Rate / Review the Last Film you've seen v.3

[Fawkesfan1]

Just got done watching Kubo and the Two Strings. Loved it. It was a very nice movie. Loved the acting, the cinematography and the artwork. 8/10

[Dedalus Diggle]

Oceans 8 - overall just kinda cute 5/10; I generally don't like movies that lionize criminality without some justification for the crime (as in Les Miserables or original Death Wish). These were just evil greedy women - bleah. Also jewels, especially well-known ones, have become about the least stealworthy things out there, as they are all x-ray etched internally and easily traceable when resold.

A Quiet Place - really well made. if you accept all the premises, then it is really good. 8/10. Loses points for something that really annoys me - in the end

Spoiler: show

they find these auditory superpredators can be shot! Well, why did no one in the whole US of A think of THAT before!?!? Yeah, we have no one who would shoot creatures trying to slaughter everyone! The military and police must have tried to negotiate :eyeroll: And another thing - auditory hunters would be really overwhelmed with all the sound sources in cities, wouldn't they?

[jordmundt6]

The superpredators can be shot when their ears are exposed or when they lose orientation. If you shoot at them, even with tank shells at any other time, their outer armor repels it. Why exactly the sound waves from firing guns don't bother them is a mystery, though.

Kubo and the Two Strings is gorgeous animation, a stellar cast, and about 3/4 of an excellent movie. But the ending is just...well, the resolution (as it pertains to the grandfather) is just ruinous.

ETA--And I loved Ocean's 8. Not as strong as the Ocean's 11 remake, but certainly the equal of the sequels with a stellar cast. And I thought most of the crew was both entertaining and sympathetic.

[Fawkesfan1]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

The superpredators can be shot when their ears are exposed or when they lose orientation. If you shoot at them, even with tank shells, the outer armor repels it. Why exactly the sound waves from firing guns don't bother them is a mystery, though.

Kubo and the Two Strings is gorgeous animation, a stellar cast, and about 3/4 of an excellent movie. But the ending is just...resolution (as it pertains to the grandfather) is just ruinous.

ETA--And I loved Ocean's 8. Not as strong as the Ocean's 11 remake, but certainly the equal of the sequels with a stellar cast. And I thought most of the crew was both entertaining and sympathetic.

Yea...

Spoiler: show

The whole letting him live and lying to him about what he was like... I didn't really like that at all. After all that he'd done. No. He should have just been left to die.

[Dedalus Diggle]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

The superpredators can be shot when their ears are exposed or when they lose orientation. If you shoot at them, even with tank shells, the outer armor repels it. Why exactly the sound waves from firing guns don't bother them is a mystery, though.

Are you piecing together this from the movie itself - like post-hoc explanations of idiomatic sayings - or is there some authoritative source?

[jordmundt6]

There are clippings in the father's basement work area that I think show aerial and ground attacks, specifically tanks that fail well before the main body of the movie takes place. The thing about the vulnerability to shotgun shells when equilibrium is thrown off by the specific frequency in the daughter's hearing aid is what I can surmise from what I actually watched happen onscreen every time the creatures were close enough to trigger that hearing aid.

[Dedalus Diggle]

I don't think it was the creature's proximity that set it off, but feedback between the microphone and the hearing aid.

[Anhelda]

A Wrinkle In Time--visually awesome with some very good acting, especially by Storm Reid. I have to admit it's been ages since I read the book, so I don't recall it well enough to comment on how closely the movie follows it, but I thought that the climax was a little underwhelming (admittedly, I saw it on a screen on an airplane, so it may have needed a bigger screen to really shine), and there were some moments in the film that moved a little slow. Overall I liked it, despite some minor flaws.

[Fawkesfan1]

Finally saw Black Panther. Really liked it. The acting was good, so was the cinematography, the fight scenes and it was worth the watch overall. 8/10

Just saw a Quiet Place. It was ok, but it was so full of plot holes that it could be distracting and the pacing was too slow and plodding at points. 4/10

[jordmundt6]

Proximity set it off three times before they used the microphone. Once in the field, once in the silo, and once in the basement.

