All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

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"Goodrich". Good film.

Good humor and good chemistry between Michael Keaton (father) and Mila Kunis (daughter).
 
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Ope3 said:
I had very high hopes considering the critic's reviews as well as recommendations from family members regarding the movie Sing Sing.

It did not disappoint. It's a tremendous film and wonderful experience, in all aspects.

The way that it was filmed, I actually felt like we were invited to the hoosegow, to watch a play.

Best prison buddy film since The Shawshank Redemption. Maybe as good. Seriously.


Colman Domingo is a virtual certainty to be recognized for nominations when Award Season arrives.
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I found this on the airline menu for my recent trip and despite being exhausted, I was transfixed for the nearly 2 hours of this film. Your recommendation was spot on--it's the best recently released movie I've seen in quite awhile. So many moments in this movie, big and small, that were so poignant. I need to let it settle for awhile and do a rewatch at some point, but it's a movie I could see leaping into the pantheon of all time favorites for myself.
 


coolhandgopher said:
I found this on the airline menu for my recent trip and despite being exhausted, I was transfixed for the nearly 2 hours of this film. Your recommendation was spot on--it's the best recently released movie I've seen in quite awhile. So many moments in this movie, big and small, that were so poignant. I need to let it settle for awhile and do a rewatch at some point, but it's a movie I could see leaping into the pantheon of all time favorites for myself.
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I'm glad I didn't oversell it, and that it held up even on a plane.

One of the best of the decade (almost halfway through) so far.
 

Ope3 said:
"Goodrich". Good film.

Good humor and good chemistry between Michael Keaton (father) and Mila Kunis (daughter).
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Haven’t watched this one. Will give it a try. About 6 months or so ago I watched a Michael Keaton movie that I was really impressed with. He plays a hit man that is suffering from, I think, some form of dementia. He doesn’t have long before it overcomes him and he’s attempting to outwit some people to help his son. “Knox Goes Away”. Think he produced and maybe directed it. Al Pacino is in it also.
 


We Live in Time. I found this to be another good, but not necessarily great movie. The performances by Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh were undeniably fantastic.

It's told in a non-linear fashion. I usually don't have a problem with that but in this case it was rather hard to follow as it was the same actors with a main character (Pugh) battling cancer, more than once. Until perhaps the last 3rd of the movie, when Pugh's hairstyle eventually does change dramatically, it was rather difficult to figure out what time period they were in.

I think it would have helped to have some other sort of key as to where were in the story as it was being told, but perhaps it was a stylistic choice by the director.
 

I thought the Saturday Night movie was excellent. The casting is spot on, considering they are portraying so many iconic people.
 

I saw Juror #2 today. If it is indeed Clint Eastwood's career finale, it's a more than respectable way to go out. Very solid.

Interesting court room drama. It threaded the needle of being able to keep it suspenseful even though the big plot twist happens midway through the first act.

Interesting release strategy by HBO-MAX, as it's only in 50 theaters nationwide, just 1 in the Twin Cities. I had my fill of football for the afternoon following the Vikes game and took in a matinee screening. It was packed, only empty seats were in the front row.

Good reviews, feels like they passed up a chance to do some respectable box office, before being streamed.
 

Yesterday I took in A Real Pain, which was written & directed by Jesse Eisenberg. He also co-stars with Kieran Culkin, playing cousins. They are go on a trip to Poland in honor of their deceased grandmother, a Holocaust survivor.

It's more about their relationship with the trip as a backdrop. I found it very worthwhile, one of this year's best movies in my opinion.

Culkin gives a very engaging performance, perhaps he will garner similar recognition as his recent TV work.

I look forward to seeing whatever Eisenberg develops next.
 
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Ope3 said:
Yesterday I took in A Real Pain, which was written & directed by Jesse Eisenberg. He also co-stars with Kieran Culkin, playing cousins. They are go on a trip to Poland in honor of their deceased grandmother, a Holocaust survivor.

It's more about their relationship with the trip as a backdrop. I found it very worthwhile, one of this year's best movies in my opinion.

Culkin gives a very engaging performance, perhaps he will garner similar recognition as his recent TV work.

I look forward to seeing whatever Eisenberg develops next.
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I highly recommend Eisenberg’s efforts in Fleishman’s in Trouble with Claire Dains, only one season, on Apple.

Chronicles the evaporation of a marriage; it’s funny and poignant.

I think he can be his generation’s poor man Woody Allen; I think he’s got some amazing future offerings for us.

Side Bar: I saw Culkin after a PT appointment in Manhattan this Summer waiting for a train in Midtown. He wasn’t trying to hide and I was the only one who noticed him; he didn’t evil eye me and just had a mellow aura/energy.
 

Watching the trailer for Anora, I was thinking that they gave too much of the plot away.

Despite that, while it was the story arc I presumed, it was a different tone than I expected.

It's really good. I expect in will be in the running for several Award show categories.
 

Not sure if this has been mentioned, I just watched The Electric Indian on PBS. Highly recommended.
www.tpt.org

The Electric Indian - Twin Cities PBS

The Electric Indian follows Ojibwe hockey legend, Henry Boucha. A stand-out hockey star from Warroad, Minnesota, Boucha impressed on the ice from the 1969 Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament to the 1972 Olympics to the NHL, but an on-ice assault and injury ended his athletic career that...
www.tpt.org www.tpt.org
 



Donovan said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned, I just watched The Electric Indian on PBS. Highly recommended.
www.tpt.org

The Electric Indian - Twin Cities PBS

The Electric Indian follows Ojibwe hockey legend, Henry Boucha. A stand-out hockey star from Warroad, Minnesota, Boucha impressed on the ice from the 1969 Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament to the 1972 Olympics to the NHL, but an on-ice assault and injury ended his athletic career that...
www.tpt.org www.tpt.org
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I saw it a few months ago, agree really well done.
 


fan of Ray Williams said:
Watched Conclave and liked it. Thought the acting was very good. Had some great music at times to heighten the intensity.
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I thought is was also pretty solid. In addition to the music/score it was cinematically really well done. Such vivid colors.

