Films watched in 2023

[Daniel]

Barbie was a very amusing and surprisingly well made film. Margot Robbie was a perfect choice for the title role. Definitely an enjoyable film.

[Mfahey79]

Oppenheimer, I really enjoyed it. Didnt feel like a 3 hour film at all

[Daniel]

Oppenheimer was a very interesting biopic. Which certainly told an eye opening story in a very influential part of history. A terrific cast with impressive performances.

[Raylenth]

On 7/22/2023 at 10:30 PM, Daniel said:

Barbie was a very amusing and surprisingly well made film. Margot Robbie was a perfect choice for the title role. Definitely an enjoyable film.

Agreed, I saw it this morning.  It was really well made and deserves all the kudos.

[Mfahey79]

So, saw Oppenheimer for the 2nd time. Enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Not one bad performance in the film. Can see oscar nominations for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr

[Faerie Tanith]

Saw Barbie last night. 100% absolutely loved it. Makes the hate against it seem even funnier now that I've seen it myself. 

[Daniel]

Haunted Mansion was an entertaining film. In comparison to the other Disneyland ride adaptations this was probably the best. Certainly not amazing but an enjoyable film with a good cast.

 

 

 

[Faerie Tanith]

Heart of Stone.

Gal Gadot was the only good thing about it, and even she wasn't good enough to make the film worth watching.

[fastandloud]

Watched Paradise on Netflix. Would recommend if you enjoy dystopian thrillers.

[Faerie Tanith]

Finally got around to watching the live action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Oh, my god. 10/10. I had chills most of the way through it. I know we're sick of Disney churning out remakes but this made up for all the disappointments they've put out over the years.

[Daniel]

The Equalizer 3 was an enjoyable action film with some impressive moments. It wasn't a classic but entertaining and probably the best of the trilogy.

[nicky]

THE LITTLE MERMAID (2023)

2.5/5 (No spoilers)

I've not seen the animated version so can't compare but I will say I found this film to be too long especially for kids and a bit meh. The songs were quite good but the Prince (why must it always be a prince?!) can't sing and I'm surprised he even got cast, WTF?

Melissa McCarthy was just like any other evil Disney villainess (except more annoying) but her motivation left me feeling confused; if Ariel fails her mission the Queen will "have her"... BUT what does that mean?! The worst thing about the film is it felt like I was watching SLEEPING BEAUTY, CINDERELLA and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST rolled into one (but with a mermaid) because of all the same recognizable formulaic tropes we've seen before; humble girl, her little animal friends, Prince Chad, someone's under a spell, evil queen, worried father etc.

Even Javier Bardem as the father was a bit bland. Thankfully the underwater scenes were kept to a minimum and the talking while submerged didn't distract me unlike AQUAMAN (2018) but overall the film was very much a case of seen one Disney princess movie, you've seen them all.

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by nicky

[nicky]

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (2023)

2/5 (No spoilers)

Yes, it's worse then the last film. The luke-warm box-office speaks for itself; no one wants to see an old man trying to be an action hero after the last failure and with Disney's knack for destroying IPs. Disney were clearly overly-confident in this brand name as demonstrated by the weak script. James Mangold has made far better action films eg. LOGAN (2017).

Despite the ropey de-aging of Ford the films starts off good and it certainly feels like part of the original trilogy (unlike the last film). But it screeches to a halt when the first shot we see of Indy in the "present day" is of him getting out of bed in just his boxers with his saggy torso looking as old as one of his relics - exactly what we didn't want to see.  Then his annoying God-awful god-daughter shows up (Pheobe Waller-Bridge) looking for the Dial and nowhere is it explained HOW some ancient Greek scientist somehow managed to create this science-defying device or why.

We also get this other kid tagging along and although he's not as annoying as the god-daughter he's still an unnecessary and so is the return of Sallah (John Ryhs Davies). Elsewhere Boyd Holbrook is the main henchman - previously a cool mercenary leader in LOGAN (2017) and the hero in THE PREDATOR (2018), here he is reduced to being a wordless, generic, lackey. The finale itself should've book-ended the film's opening scene making it come full-circle - what we get instead is interesting but I don't think its what fans wanted to see.

