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

[GearSolidMetal]

I honestly thought gale went stale fast. But the real life cox/Arquette thing kept it going. It made sense at the time.

Spoiler: Scream6

She absolutely should have been killed off in Scream6.
And Courtney Cox is really not looking good anymore with all the layers of plastic surgery over the decades.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Just saw this...

 

[revoltub]

Spoiler: Scream6

She absolutely should have been killed off in Scream6.
And Courtney Cox is really not looking good anymore with all the layers of plastic surgery over the decades.

agreed but she had a strong prime at least.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

agreed but she had a strong prime at least.

I never was into her, or Jennifer Aniston.

 

[revoltub]

I never was into her, or Jennifer Aniston

I was never into Aniston either

 

[HenryFlower]

just watched Borderlands. big mistake. (1/5)

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

Smile 2 (2024) 9/10. This was phenomenal. A modern classic. Probably the best horror movie I've seen in the last five years. Smile 1 was very good as well but this did it even better. Some genuinely scary scenes, a great, sprawling, multi layered story and a great ending. I can't recommend this enough

This should be a star-making performance for Naomi Scott. She was excellent.

 

[Jackonfire]

The Coffee Table (Spain, 2022) - 3.5/5
View attachment 1072998

I would probably give this a 4/5. They did a great job with the overall feeling of tension and unease keeping the viewer uncomfortable. There was just the right amount of humor as well considering the topic. Certainly in the top 10 movies I've watched this year.

 

[eddymotto]

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (USA, 2024)

Fourth instalment of the re-booted Apes franchise. Matt Reeves is out. Wes Ball is in. The film stars Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, and William H Macy.

Set "many generations" after the previous film (and Caesar's death), apes have become the dominant species on Earth. Noa (Teague) is an adolescent chimpanzee who belongs to a tribe that raises and trains eagles.

Noa ultimately goes on a quest to save his tribe from ape marauders. Along the way, he teams up with Raka (Macon), a well read orangutang who wants to preserve the legacy of the true, historical Caesar. He is also joined by Mae (Allan), a human who can speak and has unclear motivations.

The film looks great and checks off a lot of boxes for a dystopian science fiction action movie. The action scenes are well shot. The ape CGI technology remains excellent.

Nevertheless, the film feels like a step down from the Reeves' trilogy. It feels derivative at times and struggles to nail the emotional high points set up in the plot. A 2:20 action movie needs to feel epic to justify that run time and Kingdom never quite hits that lofty target.

All that being said, I really like the way that this film sets up a sequel. There is a fascinating longer term story arc to explore if the filmmakers can clean up the execution a bit.

Rating: 6/10

​

 

[Fraz]

Smile 2 (2024) 9/10. This was phenomenal. A modern classic. Probably the best horror movie I've seen in the last five years. Smile 1 was very good as well but this did it even better. Some genuinely scary scenes, a great, sprawling, multi layered story and a great ending. I can't recommend this enough

This should be a star-making performance for Naomi Scott. She was excellent.

Totally agree. it really exceeded my expectations. i thought they were gonna ruin it with a sequel but its better than the first one in every way imo.

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

Totally agree. it really exceeded my expectations. i thought they were gonna ruin it with a sequel but its better than the first one in every way imo.

It also set up an insane third entry.

One really interesting thing about both Smile and Smile 2 is how much the blue haired pronoun gang hate it for having 'problematic' messaging about mental illness.

I have someone in my extended family with schizophrenia and it really is true. They destroy the lives of the people closest to them. Maybe you can't blame them for it but it is what it is.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

I'm watching The Matrix for the first time in like 20 years, though I watched it at least a dozen times inbetween 1999 - 2004.

For 1999, the CGI was pretty damn good, and by CGI I'm mostly referring to what is completely CGI with the 'real world,' the sentinels, and the ship they're flying around on.

It occured to me I never learned what the budget was for this... I was guessing it had to be well over $100 million to get Keanu Reeves on board, the months of training for all the actors, and the CGI budget, right?

According to wikipedia its budget was a grand total of $65 million, which would be $123 million today. Quite surprising.

 

[HenryFlower]

Smile 2 (2024) 9/10. This was phenomenal. A modern classic. Probably the best horror movie I've seen in the last five years. Smile 1 was very good as well but this did it even better. Some genuinely scary scenes, a great, sprawling, multi layered story and a great ending. I can't recommend this enough

This should be a star-making performance for Naomi Scott. She was excellent.

do i need to watch the first one if i wanna watch the second

 

[eddymotto]

just watched Borderlands. big mistake. (1/5)

don't beat yourself up -- of all the colossal mistakes involved with every facet of the Borderlands movie, you watching it is a relatively minor mishap

 

[eddymotto]

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (USA, 2000)

Satirical comedy-drama written and directed by the Coen brothers. The film stars George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Stephen Root (small role but, as usual, he kills it and so I have to mention him).

Three convicts escape a chain gang in rural Mississippi in 1937. The self styled leader is Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney), a verbose and vain escapee who fashions himself a man of intellect. Flanked by the dim-witted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and the skeptical Pete (John Turturro), Everett's quest for a supposed hidden fortune spirals into a series of increasingly surreal encounters. Loosely based on the epic Greek poem, The Odyssey, the three men face a series of challenges and tribulations including sirens who beguile with seductive harmonies, a one-eyed Bible salesman (Goodman) who might be a cyclops in disguise, and a political campaign that drifts eerily close to parodying its real-life counterparts. Pursuing them as all times is a posse led by a relentless sunglass wearing sheriff.