The theater I saw it on it was playing on the largest screen, usually reserved for comic book movies or big action thrillers. I was thinking, "what was the point for this type of film?" In hindsight, glad I saw it on a grand scale.
 


On a recent trip I caught Young Woman and the Sea.

It's a solid by the numbers typical overcoming adversity sports movie. It's about the first woman (Gertrude Ederle) to swim the English Channel back in the 1920s. It's well executed.

It's like The Boys in the Boat, except it's a woman, swimming and not rowing.
 

Watched Venom: The Last Dance. At times it seemed ok, but all in all wasn't for me. Tom Hardy had a hand in the writing and producing, I believe, besides starring in it.
 

Long time since 1979 and Alien, so figured I would give Alien: Romulus a go. Kind of a, "who's going to die next?' film like I anticipated. The human characters weren't all that interesting. Amazing how everyone seems to be able to figure out how to use all the space gear. A little homage to Sigourney at the end with the main character in underwear for some reason or another.
 

went down another one of my YouTube rabbit holes.

Watched a 7-part documentary on the history of Amicus Productions. Briefly, Amicus was a British company (but founded by two Americans). It was in essence a cheaper version of Hammer Films - mainly doing horror movies but on a lower budget. they also used some of the same actors as Hammer, including Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

Amicus found its niche with the "portmanteau" format - meaning a series of 4 or 5 short stories with a framing device. some of their offerings included "The House That Dripped Blood," "Tales from the Crypt," and "From Beyond the Grave." Amicus also did regular horror movies such as "Scream and Scream Again" and "And now the Screaming Starts." and their final productions were based on the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, with "The Land That Time Forgot" and "At the Earth's Core," starring Doug McClure and rubber dinosaur models.

there was also a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on with money and in-fighting among the heads of the company.

the whole thing runs for roughly 7 hours. If you're a fan of British Horror movies from the 60's and 70's, a lot of fun tidbits.
 

Watched Lie to Fly, hour doc, showing on FX. It’s part of the NYT doc series and looks at the mental health issues pilots face and the antiquated FAA rules that punish them. There has been multiple pilot suicides, including the Malaysian Airlines flight.

A line from the doc sums it up this way -

“Do you want a depressed pilot in the cabin?”

OR

“Do you want a depressed pilot in the cabin whose being treated for their depression?”
 

Ope3 said:
Watching the trailer for Anora, I was thinking that they gave too much of the plot away.

Despite that, while it was the story arc I presumed, it was a different tone than I expected.

It's really good. I expect in will be in the running for several Award show categories.
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This is on my “to see” list.
 


I watched Amsterdam (2022) last night and liked it overall. Great cast but I swear Bale was doing his best Columbo impersonation.
 

I watched Red One last night on Prime and enjoyed it for what it was. I like Chris Evans as a scumbag.
 

so, the Bob Dylan biopic is coming out soon. the script is based on a non-fiction book titled "Dylan Goes Electric" by Elijah Wald.

I ran across an interview with Wald. He has seen the movie, and he had some interesting comments. according to Wald, the movie somewhat follows the basic structure of the book - showing how Dylan interacted with people from the Folk music scene - but he says the movie takes a lot of liberties with the facts.

"They say that the film is based on my book,” says Wald. “But the film has virtually nothing in it that’s from my book. There are hundreds of moments [in the film] that didn’t happen. The film is fiction.”

But Wald says he does like the movie.

“I liked it a lot,” said Wald. “My book isn’t fiction; the movie is. It’s not historically accurate, but it’s poetically accurate. In the movie, I think it’s the first time anyone framed that whole history of Dylan and Seeger and that they took from the book. They had Dylan’s normal personal relationship with Van Ronk, his hanging out with all these people in the Village and he really captured Seeger in a more professional context.”
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
I watched Red One last night on Prime and enjoyed it for what it was. I like Chris Evans as a scumbag.
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Well, in all fairness, Evans is kind of a scumbag; it may not be much of a theatrical or cinematic stretch at all.

For movies, I'm waiting for the right inspiration to watch "Dead Money" on Amazon Prime, with Emile Hirsch. It's in the queue and ready to roll, but had to finish Goliath first!

"Land Of Bad" on Netflix looks promising also, but I haven't read much about it and don't know anyone that's watched it.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Well, in all fairness, Evans is kind of a scumbag; it may not be much of a theatrical or cinematic stretch at all.

For movies, I'm waiting for the right inspiration to watch "Dead Money" on Amazon Prime, with Emile Hirsch. It's in the queue and ready to roll, but had to finish Goliath first!

"Land Of Bad" on Netflix looks promising also, but I haven't read much about it and don't know anyone that's watched it.
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Thought it was good.
 

Ope3 said:
Watching the trailer for Anora, I was thinking that they gave too much of the plot away.

Despite that, while it was the story arc I presumed, it was a different tone than I expected.

It's really good. I expect in will be in the running for several Award show categories.
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Caught Anora. Enjoyed it. Thought Mikey Madison did a great job.
 

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