Recently Watched Movies 2021

[8893]

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President.

Very good documentary. Meant to watch it when CNN aired it a few times last month but missed it, and it won't be aired on CNN again until 1/30, but you can rent on iTunes, Prime and others for $4.99 if you don't want to wait, which is what I did last night.

I was born in '66 so I remember the Carter years well, but I had no idea how much he was into all styles of music and how instrumental (sorry!) it was to his campaign.

Really enjoyable watch if you are a music fan.

 

[Dove]

Polar (2019) - This movie was pretty damned good. Mads Mikkelson pulls it off as a retired hitman who is owed an $8M pension in two weeks. Well, his boss doesn't want to pay. So, Mads has to survive for two weeks.

Lots of action and there is a moment. Maybe not for kids here.

 

[storrsroars]

One Night in Miami (2020). Fitting movie for MLK day I suppose. This is a fictionalized account of an actual meeting of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke in a room at the Hampton House in February 1964, celebrating Ali's surprise title win over Sonny Liston. Ali was still Cassius Clay at the time, but the film explores how that change occurred the next morning. This was a stage play, and like Ma Rainey, feels like it, if less so. Each character has a short prequel before this fateful evening, that lends a bit to their unique situation. It was a pivotal time for each, Clay, just became champion and would soon announce his conversion and start his civil rights efforts. Brown had just made his first movie and would soon retire from the NFL and make more movies. He'd become an activist in his own ways. Cooke was very successful, and would soon channel that success a bit differently, before being killed in suspicious circumstances less than a year later. Malcolm X of course would also be killed a year later by the Nation of Islam. Ali, the youngest by far would live to 2016. Jim Brown is still with us.

The discussion is frank, impassioned and touches on so many issues that remain relevant today. It's so very interesting to see how each of these men, famous and successful in different ways, approaches issues of racism differently. Some within the system, using leverage they have gained. Others fighting to destroy the system. Others, quietly seething, waiting, cool on the surface, angry below. The movie doesn't take sides, but simply lays it out for us to consider. It is extremely well done.

The acting is phenomenal. Each of the four co-leads does an astonishing job becoming these very famous real men. It's not an easy task. All four are award worthy in my view. This rates 3.5/4 for me, but it's pretty close to 4/4.

I don't think anyone can ever top Denzel as Malcolm X and I've never really seen anyone try to do Sam Cooke, but I think Eli Goree's Ali will become the standard for all others, and while there haven't been a ton of Jim Brown characterizations, Aldis Hodge captures the quintessential Brown 'incredulous' look and certainly appears to have studied Brown's mein and mannerisms as he seems like the real deal here.

To find actors that not only look the part but can act when so much is demanded of the four of them throughout the film is a remarkable achievement. Highly worth watching.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't think anyone can ever top Denzel as Malcolm X and I've never really seen anyone try to do Sam Cooke, but I think Eli Goree's Ali will become the standard for all others, and while there haven't been a ton of Jim Brown characterizations, Aldis Hodge captures the quintessential Brown 'incredulous' look and certainly appears to have studied Brown's mein and mannerisms as he seems like the real deal here.

To find actors that not only look the part but can act when so much is demanded of the four of them throughout the film is a remarkable achievement. Highly worth watching.

From a purely physical perspective, I think Kingsley Ben-Adir looks more like Malcom X than Denzel does. Malcom X was 6'3.5". I'm no expert since he was killed before I was born, but from what I've seen the physical resemblance here is very good. Ben-Adir is short, but somehow, even on distant shots, he was the roughly the same height as Ali. The magic of the movies I guess.

Aldis is superb as Brown. Just carries himself like an athlete and has that Jim Brown scowl.

I thought Leslie Odom Jr. was terrific at really capturing Sam Cooke. But again, I've only seen Sam on old tape.

 

[Dove]

Outside The Wire (2021) - Overall, a clunker starring Anthony Mackie as an android soldier who recruits fellow marine Damson Idris (human drone pilot) to deliver medicine (as a fakeout) while really going after some Russian dude who wants to send nukes flying to the US.

