RATE or REVIEW The Last Movie You Watched.

[choombaz]

The Wedding Singer 8/10
This holds up surprisingly well. I think the warmness of the characters is what makes it indelible. My kids loved it.

Warning Sign 8/10
Really terrific and completely forgotten about 80s thriller-almost-horror

Withnail and I 9/10
Can’t believe this is a first watch. An absolute bona fide classic.

A Christmas Story 8/10
Can’t believe this is a first watch as well. This film has had zero cultural imprint until now thanks to the sequel. I was excepting something overly American that I couldn’t possibility relate but it was the complete opposite. It’s just wonderful, charming, sweet, but has an edge as well and the performances especially Peter Billingsley, Darren Macgavin and Melinda Dillon especially are perfect.

 

[karamazov80]

Catch up over the last month or so

Black Adam: 3/10

Tales From the Darkside the movie: 7.5/10

Tenebrae: 6/10

See how they run: 5/10 (without Sam Rockwell this would be lower...)

Star 80: 8/10

Barbarian: 6.5/10

Mike and Nicky: 6/10 (great performances, and interesting plot, but not a great film)

The Brood: 8/10

Dead Zone: 7.5/10

Dead Ringers: 8/10

 

[The Entity]

300 - 7/10
Hadn't seen this in quite a while. The visuals still hold up pretty well. The movie looks beautiful.

300: Rise of an Empire - 6/10
Unfortunately the story and characters aren't as good as the first one. The effects are a bit iffy at points, but they did a good job in tying it to the first one with quite a good number of returning characters. The designs and everything were awesome again though.

It Follows - 7/10
The idea is actually terrifying. Unfortunately the ending fell flat. The big showdown was a bit anticlimactic, but still it was a pretty good watch.

There Will Be Blood - 8/10
Slow paced, character driven and very well acted.

Pottersville - 5/10
Here you have a movie with: Michael Shannon, Ian McShane and Ron Perlman among others about a struggling town that sees a lot of income because of a Bigfoot sighting. It's supposed to be one of those quirky movies, but it doesn't really pull it off. It looks and feels like somekind of Hallmark Christmas movie, although it doesn't have anything to do with Christmas. Might as well have happened in June.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - 7/10
The animation was beautiful and I really liked the way they tied it into WW I and WW II.

Scarface - 8/10
Another movie I hadn't seen in ages. I remember back in the day on MTV Cribs, seeing people with larger than life Tony Montana paintings and stuff on their walls. After watching the movie now, I wonder if those people ever really watched the film. He's a violent, aggressive hothead who mostly makes choices that ultimately cost him everything. Not the best rolemodel IMO.

Love Actually - 8/10
I always had a soft spot for this one. Love all the little stories and characters. Really good music in this one as well, both soundtrack and score.

Office Christmas Party - 6/10
A fun and silly comedy. Sometimes a bit forced, but overall a good watch.

Seven Psychopaths - 7/10
First time I saw this. This feels like it could be one of those movies that get better the more I see it. So far I really liked it though. Pretty cool characters in a rather original story.

 

[e30ernest]

1899 - 8/10
Started out real slow but eventually built up on its mystery nicely. Huge reveal on the end has me wanting for more. Unfortunately, it was just announced today that Netflix canceled the series.... Such a bummer.

 

[choombaz]

Top of 2022 probably:

RRR
Top Gun Maverick
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Avatar: The Way Of Water
The Northman
The Batman
Pinocchio (no, not that one, the other one)
Wendell & Wild
X
Prey

 

[The Entity]

Glass Onion - 6/10
It started out a bit messy, then pulled itself together for an amazing murder mystery. At points I thought it was even better than Knives Out, but then came the ending... Maybe it's just me, but I found it to be ridiculously out of place for the movie. It almost felt childish.
For me this story should have ended right before Miles burned the napkin. Everything leading up to that moment was brilliant. Blanc explaining the mystery, Helena appearing with the red envellope, Miles being shown for the dumb a-hole that he was. They should've went to court with that, ending the mystery within Blanc's jurisdiction, not by overstepping that line and then breaking some glass and setting a fire.
I don't think it was a bad movie, not at all actually. But the ending definitely took it down a notch.

 

[greygoose]

Glass Onion - 6/10
It started out a bit messy, then pulled itself together for an amazing murder mystery. At points I thought it was even better than Knives Out, but then came the ending... Maybe it's just me, but I found it to be ridiculously out of place for the movie. It almost felt childish.
For me this story should have ended right before Miles burned the napkin. Everything leading up to that moment was brilliant. Blanc explaining the mystery, Helena appearing with the red envellope, Miles being shown for the dumb a-hole that he was. They should've went to court with that, ending the mystery within Blanc's jurisdiction, not by overstepping that line and then breaking some glass and setting a fire.
I don't think it was a bad movie, not at all actually. But the ending definitely took it down a notch.

