Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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

Post by numbersix »

Glad to see some criticism of Nocturnal Animals. The film still doesn't sit well with me.

Anyway, some films from the Awards list

Manchester by the Sea: 6/10
This would be a very well-crafted, well-performed film if it didn't delve into melodrama so much. The film works best in its more subdued moments, when Affleck is silently reacting or engaged in minimal dialogue with his confident nephew. The story of them trying to adjust to a new way of life is done well. But the backstory is like something out of a soap opera, like a dramatic bludgeon that robs Affleck's character of any nuance. Can't explain more unless you've seen it, but it's disappointing to see Lonnergan lower himself to such decisions. I guess it worked though, it's making plenty of money. The cast are generally strong, Michelle Williams doesn't quite nail her big scene, but it's overall a decent if flawed film.

Hacksaw Ridge: 4/10
The reviews were making me expect way more out of this. But really there's only one good thing about this film - the battle scenes. Gibson creates his horrific image of war, as this hellish world of flesh and ash. So the battles and the main characters attempt to save men during them are quite arresting. Unfortunately the film fails on almost every other level, whether its characterisation (like all Gibson's films, the main character never question themselves), music (saccherine), pacing (the first 30 mins should have been told in 5), or the absolutely terrible performances across the board. Everyone acts so over-the-top that it's like they're presenting a kids' show. Except for Vince Vaughn, who despite being a sarcastic and angry Sergeant performs entirely in his sleep (how he didn't get a Razzie nom is beyond me). Gibson's Ocar nom is baffling, because he's to blame for all these terrible creative decisions.

Jackie: 7/10
Pablo Larrain's second great film of 2016! This is a carefully constructed narrative about Jackie's response to JFK's death, and how she goes from insisting on a big funeral for selfish reasons to realising the importance of her role as an icon and his as a leader. The narrative is tricky but clever, and Portman delivers a strong performance, particularly in Jackie's moments of grief. The score is amazing (Mica Levi, who I saw DJ on New Years Eve), the dialogue strong. It is definitely a more intellectual rather than emotional film, but at least there's something to think about as you leave the cinema.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi »

As I said, Hollywood's gotten more conservative in recent years. That's why you're seeing a film like Hacksaw Ridge getting a Best Picture nomination while Toni Erdmann, which likely would have been nominated in previous years (think of a case similar to Amour), wasn't.

If the Oscars really went for the best, films like Loving would have gotten more than one nomination, Queen of Katwe and A Monster Calls would have been nominated for something, and Rebecca Hall's performance in Christine would have gotten a Best Actress nomination.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Yep, and its a numbers game. Studios sink millions to promote their films. Hall was amazing in Christine (better than Emma Stone, better than Natalie Portman) but The Orchard just can't promote her, which is a shame.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Founder 5/10

A very difficult movie to like. The performances are there and it's well made but the problem is that the film asks you to sympathize with Keaton's character when he doesn't do anything that helps anyone that isn't himself. He's a self-serving and money obsessed jerk that spends his time planning his rise to power but instead of making it something that shows how too much power can make one mad, the film is telling us we should aspire to be like him because he was rich and powerful. But what did you expect from a movie released by The Weinstein Company, the most hypocritical company making movies today.

I saw that Robert D. Siegel wrote the screenplay, which makes me wonder if the film was initially going to be more vicious towards Kroc and his actions (in most films, the McDonald brothers would be the good guys but here are simply depicted as an obstacle to Kroc's madness) before the revisionist-obsessed John Lee Hancock got his hands on the project. This needed an auteur that could have gone after the evils of capitalism (much like The Wolf of Wall Street did). But instead, we get a film that seems to defend what Kroc did to the McDonald brothers.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by undeadmonkey »

Saw 47 Ronin last night. just wow, who in the world thought it was a good idea to spend $200M on this thing. You can't just throw, Lord of the Rings and 300 in a blender and then set it in Japan with Keanu Reeves leading and expect a return on investment. Yes i know it's based on a legend but then why borrow so much from other films.

I wish someone would throw $200 million my way to do with what i want.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by transformers2 »

Completely agreed on 47 Ronin. Easily one of the most boring and flat-out awful movies to come out in recent years.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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undeadmonkey wrote: I wish someone would throw $200 million my way to do with what i want.
I'd make ten movies and they would all be better than the single-mindedness heroic military vs. evil aliens/sociopathic humor/trying to make movie stars out of celebrity relatives and Instagram accounts that comes out of Hollywood.

Maybe I can reach a distribution deal with one of the indies and talk alliances for more movies (I'd love to give Chris Cunningham a shot at doing a movie).
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Been watching a few flicks over the past couple days...but here the more recent releases:

Dr Strange
Damn, i REALLY should have seen this in cinema. But i dont remember any glowing reviews from you lot - so yes im blaming you guys ;)
Wonderful visuals and a script that can compete with the other (good) marvel origin stories. Benedict Cumberbatch proved he is the right man for the role and was was very skeptical at first. Also had some much needed humor (to do with Dr Strange's chosen relic) and a villain you thought was actually capable of killing, played well enough by Mads Mikkelsen. All up, very satisfied.
8/10

The Conjuring 2
I must say first, that i did like the first one. This started off pretty good but then got more and more meh as the story went on. Not that i didn't like this, just wasn't as scary as i thought it would be.
5.5/10
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Jackie 4/10

