Recently watched movies 2025 | Page 7 | The Boneyard

Recently watched movies 2025

nwhoopfan said:
I must be losing my mind. How did these movies get nominated for Best Picture? "The Substance," nope. I'm most of the way thru "Anora" that won everything...nope. It's an R rated version of "Pretty Woman" w/ Russians and Armenians and lots of yelling and cussing, borderline pron. Best Picture? You have to be kidding. Hollywood is crazy.
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"Anora" is not borderline . It's all in.
 
nwhoopfan said:
I must be losing my mind. How did these movies get nominated for Best Picture? "The Substance," nope. I'm most of the way thru "Anora" that won everything...nope. It's an R rated version of "Pretty Woman" w/ Russians and Armenians and lots of yelling and cussing, borderline pron. Best Picture? You have to be kidding. Hollywood is crazy.
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Anora is wildly overrated. My biggest issue with the movie is that Mikey Madison is so unlikable as Anora that she comes off like she is running a scam on Ivan. There is no subtlety in her performance, and I have a hard time understanding why Ivan even falls for her. Why did she win best actress? The movie honestly would have been more interesting if it turns out she was running a scam on Ivan. Mark Eydelshteyn's Ivan is the only interesting character in the entire movie, playing an emotionally stunted oligarch's son. Igor has a little depth, and the rest of the Zakharov family and entourage are stereotypes.

The movie tries to say something about class and love, but there is way too much filler and a lot of random events that do not make sense and do not provide character development. It also feels like a lot of the first half of the movie consists of montages.

The search for Ivan was ridiculous. First, the scene was about 20 minutes too long. We didn't need a long, drawn out fetch quest scene that doesn't have much of anything to do with the core plot. It also makes the whole movie jump the shark. In a movie trying to be gritty and realistic, about 20 different people would have called the cops if a crew looking like that showed up in a dozen different places acting nuts, physically and verbally abusing everyone they come in contact with, while looking for a rich kid. And why didn't she run at any of 10 different points? How did she know they would not just kill her once they found Ivan? Why didn't she tell the judge that she was being held against her will? And a street smart girl would never get on a plane with that crew.

Why does the movie switch gears with 30 minutes left and try to develop a relationship between Anora and Igor?

The final scene of the movie doesn't make sense. It is clear that Igor is falling for her, she recognizes it, and abuses him anyway for the last 20 minutes which he deserves. I don't get the point of that, but fine. Then, at the very end, she tries to manipulate him with sex, completely initiating it, but then breaks down sobbing when he tries to kiss her. That scene feels gratuitous, and I can not figure out what it is trying to say about either character.

It is a big plot problem when everyone starts doing random things that don't make sense, because then nothing anyone does matters.
 
Yeah, I don’t like Anora. Conclave or even A Complete Unknown would have been better options for best picture imo.
 
Detained (2024). Abbie Cornish vehicle looked a passion project. Also looked like they were on a tight budget. Basically she wakes up a in police station after apparently taking a roofie. Almost a good movie. Lots of plot twists but you could still see it coming. Did just enough to keep you watching. Just under two stars. You could tell they were really trying.
 
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nelsonmuntz said:
Anora is wildly overrated. My biggest issue with the movie is that Mikey Madison is so unlikable as Anora that she comes off like she is running a scam on Ivan.
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The thing I couldn't get out of my head the whole time was thinking her character had been watching way too much "Jersey Shore." Maybe there are people who are really like that IRL. I find it hard to believe. So utterly classless, so tacky, yet either defiantly proud of such qualities or completely lacking self awareness so they don't even know they have such qualities.
 
nwhoopfan said:
The thing I couldn't get out of my head the whole time was thinking her character had been watching way too much "Jersey Shore." Maybe there are people who are really like that IRL. I find it hard to believe. So utterly classless, so tacky, yet either defiantly proud of such qualities or completely lacking self awareness so they don't even know they have such qualities.
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I can’t tell if her acting like a SNL caricature of a Jersey Shore cast member was a choice, or a combination of bad acting, bad editing and bad directing. And since I can’t figure out if she is supposed to come off like that, I don’t know how to interpret what is happening in the movie.

If it was a choice, why is she sympathetic and why should we care about her? Is she a gold digger exploiting a stupid, emotionally stunted rich kid? Is she actually falling for this imbecile? I don’t know, and I can’t tell if that uncertainty is a choice or the movie is just a collection of random scenes the Director thought would be cool.
 
The Electric State. I liked this. It was funny. It didn’t take itself too seriously despite actually making some very meaningful points about a society too connected virtually and not present enough in the real world. It’s incredibly timely in that regard and I thought it was much better than expected. MBB does a good job and Pratt just plays Pratt. There’s a scene at a school where MBB’s character refuses to go virtual and I saw that as a clear comment on the failure of virtual school during COVID. The movie takes aim at some real ills in society and I liked the message.
 
