Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| August 2016

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RIP, great talent


UrbanRats said:
Is Lupin very popular in the US? There are some anime series, that here in my country were massive (i mean you knew them even if you weren't a Japan nerd) but then on the internet (read: US) don't seem to be that big.
Lupin would be one of them, then you had Hokuto no Ken, Tsurikichi Sanpei, Saint Seya, Captain Tsubasa, Daitarn III and a couple of others.
I guess Sailor Moon is the only one that seems just as popular.

And even within Europe seems to vary a lot.
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let me guess, Italy? Heard a lot of old school mangas have been brought over there
 
Sausage Party was just awful, not funny, lecturing bullshit. Crude is fine, when its funny. Sausage Party is just boring obvious food puns, food being edgy by making endless sexual innuendos and swearing, and a lecture about how evil and stupid religion is. The last 20 minutes nearly save it, but then fail. Boo.
 
Woo, sorry guys. Been gone for awhile being incredibly busy. I'll catch everyone up on my movie-watching in two LONG posts. I'll give you ratings for everything too for once. Posting the first half today, second half... well, whenever it won't be a double-post lol.

Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates features a scene in the middle of the second act where Mike (Adam DeVine) and Dave Stangle (Zac Efron) plan to go swimming with dolphins with their dates, Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick). Tatiana has other plans though; she wishes to go on an ATV tour of where they filmed Jurassic Park.

Mike and Dave won't budge, but then Tatiana, Alice, and the rest of the Stangle family start incessantly quoting Jurassic Park. "That's a big pile of shit," "Life finds a way," every memorable quote from the Spielberg classic is recited to the point where not only Mike and Dave are annoyed; the audience will be too. The Dilophosaurus impressions are the last straw and the film finally cuts to Mike, Dave, Tatiana, Alice, and the wedding couple on the tour.

Logically, the scene should be accompanied with the Jurassic Park theme. After all, you don't set up a bunch of Jurassic Park references and then not play one of John Williams' most legendary themes. Especially if the scene actually takes place in one of Jurassic Park's most iconic vistas. Surely, this simple filmmaking logic can't be messed up, right?

Wrong. Instead, director Jake Szymanski plays a generic score by Jeff Cardoni that tries to sound just like Jurassic Park, but comes off as a cheap imitation. I honestly thought they had forgotten to remove the temp music from an early cut of the film. It's jarring and frankly insulting that Szymanski thought this was a good move for his film, and the music plays for a solid minute throughout several landscape shots. It just feels wrong.

However, this directorial choice reveals something very important about the film. Instead of simply playing a classic theme to make this scene feel natural, Szymanski took the cheap way out and commissioned a lazy imitation. Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates itself is satisfied with taking the easy way out, a symptom of the entire production, which is ultimately just another forgettable R-rated comedy.

Please watch Swiss Army Man to see how to properly reference Jurassic Park (and also see an actually great movie at the same time). 1.5/5

The Bourne Supremacy brings Paul Greengrasss' brilliantly kinetic style to the franchise. The director is one of the few that understand how to utilize shakey cam well; bringing a visceral style to the world of Bourne. Damon is once again great as the lead character and Joan Allen is a more than welcome addition to the franchise. It's consistently exciting in action and engrossing in plot. The Bourne Supremacy is what took this franchise from an amusing lark to one of the best spy franchises out there. 3.5/5

The Bourne Ultimatum starts a little oddly. Taking place immediately after the climax of The Bourne Supremacy, Jason Bourne begins remembering fragments of a major event in his life. It instantly reminds one of the set-up to Supremacy and gets one worrying this might a retread. However, these worries are unfounded as The Bourne Ultimatum is the best in the series by far. The plot is simpler, but bolstered by the additions of David Strathairn and Albert Finney along with a more intriguing story for the CIA-side of things. Greengrass steps up his game and has the movie feature three spectacular setpieces where only one would make this an incredible movie on its own, but with all three, it's a stunning achievement by director Paul Greengrass. The Bourne Ultimatum is a constantly kinetic trilogy capper that never lets up the thrills and stands as one of the greatest spy movies ever made. 4.5/5

The Bourne Legacy is an overlong slog that also is one of the most shameless sequels ever. A Bourne movie in name only, it infamously lacks Matt Damon and replaces him with a dull Jeremy Renner. It also wastes a tremendously talented cast featuring Edward Norton, Oscar Isaac, and Corey Stoll all in thankless underwritten roles. The action is much too sparse, and the script is notably worse than any other film in this franchise. It's insulting that Gilroy got Allen, Strathairn, and Finney onboard for cameos that basically are just epilogues to Ultimatum that are otherwise completely unrelated to the story at hand. The film clearly realizes the audience will lack interest in its own story when it ends the film with these scenes in rapid succession, giving Aaron Cross's story no resolution whatsoever. The Bourne Legacy would be a bad blockbuster in general, but as a Bourne film, it is outright atrocious and an insult to the franchise. 1/5

Toothless said:
In a way, Jason Bourne is as generic as its title suggests. The plot is nothing new for this franchise and the same goes for the action and direction. Luckily, the Bourne franchise has always excelled at those latter two attributes. Paul Greengrass's direction elevates the worst script for the Bourne films yet, which starts with an incredibly dull first hour and never manages to marry the personal stakes for Bourne to the more traditional Iron Hand plot. Thankfully, the second half of the movie kicks in when Bourne visits London and the setpieces from then on always are thrilling and shot and edited in Greengrass's and Christopher Rouse's winning visceral style.

