Recent Movie Review Thread

Alex Garland said the point of the movie isn’t how things got fucked up or who is responsible, it’s the awfulness that will occur if/when they do. The throwing away of literally everything over opinionated bullshit.

I am so glad there was no social commentary on it. The last thing this subject needs is a bias opinion on whose fault it is. Garland the right thing— the point is fuck up enough, and this country will hopelessly dissolve into a nation of angry bullies playing 4D video games.

 

Like a good original sci-fi from J. J. Abrams. The real aliens are the friends we make along the way.

 

I agree the story is hollow. It’s probably best told on a longer scope, A la miniseries or series. Now that shows can look and feel as good as films you could tell the whole story while only having to sit an hour at a time.

But of course the showrunners would do it using time jumps.

 

Furiosa

We saw this last night. I'd give it a solid 9/ 10. The action/ machines were spot-on (Hemsworth's radial-engine powered motorcycle/ chariot was a cool standout, based on a real motorcycle - look it up), and it delved into the lore of the Mad Max/ Wasteland universe.

Chris Hemsworth as Dementus is one of the best MM villains ever. I was skeptical of Anya- Taylor Joy as a young Furiosa, but I think she played the role well.
Tom Burke (Praetorian Jack) was Furiosa's mentor, and very reminiscent of Mel Gibson in the early MM movies; I wished he had gotten more screen time.
Maybe he'll get his own movie some day.

Here's what I DIDN'T like about it:

Spoiler

The ending made no sense. In this movie, Furiosa is in her early/ mid 20s. In Fury Road, she is obviously in her late 30s, at least.
BUT ACCORDING TO THIS MOVIE, FURY ROAD TAKES PLACE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE EVENTS IN FURIOSA.

Not only is Furiosa's age wrong, but other events don't match up (In the end, The Bullet Farm has been completely destroyed, Gas Town has been badly damaged, but that is where Furiosa is taking the War Rig in the beginning of Fury Road).

Whatever. It's just a movie, and it's definitely going into my rotation.

 

Tár (2022)

Cate Blanchett plays a lesbian orchestra conductor named Lydia Tár, who is living in Berlin. She is seemingly very successful in her career, as she has a new book coming out as well as a major performance of a symphony that she will be conducting. But things are not as peachy for her as they seem, and her personal life and professional career begin to unravel.

Cate Blanchett's performance throughout the film is incredible, and the first hour or so of the movie when we are being introduced to her character is all right. But the film turns into a huge mess when we begin to learn of her character's shortcomings.

Some of the rest of the review will have minor spoilers, so I will put it in spoilers just to be on the safe side:

Spoiler: spoiler

There are a few plot points that come up in regards to Lydia's character. We learn that she is being contacted by a former female student of hers whom she had cut out of her life, and that situation leads to her being sued by that student's parents. She also becomes sexually attracted to a female performer named Olga, who is in her orchestra. She also faces accusations of favoritism in promoting people to roles in her orchestra. All of these situations lead to her relationships with her wife and elementary school aged daughter being strained as well her professional career being put in jeopardy.

This movie ultimately tries to do to much, as none of these plot points is explored in depth. Lydia and Olga have a total of at most five minutes together on screen, and none of it has any tension or is compelling in any way at all. We also see very little of the dynamics in the relationship between Lydia and her wife and daughter. At 2 hours and 38 minutes the movie is far too long, and it almost certainly would have been better to cut some of the minor characters and their stories out of the film. But much of the movie consists of monologues for Lydia as well as scenes that show her breaking down mentally, and none of it does anything to advance any of the plot points that the movie does have. Even if the writers had chosen to narrow it down I still wouldn't have much hope for this film. The writers also try to make this a commentary about cancel culture and gender representation, and that just adds to it trying to do too much and not succeeding at any of it.

I will admit that I am probably not the target audience for this film. I watched it because it sounded interesting as a psychological drama, but this is just as much an art house film, which is not really my thing. But aside from Cate Blanchett's performance as the title character and a couple of decent scenes, I just can't see what there is to like about this movie.

4/10

 

Every review I read says that this is the most fucked-up movie ever; JJ and I just watched it, and we thought it was hilarious.

Maybe we are just jaded people.

I found it to be reminiscent of "Rope" by Alfred Hitchcock.

 

I enjoyed Horizon (Chapter 1) quite a bit. If you're planning on going, remember it is 3 hours long and it's an epic Western. So, there's a LOT that happens in a short period at times. If you think it's short or it's fluff movie, you'll be disappointed. The cast is terrific, and I am stoked for Chapter 2 in August. I saw the 4pm show yesterday and there were like 2-3 empty seats.

 

Well, so much for Chapter 2 coming in August . . .
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/m...-removed-from-theatrical-calendar-1235937513/

 

Went to see Fly Me To The Moon last night. It's a lot of fun! It's not going to be nominated for anything and won't break any box office records, but it's a good date movie or whatever. Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum are fine, Ray Romano seems a little out of place, but fine. Jim Rash is absolutely hilarious, and Woody Harrelson is just perfectly cast. It absolutely takes liberties with historical accuracy, but it doesn't matter - it's kind of supposed to do that.

Unfortunately, the first scene I was in was cut altogether and the second scene I'm in, I'm cropped out. Alas. Still a good time, though! Meeting costume designer Mary Zophres was fun, and she is very kind. I think Director Greg Berlanti's other feature film work was "Love, Simon" - he had worked on Arrow and The Flash in the TV DC universe. He was cool in the 2 minutes I got to meet with him. Rose Gilroy wrote the script (she is Rene Russo's daughter) and it is pretty formulaic, but I think she'll get a few more chances. One behind-the-scenes nugget. There are scenes where they hire a "Director of Photography" to shoot the moon landing. The DP in the movie is the actual DP on the film, Dariusz Wolski. He is very funny, and I enjoyed getting to hang with him a little.

 

In case anyone was wondering, "A Quiet Place: Day One" is a beautiful movie. Like it may be the most beautiful film I've seen in the last 10 years.

The poetry is amazing, the continued excellence the actors do to make a gripping story despite the minimum dialogue is great, and the extra effort in the visual effects work is just superb (hiring ILM instead of just like Bob's VFX). Seeing Joseph Quinn not be Eddie in Stranger Things certainly showed his range.

Totally recommended.

 

Deadpool & Wolverine. Not much to say, if you liked the other ones, you are going to like this one. It is just more of everything, 4th wall breaking, references, etc. It got a little much at points, but i would definitely recommend seeing it in theaters.

 

Apparently it’s a musical?! The very idea is mind bendingly stupid.

 

The two leads are evidently the only thing about it that didn’t suck. And the ending is just straight-up putrid.