The Movie Preview, Review, & Recommendation Thread pt. II

[formby002]

Ford vs Ferrari, think they nailed the Italian and American corporate/industrialist look, culture and rivalry very well.

Christian Bale's accent was a bit strange and his melanoma looking spot on the top of his nose is unsightly. Surely he can get rid of that ugly looking thing?

Caitriona Balfe's accent had me perplexed, brummie, scouse?

I watched that at the Pictures, enjoyed it. Bale did struggle at times with the Brummie accent which surprised me...

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

Knives Out with Daniel Craig. His eyes always look like a piss head's to me. His fake US southern drawl was pretty laboured. Toni Collette is another one in desperate need of some Botox, her face looks like a smoked haddock now. Jamie Lee Curtis looks 10 years older than her age. In the age of high definition televisions, you need to keep yourself young and beautiful if you want to be loved on the small screen. Script and direction very good.

 

[Journeyman]

Toni Collette is another one in desperate need of some Botox, her face looks like a smoked haddock now.

No, please no. I think that Toni Collette is ageing well. Yes, she has some wrinkles and laugh lines, but I prefer people to look natural rather than having a frozen, deer-in-the-headlights look. It's even worse if they have various bits of their face, particularly lips, plumped up as they often end up looking eerily artificial.

 

[güero]

Although I shouldn't care about the paltry money it takes to stream it I was wondering if it was on the level of Inception (which I enjoyed) or Dunkirk (which I found was a bit drawn out and drab).

I still haven't seen Dunkirk, but I guess it's more Inception - just not as well thought through... It's certainly worth watching.

 

[ter1413]

Another VERY good British series!

Back in the 70's, a maniac was murdering women in the Yorkshire area and the police were stumped. Was it a local? Was it someone who hated "ladies of the night"? Was it someone passing through the area?

This 3+ hour series took me along for a ride as the police seem to botch the investigation as more and more women are killed.

This review isn't about that. It's about the acting/dramatization and overall quality of this program. This is good stuff. It's not a who-dun-it....but a solid crime drama.

My 2nd or 3rd time watching.

4/5.

 

[ter1413]

A day at the beach turns into tragedy for one family. Their young daughter goes missing and she/her body isn't found.

Years later, the mom and dad are both still secretly dealing with the loss. While out one day at the mall, the mom thinks she sees a girl(now 14) that is her daughter. Is she sure/unsure? Well...this has happened time and time again. She returns to the mall the following day and the girl and her friends appear.

The mom follows her home and confronts the girl/family and then goes to the authorities.

The young girl is torn. Is this her real family, or is the family that she has known since she was young her real family?

Good acting all around in this gripping flick. It captures the feelings of the current family and the "other" family.

Def worth a watch. I found this on Youtube.

4/5.

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

No, please no. I think that Toni Collette is ageing well. Yes, she has some wrinkles and laugh lines, but I prefer people to look natural rather than having a frozen, deer-in-the-headlights look. It's even worse if they have various bits of their face, particularly lips, plumped up as they often end up looking eerily artificial.

They can do, but a little bit here and there.

Another one who hasn't aged well is Sherilyn Fenn. She looks dreadful in Goliath.

 

[ter1413]

Sir Sean gets the brilliant idea to rob a moving train of it's load in gold. The issue? How!

He recruits Donald S, who is a master lock-cracker/key maker, and the 2 start plotting the steps needed to get it done.

They need to get copies of 4 keys that are never stored together, get on the train, get off the train.....while dealing with heavy security, turncoats and train officials who have an inkling that a heist may be in the works.

Of course Sir Sean has a lady friend helping. The absolutely gorgeous Lesley-Anne Down plays said lady friend. He also recruits some other culprits to help out with certain aspects of the heist.

Take a LITTLE bit of The Sting, mix it with certain aspects of Ocean's Eleven, and you have this Michael Crichton directed/written solid flick.

It ISN'T The Sting...which is in my all time top 5...and it isn't Ocean's Eleven....but it holds up.

3.8/5.

 

[ter1413]

Another one who hasn't aged well is Sherilyn Fenn. She looks dreadful in Goliath.

Back in the day.....these 3 could anchor my team any day!

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

Sir Sean gets the brilliant idea to rob a moving train of it's load in gold. The issue? How!

He recruits Donald S, who is a master lock-cracker/key maker, and the 2 start plotting the steps needed to get it done.

They need to get copies of 4 keys that are never stored together, get on the train, get off the train.....while dealing with heavy security, turncoats and train officials who have an inkling that a heist may be in the works.

Of course Sir Sean has a lady friend helping. The absolutely gorgeous Lesley-Anne Down plays said lady friend. He also recruits some other culprits to help out with certain aspects of the heist.

