What movies have you seen lately? Now with reviews!Movies

[Phoenix]

Jack Reacher

One of the worst movies I have seen in a long time. 👎

And why exactly is it one of the worst movies you've seen in a long time? No reason?

 

[PletdeKoe]

No because of the thumb down....

 

[JKgo]

....So like, I saw Taken 3, and....yeah, as "other" people said, it was pretty bad. Liam Neeson still is kickass, but is starting to show his age - he looked really sluggish. And his accent is still....fake.
Plot had a few moments that required healthy suspension of belief, with holes large enouth to fit several Godzillas in.
The worst offender was, however, the absolutely annoying shaky cam/quick edits. Gave me headache seeing all that.

........A resounding "meeeh". 3.5/10

 

[JKgo]

....Oh dang it. A double post!!! Don't you people watch a movie or something anymore???

Anyways......

Finally watched John Wick. A first not-terrible movie Reeves has made in number of years. Compared to that headache-inducing pap Taken 3, this film is altogether far more confident in its set pieces.
And Reeves going at it with Dan Bernhardt!! Hah, that brought back some memories.

It is fairly low-key, though, and don't expect a clever plots, massive car pile-ups, or much characterisation.
What you can expect though, is some seriously slick gun-to-guns, wall-to-wall action.

A 8/10.

Now, when are they releasing the sequel...?

 

[Brett]

I saw Ex Machina on Saturday and really enjoyed the movie.

 

[JR98]

From Paris With Love

Really a great film with plenty of action sequences and a great story. 8/10

The plot:

Spoiler

A personal aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has an enviable life in Paris and a beautiful French girlfriend, but his real passion is his side job as a low-level operative for the CIA. Reese wants to become a higher level agent with more responsibilities. As the result of a shortage of agents in France, he is assigned as a partner to secret agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta).
Reese's first test is to have Wax released from airport detention by the French Customs when Wax does not want to surrender the cans of his favourite energy drink. Despite the apparent triviality of an energy drink that Wax could probably purchase in Paris, Wax continues to verbally abuse French Customs until Reese places a Diplomatic Mail sticker on Wax's luggage containing the energy drink, which makes them immune from Customs checks.
Once in the car, Wax apologizes for his behaviour while opening the tins and revealing the concealed pieces of his personal SIG Sauer P226 X-Five Lightweight, which he refers to as "Mrs. Jones". Wax explains that he has been sent to Paris to investigate a drug ring at least indirectly responsible for the death of a woman who happens to be the niece of the Secretary of Defence.
During the investigation, Wax reveals that there was no overdose and that their goal is to trace the money back to a circle of Pakistani terrorists. Evidence leads them to the terrorists, resulting in an armed confrontation in which most of the terrorists are killed. Wax and Reese learn that the terrorists plan to infiltrate the U.S. Embassy with explosives hidden beneath their burkas. As they collect evidence, they find photographs of Agent Reese pinned to a wall.
Ultimately, Reese learns that the terrorists are targeting a summit meeting. Wax discovers that Reese's fiancée Caroline is a "sleeper" agent who was assigned to infiltrate them. When confronted, Caroline shoots Reese in the shoulder and escapes through a window. A Volvo picks her up on the street below.
Caroline attempts to detonate an explosive vest while the last remaining terrorist in the Volvo attacks a US motorcade traveling to the summit by speeding towards them, wired with explosives. Wax destroys the vehicle with an AT4 rocket launcher just in the nick of time. Reese finds Caroline at the summit and attempts to dissuade her from carrying out her mission by professing his love. She attempts to detonate her vest anyway and Reese is forced to kill her.
As Wax leaves Paris, Reese escorts him to his plane. Wax offers a full-time partnership. The two play a game of chess on the tarmac, placing their handguns on a utility cart, Reese revealing that he is now carrying a Desert Eagle and earning another modicum of admiration from his new partner.

