Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Mar 10, 2024 17:31:29 GMT -5
Amazingly, it appears You're The Man Now Dog is still alive.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Feb 25, 2024 13:40:14 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #11 Madame Web
I’m a firm believer that when you watch a film you need to meet the movie at its level and judge it based on that. For example, Pacific Rim is a big stupid movie about giant robots fighting monsters, but for what its trying to achieve, it does it really really well. I loved Pacific Rim. Madame Web is a superhero movie and there’s been enough of those over the last 15 years that we know what makes a good one looks like. It doesn’t look like this.
The movie’s synopsis is Cassie Webb confronts her past while trying to save three young women from a man who is attempting to kill them for something that will occur in the future. First and foremost, this movie commits the cardinal sin of cinema. It’s boring. There’s a lot of running from danger and a lot of talking about danger but for long spells of the movie, nothing happens. At one point I checked my watch to see how long was left and I audibly went ‘Oh god’ when I saw it was only the halfway point.
Next we have the characters. There is no one likable in this movie. Obviously we’re not meant to like the villain, the three teen girls are all annoying in their own unique ways (most likely a result of being written by a middle-aged man) and Cassie’s character starts out as abrasive and cold. Cassie’s position makes sense as the beginning of a character arc but it does mean for large parts of the movie when a scene changes you’re not happy to see anyone show up.
The performances aren’t much better. The portrayal of the teen characters are absolutely fine, fairly run-of-the-mill if not flat. Every line from the villain is stilted and growled out in a tone that never once feels like how a human would talk. While, especially in the first half, Dakota Johnson delivers her lines in such a bizarre way that it feels like you’re watching Patti Harrison in I Think You Should Leave.
My final takeaway of the movie is, Pepsi clearly played a LOT for product placement because it is horseshoed in so much. To the point that Pepsi plays a key role in the movie’s climax where the heroes have their final showdown with the villain. Drink Pepsi!
VERDICT: Boring. Unlikable characters. Bad Acting. Pepsi. Pepsi. Pepsi.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Feb 25, 2024 13:38:39 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #10 The Zone of Interest
Given its subject matter, this movie is by no means fun or enjoyable. It is a grim, stark, unflinching depiction of the life of Rudolph Hoss during 1943 as he and his family live next door to Auschwitz while he serves as commandant of the camp.
Quite often in movies and videogames set during WW2, nazis are portrayed as almost cartoonishly sadistic, relishing in the violence and death they leave in their wake. While in this movie it’s very much downplayed. No-one is taking any great enjoyment or pleasure in what they’re doing, because as far as it it’s mundane, perfunctory, ho-hum. Hoss and his wife don’t wrestle with the morality of what they’re complicit in because to them this is everyday and in a way that’s almost more scary.
As the viewer, we never see inside the camp at the atrocities but we are more than aware of them through visual signs that emit from above the walls, and especially from the sounds. While the family goes about its business, the soundscape beyond the home is peppered with isolated gunshots, dogs barking and distant screams. Haunting and disturbing it’s no surprise to see the film has already won numerous awards for its sound design and I would be surprised if it doesn’t take the Academy Award next month for it.
VERDICT: While a difficult watch, this is a movie that expertly depicts the way in which extraordinary evil can be accepted within society to the degree that it’s not just only accepted but normalised to the extent that its barely acknowledged and ultimately fades into the background.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Feb 22, 2024 6:32:36 GMT -5
26. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - Watched this on Blu-ray. This film is definitely one that I have had my personal watch list for too long. I had to decide on one tonight. I picked this one. I might watch some other Guy Ritchie films soon. I really should watch some other British films, in general. I could see that Ritchie had a style with this one as this one was a crime comedy, though it did have some serious moments. The dark comedic elements went with the style Ritchie went for. I found myself laughing at some parts. This film also had a good soundtrack. I also wonder if some plot elements involving different crime outfits going after the main group inspired some story elements in that old PS2 game, "The Getaway." I am aware that a director's cut exists, but I went with the theatrical first. One day I'll check out that verion. I might check out "Snatch" soon if I am in the mood for another Guy Ritchie film. If you get the chance check out Free Fire by Ben Wheatley. It's a really fun dark comedy set in the 70s about a gun deal that goes wrong. Very strong cast and one of the rare movies where you get to hear Cillian Murphy use his actual thick Cork accent.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Feb 21, 2024 20:50:19 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #9 Bob Marley:One Love
This is a fairly standard musician biopic. As someone who didn't know an awful lot about Bob Marley going in, I feel like I didn't learn an awful lot about him as a man.
The performance from the lead and the actress playing his wife do a really good job and when they have something to get their teeth into they absolutely nail it. But for the most part the script doesn't give them much to show off.
One thing that I loved about this movie is that all the characters spoke in Patois, which was super enjoyable to listen to. It might be a bit jarring to begin with but I compare it to going to see a Shakespeare play. You understand the words and it might take a half second to decipher things as although it's English, it's not in the form you're used to hearing.
