Movie Night (Official Movie Discussion Thread)

The Astronaut




PRAISE: This was a step up from the usual I Went to Space and All I Possibly Got Was Space Dementia movies and TV shows. Kate Mara portrays Captain Sam Walker, a NASA astronaut whose first mission into space has just concluded but she splashes down with serious injuries due to a rupture in her capsule. She's placed in a very nice and remote recuperating and testing facility but of course something is way off. The movie does a lot with its 90 minute run time coupled with some very good performances are some great visuals, and some slight but effective body horror moments. There is a moment that would make David Cronenberg stand up and applaud. Enough was provided to keep me involved. The usual tropes of Hey Your Job Is Making You Neglect Your Family don't really hurt the film as the mystery of what's going on with Sam is revealed. I really enjoyed the twist it made specific things said make more sense.

PROBLEMS: About 40 minutes in i figured out partially what was going on due to some sinister situations. I actually felt the movie needed at least 15 more minutes to explain a few things. I would have even accepted a few more flashbacks.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
The Rip





PRAISE: When i watch the news and a District Attorney and their team are standing over a table from a drug bust and on that table is anywhere between one hundred to five hundred grand i wonder who was tempted to take some for themselves, slip it down their bullet proof vest or did a fake count. In this movie about a group of Miami cops discovering a stash of millions in cash, leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the seizure the temptation to take the cash is in the air and then some. The actors in the movie including: Matt Damon as Lt. Dane Dumars,Ben Affleck as Det. Sgt. JD Byrne Detectives Mike Ro portrayed by Steven Yeun, Numa Baptiste portrayed by Teyana Taylor,(Oh those glistening lips of hers) and Lolo Salazar portrayed by Catalina Sandino Moreno have to have poker faces to pull off eighty percent of what happens in the movie. I liked that the amount of money found in the film could mean certain things and how it would play out for the cops. There are so many red herrings, the question of who's playing who,and who's on the up and up paying close attention is a must. Director and writer Joe Carnahan raises the tension and suspense just right in several scenes. The twists in the screenplay are weaved into the plot as the actors work along with them so much so I didn't know who to trust. I couldn't help but think of the 2003 movie Basic especially as the movie nears its climax.

PROBLEMS: The movie becomes a bit muddled in its last act. This is the third movie I watched this week in which certain situations had to line up just right but end up being far to convenient to let the viewer go along with it.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Night Patrol 2025




Its frustrating when a movie has so many good ideas but squanders all of them mainly by wasting time on the nonsensical. The movie starts off well enough with corrupt cops....The Night Patrol commiting a sinister act. Justin Long’s officer Ethan Hawkins is new to the NP partnered with Xavier (Jermaine Fowler....the poor mans Chris Tucker) What follows is a twisty path of vampires and gangs both cops travel down. I laughed several times and there are a handful of good kills. Im guessing this was going for a parody of gang and vampire films but the humor fades as well as me being horrified. The mother of Xavier and gang member Wazi (RJ Cyler) is basically a wannabe Annie from Sinners. Mainly every scene is as silly and badly written as the last. Even loyal and consistent TUBI movie watchers will shake their heads at the bad acting and Direction. Lame X-ray scenes and morphed visuals just make the movie look more unprofessional. Actions taken by characters and the regret,mourning and remorse that follows makes no sense. Something is introduced in the movies last eight minutes and i found it to be very entertaining and if the idea was played with throughout the movie i definitely would have given it a higher rating.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 4½




Killer Whale





The ultra cheesy moments and unintentional laughs that this flick jams into its first eight minutes was incredible to watch. The story is about Trish taking her friend Maddie to Thailand to party so she can get over a traumatic event.But they happen upon a killer whale the disrupts their plans. The actress who portrays Trish loves her alcohol so ok I get the slurred speech thing but she mumbles her lines so much closed captions were a must. The green screen is horrible throughout the movie. The movie wants to be 2016's The Shallows but doesn't come close. Another hilarious moment is when the Killer Whale switches up and I said i guess he prefers blondes. I wondered about it and thought is this flick going to go for an ultra dark twist and when it happened all I could do was laugh. The kills are laughable.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 3
 
The Astronaut




PRAISE: This was a step up from the usual I Went to Space and All I Possibly Got Was Space Dementia movies and TV shows. Kate Mara portrays Captain Sam Walker, a NASA astronaut whose first mission into space has just concluded but she splashes down with serious injuries due to a rupture in her capsule. She's placed in a very nice and remote recuperating and testing facility but of course something is way off. The movie does a lot with its 90 minute run time coupled with some very good performances are some great visuals, and some slight but effective body horror moments. There is a moment that would make David Cronenberg stand up and applaud. Enough was provided to keep me involved. The usual tropes of Hey Your Job Is Making You Neglect Your Family don't really hurt the film as the mystery of what's going on with Sam is revealed. I really enjoyed the twist it made specific things said make more sense.

