The Movie (and TV show) Watching Thread

[Enduro]

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Very good film, and the first 20 or 30 minutes will probably be particularly interesting to Atlas users (won't elaborate, just watch it). I saw it in theaters last night, but it debuts on Netflix on December 23rd. For a movie over 2 hours long, it absolutely flew by.

8.5 (almost 8.0) / 10

This might be the only movie left this year that I'm anticipating.

In spite of 'The Last Jedi' leaving a very bad taste in my mouth I was surprised at how much I enjoyed 'Knives Out.' My only real issue with the movie was that I found the mystery a bit too easy to figure out on its surface, so I hope this one at least has more twists and turns to it.

I did not dislike The Last Jedi as much as everyone else. I maintain that the film is great if you cut out the weird pace-destroying casino part. Plus, the guy directed the best Breaking Bad episodes.

I didn't particular like the Luke-Rey-Kylo Ren stuff from it, but they were still the best parts of the movie, especially compared to the bad comedy attempts and absolutely worthless other two-thirds of the movie which was nothing but filler. Those things are what really made me hate the movie.

But I will admit that it's better than 'The Rise of Skywalker.' If that movie was worthwhile for anything it was for uniting fans and critics of 'The Last Jedi' against it.

Rise of Skywalker is absolutely irredeemable garbage.

[T'Chenka]

TÁR
2022
director Todd Field

8.5 (almost 8.0) / 10

This was NOT what I was expecting with this film. A commonly used analogy for watching a movie is that the movie "takes you on a ride", like a rollercoaster. You climb up the hills slowly, thrillingly speed down the slopes, and your feelings and emotions go on and up-and-down ride before arriving at the end of the film.

TÁR doesn't do that. It doesn't grab your hand and take you on an adventure. It's... how do I say? This maybe isn't the perfect analogy, but it's more like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle. Todd Field isn't trying to guide you through the story, or the themes, or the emotions. He puts it all there for you, but YOU need to engage with the film, to understand what's happening, and what the film is trying to say. Nothing is obvious and a lot of things are intentionally ambiguous. You're meant to let the film stew and ruminate on it. Naturally, this is the kind of film that will bore people and turn people off.

I personally thought it was very good. The powerhouses here are Todd Field's directing and Cate Blanchett. They both deserve Oscar nominations and Blanchett deserves to win. The cinematography is lovely. The editing is very good. The screenplay and pacing are both good in the context of what they're trying to do, but as I explained at the beginning, this isn't a conventional approach to storytelling. A lot of people will dislike both of those aspects. I should also mention the supporting cast, which is great. It's Blanchett's film though.

Criticisms? You can attack the film for being mysterious, ambiguous, taking it's time, and not being interested in whether it's entertaining the audience or not. On the other hand, that all seems intentional, and makes the film what it is. So I don't know if I can legitimately criticize that.

All in all, great film, NOT for everyone. Highly recommended for kino enjoyers.

[John Dule]

I'm sure Rise of Skywalker was terrible, but let's not let that distract from the fact that The Last Jedi, Rogue One, and The Force Awakens were all just as bad.

[T'Chenka]

I'm sure Rise of Skywalker was terrible, but let's not let that distract from the fact that The Last Jedi, Rogue One, and The Force Awakens were all just as bad.

Objectively false, lol. Obvious to everybody except you (or you're trolling).

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Watched The Brave Little Toaster (1987, dir. Jerry Rees) for the first time in nearly a decade yesterday and it traumatized me more now than it did then (but not as much as it apparently did when I was a kid--I must have blocked out the fact that I'd cried at the film).

[John Dule]

I'm sure Rise of Skywalker was terrible, but let's not let that distract from the fact that The Last Jedi, Rogue One, and The Force Awakens were all just as bad.

Objectively false, lol. Obvious to everybody except you (or you're trolling).

