At the Movies with Kane and BN

[Kane52630]

Montana Story

A phenomenal character driven family drama set on a ranch in Montana where it's centered around two estranged siblings trying to cope with a father who's in a coma. It's a slice of life story that takes its time to slowly piece out what it's trying to say. At times the direction is super zen and while it's not for everyone's speed, it really worked on me. The movie is built on Haley Lu Richardson and Owen Teague's performance and it's incredibly well done in a very real way. I thought Gilbert Owuor and Eugene Brave Rock were also really good in here even though I wish we had more scenes with them. There's also a commentary underneath the movie that that deals with the geopolitical aspects of Montana like the pipeline and the native Americans that live there that could have been even more fleshed out. Overall, I thought so great to sit though. It's always these kinds of indie films that I love finding.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Don't want to do a formal review but I finally got to cross off one of my must see movies and that's Paris, Texas. It's exactly everything I thought it would be and more. Also if anyone has ever driven in Houston you'll know it's crazy to see this movie today because it's as if nothing has changed since 1984.

 

[3rdstone]

Oh, it's been decades since last watch of Paris, Texas. About time for a rewatch. That classic slide riff by Ry Cooder is forever etched in my soul.

 

[Kane52630]

Seeing it on a restored bluray transfer from Criterion is what really makes it. I couldn't even imagine watching this on a dvd or vhs back in the day. It's so beautifully shot.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Don't want to do a formal review but I finally got to cross off one of my must see movies and that's Paris, Texas. It's exactly everything I thought it would be and more. Also if anyone has ever driven in Houston you'll know it's crazy to see this movie today because it's as if nothing has changed since 1984.

Oh, it's been decades since last watch of Paris, Texas. About time for a rewatch. That classic slide riff by Ry Cooder is forever etched in my soul.

Seeing it on a restored bluray transfer from Criterion is what really makes it. I couldn't even imagine watching this on a dvd or vhs back in the day. It's so beautifully shot.

I must rewatch it. I've only seen it once, but it didn't make much of an impression on me. But this was close to 10 years ago or so. Nastassja Kinski did make a huge impression! She was absolutely breath taking in the 80s. I also recommend her in 'Tess'.

 

[3rdstone]

We were all in love with Nastassja Kinski back in the 80s.

 

[Kane52630]

Official Competition

Penélope Cruz doing the floss dance was not on my bingo card

A really fun dark comedy that showcases the preproduction involving actors who were thrown in together to make an elevated drama because some wealthy guy said so. You essentially get a battle of egos from two very different types of actors played by Oscar Martínez and Antonio Banderas. One believes in the art and doesn't care about money or fame (but secretly he does) and one that is famous and pompous but who also loves the craft (and is jealous of the other guy). And in the center, you have an eccentric director played by Penélope Cruz who tries to put it all together. It's a lot of funny moments that hold the movie together while also seeing how different the main three are with how they operate in making a movie. It's really well shot and they make use of the architecture of the house. Overall, a really fun character driven dark comedy/drama that really works.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Thor: Love & Thunder

Never thought the MCU would causally play Petey Pablo but here we are.

Taika Waititi continues where he left off from Ragnarok and reintroduces Jane Foster back into the MCU. With Love & Thunder they made pretty much a superhero romcom that tries to get Thor back with Jane as well as his old hammer. There's a throughline with the plot that is easy to understand which also borrows from the comics and I couldn't help but think... This could have been so much better if they didn't constantly try to make it funny. There are some funny moments in here that work, but almost anything dramatic gets cut with humor... to the point where you are expecting a funny gag to happen even when it's supposed to be serious.

That being said, I did enjoy Natalie Portman, Christan Bale, and Russell Crowe here. Every time Bale shows up playing Gorr it was like Steph Curry making threes and it's unfortunate that he's not in it a lot. And because he's not in it a lot, he's not as fleshed out as he's supposed to be which is a shame. Tessa Thompson pretty much plays the third wheel here and they don't really do much with her character outside of the set up which sucks. I really love Korg... until this movie where his jokes got stale really quick. And the GOTG crew basically showed up for 5 minutes out of obligation.

