Recently Watched Movie Thread 2017 | Page 8 | The Boneyard

Recently Watched Movie Thread 2017

Black Panther - Finally had a chance to see it, and it mostly didn't disappoint. Besides the villain feeling like something of a waste and a few spots of really shoddy CGI, it was an otherwise good time. Really well done action and a cool intro into this character's world.

Game Night - Was hoping for better based on the reviews. It was alright but mostly just "blah". The twists weren't too hard to see coming and the stakes never really felt too high, taking the oomph out of much of the plot. Could've used more laughs.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Saw Avengers - Infinity War yesterday. Certainly entertaining. I won't provide any spoilers, but it left a lot...a real lot, left to be decided and determined. It was more like the first movie of the Lord of the Rings than a single, discrete story.

I liked the new look for Captain America. Mark Ruffalo is so annoying as David Banner. ScarJo went blonde. Rocket continues to be funny as hell.
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The Thor/Guardians stuff was great. Hell, it was all great in my opinion, and I thought Josh Brolin was great as Thanos. Back to Thor for a second, I am really impressed with his character arc and I hope they manage to keep that going.
 
Sometimes I'm cheap and like to wait for movies to hit the second run theater if it's a flick I don't feel like I have to see right away. Finally saw "Ready Player One." Certainly entertaining, not great but not bad. Quite a bit different than the book, which is probably true of most adaptations but this one seemed really different from what I can remember of the book.
 
I watched The Big Sick last night and it was really good. Didn't realize it was based on a true story until after
 
HuskyHawk said:
Watched American Made last night. Quirky, entertaining. Cruise is pretty good, if about 20 years too old.
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15-20 years ago, Cruise would have been perfect for this role. He is way too old for it now.

I liked the movie too, but Cruise's age was distracting.
 
Had a nice Father's Day treat seeing Hearts Beat Loud today with my three daughters. Very sweet, touching indie film. Nick Offerman is great, as is Kiersey Clemons, who was unknown to me but I suspect she won't be under the radar for long--very talented.

Good father-daughter, slice of life movie, and a good music movie, with an interesting sideline of a queer teen romance. More of that than I thought there would be, but PG-13; nonetheless apparently too much for two older women in front of us who walked out during the second kissing scene, midway through the movie. I made a mental note to see how long it would take one of my daughters to mention their walkout after the movie: less than a minute in the car. Funny. They have no idea how different the world is now than the one in which we were raised.
 
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Saw the Incredibles II today. It was great, on par with the first. I was a bit worried about the 14 year gap since the first one, but turns out there was no reason to be. Seems to me like Pixar has stumbled in recent years but they knocked it out of the park with this one. As much as I enjoy many of the Marvel films, I gotta say this is the best superhero franchise in cinema history.
 
Wind River

A murder mystery between Indian reservation land and Federal lands.

Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen star. Pretty good movie.
 
Late to the party, finally saw "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." I guess I shouldn't be surprised I was disappointed. Happens more often than not with Oscar bait films. Just an ugly movie. Angry, hateful characters, multiple violent acts committed in public that seem to happen with no consequences to the perpetrator. Complete non ending. And certainly not the biggest quibble, but Abbie Cornish's natural Australian accent was turned on and off like a light switch. I've seen her in plenty enough films to know she can do an American accent perfectly well. Was the director unable to decide throughout filming what nationality he wanted her to be depicting? There were some good performances but they were basically wasted in this film.

All of the events of the film relate to the unsolved murder of Frances McDormand's daughter. She only appears in one flashback scene, but it's a doozy. Kind of ground things to a halt.
 
I watched The Men Who Stare at Goats on the plane yesterday. Funny in parts, but fairly aimless and it starts to fall apart and become a bit of a mess. Clooney is pretty good in it.
 
Nobody's Fool with Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith and Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his first roles. Just a simple, enjoyable movie. Loved the book too.
 
Nexflix movie called "What Happened To Monday." Very good.

Pretty hot Noomi Rapace (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) plays the role of 7 sisters in a world that kills siblings due to wild overpopulation.

High recommendation.
 
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Black Panther - Absolutely bored the crap out of me. I am easily amused and it still didn’t keep my attention. Why do people like this movie?

Whatever the Last Star Wars Movie was Called - Just saw the Star Wars movie that was released last year. Not the Han Solo one, the one with Luke Skywalker. It was not great. I like parts of it, but the Kylo Ren villain is pretty weak. Daisy Ridley’s Rey and Kira Knightly’s character in Pirates of the Caribbean are exactly the same person, but one’s in space and the other is on a boat.

I don’t really get the controversy about Luke Skywalker.
 
"Death Wish" with Bruce Willis.

Basically it was a pay check for Bruce. Nothing groundbreaking but two cool murder graphics. It's two hours...you have to be real bored for this one.
 
