FilmNight: Movies you watched recently

[Spartan Girl]

13 hours ago, PepSinger said:

Where did you find it??? I read that same article.

It’s on YouTube.

[twoods]

Just watched Afterlife of the Party thinking it was going to be some light comedy movie but it ended up being pretty good and had me crying through the last 10 minutes. Bravo, Netflix.

[proserpina65]

Ovation Channel recently ran Crocodile Dundee, so I recorded it and finally got around to watching it last weekend.  I hadn't seen it in years, and was afraid it wouldn't hold up.  Fortunately, it did.  There are a few scenes which definitely wouldn't fly today, but overall it was still an enjoyable movie.  Paul Hogan had a lot of charm back then.

[Scarlett45]

My Mom & I did our Saturday night movie thing and we watched A River Runs Through It. I hadn’t seen it since I was little. Montana is so much beautiful I have to get there one day. 
 

I also saw Jerry Maguire in prep for my friend’s podcast. Bonnie Hunt’s hair was so shinny and thick and pretty. That’s all I have to say about that one. I am not sure why it was so popular in the 90s. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

I also saw Jerry Maguire in prep for my friend’s podcast. Bonnie Hunt’s hair was so shinny and thick and pretty. That’s all I have to say about that one. I am not sure why it was so popular in the 90s. 

I haven't seen it since it was first available as a rental, and I don't remember it as a great film, yet I do recall numerous scenes all these years later: yet another embodiment of the cute little kid trope as the bespectacled dude talked about the weight of a human head, "Show me the money", one of Regina King's terrific performances when her husband gets hurt as she watches on TV and waits for information, the ridiculous "Never stop fucking me" scene, some horrible exchange about "pootie" and single mothers, and "You had me at hello".

(I somehow don't, however, remember Bonnie Hunt - whom I always enjoy - even being in it, so I think the line-up of my memories is influenced by what I call "cultural osmosis".)

So, despite just watching it and moving on at the time, I have to acknowledge that's a good deal more than I remember of a lot of films under similar circumstances, so I guess there's a reason I can't identify that it struck a cord. 

[Scarlett45]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

I haven't seen it since it was first available as a rental, and I don't remember it as a great film, yet I do recall numerous scenes all these years later: yet another embodiment of the cute little kid trope as the bespectacled dude talked about the weight of a human head, "Show me the money", one of Regina King's terrific performances when her husband gets hurt as she watches on TV and waits for information, the ridiculous "Never stop fucking me" scene, some horrible exchange about "pootie" and single mothers, and "You had me at hello".

(I somehow don't, however, remember Bonnie Hunt - whom I always enjoy - even being in it, so I think the line-up of my memories is influenced by what I call "cultural osmosis".)

So, despite just watching it and moving on at the time, I have to acknowledge that's a good deal more than I remember of a lot of films under similar circumstances, so I guess there's a reason I can't identify that it struck a cord. 

Yes- the writing was good, and it gave us some classic lines. I guess I never bought into the romantic relationship between Jerry and Renee Zellwinger’s character so I wasn’t emotionally invested in the romance aspect? I think it may have been better without it?

[magicdog]

An odd one, but I caught "Snow White & The Three Stooges" (1961) this morning!

OK, not everyone is a Stooges fan, but even if you're not, the movie is still quite likeable and family friendly.  The Stooge antics are quite rare here (they being in the twilight of their career) so you don't see a lot of eye pokes and slapping.  You do see them emote quite a bit and they're quite effective at it - Moe in particular!

Of course former Olympic skating champion Carol Heiss as Snow White is lovely and despite never having acted before, does a good enough job here, while Prince Charming (Edson Stroll) is hunk-a-licious!  

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I guess I never bought into the romantic relationship between Jerry and Renee Zellwinger’s character so I wasn’t emotionally invested in the romance aspect? I think it may have been better without it?

That's how I feel about most films.

And it's notable that the only one of the lines I remember that's between them is "You had me at hello," which I find cheesy as written and even worse as performed.  It has yielded some funny parodies over the years, but it's awful on its own.

