Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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

Post by Shrykespeare »

Buscemi2 wrote:
But at least it's better than The Accountant.
Gotta disagree with you there. I loved that film.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Accountant has one of the most shockingly terrible screenplays ever produced by a major studio (a college student in Screenwriting 101 could write a better script). The story is confused about what it's trying to be, the main character is a poor depiction of people on the autism spectrum (but at least they don't have Affleck saying "butts" 327 times or making people around him have the urge to kill him), and a lot of the third act is built on ridiculous twists that even Shyamalan would think is too much. This might have worked as a simple hitman story or been structured like Hannibal (the film in the right hands would have been a great project for Hugh Dancy) but it ends up being this bloated mess that thinks it's more clever than it really is.

And yet, Warner Bros. wants to make a sequel.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Murder on the Orient Express 3/10

A bombastic and overworked bore. Kenneth Branagh's latest so desperately tries for that classic epic made for Oscar voters but it was all done 43 years earlier by a better director (Sidney Lumet) and with a better lead in Albert Finney. However, the biggest problem lies in Michael "Why Do People Think He's a Good Writer?" Green's adaptation of the story. It plays everything too straight when it's hard to take these kinds of stories seriously any more unless there's a reinvention of the format (see The Hateful Eight on a Christie-styled premise done well). Clue changed it for everyone. In addition, I have no idea why this was shot in 65mm. There's been so much post-production work (and some dreadful CGI and green screen) done that it doesn't even look like film. Branagh and his cinematographer could have shot it on an Alexa and got the same effect. The score by Patrick Doyle is good in places but there are tracks that do not fit at all (for example, the reveal is scored with a soft piano that would better fit an intimate drama).

A disappointment all around.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Man Who Invented Christmas 3/10

Had this been a TV movie in the 90's, this likely would have been better. But because it's a cheap-looking theatrical release in 2017, there is no excuse. Dan Stevens (whose career post-Beauty and the Beast parallels Dickens' career trajectory in this film) feels miscast as the author of A Christmas Carol (I think Charlie Hunnam would have suited the role more) while the plot tries to stuff three different stories into a 105 minute run time and really can't succeed at any of them. It also tries too hard at trying to be a new Christmas tradition instead of focusing on Dickens' struggles to finish a book in six weeks (by the way, I don't buy that he published his first draft). Christopher Plummer does make a good Scrooge though. Too bad it wasn't in a better film.

If Stevens doesn't start picking better projects, his career's going to turn out the way Jim Sturgess' career did: a big hit followed by a bunch of bombs and then obscurity.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Disaster Artist - Disappointment/10

Franco merely hits the big footnotes of Greg and Tommy's friendship before diving headfirst into the production of The Room. Franco's impersonation of Tommy felt wrong, at times I felt like they were laughing at Tommy instead of making him a sympathetic, misunderstood person that the book did.

Felt like an excuse for Franco and his friends to just remake The Room.

I wish Franco had just remade The Room, as those scenes are the best parts of this movie. In particular, Josh Hutchinson as Denny and Zac Efron as Chris R are incredibly hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing at Ari Graynor's facial expressions trying to mimic the real Lisa's too.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Surprised no one seen Star Wars yet...
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Seeing Star Wars tomorrow

Mudbound: 5/10
Dull, pretentious, and confused, this tale of a farm in the 40s jumps from character to character, from sporadic inner monologue, making for a bloated, confused film about race that really ends up saying very little.

The Disaster Artist: 5/10
James Franco is great as the oddball Tommy Wiseau, but the rest of the film doesn't really entertain as much as it should. Probably because it gets lost between mocking Wisseau and trying to make us sympathise with him.

I Tonya: 6/10
Intriguing biopic about the working class Olympic ice-skater. The flow of Scorsese is strong in this film, and makes for a fun, witty, and fucked up story which actually disspells some of the myths surround Tonya. Margot Robbie is great, but the film loses focus of her as it moves to the quirky character surrounding her.

Of Body and Soul: 6/10
Lyrical and offbeat Hungarian drama about an abertoir owner who realises he's having the same dreams as his uptight, robotic employee. Well shot and balancing strange humour with the drama, there's something charming about the film, even if the subplots distract too much.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Just got back from Star Wars. The Mouse overlords attempts to not make this retread a la The Force Awakens made it feel pretty directionless and puzzling at times, but there are some quality action scenes and the acting is better this time around. I'm leaning towards a 7/10.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri 3/10

The trailers were better than the film. While the trailer promises a fun dark comedy with social themes, the actual film is way too serious and features characters that are either unsympathetic, cliches, or both. McDormand and Harrelson try with the material but can't raise the script beyond "look at these wacky middle America caricatures that say fuck a lot". And if you ever thought a film could not be both lazy and trying too hard, this film proves those notions wrong. Also, Martin McDonagh might be the wrong director to be doing a film about American justice. He does dark comedies with heart. This is neither a comedy nor a film with heart. It's an excuse to win Oscars (And by the way, how is Sam Rockwell getting Oscar buzz for his dreadful, one-note performance? He's basically playing an Adam Sandler character.).

