Movies Thread

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Had a shot at greatness but fell short. I like Baumbach but I’m not sure he was quite up to the task.

Had some great moments, though, touching and funny at times… flat and hollow at others.

Clooney was good, Sandler was a little better, everyone else was just kinda there. I usually love Laura Dern, but no.

I give it a B. But I really regret that it wasn’t an A.
 
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It’s aptly named, and I’d think you’d need to be a baseball person to fully enjoy it. But the reviews are excellent overall, so it must be reaching people beyond that as well.

I applaud the idea and message and I got all the inside baseball jokes… but overall it left me mostly flat. That seems to be part of the point, but I just didn’t get enough out of it. At the very least it should’ve been funnier, but rarely got more than a light chuckle from me. At least it wasn’t overly sentimental.

I give it a B-, but critics do seem to love it in a slow-burn, hidden gem kind of way.
 
Saw the niche subject matter film Blue Moon, a biopic of sorts about lyricist Lorentz Hart. If you know musical theater, maybe more if you know early musical theater, you know of his skillful collaborations with composer Hammerstein. In the film we see how the latter kind of divorces the extra witty Hart -- to work with Rogers, that duo making much bigger, less wittier hits like Oklahoma! The portrayal of Hart is sad, talky, and too witty really, in this Richard Linkletter film, but Ethan Hawke is an excellent actor and has fun with the role. This is a highly uncinematic film, taking place in a bar, and the whole thing is too narrow a topic for most people to enjoy. I like musicals, so I liked it somewhat, but it's kind of an awkward film.

The Mastermind - Caught up to this one due to good reviews, and for me it's weak beyond belief. Poorly made, but hey, the story is dull as well.

Sirāt - Something of an endurance test film (for the audience first, and the characters as well) that has gotten maybe too much praise. Bizarre settings and characters, as a man searches for his missing daughter among Rave music cultists in the desert. Very little plot, but good character studies and acting. Worth surviving, I suppose. On this general plot and subject, there's a film, Missing, from many years ago starring Jack Lemmon, that is far better.
 
Saw the niche subject matter film Blue Moon, a biopic of sorts about lyricist Lorentz Hart. If you know musical theater, maybe more if you know early musical theater, you know of his skillful collaborations with composer Hammerstein. In the film we see how the latter kind of divorces the extra witty Hart -- to work with Rogers, that duo making much bigger, less wittier hits like Oklahoma! The portrayal of Hart is sad, talky, and too witty really, in this Richard Linkletter film, but Ethan Hawke is an excellent actor and has fun with the role. This is a highly uncinematic film, taking place in a bar, and the whole thing is too narrow a topic for most people to enjoy. I like musicals, so I liked it somewhat, but it's kind of an awkward film.

The Mastermind - Caught up to this one due to good reviews, and for me it's weak beyond belief. Poorly made, but hey, the story is dull as well.

Sirāt - Something of an endurance test film (for the audience first, and the characters as well) that has gotten maybe too much praise. Bizarre settings and characters, as a man searches for his missing daughter among Rave music cultists in the desert. Very little plot, but good character studies and acting. Worth surviving, I suppose. On this general plot and subject, there's a film, Missing, from many years ago starring Jack Lemmon, that is far better.
After a Fresh Air with Linklater a while back (where he also discussed Nouvelle Vague), I want to see Blue Moon. I like Hawke and he makes good choices, and works well with Linklater.

Mastermind is an odd one, since I love the director Kelly Reichardt and her “slow cinema” slice of life movies. But I just couldn’t get my head around her doing a caper movie or thriller or whatever it is. But I’ll see it on the strength of her others (Wendy and Lucy, Certain Women, Old Joy, Showing Up).

Sirat I thought had some good qualities scattered around but overall was pretty terrible. One of the worst things I saw all year. As a metaphor or allegory, it’s fine I guess. As a whole actual movie, it’s emotionally manipulative and awful and boring as hell, and has scenes that are laughably bad. I gave it a D+.
 
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I got around to watching Wicked part 2 tonight.