I REALLY wanted to like A Wrinkle in Time. The total shredding of Dr. Murry was unpardonable and I'm not sure they gained enough with the adoption angle to counterbalance razoring out The Twins and the truths about Meg that her mother is sure of, even if she isn't. The 2000 telefilm was terrible, but at least it made a passable effort of portraying Control and the battle with It. This did neither. *sigh*

[Anhelda]

Mary and the Witch's Flower--saw this one on Netflix. The animation is Miyazaki-style beautiful, with the broom-flying sequences a direct descendant of the flying scenes from Kiki's Delivery Service. The story is entertaining, but after starting with a big adventure scene, it lags for a bit before picking up again. The magical world shown in the movie is never really explained very well, so there's no depth to that aspect, but it allows for some gorgeous whimsical animation. The "bad guys" are presented somewhat inconsistently--sometimes they seem straight-up evil, sometimes just misguided. Overall, it was a pleasantly diverting film, good for family viewing, but not something that's going to stay with me like a Studio Ghibli classic like Kiki's Delivery Service or Spirited Away.

[Dedalus Diggle]

Won't You Be My Neighbor - 9/10 overall well-crafted, a little meandering, not as hagiographic as some might want it, often a celebration of Fred Rogers's values and approach, apart from just saying them. An interesting set of comments to me came from Francois Clemmons, the gay black man who played the police officer (also named Francois). At one point, he explains how he had gone to a gay bar and had a very good time - details omitted - and when it got around the rumor mill, Rogers told him he could not continue to do that and stay on the show because the sponsors would not condone it. In this age, great opprobrium would have been heaped on anyone telling a gay person this, but there was no hint of criticism. Then later, Clemmons tells how even earlier in their relationship, at the end of taping a segment in which Rogers tells the police office "Francois, I love you just the way you are," he said to Rogers 'Fred, were you talking to me?' - implying to him as a person, not as a character - and Rogers responds "I have been telling you that for three years and you are only now hearing it." Clemmons went on to describe how he had never heard from another man that he was loved and just fine as he is, and from that moment on, Rogers was his substitute father. It puts the gay-bar comments in a whole new perspective, that it was not at all about condemnation of the person. And it illustrates the whole theme of the show very well.

[Anhelda]

Ant Man and the Wasp--after the serious ending of Avengers: Infinity War, the MCU could certainly use the relatively lighthearted romp that was Ant Man and the Wasp. This movie had several moments that made me laugh out loud, both with the expected sight gags of small things being enlarged and large things shrunk and with several witty lines of dialogue. Paul Rudd does a good job again as Scott Lang/Ant Man, but Evangeline Lily is fantastic as Hope van Dyne/The Wasp, and Michael Pena is a scene-stealer again. The villain is more developed and interesting than in the first Ant Man movie, and the effects they used to put her onscreen were cool. Overall, this was a fun movie, and a welcome bit of humor before we get back to Thanos' Big Badness (Ant Man and the Wasp takes place before Infinity War, so the effects of Thanos' actions don't play out in the movie until the very end--so stay for the end credits scenes).

[Fawkesfan1]

Just saw Deadpool 2 and RBG. Both good films. The latter film especially. Well worth the watch. Loved the humor in Deadpool 2.


RBG is very nicely done. It gives a good picture of her as a person and of the work and the effort she put in over the years.


Deadpool 2 isn't perfect, but it made me laugh a lot and I really liked a lot of the meta humor.


