What I've Been Watching: The Catch-All Film Thread

The comic books are better

Originally Posted by JDR13
Dragged Across Concrete

…. It's a long movie with a slow burn. It feels like a Tarantino flick at times…

Say what?
That is one boredom of a movie, testing the audience's patience.
Tarantino, at least those titles I've watched either with him or from him, were never boring.
If anyone asks, I suggest skipping DA Concrete.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Dog Day Afternoon

Back in the day I thought it is one of the most crazy stories in the heist genre.
The genre got stale past years if not the whole decade, I hated the superpopular show… Can't now remember it's title on Netflix about heists.
If you started avoiding heist movies (and shows) like me because all are the same, here's old news - not all are.
DD Afternoon is one of those movies you should watch once at least, before you die.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
I watched a movie called the Old Guard last night. What an amazing premise, it has so much promise, and then….thuds.
…It could have been such a contender.

I have to agree on this.
There are some exciting scenes inside and that's about it.
With names involved and the source material I've expected a better movie.
Watchable, but also forgettable.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Probably the first time I'd watched it in over 20 years. I forgot how many people were in this. Besides Nicholson, you've also got Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito and Brad Dourif too. Great movie.

Originally Posted by JDR13
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Probably the first time I'd watched it in over 20 years. I forgot how many people were in this. Besides Nicholson, you've also got Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito and Brad Dourif too. Great movie.

Yeah, that's a fantastic movie. I've seen it a couple of times, but certainly not in the last 20 years.
The book it's based on is pretty fucked up. It's told from the point of view of the Native American guy, and he sees all sorts of weird shit, like the black orderlies as having heads like turned-off TV sets or something. It's a difficult read, but I grew to love it.
I had to read it in my teens for English class. We had a great English teacher, who also got us to study A Clockwork Orange (much to a couple of very Christian families' disgust).

Aye, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of the finest films ever made, full stop. The story is great, the casting and acting exceptional, and that ending….yeah, this is one of those films that stops me in my tracks anytime I notice that it's on.

Originally Posted by joxer
Say what?
That is one boredom of a movie, testing the audience's patience.
Tarantino, at least those titles I've watched either with him or from him, were never boring.
If anyone asks, I suggest skipping DA Concrete.

Gonna have to disagree with you on this one. I think it could have been edited a little better, but boring it was not.

I watched the new Suicide Squad, and I think it was underrated. It's completely silly, and gleefully over-the-top, but I liked it, and thought it was way better than most blockbuster crap. I liked Idris Elba playing off John Cena.

Originally Posted by Ripper
I watched the new Suicide Squad, and I think it was underrated. It's completely silly, and gleefully over-the-top, but I liked it, and thought it was way better than most blockbuster crap. I liked Idris Elba playing off John Cena.

Surprised you liked it that much. I thought it was pretty bad, but I'm not a fan of the kind of humor it beats you over the head with. Worst of all, half of the actors I was looking forward to seeing were killed off in the first 10 minutes.

Ad Astra.

This was a movie that's been on my list for some time. Pretty solid overall, but the ending felt very much formulaic. Or better said, the message was not something unique. I loved the cinematography and the way it looked. Also loved the view of the future. But the ending wrapped up too quickly.

7.5/10

Originally Posted by JDR13
Surprised you liked it that much. I thought it was pretty bad, but I'm not a fan of the kind of humor it beats you over the head with. Worst of all, half of the actors I was looking forward to seeing were killed off in the first 10 minutes.

Yes, subtle it is not! But when it comes to superhero stuff, I usually much prefer it when it doesn't take itself seriously, rather then being all po-faced. I always find that when they try to bring serious drama to people wearing tights and capes, it feels absurd to me - I think it works better when they embrace the absurdity. I also got the sense the cast were having fun making it, which I always enjoy.

I seem to remember you not being keen on Deadpool, which I'd say is pretty similar in tone and approach. I'm not sure why, really, but that sort of anarchic, subversive silliness does amuse me - but if the humour doesn't land for you, it's going to be painful when it's dialed up to 11.

I watched Nobody based on recommendations here, hoping Odenkirk would bring some absurd humor to a genre I despise (I hate pure Action flicks - stunts and fighting are my fast forward or take a break moments). Sadly, I hated his character Hutch from the first scene. As soon as I saw the excitement in his face as he prepared to bash the brains out of an obviously inept and pathetic burglar, I knew he was beyond redemption. Everything that happens from this point on is his fault.
There is a key scene midway through that defines his character, exposing how foul and mentally fucked up he is. He describes his last job in his previous line of work: He allows his victim to live after they beg for their life with enough sincerity that Hutch actually believes it. Checking up on the victim a year later, Hutch is infuriated because the guy he let go is living a normal life and happy! So he decides to try it for himself.
The thing is, he doesn't try to live a normal life because he had an epiphany about what a terrible person he is and the foul things he was doing, but because he was jealous of someone else and wanted what they had, without understanding why they had it.
I fear Odenkirk has succumbed to Walter White syndrome and created a monster who thinks he's a man.

Sorry, who's Walter White?

Oh yeah I agree, while there are parts of Nobody that I enjoy, the main character himself is pure scum, for sure. I do love Odenkirk though, so for that I tolerated it, yet I've no need to ever see a sequel!

Originally Posted by Philistine
I hate pure Action flicks

So then why did you watch it? Seems to me like you had resigned to hate it before the movie really even started.

Full quote with bolding to answer

Originally Posted by Philistine
I watched Nobody based on recommendations here, hoping Odenkirk would bring some absurd humor to a genre I despise (I hate pure Action flicks .

Fair enough. Though I'm still not sure I'd watch something from a genre I despise just because someone recommended it.

I've seen The Lobster. It was a film that's been on my list for a long time. This and Killing of a Sacred Deer, both by the same director, have been on my list.

And man, this has been one of the weirdest films I've seen in a long time. I didn't understand a lot of it.



It was fairly interesting, but somehow didn't really click with me. Maybe I'll have more success with Killing of a Sacred Deer.

Another film I've started, but have only gotten half way was Motherless Brooklyn. It's kinda of a decent crime/noir movie, but some of them times I'm not sure why it feels either low-budget or sometimes the acting feels off. Not sure if I'll finish it. It certainly has a long list of notable actors, like Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, etc.

I also saw The Killing of a Sacred Deer, by the same dude that did The Lobster. Surprisingly, also starring Collin Farrel. And Nicole Kidman.

This was a lot more straightforward and less ambiguous. But it felt much more gratuitous in its shock value. There were plenty of disturbing moments, but again, they felt kind of cheap. I bit like Lars von Trier's stuff, but clearly not to that extreme. But surprisingly, I think I liked von Trier's The House that Jack Built a lot more than this one. Even though this one is more down to earth. But the premise of this one is kind of cheap imo.

Between Lobster and this one, I may be inclined to go for the Lobster, since it's a lot less straightforward.

Last night I watched a film that I'd been meaning to view for a while, starring Harry Stanton, called Lucky. Goodness me, if I'd known Tom Skerritt, David Lynch, Jim Darren and many other great actors were in it, I would have seen this years ago. And directed by John Lynch of Fargo, the Drew Carey show, and Carnivale fame?!?!?

Just watch it. I'm not spoiling a damn thing! Yes, I just edited like three paragraphs and realized what a bad idea it would be to spell out the film here.

Also finished Motherless Brooklyn, but I also slept through short parts of it so I didn't exactly get 100% of it. But I got the main gist. It was ok, it turned out decent but nothing remarkable. I'm surprised how great Willem Dafoe still is, and he makes all his roles seem so effortless. He's got to be one of my favorite actors of all time.