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 »

Arctic 8/10

What starts out as All is Lost in the snow becomes more like 127 Hours and a much better version of Adrift as Mads Mikkelsen indulges in stoic goodness playing a stranded pilot who while trying to get himself out of Antarctica has to help save another downed pilot who crashes trying to save him. This seems to have more in tone with the survival movies of the past while also appealing to modern audiences who seek meaning with their adventure. Director Joe Penna makes the successful transition from YouTube to the big screen by using a wide vista of setting and making the Arctic as much of a character as he does the protagonists. Maybe there is some good coming from YouTube after all.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by W »

Greta 6/10: Serviceable psychological thriller. Better than expected. Only watched because I've seen practically everything else. Huppert was great in her role. Most any young actress could have played the main role opposite her and it'd be just as good.

Apollo 11 6/10: It's fairly mundane. Like the Mr. Rogers doc last year it really doesn't tell/show you anything that hasn't been shown a thousand times before. Great for flat Earthers. Some great visuals in the IMAX format and a bit of fun retro style from the specators, though.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

Fighting With My Family - B

Not a current WWE fan, haven't watched since the early 2000s when Stone Cold put Vince McMahon into an ambulance and then drove it into a river :lol:

This is a generic, but still well-done story of Paige and her indie wrestling family. Never seen Florence Pugh in anything, but she easily carried the movie. Had more comedy than expected. Apparently, it's not terribly accurate towards the end, but its in service of the film and it works.

If you've seen any trailers/ads, you've seen all of The Rock's screentime. Can really tell finianciers wanted him onscreen to help sell it to audiences.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Screen203 »

Arctic looks way too above-brow for the YouTube hellhole. It would be shocking if many other YouTubers made an actual movie and not right-wing propaganda based on Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Greta - D

Now this is the kind of terribly, overacted schlock I've missed for awhile now.

Very little makes sense, no character is more than a sentence worth of development, and it feels straight out of 1999. If Greta starred Neve Campbell and Kathy Bates, it'd be right at home on the New Release wall of your local Blockbuster.

It also reminded me just how not-good of an actor Chloe Moretz is....

After Brain on Fire, Suspiria, and Cameron Post, I really thought Moretz was going into an interesting direction with her choices. What made her think this bland, fill-in-the-blank "thriller" (nothing here will thrill or surprise you) was worth her time?

There was actually a moment halfway through where they did something interesting, and I was excited to see how it played out. But of course, they immediately backtracked and didn't dare to make anything out-of-the-box.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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As I've said, Moretz never turns down anything. She makes a movie and moves on to the next project without catching her breath.

I think the even more amazing thing is that Maika Monroe agreed to what is essentially a supporting role that any unknown could have played when just a few years earlier, It Follows was supposed to make her a big star and she appeared on the shortlist for Alita: Battle Angel. Did Independence Day: Resurgence really kill her career that badly?
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

It's definitely a supporting role, she plays Moretz' roommate.

Though Maika is pretty much an unknown still, she's had one starring role in a horror movie that didn't do well at all at the box office. Hell, Jessica Rothe has starred in two horror movies that have done 6x the box office as It Follows, and she's definitely an unknown. I had to google HDD just to even get her name lol
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Maika Monroe was pretty much in nothing after The Guest and It Follows (although no one from It Follows really lived up to the hype after) started the buzz around her. Independence Day Resurgence is more forgotten than anything (and it was supposed to be that Summer's Jurassic World).
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Some thoughts on the movies I've seen in theaters over the past month:

Cold Pursuit 8/10
What starts off as a pretty straightforward revenge story about a mild-mannered father (Nesson) going after the drug dealer (Tom Bateman) that murdered his son soon turns into a morbid humor-filled crime saga that has more in common with Fargo than Death Wish or any of the other action vehicles Nesson has starred in over the past decade.

