Movie Night (Official Movie Discussion Thread)

Never Let Go





This movie about a family of three unnamed mother (Halle Berry) and her two sons, Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) starts off well enough because I wasn't even sure what type of foundation the film was building on. The family stays tethered to their home which is powerful enough to stop the "evil" that might take them over. All three leads do well as trust,what's real,and haunting imagery are intertwined with their performances.When the music plays during certain scenes it brought back great memories of several haunting movies ive watched over the years. I could see the biblical nods which i liked. Unfortunately after 20 minutes it becomes very predictable and I started to think Director Alexandre Aja and writers Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby are fans of a former film that plays out in a very similar way and wanted to remake it but with more horrifying imagery. This film had to many dull moments for me and what actually kept me watching and entertained was my desire to see if the predictable turns would play out.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6
 
Wolfs





PRAISE : Sometimes i think actors take on projects just to work together again and i dont have a problem with that especially if the chemistry is there and it definitely is in this movie which stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt as fixers who are called in to take care of a problem in the form of a nameless young man (Austin Abrams) I liked that both fixers seemingly had control of the situation with a large amount of arrogance.
The performances of the two leads definitely uplift the film and the fact that they have worked together for awhile in the Ocean's movies shines through in some good moments in the movie. I really have to praise Abrams because filming a certain scene must have been really hard to film,also praise to the stunt man. I thought the pile on of complications for the two fixers were good. I did enjoy the fun moments the movie provides.


PROBLEM : The plot adds a lot of things ive seen in so many movies like this with two characters that are rivals in almost everything making the narrative really feel been there done that. I feel the movie should have had a lot more bite to it more edge to get me more involved. Having said that it was a good idea that this went straight to Apple TV


Scale of 1 to 10 a 6½



Megalopolis






PRAISE: Following its premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival the handful of quick quotes about the movie from handful of critics made me think I was going to walk into an undefineable mess of a movie. Fortunately I was able to follow several story threads in this movie about Cesar, inventor of a living building substance called Megalon going head to head with Mayor Franklyn Cicero who wants things to remain the same in New Rome. None of the performances in the film were bad ,I actually think every actor gave it their all including: Talia Shire, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight,Giancarlo Esposito,and Kathryn Hunter. Writer/director Francis Ford Coppola infuses a lot of himself into the character Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) so passionate about what he wants the same way Coppola put his own money into this film because he felt it must be made. As Cicero’s daughter Julia, Nathalie Emmanuel turns in a beautiful and loving performance. As Cesar’s cousin Clodio, Shia LaBeouf fit right in with how quirky and odd his character is. I even laughed at a few darkly humorous lines he had.Speaking of quirky as Wow Platinum Aubrey Plaza was pretty funny to watch her go through the motions to attempt to get what she wants in life was entertaining. Coppola is definitely keeping up with the pulse of the world as he places certain scenes filled with modern politics, battles over real estate and what's to be done with it and if it will benefit the people. Some things were definitely on the nose which i didn't have a problem with because i found it entertaining. One scene really caught me off guard and it was so quietly directed it added to how very involving it was. I did like most of the visuals.

PROBLEMS: As the movie dived more into its 2 hour 12 minute running time. I started seeing odd ball, drawn out moments as just padding. I even tried to reason with why certain things were happening in the movie. Did I really need to see this or that?
Im not sure why some characters were in the movie because they barely had lines and vanished quickly. There's some awful bad green screen scenes in the movie. In the end the movie just feels like it was trying to be to many things. Shakespearian,artistic, futuristic and political and it just collapses under the weight of it all.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 5
 
Joker: Folie a Deux






Praise : When it was announced that the sequel to 2019's highly successful Joker film was going to be a musical my response was much like everyone else's. Huh? How is that going to work?!? Then I started thinking about a movie musical i liked years ago called Sweeney Todd and if it's like that it may work. As Arthur Fleck
Joaquin Phoenix turns in a good performance slipping easily into song and dance numbers but at least for a moment here and there he's that Joker from the first film. As another Arkham asylum inmate Lee Quinzel a.k.a. “Harley Quinn” Lady Gaga of course handles the role with ease as she belts out familiar tunes. Two broken and traumatized people bonding i was on board with it. The actors have great chemistry. The opening of the movie was very creative and fun and i really enjoyed it. Also Fleck wallowing in misery as he goes through competence hearings to see if he's sane enough for a multiple murder trial appealed to me. Characters suddenly breaking into song ,with tunes from the past was charming.....for about an hour.

PROBLEMS: Phoenix and Director director/co-writer Todd Phillips stated they loved taking on the character and of course the success of the first movie. I can see them putting their heads together saying hey let's make the sequel a musical. This likely appealed to Phoenix because he already portrayed Johnny Cash. But this idea fell apart for me after the first hour. I knew exactly where this movie was going and what bits were going to turn out to be. It really started to feel like a parody of two of the most infamous DC characters. It's really dissapointing because I could see what could have and what should have been done with these characters but they're both watered down here and just doesn't lead up to anything entertaining or involving. It just feels like an odd experiment that ends with the same one note path a writer and Director takes when they sign off from a character.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 5
 
Saturday Night






PRAISE: Since the age of seven ive watched Saturday Night Live . Sure at that age most of the jokes went over my head but I loved the show which was like watching a live action version of Mad Magazine. In Saturday Night Director Jason Reitman does his best to capture the spirit of the shows first airing in 1975. It's manic, huge egos are in place,along with nerves,missing performers and crews in stop work mode. I think Reitman does a great job with this portion of the film also inserting some calm within the storm moments. Co-writer Gil Kenan also deserves place by bringing this circus to the page. I think it's cool that they placed the exact time of the before airing of the show in the movies running time (minus the credits) to make the audience really feel part of it. There are some many moments of great nostalgia that brought a smile to my face. I thought the moments between Lorne Michaels portrayed by Gabriel LaBelle and Lorne’s wife Rosie Shuster portrayed by Rachel Sennott really clicked. Praise to the actors portraying the early SNL cast members including : Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase · Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner · Dylan O'Brien as Dan Aykroyd and Matt Wood as John Belushi.

PROBLEMS: Some of the portrayals work more than others as the assortment of actors get a lot of the mannerisms down but some just come off as blatant miscasts and some are only given brief moments. I thought some moments of the movie felt a bit off especially the inclusion of Milton Berle portrayed by J.K Simmons even though I know they used him as one of the ways to say TV was changing.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Caddo Lake




PRAISE : I never watched a trailer for this movie and i didn't know M. Night Shyamalan produced it but I can see why he was drawn to it's ultra twisty script. The story is about Ellie and her family, who live near Caddo Lake, a mysterious body of water in Texas and the strange things that happen in and around it. I found the cast including: Dylan O'Brien, Eliza Scanlen, Caroline Falk, Lauren Ambrose and characters to be very likeable as they go through their family dysfunction and dealing with past pain. As the story progressed i definitely became more involved and wondered why certain things were happening right along with the main characters. The Direction and writing choices were on point and they are definitely formed in a way to throw the viewer off. I'm actually staying away from trailers more these days and that fact definitely helped with my enjoyment of this movie.

PROBLEMS: As the movie went into its last 30 minutes the been there done that feel started to seep in. I actually laughed because a couple of twists are like a carbon copy of twists in a streaming series I'm in the middle of. Some portions of the movie are a bit convoluted.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
TERRIFIER 3




By now anyone going to see these Terrifier movies knows what they're going to get and that's mainly a gorefest and then some but they do try to insert some type of story in that makes me think about the characters in any Scream film or the antics of Freddy Krueger. In this third chapter we have Sienna (Lauren LaVera) dealing with thr trauma from the last movie . She returns from a psychiatric hospital to live with her aunt Jessica (Margaret Ann Florence), her husband Greg (Bryce Johnson), and their kid Gabbie (Antonella Rose), Sienna’s brother Jonathan (Elliot Fullam) is in college, dealing with his own PTSD.
There are some fun moments and i laughed at some of the antics of Art the Clown portrayed by David Howard Thornton as no one is spared from his murder spree just in time for Christmas. I actually found a couple of scenes shocking when unexpected gore pops up onto the screen. I did enjoy the bit about unattentive parents.It's a physical performance,full of mannerisms and slight winks at the camera. The violence of course is extremely gory and dwelling and I can see why there were a number of theatre goers that either walked out or passed out during the movie. It's over the top and then some and actually took me out of the movie several times. The movie definitely slows down when a few characters go into explanation mode and it's extremely predictable what certain characters fates will be after talking up Art. With the cost of this movie only being 2 million. I expect to see Art return.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
The Wild Robot




PRAISE: DreamWorks Animation has once again dreamed up and animated film with strong family themes,heart and wonderful blends of animation. The story about an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island but overflowing with wildlife that learns to adapt and adopt. Anyone that has ever watched a series or film about wildlife can definitely see the movie gets a lot of things right about animals,their survival and communities. Sometimes the facts about the wild are combined with some dark humor, one scene in particular made me say : Wait did they just do that ?!? There's some great voice work from the entire cast including : Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, and Bill Nighy. There are a lot of strong messages in the film about life,acceptance and the environment but i didn't feel like i was being hit over the head with it. I liked the message of what kind of impact a parent can have on a child and how one never really stops being a parent or loving a child. The animation is sharp and creative with tons of great detail.

PROBLEMS: I found a few moments to be predictable. The climax felt like a carbon copy of so many animated films I've watched over the years.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8½
 
The Silent Hour






I actually enjoyed portions of this film despite it being ultra predictable. As Boston police detective Frank Shaw who suddenly turns deaf after getting injured, while pursuing a suspect Joel Kinnaman turns in a good performance and he has great chemistry with actress Sandra Mae Frank also very good as Ava who was a witness to a double homicide. I actually liked the scenes of Shaw trying to cope with certain hurdles in life and his bonding with Ava than the action scenes which there are not many of. As soon as one character says about four lines of dialogue I knew exactly what was going to happen in what was supposed to be a major twist. I always wonder when movies are structured in a way would it have worked better as a series.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7



Little Bites






This is that true slow and i mean slow burn horror. I did find several things to enjoy in this movie though. There were some truly horrifying and gory moments. I even laughed a few times.
Krsy Fox, who reminds me of Hilary Swank was good as Mindy Vogel a widow and mother dealing with a haunting creature that needs to feed.The creature design was pretty good.
There are times when a movie is to ambiguous, a good story is set up but takes a long time not to really get anywhere. I actually wish the movie had leaned more into a Little Shop of Horrors vibe with a constant Feed Me chant. At least that would be held my interest.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 4½
 
Woman of The Hour





PRAISE: Even in the 1970's people were faking it until they were making it in "reality" TV from talk shows to game shows. Producers and even hosts goading participants into what to say or do to get the best ratings. The movie is based on the crazy real-life incident from 1978, when the serial killer Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) appeared on The Dating Game.
Daniel Zovatto definitely taps into creep mode as murderer Rodney Alcala,and made my skin crawl a bit. The type of person that you cant wait to get away from.But he still had enough charm to lure women into his web. I think
director and producer Anna Kendrick,did a very good job with this film. She captures the corny awkwardness and innuendo of the Dating Game show.I liked how she further shows how all logic,reason or care is overwhelmed by a lust for fame. The way she frames certain scenes with the quiet vibe of darkness surrounding a person, when only footsteps can be heard are on point and how some of the victims were charmed into going along with Alcala are done in such a way that i cared for them just enough to be drawn into the scene and become involved.

PROBLEMS: The pacing definitely could have been better. Kendrick pulls back on displaying a few things about the killer and i think it watered down the movie a bit.



Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Venom: The Last Dance





PRAISE: The Jekyll and Hyde or Heckle and Jeckle of the Sony associated with Marvel characters of Venom and Eddie Return for one last(??) adventure.
I can say at least this movie gave me what I've always liked about this Trilogy of flicks: The various alien symbiotes and how they look and move. This is displayed in a spectacular way and i can appreciate all of the hard work that went into the CGI & SFX. The glimpses of a certain character weren't bad either. I did laugh a few times at Venom's and Eddie's antics.