HuskyHawk said:
The Electric State. I liked this. It was funny. It didn’t take itself too seriously despite actually making some very meaningful points about a society too connected virtually and not present enough in the real world. It’s incredibly timely in that regard and I thought it was much better than expected. MBB does a good job and Pratt just plays Pratt. There’s a scene at a school where MBB’s character refuses to go virtual and I saw that as a clear comment on the failure of virtual school during COVID. The movie takes aim at some real ills in society and I liked the message.
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Thanks for the review. Thought about watching it a few times but passed as the trailers looked really stupid. Guess I'll actually watch it this weekend.
 
Wicked is on Peacock. I was not expecting much out of this, but it is decent. The music is ok, and it is too long, but Jon Chu does an amazing job as Director. The movie is visually impressive, but at the same time the small scenes are very well done and many of the characters are interesting and have depth.

The cast was really strong. I have not seen Jonathan Bailey before, and he was excellent. I figured Cynthia Erivo would be excellent too, but I was honestly shocked by how good Ariana Grande is in the movie, because I only knew her from when my kids would watch the Nickelodeon shows of the early 2010's, and I thought Grande was a lousy actress in those shows, and she hadn't really done much since. I expected her to suck, and if she sucked then this movie would have sucked. Grande was able to show development and depth and complexity for Glinda, which I thought was way beyond Grande's acting ability. I don't know if Chu coaxed a genius performance out of Grande, or she actually learned how to act at some point, or both. They passed over some serious actresses (Amanda Seyfried was one) for Grande, and it took serious onions by Chu to pick Grande.

Like all the Oz universe movies, it is very political, and the politics are really confusing. The themes of propaganda and government dishonesty weave through all the Oz universe movies, which makes it hard to figure out what is really happening and what is someone's perception of what is happening (I think this is most confusing with The Wiz). The "Good" and "Wicked" witches seem to be matters of opinion, and it appears that the Scarecrow and Tin Man were in this movie as students at the college, in human form, maybe?
 
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HuskyHawk said:
The Electric State. I liked this. It was funny. It didn’t take itself too seriously despite actually making some very meaningful points about a society too connected virtually and not present enough in the real world. It’s incredibly timely in that regard and I thought it was much better than expected. MBB does a good job and Pratt just plays Pratt. There’s a scene at a school where MBB’s character refuses to go virtual and I saw that as a clear comment on the failure of virtual school during COVID. The movie takes aim at some real ills in society and I liked the message.
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I watched it. It is definitely directed at a young audience. But it handles the material well. Definitely a surprise at the end. Very silly visuals but the characters had more depth than you would suspect. I liked that the characters suffered real and sometimes undeserved consequences. Two and a half stars.
 
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HuskyHawk said:
The Electric State. I liked this. It was funny. It didn’t take itself too seriously despite actually making some very meaningful points about a society too connected virtually and not present enough in the real world. It’s incredibly timely in that regard and I thought it was much better than expected. MBB does a good job and Pratt just plays Pratt. There’s a scene at a school where MBB’s character refuses to go virtual and I saw that as a clear comment on the failure of virtual school during COVID. The movie takes aim at some real ills in society and I liked the message.
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I decided to watch this instead of Duke trashing another opponent. It was fine. Might even be something I watch again after some distance to look for other messages. I didn't take the school scene as an indictment of virtual classes as much as I did an indictment on public education and conformity. And it wouldn't be far-fetched to find an attack on Musk & other tech leaders in the Tucci character. Of all the things it was, it was pretty amazing movie making as far as all the CGI goes, and incredibly inventive regarding the robot characters. Taco and his musical selections were perhaps the funniest part of the film. And Jason Alexander as a slovenly foster parent in it for the greed was a small part, but a part he handled well given it was such a departure from his usual characters. Inspired casting there.
 
storrsroars said:
I decided to watch this instead of Duke trashing another opponent. It was fine. Might even be something I watch again after some distance to look for other messages. I didn't take the school scene as an indictment of virtual classes as much as I did an indictment on public education and conformity. And it wouldn't be far-fetched to find an attack on Musk & other tech leaders in the Tucci character. Of all the things it was, it was pretty amazing movie making as far as all the CGI goes, and incredibly inventive regarding the robot characters. Taco and his musical selections were perhaps the funniest part of the film. And Jason Alexander as a slovenly foster parent in it for the greed was a small part, but a part he handled well given it was such a departure from his usual characters. Inspired casting there.
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Hold on. Jason Alexander as a lazy, cranky character is departure? Can't let that slide. Sorry.
 
