The Unofficial Ongoing Current Movies in Theaters thread

[dookeyXXX]

The Golden Child, with Eddie Murphy???

Prepare to be confused!

Both films feature a black mercenary/soldier-of-fortune tasked with protecting an Asian child who can bring about the apocalypse…

[PB]

With that approach you could say that 50% of all movies are like the other 50%!

The mere fact that The Creator DOESN'T have Eddie incinerates the comparison, not to mention infinitely better.

... and SENTIENT ROBOTS/ANDROIDS!!

[dookeyXXX]

THE INVENTOR
This is a wonderfully droll and somewhat quaint little film bubbling over with retro stop motion animation (think those classic Rankin/Bass joints from the 1960s and 70s).
It follows Da Vinci as he makes an exodus from Italy to France.
It has musical numbers (why is it that everyone feels the need to turn animated films into musicals?) and breaks out into 2-D water color-styled animation throughout; both elements are kinda cool, but I also had to wonder why they chose to have song-and-dance and “classic” animation instead of keeping it a comedic drama with all stop motion.
Despite these interesting narrative choices, the film is highly entertaining.
It’s a shame that it didn’t get a wider release (it was only playing on one screen for one showing in my city!).

[Supermoon]

This would be even weirder than Barbieheimer.

[dookeyXXX]

This would be even weirder than Barbieheimer.

Saw Patrol…

[bagtagley]

Pretty sure I saw this flick back in 1986 when it was called The Golden Child…

Still planning to see it though, since offerings at the cineplex are thin these days.

Saw this last night, driven by slim pickins and a commemorative glass promo that my wife couldn’t resist. Expectations were low but I was was pleasantly surprised. Badass, evil Allison Janney alone may have been worth the price of admission. It wasn’t perfect, there were some head scratchers and some of the CGI was a little rough, but overall I really liked it. That kid stole the show by the end.

[dookeyXXX]

PSA Regarding Argylle

DO NOT watch the trailer for this upcoming Henry Cavill starring, Matthew Vaughn directed film. It completely spoils the whole plot, which had up until the trailer’s release, been shrouded in mystery.

I am super bummed that I checked out the trailer last night and the special twist that they had been keeping under wraps for more than 3 years was included in the first 30-seconds!

[dookeyXXX]

DUMB MONEY
This film is $$$$$$$$.
Sharp dialogue, a spot-on and fantastic cast, plus taut and smooth pacing make it one of the best underdog dramas I’ve seen in years.
Honestly, there’s not a wrong note delivered during its hour-and-45 minute run time.
You don’t have to know anything about the stock market (I don’t) nor do you need to be overly familiar with the GameStop Wall Street insanity that took place during the pandemic to enjoy this film because it’s just so expertly crafted on all fronts.
Highly recommended.

[yeahman]

Saw the new Exorcist movie yesterday with my 17 yo daughter. Can't believe Rotten Tomatoes only gives it 23%, it's should score at least twice that!

[dookeyXXX]

Saw the new Exorcist movie yesterday with my 17 yo daughter. Can't believe Rotten Tomatoes only gives it 23%, it's should score at least twice that!

Isn’t a score of 46 still “rotten”?…

[Elkhound Odin]

Pretty sure I saw this flick back in 1986 when it was called The Golden Child…

Still planning to see it though, since offerings at the cineplex are thin these days.

Saw this in IMAX this weekend. Why do they crank the volume to 11? I think we can feel the rumble without losing our hearing.

Did I just watch a live action version of Avatar?

Visually stunning, but same storyline recopied from dozens of previous films. I'm sure it'll make a bazzillion Yuan to see the evil white americans taken down to save the peaceful robots and asians that live with them.

[dookeyXXX]

Saw this in IMAX this weekend. Why do they crank the volume to 11? I think we can feel the rumble without losing our hearing.

When I saw the David Bowie doc in IMAX I got a headache halfway through and my ears rang for two weeks afterwards!

[dookeyXXX]

THE ROYAL HOTEL
I saw this indie joint yesterday.
It’s basically Coyote Ugly-meets-Wake In Fright.
It has an offsetting (and deceptive) light-heartedness that belies the creepy undertones and slow-burn toxic masculinity that are the main crux of the story.
The pacing is somewhat slow and deliberate and as such does a good job of quietly building a sense of dread and danger.
The cast is stellar, too.
The only flaw is the overtly Hollywood ending, which seems like a bit of a cop-out, not to mention that it’s a stark contrast to the tone of the rest of the film.

It’s loosely based on the documentary Hotel Coolgardie, which is streaming on Prime at the moment.
I watched the documentary last night, too.
While the Outback men in it are kinda scuzzy, they come off as more pathetic alcoholics in the doc. In the film their toxicity is amped up to 11 and they are portrayed as much more violent sexual predators.

