Recently Watched Movies 2023

[ZooCougar]

CGI is a tool. Like any tool, when its the right tool for the job it allows you to do things that were otherwise not possible. It doesn't make things safe or unsafe, it's how you use it. It a silly opinion of CGI (by a genius and one of the best film makers ever). I love practical effects, they are heck of lot more fun than CGI. But you can use practical and CGI in the same scene and the audience nevers know it.

I also think that Nolan lost a little something when he separated from Wally Pfister. They did some amazing things together and Wally is flat out the best steadycam operator on the planet. But I think that ship has sailed for whatever reason. There are a lot of very, very good cinematographers out there but their films had something special.

What he means is that the look of CGI can make a threatening thing look less threatening. I tend to agree with it.

"I think computer graphics, they’re very versatile, they can do all kinds of things, but they tend to feel a bit safe. That’s why they’re difficult to use in horror movies. Animation tends to feel a little safe for the audience. The Trinity Test, ultimately, but also these early imaginings of Oppenheimer visualizing the Quantum Realm, they had to be threatening in some way. They had to have the bite of real-world imagery. The Trinity Test, for those who were there, was the most beautiful and terrifying thing simultaneously, and that’s where we were headed with this film."

Christopher Nolan Explains Why There's No CGI in 'Oppenheimer'

"I think computer graphics, they’re very versatile, they can do all kinds of things, but they tend to feel a bit safe."

collider.com

 

[Palatine]

What he means is that the look of CGI can make a threatening thing look less threatening. I tend to agree with it.

"I think computer graphics, they’re very versatile, they can do all kinds of things, but they tend to feel a bit safe. That’s why they’re difficult to use in horror movies. Animation tends to feel a little safe for the audience. The Trinity Test, ultimately, but also these early imaginings of Oppenheimer visualizing the Quantum Realm, they had to be threatening in some way. They had to have the bite of real-world imagery. The Trinity Test, for those who were there, was the most beautiful and terrifying thing simultaneously, and that’s where we were headed with this film."

Christopher Nolan Explains Why There's No CGI in 'Oppenheimer'

"I think computer graphics, they’re very versatile, they can do all kinds of things, but they tend to feel a bit safe."

collider.com

I read the quote and just disagree. George Miller in one of the best in the industry at practical effects. IMHO no one is better. Fury Road is filled with incredible practical effects. But he still uses CGI in Fury Road especially when he wants to convey massiveness. Tell me that the use of CGI makes the audience in the theater feels "safe" in this sequence.

 

[Dove]

John Frank Garrett's Last Word (2016) Amazon Prime

A guy is wrongly-convicted of killing a nun. In Texas. Prosecutor wanted to advance in career.

10 years later before getting the needles, the convicted JFG writes a curse letter to all who wronged him.

People start dying.

Nice creep factor. We liked it.

And its a true story.

 

[Palatine]

Bright (2014)

This is basically a twist on the buddy movie formula with Will Smith and Joe Eagleton as cop partners. The twist is Los Angeles is a city inhabited by Humans (Smith is one), Orcs (Eagleon is one), Elfs and Fairies. Magic is also in play and a magic wand is the focus of the film. It's a decent action movie. There are a few turns of plot. The created world is interesting but not overly so. In fact, nothing in the movie rises to the level of excellence. It is a watchable yet ultimately unsatisfying effort by a superb cast. One star.

 

[HuskyHawk]

John Wick 4. Well there were some people alive at the end. I suppose that’s something. Since so entitled young idiot stole his car and killed his Dog Mr. Wick has seemingly killed thousands. Ian McShane is back as Winston and Bill Skarsgard is good as the Marquis, who is, and entitled young idiot. Fitting then that John would once again not accept his fate and would reject the High Table. This is too long and it’s no complex story, but at its core I respect the series as a reminder that like the Hobbits in LOTR, we bow to no one. Not the best, but a decent Friday night flick if you start early.

 

[Palatine]

John Wick 4. Well there were some people alive at the end. I suppose that’s something. Since so entitled young idiot stole his car and killed his Dog Mr. Wick has seemingly killed thousands. Ian McShane is back as Winston and Bill Skarsgard is good as the Marquis, who is, and entitled young idiot. Fitting then that John would once again not accept his fate and would reject the High Table. This is too long and it’s no complex story, but at its core I respect the series as a reminder that like the Hobbits in LOTR, we bow to no one. Not the best, but a decent Friday night flick if you start early.

