Movie Hindsight 2020

[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.

 

[dbmill]

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.

Not only is Plummer still appearing in films, he's delivering good performances as well.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Not only is Plummer still appearing in films, he's delivering good performances as well.

Yes, still has the chops.

You know, I think I've been getting Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow mixed up for years. I can't be the only one can I?

Ha ha, it's not just me. Even Plummer thought he was watching himself in Minority Report!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=15&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj6rYve7-PoAhUjHzQIHQHmA0wQFjAOegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebeaverton.com%2F2016%2F07%2Ffor-the-last-time-i-m-not-max-von-sydow%2F&usg=AOvVaw3anl5L2ZmcGe4nxA1Kt2XH

 

[Husky25]

Trolls World Tour.

Because the theaters are closed, this has been made available to rent or buy early on Xfinity, and I assume other cable packages. Because this week is April vacation, we rented it for $19.99 on Easter Sunday afternoon, which bought us 48 hours. Four tickets and snacks would run us about $40 or $50, even if we went to a matinee. It has run in our house no less than seven complete times, including as I type, and we have about seven hours remaining in the rental period. No matter how good it is, I think we got our money's worth...

Speaking of how good it is, I'll give it a 6.5. For reference, the first Trolls movie is around 9. Of course I would not rate these types of movies on the same scale as say The Godfather or The Shawshank Redemption. The first movie fit music around and into a story. This one seems to focus on the music and fashion a story around it. It's entertaining enough and probably crushes it's target audience, as evidenced by my kids, but I won't put it into the "watch from any point to the end" category...I'm also not 7 years old, so take that for what it's worth.

 

[Dove]

In The Shadow of the Moon (2019) - not sure what to say about this one. A modern day revolution group is killed off by people in the future who figure out how to go back in time to kill them before they do anything revolutionary.

And their murders are investigated by a police officer who loses his mind as his investigation progresses.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"The Gentlemen." Guy Ritchie finally returns to modern times, English gangsters, his bread and butter. There's something about the dialog in his movies, you can probably watch with your eyes closed and just know it's one of his films. I definitely enjoyed it. It was maybe just a wee bit too twisty. One or two less twists would've been fine. Some good performances throughout. Out of all the actors in the film, Charlie Hunnam was born to be in a Ritchie film (he was previously in the not very well received King Arthur/Excalibur flick, but this was his debut in a "real" Richie movie).

 

[Dove]

Light of My Life - A movie written and directed by Casey Affleck.

A post-apocalyptic movie where an illness kills the women!!! There are a few who survive and they are commodities to be used for whatever it takes to keep humanity going.

Here, he has an 11-year old daughter he has to have act as a boy. The kid was born just before her mother died. He has kept the child safe for this long.

A slog pace for much of the movie but overall I enjoyed it. A climactic ending when Casey gets to his grandparents old house, he gets welcomed in by those who took it over. Then Code Red.

 

[dbmill]

The Cooler - 2003 movie starring William H. Macy playing a character with a terrible attitude about himself who is a total loser (what a surprise). He is a walking sad sack of bad luck, so much so that casino owner and so called friend Alec Baldwin employs him as a cooler. All he has to do is walk up to a table where a big winning streak has been taking place, and the luck at that table will come to a screeching halt. Macy's attitude and luck begins to change when he falls in love with casino waitress Maria Bello. Not a great movie, but I did find it entertaining and it held my attention. The movie does encounter some bad choice scenes towards the end of the film (including the ending), but overall it holds together.

 

[Deepster]

Two Hanks movies this weekend:

Saving Mr Banks: I loved Mary Poppins as a kid. Had the soundtrack and know all the songs. Not sure why I didn't see it earlier, but really enjoyed this one. Emma Thompson was annoying the first hour and I hated her, then the last 30-45 minutes really brought a lot home about her, her story and the movie that was made. Can't wait to rewatch Mary Poppins again.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: I saw the Mister Rogers documentary before this and figured this would be a biopic along the same lines. Was pleasantly surprised to see the odd offshoot story but picture it painted of Mister Rogers.

