Recently Watched Movies 2021 | Page 16 | The Boneyard

Recently Watched Movies 2021

I think "Riders of Justice" was mentioned earlier. Just watched it. Fairly unusual, not the typical action movie. Mads Mikkelsen was his usual intense self. This film offers a smattering of psychology, philosophy, statistics, probability and a few other things. Is everything random, or is there a meaning behind everything that happens, or some of both? Leaves you thinking.
 
ZooCougar said:
I need to see it. It’s interesting because movies like The Life Aquatic I seem to like better the more I watch it.
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I definitely feel the need to see "The French Dispatch" as well. I've mentioned before on these threads how "Moonrise Kingdom" turned me into a big Wes Anderson fan, and wanting to watch all of his feature films. Before "Moonrise Kingdom" came out in 2012, I really had no concept of what a Wes Anderson movie was like.

Now having said that, I recall many years ago prior to me seeing "Moonrise Kingdom", I my brother gave me "The Life Aquatic" on DVD as a Christmas gift, maybe a year or two after it cam out. I remember that I had heard of the movie, but at the time the name Wes Anderson didn't mean all that much to me. I recall my wife and I watched "The Life Aquatic" shortly after we got it. We didn't think much of it at the time, and it really left us scratching our heads over it over its slow pace and everything. A few years later, I was looking to get rid of some clutter around the house, including several DVD's and CD's that I never thought I would get around to watching and listening to again. "Life Aquatic" was one of them I disposed of. I now wish I hadn't done it, since now I have come to love Wes Anderson movies and know what to expect of them. "Life Aquatic" is a film I wouldn't mind revisiting again at some point.
 
"Legend of Hell House" (1973) - Well, it's just past Halloween, but we're still watching horror films, this time of the haunted house variety. A team of investigators spend several days and nights looking into the goings on in a haunted house that lives up (or dies up) to its reputation. Not great, but certainly watchable. Also, my wife and I almost always enjoy watching Roddy McDowall (one of the team of investigators) in movies, either as a child actor or as an adult, with or without ape makeup.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Saw another Amanda Seyfried movie I'd been skipping for years--"Dear John." Not lighthearted like "Letters to Juliet." Well done though, and worth a watch. Amanda is college student on spring break who meets a soldier, Channing Tatum, who is home on leave. They quickly fall deeply for each other. He has to ship out again and a fair portion of the movie is them writing letters to each other back and forth. This one doesn't have a typical Hollywood ending.
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I don't watch movies because of Seyfried and she's not really my type, but for Seyfried fans, she's got a meaty supporting role in Gringo, a 2018 black comedy about corporate greed with some A-list stars. It's on Prime and I found it entertaining, especially when Charlize Theron goes total alpha bitch on wheels. Should've been a star vehicle for David Oyelowo, who's fabulous as the nice guy who just can't win, but the film flopped at the box office.
 
"Free Guy" is awesome! That's what a movie should be, fun, entertaining, just a good time. I meant to see it in the theater, never got around to it, kinda feel bad I didn't send a little money the studio's way. Netflix gets it next week, but I didn't feel like waiting, Redbox has it now. Ryan Reynolds does what he does, hasn't gotten old yet. I love Jodie Comer, she was great. Some good cameos, and some surprisingly big names doing voice over work that I totally missed until I saw the credits. Lots of pop culture references. I'm sure being a gamer adds some layers of appreciation to this, but as a non-gamer I can say it's totally not necessary.
 
The Deep House (2021) - A haunted house 100 feet underwater is the setting for this creepy movie. Once we committed we kinda liked it. A cool twist on the haunted house theme.

On Epix.
 
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The Harder They Fall. Netflix. This is a different take. It’s a western. Everybody is black. The good guys, the bad guys, the guys who may or may not be. The lingo is a mix of classic western and modern urban slang. The music is similarly what sounds like a blend of modern hip hop, Caribbean and updated versions of plantation slave songs. It’s creative and fun. Great cast, including Idris Elba who I like in everything, and Jonathan Majors from Lovecraft Country. The story is a good one and the acting is terrific. Delroy Lindo is great as the Marshall and Regina King is pretty savage as Mary Pickett. The kicker…all these people existed. The story is fiction, but it relies on actual historical figures.

