Downsizing was one piece of bad scriptwriting after another
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I Just Watched... (Movies/TV/DVD)
- Thread starter HarleyQuinn
- Start date
Fall of Epic
Epic Reine
I think people were too hard on it. I mean sure, it's a very silly plot line and the actors probably didn't know what to make of material they were presented with. Overall, it's probably his weakest film but it wasn't unwatchable.
I liked Elvis but goddamn Tom Hanks gives one of the worst, most out of place performances in the history of film.
Gary
Mind. Body. Light. Sound.
Gary
Mind. Body. Light. Sound.
Anyways, watched "Boss Level" I have mixed feelings about. The action ain't bad and Frank Grillo is really good...but the humor did not work for me at all. It made me think of an R rated "Free Guy", which would be great if I liked that movie.
Gary
Mind. Body. Light. Sound.
Movie I'm happy to have revisited-"Carlito's Way". Just an all timer as far as 90s crime movies are concerned, with a banging 70s soundtrack and Sean Penn as a sleazy lawyer who at one point fucks a girl in the bathroom.
Fall of Epic
Epic Reine
Always thought Carlito's Way was better than Scarface (I'm not a huge fan of either).
I like Carlito's Way a lot more than Scarface. Pacino's accent is goofy and Foghorn Leghornish, but I kind of love the movie.
"Maybe I don't remember the last time I blew my nose either" is an underrated Pacino line.
Viggo kills it in his scene.
"Maybe I don't remember the last time I blew my nose either" is an underrated Pacino line.
Viggo kills it in his scene.
Gary
Mind. Body. Light. Sound.
A bit of a hot take-with a few exceptions, I prefer Sean Penn when he plays morally dubious or complex people.
I really enjoy Penn for the most part. Don't really want to see him playing heroic characters or I Am Sam, but he can be great in the right role. Also, At Close Range is one of the most underrated movies period. One of Walken's best performances and Penn holds his own with him.
Looking through that Penn filmography, there are a few underrated movies that need love:
Bad Boys (1983) - Not Bad Boys 4 Life, but a juvenile detention center movie with Penn, Esai Morales, Clancy Brown, Ally Sheedy, and Alan Ruck. The later three all making their film debuts.
Casualties Of War - Along with Hamburger Hill, gets lost in the shuffle of all the good to great Nam movies of the 70's and 80's. Probably my favorite Michael J Fox performance, and Penn is pure evil as a repulsive scumbag Sergeant. Great cast as well with early appearances from John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo, Erik King (Doakes from Dexter Surprise Motherfucka), Ving Rhames, Holt McCallany, and Wendell Pierce (BUNK)
State of Grace - Penn gives a good performance, but Gary Oldman just engulfs the movie. An incredible and oscar nomination worthy performance. Ed Harris is also fantastic. The movie had to be an influence on both The Departed and Infernal Affairs. The reason it is largely forgotten is that it happens to be a crime film from 1990 that came out on the same exact day as Goodfellas. But, it's one of the most underrated movies of the 90's.
Looking through that Penn filmography, there are a few underrated movies that need love:
Bad Boys (1983) - Not Bad Boys 4 Life, but a juvenile detention center movie with Penn, Esai Morales, Clancy Brown, Ally Sheedy, and Alan Ruck. The later three all making their film debuts.
Casualties Of War - Along with Hamburger Hill, gets lost in the shuffle of all the good to great Nam movies of the 70's and 80's. Probably my favorite Michael J Fox performance, and Penn is pure evil as a repulsive scumbag Sergeant. Great cast as well with early appearances from John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo, Erik King (Doakes from Dexter Surprise Motherfucka), Ving Rhames, Holt McCallany, and Wendell Pierce (BUNK)
State of Grace - Penn gives a good performance, but Gary Oldman just engulfs the movie. An incredible and oscar nomination worthy performance. Ed Harris is also fantastic. The movie had to be an influence on both The Departed and Infernal Affairs. The reason it is largely forgotten is that it happens to be a crime film from 1990 that came out on the same exact day as Goodfellas. But, it's one of the most underrated movies of the 90's.
