What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[Ingrid]

Finally starting my Christmas movie watching. First up is Die Hard, which I’ve never seen all the way through, just bits and pieces. God damn I miss Alan Rickman.

[Abraham Smashington]

THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THE ABYSS COMING TO 4K BY MARCH 2023.

[BillyG]

Watched a bunch of Christmas movies last night. Two that had any redeeming qualities were Happiest Season and Castle for Christmas.

Castle for Christmas is your typical Christmas streaming movie, but it has Cary Elwes being very charming and funny. He makes an effort to elevate it beyond just a Netflix Christmas movie.

Happiest Season is INSANE. It's on Hulu, and has a legit case and some money behind it. Mackenzie Davis, Kristen Stewart, Alison Brie, Mary Steenburgen, Dan Levy, Aubrey Plaza. Basically, Davis invites Stewart home (they're a couple) for Christmas. 30 minutes out she goes "oh by the way, I am not out to my parents so you're my roommate." Mackenzie Davis then goes on to give a legit performance as the worst self loathing relationship sabotaging piece of shit I've seen. I guess the closest comparison is maybe Affleck in Chasing Amy, but Davis is worse. Sarah and I screamed at the TV like a dozen times over what a garbage piece of shit she is.

Solid B+ Christmas movie. The cast is awesome, has some solid laughs, way better than it has any right to be.

[Abraham Smashington]

Krampus. Goddamn the sound design is still so goddamn great. Love it. Now I have to watch Elf. Gotta give some to get some.

[Abraham Smashington]

I had a lot of fun with that one. The editing was on point.

[Martin]

Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Hype was right.

Its honestly one of the better movie I’ve seen in the last 10 years

Just wow.

[Abraham Smashington]

Spirited. Didn't realize it was a musical and I hate musicals so I was not fully on to begin with, but I dig Ryan Reynolds and there was at least one pretty good song that made me laugh. It's not Scrooged and they realize that and name check it pretty early on. 2 hours is too much but it wasn't terrible.

[BillyG]

Smile. A version of IT FOLLOWS that doesn't shit the bed in the last act but is missing that amazing soundtrack. Some wonderful jump scares and that ending felt like what an American would do with a Junji Ito design. Dug it.

THE MOUTH

[Timothy225]

RETURNS is very good but it's nowhere near as good as '89, in my opinion. '89 has a sense of fun about it that RETURNS is seriously lacking.

Going with Matt on this. I loved Returns for the darker aspects that Rob mentioned, but '89 is THE Batman flick I always wanted since I was a kid, raised on the 70s comics and the '66 show. One of my teachers at the Kubert School disliked the '89 flick because he felt it was "too much like a comic book", but that was exactly the point. It's SUPPOSED to be a live-action comic, and Burton fucking nailed that.

[Abraham Smashington]

Smile. A version of IT FOLLOWS that doesn't shit the bed in the last act but is missing that amazing soundtrack. Some wonderful jump scares and that ending felt like what an American would do with a Junji Ito design. Dug it.

[Abraham Smashington]

I prefer Returns over 89 thanks to DeVito and the lean into the more horrorish side of Burton. And I wouldn't call 89 fun. Boring for long stretches maybe, but not fun. My memories of it as a kid was elation that I had a Batman movie but then fast forwarding through large parts of it that bored me as a kid. IT's not a bad flick in any sense of the word but Batman as a character isn't great and we get less of him in Returns and more of the villains which I always preferred.

[Matt]

RETURNS is very good but it's nowhere near as good as '89, in my opinion. '89 has a sense of fun about it that RETURNS is seriously lacking.

[BillyG]

Batman Returns

Watched this over Thanksgiving break. I know a lot of people have come back to saying this is better than 1989, and I thought it might be true...but after watching again I am not sure. It's still very good, and a solid Christmas movie pick...but Jack Nicholson elevates 1989 to a height that the combined amazing Returns cast doesn't reach. There's no truly iconic moment for any of the villains like "Where does he get those wonderful toys?" or a ton of other tiny interactions that are buried in my memory.

[FilmNerdJamie]

It wasn't heightened expectations talking but I found The Fabelmans to be... disappointing?

By no means, bad. I'd even go as far to say it's good and I swear that's not me grading it on a curve because it's my favorite director.

But my brother said something very interesting as we were leaving the theater Wednesday night that I initially didn't agree with it. Until it sat on me overnight and I realized he was right on the drive to their place yesterday afternoon.

Spielberg shouldn't have directed this.

Yes it is the story of his family. But he's too attached and didn't have his usual masterful discipline. Too many moments that were understandably too precious to him that he kept that he would have eliminated - even as the scripting stage - were this about anyone else.

Reminds me of when he made Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. He made those specifically for his mom and dad, and said so upon accepting his Best Director Oscars for both. There was no need in that sense of making this. He already honored them in films that will loved and studied till the end of time.

[Abraham Smashington]

Black Adam.

Didn't hate it. Thought it looked great at the very least. Pierce would have been a great Dr. Strange if Bumbling Cumbucket didn't get it. The Rock continues to be himself in everything BUT it worked in this one BUT he needed to be evil. Not an anti hero. That being said, I did like how everyone in the movie is flipping off the Justice Society and saying shit like "THIS AINT YOUR COUNTRY, WE HAVE BEEN FUCKED FOR LIKE 30 YEARS AND SUPERMAN AND AQUADICK HAVEN'T DONE SHIT TO HELP. LET THE ROCK MURDER PEOPLE." Dug the fucking mid credits because of course I would. Holy hell though, this should be called Speed Ramp The Movie. Dug the shit outta Red Cyclone or whatever her name was. Also, lol to Atom Smasher's uncle.