All things said? Hanks is the best actor of the last 50 years. He legitimizes every story and sells every scene. I'm not sure either movie is the same with anyone else in his role. I really enjoyed both movies.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I hadn't watched "Last of the Mohicans" in a long time. I've been looking up various versions of the theme music on You Tube recently and that inspired me to watch it again. So good! Just excellent film making. The last 15-20 minutes in particular is just amazing.

 

[ZooCougar]

Saw an old movie this weekend. "The Bonfire of the Vanities". Such a great and amazing cast. But what a whiff this movie was. Listening to the Audio Book now.

I actually really enjoy Tom Wolfe books.

If you're in lockdown and you have neve seen it, watch "The Right Stuff". Thank me later.

 

[ZooCougar]

Trolls World Tour.

Because the theaters are closed, this has been made available to rent or buy early on Xfinity, and I assume other cable packages. Because this week is April vacation, we rented it for $19.99 on Easter Sunday afternoon, which bought us 48 hours. Four tickets and snacks would run us about $40 or $50, even if we went to a matinee. It has run in our house no less than seven complete times, including as I type, and we have about seven hours remaining in the rental period. No matter how good it is, I think we got our money's worth...

Speaking of how good it is, I'll give it a 6.5. For reference, the first Trolls movie is around 9. Of course I would not rate these types of movies on the same scale as say The Godfather or The Shawshank Redemption. The first movie fit music around and into a story. This one seems to focus on the music and fashion a story around it. It's entertaining enough and probably crushes it's target audience, as evidenced by my kids, but I won't put it into the "watch from any point to the end" category...I'm also not 7 years old, so take that for what it's worth.

We did the same thing. It gets watched once a day now. I still don't know the plot. Sort of like Frozen 2.

For me the difference between Trolls and Trolls 2 is less good music. Also they are racist against rock and roll.

 

[Dove]

Cat Fight - Sandra Oh and Anne Heche have three drag out fights in this one reminiscent of Family Guy scruffs. Between these fights there is suckitude.

Airplane - Watched this Sunday morning and only just noticed the Jimmy Walker and Jonathan Banks cameos. Also caught the jokes in the flashback bit (where Ted met Elaine) how they met on Drambui, off the Barbary Coast." Then had to ship out to bomb Daquiri Island."

 

[Dove]

Blinded By The Light (2019) - Really enjoyable movie about a Pakistani kid in Luton, England. He pretty much is nerdy and entrenched in Paki life. At college, a kid throws two cassette tapes at him...Born In The USA and Darkness At The Edge of Town.

From the moment he hears "Dancing In The Dark" his life changes forever. And for the good.

A happy film. Formulaic, but enjoyable.

Making A Killing (2018) - I watched this movie because for a year at Hickerson Hall at SCSU I lived across the hall with a kid named Mike White from Bridgeport. Wicked karate kid. Well, he grew up into Hollywood star Michael Jai White (Blood and Bone, Spawn). This movie has a few badly-written dialogues but overall is kinda okay.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Making A Killing (2018) - I watched this movie because for a year at Hickerson Hall at SCSU I lived across the hall with a kid named Mike White from Bridgeport. Wicked karate kid. Well, he grew up into Hollywood star Michael Jai White (Blood and Bone, Spawn). This movie has a few badly-written dialogues but overall is kinda okay.

That's cool! I took a look at his imdb page, he's been working steadily for 30 years now.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I occasionally watch a stoner comedy. It usually doesn't hit my funny bone. I thought for sure I'd seen "The Night Before." I was was bored and watched it tonight. It didn't seem familiar. About halfway thru I realized I must've been thinking of the Harold & Kumar Christmas movie. One drug fueled Christmas themed buddy comedy is the same as another, right? I actually laughed hard numerous times, I'll give it props for that. Stars Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie. Also Lizzy Kaplan, Jillian Bell, Mindy Kaling, Ilana Glazer, Michael Shannon, James Franco, Tracy Morgan, Miley Cyrus, Randall Park, Jason Mantzoukas, Jason Jones.....a lot of people! If you're looking for some low brow, offensive, sophomoric, gross out humor, this might be the ticket.

