The Unofficial Ongoing Current Movies in Theaters thread

BLINDSPOTTING
4.5/5

Imagine a buddy cop movie (think the first Lethal Weapon film), but the buddies aren't cops, rather they are a white hood rat and a black soon-to-be ex-con. Toss in some over-the-top commentary on gentrification, slick visual elements (split screens, hyperintensive flashbacks, neon tinged night shots, etc.) and you've got a sweet slice of urban drama.
While far less absurdist than Sorry To Bother You (both films take place in Oakland, CA, btw), Blindspotting is no less hard-hitting on the socio-political-economic commentary. It is an excellent critique on what it means to be black in an increasingly gentrified community. The anti-hipster stance is militant, but also hilarious as fuck. The film strikes a nice balance between laugh-out-loud moments and tension drenched sequences that are as harrowing as they are thought provoking. The insights of a being a grown man in the hood were rendered with richness and deft nuance. Gritty like vintage Singleton and Lee and Hughes Bros.

RIYL:
vintage Spike Lee; the spoken word musings of Danny Hoch; Boyz N The Hood; Menace II Society; Lethal Weapon if you edited it down to a short film that encompassed just the interactions between Murdoch and Riggs

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Originally Posted by PB

Any body seen Leave No Trace yet? Trying to decide if I should further aggravate an already cranky lower back by seeing it in the (only option) local "artsy" theaters with god-awful seats.

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LEAVE NO TRACE
4/5

A slow-burning, very quiet, visually tranquil, and emotionally potent rumination on family and the definition of “home” which is further augmented by an overtly subtle anti-war message and pointed criticism of bureaucracy.
If you don't cry during the final scene, then you ain't human.

RIYL:
Wendy and Lucy; Into The Wild; A Winter’s Bone

Didn't see a thread on this, and this seems the appropriate place - so who's sticking with MoviePass, who's leaving?

I live in the LA area, I have a coworker who has seen 50+ movies thus far in 2018 with it. I might be around 10? Dunno. But the listed changes, none of which were spelled out in the email/social media postings I received yesterday, really fly in the face of what I was advertised and signed up for - it's definitely not 'any movie, any time, any place' when you restrict movies basing on new-release status, block out all showtimes, and limit theaters. The annoying thing about it is that I don't see how it costs MP any more or any less if I see Mission Impossible now, or wait 3 weeks - the cost is the same. It's just the theaters freezing MP out, because somehow they don't think they're going to be paid, even though when I pay with that debit card that covers the transaction, right?

Anyway, annoying. The subscription model has brought me to theaters way more than I went before, and now I'm a lot more likely to pay for concessions and others stuff now that I'm not getting raped as brutally at the front door. Nothing like paying $15 for each ticket at the front, then $8 for a small popcorn...

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Originally Posted by Jumper Bones

Didn't see a thread on this, and this seems the appropriate place - so who's sticking with MoviePass, who's leaving?

I live in the LA area, I have a coworker who has seen 50+ movies thus far in 2018 with it. I might be around 10? Dunno. But the listed changes, none of which were spelled out in the email/social media postings I received yesterday, really fly in the face of what I was advertised and signed up for - it's definitely not 'any movie, any time, any place' when you restrict movies basing on new-release status, block out all showtimes, and limit theaters. The annoying thing about it is that I don't see how it costs MP any more or any less if I see Mission Impossible now, or wait 3 weeks - the cost is the same. It's just the theaters freezing MP out, because somehow they don't think they're going to be paid, even though when I pay with that debit card that covers the transaction, right?

Anyway, annoying. The subscription model has brought me to theaters way more than I went before, and now I'm a lot more likely to pay for concessions and others stuff now that I'm not getting raped as brutally at the front door. Nothing like paying $15 for each ticket at the front, then $8 for a small popcorn...

