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Midweek Movie Free Talk
Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
I saw Disclosure Day on Monday. A few non-spoiler thoughts:
Has a major Spielbergian vibe right off the bat, which was equal parts comforting and dated.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie and appreciated the concept, especially as it pertains to the aliens.
I wasn't a huge fan of his character, but I love me some Wyatt Russell. Definitely a top-12 nepo baby in my book. Someone please make a movie starring Wyatt Russell and Jack Quaid. Hell, throw in both sets of parents while we're at it.
Hated the final act. I'm usually good at turning my brain off and going along for the ride the first time I watch a movie, but there were parts of it that pulled me out. Still worth seeing though.
I'll always favor the theater over watching at home, but this isn't one of those movies where you absolutely have to see it on the big screen.
Funnily enough, I came away from the movie with kind of the opposite take ha. For much of the first act (two even) it felt more like Spielberg directing in 'Russo Bros. Studio-Approved Mode' rather than a proper 'Spielberg Movie.' I felt it would have been more engrossing from the get-go if it had of kicked off with a bit of pure mystery, similar to Close Encounters... opening, rather than an
spoiler
Abrams-esque 'ooh, shiny McGuffin' thing.I still enjoyed it overall, there were a couple of strong scenes with some proper tension, like
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the train scene and 'possessed girlfriend with a knife' chase,spoiler
invisible fire truck escape.What I liked most was actually
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the final act's disclosure scene. Not gonna lie, I got a few shivers during that one, but I agree that it was so stupid how we got there - the antagonists just giving up and fucking off rather than being properly beaten was pretty damn lazy.Totally agree on Wyatt Russell though, that dude is always great. I'd say it's worth seeing in theatres, but it was shot in 35mm so, yeah, no need for IMAX or anything.
Toy Story 5
inb4 tHeY sHouLd hAvE enDed iT wItH 3
I liked Toy Story 4 when it came out. It was so gorgeous, it still is. I think it’s a dramatic jump forward for Pixar visually, and I’ve been disappointed since that Pixar hasn’t had the level of effort that film had in its visuals. It’s so cinematic and rich. These films are being made anyway, the constant complaints I’ve been hearing for ten years about how the third one was the perfect ending, it’s all bleh to me. Like at least they try to do something interesting with these sequels.
Toy Story 4 worked as an epilogue for Woody, Lasseter had originally conceived the film to be a love letter to his wife (who he had been cheating on for decades as we learned but their still together so good for them). And I think it works as a piece of entertainment.
I was impressed with how big this one felt. It felt like Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) came in and went “we’re making this film be about something.” It’s really the first in the franchise to have some social commentary on the modern world. I feel like the first four always dealt with a universal idea, growing up, etc etc. But this is finally commenting on technology and the internet, and how these things that were meant to bring us together (like social media) have actually made us more isolated from each other. And it’s contributed to the rise of depression and anxiety especially in children. As someone that was a child and teenager when the internet became commonplace, this was the first time something this big decided to comment on it.
I remember when it was announced this would be dealing with tablets and whatnot, people groaned. I don’t know why, why would you want these films to continually ignore all of that? It’s a perfect vehicle to comment on it.
I loved this. I think it’s better than the massively overhyped Toy Story 3. I’m a similar age now to what I think a lot of people were when Toy Story 3 came out. So maybe that helped with how emotional I found this. But, I really think it’s because the characters here are actually dealing with grown up emotions, as opposed to just the idea of growing up. Speaking of which, a lot of adult jokes, there’s even a joke that I think is like an active sex joke (maybe I’m reading too much into that).
It was a brilliant idea to make Jessie the main character. Woody and Buzz are sidelined to supporting characters here, which is great cause we’ve had four movies of them being the leads.
There’s not a lot of movies that come to the top of my head when it comes to films that deal with this subject matter. Her and The Beast are the only ones, and I think this is much better than The Beast and has more interesting commentary. And I would place it alongside Her, honestly.
I did not expect this to be one of my favorite films I’ve seen this year walking in. But alas.
The Death of Robin Hood
I didn’t care for Pig all that much, and I think A Quiet Place: Day One was a step down for that franchise.
Sarnoski is just not a filmmaker I’m on board with thus far. This is basically Pig but if it was Robin Hood instead of Nicolas Cage. This is his best film though I would say, despite reception being more mixed than Pig. It’s finally technically good. I think Sarnoski was always on the edge of being technically good, like his movies were almost pretty to look at but not really. And this one is like, oh finally it’s a good looking movie. Really beautiful landscapes, I can’t wait to watch Cinematography reels of it once it hits VOD.
The context here I think works better than in Pig to deliver philosophical musings. But it is frankly similar in structure to Pig. Like beat for beat.
I saw Z [1969]. It is in the genre of political thriller and was a French co-production. Whilst technically fictional, it is heavily inspired by real life events that happened in Greece at that time [death of a democratic politician under the military junta that Greece was being stifled under].
The film is ~2 hrs long but never lets down [though most of us would need English subtitles to see it]. The letter Z is inspired from real world situations where in Greece, it means he lives [as in the dead politician/icon lives]. Easily one of the finest films I have seen in recent times.
The Blue Dahlia : A 1946 film noir that has doesn't have the most veritable plot but the action and direction makes it so that it's decent enough and does not let down. It's no 'Third Man' [1949] but if someone likes the genre/timeline, they won't be disappointed.
It's been a while, so I realize that I have an obnoxiously long list. But does anyone want to talk about any of the following?
Long list
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005): ★☆☆
I've really struck out on comedies lately.
Pressure (2026): ★★☆
Spider Man Homecoming (2017): ★☆☆
Even the abbreviation for this movie is "SMH". /s
Seriously though, it wasn't terrible, and I'm torn between one and two stars. I'm leaning more toward one just because this is a part of my Marvel catch-up, so there's an opportunity cost of watching something else.
Toy Story 4 (2019): ★★☆
The General (1926): ★★☆
Three Ages (1923): ★★★
Vertigo (1958): ★☆☆
Darkest Hour (2017): ★★☆
The Hunt For Red October (1990): ★★★
Drive Away Dolls (2024): ★☆☆
I was looking for something short, and this was less than an hour and a half. Bad decision.
Obsession (2025): ★☆☆
KPop Demon Hunters (2025): ★★☆
Ponyo (2008): ★★★
I love 40 year old virgin because of how relatable it was to me even though I lost my virginity at 24. I suppose you don’t like Judd Apatow though.
Why didn’t you like Obsession?
I don't tend to like horror movies in general, but gave Obsession a shot.
Spoilers
It falls into the trap of making the antagonist too unpredictable/crazy. There's a difference between a thriller where you're wondering what will happen next and a movie where you stop caring because they may as well be rolling dice. And then when they do want to foreshadow something, they have to hit you over the head with it so that you don't dismiss a hint as just the character being eccentric. And a crazy character doesn't really develop after they turn crazy; they stay crazy instead of having an arc.
I felt like a couple of the jump scares interrupted actually interesting scenes. Especially the one at night in the car; it felt like a rug pull of something that could have been an actual plot development. It makes me think about the Hitchcock quote about a bomb under the table. If you show the audience the threat at the beginning, you get five minutes of thrill instead of three seconds of shock.
The humor didn't land for me either, e.g. the billion dollars and Nikki's embarrassing monologue at the party.
And then it generally has a downer ending. I know that they're more common in horror movies, but it still usually isn't to my taste.
I agree with your ranking of 40 Year Old Virgin. I'm not a fan, of the movie or the main actor in general.
Been a long time since I watched The General, but I was impressed by Keaton, and felt this was a classic silent film. I've never seen 3 Ages. I should look it up.
Your ranking of Vertigo is interesting. It's not my favorite Hitchcock film, not even close, and not a favorite performance from the usually outstanding Stewart, but many consider this film one of Hitchcock's best.
I do not share your opinion of The Hunt for Red October. A pedestrian effort, mostly phoned in by Connery.
As for newer movies, I haven't found many I've wanted to watch. Pressure was ok, a half-step up from mediocre. I could barely make it through Kpop Demon Hunters last year, and Project Hail Mary was terribly disappointing.
I liked Steve Carrell in The Office, but not this movie for whatever reason.
The General has a couple of his famous stunts. It's also interesting to think about how it's loosely based on a real story that would have still been just barely in living memory at the time it was made. I only had Three Ages because it was a 2-pack with The General from Kino Lorber, but I'm glad it was.
I watched Vertigo with my parents, and all three of us ended with a feeling of "huh?" It would take spoilers to go into detail, but I was disappointed because of the film's reputation.
I also watched Red October with my parents. It's my dad's favorite movie ever, so part of my high score is probably the experience of watching it with him. He likes thrillers with a slow burn and not a ton of action. I didn't notice any issues with Sean Connery's performance, but I'm no acting expert either. What issues did you have with it?
Neither of Pressure nor KPop are amazing, but it sounds like I enjoyed them at least a bit more than you. I was mostly interested in KPop after its Oscar wins and probably wouldn't have watched it otherwise.
If I had to do a quick top 5 of this year so far now that we’re half way through:
I might have to rewatch Obsession because I ultimately gave it a 3/5 so rewatching it might bump it up. But having two Charli XCX projects on my list is pretty funny.
For no reason in particular, the past two weeks turned out to be very productive in my movie watching. Caught a couple in cinema (gotta love those Monday saver deals) with the rest viewed comfortably at home. Here's the rundown, with some arbitrary scores for funsies.
The Brutalist (2024), 4/5
Really engrossing tale about the immigrant experience in post-WWII America. Adrian Brody gives one hell of a performance, along with possible career-bests from Pearce and Jones. Also, serious props have to go the Corbet's direction and Jancsó's editing for the snappy pacing, I think it only ever dipped once over the 3.5 hour runtime.
Obsession (2025), 3/5
It's a standard 'cursed monkey paw' setup but executed very well. It all hinges on two things: 1) Inde Navarrette's excellent lead performance; 2) Curry Barker's deft handling of humour and tension. What worked best for me was the dark humour, of which there are many hilarious moments, and the creepier scenes where the editing really shines. Ironically, it was the straight up gory 'shock scenes' that I felt suffered from some lazy writing and were either telegraphed a mile off or just randomly shoehorned in.
Babylon (2022), 3.5/5
Basically Chazelle's Boogie Nights, with a bit of Wolf of Wall Street style OTT thrown in. Maybe a half hour or so too long, though that's mostly in the tail and I would hardly touch the first ~90 mins. You could say it's a tad overindulgent but Chazelle cutting loose can be a ton of fun, and you still have some really poignant scenes peppered in there.
A Minecraft Movie (2025), 2.5/5
This is currently my kid's favourite movie so this is probably the third or fourth time I've seen it now. A lot of it actually works for me, some good gags and setups, and Jason Momoa is out there 100% embracing the silliness. Mandatory extra half point for Matt Berry.
Mortal Kombat II (2026), 2.5/5
Doesn't top the original, but does improve on the very solid reboot. Karl Urban is a big reason for that, and I was delighted to see Josh Lawson back for another hilarious turn as Kano.
Disclosure Day (2026), 2.5/5
If Spielberg is doing a movie about aliens, I'm there, no questions asked. Overall, it bears the greatest resemblance to Close Encounters... with an extra splash of his early 2000's chase movies. There are some good action set pieces, and, if you can suspend your disbelief enough, some of that signature Speilberg magic does show up in the ending. Still, nowhere as engrossing as his best work unfortunately.
Boogie Nights (1997), 5/5
So glad to finally catch this on the big screen for the 4K re-release. One of the funniest, saddest, and sweetest tales of found family ever made. Incredible ensemble casting, stylish direction, a jukebox soundtrack, and nerve-wracking moments of tension all roll together so beautifully throughout.
I watched two movies this week: The Furious (2025) and Backrooms (2026).
The Furious (2025) - 7.5/10
This is a solid action movie! I went into it knowing nothing but I always enjoy these types of movies so I expected to enjoy it and I did. My criticisms are mainly the plot being a bit weak and predictable, and the dialogue being really basic sometimes, but these two things are not the point of the movie. The fight choreography is the main and perhaps only reason to watch the film. Every fighter's movements and style feel distinct, and the filmmakers clearly put most of their effort into making the combat as good as possible. Definitely recommend watching it.
Backrooms (2026) - 6.5/10
I had high hopes for this movie but wasn't the biggest fan of it. It had some interesting visuals, decent sound, but I found the movie overall to just be meh. The movie really grabbed my attention with the opening scene. It kept my attention as the mystery and intrigue continued to build. Once it got to the third act though things start to decline rapidly and then the movie just sort of ends. It feels like there was so much cut or rewritten out of the movie to the detriment of the story.
I rewatched Showgirls and I think unironically that is a little masterpiece of satire. With Verhoeven's Starship Troopers the general consensus seems to be that behind the seemingly glorification of fascism, there is a sharp satire of the media on war mongering. The same conclusion hasn't quite reached Showgirls yet, where it often either labelled as just stereotypical bad or "so bad it is good" kind of thing. It may be a stretch to call Showgirls a feminist movie, but it is in my opinion a very clear critical satire of the misogyny of Hollywood and hypocrisy of the sex industry. First of all, for all its nudity it is strangely unerotic. Compared to something like Striptease with Demi Moore, there isn't really much "male gaze" with how Elizabeth Berkley is filmed. That she got two razzies for this role is totally undeserved. She threw herself in that role with all she got and for the kind of character she plays, she delivers.