Recently Watched Movies 2024 | Page 23 | The Boneyard

Recently Watched Movies 2024

Just flew cross country and watched a movie each way. The first was a documentary about Amy Winehouse. What a talented wreck of a person. Sad story.

Homeward I watched Kevin Costner’s Horizons, meant to be a series. I read reviews afterward to make sure my take wasn’t off the wall. I knew about it vaguely that it was about westward frontier settlement. What could have been a terrific movie. So disjointed. And that turned out to be the main critical reaction in a flick that was universally panned by critics. The Native American portrayals were I guess reasonably authentic because Kostner had decent consultants. Too long and ultimately uninteresting.
 
nomar said:
I saw Gladiator II

It's worth watching if you loved the first one, if only for Denzel. They definitely did the "let's just run that back again" thing, the only real difference being Denzel's character, which started out like Oliver Reed's but ended up in a much different place.

It was entertaining but it was also super corny.

The CGI was terrible and there were at least 2 moments in the film that made half the theater burst out in laughter: (1) the bust looking exactly like Paul Mescal and (2) Pedro Pascal's servant slinking away backwards like she was in a meme.
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I saw this too. I have quite a bit to say about this movie.

All I have time for right now is that Pedro Pascal put more effort into his beer commercials than he did with this clunker.
 
Watched the new version of "Twisters." It's just utterly ridiculous, but entertaining enough I suppose. Glen Powell does his thing, so it has that going for it. I've seen Daisy Edgar-Jones in a couple movies and I like her. Nice to see Maura Tierney. What happened to Kiernan Shipka's career? She was supposed to be the next big thing, but it hasn't materialized. She had a bit part in this one and was on screen for about 5 minutes.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Watched the new version of "Twisters." It's just utterly ridiculous, but entertaining enough I suppose. Glen Powell does his thing, so it has that going for it. I've seen Daisy Edgar-Jones in a couple movies and I like her. Nice to see Maura Tierney. What happened to Kiernan Shipka's career? She was supposed to be the next big thing, but it hasn't materialized. She had a bit part in this one and was on screen for about 5 minutes.
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Keinan Shipka is in Red One. She's not gotten leading roles but she's still pretty young.
 
Land of Bad. Russell Crowe is a very odd, cranky, overweight drone operator. He seems miscast, but mostly due to age and weight. Russell Crowe from 10 years ago would be fine. Liam Hemsworth is the JTAC assigned to a group of Delta force guys in the Philippines. He's a little green but their regular guy was captured/killed. As one can expect, it all goes sideways, and Crowe and his partner, back in Las Vegas provides an eye in the sky to help Hemsworth and the squad. It's actually pretty good if you ignore the Russell Crowe miscasting a bit.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Land of Bad. Russell Crowe is a very odd, cranky, overweight drone operator. He seems miscast, but mostly due to age and weight. Russell Crowe from 10 years ago would be fine. Liam Hemsworth is the JTAC assigned to a group of Delta force guys in the Philippines. He's a little green but their regular guy was captured/killed. As one can expect, it all goes sideways, and Crowe and his partner, back in Las Vegas provides an eye in the sky to help Hemsworth and the squad. It's actually pretty good if you ignore the Russell Crowe miscasting a bit.
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Haven't watched it. Refuse to. There would never be a fat Air Force Captain that old. It's dumb as hell. They could have made him a rogue contractor or something.
 
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Gladiator II. I am not entertained.

If there is a director who has fallen off worse than Ridley Scott then please point them out to me. His movies get resourced to the hilt and he pumps out a pretty lame product despite this. From the plastic The Martian, the soulless Alien sequels, and the laughably bad Napoleon that failed to improve on history that butchered and diluted famous battles to the point where they were recognizable. If Ridley Scott made a movie about Gettysburg would he film it at the Jersey shore, would Lee fire cannons at the Liberty Bell in Philly?

Gladiator is a classic. It might be the very best sword and sandal film. Great plot, great actors, great villain great effects even. It's unanimous agreed to be great.

Gladiator II? Literally the same plot, terrible acting, laughable effects and a movie that seems like it was edited by a drunk intern.

Like the first Gladiator, II opens with a big set piece battle. A Roman Fleet laden with troops approaches a beleaguered city. But the whole thing is so dumb because it looks as if Ridley Scott went to Generative AI and prompted "Roman Navy Attacking with a storm behind it". We've seen this before, I think it was in Kingdom of Heaven....