The absence of John Powell is really felt as several action sequences are filmed and edited well, but lack the extra oomph his score added in previously installments.* Damon is great as always, Vikander is forgettable, and Jones isn't doing anything new but is still pretty enjoyable. It might not be as good as Greengrass's previous entries in the franchise thanks to a mediocre script, but Jason Bourne is still an entertaining summer blockbuster with impressive direction coupled with really spectacular action setpieces. 3/5

(*I understand that John Powell is credited but I believe the credit is the vein of Doug Liman's executive producer credit he has had since Supremacy, thanks to his direction of the first Bourne film. Thus, Powell is probably credited just because of the use of his old themes, as he is currently on a break to spend time with kids. Please come back to us before How to Train Your Dragon 3.)
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Calling The Witch a horror movie feels likes a slight misnomer. While the film does include supernatural elements often associated with the genre, it feels more like a period family drama - and that's a good thing. Evil tears this family apart but they were already on their way to destruction even before the devil disrupted them. Eggers shoots the whole movie to chilling effect and the use of archaic language adds a lot to the atmosphere. The last five minutes are an unnecessary epilogue to make it fit the horror genre more but otherwise the script is constantly engaging. The score is excellent and the two central performances delivered by Taylor-Joy and Ineson are captivating. The Witch is another spectacular indie horror film, although it's at its best when it ignores the latter of those designations. 4/5

The Purge: Election Year feels like a retread of the second movie. Oddly enough though, this isn’t that bothersome; this franchise thrives on feeling like a cheesy 80s-style-with-modern-filmmaking action movie and the retread fits with that tradition. The one thing that feels actually bigger than the predecessor is the cheesy moments. From an opening where pretty much every expletive imaginable is stated by head government official to scenes where someone tries to kill another person for a candy bar, this movie is unintentionally hilarious throughout it. The action is on the same level as the predecessor along with DeMonaco’s direction and Grillo’s presence. The Purge: Election Year is an alright B-movie, but rewatching the previous film would give you almost the same experience. 2.5/5

Top 5 New Watches of July:

1. Swiss Army Man
2. Midnight Special
3. The Witch
4. Star Trek Beyond
5. Ghostbusters (2016)

Cafe Society suffers from being aimless for a lot of the running time, but that's about it. The cast is phenomenal, without a single weak spot. Eisenberg and Stewart are both lovely, the former being a very good Allen surrogate. Carell fits his role so well, you wonder how Bruce Willis was Allen's first pick. Stoll and Kunken steal the show in their minor parts, but not nearly as much as Anna Camp, who is an absolute wonder in just a single scene. The weakest aspect of the cast and the film itself is Allen's sporadic narration that never adds anything to the film and distances the audience from the characters for no particular reason.

Allen's script is sharp as ever, blending comedy and melodrama in a way rarely seen nowadays. His direction utilizes the film medium much better than Blue Jasmine or Magic in the Moonlight (the only other two Allen movies I've seen). The ending is marvelously understated and quite memorable in a way people might not expect. However, the entire rollercoaster of a film makes said ending work even better than it might sound on paper.

Cafe Society marks the best Allen film I've seen; however, as I've only seen two other films of his and both later work, this cannot be viewed as high praise. However, Cafe Society is still a very strong film, that unfortunately is aimless at points and could've used perhaps one more draft to make its themes more subtle. However, the humor and emotion triumph even through sloppiness to make it a winner. 3/5

Toothless said:
Saw Finding Dory for a third time today; wrote a really in-depth analysis for some reason lol. Spoiler-tagged below:

Let's begin at the very beginning and the ending. Finding Dory utilizes bookends in a way that are probably much more subtle than intended. This viewer did not realize that it opens with Baby Dory failing at playing Hide and Seek with her family and ends with Dory succeeding in finding her family - in a game of Hide and Seek. The same shot structure is used too, at least at the beginning, but yet, considering the great journey Dory has gone on, it works entirely without feeling awkward or obnoxious.

Now, I'll go onto the two major issues I have with the film, neither of which were mentioned my previous review. The biggest problem the film has structurally is that Marlin and Nemo's plot has nothing to do with Dory. Everything Dory and Hank do actually moves forward the plot; Marlin and Nemo put the plot on pause every time they show up. This wouldn't be a huge issue with Marlin and Nemo had more complex character arcs. The only thing Marlin really learns over the course of the movie is that he should trust Dory more than he does. The sequences with Becky work towards a broader, better arc of learning that coddling those with disabilities should be avoided, as it sets those people (or fish) up for failure while also preventing Marlin to acknowledge Dory as a fish with her own wants and needs besides the basic "She needs to remember to stay safe."

A better arc could've been easily implemented if Nemo didn't keep on giving his dad control of the situation. Nemo clearly has a physical disability, and yet, not once in the movie is it acknowledged that both Nemo and Dory were captured after they wanted to stick it to Marlin after he refused to trust them to do simple tasks with their disabilities (Nemo - looking at the drop-off; Dory - trying to find help for Nemo's injury). The simple "What would Dory do?" message robs the audience of a more general pro-disability message, instead sticking with a mere mental disability side to it (which is still excellent, don't get me wrong, but when Nemo is still treated about the same by Marlin in this movie as in Finding Nemo, that's a problem anyway.)

How about Nemo coming up with unusual solutions to the problems he and Marlin face, rather than just guilt-tripping his dad the whole movie? Nemo's role is so small in importance despite his screentime in the film and this would've given the subplot more weight, especially considering Marlin's condescending attitude towards Dory clearly bothers Nemo and I'm sure his dad constantly talking about "the one time my son got lost and I had to travel the whole ocean, thanks a lot Nemo" probably annoys him every time because despite getting lost, Nemo accomplished a lot in Finding Nemo. He gained the trust and adoration of the Tank Gang, broke a filter, almost broke out everyone in the tank, and then outsmarted Darla and the dentist to escape on his own. Yet when he returns home, yeah, Marlin gives him a much longer leash but it's still a leash and Marlin's still overprotective. I think this point is long enough, but yeah, Marlin and Nemo's arc needed more punch to it; it should've been more about Nemo's disability.

