Movie Hindsight 2020

[Mano]

Year End Movie Review Roundup!!! (for postings in 2019 only)

Mano:

Total movies watched: 69 (nice)

Annihilation, The Greatest Showman, Smallfoot, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, The Oath, Tomb Raider, Happy Death Day, Super Troopers 2, The Grinch, Down a Dark Hall, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Shape of Water, Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Wolfman, Midnight Run, Overlord, American Assassin, The Meg, Mary Poppins Returns, Aquaman, The A-Team, Predators, Upgrade, The Death of Stalin, The Predator, 50/50, Fun Mom Dinner, Wine Country, Vice, Always Be My Maybe, Venom, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Bad Times at the El Royale, Wonder Park, Captain Marvel, The Favourite, Toy Story 4, Us, Robin Hood, Dumbo (2019), A Star is Born (2018), A Simple Favor, Shazam!, The Lion King, UglyDolls, Long Shot, Alita: Battle Angel, Avengers: Endgame, The Secret Life of Pets 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Baywatch, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, The Spy Who Dumped Me, Mortal Engines, Aladdin (2019), Cold Pursuit, Daddy's Home 2, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Booksmart, Bohemian Rhapsody, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, Glass, Frozen 2, The Angry Birds Movie 2, Hobbs & Shaw, It Chapter Two, Good Boys, Instant Family

2019 Top 5:

1) Annihilation
2) The Death of Stalin
3) The Favourite
4) Sicario: Day of the Soldado
5) Avengers: Endgame

@nwhoopfan

Total movies watched: 97

The Predator, The Painting, Juliet, Naked, Bad Times at the El Royale, Hollow in the Land, UFO, Widows, Wildlike, Summer '03, The House of Yes, The Bookshop, Cybergeddon, Alita: Battle Angel, Creed II, Vox Lux, Mortal Engines, Columbus, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Aquaman, Mary Poppins, Captain Marvel, Glass, Music and Lyrics, A Star is Born (2018), Free Solo, Close, Polar, Prospect, Anon, Spectral, People You May Know, Outlaw King, Instant Family, The Kissing Booth, You Got Me, Happy Death Day 2U, I Am Mother, The Mustang, The Highwaymen, The Beautiful Fantastic, Under the Silver Lake, Fighting with My Family, Captive State, Empire Records, Tau, Albatross, Chalet Girl, Storm Boy, When We First Met, Tramps, Murder Mystery, The Last Summer, The Dawn Wall, Shazam!, Teen Spirit, The Rewrite, Summer Night, Hellboy, Indian Summer, The Big Green, The Book Thief, Swallows and Amazons, Kedi, Trust Me, Mia and the White Lion, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Booksmart, Men in Black: International, Plus One, Being Frank, Electric Love, Little Secrets, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Denial, Above the Shadows, Yesterday, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Anna, The Art of Self-Defense, Anna and the Apocalypse, All I Wanna Do, Hobbs & Shaw, My Summer of Love, Toy Story 4, Dazed and Confused, Venom, Good Boys, Knives Out, Ondine, Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey, She's Out of My League, Freaks, Ad Astra, Paradise Hills, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Ladies in Black, Red Dog

@dbmill

Total movies watched: 23

Raising Arizona, A Cat in Paris, Dumbo (1941), A Birder's Guide to Everything, Eighth Grade, The Old Man & the Gun, One, Two, Three, American Splendor, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, The Kid Who Would Be King, Green Book, The Favourite, The Americanization of Emily, Stan & Ollie, The Whales of August, Robot & Frank, Bottle Rocket, Once, Personal Shopper, From Beyond the Grave, The Woman in Black, Yesterday, Peanut Butter Falcon

@Dove

Total movies watched: 20

Last Holiday, The Karate Kid, Come Hell or High Water, Jaws, A Birder's Guide to Everything, Coal Miner's Daughter, The Happening, Unbreakable, Velvet Buzzsaw, Brokeback Mountain, Cinderella Man, Green Room, Dead In A Week (Or Your Money Back), My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, Rambo: Last Blood, Peppermint, I'll Take Your Dead, The Purge: Anarchy, The King

@ZooCougar

Total movies watched: 14

Green Book, First Man, Aquaman, The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot, Triple Frontier, Free Solo, Captain Marvel, The Dark Tower, Midsommar, Love & Mercy, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Hellboy, Ford v Ferrari, Ad Astra

