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.

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

Post by Buscemi2 »

Dumbo 8/10

Surprisingly enjoyable remake of the 1941 animated classic. A lot of the film's strengths come from how impressive the visuals are, with lots of Art Deco and Futurist designs mixed in with the colorful styles adapted from the original. And some of the additions were actually rather interesting, bringing to mind a mix of Burton's high points such as Big Fish and his Batman films. Also, one cannot hate the cute little elephant.

I wouldn't be surprised to see this get a reappraisal in a few years time. It's a better film than the critics thought.
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Ron Burgundy
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Ron Burgundy »

So, just had a nice long walk in the cold, albeit with a couple beers to think about the past 2 films i saw in cinema. But im gonna give u the short vesrion now, just coz

Captain Marvel
Middling expectaions, meh Marvel movie. Samuel L J steal every scene. Great special effects, like every other films that makes $100M. Beginnning was good to great, middle was almost putting me to sleep, end was ok.
5/10

Avengers 4
High expecatations, big crowd still a week after release, started off great, middle ok, ending top notch until the part when i really had to pee, too much "heres what happens after shit"/ just end it already.
7.5/10, but i wanna give it an 8.5, time will tell.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Amazing Grace 9/10

Perhaps the biggest film discovery of the year is this Sydney Pollack-directed documentary finally getting wide distribution after years of post-production and legal issues. And it was worth the wait. Aretha Franklin's stage presence is powerful and her singing moves even the soul of the non-believer. It's also a really interesting look into how live albums are produced in that it's not just one performance that makes it into the album (we get to see both nights of recording). Also, the sound mix is far superior to the one for Bohemian Rhapsody. There's more to the mix than just "crank it up to 11".

And yes, that is Mick Jagger in the crowd for the second night.
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numbersix
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by numbersix »

Lords of Chaos: 6/10
Amusing film about the Norwegian Black Metal movement, and how something innocent and silly turned into something dangerous. Good performances and a slick visual style

Never Grow Old: 5/10
Forgettable Western with the only interesting point of note being John Cusack playing the villain. But that's not enough to make the story engaging or different.

Us: 6/10
Great sense of atmosphere and set-up, but often the film shoots itself in the foot with its uneasy balance of comedy and horror with one cancelling the other out. Like many said, the film feels too vague to say anything in particular.

At Eternity's Gate: 6/10
It gradually wears thin but it's an interesting biopic that very much focuses on the process of creation and the excitement associated with it.

Donbass: 6/10
Occasionally surreal satire set in a war-torn Ukraine, poking fun at the utter madness of a land in flux.

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Screen203
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Saw Long Shot last night. It's really good, Charlize and Seth's chemistry is outstanding. Booksmart is better though.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Sunset 8/10

I think I liked this one more than Son of Saul. While Son of Saul was good but felt overhyped (I remember how it was supposed to be the first Hungarian film to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination), this was more under-the-radar but had an intriguing premise of an orphaned teenage girl trying to trace her roots but finds herself way in over her head as what starts simple becomes way more complicated. The production values are impressive and the pacing is much better than other recent historical films (I'm looking at you, Roma). It might be a bit much to follow in places but to be fair, I believe that was the director's intent. Get to understand the character's predicament.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Public 4/10

A noble effort by Emilio Estevez that ultimately doesn't work. The parts are there: a good cast, an intriguing premise, and a good message. However, Estevez bites more than he can chew by trying to have three different plots going on at the same time and not knowing when to focus on each one. The film is at its best when focused on Estevez and his character becoming the unlikely leader of a sit-in organized by Cincinnati's homeless as he comes to realize that he has nothing to lose. However, the subplots involving the political leaders of the city (led by Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater, the latter who actually does well in an antagonist role) feel unnecessary and I couldn't really buy the love plot between Estevez and Taylor Schilling. Also, I think more scenes could have been used to flesh out Jena Malone's character, who gets set up early on as a major character but ends up not getting to do much after the first half hour.

This could have been a modern-day Dog Day Afternoon but it ends up being somewhat forgettable Oscar bait that didn't succeed. Which is too bad as I always look forward to a new film from The Mighty Duck Man.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Hustle

Not 17% percent worthy bad, but not good either. The film actually feels rather misogynistic, despite trying to seem progressive. The end is especially rough as a character does not receive the comeuppance he deserves despite him generally being a dick to everyone. On a narrative level the ending dosen't make sense either as key elements are rushed or not explained, and it feels tacked on, which is a complaint I have about the entire second half of the movie. The first half isn't that bad, however, with some decent jokes (Rebel Wilson as Hathaway's "sister" was great) and the feminist messages are represented more in this half until it betrays itself. The second half is completely dry in laughs as the con setup with Hathaway's character in particular is painful to watch. This, I think, is what is leading to such a toxic reaction from critics.

