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Recently viewed movie thread - Rental, Streaming, Theater etc (10 Viewers)

The Pickup. The new Eddie Murphy/Pete Davidson movie. I think it's on Amazon. I saw a couple of interviews with the cast beforehand and they had that "Eddie is back, baby!" vibe. Based on this film, Eddie is not back. He's mailing it in for 90% of the movie with one or two good riffs thrown in, Pretty much any bored 60 year-old actor could have given this performance and cashed the check. Davidson's ok, but the script is so lazy it's hard to tell if he elevates it or not.
I was trying to think what other movie I watched this past weekend and couldn't remember what it was. It was this one if that gives you an idea of how much of an impact it had on me. I was in HS & college wen Eddie was crushing in the 80's. This is not that Eddie.
He looked like he was falling asleep in most scenes.
Him and me both ;( Davidson didn't really bring anything to the table either.

"Eddie Murphy is reported to have earned approximately $20 million for his role in "The Pickup," while Pete Davidson's fee ranges between $999,999 and $1,499,000."
 
I was listening to a podcast last night, and cringed when I heard Cregger say that he liked the description of the movie being Magnolia meets Hereditary. Those are two highly polarizing movies that would keep people away from this one, IMO. I get what he is getting at, but it's a mash up of a lot of stuff and much more crowd pleasing than my 2 favorite working directors are. Go see it even if you aren't the biggest horror fan, it is a blast.

Also in the podcast he said his next movies is a Resident Evil movie. :oldunsure: He CLAIMED he has never seen any of those movies, was a huge fan of the games, and the movie he wrote he had the idea for even without the setting of that IP. In Cregger I trust, but I wasn't too excited about that. After that he said he has a sci-fi movie in the works.
That was the Ringer podcast, right? I listened to that the other day. Cregger seems like an interesting guy.
Yeah - the episode of The Big Picture with his interview and their review of the movie. I will give him my trust and watch it, but when I heard that I was hoping he doesn't go the route of Villenueve and focus on IP for a decade. I love these first two movies because of the originality and surprises, and obviously I want more of that in the theater and less IP.
He could go like Coogler and dip his toe into IP every so often to keep the lights on so he can work on original stuff.
Yep, he seems to be doing it the right way. First movie had a $4 million budget, made $45 million. Next movie gets a bidding war, ends up with $38 million budget. It's already cleared $70 million and is projected to hold down the top spot at the box office this upcoming weekend. I think it will be similar to Sinners the 2nd and 3rd weekends will continue to post strong box office numbers. It will easily clear $100 million, could hit $200. Being able to attach Resident Evil and "from the maker of Weapons and Barbarian" is likely enough to generate a huge amount of excitement for the next movie which will be gunning for $500 million+. If he pulls that off, he will be able to get any amount of money he wants for his big sci-fi project he hinted at.
 
I saw Weapons over the weekend and it was pretty good.

In regard to the discussion earlier comparing this to Barbarian, I think Weapons was definitely better, but Barbarian was still good. Barbarian was compelling and tense throughout the first half to two thirds of the movie, it was just when the reveal happened, it kind of went off the rails and didn't keep the suspensefulness. If I recall it was just a bunch of chase scenes and attempted jump scares to the end.
Weapons on the other hand kept the tension up throughout most of the movie, and when the reveal went down, it was able to keep the story interesting and good both by different POV's as well as a bit of over the top gore and humorous scenes. Bigger budget, bigger names and a bit of experience helped out on this one. And I really dig Julia Garner, even though she's always going to be Ruth to me.

What I was saying to 80s is that that Barbarian actually scared me and made me jump - so much so, that I thought I hit the remote and switched the movie with the odd cut to Cali. Then during the 2nd act it made me laugh so hard that I had tears in my eyes and I had to pause the movie. I didn't have THAT level of reaction during Weapons so in that sense I thought Barbarian was better. But Weapons is more consistent overall, much less jarring cuts, and the 3rd act and ending are much better.

My small gripe is that I thought Weapons was much more predictable as to what was going on, so I wasn't as surprised by the twists and turns, but they were still surprising in how far they went at times. (trying to avoid too detailed talk, but people could PM if they are wondering what I am talking about).
 
I'm only 20ish years late but finally watched The Aviator. I thought it was fairly good though I sort of really disliked how it was sort of cherry picked. I understand the move to focus on his relationships with Hepburn and Gardner but he was also married twice...also might have been nice to have some earlier background on the character from before. I get the movie was about a specific time period and it's not like everything could be added but it makes it feel incomplete in a way. I also agree with Cate Blanchett's Oscar win. I think it's wild that he's a distant cousin of the Wright brothers.

