# Movies you've been watching...



## 8Fingers

Sorry if there's a thread like this already 

Some I watched last month =

Season of the witch(2011) - No matter how I like that kind of movie still this one is crap.There are actors who almost turn a crap movie into a good one because of their acting quality,Cage has the ability of turning a crap movie into an ultra crap movie. 

An american haunting (2005) - I really liked its settings,beautiful places but story..........duh 

Let the right one in (2007 swedish original) - It has a really dark
atmosphere.It almost doesn't have action but still it kept me staring at the screen till the end.

Let me in (2010 american remake of Let the right one in) - It follows the original scene by scene but I don't know why it doesn't have the same dark atmosphere.Maybe because of the actors.But it's one of the best remakes I saw cause it really follows the original.

Hankock (2008) - Well if you just got home in the middle of the night and you need a film just to calm down and fall asleep,it's a good one.Just press play and have fun,nothing more. 

Blood and chocolate(2007) - Another film with werewolves but.....it's not a horror film,it's a love story with amazing arabian/turkish soundtrack.It's not another blood bath and rubber everywhere Hollywood kind of film,
in fact it almost has no blood.So scenes are really beautiful,almost like poetry to me.But in the end it's a love story so don't expect too much.I have to mention it was filmed in Bucharest(Romania and no,vampires didn't showed up hahaha),so places are beautiful,I'm really tired of films in New York or Los Angeles lol 
So have your own impressions about it,to me............great film.

Star Trek(2009) - What an amazing surprise.It's a cool film.If you're a fan of Star Trek you'll have a lot of fun,if you never herd(duh) about Star Trek......still it's a great movie.It's clever and effects are part of the story and not the story itself like some a lot of other films.

Seed of Chucky (2004) - I laughed,laughed and........laughed.That weird psycho gay puppet is HILARIOUS!

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)- Awesome dark and weird film about another psycho.Settings are beautiful and Rachel Hurd-Woods has one of the most beautiful face ever!

Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Weak and boring.No smart puzzles or a thriller vibe as a Sherlock Holmes film should have. 

Billy Elliot (2000) - Very cool film with a "family" vibe.I loved that scene when that kid danced when he was angry with his brother. The cool about it is the relation between characters.Besides that it was shot in Durham,I have some friends there but sadly they didn't show Durham cathedral and castle


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## ittoa666

Just watched Evil Dead....finally. Love it, but I'm still a fan of 2.

Also, I watched around 20 minutes of Tokyo Gore Police, and, well, what can I say? It was crazy.

I've had access to a lot thanks to netflix instant, but I can't make up my mind on what to watch.


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## Xaios

One movie that I tend to watch once every couple months is Master And Commander. I haven't read any of the novels that the story was based on, but the movie is just a joy to watch. It had great characters and solid acting all around. But equally as impressive were its achievements in cinematography and sound editing. Plus, the music, while sparse, is used judiciously and when it's playing, it is spot-on perfection. It's funny, moving, and even reasonably accurate from a historical perspective, and I enjoy it every time I watch it.


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## ivancic1al

The King's Speech---What to say, well-deserved best picture.

Back to the Future---feeling in the mood for some "great scot(s)!"

Sherlock Holmes---Guy Ritchie's directing is very well done, and getting pumped for the sequel

The Emperor's New Groove---Patrick Warburton and David Spade make this movie still hilarious even though I've grown out of most Disney flicks..


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## synrgy

I have been completely OBSESSED with the movie 'Red Cliff' recently. In the past 4-6 months since I saw it for the first time, I think I've watched it at least 20 times. I just can't get enough of it.



For those not in the know, it's directed by John Woo, and it was his return to China after spending about 20 years making movies in Hollywood. It's based on the historically famous 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' period/book, specifically the part where Prime Minister Cao Cao's attempts to forcefully unify China are waylaid in the south by the unexpected alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan.

As with all historical fiction, I understand some liberties were taken with the overall story arc, but fuck it: Great film is great film. This has something for everyone. Beautiful cinematography, grand and epic scale, rich and well developed characters, massive on-screen battles, a love story, loyalty, betrayal, etc.

There are two version of the film: The 2 part international version which clocks in just shy of 5 hours with both parts combined, and the 'western' version which is condensed into one film that's about 2.5 hours. While the western version is still a good film, one can't *really* appreciate the full scope of the film without seeing the full 2 part international cut.

Anyway, 5 out of 5 stars in my book. EXTRA BONUS POINTS for turning me onto an ancient SEVEN STRINGED instrument that I was previously unaware of: Guqin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Customisbetter

I just watched Grown ups with Adam Sandler and the gang. I loved it.


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## Xaios

I watched the "western" verion of Red Cliff a few months ago, and while I think it was good, it was pretty obvious that it was parred down. I've wanted to watch the full 5 hour film since.


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## synrgy

Xaios said:


> I watched the "western" verion of Red Cliff a few months ago, and while I think it was good, it was pretty obvious that it was parred down. I've wanted to watch the full 5 hour film since.



If you liked the western verison at all, the full version is definitely worth your time.


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## PeteyG

Recently I've watched...

Citizen Kane - I've never thought this to be quite as good as everyone makes it out to be, but that said I still think it's a very good film.

Casablanca - Such a good, good film.

Jackass 3D (just without the D) - My favourite of the 3 films by far.

Basic Instinct - Had never seen it before because it never seemed like the kind of film that would interest me, but actually found it quite enjoyable.

Speed - Not great, but still one of those entertaining action movies.

Paths Of Glory - Great film, one of my top 5 favourite Kubrick films.

Shoah - a 1985 documentary about the holocaust, it's 544 minutes long, and was the most effort I have ever put into watching a film in my life, but it was definitely worth it.


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## gunshow86de

I finally got around to watching "Who's Nailin' Palin?"

I only saw like the 5 minutes of it, but it was pretty good. I give it . I'd give two, but you know........


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## espman

Rock'n'Rolla -Awesome movie with a pretty decent storyline.
Jackass 3 - Do I really need to describe this one 
Super Troopers - If you haven't seen this one, go watch it right meow 

Other that that, I've been addicted to Mythbusters lately, just watched seasons 4-5 back to back


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## 8Fingers

synrgy said:


> I have been completely OBSESSED with the movie 'Red Cliff' recently. In the past 4-6 months since I saw it for the first time, I think I've watched it at least 20 times. I just can't get enough of it.
> 
> 
> 
> For those not in the know, it's directed by John Woo, and it was his return to China after spending about 20 years making movies in Hollywood. It's based on the historically famous 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' period/book, specifically the part where Prime Minister Cao Cao's attempts to forcefully unify China are waylaid in the south by the unexpected alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan.
> 
> As with all historical fiction, I understand some liberties were taken with the overall story arc, but fuck it: Great film is great film. This has something for everyone. Beautiful cinematography, grand and epic scale, rich and well developed characters, massive on-screen battles, a love story, loyalty, betrayal, etc.
> 
> There are two version of the film: The 2 part international version which clocks in just shy of 5 hours with both parts combined, and the 'western' version which is condensed into one film that's about 2.5 hours. While the western version is still a good film, one can't *really* appreciate the full scope of the film without seeing the full 2 part international cut.
> 
> Anyway, 5 out of 5 stars in my book. EXTRA BONUS POINTS for turning me onto an ancient SEVEN STRINGED instrument that I was previously unaware of: Guqin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




I was very excited about it but when I saw it was Woo I gave up.
TO ME his hollywood stuff is terrible.
Still........I should try it


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## synrgy

8Fingers said:


> I was very excited about it but when I saw it was Woo I gave up.
> TO ME his hollywood stuff is terrible.
> Still........I should try it



For what it's worth, I don't really like any of his Hollywood stuff. 

I mean, Face off was cool when i was about 14, but it didn't hold up well as I got older.


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## Nick1

Exam- This was a suspense/thriller about a group of people in a room all taking an exam in hopes to land some awesome job. But the thing is the papers are blank and they dont know the question so the movie is about them trying to figure it out. Kinda cool for a straight to dvd movie. 

Awake- This is a thriller where the story focuses on a man who suffers "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed, during heart surgery. His mother must wrestle with her own demons as a drama unfolds around them, while trying to unfold the story hidden behind her son's young wife. I liked this one. 

Due Date- High-strung father-to-be Peter Highman is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay on a road trip in order to make it to his child's birth on time. This is a total rip off of Planes Trains and Automobiles. But its got Robert Downey JR and the always funny Zach Galifianakis so its a at least worth $1.00 at the Redbox.


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## Daemoniac

Hannibal Rising - 8/10.

I can certainly understand why people may not like it, but I love the atmosphere, the actors and the story. It makes Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal a much more tragic/disturbed character and, while a little forced in some scenes, adds a great dynamic to the other films.


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## 8Fingers

The Road (2009) - GOOD LORD I want my time back...BORINNNNNG

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) - I prefer the original.This one is boring and it could be really better,perfect proof effects can't turn a bad film in a good one.Since the 90's I have a crush on Connelly .....( o Y o )


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## Scar Symmetry




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## Ryan-ZenGtr-

Green Zone - comedy ending "twist"

Hurt Locker - I want my time back

Inception - Enjoyed, anything with sleeping in it is always good 

Mongol - The Rise to power of Genghis Khan - Amazing

Lately, I've been enjoying the finer fruits of American television:

Must watch!!!

Have Gun - Will Travel 1x01 - Part 1


Many thanks Yurbs! (youtube user)


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## synrgy

Ryan-ZenGtr- said:


> Mongol - The Rise to power of Genghis Khan - Amazing



Agreed. I really dug that movie.


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## Xaios

Nick1 said:


> Awake- This is a thriller where the story focuses on a man who suffers "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed, during heart surgery. His mother must wrestle with her own demons as a drama unfolds around them, while trying to unfold the story hidden behind her son's young wife. I liked this one.



I just cannot bring myself to watch anything starring Darth Emo.


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## kung_fu

Some of my recent "first time" views:

Escape from New York - Kurt Russel classic 
Burn After Reading - Coen brothers comedy
Death Rides A horse - (Lee Van Cleef) part of a spaghetti western movie pack i recently purchased

All have my approval


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## Bloody_Inferno

synrgy said:


> If you liked the western verison at all, the full version is definitely worth your time.


 
 The full version is absolute essential viewing. John Woo's return to form. 

I haven't been watching full movies of late due to lack of time, but some of the most recent ones I've watched:

Nodame Cantible (the last 2 movies) - the 2 conclusion films to the live action series. Juri Ueno = 

Goemon - recent movie based on the ninja vagabond. 

The 2 Harold and Kumar moives. Yeah I'm late, but I didn't realise how hillarious they were until recently. 

EDIT: Tekken (film)...  Now all I need to see is the King Of Fighters film and I've seen every bad fighting game > movie conversion ever made. 

I've gotta go through the archives again... I still haven't seen Mongol yet.


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## jordanky

The Departed... And I watched the first three Karate Kid movies one day last weekend, those always rule... I also watched Casino a few nights ago. I prety much recycle movies. One of the coolest movies I've seen in a while was The Mechanic that was in theaters a while back. Typical Jason Statham, shit getting blown up, brutal ass deaths and all that cool stuff.

I watched Red Riding Hood last night. It was weird.


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## 8Fingers

jordanky said:


> One of the coolest movies I've seen in a while was The Mechanic that was in theaters a while back. Typical Jason Statham, shit getting blown up, brutal ass deaths and all that cool stuff.


 
Before The Mechanic I really didn't like that actor.
Awesome movie


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## kung_fu

Best not forget that The Mechanic is a remake of a Bronson movie:






Best Slogan Ever


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## 8Fingers

I misunderstood The Mechanic with The Machinist 

I don't like The Mechanic in any level but I love The Machinist 

mechanic/machinist.............potato/poteito..........


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## kung_fu

I actually just saw the Machinist relatively recently as well


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## ShadyDavey

I somewhat overdosed on movies in the pre-Christmas period and as such hadn't taken the time to watch any new releases (or even older films I had on my "must view" list) until recently. 

Black Swan

Ip Man

Megamind

Blood Diamond

Thoroughly enjoyed all four and to save a long, rambling discussion I'll confine myself to saying......Brilliantly acted and just plain _hawt_ at times.......historical inaccuracies but superb action sequences........a great comedic animation from start to finish which allowed me to safely remove my brain for a time......thought-provoking action/drama with a message and more fine acting turns.

Would recommend any and all of them.


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## Daemoniac

Ryan-ZenGtr- said:


> Hurt Locker - I want my time back



 I got to the end of that movie and thought "I do not give a shit about any of these people, and I wish I hadn't wasted my time on them."


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## groph

Hall Pass - Decent comedy. Needed moar Stephen Merchant, though.

Battle Los Angeles - Another "GO MARINES! HOO-RAH!" movie. Nothing memorable about it. It's fun if you want to see shit blow up, otherwise it's an hour too long.

Cannibal Holocaust - Interesting take on what is and isn't acceptable to show on TV. I didn't find it to be all that great of a movie but the subject matter it covers is certainly thought provoking, so it's a lot more intelligent than it seems to be. Yeah, there are pretty well done depictions of raping, beheading, disembowling, abortion, etc. as well as actual animals being killed on screen, but the themes are interesting. What does it mean to be civilized? (they portray the indigenous people in the movie in about as racist a manner as possible), what is "acceptable violence? Do you feel any different knowing that when the animals die, they actually are being killed?

The Fourth Kind - Interesting for what it was, and it was reasonably creepy. Milla Jovovich has done better, though.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - Watching this at the moment. Holy shit, Denzel Washington looks a lot like Sidney Poitier.


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## Bobo

synrgy said:


> If you liked the western verison at all, the full version is definitely worth your time.



That looks awesome. I think I'll check out both versions.



espman said:


> Rock'n'Rolla -Awesome movie with a pretty decent storyline.



There's been talk of sequels to that movie. I really hope there are. Guy Ritchie does some great stuff.



Daemoniac said:


> Hannibal Rising - 8/10.
> 
> I can certainly understand why people may not like it, but I love the atmosphere, the actors and the story. It makes Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal a much more tragic/disturbed character and, while a little forced in some scenes, adds a great dynamic to the other films.



Another one I loved. Felt tense and definitely odd.



8Fingers said:


> The Road (2009) - GOOD LORD I want my time back...BORINNNNNG



Well it's not an action movie. It was supposed to be about the hopelessness after a nuclear war. I thought it portrayed that very well. I can see how a unique movie like that wouldn't appeal to many.



jordanky said:


> The Departed


 
Still is the best gangsta movie ever imo.

I ain't watched much lately worth mentioning, so I can't really add anything to this thread  But there is a freaky looking movie I want to check out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI89ovR36r0


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## Ryan-ZenGtr-

I'll 2nd Ip Man (ShadyDavey). Awesome film of the great Sifu life! *fantasy elements but still quality stuff*

I just wanted to say, I put Have Gun Will Travel linked on YouTube. It is THE SH*T! 

Watch IT!!!! The whole first 3 years of it are there.... ENJOY!!!! (links on 1st page of this thread)

Let me know how you get on. It was made in the late 50's, I think, TV was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

different back then! CHECK IT OUT!!!

*oozing enthusiasm*


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## 8Fingers

Bobo said:


> Well it's not an action movie. It was supposed to be about the hopelessness after a nuclear war. I thought it portrayed that very well. I can see how a unique movie like that wouldn't appeal to many.


 
It doesn't matter if it portrayed it well(in my opinion it didn't) cause it's boring.
Always amazing me how some people think their OPINIONS are facts.
If they think a movie/song/band etc is good but somebody gives a different opinion,they always come with phrases like = you have a close mind,that movie wouldn't appeal to you(or to many like you said) etc.
Dude your(or mine) opinion is not a fact,just because you think it's good it doesn't means IT IS or it doesn't means everybody who didin't like it wanted to watch an action movie(like you said).
I was expecting nothing from that movie cause I didn't know what it was about SO I don't care if it's or not an action movie,it's boring to me.And I really hate action movies,the majority is about nothing,just people killing,jumping,flying lol.Curse of the golden flower it's an extremelly slow movie(99% is talking) still it kept my eyes open wild till the end.
I can't really picture an after nuclear war that way,it probably would be 1000 times worse,that movie is boring,flat and has nothing to do with reality.
Does that means my opinion is right and yours is wrong?
Nope they're only PERSONAL opinions.
So saying " it's not an action movie,a unique movie like that wouldn't appeal to many" is the same as saying = hey I liked it and as I'm a very smart guy and my opinions are facts you guys who didin't like it are........dumb,your minds can't understand it because you only understand dumb no story action movies.

It'd be the same if I say = hey you're dumb cause you liked such a crap movie.



Dr. Phil we need help here hahahahahhaha


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## groph

Somebody sounds pissed off.


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## 8Fingers

groph said:


> Somebody sounds pissed off.


 
Sounds?
It's text so there's no "sounding",no facial expressions lol
I'd never get pissed off with internet stuff,I just don't like that attitude.
But far away of being pissed off.
Just because I like a movie I don't have the right of saying somebody who dislike it is.......dumb or couldn't understand it.

 (I love that smile face)


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## ShadyDavey

The Road was a film that polarised opion for a lot of people I talked to at the time - some felt that it was too dark, too nihilistic and somewhat badly paced.....others loved the tone, found the acting to be of the highest standard, and the very few action sequences to underline the desperate feel......but ultimately it is just a movie and I doubt anyone gets into the business with the hope of pleasing all the people all the time.

My tuppence is that the book is far better


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## groph

Just got done watching 3 movies. I'm taking a film genres class in school so I'm just catching up on homework.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was decent I guess. It's about a young white woman falling in love with a black man while on vacation. She takes him home to meet her parents. Her parents are like "lol wtf a negro lol?" and don't want them to get married. The black guy's parents are invited to dinner (hence the name) and they are like "lol wtf this girl is white lol" and then the two families work out the differences between races and let the couple decide what they want to do. Sidney Poitier looks strikingly like Denzel Washington.

Guess Who is the 2005 revisiting of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. It basically flips the story around, having Ashton Kutcher play the fiancee of a young black woman who is taking him home to meet her parents, played by Bernie Mac and some woman whose name I don't know. The black family is all like "lol wtf he's white" and Kutcher is all like "lol score I'm white." Race is pretty cheapened in this movie since Kutcher, being white, isn't in any position of subordination. For that matter, neither is the black family, as they're of the upper class and are pretty affluent. The movie is mostly Kutcher trying to win Bernie Mac's respect, with the odd "lol, black people" joke thrown in here and there. There is a scene which goes through a number of racial slurs (such as "bird shit") against whites, and I don't think "the N word" is said once in the movie but whatever. It's not like I'm offended when I hear the word "cracker." I've even been called it by a black kid whose family is way richer than mine. I guess the point of the film was to demonstrate that racism doesn't exist anymore because a black family can be surprised that their daughter is marrying a white dude.

Then I saw The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Basically, Nicholas Cage plays a crooked as fuck cop who snorts about 3 tons of blow that he either got from the evidence room or stole from people who he convicts of drug possession outside of nightclubs. He gets into some money issues with gangsters while trying to sort out a homicide case and ends up seeing iguanas and dead crocodiles everywhere. Eva Mendes is in it, and Xzibit plays a drug lord. It's actually pretty good. Nicholas Cage completely loses his shit as the movie goes on.


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## Bobo

8fingers, I wasn't trying to belittle you or your opinion. I guess I can kinda see what you're saying by what you thought my post meant, but you're really jumping the gun. Never thought my opinion was fact, didn't think that was even really inferable. There are movies I would term "unique" that I don't like, and don't think that people who like them are dumb in any way. It was just a generalized way to say different strokes for different folks I guess.


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## 8Fingers

Bobo said:


> 8fingers, I wasn't trying to belittle you or your opinion. I guess I can kinda see what you're saying by what you thought my post meant, but you're really jumping the gun. Never thought my opinion was fact, didn't think that was even really inferable. There are movies I would term "unique" that I don't like, and don't think that people who like them are dumb in any way. It was just a generalized way to say different strokes for different folks I guess.


 
Hey no heart feelings man, I'm a positive person I believe you(and me) had no intention of being rude,it's just I saw that kind of behaviour so many times in the net and I thought yours were the same.
If not,I'm sorry 

Now......more movies please cause I already get a lot of names to watch


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## Nick1

Believe it or not Im actually going to watch 8 Mile for the first time tonight or tomorrow.


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## 8Fingers

Van Helsing (2004) - It should be called Indiana Helsing cause it's an adventure and not a terror movie.If you're going to bed and need a movie just to help you falling asleep this is THE movie.The story isn't that bad but it's full of "adventure" kind of cliches and crap effects.....not effects but defects .You don't have to think while watching it so it's perfect for falling asleep or doing some ( o Y o )


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## cwhitey2

I saw Snatch last night and it was AWESOME!!!


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## Bobo

8Fingers said:


> Hey no heart feelings man, I'm a positive person I believe you(and me) had no intention of being rude,it's just I saw that kind of behaviour so many times in the net and I thought yours were the same.
> If not,I'm sorry
> 
> Now......more movies please cause I already get a lot of names to watch


 
It's cool man. Guess it's just hard to really convey thoughts over the internet sometimes. But I know what you mean about overly opinionated types, so I try not to be one lol.



cwhitey2 said:


> I saw Snatch last night and it was AWESOME!!!


 
That's what I'm talking about. Some Guy Richie awesomeness I was refering to. Try Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels if you haven't already


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## ittoa666

Just finished this...







Awesome.


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## MFB

If you like "Machine Girl" check out "Tokyo Gore Police". From what I've heard they're almost the same movie, but TGP came out in 2008 I believe, so it's better effects and such.


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## synrgy

MFB said:


> If you like "Machine Girl" check out "Tokyo Gore Police". From what I've heard they're almost the same movie, but TGP came out in 2008 I believe, so it's better effects and such.



Those flicks remind me of Power Rangers, just with lots of gore added.


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## pero

I saw Lemmy , a documentary about the legend himself and the movie is great and Lemmy is such a cool and funny dude. I recommend it to everyone


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## cwhitey2

Bobo said:


> That's what I'm talking about. Some Guy Richie awesomeness I was refering to. Try Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels if you haven't already




 Deff on my to watch list.


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## ittoa666

MFB said:


> If you like "Machine Girl" check out "Tokyo Gore Police". From what I've heard they're almost the same movie, but TGP came out in 2008 I believe, so it's better effects and such.



I might watch it.


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## 8Fingers

Sanctum (2010) - Millions to do that?!A bunch of people lost inside of a cave and only one survived.Plus father and son trying to reconnect!
Wow what an originality!
The Cave (2005) has better settings and......................monsters


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## ROAR

I recently finished Bigger, Stronger, Faster.
That was a great doc.

And then I watched Following, The Dark Knight, and
for the first time Insomnia. Finishing my Nolan films.


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## Xaios

8Fingers said:


> The Cave (2005) has better settings and......................monsters



Blech. If you want a good horror spelunking movie, watch The Descent, which also came out in 2005. Far, FAR better movie.

Just don't watch the sequel.


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## Scar Symmetry




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## 8Fingers

Xaios said:


> Blech. If you want a good horror spelunking movie, watch The Descent, which also came out in 2005. Far, FAR better movie.
> 
> Just don't watch the sequel.


 
Cool thanks I'll 

I didn't know the cave had monsters,I saw a tv promo and those settings looked beautiful,I just thought it was a simple "lost in a cave" movie.


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## Xaios

Heh, there's practically nothing beautiful about the scenery in The Descent. It's claustrophobic and bloody.


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## 8Fingers

Xaios said:


> Heh, there's practically nothing beautiful about the scenery in The Descent. It's claustrophobic and bloody.


 
Even better 
Any other terror recomendation I'm all ears,I mean all eyes  

Hey now I remember,I saw a few tv commercials about the descent but I forgot about it.
Tonight will be.......................claustrophobic and bloody


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## eerieinhabitant

Any Gaspar Noe fans here? Just finished watching "Enter The Void"; very interesting film. It wasn't nearly as abrasive (IMO, at least) as "I Stand Alone" or "Irreversible" - more of an experimental approach here. 

Just caught "Antichrist" last week - wow. That was pretty intense and unsettling!


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## silentrage

Tangled, best disney movie in decades, seen it 3 times in theatres.
Bought the blu ray, gonna watch some more.

I'm a disney fanboi...


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## 8Fingers

The Descent (2005) - Thanks to Xaios.Well I did some jumpings on my bed because of "subtle creature appearance factor" ,it has a great mood but no surprises,story is predictable.It's not a bad movie but story is the same as so many other scary/terror movies but with different places and characters.People told me The Descent 2 is a major crap so I really want to watch it cause crap is the translation of.......................... fun 
Thanks again Xaios


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## Olonga

The movie I recently watched was The Curious case of Benjamin Button..
It was a fantastic movie with some different unique story...Brad Pitt is the leading actor in the movie and he has done a great job in it...


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## Xaios

I recently watched Ridley Scott's adaptation of Robin Hood with my dad. I avoided it because everyone told me it was a boring, bad movie. My dad bought it on Bluray because he quite enjoys Russell Crowe's work.

And you know what?

I really enjoyed it. 

Sure, the whole "Magna Carta" theme was totally half-baked, but I still thought it was a fun movie.

That, plus the fact that I'll watch just about anything with Cate Blanchett.


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## Winspear

I just finished watching Peaceful Warrior. I've seen it twice now. I'd recommend anyone give it a watch. You don't need to be into all the 'self help' stuff to enjoy it - I'm not. But who knows, you may get something from it anyway.
I just think it's a genuinely enjoyable film


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## MFB

Watched "Hero" yesterday for the first time since I saw it in like 03/4, and to be honest, I enjoyed it FAR more NOW that I understand (and agree with) the utilitarian views that Broken Sword was trying to help Snow and Nameless see.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Just recently saw the Beck (Mongolian Chop Squad) live action movie. Not bad. Note to self and go through Linda Linda Linda and Black Swan whenever possible soon.


----------



## Daemoniac

For the hundredth time;

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 10/10

One of the single greatest movies ever put to film IMO, and as if it wasn't good enough to begin with, the last hour or so of the movie just soars to new heights. I've never really been able to pick "a" favorite movie, always three or four at best, but seeing this again finally I think it definitely takes that place.


----------



## Daemoniac

Xaios said:


> I recently watched Ridley Scott's adaptation of Robin Hood with my dad. I avoided it because everyone told me it was a boring, bad movie. My dad bought it on Bluray because he quite enjoys Russell Crowe's work.
> 
> And you know what?
> 
> I really enjoyed it.
> 
> Sure, the whole "Magna Carta" theme was totally half-baked, but I still thought it was a fun movie.
> 
> That, plus the fact that I'll watch just about anything with Cate Blanchett.



 I thoroughly enjoyed it (very last scene aside...). I'd still rather watch the old 30s one with Errol Flynn, but so far as remakes/universal stories go, it was quite well done


----------



## 8Fingers

The Descent 2 - Same thing as the first one,nothing has changed so........hmn........nothing to say...... ............... 

Paranormal Activity (2007) - Hmn Blair Witch Project in a bedroom?Very predictable and boring and who knows why a supernatural entity would leave footsteps.That actress is hot 

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) - The same as the first 1 but it's less boring.Thank god for showing her hot ( o Y o ) which are the best thing in the movie.


----------



## MFB

Pretty sure there wasn't tits in #2?


----------



## Ibanezsam4

MFB said:


> Pretty sure there wasn't tits in #2?



there was cleavage... but not full on tits.. very confused


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

I watched Ong Bak every Friday for the last three weeks. I watched all three movies in the series in a row Friday before last and enjoyed them all, despite parts 2 and 3 seeming like that should just be a completely different series.


----------



## Chiba666

Inception and really enjoyed it


----------



## 8Fingers

30 Days of night (2007) - I like it.Story goes nowhere still it kept me wanting to know the end.Imagery is cool and NOT having dumb vampires falling in love for skinny ugly teens was awesome.They speaking in a different language turned it darker.I was expecting for another "hey look I can put 30 effects per second" stuff but it was a surprise.
If you just want some fun before falling asleep.......... this is it


----------



## 8Fingers

Dark City (1998) - Last time I watched was in 1998, still a master piece.
A must see in all levels


----------



## Meatbucket

"Empire Strikes Back 'cause I love that movie so I fuck it." -RedLetterMedia


----------



## Bobo

Olonga said:


> The movie I recently watched was The Curious case of Benjamin Button..
> It was a fantastic movie with some different unique story...Brad Pitt is the leading actor in the movie and he has done a great job in it...



That was a _fantastic_ movie 

Saw Machete this weekend, it's just a fun movie


----------



## Sicarius

I watched The Green Hornet, and The Kings Speech

Hornet was hilarious, and I liked it.
King's Speech was awesome, but I still think I liked Black Swan a lot better, plot/story wise.


----------



## cwhitey2

So i just watched Ninja Assasins for the first time last night, and all i have to say is
:

HOLY FUCK THAT IS A CRAZY FUCKING MOVIE!!!!!

GO WATCH IT RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!


p.s. if your stomache is weak sauce dont watch it


----------



## synrgy

cwhitey2 said:


> So i just watched Ninja Assasins for the first time last night



Saw it in the theater. ALMOST went to the manager to seek a refund, I thought it was so terrible.


----------



## cwhitey2

synrgy said:


> Saw it in the theater. ALMOST went to the manager to seek a refund, I thought it was so terrible.


 

It was not great by any means, but if you like ninjas and fighting in general you should like it.


----------



## synrgy

cwhitey2 said:


> It was not great by any means, but if you like ninjas and fighting in general you should like it.



I love Ninjas, and fighting, etc. None of the above made up for the shit directing, shit plot, shit acting and painfully large amounts of on-screen exposition. Not to mention, this is how they think a superior officer talks to a lower ranked cop:

Mika: "You believe it now, don't you?"

Mika's boss: "Ninjas? Are you kidding?"

Mika: "Then why are you doing this?"

Mika's boss: "No idea, but I can guarantee you that it has nothing to do with the fact that you're the most attractive researcher that I've ever worked with.

 It was just plain awful. It also pissed me off because they used the Wachowski's name to market the film but then you stay for the credits and find out they had nothing to do with filming it.


----------



## cwhitey2

synrgy said:


> I love Ninjas, and fighting, etc. None of the above made up for the shit directing, shit plot, shit acting and painfully large amounts of on-screen exposition. Not to mention, this is how they think a superior officer talks to a lower ranked cop:
> 
> Mika: "You believe it now, don't you?"
> 
> Mika's boss: "Ninjas? Are you kidding?"
> 
> Mika: "Then why are you doing this?"
> 
> Mika's boss: "No idea, but I can guarantee you that it has nothing to do with the fact that you're the most attractive researcher that I've ever worked with.
> 
> It was just plain awful. It also pissed me off because they used the Wachowski's name to market the film but then you stay for the credits and find out they had nothing to do with filming it.


 


well i 420'd it so it was awesome or atleast mind blowing... 

but your right the acting was a joke and i didnt care for the shit effects they used


----------



## 8Fingers

The Last Exorcism (2010) - If you like this kind of film............ it's AWESOME.
No crap effects and no crap acting.If you watch it pretending it's a real documentary, it's pretty scary.That director did a great job cause it's never boring, each moment bring us different feelings and sensations.
But the best thing is it's COPLETELY unpredictable, for the very first time in decades everything that happened on a film was a surprise for me, everytime I thought I knew what's going to happen it took me by surprise.In the beginning I was curious about what "lame" path it'd take but it took me to a path I could never expect and for that surprise I think it's awesome. In this film we can see how a good director can turn what could be a major failure into something fresh and unpredictable, of course some will say it has something to do with The Blair Witch Project because of the handy cam but like I said, if you pretend it's a real documentary and let it swallow your senses..........it'll take you to unknown places


----------



## Thrashmanzac

down by law, i loved it


----------



## 8Fingers

Splice - ...............Another "we got 1000 effects and a crap story".In fact there's no story, everything is predictable and boring.Take out effects and what do they have?.........................that ugly giant NOSE


----------



## mark520

Hi everyone! proud to be the member of this great community !! i am Mark from USA ,Ak,Anchorage,nice to meet you,hope to know more about you.......


----------



## Thrashmanzac

been loving jim jarmuch's movies lately, watched ghost dog way of the samurai last night and realised why i love that movie so much, anyone that is not familier with his work i urge you to watch this movie.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Day of the Dead
The People Under The Stairs
House (1986)
Evil Dead 2
Re-Animator
Bride of the Re-Animator
Hellraiser
Night of the Demons
C.H.U.D.
Zombi 2
Nightbreed
May
Sunshine Cleaning
Franklyn
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Jackie Brown


----------



## ry_z

Most recently:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Farewell My Concubine
Waltz With Bashir
Yojimbo
Ikiru
Cronos


----------



## metal_sam14

8Fingers said:


> The Last Exorcism (2010) - If you like this kind of film............ it's AWESOME.



I endorse and approve this! was one of the best Horror's I have seen in a long time


----------



## Blind Theory

Movies I've watched lately....

The Final Countdown
Starship Troopers
Avatar
MacGruber
Thor
Fast Five
Pirates of the Caribbean 4
The Ghost and the Darkness
Law Abiding Citizen
Pineapple Express
Robin Hood: Men In Tights
Spaceballs


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Inglourious Basterds.
Black Death (Sean Bean ala Game of Thrones-gone-horror)
Burn After Reading.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
The Notebook 
Triangle.
Up In The Air.

On my to-watch-again list:
No Country For Old Men
Babel
Michael Clayton
Solaris (Steven Soderbergh)
Mongol
Changeling
There Will Be Blood

Yet to watch:
Men Who Stare At Goats
Crazy Heart


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Changeling: watched. Good film.

Crazy Heart: 'The Wrestler' Lite.


----------



## Ninetyfour

Just finished watching 'Neds', absolutely brilliant. If you love those Brit cult films, this one's a definite must see.


----------



## Sicarius

ry_z said:


> Most recently:
> 
> The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
> Farewell My Concubine
> Waltz With Bashir
> Yojimbo
> Ikiru
> Cronos


Waltz With Bashir was the animated one, right? If so I really enjoyed it, it was a thinker.


Scar Symmetry said:


> Inglourious Basterds.
> Black Death (Sean Bean ala Game of Thrones-gone-horror)
> Burn After Reading.
> The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
> The Notebook
> Triangle.
> Up In The Air.
> 
> On my to-watch-again list:
> No Country For Old Men
> Babel
> Michael Clayton
> Solaris (Steven Soderbergh)
> Mongol
> Changeling
> There Will Be Blood
> 
> Yet to watch:
> Men Who Stare At Goats
> Crazy Heart



Men Who Stare at Goats, The Assassination of Jesse James, Burn after Reading, No Country for Old Men and Up in the Air were great, I really liked Up in the Air and Men Who Stare at Goats.

I watched True Grit recently, and Kagemusha, and No Strings Attached, don't laugh but I thought it was funny :/

Kage surpassed Seven Samurai as my favorite Kurosawa film. But I've yet to see Rashomon or Yojimbo, I desperately need to see them, though.


----------



## ry_z

Sicarius said:


> Waltz With Bashir was the animated one, right? If so I really enjoyed it, it was a thinker.



The animated documentary, yep. 



Sicarius said:


> Kage surpassed Seven Samurai as my favorite Kurosawa film. But I've yet to see Rashomon or Yojimbo, I desperately need to see them, though.



I loved Rashomon and Yojimbo - though I've loved all of Kurosawa's films. I still need to see Kagemusha, though.


----------



## shredguitar7

13 Assassins... holy fuck what a great movie... end


----------



## shredguitar7

Scar Symmetry said:


> Inglourious Basterds.
> Black Death (Sean Bean ala Game of Thrones-gone-horror)
> Burn After Reading.
> The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
> The Notebook
> Triangle.
> Up In The Air.
> 
> On my to-watch-again list:
> No Country For Old Men
> Babel
> Michael Clayton
> Solaris (Steven Soderbergh)
> Mongol
> Changeling
> There Will Be Blood
> 
> Yet to watch:
> Men Who Stare At Goats
> Crazy Heart


 
Make There Will Be Blood you next movie to watch... you wont regret it...


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Sicarius said:


> Men Who Stare at Goats, The Assassination of Jesse James, Burn after Reading, No Country for Old Men and Up in the Air were great, I really liked Up in the Air and Men Who Stare at Goats.
> 
> I watched True Grit recently, and Kagemusha, and No Strings Attached, don't laugh but I thought it was funny :/
> 
> Kage surpassed Seven Samurai as my favorite Kurosawa film. But I've yet to see Rashomon or Yojimbo, I desperately need to see them, though.



Watching Men Who Stare At Goats now, so far so good...

Can't wait to see True Grit!


----------



## Sicarius

ry_z said:


> The animated documentary, yep.
> 
> 
> 
> I loved Rashomon and Yojimbo - though I've loved all of Kurosawa's films. I still need to see Kagemusha, though.


It's really good, I know where to buy them, but I can't find them to rent. 


Scar Symmetry said:


> Watching Men Who Stare At Goats now, so far so good...
> 
> Can't wait to see True Grit!


You like the running star wars thing? I found it to be hilarious, though I don't know if it was intentional or not with the casting.


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Sicarius said:


> You like the running star wars thing? I found it to be hilarious, though I don't know if it was intentional or not with the casting.



Somewhat lost on me I think dude... didn't hold my attention much unfortunately.


----------



## Sicarius

Yeah, it's not for everyone. I just thought the running Jedi theme and with Ewan McGregor made it more funny to me than it really was.


----------



## MFB

Scar Symmetry said:


> Can't wait to see True Grit!



IMO, it was one of the best movies of 2010, and made me really appreciate Bridges; especially to see he can do more than be just "The Dude" (He was pretty much the dude in Tron as well, and yes, he was good in Iron Man as well)


----------



## Scar Symmetry

MFB said:


> IMO, it was one of the best movies of 2010, and made me really appreciate Bridges; especially to see he can do more than be just "The Dude" (He was pretty much the dude in Tron as well, and yes, he was good in Iron Man as well)



I'll watch anything with Bridges in. He's one of those actors like Pitt or Clooney who seems to only do good films.


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Watching Mongol, great film. Visually stunning, the action scenes are fantastic.


----------



## 8Fingers

Scar Symmetry said:


> Watching Mongol, great film. Visually stunning, the action scenes are fantastic.


 
Hmm I wanna watch it 

Diary of the dead (2007) - Good Lord please kill everybody who was part of it 

Monsters (2010) - Master piece!
How to make money these days? Make a film called Monsters but don't put any monsters there.Go to a forest and tell to 2 crap actors start walking talking about nothing.The name Monsters obviously makes the audience think about terror or at least a thriller...........no terror and no thriller.But in the end it gives the audience a very cool positive view = NOTHING.How much money do you need to make a monsters film without monsters and with only 2 crap actors talking about nothing walking around a forest?.......................ZERO


----------



## Murmel

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Great film. But I wanna watch it again.
WITHOUT THE FUCKING 3D


----------



## shredguitar7

Scar Symmetry said:


> Watching Mongol, great film. Visually stunning, the action scenes are fantastic.


 
Mongol was the shit...


----------



## ry_z

Sicarius said:


> It's really good, I know where to buy them, but I can't find them to rent.



Netflix has all of them - the Criterion Collection discs. That's how I've seen them.


----------



## oddcam

KUNG FU PANDA 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## vampiregenocide

Watched The Orphan recently. That was bloody good.


----------



## 8Fingers

The Slayer (1982) - IMDb

The Slayer (1982) - Last night I watched this old master piece. It's soooooooo crap I couldn't stop laughing. Actors are terrible and I wonder if they're still alive, direction is beyound crap, story is...is...is...........
Seriously everything is so crap that made me laugh and that's why it's a master piece ...................


----------



## Rock4ever

Watched Full Metal Jacket over the weekend, and Platoon last night. Really, really like FMJ. Also watched part of The Pacific.


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Rock4ever said:


> Watched Full Metal Jacket over the weekend, and Platoon last night. Really, really like FMJ. Also watched part of The Pacific.



Both movies are great. I really want to see The Pacific, HBO make great stuff.


----------



## Murmel

Watched The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo this friday and yesterday I watched The Girl Who Played with Fire. Or 'Män som hatar kvinnor' and 'Flickan som lekte med elden' for those who want the original titles. 
I find it kinda funny how the name of the first film, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has nothing to do with the Swedish title at all, which would be translated to Men Who Hate Women, which I think is a more appropriate title.

I found them pretty good, been getting my eyes up for Swedish film as of late, having been sceptical for several years.
One thing I particulary like about them is that they just make everything feel much more real. Honestly, of all the violent and abusive scenes I've seen in films, those that hit me the hardest have been those from Swedish films.
I don't know if it has something to do with me being Swedish, but they just feel so much more real than other films I've watched.

There's this one scene in a Johan Falk movie where a pregnant woman gets beat down and the child dies. Fuck, I cringe so bad every time I watch it.


----------



## ry_z

Murmel said:


> Watched The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
> The Girl Who Played with Fire



These, as well as *Moon*.

*The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest* is up next.


----------



## Sephael

"Raging Phoenix" and "Chocolate", I have both of these ready to go at any time because they are that awesome.


----------



## Rock4ever

ry_z said:


> These, as well as *Moon*.
> 
> *The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest* is up next.



IMO, "Hornet's Nest" was the best in the trilogy! Enjoy!


----------



## shredguitar7

ry_z said:


> These, as well as *Moon*.
> 
> *The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest* is up next.


 
Moon was a lot better than i expected...


----------



## zackh

I just finished the whole Millenium trilogy. Amazing movies. Dragon was personally my favorite, though. BTW Noomi Rapace is a FOX!


----------



## zackh

I also watched the Discovery Channel documentary Grizzly Man last night. Pretty amazing stuff...

kinda want to hear the audio from his last tape though


----------



## AySay

Antichrist.

IMDB piqued my interest. Literally 2 mins in, and full on Willem Dafoe penis into vag close up shot.

Willem Dafoe.


----------



## neoclassical

Der Untergang - This is the film the Hitler reacts to videos are taken from. Awesome movie about the final days of the reich and the people/events with Hitler in the bunker.


----------



## xiaochun3612

I recently finished Bigger, Stronger, Faster.
That was a great doc.

And then I watched Following, The Dark Knight, and
for the first time Insomnia. Finishing my Nolan films.


----------



## ry_z

Just watched *Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters*. Fantastic film.


----------



## fps

After watching the hilarious "Hitler reacts to new Morbid Angel" clip on youtube, I decided to watch Downfall (Der Untergang) properly. It was a very powerful film, full of emotion but never sentimental, delicately handled and brilliantly acted. The sense of an idea, a vision, dying, the end of everything the Nazis worked for, and the dread that there was truly no good way out of their situation, hung heavy in every moment. Some of it was also heart-breaking. Amazing performance by Walter Ganz in the lead role.

Edit: ah neoclassical I see we had the same idea.


----------



## Ralyks

I have Equilibrium sitting here for like a month now, should probably get on that so I can move through my Netflix que.
Other than that, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas for literally somewhere in the 100th time. That movie does NOT get old, and I can't wait for The Rum Diary in the fall.


----------



## synrgy

Took recent trips to the theater to check out X-Men: First Class and Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D.

I fully recommend both as worthy theater experiences.


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched Forbidden Planet, pretty cool 50's sci-fi starring Leslie Nielson


----------



## 8Fingers

kung_fu said:


> Just watched Forbidden Planet, pretty cool 50's sci-fi starring Leslie Nielson


 
Wow I watched that one after school when I was a teen 
Leslie Nielson was still alive at that time 
Cool one, thanks for some awesome memories


----------



## Hollowway

I just rented The Lookout. At first I was thinking it was kind of boring, but it actually turned out to be a great film. Definitely recommend it.


----------



## jaredowty

Watching Seven Samurai for the third time. One of those "100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes" kind of film, and I have to say I agree.


----------



## shredguitar7

i just got Seven Samurai last night. is it really worth sitting through the 3 1/2 hours ? i love me an epic movie..


----------



## jaredowty

shredguitar7 said:


> i just got Seven Samurai last night. is it really worth sitting through the 3 1/2 hours ? i love me an epic movie..



Definitely, there's not many wasted scenes in it, if any. I like to watch it in thirds though, 3 1/2 hours is a bit much for me in one sitting.


----------



## Guitarmiester

I saw a pretty cheesy chick-flick the other day, No Strings Attached. It had its moments. For the most part, it's your run of the mill, predictable chick-flick. Much rather would have liked to watch Taken, again, since they seem to be playing that on FX.


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched Schwarzenegar's "The Running Man". Some of the most awful one liners i've ever heard in that movie .


----------



## DrunkyMunky

Just watched Paul. Liked it except for Seth Rogen

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost


----------



## synrgy

kung_fu said:


> Just watched Schwarzenegar's "The Running Man". Some of the most awful one liners i've ever heard in that movie .



That line applies to most of his film career, really. 



*edit* "Cocaineum"


----------



## kung_fu

Another thing, why is his character almost always named John? It always becomes CHON when he says it


----------



## blister7321

the remake of "True Grit"


----------



## ry_z

Just watched *Never Let Me Go* (good, largely because of fantastic acting) and *American Splendor* (fantastic).


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched a cheap spaghetti western "They call him Cemetery". I bought a pack with 44 westerns, probably seen about 1/4 of them so far.


----------



## Lukifer

Re watched The Matrix trilogy because the old lady has never seen any of them. Reminded me how much I love The Matrix and wish they made more!


----------



## 8Fingers

Lukifer said:


> Re watched The Matrix trilogy because the old lady has never seen any of them. Reminded me how much I love The Matrix and wish they made more!


 
.....................................  .............................


----------



## Lukifer

8Fingers said:


> .....................................  .............................



I take it your not a fan?


----------



## petereanima

I've just seen Tranformers 2...


----------



## Scar Symmetry

kung_fu said:


> Just watched Schwarzenegar's "The Running Man". Some of the most awful one liners i've ever heard in that movie .



I think you mean "best".


----------



## petereanima

Scar Symmetry said:


> I think you mean "best".





_"I know you...you're the asshole from TV!"

"Hello cutie-pie...one of us is in deeeeep trouble!"_


----------



## kung_fu

Scar Symmetry said:


> I think you mean "best".



To-may-to, To-mah-to


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched Stallone's "Over the Top"......to be honest it wasn't as lame as i thought it would be . Now who wants to arm wrestle?


----------



## Sicarius

Hot Tub Time Machine was more lulzy than expected.

I forgot how awesome Revolver was.


----------



## shredguitar7

kung_fu said:


> Just watched Stallone's "Over the Top"......to be honest it wasn't as lame as i thought it would be . Now who wants to arm wrestle?


 
 I accept sir


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched:

Kill Bill Vol 1 (seen it a bunch, but finally bought it)

The man from nowhere(spaghetti western)

Tango and Cash  (after seeing adds for this movie in comic books when i was growing up I finally watched it a few days ago. No surprise it was awesome. Take whatever you think is the best duo-cop flick and divide by zero)


----------



## cwhitey2

Saw Battle Los Angeles last night....actually not a bad movie. I give 3.5 out of 5.


----------



## Xaios

Hollowway said:


> I just rented The Lookout. At first I was thinking it was kind of boring, but it actually turned out to be a great film. Definitely recommend it.



Agreed. The commercials for this movie when it came out in the theater looked terrible, they basically made it out to be a standard heist flick kind of thing. It was really a great surprise how well developed the characters were, and understanding their true struggles and motivations gave it far more depth than it would have otherwise. Joseph Gordon-Levitt just kills it too, this is one of the key movies that shows just how much raw potential he has to be a great actor.


----------



## Sicarius

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is really underrated as an actor, even with how bad 500 Days of Summer was, he still did well in it.


----------



## kung_fu

Kill Bill Vol2, Fearless Hyena (Jackie Chan) for like the millionth time


----------



## ry_z

*Late Spring* (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)
*The Devil's Backbone* (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)

Both fantastic.


----------



## kung_fu

The Specialist.......................I'm now 3/4 of the way through my Stallone 4 pack of movies


----------



## BigBaldIan

Troll Hunter - thought it was an imaginative monster movie, the cinema verite style really suited it.


----------



## kung_fu

The ben stein documentary "Expelled: no intelligence allowed". It was as crap as i thought it would be


----------



## shredguitar7

BigBaldIan said:


> Troll Hunter - thought it was an imaginative monster movie, the cinema verite style really suited it.


 
i thought this movie was really good. CGI was kinda iffy but if you can get beyond that, i love the idea of the whole thing. i want to believe. hahaha


----------



## liquidcow

Sicarius said:


> Joseph Gordon-Levitt is really underrated as an actor, even with how bad 500 Days of Summer was, he still did well in it.



I watched Mysterious Skin last week. It is a _tough_ movie, his performance is incredible though, and the movie is truly profound and leaves a lasting impression.


----------



## Lukifer

Going to see X-men First Class tonight I think, will post my thoughts afterwards.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

a couple of decent ones i saw this weekend...

big fish - pretty cool tim burton film

burrowers - scary western horror flick

not a movie but a very funny bbc series called "spaced" - same guys from "shaun of the dead" & "hot fuzz"


----------



## BigBaldIan

shredguitar7 said:


> i thought this movie was really good. CGI was kinda iffy but if you can get beyond that, i love the idea of the whole thing. i want to believe. hahaha


 
The whole concept is pretty absurd (even by monster movie standards), so filming it in a documentary style I thought was a good idea. Of course filming in "hand-cam" means you have more space to play with if the CGI is a little shonky.


----------



## ShadyDavey

Brighton Rock (2010 remake of the 1947 film and 1938 novel). Surprisingly good adaptation! Even whilst transplanted to the Mods and Rockers era it's unflinchingly gritty and well-acted.

Rango - perhaps the best animated picture (in terms of the jaw-dropping visuals) I've ever seen. Somewhat contrived and obvious plot but a lot of fun nonetheless.

True Grit (remake) - if you see one Western this year, make it this one!


----------



## BigBaldIan

ShadyDavey said:


> True Grit (remake) - if you see one Western this year, make it this one!


 
Managed to miss it at the cinema and the DVD release as well.


----------



## kung_fu

just watched "Stargate", probably hadn't seen it in a good 10 years


----------



## Lukifer

So X-men First Class last night was pretty damn good in my book. I love X-men since the cartoons way back in the day and this was really cool showing the history of Xavier and Erik (Magneto). I enjoyed it thoroughly and hope they keep making movies in the series and progress from the beginning and move towards the current.


----------



## petereanima

Drive Angry. holy. fuck.


----------



## Sicarius

M3CHK1LLA said:


> a couple of decent ones i saw this weekend...
> 
> big fish - pretty cool tim burton film
> 
> burrowers - scary western horror flick
> 
> not a movie but a very funny bbc series called "spaced" - same guys from "shaun of the dead" & "hot fuzz"


I loved Spaced when I saw it on Hulu. It was really funny, and now I understand the random run in of the blonde chick during Shaun of the Dead.


Saw Goya's Ghosts last night. Holy shit was that crazy.


----------



## ry_z

*Zat&#333;ichi* (Takeshi Kitano, 2003)
*Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence* (Nagisa Oshima, 1983)

Both =


----------



## OlisDead

Just watched The Green Hornet again. I like this movie a lot.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

kung_fu said:


> just watched "Stargate", probably hadn't seen it in a good 10 years



a sci fi classic fo sho...

...along with a couple other little known gems like event horizon & equilibrium 

i just finished the entire series of sg atlantis...i liked it a lot. havent seen sg1 or sg universe...any options on those?


----------



## kung_fu

M3CHK1LLA said:


> i just finished the entire series of sg atlantis...i liked it a lot. havent seen sg1 or sg universe...any options on those?



Opinions? Sorry, i've only ever really just seen a few minutes of the stargate television series (not sure _which_ series it was ).


----------



## synrgy

M3CHK1LLA said:


> ...along with a couple other little known gems like event horizon & equilibrium



I thought Event Horizon was great, right up until the last 10 minutes or so, and those last 10 minutes or so are SO awful that they almost completely negate the entire film leading up to them.

Watching that movie, is kinda like this:

"Kubrick.. Kubrick.. Kubrick.. Kubrick.. Kubrick.. Kubrick.. CRAVEN?!"


----------



## MFB

I'm about to watch "Harry and the Hendersons" for the first time in YEARS  I'm so pumped!


----------



## Lukifer

Just finished The Animatrix. Was confusing at many times, but also cool at times. I was disappointed there wasnt really anything of Neo in it but helped me understand the back story more.


----------



## OlisDead

MFB said:


> I'm about to watch "Harry and the Hendersons" for the first time in YEARS  I'm so pumped!



It's been ages I didn't see this movie. You make me wanna watch it again!


----------



## Bobo

synrgy said:


> I thought Event Horizon was great, right up until the last 10 minutes or so, and those last 10 minutes or so are SO awful that they almost completely negate the entire film leading up to them.
> 
> Watching that movie, is kinda like this:
> 
> "Kubrick.. Kubrick.. Kubrick.. Kubrick.. Kubrick.. Kubrick.. CRAVEN?!"



How so? I need to watch this movie again, wonder if it ever made it to Blu Ray...


----------



## tuneinrecords

Netflix has some great docs on there. One of my favs is called Off The Charts. It's all about song poems. You have to see it to believe it. I'm a big fan of odd music and this stuff takes the cake. Youtube it and you'll see clips from the movie. One of my fav songs from it is "Jimmy Carter Says Yes" There's so many more whacked ones as well.


----------



## Sicarius

I saw Transformers Dark of the Moon. It was excellent.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

MFB said:


> I'm about to watch "Harry and the Hendersons" for the first time in YEARS  I'm so pumped!



cool...just read recently that the guy who played harry also played the predator. he died a few years ago of aids....car accident and got a blood transfusion.



Bobo said:


> How so? I need to watch this movie again, wonder if it ever made it to Blu Ray...



yeah its on blu-ray.

event horizon is the opposite of what happends 2001 a space odyssey....scary it better especially when its ppl going nuts and they cant seperate reality & nightmares. need to watch it again...sometimes you miss stuff the first time around.

i have a huge personal collection of movies and tv series'. i rotate and watch them all throughout the year. other good ones im watching this week are "the abyss" & "this is spinal tap"


----------



## Ardez

Yesterday I went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean with my gf. (flame suit on) I think it was the best of the bunch, awesome. Not sure if better than the first one but real close if not better.


----------



## synrgy

Bobo said:


> How so?


----------



## Rock4ever

I watched Minority Report, on a Samsung lcd i bought last night. Despite owning a plasma i bought in 2007, it was like watching a totally different movie. It does something that really makes actors and other objects stand out from the background, like it's kinda 3d. Fast action scenes in the movie got a bit blurred though.


----------



## Sicarius

I saw the original Star Wars trilogy on a 1080p 120Hz TV.

I felt like I was fucking there. I want one so fuckin' bad.


----------



## steve3

Well I saw a couple of new movies last weekend..!!
One is "The Next Three Days"and the other one is "The Mechanic"..!!


----------



## K-Roll

if someone's up for a good WW2 movie without all that sweet mdiocre hollywood bullshit then I highly recommend 'The Brest Fortress' which was shot by Russians..


----------



## Black_Sheep

Dead Snow: a norweigan horror film about nazi zombies. Need to say more? It was extremely hilarious.


----------



## DavyH

Just got the 15-disc edition of the Rings trilogy.

Not thrilled about the change of discs in the middle of the films, but the four-hour versions make this the best series of films ever made, bar none. The features discs (3 per film?!?) bring home just what an awesome undertaking it was.

IM(H)O, of course  .


----------



## synrgy

DavyH said:


> Just got the 15-disc edition of the Rings trilogy.
> 
> Not thrilled about the change of discs in the middle of the films, but the four-hour versions make this the best series of films ever made, bar none. The features discs (3 per film?!?) bring home just what an awesome undertaking it was.
> 
> IM(H)O, of course  .



Apart from the increased resolution, do you happen to know if there's any new content that wasn't in the extended DVD sets?


----------



## ROAR

Saw Horrible Bosses last night,
can't go wrong with Charlie Day and Jason Bateman


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched "Air Raid Wardens" (Laurel & Hardy)


----------



## DavyH

synrgy said:


> Apart from the increased resolution, do you happen to know if there's any new content that wasn't in the extended DVD sets?


 

Sorry for the late reply, I haven't checked back in a couple of days...

I didn't watch the extended DVDs, but looking at the blurb on the boxes I very much doubt there's anything newer.

Certain aspects of the books weren't touched (Tom Bombadil, but what the fuck was he on anyway?) in any of the films, but the extended films are definitely a lot more coherent and feel more like the books to me. The cinema releases felt a bit like Michael Bay had a hand in them.....

Anyone looking forward to The Hobbit if it's ever released?


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Vanilla Sky.
Michael Clayton.
No Country For Old Men.


----------



## PeteyG

Saw the last Harry Potter film last night... s'alright.


----------



## shredguitar7

Scar Symmetry said:


> Vanilla Sky.


 
My personal favorite movie..


----------



## Scar Symmetry

shredguitar7 said:


> My personal favorite movie..



Same here man, best film I own.


----------



## Daemoniac

Under Siege.


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched one of my all-time favs: Doctor Strangelove


----------



## shredguitar7

Scar Symmetry said:


> Same here man, best film I own.


 
thats what a fucking love story should be like, not all this sappy kissing in the rain shit.. i want booze, pills, cheating, fucked up faces, and the saddest girl to ever hold a martini... god that ending scene makes me tear up..  not a word...


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

watched pandorum the other night

it was surprisingly good


----------



## kung_fu

Last two i watched:

The French Connection
Andromeda Strain


----------



## synrgy

DavyH said:


> Sorry for the late reply, I haven't checked back in a couple of days...
> 
> I didn't watch the extended DVDs, but looking at the blurb on the boxes I very much doubt there's anything newer.
> 
> Certain aspects of the books weren't touched (Tom Bombadil, but what the fuck was he on anyway?) in any of the films, but the extended films are definitely a lot more coherent and feel more like the books to me. The cinema releases felt a bit like Michael Bay had a hand in them.....
> 
> Anyone looking forward to The Hobbit if it's ever released?



Agreed that the extended versions (I've had the DVD's since they came out) are much better than the theatrical, albeit they require a longer attention span.

The 2nd one in particular was practically a different film altogether. The theatrical version was basically "The Battle of Helm's Deep: The Movie", whereas the extended edition was actually a film.


----------



## kung_fu

Judgement at Nuremberg


----------



## Guitarmiester

Finally got around to seeing Martyrs. Not what I expected at all.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

just watched:

lords of dogtown (again)

biker boys (for the 20th time)


----------



## synrgy

I recently watched a doc called 'Collapse'. Pretty scary shit.

Collapse Movie

Currently available on Netflix Instant View.


----------



## kung_fu

Tod Browning's "Freaks"


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

i have watched over the last week

the godfather
the godfather part 2
the big lebowski
true romance
fight club
escape from alcatraz
the fighter

and started watching the pianist but fell asleep because i was too tired.


----------



## Guitarmiester

The Pianist is a really good movie! In college, I was supposed to write a fairly lengthy report on the book but found watching the movie to be way easier.


----------



## stevo1

Never Back Down, and The Matrix.


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

Murder in the first
Godfather 3
and Reservoir Dogs again


----------



## Bekanor

Being that I've never actually watched anything on Blu Ray before, and now owning a PS3, I was compelled to get a small haul of Blu Rays the other day. 

I felt a bit confused like "I already own heaps of movies, what the hell do I buy?'.

Here's what I came up with.

Commando.
Predator.
Predator 2.
Conan The Barbarian.
IP Man 2.
Enter The Dragon.

Somehow, I don't own any of those movies in a format I can watch anymore (well, except IP Man 2 because it's only new, the Arnie movies I have were on VHS along with Predator 2).


----------



## bostjan

I just saw a movie called "Rubber" about a tyre with psychokinetic abilities. It was a off to a slow start, but it was pretty funny once it got "rolling."

I also saw "Antichrist" last week. What a horrible waste of time.  I didn't enjoy that movie at all- it seemed very pretentiously artsy and pointless. I typically enjoy Willem Defoe's performances, but that film was definitely not my favourite.


----------



## MFB

Rubber is fantastic! 



Spoiler



Fantastically bad! I got REALLY bored with it, but watching it kill the animals was hilarious


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

Bekanor said:


> Being that I've never actually watched anything on Blu Ray before, and now owning a PS3, I was compelled to get a small haul of Blu Rays the other day.
> 
> I felt a bit confused like "I already own heaps of movies, what the hell do I buy?'.
> 
> Here's what I came up with.
> 
> Commando.
> Predator.
> Predator 2.
> Conan The Barbarian.
> IP Man 2.
> Enter The Dragon.



all great movies....not sure about ip man, never seen it.


just finished:

unstoppable

3 days left

green hornet


about to watch "faster" with the rock

oh yeah....watched "cowboys and aliens" at the theatre last night.....great flick imo


----------



## GuitaristOfHell

Lord of the rings


----------



## Bekanor

M3CHK1LLA said:


> all great movies....not sure about ip man, never seen it.
> 
> 
> just finished:
> 
> unstoppable
> 
> 3 days left
> 
> green hornet
> 
> 
> about to watch "faster" with the rock
> 
> oh yeah....watched "cowboys and aliens" at the theatre last night.....great flick imo



I've never seen IP Man 1 but they had the sequel there in a "2 for $20" deal with Enter The Dragon, Sammo Hung is awesome so I'll have to get the first one and watch it.


----------



## Lukifer

So I just watched Unbreakable. Let me just say I didnt realize it was an M. Night Shamalan movie. If I would have known, I wouldnt have watched it. I just dont get his way of making movies. So slow through the whole movie leading up to the big....... nothing. Bruce Willis was good in it, about all good I Can say.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

Lukifer said:


> So I just watched Unbreakable. Let me just say I didnt realize it was an M. Night Shamalan movie. If I would have known, I wouldnt have watched it. I just dont get his way of making movies. So slow through the whole movie leading up to the big....... nothing. Bruce Willis was good in it, about all good I Can say.



idk man i liked it...was a different take on the whole super hero lore. more believeable then say a dude flying around with a cape. anyways samual l. jackson was pretty freaky in it too...especially how skinny they made him look.

Shamalan's movie are hit & miss tho...the village was aight but nothing he does will top off sixth sense...a classic which are the coattails he's prob been riding for the last few years. if he had started with lady in the water he would be jobless imo.

btw - watching hot fuzz (again) tonight


----------



## Lukifer

I like the direction and idea of the movie, just not how he did it. I liked that it wasnt capes and tights and stupid catch phrases, but done by someone else would have been great!!

Watched LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring tonight. Wife wanted to watch the trilogy and I realized Ive only seen each one, once when they were in theaters. Got the blu-ray version. I enjoyed thoroughly!


----------



## bostjan

13 Assassins. Excellent flick. Kind of had a hopeless feeling to it and a lot of action.


----------



## shredguitar7

bostjan said:


> 13 Assassins. Excellent flick. Kind of had a hopeless feeling to it and a lot of action.


 
this movie, was the shit...


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

Watched A Clockwork Orange

Didn't enjoy it that much,found it very irritating and thought the treatment part would have shown a bit more depth.Good watch nonetheless,however didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would.


----------



## renzoip

I've been watching the first 3 season of Ancient Aliens from History Channel. That show is addictive!!


----------



## synrgy

Lukifer said:


> So I just watched Unbreakable. Let me just say I didnt realize it was an M. Night Shamalan movie. If I would have known, I wouldnt have watched it. I just dont get his way of making movies. So slow through the whole movie leading up to the big....... nothing. Bruce Willis was good in it, about all good I Can say.



Thank you. I was starting to feel like I took crazy pills for not liking that movie. Whenever the topic comes up, people I talk to always seem to use it to defend his career, and I don't see it as doing him any favors in the first place. The pacing was shit, the cinematography was shit (it was part of that wave of movies that was trying to bite off Traffic; blue-washing _every_ shot for no discernible reason..), and just like you said: It's building tension throughout the whole film leading up to this giant climax of.... Nothing! There's no payoff in the revelation that Sam Jackson's character is the villain. Anyone over the age of 7 who's ever read a comic book had that shit figured out during the first scene in which he appeared.

I've found few movies to be a bigger waste of time. Shit, even Leonard 6 had more redeemable qualities than Unbreakable.


----------



## Neogospel

I watched Unknown with Liam Neeson , nice movie!


----------



## chronocide

Just watched Hobo With A Shotgun. Tremendous. Utter nonsense, completely over the top and ludicrously violent but marvelous nonsense all the same. Highly recommended.


----------



## Lukifer

synrgy said:


> Thank you. I was starting to feel like I took crazy pills for not liking that movie. Whenever the topic comes up, people I talk to always seem to use it to defend his career, and I don't see it as doing him any favors in the first place. The pacing was shit, the cinematography was shit (it was part of that wave of movies that was trying to bite off Traffic; blue-washing _every_ shot for no discernible reason..), and just like you said: It's building tension throughout the whole film leading up to this giant climax of.... Nothing! There's no payoff in the revelation that Sam Jackson's character is the villain. Anyone over the age of 7 who's ever read a comic book had that shit figured out during the first scene in which he appeared.
> 
> I've found few movies to be a bigger waste of time. Shit, even Leonard 6 had more redeemable qualities than Unbreakable.



I agree the pace was god awful slow dragging on and to no end. Like I said before I just dont get Shamaylan. Dont care too either because frankly I havent liked any of his movies Ive seen. 

You had to know Samuel L was going to be the villian because he didnt have the physical attributes to be a hero, he had the brains to be a villain. Pretty fucked up he killed all those people just to find Bruce.


----------



## jsl2h90

chronocide said:


> Just watched Hobo With A Shotgun. Tremendous. Utter nonsense, completely over the top and ludicrously violent but marvelous nonsense all the same. Highly recommended.


 I collect a lot of hot garbage B-movies like that just for laughs. (check out Rumpelstiltskin) I've been wondering about that one since I pass it in the store all the time. But I like collecting good horror/gore movies too and I hit a goldmine the other day with Tromeo and Juliet from the Tromaville guys. Class of Nuke 'Em High also highly recommended.


----------



## Lukifer

Watched Your Highness tonight. Pretty funny and a better plot than I thought! Danny Mcbride for the win!


----------



## ittoa666

Watched Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter a couple days ago. So low budget.


----------



## Lukifer

Me and the wife decided to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Ive only seen each one once, so I wanted to see them again. Not all in one night though!!! Tomorrow we will conclude with Return of the King! Still think they are amazing movies.


----------



## Bobo

Just saw the horror movie Drag Me To Hell. I almost shat myself. I almost shat myself because I wanted to feel embarrassed. Embarrassed for making it all the way through that movie.

I don't care if the name Raimi is sacred. The Evil Dead movies were infinitely better imo. This movie did have a few moments, but a letdown overall.


----------



## dantel666

Labyrinth. 

Love that film.


----------



## Murmel

Monsters (2010 film). Was much shorter than I expected, I felt like it was over before it began. But I enjoyed it nevertheless.

I wanna watch The Book of Eli, thanks to Leandro linking me those awesome soundtracks.


----------



## Lukifer

I liked the book of eli a lot. Good post apocalyptic movie.


----------



## MFB

Finally watched Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, despite my absolute and utter hatred of Michael Cera. Surprisingly enjoyable film


----------



## synrgy

MFB said:


> Finally watched Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, despite my absolute and utter hatred of Michael Cera. Surprisingly enjoyable film



I'm not the biggest Cera fan, but I was hooked on this film from the opening shot, where they used the little jingle from Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past.


----------



## MFB

I have a huge disdain for type cast actors, which it seems a lot of Hollywood is becoming (Seth Rogan, Michael Cera, Danny McBridge, and earlier guys like Jason Statham), so that's why I thought "Oh it's another Michael Cera film where he plays a quirky teen who doesn't know how to handle this real life situation so he uses awkward humor and indie music to get through it."

I also can't help but think I give it extra credit for Mary Elizabeth Winstead


----------



## Lukifer

Oh come on whats wrong with Danny McBride????


----------



## synrgy

I actually thought the Scott Pilgrim role was a little bit of a departure for him. Granted, not a big one by any means, but the Scott Pilgrim character was impervious to the women he was hurting, as opposed to the women being impervious to his hurting, as is usually the case in his prior roles. Plus, there was all the fighting.

I'll tell you what did annoy me, though, in line with what you're talking about -- sort of. When I saw Zombieland, I couldn't shake the feeling that Jesse Eisenberg chose to act (or the director wanted him to act) as the exact type Michael Cera is known for. I felt like I was watching Michael Cera in another dude's skin, at the time.

Eisenberg has since proven himself to be capable of far more than all that, but at the time it was a big WTF moment, for me. In fact, I have proof, from the old Zombieland thread! (http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/1698456-post24.html) 

Anyway, back on main topic, I just recently found the specific copy of Predator that I was looking for on Bluray ('Ultimate Hunter Edition') and HO-LEE CRAP does it look amazing. I've never seen the movie look so good. You know how most Bluray discs of older movies just seem like they took a poor quality digital print and slapped it onto a Bluray disc? This isn't one of those. It's a fully restored print, and it looks amazing in full 1080p.

Amazon.com: Predator (Ultimate Hunter Edition) [Blu-ray]: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Elpidia Carrillo: Movies & TV

What caught me off guard (it's been several years since I've seen it, and Predators left an awful taste in my mouth..) was how well the movie holds up to this day. I mean, there's nothing else like it. It starts off like a typical blow-em-up-army-flick, but then starts slipping into a thriller, before jumping off into a full blown sci-fi flick that's also a monster flick that's also a slasher flick. One of my all-time favorites.

Oh.. Also, GET TO DA CHOPPAH!!


----------



## Lukifer

Man I thought at first glance Eisendber was Cera the first time I saw a ZombieLand trailer. Then I was like whoa shit that dude looks and acts like Michael Cera! Good flick though.

Ive been thinking about watching Predator again. I think I will now!


----------



## Murdstone

Just finished Mirrormask for the millionth time. Definitely one of my favorite movies.
Rewatched Kids and 2001 the other day, great stuff.


----------



## MFB

Predator is still awesome to this day, albeit still a bit slow every time I watch it. Nothing against it, I just think in terms of middle to end pacing, it REALLY picks up and then you're like "Oh OK, I see but was ALL that time in the middle necessary"


----------



## Thrashmanzac

Wingchunwarrior said:


> Watched A Clockwork Orange
> 
> Didn't enjoy it that much,found it very irritating and thought the treatment part would have shown a bit more depth.Good watch nonetheless,however didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would.



read the book, then watch the movie again, they are quite different, but kubricks direction in the film is nothing short of stunning.

i just finished watching insidious. it was the best horror movie i have seen in a long time


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched Revolver (Statham/Liotta). Not bad, but i prefer snatch and 'smokin barrels.


----------



## VILARIKA

Wingchunwarrior said:


> Watched A Clockwork Orange
> 
> Didn't enjoy it that much,found it very irritating and thought the treatment part would have shown a bit more depth.Good watch nonetheless,however didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would.



I just watched it a couple days ago coincidentally, and I found it to be a little boring at parts, but overall a great movie. Would would you rate it out of 10?


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

VILARIKA said:


> I just watched it a couple days ago coincidentally, and I found it to be a little boring at parts, but overall a great movie. Would would you rate it out of 10?



I don't know really.I mean I don't think there is anything wrong with the film but I found Alex's character to be annoying and irritating,the language(forgotten the name of it) used by him really gets on my nerves.It's definitely not what I expected it to be so maybe that's why I didn't enjoy as much as I'd thought I would.

Nevertheless, It was a good watch,I'd say I'd give it about 6/7 out of 10.


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

Also watched Unforgiven last night.Good film.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

watched 28 days later and 28 weeks later, kinda skipped through most of the crap on both

found neither enjoyable.

though in 28 days, when Jim's in the church with all the bodies, and says hello, the two "ragers" that pop up and stare at him scared the crap out of me.
super creepy

that was the only enjoyable part i found in both


----------



## Sicarius

On TV right now the channel Ovation is playing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

Go to watch it, because I enjoy musical abominational disasters.

Turns out it's Xanadu, and It's like I'm trippin' balls


----------



## Cyanide_Anima

Hobo with a Shotgun.

Favorite line: "You're crushing my smokes!"

Priorities, right?


----------



## Lukifer

You'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong.


----------



## kung_fu

Just saw No Country For Old Men. Awesome


----------



## SilenceIsACrime

Just went and saw Fright Night - was pleasantly surprised! I was expecting a totally campy, cheesy, predictable romp kinda making fun of the whole vampire craze. In fact, it was a pretty compelling and even suspenseful film with a good amount of fun mixed in. Almost stayed in the theater to watch it again....


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

I have now watched both Bad Lieutenants


----------



## SenorDingDong

Ginger Snaps 

Just watched Cursed, pretty fun flick, not much depth to it.


----------



## Jakke

Little Big Man

Great, great movie


----------



## shredguitar7

Just watched " Heartbreak Ridge " so cheesy. but soooooo goood...


----------



## Lukifer

Watched My Side of the Mountain. Old and cheesy but a good survival movie. Ive been getting into survival shows and all that so it was cool to watch. Plus my wife wanted to watch it so why not ya know.


----------



## The Munk

I just watched a fun movie called Lone Star State Of Mind (2002).


----------



## MFB

Saw "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" last night, and it was alright. First time I've seen a horror movie use that specific premise (premise, not name ) and that itself was cool, but the little girl annoyed me and the dad was fairly stereotypical in terms of things going wrong and not believing it.


----------



## Ishan

Source Code : limited but pretty nice
Rio : fun
X Men - first class : pretty good, I was surprised 
Thor : Terrible! (what was I expecting?  ) I still love Portman and Dennings asses tho.


----------



## synrgy

Lukifer said:


> You'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong.



So, I just picked up the Bluray for that and watched it on Wednesday night.

I gotta say, after watching it and combining it with previous viewings of other older films updated for Bluray, I'm beginning to form the opinion that perhaps movies filmed prior to the high-def era should NOT be converted to high-def. Seriously, the whole movie, I kept looking at Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis and Michael Ironside and thinking "holy shit, I never realized how ugly they were before!"

The Bluray's level of detail brings way too much of each actor's physical flaws into the spotlight. Their teeth are gross, they're all sweating like pigs through the whole movie, Ironside has a giant, gross boil kind of thing on the side of his face, and the lines around McGillis's eyes make her look about twice the age of Cruise's character. Yikes...


----------



## ghostred7

Watched this week....

Xmen: First Class
The Exorcist Chronicles
Nightmare on Elm Street (original)
Princess Bride
Snatch
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years


----------



## shredguitar7

watched " Attack The Block " and i really enjoyed it.


----------



## jordanky

Finally got around to watching Hobo With A Shotgun last night... Good stuff. I've also watched The Expendables and Blue Sreak in the last couple of days. Kind of let down by The Expendables but Blue Streak delivers as always, haha.


----------



## Jakke

Four Lions, before I watched this movie I did not think a movie about terrorists could be hillarious. I was wrong


That movie is... so... much... win



Quote: 
-Oi, what are you sayin'?! I'm the most Al-Quaida here! I'm the invisible warrior!
-Oh yeah, like the time you baked that twin-tower cake and left it outside the local synagogue? Way to keep a low profile.
-Well that's hidin' in plane sight innit'!

Or

-Has your dad ever bought a Jaffa orange?
-Well, one or two maybe?
-Right, he's buying nukes for Israel bro. He's a jew.











Gents, I rest my case


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Machete and Planet Terror... both are fucking win.


----------



## the fuhrer

13 Assassins is seriously badass


----------



## Rock4ever

Watched Thor last night, hoping to watch Citizen Kane tonight!


----------



## Scar Symmetry

The American and Bad Lieutenant.

The American = very understated. Maybe a little _too_ understated. Good though.

Bad Lieutenat = ridiculous and down right hilarious.


----------



## Jakke

"It Might Get Loud"

Hilarious to see The Edge trying to lecture Jimmy Page on a guitar riff, and actually get pissed when Page makes it a bit more interesting


Also, I realized I can't stand Jack White


----------



## Guitarmiester

I meant to watch Death Proof yesterday, but went for some drinks instead. The trailer didn't do much for me. Is it any good?


----------



## TomParenteau

"Hanna"

I don't watch many movies since my satellite TV "hobby" went away, so it seems REALLY good!


----------



## Michael T

Thor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes & Hanna. Along with a Shit ton of Stargate.


----------



## MFB

Guitarmiester said:


> I meant to watch Death Proof yesterday, but went for some drinks instead. The trailer didn't do much for me. Is it any good?



I really enjoyed it, and found it to be the better of the two from the Grindhouse double-feature. But it IS a traditional Tarantino film, so be ready for pop culture references and what can feel like un-necessary dialogue


----------



## neozeP

I'm waiting for the breaking dawn.,I would love to see their wedding and edward and bella's baby.,


----------



## Jakke

I've been wanting to see Koyaanisqatsi forever, I started wanting after I heard the theme (which also is the evil eye song in Scrubs).

So has anyone seen it, is it worth the time?


----------



## Rev2010

TomPerverteau said:


> "Hanna"
> 
> I don't watch many movies since my satellite TV "hobby" went away, so it seems REALLY good!



The wife and I watched Hannah last night. We were totally getting into it and it was pretty attention grabbing and entertaining. However, the end sucked Juan Valdez's donkey's balls and not only left us let down but also wondering about all the things left unanswered.



Spoiler



What happened to that family? Last we saw they were held by the Germans. Why did they end the child human enhancement program to begin with? I don't recall them saying there was some valid reason and it's so important they have to try to kill her? Plus there are questions about the father reveal thing but I won't even go there. It's almost like they simply ran out of money and had to stop same day the budget ran out lol.




Rev.


----------



## Bobo

Just saw Kick Ass. And yes it did. Worth a watch.


----------



## XEN

Wasabi with Jean Reno. It's campy but fun. A lot of good lines in it too.


----------



## shredguitar7

neozeP said:


> I'm waiting for the breaking dawn.,I would love to see their wedding and edward and bella's baby.,


----------



## kung_fu

A few weeks ago, I finally got around to watching "Million Dollar Baby". I also just picked up a 5-pack of roger Corman B/Drive-in movies from the late 50s/early 60s. The first one i watched was called "The Wasp Woman"


----------



## kung_fu

Just watched Mystery Science 3000 the movie. I enjoyed many deep belly laughs


----------



## Lukifer

Just saw a bit of Piranha on HBO and the only thing that saved it was the gratuitous amount of tits in it! I mean tits everywhere!! But stupid looking movie!


----------



## MFB

Hey! Piranha 3D was fucking hilarious and campy, so you back off RIGHT now mister


----------



## Lukifer

I didnt get the honor of seeing it in 3d so maybe it lost its charm on TV.


----------



## MFB

Oh yeah, that'll definitely do it, plus if it was on cable (HIGHLY unlikely); then you also don't get to see...



Spoiler



Underwater lesbian fondling


----------



## Lukifer

HBO!!!!


----------



## Lukifer

wait maybe it was Cinemax, but it was a premium channel like that.


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

just watched Heat,hmmm not too sure about it though,wasn't that impressed with it.


----------



## synrgy

I loved Heat when it first came out, but it didn't stand the test of time very well. It was just kind of different, at the time.

Yesterday I got to go see Moneyball on my company's dime while on the clock metal and it was pretty good. Not great, but good. Sorkin is a _great_ writer, that's for sure. Anybody who can make interesting screenplays out of Facebook or baseball scouting is clearly a talented individual.


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

synrgy said:


> I loved Heat when it first came out, but it didn't stand the test of time very well. It was just kind of different, at the time.




It just didn't seem to gel together very well.Also what happens to Val kilmer's character in the end? I really like Al Pacino as an actor but his performance in this is quite irritating.

There's also a scene in where De niro and his "girl" are on the balcony and the camera is switching between the two and the camera is hanging over the balcony and i think its just cringe worthily bad.There's something about it that makes it look really cheesy and amateurish.


----------



## The Grief Hole

Jakke said:


> I've been wanting to see Koyaanisqatsi forever, I started wanting after I heard the theme (which also is the evil eye song in Scrubs).
> 
> So has anyone seen it, is it worth the time?




Yes it most definitely is. I would recommend his other film more highly though. It is called Barrakka (I think thats the spelling) and it is a genuinely amazing film.


----------



## Skyblue

Saw RED, Blade (the one from the 90's ) and Kick Ass. RED was fun, Blade was... cliched, mostly, and Kick Ass was great.


----------



## kung_fu

Wathched an old sci-fi movie "Teenagers from Outerspace". Flying Saucers, giant lobsters, death-rays, stiff 50's acting, this movie had it all


----------



## synrgy

Skyblue said:


> Saw RED, Blade (the one from the 90's ) and Kick Ass. RED was fun, Blade was... cliched, mostly, and Kick Ass was great.



My gripe with Kick Ass is that it probably should have been called Hit Girl instead.


----------



## Lukifer

synrgy said:


> My gripe with Kick Ass is that it probably should have been called Hit Girl instead.


Haha your right I think!! Kickass got his ass kicked more than he did the ass kicking!!


----------



## MFB

Saw 50/50 and it kicked all sorts of ass. Seth Rogan is one of my most hated type-cast actors, but lately his roles haven't sucked from what I've heard and he hasn't ruined any films for the most part (aside from green Hornet, ) but he was good in this.

I also nearly lost my shit due to a family history of losing family members to cancer so some stuff really hit home, keep that in mind when seeing this, it CAN be gloomy at times


----------



## kung_fu

Last night i watched Episode IV: A New Hope with commentary. Also recently watched "The Incredible Petrified World" and "The Amazing Transparent Man"


----------



## MFB

Watched "Batman : Under the Red Hood" and aside from the Joker looking a bit silly, it was really good. Neil Patrick Harris fit really well as Nightwing/Dick Grayson too, who is becoming one of my favorite superheroes.


----------



## Insightibanez

Recently saw Battle of Los Angeles, and X men first class. I dont rent movies much


----------



## Rock4ever

Watched Atonement recently. Everyone NEEDS to see that movie, regardless of what they think of Keira Knightley. I personally dont care for her.

Not a kick-ass type movie, but it kicked ass


----------



## the fuhrer

Contagion sucked


----------



## chronocide

Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy.

Fantastic, surely some Oscars in there. Really, outrageously well acted and wonderfully put together.


----------



## Rock4ever

Watched Beautiful Boy today. Very sad movie.


----------



## jaretthale78

just watched dancer in the dark for the 100th time...my face hurts from crying so much...im such a man...

bjorks performance is stunning.


----------



## Scar Symmetry

Finally got round to buying True Grit yesterday, made it halfway through before I had to go to bed. Hailee Steinfeld is IN-CREDIBLE. Best performance from anyone her age I've ever seen. Can't believe she's only 14. 

Time and time again the Coen brothers are proving to me that I will watch anything they make. I'd even watch it if they made a film out of Noddy.


----------



## Sicarius

Just finished Red State.

Holy fuck, this is Kevin's best movie.


----------



## kung_fu

"The Atomic Brain", "Swimming with Sharks"

I could probably just start a new thread to ask this, but does any one have any good recommendations for some good old (1930s-60s) gangster movies? I really haven't watched any so any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## TimothyLeary

kung_fu said:


> "The Atomic Brain", "Swimming with Sharks"
> 
> I could probably just start a new thread to ask this, but does any one have any good recommendations for some good old (1930s-60s) gangster movies? I really haven't watched any so any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated.



