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[bender]

A tale of Two (True) Grits.

I watched True Grit (2010) again and followed it up with a True Grit (1969) chaser. The Cohen brothers have made two of my favorite movies in The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men, but something has always felt off with their adaptation of the True Grit novel. It's said they aren't terribly familiar with the John Wayne film. It's pretty remarkable how similar yet different the movies are. A lot of the dialog mirrors one another which probably speaks to the strength of the source material and the differences come down mostly due to the performances. John Wayne's Oscar performance was said to be more of a lifetime achievement award than him being deserving with his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn and if you look a the completion that year, I'm inclined to agree. Further, I don't think John Wayne would disagree. It's also a popular notion that Jeff Bridges' performance was superior to that of his performance in Crazy Heart which notched him an Oscar which is an interesting Juxtaposition. I do prefer Jeff's rendition, but he can't hold a candle to John Wayne's delivery of "fill your hands, you son of a bitch".

I didn't care much for Kim Darby in 1969 and while I think Matt Damon feels out of place in 2010 but he's far preferable to Glen Campbell. Hailee Steinfeld is masterful but I do think the direction given to her was a bit too Wednesday Addams in how cold and ruthless she was. And maybe that's what stops me from loving this movie. No Country For Old Men left me feeling hollow but I always like to watch it again. True Grit gives me the same emotions but without wanting to go back to it.

Both adaptations are worth watching and I prefer 2010 even if I don't like it as much as most. I'm going to read the book next.

One last thing, I do really, really like Barry Pepper as Ned Pepper in 2010. He's no Robert Duval (who is?) but it's a great casting choice. Robert Duval is my favorite part of 1969.

 

[kruis]

Let's see

- Metropolis (1927) (this was a rewatch, actually, the new cut which restores some b-stories cut for other markets it's simply marvelous)
- Nosferatu (1922) (rewatch because I saw the Herzog version recently and I wanted to refresh my memory a little)
- Der Golem (1920) (I always liked the Golem appearances, the movie depicts him like an innocent and apparently calm child, which is absolutely true)
- The Phantom Carriage (1921) (as I said before, I was pleasently surprised at the universal theme of this film, which makes it so terribly modern in our times, plus great SFXs for a movie that old)
- City Lights (1931) (not strictly a silent movie, but I'm not that picky, gentle story like all of the Tramp's, absolutely a classic)
- Faust (1926) (always loved the play, and I was not disappointed, great sets and camera angles)

in the future I'll tackle:
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
- The Cat and the Canary (1927)
- Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922)
- The Phantom of the Opera (1925) (of this one apparently only exists a recent cut from 1929 or so, with added scenes and score, so I'm a little undecided)

It's fascinating to learn about the shooting of multiple version for different markets (export and domestic cuts) which often led to lightly off-center shots due to having different camers concurrently on set, if not completely redone scenes, the tint philosophy, the approaching menace of the 'talkies', the huge amount of lost endeavours due to fires or accidents and so on.

I'm always impressed by special effects in the age of silent movies. Even though the film equipment was primitive by our standards, the men making the movies were among the brightest of their days and they were true pioneers.



An absolute must-see for anyone interested in silent movies is the 1980 documentary series "Hollywood" made by Kevin Brownlow. It's the most comprehensive overview of US silent movies ever made and featured unique interviews with many of the stars and directors of that era who were still alive. It's a shame that this masterpiece of a documentary series was never released on DVD or Blu-Ray, supposedly getting the rights to the many film fragments was really difficult - although that's getting harder to believe considering the fact that the vast majority of silent movies are now PD in the US. From January 1st all movies made in 1929 will be PD and that was the beginning of the sound era.

You can watch the entire 12 part series for free on the Internet Archive. Quality is so so, since the video files were made many years ago from VHS and LaserDisc rips and encoded in XVID.

Hollywood : Kevin Brownlow : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Hollywood (also known as Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film) is a multi-BAFTA award winning 1980 documentary series produced by Thames...

archive.org

 

[violence]

No country for old men.

Amazing movie. In my top ten favorites of all time.

★★★★★

 

[John Marston]

Heretic:

Really liked it. I thought the ending was the weakest part of the movie. It wasn't terrible, but it was a little out of control. But Hugh Grant was great, it had an interesting premise, it was tense all the way throughout.