I don't think it's a masterpiece but it's worth watching. Also very tempted to watch Hell's Angels.
 
I'm only 20ish years late but finally watched The Aviator. I thought it was fairly good though I sort of really disliked how it was sort of cherry picked. I understand the move to focus on his relationships with Hepburn and Gardner but he was also married twice...also might have been nice to have some earlier background on the character from before. I get the movie was about a specific time period and it's not like everything could be added but it makes it feel incomplete in a way. I also agree with Cate Blanchett's Oscar win. I think it's wild that he's a distant cousin of the Wright brothers.

I don't think it's a masterpiece but it's worth watching. Also very tempted to watch Hell's Angels.

one of my favorite movies of that decade....I thought it was amazing on several levels
 
I'm only 20ish years late but finally watched The Aviator. I thought it was fairly good though I sort of really disliked how it was sort of cherry picked. I understand the move to focus on his relationships with Hepburn and Gardner but he was also married twice...also might have been nice to have some earlier background on the character from before. I get the movie was about a specific time period and it's not like everything could be added but it makes it feel incomplete in a way. I also agree with Cate Blanchett's Oscar win. I think it's wild that he's a distant cousin of the Wright brothers.

I don't think it's a masterpiece but it's worth watching. Also very tempted to watch Hell's Angels.

one of my favorite movies of that decade....I thought it was amazing on several levels
I guess my post is improperly ranked then :/
 
I'm only 20ish years late but finally watched The Aviator. I thought it was fairly good though I sort of really disliked how it was sort of cherry picked. I understand the move to focus on his relationships with Hepburn and Gardner but he was also married twice...also might have been nice to have some earlier background on the character from before. I get the movie was about a specific time period and it's not like everything could be added but it makes it feel incomplete in a way. I also agree with Cate Blanchett's Oscar win. I think it's wild that he's a distant cousin of the Wright brothers.

I don't think it's a masterpiece but it's worth watching. Also very tempted to watch Hell's Angels.
Hells Angels is mostly so-so but it has a zeppelin scene that’s absolutely incredible
 
I was listening to a podcast last night, and cringed when I heard Cregger say that he liked the description of the movie being Magnolia meets Hereditary. Those are two highly polarizing movies that would keep people away from this one, IMO. I get what he is getting at, but it's a mash up of a lot of stuff and much more crowd pleasing than my 2 favorite working directors are. Go see it even if you aren't the biggest horror fan, it is a blast.

Also in the podcast he said his next movies is a Resident Evil movie. :oldunsure: He CLAIMED he has never seen any of those movies, was a huge fan of the games, and the movie he wrote he had the idea for even without the setting of that IP. In Cregger I trust, but I wasn't too excited about that. After that he said he has a sci-fi movie in the works.
That was the Ringer podcast, right? I listened to that the other day. Cregger seems like an interesting guy.
Yeah - the episode of The Big Picture with his interview and their review of the movie. I will give him my trust and watch it, but when I heard that I was hoping he doesn't go the route of Villenueve and focus on IP for a decade. I love these first two movies because of the originality and surprises, and obviously I want more of that in the theater and less IP.
He could go like Coogler and dip his toe into IP every so often to keep the lights on so he can work on original stuff.
Yep, he seems to be doing it the right way. First movie had a $4 million budget, made $45 million. Next movie gets a bidding war, ends up with $38 million budget. It's already cleared $70 million and is projected to hold down the top spot at the box office this upcoming weekend. I think it will be similar to Sinners the 2nd and 3rd weekends will continue to post strong box office numbers. It will easily clear $100 million, could hit $200. Being able to attach Resident Evil and "from the maker of Weapons and Barbarian" is likely enough to generate a huge amount of excitement for the next movie which will be gunning for $500 million+. If he pulls that off, he will be able to get any amount of money he wants for his big sci-fi project he hinted at.
When it comes to movies and TV, I think Resident Evil IP should be a negative. I’ve given it as least 4 shots and everything sucks.
 
I was listening to a podcast last night, and cringed when I heard Cregger say that he liked the description of the movie being Magnolia meets Hereditary. Those are two highly polarizing movies that would keep people away from this one, IMO. I get what he is getting at, but it's a mash up of a lot of stuff and much more crowd pleasing than my 2 favorite working directors are. Go see it even if you aren't the biggest horror fan, it is a blast.

