Recently Watched Movies 2022

[ZooCougar]

Watched Jurassic World Dominion. Absolutely putrid!

Check out my plot synopsis earlier in this thread.

 

[ZooCougar]

NOPE 2022. Last night at the cinema. See this on a big screen. This is a really well made film. I think I had forgotten what that looked like. Even before any action occurs, the cinematography, writing and acting is really very good. Peele has a bright future. He uses spaces and camera angles very well. Shades of what Spielberg did in Jaws (with much owed to Hitchcock). Don't want to give anything away but my whole family loved this one. Tension builds and just keeps swelling as things are revealed. The most horrifying moments come in flashbacks. Steve Yeun (Glen from Walking Dead) is good in a supporting role centered on a story within the story. Both leads are terrific. The name makes sense once you see it and is quite clever. This is going to hold up for quite a while. Go see it.

Yeah I can’t wait to see it. I really didn’t like the previous movie of his about the people living in caves.

 

[ZooCougar]

12 Strong (2018). Thor fights the Taliban on horseback. Now, I've never watched a Thor movie, and that's about all I know about Chris Hemsworth, so I wasn't expecting much. But I enjoyed this one. It's a good war movie, plenty of action, and some good insights about the difficulties of fighting in Afghanistan. Only grossed $44 million (and hard to believe it only cost Bruckenheimer $35 mill to make given all the explosions and SFX, and making New Mexico look like Afghanistan). Based on a true story, with obvious creative license, of what was the first battle between US forces (allied with a warlord) vs the Taliban. It got so-so reviews, but I found it a good watch.

I couldn’t get into this one.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Not Okay" was a tough watch, knew that was a possibility going in. The whole premise is about someone telling a whopper of a lie, and then perpetuating it for almost the entirety of the film. I like Zoey Deutch a lot, I think her performance was good, her character was supposed to be unlikable. I'd have to say Mia Isaac, who I was completely unfamiliar with, stole this one. Also this was the third movie I've seen recently with Dylan O'Brien where he completely disappeared into a role and was almost unrecognizable. It appears he's rejected the idea of being a leading man and now he's focusing on character acting. Interesting.

Anyway, not even sure how I feel about the movie overall. I was close to shutting it down for a while, but stuck with it. Not because it was bad, but I got frustrated. With the whole lying and deceiving people thing.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"The Lost City" was a lot of fun. Not trying to take itself seriously, all the leads were good in their roles. Got some good chuckles out of it.

 

[ZooCougar]

Nope is very very good.

The other recaps say enough. I just think Peele is up there with Nolan, Villeneuve and even Tarantino.

There is nod to previous films but the movie is made in his own distinctive style and writing.

 

[8893]

Saw Nope in the local theater this evening. I knew nothing going in other than having seen the trailer, which is pretty vague, so I don’t want to give any spoilers and I’m not even going to describe what it’s about.

It is more of a suspense movie, like Close Encounters… or Jaws, than horror movie or thriller—although it definitely has an edge and delivers some thrills and awe. And some humor. And great cinematography. And casting. And acting.

Very well done imo. Restrained but also provocative. Peele’s pretty brilliant.

NOPE 2022. Last night at the cinema. See this on a big screen. This is a really well made film. I think I had forgotten what that looked like. Even before any action occurs, the cinematography, writing and acting is really very good. Peele has a bright future. He uses spaces and camera angles very well. Shades of what Spielberg did in Jaws (with much owed to Hitchcock). Don't want to give anything away but my whole family loved this one. Tension builds and just keeps swelling as things are revealed. The most horrifying moments come in flashbacks. Steve Yeun (Glen from Walking Dead) is good in a supporting role centered on a story within the story. Both leads are terrific. The name makes sense once you see it and is quite clever. This is going to hold up for quite a while. Go see it.

Nope is very very good.

The other recaps say enough. I just think Peele is up there with Nolan, Villeneuve and even Tarantino.

There is nod to previous films but the movie is made in his own distinctive style and writing.

Ok, finally some others have seen this so we can discuss a bit.

First question: what about the shoe in the Gordy massacre scenes? What is the significance of that?

I get the point about trying to tame animals and making spectacles of them, but is that supposed to suggest that there was some alien force controlling him?

