Movie Night (Official Movie Discussion Thread)

Just watched this and I need my almost 2 hours back

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Wolf Man





PRAISE: Leigh Whannell & Corbett Tucks Werewolf story about a family man seeking to protect his wife and daughter from a werewolf is definitely effective at certain points in the movie. It's well acted by the cast including Julia Garner as Charlotte ,Christopher Abbott as Blake ,Leigh Whannell as Dan and Matilda Firth as Ginger,as it is well established there is a level of estrangement and disconnect in their family and the actors definitely brought that out.Director Whannell use of light,sound and point of few moments are the most effective in the film. Though not a gorefest the moments of gore are involving and got several gasps out of the audience. At times the movie reminded me of the 1986 version of The Fly and 1973's The Boy Who Cried Werewolf. Whannell definitely infuses a few new things into the Werewolf legend that were very likeable.

PROBLEMS: The pacing definitely couldn't have been better as I found myself not to involved in what was happening to the characters and the predicaments they found themselves in. I didn't like the Werewolf design to much. It looked like one of the Orcs from the Lord of the Rings films. There is an ultra predictable turn in the movie.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6½
 
Back In Action






PRAISE: This Action comedy about two retired spies who now spy on their daughter but trouble finds them again is truly uplifted by its cast. Cameron Diaz returns to acting after an almost 11 year braak and her team up with Jamie Foxx as Emily and Matt, is nice and the two share some good moments together. Watching the movie which at least has a couple of action sequences in which the decks are nicely stacked I found myself saying at least they gave me something.
I even found myself genuinely laughing a few times especially when the character of Nigel shows up portrayed by Jamie Demetriou . I thought some of his dialogue and physical humor was very funny. There is a character that is constantly talked about in the first hour of the film so much so I couldn't wait to see who would be portraying the character and fortunately the pay off is very good.

PROBLEMS: As I said in the praise portion it's the talent that uplifts the film from its generic and dull quicksand. I love Fola Evans-Akingbola but what they had her going through with a certain character was painfully predictable. The talents of Andrew Scott and Kyle Chandler are also wasted as both of their characters enter the realm of the predictable. The CGI is standout awful in one particular scene. The script is just so much of what I've seen before. The way Emily and Matts kids are written,corny interrupted moments of intimacy between the two lead characters and ultra lame hand to hand combat moments. I wonder how movies like this still get made with the same formula. I really don't see movies like this being released in theatre's anymore they go straight to streaming on either Netflix or Apple TV. It has to be the fact that movies like this get the attention of families they watch consistently for a couple of weeks and the aforementioned streamers get a good return on their investments. In my opinion the last movie like this that did it to a capital T and then some was True Lies this flick is far ,far from that.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 5
 
Flight Risk




PRAISE: This is one of those movies in which I managed to suspend disbelief as the foundation of the movie was being laid. The story about A U.S. marshal taking a small plane to transfer a government witness to New York has its moments. Mark Wahlberg as the "Pilot" was fun to watch. Looking like Fred Ward from 1990s Henry and June, Wahlberg looks like he's having the most fun snarling,joking and threatening his way through the 90 minute movie. Topher Grace as Winston is also does well as a jittery witness. As U.S. Marshal Madelyn Harris Michelle Dockery was pretty good in several scenes as truths are revealed and trusts are questionable. There is a standout semi gory moment. The cramped quarters of the small plane are put to good use visually. The most exciting part of the film is the climax. I liked what was done visually as all of the stops were pulled and then some.

PROBLEMS: In such cramped quarters on a small plane i dont know how certain actions were not noticed.The movie definitely isn't action packed or even suspenseful. Everything was definitely saved for the climax. There are far to many on the nose predictable moments. The movie just didn't give me enough. It's one of those movies people can kill time with and won't remember much about it and day or two later.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6


Star Trek: Section 31





PRAISE: When you have a popular side character and equally popular actor or actress the film and TV studios rub their hands together and say : It's Spinoff Time !! . In this short movie about former Emperor Philippa Georgiou being tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets. But also coming to terms with her genocidal past Michelle Yeoh, does her best with the script as Georgiou. I actually enjoyed watching her back story which was the strongest part of the movie. Joining her in her tasks are some interesting characters that come with personalities and quirks that were highly likeable including: Deltan Melle portrayed by the beautiful Humberly Gonzalez,Quasi (Sam Richardson), who can morph into any physical form and Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), who looks like a Vulcan but is really a Nanokin. Some of the jokes and dialogue worked for me and I even found myself laughing out loud. The SFX looked flawless in several scenes.