VERDICT: A perfectly average musician biopic full of sentimentality and a fair share of cliches with Marley's songs replicated to a high standard.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Feb 10, 2024 17:44:57 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #8 The Iron Claw
While it was released in the States last year, this has only just been released in Ireland this week. There's no point in me summing up the story as I'm sure everyone here already knows.
As with all 'Based on true events' movies, there's a fair bit that's condensed and modified for the sake of the story, but for the most part it's pretty faithful. The film does a good job of making you care for each of the individual brothers and even though I knew what was coming, it was obvious the movie was doing its job in that at each turn of misfortune there were audible gasps of shock and despair from the unwitting audience members.
It's hard to say I 'enjoyed' this film as there's little joy to be had, but I was impressed at how the story was told and the performances of the entire cast.
VERDICT: For wrestling fans, this is a fairly faithful retelling of the sad story of the Von Erichs. For non-wrestling fans this is a well performed story of the dangers of familial pressure and endurance in the face of deep personal tragedy.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Feb 10, 2024 12:18:34 GMT -5
Wow, bizarrely it looks like we both registered for this forum on the exact same day! I don't post nearly as much as I would have back in my heyday of posting, but it's a testament to this place and the standard they set that it's one of the few places that I keep coming back to.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Feb 9, 2024 19:17:42 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #7 American Fiction
After hearing good buzz from it's US release late last year and it getting a bunch of nods during the awards season, I decided to check this one out.
Jeffrey Wright plays an academic author frustrated by exploitative pandering 'black' fiction decides to write the most stereotypical story he can. Despite his efforts to lampoon the issue, it's a massive success and his professional pride must be swallowed to alleviate his personal circumstances.
While not being laugh-a-minute, this is a really clever satire on how race is portrayed in fiction. Jeffrey Wright is fantastic in it, and while the elitist Monk (think Frasier but more upr/tight) isn't the most likable all the time, it has a really strong cast of supporting characters that fill the story with plenty of sweet moments.
VERDICT: Deserving of all it's plaudits, a strong lead performance from Jeffrey Wright centres this very funny satire on race in media. Definitely worth checking out.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 31, 2024 6:45:30 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #6 Priscilla
Plucked from her mundane life, Priscilla enters into a relationship with the most famous and desired man in the world. While this might read like the set up to your standard Hallmark romance story, the stark age difference between the two immediately adds a sharp edge of unease. This unease only builds throughout Sofia Coppola’s expertly executed slow burn as the fairytale romance is undermined through controlling behaviours and microaggressions.
Having seen Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ when it came out in 2022, it’s difficult not to view these two films as companions to each other, although they really could not be any more different from each other. While ‘Elvis’ is over-the-top, shiny and chock-full of enjoyably ridiculous accents, ‘Priscilla’ is a far more grounded, muted affair with performances from Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi that heave with passion and sadness as it asks the question of how much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice for the love of someone else? And how much is too much?
VERDICT: Adept direction and incredible chemistry between the two leads brings immense weight to this complicated story of love, control and power.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 24, 2024 6:05:36 GMT -5
I would've been like 7 or 8 at the time, but I had a massive crush on Cristina Ricci in the Addams Family movies.
So I guess kid me had a thing for goth girls.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 20, 2024 16:25:17 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #5 The End We Start From
Going in, I knew nothing about this movie other than it starred Jodie Comer and the premise, "A woman tries to find her way home with her newborn while an environmental crisis submerges London in floodwaters". From that, I expected a fairly mindless popcorn flick where Villanelle from Killing Eve evades floods in Schumacher-esque set pieces.
This movie is not that! It is far more substance over spectacle, forgoing depictions of the disaster and instead focusing on the struggles that occur in its wake. Jodie Comer is fantastic, simultaneously fragile and resilient and you very much feel her disorientation and desperation as the structures of society we take for granted crumble.
VERDICT: Very much the opposite of a feel-good movie (think a less depressing version of The Road) but one I'd certainly recommend checking out if you get the opportunity.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 19, 2024 18:51:34 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #4 Mean Girls
Let me start off by saying that I don't really understand the enormous following Mean Girls has. Admittedly I only saw it for the first time in 2016 so by the time I'd seen it I'd already heard all the iconic bits repeated countless times. My main takeaway was that it was a pretty decent film, but my main thought was "That's what all the fuss is about?"
Anyway, all's that to say that I'm not an enormous fan of Mean Girls. But on the divisive topic of musicals, I very much fall in the fan category. As you can imagine the story is beat for beat the same with musical numbers shoehorned in. The songs themselves are all well composed and with a handful that'll stick in your head after (which is always a good sign) and the staging is well done. It's got a strong cast, Auli'i Cravalho as Janis stood out the most to me with her singing and as a big fan of The Nice Guys I was glad to see Angourie Rice getting spotlight in the lead as Cady. All told though Jaquel Spivey as Damien gets the most laughs.
Is it better than the original? I suppose really it depends on how you feel about musicals as the songs will either be a welcome addition or a massive distraction.
