madbeanpedals::forum

Inspired by the music thread.......what movie have you seen lately that you dug?

Zoolander .  :D

The Lego movie

Quote from: Leevibe on February 21, 2014, 07:01:41 PM
The Lego movie

Same here. I was destined to see it anyway, having two kids and a private lego obsessions myself. It's a bonus that it's as awesome as it is.

Otherwise, I'm totally looking forward to the final Miyazaki film!

Quote from: derevaun on February 21, 2014, 09:43:21 PM

Quote from: Leevibe on February 21, 2014, 07:01:41 PM
The Lego movie

Same here. I was destined to see it anyway, having two kids and a private lego obsessions myself. It's a bonus that it's as awesome as it is.

Otherwise, I'm totally looking forward to the final Miyazaki film!

Yes it is! I can't wait to see it again.

I just got done watching 'The Search for Animal Chin' for the millionth time.  8)

Pay attention at 3:00   ;D

I went to see The Monuments Men last tuesday with mrs. Dutch, that was pretty cool.

Paul

Just watched again The life of Brian (not the madbean one :P)
this scene is just hilarious....

Saw American hussle the other week:

"Don't put metal in the science oven!"

Watched this new Gordon-Lewit movie Don Jon with my girlfriend...can't say I loved it, it had something good about it, but not enough to recommend it to friends.

Quote from: the3secondrule on February 25, 2014, 02:45:16 AM
Saw American hussle the other week:

"Don't put metal in the science oven!"

I have really been wanting to see this. Any good?

I have to take my son to see the Lego Movie this Friday.

Watched 2 movies that were on amazon prime streaming...
007 Skyfall - I liked it, Daniel Craig is a great bond.
Cabin In The Woods - Over all pretty good, not ground breaking but entertaining.

Just watched 42. The story of Jackie Robinson being the first black man in Major League Baseball. Excellent movie.

Harrison Ford's performance in that movie is so great, he nearly overshadows the Main Character!

But seriously, HF's got some amazing lines in that flick.

Jacob

Quote from: haveyouseenhim on February 21, 2014, 11:06:04 PM
I just got done watching 'The Search for Animal Chin' for the millionth time.  8)

Pay attention at 3:00   ;D

Wow, I haven't thought of that movie in decades.  Blast from the past.

Saw 12 years a slave a few weeks ago. Really really good film, and phenomenal acting. It's hard to watch at times, but with the subject matter it covers, it should be.

Thought wolf of Wall Street was great too.

Highly recommend both of em!

Goodbye Farewell and Amen.

Not new. Certainly dated. Still a classic

Been awhile since I saw it... but _Pierrepoint_ sticks in my head.

Watched "Now You See Me" last night. pretty cool movie! Worth a watch.

Violence.

If you speak to this man the wrong way, and without backing, he will, without exaggeration, pull your intestines out and present them to you before you die.

Long John Silver is a very slightly more presentable version. You're never sure whether Silver truly does think highly of Hawkins, or whether he is buttering Hawkins up to avoid the gallows.

http://fictionpredilection.weebly.com/blog/treasure-island-1990 (http://fictionpredilection.weebly.com/blog/treasure-island-1990)

I strongly advise to not even BOTHER looking up the official trailer for this movie. It'd make you think that iD software's Doom was Hello Kitty Island Adventures.

This is piracy in the original vein. Murder to obtain coin, simple as that.

I should probably qualify that 1990 Treasure Island is my all time favourite movie of all time. Bar none.

Have any of you heard of Paddy Moloney? There you go.

Finally got around to it, Rogue One a couple of days ago. Really enjoyed it. Best thing with a Star Wars badge on it since the 70's.

This film did it right in that it tells a story that was mentioned in the original trilogy, and complements it (with odd nods to it that don't ever feel twee) rather than just being a full-on nostalgia trip like Force Awakens was.

If I'm being nit-picky, it's missing John Williams, which made the odd musical call backs a bit jarring. But that's about it. I may have to re-watch the original trilogy again now.

Sorry, I should probably drop a few names.

Charlton Heston, Oliver Reed, Christopher Lee, Julian Glover, Michael Halsey. Pete Postlethwaite...

The young Christian Bale was probably in seventh heaven, working with all these veterans.

Top 5 movies I watched 2016 (in no particular order)
-Deadpool
-The Martian ( this was super close to the book)
-The Hateful Eight
-Captain America Civil War
-The Invitation

Top 3 let downs I watched 2016 IMO
-The Witch (this was BY FAR the WORST movie I've seen in a long time)
-Ant-Man (Really...REALLY)
-X-men Apocalypse (I actually couldn't even finish watching it.)

Quote from: juansolo on January 06, 2017, 02:14:25 AM
Finally got around to it, Rogue One a couple of days ago. Really enjoyed it. Best thing with a Star Wars badge on it since the 70's.

This film did it right in that it tells a story that was mentioned in the original trilogy, and complements it (with odd nods to it that don't ever feel twee) rather than just being a full-on nostalgia trip like Force Awakens was.

If I'm being nit-picky, it's missing John Williams, which made the odd musical call backs a bit jarring. But that's about it. I may have to re-watch the original trilogy again now.

I am planning on taking our boys to Rogue 1 in the next couple of weeks - they both got a big kick out of the original trilogy, which we just watched 2 weeks ago. So that's what I've been watching, and now I'm fielding questions like "what is a lightsabre?" "Can I get a lightsabre for my birthday" "what does Darth Vader wear under his costume" etc..

Best that I saw from 2016:

- The Revenant. Saw this at the cinema in Jan and I loved it. Not sure how good it would be on TV/home cinema.
- The Nice Guys. Great fun. Crowe and Gosling make a pretty bad ass pairing. I hope there is a sequel.
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople. May be my favourite overall. Hilarious and also quite moving (Sam Neill is ace in it).
- Green Room. My wife couldn't finish watching this as the violence is hard going. Patrick Stewart plays a terrifying NeoNazi.
- Rogue One. Went to see it over Christmas and I really, really enjoyed it. Worth watching just for the Vader scene  8)

Worst that I saw:
- X Men Apocalypse. I made it through to the end, but it is a total turd of a film.

Quote from: raulduke on January 06, 2017, 07:23:37 AM
- The Revenant. Saw this at the cinema in Jan and I loved it. Not sure how good it would be on TV/home cinema.
- Green Room. My wife couldn't finish watching this as the violence is hard going. Patrick Stewart plays a terrifying NeoNazi.


Worst that I saw:
- X Men Apocalypse. I made it through to the end, but it is a total turd of a film.

yes on all these points!!

Movie I could watch over and over again - Deadpool

Movie I thought would suck but didn't - War Dogs

Music related documentary - Killswitch Engage Beyond the Flames II.  Really enjoyable watch, and the guys come across really well.

The other night watched 'Hit So Hard The Life & Near Death of Patty Schemel'.

In the last five years i've watched a total of two non-documentaries, in my mind now i just can't justify the time for non-documentaries.

My Public Library check out history for the last year has over 500 items, not a single fiction book or movie among them.

dave

http://www.razzies.com (http://www.razzies.com) -- for if you take your bad movies very seriously.

I only go to about one movie a year in the theater. Last year's movie was Episode 7. This year's was Rogue One. I actually thought it was Episode 8 and didn't want to go when I found out it wasn't, but Lexa talked me into going and I'm not disappointed. I did think it was pretty good.

I think 90% of the movies I've watched on Netflix in the last few years have been kung fu movies. It was pretty cool to see Donnie Yen in a Star Wars film.

Top 5 for the year... Tough, though the top two are easy:

1 - Sicario
2 - The Martian

Sicario is just an awesome piece of film making. Proves you don't need car chases to make a tense and exciting scene.

The Martian is a welcome return to form for Ridley Scott. After Prometheus I wasn't sure if he'd lost the plot completely. I'm still not totally convinced about the next Alien prequel he's doing either... But The Martian is just a brilliant film.

The next three is tough because there's been a load of eminently watchable films that were fun and enjoyable, but I have reservations on. For example Civil War I really enjoyed. But it's almost like a formula that Marvel have now and I think we're hitting saturation point on it. That said I'm sure I'll watch Dr Strange at some point, but I'm just not as bothered as I was because they're all really safe... By that, I mean compared to their TV counterparts that are much more daring/interesting. To the point that they're making the films look a bit watered down and empty. Again though, I'm really looking forward to GotG part 2. Because that was something fresh and different that came out of nowhere. I'm hoping James Gunn can keep that going without just making the same film again (which is what Marvel will likely want him to do...).

Deadpool. Again, most enjoyable. They made it how it needed to be and I'm glad it was popular. In the end I hope it's popularity, with it being authentic to the comic, actually makes film makers (well studios) more open to taking risks and allowing characters like Wolverine to have R rated films. The bloke has knives coming out of his hands FFS, how can that be anything else? The trailer for Logan looks interesting and if they go the old man Logan route and allow it to be brutal, it could be an interesting Last of Us sort of affair... I await the reviews before I jump onto that one.

Away from comic stuff now. Wow there wasn't much else that happened this year was there?! The Nice Guys was pretty good... I can understand why it's getting all the rave reviews. Shane Black's stuff is so distinctive it's getting to be like watching Tarantino's latest; you know EXACTLY what you're going to get. That said, it was pretty good, but I'm not going to go to town on it like many have.

Now then... 10 Cloverfield Lane. I might have to put this into the 3 to 5 section somewhere. I've always had a soft spot for Twilight Zone stuff, and this is dripping with it. Nice to see a main protagonist in what is essentially a horror/thriller film who is not an idiot also. The only thing that makes me teeter is the completely unnecessary end section where it should have just ended with her exclaiming 'oh fuck' or whatever it was, without the end bit, for me that'd have been a perfect film. John Goodman was awesome in it.

I'm also going to have to put Rogue One in the last 3 as it was finally a Star Wars film that complemented the original trilogy and it's audience, who are all now in their 40's... Force Awakens was just a nostalgia mash-up of the original trilogy, which is why I don't count that, I am seriously worried about where they're going from that one.

Last one to find (and I really am going through this list of mostly turgid shite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_in_film)...

Oh dear. Now, I haven't seen The Arrival, and from all I've read, that'll be massively up my street. Ridiculously so. So I'm reserving a place in the top 5 for that as there's nothing else that I can see that belongs there.

There are a few that I haven't seen yet as I rarely go to the cinema anymore so I'm waiting for BD releases of The Accountant, Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne. The last I expect to be a re-hash, so I'm not rushing into that. The Affleck one looks interesting and mad Tom Cruise rarely makes a duffer these days. But that's really about it.

Only things I saw in the theater were civil war and Rouge One. I enjoyed both but thought Rouge One was great.

Most of the stuff I've watched was on Netflix or the like.

If anybody wants a "good", quirky, sci fi movie to watch check out The History of Future Folk on Netflix. It's not good in the same way Seven Samaria is good, but it's fun to watch.

Saw 'Moana', it was a LOT better than I expected.

One change that I was honestly not surprised at was the magic fish hook.

Why?

In the original legends, the fish hook was his grandmother's jawbone. (And it wasn't the magic do-everything it is in the movie, but I'll let that slide.) If they had gone with that, I'm pretty sure it would have shot straight to M-rating.

I've seen a couple of really good movies lately.

-The Monster (2016). This was directed by the same guy who did "The Strangers". Really well done and SUPER intense!

-The Nice Guys. Hilarious movie loved every second of it.

I suspect I know why Suicide Squad got such a shitty review from professional critics, and such acclaim from amateur moviegoers.

It's a character-driven movie.

The "plot" is just something to keep the timer ticking. Big machine, world ending, whoopee shit. That really doesn't matter, on a meta level.