[Bastet]

I watched Poms last night, the ensemble led by Diane Keaton about a group of women living in a retirement community who form a cheerleading club.  It was certainly no Oscar contender, but it wasn't trying to be - it's a cute film about women in their '70s and the friendships they form in the midst of this unlikely activity.  They're never the butt of the joke, ageism is.

I love that their performance at the competition is honest to their ages (no jumps and kicks performed by 18-year-old doubles), and that the audience loves it; they go viral again, and this time the world is dancing along with them, not laughing at the little old ladies.

I thought the relationship with the high school cheerleader they recruit to coach them was well done, too.

[meep.meep]

On 9/4/2021 at 8:25 PM, Scarlett45 said:

I also saw Jerry Maguire in prep for my friend’s podcast. Bonnie Hunt’s hair was so shinny and thick and pretty. That’s all I have to say about that one. I am not sure why it was so popular in the 90s. 

I've never seen Jerry Maguire, but everything I see Bonnie Hunt in, I have the same reaction about her hair.  How does she get to have so much?

I watched News of the World over the weekend.  It was OK but not great.  The premise of the guy going around reading newspapers to frontier settlers seemed strange and unlikely.  I'm also reading a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, which occurs about the same time, and those frontier settlers read their own papers.  And would never have had 10 cents to pay someone to read to them.

[Bastet]

Another "That was a cute little film" find on Netflix last night: The Meddler from 2015.  A widowed Susan Sarandon moves from NY to LA to be close to her daughter (Rose Byrne, whom I'd only seen as the awful Helen in Bridesmaids, so it was almost jarring at first to see her in such a different role) but is way too close.  Why would I ring the bell, I have a key? type of stuff. 

It's the kind of character that drives me nuts - if the film is trying to tell me her complete lack of boundaries is okay because she means well (like Angela on Rizzoli & Isles).  But this one doesn't dismiss Lori's frustration.  It does slowly unfold to show why Marnie has glommed onto the lives of everyone she meets when they're more receptive than Lori (Lori's friend, the kid at the Apple store, a woman whose hospital room she darts into to hide) and how, as much as we'd be tearing our hair out in Lori's position, we'd also be of the "Lori is so lucky to have a mom like you" persuasion like these various outsiders if theirs was our experience with her instead.

And then it organically gives Marnie a life of her own, which betters her and all her relationships.  Which, yes, includes a burgeoning love interest - played by the wonderful J.K. Simmons - but it's not a she's got a new man, so now everything is okay story.  It's the story of Marnie figuring out who she is in this stage of her life, and how to truly be happy instead of just convincing herself she is.  She doesn't give up her meddling ways altogether, but she's figuring out how to be more helpful than intrusive.

For anyone who's had to deal with a meddling parent, Marnie is probably still way too much to watch, and you'll probably find the film endorses or excuses her behavior.  Especially because one thing she does is so much farther over the line than the film ever acknowledges.  But I liked it as a character journey, with a great cast and a great soundtrack (from Beyoncé to Dolly Parton, with some Chance Bone, Sinatra, and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, among others, trown in - and J.K. Simmons strumming a guitar and singing Dolly's "To Daddy" when he doesn't know anyone is watching).

[magicdog]

On 9/9/2021 at 4:11 PM, meep.meep said:

I'm also reading a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, which occurs about the same time, and those frontier settlers read their own papers.  And would never have had 10 cents to pay someone to read to them.

You're correct.  Contrary to what some films or TV shows may suggest, literacy in those days was near 100%.  The majority didn't need to be read to unless they were blind.

Topic?

Today being the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, some movies related to the event are turning up.  I caught "Flight 93" (2006) this morning and it's still too heartbreaking knowing what happened to them.  

[meep.meep]

We've decided to watch the recording of Come from Away on Apple TV tonight.  It's a musical describing what folks in Gander Newfoundland went through as many many planes were grounded there after 9/11.

[magicdog]

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

We've decided to watch the recording of Come from Away on Apple TV tonight.  It's a musical describing what folks in Gander Newfoundland went through as many many planes were grounded there after 9/11.

I saw a local stage production!  Great musical!  I'm sure you'll love it.  

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

We've decided to watch the recording of Come from Away on Apple TV tonight.  It's a musical describing what folks in Gander Newfoundland went through as many many planes were grounded there after 9/11.