Yep, good movie with a strange ending. Felt out of place. I'm excited to see what he comes up with for the third movie.

 

[The Entity]

The Other Boleyn Girl - 4/10
Not really a bad movie, but I didn't like it. Pretty much all characters were scheming a-holes.

 

[Otomofan]

I realized the other day that I've never actually seen "Flashdance."

I remember it getting unreal hype when it came out, but I never saw it cause I was just a little kid.

Maybe you just had to be there or something? This movie realllly sucks. The dancing just looks so goofy. I guess people only liked this cause Jennifer Beals is insanely hot. That's the only nice thing I can say about it.

 

[abake]

I realized the other day that I've never actually seen "Flashdance."

I remember it getting unreal hype when it came out, but I never saw it cause I was just a little kid.

Maybe you just had to be there or something? This movie realllly sucks. The dancing just looks so goofy. I guess people only liked this cause Jennifer Beals is insanely hot. That's the only nice thing I can say about it.

I don't think you're very far off with that analysis...
Jennifer Beals was definitely a huge selling point for the movie. I was barely getting into my teens when it came out, and I was soooooo hyped for it. But even then I was disappointed with the movie. It really wasn't as hot and steamy as my adolescent libido was hoping, and I wasn't into pop, so its quality as an hour and a half music video didn't do anything for me. But I'm sure all the music hits that came off it must've helped...
Also, the whole "romantic" idea of the good girl who takes on a disreputable job to make ends meet (which was taken up a notch with -and done better by- Pretty Woman) and gets rescued by the rich handsome man plays very well to both the male and female fantasy.

Speaking of Jennifer Beals' insane hotness, the fact that she was killed off in Book of Boba Fett was the final nail in the coffin for that series. She was the only character I cared about in that mess...

 

[Khev]

I realized the other day that I've never actually seen "Flashdance."

I remember it getting unreal hype when it came out, but I never saw it cause I was just a little kid.

Maybe you just had to be there or something? This movie realllly sucks. The dancing just looks so goofy. I guess people only liked this cause Jennifer Beals is insanely hot. That's the only nice thing I can say about it.

I think you may be the first person to ever actually watch it all the way through.

In the 80's VHS tapes came pre-fast forwarded to Maniac so you could watch that, skip to What a Feeling and call it a day, lol.

 

[Otomofan]

And even the big selling point (Maniac and What a Feeling) just felt like pure unadultered cringe to me. I have no doubt that those are demanding and physically difficult "dance" routines, but she just looked like a kid who ate too much sugar and was wildly flailing around the room for no reason.

The other routines sprinkled through the movie at the "club" were even worse, with horrible 80s costumes and make-up, and lots of movies that just looked like hyper-aerobics.

Eh. The 80s were a crazy time.

I can't believe a movie this paper thin, with almost zero plot or character development managed to be a smash hit, just cause the lead actress was really hot. Bizarre.

 

[Rotfish]

But the ending definitely took it down a notch.

I think at that point, Rian Johnson needed to remind the audience who made the movie. His brand of weirdness has a very particular flavor to it. Abrupt and jarring.

 

[goatchumby]

Everything Everywhere All at Once

A creative and zany film that ultimately flaunts a lot of heart. Whether it be parental/spousal drama or just all out action and goofiness, the film was a convincing blend of elements that other studios can only try to shoehorn into their own blockbusters.

Though the general cast was solid, Ke Huy Quan's performance was quite an unexpected surprise. I had no idea that Jamie Lee Curtis was in this and I'm always happy when James Hong shows up in a picture.

A big thumbs up from me. A standalone multiverse film at the height of the trend; satisfying warmth without the expositional bloat.

 

[The Entity]

Avatar: The Way of Water 8/10
I wasn't able to see this sooner, because I was sick during the holidays. So I had heard some noise here and there that this movie wasn't all that good. Not sure if that influenced the way I went into it, but I thought it was a really good movie and had a great time. It sure didn't feel like a 3hour+ movie.

The story was quite simple, but it worked. The new characters where fun and compelling. I guess I would've liked to have seen a bit more of Jake and Neytiri, but I get this was a family film and there needs to be focus on the kids as well. I liked the smaller scale of the threat/villains this time around. I loved the way it looked. In the beginning I felt like it looked too much like a highly realistic video game, but when they got to the waterclan it all looked amazing.

But while that looked great, it was also where it loses some points for me. When watching a movie, I like it to look like a movie. The HFR sometimes made it look like a soap opera or documentary, rather than a sci-fi action. While it was gorgeous to look at, it didn't blow me out of the water (ha) like the first Avatar did.

