Recently Seen in 2019

[8893]

I think those are fair points. I think you and I are very similar in movie tastes.

I thought Cooper's spiral was really well done. At times, I struggle to shake him out of his smarmy Hangover role but thought he was very convincing -- scenes like behind stage at SNL, the Grammy awards, etc. Nic Cage in Leaving Las Vegas was also great at doing this in a convincing way.

I haven't seen Roma and I usually try to see all the big ones before the awards. I can't say I'm rushing to see it, but I probably will.

Oh, he was absolutely convincing in the spiral. The Grammy pee scene made me cringe, but it was well done. I just don't love watching it--same with Leaving Las Vegas and even Crazy Heart, which was pretty similar to ASIB imo, to a certain extent. I end up losing patience with the character going through the spiral, but I guess that's the point.

I hear you about Roma. If I wasn't in the isolation ward with the flu a few weeks ago I don't know when I ever would have seen it. It is a very patient, slow burn and it requires that you be awake, pay attention and be up for a somewhat meditative movie. It is beautifully shot in black and white with interesting lighting, but nothing jumps out at you. When it ended I was kind of like "WTF was that?" But it stayed with me for the next several hours and days, and I liked it more and more upon reflection, for the humanity of it as much as anything else.

 

[nwhoopfan]

and even Crazy Heart, which was pretty similar to ASIB imo, to a certain extent. I end up losing patience with the character going through the spiral, but I guess that's the point.

Crap. I'm looking forward to seeing A Star is Born, but can't stand this movie trope, the self destructive, hitting rock bottom slow motion train wreck. I hated Crazy Heart. The Wrestler and Flight were in the same vein.

 

[Walker11]

This is exactly what I've done. Seen the pilot 3 times. Never went to episode 2. What made it finally click? It just seems so slow and has no action at all.

I basically forced myself to watch the first few episodes. Well, not entirely, but I kept it on the in the background for a handful of episodes while I worked. The characters are great but you can't get sucked into their lives immediately and it's definitely not a cliff hanger type show.

 

[dbmill]

Over the weekend we watched "One, Two, Three" a 1961 Billy Wilder film starring James Cagney. A very good comedy, but not quite on the same level of some of the absolutely great films that Wilder directed in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. Cagney's performance pretty much carries the movie in this one as a Coca Cola executive stationed in West Berlin. Lots of interesting post WWII/Cold War commentary in this one. My wife is a big Cagney fan, so she loved it.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I haven't contributed to this in a while. A second viewing for me of an under the radar low budget drama/thriller--"Hollow in the Land." I thought it was quite well crafted. Blue collar small rural town, a family w/ bad history/reputation. One member of the family, a young woman (Diana Agron) is trying to keep her head down and take care of her teenage brother since their mom left and dad is in jail. Whole town hates all of them. Her brother gets mixed up in something bad and disappears, she tries to find him before the law or anyone else does. Runs into resistance at every turn. Keeps the tension up throughout. It's never specific about where it's supposed to be set, but there are several noticeable Canadian accents. It was filmed in the Kootenai region along the BC/Alberta border.

 

[intlzncster]

Watched "Bird Box" last night. Thought it was really good. Worth the time and lived up to the hype for me. Cliche in some spots, a little predictable...but Sandra Bullock carried the movie the entire time.

I thought it was OK. Still don't like the flashback timeline.

Just saw Re-Animator (1985) for the first time. Can't believe I missed that one. Good stuff.

Watched Polar on Netflix. Light fair. Lot's of killing. I enjoyed it because Mads Mikkelson is a dude. The bad guys are worse shots than the Sons of Anarchy bros tho.

Ex Machina - sci fi nerds wet dream.

Velvet Buzzsaw - Great cast. nicely packaged. OK execution. Entertaining enough I guess. From the guy who directed Nightcrawler--which was amazing.

 

[Waquoit]

It is a very patient, slow burn and it requires that you be awake, pay attention and be up for a somewhat meditative movie.

Sounds like the kind of movie one should watch in a theater. I think I'll catch it Real Arts Ways at the end of the month.

OTOH, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is perfect for home viewing as it's a series of vignettes set in the Old West. I see it's ranked in the middle of the Coen Brothers' output and that seems about right. Clever, twisted, funny with great visuals and Tom Waits.

 

[intlzncster]

OTOH, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is perfect for home viewing as it's a series of vignettes set in the Old West. I see it's ranked in the middle of the Coen Brothers' output and that seems about right. Clever, twisted, funny with great visuals and Tom Waits.

