Original Movies (not sequel, not reboot, not spin-off)
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Interesting story about a Iraq war vet who becomes a professional gambler. Having spent 8 ½ years in prison, he had a lot of time on his hands, and he learned to count cards - poker, blackjack, etc.
While at a convention, he meets someone with a connection to his dark path. That leads him to a conclusion of violence.
Interesting premise.
Very dark movie. Oscar Isaac was quite good.
Low budget indie - film. If you've got nothing better to do with 2 hours, give it a watch.
3.5 out of 5 stars, mostly for the acting.
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The Duke (2020) directed by Roger Michell
Not sure if it has been released in the USA earlier, but I've have only seen it in theater this summer (2022). The story centers around an elderly working class pensioner in the UK who has an issue with paying the "TV tax" (yeah, it was a thing back then in the UK) as a matter of principle. Through some machination he came to possess an expensive painting that some one had stolen from the National Galery. While hiding his own identity, he proceeded to write ransom notes demanding that the government exempt pensioners from having to pay the "TV tax" as a condition for the return of said painting. Not a bad movie, a bit slow, a fairly mellow drama, sufficient emotional content, frankly not all that memorable, but the story telling is quite good. No need to go see it in theater, but won't be a bad idea to queue it in your streaming service to pass a couple of hours. As non-action, non-suspense, non-sci-fi, non-horror, non-comedy, non-romance movies go, as "drama" this one I consider quite a bit above average.
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Crimes of the Future (2022) directed by David Cronenberg
A sci-fi horror depicting a dystopian future where through evolution, humans evolved new physiologies and some even started growing new/extra organs. Biotechnology advancements have also reached a point where just about any bodily function can be assisted by technology, hence leading to the human race contending with redefining "sickness" and "pain". The story centers around a couple -- one with a special ability to evolve/grow new organs, and the other a skilled surgeon-artist who then tattoos his new organs and then extract those new organs as a performance act. You'd figure given this rich, innovative background, a lot more could have been done. But a I watched it I kept feeling the write/filmmaker leave so much on the table, and fell into old tropes. The so-called biotechnology also look like special effects from the 1980s. Really the background idea, really respect the originality of the background idea, but not thinking very highly about the execution.
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Mr. Malcolm's List (2022) directed by Emma Holly Jones
Looks like a period romance/drama set in old (Victorian?) England, and stuffed with actors of colors. Felt a lot like watching yet another Jane Austen adaptation. Love lorn, misguided young (and not so young) people playing stupid games to find love. The overall plot is quite predictable, the whole film just look very contrived to the point of cringey.
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Paw of Fury, the Legend of Hank (2022) directed by Rob Minkoff
Kid-friendly animated feature film. Story centers around a dog that has been made a samurai tasked to guard a cat village. It's a kids film, so don't take the plot too seriously. Lots of laughs, some more contrived than others. Not as moving as, say, the Pixar stuff (e.g., "Lightyear" that also came out thee same summer), but overall it's good fun can that be enjoyed without turning the brain on.
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Bullet Train (2022) directed by David Leitch
What an awesome train wreck!!! Seriously, this movie has the most spectacular train wreck scene I have ever seen. It's worth watching just for the train wreck scene alone. Overall it's a film about a bunch of (supposedly world class) assassins being sinisterly arranged to converge on a Japanese bullet train. They have their personality quirks and their emotional baggages. Predictably, they end up trying to kill each other with all sorts of creative and exciting ways, and mutual appreciation and comradely developed among some of them along the way. The assassin stuff is mostly old trope, but executed very, very well. The cast and the production crew really know what they're doing. It's just a lot of fun and excitement to watch. And the train wreck ... seriously, if nothing else, go watch it for the train wreck scene!
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Easter Sunday (2022) directed by Jay Chandrasekhar
Comedy-drama about a comedian returning home to his Filipino American family and reuniting with his cousin triggered all sorts of shenanigans, including stealing a gangster boss' prized possession and trying to find a way out from the mess. Lots of laughs, with many jokes that are centered around being Filipino, but I suspect I may have missed quite a bit for not being sufficiently familiar with the Filipino culture. Not high art and I don't expect it to win awards, but I enjoyed watching it nonetheless.
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Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) directed by Halina Reijn
Horror-comedy, about a group of stupid young people moving into a big house to party, started playing a party game called "Bodies, bodies, bodies", and end up killing each other. Lots of blood, lots of screaming. Not much new in the genre. A bit of a plot twist at the end, but even that plot twist isn’t all that original or innovative.
