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

A documentary I really have been looking forward to came out this week. "Stray" - https://www.straymovie.com/ - it's about stray dogs in Turkey where it's illegal to capture or kill stray animals.

From the website/YT page:

"STRAY explores what it means to live as a being without status or security, following three strays - Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal - as they embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life — and their own canine culture. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds companions in the security guards who care for her. The disparate lives of Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal intersect when they each form intimate bonds with a group of young Syrians who share the streets with them. Whether they lead us into bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the gaze of these strays acts as a window into the overlooked corners of society: women in loveless marriages, protesters without arms, refugees without sanctuary. STRAY is a critical observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing."
 
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99% of remakes are utter bullshit.
0.99% are okay.
Only 0.01% are better than the original.

I'm talking about actual remakes not new adaptations.
Two Total Recall movies for example are two different adaptations, it's not a case of remake. If you ask me, both are worth watching. Which one is better depends on your taste.

Sadly, in most cases a remake gets done just for cashgrab purposes.
Rarely because the original had potential to be much more and deserved a better version. It's understandable from a swindler point of view because con artists do not care if thier fraud insults anyone.

Anyway, IMO there is no need to pick specific remake titles as horrible ones, a list on good ones would be easier to make.

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About the turkish documentary, sorry but won't risk.
Most of their movies (and shows) suck.
The only way to persuade me into it is a bunch of friends word of mouth. An example is Once Upon a Time in Anatolia - I'd never watch if friends didn't tell me first it's great.
And it is a masterpiece.
 
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I re-watched one of my favourite documentaries, which I don't think I've mentioned - The Act of Killing. The subject is a genocidal warlord that escaped justice, who agrees to take part in the re-enactments of his atrocities, and in which he claims pride. If ever there was a film that hinges on the final scene.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_act_of_killing
 
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About the turkish documentary, sorry but won't risk.
Most of their movies (and shows) suck.
The only way to persuade me into it is a bunch of friends word of mouth. An example is Once Upon a Time in Anatolia - I'd never watch if friends didn't tell me first it's great.
And it is a masterpiece.

One more worth mentioning is Winter sleep. Usually not my kind of movie but kept watching it due to the charismatic lead and his dialogues with his wife & sister.
 
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Last night I re-watched Incendies, which is quite the good post-war story, backed by superb and amazing music. A great tale, showing some of the sheer abject horrors of war that have always scoured the triumphs, whatever they may have been. Oh, the sheer cost that humanity must bear at times.
 
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Masterpiece.
A blueprint on how to make a movie for drama/war/biography/history haters like me - who will praise it instead of spitting on yet another garbage.
Just so you know it took three friends to persuade me into watching it due to imdb drama/war tags.
But this movie is not the usual unrealistic bullshit wrapped in a shiny package, it's so much more than that.

In other words, this gem will assure you it's all those stinking movies that suck, not your taste.
 
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The Wrong Missy

I usually hate romantic comedies but this one was pretty funny. It features David Spade and Lauren Lapkus and was produced by Adam Sandler. I thought it was a lot better than reviews would have you believe.
 
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Man The Wrong Missy was hilarious probably one of Adam Sandler's best movies in years. Seems his exclusive contract with Netflix was a good business decision.
 
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Ok, so I didn't pick a romantic comedy after all, I went with a film entitled "Minari", and it was really good. I won't spoil a darn thing about it, all I'll say is if you enjoy fine movies with superb acting and content, see it. You'll not be disappointed!
 
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I also liked Deathproof, and find myself constantly needing to defend it, since most people hate it. So I’m glad I’m not alone for once. The car scenes were intense as hell.

I didn't hate it, but I didn't particularly like it either. I enjoyed the whole theater going experience of Grindhouse, but I liked the Rodriguez movie a lot more. The only Tarantino movie I like less is Jackie Brown.
 
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I didn't hate it, but I didn't particularly like it either. I enjoyed the whole theater going experience of Grindhouse, but I liked the Rodriguez movie a lot more. The only Tarantino movie I like less is Jackie Brown.

I didn't like Planet Terror at all. But I'm sure it was not for me. I don't generally like B movies. The only thing about them I like is watching the guys at RedLetterMedia making fun of them at Best of the Worst.

But I loved Machete. It was hilarious. Especially the trailer for it. :D
Danny Trejo is hilarious.
 
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Ok, so I didn't pick a romantic comedy after all, I went with a film entitled "Minari", and it was really good. I won't spoil a darn thing about it, all I'll say is if you enjoy fine movies with superb acting and content, see it. You'll not be disappointed!
Seeing it's now an oscar nominee where they forgot The Devil All the Time in all categories, made me decide to never watch it.

But due to your pick and mentioning romantic comedy I have to praise a decade old Spellbound.
Won't spoil a single thing, all I can tell you is that you haven't seen something like this ever. And most probably won't.

The trailer is an utter bs, so I won't link it.
Doom: Annihilation

If you ever have a chance to watch it… don't. Even for a B movie, it's terrible.
I've watched both Doom movies and found both fun.
TBH, I didn't expect much and refused to buy recent Doom 10hours max long games that's probably why I liked those movies.
I didn't like Planet Terror at all.

But I loved Machete.
I love both.
Jackie Brown
A mustwatch if you ask me.
 
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But I loved Machete. It was hilarious. Especially the trailer for it. :D
Danny Trejo is hilarious.

Machete was great. I loved the cast and especially the scene with Lindsay Lohan. ;)

The sequel was completely forgettable though.

I've watched both Doom movies and found both fun.
TBH, I didn't expect much and refused to buy recent Doom 10hours max long games that's probably why I liked those movies.

Trust me, the games are a hell of a lot better than the movies.
 
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Trust me, the games are a hell of a lot better than the movies.
I trusted you that Prey is a lot better than… Dunno now.
What I got was a sheer mediocrity, utter boredom and world designer's mushrooms obsession. :p
 
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It's never been one of my more popular opinions. I have at least one friend who thinks it's Tarantino's best movie.

It's not an unusual opinion, its his most commercially unsuccessful movie, possibly aside from Deathproof, and it stayed quite low profile for many years. It's had a re-emergence in the past few years as people now have a large suite of Tarrantino stuff to argue about & Jackie Brown is one that is currently having a reverse backlash as people decry it's 'underrated' status etc.

I enjoyed watching it when it came out, but its one of his movies that I categorise into the once was all I needed box. Good film but not outstanding, no urgency to rewatch it ever, unless I ever feel like doing a completionist binge watch of all his stuff in date order kind of thing.

7/10
 
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