Movies Seen In 2022

[Danny99]

Another year, another thread and unfortunately, I started out with a dud:

Don't Look Up - D-

The only reason this movie didn't get an F is because of the visual effects during space scenes. They were really well done, stronger than a lot of current Trek and the one reprieve.

Jennifer Lawrence does do a decent job with what she is given, but I could stand the rest of the characters or stereotypes they were attempting to play. The only reason DiCaprio's character even got to be on TV was because somehow, only three scientists believed the asteroid was coming. And does Mark Rylance always talk like that? I've never been a fan of Jonah Hill or the characters he plays and this one is just added to the list. Seriously, the world is destroyed and I'm going to live tweet?

I read a review that called the movie "heavy handed," but its worse than that. It takes everything to such an extreme that it has no basis in reality and it isn't well enough to pull it off like Doctor Strangelove. A more recent movie, Looking For A Friend For The End Of The World, did the whole end of the world plot better, with more heart and still played up the comedic moments. There is no way a president, even a thinly veiled Trump rip off and her staff, would pass up an end of the world leadership moment just to get their Supreme Court nominee, especially one as horrible as this one, elected.

The story just meanders around, trying, I guess, to make a point. The jokes are childish, feeling like this was a Will Ferrell script that Adam McKay just had waiting in his desk drawer. The movie takes a big leap trying to say that the Don't Look Up people would revolt once they see the asteroid. If they were really taking it all the way and making fun of them, they would call it an optical illusion.

The stuff at the Mindy house near the end of the movie tries to give it some heart, but by this point, I was so pissed off at this movie wasting my time that my good will was burned up. And then it breaks into the planet scene just to pay off a stupid joke from earlier.

Hopefully the rest of the year is upwards from here.

 

[The Knappos]

Saw Belfast at a secret screening last night, one of those ones where you don't know what the film is going to be before the BBFC card comes up.

There were a few walk outs. Maybe folks hoping it would be Scream, or put off by it being in black and white.

I found this really good. Every actor is putting in a great effort and the lad they cast in the lead was brilliant. It's going to blow nobody's socks off and it's target audience aren't turning up in great numbers at the moment due to Omicron, which is a shame.

 

[Kor]

Saw Belfast at a secret screening last night, one of those ones where you don't know what the film is going to be before the BBFC card comes up.

There were a few walk outs. Maybe folks hoping it would be Scream, or put off by it being in black and white.

I found this really good. Every actor is putting in a great effort and the lad they cast in the lead was brilliant. It's going to blow nobody's socks off and it's target audience aren't turning up in great numbers at the moment due to Omicron, which is a shame.

I saw it last year soon after it was released in the US. I thought it was excellent. It's a day-one purchase for me whenever it comes out on blu-ray.

So far in 2022, I haven't seen any new movies. I've just been re-watching stuff that's several years old.

Kor

 

[Starbreaker]

The Suicide Squad - 7/10. I liked the intro and then the second half. I thought the first half was a little bit of a slog.

 

[Danny99]

Don't Look Up - D-
Red Notice - A

Don't go into Red Notice expecting Shakespeare, but an enjoyable distraction.

You know what you're going to get from Dwayne Johnson and he delivers. Ryan Reynolds is really carving out a niche as being someone who can play the straight scenes, but also be smartly irreverent. This is the first move I had seen Gal Gadot in and just like her male co-stars, I was impressed.

 

[FPAlpha]

It takes everything to such an extreme that it has no basis in reality and it isn't well enough to pull it off like Doctor Strangelove

Really? We have people who are dying from Covid and refuse to admit they were wrong and did not believe it was Covid to their last second.

We have people believing the Earth is flat or that Dinosaurs didn't exist.

Opinions based on verifiable facts are vanishing and there's people obessed with social media so much they're going to Holocaust memorials to get a good selfie and score Likes.

They movie is pure sarcasm and satire and unfortunately nothing they show is unsupported by our reality.


Movies i have watched:

Spiderman: No Way Home - a very deserved A
Tick Tick Boom - again an A (Garfield could be considered for an Oscar for it)

 

[Danny99]

^^ In the case, it was boring sarcasm and satire.

Don't Look Up - D-
Red Notice - A
Clifford - B

An obvious family movie that was still enjoyable.

The young actress who played Emily Elizabeth, Darby Camp, is excellent.

The villain's actions are a little confusing. He is looking to do something altruistic and feed the planet, but then he is willing to be an incredible douchebag and steal a dog from a sixth grader. There was also the apartment/neighbourhood crew that while they were funny in their own ways, I didn't feel there needed to be as many.

Highly recommended for the kids.

Free Guy - A

Ryan Reynolds once again knocks it out of the park. He has a niche set up as the comedic hero. I'm hopeful that he doesn't get typecast in those kinds of roles.

The villain, Antwan, was a little silly, but he fit the overall silliness of the movie. He also makes it easy to cheer for Jodie Comer & the other heroes, who are played well in their own right.

The movie has plenty of heart and hits all the right comedic notes.

 

[dupersuper]

Eternals

 

[tomalak301]

I stopped doing this mainly because I had a Letterboxd account (Does anyone else have a Letterboxd account?) but it is actually nice to talk about films here that may not be sci fi.