I hope you enjoy it.  My family loved it.  I've seen it twice and am planning on going again next year, when it comes back to town, with friends who haven't seen it. 

[Anduin]

Kate is an action movie on Netflix. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Woody Harrelson. It's the John Wick formula, and has David Leitch as an executive producer. Professional killer is wronged, has to annihilate every single mook in the city. In this case Winstead is the killer and Tokyo is the city.

It's good. Not stellar. A couple of 'huh' plot twists. A couple of kills that even I, a jaded action fan, went 'Oh!' at.

You know, I remember the shakycam era of action movies. I first saw it in Saving Private Ryan, 1998. Michael Bay is big on making his movies look incomprehensible. I'll take the John Wick style of fights any day. You get to see the moves. The choreography is quick, but legible. And since Winstead is smaller than most of her opponents, I appreciated that she mainly got through fights with weapons. She doesn't have the height, weight, or reach advantage.

However, here's the rough part. An American goes on a Tokyo rampage, eliminating yakuza soldiers. It feels somewhat orientalist. Why is she there in the first place? And the reverse of the movie, a Japanese woman killing her way through New York's mafia, would feel really weird.

So the plot itself.

Spoiler

 

When Ani started talking about her mother, I was sure there would be a connection to Varrick, Harrelson's character. Like, maybe she was his sister who was killed by the yakuza. Maybe Kate is another daughter, raised for revenge on behalf of a grieving brother, making her an older half-sister to Ani.

No, it turns out that by eliminating the head of that yakuza family, Varrick will join under the new head. Kate was a disposable tool to kill the old head. Frankly, I prefer my version.

 

All in all, a decent enough 105 minutes. I've seen better, but I've seen a lot worse.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So I watched one of my TOP FIVE FAVORITE movies last night: 1992 The Last of the Mohicans. It never fails to stir my emotions, hit me in heart and gut.

And it reminded me that Daniel Day-Lewis was just so, in @Dandesun's words "BRUTALLY HOT" in this. So damn SEXAY. The chemistry between him and Madeline Stowe was just so amazing.

Watching the making of the movie on the bluray of the Mann's definitive cut, I'm astounded that they left out five key pieces of dialogue, and especially the line at the waterfall before that has to be the BEST scene in the movie for me, was cut out. Especially since Mann states this is a love story. BAH!

And cutting out the dialogue at the end where Chingachgook sees the end of the Native Americans coming and their way of life. 

Only the VHS tape has the theatrical release version, and I'm afraid to hope that if they release a dvd/bluray for the 30th anniversary, whether we'll get the theatrical version.

 

Edited September 16, 2021 by GHScorpiosRule

[GreekGeek]

Last week I watched King of the Hill, a Soderbergh movie from 1993 (not to be confused with the Mike Judge cartoon). It's about a boy, Aaron, fending for himself living in a rundown hotel in 1930's St. Louis. His father is a traveling salesman and his mother is in a tuberculosis sanitarium. His streetwise pal is played by Adrien Brody, and Lauryn Hill has a small part as a gum-popping elevator operator. Aaron is well played by Jesse Bradford, whom I'd never seen in anything else.

This week I saw Bound by Flesh, a documentary about the conjoined twin sisters Daisy and Violet Hilton. They were wildly popular in sideshows and vaudeville throughout the 1910's and 1920's, exploited and abused by their "aunt" Mary Hilton who "adopted" them (essentially bought them from their mother) and Mary's daughter and son-in-law. They sued for release from their contract and won (shades of Britney Spears!) but fell on hard times as the entertainment industry changed. They ended up essentially living on charity in Charlotte, NC, and died in early 1969. Daisy died several days before Violet did. 😧

[Spartan Girl]

Tom and Jerry: I had an HBO free weekend and I was curious, okay?!? Upon reading @GHScorpiosRule post on its thread, I decided the only way to watch it was to fast forward through the stupid human parts and just watch the bits with Tom and Jerry beating the crap out of each other. And that made it slightly more tolerable, though the singing pigeon bits were still stupid.

Gotta admit that wedding was pretty to look at. 

[Danny Franks]

I watched Palm Springs yesterday and was really impressed. I didn't know much about it going in, other than it seemed like one of those indie romance movies that was supposed to be smart and funny.

