[It's Magic]

Role Play 2/5

I watched Role Play starring Kaley Cuoco (famous as 'Penny' from The Big Bang Theory) and David Oyelowo. The movie is supposed to be an action comedy but fails on both fronts, as the comedy is in very small patches while the action is quite average.

It's the story of a young wife who lives a double life. She has a loving husband and two children, but she also works as a secret assassin. Trouble starts when her personal life accidentally intersects with her secret life at a hotel, and suddenly, her true identity is exposed.

The movie had a good plot, and after watching the catchy trailer, I had high expectations. However, it doesn't delve deeply into the characters or keep you engaged. Although Kaley was good in her role, the overall movie fails. You can watch it once if you like Kaley, but otherwise, you can surely give it a miss.

[Asish_VK]

It's What's Inside (2024) - Netflix : Sci-Fi psychological thriller - 3.5/5



A group of friends gather for a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend arrives with a mysterious game that awakens long-hidden secrets, desires and grudges

Fresh idea and nicely shot. This movie needs your attention as it can get confusing sometimes. It had a great potential to make it one of the best mind bending movie, but somehow I felt they didn't use the opportunity. Still good watch.


Speak No Evil (2024) : Horror Drama - 3.5/5



Remake of 2022 Dutch movie of same name. Story seems similar to many such movies, where a family meets another family during a vacation, forms an instant bond, which leads to an invitation to spend a long weekend at their countryside home. Suspenseful events unfolds at the location and the cat and mouse game follows.

James McAvoy and both the child artists were great. The buildup till the final showdown was also great after which the movie feels like just another survival horror movie.

Overall worth a watch for the lovers of this genre.

[RM Motorsports]

AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.

The Amber alert was created in reference to Amber Rene Hagerman, who was abducted and later found murdered on January 17, 1996.

Amber Alert - 1/5

This movie also revolves around child abduction. Its just a normal cat & mouse kidnapping thriller. One time watch for people who like kidnapping plot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aCr7-oJ0JQ

[oldcontessafan]

Anatomy of a fall 3.5/5
Platform: Amazon Prime

Watched a slow burn movie after a long time, it is difficult to find one in the quintals of 'Netflix Originals' being thrown at us every weekend.

The lead actress is especially good, and the court scenes where she goes through palpable anguish in front of her child touched on many levels. The movie takes a while to make you invested in the characters for good reason to end with emotional scenes in the second half.

[RM Motorsports]

Alien: Romulus - 3/5

I grew up watching Alien and Aliens and if you’ve seen them too, you’ll also know that the bar was set very high by both films.

The movie overall, seemed more like an attempt to milk the first two films, and relied more on flashy and fast action and loud sound effects or CGI, and relied less on the eerie atmosphere, dead silence and suspense like the first 2 films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0XDEhP4MQs

[Cruzn]

Longlegs
OTT: Amazon Prime
Rating: 3.5/5

This was the one movie I was waiting for all year. I must’ve watched the trailer over 20 times. It looked so good. Seemed almost similar to The Silence of the Lambs (which is a masterpiece by the way) and I felt it just fell short. It ended up being a totally different kind of movie (which wasn’t so bad) but I think the hype ruined it. I guess I just had high expectations. The one thing which I really did love was the way it was shot. Almost Kubrick-esque. The angles and how everything was positioned just the right way is something that makes this worth another watch. Though, the subject matter of the film might not appeal to all and I guess that’s what put me off.

Since this one didn’t quite do it for me this weekend, I watched something which I know wouldn’t let me down. And that was..

Se7en
OTT: Netflix
Rating: 6/5

Now I must’ve watched this one 50+ times over the years. Even know almost every line in it. This truly is a masterpiece. For anyone who hasn’t watched it yet and loves the whole thriller- suspense- detective genre, this is a must watch. The acting, the dialogues, the way it is shot is something that can be rewatched multiple times. It may be disturbing but it is one intelligent movie. The last 20 minutes is probably one of the best endings ever! Something that will definitely stay with you even days later!

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Cruzn

Longlegs
OTT: Amazon Prime
Rating: 3.5/5

This was the one movie I was waiting for all year. I must’ve watched the trailer over 20 times. It looked so good. Seemed almost similar to The Silence of the Lambs (which is a masterpiece by the way) and I felt it just fell short. It ended up being a totally different kind of movie (which wasn’t so bad) but I think the hype ruined it. I guess I just had high expectations. The one thing which I really did love was the way it was shot. Almost Kubrick-esque. The angles and how everything was positioned just the right way is something that makes this worth another watch. Though, the subject matter of the film might not appeal to all and I guess that’s what put me off.

You are not the only one. The 85% high Rotten Tomatoes ratings and over-the-top-positive reviews really fooled me. Too much of build-up and the latter half of the movie just fell off the hype-cliff.

One of the reviews even talked about the horror genre being reset after this movie; kind of how "It Follows" took horror movies to a different level entirely (which I agree 100%). It just didn't even match the basic levels of a horror/crime movie for me.

3.5 is too high for me. I'd rate it at a generous 2 / 5 rating.

[Cruzn]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

3.5 is too high for me. I'd rate it at a generous 2 / 5 rating.

