#weekly movie reviews

[alittlefrenchtree]

So. The Idea of You.

It’s not spoilers free. I’m talking about details and a couple of (very expected) plot twists.

As quickly mentioned before, I hadn’t huge expectations for the movie and I’ve watched only because I’m interested with what Nick as an actor, even on projects that aren’t for me or that I’m not really enthusiastic about.

My main goal was to not be angry at the end of it. And I’ve kind of succeed? I was briefly angry after one hour and forty minutes BUT nobody acted on the said stupid idea so I didn’t stay angry at the end. Yay.

Things I liked about the movie :

-Roughly the first… Lets say 50 minutes to be generous (roughly until the night at the nyc hotel included). It was silly and cringe and absolutely ridiculous but it was fun. I think it’s even funnier if you followed a band when you were a teenager and read or write the same self insert scenario in fan fictions. And since I did, I laughed a lot. Both Nick and Anne sold the thing from their first scene together. As seen during the promo tour, the duo works quite well on screen.

-The very few glimpses we had at the weight of celebrity on Hayes’ shoulders. When Solène asked if it happens a lot, when he gets recognized in the car, when simple daily life things as even grabbing a thing to eat is an impossible problem to solve, when he understands it’s because he’s famous that he’s loosing his relationship… It’s one of my favorite subjects to write about so I would have been on board with that anywhere and anytime but watching it on Hayes Nick’s face broke my heart all the same. I know this is not that kind of movie but I would have been delighted if it was more about that.

-The very few tries at portraying how boysbands created around a casting process destroy the kids they’re hiring. How each member is pushed in a little box to fit a role that is identifiable, very narrowed and marketable. How music is never at the center of anything for this kids who are dreaming of it. How they all have an expiration date and how they’re all left alone with huge mental health problems that usually leads to self-destruction. I find ironical that in a movie that is described as something for 40yo women who were told they have an expiration date, it’s the 24yo male character who is the target of that through an industry of billions of dollars in their script.

Things I disliked :

-…everything else? I swear I tried to keep an open mind about light, fun and silly cute but the majority of what I’ve watched and heard only felt shallow and empty. I was hard to root for a couple when the majority of the development of their relationship is glossed over. In the second half, bounding and solving problems are mainly portrayed the same way (tonguing each other romantically kissing). Any attempt to develop something past the first half of the movie is terrible. The writing is atrocious even for a light and fun thing. There are cute and fun moments in the second half but there are so little and rare I was mostly bored out of my mind.

-the person who wrote the PR kit and sent Anne and Nick in front of every camera around the world to say that it’s a movie about female pleasure and that female pleasure is a whole character of the movie on the base of an unrealistic 12 secondes fingering scene alone. Straight women around the world, you have my whole compassion, because that was sad as fuck. I understand all too well the need to take liberties with marketing speeches but damn 💀

Here you go! Remember that every word is a personal opinion, disliking half a movie is different from hate and hating the people who worked on it and if you want to write to me saying you disagree with every word I wrote, it’s ok too. But I suggest you to write more arguments than insults if you don’t want to waste your time 😘

[thenefilim]

Review - The Zombie Wedding (2024)

Remember The Weekly World News? Well, they've expanded into film with a rom-zom-com, The Zombie Wedding. Sadly, Bat Boy wasn't invited.

https://www.voicesfromthebalcony.com/2024/09/12/the-zombie-wedding-2023-review/

[gaykarstaagforever]

Because both RLM and James and Maso did videos this week about RoboCop 2 (because someone is doing a new show about him or something? I don't care), I realized I had never actually seen any of the sequels. But they're free on Tubi (and perhaps elsewhere), so I watched RoboCop 2.

I had always heard all the sequels were crap. And compared to the first one, which is decidedly too good for what it is, I can see why people say that. But I thought RoboCop 2 was pretty good.

It is certainly a retread of the first one, made with less love and nuance and attention to detail than the first one, by people who were literally just doing it because they were hired last-minute to do it. But it has a lot of good stuff in it, and its problems are minor.

I like the weird Dragnet-esque score. I like Willard Pugh as the over-confident, frantic buffoon mayor, who takes what is a kind of pointless subplot and makes it compelling. I like John Doolittle's Dr. Schenk, who it at 11 and about to pop the entire movie. I like the wacky comedy RoboCop 2 attempts who scream and then commit suicide. I like how the one they actually go with is a drug-fueled Metal Gear that acts like a poorly-trained attack dog and has a Lawnmower Man TV face for no good reason.

