Name & Rate the Movies/TV You've Watched.

[charlie Jatinder]

Finally watched a film after long time. Rewatched some of The Office episodes in between.

 

Tenet: Nolan takes something of a ordinary a film, build around it an extraordinary world, in the end we all clap. This is his ordinary spy film, done extraordinarily, and here I clap. 7/10.

[terrestrial]

Rewatched Arrival (2016), still love the movie for several reasons. Not sure how I‘d rate it at another day (with another mood...), but this week: 8/10 = I really enjoyed it.

 

Watched the last week + all new Star Trek Discovery episodes, like it still.

As usual - for me - with earlier seasons of TV series in general (or the next some episodes after a major shift) there are a few details that feel not ... fluent (term?), enjoyed it and will watch the next episodes in any case. I usually rate only after the last episode of the season / per season or only the whole series, for now I guess season 3 might end with 7+

Saw a few reactions.... feel like a lot of those overreact in a big way, even twist details to something else out of bias. Probably nothing new.

[lorddemaxus]

Half way through my Nolan marathon and although I don't find the imagery in his movies particularly memorable (but quite impressive in his later works, that I haven't gotten to rewatching yet), the editing in his films (espescially the use of montage and cross-cutting) is just really fascinating imo. Although it can be wonky at times, there are so many memorable and purposeful cuts within his films. Nolan does a brilliant job at getting into the headspace of his character just through a couple of cuts. A lot of people praise the cinematography, VFX, and ambitious concepts of his films, but I personally think his most interesting quality is his editing.

 

Still hasn't figured out how to edit hand-to-hand combat though (Batman Begins was rough).

[Plain Old Tele]

53 minutes ago, lorddemaxus said:

Half way through my Nolan marathon and although I don't find the imagery in his movies particularly memorable (but quite impressive in his later works, that I haven't gotten to rewatching yet), the editing in his films (espescially the use of montage and cross-cutting) is just really fascinating imo. Although it can be wonky at times, there are so many memorable and purposeful cuts within his films. Nolan does a brilliant job at getting into the headspace of his character just through a couple of cuts. A lot of people praise the cinematography, VFX, and ambitious concepts of his films, but I personally think his most interesting quality is his editing.

 

Still hasn't figured out how to edit hand-to-hand combat though (Batman Begins was rough).

Credit to Lee Smith, Jennifer Lame, and Dody Dorn. 🧐

[TwoMisfits]

Popped into my Hulu account, before I decide to keep or cancel this month, and watched another movie I've been planning to watch, but hadn't gotten to...The Peanut Butter Falcon:).

 

It was a very sweet throwback movie, very reminiscent of the books actually mentioned in the film.  Its ending, though...sigh...you nail 80 minutes of the movie, and then you suddenly decide this needs to end fast, in the last 10 minutes, with no good special effects and with the cheesiest thing you could come up with that wraps everything up as soon as possible...so...

 

The acting was fine, although to me, Dakota Johnson is fast becoming almost typecast as the actress you cast when you need someone who is naive of the ways of the world...she plays that role really well, but that's like the only role she plays (or the only one I seem to watch her play:).  

 

Overall, I give the movie a B - it was a B+ til that ending, but I had too much eyeroll to forgive it entirely:)...

Edited December 2, 2020 by TwoMisfits

[lorddemaxus]

1941 - Fun, bonkers Spielberg. 7/10

Batman Begins (rewatch) - Pretty good movie that deals with identity (something Nolan's explored his whole career) . Not really as politically interesting as the rest of the trilogy and also one of his more conventional films , but there's still some inspired usage of usual techniques here (quite a bit of great cross-cutting). Shame about the editing in the action though.

The Prestige (rewatch) - There's so much Nolan within this and I love it. Literally contains exposition within exposition. Still a fantastic ride that also kinds reveals what Nolan wants to do with his films. 9/10

Inception (rewatch) - More than anything, a film about how we make our own reality. The editing here is really ambitious and integral to the film's question of what's real and what isn't. Unexpectedly emotional at times and the final act is as impressive as when I first saw it. Also contains a somewhat explicit meta-commentary on filmmaking that I didn't remember (certainly not a coincidence that Cobb looks like Nolan). Exposition can be a little bit dry at times though. 9/10

The Dark Knight (rewatch) - Had to put this in the background and couldn't pay attention to most of the movie since I was cooking. Ending is much more a failure than I remembered. Pretty clearly a film about the US reaction to the war-on-terror but I wish they had gone a bit further (no wonder so many people think the film actually endorses Bush). No rating.

