Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[Xprimentyl]

Where The Crawdads Sing: Alright / Great

A young girl, effectively abandoned by her family, grows up isolated in the marshes of North Carolina. She manages a scant few interactions with the "normal" locals, but is dubbed "the Marsh Girl" and ostracized by most. In her early 20s, a young man, a boy who'd once helped her during childhood, reconnects with her, and they stir up a romantic relationship. He eventually goes away for college, and another man weasels his way into her life and is murdered; she is arrested and put on trial for the murder.

Not a bad film, but very much a slow boil. And it's reveal at the end is just underwhelming enough to make the whole ordeal feel unnecessary.

 

[Xprimentyl]

The Woman King: Great / Great

Viola Davis plays Nanisca, the general of the Agojie, an all-female group of warriors who protect the West African kingdom of Dahomey. With a new king, Dahomey is embroiled in a sort of cold war with the larger neighboring kingdom of Oyo that captures people from other nations and sells them off to European slavers. Dahomey tries to effect change and self-sustainability by selling goods rather than its own people, and the Agojie act as the strength of its people to make Dahomey a force to be respected and reckoned with. The story focuses on one young woman, Nawi, who, after failing to be married off, is given away to the king, and trained into the Agojie ranks.

As a black man, it was really amazing to see strong, black women shamelessly celebrated like this. And even more amazing to learn that the Agojie were a real thing first documented almost 400 years ago, and lasting until as recently as the early 1900s. It's a well-acted film with some impressive and violent spectacle, but really does drama well. Recommended.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

The Woman King: Great / Great

Viola Davis plays Nanisca, the general of the Agojie, an all-female group of warriors who protect the West African kingdom of Dahomey. With a new king, Dahomey is embroiled in a sort of cold war with the larger neighboring kingdom of Oyo that captures people from other nations and sells them off to European slavers. Dahomey tries to effect change and self-sustainability by selling goods rather than its own people, and the Agojie act as the strength of its people to make Dahomey a force to be respected and reckoned with. The story focuses on one young woman, Nawi, who, after failing to be married off, is given away to the king, and trained into the Agojie ranks.

As a black man, it was really amazing to see strong, black women shamelessly celebrated like this. And even more amazing to learn that the Agojie were a real thing first documented almost 400 years ago, and lasting until as recently as the early 1900s. It's a well-acted film with some impressive and violent spectacle, but really does drama well. Recommended.

Thanks for the update that it's out already. The trailer looked great, I think it'd be great to watch for movie night.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Thanks for the update that it's out already. The trailer looked great, I think it'd be great to watch for movie night.

It doesn't disappoint. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

[Piscian]

I rewatched The Batman 2022 the other night, for maybe the 3rd or 4th time. My excuse is that I got an OLED. I think aside from the lovely visuals, there's something really compelling about a Batman that's an utter failure. I'm not entirely certain this Batman is ever successful at anything he does in the film. A lot of people see that as "the film" failing, but that sort of feels like the entire point. This Batman is an angry kid, which in hindsight explains the role going to Robert Pattinson who barely looks 25 in the film.

I think there's a false sense in the beginning of the film that this is an, at least, "experienced" Batman. Gordon seems to acknowledge him and your last two trips with Batman have been grizzled veterans of vigilantism. I almost went in like that, but idk. I think the minute he walks into the crime scene with his clearly haphazard suit I immediately accepted this as year one batman. It wasn't until this viewing that it really sunk in the depth of his immaturity. At the start of this film, whatever wins he's had, he's essentially been a thug lashing out, more than a hero and this movie is his journey towards trying to find a purpose outside of beating people up. It's a real fascinating watch if put yourself into his lens and imagine what you'd be like trying to be Batman for the first time. It makes me even more curious how his relationship formed with Gordon and the situation with Joker. Whatever happened he clearly didn't get the key to the city and the trust of the masses. At the end of the film he realizes for the first time that he actually wants to be a hero and not just beat up gangs. Its an interesting twist on the storytelling, as even in batman begins he pivots fairly quickly to deciding to be a superhero.

