It's Back: Exceelent Movies I've Seen Lately

[overkill94]

Hadn't seen any newer movies in a while, now I'm on a roll!

Spy - was a little surprised that this movie got such great reviews when it came out since it looked like a broad action spoof with obvious jokes. After seeing it? That's what it is Melissa McCarthy is actually really good but most of the other characters are incredibly lazily written with tons of extraneous cursing. It could've been 15 minutes shorter and they shouldv'e cut a bunch of jokes - sometimes it's best to only leave in the jokes you believe in rather than try to go for a laugh a minute - then it couldv'e been a nice lean action comedy.

Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl - I've suckered my parents into watching enough indie comedies that they can spot a "Nick movie" pretty easily. They rented this one on their own and didn't love it but called it "clever" (best I can ask for from them). I had been excited to see it and wasn't really disappointed - the writing is sharp, the story is quite original, and the acting (particularly the lead actor) is excellent. For those who haven't heard of it - it's a high school comedy about the main guy, his buddy Earl, and...well, I guess you get it. My only quibble is that the 2nd half seemed to drag a bit - they might not have known exactly how to wrap things up - otherwise you've got a bunch of relatable and likable characters plus some nice love letters to classic cinema.

[johnnya24]

Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 - was really disappointed with the finale. Thought the series was getting better with each episode, and really liked Mockingjay 1. But this was borderline terrible. The laughable Katniss-Peeta love story took centre stage, and the rest of the movie suffered really badly. The action scenes, the overall story progression, the message, were all rushed so as to make room for this Peeta nonsense.

At least Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson will be happy, they've been superseded as the most ridiculous love story of all time.

Wasted opportunity.

[johnnya24]

Steve Jobs - I thought this was pretty damn good. It's basically a play in 3 parts, with the same 4 supporting characters meeting with Steve just prior to a major announcement. So it's not really a biopic, and it certainly isn't flattering to Jobs ... it's more an examination of his personality and hunger for power than a depiction of events in his life. Despite all the borderline sociopathic tendencies, Steve Jobs still manages to come out as the star of the show ... somehow ... and I guess that was a large part of his attraction.

[overkill94]

Saw a bunch of movies with the family over Thanksgiving:

Brooklyn - It's somewhat rare that I get to see an (assumed) Oscar nominee in the theaters but there weren't really any "theater" movies out that we wanted to see. This one's about a young Irish girl who gets to go to America to pursue a career, during which she falls in love with a sweet little Italian fella. It's a pretty romantic love story that gets thrown for a loop when she goes back to visit Ireland only to find out all the things she didn't like about her hometown had all of a sudden become how she had hoped they would. The whole thing's really well written and acted and I'm not surprised by the 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Saoirse Ronin will probably get a Best Actress nom and the movie itself seems like a shoo-in for a Best Picture nomination - it probably won't end up being my favorite movie of the year but I think it's a worthwhile candidate since I enjoyed it quite a bit.

No Escape - it's been a while since I've seen a true action thriller and this one has about as much action as you could hope for. Owen Wilson and Lake Bell are Americans making the move to a Southeast Asian country for Owen's job and before they can even unpack their bags they get caught up in a rebellion where their whiteness is not in their favor. Pierce Brosnan pops in as comic relief / badass, helping them try to escape the voracious rebels. Overall I thought the action worked well and the pace kept things interesting throughout - might not be for everyone but I enjoyed it.

Vacation - had super-low expectations going into this one which probably helped its cause. Ed Helms and Christina Applegate are the couple making the trek this time around and the plot is very similar to the original, full of hijinx and ridiculous obstacles. Although the jokes fall flat more often than not, there are some legit laughs in this one (the rental car itself provides quite a few) and it's not as bad as the preview made it seem.

San Andreas - another one with low expectations that semi-delivered. There are a whole lot of leaps of faith and the characters are pretty one-dimensional but it's a pretty fun disaster flick and watching Alexandra Daddario run around is never a bad thing.

Admission - this one didn't do much at the theaters but it's a cute little comedy starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. Tina works in the admissions department at Princeton which is where she crosses paths with a teacher helping one of his students with his application (Paul Rudd). There are some laughs to be had and the story's pretty interesting - I'd say it's worth a look although hardly essential.

[johnnya24]

Saw a bunch of movies with the family over Thanksgiving:

Brooklyn - It's somewhat rare that I get to see an (assumed) Oscar nominee in the theaters but there weren't really any "theater" movies out that we wanted to see. This one's about a young Irish girl who gets to go to America to pursue a career, during which she falls in love with a sweet little Italian fella. It's a pretty romantic love story that gets thrown for a loop when she goes back to visit Ireland only to find out all the things she didn't like about her hometown had all of a sudden become how she had hoped they would. The whole thing's really well written and acted and I'm not surprised by the 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Saoirse Ronin will probably get a Best Actress nom and the movie itself seems like a shoo-in for a Best Picture nomination - it probably won't end up being my favorite movie of the year but I think it's a worthwhile candidate since I enjoyed it quite a bit.

OK, you've convinced me to go see it ... but I think I want to see Carol first.

No Escape - it's been a while since I've seen a true action thriller and this one has about as much action as you could hope for. Owen Wilson and Lake Bell are Americans making the move to a Southeast Asian country for Owen's job and before they can even unpack their bags they get caught up in a rebellion where their whiteness is not in their favor. Pierce Brosnan pops in as comic relief / badass, helping them try to escape the voracious rebels. Overall I thought the action worked well and the pace kept things interesting throughout - might not be for everyone but I enjoyed it.

I totally forgot I've seen this. It wasn't bad ... certainly watchable ... but clearly not memorable

[dslaw]

The wife wanted to see Love the Coopers so we went last weekend. Even she said it wasn't very good. Funny parts were few and far between and the story line was same predictable 'family with struggles gets together over Christmas and everything turns out good'.

[Gregg]

My wife and I were out and about on Sunday. We decided to see Victor Frankenstein. Mostly due to what time the movie started and we like horror movies. We had absolutely no preconceived ideas about what we were walking into other than a very short trailer several months ago.

The movie was very well filmed and the actors did a fine job. If you have enjoyed any of the Frankenstein movies including Young Frankenstein, I would think this movie would have some interest and be enjoyable to you. It was not just another remake of Frankenstein. We enjoyed the telling of the tale from an Igor perspective. We both were pleasantly surprised and glad we went.

I was very surprised when I got home and looked up the reviews for this movie. They said the acting was very good and it was well filmed, then went on to rip the movie and give it terrible reviews. It looks like it is going to flop from a box office point of view. Some say it was because it was delayed from a Halloween movie/release to a Thanksgiving release. Not many in the mood for Frankenstein at Thanksgiving. I don't know. I can only tell you that I am glad we went before I read the reviews.

Reviews are not the most important thing to me but they do have a small influence. I have seen plenty of movies with great reviews and not liked them. I have also seen many bad reviews and liked them. This is one of those.

I would be interested to read your thoughts if you see this movie, especially if you are a fan of the Frankenstein genre.

[Fresno Bob]

I watched "Primer" recently, which was one of the more thought provoking time travel movies I've seen in ages....

[Gregg]

A buddy and I went to see The Revenant last night. Mrs. Gregg decided to pass on this one.

All I can say is Wow!

If the previews looked interesting to you see the movie.

[johnnya24]

A buddy and I went to see The Revenant last night. Mrs. Gregg decided to pass on this one.

All I can say is Wow!

If the previews looked interesting to you see the movie.

Yeah looking forward to this.

Saw The Hateful Eight on Friday. Exceelent. Though I am getting confused as to why Tarrantino is insistent on putting Australians and New Zealanders in 19th Century westerns.

[revo]

Saw a few recently:

The Walk - wow, exceelent. I really didn't know the whole story behind Phillippe Petit's epic 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt was phenomenal as he usually is. Plus, to this ear, he spoke pretty flawless French and English with a French accent. About the only thing I didn't care for was the speaking directly to the camera narration, but that's about it.

Ant-Man -- so exceelent, I watched it two consecutive nights. Paul Rudd, who I was very skeptical about, was great.

Mr. Holmes -- it got great reviews, but besides a few scenes, I was pretty bored with this one.

The Man from UNCLE -- better than I expected. I'm not gay, but Henry Cavill is an impossibly good looking dude.

