All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

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so, I saw the following headline on 'Dark Horizons,' a website that covers movie and TV news:

“Deadpool” To Overtake “Christ” At Box-Office​


and now the explanation:

Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” has continued its strong box-office run through the week so far and tracking indicates the film is going to pull in $84.5 million in its second weekend.

It’s being reported that D&W looks set to become the highest-grossing R-rated feature at the domestic box-office to date by end of Sunday – breaking a twenty-year record held by Mel Gibson’s 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ” which took in a domestic total of $371 million.

so the headline makes sense - but it's still funny just for the optics.
 

I'm rather late to the game on this, but I finally got around to watching Ex Machina before it went off HBO/MAX yesterday and thought it was excellent.

I wish I had seen it in the theater when it was released in 2015, but I am not sure it was really on my radar at that time. I have liked 2 of the director/writer Alex Garland's other more recent films (Civil War & Annihilation). It's a very interesting story and all 3 main performances were stellar, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander & Oscar Isaac. All pros.

One thing that struck me was that the VFX were amazing, though not in an explosion or space travel sci-fi type of way for something like a comic book movie. I thought it's a shame that a movie like this does not get recognized in that way for excellence. Turns out Ex Machina did win the Best Visual Effects Academy Award against the likes of Mad Mad, The Martian, The Revenant and Star Wars.
 
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Ope3 said:
I'm rather late to the game on this, but I finally got around to watching Ex Machina before it went off HBO/MAX yesterday and thought it was excellent.

I wish I had seen it in the theater when it was released in 2015, but I am not sure it was really on my radar at that time. I have liked 2 of the director/writer Alex Garland's other more recent films (Civil War & Annihilation). It's a very interesting story and all 3 main performances were stellar, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander & Oscar Isaac. All pros.

One thing that struck me was that the VFX were amazing, though not in an explosion or space travel sci-fi type of way for something like a comic book movie. I thought it's a shame that a movie like this does not get recognized in that way for excellence. Turns out Ex Machina did win the Best Visual Effects Academy Award against the likes of Mad Mad, The Martial, The Revenant and Star Wars.
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Awesome movie!
 

ran across a documentary on YouTube. "The North Star State" is a 4-part history of the Minnesota North Stars franchise, with some MN Fighting Saints material mixed in. It's by a guy who goes by Dan Whenesota - a teacher and amateur MN Sports Historian.

I've watched the first two segments. some stuff I remembered - lot of stuff I didn't. a lot of fun hearing stories about Gump Worsley and other old-time North Stars. and the stuff about the Fighting Saints is a riot. for a guy who attended events in both buildings, a lot of fun just seeing images of the Met Center and the original St. Paul Civic Center.

If you're a hockey fan, I highly recommend it. as I said, I've seen two of the four episodes and plan to catch the rest of the series over the weekend.
 

Ope3 said:
I'm rather late to the game on this, but I finally got around to watching Ex Machina before it went off HBO/MAX yesterday and thought it was excellent.

I wish I had seen it in the theater when it was released in 2015, but I am not sure it was really on my radar at that time. I have liked 2 of the director/writer Alex Garland's other more recent films (Civil War & Annihilation). It's a very interesting story and all 3 main performances were stellar, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander & Oscar Isaac. All pros.

One thing that struck me was that the VFX were amazing, though not in an explosion or space travel sci-fi type of way for something like a comic book movie. I thought it's a shame that a movie like this does not get recognized in that way for excellence. Turns out Ex Machina did win the Best Visual Effects Academy Award against the likes of Mad Mad, The Martial, The Revenant and Star War
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Ope3 said:
I'm rather late to the game on this, but I finally got around to watching Ex Machina before it went off HBO/MAX yesterday and thought it was excellent.

I wish I had seen it in the theater when it was released in 2015, but I am not sure it was really on my radar at that time. I have liked 2 of the director/writer Alex Garland's other more recent films (Civil War & Annihilation). It's a very interesting story and all 3 main performances were stellar, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander & Oscar Isaac. All pros.

One thing that struck me was that the VFX were amazing, though not in an explosion or space travel sci-fi type of way for something like a comic book movie. I thought it's a shame that a movie like this does not get recognized in that way for excellence. Turns out Ex Machina did win the Best Visual Effects Academy Award against the likes of Mad Mad, The Martial, The Revenant and Star Wars.
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I did see it in the theater and yes, it was spectacular. Was also interesting that Gleason and Isaac were working with each other in the Star wars movies at the same time. So great to see what they could do with the better material. Domnhall sure got a lot of talent from Dad.

