Which movie did you watch today and how would you rate it?

[Politesse]

And WTF ever happened to Adrien Brody? One minute he was the most wanted man in Hollywood due to his abilities as a dramatic actor, and the next he's starring in an Alien vs. Predator movie.

maybe he wasn’t good with his money or got screwed by an accountant and had to take any role that paid the bills?

Could be. It's what I've come to think of as the Nicolas Cage Syndrome.

I remember William H Macy saying something like this about why he was in Jurassic Park 3. Needed to pay the bills.

That summarizes most of Macy's career. Brilliant actor. Random roles.

 

[ZiprHead]

Longlegs

Named the best horror movie of the year, I'm not quite so sure I would call it a horror movie. I'd guess a grittier, creepier, and deadlier Se7en.

Follows a slightly psychic FBI agent in pursuit of the serial killer known as "Longlegs". Whole families are killed with cryptic notes left behind but no actual evidence of the serial killer actually committing the crimes. The FBI agent has memories that come and some unremembered yet she has evidence for, which includes a long blocked memory of a relationship with Longlegs.

The violence is usually somewhat undisplayed fully but you know exactly what is happening. It's not the usual teen gorefest.

It's a dark film that brews the intensity slowly and steadily leading to the huge twist at the end. Nicholas Cage, as Longlegs, has to be one of the creepiest movie villains of all time. Fuck off, Chucky and Jason. You're amateurs.

I'm giving it a hard 9 on the 1 to 10 scale. It does require that you pay attention to the movie. No going to the kitchen to make popcorn and coming back trying to catch up.

86 on the Tomatometer

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Longlegs

Named the best horror movie of the year, I'm not quite so sure I would call it a horror movie. I'd guess a grittier, creepier, and deadlier Se7en.

Follows a slightly psychic FBI agent in pursuit of the serial killer known as "Longlegs". Whole families are killed with cryptic notes left behind but no actual evidence of the serial killer actually committing the crimes. The FBI agent has memories that come and some unremembered yet she has evidence for, which includes a long blocked memory of a relationship with Longlegs.

The violence is usually somewhat undisplayed fully but you know exactly what is happening. It's not the usual teen gorefest.

It's a dark film that brews the intensity slowly and steadily leading to the huge twist at the end. Nicholas Cage, as Longlegs, has to be one of the creepiest movie villains of all time. Fuck off, Chucky and Jason. You're amateurs.

I'm giving it a hard 9 on the 1 to 10 scale. It does require that you pay attention to the movie. No going to the kitchen to make popcorn and coming back trying to catch up.

86 on the Tomatometer

I thought it was okay. The film tried to be Silence of the Lambs with a weak supernatural element. It was subpar on both counts. Pick a lane and stick to it.

Nicholas cage was so over the top that the character wasn't believable.

The pacing was very uneven. I had a lot of "Oh, hurry up and get on with it already!" moments.

It was still better than the vast majority of horror films, so I'd recommend it to anyone, but I found it disappointing.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Heretic

This is an interesting one that deals with religion and lack of belief in a surprising and intelligent way.

Two mormon girls are on a mission and become trapped in the villain's house. Hugh Grant is the initially charming villain and he does an excellent job as do the aforementioned girls.

The first two acts are riveting, with the third becoming a bit convoluted. However, the effort the filmmakers made to create a good ending is apparent. Oftentimes, especially in horror films, it fells like they just give up and shat something into the script to get it over with, so I appreciated the lengths this one went to create a complete film.

Also, it does a good job of pissing off everyone in the audience. Religion is manipulative and something we're born into without choice, but nonbelievers can be insufferable assholes who may not always know WTF they're on about. It's worth watching for that alone.

The ending that I've been on about is very ambiguous, which in this case works well.

7/10

 

[spikepipsqueak]

I watched the start of The Butler (2013) last night. The web suggests it isn't historicallly accurate but since it includes news footage I swear I have seen in other contexts, I'm not sure how that can be. I'm going to have to track down the last hour and ahalf.

 

[WAB]

Did anyone see The Book of Eli?

This post contains major, major spoilers! So don't read if you want to watch that film...


