Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Buscemi2
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Ferdinand 7/10

The classic story of pacifism gets a surprisingly decent update from the Blue Sky people. Though you do still have the typical Blue Sky cliches and some of the animation could have used some smoothing, the film is elevated by John Cena's charming performance as the flower-loving bull. It also helps that it feels more like Blue Sky is trying to ape Pixar rather than DreamWorks like they usually do.

It's not at the level of The Peanuts Movie but it's more tolerable than say, something like Rio 2.
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Ron Burgundy
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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I dont think the 'hitting' part needs to be done repetitively (unless a comedy), its the 'hitting' part which needs to be slowed down, emphasised and 'smashed' over the head

And I think District 9 had violence injected not only to please the numbers, it was pretty much part of the story

Im very much looking forward to Downsizing :)

And no bad after thoughts of Star Wars bar 1- my little brothers opinion, but it did affect mine- about the villian: SPOILER ALERT!
He says that snoke not only didnt die, but will come back in the 3rd film. My only gripe is that snoke was somewhat a little too easily killed after somehow living this long
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Ron Burgundy wrote:
And no bad after thoughts of Star Wars bar 1- my little brothers opinion, but it did affect mine- about the villian: SPOILER ALERT!
He says that snoke not only didnt die, but will come back in the 3rd film. My only gripe is that snoke was somewhat a little too easily killed after somehow living this long
To quote the line from Dewey Cox: It's the worst case of someone being cut in half I've ever seen. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Proud Mary 2/10

The marketing was a lot better than the film. Instead of an ass-kicking throwback to 70's action films, Taraji P. Henson's new film is as generic and forgettable as they come. The flat characters barely register as this darkly-lit TV movie-like film goes through the cliches usually seen in every straight-to-DVD movie about mobs or hired killers. It also makes the mistake of taking itself far too seriously as its 88 minutes feel a lot longer when it needs to be over-the-top like the Pam Grier vehicles it aspires to be. There is that one moment of action that the ad campaign promised but it feels more like the result of a reshoot when Sony realized they wouldn't get an R rating if they didn't ramp up the action (Dunkirk is more violent than this).

In short, the biggest disappointment so far in a young year.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Haven't posted a bunch of reviews ina while

Split
Occasional fun, particularly in McAvoy's multiuple personalities. However, they forgot to make Anya Taylor Joy a character.

Brawl in Cell Block 99
Totally overlong for what is essentially a fight movie. Some brutal sequences, and some interesting character choices, although Vaughn doesn't seem comfortable with the dialogue and Don Johnson chews the scenary.

Annabell Creation
Overlit and terribly acted.

Amant Double
Ozon has fun in this psycho-sexual thriller. Its tongue could have been more firmly in its cheek, becaue it doesn't work as a serious film, but the visuals and surprised are entertaining.

Thelma
A lesbian supernatural drama should be more thrilling than this, but Joaquim Trier makes this ultra-serious. Still quite interesting in its themes, even if it doesn't know what to dow ith them.

Lucky
Languid but moving swan song for the great Harry Dean Stanton. The character feels very much like the actor, and thus he carries the film completely. Farewell, HD.

Coco
There are a few beautiful sequences in this film, but not enough to compensate for the fairly standard plotting and heavy-handed stating of the theme (value your family), placing it somewhere in the middle of Pixar's films

Darkest Hour
Gary Oldman is great as Churchill, but the director fails to delve deep enough into his mind, often pulling back to show wider spaces or playing camera tricks to make the film more dynamic, and cold.

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Ron Burgundy
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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so, no ratings six?

or are they all 6?
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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5s and 6s. Annabelle is a 4.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Commuter 7.5/10
Non-Stop was slightly less fun on a train, but hey at least Liam Neeson and Jaume Collet-Serra continue to deliver enjoyable, high-concept B-movies. Looking forward to seeing Neeson kick ass on a cruise ship in a few years.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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transformers2 wrote: Looking forward to seeing Neeson kick ass on a cruise ship in a few years.
As long as they don't attempt to remake Speed 2: Cruise Control. Gack.
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Phantom Thread 10/10

I guess they the industry really was saving the best for last. Paul Thomas Anderson's newest (where he served as director, writer, and cinematographer) is definitely one of his better films, combining the awkward love story of Punch-Drunk Love with the intensity of The Master in this story of a fashion designer who develops a relationship with a waitress at a seaside hotel and soon finds things growing to a torrid and difficult affair. Daniel Day-Lewis, in possibly his final performance, picks a hell of a way to go out as his portrayal of Reynolds Woodcock is a difficult and layered character, balancing genius with madness. Vicky Krieps is a nice find as Alma, his main source of inspiration. And I have to wonder why no one is talking about Lesley Manville's performance. That's a supporting performance that benefits without being showy. Anderson's cinematography takes a lot of cues from Stanley Kubrick, using a lot of tight shots, close-ups, and color, without looking too flashy and never flat. A 70mm print I'd imagine really shows off the film's beauty. And Jonny Greenwood does another stellar score that will certainly get snubbed by the Academy.