You're there to see Harley. You're there to see Killer Croc. You're there to see maybe even Captain Boomerang (he of the ever-present lager can.) You're there to see the characters.

Plot, schmot. The world ending is a dime a dozen, in comic books. It's like James Bond -- you know that he's gonna win. You're there to see Bond be Bond.

But critics expect to see overarching themes, grand stories, amazing insights. They're expecting Eraserhead, not the manifestation of Hamill's Joker.

Looking forward to Alien:Covenant.   Loved the original Alien.  Not so much the sequels.
IMO, the sequels diminished the scariness of the alien.  They were more army buddy movies
that spent less time on the alien and it's unique awesomeness.  The xenomorphs were treated
as generic monsters.

Ridley Scott's work on the original Alien was just so superior to the sequels. 
Prometheus was alright and more of a return to form.  It was a bit jumbled up.
Hopefully, Covenant brings back the spooky, scary, don't-f*ck-with-me alien of the past.
Where one alien is enough to wipe out a whole crew.

Although "Aliens" was very popular, I didn't care for it so much because in the original, one single
xenomorph was a super badass.  So logically, a whole colony of them should have been able to simply
demolish a squad of soldiers who were woefully unprepared.  In fact, a colony of the super badasses would
have been enough to take on an entire army.  Just my 2 cents.

Just watched 28 Weeks Later.  Easily as good as 28 Days Later.  I'm sure I've heard the theme music used in a Brit TV show or recycled somewhere else though.

Logan was pretty good.  Nice to finally see a Wolverine movie that actually showed the effect of slashing random people with 12 inch blades protruding from your knuckles.

Arrival, and The Passengers were both worth the investment in time to watch... Fairly smart sci fi.

_Eraserhead_ is very, severely messed up.

Quote from: stringsthings on May 06, 2017, 03:23:02 AM
Looking forward to Alien:Covenant.   Loved the original Alien.  Not so much the sequels.
IMO, the sequels diminished the scariness of the alien.  They were more army buddy movies
that spent less time on the alien and it's unique awesomeness.  The xenomorphs were treated
as generic monsters.

Ridley Scott's work on the original Alien was just so superior to the sequels. 
Prometheus was alright and more of a return to form.  It was a bit jumbled up.
Hopefully, Covenant brings back the spooky, scary, don't-f*ck-with-me alien of the past.
Where one alien is enough to wipe out a whole crew.

Although "Aliens" was very popular, I didn't care for it so much because in the original, one single
xenomorph was a super badass.  So logically, a whole colony of them should have been able to simply
demolish a squad of soldiers who were woefully unprepared.  In fact, a colony of the super badasses would
have been enough to take on an entire army.  Just my 2 cents.

I agree with a lot of this. The first one is great, but the sequels are just okay. I actually really dislike Aliens because it's too much of a departure from the original. The aliens in the second one could have been any generic monster and it would have basically been the same movie.

I never go to the movies alone (it's been several years) but I did see Covenant on Friday. Alien and Aliens have always been two of my favorite and I don't even hate the other two. I thought Prometheus was decent if you look past the stuff people complain about with that movie and it also was just beautiful looking. But, Covenant is a mess of a film...maybe more than Prometheus. No way to describe why without spoilers, though.

I had high hopes with the premise Prometheus set up but it really wasn't followed through in a satisfying way. And, some of the CG is down right terrible IMO. The set extensions and environmental CG are absolutely amazing but some of the creature effects, space scenes and animation are just not up to par for 2017 (more practical would have been better anyway). But my main problem was with what happens, who did what and why, etc.

But, Fassbender is so outstanding he really redeems a lot of it. He's been one of my favorites since Inglorious Basterds. Also, I kinda dug the ending. Don't mean to sound like a movie snob...this is just one that I really looked forward to and I wish it had been a bit better. Maybe a second viewing will change my mind.

Quote from: madbean on May 20, 2017, 05:26:24 PM
I never go to the movies alone (it's been several years) but I did see Covenant on Friday. Alien and Aliens have always been two of my favorite and I don't even hate the other two. I thought Prometheus was decent if you look past the stuff people complain about with that movie and it also was just beautiful looking. But, Covenant is a mess of a film...maybe more than Prometheus. No way to describe why without spoilers, though.

I had high hopes with the premise Prometheus set up but it really wasn't followed through in a satisfying way. And, some of the CG is down right terrible IMO. The set extensions and environmental CG are absolutely amazing but some of the creature effects, space scenes and animation are just not up to par for 2017 (more practical would have been better anyway). But my main problem was with what happens, who did what and why, etc.

But, Fassbender is so outstanding he really redeems a lot of it. He's been one of my favorites since Inglorious Basterds. Also, I kinda dug the ending. Don't mean to sound like a movie snob...this is just one that I really looked forward to and I wish it had been a bit better. Maybe a second viewing will change my mind.

Bummer. I'm seriously considering going tomorrow (definitely solo - no chance lady gonna sit through that). The reviews have generally been pretty harsh - like you said, that it's a bit of a mess.


I was a bit 'meh' on Prometheus, but rewatched it yesterday and it was a lot better than what I remembered.

I've seen the spoilers on Covenant, so I know what you guys mean.  I'll go anyhow; just because I'm a big "Alien" fan and I like Ridley Scott.
After watching a lot of youtubes that discuss the themes in Prometheus and Covenant, I think the religious aspects might be one of the more
interesting things about the movies.  There's so many biblical references in the movies and trailers.  I'm thinking that had to be a point of emphasis
for Scott.  And I agree about Fassbender.  He's just phenomenal.  Looking forward to his dual role in Covenant. 

As for Prometheus, I know I appreciated it more after a 2nd viewing. 

Quote from: alanp on May 20, 2017, 04:59:20 PM
_Eraserhead_ is very, severely messed up.

LOL, haven't seen that since I worked in a video shop when I was at college! Messed up is a pretty good summation of that.

Over the weekend, I watched the Bernie Madoff movie with DeNiro playing the old ponzi master. It was very good, and also quite sad.

I watched Patriot's Day (Boston Marathon bombings) and The Founder (McDonalds' founder story) over the weekend. They aren't my typical choices but both were pretty good.

Saw King Arthur over the weekend. I really enjoyed it (as did the wife). Great soundtrack. I'm also partial to Guy Ritchie's editing style.

I was looking forward to Covenant but will leave it. I've also seen all the mixed reviews.

Shame as I actually quite enjoyed Prometheus.

I agree on Fassbender... he's top notch. One of my favourite actors. Stands out in pretty much every film he's been in.

The new Blade Runner looks interesting with Dennis Villeneuve directing. I thought Sicario was amazing, and I've heard great things about Arrival.

I finally got around to watching Rebel One (I'm probably going to be crucified for this), I didn't like it. I though the story line was weak, and it took WAY too long to get going. The one redeeming quality was the A-hole droid. He was pretty funny. But overall, I'm glad i didn't see it in the theaters.

Just watched "A Cure for Wellness".   I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It's not the best horror movie I've ever seen,
but I think fans of the genre will like it.   It's extremely well filmed and it just looks great from a film-making perspective.
The acting is solid.

The plot is a bit flimsy, especially towards the end where things feel a bit rushed.  It's a long movie, so watching it at home
was a good idea. 

It has an old-school vibe to it that I enjoyed quite a bit. 

Quote from: stringsthings on July 20, 2017, 02:54:27 AM
Just watched "A Cure for Wellness".   I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It's not the best horror movie I've ever seen,
but I think fans of the genre will like it.   It's extremely well filmed and it just looks great from a film-making perspective.
The acting is solid.

The plot is a bit flimsy, especially towards the end where things feel a bit rushed.  It's a long movie, so watching it at home
was a good idea. 

It has an old-school vibe to it that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Reminded me of an old Vincent Price  style movie. Just saw planet of the apes. It was better the first time when it was apocalypse now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote from: stringsthings on July 20, 2017, 02:54:27 AM
Just watched "A Cure for Wellness".   I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It's not the best horror movie I've ever seen,
but I think fans of the genre will like it.   It's extremely well filmed and it just looks great from a film-making perspective.
The acting is solid.

The plot is a bit flimsy, especially towards the end where things feel a bit rushed.  It's a long movie, so watching it at home
was a good idea. 

It has an old-school vibe to it that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Been meaning to check this out. I'll have to give it a watch.

New(ish) Movies I've seen and enjoyed
-John Wick Chapter 2 (all around BAD ASS)
-Jason Borne (pretty good)
-Moana (I was off for 2 weeks with my daughter...still not a fan of the Rock but it was tolerable)
-Despicable Me 3 (great movie and the villain in it was so funny)

Moana was better than I expected.

Understandable how they changed his fish hook from, originally, his grandmother's jawbone, to simply just a "magic" fish hook.

Quote from: jimilee on July 20, 2017, 08:30:12 AM

Quote from: stringsthings on July 20, 2017, 02:54:27 AM
Just watched "A Cure for Wellness".   I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It's not the best horror movie I've ever seen,
but I think fans of the genre will like it.   It's extremely well filmed and it just looks great from a film-making perspective.
The acting is solid.

The plot is a bit flimsy, especially towards the end where things feel a bit rushed.  It's a long movie, so watching it at home
was a good idea. 

It has an old-school vibe to it that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Reminded me of an old Vincent Price  style movie.

Exactly!   

I can't get enough of "The Abominable Dr. Phibes"!

Watched Dunkirk in 70mm projection last night. I very much enjoyed the experience. An amazing film.

Quote from: alanp on July 20, 2017, 10:46:57 AM
Moana was better than I expected.

My daughter got into this about 2 weeks ago. I've seen it no less than 30 times since then. It's AWESOME. The music is just fantastic. I walk around humming it all day. Lin Manuel Miranda is a talented man.

Also, the guy who does the voice of Moana's dad is the same guy who played Jango Fett.

VIOLENCE WARNING -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz0CAn6zHY4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz0CAn6zHY4)

Also the actor who played Jake the Muss, which is the role I really remember Temuera Morrison for.

Skip to 1m for when he appears in that clip.

Quote from: Leevibe on July 22, 2017, 11:17:20 AM
Watched Dunkirk in 70mm projection last night. I very much enjoyed the experience. An amazing film.

I saw it last weekend and enjoyed it. Part of me says I wish they would have included some of the front line action that was taking place. But then the other part said no, we have enough of those and it was good to just keep to the escape aspect of things.

Any thoughts on if you think they should have included more fighting that was taking place on the front line?

Rented Ghost in a Shell last night. Yeah...well...I didn't rent it for the quality of the movie. I don't recommend it unless you like staring at Scarlett for 2 hours   8)

If you don't like staring at Scarlett for 2 hours then DO NOT rent this movie.

Oh, and make an eye appointment asap.

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 27, 2017, 12:50:17 PM

Quote from: Leevibe on July 22, 2017, 11:17:20 AM
Watched Dunkirk in 70mm projection last night. I very much enjoyed the experience. An amazing film.

I saw it last weekend and enjoyed it. Part of me says I wish they would have included some of the front line action that was taking place. But then the other part said no, we have enough of those and it was good to just keep to the escape aspect of things.

Any thoughts on if you think they should have included more fighting that was taking place on the front line?

I feel like there are already plenty of movies that have that focus. I really liked this story and the way it was all put together. The aerial stuff was awesome. If there was anything I wanted more of it would have been more Spitfires please!! Sound was off the charts good. And a Hans Zimmer score. Just watched it again. It's much easier to follow the second time around and it held my attention just as well as the first time.

