Movie Night (Official Movie Discussion Thread)

Miller's Girl




Student Teacher Don'ts

PRAISE: Fourty five minutes into this movie about a creative writing assignment that yields complex results between a teacher and his talented student I saw what writer Jade Halley Bartlett was trying to say. The longing for life to have more meaning, for people to hear your voice and respect it. To find someone that believes in your writing, respects literature and you are more drawn to the person because of all of the aforementioned. But when it's a teacher and a student of course it's a big no no especially if it goes past the classroom and down Inappropriate paths. There's not really any bad performances in the movie. I actually felt the frustration of Jonathan Miller (Martin Freeman). Jenna Ortega does well as Cairo Sweet definitely felt her longing for acceptance.As her friend Winnie Gideon Adlon steals every scene she's in. As Jonathan's wife Beatrice, Dagmara Dominczyk is very good even though I could see what she was truly thinking about him from a mile away. Comedian Bashir Sulahuddin as Jonathan’s best friend was good even though in the end I felt his character was a bit of a hypocrite.

PROBLEMS: There are far to many dull moments in this movie.Aside from one great taboo moment much of what is supposed to be erotic or sexy in this movie was unintentionally funny to me. Much has been said about a certain sex scene between Freeman and Ortega but I actually thought it was bland and not much to it. I guess people didn't even want the thought of something happening between the characters to enter their minds so they overhyped their shock over it. A lot of things are to on the nose as the movie attempts to be Lolita but is more like a lighter version of 1992's Poison Ivy.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 4½
 
Madame Web





Web of Woe

PRAISE: SONY continues to try to make flicks about Spider-Man villains and allies in this movie about Cassandra Webb a New York City paramedic who starts to show signs of clairvoyance and attempts to protect three young women from a sinister character. At least the character Ezekiel portrayed by Tahar Rahim was interesting. I actually got on board with what he was trying to do and at least some interesting things play out in his story arc. Some of the visuals were fun. Some scenes were interesting although very very brief.

PROBLEMS: There are definitely some hokey and unintentionally funny scenes in the flick. The plot holes are as large as the Sun. Dakota Johnson as Madame Web ....the things she does were as inconsistent as her powers. The acting and dialogue is beyond wooden in several scenes.
I thought it was silly how the flick dances around major things that are connected to Spider-Man which made me question why include them in the plot in the first place? Just because SONY can? The flick collects all of these characters portrayed by Sydney Sweeney · Julia Cornwall and Isabela Merced but doesn't really do anything with them and I think whoever decided to display the characters the way they are in this flick is the king or queen of bad decisions.
I actually laughed when I noticed that something that was done in the TV show Smallville when they didn't want to spend money on costumes is also done in this flick. The flick doesn't follow up on certain things and I guess I was just supposed to forget about them. This flick would have worked better as a horror movie, just remove the Marvel characters include a crazy slasher and use the characters that were in the diner.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 3
 
One Night Stay




This movie is at its best when the characters portrayed by Stephen Bishop and LeToya Luckett are going through the motions of their partially estranged and strained marriage dispensing salty dialogue and insults in this movie about a married man who gets more than he bargained for when his one-night stand quietly disappears into the shadows of his vast mansion.Luckett continues to impress as she matures as an actress.
Some scenes that were supposed to be suspenseful felt like silly slapstick to me but a couple of twists at the end of the movie bring it back to where it should have stayed.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½


Airforce One Down




Definitely borrowing a bit from other Airforce One taken over by terrorists movies I still have to praise it for its great kills and intense fist and near MMA fights. Even though I had to suspend disbelief when five foot five Katherine McNamara takes on men who look like they just walked out of a World Wrestling ring or the Street Fighter video game. But I wasn't surprised by her action skills after watching her in the TV show Arrow for a couple of years. Some reading off a teleprompter acting throughout. There's some cheesy moments and some that don't make much sense especially when it comes to the Vice President portrayed by Dascha Polanco who just has one moment of concern when something seems off about muted communication with Airforce One. Either her scenes were cut or the writers just didn't care.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6½
 
Why do A24 films look like that ?