Just watched it.
Yes the last Act is a bit messy but it's a great Hugh Grant one man show

 

[Andyliini]

Darkman III: Die Darkman Die

Considering I didn't really like part two, and extremely cheesy name, I didn't have high hopes for this. Turned out this was fairly entertaining film, although very cheap looking one. As it was released just a year after the previous film, they were most likely shot back to back. I considered selling these away, but since 2 out of three were at least OK, the box is worth keeping.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

★★★★★ / Y'all notice how hulk is eating his own flavored ice cream

 

[Doom85]

Just watched it.
Yes the last Act is a bit messy but it's a great Hugh Grant one man show

The two actresses aren’t very good? Or did you mean because Grant is the one male actor in the movie? (but don’t spoil if there are other major characters in the film besides the three of them, since the trailer gave no such indication)

I admit I’m interested because Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves showed me that Hugh is quite good at playing a villain (though he’ll obviously be a more serious one in this film), but also this actress is quite pretty to me, so I’m being pulled in by that too.

★★★★★ / Y'all notice how hulk is eating his own flavored ice cream

IIRC, this was set up in Infinity War when Dr. Strange and Wong are discussing getting ice cream and mention several Avengers-themed flavors.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Today, I got through 2.1 movies.

Megalopolis: I didnt know anything about it except being some modern day take on Rome. I bailed maybe 10 minutes in. The second Cicero starts talking about opening a casino, I left. First time I have ever quit a movie this fast. A weird movie. Not sure if it's supposed to be serious or a half comedy. Between scenes, there can be weird transition screens like it's a high school play with Laurence Fishburne narrating it.

The Outsiders: I remember watching this a long time ago but didnt really remember any of it aside from it having tons of hollywood hunk guys at the start of their career. A story based in the 50s or 60s with classic cars and greasers. Some reason I thought in my head it was a good movie. Then again I probably saw this 30 or more year ago. The story itself is fine as a coming of age film of high schoolers growing up and getting in trouble, but the dialogue and acting are a roller coaster of great acting (Patrick Swayze, C Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon) and lousy Ralph Macchio. Seemed so fake any time Macchio is in the scene which is a lot when he's on the run. I havent followed his career, but all I know is every time I see Ralph Macchio in something, his acting is awful.

True Lies: Seen this a million times. By chance it was on a movie channel and coasted through it. One of my fav Arnie movies. Jamie Lee Curtis possible be best example of butter face in the dance scene.

 

[bender]

The Handmaiden - The opening shots are so vibrant and then similar shots are scattered throughout the movie. It's a great erotic love story. The twists and turns are on the predictable side but it is full of great performances and poignant moments. The only negative is Cho Jin-wooong's old costuming and his performance was the weakest of the cast.

 

[Phobos Base]

Black Christmas (1974) - one of the first slashers that still holds up remarkably well. The killer's mannerisms, those brief shots of his watching eye and the undiscovered body of his first victim, coupled with the fact (uh, spoilers for a 50 year old movie I guess) that you never find out who he is and he gets away, are still surprisingly unsettling.

 

[dorkimoe]

Y2K-

Total stoner movie. There is some bad acting and the cgi/ai stuff is terrible. But its a total 90s throwback with some bangers. They could have just made this a 90s superbad and it woulda done better.

 

[AtomicStarving]

For All Mankind!

One of the best series I've watched in the last 1000 years lol. First and second season...holy shit. If you like astronomy... this is a must-see series.

 

[AJUMP23]

War of the rogue in - decent film. Main character is like a Zelda character with no link. I took the family and my brother. 10 year old was bored. I liked the animation style but it felt like they only animated 20fps

 

[Andyliini]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and tje Wardrobe

As is a tradition by now, me and my girlfriend watch a movie on Christmas Eve, and this was that this year. Early 2000's really was a promised time for fantasy films. Many films of the genre were made back then, some being more popular than the others. I have not read this book of the series, but I had a good idea on what happens during it. This was a fairly loyal adaptiin of the first book. Shame that Valden Media couldn't finish the series, as tgis was quite a fun watch.

Maybe someone will try again in ten years, when 70 years have passed since death of C. S. Lewis, and copyright to his works expire. At least in EU.

Merry Christmas, MovieGAF.

