Recently Watched Movies 2023 | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Recently Watched Movies 2023

Palatine said:
A Clockwork Orange (1971) - hadn't watched it in decades. The story holds up very well. Malcolm McDowell is perfectly cast and delivers one of the best black humor performances of all time as the violent, murdering Alex. Kubrick delivers a visual feast in a dull future dystopia punctuated by violence (not extreme by today's standards) and classical music. The insane imagery of Alex during the Ludovico Technique remains one of the icons of film history. I still squirmed as his eyes are pulled open by metal clamps. Amazingly you find yourself smiling as this horific film ends. This is and will remain a five star experience and one of the greatest film of all time.

Ultimately the film is about individual freedom versus the good of society. It remains relevant today. And I suspect it will still be relevant far into mankind's future.
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I remember this being a terrific film as well. I saw "A Clockwork Orange" a number of times when I was a student at UConn many years ago, and I haven't seen it since. I did record it recently on our DVR, so sometime soon I hope to watch it again.
 
Anyone watch Triangle of Sadness yet? Just watched with the wife. Thought it was really interesting. Definitely a bit weird, but still liked it
 
Dog Gone (2023) - Gave this a shot. 15 minutes in, my wife was elbowing me to tap ououtI should have but perservered.

Not good.
 
This is How I Live Now

American jerky teen goes to Britain to live with her aunt and cousins just before war breaks out in great Britain. Blah blah blah nukes blah blah blah incest blah blah dystopia. Weird and somewhat off putting, but watchable.
 
Stutz (2022) - Netflix

A meta-documentary by Jonah Hill about the teachings of his therapist Dr. Phil Stutz.

For me, it was a fully immersive experience on the teachings, the relationship between Hill/Stutz, the making of the film and also life as a 74-year old working psychologist living through Parkinson's.

Highly recommend.
 
Deepster said:
Watched the first "Knives Out" earlier this week. Shut it off maybe 45 minutes in. Reminded me of some old Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie made for TV movie.
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That's a feature, not a bug. Especially the ones with David Suchet.
 
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The Lost City (2022) - This is a movie that follows more or less in the tradition of "Romancing the Stone", with a female author who specializes with in romance/adventure books getting kidnapped and involved in her own romance/adventure story. The best thing about this film is the chemistry between the two stars of this film, Sandra Bullock (the kidnapped author) and Channing Tatum (who poses for the authors book covers and is involved in trying to rescue her). However, while it does seem to be a watchable film, the other elements of this movie just did not work well for me. It is not a movie I would be inclined recommend to others. I have not seen "Romancing the Stone" in many years, but I seem to recall that I enjoyed it morer than this movie.
 
dbmill said:
The Lost City (2022) - This is a movie that follows more or less in the tradition of "Romancing the Stone", with a female author who specializes with in romance/adventure books getting kidnapped and involved in her own romance/adventure story. The best thing about this film is the chemistry between the two stars of this film, Sandra Bullock (the kidnapped author) and Channing Tatum (who poses for the authors book covers and is involved in trying to rescue her). However, while it does seem to be a watchable film, the other elements of this movie just did not work well for me. It is not a movie I would be inclined recommend to others. I have not seen "Romancing the Stone" in many years, but I seem to recall that I enjoyed it morer than this movie.
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Brad Pitt is the best thing about the movie. The rest is meh.
 