PROBLEMS: About 40 minutes in i figured out partially what was going on due to some sinister situations. I actually felt the movie needed at least 15 more minutes to explain a few things. I would have even accepted a few more flashbacks.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½

Just finished lol. Get this shit tf out my face man.
 
Mercy




PRAISE: Playing with the coldness of AI this movie about Mercy Court using AI judges to put defendants on trial for violent crimes the defendant is LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) who is accused of murdering his wife and he has ninety minutes to prove his innocence. I liked when the movie actually raised a lot of questions in my mind about this new justice system which is basically judge,jury and executioner. With a system like that could it catch people off guard before they could come up with alibis or go on the run? Will a person easily be railroaded to a death sentence because of a glitch in the A.I ? This plays out in the film in ways that were amusing and questionable. I was entertained when Chris discovered things about his family. A couple of action sequences were impressive. A couple of scenes stood out and i bet they would have looked even better in IMAX.

PROBLEMS : The way the AI judge portrayed by Rebecca Ferguson cant make up its mind if it wants to be smug,dismissive or helpful and sometimes all three at a time was unintentionally funny. There's no real suspense even though the movie throws in a red herring its very predictable.There's an off and on blandness in Pratt's performance. In fact there is a scene in which there is an extreme close up of his face and i thought it was an AI image.The climax of the film doesn't make any sense because of what's introduced in the movies first hour. Once again it attempted to be suspenseful but it only made me blurt out i knew it a couple of times.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 5½
 
@Infamous114 did you start the bond collection? I got to Thundball but then jumped all the way to Goldeneye because Pierce Brosnan was my favorite bond lol

I may double back and try and finish
 
Rental Family



PRAISE: With stories like the one presented in this movie i immediately ask OK how is this going to work? The movie is about an American actor based in Japan who begins working for a rental family agency, where he plays roles in the lives of strangers. Brendan Fraser does a great job as Phillip Vandarpleog the American actor. I immediately related to his reluctance on taking on these various roles in people's lives. Sure some of the roles were simple at first but i actually would have been more reluctant than him. When connections are made i felt the emotional ties Phillip makes played out realistically. The supporting cast including Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto ,Shannon Mahina Gorman ,Akira Emoto and Paolo Andrea Di Pietro also turn in good performances especially when it gets to the raw emotion and realizations the characters make especially when it came to a twist i didn't see coming. Loneliness and having a disconnect from people was a theme in the film that was really involving. The movie has some amazing cinematography.

PROBLEMS: I had a problem with a few characters being upset over how things played out as per their requests. The tasks that were particularly set up for Phillip were unavoidably emotionally connective ones. How can you become a part of someone's life and think oh I just have to be there for this occasion and nothing will happen? I think in that is where the movie sets itself up to be predictable especially for the exsposure Phillip has.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Watching mission impossible marathon on showtime. Mission impossible 3 was peak action cinema. Had to cut that off and fire it back up in 4k. They did their big one with that shit. Top 10 opening movie scene ever. Might make it a tom cruise and chill day.

Imma cry when tom cruise dies fr.

I know @chatNGA feels me.
 
Watching mission impossible marathon on showtime. Mission impossible 3 was peak action cinema. Had to cut that off and fire it back up in 4k. They did their big one with that shit. Top 10 opening movie scene ever. Might make it a tom cruise and chill day.

Imma cry when tom cruise dies fr.

I know @chatNGA feels me.
Yeah man I love that white boy

He’s the man yo

Even in that wack movie where he was a nazi lol
 
Rogue one hits different after watching andor. Was always fire to me but it gives it a little more tension, feeling and meaning.
 
Send Help



PRAISE: A spoonful of Misery and a dash of Horrible Bosses are the ingredients that make Send Help. Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle Dylan O’Brien as Bradley Preston are perfect together in this movie. From their facial expressions to their responses it was very easy to watch these two go through the paces on a remote island together. Oh how will things play out with a bad boss and a passed over employee? The answer provided is Director Sam Raimi providing his signature style of passage of time sequences and gorefest action sequences, coupled with the twisty writing of Writers Damian Shannon and
Mark Swift. There are some great body horror moments that definitely got a response from fellow theater goers. Even the 3D was put to good use in several sequences. It was great to sit there and recall movies like The Edge along with a good and funny nod to Castaway. I loved that a hint of sinister was always present.

