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[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

Goodbye Christopher Robin is slightly less fluffy than it looks. It's still very fluffy, and absolutely intended for a certain audience, intended to be a crowd pleaser sort of thing, but it also has a certain edge and realism that was surprising, particularly for a PG film.

It's a heavily dramatised (fictionalised, that is to say) re telling of the life of Winnie the Pooh author A.A.Milne from his return from service in the first world war, to struggling with writers block and shellshock while struggling to reconcile his war service with the world he left behind and subsequently came back, to his bonding with his young son and subsequently finding something he wished to write to, and arguably exploited his experiences and his son (at least in the way the film tell the story) to become successful, which later damages both father and son and their subsequent relationship almost to the point of no return.

The film isn't quite as cynical as that mind, and the idea put forward by the film and the several of the characters is that while the real Christopher Robin has a poor time 'growing up' Milne has used those experiences not just to remind people how fun and innocent childhood is or can be, but that he 'cheered the world up after the war made everyone so sad'

So it's more than a bit sappy, to along with that hint of edge. There's more of it in the characters of Milne's wife Daphne who seems happy to parade their son around to gain access to fame and fortune, and the nanny character Noo who disapproves of the way her young charges life is nearly taken away from him, but thats not how the film wants to be seen, its a nice film.

It's expertly filmed and shot, it has some superb performances particularly from Gleeson (again), it has an excellent tone and the shooting locations incidentally, all look amazing. I thought it balanced the cynicism with the sappy, feel good, Winnie the pooh stuff very well, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[Fug Slanderson]

Been going to the theater a lot thanks to MoviePass. In the past 2 weeks I've gone more than I have in 2 years.

Spiderman Homecoming - 8/10. I'm not usually into comic book movies, but I really enjoyed this one. Very fun with lots of personality and humor. The action was good and I liked the actor that played Spiderman.

Kingsman 2 - 7/10. I've never seen the first one, but I thought this was pretty entertaining. The lead actor has a lot of charisma, and the action was well done. It waa too long, though.

Wind River - 8/10. A simple but good story. Jeremy Renner did a great job, and some of the dialogue was really great.

It - 6/10. Not scary at all, but the kids were all good actors. The special effects for Pennywise were really well done, and he was appropriately creepy.

Blade Runner - 9/10. Possibly the most beautiful movie I've ever seen. I loved the sloe pace and atmosphere. Gosling was awesome, and Ford was great. The world they created was incredible. The story was a little hard to follow, but I saw it twice and have it mostly figured out now.

American Assassin - 2/10. Fuck this movie. Aside from the opening scene, it was really dumb. The lead actor was not interesting at all. I love Michael Keaton, but he couldn't save this turd.

The Foreigner - 5/10. I went in expecting a movie where Jackie Chan just beats the shit out of lots of dudes. That's not what this movie is. It focused more on Pierce Brosnan (he did a great job). The story was pretty easy to follow, but rather convoluted. Not a bad movie, but not at all what I expected.

 

[Icolin]

I'm more excited about the next MCU Spider-Man movie than I think I should be.

 

[swoon]

right now, wrong then *** 1/2 : feels more like film criticism then cinema, though the charismatic leads almost help land the lack of nuance in the criticism as a fun meet-cute.

 

[DieNgamers]

https://letterboxd.com/hannsford <- new to the site, add me guys. ;D

Last movies I've seen:
Sicario. This was VISCERAL. I'm still gathering my thoughts and will watch it again for sure. I like how kinda simple the story is while the execution makes you feel like you're there. Every single scene matters.

 

[Cripplegate]

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (5.5/10) - Netflix cooking up some original scares, but they're not all that original (the reflection in the TV, come on, who didn't see that coming from a mile away). It took me a while to adjust to Ruth Wilson's performance here, too, as it's so outside of the usual work I've seen from her (stuff like Luther and Dark River... so basically the complete opposite of a sweet and innocent girl with an American accent), but she IS a good actor, and the final scenes work because of her performance.