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Fall of Epic
Epic Reine
Penn can be fucking amazing with the right material. It's sad that his politics and humanitarian work overshadows what a great actor he can be.
Assassination of Richard Nixon is a pretty good film that never gets discussed but I'll praise anything Michael Wincott is in.
He's had some duds for sure, especially in the past decade.
Assassination of Richard Nixon is a pretty good film that never gets discussed but I'll praise anything Michael Wincott is in.
He's had some duds for sure, especially in the past decade.
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
I don't know how to feel about Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. On one hand, it's an absolutely gorgeous work of art, and I respect setting it during fascist Italy, and I greatly appreciate the darkness surrounding the whimsy, and the cast is so downright fucking amazing that I'm amazed Cate Blanchett voiced the monkey and not a character with genuine speaking roles. On the other hand, though, it's all over the place tonally, and not in the remarkable way that Pan's Labyrinth was, and the ending is such a bitter note to go out on.
On a technical level? Easily a 7.5/10. On an enjoyment level? Probably a 4.5/10.
So let's balance it. Final score: 6/10
On a technical level? Easily a 7.5/10. On an enjoyment level? Probably a 4.5/10.
So let's balance it. Final score: 6/10
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
Some Christmas watches.
Violent Night (2022) - I wanted to watch this last year before Christmas, but didn’t end up catching it, so instead of going out of season I say on it for nearly a year… wasn’t worth the wait. It was mostly a fun time, but could have lost 10-15 minutes, and would have been better for it. Harbour was great in the roll, but it was just missing something for me. I think I built it up in my head better than it was.
Black Christmas (1974) - One that I just missed all these years. Halloween gets credit for being the first slasher it seems, but obviously this one has a jump on it. The kills are a mixed bag, but the killer is very unsettling, and the scenes with him are disturbing. Solid tension throughout the film. Liked it quite a bit, but the Christmas setting doesn’t feel all that necessary. With some tweaks the movie could have happened around Memorial Day.
Better Watch Out (2016) - For me this one was on its way to being something alright. Then I saw where things were going then it just fizzled.
However the Christmas setting doesn’t feel all that necessary. With some tweaks the movie could have happened around Labor Day.
Rare Exports (2010) - I had initially put on Deadly Games, then realized it was subtitled, and just wasn’t feeling reading. So I threw on Rare Exports… which lured me in with English, then the goddamn reading started. But it was getting late so I figured I’d stick with it
The first 45 minutes or so just feels like such a bleak, and depressing father/son Christmas horror story. I enjoyed this part of the movie, just kinda waiting to see where it was going. Then the movie goes to super silly town, and I’m here for the ride. The shift in tone is unlikely anything I’ve seen in a movie. Had a great time with this one.
Violent Night (2022) - I wanted to watch this last year before Christmas, but didn’t end up catching it, so instead of going out of season I say on it for nearly a year… wasn’t worth the wait. It was mostly a fun time, but could have lost 10-15 minutes, and would have been better for it. Harbour was great in the roll, but it was just missing something for me. I think I built it up in my head better than it was.
Black Christmas (1974) - One that I just missed all these years. Halloween gets credit for being the first slasher it seems, but obviously this one has a jump on it. The kills are a mixed bag, but the killer is very unsettling, and the scenes with him are disturbing. Solid tension throughout the film. Liked it quite a bit, but the Christmas setting doesn’t feel all that necessary. With some tweaks the movie could have happened around Memorial Day.
Better Watch Out (2016) - For me this one was on its way to being something alright. Then I saw where things were going then it just fizzled.
Maybe my least favorite trope in horror is where someone is a totally normal person, then once they’re revealed as the villain it’s all either crazy voice, or “I’m going to be super unsettling, and isn’t this eerie how calm I am about all of this?”
However the Christmas setting doesn’t feel all that necessary. With some tweaks the movie could have happened around Labor Day.