In the end of the film, it's revealed that


SPOILER ALERT!

The main character is blind. But on watching the film again twice, there are several scenes where the actor Denzel Washington appears to be quite obviously sighted. There's a scene where there's a mouse, and he's obviously looking at the mouse, and a scene where he is at a window looking out, his eyes going to various areas outside the window. There are many other scenes where the character would have to be sighted in order to act the way Washington acted.

 

[ZiprHead]

Did anyone see The Book of Eli?

This post contains major, major spoilers! So don't read if you want to watch that film...


In the end of the film, it's revealed that


SPOILER ALERT!

The main character is blind. But on watching the film again twice, there are several scenes where the actor Denzel Washington appears to be quite obviously sighted. There's a scene where there's a mouse, and he's obviously looking at the mouse, and a scene where he is at a window looking out, his eyes going to various areas outside the window. There are many other scenes where the character would have to be sighted in order to act the way Washington acted.

One doesn't have to be blind to possess and read a book in Braille. I agree, it doesn't make sense to assume Eli was blind. I remember reading somewhere Eli regained his sight as a woman was singing in the film but it's been so long since I've seen it I don't remember that scene.

Or maybe it's just another magic negro movie.

 

[WAB]

Did anyone see The Book of Eli?

This post contains major, major spoilers! So don't read if you want to watch that film...


In the end of the film, it's revealed that


SPOILER ALERT!

The main character is blind. But on watching the film again twice, there are several scenes where the actor Denzel Washington appears to be quite obviously sighted. There's a scene where there's a mouse, and he's obviously looking at the mouse, and a scene where he is at a window looking out, his eyes going to various areas outside the window. There are many other scenes where the character would have to be sighted in order to act the way Washington acted.

One doesn't have to be blind to possess and read a book in Braille. I agree, it doesn't make sense to assume Eli was blind. I remember reading somewhere Eli regained his sight as a woman was singing in the film but it's been so long since I've seen it I don't remember that scene.

Or maybe it's just another magic negro movie.

That's exactly what I was thinking. He didn't have to be blind in order to read Braille. But in every review I read, it claims that "it is revealed at the end that Eli is blind." or some such.

 

[ZiprHead]

Nicholas cage was so over the top that the character wasn't believable.

I think OTT was called for, especially considering how he committed his own demise.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

The Founder

I'd seen this one in the theaters when it first came out.

Somehow I forgot how the movie portrayed Ray Kroc as a true asshole who initially started out with a mutually beneficial vision. Business-wise, he was incredibly successful, and the original McDonald's guys were just dupes. A handshake deal with Ray Kroc for 1% of the profits in perpetuity? Wow. Of course they never received that, but by that point they should've known they were dealing with a ruthless SOB.

Whatever the case, it's a solid watch.

6.5/10

 

[TSwizzle]

Taken, 7/10; Stars Liam Neeson as a retired CIA/Green Beret officer who works as a security guard to celebrities. His daughter and her friend go on a trip to Europe ostensibly to follow U2's European tour. As soon as the girls land in Paris they are targeted by a suave French guy who offers to share a cab into the city. The girls are then kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers. The kidnapping occurs while Neeson's daughter is on the phone with him and he is able to gather a few clues while listening in to the kidnapping. He speaks to one of the kidnappers warning him him that he will find him and kill him. And so the action starts and it's pretty decent and at times quite clever as Neeson pieces together what happened to his daughter, where she is being held and an attempted rescue. There are a couple of cheesy bits but overall it's an entertaining movie.

 

[ZiprHead]

Taken, 7/10; Stars Liam Neeson as a retired CIA/Green Beret officer who works as a security guard to celebrities. His daughter and her friend go on a trip to Europe ostensibly to follow U2's European tour. As soon as the girls land in Paris they are targeted by a suave French guy who offers to share a cab into the city. The girls are then kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers. The kidnapping occurs while Neeson's daughter is on the phone with him and he is able to gather a few clues while listening in to the kidnapping. He speaks to one of the kidnappers warning him him that he will find him and kill him. And so the action starts and it's pretty decent and at times quite clever as Neeson pieces together what happened to his daughter, where she is being held and an attempted rescue. There are a couple of cheesy bits but overall it's an entertaining movie.

