Paid Members FLips Posted August 2 Paid Members Share Posted August 2 (edited) 21 Jump Street It's ok. I think I had high expectations for both these films and they're decent but maybe didn't live up to all the good words I'd heard. Not bad by any means and Channing Tatum/Jonah Hill make a fun on-screen pairing. 22 Jump Street I'd say better than the first one by a fair bit. Honestly there's not much to say about either film. They're funny buddy cop movies but do nothing out of the ordinary. They're a good background watch. The side story in this one with Ice Cube dapping up Jonah Hill for having sex with a woman is the funniest thing in the film by a country mile. Boss Level One of those chose-at-random films we picked out scrolling through Amazon Prime. Action film about a guy getting stuck in a time loop where he dies repeatedly and has to figure out how he got there and why he's stuck in there. As with most time-loop stuff you have to leave your brain at the door and just accept it, but they do try and explain it in a satisfying manner rather than "it just is" or "it's the magic of love" or whatever. Frank Grillo is the lead and Will Sasso and Mel Gibson are the main bad guys. The former does an excellent job of pretty much carrying the film single handedly while the latter two are barely in it, all things considered. Will Sasso is fucking crap though, not sure how or why he was cast in such a prominent role. The action is fun, the film is violent and over the top but never too gory, and it's over and done before you know it. Really exceeded expectations. Good fun. My major gripe with it is that the video game theme isn't really a theme as much as it is a suggestion, the film would be fine without it. The video game stuff they do though, a "pop up E-Sports tournament" had me doing an Itchy and Scratchy Xylophone thing every time it was on screen. There's a fucking load wrong with it but the main ones are they call Street Fighter II an "80s 8-bit side scrolller" (every game in this tournament including Altered Beast is apparently an 8-bit side scroller) and they also have 3rd Strike on some machines mistaking it for II. When they do sit down and play Street Fighter II in this retro 8 bit side scroller arcade tournament, it's the HD remaster on PS3. The other main gripe is the main kid, despite playing a Ryu vs Ken match keeps calling his character Akuma, and when he does a Hadouken, he calls it something completely wrong like a Garuben or something and then they both shout GARUBEN. It's worse than Tony Soprano playing the N64 like he was peeling a banana. Edited August 2 by FLips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted August 2 Paid Members Share Posted August 2 My Neighbour Totoro (cinema) It's a good film imo. The Conversation (cinema) See above. Quite amused that they showed a trailer for Coppola's new film, Megalopolis, beforehand and it looks like it's going to be megashit. The Conversation, on the other hand, is Coppola's actual best film, don't listen to the Godfather 1/2 propaganda. Raising Cain Brian de Palma taking the piss out of himself to hilarious lengths. Can't be taken seriously on any level and John Lithgow is either the worst good actor or best bad actor of all time. Such a good laugh, this. Unman, Wittering and Zigo I think this has been doing the rounds on Talking Pictures. Superb psychological thriller - weird and threatening with a great ending. Nobody's seen it but it's an early 70s British gem. 2 Days in the Valley One of 56,000 Tarantino copies that flooded the market in the mid-90s. Not good on any level aside from the Teri Hatcher / Charlize Theron fight. Then again, none of these Tarantino clones were. The Offence This doesn't get any easier to watch on repeat viewings and I'm not sure I could sit through it again. Shows what an incredible filmmaker Sidney Lumet was that this might not make his top 5, for me. Horrible, amazing film. The Thief (1952) Dialogue free film noir starring Ray Milland as a traitor leaking scientific secrets to 'the other side'. The speech-free gimmick works better than I've seen in any film before and it's an excellent, anxious noir. Nowhere to Go (1958) Excellent British crime thriller featuring a young Maggie Smith in one of her first roles, and starting as she means to go on. Really strong story and performances in this, one of the better British efforts at a classic noir. The Nice Guys Alright, which one of you cock and balls wants to earn 20 bucks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted August 2 Moderators Share Posted August 2 On 7/29/2024 at 6:35 PM, LaGoosh said: On the contrary, I'd say it's a fucking great film. Beautifully shot, good jokes and proper storytelling with actual emotional stakes. I'd argue it's one of if not the best kids film ever made. The scene where it cuts back and forth between the turtles goofing around to Raphael being essentially beaten to death is brilliant dark comedy. I haven't seen the third one for