Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

[terry.330]

Ghost Ship- I vaguely remembered this not being good, it was made during a time when a lot of horror was really hit or miss and this is definitely a miss. It could have easily been in the same vein as Virus, Deep Rising,Thirteen Ghosts or House on Haunted Hill, hell it could at least have been as good as Deep Blue Sea but it's just not fun or self aware enough. They've got a great setting where there's tons of opportunity for cool stuff but they waste it. There's a halfway decent ensemble cast but they're also wasted. Throw in some bad CG and you've got a total nothing burger. It's not as bad as The Haunting remake but it's not much better.

 

[terry.330]

Crimson Peak- This is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. The sets, costumes, lighting, everything is just absolutely gorgeous. I watched a featurette about it's production and how even the costumes were made to match the sets. The level of detail involved in every aspect of the production was just on another level and the amount of work involved in creating it is incredible. The cast is great as well even Jessica Chasten whom I normally dislike is used well. I will say the story itself is a bit lackluster and predictable but the sheer visual splendor of the movie crushes any of the issues with the script. The kind of movie I can just put on mute in the background and end up staring at without even realizing it. I know a lot of people were disappointed when it initially came out but I think this is actually one of Del Toro's best works.

 

[jro]

Crimson Peak- This is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. The sets, costumes, lighting, everything is just absolutely gorgeous. I watched a featurette about it's production and how even the costumes were made to match the sets. The level of detail involved in every aspect of the production was just on another level and the amount of work involved in creating it is incredible. The cast is great as well even Jessica Chasten whom I normally dislike is used well. I will say the story itself is a bit lackluster and predictable but the sheer visual splendor of the movie crushes any of the issues with the script. The kind of movie I can just put on mute in the background and end up staring at without even realizing it. I know a lot of people were disappointed when it initially came out but I think this is actually one of Del Toro's best works.

IIRC it was something of a victim of poorly set expectations. It wasn't the usual horror movie instead of being a gothic romance (maybe? I may very well have this wrong), in which case it was indeed very good. I watched it twice around its release, first with the basic horror movie expectation and didn't like it, then watched it again a short time later with, I dunno, zero expectations and liked it for what it was. Yep, good cast, good crew, well-worth watching.

I watched/endured The Sadness - (slash I am indeed working through my Shudder backlog)- um, yeah, this happened. Taro and Indonesians are good at the genre, Chinese are just kinda like here's a bunch of rape zombies deal with it. Okay it's a little better than that but not by a ton, kind of cracks me up that this same service has multiple "Cannibal" movies with actual animal murders that had to go to court and this is the one that got a viewer warning.

 

[terry.330]

Double Indemnity- Possibly the best film noir ever made? Most certainly a high water mark. Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler and they bring the heat. Barbara Stanwyck as the femme fatale and Edward G. Robinson absolutely stealing every scene he's in. The dialogue is fast and beyond cliche but it's all pulled off effortlessly and really contributes to the pacing. The movie is also a masterclass in how to use shadows without over doing it.

It also subverts a lot of the usual tropes associated with the genre. No cops, detectives, gangsters or ridiculously stoic tough guys. Just an insurance salesman, a conniving wife and a devious plan that goes horribly wrong. I gotta say the idea of using the insurance company and it's investigation as a substitute for the usual detective or police is brilliant and extremely effective. This is old Hollywood at it's best.

 

[terry.330]

Luther: The Fallen Sun- Oh boy, what an absolute load of ridiculous shit. It's not any of the actors fault though as they all do their jobs well. Andy Serkis in particular seems to be having a lot of fun as such an outlandish villain. It's the ludicrous plot, which is simultaneously beyond far fetched but also extremely predictable. I guess it's worth watching if you're a fan of the series but ugh... it just didn't work on any level.

Spoiler:

Also what was with the last scene? A Bond setup or just some cheap middle finger/sequel bait?

 

[Teddy KGB]

Double Indemnity- Possibly the best film noir ever made? Most certainly a high water mark. Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler and they bring the heat. Barbara Stanwyck as the femme fatale and Edward G. Robinson absolutely stealing every scene he's in. The dialogue is fast and beyond cliche but it's all pulled off effortlessly and really contributes to the pacing. The movie is also a masterclass in how to use shadows without over doing it.

It also subverts a lot of the usual tropes associated with the genre. No cops, detectives, gangsters or ridiculously stoic tough guys. Just an insurance salesman, a conniving wife and a devious plan that goes horribly wrong. I gotta say the idea of using the insurance company and it's investigation as a substitute for the usual detective or police is brilliant and extremely effective. This is old Hollywood at it's best.

+1 to this.