Resistance 1942. WWII story focused on a radio broadcaster who inspired resistance in Vichy France. Cary Elwes is the lead character Jacque, with Jason Patrick, Judd Hirsch and the adorable Greer Grammer (Kelsey's daughter). On the Nazi side Sebastian Roché plays the Gezpatcho officer tracking down Jacque and those with him. Some quibbles, it's almost all in English, the only French actor here is Roché, and he's the Nazi (he often plays Germans). So, it seems very American. It's a little clunky here and there, with Characters doing some stupid things. Ultimately, it's a movie about sacrifice, and the power of inspiring people to do more, and be more. I was left wondering what the French could have done with this story, but it's a decent watch.
 
dr zhivago. man, that russia place is bleak, like a long, long stretch of bad highway.
good movie, tho.
i really, really miss that zymurg poster. that one knows a lot of stuff.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Resistance 1942. WWII story focused on a radio broadcaster who inspired resistance in Vichy France. Cary Elwes is the lead character Jacque, with Jason Patrick, Judd Hirsch and the adorable Greer Grammer (Kelsey's daughter). On the Nazi side Sebastian Roché plays the Gezpatcho officer tracking down Jacque and those with him. Some quibbles, it's almost all in English, the only French actor here is Roché, and he's the Nazi (he often plays Germans). So, it seems very American. It's a little clunky here and there, with Characters doing some stupid things. Ultimately, it's a movie about sacrifice, and the power of inspiring people to do more, and be more. I was left wondering what the French could have done with this story, but it's a decent watch.
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I was too cheap to pay the $3.99 rental, but while on Prime I saw another movie titled "Resistance" (2019, Prime) about Marcel Marceau's participation in the French Resistance in WWII. Jesse Eisenberg played Marceau. Had no clue about his heroism in saving Jewish kids. Interesting story, fairly slow paced, but I found it worth the time. Don't worry, there's not a ton of mime.
 
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No putzing around this time, just gonna make with the postings as soon as I watch them.

Black Adam - It's crazy the budgets that are given to what eventually become thoroughly mediocre movies. Not terrible, the action was fine, the Rock wisecracks had a Arnold Terminator vibe to them, the kid was annoying, the other supers were forgettable, story blah, direction blah, villain meh, all for a tidy $260 mil lol. DC can't do anything but Batman right.

Side note - Viola Davis' Waller is the absolute worst, I can't believe James Gunn/DC feel she is deserving of her own show.

The Menu - Seems to be pretty divisive on here, with most disliking it. I enjoyed it. It's blend of satire/dark humor was a bit hit or miss but I never felt bored. Hoult's character gave me a few chuckles.
 
"True Spirit," new on Netflix. Based on the true story of a 16 year old Australian girl who sailed solo and unassisted around the world. Well worth a watch I thought.
 
Devotion. Streaming free on Paramount+ or you can rent it. Based on a true story it’s stars Jonathan Majors as Jesse Brown and Glen Powell as Tom Hudner. Brown is the Navy’s first black aviator and Hudner is his wingman. It starts in 1950 in Rhode Island, but shifts overseas as tensions rose with the Soviets and eventually with China and the Koren conflict begins. Brown faces racism in the present day, but there’s also some regular looks back where he tells just what he went through to become a pilot. I remember the trailers for this and I’m really at a loss to explain why it wasn’t a hit. It’s one of the best movies of 2022. It’s emotional, moving, funny and has plenty of action.
 
The Trip to Spain (2017) - In the last few years my wife and I have watched “The Trip” (2010), and “The Trip to Italy" (2014). We enjoyed these movies enough that I wanted to check out “The Trip to Spain”, a sequel to the first the first two Trip movies. Once again, this film is a sort of a travel mockumentary directed by Michael Winterbottom, and starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as some sort of fictionalized versions of themselves. In the original film, the Coogan/Brydon duo travel the English countryside on a week long restaurant tour, encountering beautiful scenery and some wonder food preparation and presentation. In this sequel, as you can tell from the title,, this week long restaurant tour is in Spain. As in the other films, in addition to the travelogue and food, this movie contains much interesting, clever and witty conversations chiefly involving Coogan and/or Brydon. There is once again a dueling series of vocal impressions of other actors and other well known figures. The vocal impressions of Marlon Brando (combined with a bit from Monty Python), Roger Moore, and James Bond were the most enjoyable. As in the other films, the humorous interplay between Coogan and Brydon was quite enjoyable. Safe to say, if you enjoyed the other films, it is quite likely that you will find “The Trip to Italy” enjoyable as well. As with the other films, there isn’t much plot to follow, just a bunch of enjoyable conversation and other stuff. Still, it is safe to say if you enjoyed one of these films, you very well might enjoy the others.

