Movie Time 2.0: TT mini reviews

[Johnny Unusual]

I was considering watching John Wick 2 then I realized I should rewatch John Wick 1. AKA John Wick.

Still great. It's interesting to watch it again realizing it was originally written for an older actor. That would have worked but in some ways, I feel I've seen that movie, which is funny because they technically removed one "unique" element. But what really works is the world building that never gets in the way of the story.

It's also a film about a Brobdingnagian reputation that works. There are lots of films with unstoppable larger than life heroes but its rare to see the villain starting from a place of quasi-resignation. He knows he can't win or turn the tide but he will damn well try and probably could have. But also Wick's reputation and people's belief in him acts as a passive superpower, saving him a couple times (not to take agency away from Willem Dafoe).

People say these movies essentially just get bigger and better so I'm looking forward to following this "small" film.

 

[Paul le Fou]

They definitely get bigger but I'm not entirely sure they get better. I saw JW3 the other day and didn't remember liking it as much as the first two. I haven't seen 4, but each one kind just gives you more.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Dungeons and Dragons lives up to its reputation of being a really, really fun movie. Just straight up Fantasy Oceans 11, and every character was clearly having a hoot.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

After Life is something that's been sitting on my Criterion queue for a while but every time I went to watch, it was a little too late for a two hour movie. But then I finally watched it. It's good.

The premise is in the afterlife, before you move on you can only take ONE memory with you. You have three days to decide... and four days to direct a recreation of that event. The latter part is actually a little less interesting to me. The film works best when characters are debating if there's anything worth keeping, what to keep, why bother keeping any of it. Definitely worth the watch for low key character drama.

Oh, and I saw The Case of a Bloody Iris, another giallo about a series of murders floating around an apartment building where a sex worker with cut ties to a creepy hippie sex cult is trying to escape her past. It's pretty fun but I don't think it stands out in a once-crowded genre.

 

[Exposition Owl]

Dungeons and Dragons lives up to its reputation of being a really, really fun movie. Just straight up Fantasy Oceans 11, and every character was clearly having a hoot.

Agreed. I’d call it the second best movie based on a game, after Clue.

 

[Paul le Fou]

Agreed that D&D is fun. It's got some good quips and jokes, it's got references and easter eggs and does really well at making the Forgotten Realms and Sword Coast feel like a real, lived-in world setting. It's got some adaptations that don't strictly follow the rules of the game (like how the Bard doesn't know magic or the druid only wild shapes but doesn't know spells either)*, but who cares; it's got some good "OK we're gonna use this magic item to solve this puzzle in this extremely convoluted way" accurate to an actual tabletop group, it's got a lawful good paladin with a stick up his ass. It's got heart.

*"The druid can wildshape into an owlbear" doesn't break the rules because your DM should be letting you wildshape into an owlbear anyway, who gives a shit if it's technically a monstrosity


Creed II is good. It's got pretty good man-punchin' but really it's the character work that shines, even for the antagonists (as slight as their development is).

 

[Exposition Owl]

like how the Bard doesn't know magic

Strictly speaking, the movie doesn’t explicitly say that he’s a bard. Ed might just be a rogue with a lot of skill points in Performance!

 

[Olli]

Strictly speaking, the movie doesn’t explicitly say that he’s a bard. Ed might just be a rogue with a lot of skill points in Performance!

Rogue/Bard multiclass. Ed is frequently inspiring!

 

[Exposition Owl]

Rogue/Bard multiclass. Ed is frequently inspiring!

Good point!

 

[Octopus Prime]

A geometrically less fun movie is Barbarian. It was a good movie, but very much not an Octo movie.