PROBLEMS: There was absolutely no chemistry between Yeoh and Omari Hardwick as Alok Sahar.The movie uses so many old tricks and switcheroos that ive seen before that were supposed to be shocking but were just predictable. One characters screen time was far too brief. I was actually pissed when the character was removed from the board.There is some odd zoom in zoom out camera work that was annoying and then some. This was definitely trying to be a combination of Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad and I wonder if the execs at Paramount suddenly decided to make this a short movie instead of a series months before it's late January release. If it had become a series it definitely would have just been turned on as background noise for me.


Scale of 1 to 10 a 4
 
Babygirl




PRAISE: A Character being seduced in a movie is definitely nothing new but Writer and Director Halina Reijn definitely infuses some new life into some well worn tropes as business woman,wife and mother Romy (Nicole Kidman),finds herself on the seductive path of intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson). I liked how Romy is presented at the start of the film. I could see her desire,being unsatisfied sexually making her fall into a well of seduction very easy. She's drawn in by the control Samuel wants to take of her. Turning her no's into quick yeses. So many moments click between Kidman and Dickinson it's incredible to watch the two in their scenes together and not just the erotic ones. I loved the moments that displayed Romys regret and desire simultaneously. Dickinson wears such a poker face and his character chooses so many angles i really didn't know what his endgame was until the end.I admire the commitment both actors had to their roles and the trust they highly likely had to have between each other. Reijn captures all the nastiness that can spring from an affair. As Romys husband Jacob,Antonio Banderas definitely is given a great moment to shine and Sophie Wilde as Esme is also given a powerful and realistic moment. I couldn't help but think about the 1986 movie 9½ Weeks while watching this and that's a huge compliment.

PROBLEMS: I couldn't get on board with how casual a character was about doing something especially with the scene that came before it. Actually there was a casual vibe between multiple characters that just didn't ring true to me.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8½
 
Heart Eyes





PRAISE: Right out the gate this movie had me at unique kill !! This movie about The Heart Eyes Killer who is becoming something of a legend by causing mayhem and murdering couples on Valentines day worked for me. The stars of the movie Olivia Holt as Ally is done with love and having a relationship but she meets Jay portayed by Mason Gooding and all of the meet cute Hallmark channel softness happens between them. Holt is great in her role even doing something likely millions do online when they break up with someone these days. Goodings comedic timing is perfect when it comes to scenes that are supposed to be silly and casual. Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster were fun as two detectives.Michaela Watkinsas Ally 's boss Crystal provides some fun moments with stinging dialogue. The costume and weapons Heart Eyes uses are great. There are standout moments that point to rehearsed love,and actually questioning real love.There are great nods to romantic comedies and tragic love stories that are laced with a big sense of humor. At first the movie is not that much of a gore fest but as the movie moves along the blood truly flows.
This is how you make a 90 minute movie work,all the right amounts of comedy,romance, and violence. So high praise to writers Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy, and Phillip Murphy. Everything is blended very well.

PROBLEMS: The movie does use a couple of well worn horror tropes that create predictable moments. There are a couple of situations I couldn't get on board with.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8



Love Hurts





Watching this flick I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't push for it to come out on February 14th but then i remembered the competition they would have been facing. This quick action romp about Marvin a Milwaukee realtor who receives a crimson envelope and its pure bloody mayhem from there, has a few things going for it.As Marvin Gable at least Ke Huy Quan is believable in some aspects. As Rose Carlisle, Ariana DeBose is once again fun to look at in various stages of dress in an action movie. It was nice to see Lio Tipton in a movie again. My interest was held long enough to want to know why characters needed to be wrangled in and why other characters were trying to avoid each other. Some of the hand to hand fights were fun and I admire Quan and everyone else going through the choreographed fights which likely took a physical toll. I did get some joy out of two obnoxious characters being pummeled and stabbed.