There was something immediately off about the opening scenes and then the twist happens and you realise why and it just becomes a delightful, witty story about two people dealing with incredibly weird shit and becoming better people.

I don't want to give the story away, but Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti were utterly charming and sweet, while still having plenty of edges. Jaded and damaged and surprisingly finding a real connection with one another.

JK Simmons was JK Simmons, which is always a good thing, and the supporting cast were fun, with a couple of recognisable faces - Peter Gallagher and Camila Mendes.

This is just a really smart, modern take on a well known movie trope that manages to combine cynicism and optimism.

[Scarlett45]

I have finalized my "Nights of Halloween" films for 2021. The * means I have not seen before. 

Spoiler

 

A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place Part II*

False Positive*

Beetlejuice

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

Frankenstein*

Nightmare Before Christmas

Fear Street Sagas (3 movies)*

Edward Scissorhands

Hocus Pocus

Tales from the Crypt

Coco

The Silence of the Lambs

Dorian Gray*

Interview with a Vampire

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde*

Hotel Transylvania III

Candyman (1992)*

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Hotel Transylvania IV*

Midsommar*

28 Days Later

Sleepy Hollow

 

I spoiler tagged them so the post wouldn't be so long. I think I have a good mix of old/new, family and scary, classic and modern.

[kiddo82]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:07 AM, Scarlett45 said:

I have finalized my "Nights of Halloween" films for 2021. The * means I have not seen before. 

  Reveal spoiler

 

A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place Part II*

False Positive*

Beetlejuice

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

Frankenstein*

Nightmare Before Christmas

Fear Street Sagas (3 movies)*

Edward Scissorhands

Hocus Pocus

Tales from the Crypt

Coco

The Silence of the Lambs

Dorian Gray*

Interview with a Vampire

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde*

Hotel Transylvania III

Candyman (1992)*

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Hotel Transylvania IV*

Midsommar*

28 Days Later

Sleepy Hollow

 

I spoiler tagged them so the post wouldn't be so long. I think I have a good mix of old/new, family and scary, classic and modern.

Cool list.  Nice mix.  I'm not easily freaked out but the original Candyman scared the eff out of me.  In retrospect, it was not a smart choice to rent that while I was alone housesitting.  And I've seen Hereditary--and more importantly can't UNSEE Hereditary--so Midsommar is a hard pass.  Maybe I'm just getting wimpy in my old age.  I recently rented Murnau's Nosferatu on Prime so I'm looking forward to that.

Edited September 30, 2021 by kiddo82

[Scarlett45]

On 9/29/2021 at 9:06 PM, kiddo82 said:

Cool list.  Nice mix.  I'm not easily freaked out but the original Candyman scared the eff out of me.  In retrospect, it was not a smart choice to rent that while I was alone housesitting.  And I've seen Hereditary--and more importantly can't UNSEE Hereditary--so Midsommar is a hard pass.  Maybe I'm just getting wimpy in my old age.  I recently rented Murnau's Nosferatu on Prime so I'm looking forward to that.

I wasn’t allowed to see Candyman when it came out and I was allowed to see most things, so I bet it’s scary!

Im kicking it off with Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1931)- I didn’t realize there were a  couple of versions. 

[festivus]

Candyman was the only horror movie that ever scared me. I was like 22 or 23 when I watched it though. I need to see it again. 

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, festivus said:

Candyman was the only horror movie that ever scared me. I was like 22 or 23 when I watched it though. I need to see it again. 

I’m waiting for the rental price on the new one to go down so I can watch it.

[Scarlett45]

So tonight for my nights of Halloween, it’s Interview with the Vampire (this one that is on the list every year). 
 

When I started this (cause I was not happy with what FreeForm was doing with theirs) in 2017, my friend had just come back from living abroad and this was the first one we watched together. 
 

In the scene where Louis is burning is mansion because he feels damned, and Lestat breaks in through the window and says “Damn it Louis, burn everything we own, and have us living in field like cattle!”

My friend turned to me me and said “that would so be you, asking me why am I burning our shit. And I would be wailing “we are damned!!!””😂😂. 
 

Whenever I see that scene it cracks me up because Lestat is so serious. 

