Movie Hindsight 2020

[nwhoopfan]

Netflix has gotten so sketchy with their deliveries, never know if I'm going to get new releases. If I don't get them right away, it will be a month or two, they're just continuously listed as "short wait." Finally got a couple of those.

"21 Bridges" was well done I thought. Good pacing, story kept moving. There are so many movies about dirty cops. Real police officers must hate them. This is yet another. Chadwick Boseman has a midas touch so far, I can't think of anything he's been in that has been bad. I don't know what it is about Sienna Miller, she never looks the same twice to me. Most of the way thru the movie I couldn't figure out who the female lead was. Some good supporting characters--J.K. Simmons, Keith David, Taylor Kitsch (since bombing as a leading man he's been killing it in supporting roles the last several years), Stephan James. This one is plenty violent.

I didn't have particularly high expectations for "Gemini Man." I was really enjoying it for about the first half. Less action and more thriller/espionage/intrigue than I thought. Then it started to bog down a bit and really went off the rails during the big finale. Too bad, it could've been better. Still enjoyed it overall. The CGI age regressed Will Smith was a bit too strange, I think uncanny valley is maybe the term for that? Always glad to see Mary Elizabeth Winstead on screen.

 

[zymurg]

"Heathers"-Michael Lehmann-1989

Lehmann has achieved more success on TV: True Blood, Californication, Blunt Talk, 68 Whiskey. Daniel Waters, the screenwriter, has been even less successful. He did write scripts for the TV series. Based on the available figures; the film lost money. My gut tells me that is wrong; box office figures are notoriously unreliable. In 2003 "Entertainment Weekly" had a feature with the top 50 cult movies. "Heathers" ranked #5 with IDMb viewers.

The film was shot in the LA area; the setting is Westerburg HS in Ohio. In this mythic setting; the school is ruled by jocks and the Heathers. There are 3 Heathers; the nastiest is Heather Chandler, the leader. There is a fourth member of the Heathers, Veronica(Winona Ryder). She has become uncomfortable with her behavior as a member of the group. There is a scene in the lunchroom where two jocks threaten a new student, J.D. (the J.D. from J.D. Salinger). J.D. pulls out a gun and shoots them with blanks. His looks and behavior attract Veronica.
J.D. (Christian Slater) is the classic bad boy outsider. Murders and mayhem follow. This is a very dark take off on the classic John Hughes teen films.

The story has had lives like a cat. I mentioned the brief lived TV series. In 2009 a musical "Heathers" opened in
LA. It was taken off Broadway in 2014. There was a cast album. It next went to London where it was even more successful. This yielded another cast album. There was a specially written version for high schools in 2016. The show has played in high schools across the US. Last year the production of that version was the basis for an episode of "Riverdale." The most iconic line "What's your damage" has appeared in dozens of shows.

The film is available for free streaming on Tubi; you need to sign up and there are commercials. It's similar to IMDb. Generally most people either hate or love this movie. I am in neither camp. The film seemed to be a product of its era, but it has resurfaced with a zombie like quality. There is something there which speaks to teenagers. The acting of the two principals is excellent. This is an iconic film; that makes it well worth viewing.

 

[Dove]

Richard Jewell - Really damned good. The lead actor, Paul Walter Hauser killed it as Jewell.

I had forgotten that Jewell died. Damned shame what happened to him.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Gave up quickly on a couple clunkers from Hoopla, but then enjoyed a short and sweet documentary/travelogue called "Dear Albania." Narrated by Eliza Dushku (who is half Albanian). She and her brother Nate, along with a few other people in their entourage traveled all over the country as well as several neighboring countries. It seems Albania is a region as much as a country, many ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro. Very brief overview of their history, culture and people. Worth watching I thought.

 

[nwhoopfan]

