I love the actor, but John Lithgow not giving a shit enough to try a Maine accent really irks me. Jud feels so empty without that voice. And Lithgow always gives it his all so it was weird seeing him clearly acting for a check.
Chat! culturecrossfire.slack.com
I Just Watched... (Movies/TV/DVD)
- Thread starter HarleyQuinn
- Start date
THE GROUND......IS BAD.
- Messages
- 22,668
- Reaction score
- 2,150
- Points
- 313
Watched Logan Lucky on Prime. Really enjoyed it a lot with a great cast, good direction, and I'm always game for a fun heist movie. Well recommended and I think 909 did a review of it too.
Brooklyn Zoo
BZ
- Messages
- 17,717
- Reaction score
- 798
- Points
- 263
Daniel Craig is a great comedic actor (Knives Out is another).
Master Thrasher
Seven Time Tetris 99 Champ!
Joyful & Soyful said:
It's funny how the family is from Boston, yet none of them have Boston accents. I know Jason Clarke is Australian and he has the same American accent in all his movies.
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
If it's any consolation, there isn't a Maine or Boston accent in the first movie, either.
Master Thrasher
Seven Time Tetris 99 Champ!
HBO Go is free and I'm binge watching Silicon Valley.
Master Thrasher
Seven Time Tetris 99 Champ!
I just watched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and I hated it.
I like Francis McDormand, Woody Harlson, and Sam Rockwell but this was a badly written movie.
TLDR The trailer was better than the movie and everyone was unlikable in the movie except for the police inspector.
I like Francis McDormand, Woody Harlson, and Sam Rockwell but this was a badly written movie.
Seven months before the start of the movie, Francis' daughter is raped and set on fire. She's upset that no one's been caught. I'm not a parent but I could see why she's upset. It's tough to catch anyone if there aren't any leads. Anyway instead of going to papers, nightly news, or Reddit, she spots three dilapidated billboards on a back road. Francis goes to ad agency, which is across from the police station, and talks to the owner. She hands over $5K in cash before knowing how much it will cost to the use them.
The ads calling out Sheriff Woody are put up and Deputy Sam Rockwell sees them and goes apeshit. He calls Woody and Woody tells Francis I'm sorry, we took DNA, and it didn't match anyone in the criminal database. She gets upset and says every single male should be DNA tested. Woody to his credit says it's a civil liberties issue. He also announces he has cancel and he doesn't have much long to live. She says everyone in town knows. I thought he was faking it to get sympathy.
Anyway, a few days later, Sheriff Woody commits suicide because cancer. Sam goes apeshit and goes across the street and beats the hell out of the owner of the ad agency and throws him off the second story. Half the town probably saw it. The police inspector who's replacing Woody arrives just in time to see it happen. Sam gets suspended or fired.
A few days later, the billboards are set on fire. Francis does what she can to save them. She doesn't call the fire department because she thinks they might be behind it.They burn down but there are three other billboards somewhere else where the message can go up.
Heel Sam Rockwell goes to the police station at night because Woody left him a letter. There is no else there and it's pitch black. I guess it's ran like a 8 to 5 business. Woody says he's a good man and he needs a heart to be a detective. Suddenly Sam turns into a face. Francis calls the police and no one picks up. She then starts throwing molotov cocktails at the police station. It burns down as Sam takes her daughter's case file and jumps through the window of the station. Luckily Peter Dinklage is in the area and saves him as Francis looks on. The police and fire come and the police inspector only has two witnesses and one of them has a grudge against them. He believes their paper thin alibi and Peter blackmails her into a date.
She goes on a date with Peter and her ex-husband is there at the same restaurant and he's like I burned those billboards down. He really cares about his dead daughter. Meanwhile Sam is covered in bandages as he goes into his hospital room. His roommate is the guy he unleashed his police brutality. Sam is like I'm sorry and the guy is like nope and here's some orange juice.