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Orphans: First Kill (2022) directed by William Brent Bell
Psycho horror film, lots of blood, lots of slashing/stabbing, but visually not much gore. Overall plot is about an Estonian mental health patient escaped from confinement and got herself received into an American family then wrecking havoc. One third (or may be one half) of the movie in, I thought it's going to be predictable. Then a really, really good plot twist comes and turns the entire movie around. The plot twist made the rest of the movie exciting, captivating, and worth watching until the end. Recommended if you're down for a psychological horror movie.
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Fakt Mahilao Maate (2022) directed by Jay Bodas
Indian/Gujarati film about a man who was granted his wish to be able to hear women's inner thoughts. The premise is not new (e.g., Mel Gibson did "What Women Want" in 2000 with the same premise), but the cultural context made all the difference. The protagonist in this Gujarati film uses his new gift to mediate and survive among the many women in his family (grandmother, mother, sister, fiancée) as much as to get ahead in his material life. The moral of the story seems to be about making the distinction between "hearing the women's inner thoughts" vs. "understanding what the women really desire."
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Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) directed by George Miller
This fantasy drama I recommend highly. Really good stories with really good story telling. It draws from the "genie in the bottle" tale but makes thoughtful, original stories out of it. Everything flows and fits together nicely. Special effects and computer graphics are used with proper restraint and to great effects. You won't find action or wild imagination. This is about a supernatural being's love and longing that stretch across three millennia, and how it may (or may not) fit or resolve in contemporary society, subtly, without going wild. Music is good too, though the "fit" of the lyrics is somewhat contrived in certain places (not that I can understand the words; the lyric is in a foreign-to-me language). This is a subtle, thinking person's film. I high recommend this one.
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A triumph of style over substance and storytelling.
In the film, a traumatized mercenary named Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) is hired by a politician to find and rescue his daughter who has been kidnapped by a human trafficking network, which Joe is instructed to destroy by any violent means
Very "artsy" movie with some "jump-scares" and violence. Lots and lots of brooding Phoenix.
Stupid plot that serves as a vehicle for the director to show off her skills.
It's only 90 minutes long. I lasted for about 60.
On Amazon Prime.
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The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned two brothers' innovative fast food eatery, McDonald's, into the biggest restaurant business in the world, with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.
Interesting movie. It transitions pretty nicely from a charming rags-to-riches tale of Ray Kroc to "What an asshole Kroc is."
I'm sure that a lot of it is...embelllished. Nevertheless a pleasant, easy watch available on Netflix.
Keaton does a good job, by the way, and the guys playing the McDonald brothers are great as well.
Link to video -
Sharper on Apple TV+
I love movies about grift and cons. "Sharper" has a great cast, Julianne Moore, Lithgow, and others. It's a convoluted tale of grifts within grifts, and cons within cons. Full of deception, misdirection. Stylish and classy.
Ton of fun, with a bit too much of a "feel good" ending. Nevertheless a thoroughly fun ride.
Warning: The trailer is kinda spoiler-ey. It gives away some serious plot points, so don't watch if you like the surprises in the movie as they unfold. I watched without having seen the trailer - much better experience.
Link to video"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.
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@George-K said in Original Movies (not sequel, not reboot, not spin-off):
I love movies about grift and cons.
In case you haven't seen this yet.
Some good cons
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@Copper said in Original Movies (not sequel, not reboot, not spin-off):
Some good cons
https://www.amazon.com/Sneaky-Pete-Season-1/dp/B089YB1XTCI enjoyed the 1st season. However, the beginning of the 2nd left me a bit cold and I gave up. I mean, it was even too contrived for Sneaky Pete.
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I liked the first season, but at the end the story didn't seem to be going anywhere, just sinking deeper and deeper into his situation.
You could say the same about Breaking Bad, but Walter White changed as he sank deeper and deeper. That was the real story, and how it affected those around him. I didn't see that in SP.
"My pronouns are FA/FO." - Mik, 2024
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@Mik said in Original Movies (not sequel, not reboot, not spin-off):
You could say the same about Breaking Bad, but Walter White changed as he sank deeper and deeper. That was the real story, and how it affected those around him. I didn't see that in SP.
I really liked the Whitman references throughout the series. Very appropriate.
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The Invitation (2022) directed by Jessica M. Thompson
Young woman lured into the lair of a family of vampires that want to preserve its power using the young woman's blood. Young woman fought her way out with lots of violence. Well done and sufficiently exciting, sufficiently entertaining, nothing particularly outstanding. Worth streaming if you like the genre.