Rare Exports (2010) - I had initially put on Deadly Games, then realized it was subtitled, and just wasn’t feeling reading. So I threw on Rare Exports… which lured me in with English, then the goddamn reading started. But it was getting late so I figured I’d stick with it
The first 45 minutes or so just feels like such a bleak, and depressing father/son Christmas horror story. I enjoyed this part of the movie, just kinda waiting to see where it was going. Then the movie goes to super silly town, and I’m here for the ride. The shift in tone is unlikely anything I’ve seen in a movie. Had a great time with this one.
Harbour really owned the role, but the other characters and quirky "RANDOM" vibe of the humor of Violent Night really killed it for me. The Home Alone references made me roll my eyes instead of laugh, and Beverly D'Angelo and the rest of her family were terrible. Action was good, Harbour was great, but movie still annoyed me a lot.
Hopefully, John Woo's Silent Night can satisfy my Christmas action fix because Violent Night and that Mel Gibson as Santa movie Fatman, didn't do it.
Hopefully, John Woo's Silent Night can satisfy my Christmas action fix because Violent Night and that Mel Gibson as Santa movie Fatman, didn't do it.
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
Outside of the OG Black Christmas, swap the opinions around and you've got my thoughts.
-Violent Night was a blast for me, start to finish
-Better Watch Out turns awesome at the reveal (PAINT CAN)
-Rare Exports works awesome as a dark, unsettling holiday horror flick...but gets real lame when it goes into comedy
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Family Switch on Netflix. 4/10
Very derivative plot with some weird, mixed messages at the end in terms of the future of the family. I usually like McG's directing style as he can add flare but this was very basic/unimaginative/just here for the paycheck.
I watched this for Emma Myers and Jennifer Garner. The actors were all very solid including Ed Helms as the Dad and Brady Noon as Wyatt (he of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers fame) but Helms never quite felt like the right fit in that role and the script was a massive letdown to their acting abilities. They were game & trying but the script barely dealt with any consequences, moved at a lightning-fast pace, and didn't even really explore the actual body switches outside of very surface-level gags (at best). There's an infamously bad CGI sequence with Rolf watching the dog & baby that is Son of The Mask level horrible.
Not a good movie but not the worst movie I've ever seen. Very disappointing considering the cast and the director. A stronger script could've made this a surprisingly fun movie (think Disney's Freaky Friday remake with Lindsay Lohan & Jamie Lee Curtis as an example) but it was just blah and very forgettable afterward.
Very derivative plot with some weird, mixed messages at the end in terms of the future of the family. I usually like McG's directing style as he can add flare but this was very basic/unimaginative/just here for the paycheck.
I watched this for Emma Myers and Jennifer Garner. The actors were all very solid including Ed Helms as the Dad and Brady Noon as Wyatt (he of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers fame) but Helms never quite felt like the right fit in that role and the script was a massive letdown to their acting abilities. They were game & trying but the script barely dealt with any consequences, moved at a lightning-fast pace, and didn't even really explore the actual body switches outside of very surface-level gags (at best). There's an infamously bad CGI sequence with Rolf watching the dog & baby that is Son of The Mask level horrible.
Not a good movie but not the worst movie I've ever seen. Very disappointing considering the cast and the director. A stronger script could've made this a surprisingly fun movie (think Disney's Freaky Friday remake with Lindsay Lohan & Jamie Lee Curtis as an example) but it was just blah and very forgettable afterward.
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
I completely get anyone that really likes, or dislikes the Rare Exports tone change. It just hit me the right way.
It’s a Wonderful Knife (2023) - I think I liked this one for the most part. I gave it a little bit of a pass for being a smaller movie. High body count, but only a couple good kills. They pull the offscreen kill with the dead meat stumbling in frame a couple times. That didn’t work for me. The lead was good. The story wasn’t great. But the short runtime does favors for the film.
May December is equally uncomfortable, absurdly humorous and superbly performed by Portman and Moore, to no surprise but as many have said in the build and reaction to this film, the break out star is Charles Melton, known here probably only to @HarleyQuinn for his efforts on Riverdale who was excellent.