@Deepster

Total movies watched: 9

Bird Box, Mid90s, A Star is Born (2018), Abducted In Plain Sight, Triple Frontier, Mommy Dead and Dearest, Free Solo, Green Book, Us

@Jay-Bone

Total movies watched: 8

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, The Night Comes for Us, A Prayer Before Dawn, Suspiria (2018), The Guilty, Searching, Us, The Invisible Guest

@Walker11

Total movies watched: 8

Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Fyre Fraud, FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, Velvet Buzzsaw, Capturing the Friedmans, Triple Frontier, Mission: Impossible - Fallout

@8893

Total movies watched: 8

Roma, The Sting, Amazing Grace, Rocketman, Yesterday, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Hustlers, Ford v Ferrari

@nelsonmuntz

Total movies watched: 8

Come Hell or High Water, Triple Frontier, Crazy Rich Asians, Den of Thieves, Network, The Highwaymen, Booksmart, Marriage Story

@Tommyboy

Total movies watched: 6

Bad Times at the El Royale, White Boy Rick, Free Solo, Cold Pursuit, Fighting with My Family, Robin Hood

@Husky25

Total movies watched: 6

Red Sparrow, Triple Frontier, Paddleton, Playing with Fire, Frozen 2, the Irishman

@intlzncster

Total movies watched: 5

Re-Animator, Polar, Ex Machina, Velvet Buzzsaw, Southpaw

@Waquoit

Total movies watched: 4

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Favourite, Wine Country, Handsome

@Deadrody

Total movies watched: 4

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Green Book, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Hobbs & Shaw

@HuskyHawk

Total movies watched: 4

The King's Choice, The Ritual, Avengers: Endgame, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

@CL82

Total movies watched: 3

Mary Poppins Returns, The Mule, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

@J187Money

Total movies watched: 3

Vice, Crazy Rich Asians, Motherless Brooklyn

@Rich

Total movies watched: 2

Overlord, Bohemian Rhapsody

@zymurg

Total movies watched: 2

Nowhere in Africa, Dazed and Confused

@Guapo

Total movies watched: 2

The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley, Mudbound

@storrsroars

Total movies watched: 2

Yesterday, Richard Jewell

@meyers7

Total movies watched: 1

Mary Poppins Returns

@JMick

Total movies watched: 1

Ocean's 8

@AtlantaHusky

Total movies watched: 1

Upgrade

@Letsgohuskies11

Total movies watched: 1

Us

@Dream Jobbed 2.0

Total movies watched: 1

Bohemian Rhapsody

@the Q

Total movies watched: 1

Aquaman

@John

Total movies watched: 1

Slingblade​

 

[Mano]

Welcome to the new Recently Seen Movie Thread!!!

Previous Editions: 2018 -- 2019​

 

[dbmill]

Wild Rose (2018) - This is a film about a young woman from Scotland who aspires to be a country singer and has a dream about going to Nashville to become a star. The musical focus of this film is a mix of traditional and alternative country, which really hits a musical sweet spot for me. Two things carry this film. One is the performance of Jessie Buckley in the leading role of Rose, and the second is the music and the performances in this film, which I thought were terrific. The character of Rose is a bit tough to take, as she is a bit of a walking contradiction. Early in the film she says that she is drawn to country music because it is "three chords and the truth", which is a famous phrase about this particular musical genre. However, Rose seems to be unable to apply this attitude to her life, in which she seems to be pretty consistent in making bad decisions for her and her family, and isn't exactly truthful about it as well. This gets to be a bit annoying, but as I said, the music and the performance of Buckley in this film win out for me. Definitely worth seeing, especially if you have an interest in this sort of music. Thinking about it, this would make a good double feature with the recently released "Yesterday".

 

[Dove]

It Comes At Night (Netflix) - This 2017 film starring Joel Edgerton sucks!! We took a shot.

There is a sickness that is killing people. A family of three is hunkered down at their home. They take in another family of three.

Nothing comes at night.

Avoid this one.

 

[Jay-Bone]

The Art of Self-Defense (Hulu) - Slow placed and dry, but the sensei is a fantastic character.

Rotten Tomatoes: 84% critics; 63% audience makes sense. Not for everyone.

