Was trying to decide between that, Knives Out, or The Turning for tomorrow.
Was trying to decide between that, Knives Out, or The Turning for tomorrow.
A NEW GAME BEGINS
Took the kids to Frozen 2 the other day. Does that count? It was, um, okay...
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Ended up going with The Turning. I was in the mood for a turn-your-brain-off schlocky kind of horror film. I knew exactly what it was going to be before I walked in, so I wasn't let down by its extreme blandness. But that ending...what the hell were they thinking? Super abrupt and poorly executed. It's like they just chopped off the last ten minutes. The lady next to me actually said, "What the hell?" Anyway, the performances were good so I guess that counts for something.
A NEW GAME BEGINS
I'm going to see 1917 again this week, this time in IMAX. I'm mildly curious about Rabid as well. Rewatching Joker tomorrow night.
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Mercy..... so good. Very powerful. 7.5/10
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Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
Gotta tell ya, I am a little more than half way through The Irishman, and I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. Definitely not loving it. My biggest distraction is the de-aging. The faces don't look natural at all and what is most distracting is that when they are younger, they still walk/carry themselves like they are all in their 70s, which they are. I'm certainly gonna finish it, but a Best Picture nominee it's not, at least so far.
I thought the deaging was less noticeable as the film progressed.
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Luce
2019 is the gift that just keeps on giving. Luce had a really strong festival run early in 2019, but the film never seemed to get a larger release. Luce stars Tim Roth and Naomi Watts, two Funny Games alum reuniting. My guess as to the reason it didn't get a wide release is the film is kind of hard to pin down in terms of the kind of film it is. It doesn't really fit well into any genre. I don't want to give too much away because I think it's really worth a watch.
The standout for me was Kelvin Harrison Jr., a relative unknown who gives one of the stronger performances of the year. Harrison also appeared in Waves, another festival darling that I haven't seen just yet. The film also stars Octavia Spencer.
Luce deals with a bunch of different themes, the most obvious is about race and how as a society we put people into boxes. The film also deals with the unfair pressures some minorities are burdened with in trying to overcome.
Luce is on Hulu, check it out.
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I enjoyed Joker more the second time through. Somehow Joker manages to be both over criticized and over appreciated.
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I appreciated it a lot more on second watch as well. Masterpiece might be too strong a word but dammit if it doesn't knock at the door.
Birds of Prey... silly. Just silly... over the top and cheesy dialogue used OVER AND OVER again. The group we went with hated it. There was some aspects I liked but not enough to save it. 5/10 for me... was going to say 6 but when I woke up today it dropped.
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Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
I wish I had my money back. It was so bad... SO Bad. I may even lower my score over time as I think about how I was robbed of my $ by seeing this. lol I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEY HAVE GOOD REVIEWS. Wait, yes I do... its Hollywood praising the all girl team up shit because that is what is being shoved down our throats now. I just think to my self.. look at these movies.. they are bombing!! Terminator could have been a good movie. You had Sarah Conor back for fuck sakes!!!! Instead we are forced to believe a small Mexican girl is going to save the world with her toughness. Anyways, I digress... studios will realize this shit soon though. This movie will not do well.
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Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
No I have not read the comics. Magot is good and that is how I would expect Harley to act... it just doesnt stop the fact that I find it annoying though. And I am not so sure I am in the minority. I was with 6 other guys that went. NOT ONE liked it. Some sincerely hated it. WE were 70% of the audience AND it the best theater in this location. Audience score is also 600 people... lets see what takes place over the next week. I will A) be shocked if we get another movie with her as main , B) this makes a lot of money, C) everyone likes it. There was at LEAST 70% full theater for Bad Boys (which was well done by the way!) and that was 2 weeks after it opened. SORRY... I REALLY did want to like this. I went in so positive after the good reviews and by the end I could not wait for it to end.
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Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
Funny thing is, I told my wife that we would see it but something told me deep down that it would be really bad.
On another note:
Gretel & Hansel - Not great but not hateful. Beautiful imagery just not a lot of story to go with it. Simple story like the fairy tale, just think darker. 3.5/6
Last Christmas - Best Xmas movie ever. Daenarys is so pretty. Twist on a romantic comedy. Very fun and lovable characters. 5/6
Playin' With Fire - John Cena and kids= Disney type fare. Fun and predictable. 4/6
Wish List:
Any of the following flatsigned or inscribed-
It, Shining, Salem’s Lot, Mr. Mercedes, The Stand
Brother ARC, Seed ARC
RE Birds of Prey: That's disheartening to hear. One thing I constantly harp on is the fact that the RT% as we know it is just an extremely simplified binary system of 'Liked it/Did Not Like It'. There are miles of gray in between. The average score per review is probably a better indicator of the quality. It's at 6.87/10 as right now.
Quinn is literally meant to be the most obnoxious character in DC with a pinch (or handful) of murdering psychopath. Like, you really can't complain about that.
Full disclosure: I have zero interest in the movie because even the previews looked like caca and you'd have to pay me, buy me popcorn and an XL Coke and I'd still probably say no. Just so you don't think I'm singling you out.
As for the movies with female leads bombing/Being bad, I'd rather watch Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman than all Thors, all but one Spiderman, all Hulks, both Ant-Man movies, Aquaman, Justice League, Suicide Squad, fucking Shazam and whatever third-tier superhero movie is being made rn. And is a 14-year-old boy as the world's saviour really that much more believable than a 14-year-old girl? I dont get the logic here.
Variety is good. If I ask my daughter if she wants to go see Wonder Woman or Aquaman, what do you think she'll choose?
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RT should be a barometer of opinion with as simple a point as this: it helps answer the question "should I see this?" Unsure about a new flick? Well, 85% of critics liked it. RT being a barometer of quality, as many people see it, is just ridiculous. The audience score for any movie is totally unreliable. It's a low threshold for what is considered fresh/rotten by a critic, and if the score is low enough they get to pick themselves. It's as arbitrary as it gets.
Metacritic is more accurate IMO. It's currently at 60 out of 100 with a userscore of 6.1 of 10.
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Just asked this about Locke and Key, but anything too bad in Harley Quinn? For example, the only thing I had a small problem with Rose seeing in Suicide Squad was the torture/electroshock scenes. Not the worst, but a little too brutal for my then five-year old.
It's rated R, so probably.
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