This thing is mostly a mood piece, and it works to an extent. The house often reminded me of my grandma's old home, so it had its hooks in me early (as an experience, it alternated between spooky and nostalgic). It is only intermittently effective, however, as there are some questionable artistic choices and, as mentioned, predictable jump scares. The biggest problem, though, is the story within the story. For a mood piece, there's too much story. For a narrative film, there isn't nearly enough. The characters, the history of the house, the old author's books... it's all so thinly sketched, and occupies so much of the movie's focus, that the final product is unsatisfying. The film amounts to little more than a spooky-time platitude (you can't own a house haunted by ghosts, the ghosts own it, the end). It was okay. When it was over, I just shrugged.

Netflix does have some interesting looking horror movies in its general library, though. The Witch and The Wailing are both available so I'll try to check those out this month.

 

[UrbanRats]

It took me a while to adjust to Ruth Wilson's performance here, too, as it's so outside of the usual work I've seen from her (stuff like Luther and Dark River... so basically the complete opposite of a sweet and innocent girl with an American accent), but she IS a good actor, and the final scenes work because of her performance.

Basically what she plays in The Affair.
Going from Luther to that was surprising in the same way.

 

[brokenbeans]

Need a film for tonight in the mood for anything!

 

[Divius]

Are you in the mood for ... love?

 

[UrbanRats]

Need a film for tonight in the mood for anything!

Martyrs.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Are you in the mood for ... love?

Only acceptable response

 

[Theorry]

Atomic Blonde

Loved it. The story was abit iffy and became abit messy towards the end. But the rest was just nice. The whole period i loved with the music and the action was solid. Respect for Theron. Said many time before. We need that Wick crossover tho.

 

[Messofanego]

right now, wrong then *** 1/2 : feels more like film criticism then cinema, though the charismatic leads almost help land the lack of nuance in the criticism as a fun meet-cute.

why so high

 

[UrbanRats]

I'm halfway through Mind Hunters and i have to say, i'm finding it somewhat disappointing so far.
It's solid i guess, but i was expecting way more substance, and even beyond that, i think the Zodiac comparisons aren't all that warranted so far (setting and subject matter aside) as there's basically zero tension or urgency to anything.

 

[omgkitty]

I'm halfway through Mind Hunters and i have to say, i'm finding it somewhat disappointing so far.
It's solid i guess, but i was expecting way more substance, and even beyond that, i think the Zodiac comparisons aren't all that warranted so far (setting and subject matter aside) as there's basically zero tension or urgency to anything.

Mind Hunters and Mindhunter are two completely different things

 

[UrbanRats]

Mind Hunters and Mindhunter are two completely different things

So that's why it was so different from Zodiac!

 

[brianjones]

brawl in cell block 99 - felt like a direct to video movie to me but a pretty entertaining one if a little long. some of the dialogue would give true detective season 2 a run for its money. vince vaughn is a big dude and can handle that kind of quiet menace but his attempts at a southern accent were laughable. The over the top violence will have people talking but it was more effectively built up in bone tomahawk

don johnson rules

girl walks home alone at night - interminably long and boring student film .. should have been 15 minutes

House (housu) - my anime’s didn’t prepare me for this

 

[Sean C]

Sicario (2015): Revisiting for the first time since the theatrical release, this was probably Villeneuve's most stylish film, at least until he made Blade Runner 2049. It's a deeply nihilistic film, in a way that's unlike most of Villeneuve's other work (he typically makes movies about the value of empathy/forgiveness in the face of really tough circumstances). It makes for a great thriller, even if it's probably shallower than some of the other stuff he's made. Also, I'm pretty sure that cable viewings of this probably netted at least 500,000 votes for Trump.

 

[swoon]

why so high

Out of 5, but I think it's an above avg film based on strengths of the performance though it doesn't land what it is going for fully.

 

[Puck Beaverton]

why so high

blocked

 

[shaneo632]

Double bill of Happy Death Day and Geostorm Friday night. This gonna be fun. I will be taking at least six beers into the cinema.

 

[Fancyarcher]

The Lego Batman Batman - Fun, but it couldn't keep it up the "sugar rush" forever, kinda slow at point unfortunately, but I enjoyed it overall. 7.5 / 10

 

[EverydayBeast]

The Last Boy Scout 1991

3.5/5 Solid action flick, good dialog.