Sam gets out of the hospital with some scars and goes to a bar and two guys are talking and one is like Hell yeah I fucked her and set her on fire. Sam leaves the bar and looks at the license plate on car in front. Now he could call one of his cop buddies and leave a tip or scrap the man's face to get DNA evidence that no court the world would allow. Sam goes home and uses his DNA sampling kit to test the DNA. Face Sam calls up Francis and says I have lead. It turns out he doesn't as the DNA doesn't match and the guy wasn't in the country at the time. Face Sam calls Francis up and tells her and she's like I'm going to Idaho and he wants to come to. So they're driving to Idaho and tells him she burned down the station. Face Sam is like LOL everyone knew it.
The end.
The ads calling out Sheriff Woody are put up and Deputy Sam Rockwell sees them and goes apeshit. He calls Woody and Woody tells Francis I'm sorry, we took DNA, and it didn't match anyone in the criminal database. She gets upset and says every single male should be DNA tested. Woody to his credit says it's a civil liberties issue. He also announces he has cancel and he doesn't have much long to live. She says everyone in town knows. I thought he was faking it to get sympathy.
Anyway, a few days later, Sheriff Woody commits suicide because cancer. Sam goes apeshit and goes across the street and beats the hell out of the owner of the ad agency and throws him off the second story. Half the town probably saw it. The police inspector who's replacing Woody arrives just in time to see it happen. Sam gets suspended or fired.
A few days later, the billboards are set on fire. Francis does what she can to save them. She doesn't call the fire department because she thinks they might be behind it.They burn down but there are three other billboards somewhere else where the message can go up.
Heel Sam Rockwell goes to the police station at night because Woody left him a letter. There is no else there and it's pitch black. I guess it's ran like a 8 to 5 business. Woody says he's a good man and he needs a heart to be a detective. Suddenly Sam turns into a face. Francis calls the police and no one picks up. She then starts throwing molotov cocktails at the police station. It burns down as Sam takes her daughter's case file and jumps through the window of the station. Luckily Peter Dinklage is in the area and saves him as Francis looks on. The police and fire come and the police inspector only has two witnesses and one of them has a grudge against them. He believes their paper thin alibi and Peter blackmails her into a date.
She goes on a date with Peter and her ex-husband is there at the same restaurant and he's like I burned those billboards down. He really cares about his dead daughter. Meanwhile Sam is covered in bandages as he goes into his hospital room. His roommate is the guy he unleashed his police brutality. Sam is like I'm sorry and the guy is like nope and here's some orange juice.
Sam gets out of the hospital with some scars and goes to a bar and two guys are talking and one is like Hell yeah I fucked her and set her on fire. Sam leaves the bar and looks at the license plate on car in front. Now he could call one of his cop buddies and leave a tip or scrap the man's face to get DNA evidence that no court the world would allow. Sam goes home and uses his DNA sampling kit to test the DNA. Face Sam calls up Francis and says I have lead. It turns out he doesn't as the DNA doesn't match and the guy wasn't in the country at the time. Face Sam calls Francis up and tells her and she's like I'm going to Idaho and he wants to come to. So they're driving to Idaho and tells him she burned down the station. Face Sam is like LOL everyone knew it.
The end.
TLDR The trailer was better than the movie and everyone was unlikable in the movie except for the police inspector.
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
My girlfriend has never seen any Toxic Avenger movie. Last night, in honor of what would've been my mother's 62nd birthday, we watched the first one, notorious in my family for being the reason my mom had to pre-screen any and all movies I rented that weren't PG. Walking in on a 6-year-old watching a kid get his head crushed under a car will do that.
One thing that struck me hard, having not watched it since high school, was how truly vicious and disturbing a lot of the violence was. Some kills were cartoony and goofy, like the infamous head crushing scene at the gym, but there were plenty of gunshots that had so much weight to them that I'd dare say they were realistic in execution. Tonally, they aided in helping me root for Toxie, but the over-the-top slapstick humor was sorely needed after seeing a dog take a 12 gauge and slide across the floor.
Watching my favorite of the series, Citizen Toxie, right now. The gore is so much more cartoonish than the original, and the politically incorrect humor isn't as funny as it was ~20 years ago (but still gets some chuckles). Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD is the best part of the whole thing, just being an abject failure of a hero and a drunk. You can tell everybody involved was all-in on the project and knew exactly what they were in for, and that exuberance carries it full steam ahead. It's also a blast seeing Lemmy and Julie Strain again.
