Last Movie You Watched

[Karl Henning]

Sorry to hear. Hope all is well.

Thanks, friend!

[Todd]

The Matrix Resurrections.  I signed up for HBO Max so I can binge-watch the latest season of Succession, but I figured I'd watch this sequel no one clamored for first.  There's a very The Force Awakens remake vibe, along with acute self-awareness (including a quip about a phone booth), and a Matrix inside a Matrix kind of thing going on, as well keen (?) obervations on the impact of video games on movies, and vice versa.  Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss both appear again, and look spectacular for their ages, but Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving are replaced by other, lesser actors.  (In the case of Agent Smith, it's sort of a plot twist replacement.)  Machines are still mostly bad, except for good ones, and there's some action with guns and physics defying fights and so forth, and while CGI has improved, the movie actually looks both a little cheaper and a little too sleek.  The highlight of the movie is definitely the actor who plays the new boss/villain.  It's not the worst movie I've seen, and it's certainly better than The Matrix Revolutions, but then syphilis is better than herpes.

[SimonNZ]

not as good as I'd remembered it, alas

[LKB]

Field of Dreams, via my favorite reaction channel:

https://youtube.com/c/PopcornInBed

Yes, I know, it doesn't really count. But l have found watching " Kassie " react to almost anything to be - in at least some cases- more rewarding than viewing the film traditionally.

[aligreto]

Survivor:





An American agent working in the embassy in London uncovers a plot to grant suspicious looking people a visa to enter America. It is an entertaining thriller.

[SonicMan46]

   

not as good as I'd remembered it, alas

Hi Simon.. - own the BD of that film so I must have enjoyed when purchased but have not watched in a while (the scenes w/ Rene Russo sunning herself au naturel are particularly appealing -  ) - NOW, the original w/ Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway is not in my collection and I've not seen it in decades - cannot even remember the plot being similar or not except that a heist is involved?  Dave

[Madiel]

I watched a rather obscure Australian independent film from 20 years ago called "Walking on Water".

I'd recorded it on VHS around 15 years ago and never watched it.

It was rather good.

[Karl Henning]

Last Night: Hero & House of Flying Daggers

[SimonNZ]

This was in every way brilliant until it got to the denouement...which I didn't buy at all.

[aligreto]

Mud:





Mud is the name of the main character in this film who is on the run having killed a man. All is explained as the [good and creditable] plot unfolds. The film is based on the relationship that develops between him and two young boys who come across him while he is in hiding. I thought that McConaughey was very good and both young boys were excellent. It is definitely recommended and certainly worth a watch.

[Iota]

Mesmerising, clever, visually beautiful, with Terminator-type industrial noir music heightening the atmosphere perfectly. Quite something.

[milk]

The first movie is kind of fun but it goes downhill. People say the third one is better than the second but I think the whole thing just heads downhill pretty quickly. Gosh do I hate flashbacks and these are the kind where the keep repeating the same stupid images over and over. I know, how did we get through all three feeling this way? It kind of became a duty half way through.
I wanted my wife to see this so we just started it. It's so startlingly well made; the cast is incomparable. EGR! Bacall is a looker! Is there any analogous movie star to Bogart these days? I don't think so. I mean Hanks could be Jimmy Stewart or Jack Lemon. Clooney could be Grant. Pitt could be Gary Cooper or someone. Who today is a short ugly guy that oozes masculinity and screams leading man? 

[The new erato]

Don't Look Up! on Netflix. A worthwhile commentary to present day crazyness.

[SonicMan46]

 

The first movie is kind of fun but it goes downhill. People say the third one is better than the second but I think the whole thing just heads downhill pretty quickly..........

I wanted my wife to see this so we just started it. It's so startlingly well made; the cast is incomparable. EGR! Bacall is a looker! Is there any analogous movie star to Bogart these days? I don't think so. I mean Hanks could be Jimmy Stewart or Jack Lemon. Clooney could be Grant. Pitt could be Gary Cooper or someone. Who today is a short ugly guy that oozes masculinity and screams leading man?

Hey Milk - I streamed the Bourne Triology films when released, and got lost quickly (probably bored and not paying attention), but saw each one and did not have a need to purchase or re-rent - BUT, the Amazonian reviewers seen to love them! 

Love Key Largo, which is in my collection as a BD inserted above.  I really cannot think of anyone in the last 30 years or more that approaches Humphrey Bogart as a versatile and consummate actor; his fellow actors in his era (Fonda, Stewart, Wayne, Grant and some others) died off, although Grant aged well and was making films into the 1960s e.g. Charade & Father Goose, and he was so versatile from the Hitchcock movies to screwball comedies - Brando and Newman come to mind, but?  Dave

[Roasted Swan]

Don't Look Up! on Netflix. A worthwhile commentary to present day crazyness.

I watched this the day before yesterday and enjoyed it a lot.  The Apple/Facebook-style CEO played by Mark Rylance with a chilling blandness a particular joy.  Jonah Hill luusting after his mother/President had a wonderful Trumpian reverse echo too.  Well worth a dystopian look.