Also in the podcast he said his next movies is a Resident Evil movie. :oldunsure: He CLAIMED he has never seen any of those movies, was a huge fan of the games, and the movie he wrote he had the idea for even without the setting of that IP. In Cregger I trust, but I wasn't too excited about that. After that he said he has a sci-fi movie in the works.
That was the Ringer podcast, right? I listened to that the other day. Cregger seems like an interesting guy.
Yeah - the episode of The Big Picture with his interview and their review of the movie. I will give him my trust and watch it, but when I heard that I was hoping he doesn't go the route of Villenueve and focus on IP for a decade. I love these first two movies because of the originality and surprises, and obviously I want more of that in the theater and less IP.
He could go like Coogler and dip his toe into IP every so often to keep the lights on so he can work on original stuff.
Yep, he seems to be doing it the right way. First movie had a $4 million budget, made $45 million. Next movie gets a bidding war, ends up with $38 million budget. It's already cleared $70 million and is projected to hold down the top spot at the box office this upcoming weekend. I think it will be similar to Sinners the 2nd and 3rd weekends will continue to post strong box office numbers. It will easily clear $100 million, could hit $200. Being able to attach Resident Evil and "from the maker of Weapons and Barbarian" is likely enough to generate a huge amount of excitement for the next movie which will be gunning for $500 million+. If he pulls that off, he will be able to get any amount of money he wants for his big sci-fi project he hinted at.
When it comes to movies and TV, I think Resident Evil IP should be a negative. I’ve given it as least 4 shots and everything sucks.
You would think but 4 of the last 5 all made like $300-400 million on budgets a quarter of that. For whatever reason, it has a strong fan base.
 
Sisu 9/10
Not sure how this one got by me, but so glad I came across it. Just in case it got by anybody else, do yourself a favor and move it to the top of your queue.

Sisu - 2022
Sisu should satisfy almost anybody who has wondered what it might look like if John Wick went up against Nazis.
Very fun movie
Sisu: Road to Revenge out in November. Still time for the ones who ahven't seen the first one
 
I remember liking this when it came out and wondering why it didn't get much attention.
I caught it again and it's very good.
Appaloosa Free with ads 🤠
Academy Award-nominee Viggo Mortensen ("A History of Violence," "The Lord of the Rings" franchise) stars as Everett Hitch and Academy Award-nominee and Golden Globe-winner Ed Harris ("A Beautiful Mind," "The Truman Show") stars as Virgil Cole in this Western directed by Harris himself. The paths of two gunmen tracking an escaped murderer and that of a beautiful, dangerous widow with an agenda of her own collide in the lawless western town of Appaloosa. In Appaloosa, they find a small, dusty town suffering at the hands of a renegade rancher with so little regard for the law that he has taken supplies, horse and women for his own and left the city marshal and one of his deputies for dead. Cole and Hitch, itinerant lawmen, are used to cleaning up after opportunistic thieves, but this time they find an unusually wily adversary--one who raises the stakes not by playing with the rules, but with emotions.
 
The Last Rifleman (2023) - Pierce Brosnan plays an aging WWII veteran (age 92 & 3/4's) with a burning desire to go back to Normandy during the 75th celebration of the invasion. The movie chronicles his journey and the help he receives along the way. If you're looking for a feel good movie this weekend, go ahead and watch this one. Very enjoyable watch :thumbup:

"Inspired by true events" but that stuff gets so blown out from the actual story I don't even take it into consideration anymore. It was a good movie whether it was true or no, enjoy it.
 
The Last Rifleman (2023) - Pierce Brosnan plays an aging WWII veteran (age 92 & 3/4's) with a burning desire to go back to Normandy during the 75th celebration of the invasion. The movie chronicles his journey and the help he receives along the way. If you're looking for a feel good movie this weekend, go ahead and watch this one. Very enjoyable watch :thumbup:

"Inspired by true events" but that stuff gets so blown out from the actual story I don't even take it into consideration anymore. It was a good movie whether it was true or no, enjoy it.

Pierce Brosnan as a 92 year-old WWII Normandy vet?

Suspension of disbelief failure.
 