I don't know what it is, but except for the Zeus scene, it's got a hollow middle part of the movie that tries to yada yada their way through the movie and it feels like there are a lot of scenes that were cut. I would have loved to explore more of that montage where Thor and Jane broke up, but Taika simply felt it wasn't worth the time. And there are parts in the middle where it felt more like a Disney+ show (or a satuday morning cartoon with the way the costuming looks here) than a blockbuster movie. I wasn't too crazy for Ragnarok but this made me look back fondly on it. Even Thor the Dark World had a better grasp at the balance of humor and drama. Aside from the cold open and the ending which I really loved, this movie was pretty much a series of aimless comedic gags that feels and taste like microwaved pizza. Overall, not feeling it... maybe it'll age better later on.
2.5/5

 

[Doctor Jones]

Thor: Love & Thunder

Never thought the MCU would causally play Petey Pablo but here we are.

Taika Waititi continues where he left off from Ragnarok and reintroduces Jane Foster back into the MCU. With Love & Thunder they made pretty much a superhero romcom that tries to get Thor back with Jane as well as his old hammer. There's a throughline with the plot that is easy to understand which also borrows from the comics and I couldn't help but think... This could have been so much better if they didn't constantly try to make it funny. There are some funny moments in here that work, but almost anything dramatic gets cut with humor... to the point where you are expecting a funny gag to happen even when it's supposed to be serious.

That being said, I did enjoy Natalie Portman, Christan Bale, and Russell Crowe here. Every time Bale shows up playing Gorr it was like Steph Curry making threes and it's unfortunate that he's not in it a lot. And because he's not in it a lot, he's not as fleshed out as he's supposed to be which is a shame. Tessa Thompson pretty much plays the third wheel here and they don't really do much with her character outside of the set up which sucks. I really love Korg... until this movie where his jokes got stale really quick. And the GOTG crew basically showed up for 5 minutes out of obligation.

I don't know what it is, but except for the Zeus scene, it's got a hollow middle part of the movie that tries to yada yada their way through the movie and it feels like there are a lot of scenes that were cut. I would have loved to explore more of that montage where Thor and Jane broke up, but Taika simply felt it wasn't worth the time. And there are parts in the middle where it felt more like a Disney+ show (or a satuday morning cartoon with the way the costuming looks here) than a blockbuster movie. I wasn't too crazy for Ragnarok but this made me look back fondly on it. Even Thor the Dark World had a better grasp at the balance of humor and drama. Aside from the cold open and the ending which I really loved, this movie was pretty much a series of aimless comedic gags that feels and taste like microwaved pizza. Overall, not feeling it... maybe it'll age better later on.
2.5/5

Jesus.

 

[Kane52630]

Jesus.

 

[Black Narcissus]

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

I love the premise more so than the finished film. I still recommend it, but I wanted and expected more weird- meta Nic Cage moments and call backs. Cage and Pascal work great together. This is like swapping tongue spits or as the french call it, kissing, with a '10' but she has herpes, but its too late, so you keep going and sleep it off and look into it in the morning. You know what I mean? Everything is here for a great meal, but not enough spice or salt. You still finish it and leave a good tip.

3/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

I love the premise more so than the finished film. I still recommend it, but I wanted and expected more weird- meta Nic Cage moments and call backs. Cage and Pascal work great together. This is like swapping tongue spits or as the french call it, kissing, with a '10' but she has herpes, but its too late, so you keep going and sleep it off and look into it in the morning. You know what I mean? Everything is here for a great meal, but not enough spice or salt. You still finish it and leave a good tip.

3/5

I don't know who Alessandra Mastronardi is but I need her to be in more movies.

 

[Black Narcissus]

I don't know who Alessandra Mastronardi is but I need her to be in more movies.

