What I've Been Watching: The Catch-All Film Thread

I wasn't exactly impressed with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood the first time I viewed it; I thought it shallow and perhaps a tad too much full of itself. When I watched it for a second time, a few months later, I got an entirely different appreciation for the film, and some nuances that I'd missed the first time around. It's not my favourite of his films, yet certainly not the worse, in my opinion.

And the book is even better. I highly recommend checking that out, even if you didn't care for the film.
 
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Slight spoilers for Amulet and Nightmare Alley

Speaking of bleak endings, the BBC reviewer Mark Kermode enjoyed the films Amulet and Nightmare Alley. He said of both they had really bleak endings, and admired them both for "not bottling it".

I watched Nightmare Alley tonight. Have you seen it?

I thought it was ok. I'm not a fan of Bradley Cooper, but the supporting cast is good. I found the plot a bit cliche though, and they telegraph the ending before it happens.
 
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I watched Nightmare Alley tonight. Have you seen it?

I thought it was ok. I'm not a fan of Bradley Cooper, but the supporting cast is good. I found the plot a bit cliche though, and they telegraph the ending before it happens.

I got just around halfway into Nightmare Alley, and it looks good and it's all acted nicely, but there's something missing. I thought it would be much better considering the potential of the cast and idea (or what I thought could potentially be the idea from the trailer). It is just ok so far. And given your feedback it likely will continue like this to the end. I think it's missing the emotional component, but I'll see towards the end. So far the very short flashbacks to the fire are the most interesting thing. But also the least of the movie. I'll see when I get through it. But suffice to say, I expected a lot more from it all.
 
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I watched Nightmare Alley tonight. Have you seen it?

I thought it was ok. I'm not a fan of Bradley Cooper, but the supporting cast is good. I found the plot a bit cliche though, and they telegraph the ending before it happens.

No, I haven't got to it yet. TBH, I often find that his films have some great elements, but aren't really satisfying. On the other hand, he made Pan's Labyrinth, which I think is a modern classic, so I always check them out.
 
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I watched Nightmare Alley last night and quite enjoyed it. I'm not the biggest Cooper fan, I find him an average actor at best, yet put such greats as Perlman, Jenkins, Dafoe, and Strathairn in a movie is enough to get my interest. I'm not sure it's a movie I'll ever re-watch, though I did enjoy it enough for the one viewing. I was expecting something along the lines of Carnival, the two series show that came out on HBO a few decades ago, yet the supernatural elements in Nightmare Alley were pretty slim, and I think it worked well.
 
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I also finished Nightmare Alley. Pretty good overall. Looked very beautiful, was very well acted and had a great cast. But I still think it was missing a real emotional gutpunch. I even think Bradley Cooper acted very well for the most part. But either the movie structure or plotline or something could've been better to make for a more emotional rollercoaster.

I also think that this movie suffered from the well-known actors syndrom where you don't see the characters, but the actors.

Anyway, I enjoyed it overall, but it's certainly not remarkable. 6.5 or 7/10.

I also tried starting House of Gucci, and man are the fake Italian accents bad. I don't think I can stomach it. Also, for some reason I can't not see Lady Gaga and not the character she plays.
 
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The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

Stars Steve McQueen as a professional poker player who's defeated everyone in his locale and gets the chance to take on the grand old man of the game, the undefeated Edward G Robinson.

the-cincinnati-kid-16.jpg


But, of course, it's not so much about the poker as it is about themes and atmosphere. It was made at a time when Kitchen Sink dramas were all the rage, so expect a noir'ish depression aesthetic and a lead character trying to maintain their honour amongst thieves.

Some wonderful side characters including, but not limited to, Rip Torn, Cab Calloway, Joan Blondell.

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It's a quite engaging film that does a superb job of suspending you in the unreal reality it presents. McQueen is just a classic stage presence who can make even the most boring scenes thoroughly engaging, and he's surrounded by other equally strong players all doing their bit.

Like most films, it's weakest point is it's insistence on consuming a lot of the run time dealing with McQueen's love interest/s, which is certainly of quality but also certainly a distraction to the pacing of the film. While it works at showing the Kid's human and likeable side, so that we can empathise with him more, it inevitably devolves into soap opera as this sub-plot unfolds.

And again, like most films about poker, there's very little poker on show here and we mostly just see the end of hands or the time worn cliché of the great hand being beaten by the even greater hand.

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One of those films that's a good ride while you watch it with some fantastic shots, acting and set-pieces, but, once it's all over, one can't help wondering if it was as good as it could have been.

7/10
 
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I've seen the Cincinnati Kid a few times in the past yet not recently, thanks for the reminder as the next time I want to re-watch something that I know I'll enjoy, this will be the film I toggle up.
 
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Another game gave enough inspiration for a movie ;)

BioShock Movie Happening At Netflix
Netflix officially announces plans to make a BioShock movie based on the popular 2K Games and Take-Two first-person shooter video game franchise.

A BioShock movie is in the works at Netflix. Video game movies have long been viewed as a cursed genre in Hollywood, as many high-profile games have failed to deliver acceptable adaptations. However, the number of success stories means various studios continue to try and bring some popular titles to life in a new way. Recent years have seen Uncharted, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider, and Mortal Kombat all get movie adaptations, and there are plenty of other video game movies in various stages of development.