The public enemy (it's a must and james cagney is the real gangsta, )
angels with dirty faces
Le samurai
White heat
Rififi

*
*


----------



## kung_fu

^^

Thanks . I'll probably start by Picking up a 4-pack of mgm gangster titles that i saw at the store. I know there are some Cagney flicks on there, including Public Enemy.


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

Watched City Of God last night.Holy shit great film.I love the way it says on the cover its like a Brazilian Goodfellas when in fact its SO much better


----------



## x360rampagex

Just saw Training Day and The Thomas Crown Affair(The Remake)


----------



## Skyblue

Scar Symmetry said:


> Finally got round to buying True Grit yesterday, made it halfway through before I had to go to bed. Hailee Steinfeld is IN-CREDIBLE. Best performance from anyone her age I've ever seen. Can't believe she's only 14.
> 
> Time and time again the Coen brothers are proving to me that I will watch anything they make. I'd even watch it if they made a film out of Noddy.


I freaking LOVE True Grit. Do yourself a huge favor and watch the whole thing~


----------



## klami

The moon must have aligned with something weird and struck me this week, since I`ve been watching Akira, Ghost in the Shell I & II the last days. 

Even though I`m not big on anime (I enjoyed these films), I`m thinking that I should give it another chance!


----------



## caskettheclown

I watched Hannibal (again) last night. I'm fascinated by the minds of the mentally ill, I love learning about it and learning about the people because I eventually want to help them if at all possible. 

I know Hannibal isn't a good representation of it but its still a good movie nonetheless

I watched the Simpson's Movie again, just because I love the Simpsons.


----------



## kung_fu

Last two I've watched:

Fargo
Five Deadly Venoms


----------



## Guitarmiester

Saw Paranormal Activity 3 the other night. Surprisingly, it was better than I expected. Still isn't anything spectacular and was a clear attempt at paving the way for several more movies.


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

Watched The Deer Hunter last night.Fucking A that film!


----------



## Black_Sheep

Last night i watched "Drive Angry" and was kinda disapointed. I expected a (in a way) "stupid" action movie with no plot whatsoever and things just exploding. Well.. it was partly that, but it didn't go as far as i would've wanted it to go. There were some cool looking old muscle cars for example (Charger 69.. ) but there was not really any proper car chases in the whole movie, and that was EXACTLY what i wanted to see really. Besides Amber Heard of course. Damn..


----------



## Guitarmiester

Never even heard of The Tourist, but watched it on OnDemand last night. It was a surprisingly good movie that I'm guessing flew under the radar for having Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.

Has anyone seen Salt? I was about to watch that, but The Tourist caught my interest. I only remember the commercials for Salt and Angelina Jolie's face on the front of every magazine for that movie.


----------



## ilyti

I just watched The Rocker. I have seen much better rock movies.


----------



## Lukifer

Saw Jack and Jill last night. Was surprised to see it was rated pg so I thought it would be Sandler trying to appeal to kids but it was actually good. Was pretty funny too. Al Pacino is fucking nuts in this movie!!!


----------



## 8Fingers

Blood and chocolate(2007) - Another film with werewolves but.....it's not a horror film,it's a love story with amazing arabian/turkish soundtrack.It's not another blood bath and rubber everywhere Hollywood kind of film, in fact it almost has no blood.So scenes are really beautiful,almost like poetry to me.But in the end it's a love story so don't expect too much.I have to mention it was filmed in Bucharest(Romania and no,vampires didn't showed up hahaha),so places are beautiful,I'm really tired of films in New York or Los Angeles lol 
So have your own impressions about it,to me............great film.


----------



## Guitarmiester

I've managed to avoid anything and everything Twilight... up until last week. The gf suckered me into taking her to see the latest one. It's even cheesier than I could have imagined. I couldn't help myself and started laughing in the theater when the vampire people stared fighting a pack of werewolves. Extremely cheesy and stupid.


----------



## AK DRAGON

Puss In Boots  

Three Musketeers (2011)
Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 1 & 2


----------



## 8Fingers

Guitarmiester said:


> I've managed to avoid anything and everything Twilight... up until last week. The gf suckered me into taking her to see the latest one. It's even cheesier than I could have imagined. I couldn't help myself and started laughing in the theater when the vampire people stared fighting a pack of werewolves. Extremely cheesy and stupid.


 
That's exactly what I could expect from a Twilight movie, no surprises.


----------



## Gamma362

Recently watched the boondock saints 1&2. The original is one of the most badass movies I have ever seen,second one is pretty good, but misses some of the charm of the original


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

watched The Fountain,There will be blood and Se7en. Great films


----------



## Guitarmiester

Finally saw Black Swan. I had no idea what to expect since I knew little to nothing about the movie, only heard a lot of good things. I thought it sucked. It was like some kind of awkward lesbo porn.


----------



## GazPots

Wingchunwarrior said:


> watched The Fountain,There will be blood and Se7en. Great films



Se7en is a classic. 


I never get tired of watching it when it comes on the tv every year or so.


----------



## 8Fingers

Apocalypto (2006) - It's cool but it's boring.It's boring but it's cool. So many people talked about how violent this movie is, to me Rambo is so many times more violent cause in this movie people are fighting for their lives, that's history, that's life, in Rambo people killed for nothing.
The same with so many other movies with people killing a gazillion with a knife or with 1 gun = dumb.
Put yourself in that life and realise how we live in comfort these days but we still have to kill each others because of hate, money and.............dumbness


----------



## Guitarmiester

So you wouldn't recommend Apocalypto? It's currently on one of the Premier channels on OnDemand. I was about to watch it last week, but was unsure by the description.


----------



## 8Fingers

Guitarmiester said:


> So you wouldn't recommend Apocalypto? It's currently on one of the Premier channels on OnDemand. I was about to watch it last week, but was unsure by the description.



Maybe I wasn't clear, I was saying movies like Rambo are extremely violent because they're killing about nothing and they're fake, things don't happen that way.Apocalypto is the opposite, violence is there but it's a real violence, something that were part of their lives and not a guy killing a whole army with a knife.

I completely recommend it, it's a bit boring cause it's too long for what it's but it's a cool honest film about that civilization.
Maybe what's boring to me is completely necessary to you, who knows.
It's not a film I'll watch twice but it's a great experience


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

ilyti said:


> I just watched The Rocker. I have seen much better rock movies.


i watched this too cause at first it thought that guy on the cover was jack black lol...







the movie wasnt totally horrible but think with the right, better acting & less cheese it could have been pretty cool.


----------



## 8Fingers

You guys should watch Estomago(Stomach) 2007.It's a brazilian film which won a lot of prizes around the world and it has a crazy, weird story about a poor guy who came to a big city and started working as a cook for some poor restaurants and bars.He starts dating a prostitute and from there story gets crazier and crazier.We don't have millions and millions to waste with effects so here movies have to have a good story cause effects won't help it 
If you guys want to see something made by a different culture, with no crap effects, no New York scenary but with a crazy story, go for it, I bet you can find an english version or with legends.


----------



## CapinCripes

watched a trilogy of films called ninja death. all i have to say about them is that they certainly existed and indeed had ninjas that died. if you wish to see them they are in the public domain due to the fact they never filed a copyright. (after watching them i wonder why *sarcasm*)


----------



## MFB

Watched "The Science of Sleep" last night and holy fuck, it. Was. DEPRESSING. It's done by the same guy who did Eternal Sunshine... so I kind of knew his style, but its just like "Wow, if I saw that in theaters I wouldve been pissed."


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

i loved the movie mimic. watched it long ago....notice that over the years two more were made.

decided to watch them all. second one was decent, not as good as the first, but the third one was tripe! it was so horrible & cheesy i couldnt stop watching. that is 2 hrs of my life i will never get back.


----------



## HOKENSTYFE

Human Centipede 2- Full Sequence-All Sh*t, you must wash after watching this! Ugghhh!


----------



## Scar Symmetry

M3CHK1LLA said:


> i watched this too cause at first it thought that guy on the cover was jack black lol...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> the movie wasnt totally horrible but think with the right, better acting & less cheese it could have been pretty cool.



My ex girlfriend punished me by watching this, complete dross.

I watched Vanilla Sky last night, finest film ever crafted.


----------



## Skyblue

Finally saw Watchmen. Wonderful, wonderful film in my opinion. And Rorschach is awesome.


----------



## CapinCripes

i just got done watching Christmas Evil in the spirit of the holidays and the ending made my brain full of fuck... do yourself a favor WATCH IT.


----------



## AK DRAGON

Lat night was Fast Five..
Tonight is Pirates 4


----------



## Blind Theory

Just watched Our Idiot Brother with Paul Rudd. Pretty good stuff. It isn't the best comedy ever but it has its moments and there are plenty of them. I'd recommend giving it a watch.


----------



## ry_z

Recently watched:






*The King and the Clown* - I watched it on a whim, and it ended up being one of the best films I've ever seen. An amazing blend of comedy, drama, and tragedy.






*Primer* - Clever, intriguing, and very confusing.  It's amazing what Shane Carruth managed to do with a $7,000 budget.






*Senna* - A must-watch for any fan of Formula 1, or of motor racing in general.


----------



## shredguitar7

Scar Symmetry said:


> My ex girlfriend punished me by watching this, complete dross.
> 
> I watched Vanilla Sky last night, finest film ever crafted.



once again i love you. best movie ever. it never gets old.. " Look at us, im frozen and your dead, and i love you " im a grown man and that shit makes me cry..


----------



## Guitarmiester

Saw Horrible Bosses the other night. Such a stupid but verrrry funny movie.


----------



## mentalfuneral

Hi, new around here, but thought I'd add my two cents. I just caught "Melancholia", "I Saw The Devil", & "Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil". "ISTD" is absolutely amazing and a must for any action/horror fans. "Melancholia" was visually stunning, but would've benefited from a lot less dialogue and a lot more shots of Kirsten Dunst's boobs. "Tucker & Dale" was hilarious and easily the best horror/comedy hybrid since "Shaun of The Dead".


----------



## Sicarius

HOrrible Bosses was great, I thought.

Saw Sherlock Holmes 2 the other night, and loved it, saw The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo last night, and it was good, a bit mixed up in the story line of the book, but it was still a good movie. Rooney Mara is just as attractive as Noomi Rapace, though, but Noomi's Lisbeth was more feral than Rooney's.

Those are really fun names to type and say. Noomi and Rooney.


----------



## Guitarmiester

Horrible Bosses was really good. It wasn't what I expected, which is why I liked it so much. 

Hangover II was a huge disappointment. I expected it to have a few similarities to the original, but it turned out to be exactly the same as the original. Exact same plot but with Asians.


----------



## Sicarius

and a monkey


----------



## Mexi

saw Tree of Life and Melancholia the other day and enjoyed them both immensely, the former moreso because of the sheer scope/beauty of the film


----------



## blaaargh

Saw 3... Extremes recently, and holy fuck . The movie is 3 shorter films by Fruit Chen, Chan-Wook Park, and Takashi Miike, and they all deliver. Chen's film is about a woman who sells dumplings made from aborted fetuses to older ladies claiming they have restorative properties, and it's gloriously fucked up. Park's is about a director who is kidnapped by one of his extras who is jealous of the fact that he is both rich and a good person, so he sets up a test where he'd cut off his wife's (who is a pianist) fingers one by one unless he strangled a kid that he brought along. The psychological breakdown of the director is darkly captivating, and the film never lets up. Miike's film is about a woman who's haunted by the death of her twin sister that she accidentally caused, and is much more surreal and atmospheric than the other two. The twist at the end was... strange. 
Overall, I'd highly recommend this movie to anyone familiar with any of these directors, or any horror fan.


----------



## 8Fingers

The Human Centipede First Sequence 2009 - If you think this is scary, think about what kind of stuff our species already did in the name of God, religion, science, power, pride, money etc.Think about Hitler, think about bombs over Japan, think about 9/11.This movie is not a terror movie but just a tiny kick of human reality.Think about how many crazy people are out there hidden in their basements doing things even Satan would not like to watch.Sick brains are capable of anything so if you're thinking about travelling far away to a place with no friends, think twice cause you could put yourself on an even worse situation.This movie is better than I thought, I thought it'd be blood bath and rubber everywhere but not, we know even worse things are happening right now out there so this movie just makes us realize how life is fragile and we can go from happiness to hell in a second


----------



## Guitarmiester

Has anyone seen The Soloist with Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.? I watched it a few weeks ago don't think I mentioned it here. It was actually really good.


----------



## MFB

Soloist is a fantastic movie and one that actually really grabbed me emotionally. I recommend everyone should see it


----------



## Guitarmiester

I agree. Overall, the movie was kinda sad but moving. What I really liked was how it portrayed someones life. Although, in the end, he was happy it didn't have a cheesy happy ending like every movie goes for. Glad I took the time to watch it.


----------



## Ethn Hayabusa

I've been working my way through every Woody Allen movie. I only have 5 more to go, two of which are short films, and one of which is a Audio re-dubbing of a pre-existing movie. He has varying degrees of quality, but the good stuff is generally pretty exceptional.


----------



## MFB

Watched "Summer Wars" with my roommate and his brother tonight and it was average. Done by a student of Miyazaki so it has his style to it, and you can guess how it ends but I enjoyed the means to those ends so I'd say its worth watching. Plus, it's got a bit of social commentary in there that may or may not be intended, but is definitely something to think about.


----------



## ittoa666

Saw Hostel on IFC the other day. Not impressed.


----------



## MFB

Watched "Devilman : Birth" and finishing up "Devilman : The Demon Bird" now; forgot how awesome they are as a whole movie.


----------



## Demiurge

Watched "The Ides of March" last night, probably in a subconscious effort to be aware of at least one of the big movies come Oscar time. It's a science fiction thriller set in an alternate universe where an atheist has a chance of winning a presidential primary in the Midwest (the catch is, you have to look like George Clooney). 

It was kind of a dry movie (no murders, explosions, or robots), but at the end, comprehending how a feel-good political campaign ends up turned on its head with betrayal, ethical compromise, etc. within a few days is really compelling.


----------



## 8Fingers

The darkest Hour 2011 - I won't even waste 2 lines about it so...........CRAP!


----------



## Ninetyfour

I'm watching American History X right now. Pretty hard hitting stuff, love Norton though.


----------



## 8Fingers

Ninetyfour said:


> I'm watching American History X right now. Pretty hard hitting stuff, love Norton though.



Awesome movie


----------



## kung_fu

I watched both FUBAR movies this past week


----------



## Blake1970

Just watched Drive. Pretty damn good.


----------



## klami

Watched "Vanilla Sky" for the first time just now. Its been a while since I enjoyed a film this much! 

Also watched "Melancholia" a while ago. Kinda liked it!


----------



## kung_fu

Recently watched:

_*The Mechanic *_(Statham) kinda meh
*Time Bandits* Always a good watch
*Smart Money* (Edward G Robinson/James Cagney) Loved it. A really good blend of humor, drama, and action.


----------



## klami

Double post...?


----------



## isispelican

Our Idiot Brother : amazing film, balancing between comedy and drama, its one of those movies that really makes you a better person!

Secret Window : nice low profile thriller, nothing too crazy.


----------



## JPhoenix19

Strawberry Shortcake: The Sky's the Limit.  I have a daughter that's almost 3, so yeah.


----------



## s_k_mullins

Most recently watched:

Shutter Island
Drive
Our Idiot Brother
Contraband
Book of Eli
Rise of the Planet of the Apes


Enjoyed them all!


----------



## jaione

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEXcU9uqLPc


----------



## Lukifer

Watched Kung Pao: Enter the Fist last night. Pretty funny and definitely cheesy!!!!


----------



## VILARIKA

s_k_mullins said:


> Most recently watched:
> 
> Shutter Island
> Drive
> Our Idiot Brother
> Contraband
> Book of Eli
> Rise of the Planet of the Apes
> 
> 
> Enjoyed them all!



A list of good movies  (unsure about Contraband though)


----------



## Blake1970

Yeah I enjoyed Drive so much. Great movie! Shutter Island is great also.


----------



## Lukifer

I watched Chasing Amy again for the first time in like 7 years. Still love that movie!!!


----------



## Fiction

Drive was, meh. Pretty boring until all the stomping.

50/50 was awesome, I don't usually watch many dramas, but I really enjoyed it.

Our Idiot Brother, was a really good movie. I was surprised, I watched the trailer and was like, man this is going to be dumb, but in the end it was really good, even saw it twice.


----------



## kung_fu

White Heat (James Cagney)


----------



## nickgray

Monsters 6/10 - a neat idea, though unfortunately it wasn't executed all that well. The main protagonists aren't especially likeable, the CGI aliens look abysmal and the general story surrounding them... well, there isn't a story about the aliens, that's the problem. So why include them at all, why mention them? Why wouldn't they go for a Stalker-type (or better yet, Strugatsky brothers' Roadside Picnic, a novel on which Stalker was loosely based on) of story? Worst of all, certain parts of the plot make zero sense, for instance, a multi-millionaire father couldn't have sent a bloody helicopter or a private plane to get his daughter out? And that could've been easily remedied by not making her father rich.

Another Earth - 5/10. When you make a science fiction movie you have to at least _try_ to make the science part a little tiny bit believable. Three words: tidal bloody forces. With that out of the way, it was a very pointless movie, that's really the only way to summarize it. Throughout the film you only really ask one question - why? It seems as if the writers just put the whole sci-fi aspect in a drama film just for the hell of it. A teenager kills a musician's pregnant wife and his kid in a car accident, serves time, gets out, tries to reconcile with herself and with the musician. Hey, you know what we should add to this? A duplicate of the planet Earth that appears out of nowhere and seems to defy the laws of physics. And logic. And everything. Yeah, sounds about right, that would really improve the movie.


----------



## canuck brian

Just watched Conan the Barbarian again for the ....30th or 40th time. It's still amazing what you can do with almost little dialog, real camera work and an amazing soundtrack. 

Also watched the newer Count of Monte Cristo recently - also really good!


----------



## Sepultorture

watched Quills, a movie about the Marquis De Sade while he was imprisoned in Insane Asylum, fucking funny and disturbing, loved it


----------



## Lukifer

So I got a new TV and a Blu-Ray player. What are some good flicks that look amazing on Blu-Ray??


----------



## Michael

Recents:

Phone Booth
The American
Freddy Got Fingered
Childs Play


----------



## Alberto7

I've been re-watching a lot of movies recently, after a couple years of not watching them. It's quite amazing how new perspectives and more mental maturity change the entire experience. It's like watching a whole different film. However, new ones for me have been:


*Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amélie Poulain (2001)* - Super funny and very touching. Very artsy in a way, too. I watched this one solely based on the fact that Yann Tiersen was the composer for all the soundtracks, and I'm a huge fan of his. I was very surprised at the quality of this movie! I'd recommend it to anyone!

*Zatoichi (2003) *- Decided to watch it after a recommendation on this very forum. I thank the people who suggested it. Like all other Japanese films I've watched, it has some very humorous moments. Special effects are a little 'meh' but I honestly didn't care at all about them. The acting was amazing, and the story, even though not very unique, is very well presented. The Zatoichi character is also pretty much legendary in Japan, so it was interesting learning about him and a bit more of Japan's mind-blowing history and culture. Amazing samurai movie.

*Seven Samurai (1954) *- The best samurai movie I've ever seen. The storyline is great, even if it feels like a very mundane situation for that era (Japanese village being raided by bandits in the 16th century). The humor in it is priceless, too!

*Twelve Monkeys (1995)* - Setting is a rather typical post-apocalyptic world, where the few people left alive search for a cure for a virus that wiped mankind. However, the acting, the way the story is presented and the way it unravels, are all just absolutely mind-blowing. Also, Brad Pitt playing the role of an absolutely fucking demented and mentally impaired lunatic is priceless 

*Johnny English Reborn (2011) *- My friends dragged me to the cinema for this one. Unexpectedly, I kept laughing all the way through . Not the greatest movie in the world, but it's one of those movies where such pathetically stupid and silly things happen that you cannot help but laugh. I quite enjoyed it.


-------


I still need to watch Mission Impossible 4 and the new Sherlock Holmes!


----------



## MFB

MI4 was pretty tits, even if Cruise is crazy now, it was on par with #2 and I dont even remember #3 so that must say something


----------



## SeductionS

Just watched Inception.
OMG, what a mindfuck, guess it's a great movie


----------



## Wingchunwarrior

SeductionS said:


> Just watched Inception.
> OMG, what a mindfuck, guess it's a great movie


 
I didn't get that mindfuck effect from Inception, its a great movie though, albeit a little hollywood/cheesy.

If you haven't yet, try Memento, that really is a headache and half to watch.


----------



## Alberto7

Yeah, I thought Inception was great, but I'm part of that bitchcrew that thinks it's too overhyped. Still, really good movie and a good concept!


----------



## shredguitar7

Watched " The Sunset Limited " check it out. was good


----------



## Alberto7

^ It's not good. It's brilliant.


----------



## Xaios

Movies I've watched in the past week:

- Up In The Air: I really enjoyed this one. It's both optimistic and morose at the same time, and also really funny.
- Drive: Very film noire. A little slow for my taste, but whenever something is really happening, it builds an atmosphere that is downright oppressive. Also, Carey Mulligan is super cute. 
- 50/50: Also really enjoyed this one. Nothing happened that I didn't really see coming, but it was still very well acted. Joseph Gordon-Levitt especially was *extremely* good. The fact that he didn't get an Oscar nod for his work in this movie is very disappointing.


Spoiler



Also, I nearly fell out of my chair when he impersonated Seth Rogen.


 

- Contagion: Steven Soderbergh always delivers, and this is no different. Every actor in this movie does exactly what they need to do, nothing less and nothing more (with the possible exception I believe of Marion Coutillard, who was underused), and portray exactly the kind of people they're meant to be to perfection. The movie was also apparently grounded in some very sound scientific principals, which is always nice to see.

But the thing that I really enjoyed was how the movie played the relationship between Jude Law's "fringe intellectual truth seeker" character against the CDC's characters and their debates. If you step back and really analyze it, Steven Soderbergh creates a situation in which your opinion of what the true outcome of their quarrel actually is depends more on your political bent than what actually transpires, because what actually transpires is uncertain. If you're a conservative, you'll be more prone to believing the CDC's side, while if you're a liberal, you'll be more prone to sympathize with Jude Law's character's interpretation of events. Step back though, and there's actually no clear indicator whether either of them are telling the truth or lying, because both parties are caught red-handed in scandal and covering their own interests.



Spoiler



In the movie, one of the heads of the CDC is caught warning a loved one of an impending quaranteen so that she has time to get out before it is put into effect, proving that they didn't treat all citizens fairly. They're also the constant target of Jude Law's assertions that they're in bed with the pharmaceutical industry. Jude Law's character, on the other hand, is potentially caught selling bogus medical advice on the internet in order to rake in advertising dollars from hits on his website. While he protests his innocence, it's never made clear whether or not he's telling the truth.



That's good thinking-man's movie making.


----------



## Sicarius

I really liked Up in the Air, and I'm going to watch 50/50 tomorrow.

Saw Real Steel, pretty typical terrible dad becomes awesome dad movie. But with robots, that box. It was about a 7/10


----------



## Xaios

Because nothing teaches life lessons about manning up and being a good dad like giant fighting robots.


----------



## nickgray

(500) Days of Summer - 4/10. What an abysmal movie. The main characters just made my blood... boil, pretty much. One hour and forty minutes wasted.

50/50 - 8/10. Amazing acting by Gordon-Levitt and chemistry between Adam and Katherine is what made a mediocre movie into a pretty good one. Unfortunately, it's too short, I really wish they would've expanded the Adam-Katherine story and expanded upon Adam's cancer. Kind of a rare flaw, actually, the vast majority of of movies that have length problems are simply too long, it's unusual to see a movie that's genuinely too short. Still, it's a good movie.


----------



## ZXIIIT

The Rum Diary - I like Johnny Depp, so I enjoyed this very much.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Yeah whatever, I like vampire movies (in before "not real vampires") this was thoroughly more interesting than the first 2, climax up to the cliff hanger was very well done.


----------



## Xaios

ZOMB13 said:


> Twilight: Breaking Dawn


 
We're hereby revoking your Man license. Drop off your testicles at the dispensary on your way out.

(Kidding.)


----------



## MFB

Xaios said:


> Movies I've watched in the past week:
> 
> - Up In The Air: I really enjoyed this one. It's both optimistic and morose at the same time, and also really funny.
> - Drive: Very film noire. A little slow for my taste, but whenever something is really happening, it builds an atmosphere that is downright oppressive. Also, Carey Mulligan is super cute.
> - 50/50: Also really enjoyed this one. Nothing happened that I didn't really see coming, but it was still very well acted. Joseph Gordon-Levitt especially was *extremely* good. The fact that he didn't get an Oscar nod for his work in this movie is very disappointing.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Also, I nearly fell out of my chair when he impersonated Seth Rogen.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> - Contagion: Steven Soderbergh always delivers, and this is no different. Every actor in this movie does exactly what they need to do, nothing less and nothing more (with the possible exception I believe of Marion Coutillard, who was underused), and portray exactly the kind of people they're meant to be to perfection. The movie was also apparently grounded in some very sound scientific principals, which is always nice to see.
> 
> But the thing that I really enjoyed was how the movie played the relationship between Jude Law's "fringe intellectual truth seeker" character against the CDC's characters and their debates. If you step back and really analyze it, Steven Soderbergh creates a situation in which your opinion of what the true outcome of their quarrel actually is depends more on your political bent than what actually transpires, because what actually transpires is uncertain. If you're a conservative, you'll be more prone to believing the CDC's side, while if you're a liberal, you'll be more prone to sympathize with Jude Law's character's interpretation of events. Step back though, and there's actually no clear indicator whether either of them are telling the truth or lying, because both parties are caught red-handed in scandal and covering their own interests.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> In the movie, one of the heads of the CDC is caught warning a loved one of an impending quaranteen so that she has time to get out before it is put into effect, proving that they didn't treat all citizens fairly. They're also the constant target of Jude Law's assertions that they're in bed with the pharmaceutical industry. Jude Law's character, on the other hand, is potentially caught selling bogus medical advice on the internet in order to rake in advertising dollars from hits on his website. While he protests his innocence, it's never made clear whether or not he's telling the truth.
> 
> 
> 
> That's good thinking-man's movie making.



I saw Contagion during my last night in Boston with friends at my place, and given we were talking and stuff we missed certain parts but over-all from what I got it, it was a great film.

Also, all you guys seeing 50/50 make me so happy. That film was one of my favorites from 2011 and I feel like everyone should see it at some point.


----------



## samdaman87

I have been watching a lot of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes again. All the movies that are on there are so bad that it is good. I can't get over how bad the Movie "Space Mutiny" is. I think they filmed the whole movie in a boiler room and tried to call that a "space ship engine room." You guys should check these stuff out! Micheal J Nelson is a genius


----------



## Furtive Glance

Saw Contraband a few weeks back. Didn't even know what it was about or anything. It was awesome! Pretty badass and it definitely had one of those villains you immediately despise.


----------



## ZXIIIT

Xaios said:


> We're hereby revoking your Man license. Drop off your testicles at the dispensary on your way out.
> 
> (Kidding.)



 noooo 

I guess all the girls who want to watch Part 2 with me will be disappointed my voice will be 4 octaves higher...


----------



## SenorDingDong

_Let Me In_.

If acting has a future (which looks bleaker by the day), I sincerely hope Chloë Moretz is part of it. At fifteen, she's better than most of the actresses today.


----------



## shredguitar7

Watched " Take Shelter " holy fuck the ending took me by surprise. WATCH IT


----------



## Jakke

Just watched Sucker Punch. I can honestly not see what the big deal with this movie is, the feminist movement has gone meltdown over it. I mean, it is occasionally terribly bad acted, and it's quite juvenile from time to time, but the end of the world calls that has been following it are just stupid.


----------



## MFB

I don't think anyone lost their shit over Sucker Punch, many people actually didn't give two shits for it  It was a CG-fest, with chicks in slutty outfits, doing slow motion action sequences and I can only imagine little/no character development


----------



## Jakke

Oh, you have obviously not read the newspapers here, people (mostly women) has been losing their shit over this


The ending was really good though, I was surprised. It was sometimes terribly vaccuous before that, but really picked up later in the movie. The whole premiss of the movie is interesting as well. It's not something I'd remember as a mile-stone in motion picture history, but it's not terrible.


----------



## MFB

Clearly Swedish audiences are very different from American then


----------



## Jakke

I would guess our feminazis are a lot louder (those are basically those who have had the energy to complain about the movie).


----------



## Xaios

Yeah, here in North America, anyone speaking of the movie's negative depiction of women were quickly drowned up by the cries of "this movie sucks!"


----------



## Jakke

I'm not denying that it can be seen as misogynistic (it can also be seen as an empowerment of women), but what I go against is people deciding that "this should not be viewed because I dislike it".


It was not very good though


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

watched an old classic "the jerk" the other day...still funny

saw "i am number four" meh...


----------



## Jakke

"The Root of All Evil", Richard Dawkins interviews believers about their views on science, secularism, and a lot of other topics. He for example gets patronized by Ted Haggard, which kinda funny


Also "Religuluous" with Bill Maher, where he among other things talks with a rabbi who is a holocaust denier. Folks, you can't make this up.

If you are looking for movies that does not question, these are not what you are looking for, Dawkins is one of the new atheists ('nuff said), and Maher is absolutely merciless. They are really worth a watch.


----------



## decypher

I watched Schindlers List again today, sometimes I wish I wasn't that cold hearted hongkong cat3 splatterfest pig that enjoys all sorts of stuff  . no really, it's one of the most intense movies about war crimes and the dehumanization is depicted in such a perfect way that it's just scary. So many scenes where I wonder how a human can mentally comprehend being in such a situation. It's really intense.


----------



## Jakke

decypher said:


> I watched Schindlers List again today, sometimes I wish I wasn't that cold hearted hongkong cat3 splatterfest pig that enjoys all sorts of stuff  . no really, it's one of the most intense movies about war crimes and the dehumanization is depicted in such a perfect way that it's just scary. So many scenes where I wonder how a human can mentally comprehend being in such a situation. It's really intense.



hotel Rwanda is also a powerful movie in that genre


----------



## cyb

I've been on a western kick lately. I watched Big Jake a few nights ago, and then Once Upon A Time In The West. I will be watching lonesome dove when it arrives in the mail tomorrow.


----------



## MrPepperoniNipples

re-watched the Back to the Future trilogy this past Sunday

great scott, it was heavy
sunday well spent


----------



## CapinCripes

i watched dragonball evolution... and as a longtime dragonball/dragonball z fan.. nothing will ever be ok again. i was seriously catatonic the day after watching it. yeah that thing pissed me off with a line for the first time no later than 38 seconds in and never stopped finding ways to piss me off.


----------



## MFB

Your first mistake was assuming that a Dragonball movie would be worth watching. I remember seeing the cast and laughing at, seeing the reviews and feeling correct in my assumptions, then skimming through a bootleg of it and wondering how thefuck they pieced it together from what I saw (a grand total of maybe 5 minutes).

So bad


----------



## CapinCripes

MFB said:


> Your first mistake was assuming that a Dragonball movie would be worth watching. I remember seeing the cast and laughing at, seeing the reviews and feeling correct in my assumptions, then skimming through a bootleg of it and wondering how thefuck they pieced it together from what I saw (a grand total of maybe 5 minutes).
> 
> So bad



I didn't think it would be good I thought it would be terrible. (having a hyperactive case of morbid curiosity is generally a bitch) and I manged to get more than I bargained for. I mean I knew it was bad but it was a whole new level I was unprepared for. (and half of my movie collection is exploitation films so terrible movies are the norm for me.) also I cant have an informed opinion without witnessing something for myself... no matter how much of a shit-stain it is. I just wasn't expecting Dragonball: The magic Begins, the Taiwanese rip off of the first dragonball movie to be better than evolution.


----------



## Guitarmiester

Checked out White Irish Drinkers on Netflix the other nights and have to say it was one of the better movies I've seen in a long time. Really great movie about a kid trying to get out and do something with his life. There's a lot going on in the movie, but that's what stood out the most for me. 

I should have listened to the reviews for this one, but I rarely turn down _"scary"_ movies, especially if they're paranormal. Episode 50... Shit sandwich. They should have spent less on high quality cameras and spent more on getting decent actors and a better story line. It seemed extremely random, really weak and cheesy, supposed, creepy moments, and the fantabulous actors spend more time giving off the, _"if you catch me from this angle, I can show off my lame tattoo... how's my hair look? is this men's small t-shirt too big? I knew I should have visited the teens section!" _

People were saying it's similar to Grave Encounters. Umm... not even close. Episode 50 sucked on all levels, except for quality cameras the used. Anyone questioning this movie feel free to pass on it. The first hour, out of maybe an hour and a half, is extremely boring. I found staring at the wall to be a bit more entertaining.


----------



## vladraken

Went and watched snow white and the huntsman. Pleasantly surprised, it felt like just the right length, though the apple sequence was a bit short and lacked some explanation, but the effects were cool. Overall a good watch and would recommend.


----------



## mcleanab

Recently watched:

BRONSON with Tom Hardy... strange and VERY intense.
WARRIOR with Tom Hardy... okay... the scenes with he and Nick Nolte are incredible.
INCEPTION... okay... the fights in the hotel were awesome. Waited a long time until the hype wore off.
AVENGERS... typical, incredible, awesome Joss.
ALIEN... counting the hours until PROMETHEUS.


----------



## Blake1970

Picking up season 4 of True Blood. I wait for the DVD's to come out and than spend the weekend watching all of it.


----------



## kerska

mcleanab said:


> ALIEN... counting the hours until PROMETHEUS.


 
I'm also super stoked for Prometheus.

I rewatched the Chirtopher Nolan Batman movies over the weekend in one sitting. I wanted to get them in and refresh myself on them before the third one hits next month. Such epic pieces of work those movies are.


----------



## mcleanab

kerska said:


> I rewatched the Chirtopher Nolan Batman movies over the weekend in one sitting. I wanted to get them in and refresh myself on them before the third one hits next month. Such epic pieces of work those movies are.



Yer gonna hate me... I much preferred the Tim Burton BATMAN and BATMAN RETURNS. The others in that series were just awful... I thought the Nolan's were okay and I'll never pass up a superhero flick (yes, I even watched DAREDEVIL... ugh, it should have looked like SIN CITY!!), but they were just a bit too stoic and serious for my tastes and try to be a bit 'real' for my growing up on comic book sensibilities... But, I'll go see the third for sure.


----------



## USMarine75

I just finally saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I had heard bad things about it, but I absolutely loved it. Good plot and loved the Damn Dirty Apes reference!

TiVo'd Blade Runner (Final Cut) last night... planning on introducing the wife and kid to it's greatness tonight!


----------



## petereanima

USMarine75 said:


> I just finally saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I had heard bad things about it, but I absolutely loved it. Good plot and loved the Damn Dirty Apes reference!



Yep, me too. I heard nothing but bad things prior to seeing it, and I also was afraid because I LOVE the original movies, and hated the Tim Burton movie with a passion. But this one was really good!




> TiVo'd Blade Runner (Final Cut) last night... planning on introducing the wife and kid to it's greatness tonight!



Do it. Blade Runner is amazing!


----------



## MFB

I thought "Rise [...]" was rather well received by people, and don't remember hearing anything bad about it? I know I saw it opening weekend and found it to be a great start to the series, and more deserving of being made than the Marky Mark one from 2001ish.


----------



## Xaios

MFB said:


> I thought "Rise [...]" was rather well received by people, and don't remember hearing anything bad about it? I know I saw it opening weekend and found it to be a great start to the series, and more deserving of being made than the Marky Mark one from 2001ish.



Ditto, I heard nothing but good things about Rise of the Planet of the Apes when it came out. I quite enjoyed it myself.

The only thing that bugged me was the money-obsessed villain type dude that owned the biomedicinal (is that the right term?) research place that the protagonist worked at, as he seemed more like a caricature than a real person, which was a shame because everyone else in the film seemed pretty well fleshed out.

Other than that, I thought it was a great movie. Andy Serkis kills it, as usual.


----------



## Korbain

Watched terminator 2 on blu ray the other night...epic. Nothing more needs to be said lol That movie will never get old!

Also watched The Prestige. First time i watched it, heard so many good things about it and just kept forgetting. So annoyed I did, what an amazing film!


----------



## petereanima

MFB said:


> I thought "Rise [...]" was rather well received by people, and don't remember hearing anything bad about it?



+



Xaios said:


> Ditto, I heard nothing but good things about Rise of the Planet of the Apes when it came out.



I was mainly talking about people in my direct surroundings. And therefore, it may very well be that the bad reviews were related to a maybe bad synchro. Quality of synchronizing (movies, series, etc.; translation of books also) to german has really gone down the shitter and the last years, to an extend, where I think a big part is almost unwatchable and really ruins it. Also a big reason for me why I started to watch and read most stuff in original (with subs, if necessarry).


----------



## MFB

Ah, yeah dubs can ruin movies if there's enough of the not syncing/bad voice acting that it could ruin a movie so I could understand that affecting foreign versions. I know I've started watching foreign movies and would rather read subtitles and hear the emotion in their voice and still be able to get what they wanted to convey than hear a bad English overdub like early animes did.


----------



## Jakke

Just saw "Knocked Up", pleasantly surprised to see Ken Jeong starring


----------



## joshnes

mcleanab said:


> Recently watched:
> 
> BRONSON with Tom Hardy... strange and VERY intense.



Enjoyed that one too, despite the violence, good acting though.


----------



## MFB

Went to the movies on Saturday and caught "Brave" with a buddy of mine and I really enjoyed it. Despite what the trailers show there's FAR more to it and I'd recommend everyone see it but then again I'm an animator in training so I do have a SLIGHT bias for Pixar and those sorts of films.


----------



## Lukifer

Ok. Best Zombie movie ever........GO!

My fav so far is shaun of the Dead!


----------



## kimmstreep

Hey,
Just finished the Scooby Doo.Haha 
Its amazing and animal talk is too good i think thorw the animated creation.


----------



## tacotiklah

Thor
Zombie Strippers (C list zombie movie that has terrible acting, an atrocious plot, and a scene where an infected stripper stuffs her cooter with pool balls, and then shoots them at the survivors. This is worth watching at least once, and probably only once.  )
The first 3 1/2 seasons of Ranma 1/2. 
The Crying Game
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the 70s version)
Valkyrie


----------



## -JeKo-

Can't believe I've missed the Blues Brothers movie. Anyway, going to watch it tonight and fill that void in my lacking 'watched movies' -category.


----------



## tacotiklah

Freddy Got Fingered. Okay so some of the humor has lost it's charm, but I still crack up laughing at this one. 

Boondock Saints. Norman Reemus is very sexy indeed!


----------



## Lukifer

ghstofperdition said:


> Freddy Got Fingered. Okay so some of the humor has lost it's charm, but I still crack up laughing at this one.
> 
> Boondock Saints. Norman Reemus is very sexy indeed!



Norman REEDUS!!! But yeah i got ya. I love his role as Daryl in The Walking Dead. But I dont think he is sexy....... because Im a dude.


----------



## Fiction

Watched 'Green Street Hooligans' today, wasn't expecting much from Frodo fighting football players, but god damn that was a great movie.


----------



## tacotiklah

Lukifer said:


> Norman REEDUS!!! But yeah i got ya. I love his role as Daryl in The Walking Dead. But I dont think he is sexy....... because Im a dude.




It's okay for a dude to think another dude is sexy, but not actually fantasize about them or anything. 

But yeah I gotcha. 


Haven't watched anymore movies lately. Must catch up on all the back episodes of breaking bad!


----------



## -JeKo-

Watched the Tenacious D movie last night. Hah, Jack Black is always such a funny guy...


----------



## Blake1970

A friend told me about this one. I'm going to watch it tonight!!


----------



## Sicarius

I watched 3 movies last night:
Red Tails: great CGI, great story, the white actors were bad, but it was a really good movie.
21 Jump Street: Didn't expect much out of this one, but it was actually really really funny. 
Ghost Rider 2: I have no words for just how bad this movie is.


----------



## Fiction

-JeKo- said:


> Watched the Tenacious D movie last night. Hah, Jack Black is always such a funny guy...



Too bad Kage is one of the most boring human being alive


----------



## USMarine75

^ 50th anniversary!


----------



## MFB

Watched "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and while I saw the betrayal coming, I'd say overall it was good and definitely on par with #1 - while 2 was WAY behind any of them, like LEAGUES behind them. This one you could actually see who was fighting and what was happening, plus Rosie what's-her-name is skin tight dresses for the first half? Sure why not


----------



## Sicarius

Watched the Senna doc on Netflix. He passed before I was old enough to even get into F1, but holy crap he was such a great driver.

If only he stayed with McLaren..


----------



## refusetofall87

superbad


----------



## mcleanab

Hol-lee crap!

I just watched the first X-FILES movie (Fight For the Future). Dammit, that was some AWESOME storytelling!!! Made Prometheus look like an Ashley Judd flick!


----------



## tacotiklah

Kill Bill 1 and 2. Seriously these were Tarantino's best movies, although Pulp Fiction comes pretty close.


----------



## tacotiklah

Watching Scary Movie 1 and 2. Pity that they because absolutely atrocious after number 2.


----------



## Saber_777

I just watched 'What Dreams May Become' it was amazing. I loved it.


----------



## Sebastian

"Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights" - 1992 with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. I've really enjoyed it, great movie


----------



## Magdalene123

I just watched "The Hunger Games" a few days ago, this film is interesting and is something praise worthy.


----------



## Murmel

Watched American History X and Pulp Fiction this weekend. Both were great, especially Pulp. How have I not seen that masterpiece before


----------



## MFB

*88 Minutes* - Horror movie with the third Olsen sisters as the lead, and it was actually REALLY well done with a twist I didn't see coming.
*The Hunger Games* - Made fun of this from start to finish and it was generic as fuck and exactly what I expected. Worst part is that I heard the book is even worse than the film!
*House of the Devil* - Another horror film made a few years ago but shot to look straight out of the 70's, including the damn title credits and everything. Nothing out of the unusual here and you might be able to predict what happens since it follows the 70's formula, but it might be worth a watch.
*Charlie Bartlett* - This popped up on Netflix and I remember seeing the ads for it when it first came out but never got around to actually seeing it. Was alright I suppose, nothing terribly riveting.
*Clue* - The famous boardgame movie adaptation with one of the greatest casts, although watching it again it does kind of drag on despite only being an hour and a half.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Been watching a fair bit of movies over the past few months:

All's Well, Ends Well 2012

Never would have expected Donnie Yen to be in a comedy movie but this was pretty entertaining for what it was. 

Dancing Queen

Korean comedy, had a good laugh out of it. 

The Rum Diaries

Not as out there as Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, but I enjoyed it just as much. 

Romancing In Thin Air

Chinese drama movie. Asian dramas are an occasional guilty pleasure for me. 

The Hunger Games

...bored the crap out of me. 

Kuga no Ori / Chain Gang Girls

Japanese Erotic/Gore/Thriller set in a women's prison. I'll just leave it there for your imagination. 

Up!

The animated movie, pretty fun. 

The Hangover 2

Yeah, it takes me a while to watch some of the popular movies. 

The King of Fighters

Exactly what I expected = hillariously bad.  

Some others I can't remember, but most of them I saw during flights.

EDIT:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

My sister insisted that we see this. We did, and it was exactly what it was.


----------



## Hallic




----------



## Murdstone

I just got around to seeing Tarkovsky's Stalker. Excellent movie. It was shot beautifully for its time as well.


----------



## CannibalKiller

The Heart is Deceitful, Above All Things
Probably the closest I've come to crying at a film.


----------



## Lukifer

Just watched The Lorax, because the wife likes kids movies. Not half bad because it reminded me of reading it when I was a kid and it was visually stunning. 

About to watch Inglourious Basterds. Havent seen it since it was in theaters and I hate Nazis so excited to see it again.


----------



## flexkill

"Kill The Irishman" The story of Danny Green.

Great fucking movie...Danny Green was a bad ass dude. Little campy in some spots but overall good. I love Ray Stevenson, good actor. He was awesome in the HBO series "Rome".


----------



## Skyblue

Shoot'em Up- Hilariously awesome. 
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Fincher's version)- 2nd time I'm seeing it, I rather like it, though it's no masterpiece~ 
Machete- Only saw the first half to be honest, but had fun. The beginning is awesome 
The Big Lebowsky- I feel like I'm saying "awesome" way too much here, but there's no other word to describe it  

Also saw a few episodes of Band Of Brothers, which I found to be amazing, plus me being in the army right now gives it a really special perspective for me.


----------



## kung_fu

Pressure Point


----------



## The Norsemen

Ralph Bakshi's Wizards and watership down today.
I enjoyed them thoroughly


----------



## fps

Saw Dredd 3D. Genre film, no masterpiece, but good actually, Verhoeven-ish, except the tongue that would be placed in cheek instead would be blown off. Gritty, 18-rated, uncompromisingly plodding, great effects, enjoyed.


----------



## kung_fu

"Quiz Show" I really enjoyed it.


----------



## CannibalKiller

Full Metal Jacket
My new favourite film.


----------



## Jakke

Derren Brown: Miracles For Sale.

The british mentalist and skeptic Derren Bronw picks out an average person to see if he can make that person a faith healer, this is to show what kind of cheap tricks they use, and that it is a skill that can be taught.
The person chosen is not an atheist either, but a christian, I would imagine stomping out these frauds is just as urgent to the faithful as to the non-believer.

The bogus website set up by Brown is still up, so if you do not care about any spoiler as to what person gets chosen, check it out:
Gifts of The Spirit Ministry
^It looks really good BTW.


----------



## x360rampagex

50/50 with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. The Bank Job, The Decendants, The Animatrix(first time), Interview with a Vampire and Black Swan.

Oh and I watched Underworld, UW Evolution and Awakening...why do they keep making Underworld films, they are ok at best...not impressed.


----------



## Jakke

I also watched a History Channel documentary where they unashamed used aura photography as proof of the existance of psychic vampires...


----------



## Mexi

saw Source Code with jake gyllenhal the other night. not a bad flick, interesting take on the whole time-loop shit with parallel universes in movies.


----------



## Lirtle

The last two movies I watched were A Serbian Film and The Truman Show. Fucking loved The Truman Show... Can't believe it took me this long to finally watch it.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Warm Water Under a Red Bridge

Bizzare quirky Japanese (well there was the give away), romantic comedy that was on TV last night. Talk about taking female orgasms to ridiculous proportions...


----------



## CannibalKiller

Lirtle said:


> The last two movies I watched were A Serbian Film and The Truman Show. Fucking loved The Truman Show... Can't believe it took me this long to finally watch it.



What did you think of A Serbian Film?


----------



## fps

Lirtle said:


> The last two movies I watched were A Serbian Film and The Truman Show. Fucking loved The Truman Show... Can't believe it took me this long to finally watch it.



Ahhh A Serbian Film. I know there have been a lot of video nasties down the years, but I just don't see how anyone's going to be able to top it.


----------



## CannibalKiller

fps said:


> Ahhh A Serbian Film. I know there have been a lot of video nasties down the years, but I just don't see how anyone's going to be able to top it.



Human Centipede 3 might. I hope it's good.


----------



## danger5oh

Paranorman... took my 5 year old to see it. For a kids movie the underlying plot is actually an awesome horror story. I wish that they had made it with live actors and given it an R rating.


----------



## ihunda

Saw the dictotar on a plane, much much more watchable than Borat, thank god!


----------



## fps

CannibalKiller said:


> Human Centipede 3 might. I hope it's good.



I'm not sure, I saw Human Centipede it was like an episode of My Family compared with ASF. Like a different genre, comedy horror.


----------



## Guitarmiester

Watched DeadHeads on Netflix last night. You would think it'd be hard to screw up a zombie comedy, but this movie was all kinds of suck.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Just came back from Studio Ghibli's newest movie, _*Kokurikozaka kara. *_Really great like all of them. Liked this one because it was so casual, there were no magic or scifi stuff in it. Just regular high school kids doing their stuff. And I really love animes that place in the 60s. I could recommend anyone to go watch it. Only one problem, no Joe Hisaishi as the composer like usually.


----------



## RoaringLion

I watched Step up 4 in 3D lastly and the movie was extraordinary. The steps and dance was really cool and also the music.


----------



## fps

Looper. For a film that indicated it wanted to be taken seriously, it was stupendously dumb. But worth a watch.


----------



## Jakke

Taken, loong time since I saw it last time.


----------



## subject aftermath

Saw looper and it didnt really impress me that much:/ the ending was kinda expected in this type of film


----------



## Fat-Elf

Super Size Me

Well, that does it. No more fast food for me EVER again. In fact, I stop completely drinking soda and eating candy or chips. It's time to get healthy.


----------



## Jakke

Lesbian Vampire Killers (don't judge me, I got curious). For being the juvenile and extremely cheesy piece of cinema it is, it was actually a quite decent vampire movie. It's not like the genre has been overflowing with golden pieces of art, right?


And it quite possibly contains the worst swedish accent ever


----------



## wankerness

*Kick-Ass* - I was surprised by how much I liked this, the trailers made it look like something I'd hate (LOL CUTESY GIRL THAT SWEARS LOL). It's very good, only problem I really have with it is that damn fistfight at the end between the bad guy and the kid goes on way too long, I dunno who really wants closeups of a little kid getting punched in the face repeatedly till her nose is all bloody etc. 8/10

In honor of halloween I've been watching a lot of not particularly good horror movies!

*Crazies (2010)* - Nothing's really wrong with it but nothing's good about it either. Totally serviceable horror movie with nothing special about it other than a recreation of the Nuke the Fridge gag from Indiana Jones 4. 5/10

*Crazies (1973)* - It's a lot more interesting than the 2010 one but really rough around the edges and sorta confused. 6/10

*Godzilla Vs Gigan* - I sure loved this as a kid, and it sure is bad. I like that at least half the movie is just monsters fighting, and the godzilla talking gag is hilarious.

*28 Weeks Later* - I still think it's a lot better than 28 Days Later, but it's got some serious issues. First and foremost is the main kid that everyone's trying to protect is a shitty little caveman with no personality. He looks like Eric Stoltz in Mask and has less personality than the kid in The Road Warrior. I'm not sure if the


Spoiler



incredibly pessimistic and depressing


 ending is


Spoiler



made better by the fact it makes the moral of the movie "let the army exterminate shitty kids when they have the chance instead of saving them," or worse by the fact that not only did we have to put up with him through the whole movie but now he destroyed the world.


 Anyway, there are a lot of really great sequences and I think it does a better job than the first movie of establishing what this disease does to people and what the infected are trying to do. It really is just pure rage and the way things can spin out of control so rapidly is really well-conveyed. I also like that it's very ambiguous with it clearly being portrayed as inhuman and terrible that the army just starts exterminating civilians, but at the same time it's repeatedly shown that had the trigger-happy types gotten their way, things would have turned out much better.

In sharp contrast to the first movie, this movie looks really good. The first one was probably better photographed but the cameras they used were just so fuckin bad. This one's got a lot of really striking shots of abandoned London. The special effects are also quite good when they use them, the firebombing looks great and some of the gore effects, especially the infamous helicopter scene, are top-notch.

Imogen Poots is one of the most distressing women I've ever seen in a movie. She like, has the head of a really exotic and gorgeous 20 something, attached to the body of what looks like a 12 year old. I think her character is supposed to be mid teens or something. I dunno how she looks now, I hope she aged and is now gorgeous in a more acceptable fashion, but she could just as easily have turned out not so great. Either way, I hope she gets married to someone that doesn't have the last name Poots.

7/10 by zombie movie standards!

*Devil's Rejects* - It was pretty good, i liked it quite a bit for the first 2/3, it got a bit tedious towards the end mainly cause the sheriff guy was unbearable and given WAY too much dialogue, all of which he delivered slowly while basically spitting into the camera. Ugh. I loved the casting, seeing people like Elizabeth Daily (I was like THERE'S NO WAY THAT'S HER SHE LOOKS ALMOST THE SAME AS SHE DID IN 1985, but yeah it was her alright, either she's got amazing genes or has had a lot of plastic surgery!), Ken Forree, PJ Soles, and Tom Towles will soften my opinion towards just about anything. And Michael Berryman of course, but I see him pretty regularly since he still looks like such a weirdo and is practically an iconic figure at this point. I would say I was happy to see Priscilla Barnes cause I was a fan of hers back when I was a kid (she was the blonde from the last few seasons of THREE'S COMPANY!) and hadn't seen her since then, but I think I would have been happier if I hated her, given what she goes through in this movie!

I am glad I watched the deleted scenes, cause there was one really strange one with Rosario Dawson as a nurse getting gorily killed by some character from House of 1000 Corpses who I don't think was even in the final cut of this movie. She's always a good sport.

This was a LOT better than House of 1000 Corpses, that's for sure. It's not an all-time classic, but it has some real wit and some really effective scenes. I have a feeling I'll always remember the surreal part where the movie critic is called into the sheriff's office to give them intelligence on groucho marx. Great stuff. 7/10


----------



## CM_X5

Just saw The Nightmare Before Christmas, was a favorite of mine as a kid and still gives me pleasant memories when I watch it.


----------



## L1ght

Haters gonna hate.

I've been watching the Cowboy Bebop series, as well as the feature length movie, and also Howl's Moving Castle. Two of my all time favorite movies/series that I just can't stop watching... I just got my DVD copy of Princess Mononoke too so I've been watching that lately.


----------



## Guitarmiester

Watched Hunger off Netflix last night. The description sounded really bland and typical, but it's a pretty messed up movie in a good way. If anyone has an hour and 40 minutes to kill and wants to see a screwed up movie, check it out.


----------



## TheDuatAwaits

I've been re watching Saving Private Ryan and Tommy Boy. 

I cry every time at the end of Saving Private Ryan.


----------



## Somnium

Haven't really watched any movies recently, but I just got Netflix and I have a lot of TV series to check out. Lately though, I've been on a semi-nostalgic cartoon kick. Scored a copy of the first season of Rocko's Modern Life yesterday that I have yet to watch. I also picked up the Powerpuff Girls movie and the first season of Adventure Time last week as well. Right now I'm currently watching Invader Zim, for the first time might I add. Gir is fucking adorable and I've been laughing my ass of like a retard left and right. I'm only about 4 episodes in so far, and before Zim I watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (haters gonna hate, I had to see what the hype was about and got sucked in). When I get paid next week I'm probs gonna order seasons 1 & 2 of Check it Out with Steve Brule and maybe a couple seasons of Samurai Jack. With Halo 4 coming out next week I probably won't be watching much though, save for me mopping the floor with bitch ass ..... scrubs lol.


----------



## StevenC

I watched For a Few Dollars More last night. It was incredibly good. I think I'm watching The Good, the Bad and the Ugly next week. I'm fairly excited.


----------



## ROAR

Rented The Comedy last weekend,
good stuff.


----------



## Somnium

ROAR said:


> Rented The Comedy last weekend,
> good stuff.



Doesn't that have Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim in it? If so, it's pretty much a must buy.


----------



## tripguitar

i've been into reallly strange movies lately... two of which are Beyond the Black Rainbow and Holy Mountain.

Beyond the Black Rainbow is just awesome from an aesthetics standpoint... but there really isnt much plot. worth watching imo, especially if youre starving for something "different"

Holy Mountain is basically an acid trip in movie format so that was fun too.

El Topo is next on my list.


----------



## Somnium

Holy Mountain is a fucking trip haha. You like any of Croninberg's movies? You should totes watch Naked Lunch, Videodrome, and Existenz. Also, David Lynch makes some weird ones too. Seriously though, if you haven't yet, watch Naked Lunch.


----------



## kung_fu

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Frankenstein (1931)
Pressure Point (1962)
The Raven (1963)
The Haunting (1963)
The Little Giant (1933)


----------



## wankerness

StevenC said:


> I watched For a Few Dollars More last night. It was incredibly good. I think I'm watching The Good, the Bad and the Ugly next week. I'm fairly excited.



Yeah, those are both really great. The jump in quality between each man with no name movie is pretty stunning. "Once Upon a Time in the West" I think is an equal to TGTBATU also but it's even slower and more drawn out.


----------



## ROAR

Somnium said:


> Doesn't that have Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim in it? If so, it's pretty much a must buy.



It does, but it's not for everyone
Nothing like Billion Dollar Movie or anything.
It's a drama film that really has no plot or resolve and instead
focuses on a guy who's almost meandering through life.
Bored by everything, his only humor coming from creating
intensely awkward situations (which are hilarious imo).
But there's a good point to the movie which has just been blown off
by people who thought it was pointless and offensive, another
"indie movie bullshit" type deal. 

Which I don't understand. 
If it's hollywood "it sucks", if its indie "it sucks". 
Is happiness impossible to find?
Maybe this movie will help you seek an answer!


----------



## wankerness

Safety Not Guaranteed - if it weren't for the forced romance sheit this would have been pretty much a perfect movie for what it is. It's a weird little comedy-drama-romance-scifi with the most wes-anderson style quirk I've ever seen in a movie that didn't tip over into fuckin annoying (ex Garden State). Good stuff but I doubt you'll like it unless you're a bitterly nostalgic depressive like most of the characters in the movie (and myself!).


----------



## Jakke

CSA: Confederate States of America.

It's a discussion of what could have happened if the south had won the civil war, complete with commercial interruptions for products that reflects the different timeline.

Also a british Shakespearian actor with blackface... And a jewish reservation on Long Island..
The cold war was with Canada, and Rock 'n' Roll is also Canadian.


----------



## 8Fingers

In Bruges - In Bruges (2008) - IMDb

It's bizarre, weird, boring, funny, dark, dumb.............I love it!


----------



## DTSH

Just watched a period-piece sci fi... something or other called Beyond the Black Rainbow last night. It's on netflix streaming. It was cool looking but kind of boring.


----------



## Compton

I just watched Creepshow in honor of halloween. hadn't seen it since I was a kid. Leslie Neilson not being funny is very weird.


----------



## Korbain

watched casino royale and lord of war last weekend! Never fails to amaze me  great movies!


----------



## hairychris

The Raid

The Raid: Redemption (2011) - IMDb

Entertainingly brutal.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

The green mile for the millionth tine


----------



## 8Fingers

Beowulf and Grendel.

Really better than that version with Angelina Jolie.
A LOT LESS supernatural bs, it should be shorter cause most of the time there's nothing happening there so it gets boring sometimes or..............maybe it needs those boring parts to add atmosphere to its mood, who knows.
One thing kept my eyes wide open...........scenery is BEAUTIFUL!


----------



## MFB

You need to watch the movie called JUST "Beowulf" with Christopher Lambert; it's such a fucking masterpiece.


----------



## 8Fingers

MFB said:


> You need to watch the movie called JUST "Beowulf" with Christopher Lambert; it's such a fucking masterpiece.



I watched it lonnnnnnnnnnnng time ago.
What caught my attention the most was that crap electronic music along with medieval scenery 
It's cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt9_U-iFOaw


----------



## texshred777

Watching Braveheart..again.

I've seen ths movie so many times but I'll always have a soft spot for it. I don't care how historically accurate it isn't.


----------



## MFB

8Fingers said:


> I watched it lonnnnnnnnnnnng time ago.
> What caught my attention the most was that crap electronic music along with medieval scenery
> It's cool.






I didn't realize it was on Youtube!


----------



## synrgy

In theater: the Man With the Iron Fists, Moonrise Kingdom 

At home: Prometheus Bluray, obsessing over all 7 some odd hours of extra content, and CM Punk: Best in the World.


----------



## kung_fu

The Chase (1946)
Robocop 2


----------



## Choop

Recently watched The Amazing Spiderman and Prometheus, and I know it's not a movie but I've been catching up on Breaking Bad via netflix.


----------



## flexkill

Just watched "Goon" Great fucking movie!


----------



## Murdstone

synrgy said:


> In theater: the Man With the Iron Fists, Moonrise Kingdom
> 
> At home: Prometheus Bluray, obsessing over all 7 some odd hours of extra content, and CM Punk: Best in the World.



Moonrise Kingdom is STILL in theater near you?

Damn.


----------



## x360rampagex

Saw "Up In Smoke" for the first time a few days ago. Hilarious. I also watched Half Baked, and a few New French Extremity films: Martyrs and Frontiers.


----------



## ilyti

Watching Johnny Mnemonic. It's bordering on so-bad-it's-good.

Edit: Correction, it is AMAZING.


----------



## ilyti

Just watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. 

On the HISTORY CHANNEL.

Yeah.


----------



## TristanTTN

I was watching Tekkonkinkreet then I fell asleep halfway through...

Have to finish watching it tomorrow!


----------



## Bekanor

I went to JB HiFi (They're an electronics/games/movies store) on Saturday and saw they had a fresh batch of 2 for $20 blu rays. I bought the following:

Interview With The Vampire.
Assault on Precinct 13.
From Hell.
28 Days Later.
28 Weeks Later.
The Frighteners.
The Crow.
Day of the Dead.

For the princely sum of $65 (no, you haven't added that up wrong, it should have been $80 but I got a mystery discount for some reason on already discounted items, happy times), so far I've only watched the first 3 but I'll probably go back for another round and stock up on movies for my 2 weeks holiday over Xmas.


----------



## 7slinger

flexkill said:


> Just watched "Goon" Great fucking movie!






I've watched it like 4 times now - being from hockey land makes it even funnier


----------



## texshred777

In addition to finishing all the "Breaking Bad" Netflix currently has to offer I watched "The Flowers of War", "Mao's Last Dance" and "Ira and Abby" on Netflix in the last few days.


----------



## Jake

Finally renewed Netflix for The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, but ended up watching 2 crazy documentaries and one fucked up horror movie too: The wild and wonderful whites of west virginia was good but crazy, and Snow on tha bluff was mind blowing. Then I watched the human centipede 2 with my friends...it was interesting to say the least


----------



## MythicSquirrel

Grave Encounters 1 & 2. I'd definitely recommend the first one, really good movie if you just go in to wanting to have some horror fun. I'd only watch the second one if you were REALLY invested in the first. Nice continuation of the story but the execution is a bit lacking, a lot of times it feels like you're watching the first one with different characters, and then the ending... 

Sinister. It was okay, just really okay. I'd recommend it if you liked Insidious, just know that it's not nearly as good as Insidious.

The Campaign. Funny movie, that's about it though...


----------



## ROAR

Mullholland Drive.
Inland Empire.


----------



## Xaios

Went and saw Life of Pi last night. As someone who never read the book, I quite enjoyed it. Definitely the most interesting use of 3D I've come across. Other movies have always used 3D to either simply make certain things pop out (ei flying objects), or simply augment the real, even movies like Avatar. This movie, however, uses the 3D to create a real work of visual art, it's really quite beautiful. And because of the film's bright color palette, it never looks dull or dreary.

Recommended.


----------



## fps

Just got back from Gambit. Really enjoyed it, not sure why everyone on rottentomatoes slated it?


----------



## Somnium

Just picked up The Fountain on blu ray but I don't want to watch it cuz I know I'll get all mad depressed and shit.


----------



## ROAR

I like your taste almost as much as your avatar.

Send in your bones!


----------



## Furtive Glance

I found a torrent of an obscure Disney movie I loved as a kid and found out I still love it. Iron Will (1994). So awesome. I love huskies and dog sledding so it's super perfect for me.


----------



## avenger

For some reason I watched "End of Watch". 

Actually one of the most pathetic "movies" I have ever seen. Holy shit it was terrible.

Saw new bond, was enjoyable. Loved the intro scene (song part).

Saw Cloud Atlas a few weeks back, was definitely a "better" cinema movie (compared to the typical shit they pull out).

Enjoyed Prometheus then re watched Alien 1-4. Remembered how bad 3&4 were. Couldn't finish "Resurrection".


----------



## Dan_Vacant

I've been watching old gamera movies. I love me some kaiju.


----------



## Jakke

Four Rooms, an insane movie about the strange experiences of a bell boy at new year's.


----------



## Rojne

In theater: _Skyfall_ and _Twilight: Breaking Dawn pt. 2_

At home: Watching _The Dark Knight Rises_ right now with le wife!


----------



## Xaios

ilyti said:


> Watching Johnny Mnemonic. It's bordering on so-bad-it's-good.
> 
> Edit: Correction, it is AMAZING.



Haha, yeah, that's an awesome so-bad-it's-good movie.

And oh, the terrible, terrible things I would have done to Dina Meyer in the 90s.


----------



## jaredowty

Rojne said:


> At home: Watching _The Dark Knight Rises_ right now with le wife!


..How?


----------



## Somnium

For some reason, I have had an urge to watch the Brave Little Toaster and Bambi lately. I just got a copy of The Salton Sea though so I'll probably just watch that instead lol.


----------



## ROAR

Breaking Dawn Pt 2 last night. 
Had to after RedLetterMedia's review.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

I've been binging the past few days:

Reservoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction
Death Proof
Planet Terror
From Dusk till Dawn (all 3 films)
El Mariachi
Desperado
Once Upon a Time In Mexico
Sin City
Zombieland
The Big Lebowski
28 Days Later
28 Weeks Later
Zombie
Zombie 2
Casino
Goodfellas
Scarface
Donnie Brasco
The Godfather (all 3 films)
Insomnia (the Al Pacino flick, figures)
The Devil's Advocate
Heat
City Hall

Really, it's just been alot of Quentin Tarantino flicks, the Robert Roriguez flicks, then films directed by both Tarantino and Rodriquez, then alot of Al Pacino movies (ones that the band Upon a Burning Body wrote songs about), and just a few a the "good" zombie flicks.


----------



## ROAR

^You gotta check out Jackie Brown guy!
Another classic Tarantino flick.
28 Days Later.... Man, all I can think about is Cillian Murphy's
mind-blowing talent.


----------



## fps

Tucker and Dale Vs Evil. Fantastic.


----------



## ROAR

^Fuck yea.


Men in Black 3.
No complaints, everything you could want in 
a goofy MiB movie. Will Smif and Josh Brolin deliver.
I feel so weird being positive about this movie haha


----------



## vstealth

Im not really a movie guy but recently i saw the new james bond film with some friends from uni which was pretty good. 

One of my friends gave me a tonne of fucked up movies one of which was called Martyrs and was in french, crazy is an understatement but still a good film too.


----------



## Danukenator

Seen a bunch but the notable one was:

Thankskilling 3

I really recommend it. I never saw the original (hopefully tonight) so I went in with no idea as to what was happening. It was like a bizarre trip.

If you like Adult Swim weirdness, pop culture and general absurdness this is a very fun movie.


----------



## Alberto7

Since my move to Montreal, I've gotten to experience the "cinéma québécois" quite a bit, and what a treat! Such wonderful movies from here! Here are the ones I've watched so far:

- Monsieur Lazhar: Very emotional movie with a very realistic feel.

- Les Invasions Barbares: Hilarious and quite touching.

- Les 3 P'tits Cochons: This movie had me laughing like a maniac  it was great. Quite a few very emotional moments as well. Really well done "dramedy."

- Les 7 Jours du Talion (Seven Days, in English): I don't know where to begin. Everything about this movie is absolutely perfect. But I won't be watching it again in a very long time, that's for sure. It was really hard to watch for me. It's so extremely brutal and gruesome, on all possible levels. It's very emotionally-draining, and has that "hard-to-watch" factor a-la Saw, but the realism of it is what makes it truly hard to watch, from the very beginning. The acting is absolutely flawless (Claude Legault is turning out to be one of my favorite actors, from only two movies I've watched that had him in them). A total emotional roller-coaster.

I've been trying to watch "Le Violon Rouge" ("The Red Violin") for quite a while, but every time I rent it, it doesn't have English subtitles (my French absolutely sucks ). "Rebelle" ("War Witch") is also on my to-watch list, but I'll have to wait a while for the DVD release. I've been pleasantly surprised with French-Canadian films so far, and I'm looking forward to watching more of it.


----------



## Jakke

Catching up on Supernatural episodes


----------



## Mexi

finally got around to seeing the dark knight rises and prometheus. good movies


----------



## Darkened

I have seen a lot of films recently and my favourites are: Donnie Darko, Gran Torino and The Mechanic. Everyone should watch them!


----------



## nickgray

Looper. Neat idea, but poor execution, it's full of ridiculous ideas and plot holes. The beginning seemed very promising, but it soon became clear that the writer couldn't care less about any logic or reasoning with regards to time travel. Not to mention that the plot itself is actually pretty weak once you realize what's going on, it's far, far simpler than I actually thought it would be and there's barely any explanation to any of the stuff that was going on. What a disappointment.


----------



## Darkened

Today was time for Joe Black. It is quite long (about 3h) but it has got really good music, fairytale tone and can make you think some things over.


----------



## texshred777

Been watching shows on Netflix a lot recently. Picked up Halo 4 and still barely touch it. 

Finished everything Netflix had for Breaking Bad, Wilfred, Archer and Walking Dead, now on to Sons of Anarchy.


----------



## MythicSquirrel

Just finished The Snowtown Murders. Highly recommended, it's pretty heavy though, definitely a movie that'll stick with you.


----------



## SenorDingDong

The only movie worth watching this time of year:


----------



## habicore_5150

Finished watching...






Gotta say, its a pretty awesome film. Didn't know that David Hayter did movies too


----------



## Fat-Elf

Just finished Tokyo Godfathers. Interestingly, I started watching it last Christmas but didn't bother to finish it then and decided to save it for this year. 

Best. Christmas. Movie. Ever IMO


----------



## Choop

I've been watching stuff on netflix lately, and watched Alter Egos and Stake Land, both out of pure curiosity. Stake Land is like a zombie apocalypse movie, but switch zombies with rabid vampires. It wasn't too bad, there's some goofy stuff but it does a decent job of capturing that end of civilization feel. Alter Egos probably isn't a good movie, but I liked it anyway haha. It had some interesting ideas (like what good is a league of superheroes with no supervillains left) and the jokes can be subtle at times. Not the best movie ever, but it was kind of fun to watch.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

The most recent films I`ve watched are ...


Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior)

House Of Flying Daggers

The Bride Of Frankenstein 

Excalibur

Picnic At Hanging Rock

The Black Cat (with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff)

Once Upon A Time In America 

The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari


----------



## morrowcosom

The Wild, Wonderful Whites of West Virginia


----------



## Murmel

Watched Django last night. It's hilarious but serious at the same time, definitely one of the best I've watched in a while.

And I think I'm in love with Cristoph Waltz


----------



## Ryan-ZenGtr-

Everyone's been saying that lately!
Waltz is one of the few who can get away with larger than life screen performances, when cinema generally revels in "subtlety and nuance".


----------



## Murmel

I don't think Django topped the opening from Inglorious Basterds though, when he's having a glass of milk with that French farmer hiding jews. Absolutely brilliant scene.
But other than that, I liked Django better.


----------



## Jakke

Loony Toons: Back In Action. Surprisingly good, it was kind of funny with the usual meta humor, and the toons are pretty much in character, which is nice.


----------



## Hallic

pretty good zombie film


----------



## Alberto7

^ I definitely gotta watch me some of that! Looks like the Latino version of Shaun of The Dead, more or less


----------



## KahoShong

Recently I watched The breaking dawn part 2. Its romance fantasy movie. I watched this movie with my brother. Its superb movie. Love it very much.


----------



## Lukifer

KahoShong said:


> Recently I watched The breaking dawn part 2. Its romance fantasy movie. I watched this movie with my brother. Its superb movie. Love it very much.



Cant tell if trolling or girl......?????


----------



## wankerness

That movie's actually pretty hilarious/entertaining, according to Doug Benson!


----------



## Tang

I've watched my first Stanley Kubrick movies in the past couple of days.

2001: A Space Odyssey 
The Shining
Dr. Strangelove

2001 was a total revelation. I had no idea how good it was.


----------



## Fat-Elf

The Hangover, love it.. but just as a movie.


----------



## texshred777

Watched Unicorn City the other day. As a tabletop roleplayer I appreciated the movie. 

Never done larping before, but I'd consider it..even if it pushes my geek threshold to the limit.


----------



## kung_fu

Thank-you for Smoking
Mr Smith goes to Washington


----------



## Marv Attaxx

the Raid. Holy fuck 
Most epic, brutal, in-your-face movie ever haha


----------



## MFB

Hotel Transylvania

Meant to see it in theaters and didn't get to but I got it on the cheap from work and really enjoyed it


----------



## TripperJ

I just saw moonrise kingdom, they put bill murray and bruce willis in a fucking hipster movie. I don't have anything against romantic comedies but damn way to advertise a movie to make it seem decent.


----------



## Gothic Headhunter

So I just watched Psycho for the first time...

Goddamn is it a great movie!


Spoiler



I knew Norman bates was the killer going in, but it was suspenseful until the end, and the whole movie fits together so perfectly.


----------



## kung_fu

Bronson (Tom Hardy )



Spoiler



"FASTER FASTER!!" lol


----------



## skeels

Been re-watching the Hobbit a couple times. Also went back to watch the 77 and 80 Hobbit and Return of the King. Man those had some awful songs! 

Gonna read the book again.


----------



## StacyParker

Die hard 5 was the last for me in the theatres. The movie was not that bad, but I refer the old ones.


----------



## Tang

Lawrence of Arabia 50th Anniversary Blu-ray.

Hot damn, what a gorgeous piece of work.


----------



## benduncan

Tang said:


> I've watched my first Stanley Kubrick movies in the past couple of days.
> 
> 2001: A Space Odyssey
> The Shining
> Dr. Strangelove
> 
> 2001 was a total revelation. I had no idea how good it was.



i love dr strangelove 




i just started watching some of hitchcock's films, i saw "vertigo" a couple days ago,


----------



## blanco

StacyParker said:


> Die hard 5 was the last for me in the theatres. The movie was not that bad, but I refer the old ones.



I've just finished watching Die Hard 1-4 while i'm waiting for the 5th one. Seem to have the hobit and django on repeat as well.


----------



## DC23

I just saw The Impossible the other day. I thought it was really good, kinda gruesome though!


----------



## Choop

Recently rewatched Pulp Fiction and 300 over the past couple days, both still really cool movies!


----------



## Furtive Glance

Into the Abyss - Warner Herzog documentary. Nowhere near as good as I'd hoped :\


----------



## Tang

benduncan said:


> i love dr strangelove



I do believe it's my favorite Kubrick film so far. 2001 was fucking awesome, but I can watch Strangelove everyday, which I've been doing! I love how oddball the script is. When General Ripper is giving his pretty serious speech then starts going on about our bodily fluids and fluoridation!

"I do not avoid women, Mandrake, but I do deny them my essence."

I was on the goddamn floor and couldn't breathe for laughing. This stuff is genius.


----------



## Ralyks

Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind
Visioneers
The Warriors
Inglorious Basterds
Haiku Tunnel

Those seem to be the last few I remember watching


----------



## kung_fu

"The Sandlot". Ah the nostalgia...


----------



## Ralyks

Watched Good Will Hunting for the first time last night. Don't know why it took me so long to finally watch it. Great movie.


----------



## Jakke

Ralyks said:


> Watched Good Will Hunting for the first time last night. *Don't know why it took me so long to finally watch it*. Great movie.



It's not your fault...


----------



## Murmel

The Road.

Sucked badly. Book was way better.


----------



## Curt

National Security.

Martin Lawerence, FTW.


----------



## GatherTheArsenal

Dracula Dead and Loving It.







Not Leslie Nielsen's magnum opus, but honestly they could sit Leslie in front of a camera and just have him talk about how his day's going so far - and i'd be so sooo entertained


----------



## ilyti

^ One of the all time best Dracula movies.

I saw the Road a few months ago and I still think about those people in the basement.. Christ. 

I just watched Carnage for the second time. I cannot recommend this film enough. Carnage - Rotten Tomatoes


----------



## summerdesigner

Recently i have watched only one movie with my friends that is Life Of Pi. Utterly good movie according to my point of view.


----------



## thesnowdog

Never Let Me Go (2010) - IMDb -- a fine, possibly great, film.


----------



## tacotiklah

I watched The Loved Ones ( The Loved Ones (2009) - IMDb ) last night and that is a seriously disturbing movie. It looks like a chick horror flick, but it is well worth watching if you're into gory scenes, cannibalism, and psychological thrillers.


----------



## Alberto7

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. How the fuck did I not learn about its existence during the past 22 years? Such a great, great film!


----------



## TheDuatAwaits

I watched "The boy in striped pajamas" with my girlfriend about 2 weeks ago. Shit's sad.


----------



## Lukifer

Rise of the Guardians in 3D with my nephews. Graphically stunning but actually pretty funny!!!


----------



## Ralyks

Returning to my phase of watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas every night to pass out (Not because it's a bad movie, it's actually my favorite movie. It just helps me get to sleep for some reason. Same with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).


----------



## TheDuatAwaits

Just watched 'Big Daddy' with Adam Sandler.

All I have to say is


----------



## Tyler

Felt like going back to the old days and watched Osmosis Jones and then Executive Decision


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Movies I saw during flights:

- The Dark Knight Rises. Took a while, but I finally saw it. 

- Wreck It Ralph. Being a game buff, quite enjoyed this. And I didn't even realise Ed ONeil voiced the arcade owner.

- Rise of the Guardians. Didn't expect much, but thought it was fun overall. 

- Life of Pi. Really enjoyed this film very much. 

- Argo. Didn't really pay too much attention to it to be honest. I'll watch it again when I'm in the mood. 

- Idenity Theif. Saw this back at US and had a good laugh. 

- Skyfall. See the Dark Knight Rises. 

- Rurouni Kenshin. Already wrote on the thread about this, but it's here for the sake of completion.


----------



## Michael T

Just watched Rise of the Guardians with the lil one, pretty badass movie.


----------



## pushpull7

Chernobyl Diaries. Have no idea what the "diaries" part is about. Terrible ending, not a bad movie though.

Blubbarella. It's so bad it's..........still really bad


----------



## Mexi

just saw Life of Pi, really really enjoyed the film. beautiful visuals and very emotional scenes.


----------



## texshred777

Recently watched 

"Unicorn City"-Really enjoyed it. The production, acting, plot are substandard, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Don't see too many movies featuring my favorite pastime-tabletop rpg's. 

"The Help"-Don't know why it took me so long to watch it. Pretty damn good movie.

"I am Number Four"-meh. Had it's entertaining moments but way too WB/CW for me. Surprised I didn't hear Paula Cole singing..

"Solomon Kane" Decent action/adventure movie.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Watched the first Saw yesterday with my friend for the 9000th time. Still one of the best "horror"/thriller movies or just one of the best movies I have ever seen. I really dig the sequels too but the first one just has something special.


----------



## Lukifer

Watched Life of Pi with the wife last night. Absolutely amazing movie visually and story wise. I recommend it to anyone anyday.


----------



## AngryCat

Watched American pie  reunion and that was really boring. Gathered some new movie list from this thread. Should watch them as soon as I got free time.


----------



## Jemp

Watched Matchstick Men and Django Unchained, can recommend both of them. Just a bit long in my opinion ^.^


----------



## metalmaiden

Most recent movie I've watched was the Hobbit.

Was pretty awesome. See it. (There were some changes from the book)


----------



## berzerkergang

I downloaded two massive Spielberg movie packs so Ive been watching a lot of those. The classics are obviously great but I forgot about movies like Fandango, batteries not included, used cars, 3 o clock high and others that really kick ass. I recommend Fandango to anyone that likes a good road trip movie.


----------



## wankerness

Hmm, so by "Spielberg Pack" the torrent creator meant "anything that had Steven Spielberg's name even remotely associated with it"? Fandango he's apparently an "uncredited executive producer," haha. I've never heard of that movie before, same with 3 o'clock high and used cars. Will have to look into those.


----------



## texshred777

Took my son to see "The Croods" the other night. It was ok. Enjoyed it. I am looking forward to taking him to see "Epic" next month. That and Iron Man 3. The Mandarin is the villian..fucking sweet.


----------



## Francis978

I have been on a HUGE Quentin Tarantino binge, watched Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, and Inglorious Bastards in one day. Today I am watching kill bill in its entirety


----------



## synrgy

Saw it already in the theater, but last night we watched Life of Pi on bluray.

Just as good as I remembered it. I had never read the book, so I had zero expectations going in, but it's a BEAUTIFUL film backed by a wonderful story. 

In a couple hours when I get off work, we're gonna go see Jurassic Park 3D. I've barely seen the movie at all since the original theater run, so it should be a nice heavy dose of nostalgia.


----------



## Hallic

it was good


----------



## Lukifer

Watched the original Blue Lagoon last night. Cheesy but not too bad. Nice Brooke Shields nakedness!!!


----------



## Carrion Rocket

wankerness said:


> I've never heard of that movie before, same with 3 o'clock high and used cars. Will have to look into those.


Used Cars is a really funny comedy from the 70s, if you still haven't seen it, see it. I also recommend The King of Comedy with Robert De Niro. Used Cars is more of a satire while King is a black comedy, almost pitch black in some parts.


----------



## annemaniskha

I have been watching the Saw series and Hostel movie series, its really awesome but Saw series is the best I have ever seen.


----------



## tm20

Saw "Warm Bodies" last night. i really liked it, great story and some funny moments, and it was also a great reminder that i am


----------



## aikupu

watched "Blood Diamond" yesterday, if you like adventure/drama movies, this is just for you


----------



## tm20

saw Oblivion last night, really really good movie  great ending as well


----------



## necronile

End of watch

Pretty damn good movie


----------



## fps

annemaniskha said:


> I have been watching the Saw series and Hostel movie series, its really awesome but Saw series is the best I have ever seen.



The Saw series is the most nonsense-filled badly-acted stupid teen gross-out nonsense ever to hit a cinema. I've seen most of them. Grim, but laughable in every way on every level in every aspect of what it presents.


----------



## synrgy

Last night we saw The Place Beyond the Pines.

Recommended. Solid flick. Real characters, some great cinematography, a stellar soundtrack provided by none other than Mike Patton (!!!), and a compelling story that weaves through a winding path illustrating parallels and intersections between different character's arcs over a long period of time.

We've had a pretty good run, as of late. In the last few months we've seen for the first time Perks of Being a Wallflower, Silver Linings Playbook, and now The Place Beyond the Pines, and between the three, my faith in Hollywood's ability to produce decent stories with realistic character portrayals is slowly being restored.


----------



## Jake

Tarantino'd out at the moment. Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained in one day, IB is still one of my favorite movies ever and Django was damn good too!


----------



## tacotiklah

I'm on a Bruce Lee kick tonight it seems. LOVE the man's fight sequences. Sadly the acting in some of these movies is horrible.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Just watched the Hobbit for the second time. So good, can't wait for the next episode.


----------



## Ralyks

While packing my belongings to move back home yesterday, I went through every Pierce Brosnan-era 007 movie. And Goldfinger.


----------



## flexkill

I just watched the HBO film "Mary and Martha" and it is a very good movie. They "Hollywooded" it up in some places ....but still a very good and moving film. I highly recommend.


----------



## texshred777

Not a movie, but recently started watching "Fringe" on Netflix.


----------



## berzerkergang

Two movies last night

The last stand - This was awesome, I really enjoyed it for what it was. Arnie was Arnie, Johnny Knoxville was funny, there was a pretty good cast in the movie as a whole. Enjoyed it. 

Jack Reacher - EASILY Tom Cruise best work since Collateral. The fight scenes were great, the action was really good and the movie was very entertaining. I was skeptical going in because I am not really a Cruise fan but this is worth watching forsure.