Both international and Hollywood based noir on the Criterion channel (I’ve referenced this before… my “go to” streaming app of calming relaxation in the storm of a busy household) is usually pretty solid. There is usually a steady stream (no pun intended) of classics that cycle through on a regular basis. Sadly, this one just exited but it’s sure to return at some point.

That said, it got no better than Billy Wilder during that 20-30 year span of his heyday. This writing, directing and producing machine churned out hit after hit. And although Double Indemnity is a star-studded classic in every regard, it at times takes a back seat to his other well known hits. But agreed on one of the best noir sentiments.

Double Indemnity has always had a place in my heart. Great replay value and I have come back to it frequently over the years - I’m sure my shit memory doesn’t help either. But, I love MacMurray in gritty roles such as this one. He was a natural at it long before he became a “fluff” Disney go-to and even TV before that. Speaking of TV, I believe he was the first choice for the Perry Mason role before it went to Raymond Burr. Or maybe that’s just my shit memory acting up again.

Tl;dr watch the damn flick. It’ll hold your attention from start to finish.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Luther: The Fallen Sun- Oh boy, what an absolute load of ridiculous shit. It's not any of the actors fault though as they all do their jobs well. Andy Serkis in particular seems to be having a lot of fun as such an outlandish villain. It's the ludicrous plot, which is simultaneously beyond far fetched but also extremely predictable. I guess it's worth watching if you're a fan of the series but ugh... it just didn't work on any level.

Spoiler:

Also what was with the last scene? A Bond setup or just some cheap middle finger/sequel bait?

Ah fuck. I enjoyed the first couple seasons of the series. Can't remember if I watched season 3, but definitely nothing after 3. Always thought I'd catch up on it someday, and now with the movie out... But maybe I'll just let the series live in my head as a vague happy memory.

 

[terry.330]

Ah fuck. I enjoyed the first couple seasons of the series. Can't remember if I watched season 3, but definitely nothing after 3. Always thought I'd catch up on it someday, and now with the movie out... But maybe I'll just let the series live in my head as a vague happy memory.

The series got got increasingly ridiculous but never to the point that it detracted from my enjoyment too severely. The movie is on a whole other level of nonsense though. It reaches eyerolling levels of shlock usually reserved for junk like the Taken series.

 

[jro]

A Wounded Fawn - does not live up to its somewhat insane 96% positive RT score. It messes around with the perspective and stays weird enough to be watchable but nothing special. Ending nearly makes up for it though.

Ritual - so yah, earlier Anwar. There's zero explanation given for it, but if you're okay with that the third act twist is pretty effective. I think it could have been better but maybe the lack of polish and general minimalism help it.

 

[terry.330]

Millionaires' Express- Sammo Hung's kung-fu/western/comedy extravaganza. Lots of action, lots of slapstick and lots of familiar face. Like a lot of these HK comedies not all the gags translate or even really work in the first place but you gotta give him credit for just throwing so much at the wall. The action is top notch of course and this seems to have a fairly substantial budget with some pretty big set pieces. I hadn't seen this is quite a few years but it's still up there with the best of the era. Thoroughly entertaining.

 

[terry.330]

Cobra- Yikes, this is beyond ridiculous even for the time period. I'm not sure I actually enjoyed it as I just kind of sat there mystified by it about 75% of the time, the other 25% I was audibly saying "oh for fucks sake" at the TV. It's got some montages though that's for sure and some amazingly bad music. I had seen it a couple times years a go on cable but didn't remember anything except his stupid license plate and the sunglasses. I can't recommend it but I also can't not recommend it. It doesn't quite reach the incredible heights of Stone Cold or Death Wish 3 but nevertheless it exists and I'm glad it does. At least I think so.

 

[Tarma]

Stone Cold is awesome, looking forward to the Kino Lorber special edition bluray... even though I have the 88 Films UK release from about 5 years ago.

Nobody (4K) - what a great film, Bob Odenkirk is awesome, as is Christopher Lloyd, in this John Wick done for laughs action film. If you like John Wick but want something tonaly different, then Nobody will be up your street. I kind of hope they do a sequel, just to see Odenkirk revisit the character, but it's going to be difficult to recapture the character of this, some maybe one that is best left alone? They won't of course, but I'll go in with low expectations when the time comes. BTW, if you've not seen the legendary Michael Ironside for a while, you're gonna get a shock when you see this film.

 

[pixeljunkie]

BTW, if you've not seen the legendary Michael Ironside for a while, you're gonna get a shock when you see this film.

Metal Slug Sound FX: "Whoah! Big!"

 

[100proof]

Cobra is hilarious 80s cheese and I will hear no slander of it.