I just really like the fact that it was a thoughtful throwback sci-fi movie. Under the Skin with Scarlett Johansson came out about the same time and I love that one as well
 


Cowboy Cartel on Apple was interesting.

Story oh how the Los Zetas cartel started buying quarter horses in the US to launder their profits. Very detailed about the investigation, which I liked.
Solid B from me and I’d bump it up to B+ for fans of the genre.

Quarter horses are basically non-through-breeds and they run quarter mile races, which was the original length, prior to the breeding of through-breeds. Basically they are the horses you see in western or on ranches/farms.
 
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Ope3 said:
I watched "Albert Brooks: Defending My Life", the Documentary directed by his buddy Rob Reiner on HBO/MAX. It was filled with tons of laugh out loud moments from his comedy bits on talk & variety shows.

Pretty amazing that they were close friends going back to high school. Seems like they share a similar relationship/bond that Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks had. I knew Rob (aka Marty DiBergi) could make a great mockumentary, but he can also do one a straightforward just as good.

It is a pretty fascinating learning about Brooks show biz parents, which I was not familiar with. There's not much about his brother, Bob Einstein (aka Super Dave/Marty Funkhauser) but there's another Documentary on him from a few years ago which I plan to revisit.

Also need to go back and watch some of Brooks' films that he directed, especially Lost in America & Defending Your Life.
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Just watched it tonight and it was great.

Never knew his real name was Albert Einstein.

When the credits are rolling at the end and they’re getting last thoughts from his peers, was cool to hear Letterman say, “I’d rather have his career than mine.”

Not a great movie, but I enjoyed that he was in, was the In-laws, his daughter is marrying Michael Douglas’ son, pre Alist, Ryan Reynolds. Brooks is the neurotic Jewish doctor and Douglas is the Uber confident international spy - the juxtaposition is enjoyable and plenty of scenery is chomped on.

Bonus is KC & Sunshine band play at the engagement party.
 
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Frink said:
I did see it in the theater and yes, it was spectacular. Was also interesting that Gleason and Isaac were working with each other in the Star wars movies at the same time. So great to see what they could do with the better material. Domnhall sure got a lot of talent from Dad.

I just really like the fact that it was a thoughtful throwback sci-fi movie. Under the Skin with Scarlett Johansson came out about the same time and I love that one as well
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Under the Skin was just as interesting as how it was made.
 




fan of Ray Williams said:
Watched Deadpool & Wolverine. Liked the two previous ones better.
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can you expand on that - what did you like - or not like - about the new movie?

disclaimer - I have seen bits of the 1st Deadpool movie, but I've never watched the whole movie from start to finish, and I've never seen the 2nd one. I'm familiar with the character from the comics. I have Disney+ so I could watch the movies whenever I want, but just haven't got around to it. I am somewhat interested in the new movie because I like Jackman as Wolverine.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
can you expand on that - what did you like - or not like - about the new movie?

disclaimer - I have seen bits of the 1st Deadpool movie, but I've never watched the whole movie from start to finish, and I've never seen the 2nd one. I'm familiar with the character from the comics. I have Disney+ so I could watch the movies whenever I want, but just haven't got around to it. I am somewhat interested in the new movie because I like Jackman as Wolverine.
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Jackman is good, Reynolds is Reynolds. My biggest dislike is the movie seemed kind of a mish mash. Maybe Reynold’s humor is wearing on me also. Lots of cameos. The plot, I think, just wasn’t up to par with the first couple.
 

Watched The Instigators with Casey Affleck and Matt Damon. Early on in the movie they steal a line from The Wire about taking notes on a criminal conspiracy. All in all I liked the movie. It’s an easy watch. Nothing great. Listed as action/comedy/crime which it is. Think Casey is certainly a more talented actor than Ben and possibly better than Matt. Casey was one of the writers.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Watched The Instigators with Casey Affleck and Matt Damon. Early on in the movie they steal a line from The Wire about taking notes on a criminal conspiracy. All in all I liked the movie. It’s an easy watch. Nothing great. Listed as action/comedy/crime which it is. Think Casey is certainly a more talented actor than Ben and possibly better than Matt. Casey was one of the writers.
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I watched half hour before the Twins game and thought it was so so, but based on your recommendation I will watch the rest and if not satisfied, I’ll be requesting a refund for that hour.

