Recently viewed movie thread - Rental, Streaming, Theater etc (8 Viewers)

[Ilov80s]

Well I woke up thinking about Babylon so it must have left some mark. I think I am finally coming around to what Chazelle was trying to say with "the ending". When you see the movie, you will know what I mean. It's not really a spoiler as I don't think the ending can really be spoiled, you just have to see it. However, I will wait until more people have had a chance to see it.

@PlayaHata I agree with you on the McGuire scene. I think what Chazelle was going for was looking at the absolute worst influence film has had on society- people in dark corners, willing to debase themselves completely for a few dollars and some attention. A desensitized audience that doesn't care about anything beyond being shocked and entertained. The technology of filming things has opened up the world to see into the darkest corners of the human mind. Still, I don't think it should have been in the movie.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Babylon cost $250m to make and promote. It made $5.4m over the four day weekend.

How does stuff like this get green lit?

 

[Ilov80s]

Babylon cost $250m to make and promote. It made $5.4m over the four day weekend.

How does stuff like this get green lit?

I have to think many of the people putting money into it knew they weren’t going to make money. They just wanted to see the movie get made and support the art. Obviously that’s not very sustainable. Nothing in the entertainment business seems very sustainable right now.

 

[Eephus]

Babylon cost $250m to make and promote. It made $5.4m over the four day weekend.

How does stuff like this get green lit?

I have to think many of the people putting money into it knew they weren’t going to make money. They just wanted to see the movie get made and support the art. Obviously that’s not very sustainable. Nothing in the entertainment business seems very sustainable right now.

Chazelle's previous two films made money. La La Land was a massive hit grossing $400M on a $30M budget. First Man didn't do as well but it recovered its budget.

"You're only as good as your last movie" has been a Hollywood truism since the days of Babylon so Chazelle will probably be back under $100M budgets going forward. With the way the industry is trending, there will be fewer non-franchise big-budget pictures going forward and that's a shame.

 

[Ilov80s]

Chazelle's previous two films made money. La La Land was a massive hit grossing $400M on a $30M budget. First Man didn't do as well but it recovered its budget.

"You're only as good as your last movie" has been a Hollywood truism since the days of Babylon so Chazelle will probably be back under $100M budgets going forward. With the way the industry is trending, there will be fewer non-franchise big-budget pictures going forward and that's a shame.

Whiplash made money as well though that was so low budget it’s almost a different world. La La Land did make $400 million so I do suppose people thought he was some kind of bankable director. It also was in pre before the pandemic, started filming 2021 so maybe the full realization of the new market hadn’t taken shape yet. Still, it’s a 3 hour raunchy sex filled rated R movie (can’t believe this avoided NC17) about 1920s Hollywood. Seems like a pretty niche market. It’s awesome he got make it and it’s really stuck with me. It’s like one of those fancy 20 course pre fixe dinner experiences. It went on too long, was overly indulgent and many of the dishes were empty or lacking in anything but style. Some dishes were too weird. However, there were a couple dishes in there that are as good as anything you’ve ever had. I walked away feeling stuffed and thinking “god that was ridiculous” and “I’ll never eat again”. Today I woke up hungry thinking about how amazing the high points were.

 

[Ilov80s]

Babylon cost $250m to make and promote. It made $5.4m over the four day weekend.

How does stuff like this get green lit?

Just heard an interview with the director and a producer. This is an idea Chazelle had before La La Land and was a long term project for him. He sent it to every studio out there. No studio was really interested except Paramount. One particular guy named Wyck Godfrey at Paramount really championed it. He was a producer for First Man and had recently been named President of Paramount. Just as the crew were opening the film production, COVID happened and it got shut down. Now Chazelle waited and tried to adjust schedules, recast where needed, etc. Godfrey left Paramount during the pandemic so all of a sudden the whole production seemed in jeopardy but Paramount stuck with their commitment. Chazelle and one of his producers said that the studio was always committed to doing the movie right. No green screens, no digital. Film it on actual film and go to the real outdoor locations in California: the same hills and landscape that Douglas Fairbanks worked or where Modern Times had it's end scene. Paramount philosophically believed this should be made how and where they made movies 100 years ago and this was about the Paramount legacy in a spiritual way.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Saw Avatar Way of Water in epic 3D as god intended

Visually stunning, totally immersed in another universe for 3 hours. If you have any intent to watch it, watch it on the big screen

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Watched Point Break with the family a couple nights back. Kids left halfway through. Wife and I watched the whole thing. Was my idea. Wife says I'm not allowed to pick a movie for the next three weeks.