"Calibre" on Netflix.

Edinburgh Film Festival winner for Best British Film. We really enjoyed this one! High rec.

2 city Scots go hunting. Accidentally, then purposely they kill some locals and the paranoia builds.
 
Saw A Quiet Place . Interesting movie. Didn't really match the hype IMO. A couple really good scenes though.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
How do you not like Snatch? Are you 80 years old?
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He hasn't made a movie that good in ages. Like I said, he is the most mediocre of successful directors. It seems like he has gone from making art to making blockbusters rooted in English culture.
 
Annihilation.

Damn good the first time Probably the creepiest and most disturbing sci fi film since Event Horizon.

Too bad that they deviated so far from the books and that it did poorly in the box office. There is actually a highly regarded trilogy based on the books.
 
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Hereditary

Toni Collette with just an awesome portrayal of a mother who just lost her mom and then her daughter. she carries this movie full tilt.

As for the movie...interesting premise but overall a slow-burn creepy movie with no scary moments.
 
Saw Being John Malkovich again last night for the first time in several years. Forgot how great that movie is. And how screwed up. Watched it with my oldest daughter and she was like WTF? several times but liked it too. Love Catherine Keener.
 
Stumbled onto Wild with Reese Witherspoon. It's about a woman who decides to hike the Pacific Coast Trail (their equivalent to the Appalachian Trail, which I've always wished I took the time (3 months) to hike. It's not a great movie by any stretch but it touches on a few themes that I typically like. Man (or woman in the case) versus nature; through hiking; physical journey as metaphor for journey of self-awareness. As I write this I think that it sounds pretty boring but it held my attention. Here's a trailer that doesn't do it justice.

 
CL82 said:
Stumbled onto Wild with Reese Witherspoon. It's about a woman who decides to hike the Pacific Coast Trail (their equivalent to the Appalachian Trail, which I've always wished I took the time (3 months) to hike. It's not a great movie by any stretch but it touches on a few themes that I typically like. Man (or woman in the case) versus nature; through hiking; physical journey as metaphor for journey of self-awareness. As I write this I think that it sounds pretty boring but it held my attention. Here's a trailer that doesn't do it justice.
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Read the book and watched the movie. I thought both were interesting. Pretty sure it lead to a surge in people attempting the PCT like Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" did to climbing Everest. It's notable she didn't get anywhere close to completing the approx. 2600 mile trail. Skipped parts of California and stopped at the Oregon/Washington border, which if you're doing the PCT means you missed most of the best of it. And no offense to East Coasters or the AT intended, but it can't hold a candle to the scenery the PCT offers. If you're gonna do a long north/south thru hike across the country, skip the AT and do the PCT or CDT.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Read the book and watched the movie. I thought both were interesting. Pretty sure it lead to a surge in people attempting the PCT like Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" did to climbing Everest. It's notable she didn't get anywhere close to completing the approx. 2600 mile trail. Skipped parts of California and stopped at the Oregon/Washington border, which if you're doing the PCT means you missed most of the best of it. And no offense to East Coasters or the AT intended, but it can't hold a candle to the scenery the PCT offers. If you're gonna do a long north/south thru hike across the country, skip the AT and do the PCT or CDT.
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I may read it. I loved the Bill Bryson book A Walk in the Woods. Of course Bryson is hysterical. (Just the sidebar on talking about equipment is familiar and hysterical.)

The PCT goes, literally from dessert to rain forest. It is generally considered less physically taxing (the AT is very steep in parts) even though it something like 500 miles longer. They both have their charms and challenges. The AT definitely has it's moments. Running the ridge from Washington to Madison is a really beautiful walk in an area known for the "worst weather in the US." The hundred mile wilderness in Maine has a history of breaking hikers. Walking the Knife's Edge on Katahdin can be very intimidating in any kind of wind. Agree that both are very mentally taxing for a lot reasons.
 
Yeah Bryson's book is hilarious. I kinda think he likes to tell a tall tale and some of the stuff in the book didn't actually happen. Cheryl Strayed's book is not going for humor obviously as the movie would indicate.