The other issue I have with the film is minor compared to the previous qualm, but it's still an issue. Gerald, who has oddly become the Internet's favorite character in this movie, goes completely against the message of the film. This has been written on already by those much less verbose than I am, but it still must be mentioned. If a film is about empowering a character with a mental disability, having a side character that is meant to be merely laughed at is a grave misfire. Honestly, Gerald is what currently keeps this from a 4.5 star rating, as my problems with the climax have evaporated after realizing the thematic intentions of it, and Hank's enigmatic past is now a delightful mystery rather than a disappointing nothingness. To subtract from the article I linked though, I'll admit I don't have much of an issue with Becky's role. I don't find her that funny, but I really don't think the film is mocking her much either. She is absolutely pivotal to the plot and quite loyal to her friends. She's a model character, if just a bit weird. Isn't that Dory too though? Gerald isn't; Gerald has an insulting look and is treated like dirt by the only characters that interact with him in the movie, and we're supposed to find said treatment funny. It just doesn't work at all.

Moving onto good stuff. These are all going to be scenes/moments in the third act that are notably excellent but can't be mentioned in typical reviews. The first of these moments is when Marlin and Nemo reunite with Dory in the pipe and Marlin gives Dory a pep talk. The pep talk is just alright; Albert Brooks does an excellent job delivering it, but the writing isn't totally there for me (probably due to my opinion on Marlin's "What would Dory do?" arc). However, this scene has given me goosebumps and almost driven me to tears all three times I've seen this movie. Why? Thomas Newman's score for Finding Dory completely avoids the iconic themes of the first film and goes for a more ethereal feel in general. He reprises his themes twice. When Dory sees the boat taking Nemo at the very beginning of the movie, the track from Finding Nemo plays from the same moment of sheer terror for Marlin. This is alright, but not particularly memorable.

However, the other time is during the monologue I was just talking about: Marlin mentions all the crazy accomplishments Dory has done within the movie itself, but then ends with "and finding my son." Newman brings back a subdued new yet delightfully old tune: the iconic Nemo theme, arguably Newman's greatest cue ever. After not hearing it for the first hour of Finding Dory, it brings rushing back memories of Finding Nemo. Marlin finding Nemo's broken egg. Marlin crossing the entire ocean to find his son. Fighting sharks, swimming through jellyfish, and surviving the mouths of a whale and a pelican. Nemo buried under the fishing net after saving so many lives. Marlin and Nemo hugging each other before school. And as this music bringing in the nostalgia the film otherwise ignores, we are right there with Dory. We recognize the gravity of what Marlin is saying: if Dory hadn't run into Marlin, Marlin would be alone and Nemo would be gone forever. Marlin telling Dory this is the greatest gift he could ever give, and it's an absolutely wonderful mixture of nostalgia, love, and deep empathy. Newman and Stanton nailed this otherwise cliche scene that, even with weak writing, for the only time, elevates Finding Dory by mentioning Finding Nemo. Really powerful.

However, it is not as powerful as the most intriguing directorial choice Stanton makes: this film includes probably the most first-person animation I've seen from any major animation studio. This adds a visceral effect throughout that makes us feel even more with Dory. The beginning when we see her lose her parents from her view is utterly terrifying, and following her view as she falls into the Open Ocean exhibit is also exquisite. Neither of these are as powerful and visceral as the moment when Dory believes her parents are dead. Everything becomes blurry and unfocused and the camera darts back and forth between the blue tangs and the clownfish as Dory tries to process the entire journey was in vain. Then Hank takes her out and we get lost entirely again with her, falling out of Quarantine into the ocean. The scene is utterly despairing without a hint of levity and might stand as one of Pixar's most emotional sequences. Uniquely so too, because although they've made us cry again and again, I've never felt terrified and lost at the movies quite like this before. Stanton returns to the first-person view aspect once more, when Dory finally finds her parents. They are illuminated in her eyes and Dory's relief is ours. When Dory's parents rush to hug her, we finally leave her viewpoint to see her face. She is beaming, literally. Dory is animated as a source of light and the only thing in focus is her face. It's incredibly emotional, and overshadows the more memorable (but still powerful) image of shells leading to a pipe. By utilizing the first-person perspective, Stanton brings new levels of empathy to animation.

Now, let's talk about the controversial climax. Dory helps Hank drive a truck to free everyone on their way to Cleveland. It's outlandish, silly, and doesn't jive with the more realistic world set-up. Yet, it works because it perfectly completes Hank's character arc. He needs to learn to trust other people, and Dory is his closest friend. Despite how ludicrous it may be, the scene works because even though we're with Dory, we're also with Hank. When guns are pointed at Hank and they look faced with certain death, does he trust Dory? Yes, and they succeed at their task. This climax is needed for Hank, who serves as the sequel's best new character, simply because how well-rounded he is. I will probably have to defend the scene until the end of time, but it works incredibly well and I'll stick by that.

Time for a dissection of a key difference between Dory and Marlin. I know, I know, they're both clearly different characters but I want to point out something that intrigues me. At the end of Finding Nemo, the only family Marlin has made is Dory. Yeah, he still friends with the turtles, but he only sees them every so often and he's happy with just Nemo and Dory. By the end of Finding Dory, every character Dory has interacted with extensively over the course of the film has become a part of her family. Her parents, Hank, Destiny, and Bailey... all have joined Marlin and Nemo and live in the same area now. There's not really a point to this paragraph except that I thought that aspect was really well-done, especially in showing how this is a very different movie. Dory is a magnetic, much more lovable character than Marlin, and it's a credit to her that even with her disability, she is so upbeat that everyone who meets her wants to spend the rest of their life with her in it.

Finally, the last two shots of this film are perfection. The score, the direction, the cinematography, the script, all of it comes together to give you a smile at the end of the movie. It's taken two movies for Dory and Marlin to find Dory's parents and Nemo, but they've found something else: peace. The introspective looking off into the drop-off is really low-key for an animated movie, but it's what these two characters have earned for themselves and their family. It's one of so many other things that makes Finding Dory absolutely unforgettable and another Pixar classic.

