Movies You've Seen Recently | Q2 2024

MidnightCowboy · Jan 1, 2022

Welcome
Hello and welcome to the monthly Movies You've Seen Recently thread. The place to hang out with fellow movie lovers! Due to waning post counts and in accordance with the results of December 2021's poll I've decided to change from a monthly thread to a seasonal thread. That way we won't have to subscribe as frequently.

Thread rules
1. Be nice, be civil, use common sense
2. Respect the opinions of other members, no matter how wrong they are
3. Use spoiler tags accordingly
4. Have fun, we're all here because we love movies

Want to introduce yourself?
New to the Movies You've Seen Recently community? Let us know a bit about yourself:
1. What's your favorite Movie?
2. Who's your favorite director?
3. Who are your favorite actors/actresses?
4. Favorite Genre(s)?
5. What's your favorite performance in film?

- Post your 2021 Top 10!

Useful external links:
Letterboxd
ICheckMovies
IMDb
Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic

If you want to be added to the list above, shoot a PM to me and you'll be added.

Unsure of what to watch? Just ask for recommendations in here. We don't bite!

Teenage Fansub · Jan 1, 2022

~~It's not winter for everyone bud!~~* Happy new year anyway from summery New Zealand 😂

I posted my end of year stats in the Letterboxd thread, so I'll just quote that:

Teenage Fansub said:
Here's my 2021 stats page: https://letterboxd.com/teenage_fansub/year/2021/
192 features, which is a little low compared to recent years.
I saw 59 2021 releases and only really disliked a handful, so I think it was a pretty good year.

A lockdown in my city meant we missed the usual film festival. If I could have gone to it, I'd've seen about 20 more.

I had a big December. 30 movies watched. 24 new, 6 rewatches. We came out of a lockdown in my city at the start of Dec, so I did a week of double features at the cinema trying to cram in everything I'd missed for the last five months.

New:
Annette
It's a Wonderful Life
No Time to Die
Dune
No Sudden Move
Petite Maman
Titane
The Tragedy of Macbeth
The French Dispatch
The Power of the Dog
Candyman
The Blood on Satan's Claw
Dark City
Spider-Man: No Way Home
The Last Duel
Witchfinder General
West Side Story 2021
Greenland
Elf
Eyes of Laura Mars
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Eternals
The Matrix Resurrections

Rewatches:
The Matrix
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Ghost World
Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions

edit: Edited cause the title changed.

Darkwing-Buck · Jan 1, 2022

Saw Nightmare Alley (2021) last night.

This solidified to me that Bradley Cooper is a fucking movie star. Wow, what a performance. One thing that stood out to me was how physically imposing he was in the film. He was towering over everyone and at times looked like Indiana Jones lol

Anyways, the movie itself was good (maybe a bit long?) but I'm glad stuff like this is still getting made. You could tell it was passion project for Del Toro and loved that he went back to something more grounded with little to no fantasy.

DiipuSurotu · Jan 1, 2022

Isn't Winter 2022 technically eleven months from now?

MidnightCowboy · Jan 1, 2022

Teenage Fansub said:
It's not winter for everyone bud! Happy new year anyway 😂

Oh man you're right! Duh, will request to change thread title. 2022 Q1 I suppose.

MidnightCowboy · Jan 1, 2022

DiipuSurotu said:
Isn't Winter 2022 technically eleven months from now?

It's winter till March (here). We only really have like a week of "winter" at the end because the season changes so late in December. But to properly reflect everything I'll change the title.

Deleted member 9241 · Jan 1, 2022

Darkwing-Buck said:
Saw Nightmare Alley (2021) last night.

This solidified to me that Bradley Cooper is a fucking movie star. Wow, what a performance. One thing that stood out to me was how physically imposing he was in the film. He was towering everyone and at times looked like Indiana Jones lol

Anyways, the movie itself was good (maybe a bit long?) but I'm glad stuff like this is still getting made. You could tell it was passion project for Del Toro and loved that he went back to something more grounded with little to no fantasy.