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I never entertained using the service as
1. It sounded too good to be true
2. I read a number of articles talking about the app not working when people got to the theater.
3. right now, 2 of the 4 first-run theaters in Reno charge $5 for movies before 6pm and $9 for movies after 6. On average, especially during the winter, I usually only see 1 or 2 movies a month, so that puts me at the same cost as the original $9.95 pricing.
4. I just went on the Movie Pass website, which, btw, is wonky as fuck on my Android tablet, and they don't even accept the service in Reno, so it's a moot point for me.
5. I am an anal-ass moviegoer in that I never buy concessions or eat during a movie. Personally, if I was saving that much money on a ticket, I sure as hell wouldn't be buying overpriced concessions, I'd put the savings toward something like ski equipment or to go to a live show. :)
6. Since I am such a film nerd, my folks send me a Cinemark gift card at Christmas and on my birthday, so I am covered, for the most part, locally. If I visit another theater it is usually a small art-house in Grass Valley or Sacramento or, in the rare case, Oakland and SF, theaters which are not part of the MoviePass network.

Some of the stories on the Webz right now seem to be forecasting the demise of the company...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamos/2.../#7cf021b01aa3

All of that said, if you live in a major metropolitan area that has a number of theaters which accept the service and your typical movie ticket price is $15, it makes sense (the only friends of mine who use the service just happen to live in LA, such as yourself. :) ).

I wonder if anybody has done a study to see if MoviePass participating theaters see a jump in concession sales or if there is a way to track whether or not MoviePass users typically spend the money they are saving on food and bev?
If theaters are blocking the service, there has to be a reason behind it.

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Originally Posted by dookey67

LEAVE NO TRACE
4/5

A slow-burning, very quiet, visually tranquil, and emotionally potent rumination on family and the definition of “home” which is further augmented by an overtly subtle anti-war message and pointed criticism of bureaucracy.
If you don't cry during the final scene, then you ain't human.

RIYL:
Wendy and Lucy; Into The Wild; A Winter’s Bone

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I liked it a lot because they kept the backstory and dialogue to a minimum - kind of Hemingwayesque. 4/5 for me too.

Sorry, I missed PB’s query.

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Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper

I liked it a lot because they kept the backstory and dialogue to a minimum - kind of Hemingwayesque. 4/5 for me too.

Sorry, I missed PB’s query.

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Lack of backstory and the minimal dialogue was a cool technique. It kept the vibe of the film very introspective.
The only time I was off put was when they got rousted. It felt a little rushed. But then they addressed it later in a father/daughter moment, so it made sense after all.
I really dug how the film began and ended with similar imagery; it was a nice visual bookend.
And Ben Foster was great, using his body and facial expressions to convey the things that words usually do.
Very haunting film with lingering after images.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI
4.5/5

This movie is damn near perfect (there were a few loose ends that could have been better tied up, but also at the same time the mild ambiguity was nice).
I had not seen it probably since it was originally released, so I had kind of forgotten how good it was. The cast, the dialogue, the pacing, and the off-kilter humor are all top-grade.
This may be my second favorite Coen Bros. film behind Miller's crossing (though, admittedly, I am overdue in revisiting all of their earlier films).

If you have a Cinemark or Century theater near you, it is screening on Wednesday 8.8 @ 2 and 7.
:cool:

LINK to where it is screening:
https://www.fathomevents.com/events/...0aAuZmEALw_wcB

MI:

There's something about Vanessa Kirby..

I liked the movie. The story was pretty good but some of the twists are not well defined like the ending where Lane is handed over to the widow. I thought she was an undercover agent vs the MI6 intermediary.

The dream sequences also didn't make sense at times and seemed to be a take on The Edge of Tomorrow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dookey67

I never entertained using the service as
1. It sounded too good to be true
2. I read a number of articles talking about the app not working when people got to the theater.
3. right now, 2 of the 4 first-run theaters in Reno charge $5 for movies before 6pm and $9 for movies after 6. On average, especially during the winter, I usually only see 1 or 2 movies a month, so that puts me at the same cost as the original $9.95 pricing.
4. I just went on the Movie Pass website, which, btw, is wonky as fuck on my Android tablet, and they don't even accept the service in Reno, so it's a moot point for me.
5. I am an anal-ass moviegoer in that I never buy concessions or eat during a movie. Personally, if I was saving that much money on a ticket, I sure as hell wouldn't be buying overpriced concessions, I'd put the savings toward something like ski equipment or to go to a live show. :)
6. Since I am such a film nerd, my folks send me a Cinemark gift card at Christmas and on my birthday, so I am covered, for the most part, locally. If I visit another theater it is usually a small art-house in Grass Valley or Sacramento or, in the rare case, Oakland and SF, theaters which are not part of the MoviePass network.