[Anduin]

The original Matrix. Still great. What stands out is my reaction. When I first saw it, way back in 1999, I was blown away! Oh my god, CG has finally broken the unreality barrier. If I didn't know it was faked, I could never tell. Nowdays, it looks a little wonky in parts, especially the sentinels.

Also, I'd had my own speculation about the nature of reality. I'd never heard of Plato's Cave at the time, and wouldn't for some years. Suddenly I could explain my thoughts to other people.

Wow, how daring for the woman to be the older one in the relationship. I finally looked it up last year. Carrie-Anne Moss is actually three years younger than Keanu. At the time, she looked a bit older. These days, time is starting to catch up with him. He's still prettier than me, I won't shame anyone for aging.

It was around this time that action movies became a little too fast spaced to follow if you've had a few drinks. While the Matrix is followable, soon the whole blurrycam trend started. Technically, Saving Private Ryan was probably the first. Only, the Wachowskis didn't go that direction. And I for one appreciate that.

Do I dare revisit the sequels? Probably not. There are some damn good action scenes in Reloaded, especially the freeway. But the whole is less than the sum of its parts. And Revolutions? Its action is all right, nothing special. It certainly doesn't stand on plot alone. No thanks.

[Rushmoras]

Just recently had the time and mood to watch something, and decided to watch Kingdom of Heaven (2005), but since I did not know it was over three hours long, had to make a two-partite watch in a span of two weeks.

Now, I think I saw it many years ago on TV, because I do remember the beginning of the movie or at least it was familiar

Spoiler

where a priest and his acolytes are arguing about whether or not a woman, who took her own life, deserves a Christian burial

But, overall, just like Gladiator prior, it was a new watch for me. And, speaking of Gladiator, since this movie's credits go after the last scene, I did not know who the director was, but I had an inkling suspicion that it might be R. Scott. And, lo and behold, it really was him.

So, the movie is generally about a blacksmith, who is visited by his father, and offered to join him in a quest to protect the denizens of the Holy Land. Therein, he finds love, but also a huge load of political intrigues, and figures out that, hey, maybe they, who proclaim to be very religious, are in fact in there for the power and money the politics bring, and not for the people at all. And in the second half of the movie, we can see a bit from Salahadin's perspective, which to me was kinda nice touch.

Overall, it was an interesting watch. I'd say 9/10.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Rushmoras

[Kel Varnsen]

On 9/14/2021 at 10:06 AM, Anduin said:

Kate is an action movie on Netflix. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Woody Harrelson. It's the John Wick formula, and has David Leitch as an executive producer. Professional killer is wronged, has to annihilate every single mook in the city. In this case Winstead is the killer and Tokyo is the city.

Wow Netflix sure loves that concept. I watched Gunpowder Milkshake (with Karen Gillan as the killer) yesterday and Ava (with Jessica Chastain as the killer) last year. Gunpowder Milkshake was a lot better than Ava. 

[Anduin]

9 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Wow Netflix sure loves that concept. I watched Gunpowder Milkshake (with Karen Gillan as the killer) yesterday and Ava (with Jessica Chastain as the killer) last year. Gunpowder Milkshake was a lot better than Ava. 

According to IMDB, Kate is the highest rated of the three. Though 6.3 isn't exactly saying much. Sooner or later another action movie will break through, and we'll have various knockoffs of that instead.

[Scarlett45]

5 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Just recently had the time and mood to watch something, and decided to watch Kingdom of Heaven (2005), but since I did not know it was over three hours long, had to make a two-partite watch in a span of two weeks.

Now, I think I saw it many years ago on TV, because I do remember the beginning of the movie or at least it was familiar

  Reveal spoiler

where a priest and his acolytes are arguing about whether or not a woman, who took her own life, deserves a Christian burial

But, overall, just like Gladiator prior, it was a new watch for me. And, speaking of Gladiator, since this movie's credits go after the last scene, I did not know who the director was, but I had an inkling suspicion that it might be R. Scott. And, lo and behold, it really was him.

So, the movie is generally about a blacksmith, who is visited by his father, and offered to join him in a quest to protect the denizens of the Holy Land. Therein, he finds love, but also a huge load of political intrigues, and figures out that, hey, maybe they, who proclaim to be very religious, are in fact in there for the power and money the politics bring, and not for the people at all. And in the second half of the movie, we can see a bit from Salahadin's perspective, which to me was kinda nice touch.