I don't know that this movie will stand the test of time. This is the first batman film I don't want a sequel to. I think this movie stands on a very shaky precipice and any sequel would mostly likely undercut it's uniqueness. If they did I would not want to see any great leaps in character or qualifications. I'd want to see him struggle with another murder mystery. Preferably with a compelling villain. I do not want another Joker. In the comics this was based on, the city flooding causes a crime war for territory of the city. Idk, that feels too big for this character.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Thor: Love and Thunder - 4/10

This move is all over the place tonally and just the basic writing is bad as well. What I mean by basic writing is stuff like "We have to keep the bad guy alive because he knows where the kids are" but you've found the kids every time on your own so why do you need the bad guy alive? Or one character says she wants to die in battle but then later doesn't join in the final fight because she might die... That's how bad the writing is. Then, they really go overboard with humor so much in scenes that don't need the humor at all. Christian Bale was playing like 2 different characters to me depending on what the director wanted at the time it seems. Then, the movie has a really weird overall theme about keeping the status quo because it's the status quo (not like you can't correlate that to anything currently going on in real life...). The Honest Trailer is actually perfect for Thor. Lastly, the sponsor for the movie was definitely Guns and Roses.

Emily the Criminal - 7/10

Nice little Aubrey Plaza movie about her life sorta spiraling leading to criminal activity. It's well done overall and 90 minutes so it's not over long at all. I actually would've liked one more scene between Plaza and her friend towards the end.

Top Gun: Maverick - 9/10

Really fucking awesome movie and I don't think I ever saw the first Top Gun or if I did it was when I was a kid. I don't really care for military type stuff (hate war movies), don't really get into jets and all that, but this movie fucking rocked. Tom Cruise was great in it and so were all the younger actors. The action was real and felt real, a nice change of pace from the CGI fests we get now. It was just really well done movie with no fluff attached.

My mom was trying to get me to watch Free Guy with her but I called it quits after around 3 minutes on the basis that I detest Ryan Reynolds. I understand that the movie is some sort of Video Game movie, so I'm curious whether anybody here has seen it. What did you guys think?

It was alright, probably in the range of like a 5-7/10, the female lead is the assassin from Killing Eve and she's always entertaining.

 

[Piscian]

I watched (Fall 2022) the other night.

I have mixed feelings about it. I have a pretty extreme fear of heights. Like me getting on a plane is similar to taking a cat to the vet. In that context I think the movie definitely delivered. There was a few scenes where even though in my head I was telling myself it was fake they were safe I cringed pretty hard and almost stopped watching at one point.

On the pros side of things yeah its scary and keeps you engaged the whole time. On the cons side the characters and story are pretty vapid. Not insulting or groan worthy just kinda "meh". They aren't funny or interesting, largely made three dimensional only by a tragedy early in the film that drives them from a to b. A couple dumb choices are made, but nothing inhuman. I had a bit of crisis because in my head cannon experienced climbers would have outs planned, but at the same time I had to remind myself experienced climbers are still fucking idiots at their core simply by the nature of what they do for "fun". Whole videos online of the best climbers in the world doing really dumb shit. I think if you want to enjoy this film you have to acknowledge your ignorance and accept movie logic.

Solid 7/10 if you think you'd enjoy pooping your pants watching two pretty girls trapped on a cell tower almost die a lot.

 

[thebobmaster]

Watched Encanto for the first time today as part of a homework assignment (counseling skills class). That movie was decent on a story level, but on a character/emotional level, it hit me a lot harder than I was expecting. The song "Surface Pressure" especially came out of nowhere to hit me in the feels. I can't say it's my favorite Disney movie by any stretch, but it was quite good in ways I did not expect it to be.

 

[Gordon_4]

I watched (Fall 2022) the other night.