Anyways. Our hero Hanno/Lucius played by Paul Mescal (He's Maximus's illegitimate son, crazy right?) gets captured and made a slave (what a coincidence!) and what do you know he gets to try out as a Gladiator! And this is where the movie flies of the rails hard. So hard. Hanno is a Carthiginian name, Hannibal's son was named Hanno and Hannibal was the General who vexed Rome and would have taken them out if his government hadn't screwed him over. Scott is trying to be clever here but it's likely lost on 99 percent of the audience.

Hanno and his Numidian pals get to fight against a bunch of enormous homicidal baboons that have probably never existed. Maybe these guys were crossbred with the Xenomorphs from Aliens. Ridley is trying to be clever here.

It gets worse. Later on they turn the Roman Coloseum into Sea World. Now there is some historical evidence that this might have happened. I'm quite certain they were staged affairs like Disney On Ice, and there weren't Great White Sharks thrown into the mix for good measure.

Now to the acting. Paul Mescal has all of the charisma and creativity of a third string striker at 4th Division English Football Club. That's literally how he plays this character, imagine an Englishman trying to be a North African in 200 AD.

Pedro Pascal who is in everything these days, is completely wasted here. And he knows it because as I said before; he put more effort into the Corona commercials. His character is a sort fo a reluctant Roman General. It's literally one of the only interesting things about this movie and they didn't do much with it. Also somehow he's married to Connie Nielson who must be 20 years older than him. It doesn't work at all.

And finally we have Denzel who mighty have been the only actor that tried in this movie. His acting abilities are such a stark contrast between the rest of the faces in this film. He's a decent villain, better than the two idiots playing the Emperors. Those two were so ridiculous that they make Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus seem reasonable.

I think the movie is the second in a row for Scott where his actors didn't really buy in. I don't think
 
nomar said:
This movie was AWESOME. Came here to say that. Yes, the "loner vs police" thing has been done (people have likened the movie to Rambo), but this was a pretty fresh take on it. Besides the fact that it implicated a real problem, civil asset forfeiture, it's both violent and non-violent.

Pierre is British. I'd also never seen him before. And yeah, Robb was a child actor who I've never seen as an adult, but she was great. Don Johnson basically reprises his role from Watchmen. James Cromwell is good, as always, in a very small role.
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Rebel Ridge (2024) - As noted earlier, entertaining movie. You think there would be more fighting and shooting but with one man v. a whole police force, there is more emphasis on watching the main character plan his moves.

Glad we took a chance on it.
 
nomar said:
She's the lead in a rom-com that just came out. I don't think we're the target audience.

www.thewrap.com

'Sweethearts' Director Told Kiernan Shipka and Gen Z Cast to Flag Anything That Was Too 'Millennial Cringe'

First-time director Jordan Weiss and partner Dan Brier wanted to write a coming-of-age comedy based on their own male-female friendship.
www.thewrap.com www.thewrap.com
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Is it kinda weird that 25 and 26 year old lead actors were tasked with making the dialog seem younger and hipper for a 31 year old director? Maybe in another 3-4 years Shipka won't be portraying teenagers on screen.


I forgot she was in "Longlegs" this year. She's been in plenty of stuff, just not much as a lead lately. I just seem to recall big things were predicted for her coming off of Mad Men, and that ended almost a decade ago. I liked "Wildflower" from a couple years ago, but I don't think that found much of an audience. "Totally Killer" last year was fairly meh.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Is it kinda weird that 25 and 26 year old lead actors were tasked with making the dialog seem younger and hipper for a 31 year old director? Maybe in another 3-4 years Shipka won't be portraying teenagers on screen.


I forgot she was in "Longlegs" this year. She's been in plenty of stuff, just not much as a lead lately. I just seem to recall big things were predicted for her coming off of Mad Men, and that ended almost a decade ago. I liked "Wildflower" from a couple years ago, but I don't think that found much of an audience. "Totally Killer" last year was fairly meh.
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She’s making money. The one I can’t really explain is Emilia Jones. I watched her in a decent TV show Locke & Key but then she crushed it as the lead in CODA, which won the best picture Oscar and at Sundance. Maybe she’s just doing independent stuff.
 
