Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

I was just thinking about this movie yesterday for some reason....weird.

I recall thinking it was a decent film, but I called the twist right away.....I mean, there's really no reason for the film to be telling these stories side by side without the twist, so it seemed obvious to me.

Mangold is one of these filmmakers that, when I hear they are attached to some upcoming film, it makes me feel sad. I was excited to hear about the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, and when I heard Mangold was directing....sadness. I don't think he's EVER made a film that I truly enjoyed. He came close with COPLAND, a film that grew on me with repeated viewings, but his two Wolverine movies were such wasted opportunities, and he should be in Director's jail for his Indiana Jones travesty.

I haven't seen the Indiana Jones movie, so I can't speak to that, but for me, Mangold coasts off the good will he earned from Walk The Line, which I think is very rewatchable biopic. I'm sad to say that I've never seen Copland, but it seems to be getting a little bit of a reappraisal as of late, so maybe I need to final give it a shot.

As for the twist, I was surprised how much effort the film does try to throw the viewer off the scent in the first half and even hints at supernatural underpinnings, yet kinda fumbles the ultimate reveal and then the movie races towards its climax. The film also gets panned a lot due to a similar plot device being discussed in a Nic Cage movie around the same time. (Still trying to avoid spoilers to this 22 year old movie...)

[dannyboy121070]

I haven't seen the Indiana Jones movie, so I can't speak to that, but for me, Mangold coasts off the good will he earned from Walk The Line, which I think is very rewatchable biopic. I'm sad to say that I've never seen Copland, but it seems to be getting a little bit of a reappraisal as of late, so maybe I need to final give it a shot.

As for the twist, I was surprised how much effort the film does try to throw the viewer off the scent in the first half and even hints at supernatural underpinnings, yet kinda fumbles the ultimate reveal and then the movie races towards its climax. The film also gets panned a lot due to a similar plot device being discussed in a Nic Cage movie around the same time. (Still trying to avoid spoilers to this 22 year old movie...)

What is the name of the Cage movie...? I remember there being another movie that was very similar, but I can't remember what it was for the life of me.... IDENTITY also shared a lot of DNA with the weird Jennifer Lopez flick, THE CELL.

And you made a liar out of me, because I forgot that Mangold made WALK THE LINE, which I really enjoyed.

[Sock Monkey]

What is the name of the Cage movie...? I remember there being another movie that was very similar, but I can't remember what it was for the life of me.... IDENTITY also shared a lot of DNA with the weird Jennifer Lopez flick, THE CELL.

And you made a liar out of me, because I forgot that Mangold made WALK THE LINE, which I really enjoyed.

Let me see if spoiler tags will work:

Spoiler!

The Nic Cage movie is Adaptation. In it, Nic Cage plays twin brothers who are both screenwriters. One sells a supposedly cliched thriller script that is essentially the plot of Identity, where the hero realizes that everyone else is a one of his split personalities. Adaptation was very critically well-received and Identity's similarities to the cliched screenplay in the Cage film became a point of contention for critics when reviewing the film.

Oh, man. I haven't thought about The Cell in a long time. I remember audiences being pretty divided over it. I would need to rewatch it to form any kind of opinion. As far as other movies that are similar, nothing really comes to mind, except maybe The Machinist, but it is a much different type of film.

[dannyboy121070]

Let me see if spoiler tags will work:

Spoiler!

The Nic Cage movie is Adaptation. In it, Nic Cage plays twin brothers who are both screenwriters. One sells a supposedly cliched thriller script that is essentially the plot of Identity, where the hero realizes that everyone else is a one of his split personalities. Adaptation was very critically well-received and Identity's similarities to the cliched screenplay in the Cage film became a point of contention for critics when reviewing the film.

Oh, man. I haven't thought about The Cell in a long time. I remember audiences being pretty divided over it. I would need to rewatch it to form any kind of opinion. As far as other movies that are similar, nothing really comes to mind, except maybe The Machinist, but it is a much different type of film.

Ah, thanks. I haven't seen the Cage film...I keep meaning to, but. I have no excuse, it's been decades, lol.

[Ben Staad]

John Wick 1 through 3.

All three played over the last two weeks on my television. There was no drama and nothing but violence. Visually I suppose they were interesting. 2 out of 5.

[sholloman81]

John Wick 1 through 3.

All three played over the last two weeks on my television. There was no drama and nothing but violence. Visually I suppose they were interesting. 2 out of 5.

Haven't seen any of the John Wick movies. I still have a hard time with Keanu as an action star-tough guy. The commercials also give me a John Woo type vibe and I'm not a big Woo fan either.

[Sock Monkey]

John Wick 1 through 3.

All three played over the last two weeks on my television. There was no drama and nothing but violence. Visually I suppose they were interesting. 2 out of 5.

I enjoyed the first one for what it was. As a dog lover, I was like, "Heck, yeah, it's not 'just a dog'! Kill 'em all!" And ultimately found it to be an above average action flick. Part 2 with its weird council and rave in the catacombs gave me Wesley Snipes Blade vibes and didn't work for me as well. Part 3, sheesh. By the end, the movie had disconnected from any sense of plot and was just people kicking and throwing each other. It did not work for me. At the end, my wife turned to me and said, "No more for a while, okay?" I hear Part 4 is good, but I don't know if I have it in me.