“Women are strong” is the films moral at least, that part is Octo Supported, just… not so much how it established this thesis.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I've watched some bad giallo lately but I need to say the really great title The Police Are Blundering in the Dark seems like it would be wasted on the film. BUT the film is great in unintended ways, many elements giving some enjoyable cheese. None of the women wear bras but I'm not surprised in the trashy world of 70s crime cinema. More surprising: about 1 minute of screen time of a topless woman eating a ham sammy by a fireplace. The deaths are the worst part of the movie in that they are really uninspired (basically women putter around of a while and then are all just stabbed, scene over, only one extended chase). But it does also have an unexpected batshit subplot of a camera that photographs what you are thinking created by a Gene Shalit-looking dude in front of a big beeping 1950s-style sci-fi computer with blinking lights and buttons. It's a completely wild, dumb movie and I kind of like it. Not... recommending but it certainly is unique.

 

[Octopus Prime]

So I forgot that there was a fourth Matrix movie, and correspondingly decided to watch the fourth Matrix movie, and… it was fine, I guess? Wasn’t nearly as obsessed with its own philosophy as the other sequels, which I appreciated (they replaced the navel gazing with a lot of Terminology, which wasn’t much more than a lateral move), but it also wasn’t delivering something as genuinely unique as the original.

Really wasn’t that invested in Neo and Trinitys romantic life as the movie thought I was.

Movie just casually mentions a full scale Robot civil war brought about by their ideological differences like that wasn’t the thing I was completely enthralled by.

NPH was a delightful villain, as that is his particular acting niche, and I was at my happiest whenever he was on screen. The other villains just couldn’t compare except maybe The Merovingian, he… was doing a lot of acting.

Liked the sub plot of how Bad of an idea it is to make a sequel to The Matrix when the trilogy was already finished.

All in all? A Movie That’s Okay.

 

[Violentvixen]

We watched Puss In Boots The Last Wish yesterday. It was fun, but had that jarring Dreamworks level of morbidity/violence and always feels out of place in their movies.

Also I love the Wolf's design. Beautifully done and being inspired by both Clint Eastwood and Kurosawa works damn well.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I always am hesitant to watch something new on my own because I want to give it attention so I did a rewatch. The Suicide Squad (the good one with a definite article) felt like what I needed and it is still a great movie. I feel like though I don't want my DCU movies to be all R-rated this feels like it is properly in a comic book universe that I want to see, filled with colourful characters who we can care about even if they die ugly. And I still think it's a perfect use for Robbie's Harley Quinn who gets a lot to do but doesn't take center stage in the main narrative. It's such a delicate balance but she gets to have her fun and some great emotional beats and be awesome while being woven into the narrative as a force of chaos. I feel like it's a great way to use her in an ensemble because while she isn't at the center, she isn't short-changed either.

I also began watching After the Curfew and... fell asleep halfway. I liked what I saw but now I need to give it another chance.

 

[lincolnic]

After watching John Wick for the first time a few weeks ago and loving it, we watched John Wick 2 last night. It was still fun, but didn't really break any new ground. Great fight choreography though. My biggest gripe is that a PATH train is not the Z train, come on. That substitution feels extremely weird given how much time the two movies have spent around New York.

 

[Voncaster]

Curfew (1989)
In by ten, dead by twelve.

Stephanie, The daughter of District Attorney, goes out with her high school friends and must be home by 10. Her high school friends are two 80s football jocks and a girlfriend. The four of them go to a diner and act like complete jerks; they play football in the diner and ruin a couples meal. They get thrown out by a cop in the diner. Then the girlfriend runs back into the diner and exclaims her boyfriend is hurt. The diner cop runs outside and sees a bloody teen. He runs to a phone to call 911. When he gets back to the scene, the teens are gone, all he sees is a bottle of ketchup and the words "sucker" written in ketchup.

Elsewhere two brother convicts escape prison. In a flashback we see that the two brothers assault and kill a woman. In present day, the brothers kill two farmers and steal their car and clothes.

Then the convicts go on a vengeful killing spree. They are going to get revenge on everyone who wronged them: the criminal psychiatrist who diagnosed them, the judge and the District attorney. They kill the psychiatrist, judge, and severely injure an old man bystander.