Overall, it was an interesting watch. I'd say 9/10.

I liked the Kingdom of Heaven, but I haven’t see in in a LONG TIME. 
 

Update on my Halloween list-

Edward Scissorhands- I was bored. 

Midsommar- started out promising, but went no where, was very boring. 
 

Fear Street: 1994- this one was REALLY GOOD. I read the Fear Street books as a kid and heard good things about this series. I’m not super into slasher flicks but this series seems really promising. 

[Danny Franks]

13 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Just recently had the time and mood to watch something, and decided to watch Kingdom of Heaven (2005), but since I did not know it was over three hours long, had to make a two-partite watch in a span of two weeks.

Now, I think I saw it many years ago on TV, because I do remember the beginning of the movie or at least it was familiar

  Reveal spoiler

where a priest and his acolytes are arguing about whether or not a woman, who took her own life, deserves a Christian burial

But, overall, just like Gladiator prior, it was a new watch for me. And, speaking of Gladiator, since this movie's credits go after the last scene, I did not know who the director was, but I had an inkling suspicion that it might be R. Scott. And, lo and behold, it really was him.

So, the movie is generally about a blacksmith, who is visited by his father, and offered to join him in a quest to protect the denizens of the Holy Land. Therein, he finds love, but also a huge load of political intrigues, and figures out that, hey, maybe they, who proclaim to be very religious, are in fact in there for the power and money the politics bring, and not for the people at all. And in the second half of the movie, we can see a bit from Salahadin's perspective, which to me was kinda nice touch.

Overall, it was an interesting watch. I'd say 9/10.

It sounds like you watched the director's cut, which makes a lot of improvements to the movie, particularly to the storyline of Eva Green's Sibylla and the internal politics of Jerusalem - I think Sibylla's son is completely cut from the theatrical release.

I always feel like Kingdom of Heaven is a great movie that's missing a compelling lead actor. Orlando Bloom just doesn't have the gravitas or presence for the job and I keep wondering how the movie would have worked with someone like Ewan McGregor, Heath Ledger or Eric Bana playing Balian.

But the film looks amazing, the soundtrack is really good and there are some genuinely great scenes, and some great performances from the likes of Brendan Gleeson, Eva Green and David Thewlis. Ghassan Massoud is magnetic as Saladin.

[Rushmoras]

4 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

It sounds like you watched the director's cut, which makes a lot of improvements to the movie, particularly to the storyline of Eva Green's Sibylla and the internal politics of Jerusalem - I think Sibylla's son is completely cut from the theatrical release.

Yes, I did. Huh, it's hard to imagine what the movie would have been like and the character's motivations without those scenes.

[Danny Franks]

On 10/17/2021 at 4:00 PM, Rushmoras said:

Yes, I did. Huh, it's hard to imagine what the movie would have been like and the character's motivations without those scenes.

If I remember correctly:

Spoiler

When Baldwin IV dies, the theatrical release cuts around his nephew and just makes it that Guy de Lusignan would become king, by virtue of his marriage to Sibylla.

Balian is essentially offered the crown by Baldwin, if he'll agree to supplant Guy as  Sibylla's husband, rather than being a regent for the boy king.

Sibylla's motivations are just boiled down to wanting stability for Jerusalem and her role becomes that of a sultry temptress, trying to get Balian to sacrifice his morals for power.

I also think that, in the theatrical edition, Guy just disappears from the movie after Saladin's army parade him, naked on a mule, outside the walls of Jerusalem.

 

[proserpina65]

On 10/17/2021 at 6:46 AM, Danny Franks said:

It sounds like you watched the director's cut, which makes a lot of improvements to the movie, particularly to the storyline of Eva Green's Sibylla and the internal politics of Jerusalem - I think Sibylla's son is completely cut from the theatrical release.

I always feel like Kingdom of Heaven is a great movie that's missing a compelling lead actor. Orlando Bloom just doesn't have the gravitas or presence for the job and I keep wondering how the movie would have worked with someone like Ewan McGregor, Heath Ledger or Eric Bana playing Balian.