Check out the 1947 original sometime

Sibersk Esto · Jan 1, 2022

Watched The Apartment (1960) today

It's a brilliant piece of filmmaking, from the script to the acting to the cinematography. One of those movies that has something new for me everytime I see it.

MidnightCowboy · Jan 1, 2022

Sibersk Esto said:
Watched The Apartment (1960) today

It's a brilliant piece of filmmaking, from the script to the acting to the cinematography. One of those movies that has something new for me everytime I see it.

Seijuro · Jan 1, 2022

I watched Power of the Dog (2021) a few days ago. I knew next to nothing about it going in, except it is a favorite in coming awards season. Took some time to warm to the movie initially, because it moves very slow in the beginning, but also because of Benedict Cumberbatch's unnerving performance. So glad I stuck with it though, it's a phenomenal film. I still think about it daily. Jane Campion and Cumberbatch are sure bets for Oscar nods.

I also watched another recent 2021 film, Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho. I liked it well, although it didn't grab me the way I thought it would. Maybe because I was pretty tired while watching it. The premise is awesome though.

TaySan · Jan 1, 2022

Max Payne(2008)

Nothing at all like the game, but it's not the worst video game-based movie. The visual style makes this movie seem like a film-noir, while its story, although it tries hard, just isn't noir. It's lacking all of the required ingredients and also the characters are not well written enough for that.

The action however is entertaining enough so you're not bored with the meh plot and characters. I loved the games, but I don't see myself giving this one a repeat view.

EvilChameleon · Jan 1, 2022

Finally was able to watch No Time To Die. A multi-00 Bond movie? Hell fucking yeah! Right up there with a multi-Doctor episode in Doctor Who.

MinerArcaniner · Jan 1, 2022

Last movie I saw was The Matrix: Ressurections (2021).

ems.ZW1zLXByZC1hc3NldHMvbW92aWVzL2Q4ZWE4ZTUwLTI5MTMtNDQ5Yi05M2Y5LTVlNWVlNjU5YWRmZC5qcGc=

It was...a strange film. And not in a particularly good way.

The film oscillated between weird technobabble and run-of-the-mill action schlock without ever finding its footing either way; it's constant self-referential moments came off as insecure; the action was a MASSIVE step down compared to the old films. It even managed to muddy the stakes on freeing people from the Matrix itself, which I didn't even think was possible.

Liked it better than Revolutions, but not by much.

Mifune · Jan 1, 2022

I'm still basking in the glow of Licorice Pizza two days later. My movie of the year - such a warm, funny, beautiful film.

Darkwing-Buck · Jan 1, 2022

Mifune said:
I'm still basking in the glow of Licorice Pizza two days later. My movie of the year - such a warm, funny, beautiful film.

that truck scene gonna stay with me forever

Tycho Kepler · Jan 2, 2022

7OrvVZ4QprzIgr5E9IYhwzaObOphK7FXIDtVTzAaPIxYgnwTRCsp0s9EjZZuC75hW0JEQvwAFvyuR-dvRzT06mceSOYARf6ANB3QnXPy

I was looking for something to watch on New Years Eve, and casually passed by Freejack which I had only ever heard the name of. My girlfriend described the premise and I had to watch it. The movie answers the first question I had going in, which is "why don't the rich people just take contemporary people's bodies", so I kept waiting for the answer to "why do the characters look like the same age despite this being far enough into the future that there is time travel". This movie sucked, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

sackboy97 · Jan 2, 2022

I ended up watching two somewhat similar movies yesterday. One was Lion, which was pretty good but not as good as I expected; as most people seems to agree, the second act was a lot weaker than the first and than the ending. I then watched The Florida Project, which was pretty great, if maybe a touch repetitive at times.

Waveset · Jan 2, 2022

Quote myself from the last thread:

Waveset said:
Sorry for the off topic but couldn't see an appropriate thread but figured you'd be the people to ask.

A friend is recommending a bad movie but he can't remember the title, this is his description:

It was Nightflyers.

Nightflyers (1987)

A scientific group set out on a journey into space to find a magical creature. What they find is a killer computer on the ship they chartered.

boxd.it

1987, adapted from a George RR Martin novella. Can't recommend it unfortunately, felt flat throughout, music was off, good 80's hair though.