The Crow 1994

3/5 Good movie. Bunch of corn, but that's just what the doctor ordered.

The Foreigner - 2017
The theater I went to had a very small crowd. Great performance by Pierce Brosnan. 4/5

 

[Messofanego]

Out of 5, but I think it's an above avg film based on strengths of the performance though it doesn't land what it is going for fully.

Right performances now, wrong story then.

 

[swoon]

and people say we don't get along.

 

[Mi goreng]

Watched a bit of What We Do in the Shadows last night and it was really fucking funny, need to finish.

Not film but have been watching The Deuce. What an absorbing show. They really capture this bygone era of grime and sleaze that was in the heart of NYC. Each episode seems to have some wild amount of sexualised nudity which is more explicit than any HBO show before it. James Franco is pretty great in this and those pimps, man. Terrible human beings. My favourite show of the year next to Twin Peaks.

https://letterboxd.com/bths80/

 

[Sean C]

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969): Sydney Pollack's entry in the contest for the title of most pessimistic film ever made, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is a nihilistic look at the way desperate people are exploited and made into entertainment for the well-to-do (one could easily read the whole thing as an economic and social metaphor). There are no punches pulled here, and every one lands powerfully. Gritty in a way that cinema was only just becoming, this is one of the best films of the 1970s that just happened to be made in 1969. This is, for my money, Jane Fonda's best performance, and the best thing Pollack ever directed.

 

[Count Dookkake]

.

 

[Discotheque]

I'm halfway through Mind Hunters and i have to say, i'm finding it somewhat disappointing so far.
It's solid i guess, but i was expecting way more substance, and even beyond that, i think the Zodiac comparisons aren't all that warranted so far (setting and subject matter aside) as there's basically zero tension or urgency to anything.

I think its the worst thing Fincher's name has been attached to since Benjamin Button, but at the same time I think its a pretty good show. Definitely one of the most engaging things to come out of netflix. Thanks to the subject matter and the tight direction from Fincher and co.

Zodiac comparisons definitely don't hold up though, this is focused on a much broader subject and plus I gotta say the main character and his girl are a couple of doofuses, I like his partner a lot more. I'm enjoying it tho.

Blade Runner 2049

Whew. That was great but it falls short of the first in a few ways (whilst surpassing it in others). This movie expands on the characters and themes of the universe which I appreciated. There's more depth to the characters in the sense that you're given more empathy for replicants and the way their lives are commodities. Portions of this movie reminded me of previous sci fi movies such as AI and Her. Roger Deakins cinematography is beautiful as well. Possibly the best looking film he's shot since Assassination of Jesse James. Was a real treat to see his eye applied to this cyberpunk universe. Man it did not need to be 2.5 hours though. Nothing wrong with that runtime specifically but in this case it does drag a bit, I think the stuff with the AI girl should have been cut. I'm sure audiences would have been able to empathize with K without that.

The acting was great though, I liked everyone in here including Jared Leto (who felt like he was an amalgamation of Roy Batty and Tyrell in the way he spoke and his philosophical babble). Gosling was good too, he's basically doing the silent and broody guy in here which fits him like a glove at this point. Ford came to work and actually gave a shit which was nice to see. He really sells a sense of being worn out, moreso than he did as Han Solo a couple years ago as well, probably the best job he's done all century.

I preferred the old movie though, the decision to clean up the world and make it more sterile makes sense but some of the atmosphere is lost too. I think the 82 movie was a much more aesthetically interesting movie with all the grime and clutter, and how smoky everything looked. Also god damn the music, what the fuck. I like Hans Zimmer quite a bit but they phoned this in. I think this is all Villeneuve's fault though, he shouldn't have hired Johan in the first place, nor replace his work with this. We could have gotten something more interesting and melodic with an electronic artist I imagine. Too bad the myriad of people who would have been up for it (Trent Reznor, Mica Levi, Johnny Greenwood etc.) weren't asked. Huge step down from Vangelis' original soundtrack.

The simplicity of the old movie's detective plot and the mood of the whole thing is what ultimately puts that over this sequel for me. But I still liked this a lot despite some of the issues I had with it. Top 5 of 2017 at this point.