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
Saw X (2023) - took a detour from Christmas horror. Enjoyed this one. Good for a Saw movie. The people behind the series have shared regrets about killing Jigsaw so early in the series, and it’s clear to see why Tobin Bell is great in this roll. Being that the trailer gives away the con, they do spend a little more time than needed with John in Mexico before the mayhem, but I suppose it’s probably important to show him being a good person, and even rethinking his Jigsaw life.
You can hide Tobin’s aging with the cancer, but they really couldn’t do with same with Shawnee Smith’s Amanda. 20 years have passed, and it’s obvious. But it’s always fun seeing her in the roll.
All in all I enjoyed it. Always been a sucker for these movies. Except for Spiral, that movie, and Chris Rock especially were unforgivably bad. Looking forward to the next one, and hope it’s done in a way to give Tobin another big roll.
Currently ranked 19 out of 50 on my list of first time watches for 2023.
You can hide Tobin’s aging with the cancer, but they really couldn’t do with same with Shawnee Smith’s Amanda. 20 years have passed, and it’s obvious. But it’s always fun seeing her in the roll.
The lead villain was a cartoon character at times, and them having to make the choices they make to end up in the spot they are for the finale is pretty bad. They showed her willing to keep one of her own people… but that she wouldn’t kill John, and Amanda, and leave them to their trap was pretty gosh dern far fetched.
Also playing John as a victim during this time was a bit much. I get that Tobin is great, and John is a cancer grampie, but it was just a fridge too far.
Also playing John as a victim during this time was a bit much. I get that Tobin is great, and John is a cancer grampie, but it was just a fridge too far.
All in all I enjoyed it. Always been a sucker for these movies. Except for Spiral, that movie, and Chris Rock especially were unforgivably bad. Looking forward to the next one, and hope it’s done in a way to give Tobin another big roll.
Currently ranked 19 out of 50 on my list of first time watches for 2023.
Yeah, definitely one of the better Saw movies. I have the first 3 above it, but it's the best movie in the series since 3. I didn't really care for Shawnee Smith this time around, and yikes at that wig, but it was still nice to see her again. I'm more excited to see how they use the character that was shown in the post credits scene. Didn't care for the Saw movies he was in, but the character turned into a hammy delight in Saw 6 and Saw 3D.
Tobin was terrific and I thought the first half hour or so was probably the highlight because of his acting. I've seen a lot of people say it had a better second half, but I actually found the first half before it became a Saw movie with all the traps to be the strongest part of the movie. I also rolled my eyes during the spoilered bit.
It did suffer from overhype a bit. Sure, you can call it one of the best films in the Saw series, but I had people saying it was one of the best horror movies of the year or even of the decade so far. Nah, can't go that far. Same thing happened with Evil Dead Rise. Still, both of them are fun 6.5 or 7/10 movies.
Tobin was terrific and I thought the first half hour or so was probably the highlight because of his acting. I've seen a lot of people say it had a better second half, but I actually found the first half before it became a Saw movie with all the traps to be the strongest part of the movie. I also rolled my eyes during the spoilered bit.
It did suffer from overhype a bit. Sure, you can call it one of the best films in the Saw series, but I had people saying it was one of the best horror movies of the year or even of the decade so far. Nah, can't go that far. Same thing happened with Evil Dead Rise. Still, both of them are fun 6.5 or 7/10 movies.
Finally watched Killers Of The Flower Moon.
I'm gonna be brief for now and write some more thoughts later when more people have seen it, and I can spoil more.
Phenomenal. Just the movie of the year. Slightly over Oppenheimer. Oppie is paced better, but KOTFM hit me harder and edges it out slightly with the acting. Leo is amazing, and Gladstone's face is incredibly expressive and she made me cry a few times. She really was the heart of the movie. But, I think De Niro takes it for me and it is his best performance since 1995. And I kind of loved him in The Irishman (Weird contacts and old man kicking scene included). He was so creepy and made my skin crawl. Just transformed into this character, and it's been ages where I've seen him consume a character like this.