The Dark Knight Returns (rewatch) - Yeah, it's a dumb movie but Nolan's brand of nonsense is much more fun than most movies in the genre. The craft here is also above anything else in the genre. Still feels like the grandest superhero movie ever (something the genre hasn't been able to reach again even with all the galaxy-hopping and time travel and crossovers). I feel like there could be something said about this being a criticism of Obama-era America, intentional or not. Also I could hear Bane perfectly fine here. 8/10

Mank - Fincher's emptiest. If he wants to make awards bait, he should've done another Benjaman Button instead. 5/10

Dunkirk (rewatch) -  Easily Nolan's most abstract, elemental, and sensory work yet. More than any other film in his career, Nolan just wants you to feel what these characters are feeling and be immersed within the recreation of Dunkirk he has created. While the movie offers a horrifying look into how war destroys human lives and souls and reduces them to nothing but disposable objects (and the movie ends with Churchill telling these young men to go back into war after what they just went through), it's also a beautiful look into communal power and our ability for empathy. And Mark Rylance makes every movie he's in better. 10/10

Nomadland - I don't think I'm going to watch another 2020 narrative feature that will feel as real or warm as this. Every moment in this film feels like something that could be or actually is a part of the life of someone living like this today. McDormand as always gives an incredible performance. A look into people drifting through a dystopian, empty America. One of the year's best. 8/10

First Cow - Lots of people tricked me into thinking this will be the most relaxing film of the year. It's not. Last act is incredibly tense. Also less a mood piece and more a sophisticated film about exploitation in the beginnings of America. 8/10

Freaky - Opening scene is fantastic. Rest of the movie is fun but doesn't match that energy. 7/10

 

TV:

Will only be doing this for a show when I complete a season from now on.

Lost S3 - Finally finished the last couple episodes and more than anything I was just anticipating how crazy the next three seasons get.

Edited December 7, 2020 by lorddemaxus

[SnokesLegs]

1 hour ago, lorddemaxus said:

Lost S3 - Finally finished the last couple episodes and more than anything I was just anticipating how crazy the next three seasons get.

I’ve been rewatching Lost too, and one thing that’s really struck me this time through is just how much it slows down during season 2 and 3. Season 1 moved at a pretty fast pace, but 2 and 3 feel like they realised that they’d needed to spin it out to fill 22-25 episodes per season. I’m really glad they opted for fewer episodes for seasons 4-6, it felt a lot more focused as a result.

[Plain Old Tele]

10 minutes ago, SnokesLegs said:

I’ve been rewatching Lost too, and one thing that’s really struck me this time through is just how much it slows down during season 2 and 3. Season 1 moved at a pretty fast pace, but 2 and 3 feel like they realised that they’d needed to spin it out to fill 22-25 episodes per season. I’m really glad they opted for fewer episodes for seasons 4-6, it felt a lot more focused as a result.

 

Not just that, but they weren't sure how many seasons they were going to have, so they had to start stringing things out indefinitely.

[TwoMisfits]

So, this weekend, somehow I did stumble on another JGL piece from the 2000's...but I watched so you don't have to:)...

 

It was late, I didn't have the attention for awards movies, and Slingtv told me that they had GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra on demand and it was only about 90 minutes.  Now, I realize this was probably an edited tv version, but after watching it, I'm okay with that.  For 90 minutes, I could just roll with the movie's subparness and still not turn it off...if it went longer, well:).

 

Now, I admit I did not watch GI Joe as a kid, but when you term the movie "The Rise of Cobra", well, you expect the rise of Cobra and for him to do something badass in that role...well, he becomes Cobra, and then gets captured to wait for the next movie.  Instead, this seemed like "The Rise of Duke and Ripcord while we plan the sequel that never happened."  Okay:).

 

I was most amused by the choice to spend on effects in some scenes, and then just totally not in others...that made for some interesting juxtapositions on scenes:).

 

In one redeeming factor, damn, JGL was unrecognizable, especially in voice in his evil roles.  I really thought it was mechanically done, so well done by him there:)...

 

Ultimately, it was the "tv version" so I guess it's not totally fair to grade it, but I don't think more length would make it "more better":)...so I'll give it a D+ and accept that it did help me fall asleep easily that night:)...

[Fancyarcher]

6 hours ago, TwoMisfits said:

So, this weekend, somehow I did stumble on another JGL piece from the 2000's...but I watched so you don't have to:)...

