Rate The Last Movie You Saw.

[DoctorZaius]

A busy couple of weeks with school vacation:

Black Panther - loved it. Bought into the whole world building. I love it when I am presented with a world that I don't feel I have seen before. One of the best Marvel movies. 9/10

The Foreigner - a serious Jackie Chan romp. Predictable, but entertaining. Always fun to see Pierce Brosnan chewing up scenery. 7.5/10

Early Man - saw this one with the kids. Not as good as anything in the Wallace and Gromit canon, but some real fun. 7.5/10

The Shape of Water - Loved every minute of this. Del Toro is a visual genius. Can't wait to see how it does at the upcoming Academy Awards. 9.5/10

Three Bill Boards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri - Loved every minute of this one as well. I had avoided it because of what I perceived to be a dark story line (remember, I have daughters). I was pleasantly surprised with the moments of levity. The Academy Awards got more interesting now that I have seen two truly great movies. My one drawback with this one is that it is a bit too cliche a times. 9/10

[Still Servant]

Just got back from the AMC Best Picture Showcase. 10 hours later and I'm alive! Today was:

Phantom Thread: Liked it better than I thought, though way too long. Good performances and costume design in a twisted love story that definitely took a route I didn't see coming. And also made me really want mushrooms.

Lady Bird: Great performances from Metcalf and Ronan. Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, especially if you went to Catholic school. Pacing was a little rushy which didn't really let you linger on any scene/emotional beat too long. A little disappointed this one wasn't better (not that it was bad) considering the hype, but the mother-daughter relationship portrayed is totally spot-on.

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri: Fantastic performances all around--Rockwell and McDormand have got to be locks for the acting categories. A great story with character-driven twists and turns. Great pacing and combination of plot and character, and completely engaging throughout. I think I could've watched for another hour and been okay with that.

The Shape of Water: Beautiful art design and effects (not sure if the Creature was practical or CGI, but it was fantastic either way). Loved the performances, especially from Hawkins and Shannon (and supporting roles from Spencer and Jenkins). Overall, not as emotionally affecting as I was hoping, but had me glued to the screen the entire time).

So far the only BP noms I haven't seen are Call Me By Your Name (not playing anywhere near me, and no DVD release any time soon) and Darkest Hour (DVD 2/27!). Right now my ranking is (best to least):

1. Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. The Shape of Water
3. The Post
4. Dunkirk (this is the one that I feel will move around for me. Great on the technical aspects, exciting, great practical effects, but characterization was a little on the hallow side)
5. Lady Bird
6. Get Out
7. Phantom Thread

I haven't really hated any that I've seen, but all of them have me feeling a little frustrated. They ALL have the parts to be amazing, but each has something that keeps it from living up to its full potential, in my opinion. Someone on Twitter mentioned this year being a particularly hard crop of movies to connect to emotionally, which I feel as well. I still think Molly's Game, had it been nominated, would be my pick for BP. I enjoyed that one the most.

I think I only saw two of the BP noms last year so Oscar night wasn't as fun. I'm making up for lost time this year.

I'm glad you got to see some of the films nominated this year, Ricky. There are certainly some good ones. I still need to see Lady Bird and Darkest Hour. I won't be seeing Phantom Thread anytime soon.

[mae]

Annihilation. Just two letters: WOW. Still processing. In shock. I think.

[Still Servant]

Annihilation. Just two letters: WOW. Still processing. In shock. I think.

That's about right. Did you read my theory on the previous page yet? I'd be interested in what you think.

[mae]

I just got back from Annihilation and I loved it.

It's another one of those films that is certainly going to divide people. It's not meant for mainstream audiences and I could hear a lot of murmuring as the credits rolled. I don't blame people. Many of them forked over their hard earned cash thinking they were getting an action film in the vein of Aliens. Annihilation is not that.

I was very good about staying away from everything with this film. I barely saw a trailer and I read almost nothing. I just got back from the theater, but I'm going to take a stab at a theory I have, much like I did with Mother. I haven't read any theories or anything like that, so I could be way off.

Spoiler:

Essentially, Annihilation is an Adam and Eve story. I'll try to explain this to the best of my ability. The film starts with a meteor hitting Earth. With it is an alien lifeform. It creates a sphere that humans call The Shimmer. Inside The Shimmer life seems to be flourishing. It's like an incubator. Plants and animals alike are mutating, much like Earth did for millions of years before humans evolved.

