I had zero interest in watching the Spiderverse movie until rave reviews on here and some friends who'd seen it over the holidays. I went today.
That was WAY better than I expected. It was really good. One of the better superhero movies for sure. And it kicks the pants off of Aquaman which I saw a couple days ago.
Same here. And I only went to see it because I had pretty much seen everything else that was on release.
If I had an all time top 10 list of unexpectedly brilliant movies, Into the Spiderverse would be very near to the top.
I recommend the Letterboxd app if you're a film buff. Great way to track and discover new stuff through a great community. letterboxd.com
Love this app, I just have to be more diligent in updating it and keeping track of what I’ve seen. I really hope Beale Street starts playing here pretty soon!
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Sorry to Bother You
Was it really the best on some objective scale? I don't know and I care surprisingly little. Im not sure when was the last time I left the theater feeling so "well I haven't seen THAT movie before". Maybe Pulp Fiction? It was thoroughly entertaining, pushed a lot of right buttons for me and was just fun in a non-calculating and non-obvious ways that felt really good amongst all the Disney candy I've had recently. I'm always a sucker for brazen anti-capitalism propaganda and full frontal horse dick jokes.
Death of Stalin
Sure it came out in 2017, but I think most saw it this year so what ever. It rides on a massive historical anachronisms and inaccuracies and the humor was so black it was impossible to laugh at it sometimes, but it was also genuinely entertaining and had an actual point to what it was doing. Again, well made and actually different.
First Man
Honestly surprised this made my top list. I'm not usually much for realistic space travel films, nor biopics, especially movies about all-American man-heroes. But this was just everything that can be good about historical biopics. Instead of the usual uncritical romanticizing of some flavor of (let's face it: highly problematic) masculinity and history making, or a vapid first-year-at-art-school blanket condemnation of everything others find meaning in, it was a really thoughtful film about certain types of people and their drive to make the history books, and how complicated both things really are in a way that can't simply be described with any blanket statements. Plus it had all the important parts of traditionally excellent film making. The acting was downplayed yet evocative and the technical aspects of cinematic storytelling were top notch. This is the type of movie that deserves to be showered with traditional film awards if for nothing else than just showing how such old school films about old school topics can still be completely relevant if executed with skill and vision.
It will also make a lot of comparable biopic look vapid and bland in comparison. "Well it's not exactly First Man" is a criticism I'm definitely going to throw at something in the future.
Honorable mentions: Suspiria
It was more okay than great, but it was just such a great example of revisiting a classic while making a movie that stands on it own that I can't not mention it. Plus the first dancemagic scene is a killer, and the ending is... certainly memorable
Avengers: Infinity War
I love Marvel, but they're never likely to be my favorites of the year simply because while they're doing I think the be job you can with these kinds of blockbusters, they're always shot and scored in really boring ways and that just takes the sharpest edge off of anything they do.
That said, it was remarkable to think that this film not only exists, but was a smash hit. We're very likely nearing the highpoint of what Disney gets out of these characters and story lines, but the amount of skill it takes to mash together such a mountain of previous worldbuilding into a coherent and highly entertaining film that actually manages to pay off the commitment fans have put into it is remarkable. This film should have too many characters but it doesn't, it should be bewilderingly incoherent but isn't, and it should play things incredibly safe but it really doesn't.
The MCU might be pretty close to my favorite Marvel now, and that's really something for someone who basically grew up on eighties X-Men.
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Bad Times at the El Royale kept me entertained and wanting more. Great ensemble cast and a weird Tarantino-ish feeling to it.
In addition to what you said, I really enjoyed the setting. A fantastic setup to the story and the patient viewer is rewarded with an excellent movie IMO.
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Watched Vice tonight. Probably a 4/10 for me. Like I suspected if you’re not a hardcore Democrat it’s not going to appeal to you. Jumped around too much. No character development.
The constant talking over by the dude from Breaking Bad was annoying.
Whoever compared it to big short couldn’t be more wrong. The only thing similar is Steve Carrel plays essentially the same character.
Last edited by Weitz; 01-06-2019 at 10:12 PM.