I like how his internal heads-up display is a MacOS UI, as compared to RoboCop's green phosphorus RoboDOS (because this certainly was 1990). Oh and the Phil Tippett stop-motion work is the best that ever got here, which is great. I almost forgot I was watching dolls fight in front of a green screen. Masterfully produced. The puppet they use for RoboCop after he is ripped apart is really good, too.

The attempts at satirical advertisements like in the first one are weak, and they probably shouldn't have bothered. OCP is so cartoonishly evil in this one (complete with a Nazi-esqe flag) that it beggars belief that no one really seems to care, especially after their incompetence gets like 40 cops massacred, in front of tons of TV cameras. Nancy Allen and Felton Perry, who were so good in the first one, are basically given nothing to do here. Even RoboCop himself seems to disappear for a third of the movie to make way for some "crime does not pay" child drug lord parable that is too goofy to mean anything. They also set up a character arc for Murphy where he is wresting with who he is by way of his lingering attachment to his ex-wife, but then that just...stops.

Instead, there is a sequence where OCP turns him into WOKEboCop, where they program him to talk to kids about good nutrition instead of gunning down poor people by the hundreds! And the kids make fun of him! Take THAT, Gary Hart!

...Yeah, I'm not giving that any more thought than the people who put it in the movie didn't in 1990. It makes no sense as a metaphor for anything in this plot as it is, and is literally just a thing that happens to RoboCop that he fixes by electrocuting himself. The only message this movie seems to have is maybe "hey, evil corporations and corrupt governments and drug gangs are all the same, man," and slow down with that mind-blowing revelation, 17 year old smoking pot for the first time!

Plus what is the proposed solution to this? Letting a cyborg police man shoot absolutely everyone? RoboCop is more the victim here than the hero. That's sort of the point.

I still liked it. It is more Peter Weller as RoboCop doing RoboCop stuff, and that's what it set out to be. Solid B.

Not sure I am looking forward to the next one, where it isn't Peter Weller and it apparently turns into a kids' movie where RoboCop gets a rocket pack accessory. Weird that RoboCop 2, where a child drug lord dies under a mountain of cash while holding RoboCop's hand, is the sequel that showed restraint.

(Edit: I watched the two linked videos after I wrote this. Of course we all have similar observations so it looks like I just stole talking points from videos that came out last week. I thought for sure I'd be the only one to mention the MacOS thing...dammit, Colin.

On the plus side I am exactly as observant as YouTube talking heads of a similar age and cultural background. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?!)

[katieroo28]

Decided to start doing this thing where I do a weekly recap on here of what I’ve watched, read, and listened to all week. Let’s see how long it takes me to give up on this endeavor.

I’m not including anything I’ve rewatched or reread.

BEST MOVIES OF THE WEEK: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) and The Go-Between (2015)

BEST TV OF THE WEEK: Paranoia Agent (2004), Interview with the Vampire, the season premiere of Family Karma, the only episode of Documentary Now I’ve gotten to watch this season, and of course The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

CURRENTLY READING: House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

LISTENING TO ON REPEAT: A far l’amore comincia tu by Raffaella Carrà

[theversatilevogue]

J​​​​ennifer Lopez Still Has Ben Affleck Wedding Pictures in Hamptons Home Amid Split Rumors

Jennifer Lopez still has wedding pictures of her and Ben Affleck displayed at her Hamptons home.

Read full article Click here

[thejewofkansas]

The Weekly Gravy #192

Since I didn’t review any new releases this week (I saw Furiosa again, but I simply updated my review from last week), I might as well say a few words about the Cannes Festival winners. Palme d’Or: Anora Grand Prix: All We Imagine as Light Jury Prize: Emilia Pérez Director: Miguel Gomes, Grand Tour Special Award: The Seed of the Sacred Fig Best Actor: Jesse Plemons, Kinds of Kindness Best…

[tentaculumpsychoanalyst]

I did this to my cat, once, a few years ago shortly after I had originally seen this now infamous image. I wish I had thought to take a picture, because he had unfortunately went missing and had been found dead a little over a month later. I digress, I hope you all appreciate the Longcat.

