Last Good Movie You Saw

[Mister Jack]

The Incredibles 2

 

Man, this was worth the wait.  Incredibles is probably my favorite Pixar movie and it seems so obvious for a sequel, so I was always really frustrated that they never did one.  This was a great follow-up that did a lot of the things I was hoping an Incredibles sequel would do.  I'm not sure which one of the two I like better yet.  I need some time to process the new movie, but I think I can say that it is at least as good as the first one.  Elastigirl is more or less the focus character this time as opposed to Mr. Incredible, but at the same time the rest of the family gets more to do and more screentime compared to the original, especially Jack Jack.  I don't think this movie had much of a theme like how in the first movie Bob was neglecting his family to live out his midlife crisis.  Maybe I missed something, but on the surface this one seems more like just a cool action-adventure film.  I could be wrong, but if there's a theme, it's more subtle.  Either way, it's great.  Go see it.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

I was just flicking channels and caught a bit of legally blonde, including the bend and snap scene which is surely iconic.

 

I always have in mind Clueless, Legally Blonde and Mean Girls as the Holy Trinity of school girl comedies. You'll often find people you wouldn't expect have one of these as a guilty pleasure*. Strange how Legally Blonde is on TV all the time and I never see the other two.

 

*Guilty pleasures are something I very much do not believe in personally.

[Mr. GOH!]

Hereditary. Great psychological horror movie very much in the same vein of creeping dread as The Witch.

[TCP]

Agreed with GOH. Hereditary was a great film, horrible to watch, incredibly stressful, my anxiety was at max, BUT it was a terrifically made film. In fact...

Hereditary > The Witch. 

[Mr. GOH!]

It's hard for me to say which is better out of Hereditary and The Witch. I might have to give it to the Witch because I think it tells a slightly cleaner story and I liked the ending better. It also had an economy to its characters and writing that Hereditary did not. On the other hand, Toni Collette was fucking phenomenal in every way in hereditary, as were the kids. Hereditary moved faster in the middle, too. 

 

Heck, I like 'em both equally.

[Mal]

Blade Runner 2049

 

My god, what has humans done to southern California? Eternally covered in clouds dropping down natural precipitation or dust. We only ever got a taste of the Blade Runner world in the original but really brings it to life though probably not as personal as in the original. There were some shots that I wished I was in an IMAX theater to watch.

 

The story was nice and I personally liked most of the characters but some leave a bit to be desired. In many ways they leave themselves possibilities of a sequel. Which is fine I guess.

Edit: I guess I should also address the cyberpunk-ness of the movie. Visuals are fine, as stated above. The themes explored in the story though could use more, well, exploration. I feel some other movies and TV series probably done some of the themes in better.

Edited June 19, 2018 by Mal

[Mr. GOH!]

Ant-Man and The Wasp. 

 

It's lighthearted fun that isn't as funny as Thor:Ragnarok but overall much better than Ant-Man 1. It is probably the least good of the "good" Marvel movies in my ranking. The action scenes were good. The villains were interesting in that one was a very typical low-tier Marvel villain while the other was a bit more nuanced. Hope van Dyne is a much better hero than Scott Lang, but we already knew that. Paul Rudd is very much himself, strained comedic stylings and all. 

 

Spoiler

Ghost's powers were a good foil for the heroes' powers, but I feel like she did not make very extensive use of them in ways that were fun to watch. It's nice that Walton Goggins had no powers or super tech to speak of, but who was he working for? It feels like it should matter, but it doesn't in this movie. 

 

Michael Douglas is getting old. Michelle Pfeiffer, however, seems like she could still easily partake in superhero action scenes and I wish she had more to do in this movie.

 

 

Incredibles 2

 

As good as Incredibles 1, though I still feel like Dash is a side character without much growth at all. Holly Hunter and Craig T. Nelson are getting too old to believably voice their characters, though Nelson is far worse; Mr. Incredible sounds like great grandpa incredible most of the time. Elastagirl just sounds like she's speaking through dentures, which is kinda how Hunter has always sounded, I suppose.

 

But the movie itself was very sweet and fun to watch. I really enjoyed seeing some of the other 'supers'; Pixar does some masterful character design. 

