Movies

Thoroughly enjoyed the heck out of Soul.

My wife an I watched The Invisible Man (2020 release) on NYE. We enjoyed it. Interesting take as it focuses on the victim instead of the invisible man. Elizabeth Moss does a great job as the protagonist. Very solid thriller. I recommend it

So… I have seen all the Harry Potter movies. Watching the last one right now.

What the yell is Voldemort’s deal? He wants to kill Harry for what reason? To take over a school? I mean this cannot be the real reason right? To rule all the people at a school?

So… I have seen all the Harry Potter movies. Watching the last one right now.

What the yell is Voldemort’s deal? He wants to kill Harry for what reason? To take over a school? I mean this cannot be the real reason right? To rule all the people at a school?

Pretty much.

If someone at the school had said, “Hey Harry, this nutty dude is trying to kill you for some reason. If you need help come see us.” the series would have been a pamphlet.

I mean, partly he wanted to kill Harry because his ultimate goal was to become immortal and (likely) wipe out muggles (normal people) in some sort of mass genocide.

Hogwarts was essentially the capital of the Wizarding world so him taking over Hogwarts would have essentially been akin to a hostile entity overhrowing the White House.

He was trying to kill Harry to gain immortality (the prophecy that neither can live while the other survives) and gain the power of the Deathly Hallows (he’d have the elder wand and the cloak of invisibility by killing Harry and probably would have been able to find the resurrection stone again if he really wanted it since Harry dropped it right outside where he went to meet Voldemort).

By killing Harry and taking Hogwarts he would have become unquestionably the most powerful wizard on earth. After that it likely would have expanded into some sort of genocide against non-magical beings (there are references in the books about how the killing of muggles basically becomes sport for the death eaters). JK Rowling has stated in interviews that she based some of his traits off of Hitler and Stalin, and the name Voldemort is very close to the German word for genocide (Volkermord). So that likely would have been his endgame had he succeeded.

We watched the first Deathly Hallows last night with my daughter. It’s such a slow moving movie.

We watched the first Deathly Hallows last night with my daughter. It’s such a slow moving movie.

It really is. Part two definitely speeds it up a bit, but patience is again needed. They are also long, of course.

Prisoner of Azkaban (#3) will always be my favorite.

they are that too. My wife and I watched them over the summer after she reread the books, but we are watching them with our daughter now that she finished the last book

Just checked. I’m at 1880 rated movies on disc for Netflix. Unfortunately they don’t cross-reference for streaming. Guessing over 2K total (unique). Joined about 10 years ago?

Just checked. I’m at 1880 rated movies on disc for Netflix. Unfortunately they don’t cross-reference for streaming. Guessing over 2K total (unique). Joined about 10 years ago?

Have you ever watched Gentleman Prefer Blondes? I rewatched that one just recently and forgot how damn funny it was. Sure it’s a little trifle of a film, Monroe’s first real starring role and she nails it. The snappy dialogue is great. Her one line, “I can be smart if I have to be, but most men don’t like it” cracks me up.

On the list.

Just checked. I’m at 1880 rated movies on disc for Netflix. Unfortunately they don’t cross-reference for streaming. Guessing over 2K total (unique). Joined about 10 years ago?

You have way more free time than anybody I’ve ever known.

I’m a bachelor introvert, who doesn’t watch many TV shows, and has a cable package that only gets CNN, those audio music channels, and some crappy channels that show reruns from the 70s/80s. *shrug* :wink:

Bill And Ted Face The Music:

Once told they’d save the universe during a time-traveling adventure, 2 would-be rockers from San Dimas, California find themselves as middle-aged dads still trying to crank out a hit song and fulfill their destiny.

Tons of plot holes due to time travel, duh. But a very fun movie. Really captures the spirit of the first one. Just sit back and enjoy it. It’s not meant to be taken seriously at ALL. The daughters were perfect in their roles, basically being mirrors of their dads. It was fun to see Keanu revert back to his goofy persona, as his career has been all serious since then. 90 minutes of fun, if you ask me.

I’ve been hesitant to see this because I thought it would ruin one of my favorite movies as a junior high schooler.

Movies I watched over the weekend on Netflix:

The Take: Idris Elba plays a CIA operative who works with a pickpocket to help uncover a terrorist plot. Honestly I thought the story idea was a good one. The execution was not good. To many coincidences and implausibilities.

Homefront: Jason Statham plays an ex DEA agent who moves into the bayou. James Franco plays a back water drug manufacturer who finds out about Statham’s DEA past and mayhem ensues. Honestly, I enjoyed this movie.

Unknown: Liam Neeson plays a Dr. who is involved in a car accident and forgets who he was. It doesn’t help that the people he thought he knew now say they don’t know him. He spends the rest of the movie trying to figure who he is with the help of Diane Kruger This was a pretty good movie too.