[djstormpresents]

The Last Airbender (or) Avatar (or) Both.

Bending seems to be in the air. The cartoon “Avatar: The Last Airbender” was a classic cartoon, for both adults and children alike… (don’t believe us, how many adults do you know who are familiar with Pokémon?). But the first movie adaptation was… horrible… like rolling around a hardwood floor with Legos all over it type of horrible. Not to mention the fact that it was already a fraction of the…

[cbn-communitybasednews]

Top 50 Countries of 2024: Must-Travel Destinations for the Adventure Seeker

The world is a huge weaving of social orders, scenes, and experiences fit to be researched. As we step into 2024, the desire for development has never been more grounded. Whether you’re a painstakingly pre-arranged traveler , the going with overview of the best 50 countries to visit in 2024 is specially crafted exclusively for you. From shocking ordinary supernatural occurrences to socially rich metropolitan networks, these complaints ensure phenomenal endeavors and memories to persevere for eternity. Read More

[declanowo]

Random Weekly Horror - Week One - A Bucket of Blood

08/11/23

I have regarded the 50s as my least favourite era in horror for a little while now. To be fair, before A Bucket of Blood, I had only seen two others, both of which I had very similar problems with. Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Thing From Another World were both films I was excited for, and their titular creatures stood out as my favourite parts of their respective films, however, the strong themes of patriotism, unabashed masculinity and their characters who simply did nothing for me all mixed together to create two films I felt the same about. While I was excited going into A Bucket of Blood, I was also rather nervous whether or not I would enjoy this film; the hays code especially puts a sour taste in my mouth, as it prohibits so many films from exploring interesting ideas or characters. Yet, I loved A Bucket of Blood, both in its exploration of art and subcultures, and its varied cast of characters, each one well acted and deeply interesting to watch. 

A Bucket of Blood follows Walter Paisley, a waiter in a bohemian coffee shop, populated by art loving beatniks who he aspires to be accepted by. After accidentally killing his neighbour's cat, he is struck by inspiration, coating the corpse in clay, creating a masterpiece loved by all, which pushes him further down a murderous path. 

Directed by Roger Corman, this film’s success aided him in creating a so-called horror-comedy trilogy, the genre melding being the only connecting thread. Both Little Shop of Horrors and Creature From the Haunted Sea populate the other spots of this trilogy, all three films leaned into satire as their means of comedy, and had extremely low budgets. 

We start the film inside the coffee shop, one of few sets used for the film, where we are introduced to Walter, our protagonist. Played by Dick Miller, Walter is a deeply interesting character, I felt! Like Psycho the following year, we are placed in the shoes of the villain - yet, he differs from other horror villains. This character is entirely human; Walter is fragile, his murders are birthed from his fears and growing ego, rather than an innate lust for blood. Maybe this is what makes him such an easy protagonist to follow, he is a broken, sometimes verging on pathetic, man, and his aspirations are easily understood and matched by the audience's own. 

Miller plays Walter in such an engaging way, and it makes me latch onto him so much, similarly to Norman Bates who would follow in similar footsteps. Maybe it comes as a result of the amount of time we spend in his company - his desire to assimilate into the beatnik’s is something everyone can understand, this desire to feel like you belong, and to be accepted is threaded through this movie, and it makes each murder so meaningful! We watch him fly above his reach, and his eventual death is so deeply moving because he was once a character we felt for, he is someone who we saw ourselves in, and someone who merely got drunk on popularity. Ever since finishing the film, I’ve been thinking about this character, because he feels so real to me. Unlike the protagonists of the other 50s movies I have seen, he feels timeless, and someone that stands for himself, someone who doesn't fit in and that ultimately makes him all the more relatable. 

Although the beatnik culture wasn’t something I was aware of before watching the film, it is easy to understand why Walter wants to become like them so badly. The subculture predeceased the hippie movement of the 60s, they too rejected conformity and consumerism, expressing themselves through art as a medium, and living minimalist lives. This group feels so vivid in this film, and the status they have is incredibly desirable. Partly, this appears to spur from their somewhat demeaning dialogue to their waiter, viewing Walter as nothing special until he finally becomes like one of them - their rejection of conformity creates a new style of conforming, their rejection of consumerism leads them into a coffee shop daily, the film is evidently using its satirical nature to poke holes in this style of living, and showing the dangers a subculture can have, yet it never outright condemns them, showing the positive side too, and alluding to a misery associated with the capitalist majority of the world. Leonard is the boss of the establishment, and he allows the subsequent murders to continue because Walter’s sculptures are making money - his life is filled with selfishness, and it leads him into a thick spiral of fear at the mere sight of the man. That might be one of the film's greatest assets - nobody is right, and everybody is wrong; the satirical comedy never feels like it is blaming anyone, it’s never cruel or mean-spirited, but instead it seeks to illustrate the moderate hypocrisy, creating a fun time and tone. I love it a lot!