Some of the stories on the Webz right now seem to be forecasting the demise of the company...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamos/2.../#7cf021b01aa3

All of that said, if you live in a major metropolitan area that has a number of theaters which accept the service and your typical movie ticket price is $15, it makes sense (the only friends of mine who use the service just happen to live in LA, such as yourself. :) ).

I wonder if anybody has done a study to see if MoviePass participating theaters see a jump in concession sales or if there is a way to track whether or not MoviePass users typically spend the money they are saving on food and bev?
If theaters are blocking the service, there has to be a reason behind it.

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Pretty sure if theatres are the one starting to block it they have either done calculations on concession revenue and have found no uptick w moviepass users and/or are getting squeezed by their distributors to cut it out. Possibly a combination of both, but since distributors take a 75% minimum cut of ticket sales, the real potential upside for theaters to partner w moviepass is the idea that some of that money saved gets spent on popcorn

This looks rather ribald...

Spike Lee sucks again. I keep on giving him another chance, and he never fails to put a crappy, preachy film in front of me, with awful writing and editing. Blackkklansman was an ordeal. Yeah, we all know, Spike, and the people who don't aren't paying to see it. Wow, Trump is a racist?? No fucking shit.

Papillon remake...

Hollywood at it's lamest and laziest.

Love this line from the linked review

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Hunnam sure ain’t Steve McQueen, and Malek really, really ain’t Dustin Hoffman

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2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY IMAX

I saw the 70mm Roadshow of 2001 earlier this summer, but now it is making the rounds in IMAX starting today 8.24:

https://www.imax.com/News/2001-A-Space-Odyssey-in-IMAX

I saw that in the original Cinerama when it was first released.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Spike Lee sucks again. I keep on giving him another chance, and he never fails to put a crappy, preachy film in front of me, with awful writing and editing. Blackkklansman was an ordeal. Yeah, we all know, Spike, and the people who don't aren't paying to see it. Wow, Trump is a racist?? No fucking shit.

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I saw this on opening weekend and have been mulling over my review of it since then. I have incredibly mixed feelings about the film. But you more of less summed it up for me, albeit a bit less eloquently (i.e. more bluntly) than I would have written.
:)

BLACKKKLANSMAN
2.5/5
For starters, the trailer leads one to believe that the film is going to be a deadpan, satirical look at race relations, perhaps in the vein of classic Coen Bros. films. And while there are moments of that sprinkled throughout the fillm, it's far different than the trailer suggests.
I found the film to be really, really, really uneven and eratic. I chock this up to the fact that there are no less than 4 screenwriters credited with the script. There is no way to tell who wrote what, what was kept from the original script, what was added, etc. Anytime you see more than 3 people with script credits you have to wonder.
The opening of the film seemed pointless as it was never addressed again and the characters in it were never seen again.
I felt that the filmmakers continuously hit the audience over the head with the fact that the film is trying to convey how race relations in the U.S. have not changed since 1970 and that present day "Amerikkka" isn't any better than the years leading up to and following the Civil Rights Movement. This was pretty obvious and implicit and the point didn't need to be continually driven into the minds of the viewers, imho.
There were lots of heavy-handed moments utilizing freeze-frame imagery and close-ups, too.
I had a hard time with the lead actor (Denzel Washington's son) whose character was continuously in "white mode" even though he kept telling his co-workers and superiors that he could code switch on a dime (the scenes where he tries to hook-up with the Black Student Union leader are awkward and show us that he's not able to move between the two worlds of white and black seamlessly; perhaps this was intentional?). In terms of the rest of the cast, Adam Driver seemed to be underutilized and Topher Grace was a bit over-the-top (as were pretty much all of the neo-Nazi Klansmen in the film), but then hyperbole is one of the key rhetorical tenents///
On the positive side there were some great comedic moments, some poignant moments, and some intense moments, but overall I never felt like the film got a solid footing or struck a cohesive balance between biting social commentary and outright satire.
The ending, too, felt forced, as if we hadn't gotten the point yet and needed to be further smacked upside the head.
I did dig the classic floating camera dolly shot at the end and really wished that Lee had inserted more cool visual nuances such as that throughout the film.
Again, perhaps all this was intentional on Lee's part, to create a film that is so polarizing that it leaves you thinking about it long afterwards, even if you didn't like it. And, more importantly, sparks discussion/debate.
Is it one of Lee's best? No. But it's still an interesting experiment.
It does make me want to go back and re-visit Do The Right Thing, though, a film I really loved and moved me very much when I saw it upon first release.

