Off-Topic Movie Club

Dirk · Dec 24, 2019

Star Wars TROS - Not much different from any of the previous sequels. There's a good movie in there but it would take some heavy editing to find it. Remove the scenes that are only there to please the Disney overlords, and do a humour check on the comedy as a lot of it is as flat as a pancake.

The Good - Epic set pieces. Cute droids. Adam Driver/Daisy Ridley.

The Bad - Dead characters. Bad comedy. Too many characters who add nothing interesting. Over reliance on plot devices. Repeating narratives from every other Star Wars film.

The Ugly - Rapid pacing, jumping from scene to scene like a frog on a hotplate. Disney feelgood scenes. Lack of jeopardy. Predictable. Fan service.

The last time anything fom the Star Wars universe was really 'good' was when Empire was released. Everything since has been on a scale that runs from 'Terrible' to 'Okay'. This at least is on the okay end. Could be better, but not awful. 7/10

Dirk · Dec 24, 2019

Lucy in the Sky - Starring Natalie Portman and with Noah Hawley at the helm, this was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. It tells the real life story of Astronaut Lucy Cola who, after returning to Earth from her mission to Space, finds it difficult to re-adjust to her life back on Earth. Hawley has barely put a foot wrong as a writer and director, with Fargo and Legion both being outstanding TV series. Portman in turn rarely fails to deliver on an acting performance. It has all the makings of a good movie, yet somehow it manages to be less than the sum of it's parts. That said, it's not as bad as the 4.5 on iMDb suggests either. The ever changing Aspect Ratio didn't bother me as much as it did some, but it works better in a TV show like Fargo than it does in a movie like this. It's a deliberate choice, along with the narrow focus, which together are supposed to convey the feeling of everything on Earth being small and claustrophobic compared to Space. (Just one issue that Lucy is dealing with). It's inexplicable though why so much of the film is simply blurry for much of the time.

The supporting cast are mostly decent. Dan Stevens was perfect as David in Legion, but was the wrong choice to play Lucy's Husband, Drew. He just didn't fit the film at all. That and other Hawley touches make the whole film feels more like an episode of Legion than it does an original movie. While i love what Hawley has done for TV, i'd rather have seen this movie in the hands of a director like Jeff Nichols. He tackled the mental breakdown/descent into madness theme with sensitivity and skill in his movie, Take Shelter. Michael Shannon, an actor that Nichols has used more than once, would have been an awesome choice for the husband role in this movie. Unfortunately it would take more than a casting change or two to fix this movie. It's watchable, but only just. 6/10

Dirk · Dec 25, 2019

Biggest disappointments in 2019:

Dark Phoenix
Lucy in the Sky
The Dead Don't Die
The Irishman

Dirk · Dec 26, 2019

Knives Out - A new take on the good old fahioned murder mystery. Working with an all star cast, director Rian Johnson shows how versatile he is having previously directed episodes of Breaking Bad, and the two very different movies Brick and Looper which, like this movie, he also wrote. Knives Out is a fun romp, all the more so as two hours with Ana de Armas is always time well spent. 8/10

simonbigwave · Dec 27, 2019

Star wars TROS...For me....big disappointment. I should have know before...the cinema many empty seats. First half so boring an predictable. Bad and very bad over acting. Many flat scenes. The action was not realistic. The story line was simplistic. No deep development of story.
Kylo rens helmet looked like it was made in a Sophomore college project.

The fighting scenes between Rey and Kylo was just laughable. The power they had and used was illogical because they dont use it when they really need it.

The jokes were extremely cringeworthy and corny. So many people laughed during the serious scenes and rolled their eyes in the corny unfunny funny scenes.

No one clapped at the end or during the movie.

The ending was silly and illogical.

For me, compared to the first star wars ever made, this newest Star wars was a 1/10.

---------- Post added at 09:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 AM ----------

Freaks: Great movie. Great acting. Unpredictable. Highly watchable.
7.5/10

Mindhunter: first episode was hard to get through but 2nd episode onwards is excellent and tense...Im looking forwards to season 2. based on real interviews with serial killers.
very good 8/10

Hustlers: J.Lo in another movie failure. Super boring and predictable. Dont bother. 2/10.

Dirk · Dec 27, 2019

simonbigwave said:
Mindhunter: first episode was hard to get through but 2nd episode onwards is excellent and tense...Im looking forwards to season 2. based on real interviews with serial killers.
very good 8/10.