RBG - 9/10

Deadpool 2 -- 7/10



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Finally saw 'Won't you be my Neighbor?'. Loved it. It reminded me of my childhood and that's never bad to keep your inner child and to remember to be kind towards others. I respect him even more now. Making sure to pick this up on dvd. 10/10

Originally Posted by Dedalus Diggle

Won't You Be My Neighbor - 9/10 overall well-crafted, a little meandering, not as hagiographic as some might want it, often a celebration of Fred Rogers's values and approach, apart from just saying them. An interesting set of comments to me came from Francois Clemmons, the gay black man who played the police officer (also named Francois). At one point, he explains how he had gone to a gay bar and had a very good time - details omitted - and when it got around the rumor mill, Rogers told him he could not continue to do that and stay on the show because the sponsors would not condone it. In this age, great opprobrium would have been heaped on anyone telling a gay person this, but there was no hint of criticism. Then later, Clemmons tells how even earlier in their relationship, at the end of taping a segment in which Rogers tells the police office "Francois, I love you just the way you are," he said to Rogers 'Fred, were you talking to me?' - implying to him as a person, not as a character - and Rogers responds "I have been telling you that for three years and you are only mow hearing it." Clemmons went on to describe how he had never heard from another man that he was loved and just fine as he is, and from that moment on, Rogers was his substitute father. It puts the gay-bar comments in a whole new perspective, that it was not at all about condemnation of the person. And it illustrates the whole theme of the show very well.

Exactly. It showed that he cared for him, regardless. People judge way too easy these days and it's good to see that he was one that didn't do that. That he cared for someone just the way they were.

[Anhelda]

Trolls--it was....cute, I guess. I should preface this by saying that I've never been a fan of troll dolls, so I wasn't predisposed to like it automatically. There were some fun moments, but some of the stuff was so random, like what's the deal with the scrapbooking and why do the Bergens have roller skating? The voice acting was good, and the story had some good messages, but the animation didn't wow me, and I wasn't really impressed by the songs. Overall, I thought it was okay, but I don't see it getting repeat viewings from me. Having said that, there's a woman that I work with who says she loves it, so your mileage may vary.

[Anhelda]

Just finished some long flights to and from Asia, so I got a few in-flight movies to check out:

Annihilation--visually gorgeous, and the all-woman team sent in to check out the Shimmer, which is an area of marked abnormality around the site of a meteorite impact, was both nice and nonsensical--nice because yay, woman-power, but nonsensical because they were sent in after the disappearance of previous teams, so you would think that the powers that be would have sent at least a few people with military/fighting experience into an apparently dangerous area. The movie tries to be high-concept, but it gets bogged down in its own significance, making it at least a little confusing at times. Overall, an okay movie, not one that I regret seeing but I doubt I'll look it up again.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again--still as silly as the last one, and some of the plot twists seem very contrived, but there's still some heartfelt moments in the film that were surprisingly moving.

Spoiler: show

Admittedly, that's because Amanda Seyfried's character is dealing with the death of her mother, who was Meryl Streep in the first film, and having lost my mother just a couple years ago, this may have hit home a little more than it would in someone without that history.

Anyway, the songs are a mix of "new" ones (meaning ones not heard in the previous film), and some repeats, and there' still a wide range of talent in the singing (from some singing talent to none, that is). I do have to admit that there were times when I got confused as to whether I was seeing present day Amanda Seyfried or flashback Lily James in a couple places because of the juxtaposition between past and present storytelling in the framework of the movie; that may be a testament to good casting, since James is playing the young version of Seyfried's onscreen mother. It's corny, but in a harmless, popcorn-movie way. Again, not one I'll be eager to hunt down for repeat viewing, but not one I regret wasting time on.

Ready Player One--the Easter-eggiest of all Easter egg movies, this is a massive homage to all things pop culture from the 1980s and 1990s, with a few things going back even farther and a few more recent things, but the 1980-2000 period seems the most represented. The acting is all right, the characters are decent, the CGI is all-encompasing. There's some plot holes, some confusing turns of events, and I hear from readers of the book that there's a lot that's different from the original story (and most of those book readers aren't happy about that), but overall this was entertaining. That may be at least in part because I had fun noticing all the stuff from my formative years that got included in the Easter eggs. This is by far not Spielberg at his best, but it's still fun and engaging, even if none of it really stays with me after it's over (I had to struggle to remember that this was one of the movies I watched.)