By slowly morphing into an offbeat story about the emergence of a turf war between a pair of drug gangs that had previously been allies for roughly 30 years , Cold Pursuit becomes a hilarious farce that pokes fun at the absurdity of these kinds of crime movies while also doubling as an interesting character study about criminals at different stages of their lives. Once Nesson arrives on the scene and starts killing some runners/enforcers in an attempt to draw out the big fish, the two kingpins-one a 30-year old yuppie maniac (Bateman) who revels in the newfound power he has after taking over the operation his late father spent decades building up, the other a 70-year old (Tom Jackson) who has become increasingly fed up with the day-to-day grind of running a criminal enterprise-get put into a slew of unforeseen situations that threaten to strip them of the power they've spent so long building up. Watching the radically different ways (seething rage from the young buck and a calmness that borders on relief from the old man) these men react to this sudden downfall after enjoying such a long period of unimpeded functionality within their respective empires gives the proceedings a surprising level of nuance without ever failing to indulge in any of the many opportunities to deliver gleefully sick jokes that arise along the way. This nicely-executed balancing act helped make Cold Pursuit a different type of super entertaining ride than I expected coming in, which is enough for me to declare it the first truly great film of 2019.

The Lego Movie 2 7.5/10
Watching The Lego Movie 2 was akin to experiencing Deja vu. From the abundance weird pop culture references that will fly over at least 95% of kids heads, vibrant musical numbers and overarching message preaching the importance of playing well with others, it's pretty much the exact same movie as its predecessor. Despite being a blatant retread and slightly inferior overall product, it's still a funny, irreverent and charming ride that is more unique than most of the other animated movies that are released every year.

Happy Death Day 2U 7.5/10
Happy Death Day cleverly utilized the time loop concept to make a darkly comedic slasher flick that was among the more entertaining horror movies released in the past few years. The sequel wisely elevates the stakes and distinguishes itself from the original by going full sci-fi with a narrative that ties up a lot of the loose ends of the first one while introducing a whole new set of rules for this weird little universe. Pivoting to a more sci-fi-centric plot unsurprisingly makes things more convoluted and take away from a bit of the tongue-in-cheek fun that made the previous installment work so well, but the sheer magnetism of star Jessica Rothe-who deserves to get more high-profile roles ASAP, a surprisingly heartfelt emotional subtext about how dealing with tragedies can make you a stronger person and some very funny gags/one-liners keep things engaging throughout. As long as writer/director Christopher B. Landon and Rothe were involved, I'd be down for a third installment (especially if they built around the development they teased during the mid-credits scene).

Alita: Battle Angel 6.5/10
If James Cameron didn't have a hand in writing this, this probably would've been great. Rosa Salazar is perfect as the title character who has the endless curiosity of a child and fearless spirit of a seasoned warrior, and director Robert Rodriguez handless every massive action sequence with grace. Of course, Cornball Cameron's manages to kill the vibe with an overstuffed script that attempts to jam about 10 comic books worth of material into 2 hours and shoehorns in a cringey romantic subplot that further elevates its lack of cohesiveness as it reaches its underwhelming conclusion. Hopefully those 62 upcoming Avatar sequels keep Cameron busy for the rest of his career because I'm sick of this dude popping in and fucking up potentially awesome projects with his unfocused, overly sentimental storytelling.

Fighting with My Family 7.5/10
For better or worse, Stephen Merchant's biopic about Saraya "Paige" Beavis (Florence Pugh) road from wrestling in her family's DIY company in Norwich, England to the WWE offers up no surprises. This is an efficient, well-acted inspirational underdog sports story that hits all of its intended feel-good beats without ever being funny or heartfelt enough to transcend the genre's established playbook. If you love wrestling or are in the market for a nice movie that won't have you feeling like shit when you leave the theater, you'll likely have a good time. If not, there's no reason to rush out and see it

Velvet Buzzsaw 3.5/10:
This meek, tonally-confused mess helped further solidify my fear that Nightcrawler was just a fluky work of brilliance from Dan Gilroy. At least I know that it's possible to make a satire that is simply indifferent towards its intended target.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Everybody Knows 8/10

A lesser version of ground Farhadi previously covered in About Elly but this foray into Spanish cinema for the Iranian director is still more involving and interesting than many American films of the same sort. Using the example of Prisoners, Everybody Knows is more focused on the effects of the people involved and how the conflict is tearing them apart on a more emotional level than Prisoners does it on a physical level. And unlike another American (technically, French/American) example, you don't see Liam Neeson beating up a bunch of evil Albanians to save his daughter. It's a (mostly) realistic battle of who is deceiving who and who is screwing who as many ties that bind get undone while the clues in the case get solved. I also liked that unlike your typical kidnapping drama, they really do make it clear that anyone could have done it. None of the characters are well-off or clean cut and they all seem to have a plausible motive.

