I actually watched this (Sabotage) on HBO with my folks a couple nights ago. Not bad, especially for 1936.Looks like this is NOT a remake of the 1936 Hitchcock film, which I would actually recommend. Unless you are a dog lover. Then I'd say maybe no.
I had to choose between Uncharted and Death on the Nile last Friday and went with Uncharted. I second your assessment. I’d never call it a good movie, but definitely entertaining enough, with the leads dragging the movie kicking & screaming into enjoyment territory through sheer force of will/charisma.I actually watched this (Sabotage) on HBO with my folks a couple nights ago. Not bad, especially for 1936.
Took my dad to go see Uncharted the other day as well as he wanted to go. The thing is, I knew he wouldn't like it. The movie has a lot of over-the-top action scenes I knew he'd hate because they are so unrealistic, but we went anyways. Other than that, I actually thought it was entertaining with all the leads doing a good job. It's a "turn off your brain" action flick. If you like that, go see it.
My wife and I went to see Death on the Nile last night - not an "OMG, FANTASTIC" movie, but very enjoyable with a good cast, it's well-acted, with good music, beautiful cinematography, and an engaging story. Recommended.
Yeah, I was at the bolded part too when I first heard. But with folks saying good things about it I got a ticket to go with a friend on Sunday. Not looking forward to it as much as most other superhero flicks (especially MCU), but I'll go check it out and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.Saw The Batman last night. To be honest, when I first heard this was being done again, I was not interested and even more so when I heard “Edward” was playing Batman. That being said, I really enjoyed this film. Much darker than it’s predecessors, score is phenomenal, cinematography is top notch. It’s long but it didn’t feel too long. It’s up there with Nolan’s trilogy. Highly recommend.
I think I saw something today about him doing like 8 movies last year and they were all panned (or at least, not very good). Almost sounds like a cash grab to end a career? Seems strange for such a big star, but you never know.Watched Hard Kill with Bruce Willis on Netflix. Not sure what happened to him, but these last couple Netflix flicks with him just aren't good. Pretty B-grade action flick with a sketchy premise, soldiers employing all kinds of stupid assault and gunfight tactics, so-so acting and dialogue, folks using night-vision goggles to see and shoot people when they are in front of a big illuminated window, people hiding from the bad guys keep slamming big metal doors, people being shot at hiding behind cardboard boxes and stacks of empty pallets, etc., etc. Really, don't bother. Parts are just so stupid it's like they aren't even trying.
Willis' special category, called simply "Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie," features 8 nominations for the actor, including every film he made last year. While the reviews for the movies themselves varied, more than one of them snuck onto a lot of "year's worst" lists, and none of them was the kind of movie that would be likely to get a theatrical release even if there wasn't a pandemic changing the face of Hollywood.
Just rewatched Eternals and it was a bit better on the second viewing. There are some plot nuances I think I missed the first time trying to follow what was going on. Not saying it rises to the upper echelons of the MCU or anything, but it ticks up a (small?) notch. Still not a "great" movie by any means.Went and caught Eternals tonight with my dad. Pretty "meh" overall. I like some of the actors, etc., but to me this definitely felt like one of the lowest-tier Marvel flicks. I thought the story they were telling wasn't bad, but the execution sure seemed to suffer from the normal quality that I expect. It just felt too long, uneven, and just a tad "off" for some reason. I never felt all that emotionally invested in the characters at all.
Some of the fight scenes were pretty well done, and I think some actors seemed to do better in their roles than others. One problem I think I have with it is I have no idea how this will play into the larger MCU. With Shang-Chi I can see how that gets incorporated. But I feel like I'm still scratching my head over this one....
Edit: Ok, this article with LOTS of spoilers helps explain things:
Eternals post-credits scenes explained, and how they set up the MCU's future (cnet.com)
Edit 2: Watched the Imax version of Shang-Chi last night on Disney+ and liked the format of the film (no letterboxing on the TV, but filled in the widescreen TV nicely). I like this one.