FRANKEINSTEIN · Jan 2, 2022

Usually watch a movie a day and yesterday my son chose Child's Play 2. We watched the original and the remake a couple months ago. It was solid. Better acting than normal for horror and story straight forward. I bought the Chucky set a couple months ago so we'll get through the rest eventually and then start the tv show.

Waveset · Jan 2, 2022

The Thin Red line

The Thin Red Line (1998)

The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody...

letterboxd.com

Poetry and horror, nature and corruption, futility and hope. Haven't felt this much from a film in a long time, Malick's just a craftsman.

If I never meet you in this life
Let me feel the lack

Akumatica · Jan 2, 2022

Even though I didn't view any in November or December, I ended up watching 121 films in 2021.

Excellent-
Children of Men (2006)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Fargo (1996) (rewatch)
Holy Motors (2012)
Adaption (2002)
Zatoichi (2003) (rewatch)
Snowpiercer (2013)
The Third Man (1949)
Woman in the Dunes (1964)
The Witch (2015)

Great-
The Noisy Requiem (1988)
Memories of Murder (2003)
Gravity (2013)
Mauvis Sang (1986)
It Follows (2014)
Wild At Heart (1990) (rewatch)
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)
Housebound (2014)
The Exterminating Angel (1962)
The Straight Story (1999)
Manhunter (1986)
Prevenge (2016)
Happy Death Day (2017)
Strange Circus (2005)
Mute Witness (1995) (rewatch)

Very good-
On the Silver Globe (1988)
The Midnight After (2014)
Fudoh: The New Generation (1996)
Wild Zero (1999)
Drive (2011)
Angel Heart (1987)
Opera (1987)
Duel (1971)
Coherence (2013)
The Queen of Black Magic (2019)
The House That Jack Built (2018)
No One Lives (2012)

Didn't care for-
Sucker Punch (2011)
April Fool's Day (1986)
Laid to Rest (2009)
See No Evil 2 (2014)
Pieces (1982)
The Toolbox Murders (1978)
Circle (2015)
Surveillance (2008)
Fear Street: 1994 (2021)
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
The Frighteners (1996)
Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Mimicry Freaks (2019)

Teenage Fansub · Jan 2, 2022

FRANKEINSTEIN said:
Usually watch a movie a day and yesterday my son chose Child's Play 2. We watched the original and the remake a couple months ago. It was solid. Better acting than normal for horror and story straight forward. I bought the Chucky set a couple months ago so we'll get through the rest eventually and then start the tv show.

The ending in the toy factory is still pretty spectacular.

Remember there are also two DTV movies if your set is just the theatrical ones.

FRANKEINSTEIN · Jan 2, 2022

Teenage Fansub said:
The ending in the toy factory is still pretty spectacular.

Remember there are also two DTV movies if your set is just the theatrical ones.

I think it has all.
It has 7 movies:
Child's Play 1-3
Bride of Chucky
Seed...
Curse...
Cult...

This was/will be my first time watching the original 3. I've seen a couple of the movies with Jennifer Tilly and enjoying them.

Sean C. · Jan 2, 2022

The Last Seduction (1994): Final film of 2021, just before it was set to expire from the Criterion Channel. It's easy to see why Linda Fiorentino's performance as the femme fatale garnered so much acclaim at the time, as she's electric to watch. The film as a whole I think is merely good, largely because every other character in the movie is such an idiot that there's never much dramatic tension, it's always obvious that Fiorentino is going to get exactly what she wants.

The Lost Daughter (2021): First film of 2022. Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut demonstrates a strong grasp of atmospherics and a good rapport with actors, centering on strong performances from Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley. The story is a bit thin, and builds to an ending I don't find especially convincing, but on the whole this is a promising debut.

swoon · Jan 2, 2022

i like last seduction b/c it is that inverse of both the femme fatale but also the lead in most noirs as she's both really, so why shouldn't she gets what she wants

Dragonyeuw · Jan 2, 2022

Watched Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City today. Really weird creative choices, they did justice to locales and imagery from the first two games while taking way too many liberties with the characters. Which on that note, they should have just focused on the original RE plotline with Bravo team investigating the Mansion instead of trying to shoehorn RE2 in there. Neither storyline got the attention it deserves.