But the film looks amazing, the soundtrack is really good and there are some genuinely great scenes, and some great performances from the likes of Brendan Gleeson, Eva Green and David Thewlis. Ghassan Massoud is magnetic as Saladin.

Yeah, I enjoy the movie a lot, but sort of long for the film it could've been with someone like Christian Bale in the lead.

Still, it has wonderful performances from the above mentioned, plus Alexander Siddig, Jeremy Irons and Edward Norton, who conveys more emotion behind a silver mask in his few scenes than Orlando Bloom can muster in the entire movie.  And yes, Ghassan Massoud was incredible.

I have Kingdom of Heaven on dvd but haven't watched it yet.  Not sure if it's the director's cut, but I hope so.

[Rushmoras]

Halloween Kills (2021). Oh, look at that, one of the few this year's movies that I've watched. Aaaaaaand, I found it boring. First off, yes, it's the same Halloween: M. Myers killing of bunch of people and people trying in vein to defend themselves. And... it somehow was boring. I looked at my local news on the phone more than I watched the movie. I don't know what did it for me: the random jumping between the timelines in the beginning or the fact that everyone is just a lousy shot (I kinda expected for the creators to put in a homage scene to Vincent Vega meme. You know, the one where he's looking around in confusion like: "What?") in the movie. Also, if they are going the same route that they've been going in the original movies

Spoiler

that M. Myer's is a demon from Hell now hell bent on killing of his last bloodline or some shit

, then, why the fuck did they needed to reboot it? Just continue from... what ever the last entry was. I mean, like it or not, while  watching this movie, I kept thinking: "Wow, Lorry Strode has been mano-a-mano with Myers for, what, tenth time now? Jeez...". 5/10.

[Bastet]

There's a thread for the Halloween franchise, and pretty much all of us who've posted about Kills feel "meh" about it too (but are hoping the final film in this reboot trilogy will kick ass).

[Scarlett45]

I saw False Positive, it was creepy as I expected a movie about a creepy ass infertility doctor to be, but it’s not something I would watch again. It kind of had the feel of The Invisible Man with Elizabeth Moss which I liked a lot last year. 

[Rushmoras]

A Quiet Place (2018). Hmm... not your standard horror movie, to which I'm used to. Usually, 99 percent of horror movies I watched revolves around either a human/meta-human/paranormal killing everyone and everything on sight and people acting dumb. This movie? Was not so much in this area. I liked the way they built the whole movie premise on sound/silence, even though the characters barely spoke, but there was tension in a movie. I would not say that it was horror, more maybe science fiction (in the likes of Falling Skies TV series), but it caught my attention. 8/10

[Bastet]

There's a thread for A Quiet Place (and one for the sequel which I have not yet seen) and I find the discussion interesting, because it's a film that has a lot going for it and is not just a gimmick that falls apart one layer beneath the surface, but which has several fundamental problems.

[Kel Varnsen]

I watched The Thing last night from 1982. It was ok but I didn't love it. I have never been to Antarctica but I have been to the Arctic and they did a decent job of capturing the remote feel of a place like that. But there were a lot of stupid people in that movie and it bugged me. It also bugged me that it was supposed to be Antarctica in winter and the sun was out like a super sunny summer day. Not to mention it was supposed to be winter and people weren't acting like it was super instant pain cold the moment they went outside with exposed skin.

[Rushmoras]

Had more time on my hands, since it was the big weekend in my country (four days off for most people), decided to continue with Quentin Tarantino movies, and the next in line was Jackie Brown (1997). Again, as with Reservoir Dogs, I liked it better than Pulp Fiction. It surprised me that it was an adaptation of some book, which name I forgot now, and not an original script of Tarantino, maybe that's why I liked it more. Though, I've got to say, that Sam Jackson plays essentially the same character. The only difference between Jules Winnfield and Ordell Robbie is that the latter is a mob hitman, and the former sells guns. Out of all the characters, I liked Robert DeNiro's the most (of course, up until the point when he lost it and shot Melanie), I think, because he seemed so out of place in all of this. And, then, in the end, bam, total psycho. 😅 I'd give it 8/10.