This is pretty much on the money. You know what you're going to get it with this series and you get it. Not incidently Wick has killed 439 people in the four movies. More stats in the article below.

How Many People John Wick Kills In All 4 Movies

The John Wick kill count is absurdly high.

screenrant.com

 

[Dove]

Sisu (2022) - The price to watch this film finally go to $5.99. We rented it. A very entertaining film and gruesome. The landmine shots were pretty damned chilling.

Anyway, suspend some belief here as a retired Finnish super soldier finds gold on his land, I mean a motherlode boulder, who chips away and goes off to town to cash in on two satchels full of nuggets. Well, he comes across a company of Nazis who have a few vehicles and a tank. And, they want his gold.

They can't kill him but he can kill them.

Soft and Quiet (2022) - This movie gets real disturbing.

Five women have a mixer where they are trying to organize a group called the Daughters of Aryan Unity.

As they relocate the meeting to the home of one of the women, they stop to get wine. They run into two asian women and all of their lives spiral chaotically to a whack situation.

Emily Luccardi crushes it here. Wow.


We did a Saturday ight double-feature here. No regerts. Very entertaining.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Champions (2023)

Watched this sweet little comedy on the flight back from Toronto. Firmly within the genre of "unrealistic, but heart-warming sports movie" it was the perfect in-flight movie for the chronically flight fearful, like myself.

Plotline without spoilers: Woody Harrelson plays a Bob Huggins-adjacent basketball coach whose DUI court sentence is a measly 90-days of community service coaching a Special Olympics hopeful basketball team in Des Moines, Iowa.

There's real heart in this movie in its various subplots and plenty of good laughs. Aside from the totally unrealistic basketball moments, it was hard for me to get on board with Kaitlin Olson (Always Sunny) as Woody's romantic interest, even though I really liked her in this role. I also couldn't stop wondering if Woody was high for the entirety of the filming, especially with Cheech Marin as his co-star (he's excellent in his role).

Anywho, a light, sweet comedy that entertained during a flight. Not a strong recommend, but overall I enjoyed it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Sisu (2022) - The price to watch this film finally go to $5.99. We rented it. A very entertaining film and gruesome. The landmine shots were pretty damned chilling.

Anyway, suspend some belief here as a retired Finnish super soldier finds gold on his land, I mean a motherlode boulder, who chips away and goes off to town to cash in on two satchels full of nuggets. Well, he comes across a company of Nazis who have a few vehicles and a tank. And, they want his gold.

They can't kill him but he can kill them.

Soft and Quiet (2022) - This movie gets real disturbing.

Five women have a mixer where they are trying to organize a group called the Daughters of Aryan Unity.

As they relocate the meeting to the home of one of the women, they stop to get wine. They run into two asian women and all of their lives spiral chaotically to a whack situation.

Emily Luccardi crushes it here. Wow.


We did a Saturday ight double-feature here. No regerts. Very entertaining.

SISU is on my list. Sounds like fun.

 

[HuskyHawk]

After the Bite. HBO Documentary. This is about what happened on the outer arm of Cape Cod when White Sharks started arriving in numbers and particularly after Athur Medici died in an attack at Newcombe Hollow in Wellfleet. It's interesting and tries to tell the tale of what has changed and why. Some people are upset, others embrace the change. It's a mix. It features the local shark researchers Greg Skomal and Megan Winton, who also appear on Shark Week and Nat Geo shows. Locals feature prominently and some are pretty entertaining. The early scene at a P-Town pub is funny and profanity laced. Lifeguards at Newcombe Hollow feature as well and talk about the challenges they face. It goes slightly off track toward the end but is good if you are interested in the Cape or White Sharks.

 

[Palatine]

A Man Called Otto. (2022)

This Tom Hanks vehicle is a small human drama with a smile, more sweet than comic. It tells two stories of Otto. One as a young man and one as old man that are interwoven. I don't think the sun ever comes out in this story of a micro neighborhood in Pittsburgh. This is another of those films where all the white men are either clueless, stupid or evil except for the older Otto who grows through his interactions with a struggling Latino housewife (played beautifully by Mariana Trevino). Hanks is good. He is always good. It's mildly interesting middling film. One star.

 

[storrsroars]

A Man Called Otto. (2022)

This Tom Hanks vehicle is a small human drama with a smile, more sweet than comic. It tells two stories of Otto. One as a young man and one as old man that are interwoven. I don't think the sun ever comes out in this story of a micro neighborhood in Pittsburgh. This is another of those films where all the white men are either clueless, stupid or evil except for the older Otto who grows through his interactions with a struggling Latino housewife (played beautifully by Mariana Trevino). Hanks is good. He is always good. It's mildly interesting middling film. One star.