 

[8893]

Watched Judy last night. Great performance by Zellweger; terribly slow and depressing movie. Kept waiting for the spark. Nothing.

I think my biggest problem was expectations. I knew nothing about the movie except that it was about Judy Garland and that Zellweger won a Golden Globe for her performance, and a few friends who saw it at a film fest last year had raved about her performance. I mistakenly thought it was a biopic, but instead it's only about Garland's waning days. Interesting, sad and compassionate character study, but not a lot more there for me. If you like those types of movies, e.g., Leaving Las Vegas, you would enjoy this.

Thankfully, unlike several other new releases, it is not very long.

 

[8893]

Saw 1917 tonight. See this in a theater. Intense, gripping, riveting. Incredibly shot as one continuous take. Should definitely win best cinematography. Excellent film. Tough, but excellent.

 

[CL82]

@Mano I watched like the fist 15 minute of Annihilation and gave up on it. It seemed very plodding. Admittedly, they just went into the anomaly and saw like the deer thing or something. I'm not a big Natalie Portman fan, particularly so in action flicks, though so that that was a contributing factor.

 

[Mano]

Saw 1917 tonight. See this in a theater. Intense, gripping, riveting. Incredibly shot as one continuous take. Should definitely win best cinematography. Excellent film. Tough, but excellent.

That’s my most anticipated of this awards season, good to hear. Was planning on making a point of watching it in theaters too.

@Mano I watched like the fist 15 minute of Annihilation and gave up on it. It seemed very plodding. Admittedly, they just went into the anomaly and saw like the deer thing or something. I'm not a big Natalie Portman fan, particularly so in action flicks, though so that that was a contributing factor.

it was a slow starter for sure but all the while you can feel the tension start to creep up. All I can say is I wish you had stuck with it.

 

[CL82]

That’s my most anticipated of this awards season, good to hear. Was planning on making a point of watching it in theaters too.

it was a slow starter for sure but all the while you can feel the tension start to creep up. All I can say is I wish you had stuck with it.

I'll give it another shot if you say it's worth it.

 

[Deepster]

Ugh. Saw "Like a Boss" this weekend. Bored on a Saturday, my girlfriend said she wanted to see it and that it looked really funny. I knew nothing about it, pulled it up on Rotten Tomatoes and it had a score of 21%.

Let's just say, the 21% was generous.

5 minutes in, I leaned over and whispered "I hate you". It was an hour and a half cliche of everything that's horrible about these thoughtless pumped out comedies. If your significant other decides this is what she'd like to see over Valentine's Day weekend? I suggest, at a minimum, a 5mg edible. Maybe 10mg. And if you don't do that, make sure you slam your head in the car door a couple times before you go in.

 

[8893]

Watched Peanut Butter Falcon this afternoon. Sweet movie, even when it’s predictable or unrealistic. Impossible not to like Zack Gottsagen, the lead actor who has Down syndrome. LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson are good; Thomas Haden Church is great. Good watch.

 

[dbmill]

Just watched "Last Black Man in San Francisco", which is about a man living in San Francisco who is obsessed with the house in that city where he spent his childhood years, to the extent that he makes attempts to maintain the property even though no one in his family has owned the house for many years. What the movie really centers on is how the city is changing fast, the gentrification that is taking place there, and the effect that it has on people who love how San Francisco used to be. That being said, there is not really all that much plot to this movie, it is more of a vibe and a feel that exists in the city in this film. In terms of action, not much really happens. This movie got very good reviews, and it held my interest. That being said, while I feel positive that I saw it, I can't really recommend this film to most people, except possibly to those living in San Francisco who have experienced what is going on. That would include my older brother who lives in San Francisco, who I saw at Christmas at my Dad's house in Pennsylvania. My brother spent some time talking about how San Francisco is changing, and not necessarily for the better.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Midsommar (Amazon) - Slow burn cult psychological thriller. Like an old classic yet different. Not quite as good and a tad long but worth a free watch if you're into the genre.

 

[Dove]

Rattlesnake (Netflix)

Having a rough start to the year. Picked another movie with no fanfare. Carmen Ejogo stars.

When a flat tire hits during an Arizona to Texas trip her kid is bit by a rattlesnake while in a field. The tire ain't off yet and there is a trailer nearby with a weird woman in it. Kid is left with the woman, who said she can help but fix that tire. Ejogo returns to find no wound on girl and no weird woman.