9/10 (I didn't care for Brendan Frasier tbh. I get that his character was supposed to be a boisterous lawyer, but I still found him too much. I was laughing the entire time he was on screen at his voice and facial expressions, and I don't think that's what Marty was going for. That's my only nitpick.)
I'm gonna be brief for now and write some more thoughts later when more people have seen it, and I can spoil more.
Phenomenal. Just the movie of the year. Slightly over Oppenheimer. Oppie is paced better, but KOTFM hit me harder and edges it out slightly with the acting. Leo is amazing, and Gladstone's face is incredibly expressive and she made me cry a few times. She really was the heart of the movie. But, I think De Niro takes it for me and it is his best performance since 1995. And I kind of loved him in The Irishman (Weird contacts and old man kicking scene included). He was so creepy and made my skin crawl. Just transformed into this character, and it's been ages where I've seen him consume a character like this.
9/10 (I didn't care for Brendan Frasier tbh. I get that his character was supposed to be a boisterous lawyer, but I still found him too much. I was laughing the entire time he was on screen at his voice and facial expressions, and I don't think that's what Marty was going for. That's my only nitpick.)
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Leave The World Behind 4/10
Great cast (Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon) but a very underwhelming movie for me.
A family (Roberts, Hawke, their 2 kids) rents out a home only for the homeowners (Ali and his daughter) to unexpectedly return home while electronics start going out and chaos is happening all over. Then it's up to them (and the viewer) to piece together what's going on while they try to survive.
Kevin Bacon is a glorified cameo, which was very disappointing. The director was up his own ass with constant tilting/swirling camera panning to the point it was making me nauseous (there were at least 7 such shots by my count). If you suffer from motion sickness easily, avoid this movie or you'll just be looking away a lot. The movie just ends with no real conclusion like the director (who also wrote the script) couldn't figure out a way to conclude the plot behind what was implied literally 5 minutes before the end of the movie.
There's also a deer scene that is very much a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment that makes no sense, has zero bearing on the plot, and seems like it was included to add tension but felt like something out of M. Night's The Happening.
The cast was great, as expected but it felt like the director came up with this interesting idea and couldn't figure out a way to wrap it up because it was too much of a big-picture concept that he missed the trees for the forest. It was self-contained to the extent that there was very little in the way of real tension and the plot was too big to get the viewer to care for the characters, especially at the end with the "supposed" reveal while having a ton of unanswered things going on that were never answered and just left dangling.
Great cast (Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon) but a very underwhelming movie for me.
A family (Roberts, Hawke, their 2 kids) rents out a home only for the homeowners (Ali and his daughter) to unexpectedly return home while electronics start going out and chaos is happening all over. Then it's up to them (and the viewer) to piece together what's going on while they try to survive.
Kevin Bacon is a glorified cameo, which was very disappointing. The director was up his own ass with constant tilting/swirling camera panning to the point it was making me nauseous (there were at least 7 such shots by my count). If you suffer from motion sickness easily, avoid this movie or you'll just be looking away a lot. The movie just ends with no real conclusion like the director (who also wrote the script) couldn't figure out a way to conclude the plot behind what was implied literally 5 minutes before the end of the movie.
There's also a deer scene that is very much a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment that makes no sense, has zero bearing on the plot, and seems like it was included to add tension but felt like something out of M. Night's The Happening.
The cast was great, as expected but it felt like the director came up with this interesting idea and couldn't figure out a way to wrap it up because it was too much of a big-picture concept that he missed the trees for the forest. It was self-contained to the extent that there was very little in the way of real tension and the plot was too big to get the viewer to care for the characters, especially at the end with the "supposed" reveal while having a ton of unanswered things going on that were never answered and just left dangling.
#1: What was going on with the teen son at the end? Was it a bug bite from the woods or something else? Presumably, he'll die or are we supposed to now expect him to live because of the medicine?