Saw this (The Batman) today with a friend. I actually thought Pattinson did a decent to fairly good job in this (as well as Kravitz as Catwoman), but the Riddler character was a bit "over the top" whack and the movie was like an hour too long (not that it really dragged all that much, but I did check my watch a couple of times to see how we were progressing - and I never do that for long flicks like Dune or the good MCU flicks, etc.). Definitely not as good as the Christian Bale Batman to me - some unevenness and the excessively overly gloomy/brooding tone bring it down a bit. And my goodness, will people quit filming EVERYTHING in pitch black? What planet to some of these filmmakers live on where there is no daylight (or sometimes, even very little contrast!)? If I tried to watch that at home I'd miss about half of what is on the screen due to some minor window glare even with all the curtains drawn.Yeah, I was at the bolded part too when I first heard. But with folks saying good things about it I got a ticket to go with a friend on Sunday. Not looking forward to it as much as most other superhero flicks (especially MCU), but I'll go check it out and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.
Just cast the princess role…Cool. I think I'd be down with Barry Keoghan as rumored in that article, he's pretty great. The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (Netflix) is a twisted, messed up movie that Keoghan works perfectly.
War Dogs
Strong Scorsese-vibes, but ends up less Goodfellas homage, more Wolf of Wall Street rip off.
Legit shocked Todd Phillips directed this given his filmography to that point included Old School, Starsky & Hutch, and The Hangover trilogy. Rather sharp left turn in vision statement there, but considering he'd go on to helm Joker, this would appear a conscious effort at the time to break free of his Frat Pack roots.
In the end, it's interesting and ambitious for sure, but ultimately doesn't work. There is a compelling true story here, that's simply told poorly, with oddly one-dimensional performances.
And that last part really doesn't make sense given the cast of Hill, Teller, de Armis, and Cooper on paper should be an instant knockout. Here they all come across as dreary caricatures.
Hill is supposed to be the smarmy jerk hypnotizing people through sheer magnetic charisma - think Superbad's Seth all grown-up. Instead it's made clear early he has no other friends, is hugely insecure, and telegraphs his backstabbing ways with a megaphone.
Teller channels his Whiplash persona of abused-nerd-cum-stoic-badass efficiently, but it becomes really hard to empathize with some of his more outlandish decisions as we get deeper into the weeds. Plus, his narrative voiceover is "theatrical cut of Blade Runner" bad, telling the audience in a faux-gravely monotone ideas and events that were literally just expressed in a scene moments earlier.
As for de Armis, after powerhouse performances in both BR2049 and Knives Out, she's replaced the conspicuously absent Alicia Vikander on my list of young breakout actors' whose careers I need to track, so I have some unfairly high expectations of her, even if this movie preceded both of her awards-worthy triumphs. Yet here she had me screaming in dumbfounded disbelief at the screen. She reacts to discovering her husband secretly ran guns through Fallujeh the way my wife does when I eat the last fudgesicle. To say I know she is capable of far more range is a gross understatement; she was after all the beating heart breathing emotional life into the center of a cyberpunk movie. Here she's relegated to mere 'complication' 'inconvenience', or 'distraction' for our hero's journey of self-discovery and illegal arms deals.
Ultimately, I'd call the film frustrating. There is a gem under the rough here, and some truly standout moments, but it doesn't come together as a cohesive unit. Blame it on a director cutting his teeth into a new gritty genre.
The Netflix Marvel ones were generally good (except for Iron Fist), with Daredevil, Punisher, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage all being especially good. While these are "lesser" characters that aren't in the movies, their shows were very well done. I think that the Disney+ Marvel shows have been maybe not *quite* as good overall as the Netflix ones, but still want to see how they all play out and work into the larger MCU.
Just watched this last night with my dad and am kind of in the same boat. The acting was a bit sub-par (wooden, a bit iffy on the dialogue at times, a few strange plot choices), but it was OK.Watched Cry Macho. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. I love most of Clint’s stuff and this was not quite at that level for me. You still get Clint being Clint, even at 91 years old I think it is now.
Looks like Dune is cleaning up many Academy Awards tonight. I'm not watching (I don't like the awards shows in general), but good to see!Watched Dune again today while donating blood and then finishing it up this evening. This time I tried to step back a bit more from looking at it from a Dune-centric position and watched it more like a typical "film". It holds up and holds up well.
I also found myself catching a few more details here and there - some of the little details, especially in his dreams, came together a bit better this time around.