Recently Watched Movie Thread 2017

[nelsonmuntz]

It wasn't terrible certainly. Braindead for sure but humorous.

There were plot issues. The movie took a 90 degree turn a little over halfway through it when it became less about winning the sale and instead became a dark movie about this mobster trying to ripoff the branch manager. They should have stuck with the Courtney Vance plot line.

 

[Stainmaster]

For those who are The Room aficionados, I highly recommend The Disaster Artist. James Franco's recreation of Tommy Wiseau was top-notch, and it was pretty cool seeing how the original movie materialized from multiple perspectives.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

For those who are The Room aficionados, I highly recommend The Disaster Artist. James Franco's recreation of Tommy Wiseau was top-notch, and it was pretty cool seeing how the original movie materialized from multiple perspectives.

Saw that last week, both Franco’s were great, i’ve never seen The Room, but I probably should.

 

[Stainmaster]

Saw that last week, both Franco’s were great, i’ve never seen The Room, but I probably should.

Check your local listings and bring a bag of spoons.

 

[Husky25]

For those who are The Room aficionados, I highly recommend The Disaster Artist. James Franco's recreation of Tommy Wiseau was top-notch, and it was pretty cool seeing how the original movie materialized from multiple perspectives.

Lost out to Three Billboards..." mainly because my wife would not have the opportunity to see The Room beforehand, even though they said you didn't need to see it to "get" The Disaster Artist.

 

[Stainmaster]

Lost out to Three Billboards..." mainly because my wife would not have the opportunity to see The Room beforehand, even though they said you didn't need to see it to "get" The Disaster Artist.

You don't, but it makes for a more enriching experience.

 

[Husky25]

You don't, but it makes for a more enriching experience.

Which means you should...

 

[HuskyHawk]

Just saw Dunkirk and thought it was very well done. Such a remarkable story. Looked incredible in 4K too.

 

[JMick]

Finally saw Blade Runner (Final Cut) & Blade Runner 2049. I thought 2049 was a much better movie. I really enjoyed it.

 

[J187Money]

Saw Jumanji last night with the family. Was a LOT better than I thought it was going to be.

 

[dbmill]

Just saw Brigsby Bear. I really enjoyed this oddball film, although I suspect that not everyone will buy into it. It's a strikingly original movie on among other things the creative process. It also provides Mark Hamill with a late career role that is my idea of the perfect twist from his fame as Luke Skywalker.

 

[8893]

In addition to Lady Bird and The Shape of Water, which I've already commented on, I have recently seen La La Land (finally), The Mountain Between Us (wife's pick), Molly's Game and The Post.

La La Land was better, and different, than I was expecting. I liked it. Not sure it lived up to the hype, but I liked the overall theme and message.

The Mountain Between Us was pure dreck, with one of the worst endings I can recall.

Molly's Game was an unexpectedly good watch, although I think it could have been shorter and tighter. I am surprised I had never heard about the story before. Good role for Chastain.

The Post was very good, but in an expected way. I was glad to see that it wasn't too preachy or political, and that neither Streep nor Hanks overdid their roles.

I still like Lady Bird best of all my recent watches, but I still suspect that The Shape of Water will be more of an awards show darling because of the concept--and the lead actress does give a very good performance.

Three Billboards and Darkest Hour up next, but think I am most looking forward to I, Tonya based on the previews.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Not real recent--from 2007. I don't remember ever hearing anything about this, I just stumbled across the name I think because of one of the actresses in it. Certainly a film that deserves more attention. "Fugitive Pieces." Great cast, a number of wonderful, understated performances. Starts in Poland during the Nazi Germany era. A boy sees his parents murdered and his older sister dragged away. He is later rescued by a Greek archaeologist who is able to smuggle him back to Greece and raise him. They eventually move to Canada. The film constantly jumps between different time frames and scenes, as the boy and later adult version of the same character is haunted by memories of his family, especially his sister. The film is moving, sad, and beautiful. Some of the cast I knew before, others I was unfamiliar with. Stephen Dillane, Rade Serbedzija (I love that guy!...first saw him as Boris the Blade in "Snatch"), Rosamund Pike, Nina Dobrev, Ayelet Zurer among others. Even characters that were only on screen for a few minutes left a memorable impression. A wonderfully crafted film. Definitely slow paced, very story/character driven. Some sub titles, but mostly in English.

 

[Kolumbo]

Enemy of the State. 1998. Lots of young stars. Will Smith. Jack Black. Scott Caan. Curious, why are Tom Sizemore, Seth Green uncredited? Sizemore's character was fairly significant. Loren Dean also another Ryan Reynolds/Paul Rudd look-alike.

Also just watched the classic "Love Affair." Pretty cool.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Enemy of the State. 1998. Lots of young stars. Will Smith. Jack Black. Scott Caan. Curious, why are Tom Sizemore, Seth Green uncredited? Sizemore's character was fairly significant. Loren Dean also another Ryan Reynolds/Paul Rudd look-alike.

Also just watched the classic "Love Affair." Pretty cool.

That movie seemed to be chillingly on the mark foretelling where we were headed w/ constant surveillance, government spying on its ciitizens, etc.

 

[Mano]

War for the Planet of the Apes - Darn solid action flick to continue the revived Apes saga. Really quite quality and entertaining. Solid direction (we'll see now what Reeves can do with The Batman), great visual effects, interesting story and villain, and some well developed characters and plot beats. 8 toes in out of 10!

