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Movies You've Watched Lately |OT| - 2021

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Magnolia
I tend to like artsy films but this one is just horribly pretentious. I don’t know how you can have so many big name actors yet still mess it up through mediocre writing and directing. And at 3 hours it’s just way longer than can be justified. I barely cared about any characters one way or the other. There were some good parts too but overall they are buried in my disappointment. If this wasn’t a ”classic” I wouldn’t even have finished it.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
Irresistible - 2020
This is the one written and directed by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show fame. Like his material on his old show, it largely satirizes the entire process and pageantry of politics in America. It focuses on a moneyed political operative for the DNC, a fish out of water when he travels to middle America for a task, bouncing most of its satire off his character. And as a well-off coastal liberal myself that does shit like listen to NPR podcasts in my car, that shit cut a little close to home.

It's kind of a subdued comedy drama. It's not going to for belly laughs and it certainly isn't trying to overtly political even though that's the backdrop of the story. It's OK, worth a watch if you don't mind slower moving comedies.
 
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V/H/S
A bunch of dudes break into someone's place to steal a specific VHS tape. They play five tapes which are all shown in found footage style.

I know horror films and stupid decisions are an iconic duo, but some of the decisions here are so stupid and unlikely that they take me out of it in particular setting traps for the multidimensional killer in the forest. In general the spooky stuff is just over the top and it tends to become silly rather than scary. And when they do go over the top I feel like they should just take it all the way like showing the harpy dropping him off in her nest and him trying to escape, though admittedly a more difficult and expensive thing to film. There are a number of titty shots that serve absolutely no purpose and they just make the directors come off as huge edgelords - oooh, look titties!!! But perhaps my main issue is the lack of any continuity between the segments. There are a few hints that they are connected but nothing really comes from it, and it comes at the expense of really getting to know any of the characters, and it just feels like a huge wasted opportunity.

I don't think it's complete waste. The actors generally do a pretty good job. I think the concepts for some of the segments are good, they're just lacking in execution. And the found footage style really sets the right atmosphere for me.

If you want a better horror anthology, watch Southbound instead. V/H/S is decent enough if you're just looking for anything horror, but it could have been much more. 5/10
 
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Sidney Prescott

Unconfirmed Member
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V/H/S
A bunch of dudes break into someone's place to steal a specific VHS tape. They play five tapes which are all shown in found footage style.

I know horror films and stupid decisions are an iconic duo, but some of the decisions here are so stupid and unlikely that they take me out of it in particular setting traps for the multidimensional killer in the forest. In general the spooky stuff is just over the top and it tends to become silly rather than scary. And when they do go over the top I feel like they could just take it all the way like showing the harpy dropping him off in her nest and him trying to escape, though admittedly a more difficult and expensive thing to film. There are a number of titty shots that serve absolutely no purpose and they just make the directors come off as huge edgelords - oooh, look titties!!! But perhaps my main issue is the lack of any continuity between the segments. There are a few hints that they are connected but nothing really comes from it, and it comes at the expense of really getting to know any of the characters, and it just feels like a huge wasted opportunity.

I don't think it's complete waste. The actors generally do a pretty good job. I think the concepts for some of the segments are good, they're just lacking in execution. And the found footage style really sets the right atmosphere for me.

If you want a better horror anthology, watch Southbound instead. V/H/S is decent enough if you're just looking for anything horror, but it could have been much more. 5/10
It might be worth trying the second one. I honestly thought it was a tad stronger.

Your opinion is the complete opposite of mine. I struggled to enjoy Southbound, but I thought V/H/S was awesome and better done.
 
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BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
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Better than the second, not quite as good as the original, but it was nice how all of the characters grew together. It was also a more straightforward con job, only with more moving parts. The nods to trajectories of their (Damon, Pitt, and Clooney) real lives and careers during the final scene was cool. All together though what a great short-lived franchise it was.
 
I Care A Lot

Quite possibly one of the worst movies I ever watched. The villians were comically stupid and the protagonists are incredibly unlikeable. I was actually rooting for the drug dealing, human traffickers in this movie. At least the ending was good.
 

Peggies

Gold Member
It might be worth trying the second one. I honestly thought it was a tad stronger.

Your opinion is the complete opposite of mine. I struggled to enjoy Southbound, but I thought V/H/S was awesome and better done.
True for me, the second part was even better but unfortunately the third one was shit.

Southbound was great! Can watch it again and again.
 

Peggies

Gold Member
I Care A Lot

Quite possibly one of the worst movies I ever watched. The villians were comically stupid and the protagonists are incredibly unlikeable. I was actually rooting for the drug dealing, human traffickers in this movie. At least the ending was good.
That's disappointing to hear. I haven't watched it yet but will definitely do. I love Rosamund Pike. She's actually a really good actress imo.
 