I saw a prerelease version before the movie hit the theaters.

Remember the scene where he tortures the guy with electricity? He connected the wires to the metal chair in the movie that was released. The prerelease version I saw had Neeson drive metal stakes into the guy's kneecaps and attached the wires to those. Maybe a little too much for a good guy.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Morgan

The cast in this is something else. Anya Taylor Joy, Rose Leslie, Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Toby Jones, and Kate Mara.

It's about a corporation that employs a group of scientists that produce a clone-biomechanical type of person. The usual questions these types of movies pose are asked e.g. when is a life form sentient.

It's well shot and acted. The writing is solid and the twist at the end only becomes apparent late in the third act.

It kind of sticks the landing, which is more than can be said for most movies.

If you like this area of sci-fi, I'd recommend it.

6.75/10

 

[TSwizzle]

Conclave, 3/10; Starring Ralph Fiennes as Thomas Lawrence a dean in the Vatican or college of deans or something. Anyway, the pope dies suddenly and Lawrence is in charge of the process of selecting a new pope. Holy cow, what a tedious load of crap this was. I don't understand the adulation for this pile of boring crap. Sure, the acting and cinematography were excellent but the story was dreadful. And the ending? So predictable.

 

[ZiprHead]

Antebellum

Can't really describe it without spoilers. 5/10

It's called a horror movie. I guess maybe so. The end was quite satisfying.

 

[TSwizzle]

Last Breath, 10/10; 2019 documentary about a diving accident in the North Sea. Available to stream on Hoopla. This really was an excellent watch. A deep sea diver is working on a structure under the North Sea when catastrophe strikes. The support boat has been forced off course and the diver's umbilical cable is snapped leaving him in the dark, without oxygen and about five minutes of backup. I watched the documentary not knowing the outcome and was anxious throughout as the support team desperately try to find him in the pitch black knowing that he only has five minutes of air left. There is some video footage from the event. There is a movie based on this event that has just been released.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Battery

This is a very independent film about two guys who escaped a zombie apocalypse and are now just wandering, trying to not die. Eventually, the film does a good job of developing the friendship, and that's really what the movie is about; more drama than horror. There's some gore, but not a whole bunch. It's well acted and well written with the exception of one part, but as a whole, it's a solid little watch.

Younger horror fans would think it boring, but young horror fans tend to have godawful taste in movies.

6/10

 

[ZiprHead]

Speaking of zombie movies...

Warm Bodies

A zombie starts regaining his humanity. He saves his pre-zombie girlfriend from other zombies and they rekindle their relationship.

It was a surprisingly heartwarming film watching the zombie's relationship with the ex as his humanity is returning and other zombies are inspired by the protagonist to redevelop their humanity.

Rotton Tomatoes gives it an 81. I'd go 75.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Speaking of zombie movies...

Warm Bodies

A zombie starts regaining his humanity. He saves his pre-zombie girlfriend from other zombies and they rekindle their relationship.

It was a surprisingly heartwarming film watching the zombie's relationship with the ex as his humanity is returning and other zombies are inspired by the protagonist to redevelop their humanity.

Rotton Tomatoes gives it an 81. I'd go 75.

That was a pretty good movie. A little Shakespeare, a little zombies.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Oddity

Wife is murdered in isolated country house. Husband is a doctor who works at an insane asylum filled with violent psychopaths. Murdered wife has weird, blind identical twin sister. It's a mix of mystery, spiritualism, and horror. There's several chekhov's guns, all of which do pay off.

Except for murdered wife, who has very minimal screen time, there are no other remotely likable character in the story. While it's well shot, atmospheric and competently acted, it manages to be dull, e.g. at about the 30 minute mark, it becomes very apparent how the bad people are going to meet their end.

I believe these are the same people that made Caveat, a horribly overrated turd, encrusted with a few small diamonds. Oddity is an improvement on Caveat, which shows just how low the bar is for watchable horror movies.

Check it out or not.

5/10