What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

[kamikazekeeg]

Another franchise rewatch, or at least part of one with the new Batman movie coming out.  Thought about watching everything from the first Keaton movie and on, but it was gonna take too long to get the 90's era movies on Blu-Ray in the mail, and in the scheme of things, the new movie is going to share more directly with the Nolan movies anyways with its more "real world" take on Batman.  And I'm skipping the Batffleck stuff as I already rewatched that stuff before the Justice League edit and I have no interest in watching them again.

Actually forgot how long it took for Batman to show up in Batman Begins.  I understand why of course, that's the point of the film, but everything leading up to it is great, the training with the League of Shadows, his backstory was well done as at the time, his pre-Batman days wasn't touched on in the movies.  Christian Bale is great.  Really, the only thing I never super loved about his Batman, was the growling voice, it's a little goofy at times and something about his cowl fit was always a smidge off.  Odd thing to point out sure, but I like a good Batman design lol The Batmobile could've been better design wise, I like a more defined shape to this stuff, but I love it as this big tank lol That stuff is pretty fun.

The villains are pretty good, and while "real world Batman" isn't what I want, Liam Neesons Ra's is pretty good and I like how they did Crane in this.  I never noticed that Ken Watanabe was the fake Ra's Al Gul in this till now either.  I definitely enjoy the story for this one, it's the one thing that feels "comic book"-like, a plot to wipe out Gotham with some advanced tech, which does comes back in the third film, though I do sorta feel like the "microwave emitter" is a little goofy, because it sorta ignores the fact that people are mostly water, so something that evaporates the water, would also basically burst people, but that's abit much for a Batman thing, more of a situation for "The Boys" lol

It's a pretty good movie though, I think the Nolan movies are my overall favorite Batman flicks the more I think about it.  They might not have the style of the Keaton films, but I think everything else is better to me.  The ending does bug me slightly, with Batman letting Ra's Al Ghul die, it's something that isn't technically uncommon in the live action movies, but it always bugs me.  Sure, it wasn't direct in this one compared to Batman v Superman, where he just straight up wastes people in that scene to save Martha, but it's still enough of a problem.  Batman (and even Superman), need that line, because otherwise, there isn't much that should honestly stop Batman from basically just becoming the Punisher, or a DC comparison would be Flashpoint Batman, who is Thomas Wayne that goes around killing people with guns.  That stuff still annoys me, maybe my views are antiquated on Batman to some degree, I know the Arkham games push things pretty hard with his brutality, but I still think that line he won't cross matters a lot and I wish the movies would realize that and I'm hoping "The Batman" can stick to that ideal, no matter how broody they might make him.

[kamikazekeeg]

The Dark Knight - It might in general be my favorite Batman film currently, though not sure if I would say because of Batman himself, but kinda everything else around him.  Heath Ledger makes this movie everything it could be, along with Gary Oldman as Gordon, and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey.  I would even say it's their movie more than that of Bruce/Batman, as we got the Bruce/Batman movie with the first of the trilogy, and this is more about the city itself.  So many good scenes in this and really there's no point that I felt bored and I kinda forgot how many big moments it has throughout the entire film. 

I don't even really have any major issues with the film, other than Batman killing Harvey, I made note of my annoyance with Batman killing people in the films in my last post, so I won't harp on it much here.   To me, it just hurts the character, even if it's done as a last resort, and it's more interesting to me if Batman is finding a way to work around making that decision.  Also Batman's growl voice is more annoying here than it was in the first one, like he amped it up a bit more.  Still wish they had gone with something else.

Still, a fantastic film, a shame we lost such a great actor with Ledger and we wouldn't get to see what he could do with the Joker one last time in the third film as he was supposed to come back for it.  Interested to dive back into The Dark Knight Rises as I don't remember everything as much and I remember having some issues with it at the time.

[kamikazekeeg]

Turning Red is just an absolute treat of a movie.  I dig the whole early 00's setting, the animation and expressions are fantastic, and while I can't connect to it as a coming of age story for a young teen Asian girl, it was still super charming.  The ending was not where I thought it was going also and was just a ton of fun.  This and Onward were probably the most fun I've had with Pixar films in a long while, not that they've been putting out bad stuff, but the energy of Turning Red really stood out.

[kamikazekeeg]

The Dark Knight Rises - This one I was the most interested to re-watch as I remembered not being a fan of it at the time when it released.  Not that it was a bad film, I just didn't really view at the time as the culmination of Nolan's trilogy, like I understood it was that, but I didn't look at it in proper context.  I also was not super fond of some decisions, Bane's voice was weird, and the idea that Batman stopped being Batman for like 7 or 8 years, always kinda rubbed me wrong.