[TheMightyEthan]

Wow, I didn't even know AM&TW was out...

[CorgiShinobi]

I'm honestly shocked by that because the film has been getting all kinds of crazy advertising on essentially any form of media and intellectual property Disney uses and owns respectively.

[TheMightyEthan]

Huh, I had honestly forgotten it exists, although I did know at one point that it was coming out this year.

[CorgiShinobi]

Well, I just saw it today so I'll talk about it and Incredibles 2.

 

Incredibles 2

 

I agree with GOH about the age of the voice actors. It probably didn't help that before the movie there was a brief video message from them talking about how it has been so long since the first film, but that the sequel will be just as good. I don't know if that's what everyone saw when going to the theater, but I wasn't a fan of giving us a briefing. The film picks up right after the track meet of the original's ending. Except now Mr. and Mrs. Incredible sound like grandparents who need to make sure they don't damage the grandchildren before they return them home.

 

But otherwise it's an entertaining film that, while maybe a bit predictable, does bring up a more convincing argument of whether or not to have superheroes. That perhaps people put too much responsibility on "Supers" when they themselves must know when to take action. That while Mr. Incredible is iconic, Elastigirl is a more responsible choice to bring public opinion back in favor of Supers. It's also good to have new Supers to bring variety to the powers present in the film.

 

Ant-Man and the Wasp

 

It's a better film from the first, but I would also say it complements the high points of the first film to make a more satisfying hero series. Paul Rudd is a hoot and he brings Scott/Ant-Man more to life this time around. It really justifies why Scott would take a deal after the incident in Civil War. My personal pet peeve of these Ant-Man films is how half the time Hope and Hank are frustrated with Scott. He as Ant-Man wants to help people, so he's glad he can be an Avenger and team up with Captain America. Hank gets all old man pissed, and Hope briefly goes back to that indifferent phase she had in the first film.

 

I guess, at least for Hope, she was upset because she wasn't asked by Scott to help him in Germany. Yet, Scott didn't know she had the capability to help as the new Wasp. Feels more like forced conflict rather than natural characterization. I also think perhaps the film had one too many plot threads, but it does keep things moving and gradually becomes like another heist film in the MCU. Hope is a very skilled hero, though Scott gets nerfed because, well, I don't want to spoil it. Hank holds his own and becomes more of a player than an observer like he was before. Still an arrogant grump, but he has more justification this time around. I love the little jab the film made about Cap and Falcon's favorite disguise of cap and sunglasses.

 

Saw another film, but that one belongs in OK...

[Mister Jack]

Ant Man and the Wasp

 

I mostly agree with what was just said.  It's superior to the first film, and I think it was wise to make the stakes more personal as opposed to some global threat.  After Infinity War there is just no way I was going to care about some evil businessman trying to make superweapons or something, but I can still get invested in a personal threat to the heroes.  Ant Man and the Wasp make for a cool team and the action scenes are pretty damn entertaining when everything is just growing and shrinking all over the place.  You can never quite know for sure what to expect.   Even though some scenes are played dramatically, It's not super serious like Avengers or Captain America.  It's just a good time at the movies.

 

Spoiler

And then the post-credits scene goes and ruins all of that.  I mean, damn.  It's almost like everything they did doesn't matter when they get fucking Thanos'd and Scott gets stranded in quantum space.  I know they'll eventually be brought back but still, way to bring down the mood, Marvel.

 

[Mister Jack]

Shaun the Sheep

 

I've been a fan of Aardman's work ever since I was a kid since they're doing something you never really see any other studios do anymore, but for some reason I never got around to watching this particular movie.  I don't think it was promoted very heavily in the states, and Shaun isn't a character I have great affection for in the same way I do for Wallace and Gromit, so I probably just figured I could give it a pass.  However, I finally watched it at someone's recommendation and I think this might be the best movie Aardman has ever put out.  The production is amazing, and I shudder to imagine how long it must have taken them to build all those little sets and vehicles for the city scenes, which is the majority of the movie.  Something else that really impressed me is that the movie is really entertaining without having a single line of spoken dialogue.  The human characters sometimes speak in grunts and mumbles like the Sims, but pretty much everything that needs to be said is conveyed visually and it actually works.  I never found myself wishing any of the characters would start speaking English.  In fact, I actually found myself hoping they could keep up the pantomime to the very end and they did it.  This limitation forced the filmmakers to rely on visuals and body language to get their story across, which really brought out their cleverness and humor.  For a movie with no dialogue, it's very funny and even manages to be heartwarming in a few places.  I'm really glad I watched it.