Two thumbs up for this one.
 
Finch. Apple+

Tom Hanks please a post apocalypse survivor (who is damaged in more ways than one) who is forced to go cross country due to a mega storm with his dog and two robots off gods creation. As with all of the Apple content the production value was very good. The story is so so and with any other actor it probably wouldn’t be worth watching, but with Hanks it is. Tough to be more descriptive than that without giving away plot.
 
I'm putting this here because I don't know where else it would go, without starting a new dedicated thread. For years I've been curious to check out the box office numbers after each weekend. It became totally irrelevant for about a year because of Covid. I kinda doubt we'll ever go completely back to the way it used to be. Might not ever see another $ billion+ worldwide movie again.

Anyway, specifically Marvel's big kickoff to the next phase of the MCU, Eternals, debuted this weekend. Seemed to be getting lukewarm at best reviews for the most part. And yet it still took in almost as much in it's opening weekend as Dune has managed in 3 weeks. That just doesn't compute for me. Dune is based off a book that has been beloved and revered for many decades. Eternals is based on characters that only hardcore comic fans are even aware of. I guess Marvel can put out literally anything and people will go see it.
 
Box Office Mojo has been a regular site destination for me for like 20 years now. I’ve long been fascinated by how much money goes into making these movies and how much money they in turn end up making.

They used to have this fun “stock market” game where you bet on actors, directors, writers, studios, movies, etc. as stocks. Fun, speculative stuff even if the billions of dollars you accrued were meaningless.
 
Real Steel (2011) - Loved this movie!!

Inside the ring Rocky meets Rock'em Sock'em Robots.

Outside the ring fails boxer Hugh Jackman wins back a young, abandoned son.

Very entertaining. And Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Ant-Man) looks amazing.
 
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Mano said:
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.
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Trying to watch this. Pretty lame. If the movie was just Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza it would be a lot better. Mackenzie Davis and her entire family totally drag it down. I like several of the actors, but their characters were terrible. Alison Brie especially is totally wasted.
 
Dove said:
Real Steel (2011) - Loved this movie!!

Inside the ring Rocky meets Rock'em Sock'em Robots.

Outside the ring fails boxer Hugh Jackman wins back a young, abandoned son.

Very entertaining. And Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Ant-Man) looks amazing.
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It is a retread mashup of so many themes, Rocky, screwup dad reunites with son, children see things that adults miss, etc. It is also eminently watchable.

For what it’s worth they missed the opportunity for the ‘triumph of men over machine theme when they had the ‘Megadeth robot’ operated by its owner at the end of the final bout rather than just lose on its own.

I like the movie though and if it is on any of the boxing scenes, I’ll stop and watch them the same way I would watch any of the Rocky fight scenes.
 
Dove said:
Real Steel (2011) - Loved this movie!!

Inside the ring Rocky meets Rock'em Sock'em Robots.

Outside the ring fails boxer Hugh Jackman wins back a young, abandoned son.

Very entertaining. And Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Ant-Man) looks amazing.
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I watched it on a plane several years ago because it was about the only option. I wouldn't say I loved it, but it was surprisingly not terrible and killed two hours. Agree on Evangeline (who looks even more awesome as Tauriel in the Hobbit movies).
 
"Red Notice" on Netflix is very lightweight, but enjoyable enough. Mindless entertainment that you won't spend much (if any) time thinking about once it's over.
 
Dove said:
Real Steel (2011) - Loved this movie!!

Inside the ring Rocky meets Rock'em Sock'em Robots.

Outside the ring fails boxer Hugh Jackman wins back a young, abandoned son.

Very entertaining. And Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Ant-Man) looks amazing.
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This is a very good movie. It's almost a 1930s movie about a washed up fighter, very very formulaic. But I've watched it numerous times and it's a flawless movie. The acting is not over the top which is a common pit fall of these big CG pieces. And it has a ton of heart. Perhaps I liked it so much because I expected so little. Regardless it's two hours of fun and pathos.
 
