Recently Watched Movies 2023

[nwhoopfan]

"Wildflower" is just available on Hulu. I saw a preview fairly recently, looked interesting. I think it had a very limited theatrical release. Starring Kiernan Shipka. A bit like "CODA," but instead of deaf parents it's disabled parents that she is basically taking care of and raising instead of the other way around. I thought it was really good. Some of the cast I didn't know, but some familiar faces--Alexandra Daddario, Charlie Plummer, Jean Smart, Jacki Weaver, Brad Garrett. The young actress they got to play a younger version of Shipka, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, did a really good job I thought.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Blood Vessel. Low budget horror movie with a different premise. Near the end of WWII several people are on a lifeboat in the North Atlantic. Mix of Americans, Brits a Russian and an Aussie. They encounter a ship and are able to board. It’s a Nazi ship, empty. Those with good eyes will see the Nazi occult logos. Don‘t want to spoil it from there. This wasn’t bad at all. Cast is decent and they made the budget work.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Blood Vessel. Low budget horror movie with a different premise. Near the end of WWII several people are on a lifeboat in the North Atlantic. Mix of Americans, Brits a Russian and an Aussie. They encounter a ship and are able to board. It’s a Nazi ship, empty. Those with good eyes will see the Nazi occult logos. Don‘t want to spoil it from there. This wasn’t bad at all. Cast is decent and they made the budget work.

NEVER board an abandoned vessel, whether it be the ocean, deep space, or anywhere else! Nothing good ever comes from it.

 

[NEforceUConn]

I don't feel like scrolling through 9 pages to see if this has been mentioned but this is a really solid rainy/smoky day flick when you're glued to the couch.

Yup, you don't f around with action Allison Janney.



I'm praying for the sequel.

OK its on my list, along with your reputation

Just kidding, at least you didn't recommend Avatar.

 

[formerlurker]

OK its on my list, along with your reputation

Just kidding, at least you didn't recommend Avatar.

I stand behind my recommendation.

Side note- I got through 4 minutes of the 1st Avatar blu-ray I bought at Costco when it was released and returned it the next day. Not for me.

 

[storrsroars]

Ghosted (Apple). Dumb story, but dumb fun. Chris Evans does a good job playing an agriculturist who gets mistaken for a superspy. Ana de Armas really is a superspy who has to rescue him. Lots of action, much of it implausible, but some highlights are a bit where the world's top bounty hunters one-up each other, and a short but funny Ryan Reynolds cameo near the end. Wouldn't watch again, but it qualifies as solid mindless entertainment.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Plane. Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, the lovely Daniela Pineda, other people. The name of this movie stinks. It starts off pretty well. I recently watched a documentary about Malaysia flight 370. This mirrors that in some ways, with a plane disappearing from radar. From there it takes a twist that when I read about I thought "how lame", but the reality of it works much better. The vast thousands of islands in the Philippines means that some are barely governable. They land on one such island (where abductions of foreign nationals have occurred in recent years). Colter plays a guy who was a prisoner being extradited, who teams with Butler against the rebels. While the premise seemed ridiculous, it's actually not that implausible, and the story, acting and action are all pretty good. Better than expected.

 

[Waquoit]

The New King of Comedy - This is the latest movie by Stephen Chow. No magical realism in this one; it's like he's doing a Hallmark movie. I liked it, it was funny and had a happy ending.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Beast. Stars Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley, plus two younger girls as Elba's kids. Saw the trailer several times, thought it looked ridiculous. Another movie hindered by bad trailers and a bad name. Elba plays Dr. Nate Samuels, who is in Africa with his two daughters. Visiting the area where he met his wife, who recently died of cancer. Copley plays Martin, a long time friend of the family who knew Nate's wife from a young age. He works in a wildlife refuge and takes the family out to see wildlife etc. There's a very nice human relationship side of this with Dr. Nate, the kids and Martin. It's a compelling story and these are believable and likable characters. Poachers are in the area, and we end up with something a bit like Jaws, but with a Lion. There's tension throughout and the while some elements seem highly unlikely, it never crosses over to ridiculous. This was much better than I expected, I'd recommend it.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Spider-Man - Across the Spiderverse. Sequal to a really good animated Spider-Man movie a few years back. This one again features Miles Morales as SpiderMan, Gwen Stacey as Spider-woman from a different universe, and many other spider people from alternative universes. Some of these are quite clever and they have a lot of fun with it. This is clearly a nod to comic books, and the art in particular. The characters are drawn in a wide range of styles. We've got a cool Indian Spider-man who lives in a hybrid of Mumbai and Manhattan. We've got an awesome punk rock Spiderman, including guitar, named Hobie, who is voiced by Daniel Kaluuya. It's complicated of course, as any of these multi-universe things are, but the ride is certainly enjoyable. It does run a bit long, the longest U.S. animated movie ever.