The Last Rifleman (2023) - Pierce Brosnan plays an aging WWII veteran (age 92 & 3/4's) with a burning desire to go back to Normandy during the 75th celebration of the invasion. The movie chronicles his journey and the help he receives along the way. If you're looking for a feel good movie this weekend, go ahead and watch this one. Very enjoyable watch :thumbup:

"Inspired by true events" but that stuff gets so blown out from the actual story I don't even take it into consideration anymore. It was a good movie whether it was true or no, enjoy it.

Pierce Brosnan as a 92 year-old WWII Normandy vet?

Suspension of disbelief failure.
92 & 3/4's sir

Less is more with this one, was well done by him, down to the old man noises.
 
If you still collect physical media - and you should - there's a big sale on Kino Lober titles at Amazon. The main link on the deals page doesn't work but if you scroll down someone has linked each title individually.
 
I saw Weapons a 2nd time in the theater. Wednesday night and the theater was 80% sold out again. Crowd was great, laughing, gasping, ohhing and ahhhhing. Easily one of my favorite movies in a few years and such a ride. I really might see it a third time. It's already cleared $100 million before the 2nd weekend even started.
 
The Cameraman

Another Buster Keaton silent film that I can recommend. A brisk 1 hour, 9 minute film, it has several enjoyable scenes and I laughed quite a few times.

The Cameraman" (1928) was almost lost due to a fire. The only known copy of the film at the time was destroyed in a fire at Storage Vault No. 7 at MGM on August 10, 1965. Fortunately, a print was later found in Paris in 1968, and an additional master positive copy of nearly the entire film was discovered in 1991.
 
The Cameraman

Another Buster Keaton silent film that I can recommend. A brisk 1 hour, 9 minute film, it has several enjoyable scenes and I laughed quite a few times.

The Cameraman" (1928) was almost lost due to a fire. The only known copy of the film at the time was destroyed in a fire at Storage Vault No. 7 at MGM on August 10, 1965. Fortunately, a print was later found in Paris in 1968, and an additional master positive copy of nearly the entire film was discovered in 1991.
I think a lot of the difficulty people have in watching silent films is that the music doesn't match the image. I decided to ask ChatGPT why that's so - "The musical accompaniment for silent movies never seems to match the action on screen - why is that?"
That happens for several reasons:


1. Silent films originally weren’t truly “silent.”


  • In the 1910s–20s, most films were screened with live musical accompaniment. Depending on the venue, this could be a single pianist, an organist, or even a full orchestra.
  • There was rarely a fixed score — theater musicians improvised or used “cue sheets” (lists of moods: “chase,” “romance,” “mystery,” etc.) and stock music collections. So the “original” accompaniment varied widely from theater to theater.

2. Lack of synchronization technology.


  • There was no precise way to sync music to film until sound-on-film systems appeared in the late 1920s. Musicians had to guess the timing or watch the screen closely, so the music might speed up, slow down, or lag behind the action.
  • Today, when we hear reconstructions, it can feel mismatched because we’re used to modern films where music is locked exactly to the image.

3. Modern restorations use different music.


  • Many silent films lost their original cue sheets or commissioned scores. When studios or orchestras restore them now, they often commission new music or reuse public-domain classical pieces. These may not match the rhythms or moods intended at the time.

4. Style and audience expectations have changed.


  • Early accompanists leaned heavily on exaggerated cues and melodrama because audiences were accustomed to stage melodramas. What seems “over the top” or “not fitting” to us felt emotionally correct to them.
  • Today we expect subtle underscoring and tight synchronization, so old silent film accompaniments can feel mismatched or crude.

5. Practicality over precision.


  • Pianists and organists often had to play for hours of shows per day, moving quickly between films. Improvising with stock themes was faster than carefully tailoring music to every single cut or gag.

So, it’s not that the music never matched—in big city theaters with budgets, the scores could be spectacularly in sync—but the vast majority of audiences experienced looser, more generic accompaniment. That’s what lingers in many restored versions, making it feel disconnected to modern ears.

Then I asked the follow up question - "Is there a specific movie that started the trend of having a score that actually matched what was being shown visually?" The answer was interestingly specific:

Yes — there actually was a turning point where people moved from “general mood music” to carefully composed scores that matched what was happening on screen.


The big milestone most film historians point to is Camille Saint-Saëns’s score for The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908, France).


  • It’s widely regarded as the first original film score written by a major classical composer.
  • Instead of relying on stock themes or improvisation, Saint-Saëns wrote music specifically for the film’s scenes, designed to align with the pacing and mood of the visuals.
  • This was unusual at the time, since most films were accompanied by whatever the local pianist or orchestra felt like playing.