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I saw Vice yesterday as well. I agree that it jumped around a little too much, but that’s the problem the filmmakers had with the subject matter. There just isn’t a lot of detail to be found on Cheney. That can hardly be surprising given his nature. While it was a valiant attempt at making a coherent film, it did fall apart in the narrative structure a little. The big moments didn’t feel big enough, but the performances were exceptional. Bonus points for ridiculously good makeup work. Bale looks almost exactly like Cheney throughout.
The handful of directorial flourishes, like the scene at the restaurant ordering from the menu of horrible tactics used on foreign combatants, added quite a bit to a subject that had been well covered up to this point. Not much was new information except his ancient history. Some of the details put together were very intriguing, and I liked the focus group scene in the credits.
All in all, it’s a solid to good film, but not exceptional.
7.5/10
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I realized that I have a few reviews to catch up on from my holiday viewing:
Holmes & Watson: *disclaimer-I am a huge fan of Reilly and Ferrell together in anything. They have exceptional comedic chemistry together and that alone is worth watching*.
Ok, let’s be real, this isn’t a good movie by any stretch, but it is terribly fun to watch. Some gags are stale, and others are played out too long, but the good stuff is very funny. Simply watching these two very American actors attempt what are obviously silly versions of English accents was quite fun. A few parts of the film are meant to lampoon the Robert Downey Jr. films on Holmes, and so this was clearly written a while ago. Those jokes feel stale, even if well executed. There are also a lot of plot devices and minor characters that are half heartedly developed with confusing results. Let’s get real, this is a vehicle to allow two comedians to be silly together on screen for less than 90 minutes. The short run time is clearly due to over editing a full on mess from day one. It’s sloppy and disjointed.
BUT, and this is a huge but, there are plenty of laughs and silliness to be found. If you’re in the mood for this kind of movie, watch it. You’ll find enough to be entertained. Just don’t pay much for it.
3/10
Mary Poppins Returns:
This is a brave film to make. It’s almost on the level of making a sequel to Citizen Kane or Gone With the Wind. Hallowed ground to be sure. However, this is a surprisingly lovely movie. Charming and impish, Blunt’s version of Poppins falls much closer to the books (which I am currently reading to my son so I have been comparing it to the Andrews version of Poppins a lot). She’s not the singer that Andrews is (nobody is), but she brings her own charm to the role. My big gripe is that it follows nearly the same plot as the first film, just slightly different situations. There is some more intense gravitas with the loss of the children’s mother, which is explored beautifully in one of the songs, but there’s no big moment between father and children the way there is in the first film.
The look of the film is incredible, and the musical numbers are adequate, but hardly memorable. Lin-Manuel Miranda as Jack gives a major shot in the arm to the Everyman character that is foil to Poppins’ austerity and brings her out of her shell. He isn’t the goofball of the first film, but rather an earnest and plucky guy that simply enjoys life and is ready to lend a helping hand to anyone and everyone.
Meryl Streep’s small role is decent enough, but too goofball for my liking. However, I’m sure kids will like it. It has a vague Harry Potter feel to it.
Emily Mortimer is completely wasted and forced into a story that has no room for her character. It would have been much better for it simply to be grown Michael and children, rather than bring Jane in to attempt a full revival of the old days. More time could have been spent on the difficulties of Michael being a father and perhaps reflecting on the parenting style he learned from his father. That was a major theme of the first film, and it could have been explored with great emotional impact. A huge missed opportunity IMO.
But at the end, people are going to this film to see magic, whimsy, and most of all, something fun. This film delivers that, but not overwhelmingly so. In the end, I enjoyed it, but it won’t stay with me long.
7/10
The Favourite:
A thoroughly engaging film from beginning to end, even though it boils down to little more than junior high school girl politics. All of Colman, Stone, and Weiss deliver exceptional performances throughout. Much of the film rests on their capable shoulders, and they play off each other so well. Colman is especially good in this film. The supporting cast is all very good as well, especially Nicholas Hoult. It’s a beautiful film to watch. Just a handful of locations/rooms, but all exquisitely decorated. Exceptional costume work as well. The lighting appears to be all natural lighting (either sunlight or fire/candle light) which makes for a mood that feels very authentic and intense at times. Too much use of fish eye lenses for my liking though.