 

[smisk]

Well Teeth (2007) was interesting... Other than Dawn, the acting wasn't great, and from a technical perspective it was one of the worst movies I've seen in some time, especially the few scenes shot at night..
But It's an interesting premise and there's some satisfaction in seeing her get revenge on all the guys. Plus it has the most severed dicks I've seen in a movie, so that's gotta count for something.

2.5/5

 

[Icolin]

Wonder Woman

Beginning and final act sucked. Enjoyed the majority of the movie though, especially the chemistry between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine.

Easily the best DCCU movie, although I liked the first hour and a half of both Man of Steel and BvS. Suicide Squad is basura from start to finish.

 

[Blader]

I think the 2049 score is supposed to be more Wallfisch's thing than Zimmer's. Didn't love the score but thought it was more interesting than the one-note droning stuff that Johan has done for Sicario and Arrival.

 

[Icolin]

The 2049 score has grown on me a ton. Fits with the grittier and harsher tone of the movie, as opposed to the original Blade Runner and its kind of lucid, dreamy tone.

It enhanced certain scenes (

Spoiler

like when those ships are flying after K and there's these really harsh sounding synths blaring

), and didn't distract me from what was going on.

 

[UrbanRats]

I think its the worst thing Fincher's name has been attached to since Benjamin Button, but at the same time I think its a pretty good show. Definitely one of the most engaging things to come out of netflix. Thanks to the subject matter and the tight direction from Fincher and co.

Zodiac comparisons definitely don't hold up though, this is focused on a much broader subject and plus I gotta say the main character and his girl are a couple of doofuses, I like his partner a lot more. I'm enjoying it tho.

Gotta be honest, i'm also watching Black Sails (i watch these shows during lunch and dinner, 'cause they're just the right length, movies are too long to fit my schedule ) and as schlock as it is (every hero character seems out of playboy, with perfect teeth and all), i'm usually looking forward to that more, as at least it has fun with the TV format, similarly to something like Breaking Bad.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Seeking a Friend For the End of the World (2012) - at times sappy, at times darkly humorous, a relatively quiet story of the end of the world and two people who find each other who would never have (and never did) give each other the time of day beforehand. This hinges on Carell and Knightley having strong chemistry and they absolutely do. The earnestness of their predicament and of their care for one another really comes through. That final scene. Touching.

4 / 5

Gotta be honest, i'm also watching Black Sails (i watch these shows during lunch and dinner, 'cause they're just the right length, movies are too long to fit my schedule ) and as schlock as it is (every hero character seems out of playboy, with perfect teeth and all), i'm usually looking forward to that more, as at least it has fun with the TV format, similarly to something like Breaking Bad.

Black Sails is fucking fantastic. S1 is a slow burn and makes you wonder why this is a show about pirates if they're not gonna do any pirate stuff, and then bam S2 is fucking packed with pirating goodness, with all that S1 backstory and relationship building and now the characters are double-crossing each other and Flint and Silver are chewing scenery likes hyenas on a wounded gazelle.

 

[kevin1025]

Ended up seeing a double feature of The Lego Movie and Lego Ninjago at the theatre this evening. But it also meant I missed the Geostorm advanced screening, something I don't know if I can forgive myself for.

The LEGO Movie

A rewatch, I haven't seen it since it first came out. The first thing that struck me is that it's still the prettiest of the three. Then the second thing was how messed up it is that a 2014 kid's movie basically has Donald Trump allegories in it. Building walls, against anything that wants change, he tries to appeal to people with Taco Tuesday instead of the taco bowl... the dude's name is literally President Business. It kind of blew my mind. The movie itself is fun and inventive with its world and the Lego brand, providing some pretty good laughs and wonderful eye candy. But that fun and inventiveness does run at the cost of bouncing around a little too much story-wise, but that's sort of the point and it all comes out well enough. Liam Neeson's voice work is the best.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

It's the weakest of the three, just a hair below Lego Batman for me. But I do think it has some pretty decent stuff in there. The sound design and sound mixing is super strong, and the voice cast are really good choices. It's not a very funny movie, although I did end up loving the third act for catastrophic reasons. It also has seven Wilhelm screams in a row --- count 'em, seven! And while the budget doesn't feel mega high, it still is a striking movie.