Stephanie and the teens are now at the beach. A football player wants to have sex with Stephanie, but she is not ready to do that. She asks to be taken home to make it back by her 10 pm curfew. She mentions that she needs to be back by 10 even though her parents are out of town on a trip.

Stephanie is dropped off at home. When she enters she confronts the two convicts who have her Dad, the DA, and Mom tied up. From here on out the movie is a home invasion movie. The convicts play out depraved scenes with the daughter, mom and dad. At some point the police are called by Stephanie. However, since she pranked the police earlier, they think this real danger is a prank. Eventually the police encounter the injured old man and make their way to the DAs house.

In the end the police and Stephanie confront the convicts and prevail.

I think the premise of this movie is pretty strong: Convicts out for revenge on the DA and the daughter of the DA converging on the same house in a home invasion movie. However, I don't think the film has much to say. As a result, the mean spirited black humor falls flat. The convicts actions are depraved, but what is shown on film is pretty tame. As is, the film is neither funny enough to enjoy nor mean enough to resonate. The premise fails to deliver in the final acts of the film.

Rating: 1/2

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

It's a perfectly watchable movie but doesn't really ascend any higher than that. I'm sure a lot of people will be jazzed to see Easter eggs and references. On it's own, it's not bad, though frankly, I think while no one does a bad job, I feel like some of the big celebrity voices add very little to the proceedings. Watching it with my niece definitely helped. I wish I could have that childlike investment of reaching for a grandmother or shouting the hero's name when you are worried about them.

 

[Daikaiju]

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

It's a perfectly watchable movie but doesn't really ascend any higher than that. I'm sure a lot of people will be jazzed to see Easter eggs and references. On it's own, it's not bad, though frankly, I think while no one does a bad job, I feel like some of the big celebrity voices add very little to the proceedings. Watching it with my niece definitely helped. I wish I could have that childlike investment of reaching for a grandmother or shouting the hero's name when you are worried about them.

Counterpoint: This is exactly the movie many of us wanted back in 1993. The fanservice is abundant but doesn't overwhelm. It minimalizes the normally tedious world building a lot of franchise films have to work through. At no point did the voice work pull me out of the vibe and I frankly enjoyed every moment. I look forward to more.

My Conclusion: Everyone had certain expectations and they were mostly met, though to what degree...?
Your Mileage May Vary.

 

[Vaeran]

Add me to the chorus of people who agree that Dungeons & Dragons is a good time at the movies. Maybe there's nothing particularly surprising to the plot, but the characters are likeable, the humor keeps things feeling lively, and the action and magic are fun and inventive. I sure wouldn't mind seeing another one of these.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Tetris is a very stupid and unrealistic biopic and I love it. I don't love it ironically, I simply genuinely love it while acknowledging it being very much a very silly version of what a early 2000s-style biopic it is. It is a shame it makes the decision to whitewash Henk Rogers and that's a valid complaint for anyone. But as a piece of corporate espionage thriller, it's incredibly fun from stem to stern.

Also, it's the kind of movie that puts actor Roger Allum under Karl Havoc level of make up to play Colin Ferrill playing The Penguin playing Robert Maxwell. It's the kind of movie where all the Russians who aren't the bad guy are talking about what's good for the country and genuinely meaning it. It's a movie where Alexey Pajitnov overhears the bad guys on a radio and rushes back to save Henk Rogers in a car chase. I'm not saying that there wasn't a rush to the airport to save their asses but I doubt everyone was drawing guns at the airport where the bad guy gets arrested or that the cars were right on their tail.

As a true story, I can't imagine it holds up to any scrutiny. As a piece of historical fiction, it's still pretty stupid but even then. its also genuinely fun and thrilling. You can poke holes in it and they would be valid but the film remains a very good time!

 

[Octopus Prime]

I think the most surprising part of the Tetris movie is still that it isn’t, like, Armageddon but with Tetrads

 

[Daikaiju]

I kinda want to watch the Tetris movie, but The Gaming Historian's Tetris video covered the same ground more accurately and I feel my knowledge will impede my enjoyment.