HuskyHawk said:
She’s making money. The one I can’t really explain is Emilia Jones. I watched her in a decent TV show Locke & Key but then she crushed it as the lead in CODA, which won the best picture Oscar and at Sundance. Maybe she’s just doing independent stuff.
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Yeah, it's hard to figure who hits it big and who doesn't. Wildflower that I mentioned before was kinda similar to CODA. Jones is in something fairly new called "Winner" that looks interesting, probably fairly indie.
 
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The Last Rifleman. Stars Pierce Brosnan as Artie Crawford, a WWII vet who was part of the infantry landing at D-Day. He’s from Belfast, fought for the British with his best friend Charlie. The story is told both present day and with flashbacks to Artie, Charlie and Artie’s wife Maggie. Artie is in an assisted living home at 92, so is Maggie, who has dementia. Eventually Artis decides he need to get to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, but that requires an escape and adventure. Some really nice supporting role from Sammuel Bottomly, Clemence Posey, John Amos and Juergen Pronchow. This is a wonderful film. Should be nominated for awards including Brosnan for best actor.
 
HuskyHawk said:
The Last Rifleman. Stars Pierce Brosnan as Artie Crawford, a WWII vet who was part of the infantry landing at D-Day. He’s from Belfast, fought for the British with his best friend Charlie. The story is told both present day and with flashbacks to Artie, Charlie and Artie’s wife Maggie. Artie is in an assisted living home at 92, so is Maggie, who has dementia. Eventually Artis decides he need to get to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, but that requires an escape and adventure. Some really nice supporting role from Sammuel Bottomly, Clemence Posey, John Amos and Juergen Pronchow. This is a wonderful film. Should be nominated for awards including Brosnan for best actor.
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Brosnan is playing a 92 y/o? Ughhh.

What network is this on?
 
Dove said:
Brosnan is playing a 92 y/o? Ughhh.

What network is this on?
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It's streaming/rental on any platform that rents movies. It's a new film. He looks every day of 92. Incredible makeup. The flashback scenes when he's a little younger are probably his current age or they may be making him slightly younger.
 
HuskyHawk said:
It's streaming/rental on any platform that rents movies. It's a new film. He looks every day of 92. Incredible makeup. The flashback scenes when he's a little younger are probably his current age or they may be making him slightly younger.
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This was a charming movie. Brosnan was great. I loved the final scene where he's brought to a celebration of his career.
 
Yeah..."Deadpool & Wolverine" was almost as much of a steaming pile of rubbish as Thor: Love and Thunder was. Emma Corrin as Cassandra was maybe the only good thing about it. You give the fan boys some fan service and they go absolutely nuts. Rated 7.7 on imdb, that is ridiculous. It's more like a 5.0.
 
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What if I told you that last night I watched a movie w/ a snarky narrator who periodically broke the fourth wall throughout...and it wasn't any of the Deadpool films. And it was from 1991. Long before Mr. Reynolds had the brilliant idea to do the same thing.

"Big Girls Don't Cry...They Get Even." Felt like an 80s movie to me. I don't think I was ever previously aware of it. It's on Amazon. I enjoyed it. Dizzying lineup of a non nuclear family with various divorces and remarriages, siblings, half siblings and step siblings. Most of which can't stand each other. Our narrator runs away to a beautiful lake in the mountains in California (I'll have to look up where it was filmed, legit looked like the Sierras; they mentioned the town of Bishop at one point which I have passed thru several times). The whole crazy gang goes to look for her. Most of the characters exhibit some degree of personal growth and there is some familial bonding that goes on. Don't know most of the cast, although I've seen David Strathairn in a bunch of stuff, I at least recognize the name Griffin Dunne, and it was pretty weird seeing a teenage age Jenny Lewis playing a vapid teeny bopper. I keep forgetting she had quite a few acting credits before she walked away from the biz and started a band. And a pre "Boy Meets World" Ben Savage. The lead was played by Hillary Wolf, I thought she did a good job. Just looked her up and she was in Home Alone and its sequel. And then she disappeared from Hollywood.


edit--much of it was filmed at Lake Mamie, near the town of Mammoth Lakes. I haven't been to that particular lake, but I've been to the town and have done several hikes in the area.
 
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Lee. Based on the true story of Lee Miller with Kate Winslet as Lee. Some good supporting roles but she carries this. Miller was a very popular model in the 20s and had made friends with several French poets and artists with money. She moves from modeling to photography and earns a job at Vogue. Her British husband volunteers as a raid warden during WWII and Lee feels useless as they deal with the Blitz. After D Day she convinces Vogue to send her to the front. Shes American and they allow it. She teams with David Scherman, a photographer for Life magazine. She was the only female correspondent overseas during the war and took some of the most iconic photos. Very good film, a little slow early on.
 
