Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by W »

I wouldn't say Netflix has bad content. I've never watched an original movie but they've been doing things in the tv space that's excellent. They're more hands off with their tv products so the creators' vision is able to thrive (for better or worse).

I'm guessing the movies are bad because any respectable movie is going to go with the big guys if they're thinking awards and/or box office. They need to just give an up and comer a wad of cash and basically say "make something."
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi »

Netflix's film division has little to no quality control. Unlike Amazon, where they surround themselves with talent and ideas, Netflix lets ego (especially Reed Hastings' inflated sense of self) and money outweigh what's actually good. As a result, you get The Ridiculous Six and War Machine ($60 million budgeted films despite being glorified TV movies) instead of Hush and The Siege of Jadotville a lot of the time.

And the bloated budgets continue. Bright cost $90 million while The Irishman's reported to cost $105 million (and that could be even more, maybe even upwards of $150 million, if they settle with STX over international rights). And though not film-related, the recently canceled The Get Down cost $120 million for its only season.

Netflix is in great shape now but if they don't control spending and focus more on what works, the bubble's going to burst in short time and they might find themselves in a similar situation as HBO.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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They say the Sandler deal is pretty much the best thing they've ever greenlit. I believe they're reupping with him. They've got data that shows people watch a ton of it.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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I think you're looking at it all wrong. You are comparing regular theatrical budgets and with whatever you consider netflix is doing. Theatrical films need to make a budget back to be profitable.

Netflix is profitable already. they probably aren't worried about making their budget back, they are just trying to make original content with whatever budget they decide on and the extra cash they have laying around.

Netflix is in it's beginning stages. Just like when TV came out, everyone saw it as second class, not for the truly talented. There's still some of that in this day and age, but there's some tv shows out there that are just as good as any movie ever made. Netflix will get there.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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undeadmonkey wrote:I think you're looking at it all wrong. You are comparing regular theatrical budgets and with whatever you consider netflix is doing. Theatrical films need to make a budget back to be profitable.

Netflix is profitable already. they probably aren't worried about making their budget back, they are just trying to make original content with whatever budget they decide on and the extra cash they have laying around.

Netflix is in it's beginning stages. Just like when TV came out, everyone saw it as second class, not for the truly talented. There's still some of that in this day and age, but there's some tv shows out there that are just as good as any movie ever made. Netflix will get there.
Completely agree with this. Their television division was pretty subpar when it started, but now they're a juggernaut with some of the most beloved shows on the planet.

Even though they're still trying to footing in the world of cinema, this growing period has produced some excellent stuff (Beasts of No Nation, I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore and to a lesser extent, The Fundamentals of Caring and Win It All) and a minimal amount of full-blown disasters (Take the 10 was the only one of their projects that I flat-out hated). They've got some really intriguing titles coming out within the next year (Mute, Okja, Bright, Little Evil, To the Bone, The Incredible Jessica James, Mudbound, a handful of others), so I wouldn't be surprised if the uptick in quality came sooner than later.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Sure, they make $12-15 billion a year but we forget about production budgets, marketing costs, paying employees (Hastings I bet pays himself in the seven figures), and other items. Like other subscription services, Netflix needs to keep track of costs and not avoid revenues they could be taking advantage of. HBO would never spend $90 million on a single film (and they charge higher monthly fees) so why is Netflix doing so in a failed attempt to take on Hollywood (War Machine opened in a grand total of three theatres, Bright is more likely to get that number instead of the 3,000 quote)? It's simply bad business sense, especially when Netflix could be renewing content deals for a fraction of the cost per film and giving more value to the user (besides, Netflix users are more likely to complain about a certain film not being on the site than there not being enough Adam Sandler films).

Anyway...

The Lovers 8/10

A24 plays to the older crowd instead of their beloved Williamsburg stereotype they're obsessed with and the results are quite good. Debra Winger and Tracy Letts (yes, the playwright) give strong performances as a couple on the brink of divorce and seeing other people (Aiden Gillan and Melora Waters) when they soon realize that they may have some passion left in their relationship. Azazel Jacobs, a somewhat cult indie figure in recent years but one who doesn't make too many films (this being his first since 2011's Terri), could go in the typical wacky romantic comedy direction but goes instead for a character study with some humor as he focuses on the relationship of these two and invites the viewer to watch. It's as much psychological as it is about lost love (I wouldn't be surprised if Letts did some script doctoring as there are some moments that are pure Letts). Melora Waters also does well as Letts' eccentric ballerina girlfriend, as she adds some lightness to the proceedings.