It was visually interesting but just so underwhelming otherwise. Like making yourself a mimosa the morning after NYE with the bottle of champagne left open the night before.

And what the hell is the moral of the end of the story, anyway?? I’ve never seen the stage musical or read the book and must be the only woman in America with no knowledge of the story arc.

Erivo is a great talent and I understand that Ariana has n insane voice but part two had waaay too much Glinda.

I am not a fan of modern Broadway musical music but enjoyed the first part of the movie series enough to watch the second half, and I knew the reviews weren’t stellar for part two. I watched hoping for something dazzling and fun if kinda dumb. But it had a stretched thin, desultory vibe and tonal issues where it couldn’t quite decide how evil the lying politicians of Oz really were or whether to follow through on the critique of government by propaganda (spoiler alert: it did not).

Also, this is on me for avoiding details about the plot, but I expected a lot more from the introduction of Dorothy, the Tin Man, etc. ( which I was only aware of from the trailers and pre-release press). In retrospect, I don’t know why.

In any event, the end of the first half was definitely the high water mark.
 
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Will no doubt get lots of comparisons to Parasite, similar dark comedic style and socioeconomic themes from a South Korean movie. Pretty funny in parts, chilling in others.

Sneaky good but started to get a little too long.

B+
 
I got around to watching Wicked part 2 tonight.

It was visually interesting but just so underwhelming otherwise. Like making yourself a mimosa the morning after NYE with the bottle of champagne left open the night before.

And what the hell is the moral of the end of the story, anyway?? I’ve never seen the stage musical or read the book and must be the only woman in America with no knowledge of the story arc.

Erivo is a great talent and I understand that Ariana has n insane voice but part two had waaay too much Glinda.

I am not a fan of modern Broadway musical music but enjoyed the first part of the movie series enough to watch the second half, and I knew the reviews weren’t stellar for part two. I watched hoping for something dazzling and fun if kinda dumb. But it had a stretched thin, desultory vibe and tonal issues where it couldn’t quite decide how evil the lying politicians of Oz really were or whether to follow through on the critique of government by propaganda (spoiler alert: it did not).

Also, this is on me for avoiding details about the plot, but I expected a lot more from the introduction of Dorothy, the Tin Man, etc. ( which I was only aware of from the trailers and pre-release press). In retrospect, I don’t know why.

In any event, the end of the first half was definitely the high water mark.
The 2nd Act is way too long in the movie. In the play, the first Act is the play with the 2nd Act merely wrapping things up.
 
Saw 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. I am a big-time hater of sequels, and have watched this whole set of 28 {insert time frame needed} movies because of the people involved, good reviews, and recommendations. This latest is good, but the subtle, surprisingly emotional performance of Ralph Fiennes is the reason to see it. Some torture porn stuff is possibly a reason not to, but these films are always gross.

My brief list of best films of 2025, and it's short because there are a number of quality films (some mentioned above) that I have not gotten to yet: 1) One Battle After Another; 2) Sovereign (I am angry about how overlooked and underrated this film is); 3) Warfare; 4) Train Dreams; 5) Black Bag
 
Saw 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. I am a big-time hater of sequels, and have watched this whole set of 28 {insert time frame needed} movies because of the people involved, good reviews, and recommendations. This latest is good, but the subtle, surprisingly emotional performance of Ralph Fiennes is the reason to see it. Some torture porn stuff is possibly a reason not to, but these films are always gross.

My brief list of best films of 2025, and it's short because there are a number of quality films (some mentioned above) that I have not gotten to yet: 1) One Battle After Another; 2) Sovereign (I am angry about how overlooked and underrated this film is); 3) Warfare; 4) Train Dreams; 5) Black Bag
Last summer’s 28 Years Later is in my top 5 on the year. And I’m really not a zombies guy in the least. This series and the Simon Pegg one are probably the only zombie stuff I’ve ever watched.

I go back and forth between One Battle and Sentimental Value for my favorite.

Warfare is currently in my top 10. Train Dreams top 15.

Haven’t seen Sovereign nor Black Bag (nor Hamnet, Marty, Secret Agent, Just an Accident, a couple others).
 
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