#2: What the fuck was up with trying to make a group of deer menacing? The director couldn't think of a more vicious animal that would legit add tension/be scary?
#3: Presumably the family/Ali & daughter would go to the Thornes bunker like the daughter did but what then? They all just survive/wait this thing out? I guess we're also to expect Bacon's family to live/survive this too.
#4: There's no answer to the country that supposedly initiated this entire thing so I guess we're supposed to believe Ali's random info dump at the end as being the cause/reason for this happening. So I guess America gets fucked and the invading country/countries then just take over? This is all assuming that his character is correct in the interpretation of what's going on as well.
#2: What the fuck was up with trying to make a group of deer menacing? The director couldn't think of a more vicious animal that would legit add tension/be scary?
#3: Presumably the family/Ali & daughter would go to the Thornes bunker like the daughter did but what then? They all just survive/wait this thing out? I guess we're also to expect Bacon's family to live/survive this too.
#4: There's no answer to the country that supposedly initiated this entire thing so I guess we're supposed to believe Ali's random info dump at the end as being the cause/reason for this happening. So I guess America gets fucked and the invading country/countries then just take over? This is all assuming that his character is correct in the interpretation of what's going on as well.
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
Deadly Games (1989) on Shudder.
Goddamn this movie rules. A kid who is equal parts Kevin McCalister, John Rambo, and McGuyver must defend himself, and his ailing grandpa from a psychotic Santa on Christmas Eve.
I can’t always tell how good an actor someone is with foreign movies, but the kid was great. When he was scared, or sad I was right there along with him. He didn’t do much acting, but now does a lot of visual effects work in some of the biggest Super hero movies.
Some of the editing, and transition shots are really bad, and there is violence against animals. (I know that’s a dealbreaker for some) But otherwise this movie is aces in my book.
Goddamn this movie rules. A kid who is equal parts Kevin McCalister, John Rambo, and McGuyver must defend himself, and his ailing grandpa from a psychotic Santa on Christmas Eve.
I can’t always tell how good an actor someone is with foreign movies, but the kid was great. When he was scared, or sad I was right there along with him. He didn’t do much acting, but now does a lot of visual effects work in some of the biggest Super hero movies.
Some of the editing, and transition shots are really bad, and there is violence against animals. (I know that’s a dealbreaker for some) But otherwise this movie is aces in my book.
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Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) 8/10
A soul crusher of a movie that made me cry multiple times (Kathy talking about her eating/feeling useless, Ninny's story of her son, the entire Ruth scene towards the end + the lake story was the hardest, Ninny sitting alone towards the end). Fantastic performances from Kathy Bates as Evelyn, Jessica Tandy as Ninny, Mary-Louise Parker as Ruth, and a movie stealing one from Mary Stuart Masterson as Idgie. Stan Shaw as Big George was equally memorable and Nick Searcy as Frank Bennett was so despicable.
The plot is that Evelyn goes to a nursing home to see her husband's Aunt but ends up talking with Ninny throughout the movie who shares the lead-up to/cause behind Frank Bennett's murder and its ties to the Fried Green Tomato Cafe run by Idgie & Ruth.
Loved the juxtaposition of Evelyn's character and her relationship with her husband in the present vs. Idgie/Ruth's background and evolution. Director Jon Avnet made it a lived-in feel whether it was the hospital setting, at the Cafe, or even the home in the beginning (did not expect what happened to happen there!). Avnet's directed 5 episodes of Sneaky Pete and 10 of Justified but is probably best known for this movie.
The Idgie/Ruth relationship was subtexted but a lot more... obvious than I was expecting going in. There's nothing overt necessarily and maybe it's looking at it with 2023 lenses (and knowing they were in a relationship going in) but I was pleasantly surprised how they wrote the relationship in the movie. Watching Idgie's character today and there's no question.