 

[Issun]

Tetris is a very stupid and unrealistic biopic and I love it. I don't love it ironically, I simply genuinely love it while acknowledging it being very much a very silly version of what a early 2000s-style biopic it is. It is a shame it makes the decision to whitewash Henk Rogers and that's a valid complaint for anyone. But as a piece of corporate espionage thriller, it's incredibly fun from stem to stern.

Also, it's the kind of movie that puts actor Roger Allum under Karl Havoc level of make up to play Colin Ferrill playing The Penguin playing Robert Maxwell. It's the kind of movie where all the Russians who aren't the bad guy are talking about what's good for the country and genuinely meaning it. It's a movie where Alexey Pajitnov overhears the bad guys on a radio and rushes back to save Henk Rogers in a car chase. I'm not saying that there wasn't a rush to the airport to save their asses but I doubt everyone was drawing guns at the airport where the bad guy gets arrested or that the cars were right on their tail.

As a true story, I can't imagine it holds up to any scrutiny. As a piece of historical fiction, it's still pretty stupid but even then. its also genuinely fun and thrilling. You can poke holes in it and they would be valid but the film remains a very good time!

What made Weird such a great flick was that it fully committed to what it was going for, and it sounds from this like Tetris kind of wanted to do that but wasn't entirely sure, and that's never going to turn out well. I'll probably still watch it on streaming at some point but it's definitely not a must watch now.

 

[Rascally Badger]

I think the difference is that on at least some level Tetris is trying to tell a version of the real story, with with some of that Weird energy, where Weird just went wild.

I quite enjoyed Tetris, though it is flawed.

 

[4-So]

On a whim, I watched The Menu last night.

It is a movie.

I don't think much of the "shock value" worked for me and it wasn't suspenseful enough. I'm usually bad about seeing twists and turns before they happen but I was pretty much able to predict everything here, which left me a little bored. On the other hand, watching Ralph Fiennes chew the scenery is always fun.

 

[Bongo]

Tonight I watched "It's Such A Beautiful Day" (2012) by Don Hertzfeldt, with two of my relatives who are best able to appreciate Don Hertzfeldt. I had seen it before. It's still very good! A funny and sad movie, made like nothing else, using simple animation and editing techniques to set a haunting mood. Have you seen it? Why not? Oh, well, that makes sense, but still, I highly recommend it.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned is still a wonderful piece of insanity everyone needs to watch. Are the original comics even half this insane?

My Dear Killer is a perfectly competent mid-tier giallo with some fun twists and turns but it's marred for me by the use of a naked child for a scene designed to imply that a suspect was a pedophile that I did not need.

Last night I watch This Is Gwar, the documentary about the gross-out satirical punk metal band Gwar. I don't think I'll actually really like Gwar as a musical experience (though I did enjoy their covers for AV Undercover when that was a thing), it is really interested and they certainly seem like a passionate and hard working band.

 

[Octopus Prime]

The Tomb of Dracula comics are, indeed, about that level of bonkers, but it’s parceled our monthly over several years rather than dumped into one completely absurd 90 minute special, so it’s not as jarring

 

[Octopus Prime]

Nope is a solid little sci-fi horror thriller. Not as good as Jordan Peeles other movies, but it was also clearly one that was being made For Funsies rather than Art.

Unless he has some really… confusing and strong opinions about using live animals while filming or about cinematography, I guess

 

[Purple]

Unless he has some really… confusing and strong opinions about using live animals while filming or about cinematography, I guess

He did!

Unless I am severely misinformed, there are absolutely 0 non-CGI monkeys or atmospheric jellyfish anywhere in the film, and real horses are used pretty damn sparingly and not in any stunt-y/horror-y scenes.

That said though I was pretty damn baffled by the big final action bit both placing one of their horses in harm's way, and killing the poor cryptid that was just doing its thing in an inappropriate environment.

Also clearly a bit to say about risking bodily harm for purposes of entertainment, broadly.