Recently Watched Movies 2021

[nwhoopfan]

If you're in a contemplative mood, "Little Fish" was intriguing. Filmed several years ago, it's set during a pandemic but purely coincidental and not related to what we're currently going thru. In this the symptoms are somewhat like Alzheimers or dementia. It might be gradual, or it might be rapid onset. But all of that is just a framework, the movie is an examination of how memories shape us and make us who we are. A bit slow, but it kept me interested. Olivia Cooke...what can I say? I always enjoy her acting. Jack O'Connell was the male lead, I thought he was good as well. Small cast. Seems like Raul Castillo has been popping up everywhere lately, that guy is fairly versatile.

It was supposed to be set in Seattle, which means it was probably filmed in Vancouver, BC. I didn't really recognize any locations, other than Gas Works Park, that was definitely the real deal.

 

[CL82]

Out of Death (2021)
No, that is an a typo, that’s the actual movie name. Yes, it makes absolutely no sense, which is perfect for this movie. The plot is that a photo journalist witness is a murder by a police officer and then in turn is stocked by the officer. The bad acting by the actors is only exceeded by the bad judgment of the characters. Nothing anyone does means any sense. Ever wonder what Bruce Willis phoning in a roll just to cash a check would look like? Well, this movie is it. He is underutilized and barely trying. Almost worth watching just so you could say you witnessed its epic badness.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Ever wonder what Bruce Willis phoning in a roll just to cash a check would look like? Well, this movie is it. He is underutilized and barely trying.

Doesn't that describe everything he's done the last 5 years or more? He's been attached to a lot of B grade stuff, seems like they use him to try to draw an audience and he might not play much of a role. Seems like he's one of those "won't say no to anything" kind of actors when it comes to roles and projects.

 

[CL82]

Doesn't that describe everything he's done the last 5 years or more? He's been attached to a lot of B grade stuff, seems like they use him to try to draw an audience and he might not play much of a role. Seems like he's one of those "won't say no to anything" kind of actors when it comes to roles and projects.

Watch it and tell me. For me it was a new level of suck.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Watch it and tell me. For me it was a new level of suck.

I'm gonna have to pass. I've mostly been avoiding Mr. Willis for a while now.

 

[CL82]

Leave No Trace (2018)
This is another movie that explores the people who live on the fringes of society in the vein of Nomadland. A 13-year-old girl named “Tom” and her dad have a camp in a state park near Portland. They live happily together until she is spotted by a jogger in the park police are sent in. They take Tom and her dad into custody and after questioning them social services gives them home to live in and a job for Tom‘s dad. Tom likes the social interaction, and it definitely is an improvement in their living conditions but one day her dad struggles to live summing people. Eventually circumstances push them into another semi-social living arrangement. There is an inherent tension between the dad’s desire to be alone, likely due to mental illness, and Tom’s new found desire to be among people.

The interesting thing about the movie is that it is based on a true story. I enjoyed it so much that I am now reading the book “My Abandonment” by Peter Rock. So far, that’s pretty good too, although different from the screenplay.

This was a good movie and the actress who played Tom whose name in real life is Thomasin McKenzie is one to watch.

 

[CL82]

I'm gonna have to pass. I've mostly been avoiding Mr. Willis for a while now.

Well you can still do that and watch this movie, since his screen time is fairly minimal.

 

[storrsroars]

Ever wonder what Bruce Willis phoning in a roll just to cash a check would look like?

That's about 75% of what he's done since 2007's "Live Free or Die Hard". 45 films since then, nine in 2021 alone. And he's got 10 more in production for 2022-23. My over/under is that most people haven't heard of more than 11 of those.

And when he sleepwalks through a role, he really sleepwalks through a role.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I think up thread there was a discussion about various versions of King Arthur over the years. Hulu has the 2004 version starring Clive Owen that was brought up, so I decided to watch it. Probably haven't seen it in 15 years. It was okay. Kind of like Centurion or The Eagle. I gotta say though, it had a killer cast. I think probably most of them weren't very well known by American audiences at the time.

 

[Mano]

8-Bit Christmas - A Christmas Story takeoff for a new generation. A pleasant watch and very relatable for my younger gamer self.

Console Wars - Another nostalgia filled trip this time in documentary form. You could've definitely called me a Sega fanboy at one time so this was a fun watch.