It's a boring, bland, long installment and there's nothing here that makes it a personal story to Indy; no (re)connecting with family or friends like the previous films, just Indy on another adventure - there's something at the end but it's not enough to cover the 2.5 hrs runtime. That's the worst thing about the film, it feels like a story that didn't need to be told as we learn nothing new about Indy, Disney thought we wouldn't mind that.

Edited January 9 by nicky

[nicky]

JOY RIDE (2023)

3.5/5 (No Spoilers)

This is another comedy about friends on a journey in the style of THE HANGOVER, (2009), BRIDESMAIDS (2011) and ROAD TRIP (2000) but with the added identity crisis of CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018) in which adoptee Audrey (Ashley Park) is sent on a business trip to China only to wind up on a search for her birth mother. 

With Seth Rogen producing you know what kind of comedy to expect but the humor is also very Todd Philips (THE HANGOVER and ROAD TRIP). A lot of the laughs are almost surprising in fact, not quite gross-out, but its a style usually seen in male-dominated comedies and not a "chick-flick" let alone one filled with East Asians so it's possible the agenda was to break stereotypes of the good, submissive Asian woman. It actually does everything CRAZY RICH ASIANS failed to do and Adele Lim (who wrote CRA too), does a great job at making the script a search for one's indentity while injecting jokes only East Asians would get. 

Although the laughs are very good, the story itself is a bit disjointed as the plot's trajectory changes too suddenly from at first going to China to try and make a business deal to then trying to find Audrey's birth mother thus forgetting about the real reason she flew over. The business deal is actually a sub-plot but it's introduced before the birth mother search and left hanging and forgotten.

Edited September 25, 2023 by nicky

[nicky]

MEG 2: THE TRENCH (2023)

3.5/5 (No spoilers)

It's a fun, dumb, summer action sci-fi sequel and much more entertaining than the first film. Yes, it's ridiculous but it knows it and doesn't take itself too seriously but I think that's where a lot of the humor and fun is. 

The plot goes Statham and co use their fancy new submarines and diving-suits to explore The Trench, the place deep beneath the sea where the Megs (and other sea monsters) lurk but they soon discover human baddies are also down there and s*** happens. Statham goes into "Fast and Furious" mode here a bit too much for my liking as he fights his way through various henchmen but thankfully it doesn't over-shadow him battling the beasties. I only wish we could've seen more of the giant octopus and less of the velocirapter-things cos it started to feel like JURASSIC PARK.

The Trench itself however, isn't in the film long enough and despite the film's title isn't quite the main focus as the latter half of the film changes environment and basically repeats the Chinese beach attack we already saw in the first film. They even repeat the same pet joke again.

Edited September 22, 2023 by nicky

[nicky]

NO HARD FEELINGS (2023)

2.5 (No spoilers)

This is nothing new; a teen sex-comedy featuring a typically mismatched couple who's relationship is based upon a lie in a similar vein to SHE'S ALL THAT (1999) and CAN'T BY ME LOVE (1987) only this new Jennifer Lawrence film is desperately unfunny and just awkward much of the time. 

The plot goes, Maddie (Lawrence) is hired by a rich couple to date their awkward teenage son so that he may build up his confidence before going to college.  It's a fairly predictable story as you wait for the inevitable scene where the son discovers the truth about his new "girlfriend" and her defensive claims that she actually has real feelings for him. It's a simple enough story but suffers from bad jokes, disjointed editing and some crappy acting from the supports - it feels like a streaming movie and not a good one. There's also some redundant characters (the male nanny) that go nowhere which could otherwise made some interesting plot-points. 

Jennifer Lawrence is also mis-cast in this role and you don't really buy that her character would do some of the stuff she does in the film. If they wrote her as some mentally-unstable nutter then it would've made sense but I was left feeling confused about whether she was meant to be a bitch or not  - I certainly didn't root for her or feel any sympathy and I certainly don't think comedy is her thing (but that may have been the script's fault, not her's).

Edited September 26, 2023 by nicky

[nicky]

PAST LIVES (2023)

3.5/5 (No spoilers)

Celine Song's directorial debut is a touchingly sentimental romantic-drama with a difference; here the romance is only suggested and not actually brought-out into the open thereby brewing a special kind of tension. It's not a glossy, cheery, Hollywood rom-com at all but a bittersweet story of paradise lost and misaligned destiny. It's one of the most refreshingly realistic romantic films you'll ever see. 