Sometimes entertaining, too long, and had us almost snoozing 3/4 the way through.

The Longest Yard (2005) - Yep, the Adam Sandler version with the pro NFL guys and a bunch of wrestlers. Overall, pretty weak. Tracy Morgan is making me laugh, as is Nicholas Turturro.

 

[Dove]

Point Blank (2019) - Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo and Marcia Gay Harden star in this crazy pursuit movie where bad guys are chased by good cops and bad cops.

Worth a watch.

 

[dbmill]

Kajillionaire (2020) - This movie is about a family of con artists/scammers/thieves. This film stars Evan Rachel Wood as the 26 year old daughter of the father and mother combo played by Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger, and they have been pulling their cons and thievery as a unit since Wood was a youngster. This trio has set a pretty low bar for their chicanery, as they are pretty much just getting by in their chosen way of life. It seems to be hardly a big profit making gig for them. I would think a family of con artists would have something on the ball in terms of outgoing personalities that would draw victims to them, but it seemed to me their personalities were the exact opposite of this, especially the daughter. This movie really didn’t do much for me at all. I had a feeling pretty much from the first few minutes of the film that this was going to be a disappointment, and this feeling of mine did not change throughout the flow of the film. This film is also billed as a comedy drama, but I didn’t think there was much to find funny in it.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Kajillionaire (2020) - This movie is about a family of con artists/scammers/thieves. This film stars Evan Rachel Wood as the 26 year old daughter of the father and mother combo played by Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger, and they have been pulling their cons and thievery as a unit since Wood was a youngster. This trio has set a pretty low bar for their chicanery, as they are pretty much just getting by in their chosen way of life. It seems to be hardly a big profit making gig for them. I would think a family of con artists would have something on the ball in terms of outgoing personalities that would draw victims to them, but it seemed to me their personalities were the exact opposite of this, especially the daughter. This movie really didn’t do much for me at all. I had a feeling pretty much from the first few minutes of the film that this was going to be a disappointment, and this feeling of mine did not change throughout the flow of the film. This film is also billed as a comedy drama, but I didn’t think there was much to find funny in it.

Darn. I've been curious about this for a while. Maybe doesn't sound worth watching.

 

[dbmill]

Darn. I've been curious about this for a while. Maybe doesn't sound worth watching.

One other thing. There's a lot of mumbled dialogue that makes the movie difficult to listen to and understand. I was wondering if that was just me, but my wife just confirmed that as well.

 

[Palatine]

Kajillionaire is not a good movie. It's slow. Not very interesting or funny. And much of it makes no sense.

And there is the mumbling thing.

 

[LIuconn]

Not sure if it's been mentioned here and a year old by now, but just watched Operation Odessa documentary on Netflix and 100% recommend

 

[storrsroars]

Watched an "odd" movie over the weekend, "War On Everyone". It didn't have much of a plot, the main characters were over-the-top corrupt cops whose only merit was that they weren't as nasty as the villains, there was no actual redeeming message, and it should've resulted in a feeling of a wasted 90 minutes, but somehow it was, at points, enjoyable viewing.

Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Peña are the corrupt cop leads. Skarsgård's character appears to be a loner with no moral center while Peña's character drops deep thoughts and trivia into conversations throughout, some of which provides the laugh content. Peña is married and apparently loves his wife who knows and apparently accepts, if not roots on, the corruption. The whole premise is ridiculous, the weak plot has gigantic holes and needless diversions that had me scratching my head as to what the relevance was, and I almost stopped watching a couple of times in the first hour, but by the end I realized I kinda like the two leads and what ends up being their blended family of victims and reformed hoodlums that they've taken to heart.

It grossed less than million worldwide when originally released. Based on Rotten Tomatoes scores, critics seemed to like it (61%) more than the general audience (37%).

 

[Waquoit]

On The Rocks - I guess it was OK.

 

[CL82]

@CL82

Total movies watched: 1

Annihilation

 

[HuskyHawk]

Point Blank (2019) - Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo and Marcia Gay Harden star in this crazy pursuit movie where bad guys are chased by good cops and bad cops.