Palatine said:
Hold on. Jason Alexander as a lazy, cranky character is departure? Can't let that slide. Sorry.
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George was not menacing and was vain. And his character here was not comedic and a total slob. Satisfied?
 
ZooCougar said:
You guys need to watch better movies. The Electtric State was .
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Pretty sure I've watched anything I considered possibly decent. Haven't watched Anora yet though. Seems to me the industry needs to make more movies that appeal to adults.
 
Saw a trailer for "Significant Other" several years ago, have been curious about it but I think it's only been available from Paramount+ and I just never sprang for that. Well now I have a free 1 week trial so I queued it up. I like both leads, Maika Monroe and Jake Lacy. Supposed to be a mystery/thriller involving a backpacking trip in the Pacific Northwest. Definitely got me with all that going for it.

It very quickly became apparent it was going to be something entirely different than I expected. I was pretty good with it for somewhere between 1/2 to 2/3, then it kinda went off the rails. That's okay though. I enjoyed the performances of Maika and Jake. The scenery was nice. It definitely was giving quintessential NW vibes. I wasn't ever sure where they filmed, but it passed the eye test. They even did fairly well with details for a backpacking trip w/ gear and clothes and camp site set up, I appreciated that, movies/tv are usually way off on that kind of stuff.

Had to watch thru the credits to see if they listed locations. They did, several of which I've been to. Oswald West and Nehalem Bay State Parks on the Oregon Coast, Silver Falls State Park near Salem, OR. A few other parks that I haven't been to, close to Portland and just inland from the ocean.
 
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storrsroars said:
Pretty sure I've watched anything I considered possibly decent. Haven't watched Anora yet though. Seems to me the industry needs to make more movies that appeal to adults.
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Anora is just a bad, sloppy movie. It has nothing to do with who they are targeting. Bad is just bad.
 
ZooCougar said:
You guys need to watch better movies. The Electtric State was .
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A lot of people dislike the big blockbusters in this era and then assume the whole movie industry sucks at the moment. Indie film scene has been great for years, international films are killing it as well, and there have been some great animated/documentary/short film years as well. Just gotta dig through the muck a little.
 
nwhoopfan said:
I must be losing my mind. How did these movies get nominated for Best Picture? "The Substance," nope. I'm most of the way thru "Anora" that won everything...nope. It's an R rated version of "Pretty Woman" w/ Russians and Armenians and lots of yelling and cussing, borderline pron. Best Picture? You have to be kidding. Hollywood is crazy.
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There was some parts that were decent - they actually sucked me in for a half hour or so during the slow mo chase portion of the movie. But the lead actor with the terrible russian accent and always switching from Russian to English was awful. One of the worst characters in a movie, ever.

I see the Oscar appreciation of it as a nod to the "sex worker as persecuted class" kind of thing.
 
nwhoopfan said:
The thing I couldn't get out of my head the whole time was thinking her character had been watching way too much "Jersey Shore." Maybe there are people who are really like that IRL. I find it hard to believe. So utterly classless, so tacky, yet either defiantly proud of such qualities or completely lacking self awareness so they don't even know they have such qualities.
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Not particularly. For what it's worth, the original original jersey shore cast were from Staten Island.
 
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ZooCougar said:
I’ll be watching a Val Kilmer movie tonight.
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Same. That is the plan. Wife suggested Tombstone, but I'm kind of in the mood for Real Genius, Heat or The Saint.
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
Been watching a lot of Asian movies recently, got some great recommendations so going through them.

Brief likes/dislikes:

Really liked Fallen Angels.
Liked Chungking Express, but seemed like a messier version of Fallen Angels.

The Farewell was really good. Not fully Asian but takes place there mostly. Great message in it.

Minari was good, kinda same deal as The Farewell but takes place in the US. Both A24 movies.

Oldboy was OUTSTANDING. Gonna rewatch soon.

Decision to Leave and Memories of Murder are next on my list.
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Have you seen Past Lives or Decision to Leave? Both good

Some recent watches:

*Anora - I liked it quite a bit even if it's not Lawrence of Arabia

*A Real Pain - Worth a watch if only to see Culkin's acting performance (Eisenberg's no slouch, either)

*The Count of Monte Cristo (French 2024 film) - This may be my favorite novel, and this is a pretty good version (there's also a European miniseries that recently came out, but it's not available in the US yet)

*Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary - Do you like Steely Dan? If so, you will enjoy it
 
nomar said:
Have you seen Past Lives or Decision to Leave? Both good

Some recent watches:

*Anora - I liked it quite a bit even if it's not Lawrence of Arabia

*A Real Pain - Worth a watch if only to see Culkin's acting performance (Eisenberg's no slouch, either)

*The Count of Monte Cristo (French 2024 film) - This may be my favorite novel, and this is a pretty good version (there's also a European miniseries that recently came out, but it's not available in the US yet)

*Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary - Do you like Steely Dan? If so, you will enjoy it
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Past Lives was my favorite movie of 2023, one of my favorites of the 2020’s as well. Not many movies portray loss/reconnection ao realistically.

