Recently Watched Movies 2021 | Page 6 | The Boneyard

Recently Watched Movies 2021

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A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) - Up until recently I had never heard of this movie. I happened to come across it on Netflix while looking up movies with Jean Arthur, who was a well known actress in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Arthur is probably best known for the films she made with director Frank Capra when both were under contract to Columbia Pictures (“Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, “You Can’t Take it With You”, and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”). I saw this particular film also starred John Wayne who at the time was just beginning his rise to big time stardom. My wife is a big fan of John Wayne westerns, and it happens to be her birthday weekend, so I figured this would be a good one to watch this weekend with her.

Anyway, “A Lady Takes a Chance” is a mixture of the comedies that Jean Arthur was making at the time, combined with the elements of John Wayne westerns. To say the least, this movie is a mishmash that is all over the place. Arthur plays a single big city girl from New York City who decides to go on a bus tour of the American West. On this tour, she meets Wayne who plays a rodeo cowboy who tours the western rodeo circuit. As they spend time with each other, the two are alternately attracted and repulsed to each other. This movie is a bit all over the place between the comedic elements, the persona John Wayne was developing at the time, and the various western elements that show up. Sure enough, this film also features the odd brawl or two as well. One thing I found interesting is that Wayne’s character is called “Duke”, which of course ended up being his nickname. I have no idea if this film was the genesis of that nickname. Seeing Wayne doing his thing in a Jean Arthur vehicle comedy is an oddball mix indeed. At any rate, while this is hardly a great movie, it does keep your interest and is certainly entertaining.
 

storrsroars

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I Care A Lot (2020) - This movie is nuts and clocks in at 2 hours. Rosamund Pike stars as a leach who preys on the estates of the old and meek. One of her newest clients (Diane Weist) is connected to a Russian mafia guy, Peter Dinklish, who acts well as a cold mafia boss.

The very very very end is sooooo satisfying.

Netflix
Watched it last night. While it's more or less the old "thief accidentally steals from the mob" trope, the specifics of the scam Pike's character is running is what makes the film particularly interesting. Don't know if I'll watch it again down the road, but it was fun the first time. While Pike's character is the strongest, Dianne Weist stole a number of the scenes they had together.
 

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King of Staten Island (2020) - This is a really good little movie. Pete Davidson is a shockingly good actor, given his over-the-top Adam Sandler impression he seems to be doing most of the time on SNL. The plot is cliched and kind of pointless, but the characters are relatable and the acting is excellent. Don't expect the greatest anything, and just enjoy the movie.
 
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Dove

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King of Staten Island (2020) - This is a really good little movie. Pete Davidson is a shockingly good actor, given his over-the-top Adam Sandler impression he seems to be doing most of the time on SNL. The plot is cliched and kind of pointless, but the characters are relatable and the acting is excellent. Don't expect the greatest anything, and just enjoy the movie.
I think you just convinced me.
 
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The Gift (Netflix) - Jason Bateman stars in this psycho thriller. Him and his wife relocate back to the area he grew up and he comes across a former classmate. As the story goes on, you find out what happened in their past and it explains some of the "things" that are happening to Bateman and his wife now. Really good twist in the end. I didn't see it coming. Bateman is essentially Marty Byrd from Ozark here as his character spins a pretty intricate web of lies as the movie progresses. Worth a watch for sure.
 
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Self/less (2015) - Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Ben Kingsley, Matthew Goode
Nice film to watch with your significant other, based on an interesting medical procedure. Ryan Reynolds is per his usual. Can't really say too much but it keeps you thinking.
 

Chin Diesel

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Watched it last night. While it's more or less the old "thief accidentally steals from the mob" trope, the specifics of the scam Pike's character is running is what makes the film particularly interesting. Don't know if I'll watch it again down the road, but it was fun the first time. While Pike's character is the strongest, Dianne Weist stole a number of the scenes they had together.

Had heard some good stuff about this movie and Rosamund Pike is an actress I usually like, but this was underwhelming to me.
 

nwhoopfan

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I was excited about "Tenet" at one point. Then covid happened, and no theaters were open. By the time it hit DVD my interest had lessened. I finally saw it. Uh............I could try to pretend I sorta understood what was happening, but I'd be lying. I don't think Nolan wanted you to have any idea what was happening. There were so many layers folded back in on themselves that it was pretty close to incomprehensible. I guess just sit back and enjoy the ride. It had some interesting elements. Not sure I really want to watch it again to see if I can follow it better a second time. I've seen "Inception" numerous times, I think that was a far more interesting film.

