Topic: The Movie Thread

I typically shun Netflix produced movies as they, more often than not, are completely empty mediocrities that are just void of anything remotely interesting. Some of them are not even bad, just incredibly bland.
So, imagine my surprise when I read a positive review of Rebel Ridge, an action/suspense movie from Jeremy Saulnier that dropped yesterday.
I enjoyed Saulnier's "Green Room" (with Patrick Stewart playing a neo-nazi of all things) so I decided to give this one a chance. And I'm glad I did, as I found it to be an engaging movie that, on paper, reads a bit like a "First Blood" rip-off (an ex-marine runs afoul of a small town's police force), but really isn't.

Apparently, John Boyega walked away from this movie, which took four years (and two shut-downs) to complete and I would say that was his loss. Instead, we get relatively unknown (to me, at least) Aaron Pierre in the lead role and he nails it. Don Johnson and Annasophia Robb fills out the main cast, both doing a fine job and James Cromwell shows up briefly doing his usual thing.

A rare thing this, then: A Netflix movie that entertained rather than bored me

@Malaise I've only seen him in Attack the Block and the Star Wars movies and thought he was fine in both. However, he would not have fit in this one, IMO, and the movie is most likely a lot better with Aaron Pierre
@LN78 "Blue Ruin" is on my watchlist; just one of a million movies I haven't gotten around to yet

@LN78 I plan to check out Blue Ruin - just seen its on Amazon Prime in UK, so I've kicked off the download! Green Room remains one of the best horror/thriller films I've ever seen, utterly terrifying in the sense that "this could actually happen" etc.

I saw something recently with a similar level of relentless intensity, albeit not a horror movie at all... moreso a drama/thriller - "Uncut Gems", starring none other than Adam Sandler. If you enjoy movies that are essentially non-stop stress watches, then UG absolutely ticks the bill. A brilliant showcase for Sandler also, who I'd never really considered as a 'credible/serious actor... he shines in this film.

@LN78 @CJD87 I too didn't not enjoy Uncut Gems as i found the experience too stressfull. Still thought it was a good film and it is undoubtlely Sandler's best performance I've seen. I can reccomend Good Times by the same directors, the Safdie brothers and stars Robert Pattison.

I can also vouch for Blue Ruin which has a similar vibe to Green Room. I see the latter has just got a 4K release, which i have added to my rental list.

Returning to Flanagan for a moment, I see his next King adaptation, The Life of Chuck is getting some good buzz out of TIFF. The filmmaker is making a big point of it not being a horror movie to avoid those unfamiliar with the source material going in with wrong expectations.
I wasn't a big fan of the novella on which it was based, but I didn't dislike it either, so maybe that Flanagan/King magic combo can elevate the material somewhat.

@LN78 @JohnnyShoulder Yes for sure, UC is an absolute stress-fest of a watch.... I really enjoyed it though, and the 'Good Times' (Robert Pattinson) is also excellent, albeit stressful!
Looking forward to Blue Ruin, thanks for the rec

Went to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice yesterday and I enjoyed it. We are so steeped in legacy sequels that simply tries to rehash and remix the original these days that I got a bit confused at first when this one didn't follow the blueprint of the original and sort of went its own way.
Still, they played a few of the hits; that opening with that iconic Elfman score put a huge smile on my face and they also had a "musical possession" bit that was just as entertaining as the "Day-O" scene from the first.
The cast is solid and Catherine O'Hara is a treasure, but I'm not sure the way they handled Jeffrey Jones' character sat entirely well with me. I would have preferred they just mentioned the character's death in passing and be done with it, I think. Shout out to Monica Bellucci, though, who in my mind is the sexiest soul sucking Morticia Addams/Bride of Frankenstein hybrid ever put on screen.
While not perfect, I'd say this was a worthy sequel all in all and without a doubt Burton's best work in many years.