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 27, 2017, 12:54:27 PM
Rented Ghost in a Shell last night. Yeah...well...I didn't rent it for the quality of the movie. I don't recommend it unless you like staring at Scarlett for 2 hours   8)

That's the only reason I would watch this movie!  ;)

Has anyone seen the movie Life? It has Ryan Reynolds in it. Just looking for a review before I rent or buy it,

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 27, 2017, 12:54:27 PM
I don't recommend it unless you like staring at Scarlett for 2 hours   8)

Add to rent list....  :D

Quote from: flanagan0718 on July 31, 2017, 05:50:48 AM

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 27, 2017, 12:54:27 PM
Rented Ghost in a Shell last night. Yeah...well...I didn't rent it for the quality of the movie. I don't recommend it unless you like staring at Scarlett for 2 hours   8)

That's the only reason I would watch this movie!  ;)

Has anyone seen the movie Life? It has Ryan Reynolds in it. Just looking for a review before I rent or buy it,

We went to the walk-in and saw it. I liked it. I like certain sci-fi flicks and this fit my bill. I can recommend it if you like the outer space genre of flicks.

Grab a beer or two, if you drink, get some Skittles, I like to mix sour with tropical, turn up the TV and kick back. Have a pizza ready at the half way point  :)

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 31, 2017, 10:40:46 AM

Quote from: flanagan0718 on July 31, 2017, 05:50:48 AM

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 27, 2017, 12:54:27 PM
Rented Ghost in a Shell last night. Yeah...well...I didn't rent it for the quality of the movie. I don't recommend it unless you like staring at Scarlett for 2 hours   8)

That's the only reason I would watch this movie!  ;)

Has anyone seen the movie Life? It has Ryan Reynolds in it. Just looking for a review before I rent or buy it,

We went to the walk-in and saw it. I liked it. I like certain sci-fi flicks and this fit my bill. I can recommend it if you like the outer space genre of flicks.

Grab a beer or two, if you drink, get some Skittles, I like to mix sour with tropical, turn up the TV and kick back. Have a pizza ready at the half way point  :)

Cool Thanks! looks like i'll rent it tonight. Event Horizon is one of my favorites, sounds like this is of the same genre.

-Mike-

Quote from: flanagan0718 on July 31, 2017, 12:05:55 PM

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 31, 2017, 10:40:46 AM

Quote from: flanagan0718 on July 31, 2017, 05:50:48 AM

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 27, 2017, 12:54:27 PM
Rented Ghost in a Shell last night. Yeah...well...I didn't rent it for the quality of the movie. I don't recommend it unless you like staring at Scarlett for 2 hours   8)

That's the only reason I would watch this movie!  ;)

Has anyone seen the movie Life? It has Ryan Reynolds in it. Just looking for a review before I rent or buy it,

We went to the walk-in and saw it. I liked it. I like certain sci-fi flicks and this fit my bill. I can recommend it if you like the outer space genre of flicks.

Grab a beer or two, if you drink, get some Skittles, I like to mix sour with tropical, turn up the TV and kick back. Have a pizza ready at the half way point  :)

Cool Thanks! looks like i'll rent it tonight. Event Horizon is one of my favorites, sounds like this is of the same genre.

-Mike-

What's the word? You can say it sucked. I can take it  :P

Quote from: TNblueshawk on August 01, 2017, 12:15:04 PM
What's the word? You can say it sucked. I can take it  :P

NO WAY! I really liked it. It was a very cool concept. The score was great too! Definitely better than most of the outer space horror / Sci Fy stuff that's come out recently. I really dug "Calvin" too. The way it moved kind of reminded me of a starfish or octopus. really cool movie.

I recently heard that "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" is based on Barry Crump's "Wild Pork & Watercress".

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS?!?! Barry Crump is the best author to ever touch ink to paper in New Zealand. I'm pretty sure they'll never make a movie of "Bastards I Have Met", due purely to the name, and "A Good Keen Man" would be a very hard sell and need a superlative editor.

Saw it just now. Aunty Bella is captured perfectly, as is Uncle Hec. Ricky doesn't change physically as much in the movie as he does in Crumpy's work, but he's still great.

The movie isn't as good as the book, but I could just be biased. It's bloody good, though. I liked the reference to Crump's Toyota Hilux ads that he did.

Taika Waititi is directing Thor: Ragnarok, so that should make for an improvement on the past Thor movies...

Quote from: Willybomb on August 13, 2017, 05:03:11 AM
Taika Waititi is directing Thor: Ragnarok, so that should make for an improvement on the past Thor movies...

He's not JUST directing: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DG7RUW9VYAQsx2y.jpg

Just saw 'Vertigo'. Hitchcock deserves all his reputation -- no firefights, and I was on the edge of my seat and guessing the whole way through.

No spoilers, other people haven't seen it yet.

I think I'm either getting old or going soft.

I can't watch the original Home Alone and keep my eyes open the whole time. I'm just feeling sympathetic pain for Harry and Marv too much to even watch the casual violence these days.

Have a fan movie.

Scarface and Arnold Wesker are among the scariest villains of Batman, in my opinion. Characters like Bane are so over the top that you can disconnect the movie or TV show from real life, very easily. But someone running on pure psychological damage, like Wesker?

It's a fan movie, AFAIK, but the acting is absolutely top notch. Wesker is played to perfection, and while I haven't seen this kind of E. Nigma portrayal before, I'd have to give it a good chance of becoming my headcanon.

Thanks Alan, I actually enjoyed that more than the Nolan Batman films. Definitely a good take on the Riddler, and a good setup/ plot.

I've seen a few movies lately, but mostly just superheroes and Star Wars.

- justice League was as expected, pretty bad.

- Black Panther was better than I expected. A better story and villain than most of the standalone marvel movies

- Thor Ragnarok was one great hilarious movie with another less great serious movie going on in parallel for the most part. Really enjoyed it.

- infinity war was as good of a movie that had that many moving parts and no ending  could possibly be. Enjoyable but I'm not running out to watch it again anytime soon.

- Last Jedi was a horrible let down to me. A bigger disappointment than the prequels imo. There was some great stuff there but so much that just didn't fit with the mythos of Star Wars. Disney should take a long look at this before it destroys the franchise.

- Solo was lots of fun. Donald Glover inhabits Lando amazingly well. No complaints,  I know they're disappointed it hasn't made more money but I'm pretty sure it has more to do with last Jedi than Solo itself.

- I watched part of I Tonya with my wife the other day. It's a pretty hilarious movie

I need to go see movies that aren't either superheroes or Star Wars.

Agreed that "I Tonya" was hilarious.  I'd recommend watching the rest of it to see how it ends.  Well, yeah, you probably know how it ends.  The mother of Tonya was an interesting character.

Quote from: TNblueshawk on August 01, 2017, 12:15:04 PM

Quote from: flanagan0718 on July 31, 2017, 12:05:55 PM

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 31, 2017, 10:40:46 AM

Quote from: flanagan0718 on July 31, 2017, 05:50:48 AM

Quote from: TNblueshawk on July 27, 2017, 12:54:27 PM
Rented Ghost in a Shell last night. Yeah...well...I didn't rent it for the quality of the movie. I don't recommend it unless you like staring at Scarlett for 2 hours   8)

That's the only reason I would watch this movie!  ;)

Has anyone seen the movie Life? It has Ryan Reynolds in it. Just looking for a review before I rent or buy it,

We went to the walk-in and saw it. I liked it. I like certain sci-fi flicks and this fit my bill. I can recommend it if you like the outer space genre of flicks.

Grab a beer or two, if you drink, get some Skittles, I like to mix sour with tropical, turn up the TV and kick back. Have a pizza ready at the half way point  :)

Cool Thanks! looks like i'll rent it tonight. Event Horizon is one of my favorites, sounds like this is of the same genre.

-Mike-

What's the word? You can say it sucked. I can take it  :P

I am the opposite way on both these films. Though you have to bear in mind that I'm a huge anime nut that thinks the original GITS and it's sequel are overrated. Sure they have some iconic scenes in them, but they're overshadowed by the excellent Stand Alone Complex series IMO.

I thought the live action film managed to bridge those two works nicely. Scarlett was fine as the Major (who is a cyborg, so I have no issues with her being caucasian). It also threw in some of the cooler scenes from the original anime. I've watched it twice now and I enjoyed it more the 2nd time around. I genuinely thought it did as good a job as a western production ever could of it.

Life... Oh god where to start. It was better than Alien Covenant I suppose... But other than having lovely effects and an enthusiastic decent cast, it's a poor imitator of the films that inspired it (John Carpenter's The Thing and Alien). It's well made. But ultimately I've no interest in re-watching that.

I suppose I'll mini-review some stuff I've watched recently that I can remember:

Black Panther - More Marvel. I really liked Andy Sirkis in that, my interest in the film jumped whenever he was on screen. Shame he was wasted. I also liked the scaling down of the threat level. It's all getting a bit silly when it's always about the end of the world/universe. When they scale back these films they become a lot more interesting. Still you've got to have that Marvel Epic Battle (tm) at the end of the film to remind you that if it's had great stuff up to this point, you're fighting now, wooo! Yeah! By the numbers, shallow entertainment.

Dr Strange - I like Cumberbunch as Strange, but please, dude, don't try to do an accent. I am not American, and I was cringing, so I've no idea what you guys were doing. Again, good cast. Mads is one of my favourite actors, but here he's not really used. Tilda is doing her thing. Again I just found it all to be another Marvel movie as we've come to expect them. It should have been so much better.

Thor: Ragnarok - Now this is how you mix it up. Space viking wizards is a ridiculous concept (I loved the Thor comics BTW), and they totally embrace this. They even added extra Goldblum just for spice. It's realigned itself into the sort of area Guardians is in terms of humour and it really worked for me.

Blade Runner 2049 - Ridley Scott please take note; this is how a sequel is done. Manages to retain the tone, feel, pace, and themes of the original, while continuing a story that until seeing this, I didn't realise could be continued. It does so mostly masterfully (spoiler: I'd make one tiny change to the film. It should end with K on the steps. You don't need to know what happens afterwards. This was K's story, not theirs, and if you've been paying attention, you know what happens next).

Brawl in Cell Block 99 - Possibly the most violent film I've ever seen. Think the elevator scene in Drive was a bit nasty...? Bah. I like Vaughn, I think he's seriously underrated as an actor, and this expands on his more serious chops much like True Detective did. However, this is pure grindhouse. This is the film Tarantino should have made, if Tarantino could wind himself in and actually make a grindhouse movie without it being self indulgent. If you dig grindhouse stuff you'll love it, if not, you really won't.

Spider-man Homcoming - I... really... liked... it... After the travesties of emo-spidey, the reboot and the reboot's sequel, I'd lost hope of there ever being another good spidey flick. But, you know, this is. Again, scaled back. A bad guy who isn't, played with both sympathy and menace by the excellent Keaton. A spidey who feels right as both spider-man and Peter Parker. It just worked for me totally.

Man I've been watching a lot of comic book movies!

Atomic Blonde - Great soundtrack. Is (tries to be) a little bit too clever for it's own good and ties itself in a knot with it's own logic by the end. But it was entertaining in that hipster-bourney sort of way.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - Luc Besson flicks the switch firmly over to style and away from content. This is not a bad thing for him as he can do style sooo well when he wants to. To me this is the spiritual successor to The Fifth Element, which if you liked, you'll likely like this. It's mad, has a very French sense of humour, and pretty as hell. The dude in it is so channeling his inner Keanu it's untrue.

Colossal - A study of alcoholism and abuse through the eyes of a woman who's inner demons manifest as a giant monster in Korea. If you can handle the concept, go for it, you've definitely not seen anything like it.

Spy - Who ever knew that Jason Statham was a comedy genius?! A far funnier film than it has any right to be.

American Ultra - Stoner finds out he's a programmed killer (Manchurian Candidate stylie). Actually quite amusing, if clunky as hell. For some reason that gave me the urge to watch...

