Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It: Part XXIX

[Puck]

Did not want to start a thread for this so I will just do a quick drive-thru, and drop it off here.

Summer Box Office Suffers Historic Decline in U.S.

By the time Labor Day weekend wraps, summer box-office revenue in North America will end up being down nearly 16 percent over last year, the steepest decline in modern times and eclipsing the 14.6 percent dip in 2014. It will also be the first time since 2006 that summer didn't clear $4 billion.

That's according to comScore, which is predicting that revenue will come in at roughly $3.78 billion (a 15.7 percent decline). Attendance also plummeted, and is almost assured of hitting a 25-year low in terms of the number of tickets sold, according to Box Office Mojo.

The sequelitis virus that first invaded Hollywood last year only grew worse this summer. A number of franchise installments underperformed domestically, including Transformers: The Last Knight ($132 million), The Mummy ($80.1 million) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales ($172 million). While Pirates 5 certainly fared the best, it paled in comparison to the previous installments.

The good news for a worried Hollywood? The international box office which is up more than 3 percent year-to-date helped save a number of summer event films that underperformed in the U.S. Pirates 5 has grossed $618 million overseas for a global total of $790 million, while Transformers 5 stands at $604 million globally after earning $474 million offshore. And The Mummy scared up $328 million abroad for a worldwide cume of $407.8 million.

Summer titles that all-out bombed domestically include King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and The Dark Tower, which kicked off an especially brutal August.

Another sore point was R-rated comedies. Baywatch, The House and Rough Night all bombed despite impressive star wattage. The only film to break the R-rated curse was Malcolm D. Lee's Girls Trip, from Universal and producer Will Packer, which has earned $108.1 million to date.

"The lesson for Hollywood this summer is that every movie counts when it comes to box office and there are no 'throwaway' titles," says Paul Dergarabedian of comScore. "At least three tentpoles missed the mark in North America as well as a handful of R-rated comedies that left audiences frowning, and the missing revenue from those failures could arguably have left a $500 million-plus void in the marketplace enough to turn a potentially strong $4 billion-plus summer season heavyweight into a 98-pound weakling."

The tentpole winners of summer were Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which earned $389.4 million domestically and $862.8 million globally; Wonder Woman ($406.2 million/$806.2 million); Despicable Me 3 ($254.5 million/$971.7 million); and Spider-Man: Homecoming ($318.8 million/$737 million). Smaller gems include Baby Driver and Annabelle: Creation.

Year-to-date, domestic revenue is down 5.7 percent, while international revenue is up nearly 4 percent.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...cast-amy-schumer-comedy-i-feel-pretty-1033895

 

[Baby Punisher]

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. It's unratable.

 

[Mario Lemieux fan 66]

Good time: 5.5/10

I had a bad time watching good time. Loud music and flashy color don't save a messy story. I was not entertained nor impress.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Just Watched:

7.5/10

 

[Osprey]

MetalheadPenguinsFan, that last one has an age restriction of only 15 and no murderous maniac on the cover. You're not going soft on us, are you?

Kihei, how come you never review the movies that MetalheadPenguinsFan does? Hey, I just had an idea. You both should pick a movie that the other has to watch and review .

 

[kihei]

MetalheadPenguinsFan, that last one has an age restriction of only 15 and no murderous maniac on the cover. You're not going soft on us, are you?

Kihei, how come you never review the movies that MetalheadPenguinsFan does? Hey, I just had an idea. You both should pick a movie that the other has to watch and review .

That sounds like fun. I would do it. Not for the next fortnight, though, as TIFF starts on Thursday. That will be at least twenty one movies in eleven days.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Just Watched:

8.5/10

 

[OzzyFan]

Annabelle: Creation
2.35 out of 4stars

Creates a lasting creepy atmosphere really well and at times hits some scary note. Nothing new though, and the first 20mins or so is overloaded with forced jump scares, but the last 20-30mins stirs the pot well. Has repeated curiosity of protagonists getting them into trouble, amongst a couple other genre "cliches". Feels solidly done with nice touches though. Enjoyable but forgettable.

 

[kihei]

Loveless (2017) Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev 8B

By the time we meet Zhenya and Boris it is already crystal clear that, although they are living together still, they are just biding time until they sell their apartment and make their divorce official. This is fine with both them, neither of whom can any longer stand the other. However, they have a 12-year-old son, Alyosha, whom they both ignore, and he is quietly but deeply saddened by the situation. When he suddenly disappears, they finally have to decide what they are going to do about it. Most failed relationship movies start earlier in the process of the breakdown which makes the perspective here an interesting one. By the time we meet Zhenya and Boris, the marriage is already over and we are just allowed to see its terrible aftereffects on two people who once cared for one another, on three people, actually, counting Alyosha. Despite the awful things they say to each other, despite the fact that both are having affairs (very well and economically drawn), neither Zhenya nor Boris are presented as complete failures but rather as tragically flawed humans. We get some evidence of what made them that way and even more evidence of why their lives may now never achieve what they once hoped. As the director noted after the screening, Loveless is something on an homage to Ingmar Bergman's seminal work on marital breakdown, Scenes from a Marriage, but reconfigured within a Russian context. Beginning with some beautiful and appropriate Bergmanesque establishing shots of a Russian park in chilling winter, the movie graces its characters with a kind of depth that I normally associate with great novels. With direction that could not be more apt and cinematography that could not be more elegant, Zvyagintsev creates a work that is every bit as emotionally powerful and psychologically devastating as Bergman's best work. The director handles both the relationship part of the movie and the eventual search for Alyosha with the utmost skill. Loveless is the kind of movie that I will be thinking about for weeks.

