Recently Watched Movies 2022

[Dove]

My wife watched the long preview and told me that if I want to watch it, I'm on my own.

Three times she said, "This better pick up. It's a dog alright."

 

[nwhoopfan]

I'd been warned, but I watched "The King's Man" anyway. It's streaming on Hulu now. Now that is a movie where the trailer makes it seem like it's going to be something totally different than what it actually is. Too long, and fairly slow paced. Not remotely as much action as I thought there was going to be. And Rasputin's role was much smaller than expected. It wasn't horrible, but I don't think it has much rewatch potential. Djimon Hounsou and Gemma Arterton tried to raise the thing a bit higher, but that was a big ask.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'd been warned, but I watched "The King's Man" anyway. It's streaming on Hulu now. Now that is a movie where the trailer makes it seem like it's going to be something totally different than what it actually is. Too long, and fairly slow paced. Not remotely as much action as I thought there was going to be. And Rasputin's role was much smaller than expected. It wasn't horrible, but I don't think it has much rewatch potential. Djimon Hounsou and Gemma Arterton tried to raise the thing a bit higher, but that was a big ask.

Gemma Arterton is certainly the best thing in it. I wonder if I judge it harshly, because, like the Star Wars prequels, it could have been fantastic. It had a lot to work with.

 

[Mano]

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard - Basically a contest to see how many crass and crude things they could get Salma Hayek to intelligibly say. Winner? I guess us, it was only ok.

Real Steel - Some of you seemed to like this movie. What a cruddy cheesefest.

Eternals - Very blah. Slow, overlong, I couldn't be compelled to care about any of them really.

The Last Duel - I can't think of a more egregiously miscasted movie. Damon, Driver and Affleck all playing french knights and lords lol. Were there even any actual french people in this?

Sing 2 - Nice to listen to and look at, you could do waaaay worse for a kids movie.

Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania - Like this one for example. When Adam Sandler and Kevin James won't even do it for a quick paycheck maybe ask if it's really necessary, like at all.

Nightmare Alley - A fine return to form for GDT after the idiotic Shape of Water. Even with being able to see the ending from a mile away I still really dug it. Top notch production value.

Last Night in Soho - Again top quality production value but the third act and it's descent into mild horror was kinda lame.

Bill & Ted Face the Music - The daughters were amusing and the eponymous B&T at times as well. There is still a place for lighthearted time wasters.

Triple Frontier - No surprise how this one ended either but I enjoyed it for what it was even if the characterizations were as deep as a cardboard cutout of all the pretty faced actors in this.

I Want You Back - I keep a tab open so I can add new movies to a post before I submit a batch otherwise I'd likely forget whatever it was I had seen. I saw this name and had to think for a minute which freaking movie this was. Lol not great. I like Charlie Day and Jenny Slate too. I guess it was just that forgettable of a RomCom. And it's lower down on the list which means it was most recently watched lol.

The Courier - Real life tale of cold war espionage. Very enjoyable stuff for me as I have a soft spot for this type of spy material. Hard not to feel for Penkovsky.

 

[HuskyHawk]

So tonight a re-watch of Belfast. I come away thinking this was definitely the best movie I saw from 2021. Nothing else is even close really. Branagh should take home a best director win as well. He was nominated as a young man for Henry V (which was brilliant) but hasn’t won an Oscar as director. Belfast is just a rare movie that is important, engaging, enjoyable and almost flawlessly executed. The music choices are so personal. Mostly Van Morrison. Cast is simply superb. All of them.

 

[Palatine]

The King's Man. This is a terrible movie. And it's two hours long.

 

[CL82]

The King’s Man

It sucked. Don’t bother watching it.

You’re welcome.

(Edit: I just saw Pal’s post. I concur.)

 

[Deepster]

Jackass Forever - Listen. As long as they make these, I’m full on in. Giggled the entire time. If you like these guys, you need to see it.

The King of Staten Island - I absolutely hated this movie. Horrible b-list acting. Predictable story in every single scene. No idea what the buzz was about when this first came out. Pete Davidson is gross and a actor.