(Also, Bill Hader and Kate McKinnon have significantly bigger roles in The Angry Birds Movie, and yet they make more of an impression here with only a minute of screentime. Just an amusing observation.)
4/5
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Outside of the rip-off of Disney's Paperman in the climax,
The Peanuts Movie holds up better than I expected. Ridiculously charming with a huge heart, it's better than any CGI film based off the property should be. Schulz would be proud. 4/5
 
statuez said:
Why are you quoting yourself lmao
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because i'm fucking brilliant #DealWithIt

Nine Lives is really special.
Who else would think to end a big family movie with the main character trying to prevent his son from committing suicide?
I'm getting ahead of myself, but seriously, this starts pretty well for the first twenty minutes although it's pretty cheesy and feels like a Disney Channel movie. Although I guess the whole movie feels like a Disney Channel movie, but whatever. Then once Kevin Spacey turns into a cat, all of his commitment to the role goes away. He stops being mildly engaged and becomes just someone read his lines of the back of a cereal box. I didn't mind because it was pretty funny anyway (BTW, Monster Trucks looks amazing; really good trailer). The best parts are when they cut to cat videos and the characters act like they're literally gonna die at the hilarity. Although my biggest laugh was at Robbie Amell's name in the credits. Christopher Walken is pretty funny; I also liked the scene where Jennifer Garner screamed to the sky "MISTER FUZZYPANTS!!!" Although I had an issue with the writing a bit: when Kevin Spacey is turned into Mr. Fuzzypants, he's just all "Oh, I'm a cat. This is weird." Where is the existential dread? Why is he totally fine with being a cat? THIS IS UNUSUAL, RIGHT??? I'm not crazy I hope. Regardless, Nine Lives is pretty fun but probably not a good movie so I really don't know what else to say about it except that I laughed more at it then any comedy this summer. Special note: I watched Nine Lives while drunk so my opinion on it might not necessarily be accurate. I was still intoxicated when I wrote this review. 3/5

Toothless said:
Suicide Squad is a mess. A very public mess. Stories have been told about its troubled post-production, but honestly, it feels like this film was doomed from the start. Outside Robbie and Smith, every actor in it is forgettable. Robbie nails the essence of Harley Quinn, but the writing lets her down, especially in the second half of the film. She’s not totally Harley though and that’s more disappointing than anything. Will Smith does his Will Smith thing, but it’s for the first time in about a decade so it’s oddly okay.

Leto’s Joker is an insult. Claiming the movie isn’t supposed to be about him is moronic. He’s second-billed and required to be in much more to adequately partake in Harley’s storyline. It’s a very mediocre take on the Joker, with it feeling more like a collection of quirks than a criminal mastermind. The idea of this Joker being Affleck’s Batman’s arch-nemesis is laughable, no pun intended. That said, it’s still more intriguing than the main villain, Enchantress. She has absolutely no presence, nothing original about her, and whenever the movie shifts to her and her brother, one wishes it was just time for another useless cameo or lazy connection to a larger cinematic universe.

Here’s one question though: Why hire Academy-Award-winning composer Steven Price if you’re just gonna score a third of the movie to the most generic soundtrack picks ever? Only a single choice feels like it makes sense, and that comes in the last two minutes of the film. Everything else is either too obvious or too try-hard. Ayer’s direction just feels lifeless. A lot of this comes with his action, which has felt at least somewhat visceral in the past but in this movie, just makes one tired. The tone is just bizarre, with the film actually feeling even darker in color palette than the previous DCEU films despite its obvious attempt to be lighter in tone. Please note the use of the word “attempt,” because this is just as morose and dull as the other films in this franchise.

If there’s one thing Suicide Squad has made me want to do, it’s rewatch Batman v Superman. That movie was pretty awful, but at least it had some ambition. Suicide Squad is just trying to be moderately enjoyable, but it can’t even achieve that. It feels focus-tested and without a voice, and if it weren’t for Margot Robbie and Will Smith, it would be completely forgettable, and that’s worse than being just awful. Even with them, Suicide Squad is boring, overstuffed, and completely devoid of sincere entertainment. The worst blockbuster of the year so far. 1/5
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Nerve is a stupid movie, but it’s earnestly stupid. It overstimulates the viewer with flash and pop-ups and a lot of fun hyperactive editing. Roberts and Franco both do good jobs with their parts, even though there’s not much to it. Basically, the movie is like a Tootsie Pop. It’s sweet on the outside, appearing like a silly movie for teens and young adults and once you suck on it enough, you realize it’s still pretty sweet. The direction is top-notch for this type of flick, and it’s just fun. This review might not have much substance, but neither does Nerve, and that’s okay. Nerve knows that and just wants you to go along for the ride. I’m glad I did. 2.5/5

Bad Moms is just a really good time at the theater. Certainly it's flawed; mainly, the cinematography is outright atrocious and a couple of gags go on way too long. Yet, this movie is outright hilarious. There are moments you will laugh so hard, you will miss the rest of the scene but then catch a bit of the joke, and laugh even harder. It falls into the trap of modern comedy where there's too much drama, but oddly, it works thematically. Kunis, Hahn, and Bell have great chemistry with each other and all have moments to shine in the comedy. Applegate is also hilarious as the villain. Bad Moms might not escape the trappings of the modern studio comedy, but it still manages to be outrageously funny in spite of that. Probably the surprise of the summer in quality. 3.5/5

The Legend of Tarzan is a really pleasant surprise. Advertised with dour trailers and humdrum buzz, it's actually a fun revisiting of a classic hero. The worst aspect of the film is David Yates' direction, or rather, his attempts to add directorial flourishes. His close-ups feel reminiscent of the worst facets of Tom Hooper's direction, and an obnoxious use of slow motion ruins otherwise well-choreographed action scenes. The dull color palette too also harms the movie quite a bit.

However, the script by Adam Cozad and Craig Brewster is incredibly refreshing. Outside of the main villain, everyone feels decently comprehensive character wise, and the plot is fairly straightforward and economical. The film has two very unique attributes that most other blockbusters these days lack: the main couple of the film is married and thus clearly love each other the whole movie, and the late 1800s Congo setting. The latter opens the film up to an antislavery plotline that would seem out of place in a Tarzan movie if it weren't given the prominence it deserved. The whole film has an appropriately legendary tone that allows you to understand why Tarzan has been popular throughout the years. Just a surprisingly great script for a movie that could've easily been lackluster.