Adventureland - Same people (Eisenberg and Stewart), better film. Basically a slice of life coming of age film.

Logan - Masterpiece. The Road meets The Last of Us, with claws. The bad guys are largely irrelevant, this is a story about family and growing old. A comic book movie with a very different tone. Much like The Last of Us, made me weep in places.

Free Fire - Ben Wheatley, so expect some off-kilterness. Sharlto Cropley once again proves that adding him to any film makes it much better. Feels a bit like a play in that it's all in one location with a single cast of chars. But it's very much not taking itself seriously. I quite liked this.

I've watched loads more... but those were the more recent stuff I've been catching up on.

Your insights are always a good map. No Star Wars?

Couldn't bring myself to watch The Last Jedi. I know enough about it to know I really wont like it. I think the failure of TLJ counted against Solo's poor take up as I suspect many others are starting to feel the same way I am in that, I just want new stories with new characters in that world. I have no idea if Solo is any good or not... I just have no urge to see it.

Quote from: juansolo on June 28, 2018, 02:35:10 PM
Couldn't bring myself to watch The Last Jedi. I know enough about it to know I really wont like it. I think the failure of TLJ counted against Solo's poor take up as I suspect many others are starting to feel the same way I am in that, I just want new stories with new characters in that world. I have no idea if Solo is any good or not... I just have no urge to see it.

I really enjoyed Solo, but strongly dislike Last Jedi. I'm not going to claim Solo was a great movie, but it was fun to watch. Skip Last Jedi but give Solo a chance.

That's fair, I'll give it a go. I think it definitely needs someone who understands the universe to come up with some new stories though. They've been doing it in gaming and books forever, but Hollywood likes to rinse and repeat until we're sick of something rather than try something new. That said, it'd probably just end up like current Marvel which now they've perfected the formula, all the films (with a couple of exceptions) are the same.

I enjoyed Solo but was distracted by the fact that the actor doesn't really look at all like a young Harrison Ford. He got the swagger of the character down pretty well though and it was fun to watch the worlds they built for the movie. Didn't feel like a ton of green screen.

As for TLJ, I really enjoyed certain aspects of it, such as the character development of Rey and Kylo, but thought they put way too many jokes that didn't fit in the Star Wars universe in it. Basically they Marvel-ified it too much for my liking. But, I'm a little more confident in them making future Star Wars movies because of the backlash they received for TLJ. It was too much of Marvel movie (a formula that was very stale) and I feel like they've stepped their game up in the latest movies (Black Panther and Infinity War) and broke out of their rut a little bit.

I completely agree with juansolo about wanting more movies in the universe with new characters. I'm really looking forward to what they do when they've finished the Skywalker saga and start exploring that universe more. I loved all of the worlds they briefly showed in Rogue 1 because it gave me hope that we'll see more of them in the future.

I really liked Solo, so for the third year in a row likely my only movie in the theater is a Star Wars movie.

In fact, I couldn't figure out what any of the supposed complaints about the movie could possibly have been. It's a good movie, period, short on philosophical nonsense. It's just a serial heist caper in space, basically.

I've liked all the new SW movies, though, so what do I know?

On a different note I just finished "I Kill Giants" it was fantastic. I read the graphic novel Years ago and this was just as amazing. Just Incase any one is wondering...


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Geostorm - By choice... Basically I needed some brain off/out entertainment. It's worse than you can possibly imagine. Not so bad it becomes good sadly, but if you want to do a bad film drinking game as they rack up the clichés, you'll be properly mashed by about 20 mins in.

That said, still better than Alien Covenant.

Sicario Day of the Soldado. If you liked the first one you'll like this one, but it's less dark and the second half slows way down.

Saw the new Antman today. Enjoyable, though think I was in mild heat shock during the viewing (115F outside to ~60F inside, I was bloody freezing).

I think I preferred the first one a bit more, but I had fun.

Quote from: somnif on July 08, 2018, 06:10:34 AM
Saw the new Antman today. Enjoyable, though think I was in mild heat shock during the viewing (115F outside to ~60F inside, I was bloody freezing).

I think I preferred the first one a bit more, but I had fun.

I really enjoyed the first one. Paul Rudd is a funny man, and it was stylistically so different from the other marvel movies that I thought it really worked.

I'm almost disappointed they felt the need to tie Antman into the bigger marvel universe, don't think there will be much room for what made that movie great in a bigger avengers movie unfortunately.

How clever was the toy train fight in the first one though?

For years we had a nearby rep theatre playing different double bills of non mainstream movies every night so watched a couple movies per week. When it was squeezed out of business the Art Gallery became the next option, runs biweekly movies in conjunction with the Toronto International Film Festival. At home we'd pick a director and grab every movie the library had of their's and have our own mini film festivals, movies all the time, most out, some at home.

In the last seven years i've watched two plus maybe half a dozen documentaries. I just can't sit long enough to get through one and there's zero interest in even trying.
dave

Saw Jurassic World 2.

I thought the first Jurassic World was good, probably mostly nostalgia.

#2 went off the rails, and I can't figure out if it's in a good way or a bad way. Spoilers: Did they really just set up a where dinosaurs roam free humans can be cloned? Living dinosaurs requires some suspension of belief, but this seems to be going in a far more ludicrous direction.  I was also not expecting to feel far More emotionally connected  a dinosaur than any of the actual characters.

A little late but...

If any of you were fans of the original Super Troopers movie.... DO NOT watch the sequel! It was a HUGE let down in my opinion and I really wish I could get those 2 hours of my life back.

Annihilation
I really like Alex Garland's work, be it as a writer and now as a writer director. There are a lot of old Sci-Fi tropes going on here, in a good way, and I found myself really enjoying the film. The trailer mis-sells it a bit, as a lot do these days. I really liked it.

Shame I don't have Netflix (not into streaming) and getting physical releases of things here from them takes forever. Still, that's why we import and have region free blu ray players. I wish Netflix would sort out their releases though. 3 seasons into The Expanse and we've just got a release date for it on blu here. Sorry for the mini-rant. I just want to watch films and if I can't go to the cinema to do it, then holding shit back for years just annoys the shit out of me.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Instantly forgettable formulaic, tensionless entertainment. I took my godkids to see it. They seemed to enjoy it as much as the popcorn they were eating at the time. I can't remember much about it.

A Quiet Place
A lot like an old lower budget horror, where because the budgets were low, you had to concentrate more on building tension and not showing you things. I miss this sort of film making so much. I really enjoyed it a great deal. Felt like an old John Carpenter film (one of my favourite directors) now I look back on it.

Ready Player One
I read the book and it was written for me. It pandered to my nostalgia in a massive way and I loved it. Now I knew going into it that the film would have to appeal to a much greater audience and be dumbed down a little. As it was, I enjoyed it. I prefer the book, but the film is worth a watch for any gamer out there.

Tomb Raider (reboot)
I think this might be the first video game film that actually gets it. It has the references and signature moves in there, without going totally overboard with them. It takes some beats and plot-points from the games but actually makes a decent adventure out of it. I really liked it. For people who are not gamers, it's a modernised Indiana Jones type origin story.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
This is one of those films where the actors seemed to be having a of fun making it and playing against type. That whole schtick is by far the most enjoyable part of the movie. It's light, it's worth a watch if it's on.

Hitman's Bodyguard
Odd couple buddy movie with Sam Jackson 'Sam Jacksoning' and Ryan Reynolds trying not to slip into Deadpool mode. Gary Oldman flicks the bad guy switch as effortlessly as ever. Enjoyable, forgettable bollocks.

The Last Jedi
Ok so I've seen it. It had problems, some big ones, BUT I didn't come out of it as offended as I expected to be.

**I don't normally do this, but I feel I need to with this as I'm going to go into plot points so SPOILERS**

Superleia was stupid. If ever there was a perfect character moment squandered this was it. Had she stayed dead it would have added poignancy to Ren's inaction and subsequent turn against Snoke. It would have given the rebellion a reason for a loss of hope as their last beacon of it was extinguished. Instead Jedi's can now survive explosive decompression, extreme cold, vacuum, and can fly in space. That's now a thing.

Luke's becoming an arsehole. The dude redeemed his own father who was the ultimate bad guy of all time, literally responsible for the deaths of billions. But his nephew has some dark thoughts (that he was creepily spying on...) and he decides in that moment that he must die. THIS MAKES NO SENSE. Luke is the personification of hope and that was just thrown away. This is the biggest misstep of the whole film. Sure he's impulsive, but to make him an opportunist murderer of his own nephew!? WTAF?

The little stuff: Porgs, the whole casino section, the general who through not disclosing her plan, caused the casino section, the milking scene, Hoth redux, General Huxley being the least intimidating general of all time, the little out of place comedic skits. All this is annoying but not enough to really wind me up.

But it was not all negative, and that was a surprise to me.

I liked the subtext of the casino scene, just not the execution. The elite class profiteering from the war, playing both sides for their own personal gain with no regard to the consequences to the people. Benicio Del Toro's character being a proper rogue and a more obvious criminal. They could play more into that for me and make something interesting of it. From an outside perspective, the rebels could be seen as many things from resistance/freedom fighters to terrorists, the empire from a rightful legitimate government trying to restore peace, to an oppressive totalitarian regime that needs to be overthrown. This could make an interesting film in itself following a character like DJ on the outside of the conflict. It's really what I hoped Disney would do with the Star Wars franchise. It's a great universe to play in. Why are they just focusing on one story?

Then there's Rey and Kylo. Their relationship is by far the most interesting in the story and I think Adam Driver does a magnificent job of portraying his inner conflict. Rey having her beliefs challenged and that moment of choice, I liked because she had reason at that point to go either way.

It's a misstep in my opinion. It had some good ideas and some really bad ones. I've seen it, I don't really want to see it again.

I liked Annihilation but not as much as I hoped. But...the scene at the end with Natalie Portman in the lighthouse. My god...the music was so intense it gave me chills. I re-watched that sequence probably 5 times.

Not a movie but I've been watching Afflicted on Netflix. It's about people with strange chronic illnesses. Not particularly entertaining but interesting. At least half the people in it seem batshit crazy, IMO (though they are all clearly suffering so I am empathetic even though a few are quite deluded).

I'm currently trying to get through Black Panther so I can get onto Infinity War.  Between building pedals, a baby, and building a 1/72 Catalina PBY-5a in RAAF colours, facebook, and work, I'm not really giving myself a chance to watch it properly.

latest Justice League movie ... intriguing!  ;D

Juansolo, I agree the superleah thing was just bad. I found myself later wishing it was somehow implied that Kylo Ren saved her, instead of it happening because of some innate ability. Sadly on the second watch there was nothing there.

Ant-man and Wasp was a pretty good ride. Not a great movie but fun to watch.

Almost forgot:

Split aka: M. Night Shymalan's return to form...
( though IMO, I don't consider two previous good films to be form :P )

It's pretty good. He's building himself his own little world to play in, and I like his take on the genre. Will be interesting to see where he goes from here (which is all I'll say without entering spoiler territory). McAvoy is really impressive in his roles in this.

I started watching Seven Samurai. Great movie, but it's more than three hours long, and I had to deal with something halfway through :( Need to pick it up again at some point.

Quote from: alanp on August 12, 2018, 11:58:47 AM
I started watching Seven Samurai. Great movie, but it's more than three hours long, and I had to deal with something halfway through :( Need to pick it up again at some point.

I saw it in a theater here in town recently, from an actual 35mm print. Had an intermission in the middle of it. Little indie theatre and they had a reel-change problem in the last act, so we got to sit in a dark theatre for 10 minutes while they unloaded the reels and warmed up a digital projector to show the last act of the movie from a digi-file (hell it may have been the blu-ray for all I know).

