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

Jayjay said:
The Dictator
5/10

I think Sascha Baron Cohen is one of the most overrated comedians. I just don't find him that funny. This movie is a case in point: most of its jokes are based on either racist stereotypes, misogyny, and gratuitous display of both male and female genitals. Only part I found funny was the helicopter scene where Cohen and Jason Mantzoukas are pretending to be American tourists, but even that was a throw-away sketch that didn't really advance the plot at all.
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I think he can be funny when he's pranking people with one of his outlandish characters, but this was not that.

If you want a movie where a rich, entitled, and out of touch asshole turns his life around and becomes a good guy because he falls in love with a woman far beneath his status, then you need to watch "Arthur" starring Dudley Moore.

Arthur is a spoiled brat who has had everything handed to him on a sliver platter. He's a raging drunk. He's terrible to his fiancee. The man who shepherded him through life is subjected to endless abuse, but Dudley Moore somehow manages to make Arthur a sympathetic character. He's funny. He's lovable despite his many, many flaws. Pretty early on in the film, you're rooting for him.

Cohen's character in The Dictator misses that mark by a country mile.
 
Good On Paper, 6/10; A Netflix original about female stand up comic Andrea who befriends a man Dennis after a chance encounter at an airport terminal. The two go on to become good pals, hanging out together etc. After a while Dennis announces he wants Andrea to be his girlfriend as they seem to be very compatible. A hesitant Andrea eventually comes round to the idea and starts to fall for Dennis. As things progress, Dennis is not the person Andrea is lead to believe he is. The movie is a light hearted comedy and has some amusing moments but no belly laughs.
 
In the Heart of the Sea
8/10

Chris Hemsworth and Tom Holland get lost at sea and eat their friends.
 
It (2017)
5/10

Not a horror movie fan, but the fat kid with his weird inverted nipples shall haunt my nightmares forever.
 
Becky, 7/10; Stars Lulu Wilson, Kevin James, Joel McHale in a horror/thriller. The movie starts off pretty well as Kevin James playing the part of a violent neo nazi Dominick escapes prison with three buddies. They head to a remote lake house to retrieve a key (it's not explained what the key is for) where Becky and her father and fiancé and fiancé's son are vacationing. The goons take the family prisoner but Becky, a thirteen year old girl escapes and she has the key. What follows next is a battle of attrition. It has some good tension and a lot of gore. Pretty decent movie for the genre.
 
Pig: ummmmm.5/hm?

this is one of those movies that is abstract in a way that makes it hard to describe or explain or even review.
the extremely base bones concept is: nicolas cage is a mountain dwelling hobo with a truffle pig. the pig gets pignapped. he goes on a quest to get it back.

what follows is the fucking weidest mash of things i've seen in a long time.
none of it is particularly original or even well done, it's just so damn weird to see it smooshed together the way it is.
if you ever wanted to see what would happen if you put john wick, fight club, ratatouille, chocolat, a mob boss drama, and every slow-burn northwest pacific thriller ever made into a blender, this is it.

i think it was good? ish? sort of?
like i said nothing about it is particularly remarkable or memorable, it's just bits of other movies frankensteined together, but the direction and cinematography are pure arthouse snobbery, and it's just so damn *bizarre* i don't know if i liked it on its own merits or just for having the balls to even exist.
 
The Proposition, 6/10; Stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emma Thomson and John Hurt in a western type movie set in 1880s Australia. Charlie (Pearce) and Mikey Burns are wanted criminals captured by police chief Miller (Winstone). Mikey (Charlie's younger brother) is going to hang in nine days. Miller makes a proposition to Charlie to capture his older brother Arthur and he will save Mikey from the gallows. Charlie sets off to find his older brother. who is hiding in caves. The cinematography and scenery is wonderful and the action is violent.
 
Watching a couple older movies, as in 10+ years.