The Meg--pure popcorn cheesiness, with an improbable plot and a lot less damage done than I was expecting in a story with prehistoric monster sharks swimming around in the present day. Still, it was surprising humorous at times, and if you overlooked the obvious question of why a giant shark would persistently attack puny little people that would be the giant shark equivalent of eating a tic tac instead of going after large whales and giant squids and more significant sources of megalodon nutrition, it was entertaining. The fact that it was made to play strongly in China/East Asia was pretty obvious in the casting and locations, but it didn't come across as forced or unreasonable as it sometimes does. Most of the expected shark movie tropes are hit (except the annoying kid trope, which is subverted because the 8 year old girl is pretty entertaining), and nothing is really a surprise, but it's still a reasonably entertaining film, although nowhere near Jaws level shark movie awesomeness (Original Jaws, that is; the sequels ranged from fair in the case of Jaws II to worst movie I have ever seen in the case of Jaws IV).

I attempted to watch both The Incredibles 2 and Maze Runner: The Death Cure, but I fell asleep during both of them and can't give proper reviews as a result. Not that the movies were boring, but just that I was fading from long periods of sitting in the dark on the plane, which lead to hypersomnolence on my part. I'll get back to them eventually...this post is getting really long, anyway, so it's probably just as well.

[Dedalus Diggle]

I have seen a bunch I have failed to offer reviews on (there are more than these - I have been into movies lately):
Small Group – I enjoyed it a lot. Definitely a religious-based movie, but not squeaky either. The characters are real enough. I know people very much like every one of them. But no one I a saint either (except possibly the guy who runs the mission, but he’s realistic too). There were a few plot things that were a little too convenient, but I have trouble thinking of a movie where that is not so. Definitely worth a see.

Alpha – another I enjoyed a lot. If you enjoyed Quest for Fire, you’ll enjoy this. I had a friend that found the hunting scenes and injuries stressful to see, but it is very much a survival movie.

Incredibles 2 – really good. True to the spirit and humor of the first. A couple of plot holes, but you don’t realize them until you think it through later. Lots of fun.

A Star is Born – Also really good. I am not sure I would think of it as an Oscar-contender as is being touted, but the music is good and the emotions are well-presented.

Black Panther – as an adventure-superhero movie, good enough, but I really do not get the adulation. Particularly as a black-empowerment icon, it reeks. 2 points in particular. First, well, woohoo, it has this mythical Wakanda kingdom that has existed for thousands of years in great opulence, technological advance, and power, while letting the entire rest of Africa go on as an impoverished, disease-ridden, violent backwater – and they are heroic for that!?; Second, it was supposed to be such a powerful moment when the Wakandans collectively shouted down the American White Guy who was merely trying to share with them factual information they really needed (he was not telling them what they should do, how to live, etc. – just giving info), and rejecting information because a White Guy was trying to offer it was supposed to be a good thing: ignorance is not good for anyone.

Annihilation - agree with Anhelda, except there was some military in the team. The sci-fi stuff got too convoluted.

Deadpool 2 – very funny, but REALLY crude

A Simple Favor – really liked this one a lot. Really effective use of Kendrick’s character’s mommy-blog to move the story. I liked the peripheral characters as well. Plus they showed Blake Lively running through the woods naked – Yay!

Crazy Rich Asians – way overrated; it was fine, but really just two women sparring over their relationship to the main lead guy; there are plenty of other movies just as good along these lines. I think the big deal with this movie is that all the important roles are Asian. Meh, it’s the same old, just different faces.

Isle of Dogs – really, really weird. Engaging, but weird. Too mush of a play on the stereotype that Japan is bizarre to western sensibilities

Bad Times at the El Royale – Entertaining, very well-made, pretty violent. Lots of quirky twists and turns

The House With a Clock in its Walls – Good enough. Did not really get into a groove. Worth seeing, if you don’t want something that will shock or make you think

Christopher Robin – well-made and acted, but the characters were so 2-dimensional – reminiscent of the original Poppins, but without the really awesome effects (for the time) and songs

Rampage – basic adventure movie, good vehicle for Dwayne Johnson, nothing special though.