----------



## tacotiklah

Finally saw Django: Unchained. I may be in a minority here, but I absolutely love Quentin Tarantino movies. They always deliver.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

saw "oblivion" this past weekend...

pretty killer movie. if your a sci fi fan, go see it.


----------



## jonajon91

Watched the watchmen last night. I enjoyed it.
What do I watch tonight?


----------



## Mexi

recently saw django unchained. good movie, though I felt it sorta dragged on about 3/4 the way through.

I also saw jack reacher, actually a little more refreshing than what I'd come to expect from a tom cruise movie.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Just saw the Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time. Great movie, would watch again.


----------



## Jakke

"Knocked up", the "Nine Months" that doesn't suck.


----------



## straightshreddd

Watched an indie film called "Tiny Furniture" last night. It was quite an intriguing film. Awkward, funny, and sort of sad. Loved it. I recommend it to anyone into independent films like Miranda July's flicks.


----------



## Ralyks

Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

I've learned more about understanding the philosophy of your trade and work from an 85 year old sushi chef than just about anyone I've met.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Saw the Temple of the Doom for the first time last night. Not as good as the first one, but still very entertaining.


----------



## Jakke

Fat-Elf said:


> Saw the Temple of the Doom for the first time last night. Not as good as the first one, but still very entertaining.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Jakke said:


>



Bleeding hearts?


----------



## Jakke

Fat-Elf said:


> Bleeding hearts?



Urban Dictionary: Bleeding Heart


----------



## fps

Saw Minority Report for the first time last night. Not your average sci-fi, low expectations particularly because it's from the 00s, but apart from the ending, which was your typical Hollywood pap and basically ruined the entire film, it was really good!


----------



## TIMEwaveXERO

Young Guns! Love my westerns


----------



## 7Heavyness

Last weekend I watched Surrogates and Source Code, loved both.
I'm dieing to watch Oblivion and Gravity.
I watched Billy Elliot too.
I love this scene, that boy wants to be a ballet dancer but his family is poor and like in every place, when a boy says he wants to dance ballet other guys thinks he's gay.
I LOVE that scene =

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlby_p1jis8

Billy Elliot (2000) - IMDb

BTW what's the embedding code for youtube videos?
Thanks


----------



## Joseph Kimbrell

Yeah I really want to see Oblivion also. 

Recently I watched Broken City. It was good!
And I also recently saw Jack Reacher. THAT was good.

Next up for me is Django, I still haven't seen it!


----------



## Fat-Elf

The Last Crusade, my personal favorite of the trilogy

The Great Gatsby, my sister needed someone to go with so I was like ".... it, I'll go". I didn't have the slightest clue what it was about but I ended up liking it, especially the actresses which were hot as ....!


----------



## Fat-Elf

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Not so bad in my opinion as everybody says.


----------



## kung_fu

I just watched "Platoon" in glorious VHS


----------



## Fat-Elf

Watched the Little Miss Sunshine last night for 4th/5th time. Probably the most heartwarming movie ever.


----------



## ZachK

Watched Tucker and Dale vs. Evil last week, and Django Unchained for the fourth time. Both were ....ing awesome.

At some point this SUmmer I'm dedicating an entire day to watch every Tarantino film I own, everything from True Romance and My Best Friends Birthday to Django.


----------



## synrgy

Star Trek: Into Darkness



*THAT'S* why I love going to the movies. We laughed, we cried, and we were kept on the edges of our seats throughout. This cast as these characters has amazing chemistry, and I really hope the series continues.


----------



## 7Heavyness

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters : First I thought "hmm cool, kung fu witches with cool effects"....................nah...............it's freakin' boring 

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer : weird, dark, funny, sad, strange, boring...............everything in the same time................masterpiece


----------



## texshred777

Recently watched

Star Trek:Into Darkness. Was pretty damn good. Laughed, cried, felt a bit tense at some moments. All in all good movie.

Epic- Took my son to see this Monday. Great family friendly animated fantasy movie. 

Jack Reacher really good movie, all the way around. I'm not a Tom Cruise fan but he was pretty good in this. No Les Grossman of course..


----------



## GizmoJunior

Watched Apocalypse Now last night.  It was ....ing awesome and may be my favorite war movie though I still love Full Metal Jacket and Saving Private Ryan.


----------



## Lukifer

Just watched Prometheus. I heard bad reviews. I didnt mind it, but it was rather boring. Not bad, just boring. I was like ok this is obviously a 2 part movie and the swcond will explain it all.


----------



## Lukifer

So since I have never seen it and Prometheus sparked my interest, I just watched the original Alien movie. Taking into account when it came out it wasnt bad. Cheesy but hey it was 1979!!! Cool flick though


----------



## kung_fu

"In The Loop" -> I went in expecting it to be a Steve Coogan movie (misleading poster), but It still managed to be hilarious despite him only being in it for 3 minutes


----------



## 7Heavyness

The Gravedancers - Judging by its name when it started I thought "oh man just another blood bath crap movie", well it's even worse, they think they made a serious classic horror movie like Poltergeist or something so it's so crap that it's funny, I had fun watching it and thinking about the crew thinking "hey this is getting serious, people will remember us" etc  
Watch it...


----------



## st2012

I'm currently watching Ghostrider with Nicholas Cage. It is hilariously bad.


----------



## isispelican

Django Unchained was a pretty amazing movie, Tarantino is the best!


----------



## Jlang

Just watched Gangster squad , i was super stoked on it but it felt like they were honestly trying WAY to hard. Kind of like mann's Miami Vice. 5.5/10

Watching Real steel right now , seems aight.


----------



## Jake

isispelican said:


> Django Unchained was a pretty amazing movie, Tarantino is the best!


This.

Django is still my favorite movie for this year


----------



## Judge_Dredd

Saw Stand Up Guys yesterday.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Yesterday I watched `The Front Line` which is a Korean film, about one of the bloodiest battles in the Korean war (1950-1953). 


Trailer ...




IMDB ...

Go-ji-jeon (2011) - IMDb

Excellent film !!!. 

I was wondering if there was anyone else on this forum that enjoys world cinema, and eastern cinema ?


----------



## mlp187

This is the End is pretty damn funny. 

Also, watching Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Pretty funny so far!


----------



## 7Heavyness

Beowulf Von Thrashmeister said:


> Yesterday I watched `The Front Line` which is a Korean film, about one of the bloodiest battles in the Korean war (1950-1953).
> 
> 
> Trailer ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> IMDB ...
> 
> Go-ji-jeon (2011) - IMDb
> 
> Excellent film !!!.
> 
> I was wondering if there was anyone else on this forum that enjoys world cinema, and eastern cinema ?




I don't care where films were made, if it's good, it's good.
If somebody only watch films from one country........well............he doesn't know what he's missing.


----------



## ghost_of_karelia

The Three Musketeers (the new one, with Logan Lerman etc.)

Started off pretty good, then began to get ridiculous, and eventually just span out of control (two HMS Victory & Hindenburg fusions crashing into Notre Dame) towards the end. I suppose once I got over the fact that there was utterly no historical accuracy in it, it actually got pretty watchable as a purely action film that happened to use swords and crossbows in place of bayonets and gatling guns. 

6/10 would watch again.


----------



## Mexi

I saw Warm Bodies last night, I liked it. It was an interesting take on the whole zombie genre, with a far more uplifting look on humanity by the end, a nice change of pace from all the doom and gloom we tend to see. pacing of the movie could have been better but I enjoyed it


----------



## texshred777

"Seeking a Friend For the End of the World"

I saw it a couple months ago, and enjoyed it. It's sappy at the end but I still liked it. It wasn't as typical as many romantic comedies.


----------



## 7Heavyness

Devil - 

If you let your mind fly and put yourself in that situation as if it was real, damn it's pretty scare.I enjoyed, it's a short movie and thank God not crowded by crap effects and cheesiness.

What about World War Z, anybody watched it?


----------



## Dommak89

I've recently watched "The place beyond the pines" which is an awesome movie imo.

Also I've watched "Snitch" and I was impressed that the Rock could play a role without being the rock, meaning not showing off his muscles. I liked it.


----------



## Pat_tct

watched "the place beyond the pines" 2 days ago.
I really like those slow-paced movies.... just like "drive" this movie was superb.
great acting, great script. there is no need for 1563 explosions and super hectic camera work...

and yes... Ryan Gosling Fanboy over here....

TPBTP gets 4,5 out of 5 points


really looking forward to: "only god forgives us"


----------



## Dommak89

Pat_tct said:


> I really like those slow-paced movies.... just like "drive" this movie was superb.
> great acting, great script. there is no need for 1563 explosions and super hectic camera work...
> 
> and yes... Ryan Gosling Fanboy over here....


I'll second that!



> really looking forward to: "*only god forgives*"


Hell yes! Became a fan of of Refn and Gosling because of Drive and now I'm really looking forward to it!


----------



## KevHo

Just watched this yesterday with the wife. I couldn't agree more with your statement about the change of pace for the genre. I liked it because it was a zombie flick...my wife loved it because it featured the guy from 'Skins'. I hate myself for even knowing that show exists.



Mexi said:


> I saw Warm Bodies last night, I liked it. It was an interesting take on the whole zombie genre, with a far more uplifting look on humanity by the end, a nice change of pace from all the doom and gloom we tend to see. pacing of the movie could have been better but I enjoyed it


----------



## halomojo

I know it's an older movie, but I just rewatched Vanilla Sky for the first time since it came out. Excellent movie.


----------



## Danukenator

Jlang said:


> Just watched Gangster squad , i was super stoked on it but it felt like they were honestly trying WAY to hard. Kind of like mann's Miami Vice. 5.5/10



This! Wanted to love it. Honestly, just watch the Untouchables. It was a similar idea and it had a much better execution.


----------



## Lukifer

Watched Watchmen last night for the first time. I liked it. Its the darkest super hero movie I think I have seen. Dealing with the everyday lives of a superhero was cool. Kinda pissed me off Dr Manhattan killed Rorschach. Also Dr Manhattan was a human originally and he seems too powerful now. You get zapped by some shit amd you are too powerful for the earth???


----------



## Jlang

Lukifer said:


> Watched Watchmen last night for the first time. I liked it. Its the darkest super hero movie I think I have seen. Dealing with the everyday lives of a superhero was cool. Kinda pissed me off Dr Manhattan killed Rorschach. Also Dr Manhattan was a human originally and he seems too powerful now. You get zapped by some shit amd you are too powerful for the earth???



Read the graphic novel, it will explain everything in great detail, plus its awesome. 

The movie IS a great representation though , I love snyders vision and how he KNEW he couldn't copy cat the novel so he took a different approach and it worked beautifully. Still read the novel..


----------



## MFB

Man of Steel.

Really enjoyed even though it has it's flaws, but it made me enjoy Superman as a superhero and he wasn't just a big goody-goody.


----------



## Kaickul

Just watched Children of Men. Damn good movie. Can't believe I watched it just now.


----------



## flexkill

Just watched Solomon Kane earlier today....pretty good. Mindless fun.


----------



## mcleanab

Jlang said:


> Read the graphic novel, it will explain everything in great detail, plus its awesome.
> 
> The movie IS a great representation though , I love snyders vision and how he KNEW he couldn't copy cat the novel so he took a different approach and it worked beautifully. Still read the novel..



I just re-watched this recently. Overall, I loved it. Dark, interesting twists, and a really fascinating world... never read the graphic novel, but I'm dying to... the one part I didn't like was the fight scene in the alley... a bit too harsh.


----------



## Jake

Saw World War Z yesterday, I enjoyed it and thought it was a good take on a typical zombie movie.


----------



## KevHo

How would you rate Man of Steel vs. the last incarnation of Superman?



MFB said:


> Man of Steel.
> 
> Really enjoyed even though it has it's flaws, but it made me enjoy Superman as a superhero and he wasn't just a big goody-goody.


----------



## possumkiller

Attack of the Bee Ladies

My bad. That was Invasion of the Bee Girls.


----------



## MFB

KevHo said:


> How would you rate Man of Steel vs. the last incarnation of Superman?



_SO_ much better than Superman Returns


----------



## SenorDingDong

I got dragged along to see "World War Z."

Worst movie I've seen in a long while.


----------



## flexkill

Just watched "Killing Lincoln" Freaking great movie/Documentary.


----------



## Kaickul

Just watched Bellflower earlier, now watching Blue Valentine.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Just watched "Django Unchained."


Wow. 

Excellent return to form for Tarantino.


----------



## Kaickul

First time watching Reservoir Dogs, damn good movie.


----------



## 7Heavyness

Watch this one, it's a short movie but cool if you put yourself in that situation as if it was real.
Watch it with some (oYo) around cause they'll jump on you


----------



## Mr-Jemhead93

Just watched the Truman show last night I really liked it! It's such a creepy idea to think about something like that it gets you thinking lol


----------



## Captain Axx

Just watched Shaun of the dead for the hundredth time, waiting for pacific rim to come out now, looks amazing!


----------



## Jakke

Watching Zombieland right now, and it's pretty good, despite me not being a fan of zombie movies (and mainly dumbfounded by the general zombie crazy sweeping the nets)

I've always like Woody Harrelson (Galaxia, anyone?), and I was pleasantly surprised to see him appear.


----------



## Mr-Jemhead93

I watched This is England and Trainspotting the other night and I got to say I really enjoyed them I'm trying to find other movies along those lines.


----------



## Edika

I saw today Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Not a new film but I liked it. I had some very good laughs and it was an interesting twist on the whole crazy hillbillies that torture and kill people thing.


----------



## texshred777

Watched This is 40 last night. Pretty typical Apatow movie. I found it pretty funny, would recommend.


----------



## Mexi

just watched The Place Beyond the Pines, really really good movie. I assumed it was just another Gosling movie like "Drive" (from a stylistic standpoint), but it is much more than that. interesting story, great acting and well-shot.


----------



## Lukifer

Watched Predator for the first time last night. I liked it once I got past the mental block that it came out a long time ago. On to Predator 2 today.


----------



## Idontpersonally

any virus free movies online other than crackle/hulu? arent putlocker and movie 2k like malware heaven?


----------



## Alice AKW

Recently, I sat down and watched God Bless America with a friend of mine. That movie was pretty damn refreshing for someone who doesn't really watch movies much anymore. Made me laugh a fair bit.


----------



## 7Heavyness

Season Of The Witch - If just like me you like medieval stuff like castles, knights etc watch this movie.
Scenary is amazing.
Story is good, well it's just an adventure story and thank God not crowded by stupid effects.
I hate Cage but I can stand him only in this movie which most of the time he keeps his mouth shut LOL
Again scenary is amazing.

Season of the Witch (2011) - IMDb


----------



## 7Heavyness

Sector 7 - AKA Shrimp From Hell 

Crap crap crap film 


7 gwanggu (2011) - IMDb


----------



## 7Heavyness

Just watched:

REC = BORINNNNNNNNG

REC 2 = Really better, a little scary and with some story turns.


----------



## Edika

I have been seeing several movies in the cinema lately. Living 5 years in France and having movies subbed with really gay ass voices really put me off going the big screen. Now that I can finally enjoy going to the cinema again. 
I saw: 
Hangover 3, which was outrageous once more!
Man of Steel which was good but not great. 
World War Z which I could have lived without watching. 
This is the End was really funny aside from the whole rapture Christian thing.
As an animation/cartoon fun I went and saw Despicable me 2 and enjoyed it. The minions stole the show!
I saw The World's End yesterday and really had a good laugh.


----------



## Don Vito

I was supposed to see Pacific Rim last night, but agreements and disagreements among the party led us to see Grown Ups 2. 




It was funny I'll admit, but stupidly over the top at times. The first scene in the movie is a CGI deer(and you can tell he's CGI) running around pissing on Adam Sandler's family. I held a steady cringe throughout.


----------



## Ralyks

Finally watched 'Django Unchained' the other night. Fantastic film.


----------



## 7Heavyness

Man Of Steel - Oh Gee another movie crowded by effects, if they can kill each other twisting their necks why the need of keeping punching/kicking each other and destroying the city?
Metal tentacles?Really?!
Dumbness all around.


----------



## flexkill

7Heavyness said:


> Man Of Steel - Oh Gee another movie crowded by effects, if they can kill each other twisting their necks why the need of keeping punching/kicking each other and destroying the city?
> Metal tentacles?Really?!
> Dumbness all around.


I just saw "Man of Steel" Yesterday.........and I was very disappointed. Terrible movie. All I could keep thinking was....they tried to make this look like a damn video game. It was terrible from the first scene and it never got better.


----------



## 7Heavyness

flexkill said:


> I just saw "Man of Steel" Yesterday.........and I was very disappointed. Terrible movie. All I could keep thinking was....they tried to make this look like a damn video game. It was terrible from the first scene and it never got better.



There was only one way to make it worse............Theme composed and sung by.............Bieber!


----------



## GizmoJunior

I seem to be in a Tarantino mood today. Watched Reservoir Dogs and now I'm about to start Pulp Fiction.

@Ralyks What took you so long to watch Django? It's like the best movie of 2012!


----------



## texshred777

In the last few days I've seen:

Ted. Way more entertaining than I thought it would be. Still silly, still Macfarlane, but nonetheless was entertaining. Remember, thunder can't hurt you it's just God's farts. Wahlberg was good as usual.

The Expendables 2. I'm surprised it took me so long to see this one, I really enjoyed the first. Ridiculous, irreverent action movie, but I thought it done well for what it is. Disappointed there wasn't more of Li in the movie, but Statham was awesome as usual.


----------



## Jakke

^I personally thought those Chuck Norris facts were absolutely awful. I actually cringed when I heard it.


The name Jensen is also something I cringed at, a Norwegian might have that name, but it's far more likely that a Swede's name is Jönsson or Johansson instead. Hollywood doesn't care of course since we're not Americans (and white, so in popular opinion there's really no unique culture to get an understanding of), but it's still something that bothers me.


----------



## MFB

Jakke said:


> ^I personally thought those Chuck Norris facts were absolutely awful. I actually cringed when I heard it.



I'm opposed to the Norris jokes in real life because they started as small thing and blew up, then became over-saturated and applied to every different muscle-bound actor in Hollywood. 

In Expendables 2, they took the joke and basically made it so god damn meta that I couldn't help but laugh at them because even he has realized how insane of a level it's been taken to.


----------



## Jakke

MFB said:


> I'm opposed to the Norris jokes in real life because they started as small thing and blew up, then became over-saturated and applied to every different muscle-bound actor in Hollywood.
> 
> In Expendables 2, they took the joke and basically made it so god damn meta that I couldn't help but laugh at them because even he has realized how insane of a level it's been taken to.



I personally interpreted it like the producers getting dollar signs in their eyes when they realized that:
1. Chuck Norris was going to be in this
2. THE INTERNETS EVEN MADE JOKES ABOUT HIM WE'RE GOING TO BE SOOO RICH GUIS. ALL THE KIDS LOVE THESE JOKES


I think it's great though that they brought up Dolph's education, as he actually is a chemical engineer and a fulbright scholar.


----------



## 7Heavyness

I animally watched Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus last night.
I thought it'd be so crap that I'll laugh all the time.
They managed the impossible, it's beyound crap, I mean far beyound crap so it's not funny, it's.................beyound crap.
A movie ONLY about effects but....................effects are beyound crap, even a kid in his bedroom could have got better results.
An extremelly crap looking mega shark jumping till the clouds and bitting a Boing?





Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (Video 2009) - IMDb


----------



## texshred777

Jakke said:


> I personally interpreted it like the producers getting dollar signs in their eyes when they realized that:
> 1. Chuck Norris was going to be in this
> 2. THE INTERNETS EVEN MADE JOKES ABOUT HIM WE'RE GOING TO BE SOOO RICH GUIS. ALL THE KIDS LOVE THESE JOKES
> 
> 
> I think it's great though that they brought up Dolph's education, as he actually is a chemical engineer and a fulbright scholar.


 
I did not know that about Dolph, that's awesome.


Spoiler



Speaking of that scene, I was irritated they used deus ex machina to escape the mine. I wanted his bomb idea to work.


----------



## Jakke

texshred777 said:


> I did not know that about Dolph, that's awesome.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Speaking of that scene, I was irritated they used deus ex machina to escape the mine. I wanted his bomb idea to work.



He makes me feel increadibly inadequate. 

Not only did he receive a master in chemical engineering with the best grades of his class, he also boned Grace Jones, went to MIT (for something like two weeks, and only because his movie career took off after those two-something weeks), has third Dan (that's the third black belt) in karate, and hung with Andy Warhol.




Spoiler



Yeah, this entire movie felt like it was just a long line of very fortunate coincidences


----------



## texshred777

Jakke said:


> He makes me feel increadibly inadequate.
> 
> Not only did he receive a master in chemical engineering with the best grades of his class, he also boned Grace Jones, went to MIT (for something like two weeks, and only because his movie career took off after those two-something weeks), has third Dan (that's the third black belt) in karate, and hung with Andy Warhol.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, this entire movie felt like it was just a long line of very fortunate coincidences


 
Damn. Hat's off to Dolph.


----------



## ayaotd

Saw Fast Six yesterday. Solid action film.


----------



## Jakke

Watching Serenity, really good. Even though I'm not a dedicated Firefly fan, it's such a shame there aren't more seasons (Whedon had planned for there to be seven).


----------



## zero_end

Went to see the latest "lone range" movie, what a POS!! 

The main character is the gayest/wussiest "hero" I've ever seen.

Johnny Depp at his dullest acting to this day.

And the Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter cameo just wore thin pretty fast, especially in this movie.

Those are 2 hours of my life that I will not get back


----------



## 7Heavyness

Cloverfield (2007) - I love it.

Does it have a deep story?
No.
Amazing acting?
No.
Something new?
No
So...why do I love it?
Because it's an honest movie, no exagerations like a million crap effects, it looks and feel real like if you were in that situation.I was expecting a monster with eyes firing laser, flying, doing things against physics etc but not, it's simple and honest.I can even picture a crew's brain storm where they were all saying "it has to feel real and not like Godzilla running a marathon between buildings with choppers chasing it"
Fun guaranteed 

BTW What does Cloverfield stand for?
I googled and I got only that movie, no explanation for its name, sounds to me like a name of a city but it happens on Manhattan.


----------



## 7Heavyness

The Conjuring - It has all cheesy things 99% possession movies have, it brings absolutelly nothing new or different.The only good thing is it's not sunk in green vomit and blood.


----------



## 7Heavyness

Case 39 - I never thought the day I'd say a movie with Renée Zellweger is good will come, well that's the day.Very cool thriller which keeps you thinking about wth is going on there.Effects help telling the story but aren't the story itself like we've seen in so many crap movies.I've nothing bad to say about it, if you like that type of movie, watch it cause it's good.

Case 39 (2009) - IMDb


----------



## Kaickul

Lemmy - Very good documentary on Lemmy's life, a must watch for Motorhead fans or any other rock and roll fan. 10/10.

Oblivion - Good movie, I'd give it a 8/10.


----------



## dedsouth333

+1 for Lemmy


----------



## texshred777

Been in a spy thriller mood of late. I suppose I'm always up for one, a favorite genre of mine.

Safe House-
Not fantastic, but entertaining. Denzel is of course great as usual in this. 

Body of Lies
I thought this was a really good movie. One of the better spy movies of recent years. DiCaprio and Crowe are great in this. Crowe is just so good at playing douchebags.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands

Welp, I can't believe it took me this long, but I finally watched 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

Really, _really_ slow-paced movie, but I ....ing loved the story and the special effects were amazing, considering the year it was made.


----------



## flexkill

Mexi said:


> just watched The Place Beyond the Pines, really really good movie. I assumed it was just another Gosling movie like "Drive" (from a stylistic standpoint), but it is much more than that. interesting story, great acting and well-shot.


Just saw this last night....what a good movie. If you have not seen The Place Beyond the Pines .... I highly recommend watching it. What a way to tell a story.


----------



## Mexi

yeah I thought it was a fantastic movie too. definitely one of the more memorable movies I've seen lately.


----------



## Jlang

texshred777 said:


> Been in a spy thriller mood of late. I suppose I'm always up for one, a favorite genre of mine.
> 
> Safe House-
> Not fantastic, but entertaining. Denzel is of course great as usual in this.
> 
> Body of Lies
> I thought this was a really good movie. One of the better spy movies of recent years. DiCaprio and Crowe are great in this. Crowe is just so good at playing douchebags.



Body of lies is fantastic , good choice.

Just watched pain and gain, thought it was hilarious , to bad they glorified some horrible shit haha.


----------



## Mexi

recently saw Only God Forgives. probably the most pretentious movie of the year, but some really good cinematography/music at times.


----------



## Kaickul

Warm Bodies - It's an okay movie.


----------



## Ralyks

One of my closest friends had never seen The Shawshank Redemption. Last night, a group of us decided it was time to change that. Wise decision


----------



## flexkill

Just watched the documentary "A Band Called Death" about three black brothers from Detroit. They were doing punk back in the early 70's. Great film....check it out.


----------



## kung_fu

Two Guns 
Elysium 
The Birds (Hitchcock)


----------



## GizmoJunior

Tonight I'm either gonna watch Natural Born Killers or Forrest Gump. Two completely different movies but they're both great.


----------



## MFB

"Oblivion"

I read the Wiki a while back just cause I figured I'd never get around to seeing it, but it's not the same as watching everything unfold. I really enjoyed it and especially given that there's only about three main actors in it, it was great. They kept things simple and didn't try to over-complicate things and I only caught one real glaring issue but overall a thumbs up.


----------



## BigBaldIan

My mate got the other half the unbutchered DVD of the original Godzilla, it's so much better than the hacked Raymond Burr version. It was interesting to see how many tropes Del Toro reused for Pacific Rim.


----------



## HUGH JAYNUS

Lethal Weapon marathon this weekend


----------



## Idontpersonally

Gargoyles '72. ....in sweet


----------



## kung_fu

2010: The year we make contact. It's not 2001, but doesn't try to be. A pretty darn good sequel


----------



## SenorDingDong

Wristcutters: A Love Story (I watch it about 4-6 times a year, it's one of my all-time favourites.) 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Another favourite.)

Manic (The movie that made me respect Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an actor.)


Just watching a bunch of movies I love. Nothing new lately.


----------



## MikeH

Just watched Evil Dead (2013) again last night. Becoming one of my favorite gore/horror movie remakes ever.


----------



## Kaickul

21 & Over, what a waste of time.


----------



## Basti

Evil Dead 2. I had no idea what to expect before watching it but I'm glad I did  scary and weirdly hilarious at the same time.


----------



## Kaickul

The Conjuring, one of the scariest movies I have ever watched, Evil Dead wasn't close.


----------



## Basti

Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), it's old and that becomes pretty evident at times, but it's still really cool and well made.
The Da Vinci Code...meh, I won't even bother.


----------



## straightshreddd

Just watched a Scottish flick called "Sweet Sixteen". It was pretty amazing. Although some of the characters and some parts of the story could have had a little more depth, I loved it.


----------



## iRaiseTheDead

Recently watched Here Comes The Boom, turned out to be a lot better than I expected. Love Kevin James films!


----------



## Konfyouzd

Recently watched all the Paranormal Activity movies... What's up with the first one? Every time read something online trying to figure out how the hell she killed her sister and bro-in-law it says that the end of the first one is kinda different from what I saw.

In the one I saw, the dude Micah goes downstairs because the Katie chick is screaming like crazy. Next thing you know, you hear him die. Then she comes back upstairs and just rocks back and forth on the floor until the cops come to shoot her.

At what point did she leave to kill her family and kidnap that little kid?


----------



## wankerness

Konfyouzd said:


> Recently watched all the Paranormal Activity movies... What's up with the first one? Every time read something online trying to figure out how the hell she killed her sister and bro-in-law it says that the end of the first one is kinda different from what I saw.
> 
> In the one I saw, the dude Micah goes downstairs because the Katie chick is screaming like crazy. Next thing you know, you hear him die. Then she comes back upstairs and just rocks back and forth on the floor until the cops come to shoot her.
> 
> At what point did she leave to kill her family and kidnap that little kid?



Trying to find logic in the plot of a paranormal activity movie is futile.


----------



## Alberto7

Konfyouzd said:


> Recently watched all the Paranormal Activity movies... What's up with the first one? Every time read something online trying to figure out how the hell she killed her sister and bro-in-law it says that the end of the first one is kinda different from what I saw.
> 
> In the one I saw, the dude Micah goes downstairs because the Katie chick is screaming like crazy. Next thing you know, you hear him die. Then she comes back upstairs and just rocks back and forth on the floor until the cops come to shoot her.
> 
> At what point did she leave to kill her family and kidnap that little kid?



I think I remember hearing/reading that there are two endings. Might be a director's cut ending, or something like that.

I remember the screams downstairs, and then you see the body sort of flying and impacting against the camera, at which point she comes and crawls over the body on the floor and then a super loud scream while her face approaches the camera rapidly, and the screen goes black.

I might be making that up, though, I haven't watched the film since I saw it in theaters like 3 or 4 years ago.  I was also one of the few that actually got scared shitless, for some reason, and my mind just sort of repressed those memories...


----------



## wankerness

You're not making that up, there are THREE endings. The theater one had the silly throw-the-body jump at the camera ending. There's one where she cuts her throat, and one where the cops shoot her. I haven't watched it again since watching a theater bootleg so I dunno if the home versions use either of those alternate endings as opposed to just putting them in the deleted scenes, but it sounds like whatever version he saw did. 

So yeah, I guess the plot hole he's talking about doesn't exist if you are only considering the theater version, but she definitely dies in the other two endings that exist. What a bad movie series!


----------



## Alberto7

True. I guess I don't have an answer for that though


----------



## texshred777

Saw The Mortal Instruments:City of Bones the other night on a date. Not going to lie, was entertaining even with the WB/CW cheese it had going.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Wrote a killer review for _Argo_ that apparently fans and critics have been liking a lot online.

Anyway......here are my incoming reviews I've written:

_Lockout_ (2012):

"A clichéd, 'wanna-be' adrenaline rush of a movie that is better fitted for a mere comic book. It is sleek in production, but it borrows/steals elements from way too many other sci-fi flicks. Because of this, the film is rather unoriginal in presentation and story, and it falls hard on its face because it brings nothing new to the table. Seen it before."

_Olympus Has Fallen_ (2013):

"A simple-minded 'shoot-em-up' that was meant for simple-minded people. Needless to say, the film is highly enjoyable for the nonstop action and dreamy ideas of what lurks inside our government's most protected buildings. In essence, the wittiness and implacable barrage of good-humored violence (via Gerard Butler again being the 'ultimate badass' like how he was in _The Gamer_, _Law-Abiding Citizen_, and _300_) keeps this film afloat. But like _Lockout_, it still sinks when it comes to originality."

I will post more reviews later. Keep an eye out for a review of _Oblivion_ and _White House Down_ since those probably will be the next flicks I get to see.


----------



## flexkill

Just watched "Mud" lastnight. Damn good movie and I highly recommend it. Matthew McConaughey was actually very good in this one.


----------



## MFB

Wings of Obsidian said:


> _Lockout_ (2012):
> 
> "A clichéd, 'wanna-be' adrenaline rush of a movie that is better fitted for a mere comic book. It is sleek in production, but it borrows/steals elements from way too many other sci-fi flicks. Because of this, the film is rather unoriginal in presentation and story, and it falls hard on its face because it brings nothing new to the table. Seen it before."



I think this is what made Lockout so great was that it didn't try to present itself as anything new. It was Guy Pearce being a smarmy, one-lining, President's daughter saving dude who blatantly didn't want to be there (and if I recall, SHOULDN'T be either) yet sucks it up and does it anyways because if not he's dead. Win/lose, either way it sucks to be him. So what does he do? Shoots half a dozen inmates in a prison for the world's most horrid criminals that they put them IN SPACE and saves the broad.


----------



## wankerness

flexkill said:


> Just watched "Mud" lastnight. Damn good movie and I highly recommend it. Matthew McConaughey was actually very good in this one.



He's been good in a lot recently. I think it's probably a reaction against the 10 years or so where he somehow got roped into crappy romantic comedies.


----------



## Solodini

I saw Lovelace last night. That was tough to sit through publically, as a male. The film wasn't particularly explicit about domestic abuse but it still made me feel uncomfortable on behalf of the male population that people like that exist. 

The film felt shorter than it was (100 mins, roughly) but it had a messed up timeline jumping back and forth lots without much time spent linearly. The end of the film felt like the end of the 2nd act, probably because it passed really quickly and there wasn't much tension buildup to it.

I enjoyed it but the end didn't feel like it had concluded. The 3rd act, or even just a short bit at the end showing more of her changed life and political efforts would have helped to round it out, I think.


----------



## Idontpersonally

Mindwalk


----------



## wankerness

Solodini said:


> I saw Lovelace last night. That was tough to sit through publically, as a male. The film wasn't particularly explicit about domestic abuse but it still made me feel uncomfortable on behalf of the male population that people like that exist.
> 
> The film felt shorter than it was (100 mins, roughly) but it had a messed up timeline jumping back and forth lots without much time spent linearly. The end of the film felt like the end of the 2nd act, probably because it passed really quickly and there wasn't much tension buildup to it.
> 
> I enjoyed it but the end didn't feel like it had concluded. The 3rd act, or even just a short bit at the end showing more of her changed life and political efforts would have helped to round it out, I think.



Well, was it supposed to have a happy ending? She pretty much died old, crazy and unloved. I think the more they showed of her later life the more depressing it would have been.


----------



## Cloudy

Ive been big on the black stereotype comedies lately, rewatched Undercover brother, Black Dynamite and Soul Plane.

Absolutely hilarious trio.


----------



## Alberto7

I watched Oblivion on my flight last night... I probably should have watched Skyfall instead. The first 10-15 minutes of the movie were breathtaking. The presentation of the setting is done beautifully, and the scenery is FANTASTIC throughout the entire film. Concepts and premises were really cool. It really does justice to the science fiction genre. However the rest of the movie just felt rushed and I found the plot to be really shallow. I also didn't like Tom Cruise for that role at all. As usual, I think I went in with higher expectations than I should have. In fact, I didn't know what to expect. I had only heard that it was good, and that's that. It was definitely entertaining though, and managed to keep me awake for that part of the flight.

6.5/10

I also just watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off for like the 100th time. It gets better every time I watch it.  Such a fantastic movie!


----------



## Basti

The Orphanage - generic thriller/horror made up from recycled parts of previous plots and concepts. 

Jaws (for the 1000th time) - it's brilliant. It proves movies should be made as works of art rather than products. You can tell when something comes from inspiration, it's more and more rare to see.

Cop Land - Sylvester Stallone can act. He can act damn well. Excellent film and not just for its all-star cast


----------



## Don Vito

texshred777 said:


> WB/CW cheese it had going.


I know what I'm going to see tomorrow.

I've been watching a lot of movies on TV recently. The most notable was this film on Pivot called SLC Punk or something like that. It's about this punk who drops out of college and does punk things this his punk friends. Good movie if interested about punks.


----------



## Solodini

wankerness said:


> Well, was it supposed to have a happy ending? She pretty much died old, crazy and unloved. I think the more they showed of her later life the more depressing it would have been.


 

Ish. It mentioned her doing political stuff then dying in a car crash but only as text on the screen. It wasn't exactly uplifting as it was. It didn't really seem to commit much to whatever it displayed so maybe that was the issue.


----------



## danger5oh

I just watched The Collector with my wife... I should've just stuck to playing guitar and having a beer. I feel like I've worn out all of the good, recent horror flicks. I can't wait for Insidious 2, although based on the previews I feel like I might be disappointed.


----------



## Don Vito

Bee Movie

the only animated kids film with a racial joke


----------



## Mexi

Finally got around to seeing Star Trek Into Darkness. I liked it more than the first movie, but I felt the story seems to fall apart in the last third of the movie. great visuals though


----------



## texshred777

Saw Dredd last night. 

Was about as good as I expected, Karl Urban was great as always. The visuals were very well done, particularly the sequences when someone was baked on slow-mo.


----------



## shadowvault

I saw Revolver last night,the only Guy Ritchie movie i had not seen.Check it out if you havent


----------



## texshred777

shadowvault said:


> I saw Revolver last night,the only Guy Ritchie movie i had not seen.Check it out if you havent


 
I really enjoyed Revolver, and also recommend it highly.


----------



## Ralyks

Threw on Pulp Fiction on a complete whim the other night. Because Royale with cheese, that's why.


----------



## Basti

Ralyks said:


> Because Royale with cheese, that's why.


Whenever I ask someone why Pulp Fiction is such a great film each answer is pretty much to that effect. Because cool quotes, people look cool, do cool stuff and there's a cool soundtrack. I fully agree, I just think I tend to look for something more, or something different, in a film.


----------



## isispelican

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I N S A N E !


----------



## wankerness

Basti said:


> The Orphanage - generic thriller/horror made up from recycled parts of previous plots and concepts.



What about it was generic? What other movies are like that one? I barely consider it a horror movie since by the end it's a really depressing and sorta beautiful fairy tale or something. The only real "HORROR" scene is the one with the lady whose jaw got smashed. The ghosts are barely supposed to be scary. It vaguely reminds me of The Devil's Backbone I guess but it's definitely not very similar plotwise. The paranormal investigator parts are similar to Poltergeist maybe but the movie really doesn't go into any of those same places at all. I love the lead actress and the way the plot develops from what seems like a bland ghost movie into a pretty shattering movie about despair.

Hmm, I guess maybe it's sorta like "The Others" if it was far, far better and didn't have a cheesy twist and wasn't a period movie.


----------



## Jakke

Saved! is a great movie. I enjoy a laugh at insane religious people as much as the next heathen, but this movie actually has some substance.


*EDIT*
A very preachy (hurr hurr) ending though


----------



## Basti

wankerness said:


> What about it was generic? What other movies are like that one? I barely consider it a horror movie since by the end it's a really depressing and sorta beautiful fairy tale or something. The only real "HORROR" scene is the one with the lady whose jaw got smashed. The ghosts are barely supposed to be scary. It vaguely reminds me of The Devil's Backbone I guess but it's definitely not very similar plotwise. The paranormal investigator parts are similar to Poltergeist maybe but the movie really doesn't go into any of those same places at all. I love the lead actress and the way the plot develops from what seems like a bland ghost movie into a pretty shattering movie about despair.
> 
> Hmm, I guess maybe it's sorta like "The Others" if it was far, far better and didn't have a cheesy twist and wasn't a period movie.



The problem is we're not talking about the same film  

so this is what senility feels like..


----------



## wankerness

Basti said:


> The problem is we're not talking about the same film
> 
> so this is what senility feels like..



What was it you watched? It's a good thing it wasn't El Orfanato cause that is a gd masterpiece


----------



## Basti

wankerness said:


> What was it you watched? It's a good thing it wasn't El Orfanato cause that is a gd masterpiece



The Orphan maybe? Point is, it's not really worth researching. The one you were talking aboutb on the other hand sounds interesting


----------



## JustMac

Has anyone seen Leon the Professional?


----------



## HUGH JAYNUS

all within this week so far


----------



## wankerness

JustMac said:


> Has anyone seen Leon the Professional?



Probably a lot of people have, it's very popular for some reason. I hated it but I saw the long version with all the creepy pedo stuff left in. Since seeing it I've always heard that you should stick to the short version (American theatrical version, just called "The Professional" instead of Leon, etc).


----------



## JustMac

wankerness said:


> Probably a lot of people have, it's very popular for some reason. I hated it but I saw the long version with all the creepy pedo stuff left in. Since seeing it I've always heard that you should stick to the short version (American theatrical version, just called "The Professional" instead of Leon, etc).



Ah, I just noticed it on my old hard drive, I was wondering if it was even worth watching...but seeing the Rotten Tomatoes high rating I gave it a watch. What a fascinating bit of cinema. Hollywood cinema wouldn't even touch such a dark, controversial theme (even though Mathilda is older than she says), but I think it was tastefully done. Also, I was absolutely blown away by Gary Oldman's performance in that. Wow. 

That's pretty interesting, wish I read this earlier!  the U.S version just edited or have scenes been re-done or altered?


----------



## wankerness

JustMac said:


> Ah, I just noticed it on my old hard drive, I was wondering if it was even worth watching...but seeing the Rotten Tomatoes high rating I gave it a watch. What a fascinating bit of cinema. Hollywood cinema wouldn't even touch such a dark, controversial theme (even though Mathilda is older than she says), but I think it was tastefully done. Also, I was absolutely blown away by Gary Oldman's performance in that. Wow.
> 
> That's pretty interesting, wish I read this earlier!  the U.S version just edited or have scenes been re-done or altered?



The theatrical version is like 25 minutes shorter and basically just removes a lot of the sexual stuff between matilda/leon, as well as some of the extra scenes of him training her to kill people. I watched the documentaries on the disc and apparently at the US premiere people just busted out with really uncomfortable laughing and there was a ton of disturbed shifting around in seats in the scene where Matilda asks Leon to devirginize her, and it was decided that it and some other very uncomfortable scenes had to be removed or else it would be all that anyone remembered from the movie. 

Most people that see it see the short version cause that's what's on TV and stuff. The Bluray (i dunno about the dvd) has both versions on it but it's set up in such a way that it looks like the short version is the "regular" one so I"m guessing mostly only fans of the movie bother to watch the long one. I did, cause I incorrectly assumed that the longer version must be better cause the vast majority of the time that's how it works with things that have to be edited down for the US.

Obviously a lot of people insist that the long version is superior but I think they're nuts. Watching the director's justification of it just made it all the more inexcusable. Basically he's like LEON IS BASICALLY AN EMOTIONAL 14 YEAR OLD ANYWAY SO THEY'RE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER, which sounds ok, but then he throws in "oh by the way my girlfriend was only like 13 when we got together but boy was she mature for her age and boy was I immature!!!!" which totally confirms that it's just some weird pedo justification! They then have his girlfriend talking about how "oh people just totally didn't understand our relationship, this movie is all about us and is so beautiful, I can't believe anyone would ever be disturbed by it." (She's like 30 and he's like 50 in the documentary, so like, good for them for sticking it through or something, but still, yuck) There's a lot of great stuff in the movie but all that sheit belonged on the cutting room floor. The shortened version is way better!

NOTE: I was wrong, the "US Version" is actually the everywhere version, the long one was only played at the premiere and then was abruptly shortened as soon as he saw the audience reaction, and the long version didn't emerge again for a couple years.


----------



## Alberto7

^ I have only watched the short version of it, so I really didn't understand your point, since I thought it was such a great film. I didn't know there was a director's cut with more sexual themes. The short one had enough tension to begin making me uncomfortable, but not enough to make me think any less of it. I thought the short version was fantastic, and it's high on my list of great films. That's kinda messed up on the director's part... ... I'll be looking more into it.


----------



## Basti

Insidious. Now...it had some good scares every now and then, but it just escalated deeper and deeper into absurdity. It made it weirdly like Poltergeist actually, except it took itself much more seriously, and overall it felt like I'd seen it all before.


----------



## pullingstraws

I watched Valhalla Rising last night. It was pretty good. I think it looked great and was shot really well, and the story was good. The ending was a bit of a cop-out to me. Another thing I didn't like was sometimes certain scenes came off as "try-hard-artsy" type stuff. But overall I'd say I enjoyed it.


----------



## Kaickul

8/10


----------



## Lukifer

Watched Mad Max for the first time. Disapointed. Maybe Mad Max 2 will be better.

Then watched Looper. Really enjoyed it. Kinda hard to keep up with all the time traveling and what not but was a good movie.


----------



## wankerness

Lukifer said:


> Watched Mad Max for the first time. Disapointed. Maybe Mad Max 2 will be better.



I think a lot of people just think "Road Warrior" when they think Mad Max and forget the first one is basically just a gritty, low-budget action movie. The first one is barely post-apocalyptic, it's like the first stages of societal breakdown. I know people that saw it and thought it wasn't even supposed to be a sci-fi at all and thought it was just an action movie that was supposed to take place in then-modern rural Australia. Which, of course, is a huge insult to Australia, but hey, it's understandable that ignorant non-Aussies would think it was just that shitty! The second one, on the other hand, is just insane and has some of the craziest and most influential ideas in movie history. SO many movies and games borrow heavily from it. Definitely do not stop after watching 1 and being underwhelmed, 2 is several steps forward. I don't mind 1 but I think 2 is possibly the best action movie of the 80s.


----------



## Lukifer

wankerness said:


> I think a lot of people just think "Road Warrior" when they think Mad Max and forget the first one is basically just a gritty, low-budget action movie. The first one is barely post-apocalyptic, it's like the first stages of societal breakdown. I know people that saw it and thought it wasn't even supposed to be a sci-fi at all and thought it was just an action movie that was supposed to take place in then-modern rural Australia. Which, of course, is a huge insult to Australia, but hey, it's understandable that ignorant non-Aussies would think it was just that shitty! The second one, on the other hand, is just insane and has some of the craziest and most influential ideas in movie history. SO many movies and games borrow heavily from it. Definitely do not stop after watching 1 and being underwhelmed, 2 is several steps forward. I don't mind 1 but I think 2 is possibly the best action movie of the 80s.




Looking back on it and thinking about what you said, it wasnt bad for 1979. 

I am guilty of thinking The Road Warrior was the first Mad Max. Never knew 1 even existed. But it sets the tone. Now that I have let it sink in, Im very intrigued for 2 and 3!!


----------



## Basti

Watched Mud: really good. This one actually deserves its praise, and I can't think of a better film that's come out at a recent time. 

Started watching Cannibal Holocaust but I had to boycott it. Love getting scared shitless, don't mind gore, but as soon as it gets that pervy you can count me the hell out. 

Psycho cos I'd never seen it and always wanted to. Hitchock is great but I never knew Anthony Perkins played Bates so damn well. He must have got an Oscar? Wow.


----------



## fps

Basti said:


> The Orphanage - generic thriller/horror made up from recycled parts of previous plots and concepts.



How is The Orphanage generic? That's not true at all!


----------



## Kaickul

Not my type of movie, but it's quite good.


----------



## Basti

fps said:


> How is The Orphanage generic? That's not true at all!



*The Orphan  sorry


----------



## Alberto7

I recently watched Rebelle (War Witch, in English) and, while I did like some elements of it, I found it was just too "artsy" for its own good. I hated most of the camera work (note "most." There were some beautiful shots, too) and, even though it's a very harsh and crude subject, especially the way it is presented to the viewer, I just felt detached from the characters. Still not a bad movie though.







I also watched The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo a couple of nights ago; the Swedish version. Such a kickass film!  I had no idea what to expect from it - I didn't know what it was about - and it kicked my expectations in the face. Some scenes are... well... hard to watch. Maybe they could have developed the characters a bit more, but it was otherwise a very enjoyable movie. Definitely watching the sequels at some point.


----------



## Lukifer

Watched Mad Max 2 last night and really liked it. Definitely more action and quicker paced than the first one.


----------



## wankerness

Lukifer said:


> Watched Mad Max 2 last night and really liked it. Definitely more action and quicker paced than the first one.



Yep, it's a major classic and one of the most rewatchable movies around. I like the third a lot too but it's kinda schizophrenic cause the first and second half were written by different writers. The first half is totally awesome, though, and the climactic chase scene is great of course. Thunderdome is another concept that's just been ripped off endlessly ever since and there are some really famous lines associated with it. 

The sequels to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are pretty goddam boring and shitty compared to it. The plots are pretty incoherent and don't go much of anywhere compared to the first, and they're also much lower budget.

The remake is awesome and well worth watching, I think it's about equal to the original. It's better in almost every respect other than I like Noomi Rapace's portrayal of the character more than Rooney Mara's. They approach it in very different ways, she's kind of creepy and waiflike in the remake, so I think it's interesting as a companion piece.


----------



## Basti

Don't be Afraid of the Dark...meh/10

Watched Rope the other day, damn it was brilliant. Yes it's a Hitchcock but it's so much more than just unusual camerawork...it's powerful, gripping, and even pretty stylish. It also culminates in one of those speeches that knocks your feels in the face. 
Just watch it m'kay. I give the film and James Stewart a 9/10


----------



## ducer

Watched Mad Max I. That script was amazing.


----------



## Skyblue

Mary and Max. 
Absolutely wonderful, really loved it.


----------



## texshred777

Went and saw the new Riddick movie with a friend.

Was pretty Riddick-tastic. Was exactly what I expected from a Riddick movie. There was a decent amount of brutal kills, but more than decent amount of camp. It was enjoyable, even if there wasn't really a plot. 

One thing really amused me. It's taking place in the future, but the weapons they're using? M4's and other modern guns that went pew pew instead of clack.

Oh yeah, and I didn't know Katee Sackhoff has such nice breasts. Well, the one was nice..I'm assuming the other is just like it. Or at least close.


----------



## dedsouth333

Natural Born Killers. One of my favorites of all time.


----------



## tacotiklah

The Bill and Ted movies. 
Time travel? Check.
Cheesy guitarist stereotypes? Check.
George Carlin? Check.

Pretty much anything I'd want in a movie.


----------



## Kaickul

Hangover 3. So much disappointment.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Jingle All The Way (aka My dad is a Turboman which I prefer)

Best Christmas movie ever.


----------



## Idontpersonally

I just watched the devil and daniel johnston.... My face was stuck this way the whole time but I couldnt turn it off... Any one heard of that guy???


----------



## Alberto7

Just watched Eternal Sunrise of the Spotless Mind. Brilliant movie, albeit perhaps just a tiny bit too "forced-artsy" for some. Personally, however, I didn't mind that, and actually found it very enjoyable. It came across as really witty and quirky. I loved the acting, and how the characters were portrayed. Also seeing Frodo playing that character was f*cking hilarious.  I needed to watch a movie like that, honestly. It was very personal for me. Definitely check it out if you want a chilled out movie, or feeling a tiny bit brainy. Great film.


----------



## wankerness

That's definitely my favorite movie ever, and I don't think being "forced arty" is a bad thing, most movies are forced STUPID.


----------



## Alberto7

I like artsy movies, but when they're artsy for the sake of being artsy, they come across as stupid to me. This, however, I didn't find like that, but I somehow get the feeling that some people would. It's a brilliant and emotional film.

If you liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I highly recommend the film called Mr. Nobody. It's my favorite film, and it's much in the same style as this one, except more fantastic-y and blown-up in the mind....ery department. But they give off a very, very similar vibe. I think "mise-en-scene" would be the proper term here to describe these kinds of movies, although I could be wrong.


----------



## ghostred7

Tis the season...


----------



## wankerness

Mise en scene is just "the stuff that's in a shot," basically, movies that the term gets thrown around in regards to just usually are ones that have a lot going on visually with like, props and actions, etc that add to the movie's themes or something. It's basically like, everything visual. It can be used to describe any movie.

EDIT: Wow, did they glue on another eye and reuse that head from Saturday the 14th in Return of the Jedi?


----------



## Alberto7

^ I didn't know it was such a general, all-encompassing kind of term... that deems it sort of useless, in a way. I knew it had to do with the visual element of a film, but thought that it involved other areas of film-making, such as storylines and plot devices. I thought it was used more to describe films which employ creative ways to tell a story through witty screenplay and which use shots with a lot of elements in them that are meaningful to the story and/or the message of it. Of course, that was just my own idea of it that I made up myself without having read much about the term. Thanks for the enlightenment


----------



## Basti

We were meant to watch American History X in relation to us doing aggression in psychology yet my class somehow ditched the idea in favour of Project X, the most moronic, unoriginal and pointless film I've ever seen.


----------



## Duosphere

I loved American History X 

I just watched Dark Touch.
I just wanted to kill some time but what a surprise!
It's not crowded by crap cheesy effects and terrible dialogues like most of that kind of movies are, it's right to the point and very sad and dark, it was really a surprise to me, when it finished I was like "wth was that?!".
It should be called "The Revenge of The Unprotected Ones" 

Dark Touch (2013) - IMDb


----------



## Alberto7

So this just happened in my life:







And I could have died feeling a happy and accomplished man in that IMAX theater...


----------



## Furtive Glance

Elysium. Fantastic special effects and just a badass movie, I thought.


----------



## wankerness

I watched "From Beyond" and "Vertigo" back to back, that was a trip. From Beyond is about scientists creating a device that awakens the pineal gland and thus allows them to see the monsters that are around us all the time. It also causes our male lead to sprout a pineal gland antenna and go around sucking peoples' brains out of their eye sockets. Good fun from the guys who brought you "Reanimator," with the dude who played the mad scientist in that one as the male lead here and the same girl. It has a lot of ridiculous goopy effects along the lines of the 80s "The Thing" and "The Fly," albeit not done nearly as well.

Vertigo is still the only Hitchcock movie that's really blown me away out of the 10 or so I've watched. I remember watching it in college for the first time and being rather floored by the last 30 minutes of it since it becomes so personal and anguished after seeming like a somewhat straightforward mystery/thriller before then. On second watch it had much the same effect, though I still don't know how I feel about the last 20 seconds. I also very deeply sympathized with "Madeline" throughout the movie this time and found all of Jimmy's behavior deeply disturbing. I'm not entirely clear on if we're supposed to feel for her or think she's evil, but it sure does work on the first level so I'm going with it.

Now I see that Roger Ebert's write-up on it nails everything I love about it in far better a manner than I could write myself:

"As Hitchcock cuts back and forth between Novak's face (showing such pain, such sorrow, such a will to please) and Stewart's (in a rapture of lust and gratified control), we feel hearts being torn apart: They are both slaves of an image fabricated by a man who is not even in the room--Gavin, who created Madeleine as a device to allow himself to get away with the murder of his wife.

As Scottie embraces Madeleine, even the background changes to reflect his subjective memories instead of the real room he's in. Bernard Herrmann's score creates a haunting, unsettled yearning. And the camera circles them hopelessly, like the pinwheel images in Scottie's nightmares, until the shot is about the dizzying futility of our human desires, the impossibility of forcing life to make us happy. This shot, in its psychological, artistic and technical complexity, may be the one time in his entire career that Alfred Hitchcock completely revealed himself, in all of his passion and sadness. 
...

And Novak, criticized at the time for playing the character too stiffly, has made the correct acting choices: Ask yourself how you would move and speak if you were in unbearable pain, and then look again at Judy."

Poetry! This is one of the very best things he ever wrote. I miss that guy way too much. I have less interest in watching new movies since I don't have his write-ups to read afterwards.

Vertigo Movie Review & Film Summary (1958) | Roger Ebert


----------



## Duosphere

Black Fish

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2545118/]Blackfish (2013) - IMDb

A lot of times(expecially about nature) I feel like I belong to another species cause I can't relate to my own


----------



## flexkill

Really good movie I thought. Maybe it's because I watched it with my GF and I was expecting a chick flick or something....but it was pretty damn good. Def Check it out. Def has some crazy twists on the ride.


----------



## wankerness

I really liked the first half of it but liked Rooney Mara more than Jude Law as the main character D:


----------



## wankerness

Lifeforce - I've been aware of this for years, but never got around to watching it. I finally saw the director's cut last night. It's amazing. 

Astronauts in 1985 discover a spaceship in the tail of halley's comet, which contains thousands of dead bat-monsters and three naked people, one of whom is an incredibly hot lady. They take the dead naked people back onboard their ship, and then discover that the dead naked people are actually space vampires who suck your lifeforce through your face using tons of blue 80s special effects. All the astronauts die, besides the guy who played Charles Manson in Helter Skelter and Duane Barry on the X-Files, and the naked lady is recovered by a rescue team of other astronauts and brought back to earth, where she escapes and wanders around london naked and sucking out lifeforce. Everyone whose lifeforce is sucked turns into a withery zombie that must suck others lifeforces or they explode into dust. She goes into hiding by possessing Captain Picard, who then gets into a fight with Charles Manson. They make out and then Captain Picard's face spews blood out which crystallizes into the hot naked chick in red gelatinous form. Then, the alien spaceship materializes over london and all the zombie vampires basically overrun the city and everything starts exploding and it's a zombie apocalypse and bat creatures fly around and special effects go wild and the naked chick continues looking spectacular and holy shit this movie is awesome.

(terrible quality screenshots taken from Just Screenshots: Lifeforce (1985) which has some NSFW stuff on it)

Mick Jagger's brother is one of the male space vampires:




The guy who did all the spirits at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark did a ton of work on this movie:




The fake head when Patrick Stewart melts down is so great:








Withery zombie vampires rule:


----------



## Duosphere

Lifeforce?!
Whoa that's an old one, I watched it one day when I got home from school.
Today it brings nothing new but at that time it was really cool.


----------



## TimothyLeary

The last one I saw was "Hour of the wolf", and today I'll probably watch "North by Northwest".

Me likes old movies.


----------



## Basti

The Third Man is close to being my favourite film and it's from 1949


----------



## TimothyLeary

Basti said:


> The Third Man is close to being my favourite film and it's from 1949



Need to see that! I know it wasn't a suggestion, but thanks anyway.


----------



## Basti

TimothyLeary said:


> Need to see that! I know it wasn't a suggestion, but thanks anyway.



It was! You must! Do!


----------



## petereanima

Rush - veryvery well done

The Purge - interesting idea (for a movie), lame executed.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Basti said:


> It was! You must! Do!



Just did! It's awesome. Awesome plot and the chase in the sewers was awesome too.


----------



## Basti

TimothyLeary said:


> Just did! It's awesome. Awesome plot and the chase in the sewers was awesome too.



I love the camerawork too.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Now that you talked about camerawork I remembered another old movie that I saw this year. It's called The longest day(1962), and it has one of my all time favorite scenes of a war movie. It's a perfect camerawork that shows the army(allies) invading the city(germans)... it's just beautiful.


----------



## Winspear

Escape Plan - The new movie with Arnie and Stallone. 
I thought it was really good - very enjoyable and the prison was pretty scary.

Got a question though (contains spoiler)


Spoiler



So we know Arnie _was_ Mannheim and, along with his daughter, got Stallone in for his own benefit as nobody else would be able to break him out. 
We also know that the prison wanted Stallone in for life, to take him out of the picture and prove that the prison was indeed inescapable. However, how do the two come together, being both for and against Stallone? I can only gather that the daughter was legit in that job position at the time and just happened to see this way out for her father?


----------



## Basti

A friend of mine once said she doesn't like old films like it was a genre


----------



## isispelican

Altered States was pretty nice


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

As it was Halloween earlier, I decided to watch the brilliant ...

Bram Stokers Dracula 



One of the best Dracula films ever !!!. 

Did anyone else watch any thing good for Halloween ?


----------



## Konfyouzd

Punch Drunk Love... I'm watching it right now for the third time. I'm trying to get the point off this movie.


----------



## Mexi

recently saw Man of Steel, I thought it was pretty decent (when compared to superman returns) but I'm pretty sick of superhero movies by this point.


----------



## wankerness

Ginger Snaps - Very good indie horror movie about the relationship between two weird emo sisters and how it gets affected by...an unforeseen incident. I loved it thoroughly even though the special effects got distractingly bad in the last act. It strikes a very good balance between humor, horror and pathos. 8/10

Star Trek Into Darkness - I liked this for a while but it was at least 30 minutes too long. These movies need to start being 90 minutes long, or something. It got really tiresome in the last act and I just got sick of it. It's also one of the ugliest movies I've ever seen. I like when Kirk gets irradiated severely and is supposed to look sickly but he's just the same disgusting orange and blue mix that everyone else is for the entire movie (besides the opening scene, of course). It's definitely better than the first, though, because the villain is involving. 6/10

Ravenous - Odd horror movie about cannibalism and the wendigo legend, takes place on the west coast in the wilderness before the gold rush. The first half of it is really awesome and does a great job of instilling dread, but by the climax it just turned into a crappy slugfest that reminded me of wolverine vs lady deathstrike in X2. OH WELL. The cast is good (Jeremy Davies, the lead zombie from 28 weeks later, the principal from Ferris Bueller, Guy Pearce) and the music is very strikingly weird. It's well worth watching if the concept sounds at all interesting.

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - This was the second of the series that I saw and it's still my favorite besides New Nightmare. It's really fun and has a great variety of effects and it's tightly plotted and most of the characters are appealing. 

Nightmare on Elm Street 4 - This one's even dumber but it's a lot of fun, the death scenes are some of the wildest I can think of in any horror movie (especially the weightlifting accident which leads to a roach transformation and execution by hotel crushing) and it's certainly colorful and entertaining. 

Nightmare on Elm Street 5 - This pretty much sucks.


----------



## TimothyLeary

*The way way back *- imdb rating fooled me again.  This is so ....ing boring. You can see the whole movie by watching the first 5 minutes. The characters are irritating, and I just want to punch the dad and the kid myself, the entire movie.


----------



## RevDrucifer

Konfyouzd said:


> Punch Drunk Love... I'm watching it right now for the third time. I'm trying to get the point off this movie.



You won't get there.

The best part of that movie was in the bonus stuff-
[YOUTUBEVID]ZXOE3lZUpaY[/YOUTUBEVID]


----------



## wankerness

That movie probably won't click with him, but I took the point of it to be that it was an attempt to do a character study of what an Adam Sandler character would be like in real life. Like, if Happy Gilmore existed in the real world, how would he have turned into a cartoony rager? I dunno. I wasn't a big fan of it but I thought the concept was amusing and I know a lot of people who love it.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

just watched 'enders game' at the theatre...

...pretty good, a lot better than i thought. see it if you like sci fi, or is is syfy now-a-days lol.


----------



## TimothyLeary

*We're the millers* - Nowadays it's not easy to find a decent comedy that makes you laugh, but this movie despite some poor acting in the middle, was able to do that! Worth to see, just don't expect too much.


----------



## flexkill

I think this was a chick flick Vampire film.....it was Meh.


----------



## TimothyLeary

TimothyLeary said:


> Now that you talked about camerawork I remembered another old movie that I saw this year. It's called The longest day(1962), and it has one of my all time favorite scenes of a war movie. It's a perfect camerawork that shows the army(allies) invading the city(germans)... it's just beautiful.



Sorry people for quoting myself but I just found the scene I was talking about on youtube. It's pretty amazing.


----------



## TheDeathOfMusic

Celebrated the 37th anniversary of Carrie last night, and it's still brilliant. Anyone else watching V For Vendetta to celebrate November 5th?


----------



## Basti

TimothyLeary said:


> Sorry people for quoting myself but I just found the scene I was talking about on youtube. It's pretty amazing.
> 
> [tubevid]***[/MEDIA]



Wow that's amazing...it must've taken some organization


----------



## Winspear

^ +1. Going to have to watch this movie.

As I do from time to time, tonight I decided to find and watch a movie that I have no idea about. What I found was "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" - a 2012 movie with Emma Watson, based on a novel of the same name. 
Highly recommend this film. Actually one of the best that I've seen in a while.


----------



## petereanima

Last weekend I watched Citizen Kane, for the first time in my life. I understand now how this is always on top of pretty much every "Best movie ever" list.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Today I watched `Onibaba` which is one of the best films to come from Japan ...




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onibaba_(film)


If anyone loves Japanese cinema, or a good historical movie with some shades of horror added, then check this brilliant film out !!!.


----------



## TimothyLeary

I like Japanese movies, especially old samurai movies.

Meanwhile, yesterday I watched *2 Guns*. It's kinda funny, actually. It's the type of movie to relax and just go with it. Very simple plot, good actors chemistry and overall fun.


----------



## HUGH JAYNUS

Most recently the remake of Carrie. It was pretty damn good. I got sad though cuz I thought the new actress was so damn adorable I didn't want it all to go wrong for her. I wanted her to have a happy ending lol. But one does not simply watch Carrie and not expect EVERYTHING to die lol

And Up on Poppy Hill. The latest from Studio Ghibli. I love everything they make


----------



## Basti

Beowulf Von Thrashmeister said:


> Today I watched `Onibaba` which is one of the best films to come from Japan ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onibaba_(film)
> 
> 
> If anyone loves Japanese cinema, or a good historical movie with some shades of horror added, then check this brilliant film out !!!.




That looks creepy as hell! Do want to see it


----------



## wankerness

Beowulf Von Thrashmeister said:


> If anyone loves Japanese cinema, or a good historical movie with some shades of horror added, then check this brilliant film out !!!.



If you haven't seen it yet, definitely check out "Kwaidan," it's another 1964 Japanese horror movie set in ancient japan. It's really good imo, it's a horror anthology along the lines of Black Sabbath or Creepshow but much more artistically done.


----------



## TimothyLeary

I saw this movie yesterday. 






I really like it. The dark tone of the movie is awesome, very intriguing and has the right dosage of craziness and seriousness. Recommended.


----------



## wankerness

I need to get around to watching the other two vengeance trilogy movies. I really like Oldboy and a lot of other korean thrillers from the last 10 or 15 years, but somehow haven't gotten around to those two yet.

Black Sabbath - Great horror anthology movie, it's from the early 60s and has great stylized visuals and some pretty genuine creeps for something of its vintage. Boris Karloff is awesome. I watched the Italian and American (AIP) versions back to back. The Italian version is definitely superior, but the AIP one has a non-dubbed Boris Karloff which is a pretty huge benefit. OH WELL. It's well worth watching in either form.

Creepshow - Another great horror anthology movie. This is one of those movies that I have seen probably 10 or 15 times and basically consider "comfort food," it's just really fun to watch and always puts me in a good mood. "The Crate" is easily my favorite segment, but watching Stephen King play a deranged redneck is always fun and that last segment with the cockroaches is also a gas.


----------



## dedsouth333

Savage... I still don't know what to say about this movie... Just wtf...

Edit: What a twist! Lol


----------



## Basti

wankerness said:


> I need to get around to watching the other two vengeance trilogy movies. I really like Oldboy and a lot of other korean thrillers from the last 10 or 15 years, but somehow haven't gotten around to those two yet.
> 
> Black Sabbath - Great horror anthology movie, it's from the early 60s and has great stylized visuals and some pretty genuine creeps for something of its vintage. Boris Karloff is awesome. I watched the Italian and American (AIP) versions back to back. The Italian version is definitely superior, but the AIP one has a non-dubbed Boris Karloff which is a pretty huge benefit. OH WELL. It's well worth watching in either form.
> 
> Creepshow - Another great horror anthology movie. This is one of those movies that I have seen probably 10 or 15 times and basically consider "comfort food," it's just really fun to watch and always puts me in a good mood. "The Crate" is easily my favorite segment, but watching Stephen King play a deranged redneck is always fun and that last segment with the cockroaches is also a gas.



I need to see these! Never knew that about Stephen King


----------



## Fat-Elf

The World's End

I saw this movie on Friday when it premiered. It wasn't even supposed to be shown in movie theaters here first but they did some petition to make it happen. Being a HUGE fan of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and even Paul, all starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as main characters this movie was such a disappointment. First of all, there were not nearly that many jokes as in the other movies and the plot was just absolutely ridiculous; It could have been just a nice beer drinking movie but they had to ruin it by having some weird aliens trying to take over the world. But the biggest problem was that how there were some other dudes in addition to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. In the other movies they act pretty much together with some side characters but in this one there were 5 "main stars" which caused that even though Pegg and Frost's characters was supposed to have a more deep relationship than the other characters, it still seemed somewhow shallow.

In the nutshell, this was the biggest let down in the history of movies for me. I don't think I have ever really even waited to see a movie that bad and then it just doesn't work.

Rating: 3,5/5


----------



## wankerness

I think you'll probably like it more on repeat viewings. I didn't like Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz the first time I saw them, either. Their stuff seems to get better with familiarity. Even Paul became much better after I saw it a couple times.


----------



## Mexi

Recently saw Pacific Rim, really enjoyed it.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Untitled Brad Pitt Zombie Movie was pretty good.
World War Z the movie was ....ing terrible.


----------



## Xaios

wankerness said:


> I think you'll probably like it more on repeat viewings. I didn't like Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz the first time I saw them, either. Their stuff seems to get better with familiarity. Even Paul became much better after I saw it a couple times.



I dunno, I loved both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz when I first saw them (still do), but my reaction to The World's End was "eh, okay." Admittedly, it did get better as the movie went on, but it was boring as hell for the first 30-45 minutes.


----------



## Fat-Elf

wankerness said:


> I think you'll probably like it more on repeat viewings. I didn't like Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz the first time I saw them, either. Their stuff seems to get better with familiarity. Even Paul became much better after I saw it a couple times.



True, I didn't get half of the jokes in Shaun of the Dead the first time I saw it (well I was like 12yo at the time) but now I'm kinda sick of it as I have seen it well over 10 times and Hot Fuzz ~5 times. But I'm definitely going to see The World's End on blu-ray as soon as it comes out.


----------



## TimothyLeary

*Wolverine* - meh.. nothing too exciting. I can't tell exactly what is failing in the movie, but overall is a little tedious. 


Spoiler



at the end when he realized how to use the samurai sword, and he cut the head of the robot why did he jump against it? doens't make any sense, he had a freaking sword on his hands!


----------



## wankerness

I've been lying around like a blob watching movies the last few days, watched the following:

The Haunting (1963): I'd been putting off watching this cause it sounded too classy and boring, but it's pretty good. It has some genuine creeps with the pounding sound effects and it's very well-made. I absolutely couldn't stand the lead character, which I think was intentional, but god she's obnoxious. I really didn't like all her interior monologues. Claire Bloom was awesome. Russ Tamblyn belongs snidely fighting Gargantuas. 6/10

Legend of Hell House: Very good haunted house movie, it's much more balls-to-the-wall than The Haunting, I like how the team is in the house and assembled before the opening credits even start. It's similar in concept (4 professionals are chosen to investigate a house) and execution (huge emphasis on creepy sounds) but this one has a lot more effects in it and no interior monologues and the soundtrack is one of the greatest horror ones out there. The ending kinda sucks, but oh well. 7/10

Prince of Darkness: Hadn't seen this before, it's pretty depressing how shitty it is compared to earlier 80s Carpenter movies like Big Trouble in Little China, They Live and The Thing. I can only figure they wouldn't give him much of a budget or time to do this cause it reeks of something that wasn't thought out before it was filmed. The comic relief guy (the young guy from Big Trouble in Little China) is seriously one of the least funny I've ever seen. The concept of the movie is pretty great, though. Satan is discovered in green liquid form under an abandoned building in LA, and then his goop starts leaking and turning everyone into satan-servant zombies while trying to bring his physical form back into this dimension.  6/10

The Thing (1982): This is one of the best effects movies ever and is probably the best thing Carpenter ever did after Halloween. The first 2/3 is virtually flawless. I usually lose interest after the blood test scene, though. I think the last monster is by far the least convincing effect in the movie. As a huge effects nerd, though, this is pretty much as good as it gets (CGI can suck a dick, I feel like the execution and creativity of how to achieve effects are just as interesting as the effect and both are totally removed from the equation with all CGI post about 1993). 8/10

The Thing (2011): This gets a ton of shit, but I sorta like it. It's nothing near the 80s one but it moves along at a nice clip and has some great creature designs and I think Mary Beth Winstead makes an appealing hero. The effects feel a bit too clean and CGI-ish (I know a bunch of them were done practically), and I don't really like how the plot ends up in the alien ship, but oh well. 6/10

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): One of the best 70s sci-fi movies, succeeds on just about every level. I love that in 1978 PG could include close-ups of the top half of someone's head getting gorily smashed off with a shovel and a hot lady running around topless. The 5 leads are all great (Leonard Nimoy, Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldbum) and it does a great job of ratcheting up the tension. The camerawork is also way better than you'd expect in a movie like this. 9/10

M*A*S*H: Big fan of this, it gets better every time I watch it. Some segments of it fall sorta flat (ex, the Japan interlude) but it's still eminently rewatchable. There's great chemistry between characters and the dialogue really crackles. The structure is also pretty cool with how it's sort of a bunch of almost random events in the lives of the characters without a forced dramatic arc or anything. 8/10

A Bug's Life: Pretty good. Doesn't have the richness of say, Toy Story 2 or Wall-E but it's amusing and likable and moves along well. 7/10

Elysium: I liked it. The story was involving, the district 9 guy was great as the villain, the whole setting/effects were great, and I love these kinds of recent sci-fi action movies that don't pull punches to get a PG-13 (this and Dredd are about the only examples I can think of). It's a good throwback to the glory days of things like Total Recall/Robocop. The schmaltz felt like a compromise to keep the high budget, but oh well. 7/10 

V/H/S 2: The first one was mostly really bad with a couple of really memorable segments, this one is just meh without anything as terrible as the bad segments in 1 but without anything very good either. I guess it's a net quality improvement but in terms of actual entertainment value it's lower. 4/10

City of Life and Death - Its intentions are honorable but it's rather melodramatic. It has plenty of good qualities but overall it seems like an inferior combo of the general tones of Schindler's List and Letters from Iwo Jima without the strong characterization of either. Characters like Miss Jiang are pretty thinly developed and thus it's sort of hard for us to care when the movie slows down on the horrors and starts trying to make us care when individual characters are threatened or die. Stuff like the beach massacre in the first half is very effective, the second half is much less so. 6/10


----------



## TimothyLeary

I recent watched *Elysium* too. It's an ok film. Nice story, nothing pretentious and very entertaining the entire time, as the lead character is constantly running from the bad guys.

Also watched *The Wicker Man*, and wow. Never seen nothing like this. It's basically a mystery/crime movie but the theme is very original, at least for me. Very well made as the twist of the movie really got me (hahah). Recommended just for the fun of it.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Yesterday I watched Lady Snowblood, which is an awesome film, and you can see how these films inspired Tarrantino for the Kill Bill films !!!. 

Trailer ...





Wankerness, 

I shall definatly keep an eye out for `Kwaidan` next time I go DVD shopping, thanks for the heads up !!!.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> I
> Also watched *The Wicker Man*, and wow. Never seen nothing like this. It's basically a mystery/crime movie but the theme is very original, at least for me. Very well made as the twist of the movie really got me (hahah). Recommended just for the fun of it.



You're talking about the 1973 one, right? I liked that one a lot too. I haven't seen the remake but I sure have seen the youtube highlight reels of nick cage punching out women in a bear suit.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Yes, the '73 one! didn't know there was a remake, and from your description I'm a little scared now.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> Yes, the '73 one! didn't know there was a remake, and from your description I'm a little scared now.



They changed the cult to be matriarchal and gave it some kind of honeybee theme. Sort of an interesting idea, but you can tell from the trailer that the execution didn't work so well...


----------



## TimothyLeary

WTF did I just saw?! lol Poor acting, nicholas cage worst performance ever(?) at least in 5 minutes... and the bear scene is laughable at least.. What have they done to a very fine movie?!


----------



## TimothyLeary

So, recently I've watched *Alien*(1979) but I don't know why but I prefer *Aliens*(1986), that I also saw.. It was funny cause I made an error and I saw Aliens first. Aliens has a little more action and suspense, although some people may consider it a little more "cheesy", but I like it.

Yesterday I watched *Autumn Sonata*. It was amazing, I think I'm becoming an Ingmar Bergman fan. I've watched 5 of his movies and I really like the mood he implies in his writing and filming. It has a dark tone that I like and the characters never seem empty or shallow, but rather complex and mysterious. Highly Recommend.


----------



## sakeido

Just watched In Bruges last night - loved it, great flick. Been a long time since I've watched a movie that I couldn't anticipate what was going to happen in any way.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> Yesterday I watched *Autumn Sonata*. It was amazing, I think I'm becoming an Ingmar Bergman fan. I've watched 5 of his movies and I really like the mood he implies in his writing and filming. It has a dark tone that I like and the characters never seem empty or shallow, but rather complex and mysterious. Highly Recommend.



Which ones have you seen? I've really liked almost every one I've seen but that is not one of them. However, it is pretty high on the list I want to see, since "Scenes from a Marriage" and "Cries and Whispers" pretty much blew my mind and that's from the same period, plus I love Ingrid Bergman cause of Notorious. I keep buying dvds/blurays of his stuff and now I've got a sizable backlog. 

Own/Have watched:

The Seventh Seal
Scenes from a Marriage

Don't Own/Have Watched:

Cries and Whispers
The Virgin Spring
Saraband

Own/Haven't watched:

Smiles of a Summer Night
Persona
Wild Strawberries
Hour of the Wolf
Shame
Passion of Anna
The Serpent's Egg
Fanny and Alexander

I FAIL

I've been meaning to watch "The Magician" and "Through a Glass Darkly" and "Winter Light" too. 

RE: Alien/Aliens, I used to prefer Aliens, but now I like Alien more. Aliens has the way more entertaining characters and I think it's one of the best action movies out there (well, the theatrical version anyway, I have a hard time making it through the long version), but Alien is way, way better in terms of the whole look of the movie. Giger's designs really give Alien a unique feeling, and the way it's filmed is far more artistic and interesting than the rather utilitarian Aliens. Cameron intentionally streamlined and simplified all the Alien designs to make it fit the movie he was making and I think it's less interesting and makes it look more dated than Alien, which is nearly timeless with how great the visuals look (apart from some of the wider shots of the monster towards the end). 

They're not really comparable, though, since Aliens smartly just switched genres from horror to action. I think they're both classics but you should probably give alien another look sometime! As time has gone on I've watched Alien over and over again, while I've started watching the Aliens documentaries more than the actual movie!


----------



## TimothyLeary

I've seen: 

Autumn Sonata
The hour of the wolf
Wild Strawberries
Persona (my favorite)
The Seventh Seal

I think the next will be Smiles of a Summer Night as I'm curious to see how he does comedy.

About Alien/aliens, I agree with you when you say that Alien is more an artistic movie than Aliens. But Aliens has the little girl who Ripley saved, and that was a nice touch, as Ripley's emotions are more explored through the movie and as she has lost her daughter, we kinda see Ripley's redemption by saving the little girl in the end.


----------



## Basti

Did someone say Alien?  

I agree with what Wankerness said, Alien is one of my favourite movies ever for those very reasons.


----------



## Bekanor

Over the last 2 days I've watched This Is The End, The World's End and Pacific Rim. I enjoyed all 3.

To be more specific...

This Is The End:

Seth Rogen's buddies all rock up to reinforce their respective typecast roles. I appreciated the fun times, good jokes and the fact that they didn't shy away from placing satire against such a very treacherous thematic backdrop. 



Spoiler



Themes of judgement day and demons and such are usually something wide-audience movies tend to shy away from out of fear of pissing off religious people. Though it did raise the question of "if these guys weren't afraid of religious uproar from getting high and making dick jokes through judgement day, why the hell did Doom cop out with the whole virus bullshit?"



The World's End:

The kind of British good times you've come to expect from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Good times all around though there are a few tonal shifts that probably didn't need to be there as they didn't get fully fleshed out.

Pacific Rim:

Dumb action movie is dumb. Still, this is not a bad watch for a boring night in, the action scenes are awesome and it doesn't try too hard to festoon an engaging plot where they knew it simply would not carry. Didn't try to question my beliefs, didn't try to present a perspective I hadn't considered, just served up stupid one liners, giant robots and huge monsters, exactly what I wanted from it, tropes and all.

And now I have nothing to watch tonight. Guess it's back to Rogue Legacy grinding for me, argh argh argh.


----------



## MickyDickson

Watched Gravity and my god what a film, don't miss it.


----------



## flexkill

I just watched this last night....and I was pleasantly surprised. It's kind of low budget....but it's a good story. If you like Mob films....check it out.


----------



## canuck brian

I saw the Purge. It was really really bad.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Like I previous said I was gonna to, I watched *Smiles of a Summer Night*. It's awesome. It's cool to see a movie direct by Ingmar without that heavy tone that he usually implies to his characters. The film is funny, the dialogues are equally awesome(in particular I loved that scene between mother and daughter), and the acting is spot on. Recommend.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Today I watched `Faust` which is an excellent example of the German expressionist movement of the 1920`s (Directed by FW Murnau who also directed `Nosferatu`, a fantastic cautionary tale, which amazing visuals and mis-en-scene !!!. 



If you love silent films such as Nosferatu, Metropolis, M, Der Golem, you will love this !!!.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Have to see that as I enjoy metropolis very much.


----------



## wankerness

Wild Strawberries: I loved this besides maybe that first dream sequence. Very emotionally involving while being a lot lighter in tone than most of the other Bergman movies I've seen. 9/10

Spring Breakers: I liked the first 30 minutes of this, then it just got tedious. The first thirty minutes is pretty hilarious in how you can see the hatred oozing off the screen, everyone is filmed in disgusting garish neon lighting in indoor shots that makes everyone look like they're sickly and/or radioactive. The outdoor ones are almost worse, everything is overexposed with the color levels boosted through the roof so the skin tones are basically neon orange. It's pretty miraculous he took young actresses as beautiful as these and made them look so gawky and terrible (I am sure he meant to do it, I'm not saying it was a miscalculation). Also, the depiction of spring break participants seems like a depiction of tribal rituals in a 1930s hollywood movie. The first thirty minutes seems designed to make you never want to see another girl under the age of 25 again. It's pretty awesome.

After that it starts getting tedious, I especially got annoyed with how it will just loop dialogue over and over while sort of going forward and backward in time repeatedly (I think the most obnoxious example of this is when they ask James Franco if he's scared about 10 times in a row). I also loathed the ending. 4/10

Lovelace: Pretty bad, it like, simultaneously makes her look like way more of an innocent victim than evidence suggests she was, while also making all the shit she said happened to her look far less bad than she described! It takes an extremely ugly story and streamlines it into some Lifetime movie-of-the-week bullshit. Amanda Seyfried is solid and sympathetic and I was somewhat surprised to see that they had her dad come off so sympathetically, but yeah, this is a very pointless movie. Watch a documentary instead if you're interested (ex, "Inside Deep Throat"). 

Her version of Chuck Traynor in her third autobiography is far worse than the events depicted in the movie and they reorder events from it in a big way, not always in ways that make sense. I mean, there's no doubt in my mind Chuck Traynor was human garbage, but she was clearly a deeply messed-up person in her own right and was a pathological liar. It also naturally doesn't mention all the weird shit she filmed with numerous other witnesses who said she was a willing participant (ex, bestiality, films where she urinates on people, etc). It sort of wraps the story up in a nice little bow when the reality was a pretty deeply disturbed lady up till her early death in 2002. 

Strangely, Traynor managed to be married to another porno actress (Marilyn Chambers, who later was in "Rabid," one of my fave movies!) for 10 years without ever getting any domestic abuse charges or allegations, and SHE turned out fine in the end, so I dunno. Point is, this movie seems to clean up the whole story of Linda Lovelace's life in a big way while also making it way more melodramatic. Oh well. I'm still glad I watched it cause now I think I might finally be over my knee-jerk Amanda Seyfried hatred, I liked her in this. 4/10


----------



## flexkill

Just saw Enders Game......better than I thought it would be....worth a watch.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Yesterday I saw *Notorious* by Hitchcock. I didn't dislike the movie completely but it has a lot more romance and few thriller or suspense elements than I was expecting. So keep in mind, you will not see the usually Hitchcock movie with a tricky plot or twist. It's the type of movie where the princess is saved by the prince.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> Yesterday I saw *Notorious* by Hitchcock. I didn't dislike the movie completely but it has a lot more romance and few thriller or suspense elements than I was expecting. So keep in mind, you will not see the usually Hitchcock movie with a tricky plot or twist. It's the type of movie where the princess is saved by the prince.