 

[Robin]

Saw Jupiter Ascending and oh boy what a pile of drivel, the only saving feature of that film was Eddie Redmayne's voice.

I saw Ex Machina on Saturday and really enjoyed the movie.

That was a good movie, Oscar Isaac was brilliant and super creepy although the whole thing was a tad predictable. The only thing that irked me was

Spoiler

Why was there no dialogue between Ava and Caleb when she finally left the building? Being able to ask why she had done all this to him would have been good for us to hear her answer. The way she just walked out and said nothing was a lost opportunity.

Also wouldn't the helicopter pilot been confused as to why he was picking up this girl he had never seen before and not Caleb?

 

[JKgo]

Saw Jupiter Ascending and oh boy what a pile of drivel, the only saving feature of that film was Eddie Redmayne's voice.

....I second this. Don't watch this. Wachowskis at their lowest.

 

[Brett]

That was a good movie, Oscar Isaac was brilliant and super creepy although the whole thing was a tad predictable.

His performance was definitely fantastic.

The only thing that irked me was

Spoiler

Why was there no dialogue between Ava and Caleb when she finally left the building? Being able to ask why she had done all this to him would have been good for us to hear her answer. The way she just walked out and said nothing was a lost opportunity.

Also wouldn't the helicopter pilot been confused as to why he was picking up this girl he had never seen before and not Caleb?

Spoiler

I read quite a bit of other people's reactions on why she did not say anything to him. Many boiled it down to that her entire goal was to escape and whatever means she would have to use to achieve that goal, she would use, including toying with Caleb's emotions.

Maybe on the helicopter pilot. Though, there may have been multiple helicopter pilots and who/what they were picking up was not really up for discussion, just show up at a certain time and drop off/pick up at that time.

One thing that got me was how little pain Caleb showed at slicing his arm up. I would have thought he would have shown a bit of pain, but I do not really remember him showing any.

I need to watch the movie again.

 

[David]

You all are no fun

By the time my friends and I had been discussing how ridiculous Jupiter Ascending was for a month after seeing it, we realized it was actually our favorite movie.

 

[Robin]

Spoiler

I read quite a bit of other people's reactions on why she did not say anything to him. Many boiled it down to that her entire goal was to escape and whatever means she would have to use to achieve that goal, she would use, including toying with Caleb's emotions.

Spoiler

Although it's clear to us why she did it it just would have been good for her to say something interesting at the end, like some great ending line to tie it all up.

Spoiler

One thing that got me was how little pain Caleb showed at slicing his arm up. I would have thought he would have shown a bit of pain, but I do not really remember him showing any.

Spoiler

That was an intense scene, it was weird he didn't show any pain but I guess he must have been in shock from what he saw in the bedroom. The fact that he was driven to the point where he thought he might actually be a robot, brought in by Nathan to test whether a machine could be fooled into thinking it was human, was pretty bold.

 

[Dotini]

I watched Stanley Kubrick's The Shining for the first time.Though based on Stephen King's eponymous horror novel, it seemed to have little to do with that. King moaned heartily about how much it departed from his story, general theme and emotional impact. Kubrick seemed to take great pains in strategical clues, symbols, colors and numbers indicating he had something altogether different in mind.

 

[Sanji Himura]

Finally got off my butt and finally saw The Kingsmen. With my lack of secret agent movies in my portfolio that I watched, this one is quite easily my favorite. Somewhat based on the Aurthur legends (each member of The Kingsmen is codenamed after a knight of the round table including Merlin, played brilliantly by Mark Strong), this movie can easily cut it as a franchise should they decide otherwise. I also praise the work of Matthew Vaughn here. This easily cuts it as one of his better works not named X-Men.

Grade: A-
Verdict: See this movie at least once in your life.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Truly enjoyed this!!! Watched it twice in a row. I do feel there was a point toward the end of the movie that had an "Abyss" type of ending, in a good way. 👍

Interstellar

 

[05XR8]

Edge of Tomorrow. Not bad. I'd say about the same entertainment value as Oblivion.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Edge of Tomorrow. Not bad. I'd say about the same entertainment value as Oblivion.