I have mixed feelings about it. I have a pretty extreme fear of heights. Like me getting on a plane is similar to taking a cat to the vet. In that context I think the movie definitely delivered. There was a few scenes where even though in my head I was telling myself it was fake they were safe I cringed pretty hard and almost stopped watching at one point.

On the pros side of things yeah its scary and keeps you engaged the whole time. On the cons side the characters and story are pretty vapid. Not insulting or groan worthy just kinda "meh". They aren't funny or interesting, largely made three dimensional only by a tragedy early in the film that drives them from a to b. A couple dumb choices are made, but nothing inhuman. I had a bit of crisis because in my head cannon experienced climbers would have outs planned, but at the same time I had to remind myself experienced climbers are still fucking idiots at their core simply by the nature of what they do for "fun". Whole videos online of the best climbers in the world doing really dumb shit. I think if you want to enjoy this film you have to acknowledge your ignorance and accept movie logic.

Solid 7/10 if you think you'd enjoy pooping your pants watching two pretty girls trapped on a cell tower almost die a lot.

This ladies and gents is why, if you're going to do stupid shit in the middle of nowhere, you buy a satellite phone.

 

[Asita]

How to Steal a Million

You know, it holds up pretty well.

Audrey Hepburn plays Nicole Bonnet, the daughter of famed art collector (and secretly prolific art forger) Charles Bonnet (Hugh Griffith) and is distressed to hear that not only has her father sold yet another one of his forgeries, but has also agreed to let the Kléber-Lafayette Museum display the family's famed Cellini Venus statuette...which was actually made by her grandfather. She both disapproves of this, and is terrified that - as scientific testing is getting better and better at detecting forgeries - it's only a matter of time until he gets caught. Her father assures her that he knows how easily the Cellini could be discovered, which is why he's never sold it, as that would draw suspicion to the rest of his collection. In fact, he's letting the museum borrow it pro-bono.

That night, Nicole catches and injures an apparent burglar (Peter O'Toole) who broke into their house and was showing marked interst in a Van Gogh painting (another forgery). Not wanting to get the police involved, she actually ends up patching him up and driving him back to his hotel little worse for the wear.

The museum comes to collect the Cellini, and Charles hands it off with all due gravitas...and is stunned to realize that the insurance he just signed also authorized testing for the piece in a few days time. It's Nicole's worst nightmare made manifest. She quickly realizes, however...that she just made the acquaintance of an art thief who could help her steal the Cellini before it could be tested.

This is really just a lot of fun, because all the actors play off each other so well, and there's just enough puckishness in their interactions to make them feel funny while still being grounded. So yeah, I'd say this one is worth a watch.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

King Kong (1933)

It is what it is: the story of a P.T. Barnum-esque film director looking for the next big thing that will wow audiences (while shoehorning a romantic subplot against his will). That goes for the plot of the movie as much as for the production itself: Merian C. Cooper was an actual adventurer who came from documentary filmmaking; essentially his first (?) work of fiction is a meta commentary on his career change as a showman. It takes a while to get going and the acting isn't the best by the standards of any one decade, but I think the movie holds up wonderfully. Creepy, awesome, a little bit sad.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Infinite Storm: Meh / Great

Based on the true story of Pam Bales, a search and rescue volunteer who sets out for a cathartic hike one morning, and as bad winter weather rolls in, finds a young man alone and underdressed nearly frozen in the snow. She tries to help him back down the mountain.