 

[Baroquemantic]

The Purge: Election Year

Dumb as hell, but pretty fun and entertaining.

--

6/10

 

[True Savior]

The simplicity of the old movie's detective plot and the mood of the whole thing is what ultimately puts that over this sequel for me.

This is something I see in most old-man Ridley movies. He overplots, he complicates straight narratives for the sake of an illusionary complexity. The more I think about the film, the more it reminds me of Prometheus, with its clunky structure, bad tie-ins and throwing so much shit at you. The film has info-dumps that make Nolan plot dialogues sound subtle. It has flashbacks to prior scenes when explaining the reveal lmao. There's also a huge clunkiness to the detective-side of the story. Seems really shitty to blame Ridley for a film he didn't direct, but I'm starting to think his hands were all over this film.

 

[UrbanRats]

This is something I see in most old-man Ridley movies. He overplots, he complicates straight narratives for the sake of an illusionary complexity. The more I think about the film, the more it reminds me of Prometheus, with its it's clunky structure, bad tie-ins and throwing so much shit at you. The film has info-dumps that make Nolan plot dialogues sound subtle. It has flashbacks to prior scenes when explaining the reveal lmao. There's also a huge clunkiness to the detective-side of the story. Seems really shitty to blame Ridley for a film he didn't direct, but I'm starting to think his hands were all over this film.

I hated that shit, but the original didn't even have a detective story in the first place.
There's keeping it simple, and there's having not enough to go on at all.

 

[True Savior]

I hated that shit, but the original didn't even have a detective story in the first place.
There's keeping it simple, and there's having not enough to go on at all.

I kinda agree with that. It's very flimsy. But being so bare bones might be good cause it's simply not in the way. It's not an obstruction.

BR certainly doesn't excel cause of People's and Fancher script.

 

[Discotheque]

Black Sails rocks. It gets off to a shaky start in the first season but after that it just rockets through to the end. I love how it basically shines the Treasure Island book in a new light too with this different context by humanizing these pirate characters (and it was cool having a few historical pirates thrown in too). The guy playing Flint crushes it and should have been nominated for an emmy for the last season really. Bear McCreary's score for the show was fantastic as well.

and I thought there was just about enough plot in Blade Runner (82) for what it was. I definitely enjoy it more for the audiovisual experience and the vibe of it though.

The Meyerowitz Stories

The casting of Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller as siblings was brilliant and I'm amazed it hadn't been done before. I think this might be my favorite Baumbach movie, even over the ones he made with Greta Gerwig. Nice portrait of a family standing in the shadow of their father, the performances in here are all fantastic and Sandler and Hoffman are pretty hilarious in here. Hoffman's best work in a while, and Adam Sandler's role in here is not unlike Punch Drunk Love. good use of his comedic skills to help with the dramatic side as he bottles in his emotions and does those trademark outbursts of his.

 

[Icolin]

Black Sails rocks. It gets off to a shaky start in the first season but after that it just rockets through to the end. I love how it basically shines the Treasure Island book in a new light too with this different context by humanizing these pirate characters (and it was cool having a few historical pirates thrown in too). The guy playing Flint crushes it and should have been nominated for an emmy for the last season really. Bear McCreary's score for the show was fantastic as well.

and I thought there was just about enough plot in Blade Runner (82) for what it was. I definitely enjoy it more for the audiovisual experience and the vibe of it though.

The Meyerowitz Stories

The casting of Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller as siblings was brilliant and I'm amazed it hadn't been done before. I think this might be my favorite Baumbach movie, even over the ones he made with Greta Gerwig. Nice portrait of a family standing in the shadow of their father, the performances in here are all fantastic and Sandler and Hoffman are pretty hilarious in here. Hoffman's best work in a while, and Adam Sandler's role in here is not unlike Punch Drunk Love. good use of his comedic skills to help with the dramatic side as he bottles in his emotions and does those trademark outbursts of his.

You've sold me on this movie.