Season 2 ends well but i found the early episodes really hard to get through. They were really struggling to find anything useful for the female character to do, so instead they gave her the now obligatory gay relationship plot which had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the overall story. Fortunately they dropped her entirely for the later episodes, but i spent the early ones skipping through all her scenes.

The interviews have been the highlight for both seasons so far. That and seeing the birth of Behavioural Sciences in the FBI which have played such a large part of other works of fiction. SIlence of the Lambs as one example. Unfortunately it's use in real life has proven to be less useful than a chocolate Teapot. It's use in fiction has become so prevailent now though that it's become a popular trope.

If you want some true crime that's incredibly compelling to watch i'd recommend The Jinx - The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. It's unmissable.

Also i don't think i've mentioned The Report, the Adam Driver movie:

"Idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones, tasked by his boss to lead an investigation into the CIA's post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program, uncovers shocking secrets."

If you enjoy political thrillers it's well worth a watch. Maybe not quite as good as All the President's Men, but up there with the best.

Edit - It would be remiss of me not to mention the TV show Hannibal. Did you watch it? If you like FBI Serial Killer fiction, Hannibal is as good as it gets. Three Seasons of the most beautiful television you'll ever see. The cast are excellent throughout, but Mads Mikkelson as Hannibal is absolutely sublime.

Dirk · Dec 27, 2019

Punch-Drunk Love - After watching Uncut Gems i was wondering if Adam Sandler had been in any other good movies that i may have missed. PDL has not only a great Sandler performance, but it turns out it is also a Paul Thomas Anderson movie that i hadn't seen yet. It's a surprisingly simple story but very charming and heartwarming. A romance movie that you can admit to your friends you love without fear of ridicule. 8/10

Ford vs Ferarri - Well above average for a racing car flick. Damon and Bale are great and the action scenes look gorgeous. An interesting story too for anyone not familiar with the history. 8/10 (Would also recommend Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen).

Dirk · Jan 6, 2020

Just some rewatches recently.

Blade Runner 2049 began as a 10/10 for me and yet it goes up in my estimation every time i see it. Just an exquisite, beautiful perfection. #2 on my all time best movie list.

Road to Perdition - Lesser known Tom Hanks vehicle. Prohibition era crime Thriller from Director Sam Mendes. Good supporting cast in this above average movie. 8/10 (Would also recommend the Coen Brothers film, Millers Crossing, which is the best of all the gangland movies).

Charlie Wilsons War - While it's another good Hanks lead role, it's the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman that i love in this film. Coarse, abrasive and brutally straight forward. The role he was best at! 8/10 (Would also recommend another political Thriller, The Ides Of March. Hoffman again, but with Ryan Gosling, George Clooney and Paul Giamatti too).

simonbigwave · Jan 11, 2020

Dirk said:
Season 2 ends well but i found the early episodes really hard to get through. They were really struggling to find anything useful for the female character to do, so instead they gave her the now obligatory gay relationship plot which had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the overall story. Fortunately they dropped her entirely for the later episodes, but i spent the early ones skipping through all her scenes.

The interviews have been the highlight for both seasons so far. That and seeing the birth of Behavioural Sciences in the FBI which have played such a large part of other works of fiction. SIlence of the Lambs as one example. Unfortunately it's use in real life has proven to be less useful than a chocolate Teapot. It's use in fiction has become so prevailent now though that it's become a popular trope.

If you want some true crime that's incredibly compelling to watch i'd recommend The Jinx - The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. It's unmissable.

Also i don't think i've mentioned The Report, the Adam Driver movie:

"Idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones, tasked by his boss to lead an investigation into the CIA's post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program, uncovers shocking secrets."

If you enjoy political thrillers it's well worth a watch. Maybe not quite as good as All the President's Men, but up there with the best.

Edit - It would be remiss of me not to mention the TV show Hannibal. Did you watch it? If you like FBI Serial Killer fiction, Hannibal is as good as it gets. Three Seasons of the most beautiful television you'll ever see. The cast are excellent throughout, but Mads Mikkelson as Hannibal is absolutely sublime.

loved Hannibal TV series. watched it long ago..All Presidents Men I saw too. Good movie. Will check out Jinx and The Report . Sounds interesting.

I wached Knives out (Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Anna de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer).,,...a fun tense funny exciting movie. Worth watching. 7.8/10 for me.