 

It was late, I didn't have the attention for awards movies, and Slingtv told me that they had GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra on demand and it was only about 90 minutes.  Now, I realize this was probably an edited tv version, but after watching it, I'm okay with that.  For 90 minutes, I could just roll with the movie's subparness and still not turn it off...if it went longer, well:).

 

Now, I admit I did not watch GI Joe as a kid, but when you term the movie "The Rise of Cobra", well, you expect the rise of Cobra and for him to do something badass in that role...well, he becomes Cobra, and then gets captured to wait for the next movie.  Instead, this seemed like "The Rise of Duke and Ripcord while we plan the sequel that never happened."  Okay:).

 

I was most amused by the choice to spend on effects in some scenes, and then just totally not in others...that made for some interesting juxtapositions on scenes:).

 

In one redeeming factor, damn, JGL was unrecognizable, especially in voice in his evil roles.  I really thought it was mechanically done, so well done by him there:)...

 

Ultimately, it was the "tv version" so I guess it's not totally fair to grade it, but I don't think more length would make it "more better":)...so I'll give it a D+ and accept that it did help me fall asleep easily that night:)...

I don't actually hate Rise of Cobra like most. To me it's a perfectly fine sunday afternoon movie, not especially good, but I can put it on the background, and watch all the dumb stuff unfold in the background, as I type on my laptop or something.

 

JGL seems to be among the few actors who really knew the material he was working with, which I actually appreciated. I distinctly remember a lot of complaints at the time on the forums I posted on about him being too "wimpy" and "young" for the role of Cobra, even though the original Cobra Commander was basically a joke by the end of the original series. 

[TwoMisfits]

So, normally I post movies, but over the last week, I'm also watching the strangest, and yet strangely captivating, horror/comedy/something show on Amazon - Truth Seekers.  It's weirdly the best thing to watch at 11pm at night when you just want something short and engrossing.  I'm only 2 episodes in, so I don't know what I'll grade it when I finish the show, but I'm gonna finish the show, so that probably means, it's gonna get a decent grade (barring a later total "shark jump":)...

 

Like GI Joe, I stumbled on it b/c I wanted short and "not requiring tons of mental focus", but I find myself actually focusing in on the short episodes.  They really pay off:).  And I love, love, love the 2 lead "tech" characters - they are so perfect, it's scary.

 

Amazon Prime is quickly becoming the place where I've discovered favorites this year - 1st Jack Ryan, then Upload, and now Truth Seekers.  And none of them are close to being "the same" - it seems Amazon's "series" chances are paying off, at least for me.  If Amazon didn't have Prime shipping, I might just keep them for the shows and Christmas music streaming (the only time of year I stream music:)...

Edited December 8, 2020 by TwoMisfits

[filmlover]

I finished watching The Queen's Gambit the other day. Anya Taylor-Joy is absolutely going to clean sweep her way to Oscar glory Emma Stone/Brie Larson-style within the next five years.

[lorddemaxus]

Tenet - Watched this movie twice in the same day last week and I adored it a lot. Movie's nonsensical and absurd in the best way possible and contains this playfulness and breeziness (in everything including the exposition) that's missing from Nolan's previous films. Half the shit in the movie is just whatever Nolan thinks is cool and I enjoyed every minute of it. An absolutely brilliant sensory experience (it almost feels like Nolan used his Dunkirk approach on a high-concept film here and it works wonderfully). Also, Ludwig's hip-hop and trap inspired score is easily the best score in a Nolan film. 10/10

 

The Prom - I didn't like this, but there are moments that made me think that this could geniunely work for someone who needs a story like this. I do feel like it lacked creativity (a musical number is just characters sitting on a rolling bed or chair, which is just boring) and Corden is the worst. 5/10

 

What's Up Doc? (rewatch) - Minor parts didn't get the same reaction from as the first time (didn't help that I was watching on a PC this time) but still a great ride from start to finish. 10/10

 

Wolfwalkers - A stunning film with some smart exploration of British colonialism in Ireland (probably the first time I've seen this dealt with something as mainstream as this) and contains some of the most beautifully designed and awe-inspiring images of the year. There's also something really unique about a kid-friendly fantasy tale in a quiet and dramatic way like this. Really doesn't feel like a film that would be made today. 9/10

Edited December 13, 2020 by lorddemaxus

[TMP]

Mank stank

Wonder Woman 84 has a dumb plot but the stuff between pine and gadot was v. good. The latter's improved a lot since the first one. Was nice to be back in a cinema again.

[AJG]

Tenet: LOW MATINEE Long and Confusing. Christopher Nolan writes humans as if they're robots. Action and music was great. 

