Recently Watched Movies 2024

[nwhoopfan]

Watched "Life Like" several days ago. Strange one. Addison Timlin and some guy I was unfamiliar with are a young married couple living an idyllic life in (I'm assuming?) NYC, using his allowance from his ultra rich family. Dad suddenly dies, apparently there was no one else, so son inherits the mansion in the country and the business. He's off to work, sort of getting baby sat by the board members. She feels weird having several staff wait on her, so she gives them 2 years severance pay and fires them all. The house is way too much for her to do everything herself, hubs is kinda irked, so lo and behold his company had a secret division where they were developing extremely human looking robots. They go to the secret HQ, look at a few models and pick one out. It was Steven Strait, but I didn't even recognize him. At first she doesn't like the robot, but then she gets it be in a book club just the two of them. Hubs is busy and distracted. Robot starts displaying more and more human like emotions. Hubs is kinda jealous, but likes to establish his dominance. Things get pretty weird. Then there is a humdinger of a twist at the end that changes your perspective on everything that happened during the rest of the movie.

I more or less liked it. I'm a big fan of Addison. This movie included more bare male backside, and other sides, than any movie I've ever seen before. I could've done without that. If you've wondered what Steven Strait looks like without clothes on, this is the movie for you. Plus the other actor I was previously unfamiliar with.

Anyway treads some familiar territory with the ethics of A.I. and humanoid like robots, but different enough from what I've seen before.


Here's the spoiler if you don't want to watch the movie:

Spoiler: spoiler

The robots weren't robots at all, they were humans. The "inventor" was an insane dude who had somehow acquired several orphans at young ages and systematically brainwashed them into believing they weren't human, and that their purpose was to fulfill the whims of their owners and their creator.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Under Paris. This got good reviews and it's not "Sharknado" bad. It's a bit silly at times, but they've tried to go more for "Jaws lite". It's a French film and it starts with a research team studying sharks out in the Pacific, where they think they've discovered something new, or newly adapted/evolved. Then we're back in Paris and the shark shows up in the river and flooded catacombs. Tied in are the River Police, the lead scientist and a group of young, stupid, ecoterrorists. Some of the outcome of the interactions with the sharks is deeply satisfying. All in all, it's not terrible. French with Subtitles on Netflix, but English dubbed is available.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Watched "Brats" on Hulu, a documentary about the Brat Pack from 80s movies fame. Directed by Andrew McCarthy. He tracked down several of his fellow actors and interviewed them. I've heard that term countless times, didn't realize most of them didn't particularly like it. Also for the most part they stopped making films together right after the term was coined.

Exactly who was in the pack is up for debate, but this considered the core group Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Alley Sheedy, Judd Nelson and Demi Moore. Of those, Nelson and Ringwald didn't agree to be interviewed. Also pretty much focused on St. Elmo's Fire, The Breakfast Club and most of the rest of John Hughes' films.

There were also interviews with several directors, casting directors, critics, and the magazine writer who coined the phrase.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Watched "Brats" on Hulu, a documentary about the Brat Pack from 80s movies fame. Directed by Andrew McCarthy. He tracked down several of his fellow actors and interviewed them. I've heard that term countless times, didn't realize most of them didn't particularly like it. Also for the most part they stopped making films together right after the term was coined.

Exactly who was in the pack is up for debate, but this considered the core group Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Alley Sheedy, Judd Nelson and Demi Moore. Of those, Nelson and Ringwald didn't agree to be interviewed. Also pretty much focused on St. Elmo's Fire, The Breakfast Club and most of the rest of John Hughes' films.

There were also interviews with several directors, casting directors, critics, and the magazine writer who coined the phrase.

McCarthy is beyond whiny. The "Brat Pack" article was the most incredible publicity possible for a collection of mostly mediocre actors, and should have set them all up for the next 10 years at least. Any actors who were not total idiots would have embraced it, but McCarthy blames it for his career not going anywhere.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Monkey Man (2024 - Peacock) is one of the most amazing action movies I have ever seen. Dev Patel has gone from being a quirky but mostly forgettable younger actor into a true leading man. He is incredible in this movie, both credible as a badass destroying a powerful crime syndicate, but also vulnerable enough that the movie is more than just a generic pseudo-superhero slaughter-fest. Patel is also a heck of a Director. The action sequences are original and compelling to watch.

I think that leaving the love interest out of the movie was a very good move. There is a lot going on with the plot without shoe-horning a contrived romance into it. I am jaded about action movies, and generally get bored with them pretty quickly. Monkey Man is so good that it is worth getting a Peacock subscription.

 

[nwhoopfan]

McCarthy is beyond whiny. The "Brat Pack" article was the most incredible publicity possible for a collection of mostly mediocre actors, and should have set them all up for the next 10 years at least. Any actors who were not total idiots would have embraced it, but McCarthy blames it for his career not going anywhere.

On one hand, I can understand "get over it already, it was 30 years ago." It sounds like Hollywood in general reacted negatively to the label, so they all distanced themselves from it and each other as much as they could. So not so sure about the article and the publicity setting them up for future success.

McCarthy wasn't the only one whose career didn't really go anywhere after the mid 80s. I think you could say the same about Nelson, Ringwald and Sheedy. Did they all make bad career choices, or was something else a factor?

 

[storrsroars]

On one hand, I can understand "get over it already, it was 30 years ago." It sounds like Hollywood in general reacted negatively to the label, so they all distanced themselves from it and each other as much as they could. So not so sure about the article and the publicity setting them up for future success.

McCarthy wasn't the only one whose career didn't really go anywhere after the mid 80s. I think you could say the same about Nelson, Ringwald and Sheedy. Did they all make bad career choices, or was something else a factor?

I wouldn't put Ringwald in that category. She's had a pretty great life and has been involved in numerous non-film projects, plus a couple of long-running TV shows (albeit not critical faves).

 

[HuskyHawk]

Wicked Little Letters. This was enjoyable and well done. Stars Olivia Coleman and an appealing Jessie Buckley. Set in Littlehampton England in the 1920s, many are back from WWI. One family (Colemen and her parents) begins to receive “indescribably filthy” letters in the mail. Their next door neighbor is a young Irish mom Rose (Buckley) who swears like a sailor. It becomes a national scandal as others start getting letters. Rose is charged with libel. It’s a comedy and not much of a mystery really. It’s quite fun and the acting is very good.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I wouldn't put Ringwald in that category. She's had a pretty great life and has been involved in numerous non-film projects, plus a couple of long-running TV shows (albeit not critical faves).

I was surprised looking at imdb, all of them have been in a bunch of movies or tv shows. So they all kept working consistently over the years. But it was mostly stuff I'd never heard of. Anyway glad Ringwald has had a fulfilling life.

Her bit part in "Not Another Teen Movie" was great, spoofing the kind of movies that made her famous.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Immaculate. Sydney Sweeney. She's a soon to be nun who goes to remote Italy to join a convent. Warning bells are going off from the opening moments of this movie. It is certainly tense and while her character is a little skeptical, she's not skeptical enough. It's an unusual "horror" film, nothing supernatural but it does have some scares and quite a lot of tension. The ending for me, is a bit much. 2.5 stars.