I liked it cause it was the rare Hitchcock movie where it focuses so much on the emotional torment of the woman from a sympathetic POV, usually he seems like a sadistic director when it comes to the suffering of his heroines but here you really see it from her perspective much of the time. It's also sorta thrilling to me to watch them basically break all the movie decency laws at the time (it was just barely within code standards with the not really at all veiled references to her promiscuity, I'm sure it caused a ton of controversy, I know there was also some big flap about kisses couldn't last longer than X number of seconds that this teased the issue with that scene where they make out for a really long time but always broke lips just before the time limits were reached).

Also, I like that the hero is really portrayed as being an irrational asshole to her, and how they both sort of go through with their actions out of some masochistic point they're trying to prove instead of because they want to. Great flick if you look at it as being about emotionally damaged people more than being a thriller. It's probably my second favorite of his after Vertigo (I've only seen like 10-15 of them though).


----------



## Rosal76

Watched "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) again and swear, it seems that I appreciate the movie even more every time I see it. When General Marshall reads the condolence letter by Abraham Lincoln addressed to the Mother who lost her 5 sons who all fought in the Civil War, there is a lot of power in that scene.

Had no idea that Ted Danson (as Captain Hamill) was in this movie. Bryan Cranston (as War Department Colonel) from "Breaking bad" was also a huge surprise for me.


----------



## wankerness

Rosal76 said:


> Watched "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) again and swear, it seems that I appreciate the movie even more every time I see it. When General Marshall reads the condolence letter by *Abraham Lincoln* addressed to the Mother who lost her 5 sons who all fought in the Civil War, there is a lot of power in that scene.
> 
> Had no idea that Ted Danson (as Captain Hamill) was in this movie. Bryan Cranston (as War Department Colonel) from "Breaking bad" was also a huge surprise for me.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Just finished *Winter Light*. This one was not easy. I mean, the movie has a few angles we can pick to discuss and maybe never get to a conclusion. I think the common thing to all the characters is that they are all searching for the true love, not in a form of a person but in spirit. 
One of my favorite parts is when the Pastor questions himself "and if there isn't a God?... Life would become understandable...". That's a great moment in the film, because we can see the burden full of doubts about the existence of god that the Pastor carries with him, and he shows his relief buy questioning not by praying.

Really nice movie.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> Just finished *Winter Light*. This one was not easy. I mean, the movie has a few angles we can pick to discuss and maybe never get to a conclusion. I think the common thing to all the characters is that they are all searching for the true love, not in a form of a person but in spirit.
> One of my favorite parts is when the Pastor questions himself "and if there isn't a God?... Life would become understandable...". That's a great moment in the film, because we can see the burden full of doubts about the existence of god that the Pastor carries with him, and he shows his relief buy questioning not by praying.
> 
> Really nice movie.



That trilogy (Winter Light/The Magician/Through a Glass Darkly) is sorta what I'm most interested in watching next of his, but I don't have any of those movies so who knows when I will. After Wild Strawberries I'm hyped!

Ginger Snaps 2: For a movie that totally lacks what made the original so good (the core with the two sisters' relationship), this is about as good as it possibly could be. It's a logical continuation of a story that shouldn't have been continued, if that makes sense. It moves along at a nice clip till the last act and the characters are mostly handled pretty well. It stars the chick from Orphan Black as a character that I really thought was supposed to be like 12, but maybe my age meter is totally off (the actress was 19 at the time! to my credit, no one in the movie ever gives even a remote estimate of how old she's supposed to be, but she sure acts like a messed up 12 year old). People who say this is better than the original confuse me, it's certainly not bad but it has none of what made the original so special, just more gore and slightly better special effects. Oh, I guess that's why horror fans like it more >:O 6/10

Bourne Identity - I love this movie. I think the sequel's better in some ways, but it's worse in some ways too. Bourne himself is much more affecting in the sequels, but god I love Franke Potente, and the plot is really well-constructed and the action scenes are great in a low-key way and yeah, pretty much one of the best pure action movies out there. 8/10

Die Hard - This is very highly entertaining, but at this point in my life I'm now deeply disturbed by how the big emotional finale isn't him and his wife getting back together, it's Carl Winslow learning the joy of killing again! GOD BLESS AMERICA! The gender politics in this movie are also utterly hilarious. It's another movie I can watch over and over without getting sick of, though. 7/10


----------



## TimothyLeary

I didn't know it was a trilogy. Now I'm curious about the rest. Got to see them. 

Yesterday I saw *Gravity*. I really enjoyed it. Nothing fancy, but I was stuck to the screen all the time. Great performance by Bullock. And props for keeping it within a reasonable time frame instead of tossing some crap story in the middle. Recommended.


----------



## wankerness

My bad, "The Silence" is the third part of that trilogy, not "the magician." It's not a trilogy in the typical sense of the word, but I know people tend to arrange some of his early stuff into thematic trilogies (Summer Interlude/Summer with Monika/Smiles of a Summer Night being another).


> Winter Light is often considered the second film in a trilogy ("Trilogy of Faith"), the first film being Through a Glass Darkly and the third The Silence. All three films focus on spiritual issues. Bergman writes, "These three films deal with reduction. Through a Glass Darkly  conquered certainty. Winter Light  penetrated certainty. The Silence  God's silence  the negative imprint. Therefore, they constitute a trilogy."[2] In an interview in 1969 Bergman stated that these three films had originally not been intended as a trilogy, he only regarded them as such in retrospect due to their similarity.


----------



## flexkill

Just watched "A Single Shot" Good movie. I love Sam Rockwell, dude is fvcking awesome.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Haven't watched a lot of stuff lately, but something I started doing the past few nights is having a week-long (or something like that) Hitchcock marathon of one film per night.

I started with 1960's _Psycho_ on Saturday.
1963's _The Birds_ on Sunday.
And 1958's _Vertigo_ last night and tonight. (Long film - had to split it up.)
Now continuing with 1954's _Rear Window_ tonight and maybe 1951's _Strangers on a Train_ tomorrow night.

Any other Hitchcock fans on here amongst SS.org?

(I must say, one thing though, a lot of Hitchcock's stuff has been utter letdowns. Everyone praises him as the "master of suspense" and a killer filmmaker.... I'll admit that he was probably the best *for his time*, but now...ehhhh... Still, a great wizard of cinematography in a few flicks like _Psycho_ and _Vertigo_ that are classics. But still....I expected much darker, "nail-biting" stuff from the "master of suspense". Everything is a "love story" so it seems...)


----------



## wankerness

Wings of Obsidian said:


> Haven't watched a lot of stuff lately, but something I started doing the past few nights is having a week-long (or something like that) Hitchcock marathon of one film per night.
> 
> I started with 1960's _Psycho_ on Saturday.
> 1963's _The Birds_ on Sunday.
> And 1958's _Vertigo_ last night and tonight. (Long film - had to split it up.)
> Now continuing with 1954's _Rear Window_ tonight and maybe 1951's _Strangers on a Train_ tomorrow night.
> 
> Any other Hitchcock fans on here amongst SS.org?
> 
> (I must say, one thing though, a lot of Hitchcock's stuff has been utter letdowns. Everyone praises him as the "master of suspense" and a killer filmmaker.... I'll admit that he was probably the best *for his time*, but now...ehhhh... Still, a great wizard of cinematography in a few flicks like _Psycho_ and _Vertigo_ that are classics. But still....I expected much darker, "nail-biting" stuff from the "master of suspense". Everything is a "love story" so it seems...)



Most of his most famous movies are not the suspense ones. Strangers on a Train is one, though. Still, I wouldn't go in with an expectation like "most suspenseful ever" though. Look for a good movie instead of something that's supposed to compete in jolt-level with all the modern movies made for the dulled senses of today's filmgoers. That's really how it is with "jump scares" and stuff like that, similar to distortion levels on guitars over the years.


----------



## TimothyLeary

I don't know if I can consider myself a Hitchcock fan because there's a lot of his movies I never seen. Normally I go for the classics or ones with best imdb ranking(>=7.0). 
But I enjoyed a lot Rear Window, Strangers on a Train and Vertigo. North by northwest is also good.


----------



## Basti

I love Hitchcock films but usually it's more to do with the phenomenal acting than Hitchcock himself, although i really do appreciate his brilliance


----------



## Rosal76

flexkill said:


> Just watched "A Single Shot" Good movie. I love Sam Rockwell, dude is fvcking awesome.



I'm definately interested in seeing this movie. I read the plot and it reminds me of, "No country for old men" (2007). Interested to see it, nonetheless.


----------



## Mexi

saw kick-ass 2 the other day, pretty shitty.


----------



## flexkill

Rosal76 said:


> I'm definately interested in seeing this movie. I read the plot and it reminds me of, "No country for old men" (2007). Interested to see it, nonetheless.


It's funny you say that....cause it def has that type of feel to it. Sam Rockwell is fabulous in this too.


----------



## ROB SILVER

SHARKNADO...
Every bit a stupid and glorious as you could hope!


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Basti said:


> I love Hitchcock films but usually it's more to do with the phenomenal acting than Hitchcock himself, although i really do appreciate his brilliance



Speaking of which, you ever notice that Hitchcock slid himself into a few of his movies in some way? Sort of like a subconscious presence or like a ghost?... You don't see him...but he is there literally for a second on screen. And then when you do see him, you can't "unsee" it.

But I've started playing "Where's Waldo?" but instead it is "Where's Alfred?" - Thus far, I have found him in _The Birds, Vertigo, _and _Rear Window_.  (My statement of "a few" could maybe turn out to be "a lot".)


----------



## TimothyLeary

Finally completed the Ingmar trilogy, Through a glass darkly, Winter Light and The Silence.
My favorite is perhaps Winter Light followed by TAGD. The Silence is not an easy movie. It has flawless performances by the actors but sometimes is too difficult to connect their feelings. I think it's the most experimental movie I've seen from Ingmar, but a must see nonetheless.


----------



## Basti

ROB SILVER said:


> SHARKNADO...
> Every bit a stupid and glorious as you could hope!



Stupid and pointless yes, but not glorious. All those films are made with minimal effort and don't even have a redeeming sense of irony or humour. They're hard to watch even when you're trying to waste time, I actually prefer watching ads.


----------



## Mexi

Saw Elysium the other day. Pretty awesome effects but I would have liked a stronger story; they could have done a lot with a kind of D-9 commentary on wealth disparity and race relations.


----------



## wankerness

Mexi said:


> Saw Elysium the other day. Pretty awesome effects but I would have liked a stronger story; they could have done a lot with a kind of D-9 commentary on wealth disparity and race relations.



I thought elysium could have been stronger plotwise, but I don't think it needed more message. I thought the wealth disparity stuff was basically the entire point of the movie, I think it would have been way too heavy-handed if they put that even more in the forefront. I was still mostly happy with it just cause the effects and production design delivered in spades and it's so rare you get a good splattery sci-fi/action movie these days. This and Dredd are about the best we've gotten since the glory days of Total Recall and Robocop.


----------



## Don Vito

I caught the first Thor movie on TV, as I planned to see the sequel.. and wow, what a shitty movie. I'll go see The Hobbit instead.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Don Vito said:


> I caught the first Thor movie on TV, as I planned to see the sequel.. and wow, what a shitty movie. I'll go see The Hobbit instead.



You should. The second Hobbit was much better than the first one, although the 3D/HFR sucked ass.


----------



## Leveebreaks

Don Vito said:


> I caught the first Thor movie on TV, as I planned to see the sequel.. and wow, what a shitty movie. I'll go see The Hobbit instead.


 
Ha I watched the new Thor last night, that was pretty shitty too  Wasn't expecting much having seen the first one though.

The Hobbit...I really haven't enjoyed this Trilogy so far as they have blatantly stretched and changed and added characters that make zero sense to try and justify making 3 movies out of a pretty short book. It'll look nice though I guess, but no way am I paying cinema prices to see it.

Best films I have watched recently: Brick and Alpha Papa. Brick's quite old now but still awesome and Alpha Papa is probably only really funny if you have followed Partridge from the start.


----------



## Don Vito

Fat-Elf said:


> You should. The second Hobbit was much better than the first one, although the 3D/HFR sucked ass.


Never saw the first one, but the second one looked pretty decent from the commercials. I've actually read the book, but that was back in 4th grade, so I don't remember any of it


----------



## Steinmetzify

Watched 'Prisoners' last night....seriously flawless performance from Hugh Jackman. Dude might get an Oscar for this.

Really intense story and rated R for a couple scenes of torture. If you have kids, think twice about watching this movie...it'll drag you in and then make you sick.


----------



## Dilan32

Pacific Rim, I expected it to be much better


----------



## feraledge

steinmetzify said:


> Watched 'Prisoners' last night....seriously flawless performance from Hugh Jackman. Dude might get an Oscar for this.
> 
> Really intense story and rated R for a couple scenes of torture. If you have kids, think twice about watching this movie...it'll drag you in and then make you sick.



So much this. 
My wife and I watched this last night while our daughters slept. Excellent movie, but after watching this and Out of the Furnace (also excellent), it kept me up terrified at the thought of raising our kids in Pennsylvania. Obviously this stuff happens anywhere, but after watching OotF we joked immediately about how PA the vibe in Prisoners was, then it's based in PA. 
Obviously this is some crazy subject matter and it happens everywhere, but Prisoners is just insanely good and captivating without resorting to cheap twists or plot moves. And it is WAY harder to watch when you have kids. 

Also watched Don Jon the other day. I didn't expect anything good from it, but damn was that stupid/pointless.


----------



## TimothyLeary

I also watched *Don Jon*. First I thought the movie was some kind of parody or critic to the MTV generation, like Jersey Shore, etc. But in the end, maybe all they wanted to do was a simple (very simple) love story? A "fun" way to show someone who find real love, in the middle of all the non sense he lives?

Yesterday I saw *Blue Velvet*. I was expecting some ....ed up twist like MD, but surprisingly it all made sense. It has some weird parts, and some typical Lynch flavor, but overall it was good a good movie.


----------



## Xaios

feraledge said:


> Also watched Don Jon the other day. I didn't expect anything good from it, but damn was that stupid/pointless.



No movie with Scarlett Johansson could ever possibly be pointless, because in the absence of any other point, the point then becomes ogling Scarlett Johansson.


----------



## MFB

Xaios said:


> No movie with Scarlett Johansson could ever possibly be pointless, because in the absence of any other point, the point then becomes ogling Scarlett Johansson.



Not when she looks (and talks in that movie) like a piece of Jersey trash


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Anyone want a laugh? I just posted my review of _Elysium_ online after watching it last night. That film will make you laugh it is so bad.

_"And so in 2154, Hispanics are still discriminated against and are still trying to hop over borders? Welcome to 'Murica!....I mean...Elysium! Cheers ............s! - This film is a disappointment compared to Blomkamp's previous efforts of District 9 and is not even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath. The completely shallow story behind this sappy shoot-em-up shows that once again Blomkamp can do the action and FX, but he can't write worth a single shit. The story could have been wayyyyyy better written with at least the tiniest bit more depth and detail. And let's face it, I think we ALL are tired of seeing endless movies about full-grown men "saving some random little girl". (*insert a massive list of all films that fall into that category)."_


----------



## straightshreddd

Finished off Eastbound and Down the other day and I needed more Danny Mcbride, so I checked out the second movie he was ever in called The Foot Fist Way.







F*cking awesome as hell. Certain bits of dialogue had me absolutely dying. I highly suggest it to anyone who's a fan of Mcbride's work. 

He plays a 4th degree black belt in Taekwondo who runs a dojo, has marriage issues, and hires his hero(a Chuck Norris ripoff) to demo at one of his belt test ceremonies.

It's pretty goddamn funny and keeps you engaged. It's the first movie, in a long time, that made me want to watch it again and again. Mcbride's goofy, wise-cracking, redneck antics never get old for me.

I'll leave you with one bit from a dinner scene with his wife and her two conservative friends:

"I'm so hungry, I could eat a grown man's ass."


----------



## MFB

Got back from "Wolf of Wall St" recently, its really good but about 30-40 mins too long given there's about three times they could've ended it during that time


----------



## Choop

straightshreddd said:


> Finished off Eastbound and Down the other day and I needed more Danny Mcbride, so I checked out the second movie he was ever in called The Foot Fist Way.



OMG, this movie is great. The Mike McAlister char is hilarious also. XD


----------



## straightshreddd

Choop said:


> OMG, this movie is great. The Mike McAlister char is hilarious also. XD



Hell yeah! haha That's the director, Jody Hill. He's also the director of Eastbound and Down. Dude's hilarious. He nailed the intense martial artist perfectly. It's funny because in real life, he's actually a 3rd degree black belt in taekwondo and his experiences with a specific trainer inspired him to make this film.

I loved the party scenes. "Julio! Jesus Christ, dude!... F*ck it. Get ready."

Yup, definitely watching it again tonight.


----------



## JosephAOI

MFB said:


> Got back from "Wolf of Wall St" recently, its really good but about 30-40 mins too long given there's about three times they could've ended it during that time



Really? I thought it was really solid the whole way through. There were definitely parts that they _could_ have ended it or where I thought it was about to end but I was glad it didn't. The turns the movie took were crazy, and I thought it was great.


----------



## MFB

JosephAOI said:


> Really? I thought it was really solid the whole way through. There were definitely parts that they _could_ have ended it or where I thought it was about to end but I was glad it didn't. The turns the movie took were crazy, and I thought it was great.





Spoiler



I figured it would've ended when he was shooting the infomerical, but then it didn't; or they killed off Jonah Hill's character and then did a quick wrap up of how things ended after that, but they didn't - etc... It was good but only Lord of The Rings should be three hour movies, not a Scorcese/DiCaprio work about basically hookers and cocaine.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

WOW! The Wolf of Wall Street was SOOOO ....ING BEAUTIFUL!!! O.O

Seriously, being a film connoisseur, I am now holding this film in the highest regard. (Granted, I may be slightly biased since it's one of my favorite books adapted onto the screen by Scorsese, one of my favorite directors. But Scorsese can do no wrong.)

A wickedly humorous three hours of PURE sex, drugs, and money with a dark undertone. And the best part for you gentlemen out there.....SOOOO MANY BEAUTIFUL NAKED WOMEN!!! (In fact, the film is about 1/3 a porno due to all the detailed sex and full nudity, even vagina, on screen. I swear a guy was jerking off in the wall-to-wall loaded theater I was in.) It kind of also makes you want to go on a booze and drug binge after you watch it. Haha!

Everything is so carefully crafted as far as cinematography and photography goes, with a very clever attention to detail to help along the way. (Man...one scene though is intense as hell. For anyone who has read the book, then you know the one ....ed up scene I'm talking about towards the end. Scorsese nailed that one scene of ultimately dark family terror perfectly as I envisioned.)

I cannot recommend this film enough. If you go into the film expecting another Goodfellas or Casino, then that is exactly what you're going to get!.....the best of the best!....but this film is also a totally different beast in its own way and it paves its own path as an impending Scorsese classic.

SOOOO ....ING AMAZING!!!


----------



## TimothyLeary

So before yesterday I watched *Solaris* cause Andrei has an amazing reputation, and I can understand now why. I can't express in words even less in my poor english, but the movie has a tone, a feeling, that pursued me throughout the movie. 
Yesterday I watched *Sacrifice*, and the experience was even more intense. The movie is so beautiful, the characters have so much passion and depth. I was lying if I say I understand the entire movie 100%. Of course there are scenes that are rather surreal or full of imagination, but like I said, it's the overall feeling of the movie that embraces you and keeps your attention, until it reaches its peak of intensity and then you stop. You take a deep breath, and you realize what a ....ing great movie you have just seen.

As I was searching for another movie from his filmography, I noticed I had already watched *Stalker* in the past, but I did not like it very much, if I remember correctly. Maybe I was just not in the mood for those type of films, yet.=)


----------



## Fat-Elf

Spirited Away

Still my all-time favorite movie. Can't believe it's already 12 years since it came out. It feels like yesterday when I first saw it.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Fat-Elf said:


> Spirited Away
> 
> Still my all-time favorite movie. Can't believe it's already 12 years since it came out. It feels like yesterday when I first saw it.



Same here, man. 

Still my all-time favorite movie. That film is just......I mean, it isn't just for kids. It's for adults too. For everyone. And we can't even understand why. (I think that is why it is the highest grossing animated film of all time...or something like that.)

Everytime I watch it, I feel inspired and feel like a kid again though. 12 years man.....12 years.....


----------



## wankerness

Wings of Obsidian said:


> Same here, man.
> 
> Still my all-time favorite movie. That film is just......I mean, it isn't just for kids. It's for adults too. For everyone. And we can't even understand why. (I think that is why it is the highest grossing animated film of all time...or something like that.)
> 
> Everytime I watch it, I feel inspired and feel like a kid again though. 12 years man.....12 years.....



Hmm, had to look that up. List of highest-grossing animated films - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Looks like it's #9 if you filter for cartoons and 60 something if you include CG movies (pixar, etc). #1 for Japanese animation, though?

I loved the first two thirds of that movie but thought it totally fell apart in the last act with the flying scene. I prefer My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky out of the few movies I've seen of his. I'll rewatch it when it comes out on bluray (unfortunately looks like that will be 2015).


----------



## wankerness

Body Double - Amusing thriller, clearly a huge (acknowledged) ripoff of Vertigo and Rear Window but definitely fun to watch. It's not nearly as good as the director's own "Blow Out" or "Dressed to Kill" but it's amusing. It's basically Vertigo but with a claustrophobic actor instead of a detective that's scared of heights. Melanie Griffith plays a porno star and is pretty funny and likable in the role, I like that this incredibly explicit movie paved the way for her getting hired for "Working Girl." The star is the Bill Maher-looking dweeb from Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and there were a lot of scenes where I wanted to reach through the screen and smack him, but I guess that was the point. There are some amazing Hitchcockian suspense scenes which are incredibly manipulative in the best way possible, especially a threatening scene with a giant power drill. The whole movie is on youtube for some reason. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqAyNtRvGJ0

I also enjoyed recognizing a store clerk as being Gozer from Ghostbusters. What a frightening lady! 7/10

Body Heat - Really great noir movie, I loved almost the entire thing. Kathleen Turner is awesomely seductive and Bill Hurt is great as the lead. It has one of the best scores I can remember. The supporting characters are all great too, I especially liked Ted Danson's doofy dancing lawyer. 9/10

Invaders from Mars (1986) - Sort of fun, nothing real special but a lot of colorful effects and I liked Karen Black. This probably would be one of my favorite movies if I'd seen it when I was a kid. 6/10

Berberian Sound Studio (2013) - A sound engineer gets hired to do a sleazy horror movie in Italy and starts to go nuts. I liked it quite a bit for a while but it just sort of flips the table and turns into mush about 2/3 through and I thought it completely fell apart. There is a lot to like in this movie but the last section is so problematic I can't recommend it. 5/10

My Neighbor Totoro - I watched this with subtitles the first time I saw it and hated it, the screeching child was so unbelievably obnoxious that I couldn't get past it. I watched the dub this time around and loved it. It's got such a sweetly simple story and is greatly imaginative and unlike anything else. And unlike Spirited Away, it manages to maintain the mood right up until the end. 9/10

Laputa: Castle in the Sky - After Totoro and Spirited Away I was confused by this, since for a long time it seems like it's just an animated action movie for kids. That's what it is, overall, but there are some moments of visual poetry scattered through that are unforgettable. The apocalyptic scene with the robot reactivating and basically everything that goes on in the titular castle are truly classic scenes that I think rank with the best animation I've ever seen. It's definitely nothing like Totoro or Spirited Away but it's a really great flick. The dub is good too, Cloris Leachman in particular just tears it up. 8/10

From up on Poppy Hill - This one fell totally flat for me, the story is about two kids that start to fall in love over the preservation of what seems to be some fanciful japanese frathouse for nerdy high schoolers, and then discover they're related. I love Whisper of the Heart (another non-fantasy Ghibli movie) but thought this pretty much sucked. 5/10

Logan's Run - It's not good, but I'm not going to argue with watching about 45 minutes of Jenny Agutter running around in a silly minidress. Some of the effects are kind of fun, but overall it's pretty bad. I definitely don't regret watching it, though. 5/10

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - Awful, pointless, a lot of the setpieces go on forever, I guess I'll give it a 2/10 for Jessica Biel being better than the material. 2/10

The Muppet Movie (197?) - I am a big fan of this, it's got a lot of cameos that fall flat but some of the others are brilliant, especially Steve Martin as a deeply resentful waiter. I am biased towards liking all things muppets, but I still think this is a pretty great kids movie. 7/10

Golden Voyage of Sinbad - I'm probably blinded by nostalgia, but I love this movie. Spectacular stop-motion effects and even more spectacular Caroline Munro cleavage. 8/10

Revenge of Frankenstein - Well, it's a huge improvement over Curse of Frankenstein, but I think these Hammer movies might just not be for me. Period movies with British people...ugh!  6/10

Gremlins 1/2 - I like both of these, but 2 is definitely my favorite. It's got to be one of the most ridiculous big studio movies ever made, it's almost pure anarchy. Christopher Lee, Hulk Hogan, and tons of looney tunes references? What a classic. 8/10

Also, since it was the Christmas season and I was at relatives' houses, I ended up watching a bunch of stuff on TV i wouldn't have watched otherwise, like A Christmas Story and Forrest Gump and Batman Begins. How can anyone watch movies on TVs these days? Not only are the ad breaks relentless and horribly placed, but now they have big pop-ups telling you to tweet your favorite holiday memories or whatever that cover up large portions of the screen! Man, TV sucks. It's sort of funny seeing movies you're familiar with on TV and noticing them cutting scenes out. Like, Batman Begins cut out 5 seconds (the part where Katie Holmes slaps him in the face) for no reason I could figure. I guess it was just too scary for audiences? Forrest Gump had a lot of hilarious redubbing, like changing lines with "Ass" from Dan to be "legs" instead. Oh well. I'm now even happier I don't have cable. You might as well not even watch movies if you're going to watch them on standard cable.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> I also enjoyed recognizing a store clerk as being Gozer from Ghostbusters. What a frightening lady! 7/10



Good eyes. 

Watched this movie, "The last detail" (1973) which stars the amazing Jack Nicholson as a Navy petty officer assigned to escort a Navy prisoner to a Naval prison. This movie also stars a very young Randy Quaid (23 at the time) and Nancy Allen (also 23 at the time) from "Carrie" and "Robocop" fame.

Useless trivia that I would like to mention. 

In "The last detail", Jack Nicholson play a Navy petty officer who insults a group of U.S. Marines. When he does so, he puts a cigar in his mouth and gives the Marines a stare.

19 years later in the movie, "A Few Good Men" (1992), Jack Nicholson play a U.S. Marine who insults a bunch of Navy lawyers. In doing so, he also puts a cigar in his mouth, after saying the insult and gives them (Navy lawyers) a stare.

Deja Vu? No, just me getting too deep into movies that I watch. LOL!!!


----------



## wankerness

You're Next - Great home invasion horror movie with some very unexpected plot developments. This has the single greatest heroine I can remember in this kind of horror movie (slasher/survival). I was screeching with delight at the first death by hammer. It only really missteps with the odd last two minutes. VERY highly recommended for any horror fans. 8/10


----------



## MFB

^ When I first heard of that movie, someone described it as "The only movie where you'll plead for someone to walk through the front door"

And sure enough when I saw it, I got halfway out of my seat with joy when it happened


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

wankerness said:


> My Neighbor Totoro - I watched this with subtitles the first time I saw it and hated it, the screeching child was so unbelievably obnoxious that I couldn't get past it. I watched the dub this time around and loved it. It's got such a sweetly simple story and is greatly imaginative and unlike anything else. And unlike Spirited Away, it manages to maintain the mood right up until the end. 9/10
> 
> Laputa: Castle in the Sky - After Totoro and Spirited Away I was confused by this, since for a long time it seems like it's just an animated action movie for kids. That's what it is, overall, but there are some moments of visual poetry scattered through that are unforgettable. The apocalyptic scene with the robot reactivating and basically everything that goes on in the titular castle are truly classic scenes that I think rank with the best animation I've ever seen. It's definitely nothing like Totoro or Spirited Away but it's a really great flick. The dub is good too, Cloris Leachman in particular just tears it up. 8/10
> 
> From up on Poppy Hill - This one fell totally flat for me, the story is about two kids that start to fall in love over the preservation of what seems to be some fanciful japanese frathouse for nerdy high schoolers, and then discover they're related. I love Whisper of the Heart (another non-fantasy Ghibli movie) but thought this pretty much sucked. 5/10



Could NOT get into _Poppy Hill_ at all.

Have you seen _Princess Mononoke_? THAT is definitely the runner-up behind _Spirited Away_ (a lot more mature and action packed. Another of the highest-grossing animated films. LOVE IT!)

My Miyazaki flicks would be:
5.) _My Neighbor Totoro_ (you've seen it....you know it's timeless charm and why kids in Japan grow up on it. It's simple and juvenile, but highly enjoyable.)
4.) _ Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind_ (dat soundtrack though!!!)
3.) _Howl's Moving Castle_ (quick-moving, very deeply detailed, and has a little more "modern" touch that other Miyazaki flicks)
2.) _Princess Mononoke_ (super smart, so many memorable moments, great topics such as wilderness conservation and female leadership)
1.) _Spirited Away_ (eternal classic, perfection.)


----------



## flexkill

Just watched Rush.....good movie, not great.


And I watched American Hustle....Disappointed in that one. It was ok, but it dragged alot.


----------



## Mexi

just saw Oblivion, surprised by how much I liked it. great visuals and a pretty cool sci-fi narrative that was actually really well-executed.


----------



## wankerness

Wings of Obsidian said:


> Could NOT get into _Poppy Hill_ at all.
> 
> Have you seen _Princess Mononoke_? THAT is definitely the runner-up behind _Spirited Away_ (a lot more mature and action packed. Another of the highest-grossing animated films. LOVE IT!)
> 
> My Miyazaki flicks would be:
> 5.) _My Neighbor Totoro_ (you've seen it....you know it's timeless charm and why kids in Japan grow up on it. It's simple and juvenile, but highly enjoyable.)
> 4.) _ Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind_ (dat soundtrack though!!!)
> 3.) _Howl's Moving Castle_ (quick-moving, very deeply detailed, and has a little more "modern" touch that other Miyazaki flicks)
> 2.) _Princess Mononoke_ (super smart, so many memorable moments, great topics such as wilderness conservation and female leadership)
> 1.) _Spirited Away_ (eternal classic, perfection.)



Princess Mononoke seems to be widely regarded as his best. Several years ago I sort of half-watched it while making out with some chick and every now and then we'd look at the screen and be like "wtf there's blood and a giant wolf and stuff shouldn't this be cute like Spirited Away?!" So basically, I was a moron when I saw it. It's another one I'll probably wait to rewatch for a bluray since the DVD is supposed to look pretty terrible.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

wankerness said:


> Princess Mononoke seems to be widely regarded as his best. Several years ago I sort of half-watched it while making out with some chick and every now and then we'd look at the screen and be like "wtf there's blood and a giant wolf and stuff shouldn't this be cute like Spirited Away?!" So basically, I was a moron when I saw it. It's another one I'll probably wait to rewatch for a bluray since the DVD is supposed to look pretty terrible.



Are you kidding? I have the entire Miyazaki collection (came in a large awesome bleu, Ghibli-labeled and pressed box from a friend in Japan. It's not available here in the USA and I could probably sell it for a good couple hundred....enough to maybe buy a new guitar. xD)

Every DVD is fine. Perfectly fine because these are legit DVDs, not shitty overdubs and cheap knockoffs. I can attest to it. Whoever told you otherwise is clueless.

Although, if they do release an ACTUAL collection of some kind on Blu-Ray, I'd be first in line for it (but I sure as hell am not buying each Blu-Ray disc individually.....far too expensive. Ghibli flicks already are expensive here in the USA despite their distribution with Disney. Still expensive.)


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Mexi said:


> just saw Oblivion, surprised by how much I liked it. great visuals and a pretty cool sci-fi narrative that was actually really well-executed.


 
"I'm your wife" = biggest WTF moment I've had in a LONGGGG time.


----------



## wankerness

Wings of Obsidian said:


> Are you kidding? I have the entire Miyazaki collection (came in a large awesome bleu, Ghibli-labeled and pressed box from a friend in Japan. It's not available here in the USA and I could probably sell it for a good couple hundred....enough to maybe buy a new guitar. xD)
> 
> Every DVD is fine. Perfectly fine because these are legit DVDs, not shitty overdubs and cheap knockoffs. I can attest to it. Whoever told you otherwise is clueless.
> 
> Although, if they do release an ACTUAL collection of some kind on Blu-Ray, I'd be first in line for it (but I sure as hell am not buying each Blu-Ray disc individually.....far too expensive. Ghibli flicks already are expensive here in the USA despite their distribution with Disney. Still expensive.)



Yeah, the Japanese DVD looks fine, it's the US one that has the awful rep. They aren't the same transfer, the US one is all washed out and blurry. Here's a way-too-detailed comparison of every DVD! "Princess Mononoke" Ghibli Studio (Japan) - Region 2- NTSC vs. Intercontinental Video Ltd (HK) - Region 3 - NTSC vs. The AV Channel (Australia) - Region 4- PAL vs. Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Buena Vista (France CE) - Region 2 - PAL

Anyway, I sure am not paying out the nose for a box set of an outdated format, especially when I own several of the movies in it! It's like 50 a movie to import the japanese blu-rays too. I'll just wait for the US one, the US ones tend to come out two years behind the Japanese ones and Mononoke just recently came out. I'm also waiting on blu-rays to come out in this country for Porco Rosso and Kiki's Delivery Service. 

I splurged and bought every US-released one besides Howl's Moving Castle (that's the one I'm most likely to find used somewhere) and Secret World of Arietty (everyone trashes the US dub and says to import the UK version cause I guess it has the likes of Saoirse Roan instead of people from Wizards of Waverly Place!) about a month ago cause they were on sale for the low low price of 17.99  I still haven't gotten around to watching Nausicaa or Ponyo but I have the discs on hand!


----------



## flexkill

Just saw "12 Years a Slave". Brutal fvcking movie. Good movie....but brutal, and very uncomfortable to watch in a movie theater with black folks in the theater with you.


----------



## wankerness

Amazing Spider-Man - This is incredibly bland, it's so bad it almost makes the first Toby Macguire one look like a masterpiece. One key scene to illustrate how soulless and terrible it is in comparison is the way his powers are discovered in this movie vs that one. Here, he does a retarded Matrix-style kungfu fight with some toughs in a subway. Andrew Garfield isn't terrible, but any sympathy you may have for the character in his quieter moments goes out the window as soon as he adopts his smart-ass persona in basically every effects scene for the rest of the movie. Martin Sheen and Sally Field manage to make no impact whatsoever despite having far more acting prestige than the actors who played the characters in the first movie. All the effects scenes look like a videogame, especially the horrid first person camera shots. I like Emma Stone and boy do I hope she gets killed off in the next movie so she can get a better gig. 5/10

Wolf Children - Really, really great japanese animated movie from 2012 which is one of those sorts of slice-of-life kind of animated flicks with no villain or anything that the Japanese seem to excel at. It's about motherhood and childhood and it has some really transcendent passages that remind me of the space flight scene in Wall-E. I loved this to death and the only problem with it was the male wolf's anime hair looked like a furry's design and annoyed me. This is almost besides the point with how deep this movie manages to resonate with its themes and its strength of characterization, but it's about a woman who falls in love with a werewolf of sorts and has to raise their two half-human half-wolf (they can switch between the forms at will, for the most part) babies by herself. Again, though, despite how ludicrous the concept sounds, the movie treats it very matter-of-factly and it's almost too bad that it's the concept cause it will probably scare people off who envision what a movie with that concept would be like if it was made in America (Teen Wolf, anyone?). This is the best japanese animated movie I've seen besides Grave of the Fireflies. 9/10


----------



## TimothyLeary

*Lone survivor*- I like it. It's not a masterpiece, but it has a fast pace that I appreciate, cause it can get you stuck on the screen. The shooting scenes are nice, but the helicopters parts are not very well done, looking very fake and poor made. Like I said, everything happens very fast, sometimes I wish there was more emotion or fear from the characters cause they were in a real ....ed situation, but it's OK, nothing too bad.

*American Hustler* - The movie is a little boring for me. The characters are bland, and throughout the movie I didn't fell any sympathy for anyone in particular. I was just waiting to see the end, and even the end was "meh". Maybe it was my fault cause I raised my expectations to this one, because of the cast, but I was a little disappointed. It's a long movie, with a lack of rhythm and short in entertainment.


----------



## Basti

Man of Steel - 2 hours of watching New York get ....ed up  quality entertainment, but not much different from all the other films of its kind


----------



## Fat-Elf

Bad Grandpa

Overally pretty lame and oddly paced but I got some good laughs of it drunk.


----------



## 777timesgod

I never believed that seeing a movie with the Rock Dwayne Johnson would be good but "Pain and Gain" with him and Marc Walberg is simply funny as hell. Violent though so do not see it with your kids.


----------



## TimothyLeary

The wolf of wall street - If I had to resume it with one phrase I'd quote Jordan and say "I will not die sober, get these ....ing ludes". LOL

Very entertaining movie. It's three hours of movie well done, well scripted and funny. And almost made me buy some coke.


----------



## MFB

Been watching a good chunk of movies lately

Glengarry Glen Ross - Fantastic movie, and I don't know why I didn't watch it sooner. Really didn't expect it to be that good but I'm glad I was wrong.

Hercules - You know the one, animated, James Woods as Hades and Rip Torn as Zeus; the fantastic one. Still holds up over time although I think it's the only Disney movie where the animation seems to be overly fluid and flowing which seems kind of weird.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - Typical brains and brawn duo vs. bad guys schtick with ZOMG PLOT TWIST about an hour in but I simply couldn't give two fvcks about this movie

Cheerleader Massacre II - Opens with 6 cheerleaders and their coach getting killed in the desert then immediately cuts to a slow-motion shower scene of a girl dubbed over with acoustic guitar; I made 37ish minutes in and regret most of it since the tits aren't even that good.

The Ninth Gate - I love this movie for some reason I can't quite pinpoint despite all it's flaws; the overall feeling of eernie-ness at the possibility of a book actually written by Lucifer is probably why.

Skyfall - Finally got around to giving this a proper watch as I had seen the beginning at work last Christmas when we had it in the break room and the ending too but the middle was totally left out. Better than I expected it to be and I like that they poke at Daniel Craig's character being old and out of the game vs. just accepting that he is an older agent.

Devil's Pass - One of those "found footage" style documentaries about students investing the Dyotlov Pass incident in Russia. Good start and one extremely hot cast member (she's actually a UK glamour model so...) but then it took your typical turn and the monsters were entirely CGI and had your standard "lanky, starved and wild-eyed" look


----------



## Basti

MFB said:


> Devil's Pass - One of those "found footage" style documentaries about students investing the Dyotlov Pass incident in Russia. Good start and one extremely hot cast member (she's actually a UK glamour model so...) but then it took your typical turn and the monsters were entirely CGI and had your standard "lanky, starved and wild-eyed" look


I haven't seen it but...THAT TURN  I hate when that happens and everything that's been building up takes a hike and ruins the whole film, it's such a recurring theme in Horror movies. See: Grave Encounters, all the Paranormal Activities, Insidious, Sinister, etc etc

Some that pulled it off were the Blairwitch Project and Ghost Watch, and I highly recommend both of them!


----------



## MFB

I saw Blair Witch Project when I was like ...9 and remember it being horribly boring but at least it didn't cop out like modern films. Grave Encounters was one I really liked but as we both know - also takes that turn. Insidious is good but it becomes kind of self-aware and they ruin it in the last like 10 minutes. Never saw "Sinister" but it looked good, apparently not though


----------



## Basti

Sinister's definitely better than Insidious, but it's got the usual way of explaining the whole plot towards the end by some random "expert" on the phone who only appears for one scene. But yeah, it's not bad, i guess you should still watch it haha

*The Fifth Element:* It's silly but different and i was rather entertained actually...plus Willis is badass and Milla Jovovich is always awesome (and particularly hot in that film) 3.5/5

*Die Hard With a Vengeance:* Well, you know what to expect...but it's pretty great for being the third in an action movie franchise. Once again, Bruce Willis is great 3/5

*The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance:* great film. James Stewart is probably one of my favourite actors. I suppose it's more relevant to Americans but it's powerful enough to reach to everyone. Interesting seeing John Wayne and Stewart in those two roles to contrast each other


----------



## flexkill

Basti said:


> *The Fifth Element:* It's silly but different and i was rather entertained actually...plus Willis is badass and Milla Jovovich is always awesome (and particularly hot in that film) 3.5/5






This is one of my favorite movies. Great freaking movie man.....C'mon!


----------



## wankerness

Star Wars Episode II - God this just gets worse every time I watch it, absolutely wretched dialogue and lots of extremely boring stretches. 3/10 for the sonic mine sound effect and the music score's valiant attempt to lend some credibility.

Star Wars Episode III - Some cool action scenes and visuals, most of the parts where people talk still look like a daytime soap opera, entertaining enough overall though. 6/10

Ghost in the Shell - Cool companion piece to blade runner in plot, style and themes. The animation is absolutely stunning (if you don't watch the abomination CGI'd "2.0" version), the plot goes way too far into craziness in the last act though. Could have used some editing on the script level! Definitely worth watching. 7/10

Hanna - Pretty awesome action movie, sort of a surreal version of the bourne identity. All the fairy tale motifs really gave it a unique feel. Cate Blanchett was a great villain and I loved the soundtrack. 8/10

Akira - This wasn't bad but by the end I was just like END ALREADY, the last 45 minutes really starts dragging. Probably didn't help that I watched it in the dubbed version and I kept recognizing voice actors from Ninja Turtles. 6/10


----------



## Basti

Saw: i never knew it was that good a film, it wasn't as disturbingly gruesome as i expected it to be. Maybe its sequels are, since they're often the ones that take all the shocking elements and multiply them thus kinda missing the point of the original (Hannibal franchise). Only problem is that i get attached to characters too easily  4/5



flexkill said:


> This is one of my favorite movies. Great freaking movie man.....C'mon!



I really liked it though  it was just too cartoony or something, i can't put my finger on it, and I can't decide whether this was a good or a bad thing. I think i should watch it again at some point


----------



## Alberto7

wankerness said:


> Akira - This wasn't bad but by the end I was just like END ALREADY, the last 45 minutes really starts dragging. *Probably didn't help that I watched it in the dubbed version and I kept recognizing voice actors from Ninja Turtles.* 6/10



LOOOL had to highlight and comment on that . That's one reason why I take my anime without English.


----------



## wankerness

Alberto7 said:


> LOOOL had to highlight and comment on that . That's one reason why I take my anime without English.



I usually watch the japanese unless the dub has a ton of supporters (ex several Miyazaki movies and this). I have really liked the dubs for most Miyazaki movies. This one sure was a mistake though!


----------



## Taylor

wankerness said:


> Star Wars Episode II - God this just gets worse every time I watch it, absolutely wretched dialogue and lots of extremely boring stretches. 3/10 for the sonic mine sound effect and the music score's valiant attempt to lend some credibility.



It was on TV the other day and I couldn't even watch 5 minutes of it. This coming from a huge Star Wars nerd.


----------



## wankerness

I still haven't worked up the courage to watch Phantom Menace again, the last time I saw it was when it was new in the theater


----------



## RioVincent

Last night i watched internship a good movie where 2 friends joining Google to work, don't miss it.


----------



## sakeido

Alberto7 said:


> LOOOL had to highlight and comment on that . That's one reason why I take my anime without English.



that dub is classic though, if it was the old one. any time they ran out of words to say but the mouths were still moving they just put in "AHHHHHHH" or "HUUUUH" "hey tetsuo ahhhhhhh!" 



Mexi said:


> just saw Oblivion, surprised by how much I liked it. great visuals and a pretty cool sci-fi narrative that was actually really well-executed.



just saw this on Sunday. I really liked it too, very Tom Cruise-y but I didn't mind him in this one and good god it looked so cool. the story really was surprising. I thought when they gave away the twist in the trailer "I'm your wife!" that was a bad idea but they still had a lot more to show in the movie


----------



## Basti

I watched Pacific Rim and sure why not I guess I like giant robots fighting giant aliens too. Probably warrants a big screen though


----------



## Alberto7

I actually haven't watched Akira yet, surprisingly enough, but I definitely want to watch both subbed and dubbed now.



Basti said:


> I watched Pacific Rim and sure why not I guess I like giant robots fighting giant aliens too. Probably warrants a big screen though



Just like the film: the bigger, the better.


----------



## wankerness

sakeido said:


> that dub is classic though, if it was the old one. any time they ran out of words to say but the mouths were still moving they just put in "AHHHHHHH" or "HUUUUH" "hey tetsuo ahhhhhhh!"



Yeah, it was the old one. The bluray has a 2001 dub and one from the 1980s, I watched the 80s one cause of all the supporters I was finding online. I didn't check out the 2001 to see how different it is, my guess is it's a lot more sterile.


----------



## Basti

Also watched Drive the other day, very cool film and one i'll definitely remember for quite some time. I'll bet that for every woman who has a crush on Ryan Gosling there's a guy who secretly wants to be his character.

I'll add to that the first ever episode of Sherlock and I've got to say it deserves the hype.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Avoid *The Last Vegas *- Boring, boring movie. They feel bored in the movie too. It seems they're only doing it for the money. (in my naivety I like to think they are not)

Also watched *La Gandre Bellezza*. It's an Italian movie, with great scenes, poetic sometimes and well done. Recommended.

*Her* - Amazing movie. I liked it very much. For me Joaquin phoenix deserves some award for his role. Some people on imdb were complaining about the film being bored but it just worked for me, cause the scenes are not forced, everything has a reason to happen.

*Dallas Buyers Club* - Another awesome movie. Matthew mcconaughey is killing nowadays (have you seen his new tv show - True Detective?). Great passion, and it his character seems dark, deep and real. It's really worth seeing.


----------



## Ralyks

I turned on Netflix, and the movie highlighted at the top was Spaceballs.

Took it as a sign.


----------



## wankerness

Basti said:


> Also watched Drive the other day, very cool film and one i'll definitely remember for quite some time. I'll bet that for every woman who has a crush on Ryan Gosling there's a guy who secretly wants to be his character.



That movie became even better for me when I watched it again with the idea that Ryan Gosling's character was a functional mentally handicapped man. He wears a frickin scorpion jacket on top of another jacket in the summer in LA, apparently has no romantic interest in the scorchingly hot chick, only relates to the little kid, and mostly just stares blankly out of windows.


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash

wankerness said:


> That movie became even better for me when I watched it again with the idea that Ryan Gosling's character was a functional mentally handicapped man. He wears a frickin scorpion jacket on top of another jacket in the summer in LA, apparently has no romantic interest in the scorchingly hot chick, only relates to the little kid, and mostly just stares blankly out of windows.


He played literally the most coolest/awkward character in movie history, well besides the guy he played in Only God Forgives.


----------



## Basti

I need to see OGF! It's always mentioned along with Drive so it must be good...i guess? 

About the awkwardness thing...i found it a bit refreshing when you compare him to James Bond-type heroes.


----------



## Basti

double post derp


----------



## TimothyLeary

Na.. OGF is pretty weak IMO. Drive has much more depth and better direction.


----------



## MFB

JoshuaVonFlash said:


> He played literally the most coolest/awkward character in movie history, well besides the guy he played in Only God Forgives.



Clearly you haven't seen him in Lars and the Real Girl, because that character was awkward as fvck


----------



## Jakke

Watched Pacific Rim, a fairly solid movie


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash

MFB said:


> Clearly you haven't seen him in Lars and the Real Girl, because that character was awkward as fvck


Saw that two, I didn't mention it though because it's an action film. But i agree he was WAY awkward in that too, dat mustache.


----------



## Alberto7

Basti said:


> I'll add to that the first ever episode of Sherlock and I've got to say it deserves the hype.



Can we count those as actual films, though? They friggin' rock anyway. It's definitely my favorite TV show I've seen. I can see why other people would probably not like it as much as I do, or find it overhyped, but it just happens to be exactly my kind of thing. That and I really, REALLY like his coat.


----------



## wankerness

I liked the first episodes, the third was verging on stupid with the army of snipers that can kill them at any time, and by the time I got to the hound of the baskervilles ep i never wanted to see it again. Baddddd stuff.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Watched _Prisoners_ last night. (2013 flick with Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.)
Seriously intense flick with great acting.


----------



## wankerness

Captain Phillips - The intensity level on this is incredibly high but overall I didn't think it was nearly as good as the same director's comparable "United 93." It's expertly made and I can't actually find any faults with it, I just guess it wasn't for me, or something. 7/10

The Neanderthal Man (1953) - This had a few amusing scenes and some great code-dancing with the implication that poor Beverly Garland had been savaged by the hairy man but overall was a pretty dull mad scientist movie. It's about a guy who injects his housecat with a formula that turns it into a saber toothed tiger (done by footage of a regular tiger intercut with a very fake saber toothed cat head) and then injects himself with it to become a murderous neanderthal. 3/10

Her - I wish I hadn't watched this when I'd just had a bad day and was crabby cause I got the impression it would have been emotionally devastating to me most of the time. I'll rewatch it someday when I'm more in-touch with my feminine side. Initial reaction, though, was that it was incredibly good and loaded with brilliant scenes and writing and a lot of really moving stuff about breakups and loneliness, but that it wasn't as good as the comparable "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." That is my single favorite movie of all time, though, so it's sort of an unfair comparison. It's similar in that they're both using a sci-fi gimmick strictly in the pursuit of examining deeply human emotions in ways that would not be at all easy to do in a purely realistic plot. They also both have a big emphasis on the disconnect between memories of when a relationship was beautiful vs what it's like in the present. All the flashbacks the main character has with Rooney Mara are gorgeous. I was also surprised by how funny the movie is in the first bit, I laughed for quite a bit at some of Chris Pratt's lines and at that asshole videogame character. 
All in all I think it was easily my favorite of the best picture nominees that I've seen (I have zero interest in watching Philomena or Dallas Buyers Club, and haven't seen Wolf of Wall Street yet) and any disappointment I have is solely from the perspective of it not being quite as good as my single favorite movie of all time. 

I really would have liked to see an alternate version where the Amy Adams character didn't exist, I sort of felt like she was too much of a "life preserver" to the plot to make sure it didn't get too depressing. It might not be a better movie without her but I just felt like she was kind of a compromise to keep the film "mainstream accessible." Even though I love her utterly! 9/10


----------



## Alberto7

Wings of Obsidian said:


> Watched _Prisoners_ last night. (2013 flick with Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.)
> Seriously intense flick with great acting.



I started watching it as well while on a flight back to Montreal this winter, and it was pretty good... what I saw of it anyway; I fell asleep halfway through it. In the beginning it seemed to go a little too fast, but it settled a bit afterwards. I didn't really gel with the main character though. I don't know if it was his acting or what. Other than that it was entertaining until I fell asleep.

Whatever I watched of it reminded me of a more toned-down and less graphic version of the Quebecoise film "Les 7 Jours du Talion," or "7 Days" in English.


----------



## Alberto7

Double post.


----------



## TimothyLeary

wankerness said:


> Captain Phillips - The intensity level on this is incredibly high but overall I didn't think it was nearly as good as the same director's comparable "United 93." It's expertly made and I can't actually find any faults with it, I just guess it wasn't for me, or something. 7/10
> 
> Her - I wish I hadn't watched this when I'd just had a bad day and was crabby cause I got the impression it would have been emotionally devastating to me most of the time. I'll rewatch it someday when I'm more in-touch with my feminine side. Initial reaction, though, was that it was incredibly good and loaded with brilliant scenes and writing and a lot of really moving stuff about breakups and loneliness, but that it wasn't as good as the comparable "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." That is my single favorite movie of all time, though, so it's sort of an unfair comparison. It's similar in that they're both using a sci-fi gimmick strictly in the pursuit of examining deeply human emotions in ways that would not be at all easy to do in a purely realistic plot. They also both have a big emphasis on the disconnect between memories of when a relationship was beautiful vs what it's like in the present. All the flashbacks the main character has with Rooney Mara are gorgeous. I was also surprised by how funny the movie is in the first bit, I laughed for quite a bit at some of Chris Pratt's lines and at that asshole videogame character.
> All in all I think it was easily my favorite of the best picture nominees that I've seen (I have zero interest in watching Philomena or Dallas Buyers Club, and haven't seen Wolf of Wall Street yet) and any disappointment I have is solely from the perspective of it not being quite as good as my single favorite movie of all time.



I also saw Captain Phillips. It's a good movie as you say, especially in the beginning when they realize they are getting hijacked, because the film gets really tense and keeps the audience stuck to the screen, but then when they get to the rescue boat, the film kinda goes into a loop of threats and sublime sympathy from one of the pirates to the happy final.

As I previously said, I also loved *Her*, and I didn't noticed what you said about Amy character when I was watching the movie, but now that I read your comment it makes a lot of sense. Anyway, I love Amy so I don't mind her being in the movie, and to be honest I think her character is really nice, cause she brings joy to the movie, even if her life isn't much more happy than Theo's.

Why don't you want to see DBC and TWOWS? They're both amazing movies with amazing performances.


----------



## wankerness

I do want to see Wolf of Wall Street, but the plot of DBC sounds really boring to me. I've no doubt it's well made and I generally like Mcconaughey a lot (I just watched the first episode of True Detective!) but it just doesn't sound like something I'd get anything out of. The fact I have something like 150 movies sitting around my house I haven't watched yet puts getting a copy of it and watching it pretty low on my list! 

And yeah, I know I just watched The Neanderthal Man, sometimes a man just needs to eat some pieces of s*** for breakfast.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Yep, True Detective looks promising!


----------



## Jakke

Watching Three Men and a Baby.

I have been described as having the movie taste of a middle-age woman


----------



## wat

double poast


----------



## wat

*007 Skyfall* - liked it a lot, really drew me in. Different from other Bond movies but really good. Daniel Craig is great as Bond.

*Prisoners*- Really intense and emotionally charged film, almost to the point of being emotionally draining. Hugh Jackman acts his ass off. Jake Gyllenhall just keeps getting better as he gets older. Both of them put on really intense performances and when they are both in the same scene together it gets hard to watch (in a good way)

*Pacific Rim* - Cool movie, I love Edris Elba. Awesome CGI work and sound, a really good monster movie. I feel like it could have had a stronger actor as the main character but Edris' character is pretty central and pretty much makes the movie. Some of the humor is intentionally cheesy and made me roll my eyes though. Didn't think it worked too well but still a good film.

*Oblivion -* Some of the best camera work I've seen in a long time and the music is phenomenal and fits the movie perfectly. The plot is derivative of other sci-fi but it is also really multifaceted and there are many scenes that take on an entirely different meaning on the second viewing than they they had at in the first and I really like that. The look of the film is bright and very _Jetsons_ which is cool because it stands out from the dark atmosphere and clunky future tech of most sci-fi movies since _Alien_.

*Drinking buddies* - Olivia Wilde is _really_ good in it. I was kind of expecting the climax to be bigger than it was (LOL) and the drama to be more dramatic. But the characters and the interplay between them are really realistic. It's a realistic portrayal of how people and relationships actually are with no sugarcoating. Also, Olivia Wilde's tits are in it
*
Attack On Titan* - not a movie but I just started watching this last night and I'm all about it, lol. I love the music, the characterization and how the show goes really in depth with the strategies for each battle and how the the character's strengths and weaknesses affect the way the battles play out. really cool.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

The Fifth Element 




One of my all time favourite films !!!.


----------



## Basti

*Point Blank (1967):* very good "film noir", gripping all the way through and a cool vibe to it. I laughed out loud at a scene when a woman has a full-out epileptic rage fit against the protagonist while he stands completely immobile and bemused, after which he turns around and sits down to watch TV. 
But for the most part it was something very different and interesting that'll probably keep me thinking about it for a while now, and I'd love to discuss it with anyone else who's seen it.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Kwaidan 




Just got to watch this brilliant film today, one of the best films I have seen this year, I totally recommend it to anyone who loves Japanese cinema or a bloody good movie !!!.


----------



## wankerness

Glad to hear that you liked it, it's such a stunning movie stylistically and some of the segments still manage to be creepy after all these decades! 

I watched two more best picture noms:

Wolf of Wall Street - The first 2/3 of this were completely awesome and I was laughing out loud at tons of the ridiculous bullshit that went on. The part where Leo gets hit with the quaaludes high at the country club and has to make it home and give Jonah Hill the heimlich was one of the greatest sustained comedy sequences I can remember! I sort of lost patience in the last hour and got bored, but that was probably more my fault than the movie's. Great stuff for the first 2/3 if nothing else, 7/10

Dallas Buyers Club - This was another one of those stereotypical "morally reprehensible person becomes a better human being through some kind of trial" movies but it was done very well. I wasn't planning on watching it till I saw one of the most cynical asshole critics I know stick it on their best of the year list. Mcconaughuey (i'm really wasted right now give me a break) was awesome throughout and the big crowdpleaser moment certainly pleased my crowd (that part in the grocery store where he puts his old friend in a choke hold for Jared Leto). It was a bit predictable but that came with the subject matter, really. Mcconaughey is such a great actor and he's really had a career renaissance the last couple years. I also loved Jennifer Garner in this movie even though her part was pretty stereotypical. 7/10


----------



## flexkill

TimothyLeary said:


> Yep, True Detective looks promising!




I just watched both episodes and I have to say....I'm on the fence as of now about it. I hope for the best though.


----------



## TimothyLeary

I've seen *12 years a slave*. I don't know if I will upset someone but I thought the movie was very boring. Like, it's two hours of lashes, and lashes with blood, and more lashes, so what's the point? There's a ton of movies, I'm sure, representing the same atrocity against the color people, so why keep doing the same? I didn't feel any connection with the characters, sometimes I thought I was a cold heart bastard just because I was not impressed anymore with the bloody scenes.... Even the Brad Pitt performance was bland, and didn't add anything special to the movie like I was hoping to. I don't get why it was awarded best picture, but I'm sure there's a lot of people who loved it.


----------



## flexkill

TimothyLeary said:


> I've seen *12 years a slave*. I don't know if I will upset someone but I thought the movie was very boring. Like, it's two hours of lashes, and lashes with blood, and more lashes, so what's the point? There's a ton of movies, I'm sure, representing the same atrocity against the color people, so why keep doing the same? I didn't feel any connection with the characters, sometimes I thought I was a cold heart bastard just because I was not impressed anymore with the bloody scenes.... Even the Brad Pitt performance was bland, and didn't add anything special to the movie like I was hoping to. I don't get why it was awarded best picture, but I'm sure there's a lot of people who loved it.



Dude, I went and saw this movie in the theater and let me tell you what, I wish I hadn't. There was plenty of black folks in that theater with me and I was VERY uncomfortable. This movie is possibly one of the most disturbing movies I have EVER sat through and I will NEVER watch it again. This movie will be nominated for everything it can be and it will win most of the awards it is entered for.

These movies win because how can you say no? It is a political nightmare(here in the USA anyway) even though I feel we have come a long way towards fixing these racial issues. You are correct that it is not a great movie, but it is a good movie and probably more accurate than I would care to admit. The violence and abuse was overboard some will say, and others will say how else could you portray the circumstances accurately without it.

Well one thing is for sure. I felt it, and I felt uncomfortable being in the room with these folks whom probably had relatives/ancestors who had to live through that vile barbaric shit. It has probably left it's mark just as intended.


----------



## wankerness

It is a good movie cause it has incredibly strong characterization and acting and it is filmed very flatly as opposed to some kind of hamfisted anti-racist creed with every moment telegraphed with blaring music and super theatrical staging such as Glory or The Long Walk Home or Crash or The Help or whatever. Not that all of those are bad movies or anything but this is definitely several cuts above. The performances are almost uniformly amazing, especially the woman who plays the slave that Michael Fassbender is molesting, and some of the scenes (like the one where he's hanging while everyone goes about their business) are really memorable. I wouldn't say it's a movie I plan on watching frequently but I would certainly say it is better than almost all of the other best picture nominees, if not all of them (my personal favorite was "Her" by a mile, for the record). It deserves any awards it wins and if it does win any it won't be solely because it's an "IMPORTANT" movie. I think it probably WON'T win cause it's so relentless and refuses to pull any punches or use any big fancy cinematic tricks to tell you exactly how you should be feeling right now, and it doesn't contain much in the way of absolution. The academy tends to like their anti-racism movies to be feel-good movies, ex Driving Miss Daisy. :/

EDIT: There are actually very few movies about slavery, and very few of those are any good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_featuring_slavery


----------



## TimothyLeary

I think the problem is that I didn't feel any connection with Solomon since the beginning of the movie, so it was hard for me understand all the pain he was going through. Even the young slave girl didn't "convince" me. But I respect what the film represents, and its importance to the people who live through such things.


----------



## flexkill

TimothyLeary said:


> I think the problem is that I didn't feel any connection with Solomon since the beginning of the movie, so it was hard for me understand all the pain he was going through. Even the young slave girl didn't "convince" me. But I respect what the film represents, and its importance to the people who live through such things.


This may be because alot of the acting was almost like stage acting i found. It was like a play on film.


----------



## Carvinkook

I watched 2 last night.. Elysium-OK, The Wolverine-DUD!


----------



## TimothyLeary

*Best man down * is a nice movie. Not pretentious, it just tells a good story, with great performances and good sense of humor. It's a simple movie but I recommend it. It's not like some indie movies that try to hard to pass some kind of message. 

*Saving Mr. Banks * - I liked this one a lot. Emma thompson is just great in this film. Every nuance or every feeling is there, and her character has a lot to express believe in me! I mean she changes her humor in a blink of a eye; the look on her eyes change as fast, the vulnerability of her character is just well represented... etc. It's a pleasure to see someone acting like this. Recommended.

*Escape Plan* - The secret here is to just don't expect too much. It's a good afternoon sunday movie, to relax and just let go with it. Don't try to find flaws in it and you will be entertained for about 2 hours.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Well, I haven't watched this film in quite a few years (minimum of 8-10 years?), so I figured that it is time to watch James Cameron's masterpiece......._Titanic_, that was the legendary highest-grossing film of all time for quite awhile...before Cameron's _Avatar_ overtook it....which actually kind of sucks. _Avatar_ was like a quick phase and was only good for it's usage of new technology at the time before it faded. But _Titanic_ is/was good for everything from the acting to the music to the storyline to the tiniest detail to the emotional attachment of the audience and ultimately the climactic emotional impact. It still deserves to be the top-grossing film in my opinion as a film connoisseur because it remains to be a CLASSIC; whereas, _Avatar_ is not.

On a side note, I also was thinking earlier today that I wish more than anything that I could have a love like the fictional characters of Jack and Rose in the film. (Maybe that is why the film and its music/score have always stuck with me?) Granted, in our modern time, that shit would never happen. Two random kids of different social classes, one being 17 and the other being 20, don't meet and fall in love at first sight (like I said above). It just doesn't work like that because of the views and rules of our society nowadays. BUT DAMN...I really wish I could have something like that. Even dying for someone whom I love as long as they stay devoted... (Call me a hopeless romantic, go on.) And the fact that the character of Jack inspired the character of Rose to later on break restraints and live a life of adventure and freedom...I think that is something we ALL need.


----------



## Alberto7

^ I just think it's always been improbable. Actually, I'm pretty sure that kind of thing happening was much rarer back then than it is now. People have always liked to hear stories of near impossible love, and that's why _Titanic_ succeeds as a love story; such a thing happening back then was almost impossible (MUCH more than it is now), and the impossibility of it makes it very alluring to a very wide audience, even today. _Romeo and Juliet_ is an extreme example of that. That shit just never happened, but people loved to fantasize it did.

But yeah, I agree. I'm not exactly a film connoisseur or anything, I just really enjoy watching a film, but I love _Titanic_.


----------



## axemanrio

Prisoners.

One of the best movies to come out of 2013.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

axemanrio said:


> Prisoners.
> 
> One of the best movies to come out of 2013.



This I agree with. ^

It wasn't fantastic or ground-breaking or crazy......but just a really solid flick. They could've explained the ties between all the "suspects" (Alex, Bob, the old lady, the dead man in the priest's cellar) a little better. The fact that they barely glisten over it and leave the audience to figure it all out is great...but my friends and family who are "slow" in the head are sitting their like "WHAT?????" 

Seriously solid flick though.


----------



## Basti

Seven Samurai. Damn awesome film.


----------



## Jakke

After watching a documentary about Journey, I realize that Neal Schon had the most epic afro in the 70's.


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash

Les Miserables-AWESOME! that is all.


----------



## wankerness

What version of Les Miserables? Why did you like it?

Jeremy (1973) - I watched it cause the movie podcast dude I have listened to for a couple years (Mark Kermode, BBC guy) has been plugging it every chance he gets and I finally broke down. It's rather nice in its lowkeyness, it's like one of those near-documentary naturalistic movies about being an awkward teenager in love. It kind of reminded me of "Lucas" only even more low-key than that! It was quite good even though the plot sort of ended abruptly. The two leads were great (the guy went on to voice the beast in the disney beauty and the beast 20 years later!) and I liked that it was interested in the minutiae of the relationship instead of bold gestures or musical montages. Apparently some psychologist observed a strong correlation between liking this movie and being a single man who's too scared to approach women. Good times. 7/10

Blue Jasmine - I didn't really like it but I REALLY liked Cate Blanchett's performance, watching her spin out of control and the way her eyes dart around in desperation as she spits venom and lies made me realize I'm kind of an idiot for not liking her all these years. She makes one of the most despicable and awful lead characters somewhat sympathetic simply through how believable and vulnerable she makes her, but she never compromises on the awfulness. So yeah, she's just great and I hope she wins the oscar but I didn't really like much of anything else that went on in the movie. 6/10

Frances Ha - Makes a good double-feature with Blue Jasmine, it also follows around an out-of-control woman who's hell-bent on not doing "real" work and on projecting some weird image of what she considers sophistication. Both movies feature many incredibly cringeworthy scenes in which they are completely out of their element socially, or where we know how desperate they truly are and watch as whoever they're talking to slowly realizes it. God, they're painful movies. Frances Ha is way, way lighter, though, and Frances is somewhat lovable and much less unredeemable than Jasmine. It's definitely not a movie for everyone but I found it very engaging. It's very dense with the dialogue and moves pretty quick and sometimes the cuts to new settings or times are almost jarring, but it's good. Oh, it's black and white, I know that offends some people. Mostly, I guess it will all come down to your tolerance for dopey, earnest wannabe artistic types (ex, many of the people on this board, only a cute idealistic woman instead of an angry male nerd). It's on netflix if anyone is curious. 7/10

Next up on my attempt to watch all the best movies of 2013 is "Short Term 12," I also have to watch "All is Lost" and "Act of Killing" and "Wadjda" and "Blue is the Warmest Color" and "Before Midnight" (though I have to watch the first two in the trilogy first?!) and "Nebraska" (if that ever has screeners sent out).


----------



## Basti

JoshuaVonFlash said:


> Les Miserables-AWESOME! that is all.



Really? I couldn't get past five minutes of it without groaning my head off. Then again i don't usually like musicals or Anne Hathaway


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash

Basti said:


> Really? I couldn't get past five minutes of it without groaning my head off. Then again i don't usually like musicals or Anne Hathaway


I love musicals, but they're not for everyone.


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash

wankerness said:


> What version of Les Miserables? Why did you like it?


It was the 2012 version. The first thing that struck me were the visuals and the environments they shot in, they had a very stellar real to the time period about them. On to the songs on the movie:I can't pick any particular song out of the movie, as it all seemed/felt like one big song telling the story of the characters in the movie. But singing, movements, and music played during the musical numbers were all well executed. It's a pretty lengthy film clocking at 2hrs. and 45 min. But it spans a little over 20 years so that's passable and it didn't feel like it was too long. The movie as whole had this epic feel to it the whole time which got me sucked into it and you do (or at least I did) genuinely care about the characters. All in all I'd give 10/10 Yes I thought it was that good.

I also saw The Place Behind The Pines yesterday with my father, so I'll do a review on that now as well.

The Place Behind The Pines(2012)-I came into this not knowing a thing about the movie, and ended it feeling like the much of the ending was unresolved. The acting was great, but the plot besides the Deus Ex Machina plot advancement at the beginning was good but moved at an odd pace and left many questions of solved. The main character did almost mirror Ryan Gosling's silent tough guy character from Only God Forgives, which sort of made it a bit comical. I will give another watch as I haven't fully digested all of movie and since it was my first time ever seeing it and hearing nothing about it. (besides some commercial from almost 2 years ago) I'll be watching with more critical eyes, next time I watch it. 8.5/10


----------



## wankerness

JoshuaVonFlash said:


> It was the 2012 version. The first thing that struck me were the visuals and the environments they shot in, they had a very stellar real to the time period about them. On to the songs on the movie:I can't pick any particular song out of the movie, as it all seemed/felt like one big song telling the story of the characters in the movie. But singing, movements, and music played during the musical numbers were all well executed. It's a pretty lengthy film clocking at 2hrs. and 45 min. But it spans a little over 20 years so that's passable and it didn't feel like it was too long. The movie as whole had this epic feel to it the whole time which got me sucked into it and you do (or at least I did) genuinely care about the characters. All in all I'd give 10/10 Yes I thought it was that good.
> 
> I also saw The Place Behind The Pines yesterday with my father, so I'll do a review on that now as well.



I was pretty blown away by that version of Les Mis also, up until the jump ahead in time about halfway through. I didn't give one single f*ck about anything that happened after there. I dunno what the problem was. I guess part of it was that I loathed all those shitty college students, and part of it is that I have a longstanding distate for Amanda Seyfried's face, and part of it was I stopped being able to differentiate the music cause essentially everything seemed to have the exact same dreary string backing and rather tuneless vocal melodies with recitative in the middle. I plan on watching it again cause it was weird that I liked it so much up until the halfway point so I think I might have had some indigestion that started up there or something.

I've been meaning to watch "The Place Behind the Pines" for months now, I should finally do so.

I just watched "Enchanted" all the way through for the first time, Amy Adams in this movie is one of my favorite performances ever. The first 2/3 of this movie is basically flawless, it's both hilarious and completely charming. The musical scene with all the cockroaches and sewer rats is one of the best song and dance numbers ever filmed. I wasn't quite as enamored of where the plot eventually went, especially the Ghostbusters style climax, but other than that, what a great movie. 8/10

Sleepaway Camp - I watched this for about the 9th and 10th times this last week while inflicting it on friends that hadn't seen it before, this is one of the most fun "so bad it's good" movies ever. Ricky's water-balloon inspired outburst should be put in a time capsule and shot into space to be preserved for aliens that may discover it after our civilization has ended to learn what we were capable of. The ending is probably the only reason the movie is still remembered by as many people as it is, and deservedly so. Easily the most horrific ending in movie history! It's frequently boring and it's atrociously made and acted but it's a ton of fun if you watch it in the right mood.

Sleepaway Camp 2 - Not as good as I remembered, nowhere near as funny as the first. It still has some good stuff in it, though. I really like how the camp seems to be made up of about 20 counselors and 2 kids. I think just about every single person in this movie dies.

EDIT: 

Batman - I still don't like this. I liked it more than the first time I saw it but I still think it's too cartoony and weird. At least it's a million times better than Batman Forever/Batman and Robin, I guess. 5/10

Batman Returns - I liked this a bit more, it's SO weird and unpleasant and distinctive that I think it's much more interesting than the dull first one. Also, no goddam people running around with boomboxes that blast Prince songs (I don't hate Prince but the usage was really weird in the first). Danny Devito is awesome and the costumes and effects are great. Michael Keaton and the plot are as lame as ever but yeah, lots of good stuff going on. The music score is way more unhinged, too. 6/10

Short Term 12 - A lot of great performances in service of an incredibly predictable Lifetime-Movie-of-the-Week plot. Brie Larson is really, really good as the messed-up den mother at a short term mental hospital for minors. Unfortunately most of the plot points are as dull as dishwater and the stupid arcs of some of the characters are as unchallenging as possible (especially Marcus, the ending almost made me groan out loud). She's good enough that I would recommend it to most people, though. The good parts are so good that it's well worth watching, it's just there's so much lame stuff I couldn't call it a good movie overall. 6/10

EDIT 2: 

Place Beyond the Pines - This tries to use the structure of some kind of sweeping historical epic ala Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, but doesn't follow any events or characters that deserve such a structure. The overall plot is really dumb and the half-ass attempt to tie things full circle in the third act is really undeserved, especially with the miserable excuse for an ending.


Spoiler



Why the heck would Jason (Gosling's kid) care so much? He's shown as having quite a stable family situation. AJ is a world-class piece of shit and I don't know why they went to so much trouble to show how happy he was at the end. Every time he talked I wanted to murder him.


 It could conceivably have still salvaged something good after the second act, but yeah, the third act just totally invalidated the first two. I guess it gets points for being well-made and sheit but the script just fails on all sorts of levels. Dumb movie, probably impresses people cause it's so unpredictable, man. I'm not really sure why Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling were in it, it seems like after Drive and Silver Linings Playbook they both would have better things to do, though I guess this is probably better than some of Ryan Gosling's subsequent efforts, as well as Hangover 3. 4/10


----------



## TimothyLeary

Wankerness, that's odd man. I remember watching Place Beyond the Pines last year and I don't recall it being so bad. I think it was rather entertaining. 

Rush - It's a nice movie. Daniel Brühl performance is spot on. I didn't like some race parts, cause the camera angle seemed odd, but not bad enough for me to stop enjoying it. It's a great story too.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - Loved this one! It's strange cause it seems like a modern movie. It's so fresh and well done. Every scene flows beautifully and it's full of mystery until the end. I really recommend it. 

Patton (1970) - Finally watched this one. It's awesome. Great acting by George C. Scott. I don't know much about the real general so I don't how accurate is the movie, but I enjoyed it anyway. Gotta love Patton's personality, his a great man with a big mouth!  
The movies is well balanced with great war scenes and other parts full of awesome speeches. Very nice.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> Wankerness, that's odd man. I remember watching Place Beyond the Pines last year and I don't recall it being so bad. I think it was rather entertaining.
> 
> The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - Loved this one! It's strange cause it seems like a modern movie. It's so fresh and well done. Everything scene flows beautifully and it's full of mystery until the end. I really recommend it.



Place Beyond the Pines was a case of the whole being way less than the sum of the parts. I was willing to go with it until the third act revealed the whole thing to be a crock. Even if it had simply just cut off after the second segment I probably would have thought it was a better movie than I thought it was by the end of the third segment.

Manchurian Candidate was awesome alright. It's way more disturbing than I was expecting it to be. Angela Lansbury is one of the great villains.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Just watched *12 Angry Men (1957)* and wow, what a great movie. It's amazing what you can do with 12 actors, a room, and a awesome script. I just didn't like one scene, when there's one man of the jury speaking and the rest of the people stand up like a choreography. It felt very "theater-like", like a programmed sequences. But apart from that I loved it. Though I was expecting some kind of twist at the end, but I was happy it didn't happen. It seemed more real this way.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> Just watched *12 Angry Men (1957)* and wow, what a great movie. It's amazing what you can do with 12 actors, a room, and a awesome script. I just didn't like one scene, when there's one man of the jury speaking and the rest of the people stand up like a choreography. It felt very "theater-like", like a programmed sequences. But apart from that I loved it. Though I was expecting some kind of twist at the end, but I was happy it didn't happen. It seemed more real this way.



A really good companion piece to that is "Anatomy of a Murder," it's another court drama of similar vintage and repute but with radically different perspectives on the trial itself. Anatomy of a Murder is less predictable and much more "daring" but 12 Angry Men is a much tighter movie. 

12 angry men is one of the few black and white movies that managed to hold the class's interest in high school!


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

TimothyLeary said:


> Just watched *12 Angry Men (1957)* and wow, what a great movie. It's amazing what you can do with 12 actors, a room, and a awesome script. I just didn't like one scene, when there's one man of the jury speaking and the rest of the people stand up like a choreography. It felt very "theater-like", like a programmed sequences. But apart from that I loved it. Though I was expecting some kind of twist at the end, but I was happy it didn't happen. It seemed more real this way.



Had to watch that for my COM-110 online class back when I went to community college. Such a great flick. I see why it's one of the Top 100 on AFI, IMDB, etc.


----------



## Basti

I keep watching Hammer Horrors and I keep asking myself why...although Peter Cushing is one classy actor


----------



## wankerness

Basti said:


> I keep watching Hammer Horrors and I keep asking myself why...although Peter Cushing is one classy actor



Some of them are quite good. Besides the "originals," Revenge of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, The Brides of Dracula, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, The Reptile, Plague of the Zombies, and especially Quatermass and the Pit are all great.


----------



## Basti

Forgot about the Pit and the Pendulum, that was a great film


----------



## wankerness

Basti said:


> Forgot about the Pit and the Pendulum, that was a great film



Yeah, those Corman Poe movies like that are pretty good too. Masque of the Red Death is the other essential.


----------



## TheDeathOfMusic

I really like the Horror of Frankenstein. I seem to be the only one.


----------



## wankerness

TheDeathOfMusic said:


> I really like the Horror of Frankenstein. I seem to be the only one.



That's the one with the bad imitation of the Karloff makeup, right? I haven't watched that one yet, I just saw a lot of bad pictures of that makeup.

EDIT: NOPE, that one is "Evil of Frankenstein." I dunno much of anything about Horror. Most of the titles of these movies are so confusing, especially cause they're sometimes shared between Dracula and Frankenstein movies.


----------



## Basti

wankerness said:


> Yeah, those Corman Poe movies like that are pretty good too. Masque of the Red Death is the other essential.



yep, i saw that one. Freaked me out to see a little girl pretending to be a midget whilst being dubbed by a woman...people would go apeshit nowadays. I quite enjoyed the Yeti one, mostly for the atmosphere and scenery but also, once again, Peter Cushing 

edit: i saw one of the Frankensteins. I quite liked it too, more gory than usual and Christopher Lee makes a pretty scary monster


----------



## feraledge

Watched Her last night. Excellent. I dig Spike Jonze and I believe this is his first full length movie that he wrote. Very intelligent and pretty believable "future" while being a smart take on dependency on technology and real world distancing.


----------



## wankerness

feraledge said:


> Watched Her last night. Excellent. I dig Spike Jonze and I believe this is his first full length movie that he wrote. Very intelligent and pretty believable "future" while being a smart take on dependency on technology and real world distancing.



Just because he directed those first Charlie Kaufman movies I have been unfairly comparing it to Eternal Sunshine. I get them confused! It doesn't help that this movie is similarly amazing and uses mild sci-fi elements to further really deep, human themes about relationships in ways that wouldn't be possible with a realistic story. I can't wait for the blu-ray to come out, I preordered it and can't wait to finally see it in all its glory (it hasn't been playing in any theaters remotely close to me so I had to watch a crappy screener!!). 

He's written several things before, such as BAD GRANDPA. 

Spike Jonze

Where the Wild Things Are is some kind of masterpiece also, but it's obviously not remotely similar to Her in subject matter.


----------



## TimothyLeary

So I took the earlier post by wankerness as a suggestion and watched *Anatomy of a murder*. I live it specially the first hour of the movie. The interrogation part is quite long and sometimes wearing to watch. And I thought the end would be more interesting with some kind of revelation. Being one hour shorter, 12 Angry Men is much more engrossing and captivating. 

I also watched *2001: A Space Odyssey* (yes, for the 1st time!). Throughout the movie I questioned myself several times: how did they do such amazing special effects back then? I mean, even nowadays I don't think there's a space movie so beautiful crafted and filmed as this. It's breathtaking, specially in the last part of the movie with all the "psychedelic" views from Dave. Speaking of Dave as anyone remember when


Spoiler



he's going to shutdown HAL:9000 brain and the computer doesn't take any action to refuse it? Didn't close any door, for example. I didn't understand that part.


The movie is slow, and long, and the end is open to interpretation, but apart from these things being all true, I think this is a must see movie to all. It's so goddamn beautiful.

*Thor: The Dark World* - oh man I really like Natalie Portman.  I don't know anything more about Thor, but I enjoy this films, for some reason. I think they are very entertaining, with good action and a little comedy to go with it. Kat Dennings character is lovely, and I don't know what else to say... I just like it, and I'm not a very big fan of super hero movies like the revengers, batman, and such..

*Paths of Glory * - For me, not the best from Kubrick, mostly because of the story. It's just not very interesting to me. But overall nice movie.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> So I took the earlier post by wankerness as a suggestion and watched *Anatomy of a murder*. I live it specially the first hour of the movie. The interrogation part is quite long and sometimes wearing to watch. And I thought the end would be more interesting with some kind of revelation. Being one hour shorter, 12 Angry Men is much more engrossing and captivating.
> 
> I also watched *2001: A Space Odyssey* (yes, for the 1st time!). Throughout the movie I questioned myself several times: how did they do such amazing special effects back then? I mean, even nowadays I don't think there's a space movie so beautiful crafted and filmed as this. It's breathtaking, specially in the last part of the movie with all the "psychedelic" views from Dave. Speaking of Dave as anyone remember when
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> he's going to shutdown HAL:9000 brain and the computer doesn't take any action to refuse it? Didn't close any door, for example. I didn't understand that part.
> 
> 
> The movie is slow, and long, and the end is open to interpretation, but apart from these things being all true, I think this is a must see movie to all. It's so goddamn beautiful.
> 
> *Thor: The Dark World* - oh man I really like Natalie Portman.  I don't know anything more about Thor, but I enjoy this films, for some reason. I think they are very entertaining, with good action and a little comedy to go with it. Kat Dennings character is lovely, and I don't know what else to say... I just like it, and I'm not a very big fan of super hero movies like the revengers, batman, and such..
> 
> *Paths of Glory * - For me, not the best from Kubrick, mostly because of the story. It's just not very interesting to me. But overall nice movie.



I think Anatomy of a Murder is really striking in that it doesn't tell you how to feel about the trial or who's guilty, the audience is put in the same position as the jury. I think that was really bold. I really like Lee Remick, she's great in some other stuff too (like Experiment in Terror). She's great at being morally ambiguous. The fact the score is by Duke Ellington is also a huge point in its favor. I can see why you found it talky/slow, it's definitely not the super-focused no-filler-whatsoever 12 angry men.

2001's special effects really hold up because almost every shot was so carefully planned, usually special effects are just sorta shot however looks the least bad. It's very striking that the same guy did effects a few years later on his own movie (Silent Running) but without Kubrick at the helm or the same photographer it looks way, way worse. That's a classic too, by the way. I just ordered the UK bluray cause I love wasting money! I'm not that keen on 2001 from a plot standpoint, I think it looks spectacular and it's obviously an important movie but it just sorta leaves me cold a lot of the time. 

Paths of Glory, on the other hand, grabbed me in a way no other Kubrick movie ever has (I've seen everything of his post-1959 besides Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut). It was early enough that he's willing to cop to sentimentality and melodrama, but damn, I thought it really worked. The ending floored me. I was expecting some kind of molestation ugliness and was totally unprepared for what happened. It's currently my favorite of his movies. I'm not a huge fan of him in general, though (as evidenced by the fact I've owned barry lyndon and eyes wide shut for a couple years now and never gotten around to watching them!). 

I'm going to have to watch that Thor movie when it comes out on video. I quite liked the first one when I saw it in the theater, I thought the mythology was fun and I thought most of the performances were good and I liked the low-key sense of humor. It didn't feel like the huge effects movie it was, I guess. The guy who played Thor was so great at keeping it grounded while sorta winking at the camera that he knew how stupid it all was.