To be fair, I didn't see the Rise of Skywalker. But it's hard to imagine it sucking even more than the other Disney Wars movies.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Spirited was pretty good but it was too much singing, Ryan Reynolds is gonna do Deadpool

[T'Chenka]

I'm sure Rise of Skywalker was terrible, but let's not let that distract from the fact that The Last Jedi, Rogue One, and The Force Awakens were all just as bad.

Objectively false, lol. Obvious to everybody except you (or you're trolling).

To be fair, I didn't see the Rise of Skywalker. But it's hard to imagine it sucking even more than the other Disney Wars movies.

It's DEFINITELY a tier below.
Worst Star Wars film, for sure.

[Frodo]

If we are talking about movies we watch in an actual movie theater, I am currently waiting on the release of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 next summer and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 2 the following year.  And those two should be the last of the Mission Impossible series starring Tom Cruise.  

This is the end of an era in action films, as both he and Daniel Craig ride off into the sunset...  

[Enduro]

I'm sure Rise of Skywalker was terrible, but let's not let that distract from the fact that The Last Jedi, Rogue One, and The Force Awakens were all just as bad.

Objectively false, lol. Obvious to everybody except you (or you're trolling).

To be fair, I didn't see the Rise of Skywalker. But it's hard to imagine it sucking even more than the other Disney Wars movies.

It's DEFINITELY a tier below.
Worst Star Wars film, for sure.

You aren't missing much with Rise of Skywalker, but Rogue One is a top 3 Star Wars movie. As for the other two, they're either deeply flawed (TLJ) or a tad predictable (TFA), but they're not exactly horrible films in the sense that Rise was.

[Enduro]

If we are talking about movies we watch in an actual movie theater, I am currently waiting on the release of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 next summer and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 2 the following year.  And those two should be the last of the Mission Impossible series starring Tom Cruise.  

This is the end of an era in action films, as both he and Daniel Craig ride off into the sunset...  

I thought I was the only one excited for the last two MI movies. Everyone I bring it up with says they're tired of them, but I've always thought they get better with each film.

[nicholas.slaydon]

Women Talking

Score: 7.4/10

Overview:
A decent film that has some very powerful moments, but in general I feel it misses the mark by not exploring the questions raised by the circumstances of the characters in a meaningful way.

Spoiler review below.

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

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I think that the biggest failure of this film was it's lack of exploration of the Mennonites as a distinct people, and the ways that they would confront the situation that was before them. The main issue right from the start of the film is the discussion between the ladies as to whether they should leave the colony and embark on their own to another place where they and their children can be safe from sexual abuse, whether they should stay and forgive the men that attacked them, or whether they should stay in the colony and fight. For anyone who knows even the basics of Mennonite doctrine would know that Mennonites along with the rest of the Anabaptist movement are pacifists. Only half way through the film does one of the women condemn the idea of staying and fighting as being against their religion and culture. I feel as if in Sarah Polley's desire to craft a universal narrative that people of any society could apply to their own culture, she has missed the fine details that could have made the story more profound and touching, and failed to adequately explore how the women as Mennonites would have dealt with their conundrum.

Of course one of the most notable moments in anabaptist history is their migration to the new world. The migration of the Mennonites would have been perfect to raise in the context of this story. The Mennonites left the Old World for the very same reason that The women ultimately decide to leave the colony "we leave because we cannot stay". That could very well have been the mantra of the pacifist anabaptist who were facing persecution in Europe an decided to leave for the New World for no other reason other than that they could not stay in the Old. I think the film fails to answer the question as to why there is even a debate among the women as to whether they should stay and forgive or whether they should just leave for their own safety. There can obviously be drawn parallels to the decisions that the characters face, and the decisions that people in abusive relationships have to deal with every day, and I think the film does have those parallels quite plainly, yet fails to exploit the fact that the characters of the film are Mennonites, who have a unique history and culture wholly separate from the average person. There could have been an immensely fascinating debate, grounded in the unique history, religion, and culture of the Mennonites as a distinct almost ethno-religious group about how to forgive the people that have persecuted you, and not forget that they did horrible things to you, and deciding to leave for your own safety because your faith prohibits you from using violence against another person even in self defense. There should have been a moment where the women of the colony find the strength, and the justification to leave the colony from their faith, and from their unique history, which would have been an extremely powerful moment, especially to round the film out.

