NEW: List some movies you've watched recently. Theatre, rental, TV... and give a */10

[QueBert]

Since I can watch 4 movies a week with my AMC A List membership I went yesterday and ended up staying for 3.

Running Man - the OG is the one of the greats, although I haven't seen it in probably 30 years so I might be remembering it being way better than it is lol. But in the 80s it was pure bad ass. I RT'ed it and 59% critics 61% fans, I was about 12 when it came out and it was a 100/10 in my eyes. Maybe it's best I don't watch it again lol.

The new one was a good time, it was fast paced and had a few hilarious scenes. I watched it in IMAX, and I think it was shot for IMAX or something, so it looked awesome and the sound was great. This one had James Brolin as the evil shithead, while he was pretty good. Again, maybe it's just 30 year old memories. But Richard Dawson in the original was better. No cameo from Arnold seems like a huge missed opportunity. I understand a good portion of people in the theater were probably too young to know the original. But Arnold had an awesome 80s cheesy puns for each hunter he killed. He made that movie, nobody else could have done that roll. I would have loved to have seen him, even if it was just for a quick 5 second cameo. They totally ditched the cheesy puns here *BOOO!*

Critics on RT don't like it, fans have it at 80% which I guess means it's not a good movie but is fun. Critics don't seem to like fun movies very much. They want "acting" and "a script"

Now You See Me, Now You Don't. I saw a preview a few weeks ago and thought it looked interesting, and I like Woody Harrelson. I didn't know until I Googled after that this is a sequel. So I have no idea what I missed, but I was able to follow the movie. It's about magicians who are setting up a heist. It was enjoyable, Woody and Morgan Freeman were both great. Morgan was just a small roll though. I looked both up on RT, critics didn't like either much, but the fans enjoyed them. I guess that means these are also pretty crummy movies that are fun to watch.

Black Phone 2, I think I might have written a review a few weeks ago. This is my 2nd time seeing it. I fucking loved it, the scene with The Grabber ice skating with an axe is incredibly cool and stylish. A Masked madman ice skating with an axe is also pretty fucking terrifying. It's very different from the 1st, I enjoyed them both. This is pretty much a straighy horror movie where the 1st was more suspenseful with some horror elements.

 

[Muse]

Into the Wild (Sean Penn et al, 2007) 9/10

I read a very early newspaper article about Chris McCandless (who adopted alias Alexander Supertramp) in, I suppose, 1992. When the book by Jon Krakauer came out, I read it, saw the movie in 2015 and watched the Blu-ray and extras last night.

Just read this article:

The Tragic Truth About Chris McCandless - Grunge

Chris McCandless never actively sought glory but in his death he became a tragic hero and a cautionary tale. Here is the tragic truth of Chris McCandless.

www.grunge.com

The title and 1st sentence of that article betray allot of misunderstanding, however it has good info. The Wikipedia treatment is probably better.

Anyone with a sense of adventure and who contemplates the nature of self identity and surpassing the limitations it can entail should find the story, the book (Krakauer understands adventure) and the movie fascinating.

Spirit song for sure for McCandless/Krakauer:

Dolly Parton: Wildflowers

With Linda Ronstadt and Emmy Lou Harris:

The hills were alive with wildflowers and I
Was as wild, even wilder than they
For at least I could run
They just died in the sun
And I refused to just wither in place

Just a wild mountain rose
Needing freedom to grow
So I ran fearing not where I'd go
When a flower grows wild
It can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow

And the flowers I knew
In the fields where I grew
Were content to be lost in the crowd
They were common and close
I had no room for growth
And I wanted so much to branch out

So I uprooted myself from my home ground and left
Took my dreams and I took to the road
When a flower grows wild
It can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow

I grew up fast and wild
And I never felt right
In a garden so different from me
I just never belonged
I just longed to be gone
So the garden one day set me free

I hitched a ride with the wind
And since he was my friend
I just let him decide where we'd go
When a flower grows wild
It can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow

Just a wild rambling rose seeking mysteries untold
No regret for the path that I chose
When a flower grows wild
It can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow

Wildflowers don't care where they grow

 

[DigDog]

 

[gorobei]

so i finally got around to watching Ironheart. 6.5/10 maybe?

it is not great, but it actually makes some brave choices.