I found that Statham movie this weekend as well, and I too enjoyed it. I don’t recall if his was shirtless but for some reason he was awfully found of a gray ballcap throughout the movie. Every time it would get knocked off his head he made sure to pick it back up. As a fellow ballcap wearer, as in 99% of my awake time I have one on my head, I can appreciate that move.

Homefront: Jason Statham plays an ex DEA agent who moves into the bayou. James Franco plays a back water drug manufacturer who finds out about Statham’s DEA past and mayhem ensues. Honestly, I enjoyed this movie.

I stumbled on this movie a couple weeks back, there was some video on FB that had the scene in the school yard with the girl and the bully and then the ensuing parking lot between the Dads. I was intrigued and found the movie. Didn’t realize it was as old as it was and then Friday I noticed it was trending on Netflix I think. I also liked the movie.

Yes, it came out in 2013. It was written by Sylvester Stallone. Apparently the original intent was to make it part of the Rambo franchise.

I saw Unknown in theaters and really liked it.

Rebecca (1940, Netflix disc)

A self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat’s wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife’s spectral presence.

Watched the Netflix remake a while ago, not knowing it was a remake (never got into HItchcock). This was a very intricate,delicate, nuanced movie, and I dare say the remake did it justice. The style of acting did get to me at times (the “stare off into nothing while the camera is focused on you, for dramatic effect”) always bothered me. But, that’s how it was done back then.

I said it before, and I’ll say it again. About the only differences were the modern tweaks. The remake tried to keep true to the original as much as possible.

Loved both.

Anna (Netflix disc):

Beneath Anna Poliatova’s striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the world’s most feared government assassins.

Rather standard spy/action/twisty popcorn movie, told in a sort of flashback way. They show part of the story, then they go to the (x) amount of time earlier, and bring you up to speed on how it got to that moment. Helen Mirren is excellent in her role as a top KGB agent. Cillian Murphy plays the CIA counterpart, and is serviceable, but I think the role was a little beneath his talents. Sasha Luss, who plays Anna, is decent, but frankly any actress with marginal talent could have done the role.

A good weekend afternoon time-killer, but nothing better nor worse than that. I did get a chuckle reading the IMDB page stuff, and under “Body Count,” it was listed as “At least 75.”

Bee Gees documentary (HBO Max)

Very well done, I knew they weren’t ALL disco, but surprised to learn some of the all time hits they wrote. Sad to think that they are forever linked to one style of music by a majority of the people.

The other thing that I like reminding people of, is that EDM is a fancy term for techno, and techno is a direct descendant of disco. You can’t convince me that “A Fifth Of Beethoven” is NOT a techno song, in essence.

Just heading out the door to work, but a friend pinged me that Christopher Plummer has passed away.

Yep.

Just heading out the door to work, but a friend pinged me that Christopher Plummer has passed away.

So long, farewell, Alf wiedersehen, adieu. He was pure class.

I loved him in The Return of the Pink Panther.. that is one movie where I consistently burst our laughing even though I’ve seen it a hundred times.

Love Sharlto in that one. Really turns his South African accent up to 11 in it. :lol:

The Midnight Sky:

This post-apocalyptic tale follows Augustine, a lonely scientist in the Arctic, as he races to stop Sully and her fellow astronauts from returning home to a mysterious global catastrophe.

George Clooney stars as Augustine, so yeah I was gonna give this a whirl. Rather well-done drama, quite a few layers of the morals of the story and such. Probably better seen on the big screen, but, well, you know. I would definitely recommend it. The ending, while a little cliched, suits the story.

Agree with you on the hidden part of your post.

Agree with you on the hidden part of your post.

Walk outside right now even with good covering and think about how long you would last

Thinking about it more…
[hide]Did that really happen? The little girl was obviously fake, you could tell that from the start. Did he embellish a heroic vision in his mind? [/hide]

Agree with you on the hidden part of your post.

Walk outside right now even with good covering and think about how long you would last

Thinking about it more…
[hide]Did that really happen? The little girl was obviously fake, you could tell that from the start. Did he embellish a heroic vision in his mind? [/hide]

That would actually make a lot of sense now that I think about it.

Well that makes me want to rewatch but not gonna

I might give it a couple months to forget about it, and watch again. Those types of movies..,you never know.

I Care A Lot (Netflix). A woman acts as a legal guardian for unknowing seniors and bilks them of all their belongings. She pulls her scam on the wrong person and things happen.

We really liked this movie. Rosamund Pike stars with Dianne Wiest and Peter Dinklage. I highly recommend.

Let Him Go (Netflix disc):

A retired sheriff and his wife, grieving over the death of their son, set out to find their only grandson.

Kevin Costner (blech) and Diane Lane (yay) star as the grandparents. I couldn’t finish the movie. It was basically a Lifetime movie with bigger names attached to it. Cookie cutter cliches of character (sorry for the alliteration, it was not intended), tried too hard to not be saccharin which actually made it seem MORE saccharin, lots of emoting…blah. If they dialed it back a little, on well, everything, it could have been a decent movie.

