This Old Neon Forum

Watched Luck on AppleTV+ a few weeks ago. Fun cartoon. I score it 8/10.

Watched few movies last weekend:

Nope
Felt very similar to Signs in a way and I really liked it.
Rating: One Kids-TV monkey

Bullet Train
Surprisingly fun action comedy, didn't even have it on my radar before. Good time.
Rating: A Water Bottle

Glass Onion
Better than the previous movie.
Rating: Dumb Billionaire

Ghostbuster Afterlife
The movie is like a German grandma gifting the "Struwwelpeter" to her grandkids.
Rating: Parents dragging their poor kids to see the movie in a faint hope they like the same thing they did as kids.

Spiderman: No Way Home
Better than the second movie.
Rating: Sombody saw Spiderverse and wanted to do the same thing.

Star Ratings
★★★ - Amazing
★★✩ - Good
★✩✩ - Bad

February 2023
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows ★★✩ - Good
Huge improvement on the original. The movie actually felt like a turtles movie and everything hit much better.

Spider-Man (2002) ★✩✩ - Bad
This movies aged poorly. Toby is a really awkward spiderman and the movie just felt weird the whole time. One of the worst movies in the franchise imo.

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons ★★✩ - Good
This was really good almost an amazing rating but it's been a week or since I watched it and it doesn't feel that memorable in the end. Really fun movie and Robin was great (whom I usually hate) but Batman/Superman are some of my least favourite superheroes

January 2023
Lightyear - ★★✩ - Good
Minions: The Rise of Gru - ★★✩ - Good
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) - ★★✩ - Bood
Wolf Children ★★✩ - Good
Hunt for the Wilderpeople ★★★ - Amazing
Aliens (1986) ★✩✩ - Bad
Deadpool 2 ★★✩ - Good
Alien (1979) ★✩✩ - Bad
Birds of Prey ★✩✩ - Bad
Zootopia ★★★ - Amazing
Sword Art Online the Movie - Progressive - Aria of a Starless Night ★★✩ - Good
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson ★★✩ - Good
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ★★✩ - Good
Batman vs TMNT ★★★ - Amazing
Dragonball Super: Broly ★★★ - Amazing

Using a month of Disney+ to catch up on stuff:

Eternals:
Marvel stuff....
Rating: About three things in the movie that sorta work, the rest not so much.

Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness:
More Marvel stuff...
Rating: This one was ok and a good follow-up to WandaVision

Thor 4: Love & Thunder
Even more Marvel stuff...
Rating: Pacing a bit choppy, but fun romp. Villain was less boring than I expected.

Wakanda Forever
So much more Marvel stuff....
Rating: Longer than it needs to be, bold choice to add fishpeople.

Shang-Chi
Marvel at all the Marvel stuff....
Rating: From martial arts to high fantasy, best sidekick character in the series and Kingsley/Yeoh. Best of this bunch.

The Predator (2018)
He's actually more of a Bass Fisherman than a predator. Starring the cast of Seinfeld as soldiers .
Rating: Kramer getting cut in half

Prey
The best Predator movie unless you really like the 80s aesthetic of the first.
Rating:

Turning Red
Pixar coming of age
Rating: Had a blast with this one, the animation is so good

I watched my second film of the year:

The Usual Suspects (1995) — 9.5/10

Over the weekend, I had the rare pleasure of watching this classic with not one but two people who hadn't seen it before. Experiencing the twists and turns of The Usual Suspects with fresh eyes is truly a treat. Apart from one dated slur and the fact that the film doesn't even enter the building where the Bechdel tests are being administered, it holds up pretty well. Crazy that Brian Singer directed this when he was only 30, before he went on to have a career directing X-Men movies and raping children. Meanwhile, Christopher McQuarrie, who won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects, went on to make a bunch of Tom Cruise movies, including one of my faves of all time, Cruisehog Day.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) — 8.1/10

Tonight we watched the Oscar-nominated Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It was super cute. It hit all the Puss tropes, which is exactly what you want when you're watching a Puss movie. Lots of fun references. John Mulaney was in it.


2023 in Summary
02-19: 9.5/10 The Usual Suspects (1995) - other home cinema
01-28: 8.1/10 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) - home cinema

Kiwi the Tortoise wrote: ↑12 Feb 2023 21:18 Using a month of Disney+ to catch up on stuff:

Eternals:
Marvel stuff....
Rating: About three things in the movie that sorta work, the rest not so much.

Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness:
More Marvel stuff...
Rating: This one was ok and a good follow-up to WandaVision

Thor 4: Love & Thunder
Even more Marvel stuff...
Rating: Pacing a bit choppy, but fun romp. Villain was less boring than I expected.

Wakanda Forever
So much more Marvel stuff....
Rating: Longer than it needs to be, bold choice to add fishpeople.

Shang-Chi
Marvel at all the Marvel stuff....
Rating: From martial arts to high fantasy, best sidekick character in the series and Kingsley/Yeoh. Best of this bunch.

The Predator (2018)
He's actually more of a Bass Fisherman than a predator. Starring the cast of Seinfeld as soldiers .
Rating: Kramer getting cut in half

Prey
The best Predator movie unless you really like the 80s aesthetic of the first.
Rating:

Turning Red
Pixar coming of age
Rating: Had a blast with this one, the animation is so good

I'm with you, Shang-Chi is probably the best thing Marvel has put out post- endgame, alongside Spiderman no way home. Looking forward to seeing a follow up to that.

