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Rate the last movie you watched
- Thread starter Galan
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For some reason watched 3 music biopics in a row
Bohemian Rhapsody 4/10
A series of fast-forwarded events with zero tension or insight into the band members as people or how they went to being one of the biggest bands in history. Really disappointing. Constant use of their songs as points of excitement that don't land because within the context of the movie, we are not built to be invested in their creation.
Maestro 3/10
Similar issue to the above but it pissed me off more because BR at least tried to showcase a lot of the history, in a pretty terrible way. Maestro took an extremely famous gay composer, one who lived an extremely interesting life pursuing many forms of music and activism, and focused on none of it. We are repeatedly told about who he is as a person and things going on his life after the fact by other characters, while the actual screentime is focused on meandering dialogue that reveals nothing to us that is meaningful or transcendent. It also feels like it uses the queerness of the man as a costume, something to show off for feigned progressivism while not doing anything truly groundbreaking or daring with it beyond "he cheated on his wife a lot". This was one of the biggest composers on earth who struggled with his identity that clashed with a family he loved, and we get no meaningful and resonant storytelling out of that at all. An extremely disingenuous and hollow movie.
Elvis 8.5/10
Can't believe I liked this as much as I did, as I immediately wrote it off when it came out and was certain it would be forgettable at best. Even more shocking, because I had found this director's Great Gatsby to be one of the worst movies I'd ever seen to this point, and stylistically Elvis isn't that different from Gatsby, if anything Luhrman doubles down on his kind of maximalist early 2000s tendencies. It's hard to understand why the movie works so well, but I think examining it vs the two above helps. Where Bohemian Rhapsody failed to make me interested in the histories behind songs I already liked which should have been an easy sell, Elvis spends a great deal of time weaving the turmoil of Presley's life into how and why he composed certain specific songs. The performances aren't thrown in as beats between scenes that are ultimately inconsequential, they are the points of tension and excitement you should be getting in a movie anyways.
It does a great job showcasing the influences Elvis took from various black southern musicians of the time, and Tom Hanks' portrayal as he Colonel wins me over for how bizarre it is. He feels like a character from a different genre of movie entirely, and that clash makes the movie work more in my eyes. Also, the movie very bizarrely drops a lot of original Captain Marvel (Shazam) references, something that I really enjoyed because of how unexpected but faithful it was. This won an award for the editing, and it feels deserved. There's a constant barrage of different tricks and transitions that have largely phased out of modern day filmmaking, and it's a joy to see someone lean into it rather than be ashamed of it in any way. My only true complaint is you really can't tell Elvis' story without acknowledging the pretty blatant immorality him dating and marrying a teenager, something the movie brings up but in a vague enough way that it isn't as unsettling as it should be to the audience. Will have to watch the Priscilla Presley movie a some point to see how it handles that pretty troubling subject matter.
Bohemian Rhapsody 4/10
A series of fast-forwarded events with zero tension or insight into the band members as people or how they went to being one of the biggest bands in history. Really disappointing. Constant use of their songs as points of excitement that don't land because within the context of the movie, we are not built to be invested in their creation.
Maestro 3/10
Similar issue to the above but it pissed me off more because BR at least tried to showcase a lot of the history, in a pretty terrible way. Maestro took an extremely famous gay composer, one who lived an extremely interesting life pursuing many forms of music and activism, and focused on none of it. We are repeatedly told about who he is as a person and things going on his life after the fact by other characters, while the actual screentime is focused on meandering dialogue that reveals nothing to us that is meaningful or transcendent. It also feels like it uses the queerness of the man as a costume, something to show off for feigned progressivism while not doing anything truly groundbreaking or daring with it beyond "he cheated on his wife a lot". This was one of the biggest composers on earth who struggled with his identity that clashed with a family he loved, and we get no meaningful and resonant storytelling out of that at all. An extremely disingenuous and hollow movie.
Elvis 8.5/10
Can't believe I liked this as much as I did, as I immediately wrote it off when it came out and was certain it would be forgettable at best. Even more shocking, because I had found this director's Great Gatsby to be one of the worst movies I'd ever seen to this point, and stylistically Elvis isn't that different from Gatsby, if anything Luhrman doubles down on his kind of maximalist early 2000s tendencies. It's hard to understand why the movie works so well, but I think examining it vs the two above helps. Where Bohemian Rhapsody failed to make me interested in the histories behind songs I already liked which should have been an easy sell, Elvis spends a great deal of time weaving the turmoil of Presley's life into how and why he composed certain specific songs. The performances aren't thrown in as beats between scenes that are ultimately inconsequential, they are the points of tension and excitement you should be getting in a movie anyways.