One thing that struck me hard, having not watched it since high school, was how truly vicious and disturbing a lot of the violence was. Some kills were cartoony and goofy, like the infamous head crushing scene at the gym, but there were plenty of gunshots that had so much weight to them that I'd dare say they were realistic in execution. Tonally, they aided in helping me root for Toxie, but the over-the-top slapstick humor was sorely needed after seeing a dog take a 12 gauge and slide across the floor.
Watching my favorite of the series, Citizen Toxie, right now. The gore is so much more cartoonish than the original, and the politically incorrect humor isn't as funny as it was ~20 years ago (but still gets some chuckles). Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD is the best part of the whole thing, just being an abject failure of a hero and a drunk. You can tell everybody involved was all-in on the project and knew exactly what they were in for, and that exuberance carries it full steam ahead. It's also a blast seeing Lemmy and Julie Strain again.
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
Last night I watched Friday the 13th IV and tonight I watched VI. I’d seen 1-3 recent enough. And these two probably not in close to 20 years.
FRIDAY THE 13TH IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER
Very enjoyable. You don’t get many solid actors in this series, so Crispin Glover really stood out above everyone else in this one. I’d forgotten just how much nudity was in this one. I’d remembered this being way more focused on the Jarvis family. But it was mainly the kids next door and I didn’t remember it that way. Some good kills. Once they get going it doesn’t take much of a break.
Skipped part V. Not really a Jason movie.
FRIDAY THE 13TH VI: JASON LIVES
I had always remembered this one as my favorite in the series. Not so sure now. Might put it being 2, 3, and 4. The Amazon Prime version seemed cut to ribbons as far as censored kills go. I know it’s an issue with the series. It tries to be a little too jokey at times. I got one snicker at a very subtle joke. It’s bizarre seeing actual small children put into danger in this series. This is the only one I remember doing so. I’ve always gotten a laugh out of the “c’mon, Jason. Ya pussy!” Line. Zero nudity. Which was almost confusing after the skin-fest in IV.
FRIDAY THE 13TH IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER
Very enjoyable. You don’t get many solid actors in this series, so Crispin Glover really stood out above everyone else in this one. I’d forgotten just how much nudity was in this one. I’d remembered this being way more focused on the Jarvis family. But it was mainly the kids next door and I didn’t remember it that way. Some good kills. Once they get going it doesn’t take much of a break.
Skipped part V. Not really a Jason movie.
FRIDAY THE 13TH VI: JASON LIVES
I had always remembered this one as my favorite in the series. Not so sure now. Might put it being 2, 3, and 4. The Amazon Prime version seemed cut to ribbons as far as censored kills go. I know it’s an issue with the series. It tries to be a little too jokey at times. I got one snicker at a very subtle joke. It’s bizarre seeing actual small children put into danger in this series. This is the only one I remember doing so. I’ve always gotten a laugh out of the “c’mon, Jason. Ya pussy!” Line. Zero nudity. Which was almost confusing after the skin-fest in IV.
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
15 minutes left in Terrifier and I am counting down the seconds. I usually don’t play on my phone during a movie. But I can’t help it with this one.
Brooklyn Zoo
BZ
- Messages
- 17,717
- Reaction score
- 798
- Points
- 263
Watch Terrified instead
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
STUDZ said:
Went into the movie totally blind. I just knew the clown had some kind of cult following.
I felt like the first few scenes of the movie featuring the clown had good tension. But once it got going I just couldn’t make myself get interested.
Gary
Mind. Body. Light. Sound.
Youth N Asia said:
I feel like, among other things, it suffers from post "Hatchet" syndrome-meaning that it's obsessed with showing you super gory kills and hopes it's killer will be an instant slasher icon but they forget the importance of things like a script. It's a try hard and nothing more.
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
I turned that trash off the moment the clown used a gun to kill somebody. Supernatural slashers shouldn't use firearms, it defeats the purpose.
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
Avid Warehouse Enthusiast said:
That did leave me a bit baffled. If you’re going to make your slasher villain unkillable... why give him a gun as well? Jason only shot harpoons.