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The Zone of Interest




Oblivious Zone

PRAISE: This film about The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig, striving to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp is right up there with any other harrowing film,book graphic novel and documentary about The Holocaust I've ever watched or read.
Sandra Hüller,has the standout performance as Hedwig. She tries to be as oblivious as she can be as she indulges in the pleasures of her home even though horrific things are happening right next door. But in one telling scene visually you can see that she knows her casual attitude about everything happening around her is wrong. Her husband Rudolf (
Christian Friedel) is no better in a stunning and unnerving scene in which he talks about killing people to her as if he's making up a shopping list. There are several standout moments like this but what director Jonathan Glazer puts together visually easily surpasses what is said by the people in the film. Even what he does audibly rattled my nerves. What Hitler ingrained into the hearts and minds of those he deemed superior is definitely brought out in the film. Even when speaking of people that the characters were once associated with but are now in the concentration camp are easily dismissed. I encourage everyone to read the story behind the characters in the film because it's very interesting. Sobering imagery right down to the last frame.

PROBLEMS: There is some foreshadowing in the film that I truly wish had played out in the film. The film definitely has a bit of a slow pace here and there.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8



Drive-Away Dolls





Detour after Detour

PRAISE: This movie reminds me of all of the 2 a.m ,can't sleep or just woke up to movies I've watched over the years. There's not much to it but there's enough likeable faces in it to keep me interested. The story about two women embarking on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, Fla. However, things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way. Ethan Coen continues to try to go at it sans his brother Joel and create something outside their brotherly partnership and I admire him for doing so. I also admire the cast including
Cast: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Joey Slotnick, C.J. Wilson, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp and Matt Damon committing fully to their roles that include raunchiness and salty dialogue. There are some funny visuals and Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan are the standouts and have nice moments together.

PROBLEMS: To much of the movie feels like filler and with such a short running time that's a big no no.Margaret Qualleys southern accent is way over the top.
If the psychedelic moments were taken out plus minus the credits this movie would have been barely over sixty minutes. There are so many scenes in which I felt the characters were waiting for their que to make a monolog. The character development is extremely low and the film needed more time and it was missing some key hurdles to make it more believable that an easy resolution wasn't staring the characters in the face.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 5


Mea Culpa






Jagged w/o Edge

PRAISE: Though the plot has been done before in good films like Jagged Edge the smart attorney falls for their client even though something is a bit off about him or her. Tyler Perry manages to insert some new life into the genre.....even though very briefly. He sets up a good foundation of character as singer-actor Kelly Rowland as Mea Harper, a Chicago defense attorney, takes on accused of murdering his girlfriend client Zyair (Trevante Rhodes) She has marital problems and familial ones but pushes on through.
I bought into her determination and laser focused manner with her client even though he slowly but surely attempts to seduce her. The acting from the two leads was pretty good at the beginning of the movie. Good soundtrack. It's beautifully shot.

PROBLEMS: After the first Fourty minutes I stopped buying into the seduction and how conveniently things were set up in the story. A couple of things happen and a character is supposed to be smitten and then some. The funny thing is Perry is usually somewhat better at setting up seduction for one of his characters but this time around it just feels like Mea is reacting out of anger instead of lust.
There are plot holes when it comes to the evidence against Zyair one part was possible but the other didn't make any sense or left me thinking how did they get that part of the evidence ?!? Other problems are things that happen in the film just by chance,instead of coming up with something more clever or believable the movie asks the audience to just go with it. After a revelation the music after it is so over the top it got a lot of unintentional laughs out of me.The final act is just silly based off of one thing sprouts silly moments and some of the most robotic and wooden acting I've ever seen in a movie tied to a an over the top plot twist. A lot of moments are predictable and clichéd.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 4
 
Dune : Part Two




Spice Spectacle

PRAISE: Director Denis Villeneuve returns to the universe originally created by writer Frank Herbert for a deeper dive into its characters and back to the tug of war for control of the planet and its most valuable resource, called spice.
The various actors do a fine job of bringing their characters to life as the sands shift so do the characters mindsets go from joy to vengeful anger. Austin Butler is a standout as the sadistic psychopath Feyd-Rautha. Director Denis Villeneuve is an ally and dedicated to the source material he connects this story of faith, doubt, denying and accepting destiny to incredible visuals from the vastness of a dessert, to silent flights and rumbling explosions. The romance between Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya)is believable especially when the film is about to reach a turning point. As
Fremen leader, Stilgar Javier Bardem is very believable as a keeper of the faith. Charlotte Rampling, Stellan Skarsgård, Lea Seydoux, Christopher Walken, Dave Bautista, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, andAnya Taylor-Joy
round up the who's who in Hollywood cast nicely. So many themes are at play that include revelations and possibly having to much power are all handled very well for the most part. In the end Villeneuve and writer Jon Spaihts left me wanting more as the credits began to roll so bring on Dune Messiah ! !