This is a truly funny movie, with lots of dark sarcasm and scathing remarks back and forth. It’s somewhat serious as well, based loosely on historical events and people. But this is the kind of dark humor that is accessible to an audience, rather than the severe and uncomfortable humor of The Lobster. Some anachronistic items are included to help the audience relate a little more to the film, and I think it’s used just enough to be effective without being heavy handed.
If period pieces with sharp wit as the main weapon being used isn’t your thing, stay away, but otherwise, check this one out. You won’t be sorry.
9/10.
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If we can't fall in love with replaceable bottom 6 players then the terrorists have won.
Watched First Man last night, great movie. However I was not aware of Neil Armstrong's personal history, thus I was not prepared to be emotionally gutted in the first 10 minutes of the film
Spoiler!
Having my own 2 year old daughter running around as we were watching did not help things. When they showed the small casket of Neil's daughter I almost had to walk away for a bit, total gut punch
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I caught Jaws and Lawrence of Arabia last night. Both perfect movies to me; two of my all-time favorites. I love the characterization in both movies, both were able to create dynamic characters. Compare Jaws to any run-of-the-mill monster movies nowadays and it's night and day. It's the cream of the crop, and
I'm going to start reading more on Lawrence. I've seen the movie countless times, and I need to learn more about what made him tick. I don't think there are many movies that show character changes (perhaps Michael Corleone) quite like Lawrence. It's not a short movie, but it's an absolute must watch.
Meanwhile Bohemian Rhapsody an average movie goes out and wins Best Picture at the Golden Globes.... they really don't make them like they used to.
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The Meryl Streep bit was awful IMO. I get they were trying to re-create the "I Love to Laugh" scene from the original but neither the song nor the scene was good.
I loved the movie, however the two biggest disappointments to me were the forgettable-ness of the songs (about the only one I thought was catchy was A Book is not the Cover", and the fact that it was almost a scene-for-scene recreation of the first.
The Royal Dalton part was fun, and the return of the penguins cracked me up.
Couldn't be happier they did actual animation with live-action. From what I've read Disney wanted CGI as per their MO and I think that would have ruined it. Glad Rob Marshall fought for that.
We watched 'Won't You Be My Neighbour' recently and it was excellent.
I can't imagine living as an actual person the way Fred Rogers did but the fact that he did it was amazing.
That being said, I'd have been more interested in seeing some of the negative aspects focused on a bit more. Not negative about Mr. Rogers himself, but rather people trying (and digging hard) to find negative aspects about him.
I dont want to get into it too much, but at one point there were protesters and they were vilifying Rogers for tolerating and accepting homosexuals.
When pressed upon this point they indicate that they werent outraged because they thought Rogers was a homosexual, they were outraged because as an ordained minister he tolerated homosexuals.
Which is totally insane. They were intolerant of his tolerance. And they really wanted people to know it. Wow.
There was even a sort segment on Fox News indicating that they felt that Mr. Rogers' stance of "I like you just the way you are" is what has lead to the laziness and entitlement of Millennials.
You cant make this stuff up.
If you think Mr. Rogers is evil I think that requires a seriously long look in the mirror and some heavy contemplation and self-evaluation.
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Has anyone seen the movie Krull? It looks super weird but I'm curious. I see Sunrise has a special VHS looking cover for it and it came out today wondering if its worth to pick up or not.
Has anyone seen the movie Krull? It looks super weird but I'm curious. I see Sunrise has a special VHS looking cover for it and it came out today wondering if its worth to pick up or not.
I watched it when i was a kid and can't remember much of it, but hey, watch the whole thing right now!
Edit: Wait, Liam Neeson??
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Bad Times at the El Royale kept me entertained and wanting more. Great ensemble cast and a weird Tarantino-ish feeling to it.
I enjoyed this movie as well. It did kind of feel like an attempt at a Tarantino movie that's good but not quite up to his level. Still good cast and decently entertaining.
I took my 6 year old to go see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse..
MAN.
OH MAN.
That was brain melting at the end. I loved it so much. My daughter got startled a couple of times, but she was bouncing to the music and loved the visuals. Can't wait to buy that movie.
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