All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

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KD6-3.7 said:
seen Dune yet? i think you were the one posting about looking forward to it.

i havent watched a movie in the theaters in years. i might break that habit for Dune
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I've resisted watching it on HBO Max because I'd like to go see it in the theater. But I also don't want to pack into a theater like a sardine. So I think I can wait another week or two for things to settle down.....and then see it on an IMAX screen somewhere. Fortunately I am not a rabid fan where I need to see it immediately. I've read the book several times so I know what happens. And I predicted exactly where the movie would end.
 

haven't seen "Dune" yet, but I've read a few reviews, and it's breaking down pretty clearly - reviewers who are familiar with the books tend to like it, while reviewers who are not familiar with the books come away confused as they try to digest everything that's happening.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
haven't seen "Dune" yet, but I've read a few reviews, and it's breaking down pretty clearly - reviewers who are familiar with the books tend to like it, while reviewers who are not familiar with the books come away confused as they try to digest everything that's happening.
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I think some people went in expecting a conclusion. But....much like how the LoTR trilogy went....it's being broken into multiple parts. Not to mention that it's a pretty complex book that really cannot be fully shoehorned into a couple 150 minute movies. A mini-series would have been much better. Jason Mamoa has come out and said that the full cut of the film should be released. I guess they trimmed down a good hour or two on the first part to get it to its current running time. I don't doubt that we'll see an extended directors cut at some point.
 

stocker08 said:
I've resisted watching it on HBO Max because I'd like to go see it in the theater. But I also don't want to pack into a theater like a sardine. So I think I can wait another week or two for things to settle down.....and then see it on an IMAX screen somewhere. Fortunately I am not a rabid fan where I need to see it immediately. I've read the book several times so I know what happens. And I predicted exactly where the movie would end.
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If going to a crowded theater is not your thing, I can say from experience go any time Mon-Thur and there is a solid chance you will have it all to yourself or perhaps just a few others.
 

I saw The French Dispatch yesterday. Quite certainly this will draw a polarized reaction, Wes Anderson fans will like/love it. Non-fans will likely have the reaction of the elderly gentleman in front of me who said, "Not the worst movie, I have ever seen...but close."

I thought it was really good, but I am pre-disposed to liking it, though probably not in my Top 5 of Anderson films. The best of the 3 vignettes was the first one with Benicio Del Toro, Ley Seydoux, Aidrien Brody & Tilda Swinton.

Hopefully, Del Toro is considered for recognition during awards season.
 


Ope3 said:
If going to a crowded theater is not your thing, I can say from experience go any time Mon-Thur and there is a solid chance you will have it all to yourself or perhaps just a few others.
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Yeah, that would definitely be the time to do it. But I actually did end up going to see Dune this past Thursday at the AMC Rosedale IMAX. While it was still packed....we bought our tickets early in the week so that we had seating options. And really...with the reserved seats and the big leather chairs....being in a packed theater really isn't that bad.

Don't really spend much time around Roseville. That Rosedale mall area is pretty swanky.
 

stocker08 said:
I think some people went in expecting a conclusion. But....much like how the LoTR trilogy went....it's being broken into multiple parts. Not to mention that it's a pretty complex book that really cannot be fully shoehorned into a couple 150 minute movies. A mini-series would have been much better. Jason Mamoa has come out and said that the full cut of the film should be released. I guess they trimmed down a good hour or two on the first part to get it to its current running time. I don't doubt that we'll see an extended directors cut at some point.
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I have read the first four books in the Dune series (many, many, many, many years ago) and even if they do Book One as a two-parter, things are going to get left out. I used to be one of those anal retentive purists about book-to-screen adaptations, but if you were to do Dune to the letter, the movie would run about eighteen hours.

Mrs. 50# and I watched on HBO Max and I will readily admit that even the biggest television screen can't capture the vastness of Villenueve's vision. And there had to be a sequel. If the entire enterprise had ended with this installment, audiences would be leaving the theater muttering "Where's the payoff?"

I'm one of the few who doesn't break out in hives watching the David Lynch 1984 version (which Lynch has basically disowned), but the breakneck speed that characterized that film really didn't do justice to the intricacies of the story. Loved the look of that film though and Lynch plays with grotesqueries better than anyone.
 

50PoundHead said:
I have read the first four books in the Dune series (many, many, many, many years ago) and even if they do Book One as a two-parter, things are going to get left out. I used to be one of those anal retentive purists about book-to-screen adaptations, but if you were to do Dune to the letter, the movie would run about eighteen hours.