[SonicMan46]

Some new 4K UHD Amazon streaming upgrades for my physical BDs:

Batman (1989) w/ Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, alongside Kim Basinger; Tim Burton, director - wanted to 'clean out' my Spiderman & Batman films owned - had about 10 w/ the Batman movies below - kept just 2 of each, and replaced w/ the 4K UHD streamers; for the Batman choices, I felt the need to keep the Nicholson and added the Dark Knight as my second one - below are ratings from two sites by percent for RT and numbers for the link; now, I might consider adding back a few more (i.e. Batman Begins & Batman Returns)?

Jerry Maguire (1996) w/ Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, et al; esp. Jonathan Lipnicki as Zellweger's young son, Ray - if you're into adorable, then really recommended; short synopsis and link below - nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor, and a winner for Cuba Gooding, Jr. for Best Supporting Actor.  Dave

Batman (1989) - Keaton & Nicholson (71%; 7)
Batman Begins (2005) - Bale & Neeson (84%; 3)
Batman Forever (1995) - Kilmer & Jones (38%; 11)
Batman Returns (1992) - Keaton & DeVito (80%; 2)
Dark Knight (2008) - Bale & Ledger (94%; 1)
Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Bale & Caine (87%; Eight)
(ratings: % are from Rotten Tomatoes (RT); number ranks from HERE)

Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama sports film written, produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe, and stars Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, and Regina King. Produced in part by James L. Brooks, it was inspired by sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who acted as technical consultant on the crew and his client Tim McDonald during the 1993 NFL Free Agency. (Source)

   

[Karl Henning]

Some new 4K UHD Amazon streaming upgrades for my physical BDs:

Batman (1989) w/ Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, alongside Kim Basinger; Tim Burton, director - wanted to 'clean out' my Spiderman & Batman films owned - had about 10 w/ the Batman movies below - kept just 2 of each, and replaced w/ the 4K UHD streamers; for the Batman choices, I felt the need to keep the Nicholson and added the Dark Knight as my second one - below are ratings from two sites by percent for RT and numbers for the link; now, I might consider adding back a few more (i.e. Batman Begins & Batman Returns)?

Jerry Maguire (1996) w/ Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, et al; esp. Jonathan Lipnicki as Zellweger's young son, Ray - if you're into adorable, then really recommended; short synopsis and link below - nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor, and a winner for Cuba Gooding, Jr. for Best Supporting Actor.  Dave

   

Hey, Dave. After viewing as many Batman movies as I figure I want to watch: Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Begins (2005), Dark Knight (2008) & Dark Knight Rises (2012) I eventually junked the DVDs. On one hand, I have a mild sentimental attachment to Keaton, Basinger & Nicholson in Burton's 1989 movie, on the other (at the risk of offending Prince enthusiasts) the Prince parade set piece feels like dead air to me. Overall, I found myself out of sympathy with the arc into making it Super Heavy Business.

[SonicMan46]

Hey, Dave. After viewing as many Batman movies as I figure I want to watch: Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Begins (2005), Dark Knight (2008) & Dark Knight Rises (2012) I eventually junked the DVDs. On one hand, I have a mild sentimental attachment to Keaton, Basinger & Nicholson in Burton's 1989 movie, on the other (at the risk of offending Prince enthusiasts) the Prince parade set piece feels like dead air to me. Overall, I found myself out of sympathy with the arc into making it Super Heavy Business.

Hi Karl - well, that has been my more recent attitude toward a lot of these 'comic book' films made in the last 30 or so years, i.e. I've streamed many, bought a minority, and now don't feel a need to watch them that often if only rarely (or at all!); so I just rid myself of nearly 10 physical discs and now have 2 Spideys and 2 Batman films in the 'Amazon & Apple Clouds' - Dave

[milk]

Hey Milk - I streamed the Bourne Triology films when released, and got lost quickly (probably bored and not paying attention), but saw each one and did not have a need to purchase or re-rent - BUT, the Amazonian reviewers seen to love them! 

Love Key Largo, which is in my collection as a BD inserted above.  I really cannot think of anyone in the last 30 years or more that approaches Humphrey Bogart as a versatile and consummate actor; his fellow actors in his era (Fonda, Stewart, Wayne, Grant and some others) died off, although Grant aged well and was making films into the 1960s e.g. Charade & Father Goose, and he was so versatile from the Hitchcock movies to screwball comedies - Brando and Newman come to mind, but?  Dave

I don't know Bogie's history but I saw a clip of Charles Nelson Riley (in his later years) asking and answering the question: why aren't there actors today that can become impressions the way there used to be? Why can't we imagine impressionists making a living today? I had a totally different answer pop into my head than CNR. I thought it's because people are so self-conscious now that there are less out-and-out characters. But Riley said it's because today's screen actors don't come from the stage. Their acting is too small. I don't know if this has anything to do with Bogie. All of those you mentioned except maybe Fonda can be the subject of impressions. But Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, etc.?

[Karl Henning]

I don't know Bogie's history but I saw a clip of Charles Nelson Riley (in his later years) asking and answering the question: why aren't there actors today that can become impressions the way there used to be? Why can't we imagine impressionists making a living today? I had a totally different answer pop into my head than CNR. I thought it's because people are so self-conscious now that there are less out-and-out characters. But Riley said it's because today's screen actors don't come from the stage. Their acting is too small. I don't know if this has anything to do with Bogie. All of those you mentioned except maybe Fonda can be the subject of impressions. But Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, etc.?

I am smiling at the thought that, while I presume that Chas Nelson Reilly is indeed an actor, I only recall seeing him as a participant in The Hollywood Squares.