Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +2

[ProstheticConscience]

Chopper

with Eric Bana and other, lesser known Australian people.

Ever heard of Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read? If you were unfortunate enough to be a drug dealer in Melbourne in the 70's, 80's or 90's, you definitely did. He was a uniquely Australian class of criminal called the Standover Man; a predator who preys on other criminals, kidnapping and torturing them until they hand over all their money, then disposing of them. Why did nobody ever shoot this guy, you may ask? Well, they did. They also stabbed him, bashed him, sliced and diced his innards, ran him over, but the Chopper just kept on coming. He extorted protection from nightclubs, massage parlours, brothels, and other illegal ventures for decades...though spent most of his time in prison for it. Famous for his ability to withstand and dish out more pain than anyone else, he was feared and hated by the vast majority of the Melbourne underworld. Even more so when so when he started writing books about his experiences and acquaintances. Yet more so when the books were successful. And even more when they made a movie about him with Eric Bana in the starring role.

Chopper admitted to killing something like 20 people, but he was only ever tried for one of those killings, and he beat that rap. He became famous in Australia and beyond for his wit and turn of phrase, though his books do tend to suffer from the fact that you know you're reading the accounts of a psychopathic bullshit artist who made his living for decades as a hitman, torturer and hired gun. Still, throughout it all, he never lost his sense of humour. Intelligence does shine through in his prose and the movie, although the movie is a pale reflection of the books. It's more a compilation of some of his best jokes with some dramatized accounts of him going from fit, fast and furious prison fighter to overweight paranoid on the streets of Melbourne. Worth watching if you're into criminal stuff. His books are better, though they tend to get more same-y as time goes on.

On youtube. Also on disc in my library.

I'm just a bloody normal bloke. A normal bloke who likes a bit of torture!

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Aladdin (2019)
A kind-hearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.

5/10

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
Super-assassin John Wick is on the run after killing a member of the international assassin's guild, and with a $14 million price tag on his head - he is the target of hit men and women everywhere.

6/10

 

[ORRFForever]

It: Chapter 2 - I liked Chapter 1, it was simple and at times efficient, but this is a total turd. The only good thing about it is Xavier Dolan (which came in as a total surprise to me, I was like "nah, that's not possible, must be someone who looks like him... speaks like him? acts like him? That's Xavier motha****in Dolan, man!"), and he probably has the best scene of the film. After that, it's downhill to absurdity, and in none of the good ways. The distanciation didn't help either, the allusions to the "bad ending" were cute at first and then just weird, and the King cameo and stuff like "Here's Johnny!" just made it worse... - 3/10

I thought the first 1.5 hours was really well done and well paced.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I thought the first 1.5 hours was really well done and well paced.

I couldn't say when that timeframe goes into the movie. I didn't mind the length at all. The whole introduction of the characters and Mike's phone calls were pretty good. Shit hit the fan when the "get your tokens alone" stuff got in. The whole token thing was pretty dumb in itself, but it also forced these episodic vignettes into the narrative. I thought it was very à propos that they referenced A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, because it felt real close to its bullshit structure at some points (at that point in the Freddy films, even if they had a perfect narrative motor - you dream alone - the vignettes were completely forced and killed the pace too).

 

[Osprey]

I'm just a bloody normal bloke. A normal bloke who likes a bit of torture!

It's Bennett from Commando! Oddly enough, he's Australian, as well. I re-watched Commando just the other day and my running thought throughout was that the only thing that lets that awesome film down is that Bennett isn't believable as a fearsome killer. Who knew?

 

[OzzyFan]

The Goldfinch
2.75 out of 4stars

A good lengthy contemplative analytical look at grief (and guilt) from many different angles and points of view. It does move slow, but definitely with purpose imo. The end also picks up a lot for those curious. Had me thinking about it a good bit after.

Ad Astra
2.50 out of 4stars

Definitely a visual sight to see on the big screen, that said the story is only so deep and the less is more approach really doesn't work. Far and away the story about future space travel extending almost as far as our entire solar system and the growth of everything surrounding it's circumstances and the mystery of his "dead/missing" father was more interesting to me than the scattershot touched upon father/son relationship drama. That said, the sci fi stuff makes up a good bit for the relationship angle missteps, even if the message is perfectly on point come the end of the movie. Not perfect, but definitely intriguing to anyone with an eye for space/visuals and a curiosity of future space events for human civilization.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

It's Bennett from Commando! Oddly enough, he's Australian, as well. I re-watched Commando just the other day and my running thought throughout was that the only thing that lets that awesome film down is that Bennett isn't believable as a fearsome killer. Who knew?

He was quite believable as a fearsome killer in the Road Warrior. The lieutenant with the pink mohawk and assless chaps? That was him.

 

[Osprey]

He was quite believable as a fearsome killer in the Road Warrior. The lieutenant with the pink mohawk and assless chaps? That was him.

Are you insinuating that the Commando production team was at fault for giving him a pornstar mustache and dressing him up like one of the Village People? You could be onto something.

