What are you watching?

[KevinStriker]

Closed out the month of February with a viewing of Do The Right Thing.
I admire any movie that can lull the viewer into a false sense of security with the day to lives of its characters, bordering on slice-of-life with interconnected vignettes, while slowly increasing in ferocity until it smashes you in the face with its climax like a dustbin.

Magnolia is a similar film in that regard. Both are excellent and essential viewing, imho

 

[bSTAR_182]

I went to see The Batman last night and loved this take on a Batman story despite it probably being unnecessarily longer than it needed to be.
It's dark and grunge - complete with Nirvana's Something in the Way making it feel all the more melancholy. I really loved the investigative side that they played up on with the story as well as Batman's more brooding personality.
There's clearly some social injustice boxes checked off with the movie but nevertheless it was pretty well done for a modern-day Batman movie.
I hope to see Pattinson reprise this role.

 

[KManX89]

@bSTAR_182 I saw The Batman on my birthday, and I farging loved it. The long runtime didn't even bother me because it totally pays off with that nearly 3 hour runtime. Riddler was super creepy, I definitely got Zodiak Killer or John Doe vibes while seeing all his blood-soaked riddles and torture scenes (without delving into torture porn a la Hostel, Saw sequels, and yes, there's a difference). Every single one of his clues led to something bigger and more disturbing every time and I just loved seeing it unravel all the way to the very end. Topped off with us actually getting to see Batman use his detective skills, which we've been longing to see for ages now, and I have no qualms with it nearly being 3 hours because it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I also loved Colin Farrell as Penguin, which BTW, he looks so unrecognizable in the role, I never would've guessed it was Colin Farrell if I didn't already look at the casting list online. Oh, and you guys can cut it out with the Twilight Man memes now, you know who you are, Pattinson nailed it as Batman. We already knew from other movies like Tenet and The Lost City of Z he can actually act, so this isn't really news. Might I add also, he and Zoe Kravitz had great chemistry together as the Bat and the Cat (I love THAT meme, lol).

I'm currently watching Event Horizon with my new starlight projector off Amazon in my bedroom. This sounds like exactly the type of movie this thing was meant to be watched with and I can say it definitely "enhances" the picture. Say what you will about Paul WS Anderson in general, he's done some decent work and this is definitely one of them. It was original, unique, defly terrifying and had some badass visuals and performances from Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill. It's too bad we'll never get that gorier Director's Cut of the movie, I know I would've longed to see the lost footage.

 

[bSTAR_182]

@bSTAR_182 I saw The Batman on my birthday, and I farging loved it. The long runtime didn't even bother me because it totally pays off with that nearly 3 hour runtime. Riddler was super creepy, I definitely got Zodiak Killer or John Doe vibes while seeing all his blood-soaked riddles and torture scenes (without delving into torture porn a la Hostel, Saw sequels, and yes, there's a difference). Every single one of his clues led to something bigger and more disturbing every time and I just loved seeing it unravel all the way to the very end. Topped off with us actually getting to see Batman use his detective skills, which we've been longing to see for ages now, and I have no qualms with it nearly being 3 hours because it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I also loved Colin Farrell as Penguin, which BTW, he looks so unrecognizable in the role, I never would've guessed it was Colin Farrell if I didn't already look at the casting list online. Oh, and you guys can cut it out with the Twilight Man memes now, you know who you are, Pattinson nailed it as Batman. We already knew from other movies like Tenet and The Lost City of Z he can actually act, so this isn't really news. Might I add also, he and Zoe Kravitz had great chemistry together as the Bat and the Cat (I love THAT meme, lol).

I'm currently watching Event Horizon with my new starlight projector off Amazon in my bedroom. This sounds like exactly the type of movie this thing was meant to be watched with and I can say it definitely "enhances" the picture. Say what you will about Paul WS Anderson in general, he's done some decent work and this is definitely one of them. It was original, unique, defly terrifying and had some badass visuals and performances from Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill. It's too bad we'll never get that gorier Director's Cut of the movie, I know I would've longed to see the lost footage.

I generally felt the same way about it’s runtime but maybe the last 20 minutes or so I started to notice.
But I loved how creepy they made the Riddler too! I also really loved the Bat and Cat dynamic in this movie as well.
And I had no idea Colin Farrell was the Penguin before going to see the film. My man and I were completely surprised to see his name when we watched the credits haha.
I definitely wanna see this movie again in theaters soon.

Happy Belated Birthday btw!




Recently started watching Narcos. I’m about 5 episodes in and it’s great stuff.