years, in my memory the villain looks like Rik Mayal. Is that right? I watched the first Turtles movie for the first time in decades today with the kids. I think it has held up really well. I enjoyed it a lot and they were into it too. I had wanted to watch Mutant Mayhem with them as I had mistakenly thought it was available for free on one of the streaming services I have and was worried they would think this was shit and it would kill all interest they had in ninja turtles but they really got into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted August 6 Moderators Share Posted August 6 On 8/2/2024 at 9:19 PM, Chest Rockwell said: I watched the first Turtles movie for the first time in decades today with the kids. I think it has held up really well. I enjoyed it a lot and they were into it too. I had wanted to watch Mutant Mayhem with them as I had mistakenly thought it was available for free on one of the streaming services I have and was worried they would think this was shit and it would kill all interest they had in ninja turtles but they really got into it. Little update on this. Kids are demanding daily to watch the scene where April wakes up on the Turtles' sofa with Splinter starting at her and starts screaming. They howl with laughter and demand it again and again. ?  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 Arcadian- They made a choice, pay Nic Cage to do fuck all or have decent special effects. I’m not saying they were wrong but Nic Cage does fuck all and the monsters look shit. A good bad film. Civil War- I just love the feel of Alex Garland films, I feel like he immerses the viewer in his world the same way you feel when playing a video game. Not surprising for a writer I suppose. Spent the whole film wishing Cailee Spaeny was Elle in The Last Of Us. Nowt wrong with Bella Ramsey but Spaeny is Elle. The Watchers- Shite and Dakota Fanning vaping in a pet shop annoyed me more than it should.  Despicable Me 4- Absolutely fine. Not arsed with the films and can take or leave the Minions but the kids enjoyed it and I got to have a cinema hot dog. Late Night With The Devil- I really liked the feel and look of this. A nice take on the possession concept and David Dastmalchian plays the part of a charismatic late night host really well. Another string to his bow and a nice change from creepy weirdo roles.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members FLips Posted August 8 Paid Members Share Posted August 8 Masterminds An all-star cast including Owen Wilson, Zack Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig and a bunch of other notable SNL alumni in a comedy about a botched robbery should really have been a no brainer but unfortunately it’s directed by Jared Hess who hasn’t made a good film since Napoleon Dynamite. Don’t be fooled by the star power here. Barely any jokes and the plot is all over the place. More of a disappointment than anything. In better hands this could have been knocked out the park but instead it commits to the (at this point) 12 years old structure of Napoleon Dynamite and tries to be clunky and weird and doesn’t utilise what it has in doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SuperBacon Posted August 9 Members Share Posted August 9 9 hours ago, FLips said: Masterminds An all-star cast including Owen Wilson, Zack Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig and a bunch of other notable SNL alumni in a comedy about a botched robbery should really have been a no brainer but unfortunately it’s directed by Jared Hess who hasn’t made a good film since Napoleon Dynamite. Don’t be fooled by the star power here. Barely any jokes and the plot is all over the place. More of a disappointment than anything. In better hands this could have been knocked out the park but instead it commits to the (at this point) 12 years old structure of Napoleon Dynamite and tries to be clunky and weird and doesn’t utilise what it has in doing so. Yeah I didn't enjoy it. On 6/15/2024 at 9:31 AM, SuperBacon said:  Shit? Well Sisters was crap, but Masterminds took the biscuit. The thumbnail did NOT show Zack Galifanakis, and by the time I realised it was too late (I'm no quitter!) and he's in 95% of the film. It gets 2 for Wiig, who I always enjoy. I'll have to check but I think it's the worst film I've seen this year.