Likewise, the film does ask some legitimately interesting and captivating questions about forgiveness, yet I didn't come away from the film having any sort of closure on those questions, or even that the characters had come to a conclusion as the appropriate place and measure of forgiveness. In general the women agree that forgiveness is a good thing in general, and yet half of them say that they cannot forgive the men that attacked them. In that same conversation one of the women asks if there is ever a time where forgiveness can be a bad thing, which is a very interesting questions that was never fully developed into an answer by the film. One of the women does state that forgiveness could be wrong if it were taken to be permission, which is a good observation, but just after that the debate among the women on forgiveness ends, right when they were on the cusp of what could have been an engaging and emotionally moving debate on how and when forgiveness should be applied, what it's exact nature is, under what circumstances forgiveness could be seen as permission, and most importantly how all of that circles around and applies to their situation. In general it never really felt that the characters utilized the debates and discussions that they engaged in throughout the film to come to a conclusion on what they are going to do in face of their situation.

[NewYorkExpress]

So, I've finally got a Disney+ Subscription, and tonight I became the last person on the planet to see Hamilton.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is an amazing composer, but I had no idea he could act too.

Practically a perfect musical.

[ReallySuper]

watched Amsterdam when it came out and it definitely has its ups and downs but was honestly better than i expected. the best part by far though is seeing taylor swift

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

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get run over by a model t (over and over again). it's so funny and gets better every time

[T'Chenka]

The Fabelmans
2022
director Steven Spielberg

7.5 / 10

Despite the hype, this is just a really good movie. Nothing amazing, nothing to knock your socks off. I'm glad I kept my hype low. I had a good time with it, but it lacked a great script, and lacked a great story. My gut feeling is that a lot of people are going to be underwhelmed by this. It's very Academy-friendly though. Those Oscar voters will jump all over this.

The strongest aspect of the film is the directing. This is a wonderful looking and wonderfully shot film. Editing is good, has some moments that are good but other moments I wasn't a huge fan of. Pacing is overall good, I think. The film flows well and doesn't sag anywhere. Cinematography and the score are other techs I feel are particularly strong.

The second strongest aspect of the film is acting. Everybody, even very small characters, do a good job with their acting. I was very impressed with the entire cast. Michelle Williams is definitely the standout, and she gives a great performance. There IS one thing I will say about Williams though... her performance is high quality and I enjoyed it a lot, but I didn't feel like she "disappeared" into the character. It felt like Michelle Williams doing really good acting and not an actress disappearing into the role. Some people dislike that. It took away from my enjoyment a very tiny bit, but mostly, not a big deal. For anybody wondering about Julia Butters (from OUATIH), she's good here. She has a career ahead of her, I think.

Overall, I feel the movie is somewhat directionless and clumsy in it's execution, at times. It really is a good movie, but it isn't thematically rich and the script isn't great enough to match the directing and acting. I recommend this and I hope people watch it, but keep your hype low.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I finally, FINALLY got to see 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' (I still think that title has too many syllables, as relevant as it is to the movie) and I have to say that it falls right into the category of stupidly brilliant/brilliantly stupid like the directors' last film 'Swiss Army Man.' That seems to be the signature of the Daniels-taking dramatic concepts and themes and mashing them together with absurd premises. But they are great at it. I would go as far as to say that they are auteurs and among my favorite directors working today. They are certainly among the most unique.