PROBLEMS: The characters Dr. Payne (Juno Temple),and General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor),are basically cookie cutters. One wants to study the symbiotes,one wants to destroy them the same ive seen in dozens of Sci Fi movies.This flick for the most part just made me wonder a lot. Why characters make decisions without any logic or reason. Why characters are introduced that don't add up to much. So much so I saw them as filler. The inconsistencies in the script are so huge that I couldn't just accept them. There's definitely a Why bother feeling I had during the flicks two end credit scenes.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 4
 
Juror #2






PRAISE: Who really wants to go to jury duty? Sure if a person works a regular nine to five job they may get a break from that but your still stuck in some stuffy court room or small room for most of the day.
Right from the start Director Clint Eastwood and writer Jonathan Abrams pulled me in to this story about A juror for a high-profile murder trial finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma that could influence the verdict and potentially convict, or free, the accused killer because it's familiar and relatable. You have people making up flimsy and not so flimsy reasons to get picked as a juror and i did find myself amused by those scenes having been to jury duty at least four times. Then as the movie progressed and the characters became more developed, the jurors in particular try not to make the trial they are assigned go down a path of prejudices or make it personal. How do i separate my own feelings from an innocent person being murdered ? or something less sinister and more of a civil matter like a rent dispute? This is all played with in a great way. I enjoyed the performances from the entire cast who made their roles believable including: Nicholas Hoult · Justin Kemp ; Toni Collette · Faith Killebrew ; J.K. Simmons · Harold ; Kiefer Sutherland · Larry Lasker ; Zoey Deutch and Allison Crewson. There's some really good raw emotion on display throughout the film. I liked how the movie structured a couple of scenes in which I was thrown off for a bit about a particular character. Eastwood still has the mastery of unfolding a story that makes you pay attention.

PROBLEMS: Whether a person is sitting in a meeting or court room in which they are supposed to be paying attention there are times when there's a pause in what's being said especially if you are in the aforementioned for a long period of time,a mind can drift and start studying who's in the room. A few times when that comes into play in the movie it's ignored or plays out in a very weak way.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Don't Move






PRAISE: A lot of times one on one or small cast thrillers work for me. Don't Move definitely did for the most part. Sure I've seen stories like it before and this one is about a grieving woman being pursued by a killer has a lot going for it.
As Iris Kelsey Asbille does a fine job because it's not only an emotional performance but a physical one. Also on point is Finn Wittrock as Richard the seemingly nice and comforting person but the creep is right underneath the surface. Directors
Adam Schindler and Brian Netto and
Writers David White and T.J. Cimfel make some great choices when they want to turn up the suspense and get the viewer involved. I definitely couldn't help but think about a couple of my favorite movies The Vanishing and the 1988 French-Dutch movie with the same name. The consistently in peril moments worked for me. I those the visual violence was pretty good. The inclusion of information about the characters blended in well. I also liked the therapy through trauma moments.

PROBLEMS: I couldn't get on board with how a couple of things played out in the movie especially with a character being so cautious and thorough.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Heretic





PRAISE: Having being a member of several organized religions over the years i found myself instantly involved in this movie about. Two young missionaries being pulled into the trap of a Mr.Reed.
Some of the discussions about the Bible ive had over time matched with the topics and questions brought up by Mr.Reed portrayed by Hugh Grant who looks like he's having fun in almost every scene he's in. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are quite good as the sisters in religion. At first equally matching Reeds questions with their own analogies which made me smile, in fact I don't think i could stop smiling during the movies first 30 minutes. Even with the possibility of something sinister going on with Reed his questions and metaphors about faith and beliefs were always interesting to me. The intentions and objectives of Reed seemed obvious but i didn't mind because it's tied to the interesting parts of the movie.
There are several good moments of suspense and good uses of camera work as I was placed in the footsteps of the two missionaries as they approach certain objects in Reeds home.