We have our first kill, albeit not human, when Walter attempts to free his neighbour's cat, accidentally stabbing it through the wall and subsequently wrapping it in clay, playing it off as a sculpture. The kills of this film work perfectly in showing where Walter’s character is at mentally, with him having a steep decline every new kill; this makes it feel perfectly natural, and allows the audience to believe how much the acceptance of his peers is fogging his head. Finally, Walter has a purpose, and yet, he doesn’t seek out more murder, he just wants to bask in the moment, hoping to become an artist. It also leads perfectly into the second kill, that of an undercover police officer who he fears might shoot him. Once again, he kills without intent, yet, it allows him to create something beautiful - already, art and death are intertwined within this film, one is immortal, and the other can be preserved. Although edited a little wonkily, the frying pan kill excellently shows that Walter is acting out of fear, which stays true throughout the film even when he attacks with purpose. 

When his boss finds out about the cat sculpture being a real cat, he plans on exposing his worker as the fraud he is, only to stop when he sees his newest piece - a human. The moment feels both horrifying and funny as a result of this film's music. The diegetic song played in the background made me giggle a lot, it’s on the nose and I liked it! Yet, the comedy of this doesn’t feel out of place - the beatnik characters are used perfectly to keep this moment grounded. In contrast, the non-diegetic score played throughout the film is amazing, it feels large and builds to great effect - I can’t express how tense it made me at times, especially during the sequence where Leonard is carelessly throwing about the cat, I knew he would find out, yet, I was terrified about the whole ordeal as a result of the film’s score, composed by Fred Katz. 

All of this film’s characters were great, but I particularly enjoyed Maxwell played by Julian Burton and Carla played by Barboura Morris. Beginning with Maxwell, the character is a perfect caricature of the beatnik subculture, his dialogue is a blend between satirical and profound, his character felt incredibly warm to me, especially after he takes an interest in Walter. His extended poetry entranced me, his politeness charmed me, and overall, his character was a delight to watch! The same can be said for Carla, who Walter falls in love with, falling into a sudden pit of depression later when she rejects his proposal. Yet, I feel she stands alone as a character too, she is assertive, sweet and also simply a joy to watch throughout! This film excels on its characters!

By the time we reach the next murder, Walter is desperate for further recognition, and the criticism that Awful Alice rains on his work and character leads him to murder her. For the 50s, this kill is very explicit, in terms of nudity at least, as we see Alice’s bare back and shoulders - how promiscuous! Her kill itself is fun, as he chokes her with a scarf, but more fun is this change in prospects, as Walter murders rather than kills. This shift is gradual, and it makes sense, and personally, I love it. 

His shift in character is perfectly matched by his costume change. To begin with, we see him in his casual work clothes, which somewhat juxtapose that of those in the coffee shop who are draped in suits and fancy clothes. Soon after his success, he begins wearing a far more offbeat outfit - a pinstripe suit, a brightly patterned tie and a beret, which fits perfectly within his new persona. This is later paired with a paper crown - feeble and flimsy, it symbolises his hand reaching higher than he deserves, he is placing himself as the ruler, while in reality, his is a fraud. 

Particularly, I was a fan of the sets for this film, which were later reused in Little Shop of Horrors due to them having such low budgets. There are around four locations we visit - Walter’s apartment, the coffee shop, the streets and the beatnik apartment. The two apartments are held in stark contrast to one another - Walters is filled with black smudges and marks, it feels gross and dirty, which is helped by how heavy these marks appear on the black and white film. This is only aided by the busy and cramped feel of it all, and the props littered around this room. Whereas, the beatnik’s apartment is lighter in colour, vacant of objects and bustling with people - the harsh shadows are still cast, but it feels more so to represent the emptiness of the location and how many people are populating it; as hard as Walter might try, he isn’t one of them. 

