Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Discuss past, present, and future releases. This is the place for news, reviews, and your 'best' lists.

Moderators: Buscemi, BarcaRulz, Geezer, W

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

BlackBerry 2/10

After seeing this, I still have no idea why the BlackBerry was so popular. This overlong attempt at a Canadian version of The Social Network is filled with one-dimensional characters, almost all male, you don't care about, some of the worst cinematography in a film in recent memory (seriously, why was it shot like an episode of The Office?), and a general premise that's more interested in nerd culture than telling a story. Most of the actors not named Michael Ironside are miscast, the production is TV movie quality, and it doesn't do anything to change the cliche about how English-language Canadian cinema mostly does nothing but copy American cinema. Instead of the great movie about tech the reviews promised, I got a film on how not to run a business or conduct any sort of relationship with a person. I can just watch a Kitchen Nightmares episode and save my money for that.
Last edited by Buscemi2 on July 27th, 2023, 7:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande 3/10

Another dull entry in the boring subgenre of movies set entirely in hotel rooms. This one might have the interest of Emma Thompson starring instead of the not quite famous assortment of actors that usually show up in titles like this one but it doesn't change the fact that almost nothing happens. The whole plot is basically "someone needs sex to overcome their midlife crisis". Thompson deserves better scripts than this overlong one-act play that feels like it was written by a first-year theatre student.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

R.M.N. 8/10

Cristian Mungiu delivers again with this drama about xenophobia in a small village in Romania and the characters caught up in the furor over a bakery hiring immigrants to take the jobs the locals don't want, only to find out that said locals wanted those jobs anyway despite never inquiring about them. The film really shows you the evil things that ignorance breeds and it handles subject matter in ways a more mainstream film wouldn't dare do while also teaching us not to be the shut-off townspeople who can't handle being told that their prejudices are wrong. Judith State is quite a find as the administrator who hires and helps the new employees and develops a connection with them as she herself is an immigrant. I could see this role leading to more notable projects down the line.

Lastly, this might be the first film I've ever seen with pink subtitles, as the subtitles are color-coded depending on which language was spoken. The other colors are the often-used white and yellow.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Chienfantome
Captain Jack Sparrow
Posts: 9967
Joined: May 29th, 2010, 4:22 am
Location: Paris, France
Contact:

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Chienfantome »

RMN is a great film indeed.
Fluctuat nec mergitur

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 4/10

Well, it looks like Spider-Man's cliche again. After the breath of fresh air that was Into the Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse enters generic Marvel movie territory, being more interested in forcing new characters and repeating old information than continuing the story of Miles and his battle between being himself and Spider-Man. We also get a larger subplot with Gwen that's basically the first film but with a different character. But the biggest issues with the film are that it's too long, with 30 minutes or so of false endings that rival the third Lord of the Rings, and unlike the first entry, it's not funny. It's too dark for its own good and as a result of this, the two best characters from the first film, Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham, are reduced to mere cameos towards the end. Those two would have truly lightened up the film and not made it something that showed all of the best parts in the trailers.

The actual ending sets up the next entry, which does the Marvel cliche of bringing back dead characters as well as having Miles fight himself instead of introducing the Green Goblin or another famous villain that isn't related to the Sinister Six. Why do I get the feeling it will be a three hour expansion of the last half-hour of this one? All in all, a massive disappointment.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Screen203
Clark Griswald
Posts: 1170
Joined: December 1st, 2018, 3:38 pm
Location: Mullholland Dr.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Screen203 »

The Boogeyman

Not as bad as some of the reviews would have you believe, but pretty generic nonetheless. A lot of scenes feel directly copied from other supernatural horror films (There is one scene towards the end that is almost shot-for-shot with a similar scene in The Ring, for example, among many others). More broadly speaking, the themes of grief and trauma are nothing new for horror films (especially over the past few years), and they are only approached at a very surface level (I did like the last shot though, as predictable as it was). That being said, it is still a relatively entertaining, if ultimately forgettable, film. Though you can see most of the scares coming from a mile away, it still manages to be suspenseful mostly due to a solid score and solid acting.

6 out of 10.
It's not destroying. It's making something new.