They had, somehow, wound the film on to the reel the wrong way around, so the sound band was on the screen and the sub titles were mirrored. Hilarious, but kinda useless for those of us who wanted to actually watch the flick.

Split was pretty good, although not as good as Unbreakable, and I'm looking forward to Glass.

Quote from: somnif on August 12, 2018, 03:11:46 PM

Quote from: alanp on August 12, 2018, 11:58:47 AM
I started watching Seven Samurai. Great movie, but it's more than three hours long, and I had to deal with something halfway through :( Need to pick it up again at some point.

I saw it in a theater here in town recently, from an actual 35mm print. Had an intermission in the middle of it. Little indie theatre and they had a reel-change problem in the last act, so we got to sit in a dark theatre for 10 minutes while they unloaded the reels and warmed up a digital projector to show the last act of the movie from a digi-file (hell it may have been the blu-ray for all I know).

They had, somehow, wound the film on to the reel the wrong way around, so the sound band was on the screen and the sub titles were mirrored. Hilarious, but kinda useless for those of us who wanted to actually watch the flick.

Fantastic movie!! I'd love to see it on the big screen someday.

Modern film projectors don't require reels being matched and switched. The reels are combined into one large plater that feeds the film into the projector.

90% sure what happened was that they attached the last reel upside down and backwards and didn't catch the mistake. It would take a good amount of time to fix, which is probably why they switched to the blu-ray.

Every Thursday after closing employees used to stay and watch all the new movies just to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen.

Yep, pretty much. It was a great 5 weeks, they ran a Kurosawa/Mifune series, so we got Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Hidden Fortress, and Yojimbo. Downsides, its an older style theater, so flat layout. Not terrible, but when you need to read subs on the bottom of the screen, you can really start to hate the dude with the eraserhead haircut in front of you....

Also the AC really could not handle a packed sold out house in Southern Arizona, it got a wee bit steamy at times. But, we got beer/wine, good food, and good movies, so it was fun.

theaters rule.

Quote from: somnif on August 12, 2018, 09:09:14 PM
Yep, pretty much. It was a great 5 weeks, they ran a Kurosawa/Mifune series, so we got Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Hidden Fortress, and Yojimbo. Downsides, its an older style theater, so flat layout. Not terrible, but when you need to read subs on the bottom of the screen, you can really start to hate the dude with the eraserhead haircut in front of you....

Also the AC really could not handle a packed sold out house in Southern Arizona, it got a wee bit steamy at times. But, we got beer/wine, good food, and good movies, so it was fun.

That's a solid summer!

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead - Highly enjoyable low/no budget zombie movie. Very tongue-in-cheek with a great Aussie sense of humour. Take it for what it is and you'll enjoy it. Get it on disc to watch the making of diary which is also a lot of fun.

The Void - If this film had come out in the 80's it'd have been lauded a masterpiece, now... it's a little shonky. Heavy Lovecraftian overtones (without actually infringing any copyrights), mixed in with a whole dolopload of 80's John Carpenter and Clive Barker. Loved the use of practical effects for a proper old-school vibe. There's just something better when it's done that way. Shame the acting and script were a bit rough. It's nothing that wasn't done way better by the masters, but if you like those old horror films, you'll probably enjoy this.

Avengers: Infinity War - Expected this to be a complete dogs dinner due to it having EVERY MARVEL CHARACTER EVER in it. Thankfully they all play second fiddle to the main driver of the story, and because of this it works. Marvel's Empire Strikes Back... Though not as good ;)

Deadpool 2 - Wasn't sure they could do the same again and it not be stale. I was proved wrong.

Loved the The Void! I wish more horror/sci-fi film makers would get on board with mostly practical effects.

Speaking of horror movies....

The new Halloween movie. What in the hell were they thinking? How old is Michael Myers supposed to be now? 60? 65?? Shouldn't he be planning for retirement and cashing in his Roth IRA instead of slashing people?

This is a corporate franchise -- the safe option, always the safe option. In this case, an established character, rather than take the trouble to come up with something new, which always carries the risk of the fans going, "What a bloody rip-off of those other characters! Piss on that!"

Quote from: alanp on September 26, 2018, 09:31:24 AM
This is a corporate franchise -- the safe option, always the safe option. In this case, an established character, rather than take the trouble to come up with something new, which always carries the risk of the fans going, "What a bloody rip-off of those other characters! Piss on that!"

True... however, I am wondering why they didn't option to re-make the franchise???

They could have had endless possibilities and still tied into the original plot/storyline. Instead, we get a sexagenerian still running around in a whited out Captain Kirk mask  ::)

Andre the Giant will live on in legend due to The Princess Bride, and Fezzik, IMO. Wrestlers come and go, but a good movie like that?

Him, and Inigo Montoya.

"Give me everything I ask for!"

"Everything you want, and more."

*stab through the heart*

"I want my father back, you son of a bitch."

Quote from: Govmnt_Lacky on September 26, 2018, 11:35:23 AM
True... however, I am wondering why they didn't option to re-make the franchise???

They could have had endless possibilities and still tied into the original plot/storyline. Instead, we get a sexagenerian still running around in a whited out Captain Kirk mask  ::)

Because Rob Zombie tried that, and it was... not great.

I've got a stack of things I want to get around to watching.... Bohemian Rhapsody for one.

When I go around to a friends house, I get subjected to bad films... These last two visits:

Venom: Strangely enjoyable shite. Not sure I'd ever choose to watch it again, but it was amusing while I was, for all the wrong reasons.

Ocean's 8: How 11 ever had a sequel, never mind 2 is beyond me. The first was an enjoyable heist thing with it's own style I suppose. The rest were awful. The tradition continues here, the only change being the guys are swapped out for girls. I'm trying to think of any redeeming features and I'm honestly coming up dry.

Almost forgot, also watched:

Ant-man and the Wasp: That was ok, ultimately just more of the same. Not as good as the first as you'd expect.

Quote from: juansolo on February 24, 2019, 01:31:09 AM
When I go around to a friends house, I get subjected to bad films... These last two visits:

Venom: Strangely enjoyable shite. Not sure I'd ever choose to watch it again, but it was amusing while I was, for all the wrong reasons.

Ant-man and the Wasp: That was ok, ultimately just more of the same. Not as good as the first as you'd expect.

I agree on both of these. I am a huge Venom fan and this movie was almost as bad as casting Topher Grace as Eddie Brock...oh wait that happened. I was excited to hear that Tom Hardy was staring in the movie. But then I saw the trailer and realized that they were trying to remake Jim Carey's Liar Liar in antihero form. SPOILER ALERT the Easter egg at the end of the credits: Really!! Woody Harrelson in a red clown wig!?!? I hope that isn't who they plan on playing Carnage. That would be unwatchable.

As for Antman and the Wasp, it was good. More of the same but entertaining non the less. I thought Ghost was well done.

I watched Slenderman last night. It was awful!! Don't bother.


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I just recently watched Valley Uprising.  It's a documentary about the history of the sport of rock climbing in the Yosemite Valley.  Good storytelling, nice photography.  Nice vicarious adventure experience.

Took the kids to Into The Spider-Verse and enjoyed every minute. It was fun as hell and well written. It has a good visual style. Better than most of the Marvel movie imo, best Spidey other than homecoming.

Ant-Man and Wasp was alright. I am glad they found a place for someone like Paul Rudd in these movies.

Bohemian Rhapsody was enjoyable. I know it took a few historical liberties but they did a good job with live performances and hinted at what band acrimony can be like. It's biggest issue was that sometimes it wanted to be about the band but mostly it wanted to be about Mercury. Committing to one or the other would have helped.

I recently discovered Helsreach on youtube. Finally someone managed to animate the world of Warhammer 40K and do it with a good story. Of course by using Aaron Bowden Demski's novel that's pretty much guaranteed. One guy did all the animation on his own computer and at first it shows. But gradually with every episode the animation improves and towards the end it gets stunning. No wonder Games Workship hired this guy to do an official W40K animated series.



First ten episodes were bundled together, the final three are still separate.

This is actually kind of a fun movie if you accept that it is stupidly self-aware. The first 5 minutes are ridiculous (they obviously ran out of their cg budget) but it gets better from there.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Lockout_film_poster.jpg/220px-Lockout_film_poster.jpg)

I watched John Carter recently as a somewhat random Netflix pick.  I enjoyed it enough that I went to Project Gutenberg to download the book it was based on, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Borroughs.

Having spent a lot of time in airplanes watching movies over the last year, here's my quick take

A Star Is Born - way better than I expected for a lot of reasons.
Bohemian Rhapsody - amazing, and I'm not a Queen fan, but to watch the interpretation of their creative process in the studio was inspiring, and the Mike Myers tongue in cheek joke was perhaps the funniest line of hi career (the Dana Carvey cameo was also funny)
Venom - I actually thought it was quite funny, but I'm not particularly a comic book movie fan
Avengers Infinity War - if there was a movie, that didn't star Ryan Reynolds, that could make me a comic book movie fan, this was it
Predator - pass, c'mon, if you're going to remake a movie, at least try
Rampage - actually pretty funny
Red Sparrow - not too sure I paid much attention to the storyline, but Jennifer Lawrence made it the movie equivalent of a Shania Twain video, satisfyingly entertaining if put on mute.
Atomic Blonde - see Red Sparrow
Night School - nope, Kevin Hart needs a strong comedic opposite
Deadpool/Deadpool 2 - because when you've watched every other movie available, you need to go back to something that's fun to watch for the 20th time
Super Troopers 2 - disappointed, had a long time to come up with new jokes, and they really didn't
Peppermint - think Jennifer Garner from the good Alias seasons, only more mature.  So, good movie then.
San Andreas - Formulaic Dwayne Johnson movie
Can You Ever Forgive Me - no, no I can't.  If I wasn't strapped in a chair on a plane with nothing better to do, I'd demand those minutes of my life back
The Meg - fell asleep three minutes in.  Don't think I missed much.  The parts I caught looked reminiscent of the first Jaws movie.
Bumblebee - please stop wrecking my childhood by continuing with the Transformers movies.  Learn from Police Academy - you should have stopped at the the third one
Overlord - seemed like the castoff scenes from Predator
The Dirt - yeah, those were the good old days of rock and roll
Thor Ragnarok - best comedy I have seen in a long time

Avengers: Endgame - Finishes the franchise satisfactorily. It's not as strong a movie as Infinity War, but I also couldn't think how it could work better than it does.
The Equalizer 2 - Rinse and repeat. Brings nothing new to the table sadly. Ultimately found it a bit dull.
MI: Fallout - The MI machine continues to turn out MI flavoured entertainment. They're all much of a muchness now. Enjoyable, if only to see what insane stunt Cruise has decided to do this time.
Incredibles 2 - Not as strong as the first, I'm not sure it ever could have been. Enjoyable Pixar sequel stuff.
Colossus: The Forbin Project - Skynet v1.0.
In Order of Disappearance - Scandi black comedy/thriller. Worth a watch if that's your thing. You'll probably find it all a bit odd if it's not.
Unsane - I like Soderberg for some reason, so picked this up. Gimmicky way it was made aside, it was ok.

I have an admission to make... I have never seen _Avatar_.

Why? Because James Cameron directed it, post-_Titanic_. I've refused to watch anything with Leonardo "Pretty-boy" Dicaprio in it ever since, and I want those wasted hours of my life back.

I know that Cameron has been involved in a lot of really, really, really cool stuff that is not the steaming pile of romantic turds that was _Titanic_, but...

I have seen Avatar, but later after it had been out a few years. I do not remember much about Titanic other than that I didn't really like it but, and I know this will be unpopular, I'd rather watch it again than watch Avatar again.