At the center of The Shimmer is a lighthouse where there is an intelligent lifeform. The only problem is it can't leave without a human host. Lucky for these guys, humans are curious. Many of them fail before even getting to the lighthouse. Except for Kane. His DNA is literally copied by the alien lifeform and he is allowed to leave The Shimmer. One important scene is missing from the film, but it's essential.

When Kane gets back, he debriefs with Dr. Ventress, where he convinces her to send in an all female unit. Kane's wife, Lena, just so happens to volunteer to go in. Like her husband, Lena reaches the lighthouse where her DNA is also copied by the alien lifeform. She too is allowed to leave. In the end, she is reunited with her "husband". Two alien lifeforms. Freed from their incubator.

Adam and Eve.

I think that's a great read on it. On a more surface level it's all about how

Spoiler:

we are nothing but DNA and cells, and what determines that we look like a human or a plant is very minor. I wasn't too interested in the "why", why the alien lifeform came and did what it did. The movie even explicitly stated two dozen times, "I don't know" and that was the point. It was beautiful and scary at the same time. I sat there as the credits rolled and the psychedelic images swirled and couldn't even say anything to my friend who was sitting next to me. I was stunned but I wasn't sure why. I mean, it was amazing and awe-inspiring but also terrifying. I usually always sit through the credits anyway, but this time I couldn't even move after it was over. It took a minute. Then I just turned to my friend and said "Wow".

I don't know if they'll do the other two books in the series, but they're very different anyway. This is most definitely not a mainstream movie, I was actually surprised Paramount was distributing it. It will be very divisive and yes, most people leaving my theater seemed unhappy or confused. I don't blame them. I don't want to sound like I'm a super-intellectual but this is definitely not for everyone. This is not even on the level of Arrival. This is more of the level of Solaris, the original. Art-house sci-fi cinema in its purest form. It's actually what sci-fi is supposed to do, make you think and make you see things you never saw. Not huge robots fighting huge monsters.

[Heather19]

Heather, and anyone else who has read the books, I haven't read them, but I've read that a lot of people are saying the film is very different than the books.

It sounds like they left a lot out, but the spirit of the source material is still there. Hopefully that doesn't keep you from enjoying the film.

That's what I'm worried about. I really loved the book, so if it's that different, it's inevitable that I'll probably dislike the film. And that's what annoys me. If they have good source material why change it up so much. Why not just make your own film. You should read the book Mike!

[mae]

Another thing that Annihilation is dealing with on a more metaphorical level is

Spoiler:

cancer and its nature. Cancer and tumors are mentioned multiple times throughout and the alien lifeform is really acting as a cancer would. What cancer does is not intentionally evil, it's just a mutation, it's "changing" to use Lena's word. It just so happens that it's incompatible with human life. Same here.

[Randall Flagg]

Annihilation: 2/6 beers on the RFSRS


Would have been a great movie if it wasn't so boring. I love the concept, visuals, and for the most part the performances but they movie should have been cut by 20 minutes.

[Still Servant]

GAME NIGHT - 3 out of 10. I was going to give it a 2, but two remarks were ALMOST funny.

You and I just do not have the same taste in film.

I got so caught up in posting about Annihilation, that I forgot to mention that I also saw Game Night on Saturday (my first time seeing two movies in one day in a few years.)

Game Night was easily the funniest pure comedy I've seen in a few years. Maybe the best since We are the Millers. Major studio R rated comedies have been pretty few and far between recently and the few that come out have been terrible. I can't fathom anyone giving it a 3, but again, to each their own. At the very least it's the kind of harmless film you give a 6 to.

A 3? I'm honestly not sure I've ever seen a film I'd give a 3 to and I've seen some stinkers.

[Still Servant]

GAME NIGHT - 3 out of 10. I was going to give it a 2, but two remarks were ALMOST funny.

You and I just do not have the same taste in film.

I got so caught up in posting about Annihilation, that I forgot to mention that I also saw Game Night on Saturday (my first time seeing two movies in one day in a few years.)

Game Night was easily the funniest pure comedy I've seen in a few years. Maybe the best since We are the Millers. Major studio R rated comedies have been pretty few and far between recently and the few that come out have been terrible. I can't fathom anyone giving it a 3, but again, to each their own. At the very least it's the kind of harmless film you give a 6 to.

A 3? I'm honestly not sure I've ever seen a film I'd give a 3 to and I've seen some stinkers.

