MOVIES ~ Any of ya'll seen any good (or shitty) movies in recent weeks/months? Post reviews, feedback, movie news, trailers, recommendations, etc ...

[joneblaze]

In the Heart of the Sea



Based on the events that took place aboard the whaling ship Essex in 1820 ,and the inspiration for Herman Melville's novel
Moby Dick In the Heart of the Sea definitely has its thrilling moments,as the massive white whale "stalks" the aforementioned
ship and it's crew,but what connects these scenes is mainly lackluster.Director Ron Howard does try to give us a triumph of the human
spirit story but in order to do that we have to be more connected to the characters.During the films final moments i did feel
some sort of connection but it was to little to late .ITHOTS still manages to be a good film,but definitely not the epic i thought
it would be from the trailers and even the movie posters promoting the film.

Scale of 1-10 a 7½


Unfinished Business




Unfinished Business has it's moments but it unevenly mixes a raunchy comedy with an odd family story ,that never
really gets going and is handled way to casually.Vince Vaughn gives some energy but not enough to hold everything together.His co stars
Tom Wilkinson and Dave Franco fortunately uplift the film in some scenes.
Catch it on cable for a few laughs

Scale of 1-10 a 5½


Aloha



A huge misstep for writer and Director Cameron Crowe in this story about a Military contractor (Bradley Cooper) trying to organize a blessing event for a pedestrian gate in Hawaii
with his Air Force liason (Emma Stone) The most interesting part of the film is Cooper's character's unresolved relationship issues with his ex Rachel Mcadams.
I really didnt care about the mission,or what Bill Murray's character was up to,and the relationship between Cooper and Stone was completely forced.
The film attempts to give some of the characters quirks and ticks but instead of it being charming it's extremely obnoxious,and Stone is lovely and talented,
but casting couldnt find a biracial actress for her role?

Scale of 1-10 a 5

 

[havelcok]

Sicario is the SHIT!!! GREAT MOVIE!!

Yes yes

I still need to see Creed and Star Wars
but this has to be the best movie of the year

That dinner table scene had me on edge

 

[joneblaze]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens




Not even Darth Vader with a torture IT-O Interrogator would have been able to wipe the big smile off my face as i watched
Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Director J.J Abrams has breathed some new life and energy into another franchise.
It's fun,moving,and a great adventure.He and writer's Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt bring us back to the
theme of family,redemption and finding one's place in the world ,well in this case the universe.
Harrison Ford and Carrie fisher easily slip back into roles they havent portrayed in 32 years as Han Solo and Princess/General
Leia.That magic and chemistry is still there,even with Chewbacca.

The new cast:Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe Dameron ( Oscar Isaac) well that same enthusiasm the actors had at
Comic Con,interviews and promotion over the past few months is right up there on screen,their interactions are fun and moving
Lupita Nyong'o is amazing as Maz Kanata,i hope to see more of the character in the next 2 films.
The droid BB-8 is a fun wonderful addition it's interactions with the other characters were flawless
I wont get into Luke Skywalker because i dont want to spoil anything

As Kylo Ren Adam Driver provides intimidation when he first appears in the film,but in some ways it's kind of dilluted,but fortunately
he's able to turn it around in some terrific scenes with the other characters.Im looking forward to finding out more of his back story
Domhnall Gleeson,makes the most of his screen time as the icy General Hux, leader of the primary First Order base, Starkiller Base.
Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke has some great shadowy,intimidating moments.

Some characters that were so hyped up over the past few months were not really given enough character developement or screen time
Lines and scenes from the various trailers from the film have been edited from the film.Some of the same story structure has been
borrowed and followed from Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.There were a couple of plot holes laying around.

Is this film better than the the prequels:YES i would put it right under The Empire Strikes Back.
I have so many questions that will hopefully be answered in the next 2 films,that im really looking forward to

Scale of 1-10 an 8½

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

We had a chance to check out Sicario on Wednesday. Enjoyed it, as expected (after reading online reviews & from the fam' at BGOL in recent months). Solid performances from all of the leads. Appropriate running time at 2 hours. Didn't feel too short or long. Just the right amount to tell the story. Had hoped for a bit more action as they really ramped up well when they did play out. Don't want to spoil any scenes for those who haven't seen it, so I don't note point them out directly. We'd rate it a strong 8 - 8.5 / 10. Props to director Villeneuve for putting in solid work over the years too. Have had a chance to check out Incendies, Prisoners, and Enemy in the past 5 years. Added his Wiki for the fam' below ...




http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sicario_2015/reviews/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3397884/

https://twitter.com/SicarioMovie/media

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicario_(2015_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Villeneuve

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Havel - That dinner table scene was intense. Especially with the 5 - 10 minutes beforehand too.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Thanks for the Star Wars review, JBlaze.