I don't remember why I disliked Titanic but I remember exactly why I didn't enjoy Avatar. it's way to long and the story is handled really poorly (and it's kinda dumb anyway). It's like they started out with a story and then decided to just string together some stuff they thought would look cool in 3D instead. The worst part is that within two or three years every other movie was doing the same visual kind of stuff better AND had real storylines.

Quote from: alanp on July 21, 2019, 05:31:25 PM
I have an admission to make... I have never seen _Avatar_.

Why? Because James Cameron directed it, post-_Titanic_. I've refused to watch anything with Leonardo "Pretty-boy" Dicaprio in it ever since, and I want those wasted hours of my life back.

I know that Cameron has been involved in a lot of really, really, really cool stuff that is not the steaming pile of romantic turds that was _Titanic_, but...

Ever see Ferngully? Dances with Wolves? The Last Samurai?

If so, you've pretty much seen Avatar. A Generic-As-All-Hell "going native" plot, with an overabundance of decent CGI and a bunch of abandoned secondary characters and plot threads.

I legitimately have no idea why it made so much money. It was ok, at best.

Quote from: Matmosphere on July 21, 2019, 06:28:40 PM
I have seen Avatar, but later after it had been out a few years. I do not remember much about Titanic other than that I didn't really like it but, and I know this will be unpopular, I'd rather watch it again than watch Avatar again.

Titanic at least has Billy Zane as the bad guy. Avatar has no redeeming qualities. Ten years ago, I wrote a long tirade on this very subject: http://ola.rinta-koski.net/2009/12/21/psychedelic-daffodils-and-the-blue-man-group/

Quote from: rockola on July 21, 2019, 11:01:58 PM
Titanic at least has Billy Zane as the bad guy. Avatar has no redeeming qualities. Ten years ago, I wrote a long tirade on this very subject: http://ola.rinta-koski.net/2009/12/21/psychedelic-daffodils-and-the-blue-man-group/

The thing about Avatar is how many FAR more interesting stories it could tell about the world it built up. The space marines, the cryo-sleep hyperspace trips, the we-swear-we're-not-Weyland-Yutani businessmen, the ruined earth, ...and it decided to focus on the story of an ex-Grunt hooking up with a blue cat lady.

Quote from: rockola on July 21, 2019, 11:01:58 PM
Titanic at least has Billy Zane as the bad guy.

Billy Zane dressed up as the iceberg? Cool!  ;D

And, I've never seen Avatar either.  I actually forgot it existed until now.

Finally got around to watching Endgame.  Some very funny bits in it.

Quote from: somnif on July 21, 2019, 06:59:22 PM

Quote from: alanp on July 21, 2019, 05:31:25 PM
I have an admission to make... I have never seen _Avatar_.

Why? Because James Cameron directed it, post-_Titanic_. I've refused to watch anything with Leonardo "Pretty-boy" Dicaprio in it ever since, and I want those wasted hours of my life back.

I know that Cameron has been involved in a lot of really, really, really cool stuff that is not the steaming pile of romantic turds that was _Titanic_, but...

Ever see Ferngully? Dances with Wolves? The Last Samurai?

If so, you've pretty much seen Avatar. A Generic-As-All-Hell "going native" plot, with an overabundance of decent CGI and a bunch of abandoned secondary characters and plot threads.

I legitimately have no idea why it made so much money. It was ok, at best.

Pocahontas, Apocalypse Now, Shogun ...

Saw a couple movies last night.

_Ryuzo And His Seven Henchmen_ by Beat Takeshi. It's an "old farts up against young whippersnappers" kinda movie, but ex-yakuza, versus ex-bosuzoku. Pretty damn funny, and despite the fact that they are all criminals, you find yourself liking each of them.

Especially Mac, who I was amazed had not been arrested years ago on firearms charges.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4176776/ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4176776/)

The other one was _Russian Ark_, which is famous for the fact that the entire movie was shot in ONE TAKE, no cuts, no transitions. The other thing that it is famous for is being set in the Russian Hermitage. Can't really describe what goes on, but it's well worth a watch.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318034/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1 (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318034/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1)

Alita: Battle Angel - The subject matter was quite a bit watered down (several characters morals and arcs were quite a bit darker than the films) and over all it was PG-13'd up. That said, it was still an enjoyable film. The effects were utterly stunning and though it crammed a lot of plot into one film I thought it pulled it off well. Personally I'd have preferred it adapted it like the anime and maybe stuck to that season as the plot and tone for the film, but still, it's as good as we could have hoped a Hollywood adaptation to be.

SIcario 2: Soldado - I really rated the original and think that was a masterpiece of cinema in a lot of respects. This is a little more workman-like in execution in comparison and is very much part one of two. Where I mean that the first film stands on its own and this feels more like the first half of a bigger film. I hope they do a part 3 to close it off.

Solo - Yep, got there in the end... Starts badly. I found myself rolling my eyes a couple of times at the beginning. But for some reason I tolerate these things to the end. By the end it was pretty decent. I think were it not for The Last Jedi jading everyone, it might have done better. But it was by the numbers stuff. Which let's face it, is what Disney/Holllywood do. Hell there's a lot of blatant Firefly stuff in there and quite frankly, I'd prefer to just watch that again over Solo.

Chernobyl (series) - A humbling, shocking and horrifying look at what arrogance and ambition can do. I'd like to think this sort of shit doesn't happen now, but it does. It often amazes me that we're all still around... Required viewing.

There was some other stuff but it was while I was house sitting for a friend and it was all Amazon/Netflix stuff. Most of it was shit and left so little impression I can't remember what they were called.

Quote from: juansolo on August 14, 2019, 11:46:32 AM

Chernobyl (series) - A humbling, shocking and horrifying look at what arrogance and ambition can do. I'd like to think this sort of shit doesn't happen now, but it does. It often amazes me that we're all still around... Required viewing

Yeah, I kinda want to watch that, but I just moved and I live about 60 miles south of there now, so kinda don't want to watch it too.

Stranger Things 3 is was an improvement over season 2.

I recently saw the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, love the books don't know why it took so long to see the movie. Overall it was pretty good. Not as much fun as the old BBC one.

I caught the last half (maybe 3/4) of Deadpool 2, it was kinda funny, but really seemed like it was trying to hard. Can't say I've got any desire to watch it again.

Quote from: Matmosphere on August 14, 2019, 01:08:34 PM
I recently saw the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, love the books don't know why it took so long to see the movie. Overall it was pretty good. Not as much fun as the old BBC one.

Agree that the old one was better.  Weird, right?

Zaphod's second head just wasn't right in the modern take, even though it was a very crappy practical effect in the old version.

On Prime:



This movie is just incredible. Definitely one of the best I've seen this year (I don't go to the movies much).

Quote from: Matmosphere on August 14, 2019, 01:08:34 PMStranger Things 3 is was an improvement over season 2.

I've heard that too, but there's just so much out there to watch that when they completely run out of ideas for season 2 (Lost, Walking Dead, etc) and expect me to waste hours of my life muddling through it, I just abandon the show right there. I really enjoyed the first seasons of all the above, I have no interest whatsoever of revisiting them because their second seasons made me simply not care what comes after them.

QuoteI recently saw the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, love the books don't know why it took so long to see the movie. Overall it was pretty good. Not as much fun as the old BBC one.

The radio series is utterly brilliant and in a lot of respects, I prefer it to the books (indeed that was my first introduction to Douglas Adams). It's available on CD now (used to have the cassette boxed set of that...). The BBC TV series is easily the closest you'll get to HHGTTG with pictures. The no-budget nature of it just suit the subject matter for some reason. The film, that had a budget, I think it adds a layer of seriousness to it that detracts from the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

Just saw _Samsara_, by Ron Fricke. I much prefer his earlier work, _Baraka_ -- it feels less preachy than Samsara does, more meditative and all encompassing.

I really want to see this:

Quote from: EBK on September 15, 2019, 03:14:17 PM
I really want to see this:

I wanna see a Stormtrooper movie directed by Kevin Smith!

I've been getting back into old school kung fu movies lately...
Old 70's stuff, like Shaw Brothers ect. Anyone else here into that?

I used to collect them in the late 90's to late 2010'ish.

When I was super bored the other day I started an instagram account for my collection...  ;D
Check it out at https://www.instagram.com/kungfumoviecollector/ (https://www.instagram.com/kungfumoviecollector/)

Quote from: Freppo on September 16, 2019, 06:03:02 AM
I've been getting back into old school kung fu movies lately...
Old 70's stuff, like Shaw Brothers ect. Anyone else here into that?

I used to collect them in the late 90's to late 2010'ish.

When I was super bored the other day I started an instagram account for my collection...  ;D
Check it out at https://www.instagram.com/kungfumoviecollector/ (https://www.instagram.com/kungfumoviecollector/)

Pluto TV has a great Kung Fu channel, and it's free
https://pluto.tv/live-tv/flicks-of-fury


I watched one the other day that was pretty good. I think it was called One Armed Swordsman against Nine Killers.

Drunken Master was the kung fu movie I've seen most recently.  Enjoyed it immensely.

Quote from: Aentons on September 16, 2019, 06:57:14 AM
Pluto TV has a great Kung Fu channel, and it's free
https://pluto.tv/live-tv/flicks-of-fury

Ohh, thanks for the tip!

Quote from: EBK on September 16, 2019, 07:10:26 AM
Drunken Master was the kung fu movie I've seen most recently.  Enjoyed it immensely.

It's one of my favourites!
Check out Snake in the Eagles Shadow.
Same cast, but Jackie is alittle more likable in the movie IMO.  :P

Kung Pow isn't bad

the ken burns country music doc ... haters gonna hate but I'm digging it

Welp, just got home from Rise of Skywalker.

That... was a movie. Did some stuff better than Last Jedi, did some stuff dumber.

I enjoyed it, but it doesn't really feel like a concluding chapter in tone, a bunch of plot threads just sorta tossed in the air and hopefully lost in the shiny lights.

And seriously, the Cinematographer and Editor both need a friggin Xanax prescription, god damn

Yeah, I'll be giving that one a miss. I made it through Last Jedi, which at best I can say that I'd rather watch that again rather than Alien Covenant or Alien vs Predator 2...

I'm quite happy that we got an original trilogy that's good, with a prequel I liked (Rogue One). The first three episodes of The Mandalorian I've merged into one to make a really good stand alone Star Wars film also (think it's been a bit lightweight since then, but watchable). I'm good. Just waiting for the rest of Empire to be completed by project 4K80 (https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k80/). 4K77 and 4K83 are already done and quite simply the only way left to watch the original trilogy as they were without owning the Laserdiscs.

Quote from: juansolo on December 20, 2019, 01:11:43 AM
Yeah, I'll be giving that one a miss. I made it through Last Jedi, which at best I can say that I'd rather watch that again rather than Alien Covenant or Alien vs Predator 2...

I'm quite happy that we got an original trilogy that's good, with a prequel I liked (Rogue One). The first three episodes of The Mandalorian I've merged into one to make a really good stand alone Star Wars film also (think it's been a bit lightweight since then, but watchable). I'm good. Just waiting for the rest of Empire to be completed by project 4K80 (https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k80/). 4K77 and 4K83 are already done and quite simply the only way left to watch the original trilogy as they were without owning the Laserdiscs.

I really liked PARTS of TLJ. Basically, the Kylo/Rey/Luke stuff, I'm on board. The Poe/Finn/Fleet stuff.... feels like a first rough draft. I get what they were going for but it needed a half dozen rewrites because as it stands it runs like an "idiot plot". I like most of the characters (other than the idiot admiral) but the whole Casino and Fleet chase thing just... no.