FRANKEINSTEIN · Jan 2, 2022

Never seen the directors cut but it's been so long I only recognized one scene definitely not in theatrical version. Cage was the right amount of over the top. Beach also nails his role being more naive to battle hardened. The actor who played Charlie, the other Navajo code talkers had great presence. I'm surprised I haven't seen him in anything else. Slater, Ruffalo, Van Holt and Storwmare all had moments to shine. Story was very by the numbers and most big moments you could see coming. The stunts and explosions were exceptional.

coma · Jan 2, 2022

Windtalkers is ridiculous. It's great.

Sean C. · Jan 2, 2022

swoon said:
i like last seduction b/c it is that inverse of both the femme fatale but also the lead in most noirs as she's both really, so why shouldn't she gets what she wants

I don't object to her winning, my issue is that it's not nearly as interesting as it would be if anybody in the movie felt remotely like an obstacle. A lot of her wins involve her beating people who behave in incredibly stupid ways.

Sibersk Esto · Jan 2, 2022

Watched Leon The Professional again after a long time. Man, I completely forgot how slickly directed and effectively acted this is, just really solid. Gary Oldman comes right up to the edge of being a complete cartoon character but he yanks it back in one scene.

I will say the Leon and Matilda relationship is on thin ice. Like I think overall it's effective at portraying a father and daughter type dynamic between two very damaged people, but the way the camera tends to treat Matilda in certain scenes gets a side eye, especially since Luc Besson himself is a creep.

Darkwing-Buck · Jan 2, 2022

American Gigolo (1980)

The ending was kinda wishy-washy (especially for a Paul Schrader flick) but man the atmosphere and music is just phenomenal in this. Surprisingly tamer than I thought going into this but I enjoyed how a bit restrained it was.

I haven't seen Chicago but this might be my favorite Gere performance? Schrader is the master of doomer cinema and flawed/troubled protagonists so I was surprised to see that

Gere's bad choices didn't come back to bite him.

Anyways not my favorite PS film but it's solid. Still can't stop thinking about that soundtrack

Strings · Jan 2, 2022

Darkwing-Buck said:
American Gigolo (1980)

The ending was kinda wishy-washy (especially for a Paul Schrader flick) but man the atmosphere and music is just phenomenal in this. Surprisingly tamer than I thought going into this but I enjoyed how a bit restrained it was.

I haven't seen Chicago but this might be my favorite Gere performance? Schrader is the master of doomer cinema and flawed/troubled protagonists so I was surprised to see that

Gere's bad choices didn't come back to bite him.

Anyways not my favorite PS film but it's solid. Still can't stop thinking about that soundtrack

He is soooooooooooo deliciously good in Chicago. I'm still bummed he wasn't nominated that year, even if he wouldn't have won (Brody took it with The Pianist). Pretty stacked category that year:

I'd dump Lewis for him.

Teenage Fansub · Jan 3, 2022

Darkwing-Buck said:
American Gigolo (1980)

The ending was kinda wishy-washy (especially for a Paul Schrader flick) but man the atmosphere and music is just phenomenal in this. Surprisingly tamer than I thought going into this but I enjoyed how a bit restrained it was.

Weird. I saw American Gigolo the other day too.
There's a reason why the ending may seem off: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gigolo#Production

"At the end of American Gigolo, I wanted to perversely plunge my lizardy protagonist into icy Bressonian waters, so I lifted the ending of Pickpocket and gave it to Julian Kay. A grace note as unwarranted as Christ's promise to the thief on the cross"

I loved how a whole scene took place in front of an ad for The Warriors.