[dookeyXXX]

STRANGE WAY OF LIFE + THE HUMAN VOICE
These two Pedro Almodovar short films are screening together.
The first, Strange Way of Life, garnered quite a bit of hoopla at Cannes earlier this summer. Not sure what all the hype was about as it’s basically Brokeback Mountain reduced to a 30-minute Saint Laurent fashion add with a large dollop of John Waters-styled telenovela melodrama tossed in for good measure. I didn’t really buy Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke as lovers. And it coulda used a lot more Sergio Leone grit. It’s the most underwhelming Almodovar film I’ve seen (and I have enjoyed all of his other films immensely).
Thankfully it was double billled with The Human Voice, a 2021 short that is a surrealistic breakup film starring Tilda Swinton and a dog. This film I dug.

[PB]

Not going near The Human Voice unless you guarantee she does NOT kill the dog.

[yeahman]

Isn’t a score of 46 still “rotten”?…

Yeah...I was trying to make a joke.

[dookeyXXX]

Yeah...I was trying to make a joke.

Not going near The Human Voice unless you guarantee she does NOT kill the dog.

No canine eradication. Heck, the pooch may be a better thespian than Tilda!

[dookeyXXX]

Saw this last night, driven by slim pickins and a commemorative glass promo that my wife couldn’t resist. Expectations were low but I was was pleasantly surprised. Badass, evil Allison Janney alone may have been worth the price of admission. It wasn’t perfect, there were some head scratchers and some of the CGI was a little rough, but overall I really liked it. That kid stole the show by the end.

Saw this in IMAX this weekend. Why do they crank the volume to 11? I think we can feel the rumble without losing our hearing.

Did I just watch a live action version of Avatar?

Visually stunning, but same storyline recopied from dozens of previous films. I'm sure it'll make a bazzillion Yuan to see the evil white americans taken down to save the peaceful robots and asians that live with them.

So I finally caught The Creator today. And my overall takeaway pretty much echoes what Bagtagley and EO stated previously.
In a nutshell, I enjoyed it.
It exceeded my expectations, however, I went in with very low ones given that I haven’t been all that impressed by the director’s previous films.
In terms of the overall look of the film and the story, it’s a hodge-podge of innumerable other films including, but not limited to Blade Runner, District 9, Elysium, A.I., Ex Machina, The Terminator franchise, Altered Carbon, Oblivion, Avatar, Alita: Battle Angel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and many, many others. Yet I still found it visually interesting, perhaps because of all the deja vu.
Oh, and the ending was a bit treacley, but I almost teared up regardless.
It is by no means a classic, and in the grand scheme of sci-fi films it's pretty routine, but it was damn entertaining; I never once got bored during its 2+ hour running time.
Oh yeah, I had a private screening that only cost me $5.50 ( okay, more like $20 if you factor in gas).

One extra note: the screening I saw kept having digital glitches throughout where pixels broke up the picture. I actually started to think it was part of the film and that it was going to end up being an A.I. fever-dream or a recording of past events and the glitches would be damaged footage. Alas, it turns out I just saw a messed up digital projection. This is the first time that this has ever happened, but damn it made me really miss film...

[PB]

So ..... better than Golden Child, right?

General consensus checks out: entertaining but no where near as good as the initial hype claimed.

Seems like a given that if the pre-release hype is off the chart, the producers probably know they've got a weak offering and better grab as much popularity up front before reality sets in. So really shrewd producers should start under hyping to set viewers up with low expectations?

[dookeyXXX]

So ..... better than Golden Child, right?

General consensus checks out: entertaining but no where near as good as the initial hype claimed.

Seems like a given that if the pre-release hype is off the chart, the producers probably know they've got a weak offering and better grab as much popularity up front before reality sets in. So really shrewd producers should start under hyping to set viewers up with low expectations?

I’mma have to re-check The Golden Child, which I haven’t seen since it hit theaters in 1986…

[Supermoon]

Anyone seen the new exorcist yet? I thought it was pretty good if a little bit preachy at times.

[Woodsy]

Killers of the Flower Moon is fantastic, if a bit long and really intense at times.

Marty can make a fkn movie

[funkendrenchman]

Killers of the Flower Moon is fantastic, if a bit long and really intense at times.

Marty can make a fkn movie

Agreed. Should have been 45 minutes shorter although there was no specific scene that felt too long.

[dookeyXXX]

A24 is dropping a few interesting joints between now and Christmas:

11/17
Warning: Trailer Contains Spoilers



12/15



12/22

[bagtagley]

Pretty intrigued by Dream Scenario. The kids really wanna see it so that’ll be a theater watch.

Also cautiously interested in Poor Things.