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted August 9 Paid Members Share Posted August 9 9 hours ago, FLips said: Don’t be fooled by the star power here. Barely any jokes and the plot is all over the place. Feel like this sums up most comedies of the past 5 years. Comedy films are in an absolute dire state at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted August 9 Moderators Share Posted August 9 Masterminds is quite a bit older than that. But yeah, it's pretty shit and I agree that I can't recall many if any good recent comedy films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted August 9 Paid Members Share Posted August 9 (edited) There's been a lot of good comedies so far this decade, maybe just not as many top tier Hollywood ones. I had a look down my Letterboxd ratings for comedies so far in the 2020s that I'd rated 4 stars and above and actually got a bigger list than I expected. Quote Everything Everwhere All at Once The Holdovers The Mitchells vs the Machines Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret Jackass Forever Bad Trip Official Competition Barbie Bottoms Inside Out 2 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish The French Dispatch No Hard Feelings Turning Red Palm Springs The Fall Guy Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Cha Cha Real Smooth BlackBerry Happiest Season The Half of It Rye Lane Joy Ride Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar Polite Society The Croods: A New Age Yannick Thelma The Kid Detective Confess, Fletch Deadstream Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes Ron's Gone Wrong Dating Amber We Have a Ghost Smoking Causes Coughing I'm Your Man Mandibles Beavis & Butt-Head Do the Universe Save Yourselves! Incredible But True The Phantom of the Open All Hands on Deck! River Wild Men The Outside Story Invalid  Those are just the ones I rated 4 stars and above, there's a ton I gave 3.5 stars to. Not many bid budget Hollywood comedies there but it's been a good decade for comedy. Edited August 9 by Devon Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted August 9 Paid Members Share Posted August 9 (edited) Haven't seen your entire list. While there's still some great stuff I think my perception of big mainstream comedies is that they've been pretty poor for a while now. We're pretty far from the glory days of stuff like When Harry Met Sally. I'm not sure I'd call Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, The French Dispatch and Dungeons & Dragons comedies. I loved all three but I don't think of them as comedy movies at all (despite being funny). Out of the rest of your list, I really enjoyed Jackass Forever, Bad Grandpa, Palm Springs, Rye Lane and Polite Society and The Mitchells & The Machines. I fucking HATED Bottoms, The Fall Guy and Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar. When I think of modern comedy movies being bad those are exactly the type of films that come to my mind. I think Rye Lane is probably the closest film out of your list to capture some of that old magic. Edited August 9 by LaGoosh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted August 9 Moderators Share Posted August 9 I wouldn't call those all comedies from a quick scan but I really appreciate the list and will be using it to check some more of those out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted August 9 Paid Members Share Posted August 9 Nightmare Alley I'm a nerd for all things old-timey carnival (to the point that if I have any criticisms of the movie, they're more likely to be about accuracy there than the plot) and mesmerism, and del Toro doing film noir is fantastic. None of the twists and turns in the plot are massively unexpected, but they play out well enough that it all works. It's just too bloody long, though. I haven't seen the 1947 original, but it's 40 minutes shorter than this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted August 9 Paid Members Share Posted August 9 (edited) 42 minutes ago, LaGoosh said: Haven't seen your entire list. While there's still some great stuff I think my perception of big mainstream comedies is that they've been pretty poor for a while now. We're pretty far from the glory days of stuff like When Harry Met Sally. I don't disagree. I think more than anything the bigger budget comedies play it safer these days rather than being afraid to fail, and that's why you get a lot of nice enough and quite amusing stuff like Anyone But You but not enough that really takes comedic risks. But it's a failing of the studio system as a whole right now. 1 minute ago, BomberPat said: Nightmare Alley I'm a nerd for all things old-timey carnival (to the point that if I have any criticisms of the movie, they're more likely to be about accuracy there than the plot) and mesmerism, and del Toro doing film noir is fantastic. None of the twists and turns in the plot are massively unexpected, but they play out well enough that it all works. It's just too bloody long, though. I haven't seen the 1947 original, but it's 40 minutes shorter than this one. Del Toro's films can be filed into two categories - his excellent Spanish language films and his fucking boring English language ones. The original Nightmare Alley is stunning though. Edited August 9 by Devon Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted August 9 Paid Members Share Posted August 9 Just now, BomberPat said: I'm a nerd for all things old-timey carnival Have you watched Carnivale (the TV series)? I presume so but if not you'll bloody love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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