 

[Osprey]

Avengement (2019) - 6/10 (Liked it)

A mostly honest man (Scott Adkins) that's been scarred and hardened by years in prison escapes to seek vengeance against the crooked men (including his own brother) that put him there. With a dumb title, an unoriginal sounding plot and a star that I wasn't familiar with, I would've have bothered with this except for the fact that it has an 87% critic score at RT. I had to see what that was all about. What I discovered is a British action movie that basically does one thing and does it really well: fight scenes. This brawler is packed with well choreographed fights that are brutal and visceral. It likely helped that Adkins (who makes for one mean, scary looking star in this) is also a martial artist and that the director is a former stunt coordinator. Considering that I wasn't familiar with Adkins or the rest of the cast and it's essentially a straight-to-video movie, I expected mediocre acting and was rather surprised by how good it is all around, at least for an action movie. The plot is simple (as most revenge plots are) and the flashback structure occasionally feels goofy, but the action is very satisfying. It's sort of like a British John Wick, but grittier and more bare knuckled. If you're into fight movies, revenge movies, prison movies or even just British crime movies, and you like 'em violent, it's worth checking out. It's available on Netflix.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Ad Astra - 8/10

I originally had this a 7.5/10 in the movie thread, but the more I thought about it and discussed it, the more I liked it. Now, this rating isn't specifically just about the quality of the movie, but also the thoughts is provokes. It's nothing that hasn't been touched before, but it's a new way to touch upon it, and I appreciated that. Definitely wish I could have seen this in iMax, as the cinematography is so beautiful.

I should add that I am actually going to be seeing it a second time this week. I am very interested to see whether this enhances or hurts my feelings on the movie. I now know what's going to happen, so I can just sit back and immerse myself in this world. But, I could also see the movie dragging even more this time around, so I just don't know what to expect.

 

[tacogeoff]

Angry Birds 2.

Took my 3 year old son to his first movie this weekend. I honestly dont think I have laughed that hard during a movie in quite a while. They nailed the characters and subliminal adult humor to make this a very enjoyable film. Funny and adventurous.

8/10.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Late Night (2019) - 5.5/10 - Mindy Kaling meh

Support The Girls (2019) - 6.5/10 - Not great, not terrible

Shame (1968) - 7.5/10 - It was fine

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Between 2 Ferns: The Movie - 7.5/10

The actual interviewing was actually the best part, which was fully expected. But also really enjoyed the satirical elements on the “storyline” as well. Fun little movie to watch if you have some time.

 

[ORRFForever]

Late Night (2019) - 5.5/10

You are too kind.

 

[ORRFForever]

The Brothers Warner [2007] :

Cass Warner directed this love letter to her family. Unfortunately, she glazed over the ugly parts - and there were a lot of those.

It is unwatchable.

3/10

Movie Trailer :

 

[Trap Jesus]

Saw Ready or Not. I don't really have too much to say about it, it was a really fun movie although nothing amazing. I think sometimes they tried a bit too hard with the humor, but there were definitely numerous times where it really landed. I could see the ending coming a mile off, but it didn't really take away from anything. I've seen some complaints that they kind of botch character development towards the end and I would tend to agree with that. Samara Weaving is definitely really good as the lead here.

I was expecting it to subvert horror conventions or something a lot more but that's not what I got out of it at all. Despite that I would certainly compare it to You're Next as the closest movie comparable though.

 

[heatnikki]

Midsommar. Wickerman like story of odd Swedish cult / commune. Enjoyable if a bit long. 7/10

 

[ORRFForever]

Midsommar. Wickerman like story of odd Swedish cult / commune. Enjoyable if a bit long. 7/10

Yup.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Burn After Reading - 8.5/10

Not a ton to say. Probably not a movie for everyone, but holy shit did I enjoy every minute of this.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Burn After Reading - 8.5/10

Not a ton to say. Probably not a movie for everyone, but holy **** did I enjoy every minute of this.

That's easily my favorite Brad Pitt performance. I always go back to this scene, his comedic acting is so goo here:

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

That's easily my favorite Brad Pitt performance. I always go back to this scene, his comedic acting is so goo here:

Hilarious scene! I was laughing pretty much every single time Pitt came on screen. Fantastic performance. Makes me wish he did more comedy.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Rambo: Last Blood - Didn't go to see a great film, but was at least expecting a Rambo film. This didn't have the "feel" at all - I never bought that this was the old John Rambo, felt like they didn't know how to write him as an old man. And the overall thing is weirdly written. You know exactly what will happen

Spoiler

except I wasn't expecting them to go that far with the girl

, and it does, but without any meat around it. The whole second part of the movie is so much to-the-point that it feels like a condensed version of the actual thing. Saddly can't go over 3/10 here.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)
A Philadelphia police officer struggles with a lifelong obsession to track down a mysterious serial killer whose crimes defy explanation.

5/10

 

[Sega Dreamcast]

Empire Records - 1995
A delightful and fun story about the employees at an independent record store. I was entertained throughout, even if some of the storylines were a little ridiculous. Funny enough that I'd watch it again, and I recommend it to anyone that likes 90's movies.

7/10

Any Given Sunday (Director's Cut) - 1999
Oliver Stone's caricature about professional football. It's an intruiging concept, but there are so many pointless cameos and scenes that are shocking for the sake of being shocking. The movie had great potential and there are certainly some great scenes, but it's so disappointing how many characters and storylines go absolutely nowhere. I hate to say it, but I kinda want to watch it again, as if I were rubbernecking a car crash.

5.5/10

 

[Babe Ruth]

Empire Records - 1995
A delightful and fun story about the employees at an independent record store. I was entertained throughout.. recommend it to anyone that likes 90's movies.

Good description.. I've watched it a couple times over the years. Nothing really substantive about it, but I liked it.
And as the years have passed, my appreciation for it's nostalgic value increases. Pretty fair depiction of mid 90s suburban teen' culture.
Have the same feeling about Singles, not a great movie solely on it's storytelling.. but it's a cool nostalgic trip for early 90s. peace