Yes, I accept Venmo😎.
How do you like them apples 🍎 🍏 ?
 





Ope3 said:
I'm rather late to the game on this, but I finally got around to watching Ex Machina before it went off HBO/MAX yesterday and thought it was excellent.

I wish I had seen it in the theater when it was released in 2015, but I am not sure it was really on my radar at that time. I have liked 2 of the director/writer Alex Garland's other more recent films (Civil War & Annihilation). It's a very interesting story and all 3 main performances were stellar, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander & Oscar Isaac. All pros.

One thing that struck me was that the VFX were amazing, though not in an explosion or space travel sci-fi type of way for something like a comic book movie. I thought it's a shame that a movie like this does not get recognized in that way for excellence. Turns out Ex Machina did win the Best Visual Effects Academy Award against the likes of Mad Mad, The Martial, The Revenant and Star Wars.
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Watched it tonight-it had been squirreled away in my Netflix queue and your mention of it was (edit: problems w/posting from phone) the impetus I needed. Excellent movie--Sci-fi is generally not my genre of choice, but thought provoking films like this are moving me more towards that path. Isaac was so good and damn if Ava didn't have me convinced to turn the keys over to the robots ;-). It appears that it's time to move Annihilation off the queue next.
 
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coolhandgopher said:
Watched it tonight-it had been squirreled away in my Netflix queue and your mention of it was
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While much different stories, Ex Machina and Annihilation have a very similar tone to me as well as a cinematic feel. Oscar Isaac is great in both.
 

the last two nights I've been watching a History Channel documentary - "American Godfathers - the Five Families." it's a history of the Mafia in New York City. 3rd episode is tonight.

a lot of very colorful stories about how 'the mob' ran its business. apparently "Crazy Joe" Gallo earned his nickname by being, well, crazy.

one of my favorite items from the show so far - when the movie "The Godfather" was being produced, the mob 'contacted' the producer and gave him some 'suggestions.' as a result, any mention of "mafia" or "cosa nostra" were removed from the script and the mob gave the movie its blessing, so to speak.
 

I saw Twisters last night, the first hour or so is pretty dreadful IMO. In the 2nd act there are a couple of plot twists (pun intended) that make it passable. Very mild recommendation.

I had not seen Daisy Edgar-Jones in anything previously. Radiant and big star potential, maybe she already is for all I know.
 

finally saw "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" which is now streaming on Hulu.

I enjoyed it. this is set many years after "War" (the 3rd movie in the rebooted series) when apes have established their own civilizations. even when you know that these are human actors doing motion-capture, when you watch the movie, you just accept that you're watching apes - the effects are that good - and each ape has their own personality. without getting into spoilers, there are a few human characters in the movie, and I wound up liking the apes more than the humans.

there are plot points that I could nit-pick on if I wanted to, but overall, it was a fun movie.
 

Ope3 said:
I saw Twisters last night, the first hour or so is pretty dreadful IMO. In the 2nd act there are a couple of plot twists (pun intended) that make it passable. Very mild recommendation.

I had not seen Daisy Edgar-Jones in anything previously. Radiant and big star potential, maybe she already is for all I know.
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Finished watching it today. Kind of a summer movie.
 

I went to Alien: Romulus tonight. I'm still up in the air about it. Aliens is my all time favorite movie. Perfect action/science fiction movie in my opinion.

This movie definitely had an Alien vibe for awhile. Then had an Aliens vibe for a bit. Absolutely enjoyed those parts.

Sadly it also had an Alien Resurrection vibe at a critical moment. Some may like that. I didn't.
 

Ope3 said:
I saw Twisters last night, the first hour or so is pretty dreadful IMO. In the 2nd act there are a couple of plot twists (pun intended) that make it passable. Very mild recommendation.

I had not seen Daisy Edgar-Jones in anything previously. Radiant and big star potential, maybe she already is for all I know.
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I felt the same as you did about the movie. Yes, Daisy Edgar-Jones is fetching but I am wondering why they needed to import an English actress to play an Oklahoma girl.
 
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Xerxes_ said:
I went to Alien: Romulus tonight. I'm still up in the air about it. Aliens is my all time favorite movie. Perfect action/science fiction movie in my opinion.

This movie definitely had an Alien vibe for awhile. Then had an Aliens vibe for a bit. Absolutely enjoyed those parts.

