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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. Original Movies (not sequel, not reboot, not spin-off)

Original Movies (not sequel, not reboot, not spin-off)

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  • AxtremusA Offline
    AxtremusA Offline
    Axtremus
    wrote on last edited by
    #105

    A Man Called Otto (2022) directed by Marc Forster

    Light drama, comedy. Difficult, suicidal retiree learns new meanings of life, friendship, and community through interactions with a new young family that moves into his neighborhood. Well acted and well directed, this is a heart-warming film. If you are not already sick of Tom Hanks and want a nice movie to pass a couple of hours, this one will fit the bill just fine without being braindead.

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    • AxtremusA Offline
      AxtremusA Offline
      Axtremus
      wrote on last edited by
      #106

      Plane (2023) directed by Jean-François Richet

      Action. Airplane struck by lightning and forced to land in a tropical island controlled by heavily armed terrorists who like to kidnap Westerners for ransom. Ex special ops captain proceeds to heroically rescue the kidnapped passengers. Pretty trite plot for the genre. Nicely done, above average within the genre, just not outstanding or special within the genre.

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      • AxtremusA Offline
        AxtremusA Offline
        Axtremus
        wrote on last edited by
        #107

        The Devil Conspiracy (2022) directed by Nathan Frankowski

        Sci-fi, fantasy, horror. Czech made movie built on elements of Christian mythology. Something about a demonic cult trying to resurrect the devil by creating a godly body using the DNA collected off the Shroud of Turin. Archangel Michael took over the body of a dead good guy priest to battle the cult. Exciting actions, good visuals and what not. Well done as a movie production, just not outstanding or special within the genre, but noticeably different in its portrayal of Michael the archangel compared to American made films/TV that also depict Michael the archangel.

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        • AxtremusA Offline
          AxtremusA Offline
          Axtremus
          wrote on last edited by
          #108

          Missing (2023) directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson

          Screenlife thriller. Yeap, "screenlife" is a new genre now, for plots that unfold mostly on phone/tablet/computer screen. After a teenager's mother gone missing on vacation, the teenager uses all sorts of social media and gig services to figure out what happened to her mother. In many ways this movie reminds me of the "Searching" (2018) movie, where a father uses electronic records and social media to figure out what happened to his missing daughter. The genre is relatively new, and the social media landscape changes very fast, so not a lot of comparisons at this time. Still, this is a good movie IMO. Good plot, good character development, heart warming and intelligent in many places. Worth a watch.

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          • AxtremusA Offline
            AxtremusA Offline
            Axtremus
            wrote on last edited by
            #109

            New Gods: Yang Jian (2023) directed by Zhao Ji

            3D animation from China. Very good animation, stunning visuals that warrant watching on a big screen. Very imaginative, intricate, and majestic "world" designed and rendered with impressive details. China has really made a lot of progress with 3D animation lately, to the point where I look at it and I figure "dang, this is even better than Disney/Pixar."

            This movie is based on characters in a Ming dynasty novel that is in turned based in part on ancient Chinese mythologies and ancient Chinese history (Zhou dynasty ancient). This movie reminds me a lot of the Cowboy Bebop (1998) animated series, completely with ragtag crew of bounty hunters, a "lazy" team leader impressive fighting skills, and machines that have a bit of that steampunk feel. But this being a movie made under the CCP's censorial regime, the content is decidedly not as "edgy" as Cowboy Bebop. Still, there is a lot to draw from given the richness of the original Ming dynastic novel and thousands of years of mythologies. Overall this is a good movie with very good animation. Highly recommended.

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            • AxtremusA Offline
              AxtremusA Offline
              Axtremus
              wrote on last edited by
              #110

              Living (2022) directed by Oliver Hermanus

              Drama. British, very British. Old civil servant with terminal diagnosis uses his remaining time to cut through bureaucratic red tapes to do some good, inspiring a young civil servant in the process. Well directed, well acted. Not exciting, very restrained, a little slow even, but heartfelt and thoughtful with lots of understated nuances and subtleties.

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              • AxtremusA Offline
                AxtremusA Offline
                Axtremus
                wrote on last edited by
                #111

                80 for Brady (2023) directed by Kyle Marvin

                Comedy. Four old ladies, all old friends of each other, embark on adventure to attend a Super Bowl game and to meet Tom Brady. These are all established actresses who know what they're doing. The plot is somewhat predictable given the premise. Good for 98 minutes of entertainment without needing to use the brain much.

