Last Movie You Watched Part II, Electric Bugaloo

[DanMad1977]

Top Gun Maverick

Typically America style movie, from the viewpoint of an European. But this one... I liked

[Mormel]

I saw 'Armageddon Time', a movie directed by James Gray, and starring child actors Banks Repeta and Jaylin Webb alongside Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway, and Jeremy Strong.
Set in 1980, it's about 6th grader Paul (Repeta), who grows up in a middle-class Jewish household in New York City. His mother (Hathaway), who is president of his school's PTA and has aspirations to join the school board, and father (Strong), a boiler repairman, have very clear ideas about the future of Paul and his older brother Ted; a future that revolves around financial security, mingling in the 'right' social circles, and possible enrolling in a private school. Paul has other ideas, and wishes to be an artist. In class, he befriends Johnny (Webb), an African American kid who has to repeat 6th grade, in great part due to his poor relationship with the strict and dismissive teacher Mr. Turkeltaub. Johnny dreams of being an astronaut; he lives with his ailing grandmother. An important figure in Paul's life is his grandfather (Hopkins), the only person in the family who Paul is not at odds with. He tries to make sure Paul keeps an open mind to the world around him and to never lose sight of the things that are important to him. Nevertheless, it is he who has a hand in eventually sending Paul to the exclusive private school. In the meantime, while trying to escape the -in their eyes- dull and pointless curriculum of their public elementary school, Paul and Johnny involve themselves in mischief that's fairly innocuous, but still raises the eyebrows of the authority figures around them. To top off the pile of predicaments, Paul's parents are not as well-adjusted as they themselves might think, and in trying to control their sons' lives they appear to be compensating for their own shortcomings; the father especially is quick to resort to physical punishment.

This movie is sending me on a rollercoaster of emotions and impressions, as I'm trying to sort out whether or not it was an excellent experience, or merely a very good one with some striking flaws. The performances are all very competent; I think young Repeta and Webb shine in their roles, and both the main supporting cast as well as the smaller parts deliver a great job. The themes of class, and prejudice born from privilege, are explored from an interesting angle, although some scenes/lines appear to be a bit on the nose. I like the fairly somber conclusion, and the bleak fate that befalls two of the main characters; it's a darker spin on some of the character drama/coming of age films that were made in the timeframe this was set in, like 'Ordinary People' or 'Terms of Endearment'. As for how it works as a period piece, I think it works for the most part, but there are some throw-in lines that overdo it, like when Paul finds himself in a classroom at the private school that has computers in the back, and comments that he's never seen a computer up close; by 1980 surely he's been inside buildings/offices that have desktop computers, and seeing them in movies, TV shows or magazines should not make them this alien contraption that he's making it out to be. But that's just a single minor nitpick on a movie that, generally speaking, was a very good experience. So recommended if you like any of the actors involved.

[ed2962]

Obsession (1976) directed by Brian DePalma. Two and half stars. I was sorta kinda aware of I guess the major plot twist but still enjoyed the movie in the moment. However, spoilers:

During the climax, the Cliff Robertson character confronts the John Lithgow character. John's character says something like, "Yes! I have the real money!" Then handcuffs the briefcase with the money to Cliff wrist...why? The only thing I can think of was maybe this was part of a back up plan to kill Cliff and perhaps tell the cops, "Oh, he went crazy and took our company's money..." But it's not really made clear.

end of spoilers I guess the original script for the film was a lot longer, so maybe the explanation got cut?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

"The Pale Blue Eye" (2022)

A decent murder mystery anchored by great performances.

I felt like Harry Melling could've been a good Robin to Bale's Batman back in the day.

[DanMad1977]

Jurassic World Dominion: The best from the 3 new ones.

When I think about how it was when I first saw Jurassic Park in the theater, and how much newspaper article were out there, compared to today, its underwhelming. I couldn't wait to see that movie weeks before and was the first in line. The cgi was astonishing, I couldn't believe how great the Dino's looked on the big screen.

Today, I wait for such a movie to watch for free, because the cgi (very good in this case) isn't pulling me anymore. The awe is gone, because every big movie is like that. While I watched Jurrasic Park 4-5 times in my life, I will watch the Jurassic World movies probably only once.

[DanMad1977]

Uncharted

Unfamiliar with the game, I got in cold. Holland and Marky Mark are fun together, best when Marky plays the angry or the sarcastic part, like he does in so many other movies.

It felt like a bit Indiana Jones, but without the greatness. The Cgi was horrible in the airplane scenes and the action in the sky was roll eyes moment worthy.

[Mormel]

'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande', directed by Sophie Hyde, stars Emma Thompson as a retired, widowed teacher, who books a hotel room and calls in the services of a young gigolo Daryl McCormack. In a sequence of appointments, we see their interactions as Thompson is a repressed, old-fashioned, and sexually insecure and inexperienced lady contrasted against McCormack's more open and carefree sex worker. There's plenty of moments in this that made me chuckle and laugh, and the 'bottle episode' nature of them mainly spending time between just the two of them in the hotel room, having conversations, makes for a natural-feeling development of their relationship. Both Thompson and McCormack are delightful in their roles. Rate this an 8 out of 10.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

It's a funny movie about a friendship dissolving. It's surprisingly dark.

[DanMad1977]

X

Its a really gross horror movie.

[XandertheWise]

watched Tango and Cash earlier tonight on Tubi.

Now im watching Dr Otto which is an early movie that started Jim Varney's career for Ernest

[Jim Kelly]

It's a funny movie about a friendship dissolving. It's surprisingly dark.

If it was played as a comedy, I might've liked it more. I thought that, on paper, there's a lot there that could be comedic; however, the direction, the cinematography, the soundtrack, the editing, the acting and certain incidents in the plot all pull one toward the tragic. I can't say as I liked it all that much, although a couple of the performances (Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan) were good.

Not that Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleesen were bad--I just felt sorry for them that they had to play these badly written characters. They did the best they could with what they were given to do. It's one of those kind of movies that critics fall all over themselves to praise--because it has all the usual elements--but it's almost like a parody of an Oscar-bait movie.

[Kirby101]

It was an allegory for the Irish Civil War.

[Deathstroke]

I watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

[CliffHanger2]

Plane- A pretty good action-thriller. I think Mike Colter should play John Henry after seeing this.

[Mormel]

'Le otte montagne', movie directed by Belgian directors Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, adapted from a 2016 novel by Italian author Paolo Cognetti. It depicts the story of the friendship between Pietro and Bruno, a city boy from Turin and one from remote Alpine mountain village, who meet when Pietro is on vacation with his mother in the mountains in 1984; when Pietro's father passes away 20 years later, the young men reconnect and rebuild the ruin of the mountain shack together, as a last request by Pietro's father. The two friends are quite different; Pietro is an aspiring writer and wishes to travel the world, while Bruno feels satisfied remaining in the mountains and earning a living as a cheese farmer.

It's quite a beautiful story about friendship. The views from the Italian Alps are breathtaking. It's maybe a little long at 2 and a half hours, but it didn't feel that long to me.