 

[KManX89]

I went and saw Sonic 2 last night, I had a damn good time. Easily better than the first movie, which I thought was just okay (I blind-bought it on 4K when I saw it was discounted). This movie easily has more heart than the first film, I dug the beats with Sonic and Tom more in this one with better dialog to boot. This one also has better action scenes, and above all, more nostalgia. Jim Carrey's performance as Eggman is easily a step up from the first movie, this was 90's Jim Carrey at his best, though it probably helps that he's allowed to go full crazy/Eggman in this one, and Idris Elba was great as Knuckles, as expected. Seeing the big 3 together was great and their dynamic was so well-executed that by the end of the movie, you totally buy their friendship, I was actually somewhat surprised by how well they pulled this off. I also dug Pantera's "Walk" playing during the Death Egg activation.

My only real gripes with the movie were the added campiness from the first film, which didn't bother me for the most part, but I didn't like the added fart jokes and as others have pointed out, there were some unnecessary scenes that drug down the pacing, especially the wedding scene, which also suffered from poor writing. Was it really that hard for Tom to say:

Spoiler

"here's your real ring right here, now I need that one back. It's kinda an emergency"? Not to mention it set up the most abrupt/bizarre GUN introduction I could've possibly imagined (no pun intended).

PS, my theater was going crazy during

Spoiler

Super Sonic

(granted, there were a bunch of kids in my theater, but still). There was also a loud buzz during the mid-credits scene when

Spoiler

Shadow

appeared, though a part of me was hoping for

Spoiler

Metal Sonic

, not gonna lie.

4/5 this might actually be the best videogame movie ever, which I know isn't a high bar, but still.

 

[bSTAR_182]

Finished the first 2 seasons of Narcos and what an awesome couple seasons. Amazing acting all around with an insane true story. Loved how they incorporated actual footage and images for certain events of Pablo Escobar’s ‘rein’.

I started season 3 and while it’s not bad, it lacks the pizazz of the first two seasons.
The unorthodox and egotistical business decisions of Pablo Escobar, coupled with solid narration from Boyd Holbrook- it was just too good. I still plan to continue on with the series though as it’s still an interesting storyline and Pedro Pascal is great.

 

[bSTAR_182]

Watched Everything Everywhere All at Once on IMAX and loved it. What a fun movie.
Between the outlandish fight scenes and humor this movie is a force of its own that's hard to explain other than to view it with no expectations and an open mind. Even through its absurd and goofy moments, it still also hits you in the feels with the message it sends.

 

[KevinStriker]

Saw To Kill A Mockingbird for about the billionth time.

Still one of the greatest movies and finest screen performances ever courtesy of Gregory Peck. I'm not sure what else can be said by now. Except that Peck is so good, even the author of the novel, Harper Lee (who wrote the character of Atticus Finch based on her own father), says that Peck is Atticus in her mind. The ultimate compliment.

So the movie's great, but my Blu-ray is looking a little long in the tooth. Hope Universal surprises us with a remaster this year, its 60th anniversary.

 

[bSTAR_182]

Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City-

‘Curiosity killed the cat’ as they say.
How could anyone think that cramming two games into one movie would be a good idea?
The Sharknado level writing and b-roll acting left me feeling like I was watching a parody of the games rather than an adaptation trying to bring a proper rendition.
I will say one of the cooler scenes was of Chris moving through the dark hallways with his lighter and his gun lighting things up as he fired at some zombies. That I actually did love and is something I always wanted them to depict in a movie about the first game…

The Northman-
Another great movie from Robert Eggers. I highly recommend seeing this if you’re into his style movies. Eerie imagery with brutal fight scenes and deaths.

 

[KManX89]

Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City-

‘Curiosity killed the cat’ as they say.
How could anyone think that cramming two games into one movie would be a good idea?
The Sharknado level writing and b-roll acting left me feeling like I was watching a parody of the games rather than an adaptation trying to bring a proper rendition.
I will say one of the cooler scenes was of Chris moving through the dark hallways with his lighter and his gun lighting things up as he fired at some zombies. That I actually did love and is something I always wanted them to depict in a movie about the first game…

The Northman-
Another great movie from Robert Eggers. I highly recommend seeing this if you’re into his style movies. Eerie imagery with brutal fight scenes and deaths.

I saw The Northman a few weeks ago, and I loved it. Stellar performances from Willem Dafoe (as usual) with epic fight scenes, a must for GoT junkies like myself.

Though I did also rent Moonfall and my God it was awful. Your usual Roland Emmerich group of dumb, unlikable dipshits with Uwe Boll-level logic fails and dialog at certain points, the writing is that bad. Even the CGI was awful at certain points, it sticks out like a sore thumb, and don't get me started on the joke of an ending which you may have heard about.

Basically, it's another Roland Emmerich CGI schlockfest, what else is new? I like ID4, that's about it.