We switched to Comcast recently. They have quite a few free movies from premium channels available on demand, even if you aren't subscribed to those channels. I've been watching quite a few of those lately. Took a flyer on one I'd never heard of before--"Level 16." Very low budget, but effectively told story. Dystopian sci fi. A bunch of girls that are supposedly orphans being raised in an academy/finishing school type of setting. Very spartan setting. There is a growing sense of dread throughout that something really bad is going on in the background. No name cast, mostly Canadian.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I had skipped "Overlord." I was mildly curious about it. Free on demand, gave it a try. Not really what I expected. Even cheesier than the description suggested. I probably would've bailed on it, but that French actress was so gorgeous I kept going with it. I usually like Wyatt Russell, this wasn't his best role. I thought for sure the main lead was Derek Luke, but it wasn't. Jovan Adepo. I don't think I've seen him in anything else.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I took a break from posting anything on here for a while, now I can't stop myself. I wade thru plenty of mediocre movies and some that stink, it's always satisfying to find a gem. Streamed this from Hoopla, I doubt it was ever in theaters, don't think it had any kind of advertising budget. "Feast of Seven Fishes." Blue collar Italian family in rural Pennsylvania (I think) set in the 80s. It's a long tradition, on Christmas Eve they spend all day preparing a seafood feast and then gather together. 4 generations. Movie is centered around Skylar Gisondo (who played a total weirdo in "Book Smart") and Madison Iseman (who played an airhead in "Jumanji"). Here as main characters and actual people rather than caricatures they really shine. It's a heartfelt, sweet story. Good supporting characters throughout.

 

[Dove]

Rocketman - Fun movie. Not groundbreaking in anyway. Didn't expect the musical overload feel but that made it fun. Seems like a preview to a run on Broadway. Like the Saturday Night's All Right routine. And the first night at The Troubador in LA.

A Perfect World (1993)- An Eastwood-directed film with him and Costner. KC played a bad guy who kidnaps a kid. But the kid doesn't know he's kidnapped and they are pursued by the law. A little bonding going on. Overall, meh.

 

[Waquoit]

Uncut Gems - The SO tapped out after 30 or so minutes. I didn't argue. I was on the phone with my brother today and it came up. He said for such a well-reviewed movie he hasn't talked to anyone who liked it.

 

[Dove]

Back To The Future - This movie does not get old. Aging very well.

 

[8893]

Uncut Gems - The SO tapped out after 30 or so minutes. I didn't argue. I was on the phone with my brother today and it came up. He said for such a well-reviewed movie he hasn't talked to anyone who liked it.

Couldn't agree more. And I have since learned how the movie ended and am even happier that we abandoned it. Totally unenjoyable.

 

[Husky25]

Looks nothing like Billy Batts or Frank Vincent for that matter...with or without the beard.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Code 8" was good I thought. Low budget sci fi. Powered people (mutants basically, but this isn't related to any comic as far as I know) have been deemed dangerous and are being systemically discriminated against. Leaves them fairly desperate to try to get by in life. The movie just looks good, the practical effects were well done. I've seen plenty of movies with much bigger budgets that looked much worse. Stars cousins Robbie and Steven Amell. A few other recognizable faces in supporting roles, mostly unknown cast to me. Worth a watch.

 

[storrsroars]

"Heathers"-Michael Lehmann-1989

Lehmann has achieved more success on TV: True Blood, Californication, Blunt Talk, 68 Whiskey. Daniel Waters, the screenwriter, has been even less successful. He did write scripts for the TV series. Based on the available figures; the film lost money. My gut tells me that is wrong; box office figures are notoriously unreliable. In 2003 "Entertainment Weekly" had a feature with the top 50 cult movies. "Heathers" ranked #5 with IDMb viewers.

The film was shot in the LA area; the setting is Westerburg HS in Ohio. In this mythic setting; the school is ruled by jocks and the Heathers. There are 3 Heathers; the nastiest is Heather Chandler, the leader. There is a fourth member of the Heathers, Veronica(Winona Ryder). She has become uncomfortable with her behavior as a member of the group. There is a scene in the lunchroom where two jocks threaten a new student, J.D. (the J.D. from J.D. Salinger). J.D. pulls out a gun and shoots them with blanks. His looks and behavior attract Veronica.
J.D. (Christian Slater) is the classic bad boy outsider. Murders and mayhem follow. This is a very dark take off on the classic John Hughes teen films.

I was well into my 30s first time I saw Heathers. Loved it then and will still watch it, although it hasn't aged all that gracefully. I remember thinking Slater was going to be a huge star after his performance, then it became clear that the world already had one Jack Nicholson and wasn't pining for another.

 

[Mano]

Uncut Gems - Like many here I found all the characters pretty despicable, made it hard to care what happened to them. Makes the ending at least easier to take. Shrug. As for Sandler, it was nice to see him do some real acting even if it was similar to his usual schtick of an accent and a lot of yelling.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker - Was ok. All the air battles had that same familiar feel to them, right down to the baddies ships having a fatal, obvious flaw that take them down with ease! I think my biggest problem with the newest trilogy is, try as the might, the camaraderie and family dynamic between our protags felt forced to me. I think that's one of the biggest draws of the OT and hinged largely on Harrison Ford's charm.

