The Finest Hours - 8/10 Probably the closest thing that I can think of in recent times that conjures up memories and evokes a certain vibe since the golden era of disaster films which some people might not like but to me that is a great thing, disaster films on a somewhat small scale are a rarity and this on the whole succeeded.
Ridiculousness of Snowden? He should have been afforded at least an attempt at whistleblower protection and was instead charged under the actual ridiculous 1917 Espionage Act. I think his paranoia was justified.
Legend (2015) - 6/10 The similarities between this and say Goodfellas are striking but thanks to Tom Hardy this is at least watchable despite its several flaws and cliches.
Z is an amazing movie. Still socially prescient and tense as hell, without having to try too hard to drum the suspense up
Gone Baby, Gone - I'd probably have to watch it again to figure out exactly what I feel about it. It certainly had its moments. I felt Casey Afflecks narration was kind of pointless, as was his girlfriends character. Mostly I think it made me want to watch The Town and Gone Girl, which I'll probably do today.
The Hitcher (1986) - 9/10 Probably not a popular opinion but this to me is one of the best from the eighties. The performances, the style, the violence, the camera work, the lack of dialogue in plenty of scenes replaced by visual storytelling and the fact the main character is pretty much useless in a hopeless situation makes for a tense film. Then there is the score which is so good and so underrated.
Mr. Holmes - 8/10 While it doesn't have any thrills like the TV series this is a far more grounded and pleasant outing for Mr. Holmes and it works far more as a drama than a mystery. Ian McKellen is fantastic as Holmes and the rest of the cast support him marvelously, it also looks great, has a plot that may lack thrills but is still wholly engrossing and deals with subjects that the likes of the TV series can't match be it old age, becoming obsolete or suicide. On the whole a solid and well made drama that just so happens to be centered around a past mystery in the life of Mr. Holmes.
Cafe Society is pretty much a standard Woody Allen film, but what was so surprising was the way it was shot. It is his first film on digital, but he brought in the cinematographer from Apocalypse Now and did some very interesting things with lighting. They are very obvious at times; the female love interest is literally covered in sunlight in an otherwise dark room. It is still a rebuttal to the idea that he just makes these films on a production line, however, and he finds a way to end the film on the uneasy truce between a happy ending where you get what you want and a depressing one.
Star Trek - 9.5/10 Watched this and will watch Into Darkness in the run up to watching Beyond on Sunday.
Been watching a lot of stuff lately. Off the top of my head: Viridiana Von Ryan's Express The Adventures of Prince Achmed The Wedding Banquet The Piano The Jazz Singer The Son's Room Daisies The Quiet Earth Babes in Arms The Pirate Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown The Cowboy and the Lady The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short Blonde Crazy Children of Paradise Three Colors: Blue Le Jour Se Leve Z The Story of a Cheat The Killer Shrews Broken Lance Calamity Jane The Parent Trap Been a good movie summer so far
Star Trek Beyond - 9/10 Enjoyed it just as much if not more than Into Darkness if it holds up to repeated viewings as this was extremely fun and once again a visual and audio feast. The action was spectacular (best of the reboot series so far), the interaction and script in general was pretty much spot on, the score is as good as ever (Michael Giacchino is fast becoming one of my new favorite film score composers), the new additions to the series are half and half since I didn't find Krall to be all that enthralling but Jaylah was brilliant (hats off to Sofia Boutella once again putting in great fight scenes after she amazed in Kingsman last year). I really liked the whole feel to the film as well with its undertones of questioning why the likes of Kirk are doing what they are doing plus there was some neat camera work and the production and look of some of the sets were stunning, I could watch the introduction to Yorktown over and over and still find something to interest me. Overall really great, not much else to complain about outside of Krall in all honesty.
Haven't seen it yet but will one of these days. you definitely seem to enjoy most movies quite a bit and that's basically how I am too lol
For the most part I make a concerted effort to avoid movies I won't like but sometimes I watch bad films for the fun of it or to help appreciate great films all the more.
Babylon A.D. Speed 2: Cruise Control Bulletproof Spawn Sliver A few that come to mind, hate all of them.