Only one rule: NO SPOILERS ... unless you notify people about it beforehand
You can just list a movie title. You can give a little tidbit on your thoughts. If you really feel like it, write full-blown reviews.
Let's see, recently I watched:
1. One Cut of the Dead - A Japanese zombie movie. For the first 30 minutes, I was confused as heck, but enjoying it well enough. Then, after that, the movie's tone and themes shift considerably, and it all starts to make sense. It was a wonderful, wonderful movie. I recommend it! If you have a subscription to Scream Factory! streaming service, it's available there. I used a VPN with Amazon Prime, and used the 7-day trial so I could finally watch it. I loved this movie.
2. Lost in London - A 2017 movie written, directed by, and starring Woody Harrelson. It was filmed live in the streets and buildings of London, encompassing a disastrous night in the city with one misadventure after another. I respect the concept; it was a logistical nightmare putting it all together, and at release it streamed live in select theaters. Overall, the movie itself is "alright". It was a novel experiment that could have gone haywire, but ultimately came together. I respect it for that.
3. Guest of Honour - Dave Thewlis is a food health inspector, and his daughter tells the back history of their family struggles to a priest. It wasn't all that great. Some scenes are interesting, but meh... watch "One Cut of the Dead" instead.
4. The Zero Theorem - A 2013 movie by Terry Gilliam, starring Christoph Waltz as a genius computer theorist who wants to solve the question of our existence in the universe. I thought it was pretty abysmal. Gilliam was one of my absolute favorite directors for years. Then he did "Tideland", and every movie from then onward sucked donkey balls.
5. Relic - A 2020 movie from Australia, about a mother and daughter who go to grandmother's house because she has been missing for a while. The poor grandma has dementia... and there's some seriously demented stuff going on up in that house. It wasn't bad; there was some good ambient tension, and it played up the "slow-burn" concept of psychological horror, getting more odd and outrageous by the final act. If you liked "The Babadook", then this might be worth checking out.
6. Yes, God, Yes - This one has that older sister from "Stranger Things". She goes to a church camp, and is struggling with the new discovery of masturbation, and how everyone tells her that she'll be going to hell. It isn't a straight up church/religion-bashing movie. The main message that I got from it was: Puberty is frustrating and confusing; people are imperfect, and bound to falter from being the best they can be. Again, it was another middle-of-the-road kind of flick. Not bad, and my favorite part was at around the 50-minute mark, but it wouldn't be as good without watching the movie up TO that point. I like that it tried to present the issues of trying to live up to church standards and remaining pure in the eyes of God, while also not straight up bashing religion while doing so. If you like movies like this, it's decent. I would rather pop in "Saved!" for the better laughs but similar themes.
7. Swallow - I saw the title and was like "YES, GOD, YES!" Then I watched the movie, it was literally about swallowing things, just not the things I was expecting to see get swallowed. It's a very simple premise: A bored and ignored housewife in a rich family tries to deal with her depression by swallowing strange objects. I felt the attempts at serious drama with subtle themes completely lacked subtlety. Thus, there were many scenes where we are supposed to feel her suffering, and soak in the nuanced communication cues... but it was too obvious and forced. The last 10-15 minutes kind of broke my suspension of disbelief, forcing key character arcs into overdrive, jamming their attempts to bring catharsis to the main character (or lack thereof) down my throat, leaving a lump in it.
8. The Old Guard - OK then, another Charlize Theron action movie. OK then. It was alright. Nothing new to tell with this story, but hey I don't mind a cliche-ridden action story if the journey is fun. This was "alright". Take it or leave it. I would recommend this one over "Extraction" any day of the week, and all the seconds in between.
9. Da 5 Bloods - One of the worst movies I have ever seen. My complaints could be its own thread. I could do a running commentary on this 2.5 hour travesty and still have more to say after the credits finish rolling. I'm ggooing inntoo con-con-vulsions j-just thinking aboutit.... aaaahhh!!
10. VHYes - A movie filmed entirely on VHS and betamax cameras/tapes. Vacuous and uninteresting, it was written and directed by Susan Sarrandon and Tim Robbins' son. So, they have cameos. It does a series of vignettes, as if we're watching a VHS tape that has been recorded over several times, featuring dated clips of commercials, public access shows, and other 80s-style "gems" while following an 11-year old boy filming stuff with his new camcorder. Then, it has this stupid-ass ending that fails miserably in its attempt to tie all these seemingly unrelated themes into a cohesive whole. I did not like this movie.