Leprechaun - Did a Warwick Davis 2-fer for Paddy's Day tonight. Hadn't watched the original Leprechaun in probably 25 years. It sucks in that late-80s/early-90s low-budget franchise bait kinda way. Often times the low-budget slasher movies from that era come down to the villain and while Warwick Davis gives it his best, a 3 ft. tall Freddy (most of his damage is done with his weirdly sharp fingernails) isn't exactly intimidating. Not corny enough to be a fun late-night movie watch and not good enough to be taken seriously. The later movies got much more silly IIRC (the only one I really remember is In the Hood). Edit: Oh, I guess I didn't mention Jennifer Aniston's in it but she sucks. She doesn't get naked, she's not much of a screamer and she doesn't even become the final girl. She is the main reason the sequels got made (her Friends success kind of resurrected interest in the movie) but I wouldn't even recommend it if you care about seeing young Rachel. She's just kind of there.

Willow - Willow has always been a weird mixed bag. On the one hand, it falls in to that basket of traumatizing 80s kids movies that have fucked up monsters and frightening images that typified late-70s through late-80s "kids" fare. It's one of the earliest examples of morphing used on screen (in addition to a whole bag full of practical fx tricks) and it has a fun performance from Val Kilmer. The movie is kind of a mess though. It's incredibly busy and kind of rushes from scene to scene over two hours. Willow himself is written as an insufferable nag and fuck-up for most of the movie. Not that he should be an infallible badass hero or anything... he's just kind of an annoying side character for large sections of his own movie. The Shorsha character jumping sides is kind of ridiculous. The writing in general is just kind of shoddy and disjointed and it reminds me of a lot of those cheap 80s sword and sandals movies like Beastmaster and Deathstalker with just a bigger budget and better actors. I know a lot of people have a ton of nostalgia for Willow and I remembered enjoying it as a kid but I've seen it a few times now as an adult and it's charming but definitely in the bottom half of 80s comedy/adventure movies.

All of the friends I watched it with (who are generally more forgiving of middling genre fare than I am) agreed that the TV show was garbage.

 

[terry.330]

Slaughter High- An above average slasher/revenge flick from the height of the genre. A nerdy high school student is mercilessly bullied and pranked by classmates, when they are caught in the act and punished they decide to really go after the guy. This leads to him being horribly disfigured in a chemistry lab "accident". Five years later he invites them all back to what they think is a school reunion where dispatches them one by one in various bizarre and elaborate ways.

The whole movie feels a little off and quirky which elevates it a bit above the typical genre fare. It's obviously a British production but is supposed to be set in the US, all of the actors seem to be British and are doing some absolutely incredible American accents. The script also seems like it was written by someone from the UK trying to mimic teens from other slashers. The characters, script and terrible accents all lend the movie quite a bit of charm that most slashers are severely lacking in. It's nothing amazing but I thought it was pretty damn enjoyable.

 

[Syn]

Caroline Munro is in it so I'll watch.

 

[fake]

Barbarian
The second-best independent horror movie that features Justin Long. Surprised A24 passed on this TBH.

 

[terry.330]

Barbarian
The second-best independent horror movie that features Justin Long. Surprised A24 passed on this TBH.

I think it's a bit too shlocky for A24.

 

[fake]

I think it's a bit too shlocky for A24.

It’s almost like they’re ashamed of having put out Tusk.

 

[Ralfakick]

Cobra- Yikes, this is beyond ridiculous even for the time period. I'm not sure I actually enjoyed it as I just kind of sat there mystified by it about 75% of the time, the other 25% I was audibly saying "oh for fucks sake" at the TV. It's got some montages though that's for sure and some amazingly bad music. I had seen it a couple times years a go on cable but didn't remember anything except his stupid license plate and the sunglasses. I can't recommend it but I also can't not recommend it. It doesn't quite reach the incredible heights of Stone Cold or Death Wish 3 but nevertheless it exists and I'm glad it does. At least I think so.

Did you learn a new way to cut pizza at least?

For the uninitiated

 

[SouthtownKid]

Did you learn a new way to cut pizza at least?

Scissors is a new way? Doesn't everyone have pizza scissors? Being serious here. The angle he cut it was weird, I'll give you that.

 

[LoneSage]

Pizza...scissors?

Is he being serious?

 

[100proof]

Pizza scissors are/were a thing. Not all places back in the day were thorough with the pizza cutter so people would take scissors or a knife to it so that the slices tore cleanly.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Scissors are easier than a cutter because you can cut the pizza without worrying about cutting the box, or whatever is underneath the box if you're really crazy with it.

 

[terry.330]

Honestly I'm surprised he didn't shoot the pizza slice in half.