The Coens' are in total control as their fantastical and semi-mythical story unfolds. The cinematography creates the feeling that the film is one step removed from reality. Everything is painted in sepia tones that feel like old photographs brought to life.

The film is drenched in amazing Appalachian folk music that forms the lifeblood of the story.

At one level the film is a frivolous comedy. Yet beneath the film’s comic absurdity lies a deeper meditation on themes of redemption, identity, and the thin veneer separating illusion from reality. Each character, from the conniving governor to the hapless musicians, is caught in a dance of self-invention.

This is the film that convinced me that the Coen brothers can do anything. The premise is ridiculous and I am not sure what it all means and the end result is absolutely fascinating and I am filled with joy that this film exists.

Rating: 8/10

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

do i need to watch the first one if i wanna watch the second

You should. They are both great.

 

[eddymotto]

Take Out (USA, 2004)

Independent film written and directed by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou.

There is a particular power in simplicity. Take Out exemplifies this truth. Ming (Charles Jang) is an undocumented Chinese immigrant who works as a bicycle delivery man for a Chinese restaurant in NYC. Ming’s day begins under crushing pressure: he owes $800 to loan sharks who have already made their violent presence felt. Ming needs to earn enough in one day’s tips to pay off his debt, but this journey becomes a window into the precarious existence faced by countless immigrants, a harrowing odyssey through the underbelly of urban life.

The film is shot in a naturalistic documentary style. Despite the stakes, the film shows the mundane daily toil of the working immigrant underclass. The restaurant grinds away one $5 pork fried rice order at a time. Ming's existence is busy streets, pouring rain, old elevators, and strangers in doorways. Ming does not speak English and seems incapable of charm. He chips away at the money he needs, his desperation invisible to the distracted customers handing him $1 or $2 tips.

Most of the film feels tedious. That is the point. Ming’s repetitive deliveries, the cramped kitchens, the small exchanges with customers—these details accumulate, painting a vivid portrait of the grind that defines his world. Each knock on a door is a reminder of his anonymity and invisibility. We feel his fatigue, his fear, and his determination. There’s no melodrama here, no grand speeches or sweeping moments of catharsis. Just the quiet, relentless march of a man trying to keep his head above water.

Jang’s performance is quietly mesmerizing. He imbues Ming with a stoic resilience, rarely speaking but communicating volumes through his weary eyes and hunched posture.

This film may try your patience at times, with its stubborn refusal to adopt a normal movie plot. The ending more than justifies the slow burn to get there.

To paraphrase the great @HenryFlower ; "Sean Baker does not miss". Five films in, I agree.

Rating: 7/10

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Been meaning to rewatch this before watching the sequel.

I'm a longtime Spiderman fan, and have the 2002 movie in my top five favorite movies of all time... an I've always hated Miles Morales. Long story short - They killed off Peter Parker in the Ultimate Spiderman line of comics (which was my favorite) to introduce 'Peter Blacker' in his place.
And Marvel has been making Miles Morales a thing ever since although his comics have routinely sold the fewest issues of all the 'spider' titles.

This movie is the first I've seen that Miles isn't only tollerable, but quite enjoyable.

Overall, a pretty damn good movie.
The animation is very colorful and the entirety of the movie is very well directed. I only dislike the stylistic choice of lowering the framerate to what feels to be around 18 frames per second. To my gamer-eye that requires 60FPS but is fine with 32FPS for animation in shows & movies... 18FPS is a constant distraction.

Typically I dislike 'multiverse' storylines, but on rare occasion (this and No Way Home) they are very good.

What makes this so forgivable, and enjoyable, is the kids/silly/comedy feel to the movie, that you shouldn't take it too seriously.

Overall - 7/10.

By the way, there's been rumors that Miles Morales will be making a live-action appearance in a movie sometime in the future. I really hope that doesn't happen. Him having his niche in an animated Spiderman movie series seems perfect for him.

Keep Peter Parker for live-action.
Keep Miles Morales for animation.

 

[eddymotto]

The Cabin in the Woods (USA, 2011)

Meta-horror film directed by Drew Goddard and produced by the disgraced Joss Whedon. The films stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth (pre-Thor), Ana Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford.

There is no reason to give away the plot twist despite the film being released over a decade ago. The best part of this film is it slowly stripping away the machinery of what is really happening.

Suffice it to say, a group of college students travel to a remote cabin for a short vacation and lots of horror film type stuff happens.

Like Scream, The Cabin in the Woods is both a horror film and a deconstruction of horror film tropes. In Scream, the meta storyline is that the characters are aware that their lives are unfolding as if they were in a horror film. In The Cabin in the Woods, the characters are unaware of their situation but the scenarios that they find themselves in are even more contrived.

The set-up allows the film to both embrace and satirize horror films. Each trope, from the creaky basement to the forbidden diary, becomes both a plot device and a critique of narrative laziness. The film worked well for me because beneath the biting satire seems to lie a genuine affection for horror films.

The film is more dark comedy than horror. The ending is incredibly nihilistic.

The 95 minute run time flies by, the twist is very clever, and the ending is superb. Kristen Connolly is insanely hot. To the surprise of nobody, Richard Jenkins steals every scene that he is in.

Rating: 7.5/10

 

[mb23100]

Short Time (1990) 7/10

I remembered this as being much more of a silly, slap stick, Naked Gun type comedy but it's actually kind of serious and dark. My memory must be conflating the two. It's barely a comedy. I still enjoy the old school 90's cop vibe and it had some surprisingly great car chases. It's free on Youtube if you want to check it out.