And is the perspective during that scene meant to be looking through Gordy's eyes, or through the camera?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Spoiler: Thoughts

“What’s a bad miracle? They got a word for that?” That’s what OJ says when he figures it out. Meanwhile, Jupe has already lived a “bad miracle”. They took away very different things. Jupe is worshipful and focuses on the “miracle”, represented by the shoe. So when the alien arrives he essentially starts a church to it. OJ deals with dangerous wild animals all his life and recognizes you need to respect them but can train them, break them. So sets out to do that.

 

[ZooCougar]

Ok, finally some others have seen this so we can discuss a bit.

First question: what about the shoe in the Gordy massacre scenes? What is the significance of that?

I get the point about trying to tame animals and making spectacles of them, but is that supposed to suggest that there was some alien force controlling him?

And is the perspective during that scene meant to be looking through Gordy's eyes, or through the camera?

I think he’s just trying to say that these beings have rules that they expect to be followed even if we don’t know what they are.

 

[8893]

Spoiler: Thoughts

“What’s a bad miracle? They got a word for that?” That’s what OJ says when he figures it out. Meanwhile, Jupe has already lived a “bad miracle”. They took away very different things. Jupe is worshipful and focuses on the “miracle”, represented by the shoe. So when the alien arrives he essentially starts a church to it. OJ deals with dangerous wild animals all his life and recognizes you need to respect them but can train them, break them. So sets out to do that.

Thanks. Good thoughts. The only thing I would disagree with is that I think it’s more of a circus or spectacle than a church. Which is also a major point.

 

[ZooCougar]

Spoiler: Thoughts

“What’s a bad miracle? They got a word for that?” That’s what OJ says when he figures it out. Meanwhile, Jupe has already lived a “bad miracle”. They took away very different things. Jupe is worshipful and focuses on the “miracle”, represented by the shoe. So when the alien arrives he essentially starts a church to it. OJ deals with dangerous wild animals all his life and recognizes you need to respect them but can train them, break them. So sets out to do that.

But he also says some are untrainable. However he figures out the rules and uses them to his advantage.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Thanks. Good thoughts. The only thing I would disagree with is that I think it’s more of a circus or spectacle than a church. Which is also a major point.

Yes, that works well too. I really want to watch it again and focus on some details. Rare that I have a movie with enough going on to do that.

 

[ZooCougar]

This movie and Top Gun: Maverick have a bunch in common. Both were totally or partially made during the Covid hysteria when the future of the Cinema was in doubt.

Kind of kicking myself for not seeing this one on IMAX. But definitely to be fully appreciated it needs to be seen on the big screen like Top Gun. The shots of the sky and the some of the things happening won’t seem nearly as spectacular even on a big 4K TV. Also the sound was really something else. I noticed that when the horse was galloping near the end.

Like most great movies, the end product is ambiguous enough to let people see multiple interpretations. Is it statement police brutality? Is it about exploitation? Is it Angels? Or is it just a bad assed American UFO story. The answer is yes.

Peele says he was making a statement in the beginning about how black contributions to cinema were marginalized and then just wanted to make the Great American UFO Movie and Cinema being in peril was the driving factor in making it into a big spectacle.

Anyways. There is a deleted scene that reveals more about the UFO. And there is sequel possibility.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Get Out. 2017. Family is in Jordan Peele mode so I rented this. This is closer to a traditional horror film, but with quite a few twists. It’s cleverly done and a lot of fun. Really love the way Peele uses the black/white dynamic in complex and honest ways. Horror as a genre is particularly interesting in that context. The very name of this movie came from a classic Eddie Murphy routine. Peele evidently considered casting Murphy. It wouldn’t have worked for various reasons and instead we have Daniel Kalyuuya again. Eddie‘s routine reminds me of the recent commercial where the pretty blonde says “no, don’t drive away, let’s hide behind those chainsaws.” Anyway, this is less Hitchcock and yet still creepy and fun.