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Top Ten of '17 so far

The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
Get Out, Peel, US
Staying Vertical, Guiraudie, France
Graduation, Mungiu, Romania
Our Time Will Come, Hui, Hong Kong
Wind River, Sheridan, US
Good Time, the Sefdie brothers, US
Dunkirk, Nolan, US

 

[BonMorrison]

Loveless - 9/10

An ugly divorce between two people that cannot stand each other is made even uglier when their twelve year old son goes missing. This film is bleak - very bleak. At first presented as shallow caricatures of unloving parents, the film barrels on and tears into the flaws and insecurities of the leads - showing the destruction that a divorce can cause in a family. Zvyagintsev uses the setting of an early Russian winter beautifully, weaving in long chilling takes and utilizing the uneasy grey setting to really display how hopeless of a situation the characters are in as more time passes in the film. Like Leviathan, the film does not provide much way in catharsis and is much more interested in showing the emotional warfare and aftermath of what can happen in a family comprised of empty people.

 

[Fugazy]

No Country For Old Men - 9.5/10

 

[Nalens Oga]

The Big Sick (2017) - 8/10

Trying to think of a better modern romcom and can't really think of one (I think When Harry Met Sally is overrated before anyone mentions that).

 

[kihei]

The Other Side of Hope (2017) Directed by Aki Kaurismaki 6A

Khaled, an illegal Syrian refugee, desperate to be granted asylum in Finland and anxious to find news of his missing sister, is thwarted by the authorities but assisted by a middle-aged restauranteur, just starting out in the business, who has a past that he is trying to put behind him as well. Director Aki Kaurasmaki focuses most of his movies on people who are at the very outer edge of society. Rather than make depressing statements about the downtrodden, Kaurismaki's movies are full of wry, deadpan humour and compassion. Stylistically, he has a no frills approach to film making and philosophically, he has immense faith in the kindness of (most) strangers. He takes this approach to movie making without ever becoming smarmy or sentimental, no mean feat. The Other Side of Hope has no shortage of rough hewn charm, but Kaurismaki has made far better movies than this with similar themes and preoccupations, most recently 2011's lovely Le Havre. It's nice to know that he is still out there making his movies, though. I gave the film a bonus point for treating the plight of refugees humanely and sympathetically.

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[kihei]

Valley of Shadows (2017) Directed by Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen 7B

In rural Norway, sheep are mysteriously being slaughtered by something. Aslak, only eight or nine-years-old at most, is informed by a somewhat older friend that it might be a werewolf, one who is lurking in the dark woods. Problems at home keep his mom from paying perhaps as much attention to the boy as she should. When his beloved border collie goes missing, Aslak sets out by himself into the woods to find him. First things first: this is not a horror movie. If viewers go in expecting horror movie effects and resolutions, they will be very disappointed. Rather Valley of Shadows is a haunting mood piece, a slow burn modern fairy-tale kind of story, with a lot of subtext dealing with family, strangers, fear, and the mystery of the unknown. The movie is dependent almost entirely on two things: its eerie, beautiful cinematography and the performance by Adam Akeri, the child actor who basically carries the entire movie by himself. He is an exceedingly quiet boy with little dialogue; in fact he is nearly non verbal through long stretches of the movie. But with his blue eyes and shock of blonde corn silk hair, he certainly can convey a mood. And his extreme youth is a factor, too, as he seems so innocent and vulnerable out there on his own. I'll say one thing for sure--when halfway through the movie, the kid walks alone into that dark woods, for the next 45 minutes in a huge, jammed packed theatre you could have heard a pin drop.

Note: For maximum effect, Valley of Shadows needs to be seen on a big screen in a movie theatre. Its subtleties might diminish on a small screen.

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Best of '17 so far

The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
Get Out, Peel, US
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway
Staying Vertical, Guiraudie, France
Graduation, Mungiu, Romania
Our Time Will Come, Hui, Hong Kong
Wind River, Sheridan, US
Good Time, the Sefdie brothers, US

 

[snowden]

Someone needs to start a new thread but anyway

Watched Fences and La La Land.

Completely underwhelmed with La La Land. A case where the parts are greater than the whole. Just wasn't into Emma Stone's Oscar win that much, though I liked her. Memorable songs and really great direction with amazing shots and color and all that. Kinda glad it didn't win BP, tho.

Fences - A play on film that Denzel dominates from start to finish. If you can't stand Denzel as Angry Black Man, which I can't, then this film ain't for you. Viola Davis cheats her way into an Oscar by claiming Supporting, which she most certainly is not. A direct result of the OscarsSoWhite campaign, the story is really flipping strong. I enjoyed the ride but can't enjoy Denzel hating everything while doing this. Deserving BP nominee, the original I saw on Youtube with James Earl Jones and Courtney B. Vance is better.

 

[End of Line]

Bad Moms (2016): 6.5/10

 

[darko]

No Country For Old Men - 9.5/10

It's in my top-10 all time.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

The Edge of Seventeen - 8.5/10


Wonderful film. Outside of a few minor tropes, it rises above other "coming-of-age" movies by focusing on the part of teen life in which you're trying to figure out who you are, as opposed to the typical prom/sports/hooking up elements. Consequently, it's relatable to just about anyone even though it's about a 14-17 year old girl. The performances are also fantastic across the board. Hailee Steinfeld has gotta be one of the best young actresses out there, it's a crime she didn't get an Oscar nomination for this.

 

[TP]

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2386249