Take a LITTLE bit of The Sting, mix it with certain aspects of Ocean's Eleven, and you have this Michael Crichton directed/written solid flick.

It ISN'T The Sting...which is in my all time top 5...and it isn't Ocean's Eleven....but it holds up.

3.8/5.

It's a great film and Lesley-Anne Down is indeed drop-dead gorgeous. And she has aged rather splendidly.

 

[formby002]

Back in the day.....these 3 could anchor my team any day!

A trio of lovelies there...

I recognise Fenn (middle) who are the other beauties?

 

[ter1413]

A trio of lovelies there...

I recognise Fenn (middle) who are the other beauties?

Lara Flynn Boyle on the left and Madchen Amick on the right. All from the show Twin Peaks.

 

[formby002]

Lara Flynn Boyle on the left and Madchen Amick on the right. All from the show Twin Peaks.

Oh God, of course!!!

Amick is gorge!!!, specially with her hair up.

They're all lovely though to be honest.

 

[ter1413]

Working late one night, mid level employee(Cooper) witnesses a robbery at the company. He testifies at the trial of another employee and the jury convicts. All is well...or is it?

A few years later, Cooper's character is now able to invest in some real estate and start a business with a shadowy partner. Cooper's wife is enjoying their newfound riches, but slowly starts to question where that original seed money came from and if an innocent man is sitting where her husband should be.

Cooper feigns innocence, all the while doing/saying things that has his wife even more suspicious. As she pushes to confirm, one way or another, his actions seem to give her no choice as to what really happened.

This had potential. It really did. It just lacked something that could have pushed it from an "eh" movie to a pretty good one.

2/5.

 

[ter1413]

Set in Chicago/mid 60's....this brilliant tale follows 4 high school seniors as they navigate the usual paths attempting to make it to the next step in their lives.

The 2 main characters are the poet/slacker and the basketball star. One wants to make it to Hollywood and the other wants to attain a college scholarship.

Along the way, the 4 friends attend house parties, drink/get high, hang around the neighborhood, and of course, hit on girls.

Now, what Chicago 'hood would not be real without the gangs, bad dudes and bad decisions. The friends will encounter each element during this tale which became the precursor to many that followed: Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, etc.

It's a fun and also sad look at what life was like on the north side of Chicago for 4 friends just trying to live life.

The soundtrack is top notch!

4.25/5.

 

[Dropbear]

Robbie is gorgeous and Pegg can act. Neither of them can save this poorly thought-out film. 2/5

 

[ter1413]

 

[ter1413]

A couple and their young daughter head out to a remote RV park for some R&R. Everything turns to shite when the little girl goes missing.

Suspects?

Well...there is a couple in an adjacent RV who have the opportunity. There is the RV camp owner who seems a little creepy. There is the young man who helps run the RV camp who has a trailer on site and likes his drugs. Oh......there is also the sheriff...who seems very reluctant to call in the FBI.

A little suspense. A little guessing. But nothing special. This could have been better but the ending failed.

1.75/5.

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

Zulu Dawn from 1979, very underrated and historically quite accurate, much more so than Zulu, well worth a (re)watch:

 

[Dropbear]

7.5/10

Part science fiction horror film and part psychological thriller. Good cast and production, but the star of the show is the detail of early 80s Soviet aesthetic.

 

[ter1413]

Found a pretty good action/thriller on Netflix.

Jason S is an ex undercover DEA agent who moves with his daughter to a small town after his wife dies. On his last case, he helped put away and kill some members of a biker gang.

At school one day, his daughter has to defend herself against the school bully. The bully's parents(Kate B plays the hick/meth-head mom) want to retaliate....but the husband fails. So Kate B contacts her goon/slime-ball/meth purveyor brother, James F.

James...and his meth lovin'/mini skirt wearing/still not bad in this skanky role...girlfriend(Winona R) get the bright idea to contact the head of the biker gang(who is in jail) and trade Jason's details in exchange for a meth distribution deal.

What could go wrong? Well, if you don't know who you are up against, loads!

Sylvester Stallone wrote and produced this film.

It's a good watch on a chilly Sat in NYC while guzzling some brews. Would recommend!

3.75/5.

Side note: the young actress who plays the daughter, Izabela Vidovic, did a good job!

Side side note: I was walking through JFK several years ago before a flight and saw Kate B coming towards me. She is an attractive woman. A bit thin when you see her in pics...but it was winter time when I saw her and she was sorta bundled up.

Would.

 

[Journeyman]

Found a pretty good action/thriller on Netflix.