"Playing God" (2021; several films with this title). Twin brother and sister are grifters, who get in over their heads and have to go for a big score to get out of trouble. Alan Tudyk was the mark, I wasn't familiar with anyone else in the cast. The sister, played by Hannah Kasulka, got the most screen time. She carried the movie well. I don't know why it was billed as a comedy, it really wasn't. Good slow burn thriller, drama, with a few twists. I enjoyed it.
 
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On the Rocks (2020) - Writer/director Sofia Coppola and Bill Murray first teamed up in "Lost In Translation”, a movie that I really loved when it was released back in 2003. They team up again in "On the Rocks", which also stars Rashida Jones who plays a married woman who is beginning to suspect that her husband may be cheating on her. She mentions this thought to her father played by Murray, which really gets the movie going as he starts his own investigation into the matter in true Murray fashion. While “On the Rocks" is certainly a watchable film, it is not close to the same class as "Lost in Translation”. Whatever the case, for me Murray is really the reason to watch “On the Rocks”. Bill Murray was about 70 years old when this movie was made, but to me his performance in this film his strong echos at times of his early career when he was a mainstay on “Saturday Night Live”. "On the Rocks” really gets by on the strength of Murray’s charm.
 
"Crazy About You" (aka The Naked Wanderer) is an Australian film from '19 but maybe getting a U.S. release this year? Or straight to video? I don't know, but it was streaming thru Hoopla. Kinda goofy, but entertaining. A young man proposes to his girlfriend on the same day she was planning on breaking up with him, so that doesn't go well. And he was working for her dad, so she's get him fired from his job. With his prospects down, his roommate talks him into trying a crazy stunt/fundraiser thing to take his mind off things, plus chicks dig it. The roommate's uncle is a much loathed business tycoon who sponsors the venture, but the stipulation is he has to do it wearing nothing but a loin cloth. Traversing 2000 km across Western Australia on foot. Our hero (Angus McLaren, who I can't admit I recognize from an Australian teen series about mermaids) is hoping to win back his ex, but during his trip he meets the lovely Natasha Liu Boridizzo and instantly falls for her. His roommate/support team is an idiot who keeps screwing things up. Numerous misadventures ensue.
 
So a few for the list

News of the World. Tom Hanks civil war vet has to bring a young girl home. Really nice movie. Hanks is just about the only guy in Hollywood making these kinds of movies. Which leads to…

Finch. Apple +. Tom Hanks is an engineer. The world has mostly ended and the Sun causes radiation sickness and burns instantly. He has a dog. He builds robots and tries to get to a place that is safe. Sweet, quite funny, another Tom Hanks positive human movie.

Prometheus. 2012, Ridley Scott. Sci Fi. Premise is interesting. Charlize Theron is stunning. The movie is boring as hell.
 
HuskyHawk said:
So a few for the list

News of the World. Tom Hanks civil war vet has to bring a young girl home. Really nice movie. Hanks is just about the only guy in Hollywood making these kinds of movies. Which leads to…

Finch. Apple +. Tom Hanks is an engineer. The world has mostly ended and the Sun causes radiation sickness and burns instantly. He has a dog. He builds robots and tries to get to a place that is safe. Sweet, quite funny, another Tom Hanks positive human movie.

Prometheus. 2012, Ridley Scott. Sci Fi. Premise is interesting. Charlize Theron is stunning. The movie is boring as hell.
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Prometheus had a promising premise but I thought it just didnt execute well. The sequel again could have been amazing and just really botched the opportunity.
 
Chaos Walking (2021)

On Hulu

A very entertaining sci fi movie starring Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland ( new Spider Man) and Mads Mikkelson as the antagonist. Definitely worth being on your Watch list.
 
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"Spoiled Brats" on Netflix. French with subtitles. A bit goofy to start, but glad I stuck with it. Rich widower w/ 3 20 something kids who are completely spoiled. He decides to teach them some life lessons, arranges a big hoax to pretend all his assets are frozen and they are left with nothing. The kids have to get menial jobs and learn how to function without a silver spoon.
 