the first 3 episode are the standard meh vanilla marvel non-sequitur filler and ham handed exposition, the last 3 episodes actually have some stakes/tension but you dont really care about the main characters by that point. there are more than a few nice performances and scenes; sacha baron cohen, alden ehrenreich, regan aliyah are the real standouts.

i give the creators credit for doing the daring thing of not making the main character an actual hero. she is deeply flawed/damaged and makes horrible choices, and that is the intention. the problem is you dont really feel for her plight because you dont like her. there are other characters trying to do the right thing so you are on their side, but there is a whole "did all of this really need to happen?" vibe hanging over it. all of it is targeted at the twist ending which really does put a sharp point on the not-a-hero tragedy thing. it will be interesting to see if they give it a season 2 given the shake up over at MCU.

 

[DigDog]

so i finally got around to watching Ironheart.

is it this one? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13623126/reference/
the IMDb 65 thousand votes, 4.5/10 average ?

 

[RossMAN]

Blue Lights - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14466018/reference/

solid, realistic police procedural based in northern ireland. Started a bit formulaic but dropped the "rookies on the force" act by the end of S01 and got consistently better. S03 has just run and a fourth is due in the future.

recommended if you like cop shows with spy intrigue stuff.

7/10

Thanks for this, it's right up my alley. I may have started but abandoned this, may have to give it another shot. Approximately how many episodes in until the spy stuff is introduced?

If you have any other quality British/European spy thriller recommendations, please share them.

 

[gorobei]

is it this one? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13623126/reference/
the IMDb 65 thousand votes, 4.5/10 average ?

oh it is not an enjoyable series, but it does do some interesting things.

just using "x out of 10/ x out 5 stars/ x%" is a horrible system for describing a movie/book/etc. at best it gives a general indication of "would you recommend this", but it is useless for the 2 metrics that are implied: 'is this objectively(technically) good', and 'did i enjoy this'.

while we are always looking for both objectively and subjectively good; something can be technically well done but not enjoyable, or not well made but still enjoyable. (i am never going to be a fan of rap music, but i can acknowledge that some rap song may have been made to some peak technical standard in the genre.)

in the case of ironheart, it has a ton of issues that make it subjectively bad and hard to invest in: poor introduction and stakes/expectation setting; random elements and non sequitur sequencing of events; distracting casting; tons of 'tell dont show'; bad shot composition/editing in key scenes; failure to hit emotional beats; bad staging of a stunt; failure to commit to a direction for character building; unearned turnarounds; etc. all of this happens in the first few episodes, so i would be amazed if anyone stuck around for the rest or changed their rating. the last 3 episode have all the big developments but most people probably never saw them.

but there are some good performances, good sfx, good stunts, good gags(they are few and far between). it is a disney production so the music, cinematography, lighting, wardrobe, sound, vfx, sfx are all adequate or non-detracting. so it all comes down to the writing/directing.


they could have done a vanilla story about the protagonist becoming a hero (a la MsMarvel) and generally fail to understand what makes someone heroic like every other marvel D+ show. but the showrunner made a choice to go the subversive route. it has a higher degree of difficulty and they failed all over the place, but they had an ending in mind and stuck to it.

and that problem spills over into the acting. if you are writing the main character to not be a hero, then the actress when she does a good job of protraying someone not heroic has just turned the audience against her and the show.

a better writer/director/team probably could have salvaged a more satisfying result from the base script, but you have to acknowledge that the creators tried to do something different that was harder to get right.

so on objective technical execution it is in the 7.5 range, but subjectively from an enjoyability standpoint it is a 4.

 

[DigDog]

Thanks for this, it's right up my alley. I may have started but abandoned this, may have to give it another shot. Approximately how many episodes in until the spy stuff is introduced?

If you have any other quality British/European spy thriller recommendations, please share them.

the spy stuff starts right away, but doesn't get serious until the end of season 2. s03 is all about the spy stuff.

i do in fact have a recommendation, which is Babylon https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3138900/reference/

this is a pretty damn hardcore 1-shot about what's it like to be part of the police, in London. which .. essentially is a shower of shit. it's not just about the cops, but the press office, the machinations of government, and every level of politics from international to inter-office.