Image courtesy of -
https://nerdist.com/annihilation-shimmer-ending-explained/

User avatar
Screen203
Clark Griswald
Posts: 1170
Joined: December 1st, 2018, 3:38 pm
Location: Mullholland Dr.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Screen203 »

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

I would actually say this is slightly better than the original, despite one very minor issue I have with it. The animation is even better here (In particular, the scenes in Spider-Gwen's world were very original and well-done, as were pretty much any of the action scenes), and it is just as emotionally effective as the first, maybe even moreso. The score, in particular, is a highlight here, and I would go as far as to say it's the best score I've heard this year. My only real issue with it is due to the decision to split it into two parts (though the very last reveal makes it make more sense). There are a lot of times you could tell they were planning on cutting it off, but there was still more they wanted to squeeze in (While the choice to end it with the reveal of Earth-42 Miles and Spider-Gwen teaming up with many of the other Spider-People to save Miles makes sense, that being unknown led to a sense of closure in many scenes, including Spider-Gwen's reuniting with her dad and Miles finding out he is on Earth-42.) Even so, this is just a backhanded way of me saying I wanted more - which I guess I will have to wait another year for.

8 out of 10
It's not destroying. It's making something new.

Image courtesy of -
https://nerdist.com/annihilation-shimmer-ending-explained/

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Alcarras 8/10

Interesting, if somewhat frustrating, drama about a family of pickers in the titular town whose way of life is disrupted by a conglomerate taking over the land. In the process, the family begins to fall apart as the days of their business become gradually numbered. Much like R.M.N., a lot of the premise is about how ignorance can destroy one's own society but here, the ignorance is more internalized and closed-off. But while the adults are squeezing their own lifeblood away from each other, there's also of a lot of innocence in the story, as seen from the children and how they don't understand what's happening around them, choosing to live in a world of fantasy and wonderment. Being that this was from the director of Summer 1993, this isn't surprising.

I would have liked it more had it had a bit more focus but it's ultimately a well-made drama about types we don't see often that wisely avoids the cliches we'd see something like Yellowstone would do with a similar concept.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Quasi 2/10

Normally, I find Broken Lizard entertaining. But why they decided to copy Mel Brooks' style and do a parody of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is something I can't fully understand. The end result doesn't work at all, feeling more like a bad 2000's comedy than anything else, with its attempts at humor feeling more faux-edgy than actually funny and its adaptation of the story is so loose than it feels like an afterthought more than anything. Unlike a much better parody, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the comedy troupe didn't seem to care about doing a parody that still respected the source material. It just feels like something designed to fulfill a contractual agreement or to make a release date.

The fact that this was released just weeks after a Mel Brooks project, also on Hulu, truly drives home just how unnecessary this was. Hopefully, Broken Lizard stays away from historical parodies and sticks to what they are good at from now on. They are best when they don't try to imitate other comedic minds.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Elemental 4/10

Pixar enters DreamWorks territory with this one. Even though it has a good premise involving immigrant families and some colorful animation, the cliche premise and low-stakes proceedings largely makes this one feel like an afterthought. Hell, the biggest name in the voice cast is the humor vacuum that is Wendi McLendon-Covey. There's even a scene in the film that's made up almost entirely of fart jokes. I spent a lot of the run time wondering if Pixar was even trying, as they could have done a lot better than they actually did. Stick to Turning Red.

Pixar has also returned to the practice of including shorts before their movies, tacking on an episode of the Dug Days series on Disney+ as a pre-movie featurette.

Carl's Date 8/10

It's simple but effective. In this short, Carl returns to the dating scene and has to have Dug help him out. Ultimately, Carl realizes that he's trying too hard to make himself into someone he's not and Dug must encourage Carl to be himself. Even though it's obviously an episode of a TV show, it's likeable and with plenty of funny moments from Dug.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Flamin' Hot 7/10

Charming fact-based movie about how a janitor from San Bernardino developed the formula that would lead to the creation of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Eva Longoria's directorial debut, while flawed in places, does show that she can do emotion and humor well and definitely picked up a thing or two from having previously been a producer. I also felt this was a much superior film to Blackberry, another recent film in the business world that premiered at SXSW, as you actually care about the characters and admire the protagonist's hustle and sheer will into getting a industry-changing product out there. Ultimately, it's a likable film that is a pleasant way to spend a little over 90 minutes watching.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

It Ain't Over 9/10

Yogi Berra is legendary for his playing career and his Yogi-isms but beyond that, he was a extremely fascinating figure and this documentary shows the man behind the legend. Produced by his granddaughter and featuring interviews with those who knew him as well as lots of archive footage from his life, this is a documentary that entertains as well as makes your warm and fuzzy inside. You don't even need to understand the game to appreciate the man and the film. A very solid document of one of baseball's greatest figures, on and off the field.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Screen203
Clark Griswald
Posts: 1170
Joined: December 1st, 2018, 3:38 pm
Location: Mullholland Dr.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Screen203 »