Hanks is just so good. He can overcome a fairly thin and/or predictable plot and still be interesting. I enjoyed Otto much the same as you did. Another recent Hanks vehicle I enjoyed was Finch. It's set in a future where the sun has burned thru the ozone layer and earth is basically uninhabitable. As in Castaway, Hanks is the only human for most of the film In this case, his Wilson is his dog. He builds (and builds a relationship with) a robot whose purpose is to be a great dog owner.

 

[Palatine]

Hanks is just so good. He can overcome a fairly thin and/or predictable plot and still be interesting. I enjoyed Otto much the same as you did. Another recent Hanks vehicle I enjoyed was Finch. It's set in a future where the sun has burned thru the ozone layer and earth is basically uninhabitable. As in Castaway, Hanks is the only human for most of the film In this case, his Wilson is his dog. He builds (and builds a relationship with) a robot whose purpose is to be a great dog owner.

Thanks I will check out Finch.

 

[Waquoit]

A Man Called Otto. (2022)

This Tom Hanks vehicle is a small human drama with a smile, more sweet than comic. It tells two stories of Otto. One as a young man and one as old man that are interwoven. I don't think the sun ever comes out in this story of a micro neighborhood in Pittsburgh. This is another of those films where all the white men are either clueless, stupid or evil except for the older Otto who grows through his interactions with a struggling Latino housewife (played beautifully by Mariana Trevino). Hanks is good. He is always good. It's mildly interesting middling film. One star.

The original was a four star film. Probably because it wasn't a vehicle.

 

[CL82]

Hanks is just so good. He can overcome a fairly thin and/or predictable plot and still be interesting. I enjoyed Otto much the same as you did. Another recent Hanks vehicle I enjoyed was Finch. It's set in a future where the sun has burned thru the ozone layer and earth is basically uninhabitable. As in Castaway, Hanks is the only human for most of the film In this case, his Wilson is his dog. He builds (and builds a relationship with) a robot whose purpose is to be a great dog owner.

I have to say that even Tom Hanks couldn't save Finch. It was OK, but just barely that.

 

[storrsroars]

I have to say that even Tom Hanks couldn't save Finch. It was OK, but just barely that.

You must hate dogs.

 

[CL82]

You must hate dogs.

Nope I like them. I just thought this movie was Tom Hanks phoning it in. The thing is, that's probably enough to be watchable. I give it a resounding "meh."

 

[Palatine]

After the Bite. HBO Documentary. This is about what happened on the outer arm of Cape Cod when White Sharks started arriving in numbers and particularly after Athur Medici died in an attack at Newcombe Hollow in Wellfleet. It's interesting and tries to tell the tale of what has changed and why. Some people are upset, others embrace the change. It's a mix. It features the local shark researchers Greg Skomal and Megan Winton, who also appear on Shark Week and Nat Geo shows. Locals feature prominently and some are pretty entertaining. The early scene at a P-Town pub is funny and profanity laced. Lifeguards at Newcombe Hollow feature as well and talk about the challenges they face. It goes slightly off track toward the end but is good if you are interested in the Cape or White Sharks.

Thought it was pretty good, they didn't harp on the sensational aspects of the subject and played it straight with one notable exception. The problem is seals. The seal population is exploding and causing more than just shark problems. The fishermen know it, the townsfolk know it, the old timers know it. The environmentalists were not very convincing in their denials that they don't know it.

They really don't know how many sharks are out there but one thing is certain, there will be more tomorrow until someone does something about the seals. The doc itself is a good watch.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Thought it was pretty good, they didn't harp on the sensational aspects of the subject and played it straight with one notable exception. The problem is seals. The seal population is exploding and causing more than just shark problems. The fishermen know it, the townsfolk know it, the old timers know it. The environmentalists were not very convincing in their denials that they don't know it.

They really don't know how many sharks are out there but one thing is certain, there will be more tomorrow until someone does something about the seals. The doc itself is a good watch.

I took a harbor cruise in Chatham. There were 10,000 at least, just in the harbor area. You could all but walk across it on their heads.

The points that the marine mammal protection act miss (like sea lions taking over Pier 39 in SF) is that we haven't recreate the "pre human" status, because the seals are using people and man made or altered environments to evade predators. That allows them to expand beyond a natural number.