Z for Zachariah -- my office mate's wife did the film editing on this one. The movie could've been better, but the film editing was top shelf!

Southpaw -- another exceelent flick. Jake Gyllenhaal was awesome.

Entourage -- A Catch-22: you should only watch this if you were a fan of the series, but if you were a fan of the series and you watch this, you'll likely not be a fan anymore. They should have left well enough alone.

[Fresno Bob]

Saw a few recently:

The Walk - wow, exceelent. I really didn't know the whole story behind Phillippe Petit's epic 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt was phenomenal as he usually is. Plus, to this ear, he did spoke pretty flawless French and English with a French accent. About the only thing I didn't care for was the speaking directly to the camera narration, but that's about it.

if you haven't seen "Man on Wire", the real story of this, you should.....

[johnnya24]

Saw a few recently:

The Walk - wow, exceelent. I really didn't know the whole story behind Phillippe Petit's epic 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt was phenomenal as he usually is. Plus, to this ear, he did spoke pretty flawless French and English with a French accent. About the only thing I didn't care for was the speaking directly to the camera narration, but that's about it.

Ant-Man -- so exceelent, I watched it two consecutive nights. Paul Rudd, who I was very skeptical about, was great.

Mr. Holmes -- it got great reviews, but besides a few scenes, I was pretty bored with this one.

The Man from UNCLE -- better than I expected. I'm not gay, but Henry Cavill is an impossibly good looking dude.

Z for Zachariah -- my office mate's wife did the film editing on this one. The movie could've been better, but the film editing was top shelf!

Southpaw -- another exceelent flick. Jake Gyllenhaal was awesome.

Entourage -- A Catch-22: you should only watch this if you were a fan of the series, but if you were a fan of the series and you watch this, you'll likely not be a fan anymore. They should have left well enough alone.

I've been avoiding Entourage like the plague. Really liked the first 5/6 series of that show, though it ended very poorly I recall.

I've been trying to motivate myself to watch Southpaw, but I'm never in the mood. I'm a big JG fan, so I should really get around to that.

I remember quite liking The Man From Uncle at the start, then gradually disliking it more and more as the movie progressed. By the end I just wanted to leave then cinema.

I quite liked Mr Holmes.

I'll have to watch The Walk. I really liked the documentary FB referenced.

[overkill94]

Saw a few recently:

Spotlight - pretty fascinating retelling of the uncovering of the Catholic church scandal although it just doesn't feel Best Picturey to me; the performances were all top-notch although Ruffalo's vocal affectations were a little goofy (supposedly this is how the real guy talked but how would any of us know?)

Dope - the critics loved this one but it didn't get a ton of word-of-mouth. The movie revolves around a trio of high schoolers in inner city LA who just want to keep living their nerdy lives but end up getting caught up in the web of drug dealing. Although it's a comedy - and a pretty funny one - it also covers the social issues associated with poor black communities in a somewhat refreshing way. Highly recommended (and the music's pretty awesome too).

The Overnight - probably wouldn't have even heard of this one if Jason Schwartzman hadn't been interviewed on the morning show I listen to, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it pop up on Netflix. The story revolves around a youngish couple (Adam Scott and Orange is the New Black's Taylor Schilling) who move from Seattle to LA with their young boy and look to meet some new friends. It doesn't take long for them to do that when they run into Schwartzman and his wife at a kid's birthday party at which point they're invited for a play date. After the kids go to sleep, however, things get a little nuts including excessive drinking, drugs, and maybe a little swinging. The movie's only about 75 minutes so it moves swiftly and while it's merely pleasant for the most part, the ending is pretty hilarious.

City of God - put this one on my Netflix queue ages ago due to its inclusion in so many critics' "Best Of" lists and such but it wasn't until yesterday morning when I woke up at 5 AM for no reason that I finally gave it a chance. Wow, this movie is both engrossing and heartbreaking - telling the story of a bunch of youths in Rio de Janeiro who grow up in the rough slums that are ravaged by crime and drugs. There are so many interesting characters - some of which you fall in love with, others you love to hate - that bring the story to life so vividly. Highly recommended for those who haven't seen it yet (it came out in 2002).

[Fresno Bob]

I'd also recommend City of God