 

[Dove]

Cry Macho (2021) - Yeesh. Clint needs to stay behind the camera from now on. He found a worse actor than Tao in Gran Torino.

This movie was just dumb. And boring.

 

[Dove]

Jackass Forever - Listen. As long as they make these, I’m full on in. Giggled the entire time. If you like these guys, you need to see it.

The King of Staten Island - I absolutely hated this movie. Horrible b-list acting. Predictable story in every single scene. No idea what the buzz was about when this first came out. Pete Davidson is gross and a actor.

Deep down I need to see Jackass. Not so deep down, I don't get Pete Davidson at all.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Nobody (2021) - Solid B+ action movie. The plot doesn't make a lot of sense, but it kind of doesn't matter that much. If you want a fun action movie, you will enjoy this.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The King's Man. This is a terrible movie. And it's two hours long.

The fact that this movie spent like over 2 years in post-production is a sign that everyone knew it would suck.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The King's Man. This is a terrible movie. And it's two hours long.

I warned all of you weeks ago

 

[Dove]

June Again (2020) - Rented this one because of high rating score. I liked it quite a bit.

Noni Hazelhurst stars as a mum who has dementia and was "gone" for a while. She has some kind of remission and sees the lives of her two kids went off track. So, she tries to fix that. Then, at the end during a nice family dinner, she starts to slip away again.

Funny and heartwarming. A slow-paced movie but the acting is pretty good.

 

[storrsroars]

Catching up on posting some 2022 flicks:

Darkest Hour: Churchill in early days of WWII. My take on Oldman has been that when he plays original characters he chews scenery, but in doing historical figures, he's often exceptional, as is the case here. This is all Oldman, he has to carry virtually every scene (except ones where Lily James holds her own). I found it well done as a biographical glimpse of a few months of his life, but not a biopic that really explains the man.

Eye In the Sky: This one surprised me a bit. I'm not even going to suggest it's a great or even realistic story, but it does bring a lot of tension. Helen Mirren is very good, Alan Rickman (his last role) doesn't need a lot of range to play his character, who's responsible for a drone attack and any collateral damage that may come from it. It's basically a morality play, but with a whole lot of characters questioning their morality (mostly by dodging decisions). It's an interesting film. You'll probably guess how it ends, but getting there frustrates everyone in the movie and will likely give you anxiety too.

The Irishman: Finally saw the thing from start to finish after several tries where I gave up. Scorcese cut it from 4+ hours down to 3+ hours, and probably could've gone to 2+ hours without losing much. IMHO, this is the best Pacino has been since Heat. Was good seeing Pesci back. I found DeNiro the weakest of the three. The film had several points where I felt it dragged and it's not one I would've considered for as many nominations as it received. Unlike other Scorcese crime epics, this is not one I'd watch again.

Bottle Shock: Thanks to @HuskyHawk for the suggestion. Enjoyable film for me as I've been to Chateau Montelena, and knew most of the story. Rickman was perfect for his role. I have no idea if the Dennis Farina character was a real guy, but it was a good add and an inspired casting choice. Even Bill Pullman was pretty good, showing some range. I'm not much of a Chris Pine fan and he was a bit annoying here as the hippie son, but not enough to sink the film. Might watch again down the road as I usually do with wine-focused films (Sideways, A Good Year, Uncorked).

Uncorked: Speaking of which, in this 2020 Netflix film, wine takes a back seat to what's really a solid and even original story about family dynamics. Dad took over a BBQ stand from his dad and expects son to do same. Son wants to be a sommelier. That the setting is Memphis and the family is Black adds a different dimension to what might otherwise be a simple retread of a storyline. Courtney B. Vance and Niecy Nash are stellar as the parents, with some fine comedic moments. Mamoudou Athie gives a performance with great depth as the son. I really enjoyed this as I knew nothing about it going in, watched it twice. IMO, this film should've gotten more notice.

