Mandy (2018) 7/10 Quite a comedy, Nicolas Cage being Nicolas Cage.
Mandy (2018) 7/10 Quite a comedy, Nicolas Cage being Nicolas Cage.
Angel Has Fallen - 2/10, Horrible pacing, lackluster acting from all sides, run-of-the-mill plot, predictable characters (such as casting a typecast actor in another role feeding into his perpetual typecasting) and the regular feeble attempts at "being deep" and emotional. The action scenes were basic at best, snorefests at worst.
I gave it a 2 rather than a 1 because at least they make an effort with showing that the male protagonist isn't to be stigmatized for his internal struggles. A weak effort, but an effort all the same.
Scary Stories to tell in The Dark - 3/10, Liked the designs, but it's a PG13 horror movie that spirals into dumb action territory. Tropes abound. 2 is for the creatures, 1 is for "Hank" making an appearance. ^_^
Time Trap (7/10): This is a little indie gem hiding on Netflix. Being an Indie movie you can tell that some story telling was moved around, but at an hour and thirty long, it's not as if half the movie was scrapped on the floor. It's worth your time.
Lady & The Tramp (Disney +) 6/10
Checked it out. I can see why this was a Disney + movie and not a theatrical release. It's not horrible by any means, but as usual, not all things translate well to live-action, particularly talking animals. When Luigi and the cook come back out to sing for the dogs, I laughed hard, it just doesn't work like in the cartoon. No beaver buddy chopping the muzzle, either, it's a beaver statue. They did try to introduce some new elements, like fleshing out Tramp's backstory; apparently he had a home and family too, until the baby came along. Then his owner drove him out to an alley, threw a ball for Tramp to go fetch and hilariously ran back to the car, deserting Tramp. I laughed hard at that too. It was probably unintended, but what I'm sure what they meant to be an emotional moment for Tramp's backstory, turned out to be a laugh out loud moment with the guy going "GO GET THE BALL BOY, GO, GO!" and then hauling ass back to the car to drive off.
Oh, and if you're looking forward to a ferocious dog fight with Tramp fighting off 3 rabid alley dogs like in the cartoon, with leg biting and snarling? Doesn't happen at all and the scene replacing it isn't remotely as funny as it's meant to be.
I don't know how this could have been so meh when 101 Dalmatians way back in 1996 with Glenn Close was so entertaining and well made. Guess having actual good actors and a decent script that justifies a live-action re-make really does matter.
Edit: Just wanted to add, the dog catcher hilariously has no life. He just randomly tries to ambush Tramp and Lady in the middle of the night on a hilltop overlooking the city. Whoever wrote the screenplay either loves Moby Dick or doesn't know how human beings really act in real life.
Last edited by Kyphael; 2019-11-17 at 08:26 PM.
Klaus (Netflix) - 7.5/10, Adorable feel-good little Christmas movie. Minus points for using pop music rather than original score throughout.
Joker
Great when he's Jokering. Dull when he's not.
5/10
Now you see it. Now you don't.
But was where Dalaran?
Jojo Rabbit-9.5/10
I haven't seen such an almost perfect movie since "Into the Spiderverse" Jojo is simultaneously absurdly funny, and emotionally horrific. One scene in particular manages to ratchet the tension up to a razor's edge while also being hilarious. I can think of no other scene in any other movie that manages to do both.
The acting is fantastic. Roman Griffin Davies who plays Jojo is something of a revelation. He can shift from a young and naive 10 year old to acting more like a sardonic middle aged man in the blink of an eye. Scarlett Johansson who plays his mother, has maybe played her best role ever. I was so enthralled by her portrayal of his vivacious and hopeful mother. The rest of the cast is also very good but I don't want to write a novel here.
Simply put, my friends and I sat stunned in the theater when it was over. I have never done that. We just couldn't put into words all of the emotions we were feeling. I have seen Joker and the Lighthouse and I can easily say for me Jojo Rabbit should win Best Picture this year. It was incredible.
Men in Black International
4 / 10
I liked the original one, and from there on it went downhill.
Midway 7/10
Enjoyed this more than I expected I would, more Tora Tora Tora than Pearl Harbour.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: 2/10
A steaming pile of shit. Total boredom, the movie was moving nowhere, there was no plot, no good dialogue, nothing. I can't believe how some people give this 10/10 and call it a masterpiece. By far the worst Tarantino movie I have seen.
Ford v Ferrari: 7/10 Standard sports drama with all the tropes. Mostly accurate. Mostly butchered. Only towards the end did the movie come close to being moving and engaging. The acting was... OK? Bonus point for featuring some of the sexiest cars in racing history. Crikey, the size of the balls it took to drive those monsters...
The movie piqued my interest, so I may pick up the manga first.
Need Roll - 1 for [Bright Pink Imbued Mageweave Banana-Hammock] by Ayirasi
Joker - 8 / 10
A good movie overall with plenty of substance to fuel debates for years to come (how much of it was real and how much of it was in his mind / his perception).
My primary complaint is that it is about 20 minutes too long. I'm not a fan of being hit over the head with the same concept over and over again...I got it the first time, the 2nd time verified it, and the third time hammered it home; it is time to stop at that point and move on.
Gemini Man- Basically, it's Will Smith and younger CGI Will Smith doing shit. 3/10. Will Smith isn't interesting anymore...
Aladdin 2019 remake- Fucking kill me. 0/10.
The Force Awakens- Still a shittier version of a New Hope- 2/10.
The Last Jedi- ... -1/10.
The Phantom Menace: 2/10. Idk why this existed.
Attack of the Clones: A shit film with an even shittier plot. I still have no idea why they made Yoda a Light Saber gymnast. He's a Jedi master because of the Force, NOT BECAUSE OF THE DAMN LIGHT SABER! FUCK! 3/10 though, because there's no Jar Jar.
Revenge of the Sith: This is actually a decent film. Though, the acting over 90% of the time is still shit to the bone, and Anakin's sudden turn annoyed the living shit out of me until I watched the Clone Wars. So, uhm 4-5/10. AKA, NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! (The final fight was amazing though).
A New Hope: A simple, yet charming film. 6/10.
Empire Strikes Back: Don't want to explain just how amazing this film is. 9/10.
Return of the Jedi: Uhm, it's good. But, in all honesty, the film is quite possibly the worst of the 3. Though, the final showdown between Anakin, Luke, and the Emperor was amazing. So, I'll rate this film a 5.5/10.
Those are the last few films I watched. As you could tell, 90% of this list was due to my Star Wars rewatch thing in prep for the Mandalorian, which is a godsend btw...
Gemini Man. 5/10. Not as bad as I had heard it was. It passed a couple of hours. There were a couple of times where the CGI work was criminal. Mostly the de-aging of Smith is excellent but there are some times (esp the last scene) where it gets fully 'uncanny valley'. In addition there are two fight scenes (motorbike and catacombs) were the level of CGI is on a par with the infamous Neo v Smith fight in the second Matrix film. Rubber physics anyone? Overall though, it kept me interested
Joker 4/10. Felt pretty boring, like a remake of *Falling Down* movie, but a bit too prolonged.
I caught Le Mans '66 last night and my lord, what a hidden gem that was!
Can't recommend enough for those with even just a passing interest in cars - I give it a solid 7 or 8 out of 10