The cast does a great job with their roles, with highlights being Margot Robbie's Jane and Samuel L. Jackson's George Washington Williams. They both feel joyously alive in their roles, and you'll want to see more of them than they are in the movie. Skarsgard's Tarzan is solid, if a bit uncharismatic, but since he's paired with Jackson the whole movie, that's just fine since he looks the part and does well with the action. Christoph Waltz is Christoph Waltz and thus, the weakest aspect of the film.

The cinematography switches from claustrophobic to beautifully displaying its landscapes, and feels inconsistent. To be honest, Yates' mediocre direction should make The Legend of Tarzan feel much more inconsistent than it is. Thankfully, this update to the Lord of the Apes feels invigorating with its old school style and strong cast. The Legend of Tarzan is a great blockbuster for summer 2016 and a good movie by any standard. 3/5

Toothless said:
On the DVD commentary for The Incredibles, director Brad Bird states, "Animation is an art form, and it can do any genre... next time I hear, 'What's it like working in the animation genre?' I'm going to punch that person!" As a counterpoint to Bird, a friend of mine once pointed out that although animation is a medium, in the United States, it typically is more of a genre. So far this year we've had Kung Fu Panda 3, Zootopia, The Angry Birds Movie, Finding Dory, and The Secret Life of Pets. I would agree with my friend and say these are all within a singular genre, defined not by animation style, but by tone and story. They're all wacky adventures starring anthropomorphized animals that impart life lessons. Some of them are good, some are great, and some are awful, but they all fit within a clear genre.

The team of Rogen, Goldberg, Vernon and Tiernan have accomplished the impossible. They created the best Rogen/Goldberg style comedy yet that perfectly utilizes the medium of animation while moving it forward in an unique way. Sausage Party is incredible. It's astounding. It's hard to write a review because all this reviewer wishes to do is list positive adjectives for it. To describe Sausage Party is doing it a disservice as part of the joy of watching it comes from the constant thought of "I am sitting in a movie theater and this actually just happened and why am I laughing so hard at it?". Nevertheless, this reviewer shall attempt the impossible.

Dissecting the team is where to begin with this gem. Rogen and Goldberg has proven again and again they know how to deliver a smart and clever script, but with Sausage Party, they've outdone themselves. Among their typical sources of humor is a subplot about ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which should seem out of place in any comedy; after all, joking about it is certainly taboo. Yet, with animation, Rogen and Goldberg exploit the same loopholes of the otherwise impolite topics that Trey Parker and Matt Stone do. By having funny looking talking sausages, buns, and other foods, they deliver a shockingly in-depth look at world religions that both hilarious and incisive. To go into depth would be a disservice to the delightful surprises they have in store for audiences, but rest assured, the passion project aspects of this film are quite clear from the writing. The only issue that might arise from the script is that frequently the message comes off as a bit preachy, but oddly, that's not too bothersome. After all, the animated movies they're parodying often lay on their messages a bit too thick; it's only appropriate Sausage Party does the same with a much more complicated message to get across.

Vernon and Tiernan do a truly great job bringing Rogen and Goldberg's vision to life. Their animation direction is top notch with delightful visual sight gags and small details that bring the world of Shopwell's to life. It's worth pointing out the film only has a $19 million production budget, ridiculously cheap for CGI animation. Yet Vernon and Tiernan somehow manage to stretch that so far that, even though it's clearly not Pixar-level, it would certainly hold its own against the lower-budget big animated movies (Illumination to name a studio). Also, even though the film's shocking and highly publicized finale is from the pages of Rogen and Goldberg's script, credit must be given to Vernon and Tiernan who make an already insane sequence one of the most memorable scenes of the year with constant craziness going on the background of the shots and perfectly putting the focus where it belongs. This film is as much their achievement as Rogen and Goldberg's. (Please note that when I wrote this review, the news about the animators being mistreated had not broke yet. I regret some of what I wrote in light of that; however, in the interest of being consistent, I left this paragraph untouched.

The voice cast is top notch too. Seth Rogen's Frank is an alright character to guide through this insane world, but everyone does a fabulous job voice-acting. Wiig and Kroll are definitely great among the supporting cast, but, as one might expect, Edward Norton steals the show. You'll want to have more of his character in the movie because his delivery is constantly impressive. Another performance worth singling out is Michael Cera, who begins like Rogen where you can tell it's Cera voicing the character, but by the end has melted completely into the role of a deformed sausage.

There's so much more to say about Sausage Party. I haven't even mentioned the ridiculously catchy song written by Alan Menken for the film. Nor the directly clever parodies of Pixar films such as Ratatouille or, more obviously, Toy Story.
Heck, even alluding to the coda that manages to top the climax in brilliance might qualify as ruining a surprise.
So this leads us back to the question: does Sausage Party break the animation genre problem? Honestly, no. It does follow a clear template that most animated movies in the U.S. do. That said, by both perverting the tropes and acknowledging the films that came before, Sausage Party is a triumph in creativity and comedy, be it animated or otherwise. Bring on Sausage Party Harder. 4.5/5
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Toothless said:
Lights Out desperately wants to be like a James Wan movie. It kinda fails at this regard, because Wan's movies triumph thanks to strong atmosphere and a general humanism to them. Lights Out lacks the former and has the latter in very minimal terms, but still works overall. The central premise of a monster that thrives in the dark is universal and well-executed, especially in the last twenty minutes which are totally creative and the best part of the film. The backstory for the monster (Diana) also actually adds to the intrigue rather than ruining it, as it's appropriately creepy and yet grounded in some form of reality. However, there is a major issue hurting Lights Out, and that's the very ending of the movie. It is by far the most problematic ending I've seen this year. Spoiling shall be avoided, but needless to say, if one is going to make a horror movie about mental illness, the ending Sandberg chooses should have not once been an option in any stage of development. Despite its horrendous ending, Lights Out is an enthralling-if-generic horror movie that doesn't overstay its welcome.
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When I was a freshman in high school, my choir director introduced to the music of Florence Foster Jenkins. I was instantly fascinated by her story and wanted to see someone bring it to life in a truly great way. Sadly, this film is the opposite of that, falling into cliche far too often. The script focuses more on St. Clair Bayfield, a man with little personality and nowhere near as fascinating as Jenkins. However, when you have Meryl Streep doing the same old Meryl Streep performance as always, it is somewhat of a relief we don't focus on her Jenkins. Streep's performance is actively insulting as she constantly hams it up for the camera and then cries on command. A ridiculous amount of liberties are taken with Jenkins' life, to the point where one has to wonder why this movie didn't change the names. It's another generically awful biopic that Hollywood needs to stop pumping out. Florence Foster Jenkins might have been one of history's most amusing anecdotes, but this film might be one of Hollywood's biggest failures, ruining some of the greatest source material ever and making it be just another Meryl Streep vehicle. Sad. 1/5