[deanb]

It's a bit of a "Direct to DVD" type thing over here too. While Shaun first showed up in Wallace n Gromit he's been part of his (kinda long running) TV show. Turns out they've had 150 (quite short) episodes. I'd imagine the film re-used a lot of the existing sets and such.

 

Anywho watched Incredibles 2 with my dad n younger bro. It's decent, though the first is still far superior. I think the more cartoony look helps too, not sure why they felt the need to up the 'quality' of the models, especially giving them all eye bags for some reason.

 

There was a few pretty great moments, but overall it was fairly obvious on the villain front, like I'm amazed they spent 10 minutes on the pizza delivery guy instead of like 30 seconds it deserved. Kind of spread itself thin on a few too many themes and subplots and they don't even wholly mesh together like in the first one with its big group pose scene. It's still pixar, so gold standard n all that lot, and i'd likely watch again but if given choice it'd be The Incredibles in a heart beat.

 

We didn't get a briefing, we did get that Bao film though, which was slightly cute and yet slightly disturbing.

 

[deanb]

Teen Titans Go! To The Movies

 

Pretty fun movie that in the same way Deadpool takes the piss out of other superhero movies in a adult-friendly kind of way this does it in a kid-friendly kind of way. 

Well apart from

That time they toss the Waynes down Crime Alley n watch Batmans origin just happen. Or when they hit n run over the singing tiger/michael bolton.

 

It's funny, silly (childish levels at times but...well it's a kids film), has a decent sound track (including bits from BttF, Aha, some EDM, the original Teen Titans track, etc). If you've got kids, young relatives etc then it's a fine watch for all.

 

It does throw you a bit that Slade (Slaaaddddeee) is Will Arnett n thus Bojack n Batman n all that kinda pops into your head.

 

 

[toxicitizen]

Halloween

 

The new one that just came out, with Jamie Lee Curtis returning as Grandma Laurie Strode. My friend called me asking if I wanted to go see Venom and that looks like a huge pile of shit so I suggested Halloween instead. I've never been much of a Halloween fan (mostly because I haven't seen most of them) but we watched the entire Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th series earlier this year, so I thought moving on to Halloween was kind of a logical move. Plus, you know, it's actually Halloween time.

 

I really enjoyed it. Ditching all the shitty sequel baggage and going back to something more in line with the original was definitely the right move. Also, the score is absolutely fantastic. I actually had chills at times. John Carpenter still got it!

 

 

[deanb]

Bad Times at the El Royale

 

Still kinda thinking about this, so yeah must be pretty good. It's kinda Pulp Fiction-ey in various people of various nefarious deeds meeting and interacting in interesting ways.

Some great performances, brilliant singing, really like a lot of the characters and some really grow onto you (even when they're arseholes). Sounds like it's a bit of a poor box office performer which is a shame. Strongly recommend checking it out if you can.

[Mister Jack]

I also saw Halloween.  It was a good follow-up to the original and ditching the crappy sequels entirely was a good idea.  They also retconned the whole thing where Laurie and Michael are related because reasons.  This isn't a movie that's interested in exploring Michael Myers' motivation or psychology or character.  He's just a killing machine and we don't need to know what makes him tick.  Jamie Lee Curtis' character has evolved, however, and she steals every scene she's in.  Does it surprise anyone to hear that she's the best thing about this movie?  It's pretty good overall, and understands the value of setting up a tense atmosphere.  Something else I also appreciate about these movies is the lack of CG.  I won't swear that there's no CG at all in this film, but if there is it was brief and subtle enough to not notice, which is how CG should ideally be, especially in a horror film.  There are still a couple of dumb horror tropes I hate like fake jump scares and characters who do dumb things which result in their deaths, but thankfully this is fairly uncommon. It takes a long time to build things up, but once Halloween night rolls around things get pretty good and the last half hour in particular is excellent.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Mister Jack

[toxicitizen]

46 minutes ago, Mister Jack said:

This isn't a movie that's interested in exploring Michael Myers' motivation or psychology or character.  He's just a killing machine and we don't need to know what makes him tick.