PROBLEMS: Quan and DeBose have zero chemistry. In the middle of all the mayhem one characters decision to keep doing something was far to silly for me and I guess the aforementioned putting characters in jeopardy was supposed to be funny. Silly henchmen/assassin's overdoing everything with no subtly was lame. The ultra predictable moments are plentiful as soon as two characters met in knew what was going to happen.Three writers couldn't come up with a good foundation to work from for the audience to make something about the characters attachment believable I can't believe it took three writers to form the screen play for a flick that made me look at my watch ten times.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 4
 
The Gorge






PRAISE: For me nothing spells budding romance like a man and a woman battling the unknown together. What a perfect timing Valentines Day release for this movie about Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) who are elite snipers from different world powers who have been assigned to guard the Gorge.
It is fortunate and then some that the characters of Levi and Drasa are ultra charming and that Teller and Joy have great chemistry as the two bond while across from a huge chasm kind of like star crossed lovers. I liked how care, desire and the need for human contact played a big part in the movie. I quickly bought into the romance between the two characters. When things turn to horror even that transition worked really well because this movie was in the more than capable hands of Director Scott Derrickson who's done very well in the horror genre. A critic I'm usually on the same page with thought the design of the creatures was generic but I didn't think so,they looked a bit like the creatures from The Last of Us but other than that I thought the designs were very unique , intense, and intimidating at times. A lot of the action sequences were on point. Especially when you have characters walking into what looks like a nightmare come to life.

PROBLEMS: About 40 minutes into the movie i started to question the necessity of a few actions taken. A portion was explained away quickly but I couldn't shake or get on board with the rest. Why not just do this,and then unleash that? Don't you need more of this to make this work? Yeah complications just like any romantic relationship.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8



Captain America: Brave New World





PRAISE: The Manchurian Candidate, and Star Wars Episode II : Attack of the Clones i couldn't help but think about these two movies as the 35th Marvel film about Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, finding himself in the middle of an international incident played out.
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson and Captain America has two stand out scenes and one is spoiler filled but it's when he is expressions self doubt is when i really paid attention to the character aside from some early action sequences. As the newly Falcon, Joaquin Torres Danny Ramirez has a couple of good moments. As Thaddeus Ross , Harrison Ford does really well expressing the many twisty layers to the character.Giancarlo Esposito’s Voelker/Sidewinder does well in his moments in the movie.Isaiah Bradley, played by Carl Lumbly, friendship with Wilson carries over nicely from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier show.As Ruth Bat-Seraph, Sira Haas does ok in another brief performance in this movie, the background of her character was interesting and i wondered if she will appear in more Marvel movies. The movie tries to be as cohesive as it can be connecting Marvel films from the past and present. There are some really great hard hitting action sequences coupled with some great sound design and the hand to hand fights weren't bad either. There is one scene that made me wish The Falcon and The Winter Soldier had been given another season. There are some inserts of humor that worked for me.

PROBLEMS: I was hoping for more from the villain. I could definitely tell what was reshot because the green screen in those scenes were awful. One characters "disguise' was laughable. Some characters were taken off the board far to quickly. Predictable moments are scattered throughout the movie. I had to suspend disbelief several times when a character walks away from some fights almost completely unscathed and the audience is reminded of this when a line of dialogue is repeated. CABNW is not as involving or engaging as it wants to be.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7
 
The Monkey





PRAISE: Stephen King has provided another haunting object that takes a licking but keeps on ticking object in The Monkey. There are definitely shades of his Christine book in the movie about twin brothers finding a mysterious wind-up monkey, then alot of bloody mayhem follows. As the brothers Hal and Bill Christian Convery does an excellent job portraying both characters as does Theo James as the older versions of the twins .Equally excellent is Tatiana Maslany as their mother Lois who gave me a Morticia Addams vibe. It was easy to feel sorry for the brothers as they experience loss and then some especially Hal who is on the receiving end of bullying from childhood to adulthood in some fashion. I enjoyed the dark and sometimes blood soaked humor. I wondered if the Monkey would ever work for the benefit of a character or just point to the randomness and violent manners of death. Parts of the movie reminded me of the old Faces of Death DVD''s and my fond memories of The Big Book of Death graphic novel. At times the movie even reminded me of the movie Adaptation. Director. Osgood Perkins definitely infused some of his personal tragedies into the film.