I find most of today's so called comedies simply awful, relying on sexual and bodily function jokes which to me are about as funny as dropping an air conditioner on an old woman's head (HAPPY GILMORE, which I despise). GAME NIGHT was at least watchable, and not repulsive, like THE BROTHERS GRIMSBY, which I (and my brother!) walked out on in pure disgust. Now, I thought THE DUKES OF HAZARD movie was pretty funny, so I don't know what that says about me, probably nothing good.

Anyway, did you stay past the credits on GAME NIGHT? There is a sequence at the very end as uproariously unfunny as the preceding movie.

Oh, boy.

I'm not sure where to go with this. You're spot on about most comedies today, which is why I enjoyed Game Night so much. It doesn't rely on raunchy humor. So we are on the same page there. You're also right about the stinger, it wasn't funny, but that's hardly a knock on the film considering it's something most people won't even see.

Then you drop the Dukes of Hazzard line. Dukes of Hazzard is literally one of the worst films released in the last 50 years and that is not hyperbole.

I'm very picky when it comes to comedies, so it's not like I love them all or something. Not that it matters, but the people in my theater all seemed to be into the film. Just the pedigree alone - McAdams, Bateman, Chandler, Plemmons, makes this more than a 3. What about a 4? Could you give it a 4 just so I can sleep tonight?

[Ricky]

By the way, I counted about 7 other people in the theater when I saw GAME NIGHT. They were ALL laughing while I sat there stone faced and wondering what was so funny.

That's like me at the end of Phantom Thread. A handful of people actually clapped and I was like, did we even watch the same movie?

For the record, I'm tentative about any R-rated comedy now. Studios realize that raunchy, language-riddled, and "pushing the envelope" with its gags is the "comedy" people will pay for now (thanks to 21 Jump Street, Baywatch, The Hangover, and others).

[allasorte]

By the way, I counted about 7 other people in the theater when I saw GAME NIGHT. They were ALL laughing while I sat there stone faced and wondering what was so funny.

That's like me at the end of Phantom Thread. A handful of people actually clapped and I was like, did we even watch the same movie?

For the record, I'm tentative about any R-rated comedy now. Studios realize that raunchy, language-riddled, and "pushing the envelope" with its gags is the "comedy" people will pay for now (thanks to 21 Jump Street, Baywatch, The Hangover, and others).

Phantom Thread was great if you have Insomnia lol. Knock you right out!

[Still Servant]

I will give it a 4, you must get your sleep! (Just 4 [get it - 4(for)], the coffee table and the TERMINATOR 2 jokes)

Comedy is a funny thing, as I'm sure someone said before(4). One person finds someone slipping on a banana peel and cracking their skull open funny, another person has a sympathetic and horrified reaction for the poor soul. I think my reaction to 'today's' (to put it broadly), type of humor started with THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, which got great reviews, even from Siskel & Ebert. Back then, I had Pay Per View, so I eagerly rented it, then sat with dawning horror that ANYONE could find this execrable excuse for a movie remotely funny in any way, shape or form imaginable. In other words, I didn't like it. I guess I'm more of the Marx Brothers, Naked Gun type of people. I also thought SNAKES ON A PLANE was hilarious. So sue me.

By the way, I counted about 7 other people in the theater when I saw GAME NIGHT. They were ALL laughing while I sat there stone faced and wondering what was so funny.

I slept like a baby last night.

What about something like Airplane? Is that your thing?

[Still Servant]

Loved AIRPLANE, jealous of the automatic pilot.

Well, thank god for that.

FIFTY SHADES FREED - 5 out of 10 (for the scenery)

Fifty Shades is rated higher than Game Night...

Oscar night is this weekend, here are my thoughts on some of the films that are nominated like The Shape of Water, Three Billboards, Call Me by your Name and The Post.

Also check out mini-reviews for some of the best films of 2018 so far like Black Panther, Annihilation and Game Night.

https://tinyurl.com/QuickFlicks18

[webstar1000]

Game Night. 5/6 beers on the RFSRS. Damn near perfect. The concept has been done before but they pulled no punches on this one (No crappy PG-13 editing).
Very dark, but laughs galore. Loved it!

Agree. LOVED IT.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Still Servant]

You should read the book Mike!

I'm hoping too! Just add it to the growing list.