The writing, acting, cinematography and sound (and even the silent parts) are all great with the story itself focusing on people re-connecting after years apart and how they've changed - it's a simple romantic tale everyone can relate to which will leave you wondering about your own life. BUT the lack of a real plot hinders the film, instead what we get is a display of emotion with the two leads constantly wondering "what if?" which makes for the central driving force of the film as well as making the viewer constantly ask, "will they get back together"?

The ending is beautiful much like this year's THE WHALE (2023) and thankfully it didn't end up being a fluffy cop-out just to 'please' the audience (unlike THE FAREWELL) - its different from the usual finale you'd expect from a romantic drama.

Overall, it's an incredibly powerful and beautiful film about lost romance and destiny and cleverly subtle in its delivery. It's touted by some as the best film of the year, I'd agree it's up there and certainly my favourite of the recent wave of Asian-lead American films. 

 

 

Edited January 9 by nicky

[Raylenth]

Old ones but AVP1 and AVP2.

 

I've seen both before but I was bored and it's been a long time.

 

AVP 1 isn't terrible but it's far from great and it does suffer from some plot inconsistencies (saying the maps show the pyramid is directly under the whaling station but then showing the 30 degree Predator made tunnel runs from the town to the cavern with it in disproves that location) and some annoying points - we know from inference that the species the chest bursters incubate in can influence their final form/abilities, but the writers made it all happen far too quickly when it's not a new species they were incubating in to explain their seriously rapid development.  OK we are never given a specific timeline for these things to happen in, but it seems like they went from egg hatching to fully developed Xenomorph extraordinarily quickly.  The queen wasn't unfrozen until they activated the step plate in the entrance, but we are shown that within what can only be a few hours, the face huggers were fully developed in the eggs, they attached and laid the chestbursters who almost immediately emerged from their hosts and then they fully grew within 30 mins?  (Given the archaeologist posited that the pyramid reoriented every 10 minutes after that phase started and there was only 2/3 alterations).  

AVP2.  There's pretty much nothing positive I can say about this film.  I know the darkness issue is pretty infamous, and the stated reasons for that, but lets face it, even if it was reasonably lit it'd still have been awful.  The directors said it was a combination of low budget and wanting to keep the aliens all in darkness so that you couldn't see it was actors in suits, but all of the other films had the same issue and did it so much better.  You can keep them hidden for the most part, and still light it well so that the audience isn't left wondering if they need to go for an eye test afterwards.

[nicky]

17 hours ago, Raylenth said:

Old ones but AVP1 and AVP2.

AVP 1 isn't terrible but it's far from great and it does suffer from some plot inconsistencies 

AVP2.  There's pretty much nothing positive I can say about this film.  I know the darkness issue is pretty infamous, and the stated reasons for that, but lets face it, even if it was reasonably lit it'd still have been awful.  

Yeah, those were the same complaints everyone else had when the 2 films first came out. Personally I didn't mind AVP or the sped-up incubation periods - I knew it was necessary for the plot to move forwards swiftly and as a fan I was just thankful we were finally getting the film after waiting since the comics in 1989. People slated Paul W.S. Anderson when it was announced he was directing but I think we were lucky to get a known director EVEN if it was him - there's no way an established/respected A-list director would've touched the film (as much as fanboys wanted Scott/Cameron/Verhoeven), they didn't need to. 

AVP:R was awful yes, I've only ever seen it twice and its easily the worst film in the Alien/Predator franchise; it was already a crap script to begin with way before the even crapper directors were added so it was never gonna be good. It's no wonder Fox couldn't get a director attached and had to settle for two dozy SFX guys instead. I hated the "Predalien" and the fact it was able to impregnate people with multiple chestbursters -  it was a stupid creature and idea. I have hopes that the Disney/Fox merger will one day give us a new and better film but I can't see it happening TBH...at least not live-action anyway. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by nicky

[Raylenth]

11 hours ago, nicky said:

Yeah, those were the same complaints everyone else had when the 2 films first came out. Personally I didn't mind AVP or the sped-up incubation periods - I knew it was necessary for the plot to move forwards swiftly and as a fan I was just thankful we were finally getting the film after waiting since the comics in 1989. People slated Paul W.S. Anderson when it was announced he was directing but I think we were lucky to get a known director EVEN if it was him - there's no way an established/respected A-list director would've touched the film (as much as fanboys wanted Scott/Cameron/Verhoeven), they didn't need to. 