[proserpina65]

TCM ran Young Frankenstein on Saturday night.  I'd never seen the entire movie, just bits and pieces here and there.  I loved it.  It was funny but not the stupid, crude joke kind of funny (although there were a few of them); it was mostly a more subtle sort of humor, some of which was based strongly on the original Frankenstein movie.  I still prefer Blazing Saddles, but would gladly recommend Young Frankenstein to others.

[Rushmoras]

The Others (2001) with Nicole Kidman. Never seen the full movie, just snippets of it. Got to say, it's one of those mind-fuck movies, because I'm not kidding you, at first I thought that the mother is simply crazy, then I thought that, OK, maybe the house is ordinarily haunted, then I thought that there's going on some Scooby-Doo shit wherein the servants want to swindle the family out of their estate, and then finally, when it all came together I was like: "What the fuck". 10/10

P.S. That creepy kid reminded me of that creepy kid from the Ring, also that creepy kid from Lucious lol. Maybe the same actor, IDK. Still, creepy kids are creepy.

[andromeda331]

15 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

TCM ran Young Frankenstein on Saturday night.  I'd never seen the entire movie, just bits and pieces here and there.  I loved it.  It was funny but not the stupid, crude joke kind of funny (although there were a few of them); it was mostly a more subtle sort of humor, some of which was based strongly on the original Frankenstein movie.  I still prefer Blazing Saddles, but would gladly recommend Young Frankenstein to others.

I just mentioned that movie in Unpopular Opinions for being my favorite Frankenstein movie! Its just so funny. All the characters are hilarous. 

[kiddo82]

I brought this up in the Promising Young Women specific thread and thought it was also appropriate for here.  I was rewatching Under the Skin last week and it struck me how similar the two movies are.  I don't think it's on purpose, and the themes of both movies don't necessarily line up, but there are literal story structure and plot points and character beats that are almost identical.  I said in the other thread that it wouldn't surprise me if Emerald Fennell was a fan of the Under the Skin book/movie and drew inspiration from it.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just adding this here even though these are Bollywood movies. Ranging from 1980 to 1983, starring Amitabh Bachchan.

I love the movies from that era-actually from the 70s to mid 80s because they are pure popcorn movies. Pure escapism. The man is a fucking chemistry magnet. Generates pure chemistry with every single actress he was paired with. The movies I just rewatched were Naseeb, Satte Pe Satta (Bollywood’s take on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers with its own twist that makes Bollywood), Desh Premee, Nastik, Shaan (their “take” f a James Bond villain, Telly Savales🤣🤣🤣), Ram Balram.

And now I wish I’d held onto my VCR copies, because the damned DVDs cut out scenes that I remember from watching and makes no sense why they cut them out.🤬🤬🤬🤬

[Danny Franks]

Little Monsters, which is essentially just an excuse for a movie to say, 'look at Lupita Nyong'o, isn't she utterly stunning and charming and captivating?'

And I don't have a problem with that, because she is. It's nice to see her being more playful with a role and doing goofy, zombie-related silliness at the same time she's playing the ukulele and singing Taylor Swift's Shake it Off.

Yeah, it's a zombie comedy with splashes of drama and romcom, about a thirty-something manchild who blames everyone else for his life being crap and is smitten by his young nephew's school teacher, played by Lupita. Stuff happens, there's a zombie outbreak and Josh Gad as the worst person ever, and a load of personal growth. It's a nice movie.

[Spartan Girl]

Red Notice: My parents and I watched this on Netflix last night. And you know what? It was fun. Yes, it was silly but no more ridiculous than National Treasure or the Fast and Furious movies, and I liked this a lot more than either of those movies. Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot all worked great together; you could tell they were all having a blast making it. 

[JustHereForFood]

I haven't watched many Halloween movies before, as I don't like the horror genre and have only few exceptions when it comes to parodies of it, but I decided to broaden my horizons, so I just watched Hocus Pocus and Beetlejuice for the first time. They were... I guess average is the right word, no problems with them, but didn't particularly impress me. Hocus Pocus was more entertaining and I liked the song those witches sang to lure the children. But I don't think I will need to rewatch them in the future.

And now I'll be off to watch movies that are annual watching for me in this time of the year: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is one of my alltime favorite movies and The Nightmare Before Christmas, which kicks off Christmas season for me.