Skyscraper - basic adventure movie, good vehicle for Dwayne Johnson, nothing special though.

Hotel Transylvania 3 – some good laughs, mostly a string of sight-gags, vapid

The Gosnell Movie – very much worth seeing, nearly all of the dialogue was taken from trial transcripts and investigator notes. Even with severely soft-pedalling the gore, it was jarring. The acting was excellent. To me, it is not really an anti-abortion movie, as some have claimed, because it was about a (real) situation where the laws were not in the slightest observed. It does present a challenge for all that medical facilities really should be held to decent standards, whatever the procedures being performed are.

[Anhelda]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom--entertaining, but best not to think too hard about it. It has a lot of things reminiscent of The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2 (and that's not praise), but the characters are somewhat more engaging in the latest movie. The on-island stuff goes by fairly quickly, then suddenly you're on the mainland with an improbable dino adventure in northern California. No spoilers, so I won't go into detail, but there's some brachiosaurus-sized plot holes, hence the "don't think too hard about it" line above. The ending is both uplifting to the conservationist in me, and disturbing in a "you're going to get people killed with that stunt you just pulled" way. Jeff Goldblum's much-touted appearance is a cameo that adds essentially nothing to the movie except a marketing stunt. Still, Pratt and Howard do a decent job, the new kid-in-danger role is adequately done, and the new sidekicks have some interesting moments. Overall, I enjoyed it for what it is--a Hollywood spectacle with action, explosions, and cool dinosaurs, but a movie that won't win any awards for plot, story, or intelligence.

(The YouTube "How It Should Have Ended" video for this movie is hilarious and right on the money, by the way, pointing out the extreme silliness of some of those aforementioned plot holes and demonstrating more realistic consequences for some of the head-scratching character decisions than were in the film.)

[Dedalus Diggle]

I saw 2 this weekend

Beautiful Boy - 7/10 Overall very good, the acting is excellent, the whole thing is kind of grim and frustrating, which is appropriate for a realistic depiction of addiction. There have been lots of plaudits for Chalumet's acting, but the opportunities for showing much range were limited, so I am not sure this is warranted. On the other hand, Carell had lots of opportunity, and did very well. If I had to really complain about something it is that after several years as an active meth addict, Chalumet's character should look far grosser than he was ever shown - tweaking is really hard on the body, far beyond the lack of nutrition, etc. that many other drug abusers go through.

2001: A Space Odyssey - on the Retro showing, I saw this in all its glory. Seeing it after all these years on big screen, there is an urge to say, 'it looks like so many other space movies' - NO They look like 2001. This was the breakthrough and the standard, and while there are a few technical quibbles in hindsight, no movie escapes such. It can be hard to watch for the pacing - we are used to brisker pacing and more active plotting. This is definitely a very arty movie. Taken in that vein, and as a technical SFX breakthrough, it is more than a 10/10. If you just want Star Wars/Guardians type action, it's probably a 1/10 - but some things just have to be addressed on their own level.

[Anhelda]

Pacific Rim: Uprising--well, it was okay. As expected for a sequel, there were a number of callbacks to the original movie, but since most of the original cast did not return, a whole new cast of characters had to carry the story forward. For the most part, the acting was adequate, the story had a couple surprise twists, but (without giving overt spoilers) Chekhov's gun was taken off the wall and fired by the end of the movie. Effects were well done, which is crucial for a movie like this. Overall, this movie was okay--some interesting moments, decent action, good effects, but nothing that will stick in my mind after the movie. I'm glad I saw it, and I might watch it again if I find it on TV while flipping channels, but I probably won't seek it out. To be honest, I feel the same about the first Pacific Rim movie.