 

Mank: RENTAL. I've never seen Citizen Kane and I think I'm supposed to in order to wring some enjoyment out of this thing. The aesthetic and dedication to having this thing look the way it look is admirable. If I didn't know better you could be tricked into thinking this was an old film.

 

The Prom: MATINEE. The music is great, the lead girls journey is engaging. Most of the cast are fantastic. The comedy is strong. James Corden is horrible and Ryan Murphy is one of the most boring directors going. One of the musical numbers are two people dancing in a house with different coloured spotlights. If you had told me this thing was shot in 3 weeks on a shoestring budget I'd believe you. the ending is also super rushed (they cure homophobia in like 5 minutes)

 

Mandalorian: FULL PRICE. Everything that can be said has already been said. This is the best Star Wars thing since Empire.

 

Ava: RENTAL. I appreciate that in 2020 we still have crappy direct to video action movies you can watch on Sunday morning with your uncle.

 

New Mutants SOME OL' BULLSHIT. This is it. The most boring Marvel superhero movie there is. There is no reason to watch this film. It's not so bad it's good. There is nothing that'll make you question how it was made like Fant4stic. There is no 'at least you can shut your brain off, hear loud music and look at some CGI' like Dark Phoenix. The film is boring. It looks like a bad Blumhouse movie. It functions like a bad Blumhouse movie. AVOID.

(also they made Magik a racist... against Native Americans but... like... do Russian people know the slurs for Native Americans? And for a franchise that is just one long metaphor for racism they never really address this and expect the audience to cheer during all her 'badass' moments at the end. She's a dick).

 

Happiest Season FULL PRICE. Loved it. I miss the studio backed Rom-Com and this thing had me nostalgic. 

 

Wonder Woman 1984: HIGH RENTAL: The plot here is really silly. It's an episode of a weekly cartoon at most, not a $200m movie. They boost up the running time with the resurrection of Steve Trevor which didn't really add anything, there's a few gags here and there but that's it. The stuff with the Cheetah is here so Diana can have a super fight at the end of the movie (why Wonder Woman struggles to fight what appears to be an extra from Cats on meth is beyond me). The other major action scene in Egypt was great to look at but there was no reason for it to happen other than there hadn't been an action scene for an hour. The movie feels like it's never ending especially towards the end with a final sequence that is essentially several minutes of flashing lights, and two people yelling over a large fan and loud music (that was copied from another movie because they had no time to finish the score. Same thing happened with The Hobbit).

 

Pixar's Soul: WATCH THIS MOVIE IMMEDIATELY

 

Midnight Sky: LOW RENTAL: George Clooney proves once again that he can direct movies. He can't direct an entertaining movie, but I feel as if no one wants to tell him.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2020 by AJG

[Webslinger]

I caught both of the big new streaming releases yesterday and I’m hoping to get reviews up here and at Letterboxd at some point today). I adored Soul, and though I had issues with Wonder Woman 1984, I ultimately liked it more than I didn’t.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Webslinger

[Cap]

20 hours ago, AJG said:

 

 

Midnight Sky: LOW RENTAL: George Clooney proves once again that he can direct movies. He can't direct an entertaining movie, but I feel as if no one wants to tell him.

 

I think good night, and good luck, it’s pretty entertaining. That’s an excellent movie

[lorddemaxus]

Last two weeks:

 

Absolute Power - Really fun Eastwood thriller that doesn't have as much to say as I expected compared to the rest of Eastwood's filmography. 6/10

 

The 15:17 to Paris - Nowhere close to Eastwood's best but also not a terrible film. Yes, the first 30 minutes are clunky, but those parts still contain interesting commentary on America's fetishism of guns and the military and how their real experience doesn't at all live-up to their fantasies. And the entire Europe segment is a very lovely-looking hangout bit about a couple of guys discovering art and history (multiple moments which feel like a dig at America and their narrow education system). The main sequence isn't glamorized or shown as badass but we clearly see the luck involved and how sloppy it all was. In the end it wasn't badass soldiers who saved the day but a group of civillians (from different countries too) with quite a bit of luck. Also almost feels like self-reflection with having the real men play themselves. 7/10

 

Joe Vs the Volcano - Optimistic at every turn and utterly bonkers in the best way possible. My favourite of the 90s Hanks/Ryan rom-com trilogy. 7/10

 

Another Round - I feel like we've seen a film like this before multiple times and I personally wasn't really engaged here. Didn't help that the sense of time in this film is completely broken. But that final scene is absolutely impeccable and very few movies this year have made me feel joy that way. 6/10 

