Let's All Go to the Lobby

 Sorry about the above...I hit "Add reply" accidentally, and then spent so long trying to fix the post that the time to reply expired. I'm not sure if I have the energy to retype all of that, lol.

 Eh, I'm gonna try to recreate what I attempted to post, in case anyone cares, lol.

  I thought PROJECT: HAIL MARY was a great bit of cinematic fun. It appealed to the oldies (My wife and I), as well as the younger set (My son and his girlfriend), and the packed theater exploded in applause when the credits rolled. As I said in an earlier post, that's the kind of reaction that you just can't duplicate watching at home. I loved that the film wasn't a blue-screen fest, and Rocky, the practical-effects alien buddy, was absolutely delightful...he stole the film. Ryan Gosling has become a real actor to watch, both in terms of charisma, acting ability, and likeability, plus he seems to have a knack for picking quality projects. If you haven't seen DRIVE or THE NICE GUYS yet, you need to fix that, ASAP. Hopefully the film will be a strong Oscar-contender next year.

 I meant to watch CODA when it first hit Apple TV+, which I've since canceled. I'm hoping to resubscribe when/if I ever get a job, lol...missing SLOW HORSES, MONARCH, FOR ALL MANKIND, STAR CITY, etc., has been killing me! Troy Kotsur really wowed me in PRIMATE and BLACK RABBIT, so I'm eager to see his Oscar-winning performance.

Posted by: @dannyboy121070

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   I thought PROJECT: HAIL MARY was a great bit of cinematic fun. It appealed to the oldies (My wife and I), as well as the younger set (My son and his girlfriend), and the packed theater exploded in applause when the credits rolled. . . .  I loved that the film wasn't a blue-screen fest, and Rocky, the practical-effects alien buddy, was absolutely delightful...he stole the film. Ryan Gosling has become a real actor to watch, both in terms of charisma, acting ability, and likeability, plus he seems to have a knack for picking quality projects. If you haven't seen DRIVE

My wife, daughter, her boyfriend, and I went to see HAIL MARY a week or two ago, and, like your family, we all loved it. I was pleasantly surprised as I'd feared the Rocky CGI would come off as either cartoonish or silly. It was neither...every element of this film was solid. 

And I love Drive, though I thought Sallis' book was better (though Sallis' sequel,DRIVE 2, fell flat).

 

I had no idea DRIVE was based on a book! I'll have to check that out.

Posted by: @sock_monkey

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Second film was one I've been meaning to get to for a while, but kept pushing it off, which was Coda (2021). The film won a bunch of awards a few years back so I won't detail the plot too much, only to say it centers around a teenage girl, the only hearing person in her family, as she navigates her growing passion for music and desire to attend college while struggling to separate from the obligations of her family. The cast was uniformly great, but Troy Kasur was an absolute standout (probably why he won an Oscar). I found the film sweet, heartfelt, and very funny. One of the better coming-of-age films I've seen in recent years. 

 

AppleTV right? I don't remember where I first came across this one, but it was an immediate add to my watch list (but just haven't gotten around to it yet.)

 

Posted by: @tacomadiver

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Posted by: @sock_monkey

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Second film was one I've been meaning to get to for a while, but kept pushing it off, which was Coda (2021). The film won a bunch of awards a few years back so I won't detail the plot too much, only to say it centers around a teenage girl, the only hearing person in her family, as she navigates her growing passion for music and desire to attend college while struggling to separate from the obligations of her family. The cast was uniformly great, but Troy Kasur was an absolute standout (probably why he won an Oscar). I found the film sweet, heartfelt, and very funny. One of the better coming-of-age films I've seen in recent years. 

 

AppleTV right? I don't remember where I first came across this one, but it was an immediate add to my watch list (but just haven't gotten around to it yet.)

 

Sorry, I just saw this. Yes, this is streaming on AppleTV.

 

While I tend to like Edgar Wright films--Shaun of the Dead is, of course, a classic, but Baby Driver won me over despite not finding the lead actor very charismatic and Last Night in SoHo is rather slept on in my opinion--but I finally got around to The Running Man (2025) and, man, did this movie just not work for me. The movie is pitched at an 11 at all times, lending a melodramatic feel to what should be grounding moments, and the bad guys are rather forgettable. Even bigger issues than that is it didn't feel like Glenn Powell's character really was in danger at all times nor did the character have anything even remotely resembling a character arc. It wasn't even that much fun on an action level. Overall, a pretty big dud for me. GRADE: D-

Posted by: @sock_monkey

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While I tend to like Edgar Wright films--Shaun of the Dead is, of course, a classic, but Baby Driver won me over despite not finding the lead actor very charismatic and Last Night in SoHo is rather slept on in my opinion--but I finally got around to The Running Man (2025) and, man, did this movie just not work for me. The movie is pitched at an 11 at all times, lending a melodramatic feel to what should be grounding moments, and the bad guys are rather forgettable. Even bigger issues than that is it didn't feel like Glenn Powell's character really was in danger at all times nor did the character have anything even remotely resembling a character arc. It wasn't even that much fun on an action level. Overall, a pretty big dud for me. GRADE: D-

 I'm a HUGE Wright fan, but I agree completely, this film just did not work for me. BABY DRIVER is a film that I can surf to at any point, and I end up just sitting and watching the rest of it. SUCH an amazing film...The car chases are thrilling, so it was a real letdown to not feel any of that in THE RUNNING MAN. I think the story was fine as a book, but the original film made a big improvement by compressing the timeline. Running and running and running for a month, or whatever it was, was just too much. The Arnold film was much faster paced.