PROBLEMS: Some parts of the film drag as it delves into some mysticism. Some characters are just one note and then some.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8



Land of Bad





INTENSE !!

PRAISE: I have to admit I usually don't have much faith in two weeks in a movie theater then to streaming movies but every once in awhile a nice entertaining surprise comes along.
This movie about a Delta Force team being ambushed in enemy territory, and rookie officer refuses to abandon them has a slow build that really pays off.
Small bits of information are provided for the main characters Playboy” (Liam Hemsworth) Abel (Luke Hemsworth), Bishop (Ricky Whittle), and “Sugar” (Milo Ventimiglia) but it's just enough for me to care about the harrowing and deadly situations they find themselves in. As drone pilot Reaper” Russel Crowe is in partially grumpy mode weathered by years of service and multiple marriages he is still on point. I had fun watching him on screen as the voice of reason guiding the soldiers through their ordeal, think Bruce Willis and Reginald Vel Johnson in Die Hard. Even with all of the great action sequences and kills the movie manages to insert some humor and playful scenes in between. There are some great moments of suspense and I loved the way the movie was shot.

PROBLEMS: At times the movie can be repetitive. One repetitive moment definitely got an unintentional laugh out of me.Some predictable moments around the edges of the movie.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8
 
Spaceman





Space Psyche

PRAISE: Spaceman joins all of the other astronaut alone in space movies and even though it borrows a bit from Star Trek : Generations this movie about an astronaut dispatched on a mission to the outer reaches of the solar system, where he encounters a mysterious alien works on some levels. The performances and voice work by the cast including Adam Sandler · Paul Dano · Carey Mulligan · Kunal Nayyar are very good. As Jakub (Sandler) pulls back the layers on the phenomenon hes investigating he also pulls back the layers on his life and what shaped his life and his mindset but what also estranged him from his wife Lenka ( Mulligan).There are good bonding moments between alien and human and theres a funny moment when their similar depressions pop up.Slowly but surely I realized the purpose and placement of the alien Hanus in the film. Reconciliation with the past and present are at the forefront coupled with some almost flawless CGI I was on board for mainly all of the raw emotion that plays out in the film.

PROBLEMS: There are definitely some bland and repetitive moments especially at the beginning of the movie. The subject matter felt a little been there done that even though I know the writers and director do try to change things up a bit. There are some things I couldn't get on board with. I did wonder why certain things were set up for Jakub and in a scene that happens towards the end of the movie I had to ask why wasn't he provided this from the beginning?

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7
 
I saw Society of the Snow. I really liked it.
The acting was good, and the story in general had no loose ends or ambiguities. I recommend it.
 
Damsel





Determined Damsel

PRAISE: This fairytale which turns into a solo survival story for the most part definitely has its moments. The core story about a young woman tricked into a marriage is thrown into a cave with a fire-breathing dragon and must rely solely on her wits and will to survive.
Millie Bobby Brownas Elodie turns in a good performance as it's almost mainly a one woman show.Shohreh Aghdashloo turns in some great voice work as the Dragon. The set design is also impressive as Elodie finds her way around the labyrinth like lair of the dragon . The writer Dan Mazeau and director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo definitely do a good job of putting the audience in Elodies shoes as she tanks in the wonders of the caves and goes on perilous path of survival. The CGI and visuals were impressive for the most part, with some truly standout scenes

PROBLEMS: I wish a few characters had been developed more.Angela Bassett looks very beautiful but she mainly just looks worried and shocked in the scenes she's in. Robin Wright just glares at people who she thinks are beneath her and yells a couple of threats. There are a few hokey by chance moments. There are a few moments I couldn't get on board with and I wondered why they were set up in a certain way. This is one of those movies in which I started to wish certain things would happen to make the story stronger and not mainly one note.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6½
 
neo2090 said:
TUBI took this movie down due to the sex scenes looking to realistic. The director says an edited version will return to the service....HILARIOUS


Click to expand...





I bet this thang fya.


There's other ways to cop this one besides Tubi and I may already have it. Off-brand knock off sites. Let me check my stash cause I ain't even watched this one yet.
 
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