Every film you've watched in 2020


Missy

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12 hours ago, The Master said:

Though I will always have deep personal ties to the movie, my opinion on The Crow flips with each viewing. It's a strange one.

I'm the same. There's an emotional tie to that film that's undeniable. I can't exactly say that it's even a good film. 

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The Predator: in fairness, I thought that Predator had come to Netflix. Sadly no. But we watched this anyway. I thought it was really fun. There are a few editing snafus that show some chunks being cut out, but I liked it overall. I haven't seen Predators, but the Predator movies are overall, very good. 

  • Features: 76
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Uncut Gems: Watched on Netflix after much hype. It's a very solid movie that took me forever to finish. It's too long, with the last act just stretching the point further than it needed to. But Adam Sandler can't possibly have had a better performance, and the supporting players like Julia Fox and Lakeith Stanfield were great as well. And I loved The Weeknd playing his scummy self in a way that was 100% not an exaggeration. 

Far and away my favorite thing about it however was the score. There's a wonderful, 80s synth, almost Vangelis score in this was grabbed my attention from the getgo.

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Running Man: still jonesing for a slab of sci fi cheese from Schwarzenegger/Ventura after The Predator swerve, the boys and I watched this the other night. What a shitload of fun. Very prescient. 

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  • Documentaries: 11
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Project Power: this was really fun. It's what I want to see more of: new shit. I mean, the idea isn't new because it's basically 1/12th Hourman, but Jamie Foxx is a fucking star. I love that guy. Levitt's alright, and the little girl is pretty great too. Great depiction of superpowers. Solid action directing. I'd rather see a sequel to this or Bright than any of the current Marvel slate.

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  • Documentaries: 11
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Secret of the Ooze: Not as bad as #3 but still has some problems. The timeline is kinda wonky. Can Ninja Rap be Vanilla Ice's legacy?

Pinocchio and The Emperor of the Night: Filmation was and always will be garbage. This was decidedly not good, a way of trying to cashgrab off Disney with a story about Pinocchio fighting The Devil.

Films: 107
Documentaries: 1

Rewatches: 1
Mst3k/Rifftrax/Other Assisted: 14

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Secret of the Ooze was always my favorite as a kid, but I've not seen it in...going on 20 years. I love the first one now, whereas the violence such as Raph getting beaten up and Splinter getting "tortured" (?) upset me as a kid. I wonder how I'd take to the second film now...

Turtles in Time I just remember the Turtles looking like they had Sickle Cell disease or something. And the wet willies.

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Child's Play 2019 remake: My main problem with this is that it's called Child's Play when it is so radically different from the first series. This is technology, not voodoo magic. Had they called it anything other than Child's Play, I would have been less critical of it.

When the robot doll is acting up, one of the kids says "this is how every robot apocalypse movie starts" and despite multiple increasingly worrisome acts by the self-aware toy they don't think this is the time to cut it into little pieces and incinerate it. Also, the doll is extremely ugly.

But I will admit, I am a curmudgeon and went into the movie with a bad attitude. And it won me over. Yeah, there are lots of problems with it and I could nitpick a whole lot of things but I was enjoying it by the end. I recommend it. I think it's interesting that at first, Chucky is not evil. He is trying to do the right thing, just misguided and unable to understand why some of his actions are wrong. He means well. He does a full heel turn later on, obviously.

I hope @Dread reviews this one for Dread Media.

Films Watched: 31

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22 hours ago, S-T said:

Child's Play 2019 remake: My main problem with this is that it's called Child's Play when it is so radically different from the first series. This is technology, not voodoo magic. Had they called it anything other than Child's Play, I would have been less critical of it.

When the robot doll is acting up, one of the kids says "this is how every robot apocalypse movie starts" and despite multiple increasingly worrisome acts by the self-aware toy they don't think this is the time to cut it into little pieces and incinerate it. Also, the doll is extremely ugly.

But I will admit, I am a curmudgeon and went into the movie with a bad attitude. And it won me over. Yeah, there are lots of problems with it and I could nitpick a whole lot of things but I was enjoying it by the end. I recommend it. I think it's interesting that at first, Chucky is not evil. He is trying to do the right thing, just misguided and unable to understand why some of his actions are wrong. He means well. He does a full heel turn later on, obviously.

I hope @Dread reviews this one for Dread Media.

Films Watched: 31

This on Shudder?

 

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On 8/16/2020 at 12:04 PM, Donomark said:

Secret of the Ooze was always my favorite as a kid, but I've not seen it in...going on 20 years. I love the first one now, whereas the violence such as Raph getting beaten up and Splinter getting "tortured" (?) upset me as a kid. I wonder how I'd take to the second film now...