 

[ansatsusha_gouki]

Anyone recommended any good scifi and detective movies

 

[tical]

Anyone recommended any good scifi and detective movies

Man there has been a serious drought of good scifi movies. Obviously outside of things like Star wars, live action comic.

 

[joneblaze]

The Seven Five



Intriguing and always interesting documentary that focuses around Mike Dowd, a former police officer of 10 years, who was arrested in 1992
for police corruption,that included drug dealing,and extortion.Colorful interviews from those that were involved and those that detested
what Dowd and his crew were up to

Scale of 1-10 a 10

Daddy's Home



Pretty funny comedy about every Step father's nightmare : a biological father who intentionally sets out to break down any
foundation the step dad has made with the kids.
Daddy's Home definitely has it's laugh out loud moments as Brad Taggart (Will Ferrell) and Dusty (Mark Wahlberg)
try to out dad each other
Running gags with Thomas Haden Church and Hannibal Buress work off and on but if your looking for something light to watch
with your teenager this is the one to see.

Scale of 1-10 an 8


JOY



10 minutes into JOY i started to cringe a little because it felt like it was going to be some artsy,surrealistically filmed movie ,but fortunately
Director David O. Russell didnt let me down and Jennifer Lawrence was great as usual as Joy who looks out for everyone including her 24 hour a day Soap Opera
watching mother(Virginia Madsen) Her serial dating/marrying father(Robert Deniro) her wannabe singer ex husband(Edgar Ramirez),her kids,and encouraging
Grandmother (Diane Ladd)
Most of the characters arent given much to do but to either discourage or encourage Joy about her inventions and creativity.Until Bradley Cooper shows up as as Neil Walker, an executive for QVC who helps Joy sell her invention.He's the only other character given any type of character developement.
Still Joy may not be as good as Silver Linings Playbook but a good one about determination and success

Scale of 1-10 a 7½

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Thanks for the updates, JBlaze.

Here's an interesting read on 'Joy' that I checked out last week at THR.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/jennifer-lawrence-david-o-russell-849094

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

 

[casavino]

The Seven Five



Intriguing and always interesting documentary that focuses around Mike Dowd, a former police officer of 10 years, who was arrested in 1992
for police corruption,that included drug dealing,and extortion.Colorful interviews from those that were involved and those that detested
what Dowd and his crew were up to

Scale of 1-10 a 10

Daddy's Home



Pretty funny comedy about every Step father's nightmare : a biological father who intentionally sets out to break down any
foundation the step dad has made with the kids.
Daddy's Home definitely has it's laugh out loud moments as Brad Taggart (Will Ferrell) and Dusty (Mark Wahlberg)
try to out dad each other
Running gags with Thomas Haden Church and Hannibal Buress work off and on but if your looking for something light to watch
with your teenager this is the one to see.

Scale of 1-10 an 8


JOY



10 minutes into JOY i started to cringe a little because it felt like it was going to be some artsy,surrealistically filmed movie ,but fortunately
Director David O. Russell didnt let me down and Jennifer Lawrence was great as usual as Joy who looks out for everyone including her 24 hour a day Soap Opera
watching mother(Virginia Madsen) Her serial dating/marrying father(Robert Deniro) her wannabe singer ex husband(Edgar Ramirez),her kids,and encouraging
Grandmother (Diane Ladd)
Most of the characters arent given much to do but to either discourage or encourage Joy about her inventions and creativity.Until Bradley Cooper shows up as as Neil Walker, an executive for QVC who helps Joy sell her invention.He's the only other character given any type of character developement.
Still Joy may not be as good as Silver Linings Playbook but a good one about determination and success

Scale of 1-10 a 7½

75 was good...definitely a 10

 

[ThaBurgerPimp]

