Recently Watched Movies 2021

[nwhoopfan]

Sometimes, it's really hard to know how to rate a movie. Just watched "The Broken Circle Breakdown," a Belgian film. Maybe my first Belgian. Well crafted, a well made movie, but just a brutal gut punch. It's told non sequential, sometimes that can be frustrating but I think it worked well here. It's a love story that turns tragic. You see some of the couple early in their romance. Then they have a daughter. She gets cancer when she's around 7 and dies. Understandably their relationship, and each of them individually, falls apart in the aftermath. Just hard to watch.

What really made this interesting is that at the center of the movie is a Belgian band who play very authentic American bluegrass music. I have no idea how much bluegrass is known or played in Europe, I never really thought about it before. The music was good.

 

[Bomber36]

Post/handle or handle/post is a slang message board term used when someone posts something that aligns with his/her handle.

In this instance, your post reflected that you like and are a student of WW2 history, which struck me as in sync with a poster with the handle “Bomber.”

I kinda thought that, but I needed confirmation…thanks.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Mortuary Collection. (2019) Streaming on Shudder. This is a bit different. Clancy Brown (The Kurgan in Highlander) is the Mortician named Montgomery Dark. He works at a creepy place in what seems like the Pacific NW, or maybe Maine. After a funeral, an attractive young woman named Sam (Caitlin Custer) approaches, responding to a Help Wanted sign. Dark "interviews" her, but really she asks him about the thousands of books on the walls. They contain the stories of the dead. She asks for those stories, and we are presented with a few mini stories within a story. Each pretty good, sometimes scary. The engagement and interplay between Dark and Sam is humorous and quite interesting. The story takes a turn from there, with something of a 4th story with the story, and well, you'll just have to watch it I guess.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"10 Years" has an ensemble cast w/ EVERYBODY in it. It's decent, nothing special. It's a 10 year HS reunion, very talky, nothing really happens. Some people have changed, some haven't changed at all, some want to fix or change the past, which you can't do. But the reason to watch it is the cast. It's from 2011, I think Channing Tatum was probably the biggest name then. Not now. Also includes Chris Pratt, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Mackie, Ron Livingston, Justin Long, Max MInghella, Scott Porter, Brian Geraghty, Aubrey Plaza, Rosario Dawson, Jenna Dewan, Kate Mara, Ari Graynor, Lynn Collins. That's a hell of a list!

 

[Waquoit]

"10 Years" has an ensemble cast w/ EVERYBODY in it. It's decent, nothing special. It's a 10 year HS reunion, very talky, nothing really happens.

The Little Chill

 

[nwhoopfan]

The Little Chill

I'm assuming that's a reference to The Big Chill. I've actually never seen it, heard it mentioned many times though.

 

[Waquoit]

I'm assuming that's a reference to The Big Chill. I've actually never seen it, heard it mentioned many times though.

That was about a college reunion, mostly remembered for the soundtrack.

 

[HuskyHawk]

That was about a college reunion, mostly remembered for the soundtrack.

And for the house. Tidalholm in Beaufort, SC. Have been by it several times. Tidalholm: Beaufort's most popular historic house | Explore Beaufort SC

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Last Vermeer. 2019. Streaming Starz. Well this was a surprisingly fun and interesting movie. Set in the Netherlands, just after WWII. The Allied Command controls the country (for the moment) and Captain Piller (Cleas Bang), a "Dutch Jew in a Canadian uniform", is investigating sales of stolen art to the Nazis. Specifically, the focus is on a painting by Vermeer, sold for 1.6M Guilders to Hermann Goering, the largest art sale in history at the time. That investigation leads him to a painter and player in the art world who made the sale, Hans Van Meergan (Guy Pierce). Pierce is really quite wonderful in the role. Van Meergan is rather charmingly eccentric among other things. This is based on a real life case, if dramatized of course. Van Meergan is interrogated, and leads Piller through a variety of other people to discover a truth he couldn't just reveal directly. The country reverts back to Dutch control, and their ministry of justice tries Van Meergan for selling Dutch cultural heritage items to the Nazis. Now Piller steps in to advocate for Van Meergan in the trial. There are subplots involving Piller's wife and her role helping the underground by working with the Nazis to spy on them. You can imagine how she earned their trust.

For fans of this sort of thing, it's well done. Great performance by Piece and enough twists and plot turns to stay interesting.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Anybody watch "The Tomorrow War" on Amazon Prime? The teaser trailer a while ago got my attention. The full trailer left a not so good taste in my mouth. I got about halfway thru watching it. Just couldn't do it. A good cast, but it just seemed so dumb and nonsensical to me.

The best thing I can say about it is--I thought it was an adaptation from a book that they totally ruined, but I got the title confused. The Forever War is the book and apparently there is an adaptation in the works in the very early stages, so there's a chance that could actually be a good sci fi movie and not...whatever this was.

