Recently Seen in 2019

[Deepster]

Watched Abducted in Plain Sight on Netflix this weekend. Documentary about a girl who was kidnapped at age 13 by someone the family knew. I won't share where the story goes from there, but it's absolutely jaw-dropping. My girlfriend kept saying "There's no way this could actually happen". Good 90 minute watch.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I vaguely remember "The House of Yes" being on my radar when it came out (1997?!--could it really have been that long ago?), but I never got around to watching it. Finally streamed it last night on Hoopla. Huh. I think it's somewhat divisive, it contains a plot element that is a very taboo subject. I found it to be wickedly funny w/ some great snappy dialogue and a number of good performances. It's based off of a play and feels more like play than a movie. Cast of 5 almost entirely set in 1 location. A young man brings his fiance to his family's home to meet them for the first at Thanksgiving. Everything goes spectacularly wrong. His mom, twin sister and younger brother are all bats**t crazy in different ways. I thought all of the cast played their roles well but Parker Posey in particular shined.

 

[Dove]

Velvet Buzzsaw - As noted by @intlzncster there is a great cast here. Rene Rousseau and Jake Gillenhall star.

I enjoyed it but my wife was bored. The art world was seriously spoofed in this movie which I thought was hysterical. The horror theme was original and well-played. Worth a watch.

 

[intlzncster]

Velvet Buzzsaw - As noted by @intlzncster there is a great cast here. Rene Rousseau and Jake Gillenhall star.

I enjoyed it but my wife was bored. The art world was seriously spoofed in this movie which I thought was hysterical. The horror theme was original and well-played. Worth a watch.

He's terrible at generic Hollywood leading man type roles, but if you give Jake G some character-actor stuff to chew on, he's phenomenal. Nightcrawler was a tour de force.

 

[Dove]

He's terrible at generic Hollywood leading man type roles, but if you give Jake G some character-actor stuff to chew on, he's phenomenal. Nightcrawler was a tour de force.

Loved Nightcrawler. And Donny Darko.

 

[Rich]

Just warched ‘Overlord’. JJ Abrams + ‘R’ rating = MAGIC. Instant cult classic IMO.

 

[Walker11]

I also liked Velvet Buzzsaw but it was no where near as good as Nightcrawler and I can totally understand someone hating it.

I just finished Cobra Kai. It was full of cliches but for a kid who grew up with the movie, I loved it.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Just watched "The Bookshop." Very deliberately paced, intriguing story, worth a watch. Emily Mortimer is charming and Bill Nighy is wonderful as always. Several other good performances, especially Patricia Clarkson as an easy to hate antagonist.

Mortimer is a widow who buys a decrepit house in a picturesque small coastal town in England and converts it into a bookshop. She runs afoul of Clarkson, the town's queen bee, who had her own plans for the building as an art center. Very much character driven. It has a bit of humor but it's a drama with an overall somber tone.


Couple days ago watched "Cybergedon," a decent B grade thriller. Missy Peregrym is a hotshot FBI counter-cyberterrorism agent who gets framed and discredited by a hacker she put away years ago. She's on the run from her own people, trying desperately to clear her name and stop the hacker's devious, disastrous plan.

 

[Tommyboy]

Watched Free Solo this weekend. Man, even knowing what happens, that movie had my stomach in knots the last 20 minutes. Really liked the movie. Great documentary.

 

[Dove]

Brokeback Mountain - You know the movie. Still excellent. Heath Ledger is phenomenal in this movie as the conflicted gay ranch hand. For us straight guys waiting for Kate Mara to appear is the payoff!!! And Linda Cardellini as Enis' dance partner post-divorce.

Cindarella Man - Excellent well-paced movie. Paul Giamatti is great here. A Depression-era story where a boxing bum hits absolute rock bottom and then gets a miracle fight that he turns into a ride to glory.

 

[Dove]

Green Room

Patrick Stewart stars in this Netflix film where a punk band takes a last-second gig. There is a murder and the band is kept hostage while powers that be plan a "clean-up" of the scenario. Why? There's a meth ring on premises.