JOY



10 minutes into JOY i started to cringe a little because it felt like it was going to be some artsy,surrealistically filmed movie ,but fortunately
Director David O. Russell didnt let me down and Jennifer Lawrence was great as usual as Joy who looks out for everyone including her 24 hour a day Soap Opera
watching mother(Virginia Madsen) Her serial dating/marrying father(Robert Deniro) her wannabe singer ex husband(Edgar Ramirez),her kids,and encouraging
Grandmother (Diane Ladd)
Most of the characters arent given much to do but to either discourage or encourage Joy about her inventions and creativity.Until Bradley Cooper shows up as as Neil Walker, an executive for QVC who helps Joy sell her invention.He's the only other character given any type of character developement.
Still Joy may not be as good as Silver Linings Playbook but a good one about determination and success

Scale of 1-10 a 7½

Missed opportunity to use this song as her theme music

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Thanks for the intel on The Seven Five. Gonna look into that one.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Going to probably see MI 5 - Rogue Nation and Concussion in the next few weeks. Got a few fam' that texted me saying they want to check out Concussion soon.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

For the fam' looking to win a copy ...



http://www.thehdroom.com/contests/g...son-sudeikis-alison-brie-dvd-3-winners-97268/

Sleeping With Other People






Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie are equally great as a one night stand in college, but becoming great friends later in life
couple in Sleeping With Other People.A raunchier version of When Harry Met Sally with a lot of heart and truths about
dating.They both have frank talks about sex and relationships,and their chemistry is so great their friends and strangers wonder
why they're not a couple.The script does head for basic romantic comedy themes but it's the great perfomances and salty
script that kept me interested.

Scale of 1-10 an 8½

 

[joneblaze]

The Revenant




Director Alejandro G. Inarritu's The Revenant is the ultimate story of survival and revenge.Man against the brutality of nature and the more
cunning and vicious brutality of man.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Hugh Glass a fur trapper in 1823.There is a lot going on behind his eyes,and the scolding but loving attention he gives his son
and Dicaprio portrays him to a T and then some.
Left for dead after being attacked by a bear(incredible scene)his quest for revenge and trek across the unrelenting wilderness is a test of the human spirit and
endurance.
Amazingly shot by Cinematographer Emmanuel Chivo Lubezki,the pan around shot during an attack by Arikara Indians is beyond awesome
This is one of the best Directed films ever.And can someone please give Tom Hardy an Oscar already...or maybe even two!!
Mesmerizing,engaging,intense The Revenant is one of the best films of 2015

Scale of 1-10 a 10


The Hateful Eight



Director Quentin Tarantino returns to the big screen,with a CLUE like who done it,western style.Tarantino wisely mixes in the mystery of figuring out who
exactly the eight are and if there is any truth to who they claim to be.There is plenty of fun and salty dialogue to fill 4 movies in this sometimes bloated production
It's well acted by all involved :Samuel L. Jackson,Kurt Russell,Jennifer Jason Leigh,Walton Goggins,Tim Roth, Bruce Dern ,Demian Bechir,Michael Madsen and James Parks
Of course the violence comes and goes to the over the top path which made me laugh and took me out of the film,but boy did i have a hell of a good time with this flick before
that happens

Scale of 1-10 an 8½

Carol




Forbidden romance between two women in the 1950's is the premise for the film Carol .
Rooney Mara's and Cate Blanchett's chemistry is off the charts.Kyle Chandler is also great as Carol's husband .I did
feel his frustrations as just a man trying to keep his family together but hey it's a futile fight when the heart wants what the hearts wants.
Some scenes felt repetitive and some characters are brought in that i thought would add some friction or emotional weight but they vanjsh
Still as the movie closes i couldnt help but say yeah these two women belong together

Scale of 1-10 an 8½


THE BIG SHORT




The Big Short is about 2008's housing market collapse.It was very interesting to watch how the whole thing played out,and who saw it coming and took advantage of it
All of the actor's do a fine job Steve Carell,Chritian Bale,Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling .I thought it was clever to use actors and other celebs in little sidebars explaining
some of the complicated financial instruments,but after the first 75 minutes boy did this film feel repetitive ,with the same statements like: I cant believe he's betting against it,The American people and tax payers are getting screwed,the big banks are blah blah blah.......good film but definitely not great

Scale of 1-10 7½

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Had a chance to see Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation Thursday evening. We enjoyed it & took it for what it is ... a fun action flick. Plus, knowing that Mr. Scientology is a wildman ... you know the muthafucka's doing a good number of his own stunts so you've gotta give him credit in that regard (he's 53 now). Too many actors dial it in with stuntmen & body doubles, so props to Cruise for actually getting in there (& earning his tens of million$), as he's known to do in many of his movies. Fave scenes were ...