 

[bender]

The Raid - Another white whale of mine that I finished this year joining the ranks of There Will Be Blood. Beloved movies I've easily started a half doze times or so and could just never power my way through. I really don't care much for the first 35-40 minutes of this movie until the SWAT Team runs out of bullets. Story aside, there is some ridiculous things that are forgivable due to the low budget nature of the film (I'm looking at all the flimsy doors that often trap our escapees. The story also left me scratching my head or rolling my eyes. When and when not the bad guys decide to use firearms is somewhat forgivable as it serves for the hand-to-hand action which is often fantastic. The ending sequences of the movie, not so much. But once we set aside guns and plot and just have actors kicking the shit out of each other, there is a lot of fun to bed had. Yayan Ruhian is a great villain and he sure does pack a punch (or knee) for a man of such relative small stature. His first one-on-one duel is the highlight of the movie for me. And I kind of hated the second sequence where he goes two-on-one for a lot of reasons that just seemed ridiculous and felt like cheap escalation. In the end, I'll probably not re-watch this movie. The highs are really high and but there is just too much stuff in the way for me to love it.

 

[clarky]

This fell just short of being brilliant. Think it would have worked better as a TV series.

Beautifully shot and Jude Law was excellent. Solid movie. Recommended. 7/10

 

[Hookshot]

Kung Fu Panda 4

The worst of them by far but it still has some of the charm of watching a one. Not sure they should have brought back all the previous villains if they only had one of the actors to voice them.

 

[AJUMP23]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and tje Wardrobe

As is a tradition by now, me and my girlfriend watch a movie on Christmas Eve, and this was that this year. Early 2000's really was a promised time for fantasy films. Many films of the genre were made back then, some being more popular than the others. I have not read this book of the series, but I had a good idea on what happens during it. This was a fairly loyal adaptiin of the first book. Shame that Valden Media couldn't finish the series, as tgis was quite a fun watch.

Maybe someone will try again in ten years, when 70 years have passed since death of C. S. Lewis, and copyright to his works expire. At least in EU.

Merry Christmas, MovieGAF.

Unfortunately people that ruined Star Wars are working on ruining this series.

 

[bender]

Ninja Scroll - My first exposure to anime back in the day and it probably ruined a lot of what I've watched since then. Still a banger.

 

[Billbofet]

Carry On:
Watched this with the family. It is a solid thriller, but nothing special with some supremely dumb moments.
It has that annoying trope of the police detective figuring out what's up as the movie goes along only to have to give trust to the main character at a critical moment, and for no conceivable reason, making the police/investigative character completely unnecessary to the plot.
Also, with bodies stacking up and weird, suspicious shit happening at an airport, at what point would they honestly just ground all flights?
Still, it was an okay time overall.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Krampus

One of the more unique Christmas movies out there. Based on a Eastern European folklore, Krampus is a demon who punishes naughty children on Christmas Day. It has some fairly solid practical special effects and the puppetry and models looks great. The gingerbread cookies are some of the funniest shit I've seen in a horror film. They go buckwild with one of the protagonists. I also wonder if Capcom didn't take some inspiration to RE Village from this movie, especially the section with Donna Benevientos puppet as it shares a striking resemblance to one of the puppets in the movie. They even act similar too, cutting up and harassing the main protagonist. Anyway Krampus is a great comedy horror film from the director who made the anthology movie Trick r Treat. Recommend it

 

[Kenpachii]

Venom last dance:



Better then the first and second, still not much of a high bar to beat a dumb roller coaster basically. Fun Sunday movie for a serious type of movie.

5/10

The Time Machine 1960:



Enjoyed it, cast was good. After looking up the cast on google realized nobody of them is alive anymore or the ones i checked aren't. Makes u realize how short life is. Anyway, clear 60's movie but the movie works well and was enjoyable. I constantly found myself interested in knowing what was next and liked the ending.

7/10

Gladiator 2:



Really good movie, liked the actors was entertained the whole way through which is rare these days. The movie could have done without some parts, but still really good movie.

9/10

Alien Romulus 2024:



Enjoyable movie, cast was good and story was solid. It's a alien movie after all so nothing really to surprising on that front.

8/10

 

[Mitsurux]

Over the Christmas holiday i happened to be in the same room when someone put on:

Red One - Starring the Rock and Chris Evans... The Rock was fun as he always is, him and Chris s Evans character have a few ok moments, the movie a lot of kinda yuck CGI (Some horrible CGI stunt cuts), and just way to many "New" items/abilities to move the plot forward, poorly shot fight/action scenes.. I really feel it could have been a lot better it if just kept things simple the basic premise was kinda interesting. (Santa is Kidnapped and his "Security" force having to locate him etc.). But instead it just keeps adding more character with more crazy abilities, by the end of the movie the Rock is fighting a Giant CGI Ogre (who is also a "Christmas witch" ) on a tall bridge in the North pole city, then getting assisted by Krampus to beat the ogre.