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
The best part of the movie was Catherine Corcoran. And she dies first.
Gary
Mind. Body. Light. Sound.
"Underwater" has some real flaws (iffy CG, scenes that are way too murky and the mere presence of TJ Miller) but it ended up being a better movie than I expected thanks to some solid suspense, Kristen Stewart delivering a great performance (which I expected) and the ending, which....
a fan of Lovecraft? You might love the ending of this movie.
Cthulhu is in this movie you guys
- Messages
- 22,668
- Reaction score
- 2,150
- Points
- 313
The Miseducation of Emily Post
Girl gets found making out with the prom queen in her car by girl's BF and subsequently gets sent to a gay conversion camp.
Well acted and I liked Chloe Grace Moretz in the lead role. I felt like the characters were all somewhat underwritten with a few scenes going on long to pad the run time. Given the subject matter it felt like there were times that the film was going a bit "beat by beat" with everything such as the obvious plot element which always comes up in these movies: Character learns something via letter/in person, has a mental or nervous breakdown, then commits a serious physical act upon themselves so that the lead character can wrestle with how to deal with that trauma and/or decide to leave or better themselves. A staple act in these kinds of films and I was a little disappointed it happened here.
Caveat in that I have not seen Boy Erased yet (which I really want to do) but I feel like there are better films that dealt with similar subject matter out there such as 2017's To The Bone dealing with anorexia and which I think I posted a quick review of in a thread on this board. Try this film out if you want to see Moretz play a lesbian or are looking for a standard-ish movie dealing with a teen going to a conversion camp. I went into this with higher expectations since I had heard good word of mouth about it and it was mostly solid but its flaws were equally obvious too.
6/10
Girl gets found making out with the prom queen in her car by girl's BF and subsequently gets sent to a gay conversion camp.
Well acted and I liked Chloe Grace Moretz in the lead role. I felt like the characters were all somewhat underwritten with a few scenes going on long to pad the run time. Given the subject matter it felt like there were times that the film was going a bit "beat by beat" with everything such as the obvious plot element which always comes up in these movies: Character learns something via letter/in person, has a mental or nervous breakdown, then commits a serious physical act upon themselves so that the lead character can wrestle with how to deal with that trauma and/or decide to leave or better themselves. A staple act in these kinds of films and I was a little disappointed it happened here.
Caveat in that I have not seen Boy Erased yet (which I really want to do) but I feel like there are better films that dealt with similar subject matter out there such as 2017's To The Bone dealing with anorexia and which I think I posted a quick review of in a thread on this board. Try this film out if you want to see Moretz play a lesbian or are looking for a standard-ish movie dealing with a teen going to a conversion camp. I went into this with higher expectations since I had heard good word of mouth about it and it was mostly solid but its flaws were equally obvious too.
6/10
Boy Erased is definitely the better of these two stories.
- Messages
- 22,668
- Reaction score
- 2,150
- Points
- 313
Firmino of the 909 said:
Does it do a better job of digging deeper into the issues? I feel like a lot of films, including Miseducation of Cameron Post, try to tip toe up to the issue or go surface level with the subject matter and relations to characters but then once it reaches a specific plot point (or even a few) where it can go beyond that line, there's a realization and necessity to just pull back rather than explore. Even simple stuff such as Cameron getting the "letter" from Coley is very briefly touched upon as far as its impact on Cam's character, their relative situations & the fact that Cameron's dealing with this but Coley got off scot-free so to speak, etc.
Harley Quinn said:
Yep. They go very far into digging into those issues. The ending is cheesy but it's a true story. So, that's unavoidable.
RedJed
Rasslin' Rambler
Been trying to focus on one franchise after the next in total distraction from all this crazy CV shit.
The first one was, much like Laz, I did a re-watch of all of the Toxic Avenger films. This started by finally watching the Troma doc "Welcome to Tromaville" on Prime (they also have a few other Lloyd Kaufman docs on there too) and that got me in the mood to rewatch them. All of the Toxic Avenger films are all free on Prime as well FYI
Original Toxic Avenger: This still holds up quite well in a nostalgic way (I've seen this one at least a dozen times) but like Laz, I was surprised at how the violent tone hit at some points, and not in a campy way. I still really enjoyed the rewatch though, and forgot Marissa Tomei actually had a small cameo in this!