Noelle - I had actually totally forgotten I'd even seen this until browsing recently. Probably tells you all you need to know.

 

[dbmill]

Jojo Rabbit - Jojo was good and hit the right notes of silliness amidst the despair and devastation of war. A bit more conventional a movie than you might think considering the presence of imaginary best friend Hitler. Good performances all around especially by the young leads. Sam Rockwell was great as usual and even ScarJo managed to inject some whimsy into her performance. Recommended.

We just saw Jojo Rabbit. Not great, but certainly a solid film. Thought it started a bit slow, but it grew on me as the movie took a bit more serious turn as things progressed, although I thought the comic Hitler was a bit too much at times. Of course, this Hitler is really a projection of the boy's subconscious in growing up in Nazi Germany, so in that way this presentation of Hitler is understandable. Really liked Sam Rockwell in this one as well, and good to see Scarlett Johansson was solid as the mother of the boy. But the two kids pretty much carry the movie, and they do it well.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Finally saw "Ford v Ferrari." It was good, but it was longer than it needed to be. About 2 1/2 hours, really slow pacing at times. About 20 or 30 minutes in I wasn't sure I was going to stick with it. There are some really good scenes and good performances throughout, just seemed a bit overstuffed. They really painted the Ford company in a very bad light, particularly Mr. Ford himself and Leo Beebe.

 

[Dove]

The Decline - Norwegian survivalists go to a mentor's camp for on hand training skills. If you get past the first 40 minutes it pretty entertaining. Its dubbed.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Just watched the 2019 version of "Little Women." I think I started the 1994 version before but didn't finish. Haven't seen any other rendition of it or read the book, so I can't compare to what's come before. That said I thought it was very good. Excellent cast overall, having Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh front and center you can't go wrong. Two of my favorite actresses, both very talented. Greta Gerwig is rapidly making quite a name for herself as a director. The nonlinear storytelling thing has been done to death and most of the time is just plain annoying, but Gerwig handled it very well in this case (she adapted the screen play from the book). The extra features are worth checking out also if you get it on disc.


I found it a bit interesting that the 4 sisters in this very beloved American tale were portrayed by 2 Brits, an Aussie and an Irish lass.

 

[Waquoit]

Finally saw "Ford v Ferrari." It was good, but it was longer than it needed to be.

But it brought back the long lost trope of the tough guy hero swigging down pills straight from the bottle. I hadn't seen that in years.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" was plenty dumb as expected, and also contained plenty of cussing. It was surprisingly sentimental though. The movie is the duo's ode to parenthood. I knew Kevin Smith has a daughter, she's been in several of his films including this one. Didn't know that Jason Mewes also has a daughter, much younger than Smith's. She also had a cameo in this. There were of course many appearances by actors/actresses that have appeared in a number of Smith's films. And a long running gag about Hollywood's current penchant for reboots/remakes. If you've enjoyed any of Smith's previous movies, you'll probably find it entertaining. If not, definitely don't watch.

 

[Dove]

Aftermath (2017) - After getting used to seeing an old Arnold this movie was pretty interesting. It follows the life path of two guys after two planes collide in mid air. Arnold lost his wife and daughter. The other guy (Scoot McNarry) was the air traffic controller on duty at the time.

Slow burn with a good ending.

Maggie Grace also stars.

 

[Dove]

The Killing of a Sacred Deer - I spent two hours watching this one and was hoping to get them back. Can anyone explain what --- I just watched?

Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman starred.

 

[dbmill]

Knives Out - We watched this "murder" mystery movie last night. I loved it, thought it was a terrific entertainment. I was a little worried about 90 minutes into the film that this show was going off the rails with a very unnecessary and silly (in my mind) car chase sequence, but the film quickly got back on to its original entertaining track. I quite enjoyed Daniel Craig's performance as the detective piecing the various strands of this mystery together.

Kudos also to the now 90 year old Christopher Plummer, who is very solid as the mystery author who turns up dead at the very beginning of the film. Plummer continues having a very nice run of roles very late in his career that is rather impressive. I thought he was the best thing in the movie "The Man Who Invented Christmas". A Plummer movie that I want to get around to seeing sometime soon is "The Exception" from 2016, where he plays Kaiser Wilhelm in exile in The Netherlands during the early days of World War II.

 

[nwhoopfan]

A Plummer movie that I want to get around to seeing sometime soon is "The Exception" from 2016

I saw that a while ago. It was decent. Lily James stars in it, so it has that going for it.

It's pretty amazing Plummer is still appearing in films. Looks relatively healthy still.