Toothless said:
Pete's Dragon is a truly beautiful film. From the first to the final scenes, you can tell you're watching something that has an unusually more personal touch than the typical big budget fare this summer. Although I haven't seen Lowery's other work, I can tell the story he was telling in this was deeply important to him thanks to the deep empathy I felt for all the characters. It's one unique story too; arguably the only movie this summer where halfway through the feature, I had absolutely no idea where it could go next. In a year of constantly predictable films, this was a relief. As far as filmmaking goes, it's a triumph.

The acting is top notch, with everyone in the ensemble doing a lovely job. Oakes Fegley is a revelation, both subtly convincing (Elliott is absolutely alive, half thanks to Fegley's performance) and downright heartbreaking at points. Oona Lawrence also does excellently, making me anticipate Lowery's Peter Pan project even more, since he clearly knows how to work with child actors. Elliott himself is a wonder, a perfect combination of the aforementioned performance by Fegley and really delightful character animation. It's impossible not to fall in love with him.

There are a few flaws of course. I've already mentioned that the second half of the movie is unpredictable in the best sense. The first half though... it just feels like a long build-up. Well done, certainly, and never boring, but it just feels off in a sense. Perhaps this is Lowery's arthouse sensibilities meshing with the studio style, as the recent film the first half most reminded of was Lenny Abrahamson's Room, in theme, tone, and aesthetics (Pete's long hair didn't help matters here either). The score by Daniel Hart is good at points, but often becomes overbearing as well. That is an alright issue to have because when the score is good, it's phenomenal.

Pete's Dragon is an contradiction. It is a remake, another entry into the boy-and-his-blank genre. Yet, the way it takes on its subject matter with deep love for every character on the film, along with other directorial flourishes, makes it feel wholly new. Pete's Dragon is an emotional wonder, a movie about childhood that everyone can get something out of. The best thing I could say about is that it's the rare film I could see becoming a childhood classic years down the road. Truly exemplary all around. 4/5

Please note: This review might not be wholly accurate because it was one of the worst audience experiences I've had at the theater. Nonstop children's chatters along with laughter by them at inappropriate moments nearly ruined the film. It's a credit to the film that I still found it to be a moving piece despite the viewing environment working against it.
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Toothless said:
Kubo and the Two Strings is a mixed bag. You can tell the film meant a lot to Knight but one has to wonder why. The story is interesting, sure, but when it boils down to it, the characters are forgettable archetypes. The dialogue is consistently clunky, which is the film's biggest issue. The animation is absolutely gorgeous though, constantly impressing in design and fluidity. The voice cast works well, with Theron and Mara being highlights, but once again, the rest can fall into forgettable territory as well. This may seem like a generic review, but unfortunately it fits Kubo and the Two Strings, which fails to be an entirely compelling animated film, despite being worth seeing just for the stop-motion animation. 3/5
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Toothless said:
There's only one thing worth really talking about in War Dogs: Jonah Hill. The man gives one of his best performances yet in his role as Efraim Diveroli. Shockingly funny while also scary at points, he commandeers the movie in such a way that when he's not on screen, the film actively suffers. That's not to say Teller does bad. He's alright, but slightly boring, but that's more the fault of the script than anything. Phillips' direction is outright terrible, making it feel like The Big Short without any of the electric insanity going through that movie. Tad overlong too. War Dogs is a movie that could've easily been forgettable if Jonah Hill hadn't come in and delivered something incredible. Thankfully, his performance makes War Dogs absolutely worth seeing despite its many other flaws. 3/5
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Thanks to a professor who paused the movie every five minutes to give a BTS anecdote along with giving a running commentary and a student who laughed at every other line obnoxiously loud, I cannot actually review Roman Holiday. I will try to rewatch it soon to give it another shot. All that said, this is my first Hepburn film and I can tell why she's considered an icon already. Her presence is magnetic and is really fantastic all-around. The ending was also quite lovely.

It Happened One Night is a fairly enjoyable older movie. The runtime is far too long for its plot and there are a number of scenes that could easily be excised. The romance also seems to be nonexistent until the plot requires it to be the main focus. The ending is pretty disappointing too. However, Colbert and Gable have great chemistry, the latter of which is really charming in his role. Connolly and Karns steal the show, and it's honestly rather enjoyable throughout. It Happened One Night is an alright early romantic comedy thanks to a stellar cast, despite some pacing hiccups. 3/5

Too Many Cooks is a masterpiece that holds up as incredible comedy two years after it went viral. 4.5/5