Fun fact when the move started there were 8 people in the room watching by the end there was only 3 (Most people gradually left to do something in other rooms and both of my in laws fell asleep)
If you really like the Rock it may be worth it to watch, but he's been in better movies and there are TONS of better Christmas movies (OR action movies).

 

[bender]

J.S.A. Joint Security Area - A tale of four brothers. I don't really want to spoil anything. There is a great movie here with phenomenal performances for the meat of the story. Being told out of order to preserve the question of what happens was also a great choice, but unfortunately the performances that comprise that wrapper aren't nearly as strong which slightly diminishes the treat. This is my favorite performance by Song Kang-ho.

 

[DragoonKain]

Conclave:

Might be my favorite movie of 2024 so far. I really liked it. The acting was superb across the board. It was somehow really compelling without a ton of action. I'd have to go through the movies I've seen in 2024 and make an official list, but it's up there. I hope it wins some awards and is nominated for best picture.

 

[HRK69]

Watched Gladiator 2 today

It was shite.

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

To finish off the year, for me.

Gladiator II: it was “OK-ish”. Nice twist with changing the villain. But it seriously relied too heavily on Gladiator 1. 6/10

8 Bit Xmas: Heart warming story, that goes in a different direction, than what you will think. But it becomes light on laughs as it goes on. Good message at the end, about “not always getting what you want, but you get what you need”. But it doesn’t explain it well for kids. 5/10.


Not to be old guy, yelling at clouds. But it does feel like there is a serious lack of quality in movies overall in the last several years.

 

[AJUMP23]

Hot frosty. Fun one to watch with the wife frosty the snowman meets Pinocchio.

Lots of well known tv actors. Frosty kept melting in the movie like the movie kept melting hearts.

 

[bender]

Yojimbo - Sometimes being ignorant is fun. A few moments into the movie and I was thinking this reminds me of A Fist Full of Dollars. A few more minutes in and I'm pausing the movie to google A Fist Full Of Dollars inspirations and bam, suspicions confirmed. Neat! Having said that, I struggled to maintain my attention throughout and had to finish this over two sittings which is strange considering how much I enjoy Sanjuro.

 

[Hookshot]

Godzilla and Kong, the new one with the other monkeys.

It's a film, things happen, then it ends. To give it a one word review "meh".

 

[GateofD]

finished Sonic 3.
okay movie. I think they need to stop just slapping in celebrity voice cameos for the hell of it. Like there's no reason why Keavu Reeves should have been billed for Shadow, he brought nothing to it. All he did the whole movie was sound like he was reading off the script by himself in his bedroom.

 

[Billbofet]

Nosferatu (2024)
Aside from a few memorable shots, great score, and overall solid cinematography, I hated pretty much every single second of this bloated, pretentious, and void-of-entertainment experience.
Seriously don't understand the rationale of remaking something that has been done so many times with the only addition being boredom.
Saw it with a friend that defended it stating that Eggers always makes his films with a deliberate pace - well, that shit worked for his other movies, not here, not for me.
Big disappointment for me as I was genuinely anticipating this one.

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

Ended up seeing two more movies:

1.) Garfield - animated. My wife and I had to babysit my nephews last night. Garfield, was “ok-ish”. It did not truly resemble much of the 1980’s cartoons I remember. And for more than half the movie, i thought it was trash. But in the end, it had a heart warming message about “extended families” and “orphans” in the woke world of today. It was ok, maybe a 6/10.

I guess they are making a sequel, I hope the creators and the director watch some of the 1980’s cartoons for context for the next one. Garfield was truly one of the IP’s that Apple should have purchased for Apple TV along with Peanuts. They probably could have done better.

2.) Legend of the Lost with John Wayne. This surprised me as I am not a John Wayne or Sophia Lauren fan. A solid 8/10 movie. Also the movie is a treasure hunting movie in the Saharan dessert w/ Wild West vibes.

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

A tale of Two (True) Grits.

I watched True Grit (2010) again and followed it up with a True Grit (1969) chaser. The Cohen brothers have made two of my favorite movies in The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men, but something has always felt off with their adaptation of the True Grit novel. It's said they aren't terribly familiar with the John Wayne film. It's pretty remarkable how similar yet different the movies are. A lot of the dialog mirrors one another which probably speaks to the strength of the source material and the differences come down mostly due to the performances. John Wayne's Oscar performance was said to be more of a lifetime achievement award than him being deserving with his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn and if you look a the completion that year, I'm inclined to agree. Further, I don't think John Wayne would disagree. It's also a popular notion that Jeff Bridges' performance was superior to that of his performance in Crazy Heart which notched him an Oscar which is an interesting Juxtaposition. I do prefer Jeff's rendition, but he can't hold a candle to John Wayne's delivery of "fill your hands, you son of a bitch".

I didn't care much for Kim Darby in 1969 and while I think Matt Damon feels out of place in 2010 but he's far preferable to Glen Campbell. Hailee Steinfeld is masterful but I do think the direction given to her was a bit too Wednesday Addams in how cold and ruthless she was. And maybe that's what stops me from loving this movie. No Country For Old Men left me feeling hollow but I always like to watch it again. True Grit gives me the same emotions but without wanting to go back to it.

Both adaptations are worth watching and I prefer 2010 even if I don't like it as much as most. I'm going to read the book next.

One last thing, I do really, really like Barry Pepper as Ned Pepper in 2010. He's no Robert Duval (who is?) but it's a great casting choice. Robert Duval is my favorite part of 1969.

I wanted to add to this.

My college age son is in a film appreciation class. He asked me what I thought were the best movies since 2000. This is how the class judges movies, by decades instead of eras.

I told him, I am not sophisticated, but two of the best movies imo, were Gladiator 1, and True Grit (remake). I explained that both are timeless.

IMO, True Grit remake is superior to John Wayne True Grit. Which is usually not the case with remakes.

 

[Doom85]

I wanted to add to this.

My college age son is in a film appreciation class. He asked me what I thought were the best movies since 2000. This is how the class judges movies, by decades instead of eras.

I told him, I am not sophisticated, but two of the best movies imo, were Gladiator 1, and True Grit (remake). I explained that both are timeless.

IMO, True Grit remake is superior to John Wayne True Grit. Which is usually not the case with remakes.

I would say while there are other good remakes out there (but not as good as the original), there are three remakes (or re-adaptations as the first and third of these three are based off a book as were their original versions) that are superior to the original IMHO: The Thing (1982) over the original 50’s film, Ocean’s Eleven (2001) over the original 60’s film, and True Grit (2010) over the 60’s film.

Also, even as someone who is not crazy about John Wayne myself, if one is a war movie fan then I would recommend The Longest Day. For one, Wayne’s part of a large ensemble cast so he’s not the core focus regardless, and also I think he does well with his scenes especially in the funnier moments he has (in a way that fits the tone of the film, there are darker moments and a sense of tensions but it’s not as oppressively intense as say Saving Private Ryan).

 

[HRK69]

Red One (2024) ⭐ 6.4 | Action, Adventure, Comedy

2h 3m | PG-13

www.imdb.com

I enjoyed this way more than I thought it would

Chris Evans and The Rock share great on-screen chemistry. Unfortunately, Evans is stuck with a weak secondary story line involving parenting

It had questionable CGI, cringe-worthy green screen moments, and glaring inconsistencies (despite the genre), but somehow I still found myself entertained

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

I would say while there are other good remakes out there (but not as good as the original), there are three remakes (or re-adaptations as the first and third of these three are based off a book as were their original versions) that are superior to the original IMHO: The Thing (1982) over the original 50’s film, Ocean’s Eleven (2001) over the original 60’s film, and True Grit (2010) over the 60’s film.

Also, even as someone who is not crazy about John Wayne myself, if one is a war movie fan then I would recommend The Longest Day. For one, Wayne’s part of a large ensemble cast so he’s not the core focus regardless, and also I think he does well with his scenes especially in the funnier moments he has (in a way that fits the tone of the film, there are darker moments and a sense of tensions but it’s not as oppressively intense as say Saving Private Ryan).

I have never seen the Longest Day, but have heard good things. The 3 remakes you mentioned, I am in 100% agreement with you on.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

★★★★☆ / I'll still take an E-girl if it means I come home to Ana De Armas everyday after work

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

You and me both brother damn

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

★★★★☆ / I'll still take an E-girl if it means I come home to Ana De Armas everyday after work

I own this movie and have never seen it. Is that Marilyn Monroe?

 

[bitbydeath]

Think we should combine TV and Movies into next years Watched thread, any complaints?

Eg.