An odd story thing early on I can't say I liked, was Joseph Gordon Levitt figuring out Bruce was Batman.  It wasn't that he put together Batman disappearing and Wayne going into seclusion, or any other possible signs, he wasn't secretly some it was because he could tell that Bruce was pretending back in the day when he was a kid, and that in turn led to him figuring out Bruce was Batman, is just odd storytelling to me.  Selina Kyle is pretty good in this, I thought Anne Hathaway was a pretty solid choice.  Sure, Michelle Pfeiffer had a lot of fun character to her, but this Selina Kyle works well in this more real world setting.

Bane's voice still doesn't work lol I haven't looked into the decision behind it, I like Tom Hardy's performance as him, but much like Bale's Batman growl, I don't know what Nolan was trying to do with them in particular.  The action also isn't that good in this, like it was never Nolan's strong suit in these film, but the hand to hand action has lots of kinda dull wide shots, and normally showing off the fighting skills as prominently as possible is a good thing, but there's nothing notable enough here for that. 

Everything else is pretty good though.  The story connecting back to the first movie and the League of Shadows is great, and I only wish Heath Ledger could've been around to reprise his role for the movie as that would've been pretty amazing.  And while I did knock the bit about Joseph Gordon Levitt's character in the beginning, I think he's a pretty solid character.  Overall, I do like the movie more now, but The Dark Knight is definitely my favorite of the trilogy.  Heath Ledger is just too good in it as a villain to me and the whole story surrounding him is great.

[Cartagia]

I also really dug Turning Red.  Never thought I'd hear Bootylicious in a Disney movie, yet here we are.

[kamikazekeeg]

Was in an animation mood after Turning Red, so figured I'd go and watch Encanto since it's been out for a bit and it's okay.  Nothing bad, but it didn't really do much for me.  It was a way more reserved movie than I was expecting as like 80% of the movie is in just the house and there isn't any real threat in the film, it's all an issue of their own making, but much like Turning Red, it's about dealing with personal issues and there's nothing wrong with that.

As a musical, also just okay, the only song I was into was Surface Pressure, because it had a very different rhythm and tone to all of the others.  Honestly, its surprising to me that the Bruno song became such an insane hit lol Again, it's not bad, but it never really stood out for me personally.

Overall a fine flick though, just didn't win me over as much as Turning Red did.

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Also decided to just keep the movies going and finally got around to The Eternals and surprisingly I dug it.  I say "surprisingly" as I had no real interest in the films based on the first main trailer.  The visuals were kinda washed out, I wasn't really sure what kind of film it was gonna be, I thought it was going to be like Black Widow, where it's fine, but it would just be going through the motions as some Marvel films can feel here and there. 

I liked the cast, the story idea was cool, I was engaged for most of the movie.  I wouldn't say it breaks new ground, but it feels like the most "superhero" movie they've done, and I say that in the most traditional sense, in like a DC Comics sort of way.  Even the cast comes across as basically like the Justice League, super powered individuals with secret identities, with some character comparisons to Flash, Wonder Woman, and Superman specifically.  They make a literal Superman joke in the movie, name and all.  It was cool and of course as Marvel flicks do, it sets up some interesting potential future stuff, though I had to look up some of the ending teases because I don't know these characters at all, but it seems neat.

[Cartagia]

X - Right up my alley kind of horror.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Fun enough afternoon flick.

The Power of the Dog - Well that took a turn!

[kamikazekeeg]

Catching up still on a few things I sorta passed on at the time, and I got around to Venom: Let The Be Carnage.  It was fun, I think I liked it more than the first one, which was just alright, Carnage was handled well, there's some setup for the next one that could be kinda interesting, though more symbiote stuff might start to drag for the third film if they ever get to it.  The only thing I don't super like, is the rules that are broken by the ending, which I won't spoil here, but knowing what it connects with, it doesn't make a lot of sense.  Overall, it's fine, neither Venom movie are amazing and some of the writing is abit "eh", the symbiotes able to kinda do anything feels like just a half-assed way to explain away things that would require a little more effort on the part of the writer, but it doesn't kill the movie.

[pzeke]

Achievement unlocked: broke character limit.

TL;DR, I watched a shitload of movies. Next up is "Eternals", "Ghostbusters: Afterlife", and "The Batman", and maybe something else if I find the time.

John Carter - The fact there's a book written about the fiasco that was the marketing of this movie says a lot. I personally liked it; it's nothing special by all means, but it's entertaining. Naming the movie "John Carter" was abysmally stupid, but I'm sure I'm not alone on that.