I actually liked that movie a lot. Way better than I expected. One of the better movies Tom Cruise has made in a long time IMO.

 

[TheCracker]

Foxcatcher 5/10

True to life tale of wealthy heir with a mother complex trying to make a name for himself as a coach in the world of wrestling.

Not a bad film overall, despite the score i gave it. But all the way through i was distracted by Steve Carell and Channing Tatum's prosthetics. It also felt that the director had specifically asked all the main actors, despite mostly being decent actors in their own right, to act like they were playing other actors acting those parts instead of being themselves. They seemed like they were trying overly hard to be different people. It made their performances appear laboured.

If the director really wanted the portrayal of these real life characters to be believable, then he shouldn't of used big name stars in the first place. Especially not ones well known mostly for comedy or light hearted roles. Mark Ruffalo was the only believable one of three main leads.

Overall let down by the casting of stars where relative unknowns would have made the characters more believable.

 

[Brett]

Edge of Tomorrow. Not bad. I'd say about the same entertainment value as Oblivion.

I enjoyed Edge of Tomorrow more than I did Oblivion, but I also liked Oblivion.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I enjoyed Edge of Tomorrow more than I did Oblivion, but I also liked Oblivion.

I have not watched Oblivion yet. I will have to check that out.

 

[Pit Crew]

Ive watched

John Wick
Avengers age of Ultron
Prometheus
Kingsman Secret Service
Interstellar
Ex-Machina

 

[Brett]

Ive watched

John Wick
Avengers age of Ultron
Prometheus
Kingsman Secret Service
Interstellar
Ex-Machina

That is a good list of movies. I have seen all of those except Prometheus.

 

[JKgo]

...Prometheus is very polarising movie. Watch it with zero expectations and you'll be fine. Do not buy into any hype or marketing speak otherwise you will be disappointed in some fronts.

 

[Brett]

...Prometheus is very polarising movie. Watch it with zero expectations and you'll be fine. Do not buy into any hype or marketing speak otherwise you will be disappointed in some fronts.

Well that is good because from what I remember of the trailers and marketing, the movie looked incredibly underwhelming.

 

[David]

I enjoyed Edge of Tomorrow more than I did Oblivion, but I also liked Oblivion.

I was surprised by how good both of these movies were once I finally saw them. I feel like a lot of people skipped them and are missing out. Say whatever you want about Tom Cruise but he's an entertaining guy.

 

[Brett]

I was surprised by how good both of these movies were once I finally saw them. I feel like a lot of people skipped them and are missing out. Say whatever you want about Tom Cruise but he's an entertaining guy.

I have not seen all of Tom Cruise's movies, but of the ones I have seen, I do not believe I have never failed to be entertained. The movie may or may not have been good, but they were at least entertaining. And at times, that is all I am looking for in a movie. I do not need to have every movie be the greatest movie ever.

Both Oblivion and Edge of Tomorrow are very good movies. Edge of Tomorrow was just fantastic all around. The movie feels like a video game with the constant respawns and trying different ways to get past a major point. My only disappointment with Oblivion was wanting to know more on the backstory of why the world was the way it was in the movie.

I really need to watch both movies again.

 

[JKgo]

...I ended up rewatching The Dark Knight. What an incredible film. Can't remember how many times I've seen this, and despite some minor niggles, it is one helluva cinematic achievement.

...And all the more reason for me to worry about Zack Snyder and BvS...

 

[Brett]

I watched Tomorrowland on Saturday and enjoyed the movie. It is definitely a message movie and it delivered a good message to me. The message is something I need to keep in mind much more often.

 

[JKgo]

...Looks like I'm back again here; had a mini-movie marathon and, watched Kingsmen, A Serbian Film, and...The 120 Days of Sodom aka Salo.