 

[Waquoit]

Summer of Soul was a good watch. Answers the question on whether the Pips were the real deal. Plus Sly and the Family Stone at the height of their powers.

 

[dbmill]

The Lady In the Van (2015) - This British dramedy stars Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings. It is based on a mostly true story written by British playwright and author Alan Bennett, with some obvious fantasy elements added in. Smith plays an elderly cantankerous eccentric curmudgeon who is homeless and usually quite less than clean, who has taken to living in her van which she parks in various spots in a London neighborhood. Jennings plays Alex Bennett, who over the course of time gets to know the Smith character as her van has become something of a landmark in his neighborhood. Eventually Bennett agrees to let this homeless woman park her van in his driveway and essentially live there for a few months. Well, the months turn into years. Basically this film focuses on the odd relationship that develops over the course of time between Bennett and this homeless women. Over the course of time Bennett gets curious about the history of this woman, and tries to check into her past as best as he is able, considering what the woman tells Bennett can be a bit off.

One the bits added to this true story is that their are two Alan Bennett's in this film, both played by Jennings. One is Bennett the person, the one who actually interacts with the elderly woman, often to his own chagrin. The other Bennett is the author and writer. The writer Bennett observes the interactions between Bennett the person and the elderly woman. Often after these interactions the two Bennett's often converse with each other, with the writer Bennett offering his observations to Bennett the person. I rather enjoyed these rather odd Bennett conversations with himself.

That is basically this film in a nutshell. Smith got rave reviews for playing this woman, and Jennings does quite well as Bennett as well. There is no question the two leads carry this film. Certainly not a film for all tastes and it is slow moving, I will definitely admit to that, but to me it is certainly watchable.

 

[CL82]

Nomadland
Hulu

A similar premise to the movie outlined by @dbmill above.

A woman and her husband move to a remote factory town. After her husband died, the plant shuts down and everyone moves on. The woman, played by Francis McDormand, and ends up living in a van. She lives a nomadic existence moving from region to region seasonally working seasonable jobs and, for the most part, avoiding severe weather. Most movies have a linear plot with a beginning a middle and the end. This movie does not in many ways. It’s more like a snapshot of her existence for a period of time as she learns skills of this lifestyle.

A compelling part of this movie is that several of the main characters are actual “rubber traps“ who live in their vehicles. They aren’t the best actors, but they do feel “real.” Francis McDormand plays main the main character in a very understated way. It is effective.

Not a lot of action, nor a strong plot line, but still a good watch. It feels more like a documentary than a movie.

 

[storrsroars]

Speaking of homeless people, I watched The Fisher King last night, which I hadn't seen since the early 90s (and which I found too "Gilliamesque" at the time). I'm not a big Mercedes Ruehl fan, but she was great in this. And Robin Williams is actually restrained as far as measuring on the WIlliams scale. His rants are perfectly in character with the character and he pulls off a crazy yet still believable character. Bridges, who had top billing, might've been the weakest of the leads as his reactions to his situation were the least believable for all but maybe the last 10 minutes. Michael Jeter and Amanda Plummer put in great work in smaller roles. Overall, I enjoyed watching it this time, which I didn't first time out.

 

[ZooCougar]

Nomadland
Hulu

A similar premise to the movie outlined by @dbmill above.

A woman and her husband move to a remote factory town. After her husband died, the plant shuts down and everyone moves on. The woman, played by Francis McDormand, and ends up living in a van. She lives a nomadic existence moving from region to region seasonally working seasonable jobs and, for the most part, avoiding severe weather. Most movies have a linear plot with a beginning a middle and the end. This movie does not in many ways. It’s more like a snapshot of her existence for a period of time as she learns skills of this lifestyle.

A compelling part of this movie is that several of the main characters are actual “rubber traps“ who live in their vehicles. They aren’t the best actors, but they do feel “real.” Francis McDormand plays main the main character in a very understated way. It is effective.

I not a lot of action, nor a strong plot line, but still a good watch. It feels more like a documentary than a movie.

I liked this too. All of those roadside attractions in the movie are worth visiting.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Snow Day" (2000) was produced by Nickelodeon, so of course it's fairly goofy and silly. It was entertaining though, I thought. I vaguely remember when it came out, but I never saw it. There's actually quite a bit going on. Chevy Chase is a weatherman who is good at what he does, but sagging ratings has caused his network to turn him into a circus sideshow act. He has a rivalry w/ dimwit pretty boy John Schneider, who is cleaning up in ratings...because he's a pretty boy.

I guess the main character is Mark Webber, a high school boy. He has a hopeless crush on the unattainable girl, Emmanuelle Chriqui (!). Her character is actually nice, not a stuck up snob, so that's good. And of course she was in her mid 20s at the time playing a high schooler, so there's my favorite trope. And while he's on his quest, of course he's oblivious that his best friend is totally into him, played by Sissy Spacek's daughter Schuyler Fisk.