Worth a watch.

Is this the remake of the original?

 

[storrsroars]

Is this the remake of the original?

Are you thinking of Point Break?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Wander (2020). New movie starring Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones, Kate Winnick (swoon) and Heather Graham. This is billed as a thriller. But it is far from ordinary. Set in a small town in west Texas. Eckhart is superb as a former homicide detective who is really no longer exactly sane. How sane is or isn't he? Well that we don't know. There was an accident that left his wife non-functional and killed their daughter. Now he and Jones run a conspiracy theory podcast. Have they hit on something legit? Well, that is a big part of the story. Eckhart investigates, and it's quite fascinating to watch a guy who clearly knows how to investigate do so while being a hyper-paranoid, drug using conspiracy nut. What's real? What's not real? Is he an "unreliable narrator"?

Overall I enjoyed this, despite the heavy dose of weird. My wife probably found the weird a little too much. I'd give it a 3/4. The acting is quite good. Kate Winnick is worth a half a star just standing still on camera.

 

[Dove]

Wander (2020). New movie starring Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones, Kate Winnick (swoon) and Heather Graham. This is billed as a thriller. But it is far from ordinary. Set in a small town in west Texas. Eckhart is superb as a former homicide detective who is really no longer exactly sane. How sane is or isn't he? Well that we don't know. There was an accident that left his wife non-functional and killed their daughter. Now he and Jones run a conspiracy theory podcast. Have they hit on something legit? Well, that is a big part of the story. Eckhart investigates, and it's quite fascinating to watch a guy who clearly knows how to investigate do so while being a hyper-paranoid, drug using conspiracy nut. What's real? What's not real? Is he an "unreliable narrator"?

Overall I enjoyed this, despite the heavy dose of weird. My wife probably found the weird a little too much. I'd give it a 3/4. The acting is quite good. Kate Winnick is worth a half a star just standing still on camera.

What network?

 

[Dove]

The Sound of Metal (2020) - Riz Ahmed stars in this really good movie. Pretty much in every scene and is really intense from start to finish in the 2 hours+ movie that is mostly a slow burn but doesn't drag.

He, a drummer, and his girlfriend (Olivia Cooke [Bates Motel]) are in small band touring in a sweet Airstream RV. Then, in an instant he loses 75% of his hearing. Then, all of it. He ends up on a property where deaf people live, learn and just exist happily. But not Riz, he wants cochlear implants so he can get back at it with his gf, who left him to go to Paris to live with dad. She left for his own good.

He ends up liking the deaf community for a while but sells all stuff to get the surgery and for some reason thought he was going to hear clearly. The sound of metal is the scratchy tinny sound of sounds through the implants.

Riz Ahmed's acting carries this film along with the guy who leads the deaf community.

 

[Dove]

The First Texan (1956) - What a boring night for me as I spruce up some cover letters.

Jack McCrae stars as Sam Houston who leads a rag tag group of Texans against Mexican armed forces.

It appears there are many historical inaccuracies. A slow burn but still kind of an interesting watch. Was on True Grit. The killer was commercial time seemed to equal movie time.

And some actress named Felicia Farr. Never heard of but WOWZA!!!!!!!!!

 

[HuskyHawk]

What network?

It is a general release movie. Streaming rental on multiple services.

 

[Kolumbo]

The First Texan (1956) - What a boring night for me as I spruce up some cover letters.

Jack McCrae stars as Sam Houston who leads a rag tag group of Texans against Mexican armed forces.

It appears there are many historical inaccuracies. A slow burn but still kind of an interesting watch. Was on True Grit. The killer was commercial time seemed to equal movie time.

And some actress named Felicia Farr. Never heard of but WOWZA!!!!!!!!!