I know true stories about the humanity, kindness, and selflessness of strangers in the face of dire adversity make for good stories, but that doesn't mean they make for good movies. There wasn't enough there to merit the 1.5 hours it takes up; my brief synopsis above is literally 95% of the film. The young man she finds is incoherent for most of the film, so there's little conversation between the pair as we watch them encounter one hazard after another. The end answers some questions, but is ultimately unsatisfying.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Confess, Fletch - 6/10

Decent murder mystery/con man type movie. Jon Hamm carries the movie and is always entertaining. The movie knows exactly what it is, moves along at a brisk pace, and doesn't overstay its welcome (~90 minutes). The reveals for the kinda movie it is are definitely underwhelming though, no way the viewer is going to put the pieces together with such limited info nor do they really have any payoff and you're just like "oh, neat" and that's about it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Blow

Johnny Depp as the guy who (ostensibly) was responsible for 85% of all cocaine on US soil around late 70s/early 80s. It's told in the same rapid-fire frenzy of camera movements and freeze frames as Goodfellas, complete with first person narration that's both frank and dejected. Ray Liotta's even in it. But unlike Goodfellas it's not a very fun (or funny) movie, and I never got the impression that the movie knew its own world very well. It's an outsider's take that gets depressingly moralistic and sentimental towards the end. Depp is very good in it but the character is just an anonymous, gray little man that doesn't have a very engaging personality, never really gets to enjoy his success and mostly comes across as pathetic.

 

[Casual Shinji]

My mom was trying to get me to watch Free Guy with her but I called it quits after around 3 minutes on the basis that I detest Ryan Reynolds. I understand that the movie is some sort of Video Game movie, so I'm curious whether anybody here has seen it. What did you guys think?

It has a basement-dwelling, virgin gamer joke, so... that should tell you the level of comedy substance you'll be provided with. Just think of the most cringey E3/Spike Game Awards you've ever seen and that's Free Guy.

 

[gorfias]

My mom was trying to get me to watch Free Guy with her but I called it quits after around 3 minutes on the basis that I detest Ryan Reynolds. I understand that the movie is some sort of Video Game movie, so I'm curious whether anybody here has seen it. What did you guys think?

It was passable. This guy made it fun, driving it up a notch:

 

[Bartholen]

Bodies Bodies Bodies, 8/10

This is a really fun and clever slasher thriller about a group of annoying entitled gen-Z 20-somethings who party together at a giant mansion during a hurricane, when all of a sudden people start dying. It's very much in the vein of classic paranoia thrillers like And then there were none, but with a heavy dose of great satire. The characters are almost all completely unlikable, varying degrees of self-absorbed and narcissistic, which counterintuitively makes the movie very engaging, because you get the sense that any of them could be a psycho underneath. It's really well written, and while it's not an outright comedy, there are some genuinely hilarious and comedically satisfying moments to be had. It's very efficiently made, being set entirely on one location, relying on very good dialogue, and being mostly lit only by cellphone flashlights. The acting is all very good. All the actors tread the fine line between engagingly realistic and insufferable, with the highlights being Pete Davidson and Maria Bakalova (or Borat 2 fame). Bakalova in particular shows some damn solid dramatic chops, and I have a feeling she might be a star in the making. It's also really well paced, not a moment of it feels wasted, and there's some genuinely great tension in it.

At times it can be a bit hard to parse just how seriously you're supposed to take it, because it kind of wanders between purposely exaggerated stupidity approaching something like Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, and playing a lot of it very straight and seriously. But I suppose it's aiming to be Scream for generation Z, so that kind of tonal mercuriality is to be expected I guess.

 

[Trunkage]

Watched Encanto for the first time today as part of a homework assignment (counseling skills class). That movie was decent on a story level, but on a character/emotional level, it hit me a lot harder than I was expecting. The song "Surface Pressure" especially came out of nowhere to hit me in the feels. I can't say it's my favorite Disney movie by any stretch, but it was quite good in ways I did not expect it to be.

Surface Pressure is the exact same for me

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Syriana

Not as hard to follow as I remembered. Still pretty confusing but maybe that's the point.

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★½ review of Bambi (1942)

To get the positives out of the way first, this movie is absolutely gorgeous to look at. The paintings for the landscapes are beautiful to look at, and the animated drawings are very well done for the time period as well. There are definitely some shaky moments, like characters talking without...

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