PROBLEMS:The movie starts to run out of steam towards the end,with nothing much going on with the characters except for some bad dialogue between them. The movie is definitely repetitive at times so much so some of the deaths weren't shocking at all just providing ok wait for it moments.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 7



Popeyes Revenge





I haven't watched a lot of the legendary cartoon characters turn into murdering psychopaths movies but I had fun watching this one as Popeye haunts a group of councilors as they intend to open a summer camp. The dark twist on Popeyes origin was interesting. Watching a bunch of characters who were horny and then some was entertaining. The standout is Atlanta Moreno who gets to show off her...uhmm...talents. There's a mysterious thread in the story that I found interesting. The cinema photography was surprisingly great. There are a few unique kills and definitely some over the top gore fest moments. I was hoping a particular kill would be more drawn out. Anyone that has watched the last 4 or 5 Friday The 13th movies basically know what they are going to get.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6
 
Cleaner




PRAISE : There is such a slow build to when something actually exciting happens in this flick about radical activists hoping to expose corruption take 300 hostages at an energy company's annual gala in a high-rise building but a window cleaner stands in their way. The movie does provide a nice connecting twist and enough to make the cleaner Joey portrayed by Daisy Ridley believablely take on the terrorist. Ridley makes a couple of emotional moments believable. The villain makes a few cruel and cool moves. A few fight scenes were fun including a few good kills.

PROBLEMS : I could tell Director
Martin Campbell was likely limited by the films budget because he has proven he can do much more with the great movies Casino Royale and The Foreigner. Anyone who watches this flick because they are big Clive Owen fans will be extremely dissapointed. There was just way to much chatter blended in with talky threats instead of action.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 4
 
Christopher Nolan gotta be the director with the most pull currently when it comes to attracting A-list talent for his films, right? Can't even think of a close 2nd right now
 
The Return





PRAISE: I think it's been about 15 years since I've readHomer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Even cutting out the mythology from the story,the movie is strong where it counts: The performances and the build to a reveal and the outcome of that revelation. Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus
Juliette Binoche as Penelope are excellent in their roles displaying weariness,strength and longing. The movie is beautifully filmed as landscapes and vistas are displayed in a grand way. The tension is well developed and even seeps into the lane of suspense for me even though knowing what's to come. I liked the way characters would dwell on the situations they were in and try to slyly come up with solutions. I was waiting for characters to meet their comeuppance,realizations and their fates and it all happens in a bloody and satisfying way.

PROBLEMS: The movie can be very ponderous at times with long drifting moments in which nothing really happens which made me start saying when are we going to get to the good stuff. Some characters were stuck on repeat delivering the same lines and goals.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7
 
Mickey 17




PRAISE: As soon as I watched the trailer for this movie i couldn't help but think about the 1973 movie Sleeper. In fact Mickey Barnes 17 ,Robert Pattinson sounds like Woody Allen even though he has stated he is giving an impression of someone else. The movie is about a man being Cloned multiple times to explore an ice planet which leads to much more.
Pattison does a great job as the multiple Mickeys once again showing off his range. I thought Naomi Ackie was good as Nasha a security agent who falls for the Mickeys which leads to some interesting turns. I thought the visuals were fun and creative. There's some charming moments and encounters as the ice planet is explored further especially when it comes to the inhabitants and the plight they are in.Some of Director Bong Joon Ho's talents definitely shine through.

PROBLEMS: The couple portrayed by Mark Ruffalo playing a my way or the highway or else leader and Toni Collette are about as obnoxious as the couple portrayed by Richard E Grant and Sandra Bernhard in Hudson Hawk.When you make a film or TV series about Clones you can't escape becoming repetitive in the narrative. The same questions are asked with characters trying to pull off sinister acts over and over again. The flow of the films narrative definitely felt disjointed. The movie changes lanes near the end I couldn't help but think: ok we are doing this now....hmm ok just as I was thinking 15 minutes could have been cut from the movie. Then the movie becomes even more drawn out with a scene that could have been summed up much faster and a tacked on scene that was really unnecessary.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6
 
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