I'm seeing The Shape of Water tomorrow and it's going to be a tall order for it to top this one. This might be the best film of 2017.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Im a big fan of PTA, im really looking forward to Phantom Thread.

The Foreigner
Wow, what blast! Such good pace, many twists and turns, good close quarters action, almost everything about this was awesome. Highly recommended for Shryke and Tranny (incase you haven't seen it yet)
8.5/10

American Made
Almost like a combo of Blow, the 2nd half of Goodfellas and every B grade crime movie. Thats a bad summary, but i cant place this movie. Its almost certain Tom Cruise is too old for this role, but being such a big name, i spose the producers couldn't pass this up. There were some moments, just not very good ones. Not awful but not good
4.5/10

Happy Death Day
I wanted to like this and at times i thought i was going to. But no. Contrived and a little bit predictable. The story which is basically Groundhog Day, but lead actress, gets murdered every night by same dude in mask. Never was actually explained, also irritating rather than ambiguous. But it is sometimes interesting watching each day unfold the same way, just taking another pathway, so kudos for the idea. Just dont expect anything like Groundhog Day like i did.
5.5/10

and will mention it here, rather than in the other thread

Rabbit Proof Fence
Been meaning to watch this one for years. I actually am currently working in a community not far from where this took place. About the stolen generation, Aboriginal halfcast kids who were taken from their families in remote Western Australia. While it was a touching story, it lacked true tension and kids who escaped a 'stolen' kids camp almost with all the luck in the world but with some real desperation to go home (only about 1000 miles away) are very 1 dimensional and i felt the direction was lacklustre though moving. I could be a little harsh but i need more action. Jason Clarke also plays in a minor role way back before anyone knew who he was.
6/10
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Ron Burgundy wrote:Im a big fan of PTA, im really looking forward to Phantom Thread.

The Foreigner
Wow, what blast! Such good pace, many twists and turns, good close quarters action, almost everything about this was awesome. Highly recommended for Shryke and Tranny (incase you haven't seen it yet)
8.5/10

Saw it, thanks. I liked it just a hair less than you did, but still glad I saw it once. Definitely not a role I'm used to seeing Jackie Chan in, so kudos to him.
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Shape of Water 10/10

It's interesting that this is winning so many awards (with the exception of the increasingly out-of-touch Golden Globes) but is still relativity under the radar. I guess people just want their sci-fi as explodey and anti-intellectual as possible. Anyway, this is easily Guillermo del Toro's best film and possibly the finest example of an American film taking influence from French cinema. Using emotion and body language to tell the unusual story of a janitor's relationship with a creature from the Amazon, del Toro makes it a warm and touching story when most filmmakers would have just made it cold and relentless just to give the audience what it wants. And how anyone can say anyone is better than Sally Hawkins in the Best Actress race, I don't know. Few actors could have pulled off this role. Put anyone else in the role of Elisa and it's not the same. She is perfect. Michael Shannon is also fantastic as the film's antagonist, playing a government official with terrifying ease which also adding dimension, making him more than your typical bureaucrat character. In fact, the whole cast is excellent and it's really nice to see Doug Jones getting well-deserved recognition after so many years of being in the same territory as Andy Serkis. The film also has the perfect mood and feels much more real than the typical way that this story would be told.

So is it better than Phantom Thread? No, but it's my second favorite film of 2017.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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I actually watched The Foreigner a couple weeks ago and didn't like it at all. Chan did a good job in a serious role, but I was bored out of my mind for a vast majority of the runtime and the handful of fight scenes didn't really grab me.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Three Billboards: 6/10
I agree with pretty much all you guys have said previously. It's a great premise with strong characters, but its tone is all over the place. And while that can make for something interesting (like The Lobster) here it's more like a contradiction - you can't have emotionally genuine scenes of a mother still not over the murder of her daughter and then follow with a scene of the most cliched bimbo (her ex's lover) I've seen in cinema - you wouldn't even see someone like that in an Adam Sandler film. And so the film repeats the rhythm... ultra serious and then cheap farce. At times it's brilliant, at other times it's actually just dumb. It would have worked better if it stayed in a mre heightened world with brief moments of seriousness to indicate depth (like In Bruges). Instead it's a bit of a mess. McDormand and Rockwell are amazing, though.

I Love You Daddy: 5/10
Okay, it's hard to ignore CK's actions in light of this film, even though we all should separate artist from art. Still, this is a rambling, awkward film about a successful TV writer trying to impose rules on his teen daughter's life, and failing badly when she hooks up with his film-making idol. It's like a 2-hour episode of Louis, which in theory should be great but the pacing is poor, and the focus is so much on CK's character when it should have tried to make us relate to the teenage girl. I guess you could say the same about Manhatten (although Hemmingway's character at least ended up seeming far more mature), and this is like a poor man's version of it.

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