AVP:R was awful yes, I've only ever seen it twice and its easily the worst film in the Alien/Predator franchise; it was already a crap script to begin with way before the even crapper directors were added so it was never gonna be good. It's no wonder Fox couldn't get a director attached and had to settle for two dozy SFX guys instead. I hated the "Predalien" and the fact it was able to impregnate people with multiple chestbursters -  it was a stupid creature and idea. I have hopes that the Disney/Fox merger will one day give us a new and better film but I can't see it happening TBH...at least not live-action anyway. 

I do frustrate myself with getting annoyed with stuff like this as I know they do it for reasons, it's just you can't help thinking 'was there no other way?'.  Like couldn't they have said that the Preds ship sent a signal ahead to start the defrost process, seeing as it was entirely automated anyway, and that way they could say the eggs were laid and developing ahead of their arrival.  But alas, film logic will be film logic.

And agreed about the PredAlien pregnancy thing.  Again, we know nothing about Predator reproduction, so maybe they do it that way, but it was stupid.  The only other film in the franchise I hate as much as this one is The Predator.  

[natedammit]

I watched Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith because I'm getting bullied by someone at work to watch all of the Clone Wars series, then I had to watch RotS before starting on Bad Batch and Rebels. 

Anyway, RotS is 95% garbage 5% great, but if you treat the last 4 episodes of Clone Wars like a film then it's probably my favourite Star Wars film ever (yes, even better than Phantom Menace). 

[Daniel]

Dumb Money was an entertaining true life comedy. It was an interesting alternative story about working the stock market with some good performances. Definitely worth a watch.

[Daniel]

Saw X was another entertaining addition to the highest grossing (in every sense of the word) horror franchise of all time. It wasn't the best of the series but did have a different take on the usual ending. Fans of the franchise will not be disappointed.

[nicky]

EXPEND4BLES (2023)

1.5/5 (No spoilers)

One of the worst action sequels ever, no wonder it bombed. Statham and Stallone return but the presence of other big action names are sorely missed. Instead we get new recruits Megan Fox, 50 Cent and Tony Jaa along with a couple other Z-listers who are there just to make up the numbers. In fact everyone is there 'just to make up the numbers' as only Statham and Stallone do anything - of course the previous films were like that too but here it's even worse. At least Randy Couture gets more lines this time cos he's one of the only original team-members left along with Lundgren.

Statham leads the film all on his own (Stallone takes a backseat) and as a result the film feels like a spin-off not an ensemble flick at all since a large part of the movie is him away from the rest of the team. Megan Fox looks hot of course but why is she still fully dolled-up when she's on a mission? She doesn't even tie her hair back and is not very convincing at all as a hardened warrior (she's no Linda Hamilton). Of course she and Statham have the obligatory play-fight/foreplay scene. Yawn.

Even the most basic of visual effects look cheap and the acting also is sub-par (especially Andy Garcia). Elsewhere the editing and cartoon violence attempt to be cool but fail - it's like one of those cheap-goofy Hollywood-inspired Chinese films. Its thin on plot, thin on characters, thin on effects but fat on cheese.

Edited October 18, 2023 by nicky

[Faerie Tanith]

Finally, belatedly, able to watch Saw X...

My expectations were astoundingly low after the disappointments of Jigsaw and Spiral.

Oh, my god.

Saw X is truly worthy of all the hype it's getting. This is what I've been missing since Saw 3D. THIS is the plot based drama I've been craving. Tobin Bell's performance? Shawnee Smith? The quality of the traps? The quality of the movie overall? The mid credits scene? 10/10 holy hell I never thought I'd say this but they actually did it, they actually pulled off a Saw sequel-but-actually-its-a-prequel and made it work.