6Ubderground (Ryan Reynolds)...it's basically Deadpool without his suit and superheros+ Baby Driver . Its OK. But I cant even remember the story it was that unmemorable. If you like actions its for you. 6/10 movie but action shots are 7/10,

Netflix's The Dawning Rage (Korean). Dont bother. Some big stars in a silly big CGI action movie. 2/10

Hustlers - Did I say it was rubbish?,I will say again..it was a waste of time. J.Lo is so bad in this silly simple predictable movie. 0/10.

Watching "The Informer" now (Anna de Armas, Clive Owens, Rosamund Pike)..surprisingly is very good so far...will report when I finished it. Its basically a gangster Russian poland mafia informer movie based in US.

i didnt know Mind Hunter Season 2,was finished already...will try find it thanks.

Dirk · Jan 11, 2020

simonbigwave said:
loved Hannibal TV series. watched it long ago..

There was talk about doing a fourth Season but i can't see it happening now. The problem Brian Fuller always faced was not being able to get the rights to depict any character that first appeared in Silence of the Lambs. So no Clarice or Buffalo Bill.

I think it ended really well though so i'm satisfied with the three Seasons that we got.

simonbigwave · Jan 14, 2020

"The Informer" (Anna de Armas, Clive Owens, Rosamund Pike)..gangster FBI v NYPD v DEA v Easter European gangsters movie.surprisingly is very good. I read some low and high reviews on IMDB but I think sometimes IMDB has been taken over by studio paid promoters to give high votes to their bad movies and low votes to their competitor's movies.
Some great tense moments. 7.8/10

The Art of Self Defense (Jesse Eisenberg)..well written. Subtle. Clever. Great dialogue. Some laugh out loud sections. About a young man who is attacked and learns "self-defense"...
7.8/10.

Countdown: OK forget about the logic of the app but it's a A fun funny but scary horror movie with lots of solid jump scares about an app that predicts the day you die... 7/10 highly watchable.

"Heritage" about a CIA agent with personal issues and soviet era secrets of east germany in a dubbed to English German movie. Bad acting and script. Don't bother..waste of time. 2/10.

flash713 · Jan 14, 2020

Underground 6 ! I watched it about a week ago on Netflix. If you like crazy fast suspenseful type movies full of action it's pretty good. It's about this secret organization that recruit's people to take out bad guys around the world. They fake the deaths of the people in the underground 6 so everyone thinks they're dead and they can never contact anyone they know again. Had a pretty good ending too. 8/10

This group is great! I found a ton of movies to watch here. Appreciate everyone's contributions and the op for starting the thread! :good:

Sent from my chiron using XDA Labs

Dirk · Jan 14, 2020

Terminator: Dark Fate - The plot is just a rehash of everything that came before. Not bad if you like Action films and enjoy the Terminator franchise though. The movie lacks atmosphere in all but the final set-piece which is a fun, albeit silly CGI fest. Mackenzie Davis is a good addition and Arnie adds some comic relief. I like what they do with his character. For me T2 is easily the best, and i even enjoy the third installment quite a bit, but it really could have stopped there. 6/10

Motherless Brooklyn - Intriguing Gumshoe Mystery that's Directed, Written by (Screenplay), and starring Edward Norton. Playing a Detective with Tourettes, Norton investigates the murder of his friend and Boss, played by Bruce Willis. The cast is great, with Alec Baldwin as the Antagonist and Willem Dafoe too in another excellent performance. The story is simple but it's the characters that that make it a compelling watch. Norton does a great job playing someone afflicted with Tourettes and it adds an interesting element to the movie. That and the Jazzy score makes it stand out from the usual fare. Very watchable. 8/10

Nice to see my Joker getting the recognition it deserves from Award Season. Uncut Gems too, although that was snubbed by an Academy comprised mostly of White Males over the age of Sixty. Not a demographic exactly representative of the general, movie watching, public.

Dirk · Jan 15, 2020

The Cinematography of Roger Deakins:

With the film 1917 getting deserved recognition, i'm listing my favourite movies that were shot by one of the best Director of Photography masters in the business. All are great movies, and all beautiful:

Blade Runner 2049
Sicario
Prisoners
True Grit
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
No Country For Old Men
The Village
The Big Lebowski
Fargo

There are many more but those are my top picks. Four of those are Coen Brothers masterpieces. If there's anything there you haven't seen, give it a whirl.