More english based flicks you mean, cause I have seen her in some spanish flicks and short series.

Another one that will catch your attention is Adriana Ugarte. 'Durante La Tormenta' on netflix. Entertaining horror flick of sorts. You bald bastah still haven't seen 'The Hater' on netflix. Don't watch a trailer, just hit play. Breh, for the love of recnt korean horror, watch "The Call'', also on netflix.

 

[Black Narcissus]

The Black Phone

The masks were really cool! Outside of that, eh, it was fine. I'm disappointed cause I needed a bit more. I also really hate the ending. I'm probably alone on this here, but I feel like this kinda needed a rather bleak and darker ending. We all know what ending I'm talkin about, but I guess that wouldn't sell or audience would hate it. Ethan Hawke was great as always. This type of character doesn't need a prequel, but I guess it be too difficult to resist now for Derrickson. Often times, these types of real life killers were 9-5 guys, nothing more, no need for some elaborate origin story. Eh.

3/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Bob's Burger Movie

Now if we can only make Coach McGuirk play Carmy from The Bear but in animated form.

As someone who never seen Bob's Burgers aside from the memes and gifs, I thought this was just okay borderlining on meandering. I'm assuming it's just a longer version of an episode that's filled up with somewhat useless musical acts that drags the plot. With the plot, it almost like they used the same playbook as The Simpsons movie or even Doug's First Movie which I didn't mind. There are some funny gags that I liked but not quiet enough to keep me really interested. Overall, not bad not great.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood

A solid coming of age film from Richard Linklater that is a love letter to his life growing up in Houston Texas where at one point it was the center of culture back in 1969 with the Apollo 11 moon landing. Like with most Richard Linklater films, he does a great job showcasing mundane life and in this case the family suburbs of Houston back in 1969. He goes back to the rotoscope animated look for this one and it's still brilliant to look at because you do feel pulled into the time much easier. There's lots of real footage they also pulled and it works seamlessly. While a lot of the movie does sound and look like the typical "back in my day things were better"... the movie does also become critical of it while also highlighting the changing times culturally in the late 60s. Overall, a really well done nostalgia piece that holds some weight.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

I just need a Hollywood Reporter roundtable discussion with Marcel The Shell, Paddington, Shaun the Sheep, Winnie The Pooh, and Kermit the Frog.

This was exactly as advertised, a joyful little mockumentary about a talking seashell that is looking to reunite with his family. At times it might be surface level enjoyment, but there's a thin layer of existentialism that's baked into this which works. Lots of harmless humor that they sprinkled throughout this and there's a interesting meta commentary about fame that doesn't get overlooked. Overall, between Marcel and EEAO, it's been a great year for feel good movies with a positive message.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Where the Crawdads Sing

It's been a while since I saw a really well produced, shot, acted, edited, and directed movie that uses an absolute trashy soap opera script (and I guess novel as well) as the crux of the whole thing. It's a movie that sets up as a court room drama murder mystery and also a romantic drama and they don't really do anything new with it. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jojo Regina who plays her younger self are probably the best actors in the movie and it's a shame what they were given was so cliched and predictable. It's easily one of the better shot films of the year and Polly Morgan did a great job with making New Orleans (even though it's supposed to be set in North Carolina) look beautiful. Outside of that, it's a white Tyler Perry movie. It's easily one of those movies for people who don't regularly watch movies will think is incredible. Overall, it's a overdramatic trashy novel of a movie that looks great.
2/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Princess

Shout out to the big guy who had to run up and down the castle twice and was absolutely winded, I felt that.