Dragged Across Concrete - S. Craig Zahler is absolutely a writer/director to keep two eyes on. I knew him solely for his reputation for delivering completely brutal flicks like Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99 and that rep is on full display here as well. The first hour is perhaps a bit slow but nonetheless engaging as the dialogue has a great back and forth to it, things really start crackling in the second half. Quality.

Encanto - Delightful songs and visuals. Pretty and witty but drags just a touch here and there. A very solid kid's offering.

Riders of Justice - Love Mads, he's consistently great. The supporting cast are all eccentric, funny, and superb actors as well. A fun, vigilante revenge tale with some twists. Only thing I didn't like was the

Spoiler

total lack of consequence from the authorities for our heroes. Seemed odd that they could wantonly kill as they did and not face any reprisal from the law really.

Another Round - Mads was again superb. Taking his character through his midlife crisis in a very believable manner. Its a slippery slope trying to enjoy the benefits of a little (or a lot) of social lubrication.

The Matrix Resurrections - Oy, what a dud. Plot wise I quite enjoyed the story they were trying to tell but even for a franchise as exposition-heavy as The Matrix this one took it to a new level. So much talking to explain crap we should instead be shown and then its interspersed over and over again with needless flashbacks from the previous movies. Combine that with shoddy CGI and effects, poorly choreographed and lazily shot/staged fight scenes and it comes up well short of the already very low expectations I had coming in. Groff also was a poor fit, Doogie was little better.

Kid's Movie Lightning Round

Back to the Outback - Surprisingly decent. I enjoy an Aussie accent.

Ron's Gone Wrong - Poorly paced and felt like it had more than a few times where it was about to end but not bad overall.

Rumble - Thoroughly forgettable.

Clifford the Big Red Dog - Some charm, lots of boring. CGI isn't quite there yet for what they're asking of it in this instance.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Arthur Christmas. 2013 (I think). Some superb voice talents here and it’s just damned funny. From the folks who do Chicken Run and other kids movies in the UK. This is an animated Christmas gem for the whole family.

 

[Kolumbo]

Knives Out (2019) - Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Aramas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer. I thought it was very good. A great Sherlock Holmes - Hercule Poirot type of role for Daniel Craig, although it was very strange watching him speak with a southern drawl, most likely a Mississippi accent because his inspiration was Shelby Foote. I kept thinking the Judge from My Cousin Vinnie. A clever whodunit. I like the setting and the story, very entertaining overall.

Fire With Fire (2012) - Josh Duhamel, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Vincent D'Onofrio. Not great, but not too bad. Something to watch at home with nothing else to do. Josh has the lead role and Bruce is much more subdued than usual.

Destination Wedding (2018) - Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder. The banter is somewhat entertaining but overall, blah. There are some good lines but it gets very dull after a while.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Being the Ricardos. 2021 Prime. So, the story of Lucile Ball and Desi Arnez, starting Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as the leads. This is an interesting film and I quite like the use of three real people to provide commentary at the start and key moments. People who were actually there and are played by actors in the film. The focus is on on critical week in the making of I Love Lucy. But there are flashbacks that fill out the story of how they met and how the show came to exist. It's quite interesting. One early comment from the real folks involved was certainly interesting: 60 million weekly viewers. In the early 50s. There is no modern equivalent, even in total numbers, let alone as a % population. Both lead actors do a good job, and JK Simmons is great as William Frawley (Fred Mertz). I found it quite an enjoyable film that delves into the story people we also know and remember at some level.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Saw "Don't Look Up" last night, really enjoyed it like everyone else in this thread.

 

[storrsroars]

Death to 2021 (2021, Netflix). When they did "Death to 2020" it was somewhat amusing. But now we've seen it, the jokes are mostly the same and it falls flat. Only of interest to the Nelsons and Jibseys of the world.

 

[Bomber36]

Being the Ricardos. 2021 Prime. So, the story of Lucile Ball and Desi Arnez, starting Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as the leads. This is an interesting film and I quite like the use of three real people to provide commentary at the start and key moments. People who were actually there and are played by actors in the film. The focus is on on critical week in the making of I Love Lucy. But there are flashbacks that fill out the story of how they met and how the show came to exist. It's quite interesting. One early comment from the real folks involved was certainly interesting: 60 million weekly viewers. In the early 50s. There is no modern equivalent, even in total numbers, let alone as a % population. Both lead actors do a good job, and JK Simmons is great as William Frawley (Fred Mertz). I found it quite an enjoyable film that delves into the story people we also know and remember at some level.