----------



## Basti

Silent Running was such a great film. It may not be as classic as 2001 but it's another of those films that are way ahead of their time, if not timeless. They did a great job of plunging the viewer into a desolate space station plus I'd say plenty of subsequent space films owe a lot to Silent Running.
You reminded me to watch Space Odyssey again since I haven't seen it since i was about 10


----------



## TimothyLeary

wankerness said:


> Paths of Glory, on the other hand, grabbed me in a way no other Kubrick movie ever has (I've seen everything of his post-1959 besides Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut). It was early enough that he's willing to cop to sentimentality and melodrama, but damn, I thought it really worked. The ending floored me. I was expecting some kind of molestation ugliness and was totally unprepared for what happened. It's currently my favorite of his movies. I'm not a huge fan of him in general, though (as evidenced by the fact I've owned barry lyndon and eyes wide shut for a couple years now and never gotten around to watching them!).



I just didn't like the story. It was too absurd. But I figure that's maybe the point of the movie. Anyway, I prefer his other movies such as The shining or Dr. Strangelove or Full Metal Jacket.


----------



## wankerness

I haven't watched this but it's been #1 on my "i want to see this" list for about a year now (it was shown on some festivals early in 2013 but took several months to have a release date announced). It's finally getting released in April, and I can't wait. With this and Game of Thrones coming out in April, I sorta want to go into hibernation till then! True Detective is the only thing keeping me going.


----------



## wankerness

Basti said:


> Silent Running was such a great film. It may not be as classic as 2001 but it's another of those films that are way ahead of their time, if not timeless. They did a great job of plunging the viewer into a desolate space station plus I'd say plenty of subsequent space films owe a lot to Silent Running.



Part of the reason I loved the first half of Wall-E so much was that it was so directly inspired by that movie. I can't really think of anything else off-hand that's got the same kind of environmental message with a sort of "last remnants of humanity" thing going on, but I know it's a movie that has quite a huge cult of filmmakers who cite it as a favorite, kinda like Harryhausen movies. "Moon" I guess might also be somewhat inspired by it.


----------



## Basti

wankerness said:


> Part of the reason I loved the first half of Wall-E so much was that it was so directly inspired by that movie. I can't really think of anything else off-hand that's got the same kind of environmental message with a sort of "last remnants of humanity" thing going on, but I know it's a movie that has quite a huge cult of filmmakers who cite it as a favorite, kinda like Harryhausen movies. "Moon" I guess might also be somewhat inspired by it.



Yep, imo Wall-E himself is quite heavily based on those little helper robots, it's a cool tribute. Moon was also a really good film, the conspiracy theorist in me got really pumped by the end...lovely settings as well.

Wow I need to see Under the Skin


----------



## DC23

I watched The Hunt the other day. A foreign film nominated for an Oscar this year. I believe it takes place in Denmark and involves a teacher wrongfully accused of sexual assault on a child. Incredibly powerful movie. Horrible in many ways, but wow, so well done. I caught it on netflix.


----------



## TimothyLeary

*Efter brylluppet* - Great drama. The only negative point is perhaps the strange shaky camera work, that makes the movie not very pleasant to watch sometimes. I don't what's the purpose of that, what effect the director was trying to achieve, but it's annoying as hell. Other than that, it's a great story, and the characters are very likable. 

*Incendies* - I will not say much about this, other than I simply loved it. The story, the characters, how it's told, the beautiful pictures, etc. I really recommend it. Powerful stuff.

*Bande à part* - It has its moments. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's odd, and sometimes it's just sexy and fun to watch. It's all about the relation between the three main characters, and how they share a "dance" throughout the movie. Don't expect too much and you'd be pleased.

*Bob le flambeur * - Kinda disappointed with this one. I've watched "Le Cercle Rouge" and "Le Samourai" in the past and I loved those movies, so I had high expectations for this one. But the film it's just predictable and not very convincing. Everything seems to be made with uncertainty and the end it's too bland. 

*All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)* - Very nice. It shows how tough was for those young recruits to go to the war and what they felt throughout it. Their emotions, their fears, and their questions about what they are doing, and about what's beyond their understanding (like why it's the war happening). The film is great showing all of this with a great sense of humor, and great spirit.


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash

I saw Ender's Game and Captain Phillips yesterday, Ender's Game was pretty good I'd give it a 8.0/10. The CGI was great, the acting was great, (especially the part at the end) (I don't know how to the spoiler cover green thing so I'll try to be as vague as possible) They could've had more lore for the Formics in the movie as they do in the books, but I'm sure it'll be elaborated more in the sequels. I wished they had the more zainey and interesting characters from the books, it would've added more substance to the movie and made it more memorable. 

Captain Phillips-7.0/10 When I first watched this movie, after thirty minutes in I became very bored and I felt that way for the most of the movie up until the end. The movie had good actors (Tom Hanks is always good) but the main problem I had with the movie was the way it was executed they tried to build up on the tension of the whole situation, when really being held up or robbed isn't really the most exciting thing, and doesn't really make for an interesting movie. This movie is more a victim of what it's based on than anything else.

I also saw Fruitvale Station and I give it a 7.5/10. This movie focused a lot on trying to be true to life with how it was presented, this "realness" shows up most often in the dialogue between the characters, none of the words seem to perfect and there aren't any punch lines or anything like that. At times the "realness" made situations come off a bit awkward, because there'd be sudden silences. It's based on a real life event (which I surprisingly never heard about until watching the movie) and I wasn't expecting the ending at all, but all in all it's a good movie about how random and abrupt life can be.


----------



## Ed_Ibanez_Shred

I saw the 2011 film 'Kill List' recently&#8230; the ending was definitely unexpected, and it turned from thriller to horror very quickly yet cleverly in the last 30 minutes. 

It's probably the spookiest film I've seen in a long while, not in a typically horror-esque way, but simply through atmosphere and imagery alone. 

I will have to watch it a few more times though. It has received some bad reviews online because after one viewing, it seems very odd, abrupt and confusing. 

Without ruining anything, there are a few good theories surrounding the film's plot (yes it's one of those films) because there are lots of things in the film that can be interpreted in many ways. I would compare it to Inception in that sense.

Even if you watch it only once, it is still a well shot and generally enjoyable hit-man themed film. But as I mentioned before, it becomes evident later in the film that it is about much more than that. 

I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy 'mind-fvck' films, spooky cerebral stuff, or horror generally. I may have been rambling, but it is definitely the most thought-provoking film I've seen in a long while. After seeing it, I just wanted to see it again, much like 'Inception'.

Watch it now, and be confused.


----------



## Pweaks

I'm kinda a fan of the 70's and 80's slasher and horror movies in general, so I thought I could give the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre a shot. Now, I've seen the remakes and I didn't really enjoy them. 

My first impression after the movie was that it was better than I expected. I liked the opening sequence where they show parts of the original movie. The pace of the movie was good. The movie had a quite a lot intentional (or should I say unintentional) humor. I almost fell off my chair, when Heather throws a chainsaw to Leatherface and says "do your thing cuz!".

Now, when I watch a slasher movie I don't expect breathtaking acting performances. Most of the acting was decent enough but this guy, Tremaine "Trey Songz" Neverson really made me facepalm. I seriously think that I could have done a better job. An awful, awful actor. And yes the movie has a quite a lot of plot holes. But still, I did enjoy it. I'd give it a 5/10. Not a great movie, not even if you compare it to other slasher movies. But still, it made me laugh and that's something.


----------



## wankerness

I recently discovered this Arrow video label in the UK that specializes in extra-loaded versions of cult movies, so I've been buying lots of their stuff and thus watching these movies multiple times in a row with commentary tracks. 

First, I got 3 Lucio Fulci movies:

Zombie Flesh Eaters (aka Zombie, Zombi, Zombi 2 [the backstory is complicated!]): I remember buying the DVD of this back in college expecting to love it and being really put off by the weird, depressing tone and soundtrack and the nearly abstract plot and strange dubbed performances. After watching it about 6 more times I finally can appreciate it, mainly for the ridiculously beautiful camerawork in a lot of scenes and some of the most grisly low-budget makeup of all time. 7/10 

The Beyond: This one I actually liked quite a bit the first time I saw it, even though the plot is far more abstract than even Zombi. It really doesn't make much sense at all and seems to exist primarily as an excuse for stunning visuals and setpieces. I love the soundtrack and the visuals and the lead actress is stunning and very appealing (Catriona Maccoll) and there are a lot of bizarre quirks in the movie. One pointed out by her and the lead actor on the commentary track is that at one point he started reloading a gun intentionally the wrong way (putting bullets down the barrel of a magnum) and she started laughing when she saw what he was doing, and that's the take they left in the movie! There are also some of the most spectacular splatter scenes ever filmed, the one where the little girl's head gets blown up is second only to Scanners, haha. 8/10

House by the Cemetary: This was the third of the splatter pics starring Catriona Maccoll that Fulci made and it's by far my least favorite of the three (the first was "City of the Living Dead"). Maybe I just haven't seen it enough times, but the plot wasn't weird enough and the main character is this ridiculous kid with some of the most annoying dubbing ever (he's named BOB and sounds like he was voiced by a middle aged woman using falsetto). Some good effects, though. 5/10

Then I also got Arrow's version of "Dressed to Kill," which I think is great. De Palma's 70s/80s output is some of the most entertaining ever filmed, it's too bad he moved on to directing boring mainstream stuff like Mission Impossible after the hit of Scarface and hasn't recovered (his recent thrillers are pretty bad). Phantom of the Paradise and Blowout are slightly better but this is still definitely an 8/10. 

Dead & Buried - I wasn't familiar with this and already forgot who told me I need to watch it, I think it must have been namedropped on the dissolve or something. It's an 80s horror/mystery sort of movie that takes place in some small town that has some kind of murder conspiracy going on where everyone that visits gets massacred by a big group of townspeople. It's cowritten by Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Return of the Living Dead) so it's automatically better than average. It didn't blow me away or anything like I was expecting but it's quite a solid horror movie with some pretty good effects (especially the scene in which a woman's face is completely dissected and rebuilt in time-lapse). Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka '73 is the mysterious coroner. 6/10

The Dark Knight - I got a strong urge to rewatch this for some reason, I like it quite a bit but it does get stupider every time I watch it, most of the comic relief is really groan-worthy. The foreshadowing about certain characters dying is also INCREDIBLY in-your-face, and very distracting on repeat viewing, but I guess I shouldn't complain about it too much since I didn't notice it the first time I watched it. Hans Zimmer is basically destroying music, but I still love how this soundtrack works with the movie. 8/10

Prince of Darkness - I watched this somewhat recently and didn't really "get it," but I couldn't get it out of my head, it's one of the most audacious and bizarre horror plots I can think of and I just loved it the second time around. Basically, the son of the Anti-God (it deals a lot with vague concepts of quantum physics and tries to apply them to God and Satan!!!) is discovered as a big vat of glowing green liquid in the catacombs beneath a church in LA, and scientists are called in to try and figure out what's going on. Of course the green liquid starts spraying everywhere and making zombie satan slaves. Alice Cooper impales a man with a bicycle. 9/10


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## Basti

This film is crazy. One of those 1984 dystopian bureaucracy gone crazy settings...really well done, extremely disturbing and tense


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## Demiurge

In an ostensible effort to edify ourselves with the Oscars coming-up, the wife and I have watched this week:

Dallas Buyers' Club: Matthew McConaughey is a shoe-in for best actor for the movie, and while my judgment could be clouded by him absolutely killing it on True Detective right now, I think he'll win and that he deserved it. My wife noted that he also had an "ugly cry" (right before going into Mexico) that usually scores big Oscar-points. Jared Leto is nominated for supporting actor, but I really didn't know what to think about his performance until the scene


Spoiler



where his character sat down with his dad for the cashout (or viatical settlement??) of his life insurance policy- brutal.


 The performances were great, and underlying plot- a group of people suffering from a disease that the medical community and the FDA is glacially-slow to address- let alone empathize with- is simply horrifying. That sad, I think the overall flow of the movie was choppy, almost as if the last reel of the movie was lost and they had to improvise with "white text on black screen" exposition.

Gravity: Okay, being stranded in space is now nearing the top of the list nightmare scenarios. The movie leaned heavily on special effects and Sandra Bullock's acting, and I think both were a success. Bullock, who is mostly known for comedies, did really well- in fact, I think the almost goofy way she had about her gestures and exclamations while floating and whipping-around were probably realistic. I thought the scene with her in the airlock where she curled-up and looked like the Space Odyssey "baby in space" (with the tube behind her looking like an umbilical cord) was a neat little homage.


----------



## Basti

Speaking of Oscars I watched Captain Phillips the other day. Much better than I expected it to be, it was pretty gripping the whole way through and they do a great job of making the tension climax. Tom Hanks is a great actor, I think without him this would have been about half as good.


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## SeductionS

Lately I've been rewatching Harold & Kumar, those movies never fail to entertain me, haha 

Also just finished watching District 9, not bad, but not great either imo


----------



## Jake

Watched Wolf of Wall Street & Dallas Buyers Club like 2 weeks ago and forgot to mention it.

I really thought Leo would win best actor at the oscars for Wolf however McConaughey's performance was really good and I won't argue that he didn't deserve it, just feel that Dicaprio got screwed 

Jared Leto on the other hand was fantastic and I absolutely believe he deserved that oscar.


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## wankerness

Prisoners - I can't tell if I hated this or not. The last act was abominably stupid and pretty much undermined everything that came before. In this I guess I can compare it to Place Beyond the Pines.  I mean, the plot at least all fits together, it just seems like almost everything that's good about the first 3/4 of the movie is destroyed by the ultimate reveal and it just gets so far off-track from where it starts out (a really disturbing flick about the morality of torture) and then pretty much entirely sidesteps any dealing with the consequences of what it set up as the main morality crisis here by introducing some ridiculous character that's just pure 80s horror movie. OH WELL. The first 3/4 is incredibly compelling so I can't say it's not worth watching, but damn that movie shat the bed. I'll probably look around for some reviews (cause I know some people that I have some respect for thought it was about the best movie of the year) and see if they change my mind. 5/10

Cast Away - Strangely enough I found the entire middle section of this movie to be pretty uninteresting. Tom Hanks is good and it's technically impeccable and whatnot, I just couldn't get involved. The ending also went on much longer than it should have. I probably would have respected it more if it had just cut off when they showed him sleeping on the hotel floor, or something. For a much better dealing with this kind of emotional crisis (which seems to be the climax of the movie moreso than any of the survival stuff!) I'd just rewatch "The Dead Zone" (the christopher walken movie), the scenes with him and Brooke Adams after his coma are so much better. I love Helen Hunt and wish she was in more than two good movies (As Good as it Gets and The Sessions). 6/10

The Darjeeling Limited - I didn't dislike this exactly but I sure didn't like it much either, it's easily the worst Wes Anderson movie I've seen. I watched a short video essay on what the movie's themes are (the impossibility of reconciling the passage of time and schedules and obligations and what society expects of you with your interior self) which made it sound a lot more interesting than I found it on first watch. Maybe I'll watch it again someday and love it like I did with Rushmore, but it seems pretty universally dismissed as the worst Wes Anderson movie. The three lead characters are just kinda unlikable pricks is the main problem, and they don't have the excuse of Rushmore's hero of being 15 years old. 5/10

Ginger Snaps - I love this movie and am going to buy the shit out of the upcoming blu-ray. It's got some dodgy effects and not every scene works perfectly but it's so fresh and emotionally involving. It's like the Cronenberg version of "The Fly," the goth teenage girl werewolf edition. 9/10

Nebraska - This was pretty good, but I didn't love it the way I loved "The Descendants." It seems like a movie that might improve on repeat viewings. The "sassy old lady" character that looked like a cheap gimmick when I saw the Oscar highlight reels and saw her nominated was not nearly as contrived as those would have you believe, she has some scenes like that but there's some real depth and grit to the character as well. 7/10

Capote - This was pretty good but sort of analytical. It's a solid movie on all fronts I just can't say I really enjoyed it or felt very moved by it. 6/10

Stoker - The Oldboy director's english language debut! It's a weird movie that feels like some kind of gothic period piece ala "The Others" but takes place in the present day. The plot keeps seeming to lean towards vampirism (and the title sure suggests it!) and it's insanely stylish visually and I love the lead actress (from The Kids Are Alright/Alice in Wonderland) and it sure is an original movie. 7/10

The Monuments Men - It's pretty impressive that they managed to make a movie about an obscure subject that I love (I highly recommend the book/documentary "Rape of Europa") starring a bunch of actors I love (Bill Murray, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Jean Dujardin) and come up with a movie that feels so lame! I guess it's supposed to be a throwback to 1950s war movies or something, and I guess it does manage to capture that tone of the lamest of the 50s war movies where there are no stakes in anything and it's just a lighthearted series of vignettes where a couple characters might die but the good guys win in the end and american values are upheld, but goddam was it lame. I wanted to barf during the endless scene of Bill Murray listening to his wife's apparently professionally-recorded version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" in the army hospital in the rain. I think Cate Blanchett is the only saving grace, and her character is about 1/10th as awesome as she was in real life. It's not like, an offensively terrible movie, it's just so INEFFECTUAL. 5/10

Driller Killer - It's like some kind of wacked Taxi Driver remake. I watched a copy where the picture was so bad I couldn't always even tell what was going on. 3/10 based on what I could understand!

Seconds - Wacked out paranoid sci/fi thriller from the director of "the Manchurian Candidate." It's about a guy that gets pressured into (and then kind of blackmailed by) a company that gives you plastic surgery to completely change your appearance and then stages your death to give you a new life. After he goes through with this operation things are not quite what he'd hoped. It deals very darkly with consumerism and the american dream and has a long insane hippy grape-stomping scene and the camerawork is amazing throughout. The end is incredible and right up there with Brazil. It's pretty awesome. 8/10


----------



## TRENCHLORD

Guitarmiester said:


> The Pianist is a really good movie! In college, I was supposed to write a fairly lengthy report on the book but found watching the movie to be way easier.


 
Indeed. 
I could watch that once a month and still enjoy it every time.


----------



## ghost_of_karelia

I'm not the world's biggest fan of Tom Cruise, but I have to say the Last Samurai is one of the most moving films I've ever watched. It drags a little in the middle and in my own humble opinion the score is a little stale but the actors do the film justice and the scriptwriting is just fantastic. Few movies get through to me with such a powerful message as that one, and the end of the battle scene is truly tear jerking.


----------



## wankerness

jarvncaredoc said:


> I'm not the world's biggest fan of Tom Cruise, but I have to say the Last Samurai is one of the most moving films I've ever watched. It drags a little in the middle and in my own humble opinion the score is a little stale but the actors do the film justice and the scriptwriting is just fantastic. Few movies get through to me with such a powerful message as that one, and the end of the battle scene is truly tear jerking.



What's the message?

After reading more about prisoners, I like it even less. It sure looks pretty, though.


----------



## crg123

wankerness said:


> The Monuments Men - It's pretty impressive that they managed to make a movie about an obscure subject that I love (I highly recommend the book/documentary "Rape of Europa") starring a bunch of actors I love (Bill Murray, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Jean Dujardin) and come up with a movie that feels so lame! I guess it's supposed to be a throwback to 1950s war movies or something, and I guess it does manage to capture that tone of the lamest of the 50s war movies where there are no stakes in anything and it's just a lighthearted series of vignettes where a couple characters might die but the good guys win in the end and american values are upheld, but goddam was it lame. I wanted to barf during the endless scene of Bill Murray listening to his wife's apparently professionally-recorded version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" in the army hospital in the rain. I think Cate Blanchett is the only saving grace, and her character is about 1/10th as awesome as she was in real life. It's not like, an offensively terrible movie, it's just so INEFFECTUAL. 5/10



Thank god. I thought I was just being cynical. I liked the movie but it was SO LAME. haha


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## Winspear

Watched literally all Eva Green films after seeing 300  I think I am in love  If you haven't seen 300 yet, go check it out!


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## Rosal76

EtherealEntity said:


> Watched literally all Eva Green films after seeing 300  I think I am in love



I swear man, Eva Green looks like Rachel Brosnahan in some pictures. Especially when Rachel's hair is styled straight and black like on the t.v. show, "The Blacklist". At one point, I thought they were the same actress.


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## wankerness

EtherealEntity said:


> Watched literally all Eva Green films after seeing 300  I think I am in love  If you haven't seen 300 yet, go check it out!



There was no way I'd even consider going to see that garbage until I heard about the sex scene. Now I'm quite curious cause Eva Green is always fantastic. She ALMOST made Dark Shadows watchable (another insane sex scene in that one, sans nudity). One of the funniest acting imbalances of all time is Kingdom of Heaven, whenever she's on screen with Orlando Bloom. She basically blows him off the screen. Watching their romance scenes is hilarious. She's just great in it and he's so bad he can't even convince that he'd be in love with HER. I really hope she gets some more good movies before she's out of her prime, she deserves better material than she's been getting.


----------



## Winspear

Yeah, I agree, not too many of the movies I saw were anything special. Franklyn was a cool interesting movie. I think her performance in her first movie The Dreamers was one of the best. I think she needs some lighter but still interesting characters, but you can see why she mainly gets darker stuff haha. Definitely one of my favourite new discovered actresses, her delivery is just utterly captivating.


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## wankerness

Oh, I didn't know she was in Franklyn. I've had that movie on a pile of movies I should watch sometime. Her being in it sounds like good motivation!

The only reason I didn't turn off Dark Shadows was cause she was in it, but it isn't a TERRIBLE movie, it's just lame and only has a few good parts. I think Kingdom of Heaven is a worthwhile movie (in the director's cut version!) even without her, but the movie's just so massively undercut by Orlando Bloom being completely useless as the main character. 

I think Casino Royale's a pretty damn good movie and while she isn't given a lot to do I don't think there are many actresses that could have given the impact to the last scenes that she does with as little dialogue as she had to work with through the rest of the movie. I think it's pretty much contingent on how much the audience is madly in love with her, I know I was!

I haven't watched her first one, I heard it was a very sexual euro-movie with a lot of incest. I dunno if that sounds like my kind of thing or not. Cracks and Womb and Perfect Sense all actually sound like they might be decent, they at least have slightly out-of-the-ordinary plot concepts and seem to have moderately decent supporting casts. Dunno about this "white bird in a blizzard." The Sin City 2 trailer looked bad, and it's been so long since the first one I dunno if it will be any good, plus Frank Miller is apparently co-directing, which sounds like a very bad thing. "The Salvation" has her costarring with Mads Mikkelsen so that should be another at least pretty good one!


----------



## Winspear

wankerness said:


> I think it's pretty much contingent on how much the audience is madly in love with her, I know I was!




Yeah personally I'm looking forward to all three of those new movies but we'll see! I only checked out the first Sin City recently and thought it was cool. 
Dreamers isn't really incest..it's very weird. Incest in all but a technical sense, I suppose. Just a very close comfortable relationship. Definitely what you'd call an 'art movie' haha. 
Cracks (she is so super creepy but likeable), Womb and Perfect sense are well worth a watch. I'm finding lots of random little movies like this recently, trawling related actors/directors etc on wikipedia. I used to just watch Hollywood stuff.


----------



## flexkill

Bad Country

Bad Country - Rotten Tomatoes

Good freaking movie....I liked it! Recommend it.


----------



## Winspear

Spring Breakers. Wasn't expecting any more than a party film but this was really well done. Fantastically made.


----------



## wankerness

EtherealEntity said:


> Spring Breakers. *Wasn't expecting any more than a party film* but this was really well done. Fantastically made.



Did you somehow manage to see it without reading a thing about it beforehand? I always snicker when I think about people that went into it blind thinking they'd get to see disney actresses in bikinis being slutty. The ratings on streaming services when it first was put on there were hilariously low, surely as a reaction to just that. I didn't enjoy it exactly but I was greatly amused by the concept of it and a lot of the execution. The "party" scenes in the first half seemed like they were filmed by some kind of contemptuous anthropologist who was observing it as the rituals of a primitive society. James Franco was beyond awesome.

EDIT: I watched an entire season of Veronica Mars and felt a need to compensate for it by watching arty and weird stuff.

Blue is the Warmest Color - I've revised my opinion to be that Adele Exarchopolous was by far the best actress of 2013, there are so many heartbreaking scenes of her in this movie and she's so stunning in some really difficult material. The breakup scene and subsequent scene in the cafe are the most devastating. The only problem with the movie is that I think the "big" sex scene didn't need to be nearly as explicit as it was, and the blue-haired chick looked way too clean with her clothes off. She looked dirty and un-made-up as hell when clothed yet had the body of a fully-sterilized porn star? I think not. The sex scenes looked like something from Met Art, I guess. Other than that, though, basically a masterpiece. I am glad I bought the bluray cause it's really beautifully shot, but now i'll probably have to buy it again when the full-length version comes out (if it's better, anyway). 9/10

Ms. 45 - This was a minor masterpiece, after watching the same director's "Driller Killer" I wasn't expecting this to be half as good as it was. It's basically a rape revenge movie, but I've hated every other one of those that I've seen. A mute girl gets raped twice in one day and manages to fight off her second attacker and shoot him, and then over the course of the rest of the movie she moves from killing in self-defense to totally flipping out and going on a rampage. It balances exploitation and feminism really tenuously and I think it only gets away with it cause the lead actress is so good and cause it moves along at such a furious pace that things aren't allowed to tip over into offensive territory (ex, the rape scenes have no nudity and are pretty short but get their point across, unlike the long, leery, explicit ones in movies like I Spit On Your Grave and Thriller and Last House on the Left). Great, great little movie. 9/10

Body Snatchers - I had to watch more Abel Ferrera after Ms. 45, so I went with this cause I remembered Roger Ebert's glowing review. It's the third version of this movie and somehow is the third home run in a row for the story. I don't think any other movie and its remakes managed to have three great versions of it in a row. This one largely builds off the 78 one (ex, it has the bloodcurdling scream thing that the pods use to identify normal people) but the setting and tone of it are very different. It's set almost entirely in an army base and is all from the perspective of a teen girl. It stars a young Gabriel Anwar (the hot chick from Burn Notice) as the main character, who had to move to the army base with her dad and stepmother and little brother, and is now confronted with a militarized pod invasion. It jumps into the horror part of the story much faster than the earlier two versions, and includes a bit more visualization of how the pods work. There's a really amazing scene with Gabriel in the bathtub and the pod growing in the ceiling above her. Also, there's some great nudity in one scene of her! The movie is awesome. It's too bad it hasn't gotten much attention relative to the first two versions cause it's almost as good. The only falter in the movie at all was a terrible blue-screen shot towards the end (major spoiler material but if you see the movie you'll definitely know what I'm talking about!). 8/10

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - I never actually saw this before and figured it was about time to do so. I liked how different it was from the later two versions. I disliked the framing device of him explaining the story to the FBI or whatever, but I figure the studio demanded they put that in so the movie wouldn't be too bleak. The 78 one is still my favorite of the three but this certainly broke more ground given it was the original story and the later two are mostly just variations on it. 8/10

The White of the Eye - This was one crazy serial killer/slasher movie, it's set in Arizona in the late 80s and has some amazing camerawork (tons of super-closeups, especially on eyeballs) and a great soundtrack with everything from Pagliacci to "You Sexy Thing." It's about a Patrick Swayze lookalike who's married to the woman from Raging Bull and they have a kid but in his spare time he's actually a crazed killer who goes around killing rich housewives after installing stereo equipment. It just gets weirder from there. I don't know if i'd call it "good" in the typical sense of the word but it's certainly distinctive and the style makes it well worth watching. 7/10

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother - I'd never heard of this despite that it was made after Young Frankenstein and before Blazing Saddles and starred Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman. Apparently the reason I hadn't heard of it is it's stunningly average! It has a few laughs and isn't a total waste of time but it's trying wayyyyy too hard and just isn't very funny. The three leads are still very watchable and manage to sell some of the lame jokes just through being naturally funny and appealing. 5/10

Patrick - Australian movie about a demented guy with a unibrow who fries his mom and her boyfriend with a radio in a bathtub and then goes into a coma for three years. After this prologue, it starts with a new nurse being hired to care for him. He spends almost the entire movie just lying paralyzed on a bed with his eyes wide open while everyone thinks he's a vegetable, but his nurse starts noticing lots of signs that he may have psychic powers and may be stalking her! It's really well-paced and the lead actress is really appealing and it's all just better made than you'd expect something with subject matter like this to be. It also has a scene in which a man is telekinetically assaulted in a pool while The Rite of Spring blares on his stereo. Definitely a must-watch for any fans of 70s horror. The ridiculous-looking Patrick manages to be demented enough in appearance that nearly every scene with anyone in the room has you expecting someone's going to get massacred by telekinesis at any second, the guy's SUPER INTENSE. 8/10


----------



## Xaios

wankerness said:


> There was no way I'd even consider going to see that garbage until I heard about the sex scene. Now I'm quite curious cause Eva Green is always fantastic. She ALMOST made Dark Shadows watchable (another insane sex scene in that one, sans nudity). One of the funniest acting imbalances of all time is Kingdom of Heaven, whenever she's on screen with Orlando Bloom. She basically blows him off the screen. Watching their romance scenes is hilarious. She's just great in it and he's so bad he can't even convince that he'd be in love with HER. I really hope she gets some more good movies before she's out of her prime, she deserves better material than she's been getting.



If you ever watch Kingdom of Heaven, do yourself a favor and watch the Director's Cut. Most Directors Cuts are marketing gimmicks, but the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven literally MAKES the movie. It goes lightyears towards making both Eva Green and Orlando Bloom's characters more cogent (and yes, it helps Orlando Bloom a LOT too). Part of the problem with the theatrical release is that it leaves out so much that the motivations of their characters makes absolutely no sense. The director's cut fills in the gaps and then some.


----------



## Winspear

wankerness said:


> *Did you somehow manage to see it without reading a thing about it beforehand? I always snicker when I think about people that went into it blind thinking they'd get to see disney actresses in bikinis being slutty. The ratings on streaming services when it first was put on there were hilariously low, surely as a reaction to just that.* I didn't enjoy it exactly but I was greatly amused by the concept of it and a lot of the execution. The "party" scenes in the first half seemed like they were filmed by some kind of contemptuous anthropologist who was observing it as the rituals of a primitive society. James Franco was beyond awesome.



Indeed - I checked out ratings afterwards and that was very clear. Beforehand all I had to go by was my friends basic description of the plot and statement that the production was pretty trippy (which is largely why I watched it)



Xaios said:


> If you ever watch Kingdom of Heaven, do yourself a favor and watch the Director's Cut. Most Directors Cuts are marketing gimmicks, but the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven literally MAKES the movie. It goes lightyears towards making both Eva Green and Orlando Bloom's characters more cogent (and yes, it helps Orlando Bloom a LOT too). Part of the problem with the theatrical release is that it leaves out so much that the motivations of their characters makes absolutely no sense. The director's cut fills in the gaps and then some.



Loved that movie - what was missing in the standard cut? I saw the directors. Watched it again the other day.


----------



## wankerness

Xaios said:


> If you ever watch Kingdom of Heaven, do yourself a favor and watch the Director's Cut. Most Directors Cuts are marketing gimmicks, but the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven literally MAKES the movie. It goes lightyears towards making both Eva Green and Orlando Bloom's characters more cogent (and yes, it helps Orlando Bloom a LOT too). Part of the problem with the theatrical release is that it leaves out so much that the motivations of their characters makes absolutely no sense. The director's cut fills in the gaps and then some.



Oh, I definitely watched the director's cut. That movie is famous for being one of the best director's cuts vs theater cuts ever. I don't know exactly what's wrong with the theatrical cut or what the differences are (iirc they're almost an hour different in running time!), I just know that the director's cut is widely considered to be a pretty good movie while the theatrical one was just about universally despised. Fortunately at this point the director's cut is the only version you're likely to see, you'd have to go back to the DVD to be able to even find the theatrical version.


----------



## Xaios

EtherealEntity said:


> Loved that movie - what was missing in the standard cut? I saw the directors. Watched it again the other day.



The entire subplot about Eva Green/Sabine's son was cut out of the theatrical cut, as well as the fact that the younger priest in France, the one that Balian kills, is his brother, and that Balian had previous experience in building siege weapons, as opposed to being a simple blacksmith.



wankerness said:


> One of the funniest acting imbalances of all time is Kingdom of Heaven, whenever she's on screen with Orlando Bloom. She basically blows him off the screen. Watching their romance scenes is hilarious. She's just great in it and he's so bad he can't even convince that he'd be in love with HER.



While I do agree that Eva Green is a better actor than Orlando Bloom, I think the issue comes down more to writing. And I don't mean to say that the writing there was faulty, I think that's actually how they intended it. Sabine is meant to be smouldering and passionate the entire time. Balian, on the other hand, is still wounded and pensive from the loss of his wife. He likes her and is fond of her, but I don't think the character is really truly supposed to be _in love_ with her, especially considering how he rejects and criticizes her later in the film.

______________


A Paul Walker movie called Eight Below was on TV last night, so I watched it. I avoided this movie for a long time because I thought it was gonna be either an "Air Buddies" talking dog style kids movie, or something utterly ridiculous and saccharine like that Cuba Gooding Jr movie "Snow Dogs." I was actually pleasantly surprised. Sure, the acting is nothing to write home about, but the characters were actually reasonably well drawn, and the plot is more intelligent than I would have guessed. But perhaps the most remarkable achievement is that it starred Jason Biggs playing a character that I didn't utterly loathe. 

Yeah, it had some absolutely ridiculous faults, such as showing Antarctica in daylight during the winter, but considering that the faults were obvious to notice until after I'd watched the movie and thought about it, I'd say they didn't detract from it. I'd give t a 6.8/10.


----------



## Winspear

Xaios said:


> The entire subplot about Eva Green/Sabine's son was cut out of the theatrical cut, as well as the fact that the younger priest in France, the one that Balian kills, is his brother, and that Balian had previous experience in building siege weapons, as opposed to being a simple blacksmith.


----------



## Church2224

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

So far it is my personal favorite of the Marvel Movie Franchise so far. There were so many plot points I did not expect that blew me away. I had all sorts of emotions after it ended.


----------



## Devyn Eclipse Nav

I finally saw Hot Rod and Hook over last weekend, both pretty fantastic movies. Hot Rod was absolutely ridiculous, but some of the music was pretty awesome. My favorite scene is and always will be the "Quiet Place" bit after Rod finds out about Frank's heart condition, as well as the ensuing "Let's throw him down every hill in the area" bit.

Hook was definitely an interesting trip, I'd heard good things about it, but never actually bothered to sit down and watch it, but when you're in your girlfriend's small apartment in the middle of buttfuk nowhere, with no guitar, and it's shark week, as it were, movies tend to be a good thing to pass the time. It was actually a fantastic movie, if a bit long.


----------



## wankerness

The Quiet Place part of Hot Rod is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I really don't remember much of anything about the rest of the movie, but that scene alone means I'll never hesitate to recommend it!

Hook is like the first ninja turtles movie, it seems like everyone my age thinks it's some kind of classic, but if you first saw it when you were over the age of about 10 it is really pretty bad. It's easily the worst spielberg movie imo, which is actually saying something considering he made The Lost World and Always. 

I've been going through a very specific period of european horror movies for some reason:

Witchfinder General (1968) - This is one mean and nasty movie. It's frequently on short lists of best horror movies of all time, and I can't say I really understand why. It starts Vincent Price in very restrained, very mean mode as a guy that goes around burning "witches" for profit. Him and his crony rape some woman and execute her dad for witchcraft and then her husband goes nuts trying to take revenge on them for the rest of the movie. It's got some very memorably nasty stuff in it but I'm not entirely sure why it's so revered beyond what's generally considered Vincent Price's best performance, I guess I'll have to give it another watch someday. 6/10

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) - Some idiots in 20th century england dig up an evil egyptian sorceress and bring her back to England and scatter her evil mementos everywhere, one of their daughters (who through some convoluted means is the sorceress's spitting image and is able to be possessed by her) goes around recovering the artifacts to resurrect the actual sorceress. There are a lot of somewhat gory deaths as the mummy's curse apparently kills by slicing people's throats through telekinesis, or something. It's a pretty fun movie. This has some of the most spectacular cleavage ever seen, it puts American Hustle to shame. 6/10

Twins of Evil (1972) - Peter Cushing is a mean old asshole that goes around burning witches, but unlike Vincent Price in Witchfinder General he actually thinks he is doing God's work. He is pitted against some ridiculous asshole count who calls Satan and becomes a vampire out of sheer boredom, and Cushing's unbelievably hot twin nieces are used as pawns in the fight between them. You can't root for either of them cause they're both dicks, but you can sure root for the twins! (They were the first playboy playmate twins, apparently, they are incredibly voluptuous in the Christina Lindberg style of innocent-face-with-gigantic-boobs) Basically, this is the most awesome Hammer horror movie I've ever seen. It has everything: incredibly gorgeous naked women, some outrageous gore effects, and surprisingly classy production values (the score in particular is a real stand-out) and strong characterization. It's a lot better than it has any right to be! Can't recommend this enough if you like classic horror at all. 8/10

Daughters of Darkness (1971) - Countess Bathory and her creepy babe assistant stalk around a newlywed couple. She seems like she might be an ageless vampire, and the husband seems like he may be a psycho. It's very arty and weird. It's widely considered a classic, I could see a lot of what made it good but watching it right after the super-fast-paced Twins of Evil was a mistake as it's very slow and dreamy and weird. The visuals are quite striking, it's got some major style going, especially color-wise (tons of very vivid reds). 6/10

Next up: The Vampire Lovers (1970), Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), and "The Devils (1972)!


----------



## jonajon91

Just got back from the cinema watching 'the raid 2'. I have to say that I really enjoyed it, some of the best choreography in a martial arts film I have seen to date and they really upped the gore factor in it. The only thing I have to say that's bad is that the plot to action ratio had dropped significantly, while the raid had some dialog at the start and end with non stop action in between, this film had much more plot and character development, it all worked, but it's not what I was expecting from the sequel.
Would recommend.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Enemy (2013) - Awesome thriller from the same director of Prisoners and Incendies, which are both awesome movies too. 
The film as a great dark tone, and a very "heavy" presence, due to the suspense and the main characters personality. We never know what is going to happen next, and the end is prove of it. Recommended.

Mr. Nobody - I freaking loved this one. After watching it I had to take a few breathes to assimilate it before doing something else. It's full of great scenes, great photography and an awesome story. I'm not a very fan of the fantasy genre but I got tell you, this is worth watching.

Rosemary's Baby - A classic. I should have seen it before but I thought it was a typical horror movie. No, this is more of a thriller than horror film. The argument flows like wind, it's flawless to me. Overall it has some parts that are a little slow and the pace of the movie suffers from it, but in the other end it may contribute to that claustrophobic feel.

Pan's Labyrinth - I watched this because it was a recommendatin on the Mr.Nobody message board. It's also a good movie. I think the story could use a little more development and detail but it's nice.


----------



## wankerness

Pan's Labyrinth is one of the very few movies I'd give a 10/10, I think it's pretty much flawless and really deeply moving and a really stunning merge of styles.

I hated Rosemary in Rosemary's Baby, she struck me as such an offensively stupid, sexist character. She's so incredibly ineffectual and mostly just spends the whole movie acting pitiful and helpless and never displays a shred of intelligence. I guess that isn't surprising considering it was made by a man famous for sodomizing a drunken 13 year old at a crowded party, but it was still jarring to me cause I had just watched Repulsion and that didn't strike me as very misogynist at all. I'll have to rewatch the movie since it's almost universally considered a masterpiece so obviously there's plenty of positives that I completely missed while being enraged by the lead character, but yeah. I think that was the single most negative reaction I've ever had to something that's considered a classic by most all real critics.


----------



## TimothyLeary

It's strange cause I didn't feel any of those things you say about Rosemary's character. I even think she was pretty clever to figure out everything, only with the help of a dead friend.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

EtherealEntity said:


> Watched literally all Eva Green films after seeing 300  I think I am in love  If you haven't seen 300 yet, go check it out!



First _300_ = amazing.
Sequel = pure shit. (That rough sex scene was so retarded.)


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Just enjoying _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_ again. Love watching this flick every now-and-again.

And......I just stumbled upon this:
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Donn...s-Crouching-Tiger-Hidden-Dragon-II-42373.html

They are making a sequel after all these years???

Just announced two days ago:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-prequel-698356


----------



## Alberto7

For a second, the link to that website misled me to believe that they were making a sequel for Donnie Darko. Needless to say, my heart filled with pure blind rage for that second.


----------



## dedsouth333

I thought they did do a sequel to Donnie Darko. I thought it followed his little sister or something.


----------



## Alberto7

WTF I didn't know about it until now that you mentioned it! No wonder though... just checked reviews.  0% Rotten Tomatoes haha. I might watch it some day, but I feel like I might as well sit and watch the grass grow for two hours.


----------



## dedsouth333

Yeah. From what I heard it was awful. Fortunately for me I found out about it ahead of time and didn't have to watch it. I now bestow the same blessing on you. Do with it what you will.


----------



## Michael

Money Train
White Men Can't Jump

Woody Harrelson cracks me up.


----------



## geese_com

Rewatched X-Men:First Class last night. Great movie.


----------



## Basti

The Wolverine. Shitloads of people get sliced up without actually shedding blood. It's pretty much what you would expect but it's cool and very entertaining, loads of action and badassery


----------



## Somnium

Snowpiercer. Fuggin view that ish with thine human eyes, it's definitely worth it. You can stream it with ease right now, I think it's headed to American theaters at the end of June. Watch it. Do it man, come on. We both know you want to.


----------



## TimothyLeary

I'm on a Western sprint!

*Fistful of dollars, For a few dollars more, The good the bad and the ugly* - The three movies are very awesome. My favorite is the second, but the three of them have their flaws and very good moments. The thing that gets in my nerves is that the flaws were very easily corrected, but anyway, Clint Eastwood is the Chuck Norris of Western's and it's always good to see him.

The Magnificent Seven - Must see. Based on the Seven Samurais which is awesome too. I loved this one.

Once upon a time in the west - Another classic. I don't have much to say about this. 

The Great Escape - Wow. I love Steve McQueen performance in this one. The movie has almost 3 hours but you'll never tell. Tons of fun throughout the movie and it flows beautifully. 

Dirty Harry - Back to Clint E. Very simple plot, but it's a pure action movie without bullshit and pretentiousness. It has the suspense, the great clock-beating sequences, shooting and chasing. 

The good long friday - English gangster movie with young hot Helen Mirren. I like everything that is gangsta movie so I liked this one of course. Recommended.

Europa - It's like a metaphor to represent the times post war in German, through the eyes of a man that has taken no side in the war, and that might be confusing, specially in 1945. Very nice, and very original.

The Virgin Spring - Anther visual poem by Ingmar.

The 400 blows - Sad but so beautifully made. Perfect movie.


----------



## wankerness

Somnium said:


> Snowpiercer. Fuggin view that ish with thine human eyes, it's definitely worth it. You can stream it with ease right now, I think it's headed to American theaters at the end of June. Watch it. Do it man, come on. We both know you want to.



This is second on my list of movies I've been wanting to see for months, after Under the Skin. I figured I wouldn't be able to see it until it came out on video, but apparently it's already out on video in other countries?! Good deal. Thanks for the heads up. Memories of Murder is probably in my top 3 movies or so.


----------



## mikernaut

Watched Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac vol 1 and 2. Loved them. He doesn't hold back and knows how to tell an interesting story. Some very cool cinematography also.

Uma Thurman was brilliant in her short role in the movie.


----------



## Danukenator

Daredevil with Ben Affleck.

What glorious schlock!


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Just watched _Flesh For the Beast_. Cool soundtrack by guitarist Buckethead. But poor quality flick...and that scene with the succubi rolling around in the blood and playing with the guy's intestines. Artistic?


----------



## ErkerAsylum

I purchased the new Hobbit movie the other night when I was drunk. I don't remember why this happened but it did. As a result, I still have yet to watch it in its entirety. I have a tendency to watch movies later at night and I have fallen asleep every time. It kind of feels like I go on a partial adventure every time i go to bed tho so thats cool....


----------



## mikernaut

Just finished "Snowpiercer". Really enjoyed it. There are elements that remind me of "City of the Lost Children" , "Hungergames" , "The Road" and "Bioshock" mixed in with the concept of Noah's Ark somewhat. Interested?

I would advise to not watch the whole trailer if at all, it ruins the unfolding wonder of the film and the journey it goes on.


----------



## mikernaut

ErkerAsylum said:


> I purchased the new Hobbit movie the other night when I was drunk. I don't remember why this happened but it did. As a result, I still have yet to watch it in its entirety. I have a tendency to watch movies later at night and I have fallen asleep every time. It kind of feels like I go on a partial adventure every time i go to bed tho so thats cool....



HAhaha I totally did the same thing over the weekend. I still have a little left to finish , probably try it again this weekend.


----------



## wankerness

mikernaut said:


> Just finished "Snowpiercer". Really enjoyed it. There are elements that remind me of "City of the Lost Children" , "Hungergames" , "The Road" and "Bioshock" mixed in with the concept of Noah's Ark somewhat. Interested?
> 
> I would advise to not watch the whole trailer if at all, it ruins the unfolding wonder of the film and the journey it goes on.



I didn't like Snowpiercer. I watched it because I love the director (Memories of Murder is on a short list of best movies I've ever seen, I really like Mother and The Host) and was sorely disappointed. It's not bad, but there's not really anything special about it either. It's just a rather straightforward action/sci-fi movie with almost nothing carried over from what made his previous movies good, other than two cast members of course. It just feels too western. The dialogue has that clunky feeling that often comes with movies filmed in a different language than that spoken by the crew/director, there aren't really any interesting plot developments, and it's all a very heavy-handed metaphor that's about on the intellectual level of the Hunger Games. Again, it's not BAD, but it's very disappointing if you're going in expecting a Bong Joon-Hoo movie. If I'd been told it was a low budget american movie or if I hadn't been familiar with the director, I might have enjoyed it more.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

I just finished watching Spike Jonze's _Her_.

...I'm speechless... 
But I'm going to attempt to try to sum up my thoughts in the best way I can.

First off, It's awesome that this heartstring-puller (with its comedic moments) came from the same guy who was the executive producer behind _Jackass_. - I mean, girls be reachin' down your pants then immediately saying: "You're a really creepy dude." Haha.

In all seriousness, this might be one of the greatest, most original films I've ever seen. It's so tightly detailed in the storyline and in manipulating the viewer's emotions (mirror neurons). This film also kind of has a nice "indie" vibe to it with how it was shot.

You know how you have those movies that you get caught up in and reflect the character's emotions while watching? I really haven't "felt" a movie while watching it in a long time, but I did with this one. I'll admit it, I felt the heartstrings being tugged, I held back some tears, I felt that lump in my throat. And it was thanks to Joaquin Phoenix who KILLED it as the sole focus of the camera throughout the whole film. 

This film was also a great critique on technology and the state of what we define as a human "relationship" nowadays.

This kind of is the ultimate form of a "long-distance online relationship" with no possible physical outcome. Of course, this also shows how important the human feeling of romantic "love" is and what can actually appease us. <- I've always argued that a human can experience the romantic "love" but without another human being...and the storyline here (although it seems a bit "sci-fi" with the OS) backs my argument. "Love" is not physical, and no physical contact is even required. That is only a means of expression. "Love" is all emotional and rests in the brain. It requires care (shared compassion in everyday events) and connection, even if not physically.

One snag in the film though: if you can literally program "feelings" into a software...well...why not start cloning humans already? Or working with robots? You're telling me that they can clone the exact behavioral tendencies and pulses/surges of electricity in the brain that creates "feelings"? (Maybe I'm thinking too deep into this. A machine can't feel "feelings" can it?)

In regards to the ending of the film, I do believe that since we humans are promiscuous creatures by nature, we would all be doing the same thing that the OS software did if we could communicate with everyone in the world simultaneously at any given time. I mean, all the sharing, connecting, and exchanging of information including self-disclosure leading to...well...the outcome. (*I don't want to spoil anything further here.*) Even though we humans have "control" over our emotions, whereas a machine "does not", I believe humans would make the same choice.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I haven't felt any inspiration this PURE in a very long time. So...I'm going to go write some music. I'm going to go write some deep, meaningful music. Will anyone share this experience of writing after watching this film with me?


----------



## Alberto7

I watched the new _Godzilla_ film yesterday at IMAX, and holy shit.  The words that this film manages to conjure up in my head upon thinking of it are: huge, gigantic, titanic, brutal, size, weight, momentum, and pure f*cking rage and destruction. Even though I haven't watched many Godzilla movies (I could never get over their lack of realism... I'm one of those people), I've always been a sort of 'distant fan' of the concept of him. I've always liked him and I had quite a few Godzilla action figures and items when I was a kid. This movie is what I always wanted in a Godzilla film. It did have what I considered were a few minor plot holes (or, at least, very implicitly explained bits of plot), and the (human) protagonist was, for the most part, an empty shell of an archetype - something for the human-minded viewer to mildly relate to, much like the protagonist in _Pacific Rim_ - but the sheer magnitude, scale, and atmosphere of the film were definitely the focus, and they more than made up for its shortcomings. I friggin' loved it and I think it totally lived up to its hype. That last battle scene was so immense and brutal I do not have enough vocabulary to describe it.

As for the 3D, I thought it was very seamless. I didn't think much of it during the film, but, in retrospect, I think it was pretty darn good. I have a tendency to dislike 3D in most movies, as it forces me to focus on specific sections of the image and it leaves the rest looking completely distorted, as opposed to just being slightly blurry in unfocused parts from a regular 2D image. It's disorienting and gives me headaches. However, I do not recall thinking about it much during _Godzilla_, only on a couple occasions when something *really* popped. It was very untroubling for the most part, therefore very finely done, imo.

Will be going next weekend to watch it again. 

EDIT: I just remembered there's a Godzilla 2014 thread somewhere around here... I should probably go look there to see what fellow forumites have to say.


----------



## flexkill

Beware of Mr. Baker


A doc of sorts on Ginger Baker....that dude is one crazy fvck


----------



## tacotiklah

Watched Human Centipede 1 and 2. Just reconfirmed to myself why I will never eat a Wendy's Frosty again.


----------



## Kullerbytta

Rewatched Candyman recently.

Average thriller/horror but the music... Philip Glass did the score for it and it fits so strangely perfect for the tone and mood of the film.
If the score was your average thriller-esque type of score Candyman would've been a completely different movie. 

Candyman and Sunshine are two movies with scores that make the movies better than they actually are. I'm not saying they're bad... But without Philip Glass and John Murphy they'd been much less.

Gonna watch 'Grabbers' with the wifey tonight. Looking forward to a film that seems to be along the lines of Shaun of the Dead. (basing that last sentence on nothing but the plot summary, lol)


----------



## synrgy

In the theater, X-Men: Days of Future Past
At home: X-Men, X-men 2, X-3, and The Wolverine.

Not that we were obsessing, or anything.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Dredd
Avengers
Pain & Gain
The Road
Expendables 2
End of Watch
Colors
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Day of the Dead
A Band Called Death


----------



## BEADGBE7

Finally Watched Barry Lyndon By Kubrick

Beautiful and i loved the duel scenes, but damn, really long,

i guess 2001 was really long too, but that definitely was a stronger film


----------



## naw38

Tried to watch the Oldboy remake a while back. Didn't get through ten minutes of it, it was that ....ing awful. Read up on all the changes Spike Lee made and it just made me angrier. 

So instead I watched Park's latest film, Stoker - and I've been absolutely obsessed with it ever since. I'm not sure it's my favourite Park film, but it's definitely on par with his best work. It comes across as a thriller, but you know who the bad guy is, and so it's not about "whodunnit", so much as "how's everybody going to react to this guy". It was glorious.


----------



## wankerness

naw38 said:


> So instead I watched Park's latest film, Stoker - and I've been absolutely obsessed with it ever since. I'm not sure it's my favourite Park film, but it's definitely on par with his best work. It comes across as a thriller, but you know who the bad guy is, and so it's not about "whodunnit", so much as "how's everybody going to react to this guy". It was glorious.



I watched that somewhat recently too, I bought it on a whim when it was really cheap at Amazon or something. I liked it quite a bit, and since I hadn't read anything about it beforehand it made it even more interesting. Like, it has a lot of weird threatening hints dropped throughout it that make it seem like it could conceivably turn supernatural horror at any point, aided greatly by the fact it's called "Stoker" which immediately brings to mind Dracula, and by the fact Park made Thirst in the recent past! It's a very strange movie. I didn't quite know what to think about it when it was over, but I definitely appreciated its oddness and the more I thought about it and read about it the more I liked it.


----------



## naw38

Yeah, I went into it a bit nervous, as it's his first english language film, and sounded far more subdued than his previous work. But it didn't disappoint! 

And it wasn't until after I'd seen it that I read it was written by the lead actor from Prison Break. I'd never have guessed.


----------



## wankerness

X-Men Days of Future Past - This was glorious, definitely the best of the whole series. It took almost everything that was good about the earlier movies and combined them. I liked that it kept the focus on most of the First Class characters, since I find them much more interesting than their older counterparts. The "race against time" aspect of it got a little tedious towards the end, but man, those were a ton of super-gruesome deaths right at the end there! The sentinels were pretty awesome. Jennifer Lawrence really gave the character some life this time, but unsurprisingly Michael Fassbender was the star of the show again, though James McAvoy was definitely in top form too. Quicksilver's takedown of the guards was the obvious highlight of the movie, that scene just had me laughing with delight through the whole thing. I loved that they used the dude from American Horror Story for the character, too, he was perfect.

Hugh Jackman's veins are horrifying. 9/10

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - This wasn't as bad as its rep suggested, but it wasn't good either! I'd give it a solid 5/10. It is entertaining enough and it wasn't actively offensive like The Last Stand was when I saw it in the theater, but maybe that's just cause my expectations were so low from everyone trashing it constantly since it came out years ago. Liev Schreiber is pretty good.

The Wolverine - This was pretty good, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. It seems like it might have originally not been a Wolverine movie, though, and they just adapted some preexisting script to include the X-Men characters so they could sell it, but that was fine with me since it gave it a radically different feel from most of the other superhero movies out there. It was pretty low-key and I was impressed by how much of it was in Japanese and I really got a kick out of the Yukio character, I wish they'd just cut the female lead out and let Yukio stay as the focus. Her character interactions with Wolverine were a lot more fun than the boring romance with Mariko. I wasn't too keen on the Viper character and I saw the big "reveal" at the end coming from about 10 miles away and it definitely was at least 30 minutes too long, but it was still pretty good. 7/10

Cinema Paradiso - The first half of the movie is charming beyond belief and the second half is decent but both halves are improved immeasurably by one of the most beautiful scores ever written. This movie goes from like a 5/10 to a 8/10 on the strength of the music alone. I need to watch the long version sometime.

Vampire Circus - This is one of the lesser-known Hammer horror flicks from the 70s, partly because it was censored into oblivion in the US. It has a really bizarre pied piper vibe to the story, a gigantic body count, a ton of gore and nudity, and the title definitely describes just what you're going to get! A travelling circus comes into a town that's quarantined cause of the plague, and quickly start eating all the children cause they're a mishmash of vampires and shapeshifters who are trying to resurrect the head vampire who's buried in the town! David Prowse (Darth Vader) is the very distinguished-looking bodybuilder thug. It has a ton of really weird, arty visuals and just isn't like anything else in the Hammer canon. It's right up there with Twins of Evil for my favorite Hammer movie! 7/10

7th Voyage of Sinbad - I love this movie, it succeeds on every level and is just as fun as I remember it. 9/10

I watched a bunch of other crap recently too which I can't remember, it'll come to mind someday


----------



## twizza

I watched 'Nebraska' last night. Pretty good, unless you're looking for spinning cameras and explosions.


----------



## Xaios

Went and saw 22 Jump Street last night. It started off a bit slow, but it steadily ratcheted up the humour as it went along. Honestly, most of the movie is one gigantic gay joke, but man, how they managed to wring that much humour from a single joke is beyond me. Just, holy crap. 

The other prominent running gag was wholly self-referential, basically pointing fun at the fact that the movie is a pointless sequel.

Finally, there's another portion in the middle of the movie involving Ice Cube's character that just had the the whole theater roaring. Oh man, did not see that coming.


----------



## wankerness

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2: I didn't really like it but it had some amusing gore effects and Dennis Hopper was pretty funny as Franklin's avenging brother. This seems like one of those movies you come to love over time after seeing it on cable at midnight while drunk several times. 5/10

Fault in Our Stars: The main character was completely unlikable so it failed to really connect with me. She was just a self-important, negative creep and I hated her monotonous little voice and hair-cut [/perezhilton]. I did like that it was rather grim and realistic about the fates of the characters and the sorta glib tone of it all was kind of nice, it wasn't nearly as melodramatic as you'd think with this plot summary. The male lead was a completely ridiculous tumblrsphere fantasy (like, he is given 0 will of his own with anything and does everything in the absolute most ridiculous feminist-dictated way, ex the way he gets her to have sex with him), but I kinda liked him, and the gas station scene was pretty good. I was VERY surprised to learn that the book was written by a man. I am glad Laura Dern got a payday, she's in too much awesome stuff to make any money normally. 6/10

Lego Movie - I had a huge hangover when I watched this and thus didn't like it nearly as much as I should have. I liked the weird reveal in the last act a whole lot and was greatly amused by a lot of the references to old lego sets (Charlie Day's character in particular set off all my nostalgia-alarms). I'll rewatch it sometime when sober and probably love it. 6/10


----------



## Duosphere

wankerness said:


> X-Men Days of Future Past - This was glorious, definitely the best of the whole series.



That's what I told to my friends yesterday, I didn't like any other X-Men movies, only this one touched my buttons.



wankerness said:


> Hugh Jackman's veins are horrifying.





I thought about veins and inches and not veins and arms


----------



## Ed_Ibanez_Shred

Watched 22 jump street recently, only a few other people in the screen so I sat right at the back with my limbs spread out. Pretty funny film, all the more so for all the self-knowing jokes (especially all the hilarity near the credits ) Xaios mentioned the Ice Cube jokes as well, which are funny/cringey if you understand them. There are a few other visual gags in there as well which work pretty well. Definitely MILES better than the majority of mainstream American comedy flicks. 

Also I recently rewatched 'The Descent'. Forgot how scary it was; pooped pants. Legitimately one of the few horror films I actually like.


----------



## piggins411

The Room. Wow, just.... wow


----------



## wankerness

Phantasm II - Pretty entertaining nutball movie in the vein of the original. If you aren't familiar with the franchise, it's about a seemingly invincible tall man who drives a hearse around stealing dead bodies to feed them through a portal to another dimension which returns them as bloodthirsty jawas. This ups the ante by including three of the brain-drilling spheres. It also features a chainsaw duel. It's pretty creative and entertaining for a low-budget 80s horror movie, I'd definitely recommend it over virtually any slasher movie from the same time period. 6/10

Psycho II - Way better than you'd think a sequel to Psycho would be, this really has a clever plot which keeps you guessing as to who's committing the murders and just what's going on with Norman Bates. I didn't love it but it's definitely quite entertaining and the script is pretty delightful if you're in the mood for a violent thriller with a twisty plot. Meg Tilly's also pretty good in the lead female role. 6/10

Psycho III - This is not as good as II, it's more of a standard slasher, but it's not without style or entertainment value, and Anthony Perkins is good in it again. 5/10

Psycho IV - This is slightly better than III but not as good as II, it's apparently a made-for-TV movie (but must have been on some premium network cause it has some boobs!). It's about Norman calling into a radio show hosted by that stoneface lady who was the detective on The Shield and talking about his life story. Much of the movie is flashbacks, where Norman is played by Henry Thomas (Elliot from ET!) and his mom is Olivia Hussey (the super-hot lady who played Juliet back in the 60s version). The flashbacks are almost all great and I liked them a lot more than what little I've seen of the Bates Motel show, Olivia Hussey really is awesome and goes wayyyy off the deepend and also is just as stunning as she was when she was much younger (she was only 40 when they filmed this, though, so I guess that isn't surprising). I guess people get mad that she has a thick accent, but hey, it's a made-for-TV quasi-prequel to a franchise that shouldn't have even had a single non-terrible sequel, let alone 3 pretty good ones! 5/10

Thor: The Dark World - It's not as good as 1, but there are worse ways to spend a couple hours. There are some good action scenes and effects and despite the general incoherence of the first bunch of the plot it gets pretty exciting in the back half. 6/10


----------



## Fat-Elf

Grave of the fireflies

Why did I have to watch this again? Easily the most saddest movie I know. Really leaves you with mixed feeling. Especially if you're generally against war but still in the army...


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Haven't watched a movie in quite awhile. Just for kicks, been wanting to watch the original 1981 _Evil Dead_ for the past four days and finally did.


----------



## mongey

went to see the new planet of the apes yesterday with the wife. was good. I really liked the 1st one and this is on par with it.


----------



## AlejoV

The Cabin In The Woods

This movie really amazed me considering it is from Hollywood. I recommend it a lot.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> Phantasm II



+ 1,000,000!!!

Phantasm is one of the best underground (in the general public) horror movies. I freaking love the tone of the movie. The desolation and emptiness. Also, love the music, Reggie's 4-barreled shotgun and especially, the 1971 Hemi Cuda's that they used in the first 2 movies. In case you haven't seen/heard about it, fifth and final Phantasm rumored to be released October 2014. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1wOobOGa4w


----------



## isispelican

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother - hilarious!


----------



## Duosphere

Altitude - At first I thought "hmm another dumb teen movie with all cliches possible", what a surprise!

Noah - Besides religion stuff which I don't care, it made me feel good even though we all know humans failed again.I really love when they turn dumb fake 100% corrected tales characters into something real, something that could be plausible.There's some crap CGI but still it's cool.

Under The Skin - I never thought someday I'd like a movie with Scarlett Johansson however this one was a big surprise.After 30 minutes I thought I was missing something cause it looked not only weird but beyond surreal then I got what was happening and surreal turned into awesome.I loved it!She's like Stallone/Schwarzenegger:The less she speaks the better she is. I hope in her next movies she not only will speak almost nothing but almost never appears .


----------



## habicore_5150

Guardians of the Galaxy
Just got a chance to watch it in theaters yesterday
Even though I really don't watch a whole lot of superhero movies, I'll admit that this is really good


----------



## Cbutler

^ive only heard good things. i finally got around to watching mr. nobody with jared leto it was pretty good


----------



## chopeth

One of my favourite movies atm, I saw it with English subtitles the other day and I really loved it. Highly recommendable.


----------



## Steinmetzify

Oculus - 7/10

If you get creeped out by mirrors, this will creep you. There were some interesting things in it that weren't really explored as well as they could be but for $5 I was entertained. Mirrors in the dark creep me and my daughter out and this movie got us. My wife is pretty ambivalent about em, and felt the same about the film. Still dug it more than the last few 'horror' movies I've watched.


----------



## Skyblue

Howl's Moving Castle. 

Animation was sublime as always with Miyazaki, story was good but has some weak spots (such as characters acting in weird ways just to advance the plot). It's based on a book though so the fault might lay there.


----------



## Duosphere

Last night I rewatched Source Code.Generally when you rewatch a movie you feel like disappointed because once all surprises were gone you realize story wasn't that good, well, not with this one, the same feeling came to my mind:

SPECTACULAR!


----------



## TimothyLeary

this may seem odd, but does anyone remember of a movie where a man is kinda a playboy, and likes to have sex everyday with different women, but one night he encounters a group of guys who raped him and then he wakes up in the bathtub or some like that?


----------



## MFB

Watching Conan the Barbarian right now. Truly, this is what's best in life.


----------



## Alberto7

Just finished _Scott Pilgrim vs. the World_. My nerdboner is still raging, I'm still feeling amused, and my feels are still broken. Dumb and clever at the same time. Loved it.


----------



## chopeth

^Watch the rest of Edgar Wright's films, they are great.


----------



## Shaynos

chopeth said:


> Metalhead/Malmhaus
> 
> One of my favourite movies atm, I saw it with English subtitles the other day and I really loved it. Highly recommendable.



Awesome movie. I really enjoyed it as well.

I saw the new Spierig Brothers movie last night - Predestination. (Other Australians here might know of them).

Predestination was really good. Solid sci-fi premise but really focused on characterisation. Ethan Hawke, Noah Taylor and Sarah Snook were all great in it. I'd recommend it.


----------



## wankerness

TimothyLeary said:


> this may seem odd, but does anyone remember of a movie where a man is kinda a playboy, and likes to have sex everyday with different women, but one night he encounters a group of guys who raped him and then he wakes up in the bathtub or some like that?



WTF!

I watched a few movies recently but mostly have been being AWESOME and rewatching the entire run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I've determined that Season 5 is really great and 3 and 2 are also classics and everything else is really hit and miss, especially season 7 which is painful to sit through. Michelle Trachtenberg is basically the worst actress ever to be in a Joss Whedon show.

I watched Good Will Hunting the night Robin Williams died cause I had fond memories of it. I really like most aspects of that movie, but man, the music score almost torpedoes it, especially in the first sections of it. It's massively overscored and it's got a lot of those "oh here are some WHIMSICAL little descending string runs because this is a magical situation!!!!!1" I guess that's what happens when you hire the guy responsible for the scores of Tim Burton movies and Forbidden Zone to do a drama! (he's definitely improved since then) The "it's not your fault" scene is really embarrassing to watch from the standpoint of being pseudopsychiatric BS too, but hey, I thought it was impressive in high school. A lot of other aspects still really work for me, oddly I think Ben Affleck's character is maybe the best thing about it. 

I watched Wages of Fear also which is a cool old French movie about desperate guys that volunteer to drive a truck full of nitroglycerin across dangerous terrain. It takes a long time to get going but the last hour and a half is really great and one of the most suspenseful classics I have seen. I need to watch the remake, too ("Sorcerer" is the title of that one), which recently got released on video for the first time and is apparently also awesome.


----------



## Entropy Prevails

I recently watched Antichrist from 2009 with Willem Dafoe and its really bad! Incoherent, inconsistent and pretty boring.
What I can recommend however is Wall-e, if there is really anyone on this planet who hasn´t seen it. It was the fourth time I saw it and it still captivated me. Great stuff!


----------



## TimothyLeary

There's me! I never saw Wall-e, and I don't intend to! Animation movies are not my thing. :/


----------



## TimothyLeary




----------



## Duosphere

Entropy Prevails said:


> What I can recommend however is Wall-e, if there is really anyone on this planet who hasn´t seen it. It was the fourth time I saw it and it still captivated me. Great stuff!





Wall-E is spectacular!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

I made a thing...

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/movies-books-tv-media/278177-sin-city-dame-kill.html#post4140917


----------



## Don Vito

I got dragged to a chick flick: _If I Stay_. I wanted to see _Guardians of the Galaxy_, but it just didn't work out in my favor. This was also the first time I've been to the theater since 2012's _Wreck-It-Ralph_.

It's about this cute cello player who falls in love with some punk rocker(who plays a sexy Fender Jaguar). I'm pretty sure his name was like Jack Wild or some shit haha. Anyways, this movie was most certainly written with vinyl collecting hipsters in mind. Every character is alt, listens to old punk bands none of the 15 year olds in the audience would recognize, and it's set in Portland of course. Half of the movie is a great, heart warming family film, with the other half being a poorly written drama. The characters all had a lot of charm to them, which is why the movie started to suck when three of them died in a car crash(not spoilers, it's in the preview trailers). The nail in the coffin was the ending. It was so shitty, everyone in the theater collectively wtf'd and cleared out in under 15 seconds. At least the before-movie trailers convinced me to go see the next Hobbit film.

2 1/2 stars out of 5, and I'm being generous.


----------



## Duosphere

Orca (1977) - IMDb

Enough of stupid crap movies about psycho killer animals.
This one is the opposite, it's based on feelings like love, anger and vengeance.........and intelligence.
I watched it when I was a kid and it was shocking, it still shocking today not because of that whale itself but because why that stuff is happening.
BTW Orcas are not whales, they're dolphins


----------



## TimothyLeary

Jeremiah Johnson = awesome movie.

Throne of Blood = equally awesome.


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> BTW Orcas are not whales, they're dolphins



Dolphins ARE whales. Whales are toothed or baleen and all dolphins (and killer whales, and sperm whales) are in the toothed whale category. So, they're in the same SUBCATEGORY of whales that dolphins are and are much more closely related to dolphins than the bigass whales!



I haven't watched that movie but I noticed my brother left a DVD of it in my house. I heard it had Bo Derek in it briefly! I also have heard it described as a revenge flick where the animal is the one taking the revenge, but I don't know how it ends so I'm not sure if it would make me mad or not. I definitely like killer whales more than I like the guy who played Dumbledore.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Finally got around to seeing _The Purge: Anarchy_.
That shit sucked. Far better than the first on all accounts. But still just blah and unoriginal.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

I watched God Bless America yesterday. Mostly because I'd finished rewatching the entire series of Breaking Bad. Mostly because I needed something to glance at while I was cleaning up all the empty dr. pepper cans in my room. But it was an enjoyable movie. Reminded me of Idiocracy a bit, but I wouldn't say it's on par with it.


----------



## nandorivas

I saw the devil. Great Korean film.


----------



## Duosphere

nandorivas said:


> I saw the devil. Great Korean film.



I laughed a lot because it reminded me of those old Charles Bronson Death Wish films


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Flesh For the Beast_ again. I don't even know why... 
Soundtrack/score by Buckethead though.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Rubber.


----------



## Randy D

I am gonna watch a classic tonight for any SevenString.org individual considering the cast.....Mr. Vai 

 

Crossroads (1986) Film

Crossroads is a 1986 musical drama film starring Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca and Jami Gertz, inspired by the legend of blues musician Robert Johnson. 
The film was written by John Fusco and directed by Walter Hill and featured an original score featuring Ry Cooder and Steve Vai on the soundtrack's guitar, 
and harmonica by Sonny Terry. Vai also appears in the film as the devil's guitar player in the climactic guitar duel.



Cheers

-Randy D


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Mad Max - For the hundredth time
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
Dust to Glory
The Believer
Stand Up Guys
The Last Days on Mars
American Mary
King of New York
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) - The last forty-five minutes is the greatest car chase ever.
Cabin in the Woods - I remember everyone raving about this movie when it came out but I was so disinterested in horror movies at the time that I never bothered to actually see it. So I finally sat down and watched it on netflix and goddamn-it for once the acclaim was justified.
MST3K: Future War
MST3K: Gamera vs Barugon
MST3K: Gamera vs Guiron


----------



## wankerness

Carrion Rocket said:


> MST3K: Future War
> MST3K: Gamera vs Barugon
> MST3K: Gamera vs Guiron



That's what I like to see!


----------



## Rosal76

Carrion Rocket said:


> The Believer



From 2001 starring Ryan Gosling?

Interesting movie but very, very strange.


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> From 2001 starring Ryan Gosling?
> 
> Interesting movie but very, very strange.



Strange?
Watch In Bruges.
I love it and it's.......................strange 

In Bruges (2008) - IMDb


----------



## Rosal76

Duosphere said:


> Strange?
> Watch In Bruges.
> I love it and it's.......................strange



Did some research on the movie. Reading the plot, it does seem strange if not a little confusing. Watched a few Youtube clips of the movie and enjoyed the comedic aspect of it. Colin Farrell karate chopping the Midget is pretty funny. Definately want to see this movie. Thanks for the headsup.


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> Did some research on the movie. Reading the plot, it does seem strange if not a little confusing. Watched a few Youtube clips of the movie and enjoyed the comedic aspect of it. Colin Farrell karate chopping the Midget is pretty funny. Definately want to see this movie. Thanks for the headsup.



It was saturday almost 4 am, I just got home from a gig and turned tv on just to fall asleep while watching some crap, In Bruges started.......................I couldn't sleep, that movie slowly swallowed me and in 20 minutes I was completely sink in its strange mood.That place is beautiful beyond belief if you like that kind of place.But you know art is the most difficult thing to share cause what's goodto one is crap to the other still at least In Bruges deserves a change if you wanna watch something different


----------



## Rosal76

Duosphere said:


> That place is beautiful beyond belief if you like that kind of place.



DUDE!!!!! You are gonna love this. 

I asked my Mom if we ever went to Belgium and she said, Yes. Then I asked if she remembered any specific towns that we went to and she said, Brussels and Bruges!!!!!!! My Dad was in the U.S. Navy and his battle ship is stationed in Gaeta, Italy. Anytime he had time off from the Navy, he would take us on vacation and visit all the popular tourist locations in Europe. 

Unfortunately, I was very young when we went to these places and could not appreciate the beauty and history of the locations. I, however, enjoyed visiting Neuschwanstein Castle located in Germany and Stonehenge in England.


----------



## Skyblue

Big, Bad Wolves. 

Over the top, and the torture might not work for everyone, but I liked it it.

"Son... Hand me the torch."  

Big Bad Wolves (2013) - IMDb


----------



## Anchang-Style

The Story of Yonosuke - kinda odd and a tad bit too long until you get whats happening
Moebius - had to switch it off after 20 Minutes, genital mutiliation of teenagers by their mums is not something i can take easily
Frozen (2013) - totally didn't work for me, sorry i know people love this
Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) - LONG but awesome, just great film making
Stoker- LOVING Park Chan Wook, oldboy might be one of the best Movies ever made...this is not. Parks direction makes it watchable to me but man the script is just zZZZZzzzZZZz


----------



## wankerness

Frozen the horror movie from 2011 or Frozen the disney movie? I liked both but the horror movie is better  Also, what version of hamlet? The mel gibson one and the kenneth branagh seem to be the most common but I know there are a lot more.


----------



## Anchang-Style

Frozen the Disney Movie and the Kenneth Branagh Hamlet.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Slap Shot
The Longest Yard (1974)
MST3K: Final Justice
Iron Man: Rise of Technovore - I only watched this because the Punisher was in it and I could have just seen the clip on youtube.

And then I watched a bunch of stand up specials
Aziz Ansari: Dangerously Delicious
Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening
Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive - Not as good as the previous two specials.
Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion
Jim Jefferies: Fully Functional
Jim Jefferies: Bare
Jim Norton: American Degenerate
Jim Norton: Please Be Offended
Doug Stanhope: Bear Hall Putsch
George Carlin: Carlin on Campus
George Carlin: What Am I Doing in New Jersey
George Carlin Again!
George Carlin: Carlin at Carnegie
Bo Burnam: what.
Marc Maron: Thinky Pain
Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip


----------



## Anchang-Style

*The Winter Soldier*: for a non comic book reader who hated the first a pretty good sit. Enjoyed the more practical action. Very much Bourne meets Marvel. Liked Black Widow and Coby Smulders (always love Smulders lets be honest here). Give it big Thumbs up.
*Rushmore*: Epic, just loved it. It transported perfectly what it is like to be a teenager. One of my favorite roles of Bill Murray, who is shamefully underused in a lot of Wes Anderson flicks.
*Himizu*: Sono Shion equals <3. Not as good as Love Exposure (come on it's the best movie ever made) and not as entertaining as Why don't you play in hell, it carries quite heavy topics and themes. My favorite director at work.
*How to use guys with secret tricks*: brilliant, effin brilliant. Had a good laugh at this, clever little korean comedy on the advertisment industry.
*Sawako Decides*: Lovely little movie about a girl who doesn't give 2 shits about anything turning into woman who will eat her enemies for breakfast. Very enjoyable with the lovely Hikari Mitsushima.
*Air Doll*: Clever and kinda insane.
*The Muppets 2011*: fun songs with Jason Segel and the Muppets. A bit too much same old, same old but the cast is likeable enough tostill enjoy that.
Only God Forgives: "man what are we smoking?" "Weeeeeeeed" "ok...i was almost worried". Loved it: quiet, violent, surreal just how i like it! It's a bit like a trip served on a blu ray.


----------



## MFB

Just finished up watching "2 Guns" the Denzel/Wahlburg sort-of-buddy-cop movie. I went into it with no expectations besides knowing the basic premise and that they were the leads and it was a blast. It was like Pacific Rim for buddy cop films, hit all the right marks for a movie but didn't take itself too seriously either.


----------



## Anchang-Style

*Gravity:* Wow...wow...wow...what a sit. This was insane and crazy and cause all the shit they went through for me as well. Loved it, just loved it.


----------



## Entropy Prevails

Anchang-Style said:


> *Gravity:* Wow...wow...wow...what a sit. This was insane and crazy and cause all the shit they went through for me as well. Loved it, just loved it.



Did you see it in a movie theater? Because this is one of the only movies where 3d actually makes the experience better. And yes Gravity is amazing!


----------



## Anchang-Style

Sadly not just the 2D Blu Ray. My Brother kept telling me throughout "ahh why didn't you watch it in cinema" still though it blew my mind even like that and looked absolutly fantastic.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Coherence - wtf movie but thumbs up for tthe suspense.


----------



## Duosphere

TimothyLeary said:


> Coherence - wtf movie but thumbs up for tthe suspense.



I watched it last week.
I liked the suspense too but it's kind of boring, I mean when it should go deeper, it didn't, some good moments just got lost moving to another subject.
Still it's cool


----------



## Xaios

Anchang-Style said:


> Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) - LONG but awesome, just great film making



Haha, I remember when I saw this, I actually watched it on TV. I literally only watched it at the time because it was the best thing on. Then I was immersed in 4 hours of the epicness that is both Shakespeare and Kenneth Branagh. 



Carrion Rocket said:


> Rubber.



"It's been reincarnated as a tricycle!"


----------



## Anchang-Style

We had to watch it spread over 3 days because i tried to get away from coffee at that time and was already pretty much dead at 10:00 pm


----------



## Entropy Prevails

Saw Sin City 2 in the theaters yesterday and I had trouble staying awake. There is really no point to this movie. It feels like a filler.


----------



## MFB

I haven't heard anything about that since it cane out but I felt the same way seeing the trailers; which is a shame cause Sin City ruled


----------



## UltraParanoia

EDGE OF TOMORROW








It is a damn shame that this movie didnt do well at the Box office, not as well as it could of anyway.

It was original, looked awesome, brilliantly acted & best of all it actually had a layered plot, unlike so many big budget action movies. I'll definitely be watching it again, it's 1 of the better movies of 2014


----------



## Handbanana

UltraParanoia said:


> EDGE OF TOMORROW
> It is a damn shame that this movie didnt do well at the Box office, not as well as it could of anyway.
> 
> It was original, looked awesome, brilliantly acted & best of all it actually had a layered plot, unlike so many big budget action movies. I'll definitely be watching it again, it's 1 of the better movies of 2014



Couldn't agree more, I watched it last night and really enjoyed it. Might watch it again tonight if im feeling lazy.


----------



## Duosphere

Original?
Maybe in another universe.
There are a lot of movies about time loops.
It's a good movie but far away from original unless you never watched any other time loop movie .

Groundhog Day (1993) - IMDb


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> Original?
> Maybe in another universe.
> There are a lot of movies about time loops.
> It's a good movie but far away from original unless you never watched any other time loop movie .
> 
> Groundhog Day (1993) - IMDb



Well, that was rather snotty. Can you name 5 without resorting to Google? I can't! Source Code is the only one I have seen, besides a few TV show episodes (ex X-Files), unless you count Run Lola Run. This did something original with the concept and it's certainly way more original than the remakes, sequels and comic book adaptations that made up the rest of the summer.

Juno - I read a few things on this that prompted me to rewatch it, I HATED it when I first saw it and thought it was the most insincere, overwritten piece of garbage I'd ever seen this side of Miranda July. I have to say, my initial impressions were off, or else I've just softened in my advanced age. The first 15 minutes truly is that vile, though, especially every single line that Rainn Wilson utters. The middle 4/5 of the movie is really good, though. Jennifer Garner in particular is radiant and the dialogue really tones down. Of course, then right at the end they have to resort back to "no teenager after 1995 has ever said this" land with the "Thundercats Ho!" line and I hated the rest of the movie, but hey. The majority of the movie is really damn good, especially Jennifer Garner and Juno's parents. 7/10

Knocked Up - Likewise with this, I hated this on first watch, but heard a bunch of positive stuff recently that made me want to rewatch it. Second watch resulted in mostly the same opinions but less virulence. It's not terrible and I didn't mind Katherine Heigl this go-around, but it's not anywhere close to as funny as 40 Year Old Virgin and the attempts at truthfulness and drama mostly fall flat on their face. I especially hate the end of the arc with Paul Rudd, where the movie abruptly completely justifies his wife's psychotic behavior by saying it's his fault for ever wanting a single second to his own. Barf. 5/10

Up in the Air - I liked this just as much as first watch, it's good. Anna Kendrick is a little bit too dippy for the part, but other than that pretty solid all-around. 8/10

Funny People - I didn't like this nearly as much as first watch, second watch exposed the hollowness of much of it. It's occasionally funny, occasionally it works as drama, but the third act seemed more disjointed this time around. It ends up resolving alright, but it's one lurchy, undisciplined movie with too many characters and paradoxically not enough attention paid to a lot of important plot points despite the fact it's already about as long as Titanic. It's ambitious, though, I'll give it that. 7/10

Two Evil Eyes - Segment one is bad, segment two is great (Harvey Keitel plays a violent drunken asshole whose wife has a demonic cat from hell, directed by Dario Argento). Segment two is so great I'd highly advise all horror fans should watch the last hour of this movie. 7/10 cause of segment one being meh.

Short Term 12 - Sorta like Juno where the beginning and end of the movie really grate but the middle 4/5 is loaded with truthbombs and deeply moving stuff. The octopus story kills me every time. If it didn't feel such a need to stick to formula Lifetime movie of the week plot structure it would really have been something special. Brie Larson is so goddam good in this. I hope she goes on to more stuff like this and less stuff like United States of Tara and 21 Jump Street (even though that movie was awesome). 8/10

Fisher King - I watched it cause it got a ton of attention for being one of Robin Williams' best movies in the days after his suicide. I didn't like it much at all, it was yet another Terry Gilliam movie that's more an undisciplined mess of people yelling into the camera while it tilts and random plot events happen which don't string together coherently. The first half of it seems like it's going to be good, but then it just goes off the rails and ends with a richly undeserved happy ending. 5/10

MacGruber - I couldn't entirely handle this movie and I think I'll probably like it more if I ever watch it again, but this definitely deserves a lot of props for being so dedicated in its purpose. This was practically Black Dynamite level of spoof. I really enjoyed the way the hero was a complete cretin with no redemptive arc. It's got a lot of big laughs, but a lot of it didn't really work for me too. 6/10

Runaway Train - One of the best action movies I've ever seen, unfortunately not one of the better-known ones. Jon Voight & Eric Roberts break out of prison and hijack a cargo train whose conductor has just died of a heart attack. They have to attempt to get to the front of the train and stop it while going through the frozen wasteland at insane speeds. Rebecca De Mornay is also trapped on board with them. It's really stunning if you watch it on bluray (the DVD looks pretty bad, almost like someone recorded it off VHS). The snowy setting is utterly convincing at all times and it has this weird existential, doomy feeling to it that's very unique. The ending is one of the best I've ever seen and there are some really great scenes of acting (unusual for an action movie). Both Eric Roberts and Jon Voight were nominated for Oscars for this, but yeah, it's largely forgotten now. 9/10


----------



## UltraParanoia

Also, this absolutely marvel. 
All of Wes Anderson's movies rule on varying levels but this by far the best. This is brilliant from start to finish


----------



## MFB

Funny you say all his works rule, I actually consider them all to be varying works of garbage.