Déjà Vu - This one is a great action flick, while at the same time being an underrated sci-fi movie; this movie is also a nice example of a time travel story done right. Not my first watch, actually, I caught it on TV; I remember back when I saw this movie for the first time, it was my first time ever seeing Paula Patton, and ever since then I've been smitten by her.

Independence Day: Resurgence - Pretty ShETee. The first movie was great for what it was—a one-off. There was absolutely no need for a sequel...none what-so-ever.

Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U - They're silly, but worth the watch; it's "Groundhog Day" horrified.

The Darkest Minds - I would like to get inside my head so that I could pluck the memory of me watching this movie, and I would do so with extreme prejudice.

Impractical Jokers: The Movie - I've enjoyed my time watching the show and happen to like the guys—Sal not so much—but this didn't need to exist.

Law Abiding Citizen - Good flick, great performance by Butler, but it needed a better ending, which Foxx had a hand in messing up...purportedly.

Bohemian Rhapsody - An okay movie with great performances. I know "based on a true story" means absolute shite when it comes to a film of this caliber in the suburbs of Tinseltown, but it still left a lot to be desired.

True Lies - One of James Cameron's best; it's an absolute action classic. This one is easily one of my top favorite Schwarzenegger movies.

Masterminds - Stupid, just like the incident it's based on, but still an enjoyable romp.

Bumblebee - Mushy, sappy, quite cheesy, and unbearably corny, but it's definitely better than the other movies in the franchise—I mean, that opening scene alone takes the cake, all day, any day. Overall, it could've been better, but I did enjoy it, especially the fact I could understand what the heck was happening during metal-on-metal fight scenes. Also, the soundtrack was really good. In all honesty, since the day of its announcement, I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. With that said, my expectations for "Rise of the Beasts" are below the nadir, but I hope they use this movie as an example and at least try.

Glass - Broken/10: I appreciate Shyamalan's take and deconstruction of the superhero genre and its mythos; I believe both "Unbreakable" and "Split" told compelling stories and did many things right, but this movie was a flaccid disappointment after all that build up. SPOILER—WHAT A TWIST!: While I found the idea of an organization secretly tasked for millennia with ridding the world of super-powered beings interesting, it truly felt like that was an afterthought and ultimately wasn't handled properly. Such a premise seems far more suited for the likes of Mark Millar, Garth Ennis, maybe even Warren Ellis or Alan Moore, if we can yank him off retirement; they would certainly come up with something much more convincing and serviceable.

Baby Driver - I've seen this multiple times before, but it's still an enjoyable movie with a killer soundtrack.

Need for Speed - I'd venture to say this one is a far better "Fast and the Furious" movie, but it's still a turd nonetheless.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Monster spectacle and destruction was on point, everything else was hot garbage.

The Girl on the Train - I've no clue exactly how and why I ended up watching this, but it was boring. As a matter of fact, I think at one point in time I thought I was watching a Lifetime movie; it was insufferable.

Venom - It's still bad, but it has a certain charm to it; it kind of feels like a superhero version of "An American Werewolf in London". One thing I find funny is the fact this movie came nearly 5 months after the movie "Upgrade", which ironically did everything "Venom" tried to first and ten times better. Even funnier is "Upgrade" stars Logan Marshall-Green, otherwise known as bargain basement Tom Hardy.

Shazam! - The word "cringey" is one that I seldom use, but it pretty much encapsulates most of this movie for me. To be fair, though, some of the things the movie did were done right, like its theme around family—as cliché as it may be—and the overall origin of the character; but the story itself sometimes got a tad too childish for my taste, which is another word I feel perfectly describes this movie. Mark Strong was great, as usual.

Alita: Battle Angel - While I liked it, the majority of the CGI was hit or miss, especially for most of the cyborg characters, which really didn't translate well into live-action and just looked terrible, Nyssiana and Grewishka being the best examples. Great worldbuilding.

Hell or High Water - Great movie. 'Nuff said.

Holmes & Watson - Über garbágio.

Logan - Probably the umpteenth time I've watched this movie, and I can't get enough of it.

The Last Full Measure - Non-ironic version of "Tropic Thunder". Joke aside, even though the movie stroke a few chords with me, I still didn't know how to feel about it until reading and concurring with a comment made by someone that this would've been better served as a documentary rather than a Hollywood trudge. I'm guessing that perhaps something similar to "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon" would've been a better approach.

Crazy Rich Asians - I've tried watching this movie two/three—make that four times now and I can't seem to push through.