Dirk · Jan 16, 2020

Dolemite Is My Name - Eddie Murphy proving he's still got it as he plays an aspiring performer in this real life story from the Seventies. Not only is it a return to the screen for Murphy, but also for Wesley Snipes in a role that's a successful departure from his usual fare. Highly watchable and entertaining Netflix production. 8/10

1917 - Sam Mendes' award winning First World War Drama about soldiers undertaking an important mission. It would be impossible to avoid using superlatives when describing this movie. A cinematic masterpiece. A technical triumph. An extraordinary accomplishment. It's all of these and more. From the first frame to the last you are immersed in the story so thoroughly it's hard to imagine you are anywhere except there, at that time.

One can only imagine how difficult it must have been to find the right locations for shooting. And then to shape those locations with such incredible attention to detail to create some of the most authentic looking WWI sets ever seen in film. It's mind boggling. Mendes has proven his ability to craft a good story but this is his most ambitious project to date. The filming attempts to appear as if the whole thing is a 'single-take', adding a layer of complexity to the whole thing. It works well and doesn't come off as an unnecessary gimmick. Quite the opposite. You feel like you're experiencing the mission along with the protagonists. Of course it would be impossible to film any two hour movie in a single take so there are cuts, but they are so well done it's hard to say where.

It's Roger Deakins who once again proves that he's one of the best in the business. Along with creating the camera shots for the 'single take', he makes every one a thing of beauty. The whole movie is breathtaking. Not in a glitzy way, but with an appropriately austere and distressed look. There are scenes that are so well lit they look almost impossible. The shadows cast by the ruins of a bombed out village, lit by flares as they steak across the sky and then fading away. It's jaw dropping.

The acting, like the story itself, is solid. It's not overwrought and doesn't try to do more than is needed. That too feels authentic. Most characters come and go very briefly so it's the leads that carry the burden of the acting work, and they do a great job. George MacKay is particularly good. I expect this will be a springboard for his career.

In the same way that the drama is punctuated with short but effective scenes of action, the score is equally effective and not annoyingly continuous. I'm glad they resisted that temptation. The quieter parts add to the overall atmosphere giving the movie a haunting feel.

If you can, watch it at the theatre. The film deserves to be experienced on the big screen with the attendant big sound system. Part of me wants to give this a perfect rating, but i have to reserve that for very best war films of all time. The likes of Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket are on the top rung of that ladder. I think 1917 was deliberately understated and rightfully so. Like Christopher Nolans' 'Dunkirk', it's respectful of it's subject matter and doesn't try to pander to the audience. 9/10

Dirk · Jan 17, 2020

Richard Jewell - Tells the story of the 1996 bombing of the Atlanta Olympics, the Security Guard who saved many lives after discovering the device and who later was wrongly accused of being a Terrorist. I think it's safe to say that Clint Eastwood is better known now, at least better respected, for the work that he's done behind the camera rather than in front of it. I always enjoyed his acting but as a Director he has hardly put a foor wrong. His output so far has focused mostly on telling 'people' stories. Million Dollar Baby, Sully, Gran Torino, Mystic River just to name a few. Richard Jewell continues this trend and again proves how capable Eastwood is at his work.

The story unfolds nicely and kept my attention. Helped along by a very capable cast including the likes of Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Jon Hamm and Kathy Bates. It's Paul Walter Hauser who plays the lead role with such aplomb though. Previously known for smaller roles in TV and a movie here and there, this movie places him front and centre. It's perfect casting and hard to imagine anyone being better suited to the role.

The story itself is almost unbelievable. A tragedy of errors. It's hard not to rage at the stupid injustice and to not feel sympathy for a guy who was so wrongly villified and hung out to dry. Half the battle is making the audience care about the subject matter and this movie achieves that, and more. 8/10

Dirk · Jan 17, 2020

Dark Waters - "Better Living Through Chemistry", the Dupont company motto. Also sick Livestock, Cancer, Birth Defects, toxic Land and poisoned Water. Mark Ruffalo plays an Attorney who switches sides, from defending the chemical industry to bringing a case against one. Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins and Bill Pullman are among a host of recognisable faces that make up the cast.

There's no abiguity in how we're supposed to feel about the story. It's a traditional 'little guy versus corporate evil' environmental tale. The Soderbergh movie Erin Brockovich covered similar ground. If you've seen that you know what to expect. I personally enjoy a good legal drama from time to time, so this was right up my alley.

