list/discuss/rate - your recently watched movies

dr wu23 wrote: Any thoughts on the Oscars?  Did anyone see any of the nominated films.? When I do go to the movies I never seem to see the ones that get nominated. Did Dicaprio deserve the win? What about Spotlight..?

I saw The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, and The Martian.   I reviewed each here a few pages back.

Did DiCaprio deserve the win?   Against Eddie Redmayne, Bryan Cranston and Mike Fassbender?   H e l l   n o.

Point Break  (2015)

Fresh reimagining of the 1991 classic about extreme athletes on a spiritual quest to find enlightenment through a series of elemental tasks, and the young FBI man who infiltrates them.   Nothing can replace the original film and this makeover is not as fun or whimsical but consistently plays against type by eschewing the beautiful and chiseled people for the rough and real ones, and a darker, less beachy atmosphere.   Could be tighter, drags a bit where the '91 version moved along, and diehard PB fans will probably hate it.

anyone else seen Batman vs Superman?

mithrandir wrote: Midnight Cowboy - would you get this man to a doctor already!?

  

The wife and I saw Everybody Wants Some!! a couple of nights back.  It's written and directed by Richard Linklater, so if you've ever seen Dazed And Confused, this is pretty much that, but in the 80's.  Being a big fan of Dazed, I went into this thinking and wanting it to have the same feel and atmosphere as that movie had, and it didn't disappoint.  The film follows a group of college baseball players a few days before the start of the school year and the partying and shenanigans they get into.  You basically just get the feeling of hanging out with these guys over the course of a weekend.  Nothing major happens, but that's partly what makes it great, as it's just a weekend of these guys' lives and we get to tag along.  The humor is great, too, and again, comes mainly from the guys just goofing around and ripping on each other, like most guy friends do.  If you even remotely liked Dazed, I highly recommend EWS.

nice review

The Revenant

Harshly beautiful and profoundly violent slice of real life in the American badlands circa 1823 loosely based on the experiences of Hugh Glass who was double-crossed and left for dead by a fellow frontiersman.   Tom Hardy is brilliant as always and even DiCaprio doesn't stink-up this story of survival and determination at a time when it's a miracle anyone survived daily life at all.   Blows away 2015 Best Picture winner Spotlight.   Recommended highly.

Where to Invade Next

The equally loved and hated Michael Moore returns with his current skewering of U.S. culture as he steps-in for the military to invade various European countries, which is to say it's mostly him talking to folks about their lives and how they differ from the average American.   See Italians aghast at the small amount of paid leave most U.S. citizens get; The superb lunches in French schools; Those wacky fun-loving Finns; The magical, debt-free wonderlands of Slovenia; Germany's pencil-making yet thriving middle class.  

But that's it.   That's all there is.  Which for Michael Moore is a surprise, and let's face it, a letdown.   Because while those things are largely true and regrettable, the film itself is shockingly toothless, unremarkable, and unmoving as Moore dawdles around the Continent weak-kneed for all things Euro while scolding his lowbrow culture back home.   It's as if Rick Steves secretly took over with a cheerful "Hi!  I'm Michael Moore and I want to show you how a nice Caucasian country should be run!"  

Ultimately what Moore reveals more than anything is his unrelenting dissatisfaction with his own nation, which is entirely reasonable and yet, here, unconvincing as compared to previous triumphs Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine or Fahrenheit 9/11.   We know America has big problems and you're pissed about it, Mike, we all are.   But a film, even your films, must move us-- they have to educate and outrage us or you're just another documentarian.   We might as well turn on PBS and catch this week's Travels in Prague.  




Edited by Atavachron - May 22 2016 at 02:04

Legend.

Tom Hardy plays both Kray twins in this violent offering. Pretty gripping, graphic and stylish. I enjoyed the original film with the Kemp brothers playing the Krays, but Legend is slightly a cut above IMO. The portrayal of Ronnie in particular is powerful and unlike the earlier fim covers his earlier run ins with the cops and his mental illness. Recommended!

^^^ He's great in Legend. Clever direction with his split role. Both brothers portaryed brilliantly and distinctly. They were very different characters. Must have been a challenge to play.