Solo: A Star Wars Story - I enjoyed it, it wasn't that bad...I mean, it was a nice space western popcorn flick for sure, but considering the character and the franchise, it missed the mark.

Enemy of the State - Caught this one on AMC while channel surfing, and it's been so long since I watched it that I had completely forgotten how good it is—ironically ahead of its time.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout - Top notch! I think I've watched this movie every time I catch it on TV. As a matter of fact, I think that goes for every movie in the franchise since the first one.

Deadpool and Deadpool 2 - For the uninitiated, this is basically Ryan Reynolds playing Van Wilder all the way up to eleven while cosplaying as Deadpool, which is a particular gripe I have with Fabian Nicieza, and Liefeld as well for allowing it. Regardless, both movies are actually quite good; the story and the attention to detail coupled with the Easter eggs/references show they cared, especially Ryan, so that alone deserves its merit. Quite frankly, though, while I like Ryan, I always envisioned Seann William Scott as Wade/Deadpool, and then as years progressed I started to think of Charlie Day as one of the voices in his head with Gilbert Gottfried possibly being the second one. Nonetheless, I'm content with both films and hopefully they won't lose steam with any forthcoming projects. I do hate the fact Marvel completely disparaged Taskmaster in "Black Widow", which ironically aligns with how Fox originally missed the mark with Deadpool; they're kindred spirits now more than ever.

Buried - This is a good movie to direct people to when they say Ryan Reynolds has no reach or is a one-trick pony, and "Smokin' Aces", too.

Ghostbusters (2016) - First time watch, and it was essentially like a bad SNL skit. The special effects were crap, too. Pure muda.

Ocean's 8 - Awkwafina is outright unbearable, and Rihanna playing a "talented" hacker was hilarious. I'd rather watch paint dry.

Pixels - Taking Josh Gad's character and the whole Q*bert scenario out—and all the stupid shit that didn't add anything to the overall plot—I actually enjoyed this movie. Sure, it's an Adam Sandler romp, and everybody likes to crap on it because that's the hip thing to do, but it had its charm. Seeing Dinklange's character tell fake Toru Iwatani that he made his game his bitch was unexpectedly funny.

The Lost Boys - I've never cared for this movie; I tried watching it a couple of times before many, many years ago, but couldn't finish it, as it bored me to sleep. Fast forward to October of last year, and I caught it on AMC while channel surfing, and after all those years I still feel the same way about it—I don't like it. And believe me, I'm a sucker for the "campiness" and cheesy filling of the '80s, but I've never seen and still can't see the appeal of this movie. But hey, I said I liked "Pixels" just a few sentences above, so what do I know.

Hercules (2014) - It had some nice action scenes and noteworthy performances, but overall nothing really out of this world. I'm not familiar with the original source ("The Thracian Wars" by Steve Moore), but given Hollywood tends to butcher good stories when adapting them to the silver screen, à la "Watchmen" or "World War Z", I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case here.

Captain Marvel - Finally saw it, and it was, in all honesty, a snooze fest, which shouldn't be a surprise given the character itself hasn't been interesting for years. ...Or maybe it's because I'm a man... I dunno, and who cares. I did like seeing the Skrulls being introduced to the MCU, and enjoyed both Talos and Soren, so silver lining, I guess. Nick Fury losing his eye to a damn space cat was astronomically stupid; the way it was written and handled was just horrible. Blegh to the meh! I'd rather watch "Green Lantern" on repeat than watching this movie ever again.

Spider-Man: Far From Home - They missed a few beats here and there, namely how the "passing of E.D.I.T.H." was handled, but it was still good. Personally, I've never cared much for the whole dynamic between Peter and Tony, as I feel takes away from the character and its mythos, though I reckon the MCU is pretty much its own thing outside the 616, so I can understand the overarching theme...even though I can only see Peter as more of an Iron Lad than a Spider-Man regardless of him shooting webs and clinging to walls. All in all, it was a really nice sequel.

Searching - It was monotonous; the "computer screen" gimmick got old really fast. I mean, I could get behind the premise of the movie, and I like John Cho, but the whole screenlife format was distracting and unnatural (for me, at least); I don't think it was the best choice to tell the story and feel was a disservice to the movie.

Goodfellas - Caught it on AMC again. I fuckin' love this movie; it's a classic!

Breakthrough - While everybody is entitled to their beliefs, which I wholly respect, this movie is disingenuous all the way through—I felt like my intelligence got heavily dumped on, and it stank like the dickens.

Ma - It's watchable, kind of felt like a modern take of "Misery". Octavia Spencer was great all throughout; she essentially carried the whole movie on her shoulders.

