We had watched a couple of really serious shows back to back so we wanted something light to watch. Troop Zero had some very watchable stars in it (Jim Gaffigan, Viola Davis, Allison Janney) and the trailer looked promising so we gave it a shot.

It was cute and somewhat silly, but honestly not very good. I'm guessing the 8-10 year old demographic would like it, though. The little girl (McKenna Grace) was the best thing in it. We turned it off before we finished it. Just too sugary.

Nearly all of Studio Ghibli’s films will be made available on Netflix (except in Japan and NA) over the next few months. Time to binge. They’ve previously been unavailable in any kind of digital form.

Finally saw parasite

Meh

I was a bit sick so I watched few movies that I haven't seen from the 2010's draft (1-10 scale, I don't watch shitty movies and the rating is subjective):

Round 1

her - All Phoenix, pretty good but I wanted a bit more from the movie 7/10
Under the Skin - Scottish accent is beautiful but it's more of a trip than movie with a plot. Nice view, nothing more 5/10
Certified Copy - The movie is beautiful and well acted. It takes too much time to unravel and sometimes feels a bit too artsy (the characters come off as cold, the dialogue too deliberate etc.) 6/10
Hell or High Water - Entertaining movie with tons of action and nice dialogue, doesn't quite get to classic level 7/10

Round 2

Dunkirk - Flag-waving with predictable set pieces where everyone plays exactly their role 3/10
Take Shelter - Maybe I can't relate to American insurance system and Mid-Western every-day life. The movie also managed to undermine itself. I was bored and underwhelmed most of the movie. 3/10
The Place Byond the Pines - This felt like a somewhat pointless 2 hour police series. Acting is great. 4/10
Restrepo - Real war, this documentary was really intriguing and gave true insight view to war in Afghanistan and how the troops operated there. 9/10
Grand Budapest Hotel - I smiled trough the whole movie. A real feelgood silly movie with excellent acting and beautiful scenery. 10/10
Arrival - I really enjoyed this one. It has the right amount of sci-fi, pseudoscience and philosophy combined into nice package 9/10
Marging call - Watching movies where Spacey plays is painful nowadays. Also the Big Short did everything so much better. When you don't feel sympathy for anyone and somewhat know how the movie ends, the movie becomes a pancake. 4/10

Round 3

Inherent Vice - Got some Chinatown vibes combined with hippies. I really enjoyed the trip but the movie didn't leave a lasting impression. 7/10
Get Out - If the movie was meant to make me feel awkward, it succeeded. As a horror movie, it failed and still managed to contain weird amount of cliches. 3/10
Headhunters - A great Norwegian action movie. At times I really didn't care too much about the main character but at least (most) of the characters were interesting and the plot a bit silly but it moved at a decent rate. 8/10
Force Majeure - A real insight about the roles that are expected of us and what we take. What happens when those roles and built identities crumble. Some the scenes were a bit drawn out. 8/10

Round 4

Safety Not Guaranteed - Nice romantic drama. It felt more down to earth and more intimate compared to many other hollywood-movies. I might have a crush on Aubrey Plaza. 7/10
Upstream Color - I had to google what movie this was again. The movie starts well but ends up a little more than collection of scenes. I understand that it's experimental but it failed to provoke anything in me. 4/10
Tangerine - A day adventure with two transvestite prostitutes. The movie was fun and a bit lighthearted. 8/10
Spring Breakers - Style over content is the name of this movie. It doesn't hide what it is or try to be anything else but a 90 minute R-rated music video. It's quite enjoyable in the right set of mind. 6/10

Round 5

Good Time - An action movie that manages to be humane where you actually care what happens to all very flawed characters. It feels raw, gritty and real. 9/10
RED- The exact opposite of Good Time and much worse movie. You can almost read the comic pages trough the movie. Nothing here stands a closer look. The main character is a kidnapper and the other is suffering Stockholm Syndrome. 3/10
The Handmaiden - Yeah, Korean soap opera with weird story telling. All the setup, story and drama felt like completely wasted. I was not really invested in any of the characters and plot was mostly comical at best, exploitation level at worst. The setting is beautiful. 4/10.
The Hunt (Jagden) - I couldn't watch this movie. I started to see where it was going and it made me really, really uncomfortable. I have no doubt that it's a great movie. Maybe I let my imagination fill the gaps :|. -/10

