Last Movie You Watched

Thor: Love & Thunder with my parents, John Wick Chapter 2 with my dad, and half of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum with my dad.
It took us two days to get through Love and Thunder since my mom fell asleep, but that allowed me to finally trap my dad into watching John Wick 2 and 3 with me. Mom loved Love and Thunder. My dad...not so much. He liked it, but he felt slightly betrayed at some things. (He didn't hate Mighty Thor though, so that's a win!)

My dad did like John Wick though, even if he'd never fully admit it. It was better than the thought it'd be. He's enjoying John Wick 3, and thinks that the movie is worth the fight in Casablanca alone, as he never saw a fight scene using dogs like that before. We'll see how he feels about the ending.

 

I was just rewatching all of these and over the past couple of days I got to this one (which I've seen once) and Jason Bourne which I was seeing for the first time. Bourne Legacy was literally forgettable the first time, I wanted to like it but ended up not caring to the point I couldn't recall a single thing about it. This time I ended up really not caring for it, it would have been a lesser but okay enough kinda-Bourne film if not for the fact that for some reason they decided to ruin the ending of Ultimatum. And not for any real purpose that I can tell. I didn't care for Ultimatum that much but turning around and having the conspirators get away with it and hang everything on Landy was super lame both in that I didn't really buy them being able to stuff that genie back in the bottle and also because it makes so much of what Bourne did completely pointless. And it doesn't really have THAT much to do with Aaron Cross that I could tell. They could have left Landy completely out as well as that retcon and it would have been the exact same movie, but unnecessary sequels (Jason Bourne included) can't help themselves when it comes to unnecessary retcons. It threw one of the more likable characters of the series under the bus as if they were setting up a sequel or something where he clears her but it never came and Jason Bourne ignored this movie so the movie ends with a character we've liked for a good part of the series presumably going to jail while the guy we just met two hours ago sails off into the sunset to the Moby song as if it's a happy ending.

Jason Bourne would have disappointed me if I'd expected much but it was pretty much what I expected. Formulaic Bourne rehash movie with all the lazy late sequel/reboot/rehash tricks like the aforementioned unnecessary retconning and making his dad the founder of Treadstone. I guess this was all supposed to make it more dramatic and blow our minds, him being some kind of spy chosen one and center of this fictional CIA where everything and everybody are seemingly revolving around him. I find the idea of some regular guy who joined the army and eventually was recruited in the CIA before going rogue and then turning the whole thing upside down much more dramatic. In the end even though there are all these subplots and massive conspiracies going on it's just about Bourne getting revenge for his dad's death, killing a couple guys and apparently solving nothing.

And I couldn't believe they started with Bourne doing the old Rambo III fight club routine. Or were they referencing Hot Shots: Part Deux?

 

Aliens last night. Man, I miss the practical effects and lived-in nature of 80's sci-fi! (By lived in, I mean how physical the world is and feels, not the grit and grime necessarily.)



This movie has been on my list for years, and I'm glad I finally watched it. Weaver's Ripley is phenomenal (as both a character and an icon), and the rest of the cast does a great job. I admit that while I knew the genre changed from horror to action, I wasn't expecting the amount of horror that was present to still be there. Newt was adorable, and the Marines were a lot of fun. My top scene was Ripley riding the elevator down.
This game also makes me want to play more Mass Effect to get just a little more sci-fi horror action and space military comradery. Overall score is 9/10, although this probably won't make my top 10 movies of the year, personally speaking.

 

Finally got around to watching Coppola's re-cut of The Godfather Part III which is supposed to be a huge improvement. I've only ever watched the third movie 2-3 times in my life and it's probably been close to a decade since the last time so I'm not sure what all was changed or how much improvement there was. It's still not a very good movie, it's pretty watered down and only interesting when it's reminding you of the previous films. Coppola wasn't able to edit out his daughter's bad acting and the romance storyline between her and her on-screen first cousin is still icky. And even though they've changed the title to include "The Death Of Michael Corleone".... there's no death of Michael Corleone. It goes to the scene at the end where Michael is sitting old and alone but for some reason the movie fades out before he slumps down and then falls out of his chair. I don't necessarily need to see Michael die but to cut it out of the movie when you've changed the title to refer to is an extremely odd choice.

 

Quick summary of things I've watched before I watch more stuff:

The New:
Werewolf By Night - a fun if forgettable MCU adventure. If you have time to kill and are a fan of the classic black & white horror movies, then I'd recommend it. At this point don't feel bad for skipping it though.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - A good tribute wrapped in a mediocre movie. WF suffered from a lot of problems, the largest ones being the death of Chadwick Boseman (and the choice not to recast the role) and the expectations we as an audience came into the movie with. We were expecting another poignant piece like the first movie that has a compelling villain in an MCU movie and instead we got...an MCU film. Namor was an antagonist for T'Challa, not Shuri, and it shows. Shuri herself doesn't really deal with the issues she NEEDS to deal with in the movie (faith vs science/culture vs progress) because doing so would be taking a side. The movie itself is gratuitous with its slow-mo and is horribly paced, making it pretty boring at times. (Detractors of Zack Snyder may say like it feels like a movie with his signature on it.) All of that said, there IS heart in this film, and if you're a fan of Boseman it's worth seeing. I hope this movie ages well, because I'd love to see it again without any biases or expectations going in and see how it stands in retrospect.


