Recent theatrical viewings

[Gabriel Knight]

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

A group of camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp where, years before, it was the site of a child's drowning and a grisly double murder.

I think we talked about this movie enough, so I'll rather talk about the experience.

As part of a special event in a small cinema in my city, last Friday the 13th they showed the classic horror movie that bears that name. It felt really good seeing that we packed the teather and had to open a second room just to show this piece of crap. And even stranger was the fact of finding 15 year old kids among the creepy older guys. The cinema put a group of people disguised as Jason, Freddy, Carrie, and Regan, with really bad costumes in closeup, but that were great for that particular situation.
Overall, an amazing experience. I never had the chance to watch this movie in a teather so it was really strange and unique. By the end, a lot of people were laughing at the chase scene, thinking how lame was the conclusion, when Jason came out of the water and scared the crap out of them. Then I was the one laughing, suckers. A round of applauses followed the credits, and it was great celebrating these movies which I grew up with.

Last Friday we were supposed to see NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET but sadly the cinema is closed because you know what. Let's hope the event continues in the near future.

[Rev. Powell]

I finally got back to the theater. I was in a live theater the night before they were shut down, and in the second day they were open for business (one independently owned theater is open in Louisville at the moment). It was pretty deserted; there were two other patrons at my showing and probably another 3-4 people in the place for another movie. Staff almost outnumbered the customers. At any rate it was nice.

THE TRIP TO GREECE: Playing versions of themselves, British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Byrdon travel across Greece, exchanging quips, eating food porn-y meals at cafes overlooking crystal blue oceans, and singing Bee Gees songs. Witty and amusing right up to the uncharacteristically downbeat ending; if you yearn to hear two guys exchange their impressions of Marlon Brando as Alexander the Great, this movie will scratch that itch. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

I went back to the theater for the first time in months.

Wasn't worried about social distancing once I got there. I was the only customer there. Not just in my particular theater---in the entire 16-screen multiplex. I did not even silence my phone.

TENET (2020): A nameless CIA agent is tasked with investigating mysterious threat that could end the world. Christopher Nolan should have picked between making either a MISSION IMPOSSIBLE-style globetrotting espionage pic, or a hard sci-fi mindbender. As it is, the action set-pieces are quite satisfying---the nuts and bolts explanations of how his conceit is supposed to work, far less so. 3/5.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Onward.
Yes, it has been that long since I saw a film in a theatre.

Though, here's a couple of hints that a film is "good."
1st it creates a world that is believable, especially is if is different from our own.
2nd a scene that seems to have no meaning, later on in the film is shown to have meaning.
Onward has both (IMHO)

Some more facts.
Like many of Pixar's films, it is semi-autobiographical.
It features the 1st non-heterosexual character in a Pixar film. Though, I hope you have better luck spotting it, than I did.
Ratzenberger is in it, playing much the same character as he did in Up.
The hero is only 16, which makes him one of the youngest heroes in a Pixar film.
Pixar is known for its villains (Hopper, Sid, etc.) but there seems to be no "true" villain in this film
The trailers for other non-Pixar films, show, that except for Disney, Pixar is far ahead of the other studios in its animation.

[Rev. Powell]

KAJILLIONAIRE (2020): A vivacious and kind-hearted young woman threatens the strictly-business dynamic between a mother, father and daughter who eek out a living conducting small-scale scams in L.A. Plays like a well-crafted short story brought to screen, and it's still involving even when it's obvious where it's headed; it's compassionate without being syrupy. 4/5

[kornula]

I had to go see EMPIRE STRIKES BACK as it was on the big ass screen.  Even though it was the "special" edition.. I saw it anyway.

[Rev. Powell]

Went back to a theater for the first time since October. I wasn't the only one there this time, but it was still pretty empty. There were maybe four other people in my theater, and maybe 20 people there total. It was nice that it wasn't eerily empty, but there were no long lines at the concession.

THE FATHER: Anthony has dementia, and we see things through his perspective: i.e. the same character will be played by different actors to mimic the fact that he sometimes doesn't recognize his companions anymore, and scenes play out of order. Formally, it's almost a psychological thriller, but with the emotional punch of a drama. Superlative acting from a distraught Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman as the daughter struggling to care for him. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

Once again, I was the only person in the theater--just like back in October.

IN THE EARTH: During a pandemic, a park ranger guides a young scientist to join up with an experiment deep in the forest, but an ancient spirit is stirring. Ben Wheatley revisits A FIELD IN ENGLAND TERRITORY in modern times, delivering more mystifying psychedelic shroomery. They are not being overcautious with the epilepsy warning. Not for everyone, you have to dig weird. 3.5/5

[Rev. Powell]

Pretty full theater for the first time since the pandemic started.

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON: Set in a mythical kingdom loosely based on Chinese mythology, this brightly animated Disney tale follows a girl on a quest to collect five pieces of a shattered gem to bring back dragons and stop a plague. The latest stop on modern Disney's multicultural, female-empowered tour proves the formula still works, and the art direction is superlative as always. 3.5/5.

[jimpickens]

Kong vs Godzilla mediocre at best.

[Rev. Powell]

DREAM HORSE (2020): A Welsh barmaid/store clerk convinces her small town to invest in a racehorse, which (spoiler?) is wildly successful and brings the villagers together. Predictable and sweet, and perfect for horse-loving girls 8 to 80. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

A QUIET PLACE PART 2: With their patriarch dead, the Abbot family ventures out to find more survivors amidst the invasion of predatory aliens who hunt entirely by sound. The original---where the action took place mostly in total silence---was a successful sci-fi gimmick; the followup is a more conventional, but largely successful, jump-scare driven apocalyptic monster romp. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

CRUELLA: The story of how feisty young orphan Estella became a fashion designer and eventually adopts the persona of Cruella de Vil. Disney does a good job of making you root for an antihero by creating an even greater villain for her to fight (ruthless fashion maven Emma Thompson), and by making sure she never does anything truly appalling, like smoke a cigarette. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

IN THE HEIGHTS: Musical following the dreams of a group of young people in the Latin neighborhood of Washington Heights. Lin-Manuel Miranda's lyrics are nimble and the dance scenes can be electrifying; the minor downsides are the too-obvious narrative and wearying length. (I remember thinking that I was enjoying it, but it had to be more than halfway over; then looking at my watch and realizing we were actually only about an hour in). Obviously, folks at this site aren't musical fans (I'm not really one either); but for what this is, it's really well done. 3.5/5.

[Trevor]

Kong vs Godzilla mediocre at best.

Someone did a puppet version of that on Youtube: very funny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-seNC70FFio


"You..........saved me............why?"
"Hmmm: monke."