----------



## Duosphere

MFB said:


> Funny you say all his works rule, I actually consider them all to be varying works of garbage.





Personal tastes are bitches, aren't them?
What's a masterpiece to one, is garbage to another one, that's the beauty of life


----------



## Duosphere

I just re-watched this old masterpiece I watched in the 80's, again I laughed like a crazy mofo!

The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) - IMDb


----------



## dedsouth333

Dogma. I always forget how much I love this movie until I watch it again. Lol


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## UltraParanoia

MFB said:


> Funny you say all his works rule, I actually consider them all to be varying works of garbage.


----------



## wankerness

Yep, I love that Wes Anderson. He always gets accused of constructing everything out of pure whimsy and quirk, but I think his best movies are all very human. Rushmore's a great portrayal of a precocious nerdy teenager who is completely emotionally immature and lashes out in very human ways. I definitely identified way more than I'd like with his reactions to Bill Murray and Olivia Williams. Both of them are really great in the movie and I think it's got a great redemptive arc. I hated it the first time I watched it just cause Max was such an unbearable shit, but the second time I realized that was how many of us were back when we were 15...convinced we were great at everything we tried to do, completely oblivious of everyone else's emotions and not nearly as smart as we thought we were! 

The Royal Tenenbaums in particular gets blasted a lot for the main characters all being totally unbelievable, but that was the movie that really got me into him. Their outer characteristics are all very odd and stylized and unrealistic, but their pain and motivations are all very believable. There's a real core to almost everyone in this movie. Danny Glover, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Owen Wilson...I really like spending time with these characters, I've rewatched the movie many a time. Plus, it's one of Gene Hackman's all-time great performances, which is really saying something. 

Moonrise Kingdom is the other one I'll defend to the end. Again, it's loaded with ridiculous quirk, but again, it's incredibly warm at its center. Ed Norton and Bruce Willis are a bit underdeveloped but they're so damn endearing. The two lead kids are great, too. 

A common thread in all three of these movies (and most of his others, for that matter) is how they're mostly just about broken weirdos figuring out how to become better people and get along with each other. These three are all notable for lacking real villains (I guess social services might count in Moonrise Kingdom) and most of them end with satisfying tableaus of all the characters, both major and minor, getting together at the end. They might ring false for a lot of people, but I love them and think characters like Bill Murray in Rushmore are as rich as any out there, they're just depicted in a really atypical style.

This all said, I think The Life Aquatic is kind of a mess, I don't like Fantastic Mr Fox much, and I actively disliked Darjeeling Limited. Bottle Rocket is awesome and probably his funniest movie, but I don't think it's as rich as the three previously mentioned. I haven't seen Grand Budapest Hotel yet but it sounds like it's one of his best.


----------



## TimothyLeary

After moonrise kingdom, Grand Budapest Hotel was a desillusion. I mean, technically the film is great, but it's like a pretty girl with nothing in her head. I didn't feel any empathy for the characters, or the story. The humor kinda feel tiring when you reach the middle of the movie, and you begin to think: "is that all you got?".


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## wankerness

The Way Way Back - It wants to be a more profound version of meatballs or something, but falls short. It definitely pales in comparison to the very similar Adventureland. It's still very pleasant and well-intentioned, though, and the very poorly written characters are mostly saved by a lot of great shorthand casting. Like, the mom has basically no personality as far as the script goes, but you stick Toni Collette in there, and she becomes completely three dimensional. Maybe I'm just blinded temporarily since I just watched all three seasons of United States of Tara over the last two weeks. Maya Rudolph is wasted but a dear as always, Anna Sophia Robb (what a stupid name) is well-cast in the thankless role of "saintly babe" (she's way too pretty, but she's good at this kind of thing after Bridge to Terabithia), Sam Rockwell does a good run at the Bill Murray role in Meatballs, the lead is fine (the early scenes were good cause they really didn't pull any punches on the awkwardness, it was very believable!). Steve Carrell is a huge dick in a completely unfunny way, which is kind of a waste of casting, but hey, he's fine. It's a good nostalgia kind of movie. I get the impression it was supposed to take place in the 80s and the studio demanded it take place in the present and they just sorta hastily rewrote a couple scenes to explain why some key things in the movie are from the 80s and threw in a couple references to modern technology. Even the star wars toys the kid plays with are the 1980s versions! 7/10

The Bourne Ultimatum - Watched this for the first time since seeing it in the theater, it's at least as good as I remember it. I think I still prefer the first two movies slightly just cause I'm not totally sold on the last act of this one, but man, the first 2/3 of this are flawless and have some of the best suspense/action scenes ever, the part where he's trying to move the reporter through the station in particular. My favorite thing about this series might be its primary focus on Franke Potente's character through all three movies, Bourne is such an increasingly tortured, sympathetic character through the trilogy which is a great balance to the insane superpowers. The Daniel Craig reboot attempted to do this with Casino Royale, kinda half-assed it with Quantum of Solace (which was not very good for entirely different reasons), and gave up entirely by Skyfall. Unsurprisingly, the Bourne trilogy is vastly superior. And yeah, I'm going to continue pretending the fourth movie doesn't exist. The scene with Julia Stiles dyeing her hair is probably the most quietly devastating scene I've ever seen in an action flick. It's so understated and says so much without sticking in any flashback or swelling the soundtrack or anything. 8/10

Prom Night (1980) - This was a dumb, boring movie up until 2/3 of the way through, when it threw in a lengthy disco dance scene. That alone tipped it over from boring to awesome. At that point (over an hour in) it finally starts having the killer do things other than call people, too. Jamie Lee Curtis really gives it her all in the last act of this, with a couple impressive moments of acting, the aforementioned dance scene, and the somewhat surprising way she physically attacks the killer (throwing a chair across the room at him in one scene!) throughout the climax. No damsel in distress here! Leslie Nielsen doesn't have much to do, but it's fun to see him in a serious role so close to when Airplane turned him into a primarily comic actor. 5/10


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## Anchang-Style

Man i have seen Tennenbaums like years can't remember sh*t about it. But i really really liked Life Aquatic. It was funny and thought the creatures were just too funny. Loved Rushmore and it was much more in showing teenage years than all the teen movies want to be. Overly emotional and a lot of talk about *it* but no action. I thought Darjeeling Limited was really nice, despite me basically hating everyone on the cast. But the soundtrack and just set design and camera work was great. Loved the scene in the car chop shop, which just finally felt such a bond between the brothers. Also loved Grand Budapest. The Stefan Zweig feel came through so heavily: This old europe, old austria, old alps feel. The days of gentleman and the fascists driving it all into desaster. Really enjoyed it. Especially since Ralph Fiennes can't do no wrong with me. Might be my favorite of his, next to Rushmore which i loved.
Moonrise Kingdom...i liked for the usual Anderson stuff. Camera work, music work, honesty. It was a bit smaller in scope than the other movies. Still alright movie.

Still have to watch Bottlerocket.


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## Skyblue

Moonrise Kingdom was smaller in scale, but that also allowed it to be more human. I really loved it. The Grand Budapest Hotel I also loved, and someone I know described it perfectly- It's exactly like the cakes in the movie. It's amazingly designed, fun to watch (or eat, in the cake's case) and it doesn't hold real values. And still you'll want another. 

Also Moonrise Kingdom kinda made me feel like a pedo.


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## Rosal76

Just watched Knightriders (1981). One of the few non-horror movies that zombie master director, George A. Romero has been involved with. Story about a group of modern day, Medievel group trying to stay together. What interested me in seeing this movie is not so much the story, it was decent enough, but the large number of actors/actresses George re-cast from "Dawn of the dead (1978)", the movie he made 3 years earlier, and the actors he will re-cast in "Day of the dead (1985)".

For those interested/curious, here are the actors/actresses that have been in Knightriders and "Dawn of the dead (1978)".
1. John Amplas - Gun man of roof.
2. James Baffico - Wooley
3. Sharon Ceccatti - Nurse zombie
4. David Early - Mr. Berman
5. Ken Foree - Peter
6. Christine Forrest - T.V. producer
7. John Harrison - Composer
8. Clayton Hill - Zombie
9. Randy Kovity - Police officer/Biker.
10. Jeff Paul - Biker
11. Joe Pilato - Police officer.
12. Scott Reinger - Roger
13. Richard Rubinstein - Producer 
14. Tom Savini - Blades
15. Taso N. Stavrakis - Sledge
16. Marty Schiff - Biker
17. Nick Tallo - Biker

Actors who have appeared in Knightriders and "Day of the dead (1985)".
1. John Amplas - Fisher
2. Anthony Dileo Jr. - Miguel
3. Pat Logan - Zombie 
4. Joe Pilato - Captain Rhodes.
5. Taso N. Stavrakis - Torrez
6. Mark Tierno - Zombie

Just to add to the on-going zombie movie theme. Individuals who were in Knightriders that were involved in the remake of "Night of the living dead (1990)".
1. Pat Logan - Zombie
2. Tom Savini - Director
3. George A. Romero - Screenplay writer.
4. Patricia Tallman - Barbara

I know directors like to re-cast actor/actresses from their previous movies, like James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino, but this is the largest number that I have ever seen between 4 movies.


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## Anchang-Style

Rewatched Memories of Matsuko...really loving that movie. So beautifully shot yet heartwretching, awesome music segments, great cast some really funny out of nowhere lines "and that's why i decided.........to do something for others.....and go to Uzbekistan have a nice life" "wait wha??????". The Score is fantastic and it shows why tetsuya Nakashima might be the most high profile director in Japan right now. I still prefer Confessions, just for the brilliant opening segment...that is unbelieveable good.


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## Rosal76

Watched "The Package (1989)" last night. A political/action/thriller movie starring the awesome, Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones. Hackman is a Army Green Beret trying to stop Jones, who is a Army Airborne Ranger, turned mercenary/assassin. Time period is set during the Cold War. If you're a fan of Tom Clancy movies, you may want to check this movie out.


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## Entropy Prevails

Finally brought myself to see Hayao Myazakis "Spirited Away". It´s not as mindblowing as I expected it to be (due to the hype around it) but I still enjoyed it a lot. It has a very different feel to it and the pacing was unusual from what I´ve seen before. The images and the animation however is totally awesome. Even 13 years after release. Now " The Iron Giant" is next on the list.


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## wankerness

Entropy Prevails said:


> Finally brought myself to see Hayao Myazakis "Spirited Away". It´s not as mindblowing as I expected it to be (due to the hype around it) but I still enjoyed it a lot. It has a very different feel to it and the pacing was unusual from what I´ve seen before. The images and the animation however is totally awesome. Even 13 years after release. Now " The Iron Giant" is next on the list.



I thought Spirited Away got really dumb in the last act, especially the ending, and thus I was similarly underwhelmed by all the hype surrounding it. The first hour or so is incredible and totally lived up to expectations, though. I haven't watched it a second time so maybe it will be better on rewatch, I just remembered being so disappointed by the last act compared to all the crazy stuff that came before that it ultimately left me thinking it was only like a 7/10 movie instead of the flawless masterpiece everyone's constantly labeling it. I definitely had better first impressions of Ponyo and My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky as far as Miyazaki movies go. I need to rewatch Mononoke, I have it preordered for when it comes out in November, along with Kiki's Delivery Service which I've never seen


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## Entropy Prevails

wankerness said:


> I thought Spirited Away got really dumb in the last act, especially the ending, and thus I was similarly underwhelmed by all the hype surrounding it. The first hour or so is incredible and totally lived up to expectations, though. I haven't watched it a second time so maybe it will be better on rewatch, I just remembered being so disappointed by the last act compared to all the crazy stuff that came before that it ultimately left me thinking it was only like a 7/10 movie instead of the flawless masterpiece everyone's constantly labeling it. I definitely had better first impressions of Ponyo and My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky as far as Miyazaki movies go. I need to rewatch Mononoke, I have it preordered for when it comes out in November, along with Kiki's Delivery Service which I've never seen



What´s the best Hayao Myazaki movie you can recommend me?


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## wankerness

Entropy Prevails said:


> What´s the best Hayao Myazaki movie you can recommend me?



It kind of depends on what movies you like. My personal favorite is My Neighbor Totoro, but it's a very acquired taste. It's VERY leisurely paced, has no villains or conflict of any sort, and is directed at very young children. 

Castle in the Sky is like, an epic kid's action movie or something. It takes a bit to get going but once the giant robot starts nuking things and everyone reaches the castle at the end it's incredibly exciting. 

Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke are often referred to as the best outside of Totoro and Spirited Away...they're both much darker and more mature than the others. They deal with similar ideas of earth spirits and man's relationship to nature and giant beasties. 

Going by general level of hype, Mononoke is probably the one you should see next.



I haven't watched Iron Giant yet, even though everyone has been screaming about how good it is ever since the day it came out. I need to fix that someday.

If you're on an animation tear, some other non-Disneys I'd highly recommend are:

Wolf Children (Japanese, 2013) - It's an odd coming-of-age story about two werewolf children. The concept sounds idiotic, but it's really quite a beautiful movie.

Persepolis - It's based on a graphic novel, it's about a woman's experience growing up in Iran and fleeing to Austria during the revolution. It's really stylish and pretty affecting. 

Paprika - This is like the considerably crazier, more surreal version of Inception. VERY highly recommended based on visuals alone.

Watership Down - An old classic, it's one of my favorite stories of all time and the movie does it quite a bit of justice considering the low budget and short running time. It's very dark and has a lot of surprisingly mature themes handled very matter-of-factly (religion, fascism, trading security for freedom, etc). 

Summer Wars (Japanese, 2009) - it's about a girl who tricks a guy who likes solving math puzzles into pretending to be her boyfriend for a family gathering, and then an evil AI invented by her long lost uncle takes over the internet and eats everyone in the world's avatar. Fortunately, the god of fighting on the internet happens to also be in her family and then they get a huge boat to power a supercomputer in their house to defeat the evil AI after the grandma dies because the internet being down meant her heart wasn't being monitored and then there's a whole romantic subplot and some weird japanese cardgame figures into it heavily. It's full of insane visuals for the computer-game-land (it's like some kind of abstract second-life) and somehow manages to be primarily about family values. It's nuts.

Grave of the Fireflies - I assume you've heard of this already, it's a really wrenching movie about kids set in Japan during WWII. 

Waltz with Bashir - It's animated, but it's a documentary about the lebanon war. It's very odd and good.

Ghost in the Shell - It's like a companion piece to Blade Runner, it has just as stunning of a setting and explores very similar themes, though it's a lot more over-written and confusing by the end. The lengthy shots which simply serve as establishing setting are some of the best I've seen in animation. Make absolutely sure you watch the original version instead of the "2.0" version which is like the Star Wars special editions (it replaces a bunch of the beautiful animation with dogshit CGI and completely undermines it). The new bluray that came out last week is the original version only, so that's safe.

When the Wind Blows - Old people build a bomb shelter to protect themselves from nuclear war. It is rough.

Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Whisper of the Heart, 5 Centimeters Per Second, etc are also great japanese animation which aren't at all what you'd think of when you think "anime" (I'm pretty uninterested in all anime series and nearly any movie that deals with "mechs" or sex or any other stereotypical anime themes).


----------



## MFB

Summer Wars is basically a better version of Digimon the Movie


----------



## Xaios

Skyblue said:


> Also Moonrise Kingdom kinda made me feel like a pedo.



Tell me about it. I watched that movie with my parents. Seeing characters who are supposed to be 12 years old or so touch each other was incredibly awkward to say the least. Thankfully it was still whimsical enough that they still quite enjoyed it. We also watched the Grand Budapest Hotel together and that was was a hoot.


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## wankerness

I've been on a horror kick the last week, and I'm borrowing a bunch of blurays of stuff I haven't seen in years this weekend (Terror Train, The Burning, Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Body Bags) and one I haven't seen yet (In the Mouth of Madness) and I'm very much looking forward to being a vegetable and watching ALL of them.

Rocky Horror Picture Show - Dumb. A couple of the songs were OK, but most of them were just lazily written, crappy stage songs. If you compare them to the careful writing that went into songs in the similar Phantom of the Paradise, it just makes the movie look all the worse. Especially when you take into account Rocky Horror takes place on sets that seem to be mostly constructed out of cement and props from a community theater production, and it's so lazily translated to film that it will stick 4 musical numbers that don't progress the plot in any way in the same damn room in a row! It's so glacial and bad. Susan Sarandon looks pretty good and Tim Curry is pretty good, but goddam, this is NOT a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. The cult based around it sure has created some kind of weird myth that the movie itself is actually good. 4/10 

Pumpkinhead - Good, it's atmospheric and has a GREAT monster and it has real economy of plot. It's about some teens on vacation that accidentally kill Lance Henriksen's son, so he gets a witch to summon a big mean demon to kill them all in retaliation. It does a good job of making all the characters at least 2-dimensional instead of just being a slasher movie with a huge demon. Way better than you'd expect. 7/10

Hocus Pocus - Incredibly annoying. Sarah Jessica Parker sure used to be hot way back in 93. Don't Watch/10

Carrie (76) - This is even better than I remember, and until the last one minute I'd say it's nearly flawless. The last scene manages to completely undermine the rest of the movie if you think about it too much, but that first 99% of the movie is so masterful I can forgive the ending. Sissy Spacek in this movie is just heartwrenching throughout. This movie actually pains me to watch on a deep level, just knowing what's coming. I hadn't seen it in years and I remembered nearly every scene. I never noticed how beautifully filmed it is and how showy the camerawork is, because I hadn't watched it since I got turned onto Brian De Palma's other movies, but damn is it good. The shots with the flames in the climax in particular are stunning and look like a painting. I'd say this is probably one of my top ten horror movies. I'm kinda curious to watch the 2002 remake, since Angela Bettis (carrie in that remake) in May really pulls off the same kind of character at just as high of a level as Sissy Spacek in this movie, but I know its reputation is terrible so I probably shouldn't. 9/10

Blow-Out - This isn't quite as good as Carrie, but it's still damn good. John Travolta is a sound guy who gets stuck in the middle of a political assassination plot when he accidentally records the audio of the event. It is a very tense and nasty thriller and the ending is just brutal. 8/10

Zombie Honeymoon (2004) - Despite the retarded title, this movie takes itself VERY seriously. It sorta wants to be another Return of the Living Dead 3 (which is a great movie) and be a tragic romance where one partner gets zombied and the other tries to deal with their decay and their new desire to eat people, but the acting and general filmmaking is so shoddy it undermines it. Still, it should be commended for being clearly a very personal movie that isn't attempting to wink at the audience or contain irony, unlike the vast majority of zero budget zombie movies produced over the last 10 years.


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## Choop

Rocky Horror isn't really a horror movie, it's a campy musical.  Some people really like campy stuff like that. Everybody knows it's cheesy.


----------



## Skyblue

Xaios said:


> Tell me about it. I watched that movie with my parents. Seeing characters who are supposed to be 12 years old or so touch each other was incredibly awkward to say the least. Thankfully it was still whimsical enough that they still quite enjoyed it. We also watched the Grand Budapest Hotel together and that was was a hoot.



Dude, Kara Hayward looks way too good to be 14  (I was gonna say "hot" but god dammit she's 14 ) 

Grand Budapest is one of my favorite films


----------



## wankerness

Choop said:


> Rocky Horror isn't really a horror movie, it's a campy musical.  Some people really like campy stuff like that. Everybody knows it's cheesy.



I wasn't judging it by horror standards, I was judging it by musical standards. Campy musicals don't have to be so lazily written/filmed. Compare it to the likes of horror sci-fi musicals Phantom of the Paradise (from the same time period) or Little Shop of Horrors or Forbidden Zone or Dr Horrible's Sing-Along or Sweeney Todd or something and it's just wretched. In all of those movies besides maybe Forbidden Zone, the songs actually progress the plot and are (opinion here) way more memorable. Even try-hard forced-camp movies like Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical are more of a movie than this thing! It's definitely the worst movie musical I've seen, besides Romeo and Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss.


----------



## Choop

I only said that because you said in the post that you had been on a horror kick before listing movies, and it was the standout one haha.


----------



## Alberto7

wankerness said:


> Summer Wars (Japanese, 2009) - it's about a girl who tricks a guy who likes solving math puzzles into pretending to be her boyfriend for a family gathering, and then an evil AI invented by her long lost uncle takes over the internet and eats everyone in the world's avatar. Fortunately, the god of fighting on the internet happens to also be in her family and then they get a huge boat to power a supercomputer in their house to defeat the evil AI after the grandma dies because the internet being down meant her heart wasn't being monitored and then there's a whole romantic subplot and some weird japanese cardgame figures into it heavily. It's full of insane visuals for the computer-game-land (it's like some kind of abstract second-life) and somehow manages to be primarily about family values. It's nuts.



This is THE best description I've seen of this movie, ever.  With your permission, I'd like to quote this exact same passage every time I'm trying to convince people to watch it.


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## wankerness

Alberto7 said:


> This is THE best description I've seen of this movie, ever.  With your permission, I'd like to quote this exact same passage every time I'm trying to convince people to watch it.



Permission granted, what an awesome movie!

I just watched three more horror movies cause I have issues:

Body Bags - Horror anthology hosted by John Carpenter in stupid makeup. First segment is just some chick getting stalked at a gas station but it's well done and short enough to be effective throughout and has good cameos from Wes Craven and Sam Raimi. Second segment is the best, it has a balding guy trying out a miracle cure that doesn't exactly go as planned. Third has Mark Hamill himself as a baseball player who gets an eye transplant which makes him go nuts. It's no Creepshow but it's definitely fun. 6/10

The Burning - This is fondly remembered for some reason, but it's basically just another Friday the 13th clone. A mean old man gets burned up by campers in a prank gone wrong, and then he comes back and kills a whole bunch of OTHER campers in retaliation. It's notable for the incredibly nasty gore effects and for starring Jason Alexander with hair (yes, he sounded exactly like George even when he was playing a young happy guy). It's watchable but certainly has no socially redeeming values. It's about on par with the original Friday the 13th, I guess. It's fun to see Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter and there's some quality nudity. 5/10

Dark Night of the Scarecrow - Network TV movie from 1981, but pretty suspenseful. It's about a Lenny-type guy (played by the dude who was later the villain in Darkman!) who gets wrongfully accused and executed by some virulent rednecks, who then start dying mysteriously. No gore or anything that modern horror fans are usually looking for but it's very well-made and distinctive. 7/10


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## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> The Burning - This is fondly remembered for some reason, but it's basically just another Friday the 13th clone.





Which is funny you mentioned it because Tom Savini did the special effects for both The Burning and Friday the 13th. 

Wankerness, I think if we were next door neighbors, we would do nothing but talk about movies all day.


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## Rosal76

Just watched this movie, "Crawlspace (1986)" which is very strange. The son of a Nazi surgeon runs a apartment in which he kills the tenants. Not a complex story but very weird in how they portray the main antagonist.

Quentin Tarantino fans. Take notice of this movie.


----------



## Albionic

On a nostalgia kick i watched salute of the jugger Rutger hauer movie set in the future following a team of "juggers" players in a violent american football style game as they try to make the big league dated and low budget but not bad


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## wankerness

Rosal76 said:


> Which is funny you mentioned it because Tom Savini did the special effects for both The Burning and Friday the 13th.
> 
> Wankerness, I think if we were next door neighbors, we would do nothing but talk about movies all day.



Yep, I am very familiar with Tom Savini. I watched the 30 minute interview with him about the special effects in the movie before I watched the movie! I love that guy, and feel like I know him well from ten years of seeking out documentaries and interviews with him on DVDs. I have watched multiple movies just because of his involvement. One of my favorite things that I watched recently was a special feature on the "Two Evil Eyes" bluray where it was just a long video of Tom Savini giving a tour of his house, filmed in like 1992. His house is just full of heads and models from his movies (ex, the monster from Tales from the Darkside, Fluffy from Creepshow, etc), samurai swords, and VHS tapes. It's basically the biggest mess ever. He is awesome. I get so happy when I see him do cameos in movies. Grindhouse and Django Unchained, for example.

And yeah, I'm a big time movie nerd with very little outlet in my small town!


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> Just watched this movie, "Crawlspace (1986)" which is very strange.



Klaus Kinski is already a horror movie by himself, just put him sit in a dark room for 90 minutes making weird faces and you'd have a horror movie


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## wankerness

He was one guy that when the rape allegations from the daughter started I was not surprised in the least and never for a second thought they might be false.  The guy was a complete wacko from all accounts. 

The only major role I can remember seeing him in is one of my favorites, in "The Great Silence." He's one of the most evil western villains of all time and has a hunchback. 

I've never watched a single Herzog movie besides Grizzly Man, I should probably watch Aguirre and Nosferatu sometime.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Just watched The Fight Club for the first time... (spoiler-ish content ahead, be aware) and all I can say is that another great movie ruined with a shitty ending. Why is so hard to make a non-confusing ending with some closure instead of making some mind-....ing plot twist at the very end.


----------



## wankerness

Fat-Elf said:


> Just watched The Fight Club for the first time... (spoiler-ish content ahead, be aware) and all I can say is that another great movie ruined with a shitty ending. Why is so hard to make a non-confusing ending with some closure instead of making some mind-....ing plot twist at the very end.



Maybe cause it was based on a book with the same thing going on and the entire movie is designed with that in mind?  Some movies have stupid twist endings that don't work (Ex, Haute Tension) but Fight Club is definitely not one of them.

Just watched Edge of Tomorrow. Emily Blunt is a badass and I wish the movie had been a success so they could have made a prequel about her character going through the battle of Verdun or whatever. Man, she was so awesome. Tom Cruise is rather miscast but does fine work as usual. I thought the first 2/3 was pretty much flawless, the last 1/3 became a bit cliche but I guess that was unavoidable with the plot setup. Great alien design, too. I like how the trailers (which I saw a zillion times in the first half of the summer) never gave any indication that the movie was funny, intelligent, or that Tom Cruise starts out as a weasel. 8/10


----------



## chopeth

wankerness said:


> Just watched Edge of Tomorrow. Emily Blunt is a badass and I wish the movie had been a success so they could have made a prequel about her character going through the battle of Verdun or whatever. Man, she was so awesome. Tom Cruise is rather miscast but does fine work as usual. I thought the first 2/3 was pretty much flawless, the last 1/3 became a bit cliche but I guess that was unavoidable with the plot setup. Great alien design, too. I like how the trailers (which I saw a zillion times in the first half of the summer) never gave any indication that the movie was funny, intelligent, or that Tom Cruise starts out as a weasel. 8/10



I watched that movie too a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed it a lot. A shame it passed almost unnoticed, I'm not a big fan of Tom Cruise but I must admit he does a great job here.

I felt in need of more movies with non-linear time twists and discovered Source Code yesterday. Not as good as Edge of Tomorrow (at least it doesn't include aliens, warfare, etc) but a great entertainment too. Have you watched it?


----------



## Duosphere

wankerness said:


> Some movies have stupid twist endings that don't work (Ex, Haute Tension) *but Fight Club is definitely not one of them.*







chopeth said:


> I felt in need of more movies with non-linear time twists and discovered Source Code yesterday. Not as good as Edge of Tomorrow (at least it doesn't include aliens, warfare, etc) but a great entertainment too. Have you watched it?



I don't know how some people could put those movies in the same sentence besides the fact they're sci fi, Source Code is a master piece while Edge Of Tomorrow has nothing new or exciting, it's a cliche with a very predictable and boring ending.


----------



## chopeth

Duosphere said:


> I don't know how some people could put those movies in the same sentence besides the fact they're sci fi, Source Code is a master piece while Edge Of Tomorrow has nothing new or exciting, it's a cliche with a very predictable and boring ending.



Well, just an opinion, I didn't mean to say it was a masterpiece, but a very entertaining one. Excuse my sacrilege.


----------



## Rosal76

Duosphere said:


> Klaus Kinski is already a horror movie by himself, just put him sit in a dark room for 90 minutes making weird faces and you'd have a horror movie



He reminds me a lot of Rutger Hauer. They could have easily played brothers in a movie if they ever did anything together. Had no idea that Klaus' daugther is Nastassja Kinski.


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> He reminds me a lot of Rutger Hauer. They could have easily played brothers in a movie if they ever did anything together. Had no idea that is daugther is Nastassja Kinski.



He couldn't resist after she turned into a................leopard  

Cat People (1982) - IMDb


----------



## Rosal76




----------



## Skyblue

chopeth said:


> I felt in need of more movies with non-linear time twists



That line right there is the description of Memento. (I'm guessing you've probably seen it? It's rather famous) 

You might also like The Machinist, if you haven't seen it yet (It doesn't seem to be known around here anyway), in which Christian Bale is playing a skeleton.


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> I don't know how some people could put those movies in the same sentence besides the fact they're sci fi, Source Code is a master piece while Edge Of Tomorrow has nothing new or exciting, it's a cliche with a very predictable and boring ending.



Edge of Tomorrow has a lot new with the style of it. Like, the way it just starts doing stuttery jumps but stays in linear time as he's learning to get past new obstacles. It's a good movie and it's not substantially worse than Source Code. 

I saw Source Code in the theater, I was hyped after Moon. It's very good, but I liked Moon better.


----------



## chopeth

Skyblue said:


> That line right there is the description of Memento. (I'm guessing you've probably seen it? It's rather famous)
> 
> You might also like The Machinist, if you haven't seen it yet (It doesn't seem to be known around here anyway), in which Christian Bale is playing a skeleton.



Course I saw Memento, man, total classic, and The Machinist is good too, though I didn't like it so much. What I liked more about Edge of Tomorrow is the videogamish vibe that wankerness points out, like learning to pass a game stage, and also that touch of humour like the scene under the truck. Fresh air.


----------



## Duosphere

How To Train Your Dragon 1 & 2 - Damn, how I love those movies!I can only imagine how much fun they had creating those awesome landscapes and dragons flying around.I'm not a fan of animations but those and Wall-E are my favorites so far.


----------



## Skyblue

Saw Frank the other day. It gets a bit melancholic towards the end, but I liked it anyway. 
Soundtrack was superb.


----------



## Duosphere

Deliver Us From Evil - Dear God, another "demons are retarded and powerless, they can be tied to a chair and any priest can send them back to hell holding a crucifix while screaming some bible words" 
It started pretty cool with some night aerial views the way I like, the way they buildup suspense was good too then.............cliches parade started 

Just rewatched Prometheus - Still love it, visually it's freakin' awesome, my only doubt is why alien is there?I mean that robot head on the floor and that alien are clearly linked to Alien(1979), did I miss something or was Riddley Scott just having fun?It'd be damn cool if Rutger Hauer(Blade Runner) was there too 

OMFG I just realized Alien was made in 1979!


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Senna
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Lords of Dogtown
Dogtown and Z-Boys
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Punk in Africa
The Punk Singer
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
Assault on Wall-Street
Rampage 2: Capital Punishment
Killing Them Softly
Special ID
Downloaded
State of Emergency
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Tommy Boy
Scream
Johnny Mnemonic
Four Rooms
Initial D [Live Action] - Not sure if it's just my connection or what but the video quality is garbage. I was able to find it on youtube (and if the FBI is reading this, then no I was not able to) and it's not half bad.


----------



## wankerness

Carrion Rocket said:


> The Town That Dreaded Sundown



What is this about and is it good? I always see the bluray when I go to movie stores and always wonder what it is. The cover makes it look like Dark Night of the Scarecrow.


----------



## ghostred7

i finally caught up with TF:AoE and X-Men: DoFP


----------



## Carrion Rocket

wankerness said:


> What is this about and is it good? I always see the bluray when I go to movie stores and always wonder what it is. The cover makes it look like Dark Night of the Scarecrow.



It's a movie based on a string of murders in Texarkana, Texas and it's a pretty decent horror movie, but it is seventies horror so there's alot of screaming women. It's on Netflix if you've got it.


----------



## Duosphere

Carrion Rocket said:


> It's a movie based on a string of murders in Texarkana, Texas and it's a pretty decent horror movie, but it is seventies horror so *there's alot of screaming women*. It's on Netflix if you've got it.



What do we have today?
No matter what happens, for good or bad they always say "OMG".
Freakin' dumb and annoying.
Who "in the name of God" says OMG while in danger?
You say nothing, you fight or run. 

The same with FBI agents, every time they jump out of their cars there's always a stupid one screaming "go go go goooo goooooooooooo", like they haven't studied the whole situation and decided what to do before went there, if that stupid guy doesn't scream like a retarded they won't move


----------



## Skyblue

Saw Gone Girl yesterday. 

Wow.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater

Saw "Horns" last weekend. Holy hell, what a great, crazy movie. It was like if Evil Dead had a great plot and a cool mystery, with much better acting.


----------



## ghostred7

VBCheeseGrater said:


> Saw "Horns" last weekend. Holy hell, what a great, crazy movie. It was like if Evil Dead had a great plot and a cool mystery, with much better acting.


I saw a trailer for this yesterday and really liked it. I was gonna order it on-demand until i saw it was $11. I'd rather see it in the theater if possible. That being said, I'm glad you said it was good. It's definitely on my to-watch-soon list.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater

ghostred7 said:


> I saw a trailer for this yesterday and really liked it. I was gonna order it on-demand until i saw it was $11. I'd rather see it in the theater if possible. That being said, I'm glad you said it was good. It's definitely on my to-watch-soon list.



Funny you should mention that, because i watched in on Amazon Instant Video - and it was $11. First time i've ever paid that much to rent a movie. At first i was like hell no, but thought about the price of a night out with wife, etc. Plus money's not tight so I said "eff-it". Also, nothing else grabbed my attention and it was my night to pic the movie lol. Honestly, it was worth it (if any movie can be at least), I had a good time - although it was a git graphic for my wife


----------



## wankerness

Carrie (2013) - Truly tone-deaf and awful. Chloe Moretz is some of the worst casting I've ever seen in a lead role. The entire point of the movie is completely undermined by a combination of her useless acting (she just acts like she's in a horror movie the entire time, makes sure to play the character as foremost someone with MAGIC POWERS, and never generates one ounce of sympathy) and a horrendous attempt at making it EXTREME by having her constantly use her powers all the time through the entire movie, making her basically Harry ....in Potter, when in the original the point was her powers were out of her control and only happened when she raged. It shifts it from being a tragedy about a poor girl that's got psychic powers she doesn't understand getting humiliated into letting them all out, with horrific results, into a movie about some experienced wizard getting her revenge on some mean people at the prom. 

Julianne Moore is awful, too. She's one of the best actresses that is working today, so it's obviously not her fault, but god, just like with Carrie it's completely tone-deaf and terrible. OOO, SHE STABS HERSELF WHILE PEOPLE TALK TO HER, IN LOVING CLOSE-UP! EXTREME!!!!! Piper Laurie was completely bonkers in the original, too, but it worked since it fit with the rest of the movie and she wasn't surrounded by CGI fireworks the entire movie. Instead of Carrie simply shoving her back in self-defense, she now holds her in the air for a while with bad CGI, seals her mouth shut, moves her across the room, shuts the door on her, locks the bolt, melts the bolt, and then turns the radio on with her magic powers. This is SO bad.

And the blood is CGI?!?!?! And they had to repeat the incredibly fakey, terrible effect 3 times in a row? This is worthless and one of the worst movies I've seen in years. 2/10 cause some of the supporting actors are OK (Judy Greer as the gym teacher, guy from Fault in Our Stars as Tommy, some hot chick as Sue). There are a lot of really bad horror remakes out there, but this is the worst I've ever seen.


----------



## jwade




----------



## Duosphere

wankerness said:


> Carrie (2013) - Truly tone-deaf and awful. Chloe Moretz is some of the worst casting I've ever seen in a lead role. The entire point of the movie is completely undermined by a combination of her useless acting (she just acts like she's in a horror movie the entire time, makes sure to play the character as foremost someone with MAGIC POWERS, and never generates one ounce of sympathy) and a horrendous attempt at making it EXTREME by having her constantly use her powers all the time through the entire movie, making her basically Harry ....in Potter, when in the original the point was her powers were out of her control and only happened when she raged. It shifts it from being a tragedy about a poor girl that's got psychic powers she doesn't understand getting humiliated into letting them all out, with horrific results, into a movie about some experienced wizard getting her revenge on some mean people at the prom.
> 
> Julianne Moore is awful, too. She's one of the best actresses that is working today, so it's obviously not her fault, but god, just like with Carrie it's completely tone-deaf and terrible. OOO, SHE STABS HERSELF WHILE PEOPLE TALK TO HER, IN LOVING CLOSE-UP! EXTREME!!!!! Piper Laurie was completely bonkers in the original, too, but it worked since it fit with the rest of the movie and she wasn't surrounded by CGI fireworks the entire movie. Instead of Carrie simply shoving her back in self-defense, she now holds her in the air for a while with bad CGI, seals her mouth shut, moves her across the room, shuts the door on her, locks the bolt, melts the bolt, and then turns the radio on with her magic powers. This is SO bad.
> 
> And the blood is CGI?!?!?! And they had to repeat the incredibly fakey, terrible effect 3 times in a row? This is worthless and one of the worst movies I've seen in years. 2/10 cause some of the supporting actors are OK (Judy Greer as the gym teacher, guy from Fault in Our Stars as Tommy, some hot chick as Sue). There are a lot of really bad horror remakes out there, but this is the worst I've ever seen.



I hear you brother, even calling it piece of crap would be praising it


----------



## wankerness

I was busy lounging about this weekend, besides that godawful Carrie remake I also watched: 

5 Dolls for an August Moon - Weird 60s mod riff on Ten Little Indians, it's got lots of hot ladies and it's filmed on a great tropical island with a super-weird 60s house and the cinematography's pretty cool but the script and acting are pretty weak. 5/10

Blood and Black Lace - One of the first of the whole cycle of Italian slasher/mystery movies (Giallos), this is one of the best. The visuals are just insane, with tons of showy camera angles and tracking shots and nearly everything drowned in bizarre colored lighting. It's one of the most stylish movies this side of Suspiria, it's too bad the DVD looks like junk. 8/10

Frightmare (aka Cover Up, according to IMDB) - In what I read before watching it, this was hyped up as being an English version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which it isn't AT ALL, but it's quite an interesting and effective horror movie all the same. It's about a girl trying to look after her delinquent sister while her parents got out of an insane asylum and her mother seems to be reverting to the cannibal murder tendencies that put her there in the first place! It's way better than the synopsis suggests, it slowly crept up on me until I realized that by the end I was incredibly invested in what happened to our heroine. Very good horror movie. 8/10

In the Mouth of Madness - Sam Neill plays a hitman for an insurance agency out to recover a Stephen King-type author when he disappears. He ends up in the author's fictional town, and the ancient ones start coming up from underground. It's a great concept and has a lot of great scenes but ultimately doesn't really do much with them. 6/10

Countess Dracula - Pretty boring, but always watchable for Ingrid Pitt. It's a fictionalized movie about Elizabeth Bathory where some mean old lady discovers that blood of virgins restores her to her younger hot self. Hijinks ensue. 5/10

Hands of the Ripper - The daughter of Jack the Ripper exhibits schizophrenic tendencies (by which I mean, she's a sweet girl one second and stabbing prostitutes in the eyeball with hat pins the next) while a puffed-up psychologist tries to cure her. It's no masterpiece but the two principles are quite good and the ending is strangely beautiful. 7/10

The Mummy (1959) - Pretty good, much better than the '32 version, basically archaeologists take a mummified princess back to England and an egyptian dude brings the mummy of the princess's lover/evil priest to England to take revenge on them. Christopher Lee is great as the mummy, both when smashing things and when being lovelorn over the chick that resembles his princess. It's kinda slow, but you can't have it all! 6/10

The Blob (1988) - This was a lot better than I remembered, it's got very lively characters, some nice twists in the script, and probably the best 80s monster splat effects this side of The Thing and The Fly. It's VERY gruesome as the blob dissolves and squishes people (one classic scene has it sucking a guy down a sink drain), though unfortunately the camera doesn't linger as much on the effects work as it could. Shawnee Smith is the lead, she's quite fetching here, I was amused to discover that now she acts opposite Charlie Sheen. I think the gigantic mass of man-eating goo was probably a preferable acting partner. 7/10

Video Dead - A haunted TV set is mailed to some idiots, and zombies come out of it and attack them. It's REALLY bad. The zombie makeup is good, I suppose. 2/10

Terrorvision - An alien beams itself to earth through TV waves, and then proceeds to terrorize a family by coming out of the TV set and eating people and then going back in. It also has the ability to mimic people that it ate by turning its tongue into them. It's a really weird, rather annoying comedy that's trying WAY too hard to be funny, but since it stars Mary Woronov, Gerritt Graham and Diane Franklin and has a ton of ludicrous monster effects it comes off way better than it should have. Fun movie! 5/10

Curse of the Werewolf - Some poor lady gets raped by a crazy beggar and gives birth to a werewolf, who only really starts going full-on werewolf as he reaches adulthood. Oliver Reed plays the werewolf and is pretty great, and it's more of a tragic story like all the best werewolf movies. Good, if slow-moving. 6/10

Baron Blood - Some stupid people resurrect a crazy Baron guy that liked torturing people, and he goes around killing people in bad melty-face makeup. Since it was made by the guy who did Black Sunday/Black Sabbath/Blood & Black Lace/etc it's got some great visuals, but the plot sure is lacking. 6/10

Paranoiac - Oliver Reed in another Hammer movie! This one is some kind of ripoff of Les Diaboliques and Psycho. The plot twists are so ludicrous that it never stops being entertaining (as long as you watch it blind, anyway!). It starts out seeming like the story of a rich asshole trying to get his poor sister committed for insanity when their long-lost brother returns. Pretty darn amusing. 7/10

Then ONE non-horror movie: FOXY BROWN. This had a lot of great stuff in it and obviously Pam Grier is fantastic, but yeah, it was no masterpiece. Though the scene with her chopping a guy up with a plane propeller came close, as did her blowing up the two redneck rapists in their disgusting gas station, as did her castrating the vile bad guy and giving the remnants to his awful Madame girlfriend. 6/10


----------



## Duosphere

Lucy (2014) - Even though that theory about we use only 10% of our brain capacity is a bs still I love this movie.Freeman is always awesome even when only standing up.I don't know why black USA actors always felt amazing to me, when something has to be serious, most of the time USA directors call black actors, I don't know why but their acting feels like not acting.In every movie I watched which an USA black actor came in, even if that movie was crap still I couldn't forget that actor's role, they always put a mark with their "acting".Sadly the majority still separates people by colors, looking, social classes etc, only knowledge should separate us all.
Well...I love this movie even if only for having fun


----------



## Pat_tct

oh man i don't know where to start. i usually watch about 5 movies a week. old and new.
in most cases Refn stuff always gets me. or some plain action movie.

The last thing i watched where the movie still creeps around my brain is "Enemy".

Something about that movie just sticks with me. the directing, the tone, the colors.
It all looks so desaturated and bleak. the shots are great and acting is top notch.
the story is interesting and kept me glued to the screen.
this is one my 5/5 star movies.


oh and if anyone of you is on letterboxd.com hit me up there. PatAGD is my username. love the site. it's cool to see what others are watching, how they rate it or read their reviews. and you keep a clean diary of what you watched and when and all that jazz.


----------



## Duosphere

Horns (2013) - I almost died in boring land.Two friends love girl, one did her then the other one killed her because he couldn't have her.
Oh so creative!
In the middle there's a nonsense demon.
It felt like a VERY bad M. Night Shyamalan movie


----------



## SSK0909

Pat_tct said:


> oh man i don't know where to start. i usually watch about 5 movies a week. old and new.
> in most cases Refn stuff always gets me. or some plain action movie.
> 
> The last thing i watched where the movie still creeps around my brain is "Enemy".
> 
> Something about that movie just sticks with me. the directing, the tone, the colors.
> It all looks so desaturated and bleak. the shots are great and acting is top notch.
> the story is interesting and kept me glued to the screen.
> this is one my 5/5 star movies.
> 
> 
> oh and if anyone of you is on letterboxd.com hit me up there. PatAGD is my username. love the site. it's cool to see what others are watching, how they rate it or read their reviews. and you keep a clean diary of what you watched and when and all that jazz.



Interesting... I watched the first 20 minutes of Enemy and switched it of. It did'nt click with me at all and I grew less and less interested.

Might give it another go sometime if you liked it that much 

Recently watched Deliver us from evil.

I was very disappointed in how generic it was. Nothing you haven't seen before in other movies, and the "OMFG this is based on true events!" trick doesn't really work anymore. One quick Google and you know that 99% of the plot is complete BS


----------



## Skyblue

Saw Gone Girl about a week ago, I personally think it was fantastic. 

Yesterday I sat and watched 2001: Space Odyssey. Amazingly beautifully made, but I'll admit I got rather bored at some parts, as they seemed to drag on and on.


Spoiler



for example the monkeys scene at the beginning. I understand why it's there, but IMO it was just too long. Same thing with the LSD neon bright color display near the end.


----------



## wankerness

Pat_tct said:


> oh and if anyone of you is on letterboxd.com hit me up there. PatAGD is my username. love the site. it's cool to see what others are watching, how they rate it or read their reviews. and you keep a clean diary of what you watched and when and all that jazz.



Wow, I had heard of that site but never knew what it was like. This is like, the perfect thing for me. Now I'm going to be tempted to dig through my forum posts from the last several years to update my diary retroactively.


----------



## Xaios

Little late on the wagon, but I loved Source Code. I enjoyed the plot, and while the mechanic by which the story is created is obviously problematic, it has consistent enough internal logic that you don't notice until well after the fact. The "twist" was also handled well, it was built up to and not Shyamalan-esque. The script is also surprisingly intelligent and, more importantly, lacking in corn and cheese. The villain doesn't monologue anymore than need be, and even tells the main character "you're a teacher, so you're familiar with the concepts I've espoused."

But the real strength of the movie is the acting. Seriously, Jake Gyllenhaal absolutely kills it. The scene in which he talks to his father on the phone is just devastating, one of the most powerful moments in any recent movie.

For the record, I loved Moon too, and for the most part Sam Rockwell also does a great job, but there's something that makes Jake Gyllenhaal's acting more believable in those sort of "moment of personal crisis" scenes.


----------



## neurosis

SSK0909 said:


> Interesting... I watched the first 20 minutes of Enemy and switched it of. It did'nt click with me at all and I grew less and less interested.
> 
> Might give it another go sometime if you liked it that much
> 
> Recently watched Deliver us from evil.
> 
> I was very disappointed in how generic it was. Nothing you haven't seen before in other movies, and the "OMFG this is based on true events!" trick doesn't really work anymore. One quick Google and you know that 99% of the plot is complete BS



Was that the one with Eric Bana? If so then whyyyyyy!!!! Why did we spend our time on this!! 

I watched Berberian Sound Studio a few days ago. It's ow would I say... a bit like a movie within a movie and without a real end. The plot development is fairly inexistent and despite being a movie about the soundtrack production to a horror movie in Italy the is no horror on screen. It is beautifully shot, fairly claustrophobic and super interesting for sound-nerds like us considering a lot of the story is advanced only through suggestion via the sound effects. I recommend everybody watch it. It's not your classic Giallo film but gets pretty close for being a tribute.

Agree with Gone Girl. Fincher is in winning streak with me. I love his style and I can't get over the awesomeness of Reznor and Ross on the sound passages.

Another amazing movie I watched recently was the hunt, I think it has been mentioned here before.


----------



## Duosphere

Xaios said:


> Little late on the wagon, but I loved Source Code. I enjoyed the plot, and while the mechanic by which the story is created is obviously problematic, it has consistent enough internal logic that you don't notice until well after the fact. The "twist" was also handled well, it was built up to and not Shyamalan-esque. The script is also surprisingly intelligent and, more importantly, lacking in corn and cheese. The villain doesn't monologue anymore than need be, and even tells the main character "you're a teacher, so you're familiar with the concepts I've espoused."
> 
> But the real strength of the movie is the acting. Seriously, Jake Gyllenhaal absolutely kills it. The scene in which he talks to his father on the phone is just devastating, one of the most powerful moments in any recent movie.
> 
> For the record, I loved Moon too, and for the most part Sam Rockwell also does a great job, but there's something that makes Jake Gyllenhaal's acting more believable in those sort of "moment of personal crisis" scenes.


----------



## Pat_tct

@wankerness: letterboxd is amazing. my coworkers and i use it every day. we log our movies we watched, keep our watchlists up to date and then geek out on whatever we saw lately 


to be back on topic: i saw Remember Me yesterday. i expected nothing. thought it was a generic love film. what i got was an amazing drama.
I'm not ashamed to say that i like Robert Pattinson as an actor. he was great in The Rover and is great in this movie. Pierce Brosnan plays another great role here as well as Chris Cooper. I got really invested in the characters, their relationship and their emotional development. Plus: The end was one of the most powerful I've seen lateley.


----------



## Xaios

Pat_tct said:


> to be back on topic: i saw Remember Me yesterday. i expected nothing. thought it was a generic love film. what i got was an amazing drama.
> I'm not ashamed to say that i like Robert Pattinson as an actor.



Isn't "Remember Me" the one where Robert Pattinson gets


Spoiler



9-11'd


?


----------



## Alberto7

I just watched _The Hunt_, with Mads Mikkelsen, and... wow. Just... wow. I really am at a loss for words. One of the most powerful movies I remember watching.



Spoiler



Fanny... :'(


----------



## Rosal76

Burnt Offerings (1976). Old school horror movie about a mansion, which rejuvenates itself when misfortune and death of its occupants occur within the house. The story is decent for its time but the main reason I wanted to see this movie is because the mansion, which is the Dunsmuir house located in California, is the same house that is used in one my favorite horror movie, Phantasm (1979). The house is also used in other movies. 

Screen shot from Burnt Offerings. 






Screenshot from Phantasm. Jody and Reggie driving away in 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda at bottom left.


----------



## Pat_tct

@Xaios: yes it is. those last 15 minutes were impressive. and i think his acting got better with every movie. remember me, water for elephants, cosmoplis and the rover.... all great roles


----------



## Duosphere

Annabelle - Boring land all over the place.There are other movies about evil dolls with the same plot, why is this one special?It's not, it's boring and with bad acting.Why are people talking so much about it?I don't have a clue cause it brings nothing new or even different, everything is predictable unless you never watched an evil doll movie or ANY horror movie.I only liked the starting scene which is a good THRILLER but after that..............crap.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Loved *Source Code* and _*Moon*_, I need another excellent movie like that to bring to movie night. All we ever watch are the big movies, and we (me and my movie watching buddy) are really tired of the superhero movie dreck that's come out lately, actually put me off movie-watching (I've seriously cut down since last year). Really looking forward to _*Interstellar*_. I need another *The Lives of Others* or *Winter's Bone*.

I think it's about time I watched _*I Saw the Devil*_ again.


----------



## Duosphere

Dusty Chalk said:


> I think it's about time I watched _*I Saw the Devil*_ again.



You like that movie?!
To me it's a mix of Terminator + Laurel and Hardy + all Hollywood cheese stuff 
I couldn't stop laughing the whole movie.
The bad guy is a joke himself, a good joke of course.


----------



## Aviator

I recently saw The Matrix trilogy after 10 years probably and man it's awesome. Especially that speech in the end of Revolution. "Why mister Anderson, why..." 

Then I was told to watch Taken and again, awesome movie and if anything should happen to me I would want Liam Neeson to be my father.

And as someone mentioned. I am really stoked for Interstellar.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Duosphere said:


> You like that movie?!
> To me it's a mix of Terminator + Laurel and Hardy + all Hollywood cheese stuff
> I couldn't stop laughing the whole movie.
> The bad guy is a joke himself, a good joke of course.


Yeah, I do. Don't know why. The "good guy" is a horrible good guy, he lets people get into trouble and killed by the bad guy.

I didn't laugh at it, but I do love black comedies as well, so laughing at horror isn't necessarily a bad thing in my book. There are definitely some comedic elements to *I Saw the Devil*.

There are two scenes that are worth the price of admission alone -- the taxi scene (not perfectly executed, but I love the Tarantino-esque build-up of tension, and I loved what he was _trying_ to do with the rotocam, would love to see a real high-production-values version of the same scene...Wachowski brothers, perhaps? [yeah, I know they're not brothers any more, I still think of them as the Wachowski brothers]), and the quiet/skinny/submissive girlfriend scene (the latter of which is like a quarter of the movie). I love the fact that


Spoiler



he never heard her over the bug and didn't know who she was when he first ran into her


.

And the scene where that guy freed his hand from the knife was just squirm-inducing perfection. 


Spoiler



The expression on his face when the handle comes off...



I also love a good twist/reveal. I thought that one


Spoiler



that he didn't work alone, and was part of a cannibal cult


 was particularly good.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Duosphere said:


> Just rewatched Prometheus - Still love it, visually it's freakin' awesome, my only doubt is why alien is there?I mean that robot head on the floor and that alien are clearly linked to Alien(1979), did I miss something or was Riddley Scott just having fun?



...made me actually want to see it again. I was previously of the "most beautiful movie I ever wanted to punch in the face" club, and not sure until I watch it again, that I'm entirely sold on the explanation.

Still haven't watched it, though.


----------



## Duosphere

Dusty Chalk said:


> ...made me actually want to see it again. I was previously of the "most beautiful movie I ever wanted to punch in the face" club, and not sure until I watch it again, that I'm entirely sold on the explanation.
> 
> Still haven't watched it, though.




Thanks man


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> Carrie (2013) - Truly tone-deaf and awful. Chloe Moretz is some of the worst casting I've ever seen in a lead role.


That little girl has ruined every film she has ever been in.

When I found out they were making a _Carrie_ remake, I was 50/50 - half skeptical and half excited. However, I prayed to whatever higher deity that out of every high school actress in Hollywood they would not cast her. So who do they cast?....HER!

Then I found out that she was the lead actress in _Let Me In_ which is the American remake of the classic _Let the Right One In_ (one of my favorite films). And she absolutely ruined that shit too.

Side note: you and me seem to think alike as far as film or TV concepts go, wankerness.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

This year has been absolutely god awful for movies. 

I never go to the movie theater (too expensive and out of the way), and this year further solidifies my notion that it isn't worth it with the just the utter rubbish that Hollywood is putting out. I'd rather wait a few weeks and stream it online or get snag the DVD from Redbox for a dollar.

----------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, I sat down and watched Roman Polanski's 1965 _Repulsion_. It drags on and is kind of boring, but the ending is a 50/50 shocker - half expected, half unexpected. But something about it just weirded me out... (Claustrophobia maybe?) I also wish some things would've been played out better. (But 1965 standards of course...)

Feels like one of those flicks that could give _Eraserhead_ a run for its money...


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Moving on to watch Roman Polanski's aptly misnamed _Carnage_. It's a comedy about child-rearing with Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz (of all people), and John C. Reilly playing married couples. Probably the oddest match-ups for couples.

This ought to be weird too...


----------



## Dusty Chalk

*Fury* -- meh, I did like the portrayal of the horrors of war, that was pretty well done. And Pitt was far better in this than the caricature he was in *Inglourious Basterds*. But otherwise...it's a tank movie, what do you want?

*Monuments Men* -- meh-sirable. Whoever said it'd be boring was right. My movie-watching buddy called it the worst World War Two movie he'd ever seen, and I'm hard pressed to think of another one.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> That little girl has ruined every film she has ever been in.
> 
> When I found out they were making a _Carrie_ remake, I was 50/50 - half skeptical and half excited. However, I prayed to whatever higher deity that out of every high school actress in Hollywood they would not cast her. So who do they cast?....HER!
> 
> Then I found out that she was the lead actress in _Let Me In_ which is the American remake of the classic _Let the Right One In_ (one of my favorite films). And she absolutely ruined that shit too.
> 
> Side note: you and me seem to think alike as far as film or TV concepts go, wankerness.



Well, apparently we don't think the same way, I actually liked "Let Me In." I thought she was mis-cast there too, but I didn't think she ruined it, and I thought several OTHER things about that movie actually improved upon the original (ex, the whole sequence with the murder attempt in the car, especially that stunning POV shot as it crashes; the lack of CGI cats; Richard Jenkins; the cinematography in general). The original's main actress is so much better that it's still considerably better, though, and the CGI jumpy vampire girl crap more than balances out the lack of CGI cats. But yeah, "Let the Right One In" is probably one of my top 3 movies of all time in any genre, so for me to like the remake means it must not have been too bad, since Carrie is also a favorite movie and that one inspired deep hatred at them totally missing what was good about a classic.

She's also like...not a deal-breaker in Hugo. Her accent is atrocious, but she's generally likable and looks right for the part. Again, though, it would have been better with an actual English person in the role!!

Uhh, she's also kind of hot in a jailbait way in Dark Shadows, she plays a trashy hippy type and is kind of fun in the role. Not that anyone should go out of their way to watch that movie. I got dragged to the theater to see it and ended up liking it more than I thought I would.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Moving on to watch Roman Polanski's aptly misnamed _Carnage_. It's a comedy about child-rearing with Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz (or all people), and John C. Reilly playing married couples. Probably the oddest match-ups for couples.
> 
> This ought to be weird too...



That movie is famously bad, despite the cast and pedigree.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> Well, apparently we don't think the same way, I actually liked "Let Me In." I thought she was mis-cast there too, but I didn't think she ruined it, and I thought several OTHER things about that movie actually improved upon the original (ex, the whole sequence with the murder attempt in the car, especially that stunning POV shot as it crashes; the lack of CGI cats; Richard Jenkins; the cinematography in general). The original's main actress is so much better that it's still considerably better, though, and the CGI jumpy vampire girl crap more than balances out the lack of CGI cats. But yeah, "Let the Right One In" is probably one of my top 3 movies of all time in any genre, so for me to like the remake means it must not have been too bad...


I liked the American remake too, and I completely agree on all points. _Especially_ the CGI jumpy vampire girl part, but also the cultural things that I think I got in the American version (specifically the music). I had this theory for a while that whichever one one saw first would be the preferred, but I have a hard time finding anyone willing to watch both that hasn't seen the first one. In hindsight, I think the original is still preferrable to me -- if for nothing else -- for that haunting extended opening snow scene, the patience that it promised for the rest of the film, and delivering on that promise. I like patience in movie-making as well as music.


----------



## wankerness

Watched a whole bunch more horror movies, with a random classic art movie thrown in:

*Grabbers* - Really bad, never watch this, like a bargain basement attempt at an Irish Tremors that totally lacks any charm. 2/10

*Hide and Seek* - It starts off strong, feeling almost like a Korean Giallo, but it REALLY flies off the rails in the second half. It eventually turns into a string of characters doing the absolute stupidest thing they could possibly do and constant frustration on the part of the viewer. If you wanted to scream at Laurie when she threw the knife down next to Michael Myers, you're really going to lose it here. Characters also consistently fail to use their phones at the convenience of extending contrived suspense and attack sequences, and it just gets draining. You can do worse as far as thrillers go, especially ones available on Netflix, but this is a deeply frustrating and flawed movie, especially considering the promise of the first half. 5/10

*L'Eclisse* - Classic Antonioni movie about a severely disaffected woman who eventually halfheartedly gets together with a stockbroker right before a big stock market crash. She's really noncommittal and constantly backing away from people and getting bored and not wanting people to touch her ala Repulsion or something, but she was somehow really endearing cause of her childlike enthusiasm when it came to certain stuff (ex the bizarre part where she's at a friend's house and dresses up in tribal gear and black face and starts dancing to African drum music). It's very dreamy and odd and it ends with some kind of strange montage that seems almost post-apocalyptic. 8/10! It perfectly segues into...

*Last Man on Earth* - Post apocalypse movie filmed in Rome (just like L'Eclisse), starting out with a montage of empty buildings that seems like a continuation of the last section of L'Eclisse! It's the first filmed version of "I Am Legend" and it's probably about equal to Will Smith's version or Charlton Heston's version, they all have serious issues and all have their own strengths. Vincent Price was a righteous dude. I'll have to make a gif of the badly done scene where he starts laughing and then crying, though.

*The Stendhal Syndrome* - The only post-1987 Argento movie worth watching! It's certainly ambitious, if nothing else. The photography is right up there with Opera, and the plot is an unwieldy attempt at combining some kind of serial rapist/murder plot with a rather fanciful concept of Stendhal Syndrome. Basically, a policewoman (who seems to be more of a college student for the entire movie) gets her mind warped by a bunch of art, and then becomes the target of a serial killer/rapist and is assaulted repeatedly and witnesses several murders, and then after escaping and horrifically wounding her attacker she returns to society, only to start being stalked again. Asia Argento is the lead, and I must echo the frequent comment that it's even more uncomfortable seeing what she goes through in this movie knowing her father was the director. It is quite a raw and nasty movie, but somehow it wasn't quite as leery as I was expecting. 6/10

*Night of the Demons (1988) *- It was a very unspectacular setup for a movie that had enough idiosyncrasies to make it really fun. The opening credits sequence in particular is one of the best I can think of in a horror flick, it is very stylish and does a great job of setting the tone. The movie itself starts off great with a lot of amusing 80s dialogue and humor (like the awful younger brother and the even more awful old man), kind of gets boring for a while, but then comes back to life in a big way with a couple of fantastic monster scenes like the creative use of lipstick (a demon inserts the entire applicator into her boob!!) and the dance routine. The main demon actress is a lot of fun, and so's Linnea Quigley of course. There are a few good gore effects, and the one at the very end of the movie actually did manage to make my throat hurt in response, haha. It's such a pointless final scene, but so good. By far the most shocking thing about this movie was


Spoiler



that the black guy survived.


 7/10

*Shock (1977) *- I was pleasantly surprised by it. It's probably one of my favorite movies of Bava's! It doesn't really feel like a "Bava movie," it has the look and feel of something more along the lines of "House by the Cemetery," but it's a very effective haunted house movie and Daria Nicolodi is really good in the lead. I remember hearing that Argento was so mad that she appeared in this that he never gave her another good role in one of his movies again, which is too bad. She's extremely effective here, much better than in Deep Red where she acts like the Swedish Chef with all her crazy gesticulating. The only real problem with it is (as usual) a terrible performance by the lead kid, but at least he's better dubbed than the infamous "Bob" from House by the Cemetery. It also has a fun Goblin-style score and a few really great practical effect shots (the part where the kid jumps up at Daria and turns into the ghost is the biggest stand-out). 8/10

*Schizo* - Fun 70s suspense/slasher movie from the always-entertaining Pete Walker, contains a lot of good nudity and some fun gore. It stars the bloodsucking hag that took all of Peter Sellers' fortune from his family after making him sign a new will on his deathbed and snorted it up her nose. She was pretty hot, though. 

*House of Whipcord* - This is considered Pete Walker's big "classic," I didn't really like it. It's about a doofy topless model that gets lured into a women's prison run by maniacal women (including one terrifying lady that's the spitting image of Brienne from Game of Thrones) where they whip and execute women who have behaved indecently who the warden feels weren't punished adequately by society. It contains a lot of those infuriating scenes where you slowly watch the inevitable unfold, or characters behave in idiotic ways, and thus made me too annoyed to enjoy it. I guess I have seen way too many horror movies over the decades and am probably being too hard on it given its rep. 4/10!

*Don't Torture a Duckling* - Giallo which involves child murders instead of hot lady murders for a change. It is definitely one of the better and more original of the cycle. The heroine emerges as Barbara Bouchet, who is easily one of the most beautiful women of all time, but it confusingly gives us a red herring at the beginning where her character delights in sitting around naked and teasing 12 year old boys with her hotness. There's the most spectacular dispatching of a villain I've seen this side of "The Fury," too. 7/10

*Black Belly of the Tarantula* - Another Giallo, this one involving lots of hot lady murders as per usual. It's one of the few classics of the genre and features the greatest opening credit sequence of all time, in which Barbara Bouchet is given a nude massage. 8/10

*Calibre 9* - An Italian crime movie from the 70s, this has one of the best pre-credit sequences ever, in which several people are beaten and assaulted, boobs are displayed, and then several people are blown up with dynamite!! It also contains a lengthy pointless dance routine from Barbara Bouchet in some ludicrous bikini. It's kind of a cross between Reservoir Dogs and Yojimbo in the plot department and is actually quite well-made and exciting. 7/10

*Planet of the Vampires* - This is pretty awesome, it's a zero budget sci-fi movie from the 60s that managed to look pretty stylish and it's so artificial and odd in its style that it holds up quite well. It also is a clear inspiration for "Alien," it involves astronauts landing on a planet in response to a distress call and then being steadily killed by an alien that infests their bodies. It also contains a scene in which they find a crashed alien spaceship that's full of the giant skeletons of some other alien species which had been killed by the infestation aliens.  It has no vampires, either, but it's still a cool title. A more accurate title would be "Planet of the Psychic Aliens that Turn People Into Zombies". 7/10

*V/H/S 2* - I saw this before, but I rewatched it. That whole asian compound is so audacious I can't help but love it, it's so incredibly revolting and really goes all out with the gore effects. It's mandatory viewing for undiscerning horror nuts! The other three segments are also pretty decent, especially the idiotic (but so fun!) part with the zombie with the gopro camera on his head, and the alien abduction at the end. 6/10

*ABCs of Death* - Most of this is completely awful and not worth watching, but it was kind of fun to watch in a group doing a drinking game where whoever guesses the word doesn't have to drink. However, some of the segments were so damn long we lost interest a few times. This said, F, H and Z alone are so fantastic that you should watch the entire movie just to see them, unless you can find some way to watch them by themselves. The other 23 letters can screw off, the worst is probably V. 4/10

*Gone Girl* - Very good, and surprisingly funny. The "bad guy" reminded me of Christian Bale in American Psycho. It does a ton of really great stuff that is fun to talk about but almost the entire thing is spoiler-able. I knew who the "villain" was of the piece but didn't know anything else whatsoever about the plot and was frequently delighted by the plot developments, so I'd hate to ruin it for anyone else! 9/10

*The Babadook* - Well, that was a monumental disappointment. I think the nearly year of hype about it being terrifying really worked against it. It's being hyped up as some kind of incredibly scary, groundbreaking horror movie, but it's really very average, I'd compare it to something like "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" or "Mama" in that it contains some good ideas and imagery and is competently made but completely unspectacular. I watched it with the sound way up in the dark at night with no distractions and it failed to make me, the most jumpy of jump scare wimps, get scared by ANYTHING other than the first half hour, where it made me scared to ever have a kid cause that kid was so awful that he made Regan look like she'd be a relief in comparison. I guess the couple of parts with the babadook voice were pretty eerie too, but then the rest of the time they just blare this stock dragon sound effect that's been used by videogames since about 1989 every time they show the monster (the dragon noise at 3:47ish in this warcraft 2 effects compilation LINK ). I think that damn stock sound effect might have been the biggest distraction for me. It's like if they made a horror movie and every time someone screamed they used the Wilhelm scream, or something. Public domain sound effects being used as the monster's primary noise are not good. So yeah, I think the first half hour works against it since then the rest of the movie just sort of reverses the audience sympathies and then it really doesn't go anywhere with it. Blech. I'd definitely recommend a rental on this one. 5/10


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Although I love stop-action animation, I thought this was a more creative T is for...


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> That movie is famously bad, despite the cast and pedigree.


No comment. I never ever heard of this movie before but randomly stumbled upon it and became intrigued. But now...no comment. 





...you're right.


----------



## MFB

I remember seeing Carnage on a movie channel one night and thought it would be awesome given Christoph Waltz, but then? Not so much.


----------



## wankerness

Willow Creek - So uh, Bobcat Goldthwait made a found footage horror movie, and it's actually terrifying  It's very much in the vein of the Blair Witch Project, but this one actually creeped me out bigtime (I didn't see Blair Witch until years after it came out, though, so my experience with that was heavily diluted). Maybe it's just a matter of not really having any idea what would happen and watching it in the dark with the sound way up when I don't always do that with horror movies, but man, the tension through the last act was the most freaked out I've been since the first time I saw [Rec] back in about 2004. It helps that the first half of it has actual decent dialogue and likable characters, unlike say...Paranormal Activity 1-5. I'm very impressed! The plot obviously isn't anything to write home about but it does what it set out to do way better than I was expecting. 8/10


----------



## Duosphere

wankerness said:


> Maybe it's just a matter of not really having any idea what would happen and watching it in the dark with the sound way up when I don't always do that with horror movies,



Well, I said here darkness is the scariest thing ever but somebody replied it wasn't.No "rubber covered with fake blood monster" is scarier than darkness, not knowing what's going to happen is more powerful than any effect and if you add a good dialogue/sequence before darkness = heart pumping fast.

I liked that movie too BUT like you mentioned, it's another Blair Witch clone and there are a hundred out there, the same thing happening but with different characters, still I had fun watching it.


----------



## Pat_tct

re-watched Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

meh.... I'm a Jake Gyllenhaal fanboy, but that movie is just meh. but i needed something that i could watch while doing some other stuff and it is an ok action movie. not bad, not good. 5/10

And after endless hours of my coworkers saying that i have to watch "Super" i finally gave in.
what a shit movie. Ellen Page was ok. at least nice to look at. but the movie wasn't really funny. the action was meh. i have no idea what people like about that movie.
seemed to be one of those spoof movies that pop up every other year.
The idea and everything reminded me of "Kickass". just not as funny and well written.
2 hours wasted...
3/10.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

What I liked about Super was how dark it was. Kick Ass wasn't that dark. Also *God Bless America* which was sort of Super meets Kick Ass meets Falling Down.

I'm a Gemma Arterton fanboy, myself, that's why I enjoyed Sands of Time. I forgot to check RunPee before I watched it in the theater, and my friend snarkily said, "you can go when Gemma isn't on the screen...which is never", and he ended up being more right than I care to admit.


----------



## Pat_tct

Super was dark? maybe i didn't get something there xD
i had the feeling that it was horribly boring and the character played by ellen page was just annoying and not funny. 
Rainn Wilson as Frank. i don't know. i hated him from the first second onward^^


----------



## Dusty Chalk

_(shrugs)_ I can't really argue with you, since it's your reaction and I can definitely see how someone could see it that way. Also by way of introduction a little bit, my superpower is the ability to enjoy movies -- I can enjoy even the crappiest movies. Heck, I _loved_ Equilibrium. Couldn't watch The Room, though, I hated that movie so hard. My power has limits.

I mean, it wasn't the greatest movie, but yeah, I thought Super was darker than Kickass by a long shot.

And no, it was not very funny. I don't think it was intended to be. Except for the Nathan Fillion part, that was pretty funny.


----------



## Duosphere

Dusty Chalk said:


> _(shrugs)_ Heck, I _loved_ Equilibrium.



Me too


----------



## MFB

Equilibrium rules, and none should feel bad for enjoying it

Just watched Django Unchained for the first time, it's what I expected it to be so I'm OK with it. No Inglorious Basterds or Reservoir Dogs, but it's definitely Tarantino.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Can you guys recommend me any REALLY GOOD older horror flicks? (Preferably pre-2000).

I've already seen many, if not all, of the undisputed classics that immediately come to mind (_Halloween, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, The Evil Dead, Psycho,_ etc.) and I'm just looking for a little something that I haven't seen to help me pass the time over the next few days while I reminisce about missing out (for the most part) on Halloween.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Prince of Darkness is a favourite of mine from pre-2K. My wife (at the time) and I never got to sleep that night.

Return of the Living Dead isn't really scary, but it's a wonderful send-up of the genre.

One or two of the stories in Creepshow still unnerve me.

But I'm a muggle compared to some others on here, so I'm hoping that they post additional ones that I haven't seen.


----------



## MFB

House of the Devil is a newer film that's set to look like a 70's horror flick, it's about a Satanic cult. Susperia is also pretty trippy and it's just a weird film overall; same could be said for Eraserhead and Blue Velvet. While I've personally never seen it, I've heard good things about Jacobs Ladder as well.

^ +1 for Creepshow as well, it's got one of - if not, _the_ - most frightening Yeti designs of all time


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

MFB said:


> House of the Devil is a newer film that's set to look like a 70's horror flick, it's about a Satanic cult. Susperia is also pretty trippy and it's just a weird film overall; same could be said for Eraserhead and Blue Velvet. While I've personally never seen it, I've heard good things about Jacobs Ladder as well.
> 
> ^ +1 for Creepshow as well, it's got one of - if not, _the_ - most frightening Yeti designs of all time



Suspiria and Eraserhead are also older, undisputed classics that I've seen. Love both (in different ways).


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just finished watching _Videodrome_. I don't even know what the hell I just watched.


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Just finished watching _Videodrome_. I don't even know what the hell I just watched.



I know, I know........................VIDEODROME


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Can you guys recommend me any REALLY GOOD older horror flicks? (Preferably pre-2000).
> 
> I've already seen many, if not all, of the undisputed classics that immediately come to mind (_Halloween, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, The Evil Dead, Psycho,_ etc.) and I'm just looking for a little something that I haven't seen to help me pass the time over the next few days while I reminisce about missing out (for the most part) on Halloween.



Friday the 13th is certainly not an undisputed classic. It's like, a movie that was wildly popular and people look fondly back on because of all the trash it spawned. It was a third rate knock-off of Bay of Blood attempting to cash in on Halloween with no artistic integrity whatsoever apart from the gore effects. 

Everything ELSE on your list there though, yeah 

Horror movies I rated 8 or above made before 2000:

10:
The Fly
The Exorcist
Jaws

9:
Carrie
Ms 45
Night of the Hunter
The Dead Zone
Silence of the Lambs
Halloween
The Thing (82)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (78)
Dawn of the Dead
Gremlins 2
Dead Alive

8:
Kwaidan
Blood & Black Lace
Black Sabbath
Black Sunday
Twins of Evil
Patrick
Blood on Satan's Claw
Frankenhooker
Reanimator
Martin
Deep Red
Santa Sangre
Body Snatchers (93)
The Beyond
Phantom of the Paradise
Rabid
The Brood
The Devils
Return of the Living Dead 3
Sisters
Seconds
Suspiria
Eyes Without a Face
Open Your Eyes (aka Abre Los Ojos, the movie badly remade as Vanilla Sky)
Prince of Darkness
The Vanishing (88)
Diabolique (55)
Blow Out
Lifeforce
Altered States
Dressed to Kill
The Shining
Se7en
Alien
Poltergeist
Blue Velvet
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Evil Dead II
Night of the Living Dead (68)
Candyman
Jacob's Ladder
Videodrome
Duel
Kalifornia
Bride of Frankenstein


----------



## MFB

Finished watching Snowpiercer, not really a fan of it. Just dragged on and felt like it didn't really go anywhere or build to anything.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Finished watching Snowpiercer, not really a fan of it. Just dragged on and felt like it didn't really go anywhere or build to anything.



It was disappointing to me mainly because the director made "Memories of Murder" which is probably one of the 5 best movies I've ever seen. Snowpiercer is certainly way more creative and audacious than most of the movies it gets classified with, but I didn't really get into it either.


----------



## MFB

The other thing that bugged me was stuff like the random worker who was stopping them from entering the train after they burst through the first part; or like, the mobs upon mobs of dudes in black military gear just waiting with hatchets and shit - like, how long were they there? How did they KNOW to be there? Is that their sole job, to wait there in case of revolution? 

And what was the deal with the shooting across the train sections? Like, if you're that far apart that you can see someone else shooting at you from a distance, and moving at that speed - bullet trajectories are going to be off, and he wouldn't catch up as quickly as he did. It's a massive train.

Just, a lot of little things got to me over time


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I liked it just because it was so different than so much crap out there, maybe I need to dig deeper, but I haven't found a reliable method for finding good (to me) movies. All that highly stylized neo-Brazil class/caste stuff was great -- didn't see that in the trailer at all.

And that one concept...


Spoiler



the baby cannibalism


...man...I just wish I could forget that.

I need to watch Memories of Murder. I've only seen (and loved) Mother and The Host.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> Friday the 13th is certainly not an undisputed classic. It's like, a movie that was wildly popular and people look fondly back on because of all the trash it spawned. It was a third rate knock-off of Bay of Blood attempting to cash in on Halloween with no artistic integrity whatsoever apart from the gore effects.
> 
> Everything ELSE on your list there though, yeah
> 
> Horror movies I rated 8 or above made before 2000:
> 
> 10:
> The Fly
> The Exorcist
> Jaws
> 
> 9:
> Carrie
> Ms 45
> Night of the Hunter
> The Dead Zone
> Silence of the Lambs
> Halloween
> The Thing (82)
> Invasion of the Body Snatchers (78)
> Dawn of the Dead
> Gremlins 2
> Dead Alive
> 
> 8:
> Kwaidan
> Blood & Black Lace
> Black Sabbath
> Black Sunday
> Twins of Evil
> Patrick
> Blood on Satan's Claw
> Frankenhooker
> Reanimator
> Martin
> Deep Red
> Santa Sangre
> Body Snatchers (93)
> The Beyond
> Phantom of the Paradise
> Rabid
> The Brood
> The Devils
> Return of the Living Dead 3
> Sisters
> Seconds
> Suspiria
> Eyes Without a Face
> Open Your Eyes (aka Abre Los Ojos, the movie badly remade as Vanilla Sky)
> Prince of Darkness
> The Vanishing (88)
> Diabolique (55)
> Blow Out
> Lifeforce
> Altered States
> Dressed to Kill
> The Shining
> Se7en
> Alien
> Poltergeist
> Blue Velvet
> Texas Chainsaw Massacre
> Evil Dead II
> Night of the Living Dead (68)
> Candyman
> Jacob's Ladder
> Videodrome
> Duel
> Kalifornia
> Bride of Frankenstein


How do you do that, do you keep that in a database somewhere?


----------



## Pat_tct

letterboxd
imdb
netflix
themoviedb.org

there many sites where you can keep track of all the movies you watched and you can rate them and sort them into lists or something.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Dusty Chalk said:


> How do you do that, do you keep that in a database somewhere?


I actually have a composition book that I began writing film reviews in back during April of 2013. I keep a date and log of every movie I see and write down: the title, the director, the year, my rating on a scale of 1-10, and a quick review.

It's rather fun, but can get tiresome after awhile if you don't keep up with it. (I've put off writing reviews for months and months and am just letting them pile up.)


----------



## wankerness

I made an attempt to rate everything I've ever seen on imdb, it's surely missing some stuff but it's pretty complete.


----------



## Rosal76

MFB said:


> While I've personally never seen it, I've heard good things about Jacobs Ladder as well.



Watch it. You won't be disappointed.


----------



## Duosphere

Did anybody watch Enemy?
I'll watch it this weekend.

Enemy (2013) - IMDb

I watched Under The Skin and loved it, first I thought there was something wrong cause some things felt nonsense to me, suddenly I got what was happening and everything made sense.

Under the Skin (2013) - IMDb


----------



## Dusty Chalk

No, but thanks for pointing it out, now it's on my list.

Yeah, Under the Skin was fantastic. It's one of those movies that...you know how you have one reaction while you're watching the movie, but you have another when you think back on the movie (and in most cases it's usually worse, especially with blockbusters like Fury and Avatar -- enjoyed them while I was watching them, but man...when I came out it was like a hangover)? This one is even better when I think back on it.


----------



## Duosphere

The Giver - I like it even though there's nothing new there.

Into The Storm - Crap.Obviously it's a movie about effects but still their ability to deliver only effects and no story whatsoever always amazes me, I'd have to be retarded to be able to do that.


----------



## TimothyLeary

TV series:

The Shield
Six feet under
Broadchurch
Utopia 
Luther
Rome

and now I need to finish the last season of Broadwalk empire.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Switchblade Sisters
Outrage
Gonzo
C.H.U.D.
The Untouchables
Creepshow
Bronson


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just watched _Re-Animator_ (1985). Oddly amusing. I can dig it.


----------



## MFB

Re-watched _BASEketball_ for the first time in what I can only imagine is about 10 years, and as an adult, it's ...not that great after a while.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_The Ruins_ sucked.


----------



## Alberto7

Went to watch _Big Hero 6_ two nights ago. I went in quite skeptical (I had it especially hyped up by people I know), and came out having loved every bit of it. It's cheesy and predictable, but it looks gorgeous and the characters are likeable. It's pretty hilarious as well. Easily my favorite of the newer Disney films.


----------



## Defi

TimothyLeary said:


> and now I need to finish the last season of Broadwalk empire.



God what a shitty show. Honestly, every season is worse than the previous, and the final season takes the biggest plunge. It did start off good, and I felt compelled to finish it because I knew this was the last season. But wow, horrible role for Buscemi. The guy they get in this season to play young Buscemi does a better job acting as Buscemi acting as Nucky than Buscemi.

Anyway, enjoy!

I watched Chef this week. I'm not big into movies... apart from following the typical initial conflict, dismissal and redirection of life, new conflict, resolution to that conflict that also resolves first conflict formula, I liked it. Maybe cause it made me so god damn hungry. Seriously, never been a movie that has made me so hungry.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Luther was awesome. I need another morally ambidextrous (ambiguous?) show like that. The Wire?

If we're going to talk shows, I recently watched the entire Broadchurch season 1 -- that was fantastic, right up there with The Killing.


----------



## wankerness

The Wire isn't even remotely comparable to Luther. The Wire to Luther is like, I dunno, The Godfather Part II to Shoot Em Up. If you're just looking for sheer ridiculous silly cop show violence ala Luther, I'd recommend Banshee (for the most incredibly violent and ridiculous version possible) or Justified (if you can deal with all the accents and the slow first several episodes). If you go into the wire expecting something like Luther you will be unable to follow any of the plot strands and probably be bored out of your mind since basically an entire season is just a ridiculously fleshed out version of a single investigation which would be compressed into a single episode of Law and Order.

Ambidextrous = equally left or right handed, ambiguous is the word you wanted there!


----------



## asher

Finally watched _12 Angry Men_. Quite enjoyed it, and pretty damn well shot for an hour and a half in a room. Great use of full frame faces and some wonderful long cuts.

Also, Henry Fonda is an acceptable man-crush, right..?


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> The Wire isn't even remotely comparable to Luther. The Wire to Luther is like, I dunno, The Godfather Part II to Shoot Em Up. If you're just looking for sheer ridiculous silly cop show violence ala Luther, I'd recommend Banshee (for the most incredibly violent and ridiculous version possible) or Justified (if you can deal with all the accents and the slow first several episodes). If you go into the wire expecting something like Luther you will be unable to follow any of the plot strands and probably be bored out of your mind since basically an entire season is just a ridiculously fleshed out version of a single investigation which would be compressed into a single episode of Law and Order.
> 
> Ambidextrous = equally left or right handed, ambiguous is the word you wanted there!


No, what I meant was, Luther the character himself wasn't a good cop -- you know, the classic trope of, "the last honest cop who's willing to take down the establishment" -- he's the opposite, he's willing to do the dirty deeds and outside the law, and spends a great deal of energy hiding his crimes, even from other characters on the show -- pretty much everyone else on the force wants to vouch for him, the only people that want to call him on his shit are Alice, Erin, and whoever that guy that worked with her was, George Stark? But the latter two had their own issues and lack of knowledge, it was only Alice that saw right through him. That was fun! It was refreshing to have a dirty cop with secrets. It was like watching *Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon*, only from the dirty cop's perspective.

And he gets into a lot of trouble for his lies! He spends a lot of energy trying to clean up after himself, but just making a bigger mess.

(And I'm not spoiler tagging any of this because his biggest secret is the first scene in the series.)

And I did mean ambiguous, but I liked ambidextrous because another way to phrase that is being able to play that as "right" or "not right". 