Dark Phoenix - Böring; it's just more of the same.

Hobbs & Shaw - If you're looking for Kubrick- or Coppola-level filmmaking, then go fly a kite; this is all about testosterone levels going past 10 and the proverbial measuring of dicks—a bromantic comedy like no other. ...But black Superman was already a thing.

Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 - A movie franchise from the late '70s with a female lead? And she happens to be tenacious and strong? Before hashtags were even a thing? Preposterous! And zip it, the third one is actually good!

Alien: Resurrection - I'm not going to lie, I like this movie; it has Ron Perlman, Gary Dourdan, Brad Dourif, Sigourney Weaver, of course, and freaking Tuco...but man, it's still an acidic mess, one big vat of it. The newborn xenomorph hybrid is the thing of nightmares.

Friday the 13th (2009) - It's not bad, in all honesty, but it certainly didn't bring anything new to the table.

The Dead Don't Die - This was my first Jim Jarmusch movie, and contrary to what I read online, I actually liked it. It's metarrific!

The Blair Witch Project - I think it was rather genius the way the creators advertised this movie back then when the Internet was essentially still in its infancy, which I can definitely appreciate and respect; but ultimately the movie, in my humble opinion, is a big heap of crap.

Captive State - Molasses, but good. It wouldn't surprise me if this movie becomes a cult classic years from now...but then again, it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't either.

The Last House on the Left (2009) - Pretty meh.

Good Boys - I had a blast with this one; I love these type of movies.

Carrie (2013) - I guess it was okay it being a modern take on the novel, but it really didn't feel like a horror movie, or anything close to the original. Quite frankly, I think Chloë Grace Moretz was miscast as Carrie; she made the character seem different to the way King described her. I think Gabriella Wilde would've made a better Carrie.

We're the Millers - Great cast of characters. In all honesty, I like Jason Sudeikis, so I had a good time with this one.

Tag - A really nice cast, but the movie is kind of stupid.

Us - Welcome...to the Twilight Zone. For whatever reason, I'm still not sure how I feel about this movie. Great performances, that's for sure, but I'm just...shrugs.

Final Destination 2 - Not a bad follow up. I had forgotten how much of a whiny bitch Kratos once was. `v`

Final Destination 3 - Another good follow up, but I missed not seeing Tony Todd in it. Ian dying crushed by a crane was gnarly, and to top that off he did so while flipping Wendy off—très magnifique.

The Final Destination - A crash and burn, pun intended. This one felt like it was made by The Asylum; the whole enchilada was pretty meh-stacular. I'm glad Candyman wasn't in it.

Final Destination 5 - A bit boring here and there, but WAY better than the fourth, and it tying the knot between the first two movies was nice.

[pzeke]

Cont’d.

Horrible Bosses and Horrible Bosses 2 - Mirth and merriment all the way, joyful enjoyment and Charlie Day.

Stuber - It really isn't that bad! It's stupid funny, and I liked it. Batista is really good at physical comedy, but then again, he used to be a wrestler.

Halloween (2018) - It's not perfect, but still excellent.

Halloween H20 - It's "decent", but I can honestly do without it. I get where they were trying to go, but the execution wasn't really that good.

Halloween Resurrection - This movie fucking sucks; I'd rather watch H20 on loop any day over this grandiose piece of un-pasteurized shit. Hell, I'll take the android crap from the third movie over this, straight up. Busta Rhymes should stick to doing just that.

Halloween and Halloween II (Rob Zombie) - Contrary to the online consensus, I liked what Rob did with the first movie, the way he approached the story and the overall performances of the cast; however, the second one lost me entirely with its Friday the 13th coked-up fever bootleg dreams. I like Rob and all, especially his music, but I think his take on the franchise should've been a one-and-done deal; the way the first movie ended was great, very serviceable.

The Predator - I liked this movie a bit here and there, but it's a mess; I wish they had deterred from using the hounds and gone without using autism so disparagingly, which Jacob Tremblay didn't really do a good job portraying, if I'm being honest. The alternate ending meant to include Ripley and Newt would've been nice, but I'm glad they went against it, so hopefully the day they intend to tie in the Alien franchise it's done in a way that makes sense and not just for the sake of adding it in. Anyway, here's hoping the upcoming prequel to the series isn't a bust.

Christine - It's still great after all these years. I'm surprised it's taken Hollywood so long to—undoubtedly—bastardized this one. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The Curse of La Llorona - The myth behind the weeping woman has always been intriguing, but this movie was just awful. On the upside, it was nice seeing Tuco again.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Top tier trash. Hearing the Jedi calling out to Rey was admittedly cool, though.