This brings us up to one of the darkest kills of the film, where in an act of drunken fury and fear, Walter murders a furniture maker in cold blood. Although mostly off camera, the worker is killed with a buzzsaw across his head, which later leads to the sculpture being merely a head. While all the kills in this film are fun and inventive, they are hardly shown, more so implied as a result of the strict censorship of the 50s. This never bothered me though! 

The ending of this film is dark, and follows everyone finding out what Walter has done, and so, he flees from them, hanging himself. It was inevitable for a hays code film to kill, or at least heavily punish, its villain, yet this still holds an impact that I didn’t feel in the other 50s films mentioned. It is here that the theme of art and death comes full circle, with Walter believing the only way he can preserve himself is through death, similarly to how he has been attempting to preserve those he has killed. While I enjoy this idea and theme, as well as the final speech by Maxwell, I did feel this wasn’t fully explored, likely because the film was filmed in only five days, and so some aspects weren’t fully realised. While it still feels apt, I do wish there was more of it, because it captivated me a lot, only to produce very little.

To wrap this up, A Bucket of Blood is a very fun film, and one I am glad I watched first! When I spun it on the wheel, I was unsure if it was this version, or the remake, which I also am wanting to watch at some point, but ultimately this one appeared to be a more fun time, so I eagerly await the day i watch that remake! But for now, A Bucket of Blood is a film I will think about for a while, not because it is deeply profound, but because it was so fun, I had a great time watching it, and all the characters are so easy to get stuck in your head. Now they are just statues in my mind, who from time to time I might visit to show some admiration.

9/10!

[animedegens]

In Case You Didn't Know! We Do 2 Pod Eps Weekly!

- Weekly Rundown Eps: We discuss the newest episodes of 4/5 Seasonal Anime weekly!

- Degen Eps: This is our Bullshit Hour. Anything goes. We love talking about fun topics & discussions or even Reviews/First Looks!

Linktree.com/animedegens

[alittlefrenchtree]

I'm trying to keep better track (and memories) of movie I watch and since I usually go to the theater (almost) every week, how about quick weekly reviews and/or recommendations?

Civil war: I was totally going to overlook it at first because it didn't look like a movie i wanted to watch but still gave the trailer a chance and i was yeah why not. To be honest, i think it's less a war movie and more like a survival/roadtrip story. Loved the photography and cinematography. Felt a bit depressing and without hope regarding of humankind but definitely better than i was expecting.

Money Man: quite the opposite of Civil War, I was going to go without even looking at anything because of Dev Patel and the man didn't disappoint at all. I'm not that much of an action movie person so I'm not an expert of the genre but the movie looks good to me. And there is so much about it I liked regardless of the story itself or how the fights looked. My main thought watching the movie was about how coherent it was and that's no surprising when you learn it's basically entirely Dev's movie from script to directing to main role and it really really shows. It's so easy to see that it's a whole vision from one interesting mind and so rightly brought to screen. The atmosphere is so well built you dive right in in just a few minutes.

And the main role? It's the main role of a movie with a lot of men fighting each other with fists and guns so I wasn't expecting to be mind blown by the character writing. And it obviously was less about the writing that what Dev Patel did with it. The man is so fucking talented. Everything he shows on his face and the last act of the character act and everything. So good. I really hope he will keep writing and directing for himself (and others) because I will show up to support every time.

[mrsyuoni]

I was planning to write small movie reviews here. Today's one is The Menu.

I don't know anything bad to say about this film. It's pretty cool for an evening event once. I like thrillers especially when someone stays alive at the end.

9/10

[bobmueller]

Navigating Senior Year and Day Job Adventures

Tuesday marked another “last first.” Youngest Daughter started her senior year of high school. Her CC Campus did this for this year’s seniors – all three of them. She’d originally planned to attend a local public school with a friend, but they required placement testing. The school kind of dragged its feet about a few things in the process. In all fairness, she was gone for four-plus weeks,…

[mjdrawsalot]

you ever see a film critic's backlog and want to scream

do you even like movies bruh?!?

[theversatilevogue]

Lady Gaga Teases Fans With New Music: ‘Just Me in the Studio’

In a new photo, Gaga gushed about how excited she is to release her upcoming music with fans.