Rate The Last Movie You Saw.

[Still Servant]

Yay! I'm so glad you made it back to the theater.

[fernandito]

So me and 15 co workers rented a private auditorium to see Godzilla vs King Kong for $150. With fees or w/e it's going to be about $10 and change.

An entire auditorium to ourselves! I'm sure they'll shut this program down once things open back up again, but for now we're going to take advantage of this deal for as long as we can!

[webstar1000]

Have Nobody booked Friday AND Godzilla next Wednesday............... YES MOVIES ARE BACK BABY.

[Iwritecode]

Watched The Dead Don't Die the other day. Stars Bill Murray and Adam Driver. I didn't really know much about it other than the one trailer I had watched previously. I was thinking it would be along the lines of Shaun of the Dead in a zombie/comedy movie. I was wrong. It was awful.

30 minutes of nothing happening, then 5 minutes of action. Then another 30 minutes of nothing. Then the last half of the movie there is quite a bit of action but no real explanation for anything. Also somehow aliens are involved.

There's a hint at a small "twist" in the first few minutes that's really more of a 4th wall break.

Overall I'd give it a 1 out of 4 zombies. Would not recommend.

[Garrell]

Watched The Dead Don't Die the other day. Stars Bill Murray and Adam Driver. I didn't really know much about it other than the one trailer I had watched previously. I was thinking it would be along the lines of Shaun of the Dead in a zombie/comedy movie. I was wrong. It was awful.

30 minutes of nothing happening, then 5 minutes of action. Then another 30 minutes of nothing. Then the last half of the movie there is quite a bit of action but no real explanation for anything. Also somehow aliens are involved.

There's a hint at a small "twist" in the first few minutes that's really more of a 4th wall break.

Overall I'd give it a 1 out of 4 zombies. Would not recommend.

I didn't even finish it. I was excited by the trailer and the people in it.

[Iwritecode]

Watched The Dead Don't Die the other day. Stars Bill Murray and Adam Driver. I didn't really know much about it other than the one trailer I had watched previously. I was thinking it would be along the lines of Shaun of the Dead in a zombie/comedy movie. I was wrong. It was awful.

30 minutes of nothing happening, then 5 minutes of action. Then another 30 minutes of nothing. Then the last half of the movie there is quite a bit of action but no real explanation for anything. Also somehow aliens are involved.

There's a hint at a small "twist" in the first few minutes that's really more of a 4th wall break.

Overall I'd give it a 1 out of 4 zombies. Would not recommend.

I didn't even finish it. I was excited by the trailer and the people in it.

Same. There were actually a lot of A-list actors in it but they didn't really get to do much.

[Still Servant]

It's directed by Jim Jarmusch. He's kind of an acquired taste.

[Ricky]

So me and 15 co workers rented a private auditorium to see Godzilla vs King Kong for $150. With fees or w/e it's going to be about $10 and change.

An entire auditorium to ourselves! I'm sure they'll shut this program down once things open back up again, but for now we're going to take advantage of this deal for as long as we can!

That sounds awesome! I don't think I know 15 people in my real life who would be down for Godzilla vs. Kong.

[Still Servant]

So me and 15 co workers rented a private auditorium to see Godzilla vs King Kong for $150. With fees or w/e it's going to be about $10 and change.

An entire auditorium to ourselves! I'm sure they'll shut this program down once things open back up again, but for now we're going to take advantage of this deal for as long as we can!

That sounds awesome! I don't think I know 15 people in my real life who would be down for Godzilla vs. Kong.

Same! I'm not sure I know 15 people who would want to go to the movies even before the virus.

[St. Troy]

It's directed by Jim Jarmusch. He's kind of an acquired taste.

Is that the guy Elaine dated?

[webstar1000]

Omf.
BAD TRIP on Netflix is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in years. 9/10.... what a brilliant comedy.

NOBODY. I wouldn’t tell John Wick to best it...but I’d tell him to take a watch. Saul... hard to believe it’s the actor who plays him. The soundtrack, the movie, the action... loved every minute of this. A bit artsey at times but it totally worked! 9/10 as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ricky]

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

It's not typically the kind of film I'd seek out but the Oscar buzz and nominations made me check it out. It's based on the play by August Wilson and while I'm not a big fan of plays, I can appreciate that sometimes staging a film like a play can work to its advantage by giving the viewer the feeling that they're a fly on the wall, observing characters, scenes, and secrets.