And Rise... is mixed. There wasn't any Huge Chunks of stupid like the last one, but I strongly disagree with several plot choices (in particular one that directly contradicts what I thought was the best damned thing TLJ did). Some amazing action scenes but some idiotic characterization. Massive set pieces but not a one feels anywhere near as Epic as even the forest clearing in Awakens. And it is a very dark film, literally, its hard to see what is happening on screen for large portions of the action

In the end the trilogy feels like most of JJ Abrahm's TV series, where there is an amazing opening, then it rapidly becomes apparent that he had no long term plan in mind and just writes on the fly hoping it will turn out. Oh this was cool (plot veers left) Oh that's neat (plot veers right) ooo the fans like that (spirals around it for a while) wait now where was I going again?

I don't feel like I wasted my 6$, but I am very underwhelmed. Still, John Williams has an on-screen role, so that was cool at least.

Quote from: somnif on December 20, 2019, 01:53:20 AM
I really liked PARTS of TLJ. Basically, the Kylo/Rey/Luke stuff, I'm on board. The Poe/Finn/Fleet stuff.... feels like a first rough draft. I get what they were going for but it needed a half dozen rewrites because as it stands it runs like an "idiot plot". I like most of the characters (other than the idiot admiral) but the whole Casino and Fleet chase thing just... no.

Kylo I'm meh about, edgy edgelords are nothing new (going back to goths in the eighties, hell, going back to Lord freakin' Byron in the dawn of time...) but the whole Mary Sue/Rey thing, and Luke Skywalker, one of the most optimistic characters ever who even saw good in Darth Vader, turning into an embittered old man who tried to murder his own student... just no.

If Disney Star Wars were to go down in flames that would give me an immense happy, but to everyone who likes it, more power to ya. I'm cool with that too. You like it, good for you! Fans have been arguing Star Wars online ever since they got access to the internet. Debate was heated around the time of the prequels, but at the end we all agreed that pro or con, we were all Star Wars fans. What really pissed me off about the Disney trilogy was not the biggest Mary Sue in movie history, or Han Solo becoming a deadbeat dad going back on his entire story arc, Luke becoming a sniveling little embittered biatch, or Anakin's sacrifice in ROTJ now basically meaningless, no those are decisions taken by the director. That's his prerogative. Would have been fine if Disney had said: Sorry you didn't like it, but this is how we honestly felt the story should be going. You're welcome to remain part of the family. No hard feelings? But no, they had to pull the toxic manbaby card. You don't like strong women and diversity, you are a misogynistic racist troll. Extra bonus point for being called Russian trolls. Yeah, that's a good business model, yell angrily at your fans, you know, the ones who pay for the food on your table? And that is why I want the Disney trilogy to go down in flames. And make the Hindenburg look like it was just a fender bender.

As is often the case, Southpark was right when they did that episode where everybody was willing to ignore voter fraud in the 2012 election, just so Star Wars would not end up in the hands of Disney.

Quote from: somnif on December 20, 2019, 01:53:20 AMIn the end the trilogy feels like most of JJ Abrahm's TV series, where there is an amazing opening, then it rapidly becomes apparent that he had no long term plan in mind and just writes on the fly hoping it will turn out. Oh this was cool (plot veers left) Oh that's neat (plot veers right) ooo the fans like that (spirals around it for a while) wait now where was I going again?

Hit the nail on the head there. The guy has so much form in this that I'm surprised no one has noticed. I think the guy has a few great ideas, but has no idea whatsoever how to end something in a satisfying way. Him and Lindelhoff are two big warning signs for me to not go see something for exactly this reason.

Ok, on a vastly different side of the coin....


Saw 'Knives Out' today. Written, Produced, and Directed By Rian Johnson, the "Hack" that "ruined star wars".

And it was a god damned Delight.

Smart, funny, clever, it was great. The story was well thought out, the acting was stellar, the characters all on point (Though I cannot get the thought of Daniel Craig delivering his James Bond lines in a ridiculous Southern Drawl out of my head now...), it was just an overall excellent movie.

And I seriously hope they make more flicks about Craig's character, because watching him work was addictive. Very much a "holistic" approach (if anyone has read Douglas Adams).

Seriously, go see it if you can. If you like mystery flicks, its top notch. If you like character pieces, all of these folks were delightfully terrible people. If you like dark humor, it's filled to the brim. 

I really liked Knives Out, except for the part where my wife figured it out and told me before we got to that part.

I just saw Jumanji 2 today. It was a good movie. It was more like another movie and not a sequel.


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I saw Star Wars. I liked it a lot. Was it perfect, no, is anything though. I don't know why people get so bent out of shape about this stuff, I had a good time and there was plenty of closure to the overall story.

Is it as good as the original thee, no but it's probably better than the other 5. It manages to get the spirit of the originals right while not just doing the same stuff over again.

There was one in thing I'd change, but the more I think about it what ended up in the movie was there for a reason.

Juansolo, you might not want to hear this but you should go see it.

I have a friend who buys EVERYTHING on UHDBD... I'll get to see it eventually whether I like it or not ;)

The Witcher (TV Series) - This is going to be a long one. To start, I've not read the books and though I have the games, I've not played them. I have an idea what goes on however. I am also very much into fantasy fiction in all it's guises (film, TV, book, computer games, desktop RPGs).

This series has problems...

If you've played D&D, this is obviously very heavily influenced by it. Not a bad thing as it's a rich well to tap, however it often feels a bit like D&D fan fiction. Some of the dialogue particularly so and not in a good way. This is somewhere in-between GOT and LOTR, it wants the boobs and the swearing, but it also wants the monsters and the adventure. It's hard to explain but GOT has a grittiness that fits it's world that is mostly politics. LOTR is high fantasy, which is what I think this is trying to be, but it's jarring for some reason. The closest to the tone I think it's trying to achieve for me would be the original Conan the Barbarian, which it's just not hitting. It's often too lightweight for that.

The direction is the next big problem. The story spans many years, with some characters that age slowly or not at all, and others that are supposed to but don't appear to. The timelines are mixed up constantly and there is absolutely no explaination of this when it happens. So the first thing you realise you're not in the current timeline is that a character is missing, oh, one second he's in an older timeline? Hang on aren't those kids grown up now? Is that the grand daughter or the daughter? Who is this now? What is the law of surprise? This is easily the biggest problem.

If I'm being picky, some of the relationships form suddenly out of nowhere with all the depth of an anime. The main character has little development. The two leading ladies get more, and indeed Jenifer's story is quite well realised and interesting. Though her motivations change/evolve over what it supposed to be a long period of time, but it's compressed over a couple of episodes. So it again seems a bit jarring and just makes her seem a bit schiziod. Ciri we get a little of, but a lot of that is obviously to be revealed. The three of them are well cast and genuinely interesting characters. Jenifer so far being the most layered. I honestly wish the first season had just been her... But that's just me wanting them to do justice to an interesting character.

The three actors who play these roles are what saves the show for me. Geralt, despite as a character having all the nuance of Judge Dredd, is well played, as are the two ladies. I really want to know where they go from here. The 'bad guys' are there... We haven't had enough of them yet for them to be anything than 'ominous evil threat'. Which is dull to be fair, but they haven't been the focus of this season. If anything I feel they've tried to do too much with too little time. It all feels like it's rushing to introduce everyone and some parties are just not getting the love.

So there you have it, it's flawed, but ultimately interesting bordering on enjoyable. What it does do is make me want to see where it goes from here with a hope that they employ better writers and directors, and that the show runners learn to slow down a bit, and try to be more coherent.

Quote from: juansolo on December 27, 2019, 02:46:05 AM
The Witcher (TV Series) - This is going to be a long one. To start, I've not read the books and though I have the games, I've not played them. I have an idea what goes on however. I am also very much into fantasy fiction in all it's guises (film, TV, book, computer games, desktop RPGs).

This series has problems...

If you've played D&D, this is obviously very heavily influenced by it. Not a bad thing as it's a rich well to tap, however it often feels a bit like D&D fan fiction. Some of the dialogue particularly so and not in a good way. This is somewhere in-between GOT and LOTR, it wants the boobs and the swearing, but it also wants the monsters and the adventure. It's hard to explain but GOT has a grittiness that fits it's world that is mostly politics. LOTR is high fantasy, which is what I think this is trying to be, but it's jarring for some reason. The closest to the tone I think it's trying to achieve for me would be the original Conan the Barbarian, which it's just not hitting. It's often too lightweight for that.

One thing to keep in mind is this first season is based largely on a few short stories written in 1986-1990, it's... archaic, in high fantasy standards. I chuckle at the GoT comparisons as, well, look at the dates, it all started before Martin got any of his stuff published.

Which just shows how trope-y the genre is, I suppose.

As for the show, I enjoyed it well enough, but yeah it's not perfect. Some of the acting is very wooden (Triss, a lively and vivacious "big sister" type character in the books and games, in the show seems to think forehead wrinkles are the height of emotional exposition). The makeup on one character is phenomenal early on, but after her "transformation" she gets... faker looking, which is bizarre given the circumstances (eye shadow should not be applied by masonry trowel!). Cavil does a great job with what he's given, which is very little admittedly, but the banter is fun nonetheless.

So, 7 or 8 out of 10 depending on ones tolerance for high fantasy tropes. Looking forward to season 2, just wish the delay wasn't quite so long.

Saw 1917. Holy god what a movie. And the score - perfection!

Took my godkids to the cinema. I wanted to see Sonic, they wanted to see 1917.

1917 - Where Shaving Ryans Privates was astounding for the Normandy landing sequence, the whole premise of the rest of it was just nonsense and ruined it for me. Even though it was technically excellent. This is different in that things in WW1 were much smaller and there was just this ever present dread which this film captures perfectly. That and watching young kids who thought they were signing up for an adventure, face the reality of being used as cannon fodder. Superbly shot, scored and cast. It really is a bit of a masterpiece.

Joker - I went into this one with a bit of trepidation as it's been described as this generation's Taxi Driver. I don't like Taxi Driver... More of a study of mental illness than anything else and Phoenix portrays it well. His decline is realised with understanding and pity for the character. Which is how all good villains should be, because as far as they're concerned they're the heroes. It is grim and cynical, but not a seminal masterpiece or an incendiary hate piece as the media has tried to sell it. It's a good film with a stunning central performance.

It makes me want to see a Batman film done in a similar style in this universe. We got nattering about casting afterwards and my choice for Bruce Wayne/Batman in this world would be Ryan Gosling. Someone easily as capable of being as disturbed and violent as the character should be. As far as I'm concerned no-one's come close to getting that right since Keaton.

The Irishman - Scorsese flexing for 3.5 hrs. There's some proper acting (in capitals) going on here, and some of that is really good. There's a look between Pesci and DeNiro with no words said that's just brilliant. The setting is stunningly realised, Pacino dials down the 'woo' enough to make a charismatic Hoffa. Some of the aging/de-aging effects can be a little uncanny valley, but it's not that distracting. It's well done but for me it's too long and spends too much time admiring the scenery and the acting... That's not that it ever was a numb-bummer (when you notice when a film is long and start shuffling), it's just that I felt it could be tighter and slightly less self-indulgent. It feels like it was aiming for the Oscars if you see what I mean. Well worth a watch, certainly, from a nice comfy sofa, with snacks.

Wind River - From the dude who wrote one of my favourite films of all time (Sicario) and one I thought was just bloody brilliant (Hell or High Water), comes the third part of his modern frontier trilogy. Wind River covers a murder on an Indian reservation from the point of view of a local and a out of place FBI agent, played really excellently by Hawkeye and Scarlett Witch. It feels much more like a Scandinavian noir than a Hollywood film and is all the better for it. Indeed avoiding many of the usual Hollywood tropes which is really rather refreshing for something from the other side of the pond. Highly recommended.

John Wick 3: Parabellum - If video games were films. Better than 2, not as good as the first. You know what you're in for.