As with the other Trip movies, this was originally a multipart BBC television series that was edited into a film. Winterbottom, Coogan, and Brydon made a one more Trip movie, involving Greece after this one, after that it was announced that they were ending this travel series. I suspect at some point I will be checking out the Greece trip as well.
 
"A Chance Encounter" (also titled Molto Bella I think?). One of those quiet, enjoyable films. Absolute no name cast. A singer/songwriter who had one minor hit and hasn't been able to follow it up, and a possibly aspiring writer meet in a lovely coastal village in Italy. They encourage each other in their art and develop a strong friendship. It's not exactly a romance. The music was interesting. It's available to stream on both hoopla and Kanopy.

Here's a song from the lead actress. It's a classic Stephen Foster tune that has been done many, many times.

 
Arctic (2018, Netflix). Mads Mikkelsen survives a crash of a small plane in Arctic. He's getting by with a fairly meticulous routine. A research helicopter crashes sometime later. There is one survivor, I believe Thai, who's critically injured and speaks little to no English. The movie is about Mads trying to keep her alive and make it to a research hut her helicopter had been headed to. Very little dialogue. Not a ton of action. Mostly a guy dealing with the elements and a polar bear. I found it worthwhile, but not a must-see.
 
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Oops, didn't finish my previous thought. I meant she's one to keep an eye on as her career continues.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Oops, didn't finish my previous thought. I meant she's one to keep an eye on as her career continues.
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I figured out what you meant. Saw her in Locke & Key but didn't think you could judge her acting from that (although English playing American was pretty solid). She's cute, but it takes more than that. Coda showed some real acting ability though.
 
nwhoopfan said:
I finally got to watch CODA. Enjoyed it. I've seen Emilia Jones in a few other things, she's definitely one to
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I didn’t realize the mother was Marlee Matlin when I first watched it. It is a good movie.
 
storrsroars said:
Arctic (2018, Netflix). Mads Mikkelsen survives a crash of a small plane in Arctic. He's getting by with a fairly meticulous routine. A research helicopter crashes sometime later. There is one survivor, I believe Thai, who's critically injured and speaks little to no English. The movie is about Mads trying to keep her alive and make it to a research hut her helicopter had been headed to. Very little dialogue. Not a ton of action. Mostly a guy dealing with the elements and a polar bear. I found it worthwhile, but not a must-see.
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I liked the start of it a lot, but I felt like it petered out at the end somewhat
 
Greenland (2020)

At first glance, this seems to be yet another disaster movie. It’s not even all that original. A large comet has broken up and is heading to earth. As fragments descend, more more cities are destroyed, and government officials predict there will be one large piece that will hit that will be a “extinction level event.“ The government has chosen some to survive, based upon their skill sets. That’s where the movie gets interesting. If you were chosen, you cannot bring anyone other than your immediate family. Do you go or do you stay? If you go what do you say to your friends and neighbors? What if you’re not chosen? What would you do to survive?

There’s plenty of action with a lot of twists and turns. Gérard Butler, stars in it. He’s likable enough and it is probably the best movie I’ve seen him in. It also stars Morena Baccarin who’s pretty easy on the eyes. Definitely worth watching.
 
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The Menu. Several reviews here. Nickolas Hoult, Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Fiennes. Guests travel to elitist restaurant on an island. The people are mostly insufferable. The chef and his staff as insufferable. Bad things happen to the mostly bad people. There are a couple of chuckles. While you know something is up, you don’t anticipate the real story because it’s so stupid. Kind of a waste of this cast, and with a less ridiculous motivation it might have been good.
 