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Sidney Prescott

Unconfirmed Member
True for me, the second part was even better but unfortunately the third one was shit.

Southbound was great! Can watch it again and again.
I don't even know what Viral was supposed to be. They had such a good thing going and then they released such a cash-grab poorly thought out movie. It's a shame. The VHS series was gaining some traction as well.

I'd love to see more horror anthologies. It gives directors more freedom.
 
It might be worth trying the second one. I honestly thought it was a tad stronger.

Your opinion is the complete opposite of mine. I struggled to enjoy Southbound, but I thought V/H/S was awesome and better done.
I actually decided to rewatch Southbound because of this and yeah. Some parts are great but a lot of is pretty slow and bland. Guess that's how memory tricks you by remembering the good parts and tuning out the bad.
 
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Sidney Prescott

Unconfirmed Member
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Very good film. Would highly recommend. I have watched this a few times now, and it never fails to entertain. Personally feel this is one of the best horror adaptations out there. John Cusack puts on display a very good performance, the movie mostly focuses on him. Samuel Jackson plays a nice small part. Very tense and will for sure keep you on the edge of your seat. Nice simple concept that is just executed well.
 

NahaNago

Member
Lupin III The First
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Just got through watching it and I'd give it an A-. The movie was just fun to watch and action packed. The cg was actually pretty great and far surpassed the Earwig and the witch in the visual department. It felt like the core elements of lupin that I can vaguely remember. Originally watched it in English but ended up changing it to Japanese and liked it better that way. The vocals are far more bigger/intense in Japanese than in English. This movie gives me hope in cg anime. The last 2 I watched were kinda meh before this being the Earwig movie and the Dragonquest movie. Don't get me wrong those 2 movies weren't terrible it's just Earwig's story telling wasn't great and the visuals though alright were disappointing. Dragonquest tried to do too much in it's story . They should have kept the story to one generation and kept the story simple with hero goes on journey , teams up , and defeats demon king.
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
The Meg - only good thing about it was Rainn Wilson. god i hate Jason Statham. i had never seen him in anything before but he pissed me right off straight away. a very stupid predictable film but eh i couldn't sleep at 1AM so put it on to try pass some time. it's a decent mindless film.
 

Peggies

Gold Member
I don't even know what Viral was supposed to be. They had such a good thing going and then they released such a cash-grab poorly thought out movie. It's a shame. The VHS series was gaining some traction as well.
Yes, yes and yes! 👍
'Id love to see more horror anthologies. It gives directors more freedom.
Horror anthologies are the best! It's sad that there aren't too many really good, though. Did you try "XX"? It has some wee bit of' stupid "in your face Girlpower" but some of the stories are really cool (e.g. The Box - a story by Jack Ketchum).

And I love some of the Halloween anthologies. "Trick r' treat" or "Tales of Halloween" are great!
 

xrnzaaas

Member
The Meg - only good thing about it was Rainn Wilson. god i hate Jason Statham. i had never seen him in anything before but he pissed me right off straight away. a very stupid predictable film but eh i couldn't sleep at 1AM so put it on to try pass some time. it's a decent mindless film.
I found it hilarious that the movie featured a Chinese actress and she was talking in her native language and no one had a problem with that. I mean they're not even trying to hide that the movie was co-funded by a Chinese company and made primarily for the Chinese market.
 
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NahaNago

Member
The Meg - only good thing about it was Rainn Wilson. god i hate Jason Statham. i had never seen him in anything before but he pissed me right off straight away. a very stupid predictable film but eh i couldn't sleep at 1AM so put it on to try pass some time. it's a decent mindless film.
I agree to it being a decent mindless film as well. I do tend to enjoy these large monster movies so my expectation was already in check for the movie. I actually like Jason Statham and honestly think he would do better in those low budget B films that Nicolas Cage does all the time.
 
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Sidney Prescott

Unconfirmed Member
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Feels so good to watch one of my all-time favourite movies in higher quality. The upgrade from the DVD version is very nice.

I don't know how this movie still manages to make me feel tension even when I know all of the twists coming up. Just a sign of a brilliant movie really.
 

NahaNago

Member
I watched Mojin the Lost Legend

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The movie was barely alright. I felt bad for the comedic guy in the trio of main characters. He didn't get no love from both the female love interests. The story is about some grave robbers who go back to the place where 2 of the main male characters lost this woman they were both interested in. The chemistry between the characters wasn't that great in my opinion especially the female lead. She was just cold and boring. The movie becomes worst the more that I think about it. All of the ideas used like a rich organization exploring an ancient tomb, the broken male lead and the old love interest who is far more put together and succesful, plus the comedy relief friend are just off in this movie. The visuals in the movie are okay with plenty of cg monsters and landscapes. The movie is still enjoyable to watch for the most part just not something I would recommend. I'd give this rating a C+ . I did watch/skim through the sequel Mojin the Worm Valley but was immediately turned off by the fact that all of the characters were played by someone else. It used tons more cg in this film and dialed up the fantasy elements by at least 10 times. Won't give a rating on this one since I fast forwarded the movie several times.
 