Turtles in Time I just remember the Turtles looking like they had Sickle Cell disease or something. And the wet willies.

Oh yeah, I remember how harsh and serious the Act 1 climax through Act 2 portion of the first film was. It almost felt like the cartoonishness of 2 was a studio reaction how real 1 got. 3 was filmed for less than 2 but more than 1 but when you take into account that they used a different production studio for the Turtles and they're also paying to shoot on location in... Oregon? Really? Okay but it's still different than shooting on a set like most of 2 was.

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Street Fighter (1994): This was my very first viewing. Holy crap was this fun as hell! The first half is pure satire on Paul Verhoeven levels. There are elements that would later pop up in Starship Troopers, especially the portrayal of the military. And the back half, which retains some of the satire, is completely inoffensive kid-friendly action. It's blatantly GI Joe v Cobra. Raul Julia might be the only actor who got this memo, however, and we're all the better for it. He's acting on a whole other level and I cannot thank him enough for chewing every inch of scenery. Jean-Claude Van Damme is trying so hard, and bless him for it.

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Star Trek VI: My favorite of the TOS movies, even more so than Wrath of Khan. Spock gets angry and smacks a phaser out of the traitor’s hand, and Sulu is a captain even though he probably should not have been.

(I saw George Takei speak on the Indiana University campus a couple years ago. I wore my TOS red shirt because of course I did.)

Definitely looking forward to @Dan and @The Master covering this.

Films watched: 32

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The Karate Kid (1984): Pure comfort food. I absolutely adore the original Karate Kid. It perfectly justifies Daniel's anger, exposes Mr. Miyagi's hidden pain, builds Johnny and his gang as thugs, and even takes some time to show Mrs. LaRusso's love for her son. It could absolutely do more with Ali, but what they do accomplish is showing Ali does not take anyone's shit. She slugs Johnny, pushes back on Daniel after he makes an ass of himself, and even lets her father have it. So there's something there, but it would have been great to get more of her peer group.

They also do a good job making the three "teenage" leads look and act like teenagers; Macchio was 23, Shue was 21, and Zabka was 19.

Rocky's fingerprints are all over this, too. Not just because it's a competition movie about an underdog overcoming impossible odds, but because it's directed by the same man who directed Rocky: John G. Avildsen. There are moments where Macchio has clearly been told to channel Stallone, specifically moments when he's talking to himself.

The Karate Kid Part II (1986): While I love the first, I adore the second even more. Unlike a lot of sequels in the 1980s, TKKP2 doesn't simply remake the original. Some of the same beats are hit, yes, but it's an entirely different movie. By setting it in Okinawa and making the plot about Mr. Miyagi's past, the creators are able to better flesh out the world and characters. We now know why Mr. Miyagi left for America, and the pain he carried with him. We also get to see Daniel valiantly attempt to assimilate to an unfamiliar culture all while still being the kid from Newark.

The stakes being raised adds a lot, as well. Six months prior Daniel was fighting to bush back on bullies. This time around it's quite literally for his life. And he is so ill-prepared.

Danny Kamekona as Sato is an amazing screen presence. He's filled with damaged honor, boiling rage, respect for traditions, and then an amazing face turn.

Worst part, though? Ali is completely thrown under the bus. So all the time and energy and emotion we invested in the Ali / Daniel relationship is given a thumb to the eye. It's rather petty.

The Karate Kid Part III (1989): Set roughly 18 months after the original, TKKP3 is technically set in late 1985. Five years on from the original, though, and you can see how much Macchio, then 28, had aged.

This is all kinds of not good. We went from an exceptionally intimidating performance by Martin Kove as Kreese to the aforementioned Danny Kamekona as the terrifying Sato to... this. Thomas Ian Griffith plays Terry Silver, a mega-rich war buddy of Kreese who quite literally cackles with evil glee, tells his staff his focus is set on "revenge," and brazenly dumps toxic waste because being a rich dickhead wasn't enough.

Instead of simply killing Daniel and Miyagi -- which is something this asshat would do -- he crafts an elaborate plan to split the two apart, only to have Daniel beaten while defending his title in the karate tournament. It's some Saturday-morning bullshit.

Also, Daniel's new female friend is threatened with gang rape. So that's fucking awful.

This one also throws another love interest under the bus. When Daniel and Mr. Miyagi return to the states, we learn Kumiko stayed in Okinawa because she got into a dance school. While it's handled better than the piss-poor treatment of Ali, it still feels a bit cynical.

The Next Karate Kid (1994): Much better than TKKP3, but it doesn't come close to the heights of the first two.