- The opera (several minutes behind the curtain)
- The first major fight scene
- The motorcycle & car chases



http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_rogue_nation/reviews/
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/mission-impossible---rogue-nation
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_rogue_nation/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission:_Impossible_–_Rogue_Nation

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Thanks for the updates, JBlaze. You're all caught up with a number of good titles leading into award(s) season (Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, Academy Awards, etc).

 

[joneblaze]

Thanks for the updates, JBlaze. You're all caught up with a number of good titles leading into award(s) season (Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, Academy Awards, etc).

No problem bro I went to the DVD section at Target and it's amazing how many movies i miss and havent seen

 

[joneblaze]

CONCUSSION

CONCUSSION,puts a magnifying glass over an obvious fact that frequently playing a sport as rough
as football causes injuries particularly to the brain,but what exactly happens to the brain,and Why are retired
NFL players having the same symptoms and commiting suicide?
This is answered and brought out in the
film when a Nigerian forensic pathologist named Dr. Bennet Omalu digs deeper.
It's a well acted film by the cast which includes Will Smith as Omalu,
Alec Baldwin as Dr. Julian Bailes, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Prema Mutiso, and Albert Brooks as Dr. Cyril H. Wecht.
There's a good balance of Omalu's personal life and his investigation
Now some have said the film stretches some facts,about how far the NFL went to quiet down his findings but
they cant deny the fact that they pulled out of funding a concussion study at Boston University.They also
realize a lot of lawsuits are coming.
Some say this will change the NFL in a major way over the next few years but time will tell.

Scale of 1-10 an 8½




SISTERS


The hilarious duo of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler team up in this very funny film about 2 sisters who are pissed that their parents suddenly decide to
sell their childhood home,so they decide to have one last loud,crazy and over the top party at the home
Does the party go on a bit to long...yes...but as of late there hasn't been a comedy that has been fun and funny beginning to end and SISTERS
comes very close


Scale of 1-10 an 8½



ENTOURAGE



A lot of fun moments but a big screen treatment for the popular HBO series wasnt necessary.They might as well have came back for
a 9th season instead
Scale of 1-10 a 7½


POINT BREAK



This is one of those remakes that i wish had copied the original word for for word.The extreme sports scenes are great and its visually stunning
with a good soundtrack laced in,but the script is terrible.Uneven,silly,complicated for no reason.Couple that with the duller than a butter knife performance
from Luke Bracey and its beyond bad.
Edgar Ramirez fairs a bit better,but even after awhile his eco,new agey delivery became grating
and that ending WTF??
Go watch the original....watch this version when you...well any way you can see it for free.

Scale of 1-10 a 3½

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Saw The Revenant yesterday. We enjoyed it. Well-acted & shot ... as most people have pointed out the long, steady shots ... cinematography & natural lighting are very effective.

"The scene" that has been much talked about in recent weeks is very intense. Gdamn.

Good to see the movie do well with their recent Golden Globe wins last weekend, and it'll be interesting to see how it fares @ the Oscars in late-February. Props to the director ... he's been on a roll in recent years with this one, Birdman (Wiki - "The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography from a total of nine nominations, tying it with The Grand Budapest Hotel for the most nominated film of the Academy's 87th annual awards ceremony. It also won Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for Keaton and Best Screenplay at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards."), etc.




http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_revenant_2015/reviews/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_revenant_2015/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663202/locations?ref_=tt_dt_dt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_González_Iñárritu

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

No problem bro I went to the DVD section at Target and it's amazing how many movies i miss and havent seen

I hear you on that. We hit up a Best Buy in Olympia, WA in early-December. Looked over some of their bargain DVD & Blu-Ray bins ... and of the hundreds of selections in them, we'd probably seen about 10 - 15. They weren't shitty straight-to-dvd releases either, most of them were notable titles. It's like walking down a cereal aisle at the grocery store ... hundreds of choices ... and you've only ever tried about 5 - 7 of 'em

 

[ThaBurgerPimp]

13 HOURS:THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI

Based on the novel of the same name,six members of the Annex Security Team defend the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, from an attack by Islamic militants.

Whether or not what happened in the film is an exaggeration is up for debate,but all the usual Michael Bay trademarks are there of course (this was one of the films he agreed to do Transformers:Age Of Extinction for in exchange for financing,the other was Pain & Gain)

Score: 3 1/2 out of 5

 

[woodchuck]

Just finished watching "Spotlight" with the wife. Not bad. I actually liked this one and "The Big Short".