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Mr Hyde

Member
Evil Dead Remake

I usually find most remakes to be extremely unnecessary, bad and boring. Fortunately this remake on the classic Evil Dead is very good. If we put aside the fact that nothing will ever top Ash, he's just to iconic to be replaced, the new set of characters fill the void very well. In that they are as bland as the original cast, that is.

The plot follows the original somewhat loosely. In this remake, a bunch of young adults goes to a remote cabin to help their drug addicted friend go cold turkey but instead hell is let loose upon them when one of the kids find the Necronomicon in the basement. What's interesting here is the use of a clever plot device, in using the main heroines drug addiction as a metaphor for the demon that possess her and wreaks havoc.

Evil Dead is ridiculously gory, moreso than the original, which was pretty over the top with its gore as well for its time. It's probably one of the most graphic and violent films I've watched as of lately. Outstanding effects and makeup, it's just relentless in how far they were willing to go with all the carnage. The filmmakers even had the balls to replicate the infamous tree rape scene from the original, which Sam Raimi himself regretted inserting years after the movies release.

It's rare to see a good remake like this of a beloved classic. Of course it doesn't hold a candle to OG Evil Dead, but as a remake and homage it's very well made, beautifully shot and edited, and it respects the source material well enough to earn its place in the Evil Dead franchise.
 

Valonquar

Member
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This movie was enjoyable for what it was: a low budget cringe-fest gaming nostalgia movie with more "hey it's THAT guy from that other thing." than you can shake a stick at.

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This is one I went in with low expectations and enjoyed a lot. It's also lowish\median budget, but has a fun Groundhog Day premise with lots of gratuitous violence and a decent sense of humor.

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This movie started off fairly cookie cutter for a kids go in the woods and die sort of flick, but then it keeps going. I kept thinking the movie was over and then it kept going. The scene that plays as the credits start to roll made me laugh.

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Watched this last weekend. It was stupid. Kept expecting there to be more depth or backstory at all to Cage's character at all. Was he a robot, or did Cage just agree to show up for a weekend of filming if he had no lines?

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It's bad. So bad it somehow goes to good and then back to bad again. It's also in Italian and the subs are shit. At least 5 times you will exclaim "What the fuck am I watching."
 
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Mr Hyde

Member
Versus

Do you remember Ruyhei Kitamura? No? He directed the now infamous cut scenes in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for GameCube. And then he directed this b-movie, a Japanese shlock samurai gore fest.

I bought this DVD in the early 2000. I was maybe 20-21 at the time and I managed to snag an unrated, uncut Tartan Asia Extreme edition, which I thought was very cool (around this time it was difficult to import movies from the UK without them being completely butchered).

When I first saw it, I loved the movie. It had cool fighting sequences, ultra violence and loads of gore. Fast forward today and I do not know what the fuck I was smoking back then. Versus is Uwe Boll level of trash. Kitamura tries his damn hardest to make the movie look cool. He loves his 360 shots (so much even Michael Bay would be impressed), employs MTV-epileptic editing in every fight scene trying to capture that slick Matrix-feel, and uses countless buckets of blood. Unfortunately everything fails spectacular and the movie just comes off as corny and dull.

The paperthin plot is just an excuse to get the action going. It's fast paced to a fault, it never let's up and explores anything of interest. The characters are boring with most of them playing crazy nut jobs that exist to fill up the body count.

I guess Versus is a cult movie today going by the reactions on the internet, but I think it's just extremely bland and forgettable. It's Japanese bizarro mixing multiple genres, but not in a good or fun way that some these movies tend to be.
 
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Peggies

Gold Member
I watched "I Care a lot" on Netflix and it was easiest one of the most idiotic movies I've ever seen.

I mean it was like that "Bugsy Malone" movie where all the actors were kids but here they used women instead (and some men to show that a character is dumb). The main character is a huge asshole but Netflix sells her as this great heroin we should root for because, she's a brave and stunning woman.

Is that how movies will be in the woke future?
 

GeekyDad

Member
I watched "I Care a lot" on Netflix and it was easiest one of the most idiotic movies I've ever seen.

I mean it was like that "Bugsy Malone" movie where all the actors were kids but here they used women instead (and some men to show that a character is dumb). The main character is a huge asshole but Netflix sells her as this great heroin we should root for because, she's a brave and stunning woman.

Is that how movies will be in the woke future?
Rosamund Pike seems like a modern-day Glenn Close. I'm not sure if I don't like her, the characters she plays, or just the movies she's been in, or all/some of those things (similarly to Close over the years). But there it is...

