Recently Watched Movies 2024

[CL82]

The Creator (2023)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Visually, it is impressive at times, but the plot is boring and predictable and the characters uninteresting and forgettable. This is another movie that could've benefited from better casting. The plot is that AI has nuked Los Angeles and from that point forward America is at war with AI and their allies "the Asian alliance". It's OK. It is boring and predictable, as I noted above, but, visually interesting enough to keep, me at least, from bailing on it. If the Terminator franchise and Eddie Murphy's The Golden Child, had a baby this would be it. Maybe throw a little Battle for Los Angeles in there too.

 

[Palatine]

The Creator (2023)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Visually, it is impressive at times, but the plot is boring and predictable and the characters uninteresting and forgettable. This is another movie that could've benefited from better casting. The plot is that AI has nuked Los Angeles and from that point forward America is at war with AI and their allies "the Asian alliance". It's OK. It is boring and predictable, as I noted above, but, visually interesting enough to keep, me at least, from bailing on it. If the Terminator franchise and Eddie Murphy's The Golden Child, had a baby this would be it. Maybe throw a little Battle for Los Angeles in there too.

When you have to spice up a movie with "a little Battle for Los Angeles" pretty much all is lost : )

 

[nwhoopfan]

The Creator (2023)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Visually, it is impressive at times, but the plot is boring and predictable and the characters uninteresting and forgettable. This is another movie that could've benefited from better casting. The plot is that AI has nuked Los Angeles and from that point forward America is at war with AI and their allies "the Asian alliance". It's OK. It is boring and predictable, as I noted above, but, visually interesting enough to keep, me at least, from bailing on it. If the Terminator franchise and Eddie Murphy's The Golden Child, had a baby this would be it. Maybe throw a little Battle for Los Angeles in there too.

This is on Hulu. I tried it several weeks ago. Gave up after maybe 45 minutes. Was doing absolutely nothing for me.

Is John David Washington even a half decent actor? I'm not convinced he is. He sure isn't his dad.

 

[CL82]

This is on Hulu. I tried it several weeks ago. Gave up after maybe 45 minutes. Was doing absolutely nothing for me.

Is John David Washington even a half decent actor? I'm not convinced he is. He sure isn't his dad.

It gets nominally better, but it probably was a good call to bail.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I was kinda curious about "The Machine" when it came out. I don't think reviews were very good, but reviews are next thing to worthless anyway. I have no familiarity with comedian Bert Kreischer. Apparently part of his routine is telling a story of alleged events he was involved in when he was a college student and took a trip to Russia, and somehow got wrapped up with the mafia. This stretches that 15 minute bit into a full length movie. I'll start by saying it was ridiculous, but I thought it was fun. Mark Hamill is in it, mostly the cast I was unfamiliar with. I'd seen Jess Gabor recently in "Gringa" and was impressed with her, but she has a fairly small role in this one. Croatian actresss Iva Babic pretty much steals the movie. It wasn't falling down laughing funny, but I found it generally entertaining. It's violent, it's lewd, did I mention it's ridiculous? Probably over the top stereotyping of all things Russian as well. I imagine there's not much gray area for this one, either you'll get into it or you'll hate it.

 

[Dove]

Definitely could've been better. Nick Cage phones it in. If Nick Cage isn't going to overact and over emote in a movie, why bother having him in it?

A lot of miscasting in this. The main "pseudo mob "bad guy is completely unimpressive. I did enjoy Ron Pearlman as Bobo, but, man, has he gotten an old.

If you gave Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger or even Robert De Niro the Cage role it could've been a better movie.

This movie would br great to watch drunk and critique.

One scene where the mother and daughter were held up in a room upstairs, two bad guy were going upstairs with guns drawn. They did it like 3rd string extras, no laser focus on their approach. So funny.

Perlman was a likeable bad guy.

 

[Husky25]

The Equalizer. I'll be moving onto parts 2 and 3 in the coming days as well.

 

[nwhoopfan]

The Equalizer. I'll be moving onto parts 2 and 3 in the coming days as well.