Still, this was a great watch and I can only highly recommend it.

 

[ebor]

Avatar WOW 7/10.

3-D was un-necessary. The strange change in frame speed was annoying. Story as shallow as a waning tide-pool. Māori blue cats was next level WTF nail on head typical trope. The set up for the next movie seemed forced. Blue cats vs off-world Colonialist invaders act 3 up coming, but will I care…?

What I liked, design of ships, weapons, and tech.

Final thoughts: Will be hard pressed to see this again.

 

[choombaz]

Ok this is my Christmas, New Year catch up …

Die Hard 4K 10/10
Nuff said

Glass Onion 7.5/10
Don’t think I like it as much as the first one but it is still a lot of fun and will probably watch again. Great cast, Daniel Craig is a hoot and Janelle Monae is terrific.

The Dead Don’t Die 2/10
Truly awful. How did this get made? How did it get these great actors? Why did I watch it

Clerks III 5/10
Watched purely out of respect for the first film. A couple of decent laughs but forgettable and unnecessary.

The Place Beyond The Pines 7/10
Recommended by a friend. Terrific and not what I expected at all. Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper are both terrific. Great Mike Patton soundtrack.

2001: A Space Odyssey 70mm 10/10
What surprised me the most was the pace of this film. I always thought it was painfully slow but at the cinema it moves at quite a pace. My friends and I decided this film is all about transportation.

The Black Phone 6.5/10
I liked the initial setup but not the follow through. It doesn’t seem to go anywhere, at least not interesting. Good try though.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio 7.5/10
Not quite the masterpiece I thought it would be but no doubt it pukes all over the never gonna watch Zemeckis (what ever happened to you??) version. Animation and voice work is staggering but ultimately it left me feeling a bit hollow.

Tin Men 8/10
I love a good podcast because it often reminds me to revisit films like this. Great film. DeVito and Dreyfuss are so good and the writing is so sharp.

Nixon 8/10
I can’t believe it took me this long to watch this and i can’t believe how great it is. Is this Oliver Stone’s best film. On a rewatch I might consider that. Hopkins is stunning.

Apollo 10 and a half 7.5/10
Yet another buried gem on Netflix. Structure is a bit odd but just beautiful and a lot of fun. Done in Richard Linklater’s rotoscoping animation style like Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly (hugely underrated) is a coming of age story in Houston in 1969.

Kimi 6.5/10
Decent setup of an agrophobic woman who discovers something nasty in an IT project she is working on. Some great ideas in the first half but becomes quite a pedestrian thriller in the second half.

True Lies 5/10
If you like this film it’s finally in a HD copy on Disney+. I used to love this film but man it’s just dodgy now. Plus the HD makes it really obvious when it’s not Arnie doing a stunt, which is like a lot of the time in this film.

Barbarian 7.5/10
Now this is how you do a horror film. Go into this cold.

 

[e30ernest]

James Bond: No Time To Die - 7/10
A decent ending to Daniel Craig's run as James Bond. While a big part of the movie was Bond's fault (and he should really have been held accountable for that), and the story is somewhat predictable, it was still a fun romp.

 

[Otomofan]

I'm watching "Once Upon a Time in America."

I watched it once almost 20 years ago, and it didn't make a huge impression on me. I don't remember which version I watched. I know there's the short version that nobody likes, and the longer one that's better.

This time I'm watching the super-long version (over 4 hours) to make sure I don't miss anything.

So far I'm finding the "flashback" scenes with the kids more compelling than the scenes with the characters as adults. Seems it works that way a lot in movies, even though kids are generally crappier actors.

One thing I'm absolutely blown away by is the cinematography. How in the hell did they get these shots, shooting in the early 80s? There was no CGI...was all this stuff done on location? The sweeping wide shots of the city and bridges and buildings are just glorious.

 

[choombaz]

I'm watching "Once Upon a Time in America."

I watched it once almost 20 years ago, and it didn't make a huge impression on me. I don't remember which version I watched. I know there's the short version that nobody likes, and the longer one that's better.

This time I'm watching the super-long version (over 4 hours) to make sure I don't miss anything.

So far I'm finding the "flashback" scenes with the kids more compelling than the scenes with the characters as adults. Seems it works that way a lot in movies, even though kids are generally crappier actors.

One thing I'm absolutely blown away by is the cinematography. How in the hell did they get these shots, shooting in the early 80s? There was no CGI...was all this stuff done on location? The sweeping wide shots of the city and bridges and buildings are just glorious.

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Some of the more recognisable NYC shots were shot in NYC but I can remember on the dvd commentary they talk about also shooting in Montreal because some of the architecture was more appropriate for the period and Leone always shot studio interiors in Rome.