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

[Tasty Biscuits]

Good review. I'm intrigued. I've only seen one Baumbach film (The one with Ben Stiller and Adam Driver) and thought it was one of the biggest pieces of ****s I'd ever seen.

While We're Young. Saw it too and I had it at 4/10 - we're far from that with Marriage Story - IMO at least. Also had The Squid and the Whale at 7/10, Greenberg at 6/10, Margot at the Wedding at 4/10. So I guess this new one might be his best effort yet. And I just now learned from IMDB that he directed a documentary about Brian De Palma, I wish I could see that.

Frances Ha (co-written by and starring Greta Gerwig) is worthy of your time.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

While We're Young. Saw it too and I had it at 4/10 - we're far from that with Marriage Story - IMO at least. Also had The Squid and the Whale at 7/10, Greenberg at 6/10, Margot at the Wedding at 4/10. So I guess this new one might be his best effort yet. And I just now learned from IMDB that he directed a documentary about Brian De Palma, I wish I could see that.

Did not realize he did that doc. Watched it a few years back and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Re: Baumbach. I thought Marriage Story was pretty great as well. I'd only add to your summation by saying I appreciated how emotionally varied it was as well. So much of the reaction I have heard/read seems to be how emotionally draining or devastating it is and while there is drama and discomfort, there's also a good amount of humor. By no means a comedy, but there are moments of real and earned levity throughout (both for the characters and for the viewers). If Baumbach ever wants to write a spin-off where Johanssen bickers with her sister and mom, I'd watch it.

Frances Ha remains my favorite movie of his (though this is might be reaaaal close). I'm also a fan of Kicking and Screaming.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Frances Ha (co-written by and starring Greta Gerwig) is worthy of your time.

Damn you, Biscuits. Beat me to that suggestion by a few minutes.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Damn you, Biscuits. Beat me to that suggestion by a few minutes.

Hey, look on the bright side: at least you got the chance to utter the phase "damn you, biscuits."

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Hey, look on the bright side: at least you got the chance to utter the phase "damn you, biscuits."

Well I'm a short order cook at a small Southern roadside diner, so I say it more often than you'd think.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Frances Ha (co-written by and starring Greta Gerwig) is worthy of your time.

Did not realize he did that doc. Watched it a few years back and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Re: Baumbach. I thought Marriage Story was pretty great as well. I'd only add to your summation by saying I appreciated how emotionally varied it was as well. So much of the reaction I have heard/read seems to be how emotionally draining or devastating it is and while there is drama and discomfort, there's also a good amount of humor. By no means a comedy, but there are moments of real and earned levity throughout (both for the characters and for the viewers). If Baumbach ever wants to write a spin-off where Johanssen bickers with her sister and mom, I'd watch it.

Frances Ha remains my favorite movie of his (though this is might be reaaaal close). I'm also a fan of Kicking and Screaming.

Well thank you for the suggestion, I think I saw it was on either Prime or Netflix and I'll try to see it real soon. And yes Kallio, absolutely, that's partly what I meant by emotionally complex - it would have been a lot easier to make it a tearjerker, or to make one of them a villain.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Well I'm a short order cook at a small Southern roadside diner, so I say it more often than you'd think.

Well played, sir

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Frances Ha is in my top 10 of all-time. Re-watched half of it this year and it's just as good as I remember but it was really refreshing when I originally saw it in 2013.

There's similar late-70s film called Girlfriends in terms of plot but Frances Ha is far more entertaining and endearing.

 

[ORRFForever]

I SEE YOU [2019] :

It's hard to put into words the experience of watching I SEE YOU because of how well directed it is versus how preposterous the story is, but I'll try...

The movie opens with a scary looking Helen Hunt (her face is pulled so tight, it makes her look almost featureless) as a wife who recently had an affair that's tearing her family apart. She regrets cheating, but it's too little too late for her husband and son.

Her husband is a police detective who has a lot on his mind because, not only is he hurt from his wife's infidelity, he's trying to find the serial killer of young boys.

Then there is the son : An angry kid who hates his mom.

Oh, and by the way, their house may be haunted.

About half way through I SEE YOU, the movie starts over and we see the story from another perspective. From this new set of eyes, everything is explained and you're left shaking your head, wondering how anything this absurd got approved by a studio.

You also feel bad for director Adam Randall. He obviously has talent so directing this mess had to be painful.

In Summary : If you like twists and turns, logic be damned, you will LOVE this movie. As for me, I'm ashamed to say I enjoyed it. It's garbage, but it's entertaining, suspenseful garbage.