 

[kevin1025]

You've sold me on this movie.

He does a great job. His performance is angry and jealous but also aloof and sweet. I was shocked he still had it in him.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

9 1/2 hour plane flight from Stuttgart to Atlanta gave me time to knock out three movies.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) - mediocre. At times aggressively so. A pretty severe lack of chemistry coupled with unfunny one-liners. The Ritchie formula is here, with the fast cuts and the expository story telling.

2.5 / 5

Despicable Me 3 (2017) - I love the minions. They make these movies for me. They were fun here. The rest of the movie was meh. The Gru/Dru thing, the aggressively lame 80s child TV star villain... ugh. I hope they're done making these.

2.5 / 5

I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore (2017) - another solid-ish Netflix original. It definitely falls into the "that escalated quickly" category. There are some bits here that feel like a stretch for the main character, and that sometimes feels like it throws me out of the story, but hey on a 9 1/2 hour flight you go with what you downloaded (mostly).

2.5 / 5

I tried to start Goon but gave up on that 10 minutes in. Maybe it's the fact my son got a concussion playing hockey, but trying to watch a movie where they glorify the guy who pounds other guys in the head... yeah, not for me.

I also started Silence on the plane, but Delta had problems with their screens and had to restart the system, and by the time they got things restarted and I was already watching other stuff, I didn't go back to it.

 

[shaneo632]

Glad to see this weekend's big Netflix originals getting solid reviews - 1922 and Wheelman.

 

[kevin1025]

I tried to start Goon but gave up on that 10 minutes in. Maybe it's the fact my son got a concussion playing hockey, but trying to watch a movie where they glorify the guy who pounds other guys in the head... yeah, not for me.

Yeah, Goon does glorify the fights in a major way. But it does sort of come back around and make it about protecting the team and it meaning something... before making the final fight comically brutal and kind of negating all of the other stuff.

Glad to see this weekend's big Netflix originals getting solid reviews - 1922 and Wheelman.

Netflix is on a huge movie roll, it's nuts!

 

[big ander]

9 1/2 hour plane flight from Stuttgart to Atlanta gave me time to knock out three movies.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) - mediocre. At times aggressively so. A pretty severe lack of chemistry coupled with unfunny one-liners. The Ritchie formula is here, with the fast cuts and the expository story telling.

2.5 / 5

Despicable Me 3 (2017) - I love the minions. They make these movies for me. They were fun here. The rest of the movie was meh. The Gru/Dru thing, the aggressively lame 80s child TV star villain... ugh. I hope they're done making these.

2.5 / 5

I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore (2017) - another solid-ish Netflix original. It definitely falls into the "that escalated quickly" category. There are some bits here that feel like a stretch for the main character, and that sometimes feels like it throws me out of the story, but hey on a 9 1/2 hour flight you go with what you downloaded (mostly).

2.5 / 5

I tried to start Goon but gave up on that 10 minutes in. Maybe it's the fact my son got a concussion playing hockey, but trying to watch a movie where they glorify the guy who pounds other guys in the head... yeah, not for me.

I also started Silence on the plane, but Delta had problems with their screens and had to restart the system, and by the time they got things restarted and I was already watching other stuff, I didn't go back to it.

I absolutely and emphatically recommend against watching Silence on a plane. It is not a movie to see on the back of a headrest while carts bang by and lights flash on and off.

Man from uncle is. I mostly hate ritchie but that one I could tolerate, mostly for vikander.

 

[EverydayBeast]

The Great Escape 1963 Figure I'd give a Steve McQueen movie a shot and boy what a film... just up until they lost me at the train station where I think the movie should have ended. 3/5 One of my favorite jailbreaks.

 

[Hambulance]

Take Shelter - Awesome Very slow burning movie, but the atmosphere is created was great. Plus, Michael Shannon is awesome.

Lego Movie - Good I saw Lego Batman first so obviously I had to watch the original, not a bad movie but IMO Lego Batman was alot better.

 

[Gnome Scat]

Saw the alleged cult classic Trick 'r' Treat (2007) earlier and it was absolutely awful. It reminded me why I usually avoid movie nights with friends around Halloween.