Toxie 2: I ended up watching my unrated director's cut DVD on this one which has TONS more than the rated version I saw eons ago. Try finding this version if you want the full experience, its about 13 minutes longer. Prime may have the right version but I am not sure.
Toxie 3: This was kind of a mess, but I enjoyed the 5 levels of doom sequence in a cheesy manner. It delivered on that end, as did the video store scene at the beginning. The effects, for Troma standards, were pretty wild. Funny factoid is over half of this film was actually originally supposed to be in Part 2 (that cut was originally over 3 hours long) but they decided to cut things to fit a separate film. Many characters that were killed in part 2 magically reappeared here, but that's Troma for you. Also to note, Michael Jai White made his acting debut in part 2 and slightly in part 3.
Citizen Toxie: I really enjoyed the rewatch on this one, TONS of cameos from former Troma actors, and a wacky wild yet somewhat coherant story too.
I still wish we would get a part 5/Toxie Twins film! Hopefully someday but Troma in general has been quiet on the forefront for years now it feels like.
My next franchise re-watch is going to be the Class of Nuke Em High franchise, including the Return to Nuke Em High films that came out not too long ago (esp. the second one).
The first one was, much like Laz, I did a re-watch of all of the Toxic Avenger films. This started by finally watching the Troma doc "Welcome to Tromaville" on Prime (they also have a few other Lloyd Kaufman docs on there too) and that got me in the mood to rewatch them. All of the Toxic Avenger films are all free on Prime as well FYI
Original Toxic Avenger: This still holds up quite well in a nostalgic way (I've seen this one at least a dozen times) but like Laz, I was surprised at how the violent tone hit at some points, and not in a campy way. I still really enjoyed the rewatch though, and forgot Marissa Tomei actually had a small cameo in this!
Toxie 2: I ended up watching my unrated director's cut DVD on this one which has TONS more than the rated version I saw eons ago. Try finding this version if you want the full experience, its about 13 minutes longer. Prime may have the right version but I am not sure.
Toxie 3: This was kind of a mess, but I enjoyed the 5 levels of doom sequence in a cheesy manner. It delivered on that end, as did the video store scene at the beginning. The effects, for Troma standards, were pretty wild. Funny factoid is over half of this film was actually originally supposed to be in Part 2 (that cut was originally over 3 hours long) but they decided to cut things to fit a separate film. Many characters that were killed in part 2 magically reappeared here, but that's Troma for you. Also to note, Michael Jai White made his acting debut in part 2 and slightly in part 3.
Citizen Toxie: I really enjoyed the rewatch on this one, TONS of cameos from former Troma actors, and a wacky wild yet somewhat coherant story too.
I still wish we would get a part 5/Toxie Twins film! Hopefully someday but Troma in general has been quiet on the forefront for years now it feels like.
My next franchise re-watch is going to be the Class of Nuke Em High franchise, including the Return to Nuke Em High films that came out not too long ago (esp. the second one).
RedJed
Rasslin' Rambler
The other run I have done and am still watching is the Swamp Thing franchise
Original Swamp Thing: Wow, this film doesn't hold up well whatsoever. I was shocked Wes Craven both wrote and directed this, and in a terrible way. Thank god he followed up this mess with Elm Street. I'm shocked this still has cult status attached to it because its so terribly dull and could have/should have been done so much better. The tone was way too serious for this stuff.
Return of Swamp Thing: The tone in the sequel was SO much better, campy and wacky as the first really should have been. Kind of shocking looking back that they got Heather Locklear involved in this one, but she handled it with the right direction. I liked this one much better than the original for sure.
Swamp Thing 90s Series: I just watched about 7 episodes randomly from season two, and was far from impressed. Apparently the first few seasons are on Prime (but ya gotta pay). This was originally aired on Sci-Fi in the early 90s, shocklingly lasted three long seasons.
