What movies did you watch last week (04/23-04/29)

The Legend of Tarzan (2016), so I can relate to you here somewhat. If I had seen this as a boy when I was a huge Tarzan fan, I probably would have liked it more. Some of the cinematography was interesting and appealing but otherwise, also ho-hum.

Deadpool (2016 ) : I was finally able to relieve my curiosity about this much touted super-hero fare. Yes, it was clever, campy, irreverent with a lot of snappy dialogue. I'll leave it at that.

Sharknado 4. Oh man, not good.

Empire Of the Sun is great. It really moved me when I first saw it as kid. I still watch it from time to time. The Front Line was good too. There's been a few really good war movies from South Korea in the last 10 years or so. I remember when the Hurt Locker came out and I was very excited to see it. What a le down it was, I think it's highly overrated. But maybe I need to watch it again. Monuments men was another letdown, even bigger than Hurt Locker. I'd consider myself a hardcore art fan, I'm a painter myself, so the idea naturally interested me and the cast was great, but like you I found it really boring. Too bad because it could have been something special.

I saw:

Alien - In anticipation of Alien: Covenant I set out to watch the Alien franchise again. I'm a huge fan of these films, but I have to admit that I've seen them so many times that they've lost a little edge. 9/10

Aliens - This has always been a favourite of mine. More action, more Aliens! yes! But to be honest it hasn't aged as well as the first one. The effect look very outdated. Still great entertainment. 9/10

War Dogs - A second watch. I'll watch anything that Jonah Hill is in and this is one of his best. He's one of the funniest actors today and he can also do drama. This is a great combination of both 8/10

Small Crimes - Saw it on netflix. An okay crime movie written by Macon Blair who I am a fan of, but this wasn't his best output. A one time watch. 6/10

I know I watched more movies, but can't remember what they were at all.

A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015): there are some lovely images in Natalie Portman's directorial debut. Overall, the movie suffers from a lack of narrative tension. Based on Amos Oz' memoirs on his childhood during the early years of the founding of Israel, there is a lot going on here- coming of age story, family drama, war/post-Holocaust drama. Portman does not quite get a handle on the material leaving them a series of voice-over vignettes but there are moments when she is oh-so-close and shows real promise as a director. (5/10)

20th Century Women (2016): I love Annette Bening, and she is given a real showcase here. Yet another ode to women and mothers, the film has a lot of heart and humor. All the actors are stellar, with my standout award to Billy Crudup. These are complicated people with complicated intentions who do not always know the right thing to do but it does not dissolve into operatics. A very good movie and period piece of 1970s suburbia. The soundtrack is also great. (8/10)

Christine (2016): based on the real life of Christine Chubbuck, a local news reporter who killed herself on air, the movie is well-intentioned but doesn't seem to know what to do tonally. It's a drama that also wants to be a work comedy at times. Overall, it's not a good movie though the performances a strong all around. (5/10)

Miss Hokusai (2015): also another movie about a real person. The animation is quite nice, from the same studio as "Ghost in the Shell". The strained relationship between the daughter and the father is realistically portrayed. Rather boring though, with a jarring modern rock soundtrack (the film is set in the 19th century).

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974, Japan)
Sequel to the classic revenge thriller Lady Snowblood, set in Meiji-era Japan, this one I found a little underwhelming in comparison. Having somehow survived her vengeance crusade in the previous movie, in this movie Yuki escapes execution by accepting a mission from the secret police to spy on a dissident anarchist named Tokunaga Ransui who is considered a threat to the government. After meeting Tokunaga, Yuki falls for him and becomes a supporter of his cause, and fights with him against the government. It was a decent enough movie, with some nice socialist undertones, but a little jarring to see Lady Snowblood turn from a personal vengeance crusader to a revolutionary fighting against oppression. I felt it didn't really fit with her, it wasn't very believable. But that's just my opinion. I did like the movie overall.

Philomena (2013, UK)
A jaded BBC journalist recently sacked from his job encounters an old Irish woman who enlists his help to find her long-lost son. 50 years prior, she was abandoned by her family at a convent because she had premarital sex and got pregnant, and once the baby was born the nuns put him up for adoption and she never saw him again, the nuns dodging all her inquiries about his whereabouts. The journalist teams up with her to help track him down. Pretty good movie.

S*P*Y*S (1974, US)
In this comedy movie parodying the spy genre, two bumbling CIA agents in France get involved in an incident in which two Soviet KGB agents are accidentally killed. Things go downhill from there and eventually they're running all over France and the UK to escape being killed by the KGB, the CIA and even a French anarchist group led by one of their girlfriends. Silly movie, but lots of laughs. I enjoyed it.

Empire of the Sun is amazing, one of my favorite movies of any genre. It's kind of a hidden gem too, it seems to be less-known than it deserves.

I bet this kid had a great career after that.

Only the new Guardians Of The Galaxy and loved it, also wanted to see The Void and Phoenix Forgotten but didn't have time ;-;

Last week I caught up on some netflix comedies that I had lined up:
Sandy Wexler: typical Adam Sandler flick, 6/10
Step Brothers: typical Ferrell flick, 6/10
Hot Pursuit: meh 5/10
Richard Pryor Live in Concert: fantastic, non-PC BS 8/10

Also watched some stuff that was still lingering on hard-disk:
POD: oh my god the annoying shouting all the time! 3/10
Shut In: 5/10

And finally binged some series with only one season to "check them out":
GirlBoss: funny, plus the main lead is hot 7/10
Santa Clarita Diet: easy entertainment, 7/10
Stranger Things: great 80s vibe all around 8/10

Apart from that tons of documentaries from MVGroup, but since this thread is for movies only, I let those slide :)