I like finding stuff at second hand stores. The hunt is part of the fun. I've looked at numerous places and I cannot find Annihilation for the life of me. I've seen a shit load of Anita Shreve books though. Whoever she is.

Also, I hope you still get to see the film in theaters, it's a beautiful looking film.

[Mattrick]

Well, I was going to ask you to read The Limousine Mike, and anyone else who wants to take a gander at it. Have to read it through Google docs though, on any device basically.

[Mattrick]

Blade Runner 2049 - Just an awesome movie. It's beautiful to look at. The production design is top notch. There is obviously a fair bit of CGI but it's so well done it blends really well, especially when it comes to JOI, though I wonder how much of that was with some old fashioned trickery, especially the romancing scene. What got me after watching Blade Runner for the first time in the fall was that the story didn't really have much of an emotional hook for me, where as Blade Runner 2049 as that from start to finish and it only intensifies. I especially like the second half of the film and the turns the story takes. I thought we'd see more of Leto...so I can only assume they have a third film planned? All very good performances. If you told me that Batista was going to be in a Blade Runner sequel 15 years ago I'd have laughed in your face, but he was very good. He did not show much acting talent in WWE, at least not until the final part of his run when he finally turned heel. I was quite sad he left when he did because he was really coming into his own. I like 2049 more than the original, but I've only seen them both once.

*****



Game Night - This was just a real enjoyable film to watch. A really good ensemble cast filled out by new favourite Meth Damon and special appearance near the end of a big TV star which got a nice surprise pop out of me. What I liked about Game Night is that there weren't a lot of cheap laughs. There wasn't a bunch of gross out humour of foul language for sake of it or a bunch of physical comedy or sight gags. The comedy is mostly all in the dialogue and the acting. It's one of those movies were there's a tremendous amount of pleasure to had during pauses in dialogue with the great expressions on everyone's face. I knew the guy who played the black friend looked familiar to me, and once he did the Denzel impression it clicked because of this video.



All in all I would recommend Game Night to anyone. It's not quite the dark comedy I was expecting, but it's still a very funny and charming film. ****

[Ricky]

Well, looks like I'll have to give Game Night a shot. All the reviews I've read on here and other sites have me thinking it's not actually the film I thought it would be.

[Still Servant]

Well, I was going to ask you to read The Limousine Mike, and anyone else who wants to take a gander at it. Have to read it through Google docs though, on any device basically.

Send me the file when you get the chance.

I'm glad you enjoyed 2049 and Game Night.

I adore 2049 and I was kicking myself for not seeing it in theaters more than once. The Blu-ray is great though. It's full of special features and any cinephile would appreciate how Denis uses practical effects as much as possible. I tip my cap whenever any director goes the extra mile to do that now. Same with Miller for Mad Max.

[Ricky]

RED SPARROW - 7 out of 10, too confusing for my widdle bwain.

Aw, man. Was it? I was hoping it wouldn't be. Atomic Blonde's plot was a little too muddled for me so fingers crossed for Red Sparrow. Hoping to see it Saturday.

[Mattrick]

Phantom Thread: A very well made and well acted film. I'm a big Lesley Manville fan so I'm always happy to see her in a film...it's still a shame she wasn't nominated for Another Year. I loved the score and was my second favourite behind Desplat's amazing Shape of Water score. I liked Day-Lewis more than Oldman, but was still happy to see Oldman win an oscar. Vicky Krieps was also very good and she should definitely get more work in the future after this role. The Oedipal undertones to Phantom Thread were strong in this film, a style of storytelling that is so rarely seen these days...I'd have to look back The Sopranos find storytelling so focused on Oedipal urges. The film definitely took some odd turns near the end, but all in all I thought it was a very strong film and is probably near the bottom of my 2017 top 10 list. ****

[Ricky]

Oh man, the mushrooms (their second reappearance and the following scene) was a huge WTF moment for me.

And I thought Vicky Krieps's performance was slightly more deserving than Manville simply because Alma's role had more meat to it.

[Still Servant]

DEATH WISH (2017 copyright, 2018 release) - 9 out of 10

That's where I'd put the original. Is it as good as the original?

That's where I'd put the John Wick films. How does it match up to those?

[Mattrick]

Oh man, the mushrooms (their second reappearance and the following scene) was a huge WTF moment for me.

And I thought Vicky Krieps's performance was slightly more deserving than Manville simply because Alma's role had more meat to it.

I think that ties back to the Oepidal urges in the film and being mothered.