 

[nwhoopfan]

War for the Planet of the Apes

I enjoyed it also. The story line was nothing like I thought it would be, but that was not a problem.

Did you happen to watch any of the extra features after the movie? There was a segment that looked at Caesar's journey during the course of the 3 movies. I was awestruck at how much CGI has improved during the 6 or 7 years from the first to the third movie in the series.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Finally saw "Atomic Blonde." Several brutal, visceral fight scenes. Fairly action packed, lots of twists. I enjoyed it.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"The Foreigner." I don't think I've ever seen Jackie Chan in a role that didn't have some humor or lighthearted moments. His character was totally somber and this was a straight forward action/drama. He was really good, especially playing against Pierce Brosnan in several scenes. Chan's daughter is killed in a bombing in London. He thinks Brosnan's character has some answers about who is responsible, and he will stop at nothing to find out and bring them to justice. He's a bit like Liam Neeson's man w/ a "particular skill set," but not quite as ridiculous.

 

[Jay-Bone]

If not mentioned yet, Brawl In Cell Block 99, whoa! Almost like a throwback grindhouse type movie. Some very cringe worthy gruesome scenes. Vince Vaughan (kudos for the range on this one) kicks some serious @ss. Not amazing, but definitely worth the watch and not for the feeble. Don't bring a first date to this one.

 

[JMick]

The new King Arthur was on HBO yesterday. Not a good movie, but entertaining enough. It definitely didn't deserve the terrible reviews it got.

 

[nwhoopfan]

It definitely didn't deserve the terrible reviews it got.

I have felt that way about many films over the years, including this one.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The new King Arthur was on HBO yesterday. Not a good movie, but entertaining enough. It definitely didn't deserve the terrible reviews it got.

Agree 100%. I don't know where the hate for this movie came from. It was a serviceable big budget action flick.

 

[Mano]

Kingsman: The Golden Circle - I totally wasn't expecting this to be as good as the first, and it wasn't, but it was still entertaining in it's own right. I enjoyed Julianne Moore as the villain and the Statesman subplot, although it felt a little underutilized, was still enjoyable and opened up a wealth of possibilities. The fight scenes were again excellent and really well done in terms of blurring what's green screen, CGI, stunt doubles, editing tricks and what have you. Nothing will ever top the Church Massacre from the first one though... if ever there is a Best Fight Scenes thread, that'll be my contribution. Anyway, I guess my only real problem with it was that it felt a little telegraphed in where it was heading since it was a bit derivative of the first film.

Dunkirk - I am a big Nolan fan. His films have been of consistently high quality going all the way back to the beginning and I've found myself anticipating even the announcement of what he's going to be working on greatly. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. I felt the tension he was going for in some scenes. The consequences and desperation were well put on the screen. What was off for me was the scale. I appreciate filmmakers that go for the practical effect over using CGI more often than not... the capsizing of the boats and a lot of the naval scenes were very well done and immersive. But some of the scenes just felt too small scale to me at times. Too tight and constricted. I might be alone in this, but it never felt like I was looking at 400k troops standing around on a beach, hopelessly waiting to be rescued. Some wide establishing shots to set the scale of the events would have really helped me in enveloping me in the enormity of the stakes. I know that would've been a little difficult since his camera was specifically trying to follow a few actors in the events but it would've been well worth it for the story I think.

 

[dbmill]

Kingsman: The Golden Circle - I totally wasn't expecting this to be as good as the first, and it wasn't, but it was still entertaining in it's own right. I enjoyed Julianne Moore as the villain and the Statesman subplot, although it felt a little underutilized, was still enjoyable and opened up a wealth of possibilities. The fight scenes were again excellent and really well done in terms of blurring what's green screen, CGI, stunt doubles, editing tricks and what have you. Nothing will ever top the Church Massacre from the first one though... if ever there is a Best Fight Scenes thread, that'll be my contribution. Anyway, I guess my only real problem with it was that it felt a little telegraphed in where it was heading since it was a bit derivative of the first film.

Dunkirk - I am a big Nolan fan. His films have been of consistently high quality going all the way back to the beginning and I've found myself anticipating even the announcement of what he's going to be working on greatly. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. I felt the tension he was going for in some scenes. The consequences and desperation were well put on the screen. What was off for me was the scale. I appreciate filmmakers that go for the practical effect over using CGI more often than not... the capsizing of the boats and a lot of the naval scenes were very well done and immersive. But some of the scenes just felt too small scale to me at times. Too tight and constricted. I might be alone in this, but it never felt like I was looking at 400k troops standing around on a beach, hopelessly waiting to be rescued. Some wide establishing shots to set the scale of the events would have really helped me in enveloping me in the enormity of the stakes. I know that would've been a little difficult since his camera was specifically trying to follow a few actors in the events but it would've been well worth it for the story I think.

I recently saw Dunkirk as well. While I wouldn't call it a disappointment, I more or less agree with the gist of this review. It is well done and all, and I would give it a positive review. Still, the small scale of it did bother me to an extent, and an hour and a half into the film I was thinking that with all the scenarios being presented being in such difficulty, I'm wondering when are they going to get around to rescuing 300,000 troops. For me the best scene in the film was Kenneth Branagh on the dock looking out into the English Channel, and seeing the mass flotilla of small boats finally coming to evacuate the troops. That scene finally captured the scale of what was going on at Dunkirk, and made me feel more positive about what I was watching. But after that it was pretty much back to the tight focus of the small stories that were being followed.