Which films have you seen lately? Vol. 21: Now in CinemaScope!
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The "Andy" (Toy Story) of Winnie the Pooh is named Christopher Robin... which seems to be about as British of a name as you can get.
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EgonSpengler
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Split (2016) was better than I was anticipating. I'm not a huge Shyamalan guy. He's done some good stuff, but he also did one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I thought this was solid. The premise was a little bit like if Brooke Smith was the protagonist of The Silence of the Lambs instead of Jodie Foster. Fun performance by James McAvoy. A little bit show-offy, but I think it must be a real challenge for an actor to portray multiple characters in one piece without overacting.* Where the edge of that cliff is depends on the genre and the nature of the material, I suppose. This one demanded chewing some scenery, so I never thought he was overdoing it.
I'm not sure if Anya Taylor-Joy has had the One Role to Rule Them All yet but I've liked her every time I've seen her. Even The New Mutants, which wasn't as bad as I heard it was. I think I've only seen her in 3 or 4 things - The Queen's Gambit probably the best of them - but she's quietly sneaking onto my team. The rest of the cast was fine. Nobody else shone, but nobody let the side down either. It was fun to see Betty Buckley again, for the older folks who remember Eight is Enough.
I liked the weaving of the flashbacks with the younger version of Taylor-Joy's character into the main story. Flashbacks are something I'm always wary of. And it didn't come across as one of those 'crazy twists' that Shyamalan became famous for, which I'm also wary of. I think it's not a spoiler to say that this movie doesn't have one of those 'crazy twists' that Shyamalan became famous for, and I think it was the better for it. I was sort of bracing myself for some dumb, out-of-leftfield swerve just for the sake of it, and was relieved when it didn't happen. I suppose you could count the epilogue as a twist, but I'd had that spoiled for me already, so it wasn't a surprise. And besides, that wasn't a plot-twist.
I haven't decided if I'll watch Glass (2019). I heard it was disappointing. I'm adding it to my watchlist, anyway. We'll see.
* If you haven't seen Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black, you need to watch more television. At first you think, "okay, she can play different characters - where I'm from, we call that 'acting.'" Then she plays one of her characters pretending to be another one of her characters and you spill your drink on yourself.
I'm not sure if Anya Taylor-Joy has had the One Role to Rule Them All yet but I've liked her every time I've seen her. Even The New Mutants, which wasn't as bad as I heard it was. I think I've only seen her in 3 or 4 things - The Queen's Gambit probably the best of them - but she's quietly sneaking onto my team. The rest of the cast was fine. Nobody else shone, but nobody let the side down either. It was fun to see Betty Buckley again, for the older folks who remember Eight is Enough.
I liked the weaving of the flashbacks with the younger version of Taylor-Joy's character into the main story. Flashbacks are something I'm always wary of. And it didn't come across as one of those 'crazy twists' that Shyamalan became famous for, which I'm also wary of. I think it's not a spoiler to say that this movie doesn't have one of those 'crazy twists' that Shyamalan became famous for, and I think it was the better for it. I was sort of bracing myself for some dumb, out-of-leftfield swerve just for the sake of it, and was relieved when it didn't happen. I suppose you could count the epilogue as a twist, but I'd had that spoiled for me already, so it wasn't a surprise. And besides, that wasn't a plot-twist.
I haven't decided if I'll watch Glass (2019). I heard it was disappointing. I'm adding it to my watchlist, anyway. We'll see.
* If you haven't seen Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black, you need to watch more television. At first you think, "okay, she can play different characters - where I'm from, we call that 'acting.'" Then she plays one of her characters pretending to be another one of her characters and you spill your drink on yourself.
Yeah, it is. The plot is just way too contrived and there's a stupid Shyamalan twist in the third act of Glass that makes no sense. But I don't really mind, because we got Split and Unbreakable, so 2 out of 3 were solid.
It is disappointing if you expect a masterpiece instead of merely an OK film. And you should *know* that Shyamalan films have a twist so fi you spend your time looking for it in advance it's more fun.
In the right mood it's worth watching.
Saw The Menu (2022) tonight.
Very solid I thought.
Just the kind of creepiness I want for Halloween.
A bunch of people eating at a very fancy restaurant on an island, but things don't seem quite right.
Fancy restaurants are something else!
www.everywhereist.com
Very solid I thought.
Just the kind of creepiness I want for Halloween.