Additionally, I am now somewhat interested in checking out the source material (the autobiography/memoir Black Klansman by Ron Stallwarth)...

Addendum:
In terms of the 3 major films out right now that are written and directed by black filmmakers and that deal specifically with race relations, my "two thumbs up" recommendation goes to Blindspotting. That film is intense, topical, funny, dramatic, poignant, and it unfolds with great pacing, plus it manages to strike an even balance between satire and serious socio-political commentary. Go see that if you canl

Not in a theater, but have you watched Upgrade yet? Pretty fucking fun, and it raises all sorts of ethical questions.
Thumbs up

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Originally Posted by buttahflake

Not in a theater, but have you watched Upgrade yet? Pretty fucking fun, and it raises all sorts of ethical questions.
Thumbs up

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Page 22, post #549...

:)

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Originally Posted by dookey67

Page 22, post #549...

:)

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Perfect review! I need to pay more attention to this thread.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dookey67

I saw this on opening weekend and have been mulling over my review of it since then. I have incredibly mixed feelings about the film. But you more of less summed it up for me, albeit a bit less eloquently (i.e. more bluntly) than I would have written.
:)

BLACKKKLANSMAN
2.5/5
For starters, the trailer leads one to believe that the film is going to be a deadpan, satirical look at race relations, perhaps in the vein of classic Coen Bros. films. And while there are moments of that sprinkled throughout the fillm, it's far different than the trailer suggests.
I found the film to be really, really, really uneven and eratic. I chock this up to the fact that there are no less than 4 screenwriters credited with the script. There is no way to tell who wrote what, what was kept from the original script, what was added, etc. Anytime you see more than 3 people with script credits you have to wonder.
The opening of the film seemed pointless as it was never addressed again and the characters in it were never seen again.
I felt that the filmmakers continuously hit the audience over the head with the fact that the film is trying to convey how race relations in the U.S. have not changed since 1970 and that present day "Amerikkka" isn't any better than the years leading up to and following the Civil Rights Movement. This was pretty obvious and implicit and the point didn't need to be continually driven into the minds of the viewers, imho.
There were lots of heavy-handed moments utilizing freeze-frame imagery and close-ups, too.
I had a hard time with the lead actor (Denzel Washington's son) whose character was continuously in "white mode" even though he kept telling his co-workers and superiors that he could code switch on a dime (the scenes where he tries to hook-up with the Black Student Union leader are awkward and show us that he's not able to move between the two worlds of white and black seamlessly; perhaps this was intentional?). In terms of the rest of the cast, Adam Driver seemed to be underutilized and Topher Grace was a bit over-the-top (as were pretty much all of the neo-Nazi Klansmen in the film), but then hyperbole is one of the key rhetorical tenents///
On the positive side there were some great comedic moments, some poignant moments, and some intense moments, but overall I never felt like the film got a solid footing or struck a cohesive balance between biting social commentary and outright satire.
The ending, too, felt forced, as if we hadn't gotten the point yet and needed to be further smacked upside the head.
I did dig the classic floating camera dolly shot at the end and really wished that Lee had inserted more cool visual nuances such as that throughout the film.
Again, perhaps all this was intentional on Lee's part, to create a film that is so polarizing that it leaves you thinking about it long afterwards, even if you didn't like it. And, more importantly, sparks discussion/debate.
Is it one of Lee's best? No. But it's still an interesting experiment.
It does make me want to go back and re-visit Do The Right Thing, though, a film I really loved and moved me very much when I saw it upon first release.