I was reading an article via Apple News while eating breakfast this morning and saw that apparently Homefront is the most-watched movie on Netflix at the moment! It's certainly got a good cast.

The article asked, quite reasonably, whether Netflix should bother spending $100 million on making "own content" movies when its subscribers seem perfectly happy with it buying in content like Homefront.

 

[ter1413]

I was reading an article via Apple News while eating breakfast this morning and saw that apparently Homefront is the most-watched movie on Netflix at the moment! It's certainly got a good cast.

The article asked, quite reasonably, whether Netflix should bother spending $100 million on making "own content" movies when its subscribers seem perfectly happy with it buying in content like Homefront.

I read a similar/same article yesterday and added it to my queue. It may have been on Yahoo news.

 

[Kingstonian]

A day at the beach turns into tragedy for one family. Their young daughter goes missing and she/her body isn't found.

Years later, the mom and dad are both still secretly dealing with the loss. While out one day at the mall, the mom thinks she sees a girl(now 14) that is her daughter. Is she sure/unsure? Well...this has happened time and time again. She returns to the mall the following day and the girl and her friends appear.

The mom follows her home and confronts the girl/family and then goes to the authorities.

The young girl is torn. Is this her real family, or is the family that she has known since she was young her real family?

Good acting all around in this gripping flick. It captures the feelings of the current family and the "other" family.

Def worth a watch. I found this on Youtube.

4/5.

Bradley Walsh! The bar steward is in everything!

He should just stick to gormless quiz shows.

 

[fxh]

Last night went out and watched Penguin Bloom. A bit bloody heavier than I needed but I thought an amazingly well done film with only a few misses. Successfully avoided sentimentality and mawkishness most of the time. High production values and superb acting. Not recommended for a light relaxing night out.

 

[fxh]

Then tonight went out and saw the Bee Gees film at Ms. Fxh behest. Other than the fact we got the last seats in 25 seat (only about 12 patrons due to COVID space restrictions) small cinema and they were sadly right in the front row, it was an enjoyable experience. Good sound as expected , it focussed mainly on the music as it should have. I would have liked a bit more about the early years in Oz, and the band members who weren’t Gibbs, and the breakups and wild years. But that would have made it a 4 hour movie. Me I would have waited for it to stream but it was worth the price of admission. There’s still a series of 5 one hour episodes that could usefully be made.

The only downside was the occurrence of a all to frequent problem I have in cinemas. Audience members laughing loudly at inappropriate times or at mildly amusing bits that may have tempted me to a small grin. People are stupid and annoying.

 

[Dropbear]

Peppermint. Jennifer Garner is still attractive and rather charismatic in real life. She can’t save this big budget action dud. 5/10.

 

[Thruth]

Peppermint. Jennifer Garner is still attractive and rather charismatic in teal life. She can’t save this big budget action did. 5/10.

bang on. it sucked and I never finished it

 

[Journeyman]

Last night went out and watched Penguin Bloom.

I was thinking of going to see it, if only for Naomi Watts. I was a bit worried that it might be too mawkish.

 

[ter1413]

Caught this over the weekend after not watching it for several years.

Cast? Leo D/Matt D/Martin Sheen/Marky Mark/.....and some old timer named Nicholson.

Nicholson plays a Boston mob boss who rules with an iron hand. A joint task force gets an idea to take him down: plant an undercover officer(Leo D) inside his organization to gather info and help dismantle the crew. Little do they know that Jack also has moles inside the force working for him.

This back and forth(Martin Scorsese directed) gem at times does not get as much fanfare as the usual crime/mob flicks....but it is just as good/better than some of the usual suspects.

4/5.

 

[Journeyman]

The Departed is a great movie - I should watch it again.

You might know this already, but it's based on an Hong Kong police drama, "Infernal Affairs", starring some of HK's biggest stars such as Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Well worth watching - it's actually streaming on Australian Netflix, but I'm not sure about North America.

 

[ter1413]

The Departed is a great movie - I should watch it again.

You might know this already, but it's based on an Hong Kong police drama, "Infernal Affairs", starring some of HK's biggest stars such as Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Well worth watching - it's actually streaming on Australian Netflix, but I'm not sure about North America.

I found that out yesterday(Infernal Affairs) and it's on Youtube. I will def check it out.

 

[Fwiffo]

My father liked the longer multi series Infernal Affairs better. He said it allowed for more character development.

But I was born in North America so The Departed resonates more with me.

 

[ter1413]

The Pres of Egypt's(Nasser) son in law, Ashraf Marwan, transitions to special advisor to Anwar Sadat after Nasser dies. He gets the idea to save Egypt and Israel from all out war by going rogue and becoming an asset....for Israel.