 

[Deadrody]

The King of Staten Island - I absolutely hated this movie. Horrible b-list acting. Predictable story in every single scene. No idea what the buzz was about when this first came out. Pete Davidson is gross and a actor.

I thought it was ok overall. I thought everyone else was fine, but Davidson, eek. He's lousy as an SNL cast member, let alone as an allegedly serious actor. I get that this is his story, but it would have been SO much better with an actual actor playing his role.

I assume your preferred adjective was a casualty of the boneyard censorious AI

 

[Deepster]

"Last Night in Soho" was creepy. Story went in a different direction than I expected. Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie were both really good. I didn't exactly love it though. The numerous scenes of the 2 actresses mirror imaging each other was definitely intriguing.

Just watched it on a plane and liked it. It was thrilling enough of a thriller to keep me interested. Honestly though, stick Anya Taylor-Joy in retro clothes and I’m an easy sell.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"The Space Between" was somewhat interesting. Kelsey Grammar plays an aging hippie who was a big rock star in the first half of the 70s, then completely disappeared. Set in the mid 90s. He fried his brain and is living on his own wavelength. His daughter (Julia Goldani Telles--recognized her from Bunheads) lives with him. He somehow still has a record contract, a lackey from the company is sent to get him to sign something to dump him. Some cosmic wandering ensues. Paris Jackson has a bit part as an up and coming singer. Wow, I didn't know she looked like that. Streaming on Hulu.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Grand Seduction. 2013. Prime. Stumbled on this. Brendan Gleeson stars, with Taylor Kitsch and some people I've never heard of. Gordon Pinsent is terrific as Simon. Set in a small island in Newfoundland, with predictably pretty scenery. Small fishing village is on hard times, fishing regulations won't let them fish Cod, and they're all effectively on welfare. They want to lure a small "factory" to the area so they'd have jobs, but there is a catch. They have to have a Doctor in the town. Through a little manipulation they land a young Doctor for a month, and have to use that month to convince him to stay in their tiny harbor. The Grand Seduction. The steps they need to take drive the humor. This has some genuinely funny moments and is a sweet, enjoyable story.

 

[Palatine]

Eternals. Proves MARVEL can make a bad movie. It's pretty to look at. Colors moving on the screen. But the characters are paper dolls.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Eternals. Proves MARVEL can make a bad movie. It's pretty to look at. Colors moving on the screen. But the characters are paper dolls.

It's just shy of being "bad" but it's the worst thing they've done since Marvel set up Marvel studios.

 

[Palatine]

It's just shy of being "bad" but it's the worst thing they've done since Marvel set up Marvel studios.

MARVEL was built on the premise that the superheroes didn't have secret identities. Yes, there are some BIG exceptions. What this breakthough did was put them at the mercy of the panoply of everyday problems we all face. That, in turn, gave the characters real dimension and created reader empathy and identification. There was an opportunity with Eternals to take that to an interesting place because of their longevity. Opportunity missed.

 

[storrsroars]

Everly: On Prime. It's a Salma Hayek action movie. She's a slave to the Yakuza and she wants out. There's really only one reason to watch it, and you already know what that is.

The Courier: Benedict Cumberbach plays a businessman who agrees to become a spy and tries to get his Russian counterpart to defect. It's a slog. Could've used Salma Hayek.

 

[Deepster]

Jackie (2016) - My daughter has been interested in the Kennedy assassination recently so we watched this last night. I hadn't seen it the first time around. Not really "action packed" and there were points where Portman's accent got on my nerves, but I thought overall it was well done. Obviously, with situations like this, there is dramatic poetic license, but all in all I was entertained.

 

[Palatine]

Jackie (2016) - My daughter has been interested in the Kennedy assassination recently so we watched this last night. I hadn't seen it the first time around. Not really "action packed" and there were points where Portman's accent got on my nerves, but I thought overall it was well done. Obviously, with situations like this, there is dramatic poetic license, but all in all I was entertained.

A very good deed, hope your daughter appreciated it.