Additionally, I am now somewhat interested in checking out the source material (the autobiography/memoir Black Klansman by Ron Stallwarth)...

Addendum:
In terms of the 3 major films out right now that are written and directed by black filmmakers and that deal specifically with race relations, my "two thumbs up" recommendation goes to Blindspotting. That film is intense, topical, funny, dramatic, poignant, and it unfolds with great pacing, plus it manages to strike an even balance between satire and serious socio-political commentary. Go see that if you canl

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"I did dig the classic floating camera dolly shot at the end and really wished that Lee had inserted more cool visual nuances such as that throughout the film."

I was overjoyed that he didn't use that tracking shot AGAIN until he actually did, but, fortunately, just a little. It was a bad habit in previous films of his.

Sorry, he's a hack. Never improved upon Do The Right Thing.

MANDY
3.5 / 5

While it can be a bit long-in-the-tooth at times, Pano Cosmatos' sophomore feature film is never less than visually stunning. His use of color is ripped straight out of the Italian genre master’s handbook (serious nods to both Bava and Argento) as well as his use of intrinsic and bombastic heavy metal cum prog rock influenced music.
On the surface this is a rather simple revenge film, yet it is teeming with surreal and fantastical elements. In fact, for me, it really felt like Cosmatos was channelling John Milius’ classic minimalist sword/sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian, both in terms of its story and old school medieval violence. I mean there’s demons, a charismatic cult leader and his mindless and obedient servents, there’s pagen rituals, and heavy metal (literally) sword fighting (albeit in this case, it’s an axes and chainsaws).
Those looking for deeper meaning in such films may easily construe that underneath all the grue and mayhem one can find condemnation of religion and the violence that has surrounded it for years; how people take those beliefs and twist them to their own purposes all in the name of a higher being. But if that kind of philosophical slant ain’t your cup of tea, no worries. The film is chock full of some of the good ol’ ultra-violence, not to mention some gonzo humor.
And Nic Cage? Sure, he’s made a latter day career out of doing over-the-top characters and B-movie schlock (think Mom and Dad), but here he takes the cake, intricately ices it, and then eats it, too. When he’s not chain smoking and chopping wood, then he’s either spooning with his lady (the titular Mandy) or covered in blood and killing deranged biker demons and engaging in blood-soaked frenzies of violence. And his hair, which has long been the source of Internet scrutiny, has never looked better than in this film. His adversary, played to the hilt by Linus Roache, is a nefarious blend of weasely androgenous petulence, a narcissistic slimeball who teeters on the brink of empyrical sacrosancticity; he is creepy and sniveling and always malevolent.
Throughout the film there are obvious visual nods to The Road Warrior and the Evil Dead trilogy-by-way-of-Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as the aforementioned stalwarts of Italian horror cinema, and a heavy debt to the psychotropic/psychotronic/avante garde films of the ‘60s and early ‘70s, but in the end the film is pure Cosmatos. It’s a deja vu laced pastiche of all the best parts from myriad core genre films, but most importantly it’s done as a loving homage to those influences and is rendered in a manner that also manages to come off feeling and looking fresh and vibrant. If there is any washback, I would say it comes in the slow set-up; the first act is a bit too introspective for my taste and easily could have been edited down a bit. But that’s just me, impatient as fuck to get to the insane action and nuttso violence.


RIYL
Baskin; Beyond The Black Rainbow; The Neon Demon; Only God Forgives; Susperia; the films of Alejandro Jodorowsky; Conan the Barbarian