Toothless said:
Hell or High Water is a very compelling film. From the first shot to the end of the closing credits, viewers will be riveted by the saga of the Howards and the rangers. Featuring a smart script about some very dumb robbers, it manages to be many things at once: thrilling, touching, and even funny. The complexity is its greatest asset, although the cast is also excellent. Pine and Bridges are both stellar in the lead roles, and Birmingham steals the show as Bridges' partner. The weakest aspect of the movie is Ben Foster, who comes off as a generic ne'er-do-well. Mackenzie directs the film in an engrossing way, and all the technical aspects are exemplary. The best way to enjoy Hell or High Water is to go into without any knowledge of the film and be shocked on how much it captures your attention. Truly, a great work of genre cinema. 4/5
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Bridget Jones’s Diary is the type of film Hollywood doesn’t make anymore. Wonderfully low-key and with a refreshing style. Sharon Maguire directs with the energy that a teenage high school movie deserves, always moving the story on quickly, but also knowing when to pause for powerful emotional beats. Zellweger anchors the movie really well, and Grant does a great job playing a disgusting human being. Firth almost steals the show in the reserved romantic lead, although Zellweger still shines brighter than him, rightfully. Bridget Jones’s Diary is better than it has any right to be, proving once again that rom-coms shouldn’t have died out as a viable genre. There’s a real quality here, no doubt about it. 3.5/5

Yep. It's been a big month for movie-watching for me.
 
Toothless, I saw Pete's Dragon yesterday and also had a terrible audience experience, up there with when I saw Frozen in the theater. Don't know what it could be about that movie. Control ya kids ppl (i thought the movie was a borefest either way)
 
I wish I could write that much. I usually get a paragraph in and then I get bored.

Cafe Society is the second best Allen film of the decade. Mayyybe third depending on how a re-watch of Blue Jasmine goes
 
Choomp said:
Toothless, I saw Pete's Dragon yesterday and also had a terrible audience experience, up there with when I saw Frozen in the theater. Don't know what it could be about that movie. Control ya kids ppl (i thought the movie was a borefest either way)
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Kids jabbering the whole movie. Some people in the audience (not me) yelled at them; that was the best part.

swoon said:
i like the part where cafe society is the best allen, the others being magic in the moonlight and blue jasmine.
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Whoa whoa whoa, I didn't say the others were the best Allens, just the only ones I've seen. Blue Jasmine is good but Magic in the Moonlight is TERRIBLE.
 
Nice write-up Toothless, took the time to read it all. I should do the same, I'm always watching movies but never take the time to jot down my impressions.

As for reactions to your reviews, I'm surprised you liked Jason Bourne as much as you did. I thought it was offensively bad. Worst movie I've seen all year. Suicide Squad was weak as fuck, but there were certain aspects that at least made it more enjoyable than that Bourne travesty to me.

Like you said, Pete's Dragon was really special. One of the best straight up children's movies I've seen come out in a long time. And, like you, my theater experience was equally terrible. Some kids in there clearly way too young to be at any movie, asking them to be quiet and sit down for 90 minutes bring unthinkable. I was getting pretty frustrated, I just tried to keep my focus on the movie.

I liked Kubo and the Two Strings more than you did, but I see where you're coming from. The problem these Laika films have had is that their story and characters don't carry the emotional heft to really draw in the audience's investment (minus ParaNorman, the one that nailed it), especially in contrast to how magnificent the animation and direction is. I still really enjoyed it a lot.

Gonna check out Hell or High Water tomorrow. I love having two local theaters that do $5 Tuesdays. Coupled with the Tmobile Tuesday $5 Vudu credit, Tuesday has become this movie fan's favorite day of the week.
 
T Dollarz said:
Nice write-up Toothless, took the time to read it all. I should do the same, I'm always watching movies but never take the time to jot down my impressions.

As for reactions to your reviews, I'm surprised you liked Jason Bourne as much as you did. I thought it was offensively bad. Worst movie I've seen all year. Suicide Squad was weak as fuck, but there were certain aspects that at least made it more enjoyable than that Bourne travesty to me.

Like you said, Pete's Dragon was really special. One of the best straight up children's movies I've seen come out in a long time. And, like you, my theater experience was equally terrible. Some kids in there clearly way too young to be at any movie, asking them to be quiet and sit down for 90 minutes bring unthinkable. I was getting pretty frustrated, I just tried to keep my focus on the movie.

I liked Kubo and the Two Strings more than you did, but I see where you're coming from. The problem these Laika films have had is that their story and characters don't carry the emotional heft to really draw in the audience's investment (minus ParaNorman, the one that nailed it), especially in contrast to how magnificent the animation and direction is. I still really enjoyed it a lot.

Gonna check out Hell or High Water tomorrow. I love having two local theaters that do $5 Tuesdays. Coupled with the Tmobile Tuesday $5 Vudu credit, Tuesday has become this movie fan's favorite day of the week.
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Jason Bourne has grown off me a bit since I've watched it, but I still find it fairly solid. It's definitely the worst of the Damon Bourne movies, but Greengrass's direction really does make it better than a lot of the blockbusters out (definitely including Suicide Squad). That sounds like me at Pete's Dragon :( I don't know, I feel like I should give Kubo more credit but I was really hyped for it and incredibly disappointed by it. Still need to see ParaNorman. And I wish I had T-Mobile for the Tuesday thing :(
 
How To Train Your Dragon 2: I'm watching this movie, and I'm reminded of World of WarCraft if mounts were the focus. The area around them reminds me of the coast of Northrend. Berk is like a Northrend town. You could get a number of flyable dragons n the game. The Alpha Dragon looks like something you'd see in a raid.

But I digress. I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. The flying and action scenes are great. It's cool to see Hiccup's family get together again. I especially like the scenes with Hiccup and his mother flying around and showing off what they can do. The landscapes are great and imaginative, as are the dragon designs. There's a good villain that doesn't get talked out of his evil plan with The Power of Friendship.
I also was not expecting Stoick to actually die. I thought it would your typical "he's just unconscious" dramatic moment. Ultimately, it's to make room for Hiccup's place in the tribe. Speaking of, I can agree he's earned the title of Chieftain. Yes, there are more experienced people to lead, but he did bring in dragons to the tribe and teach everyone about them.
. I wonder what they'll do for the third.
 