It does a great job showcasing the influences Elvis took from various black southern musicians of the time, and Tom Hanks' portrayal as he Colonel wins me over for how bizarre it is. He feels like a character from a different genre of movie entirely, and that clash makes the movie work more in my eyes. Also, the movie very bizarrely drops a lot of original Captain Marvel (Shazam) references, something that I really enjoyed because of how unexpected but faithful it was. This won an award for the editing, and it feels deserved. There's a constant barrage of different tricks and transitions that have largely phased out of modern day filmmaking, and it's a joy to see someone lean into it rather than be ashamed of it in any way. My only true complaint is you really can't tell Elvis' story without acknowledging the pretty blatant immorality him dating and marrying a teenager, something the movie brings up but in a vague enough way that it isn't as unsettling as it should be to the audience. Will have to watch the Priscilla Presley movie a some point to see how it handles that pretty troubling subject matter.
Priscilla (2023) 7/10
Great companion piece to Elvis, showcases a lot of the darker aspects of their relationship. Extremely jarring to watch back to back due to the frenetic energy of Elvis and how deliberately quiet and still Priscilla was. Only really wish it was longer (spoiler: movie ends after their divorce, I was thinking it would follow through until his death as Luhrman's movie still dabbled in that a bit) and the ending felt like it didn't have as much punch as it should have, though it does end on what should be a more positive note for her. Funny I never had any knowledge of Elvis or anything surrounding him prior to watching either of these, and wound up viewing both movies in a far more positive light than a biopic about a musician I already had a bias towards (Queen)
Great companion piece to Elvis, showcases a lot of the darker aspects of their relationship. Extremely jarring to watch back to back due to the frenetic energy of Elvis and how deliberately quiet and still Priscilla was. Only really wish it was longer (spoiler: movie ends after their divorce, I was thinking it would follow through until his death as Luhrman's movie still dabbled in that a bit) and the ending felt like it didn't have as much punch as it should have, though it does end on what should be a more positive note for her. Funny I never had any knowledge of Elvis or anything surrounding him prior to watching either of these, and wound up viewing both movies in a far more positive light than a biopic about a musician I already had a bias towards (Queen)
Maze Runner Trilogy:
The Maze Runner (2014): 9/10
Decent story plot and cast and the protagonist's counterpart in the movie reminds me of Kristen Stewart (the very same). It was a bit confusing to follow along in the beginning of the film, but as it progressed, I understood a bit more of what was happening. The main protagonists kinda just yolos for whatever reason even before coming up with a plan. Then again, what protagonist ever sits down to plan a dumb yet successful mission out before realizing they are probably going to land in some shitstorm of trouble that they will get out of due to pure luck.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015): 8/10
Picking up from the previous movie, this one felt a little dragged on, especially with the love triangle going about. I love that Giancarlo Esposito was casted into the latter half of the trilogy because he folds in so smoothly in the existing storyline. He also gave that similar vibe in performance like he did in Far Cry 6, minus the dictatorship stint ofc lol.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018): 7/10
Now this one got a bit dull and predictable near the end and I was hoping for a better final villain vs hero brawl, but it was pretty much all cheese, especially at the end of the brawl lol. The ending was okay, a bit lacking, but I expected a bit more, and maybe skip ahead in time to where the main protagonist has kids and whatnot, then, creep up with a prequel teaser at the end of the credits, but nope lololol.
The Maze Runner (2014): 9/10
Decent story plot and cast and the protagonist's counterpart in the movie reminds me of Kristen Stewart (the very same). It was a bit confusing to follow along in the beginning of the film, but as it progressed, I understood a bit more of what was happening. The main protagonists kinda just yolos for whatever reason even before coming up with a plan. Then again, what protagonist ever sits down to plan a dumb yet successful mission out before realizing they are probably going to land in some shitstorm of trouble that they will get out of due to pure luck.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015): 8/10
Picking up from the previous movie, this one felt a little dragged on, especially with the love triangle going about. I love that Giancarlo Esposito was casted into the latter half of the trilogy because he folds in so smoothly in the existing storyline. He also gave that similar vibe in performance like he did in Far Cry 6, minus the dictatorship stint ofc lol.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018): 7/10
Now this one got a bit dull and predictable near the end and I was hoping for a better final villain vs hero brawl, but it was pretty much all cheese, especially at the end of the brawl lol. The ending was okay, a bit lacking, but I expected a bit more, and maybe skip ahead in time to where the main protagonist has kids and whatnot, then, creep up with a prequel teaser at the end of the credits, but nope lololol.
really such a visually mesmerizing movie
Honest to god i think about it every day since I saw it. So much I appreciate in it, it was really everything I could want in a movie
Cinema Paradiso
8/10 pretty good
8/10 pretty good
City Lights
8/10 - Charlie Chaplin is pretty funny
8/10 - Charlie Chaplin is pretty funny
RavenSupreme
Preeminent
Tributes of panem - the ballad of songbirds and snakes
4/10
Unfortunately very boring, stale, not fitting of what I came to expect from a panem movie. The idea of a snow prequel was interesting at first but it lots itself in rushed, meaningless plot without fledging out anything. The atmosphere also was not how I expected a panem movie to be after the first installations.