Other important steps after that:


  • D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915) – had a compiled score using well-known classical pieces plus new music, arranged to sync with key story beats. It was one of the first films where orchestras nationwide tried to play a uniform score.
  • Griffith’s Intolerance (1916) – had an even more ambitious original score by Carl Breil, further pushing the idea that music should be closely tied to specific visuals.
  • By the 1920s, major films like Metropolis (1927) or Sunrise (1927) were released with fully composed scores meant to be played in sync, rather than improvised.

So: while The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) is the first real instance of a custom-tailored score, it wasn’t until Griffith’s epics in the mid-1910s that the trend of “the music should match the film scene-by-scene” really began to spread in mainstream cinema.
 
Last edited:
The Cameraman

Another Buster Keaton silent film that I can recommend. A brisk 1 hour, 9 minute film, it has several enjoyable scenes and I laughed quite a few times.

The Cameraman" (1928) was almost lost due to a fire. The only known copy of the film at the time was destroyed in a fire at Storage Vault No. 7 at MGM on August 10, 1965. Fortunately, a print was later found in Paris in 1968, and an additional master positive copy of nearly the entire film was discovered in 1991.
I think a lot of the difficulty people have in watching silent films is that the music doesn't match the image. I decided to ask ChatGPT why that's so - "The musical accompaniment for silent movies never seems to match the action on screen - why is that?"
That happens for several reasons:


1. Silent films originally weren’t truly “silent.”


  • In the 1910s–20s, most films were screened with live musical accompaniment. Depending on the venue, this could be a single pianist, an organist, or even a full orchestra.
  • There was rarely a fixed score — theater musicians improvised or used “cue sheets” (lists of moods: “chase,” “romance,” “mystery,” etc.) and stock music collections. So the “original” accompaniment varied widely from theater to theater.

2. Lack of synchronization technology.


  • There was no precise way to sync music to film until sound-on-film systems appeared in the late 1920s. Musicians had to guess the timing or watch the screen closely, so the music might speed up, slow down, or lag behind the action.
  • Today, when we hear reconstructions, it can feel mismatched because we’re used to modern films where music is locked exactly to the image.

3. Modern restorations use different music.


  • Many silent films lost their original cue sheets or commissioned scores. When studios or orchestras restore them now, they often commission new music or reuse public-domain classical pieces. These may not match the rhythms or moods intended at the time.

4. Style and audience expectations have changed.


  • Early accompanists leaned heavily on exaggerated cues and melodrama because audiences were accustomed to stage melodramas. What seems “over the top” or “not fitting” to us felt emotionally correct to them.
  • Today we expect subtle underscoring and tight synchronization, so old silent film accompaniments can feel mismatched or crude.

5. Practicality over precision.


  • Pianists and organists often had to play for hours of shows per day, moving quickly between films. Improvising with stock themes was faster than carefully tailoring music to every single cut or gag.

So, it’s not that the music never matched—in big city theaters with budgets, the scores could be spectacularly in sync—but the vast majority of audiences experienced looser, more generic accompaniment. That’s what lingers in many restored versions, making it feel disconnected to modern ears.

Then I asked the follow up question - "Is there a specific movie that started the trend of having a score that actually matched what was being shown visually?" The answer was interestingly specific:

Yes — there actually was a turning point where people moved from “general mood music” to carefully composed scores that matched what was happening on screen.


The big milestone most film historians point to is Camille Saint-Saëns’s score for The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908, France).


  • It’s widely regarded as the first original film score written by a major classical composer.
  • Instead of relying on stock themes or improvisation, Saint-Saëns wrote music specifically for the film’s scenes, designed to align with the pacing and mood of the visuals.
  • This was unusual at the time, since most films were accompanied by whatever the local pianist or orchestra felt like playing.

Other important steps after that:


  • D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915) – had a compiled score using well-known classical pieces plus new music, arranged to sync with key story beats. It was one of the first films where orchestras nationwide tried to play a uniform score.
  • Griffith’s Intolerance (1916) – had an even more ambitious original score by Carl Breil, further pushing the idea that music should be closely tied to specific visuals.
  • By the 1920s, major films like Metropolis (1927) or Sunrise (1927) were released with fully composed scores meant to be played in sync, rather than improvised.

