Movie Thread

[kaysixteen]

Midway was very excellent, much better than the still very good 1976 original.  Also used real Japanese actors speaking Japanese with subtitles, a nice touch.

[Parasaurolophus]

I saw Zombieland 2 recently.

Meh.

[Hegemony]

I'm here to report on JoJo Rabbit.  It's not for everyone.  But we personally thought it was fabulous.  It is not like "The Producers" in any way.  It starts off as a sort of story of dark humor.  Not macabre, but surreal with some somber touches. Then it gets a little deeper.  Then it gets a little deeper.  Then you think, "I thought this movie was just a bit of odd fluff, but — oh my goodness, it's more than that, isn't it?  I've never seen anything like this." It's still not gory or anything like that.  It does it all by thought, not by visuals.  Then by the end, when the quotation by Rilke came up on the screen, we were blown away.  As we were coming out, my friend said, "Basically I think Taika Watiti is a genius."  Which was just what I was thinking.

[saffie]

I'd like to get to Ford v Ferrari this week, but the Mr. Rogers movie is on my list too.

[0susanna]

I'm going to see Harriet tomorrow.

Saw Harriet a couple weeks ago. It was excellent and I hope everyone sees it. It also made me think, "Hey, why isn't there a Frederick Douglass biopic?"

[0susanna]

I believe that this weekend marks the opening of Mr. Rogers AND Frozen II. 

Tonight's Frozen showing (first one anyway) is pretty much sold out.
The second show (is about 1/2)

Mr. Rogers is about 1/2 sold out for the 8 something show, but the 10 something show has plenty of seats.

Will you be watching either of these this weekend?

I'll wait for the excitement to die down then catch a matinee of Frozen 2. Maybe.

The trailers for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhooddidn't excite me, at first. The documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor was SO good that I didn't see the need for a fictionalized version, even with Tom Hanks and Matthew Rhys. However, Tom Junod, the reporter that Matthew Rhys's character is loosely based on, wrote a new article in the Atlantic that changed my mind. So I'll be seeing the movie this weekend, probably.

[ab_grp]

I'm not sure I could stand to watch the Mr. Rogers movie in the theaters.  Although Tom Hanks seemed a little weird to me in the trailer, something not quite right, I was in tears eventually and don't feel like bringing a 12-pack of tissues to the theater.  I am very interested to hear any reviews and will look for the Atlantic article.  I had read one by that author about Mr. Rogers that was pretty fascinating and interestingly written but did not know that there was a new one!

The movies I have some interest in right now are 21 Bridges (which seems to have some poor critical reviews but good audience reviews) and Knives Out (which critics appear to like quite a bit but is not out yet).

[clean]

The newest Star Wars movie starts soon!  Are you planning to see it on opening weekend?

Will you see Cats  (the movie)?

[spork]

I rarely get into the theater anymore -- the last time was for Blade Runner 2049 -- and so my movie watching is almost entirely Red Box DVDs or Netflix. I don't know if these count because they are Netflix streaming products:

• I thought The Irishman was far too long and that some scenes bordered on self-parody. It will hold your interest if you are a fan of Martin Scorsese gangster films or enjoy depictions of this part of U.S. culture/history (which is me on both counts).
• I am almost done with watching 6 Underground. Mindless entertainment, a good popcorn movie well-suited for celebrating the end of the semester. Even though it must have plenty of CGI, it looks like a significant chunk of the production budget was spent on destroying lots of real, very expensive vehicles. There is some gore, presented mostly in a cartoonish fashion. I can see this turning into a Netflix franchise if Ryan Reynolds wants to make one of these every few years.

[bioteacher]

Knives Out was delicious FUN. My kids and I all enjoyed it. Amazing cast, too. I'd like to see it again.

[Anselm]

The newest Star Wars movie starts soon!  Are you planning to see it on opening weekend?

Will you see Cats  (the movie)?

Do you know what can possibly be cuter than Yoda?

Baby Yoda.

[ab_grp]

Knives Out was delicious FUN. My kids and I all enjoyed it. Amazing cast, too. I'd like to see it again.

We finally saw it yesterday.  I guess I was expecting (my own fault) something more like Clue, kind of slapstick or screwball humor with a mystery going on, but it was really more of a straightforward mystery with humor and interesting characters going on.  We both really enjoyed it and talked about it quite a bit afterward.  There were a couple clues I picked up along the way that spouse didn't, but I also fell for some red herrings.  We'd definitely recommend it.

On a side note, I don't know if this has been discussed before (or should be), but I found a useful app for movie going that I thought I'd share in case it is of interest to others.  I was concerned that I might miss some of the movie to use the restroom (particularly because the movie was a mystery), so I looked to see if anyone had come up with an app to suggest when to do so.  I found RunPee, an app for iPhone or Android, and it is awesome.  They go and watch the movies several times and suggest good break times along with how long of a break you can afford at each time and a synopsis you can click on for each break time to see what you missed (especially important plot points).  It also describes what extras there are (e.g., are there after-credit elements, and are they worth sitting through?).  I didn't look closely at any of the pertinent movie info before seeing the movie to avoid spoilers but noted that the fourth break time was recommended, and some of the others were listed as emergency breaks.  So, if you have not seen a site or app like this and would like to know when is safe to leave the theater for snacks or what have you, check it out! It looks as though you get two free movies when you enter your email but then may have to pay some minimal amount for future movies.  I think it's probably worth it to me, though we only go to the movies once or twice a year.  There might be a free alternative somewhere.

[Economizer]

"Uncut Gems"!  Maybe I made a mistake by walking out of this one at about the half time point.  I definitely think Adam Sandler is better off in "cute person roles" and that he may have goofed by appearing in the role of a vulgar hoodlum type in this production though.  Do not take the kids to this one, for sure!

[hmaria1609]

Saw the new "Star Wars" movie in IMAX 3D on Christmas Day. I thought it was ok.  The ending was a lovely nod to "A New Hope" though.

[Hegemony]

Well, I've seen a lot of movies recently.

Knives Out: Good clean fun, though I felt sorry for the Christopher Plummer character.
The Rise of Skywalker: About 5 movies packed into one. The plots went by breathlessly fast.  I appreciated an unexpected cameo.
Jumanji: The Next Level: A little hectic but some nice jokes.
Little Women: Everyone else in the whole universe likes this, but I was bothered by the unnecessary rejigging of the chronology and by the anachronisms.  And no way Amy seems 13 years old.  The Laura Dern character (Marmee) is especially well done.
Parasite: Do not go expecting a comedy of manners.  It is a horror comedy.  Everyone loved it but me.
The Lighthouse: Two testosterone-ridden men stuck in a lighthouse moodily together for six months.  Will they try to kill each other? Yes, they will.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Heartwarming in a faintly surreal way.
Jojo Rabbit: As I said previously, I thought this was genius, but you need to have a certain sensibility.
Uncut Gems: You could not pay me enough to see this movie.
Cats: Aren't you curious?  Can it be as bad as they say?  I believe it can.