Recently Watched Movies 2023 | Page 18 | The Boneyard

Recently Watched Movies 2023

The Avengers. Ralph Finnes as Mr Steed and Uma Thurman as Mrs Peel. Worse wring and Dialogue than even the Star Wars Prequels. Sean Connery is the bad guy. Uma has astonishing legs but is still no Diana Rigg. You can’t believe she’s smart. Fiennes is a good choice. But sadly the writing is just irredeemable. Truly awful film.
 
Bad Santa (2003) - First time seeing i in its entitirety. Pretty funny, overall. Bernie Mac as the head of security was a casting mistake.

Seeing Octavia Spencer playing a prostitute was interesting.
 
Gran Turismo. The semi true story of a kid who played Gran Turismo video games and became a race car driver. Stars Orlando Bloom, David Harbour (who is superb) and Archie Madekwe as Jann, the driver. The actual driver, Jann Mardenborough is a consultant and stunt driver as himself. Madekwe showed some promise in See on Apple and this puts him in rising star category. The racing footage is top notch, as is the reality of the danger that comes through. Enjoyed every minute of this. Bloom is ok, but Harbour cements the whole thing. This deserved better at the box office.
 
Dove said:
Bad Santa (2003) - First time seeing i in its entitirety. Pretty funny, overall. Bernie Mac as the head of security was a casting mistake.

Seeing Octavia Spencer playing a prostitute was interesting.
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It should have been funnier, imo.
 
The Holiday (2006) -

A holiday rom-com with Jude Law is a recipe for disaster, but I actually liked this movie and, get this, liked Jude Law in the movie!

Law, Kate Winslett and Jack Black were excellent.
 
For whatever reason, my movie watching has fallen off in recent years. I don't remember contributing to the 2022 thread. Whether it's not as much time, not a lot of movies being put out, or not anticipating enjoyment out of watching them, I'm not entirely sure. Probably a combination of the three.

I know people have strong feelings, either way, about "Sports Guy" Bill Simmons, but I enjoy listening to the Rewatchables Podcast on The Ringer. I've listens to all the episodes for movies that I've seen (Some I don't consider "rewatchable," but c'est la vie.), so now I'm trying to watch movies that have episodes for which I haven't seen, which has caused a marginal uptick in my movie viewing...provided they are on a streaming service. I've also seen a couple new releases in the theater, but literally only two.

I have not read all 21 pages so I'm sure I will repeat some.
The Flash (Theater)
Grand Turismo (Theater)
Glass Onion
The Verdict
And Justice for All
Miami Vice
Dark Knight
Creed
Creed II
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Fast 5
Top Gun: Maverick
Bohemin Rhapsody
Rocketman
This is the End
Sea of Love
Spotlight
Lost in Translation
 
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"Rebel Moon: Part 1" out on Netflix. Looks like opinions are all over the place on this one. I enjoyed it. It could've been better, but it also could've been a lot worse. It's a visually beautiful movie. Good f/x. It's definitely got little nods to a whole bunch of other films you've seen before. What it resembles most however is Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven in terms of the general framework of the project. It's a lot of set up understandably, as there is a part two coming. I'm interested to see what comes next. Nice cast, some good performances.
 
The Holdovers with Paul Giamatti was excellent.
HuskyHawk said:
The Holdovers. Stars Paul Giamatti as a boarding school teacher stuck with the “holdovers” who have nowhere to go during the holidays. Newcomer Dominic Sessa is Angus, a student who becomes a holder. He’s full of teen angst and battles the teacher early on. Da’Vine Joy Randolph plays Mary, a cafeteria worker who recently lost her son in the Vietnam war. It’s set in late 1970 into 1971. All three learn about each other, about grief, about empathy. It’s beautifully filmed, and looks like 1970. It’s a serious movie, but is also consistently funny. Certainly one of the best films of the year and it will garner some Oscar nominations.
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Rebel Moon is very good. Much better than I thought it would be and more enjoyable than recent chapters of Star Wars. IMHO.
 