 

[DigDog]

in the case of ironheart, it has a ton of issues that make it subjectively bad and hard to invest in: poor introduction and stakes/expectation setting; random elements and non sequitur sequencing of events; distracting casting; tons of 'tell dont show'; bad shot composition/editing in key scenes; failure to hit emotional beats; bad staging of a stunt; failure to commit to a direction for character building; unearned turnarounds; etc. all of this happens in the first few episodes, so i would be amazed if anyone stuck around for the rest or changed their rating. the last 3 episode have all the big developments but most people probably never saw them.

but there are some good performances, good sfx, good stunts, good gags(they are few and far between). it is a disney production so the music, cinematography, lighting, wardrobe, sound, vfx, sfx are all adequate or non-detracting. so it all comes down to the writing/directing.

allright, i'll give it a shot.

 

[gorobei]

allright, i'll give it a shot.

watch if you run out of more promising new shows.

you could probably get more out of a youtube episode review/summary of the first 3 ep that would get you the gist without having to watch the full runtime. if the setup sound interesting enough, then watch the last 3 eps.

basically a YT edit of just the sacha baron cohen scenes would be the only must watch stuff, if the future of mcu wasnt so up in the air. they could easily just cancel all the series that werent minor hits.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Tigerland - 8.5/10 (now streaming on Hulu)

Joel Schumacher directed - starring Colin Farrel in his first big role in this long forgotten Vietnam era Army training epic.

Movie was basically not released in theatres but was critically acclaimed. It's a solid story about Advanced Training for Infantry before heading off to war at the Louisiana training base known as Tigerland.

Lots of dialogue, good character development as Farrels character morphs from rebellion to leader and some solid T&A scenes.

 

[QueBert]

AMC randomly does something called Screen Unseen, where they show a movie and the only thing you know is it's rating and how long it is. You don't even know the genre. I've Googled others and couldn't find what the movie would be. The guy working told me he didn't know which movie it was until he came to work today. With how many movies are complete trash, this seems like a good way to waste money and a few hours. But I decided what the hell and gave it a shot.

Sisu: Road To Revenge, I'd seen the preview a few times and it looked too over the top. I thought the trailer was exaggerated, but boy was I wrong. The movie was like a 90 minute version of the trailer. When I got home I Googled and saw it's a sequel, which I had no idea. This is one of the most batshit crazy action movies I've ever seen. It makes Rambo feel like a believable documentary. There was so much graphic violence, but not boring excessive violence just to shock people. The writer of this came up with some next level creative deaths. As crazy each killing was, they continued to get crazier. I MUST see the original now because this was the most fun I've had watching a movie in a long ass time. OBAA and Sinners were great movies. But the fun factor and nonstop WTF moments of this were off the charts.

Due to how gory it was, this was a weird pick for a movie that nobody would know what it was until it starts. I almost didn't go but am so glad I did. Within the first 2 minutes, I was like "fuck yes" this entire movie blew me away. Absolutely nothing in this movie is even remotely believable and that made it infinitely better.

It's being released on the 21st.

9.8/10

 

[Muse]

That does indeed say it all. You can't imagine ...

 

[Muse]

AMC randomly does something called Screen Unseen, where they show a movie and the only thing you know is it's rating and how long it is. You don't even know the genre. I've Googled others and couldn't find what the movie would be. The guy working told me he didn't know which movie it was until he came to work today. With how many movies are complete trash, this seems like a good way to waste money and a few hours. But I decided what the hell and gave it a shot.

Sisu: Road To Revenge, I'd seen the preview a few times and it looked too over the top. I thought the trailer was exaggerated, but boy was I wrong. The movie was like a 90 minute version of the trailer. When I got home I Googled and saw it's a sequel, which I had no idea. This is one of the most batshit crazy action movies I've ever seen. It makes Rambo feel like a believable documentary. There was so much graphic violence, but not boring excessive violence just to shock people. The writer of this came up with some next level creative deaths. As crazy each killing was, they continued to get crazier. I MUST see the original now because this was the most fun I've had watching a movie in a long ass time. OBAA and Sinners were great movies. But the fun factor and nonstop WTF moments of this were off the charts.

Due to how gory it was, this was a weird pick for a movie that nobody would know what it was until it starts. I almost didn't go but am so glad I did. Within the first 2 minutes, I was like "fuck yes" this entire movie blew me away. Absolutely nothing in this movie is even remotely believable and that made it infinitely better.