Currently watching The Mummy in 4K. This movie encapsulates why I was so high on Brendan Frasier in the 90's, that guy almost singlehandedly makes these movies his with his wit and humor (we don't talk about that third movie or the reboot) with some nice action and visuals to boot. It was the first film I've ever seen him in. It also marks my first exposure to Rachel Weisz, so it holds a special place in my heart for that, too.

Now that I mention it, I thought I'd share another nostalgic confession regarding this movie: I seriously never knew Anck Su Namun was wearing body paint at the beginning when I was younger, I thought that was actual pharaoh garb covering her breasts.

 

[Ikawaru]

It was the first film I've ever seen him in.

Youngling!

 

[bSTAR_182]

My brother and his wife just had their second baby last week, so I’ve been watching my nephew who’s a toddler and with that comes some pretty annoying shows.
But! I gotta say Masha and the Bear is actually pretty adorable. Also Lucas the Spider makes me not hate spiders so much.

 

[KManX89]

I just saw Top Gun: Maverick last Friday, movie was excellent. Say what you will about Tom Cruise as a person, he makes some damn good action films (I loved him in Tropic Thunder, LOL) and his penchant as an action guru is on full display here yet again. His character (Pete Mitchell) is explored and developed tenfold from the original Top Gun. He's given so much more to do and his relationships are so much more nuanced and interesting while still paying respect to the original. I'm not the biggest Miles Teller fan, but he really shines here as well along with the rest of the new cast, and the action scenes were absolutely amazing. You can tell Tom and the gang poured their heart and soul into delivering top flight action scenes (no pun intended). There's some amazing stunts and they amazingly keep raising the stakes with each new action scene, the third act was simply mindblowing. The movie's 2 hours and 12 minutes, but it feels like an hour and 45 minutes with how well-paced it is, I don't recall ever losing interest.

Oh and for the cherry on top, they showed the Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 trailer in front of it. It's time for that obligatory meme again:

Fallout was amazing as I'm sure this will be, too.

Currently watching The Batman in 4K. Still blown away by it. It might actually take the mantle for best live-action Batman (or best Batman period) for me.

 

[SpaceOwlHoot]

I'm finally going to throw 1917 on the screen today...been wanting to watch that one for a while now.

 

[bSTAR_182]

Finished up the second season of Russian Doll and it was alright- the ending felt pretty weak and Nadia got on my nerves this time with some of her choices. Seasons 1 was definitely better.

Also finished up volume 3 of Love, Death + Robots. I highly recommend this series to anyone on here- give it a watch. Season 3 has some of the best episodes- very dark and creepy this time around. The episode In Vaulted Halls Entombed was probably my favorite new episode. It sort of reminded me of what a darker, scarier RE5 could be if they ever remake/reimagine that game. Jibaro and and The Very Pulse of the Machine are also in my top 3.

 

[KevinStriker]

Watched Jeremiah Johnson. AKA this movie:

I've seen it described as the '70s version of The Revenant but the revenge part isn't the inciting incident at all, it's the end of the second act. Up until then, it's just Robert Redford living his life in the mountains; fur trapping, trading with different Indian tribes, catching fish with his bare hands, punching Grizzlies, punching wolves and unwittingly desecrating a Crow burial site (that last one is important). All in all, a great film, and partly based on a real historical figure: Liver-Eating Johnson.

 

[Angel]

Started watching The Orville, also on season 6 of Parks and Rec.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I've been watching The Old Man, this is a very good show.

Sports wise I'm keeping up on the 2022 AMA Motocross season, where the Lawrence bros from Australia are dominating the 250 class, and Chase Sexton, Eli Tomac, and Ken Roczen in the 450 class. I also just started watching the Tour de France coverage.

 

[KManX89]

I just watched Harold and Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay for the first time in ages. The first 15-20 minutes are hilarious sh!t, especially the plane scene (I LOL'ed at "HE SAID HE GOT A BOMB!" ROFLMAO!), then after that, it fizzes out with some hit-or-miss dirty humor and plot contrivances that left me shaking my head. It's a solid comedy with some funny moments, but nothing I'd want to go back and rewatch over again. It's no Superbad or even Pineapple Express levels of entertaining/funny, though I did like the Neil Patrick Harris gags.

I also watched Everything Everywhere All At Once the other day, and it's a wonderfully-made film with plenty of heart and laughs. I highly suggest you check that out if you haven't already, it deserves all its accolades.

 

[SpaceOwlHoot]

I don't keep up with many shows or watch a lot of movies unless they really caught my interest but this is what I plan on watching/rewatching soon:

Parks and Rec
Devs
Halt and Catch Fire