong, silent type not some ultra-charismatic lead.

By the way, I feel that scene with Tarantino and Michael parks is the real nadir of that movie and slows it to a near halt right before the finale. Someone on here recently said the movie should have ended with that big Django vs. entirety of candieland showdown but with him ultimately triumphing and leaving with his wife then and there.

Never thought of that lol. But it very well might have been the better way to go. Big fan of that film though. One of my top five favorite Tarantinos.

I am with you - Fox is great in Django and it is not his fault that some of the other characters have the best lines. I cannot think of anybody better than Fox for that role.

Will Smith was rumoured to have been the first choice and supposedly (warning - potential bullshit internet rumor alert) turned it down because he did not think Django was the actual lead. For a large part of the movie, Smith was probably correct