Which films have you seen lately Vol.22 Now with Smell-O-Vision.

[Smellincoffee]

Back in Black, 2024. Full disclosure: I've been an Amy Winehous fan since Frank hit the US. so when this film was announced I was prepared to hate it. I was....very pleasantly surprised. Abela got the accent pretty well, and the costuming and on-stage presences were great. I've watched a LOT of Winehouse video over the years and recognized the recordings some shots were based on. Although Winehouse fans tend to take the universal line that Blake was The Worst Thing Ever, the film does a good job of making him attractive (especially in the intro pool hall scene, where his love of the Shangri-Las results in an endearing performance), and defending him to some extent from the idea that he and he alone pushed her into harder drugs and self-destruction. The ending was....beautifully tragic. From the moment the pararazzi asked her what she thought of her ex-hubs and his child by his new girlfriend, I knew exactly what was about to happening, and that last shot...the directors take a lovely direction with it. We are not forced to see what happens, but there's another shot that links to previous shots and it's spelled out. Going to read Amy Winehouse in Her Own Words before the month is out.

Bernie, 2011. Jack Black plays a real-life mortician and community pillar who, apparently, shot an old lady in the back 4 times because she was just making his life a living hell. Bernie was a real man, as was his victim, and as were all the townspeople -- who appear in the movie!! -- defending him. Matthew McConaughey does a solid job as a D.A..

 

[Smellincoffee]

The Garden of Words, 2013. Anime movie in which two lonely people who keep encountering one another on rainy days in the park developing a friendship. Liked the music, loved the art. I haven't watched much anime,but this had a visual richness not found in say, Pokemon or Bludgeoning Angel.

 

[Synobun]

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 8/10... maybe? Probably the most hesitant 8 I've ever given. It's a well-done movie. It balances well between action and comedy, usually opting to have the joke happen in the background as the characters take it somewhat seriously. It held my attention. But I also didn't feel particularly impressed by it. It was amusing, but not funny. It was filled with action, but not intense. It was decent. It was fine. But it's also better than something that's just okay.

 

[Birdjaguar]

The Garden of Words, 2013. Anime movie in which two lonely people who keep encountering one another on rainy days in the park developing a friendship. Liked the music, loved the art. I haven't watched much anime,but this had a visual richness not found in say, Pokemon or Bludgeoning Angel.

Where did you watch it?

 

[Smellincoffee]

Where did you watch it?

Streaming service called "Kanopy" which I have access to via my university.

 

[Synobun]

Marmalade. 8/10. I saw this was randomly added to Netflix and decided to give it a go. It seemed eccentric, which I was in the mood for. I was also curious if Joe Keery had acting skills, since I only know him from Stranger Things. This movie was not what I expected but it was good. A couple funny moments, though it's not explicitly a comedy. It was a little bewildering because I used to know people like this; just an odd experience seeing it put "on screen." Aldis Hodge is great in everything he does (let's ignore his stint as Hawkman in Black Adam, please), and this is no exception. This is the first time I've heard of Camila Morrone, but she seems Nicolas Cage-esque in the way she can chew the scenery. From me, that's a compliment, though I know some would read that as a criticism. Fun little movie with rural American hijinks.

 

[Synobun]

I finally rewatched Spider-Man: No Way Home, the new extended version that is on Netflix here for some reason instead of Disney+. It actually took me until midway through the movie to remember when and where I'd seen it. I knew I saw it in theatres, but I couldn't for the life of me recall the specifics. It dawned on me that I watched it alone while there were still public limitations in place due to COVID. I had felt pretty sick during it and missed a couple scenes due to needing to go to the bathroom, so that explains why my memory was a little spotty. Anyway, I still loved it this time. I might actually like it more than the first time I watched it. It's one of the rare MCU films of the new phase where it feels like everyone involved cared about what they were doing and making. I recall disliking Strange's parts in the theatre, but I liked them better now. 10/10.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Good trailer. Excellent sound design.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Paper Moon, 1973. Set in the 1930s, filmed in the 1970s. A father and daughter team play a con man who is transporting a girl who proves to be a useful asset in his scheming. The girl was Tatum O'Neil, who played in Bad News Bears. Great music. I fell asleep toward the end so I don't know exactly how it ended. Watching movies when you've been up since 4 am is not a good idea.