I liked the first better than the second. Haven't seen part 3 yet, should get my hands on it soon. Interesting that in #3, Denzel is reunited w/ Dakota Fanning, a whole bunch of years after they made Man On Fire together.

 

[Kolumbo]

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - 2019
Quentin Tarantino. I love his films and I can't believe it took me this long to see it. Leo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Timothy Olyphant, Al Pacino, Damian Lewis, Margaret Qualley
You can read the reviews at IMDB and I'm sure everyone is familiar with it already. Plenty of fine performances but in the end, I was disappointed. It's not a movie I'll always tune into if I happen to come upon it. I searched and found a couple of references in the BY but not many. Leads me to believe it's not really all that great a film. I know when I watch a Tarantino film it'll be a little strange and great late night viewing but this really didn't do much for me.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - 2019
Quentin Tarantino. I love his films and I can't believe it took me this long to see it. Leo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Timothy Olyphant, Al Pacino, Damian Lewis, Margaret Qualley
You can read the reviews at IMDB and I'm sure everyone is familiar with it already. Plenty of fine performances but in the end, I was disappointed. It's not a movie I'll always tune into if I happen to come upon it. I searched and found a couple of references in the BY but not many. Leads me to believe it's not really all that great a film. I know when I watch a Tarantino film it'll be a little strange and great late night viewing but this really didn't do much for me.

I could not figure out what that was supposed to be about with the meaningless little subplot w/ Brad Pitt's character and Bruce Lee. One would think Tarantino is a big fan of Lee based on some of his other movies (Kill Bill in particular), but in this one is he suggesting Lee was a big fraud? It was just...weird. Overall the movie seemed like a loving recreation of the late 60s before Manson and his gang changed the world, but beyond the aesthetics it was boring and much ado about nothing. And the ending was so brutally violent, I didn't feel like we were really supposed to be rooting for the "good guys."

 

[storrsroars]

I liked the first better than the second. Haven't seen part 3 yet, should get my hands on it soon. Interesting that in #3, Denzel is reunited w/ Dakota Fanning, a whole bunch of years after they made Man On Fire together.

Watched it last night and while entertaining in that one guy creates a bloodbath kinda way, I didn't feel there was much of a climax. Just pretty much one death after another. The ending ties this back to #1, but in a completely throwaway way that would only make sense if Dakota Fanning becomes the star of a spinoff franchise.

 

[Palatine]

The Equalizer films are exactly what you expect them to be. If you like one, you will like two and three. Denzil plays the same character the same way. He always has the upper hand. He always follows his moral compass. He doesn't grow or change. He is cool and calm. Then explodes into a laser focused ball of fury. It's like they were made for me. Love 'em.

 

[Palatine]

I could not figure out what that was supposed to be about with the meaningless little subplot w/ Brad Pitt's character and Bruce Lee. One would think Tarantino is a big fan of Lee based on some of his other movies (Kill Bill in particular), but in this one is he suggesting Lee was a big fraud? It was just...weird. Overall the movie seemed like a loving recreation of the late 60s before Manson and his gang changed the world, but beyond the aesthetics it was boring and much ado about nothing. And the ending was so brutally violent, I didn't feel like we were really supposed to be rooting for the "good guys."

The Bruce Lee stuntman fight seems to have actually happened.

Gene LeBell, 89, Judo Champion, Wrestler and Star Stuntman, Dies (Published 2022)

A tough guy who got beaten up by the likes of John Wayne, he had a bottom-line view of his job: “The more you get hit in the nose, the richer you are.”

www.nytimes.com

 

[Husky25]

I liked the first better than the second. Haven't seen part 3 yet, should get my hands on it soon. Interesting that in #3, Denzel is reunited w/ Dakota Fanning, a whole bunch of years after they made Man On Fire together.

Need to hit up Man on Fire as well.

 

[CL82]

The Equalizer films are exactly what you expect them to be. If you like one, you will like two and three. Denzil plays the same character the same way. He always has the upper hand. He always follows his moral compass. He doesn't grow or change. He is cool and calm. Then explodes into a laser focused ball of fury. It's like they were made for me. Love 'em.