 

[belljr]

Watched Point Break with the family a couple nights back. Kids left halfway through. Wife and I watched the whole thing. Was my idea. Wife says I'm not allowed to pick a movie for the next three weeks.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT..... The remake or the original??!@#?!

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Watched Point Break with the family a couple nights back. Kids left halfway through. Wife and I watched the whole thing. Was my idea. Wife says I'm not allowed to pick a movie for the next three weeks.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT..... The remake or the original??!@#?!

The one with Keanu, Swayze, Busey and...Anthony Kiedis (forgot he was in it).

 

[Osaurus]

The Wonder

Didn’t know much going into this film, but it certainly was a good watch. Lots of layers to the plot about an Irish girl who hasn’t eaten for months and seems healthy. 4.25/5

 

[Ilov80s]

The one with Keanu, Swayze, Busey and...Anthony Kiedis (forgot he was in it).

Your wife didn't enjoy shirtless Keanu and Swayze on the beach?

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Picked up 5 dvd's from library this morning. Will watch at least 2 tonight, the rest over nest weekend.

Man Push Cart
la chienne
Diamonds of the Night
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
The Banshees of Inisherin

Nice.

It's WAY less embarrassing than what I just went and got from the library that I ordered last week. LINK

Damn you, @Dan Lambskin !!

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio

I saw that on the cover of 3.

I was going to watch The Quick and the Dead as well because I forgot Raimi directed that, and I was laughing that Leo was in that as well.

One of the worst westerns I’ve ever seen

 

[belljr]

Watched Point Break with the family a couple nights back. Kids left halfway through. Wife and I watched the whole thing. Was my idea. Wife says I'm not allowed to pick a movie for the next three weeks.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT..... The remake or the original??!@#?!

The one with Keanu, Swayze, Busey and...Anthony Kiedis (forgot he was in it).

Grounds for divorce

Utah.. gimme two

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Man With A Movie Camera

Interesting. I liked the accompanying musical score that was composed by Michael Nyman.

Available as a free watch on Vudu.

 

[Ilov80s]

White Noise on Netflix was a total miss for me. I like Driver, Gerwig and Baumbach but almost nothing here worked for me. Maybe I should have seen it coming as I also thought the book was overrated.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I've been on a bit of a documentary binge recently. This week I've watched Good Night Oppy, Pele, Andy and Jim, and the CCR documentary. All good stuff.

I thought the Oppy doc would bore my 8yo old, but we've been talking about astronomy a bit lately, and she got a book and binoculars for Christmas, so I thought I'd give it a try. She's been sick this week and watching a ton of stuff, but she watched Good Night Oppy 3x in the last 2 days.

 

[Eephus]

Went to see Babylon tonight. I liked it more than the others I went with but that's not saying a lot. Chazelle has obvious affection for his subject matter but he sure has a strange way of showing it.

I need to have a sleep to process it but I have to mention that when we got home, I discovered the dog had pooped inside the house for the first time in over two years. It was a fitting coda to a movie that featured every bodily function except ear wax.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Bullet Train was great fun.

Netflix really has the summer blockbuster thing down pat. I have no idea how they afford all these.

 

[Ilov80s]

Bullet Train was great fun.

Netflix really has the summer blockbuster thing down pat. I have no idea how they afford all these.

I don’t think it was a NF movie. They just happened to have the streaming rights.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Bullet Train was great fun.

Netflix really has the summer blockbuster thing down pat. I have no idea how they afford all these.

I don’t think it was a NF movie. They just happened to have the streaming rights.

This is correct, it was in the theaters.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Stalker

The aesthetic is interesting and a bit mesmerizing. The story and intent are irritatingly enigmatic.

I ultimately viewed it as an allegory for late stage Soviet life - where the cancer of communism had metastasized to remove all hope. I'm surprised the KGB didn't come after director Tarkovsky.

Not a movie I'd recommend to anyone.

 

[belljr]

Everything Everywhere all at once.....