Movies and TV Shows You’ve Watched Lately |OT| - 2025​

 

[bender]

IP Man - I've seen this movie 3-4 times over the years and while it's more enjoyable than the sequels for a lot of reasons, something has always bothered me about it. The choreography and cinematography are great. Louis Fan is wonderful and it's a little disappointing that his duel with Donnie Yen isn't the finally. I think my issue is Donnie Yen himself. He's a great martial artist but a really wooden actor. The only performance in the movie worse than his is his wife. Thinking back on it, there aren't a lot of Donnie Yen movies I like beyond Iron Monkey and that's probably why. Ip Man is still a fun action flick. Also, if you are interested in the history of Ip Man in contrast to this movie, check out this podcast.

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

Think we should combine TV and Movies into next years Watched thread, any complaints?

Eg.

Movies and TV Shows You’ve Watched Lately |OT| - 2025​

I am good with this. This has been one of my favorite threads this year! I enjoy reading everyone’s thoughts.

 

[AJUMP23]

Think we should combine TV and Movies into next years Watched thread, any complaints?

Eg.

Movies and TV Shows You’ve Watched Lately |OT| - 2025​

This is fine but we still need some dedicated threads to complain about most tv and some movies.

 

[bitbydeath]

This is fine but we still need some dedicated threads to complain about most tv and some movies.

Agreed, just think the TV side gets neglected as opposed to movies, merging them may help drive discussion on TV as this thread is usually on the first or second page.

 

[pachura]

The two actresses aren’t very good? Or did you mean because Grant is the one male actor in the movie? (but don’t spoil if there are other major characters in the film besides the three of them, since the trailer gave no such indication)

Apparently, both actresses are ex-Mormons!
I guess they were alright; Grant was fantastic with his evil creepy hospitality and tactfulness (reminded me a bit of Funny Games), but I didn't like the second part nor the ending at all.

 

[pachura]

finished Sonic 3.
okay movie. I think they need to stop just slapping in celebrity voice cameos for the hell of it. Like there's no reason why Keavu Reeves should have been billed for Shadow, he brought nothing to it. All he did the whole movie was sound like he was reading off the script by himself in his bedroom.

Agree. It was overall a decent movie (albeit with a lot of cheesy moments). My kids liked it more than Venom 3.

 

[bender]

Fearless - One of my favorite Jet Li movies. The rice farming village that rebuild Huo Yuanjia is just so earnest and wholesome which in turn elevates the entire movie for me beyond the wonderful fight sequences.

 

[od-chan]

Saturday Night (2024)
A movie that shows the struggles Lorne Michaels and crew went through in putting their first episode of SNL in 1975 on air.

I really wanted to like this. In fact, I was pretty sure I was gonna like this, because I usually am a fan of this tv/comedy nerd kinda stuff. I even liked "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" precisely for that reason and I think I'm only one of like 30 people who even watched that (rightfully so, it wasn't very good, but it worked well enough for me). But this movie is a mess. First of all I was seriously contemplating dropping this every time Nicholas Braun opened his mouth as Andy Kaufman. I'm not a fan of Braun to begin with (he was okay in small doses in Succession, but that's about it), but this speaks to a deeper issue of the movie.

The first 60-90 minutes are just not very enjoyable, or fun, or interesting, or charming, or any other remotely positve attribute I could use to describe it. It's a combination of stuff either dragging, or outright annoying (an assistant took a hit of weed while the show was on the brink of falling apart! now he's totally freaking out about being high! hilarity ensues!!). Between this stuff there are a couple of scenes and dialogue that indeed work well, especially most scenes with Chevy. But overall it's not a great experience.

I get what they were going for, showing how hectic everything was. But I think they overdid it, dramatically. Or they just suck at doing that, or it just wasn't my cup of tea, I dunno.

The last 20 or so minutes then get better though (still not great), and it shows you what this movie maybe could've been. Overall I can't really say though that I'd recommend this, or that I enjoyed it overall. So to my disappointment: 4/10

I'm very curious to read up some other reviews and stuff now, because it's not uncommon for me and the internet to feel wildly different about films (Terminator 2....)

 

[Sonik]

This fell just short of being brilliant. Think it would have worked better as a TV series.

Beautifully shot and Jude Law was excellent. Solid movie. Recommended. 7/10

The movie was fucking pointless imo and they kind of made the neonazi look like a martyr at the end. Stuff were just happening and you didn't care about any of it because neither the characters or plot were interesting, not even Jude Law's acting could save this movie