I will say I wish there was more Clemence Poesy. She was only in one brief scene near the beginning. I feel kinda cheated.


Whoa, this just dawned on me, Poesy and Robert Pattinson were both in the same Harry Potter movie previously, although they were not on screen together in this one.
 

nwhoopfan

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The Silencing (2020) - Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister - GOT) plays an intense former hunter/trapper now turned preservationist after his daughter disappears.

The movie revolves around the search for solving the disappearances/murders of young girls. There are twists.

Annabelle Wallis (Peaker Blinders) also stars.

I liked it quite a bit and think you may find it worth a watch.
I just tried this, got about halfway thru. When one of the hunted girls took 2 shots at the bad buy from point blank range inside a house w/ a shotgun...and missed, then got ran thru w/ a spear, I was done. You cannot miss a target from that close w/ a shotgun. I have a limit of how much a movie can piss me off, and this exceeded it.
 
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Seabiscuit - This one has aged pretty well and is a “grand” example of film making. Dramatic moments, music, scenes and shots. Solid cast. My criticisms are that, as a racing fan, it didn’t really do justice to how much the horse actually won. And the book was a phenomenal tale that was a little “crammed” into a two hour time frame. Entertaining ride nonetheless.
 
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Seabiscuit - This one has aged pretty well and is a “grand” example of film making. Dramatic moments, music, scenes and shots. Solid cast. My criticisms are that, as a racing fan, it didn’t really do justice to how much the horse actually won. And the book was a phenomenal tale that was a little “crammed” into a two hour time frame. Entertaining ride nonetheless.
I thought you were referring to Secretariat with Diane Lane and being John Malkovich which was also very good. Don't think I ever saw Seabiscuit so I need to check it out.
 

Dove

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12 Hour Shift (2020) - This David Arquette-produces movie is just crazy. And funny. There were times I wanted to check out but I needed to see where it was going to end.

Nurses in a rural hospital have a side gig where they remove kidneys and sell to a guy (Mick Foley). Well, they screwed up a delivery and all hell breaks loose.
 

HuskyHawk

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I Care A Lot (2020) - This movie is nuts and clocks in at 2 hours. Rosamund Pike stars as a leach who preys on the estates of the old and meek. One of her newest clients (Diane Weist) is connected to a Russian mafia guy, Peter Dinklish, who acts well as a cold mafia boss.

The very very very end is sooooo satisfying.

Netflix

Watching this right now. Halfway through. Enjoying it.
 
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King of Staten Island (2020) - This is a really good little movie. Pete Davidson is a shockingly good actor, given his over-the-top Adam Sandler impression he seems to be doing most of the time on SNL. The plot is cliched and kind of pointless, but the characters are relatable and the acting is excellent. Don't expect the greatest anything, and just enjoy the movie.

This movie was 100% cringe. It was too bad for words.
 
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Chronicle (2012) was really good. It starts off as an ordinary found footage type movie and then gets really good. I liked it much better than Brightburn.
 

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Brand new from Netflix "Moxie." The trailer lets you know exactly what to expect, no surprises. It's a #metoo female empowerment movie. Set in a high school where the women aren't going to take it anymore. A bit heavy handed in places, but I enjoyed it for the most part and I liked most of the characters. I do understand the things happening in the film happen in real life and deserve to be acknowledged.

I have to say though it's enormously ironic, the same thing is done to male characters in this film that every feminist ever complains about being done to female characters in most movies. One dimensional, hardly any personality or importance to the story. I've seen countless complaints about the manic pixie dream girl trope, I'm fairly sure this film had a manic pixie dream boy. And of course there were several mean dumb evil bad jocks. So, if the creators of this do the exact same thing they complain about someone else doing...