PS Thanks for the info on The Wire -- sounds like I might still want to watch it, but for entirely different reasons.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

asher said:


> Finally watched _12 Angry Men_. Quite enjoyed it, and pretty damn well shot for an hour and a half in a room. Great use of full frame faces and some wonderful long cuts.
> 
> Also, Henry Fonda is an acceptable man-crush, right..?


Had to watch that way back in the day for an online class. Think it was COM-105 or 110 (whatever it was...intro class) freshman year.


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> No, what I meant was, Luther the character himself wasn't a good cop -- you know, the classic trope of, "the last honest cop who's willing to take down the establishment" -- he's the opposite, he's willing to do the dirty deeds and outside the law, and spends a great deal of energy hiding his crimes, even from other characters on the show -- pretty much everyone else on the force wants to vouch for him, the only people that want to call him on his shit are Alice, Erin, and whoever that guy that worked with her was, George Stark? But the latter two had their own issues and lack of knowledge, it was only Alice that saw right through him. That was fun! It was refreshing to have a dirty cop with secrets. It was like watching *Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon*, only from the dirty cop's perspective.
> 
> And he gets into a lot of trouble for his lies! He spends a lot of energy trying to clean up after himself, but just making a bigger mess.
> 
> (And I'm not spoiler tagging any of this because his biggest secret is the first scene in the series.)
> 
> And I did mean ambiguous, but I liked ambidextrous because another way to phrase that is being able to play that as "right" or "not right".
> 
> PS Thanks for the info on The Wire -- sounds like I might still want to watch it, but for entirely different reasons.



If you're looking for dirty cops who get the job done whose misdeeds eventually come back to haunt them, watch "The Shield," it's one of my favorite shows ever, I've watched it three times through now. The first season is pretty silly till about halfway through, but it is definitely worth it, the last few seasons (and especially the finale) are some of the best TV ever.

The Wire isn't really that ambiguous with its cop characters (well, besides McNulty), the point of The Wire is more just to show all sides of everything, so the drug dealers and their friends/family are given just as much screen time as the cops. There are about 25 characters you need to keep track of in the first season alone, and it just keeps increasing every year. By the third season you get the mayor and his campaign team as major characters, the fourth season brings in the board of education and teachers, fifth season brings in the newspaper, etc. It's definitely one of the best shows ever and is incredibly rich, but yeah, it's not very light entertainment, though it is frequently funny.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_The Descent_ was a pretty well-done horror flick. Holy cow... It actually made me jump a bit a few times.


----------



## pushpull7

"the lego movie"

It's was "awesome"  

But seriously, you have to kinda stick through the beginning a bit but there are a bunch of cool things.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I have a soft spot for G-rated movies (still need to see Big Hero 6, Boxtrolls, Princess Keguya, etc.), but I did see The Lego Movie, and it was *AWESOME*.

I especially loved Unicat.

The Descent -- loved that movie, the first half was brilliant, they could have made a whole movie with that, but then they


Spoiler



introduced those other things


. One of my favourites of recent years. I need moar like this.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Dusty Chalk said:


> The Descent -- loved that movie, the first half was brilliant, they could have made a whole movie with that, but then they
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> introduced the "crawlers"
> 
> 
> .



I agree. They should've kept it as this claustrophobic psychological horror where you don't know what's going on. Once they "did that" for the second half...nope...frickin' ruined it for me pretty much. I'm sick of every single horror or sci-fi movie being a chase-jump-chase-jump montage like the second half of this movie...


----------



## pushpull7

Dusty Chalk said:


> I have a soft spot for G-rated movies (still need to see Big Hero 6, Boxtrolls, Princess Keguya, etc.), but I did see The Lego Movie, and it was *AWESOME*.
> 
> I especially loved Unicat.
> 
> The Descent -- loved that movie, the first half was brilliant, they could have made a whole movie with that, but then they
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> introduced those other things
> 
> 
> . One of my favourites of recent years. I need moar like this.



Well, actually, it was PG  

But I agree, Unicat was fab!


----------



## texshred777

R100.

I went with a friend who works for Alamo Drafthouse to an employee screening. Was entertaining. I think the best part was the 30 minutes of weird Japanese shit before the movie. Things like Japanese game shows where people get enema'd and have to do an obstacle course while holding the water in(including hurdles). That and Japanese girls doing aerobics while saying strange things like "I have bad diarrhea". 

The movie itself was...humorous. It's about a guy who joins a club called bondage. This club isn't a sex dungeon type of place. Instead they send out ladies(or guys I suppose) to randomly dominate you in your everyday life. Things obviously get way out of control.


----------



## Steinmetzify

I want to preface this by saying I honestly have pretty low brow taste when it comes to movies. By the time we actually sit down to watch something, I don't even usually care what it is, as long as I'm not bored. It doesn't have to be an Oscar contender, it just has to entertain me for 2 hours. That out of the way?

Horns 7/10

Family movie night, let our daughter pick it. Thought I'd give it a shot. 

I don't even know how to describe this. Murder mystery, comedy, drama, supernatural all in the same movie. The end scene made me scream out loud at the tv "WHAT THE .... IS GOING ON?!?!"

Watch if: you wanna see something weird. Don't let the description of the movie fool you. It was actually pretty awesome for what it was.

Random lines:

"I've never had sex with a <racial slur> before." What?

"I really wanna burn my mommy in the bed. With matches. Burn her all up." WHAT?

"I really want to show everyone my dick." (He did) WHAT?!

The more I think about this movie, the harder I laugh. 



Spoiler



The scene where the cop gets shot in the face was priceless.


----------



## Duosphere

Predestination - I freakin' love it!

Predestination (2014) - IMDb


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I think I'm going to rewatch Bounty Killer, I loved that movie so hard.


----------



## Xaios

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

This is a movie that I'm surprised got made in the first place. I'll start by saying that I *love* the first three movies based on Jack Ryan novels (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Clear And Present Danger). I wasn't such a fan of "A Sum of All Fears," as it was one of those Ben Affleck movies that Ben Affleck made at the height of his fame when he was the "It guy" in Hollywood, a point in time when his acting was generally speaking questionable (although he has improved in a big way since then).

The real reason I'm surprised that they made this film though is that Jack Ryan, as a character, is typically a device of the Cold War. Technology has advanced *greatly* in the time since these books were written, and in an age where computers are omnipresent, the "human element" can get left behind.

So, first the good:

- How they attempt to move Jack Ryan into the present is done with tact. It's a valiant if not entirely convincing effort.
- Most of the acting was actually pretty decent. Chris Pine's take on Jack Ryan was believable, a couple issues with how it was scripted notwithstanding. Keira Knightley was also good as his not-quite-yet-wife. Considering that her performance was panned in reviews, I thought she acquitted herself quite well, channeling a younger version of the character we saw in the Jack Ryan movies starring Harisson Ford, and doing so believably. And Kevin Costner is serviceable as the G-Man fellow. Truthfully that role doesn't exactly demand much, basically just cold detachment. But he plays the part convincingly, if not enthusiastically.
- Despite the oftentimes _ridiculous_ reliance on computers and the presence of Hollywood's idiotic hacker tropes, they manage to give Jack's penchant for pattern recognition and intelligence know-how a couple real moments to shine.
- They actually manage to feature a *lot* of callbacks to previous continuity, more than I ever expected.

The bad:
- The plot is, at times, just ridiculous.
- Kenneth Branagh's directing is merely competent. It's also quite generic.
- There are a couple times where they insist on turning Jack Ryan into an alpha-male action hero, something which this character simply *should not be*. In fairness, the character is an ex-marine, but like James Bond, he's always supposed to be a brains-over-brawn type character.
- Kenneth Branagh's villain is really bland and underacted. I expected better from one of the greatest, most lively Shakespearean actors to ever grace the planet.
- The ending is obvious sequel bait, and I doubt a sequel will get made, considering that it was merely decent at the box office. That's as much owing to the fact that the character of Jack Ryan has largely slipped out of the public consciousness.

Overall, I'd give it a 6.5-6.75/10.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Xaios said:


> Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
> ...
> - Despite the oftentimes _ridiculous_ reliance on computers and the presence of Hollywood's idiotic hacker tropes...


Thanks for saving me 2 hours of my life.


----------



## Lifestalker

Did anyone watch Offender (UK) on Netflix?

For some on reason, I enjoyed it. Maybe due to the violent nature? It wasn't spectacular by any means. Cool to watch when you're chillin at home and jamming some brootz on the ole' guit-fiddle.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Watched the extended Hobbit 2 yesterday. Honestly, all of the extra scenes were pretty boring and pointless. I really prefer the theater cut.


----------



## wankerness

Fat-Elf said:


> Watched the extended Hobbit 2 yesterday. Honestly, all of the extra scenes were pretty boring and pointless. I really prefer the theater cut.



The longer cut is almost always inferior unless the cuts were due to studio interference against the director's wishes (ex Kingdom of Heaven). So many movies have long versions that just flat-out suck (everything from Alien to the 40 year old virgin). I don't get this weird fascination some people have with LONGER = BETTER. It's probably partly due to the fact that so many longer cuts get falsely marketed as "DIRECTOR'S CUT" like that was what they'd wanted to put in the theater in the first place, and then reinforced by the LOTR extended ones being pretty good (though PJ himself said he preferred the theatrical cuts and considered those the "director's cuts").  I almost always go to the theatrical version with DVDs and Blurays, especially with comedies (which usually just stick in the jokes that weren't funny enough to make the movie in the first place, ex Judd Apatow movies). The other exception of course are particularly gruesome horror movies where "uncut" often means "a few extra seconds of effects that would have pushed it past R." But usually if they're sticking in entire scenes, they were left on the floor for a reason and the "long version" is just a curiosity that's worth watching once if you're a fan.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

You don't think the extended editions of the LotR trilogy was better than the theatrical cuts? Because I'm pretty sure Peter Jackson prefers the extended cuts.

I'm not saying you're wrong -- for the most part, you're right. But there's definitely a couple director's cuts that are definitely preferred by the director, and I prefer to see whatever is the director's preferred vision.

Except for Blade Runner. Ridley Scott was wrong to take out the narration -- I definitely prefer the narration.


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> You don't think the extended editions of the LotR trilogy was better than the theatrical cuts?



Nope. I can barely stay awake through the extended versions of TT and ROTK. I like a couple of the added scenes quite a bit (especially the gyro pilot from Mad Max 2 as the mouth of sauron, and the stuff which makes Faramir more of a character instead of a hindrance in TT) but they're just an endurance test and a bunch of the added stuff doesn't improve it in any way (I do like Christopher Lee as Saruman and it's odd having him just vanish, but I really don't think his death scene was done well at all), while I loved the theatrical versions the first time I saw them and still do. Fellowship is kind of a wash. I always watch the extended one but I don't really remember why; I can't remember what's even new in it besides the gifts. I guess since it never seemed like it was padded, unlike the second two. I bought the box set of the extended ones and then snapped up the theatrical trilogy for like 10 bucks and have found that I always go back to the theatrical versions for TT and ROTK. The extended ones are mainly worth the money for the documentaries, I think I actually like the documentaries more than the movies. I've watched them several times all the way through.



Dusty Chalk said:


> Because I'm pretty sure Peter Jackson prefers the extended cuts.



Based on what? Here are some direct quotes:



> "The extended versions are interesting because I do the extended versions for the fans, really. To me every time I put a scene in it, it's mucking up the momentum. The theatrical versions are very carefully worked out. We spent a whole year trying to get the best possible cut.
> I do the extended cuts because we have 30-40 minutes of footage that people are interested in, fans of the books. It's usually related to something that's in the book. It's a legitimate part of the adaptation of the Lord of the Rings and you can either have it lost forever or you can put an extended cut out.
> So I do these extended cuts thinking that people will like to see these scenes. But I'm aware every time I put something in [that] the momentum of the scene going to be slow. This is going to slow the first act down. Every time I think I'm spoiling the film, but I'm doing it because people want to see it and they'll see it in their home.
> The DVD has a different dynamic. You can watch it over two nights or you can pause it and make a cup of tea. The whole pacing on the DVD seems to have a different requirement or level of commitment from the audience. Then I read these reviews that say this is so much better than the theatrical version. And I think, 'Oh God!'
> The big question is, if you took this 3 hour and 40 minute version of the Two Towers and released it in the cinemas, what would people have thought of it? Everyone would have criticized it for being too long. Yet on video, they think it's better.
> I'm finding it fascinating because it's new. It's a whole different development in filmmaking that's because of the new technology and the way DVDs are establishing themselves. Packages for fans, the documentary materials, it's interesting. I don't know quite what the rules are.
> ...
> The theatrical versions are the definitive versions. I regard the extended cuts as being a novelty for the fans that really want to see the extra material."


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I stand corrected.

No, seriously, I am not one of those guys who hates being corrected, I love being corrected, because I'd rather have the correct information.


----------



## Xaios

wankerness said:


> The longer cut is almost always inferior unless the cuts were due to studio interference against the director's wishes (*ex Kingdom of Heaven*).



Kingdom of Heaven is definitely the exception that proves the rule. Almost every director's cut ever released has been a shitty marketing scheme meant to suck ever more slight amounts out of people's wallets. The Kingdom of Heaven director's cut, conversely, is actually a _dramatic_ improvement over the theatrical release.


----------



## wankerness

Xaios said:


> Kingdom of Heaven is definitely the exception that proves the rule. Almost every director's cut ever released has been a shitty marketing scheme meant to suck ever more slight amounts out of people's wallets. The Kingdom of Heaven director's cut, conversely, is actually a _dramatic_ improvement over the theatrical release.



Some of the other ones are at least valid attempts by the director to realize his original vision, but often those are also way worse than the originals (ex the original star wars trilogy, Donnie Darko). Some are kind of a wash (Alexander, Dark City). Some of the "version that could have been" attempts to recreate movies that suffered from heavy studio interference and/or lost materials are also interesting, if necessarily flawed (Alien 3 assembly cut, Superman 2 Donner Version, Rabid Dogs). Often "extended" or "uncut" versions are purely just cashgrabs, though. Or in the case of Alien and Exorcist, they started out as attempts to get people to come see a re-release in the theater, and then later started getting marketed falsely as the director's preferred version or something.

Almost everyone besides Dusty Chalk there prefers the current version of Blade Runner to the one where Harrison Ford purposely did as bad of a job as possible on the narration in the hopes the studio would not use it and thus the movie would be released without narration like originally intended, I think.  I sorta like the voiceover narration despite the intentionally bad delivery, too, but I think I now prefer the most recent version.

Another extended edition I really loathe that inexplicably has a ton of people who say it's superior is Aliens. That movie's first half becomes an almost unbearable slog in that version...the stuff with Newt's parents in particular really drags and adds nothing to the movie. The revelation Ripley was a mother whose daughter is long dead actually adds something to the movie, but the other 20+ minutes...hell naw. Especially the pointless turrets. I watched it twice, and never will again!


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> Almost everyone besides Dusty Chalk there prefers the current version of Blade Runner to the one where Harrison Ford purposely did as bad of a job as possible on the narration in the hopes the studio would not use it and thus the movie would be released without narration like originally intended, I think.  I sorta like the voiceover narration despite the intentionally bad delivery, too, but I think I now prefer the most recent version.


First of all -- 's'truth. I am a minority of one on this. I have this argument with everyone. Almost no-one loves the "original" version as much as I. I really don't understand it. I want to find someone who's young enough not to be exposed at all, and make them watch the narrationless version first, to see if they even understand it entirely. I'm not saying it's completely oblique without the narration, I just think there's a couple of things that just merit explanation.

Secondly -- I really love the delivery -- I think it falls very much with the noir/Sam Spade type character that he's trying to evoke. I thought it was because he was sick, but that's not exactly mutually exclusive with the explanation you cite, but the reason matters not, I just like the results.

Also, I kind of dig the "happy" ending. I realize it's not with keeping with Dick's original story, but they were a long way from that long before the ending, neh?


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> First of all -- 's'truth. I am a minority of one on this. I have this argument with everyone. Almost no-one loves the "original" version as much as I. I really don't understand it. I want to find someone who's young enough not to be exposed at all, and make them watch the narrationless version first, to see if they even understand it entirely. I'm not saying it's completely oblique without the narration, I just think there's a couple of things that just merit explanation.
> 
> Secondly -- I really love the delivery -- I think it falls very much with the noir/Sam Spade type character that he's trying to evoke. I thought it was because he was sick, but that's not exactly mutually exclusive with the explanation you cite, but the reason matters not, I just like the results.
> 
> Also, I kind of dig the "happy" ending. I realize it's not with keeping with Dick's original story, but they were a long way from that long before the ending, neh?



I felt the same way before the "Final Cut," I thought the director's cut seemed kind of half-assed and didn't really like the trade-off of a different ending and no narration. The Final Cut adds a few more interesting things, cleans up the visuals tastefully, and I guess I've finally seen it enough times that I'm mainly revisiting it to see it instead of need any explanations anyway. I definitely had a VHS of the unrated international version (the version with narration, but with the gore reinstated that had been cut out of the theatrical version) that I preferred watching over the old director's cut DVD for a while though


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> ...I've finally seen it enough times that I'm mainly revisiting it to see it instead of need any explanations anyway.


That was the point I was trying to make -- I think when the director's cut came out, most people didn't need the explanations/narrations, but it's impossible to know for certain.


----------



## wankerness

I don't recall anything in the narration not being obvious from the movie, though, besides the background information on what language was being spoken.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

My point exactly. 

No, seriously, the only one that comes to mind is the ending (how long Rachel had, and therefore how long they had together), and that isn't even the director's cut (I've only watched the final cut once, so don't have the differences memorized).

Guess I have to watch them again. Oh woe is me.  (My favourite movie of all time.)


----------



## thesnowdog

wankerness said:


> Another extended edition I really loathe that inexplicably has a ton of people who say it's superior is Aliens. That movie's first half becomes an almost unbearable slog in that version...the stuff with Newt's parents in particular really drags and adds nothing to the movie. The revelation Ripley was a mother whose daughter is long dead actually adds something to the movie, but the other 20+ minutes...hell naw. Especially the pointless turrets. I watched it twice, and never will again!



I thought I was alone.

The colony and sentry gun scenes remove so much of the tension that they go a long way to wrecking the entire movie. 

I can't believe you watched it twice -- once and I was scarred for life...


----------



## Steinmetzify

As Above So Below 4/10

Complete ripoff of 'The Descent', minus cave dwellers and adding 'magic'. Please don't watch this. I thought it was terrible, my wife thought it was terrible......and my 15 yr old daughter who watches movies on her TV while on playing games on her computer and also texting on her phone thought it was "good enough to watch". A waste of time.


----------



## TimothyLeary

train de vie - 8.5/10

freaking awesome movie.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Edge of Tomorrow (yeah, only getting around to it) -- 9/10 -- loved it, especially the touches of black comedy.


Spoiler



Hated the ending, though. Too 'Hollywood'.


----------



## RamiroLHorn

this movie is awesome and very good @ Thread


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

Just watched, 

Non-Stop - 9/10 Kept me interested and guessing. Can't go wrong with Neeson.

Sin City A Dame to Die For - 5/10 Pretty meh. Some cool scenes. Marv is still entertaining. They waited way too long to release a sequel.

Riddick - 8/10 Better than I expected. Needs more Necromongers. Made me think of Borderlands a lot.

Taken 2 - 7/10 Cool stuff, nice and violent, but pretty much what you expect.

Boardwalk Empire S.4 - 8/10 Love that series. Glad it had a lot more of Chalkie White in it than previous seasons. They really kind of changed things up a bit. Can't wait for S.5 to be released.

Hercules w/Dwayne Johson - 2/10 What pile of crap. Terribly cheesy, bad acting. Seems like they were just going through the motions to get the movie done. Only finished watching it because I was bored.

Transformers Age of Extinction - 7/10 I actually liked this more than all the previous movies. Best thing about it...we got Mark Walberg instead of Shia Lebouf, or however you spell his name.

Edit: Almost forgot I watched these recently also.

Edge of Tomorrow - 8/10 Really enjoyed this one. Cool action, kinda funny in parts.

Snowpiercer - 8/10 Weird show, cool concept. Rather unrealistic, but still good.

Can't wait to see Guardians of the Galaxy, and I gotta give the new Ninja Turtles a whirl. Probably 50/50 on that one getting shut down halfway through, but we'll see.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Fury - 8/10
Yep...just another war movie...and somehow Brad Pitt's hair manages to stay perfectly in place throughout the whole movie. Really well-done, but it doesn't standout and isn't a game-changer compared to all the other war movies.

Pineapple Express - ?/10
Not as great as people played it up to be years ago when it first came out. Ehhh...and I'm just not a fan of comedies at all.


----------



## Duosphere

FILTHnFEAR said:


> Can't wait to see Guardians of the Galaxy, and I gotta give the new Ninja Turtles a whirl. Probably 50/50 on that one getting shut down halfway through, but we'll see.




I watched both last week.
Well......Ninja Turtles is..............Ninja Turtles, pretty boring for adults cause there's nothing new or unpredictable, some scenes look cool but that's it.

Guardians almost killed me by boringnesssssssssssssssssssssssss.
To me it was so infantile so...........so.....................waste of time, it added nothing to my life, in fact it stole two hours from me 

On the other hand Predestination was spectacular, so good that it felt like only 20 minutes, when The End came I wished for more two hours at least. 

The Maze Runner made me feel the same way as I felt with Hunger Games..........................MEH.
Boring, shallow, so much money spent but it looks like any movie we could watch when got home from school.Ok that maze is cool but nothing really happens and when it seemed something was going to happen...................The End


----------



## Xaios

I went and saw Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. I last night.

6.9/10. It's about as good as the first Hunger Games movie, not as good as the second. It's more even than the first Hunger Games, but it also has less in the way of high points (which is, of course, balanced out by the fact that it has fewer low points). Everything about this movie is competently put together, nothing is really *bad* per se, it's just mostly unremarkable. The one thing I will point to as a negative is, like the first movie, I don't quite buy Jennifer Lawrence in that character. I did in the second movie, absolutely. I imagine it has something to do with the directing, given that this movie shares a director with the 1st, while the second movie has a different director.

I will give it one thing: there is one scene near the end of the movie that was damn near perfect. It managed to build up a fantastic sense of foreboding, kind of like the opening scene from Argo. Let's hope for more scenes like that in the final installment.


----------



## MFB

Duosphere said:


> Guardians almost killed me by boringness.
> To me it was so infantile so... so... waste of time, it added nothing to my life, in fact it stole two hours from me



See, everyone keeps telling me Guardians is amazing and when I say, "I bet it's exactly like Avengers in space" everyone else tells me "NO WAY IT'S NOT JUST AVENGERS IN SPACE MAN!" But then I go and read the Wiki and what do I find out, gee, it's a bunch of anti-heroes with different backgrounds who come together to bring down one big bad guy for the sake of the greater good. Sounds familiar? It's because it's fvcking Avengers in space.

I'm OK with you telling me it was good because it looked great, but don't blow metric tons of smoke up my ass that you can't back up because you know you're wrong


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I enjoyed it because of all the camaraderie and snarky asides.

...

Actually, now that I think about it, I enjoyed Avengers because of all the camaraderie and snarky asides.


----------



## Xaios

It's official then. The whole Marvel Cinematic Universe is basically Star Trek with snarky asides and super heroes instead of space. 

And sometimes space too.


----------



## wankerness

I don't see any resemblance at all between (non JJ Abrams) star trek and the avengers movies, besides the number of characters you're expected to keep track of and male to female character balance. 

Guardians is good because the dialogue is so snappy and the characters are so entertaining to watch. The plot and villain aren't memorable, but it doesn't matter as it largely seems to be besides the point. I laughed way more in that movie than in any full-on comedy I saw this year, besides maybe 22 Jump Street. It's just a fun, silly movie made by some talented writers and with a ton of special effects. I think you're doing yourself a disservice by avoiding it, it doesn't feel like the other Marvel movies at all imo (though I do like most of those too). If you're in your standard college "everything popular sucks and you're an idiot if you can get any enjoyment out of it" phase though then yeah I guess it IS a populist blockbuster and thus is morally bankrupt. I had a phase like that, then I took Pauline Kael's advice and became able to appreciate quality work of any genre on its own terms instead of trying to hold everything to some absolutist scale. Stuff like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes or Guardians of the Galaxy is NOT even remotely comparable to stuff like TMNT or Transformers if you grade them on the same scale of super-budget summer blockbuster, but I guess if you try and compare them to Ozu then they all are a bunch of noise.

I sorta liked Avengers, but I don't really get its revered status among many. I really like most of Joss Whedon's stuff (I've now watched every episode of Buffy and Angel twice now, as well as Dollhouse and Firefly!), and I really like some superhero movies (Captain America 2, X Men DOFP, all three of Nolan's Batman movies), but something about it felt flat. I guess somehow it felt flatly staged, or something. It's hard to explain, I guess it just felt like a TV show that had been beefed up with a million effects as opposed to something made by someone that had a really strong sense of exciting cinematic visuals. The famous gimmick shot where the camera swoops between all the characters, or the one where it does a circle around them all in the middle, also felt really stagy and flat somehow. I dunno. The dialogue didn't really do it for me, either, it was too glib to succeed dramatically and not funny enough to succeed at glibness. It has some great scenes and I LOVE Mark Ruffalo as the hulk, but yeah, I definitely would rather watch the much snappier and strangely widely loathed Iron Man 3 over it, to say nothing of the others I mentioned above.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Not going to argue with you. It wasn't revelatory. It was just a superhero movie done right, nothing more, nothing less.

EDIT: I just noticed: it's not clear which movie I'm talking about. I guess that's your point, neh?

Although "Hulk: smash" was pretty freakin' funny.


MFB said:


> See, everyone keeps telling me Guardians is amazing and when I say, "I bet it's exactly like Avengers in space" everyone else tells me "NO WAY IT'S NOT JUST AVENGERS IN SPACE MAN!" But then I go and read the Wiki and what do I find out, gee, it's a bunch of anti-heroes with different backgrounds who come together to bring down one big bad guy for the sake of the greater good. Sounds familiar? It's because it's fvcking Avengers in space.
> 
> I'm OK with you telling me it was good because it looked great, but don't blow metric tons of smoke up my ass that you can't back up because you know you're wrong




WARNING: don't watch if you don't want Guardians spoilered.


----------



## MFB

I had actually JUST watched that on Youtube before coming back here and seeing it. I know what happens in Guardians because let's be real, it's not quite on another level of writing - it's Marvel which means it needs to be accessible from the get-go.

I never went "out of my way" to avoid seeing it, I just knew what to expect when I saw the trailer and as I mentioned - the Wiki confirmed that it is exactly that. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but Marvel films have become a formula which means I can skip them immediately and wait until they hit HBO. Iron Man 3 was the last one I had seen in theaters and I'm OK with that; prior to that it was Avengers which I got to see for $3 and I'm glad that's all I paid because if I had shelled out $15 for an opening night experience I would've felt cheated. The only thing I didn't really catch from my initial viewing of it was that either way the movie turned out, Loki still won overall, but the rest was par for the course.


----------



## Duosphere

I Origins (2014) - I Origins (2014) - IMDb

Awesome, after 20 minutes I was completely absorbed into it.VERY elegant movie, nothing is exaggerated, cheap or cheesy.No effects and no fireworks, just a cool story.There's a scene that changes the whole direction which, when it was about to happen I thought "oh man now they're going to screw this movie up" but not, it was perfectly done in the way it had to be done, for some reason it felt real and sad to me that I cried, kudos to that director or anyone who chose that way.Honestly I never liked Pitt roles/acting but now I can see it was not his fault, in this movie he's beyond perfection........wait...... but maybe that's not his fault too


----------



## wankerness

I've been watching a ton of Hammer movies cause I've been reading about them since I was a lil kid but never really saw more than a few of them (I watched some of the 70s B-ones which I loved, and the two dinosaur/cavebabe ones, and the first couple Frankenstein ones). Here's what I saw the last couple weeks:

Quatermass Xperiment: Decent, a guy comes back from space infested with a virus that steadily turns him into a murderous blob. It was kind of slow and compared to the two sequels not anything too special, but worth watching just the same!

Quatermass 2: Really awesome, kind of along the same rough idea of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but used to explore different ideas. It was clearly the inspiration for a ton of dystopian sci-fi ever since with the faceless authoritarian possessed people (actually referred to as "zombies" once) patrolling around with machine guns and gas masks. I was very pleased, especially in the last act when gigantic blobs starting lumbering around smashing things.

Quatermass and the Pit: Great sci-fi movie with even loftier ideas than Quatermass 2, basically a spaceship is discovered buried deep underground which reveals that mankind is actually a genetic experiment carried out by martian grasshoppers millions of years ago, and our idea of satan is actually just from poor representations of the horned grasshoppers. It's nuts and it's way smarter and more ambitious than just about anything else that it could get lumped in with.

Rasputin: The Mad Monk - Worth watching to see Christopher Lee repeatedly get hammered and do insane russian cossack dances while wearing colorful robes and staring insanely at women. It also has a great, suspenseful (and very historically accurate) scene where a guy with a sword attempts to kill Rasputin in his house in the middle of the night. 

The Witches - Starts off suspenseful but has one of the stupidest last acts I've ever seen attached to a decent movie, it completely ruins everything that came before. I might have to make a Meshuggah video that's synced to the ridiculous witch dancing at the end though.

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed: Very good but REALLY nihilistic to the point of being depressing, I'd heard it was good but it packed much more of a wallop than I was expecting.

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell: Decent, definitely a step down from FMBD but it has some good ideas. Darth Vader plays the monster, who looks like a neanderthal. Madeline Smith plays a really hot mute girl. There's an incredibly high amount of gore for something this old which has respectable actors in it.

The Reptile: Weird vampire/werewolf kind of movie with a snake woman taking the place of the werewolf, it's more effective than the ridiculous makeup should allow. 

Brides of Dracula: Dracula's not actually in it, but hey, it's still really good. Great visuals, great plotting and some really risque lesbian/incest stuff considering it's from 1960. The climax in particular is classic, it's really exciting.

Plague of the Zombies: Very good, the zombies are much creepier than the later ones in Night of the Living Dead, the plot is nothing remotely comparable though (they're being used as slaves to mine stuff and terrorize people by some voodoo creep). 

Frankenstein Created Women: I liked this more than most people seem to, some hapless guy gets killed in a misunderstanding caused by some super assholes, then his deformed girlfriend commits suicide, then Frankenstein sticks the dead guy's soul in the body of the girlfriend and also makes her look hot and then she goes around killing everyone in revenge.

The Devil Rides Out: Christopher Lee is the brilliant white magician who's out to save a family friend from a cult of satanists. There are some great, great scenes with the evil cult leader (Blofeld from Diamonds are Forever) attempting to destroy the will of the good guys by assaulting them with all kinds of weird hallucinations. This is definitely one of the best of these movies.

X the Unknown: Like a bad cash-in attempt on the Quatermass movies but without the genius writer of those three, it's about radioactive mud roaming around melting people. It has some good melting face effects but that's about it!

The Mummy's Shroud: Not really anything special, but the actors are all good and there's some memorable death scenes, as well as a very memorably insane old lady who's in cahoots with the killer mummy.

I've enjoyed watching most of these a lot, but the problem is there are something like 50 or 60 more of them. I have a ways to go! I haven't even started on the Christopher Lee Dracula ones yet.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Watched Tokyo Godfathers and Jingle All The Way yesterday as my Christmas tradition. Both very good movies.


----------



## yingmin

I recently re-watched Quantum of Solace, and it did two things: it reaffirmed in my mind why it was better than Casino Royale, and it made me even angrier about Skyfall. 

What made Casino Royale such a good movie is that it dispensed with the elements that made earlier Bond movies so silly. There were no goofy gadgets, no cartoony supervillians, they scaled way back on the clichés that had defined Bond's character, etc. The central plot of Casino Royale was a little silly, but it made a kind of sense, and Le Chiffre was a believable villain. Maybe more importantly, Bond was a real badass, who took incredible risks, and took (admittedly Hollywoodified) injuries. This Bond wasn't above just beating a man to death with his bare hands. And above all else, it was the first time I can think of where Bond was really portrayed as a HUMAN BEING. You see genuine emotion in his performance, and he takes the events of that movie personally.

All of those factors served to make Quantum of Solace an even better movie. There's an actual story arc across two movies, which I also don't recall seeing before in previous Bond movies. Even multiple movies containing the same villain, e.g. Blofeld, were very standalone. Bond is still reeling from the events of Casino Royale, and this movie tests the relationship between Bond and M, which was very well established at this point. Like Le Chiffre, Green is not himself a particularly powerful person, and his "evil plot" is both believable and actually relevant to the modern age. Camille is easily one of the most interesting female characters that's ever appeared in a Bond movie, even if only because Bond doesn't even try to have sex with her. He shows her not just respect, but also real human compassion for her at various points during the movie.

And then Skyfall just ....ing throws all of that away. The continuity is gone, the shadowy, massive globe-spanning organization that the first two Craig movies built up is ignored in favor of an even more powerful cyberterrorist group that is nonetheless entirely defeated at the end of a single movie. Silva is exactly what the villains of the previous movies were not: a seemingly superhuman genius without a particularly believable motivation. I can understand that he would have wanted revenge against M, but the idea that he would do it at such immense risk to himself, to the point where he tries to force M into a double-suicide at the end, was ridiculous. The movie also fell into what I like to call the Keiser Soze-ization of movies, where contemporary filmmakers seem to think that in order for a movie to be "interesting", it must have a plot that is so convoluted as to be literally nonsensical, and where a single person can somehow plan out all the events of the movie with absolute precision. If the tiniest detail of Silva's plan, which involved thousands of people he didn't know going about their ordinary business, had gone even slightly different, the entire plot would have failed. The introduction of the female agent in the beginning had me intrigued, but then she just became a typical Bond girl, and the fact that she turned out to be Moneypenny was a gigantic disappointment for me. If they passed on the opportunity to develop Camille into a regular character, they could at least have done more with this mysterious new agent. It contained a lot more winking references than the other Craig movies, and brought back Q and gadgetry (and did them badly). Everything Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace did right, Skyfall did wrong. It was just another typical Bond movie, where there already existed a blueprint to make it something better.

Come at me.


----------



## Duosphere

I watched all Bond movies and I hated all.
They're dumb, stupid, boring and infantile.
Of course sometimes there were cool scenes but that's it.
Oh, some theme songs were cool like A View To A Kill - Duran Duran.
BTW does anybody know what the hell Duran Duran mean?


----------



## yingmin

Duosphere said:


> I watched all Bond movies and I hated all.
> They're dumb, stupid, boring and infantile.
> Of course sometimes there were cool scenes but that's it.
> Oh, some theme songs were cool like A View To A Kill - Duran Duran.
> BTW does anybody know what the hell Duran Duran mean?



I hated the first Transformers movie, so I didn't see any of the other movies because I had no reason to expect they would be any better. You might want to adopt my method.


----------



## Duosphere

yingmin said:


> I hated the first Transformers movie, so I didn't see any of the other movies because I had no reason to expect they would be any better. You might want to adopt my method.



Nope cause I'm not close-minded, expecting something will be always the same even though writers/directors/actors etc are different is THE most close-minded ever 



BTW I hated all Transformers movies, they're freakin' boring but I really love effects cause they look awesome so I keep watching them.If someday I make a movie for sure I'll call that effects crew.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I thought Casino Royale was fantastic.


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> I watched all Bond movies and I hated all.
> They're dumb, stupid, boring and infantile.
> Of course sometimes there were cool scenes but that's it.
> Oh, some theme songs were cool like A View To A Kill - Duran Duran.
> BTW does anybody know what the hell Duran Duran mean?



Your bizarre patterns of hyper-elitism combined with going to the theater to watch the maze runner and ninja turtles are difficult to reconcile. This seems more like some kind of position you have taken on to attempt to look knowledgeable about movies instead of something you arrived at independently and with such RUTHLESS dismissals of anything that is popular on message boards at all while always saying positive things about current big budget movies that no one likes, you're coming off as a less articulate Armond White. I believe that you like Under the Skin and Coherence and whatnot, but some of your other stuff just comes off as being contrarian in that precocious high school student kind of way. It reminds me of me when I read a few criticisms of Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg and started spouting them off to everyone cause I thought it made me sound smart, when I hadn't even seen half the movies I was attempting to repeat take-downs of! Ah, high school. Life becomes much more enjoyable when you start watching things to enjoy them on their own merits instead of trying to figure out what opinion on them will improve whatever persona you're trying to create for yourself.

"Guardians almost killed me by boringness.
To me it was so infantile so... so... waste of time, it added nothing to my life, in fact it stole two hours from me"

"I watched all Bond movies and I hated all.
They're dumb, stupid, boring and infantile."

"The Giver - I like it even though there's nothing new there."

"I don't know how some people could put those movies in the same sentence besides the fact they're sci fi, Source Code is a master piece while Edge Of Tomorrow has nothing new or exciting, it's a cliche with a very predictable and boring ending."

etc!

I think you are trying too hard, it's OK to like James Bond movies! If you really watched all of them I don't see how anyone could thoroughly dismiss the likes of say, From Russia With Love, which is quite a gritty, straightforward classic spy movie as "infantile garbage" while also praising Ninja Turtles. Sure, it's not "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold," but...dang, nvm, I don't know why I even started


----------



## Duosphere

Thank you for spending so much time on me, seems like I live in your mind without paying rent.
Obviously you still haven't learned PERSONAL tastes are personal so what's a masterpiece to one, it's crap to another one. 
We're talking about movies = personal tastes.
And by the way "Your bizarre patterns of hyper-elitism".......elitist?
So you're judging me and speak like if your impressions were facts even though you know nothing about me, if I'm male or female, young or old, rich or poor etc, you know nothing but act like knowing everything, chances you're wrong are 100%.
Still thanks again for having a place for me in your mind, I hope we'll have fun together watching some movies, mixing my bizarre patterns of hyper-elitism with your imaginary psychology crystal ball could only result in.................lots of fun


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> ...I don't know why I even started


You started because that was extremely enjoyable to read. Prey, carry on.

Although I doubt it's a persona or any sort of manufactured opinion, I just think that people like that enjoy hating on stuff. And once they get started, they commit to their opinion. The same sort of people that decide they hate a song without giving it a chance to get started.

Reminds me of the character Elliot Gould played in the "The Misfortune Cookie" episode of Twilight Zone.


----------



## Rosal76

Dusty Chalk said:


> I just think that people like that enjoy hating on stuff. And once they get started, they commit to their opinion.



+1.

There are those 2 sayings: "Love to hate" and "Hate to love". My brother loves to hate all the Michael Bay movies and can go on forever about it. One day I was like, "Dude, what the f__k did Michael Bay do? Beat the shit out of you, take your money and f__k your wife or something?" I clearly did not understand why anyone would release so much anger/hate for a directors movies. It's not like he (brother) was tied up at Guantanamo Bay and was forced to watch Michael Bay movies. 

Now that movie, "The Interview" from Sony. That, I can understand why people are gonna get mad but that's already being discussed in another thread.


----------



## Xaios

yingmin said:


> I recently re-watched Quantum of Solace, and it did two things: it reaffirmed in my mind why it was better than Casino Royale, and it made me even angrier about Skyfall.
> 
> What made Casino Royale such a good movie is that it dispensed with the elements that made earlier Bond movies so silly. There were no goofy gadgets, no cartoony supervillians, they scaled way back on the clichés that had defined Bond's character, etc. The central plot of Casino Royale was a little silly, but it made a kind of sense, and Le Chiffre was a believable villain. Maybe more importantly, Bond was a real badass, who took incredible risks, and took (admittedly Hollywoodified) injuries. This Bond wasn't above just beating a man to death with his bare hands. And above all else, it was the first time I can think of where Bond was really portrayed as a HUMAN BEING. You see genuine emotion in his performance, and he takes the events of that movie personally.
> 
> All of those factors served to make Quantum of Solace an even better movie. There's an actual story arc across two movies, which I also don't recall seeing before in previous Bond movies. Even multiple movies containing the same villain, e.g. Blofeld, were very standalone. Bond is still reeling from the events of Casino Royale, and this movie tests the relationship between Bond and M, which was very well established at this point. Like Le Chiffre, Green is not himself a particularly powerful person, and his "evil plot" is both believable and actually relevant to the modern age. Camille is easily one of the most interesting female characters that's ever appeared in a Bond movie, even if only because Bond doesn't even try to have sex with her. He shows her not just respect, but also real human compassion for her at various points during the movie.
> 
> And then Skyfall just ....ing throws all of that away. The continuity is gone, the shadowy, massive globe-spanning organization that the first two Craig movies built up is ignored in favor of an even more powerful cyberterrorist group that is nonetheless entirely defeated at the end of a single movie. Silva is exactly what the villains of the previous movies were not: a seemingly superhuman genius without a particularly believable motivation. I can understand that he would have wanted revenge against M, but the idea that he would do it at such immense risk to himself, to the point where he tries to force M into a double-suicide at the end, was ridiculous. The movie also fell into what I like to call the Keiser Soze-ization of movies, where contemporary filmmakers seem to think that in order for a movie to be "interesting", it must have a plot that is so convoluted as to be literally nonsensical, and where a single person can somehow plan out all the events of the movie with absolute precision. If the tiniest detail of Silva's plan, which involved thousands of people he didn't know going about their ordinary business, had gone even slightly different, the entire plot would have failed. The introduction of the female agent in the beginning had me intrigued, but then she just became a typical Bond girl, and the fact that she turned out to be Moneypenny was a gigantic disappointment for me. If they passed on the opportunity to develop Camille into a regular character, they could at least have done more with this mysterious new agent. It contained a lot more winking references than the other Craig movies, and brought back Q and gadgetry (and did them badly). Everything Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace did right, Skyfall did wrong. It was just another typical Bond movie, where there already existed a blueprint to make it something better.
> 
> Come at me.



I get what you're saying about Skyfall, at least some parts of it. The whole "Ermahgerd the villain WANTED us to capture him!" schtick has long since worn out its welcome. And the over-dependence on ridiculous "hollywood hacking" tropes was just silly. On the other hand, I still enjoyed watching Silva because of how delightfully unhinged he was. He's a reflection of Bond in that movie. He shows how a character who seemingly has all the pieces in the right spot, all the perfect planning, can be undone by his own faults and obsessions in the end, while Bond, despite being comparatively disadvantaged, let's his professionalism and skill win the day.

On the other hand, I don't agree at all with Quantum of Solace. It turned Bond into Bourne. "Oops, he keeps killing all the people we should be getting answers from!" Yawn. And Olga Kurylenko's character was just utterly lifeless. Considering how incredibly attractive she is, she had to be actively bad to lose my interest, and she was. It also felt like it was trying to force being topical waaay too hard. I appreciate the attempts at continuity, but they didn't really pay off.

Casino Royale is still, for my money, the best of the Craig Bond movies.


----------



## wankerness

I liked Skyfall alright when I saw it, but the Filmhulk overview of it really made me rethink it...he's right that the gender politics are particularly disturbing in it, even compared to the 60s and 70s Bonds. Forgive the ALL CAPS, that's just how this guy's columns are, it's hard to read but he's a very good writer besides that annoying gimmick. I read all four of these articles back to back, I got used to the style pretty quick, but it's definitely an eyesore, I wish he had a "regular english" version!



> AND NO, IT'S NOT A COMPLEX, ADULT TREATMENT OF THE ISSUE THAT'S FULL OF SHADES OF GRAY (PUN INTENTIONAL). IT'S NOTHING BUT THE SAME OLD "BOND'S MAGIC COCK" THING, ONLY INSTEAD OF TAKING PLACE IN SOME MAGICAL ROMANTIC ABSTRACT UNIVERSE WITH COLORED JUMPSUITS WHERE IT WOULD BE SILLY, IT TAKES PLACE IN THE REAL WORLD _WHERE BOND WOULD JUST SHOW UP IN A WOMAN'S SHOWER TO .... HER AFTER JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW SHE'S SEXUALLY ABUSED IN A LARGER POWER STRUCTURE OF CRIMINALS AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO ....ING CELEBRATE IT!??!_
> 
> HULK'S SORRY, BUT IF YOU WANT YOUR FILM TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY W/R/T SEXUALITY, THEN YOU CAN'T TURN AROUND AND DICTATE TERMS AND TELL US IT DOESN'T MATTER WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING HORRIFIC IN A MOMENT THAT'S JUST BULLSHIT FANTASY (ONE RENDERED ALL THE MORE UGLY BY NATURE OF RESCUING A TRUE-BLUE VICTIM). AND NO, THE SCENE DOESN'T PLAY AS "COMMENTARY" ON THESE ISSUES. IT JUST EXPLOITS THEM. AND ON EVERY MORAL CONCEIVABLE GROUND, IT'S A THOUSAND TIMES MORE OFFENSIVE TO HULK THAN THE EASILY-IDENTIFIABLE DINOSAUR THROWBACKS OF MAN TALK AND A BUTT SLAP... BECAUSE THIS IS SOME REAL INSIDIOUS SHIT.
> 
> WORSE, ANY ATTEMPTS TO RECONCILE THIS STATEMENT IN SOME HUMANE WAY ARE CUT SHORT JUST MOMENTS LATER WHEN THEY REACH THE ISLAND AND SILVA (THE VILLAIN) TAKES HER ASIDE (REVEALED HANGING BOOBS FIRST) AND POINTS A GUN AT HER HEAD AS A TEST TO BOND. THE ENTIRE SCENE PLAYS OUT COMPELLING AND WITH GREAT TENSION BECAUSE OF BARDEM'S PLAYFUL PERFORMANCE, BUT THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED BETWEEN BOND AND SEVERINE AND WATCH FOR WHAT IT MEANS TO BOND'S CHARACTERIZATION, NOT THOSE OTHER PURPOSES...
> [Clip of Scene]
> IT WHOLLY BACKS UP THE IDEA THAT BARDEM'S VILLAIN IS A MONSTER, BUT IN TERMS OF BOND IT READS AS THE MOST ....ING CALLOUS THING EVER. ASIDE FROM ONE SLIGHT GRIMACE, BOND DOESN'T SEEM TO GIVE TWO ....S THAT IT EVEN HAPPENS. EVEN IF HE'S JUST TRYING TO KEEP UP HIS "HARD" GUISE HE UNDOES THAT LITERALLY ONE SECOND LATER BY TURNING HER DEATH INTO A TONE-DEAF QUIP ABOUT SCOTCH AND THEN ATTACKING THEM ANYWAY INSTEAD OF STOPPING IT TO BEGIN WITH? THINK TO THE SCENE BEFORE - IS THIS WHAT HE MEANT BY PROTECTING HER? WOULD HER DEATH ONLY SERVE AS A MOMENTARY CHANCE TO GET THE ONE UP? AND IS HER LOSS THEN TURNED ON ITS HEAD BY HAVING THE CAVALRY ARRIVE COMPLETE WITH BOND MUSIC CUES DROPPING IN CELEBRATION? AND IS THIS ENTIRE THING IS FOLLOWED BY NOT A SINGLE REQUIEM OR CARE FOR HER CHARACTER AFTER ALL THAT UGLY BUSINESS? IN THE END, WAS SHE JUST AN ATTRACTIVE PROP FOR GIVING THE FILM A REAL AND GRITTY FEELING, BEFORE TURNING HER INTO A PROP FOR THE SAME MAGIC COCK / RAPEY BULLSHIT, BEFORE JUST TURNING HER INTO AN EXAMPLE PROP FOR HOW BAD THE BAD GUY IS, WHILE INADVERTENTLY SHOWING BOND / THE MOVIE TO BE JUST AS CALLOUS REGARDING HER ENTIRE EXISTENCE?



He's got a few pages more worth of discussion on the movie and goes over the stuff that's good about it but all the bad stuff more than outweighs it for him. I haven't seen the movie since the theater so I'm not really sure how I feel about it now. I definitely liked Casino Royale a LOT more than it, but I really, really like Casino Royale so that doesn't mean that I disliked it.

HULK VS. JAMES BOND - DAY 4 | Badass Digest

I've only seen Quantum of Solace once as well, but I did like it much more than the popular consensus seems to be. The main criticism I usually see of it is that the plot is incomprehensible, which isn't actually true, it just depends very heavily on you having a clear memory of what happened in Casino Royale as it's a direct sequel that doesn't give a recap. When I first watched it, I watched it the day after I'd rewatched Casino Royale, so I caught everything that was going on. It's nowhere near as good as Casino Royale, but I did really appreciate that they were trying to do a direct sequel and continue where he was at the end of that movie instead of doing some bullshit like they usually do where the last movie might as well not have happened. Since I think Vesper was the only heroine with any emotional resonance since Diana Rigg back in 68, it was a good move on their part, even though this was also arguably another ape of the Bourne movies, where the second and third movies keep it very clear how


Spoiler



haunted Bourne is by the death of Franke Potente.


 Those movies do a MUCH better job of it than Quantum did, of course. I didn't really get invested in the new plot or the climax or the new heroine, so I guess it fell flat for me. I didn't like the Bourne-lite style of the action sequences, either. The director was the second unit guy on Bourne Supremacy IIRC, so it makes sense it would have tried to do the same style, but it just isn't done as coherently as it is in that movie.


----------



## wankerness

yingmin said:


> And then Skyfall just ....ing throws all of that away. The continuity is gone, the shadowy, massive globe-spanning organization that the first two Craig movies built up is ignored in favor of an even more powerful cyberterrorist group that is nonetheless entirely defeated at the end of a single movie. Silva is exactly what the villains of the previous movies were not: a seemingly superhuman genius without a particularly believable motivation. I can understand that he would have wanted revenge against M, but the idea that he would do it at such immense risk to himself, to the point where he tries to force M into a double-suicide at the end, was ridiculous. The movie also fell into what I like to call the Keiser Soze-ization of movies, where contemporary filmmakers seem to think that in order for a movie to be "interesting", it must have a plot that is so convoluted as to be literally nonsensical, and where a single person can somehow plan out all the events of the movie with absolute precision. If the tiniest detail of Silva's plan, which involved thousands of people he didn't know going about their ordinary business, had gone even slightly different, the entire plot would have failed. The introduction of the female agent in the beginning had me intrigued, but then she just became a typical Bond girl, and the fact that she turned out to be Moneypenny was a gigantic disappointment for me. If they passed on the opportunity to develop Camille into a regular character, they could at least have done more with this mysterious new agent. It contained a lot more winking references than the other Craig movies, and brought back Q and gadgetry (and did them badly). Everything Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace did right, Skyfall did wrong. It was just another typical Bond movie, where there already existed a blueprint to make it something better.
> 
> Come at me.



I agree with all of this completely, particularly the first criticism, but I pretty much looked at Skyfall in a vacuum as I was used to doing with the previous 20-something movies. It was certainly disappointing that it didn't make any attempt to carry over any of the character development whatsoever from the first two Craigs, but I didn't really hold that against it beyond thinking that it meant the Bond character was less interesting than in the previous two by virtue of having had what was essentially a full character reset.


----------



## yingmin

Xaios said:


> On the other hand, I don't agree at all with Quantum of Solace. It turned Bond into Bourne. "Oops, he keeps killing all the people we should be getting answers from!" Yawn.



I don't see how this has anything to do with Bourne. Bourne actually didn't kill that many people, specifically BECAUSE he was trying to get information out of them. In fact, the fact that Bourne didn't kill somebody was a fairly important plot point in the second movie. Bond didn't want information out of any of the people he killed; he was just out for blood.


Xaios said:


> And Olga Kurylenko's character was just utterly lifeless. Considering how incredibly attractive she is, she had to be actively bad to lose my interest, and she was. It also felt like it was trying to force being topical waaay too hard. I appreciate the attempts at continuity, but they didn't really pay off.
> 
> Casino Royale is still, for my money, the best of the Craig Bond movies.


Eh. Respectfully disagree. 

Also, to wankerness, that filmhulk excerpt really reinforces one of my arguments. Bond showed real concern for Camille, and a powerful desire to both protect her and help her get her revenge. So why does he seem so unperturbed by the murder of a woman whom he'd promised to rescue from sex slavery? If we're splitting hairs, he may have just promised to kill Silva, but that's not the point. And while Xaios criticized QoS for trying too hard to be topical, I think Skyfall did something much worse by introducing topical hot-button issues and then basically just forgetting about them. The whole sex slavery issue is dropped almost immediately after its introduced, and ends up being completely tangential to the entire movie. 

I can only imagine what feminist Hulk would have to say about it.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

If you don't feel like dropping the money to watch this on Amazon or YouTube's streaming service.

The Interview 2014 - Full (HD) - PubFilm.com - Free Watch Your Favorite TV Shows and Movies HD Online High Speed on PubFilm

I'm not a fan of comedies, but this is actually pretty damn funny. Still rather stupid, but ....ing funny nonetheless. Well done, Seth Rogen and James Franco. The Kim Jong Un death scene was beautifully done. Haha!


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> I liked Skyfall ... but the Filmhulk overview of it really made me rethink it...he's right that the gender politics...


Interesting. As gender politics are of great interest to me (I have two sisters and was born of female so there are actual females in my life), I will read his comments later, but for now...has he not ever known damaged women? I have, so it's not hypocritical to want to save them and have sex with them at the same time (and it's not untoward of _them_ to want to be saved and to have had sex at the same time). I have to admit that I was severely bothered by the "contest" scene when I first saw it, but was since convinced that that he was _acting_ unperturbed, but inside was deeply disturbed, and having watched it since then, feel more strongly so. The "waste of good Scotch" line was him just stalling while he collected himself. It's what makes Craig such a great actor, that he could convey all that in the span of seconds.

I still think it was the weakest of the three, but I didn't mind that, I've got myself totally rationalized on it. 

Still...open to being convinced otherwise.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> ...the Bourne movies, where the second and third movies keep it very clear how
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> haunted Bourne is by the death of Franke Potente.


Wait, what? That's what I hated about the movies. The books are a disguised love story -- everything he does in the books are motivated by his love for her. The movies...ruined that. Threw it in the sewer and pissed and defecated on it.

UNDID it.


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> Wait, what? That's what I hated about the movies. The books are a disguised love story -- everything he does in the books are motivated by his love for her. The movies...ruined that. Threw it in the sewer and pissed and defecated on it.
> 
> UNDID it.



I never read the books, and probably never will (I also heard they have nothing to do with the movies at all after the first one) so I thought it was a nice change of pace from the Bond movies having someone that's completely devoted to the same woman past her involvement in the plot. He seems really haunted through all of 2 and 3, but it's kinda subtle about it. That scene where Julia Stiles dyes her hair in the third one in particular I think is beautifully done. I might have been reading more into his performance than was there but he seemed to be in agony about her absolutely nonstop through the entire second and third movies.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

We probably have different perceptions of Matt's acting abilities. I didn't see hardly any of the hauntedness that you saw.

And the correct way to phrase it -- since the books came first -- is that the 2nd and 3rd movies had nothing to do with the books. 

And in the movies' defense -- I hated the second one. By the time of the third one, I had mostly gotten over it. And I did see a little bit of what you are talking about in his relationship with the Julia Stiles character. But that was more the writing than Matt's acting abilities.


----------



## wankerness

Man, that letterboxd thing was a great rec, I've been using it a lot during my Christmas break. Here's my thing if anyone wants to add, I'll follow you back! So far I've just been logging movies and jotting down thoughts so I remember what I thought about things for future reference, and occasionally do longer write-ups if I'm so inclined. It's a great site and if I start following people it will probably be better!

&lrm;cakefactory

Anyway, one thing on there I figured I'd mention on here cause it's CURRENT:

Into the Woods was sure great for about half of it, but the second act was just unearned and stupid. I presume the stage version has more depth to it; there were clearly some missing chunks of plot (ex, Rapunzel and her prince disappear from the movie with no explanation whatsoever). Johnny Depp as the wolf was unspeakably awful and I was furious when I saw him, I was relieved when his character was killed off about 5 minutes later not to return though. Emily Blunt is absolutely great and is the only thing that manages to ground the movie in any kind of real emotion and she's quickly becoming one of my favorite actors working today. Anna Kendrick is fun and is pretty good at singing the parts (unlike Meryl Streep, who's atrocious), the children are great cause they presumably were hired for their singing/acting instead of their star power, and a lot of the music is really excellent. The highlight of the movie by far is the duet between the princes (Agony) - Chris Pine is really funny in this, in the first half at least. 

Overall though I got the impression I'd have had a much better time just seeing the stage version. I need to get a recording of it. As a movie, it didn't hold together nearly as well as Sweeney Todd (which I guess is even more condensed from the stage version, but that one was condensed to the point where it had a focused plot and a dramatic arc, while this one is like a ton of random ingredients thrown in and then robbed of the running time necessary for them to all develop and resolve properly). I also have heard that in the stage version there's a reprise of "Agony," which seems like an idiotic thing to omit since the first version seems to be the big audience favorite and the non-Chris Pine prince has almost nothing to do in the back half of the movie.


----------



## yingmin

Watched Hot Fuzz for the first time a couple nights ago. I'd never seen an entire Edgar Wright movie, but did see half of Shaun of the Dead, and the only full movie I'd seen with Simon Pegg was the Star Trek reboot, which I hated. So I didn't have a clear idea going in what it was going to be. It's both a lot better than I was expecting, and also very different than I was expecting. On the first point, maybe it was just a victim of poor marketing, at least in the US*, but it looked like a ridiculous, over-the-top action movie to me. My friend described it as being very silly, but the funny thing is that, at least before the big twist, most of the "silliness" is in how overly serious it is. It's pretty hilarious what a complete 180 the movie does at the twist, though, and it does become more of the type of movie I was expecting it to be, but in a good way. It's funny how many of the scenes were direct references to other action movies, and there were probably a lot more that I didn't catch. I'm definitely going to check out more Edgar Wright.

I also just recently started watching Marx Brothers movies, and holy shit are they funny.


wankerness said:


> Johnny Depp as the wolf was unspeakably awful and I was furious when I saw him, I was relieved when his character was killed off about 5 minutes later not to return though. Emily Blunt is absolutely great and is the only thing that manages to ground the movie in any kind of real emotion and she's quickly becoming one of my favorite actors working today.


Incidentally, I think the only movie I've seen Emily Blunt in was Wolfman, wherein Benicio Del Toro plays a werewolf, and that movie was awful. No real comment on Emily Blunt's acting ability.


----------



## wankerness

Emily Blunt is the only good thing about Devil Wears Prada (i don't remember why I watched it), and she is fantastic in both Looper and Edge of Tomorrow. Edge of Tomorrow would have been better if she was the main character, for sure. She's the main reason to watch it, Tom Cruise is just sorta there but she is awesome.


----------



## yingmin

I think I was mainly just transfixed by her bosoms in Wolfman.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Nothing wrong with that. I mean, the movie kind of sucked otherwise, didn't it? From what I remember.


yingmin said:


> I'd never seen an entire Edgar Wright movie, but did see half of Shaun of the Dead...


UNHOLY CARP, REALLY?!?!?

I went and saw -- they had a showing of the trilogy -- Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz/World's End at the theater (pee breaks only between the films) in one ~6 hour sitting.

THAT WAS AWESOME.

World's End was one of my favourite movies from last year. (The other being Gravity.)

Also, Marx Brothers are awesome.

wankerness re: Into the Woods -- agreed about Agony. I laughed out loud. 

I disagree about the second half, though. Without any familiarity with the project, I still understood that the second half was the whole point of the movie. (beyond "happily ever after")

One does have to love musicals, though, that's my only qualification on recommending that movie. And yeah, in hindsight, agree about the singing.

And yeah, Emily Blunt  Anna Kendrick  (despite her bizarrely small mouth -- her and Knightley, huh?) And James Corden was surprisingly good, too, neh?

I've seen a bunch of things Emily Blunt has been in -- Sunshine Cleaning, Wild Target -- in addition to those mentioned. So was already a fan going in. Ditto Anna Kendrick (50/50, Scott Pilgrim, Rapture-Palooza, End of Watch).


----------



## wankerness

It was the point of the movie, but it didn't earn it. It just starts


Spoiler



killing off everyone left and right and almost none of them have been developed enough for anyone to care.


 It gets really treacly, too, and it just hasn't done the work necessary for any of that kind of melodramatic stuff to fly. It just seems like misery for misery's sake in this form. The stage version might work, but here it just doesn't. I think if you watched the first "act" in the movie version and ended it there it would almost have been a better movie, tbh.  It wouldn't have had any "lessons" but it would have been dramatically coherent and fun and would have sidestepped most of what's wrong with the movie (apart from Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep).

I was just reading the plot of the stage version, and the movie really chopped out a ton of stuff. Like, the narrator is a character, and he gets offered to the giant as a sacrifice towards the end?! That's awesome. Rapunzel and her prince also get killed, evidently, instead of simply disappearing from the movie entirely. Oh, and the princes go after Snow White and Sleeping Beauty in the second act. WTF

So yeah, the point is the movie is badly lopsided with the first half being almost entirely preserved from the musical and the second half being a joyless mess which removes so much material from the stage version as to be incoherent. It's still got good MUSIC in it, but it fails dramatically besides Emily Blunt's character.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Actually, I thought the point was that "happily ever after" is not sustainable, hence "joyless mess". I just don't see the point of the movie without the second half going dark. Besides, I kind of _lurv_ dark. From Dusk Til Dawn was awesome, when viewed as a black comedy. I like movies where practically everyone dies, as long as there's a good story, and when is there not a good story if you're about to die? Heck, even The 6th Day was really good.

I do agree with your other criticisms, though, the editing was a mess. I think it was to keep the pacing such that the songs appeared every (however many) minutes. My sister saw a version that's available on DVD with Bernadette Peters in the Meryl Streep role, and she had much to say about the movie version (not all nice). Just -- you know -- based on her input.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Joined Letterboxd, just started, slow to start (don't have any movies on deck, as it were), so nothing much to share:

Letterboxd me


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Eva Green in _Casino Royale_ > Eva Green in_ 300: Rise of an Empire_ or _Sin City: A Dame to Kill For_.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Casino Royale_ for the first time since 2006. (I was a kid back then and couldn't fully grasp it.) Excellent film now!


----------



## 777timesgod

Just watched Dawn of the planet of the apes. Solid film, check it out.


----------



## Xaios

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Eva Green in _Casino Royale_ > Eva Green in_ 300: Rise of an Empire_ or _Sin City: A Dame to Kill For_.



Eva Green is absolutely magnificent in Casino Royale, easily one of the greatest ever Bond girls.


----------



## USMarine75

Watched the Lego Movie for the 237th time last night... lol


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Man, _Casino Royale_ is just an excellent stand-alone film. Even if it wasn't a "Bond film" or had to tie into a series with a prequel/sequel/etc., it's just a good film all of its own by itself.


----------



## wankerness

I hated it the first time I watched it, I thought it was like a bad attempt at being the Bourne movies, which I liked, and as a longtime fan of nearly every Bond movie before it I didn't really like the new direction. I came back to it years later in preparation for watching Skyfall and loved it. I think the problem was somehow I didn't like Eva Green the first time I watched it and thus the drama all fell flat (I remembered thinking "this is like the ending to 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' but not as good!!"), while the second time I pulled my head out of my ass. The plot only really works if you the viewer are as entranced by her as Bond is supposed to be.


----------



## Shimme

> Also, to wankerness, that filmhulk excerpt really reinforces one of my arguments. Bond showed real concern for Camille, and a powerful desire to both protect her and help her get her revenge. So why does he seem so unperturbed by the murder of a woman whom he'd promised to rescue from sex slavery? If we're splitting hairs, he may have just promised to kill Silva, but that's not the point. And while Xaios criticized QoS for trying too hard to be topical, I think Skyfall did something much worse by introducing topical hot-button issues and then basically just forgetting about them. The whole sex slavery issue is dropped almost immediately after its introduced, and ends up being completely tangential to the entire movie.



Disclosure, I haven't seen QoS.

I think that it's easily understandable if you accept that Craig's Bond is a sociopath. He seemingly has no remorse, engages in dangerous thrill-seeking, has casual sex frequently, is dominating, shows extreme arrogance, is minimally affected by extreme violence, and shows almost no regard for someone unless they are an extremely close friend or like family.

I could be wrong, but it seems more than likely, and explains some of his horrific behavior.


----------



## Shimme

Also, saw Wild,_ very_ good movie, 8.9/10. Not quite a must see but, highly recommended.


----------



## asher

Shimme said:


> Disclosure, I haven't seen QoS.
> 
> I think that it's easily understandable if you accept that Craig's Bond is a sociopath. He seemingly has no remorse, engages in dangerous thrill-seeking, has casual sex frequently, is dominating, shows extreme arrogance, is minimally affected by extreme violence, and shows almost no regard for someone unless they are an extremely close friend or like family.
> 
> I could be wrong, but it seems more than likely, and explains some of his horrific behavior.



So probably the closest to Fleming's conception of the character, at least at first


----------



## VBCheeseGrater

Not a movie, but the series _Homeland_ my wife and I just got into. Awesome show, we are in the middle of season 3 already. Dana reminds me so much of my daughter it's scary!


----------



## yingmin

Shimme said:


> Disclosure, I haven't seen QoS.
> 
> I think that it's easily understandable if you accept that Craig's Bond is a sociopath. He seemingly has no remorse, engages in dangerous thrill-seeking, has casual sex frequently, is dominating, shows extreme arrogance, is minimally affected by extreme violence, and shows almost no regard for someone unless they are an extremely close friend or like family.
> 
> I could be wrong, but it seems more than likely, and explains some of his horrific behavior.



I think that both Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale fly in the face of that theory. The end of Casino Royale, where he says "the bitch is dead" to M, is just him downplaying how strongly he felt about Vesper, and trying to PROJECT the kind of sociopathic detachment you describe. I think the Craig Bond is perhaps the least sociopathic conception of Bond, and QoS, as I've mentioned, shows Bond displaying compassion and sympathy.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just watched _Quantum of Solace_ - highly disappointed in it.

And just watched _Skyfall_ - somewhat disappointed in it but for different reasons.

Neither match _Casino Royale_. And _Skyfall_ was kind of the worst amongst the three in my opinion, and it does what yingmin and Dusty Chalk said on the last page. I only hope that _Spectre_ will be better.


----------



## asher

I think QoS gets a little more hate than it should, but it's certainly weaker than CR by a good deal. I didn't get to finish seeing Skyfall in the theater, but I was enjoying it - though I think what I've read here stands as a pretty fair criticism.


----------



## yingmin

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I only hope that _Spectre_ will be better.


I hope the next movie is better than Skyfall, too, but since Skyfall was the highest-grossing Bond movie yet, I'm not terribly optimistic. From the studio's perspective, it ain't broke, so why fix it?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Coincidence that this just popped up when I checked my email.
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/007-recaptures-retro-vibe-as-spectre-shoot-heads-107440893542.html


----------



## yingmin

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Coincidence that this just popped up when I checked my email.
> https://www.yahoo.com/movies/007-recaptures-retro-vibe-as-spectre-shoot-heads-107440893542.html



God damn it, that is perhaps the exact opposite of what I wanted from the new movie. While I have some nostalgia for the old Bond movies, I wanted them to continue the direction they established with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, but I guess that's over. It was a good ride while it lasted. Bring on more cheesy, mindless entertainment.

Also, what the hell? They devote a bigger part of the article to what they're wearing in those pictures than anything having to do with the actual movie.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

yingmin said:


> I think that both Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale fly in the face of that theory. The end of Casino Royale, where he says "the bitch is dead" to M, is just him downplaying how strongly he felt about Vesper, and trying to PROJECT the kind of sociopathic detachment you describe. I think the Craig Bond is perhaps the least sociopathic conception of Bond, and QoS, as I've mentioned, shows Bond displaying compassion and sympathy.


I agree completely, but to tie the two theories together, I believe these two were the beginning of the creation myth -- basically, he has to FORCE himself to become detached, just to be able to do what he does so successfully and live with the grief. To become the sociopath. I think Skyfall totally dropped the ball on continuing that decline.

Other than the, "I call it a waste of Scotch" scene. A little. I think the choice of her character was the only contributing factor, but they needed to put more into Daniel Craig's acting. I mean, he's obviously a fabulous actor (Casino Royale), so I blame the writer & director.


----------



## wankerness

yingmin said:


> I think that both Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale fly in the face of that theory. The end of Casino Royale, where he says "the bitch is dead" to M, is just him downplaying how strongly he felt about Vesper, and trying to PROJECT the kind of sociopathic detachment you describe.



I'm legitimately surprised that anyone thought that scene was meant to show he didn't care. I thought it was really obvious that you were supposed to see how deeply upset he was by it and how much it pained him to put on that front. Quantum of Solace certainly backs that up, too (even though I still don't think that one's very good).


----------



## asher

I took the "waste of Scotch" line to be very much in keeping with "the bitch is dead" myself.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

asher said:


> I took the "waste of Scotch" line to be very much in keeping with "the bitch is dead" myself.


The "waste of good Scotch" line was an attempt at dry humor and he was downplaying the sex trade girl's death because it upset him. Pretty simple.


----------



## yingmin

Emperor Guillotine said:


> The "waste of good Scotch" line was an attempt at dry humor and he was downplaying the sex trade girl's death because it upset him. Pretty simple.



That may be true, but if so, I don't think Skyfall pulled it off. She's never mentioned again in Skyfall (and I wouldn't expect her to come up in subsequent movies) and you don't see it impact him in any meaningful way, like Vesper's death did. I think any anger or rage he displays, any personal stake he has in the fight against Silva, is out of his desire to protect M. If Dusty Chalk is right and these three movies were the establishment of Bond's sociopathic character, then the third part of it just didn't work for me. 

Or, maybe by the time that part rolled around, there were already so many things I disliked about the movie that I wasn't willing to give it any credit. Hell, let's even say that these three movies are establishing Bond as emotionally detached and imperturbable: I would still be against that, because we've had that since nineteen sixty God damn two, and I think a human Bond is so much more interesting and makes for better movies.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Hear hear!

And yeah, I think it's more like the first two, and by Skyfall they had just gone asymptotic.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Whiplash is awesome!


----------



## chopeth

Watched Paulette yesterday, a French film about an old woman who sees herself pushed to sell hash to get her bills paid. A gentle comedy.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Wolf of the Wallstreet, better than I thought but the ending was kinda lame. Is it just me or is Leonardo DiCaprio always playing some rich New York guy in his movies? lol


----------



## Xaios

One thing that Skyfall did amazingly well that no one seems to talk about is create some really amazing imagery. The fight scene between Bond and the sniper in the glass room and the scene where Bond is running from the now-blown-to-bits house to the chapel have some really striking visuals. If you look at certain scenes specifically for visual composition, it's quite interesting what you find.

Here's hjow I rate the Craig Bond movies:

Casino Royale: Great as you're watching it, and holds up to scrutiny after the credits.
Quantum of Solace: The flaws are noticeable enough that they intrude on the experience while watching, not just after.
Skyfall: Certain elements don't hold up to scrutiny in the long run, but entertaining enough while you're watching it that you don't notice until after the credits when you're left to think about it.


----------



## Xaios

Fat-Elf said:


> Wolf of the Wallstreet, better than I thought but the ending was kinda lame. Is it just me or is Leonardo DiCaprio always playing some rich New York guy in his movies? lol





The Great Gatsby is really the only other movie that fits that mold.

Aside from that, the only other movies I can think of where he plays a New Yorker are "Gangs of New York" and "Catch Me If You Can." In Gangs, his character is by no means rich, and in Catch Me If You Can, the fact that he's from New York is practically meaningless to the plot.


----------



## yingmin

Xaios said:


> One thing that Skyfall did amazingly well that no one seems to talk about is create some really amazing imagery. The fight scene between Bond and the sniper in the glass room and the scene where Bond is running from the now-blown-to-bits house to the chapel have some really striking visuals. If you look at certain scenes specifically for visual composition, it's quite interesting what you find.



You can say the same for Michael Bay movies, but I'm sure as hell not going to watch the vast majority of them. Directors can gush over how wonderful his cinematography and editing are, but they're still indefensible as overall creative works.


Xaios said:


> Skyfall: Certain elements don't hold up to scrutiny in the long run, but entertaining enough while you're watching it that you don't notice until after the credits when you're left to think about it.


Totally disagree. For me the faults in Skyfall were so glaring that I couldn't even enjoy it in the moment, much less ever want to watch it again. By contrast, I enjoyed Quantum the first time, and even more the second time.


----------



## monkeybike

I decided to go back and watch all the Hellraiser movies. Just finished the first one. 28 years hasn't been kind. I remember thinking it was pretty scary back when I saw it in 87 when I was a teenager. Now I am spotting all the half-ass visual effects. Still a decent movie but I think I liked Bloodlines the most.

"Jesus wept...."


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I only saw the first 3 and the "Hellraiser: Pinhead in Space" one -- which one was Bloodlines?

Xaios -- you just described what I've taken to calling the "movie hangover" -- it's entertaining enough at the time, but afterwards, when you start thinking about it...peh.


----------



## monkeybike

Dusty Chalk said:


> I only saw the first 3 and the "Hellraiser: Pinhead in Space" one -- which one was Bloodlines?
> 
> Xaios -- you just described what I've taken to calling the "movie hangover" -- it's entertaining enough at the time, but afterwards, when you start thinking about it...peh.



Pinhead in space was Bloodlines. It's kinda reminds me of a horror version of The Red Violin or The Fountain. It jumps around between past and future


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Xaios said:


> The Great Gatsby is really the only other movie that fits that mold.
> 
> Aside from that, the only other movies I can think of where he plays a New Yorker are "Gangs of New York" and "Catch Me If You Can." In Gangs, his character is by no means rich, and in Catch Me If You Can, the fact that he's from New York is practically meaningless to the plot.


Leo has been playing the role of "rich, white men" a lot lately.

_The Man in the Iron Mask _(not recent though)
_The Aviator_
_Inception_
_J. Edgar _(questionable...but...politics and FBI)
_Django Unchained_
_The Great Gatsby_
_The Wolf of Wall Street_

_The Wolf _is just one of my hands-down favorite (Top 5) films. It kind of gives me a humorous little incentive to continue the path that I'm pursuing in my studies in college.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

monkeybike said:


> Pinhead in space was Bloodlines. It's kinda reminds me of a horror version of The Red Violin or The Fountain. It jumps around between past and future


I'll have to watch it again, I barely remember it. The only thing I remember is being disappointed -- the trailer promised what looked like space wars, but there were like 8 stormtroopers or whatever they were. Now that I'm over it, I can watch it without the baggage.


----------



## asher

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Leo has been playing the role of "rich, white men" a lot lately.



Isn't that the evolution of the pretty boy?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

asher said:


> Isn't that the evolution of the pretty boy?


From rags (ex: _Titanic_ and _What's Eating Gilbert Grape?_) to riches (films I listed in my previous post).

Nice!


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Under the Skin -- better the second time. Easily my favourite horror movie of the...no, horror movie doesn't explain everything it is, although some horrific things happen in the movie. So much more than a horror movie. And Scarlett was fantastic, I didn't realize what she was doing until the second time. I mean, the first time through, I thought she was just dry and emotionless, but you realize she's putting on a seductive, friendly, playful persona for the guys. To say so much just by rolling up the window and putting on the seatbelt...I love good nonverbals -- kudos to the writer for writing such a wonderful adaptation; kudos to the director for executing the vision; and kudos to the actor for pulling it off -- the trifecta.

Locke -- wow, just wow. I was rapt.


----------



## asher

Emperor Guillotine said:


> From rags (ex: _Titanic_ and _What's Eating Gilbert Grape?_) to riches (films I listed in my previous post).
> 
> Nice!





I'm not quite sure Inception fits right, but there are plenty of those that do.


----------



## ghostred7

I just watched Teeth again LMAO


----------



## Carrion Rocket

I Saw the Devil
Battle Royal
Delicatessen
Talk Radio


----------



## Skyblue

Her wub
Snowpiercer (Fun, but kinda missed it's potential)
Children of Men (Mighty fine, damn depressing)


----------



## yingmin

Skyblue said:


> Snowpiercer (Fun, but kinda missed it's potential)


Can you elaborate without spoiling too much? I haven't seen it yet, but it seems interesting, and I'll see basically anything with Song Kangho in it.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Skyblue said:


> Her wub


No further words needed. The first (and thus far only) time I watched this, I'm pretty sure its in my Top 5 favorite films.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

yingmin said:


> Can you elaborate without spoiling too much? I haven't seen it yet, but it seems interesting, and I'll see basically anything with Song Kangho in it.


NO! Don't! Watch it now, dude. Watch it ... well, not 'cold', per se, but as cold as you are right now right this very second! I had no idea what I was getting into.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Carrion Rocket said:


> I Saw the Devil
> Battle Royal
> Delicatessen
> Talk Radio


!!!

Nice...uh...combination of films.


----------



## Skyblue

yingmin said:


> Can you elaborate without spoiling too much? I haven't seen it yet, but it seems interesting, and I'll see basically anything with Song Kangho in it.


Well, aside for the rather silly idea with the whole "train going around the world", there were several places where it felt like there's great potential for action scenes and eventually they did nothing with it. 
But just to be clear- the movie itself was great fun, even with the faults, so see it as soon as possible! 




Emperor Guillotine said:


> Skyblue said:
> 
> 
> 
> Her wub
> 
> 
> 
> No further words needed. The first (and thus far only) time I watched this, I'm pretty sure its in my Top 5 favorite films.
Click to expand...

I'm usually not the type for love stories but this one was so absolutely amazing...


----------



## Rosal76

Skyblue said:


> Her wub





Does Rooney Mara have a big part in this movie?


----------



## TimothyLeary

Rosal76 said:


> Does Rooney Mara have a big part in this movie?



Nope! Nice filme though.


----------



## jonajon91

Anyone caught Birdman yet? Didn't really know what I was in for with that film, very impressed.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Yeah, thought it was fantastic, outweighed my expectations. Movie of the year for me.


----------



## wankerness

I didn't really know what I thought of Birdman. My overall feeling for the first hour and a half was one of bemusement crossed with annoyance. The fake single-shot thing starts to grate after a while, and the obnoxious drum soloing (frequently done through some flimsy diegetic means, ex a street drummer or a drumline out on the sidewalk) that dominates the soundtrack was annoying almost immediately. About an hour and a half into it, though, things suddenly started really clicking and it looked like it was going to go out on some wonderfully transcendent note. Instead, it then tacks on an additional coda which, while not bad by itself, sorta upset the flow of the drama and brought it back down a notch again.

Emma Stone is wonderful in this, and while it's great that she was given a chance to really shine, it still just depressed me that she hasn't really gotten a suitable star vehicle yet. Better this small role than her lame star turn in The Help or more thankless co-starring roles in junk like Spider-Man or male-dominated comedies like Superbad, though.

Amy Ryan also glows in her like...two scenes. And it's good to see Naomi Watts rebounding so quickly from that Princess Diana movie. Ed Norton is very funny, which he doesn't often get a chance to do. He does some awful things, but it never seems to be with any real malice, he's sort of a likable heel. He kind of reminded me of Russell Brand in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

I guess I didn't see the brilliance of Michael Keaton's performance, which might have been the other thing preventing me from really loving this. I'll have to rewatch it sometime with a better sound set-up so the drumming doesn't drown out all the dialogue. I didn't really get why it's making so many "best of the year" lists, but then again I haven't read any reviews besides the really negative one on The Dissolve. I guess I should just be glad something so distinctive and weird is getting so much attention.


----------



## TimothyLeary

birdman didn't work for me either. Besides the great acting and original directing, the movie as whole didn't say much to me. But after two or three days after seeing it, it's still in my thoughts. There's somthing between the lines that I think most people(me including) is not getting it. But I'm close to make a sense for all of it, at least in my mind, and it starts to click with me.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

That's funny, wankerness, the sort of breathless rhythm of the movie (the faux-single tracking shot) and the soundtrack were two of the things I liked about the movie the most.

What I liked most about Keaton's performance was that it was understated -- he didn't have an "I'm an actor" moment, other than in the context of the movie.

Completely agree about Emma Stone, though. My favourite scene in the movie is one she owns. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love a good nonverbal. I credit the writer for writing it, the director for directing it, and the actor for pulling it off.

And completely agree about Ed Norton.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

I finally watched _Gone Girl_. Without a doubt, one of the best, twisting films I have seen. I'm fairly certain it is in my top films now. (I'll sleep on it.)

The ending was so f**ked up though. It definitely should have been a situation where the "nice guy triumphs in the end and exposes evil". But instead...Jesus...


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> It definitely should have been a situation where the "nice guy triumphs in the end and exposes evil".





Spoiler



Considering he was cheating on his wife with the student and the rest of the plot follows from that, I really didn't feel that much sympathy for the guy. Obviously her actions were worse, but the movie does both to give her a motive and expose him as being somewhat of a turd, if not a murderous one like her. It didn't help his case that Amy was at least twice as entertaining of a character. I thought the ending was perfect and a great summation of its themes of what marriage and relationships are (spelled out in the cool girl speech). Someone as awesome as her could have done better! I almost cheered when she cut the throat of Neil Patrick Harris, he was so damn creepy.



SPOILERED cause someone will probably complain otherwise


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> SPOILERED cause someone will probably complain otherwise


I mean, in all retrospect, I believe that Nick redeemed himself in a sense at the end. The question he poses at the very beginning (and it's reiterated right before the fade to black at the end) does still show that there is some true suffering to be had. As cynical as it sounds, to me, that is what "marriage" has become. (Of course, what Amy said about marriage being about couples resenting each other is a nugget of truth.)

I'm going to go buy the book online and then give the film a heavy critique after reading the book. However, I think it is safe to say that it is officially now in my exclusive Top 10 favorite films. 

Hands down the best film of 2014 for me though.

So many "what the f**k?" moments and twists and turns that render this dark, suspenseful masterpiece worth receiving as much praise and exaltation as I can give it. This is legitimately a work of modern, hidden fear and psychological manipulation that I believe is something manifested in all men. (Women always have a power over men in our society. We are like cornered animals. Gillian Flynn, the female author of the original book who also adapted it for the screen play, does an excellent job exposing the fear caused by uncertainty and accusations that can surround men, how we men are always stereotyped as the villain in romantic relationships, and lastly how women can always manipulate the situation to their ends.) 

Director David Fincher never ceases to amaze me. The legendary Trent Reznor scored the perfectly eerie, suspenseful soundtrack. And Ben Affleck as well as Rosamund Pike both brutally killed their lead roles and gave a thoroughly memorable performance.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

just watched maze runner...

spoiler alert!

while it wasnt a bad film, i just couldnt figure out why anyone would build such a massive & expensive structure just to "test" some kids. i think it would have been much more feasible to have them under sedation in a vr world ala the matrix.

just a little unbelievable to take the time, money & resources to build it. maybe im wrong, but i guess we will see why in the next movie "scorch Ttrials" due out this sept.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Hands down the best film of 2014 for me though.



Same here too, so far. I'm doing my annual "watch all the screeners that leaked" tour of all the oscar nominees and have only gotten started.


----------



## Duosphere

M3CHK1LLA said:


> i just couldnt figure out why anyone would build such a massive & expensive structure just to "test" some kids.



Why?
For us to have fun while watching it 
Terrible boring movie to me, I was expecting a cool maze but that is just damn boring.


----------



## Skyblue

Locke. 

A rather good movie, considering it's limits (It all happens inside a car). Oh and Tom Hardy  His accent is to die for.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Yup, really riveting movie, considering it's -- whatever they call it -- a shoebox movie?