Been spending the last week watching the John Wick movies. Seen the first one before but non of the others.

The first movie is still fantastic. Second one I thought was a good follow up, but didn't quite hold up in the way the first did. The third one was the best so far, they really stepped all the action way up. Looking forward to part 4.

The Shoemaker wrote: ↑28 Mar 2023 04:31 Been spending the last week watching the John Wick movies. Seen the first one before but non of the others.

The first movie is still fantastic. Second one I thought was a good follow up, but didn't quite hold up in the way the first did. The third one was the best so far, they really stepped all the action way up. Looking forward to part 4.

Yeah man, I'm with you! I haven't exactly been a hardcore follower/fan of the series, but I did watch the first three and enjoyed them well enough for what they're doing. But for the past week or so I have been hyped to see JW4! So sad that Lance Reddick died recently. He seemed like a rad guy.

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I watched my third film of the year:

The Harder They Fall (2021) — 8.1/10

I mentioned this one on TONecord. Good ensemble cast western with great music. The thing that surprised me the most is that, above and beyond the stylized direction, the movie is indeed a solid straight-up western in plot and execution. And I would even argue it's not crazily stylized, it just has good modernish music. Glad I watched it literally the day before Jonathan Majors choked someone out...

The Usual Suspects (1995) — 9.5/10

Over the weekend, I had the rare pleasure of watching this classic with not one but two people who hadn't seen it before. Experiencing the twists and turns of The Usual Suspects with fresh eyes is truly a treat. Apart from one dated slur and the fact that the film doesn't even enter the building where the Bechdel tests are being administered, it holds up pretty well. Crazy that Brian Singer directed this when he was only 30, before he went on to have a career directing X-Men movies and raping children. Meanwhile, Christopher McQuarrie, who won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects, went on to make a bunch of Tom Cruise movies, including one of my faves of all time, Cruisehog Day.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) — 8.1/10

Tonight we watched the Oscar-nominated Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It was super cute. It hit all the Puss tropes, which is exactly what you want when you're watching a Puss movie. Lots of fun references. John Mulaney was in it.


2023 in Summary
03-23: 8.1/10 The Harder They Fall (2021) - home cinema
02-19: 9.5/10 The Usual Suspects (1995) - other home cinema
01-28: 8.1/10 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) - home cinema

I watched my fourth, fifth, and sixth films of the year:

The Many Saints of Newark (2021) — 7.8/10

Not perfect, but pretty good. Successfully captures the Sopranoey tone they were going for. Main character is very unlikeable, which does sometime make it more difficult to really enjoy it. Ray Liotta steals the show in a minor role.

Nope (2022) — 8.2/10

This was very different than what I was expecting. Had a great surprise appearance by the main bad guy from the Crow.

John Mulaney: Baby J (2023) — 8.0/10

Good new Mulaney stand-up show. The entire show—the entire show—deals with his recent fall from grace, which makes for a nice tight show, but the double-edge of that is not as much variety. He jumps right in and contextualizes it with a hilarious bit at the start about how everyone liked Bo Burnham more now, which got me on board, because I do.


2023 in Summary
04-30: 8.0/10 John Mulaney: Baby J (2023) - home cinema
04-21: 8.2/10 Nope (2022) - home cinema
04-20: 7.8/10 The Many Saints of Newark (2021) - home cinema
03-23: 8.1/10 The Harder They Fall (2021) - home cinema
02-19: 9.5/10 The Usual Suspects (1995) - other home cinema
01-28: 8.1/10 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) - home cinema

I watched my seventh film of the year:

The Suicide Squad (2021) — 8.4/10

Definitely a James Gunn Guardians-like setpiece comedy. Almost leans more into direct parody along the lines of the Naked Gun series to a certain degree, with one-off sight gags thrown into the usual Marvel-style quips. It was enjoyable.


2023 in Summary
05-03: 8.4/10 The Suicide Squad (2021) - home cinema
04-30: 8.0/10 John Mulaney: Baby J (2023) - home cinema
04-21: 8.2/10 Nope (2022) - home cinema
04-20: 7.8/10 The Many Saints of Newark (2021) - home cinema
03-23: 8.1/10 The Harder They Fall (2021) - home cinema
02-19: 9.5/10 The Usual Suspects (1995) - other home cinema
01-28: 8.1/10 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) - home cinema

I watched my eighth film of the year:

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) — 5.1/10

I was actually surprised by how bad this was. Best I can figure is it's literally made for little kids, but then there's an F-bomb in there so I dunno. All the setups are painfully obvious and plainly-stated. "I'm a serial killer, I'm a super bad guy lol!" Same with all the plot beats. The editing is also weird. I dunno, it felt like it was written in a real hurry by someone without experience and then they didn't bother to edit the script into shape because they couldn't believe they had a sequel and they wanted to cash in quick. Andy Serkis directed this! Wtf. Even the incomprehensible fight at the end was so quick and by the numbers as to be boring.


2023 in Summary
05-07: 5.1/10 Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) - other home cinema
05-03: 8.4/10 The Suicide Squad (2021) - home cinema
04-30: 8.0/10 John Mulaney: Baby J (2023) - home cinema
04-21: 8.2/10 Nope (2022) - home cinema
04-20: 7.8/10 The Many Saints of Newark (2021) - home cinema
03-23: 8.1/10 The Harder They Fall (2021) - home cinema
02-19: 9.5/10 The Usual Suspects (1995) - other home cinema
01-28: 8.1/10 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) - home cinema