The cast was largely unknown to me. Well several established cast members like Amy Poehler (she also directed and produced it), Clark Gregg, Ike Barinholtz and Marcia Gay Harden among the grown ups. The younger cast members, I'd seen Patrick Schwarzenegger somewhere (yeah Arnie's kid), I recognized Nico Haraga from "Book Smart," I at least knew who Josephine Langford is although I don't think I've seen her in anything before. The rest were new to me. Lead actress Hadley Robinson sounds almost exactly like Kirsten Dunst and even resembles her a bit (90s era).

This film takes great pains to be inclusive and checks off just about every box when it comes to diversity.

Soundtrack is throwback to 90s Riot Grrrl
 
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Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
I really enjoy the MI movies because I am a big fan of Tom Cruise and the usual cast is fun to watch. This time around it seemed there was nothing new, except that the hero was able to fly a helicopter better than professional pilots. Cars, motorcycles, tall buildings, guns, and Ethan running at full speed, check, check, check. I guess you can only dream up so many stunts but the storyline was same ol' same ol'. I am very puzzled here because the reviews seem overwhelming great! I did watch it over a few nights because my time was short so maybe I'll give it another try.
 
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Tesla (2020) - This movie stars Ethan Hawke as the legendary visionary and inventor Nikola Tesla. This is a rather unconventional biographical film with bits that are clearly labeled in the movie as fictional, but then again Tesla was unconventional as well, and hardly a businessman. Among other things, this film does look at some of Tesla’s inventions, experiments, and visions of things to come (some still haven't arrived). It also looks at his rivalries and relationships with various inventors, businessmen, and generally famous people of his era, including Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and J.P. Morgan. There are moments where the unconventional nature of this film and its oddities threaten to take it off the rails, but in the end it does hold together. This movie is a bit slow in developing at times, but it held my interest, and is more than watchable.
 
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nwhoopfan

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Sentinelle (Netflix) is a decent action flick. French, mostly dubbed into English. Stars Olga Kurylenko. I'm pretty sure she did her own dubbing, she obviously is fluent in English, it sounded like her. Anyway she's a French soldier in a special anti-terrorist unit. Comes home from the front paranoid and psychologically compromised. Her sister is brutally assaulted and that pushes her off the deep end, she goes hell bent on administering justice to the perp. Gotta take a healthy dose of suspending disbelief.
 

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Greenland (2020) - This movie is entertaining. No way groundbreaking, tho.

Why did the bunkers exist? Was the comet seen a decade earlier?
 

nwhoopfan

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I feel like I saw a trailer for "The Informer" almost 2 years ago. Been a long time before I finally saw it. Decent slow burn thriller. A bit convoluted. Good cast w/ Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund PIke, Ana de Armas, Clive Owen, Common (does that guy still make music?--seems like he's everywhere in movies).
 
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John Wick - Was talking to a friend and he couldn't believe I hadn't seen this before so I watched it. Ugh. Fell completely flat for me. Spoiler alert: So, they steal his cool car and kill his dog...and he murders about a 1,000 people in broad daylight. And I didn't even think the action was all that great. Compared to The Matrix, or to a Bourne movie? Not even close. 2 out of 5 stars. Maybe 1.5.
 

nwhoopfan

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"The Kid Detective" popped up on my radar a little while ago. It was available for streaming from Redbox for only $.99, why not. I like Sophie Nelisse, I like Adam Brody. Brody plays a burned out 30 something who was a celebrity in his small town as a kid detective as the title would imply. Nelisse's boyfriend was murdered, police aren't getting anywhere so she comes to him. I had a hard time throughout making up my mind about it. Straddled the line between being cleverly subversive and kinda dumb. I got a few chuckles. I'd say it's decent, but I won't give it a hearty recommendation. And my least favorite trope, the about to turn 21 Nelisse playing a 16 year old just didn't fly.
 

HuskyHawk

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Tonight tried something different. A fantasy thriller called Night Watch (2004). It‘s a Russian film and part one of a trilogy. Available on Starz. It’s an interesting take on the supernatural. Others exist among us, witches, vampires, seers, etc. They choose light or dark and there is a night watch (light) and day watch (dark) that polices the other side to avoid interference. Not a big budget film, no CGI etc. but it’s a solid story. It’s dubbed, but I’d prefer it wasn’t since I rely on captions anyway. If you like this kind of thing, it’s pretty cool. Side comment, Russian girls are hot.
 

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