I've seen a review of the movie, and it didn't seem like something I wanted to sit through.
 

Peggies

Gold Member
Rosamund Pike seems like a modern-day Glenn Close. I'm not sure if I don't like her, the characters she plays, or just the movies she's been in, or all/some of those things (similarly to Close over the years). But there it is...

I've seen a review of the movie, and it didn't seem like something I wanted to sit through.
I actually really like Rosamund and I loved "Gone Girl" - both book and movie but that story was much deeper and had something to tell, other than
girls girl power GIF
 

Mr Hyde

Member
Dellamorte Dellamore

Another weird movie I found in my collection. It's a zombie flick about a cemetery caretaker who tries to get his life in order while working the graveyard shift at the local cemetery. At night the dead rises and he has to kill them by shooting them in the head.

The movie is a collaboration between the UK and Italy. One of the producers is actually Silvio Berlusconi himself, the former president of Italy. The copy I have is apparently from Germany and I have absolutely no memory of buying this film. I've been to Germany a couple of times so maybe I bought it there, I don't know. Was a huge movie collector in my younger days and I had a habit of picking up strange and rare movies, usually horror films from the shadiest parts of Europe.

Dellamorte Dellamore tries to be more artistic than the average zombie film. It has some decent performances, pretty good cinematography and the plot is very surreal and kinda thought provoking for a splatter film. My biggest gripe with the movie is the gore, it's not very creative. It's usually a gun shot to the head or a shovel. It gets kinda boring after a while. A gory zombie movie needs creative kills to be fun, imo. But this is more of a drama with the zombies acting more in the background.

All in all, it's pretty mediocre aside from some entertaining scenes and set pieces. Will not watch again.
 

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
Tom an Jerry with my children.

The movie had some genuinely funny parts, but was overall not very good. The thing that really stands out is how bad an actor Colin Jost is. Every scene he is in he sticks out as being awkward and terrible. But for free on HBO the movie was worth watching my kids laugh.
 

belmarduk

Member
So...
Coming 2 America is releasing on Prime in a few days.
I absolutely loved Coming to America. One of the best movies of ever.
Is there an example of a sequel coming out well after the original film ever actually being... good?
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
Watched recently:

Capone - shite but loved Tom Hardy's performance. only watched it cause he was in it
Escape from Pretoria - was an alright film. only watched it cause of Daniel Radcliffe.
Titanic - little cousin had homework with a Titanic story in it and wanted to watch the film.
I care a lot - seemed interesting at first but ended up shite

i've still to watch:

ophelia - daisy ridley <3
black bear - aubrey plaza <3
saint maud - seen some people recommended it so gonna give it a shot
leave no trace - again seen it recommended

gonna rewatch:

as above so below
the neon demon
 
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AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
So...
Coming 2 America is releasing on Prime in a few days.
I absolutely loved Coming to America. One of the best movies of ever.
Is there an example of a sequel coming out well after the original film ever actually being... good?
I thought the New Blade Runner was pretty good. Not as good as the original, but still an interesting tale.

Also Avengers Infinity war took a long time to come out after Iron man. Both good.
 

GeekyDad

Member
Just finished the Hot Coffee documentary

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Good watch. Lots of interesting clarifications of law regarding civil suits. Of course, the closing offers easy answers, and I don't believe there are any easy answers. But I appreciate where the movie's heart is at.
 

bitbydeath

Gold Member
The Meg - only good thing about it was Rainn Wilson. god i hate Jason Statham. i had never seen him in anything before but he pissed me right off straight away. a very stupid predictable film but eh i couldn't sleep at 1AM so put it on to try pass some time. it's a decent mindless film.
Have you seen Crank?
Those movies are amazing.

Edit: I guess not since you said you haven’t seen him in anything before. Go watch Crank.
 
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GreenAlien

Member
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It was terrible.. but I guess it also qualified as an experience? Maybe?

It's tagged as "Scifi" on imdb for some reason, but there is nothing scifi about it and the film was probably just made as an excuse to trick some women into baring their tits.

Anyway, it's about Bigfoot.. hooking up with lesbians, stealing underwear and being hunted by morons.

Here is what one of the imdb user had to say about it :messenger_grinning_squinting:
Nearly ended my life.
jammin_jam12 May 2017

Words cannot sufficiently describe the physical agony I encountered after surviving this putrid creation. After a 37 hour period of stasis, I finally mustered the strength to move. I went on with my life. Hoping that someday I could find happiness, and forget about this "film". However, I have learned that some wounds never heal. I am lost. I write this review in an attempt to warn potential victims.
 
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BlueAlpaca

Member
I Care A Lot- Ideological garbage. Critics like this movie so they can write 'late-stage capitalism' in their reviews and look smart to their fellow morons.

The Dig - Beautiful, haunting, and fairly depressing.
 
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