Her debt to the ghosts who appear soon after is to take any soul by killing someone.

This is a movie for the bored.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I watched a lot of movies in 2019, just didn't post about most of them.

In 2020 so far, new films. I won't include Last Jedi, watched around Christmas.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Really enjoyed this and it felt shorter than it's nearly 3 hour running time. Picks up speed midway as it starts to follow down the path to it's unusual conclusion. Great ensemble cast. Brad Pitt was superb as stuntman Cliff Booth, the character who really made the film work. I loved the real footage of him driving all over LA and the Bruce Lee scene was hilarious. Dicaprio was good as he always is now, playing a fading Western TV and movie actor. Margot Robbie was sweet and sexy as Sharon Tate. Won't spoil anything for those who don't know but this was one of Tarantino's best efforts.

Joker
Phoenix did a great job with a difficult role. While it was clearly well made, it's damned dark and depressing with no real relief at any point. As a backstory for The Joker, it filled a lot of character gaps, and stopped just short of making him a sympathetic figure. Not a movie to watch twice.

Scotch: A Golden Dream
The UK title made more sense, "The Golden Dram". Very nicely done documentary airing on Prime I believe. It's really less about Scotch in general and more an ode to the great Jim McEwan, distiller at Bruichladdich and the island of Islay. Still it's an enjoyable tale, with some beautiful cinematography.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Okay, I'm posting on the appropriate 2020 thread!

I've been on a losing streak w/ movies, have given up on several, others I stuck with that weren't notable.

Just watched "The Art of Racing in the Rain." It could've been trite or sappy w/ a dog narrating much of the story, but it was well handled. I haven't read the book it was based on, so I had no idea what to expect other than what I saw in the trailers. They did a good job of not really giving away where the story was going. The dog(s) were great, Kevin Costner was a good choice to voice the dog, Milo Ventimiglia and Amanda Seyfried were good as the leads. I didn't realize most of the story is set in Seattle. Some of the filming was done in Canada (Vancouver BC usually doubles for Seattle on screen) but a fair number of shots were definitely my city. Worth a watch, might need a few tissues to get thru it.

edited--Gary Cole is a wonderful character actor, guarantee you've seen him, even if you don't know his name; he's good here as usual

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Zombieland: Double Tap" had its moments, but was really unnecessary and felt fairly bloated. I was hoping for more. Definitely don't need to make a third movie in another 10 years. Stuffed it full of new characters, some barely more than glorified cameos. I did thoroughly enjoy Zoey Deutch playing the heck out of a stereotypical airhead.

 

[Deadrody]

@Mano I watched like the fist 15 minute of Annihilation and gave up on it. It seemed very plodding. Admittedly, they just went into the anomaly and saw like the deer thing or something. I'm not a big Natalie Portman fan, particularly so in action flicks, though so that that was a contributing factor.

I thought Annihilation seemed like a lot of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon films. A lot of hype, but none seem to live up to the hype. It was decent, but not to the extent the "critics" would have you believe. RT probably has it right. The critics foolishly give it 88% positive, but viewers only 66%. Three stars seems about right.

 

[Deadrody]

"Zombieland: Double Tap" had its moments, but was really unnecessary and felt fairly bloated. I was hoping for more. Definitely don't need to make a third movie in another 10 years. Stuffed it full of new characters, some barely more than glorified cameos. I did thoroughly enjoy Zoey Deutch playing the heck out of a stereotypical airhead.

She was quite good

 

[Dove]

Rocky Balboa - I remember when I first saw this movie being relieved that it was actually decent. The fight scene was bad. Outside of that, tho, not bad.

Joker - As noted above by HuskyHawk...a tsunami of darkness in this flick. Excellent portrayal by Phoenix, who himself is one weird cat.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Saw "Terminator: Dark Fate." Didn't have huge expectations for it. The original and T2 are still by far the best. This really wasn't any better than the various sequels or the reboot. I like Mackenzie Davis anyway. I think this suffered from attempts at bigger and more. Several of the action scenes just ended up being ludicrous, and the CGI didn't look very good at times. Oh well.