I looked her up. She was in 3:10 to Yuma which I saw a long time ago but I don't remember it. Of course I just looked up that movie and I guess I saw the modern version with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

 

[HuskyHawk]

November Man (2014). This movie was on Hulu, stars Pierce Brosnan in what is for him, his usual role. He's a CIA field agent Peter Devereaux , semi-retired. Before retiring, he trains some new guy. A bunch of stuff happens, which causes Brosnan to leave a gorgeous lakeside in Switzerland to go help get an agent out of Moscow. This is a very personal mission for him, it's a woman who is important to him. Do they explain how? No, not really. It all revolves around some new guy who is about to become the Russian President, and getting leverage on him. A woman played by the absolutely stunning Olga Kurylenko is the key to all of that. Who has to stop Peter Devereaux? The guy he trained of course. The story is utterly implausible and based on some absurd premises about the ability to control people. That said, it isn't completely awful. I was excited to see one of my personal favorites, the insanely cute Eliza Taylor (from The 100) make an appearance. I'll give this 2/4.

 

[storrsroars]

November Man (2014). This movie was on Hulu, stars Pierce Brosnan in what is for him, his usual role. He's a CIA field agent Peter Devereaux , semi-retired. Before retiring, he trains some new guy. A bunch of stuff happens, which causes Brosnan to leave a gorgeous lakeside in Switzerland to go help get an agent out of Moscow. This is a very personal mission for him, it's a woman who is important to him. Do they explain how? No, not really. It all revolves around some new guy who is about to become the Russian President, and getting leverage on him. A woman played by the absolutely stunning Olga Kurylenko is the key to all of that. Who has to stop Peter Devereaux? The guy he trained of course. The story is utterly implausible and based on some absurd premises about the ability to control people. That said, it isn't completely awful. I was excited to see one of my personal favorites, the insanely cute Eliza Taylor (from The 100) make an appearance. I'll give this 2/4.

Speaking of Pierce Brosnan, he's had the chops for light comedy since he first hit it big in Remington Steele. He can certainly play the debonair leading man. But, his later career comedic role choices have been pretty danged good, even in smaller roles like Eurovision, Mamma Mia and The World's End. But my all time favorite Brosnan role is The Matador, where he went completely against type as the foulest, rudest, crudest, sloppy drunk hitman to ever hit the big screen. The plot is basically a businessman (Greg Kinnear) needs to make a sale to save his company. He meets a hitman (Brosnan), they get drunk and a plan hatches to eliminate the competition. The movie has its flaws (and Greg Kinnear is most of them as I found him less than convincing with his moral dilemma), but I still highly recommend it for Brosnan's over-the-top performance (one of his two Golden Globe nominations).

 

[Mano]

The Croods: A New Age - Good one for the kids. Colorful, snappy, humorous enough to keep anyone's attention. Are we in a golden age for kid's movies? I think so. Very few of the high profile, big budget, big studio flicks are egregiously bad, or even dull.

Underwater - Have a fun drinking game with this one. Drink every time Kristen Stewart lets out a big exasperated sigh while pensively taking her head into her hands. You won't make it past the 45 min mark. Everything was adequate, nothing more. Director William Eubank's (The Signal) career trajectory could go any which way. He's got a visual style that's appealing enough but the two movies of his I've seen are hollow and unremarkable.

Happiest Season - I guess this is the Kristen Stewart review edition. I'm not sure why anyone could cast Stewart in any role requiring even a modicum of charm. The entire movie is complete fluff but it could've been exponentially more enjoyable if one of the two leads (the supporting cast was competent enough) could emote more than some snarky emo glares.

Extra Ordinary - A bit of a quirky and slow start to go along with the extremely dry humor shouldn't deter you from enjoying this charmingly silly supernatural flick. It builds a good momentum by the second half.

Logan Lucky - I do love a good heist flick and this fit the bill, not sure why it took me so long to get around to it. My only issue is that Soderbergh has this surgical precision to his filmmaking that at once seems like a perfect fit for the heist films he seems to enjoy making while also ironically taking some of the suspense and tension out of them. The stakes never seemed in doubt, which makes it feel like the FBI agent postscript wrinkle was glaringly tacked on just so everything wasn't so neat and tidy.