Blader · Jan 3, 2022

Last dump of 2021 reviews. Almost hit 20 movies last month, can't remember the last time I was able to watch that many (outside of the October horror marathons). Great finish to the year.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Rewatch. Despite being one of the most popular, well-known westerns of all time, this movie still feels underrated to me. Newman and Redford are as perfect a pair of leads as there ever was, the shootouts are great, and it's just funny as hell. The Wild Bunch came out the same year and tacked similar "end of the west" themes (and in a more overt way) but imo this movie does it better on maybe every front.
9/10

The Matrix Resurrections
Even with my lowered expectations, I did not like this very much, but didn't really dislike it either. On paper at least I like big chunks of the story, and just the basic idea of the movie serving as a happy ending coda to Neo and Trinity's story. And I really dug all the additions to the mythology, IO, the machine civil war, human-machine alliance and how Lana and co. were able to split the difference on continuing the conflicts and oppression of the trilogy without undermining the peace Neo bought with his sacrifice. Most of the script I was fine with, but there are two big misses for me: the metacommentary in the first 45-60 minutes, which feels more cringey and trite than clever, and the return of Smith, which feels totally superfluous. His personality is completely different, so he may as well be a new character, but even that would be alright if the story ever justified his inclusion here. But it never does. Smith plays no role, he just pops in and out of scenes but makes no impact on the plot or any of the characters. He could be omitted with absolutely no changes to the rest of the film, and given that he is the central villain of the series, that just sucks. On the plus side, while I missed Weaving, I thought Groff was actually fine, and he never devolves into a Weaving impression like the trailer let on (aside from two lines, one of which was deliberate).

The biggest problem of all is that technical filmmaking in this movie is surprisingly poor, most especially during the action sequences but even in quieter moments. The editing looks sloppy and there are some basic framing compositions that just look bad. It's really bizarre. I don't think the movie is outright bad, and there's stuff in it I do like, but I was a little flabbergasted by how poorly put together a lot of it is and some of the big story choices were huge misses for me. Maybe the movie would play better on rewatch but I can't see myself wanting to rewatch it anytime soon.
5/10

Spencer
In the running for my least favorite of the year. Most of the praise has been for Stewart's performance, but it never feels like she disappears into the character for me. It sounds like an impression, right down to the sharp inhale she does at the beginning of every line delivery, as if to signal now the start of the impression. But honestly, even with that, she's perfectly fine as Diana. The real problem I have with this movie is how much it leans into made-up surrealism and a depiction of Diana that makes her seem less liked the troubled, underwater person she was and more like the actually crazy person that the royals and the press treated her like. It's a bizarre and insulting choice. Really the movie is just an annoying chore to sit through.
4/10

Belfast
A sweet coming of age story anchored by a strong child performance and some surprisingly stunning cinematography.
7/10

Duel
50th anniversary rewatch, though this time I watched the original TV version. Did the theatrical cut also have this stupid ass narration? I can't remember but either way it's so annoying. That aside, this still stands as one of the great directorial debuts. The craft on disiplay and tension that a 25 year old (!) Spielberg wrings out of such a simple premise is still a hell of a thing, five decades later.
8/10

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
25th anniversary rewatch and final movie of 2021. It's among maybe my top 50 at least episodes of the show, and I dig the higher-budget look of the SOL. It's just a shame this is 15-20 mins shorter than an actual episode of the show.
8/10

Sibersk Esto · Jan 3, 2022

Saw Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

MV5BNTdhYjEzYTEtYTkwZC00NzgxLWI0ZWEtYmEyMGZhOWYwMjE2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg

A time capsule of the counter culture hacker craze of the 90s, Johnny Mnemonic is so overstuffed with ideas that it can't do much more than just vaguely allude to a theme. Keanu Reeves is too stiff in his role as Johnny, a character whose one liners and exasperated outbursts probably would've worked better if they were delivered by Die Hard era Bruce Willis. It's fun to watch Reeves speedball his way through the utterly insane concepts that the screenwriter dreamed up (Anti tech bridge gang led by Ice T! Radio wave plague! Laser whip fingernail! Cyborg killer priest played by Dolph Lundgren!) but the flat action and undercooked themes leave this falling mostly flat.