I wanted to like this movie. Loved Crouching Tiger, this was just too weird for me

 

[Barry2]

Strictly Ballroom. Pretty good.

 

[BlackCrowes]

I've been on a bit of a documentary binge recently. This week I've watched Good Night Oppy, Pele, Andy and Jim, and the CCR documentary. All good stuff.

I thought the Oppy doc would bore my 8yo old, but we've been talking about astronomy a bit lately, and she got a book and binoculars for Christmas, so I thought I'd give it a try. She's been sick this week and watching a ton of stuff, but she watched Good Night Oppy 3x in the last 2 days.

I really liked Oppy

 

[KarmaPolice]

I've been on a bit of a documentary binge recently. This week I've watched Good Night Oppy, Pele, Andy and Jim, and the CCR documentary. All good stuff.

I thought the Oppy doc would bore my 8yo old, but we've been talking about astronomy a bit lately, and she got a book and binoculars for Christmas, so I thought I'd give it a try. She's been sick this week and watching a ton of stuff, but she watched Good Night Oppy 3x in the last 2 days.

I really liked Oppy

I did too, but now it's about 8 times this weekend. I didn't like it that much.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I'm about 1/2 way through Nope. I don't know what is going on, and I haven't decided yet if that is good or bad.

As I told 80s, I think January will be just catching up on the previous year's movies pre-awards season. Another random one on my list I remembered a pod praising is The Menu, and I saw that comes out on HBO Max today.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I'm about 1/2 way through Nope. I don't know what is going on, and I haven't decided yet if that is good or bad.

As I told 80s, I think January will be just catching up on the previous year's movies pre-awards season. Another random one on my list I remembered a pod praising is The Menu, and I saw that comes out on HBO Max today.

I watched it last week and am beginning to compare Peele with M Night. They both started with a great film (Sixth Sense & Get Out) and never got close again. Hopefully I'm wrong on this.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I'm about 1/2 way through Nope. I don't know what is going on, and I haven't decided yet if that is good or bad.

As I told 80s, I think January will be just catching up on the previous year's movies pre-awards season. Another random one on my list I remembered a pod praising is The Menu, and I saw that comes out on HBO Max today.

I watched it last week and am beginning to compare Peele with M Night. They both started with a great film (Sixth Sense & Get Out) and never got close again. Hopefully I'm wrong on this.

I thought Get Out was a bit overrated, so I was more tentative about Peele than most it seemed. I am liking this one a little more than Us, but not sure if that is saying much.

 

[jamny]

I thought Get Out was a bit overrated, so I was more tentative about Peele than most it seemed. I am liking this one a little more than Us, but not sure if that is saying much.

I'm with you on Get Out. I thought Us was decent but I don't even think I'll give Nope a shot.

 

[Eephus]

Movies I watched in December

A Better Tomorrow II (1987 - J. Woo)
Harlem Nights (1989 - E. Murphy)
Lost Bullet (2020 - G. Pierret)
Meet Me in the Bathroom (2022 - D. Southern & W. Lovelace)
Blue Chips (1994 - W. Friedkin)
Columbo: Murder by the Book (1971 - S. Spielberg)
Less Than Zero (1987 - M. Kanievska)
The MacKintosh Man (1973 - J. Huston)
Beat the Devil (1953 - J. Huston)
Moulin Rouge (1952 - J. Huston)
The List of Adrian Messenger (1963 - J. Huston)
The Dead (1987 - J. Huston)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015 - G. Miller)
Furie (2019 - L. V. Kiet)
Croupier (1998 - M. Hodges)
Baahubali: The Beginning (2015 - S. S. Rajamouli)
The Killers (1946 - R. Siodmak)
The Killers (1964 - D. Siegel)
A Christmas Story Christmas (2022 - C. Kaytis)
Black Adam (2022 - J. Collet-Serra)
Cat Ballou (1965 - E. Silverstein)
No Time To Die (2021 - C. Fukunaga)
Babylon (2022 - D. Chazelle)
Background to Danger (1943 - R. Walsh)
Ishtar (1987 - E. May)
Blue Jasmine (2013 - W. Allen)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022 - R. Johnson)
Spy Game (2001 - T. Scott)

I've written up a bunch of these in the thread already but I'll add a few miscellaneous comments

A Better Tomorrow II - A bigger budget and much better production values than the original allowed John Woo to further develop his signature style. Bringing Chow-Yun Fat back as the twin brother of a character killed in the original belongs in the sequels Hall of Fame.