In short, it's a enjoyable entry in a comatose genre with two very good leads.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie 8/10

The movie that DreamWorks didn't really want to make (outsourcing it to a third party with a final budget of just $38 million) actually turns out to be one of their best to date. Despite some changes from Dav Pilkey's books (such as giving Principal Krupp a different love interest and making Captain Underpants' Earth parents dolphins), it's a rather faithful adaptation to the source material and keeps the style of humor as well as the charm and childlike imagination. Ed Helms makes for a likeable Captain Underpants while the decision to have Kevin Hart (as George), Thomas Middleditch (as Harold), and Jordan Peele (as Melvin Sneedly) voice children was not as distracting as I thought it would be. They are at least able to adapt their voices to sound more animated (unlike say, Patton Oswalt voicing a young teenager on Bob's Burgers and still sounding like a guy in his 40's).

And despite the low (for animation) budget, the animation looks pretty good. It's mainly a CG film but there are also some cel-animated scenes and an entire sequence done with puppets. If you loved the animation in The Peanuts Movie, this is comparable to that (design-wise, that is). And some of the 3-D pops out well.

In the end, it's a fun 90 minutes and I wouldn't be surprised to DreamWorks make a whole franchise of these (the end leaves things open for a sequel). Maybe we'll get the spinoffs somewhere down the line as well.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by numbersix »

W wrote:I wouldn't say Netflix has bad content. I've never watched an original movie but they've been doing things in the tv space that's excellent. They're more hands off with their tv products so the creators' vision is able to thrive (for better or worse).

I'm guessing the movies are bad because any respectable movie is going to go with the big guys if they're thinking awards and/or box office. They need to just give an up and comer a wad of cash and basically say "make something."
My comments weren't entirely based on their original feature film content. They've had some big hits with TV

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Wonder Woman - 9/10

This was awesome. Unlike the overblown mopefest that was Bats vs. Supes, Wonder Woman's origin story, set against the backdrop of WW1 war-torn Europe, was terrific. Gal Gadot gives her character the right combination of goddess-y haughtiness, naive innocence and pure kickassery, and the action sequences were amazing. Chris Pine did just fine as her male foil, losing just enough of his Captain Kirk swagger to make Steve Trevor believable. The racially-diverse trio that accompanies the two of them through thick and thin is largely unnecessary but provide a small degree of pathos and comic relief.

As for the villains, Danny Huston is fairly reliable as the pre-Nazi general who refuses to concede defeat, and his scarred chemist, "Dr. Poison", though not really fleshed out as a character, was a passable baddie.

Well done, DC. You finally got one RIGHT. I can't help but wonder if Patty Jenkins shouldn't direct ALL the JL films from now on.
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Wonder Woman 8/10

The best-reviewed non-Nolan or Batman DC film delivers on the goods, even if it's a bit too much like Iron Man in storytelling (but it is a better Iron Man-like film than Green Lantern, so that's a plus). The best scenes are easily in the Amazon world, which is exactly how I imagined it would look, and Connie Nielsen's Hippolitya shines in her short time on-screen. It's also not often that you see a big studio film focused around World War I, so this quite unique for the superhero genre to go for a rarely used theme. I also liked that the humor is more deadpan than usual in the superhero genre. The third act is not as strong as the first two acts (though David Thewlis is well-cast as Ares) but it's one of the more satisfying superhero films in recent memory.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Saw a bunch of good-but-not-great flicks recently

Bitch
A house-wife living an unfulfilling life with an uncaring husband fails at suicide, and starts acting like a dog. What sounds like a silly film is actually an interesting story about a careerist husband who must look at his family and his impact on them. Focusing on the husband feels like a mistake, but it's a decent film that mixes drama and comedy.

A Ghost Story
This is from the director of Pete's Dragon and the live-action Peter Pan? More like an art piece than a film, it's about a couple whose life gets rocked when the husband is involved in an accident. The very arthousy film is a gentle piece about the nature of death and time, as we follow a ghost as it experiences a single place as eras change.

The LEGO Batman Movie
A real step down from the LEGO Movie, and understandably so considering it's not the same writing/directing team. There are some really funny moments, but it lacks the deranged subversion of the previous film, and boy does it hammer home the theme over and over again, making the film feel much longer than it is.