FRANKEINSTEIN · Jan 3, 2022

Sibersk Esto said:
Saw Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

A time capsule of the counter culture hacker craze of the 90s, Johnny Mnemonic is so overstuffed with ideas that it can't do much more than just vaguely allude to a theme. Keanu Reeves is too stiff in his role as Johnny, a character whose one liners and exasperated outbursts probably would've worked better if they were delivered by Die Hard era Bruce Willis. It's fun to watch Reeves speedball his way through the utterly insane concepts that the screenwriter dreamed up (Anti tech bridge gang led by Ice T! Radio wave plague! Laser whip fingernail! Cyborg killer priest played by Dolph Lundgren!) but the flat action and undercooked themes leave this falling mostly flat.

I just finished watching Johnny Mnemonic. I love it for how bad it is. Almost all the leads are wooden and the dialogue is trash. No one could have said those one-liners and made them work. But I get a kick out of Reeves, Rollins and especially Lundgren. Seriously, I absolutely love Dolph in this movie. Ice-T and Beat Takashi are the only ones who seem natural.
Action definitely is flat. That's about the only thing I would have liked to see better. Mess with anything else and it'd probably lose its charm.
It feels cheap as hell but apparently had a $30 million budget. And in the mid 90's, that's a spicy meatball.
Overall, I kinda love this movie even with it's numerous numerous... Numerous flaws.

Antoo · Jan 3, 2022

I saw Licorice Pizza and... it was absolutely wonderful for most of its runtime with such lively performances but yeah as an Asian I was genuinely put off-put by that joke that somehow PTA thought was so ingenious that it should be repeated again

why???????? the character in question doesn't even feel like an actual character.. he's a cartoonish buffoon whereas the other characters that are shown to be sexist or anti semitic still have a degree of realism to them even if they are played up in terms of craziness; you also have a character at the receiving end in those instances that is fleshed out and well realized in Alana so you can sympathize with the shit she has to put up with whereas the Asian characters barely have any say in anything with their roles being solely to serve a joke

shame because I dug the feel of the film so much with its laidback approach and episodic structure but a part of me can't reconcile with that aspect of the film... I just feel so icky thinking about it (wish he has another cut without these jokes so I can watch the film without feeling bad)

MidnightCowboy · Jan 4, 2022

Antoo said:
I saw Licorice Pizza and... it was absolutely wonderful for most of its runtime with such lively performances but yeah as an Asian I was genuinely put off-put by that joke that somehow PTA thought was so ingenious that it should be repeated again

why???????? the character in question doesn't even feel like an actual character.. he's a cartoonish buffoon whereas the other characters that are shown to be sexist or anti semitic still have a degree of realism to them even if they are played up in terms of craziness; you also have a character at the receiving end in those instances that is fleshed out and well realized in Alana so you can sympathize with the shit she has to put up with whereas the Asian characters barely have any say in anything with their roles being solely to serve a joke

shame because I dug the feel of the film so much with its laidback approach and episodic structure but a part of me can't reconcile with that aspect of the film... I just feel so icky thinking about it (wish he has another cut without these jokes so I can watch the film without feeling bad)

I agree that it's a lame joke and not funny, but apparently the character is based on an actual dude.

swoon · Jan 4, 2022

wes anderson seen scrambling to find journalists who slept with their subjects. cool to see pta and wes being one interview away from talking about how cancel culture is ruining film

gforguava · Jan 4, 2022

The Matrix Resurrections - As someone who was worried that the Lana Wachowski who made Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending, and Sense 8 would backslide upon returning to The Matrix, I was ecstatic that Resurrections was the continuation of her style and interests I was always hoping it would be.

Kiss Me Deadly - I still think Ralph Meeker is dull as dirt and that the film feels too rigid in its structure but, whew, does this movie work. The opening and climax are rightfully lauded but Gaby Rodgers is the real standout of the film. She has such a singular energy and her performance stands so far above the rest of the cast.

Shack Out On 101 - That weightlifting scene is still one of the most mesmerizing scenes of all time.

Hoggle · Jan 4, 2022

The Nightingale

A revenge movie set in 1825 during the colonisation of Tasmania (Australia). I really enjoyed this one and as an Australian seeing our shameful history portrayed in a movie was quite eye opening. I've seen dozens of American films with black slaves in chains, but never any with our own people.
The cast was great, and the cinematography was on point. It's a dark and unpleasant film, but for anyone that's after something like The Last if Us without the zombies then give this a shot.