@LN78 Yeah, I get that. Personally I don't mind IP movies so much, but there's no denying that there is a laziness that comes with most of them and the really good ones are few and far between. Luckily, Hollywood's not the only "game in town", as it were, and even Hollywood manages to put out a solid number of "non-IP" movies so there's no shortage.
And "Ed Wood" is easily my favourite Burton movie, as well, it just works so incredibly well.

@LN78 Something tells me you won't going to see Gladiator 2 then?

@LN78 Oof, that sounds horrible... That franchise lost me with the Hobbit trilogy, so Serkis' Gollum project holds no interest for me. Might see it if the reviews are good, but everything points to a disaster here.
I'm morbidly curious about the inventively titled Gladiator 2, though. Scott says it's probably his best movie, which is interesting and would have me rearing to go if it wasn't for the fact that I suspect Scott is slowly losing his marbles. I'm trying to think of the last great Ridley Scott movie, but all I can come up with is Black Hawk Down... I'm sure he's made movies I've loved after that, so I'll have to check IMDb later on.

@LN78 Of course, "Kingdom of Heaven" is another favourite of mine; wasn't sure if it came before or after "Black Hawk Down".
Looking through his IMDb credits, there's an awful lot of clunkers there. I may have held the man in higher esteem than he deserved Though, when he's on his A game, he's phenomenal, so I'll cut him a bit of slack.
I completely forgot that he made "The Martian", which I also liked, but it's nowhere near his best.
I miss his brother, though. Even the "bad" Tony Scott movies were, for the most part, interesting in some ways

@LN78 Yeah, that does sound insufferable!

@Jimmer-jammer I concur with @LN78 on "Kingdom of Heaven"; the DC is excellent
Will have to check out "The Last Duel", it flew under my radar as well

@Jimmer-jammer this is the movie that Scott went on a tirade about no one going to see in the cinema, isn't it? I remember really quite liking it as historical fiction and human drama interests me in general.

I think his main complaint was that everyone is too stupid, no one has any attention span any more, and people are more interested in gorging on popcorn and watching super hero movies with no depth to them rather than watching something that might make them engage emotionally or intellectually. Which is a very fair assessment.

Arguably there used to be more instances of people being able to like both intelligent things and stupid things concurrently overall though, ams that is quite normal, and I don't think his assessment that it's popcorn movies ruining cinema is fair, as there have always been these types of movies and they serve a purpose. Now though there is just way too much other stupid stuff overall, kids are being raised on stupid sh** from a young age by young parents who were raised on it, and it has given people no time to even try anything else that might make them more rounded humans. And it isn't going to get better with time 😅 Endless scripted reality tv, tik tok trends of idiots with massive followings, adverts where staring at some AI in a phone makes you go "ummmmooohhhhhhkayyyyyyyyyyy", people generally being f***ing idiots in larger propertions of society, and placing way too much value on absolute s*** that has no real meaning or worth.

We'll be alright, though, I'm sure hahahahaahahah

Speaking of Scott; when I checked his IMDb credits earlier today, I was reminded that he also made "G.I.Jane", a movie I had completely erased from my memory, even though I do believe I saw it once. Has anyone here seen it recently? Is it as bad as everyone made it out to be or was that just a case of rampant misogyny not giving the movie a fair shake at the time?

@Jimmer-jammer 😅😅

But also

I watched that Aretha Franklin movie cause it was on BBC One. Not bad actually, slightly overly long, but it doesn’t steep itself in melodrama when it probably could given I had no idea just how horrific her life was.

Finished watching the first Lethal Weapon. It's an okay movie but not anything special. I'm hoping the sequels are better as I've heard great things about this franchise.

Just watched Aladdin 2019 with my wife and kids this weekend. I really liked it and the cast were great especially Mena and Naomi. Will Smith did a great job too as the Genie. I was afraid at first before watching it as the old Aladdin cartoon movie was one of my favorites.

Just back from watching Lee starring Kate Winslet. I would never have thought to watch this, as I hadn't seen any trailers or heard of it. One my dad wanted to see after seeing a trailer on Facebook. Fantastic performances by Winslet and Andy Samberg and a great supporting cast!