THE PREDATOR

1.5 / 5


Wow. This film is a soulless, steaming turd of a movie.
What’s worse is that I was surprised by that.
Sure, I thought the trailers looked stupid. But then I got to thinking about how a lot of times when a trailer looks really good, the film ends up sucking, so maybe here, with the trailers sucking, perhaps the film would be decent, you know? Then I factored in the presence of Shane Black, who directed the film and co-wrote the script. This, after all, is the same dude responsible for two modern day classics in the form of Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang and The Nice Guys, not to mention a plethora of ‘80s action staples (Lethal Weapon, for example). So, yeah, I kind of had high hopes.
Those hopes were quickly dashed within the first 15-minutes.
There is so much wrong with this film it’s almost unfair to slag it.
Black and co-screenwriter Fred Dekker toss out every tired cliche and trope imaginable--ranging from the “magical child” (a variation on the oft-used “magical negro” theme) to the “sexy scientist”--with nary a vibe of irony or even a half-hearted attempt to twist said tropes into something remotely new or original. Even the nostalgia moments are tired: “Oh, look, a visual reference to E.T.!” Yawn.
The dialogue feels as if it were fan fiction written by a group of 12-to-15 year-old boys who have just learned about female anatomy and how to properly use the word “fuck” in a sentence. There are entire scenes made up of nothing more than characters telling dirty “Yo Mama” jokes that have absolutely nothing to do with furthering the story or expanding the one-dimensional nature of the characters.
Speaking of characters, one is imbued with Tourette’s, which feels like a cheap gimmick to get away with more innocuous swearing and uncouth language (to wit, there is a scene wherein “Mr. Tourette’s” tells the “Sexy Scientist” “I want to eat your pussy.” It is awkward and jarring and completely “WTF!!?” in a way that is neither smart nor funny). Additionally, it is not-so-subtlely inferred that the two characters speaking the most sexist and misogynistic lines are quite possibly gay lovers. I guess we are supposed to find the humor in how they are rattling off cringe-worthy “macho” verse to cover up their real sexual orientation. How trite. But I digress. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy foul language and love me a good dirty joke as much as the next bloke, but when they are continuously tossed out with no regard to context whatsoever, then they just become pointless and juvenile for the sake of being, well, pointless and juvenile.
This is actually a major problem with the film throughout. It thinks it is being clever and ironic when in actuality it’s really just sophomoric and stupid. For example, the ongoing schtick about the misuse of he term “Predator” isn’t half as funny or clever as the characters in the film think it is. Of course a lot of this could be the fault of the cast, who just seem to deliver their lines as rapidly as possible without any sense of comic timing whatsoever. I should also mention that there is a complete lack of camp or any sense of real wink/wink/nudge/nudge meta-humor in the film, something that would have at least been a welcome breath of not-so-stale air.
If all of this weren’t bad enough, the action sequences are tepid and uninspiring. Sure things blow up, lots of limbs get severed, and neon blood (both green and red) flows freely. But we’ve seen it all before. And don’t even get me started on the over-abundant use of crappy CGI, either; if you’re going to re-boot an ‘80s classic at least have the balls to use practical effects. To make matters even worse, the film adds such idiotic elements as Predator dogs (yes, dread-locked dogs) that love to play fetch with incendiary devices. Oh, and as if believing the old adage of “bigger is better” will help save this muddled mess, the filmmakers have made the main Predator nearly 12 feet tall. Serous fail.
In a summer that was rife with expensive and uninspired action films (Skyscraper, The Meg, Equalizer 2...) this film takes the cake. It’s clunky and unclever. It’s barely worth a Redbox rental or late night viewing on cable. Hell, even the appearance of Jake Busey couldn’t save this film. That, in and of itself, should tell you something.

Saw Peppermint this week. It was a good, brainless revenge story, much like Taken. I like Jennifer Garner for that role and she plays the Badass Lady pretty well.

Not winning any Oscars but was worth the $5 Tuesday night ticket. 3/5

I just watched a movie on Netflix that's also in the theaters (they do that these days), because it's a Netflix funded movie. The Land Of Steady Habits. Good stuff. Would do very well on a double bill with Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. Same subject, pretty much.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

I just watched a movie on Netflix that's also in the theaters (they do that these days), because it's a Netflix funded movie. The Land Of Steady Habits. Good stuff. Would do very well on a double bill with Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. Same subject, pretty much.

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To the best of my knowledge you still have to have your movie shown in a theater in order for it to qualify for the Academy Awards.
My guess would be that NF thinks this is an "award" film and screened it in a few theaters so it could be eligible for nomination...

Just an evening alcohol filtered logic, but I seem to detect a fragrance of disdain ..... which I whole heartedly support.
But I will be checking out The Land of Steady Habits, just to check up on Benny's sanity.

Not really - it actually looks pretty good.