Movie Night (Official Movie Discussion Thread)

Hunger Games, The: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes






Good Games

When this prequel was announced all I could think was Money Grab!! Plus it features a character who's fate is already well known but this movie was surprisingly entertaining. The story mainly focuses on Coriolanus Snow (played with good intensity by Tom Blyth),what shaped him and what he had to endure as a young man. Which all happens well partially happens at the time of the Tenth Hunger Games. The cast does well with some definite stand out performances. That being Viola Davis as Head Gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul . She chews up the scenery as a character who is like a cross between a Disney Witch and a G.I Joe Cobra villain. As Lucy Gray Baird Rachel Zegler gets to show off her vocal talents.
I liked the tug of wars the characters had to go through. To rebel or not to rebel, should I choose power over love. I could tell someone in the writing room said turn up the cruelty because some scenes were full of characters being degraded and then some which actually angered and disturbed me.The action sequences were pretty good due to some slick camera work which made them very involving.

PROBLEMS: The movie definitely felt drawn out at times. There's a moment that's supposed to be moving and hugely emotional but it just felt like I was watching an odd version of American Idol.
A few characters were underdeveloped which lead to me not really being invested in them.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Napoleon




Romance and Rule

PRAISE: The last time I watched a movie or a series based on the life of Napoleon was 1987's Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story and it was pretty good.
So of course I was looking forward to this 2023 Napoleon movie with so much talent behind it. Director Ridley Scott, Joaquin Phoenix as Emperor Napoleon and as Empress Josephine Vanessa Kirby.
Even minus an accent Phoenix at times shines in the role and gives it his all. Especially in scenes with Kirby really displaying the volatile relationship between Napoleon and Josephine. Whether it's through insults,affection,their banter and dependence on each other I think they both did very well with those portions of the movie.
There's some dark humor I really enjoyed. The battle sequences are intense and brutal. I respect Scott's direction and the crew behind putting those scenes together.
There are definitely some visuals that were very soul stirring.

PROBLEMS : There are moments when watching Phoenix's performance I felt that he was miscast either he was trying to hard or not enough sometimes feeling like a parody of the historic figure. There's also a disorder to the movie in how things play out. The script is just stating well here's one highlight here and another here,oh and Napoleon did this or that or so on.
Even at a 2 hour and 30 minute run time it really feels like something is missing as certain facts about Napoleons triumphs and defeats are not fully realized . Which makes me look forward to the 4 and a half hour version that's supposed to hit Apple TV. Which I will definitely break up and turn it into a 4 hour and 30 minute series.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7
 
Maestro





Music Master

PRAISE : Having watched West Side Story multiple times back in the day I was definitely familiar with the music of legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Bradley Coopers Maestro is not only a tribute to Bernstein but his wife Felicia Montealegre ,and the music and entertainment of the time periods covered in the movie. I think Cooper and co writer Josh Singer capture Bernsteins love for music, his struggles with being bisexual ,wanting it all and trying to be discreet and protective. Cooper is great as Bernstein really losing himself in and embracing the role. I could really tell he did his homework on Bernstein.
Carey Mulligan turns in a terrific person as Montealegre.The joy and pain of being with Bernstein is written all over her face. In some standout scenes she attempts to ignore certain things going on around her, trying to ignore one particular person as respect for her and her relationship with Bernstein is slowly but surely pushed out of the picture. Her rationalizing over some of Bernsteins actions was well done.
Coopers blending of scenes are done nicely. There's a really great scene that truly shows joy and pain simultaneously happening. I found a lot of dramatic moments to be extremely effective. They really ring true .

PROBLEMS: There is a scene that I wish Cooper had shot differently, made it more up close and personal because it was a build up to what was coming.
Some scenes are overdone. Part of it is in the nineteen forties part of the film. The others are connected to the last thirty minutes of the film,which felt like Oscar bait and then some.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8
 
Saltburn




Tolerance Testing

PRAISE: This story is similar to The Talented Mister Ripley but turned up a few notches in which
A student is invited to an eccentric classmate's estate for an exciting summer.
Right from the start I will say this movie IS NOT for everyone. If you ever watched shows like OZ or P Valley you may be able to watch the full two hours of it.
The cast including Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick ; Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton ; Rosamund Pike as Lady Elspeth Catton, Felix's mother ; Richard E. Grant as Sir James Catton, Felix's father and Carey Mulligan as "Poor Dear" Pamela are all very good.
I liked how there was this level of underestimation that was displayed and characters were as shocked and taken aback as I was when they realized they didn't have the upper hand and that they weren't above a character. There's a lot of underlying anger ,angst,sadness and resentment in the ultra eccentric characters in the movie that made them even more interesting. I accepted some of the surreal craziness that happened in the movie. There is a lot of dark humor which I liked for the most part.To watch a character not only slowly be revealed and realized was fun. Director and writer Emerald Fennell the woman behind Killing Eve and Promising Young woman is still providing shock and entertaining stories.

PROBLEMS: The last 30 minutes were predictable for the most part.There were some things I couldn't get on board with. I've watched some crazy movies and TV shows over the years that had many off putting scenes but some of the scenes in this film were to over the top for me. I definitely gagged and put my head down a few times.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7




Silent Night






Silence and Violence

I have to give this movie points for trying something different in the revenge and avenge genre. The story is about A grieving father enacting his long-awaited revenge against a ruthless gang on Christmas Eve.The way this movie chooses its unique path calls upon Joel Kinnaman as Godlock to be very expressive and i think he did a very good job with that.
Director John Woo brings his signature style to a lot of the action sequences. I really enjoyed a standout action sequence that I thought was coming to an end but picks up again. There are some great and bloody kills.

PROBLEMS: There's no real character development. At times it felt like I was watching a remake of the mediocre 2018 version of Death Wish. Even at a slim hour and forty minutes portions of the movie are so dwelling and drawn out I actually became bored. I wish it had maintained the hyped up pace of the movies opening.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6½
 
May/December





Immoral Imitation

PRAISE: This movie is definitely loosely based on Mary Kay Letourneau who was a sex offender and teacher who pleaded guilty in 1997 to two counts of felony second-degree rape of a child. The child, Vili Fualaau, was 12 years oldNatalie Portman is very good as Elizabeth Berry
an actress shadowing and slowly but surely absorbing Gracie Atherton (Julianne Moore) who like
Letourneau was jailed but maintained a relationship with Fualaau and had children with him.Elizabeth attempts to get to the core of who Gracie is and was.Theres a coldness and predatory way about her which drew me into her character as she pushes things to the limit for
Her upcoming movie role as Gracie. Moore also does a great job as Gracie . She's used to all of the disgrace,disgusting threats she's received over the years but she's still very fragile at times.
As Joe Charles Melton does a terrific job as a man who had to grow up fast because of the choices he made as a child. He's a mix of maturity and immaturity and I thought this played out well in his various scenes with Moore who in a way still treats him like a child giving him little errands and slightly scolding him at times.He does chafe at having to be a pillar of strength for Gracie.Cory Michael Smith (completely didnt recognize him from his former role as The Riddler in Gotham) is great as Georgie, Gracies first born son he is the embodiment of how the family was effected by his mother's affair. Director Todd Haynes and writers Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik do a great job of showing the repercussions of what happens to the family members of two people who had such a highly Immoral affair.


PROBLEMS: There are a couple of things the movie touches on and I really wish they had been explored more because I think it would have brought out more of how unsure a character was.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8½
 
Leave the World Behind






World Woes

PRAISE : The mindset of a character, the soundtrack and a stunning visual pulled me into this movie about A family vacation on Long Island being interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a blackout. As the threat grows, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis.
The talents of the cast including Julia Roberts as Amanda Sandford ; Mahershala Ali as G. H. Scott ; Ethan Hawke as Clay Sandford and Myha'la as Ruth Scott kept me anchored to this movie.
I like that the movie gave me another reason not to stay at an Airbnb.
There are good setups in the story weaved in with the mistrust and mysteriousness of the characters.Who was telling the truth? Who was holding back information? All done well !! I liked the bluntness of a couple of the characters. There's some dark humor and cold responses I really enjoyed.
There are a lot of truths in writer and director Sam Esmail's script about life when something like a pandemic or terrorist act effects the entire world. Despite prejudices some people can forget them and actually embrace the person or people they prejudge.
People do indulge and wrap themselves up in things that bring them pleasure whether it's watching a movie or TV show ,listening to music, cooking etcetera to escape the horrible news of the day or a great tragedy that has befallen them.

PROBLEMS: There were a couple of moments that were supposed to be extremely suspenseful but I found them to be very funny. I'm not sure what the extremely abrupt ending was trying to say. Hold on to the simple pleasures in life? In the end all we have is each other? Either way all I could do
was laugh


Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Fast Charlie





Fast Fun

PRAISE: I appreciate quick films like this that have a good level of entertainment value. The story about a mob fixer who teams up with a troublesome newbie that leads to trouble and possible romance.
Pierce Brosnan still has charisma and then some as Charlie there's even a nice James Bond nod in the movie. His chemistry with Morena Baccarin reminded me of the same chemistry Sean Connery had with Catherine Zeta Jones in the movie Entrapment.
There's a nice poignant feel to see James Caan in his last film role.
Sharon Gless has a fun cameo that has to be seen to be believed.
The movie slowly evolves into that one person against many,get revenge and avenge movies that I love.
There are some really good kills in this movie that are laced with dark humor.
The action sequences and one really unique one are well choreographed. The movie is about as easy going as the big easy it's based in which added to the nice flow of it.

PROBLEMS: A character has so much clout and attainable muscle on deck so a move he makes didn't make sense. There's a generic feel to some of the movie.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Godzilla Minus One







Godzilla Greatness

PRAISE: Director and writer Takashi Yamazaki grounds his story and take on the legendary monster with a human story that is filled with regret,love, and trauma.
Great raw emotion and acting from Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe. Their bond is as believable as is Kamikis display of guilt as Koichi after turning his back at a critical moment in the closing days of World War II . Showing the effects of war visually and the trauma that sets in after it was very effective in the movie. The SFX and action sequences are on point as certain sequences have a dizzying effect and are so involving I found myself trying to wave characters away from danger. Seeing Godzilla massively take down anything in his path was thrilling to watch and particularly effective when there are close ups of the destruction he is causing. I actually felt something for the characters instead of just chalking them up as fodder for Godzilla.

PROBLEMS: A couple of moments are predictable and I couldn't get on board with how a couple of situations played out.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8½




FinestKind





Fine to Fail

PRAISE : After figuring out who the characters were and related to I got into the groove of this movie about Two brothers from opposite sides of the tracks are reunited as adults. Desperate circumstances force them into a deal with an organized crime syndicate in Boston, and a young women gets caught in the middle.
There were a couple of characters I immediately started rooting for and they were portrayed by Toby Wallace as Charlie and Jenna Ortega as Mabel.
There was the usual family angst about living up to one's potential, dissapointing family members and the father and son turmoil which I was ok with. Ben Foster does well as Charlie's brother Tom. It's always great to have the presence of Tommy Lee Jones around and it was nice to see Lolita Davidovich and Tim Daly in a project again. The life of a deep sea fisherman is nicely displayed from the longing for the sea to how dangerous it can be.I was glad I was spared from something crazy I thought was really going to happen.

PROBLEMS: The movie becomes very clichéd almost immediately as the crime part of the film begins. The grit in the film starts to lose its edge. Then things start to become far to convenient and easy for certain characters. I actually started laughing at one character who was a complete pushover.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6
 
BIRDEMIC Shock and Terror





BAD BAD BAD

This is one of those bad movies that has to be seen to be believed. It's legendary bad from the acting to the absolutely horrible SFX. It's amazing to watch people sit through it like i did, to laugh at and be as horrified as i was at absolutely everything that happened in it. I hear it was made for ten grand but it looks like it was made for ten bucks.Another crazy fact there are four sequels out there !! Some people call it the best worst movie ever and i completely agree.


Critic review scale of 1 to 10 a 0

Just for laughs scale of 1 to 10 an 8
 
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A Good Person on Amazon was really good
 
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