Ma Rainey is definitely staged like a play, with the majority of the film comprised of lengthy scenes in the same three or so rooms of the recording studio where "Mother of the Blues" Ma Rainey (who I learned was, in fact, a real person) is making a new record. This stylistic choice is beneficial to doing some of the things it sets out to do, like bringing us closer to the characters and anchoring us to one location, but it's almost too contained--to the point of being claustrophobic (which could absolutely be what director George C. Wolfe was going for, but it didn't work for me).

Despite some successful production design and costuming, Viola Davis is the real draw here and gives a great performance as Ma Rainey. However, throughout the film I got the feeling that she (and the screenplay) only scratched the surface of Ma's character. It seems like there's so much more to tell, so it's baffling why there's not more of her. Ma Rainey's name is in the title of the film, but it goes many lengthy scenes without her being mentioned or appearing. Instead, there's a large focus placed on her bandmates. Ranging from the pragmatic Cutler to the naïve and high-dreaming Levee (Chadwick Boseman), they're given just enough details to flesh them out, though it's Levee who has the meatiest role. Chadwick Boseman gives a good performance here (his last on screen performance, it would turn out) as the tormented trumpeter who's determined to make a name for himself. It's a good part and Boseman puts a lot of raw emotion into it, but if I had watched it without knowing he was nominated for an Oscar for the role, I wouldn't have thought it anything remarkable.

The film is only one hour and thirty minutes, but the lengthy, tangential, and occasionally irritating monologues slow down the pace. As smart as the language and passionate as the performances, it just reminds you that people don't talk that way in real life. There's also an incredibly jarring scene in the film's final few minutes that is shocking in its violence and doesn't feel completely earned.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom didn't receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, and it's not hard to see why. The story just isn't robust enough. There's enough good material in August Wilson's play and the real-life story of Ma Rainey herself to make for a compelling biopic, but shackling the film to the framework and staging of its play source material keep it from elevating it to greatness.

[Still Servant]

Nice review, Ricky and I feel very much the same way. My other issue was I didn't think the ending fit well with the narrative.

I would say it's a great companion piece with One Night in Miami which also felt like a stage play.

[Ricky]

Thanks, Mike! I checked out RT after I watched it and was surprised to see the critic reviews were pretty enthusiastically positive.

[DoctorZaius]

Nice review, Ricky and I feel very much the same way. My other issue was I didn't think the ending fit well with the narrative.

I would say it's a great companion piece with One Night in Miami which also felt like a stage play.

I would argue that the true companion pieces are Fences, and a Hallmark Hall of Fame version of The Piano Lesson. August Wilson is one of the great American playwrights of this century. Wilson's decology, often referred to as The Century Cycle, is series of 10 plays all set in Pittsburgh, that collectively present aspects of the African American experience decade by decade. It's a marvelous achievement that Denzel Washington has made a mission out of as he plans to produce a film of each one. The first two he produced are Fences and Ma Rainey. Next up is his film version of The Piano Lesson starring Samuel Jackson and Washington's son, John David Washington (Tenet & Ballers) - preceding the film is a planned broadway run with the same actors (I can't wait to see this) - the Hallmark version of The Piano Lesson starring Charles Dutton and Alfre Woodard is great, but it does have that Hallmark feeling. If it sounds like I am excited, it's because I just finished teaching The Piano Lesson to my sophomores. I hear the frustrations of the adherence to the original source material and how it feels like a play, but I can't help but think that is very much a part of Washingon's overall intent.

[Still Servant]

I really enjoyed Nobody. It's certainly not anything that we haven't seen before, but it's Bob Odenkirk's performance that really elevates the film. Nobody is written and produced by some of the same guys who brought us John Wick and it shows. The film really feels like a John Wick film. It's light on story and the action is often shot wide and uncut.

Nobody could have used a little bit of a beefed-up role for the villain. It would have been nice if he was fleshed out a little bit more. Regardless, this is Bob Odenkirk's film and he's amazing as a regular guy who just happens to have all the skills of your everyday action hero. In some ways, his performance feels a little like Michael Douglas in Falling Down. Odenkirk's Hutch is a seemingly normal guy who keeps getting pushed to the brink, very much like Douglas in Falling Down. The main difference is that Hutch has the ability to be very, very dangerous.