...Suffice to say, all three movies will remain etched in my memories for...all the different reasons.

Kingsmen was fantastic. Funny, irreverent, lots of little poke at almost everyone. And definitely not for kids. Uh-uh.
As for the other two...uhm, ah, well, I can say for certain A Serbian Film was as...em, "memorable" as I've been led to believe. The scene with a new born baby was...the scene with the young boy was...oh god. 🤬
And that twist?

🤬 me. It's a proper mind 🤬 of a movie. I was tricked into watching the uncensored version, and it was... rough.

But then, there was Pasolini's.... uhm, "masterpiece."
Salo, now that **** was 🤬 shocking. I never read the Marquis de Sade original, but after watching this adaptation, I don't think I'll.

Holy cow. I think I may stay away from movies for a while...

 

[FoolKiller]

...Prometheus is very polarising movie. Watch it with zero expectations and you'll be fine. Do not buy into any hype or marketing speak otherwise you will be disappointed in some fronts.

I have to disagree. From a general filmmaking point of view it is not good. If this weren't part of a series I would argue that it is one of the most generic, clichéd sci-fi films I have seen in the mainstream in a while. It had good moments, but nothing to urge me to ever watch it again.


I recently watched:

The Dino King (3/10)

The subheading is, "An Amazing Adventure," but it really isn't. I watched this just to see if it is something my daughter might like. It was so bad that I won't let her watch it, just so I don't have to watch it again. She doesn't even know it exists, so it won't matter.

Everything is voiced over by one character and the names given are cute. I mean, literally, his name is Speckles. It was targeted to kids, but wanted to be educational as well as fun. So, you occasionally have over-the-top narration like, "Even my family wouldn't challenge a Torosaurus because they have three foot horns." But it has to be real too, so the dinosaur fights feature them biting each other's necks, but you only see blood once, from the antagonist's mouth. When the main character, a tarbosuarus, is eating a kill he never has blood on him. And just to feel like Disney we have to have a tragic beginning and a tragic ending that comes out kind of OK in the end.

TL;DR Just don't.

Food, Inc. (5/10)

Look, its a political agenda pushing, one-sided, attack piece documentary meant to push you in one very specific direction.

I felt it kind of shows it's true colors when it attacks companies like Tyson, Perdue, and Smithfiled, but then supports the organic companies that are now owned by those same companies and is becoming industrialized in a more image-friendly way.

Don't get me wrong here, I have issues with how our food is raised in an industrialized process, but I'm not going to be led to believe that carbon footprints and other issues are made better by buying the organic version of the same products made by the same companies. I avoid the things that I have issue with by using local farms and farmer's markets. The other issue I have is that the director of the film constantly tries to say all he is doing is showing people where their food comes from because there is a lack of transparency. It is hard to believe that when the end of the film is a series of statements like, "buy local and organic products" that pop up on an otherwise blank screen with music in the background.

I don't like a documentary designed to do more than just inform. I love wildlife shows, including ones that will show the results of human interference, but when they take time to tell me to do something different or clearly paint one group in a very different light than others it loses me. They literally showed some agribusiness farms with a different color pallet than they did organic farms, and they only had roughly 15 seconds of footage from an organic farm, while having multiple scenes of "hidden camera" footage from agribusiness farms.

I think documentaries need to be divided into two categories: Commentary and educational.

Also, growing up in one of the states some of their footage comes from, I am not alarmed by anything I saw. I cooked some Perdue brand chickens later that night.

 

[JKgo]

@FoolKiller ...I won't lie here, I have infinite amount of patience when it comes to Scott brothers' movies. Yeah, I'm very much biased. So sue me.

I dunno, I liked Prometheus for all its stupidity and "clever" twists. I watched it with zero expectations, somehow avoiding every little hype machination circling it other then "A Ridley Scott Picture" tag.

...Oh, and thanks for not bringing up the other post I made...