You can just list a movie title. You can give a little tidbit on your thoughts. If you really feel like it, write full-blown reviews.
Let's see, recently I watched:
1. One Cut of the Dead - A Japanese zombie movie. For the first 30 minutes, I was confused as heck, but enjoying it well enough. Then, after that, the movie's tone and themes shift considerably, and it all starts to make sense. It was a wonderful, wonderful movie. I recommend it! If you have a subscription to Scream Factory! streaming service, it's available there. I used a VPN with Amazon Prime, and used the 7-day trial so I could finally watch it. I loved this movie.
2. Lost in London - A 2017 movie written, directed by, and starring Woody Harrelson. It was filmed live in the streets and buildings of London, encompassing a disastrous night in the city with one misadventure after another. I respect the concept; it was a logistical nightmare putting it all together, and at release it streamed live in select theaters. Overall, the movie itself is "alright". It was a novel experiment that could have gone haywire, but ultimately came together. I respect it for that.
3. Guest of Honour - Dave Thewlis is a food health inspector, and his daughter tells the back history of their family struggles to a priest. It wasn't all that great. Some scenes are interesting, but meh... watch "One Cut of the Dead" instead.
4. The Zero Theorem - A 2013 movie by Terry Gilliam, starring Christoph Waltz as a genius computer theorist who wants to solve the question of our existence in the universe. I thought it was pretty abysmal. Gilliam was one of my absolute favorite directors for years. Then he did "Tideland", and every movie from then onward sucked donkey balls.
5. Relic - A 2020 movie from Australia, about a mother and daughter who go to grandmother's house because she has been missing for a while. The poor grandma has dementia... and there's some seriously demented stuff going on up in that house. It wasn't bad; there was some good ambient tension, and it played up the "slow-burn" concept of psychological horror, getting more odd and outrageous by the final act. If you liked "The Babadook", then this might be worth checking out.
6. Yes, God, Yes - This one has that older sister from "Stranger Things". She goes to a church camp, and is struggling with the new discovery of masturbation, and how everyone tells her that she'll be going to hell. It isn't a straight up church/religion-bashing movie. The main message that I got from it was: Puberty is frustrating and confusing; people are imperfect, and bound to falter from being the best they can be. Again, it was another middle-of-the-road kind of flick. Not bad, and my favorite part was at around the 50-minute mark, but it wouldn't be as good without watching the movie up TO that point. I like that it tried to present the issues of trying to live up to church standards and remaining pure in the eyes of God, while also not straight up bashing religion while doing so. If you like movies like this, it's decent. I would rather pop in "Saved!" for the better laughs but similar themes.
7. Swallow - I saw the title and was like "YES, GOD, YES!" Then I watched the movie, it was literally about swallowing things, just not the things I was expecting to see get swallowed. It's a very simple premise: A bored and ignored housewife in a rich family tries to deal with her depression by swallowing strange objects. I felt the attempts at serious drama with subtle themes completely lacked subtlety. Thus, there were many scenes where we are supposed to feel her suffering, and soak in the nuanced communication cues... but it was too obvious and forced. The last 10-15 minutes kind of broke my suspension of disbelief, forcing key character arcs into overdrive, jamming their attempts to bring catharsis to the main character (or lack thereof) down my throat, leaving a lump in it.
8. The Old Guard - OK then, another Charlize Theron action movie. OK then. It was alright. Nothing new to tell with this story, but hey I don't mind a cliche-ridden action story if the journey is fun. This was "alright". Take it or leave it. I would recommend this one over "Extraction" any day of the week, and all the seconds in between.
9. Da 5 Bloods - One of the worst movies I have ever seen. My complaints could be its own thread. I could do a running commentary on this 2.5 hour travesty and still have more to say after the credits finish rolling. I'm ggooing inntoo con-con-vulsions j-just thinking aboutit.... aaaahhh!!
10. VHYes - A movie filmed entirely on VHS and betamax cameras/tapes. Vacuous and uninteresting, it was written and directed by Susan Sarrandon and Tim Robbins' son. So, they have cameos. It does a series of vignettes, as if we're watching a VHS tape that has been recorded over several times, featuring dated clips of commercials, public access shows, and other 80s-style "gems" while following an 11-year old boy filming stuff with his new camcorder. Then, it has this stupid-ass ending that fails miserably in its attempt to tie all these seemingly unrelated themes into a cohesive whole. I did not like this movie.
Last edited: