Midweek Movie Free Talk

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Bigger list than usual. Part of that is me missing last week's thread, and part is because our family got together for late Easter and watched some movies together. So some of them wouldn't be my normal picks, and my score is more about how much I enjoyed watching them more so than an objective rating of the movie. But with that being said, does anybody want to talk about:

Fight Club (1999): ★☆☆ (rewatch)

I enjoyed this less on a rewatch. Knowing the secrets changes the vibe of the whole movie and it just didn't sit right with me.

To Catch A Thief (1955): ★★☆

Jesus Revolution (2023): ★★☆

Field of Dreams (1989): ★★★ (rewatch)

Jack Jack Attack (short) (2005): ★★★ (rewatch)

We also watched the director's commentary for this. They talked about how this was rewritten so that all of Jack Jack's stunts were things real kids couldn't imitate by themselves.

Flow (2024): ★★★ (rewatch)

My parents talked less than usual during this movie; they were locked in. Surprisingly, their cat didn't react at all to any of the animal noises.

That Thing You Do (1996): ★★☆

The Silence of the Lambs (1990): ★★★ (rewatch)

Chicago (2002): ★☆☆

For a best picture winner, I was disappointed. It was more sleaze than style, which is doubly bad since it was made by Miramax. And then the plot was simple and had no real surprises.

I really have been terrible with my movie watching lately.

Mortal Kombat 2

I don't remember much of the first Mortal Kombat. Came out in 2021 during WarnerBros Project Popcorn, back when they were owned by AT&T and were releasing movies day and date on HBOMAX. I was super drunk when I watched it and I just saw on Letterboxd i rated it a 1/5. This isn't good either. It all looks cheap, and I want to say it's intentional. But I think if it was more intentional they would have gone full Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror. But it's a weird middle ground.

The story is hard to follow since it assumes you know who's who and what characters names are. It is made for the fans, almost purely. I was also reminded that the first film had a cast with people who mostly can't act. The exception in the first film is Kano, who is played by a guy I like who was once nominated for Best Short Film at the Oscar's. And another exception in this one is Karl Urban. Who makes the film watchable single-handedly.

I think the last 30 minutes or so really help elevate the rest of the film into almost decent.

Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard or Soft

I don't really watch a lot of concert films but I love Eilish's music. This is one of the best shot concert films probably ever. It helps that it was directed by James Cameron. The 3D element really does add to the film, it's immersive, and it's good 3D since it's Cameron.

I will say the part I have always struggled with Eilish is that I find her kind of annoying. Every interview I've seen from her, the first documentary made about her, I've tried liking her. But she is frequently unlikable, self-important, and inarticulate. I think Cameron does a good job of softening that and not really having a lot of the interview moments (subsequently Cameron is not a good interviewer). I do wish that it was just the concert experience as opposed to having the interview moments and having Eilish talk about her impact or whatever.

I also think it's interesting to see her without Finneas, since let's be frank, he's the brains behind the operation, so in interviews Finneas did a lot of the heavy lifting in regards to conversations of the art. And now Eilish is kind of having to do that on her own.

The Sheep Detectives

This was getting astroturfed on Reddit. Lots of talk about how great the reviews are and how it's a crowd-pleaser, and a wonderful surprise.

It's fine. I think it's on par with The Thursday Murder Club which came out on Netflix late last year. It's a similar comedic murder mystery with quirky detectives. Old people in Thursday Murder Club and Sheep in this one. It feels like it's made for streaming. But it's charming enough that it's worth a watch especially if you have kids.