Past Lives

This will surprise no one, but this was incredible. Really, every element of this film deserves praise, but first I want to single out the cinematography, because I feel like it may be overlooked among the many awards nominations this is poised to receive. The way that Shabier Kirchner shoots the cities of Seoul and New York is something that deserves to be studied in film classes. All three leads are incredible here - I'm not sure I can pick a standout among the three. The score is very well-done, as well. The script takes what could have been a story full of cliches and turns it into a extremely effective, unpredictable, and moving feature that is extremely worthy of all of the praise it has received so far. As a whole, I really can't find anything wrong with it.

I feel like I need to see it again before I give a final score, but for now it is a 10 out of 10.

Asteroid City

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected, even though I feel it was a bit pointless. It was certainly better than Wes Anderson's last film (though most movies are :lol:), at the very least. All of the actors give solid performances, but Jason Schwartzman, Jeffery Wright, and Jake Ryan are standouts. I felt like a lot of the jokes landed much more here than some of Anderson's other films (which I often feel like put the best jokes in the trailers), which are a lot more scattered as to which jokes land and which don't IMO. As typical for his films, the technical aspects of it are all very well done, even if I wanted to see more of the retro-futuristic technology (I imagine that some audiences will not be happy about the somewhat misleading marketing campaign - not revealing that the events in the titular city are part of a play - not sure if I should put this in spoiler tags because it is revealed at the very beginning of the film and continues onward throughout the rest of the film). The biggest issue I have with it is an issue I feel like his films have quite often, and that is the pacing. Parts (especially towards the end), drag on for way longer than needed, though the end I thought was a fitting enough conclusion. I also feel like there could have been a lot more depth to the existential themes throughout than the somewhat surface-level exploration we get.

Overall, if you are a fan of Wes Anderson's work, I think you would enjoy it (despite the somewhat misleading marketing). I've never been a huge fan, but this is probably my favorite of his since The Grand Budapest Hotel (I thought Isle Of Dogs was rather mediocre and - as you can probably gather from above - I found The French Dispatch... borderline painful to get through).

7 out of 10
It's not destroying. It's making something new.

Image courtesy of -
https://nerdist.com/annihilation-shimmer-ending-explained/

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6662
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 3/10

Disney should have left this franchise alone. Everything that audiences hated about Spielberg's last entry is increased at least two-fold as James Mangold adds onto the ridiculousness when he isn't making it a Best of Indiana Jones compilation. If you thought it was bizarre that aliens were added to the fold last time around, you are going to detest the inclusion of time travel. That's right, Indiana Jones is now Doc Brown as he and his new accomplice, No Time to Die co-scribe Phoebe Waller-Bridge, must stop the Nazis from going back to 1939 and changing the outcome of World War II. The film is way too long, with much of the run time being taken up by tiresome chase scenes, needless reminders of the previous four entries, wasting the talents of Antonio Banderas, and a prologue with a CGI Harrison Ford that goes on forever. If you thought Nuking the Fridge was bad, marvel at how the villain somehow survives what killed Dennis Hopper at the end of Speed and returns almost 25 years later to concoct this time travel plan as he hated his time in Alabama working with NASA.

Ford looks tired throughout the movie and so is the Indiana Jones franchise. If you want a fifth Indiana Jones, watch The Adventures of Tintin again. It's far more entertaining and Spielberg directed that one.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
transformers2
John Rambo
Posts: 7730
Joined: October 23rd, 2009, 5:15 pm

Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by transformers2 »

Haven't done this in a while and it's a shit weather day in these parts, so let's give it a go shall we?

The Flash 5/10
Move over Black Adam, a new challenger for the most mediocre superhero in recent memory has emerged! The multiverse-driven plot moves way too fast to commit to the emotional backbone of the film (Barry goes back in time to prevent the murder of his mother after his father's-who has been falsely accused of the crime and is currently serving a life sentence-final appeal to get out of prison fails) and the fan service isn't nearly persistent, aggressive or effective enough to work as a No Way Home-esque exercise in nostalgia- which in turn makes this confused, mind-numbing experience that kind of just floats around until it reaches an underwhelming, thoroughly dumb conclusion.