 

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Contains some really beautiful writing and Boseman's performance lives up to the hype but the film itself feels too constrained and doesn't seem to add much to the play, even if they very theatrical element to this film is unique. 6/10

 

Monster Hunter - A really tight action film with some of the most fun action setpieces I've seen this year. PWSA knows how to make kick-ass B-movies with big budgets better than anyone else in Hollywood. Ron Perlman also was so goofy. Shame about that ending though. 7/10

 

Richard Jewell - Eastwood's incredibly powerful criticism of media manipulation and America's fetishism for law enforcement. Neither the media nor law enforcement works for the common man. Half the movie happens only because Jewell worships law enforcement and believes that the FBI is working for him. PWH also gave a performance that moved me to tears. 8/10

 

Soul - This was easily Pixar's most visually inventive film and incredibly funny but the concept is too ambitious and broad to be dealt with in a conventional kids film narrative (the basic formula is the same as most other Pixar films). By the end, I felt like they did very little with the concept and themes and many moments felt unearned because it's too caught up with the more conventional story here. I think Pixar films work best when they try to deal with more personal themes rather than existential ones. That's why I preferred Onward to this. The narrative is built on the idea of brotherhood and that works well with the formula. If they want to go for ambitious rather than personal, they need to ditch the buddy-comedy formula. This is a still a good film but mid-tier Pixar for me. 6/10

 

Wonder Woman 1984 - It's literally just another superhero film. I think a lot of people hate it more because it doesn't hide the fact that it's dumb and doesn't try to coat itself with half-assed attempts at seriousness and complexity like the genre has for the past 10 years. Definitely a lot messier than the average superhero fare and there are some problematic scenes (but again, almost every recent superhero movie has a fair share of these) but, on the other hand, It's goofy as hell and everyone besides Gal Gadot was leaning into that so I had fun along with them. 6/10

 

F for Fake - Probably has high of a rating as possible I can give to an experimental documentary like this. Unexpectedly quite funny and fast-paced. An exploration and maybe even a celebration of the art of forgery. You can clearly see that Welles is quite fascinated by the forgerers explored in this film. But I got lost more times here than I'd like to admit. Will revisit after I watched more Welles films. Also TIL Welles was behind that War of the Worlds radio prank (learned about it in middle school way before I knew who Welles was). 8/10

 

Tv:

 

The Mandalorian S2 - The finale was pretty bad. Rick Famuyiwa to write the entirety of season 3 please. Episode 7 of this season still rocks and one of the few very bright spots of the season (along with episode 1 and kinda the Robert Rodriguez episode). 

 

Veep S5-7 (re-watch) - A lot of the comedy at this point for me is that half the shit that happens in the show has happened in real life after the episodes aired somehow. Happy they stopped it when they did considering that any attempts to parody the US government at this point will just feel tame. Also, Gary's ending still makes me so sad. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by lorddemaxus

[charlie Jatinder]

Since last update

 

Movies

1. Soul: Don't really know how to put it in words, but the third act ruined the whole thing for me. Didn't like Gardner at all. Unlike Inside Out which also follows the same, "keep making up the stuff as we go about life" premise, this fails to make it believable to me. I feel bad for not liking it as others have, will check it out again in few months. 4/10.
2. Wonder Woman 1984: So third act of Wonder Woman was bad huh? This one's full film of that. 1/10.
3. AK vs AK: AK shines in this tough to buy plot, but certainly engaging. Drags in between but it managed to end quite okay. Finally a decent flick from Netflix India. 5/10.

TV

1. Mandalorian S2 - Exactly same as what @lorddemaxus said. 7/10.

[YM!]

Hello, I’m back:

 

Soul - I think some minor things are flawed but this is Pixar at its most intellectual. It is visually stunning, excellently scored, well written and probably my top 5 Pixar. I also appreciate the blackness of this as I’ve been waiting 16 years when I first became a Pixar fan where the lead yknow looks like me. A

 

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey: This is probably the best musical since Moana for me and probably one of the best modern Christmas classics. It’s familiar in terms of set up but from the score to the music to the characters wins me over. A-

 

Wonder Woman 1984 - While I admire the films boldness and there’s some elements I like, like Pascal as Maxwell Lord, and Gadot as Diana and I think Jenkins probably does the best job at sincerity in a live action CBM since Guardians 2, I still think the film is really messy and overlong and a lot of problematic details drag it down for me. That said I’m glad they tried something. C+