All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

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Ope3 said:
I took in Wes Anderson's new joint over the weekend, The Phoenician Scheme. If you are a fan of the auteur's work, it is indeed a must. In the context of his previous films, I would say it's good, not great, but still very enjoyable.

The chance to spend a couple of hours watching his cinematic display has never been a disappointment for me, ether live action or animated. As far as set design it's right up there with The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Benicio del Toro was the male lead. This is just his 2nd Anderson film, the other was The French Dispatch for which I thought he deserved award recognition. Here he delivers a performance which competes with Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel) for best ever in one he has directed.

Mia Threapleton is a newcomer and it's obvious the apple does not fall from the tree, as the daughter of Kate Winslet.

Another newcomer was Michael Cera, who has the 3rd most screen time. Beforehand, I did not even realize he had a role in the film. He's great, and fits in as though he has always been apart of the Wes Anderson universe. Welcome aboard.

There are several other familiar faces, with supporting roles...Tom Hanks, Rupert Friend, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson & Jeffrey Wright. There are blink and you will miss them parts played by Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and F Murray Abraham.

I sense I will appreciate the film more with a second viewing.
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Caught this one last night. Not reallly for me. When was the last time a movie had this many accomplished actors and actresses in it?
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Caught this one last night. Not reallly for me. When was the last time a movie had this many accomplished actors and actresses in it?
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Probably two years ago, Asteroid City. Wes Anderson's previous film.

Either that or Oppenheimer.
 

Ope3 said:
Probably two years ago, Asteroid City. Wes Anderson's previous film.

Either that or Oppenheimer.
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Do they all just love working on his films? Some of the parts were, as you stated, kind of blink of the eye.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Do they all just love working on his films? Some of the parts were, as you stated, kind of blink of the eye.
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Yes, most definitely. Edward Norton has said he usually loses money on the deal, but is quite eager to do them when asked and it fits into his schedule.
 



Finished up Sinners. Horror movie with some music mixed in. Not sure what to think of it.
Little cameo by Buddy Guy.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
"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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fan of Ray Williams said:
Thought it was good.
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Finally watched this last night. I liked it, even more than I thought I would. Pretty darn good show. I was pleasantly surprised.

On the other end of the spectrum, just to be able to say I watched it and get a good laugh from admitting it, right after "Land of Bad", we started watching "Ballerina Assassin". Holy f*cking shit, what a God-awful looking movie. Trailer wasn't bad, but I couldn't get more than 10 minutes into it. Just laughably bad.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Just finished up Deep Cover. It had some really funny scenes. Improv comics go under cover. Orlando Bloom kind of went Tropic Thunder in it. Recommend it.
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Put it on last night with the wife, and she pulled up a blanket, fully expecting to fall asleep.

We were both engaged the whole movie. It was fun and funny, and agree with your Bloom comment.

Thanks for the rec, will 100% watch it again.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
It wasn't too bad, not a lot of NEW information; it seemed a little bit like a propaganda film and when Ben Rhodes showed his face, that pretty much sealed up that conclusion.

I did really like a few of the others in that series; the American Manhunt series regarding the Boston Marathon Bombers and the one about OJ. I thought those were pretty solid and well done.



This is higher up there on the list to give a try. I'm a little torn on just how much I like Malek (he was pretty good in the Queen movie) so I'm going to give it a try. I've seen some mixed reviews but honestly this is one where I plan on just making sure the popcorn is good and settle in for some decent action entertainment.
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Very much a propaganda film, especially the John Brennen parts. No one wanted Bin Laden alive anymore, including Pakistan and Al-Qaeda. We did their bidding (and ours) by taking him out, which of course is why four helicopters, one that crashed, explosions, and machine gun fire, didn't attract any response by their military (which has a very large base only 5 KM away) or law enforcement until it was over, and even then, a yawn of a response.
 



2 things I am definitely NOT a fan of are Jerry Bruckheimer productions and Formula 1 Racing (really any motor sports).

Despite that, I rather enjoyed F1. Took a chance that something involving Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem & Kerry Condon would have value. It does.

It's Rocky, but on wheels and making hairpin turns. It was filmed very well, I felt I was next to the engine or in the pits. Seemed like very little to no CGI at all on this globe trotting adventure.

Probably has to set some sort of cinematic record for product placement, but that tracks given the subject matter. If anything, it made it seem more real.
 

Eddington.

High expectations given those associated with the film and as an A24 production.

There's a lot to like about it and it's very thought provoking, but I found the 3rd Act as well as ending very unsatisfying.

Emma Stone is criminally underused.
 

Ope3 said:
I've had pretty good luck seeing Foreign Language films up for Oscar Awards with little to no background knowledge of the plots heading in:

The Worst Person in the World
Parallel Mothers
The Zone of Interest
Anatomy of a Fall

Add from Brazil the film I'm Still Here to the list. It's fantastic. Even though it happened in my lifetime, I was quite unaware of the political circumstances on Brazil circa 1970.

It also turns out while my rudimentary understanding of Spanish helps me when seeing films in that language, it does not provide much or any benefit for a film in Portuguese.

Even though I had to rely 100% on the subtitles, the acting translated well.
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I finally got around to watching I'm Still Here on my flight back to India and it was stunningly devastating--without giving away too much, the last 15 minutes or so, set in present times, had me wiping away tears, but the entire movie is a powerhouse throughout.

As with you, I knew little of the Brazilian politics at this time; it's been overshadowed in my readings/viewings by events of Peru, Chile, Argentina. . .pick a South American country unfortunately and you have these incredibly sad tales of countries and families and everyday life torn asunder by military juntas, dictatorships, strongmen, many within my lifetime.

And while there was a deep sadness to the film and the real life story it's based upon, there's such a sense of joy in the movie too--the beaches of Brazil, the music, the love of the family and friends. Hence I suppose, why the movie was so involving.
 

I don't think this has been discussed on here when it originally was released in theatres, but watched Robert Zemeckis' Here with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as the leads (no, it wasn't what would have happened if Jenny never got AIDS, although if Forrest was a bit more sharp. . .)

I really was disappointed with the movie--I knew it didn't have great reviews, but I thought it would be interesting, given its premise (concentrating on a plot of land over the course of hundreds of years and the families that lived there). Instead, the narrative bounced back and forth and you never got a true feel of those who lived on the plot other than Hanks/Wright and their families and that story wasn't fleshed out to a satisfactory level due to the constant cut aways to others. If the movie had concentrated on just the Hanks/Wright and his parents (who lived there prior and with) and fleshed out the supporting characters more, you could have had an interesting story (if pretty traditional), but alas, it did not.
 



coolhandgopher said:
I finally got around to watching I'm Still Here on my flight back to India and it was stunningly devastating--without giving away too much, the last 15 minutes or so, set in present times, had me wiping away tears, but the entire movie is a powerhouse throughout.

As with you, I knew little of the Brazilian politics at this time; it's been overshadowed in my readings/viewings by events of Peru, Chile, Argentina. . .pick a South American country unfortunately and you have these incredibly sad tales of countries and families and everyday life torn asunder by military juntas, dictatorships, strongmen, many within my lifetime.

And while there was a deep sadness to the film and the real life story it's based upon, there's such a sense of joy in the movie too--the beaches of Brazil, the music, the love of the family and friends. Hence I suppose, why the movie was so involving.
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While it's a small role, I thought casting the lead actress' mother as her character after the time jump was interesting and effective.

Totally agree with your assessment on the film and aspects that make it worthwhile.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
we started watching "Ballerina Assassin". Holy f*cking shit, what a God-awful looking movie.
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That would be thanks to the glorious work of "The Asylum". A C-grade studio that piggybacks on popular new movies by releasing some absolute trash to either confuse audiences or pull in the morbidly curious.

That one was a riff on From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, which is actually a decent movie.

Saw Superman tonight.

Have a few minor complaints. But it's solid.
 

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