Sadly it also had an Alien Resurrection vibe at a critical moment. Some may like that. I didn't.
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It didn't remind me of Alien Resurrection because Alien Resurrection had a fair amount of humor. This film was set in a dark dystopian future without a shred of humor. I actually liked Alien Resurrection (more entertaining than the third one although not nearly as good as the second or first).

This film was good enough I guess. The film's weakness was that it lacked a compelling cast. It had only five characters (six if you count the computer imagery of Ian Holm from the first film) and only two were interesting, the lead character and her synthetic companion. Cailee Spaeny lacks Sigourney Weaver's lean and statuesque presence but for a tiny little thing she acquitted herself well in an action heroine role. This young lady has now made an impression in two big movies within the last six months.

One big thing this film provided was an answer to the question of why "the company" wanted to acquire these vile and uncontrollably lethal creatures in the first place.
 

I needed a pick me up after the Twins L yesterday and watched The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, was hilarious and the most entertaining thing I’ve watched in a while - a rewatch will be required.

Big thanks to @Ope3 for his recommendation- hope you don’t ever doubt my innate Shamanic posting ability!
Also, can’t wait to see Paddington II now.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
It didn't remind me of Alien Resurrection because Alien Resurrection had a fair amount of humor. This film was set in a dark dystopian future without a shred of humor. I actually liked Alien Resurrection (more entertaining than the third one although not nearly as good as the second or first).

This film was good enough I guess. The film's weakness was that it lacked a compelling cast. It had only five characters (six if you count the computer imagery of Ian Holm from the first film) and only two were interesting, the lead character and her synthetic companion. Cailee Spaeny lacks Sigourney Weaver's lean and statuesque presence but for a tiny little thing she acquitted herself well in an action heroine role. This young lady has now made an impression in two big movies within the last six months.

One big thing this film provided was an answer to the question of why "the company" wanted to acquire these vile and uncontrollably lethal creatures in the first place.
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I didn't like the offspring alien character. That's what I meant by it reminding me of Resurrection in a negative way. That movie introduced the newborn character and like Romulus both had human type births and looked very little like the Alien species that is well known to everyone. That's when it went sideways for me.

Just my opinion but if you go to an Alien movie you want the antagonist to be a Xenomorph or Alien Queen. Going from them to some skinny milk colored hybrid it was more funny than frightening.
 

My wife and I watched the new Scott/Laci Peterson documentary on Netflix. We followed this case closely at the time as we were living in San Diego and he was arrested about a mile from where we lived. This guy is so fn guilty, I can't believe the Innocence Project is taking on his case. What a sad story.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
My wife and I watched the new Scott/Laci Peterson documentary on Netflix. We followed this case closely at the time as we were living in San Diego and he was arrested about a mile from where we lived. This guy is so fn guilty, I can't believe the Innocence Project is taking on his case. What a sad story.

Go Gophers!!
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We finished it last night--I recall the media storm around it from back in the day, but didn't follow it in detail back then. I didn't realize the Innocence Project has taken on this case, I can't see how there's any reasonable doubt of his guilt--it seems as open & shut as a case can be--as you said, such a sad story.
 

coolhandgopher said:
We finished it last night--I recall the media storm around it from back in the day, but didn't follow it in detail back then. I didn't realize the Innocence Project has taken on this case, I can't see how there's any reasonable doubt of his guilt--it seems as open & shut as a case can be--as you said, such a sad story.
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I just learned Peacock has a 3 part documentary from Scott’s point of view coming out this week, will be curious if they present new info. It mentions the Innocence Project in this article:

people.com

Scott Peterson Protests His Innocence in Prison Interview in New Doc: 'I Didn’t Kill My Family'

Scott Peterson was convicted of double murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection — for the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner — two decades ago, and he continues to maintain his innocence. This week’s PEOPLE cover story details Peterson's prison interviews, as seen in...
people.com people.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Xerxes_ said:
I didn't like the offspring alien character. That's what I meant by it reminding me of Resurrection in a negative way. That movie introduced the newborn character and like Romulus both had human type births and looked very little like the Alien species that is well known to everyone. That's when it went sideways for me.

Just my opinion but if you go to an Alien movie you want the antagonist to be a Xenomorph or Alien Queen. Going from them to some skinny milk colored hybrid it was more funny than frightening.
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Prior to seeing the movie I read a couple of reviews. One review said that this film borrowed things from the various entries to the series. Although I didn't think about it prior to your comment, I guess that half-alien half-human offspring was the thing borrowed from Alien Ressurection.
 

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