Phantom - It's been a while since we had a sub flick of any worth. This one has a lot of Hunt for Red October about it. Some big (B list) names dotted around. Nothing earth shattering. There are worse ways to spend 90 mins.

After the Academy Awards, my wife and I checked out Parasite while it was still in the theater.  It was quite a good movie.  Very well done.

Parasite was on my list because I like the director's other stuff. Sadly with the exposure, it's expensive on disc now, so I'll be grabbing it when I can pick it up for under a tenner.

Citizenfour - So I was bimbling around the interwebs as you do and ended up watching an fascinating interview with Edward Snowden (https://youtu.be/gAo8xWSny3g) going into his past and his role at the NSA. I decided I wanted to learn more about the incident as I didn't really follow it at the time so picked up Citizenfour, the documentary of the actual whistleblowing as it happened. Which is even more fascinating and, quite frankly terrifying. Made worse because you have to remind yourself every now and then that it's real. Long have I known there's a US listenting station not far from where I live, I just never realised just how far it's went. Everyone with an interest in technology and how it can be abused should watch it.

QuoteJoker - I went into this one with a bit of trepidation as it's been described as this generation's Taxi Driver. I don't like Taxi Driver... More of a study of mental illness than anything else and Phoenix portrays it well. His decline is realised with understanding and pity for the character. Which is how all good villains should be, because as far as they're concerned they're the heroes. It is grim and cynical, but not a seminal masterpiece or an incendiary hate piece as the media has tried to sell it. It's a good film with a stunning central performance.

It makes me want to see a Batman film done in a similar style in this universe. We got nattering about casting afterwards and my choice for Bruce Wayne/Batman in this world would be Ryan Gosling. Someone easily as capable of being as disturbed and violent as the character should be. As far as I'm concerned no-one's come close to getting that right since Keaton.

I was somewhat disappointed in that there wasn't really any hint at the completely unhinged mastermind criminal genius that we generally consider the Joker to be.  It was a movie about a delusional guy with a gun, that set of something of a Batman origin.  Phoenix was great though.  The Wayne storyline was a good idea, and would have supported the Batman/Joker ying/yang thing in a way I didn't see coming.  BUT, like the rest of the movie, no great payoff.

Ledger's Joker is still the best.

Quote from: Willybomb on March 05, 2020, 09:22:11 PM
Ledger's Joker is still the best.

This is gonna be controversial...

Where as I may not have a favourite Joker or Joker movie, I think the Dark Knight is one of the most overrated films of all time. How much of this comes from Ledger's performance or untimely death afterward I don't know. But the film itself is just a set of loosely linked action set pieces, Batman/Bruce Wayne is barely in it, and when he is it's using the riduculous uninteligable voice someone thought was a good idea... Indeed it could easily be called Die Hard with the Batman it feels so little like a Batman film and more like a Joker film. Which is the ONLY thing that saves it. Batman Begins is a better Batman film.

I still prefer Keaton and think Batman Returns is the best of the lot in terms of being an actual Batman film.

Quote from: juansolo on March 06, 2020, 03:30:07 PM
Where as I may not have a favourite Joker or Joker movie, I think the Dark Knight is one of the most overrated films of all time. How much of this comes from Ledger's performance or untimely death afterward I don't know. But the film itself is just a set of loosely linked action set pieces, Batman/Bruce Wayne is barely in it, and when he is it's using the riduculous uninteligable voice someone thought was a good idea... Indeed it could easily be called Die Hard with the Batman it feels so little like a Batman film and more like a Joker film. Which is the ONLY thing that saves it.

I'm going to have 'Die Hard with Batman' stuck in my head now when I think of that movie. Thanks.

What annoys me about Joker's characterisation in that movie was that he claims to never plan anything, he just acts... despite coming up with plans that need a lot of detail work -- Batman is going to be here, so we need to put two things far enough away that the travel time will mean that if we use X timer, he won't be able to travel to both... not to mention the bank heist at the start... what, a load of yellow busses just HAPPEN to be going past at JUST the right time?

And artists are automatically more popular after they're dead. Everyone knows this.

I thought the Dark Knight was incredibly boring. Way to long. I remember being relieved when he finally caught the joker because I could finally get up and go home. Nope they decided they needed to tack another boring movie on with two face afterward. Sad thing is that it might have actually made two pretty good movies instead of one bad one.

I agree that it's sad Ledger died. He was a good actor, I remember really liking his movies and his TV show, but I always felt like people used his death to market the movie and make it seem like this big important thing.

It was especially disappointing after the last movie was actually halfway decent.

I agree that the Keaton/Burton films were the best.

I'm rewatching Outbreak on Netflix.  I guess I want to be amused by life imitating art or something like that.  Real life is so surreal at the moment.

Watch Contagion if you want a fun night in at the end of the world.

This reminds me. One thing I'll never forget is working at a movie theatre on 9/11. I was surprised we stayed open, although in retrospect I don't know why we would have closed, it wasn't near where anything happened. It was really slow all day. The most popular movie by a long shot was called Swordfish, it was a Travolta movie about terrorist. I never watched it, don't think o even knew what it was about until that day.

Quote from: EBK on March 17, 2020, 09:06:34 AM
I'm rewatching Outbreak on Netflix.  I guess I want to be amused by life imitating art or something like that.  Real life is so surreal at the moment.

That movie is so over the top 90's. It's ridiculous and fun. Contrast Contagion with the freaking helicopter chase scene in Outbreak, haha.

I just re-watched one of my old favorites, "Enemy Mine". Man, what a great little movie. The fx are pretty dated (even for the 80's) but it's just a nice story with good characters. I'm so old I saw this in the theater.

I just found out that the Uptown theater in DC is closing down. I used to live a couple miles from it. I saw so many good movies there. Jurassic Park, Ladyhawke and many others. My favorite theater of all time.

Quote from: madbean on March 17, 2020, 06:59:14 PM

Quote from: EBK on March 17, 2020, 09:06:34 AM
I'm rewatching Outbreak on Netflix.  I guess I want to be amused by life imitating art or something like that.  Real life is so surreal at the moment.

That movie is so over the top 90's. It's ridiculous and fun. Contrast Contagion with the freaking helicopter chase scene in Outbreak, haha.

I just re-watched one of my old favorites, "Enemy Mine". Man, what a great little movie. The fx are pretty dated (even for the 80's) but it's just a nice story with good characters. I'm so old I saw this in the theater.

I just found out that the Uptown theater in DC is closing down. I used to live a couple miles from it. I saw so many good movies there. Jurassic Park, Ladyhawke and many others. My favorite theater of all time.

Maybe follow-up Enemy Mine with The Last Starfighter?

I had Ladyhawke on laserdisc.  Not quite sure why.

Quote from: pickdropper on March 17, 2020, 07:13:46 PM

Quote from: madbean on March 17, 2020, 06:59:14 PM

Quote from: EBK on March 17, 2020, 09:06:34 AM
I'm rewatching Outbreak on Netflix.  I guess I want to be amused by life imitating art or something like that.  Real life is so surreal at the moment.

That movie is so over the top 90's. It's ridiculous and fun. Contrast Contagion with the freaking helicopter chase scene in Outbreak, haha.

I just re-watched one of my old favorites, "Enemy Mine". Man, what a great little movie. The fx are pretty dated (even for the 80's) but it's just a nice story with good characters. I'm so old I saw this in the theater.

I just found out that the Uptown theater in DC is closing down. I used to live a couple miles from it. I saw so many good movies there. Jurassic Park, Ladyhawke and many others. My favorite theater of all time.

Maybe follow-up Enemy Mine with The Last Starfighter?

I had Ladyhawke on laserdisc.  Not quite sure why.

I have a BluRay of TLS which I still need to watch.

Actually, just last week I got a BR of a movie that was not available for a long long time: Until the End of the World from Wim Wenders. 5-hour cut, too! We used to cover a couple of tunes from the soundtrack back in the early 90's. Bonus, Max von Sydow is in it (he just passed away).

Quote from: EBK on March 17, 2020, 09:06:34 AM
I'm rewatching Outbreak on Netflix.

Watched Outbreak the other day. Couldn't quite suspend my disbelief long enough, but I've seen worse.

Which brings us to the three movies I've watched since: all versions (that I know of) of I Am Legend in chronological order, starting with Last Man on Earth (1964, starring Vincent Price), then Omega Man (1971, with Charlton Heston), and finally I Am Legend (2007, Will Smith). All very different, with perhaps Omega Man being the most likely to get a rewatch, if only for the turkey aspect. Haven't read the book but I guess now I'll have to. Vincent Price did the best job at portraying a scientist about to lose his marbles.

Was bored the other day so drafted a "200 movies to watch in isolation" list, check it out at https://www.imdb.com/list/ls092674373/

For those who don't already know about Kanopy, it's great. It's like a free netflix for your library card. You get a limited number of plays per month but its totally free and there is an app for most smart TV's and it supports chromecast. I'm not sure, but I think it is likely USA only.

https://www.kanopy.com/


I've been slowly working my way (over years...with a spreadsheet) thru several of the "top" film lists and Kanopy has definitely helped.

The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012 - Critics Poll
The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012 - Directors' Poll
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sight_%26_Sound_Greatest_Films_of_All_Time_2012

AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Movies_(10th_Anniversary_Edition)

Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films by The Hollywood Reporter
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/100-best-films-ever-hollywood-favorites-818512/item/seven-samurai-hollywoods-100-favorite-818479

http://theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_all1000films.htm

Criterion Collection releases
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Criterion_Collection_releases

That is a great idea!  I've never heard about Kanopy before, I'll check it out.

About 12 years ago when I was laid off, I went through that top 100 list as well.  It was something well worth doing!

Quote from: Aentons on March 19, 2020, 08:47:50 AM
For those who don't already know about Kanopy, it's great. It's like a free netflix for your library card. You get a limited number of plays per month but its totally free and there is an app for most smart TV's and it supports chromecast. I'm not sure, but I think it is likely USA only.

https://www.kanopy.com/


I've been slowly working my way (over years...with a spreadsheet) thru several of the "top" film lists and Kanopy has definitely helped.

The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012 - Critics Poll
The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012 - Directors' Poll
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sight_%26_Sound_Greatest_Films_of_All_Time_2012

AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Movies_(10th_Anniversary_Edition)

Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films by The Hollywood Reporter
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/100-best-films-ever-hollywood-favorites-818512/item/seven-samurai-hollywoods-100-favorite-818479

http://theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_all1000films.htm

Criterion Collection releases
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Criterion_Collection_releases

Trying to stay no-spoiler, but I never liked Batman vs Superman even when I'd only heard the title. I admit up front that I'm not on top of what the current reboot is -- there have been so many over the decades.

Superman: goody two-shoes boyscout of all time, good friends with Batman in all the animated stuff I've seen (admittedly, not a huge deal, mostly Justice League Unlimited, and an old black and white comic compendium I have).

Batman: believes in justice, extremely strong set of rules (if he won't even kill the Joker...), in most canons I've seen he's friends, or at least friendly-acquaintaince with Superman, usually fanwanked as the World's Greatest Detective...

The whole premise feels like an internet argument with two fat neckbearded basement dwellers working backwards to get a scenario where their personal GOAT superhero is in a fight with the other guy's GOAT superhero, no matter how much of an asspull is needed.

... on reflection, maybe I should have put this in the Soapbox thread.

If you like sniffing petrol... you need to see "The World's Fastest Indian", starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as Burt Munro, from Invercargill, New Zealand. It's about the story of an elderly man on heart medication, out to prove to the world just how fast his half-century old modified Indian Scout motor-sikkle is.

My Dad always said that it was men like Burt and Sir Edmund Hillary who were true heroes.

I'll also add that the scene where the local motorcycle gang calls him out is absolutely hilarious.