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Woodchuck - Going to check those ones out in the weeks ahead.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Burger - Thanks for the intel on 13 Hours. It was well-promoted with the screening events and contests for passes, etc. Believe the major advance screening took place on the big screen at Cowboy Stadium.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

http://www.thewrap.com/michael-bays...emieres-at-dallas-cowboys-att-stadium-photos/

http://www.tmz.com/2016/01/12/michael-bay-13-hours-movie-premiere-att-stadium/

http://gawker.com/i-watched-michael-bays-benghazi-movie-at-cowboys-stadiu-1753238965

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2016/01/benghazi-movie-13-hours-premieres-at-att-stadium.html/

 

[joneblaze]

The Imitation Game



Benedict Cumberbatch is outstanding in The Imitation Game as Cambridge mathematics alumnus Alan Turing
who is recruited by British intelligence agency MI6 to crack Nazi secret codes in 1939.
Arrogant and distant it's easy to see why the rest of the team chafes at his personality .As a viewer i wanted
Turing to be more approachable and likeable.Fortunately an extremely intelligent cryptanalyst named
Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley),joins the team and helps Turing bond with them
I found myself rooting for Turing ,and for that i must give a lot of credit to Cumberbatch's performance ,as he
brings out Turings determination,brilliance,success and heartbreak.
The film hits all the right notes as a semi thriller,period piece and drama
Definitely one of 2014's best films

Scale of 1-10 a 10


CHAPPIE



About 30 minutes into CHAPPIE i knew i wouldnt be able to take it seriously .It borrows a lot from Sci Fi flicks like
Robocop and Avatar.Im guessing Director Neill Blomkamp is a big fan of the South African rap-rave group
Die-Antwoord because he not only casted them in the film,but their music is in the film,and its promoted in various ways
throughout the movie.They portray gangsters who use the the robot CHAPPIE to pull off crimes,and also teaching
him all types of slang after CHAPPIE is made self aware after some tinkering from his maker Deon Wilson (Dev Patel)

Now some of this is humorous but this flick has unintended laughable moments galore.Hugh Jackman is completely wasted in his role
but i did laugh at some of his scenes with CHAPPIE( yes unintended also)

Now technically the film is fun to look at but other than that it's basically a funny way to kill a couple of hours and thats it

Scale of 1-10 a 4½

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Thanks for the intel, JB.

Believe we won passes to Chappie and ended up checking out something else when we got there with our $0.00 tickets √

 

[playahaitian]

Pay no attention to that wailing you hear in the distance — it's just the mournful cries ofAvatar fans learning in The Wrap thatAvatar 2 has been delayed "indefinitely." The much-awaited film had been scheduled for release on Christmas 2017; this move coincidentally comes after Star Wars: Episode VIII was pushed back to December 15 of that year, thus averting a box-office clash between the sequels to two of the highest-grossing films of all time. As all #Naviatics know, Avatar 2 will be the first of three planned Avatarsequels, and Fox CEO Jim Gianopulos has been forced to plead patience with the desperate fans, all of whom just can't wait to follow to the further magical adventures of Jake and Neytiri. "James Cameron has his own pace," Gianopulos said.

 

[Drayonis]

Who really wants to see a follow up to this? How much more story can there actually be?

 

[largebillsonlyplease]

1 was actually too much lol
if they were smart they'd just create the world and charge people $20 to walk around in it. especially with the oculus and vr revolution upon us again.

but what do i know

 

[woodchuck]

Outside of sending more evil white men to avenge what happened to their predecessors and steal the resources, what could it possibly be about? And after the first 20 minutes, it'll morph into the same ol' movie.

 

[Drayonis]

Outside of sending more evil white men to avenge what happened to their predecessors and steal the resources, what could it possibly be about? And after the first 20 minutes, it'll morph into the same ol' movie.

Yup. They busted their nut a lil' too early on the first one. It came off like the first one should have been the last one, 3rd in line or some shit.

 

[playahaitian]

1 was actually too much lol
if they were smart they'd just create the world and charge people $20 to walk around in it. especially with the oculus and vr revolution upon us again.

but what do i know

an Avatar full size amusement park would have made hundreds of millions...great idea.

Especially if they did a big environmental aspect where they recycle sell healthy food etc?