Dark Waters does for 'Big Chemical' what The Insider did for Big Tobacco. The revelations come like a punch to the gut. Make no mistake, there's nothing dry or boring about this movie. Dark Waters moves along at a good pace and it's very well handled from start to finish. It's a great watch overall. 8/10

The Awards Season movie marathon continues....

suvam69 · Jan 17, 2020

Ghost Stories 2017 - A solid 8/10 for me. Very underrated movie. Its more of a psychological thriller than a ghost movie. Great ending.

Dirk · Jan 17, 2020

Queen & Slim - Modern day Drama set in the Southern States. The two leads are well played by Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. The chemistry and dialogue between them is good, and the movie wastes no time getting into the action.

After a traffic stop goes wrong, the pair go on the run and unintentionally become folk heroes in the process. What follows is really a road movie as they attempt to escape the clutches of the law. 7/10

A Hidden Life - The latest release by Terrence Malick. I think you have to be a fan of Malick to really appreciate his movies. They are often long and slow, but usually beautiful and thought provoking. More art than narrative. This one is certainly long, clocking in at almost three hours.

His previous output has been a mixed bag for me. The Thin Red Line is easily my favourite, with a clear story and stunningly beautiful to watch. Knight of Cups on the other hand felt aimless and was a chore to get through. A Hidden Life has all the usual hallmarks of a Malick production. Sequences that feel like memories plucked straight from someones mind. Shots of landscapes and scenery which are, because of the location, exceptionally pretty.

The story is about a conscientious objector in Austria who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. It's a simple but true story about the struggle faced by our protagonist and his family. August Diehl plays the lead part well and both his character, and his wifes, are portrayed with dignity and courage. 8/10

simonbigwave · Jan 29, 2020

Dirk said:
Dark Waters - "Better Living Through Chemistry", the Dupont company motto. Also sick Livestock, Cancer, Birth Defects, toxic Land and poisoned Water. Mark Ruffalo plays an Attorney who switches sides, from defending the chemical industry to bringing a case against one. Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins and Bill Pullman are among a host of recognisable faces that make up the cast.

There's no abiguity in how we're supposed to feel about the story. It's a traditional 'little guy versus corporate evil' environmental tale. The Soderbergh movie Erin Brockovich covered similar ground. If you've seen that you know what to expect. I personally enjoy a good legal drama from time to time, so this was right up my alley.

Dark Waters does for 'Big Chemical' what The Insider did for Big Tobacco. The revelations come like a punch to the gut. Make no mistake, there's nothing dry or boring about this movie. Dark Waters moves along at a good pace and it's very well handled from start to finish. It's a great watch overall. 8/10

The Awards Season movie marathon continues....

i happened to just finish watching this...Dark Waters was excellent..not a dull moment..intelligent, clever, subtle, well made 8/10

---------- Post added at 04:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------

TravisBean said:
You really ought to check out the movie The Art of self-defense. You'll be surprised at how good it is.

And yes Ford vs Ferrari was an excellent movie. The only people that had any kind of problems with it where those that were looking for historical accuracy.

I saw Art of Self defense also few weeks ago...hilarious..tense...brilliant with some laugh out loud scenes and great plot twists. 8/10

---------- Post added at 05:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:56 PM ----------

Dirk said:
Season 2 ends well but i found the early episodes really hard to get through. They were really struggling to find anything useful for the female character to do, so instead they gave her the now obligatory gay relationship plot which had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the overall story. Fortunately they dropped her entirely for the later episodes, but i spent the early ones skipping through all her scenes.

.

You hit the nail on the head ??. Im into Mindhunters Season 2 Episode 4 and I was almost fuming in the middle of the episode they did that with that silly bad actress playing the doctor in a relationship with no character no plot no meaning and you are right nothing to do with the story or serial killers..They wasted half the episode on them playing stupid bowling....what? Did they run out of budget or something?I had to force my self watch rest..so annoying when they do that ie drop a politically correct obligatory scene that has absolutely nothing to do with anything in the middle of no where... What a waste of a great series which was previously so gripping and tense and about serial killers...they ruined it in season 2.

Hopefully gets better as you said they get rid of her bad acting and meaningless role.

Midway : great movie but a bit overrated I thought 7/10

1917 : great movie 8/10.

I'm currently watching Sopranos series all over again...already watched the series a few times over the last years..still enjoy it.

BTW Any new good Scifi or horror movies coming out?

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