Mrs. 50# and I watched on HBO Max and I will readily admit that even the biggest television screen can't capture the vastness of Villenueve's vision. And there had to be a sequel. If the entire enterprise had ended with this installment, audiences would be leaving the theater muttering "Where's the payoff?"

I'm one of the few who doesn't break out in hives watching the David Lynch 1984 version (which Lynch has basically disowned), but the breakneck speed that characterized that film really didn't do justice to the intricacies of the story. Loved the look of that film though and Lynch plays with grotesqueries better than anyone.
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I'm guessing that the second part is going to cover through Dune Messiah...which is really the full story. The fact is that they wanted to make a huge blockbuster....and I think they've done the book well so far. Would have worked much better as a mini-series.....but that's not what we got.....so I am fine with it.

And I'm guessing that we eventually see a director's cut of the film. Jason Mamoa came out a couple of months ago, saying that the full four to six hour cut should be released. So there actually is a LOT more footage that was recorded.....but obviously trimmed down due to cost.....and the fact that studios simply refuse to release movies that long. Hopefully.....after things settle down.....and the second part is complete.....Villenueve will be given the financial backing to do the editing and finalizing of some more footage so that we eventually get a movie that is more true to the book.
 

stocker08 said:
I'm guessing that the second part is going to cover through Dune Messiah...which is really the full story. The fact is that they wanted to make a huge blockbuster....and I think they've done the book well so far. Would have worked much better as a mini-series.....but that's not what we got.....so I am fine with it.

And I'm guessing that we eventually see a director's cut of the film. Jason Mamoa came out a couple of months ago, saying that the full four to six hour cut should be released. So there actually is a LOT more footage that was recorded.....but obviously trimmed down due to cost.....and the fact that studios simply refuse to release movies that long. Hopefully.....after things settle down.....and the second part is complete.....Villenueve will be given the financial backing to do the editing and finalizing of some more footage so that we eventually get a movie that is more true to the book.
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Back in my late-20s/early-30s when I was going through a tortured pseudo-intellectual cineaste phase, I sat through all 7 hours and 22 minutes of Hans-Jurgen Syberberg's Hitler: A Film from Germany at some Twin Cities venue. That's a lot of Hitler and a lot of eye strain from reading sub-titles.
 



The Dune mini-series on the Sy-Fy network actually did a decent job of getting most of the book into the story. I think it went about 4-1/2 hours minus commercials. It's on YouTube somewhere.

they did another mini-series that included material from Children of Dune and Dune Messiah.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
The Dune mini-series on the Sy-Fy network actually did a decent job of getting most of the book into the story. I think it went about 4-1/2 hours minus commercials. It's on YouTube somewhere.

they did another mini-series that included material from Children of Dune and Dune Messiah.
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Yes. I think it is quite a bit better than the 1984 Lynch film. They were just able to fit in much more of the book content. Small budget....so it doesn't look all that great. But the content was pretty solid considering the source material. The Children of Dune miniseries had a noticeably larger budget. Came out in 2003...I believe. So a few years after Dune.
 

Yeah, watched Dune.

It said "Part 1", but it really should've said "Part 12". Felt like they jumped into the middle of a 37 part saga.

Not a fucking clue what was going on.


Some very cool special effects.
 

Wife and I went to see Belfast last night. We enjoyed it, will definitely have to watch it again with subtitles as I know I missed things.
 



Last Night in Soho.

Saw it over the weekend and it has stuck with me. As to whether or not I would recommend it, I would say yes though not emphatically. If one likes a really stylized movie that plays like a good Twilight Zone episode, then go see this.

It's shot really well and has a fantastic soundtrack. Side-note, never knew that Got My Mind Set On You was not a George Harrison cover, but originally done by James Ray.

The two primary young actresses give great performances. Thomasin McKenzie I really liked her in JoJo Rabbit. Anya Taylor-Joy I haven't seen in anything else, but with all the interviews I have watched her promoting Queen's Gambit, I think she's quite engaging. I suspect they will both be A-listers for decades to come.

What I don't like are a few things in how the plot was resolved, but I have seen other reviews that wholly endorse it, so maybe it's just me. Don't want to spoil it for anyone.
 