CL82 said:
The PCT goes, literally from dessert to rain forest. It is generally considered less physically taxing (the AT is very steep in parts) even though it something like 500 miles longer. They both have their charms and challenges. The AT definitely has it's moments. Running the ridge from Washington to Madison is a really beautiful walk in an area known for the "worst weather in the US." The hundred mile wilderness in Maine has a history of breaking hikers. Walking the Knife's Edge on Katahdin can be very intimidating in any kind of wind. Agree that both are very mentally taxing for a lot reasons.
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I'm admittedly somewhat of a hiking snob and also West Coast born and raised, so probably more than a bit biased. I haven't visited the mountains in the New England states, I'd like to but not sure when it will happen. Also some fairly high elevation peaks in Tennessee and North Carolina. But mountains are different out West. If nothing else, the fact there are still glaciers out here (and some big ones in some areas) adds a whole other level of ruggedness and drama to the scenery. Plus just the size of the peaks. Several 14ers along the way and a boatload at 10,000'+. Both the High Sierras and the northern half of the Washington section, it's pretty much non stop mountainous terrain. Never mind some good stuff in portions of Northern California, Oregon and southern Washington. Of course physical proximity is a big factor. More population in the East so more hikers along the AT. I've never endeavored to do any real long distance hiking but I've hit quite a few short sections of the PCT here and there and it's pretty amazing.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
Yeah Bryson's book is hilarious. I kinda think he likes to tell a tall tale and some of the stuff in the book didn't actually happen. Cheryl Strayed's book is not going for humor obviously as the movie would indicate.



I'm admittedly somewhat of a hiking snob and also West Coast born and raised, so probably more than a bit biased. I haven't visited the mountains in the New England states, I'd like to but not sure when it will happen. Also some fairly high elevation peaks in Tennessee and North Carolina. But mountains are different out West. If nothing else, the fact there are still glaciers out here (and some big ones in some areas) adds a whole other level of ruggedness and drama to the scenery. Plus just the size of the peaks. Several 14ers along the way and a boatload at 10,000'+. Both the High Sierras and the northern half of the Washington section, it's pretty much non stop mountainous terrain. Never mind some good stuff in portions of Northern California, Oregon and southern Washington. Of course physical proximity is a big factor. More population in the East so more hikers along the AT. I've never endeavored to do any real long distance hiking but I've hit quite a few short sections of the PCT here and there and it's pretty amazing.
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I totally get it. I'm coming from the other side of it. "PCT, bah it's a mule trail... ;)"

The truth is, as my dad used say: "There's a whole lot of the world that you can't see from the car. You have go out and be a part of it." That's what I love about backpacking.
 
Living near the AT and maintaining a section of it, I have a ton of respect for through-hikers.

The AT is like getting punched in the face over and over and over and over. It's never level and there's never a good place to put your feet - it's all rock and root and there's far more vertical gain and loss on the AT vs the PCT.

That said, the New England portions of the trail are as beautiful as anything you'll find on this planet. Also, if you're not careful, those parts of it, especially New Hampshire, will happily kill you.

I really didn't like Bryson's book. Didn't find it particularly funny and thought he carelessly used another human being as a prop.
 
(sorry for the thread drift for anyone that isn't participating :rolleyes:)

My brother has the theory that much of the elevation gain and loss on the AT is due to poor trail construction and failure to follow the contours of the landscape. Can't say myself as I haven't had boots on the ground there, but he has.

I suppose I'd have to hike in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont for comparison, but I have a really hard time believing it stacks up to the scenery along the John Muir Trail section in California or the Alpine Lakes and Glacier Peak Wildernesses and North Cascades National Park in Washington. Of course what constitutes great scenery is highly subjective. Do a quick image search on Google though and the difference is stark and stunning to me. I really don't know the route of the CDT, but I've done a number of road trips in the Northern Rockies and Montana, Wyoming and Idaho are pretty dang spectacular as well. To me it's just a no brainer if you want really great mountain scenery you go West (never mind British Columbia and Alberta north of the border, guaranteed to blow your mind).



edited--don't judge the PCT based on the film version of "Wild." Much of it wasn't filmed on the actual PCT and the author missed almost all of the best parts of the trail. She did the California desert, skipped almost all of the Sierras and didn't hike in Washington at all. Oregon has some nice sections but overall is the least interesting of the 3 states the PCT passes through.
 
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Watched King Arthur (2004). Solid movie, albeit a little slow in spots. I like the alternative history aspect to it. We know less about western Europe's history from 500 to 900 A.D. than we do about the 1,000 years prior or all the years since. The story's take on King Arthur's legend is a bit of a stretch, but different, and interesting. The battle scenes are pretty good, especially the one on the frozen lake.
 
Just watched a British comedy from 1957 called "The Naked Truth". Tabloid publisher Dennis Price has a long list of celebrity figures that he is blackmailing. Finally Peter Sellers, Terry Thomas and others decide enough is enough. As you often see in a Peter Sellers movie, he appears in a number of disguises. Hilarious stuff.
 
So a few for the list.

Death Wish. Enjoyed it. Not great, but vigilante justice just always has some appeal.

All The Money in the World. Very good. Plummer is superb. Can't imagine Kevin Spacey in that role, it would have been much worse.

Red Sparrow. Better than expected based on reviews. A little slow in parts, but ultimately entertaining.
 
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