So: while The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) is the first real instance of a custom-tailored score, it wasn’t until Griffith’s epics in the mid-1910s that the trend of “the music should match the film scene-by-scene” really began to spread in mainstream cinema.
Chaplin wrote the scores for many of his movies
 
Talked the wife into going to our first Friday night movie in probably 15 years.. Tickets bought for Jaws.. August 29th, 7pm.
:excited:

My wife says I'm like a kid in a Candy shop with amount of excitement I have to Finally see it on the big screen.
:shark:
My wife and I are going to see it too. I saw it 4 times on its original release but just learned my wife has never seen Jaws😲 She's seen parts but only like 30 minutes total. How are we still married??! 😂
 
Deja Vu (Hulu): IMDB 7.1, 2006 crime drama / scifi action movie starring Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Paula Patton, Jim Caviezel. Jerry Bruckheimer movie.

Domestic terrorist does a bomb, the feds have some oddly clairvoyant surveillance video, hijinks ensue.

This is peak baggy clothes, maniacal laugh Denzel. It fits into the time travel movies I’ve been watching a lot over the past year or so. Paula Patton is stunning. This is really worth a watch. It’s not perfect, maybe 7.1 is a little high… but give it a try.
 
My daughter and I watched The Last Jedi over the last couple days. I am really not liking this trilogy either. I had myself convinced they were a lot better, but that was probably mostly the joy of seeing new SW movies in the theater with my family.

I am trying to think of a few 'themes' for horror month in case I need order something or look harder to get something. A couple I was thinking about were George Romero and the V/H/S series. I still haven't seen Day of, I've seen Dawn Once, and haven't seen the newer ones to my knowledge. I think maybe I have seen 1 VHS movie. Those are both leftover ideas from last year. I also want to do an around the world theme and try to find 5-6 movies I haven't seen from different countries. Lamb and Tigers Are Not Afraid are 2 that stick out as a couple I haven't gotten to.
 
My daughter and I watched The Last Jedi over the last couple days. I am really not liking this trilogy either. I had myself convinced they were a lot better, but that was probably mostly the joy of seeing new SW movies in the theater with my family.
I have watched it once and I don't see ever watching it again. The sequel trilogy does not exist in my mind.
 
and this closes out my summer 21st century filmfest with four first time watches

  • Blue Ruin (2013)- a surprisingly beautifully filmed sparse violent 91 minutes. When a man living out of his car finds out that the person in jail for murdering his parents has been released, he seeks to take justice into his own hands. Unfortunately, he's not all prepared for vigilante justice and doesn't seem to have thought any of it through. Good but not great. Got me interested enough to check out writer, director, cinematographer Jeremy Saulnier's other movies Green Room and Rebel Ridge.

  • The Order (2024)- This just popped up as a recommendation on Hulu and I went with it. I have no memory of ever hearing about this movie which is surprising given the cast of Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult. It's based on a true story of an FBI agent in the Pacific NW who takes on a white supremacist group plotting to overthrow the US government in the early 80s. It plays out like a mix of Black Klansman and Heat. There is a cat and mouse game between Jude Law and Hoult. Lots of action here, really liked this and think It deserves more attention than it got.

  • Take Out (2204)- One of Sean Baker's early films, made with a $3000 budget follows a single day in the life of a Chinese immigrant in NYC who has fallen behind on the debt he owes for being smuggled into the country and has one day to come up with the money. This is true indie bootstraps movie making. I am a huge fan of Baker's last 4 movies so it was interesting to see where he started. The bones are there with the non-actors and peek into a part of the country rarely seen in movies, tv, etc. Chinese food delivery bicyclists are maybe a small side character on the B plot of a Seinfeld episode, that's about it. So as seeing something unique and seeing a favorite director get his start, it's interesting. As a movie experience, it's nothing special. Baker didn't have the humor here that helps make his later work special.

  • Big Fish (2003)- I was inspired to watch this because of the top movies of the century thread KP and I are doing. This made his list and appeared on our countdown. It's a movie I have been wanting to see since it came out and just for whatever reason never did. I liked it but did not sob at the end or feel any big connection to it unfortunately. I love Albert Finney and any time he was on screen, I was locked in. However, outside of Almsot Famous, I don't care for Billy Crudup. Not sure what it is. He is good looking and should be interesting, charismatic but he isn't. I also don't care much for Ewan McGregor. When he's playing an arrogant, ****ty, scummy, cruel British guy like Transpotting or Shallow Grave, that works. But making him a lead that I am supposed to like and sympathize with, I just don't connect. Buscemi, HBC, Devito, great supporting cast of characters but for me this was probably a one time only watch.
 
