Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

I watched WHEN EVIL LURKSÂ on Shudder last night. I had high hopes, after all of the acclaim and hoopla, and it was...eh. Very small in scale and cramped feeling. The concept of a contagious infestation of demonic possession was interesting, but the rules and mythology were confusing. It had a few really effective shocks, mostly in the beginning, and some gnarly effects, but it didn't do much to change my general distaste for foreign Horror films.

You know, I liked this one quite a bit, but I saw it at a film festival with no previous expectations. I do agree with your complaints about the confusing mythology, though. I kept waiting for payoffs to rules they discussed that never came. Ultimately, I felt that the first half was much stronger than the second.

[Ben Staad]

Interesting news indeed. Fairly certain I would be down for that.

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.

 

[Ben Staad]

Watched Spring today and really liked it. 3.5 out of 5.

Thanks for the recommendation.

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.

 

[dannyboy121070]

I took a week off from my rapidly disintegrating workplace to job hunt, AKA "Get the fuck out while I still can!", and have had a lot of movie-watching time at night, so I've been going nuts.

On shudder:
THE STONE TAPE- I've heard about this Nigel Kneale BBC production for decades, so I was thrilled to finally get a chance to see it. The subplot about the washing-machine guy was...weird, and I don't fully get why it was in there, but the obsession with unraveling the whys and wherefores of a haunting for potential gain in the tech market was fascinating, and the end, while primitive looking as hell, was very effective. Good stuff.
WAKE WOOD- A great little folk-horror tale that was predictable, but effective nonetheless. Great performances all around.

I am forever on the lookout for Jackie Chan films, remarkably few of which are streaming, aside from the ones on free channels that have endless commercials. MIRACLES is currently on Max, so I was happy to finally be able to see it. Visually gorgeous, it suffers from the same problems as a a Godzilla movie: There's only so much monster fighting and destruction they can afford to show, so you get a lot of talking in between monsters. Here, you get a Hong Kong remake of   POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES, filled with witty banter and wacky slapstick that goes on FOREVER (Two hours and ten minutes!!!), very badly subtitled, I might add. (It's a Criterion Collection film! They couldn't do better with the subtitles???) There are exactly three fight scenes, two of which are very slim, but the finale, which takes place in a factory that must supply giant ropes for pirate ships, was mind-blowing, and made up for all of the boredom.

And I am late to the party, but I finally saw Denzel's THE EQUALIZER, which was also ungodly long. Lots of great vengeance kills, and I guess an old bald black American guy can just waltz in and out of Russia and commit mass homicides without anyone following him or wondering what he's up to, but...whatever. It was fun. Bring on parts 2 & 3!

[Sock Monkey]

Watched Spring today and really liked it. 3.5 out of 5.

Thanks for the recommendation.



Â

I'm glad you liked it!

[Sock Monkey]

I took a week off from my rapidly disintegrating workplace to job hunt, AKA "Get the fuck out while I still can!", and have had a lot of movie-watching time at night, so I've been going nuts.

On shudder:
THE STONE TAPE- I've heard about this Nigel Kneale BBC production for decades, so I was thrilled to finally get a chance to see it. The subplot about the washing-machine guy was...weird, and I don't fully get why it was in there, but the obsession with unraveling the whys and wherefores of a haunting for potential gain in the tech market was fascinating, and the end, while primitive looking as hell, was very effective. Good stuff.
WAKE WOOD- A great little folk-horror tale that was predictable, but effective nonetheless. Great performances all around.

I am forever on the lookout for Jackie Chan films, remarkably few of which are streaming, aside from the ones on free channels that have endless commercials. MIRACLES is currently on Max, so I was happy to finally be able to see it. Visually gorgeous, it suffers from the same problems as a a Godzilla movie: There's only so much monster fighting and destruction they can afford to show, so you get a lot of talking in between monsters. Here, you get a Hong Kong remake of ÂÂ POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES, filled with witty banter and wacky slapstick that goes on FOREVER (Two hours and ten minutes!!!), very badly subtitled, I might add. (It's a Criterion Collection film! They couldn't do better with the subtitles???) There are exactly three fight scenes, two of which are very slim, but the finale, which takes place in a factory that must supply giant ropes for pirate ships, was mind-blowing, and made up for all of the boredom.

And I am late to the party, but I finally saw Denzel's THE EQUALIZER, which was also ungodly long. Lots of great vengeance kills, and I guess an old bald black American guy can just waltz in and out of Russia and commit mass homicides without anyone following him or wondering what he's up to, but...whatever. It was fun. Bring on parts 2 & 3!

I didn't know that Shudder had THE STONE TAPE!I'm going to have to carve out some time to check it out. I remember the dvd cover to WAKE WOOD, but I don't think I ever checked it out. I also put this on my list.

I was very shocked with THE EQUALIZER got not one, but two sequels. I thought that the first was entertaining enough, but nothing particularly special. That being said, Denzel Washington is always fun to watch. If I wanted vengeance-filled Denzel, my go-to is always going to be MAN ON FIRE.

[dannyboy121070]

 If I wanted vengeance-filled Denzel, my go-to is always going to be MAN ON FIRE.

Great movie, totally agree.

[brlesh]

Saw Abigail last week.

Went into it with no expectations, and was pleasantly surprised.

More funny than scary (though certainly not played as a comedy), with a lot of gore.

Well acted for the most part, though all the characters were cliches, and none drifted very far from their respective roles.

Had a Reservoir Dogs-esque feel to it in the beginning, until about at the 30 minute mark, when the shit started to hit the fan.

Clocking in at a relatively lean 90 minute, the movie was fast paced and I was never bored with it.