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                • AxtremusA Offline
                  AxtremusA Offline
                  Axtremus
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #112

                  Pathaan (2023) directed by Siddharth Anand

                  Action, thriller, in Hindi. Basically a super cop, super government agent type film. Exciting and entertaining with a Bollywood flare. I used to appreciate India's different action/fighting styles in Bollywood films, but lately the Bollywood films (like this one) seem to have shifted over to imitating Hong Kong/Hollywood action/fighting styles; so a little of disappointment there for losing something unique to Indian/Bollywood productions. Oh, yeah, this one has got a big Bollywood dance number with dancers in police/military tactical outfits, so that's different. While extolling nationalism, the film also acknowledges the Hindu-Muslim tension in India and portray collaborations between Indian and Pakistani agents. In some sense, I suppose these reflect India's national psyche and geopolitical aspirations.

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                  • AxtremusA Offline
                    AxtremusA Offline
                    Axtremus
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #113

                    The Amazing Maurice (2022) directed by Toby Genkel and Florian Westermann

                    Animation. Something about some mice working with a cat and a couple of humans to defeat the villainous rat catcher and the "rat king." It's supposedly based on a novel. The novel is probably very nice but the film just wasn't remarkable or memorable to me. :man-shrugging:

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                    • AxtremusA Offline
                      AxtremusA Offline
                      Axtremus
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #114

                      Shehzada (2023) directed by Rohit Dhawan

                      Drama, action, in Telugu. Basically a prince and a son of a pauper switched at birth type story. The true prince grew up to be a good person while the son of the pauper grew up to be a spoiled brat. True lots of trials and tribulations the true prince was finally reunited with his rich family. Different culture, different sort of humor, different style of action/fighting, different type of contrition needing different suspension of disbelief. Not bad, not outstanding either, basically 2.5 hours of OK entertainment.

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                      • AxtremusA Offline
                        AxtremusA Offline
                        Axtremus
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #115

                        Cocaine Bear (2023) directed by Elizabeth Banks

                        Some thrill, some comedy, I suppose. The premise is easy to grasp: drug smuggler air dropped a large amount of cocaine into a forest, a big black bear ingested the cocaine and gone berserk, mauling and killing many people. As shocking as the premise is, there is really not much else to the movie. The actors did the best they could with the rather limited material, there is just not much more to be had. :man-shrugging:

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                        • AxtremusA Offline
                          AxtremusA Offline
                          Axtremus
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #116

                          Selfiee (2023) directed by Raj Mehta

                          Comedy, in Hindi. This movie I like quite a bit. The plot starts off with a DMV officer and his young son being big fans of an action movie star, and they dream of someday taking a selfie with the movie star. Said movie star, due to some mishap lost his license and needed to apply for a duplicate, which requires him making a trip to the DMV to get the license. This gives the DMV officer an opportunity to meet his idol and to take a selfie with the movie star. Through errors and misunderstanding, the movie star and the DMV officer became enemies and it evolved into a story of "movie star vs. everyman" in national news. Through lots of trials and tribulations, the two finally sort out the misunderstanding and became friends.

                          Despite the occasional contritions in the plot, this is overall a thoughtful, heartwarming movie. The DMV officer and the movie star both try to do the right thing by their consciences and for their respective families, and the social issue of "the privileged elite vs. the common man" gets a fair airing. Recommended.

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                          • AxtremusA Offline
                            AxtremusA Offline
                            Axtremus
                            wrote on last edited by Axtremus
                            #117

                            Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) directed by Guy Ritchie

                            Action, some comedy. A lot like Mission Impossible or The A-Team or the later Fast & Furious films, some action hero type is tasked to lead a team of skilled operatives to stop some over-the-top bad guys from doing this that or other stuff. The actions are exciting enough, but the plot is ultimately not that memorable. Two hours of solid entertainment if you want to keep some adrenaline pumping. Not much else to this film.

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                            • AxtremusA Offline
                              AxtremusA Offline
                              Axtremus
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #118

                              Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (2023) directed by Luv Ranjan

                              Romantic comedy, in Hindi. Something about a man from a rich family who partners with a buddy to operate a breakup consultancy on the side. This breakup specialist is later attracted by a woman and the two are then engaged to wed with both families' blessings, but later the woman had a change of heart and, not knowing that her fiancé is the breakup specialist, hired him to breakup her engagement with the man. Hilarity ensues.