[dannyboy121070]

I like the JOHN WICK films, but they seem to get longer and longer, with the 4th, which I haven't seen yet, reaching LORD OF THE RINGS epic-length...too long for an action film. Plus, the third ended with him shot in the heart and falling off a high-rise......how can he get outta that???

[mhatchett]

I was just thinking about this movie yesterday for some reason....weird.

I recall thinking it was a decent film, but I called the twist right away.....I mean, there's really no reason for the film to be telling these stories side by side without the twist, so it seemed obvious to me.

Mangold is one of these filmmakers that, when I hear they are attached to some upcoming film, it makes me feel sad. I was excited to hear about the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, and when I heard Mangold was directing....sadness. I don't think he's EVER made a film that I truly enjoyed. He came close with COPLAND, a film that grew on me with repeated viewings, but his two Wolverine movies were such wasted opportunities, and he should be in Director's jail for his Indiana Jones travesty.

The Indiana Jones Movie just made me sad. From now on, pretty much like Star Wars, I'll only revisit the first three films. They were so good. Last Crusade is a great note to end on. He choose poorly!!

[Ben Staad]

The Endless. 3 out of 5 stars.

This was a low budget film regarding brothers who fled, and then returned, to a UFO Death Cult. Interesting Sci-Fi/horror flick with an intriguing concept/story. It was lacking in several areas but kept my interest through the whole thing.

Has anyone else seen this one? The undertones are about life, family, and how individuals chose to observe these things. 

[dannyboy121070]

The Endless. 3 out of 5 stars.

This was a low budget film regarding brothers who fled, and then returned, to a UFO Death Cult. Interesting Sci-Fi/horror flick with an intriguing concept/story. It was lacking in several areas but kept my interest through the whole thing.

Has anyone else seen this one? The undertones are about life, family, and how individuals chose to observe these things. 

I saw it a while back. I remember that it was closely tied to their film RESOLUTION. Both films were decent, but nothing special, IMO. I think Benson & Moorhead films just aren't my cup of tea.

[jeffingoff]

I like the JOHN WICK films, but they seem to get longer and longer, with the 4th, which I haven't seen yet, reaching LORD OF THE RINGS epic-length...too long for an action film. Plus, the third ended with him shot in the heart and falling off a high-rise......how can he get outta that???

John Wick 4 made me question how much action I want in an action movie. The fight scenes are ridiculously long. I know people usually scream for more, but JW4 was like the Ironic Punishment Division in The Simpson's version of hell. The one where the demons feed an endless supply of donuts to Homer who is strapped into a chair and forced to eat. You might think you want more of something fun, but JW4 is TOO MUCH. I'm happy to report that Homer exhausted the supply of donuts and did just fine. But most people would crumble. ALSO my son and I can't look at concrete stairs without laughing anymore. 

[Sock Monkey]

The Endless. 3 out of 5 stars.

This was a low budget film regarding brothers who fled, and then returned, to a UFO Death Cult. Interesting Sci-Fi/horror flick with an intriguing concept/story. It was lacking in several areas but kept my interest through the whole thing.

Has anyone else seen this one? The undertones are about life, family, and how individuals chose to observe these things.Â

Yeah, I'm actually a pretty big fan of Benson and Moorhead's stuff. I enjoy the fact that they tend to take big swings conceptually with their film, even if their reach exceeds their grasp sometimes. Like dannyboy mentioned, The Endless ties into their first film Resolution, but also has some tangential relationship to their film Spring. I really need to rewatch Something in the Dirt because it was very different than what I was expecting and, in hindsight, I'm not too sure where I landed on it. The film of theirs that I liked the least was Synchronic as it just went places that I didn't find as compelling as the set-up.

[dannyboy121070]

Yeah, I'm actually a pretty big fan of Benson and Moorhead's stuff. I enjoy the fact that they tend to take big swings conceptually with their film, even if their reach exceeds their grasp sometimes. Like dannyboy mentioned, The Endless ties into their first film Resolution, but also has some tangential relationship to their film Spring. I really need to rewatch Something in the Dirt because it was very different than what I was expecting and, in hindsight, I'm not too sure where I landed on it. The film of theirs that I liked the least was Synchronic as it just went places that I didn't find as compelling as the set-up.

SOMETHING IN THE DIRT is where I checked out on their films. It was just too boring. SPRING is probably my favorite of their movies.

[Sock Monkey]

SOMETHING IN THE DIRT is where I checked out on their films. It was just too boring. SPRING is probably my favorite of their movies.

I really like Spring and I actually think it's their most accessible film. As for Dirt, I remember feeling both that there was some very compelling ideas they were tackling--especially the idea of isolation breeding the acceptance of wilder and wilder conspiracies--and also feeling that the film was about 20 minutes too long. I've enjoyed their other films enough that I can forgive the misstep.

In related news, they are supposedly at one point working on a sequel to The Endless that will either be a TV show or a movie.