 

[Kyriakos]

Knox goes away.

All-around forgettable movie, but I also find it funny that it has the same general plot (hitman becomes senile) that another recent one had. This includes a rather extreme subplot, which makes me assume that it was surgically inserted to avoid copyright issues.

 

[Clubber Lang]

Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.

 

[Synobun]

Sleepless. I figured since I just watched a movie with Jamie Foxx in it, I'd watch another. 6.5/10? It's... fine. It's a remake of another movie I haven't seen, so I can't compare the two. It's a serviceable thriller with mediocre acting, but I didn't feel like turning it off, so that's basically a win, right?

 

[EgonSpengler]

Sleepless. I figured since I just watched a movie with Jamie Foxx in it, I'd watch another. 6.5/10? It's... fine. It's a remake of another movie I haven't seen, so I can't compare the two. It's a serviceable thriller with mediocre acting, but I didn't feel like turning it off, so that's basically a win, right?

If you're a Jamie Foxx fan, I recommend They Cloned Tyrone (2023). The Burial (2023) also wasn't bad.

 

[lymond]

Dang gotta watch Tyrone.

Also check out Baby Driver some interesting Foxx hunting.

 

[Kyriakos]

The Coffee Table (2022).

Wow.

I hope that this was a hit in Spain (eg @Thorgalaeg ). Very greek tragedy-structured.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Dang gotta watch Tyrone.

Also check out Baby Driver some interesting Foxx hunting.

I remember liking Collateral (2004), the Michael Mann movie with Tom Cruise. It got a lot of hype at the time. That's about all I remember about it, though. No idea how it holds up, 20(!) years later. I see that Jada Pinkett-Smith and Mark Ruffalo are both in it. I don't remember either of them in this, but I like both of them. Maybe I should watch it again sometime. I think this might be the only time Cruise played a villain? Trailer's very generic.

 

[lymond]

I remember liking Collateral (2004), the Michael Mann movie with Tom Cruise. It got a lot of hype at the time. That's about all I remember about it, though. No idea how it holds up, 20(!) years later. I see that Jada Pinkett-Smith and Mark Ruffalo are both in it. I don't remember either of them in this, but I like both of them. Maybe I should watch it again sometime. I think this might be the only time Cruise played a villain? Trailer's very generic.

Yeah, I remember liking that one. Hard to believe it is twenty years old now.

Lol. Saw Madame Web last night. It is a bad movie but strangely watchable. I find Dakota very attractive but I don’t think she has the chops to elevate a mess of a script and character. She was miscast but this “superhero” character is kinda lame. The villain is laughably bad. It is basically a glorified B movie Still, I was able to get through it fine probably cause it is intentionally and unintentionally funny and I can watch Dakota kneading dough. I think a little wine helped too lol.

 

[Synobun]

We're the Millers. 9/10. After years and years of seeing that "You guys are getting paid?" meme and telling myself I need to get around to watching the movie it's from, I finally did that. Not at all what I was expecting, but pretty darn funny. It was also nice to see Will Poulter do a dynamic role so early on; I only knew him as a stilted actor through the Maze Runner, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Bandersnatch movies, and then I was blown away by his performance in The Bear. I saw it as a magical improvement, but seeing his performance in this comedy tells me that he always had it.

 

[lymond]

We're the Millers. 9/10. After years and years of seeing that "You guys are getting paid?" meme and telling myself I need to get around to watching the movie it's from, I finally did that. Not at all what I was expecting, but pretty darn funny. It was also nice to see Will Poulter do a dynamic role so early on; I only knew him as a stilted actor through the Maze Runner, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Bandersnatch movies, and then I was blown away by his performance in The Bear. I saw it as a magical improvement, but seeing his performance in this comedy tells me that he always had it.

Yeah, Poulter was really good in The Bear - a small role but I don't believe I even knew he was British until then.

 

[Gori the Grey]

I can watch Dakota kneading dough

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