My daughter and I watched The Last Jedi over the last couple days. I am really not liking this trilogy either. I had myself convinced they were a lot better, but that was probably mostly the joy of seeing new SW movies in the theater with my family.
I have watched it once and I don't see ever watching it again. The sequel trilogy does not exist in my mind.

Last Jedi is ***. There’s a few cool scenes (Praetorian Guard fight, Kylo losing his **** on Luke on Crait) but those are offset by Space Leia, Rose Tico and the casino planet
 
My daughter and I watched The Last Jedi over the last couple days. I am really not liking this trilogy either. I had myself convinced they were a lot better, but that was probably mostly the joy of seeing new SW movies in the theater with my family.

I am trying to think of a few 'themes' for horror month in case I need order something or look harder to get something. A couple I was thinking about were George Romero and the V/H/S series. I still haven't seen Day of, I've seen Dawn Once, and haven't seen the newer ones to my knowledge. I think maybe I have seen 1 VHS movie. Those are both leftover ideas from last year. I also want to do an around the world theme and try to find 5-6 movies I haven't seen from different countries. Lamb and Tigers Are Not Afraid are 2 that stick out as a couple I haven't gotten to.
Lamb was ok, it’s pretty weird
 
My daughter and I watched The Last Jedi over the last couple days. I am really not liking this trilogy either. I had myself convinced they were a lot better, but that was probably mostly the joy of seeing new SW movies in the theater with my family.
I have watched it once and I don't see ever watching it again. The sequel trilogy does not exist in my mind.

Last Jedi is ***. There’s a few cool scenes (Praetorian Guard fight, Kylo losing his **** on Luke on Crait) but those are offset by Space Leia, Rose Tico and the casino planet

Nah the praetorian guard fight is lame, they just spin around and twirl away from each other, blocking their own attack instead of actually fighting. It makes no sense.
 
Regal Cine Classics series coming in September

This is a pretty awesome list of classic movies showing in select Regal Theaters in September! I checked my local Regal and they are participating because I can already see the showings listed in my Regal app. YMMV but at mine they are generally doing 3 showings of each movie per day.

  • Paper Moon (9/1)
  • The Dark Knight (9/2)
  • Dog Day Afternoon (9/3)
  • Dr. Strangelove (9/4)
  • Interstellar (9/5)
  • The Godfather (9/6)
  • Citizen Kane (9/7)
  • The Departed (9/8)
  • Goodfellas (9/9)
  • Taxi Driver (9/10)
  • The Thing (9/11)
  • Shawshank Redemption (9/12)
  • Inception (9/13)
  • Forrest Gump (9/14)
  • Sunset Boulevard (9/15)
  • Seven (9/16)
  • Pan’s Labyrinth (9/17)
  • Do the Right Thing (9/18)
  • Psycho (9/19)
  • Saving Private Ryan (9/20)
  • A Clockwork Orange (9/21)
  • Before Sunset (9/22)
  • Cinema Paradiso (9/23)
  • Casablanca (9/24)
  • Vertigo (9/25)
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (9/26)
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind (9/27)
  • Lawrence of Arabia (9/28)
  • Chinatown (9/29)
  • There Will Be Blood (9/30)
 
Regal Cine Classics series coming in September

This is a pretty awesome list of classic movies showing in select Regal Theaters in September! I checked my local Regal and they are participating because I can already see the showings listed in my Regal app. YMMV but at mine they are generally doing 3 showings of each movie per day.

  • Paper Moon (9/1)
  • The Dark Knight (9/2)
  • Dog Day Afternoon (9/3)
  • Dr. Strangelove (9/4)
  • Interstellar (9/5)
  • The Godfather (9/6)
  • Citizen Kane (9/7)
  • The Departed (9/8)
  • Goodfellas (9/9)
  • Taxi Driver (9/10)
  • The Thing (9/11)
  • Shawshank Redemption (9/12)
  • Inception (9/13)
  • Forrest Gump (9/14)
  • Sunset Boulevard (9/15)
  • Seven (9/16)
  • Pan’s Labyrinth (9/17)
  • Do the Right Thing (9/18)
  • Psycho (9/19)
  • Saving Private Ryan (9/20)
  • A Clockwork Orange (9/21)
  • Before Sunset (9/22)
  • Cinema Paradiso (9/23)
  • Casablanca (9/24)
  • Vertigo (9/25)
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (9/26)
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind (9/27)
  • Lawrence of Arabia (9/28)
  • Chinatown (9/29)
  • There Will Be Blood (9/30)
Wow, what a lineup. My wallet is gonna be empty on Oct 1st.
 