 

[8893]

Get Out. 2017. Family is in Jordan Peele mode so I rented this. This is closer to a traditional horror film, but with quite a few twists. It’s cleverly done and a lot of fun. Really love the way Peele uses the black/white dynamic in complex and honest ways. Horror as a genre is particularly interesting in that context. The very name of this movie came from a classic Eddie Murphy routine. Peele evidently considered casting Murphy. It wouldn’t have worked for various reasons and instead we have Daniel Kalyuuya again. Eddie‘s routine reminds me of the recent commercial where the pretty blonde says “no, don’t drive away, let’s hide behind those chainsaws.” Anyway, this is less Hitchcock and yet still creepy and fun.

Yeah I loved this movie. Very creative and very creepy. Really well cast, too. I hadn't seen "Girls" or anything else Allison Williams had been in and I was very impressed with her, but everyone was excellent across the board.

I loved Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich, which is one of my favorite movies, and I don't think I had seen her in anything since. And then it dawned on me that the central premise behind both movies is really the same, i.e., old people harvesting younger bodies to implant their own brains and use them as vessels for an extended life.

 

[temery]

Blacklight.

Typical Liam Neeson movie, but not as good as most.

Liam plays an on off book FBI agent who works for the director, who is a friend who he served with in Vietnam. Liam - good guy. Director - bad guy. Lady reporter stuck in the middle. And of course Liam has a daughter and granddaughter ...

The one memorable take from this movie is how bad a shot the FBI agents were. They couldn't hit the side of a barn.

Blacklight (2022) ⭐ 4.8 | Action, Drama, Thriller

1h 44m | PG-13

www.imdb.com

 

[HuskyHawk]

So I'm going to list a trilogy (actually 4 movies) here. Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Godzilla vs Kong (2021). As part of that story Kong: Skull Island (2017) also applies. Backstory, my wife loves the old Japanese Godzilla movies and has seen them all several times. The 2014 Godzilla is really well filmed, atmospheric, terrific soundtrack and use of mist/fog that reminds me of Jaws. You don't see Godzilla all that much, and it's just a good story. Strong cast with Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson and Bryan Cranston. Then came Kong: Skull Island, which could have been really good but for the decision to be stupid with Samuel L. Jackson's character going nuts. Still silly fun. Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson save it a bit. Godzilla - King of the Monsters picks up the story and introduces new characters, including played by Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiglia and Millie Bobbie Brown (fresh off Stranger Things). People are the bad guys here (especially Charles Vance, as always) and we get to see the classic Godzilla as the hero of mankind storyline. Pretty good. Godzilla vs Kong, redeems the Kong movie. The Millie Bobbie-Brown character takes a key role, as do Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skarsgård. Brian Tyree Henry adds comic relief as a conspiracy theorist who's mostly right. Eliza Gonzales is just...wow. Evil corporate types are the bad guys, Godzilla and Kong square off in a couple "there can be only one" alpha battles, with no winner (edge: Godzilla). Ultimately, the hollow earth theory comes into play and the two titans must team up to defeat Mechagodzilla. Surprisingly good, 2nd best of this series. All three are solid movies in the fun, Saturday matinee movie style. Skull Island is weaker, but I've come to enjoy it anyway.

These are not to be confused with the 1998 catastrophe Godzilla with Matthew Broderick. That was utter trash.

 

[8893]

Stumbled upon this last night while looking for something to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Really good, only 50 minutes:

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Bullet Train (2022)

Just got back from the theaters and really loved this movie.

Brad Pitt’s character was hilarious, the movie was vibrantly shot, the details were well curated and the plot line was clever and slowly revealing.

Overall great ensemble cast too. I don’t get out to the movies often but this was my favorite movie theater experience in a while. Also, definitely a movie better for the big screen.

Overall, had a blast. Would see it again.

 

[storrsroars]

Thirteen Lives (2022, Amazon Prime). Story of the rescue of the Thai youth soccer club that got trapped in a flooded cave. As it was directed by Ron Howard, I expected more that what this film delivered. It was basically a very linear depiction of the rescue, which was very difficult, but there's simply no character development or palpable tension throughout. Viggo Mortenson and Colin Farrell are the leads as a team of practiced cave divers, but there's simply not much acting here. Most of the film is them and others in scuba gear in a dark cave, navigating tight quarters. It'll hold your interest, but if you're like me, you'll wish there was more there there.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Watched "Prey" last night on Amazon. The best thing I can say about it is that the scenery was beautiful. I'll have to look up where it was filmed. Rivers, canyons, plains, mountains in the background.