I'm in. Will watch.

 

[nwhoopfan]

UFO (2018 version, I think there are multiple movies w/ this title) was decent. It was less of a thriller than I thought it would be from the trailer. Apparently inspired by actual events that occurred at Chicago O'Hare, but they moved it to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky in the movie. Multiple airport staff and pilots saw a disc shaped object hovering over a runway, then it disappeared at a very rapid rate of speed. Government/black suits swept in to hush everybody up and come up w/ a cover story. Some mathematical whiz kid that I think was supposed to be somewhere on the autism scale (?) does some sleuthing and mathing to figure out what really happened. Fairly slow paced but kept my interest. A few recognizable faces--Gillian Anderson as one of his professors (at U. of Cincinnati), David Straithairn as the main government guy (I can't see him as anything other than one of the Belters from The Expanse now) and one of my favorites, Ella Purnell as his love interest. She wasn't giving a whole lot to work with though.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Saw "Widows" a few days ago. Decent, some pacing problems. Took a LONG time to get going, and kept grinding to a halt w/ flashback scenes (a bit of a diatribe--non-linear story telling has become so common place that I think at this point linear story telling would actually be kind of edgy; give it a rest already Hollywood, it's been done to death). Liam Neeson seemed out of place in this one. There were some good tough guy character actors (Jon Bernthal, Garret Dillahunt) that didn't hang around long. The main actresses, the title characters, all did fine. Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki.

This was a complex movie, lots going on, maybe too much. The side story about a very dirty election race for alderman in Chicago between Colin Farrell and Brian Tyree Henry (and his henchman brother Daniel Kaluuya--that guy is everywhere lately) could have been it's own movie.

 

[nwhoopfan]

There's been a theme recently about awkward female led teen dramas. Saw a few more of those recently, one a rewatch and one first time viewing. I never hear much chatter about it, but I think "Wildlike" is a fantastic movie. Starts out awkward as hell, it's tough to make it thru the first 30 minutes or so, but it's worth it. A troubled 15 (I think) year old girl finds herself on her own and on the run in Alaska w/ her creepy uncle trying to track her down and her flake of a mom disappeared off the radar in Seattle. She insinuates herself into the life of a widower who wants absolutely nothing to do with her, but he eventually realizes she needs help and nobody else seems likely to provide it to her. They eventually develop a beautiful friendship and maybe even surrogate father/daughter relationship. It's also a beautiful travelogue of Alaska. There are a few other people onscreen but it's mostly Ella Purnell and Bruce Greenwood.

The other one I'd never heard of but stumbled onto it on Hoopla. "Summer '03". Also awkward as hell. Strong acting performance from Joey King. I've never seen "Ramona and Beezus", I think that's mostly what she's known for. Joey's granny drops a series of bombshell confessions on various family members on her death bed that turns the whole world upside down for all of them. They try to make sense of everything and put things back together again. Also a good performance from Andrea Savage as Joey's mom.

 

[Mano]

Happy Death Day - Nothing groundbreaking for the horror genre, barely a horror movie really. The lead handled herself well and had a certain charisma. The brisk pace helped and it was all in all an enjoyable watch.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Happy Death Day - Nothing groundbreaking for the horror genre, barely a horror movie really. The lead handled herself well and had a certain charisma. The brisk pace helped and it was all in all an enjoyable watch.

I'm not a fan of horror movies at all generally speaking, but I really enjoyed this. I wouldn't even really call it a horror movie. It's not quite a spoof, maybe a bit of a deconstruction? Sequel comes out this week, now you're ready for it.

 

[Deadrody]

OTOH, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is perfect for home viewing as it's a series of vignettes set in the Old West. I see it's ranked in the middle of the Coen Brothers' output and that seems about right. Clever, twisted, funny with great visuals and Tom Waits.

Yup, watched it last week. Good stuff, definitely what you expect from a Coen brothers joint. Kinda peters out at the end, but good nonetheless.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Suspiria - Not as good as the original, but I appreciate it differs. Gets a little wacky towards the end. Borderline worth the watch. Radiohead can't contend with the music from the original.

The Guilty - Good movie. Watch it. Very gripping. Short and riveting.

Searching - Worth the watch. Not quite as good as the Guilty, but still good. The contemporary theme of social media and internet information/disinformation.

 

[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.