Ever watch a movie you haven't seen but damn if it feels like you have or at least should have already? Shot Caller on Amazon Prime starring Jaime Lannister. This was a very solid movie. Well made. Nice little storyline. Solid performance by Jaime and others. Worth a watch if you like the prison genre.
 
Macbeth (2015)

I've now seen three movie versions of this Shakespeare play (Polanski's and Cohen's versions are the others) and each feels like an entirely different story. All are pretty good.

I'm no expert but this one seems to stray furthest from the source yet I think it's the one I liked best. But that just may be recency bias. :shrug:
 
Macbeth (2015)

I've now seen three movie versions of this Shakespeare play (Polanski's and Cohen's versions are the others) and each feels like an entirely different story. All are pretty good.

I'm no expert but this one seems to stray furthest from the source yet I think it's the one I liked best. But that just may be recency bias. :shrug:
Oh cool, I might have to check it out. It's the same director who made The Order (Jude Law FBI movie) that I just recently watched and liked quite a bit.
 
Watched The Limey (finally)

Really liked it...RIP Mr Stamp


Also caught one called Eric LaRue

Directorial debut for actor Michael Shannon

Story that follows the aftermath of a school shooting

Not horrible, but could have been much better imo
 
Watched Bring Her Back last night and hoo boy was it a doozy. It's the type of horror I would call disturbing and it'll stick with you for awhile. There is some other worldly elements attached, and also some body horror, but they are there to push the narrative and are organic to the story and film. There's no exposition on the how of it all so the plot maintains a tight almost claustrophobic structure and with just four main characters and a single gloomy, rainy, sad setting you feel the emotional impact as the story unfolds.

Sally Hawkins gives a strong performance as the antagonist, Laura, but the real star turn is Jonah Wren Phillips as Oliver. Woof, creepy and pained. If you're looking to watch something that'll need a cleansing chaser of Family Guy or South Park afterwards, this is the one, imo.
 
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Watched Bring Her Back last night and hoo boy was it a doozy. It's the type of horror I would call disturbing and it'll stick with you for awhile. There is some other worldly elements attached, and also some body horror, but they are there to push the narrative and are organic to the story and film. There's no exposition on the how of it all so the plot maintains a tight almost claustrophobic structure and with just four main characters and a single gloomy, rainy, sad setting you feel the emotional impact as the story unfolds.

Sally Hawkins gives a strong performance as the antagonist, Laura, but the real star turn is Jonah Wren Phillips as Oliver. Woof, creepy and pained. If you're looking to watch something that'll need a cleansing chaser of Family Guy or South Park afterwards, this is the one, imo.
There are some disturbing parts...that is for sure. I didn't enjoy it as much as the reviews stated, but it's worth a watch if you're in the mood.
 
Weapons crossed $200 million this week. Though it looks like the last big theater movie for awhile.
No weekly dose of superhero?
That river is drying up. There is a low budget Toxix Avenger remake coming out next week but after that you will have to wait until June 26 for the next superhero movie: Super Girl. There are only 4 superhero movies set to release in all of 2026.
 
Watched The Amateur (2024). I'm a sucker for spy movies and I suppose this one was entertaining enough. I didn't love how the main character quickly transformed from a analyst to a globetrotting superspy but that's the movies for you. It's basically a revenge plot and Remi Malek handled that aspect pretty well.

I went back and watched the original version of The Amateur (1981) to see how the story compared. I think the plot worked better in the late Cold War political environment and especially without all the 21st century technological mumbo jumbo in the remake. The new version eliminated one of the major characters from the original which made its third act more straightforward. The original was kind of confusing at times and John Savage was terrible as the lead but I liked the gritty atmosphere better than the slickness of the new one.
 
Rami Malek, he’s an actor I just don’t get the appeal of. He’s odd, I’ll give him that but I don’t think he’s a good actor or able to use that weirdness to good effect.
 
Rami Malek, he’s an actor I just don’t get the appeal of. He’s odd, I’ll give him that but I don’t think he’s a good actor or able to use that weirdness to good effect.
I think he has his moments but The Amateur didn't work for me. Loved him in the Pacific. I think his wheelhouse is the odd, evil villain.
 

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