Now, for months I have been hearing about this movie and it has been lauded to death. I regret to say that I fall a bit short of others' esteem for it. Only by about 1% though. My main criticism falls in line with what seems to be the most typical qualm about it: it's a bit too long and overly drawn out at times. It's kind of a "too much of a good thing" situation. It was like eating too much ice cream. It didn't ruin the movie by any means, I just think that the first "Everything" segment started off so strong and was so compelling that it sort of lost steam and became a bit overwhelming halfway through the second "Everywhere" segment and was kind of spinning its wheels in maybe over-explaining its message in different ways. That's really all I will critique the movie for though. Otherwise absolutely everything else was fantastic and entertaining as hell while still being incredibly well-crafted in its technical aspects. I was very surprised to see that the budget was only $25 million. They made great use of it.

Even though I think I prefer 'Swiss Army Man' of these directors' two biggest films, 'Everything Everywhere' (couldn't it have just been called that?) will still likely be among my ten ten films of 2022 at least and I am very elated to see such a wacky, zany oddity of a film like this be both a critical and financial hit that garnered mainstream attention and praise. It deserves it in spite of maybe falling a smidgen short of perfect.

So, I've finally got a Disney+ Subscription, and tonight I became the last person on the planet to see Hamilton.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is an amazing composer, but I had no idea he could act too.

Practically a perfect musical.

I'm in the same boat. I got Disney+ this year too, and it was one of the first things I watched. I typically hate musicals but this one was something special. It's one of the best I have ever seen and I can't help but buy into the hype. It was so good it almost pissed me off. How can such a strange idea like this work this well and involve so many people who are so f***ing talented?

[T'Chenka]

'Everything Everywhere' (couldn't it have just been called that?)

Film nerds and Oscar nerds have been shortening it to "EEAAO" for brevity. Only really works for typing/reading and not speaking though.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

'Everything Everywhere' (couldn't it have just been called that?)

Film nerds and Oscar nerds have been shortening it to "EEAAO" for brevity. Only really works for typing/reading and not speaking though.

Still have to see that film, but i definitely want too quite soon.

I saw Roma today but only gave it 5/10. Just not really my thing, don't have much to say on it.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Saw another film Ingrid Goes West. Gave it 6/10. Agree with the message, average execution.

[Enduro]

'Everything Everywhere' (couldn't it have just been called that?)

Film nerds and Oscar nerds have been shortening it to "EEAAO" for brevity. Only really works for typing/reading and not speaking though.

Still have to see that film, but i definitely want too quite soon.

I saw Roma today but only gave it 5/10. Just not really my thing, don't have much to say on it.

Roma is not on the same level as Gravity or Azkaban. I loved the cinematography and tone however.

[T'Chenka]

Re-watched two classic Bollywood films this week after many years:

Dil Chahta Hai (2001) - 7.5 (almost 7.0) / 10
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) - 7.5 (almost 7.0) / 10

I personally like Dil Chahta Hai more, but I think they're equally as good, roughly.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Beach Rats: 8/10

Liked the film a lot.

[Enduro]

Cruella and Woman in Black, both at the request of my wife, and both of them suck.

[Frodo]

If we are talking about movies we watch in an actual movie theater, I am currently waiting on the release of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 next summer and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 2 the following year.  And those two should be the last of the Mission Impossible series starring Tom Cruise.  

This is the end of an era in action films, as both he and Daniel Craig ride off into the sunset...  

I thought I was the only one excited for the last two MI movies. Everyone I bring it up with says they're tired of them, but I've always thought they get better with each film.

I am also a big fan of the James Bond series, at least with Daniel Craig in the starring role.  Speaking of which, I always wanted to have the Mission Impossible and James Bond franchises combine forces, if you will, against a foe that requires both teams to work together to overcome.  Imagine seeing Tom Cruise and Daniel Craig starring together as partners.  It is a big, missed opportunity.  

[LAKISYLVANIA]

So, I've finally got a Disney+ Subscription, and tonight I became the last person on the planet to see Hamilton.

I haven't seen it and I don't plan on seeing it.

Might get disney though also for maybe a short time somewhere next year, i'll see. Definitely not permanently.