The main character's little sister (Zena Grey) leads a bunch of younger kids in a war against "Snowplow Man" played by Chris Elliot, because his obsessive plowing of roads threatens to steal a second snow day from them.

Jean Smart plays the wife/mom of the main family. There's a younger brother who is just a complete weirdo, he really doesn't add anything to the movie.

Iggy Pop has a random cameo. Pam Grier has a small part in it as well.

 

[Deepster]

Anybody watch "The Tomorrow War" on Amazon Prime? The teaser trailer a while ago got my attention. The full trailer left a not so good taste in my mouth. I got about halfway thru watching it. Just couldn't do it. A good cast, but it just seemed so dumb and nonsensical to me.

The best thing I can say about it is--I thought it was an adaptation from a book that they totally ruined, but I got the title confused. The Forever War is the book and apparently there is an adaptation in the works in the very early stages, so there's a chance that could actually be a good sci fi movie and not...whatever this was.

I watched it with my nephew this weekend. Awful. You're lucky you cut bait on it.

Spoiler Alert

They figure out in the end that the aliens didn't just come down to earth. They were here millions of years ago and have been frozen in ice in the Arctic Circle or something. So Chris Pratt and like 4 people trek into the Arctic Circle, thaw them out and jab them with some serum that kills them and prevents them from overrunning the Earth in the future. I wish I made that up as a joke.

 

[ZooCougar]

Anybody watch "The Tomorrow War" on Amazon Prime? The teaser trailer a while ago got my attention. The full trailer left a not so good taste in my mouth. I got about halfway thru watching it. Just couldn't do it. A good cast, but it just seemed so dumb and nonsensical to me.

The best thing I can say about it is--I thought it was an adaptation from a book that they totally ruined, but I got the title confused. The Forever War is the book and apparently there is an adaptation in the works in the very early stages, so there's a chance that could actually be a good sci fi movie and not...whatever this was.

I got 10 minutes into it. Thought to myself, what happens if someone in the future’s father dies and how that somehow hasn’t produced a Time Paradox. Then I thought, I really don’t want to find out, so I turned it off.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Caught In The Heights in Arizona. My in-laws really wanted to take us and reluctantly went after finding Hamilton annoying as heck.

However, was pleasantly surprised to the point of actually recommending it fully. A good character vignette and a lot of fun. Laughed, smiled, cried, a light, fun summer movie.

I grew up in the NYC burbs just 25 miles from Washington Heights, so perhaps I'm biased, FWIW.

 

[HuskyHawk]

No Sudden Move. (2021) HBOMax or cinemas. This stars Don Cheadle (Goynes) and Benicio Del Toro (Russo), with Brendan Fraser (who got heavy), Matt Damon and others. Set in 1954 Detroit, mob crime is a major part of the story and the auto industry is the other side of that coin. We start with Goynes being released from prison. He meets someone who has a job. Goynes says he just needs some money to buy back land in KC that was taken from him. He ends up working with Russo, who isn't fond of the idea (implied racial reasons). I can't say more without spoilers. It's Steven Soderbergh directing, so expect an Oceans 11 level of plot twists and turns, new characters showing up (Damon arrives very late for one pivotal scene). Is it good? Yes. Well executed, good acting. It falls short in part because you don't really like any of these guys. There's not much emotional investment. And at the end, not much seems to have happened given what it took to get there. Still worth a watch.

 

[Deepster]

Death Proof (2007) - I listened to the Joe Rogan podcast with Quentin Tarantino this week and this was his only movie that I’d never seen. I don’t even know why since I’m a fan of everything else. Frickin A did I enjoy it. First, the perspective of all 4 people in the head on crash. Then the Zoe Bell hood scene. she is a bad bad women. Music was great. Classic QT dialogue. Can’t believe it took me this long.

 

[storrsroars]

Death Proof (2007) - I listened to the Joe Rogan podcast with Quentin Tarantino this week and this was his only movie that I’d never seen. I don’t even know why since I’m a fan of everything else. Frickin A did I enjoy it. First, the perspective of all 4 people in the head on crash. Then the Zoe Bell hood scene. she is a bad bad women. Music was great. Classic QT dialogue. Can’t believe it took me this long.

I wouldn't be all that surprised. I typically like QT films and until your post, I'd never heard of this one.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Death Proof was originally released as part of a double bill under the name "Grindhouse," along w/ Rodgriguez's Planet Terror. They were split up for DVD release. Maybe that's why it slipped under the radar for some Tarantino fans.

 

[8893]

Summer of Soul was a good watch. Answers the question on whether the Pips were the real deal. Plus Sly and the Family Stone at the height of their powers.

This was excellent. So many great performances. I will definitely watch it again. The Mavis and Mahalia scene was unbelievable. I never knew that the Fifth Dimension was a Black band, or that that's where Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. got their start.

Sly was the proto-Prince. Amazing.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Anyone watch the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix? Wondering if its too sophomoric.