I actually watched Decision to Leave a few months ago. Another great movie. Really cool mystery with so much symbolism and hidden messages. Park Chan Wook is a mastermind. Some people I know didn’t love it because it was hard to grasp at points, but I thought it was beautiful with a really great ending as well.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
Anora is wildly overrated. My biggest issue with the movie is that Mikey Madison is so unlikable as Anora that she comes off like she is running a scam on Ivan. There is no subtlety in her performance, and I have a hard time understanding why Ivan even falls for her. Why did she win best actress? The movie honestly would have been more interesting if it turns out she was running a scam on Ivan. Mark Eydelshteyn's Ivan is the only interesting character in the entire movie, playing an emotionally stunted oligarch's son. Igor has a little depth, and the rest of the Zakharov family and entourage are stereotypes.

The movie tries to say something about class and love, but there is way too much filler and a lot of random events that do not make sense and do not provide character development. It also feels like a lot of the first half of the movie consists of montages.

The search for Ivan was ridiculous. First, the scene was about 20 minutes too long. We didn't need a long, drawn out fetch quest scene that doesn't have much of anything to do with the core plot. It also makes the whole movie jump the shark. In a movie trying to be gritty and realistic, about 20 different people would have called the cops if a crew looking like that showed up in a dozen different places acting nuts, physically and verbally abusing everyone they come in contact with, while looking for a rich kid. And why didn't she run at any of 10 different points? How did she know they would not just kill her once they found Ivan? Why didn't she tell the judge that she was being held against her will? And a street smart girl would never get on a plane with that crew.

Why does the movie switch gears with 30 minutes left and try to develop a relationship between Anora and Igor?

The final scene of the movie doesn't make sense. It is clear that Igor is falling for her, she recognizes it, and abuses him anyway for the last 20 minutes which he deserves. I don't get the point of that, but fine. Then, at the very end, she tries to manipulate him with sex, completely initiating it, but then breaks down sobbing when he tries to kiss her. That scene feels gratuitous, and I can not figure out what it is trying to say about either character.

It is a big plot problem when everyone starts doing random things that don't make sense, because then nothing anyone does matters.
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I interpreted that final scene differently than you. She's not manipulating him at all. There's no motivation to manipulate him. He can give her nothing. I'm going to be vague here, even with the spoiler filter.

What happens, in my view, is that she finally recognizes that he was the best of the (bad) bunch and as a way of thanking him for returning the "R" to her, she offers the only thing she has to offer. She only then realizes (I don't know why you think she's recognized it previously -- she's had blinders on) that he has feelings for her and that perhaps she feels something for him too, and the entirety of what's gone on over the last few days and what she's doing with this man all catches up to her at the same time. It's a wonderful scene, with great acting from the two.

In general, I think people are caught up in the sex and madcap comedy (which was funny), and are having trouble grasping that the presence of those elements doesn't mean the film isn't good or serious. Everybody's entitled to their opinion, but count me out of the "akshully, the Oscar winning movie sucks" camp. I'm in the backlash-against-the-backlash camp.
 
nomar said:
I interpreted that final scene differently than you. She's not manipulating him at all. There's no motivation to manipulate him. He can give her nothing. I'm going to be vague here, even with the spoiler filter.

What happens, in my view, is that she finally recognizes that he was the best of the (bad) bunch and as a way of thanking him for returning the "R" to her, she offers the only thing she has to offer. She only then realizes (I don't know why you think she's recognized it previously -- she's had blinders on) that he has feelings for her and that perhaps she feels something for him too, and the entirety of what's gone on over the last few days and what she's doing with this man all catches up to her at the same time. It's a wonderful scene, with great acting from the two.

In general, I think people are caught up in the sex and madcap comedy (which was funny), and are having trouble grasping that the presence of those elements doesn't mean the film isn't good or serious. Everybody's entitled to their opinion, but count me out of the "akshully, the Oscar winning movie sucks" camp. I'm in the backlash-against-the-backlash camp.
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Agree with your take on the final scene, I thought it was pretty straightforward actually.

I liked Anora but I liked 3 or so of the Best Picture noms better than it. Good movie, not my favorite of the bunch.
 
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