He feeds them info that will give them enough detail on Egypt's plans...while pushing Sadat to delay outright war.

His Mossad handlers are at first skeptical, but his main contact learns to trust him. The jailed ex leaders of Nasser's inner circle have moles keeping an eye on Marwan.

How will this play out? Will Marwan be able to keep himself and his family safe while he proceeds with his plan?

This is based on a true story and had SO much potential. I do like a spy/espionage film and this had all of the elements, but didn't succeed as a movie.....IMO. I guess that can be attributed to the fact that it could only deviate so much from what really happened.

2/5.

 

[ter1413]

Caught this rom-com during the week.

Renee Z is a high powered Miami based biz consultant charged with going to New Ulm, Minnesota to prep a manufacturing plant for restructuring.

New Ulm, MN is NOT in her wheelhouse! She arrives and has to deal with the weather, locals, and resistance from the plant workers/union to any of her plans.

She is eventually drawn to the small town, the people and their ways. Harry C. Jr. plays the scruffy union rep...and as you can imagine, he is drawn to Renne Z...and she to him.

She eventually gets her marching orders: Shut the plant down and liquidate.

By the time she does, she has fallen in love with New Ulm and Harry C. Jr. and has to make a career/life choice

This has a Fargo feel related to the people/sayings/accent. While it can be predictable, it also can be funny.

Not a bad watch at all.

3/5.

 

[formby002]

The Departed is a great movie - I should watch it again.

You might know this already, but it's based on an Hong Kong police drama, "Infernal Affairs", starring some of HK's biggest stars such as Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Well worth watching - it's actually streaming on Australian Netflix, but I'm not sure about North America.

I liked The Departed too, but someone should have asked Nicholson "where was his parrot..."

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

Watched two English films over the weekend: The Lady in the Van and The Dig.

The Lady in the Van is about the homeless lady who took up residency in the playwright's Alan Bennett's driveway. It's supposed to be a comedy drama. It's not that funny, but Maggie Smith is good and Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett is his doppelganger. It was new on Netflix and my missus spotted it for some reason, it came out in 2015. I'm not a fan of Alan Bennett, I respect his work and genius, but I was able to get this film as did the missus who doesn't know who he is. The youngest got up and walked out half an hour in.

The Dig is a dramatization of a book about the excavation of the Sutton Hoo Anglo Saxon burial site in 1939. Very good throughout, worth watching, unless you're looking for some pornography of violence which you won't find here. Or indeed in the above film.

 

[Thruth]

Watched two English films over the weekend: The Lady in the Van and The Dig.

The Lady in the Van is about the homeless lady who took up residency in the playwright's Alan Bennett's driveway. It's supposed to be a comedy drama. It's not that funny, but Maggie Smith is good and Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett is his doppelganger. It was new on Netflix and my missus spotted it for some reason, it came out in 2015. I'm not a fan of Alan Bennett, I respect his work and genius, but I was able to get this film as did the missus who doesn't know who he is. The youngest got up and walked out half an hour in.

The Dig is a dramatization of a book about the excavation of the Sutton Hoo Anglo Saxon burial site in 1939. Very good throughout, worth watching, unless you're looking for some pornography of violence which you won't find here. Or indeed in the above film.

I quite liked the Dig. Well acted. Good story with human relationships in the foreground and the dig in the background.

 

[Kingstonian]

Watched two English films over the weekend: The Lady in the Van and The Dig.

The Lady in the Van is about the homeless lady who took up residency in the playwright's Alan Bennett's driveway. It's supposed to be a comedy drama. It's not that funny, but Maggie Smith is good and Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett is his doppelganger. It was new on Netflix and my missus spotted it for some reason, it came out in 2015. I'm not a fan of Alan Bennett, I respect his work and genius, but I was able to get this film as did the missus who doesn't know who he is. The youngest got up and walked out half an hour in.

The Dig is a dramatization of a book about the excavation of the Sutton Hoo Anglo Saxon burial site in 1939. Very good throughout, worth watching, unless you're looking for some pornography of violence which you won't find here. Or indeed in the above film.

Seen the Alan Bennett film a few years ago. I always liked him. He is a real old woman though - ‘Cream cracker under the settee’, Thora Hird, Patricia Routledge monologues etc. good stuff.

 

[Kingstonian]

‘I Dolours’ Netflix a series of interviews and film re-enactments with Dolours Price the IRA woman who was sent to prison for the Old Bailey bombing.

Very interesting if you are interested in The Troubles. She was from an old Republican family and thought The Good Friday Agreement was a sell out. The prison scenes are an insight into force feeding and how that affects a persons subsequent attitude to food.