Training Day - Denzel Washington turns heel in such a great way. An Oscar winning way. An Oscar he was due years before. Ethan Hawke plays Hoyt, the possible newb entry into Harris's drug detail, which he learns is pretty crooked and twisted. A bunch of stuff occurs which appears somewhat random, but is actually Harris in the middle of his own plot to try and save his bacon due to some stuff that went poorly elsewhere. Most of the film is about Harris's mental manipulation of Hoyt, who he himself, must decide what he is and isn't willing to deal with. The plot is a bit convoluted in the sense that Hoyt not being involved would have made things a bit easier for Harris to accomplish what his goals were. Why Harris would have invited this needless complication is problematic, but not something that can't be overlooked in what is an otherwise intense but decently centered cop drama. Hawke and Washington are very very centered attention wise for the film and both deliver very well. I really enjoy this movie. So much I'll overlook that the streets are always wet even though it didn't rain. 3.5 of 4

Hellboy - Back when comic book movies didn't have Marvel Studios, Hellboy was a creation that was a step in the right direction. It is a little dated, but otherwise, a fine comic book movie, from a time when comic book movies were hit or miss (and often it was a miss). 3 of 4
 
The Beguiled, 6/10; Released in 1971 and stars Clint Eastwood as a severely wounded union soldier seeking refuge in a all girls school during the American civil war. As Eastwood starts to recuperate he charms the girls and teachers and the sexual tension mounts between Eastwood and three of the women. Jealousy starts to eat away at the women as they compete for Eastwood's attention. It's an interesting drama but could easily have been a comedy farce but the movie falls a bit flat. There is a 2017 remake which is also based on the same novel, A Painted Devil by Thomas Cullinan.
 
I watched "Undercover Brother" for about the 12th time because hilarious comedies help me cope. And, hopefully, we all know that laughter is the best medicine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undercover_Brother


Undercover Brother is a 2002 American satirical spy action comedy blaxploitation film directed by Malcolm D. Lee and starring Eddie Griffin. The screenplay is by Michael McCullers and co-executive producer John Ridley, who created the original Internet animation characters. It spoofs blaxploitation films of the 1970s as well as a number of other films, most notably the James Bond franchise. It also stars former Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Kattan and comedian Dave Chappelle as well as Aunjanue Ellis, Neil Patrick Harris, Denise Richards, and Billy Dee Williams, and features a cameo by James Brown.
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Deadpool and Deadpool 2 - I just love these two movies. At points it teeters at too much, but usually it manages to sway back into not too much. These films are crafted carefully and well to prevent them from creating something quite awful, like Suicide Squad. 3.5 of 4
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Deadpool and Deadpool 2 - I just love these two movies. At points it teeters at too much, but usually it manages to sway back into not too much. These films are crafted carefully and well to prevent them from creating something quite awful, like Suicide Squad. 3.5 of 4
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I can’t feel my legs…. Oh, there they are..
 
I've been watching a LOT of movies lately, mostly with the other three people in our household (two of whom insist on Thai subtitles). We have different tastes in movies, so it's hard to find films we'll all enjoy.

Enola Holmes (2020) — We all really enjoyed this! My wife wants me to find more movies like this one; suggestions?
Enola Holmes may have been somewhat childish, but I like childish things! I picked it because we all enjoyed The Witcher Season 1, and its star Henry Cavill also appears in Enola Holmes.

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) — Another Henry Cavill film. I liked it, but two Thais found it too confusing.

Pig (2021) — This is the new film with Nicholas Cage that gets rave reviews. The other three liked it, but I thought it was unusually bad and pointless! Character study? Nothing developed. Detective story? Nothing developed. Love interest? Not unless you count Cage and his pig, and the pig disappears almost immediately.
My sister and her family watched it with us (though on different continents). They all liked it ... except my sister. (Maybe taste in movies is genetic.)

Ethan Frome (1993) — Same complaints as for Pig, but even worse. Some 19th-century (or early 20th-century) novels seem too dreary and too boring. In that sense this film may have been faithful to its Edith Wharton source! :) I didn't invite the others to watch this with me; I think that was a good decision.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) — It's been well over fifty years since I last watched this, and I had fond memories of this very famous film. My sister went to see it eleven times! Lines like "Who are these guys?" have become iconic.
But I found the re-watching of this old film exceedingly tedious and boring.

Many old movies seem slow-moving and very boring to me these days. I don't think this is due to animation, graphics, high-tech chases, etc.: My favorite movies don't rely on such. Perhaps people were more patient in the pre-Internet age and liked slow-paced movies.

This is NOT to say I dislike ALL old movies. Some of my very favorite movies were made in the 1940's or 1950's and were VERY fast-paced.
 
marc said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Deadpool and Deadpool 2 - I just love these two movies. At points it teeters at too much, but usually it manages to sway back into not too much. These films are crafted carefully and well to prevent them from creating something quite awful, like Suicide Squad. 3.5 of 4
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I can’t feel my legs…. Oh, there they are..
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Two of my favorites too.
 
Baby Driver (2007) Great car chase scenes and good sound track. 4/5 Stupid name for a movie, but there was a reason for it.
 
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