A soul crusher of a movie that made me cry multiple times (Kathy talking about her eating/feeling useless, Ninny's story of her son, the entire Ruth scene towards the end + the lake story was the hardest, Ninny sitting alone towards the end). Fantastic performances from Kathy Bates as Evelyn, Jessica Tandy as Ninny, Mary-Louise Parker as Ruth, and a movie stealing one from Mary Stuart Masterson as Idgie. Stan Shaw as Big George was equally memorable and Nick Searcy as Frank Bennett was so despicable.
The plot is that Evelyn goes to a nursing home to see her husband's Aunt but ends up talking with Ninny throughout the movie who shares the lead-up to/cause behind Frank Bennett's murder and its ties to the Fried Green Tomato Cafe run by Idgie & Ruth.
Loved the juxtaposition of Evelyn's character and her relationship with her husband in the present vs. Idgie/Ruth's background and evolution. Director Jon Avnet made it a lived-in feel whether it was the hospital setting, at the Cafe, or even the home in the beginning (did not expect what happened to happen there!). Avnet's directed 5 episodes of Sneaky Pete and 10 of Justified but is probably best known for this movie.
The Idgie/Ruth relationship was subtexted but a lot more... obvious than I was expecting going in. There's nothing overt necessarily and maybe it's looking at it with 2023 lenses (and knowing they were in a relationship going in) but I was pleasantly surprised how they wrote the relationship in the movie. Watching Idgie's character today and there's no question.
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I liked this a little more and would go 6/10. Maybe 6.5/10. It definitely felt Mr. robot esque with the unanswered questions and vagueness. Lacked the power of the tv show. I guess there are a lot of Mr. Robot references and Easter eggs, but I've only seen two seasons.
I did like the visuals and performances. I really like late period serious Julia Roberts and I enjoyed her misanthropic performance here. Ethan Hawke has played roles like this forever but I still liked him and thought he was good in the Kevin Bacon scene. Mahershala Ali was good as well and the man has so much presence. He's gonna be a great Blade for sure. Even if it comes out when he's in his mid 50s.
The running gag about Friends made me roll my eyes though. It felt like a weaker version of the Mr. Robot bit where the young guy was obsessing over Seinfeld.
I'll also say I was engaged throughout the runtime. I had a feeling it would drag, but I was invested for the entire nearly 140 minute runtime. Especially compared to the similarly long netflix movie Reptile, which is the biggest slog I've watched in a while.
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Yeah, it sounds like people who watched his Mr. Robot show generally liked this a lot more than people (like me) who never watched the series or just never got into it. I was engaged but not necessarily in a good way, more like I just kept waiting for something to happen/something to be explained. It kept veering off into interesting side plots (the oil tanker hitting the beach, the sound wave thing, the deer randomly congregating then running away, Ali's character implying all these powerful people knew ahead of time, the unknown person that left a lying imprint in the shed, etc.) and it never just stopped and gave a reason why. It just... was a scene with X.
This felt like a better concept for an 8 to 10 episode series. I'm not saying everything has to be explained but the amount of plotholes/unanswered questions/vagueness (for me anyway) just doesn't work for a movie. You can get away with it in a TV show because you can answer it in a later episode but a movie has to have some kind of an answer, even if it's a shitty, awful one or just hinted it (see FGT and whether Idgie was supposed to be Ninny or not). There's a reason people talk about stories having a beginning, middle, and end.
To me, not having a strong resolution (or any resolution) is the sign of a shitty screenwriter. I've read people arguing that the way it ended made for realism & made it realistic but realism doesn't always make for a good story, which is what TV/Movies are all about. It just makes for a "real" story. It's like telling a long-winded joke with no punchline vs. telling a shorter joke with a shitty punchline. At least you get a punchline.
Dandy
Posts: 3,237
Even though I was always all-in on the USA Network shows, I never watched Suits when it first ran. I’ve been tearing it up on Netflix though, and I am hooked. I’m in the second half of Season 5. Looked for a thread/season threads on here to try and go back and read everyone’s thoughts as it aired, but didn’t locate any.
Fall of Epic
Epic Reine
I watched the whole series this past summer. Highly entertaining.