Very weird movie to watch. Felt surreal that it was so bad.
4/10
Unfortunately very boring, stale, not fitting of what I came to expect from a panem movie. The idea of a snow prequel was interesting at first but it lots itself in rushed, meaningless plot without fledging out anything. The atmosphere also was not how I expected a panem movie to be after the first installations.
Very weird movie to watch. Felt surreal that it was so bad.
Been on a Mad Max binge, only one left is Thunderdome, thoughts in the (admittedly bizarre) order that I watched them in
Can't believe Furiosa (2024) bombed because this was easily my favorite movie of 2024, great action, stylish, ATJ actually played Furiosa better than Charlize Theron did, Dementus was a great glue between Fury Road and Furiosa, and the new actor they had take up Immortan Joe's role after Hugh Keays-Byrne's passing did a great job especially at showing how he leads on a day to day basis whereas Fury Road focused on "Wartime Joe". 9.5/10 loved it, really wouldn't change a thing. I hope George Miller gets to make as many more of these as he wants.
Fury Road (2015) : Can't say much that hasn't already been said, it's a high point for the action genre as a whole. Very different from furiosa though, and there's some 'reveals' that actually hit harder for me having watched the latter first than I think they would have had I watched these in their release order. I wish Joe was in it more, thoroughly fascinated by his character and the world that Miller has been refining since the late 70s. As I watched backwards to the originals you can really see how he kept iterating on similar concepts and ideas and how it built into Fury Road's more fleshed out world. I don't agree at all with the criticism that Tom Hardy/Max had too few lines. From the original in 1979 he's always a sort of secondary character and Road Warrior reiterates that. It fits where he's at in life now. 9/10
Mad Max (1979): The weakest of the bunch but still very interesting, especially because it unexpectedly portrays society as still mostly intact which I did not expect. Keays-Byrne as Toecutter outshines everyone else in the movie, and the middle is kind of boring and nonsensical, but a great ending overall and it plants the seeds of Miller's style in the follow ups. 6.5/10
Road Warrior (1981): An insane leap from the 1979 original, and it establishes everything that makes Fury Road possible. Lord Humongous is a good villain (with one of the funniest deaths I've ever seen), the stunts and effects are insane, it's got the flair we come to expect out of later Mad Max movies, some fairly memorable side characters, and establishing Max as a sort of mythical figure is a great touch. Plus they have a whole contingent of warriors called the Gayboy Berserkers. Nobody is doing it like George Miller. 8/10
Can't believe Furiosa (2024) bombed because this was easily my favorite movie of 2024, great action, stylish, ATJ actually played Furiosa better than Charlize Theron did, Dementus was a great glue between Fury Road and Furiosa, and the new actor they had take up Immortan Joe's role after Hugh Keays-Byrne's passing did a great job especially at showing how he leads on a day to day basis whereas Fury Road focused on "Wartime Joe". 9.5/10 loved it, really wouldn't change a thing. I hope George Miller gets to make as many more of these as he wants.
Fury Road (2015) : Can't say much that hasn't already been said, it's a high point for the action genre as a whole. Very different from furiosa though, and there's some 'reveals' that actually hit harder for me having watched the latter first than I think they would have had I watched these in their release order. I wish Joe was in it more, thoroughly fascinated by his character and the world that Miller has been refining since the late 70s. As I watched backwards to the originals you can really see how he kept iterating on similar concepts and ideas and how it built into Fury Road's more fleshed out world. I don't agree at all with the criticism that Tom Hardy/Max had too few lines. From the original in 1979 he's always a sort of secondary character and Road Warrior reiterates that. It fits where he's at in life now. 9/10
Mad Max (1979): The weakest of the bunch but still very interesting, especially because it unexpectedly portrays society as still mostly intact which I did not expect. Keays-Byrne as Toecutter outshines everyone else in the movie, and the middle is kind of boring and nonsensical, but a great ending overall and it plants the seeds of Miller's style in the follow ups. 6.5/10
Road Warrior (1981): An insane leap from the 1979 original, and it establishes everything that makes Fury Road possible. Lord Humongous is a good villain (with one of the funniest deaths I've ever seen), the stunts and effects are insane, it's got the flair we come to expect out of later Mad Max movies, some fairly memorable side characters, and establishing Max as a sort of mythical figure is a great touch. Plus they have a whole contingent of warriors called the Gayboy Berserkers. Nobody is doing it like George Miller. 8/10