 

[dbmill]

Every so often, I get a fairly old film to watch on my Netflix subscription. We just watched "Kind Hearts and Coronets" a 1949 film that was made by the old Ealing Studio in England, a studio that produced many well known and well received post war British comedies. "Kind Hearts and Coronets" is one of the best known and well regarded of these comedies, and I am pleased to report that this film is well deserving of the praise it gets, and to me it holds up very well. This is very droll and dark comedy, and definitely very British in its attitude. This movie is carried by the brilliant performance of Dennis Price, who plays a very low level member of a British aristocratic family, who decides he wants to become the head of the family by eliminating those who are ahead of him in terms of inheriting the title of Duke. By the way, Price is quite good in another British film that I am quite enamored of, "A Canterbury Tale".

Anyway, "Kind Hearts and Coronets" centers on eight members of the family who are targeted by Price, all of which are played Alec Guinness in one of his very early film roles. Guinness is quite notable of giving each of these eight people a different personality, and is quite good as well. I couldn't help but think of the several multipart movies that Peter Sellers made in his career.

 

[Mano]

1917 - My Oscar frontrunner, of those I've seen. NEEDS to be seen on the big screen. Remarkable achievement by the filmmakers and an awesome, harrowing ride the whole way.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Tarantino lost his fastball a while ago. It was engaging enough but the twist on the real life story was just ho hum. Probably seemed like a better idea in his head. Needed more Manson really.

Joker - A brilliant character study that thankfully didn't hit you over the head with its connections to the Batman mythos. It's subtlety in introducing our character into that world felt organic. My only complaint with it would be the opening two acts, although they allowed us to fully take in his descent, felt a bit languid at times. It was really well written though and Joaquin was obviously great and insanely committed to the character. The climax was suitably bonkers.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - We've had so many incarnations of the character in these past 20 years that you would think anymore and we'd be long past stale at this point... well they hadn't tried an animated one yet!! And it has multiple universes!!! It was pretty fun all in all. The bones of the animation work felt maybe a little too basic but they overlayed all these little visual flourishes that really gave the style great character.

Hustlers - Down right laughable that JLo garnered any Oscar buzz for this one. By the numbers drivel. She has a chance part way through for what should be her stirring, Oscar moment speech and it falls so incredibly flat and hollow.

Midsommar - This movie was saved by Florence Pugh's performance. The heartbreak in the beginning felt thoroughly devastating but the increasingly bizarre rituals felt more silly than terrifying. Ultimately it was one look at the end that sticks with you...

Ad Astra - A nifty quote from Astra's wiki page by James Gray, the director, says he wanted to make "the most realistic depiction of space travel that's been put in a movie". He succeeded tremendously. It's thoughtful, beautiful and features a fine, understated performance by Brad Pitt. His character has a really quite interesting arc to it.

Zombieland: Double Tap - Brainless entertainment that's fine to throw on every once in a while. Failed to recapture the fun from the first one tho.

The Addams Family - I've always been a sucker for the Raul Julia led Addam's Family features, so I guess I've got a bit of a soft spot for the franchise. This new, animated re-imagining doesn't quite capture the charm of those but it's enjoyable in it's own way. Ya know, for a kid's movie.

Ready or Not - I think I have a thing for Samara Weaving. Something in that disarming smile and slight quirkiness. Fun movie with a good amount of kickassery.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - Not sure what it is with this franchise as it's gone on, I've been less and less interested. It's no fault of the movie itself. It's perfectly fine. Well animated, plotted and voice acted. It provided a satisfying enough conclusion to it's saga, I just struggled to make it through.

Moon - I've long looked forward to watching Moon, just never gotten around to it. It's always so well regarded as some kind of little, indie gem. Maybe at the time the plot was something novel and fresh, but watching it now it feels almost well worn. It was well done, if a little let down by it's production design and low budget. Sam Rockwell was very good in multiple roles.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Midsommar - This movie was saved by Florence Pugh's performance.

She has a way of doing that. I'm probably gonna skip this one, but I was at least slightly tempted solely because of her.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - Not sure what it is with this franchise as it's gone on, I've been less and less interested. It's no fault of the movie itself. It's perfectly fine. Well animated, plotted and voice acted. It provided a satisfying enough conclusion to it's saga, I just struggled to make it through.

Agree completely. I think the franchise lost a lot of the heart from the first one. It amazes me how often movie people (directors, producers, studio execs, whoever) don't seem to understand what made a movie work, and totally lose what worked as they continue to churn out sequels. They're supposed to be the professionals, but they just don't seem to get it.