Here, Mr. Miyagi temporarily moves to Boston to mentor a war buddy's granddaughter. Hillary Swank does an admirable job playing a pissed off teenager girl. She's made at the world for taking her grandfather, as well as her parents. She hates everyone, and with good reason. Much like Daniel had to learn to control his anger, as well as his impatience, Swank's Julie is even angrier and impatient. If for nothing else, give this one a watch for her performance. And the monks. They're so cute.

Okay, that said, the ending is a mess. Everyone gets in on the action, but it's so unfocused.

And the whole reason Julie needs to learn to fight is so she's not dragged off and gang raped by a school-sanctioned posse of karate-loving punks. What is it with Three and Next when it comes to their female leads and rape?

The Karate Kid (2010): A very solid remake. While taking many elements from the original, this movie can be viewed as its own experience.

Jaden Smith's Dre Parker is absolutely charming. He's clearly his father's son, but Jaden has his own style and acting flourishes that shine through. He too is angry, but it's very much the anger of a child, rather than that of a teenager. That tiny difference very much sets Dre apart from Daniel and Julie.

Jackie Chan's Mr. Han is absolutely depressing. From the jump one can clearly see something is deeply broken in his soul. He looks so tired, as if death is late and he's angry about it. When we learn where his pain stems from, it breaks your heart. And Dre's reaction does a wonderful job demonstrating how much he has grown, as well as how much he loves Mr. Han.

At two hours twenty, it's longer than it needs to be, but still a movie that's worth a watch.

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23 minutes ago, The Master said:

 

The Karate Kid (2010): A very solid remake. While taking many elements from the original, this movie can be viewed as its own experience.

Jaden Smith's Dre Parker is absolutely charming. He's clearly his father's son, but Jaden has his own style and acting flourishes that shine through. He too is angry, but it's very much the anger of a child, rather than that of a teenager. That tiny difference very much sets Dre apart from Daniel and Julie.

Jackie Chan's Mr. Han is absolutely depressing. From the jump one can clearly see something is deeply broken in his soul. He looks so tired, as if death is late and he's angry about it. When we learn where his pain stems from, it breaks your heart. And Dre's reaction does a wonderful job demonstrating how much he has grown, as well as how much he loves Mr. Han.

At two hours twenty, it's longer than it needs to be, but still a movie that's worth a watch.

I contend the only thing wrong with the remake is it not being titled Kung Fu Kid. Setting it in China and having him practice kung fu is peak Hollywood "they're all the same-ism." That said. Taraji P. Henson. So it's balanced out.

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Bill & Ted Face the Music - Was going to wait to watch, but it was at the local drive-in so why not?  General thought is I liked it, but it is the clear number 3 of the series.  But really, it was always going to be in my head because the other two are such a part of my childhood.  More specific spoiler-rich thoughts:

 

Spoiler

The surprise ending isn't.  The most obvious of twists that I am actually okay with.  Bill & Ted isn't really about deep plots.  It was about fun.  Yeah, I knew the ending, but I still enjoyed getting there.

I do wish we could have gotten more interaction between the daughters with Bill & Ted.  The daughters basically going off to recreate Excellent Adventures was a nice idea, but meant that the four were separate for most of the movie.

And the movie could have done more with the C plot of the Princesses.  They went on their own time travel journey and that could have been interesting.

My biggest complaint is future versions of Bill & Ted.  They are the same guys 25 years later, but when they meet themselves, they suddenly turned into unlikable dicks.  Seems way out of character just to create conflict.

Oh, and nice to have Missy back.

 

Minions - The penance I had to sit thru to watch Bill & Ted.   I have no idea why these were paired together.  I don't think I have seen a worse movie in a theater (close enough).  I hated this.   Your mileage may vary.

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Scott Pilgrim vs The World: One of my favorite films. It's always a fun watch.I won't call it Edgar Wright's best film (Almost definitely Hot Fuzz) but it's pretty far up there.

And I just realized that Edgar Wright hasn't come up on Flickchart Forum yet.

Edited to add: Though, now that I look at it, unless you include Written by credits, there's really only six films. So, maybe that's why. Could have sworn he had done more.

Gosford Park: Robert Altman is the only film maker I can think of who can create a film with like 20 characters, each with their own plots, and dialogue that you can still make out but maybe turn on the subtitles. I need to rewatch Nashville sometime.

Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against The Universe: It's cute, obviously takes place during the series rather than after. It's occasionally obvious that the voice actors have gotten older since the series ended.

Films: 110
Documentaries: 1

Rewatches: 1
Mst3k/Rifftrax/Other Assisted: 14

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