PROBLEMS: Sure Bradley is a smug and then some character and deserves some comeuppance and years of underappreciation can pick away at someone's mind like Linda's but it was hard for me to buy into a couple of over the top moments. There are a couple of predictable turns.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8½
 
The Wrecking Crew





PRAISE: There is a triangle of estrangement when it comes to brothers Dave Bautista as rock-solid family man, James Hale, a former Navy SEAL turned drill instructor and Jason Momoa as the loose cannon cop and their father Walter. But the brothers must get past all of the familial obstacles of the past to find their fathers killer. This is a great action romp. With all of the fun that's being had by the cast including Roimata Fox, Morena Baccarin,Stephen Root,Claes Bang and last and nowhere near the least my wife in another life Frankie Adams I could easily look past some basic buddy cop cliches in the screenplay by Jonathan Tropper.Director Ángel Manuel Soto wisely keeps things moving and directs the hell out of some hand to hand fights and one of the greatest action sequences I've ever seen in a movie. Also where did they find that great sword featured in one of the fights. Momoa and Bautista get along just fine as they work out some past angst and deliver on the action.

PROBLEMS: There is an ultra predictable turn in the movie. The green screen was a bit off in an action sequence.

Scale of 1 to 10 an 8½


Johnny Be Good




This is one of those late 1980's teen comedies i never watched until a couple of days ago. What i do remember is how heavily promoted it was in magazines with multiple posters and ads. The marketing team heavily promoted that Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon was going to be in the movie. It's about Johnny Walker, a student at Ashcroft High School, is the top high school quarterback prospect in the nation, and is being heavily recruited by many schools. Some parts of the movie are very clunky but some parts are extremely funny.especially a scene that includes Anthony Michael Hall ,Robert Downey Jr., Paul Gleason, Jennifer Tilly,an elephant , a lot of pizza and a host of other people. If you need some laughs in your life this is for you.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
 
Dracula




PRAISE : Even though following the same outline of the story of Dracula Director and writer Luc Besson attempts to include certain new twists and paths with this movie. Part parody, and bloody story of eternal love i respect the seven production studios and Besson that invested in the high production value of the movie. There are impressive visuals that are as striking as the violence. I appreciated some stand out scenes with impressive armor and costumes. For a time i felt the passion between Dracula Caleb Landry Jones as Vlad / Dracula Zoë Bleu Sidel as Elisabeta / Mina.Matilda De Angelis as Maria Ewens was fun to watch as she runs around with abandon with slips to sinister.

PROBLEMS: Christoph Waltz as Priest gives one of the most casual performances I've ever seen. No power behind any of the dialogue he's given.A lot is overdone with making some scenes look like a Broadway show to a cartoon. In fact a couple of characters actually made me think of minions from various Disney cartoons. Ultimately its the consistent shifts in tone that made it hard for me to pay attention at times and just impatiently wait for the movie to end.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6
 
The Dutchman




PRAISE: Clay is going through it in life and its written all over his as he sits through couples therapy with his wife Kaya. I was on the same page with Clay because being cheated on in a long term relationship can throw anyone for a loop. When temptation to get some kind of sexual pleasure as revenge is dangled right in front of you for Clay its a temptress named Lula why not go for it.Andre Holland as Clay and Kate Mara as Lula turn in excellent performances. This 2026 version of the 1966 film goes for more of a Twighlight Zone vibe and I didn't mind it at all as I wondered what kind of trouble had Clay actually gotten himself into. The biblical reference about temptation also boldly stood out. Even when the film goes to race relations i was on board for some of it especially when the film nods to how most injustices racial or other are resolved in modern times,and look at all of the good things that came from being oppressed falls right under the lame,oblivious and horrible thinking that slavery was a choice.

PROBLEMS : Reading about the 1966 film it definitely sounds more interesting than this 2026 version. The themes in that version sound 100 times more relevant than this modern version especially in its time period. If this movie was structured differently i would have been drawn in further with its discussion of race but this film chooses to wait for such discussions and focuses on the unnecessary. If the film had added some obliviousness to Clay the story would have worked better for me.The race relations discussions between Clay and Lula are far to short and more like put downs instead of trying to prove points. Likely why the 1966 version is better.

Scale of 1 to 10 a 6½
 
SHELTER



This movie starts with an independent film vibe with a quiet coastal setting but it's a
Jason Statham movie and he portrays Michael Mason and of course he has secrets that lead to him being on the run and along for the ride the suddenly under his care Jessie (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) The action and hand to hand fight sequences were great and there are actually some pretty good dramatic moments between Statham and Breathnach,but the outline of the film is very basic with corrupt MI6 agents and those that just follow along without questioning anything and i did laugh at the surveillance program taken straight from The Dark Knight.


Scale of 1 to 10 a 7
 
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