4 out of 10
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Ron Burgundy
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Ron Burgundy »

They Shall Not Grow Old
8.5/10

Searching
6.5/10

Hunt for the Wilderpeople
7/10

will edit later, but yeah, top one is a doco on WW1, brutal, honest depiction of actual soldiers in the front lines. One must think, surely, either Tanks could have been made sooner, or trench warfare was as effective and idiotic as the Open plain warfare from the Napoleonic times. There is no way 1 million people should have died and many more suffered the harrowing after effects, so sad, but thats what actually happened.
That said the worlds population has doubled in the last 50 years, and showing no signs of slowing down. With that said, if the same % of people fought/died today in such conditions, it would have been over 10 million. This is just world war 1. Ugh, shit, history makes you remember how lucky we all are, just to be alive, today.....and yet, we also missed out on some of the best "parties", when the virgin soldiers would be met upon by naked jolly women and u swapped your good English tobacco for French wine, and then do all these fun comrade stuff when there was no gun fire...ahh, im rambling now. If u know nothing of WW1, go see this doco, by Peter Jackson
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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John Wick: Chapter 3 8/10

The events of Chapter 2 continue in this bigger and more action-packed installment of Keanu Reeves' puppy revenge saga. With John now on the run, the series' world is expanded but we also get insight into John's background and how he became a killer. Meanwhile, war is about to erupt over Winston's actions at the end of Chapter 2.

We all know what to expect and Chad Stahelski knows his way around an action scene. The big surprise for me was Mark Dacascos, who in addition to being a great martial artist reminded me a lot of Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 (he also proves to be a decent comedic actor). And even though she's not given much to do, Halle Berry isn't too bad. However, I was kind of disappointed that they had to Infinity War the whole thing and instead of completing the story with Parabellum, they will save the climax for a Chapter 4 (subtitled Pacem?) where John and The Bowery King team up for revenge. It will be interesting to see how that develops in the next few days.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

The best John Wick movie so far, and much better than the overrated Mission Impossible: Fallout. As usual for the franchise, the cinematography, visuals (although some of the aesthetics are repeated from the second chapter), and set design are the best seen in an action film in years. One thing I thought elevated this above the others was the Kill Bill-esque story with the world of assassins and the samurai fight near the end obviously had the same influences

Also - I don't see the problem with the cliffhanger. I actually thought it was well-developed

8 out of 10
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numbersix
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by numbersix »

I've seen loads these few weeks but just back from Cannes

The Lighthouse: 6/10
Atmospheric and beautifully shot film about two men minding a lighthouse who start to lose their minds. Robert Pattinson is excellent as the assistant, as is Will Dafoe. But it's quite long and the momentum never quite builds as it leads to its climax. So not as strong as The Witch, but still an impressive film on most fronts.

Vivarium: 6/10
Another weird one. Jessie Eisenberg and Imogen Poots are a couple who are guided to a strange suburban area to see a house they might buy, only to get trapped in an isolated and strange world. It's an evident satire on middle-class expectations, and when it's at its strangest it really works, though the characterisations aren't as strong as its premise.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by transformers2 »

Some quick thoughts on the last few movies I've seen

Detective Pikachu 5/10
Ryan Reynolds, astounding visual effects and a few clever nods to noir tropes save this from being a disaster. After a relatively fun start, it leans way TOO hard into a super convoluted plot and loses whatever goofy charm it had going for it in the early going.

John Wick: Chapter 3 9.5/10
Best in the series by far. Adding some renowned martial artists to the cast and injecting even more humor/playfulness into the flawlessly-choreographed action sequences made this a tour de force in giddily entertaining carnage. John Wick 4 can't come soon enough.

Booksmart 8.5/10
A wee bit overhyped, but still really fucking funny. Like Blockers, Neighbors and several other recent titles, it's a teen comedy that perfectly reflects the attitudes of today's youth without giving up the raunch the genre is known for. While the leads are great, Billie Lourd runs away with the movie as a borderline mystical drug enthusisast who seemingly teleports to every party in the LA area. Real shame R-rated comedies don't seem to have an audience anymore because this would've CRUSHED at the BO 5 years ago.
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Screen203
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Brightburn

Horrible. No real character development (and the choices that the characters do make are dumb beyond the typical horror movie stupid decisions), scares are weak to nonexistent and replaced with senseless gore, and most of the film is more funny than scary.

Plot holes abound For example, why would Brandon leave his calling cards everywhere he went? The end in particular is awful, with Brandon having crashed a plane and sitting there eating cookies (we got that he's a psychopath) and the tcut to the Billie Ellish song made the whole movie a joke more than anything else.

Most of this review dosen't make much sense, which is probably because this movie is indescribable.

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

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

Post by W »

Screen203 wrote:Brightburn

Horrible. No real character development (and the choices that the characters do make are dumb beyond the typical horror movie stupid decisions), scares are weak to nonexistent and replaced with senseless gore, and most of the film is more funny than scary.

Plot holes abound For example, why would Brandon leave his calling cards everywhere he went? The end in particular is awful, with Brandon having crashed a plane and sitting there eating cookies (we got that he's a psychopath) and the tcut to the Billie Ellish song made the whole movie a joke more than anything else.

Most of this review dosen't make much sense, which is probably because this movie is indescribable.

1 out of 10
It’s pretty easy to describe. It’s a “what if” story about if Superman was sent to earth for nefarious reasons. If Superman wanted to he could “take the world.” He’s obviously compelled to draw those symbols. Serial killers do things like this. Villains leave a “calling card”. He used the crash to cover everything up. Everyone that knows his secret is dead save the girl and his aunt and they really don’t know. Even good superhero, sci-fi, and horror has plot holes. Not great, but I think it’s the best Superman movie so far as I don’t like Clark Kent.
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