Love the first one and went to see the sequel recently w/ my daughter. Agree with everything you said...loved this one too.

 

[Waquoit]

Asteroid City - It's Wes Anderson so it gets at least 4 stars to begin with. It's another treat for the eyes and very funny. I'm not putting it in my WA Top 3 yet but I think I'm going to like it even more on repeat viewing. No Bill Murray, I think he would have been in the Tom Hanks role. And I've been a ScarJo fan since Ghost World and she kills it here.

 

[dbmill]

Asteroid City - It's Wes Anderson so it gets at least 4 stars to begin with. It's another treat for the eyes and very funny. I'm not putting it in my WA Top 3 yet but I think I'm going to like it even more on repeat viewing. No Bill Murray, I think he would have been in the Tom Hanks role. And I've been a ScarJo fan since Ghost World and she kills it here.

Looking forward to seeing this one at some point. Yeah, I had noticed Bill Murray was not in it as well, so that is certainly different for a Wes Anderson movie.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Lost King. I'm not sure how the Brits do this, but they have a gift for making these stories interesting and compelling. Sally Hawkis plays Philippa Langley, a woman who struggles to keep jobs due to some illness. Steve Coogan is her ex-husband. She's clearly smart and well educated. She attends a play, Richard III with her son. Becomes interested in the old dead King. Eventually finds a Richard III society, and does a lot of independent research, trying to find the truth of his story. Along the way she sees and talks to a ghostly version of him. His remains have never been found. She becomes convinced that she knows where his remains are, along with the lost Blackfriar's Church in Leicester. Against resistance she pushes for and gets funding for a dig, and sure enough, finds the church and his remains. The University of Leicester of course pushes her aside and claims credit. It's quite a nice story and film, based on a true story.

 

[Waquoit]

Looking forward to seeing this one at some point. Yeah, I had noticed Bill Murray was not in it as well, so that is certainly different for a Wes Anderson movie.

Apparently Bill got COVID and they couldn't wait for him to get better.

 

[dbmill]

Apparently Bill got COVID and they couldn't wait for him to get better.

Oops!! Covid ends another long run, this time of Bill Murray appearing in Wes Anderson films.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Asteroid City - It's Wes Anderson so it gets at least 4 stars to begin with. It's another treat for the eyes and very funny. I'm not putting it in my WA Top 3 yet but I think I'm going to like it even more on repeat viewing. No Bill Murray, I think he would have been in the Tom Hanks role. And I've been a ScarJo fan since Ghost World and she kills it here.

Asteroid City

I concur with @Waquoit and his review. If you have any interest in Wes Anderson movies, this is a must-see.

Visually stunning, creatively stimulating and one of Anderson's deeper and more provoking movies maybe ever. I left entertained, however, confused in a good way. A+ ensemble cast.

In terms of WA Top-3, it's up there. Definitely Rushmore and The Life Aquatic are in the Top 3, can't commit on a the third one, but I loved this movie.

 

[nwhoopfan]

What? "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Grand Budapest Hotel" gotta be on Wes Anderson's best lists. "French Dispatch" easily the worst.

 

[dbmill]

What? "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Grand Budapest Hotel" gotta be on Wes Anderson's best lists. "French Dispatch" easily the worst.