Lastly, the film seems to have a good message. Marry well or you might have to kidnap a relative for the cash.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

Captain Marvel - B

Unusually bland, but still enjoyable. It's reminiscent of Phase 1 introductory MCU, ala Thor/Cap: TFA. It's kind of hard to come down to this after what we've been through with the rest of the MCU. Even Doctor Strange was more interesting - space vs magic, I guess.

The 3rd act picks up considerably, although I still think Brie Larson was miscast. I don't know why, but it's hard to buy her as an "asskicker". And she really can't play the smug, sarcastic a-hole like Stark or Strange - so she's just...there.

It's definitely a lower tier MCU entry, less enjoyable than Winter Soldier/Thor: Ragnarok/Iron Man 2 but still better than Thor: The Dark World/Guardians 2.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Captain Marvel

Unusually enjoyable superhero movie that feels more like the Abrams Star Trek movies than a MCU movie. Special effects are as good as you would expect from Marvel, and design is handled well. The score is paint-by-numbers sci-fi/adventure music outside of the 90s music spaced throughout. Larson's performance is great as the titular character, but most other actors are somewhat weak (especially the obvious "twist" antagonist Jude Law). One of the most entertaining blockbusters recently.

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

Post by Brockster »

Well, a bout of influenza A left me home in bed for the better part of the past week. I typically don't have much time for movies these days with young kids, but I found myself with tons of time. I blended old with new and thought I'd share (although I'm not sure how much the drugs influenced my experience):

Point Break (1991 version) - 6/10 - this was fucking hilarious even though it wasn't a comedy, yet I found myself liking it more than I should have. Keanu's acting was so bad, yet I didn't get distracted for some reason. Swayze was great, as always. It was a total mind fuck to see Lori Petty portrayed as a leading, sexy lady. I don't think she pulled it off at all, but I've never seen her in that role. Overall, total 80's movie left over in the early 90's. Basically left me feeling like "what the fuck did I just watch," then in the same breath saying "it wasn't bad." Too bad Swayze died. He would have been a great old man actor.

Hacksaw Ridge - 6/10 - meh. I was a history major in college, so I'm a little partial to war movies, which probably swayed my score up to a 6 instead of a 5. This was a Mel Gibson movie right? For him, I think this was a pretty big step down from what I'm used to seeing in his films. I thought Vince Vaughn was pretty good, despite some of the horrible lines he was given.

Triple Frontier - 6/10 - jeez, what a let down. I was super pumped about this, considering the cast and the subject material. The acting was pretty good, especially from Hunnam and Issac, who were standouts in this. Concept was cool, cast was good, but the writing really held this back. Glad it was on Netflix. I would have been pissed to pay $10 to see this in theaters. On a side note, Hunnam has come really far as an actor. I remember the first season of Sons of Anarchy, he was pretty brutal. He got better and better as the seasons rolled along. Now I think he's on top of his game and it's cool to see.

Narcos Mexico - 9/10 - fuck yes, this was awesome. I loved everything about this and enjoyed it more than the original Narcos about Pablo Escobar. Excellent writing, excellent acting...drugs, guns, sex, hot Latina women...what more could you want?

Cheers! And fuck the flu.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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I still wish we'd gotten J.C. Chandor's Deepwater Horizon. That's a story that deserved more than "good ol' boys save the day yet again".
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Apollo 11 9/10

Not at the level of ambition of For All Mankind (though I admired the dedication to Al Reinert at the end), but this documentary composed for unearthed 65mm footage of the landing is a compelling depiction of the journey as well as a fascinating snapshot of the U.S. during that week in 1969. Personally, I thought the scenes on the ground were more interesting than in space as there seemed to be more to work with (the days before digital were tough). I also loved the use of split-screen to tell much of the story.

My only fault was the somewhat anachronistic score. I imagine they tried to get Brian Eno or someone like him but the guy they did get seemed to be more interested in emulating John Carpenter and the 80's feel didn't really fit with the 60's footage.

And W, what was with that thing about flat Earthers? I'm not sure if the Kyrie Irvings of the world would find this interesting, especially since this hopefully will put those "the moon landing was a hoax" theories to rest.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

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