The A-Team - Maybe it's the fact I grew up watching re-runs of the TV series, but I seriously love this movie.

Downsizing - This movie had a nice concept going for it, but it got a tad too preachy, although it's not exactly a bad movie as some would lead to believe. However, I happen to agree with Dušan (Waltz) that Paul (Damon) was a rather pathetic simpleton up until the end. One of the scenes that I really liked, even if it was a short one, was during Paul's first visit to the slums where people were watching a Cantinflas movie—"Sube y baja" ("Up & Down")—on a makeshift outdoor cinema, which put a rather big smile on my face.

Safe - An okay action flick. It's a Jason Statham movie, so you get what you expect.

The Spy Who Dumped Me - Meh. These types of "comedies" need to die for a while...

Let's Be Cops - I think this movie is underrated; it's actually a good comedy that's actually a good buddy cop action flick that's well worth the watch. One of the reviews for the movie at the time states that Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans, Jr. "lack chemistry", but it's the total opposite when their rapport is what drives the movie.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - This movie is etched in my memory since childhood. This is without a doubt one of my top favorite movies by Spielberg.

Midway (2019) - More like "Mehway". Pretty schlocky.

Pearl Harbor - Second time seeing this movie since the first many years ago, and still don't like it.

Armageddon - The only thing that came from this movie that I genuinely like is Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". Other than that, this movie can suck an egg. "Deep Impact" is ten times better.

Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2 - No blurb needed for these two, just watch them if you haven't already; they're all-time classics, and easily two of the best movies Richard Donner directed and Shane Black wrote. Soundtracks are top-notch, too! I hope we get to see "Lethal Finale" in this lifetime.

Alien vs. Predator -

At least Milla Jovovich isn't in it...and that ain't saying much.

The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals - Both are good, well worth the watch if you like action movies, and Tommy Lee Jones.

Spider-Man: No Way Home - Spidey has been one of my favorite superheroes since childhood, so I had a blast watching this one all the way through; seeing all three Spider-Men together was beyond every adjective Marvel has ever used to describe Spider-Man and then some. Nonetheless, just like with "Far From Home", there were some inconsistencies and missed beats here and there. I'm not exactly spoiling anything, but for the sake of SPOILERS: I wish we got to "meet" the other two Spider-Men in a different way than what we got, especially considering the events that had transpired throughout the movie before that point. Also, Aunt May...I mean, I know that whole scenario was important and THAT one line is a crucial part in Peter's life, but I think there could've been a better way to handle that entirely. All in all, I enjoyed the movie: seeing Dafoe again as Green Goblin was a treat, and the character's redesign looked slick; Molina was once again great as Doc Ock; the many nods and references were on point; and that last shot of Spider-Man swinging around Rockefeller Plaza with his new duds was, simply put, amazing—he's no longer the Iron Lad, he's now Spider-Man without a doubt. I'm now eagerly awaiting "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", especially since Raimi is directing it and a certain someone is apparently set to appear in it, which undoubtedly will make the movie a hundred times groovier. With all that said, I'm still going over the fact "One More Day" was basically adapted into a movie.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - Great biopic; it's wholesome and with an accurate title.

Edge of Tomorrow - I can't get enough of it whenever I catch it on TV, great sci-fi flick. I've been meaning to read the novel/manga, but have yet to.

Minority Report - This movie is rather messy, but it works well. Also, look no further than the super highway chase scene if anyone ever wondered what an F-Zero movie would look like. Crazy to think this one's nearing its 20th anniversary.

A Bronx Tale - This is an excellent movie, and I can't recommend it enough; I find it hard to pass it up whenever I catch on TV.

Heat - One hell of a movie, one of the best heist movies ever made; it's a must-watch.

Casino - This is Scorsese at his best. The way Joe Pesci's characters are "taken care of" in both this and "Goodfellas" is freaking wild, and as weird as it may sound, near cathartic given the nature of their character.

The Revenant - I’ve watched this movie multiple times now; I think it's a masterpiece.

Jumanji: The Next Level - Very enjoyable sequel. DeVito's character felt like a safe for work version of Frank Reynolds.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - First time watching again in a long time. It's got the usual summer blockbuster flare, but entertaining as all heck, and quite unapologetic. It's a lot better than its sequel, but I've no input on the reboot since I haven't watched it yet.

The Intruder - Pretty fucking dumb.

Action Point - It's good, stupid fun; it's a movie based on Action Park starring Johnny Knoxville, so you know what to expect. If you like Jackass and any of Knoxville's other related performances, then you'll like or find something to like about this movie.