Fly Me To the Moon. Scarlet Johanson is Kelly Jones, a brilliant Madison Avenue marketer. Channing Tatum is Cole Davis, NASA launch director. Woody Harrelson is a Moe Berkus a person working for Nixon in some capacity. It’s 1968, we are trying to get Apollo 11 to the moon and beat the Russians. Berkus hires Jones to be PR director for NASA to increase public support for the mission and help secure funding from Congress. It’s part rom-com and part a “take” on what might have happened. ScarJo is absolutely fetching in this. She’s fabulous and funny. They do a good job capturing the period. It’s a fun, enjoyable movie. Highly recommended. Apple+
 
nwhoopfan said:
What if I told you that last night I watched a movie w/ a snarky narrator who periodically broke the fourth wall throughout...and it wasn't any of the Deadpool films. And it was from 1991. Long before Mr. Reynolds had the brilliant idea to do the same thing.
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Groucho Marx was doing that in 1929. And that was before Deadpool.
 
Palatine said:
Groucho Marx was doing that in 1929. And that was before Deadpool.
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I think there are a few old phrases or cliches that fit here:

Nothing new under the sun.

Everything old is new again.
 
I didn't watch it, but "Red One" is available on Amazon Prime already. I'm almost curious to see if it is as bad as all the reviews say it is.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
I didn't watch it, but "Red One" is available on Amazon Prime already. I'm almost curious to see if it is as bad as all the reviews say it is.
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Haven't seen it and know nothing about it, but this article explains quite well (I think it was my first free article of month, so may not open for all):

www.forbes.com

Why Did Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Red One’ Come To Streaming So Quickly?

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ Christmas movie “Red One” is already streaming on Prime Video, less than a month after it debuted in theaters. Why did the film make such a quick debut on the streamer?
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com

  • it was planned to go direct to streaming from the start. It only got a theatrical release because of favorable audience screenings
  • even though it's still in theatres, it makes more financial sense for a Christmas movie to go to streaming earlier in December than waiting till after Christmas
  • movie critics don't like it, but like many other movies, it has a high "fresh" score from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes (90%)
 
Carry On (2024) - Taron Egerton (played Elton John in "Rocket Man") is a likeable bloke working within the security force of LAX. He is an underachiever with a girlfriend. All his coworkers like him. He gets his first crack at sitting at the luggage x ray machine and BOOM, he suddenly is a pawn in Jason Bateman's plan to smuggle a nerve agent on a plane. Bateman players a terrorist-for-hire. Here, he is Marty Byrde with an edge.

For me, it dragged while Bateman dictated to action through the ear piece. But once Edgerton said "**** this.", it gets exciting. Cool ending.

Yes, some belief suspension.
 
Okay, "Red One" wasn't terrible but it wasn't particularly good either. Neither Dwayne Johnson or Chris Evans were particularly likable or interesting as the leads, and their bickering with each other wasn't entertaining. The bad guy characters were much better. Krampus and the Christmas Witch.

Has JK Simmons always been that ripped? Dude is almost 70.


I didn't bother posting a review of it before but around a week ago I saw "Borderlands." Another "can it really be that bad?" experiment. Kind of the same, not the worst, but not memorable at all.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
Okay, "Red One" wasn't terrible but it wasn't particularly good either. Neither Dwayne Johnson or Chris Evans were particularly likable or interesting as the leads, and their bickering with each other wasn't entertaining. The bad guy characters were much better. Krampus and the Christmas Witch.

Has JK Simmons always been that ripped? Dude is almost 70.


I didn't bother posting a review of it before but around a week ago I saw "Borderlands." Another "can it really be that bad?" experiment. Kind of the same, not the worst, but not memorable at all.
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i'm not much of a fan of Chris Evans, but I'm a big fan of his new bride, Alba Batista. Warrior Nun is a fun watch. She's a very good new actress, but also easy on the eyes. (Stop. She's 27.)

IMG_0701.jpeg
 
temery said:
i'm not much of a fan of Chris Evans, but I'm a big fan of his new bride, Alba Batista. Warrior Nun is a fun watch. She's a very good new actress, but also easy on the eyes. (Stop. She's 27.)

View attachment 105417
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I'm not familiar with her. At least in this picture, she reminds me a bit of Alicia Vikander.
 
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