Finally got to see "Shang-Chi" - waited until it was on Disney+.

certainly different than a lot of Marvel movies. virtually an all-asian cast; the first part of the movie was in Mandarin Chinese with sub-titles.

the action set-pieces were fine. the final sequence (like most Marvel movies) went a little over the top with CGI.

but, my biggest takeaway was that, apart from the action sequences, this was really a family drama. it just happened to have kung-fu and mystical weapons thrown into the mix.

I would say worth seeing.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Finally got to see "Shang-Chi" - waited until it was on Disney+.

certainly different than a lot of Marvel movies. virtually an all-asian cast; the first part of the movie was in Mandarin Chinese with sub-titles.

the action set-pieces were fine. the final sequence (like most Marvel movies) went a little over the top with CGI.

but, my biggest takeaway was that, apart from the action sequences, this was really a family drama. it just happened to have kung-fu and mystical weapons thrown into the mix.

I would say worth seeing.
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The next Dr. Strange movie will be fun with Shang-Chi and Scarlet Witch.
 

Ope3 said:
Last Night in Soho.

Saw it over the weekend and it has stuck with me. As to whether or not I would recommend it, I would say yes though not emphatically. If one likes a really stylized movie that plays like a good Twilight Zone episode, then go see this.

It's shot really well and has a fantastic soundtrack. Side-note, never knew that Got My Mind Set On You was not a George Harrison cover, but originally done by James Ray.

The two primary young actresses give great performances. Thomasin McKenzie I really liked her in JoJo Rabbit. Anya Taylor-Joy I haven't seen in anything else, but with all the interviews I have watched her promoting Queen's Gambit, I think she's quite engaging. I suspect they will both be A-listers for decades to come.

What I don't like are a few things in how the plot was resolved, but I have seen other reviews that wholly endorse it, so maybe it's just me. Don't want to spoil it for anyone.
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Saw it as well last weekend. Liked it.
 



Went to the movie theater last weekend for the first time in a long time and saw King Richard, which was outstanding. Amazing storytelling, fantastic acting and the tennis was realistic. The tennis community is raving about the quality and there is legit Oscar buzz around Will Smith as Richard Williams.

Go King Richard!!
 

Just finished 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible (On Netflix)
Nepali mountaineer attempts to summit the 14 highest peaks in the world within 7 months.
Very good.
 


GophersInIowa said:
Wife and I went to see Belfast last night. We enjoyed it, will definitely have to watch it again with subtitles as I know I missed things.
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Saw Belfast today, thought it was fantastic.

The kid, Jude Hill, was amazing. Right up there with other child performances like Tatum O'Neal/Paper Moon, Natalie Portman/The Professional & Jacob Tremblay/Room.
 

So they held the world premiere Monday for the new Spider-Man movie.

google "Zendaya - red carpet outfit" to see what she wore.

I think I have just discovered the cause of global warming.
 

BleedGopher said:
Went to the movie theater last weekend for the first time in a long time and saw King Richard, which was outstanding. Amazing storytelling, fantastic acting and the tennis was realistic. The tennis community is raving about the quality and there is legit Oscar buzz around Will Smith as Richard Williams.

Go King Richard!!
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Fascinating story and the girl actors were great and more than held their own. Richard was crazy and right as he blazed a new trail for them.
 


Spider Man: No Way Home sitting at 98% on RT after the premiere. Really impressive. Gunna have to try the theater for this one. But will have to wait a week or so. This weekend will be packed.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Fascinating story and the girl actors were great and more than held their own. Richard was crazy and right as he blazed a new trail for them.
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I'll probably go see this, the wife was a state champion tennis player, she is interested in seeing it. Yes, Richard was a whack job, brings up the whole issue of "those kinds of parents"; there's pushing your child to excel, and then there's like the Todd Marinovich parents. It's a fine line to walk, obviously you have to know how to read your kid as well. I know a couple people who have kids who are really good/great in certain sports and see how active they are, are they pushing them, etc.

I always wonder how much the kid really enjoys the sport, that is almost always my first thought for some reason.
 

Nax5 said:
Spider Man: No Way Home sitting at 98% on RT after the premiere. Really impressive. Gunna have to try the theater for this one. But will have to wait a week or so. This weekend will be packed.
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I saw it this afternoon, pretty good. Should have been titled Spider Men 8. Interesting concept.
 

No mention of The Power of the Dog yet? Best movie I have seen since Parasite. A western set in Montana 1925. Great scenery, story, score and acting.
 

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