Old:
Brandy's Cinderella
Cinderella
Moana
Encanto
The Little Mermaid

I teach young students and we need something to put on when we can't go outside for recess.

Movies I still need to see:
Black Adam
Glass Onion
Avatar: The Way of Water (I guess...)

 

Top Movies of 2022:

Movie of the Year - Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Thunderball (1965)
Karate Kid (1984)
The Batman (2022)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Aliens (1986)
Glass Onion (2022)

Best Rewatches:
Cinderella - 1997
Encanto - 2021 (?)

 

watched Scanners III earlier today.

Tonight im watching Halloween Ends and Naked Gun 1

 

Pretty good for a super low budget sci-fi. It feels like part of something much bigger. Fun to see two SW alums in another space adventure.

Also, not a movie, but a good little short series. Absolutely did NOT go where I was expecting...

 

I don't know why I would expect an actual biopic. This is Pure Al though. Wacky, silly, self-depricating and ego-maniacal at the same time.

 

I finally got around to this and much like the book I'm not sure what to think about it although I was entertained by both. The thing I enjoyed most about the book was that it was such an oddball sequel to a haunted hotel story, a fantasy/adventure/horror story about psychic vampires. I had some problems with it but it at least wasn't a Shining rehash which would have been lame anyway. Then the trailer for the movie came out and it looked to lean so heavily on the movie that I didn't really rush to see it even though I'm a fan of Kubrick's movie. And it does but it's not too bad, though I was confused by the weird continuity that's part movie sequel, part book sequel and part neither. I thought Ewan was great as Danny and the rest of the cast were pretty good too but I didn't really love it due to things I didn't like about the source material. I really didn't need the child tortured to death scene in either the book or the movie, I was hoping it wouldn't be in the movie but I knew it would be because it's the exact type of scene your typical director will latch onto and fight for because, as Stephen King is well aware, murdering children is an easy gimmick to shock or disturb an audience. I didn't care for the changed ending either though I'm guessing their intention was to reference the Shining's original ending in the book.

 

Well... um. For work purposes I watched all of the following recently.

21-87, (1964)
Abbot & Costello
Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938)
Aladdin (1992)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Back To The Future Film Series
Battleship Potempkin (1925)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Billy Budd (1962)
Braveheart (1995)
Captain Blood (1935)
Chronicles Of Riddick, The (2004)
Clash Of The Titans (1981/2010)
Dark Crystal, The (1982)
Deadwood (TV Series)
Dragonslayer (1981)
Empire Strikes Back, The (1980)
Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
Fall of The Roman Empire, The (1964)
Fifth Element, The (1997)
Fletch (1985)
Forest Gump (1994)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Gran Torino (2008)
Gunfighter, The (1950)
Guns Of Navarone, The (1961)
Hidden Fortress, The (1958)
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Independence Day (1996)
Indiana Jones Film Series
Iron Giant, The (1999)
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Journey To The West: Conquering Demons (2013)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Kismet (1955)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Life Of Brian (1979)
Look At Life (1965)
Lord Of The Rings Film Series
Macbeth (1983)
Magnificent Seven, The (1960)
Matrix, The (1999)
Merlin (1998)
Midnight Sky, The (2020)
Million Dollar Hospital (1963)
Miracle On 34th Street (1947)
Mirror, The (1975)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
National Treasure (2004)
Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
Paris, Texas (1968)
Police Story (1985)
Princess Bride, The (1987)
Professional, The (1994)
Puss In Boots (2011)
Red Tails (2012)
Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991)
Sacrifice (1986)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Sea Hawk, The (1940)
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)
Seven (1995)
Seven Chances (1925)
Shane (1953)
Skiptrace (2016)
Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The (2010)
Spy Smasher (1942)
Star Trek (Original Series)
Star Wars (1977)
Stargate (1994)
Storm Over The Pacific (1960)
Stripes (1981)
Supernatural (TV Series)
Ten Commandments, The (1956)
Terminator 2 (1991)
They Live (1988)
Three Musketeers, The (1993)
Time Machine, The (1960)
Time Travelers, The (1964)
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
True Grit (1969)
Two Mules For Sister Sara (1970)
Vikings, The (1958)
Willow (1988)
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1964)
Wizard Of Oz, The (1939)

Cheers,
Jayson

 

Semi-Pro, probably my favorite Will Ferrell movie