I wouldn’t bother unless you’re into that sort of thing.

I Care a Lot. No idea why this seems to be the sleeper hit of late. I thought the editing was clunky, and I didn’t buy Rosamund Pike nor really even Peter Dinklage’s characters, although to their credit they both did ok with the given material. As a time killer I’ll half-heartedly recommend, but don’t bump anything down in your queue for it.

I Care A Lot (Netflix). A woman acts as a legal guardian for unknowing seniors and bilks them of all their belongings. She pulls her scam on the wrong person and things happen.

We really liked this movie. Rosamund Pike stars with Dianne Wiest and Peter Dinklage. I highly recommend.

A crooked legal guardian who drains the savings of her elderly wards meets her match when a woman she tries to swindle turns out to be more than she first appears.

Given the quoted reviews, gave it a whirl tonight on Netflix Streaming.

I thought the whole WOMAN POWER theme was a little thick. I buy Rosamund Pike’s character as a total b*tch and legal expert, but I don’t buy her as someone who knows how to commit a physical crime like Dinklage’s character does. I did like Dinklage’s character quite a bit. Not overly dramatic/theatric. He simply says what he does, and does what he says. Yes, that’s a minor spoiler.

That being said, I do agree that one shouldn’t push this to the top of their queue or anything, but I will say it’s worth a watch. The ending was satisfying for me, and given the paths of the characters, I was a little concerned that they would mess it up.

The Little Things (HBO Max):

Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing the city.

Denzel plays a grizzled veteran of (insert occupation), Leto plays the weird guy, and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) plays the newer hotshot detective. This is a mix of Training Day, Inside Man, and Se7en, frankly. Good story, lazily written. Stole too much from other movies to make it really shine. Not quite a money grab by Hollywood, but it’s darn close. The actors do very well with what was given to them, and that’s about the only reason to make it a point to watch it.

As Slap said with “I Care A Lot,” might be worth your while, but don’t move it up in your queue, although it’s my understanding, that since it’s a first run movie on Max, you do have a limited time to see it, for the time being.

Palmer (Apple TV)

Justin Timberlake plays a guy who comes back to his hometown after serving 12 years in prison. He befriends a child who lives with his drug addicted mother.

It was 100% predictable but we still enjoyed it. It was well acted and the child actor is a real charmer.

I Care a Lot. No idea why this seems to be the sleeper hit of late. I thought the editing was clunky, and I didn’t buy Rosamund Pike nor really even Peter Dinklage’s characters, although to their credit they both did ok with the given material. As a time killer I’ll half-heartedly recommend, but don’t bump anything down in your queue for it.

I Care A Lot (Netflix). A woman acts as a legal guardian for unknowing seniors and bilks them of all their belongings. She pulls her scam on the wrong person and things happen.

We really liked this movie. Rosamund Pike stars with Dianne Wiest and Peter Dinklage. I highly recommend.

A crooked legal guardian who drains the savings of her elderly wards meets her match when a woman she tries to swindle turns out to be more than she first appears.

Given the quoted reviews, gave it a whirl tonight on Netflix Streaming.

I thought the whole WOMAN POWER theme was a little thick. I buy Rosamund Pike’s character as a total b*tch and legal expert, but I don’t buy her as someone who knows how to commit a physical crime like Dinklage’s character does. I did like Dinklage’s character quite a bit. Not overly dramatic/theatric. He simply says what he does, and does what he says. Yes, that’s a minor spoiler.

That being said, I do agree that one shouldn’t push this to the top of their queue or anything, but I will say it’s worth a watch. The ending was satisfying for me, and given the paths of the characters, I was a little concerned that they would mess it up.

Watched last night and was entertaining, but seemed to start off well with a good premise, but rushed through the middle and the ending was somewhat satisfying, but the whole process of getting there was just silly.

I will agree this is solid and worth watching but there’s some very convenient happenings in the last half that you just have to go with to continue enjoying.

Sideways (Hulu). Neurotic, wine-snob writer takes his soon-to-be-married actor friend on a week long trip to wine country.

I know this was a critical darling and won a bunch of awards, but… Meh. A little on the boring side. Both the guys are unlikeable A-holes, so it was hard for me to get invested in the story.

Sideways (Hulu). Neurotic, wine-snob writer takes his soon-to-be-married actor friend on a week long trip to wine country.

I know this was a critical darling and won a bunch of awards, but… Meh. A little on the boring side. Both the guys are unlikeable A-holes, so it was hard for me to get invested in the story.

I can vouch for the fact though that the Hitching Post has excellent food and was a must stop when I travelled to Central CA for work

Coming 2 America (Amazon)

REALLY glad I did not pay any extra for this. I chuckled once (outside of the outtakes).

You are the 3rd person I’ve heard now that’s panned it.