The ending was over the top, though that’s expected for this kind of movie.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Certainly not a great movie, but not the worst way to waste 90 minutes either.

B

 

[brlesh]

Saw Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes last week and enjoyed it.

No need to have seen the previous movies in the new ape series (I’ve seen some and missed others). Really all that’s needed is a general knowledge of the POTA story to follow this latest installment.

There were several homages in the film to the original 1968 POTA movie, which I enjoyed.

Certainly not a perfect movie, there were several issues / plot lines that went unanswered or were just dropped (what did the apes do with the people they captured?, where did the girl get the explosives?, what happened to the gun at the end of the movie?). I guess William H. Macy was the best known actor, but his character was wasted. Could’ve been dropped from the storyline without missing a beat.

At 2 hours and 15 minutes, the story was well paced and I never got bored with it.

The ending certainly sets up the next installment in the series, which I am looking forward to.

B

[brlesh]

You know, I liked this one quite a bit, but I saw it at a film festival with no previous expectations. I do agree with your complaints about the confusing mythology, though. I kept waiting for payoffs to rules they discussed that never came. Ultimately, I felt that the first half was much stronger than the second.

I agree. I liked the movie very much, though it definitely had issues.

I also agree, the first half was more effective than the second, though I thought the payoff at the end was very effective.

The last time I left a movie theater with the same gut punched feeling was with Hereditary, another very visceral film with plot line issues.

Overall, it’s a movie I would recommend for it’s visceral effects on the viewer. If you’re looking for a well structured story / plot line, When Evil Lurks is not for you.

B

 

[dannyboy121070]

Saw Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes last week and enjoyed it.

No need to have seen the previous movies in the new ape series (I’ve seen some and missed others). Really all that’s needed is a general knowledge of the POTA story to follow this latest installment.

There were several homages in the film to the original 1968 POTA movie, which I enjoyed.

Certainly not a perfect movie, there were several issues / plot lines that went unanswered or were just dropped (what did the apes do with the people they captured?, where did the girl get the explosives?, what happened to the gun at the end of the movie?). I guess William H. Macy was the best known actor, but his character was wasted. Could’ve been dropped from the storyline without missing a beat.

At 2 hours and 15 minutes, the story was well paced and I never got bored with it.

The ending certainly sets up the next installment in the series, which I am looking forward to.

B

We saw KINGDOM yesterday, and my son and I enjoyed it. My wife called it a  "snoozefest", lol. The effects were great, Freya Allen is certainly easy on the eyes, and I enjoyed the main ape character, but, without spoilers, the actions of Nova/Mae towards the end just seemed over the top at the end. All of a sudden she goes into the movie cliche "But I'm really a special ops veteran!" mode. Good overall, though. POTA is one of the few franchises here I can say that I've enjoyed almost all of the films a great deal.

[Sock Monkey]

Saw Abigail last week.

Went into it with no expectations, and was pleasantly surprised.

More funny than scary (though certainly not played as a comedy), with a lot of gore.

Well acted for the most part, though all the characters were cliches, and none drifted very far from their respective roles.

Had a Reservoir Dogs-esque feel to it in the beginning, until about at the 30 minute mark, when the shit started to hit the fan.

Clocking in at a relatively lean 90 minute, the movie was fast paced and I was never bored with it.

The ending was over the top, though that’s expected for this kind of movie.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Certainly not a great movie, but not the worst way to waste 90 minutes either.

B

Â

I was fully set on giving this one a pass even though I'm a big Dan Stevens fan, However, I keep hearing good things about it, so it has definitely landed on my "need to watch list," probably making its way on to my Halloween viewing this year if I don't see it sooner than that.

[Sock Monkey]

Watched American Fiction last night, which is about a Black literary author, who, in a fit of anger, writes a parody of "Black Fiction" under a pseudonym, only to find it being taken seriously and labeled the "Next Big Thing." I was a little hesitant if this was going to be my cup of tea as I didn't know if I wanted to engage in more art centering around modern racial dynamics. This sentiment isn't political in nature. Exploring racial dynamics or gender dynamics in art is important and both are center to our experiences as people and as a society. However--and I don't think I've talked about this much, if at all--I've returned to college and a lot of the reading and writing in my literature and film classes center around race, gender, and sexuality. I enjoy the discussions and analysis, but after finishing these assignments, I usually want my entertainment to focus on something a little different or not so on-the-nose. (This is also part of the reason why my final paper for my last film class was focused on John Carpenter's The Thing and its themes of identity loss as a metaphor for man's existential dread of meanlinglessness). All of that being said, I've heard so many good things about the film, I love Jeffrey Wright as an actor (I'll still go to bat for Hold the Dark), and the rest of the cast is pretty darn impressive as well, so I gave it a shot and...I absolutely loved it. It's so smart, laugh-out funny, full of both cynicism and heart, and rejects pat answers. I also have a soft spot for stories of about curmudgeons and Wright's Monk definitely fits the bill. Grade: A

[Ben Staad]

Watched Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes today at the theater. It was very long.

Visually it was well done. Beyond that there are huge holes in the story along with some puzzling reveals. I can't imagine ever wanting to watch this again even casually. 2 out of 5.

 

[dannyboy121070]

Watched Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes today at the theater. It was very long.

Visually it was well done. Beyond that there are huge holes in the story along with some puzzling reveals. I can't imagine ever wanting to watch this again even casually. 2 out of 5.

Â

It WAS way too long, and definitely one of those "Don't think too hard about any of this" kind of movies.

We watched BRIDGE OF SPIES on Apple last night. Really good Hanks/Spielberg cold war thriller. Very well done.