A Knight's Tale - I wanted something brainless and arrived here. Totally cheesy stuff. Shannyn Sossamon seemed like for a minute she was gonna be the romcom queen but thankfully everyone caught on pretty quick that she can't act a lick.

Nobody - Like everyone else I couldn't really envision Odenkirk in the role but he pulled it off capably and convincingly. Very enjoyable, I liked it a lot better than any of the Wick's. Hopefully it gets it's chance at being a franchise since they left it so open for one.

The Green Knight - The mood, atmosphere and visuals elevate this sometimes plodding tale. Took some reading up about the poem to fill in some of the details. Who wants to play the beheading game with me??

Finch - The robot had all of the charm in this one. Hanks went with an odd voice affect, a lot of muttering and under enunciation, made him sound very staid. I suppose at the end of the world we all might be. Worth a watch.

Bumblebee - More robots and easily the best of the Transformers franchise. Not really saying much when comparing it to those other turds but Travis Knight (Phil Knight of Nike's son) made an entertaining enough movie.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Had a good time with this one. Felt very much like it's own universe and even though it had a couple of nods to the greater MCU it could've existed as a rousingly entertaining Kung Fu flick without them. Good story, quality action.

Home Sweet Home Alone - Twisting up the Home Alone formula in a cleverish way that didn't diminish the stakes at all while casting our "villians" with two relatable comedians were smart choices. It works as a holiday time waster but won't unseat the classic original.

Love Hard - I can watch Nina Dobrev do most anything. Not setting the world of RomComs on fire as its fairly derivative, it still coasts along with its easy jokes and charm from the leads.
 
Mano said:
Love Hard - I can watch Nina Dobrev do most anything. Not setting the world of RomComs on fire as its fairly derivative, it still coasts along with its easy jokes and charm from the leads.
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I also am very much a fan of Nina Dobrev. I was doing okay with this one, until they took the charade about 10 steps too far with a pretend engagement. I had to stop at that point.

For a fluffy romcom featuring her (along w/ several others) that I did enjoy, there is "Dog Days."
 
Shadow In The Clouds(2021) - I beg you to avoid this POS. The trailer led us to believe this movie had something. A big hell no.

Chloe Grace Moretz stars. And that's it.
 
King Richard - I sometimes wonder if reviewers even watch the movie they are reviewing, because the takeaway from about half the reviews, that his movie was an homage to Richard Williams, is just wrong. Richard Williams comes off insane in this movie, and potentially wrong about every major decision he made. His wife tells him as much in the scene in the kitchen in case anyone was not sure what the point of the movie was. His daughters love him, but he may have been wrong about everything and just a total psycho of a sports parent that just happened to father two of the 10 best women's tennis players in history so his decisions ended up looking smart even when they weren't. At least that is my takeaway.

One of the things I like about this movie is that it is not clear if he was right about some, all, or any of it, and that isn't really the point. Will Smith does a great job with a very complicated character. Raising two prodigies in that environment is a fascinating story by itself, but throw in the fact that Richard Williams is such a dodgy character and kind of crazy, and it is a great story.

There is some artistic license taken with the order of events, and to avoid having to use two actresses for each of Venus and Serena. I don't have a problem with that. One thing that you have to read between the lines to recognize is that virtually everyone with tennis expertise that met the girls, even when they were very young, recognized immediately how special they were. It changes the story a little when you realize that, but I think that is intentional.
 
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A Boy Called Christmas. 2021 Netflix. Having exhausted the supply of movies we haven't seen even multiple times, we opted for this. On the whole, for a kid friendly Christmas movie, this is a winner. Maggie Smith, who is getting old, tells a story to three kids who have lost their mother, and who's father, perhaps from grief, isn't celebrating Christmas. The story is that of a boy named Nikolas, who also lost his mom. His mom called him "Christmas". It is, as you can tell, A Saint Nicholas/Father Christmas/Santa Claus origin story and it's cleverly done. There are nods throughout, including to Princess Bride and also to Santa Claus is coming to town (Burgermeister). It's not amazing, but it's pretty solid.
 
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