Wonder Woman
While it's great to see a female-directed film about a female superhero succeed, the film isn't all that. Gal Gadot is a graduate of Mark Walhberg's School of Permanent consternation, and there are some cringe-inducing lines and performances in secondary roles, and indeed some of the secondary characters are very shallow. But that said, the action is enjoyable and the film has a few surprises throughout, and balances grit and humour well.

The Other Side of Hope
Aki Kauasmaki's possibly final film is a riff on his previous, and superior film, Le Havre, but it's still an entertainingly quirky film about the pligt of refugees and the goodness of humanity, as a Syrian refugee hides from the authorities and ends up working for a grumpy and depressed restaurateur.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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King Arthur: Legend of the Sword 5/10
An excellent Charlie Hunnam performance is wasted on one of the most mediocre blockbusters in recent memory. Guy Ritchie can't decide if he wants this to be a gritty reboot of a classic story or another of his signature quirky quipfests and despite an interesting setup, the story ends up being a convoluted bore. Huge letdown.

Baywatch 7.5/10
Baywatch was neither the Jump Street-esque laugh riot I'd hoped for nor the unhinged disaster critics have pegged it to be. Thanks to its excellent cast and suffocating self-awareness, it ends up being a fun, disposable piece of trash entertainment.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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If you liked Hunnam in King Arthur, you'll love him in The Lost City of Z. That performance is as far from Jax Teller as you can get.

Anyway...

A Quiet Passion 8/10

In forty years of filmmaking, Terence Davies has only left his native UK twice. The first was his adaptation of John Kennedy Toole's The Neon Bible in 1995. The second takes his not too far away from the Southeast of that film to Massachusetts (though only exteriors were done there, the majority was shot in Belgium) with this biopic of Emily Dickinson with Cynthia Nixon giving a fantastic performance as the poet who despite her instabilities and health issues fought for her right to be her own woman. It is a deliberately slow-paced film, with Davies often using long takes to let the audience enter the forgotten era of transition in the East Coast and how Dickinson the poet was not known during her lifetime. Jennifer Ehle also does well as Dickinson's sister Vinnie and the production values are very strong.

It's too bad this was a small film in April (albeit one that's done serviceable numbers) rather than a fall release as Nixon would be getting awards talk if it came out later. She definitely deserves it.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Megan Leavey 3/10

An interesting story gets a generic, TV movie-like presentation that ends up being nothing more than a slightly better version of 2015's military dog movie Max. Kate Mara once again proves herself to be the best thing in a film that doesn't really deserve her talents (she might be the American Rebecca Hall). But the main problems lay in the script and direction. The script, handled by three writers (including Bridesmaids co-writer and comedic actress Annie Mumulo), wants to be heartwarming when it needs to be biting and angry, feeling as if they wanted to make A Dog's Purpose out of Samuel Fuller's White Dog. It also spends too much time building the story when it needs to get to the heart (in a 116 minute film, two-thirds are spent building the conflict). Meanwhile, the direction is simply another example of why documentary filmmakers often make mediocre narrative directors. Gabriela Cowperthwaite made Blackfish, a film that grabbed you with its themes and dared to take on the system that was Sea World. But here, she simply goes by the motions and makes a film anyone could have made. This film needed a Kathryn Bigelow-type.

But the annoying aspect to me is the fact that it was released by Bleecker Street. A company with some of the best quality control in the industry (though The Last Word was a big step down for them despite its leads), it's obvious that they only picked up this film for box office potential. In a mostly-stellar slate of films, this might be their worst release. Hopefully the rest of the year gives them more The Lost City of Z's and fewer of this one.
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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The Mummy - 5/10

Tepid monster movie that will, ultimately do nothing for Tom Cruise's popularity. I've read that this is an attempt to reboot the highly successful Brendan Fraser franchise (which even Rachel Weisz gave up on after two films), but failed miserably at it. Fraser was at his "lovable dumb jock" best as Rick, while Cruise's attempts at whimsy were limited to making WTF faces and clueless smirks as well as Jake Johnson's "hey I'm dead" jokes. What brought this down another notch was Russell Crowe's character, an inexplicable and completely unexplained inclusion of a real-life Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde monster,
which was there to... what? Further drive home the existence of monsters in the world?
, which was just an utter waste. Sofia Boutella was okay as Amonet (sp?), the only one in the cast who actually seemed to be taking her role seriously.

There was one, and exactly one, tie-in to the Fraser series, a two-second shot of the Golden Book of Hamunaptra (or whatever it was called). They set themselves up for future sequels, which I will more than likely not be seeing.
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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