Swamp Thing DC Series from 2019: I never subscribed to the DC streaming, but found a physical copy of this abridged 10 ep season and subsequent series completion as DC/Warner cancelled it as it was even still filming. From what I've seen so far (I'm halfway through) I'm REALLY liking this as its more horror and dark than anything Swamp Thing has ever been. Much more meticulousness in the story and the gore/effects is hella impressive in this series. Its a shame it went through the BS it went through.
Original Swamp Thing: Wow, this film doesn't hold up well whatsoever. I was shocked Wes Craven both wrote and directed this, and in a terrible way. Thank god he followed up this mess with Elm Street. I'm shocked this still has cult status attached to it because its so terribly dull and could have/should have been done so much better. The tone was way too serious for this stuff.
Return of Swamp Thing: The tone in the sequel was SO much better, campy and wacky as the first really should have been. Kind of shocking looking back that they got Heather Locklear involved in this one, but she handled it with the right direction. I liked this one much better than the original for sure.
Swamp Thing 90s Series: I just watched about 7 episodes randomly from season two, and was far from impressed. Apparently the first few seasons are on Prime (but ya gotta pay). This was originally aired on Sci-Fi in the early 90s, shocklingly lasted three long seasons.
Swamp Thing DC Series from 2019: I never subscribed to the DC streaming, but found a physical copy of this abridged 10 ep season and subsequent series completion as DC/Warner cancelled it as it was even still filming. From what I've seen so far (I'm halfway through) I'm REALLY liking this as its more horror and dark than anything Swamp Thing has ever been. Much more meticulousness in the story and the gore/effects is hella impressive in this series. Its a shame it went through the BS it went through.
Youth N Asia
Boners, and farts.
It Chapter Two
Meh. Not much happening in this one for me. That 2:49 runtime was unforgivable. This could have been under two hours and been just fine by me.
The CGI faces to de-age the kids for flashback scenes was way too distracting.
Scares were more predictable than last time. Especially when every character goes out on a side quest for a big chunk of the movie. Ok. Here comes the jump scare for this sub story. And then this one... and this one...
Suffers from the same issue as the 1990 mini series for me. Kids in danger is a lot more interesting than the adults. The actors were all just fine, but it never felt too scary. And while it’s unfair to compare this to Tim Curry’s performance. I think having an older Pennywise also makes things scarier.
Meh. Not much happening in this one for me. That 2:49 runtime was unforgivable. This could have been under two hours and been just fine by me.
The CGI faces to de-age the kids for flashback scenes was way too distracting.
Scares were more predictable than last time. Especially when every character goes out on a side quest for a big chunk of the movie. Ok. Here comes the jump scare for this sub story. And then this one... and this one...
Suffers from the same issue as the 1990 mini series for me. Kids in danger is a lot more interesting than the adults. The actors were all just fine, but it never felt too scary. And while it’s unfair to compare this to Tim Curry’s performance. I think having an older Pennywise also makes things scarier.
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
The Expanse is must-see sci-fi television. Thomas Jane makes the best of his time on screen, and if you aren't firmly behind Draper and Amos by the end of S2 then you're wrong.
Started Justified back up. I used to defend the "villain of the week" episodes in the first season but, outside of the episode featuring the criminally underrated Alan Ruck, the episodes that matter most focus on the centralized Raylan/Boyd story. It's still great, and Olyphant is so perfect as Raylan Givens that I still have no issue if he were to play a lawman in everything else he ever does.
Started Justified back up. I used to defend the "villain of the week" episodes in the first season but, outside of the episode featuring the criminally underrated Alan Ruck, the episodes that matter most focus on the centralized Raylan/Boyd story. It's still great, and Olyphant is so perfect as Raylan Givens that I still have no issue if he were to play a lawman in everything else he ever does.
OG
OG
I've been on a run of bad 90's action movies. Watched Gunmen last night. Mario Van Peebles and Christopher Lambert are your heroes and Denis Leary and Patrick Stewart (!!) are your villains. Plus an amazing hip hop soundtrack and cameos from Big Daddy, Rakim and Eric B.
A very odd mixture of talent to say the least. Enjoyable enough, no regrets there.
A very odd mixture of talent to say the least. Enjoyable enough, no regrets there.