I've only seen 2 films this year, but the second film I watched tonight:

The Last Duel - B-
Tick Tick... Boom - B-

Andrew Garfield is a great singer though.

 

[maneth]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: B
Fun enough entertainment, and I really liked not knowing most of the actors from anything else. The only ones I'm sure I've seen before are Ben Kingsley and Michelle Yeoh.

Big Trouble in Little China (1968): B-
This one was fun to watch right after Shang-Chi. The scene on the bus, and the right-angled turns ("Hard right!") in the bamboo forest maze in latter are an obvious homage to the former. It's an obvious product of its time, though, and the portrayal of some of the Chinese characters seemed a bit racist to my modern eyes.

1917: B
I liked the story in this one, because it focused on two men, rather than a big group of them, like most war movies do. That said, there were a few scenes that had me shaking my head in disbelief. Resting in the forest just before a big battle, wouldn't they at least post a sentry so that nobody could sneak up on them? Sure, the man who did was a friendly, but it could've just as well been an enemy.

Eternals: A-
An excellent and diverse cast who played interesting characters I want to learn more about. I'm actually excited about a possible sequel for this one. I really liked the cinematography, as well as Chloé Zhao's directing. The minus is for the length, IMO all Marvel movies could benefit from slightly tighter editing, most battle scenes drag on for far too long.

 

[dupersuper]

I can't really say that I SAW Encanto last night, as my niece and nephew were with us and my seven year old niece's idea of watching a movie is...not mine, but it was on, and I got the gist of the basic plot.

 

[The Knappos]

Nightmare Alley - Fantastic. I’m normally take it or leave it with Del Toro but this one was a home run

Tick, Tick Boom! - Really good.

 

[The Knappos]

Moonfall is bonkers and at parts nearly unwatchable. But like a car crash, it’s hard to avert your gaze. I seriously doubt they even bothered with a second draft of the script and at times it felt like the scraps of what would have been Independence Day 3.

 

[Starbreaker]

Haven't really watched much this year.

The Suicide Squad 1/2
Eternals 1/2
The Requin - Alicia Silverstone is getting a Razzie. We already have the worst movie of the year.
The Keep (1983)

 

[Danny99]

Don't Look Up - D-
Red Notice - A
Clifford - B
Free Guy - A
The Marksman - B+

Liam Neeson shooting & beating people up: easy way to make me happy.

It glossed over the whole border issue and the human element of that. Neeson's character tries to keep his world view as tight as can be and the plot is never going to allow for it, but its a current event that is pretty much ignored.

 

[Danny99]

Don't Look Up - D-
Red Notice - A
Clifford - B
Free Guy - A
The Marksman - B+
A Wrinkle In Time - A-

This is a beautiful looking film. I can only imagine what it looked like on the big screen or in 3D. The music compliments, but does not intrude upon it.

The story is pretty run of the mill, but it is elevated by strong acting. The three child actors that lead the story are strong and can easily carry the emotional weight and play to the weirdness around them. Winfrey, Kaling and Witherspoon also find the perfect way to play the quirkiness of their characters. Chris Pine once again shows that he is the Tom Hanks/Matt Damon of his generation: an actor that can inhabit a wide spectrum of roles and believably play all of them.

 

[gweeps]

It's been a mixed bag so far:

#1 Another Year (2010) B
#2 Something Wild (1961) B
#3 The Stepford Wives (2004) D
#4 Assimilate (2019) D
#5 Personal Shopper (2016) B
#6 The Alligator People A
#7 Lock Up (1989) A
#8 The Midnight Sky B
#9 Stowaway (2021) B
#10 Alita: Battle Angel A
#11 Ghost in the Shell (2017) B
#12 Ready Player One A
#13 Alpha Rift C
#14 Astronaut: The Last Push B
#15 Comrades in Arms D
#16 Star Trek Into Darkness C
#17 Star Trek Beyond C
#18 Date Night (2010) C
#19 Ghostbusters: Afterlife B
#20 Dune (2021) C

 

[dupersuper]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

 

[Danny99]

Don't Look Up - D-
Red Notice - A
Clifford - B
Free Guy - A
The Marksman - B+
A Wrinkle In Time - A-
Penguin Bloom - B-

The bird, apparently played by ten different birds, is definitely the star of the movie.

The movie is an incredible downer for the first two thirds before it gets to the cliched happy ending. It takes you through hell to get to it.

Without knowing how I would do it specifically, I feel the story needed to be tightened up. It's a true story, so you have to work within those constraints. There could be more of a focus on Noah's pain given that there is already his voice over. The other two kids are basically forgotten. It felt like a series of vignettes about this family and less of a cohesive story.

 

[Danny99]

Don't Look Up - D-
Red Notice - A
Clifford - B
Free Guy - A
The Marksman - B+
A Wrinkle In Time - A-
Penguin Bloom - B-
The Ice Road - B+

This was another Liam Neeson punches things movie, the only movie he can seem to attract these days, as the scripts get odder.

You have the action scenes to keep it going, but its kind of a mish-mash. It was never explained how they planned to eliminate all the drivers, but we're really throwing logic to the wind.

There is a lot of nice special effects to look at and for a Trek connection, the big boss villain is played by Matt McCoy, who played Devinoni Ral in TNG's The Price.