The Killers double feature - The 1946 version was better than the remake. I liked how the original led off with Hemingway's short story reproduced faithfully in pretty much its entirely and then stacked the flashbacks afterwards. The remake kept the flashback structure but switched focus of the narrative to the hired guns. The insurance investigator character who guided the story of the original was eliminated completely. Maybe it was the black and white vs the vivid 60s color but the original kept more of the existential classic Noir attitude even though the ending of the 1964 version was extremely bleak. The remake was more of an action movie with the racing scenes and a more elaborate payroll heist.

Baahubali: The Beginning - I enjoyed RRR so I took a shot at the Tollywood film that built Rajamouli's reputation. It's a mythological epic with a similar emphasis on over-the-top CGI but lacking most of the humor that made RRR so entertaining. Baahubali has a strange narrative structure with an extended flashback that makes up much of the film. It was done that way so it could end with a huge action sequence that sets up the sequel even though the first 45 minutes of The Beginning took place after the conclusion of the film chronologically. I suppose I should watch Baahubali II but I'm not relishing another 2 hrs and 45 minutes of this.

Ishtar - Not as bad as legend has it but not particularly good either.

Black Adam - Another movie that got completely lost in flashbacks and universe building. It would have been better on the big screen but it still would have been confusing.

 

[Eephus]

I watched 262 movies in 2022. This number includes a handful of series.

My New Year's resolution is to watch fewer films this year.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I must have stopped at the right part last night. Nope got dumb in a big hurry during the second half. Couple of interesting ideas and a couple cool visuals, but overall a dud. I'm surprised to see it on so many best of the year lists.

 

[Payne]

Glass onion was ok. Not as good as Knives Out. Tried to be too clever for itself.

Violent Night was great.

Zero interest in seeing Babylon. Previews look terrible

 

[PlayaHata]

After seeing a bunch of ho-hum movies recently in the theater, we saw Violent Night and The Fabelmans (Michelle Williams was fabulous in this!) the last two days and loved both of them. I'm so over all of these sequels/remakes/retreads, and both of these were original and very well done, each in their own way.

 

[On The Rocks]

BELFAST (2021)
I think I watched this on HBO.

The story was good enough to hold my attention. Not sure I saw the value of shooting it in black and white.
The performance of young Jude Hill makes this movie an absolute winner for me. Really glad I watched it just to watch him. Not sure how a young child could be so spectacular and carry an entire movie.

 

[jamny]

We're trying to watch a movie a week this year. That's a lot for us! lol
Just watched The Sting again. I never realized how much Brad Pitt looks like a young Robert Redford.
I never knew James Earl Jones' father was an actor too.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Ho. Lee. ****. Finally watched Barbarian, and that was one of the best movie experiences I've encountered. I think it fades slightly at the end, but what came before it has to be one of the most disorienting, tense, funny, disgusting movies I've watched in some time. I can't describe it more here ( I am going to look to talk spoilers somewhere), but this has the best scare for me in some time, and a part in the movie I had to stop because I couldn't stop laughing. Please watch this movie.

Say what you will about the glut of unoriginality in the theaters - yes, that largely applies to the blockbuster action movies. I am here to tell you that horror is in great hands, and I've been so impressed by movies coming out for the genre in the last few years. Just skim the scum off the top of the genre like the Halloweens and Hellraisers, but the rest is generally very good.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Avatar: The Way of Water
Similarly to the original, this movie's success relies on the viewer's willingness to watch the movie as a child - with no cynicism and all wonder. I thought it was beautiful. Even if you think the story is too simple, the underwater scenes are worth the price of admission.

The Hummingbird Project
If I told you there's a movie about fiber optic cables and it's riveting, you'd probably laugh. But this movie is a lot of fun. Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgård, and Salma Hayek star in this fictional account of two cousins that want to build a lightning fast connection from the NY stock exchange to the Kansas stock exchange by installing a 1,000 miles of cable in a straight line. Excellent movie. Free on Hulu.