Bad Santa I liked it. Billy Bob is over the top but that's the movie.
 
nwhoopfan said:
"Rebel Moon: Part 1" out on Netflix. Looks like opinions are all over the place on this one. I enjoyed it. It could've been better, but it also could've been a lot worse. It's a visually beautiful movie. Good f/x. It's definitely got little nods to a whole bunch of other films you've seen before. What it resembles most however is Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven in terms of the general framework of the project. It's a lot of set up understandably, as there is a part two coming. I'm interested to see what comes next. Nice cast, some good performances.
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Rebel Moon is very uneven which is true of virtually every Zack Snyder movie. He indulges in his fight scenes way too much. And I love fighting, shooting and explosions. But the running through a hail of bullets and lasers and not getting a scratch is too much. For the most part he is a little more restrained here, until the end.

Ed Skrein is perfect as always. He seems an absolute archetype whether he is a good guy or a bad guy. That's a tough trick. I thought he was brilliant in Midway. He will have a long and wonderful career.

Yep, RM is Magnificant Seven formula movie as a space opera. You can see most of it coming from a long way away. But it is top flight movie making. Good not great acting with the exception noted, great effects, it keeps moving and is enjoyable.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Gran Turismo. The semi true story of a kid who played Gran Turismo video games and became a race car driver. Stars Orlando Bloom, David Harbour (who is superb) and Archie Madekwe as Jann, the driver. The actual driver, Jann Mardenborough is a consultant and stunt driver as himself. Madekwe showed some promise in See on Apple and this puts him in rising star category. The racing footage is top notch, as is the reality of the danger that comes through. Enjoyed every minute of this. Bloom is ok, but Harbour cements the whole thing. This deserved better at the box office.
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Interesting. The previews made the movie look like a joke.
 
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ZooCougar said:
Interesting. The previews made the movie look like a joke.
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Previews tend to focus on the wrong things. It’s a good movie. Not amazing, but good
 
Joyeux Noel (2005) - Pretty good movie about two opposing forces during World War I trench battles. On Christmas Eve they call a truce and end up socializing with each other over a few days. When the leadership finds out, the leaders and their men get reassigned to other theatres.

Worth a watch.
 
Wonka. Stars Timothee Chalamet with a notable appearance by Hugh Grant. This is the origin story of Willy Wonka. If you love the ordinal Gene Wilder version you’ll enjoy this. Chalamet is quite good, with a little dancing and he sings a few songs. Wonka sets out to make it in the very competitive chocolate world. He end up swindled and in a work house, with some interesting characters including a young girl. With brilliance, persistence and a little Wonka magic he presents a threat to Slugworth and the chocolate establishment. It’s fun and leaves you smiling. Very good looking film too. They brilliantly work in Pure Imagination near the end.
 
Dove said:
Joyeux Noel (2005) - Pretty good movie about two opposing forces during World War I trench battles. On Christmas Eve they call a truce and end up socializing with each other over a few days. When the leadership finds out, the leaders and their men get reassigned to other theatres.

Worth a watch.
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We watched it again Christmas Eve. It’s an embellishment of the real events that occurred up and down the front on that Christmas Eve during WWi. Probably the stupidest war of all time. Diane Kruger is beautiful beyond words. Quite good.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Wonka. Stars Timothee Chalamet with a notable appearance by Hugh Grant. This is the origin story of Willy Wonka. If you love the ordinal Gene Wilder version you’ll enjoy this. Chalamet is quite good, with a little dancing and he sings a few songs. Wonka sets out to make it in the very competitive chocolate world. He end up swindled and in a work house, with some interesting characters including a young girl. With brilliance, persistence and a little Wonka magic he presents a threat to Slugworth and the chocolate establishment. It’s fun and leaves you smiling. Very good looking film too. They brilliantly work in Pure Imagination near the end.
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Is it truly the origin story? The Roald Dahl book has some pretty unflattering pieces of Wonkas origin. Like the Oompa Loompas were not orange. They were originally African pygmies he lured to work in his factory paying them in chocolate.
 