I'm a White Shark fan, and support the White Shark group in the film, but the sharks are just following the food. Maine is probably next.

 

[storrsroars]

Nope I like them. I just thought this movie was Tom Hanks phoning it in. The thing is, that's probably enough to be watchable. I give it a resounding "meh."

Hanks mailing it in is like Affleck's absolute best ;-)

It wasn't a "good" movie by Hanks standards, and I pretty much said "thin" and "predictable" in my reply to Pal. But, for a movie about the apocalypse, it did have humor, the robot was a helluva lot better than say, Jar Jar Binks, and the dog lived. Enough for me to watch it through.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Meg. Rewatch because the sequel is coming. Jason Statham is the lead with Rain Wilson (Dwight from the Office) doing a nice job as a goofy billionaire. Also features several Chinese actors, including the lovely Li Bingbing as Suyin, one of the lead scientists. Despite being both a "monster" and disaster movie, this is pretty good and not entirely implausible in terms of the overall story. It has some humor, some tense moments and some likable characters. Suyin's daughter is terrific and she and Jason Statham's character have good chemistry. So it's a solid movie for what it is.

Now a side note: I wondered if CCP funded this in part. It's set off the China coast. The researchers are Chinese but funded by an American billionaire. There are appealing scenes of Chinese beaches etc. and nearly everyone is fit and attractive. So I looked it up and it was a US-China co-production. ‘The Meg’ Producers on Keys to U.S.-China Co-Production Success: “It Had to Be Culturally Sound”

 

[storrsroars]

The Meg. Rewatch because the sequel is coming. Jason Statham is the lead with Rain Wilson (Dwight from the Office) doing a nice job as a goofy billionaire. Also features several Chinese actors, including the lovely Li Bingbing as Suyin, one of the lead scientists. Despite being both a "monster" and disaster movie, this is pretty good and not entirely implausible in terms of the overall story. It has some humor, some tense moments and some likable characters. Suyin's daughter is terrific and she and Jason Statham's character have good chemistry. So it's a solid movie for what it is.

Now a side note: I wondered if CCP funded this in part. It's set off the China coast. The researchers are Chinese but funded by an American billionaire. There are appealing scenes of Chinese beaches etc. and nearly everyone is fit and attractive. So I looked it up and it was a US-China co-production. ‘The Meg’ Producers on Keys to U.S.-China Co-Production Success: “It Had to Be Culturally Sound”

I generally enjoy anything with Statham in it, but had apprehensions about watching The Meg, figuring it was going to be pretty damned stupid and a waste of his time. While not suggesting it was actually "good" cinema, it was pretty entertaining.

OTOH, so was Cocaine Bear.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Air (2023) - Great movie on its own, but really fun to watch after reading Phil Knight's memoir Shoe Dog, after receiving it as a gift from a student this summer.

Excellent cast with Damon/Bateman/Davis as particular highlights. The performance of Jordan's agent is pretty epic too. Loved the production value and excellent directing from Affleck: a historic relic and the B-roll shots were pretty awesome too. I guess my only critique is that Affleck as a mercurial, yet zenned out Phil Knight didn't line up for me.

If you haven't seen it, it's free on Amazon Prime, this is a sports forum, go see it, you'll like it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hanks mailing it in is like Affleck's absolute best ;-)

It wasn't a "good" movie by Hanks standards, and I pretty much said "thin" and "predictable" in my reply to Pal. But, for a movie about the apocalypse, it did have humor, the robot was a helluva lot better than say, Jar Jar Binks, and the dog lived. Enough for me to watch it through.

This is why the end credit is so clever. FIN. subtle jab at arthouse cinema but also appropriate for The Meg.

 

[dbmill]

Banshees of Inisherin (2022) - I was attracted to watching this movie as the writer and director Martin McDonagh, and its two stars Colin Farrell and Bendan Gleason were the main cogs of the film "In Bruges", one of my favorite films of the past 20 years.

"Banshees of Inisherin" seems to be well done and is okay, but it just didn't grab me like "In Bruges" when I first saw that movie. "Banshees" is said to be a dark comedy. While the film is certainly in a dark mode, it didn't seem all that funny to me. The two stars play a couple of people who have been friends for a long time, but one of them at the beginning of the film decides to end the friendship, and the end of this friendship has all sorts of ramifications attached to it. As the film progresses, I found neither of these two guys all that likable, and for me that did not help this film. This is not a movie I am eager to see again.