It was weird seeing a slightly lower tech version of the predator. It didn't have a cannon, but it still had a laser sight. And of course a space ship to get it to earth. Oh, and part of it's armor was the skull of some kind of beast.

At some point my suspension of disbelief broke. When it tore apart a huge grizzly bear without even using any projectile weapons, it got really hard to buy that any of the Comanches could even put a scratch in it.

edit--filmed in and around Calgary, Alberta

 

[temery]

Watched "Prey" last night on Amazon. The best thing I can say about it is that the scenery was beautiful. I'll have to look up where it was filmed. Rivers, canyons, plains, mountains in the background.

It was weird seeing a slightly lower tech version of the predator. It didn't have a cannon, but it still had a laser sight. And of course a space ship to get it to earth. Oh, and part of it's armor was the skull of some kind of beast.

At some point my suspension of disbelief broke. When it tore apart a huge grizzly bear without even using any projectile weapons, it got really hard to buy that any of the Comanches could even put a scratch in it.

edit--filmed in and around Calgary, Alberta

Just watched it. Good to very good movie.

Prey (2022) ⭐ 7.1 | Action, Adventure, Drama

1h 40m | R

www.imdb.com

 

[CL82]

Watched "Prey" last night on Amazon. The best thing I can say about it is that the scenery was beautiful. I'll have to look up where it was filmed. Rivers, canyons, plains, mountains in the background.

It was weird seeing a slightly lower tech version of the predator. It didn't have a cannon, but it still had a laser sight. And of course a space ship to get it to earth. Oh, and part of it's armor was the skull of some kind of beast.

At some point my suspension of disbelief broke. When it tore apart a huge grizzly bear without even using any projectile weapons, it got really hard to buy that any of the Comanches could even put a scratch in it.

edit--filmed in and around Calgary, Alberta

I just watched it as well. Agree that the scenery is pretty good. Cinematography isn’t bad either, but the script could be made of Swiss cheese for all the potholes that are in it. Absolutely, the best one is that someone decided that because this is a prequel dealing with American Indians the predators mask should be made out of bone even though it still has the three little laser that’s coming out of it. What are the lasers coming out of, don’t know. Maybe they’re magic prehistoric lasers.

The script is a series of ripped off scenes from various movies. Yeah, you’ll see scenes from predator, but you’ll also see scenes from the Revenant and Jungle Book, and maybe a little Dances with Wolves thrown in there too. Figuring out which other movies there are ripping off and anyone’s scene is one of the more entertaining parts of the movie. I also like that the lead character, who is apparently a Comanche gatherer female who randomly wears warpaint ( and later eye makeup) will equally randomly switch from Comanche to English. We all accept the deal where a character starts speaking a language and it switches to English to indicate that it’s being done for convenience so that we understand the dialogue, but in this movie they just switch back-and-forth randomly, which was a little distracting.

All that said, the scenery was good, the cinematography wasn’t bad, and there’s a decent amount of action. As long as you set your suspension of disbelief meter incredibly high, Prey is watchable.

 

[CL82]

Roman Holiday (1953)

Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn starring this story of a wayward princess who escapes from the embassy and gets talked into taking a holiday by an American reporter hoping to get the story It was the film that really established Hepburn as a star. She is absolutely charming and Gregory Peck shows a gift for physical comedy often at the expense of costar Eddie Albert. I’ve seen this film once or twice before but stumbled onto it today and decided to watch. It is an incredibly well-made movie that holds up to this day.

 

[temery]

Thirteen Lives (2022, Amazon Prime). Story of the rescue of the Thai youth soccer club that got trapped in a flooded cave. As it was directed by Ron Howard, I expected more that what this film delivered. It was basically a very linear depiction of the rescue, which was very difficult, but there's simply no character development or palpable tension throughout. Viggo Mortenson and Colin Farrell are the leads as a team of practiced cave divers, but there's simply not much acting here. Most of the film is them and others in scuba gear in a dark cave, navigating tight quarters. It'll hold your interest, but if you're like me, you'll wish there was more there there.

Anything in there on Musk trying to help?