Round 6

Wind River - Another action movie with gritty and interesting premise. However Hollywood managed to fill in some weird cowboy bullshit throughout the movie. Like show us how though it is, don't tell with cliches. Weird Carhartt clothing sponsorship distracted me also. The movie had a lot of good, much more than my ranking indicates, but they made some really bad choices. 6/10
One Cut of the Dead - The start made me almost quit watching it. But I'm glad that I stuck with it. Without spoiling the movie was heart-warming, funny and clever. 8/10
Seven Psychopaths - The movie tries to be overly clever. The acting also sometimes leaves a bit to be desired but some of the plot twists are satisfactory. 6/10
Enter the Void - I couldn't watch it because of the constant blinking effect on camera. Shame, I like the premise. -/10
The Drop - Meeeh, I really don't like Tom Hardy. The main character is more like a block of wood with an accent. Again Hardy is playing the tough, silent guy. The movie really doesn't give much, it doesn't tell a great story and it fails to really intrigue me. 4/10

Round 7

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - I watched this movie and it was a pleasant ride. Somehow Tarantino made time fly with this movie. The acting, sets, clothing is great. It feels like the endings in Tarantino movies are the worst part. 8/10
Spiderman: Spiderverse - Another Marvel movie with typical Marvel BS. The story and character don't really have depth, the humor is basically just one-liners straight from a comic book, the art style isn't that great. I couldn't finish this one but I doubt I missed much. 2/10
Isle Of Dogs - I really wanted to like this but I wasn't fan of the animation style, the story, the jumping story telling style, the plot, characters. The music was great. Yeah, I didn't finish this and after 40 minutes of not caring I quit. 3/10

Round 8

Bridesmaids - The main character is interesting however the rest really don't get to her level. I understand it's comedy but the somewhat obvious route that the plot forces the movie feels... forced. 5/10
Snowpiercer - Tom Hardy without the accent plays the tough, silent sympathetic somewhat perfect guy. The world the movie paints is really interesting world in the middle and steal the show. Too bad the early parts and the ending is boring and our favourite quarterback Hardy really can not carry it. Extra point for the egg scene. 5/10
Train to Busan - Typical zombie movie that does its thing pretty well. It really doesn't bring in anything revolutionary and the characters are a bit cliche. It's entertaining though 6/10.
Paddington 2 - Every character in this movie has charisma. I haven't seen the first part so for the first 30-40 minutes the action feels like a typical children's movie. But the movie gains it charm later and Hugh Grant plays the best role of his life. 7/10

Round 9+

Gone Girl - A different kind of thriller. I really liked the twists of this one. I was somewhat disappointed of what screwed up the plan. Realistic? Yes. But it really didn't fit into the cold, calculative world that this movie presented. The movie is good and I don't like Ben Affleck. 7/10
Logan - I guess this is depth than can be achieved with Marvel movies. I'm not too impressed, dying seems to be deepest depth that characters can go. Ofc they are sacrificing themselves to common good then. Characters are still saying one liners and cliches while the action is decent, CGI looks already awful. Like really, really bad. 4/10
Never Let Me Go - This is like a long, decent Black Mirror episode. The world created is interesting but the characters naivety somewhat erodes the experience. I'm not expecting action but maybe a bit more rebellion. Maybe it wouldn't fit the atmosphere that the movie is trying to build. That said, it achieves telling the story but I wish it would have been a bit more dramatic and ambitious. 6/10
Bad Times at the El Royale - What to say? Another very stylistic movie with somewhat interesting characters. However all that decent build-up leads to very disappointing end-part of the movie where action and somewhat outside forces is used to solve the problem where the story lead. All that build-up for what? 6/10
The Art of Self Defense - Maybe I should watch Karate Kid completely to understand this movie. I feel the movie is insulting without being funny, without making a real point and without delivering anything substantial. 2/10.
Out of the Furnace - After the opening scene, it opened with this Pearl Jam song and I decided the movie is probably not worth it. -/10

There's certain soap opera style acting and story in Korean movies that I detest. Even this movie sometimes reminded me of slapstick comedy.

Oh one more, Shoplifters - A great movie about family and family values. 9/10

Nice work on all of these.

Yeah IF there were times that it seemed so fantastical. I think a big part for me was that I was expecting something far more sinister/supernatural.

Trailer was far better than the film in my opinion.

And...



Question

Imaginary Fiend's post above was ****ing awesome, that's the Lounge movie thread at its very best imo. Useful information, some likes and dislikes, a little explanation, succinct. Well done, you should post more often!

lol man he saw a lot of movies in a short period of time.

By the way, if you've never sen John Woo's Hard Boiled, it's available for free on Youtube - decent print, too.

Nice. I watch a tons of movies when I'm sick too. I don't agree with all your ratings, but I'm glad you posted. A few comments:

Margin Call may be better appreciated by someone who was in the USA from 2005-2010 during the horrible financial crisis that hurt millions of Americans and was caused by the characters in this film.

Enter the Void is a polarizing film, loved (me) by some and hated by others, but would be a tough watch if your not feeling well.

Good Time is a favorite of mine and better than the directors new Uncut Gems IMO

Certified Copy is one those "intellectual thoughts about love" films that the French make so well. Very good but it requires a lot of effort to grasp the dialogue and the subtleties of the acting especially using subtitles.

Dunkirk was worth watching for me for learning historical details of an important world event and for the spectacle. I dont think 1917 will be the as worthwhile to see.

I couldn't finish watching The Hunt (Jagden) for the same reasons you give even though its probably very well done.

Better stop here.

The Hunt is great. Mads got serious skills.

After The Killer, maybe the best of the Woo/Yun Fat movies. Plus origami Fu!

The Killer is also on Youtube, but without subtitles!

imaginary f(r)iend.....how long were you sick for????

nice post

Rating Spring Breakers higher than Under the Skin is a clinical symptom of insanity. Otherwise that was a really good post.

For people that poo poo Dunkirk based on too much "flag waving" do they understand it is based on a true story that had a profound impact on WWII?

I mean ofc Hollywood dramatized it but if you read about the actual event is ****ing incredible.

To me saying you think the story line is confusing or you don't like the "Nolan-ism" of the movie I can see that. But saying it was too patriotic is odd to me.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah, I don't understand calling Dunkirk, "flag-waving." I mean, it's probably the most famous English military disaster/triumph ever.

I might try watching it. I notice that when I watch Wong Kar Wai flicks I stop reading the subtitles half way through. I become too fascinated with the visuals.

The Killer is perfect for that! That's how I first watched it and loved it.

Good post, but Tom Hardy wasn't in Snowpiercer.

The best thing about DUNKIRK (for me) was using actual planes & ships in the movie old school style. In particular I thought the airplane scenes/dogfights were done well and the cockpit views seemed like what pilots would have saw back in 1940. In IMAX, it was pretty intense. I can't imagine this particular movie translating well to a small screen.

Nolan scripted scenes around actual photographs from Dunkirk. I think it was more authentic than he gets credit for. The only thing I wondered about is I would have thought things would have more chaotic on the beaches.

Yeah, but they don't have to be all "in your face" about it tho

No, but he was great in Legend. I don't know how I overlooked Legend in the 2010's draft -- probably the weird title.. I wish they had called it Kray-Kray instead.

Haha, Kray-Kray would've been an elite title!

And if you liked Legend, you'd probably like the The Take, too - little seen British miniseries he made before he became famous. Not sure how hard it is to find now, but it's worth it if you can.