A bunch of people eating at a very fancy restaurant on an island, but things don't seem quite right.
Fancy restaurants are something else!
Bros., Lecce: We Eat at The Worst Michelin Starred Restaurant, Ever
There is something to be said about a truly disastrous meal, a meal forever indelible in your memory because it’s so uniquely bad, it can only be deemed an achievement. The sort of meal where everyone involved was definitely trying to do something; it’s just not entirely clear what. I’m not...
www.everywhereist.com
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EgonSpengler
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Prospect (2018) is a nice little SXSW indie sci-fi-western. Pedro Pascal is the draw, and the world-building and language are fun. I'd never seen Sophie Thatcher before. Kind of a low-key performance, which I liked. IMDb says she's in Yellowjackets, which I've been wanting to watch, but it's on a streaming service I don't subscribe to much. The writer-director duo don't appear to have done anything else yet, but I'll be interested to see what they do next. (I was about to post the trailer, but I'm glad I decided to check it out first. I'm only halfway through it, and it's already shown too much.)
Fippy
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I finally saw Hostel..
questionable reputation so to speak. I was surprised about the solid revenge tale there, good finish i thought.
Gore doesn't bother me much as horror fan but yup it's not an easy watch. Some surprisingly funny moments too (bubblegum kids?).
Overall this film offers a bit more than what it's mainly known for, imo.
questionable reputation so to speak. I was surprised about the solid revenge tale there, good finish i thought.
Gore doesn't bother me much as horror fan but yup it's not an easy watch. Some surprisingly funny moments too (bubblegum kids?).
Overall this film offers a bit more than what it's mainly known for, imo.
EgonSpengler
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A funny typo in an online synopsis of the movie: "While he is returning from the war, Major Frank McCloud arrives in Florida for one of his soldier’s funeral. Here, the man falls in love with the charming widower and has to deal with a gang of smugglers that rules the island." Who knew that Key Largo was a classic of queer cinema?
EgonSpengler
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You might think an action-comedy with Alison Brie and John Cena would be a layup, but Freelance has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 23 Metacritic score. Guess I can cross that one off my list.
Fippy
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5.6 on imdb so might be not that badYou might think an action-comedy with Alison Brie and John Cena would be a layup, but Freelance has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 23 Metacritic score. Guess I can cross that one off my list.
I don't trust RT with anything..there are a couple reviewers who gave TSR a green splat, you really never know what kind of weirdos think they can spread their opinion as critic.
Terminate and stay resident?
Fippy
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The Shawshank RedemptionTerminate and stay resident?
Saw The Snowman (2017) starring Michael Fassbender.
Starring genius detective Harry Hole ... heh .., this movie in Norway tries to make a cat and mouse game with a brutal serial killer.
The murderer kills even more savagely than the No Country for Old Men guy
...
The scandi techno made me laugh.
...
Ugh, ya, I started treating it as a tragic comedy (scary snowmen!), hoping it keeled over into so-bad-it's-good territory.
It never got good.
Save me Skaarsgaard!
Ugh, 6% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Arg, WTH, this movie is a prank.
I guess all the movie stars elevate it above 1 star if you like Val Kilmer or JK Simmons with an interesting accent.
Starring genius detective Harry Hole ... heh .., this movie in Norway tries to make a cat and mouse game with a brutal serial killer.
The murderer kills even more savagely than the No Country for Old Men guy
...
The scandi techno made me laugh.
...
Ugh, ya, I started treating it as a tragic comedy (scary snowmen!), hoping it keeled over into so-bad-it's-good territory.
It never got good.
Save me Skaarsgaard!
Ugh, 6% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Arg, WTH, this movie is a prank.
I guess all the movie stars elevate it above 1 star if you like Val Kilmer or JK Simmons with an interesting accent.
Fippy
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You still look shaken @Kaitzilla
You still look shaken @Kaitzilla
Yup.
I feel I am missing some emotions, like severed body parts, but everything is still there when I check.
What horror is this?!
I think it was the movie's ending.
And I was the final victim.
EgonSpengler
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There's a whole subgenre of sadism-horror that I've mostly avoided over the years. I'm thinking of things like Audition, Martyrs, and High Tension, which have all been recommended to me, but I've tip-toed around them. Evil Dead Rise may be on that list. I can't decide whether to watch it. I liked the comedy-horror of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, but I haven't seen the recent remake(s).
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