The blu ray transfer unfortunately isn't perfect and wish this gif a 4k transfer.

Darkwing-Buck · Jan 4, 2022

Finally saw Lincoln (2012)

wow come for daniel day lewis stay for daniel day lewis

everything else besides the performances is fine but boy this picture was character actor heaven

Naijaboy · Jan 4, 2022

This will likely be it for movie watching based on 2021 for the time being.

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) There were complaints about having too little focus on Fred Hampton, but I think that was intentional. The main focus was on the FBI Informant that initially liked his ideas but stuck with being a traitor and a coward to his death. At least Judas refused the money. While I do hope people learn more about Hampton, I also hope this shed light on the priorities of the FBI at the time and those injustices are never forgotten. It was amazingly acted too. 8.5/10

Dune (2021) I still stand in liking the 1984 version, but man do the special effects blow this one out of the water. Villanue was the perfect person to tackle such an ambitious project that requires an artistic vision and acting performance. The split does end up hurting the film especially towards the end where it felt like they were struggling to pad screen time. But the first 2/3s of the film was an incredible experience. 7.75/10

The Harder They Fall (2021) Finally! A movie with a star-studded cast that feels just as epic. Everything comes together for this action-packed blockbuster with all the actors giving their all for a classic western film. Probably the best one in this generation. 8.5/10

No Time To Die (2021) After floundering in Spectre, this film is a more pleasant experience due to the much improved action scenes and performances from both Craig and the newcomers. It's a shame the later aren't as prominent, as reminemts of the previous film and the new villain suck the life out of this movie somewhat. Still, the film has me interested in where the franchise will go from here. 7/10

Coming 2 America (2021) I'm glad that the film didn't lean too much on the nostalgia to give more focus on the new characters. And the ideas put forth in that sound great on paper. Unfortunately, it needed far better execution than what we got. Plus, the jokes just aren't as good here. At least the deaging tech looked impressive. 5/10

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) Controversial take, but I liked this one as much as the reboot, and I think both are good in their own right. This one leans in on the original more which is fine in its own right. The new actors did alright with McKenna being the highlight. The CGI might actually be the most impressive part especially the ending. 7/10

I hope to check out Jungle Cruise, The Green Knight, The Last Duel and The French Dispatch some time in the future. Maybe West Side Story if it's still in theaters.

Hoggle · Jan 4, 2022

Still Walking

Snuck this one in before going to bed. It's my first Kore-Eda film but I've also got After Life and Shoplifters in my backlog, and I bought this off the back of Steven Yeun's (I love that guy. Hope to see him in more films soon) top 10 Criterion list after searching for Asian Criterion films. Went in blind.

So, the plot is a Son takes his wife and her son to visit his parents and they stay the night…
That's it.
And I loved it. I could relate to so much of the drama but I love how subtle and natural the acting and dialogue were. Some of the glances and death stares were all too familiar. I also loved the scenery and gorgeous shots and they made me feel quite hone sick.
The final few minutes were brilliant and now I just want to hug my parents and brothers and sisters.

Was a much nicer way to end the night than yesterday's extremely violent revenge flick. Lol.

Gaucho Power · Jan 4, 2022

Scene at the Sea by Takeshi Kitano
I don't know if this is my favorite Kitano movie but it it's superb film. It's peaceful and beautiful movie. With very little dialog movie still conveys love and friendship. I'm also amazed Kitano's use of color and how minuscule his camera work is. Movie also has great OST by Joe Hisaishi. Great slice of life movie 5/5.

Before I'm going to see Drive My Car I'll watch Happy Hour from the same director. I have actually tried to watch it before but the running time has been bit of obstacle (5 h 17 m) but this time I'm gonna make it.

Hoggle · Jan 4, 2022

Gaucho Power said:
Scene at the Sea by Takeshi Kitano
I don't know if this is my favorite Kitano movie but it it's superb film. It's peaceful and beautiful movie. With very little dialog movie still conveys love and friendship. I'm also amazed Kitano's use of color and how minuscule his camera work is. Movie also has great OST by Joe Hisaishi. Great slice of life movie 5/5.