7/10

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Honey Boy - 8/10

 

[ORRFForever]

Bombshell is at only 62% on Rotten Tomatoes. Based on the trailer, I'm not surprised.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Bombshell is at only 62% on Rotten Tomatoes. Based on the trailer, I'm not surprised.

Interesting, I was never interested in the slightest but I thought this was a legit Oscar contender.

 

[ORRFForever]

Interesting, I was never interested in the slightest but I thought this was a legit Oscar contender.

There are so many good movies this Christmas, it might struggle to find an audience given the (slightly below) average reviews.

 

[kihei]

There are so many good movies this Christmas, it might struggle to find an audience given the (slightly below) average reviews.

I could see it doing well in New York and LA and the rest of the country seeing it as a Democratic plot to besmirch their favourite morons on Fox News.

 

[ORRFForever]

I could see it doing well in New York and LA and the rest of the country seeing it as a Democratic plot to besmirch their favourite morons on Fox News.

Me, too.

 

[kihei]

Just watched I See You (slow day), and it was a nice little guilty-pleasure page turner if you can just completely suspend disbelief and not ask too many questions (or any at all, for that matter) about motivations, logic or common sense. Don't know what Helen Hunt is doing in this thing except paying the rent. As for the movie, nothing could have made it all that much better than it is but a little humour might have helped. I chalk the 7/10 rating of ORRFForever as Christmas good will in action,

 

[ORRFForever]

Just watched I See You (slow day), and it was a nice little guilty-pleasure page turner if you can just completely suspend disbelief and not ask too many questions (or any at all, for that matter) about motivations, logic or common sense. Don't know what Helen Hunt is doing in this thing except paying the rent. As for the movie, nothing could have made it all that much better than it is but a little humour might have helped. I chalk the 7/10 rating of ORRFForever as Christmas good will in action,

You gave me my laugh for the day.

Didn't you find it suspenseful? What would you give it out of 10?

I know you have to turn off your brain to watch it but, assuming you do, couldn't you see it as "enjoyable"?

TBH, I'm not sure why I liked it. NONE of it makes sense. Still, I really had fun.

Spoiler

The idea that people could live in your home without you knowing it, just baffles the mind. I'm not sure about your home, but we hear everything in my house and we would wonder what was going on in the attic. Also, where did the visitors go the bathroom?

What if they ate some bad Thai?

Anyway, like you said, you can't ask any questions when watching this one.

P.S. Didn't Helen Hunt look scary?

 

[kihei]

You gave me my laugh for the day.

Didn't you find it suspenseful? What would you give it out of 10?

I know you have to turn off your brain to watch it but, assuming you do, couldn't you see it as "enjoyable"?

TBH, I'm not sure why I liked it. NONE of it makes sense. Still, I really had fun.

Spoiler

The idea that people could live in your home without you knowing it, just baffles the mind. I'm not sure about your home, but we hear everything in my house and we would wonder what was going on in the attic. Also, where did the visitors go the bathroom?

What if they ate some bad Thai?

Anyway, like you said, you can't ask any questions when watching this one.

P.S. Didn't Helen Hunt look scary?

I'd probably give it a "4" or if the Christmas spirit moved me a "5." But, yes, I enjoyed it because I thought the premise was a good one, though I think more could have been done with it. I have no trouble enjoying movies that I don't think highly of critically. I mean, a host of Nick Cage movies come to mind immediately....As for Helen Hunt, I think she is just beginning to show her age and/or may be a cosmetic surgery victim. I always give her a lot of credit for playing, at 49 years of age, a sex surrogate in The Sessions and giving a wonderful performance even though she spent nearly the entire movie completely nude (and looked great doing it). She deserves far better than I See You.

 

[ORRFForever]

I'd probably give it a "4" or if the Christmas spirit moved me a "5." But, yes, I enjoyed it because I thought the premise was a good one, though I think more could have been done with it. I have no trouble enjoying movies that I don't think highly of critically. I mean, a host of Nick Cage movies come to mind immediately....As for Helen Hunt, I think she is just beginning to show her age and/or may be a cosmetic surgery victim. I always give her a lot of credit for playing, at 49 years of age, a sex surrogate in The Sessions and giving a wonderful performance even though she spent nearly the entire movie completely nude (and looked great doing it). She deserves far better than I See You.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Parasite
Dir. by Bong Joon-ho

The film's first half reminded me of an improved version of your typical fish out of water tale, with sprinkles of social commentary peppered throughout in a controlled manner (which I always appreciate); one would likely find better critical analysis from someone else (i.e. not The Guardian). It was towards the climax wherein Fargo started springing into my consciousness, the characters' selfishness and imbecility being displayed in a cringe-y yet all too relatable manner. That is no small feat, and I'll even go as far as to say Parasite pulls it off far more convincingly.