There has long been interest in Hollywood in bringing BioShock to the big screen. Universal began developing a movie based on the 2007 first-person shooter from 2K Games and Take-Two over a decade ago. The BioShock movie courted Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski at one point, but he eventually left the passion project due to various roadblocks. Universal later found Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) to take over, but he also exited the BioShock movie eventually. It led to Universal and 2K Games scrapping plans entirely for the live-action adaptation.

[. . .]

EDIT: and a related rumour of delay about the next game, FWIW (probably not much)

BioShock 4 Rumored For Delay As New Movie Adaptation Gets Announced
 
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I almost posted about that yesterday, but they don't even have a director or screenwriter yet.

Could be great if done right. I love the setting. Thing is, we already know the story, so it'll be interesting to see if they follow the events of the game or create a new story within the city of Rapture.
 
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The central conceit of Bioshock (that as a player you are not in control of your own actions) would lose considerable power in a story in which you're watching an actor play a role.
 
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@bjon045; , the new Dr Strange movie is going to be directed by Sam Raimi, just like old times.

I'm not normally one for catching every new superhero movie, but this bit of news could well be a deal maker. I'm a huge Sam Raimi fan. He hasn't directed a movie since 2013, so it'll be fascinating to see if the ol' magic is still there.
 
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Any Gru fans out there? Despicable me 4 gets release July 2023. Yay! :)
While Minions fans everywhere are finally looking forward to the release of Minions: The Rise of Gru on July 1st, Illumination and Universal Pictures have revealed that in just two years' time the little yellow chaos-creators and their reformed super-villain master will be back on the big screen again in Despicable Me 4. Steve Carell will be back to voice Gru with an ensemble cast including Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, and Steve Coogan. After waiting since 2017 for a new outing for the Minions and their master, fans will be happy to know that after this summer's return, Despicable Me 4 will be rolling out on Jul. 23, 2024.

Source Movieweb
 
Last night I watched the King's Man, the third film in the series, and what I didn't know initially was that this is a prequel. So, when it first started that threw me off a bit, and I wasn't sure I would enjoy it.

Man, was I wrong! From the very beginning, which starts maybe around the end of the second Boer conflict, to the moment where a young Adolf is introduced to Lenin, I had a fine time. The nods to history were pretty solid, they took a few detours yet I think it made for a better film. At some point I'm going to sit down and watch all three of these movies at once, likely starting with this one. If you enjoyed the other two entries in this series, I think the third would also be of interest.
 
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And boy-howdy, did I pick a dog of a film to watch last night! It's called Mother Android, or perhaps the other way around, and it is a perfect representation of what happens when you have characters that no one will enjoy viewing, backed by a non-existent story. Avoid this one and do laundry or something else!
 
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And boy-howdy, did I pick a dog of a film to watch last night! It's called Mother Android, or perhaps the other way around, and it is a perfect representation of what happens when you have characters that no one will enjoy viewing, backed by a non-existent story. Avoid this one and do laundry or something else!

What about watching while training on an exercise bike (when I don't pay that much attention)?

pibbuR who realizes that due to said lack of attention it often pays to watch every film twice.

PS. There are of course also good films I could watch while exercising, so watching dogs and turkeys and other-animals-used-to-denote-bad-films isn't strictly necessary. DS.

PPS. There are films that I've watched recently but due to said lack of attention don't know much (anything?) about what it was about. DS.

PPPS. No, said lack of attention has NOTHING TO DO WITH DEMENTIA!!! DS.
 
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Luca is a nice movie. Very childish, but also lots of fun. And, as usual with Pixar, a few more serious notes embedded into it …



Any Gru fans out there? Despicable me 4 gets release July 2023. Yay! :)

FINALLY !!! :)
 
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I haven't seen Luca yet, it's on my list. Coco was the last Pixar movie I saw. Not too bad, but not of the same quality as Ratatouille, Up or Inside Out (my favorite Pixar movies).

Have you seen Encanto yet, Alrik? One of its songs (We don't talk about Bruno) apparently reached no. 1 in the UK charts, thanks to TikTok. :)
The movie was nice (music as well), but more on par with Coco, imo.
 
Me and my collegues at work, we originally planned to go watching the movie in the cinema. Then, one of us became ill, and we decided to wait, and a week later more were ill, so, we never did that.

The female colleguie who had had this idea has the movie now on Blueray, I think, and she likes it very much.
I plan to buy it, but I'm still undecided, when.

I actually never quite liked Ratatoille. I don#t know why, it just … met my taste, so to say. I really can't pin it down what it was.

UP is a favourite of mine, but I never watch it, because I find it so utterly sad.

Inside Out wasn't bad, but also a bit weird. A little bit too … 2psychedelic", so to say. ;)

I like Raya very much, though.

The Croods 2 is just … weird. Funny and weird.

I had recently watched Zambesi on DVD, it was kind of fun, but it is seemingly aimed at a rather teenage target group. It has a few well-known names as voice actors, though.

I just don't watch non-animated movies anymore. The last was The Fabulous Amélie, and I don't think that anything can reach that.

What I'm currently waiting for is the movie about that pilot - Buzz Lightyear.
 
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Welcome back to Eye - missed you :)

I watched Kimi - based on several positive reviews.

It wasn't very good.
 
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