It's being released on the 21st.

9.8/10

So, have you an idea of the original, Sisu (from 2022)? Same protagonist.

AI:

Key differences from the original Sisu

• Different villains: While the first film pitted Korpi against Nazis, the sequel pits him against the Red Army.
• Focus on a new goal: The initial goal of Sisu was to protect his gold, but the sequel focuses on preserving and rebuilding his home to honor his family.
• Action and tone: Some reviews suggest the sequel dials up the action and absurdity, creating a more "slapstick" or comedic tone while still delivering extreme violence.

 

[DigDog]

creating a more ... comedic tone

as if the first film was serious.

 

[QueBert]

So, have you an idea of the original, Sisu (from 2022)? Same protagonist.

AI:

Key differences from the original Sisu

• Different villains: While the first film pitted Korpi against Nazis, the sequel pits him against the Red Army.
• Focus on a new goal: The initial goal of Sisu was to protect his gold, but the sequel focuses on preserving and rebuilding his home to honor his family.
• Action and tone: Some reviews suggest the sequel dials up the action and absurdity, creating a more "slapstick" or comedic tone while still delivering extreme violence.

I can say there were a few really gruesome death scenes that were done in a way where there was an audible roar of laughter from the people in the theater. Myself included. It was almost like we were a bunch of psychopaths.

 

[Muse]

I can say there were a few really gruesome death scenes that were done in a way where there was an audible roar of laughter from the people in the theater. Myself included. It was almost like we were a bunch of psychopaths.

So you're talking about the first, the Sisu 2023, right? And you just saw the sequel, to be released on Nov. 21?

 

[QueBert]

So you're talking about the first, the Sisu 2023, right? And you just saw the sequel, to be released on Nov. 21?

No I'm talking about the new one, I need to watch the original. Even if it's just half of what the sequel is it'ill be something I could watch yearly. I was commenting on AI's mentioning of slapstick and the extreme violence. And the CGI was well doneso some of the deaths we laughed at looked pretty damn realistic. Well except for the context of how they were actually dying.

 

[Muse]

No I'm talking about the new one, I need to watch the original. Even if it's just half of what the sequel is it'ill be something I could watch yearly. I was commenting on AI's mentioning of slapstick and the extreme violence. And the CGI was well doneso some of the deaths we laughed at looked pretty damn realistic. Well except for the context of how they were actually dying.

My local library has the DVD and the BR, which suggests it's something. I should have the BR in my hands in a few days... Sisu (2023). They are Finnish, so I suppose it's subtitled.

 

[bbhaag]

The Maltese Falcon 7/10

My first foray into film noir. I did enjoy it but found it hard to follow at times which is kind of typical for films of the era. It is crazy how many modern film tropes still barrow from this film. The end scene is amazing.

Worth watching if you are a cinephile but it might not be for a modern audience.

 

[Muse]

The Maltese Falcon 7/10

My first foray into film noir. I did enjoy it but found it hard to follow at times which is kind of typical for films of the era. It is crazy how many modern film tropes still barrowed from this film. The end scene is amazing.

Got into Bogart movies at a Bogart film festival affair at Harvard Square in the 1960's. Saw a video today about Ethan Coen's favorite movies and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was one (Bogie classic). It's real good. I watched Casablanca for the 8th time last week. To me, that's his greatest role (although I haven't seen all, I guess). His acting was terrific in that one, it's a great movie.

 

[bbhaag]

Got into Bogart movies at a Bogart film festival affair at Harvard Square in the 1960's. Saw a video today about Ethan Coen's favorite movies and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was one (Bogie classic). It's real good. I watched Casablanca for the 8th time last week. To me, that's his greatest role (although I haven't seen all, I guess). His acting was terrific in that one, it's a great movie.

Just getting started down this rabbit hole. Casablanca is for sure on the list!

 

[KLin]

Currently watching Endeavour. British detective drama that's a prequel to a series called Morse that aired from 1987-2000.

Pretty good so far.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2701582/

 

[Muse]

Just getting started down this rabbit hole. Casablanca is for sure on the list!

Casablanca is one of the rare movies that gets better with each successive viewing.

 

[JujuFish]

I took a course on the history of American film in college (it counted as a history course, huzzah) and Casablanca was one of my favorites.