Every Film You've Watched in 2023

[Davedevil]

Shazam: Fury of the Gods - The reception to this is slightly perplexing; I thought it was about as fun and charming as the first. Messier for sure, but it was a worthwhile expansion, which is something I enjoy from sequels. They still did a pretty good job balancing the huge cast, who I'd love to see carry on in some way, if what I'm hearing Safran said is true and not just them floundering now that they've said this universe is coming to a close.

[Professor]

16 hours ago, Davedevil said:

Shazam: Fury of the Gods - The reception to this is slightly perplexing; I thought it was about as fun and charming as the first. Messier for sure, but it was a worthwhile expansion, which is something I enjoy from sequels. They still did a pretty good job balancing the huge cast, who I'd love to see carry on in some way, if what I'm hearing Safran said is true and not just them floundering now that they've said this universe is coming to a close.

 

I'll agree that this was a fun movie, more or less on par with the first.  I do, however, disagree that they balanced the huge cast.  I could have used more of the kids.  I can think of several scenes that would have worked better if they had been in kid form. (Don't know if they would have been better acting wise with the kids, which might be the reason.)  Still, I had fun. 

 

Only real complaint:

Spoiler

is that Shazam still doesn't feel like Billy.  I still feels a little like two different people.

 

[S-T]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:24 PM, Dread said:

Chris Rock: Selective Outrage: I've thought for a while that Chris Rock hasn't been funny for 20 years, and this is another example of that. I watched old clips on Youtube to wash the taste of this out of my mouth.

He does seem a little overly defensive.

I started it but haven't finished it. The nice thing about stand up specials is that I can listen via my Bluetooth headset while doing dishes and cooking dinner.

My tuna casserole turned out nicely.

[Davedevil]

On 3/22/2023 at 6:22 AM, Professor said:

Only real complaint:

  Hide contents

is that Shazam still doesn't feel like Billy.  I still feels a little like two different people.

I have heard that complaint from both but especially the second one, I still think Levi isn't the best they could've gotten for the role. I can see how he'd be a teen boy's dream adult self, but not this one. While I do enjoy the movies' mix of wacky hijinks and exploration of familial trauma (that scene from the first one where his mother rejects him is one of the most heart-rending scenes in a superhero movie I've ever seen), I can see how people would find it jarring.

Speaking of that scene, a parallel that hit me a few hours after seeing it

Spoiler

The first movie's climax is marked by Billy being rejected by his birth mother and saving his foster family. The second movie's climax has Billy's foster mom seeking him out and him leaving his foster family to save them and everyone else. That actually made me emotional when I connected the dots.

 

[Professor]

Everything Everywhere All At Once - Watched this a few weeks ago.  Loved it.

Jonah Hex - A waste of a pretty stacked cast.

Catwoman - I mean, it's Catwoman.  It is what it is.  But at about the halfway point I had a thought.  Replace the cast, add about ten hours, air it on the WB on Thursdays in 2003 and I would have probably loved this.  I mean, it is already basically a movie version of Birds of Prey, only stupid.

[Donomark]

Aqua Teen Forever: PLANTASM:

This was a more earnest, honest effort at storytelling than anything else I've seen from the crew of this show, including their previous film which I can't for the life of me remember the plot of. Many scenes are pure exposition, and there's actually a lot of (relative) time and effort put into affirming that the Aqua Teens do genuinely care for each other, no matter what they say. Now, IDK how funny it all comes together. It's a funny film to be sure, but because of the story structure and characterization, there's far less of that cynical punch that the show typically has. The randomness is lessened, and even Carl isn't as mean as he usually is. The very end is much more closer to form, but on the whole it feels as though Dave Willis and co. have mellowed since 2015 when the show originally ended.

In will say though that the Mooninities were the funniest I've found them to be in years. They repeatedly interrupt the movie and address/insult the viewer, and every time had me laughing. 

[S-T]

League of Super-Pets: This was fun. The people who made this love lampooning Batman.

[Dread]

GI Joe The Movie/ GI Joe Resolute/GI Joe Renegades: reviews forthcoming for the first two

• Features: 30
• Shorts: 
• Documentaries: 3
• Rewatches: 1

[Professor]

John Wick: Chapter 4:  I really enjoyed this.  Probably the second best in the series (after the original, which is damn near perfect).  A major step up from Chapter 3 at the very least.  It is a tad long, and easily could have cut down one fight scene, if not eliminated it altogether.   But one set piece is shot in a way that I've never seen before and the logistics of it kinda hurt my brain.  Donnie Yen is an awesome addition and Rina Sawayama really impressed me for her first film.