Interesting movie. Another one worth a watch, although I felt it was slow at times. I’m not sure I’m reading your comment on the “real people“ correctly. Their older selves were also played by actors.

• Tony Hale as Jess Oppenheimer
  • John Rubinstein as older Jess Oppenheimer
• Alia Shawkat as Madelyn Pugh
  • Linda Lavin as older Madelyn Pugh
• Jake Lacy as Bob Carroll
  • Ronny Cox as older Bob Carroll

 

[storrsroars]

Two things I thought about a few times today that made me chuckle again:

The General charging for the free snacks, and Kate’s obsession with it;

Ron Perlman. His lines—and his delivery of them—were hysterical.

It has been interesting reading some of the mixed reviews today. Most seem to think it was too on the nose and too arrogant to “convert” the people who need to be persuaded if meaningful climate and other policies are going to be accepted by enough people. I think that misses the point of satire, and also expects too much. A softer touch would not have made a bit of difference on that score imo, and it would have been at the expense at some great lampooning.

Another of those movies where the audience ratings are much higher than professional reviewers. When I went back and looked at trailers on YT, the comments added by those who actually watched the film were like 99% positive. It's already been nominated for four Golden Globes and a bunch of other awards. Again, I do not understand the economics of going to streaming so soon and opening in so few theatres. Apparently Leo got $30 mill and Lawrence got $25 mill. Add in the rest of the cast and the CGI and you're well over $100 million budget.

The professional reviews that cracked me up the most were those that said Don't Look Up was too heavy-handed and there was either no realism in the characters or they weren't as crazy as the last administration, thus no comedy value, while at the same time praising McKay's handling of Anchorman, one of the stupidest comedies ever written. Like anyone in that is remotely believable.

I watched it a second time. There are lots of small jokes throughout, and with the way a lot of the scene cuts seemed to be in mid-sentence, that also added to the humor. The detail in the montages, whether its magazine covers or news articles have detail that a lot of other movies miss when they just use gibberish or filler. If you pause during any point when those are on the screen and read them, you can see a lot of work went into the tweets, Instas, and newstand articles.

Jonah Hill's part is fairly dumb (Don Jr) but he's got some good zingers. I noticed on 2nd viewing that he won't acknowledge Kate is a woman in the WH scenes. The "I had them put the hood on," was great. And that prayer to "stuff" was a nice touch.

The more I think about Peter Isherwell, the more I was thinking about Sterling Hayden's character in Dr. Strangelove talking delusionally about "essence". Rylance really turned what could've been a simply Jobs/Musk imitation into a totally creepy character. If I had a qualm about the movie, it's that I think Rob Morgan (Oglethorpe) could've been given more to do.

"Our algorithms say you get eaten by a bronteroc. We don't know what that is." At least he got one of the two death predictions right.

 

[storrsroars]

Being the Ricardos. 2021 Prime. So, the story of Lucile Ball and Desi Arnez, starting Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as the leads. This is an interesting film and I quite like the use of three real people to provide commentary at the start and key moments. People who were actually there and are played by actors in the film. The focus is on on critical week in the making of I Love Lucy. But there are flashbacks that fill out the story of how they met and how the show came to exist. It's quite interesting. One early comment from the real folks involved was certainly interesting: 60 million weekly viewers. In the early 50s. There is no modern equivalent, even in total numbers, let alone as a % population. Both lead actors do a good job, and JK Simmons is great as William Frawley (Fred Mertz). I found it quite an enjoyable film that delves into the story people we also know and remember at some level.

My wife loved it, so I watched it today. The early scene with Ethel and Fred digging at each other during the read through gave me a lot of hope that Nina Arianda would have a lot to do as she was just terrific in Goliath. But she didn't have much to do after that. Otherwise acting was solid all around from Kidman, Bardem, and Simmons, just the story wasn't as compelling as I think Sorkin thought it was.

