The Films You Watched Thread V: Dead Men Watch No Movies

[Neon Ignition]

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Very belated... it was passable, very dated and very shallow but given when it was made and clearly for how little it'd be rude to expect more.

Us
I came into this wary after the staggering over praise Get Out received. This is the better and more consistent film but it still rests at merely average, falling into some of the same trapping. After the two of these it's clear as day now that Peele's 'horror' love is purely from the Twilight Zone mould which is why the plots are so weak in these films, destroying the curiosity of the set up. They're very barely horrors, more low anxiety thrillers until they go too silly at the ends. Lupita is the main draw, she largely carries the film with a cracking turn.

Child's Play
The new reboot, dare I say it... it actually lands it. Tone and execution wise it's actually very similar to the other films but it's actually reasonably thought out. I expected the worst from the idea that Chucky was now just faulty AI instead of the set up of the main canon but they actually carry the whole film out whereby Chucky's logic makes a reasonable level of sense. Some characters are a tad dumb but that's common.

Aladdin
Still weaker across the board than the original but amongst Disney live action films it's probably the best effort they've made with one. Jafar is incredibly poor and there's a few irritations like benny hill sped up movement at times and some of the song re-do's are a bit grating but generally alright.

[kryss]

How to Train Your Dragon 3 living up to the other movies, even though it has been a decade since the first one. Watched in 3D, of course, wearing silly Stormtrooper 3D glasses for kicks.

[JazzFunk]

A couple. First off..."The Terror". Often touted as a 'cult favourite', it's a very dull, ponderous horror-style period movie starring a very young Jack Nicholson. It's shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiite, don't watch it.

Next up was the David Brent movie. I lurved it. Whilst there were scant belly laughs, I was tittering heavily for at least 60%-70% of the film. It's basically a brand new, feature length episode of The Office, in fact most of the movie IS set in an office.

It's great. I was expecting an inconsistent, unfunny mess. Instead, a consistent, amusing, well-acted, nicely made comedy flick that was actually really funny. Watching it made me realise how **** Alpha Papa actually was. I lie to myself and say inwardly it was "alright".

It wasn't. It was RUBBISH.

[Atticus]

I had a night to myself on Friday so I settled back and watched Day For Night. Like Groundhog Day I wish I could bottle the feelings this film stirs ... not just the joy, but all the emotions it pricks, and so subtly too. The supplements on the Criterion Ed are excellent as usual. After watching the film I really enjoyed watching a bunch of that stuff.

[Finsbury Girl]

I watched this new Matthew McConaughey film called Serenity. I can't say too much about it, the premise is good, there are some really good bits, a lot of wasted potential and the pay off just isn't there, I was expecting something much more profound as the story unfolded.

It could've been a brilliant movie instead fair to middling. 6.5/10

[randombs]

Baby Driver

Just wanted to watch the opening scene but ended up watching the entire film. It's great, but you knew that already.

Bellbottoms!

[Brad]

Rocketman:

Dexter Fletcher must never be allowed to make another movie, ever.

[QualityChimp]

Over the weekend, I saw Toy Story 4 with the kids and Yesterday with the missus.

Toy Story 4 was great and I really enjoyed it, but there seems to have been a shift in tone since after the second film, with it stopping being the adventures of the toys and more with their stages of no longer being wanted. It definitely pulls on the heart strings, but I can't help but feel it's emotional manipulation at the sacrifice of action and laughs.
Some great new characters (although some returning characters get about 1 line) and some nice moments throughout.
It held the attention of my 3 and 8 year olds, although the 3y/o got a bit restless towards the end and at a really dramatic moment in the film, pulled the drawstring of her Woody doll who shouted "Yeeehaaa! Ride 'em, cowboy!"

Yesterday was really good. Totally disposable fluff, but entertaining and funny throughout.
It's probably best not to think too hard about it, but it's a nice story and I laughed out loud quite a lot.
It's a great cast with Himesh Patel as a great lead. Credit goes to Ed Sheeran who is totally game to take the piss out of himself.

I love Danny Boyle and this is probably one of his lightest films, but still has his directorial flair with some really nice shots throughout that don't intrude, but help frame the action.

A perfect date-night movie, chaps!

[Neon Ignition]

It's strange how much Toy Story has come to be a franchise about loneliness and death since the first film, arguably Disney/Pixar's darkest/adult franchise theme wise?

[QualityChimp]

It's not a bad film, I just think the shift in tone from the first two films to them all having an existential crisis about what is the purpose of their existence isn't wholly satisfactory (for me).

That's why I love those short films, because they're fun, indulgent fan-service that are big on laughs.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Rocketman:

Dexter Fletcher must never be allowed to make another movie, ever.

Is this because the movie is so good he'll never top it? Or because it's utter piss?

[Atticus]

River's Edge (1986). This is a film that has very much its own set of rules. Or lack of. It's a bleak, teenage world that almost feels devoid of the consequences of the grown up world. But that wildness and abandon is part of what makes it the film it is. Very quickly I found myself looking for a moral compass, and did so, in one of the many brilliant acting turns from a quality cast: inc Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover, Ione Skye and Dennis Hopper. It's a teen movie from the 80s ... but not as you know it.

[teddymeow]

Recently...

Bridesmaids - Just brilliant. Fantastic cast, huge laughs, looks great. Feig is one of my favourite directors.

Spidey: Far From Home - Absolutely aces. Will post more in the dedicated thread.

Source Code - Saw it years ago but after Gyllenhaal in Spidey I fancied a bit more Jake. This is very clever sci-fi and even manages to pull on the heart strings a bit. Duncan Jones best film (even though Moon is really good)

Life - More Jake. It's like Alien with ADHD. Constantly moving, little downtime to feel uneasy. Looks slick (very Gravity-esque) and there's a good cast including Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds.

[teddymeow]

Rocketman:

Dexter Fletcher must never be allowed to make another movie, ever.

That bad?

[QualityChimp]

Midsommar

I'm a bit conflicted by this as it wasn't a bad film, but I don't think it's as perfect as many critics are saying.
The directing, acting (especially from Florence Pugh) and score are all excellent. The central premise is intriguing, the constant sunshine is a break from horror cliches and you definitely want to know what's going on.

However, any film like this, where there's something weird going on, you have to buy the explanation. The Ritual, The Wicker Man, Kill List, The Blair Witch Project and the director Ari Aster's previous Hereditary rest on the final section.
Personally, I struggled with the resolution and how long it took to get there. How many times do you willingly take hallucinogens, even when things start getting sinister?

Some fans have praised the pace, allowing the film to crescendo in its own time, but I felt that it took too long to get to the weird stuff and when it did, it lingered too long on them, losing their impact and teetering into self-parody. I genuinely didn't know if, at several points, I was supposed to be laughing with the film rather than at it.

I went in with very little knowledge about the film other than what the trailer showed and hearing it's quite psychedelic, but came out a little underwhelmed, with the film ambling along to its fairly-predictable conclusion.

I am, however, pleased that films like this exist and still hit the multiplex alongside the gazillion-grossing superhero movies, with something to chew on afterwards.

Gif review:

->Open Spoiler<-