I have only one misgiving about the entire film, and it's a shame since this prevents Parasite from being my first 10 since 2013's Her (on first viewing). Without spoiling much, let's just say it involves a certain double-tap making the denouement + ending unconvincing to yours truly. As my score indicates, it hardly ruined an otherwise phenomenal film. Never thought The Lighthouse would be topped as my favorite of 2019, yet all it took was one more screening to declare the new king of the hill.

Score: 9/10

 

[Trap Jesus]

I saw Marriage Story. This quite easily became my 2nd favorite movie of the year behind The Lighthouse. When it was starting up and they were going through that opening voice-over I feared it would be too sentimental and sappy, but that wasn't the case as the movie went along. The writing in this is just so, so good. I think it's the funniest movie I've seen this year. They also combine it with a lot of heart as well. While they certainly play up the sympathy for one of the leads a lot more than the other, you start to become more sympathetic and understanding of the other one as the movie moves along to the point where you find an amicable balance (even if you still have someone you side with). Some really interesting commentary on relationships, legal proceedings, and the role of friends/family in relationships.

Acting wise, while I wouldn't say Driver meets the standard of someone like Phoenix or Dafoe/Pattinson, it's tough to fault any of it, and there are a few scenes in here where both Driver/Johansson really shine. While I liked Dern in this, I feel like sometimes her character became larger than life in a way, where it took away from the more grounded dynamic of the rest of the movie. That's kind of the point though with her and Liotta where they're playing up how shrewd lawyers can be, and it's a minor complaint overall. That's where a ton of the humor in the movie is after all.

On the technical side, nothing stands out as it was pretty boiler plate in that regard, but that's completely fine for this type of movie. I actually thought the score was the worst part of the movie. For the first half it almost felt like the main characters were about to break out into a song after they had an argument and the music starts to swell.

But yeah, thoroughly enjoyed this. Just superb writing, and genuinely hilarious while still combining it with a lot of heart. I think in this regard I'd compare it to something like Little Miss Sunshine. It's finding humor in some really serious subject matter, but it's presented in such a heartfelt regard that you can't really call it dark comedy.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I could see it doing well in New York and LA and the rest of the country seeing it as a Democratic plot to besmirch their favourite morons on Fox News.

The interesting thing to me is that Fox News personalities who aren't exactly loved in some circles are also the heroes of the story ... curious how that plays for the viewers who are politically driven.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Long Shot
I know this came and went pretty quickly back in the spring and I know it had some really vocal supporters. Saw it and I have to say I am on board. Kinda loved it actually. There’s a fairly clever inversion of the typical romantic comedy — Charlize Theron is essentially the guy, Seth Rogen the manic pixie dreamgirl of a hairy sort. But beyond that there’s just a really winning nature to it. Likable characters that you want to be happy. I wouldn’t believe it if you told me but these two have honest-to-god chemistry. You don’t think they’d work, but they really do which creates a bit of a meta-effect since that’s basically the plot of the movie. As silly and elevated as it is in moments, they’re both fairly real. She’s accomplished, but inwardly awkward and gawky. He looks slobbish, but is smart and competent. They actually are a good pair that requires no suspension of disbelief. There’s a transition in here from a very sweet and moving moment to a hilariously bawdy joke that’s a true thing of beauty.

This movie deserves a long life. It's good.

As I noted in the Marie Fredriksson thread, I watched this by sheer coincidence last night and a Roxette tune plays an important role in the movie. Great song given an added outside little heft.

 

[ORRFForever]

Long Shot
I know this came and went pretty quickly back in the spring and I know it had some really vocal supporters. Saw it and I have to say I am on board. Kinda loved it actually. There’s a fairly clever inversion of the typical romantic comedy — Charlize Theron is essentially the guy, Seth Rogen the manic pixie dreamgirl of a hairy sort. But beyond that there’s just a really winning nature to it. Likable characters that you want to be happy. I wouldn’t believe it if you told me but these two have honest-to-god chemistry. You don’t think they’d work, but they really do which creates a bit of a meta-effect since that’s basically the plot of the movie. As silly and elevated as it is in moments, they’re both fairly real. She’s accomplished, but inwardly awkward and gawky. He looks slobbish, but is smart and competent. They actually are a good pair that requires no suspension of disbelief. There’s a transition in here from a very sweet and moving moment to a hilariously bawdy joke that’s a true thing of beauty.

This movie deserves a long life. It's good.

As I noted in the Marie Fredriksson thread, I watched this by sheer coincidence last night and a Roxette tune plays an important role in the movie. Great song given an added outside little heft.

I hated this movie.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

I hated this movie.

Are you the one that also hates Rogen? Or is that another poster?