 

[8893]

The Unforgivable, 2021 Netflix. Sandra Bullock plays a woman released from prison after serving a sentence for the murder of a sheriff under murky circumstances that are slowly revealed throughout the movie. She is trying to find the younger sister she left behind and having a hard time rejoining a society that rejects her because of what she has done.

It’s a dark drama/thriller with some interesting twists, and Bullock is excellent in this very unglamorous role, showing some serious range when compared to the likes of her role in The Blind Side. We watched it based on my daughter’s strong recommendation so my expectations were probably too high. It’s a decent watch with some good characters but it never really took off for me.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

"Our algorithms say you get eaten by a bronteroc. We don't know what that is."

One of the best payoffs on a callback joke that I can remember.

 

[Mano]

In case anyone was curious of your chances. An interesting read.

How to Survive a Killer Asteroid

The impact that wiped out the dinosaurs would probably have killed you too—unless you were in the exact right place and had made the exact right plans.

www.wired.com

 

[Dove]

Sideways (2004) - Never saw it before but knew it won awards. Pretty damned good. And seeing a young Sandra Oh was pretty cool.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Death to 2021 (2021, Netflix). When they did "Death to 2020" it was somewhat amusing. But now we've seen it, the jokes are mostly the same and it falls flat. Only of interest to the Nelsons and Jibseys of the world.

Since you are the one that wasted an hour plus of your life watching that garbage, and I didn't, maybe you shouldn't use it to take a shot at me.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Another of those movies where the audience ratings are much higher than professional reviewers. When I went back and looked at trailers on YT, the comments added by those who actually watched the film were like 99% positive. It's already been nominated for four Golden Globes and a bunch of other awards. Again, I do not understand the economics of going to streaming so soon and opening in so few theatres. Apparently Leo got $30 mill and Lawrence got $25 mill. Add in the rest of the cast and the CGI and you're well over $100 million budget.

The professional reviews that cracked me up the most were those that said Don't Look Up was too heavy-handed and there was either no realism in the characters or they weren't as crazy as the last administration, thus no comedy value, while at the same time praising McKay's handling of Anchorman, one of the stupidest comedies ever written. Like anyone in that is remotely believable.

I watched it a second time. There are lots of small jokes throughout, and with the way a lot of the scene cuts seemed to be in mid-sentence, that also added to the humor. The detail in the montages, whether its magazine covers or news articles have detail that a lot of other movies miss when they just use gibberish or filler. If you pause during any point when those are on the screen and read them, you can see a lot of work went into the tweets, Instas, and newstand articles.

Jonah Hill's part is fairly dumb (Don Jr) but he's got some good zingers. I noticed on 2nd viewing that he won't acknowledge Kate is a woman in the WH scenes. The "I had them put the hood on," was great. And that prayer to "stuff" was a nice touch.

The more I think about Peter Isherwell, the more I was thinking about Sterling Hayden's character in Dr. Strangelove talking delusionally about "essence". Rylance really turned what could've been a simply Jobs/Musk imitation into a totally creepy character. If I had a qualm about the movie, it's that I think Rob Morgan (Oglethorpe) could've been given more to do.

"Our algorithms say you get eaten by a bronteroc. We don't know what that is." At least he got one of the two death predictions right.

There is no reason to be subtle in a movie like this. It set exactly the right tone, and delivered. Definitely the best movie Netflix has ever produced, and the Dr. Strangelove comparisons are appropriate. It is that good.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Two Popes (2019, Netflix). I strongly recommend this movie. It is a very interesting story about the handover of the Papacy from Pope Benedict to Pope Francis, and the friendship that developed between these very different men. It is well written, but the actors have to carry a film that is mostly just two old guys talking. Anthony Hopkins is so good that he can spend roughly an hour of screen time with just him and Pryce and the movie is still totally captivating. Pryce is good, but Hopkins is a whole other level, yet Hopkins reins it in just enough that he doesn't blow Pryce off the screen.

This is one of the best movie portrayals of power politics I have ever seen. Both men were swamped by world events far beyond their power to control, yet both can be rightly blamed for major mistakes made in handling their respective crises. I am not a religious person, but this movie, more than almost any I have seen, illustrates the internal conflict that the Catholic Church has had in the 20th century, often simultaneously a force of good and oppression/exploitation.