Dear John
I'll admit I shed a little tear with the father story. Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried are not bad to look at. One to watch with your partner if you want some action just like the notebook ;)
 
Currygan said:
let me guess, Italy? Heard a lot of old school mangas have been brought over there
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Yeah, i think Spain and a couple of other Euro countries went through a similar process.
And i'm talking ofcourse they went really globally big, with the Narutos and such.
 
I feel he fulfills a very important function as the comedy side to all the drama, and the way both arcs intwine at the end is quite beautiful, thematically.
 
I started Carol a couple of times, but just haven't really felt like such a movie so I deleted it for now. It seems like it's good but really boring.
 
OCDChewie said:
I started Carol a couple of times, but just haven't really felt like such a movie so I deleted it for now. It seems like it's good but really boring.
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Carol really grabbed me last year, Cate Blanchett was just so phenomenal and the script was super engaging. Had it in my top ten.
 
The Intervention: It's The Big Chill without the soundtrack full of famous songs. Just the yuppie melodrama without any of the music that actually made The Big Chill bearable to watch. It's like they watched The Big Chill and said, let's make exactly that, but only the part about the white people eating and sniping at each other.
 
T Dollarz said:
Carol really grabbed me last year, Cate Blanchett was just so phenomenal and the script was super engaging. Had it in my top ten.
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It's the type of movie I would appreciate, and one I would have liked a lot years ago when I was more of a movie geek. My problem these days, though, is depression, and I have a hard time focusing on things. So slower movies aren't doing a lot for me.

That said, as a teen and young adult, I was really into classic movies and slower stuff, and I consider Hitchcock to be my favourite director. It's just tough these days and I hate it.

I don't doubt that it's a good movie.
 
Kajaki (a.k.a. Kilo Two Bravo)
k2b8tsqm.jpg
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Based on a true story, this is an extremely well made war movie about a group of British soldiers trapped in a minefield. Highly recommended.
 
That does sound more interesting than just 'and here's yur war'.

Rewatched the Matrix movies (1999; 2003). The first one definitely stands out as being the most designed as a movie, but the design of things (set pieces, world) in the sequels is equally interesting. I love the bug-Lovecraft combo that's going on in there with the machines, even if they are basically just excuses for action, whereas the first one used action as reward for the story.

Reading the imdb trivia makes the path towards The Matrix much more interesting as well. Switch was supposed to be a transgender in terms of self-image which is cool, but would have confusing as hell for a 90s audience. And apparently nobody understood the script, despite this pretty much being THE 90s movie in terms of style and expectations of 'cyberspace'.
That, and Skateboard Kid, of course. Can't have 90s without RADICAL! terrible VHS movies.

One thing about VHS was actually good though: it forced a strict 90 minute format since the tapes wouldn't hold much more than 90 to 120 minutes, meaning movies had to written tight and not fuck around with nonsense. Oh yeah, there is another BvS thread. That's happening here today.
It also pretty much made Syd Field into more of a guru than he maybe should have been. I mean: the three act structure is great for the action structure, but not all things. It should be no surprise that the major genre for VHS was
porn, and the other kind of
action
 
Dogma was good, probably my favorite. One of my favorite Rickman characters, certainly which is probably why.

I think a lot of Smith's 90s stuff is funny and well written and mostly well-acted.

Last batch of stuff is hard to watch, though.

I like Smith fine, he can ramble for too long on podcasts and interviews but overall he seems like a decent person. Just seems to not have a handle on what he wants to do as a filmmaker which is why his movies the past decade have been so all over the map (and none particularly good, Clerks 2 was ok I guess). I also think 90s Gen-Xers put him on a pedestal at the time and there's no way he was going to ever stay atop that and keep it up.
 
I have yet to watch a Kevin Smith movie I enjoy. Still haven't seen the first Clerks though, but I'm kinda put off by all his other stuff tbh
 
Hmm...I'd rank them from best to worst like this:

Clerks
Jay and Silent Bob
Clerks 2
Zack and Miri
Dogma
Chasing Amy
Copout
Mallrats

Did not finish Red State and have avoided Jersey Girl and Tusk. For the most part I love Smith's movies though.
 
lordxar said:
Did not finish Red State and have avoided Jersey Girl and Tusk. For the most part I love Smith's movies though.
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I haven't seen Jersey Girl or some of the other stuff he did in the 00s but I've seen Red States and Tusk. I didn't like Red State but Michael Parks is awesome in that film and he makes up for some of the dumb shortcomings but it's still pretty bad. Tusk (even with Michael Parks) is just awful. One my least favorite films that I've seen in the 2010s.
 
Finished with 'the carpenter that got away from me': Dark Star (1974)

The fuck did I just watch? With that 'alien' early on I was not expecting a comedy of sorts.

Also, lots of stuff got transferred into Alien, particularly the computer bits. Does explain why the original screenplay has a voice for Mu-Th-Ur as well. Thankfully that got removed in the process towards the movie we now know, even if O'Bannon was pretty heartbroken about all the changes.

It is fun to notice how they actually filmed the 'space' and elevator scenes though. And despite being a comedy, there is evident writing skill, even if most of the techtalk is sheer bullshit. (this happens in Alien as well, when they 'turn on artificial gravity' while they're taking off from LV-426. Like, you wouldn't need that at that moment). I will say that he almost got the age of the universe right, if the actor hadn't said '13,2 trillion years' instead of 'billion', which it is in real life (13,8 billion standardized Earth years, to be precise). But obviously planets going out of orbit and being absorbed into their host star does not cause a supernova, nor is removing them without consequence to other planets (I won't bother you with details).
Fun use of concepts though.

edit: oh, this was their student film. Huh.
 
I watched 3 films.

Jaws - Fuckin' great, obviously. A favourite of mine.

Good Morning, Vietnam! - I really liked this one. Was funny as hell and I don't think it would've worked without Robin Williams. He was killing it.

Dead Poets Society - Another Robin Williams film but with less Robin Williams than I expected. Good film and Williams was great in it. Lots of subtle acting. I liked the ending quite a bit.
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared said:
I know the feeling. I'm not nearly as articulate as I want to be.
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Same.
 
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