Gone Girl - Well-written dark comedy—yes, dark comedy. The end didn't particularly do it for me, truth be told, but does seem like something that would actually happen in real life, so it's okay, I guess. Looking forward to the sequel...if it ever happens...

Green Book - "Driving Miss Daisy" in reverse, as I read the kool kids calling this one somewhere around the 'Net. Quite frankly, it was a good road movie, very enjoyable; I liked seeing the two differing world-views juxtaposed between the two characters, especially given the time period the movie takes place in. Sure, the movie has its faults, but it's still a great watch with equally great performances, and it offers a good story about redemption. Perhaps if they named the movie differently...but then again, it's more than just racism...

Widows - Good movie with great performances all around.

Bloodshot - So this is supposed be the stepping stone of the Valiant cinematic universe? Yikes. They missed the opportunity to sire the whole shebang with X-O Manowar. Heck, Quantum and Woody would've been a better choice.

Bad Boys for Life - I'm going to be honest, I had my laughs here and there, and some of the action scenes were good, especially during the final act (CGI fire excluded), but I kept zoning out from this movie; it felt like an off-brand offshoot spin-off of "Fast and the Furious"—I kept watching to ogle at Kate del Castillo and Paola Núñez. I think this movie would've better serve as a proper send-off for Mike and Marcus, make it their "last ride", so to speak, to close the trilogy. The first movie is still the best one.

Predator - Never gets old and I think still holds up three decades later. As much as I like the second one, and think "Predators" was good, no other movie in the franchise has ever been able to top this one. Hopefully "Prey" won't be another failure; otherwise they might as well euthanize this franchise for good.

Charlie's Angels (2019) - I literally fell asleep... That opening scene with that stupid-ass song and montage was mind-numbing.

Get Out - I like this one better than "Us", it felt way more grounded and less trippy, which I know probably sounds ridiculous. Mind you, is not that I don't like an off-kilter story with nightmarish logic like "Us" has, but the revelation near the end and the plethora of holes it opened took me out of it.

Gods of Egypt - Oh my Yukh...

The Last Witch Hunter - Vin Diesel is a D&D nerd, so I guess this works. Personally, I believe the movie had video game potential and think could've worked better that way instead, all it needed was sprucing up the story they had and expanding it. Overall, it's an average modern sword & sorcery movie that happens to have a great deal of worldbuilding.

Bad Times at the El Royale - I really enjoyed this one; visually appealing, great performances, excellent soundtrack—a must-watch.

The Recruit - My dick's on fire! That pretty much says it all...

Face/Off - This movie is so freaking good, still to this day...and its got Gina Gershon in it. There's apparently a remake in the works, which really saddens me.

2012 - The special effects are pretty much the main attraction, but then again it's a Roland Emmerich movie, which I'd file under the "so bad is good" category.

Eraser - Top tier action movie—such a satisfying ending. Just like "Face/Off", there's apparently a remake of this movie in the works. Sad times we're living in.


Truth or Dare - Terribly bad shit.

Black and Blue - Terribly good shit.

Live Free or Die Hard - You know what, here’s the thing about Die Hard 4. Die Hard one, the original, John McClane was just this normal guy. You know, he’s just a normal New York City cop, who gets his feet cut, and gets beat up. But he’s an everyday guy. In Die Hard 4, he is jumping a [police car] into a helicopter. In air. You know? He’s invincible. It just sort of lost what Die Hard was. It’s not Terminator.

That said, I like it for what it is; it's a good action flick.

Die Hard with a Vengeance - Really good threequel, the last great chapter in the Die Hard series before Willis started doing his perfunctory acting routine. I think the series should have ended with this one, sort of like how Lethal Weapon was originally intended to end with the second one, which is ironic I mention that given the script for this movie was originally intended to be "Lethal Weapon 4". What's crazier is Bruce Willis declined the original script, which ended up becoming, "Speed 2: Cruise Control".

NOTE: I know taking a jab at his acting chops seems somewhat uncalled-for given the recent news, but he's been phoning it in way before he started doing all these recent movies anyway, so... It was all in jest. I certainly wish him the best.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - It's good, but doesn't hold a candle to the other four entries in the series.

Spider-Man 3 - While the weakest in the Raimiverse trilogy, I think it still has a certain charm to it that makes it tolerablelikable, if only for it's "campiness" and meme status. I wish the studio and Avi Arad hadn't intervened so that we could've gotten what Raimi truly had in mind, and then eventually, possibly get the fourth movie, which we technically did with "Homecoming". Flint Marko/Sandman was a great character that was unnecessarily made second fiddle to Venom, not to mention, casting Topher Grace as Eddie Brock was a fantastically bad choice—the worst casting call ever.

