Rate The Last Movie You Saw

I got this off the current Sci-Fi list and watched it for the upcoming Sci-Fi countdown. At 2 1/2 hours long and with an IMDb rating of only 6.9, I wasn't exactly hopeful. It turned out to be a very weird movie. I had seen two other movies from director Wim Wenders; one I really liked (The American Friend), and one I didn't like (Million Dollar Hotel). This was like two movies in one, and I loved the first half but hated the second half. The first half is a very cool and stylish chase type of film with a great soundtrack. The dull second half loses all of that cool and style, and even the soundtrack becomes corny.



Top pic from the first half and bottom pic from the second half.

I'm not particularly interested, but I have a feeling I'll end up seeing this simply because it's a Bill Hurt movie.

I've read that the director's cut is superior, but it's 4 1/2 hours.

Sing Street

I'm not sure it deserves all the acclaim it has received, but it's an enjoyable watch nonetheless. It's harmless, sweet and very endearing.

You're better than this, cricket!

Only Iro can shrug at a movie he liked!

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Just because it was long Sci-Fi

Think you'll find he's shrugging at the post above his one MM

Jason Bourne
First he goes through memory loss,
then he goes through deja vú...

The only reason I did not hate this was because, one, I love the franchise, two, the action was as you would expect from Greengrass taking the wheel of the franchise again, though seemingly more stupid and rediculous. But since the former only makes me a bit nostalgic, the latter does help keeping me awake during the horrible script by the director, where the entire thing feels like an excuse to go from action set piece to action set piece so Greengrass can have himself a highlight reel...

The script and dialogue to go with it is so bad that it feels like one of those direct to video action thrillers starring Bruce Willis. Only the familiar faces and names makes me remember I am not watching "one of those" with Bruce Willis. That said, this is the Die Hard 5 of the Bourne francise, though thankfully with a director who can direct, whether you like his style or not. I agree with one IMDb user saying this is more "Where's Waldo" than a Bourne movie. They try to create this plot, turned subplot, turned side element, about survaillence and whatnot, but most of the time it's just Bourne running around hiding in big cities around the world and doing so with no clear or proper motivation. All of this is connected back to a stupid forced plot that once again digs up in Bourne's past. And there is no build up to this, they basically just admit to just wanting to "get going" as fast as possible.

All of the scenes feel familar, some even feels directly lifted from past movies. If it weren't for the action and partially Matt Damon then this would be a poor bore of a movie... Jason Bore... Also, Tommy Lee Jones people? That gotta be the worst performance by him in his entire career... when he is on screen it feels like a script read. He delivers his lines like asking for the remote when he is too fat to lift his ass from the couch and get it himself. And how did that man be around 68-69 in this movie and look like he died three years ago? That fella's face looks worse than Danny Trejo will ever look. I almost fell asleep just counting his wrinkles during the movie... one wrinkle... two wrinkles...

This was underwhelming in every sense of the word. With the past script writer gone, there is no intelligence or proper thought or reason put into this script. There is no slick and smart fundament to build action scenes around. It's just empty fluff with occasional pretty colorful fluff. A shame. Jason Bourne? More like Jason-been-there-done-that. This is just a summary of past Bourne films and a collection of clichés from other action films. Ugh.

Don’t Breathe (2016)

This is one of the better horror movies of the recent past but it’s held back from greatness. Style, atmosphere, effective acting and a focused narrative trump what, on paper, is a generic sounding horror movie. The premise, three young adults attempt to break into a blind veteran’s house, things turn sour.

In terms of what’s holding it from the A class of horror, I believe lack of subtly is one factor. We are “encouraged” to like the protagonist robbers. The attempt is there. Did this need to be done? Would we have felt for the characters and the situation they found themselves in without the forced attempt?

The camera lingering on items that will later become relatively significant plot points. I remember the camera panning to the shoes, the mallet and the body. When certain key scenes arrive I found myself reminded of the items and any surprise was dulled.

Another point of criticism and a traditional horror trope, which feeds into the already established forced likability; at the end of the film, when all is said and done, we had a good idea who would live and die. What does this mean? Once we have had our glimpse of a character, the character is that, they are one dimensional; they do not shock us and go outside what we had been initially shown of them.

Although the above perceived shortcomings exist, I feel they merely hold the movie back from A horror status, which I would place the Conjuring 1, The exorcist, Scream, Rosemary’s baby and movies of the like.

Overall the experience is what you want out of a modern day horror. The reliance on building dread and horror supersedes a reliance on pure jump scares. The characters, including the villain(s), are one dimensional yet as a package, the striking visual presentation and succinct narrative provide a very effective dreadful experience. I hope this movie discourages youth from attempting agg burgs, as I have now vowed to stop haha.

Very scary, very good, highly recommended if you’re horror movie fan.

3 and a half out of 5

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Hunt For The Wilderpeople -

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Didn't think this was amazing or anything, but it is tough not to enjoy. Sam Neill and the kid were both really good and i loved Bella, such a sweet and funny woman who also had a bit of an edge to her. Her bonding with Ricky felt sincere and while i was always wondering what the deal with Hec was, i was happy that she was a part of this movie. Her death completely caught me off guard; which was obviously the point.One pretty great thing that came about as a result of this which i'm not sure was intentional was me feeling as helpless as Hec and Ricky were being left together, It had me questioning how these two not exactly dynamic personalities can hold this film together without Bella who was the life and soul of the film up to this point. Thankfully it worked; they had great chemistry.The story was a bit typical i knew where it was heading from the moment she died, there was a few jokes that made me groan too but overall it was a really enjoyable film.

I think my favourite joke was the completely random Terminator bit between Ricky and Paula:

Ricky: I'll never stop running. Paula: And i'll never stop chasing you. I'm like The Terminator. Ricky: I'm more like The Terminator than you.
Paula: No, I saw it before you. You're more like Sarah Connor. Ricky: No i'm not.
Paula: Yeah you are and in the first one before she could do chin-ups.

Get On Up (2014)
4/5


The End Of The Tour (2015)
4/5

Ah yes, you are correct.

He still shrugged at a movie he liked though.

La Cité des enfants perdus (1995) -

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I've heard a bit about this being one of the best movies of the year. I didn't realize there were so many people with standards as low as mine. An 8 year old could have come up with the story, and then throw some grungy clothes and facial hair on the bad guys to make them look gritty and cool. It's just a dumb action/crime film, and that's good enough for me.



Just the opposite of the other movie. This one is clever and original, but poorly executed. It's occasionally funny, although not as funny as the other film, but the dialogue is often so forced that it's embarrassing.

Correct, I'm shrugging at the people calling it garbage.

Anyway...

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs -

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*shrug* makes sense.

I thought the writing was pretty great. That's what set it apart for me. Between this and Nice Guys for funniest movie I have seen this year. No coincidence they are my two favorite thus far. Been a pretty shallow pool of good movies in my opinion.

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