The Banshees of Inisherin
This movie had a lot going for it: beautiful photography, excellent cast, and paced in a nice, slow way we don't see in many films these days. I loved the characters and the look, but the final third takes a turn that I will confess really made me pissed off. I won't elaborate to avoid spoilers. I'm not saying the final third is bad, but I think the choices made are not in keeping with the rest of the film's feel. Very good, could have been great.

Frayed
I've soapboxed for this series before, I'm sure. We just finished the second season. This is an Aussie show that does comedy better than most comedies, and it does drama better than many dramas. Crude, funny, beautiful and wonderful. I LOVE THIS SHOW.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Ho. Lee. ****. Finally watched Barbarian, and that was one of the best movie experiences I've encountered.

I don't even know what to say...

 

[jamny]

Ho. Lee. ****. Finally watched Barbarian, and that was one of the best movie experiences I've encountered. I think it fades slightly at the end, but what came before it has to be one of the most disorienting, tense, funny, disgusting movies I've watched in some time. I can't describe it more here ( I am going to look to talk spoilers somewhere), but this has the best scare for me in some time, and a part in the movie I had to stop because I couldn't stop laughing. Please watch this movie.

Say what you will about the glut of unoriginality in the theaters - yes, that largely applies to the blockbuster action movies. I am here to tell you that horror is in great hands, and I've been so impressed by movies coming out for the genre in the last few years. Just skim the scum off the top of the genre like the Halloweens and Hellraisers, but the rest is generally very good.

There's a lot of discussion about the movie on the last couple of pages of the Horror Movie thread

 

[KarmaPolice]

Ho. Lee. ****. Finally watched Barbarian, and that was one of the best movie experiences I've encountered.

I don't even know what to say...

You could try. Looking around after I think you might be in the minority if you disliked this one. If so, what are your thoughts?

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Ho. Lee. ****. Finally watched Barbarian, and that was one of the best movie experiences I've encountered.

I don't even know what to say...

You could try. Looking around after I think you might be in the minority if you disliked this one. If so, what are your thoughts?

I thought it was total garbage.

The conceit doesn't work (this ONE house is the one kept up on the neighborhood and the girl says 'okay, I guess I HAVE to stay here') and it breaks its own internal rules (superhuman abilities all of a sudden?) because it knows it's not exciting enough.

I've purged the details from my memory because I genuinely think it's utter dreck.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Ho. Lee. ****. Finally watched Barbarian, and that was one of the best movie experiences I've encountered.

I don't even know what to say...

You could try. Looking around after I think you might be in the minority if you disliked this one. If so, what are your thoughts?

I thought it was total garbage.

The conceit doesn't work (this ONE house is the one kept up on the neighborhood and the girl says 'okay, I guess I HAVE to stay here') and it breaks its own internal rules (superhuman abilities all of a sudden?) because it knows it's not exciting enough.

I've purged the details from my memory because I genuinely think it's utter dreck.

Horror is a genre where a heavy dose of suspension of disbelief is usually needed. Hell, even ignoring the actual plot, I thought the acting, the way its shot, and the going against expectations considering the male leads is enough to recommend. To be fair, those recommends from me are usually directed towards horror fans, but I also gather this was highly rated in the general population too.

After seeing 1000s of horror movies, if one is still able to scare me, surprise me, catch me off guard, or make me laugh it gets a high rating. That this was able to do all of them, means it gets even higher marks.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Put me in the camp that really enjoyed barbarian

 

[Capella]

The Fablemans - did not get the hype at all. Not particularly interesting and not a particularly satisfying ending.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

The Fablemans - did not get the hype at all. Not particularly interesting and not a particularly satisfying ending.

I’ll probably end up watching it but I have low expectations.

 

[landrys hat]

The Menu (on HBO) was very entertaining.

"these are tortillas"

 

[Payne]

The Menu (on HBO) was very entertaining.

"these are tortillas"

Just watched this last night. Kind of had a major issue with it, but will refrain from stating it here. I'll just say I would have handled things differently.

The "turning point" did catch me off guard. Oh and I have no idea why the "45 second head start" scene was even necessary. It meant nothing.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

The Menu (on HBO) was very entertaining.

"these are tortillas"

Saw it in the theatre - was expecting a "Dangerous Game" type movie based on the trailers but it was so much more than that. And , yes, it had more laughs than most comedies - on top of the "horror" aspect.