 

[Dove]

Permanent (2017) - Patricia Arquette, looking she just left the set of Dannemora, starts with Rainn Wilson, in this comedy about a lower class family going through life.

Their daughter goes to a hair stylist and gets a free perm by a student hair dresser. Its a horrible perm. Thus, life is rough on the school bus and at school.

Rainn and Patricia have marital issues.

It's weird and in the end, they dance by the pool once he tosses away his toupee.

 

[dbmill]

Every once in a while I have to use my Netflix account to watch very well regarded and off the beaten path animated features. Tonight that turned out to be "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988), one of the early efforts of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. A family moves out to the country, and the two little girls in the family encounter a friendly and helpful wood sprite named Totoro, a creature that only certain children can see. A beautifully animated film, to say the least. I have to admit that it did not grab me like another film by the same studio and director, "Spirited Away". Still, "My Neighbor Totoro" is a solid animated fantasy, but I kind of wish it had a little more of Totoro in it. I have to say that my wife and I loved the Cat Bus that helps out the girls during a crisis.

 

[Dove]

Glass: - Yeah, wasn't diggin' this one. The three heroes were captive most of the movie being convinced that they weren't superheroes.

Yesterday - I really wanted to like this movie after really enjoying "Blinded By The Light." This movie seemed to have a cool premise but it just didn't grab me at all.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Wiz - It is on Starz this month. It is a strange movie and I would give it a C+ overall. It is an original and energetic take on a classic, which I liked. Most of the music is pretty good, until the end, and Sidney Lumet is a tremendous director so the visuals and energy of the movie are incredible. The group's arrival at the Emerald City is a fantastic scene that must have been incredibly difficult to film before CGI.

You can't watch the plot too closely because some of the changes from the original make the movie much rougher and angrier. For example, the second act is basically a contract hit on Evillene/the Wicked Witch of the West.

The music is inconsistent, with some great songs and a lot of forgettable ones, including the pre-finale song, which was really bad.

Mabel King was excellent as the Evillene, Richard Pryor was fine as the Wiz. Michael Jackson was pretty good as the Scarecrow. Nipsey Russell was one of those professional game show guest stars of the 70's, so he was a very odd choice for Tin Man. He was too old, and didn't have a great singing voice. The Lion was excellent.

The biggest problem in the movie was Dorothy. Diana Ross can sing and dance, but her acting was so bad it was distracting the whole movie. Dorothy's costume and hair actually made Diana Ross look unattractive. Lumet must have meant to do it, but why did he think anyone wanted to see a frumpy Diana Ross?

Edit: I have been thinking about this movie, and rewatched a couple of scenes on-demand on Starz.com. I will bump the grade up to a B-, maybe a B. The cast other than Nipsey Russell and Diana Ross is really good, and Russell's acting is solid, he just has a nasally singing voice. Diana Ross' acting is so terrible that it is really distracting. I never saw Lady Sings the Blues, but I don't think she sucked in that movie, so I don't get what happened in this one. I may blame this on the director.

This movie goes into the Godfather III pantheon of good/great movies totally messed up by one terrible performance.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Just watched "Bloodshot." It got a fairly lukewarm response, probably was hurt quite a bit by the timing of it's release (just before everything got shut down due to corona virus). I thoroughly enjoyed it. As long as you don't expect it to be something other than what it is, it was a solid action movie. Vin Diesel is dependable in doing his thing. Guy Pearce is always great. I really like Lamorne Morris, hopefully he's starting to carve out a career for himself on the big screen. Toby Kebbell. I've never watched "Outlander" but it's got the star from the that, Sam Heughan. And then there's the ladies, Eiza Gonzalez and Talulah Riley (I knew I recognized her but I couldn't place her, blond hair totally threw me off). Some pretty cool CGI mixed with practical FX. Worth a watch IMHO.