Really the only highlight of the movie is Michael Keaton's return as Batman and that's mostly because his charisma is undeniable and he showed up to work fully awake (which is more than can be said for Michael Shannon's return as General Zod!). The theory that Andy Muschetti got hired for The Brave and The Bold on account of how well he handled the Ezra Miller debacle behind-the-scenes and in the media that's been floated around in recent weeks is one that I'll certainly entertain as they're nothing in The Flash that indicates that he has the passion or vision to make a good superhero movie.

Asteroid City 4/10
For the first time in quite a while, I didn't like a Wes Anderson movie. Asteroid City is actually a pretty groundbreaking failure for Anderson as he finds a way to make something that's both egregiously overstuffed and underwritten that also happens to be the slowest, dryest movie he's ever made. Even at his most indulgent or obnoxious, his movies tend to at least be spirited-which makes Asteroid City's steadfast dedication to leisurely trying to find a reason to get invested in these characters and/or saying something profound about the beauty of artistic expression completely baffling and out of character for a 1-man vibrancy band like Anderson. Some good performances from Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman, Tom Hanks, Steve Carrell, Maya Hawke and Rupert Friend and a handful of good jokes along with the reliably beautiful cinematography and production design you'd come to expect from an Anderson project provide some much-needed jolts of life, but this vessel is just damn stagnant and aloof to save.

The Blackening 7.5/10
As a comedy, The Blackening works well. The ensemble cast (Grace Byers, Antionette Robertson, Dewayne Perkins, Sinqua Walls, Melvin Gregg, Jermaine Fowler, X Mayo) bounce off each other well-especially once the threat of a masked killer enters the equation, the humor goes far beyond just lampooning the tropes of black characters in horror movies and there are multiple bits scattered throughout the film that had me cackling in the theater. As a horror film however, it stumbles. Tim Story's steady yet style-free direction causes any scene where suspense or menace is suppose to be achieved to fall painfully flat, the dim lighting in the outdoor scenes takes much of the excitement out of the biggest setpiece of the film and despite the novel choice to arm the killer with a crossbow instead of a knife, the kills lack creativity and puzzlingly shy away from the blood/gore freedom that an R-rating allows for (PG-13 slashers like Happy Death Day and M3GAN honestly might be more graphic than this). Even with its missteps on the horror side of things, The Blackening is still funny and clever enough to be a fun watch.

Elemental 7/10
Another sweet, sensitive and beautifully-animated entry into the Pixar library that also manages to continue the somewhat dispiriting recent trend of their films failing to match the level of excellence that is synonymous with the brand. Without getting into the actual specifics about the characters, the story deals with the sacrifices an immigrant family makes to provide a better life for themselves as well as their children, not feeling welcome in a new country because of your status as a foreigner or your home country because you left, racism on the whole, stigmas around interracial relationships, the difficulties of letting your parents know that you want defer from the life path they've always envisioned for you, trying to find your place in the world and how shitty working retail/municipal jobs is. By attempting to touch on so many things at once, every single theme becomes diluted and it pretty quickly becomes this big, well-intentioned jumble of ideas that only rarely comes together to become something with true emotional resonance. While Pixar's commitment to make more original films after putting out so many sequels during the 2010's is great, they're going to need to churn out better efforts than Elemental moving forward if they want to remain the gold standard in American animation at a time where the genre appears to be entering its most inspired period in quite some time.

Extraction 2 8/10
Exquisite action sequences/fight choreography+Chris Hemsworth embracing his calling as a meathead action star+Relentless pacing=A damn fine way to spend 2 hours. A major studio needs to give Sam Hargrave a chance to direct something ASAP. He's far too good at staging action to be relegated to Netflix for his entire career.

No Hard Feelings 8/10
2023's refreshingly busy R-rated comedy slate is off to a hot start. Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman prove to be natural, fiercely committed comedic performers that play off each other beautifully to yield a healthy amount of big laughs and its mixture of raunch and heart evokes memories of the Farrelly Brothers' best work. It also can not be overstated how great it was to watch a movie like this in a theater full of people laughing their asses off. It's something I hadn't experienced since the opening night of Booksmart 4 years ago and I hope that it's just the first of many experiences like this over the next several months.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 7/10
Dial of Destiny plays like a present day Metallica or Megadeth album. Everyone involved visibly cares about putting out a good product and occasionally glimpses of the old magic shine through to remind everyone of the remarkable stuff they achieved at their peak, but it's evident that the group has lost a step in their advanced age and it leads to diminishing returns despite their best efforts to recapture the glory days.
BRING BRENDAN FRASER BACK TO THE BIG SCREEN DAMN IT
Check out my blog http://maitlandsmadness.blogspot.com/
Movies,Music,Sports and More!

Post Reply