All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

Donate To GopherHole


Amsterdam.

If you want to see a better David O Russell film, then for sure go back to Three Kings or American Hustle.

If you want to see a better recent film similar in tone & style, then I suggest Nightmare Alley.

Despite Amsterdam getting ripped by critics in what now looks like will be an epic box office bomb, there was still enough for me to enjoy. Margot Robbie, Christian Bale & John David Washington, all really good. Works enough for me.
 
Last edited:

I recently watched the newish Netflix Documentary on Tim Donaghy and his game fixing scandal. What a crazy story that was, and no doubt in my mind there were others involved that didn't get dragged in. I also think David Stern had a hand in the lighter penalties to avoid the trials which would have been brutal to the NBA.

And if I'm a Sacramento Kings player/fan, I'm still livid about that Game 6. It seems like they should have won the title.

Go Gophers!!
 

Ope3 said:
Amsterdam.

If you want to see better David O Russell film, then for sure go back to Three Kings or American Hustle.

If you want to see a better recent film similar in tone & style, then I suggest Nightmare Alley.

Despite Amsterdam getting ripped by critics in what now looks like will be an epic box office bomb, there was still enough for me to enjoy. Margot Robbie, Christian Bale & John David Washington, all really good. Works enough for me.
Click to expand...
Hamsterdam!!
 


Watched The Redeem Team a couple nights ago. Thought it was good. Nothing seemed easy for them. Kobe Bryant, I guess, was the answer.
 

Started watching the Dahmer documentary. 3 episodes in and I quit. Made me sick to my stomach
 

TRF Guy said:
Started watching the Dahmer documentary. 3 episodes in and I quit. Made me sick to my stomach
Click to expand...
My wife really wants to watch it for some reason. Her brother was going to Marquette at the time so that might be why. He ended up living about 1/2 mile from Dahmer.

I'm not sure if I care to.
 

The Banshees of Inisherin is just a splendid movie. Wonderful. Best of the year (so far). Great to see Brenden Gleeson & Colin Farrell paired together again.
 



I really enjoyed Nope over the weekend. Peele continues to make interesting movies. Really looking forward to Tar and The Fablemans.
 

mnvballdad said:
I really enjoyed Nope over the weekend. Peele continues to make interesting movies. Really looking forward to Tar and The Fablemans.
Click to expand...
I saw Tar. Fantastic performance by Cate Blanchett, perhaps the best actress in my generation. Very good movie. Sort of like Black Swan for the classical music crowd, but less tawdry.
 

Ope3 said:
I saw Tar. Fantastic performance by Cate Blanchett, perhaps the best actress in my generation. Very good movie. Sort of like Black Swan for the classical music crowd, but less tawdry.
Click to expand...
I'm within walking distance to the Edina Theater. May have to make the trek tomorrow night.
 

mnvballdad said:
I'm within walking distance to the Edina Theater. May have to make the trek tomorrow night.
Click to expand...
I can't remember if it was Siskel or Ebert (maybe both) said "it's not what a movie is about but 'HOW' it goes about it which determines whether or not it's worth seeing." Not really being into classical music, I had to really put that to the test for Tar, and this succeeds.

It's not fast moving, but a really interesting character study especially for the social times we live in.

In terms of tone and pace, I think the most similar movie I have seen recently is Drive My Car. That also happened to be about performing arts, theater. I highly recommend that one, especially if you wind up liking Tar.
 




Ope3 said:
I can't remember if it was Siskel or Ebert (maybe both) said "it's not what a movie is about but 'HOW' it goes about it which determines whether or not it's worth seeing." Not really being into classical music, I had to really put that to the test for Tar, and this succeeds.

It's not fast moving, but a really interesting character study especially for the social times we live in.

In terms of tone and pace, I think the most similar movie I have seen recently is Drive My Car. That also happened to be about performing arts, theater. I highly recommend that one, especially if you wind up liking Tar.
Click to expand...
I absolutely LOVED Drive My Car. Heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.
 

mnvballdad said:
I absolutely LOVED Drive My Car. Heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.
Click to expand...
The performances in Drive My Car were just amazing. Emotional and nuanced while being fluid through multiple languages. Just fascinating. Hopefully I have not oversold the expectations on TAR. Regardless, Cate Blanchett is worth the price of admission and time investment, in my opinion.

Spoiler Alert! - Do not read any further if you like to know as little as possible about a movie beforehand (as I do) even though this not a specific plot detail. I will try to be vague...







The main subject of Tar has a very similar career arc and parallels to one of the other artists we have discussed in another thread today.
 

We saw The Banshees of Inisherin today and loved it. Black comedy featuring Farrell and Gleeson. Very much recommend.
 

I really enjoyed The Fabelmans. Fantastic, right there with Spielberg's top works.

The young actor (Gabriel LaBelle) playing his alter ego does a fine job. It's similar to how Cameron Crowe constructed Almost Famous not in terms of plot but in that it's highly autobiographical but with "fictional" characters. It is similar in that both Crowe and Spielberg were prodigies in their craft and it shines a light on how they evolved at such a young age.

Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogan are also potentially award/nomination worthy. Judd Hirsch and David Lynch have essentially cameos, but wow they are memorable.

It's not really drawing hug box office numbers, which I think is a shame. Hopefully word of mouth it will pick up.
 

Not sure how long the Nolan Ryan documentary has been out but I just watched it and didn’t realize he never won a Cy Young award. Sure he had a lot of losses but he also played on crappy teams that gave him very little run support. Of course they showed the Ventura beat down more than once 😎
 

"Avatar: The Way of Water" had a premiere showing in London. initial reaction coming out in the form of tweets. Most of the responses have been very positive. several people calling it "better than the first one." lots of praise for the visuals. a few quibbles about the plot and story, but the vast majority of the responses I've seen were favorable.

It's been years since I've seen the 1st Avatar. It's on Disney+, so I might have to watch it one night just so I remember what happened.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
"Avatar: The Way of Water" had a premiere showing in London. initial reaction coming out in the form of tweets. Most of the responses have been very positive. several people calling it "better than the first one." lots of praise for the visuals. a few quibbles about the plot and story, but the vast majority of the responses I've seen were favorable.

It's been years since I've seen the 1st Avatar. It's on Disney+, so I might have to watch it one night just so I remember what happened.
Click to expand...
Better than the first one feels like a low bar. I remember thinking, it was all right.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
"Avatar: The Way of Water" had a premiere showing in London. initial reaction coming out in the form of tweets. Most of the responses have been very positive. several people calling it "better than the first one." lots of praise for the visuals. a few quibbles about the plot and story, but the vast majority of the responses I've seen were favorable.

It's been years since I've seen the 1st Avatar. It's on Disney+, so I might have to watch it one night just so I remember what happened.
Click to expand...

The trailer looks absolutely tragic. Visually spectacular.....but otherwise.....

What do I know, though. I might see it someday.
 

TRF Guy said:
Not sure how long the Nolan Ryan documentary has been out but I just watched it and didn’t realize he never won a Cy Young award. Sure he had a lot of losses but he also played on crappy teams that gave him very little run support. Of course they showed the Ventura beat down more than once 😎
Click to expand...
Where is that streaming?
 


watched the trailer for the new movie "Oppenheimer" by Christopher Nolan.

Tells the story of Dr. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the Manhattan Project - the development of the first US nuclear bomb. big cast. lot of Oscar buzz.

looks interesting if you like historical drama.

in 1947, there was a docu-drama made about the same subject, called "The Beginning or the End." I believe that one took some historical liberties. starred Brian Donlevy as the military liason for the project. Matt Damon is playing that role in the new movie.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
watched the trailer for the new movie "Oppenheimer" by Christopher Nolan.

Tells the story of Dr. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the Manhattan Project - the development of the first US nuclear bomb. big cast. lot of Oscar buzz.

looks interesting if you like historical drama.

in 1947, there was a docu-drama made about the same subject, called "The Beginning or the End." I believe that one took some historical liberties. starred Brian Donlevy as the military liason for the project. Matt Damon is playing that role in the new movie.
Click to expand...
Some years back I read The Making of the Atom Bomb by Richard Rhodes. More than the dates and the science, the people involved were fascinating. I'll have to check this out. I believe it's Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer, yeah?
 

Nobody has ventured out to see "Violent Night"?

In the absence of very many good options in the theater right now, this will be my choice if we head to the theaters in the next several days. Reviews have been fairly good, surprisingly, so how bad could it be? Hey, if the popcorn is good, it's all good...
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Nobody has ventured out to see "Violent Night"?

In the absence of very many good options in the theater right now, this will be my choice if we head to the theaters in the next several days. Reviews have been fairly good, surprisingly, so how bad could it be? Hey, if the popcorn is good, it's all good...
Click to expand...
The Fabelmans should be your movie of choice unless you have already seen it.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Nobody has ventured out to see "Violent Night"?

In the absence of very many good options in the theater right now, this will be my choice if we head to the theaters in the next several days. Reviews have been fairly good, surprisingly, so how bad could it be? Hey, if the popcorn is good, it's all good...
Click to expand...
As a Christmas surprise, they just made the film available digitally. If you're wanting to watch at home instead.
 

We finished a short documentary mini-series called Worst Roommate Ever. Each episode talked about a different story. Then the last two were about Jamison Bachman, a serial squatter. I did not realize that is a thing. The laws are completely messed up in how they protect these people. Essentially people answer a craiglist ad for a roommate. They pay a month or two of rent, get comfortable there and then stop paying, essentially taking over the place. The owner of the home or apartment can't legally change the locks to kick them out. Have to go through the legal eviction process that can be very difficult, expensive and time consuming. It's horrible.

Here is a link explaining it. Crazy.

rentredi.com

What are Serial Squatters & How to Avoid

Serial squatters are squatters who move from rental to rental without ever being a legal tenant. It’s very important to protect homes and rental properties from illegal occupants who put tenants, roommates, and landlords all at risk
rentredi.com rentredi.com
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom