Movie Night (Official Movie Discussion Thread)

The Drama




PRAISE: Im glad i was able to avoid the leaked script and far to spoiler filled reviews for this movie. There are definitely a number of people that won't get past the revelation in this movie. It is disturbing but I feel the movie really tried for the most part to make it and easier watch. The cast including Zendaya as Emma,Robert Pattinson as Charlie
Alana Haim as Rachel,Mamoudou Athie as Mike,Zoe Winters as Frances and
Hailey Gates as Misha all do a great job with their roles. I actually felt their frustrations and sadness at times. Can you stay in a relationship, actually marry someone who has revealed something very dark and disturbing about their past? Will you always wonder if that darkness is still in their minds eye waiting to get out? The film plays with the aforementioned in what I thought were interesting moments in the movie. There's also some funny parts about all of people connected to a wedding from the DJ to the menu planner. Im actually shocked something wasn't presented in the movie and found it interesting,maybe even relieved that it wasn't included. I liked how the movied asked if we are to judgemental of others.

PROBLEMS: It was clear as a sunny day what a character was feeling and was extremely disturbed by what was revealed so I couldn't get on board with the character just putting on a happy face and pushing forward. Now if a couple of scenes before the climax of the movie about love conquering all had been presented in a boldly dramatic way I would have bought into it. I can also say the same about another character who was clearly upset and angry about the revelation when I saw their prescense all i could blurt out was why are you here?

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Outcome





PRAISE: This dramedy about a two-time Oscar-winning action star named Reef Hawk (Keanu Reeves) who is paranoid and then some about protecting his image and people forgetting his accomplishments gets thrown a curve ball when someone threatens to release a private video that he thinks could end his career. When Director and writer Jonah Hill along with co Writer Ezra Woods include jokes about reality TV ,the Hollywood machine and personas the movie worked for me. The dramatic moments were the best moments in the film,especially when Hawk is confronted about his vices and only seeing himself.
Reeves does well in the aforementioned scenes as his character goes on an apology tour. The really standout scene that the film definitely needed more of includes a great dramatic performance from Martin Scorsese as Reef’s first manager.

PROBLEMS: Far to many obnoxious characters coupled with painfully unfunny moments that I wish could have ended quickly. Some scenes felt as fake as the green screen used in the movie. I felt the look isn't this clever scenes were extremely repetitive. Sure I get that Hill wanted to make fun of cancel culture but a more subtle approach would have worked better for me.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6
 
The Yeti




Promising start to this flick which was aiming to be a gorefest,and i enjoyed the introduction of the multiple characters in the movie,the vibe and cinematography were on point.Plus the inclusion of two actors i had no idea would appear in the movie. But ultimately there are far to many off camera kills and the pacing really could have been so much better.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6
 
Apex



PRAISE: Some people have the burning desire to climb the highest mountains and cliffs around the world. Sasha (Charlize Theron) is one of those people but when she meets Ben (Taron Egerton) in the Australian wilderness she will have far more to worry about than the terrain of her latest adventure. Director Baltasar Kormakur said he wanted to really put the actors through their paces in the environment of the Australian wilderness and it shows that he did just that in some incredible action sequences so high praise to him and Theron and Egerton. The close up shots of wild rivers and twisty roads the characters are trying to maneuver are a great spectacle to take in and to actually see them in such settings made the movie extremely involving to me. Egerton is great as Ben a little bit of everything when it comes to him being a complete psychopath. Once Sasha makes realizations about Ben,Theron's facial expressions and body language says it all. Its great that the movie taps into what made other pursued in the wild thrillers like The River Wild and Surving the Game so good. The Cinematography by Lawrence Sher is beyond stunning.

PROBLEMS: A character was far to trusting especially after going through some much in fact such trust was unintentionally funny. I wouldn't have minded an extra 15 minutes to see the characters mix it up a bit more letting the characters and the movie to raise the game a bit more. There are a couple of predictable moments.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8
 
FUZE



Despite this movie being partially predictable, it still manages to be entertaining as the characters try to stop a World War 2 era bomb from exploding in London. There is a good amount of tension and suspense and the frustrations of Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Army Major Will Tranter as he's walking a tightrope of trying to keep his fellow soldiers and citizens safe and have complete control of multiple situations that involve Theo James as Karalis,Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Zuzana,Elham Ehsas as Rahim,Sam Worthington as X and Shaun Mason as Y. To watch this juggling act play out was fun to watch.
There are a lot of moving parts that are a blend of betrayal and slight of hand and its all done in a way that has to be meticulously played by the characters. The tacked on ending felt odd to me because of the shifts in tone that really didn't match to everything that occurred for most of the movie.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Y’all ever think about how fucking hard it would’ve been for life in LA to go back to normal after any of the incidents that took place in Terminator 2: Judgemet Day?

From the moment Lewis the guard gets trepanned in a hallway… nothing would’ve been rationally explained.

Imagine having to fill out the fucking paperwork?

What about Dyson’s house?
Why is there a whole Gotdamn forearm skin hand and all just degloved in the living room?!
 
Hokum





PRAISE: Every place has a story especially a scary one,so much so its very hard to believe. In this movie writer ,Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott ) visits a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes. He's so smug,judgemental and rude I couldn't wait for him to be haunted and have his wits scared out of him. Then the story takes a couple of turns that drew me from what I wanted to see plus with the additions of wondering if certain dots were going to be connected and I became more entertained by the darkness that's wrapped around its characters. The layers are pulled back on Baumans PTSD,and the more I found out the more sympathy I felt for him. Story threads are neatly woven in about seeking redemption and forgiveness. Writer and Director Damian McCarthy does a great job particularly on his reliance on inanimate objects and how haunting they can be. He let's his story slowly but surely let in aspects that lean into the movie becoming a thriller. Plus he includes one of the scariest images I've ever seen in a horror movie so praise to all of those behind the CGI and practical effects in the movie. It actually reminded me of a scene from another movie but in this one they took it to another level.

PROBLEMS: There are some very familiar tropes and settings that really felt been there done that.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8½
 
Black_Samson said:
Y’all ever think about how fucking hard it would’ve been for life in LA to go back to normal after any of the incidents that took place in Terminator 2: Judgemet Day?

From the moment Lewis the guard gets trepanned in a hallway… nothing would’ve been rationally explained.

Imagine having to fill out the fucking paperwork?

What about Dyson’s house?
Why is there a whole Gotdamn forearm skin hand and all just degloved in the living room?!
Click to expand...
I'm actually not mad at this 😅😅
 
Mortal Kombat II




PRAISE: Earlier this week i was trying to explain and describe Mortal Kombat to a couple of family members that either never played the game or didn't know much about it. So watching a movie like this would have went over their heads especially with all of the fan service in the movie which wasn't a bad thing. This time around martial artist and actor Johnny Cage is recruited to join Earth's mightiest warriors in an interdimensional battle to save multiple worlds including Earth. Back to the fan service it was fun watching the characters use their various powers while facing off each other. As Johnny Cage Karl Urban, gets the best pop culture reference and salty one liners . Coming in as a close second is Kano (Josh Lawson). I enjoyed most of the brutal kills. The beginning of the story was pretty good as it focuses onKitana (Adeline Rudolph).

PROBLEMS: There's definitely a big dose of cheesiness throughout the movie. With odd looking stiff action sequences and an overuse of CGI during the fight scenes too. The characters deliver one liners with less energy than a 50 year old battery. I was half expecting a character to say the classic over used one liner That's gotta hurt !!

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7
 
Deep Water






PRAISE: Director Renny Harlin returns to the deep blue sea for another shark flick that has its moments. The story Survivors of an ocean plane crash must battle shark-infested waters and work together to survive after their plane goes down. Like I said this movie has its moments from the tension of the plane going down and Aaron Eckhart as the the flights first officer Ben mustering as much raw emotion as he can. I could tell the movie wants to be The Poseidon Adventure and at times it touches upon the greatness of that disaster flick. As Dan ,Angus Sampson is pretty much a jerk from the start of the movie and never let's up. So its a love to hate factor to him. There are some suspenseful moments and reactions. I know i can always rely on Harlin to take even a task that has some difficulties for the characters and turn it into something shockingly explosive and entertaining especially visually.

PROBLEMS: There are quite a few laughable and shake my head moments in the movie. For anyone thats been on an airline in the past 20 plus years there are things that can easily be picked apart in the first few minutes of the film. Even when I watched the trailer for this movie months ago I picked out its predictable paths. Im not sure what happened to a couple of characters because a few scenes were to jumbled.I wonder how much Ben Kingsley got paid for this. At times the green screen and CGI looks terrible.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6½
 
Obsession




PRAISE: With a strong message of be very, very careful of what you wish for this film is horror laced with dark comedy . The story is basically that Bear is deeply in love with his platonic friend Nikki but is too afraid to ruin their relationship by confessing his crush.The leads Bear (Michael Johnston) and Nikki (Inde Navarrette) do a great job as the movie gradually reveals the true status of where a possible relationship between the two stands.Navarrette stands out in key scnes displaying her range and unflinching performance. As the movie slowly but surely drifts into a horror blended with gore and bodily fluids,codependency is creeping around the corner and taken to horrific levels and haunting imagery i didn't see coming. The imagery is so well done with shadowy figures,and proving that darkness in even the most smallest places can be intimidating. It also explores loneliness and how that can factor in to someone wanting a romantic relationship so much that they can even bypass the insanity and carnage they're experiencing. Writer and Director Curry Barker does a good job of balancing the tones in the movie. The score by Rock Burwell never lets up.

PROBLEMS: At times the movie felt repetitive and tedious and about 10 minutes could have been cut from the movie. There were a couple of moments I could see coming from miles away.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
In the Grey




Director and writer Guy Ritchie is given a lot of toys to play with,Eiza González as Sophia voice over exposition is sexy and
Henry Cavill as John Greyand Jake Gyllenhaal as Michael Harris have great banter and the action sequences are well executed in this story about a covert team of elite operatives who operate in the dangerous, ambiguous space between the law and criminality. But ultimately this quick action romp doesn't add up to much with repetitive back and forths between characters sitting in offices and power brokers betraying and trying to murder each other. There's a dullness around the edges of the movie that it never really shakes off.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6½
 
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu





PRAISE: I went in hoping the movie would give just enough that it remained true to what it is but also provide a different vibe from the show.The two title characters carry over all of the likeable and charming vibes from the streaming series.As Rotta the Hutt Jeremy Allen White turns in some enthusiastic voice work. Plus the character turned out to be nothing like i expected him to be. Once again Martin Scorsese turns in a memorable performance in a 2026 movie. I thought the action sequences were well placed and choregraphed. The creature and alien designs were very impressive especially one that reminded me of a mythical creature from the Conan the Barbarian comic books. I did laugh out loud a couple of times at a couple of humorous moments. Familiar and likeable characters are scattered throughout the movie. I enjoyed the score by Ludwig Göransson.


PROBLEMS : Theres a charming and connective sequence but umfortunately it goes on far too long.It started to remind me of those Disney 20 minute long one shot cartoons like the one they made for Groot. I spoke about hope for this movie at the beginning of the review and i hoped the last 30 minutes of the movie would have something beyond memorable, even a great battle sequence. But it just provides basic canned turns. I thought the movie would try to bring some alterations from what the series is to the table but in the end it felt like a filler season for the streaming series.


Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
I was bored yesterday and couldn't find anything to watch so I opened up Hulu and watched a movie called Dust Bunny.

It's like a fantasy horror flick. I don't know if it was terrible or good because it made zero sense and explained nothing.

The jist of the movie is a piece of dust becomes a monster and leaves under the floor beneath a little girls bed. Little girl's neighbor is a hitman that she hires to kill the dust bunny ......
 
Desert Warrior




PRAISE: Im always amazed to hear about a movie that i had no idea existed, who it stars and that it was made years ago. For DW its spent five years on the shelf. The story is kind of basic Princess Hind and her deposed father, King Al-Numan, defy the ruthless Persian-Sasanian Emperor Kisra—who demands all royal daughters as concubines—they flee into the Arabian desert. Aided by a legendary, gold-seeking bandit.
Anthony Mackie does the whole Han Solo Im In For The Money thing and he has a few scenes in which he's ok in.As Jalabzeen Sharlto Copley was interesting at least with what he was given.The movie is visually stunning with a large cast of actors and extras and I could tell what the 150 million dollar budget was spent on. I was in high anticipation for battle scenes and all I could think of while waiting for them was the line from Braveheart: We Didnt get dressed up for nothing !! Fortunately there are a few payoffs but maybe i was just desperate because....

PROBLEMS : The dullness and meandering outweigh the good things in the movie. Characters threaten each other with betrayal and display selfishness over and over again. At times I thought some of the CGI looked awful. It actually looked like they copied and pasted Mackies head onto a stunt man's body. The character development is minimal and then some as there are only audible echoes of what a character went through in the past. I scratched my head on how different factions of people were suddenly inspired because there was absolutely no build up to it ,it just kind of happens. Mackie disappears throughout the movie. Im not sure what other project he was filming at the time but its blatant and unintentionally funny of how he's suddenly gone and reappears again and again.I bet Ben Kingsley filmed his part on a small soundstage and was done in 20 minutes.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 4½
 
Backrooms





PRAISE: Blending bits of Agoraphobia and Misanthropy and a lot more makes this film very watchable. The movie presents a furniture store owner who has experienced several misfortunes Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor ) who finds an infinite amount of space connected to his store that has a haunting presence to it. Director Kane Parsons wants the audience to experience the same curiosity, panic and terror the characters that inhabit this film experience. Parsons and Writer Will Soodik fortunately don't rely on one thing to entertain and increase levels of suspense. They provide a grab bag of a little bit of everything that can frighten and audience but also make them think especially about the repetitive nature of the mind especially when one feels they've been wronged in some way.The therapist needing therapy threads in various stories always appeals to me and I thought , Renate Reinsve did a great job as a maybe to caring , Dr. Mary Kline,but then again one would wish they could get a therapist as caring as she is.I liked that the movie remains true to the YouTube videos made by KanePixels four years ago. The SFX and practical effects designers come up with some very well done and impressive imagery.

PROBLEMS: A couple of characters are sorely underused. I wish the movie had held off on one of the reveals until the very end of the movie. It watered the movie down a bit for me.


Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
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