This was a nice surprise. It's a high camp fantasy action flick that combines elements of wuxia with a tongue-in-cheek 70s grindhouse revenge flick set in medieval times. It's as if someone thought "What if Game of Death or The Raid was set at an English castle where Princess Peach starts kicking ass?" They really do a great job centering a lot of the focus on the action setpieces while also delivering on some of the emotional aspects. Joey King was great and held her own and I really liked how they gave Veronica Ngo a lot of screentime. Sure, Dominic Cooper & Olga Kurylenko are kinda phoning it in here and they don't really do much outside of the typical villain role, but thankfully they don't take up much of the movie. Overall, a lot of fun.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Valet

Another movie where I wasn't expecting much, but I was surprised by how good it was. It's a romcom that is totally self aware of the romcom tropes and tries to subvert what these kinds of movies typically do. It has a lot of clever enough jokes that center around celebrity culture and the culture/class divide. Eugenio Derbez and Samara Weaving really elevate the material and both really work well together despite the age difference which they do make fun of and it's baked into the plot. I also thought Carmen Salinas was great playing the mother and the rest of the Latino cast and they do something here that takes a dramatic turn in the 3rd act which works. I also really liked the two side characters who play the investigators (Ravi Patel and John Pirruccello), they could easily have their own buddy comedy. Overall, really well done.
3.5/5

 

[Black Narcissus]

Pleasure

A very raw and unhinged look at the porn industry. Steven Soderbergh has always mentioned the adult stars as more than capable actors, he is right. Sofia Kappel gives a brave and natural performance. This is like a trashy version of 'A Star Is Born'. We see a couple of familiar faces every dude on here might be familiar with at some time or another. Heh. Director Ninja Thyberg just goes for it. In a way, this kinda feels like it was inspired by some flicks by Sean Baker flick. This did feel a bit too long tho, but a very solid well made movie.

3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Yeah after a while it got pretty basic. Still, incredible that they went for it.

 

[Kane52630]

Nope

Nothing will ever beat a big box electronic store that died a couple of years ago being advertised in a giant summer blockbuster as if they're still around without any irony.

Where Get Out was Jordan Peele's man vs man and Us was man vs self, Nope is his man vs nature. In a lot of ways, this movie owes itself to Spielberg movies like Jaws and Close Encounters where it takes a common ufo movie and adds his wild spin to it while also doing some interesting parallels. Some other movies that this reminded me of were Fire in the Sky and Signs (for better or worse). It's a movie that will not work for everyone if they're expecting a certain outcome to happen or explaining why some scenes in relevant to the movie even though they are very effective. I feel once it gets to the 3rd act it becomes pretty clear what this movie was supposed to be about thematically. The performances were great and I really liked Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer in here. Seeing this in IMAX was also really well done and Hoyte van Hoytema really outdid himself with the cinematography. Overall, while might not be for everyone who's expecting a straight alien horror film, I really loved it and it has one of the strangest creature designs I've ever seen. In regard to Peele's work, it's better than Us but not as good as Get Out.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Gray Man

I liked it better when it was called Commando.

While it's nowhere near the bottom of the barrel spy action thrillers like Red Notice or Double Team, it's a pretty meandering movie that doesn't go anywhere until you're halfway in. It's put together as if the Russo brothers were afraid they're gonna lose people's attention so they keep moving the plot on to the next thing as if nothing happened. On a basic level, I did enjoy Ryan Goslin, Chris Evans (who was chewing every scenery imaginable), and Ana de Armas in here but they all have to keep up with this dumb spy plot that feels like it came from a bad Tom Clancy novel. The action itself when it got to Prague was decent enough and I did like the action set piece at the end but that's pretty much it. It's one of these movies where you forget about it after a week despite all the money they put into it. Overall, exactly the definition of mid to okay.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

If someone told me a major studio actually remade Blazing Saddles as an animated kids movie, I wouldn't believe it and yet it exist.

While one paper it might sound incredible, it's a very middle of the road animated kids movie that has some few surprises...mainly the direct homages to Blazing Saddles even to the point of having Mel Brooks voicing one of the characters. It starts off great but once it got to the 2nd half you kinda know where this movie goes and most of the jokes are pretty basic outside from a few. I will say while the main animation doesn't look too remarkable, what they do with the flashbacks was really nice. Overall, it's just passable.
2.5/5