Triple 9 - Pretty good; it kept me glued to my seat until the end, and all-around great performances, too. Casey Affleck's character constantly chewing gum was annoying as hell, though.

Peppermint - Basically the female equivalent of "Death Wish" and "The Punisher", but with a semi-dull edge. It's still an okay action flick, just nothing that's going to break new ground.

Brightburn - I recently read "DC House of Horror" for the first time, a one-shot comprised of eight short stories by Keith Giffen (among others), the first of which is a horror take on Superman's origin named, "Bump in the Night", which was clearly the inspiration behind this movie. Actually, I find humor in this given I've watched this movie multiple times, and I can't help correlating the kid with Goku, but without the literal bumping of the head. Frankly, the more I watch this movie, the less I like it, but still think it needs a sequel to help tie loose ends and maybe further develop the whole "alien baby sent to subjugate Earth" angle.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Well, that was one hell of a fucking ride...like some devil shit or some such.

Dreamkatcher - Wow. This thing was unbearable to watch. Watching Henry Thomas acting as an adult compared to him when he was a kid...it’s freaking night and day.

[telly]

Finished watching most of the best picture nominations before the Oscars and here are my thoughts!

CODA - Really really enjoyed it. The romance subplot was probably my least favorite aspect of the movie but it had a great story and an interesting key message and theme, and being in a high school choir myself made it very nostalgic for me. Was happy it won best picture.

Licorice Pizza - It was alright, had pretty good acting but not much of a story. Just kind of plodded along with no real defining moment. Didn't really like the romance that much. Some funny moments.

Dune - Fantastic cinematography, soundtrack, acting, and music. The most technical impressive move I've seen this year. Felt like you really needed to understand the world of Dune beforehand before watching though because it was a little hard to follow. Still entertaining though.

Belfast - I didn't really enjoy this one. I was honestly expecting a little more violence and conflict but it's so understated and only at the beginning and end of the movie so it really drags in the middle section. I'm also not a fan of black and white movies like these that still have HD visuals and modern music, lighting, etc. Just doesn't look right to me.

And one other random movie night selection! GI Joe: Retaliation - Such a bad bro military movie. Was pretty entertaining however. I know nothing about the GI Joe franchise but enjoyed some of the fight sequences and watching Dwayne Johnson.

[pzeke]

The only good that came out of the first two G.I. Joe movies were Ray Park as Snake Eyes and Lee Byung-hun as Storm Shadow, the rest was trash. Well, Rachel Nichols was okay as Scarlett.

Anyway, I forgot these...

Escape Room - I have nothing to say, really.

John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum - While essentially more of the same, they still deliver; I really liked the way the second one ended, setting up the third. I said it once, and I'll say it again: this franchise wouldn't be where it is if it weren't for Keanu Reeves; I can't see anybody else as John Wick.

The Expendables Trilogy - Good, over-the-top entertainment, although the third one ranks lower than the rest, even though Gibson's character really carries it. All are worth the watch, especially if you're a fan of good old cheesy action the genre was a staple for back in the '80s and '90s, not to mention the colorful cast. I'm really looking forward to the fourth one.

[pzeke]

Some more...

Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2 - I don't care that Morgan Freeman was in these, I wish I could get the time I spent watching these two back.

Knives Out - Okay, first off, Toni Collette's character, Joni, drove me insane from the start—that attitude and her damned inflection...just unbearable. The movie itself was fantastic! I mean, I put two and two rather quickly, but that didn't deterred my enjoyment of the movie. I highly recommend it.

Victor Frankenstein - Meh, it was okay; McAvoy and Radcliffe made the movie watchable, so I guess that counts for something. Frankenstein is more than just horror, so it should be adapted to be more than cheap dialogue, scares, and effects. This movie started on the right path, I think, but it took a wrong turn quickly. Also, the CGI monkey was atrocious, hilariously, of course, but still atrocious. Try as he might, I don't think Max Landis will ever top "Chronicle".

[Cartagia]

American Murder: The Family Next Door - An interesting experiment in formatting, but that also makes it feel a tad exploitative.

The Lost City - If you would have told me a decade ago that Channing Tatum would be one of the most consistently entertaining people in Hollywood I would have spit in your face.

[burningdoom]

Morbius

Entertaining movie, but it's bot going to win any awards or anything. Serviceable story, cool visuals, and good action.