I guess a lot of credit goes to the way it was shot. Absolutely beautiful! It really did create that unsettling atmosphere. There were so many times I was looking at the door behind the character expecting for someone or something to show up.

While I didn't like the "twist", the fact that it kept me engaged until then was another reason.

[Asish_VK]

The Substance - 2024 : Sci-Fi - Body Horror - 3/5



The Substance is a 2024 satirical body horror film written, directed by Coralie Fargeat. It stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley with the story following a fading celebrity who uses a black market drug that temporarily creates a much younger version of herself with unexpected side effects.

This film is certainly not for the faint-hearted or the sensitive, due to its graphic scenes and gore. Also not a family watch due to the nudity.

Main positive are :
- Great background scores
- Visually stunning
- Fast cuts and pacing
- Great acting by the leads, especially Margaret Qualley

The main negative for this movie is that you don’t learn why one would sign up for this experiment/experience and life of being dead while essentially you are not experiencing it?

A good watch if you like the genre



Strange Darling - 2023 - Thriller - 4/5



The film focuses on a cat-and-mouse game of murder between a man and woman. Starts as a usual serial killer movie but unfolds with clever twist and turns. The screenplay is divided into 6 chapters played in non-linear fashion. I felt the movie have a blend of Tarantino and M.Night Shyamalan style of making.

The movie is visually gorgeous with a vintage feel supported with a very good soundtrack, and stellar performance by the leads. The 2-3 mins long climax sequence is one of the best performance in recent times by a female lead (Just my opinion)

Main positive are :

- Visually stunning
- Non-Linear narrative
- Twist & Turns
- Great acting by the leads, especially Willa Fitzgerald

Major negatives are :
- Couple of cameos, which don't have much of impact
- Bit of drag at some places, considering the length of only about 1.5hrs


Recommended

[amol4184]

I saw two horror movies over the weekend keeping up with the Halloween season.

1. When Evil Lurks - 4/5
2. Late Night With Evil - 3.5/5

I think the second movie was discussed a few weeks ago. Both these movies are solid and take a different route compared to tired tropes of recent horror movies.

I especially liked When Evil Lurks which wastes no time in setting morbid mood in first couple of scenes and from then on keeps you glued throughout. The music is fantastic. The acting is good and the evil is well, terrifying.

A little spoiler but I think members would appreciate, that it takes a break from recent trend of devil-impregnates-girl in a hidden agenda of church. I believe I have seen 3 such movies this year alone.

Spanish horror movies for me, are setting a new benchmark and are consistently better than what Hollywood churns out. This should be a must watch for horror movie fans despite mixed reviews.

Be warned though there are some truly terrifying scenes that will have even the hardcore horror fans flinch.

Late Night With Evil also has a couple of terrifying, novel scenes. The story is good, something I had not seen in a horror movie and works well. It does have textbook definition of devil incarnated elements to it. Good one time watch.

[deathwalkr]

Dallas Buyers Club (2013, Prime)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790636/

"In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease."

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto really played their roles to perfection. What a hard hitting movie this was.

3.75/5

Jennifer Garner never really looked comfortable in this movie.

[ninjatalli]

Alien Romulus: 3 / 5

I have mixed emotions with regards to this iteration of the Aliens franchise. It avoids some of the pitfalls of the past iterations but it aligns (read:repeats) the themes of the original Alien movies. Considering the storyline is supposed to sit between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), that probably makes sense.

In the end, it was a decent watch. I think I expected this to be a bore and it kept me entertained.


Deadpool & Wolverine : 3.5 / 5

Honestly, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I found it much better than Deadpool 2 (blows it out of the water to be honest). What stands out are the cameos - they are excellent and the movie is able to join up the Marvel Studios characters and the Fox studio owned characters into this movie succulently. Deadpool's humor is a drag (he's overused that so much) but thankfully Hugh Jackman does a stellar job by just being there. There's one character from the Fox studio owned list who has been missing out of the Marvel train - I'm extremely excited and hopeful that (extremely successful) character gets a separate movie in the near future.

[arjunsatheesh]

Wild Robot: 4.5/5

This was one of the best movies I have seen this year. It is a movie not only for children but also for adults. The character development is really good and the visuals are a treat as well. People who are parents will love it.

[happymover]

Gone Baby Gone (English) (2007, Prime)
Being fan of Casey Affleck, I happen to watch this movie one night. What starts as a kidnap/suspense/thriller sort of movie, as progresses starts to reveal altogether different facet. Casting is apt and direction by Ben Affleck is commending. While story and revelation is one part which I liked, the final scene in the movie and Casey's expressions in it will surely linger on in our minds for sometime even after the movie.
4.5/5: One might ponder for sometime, which is correct ? - "Being right" or "Being rational".

[manojrajakrishn]

Some movies will leave an impact. I am a fan of time travel and Sci-Fi. In this post, I will share 2 movies and will keep posting as I have a big list.

If you like time travel movies you shouldn't be missing these movies.

Predestination - Amazing movie, will leave you thinking and rethinking.

Mirage - A movie you shouldn't miss in the time travel genre.

Both the movies mentioned above are available in OTT.