I was actually going to watch this tonight before I settled on Still Walking. Kitano is my favourite director and I adore this film. There's a scene where the main character is throwing rocks at his girlfriends house and Kitano holds the shit for ages that's a favourite of mine. I was actually thinking of that exact scene and Kitano's directing style during one the final shots I'm Still Walking where a bus obscures the camera but the shot is held for much longer than you'd expect. I also love Kitano's minimal use of dialogue and the fact that the main character in this is dead plays into that.

I still think Sonatine and Kikujiro are my favourite Kitano films, but A Scene At The Sea might be my third (along with Violent Cop).

Gaucho Power · Jan 4, 2022

Hoggle said:
I was actually going to watch this tonight before I settled on Still Walking. Kitano is my favourite director and I adore this film. There's a scene where the main character is throwing rocks at his girlfriends house and Kitano holds the shit for ages that's a favourite of mine. I was actually thinking of that exact scene and Kitano's directing style during one the final shots I'm Still Walking where a bus obscures the camera but the shot is held for much longer than you'd expect. I also love Kitano's minimal use of dialogue and the fact that the main character in this is dead plays into that.

I still think Sonatine and Kikujiro are my favourite Kitano films, but A Scene At The Sea might be my third (along with Violent Cop).

I especially liked the fact that Kitano never made number out of the main character being deaf. Sure, there are couple of jokes but basically it could have been same movie with character who isn't deaf.

As for ranking Kitano for me Sonatine is my favorite. After that it's either Scene at the Sea or Kids Return. I do love Kikujiro and I actually just recently saw it again. And now that Kitano floodgates has been opened I'll probably end up rewatching Dolls .

Still Walking is amazing movie as well, it's certainly great pick as introduction to Kore-Eda. It's my number one Kore-Eda movie and After Life is certainly bit different but it's close second. But for some reason Still Walking really spoke to me. There were small nuances that brought smile to my face. I especially enjoyed Yukiko Ehara's and Kirin Kiki's exchanges. If you have a chance give a shot to his debut tv series Going my Home. Kore-Eda does his thing but with light-hearted touch. It also stars many same actors as Still Walking (elf like creatures don't play big role in the series).

Can't wait to see Kore-Eda's South Korean film debut. Cast alone is amazing (Song Kang-ho, Bae Doona, etc.)

MidnightCowboy · Jan 4, 2022

I need to watch more early Kor-eda. I've been sitting on Maborosi and After Life for too long.

BeeDog · Jan 4, 2022

Saw The Last Duel last night, and liked it a lot. I expected it to be a middle-of-the-road Scott movie, but lo and behold it shattered my low expectations. Dreadful haircuts on Damon and Affleck aside, the plot itself was gripping, the cinematography was surprisingly beautiful, and the duel itself was awesome. Good stuff.

Quaker · Jan 4, 2022

Hoggle said:
Still Walking

Snuck this one in before going to bed. It's my first Kore-Eda film but I've also got After Life and Shoplifters in my backlog, and I bought this off the back of Steven Yeun's (I love that guy. Hope to see him in more films soon) top 10 Criterion list after searching for Asian Criterion films. Went in blind.

So, the plot is a Son takes his wife and her son to visit his parents and they stay the night…
That's it.
And I loved it. I could relate to so much of the drama but I love how subtle and natural the acting and dialogue were. Some of the glances and death stares were all too familiar. I also loved the scenery and gorgeous shots and they made me feel quite hone sick.
The final few minutes were brilliant and now I just want to hug my parents and brothers and sisters.

Was a much nicer way to end the night than yesterday's extremely violent revenge flick. Lol.

I don't see it mentioned much but don't sleep on After the Storm. That stakes are lower but I think I prefer it to Shoplifters because it's just a quiet, slice of life drama.

Movies You've Seen Recently | Q2 2024

Deleted member 9241

Changed the hierarchy of thread titles

SayTan

Unshakable Resolve

Changed the hierarchy of thread titles

Changed the hierarchy of thread titles

alt account

alt account