I liked the first one dramatically better than the second one, but they both were good. I will watch the third one but I'm not sure there's any new ground left to cover. Like you, I enjoy the one unstoppable guy franchises. The Reacher book series is the best of them. I watched the first Netflix series and enjoyed it but I am saving the second one until after the basketball season.

 

[Kolumbo]

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - 2007
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney, Amy Ryan
I was really into this flick from the get-go because, well, Marisa. What a honey. I can't believe I never saw this before but it's a pretty good film. A couple of brothers commit a crime and everything goes to sheet. You can really feel the tension building throughout the movie. Hoffman was only 40 in this movie but he really looked a lot older, and it's not surprising he passed away at only 46. From Scent of a Woman in 1992 to The Hunger Games in 2015, he had quite the career. I thought it kind of fizzled in the end but overall it was entertaining.
Director Sidney Lument (1924-2011) also directed Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Serpico.

 

[Waquoit]

Director Sidney Lumet (1924-2011) also directed Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Serpico.

He also did Network. Which has basically come true.

 

[storrsroars]

He also did Network. Which has basically come true.

Lumet was involved, but Paddy Chayefsky had complete creative control over the script, even though he had to fight the studio for the ending to stay in place.

 

[storrsroars]

I watched Elvis last night. I was never much of an Elvis fan, but this movie was more about "Colonel Tom Parker", his control over Elvis's fortune, and his efforts to ensure he maintained control over the singer's career. It was interesting and Hanks did a good job with the Parker role. The kid who played Elvis was equally up to the task, and apparently sang his parts, nailing it, especially the late career overweight, sweaty Elvis who could barely stand up, but who found it within himself to still give memorable performances. If the screenplay rings true, there were things I learned about Elvis that ups the respect I have for the guy.

That said, at 2.5 hours, I couldn't do it all in one sitting. So I'm dubious on how I'm going to make it through Oppenheimer when that hits streaming.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I watched Elvis last night. I was never much of an Elvis fan, but this movie was more about "Colonel Tom Parker", his control over Elvis's fortune, and his efforts to ensure he maintained control over the singer's career. It was interesting and Hanks did a good job with the Parker role. The kid who played Elvis was equally up to the task, and apparently sang his parts, nailing it, especially the late career overweight, sweaty Elvis who could barely stand up, but who found it within himself to still give memorable performances. If the screenplay rings true, there were things I learned about Elvis that ups the respect I have for the guy.

That said, at 2.5 hours, I couldn't do it all in one sitting. So I'm dubious on how I'm going to make it through Oppenheimer when that hits streaming.

Oppenheimer moves at a good pace. Just start early

 

[superjohn]

Just when I think movies can't get any worse they make Saltburn.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Just when I think movies can't get any worse they make Saltburn.

Not redeemed by being nearly a Skin-e-max level film?

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Exception. Stars Lily James as Miete, Jai Courtney as Maj Brandt and Christopher Plummer as Kaiser Wilhlem II. It's a fictionalized history and part "thriller" and part romance set in 1940. The Kaiser is in exile in Holland. Miete is a maid in the manor where he resides. Brandt is sent from Berlin with some soldiers to provide security. This is possible, because the Germans had just invaded Holland and Belgium. Plummer is fantastic, eccentric and really pulls off what would be one of the last European monarchs, longing for restoration. Lilly James is very appealing in this (there's nudity from her and Jai Courtney for anyone sensitive to that). The romance is perhaps not developed properly but I think it works in the context of the story. This isn't fast paced but we liked it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Exorcist: Believer (2023). Much better than critics suggested. The story is some time after the events of the Exorcist. In this case, the family impacted is on vacation in Haiti which introduces a voodoo element. This is woven in later. There are some interesting twists in the possession and exorcism elements of this, so I don't want to add spoilers. As a horror film in this genre, this is better than many, not as good as the original, but vastly better than the original sequel.

 

[dbmill]

He also did Network. Which has basically come true.

I saw Network many years ago when it was first released, and loved it. Haven't seen it in a number of years. My wife has never seen it, so I recently recorded it off of television (it was on Turner Classic Movies), so we will be watching it again soon.