I have said it before on these threads, "Moonrise Kingdom" is easily my favorite Wes Anderson movie, and is one of my favorite films of recent years. I have no desire to watch "French Dispatch" again, that is for sure, suspect that is the only Wes Anderson movie that I would say that about.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I really enjoyed "Gringa." I've long been a fan of Steve Zahn. He doesn't seem to get much credit, but he's a versatile actor who always delivers IMO.

In this one he is a former soccer pro turned alcoholic loser living off the grid in Mexico. He was briefly married to Judy Greer, he left her and his baby daughter about 15 years ago. When tragedy strikes the daughter, Jess Gabor (I was unfamiliar with her but I was impressed), she heads south of the border looking for him. It's got some humor, but it's not a comedy. Plenty of emotional depth to it. He coaches a local girls soccer team. HIs daughter was a bench warmer for her team in the U.S. I haven't seen Roselyn Sanchez in anything in years, she had a nice supporting role.

This was about as under the radar as you can get, but was better than at least 90% of the junk I've seen lately.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I saw "The To Do List" quite a while ago, hardly remembered anything other than I thought I liked it. Streamed it from hoopla. Very raunchy, but funny. Great cast (other than Christopher Mintz-Plasse; has anyone that lacking in talent ever managed to squeeze out a longer Hollywood career than that guy?). Aubrey Plaza is the typical overachieving valedictorian who missed out on almost everything non academic in high school. Decides she needs to get a rapid education in...other things...before college starts. Much awkwardness and hilarity ensues.

 

[ZooCougar]

I have said it before on these threads, "Moonrise Kingdom" is easily my favorite Wes Anderson movie, and is one of my favorite films of recent years. I have no desire to watch "French Dispatch" again, that is for sure, suspect that is the only Wes Anderson movie that I would say that about.

Asteroid City

I concur with @Waquoit and his review. If you have any interest in Wes Anderson movies, this is a must-see.

Visually stunning, creatively stimulating and one of Anderson's deeper and more provoking movies maybe ever. I left entertained, however, confused in a good way. A+ ensemble cast.

In terms of WA Top-3, it's up there. Definitely Rushmore and The Life Aquatic are in the Top 3, can't commit on a the third one, but I loved this movie.

The Royal Tenenbaums is #1 Grand Budapest #2 and The Life Aquatic is #3

I haven’t seen Asteroid City yet though.

 

[HuskyHawk]

65. Adam Driver. A long time ago, he's a space pilot for an advanced race of what seem to be humans. Somebody here gave it a bad review. It's not terrible, it's just not quite good either. There is a decent story about his daughter and the young girl he has to save that is really the main story, rather than "man lands on prehistoric Earth and battles dinosaurs". There's not much dinosaur fighting really, it's not Land of the Lost. It's a short film and there are very few people in it at all, the cast seems to be four people.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Torn," a documentary about the death of climber Alex Lowe and the impact on his family. Documentaries are almost always a bit dry to me, this was as well. Interesting enough. Also felt a bit voyeuristic at times. His oldest son directed it, so the family was inviting us to share their pain. Lowe's climbing partner and good friend Conrad Anker eventually married his widow and adopted the boys (3 of them). It's on National Geographic/Disney +.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I usually don't do a review if I don't finish a movie, but consider this a public service announcement. Trailers for "The Out-Laws" on Netflix made it look entertaining. I shut it down after 10 or 15 minutes. The script must've been horrid. Almost every line of dialogue was completely cringey. How do people get paid to write stuff like this?

 

[Palatine]

Renfield (2023).

It’s hard to find a new way to do Dracula but Renfield successfully turns the trick. Nicolas Hoult’s ackward yet grounded Renfield elects sympathy for his situation not only as the servant of the Prince of Darkness but as a victim trapped in an abusive relationship. Cage is Cage and that’s all that is really required here. He gladly chews the scenery and it looks delicious.

Unfortunately, Awkwafina is badly miscast and does virtually nothing with the part. There is zero sexual tension between her and Hoult and it is badly needed. This would have been a perfect role for Anna Kendrick or even Amy Shumer. Someone fun and sparky. Renfield deserves A for idea but F for execution. Too bad really. One star.