PROBLEMS: Not much is done with a specific character i felt the placement was just there to be tied to a moment of convenience. The movie definitely runs out of steam in its last 24 minutes as things are explained as if I was watching a Scooby Doo Gang or Nancy Drew explanation of everything

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Absolution




PRAISE: I believe everyone reaches a point in their life whether they are pushed to do so or something overwhelms them to reflect on people they are on the outs with and regret who they left in the rear view of their lives. All of the aforementioned can be said about the character Liam Neeson portrays in this film he turns in a very strong performance as a gangster reaching his twilight period. Also quite strong are Frankie Shaw as his daughter Daisy and Yolanda Ross as a playful, caring, woman whos life the gangster walks into who has her own set a of problems. I enjoyed that Neeson's character was trying to set things right even though there were some huge hurdles in his way. I loved the salty dialogue in the script, and even when the script hits a few familiar beats i found the movie to be entertaining. I was actually shocked by one turn in the movie. I admire the film for trying to do a few different things in the old school gangster genre. The movie reminded me of one of my favorite movies of 2023 Knox Goes Away.

PROBLEMS: There's definitely some been there done that old hat scenes throughout the movie. A couple of turns were very predictable.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 7½
 


Just watched this on prime.

Great fucking movie. Its about a rape and murder that takes place in a small town in Missouri. The movie starts after it happens and the mother puts up 3 billboards criticizing the police sheriff. This causes a rift between her and the police and a bunch of stuff happens. The movie is serious, but has some very humorous moments and overall a great story. Highly recommend. 9 out of 10.
 
Red One






Praise : Red One takes a stab at a modern day take on the mythical Santa Clause in a movie about the head of North Pole security (Dwayne Johnson) teaming up with a notorious hacker (Chris Evans) in order to locate a kidnapped Santa. I did like that this movie displayed what the holidays have become to people just like in the horror movie Thanksgiving. I actually enjoyed J.K. Simmons as Santa for the time he was in the movie. I also liked the villain in the movie witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka),Shipka has the cold unflinching stare down to a T. I believe I smiled at some of the going ons in the movie a few times. I did like the tech used in the movie and the various creature and character designs.

PROBLEMS: Evans and Johnson basically are the same characters they have portrayed in every other action comedy they have been in. Just looking at the ages of the "kids" at the start of the movie and the fact that was presented to them would upset them made no sense. This is another movie that forgets what was stated two minutes before. With the "Authority" that was placed in the movie it waters down the main plot of the movie. I felt the movie wastes time on something that was supposed to be funny but it ultimately wasn't. The complete change a character makes made no sense. I was never fully involved with the familial threads as the movie wanted me to be.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 5
 
Gladiator II





PRAISE: The first Gladiator film is one of my all time favorites. I've always thought it of the movie being on the same level as classics like Spartacus and Ben Hur. The sequel makes some good attempts to be on the same level as Gladiator. I was more than happy that one of the story threads didn't go down a path that would have been completely unbelievable. With that out of the way Director Director Ridley Scott and writer David Scarpa try to keep things interesting in this story about Lucius all grown up and ready to embark on his own journey. Paul Mescal takes on the role of the older Lucius and at times brings the right amount of intensity, humor, and unflinching nerve to the role. Denzel Washington steals every scene that he's in as Macrinus owner of gladiators and he is fun to watch as he grasps for power sometimes viciously as i could see him working things out in his mind as he uses people like chess pieces. Alex Karim is also quite good as Ravi i almost didnt recognize him.The battle scenes, that take place on water and in the coliseum with man vs man and beast are fun even though a bit abrupt. There's blood spilling galore as various gladiators are put through deadly paces. I did laugh at some full on displays of insanity moments.

PROBLEMS: The cast is full of big names including Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn,but their characters may have a couple of strong moments they feel underdeveloped. Some other characters i couldn't take seriously or maybe i wasn't supposed to. Familiar and similar beats that are "borrowed" from the first film made this movie feel like a repeat button was being pressed over and over again. A couple of times i found myself asking how is this even possible?
The CGI looked a bit choppy in a few scenes

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7
 
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