Some negatives:

Spoiler

It largely ignores Chapter 3 for the most part.  I'm kinda torn, as I think it resulted in a better movie, but it feels cheap.

I don't think anyone really buys the ending.  But at least it can serve as a conclusive ending, if need be.  I appreciate that.

 

[Dread]

GI Joe The Rise of Cobra: really looking forward to talking about this one.

• Features: 31
• Shorts: 
• Documentaries: 3
• Rewatches: 1

[Donomark]

John Wick Chapter 4: I loved this. I genuinely think this is a masterwork in action filmmaking, and one of the best action movies of the 21st century. Easily since the Raid movies.

More on my thoughts here.

[S-T]

On 3/31/2023 at 10:15 AM, Donomark said:

John Wick Chapter 4: I loved this. I genuinely think this is a masterwork in action filmmaking, and one of the best action movies of the 21st century. Easily since the Raid movies.

More on my thoughts here.

I saw JW2 a while ago, but haven't seen 3 or 4. Again, watching out of order because it was a Redbox rental.

John Wick: I had a Beagle for 13 and a half years, and a Beagle / Rat Terrier mix for 16 and a half years. Both died of old age, one at 15 and the other a month shy of turning 17. If you want me to hate a character, have him hurt or kill a Beagle. But it's also cheap heat, and I don't need to see it in movies.

[Dread]

GI Joe Retaliation: I watched this twice. Theatrical and then epic action cut, which is a better movie overall. 

Snake Eyes GI Joe Origins: ai yi yi

Not Without My Daughter: on the weekends, Stacy wakes up and usually watches TV. I join her with tea when I wake up. The other day, I walked in with tea and she'd just started this. I watched the whole thing. It's more morally entwined than I remember as a kid, but I really feel like it would be almost cartoonish and maybe a little racist if not for the portrayal of Alfred Mollina as the Iranian husband (ironically).

GI Joe Resolute: a rewatch

Memphis Wrestling 1987 Yearbook volume 4: this was pretty fun. A few decent matches. Especially the early Midnight Rockers match where Michaels and Jannety have never looked better. Great match where Jerry Lawler teams up with Bam Bam Bigelow too. God, he was a beast. Tubi has a ton of this shit.

• Features: 34
• Shorts: 
• Documentaries: 4
• Rewatches: 3

[Donomark]

Brotherhood of Justice: starring Keanu Reeves, Keifer Sutherland, Billy Zane and Lori Loughlin

a 1986 Made for TV movie based on events from a high school a year before where a group of seniors start a vigilante squad that immediately spins out of control. I genuinely found myself engrossed by this. It's pretty PSA-y, and it's liberal politics are on clear display, but I didn't feel too talked down to, considering the time it was made. Very anti-racist compared to a lot of stuff coming out of theaters in the mid-80s. Billy Zane gives the best performance as an obviously troubled kid, but it's an odd casting of Keanu as the captain of the football team and Keifer as the shy, quiet kid. Nevertheless I dug it for what it was.

[Dread]

Racing with the Moon: pretty solid "blowing off steam before joining the marines" movie with Sean Penn, Nicolas Cage, and a radiant Elizabeth Mcgovern.

An Unfinished Life: one of this weekend's morning movies was this one from 2005 that was pretty good. 

Calamity of Snakes: a Hong Kong/Taiwan co-production of the nastiest snakesploitation film ever made. Hard to watch due to the actual animal violence. Interesting to talk about on the podcast soon. 

The Cotton Club: recorded a review of this a while back for the Cage Dive podcast, it doesn't come out until after the Racing with the moon episode. Forgot to tally it. My thoughts will be very clear in the review.

• Features: 38
• Shorts: 
• Documentaries: 4
• Rewatches: 3

[Donomark]

Point Break (1991): Directed by Kathryn Bigelowe, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.