  That said, my son loved the film.

 

Posted by: @dannyboy121070

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Posted by: @sock_monkey

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While I tend to like Edgar Wright films--Shaun of the Dead is, of course, a classic, but Baby Driver won me over despite not finding the lead actor very charismatic and Last Night in SoHo is rather slept on in my opinion--but I finally got around to The Running Man (2025) and, man, did this movie just not work for me. The movie is pitched at an 11 at all times, lending a melodramatic feel to what should be grounding moments, and the bad guys are rather forgettable. Even bigger issues than that is it didn't feel like Glenn Powell's character really was in danger at all times nor did the character have anything even remotely resembling a character arc. It wasn't even that much fun on an action level. Overall, a pretty big dud for me. GRADE: D-

 I'm a HUGE Wright fan, but I agree completely, this film just did not work for me. BABY DRIVER is a film that I can surf to at any point, and I end up just sitting and watching the rest of it. SUCH an amazing film...The car chases are thrilling, so it was a real letdown to not feel any of that in THE RUNNING MAN. I think the story was fine as a book, but the original film made a big improvement by compressing the timeline. Running and running and running for a month, or whatever it was, was just too much. The Arnold film was much faster paced.

  That said, my son loved the film.

 

What's a bummer is that there is a really good movie in here somewhere and I really like the cast. And I wholeheartedly agree--every set piece in Baby Driver is so much fun, but none of that energy transfers to this new film, where the action feels perfunctory. 

 

Posted by: @sock_monkey

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every set piece in Baby Driver is so much fun

I thought Running Man was okay, but I just love Baby Driver, it's one of my favorite films and one I can rewatch and it never gets stale, a bit like another car-centric film, Ford V. Ferrari....I'm sure I must be up to three or four times each by now.

 

Been on a little bit of a movie kick recently, so I'll try to keep these short.

Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026) has been talked about on this forum before (I think, or maybe that was the CD forum), but I really enjoyed this sweet little film. Most of this comes from Sally Field, whose smile is still a delight, but Lewis Pullman was enjoyable and Colm Meaney is always a favorite of mine. While it's clear pretty quickly where it's headed, the journey of all these wayward folks finding each other is a good time. Grade: B+

Crime 101 (2026) might have crashed and burned at the theaters, but hopefully it will find new life on streaming and physical media because it is a great old school crime thriller with a stacked cast (Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, Nick Nolte, and Barry Keoghan) doing fine work. Based on Don Winslow's book (novella?) of the same name, there is some heavy Heat vibes going on with a skilled but emotionally isolated thief being hunted by a cop whose life is falling apart around him, yet it works well, even if the ending ties things up a little too neatly. I haven't seen any of director Bart Layton's work prior to this, but I will definitely be checking it out. If you like crime films, this is a must watch.  Grade: B+

The Drama (2026) was not necessarily on my must-watch list. I like Robert Pattinson enough and I find Zendaya very charming, but neither are enough to pull me in by dint of their star power. However, this film was a big surprise that I absolutely loved. Pattinson and Zendaya play an engaged couple who find their relationship unraveling after past secrets are revealed over dinner with some friends. To go any further would do the film a disservice. I will say that the poster and what little I've seen of the trailer are not representative of the film. The film has a lot on its mind and while I didn't love the ending, I really liked the film overall. Grade: B+

We went to see Toy Story 5 on Saturday. It was very enjoyable. The least of the Toy Story films, but still the best thing Pixar has done in years, IMO.

Posted by: @Anonymous

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We went to see Toy Story 5 on Saturday. It was very enjoyable. The least of the Toy Story films, but still the best thing Pixar has done in years, IMO.

 I'll probably catch this on streaming. I love the TOY STORY films, but it's like a switch got flipped a few years ago, and I really have no desire to watch animated family films anymore. Another sign of old age/crankiness, I guess.

 

Posted by: @Anonymous

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We went to see Toy Story 5 on Saturday. It was very enjoyable. The least of the Toy Story films, but still the best thing Pixar has done in years, IMO.

I'd like to sit with the grandkids at some point and watch all 5 of them...  

 

Posted by: @Anonymous

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We went to see Toy Story 5 on Saturday. It was very enjoyable. The least of the Toy Story films, but still the best thing Pixar has done in years, IMO.

I saw Toy Story 5 and while it ended strong, I thought it dragged for much of the movie. I left thinking the Toy Story franchise had run its course. Saw Minions and Monsters last night and thoroughly enjoyed it! Also saw a preview for a new Shrek coming this fall.