Just stick to In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths and forget that McDonagh tried to channel his inner Coen Brothers.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi - 6/10
Maybe less, once the nostalgia sheen and spoiler-effect wears off. The bottom line is that Rian Johnson bit off way more than he can chew in this film, trying to weave several narratives across a single film, and in the process losing track of what should be the main one, namely Rey's journey. Instead, we get a massive subplot involving the Rebels trying to survive, which at times is fun but should have been left for a spin-off, considering Disney Overlords love that shit. Still, there's nothing particularly new here, save for a few extra Kurosawa references and a bit more delving into the mythos. But Johnson plays it safely, and in doing so loses focus.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Justice League 3/10

Maybe trying to remake The Avengers with DC characters by bringing in Joss Whedon wasn't such a good idea after all. The film stuffs way too many things into a two hour run time and Whedon's contributions (still as self-indulgent as ever) seem limited to making The Flash the most annoying superhero since Deadpool. The main villain plot should have been saved for Wonder Woman 2 (And wasn't it supposed to be a completely different villain originally? I remember reading things about Jon Bernthal being in this.) and much of the returning cast's heart doesn't seem to be in it. Some of the new cast members are a bit more impressive but I imagine their solo films will be better.

I think Justice League 2, assuming it gets made, will be a hard pass for me.

Edit: it was Joe Manganiello, not Jon Bernthal.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Greatest Showman 2/10

No wonder why Fox kept this one from critics until the day before opening. This musical desperately wants to be like La La Land (even featuring the same songwriters) and the films of Baz Luhrmann but feels more like one of those late 60's/early 70's musicals that nearly killed the industry. The film stuffs way too much into a 105 minute run time and the combination of a first-time director and six editors (this might be a record for most credited editors) shows us a result that tries to be the next Best Picture winner but justs feels overstylized and with missing chunks that would better tell the story. In addition, I have a hard time believing a lot of this actually happened. The film also tries for a message but it feels lost in all of the superficiality.

I expected a lot more from Hugh Jackman's dream project that this mess.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

Buscemi2 wrote:Justice League 3/10

Maybe trying to remake The Avengers with DC characters by bringing in Joss Whedon wasn't such a good idea after all. The film stuffs way too many things into a two hour run time and Whedon's contributions (still as self-indulgent as ever) seem limited to making The Flash the most annoying superhero since Deadpool. The main villain plot should have been saved for Wonder Woman 2 (And wasn't it supposed to be a completely different villain originally? I remember reading things about Jon Bernthal being in this.) and much of the returning cast's heart doesn't seem to be in it. Some of the new cast members are a bit more impressive but I imagine their solo films will be better.

I think Justice League 2, assuming it gets made, will be a hard pass for me.

Edit: it was Joe Manganiello, not Jon Bernthal.
Joe Manganiello is in Justice League, in the scene after the credits.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Disaster Artist 1/10

This might be one of the worst adaptations in recent memory. So much got changed from the actual events as well as Greg Sestero's memoir that it hardly resembles The Disaster Artist. It's become nothing more than another ego trip for James Franco. The acting is somehow even worse than in The Room, the screenplay is too sanitized and lovely-dovey (as well as filled with anachronisms and revisionist history), and Franco's direction is scattershot but for me, the biggest problem was the character assassination of Greg. Played by the goofy-looking Dave Franco (the real Greg might be one of the most handsome men to ever grace the screen), Greg goes from the storyteller and voice of reason of the book to nothing more than a pushover to Tommy, who is reduced to a source of ridicule from the tragic figure of the production.

There is a great movie to be made from The Disaster Artist (preferably one adapted by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski that retains the non-linear structure). This overpraised film is not it.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Star Wars

7/10

Rarely if ever did i pause to think this was boring me, and its a long movie! Solid action, a few layers, not like a new hope, a couple of downsides (which ill wait to mention til everyone has seen it) but overall it was decent.

also watched:

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

5.5/10

Way way more 'Out There' than The Lobster, if thats even possible, first time i went to this indie cinema in Perth and i overheard a couple trying to make sense of things throughout the film. I think if you enjoyed a film like The Witch, you will kinda like this too. Acting isn't excellent but fine. I'd certainly like to hear someone else's opinion of this one: six? Boosh?
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