This movie came at me in waves. A very nice, artistic opening leads to appearances by John C. McGinley and Gary Busey acting like the utter cartoons they're famous for. Halfway through the first act, I thought this was a hilariously cheesy, wonderfully bullshit 90s action movie. Once Patrick Swayze comes onscreen however, it calms down and becomes something special. Swayze's performance delivers to the film sheer dignity and grace that puts it way above what it could've been with a lesser actor. The action sequences are very good, with the shootout at the suspects home a standout. Keanu's exactly what the online memes say of his acting skill, more or less. He's 100% committed, but his skills ebb and flow between earnest and great and the wrong tone or register. It's not distracting, but it's there. Still, he's ever the likable protag, and his relationship with Swayze's Bodie - while less gay than I was expecting - was sweet nonetheless.

I think the film stumbles a bit in the third act. Stuff starts happening rapid-fire where we're not really settled into a mode. All of a sudden Johnny Utah is an unwilling participant with the Ex-Presidents. All of a sudden he's arrested. Now they're jumping out of a plane. Then it's *checks internet* nine months later. That whole last act watched rather awkwardly, but is saved by the ending.

The Gray Man: Directed by the Russo Bros. Starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans

Like Point Break, this movie starts and right away I'm thinking "Oh this is some bullshit". It's written like a highly cliche'd, borderline shlocky early 2000s action movie. Everything is tropey, from Goslin's Sierra Six's troubled childhood and past, to the renegade agent plotline, to the disgruntled superiors throwing things in anger, to the various McGuyver-esque skills Six employs at any given moment. The thing of it is though, the Russos aren't dumb. It becomes apparent that this is clearly them just doing a tropey action movie and having fun along the way. The cast is, frankly, above it's weight class, but everyone delivers. Ana De Armas reteams with Gosling and Evans from Blade Runner 2049 and Knives Out respectively, delivering way more action panache than she did in No Time to Die. Rene Jean-Page plays the douchey chief of command with shady intentions, and Jessica Henwick is his harried second in command. But the MVP of the movie is Chris Evans, who just revels in playing out-of-this world assholes. Nobody does it like him, and though his character is a spiritual successor to Bennett (the final battle was undeniably looking at Commando), he never gets boring. He's funny, wild and alive. Most everyone else is grim-faced and serious, but he holds everything together. This was based on a book and it watches like that, with trading locales at a moment's notice and lore that seems so extraneous it could've only come from adhering to the source material. But while this movie is the least bit creative, it's perfectly fun to watch on a Friday night with some pizza. The action, while not as great as Caps 2&3, is solid and you don't feel cheated. It's a decent rental of a picture.

[Dread]

Bait/Five Dolls for an August Moon: reviews forthcoming

• Features: 40
• Shorts: 
• Documentaries: 4
• Rewatches: 3

[Professor]

3 Dev Adam - Found it on YouTube a while ago while looking for El Santo movies.  Instead, I found this 'El Santo' movie.  Not as good as an actual El Santo movie, but I had fun.  I mean, fake El Santo teams with fake Captain American to fight the evil (and fake) Spider-Man.  Good times.

[Dread]

The Sword & The Sorcerer: given that this is where my tastes are spinning back around to lately, I've wanted to rewatch this for a long time even before Albert Pyun died. But, Pyun is a guy you can always find on Tubi, and I did. It's shocking to me that this was Pyun's first film. It's also shocking that its pretty chaste for an hour until it's all of a sudden boobies galore (which kind of tells me a producer told him it needed boobs). The highlight is Richard Moll as the demonic sorcerer. The beautiful visual depictions of Frazetta/Vallejo-style art is wonderfully done. Probably ten minutes too long, but really fun.

M3GAN/Wrinkles the Clown: reviews forthcoming

Cocaine Bear: review forthcoming

• Features: 43
• Shorts: 
• Documentaries: 5
• Rewatches: 3

[S-T]

  Plane - Better than I expected. Seeing Mike Colter reminded me I never did finish Luke Cage.

On 3/23/2023 at 8:46 PM, Professor said:

Catwoman - I mean, it's Catwoman.  It is what it is.  But at about the halfway point I had a thought.  Replace the cast, add about ten hours, air it on the WB on Thursdays in 2003 and I would have probably loved this.  I mean, it is already basically a movie version of Birds of Prey, only stupid.

I just re-listened to the Tranquil Tirades episode on this one again this week. Dubs said that since this apparently is a spin-off of Batman Returns, "What a way for that series to end."