VERDICT: If you like either Mean Girls or musicals I say check it out. If you're cold on both those things, I don't think this is going to win you over on either.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 19, 2024 8:04:06 GMT -5
A few years before the US adaptation of Ghosts you have What We Do In the Shadows, which is still airing. And that's about a group of vampires living in Staten Island. And a few years before that you had The Good Place which is set in heaven. They're probably not as prevalent as they once were, but the ones that have a strong enough cast and writing behind them seem to end up being hits and having decent runs. I've always been open for a good Medieval Fantasy comedy. Or good comedy show set in space. As far as medieval sitcoms go, I think one of the seasons of that Daniel Radcliffe show Miracle Workers is set in that period.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 15, 2024 13:26:43 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #3 Poor Things
Only 2 weeks into the year and I feel like I have a shortlister for my Top 10. I loved this movie. The performances are excellent, the costume and set design are visually wonderful, the story enjoyable and engaging.
Willem Dafoe is great as the grotesque yet kindly father figure and Mark Ruffalo is a lot of fun as a snivelly cad, but this is Emma Stone's show. She's absolutely fantastic and it's a delight watching the character of Bella develop both cognitively and spiritually through her performance.
VERDICT: As with most of Yorgos Lanthimos' work, your mileage may vary (I loved Killing of a Sacred Deer, so take that for what my opinion's worth), but for me this was a wonderfully enjoyable movie and one I'd very much recommend!
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 15, 2024 13:14:06 GMT -5
2024 New Releases #2 Night Swim
I went into this Haunted Swimming Pool knowing it had gotten poor reviews, but I'm a big horror fan and Blumhouse has surprised me in the past by having stupid sounding concepts but sending up making a pretty entertaining flick.
Water can be scary, it can be really scary. If you've ever looked at the ocean at night or been far off-coast on a boat, your mind begins to reel with thoughts of how endless and unknowable and uncaring the waters are. Unfortunately that doesn't work with a pool.
I did like the story they told with how the pool affects our main character being the main source of conflict, but anytime they try to make the pool seem frightening it just comes off as silly. In the third act what the pool can do amps up, from here the film kinda goes bonkers and it's hard to take it any way serious anymore.
VERDICT: A perfectly watchable movie executed fairly competently until it implodes under the pressure of its own ridiculous premise. Worth dipping your toe in the water if you're looking for a silly movie you can poke fun at.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 12, 2024 11:49:30 GMT -5
Julian Barratt? Pretty much everything I've ever seen him in has been absolutely off the wall and bonkers to some degree, so the fact he's in this has me very intrigued.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Jan 7, 2024 10:44:10 GMT -5
Figure I'll get in on this and try and regularly post on the films I see this year, but I'll only be tracking any new releases I catch. My goal is to try and managed 52 to average out to one a week.
I'm in Ireland so there'll be a handful of films that'd have been released in the US last year but won't be out here until later on. For example, The Iron Claw won't be out here for another few weeks.
2024 New Releases #1 The Boy and the Heron
The latest from Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki Terry FunkS it with his last film, after his last last film in 2013.
Talk about starting the year off on a strong foot, this was a great film to kick off my 2024 viewing. As expected the animation is fantastic (especially some early scenes involving fire), the story is your standard 'child enters a wonderland full of bizarre creatures' and Miyazaki does a great job of making the world feel complete and fleshed out. As ever the 'creatures' have the right balance of charm and uncanny unsettlingness.
I bought a ticket to the subtitled version of the movie but the version they showed was dubbed. Once I got over my initial annoyance (I specifically went to a different cinema than the one I have a membership with to see the subbed version), the voice cast do a really good job. There's definitely some voices you'll recognise instantly and one that'll surprise you and make you go "Why'd he choose THAT accent!?".
VERDICT: If you're a fan of Ghibli or animation in general, I'd definitely recommend checking it out as I feel it's a fitting swan song to the career of a master.
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Dec 22, 2023 10:45:02 GMT -5
Listen everyone, I know Ebenezer Gruber has gotten away with the Yule Amulet and narratively we're most certainly at our lowest point.
Buuuuuuuuuut....
*Cue inspirational musical number* *There's a little bit of a Christmas in us all*
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Dec 7, 2023 10:07:59 GMT -5
Hell yeah! Time to break out my favourite Christmas t-shirt. Y'know, the one that says 'JINGLE BALLS' and has the arrow pointing down? Everyone loves it!
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Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
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Post by Bobeddy on Dec 7, 2023 9:07:54 GMT -5
I also watched Anna and the Apocalypse, a 2018 Scottish high-school zombie musical Christmas movie. Which is a real strange mashup of genres that is actually executed pretty well.
It's a fun movie that you're not meant to take too seriously. The highlight is Paul Kaye as the asshole headmaster who when he gets to sing just GOES for it by hamming it up and chomping on the scenery. Y'know those characters you run into in Dead Rising that have just gone totally bonkers? He's basically doing that while singing about how much he loves that the world is burning.
Such a bizarre idea for a movie!
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