Very tense and overall a good movie to watch on a sleety winter day off.

 

[Deepster]

Brokeback Mountain - You know the movie. Still excellent. Heath Ledger is phenomenal in this movie as the conflicted gay ranch hand. For us straight guys waiting for Kate Mara to appear is the payoff!!! And Linda Cardellini as Enis' dance partner post-divorce.

Huh? You’re straight?

 

[superjohn]

He's terrible at generic Hollywood leading man type roles, but if you give Jake G some character-actor stuff to chew on, he's phenomenal. Nightcrawler was a tour de force.

Gyllenhaal is an excellent actor. Zodiac, Prisoners and Enemy come to mind. Now that I think of it he's pretty damn good in everything I've seen him in. Nocturnal Animals, Brothers, Jarhead, End of Watch etc.

 

[intlzncster]

Gyllenhaal is an excellent actor. Zodiac, Prisoners and Enemy come to mind. Now that I think of it he's pretty damn good in everything I've seen him in. Nocturnal Animals, Brothers, Jarhead, End of Watch etc.

Excellent in South Paw. Saw that recently.

 

[superjohn]

Excellent in South Paw. Saw that recently.

That's one of the only things I haven't seen him in, haven't seen his new one either. He's incredibly versatile he can play vulnerable, creepy, charming, neurotic, badarse, nebbish etc.

 

[ZooCougar]

Green Book. A+

 

[Rich]

Just saw ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

Remy Malik was terrible, beyond awful as Freddie Mercury. Singer totally marginalized the other band members such that the movie is more ‘The Freddie Mercury Story’ than a biopic of the band. I don’t know how he won a Golden Globe for that performance.

 

[nwhoopfan]

It's hard to watch, but Gyllenhaal was also really good in "Stronger" about one of the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing.

 

[Deepster]

Just saw ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

Remy Malik was terrible, beyond awful as Freddie Mercury. Singer totally marginalized the other band members such that the movie is more ‘The Freddie Mercury Story’ than a biopic of the band. I don’t know how he won a Golden Globe for that performance.

I have thought about this movie more and here's my current take.

Cut out the concert scenes and this movie is a C- at best. Maybe a D.

 

[8893]

I have thought about this movie more and here's my current take.

Cut out the concert scenes and this movie is a C- at best. Maybe a D.

I think A Star is Born would suffer a similar drop if you removed the music scenes.

 

[Husky25]

I think A Star is Born would suffer a similar drop if you removed the music scenes.

How is it with the music scenes?

 

[8893]

How is it with the music scenes?

Really good, actually. The music scenes are excellent, the absolute standout of the movie. The music is good, the songs are good, the band is good and they are performed very well. Not surprisingly for Lady Gaga, but Cooper’s singing voice is pretty good, which was a nice surprise. The best thing is that they are patient enough to allow for several full length song performances, which most movies don’t do anymore. I mean, even go back and watch Eddie and the Cruisers and it’s amazing how many full songs they performed in that movie. Nowadays it’s usually just snippets, not full performances. ASAB is definitely worth seeing imo; but I think Bohemian Rhapsody was, too. I thought ASAB was a better movie though.

I liked Green Book better than both of them; but that had very little music performance by comparison. That was mostly about the relationship between the two main characters, which was great imo.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I really enjoyed Alita: Battle Angel. Story/characters were interesting enough, good world building and special effects/cinematography. Critics hated it, audiences seem to like it but it didn't do very well at the box office opening weekend. There's more story to tell but I don't think it'll make enough money to get a sequel unfortunately.

 

[Walker11]

I watched Capturing the Friedmans last night, the first documentary from The Jinx's Andrew Jarecki. I can't say I "enjoyed" something with such a disturbing subject matter but it was very well done and I was fully engaged.

 

[Waquoit]

Caught The Favourite last night. I thought it was very entertaining. Rachel Weisz was a badass and is now my rooting choice for supporting actress.