Twenty years after Halle Berry's Catwoman, the Michael Keaton version of Batman is back, in The Flash this summer.

[S-T]

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street - You can probably guess where I heard about this one. Thanks @Missy, @dc20willsave and the rest of the Midnight Movies crew for this review.

[S-T]

On 4/27/2023 at 12:26 PM, Dread said:

Cocaine Bear: review forthcoming

I marked out when I saw the guy from the Ikea employee videos was in this one.

Good to see him getting work in the movie industry.

[Missy]

11 hours ago, S-T said:

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street - You can probably guess where I heard about this one. Thanks @Missy, @dc20willsave and the rest of the Midnight Movies crew for this review.

@dc20willsave, what was the other documentary you mentioned during the recording? I'd like to see that one too.

[Donomark]

Guardians of the Galaxy vol.3: Directed by James Gunn

Reviews came out early in favor of this being the best MCU film since Endgame. After seeing it last night, I can understand how people would come to that sentiment. Like him or not, James Gunn always comes to storytelling with intention. He doesn't just toss off stories and works to make everything he does with superheroes emotional, stakes-driven and action packed. Honestly I've been thinking a lot since we recorded the Flickchart Forum for it, but even though there's a lot of compensatory yelling and laughing in Guardians vol.2, I do think I enjoyed it more than the first one. IT felt a bit weightier. 

But in terms of emotions and stakes, this one takes the cake. I like that the Guardians have been around for several year, and they are a unit. Yes they're silly, yes they can be goofy, but when shit gets real they snap into action like they're the X-Men. There's a real lack of bullshit with this movie, especially Starlord. But every character is just mega-competent and good at what they do, which works in favor for the film because they are hopelessly outmatched in their weight class. The opening battle scene is great and sets up right away the power scale for all the characters involved.

Chukwudi Iwuji plays the High Evolutionary, and he's a great villain. There's no subterfuge of civility or class with him, he's just hatefully evil, but still in the way where he sees himself as beyond morality. As a character, you buy into him and I think from Ronan to Ego to High Evolutionary, it shows a progression with Gunn's Marvel villains. It also works towards this being Rocket's revealed backstory, and really driving the emotional stakes for the film. The first flick was the team getting together despite they're differences, the second one was kind of split between Peter's story with Ego and Rocket's sense of self. This movie has a very simple premise, save Rocket. It's focused, uncomplicated and gives everyone determination. Drax isn't falling on his face to get cheap laughs. Of the team, he is probably the cartooniest, least serious but it works better than it has in past Marvel movies. Matis is WAY improved. I didn't see the Holiday Special, but her character is both really funny and incredibly empathetic. She was one of my favorites in this. Gamorra actually feels like Gamorra to me in this movie, the dealiest woman in the galaxy. It gives Zoe Saldana a chance to be way more than just the colored love interest, which has blanketed too much of her career. Pratt's great, Karen Gillan is awesome as always although there's a brief moment I caught her Scottish Brogue for half a second.

. Aside from wanting a bit more room to breathe in some of the general scenes, this is a pretty flawless movie I feel. The stakes are so legitimate, but the Guardians have matured into a classic superhero team so it's not shooting fish in a barrel either. I also liked how they did Adam Warlock. He was played for laughs a lot of the time, to be sure. But he was still massively powerful, and not a joke character like MODOK was in Ant Man 3. 

It's now Phase 5 and I'm having a hard time thinking to myself why Ant Man 3 didn't suck, aside from Jonathan Majors. Guardians 3 is obviously way better, but in terms of post-Endgame movies, well...nothing's probably ever gonna top Spider-Man: No Way Home for me. Wakanda Forever is also just a superbly strong film that it genuinely bothers me how dismissive people feel okay to be with regarding it in review. I liked Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but this is better. That movie had tangible flaws, and this one did not. It's the Guardians movie I've kind of been wanting for years, but you had to have the first two to get there. It feels like a real conclusion to a 3 chapter story.

[dc20willsave]

On 5/6/2023 at 8:28 PM, Missy said:

@dc20willsave, what was the other documentary you mentioned during the recording? I'd like to see that one too.

Dan brought it up. The documentary is Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. It's on Tubi. It's a little long (about 4 hours) but it goes pretty in depth over every film.