                              This premise is not new, and there are some elements of Indian/Hindu sensibilities incorporated into this film that makes it a little different from other rom-coms using the same basic premise. Basically a solid 2.5 hours of (mostly) feel-good entertainment that does not require expensing much brain power.

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                              • AxtremusA Offline
                                AxtremusA Offline
                                Axtremus
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #119

                                Moving On (2023) directed by Paul Weitz

                                Comedy, drama. Old ladies #1 and #2 attend the funeral of an old lady friend. Old lady #1 was sexually assaulted by the dead old lady's widower a long time ago but has kept it secret. Old lady #2 was once the same-sex lover of the dead old lady and has also kept it secret. Movie is essentially about old ladies #1 and #2 finding ways to "move on" from their old traumas. The "comedy" part comes from old ladies #1 and #2's amateur attempts to murder the widower. Acting is good (as it usually is with old actors who have been acting professionally for many decades), the movie is otherwise not remarkable.

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                                • AxtremusA Offline
                                  AxtremusA Offline
                                  Axtremus
                                  wrote on last edited by Axtremus
                                  #120

                                  Champions (2023) directed by Bobby Farrelly

                                  Comedy, drama. Disgraced professional basketball coach sentenced to community service to coach an intellectually challenged basketball team. Coach learns to become a better person and a better coach as he takes the team to the Special Olympics.

                                  One of those feel good, heartwarming sports movie with a positive social message. The actors playing intellectually disabled characters are actually intellectually disabled, and they certainly look very authentic in the film.

                                  I like this film more than I thought I would. Recommended.

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                                  • George KG Offline
                                    George KG Offline
                                    George K
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #121

                                    @Axtremus in four hours you posted about a dozen links. Have you watched any/all of these movies?

                                    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                                    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                                    AxtremusA 1 Reply Last reply
                                    • George KG George K

                                      @Axtremus in four hours you posted about a dozen links. Have you watched any/all of these movies?

                                      AxtremusA Offline
                                      AxtremusA Offline
                                      Axtremus
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #122

                                      @George-K said in Original Movies (not sequel, not reboot, not spin-off):

                                      @Axtremus in four hours you posted about a dozen links. Have you watched any/all of these movies?

                                      Yes, I have watched all of the movies I write about in this thread.

                                      I have said this before: in this thread I review only movies I have watched.

                                      So far limited to movies I have watched in theaters. Easier to track those using ticket stubs (be they physical or electronic stubs). Every few weeks (more like every few months lately) I go through my ticket stubs and write about what have made lasting impressions (e.g., things or aspects that are “still memorable” after I let the ticket stubs sit for weeks/months). Internet search is used only to (1) check if a movie is indeed “original”, (2) verify the release year and get the names of directors because I figure those are information I would need to lookup these movies in the future if I ever want to revisit certain movies.

                                      George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                                      • AxtremusA Offline
                                        AxtremusA Offline
                                        Axtremus
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #123

                                        Inside (2023) directed by Vasilis Katsoupis

                                        Drama. Basically a one man show with Willem Dafoe carrying the whole movie. Story is about a lone art thief trying to steal from a fancy penthouse who is then trapped inside that penthouse. With the resident away on vacation, the penthouse's many automated systems are shutoff, making life increasingly miserable for the trapped art thief -- physically and psychologically. The script gives the actor a lot of opportunity to show off his acting chops, in that sense Willen Dafoe got to show off a lot in this movie much like Joaquin Phoenix got to show off a lot in Joker (2019). Treat it like an art film, watch it if you want something off the beaten path and appears like it's exploring something deep, or if you really, really like Willem Dafoe.

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                                        • AxtremusA Offline
                                          AxtremusA Offline
                                          Axtremus
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #124

                                          65 (Million Years Ago) (2023) directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

                                          SciFi. Story about some space pilot traveling back in time and crash landed on Earth 65 million years ago, with one little girl as the sole survivor among his passengers. The duo had to deal with many hazards, including dinosaurs, to try to get back to the future. Not that actors do not try, and the CGI and special effects are professionally done, but it's just a trite concept in SciFi. There just isn't much in the plot. Watch it if you really like Adam Driver.

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