The film is set up for a sequel and I for one would be more than happy if this turns into a franchise.

[Randall Flagg]

Saw Nobody yesterday and rather enjoyed it. Dark humour played against some ingeniously choreographed fight scenes made for great entertainment.



I give it 5/6 beers on the RFSRS

[Ricky]

I watched Swallow recently which I absolutely loved and would consider one of the best I've seen in a while. I was expecting something more horror-y and outlandish, but it was very grounded while still maintaining incredible suspense and story progression in a lean and mean 90 minutes. Highly recommended.

And also...

Mank

I’ll preface this review by saying that I’ve never seen Citizen Kane (gasp!)

Mank is the story of Herman Mankiewicz, a prominent Old Hollywood screenwriter arguably most famous for Citizen Kane, which many film critics and historians cite as the greatest film of all time. While Mank’s writing of Kane is the backdrop of the film, little focus is paid to his actual writing process. This is a shame, since it would’ve allowed the audience more insight into his psyche than we were given. (Plus, I’m always into movies about writers and the process of writing.) Instead, director David Fincher chooses to focus a large portion of the film on the governmental and Hollywood studio politics of the 1930s, which I found hard to care about and be fully invested in, especially since the characters involved in the political arguments, sandals, and intrigue weren’t fully realized.

While the film is decidedly focused on Mank, he really isn’t given the chance to develop as a character despite a fully committed performance from the always reliable Gary Oldman. As the alcoholic Mankiewicz finds himself battling with political and professional adversaries in his personal life, there’s more than enough fertile ground for creating drama and high stakes. However, the narrative structure is so jumpy as it flashes back to events in Mankiewicz’s past that slow down the film and really don’t serve a greater purpose. I understand that Fincher’s intent was to mirror the jumping-around-in-time aspect of Citizen Kane—and in that respect he succeeds—but it really doesn’t work here to propel the narrative or allow us to get fully invested in any of the characters. The pieces are there but they remain jumbled instead of clicking together.

The rest of the performances are fine (though not of the flashy Oscar-bait variety as some of the others in this year’s crop of nominees), with the other standout being Amanda Seyfried as actress Marion Davies. But despite the clear acting chops on display, the performances can’t make up for a poor screenplay without true character arcs or growth. I suppose you could argue that Mank going from not caring about receiving screenwriting credit for Kane at the beginning of the film to desiring it at the end counts as growth, but even then it’s flimsy.

I will say that Fincher did a good job making Mank look and feels like a film straight out of the 1930s, with great attention to detail paid to production design, sound, and costuming. It’s also a handsome looking film, with deep blacks and sharp, crisp whites. Unfortunately, though, Mank is another film in this year’s batch of Oscar-nominated films that I’d qualify as Just Okay. There’s solid source material and the framework of interesting characters, but little attention is paid to developing them into fully realized people or creating an engaging plot with real stakes.

While some viewers will no doubt be swept away by the film’s Old Hollywood charm and technical successes, solid production values can’t make up for a poor story. Had Mankiewicz himself written the film, I wonder if he would be so eager to take credit?

6/10

[Heather19]

I’ll preface this review by saying that I’ve never seen Citizen Kane (gasp!)

Ricky... This needs to be rectified immediately

[Ricky]

I did add it to my Netflix queue after I watched Mank, so that's a step in the right direction, right?

[Heather19]

It's a good step, but you should bump it up to the top of the list

[webstar1000]

Is Citizen Kane good and would I enjoy it if I’m not a fan of older movies? I find the way they are filmed jarring and I’m not a fan but I know this is considered one of the greatest of all time.

[Mattrick]

Is Citizen Kane good and would I enjoy it if I’m not a fan of older movies? I find the way they are filmed jarring and I’m not a fan but I know this is considered one of the greatest of all time.

Citizen Kane fucking great. It's not just great, it's fuckingly so. It's way before it's time

[Heather19]

I agree, although I'm not sure if you'll enjoy it. Mike might be a better judge. I definitely think it's worth a watch though, just for the filmmaking alone. The way the shots are composed, the cinematography... It's such a beautiful film. And I would argue that it is the best film ever made.

[mae]

I’m very curious to see how Citizen Kane wil fare in our tournament when the time comes for it.