 

Yeah, in other words the movie gets what makes him scary. Freddy and Jason are complete fantasy nonsense but the scariest thing about Michael Myers is that his killings are completely random, he's just a pure evil dude. Even in this one, Jamie Lee Curtis is obsessed with him but he couldn't give less of a shit about her. Most of his kills are pretty generic by slasher standards and the creepiest stuff happens completely off camera. You never see him do any of it but he goes to such lengths to fuck with people by stashing bodies in the most insane places or ways. It's great lol.

[Mister Jack]

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

 

This is a new movie by the Coen Brothers that's on Netflix.  I usually enjoy their films so I thought I'd give it a watch, and by and large it's pretty good.  This is a western anthology with six different short stories.  I think they're around 25-30 minutes each.  I wasn't exactly keeping time while I was watching it.  The six stories are completely unconnected and don't intersect at any point.  It really is just a collection of short stories, but that didn't really bother me.  They're all pretty decent, but they also vary wildly in tone between black comedy and straight up tragedy.  It can be a little jarring to leap back and forth between comedic violence and upsetting violence, but the fact that the stories are all kept separate helps ameliorate this somewhat. Buster Scruggs himself only shows up for the first story, but damned if he wasn't so entertaining that I missed having him around while watching the other five shorts.  They're all good in their own right, though.  If you like westerns and have a couple hours to kill, this is worth a watch.

[TheMightyEthan]

I've been wanting to watch that, so I'm glad to hear it's good.

[Mr. GOH!]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

 

I cannot say enough good things about this movie. It's the best Spider-Man film and is in the running for best superhero movie of all time despite that it only makes sense in the context of a culture saturated with comic book superhero media and works best if you are already pretty familiar with  either Spider-Man comics or movies

Spoiler

(and also maybe the Netflix Daredevil series, weirdly, unless Vanessa is Kingpin's lover in other continuities)

. It's very, very, very fun, it looks gorgeous, the performances are great, and it does not overstay its welcome. Stay through the entire credits, too.

Edited December 14, 2018 by Mr. GOH!

[TheMightyEthan]

I don't know how this movie flew completely under my radar until like 3 days ago...

[Mr. GOH!]

It seems like it should be a cheap animated kids' movie that goes straight to streaming. That's what I and many others assumed when promotion fir it started a year ago. And it is a movie appropriate for kids, don't get me wrong.  But it is so much more as well. It is an outright celebration of Spider-Man and a rollicking comic book story.

 

Edit: Also saw The Favourite and it is a wonderful movie. It's probably both the most grounded Yorgos Lanthimos movie but also his best. It may look like a stuffy drama, but it is actually a very funny and at times bizarre dark comedy. 

Edited December 16, 2018 by Mr. GOH!

[CorgiShinobi]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

 

This may honestly be my favorite superhero film yet. I mean, I love Spider-Man already, but like GOH said, this film is a celebration of everything Spider-Man. It won't beat you over the head about "With great power...", but instead embody what it takes to be a Spider-Man/Woman/Ham. There is a Stan Lee cameo and it is so powerful, and maybe that's more so how he has passed away and the context in which the cameo appears.

 

If you're well-versed in the history and different stories of Spider-Man, you'll be excited. Miles Morales is the main character along with an older Spider-Man 616 (classic/original) who is introduced as Peter B. Parker for obvious plot reasons. Spider-Woman, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham, and Peni Parker with the SP//dr mech are all fantastic! Even the villains we get are a good opposing force to Miles & Co. There's one in particular that I won't spoil that blew me away as I honestly didn't expect it, though the signs are clear now.

 

I want to see it again, and definitely stay for the post-credits scene. Heck, even the visuals of the credits is amazing, if not spectacular! Just so much good to this movie that it's hard to think that there was any negative. The only things I can think of is that perhaps we don't get enough time with all the Spideys as Miles is more of the focus with his growth as a Spider-Man. But, like, that's again the essence to Spider-Man and the others help him grow into the suit. Even Aunt May kicks ass!

 

12/10 Radioactive Spiders