A better title would have been Planning President Kennedy's Funeral. Pablo Larrain reduces one of the most iconic figures of the 1960's to an airheaded cliche (I spent much of the run time wondering if Larrain had been intending to film a story on the JFK/Marilyn Monroe conspiracy theories as the approach to the character felt more like one seen in Monroe's performances) and Natalie Portman underplays the character with a ridiculous New England accent (it might have been true to the role but Portman just can't pull it off, slipping between Boston and Southern at times). The script feels like a series of farfetched concepts (once again, it might have been true but there's no way that Jackie could have been that vain) and the framing device with Billy Crudup doesn't work at all (he and Greta Gerwig seem to be there solely to pad the run time). But worst of all, the film is horribly edited. Shots of people walking go too long while parts with dialogue will cut away too soon. It's as if Larrain couldn't decide on if he wanted to be stylish or not (also, Larrain just wasn't the right director to do a film on American history, Ava DuVernay could have worked wonders with this story).

But not all of the end result is bad. John Hurt does well (well, he was always good) as Jackie's priest while Portman's scenes with the children are well-directed and acted. However in the end, it's a piece of failed Oscar bait that doesn't even cover the most interesting details of Kennedy's life (that would probably be her relationship with Aristotle Onassis and strained relationship with Aristotle's daughter Christina, which needs a film version that isn't designed to the film version of a trashy novel).
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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xXx: The Return of Xander Cage 8/10
Vin Diesel gives xXx the exact same globe-hopping, ethnically-diverse treatment he gave Fast and Furious and it works wonders for the long-inactive franchise. The ensemble cast is a delight to watch (Donnie Yen is so much more comfortable here than he was in Rogue One), the vibe is consistently playful and the action sequences are top-notch throughout. GIven the gloom that filled awards season and is dominating the real-world right now, leaving a movie theater with a big, stupid grin on my face was such an awesome feeling.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Rogue One 3/10

A movie made by focus groups, more or less. This exists less to bridge the prequels and original trilogy and more to sell toys and play to every hardcore fan's favorite parts of the series. Once again, we have cheap Han Solo archetypes without the appeal of of Mr. Ford himself (outside of Jyn, they are hardly developed characters), constant references to dialogue and elements from previous films, a replacement score by Michael Giacchino that is really just John Williams' themes expanded a bit (it makes me wonder if the rejected Alexandre Desplat score had its own identity rather than being Williams Lite), and the bizarre decision to recreate Peter Cushing through some not very good CGI effects (what was wrong with just casting a different actor as Tarkin?). It's kind of sad that this film turned out this way as there were plenty of good actors (though Ben Mendelsohn's performance and his Disco Evel Knievel get-up is rather ridiculous) and it's well-shot in places but the end result is the obvious result of a film patched together through viewer comments.

It's less of a spinoff and more of a fanfic. Han Solo better improve on The Force Awakens and this. Otherwise, I will have given up on Star Wars (yes, I said this before Rogue One opened but that was before Ehrenreich was cast as Han).
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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wow 3/10. You're the first i know to rate it so low....
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Caught a few flicks recently...


Trainspotting 2: 5/10

A waste of potential. This should have been a film about nostalgia, about not being able to relive the past, and possibly about questioning what you did and was it even worth it - especially considering it follows a bunch of ex-junkies in their 40s. However, all these opportunities are barely touched upon, instead the film just revels in revisiting the characters as they end up in a silly caper about establishing a brothel. New blood comes from a prostitute who is one of the laziest characters I've seen in years. Boyle's direction has some flair in the middle of the film, but the ending is to contrived and pointless.

Loving: 6/10
Beautiful performances from all cast members are what make this film watchable. A tale of a black and white couple who marry in a state when it's illegal is pretty infuriating, but the film subdues its sense of rage to focus on the developing relationship as time passes. However, because of that the film drags, and it's also so over-sensitive that there's virtually no conflict between the couple, making the film feel rambling and way too long. Ruth Negga does deserve the Oscar, though, as her performance is way more nuanced than Emma Stone's.

iBoy: 5/10
Netflix movie about a teen who gets shot and someone the mix of bullet, smart phone, and brain enables him to telepathically control things through wifi and phone signals, all the while trying to solve a break-in and murder of his neighbour. The silly premise is given too much of a gritty take, so it doesn't work.

Paterson: 5/10
I wonder if I'm immune to Jarmusch. This is very much one of his films, a stroll through the life of a bus driver who is also a poet. It's a film about art and creativity, and about the process rather than attempting to find success. It's sweet in that sense, and largely watchable, but not quite memorable or particularly moving.

Dr Strange: 6/10
This was a pleasant surprise. While it's still a MCU film, so we have a weak last act because this is essentially all to set up a character in order to have him appear for 10 minutes in the next Avengers flick. And Benedict Cumberbatch is basically doing what he always does - intelligent and arrogant. Yet, the film has amazing visuals, taking Nolan's Inception and making it more psychedelic, with the script being pretty strong for the most part. I'd go as far as saying it's the best Marvel film since Iron Man.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Chienfantome »

numbersix wrote:Dr Strange: 6/10
This was a pleasant surprise. While it's still a MCU film, so we have a weak last act because this is essentially all to set up a character in order to have him appear for 10 minutes in the next Avengers flick. And Benedict Cumberbatch is basically doing what he always does - intelligent and arrogant. Yet, the film has amazing visuals, taking Nolan's Inception and making it more psychedelic, with the script being pretty strong for the most part. I'd go as far as saying it's the best Marvel film since Iron Man.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Ron Burgundy »

:lol:

must have been those shrooms he took ;)
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