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Talk To Me (2022) - Pretty creepy Australian horror flick. Well acted by all. Only the father of the main chapter was poorly used.
 
Had a theme the last 2 nights. Watched "The Boys in the Boat" in the theater yesterday, tonight streamed "Race" on Netlfix. The culmination of both stories is the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Otherwise very different, but both excellent sports movies. The first is about the 8 man crew team that hailed from U. of Washington, the second about Jessie Owens.
 
Deepster said:
Is it truly the origin story? The Roald Dahl book has some pretty unflattering pieces of Wonkas origin. Like the Oompa Loompas were not orange. They were originally African pygmies he lured to work in his factory paying them in chocolate.
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Origin Story related to the first movie.
 
I read the reviews for The Retirement Plan (Hulu) before decided to watch it. Reviews were pretty average, citing it was neither particularly bad nor particularly good, but nobody regretted spending the time to watch it. It was simply fairly formulaic.

Having just watched it, I'm not gonna say it was particularly good, but it was entertaining. Nic Cage does Nic Cage things (and I credit the actress who played his granddaughter for keeping a straight face in their initial scenes together). Ron Perlman is good as a baddie with a soft side and his scenes with the granddaughter are among the best in the film. Otherwise, it's a fairly standard retired operative forced back into action to protect his family storyline, but it's Nic Cage, so it's not really "standard".
 
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Blonde - 2023 Another Marilyn Monroe bio-pic. Just looking at Ana de Armas for two hours could make a good movie, in this one she is naked for half the time. Yet somehow this is an awful film. Slow with long lingering shots of nothing. It's a one note depressing bunch of drivel. Armas spends most of the film crying. Bobby Cannavale makes it worse as a terribly miscast Joe DiMaggio. He plays Joltin' Joe as a clueless brute. Joe was elegant and stylish, known as a quiet man who lived with grace and class. It's a big miss.

The one bright spot in the film is Adrien Brody's portrayal of Authur Miller. It is understated and pitch perfect. It gives a perfect character for Armas to react to. It is the only time in the film where the Monroe character reveals real depth and seem like an actual human being. It's not enough -- one star trending toward half a star.
 
Watched on New Year’s Eve. So last of 2023. Oppenheimer. Long but you really don’t feel it. The cast is simply astonishing. Cillian Murphy has the title role, Robert Downey Jr is superb and there are many others. This tells a story I suspect most of us know parts of, but the details really paint a picture. Nolan shows he’s probably the best director of this era, using his time shifting approach flawlessly in this one. He switches color palettes and even black and white so you can always tell what is happening when. Just a tremendous film that should win best picture and director and garner actor nominations too.
 
I was just a witness to the prosecution but I think I may need to wait for the new thread.
 
Well I'll keep using this til the new thread is up. Netflix gave me 3 free months of streaming. It's about to run out. I'll probably cancel my subscription, there's just about nothing new coming out in January that looks interesting. So just trying to squeeze a little bit more out of it, decided what the heck I'll try Meg 2. Yeah, it was really dumb. Kinda entertaining I guess.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Well I'll keep using this til the new thread is up. Netflix gave me 3 free months of streaming. It's about to run out. I'll probably cancel my subscription, there's just about nothing new coming out in January that looks interesting. So just trying to squeeze a little bit more out of it, decided what the heck I'll try Meg 2. Yeah, it was really dumb. Kinda entertaining I guess.
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My biggest take away from this was "who is Melissanthi Mahut and why have I never heard of her before?" I kept thinking she reminded me of someone else, but it took me a minute to figure it out. Asia Argento, Dario's daughter. Look at some pics, I think I got that one.
 
nwhoopfan said:
My biggest take away from this was "who is Melissanthi Mahut and why have I never heard of her before?" I kept thinking she reminded me of someone else, but it took me a minute to figure it out. Asia Argento, Dario's daughter. Look at some pics, I think I got that one.
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She seems to mostly be a voice actress. Has been in a lot of video games.
 
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