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) - Netflix

Just a fun, fully entertaining movie. Good story, shot well, great ensemble cast led by Daniel Craig and Edward Norton. Big Madelyn Cline fan, for obvious reasons.
 
Narvik. Netflix. This was made in Norway, and the main language is Norwegian, with German and English mixed in. No actors you'd know, but the cast does an excellent job. It's the story of what was really Germany's first defeat in WWII. Narvik Norway is very far north in Norway, and is a port need a highly productive Iron ore mine. The Germans got most of their iron ore there, and the British got a lot as well. Naturally, in 1940, neither wanted the other to get that ore. Norway is neutral, but Germany violates that and occupies the cities, including Narvik. The story centers around locals, in particular one young family, which I think serves as a proxy for how the battle for Narvik impacted many. It's quite well done, well worth a watch.
 
The Substitute (2017, Netflix). Small Argentinian film about a substitute teacher whose school encounters a drug bust facilitated by one of two opposing mayoral candidates to discredit the other. Students are accused of drug dealing and threatened. Some other strange subplots that aren't explored, like the guy's wife leaves him for a lesbian relationship, and his dad is some murky character called "The Chilean" who has all sorts of connections, but doesn't seem to do anything other than run a soup kitchen. I'm not sure what I really watched. Not the kind of movie that would find financing in USA.

Jim Jefferies "High and Dry" (2023, Netflix) It's a great month for comedy. Louis CK released a livestream of his MSG show, Chris Rock is dropping a new special next week, and Jefferies dropped this one yesterday. I'm a huge Jefferies fan. IMO, he surpassed Bill Burr when he released "Intolerant", while Burr mostly rehashed previous topics in his Red Rocks concert. In this one, we find Jefferies is no longer drinking, but has found edibles. There is extremely detailed telling of having sex with his pregnant wife. There's plenty of transgender stuff (he's actually empathetic, but manages to offend anyway), a story of a friend coming out, and he goes after Greta Thunberg at the beginning and end. I enjoy him because he's just so foul, but also extremely likeable, and a fantastic storyteller. But this hour isn't as cohesive as "Intolerant", and if he's not divorced before the next special, it'll be a surprise. You'll likely be uncomfortable at some point, or maybe many points. Even with that, I've already watched it twice.
 
CL82 said:
Greenland (2020)

At first glance, this seems to be yet another disaster movie. It’s not even all that original. A large comet has broken up and is heading to earth. As fragments descend, more more cities are destroyed, and government officials predict there will be one large piece that will hit that will be a “extinction level event.“ The government has chosen some to survive, based upon their skill sets. That’s where the movie gets interesting. If you were chosen, you cannot bring anyone other than your immediate family. Do you go or do you stay? If you go what do you say to your friends and neighbors? What if you’re not chosen? What would you do to survive?

There’s plenty of action with a lot of twists and turns. Gérard Butler, stars in it. He’s likable enough and it is probably the best movie I’ve seen him in. It also stars Morena Baccarin who’s pretty easy on the eyes. Definitely worth watching.
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It’s very watchable as at the movies in the something Is Burning series.
 
One of the benefits of having young kids is that you can go see an awful move like Ant Man: Quantumania and completely blame it on them.

My only conclusion after seeing this movie is that yes Zoomers, who are the primary audience who this crap is made for are truly the dumbest Americans so far. Because this is actually considered adult entertainment.

And Paul Rudd despite being in a horrible movie has to be one of the most likeable actors out there.

Here are the spoiler free highlights:

Selena Kyle went to Quantum Land and cheated on Michael Douglas with sad Bill Murray.

Everyone gets an Ant Suit!

When it comes to superheroes and writing a Marvel movie with a decent story “There’s always room to grow”!

I just wish Hollywood with siphon off 1/20th of the budget of one of these awful movies to just make one more Good Will Hunting or Heat.
 
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