----------



## Shaynos

I agree with both of you about Locke. I really enjoy that 'shoebox' (to use your term) type of platform for a movie. To me it's a lot like a theatre production, made for film.

I saw Birdman - I give it 4 Stars, quite a good movie imo. I thought all the performances were good, but I agree with Emperor about the unnecessary coda at the end.

My favourite movies of 2014 include:
Her (yes, I'm aware it's a 2013 movie, but in australia its release got delayed until 2014)
The Past
The Wind Rises
Wadjda
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Whiplash

If anybody here likes good foreign films I highly suggest checking out The Past (by the director of A Seperation), Wadjda and The Broken Circle Breakdown. All three were incredibly moving films.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

so the movie "the giver" turned out to be pretty good...

...its going in my collection.


----------



## Xaios

The Iceman: 4/10

+ Michael Shannon plays "intense" like no one else.
+ Always fun to see David Schwimmer play against type, and to see James Franco be James Franco.
+ Overall acting is good.
+ Excellent set design and wardrobe definitely make it feel like the 70s and 80s.
+ Competent direction...
- ...but also unremarkable direction.
- Script is DOA for the most part (except for Chris Evans, but maybe he just works better with the material).
- Violence has very little impact.

It's possible that the fact of the violence of this movie seeming ho-hum is an intentional reflection of the casual brutality of its main character, but I'm probably overanalyzing on that point. More likely is that it's a breakdown in the direction.

I might have given this movie 5/10 or even a 6/10 if it hadn't been for one thing: the score. It is absolutely awful. The entire movie is set to this constant, portentious low droning music meant to make the entire affair feel ominous. Instead, it just sucks the tension right out of the room. And make no mistake, it's present through _*the whole damn movie*_. There are *SO* many scenes which would have been better served with a silent score but are instead saddled with this onerous droning. Here's an example:



Every other aspect of this movie suffers because of the damn music.

Also, at one point in a scene set in the 70s, David Schwimmer's character comes rolling into a driveway in a car blasting music that sounds like the soundtrack for Monster Garage. Most people probably wouldn't notice, but for someone who is into metal and has an inkling of its history, it breaks the suspension of disbelief.


----------



## wankerness

You're right about the score based on that clip, that's some terrible stuff, it sounds like VERY SERIOUS cop show music produced by one guy with a synthesizer who only had a week to write it. And yeah, I get annoyed by "METAL" music that gets used in shows all the time, since usually it's just some idiotic crap that sounds like Devil Driver or something, but it's thrown in to represent TOTAL SATANIC EVUL and neither whoever chose the music nor the general public knows the difference. Oh well. I guess it's fair enough that the majority of everyone just dismisses all metal, haha.

I've found myself adding or subtracting a few points from movies based on scores a lot recently. SO many foreign horror flicks from the 70s have incredible scores that almost make the movie worth watching on their own to a music nerd. Which is in sharp contrast to american crap from the same era, which usually sounds like badly written folk/rock or just rips off Psycho.

An example of this was Selma, which I watched last week. It's getting rave reviews left and right, but for me the score actually completely ruined multiple scenes. "Oh, these characters are talking about something emotional, let's put in a plaintive clarinet solo, that's what emotional movies do!" It sounds like a frickin Hallmark home entertainment movie. The movie has so much to recommend it, is full of incredible performances and scenes, and yet has a score that belongs in a much lesser movie which undermines several scenes.


----------



## Xaios

It doesn't bother me that the music is in Schwimmer's car is stereotypically EVUL METAL (even though it definitely is), it's just that it's completely anachronistic. It sounds like nu-metal in the late 70s.


----------



## wankerness

Ah, I had no idea what Monster Garage was so I didn't know that meant "modern." Youtube suggests that their soundtrack sounds like a bunch of Godsmack and Saliva riffs. That certainly would be funny to hear in a movie set in the 70s.

I saw an 80s teen movie recently that had some surprisingly scary stuff in it. People were listening to Slayer! (It was River's Edge, from 1986)


----------



## wat

can anybody help me identify a movie? i've seen the trailer for it twice and forgot the name both times.


in the trailer, there is a baby in a crib or something and the baby can see a flicker in the corner of the room and the flicker is a spirit or a ghost or something? 


i don't think it's a ghost/horror movie. does this ring a bell for anyone?


----------



## wankerness

wat said:


> can anybody help me identify a movie? i've seen the trailer for it twice and forgot the name both times.
> 
> 
> in the trailer, there is a baby in a crib or something and the baby can see a flicker in the corner of the room and the flicker is a spirit or a ghost or something?
> 
> 
> i don't think it's a ghost/horror movie. does this ring a bell for anyone?



Did you see the trailer in the theater? On video? 5 years ago? 10 years ago? Was it filmed like a normal movie, or found footage style nightcam? The paranormal activity 2 trailer had some damn kid seeing a ghost, but despite being in a crib it looked like a 2 year old. 

I can't think of any trailers that include ghosts that are not for ghost movies, btw.


----------



## Duosphere

wankerness said:


> I can't think of any trailers that include ghosts that are not for ghost movies, btw.


----------



## asher

Rewatched The Fifth Element last night.



It's amazing that Bruce Willis is like the _fifth_ best thing in that movie. After Mila, Tucker, Oldman, Bilbo, maybe also the soundtrack.

And EVERYBODY'S facial expressions. Holy god.

It's been a long time since I've actually watched it, so I had almost fresh eyes, and I noticed a lot more stuff. Some really, really great scene cuts, the soundtrack, little silly stuff. And how much it owes to Terry Gilliam.

Oh, and so many hot extras.


----------



## wankerness

Have you seen Lucy? The trailers were so stupid that I didn't want to see it, but I've heard mostly good stuff about it ever since it actually came out. I do like The Fifth Element quite a bit and since it's also a sci-fi action movie from the same director I was wondering if it's at all in that vein.


----------



## asher

I haven't, but the trailers made it look like it took itself entirely too seriously to be remotely close.


----------



## MFB

The Fifth Element is the best element. My roommate hates that movie and is always confused at the love I have for it. Its just so god damn great.


----------



## asher

MFB said:


> The Fifth Element is the best element. My roommate hates that movie and is always confused at the love I have for it. Its just so god damn great.



Purge the unbeliever.


----------



## Xaios

MFB said:


> The Fifth Element is the best element. My roommate hates that movie and is always confused at the love I have for it. Its just so god damn great.



From now on, respond to any statement or question your roommate makes with the word "multipass."


----------



## MFB

Xaios said:


> From now on, respond to any statement or question your roommate makes with the word "multipass."



HOW DID I NOT THINK OF THAT?!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just watched _Mystic River_. Very blah and boring for a Clint Eastwood flick.


----------



## s_k_mullins

Some movies I've watched lately:

Gone Girl - good movie. Saw it in the theater, later bought the dvd. 
The Equalizer - good flick. I like Denzel Washington in this type of role. 
Lucy - good idea, meh execution. Was entertaining though. 
A Walk Among the Tombstones - Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson. Could have called it Taken 4. 
Tusk - totally ....ed up and mostly boring
No Good Deed - decent but predictable


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Just watched _Mystic River_. Very blah and boring for a Clint Eastwood flick.



I sorta like it even though Sean Penn's freak-out when his daughter is found is so over the top that it gets quoted out of context as a punchline a lot.  I am one of those suckers that really likes Million Dollar Baby though. Clint Eastwood is an awesome dude who's made some great movies with a ton of variety. I'd rank the movies I've seen of his like this:

Unforgiven
Million Dollar Baby
Sands of Iwo Jima
High Plains Drifter
Sudden Impact
Mystic River
Play Misty For Me
Bridges of Madison County
Gran Torino
American Sniper

None of them are bad, though. I didn't like American Sniper at all but it's like 5/10 material, certainly not bad, just kind of boring.

I've had Changeling, Blood Work, Pale Rider, A Perfect World, Absolute Power, Firefox, Bird and Hereafter in my pile of DVDs/downloads to watch for a while, too.


----------



## synrgy

Boyhood - Great. Recommended. Wild to watch these characters age 12 years in the space of a couple hours.

Lucy - Not great, but not bad, either. I'd give it a 'typical' 3-out-of-5 stars.

Gone Girl - Woah. I can't possibly sum up how messed up this story is. Well executed; keeps us guessing.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

I'm glad to see more people who've enjoyed _Gone Girl_. I posted on Facebook that I watched it and loved it and everyone responded with: "bruh, the ending sucked."

Ummm...no...the ending was realistic. Life doesn't have happy endings.

With that said, I do wonder if the ending could've turned out differently...


Spoiler



Think about it: Nick exposes Amy, surely SOME kind of evidence could be found since Detective Rhonda Boney was already on to her at the end, Amy gets arrested or proven to be unfit to keep/raise a child whether she is found guilty or not guilty, blood-testing reveals Nick as the dad and closest living relative, and the kid lands on his doorstep.


I mean, that seems a "little more" realistic, don't ya think?


----------



## synrgy

I certainly _wanted_ it to turn out differently, but I can't go so far as to say that it _should have_. Similarly, the alternative you describe seems _as_ plausible as the ending we were given, but I'm not sure I'd call it _more_ plausible.

I've seen a little backlash against the film, but mostly from those who think that Amy is intended by the filmmakers to be representative all women everywhere, because misogyny, or something?


----------



## JBguitar2196

I heard Gone Girl had a really interesting plot line, my girlfriend and her best friend went and saw it. However, her and a few of my friends who saw it have said the movie is so sexually graphic that it takes away from the movie as a whole. It definitely got some backlash for being sexually explicit. I dunno, not a big deal to me because I never planned on seeing the movie anyways. That plot has been done over so many times it's sickening.


----------



## wankerness

That movie is far less sexually explicit than like, any movie made in europe in the 1970s. I don't even remember it having any nudity till the last act besides Affleck's girlfriend I guess. I can understand being squeamish about the sex+death scene, but as far as pure sex on screen goes it's downright puritan compared to what was the norm before recent trends of making everything PG-13.


----------



## synrgy

wankerness said:


> That movie is far less sexually explicit than like, any movie made in europe in the 1970s. I don't even remember it having any nudity till the last act besides Affleck's girlfriend I guess. I can understand being squeamish about the sex+death scene, but as far as pure sex on screen goes it's downright puritan compared to what was the norm before recent trends of making everything PG-13.





Spoiler



My guess is that they must be up-in-arms about the scene with Amy and the wine bottle..


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Frank -- must-see for anyone in a band struggling to make the big-time

Re: Fifth Element -- you forgot to mention the Warner Bros. cartoons influence! I love that movie, it's like the...I don't know...Blade Runner on psychedelics and happy pills...the attention to detail (drained Manhattan!)...

Re: Lucy -- Luc Besson has gone more or less pure action movies with the Transporter series and whatnot, but I really liked *The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec* and *Angel-A*...I'll still watch it, because Scarlett.


----------



## synrgy

+1 for Frank! Kinda forgot I'd just seen it a couple weeks ago. Must-see for any (actual or aspiring) writer and/or performer of music. Also for those who are into movies that march to a slightly different drummer, like those from Spike Jonze, etc.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watching _The Wrestler_. 
Again, I am unimpressed by yet another movie.


----------



## wankerness

I've been meaning to watch Frank for a while. They added it to netflix a week or two ago so now I have no excuse.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Yeah, The Wrestler had like 2 or 3 good scenes, but otherwise it was just too cringe-worthy (and I don't mean on the part of the movie-making, the movie-making was fantastic -- I cringed because they made the main character just a little too sympathetic and tragic).


----------



## Xaios

wankerness said:


> I sorta like it even though Sean Penn's freak-out when his daughter is found is so over the top that it gets quoted out of context as a punchline a lot.  I am one of those suckers that really likes Million Dollar Baby though. Clint Eastwood is an awesome dude who's made some great movies with a ton of variety. I'd rank the movies I've seen of his like this:
> 
> Unforgiven
> Million Dollar Baby
> Sands of Iwo Jima
> High Plains Drifter
> Sudden Impact
> Mystic River
> Play Misty For Me
> Bridges of Madison County
> Gran Torino
> American Sniper
> 
> None of them are bad, though. I didn't like American Sniper at all but it's like 5/10 material, certainly not bad, just kind of boring.
> 
> I've had Changeling, Blood Work, Pale Rider, A Perfect World, Absolute Power, Firefox, Bird and Hereafter in my pile of DVDs/downloads to watch for a while, too.



Quick FYI, Sands of Iwo Jima is from the late 40s. You're thinking Letters From Iwo Jima (which I agree, is a fantastic movie).

One Clint Eastwood movie that no one ever talks about yet which I love is Space Cowboys. Sure, a lot of it is totally cliched, but the interplay between characters, especially the four leads, is just a joy to behold.


----------



## Vostre Roy

Watching The City of Lost Children - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Love the grotesque and steampunkish feeling that this movie has


----------



## Skyblue

You guys know how you always find movies that sound really cool, and you go like "whoa, I should totally watch this", and then later on you sit in front of the tv/computer and have no recollection of what movie was it? 

I should probably make myself a list  

Anyway, planning on watching My Neighbour Totoro later on today, and tomorrow after work maybe O Brother, Where Art Thou.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Skyblue said:


> Anyway, planning on watching My Neighbour Totoro later on today


YES!  Not just a kids movie for kids. Never gets old either.


----------



## synrgy

Speaking of, I just 'met' Totoro in November, while I was walking around the Gion district of Kyoto!


----------



## wankerness

Link doesn't work. Imo you should right click and save the image, then upload it to imgur, cause I want to see it and I don't know how to use instagram either


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> YES!  Not just a kids movie for kids. Never gets old either.



I HATED it the first time I watched it, and loved it the second. For some reason the younger sister's voice on the japanese language version grated on my eardrums so badly I couldn't take it!


----------



## synrgy

Changed profile pic to the Totoro/Gion one.


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Changed profile pic to the Totoro/Gion one.



Awesome!


----------



## asher

I still need to see Totoro


----------



## wat

wankerness said:


> Did you see the trailer in the theater? On video? 5 years ago? 10 years ago? Was it filmed like a normal movie, or found footage style nightcam? The paranormal activity 2 trailer had some damn kid seeing a ghost, but despite being in a crib it looked like a 2 year old.
> 
> I can't think of any trailers that include ghosts that are not for ghost movies, btw.





I saw the trailer on BluRays of movies from within the last 5 years. The spirit the baby sees isn't really the focus of the trailer, it's actually only like 4 seconds of it. It's just the only part of the trailer I can remember. The tone wasn't scary at all and I don't think it's a supernatural movie per se, kind of like Charlie Countryman has two ghosts in it but it's not really a supernatural film. Definitely not a horror film for sure.

What the baby saw didn't really have a form, it was just kind of a small distortion of space and light, almost playful even, and the baby seemed to be fascinated by it.



This is driving me crazy


----------



## wankerness

Well, that's a lot of detail, but unfortunately I haven't seen it. I skip trailers on blurays 100% of the time, though. If you can remember blurays you've watched in the last few years (assuming it hasn't been very many!) you could just look up what trailers/previews are on the discs


----------



## Skyblue

wankerness said:


> I HATED it the first time I watched it, and loved it the second. For some reason the younger sister's voice on the japanese language version grated on my eardrums so badly I couldn't take it!


GOD, YES! Her voice was so annoying  but luckily I was able to ignore it and enjoy the film haha. 



Emperor Guillotine said:


> YES!  Not just a kids movie for kids. Never gets old either.


It was a really different experience from standard movies these days (And I'm not talking about it being kids movie, or it being animated). There is a very basic plot here, and even then, the actual "plot" comes about only 2/3 into the movie. No super drama, action, anything of that sort- just cute story about a family. It was really touching in a way that was almost uncomfortable, so moving and personal. And I'm saying this in a very good way. 

I hope I don't sound weird, it's kinda hard articulating what I felt in my first language, not to mention translating it 

So like I said, next up on the list is O Brother, Where Art Thou, and maybe I'll be able to catch Birdman as well during the weekend.


----------



## asher

He dun r-u-n-n-o-f-t!

 O Brother


----------



## pushpull7

I saw "Transcendence"

4/10


----------



## synrgy

Watched Begin Again with the wife. 

Pretty solid, and not the blatant "chick-flick" I was expecting based on trailers, etc. Includes one scene which, for the first time I can remember in any film I've watched, visually represents what it's like to be a 'music person' that can hear musical elements in their head that aren't happening in reality.


----------



## Duosphere

Heartless (2009) - What the hell was that?!

The Woman (2011) - Psychos taking care of psychos in psychoville!I laughed a lot but the sad part is these psychos are angels comparing to the real psychos we have out there.Too long for such stupidity, I could like it if it was only 40 minutes long.


----------



## yingmin

wankerness said:


> I HATED it the first time I watched it, and loved it the second. For some reason the younger sister's voice on the japanese language version grated on my eardrums so badly I couldn't take it!



I have the exact opposite issue. I originally saw all of his movies (up through Ponyo) in Japanese, because I was dating a Japanese girl at the time. I can even remember what some of the lines of dialogue were in Japanese. So now that I've got my 3-year-old niece hooked on Totoro and Kiki, it feels so weird watching them in English. What would you say is the best movie to get her into next? I have Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle right now, and those are probably all too scary for her. I keep seeing Castle in the Sky when I'm browsing DVDs in Best Buy or wherever, but I don't really remember liking that one very much. Do you think a 3-year-old girl would love it?


----------



## Skyblue

yingmin said:


> I have the exact opposite issue. I originally saw all of his movies (up through Ponyo) in Japanese, because I was dating a Japanese girl at the time. I can even remember what some of the lines of dialogue were in Japanese. So now that I've got my 3-year-old niece hooked on Totoro and Kiki, it feels so weird watching them in English. What would you say is the best movie to get her into next? I have Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle right now, and those are probably all too scary for her. I keep seeing Castle in the Sky when I'm browsing DVDs in Best Buy or wherever, but I don't really remember liking that one very much. Do you think a 3-year-old girl would love it?



I'm almost always trying to watch movies in their original language. I hate dubs with passion. Some are good, yes, but I'll probably only watch a movie dubbed if I don't have any other choice. 
I even saw The Raid in it's original Indonesian, and man was that a pleasure  (Insanely awesome movie as well!)

Just saw O Brother, Where Art Thou. I really liked it, though I'm not sure if I'll rank it too high on my Coen brother's movies list. Then again, we're talking about the Coen brother's here, so I might be needin' another view or two 'fore I decide. Anyway, great monologues by George Clooney, and wonderful soundtrack.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

yingmin said:


> I have the exact opposite issue. I originally saw all of his movies (up through Ponyo) in Japanese, because I was dating a Japanese girl at the time. I can even remember what some of the lines of dialogue were in Japanese. So now that I've got my 3-year-old niece hooked on Totoro and Kiki, it feels so weird watching them in English. What would you say is the best movie to get her into next? I have Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle right now, and those are probably all too scary for her. I keep seeing Castle in the Sky when I'm browsing DVDs in Best Buy or wherever, but I don't really remember liking that one very much. Do you think a 3-year-old girl would love it?


3 years old is kind of a little young to understand what's going on, don't you think?

With that said, _Howl's Moving Castle_ would be my pick. _Ponyo_ though is perfect for younger kids. The other flicks you mentioned all are more "mature" flicks persay.

I own all the Miyazaki flicks on DVD, and I originally saw all the Miyazaki flicks in English - the English releases. So that really was my initial experience, and honestly, it wasn't that bad and I couldn't tell any difference as the mouths/dialogue were synced perfectly. I haven't seen a single Miyazaki flick in Japanese, and I really have no desire to since I don't understand Japanese.

I mean, is the whole dub thing really that bad? I've seen some terrible English dubs; however, the English dubs that Studio Ghibli has integrated into their films so that they can be released overseas are absolutely spot-on and fitting.


----------



## wankerness

Ponyo is definitely the next one you should show her. I don't think any of the others are appropriate for anyone under about 6 or 7, especially Mononoke which has got a lot of bloody decapitations and things. You're going to be waiting a few years! Castle in the Sky is like the next tier up but it's definitely too scary for a very young kid. The scene where the huge robot reactivates and blows everything up has some very direct nuclear holocaust imagery and is quite intense. Also, it's 2 hours long, which I think is way too much for most small kids. Spirited Away is probably in that same level where she probably shouldn't see it for a few years, it's got some creepy stuff in it but nothing a kid who likes monsters and scary stuff wouldn't be able to handle.

I am a firm believer in watching things in the original language, unless they're dubbed in the first place, like any animated movie. If you don't understand any japanese you're not getting anything out of the vocal performances, all you can do is tell what sort of person the voice sounds like it's coming from and get a vague idea of the kind of inflections they're using, but you won't be able to tell what words they're stressing or what part of the words are being accentuated or have the cultural knowledge to know what it means, so it all seems rather pointless.

I listen to the japanese if the dub is bad. As far as Ghibli movies released by Disney go, I prefer the english on Totoro and Laputa and Nausicaa, but I prefer the japanese on Mononoke (Billy Bob is so awful he singlehandedly ruins the dub imo) and Kiki's (Phil Hartman's sarcastic cat is very, very at odds with the original intent of the movie). I can't remember what I thought of Ponyo, I think I watched that one in English and had no issues with the dubbing. I watched Spirited Away and Whisper of the Heart in Japanese the first time and haven't tried the dubs on them, they might be fine. The stuff released by lower budget studios is always better to listen to in Japanese cause they don't tend to get very good voice actors (ex, From Up On Poppy Hill).

I watch TONS of subtitled movies, but even with how many I do, I definitely think subtitles can detract from an animated movie if there's too much rapid-fire dialogue combined with images. Just try and watch the opening of Summer Wars with subtitles; you won't be able to catch a single thing on the screen cause there are just paragraphs of text covering everything and by the time you finish reading them it's onto the next image and you missed it.


----------



## asher

I try to do subs where possible. It's not that stuff is badly synced, it's that frequently the western voice actors suck, or don't but stick out like a sore thumb. Mononoke isn't awful, but Billy Bob sticks out and Claire Danes is pretty bad... Christian Bale is pretty meh in Howl, and Billy Crystal is good but is so obvious it really breaks the immersion for me. =/


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

asher said:


> I try to do subs where possible. It's not that stuff is badly synced, it's that frequently the western voice actors suck, or don't but stick out like a sore thumb. Mononoke isn't awful, but Billy Bob sticks out and Claire Danes is pretty bad... Christian Bale is pretty meh in Howl, and Billy Crystal is good but is so obvious it really breaks the immersion for me. =/


I second all this.

Let's not forget Jada Pinkett-Smith in Mononoke.

It's all these easily recognizable voices that should not be "voices" that ruin it. For me, Liam Neeson ruined Ponyo.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just finished watching _Boyhood_.

It was shot over a period of 12 years utilizing the same cast, and it is a coming-of-age story about a typical boy just going through life growing up. This film definitely does not deserve all the nominations and hype that it has received, and I personally found it boring as can be. (I do think that Ethan Hawke deserves an award for his role as the boy's biological father.) 

This film is also 100% dialogue-based and is extremely long with a rather abrupt ending (I guess that is what 12 years of work will do to you), but all my friends who study either communications or sociology definitely would benefit in watching this flick as you see all the dynamics of life exhibited as you (the viewer) partake in the life of the main character and share watching him grow. This film is an interesting thing to study, and as a college-age person, it provided a bit of a revelatory moment for me looking back in retrospect at my own life and experiences as a child up until the age I am now. (The film ends with the main character going off to college, putting him at around my age - which I guess just caused something to click in my head.)

I would very much like to hear opinions on this film from other people - those who are younger (college-age like me), older, in between, from different countries and cultures, etc. - anyone who could aid me in collecting different insights after viewing this film.


----------



## yingmin

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I second all this.
> 
> Let's not forget Jada Pinkett-Smith in Mononoke.
> 
> It's all these easily recognizable voices that should not be "voices" that ruin it. For me, Liam Neeson ruined Ponyo.



That's one of the great things about Japanese cartoons: there is an entire industry in Japan of people who do nothing but voice act, who are still big names like screen actors despite never appearing on screen. Disney adaptations of Ghibli movies (as well as at least a few of their "original" movies) just grab some actors who happen to be famous at the time, who may never have done voice acting ever before.


----------



## MFB

I watched Ponyo in English and found it perfectly watchable as a dub, particularly because Neeson was the only voice I recognized but he wasn't in a majority of it; and what he was in, he simply read his lines and didn't try to over do it as simply a voice.

Edit: just looked at the IMDB page for it, holy shit, I never caught Tina Fey as the mom OR Matt Damon as the dad. God damn.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

MFB said:


> Edit: just looked at the IMDB page for it, holy shit, I never caught Tina Fey as the mom OR Matt Damon as the dad. God damn.


Just checked the credits for the film as well now. Holy crap! More people I recognize!


----------



## synrgy

The only dub that really bothers me is for Spirited Away, and it's just the voice of Chohiro/Sen that does it. I feel like that girl shouted 90% of her dialogue at the top of her lungs. I can't help but expect one of the other characters to be like "DUDE. They heard you in CHINA. I'm standing RIGHT HERE. Calm the eff down."

I grant it to a point because it's more or less in-line with the character, but.. Still. It's an annoying distraction in what is otherwise a film both wonderful and beautiful.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Starting around the late 90s (Mononoke?), they started animating the film so that it would be suitable for either language (English or Japanese). There are times when it's actually _important_ to watch the dub. GitS:Innocence comes to mind -- you watch the sub, and it's "_read read read_"; you watch the dub, and it's a completely different movie -- all the literary references are just bon mots and there's a point when Batou actually _inflects_ when he realizes he's in the artifice.

Now, that said. Whoever did the voice for Yumi in the English language dub of Wasabi (a live action movie starring Jean Reno from 2001) just ruined it for me; when we switched over to the sub, she was much more palatable.


----------



## CrushingAnvil

_Clan of The White Lotus

Shogun Assassin

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_

I intend to watch some Jackie Chan movies soon also. I'm on a Kung Fu/martial arts/Fuedal era Japan binge.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

finally got to watch "the giver"...it was pretty good imho. infact its going in my personal collection.

but ive already had people say "the book is better!" lol...isnt that always the case? even if the book is 20+ years old. i guess i need to read it.


----------



## yingmin

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I mean, is the whole dub thing really that bad? I've seen some terrible English dubs; however, the English dubs that Studio Ghibli has integrated into their films so that they can be released overseas are absolutely spot-on and fitting.


Okay, here's the thing about dubs:

The big-picture problem of adapting any movie (or, really, any THING) for a foreign market is that, for the most part, "translation" is a myth. Words in one language that are supposedly equivalent to some word in another language will often have different connotations, and possibly a very different feel to native speakers of the other language. Many of the words and phrases a person uses are influenced by the culture in which they grew up, and thus would have little to no meaning to someone outside that culture. Really, even a lot of supposed synonyms within a single language have different connotations - or even entirely different meanings between cultures, as in the case of British vs. American English, for example - and express different ideas, so applying that across languages AND cultures can really muddle up the works.

Zoom in to movies specifically, and you have two options of communicating spoken dialogue: dubbing, and subtitling. There are still problems with subtitles, of course, as the dialogue won't always have a perfect equivalent in whatever language, etc., but there are many benefits: subtitling allows a certain amount of luxury, as the subtitles do not need to be synced perfectly to the original audio; subtitling is very democratic, as all it takes to subtitle a movie is time and patience; a given subtitler for any movie may focus on as near an exact translation of the dialogue as possible, or on simply making the movie easy to watch and sacrificing some of the clarity. No subtitles are perfect, and even with the best subtitles one is watching a somewhat compromised version of the movie, but they can still be good in a number of different ways.

Dubs, on the other hand, carry all the downsides of subtitles plus more. Since the dub now has to sync with the characters' lips, dialogue has to be teased out in some pretty ridiculous ways, leading to the Godzilla problem. Since a dub replaces the original voices, it also replaces the original PERFORMANCES, which can lead to a real disconnect between the source material and the dub in terms of the feel and personality of a character; as Wankerness points out, Phil Hartman's Jiji is a very different character from Rei Sakuma's. Doing a GOOD dub is orders of magnitude more time-consuming, difficult and expensive than subtitles, and even a good dub can have a massive impact on how the movie feels (and rarely in a good way).

Having said all that, though, dubs do have a distinct advantage over subtitles: without dubbing, my niece almost certainly wouldn't have sat through and enjoyed Kiki and Totoro.


----------



## Rosal76

Hero and the Terror (1988). Had to watch this to quench my 80's movies nostalgia. Chuck Norris is a police detective trying to catch a serial killer he caught years earlier. The serial killer is played by Jack O'Halloran who played Non in Superman (1978) and Superman 2 (1980). Pretty cool watching Chuck Norris trying to kick Non's ass.


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> Hero and the Terror (1988). Had to watch this to quench my 80's movies nostalgia. Chuck Norris is a police detective trying to catch a serial killer he caught years earlier. The serial killer is played by Jack O'Halloran who played Non in Superman (1978) and Superman 2 (1980). Pretty cool watching Chuck Norris trying to kick Non's ass.



Chuck Norris and Superman once fought each other on a bet. The loser had to start wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants.


----------



## Skyblue

CrushingAnvil said:


> _Clan of The White Lotus
> 
> Shogun Assassin
> 
> Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_
> 
> I intend to watch some Jackie Chan movies soon also. I'm on a Kung Fu/martial arts/Fuedal era Japan binge.



Best martial arts movie I've ever seen was The Raid (It's not strictly martial arts, but god fluffin' dammit, it's absolutely amazing)


----------



## wankerness

yingmin said:


> Dubs, on the other hand, carry all the downsides of subtitles plus more. Since the dub now has to sync with the characters' lips, dialogue has to be teased out in some pretty ridiculous ways, leading to the Godzilla problem. Since a dub replaces the original voices, it also replaces the original PERFORMANCES, which can lead to a real disconnect between the source material and the dub in terms of the feel and personality of a character; as Wankerness points out, Phil Hartman's Jiji is a very different character from Rei Sakuma's. Doing a GOOD dub is orders of magnitude more time-consuming, difficult and expensive than subtitles, and even a good dub can have a massive impact on how the movie feels (and rarely in a good way).
> 
> Having said all that, though, dubs do have a distinct advantage over subtitles: without dubbing, my niece almost certainly wouldn't have sat through and enjoyed Kiki and Totoro.



On top of this, some of the disney discs of these movies have subtitles that exactly match the dub scripts (these are scornfully labelled "dubtitles" by fans) and thus offer no superior translation to the dub. The blu-rays of Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky and especially Princess Mononoke and Pom Poko are infamous for this. Jokes get dropped, cultural subtext taken out, etc. In those cases, the only benefit to the subtitle over the dub is if you don't like the dubbed voices  The old DVDs of Kiki's and Mononoke have good subtitles, for some reason they took them off the recent re-releases.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Just watched Titanic for the first time in like +15 years. 

6-7yo me: "This movie is cool because the boat is sinking!" 
20yo me: *crying like a baby for the half of the time* 

Talk about growing up.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Fat-Elf said:


> Just watched Titanic for the first time in like +15 years.
> 
> 6-7yo me: "This movie is cool because the boat is sinking!"
> 20yo me: *crying like a baby for the half of the time*
> 
> Talk about growing up.


^ Me when I watched it on Valentine's Day last year. (Same age at the time too.)

And then while I working at one of my stores on Valentine's Day, the Celine Dion song somehow magically came on ONCE and ONLY ONCE in the annoying pop music rotation that they play overhead at stores (first time I ever heard it in a store actually).

Sing it with me, gents. "My heart will go on.....WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!"


----------



## wankerness

Whiplash - The climax of this movie is like if when Marty McFly started doing the Van Halen thing, he'd instead done it for 5 minutes, and everyone in the room had started cheering. It probably would have worked better with Prog Metal instead of Jazz.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

I still haven't seen Raid 2. Really need to order it on amazon soon. And Fury.

Watched Superbad again last night. Mostly because it happened to be on Comedy Central. Still funny.


----------



## monkeybike

Saw the teaser for the new Poltergeist remake, made me rewatch the original. Goofy but still awesome all these years later.


----------



## wankerness

The trailer makes the remake look way lower-rent than the original, I think it's all the tighter camera angles which make most of the scenes look like they were filmed in someone's dorm room instead of allowing any of the actors or sets to breathe. And then of course, all the jump scares are amped up to 10000 in sound terms cause it just wouldn't be scary otherwise. Just terrible. It might end up being OK, but that was one godawful trailer.


----------



## Skyblue

Just saw Lucky Number Slevin again with my brother. What a wonderful, fun film. Also, I forgot how hot Lucy Liu is


----------



## Duosphere

I Am Number Four (2011) - IMDb

It started pretty cool but then I felt like if I was watching Twilight but, instead of vampires it had aliens.Enemies are dumb and made me feel like if they were The 3..........6 or more Stooges, they don't sell at all the idea of killing bad aliens, they're a joke.It really could be a cool movie but they took the "teenage infantile and predictable boring road", effects are awesome....................just it.


----------



## chopeth

Duosphere said:


> I Am Number Four (2011) - IMDb
> 
> It started pretty cool but then I felt like if I was watching Twilight but, instead of vampires it had aliens.Enemies are dumb and made me feel like if they were The 3..........6 or more Stooges, they don't sell at all the idea of killing bad aliens, they're a joke.It really could be a cool movie but they took the "teenage infantile and predictable boring road", effects are awesome....................just it.



what a coincidence! That movie was TV a couple of hours ago. Unfortunately (or not, according to your analisis) I couldn't resist having a good Sunday siesta meanwhile.


----------



## Duosphere

chopeth said:


> what a coincidence! That movie was TV a couple of hours ago. Unfortunately (or not, according to your analisis) I couldn't resist having a good Sunday siesta meanwhile.



zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


----------



## chopeth

Have to admit I had a good time yesterday watching Nazi Zombies 2


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> Whiplash - The climax of this movie is like if when Marty McFly started doing the Van Halen thing, he'd instead done it for 5 minutes, and everyone in the room had started cheering. It probably would have worked better with Prog Metal instead of Jazz.


I was wondering about this movie. Saw a preview, and as a musician, it looked interesting. Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes praise it and say this film kills it, but reviews from friends and such have been "meh"...


----------



## BigBaldIan

Gåten Ragnarok - Glad I watched it with subtitles as the dubbed version was horrific. Special effects weren't too bad for a low budget movie. Also enjoyed the role reversal, with Pål Sverre Hagen being the somewhat practically inept archaeologist and Sofia Helin (The Bridge) as the ridiculously competent assistant.

Northmen - A Viking Saga - All the stab you could stabbity stab. Did I mention stabbing? There's also immolation and impalement if that takes your fancy. Pity Johan Hegg only has a cameo role in it, as he gets one of the best one-liners. Disengage brain and enjoy.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I was wondering about this movie. Saw a preview, and as a musician, it looked interesting. Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes praise it and say this film kills it, but reviews from friends and such have been "meh"...



Anyone that doesn't know anything about jazz seems to love it. If you approach it as a cartoony thriller it is fun.


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I was wondering about this movie. Saw a preview, and as a musician, it looked interesting. Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes praise it and say this film kills it, but reviews from friends and such have been "meh"...



It has nothing to do with Jazz or even music, it's about the sick relationship between teacher and student.You can make it with metal or pop, maybe a college archaeologist professor(Indiana Jones  ) and a student or even Yoda teaching Luke, what matters is their relationship.
It's like Saving Private Ryan, war is just the scenery for what they have to do which is saving Ryan, in Whiplash jazz(music) is just the scenery for their twisted relationship 
To me both actors were awesome cause I already saw so many twisted relationships in my friends bands, some were twisted beyond belief.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Well, just watched _Whiplash_. It was pretty darn good. The climax being the ten minute drum solo though...ehhh...I think the ending could've been done better. But I get why the director did it.



wankerness said:


> Anyone that doesn't know anything about jazz seems to love it. If you approach it as a cartoony thriller it is fun.


 I question this. Even some people I know who do know a thing or two about jazz seemed to dig it.


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

monkeybike said:


> Saw the teaser for the new Poltergeist remake, made me rewatch the original. Goofy but still awesome all these years later.



Didn't know they were doing a remake. Doesn't surprise me.

The original is still one of my all time favorites. First saw it when I was 5 or 6. I still hate clowns.


----------



## BigBaldIan

Duosphere said:


> It has nothing to do with Jazz or even music, it's about the sick relationship between teacher and student.You can make it with metal or pop, maybe a college archaeologist professor(Indiana Jones  ) and a student or even Yoda teaching Luke, what matters is their relationship.
> It's like Saving Private Ryan, war is just the scenery for what they have to do which is saving Ryan, in Whiplash jazz(music) is just the scenery for their twisted relationship
> To me both actors were awesome cause I already saw so many twisted relationships in my friends bands, some were twisted beyond belief.



Haven't seen Whiplash yet, however that might be one for a late night session when the other half has gone to bed as films like that aren't really her bag. Put it this way, she was annoyed at not finding out what was in the case in Ronin (had to explain the concept of a McGuffin and the whole film was really about the relationships of the team, especially De Niro/Reno).


----------



## Duosphere

BigBaldIan said:


> Haven't seen Whiplash yet, however that might be one for a late night session when the other half has gone to bed as films like that aren't really her bag. Put it this way, she was annoyed at not finding out what was in the case in Ronin (had to explain the concept of a McGuffin and the whole film was really about the relationships of the team, especially De Niro/Reno).



That's it.
I hate war movies but Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorites, it's not about war itself but something happening inside of it.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Well, just watched _Whiplash_. It was pretty darn good. The climax being the ten minute drum solo though...ehhh...I think the ending could've been done better. But I get why the director did it.
> 
> 
> I question this. Even some people I know who do know a thing or two about jazz seemed to dig it.



I guess all the legitimate jazz musicians I know hated it just for the outrageous way it portrayed jazz as being some kind of insane purely technical exercise where a bunch of superfast rolls for a while would dazzle audiences and where the directors are obsessed with computer-like precision and playing every single note as printed (when the majority of jazz scores for rhythm players in particular are very rarely even written out as more than a rough sketch with a lot of "fill time for X measures") etc. I hang out with too many jazz musicians and don't really know how undergrad music people who aren't heavy into jazz or are at the stage where they feel tyrannized by their instructors would think of it, they'd probably appreciate it. I mean, it's good that they're playing legitimate jazz charts and that the movie is somewhat musically literate (like, people look like they're actually playing the music, and the music being played corresponds to the notes on the scores that you can see on screen, and most of the terminology is accurate, etc). I guess those things are all things that should be taken for granted, but they really aren't at all. It's so rare that a movie bothers to get any of that stuff right.


----------



## yingmin

Duosphere said:


> It's like Saving Private Ryan, war is just the scenery for what they have to do which is saving Ryan





Duosphere said:


> That's it.
> I hate war movies but Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorites, it's not about war itself but something happening inside of it.



No offense, but if you think war was just a backdrop for Saving Private Ryan, I would say you really missed the point of the movie. If anything, Private Ryan himself was the MacGuffin. Maybe it's harder to see if you never served in the military yourself. I saw it with my dad (a Cold War navy pilot) when it was new in theaters, and a couple times I looked over at him and he was tearing up. I didn't really get it at the time, but having watched the movie a few times since I served myself, I definitely choke up during a few scenes. The movie is about so much more than trying to save one person; it's about the horrors of war without being a jaded, cynical protest like Platoon and Apocalypse Now; it's about personal courage and overcoming challenges without being jingoistic and triumphal like most of the classic war movies; more than anything, it's about the bonds that few things but military service and especially war can establish between people, the very human connection you feel with the man on your left and your right. While Saving Private Ryan is a very human drama, it is also VERY much about war.


----------



## Duosphere

yingmin said:


> No offense, but if you think war was just a backdrop for Saving Private Ryan, I would say you really missed the point of the movie. If anything, Private Ryan himself was the MacGuffin. Maybe it's harder to see if you never served in the military yourself. I saw it with my dad (a Cold War navy pilot) when it was new in theaters, and a couple times I looked over at him and he was tearing up. I didn't really get it at the time, but having watched the movie a few times since I served myself, I definitely choke up during a few scenes. The movie is about so much more than trying to save one person; it's about the horrors of war without being a jaded, cynical protest like Platoon and Apocalypse Now; it's about personal courage and overcoming challenges without being jingoistic and triumphal like most of the classic war movies; more than anything, it's about the bonds that few things but military service and especially war can establish between people, the very human connection you feel with the man on your left and your right. While Saving Private Ryan is a very human drama, it is also VERY much about war.



No offense at all, we are here to share opinions and have fun, there'd be no fun if we agreed about everything, tastes follow no rules, what's a masterpiece to one is crap to another one which means nobody is wrong or right.
You missed my point, I meant it's not a war movie like armies attacking themselves, it's about something happening inside of a war and not about war itself, war is just a scenery for the plot.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead -- that was outstanding -- picked up right where the first one left off, totally enjoyed.


----------



## chopeth

chopeth said:


> Have to admit I had a good time yesterday watching Nazi Zombies 2





Dusty Chalk said:


> Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead -- that was outstanding -- picked up right where the first one left off, totally enjoyed.



I forgot it's Dead Snow in English  I enjoyed it much more than the first


----------



## Alberto7

I went to watch _Jupiter Ascending_ a couple of days ago. What a wonderful and attractive idea, and what a rich universe that could span from it, only to be shat on by a terrible and predictive romance, a story full of loopholes, a pace that's too fast for its own good, and vomit-inducing camera work. Concerning the latter, I watched the film in Imax, and I nearly had a seizure after the first chase scene.

With that said, it was such a fun film and I'd totally watch it again, if only to see all of the different worlds and technologies that the Wachowskis came up with. I really enjoyed the visual aspect of it (save for a couple costumes).

There's also lots of room for a sequel, and gazillions of spin-offs and fanfics.


----------



## Duosphere

Alberto7 said:


> a pace that's too fast for its own good, and vomit-inducing camera work. Concerning the latter, I watched the film in Imax, and I nearly had a seizure after the first chase scene.



Hmm.......I can tell I'm going to love it, I love roller coasters and a sci fi roller coaster is paradise to me


----------



## Alberto7

^ If that's your thing, you're going to LOOOVE this.  I mean, Don't get me wrong, I like a good chase scene every now and again as well, but this film takes it too far for my tastes.


----------



## Duosphere

Alberto7 said:


> ^ If that's your thing, you're going to LOOOVE this.  I mean, Don't get me wrong, I like a good chase scene every now and again as well, but this film takes it too far for my tastes.



I already love it 
Damn sometimes all I want from a movie is a cool visual, you know when you got home in the middle of the night after a gig and just want to have fun while falling asleep.


----------



## Duosphere

Big Hero 6 Big Hero 6 (2014) - IMDb

Multipleorgasmtastic!

So much fun!


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Looking forward to .....................................er, Jupiter Ascending, that is.

Filth -- that was some seriously messed up. Totally worth my while.


----------



## Skyblue

Duosphere said:


> Big Hero 6 Big Hero 6 (2014) - IMDb
> 
> Multipleorgasmtastic!
> 
> So much fun!



Just saw it yesterday~ 

It was undoubtedly fun, and Baymax is awesome, but as a whole movie, it had quite a lot of plot holes, or just things I had to ignore in order to enjoy the movie (


Spoiler



Seriously, Hiro is not only a genius who can solve about half of the world's problems in one afternoon, but he also has unlimited access to machines and materials so he can build a complete set of superhero costumes with weapons and all in one afternoon?!


----------



## Duosphere

Skyblue said:


> Just saw it yesterday~
> 
> It was undoubtedly fun, and Baymax is awesome, but as a whole movie, it had quite a lot of plot holes, or just things I had to ignore in order to enjoy the movie (
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Seriously, Hiro is not only a genius who can solve about half of the world's problems in one afternoon, but he also has unlimited access to machines and materials so he can build a complete set of superhero costumes with weapons and all in one afternoon?!



I thought the same but.........it's a movie for kids so fantasy is the biggest ingredient there, there are no boundaries 
With Iron Man, they solved that problem using a billionaire


----------



## asher

Duosphere said:


> I thought the same but.........it's a movie for kids so fantasy is the biggest ingredient there, there are no boundaries
> With Iron Man, they solved that problem using a billionaire



And coming up with it so many decades ago when nobody cared


----------



## Duosphere

asher said:


> And coming up with it so many decades ago when nobody cared



What about mixing those 2 movies together, I mean Big Hero 6 characters(animations) in an Iron Man movie!
That would look super cool!


----------



## yingmin

Duosphere said:


> What about mixing those 2 movies together, I mean Big Hero 6 characters(animations) in an Iron Man movie!
> That would look super cool!



Why not? They're both Marvel.


----------



## Duosphere

yingmin said:


> Why not? They're both Marvel.



Let's call Marvel..........................hmm.................we need a contract


----------



## MFB

Just finished up watching Big Hero 6, I definitely wish I saw it in theaters. I also feel it winning Best Animated Movie was deserved.

Gah, I could watch it again, it was super enjoyable.


----------



## crg123

I watched Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal recently and I loved it. I went into it not expecting much.


----------



## Skyblue

Watched Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla. It wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't much of a good one either, to be honest... It really dragged on, and felt uninspired.


----------



## yingmin

Skyblue said:


> Watched Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla. It wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't much of a good one either, to be honest... It really dragged on, and felt uninspired.



I really didn't like it when I saw it. It followed his formula, but did it poorly, in my opinion. None of the characters were particularly likable, so you weren't really rooting for anybody, and I thought the plot was convoluted and ridiculous, even for a Guy Ritchie movie. It wasn't even really that fun.


----------



## pushpull7

Finished up "edge of tomorrow" 

Not bad, interesting concept.


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

pushpull7 said:


> Finished up "edge of tomorrow"
> 
> Not bad, interesting concept.



I really liked the show, even though the concept is pretty much Groundhog Day with mech suits and war.


----------



## naw38

Started watching Grave of The Fireflies last night. Couldn't finish it. I was about, half an hour in when I realised I'd be crying by the end, and you know what? .... that.

So I watched The Tale Of Princess Kaguya instead... Except it got real late and so I'm finishing it tonight. It's also pretty depressing, but in a different way, a way in which the main character might actually get out of her situation and not be depressing in the end. 

Here's hoping!


----------



## yingmin

naw38 said:


> Started watching Grave of The Fireflies last night. Couldn't finish it. I was about, half an hour in when I realised I'd be crying by the end, and you know what? .... that.



Jesus. That movie is so much sadder than you could even guess.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater

Saw "Birdman" over the weekend. The camera work and acting was great but as an entertaining story it fell miserably short for me...best picture nomination? Pompous and elitist judges is more likely the true scenario.


----------



## wankerness

VBCheeseGrater said:


> Saw "Birdman" over the weekend. The camera work and acting was great but as an entertaining story it fell miserably short for me...best picture nomination? *Pompous and elitist judges* is more likely the true scenario.



 Most really snobby critics hated Birdman for being an empty exercise in style, this is going to be looked back on like Crash as being the very opposite of pompous/elitist winner.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Fargo _for the first time in awhile last night.

The dialogue and dialect just make that film. Cracks me up every time!


----------



## naw38

yingmin said:


> Jesus. That movie is so much sadder than you could even guess.



I'll take your word for it, but I can kind of see where it was going. The idea of seeing a girl my daughters age die in war isn't really something I've much interest in seeing, to be honest. 

And as for Fargo... I've never seen it  Watched the TV show, which was obviously excellent, so I should probably get around to seeing the film.


----------



## wankerness

The show is great but the movie's one of my all-time favorites. I HATED it the first time I saw it when I thought it was just some kind of weird comedy that was incredibly mean-spirited and icky, but the second time I saw it as a very dark, serious thriller that happened to feature a bunch of people with outrageous accents and small-town minnesota personalities and thought it was a frickin masterpiece. Marge Gunderson is on a very short list of my favorite characters ever.


----------



## UnattendedGolfcart

yingmin said:


> I really didn't like it when I saw it. It followed his formula, but did it poorly, in my opinion. None of the characters were particularly likable, so you weren't really rooting for anybody, and I thought the plot was convoluted and ridiculous, even for a Guy Ritchie movie. It wasn't even really that fun.



Is he the same guy that did Snatch? Because one of my roommates had us all watch Snatch and RocknRolla and I preferred Snatch out of the two.

My girlfriend hadn't seen the original three Star Wars movies so this past week I rewatched all of them with her. I loved them even more watching them again for the first time in a couple of years. Return of the Jedi is still my favorite out of the three.


----------



## crg123

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Watched _Fargo _for the first time in awhile last night.
> 
> The dialogue and dialect just make that film. Cracks me up every time!



"Oh geez..."



You betcha!


----------



## yingmin

UnattendedGolfcart said:


> Is he the same guy that did Snatch? Because one of my roommates had us all watch Snatch and RocknRolla and I preferred Snatch out of the two.


Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which are both excellent, and quite easily identifiable as Guy Ritchie movies. As far as I'm concerned Layer Cake, while not a Guy Ritchie movie, was another unsuccessful attempt at recreating his style.



UnattendedGolfcart said:


> My girlfriend hadn't seen the original three Star Wars movies so this past week I rewatched all of them with her. I loved them even more watching them again for the first time in a couple of years. Return of the Jedi is still my favorite out of the three.



A year or two ago, neither my girlfriend nor my roommate had seen the original Star Wars movies, so I watched one movie a week with them. I made sure to show them the Despecialized versions, so that they were, to the extent possible, not polluted by George Lucas' terrible decisions.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> I HATED it the first time I saw it when I thought it was just some kind of weird comedy that was incredibly mean-spirited and icky, but the second time I saw it as a very dark, serious thriller that happened to feature a bunch of people with outrageous accents and small-town minnesota personalities and thought it was a frickin masterpiece. Marge Gunderson is on a very short list of my favorite characters ever.


Same here. 

The thing is.....people up that way (Minnesota up through Wisconsin) really talk like that.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Same here.
> 
> The thing is.....people up that way (Minnesota up through Wisconsin) really talk like that.



I live in small-town wisconsin and used to live in minneapolis, and like...only weird church moms and old dunderheads really talk like that. The scene where they're interviewing suspects about the guy being funny looking is dead-on for that certain type, but it's not even close to all the population. I'd say probably 15% of the population here has no accent (aka, the "west coast accent" that gets used in movies) and a lot more have a pretty minor version of that. The further you get into the sticks, the worse it gets. But cities are pretty mild. I did start noticing it a LOT more after I lived in Washington for a couple years and moved back to the midwest, but it's just like something that some people do. There's usually a direct correlation between stupid level and strength of accent.

I did encounter a hot girl a couple weeks ago who had a serious one, though, and it was so bad I involuntarily started doing it back at her cause my mind was so blown. She pronounced NO! DON'T! like NOWWAAHHH!!! DOHWAAAHHHNT!!!!


----------



## yingmin

Really, the setting is a character in Coen Brothers movies. If a movie like Fargo were set in a different time and place, it would be a completely different movie. This can occasionally come across as a mean caricature, but it can really be a lot of fun. The movies are often just as much about the people of a certain time and place as they are about the actual plot.


----------



## Alberto7

naw38 said:


> Started watching Grave of The Fireflies last night. Couldn't finish it. I was about, half an hour in when I realised I'd be crying by the end, and you know what? .... that.
> 
> So I watched The Tale Of Princess Kaguya instead... Except it got real late and so I'm finishing it tonight. It's also pretty depressing, but in a different way, a way in which the main character might actually get out of her situation and not be depressing in the end.
> 
> Here's hoping!



Aaaahh I've been meaning to somehow watch _The Tale of Princess Kaguya_ for the longest time now, but I never do. All I've seen is that 6-minute long extended trailer, and it looks beyond gorgeous. The art, animation, and sheer mood of the trailer got me hooked.

As for _Grave of the Fireflies_... I've always been afraid of watching it. I want to, but I'm afraid of it. 

---------

On a separate note, I watched _Kingsman: The Secret Service_ last week. All I would really need to say about this movie is: Manners Maketh Man... but, since it would be too cheesy to just leave it at that... goddamn it, did I have the time of my life watching that film! Some of my friends found it a little over the top, but I loved every bit of it and how ridiculous it was. That long-ass fight scene with the _Freebird_ guitar solo? Pure bliss. It felt to me like a Tarantino-ish take on a spy movie. I'm gonna go watch it again tonight and I am so long forward to it.


----------



## wankerness

Alberto7 said:


> Aaaahh I've been meaning to somehow watch _The Tale of Princess Kaguya_ for the longest time now, but I never do. All I've seen is that 6-minute long extended trailer, and it looks beyond gorgeous. The art, animation, and sheer mood of the trailer got me hooked.
> 
> As for _Grave of the Fireflies_... I've always been afraid of watching it. I want to, but I'm afraid of it.
> 
> ---------



Kaguya is not as good as the trailer had me believe. The trailer highlights the really, really stylized and stunning scene in the middle of the movie where she flees a stressful situation and the animation style totally changes to a much scratchier, charcoal-like image...unfortunately that style never happens again in the movie. The rest of it is still beautiful, but the trailer had me thinking it would be much more like that interlude.

The movie is overlong. Most of what's there is great and there's a really amazing 10/10 movie in there, it just has like 20-30 minutes of padding that could have been removed and improved the dramatic arc of the movie. Like, most of the stuff with the suitors contributes very little to the plot, until the sobering moment at the end of it, but yeah. I'd give it like an 8/10 overall. It's definitely worth seeing and it's really gorgeous visually and the general plot is beautiful and deeply melancholic (the flight scene towards the end is heartbreaking), but it has some chaff. I might like it more on repeat viewings or something.

Grave of the Fireflies should be seen by everyone. It's a really beautiful movie and the fact it's also incredibly sad shouldn't put anyone off unless you had a recent death in the family or something. It has several moments of pure visual poetry and not all of them are sad. It's probably the best animated movie I've seen and the relationship between the siblings is so damn moving. You're depriving yourself if you don't watch it. I just don't suggest watching it with anyone else around.


----------



## naw38

Yeah, I managed to finish Kaguya last night. I don't know if I missed something early on, but the whole moon thing seemed to come completely out of nowhere(like, I knew she had supernatural origins, but the moon? Okay, sure.), but it didn't detract from the film for me. 

But the whole ending, and really, the whole film from when she moves to the capital was absolutely heartbreaking. That poor little girl 

I'd elaborate, but I don't know how to use spoiler tags.


----------



## wankerness

It's a japanese folk tale and all the crazy stuff is in that, so I guess it's like if you played Cinderella to a non-western audience ("a pumpkin that turns into a coach? WTF WERE THEY SMOKING?!"). It's a VERY japanese movie, much more so than the miyazaki movies usually are.


----------



## naw38

Oh, I fully understand that, but up until that point, the film had seemed relatively grounded in reality. I suppose that it was book ended in the supernatural, and I really should have seen it coming. 

Also started watching it in English with my daughter... We got up to about halfway through, and our conversation went along the lines of...

Ophelia: whys she doing that? 
Me: cause she's sad.
Ophelia: whys she doing that? 
Me: cause she's sad.
Ophelia: is everything she does because she's sad?
Me: pretty much.


----------



## pushpull7

"Devil's Due"

Small spoiler alert: 

Started out ok but with about 30 minutes left just got lame (kinda funny though they way they try so hard make things that are stupid scary)


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just watched _The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo_, the 2011 American adaptation directed by David Fincher, for the first time. Truly entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Now I'm bummed because Sony is probably not going to make the other two installments of the series into films with David Fincher as the director with Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig as the two lead roles. 

Source: Rooney Mara Says 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' Sequel is Dead | FirstShowing.net

Anyway, I might watch the original Swedish film adaptations of the series now. See how interesting they are.


----------



## wankerness

The first one is about equal to the David Fincher version. I greatly prefer Noomi Rapace's version of the character to Rooney Mara's. She's like a solid, unflappable, angry looking woman instead of the creepy waif that Rooney Mara plays her as. The two sequels are really bad and incoherent unless you watch the extended TV versions.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> The first one is about equal to the David Fincher version. I greatly prefer Noomi Rapace's version of the character to Rooney Mara's. She's like a solid, unflappable, angry looking woman instead of the creepy waif that Rooney Mara plays her as. The two sequels are really bad and incoherent unless you watch the extended TV versions.


Darn, so I have heard. You know something is up when a book/film dealing with brutal violence, sex, and such has an "extended TV version" (when usually the TV versions are shorter due to being cut or censored).


----------



## wankerness

Well, they're swedish TV versions so they're not censored. I think they were TV movies first and then they chopped them down to try to give them a theatrical release.

EDIT: here's a description of their genesis:



> Between the years 2009 and 2010, the trilogy was made into three movies. It is a Swedis-Danish-German co-production and all the actors speak Swedish. Intentionally it was planned to become a 6-episode TV miniseries (2x 90 min per book) but then it was decided to release all three parts in the theatres in a shorter version. Even though the movies all have a run time of more than 2 hours, every movie misses about 30 minutes of footage that didn't make it into the movie but would have been shown on TV.
> 
> As early as June 2010, these longer TV versions were aired on Swedish televison. Yet still, it is possible to make a movie-censorship report about it - the TV versions have been released on DVD in the Netherlands (with a little label on the cover that says "Extended Version"). Because of the length, the movie was split in half and put on two DVDs.
> 
> 
> Just as usual, an American remake of the movie is already planned: Director David Fincher plans to release the first in 2011. Daniel Craig will take the part of journalist Mikael Blomkvist, Rooney Mara (Nightmare On Elm Street 2010) will be Lisbeth Salander.



Part 2 is 55 minutes longer, and part 3 is 35 minutes longer in the extended version.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> I greatly prefer Noomi Rapace's version of the character to Rooney Mara's. She's like a solid, unflappable, angry looking woman instead of the creepy waif that Rooney Mara plays her as.


 I do really dig Rooney Mara's portrayal of the lead character as a recluse though. I mean, sure it's creepy at times, but think from a psychological standpoint about how a rape survivor would act (especially whom who perhaps was raped multiple times - and who was had severe psychological trauma and has been declared as "insane" or "incompetent"). Pretty sure a female rape survivor would shut down quite a bit - at least when I compare the role to those whom I know personally who have suffered quite a trauma. Not turn into this "it made me stronger" sort of solid, angry, pissed-looking folks...unless they are out for revenge (i.e. _I Spit On Your Grave_). One thing I don't really get in the book is that she is raped, fears the hands of men on her, then immediately jumps on Blomkvist...weird...


----------



## wankerness

It's refreshing to get a character who views a rape as something bad that happens to her, but not something that she'll let destroy her sense of self or sexuality. It's would be hypocritical to try and present a strong feminist character whose life is immediately destroyed by the power of some fat guy's dick. Her revenge is great. The character's take on sexuality is also outside of the norm in hollywood since sex is just like, some fun thing to do that doesn't have to come with any baggage at all. This is a normal attitude in Sweden, but you almost never see it in the US, especially in movies. It always seems to have to either lead to romance or be used as a kind of self-destructive behavior.

Rooney Mara's very good in the role, it's just a very different take on the character and I preferred the Noomi Rapace version. To her credit, Rooney Mara didn't even remotely try and recreate that version. They're both very quiet recluse types, Noomi's just more compact and tough while Rooney Mara is waifish and kinda androgynous and creepy-looking.


----------



## Skyblue

Fun fact about the american version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! 

(spoiler'd just in case) 



Spoiler



Actor Yorick van Wageningen who played Bjurman, locked himself in his hotel room and cried for a whole day after filming the rape scene with Rooney Mara.



Trust David Fincher to have light, easy films


----------



## crg123

So I decided to watch Dead Snow 2: Red versus Dead with my friend. I wasn't expecting much since I thought the first one was only sort of amusing (I'm a B-movie lover).

But holy shit. That movie was entertaining on every level. Highly recommended for people who enjoy ridiculous films.

Another great/terrible movie is Sci-fi's Ragin Cajun Redneck Gators. The CGI is beautiful. I have no idea how it can look so bad in this day in age. The acting is A+ too hahahah.


----------



## Duosphere

crg123 said:


> The CGI is beautiful. I have no idea how it can look so bad in this day in age.



Everything Asylum makes have "awesome" CGI, even 10 years old kids could do it better


----------



## yingmin

crg123 said:


> Another great/terrible movie is Sci-fi's Ragin Cajun Redneck Gators. The CGI is beautiful. I have no idea how it can look so bad in this day in age.


Because good CGI requires money, which studios like this either don't have or aren't willing to invest. And since, sadly, there's also a market for incredibly bad movies, there's really no incentive for them to improve, either.


----------



## Duosphere

yingmin said:


> Because good CGI requires money, which studios like this either don't have or aren't willing to invest.



Agreed but still there's a big difference in having the best CGI ever and the worst.They don't have money to have the best CGI but for God sake at least have something a little better than the worst CGI ever 
What's the point in making a movie that depends 100% on effects if your effects are the worst, I mean story and acting are terrible so at least effects should be something acceptable but......................they're not.
There are movies which effects are crap but you can see a good story or a good idea so you forget about effects cause clearly it was a money problem, some are really fun to watch but it's the opposite with those movies we're talking about, they're not bad movies they're just..........nothing.


----------



## Skyblue

Just saw Birdman. I heard quite a lot of bad reviews about it, but honestly I thought it was great. Edward Norton is absolutely amazing. 

Also, saw The Voices yesterday. F'cked up, yet awesome


----------



## Dan_Vacant

I've been watching exploitation films recently cause there is a girl I've been crushing on and she'S into them.


----------



## wankerness

Dan_Vacant said:


> I've been watching exploitation films recently cause there is a girl I've been crushing on and she'S into them.



Like what?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> Like what?


^ I second this. During my senior year of high school and freshman year of college, I watched some of the most infamous exploitation films...some of the most messed up stuff (cinema stuff at least) that I could find.

Let's see if anything has changed...


----------



## wankerness

What are you using as a definition of exploitation films? Everything from Reefer Madness to The Good the Bad and the Ugly to Cannibal Holocaust to Pink Flamingos to Mondo Cane is considered an exploitation film. It's kind of a blanket term for a ton of incredibly varied low-budget genres, everything from zombie flicks to spaghetti westerns to rape/revenge movies.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Round 2 with _Gone Girl_.

Still a phenomenal flick. But sadly, it's lost that ultimate "WTF?!?!" factor that hit so hard the first time I saw it and stayed up until like 1-2AM watching it.


----------



## pushpull7

"The Purge: Anarchy"

Way better than I thought it would be. MUCH better than the first one (which I think sucked)


----------



## asher

Don't think I've ever heard of spaghetti westerns being called exploitation films 

I mean, I guess I can see the argument about 'exploiting' other places for way lower costs, but I feel like that also requires treating those people like garbage. I've usually just heard it in reference to blacksploitation, so much much more about the actual content of the film.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater

I got about halfway through _Nightcrawler_. I was expecting a masterpiece based on the reviews. Got boring quick. Maybe I turned it off just before it got good?


----------



## wankerness

VBCheeseGrater said:


> I got about halfway through _Nightcrawler_. I was expecting a masterpiece based on the reviews. Got boring quick. Maybe I turned it off just before it got good?



It's good the whole way through but rises in tension majorly as it goes on. If you somehow managed to not like it by then you probably never would have. You are also a very bad person.


----------



## wankerness

asher said:


> Don't think I've ever heard of spaghetti westerns being called exploitation films
> 
> I mean, I guess I can see the argument about 'exploiting' other places for way lower costs, but I feel like that also requires treating those people like garbage. I've usually just heard it in reference to blacksploitation, so much much more about the actual content of the film.



Exploitation film means exploiting current popular trends for low money, it doesn't mean anyone IN the movie was exploited! If you were using that definition then you'd be limited mainly to italian cannibal movies that abused the amazonian natives, mondo movies which went around poor countries filming real violence, and a lot of porn. Ex, blacksploitation movies aren't called that cause they were racist and taking advantage of the actors, they're called that cause they were all cheap movies starring black people and trying to cash in on a fad started by Sweet Sweetback and Shaft. Plenty of them were made by black people and it's not like most of the ones that weren't were made by racists, haha. So yeah, there's a ton of subgenres which were basically just rushes on fads, usually sparked by some cheap movie that hit it big, ex A Fistful of Dollars, Cannibal Holocaust, Zombi, Truck Turner, Ilsa She-Wolf of the SS, Last House on the Left, Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Halloween, etc. Many of them are very lurid but they don't have to be.

The wikipedia article is decent:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_film


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> If you were using that definition then you'd be limited mainly to italian cannibal movies that abused the amazonian natives, mondo movies which went around poor countries filming real violence, and a lot of porn.


^ This brings back some freaky yet good memories...


----------



## pushpull7

"universal soldier: day of reckoning"

Just awful. I feel so filthy after seeing it. Pure trash.


----------



## Skyblue

Watched Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. 

I really liked it, but I figured I would considering I loved the book.


----------



## pushpull7

Meh, another dud.

The original "casino royale" 

I'm sorry. I just don't understand "throw a bunch of really popular actors together and make it incredibly stupid so that it doesn't make any sense and isn't a good spoof of other James Bond" and that makes a funny movie. 

Apparently, I'm in the minority.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Birdman_

How in the hell did this win the Oscar for Best Picture? The premise sucks, the acting is beyond mediocre, and the only thing that I would consider amazing is that almost all of the film (minus the edited segment in the beginning and the edited segment after he blew his nose off) was all filmed in a continuous, single shot. Outstanding technique. The main character was a fading Hollywood actor who struggled to settle on Broadway.....seems like this film should've faded from Hollywood and should've instead been a Broadway production itself.

Why did the main character hallucinate so much (hearing the voice of Birdman) and imagine himself performing levitation and telekinesis though? That could've at least been explained. And what happened in the end? That could've at least been explained as well.


----------



## wankerness

pushpull7 said:


> Meh, another dud.
> 
> The original "casino royale"
> 
> I'm sorry. I just don't understand "throw a bunch of really popular actors together and make it incredibly stupid so that it doesn't make any sense and isn't a good spoof of other James Bond" and that makes a funny movie.
> 
> Apparently, I'm in the minority.



I watched this movie yesterday, too! Wow. I wrote a plot summary that functions well as a review (and also contains spoilers, cause you just know someone would get mad about this, even though the movie is almost completely incoherent, anything but plot driven, and really old):

CASINO ROYALE: 1967: 6/10

The opening credits are animated in the style of Monty Python and forebodingly show the lead actors dressed as angels plucking harps.

James Bond's estate is destroyed with two massive explosions to lure him out of retirement. He goes to a Scottish estate populated by teenage girls who attempt to seduce him and burly men in kilts who lose to him in a bowling ball throwing contest. Deborah Kerr helps him destroy a cadre of evil female SMERSH agents with their own explosive grouse robot.

Barbara Bouchet as Moneypenny recruits an agent to destroy SMERSH by having relations with him and then training him to resist women. This man is never mentioned again.

Peter Sellers sleepwalks through the movie, leaving no impression whatsoever. His expertise in baccarat is unmatched. Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd recruits him with her body and the song "The Look of Love." Vesper makes him dress up as Hitler, Napoleon and Toulouse LauTrec for a private photo shoot.

James Bond's daughter Mata Bond gives an extended dance routine. She attends the Mata Hari School of Dancing in Germany which is built out of expressionist sets left over from Cabinet of Dr Caligari.

Woody Allen (as Jimmy Bond, James's screw-up nephew) escapes a firing squad in central america via lines from his stand-up.

War footage is projected on a screen, to which an American excitedly shouts HEY, IT'S WAR! A manhole is lifted up and "What's New .....cat" emanates from the sewer. Orson Welles as Le Chiffre stops the movie to do magic tricks. Le Chiffre attempts to obliterate Bond via hallucinations of Scottish marching bands.

"Pardon me, are you Richard Burton?"
"No, I'm Peter O'Toole."
"Then you are the finest man that ever breathed!"

Vesper Lynd saves him by massacring all four bands with a bagpipe machine gun.

Mata Bond is kidnapped by a Royal Guard on horseback and carried into a flying saucer, which takes her to Dr. Noah's hidden base under the island from King Kong Escapes.

Moneypenny (in the flimsiest dress/nightie combo imaginable) and Bond are trapped in a green-lit zebra print torture chamber of Dr. Noah, who is actually Jimmy Bond.

James Bond is directed to Jimmy's lab by Frankenstein's monster.

Cowboys invade as sea lions attack each other. Jimmy swallows a nuclear bomb and his animated hiccups count down to the apocalypse. Native Americans parachute in. Bubbles are everywhere. Jimmy explodes in a nuclear holocaust. 6 people go to heaven, Jimmy burns in hell for eternity, and the hundreds of others are nowhere to be seen.

The film has a complex circular structure ala Don't Look Now, with the cast shown as dead in the opening credits and the entire film being a surreal acid flashback to the end in which they die and the opening credits start again.



Overall, I'd highly recommend it just for those unlucky souls who don't know who Barbara Bouchet is. However, you'd be much, much better off watching Calibre 9, or Don't Torture a Duckling, or Black Belly of the Tarantula, or Amuck. Woody Allen is legitimately funny in it, too, but that's because he re-wrote his scenes because he didn't want to be embarrassed (he refused the offers to "let" him fix the rest of the script as well).


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _Birdman_
> the only thing that I would consider amazing is that almost all of the film (minus the edited segment in the beginning and the edited segment after he blew his nose off) was all filmed in a continuous, single shot. Outstanding technique.



It's made up of a ton of shots that were blended together with computers to give the impression of one long shot. It most definitely was not one long shot, or even on the level of Hitchcock's "Rope" (where the takes were as long as film reels and clumsily bridged). It's certainly got a lot of long shots in it but probably nothing that would break any records. If you want to see a legitimate long shot watch Russian Ark.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> It's made up of a ton of shots that were blended together with computers to give the impression of one long shot. It most definitely was not one long shot, or even on the level of Hitchcock's "Rope" (where the takes were as long as film reels and clumsily bridged). It's certainly got a lot of long shots in it but probably nothing that would break any records. If you want to see a legitimate long shot watch Russian Ark.


Double checking myself on this. It's not a "ton" of shots. Read some articles/interviews and check out the special features on _Birdman_. Those cuts had to be ridiculous because I seriously did not notice them.

http://www.slashfilm.com/video-how-birdman-single-shot/

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Birdman-Made-Up-One-Continuous-Sequence-43541.html


----------



## wankerness

> Alejandro G. Inarritu's Birdman pulls off one of the great cinematic magic tricks of all time. The entire 119-minute movie &#8212; about a fading movie actor, played by Michael Keaton, trying to jump-start his career by appearing on the Broadway stage &#8212; looks as if it were shot in one extended take. Of course, that would have been impossible. However, Inarritu, determined to maintain the illusion behind the $18 million film, has instructed his editors not to discuss how long each individual take was and how many cuts, in some cases disguised by ingenious visual effects, were stitched together to make it appear seamless.
> 
> But his cinematographer, Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki, 50, who won an Oscar in March for Gravity, *reveals to THR that the longest take in Birdman actually lasts about 15 minutes, and most are in the 10-minute range.*



That's longer than I'd have guessed, but there are certainly plenty of shorter than ten minute ones too. It's just full of so many radical time and lens changes that it's obviously made up of various shots. It was certainly not a simple effort to erase cuts in a computer, but to shoot the same set from the same position and then fix the lighting discrepancies and smooth the thing out with CGI as necessary certainly isn't stretching the limits of today's technology. It was just a clever idea very well-executed. Also kind of annoying.


----------



## pushpull7

wankerness said:


> I watched this movie yesterday, too! Wow. I wrote a plot summary that functions well as a review (and also contains spoilers, cause you just know someone would get mad about this, even though the movie is almost completely incoherent, anything but plot driven, and really old):
> 
> CASINO ROYALE: 1967: 6/10
> 
> The opening credits are animated in the style of Monty Python and forebodingly show the lead actors dressed as angels plucking harps.
> 
> James Bond's estate is destroyed with two massive explosions to lure him out of retirement. He goes to a Scottish estate populated by teenage girls who attempt to seduce him and burly men in kilts who lose to him in a bowling ball throwing contest. Deborah Kerr helps him destroy a cadre of evil female SMERSH agents with their own explosive grouse robot.
> 
> Barbara Bouchet as Moneypenny recruits an agent to destroy SMERSH by having relations with him and then training him to resist women. This man is never mentioned again.
> 
> Peter Sellers sleepwalks through the movie, leaving no impression whatsoever. His expertise in baccarat is unmatched. Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd recruits him with her body and the song "The Look of Love." Vesper makes him dress up as Hitler, Napoleon and Toulouse LauTrec for a private photo shoot.
> 
> James Bond's daughter Mata Bond gives an extended dance routine. She attends the Mata Hari School of Dancing in Germany which is built out of expressionist sets left over from Cabinet of Dr Caligari.
> 
> Woody Allen (as Jimmy Bond, James's screw-up nephew) escapes a firing squad in central america via lines from his stand-up.
> 
> War footage is projected on a screen, to which an American excitedly shouts HEY, IT'S WAR! A manhole is lifted up and "What's New .....cat" emanates from the sewer. Orson Welles as Le Chiffre stops the movie to do magic tricks. Le Chiffre attempts to obliterate Bond via hallucinations of Scottish marching bands.
> 
> "Pardon me, are you Richard Burton?"
> "No, I'm Peter O'Toole."
> "Then you are the finest man that ever breathed!"
> 
> Vesper Lynd saves him by massacring all four bands with a bagpipe machine gun.
> 
> Mata Bond is kidnapped by a Royal Guard on horseback and carried into a flying saucer, which takes her to Dr. Noah's hidden base under the island from King Kong Escapes.
> 
> Moneypenny (in the flimsiest dress/nightie combo imaginable) and Bond are trapped in a green-lit zebra print torture chamber of Dr. Noah, who is actually Jimmy Bond.
> 
> James Bond is directed to Jimmy's lab by Frankenstein's monster.
> 
> Cowboys invade as sea lions attack each other. Jimmy swallows a nuclear bomb and his animated hiccups count down to the apocalypse. Native Americans parachute in. Bubbles are everywhere. Jimmy explodes in a nuclear holocaust. 6 people go to heaven, Jimmy burns in hell for eternity, and the hundreds of others are nowhere to be seen.
> 
> The film has a complex circular structure ala Don't Look Now, with the cast shown as dead in the opening credits and the entire film being a surreal acid flashback to the end in which they die and the opening credits start again.
> 
> 
> 
> Overall, I'd highly recommend it just for those unlucky souls who don't know who Barbara Bouchet is. However, you'd be much, much better off watching Calibre 9, or Don't Torture a Duckling, or Black Belly of the Tarantula, or Amuck. Woody Allen is legitimately funny in it, too, but that's because he re-wrote his scenes because he didn't want to be embarrassed (he refused the offers to "let" him fix the rest of the script as well).



It's not that there are not any good parts (in the beginning it's quite intriguing) but it's like they are spoofing spoofing  Everything is so "inside" there is no real joy. Yea, some of the babes look good. As opposed to "real" Bond films where the babes look good?  They should have made one of the more aggressive ones ugly......that would have been interesting.


----------



## wankerness

Barbara Bouchet is at least twice as attractive as anyone in any of the legit Bond movies, but I'm glad she never was in any because she was extremely European and spends most of her other movies fully naked. Her career would have been far less interesting if she'd been picked up by Hollywood. 

I don't totally follow your comments but I think you might have picked up on the same thing that I did, where the movie's seems to be just kind of desperately flailing around trying to land jokes, but no one who wrote the script seems to understand comedy. Thus it's a wild collection of nonsense scenes and constant jokes where most of them miss and the ones that work seem like almost an accident. Besides Woody Allen, of course, since he wrote his own scenes.


----------



## Entropy Prevails

I´ve recently watched Mad Max 2 with a friend. I didn´t see the first one because I had the impression that it wasn´t necessary but man this movie is weird. It doesn´t hold up well in my opinion. The action scenes while impressive for their time didn´t make much sense and neither did the plot. 
Maybe seeing the first one would offer some context but right now I wouldn´t recommend it further.


----------



## wankerness

Mad Max 2 is one of the best action movies ever, and stands alone from the first completely. There's really nothing about the first movie that's required for understanding the second, the prologue is crystal clear and his character's pretty much just a lone gunman/samurai type with little personality since that's the archetype. The movie was sold as "The Road Warrior" on its theatrical release in the US since no one here saw Mad Max (it was a hit all over the rest of the world), and it was a pretty big hit here despite most people not even knowing it was a sequel.

I don't know what you could have found hard to follow about the plot unless you either can't understand australian accents or missed the prologue. 

If you didn't like the second, you definitely will not like the first, since it's about 1/5 as audacious.


----------



## Entropy Prevails

I didn´t say that I couldn´t follow the plot. I said that it didn´t make sense and neither did some of the action scenes. 
But whatever maybe the new one I´ll like better.


----------



## Duosphere

Robot Overlords - 2014 Robot Overlords (2014) - IMDb

Garbage.


----------



## yingmin

The original Mad Max is almost completely nonsensical. I've been holding out hope that the other two are better, but haven't seen them yet.


----------



## wankerness

yingmin said:


> The original Mad Max is almost completely nonsensical. I've been holding out hope that the other two are better, but haven't seen them yet.



The second and third are huge landmarks in sci-fi/action, they have very little in common with the first one which is more just a gritty action/revenge movie with very subtle sci-fi elements. Tons and tons of movies and videogames have ripped off The Road Warrior and Thunderdome to a great degree. They're masterpieces of world building, especially with the costume and vehicle design, and the action setpieces put anything in the first movie to shame (thanks to the much higher budgets and the director learning more every movie). Even if you hated the first you should at least check out the second. The third is more divisive cause the second half of it focuses on a lost boys (as in Peter Pan)-ish tribe and a lot of people think that sucks. I think it's very good if not quite as intense as The Road Warrior.


----------



## pushpull7

DOC.......

"Going Clear" scientology doc..........

I'm ....ing scared! Seriously, that is just total scary ..... I think this is anti-christ central.


----------



## pushpull7

"The Signal"

I guess most people didn't like it but I thought it was entertaining.


----------



## Skyblue

Tried watching "Inherent Vice". So far I gave up halfway, it just feels like there's no plot going on, and I barely have a clue what's going on, and not in the good "mindf_ck" kind of way. Maybe I'll try again in a day or two.


----------



## Duosphere

Last Nights 2015 - Last Knights (2015) - IMDb

If you never watched a movie about knights and honor, it's a good one.If you watched skip it cause it brings absolutely nothing new or different.


----------



## Demiurge

pushpull7 said:


> DOC.......
> 
> "Going Clear" scientology doc..........
> 
> I'm ....ing scared! Seriously, that is just total scary ..... I think this is anti-christ central.



Definitely an alarming documentary. Maybe there is some VIP flattery/treatment the A-list celebrities get, but otherwise I can't understand how anyone would get involved with that group.

For some weird reason, I decided to watch it back-to-back with Mulholland Drive (which had its own weird Hollywood-conspiracy underpinnings)- had some weird dreams that night.


----------



## Alberto7

Just finished watching _Ip Man_ (the 2008 film). Hands down the best martial arts film I've seen, if only because it's based around actual events and real styles of martial arts. The karate nerd in me was going all "I KNOW THAT STANCE" every other shot.  Pretty solid plot and development, even if the pacing was weird at points and a couple of time skips felt a little off.

Now, on to watching the other three _Ip Man _movies! 

EDIT: Disclaimer: I actually haven't seen that many martial arts films.  So take my claim with a grain of salt. I still really enjoyed it though.


----------



## bostjan

I just saw the Irish film "Stitches." Perfect blend of camp humour and slasher gore, IMO.


----------



## Alberto7

Watched _Ip Man 2_ and, while it was good and very entertaining, I didn't think it was as good and/or interesting as the first one. It felt like a more stereotypical martial arts film aimed at the masses. Still though, very good film.

Also, as part of my Asian-film spree, I watched _13 Assassins_. Really great first and second acts, but, as much as I liked the (pretty unbealivable, 40-something-minute long) fight scenes, I liked the dialogue and mood of the first half of the movie better. Awesome and super entertaining samurai movie; one of the best in the genre that I've seen.


----------



## Steinmetzify

Hit Furious Seven last night. 

These movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. I know they'll never win Oscars and that's not why I watch them. Fast cars, explosions, a strong sense of family between the characters and actors....inside forehead jokes, one liners, the interplay between Chris Bridges and Tyrese always cracks me up. I've liked them all, even Tokyo Drift.

Ending for Seven broke me up. I've been watching these for almost 15 years now; these people are as close to family as a movie cast will ever get for me. I watched them start out young, be criminals, reform, get married, have babies, bury a friend, be full of wonder when it was revealed that she was still alive, watch them help her try to recover her memory...all of it. 

Was weird to me to get emotional about something like this, but I did, and so did my wife and daughter...my wife watched them all with me numerous times and they've been playing in our house the entire time our daughter was growing up. She was 2 when they started; she's 15 now and knows all the lines and no matter what she was doing, she'd always sit down with me and watch whenever she walked in and one was on....so it's not just about the movies, it's about our family too. 

Watching these people say goodbye to their friend onscreen and knowing they had to do it in real life too was rough for all of us. 

I don't know if they'll continue this series or not, but even if they do I don't know if I'll watch. It won't be the same without him.


----------



## pushpull7

I made it through about 5 minutes of "22 jump street"

People should have to be given substantial dollar figures to watch something like that.


----------



## wankerness

pushpull7 said:


> I made it through about 5 minutes of "22 jump street"
> 
> People should have to be given substantial dollar figures to watch something like that.



I thought it was the funniest comedy of last year, besides maybe the same guys' "Lego Movie." Tons of jokes were great, the end credits in particular.


----------



## pushpull7

"Sound City" (for like the millionth time) and it was as enjoyable as the first 999,999.


----------



## pushpull7

On a "die hard" kick. The first three were fab.


----------



## Rosal76

pushpull7 said:


> On a "die hard" kick. The first three were fab.





Robert Patrick as O'Reilly in Die hard 2. Limited screen time but still badass.


----------



## MFB

pushpull7 said:


> I made it through about 5 minutes of "22 jump street"
> 
> People should have to be given substantial dollar figures to watch something like that.



I watched that for the first time today and thought it was just as good - if not better - than the original.


----------



## pushpull7

I don't know what the original was, but I found the characters completely uninteresting and most importantly, not funny.


----------



## wankerness

pushpull7 said:


> I don't know what the original was, but I found the characters completely uninteresting and most importantly, not funny.



Well, you heard it here first, folks. If you don't know it's a sequel and you only watch 5 minutes of it, it's bad.


----------



## Alberto7

Watched both _How To Train Your Dragon_ films... they are some of the most interesting and gorgeous CG-animated movies I've seen. _Big Hero 6_ was up there among the best CGI animated movies I've seen, but HTTYD had it beat, especially the first one. Toothless is too goddamn cute/badass.

EDIT: fun trivia: Jay Baruchel (Hiccup's voice actor) lives in my neighborhood lel *stalking intensifies*


----------



## pushpull7

"Serenity" for the 30th time.....

So amazing. Great characters, very interesting storyline, the whole "old west meets sci fi" is visually and sonically interesting. The TV show was a cult classic nobody can get enough of......so of course the film didn't do well, which means of course there was no number "2"



Joss Whedon....some brilliant stuff (though "dollhouse" was....well.....ok kinda.....weird in a wtf kinda way)


----------



## Duosphere

Fury 2014 - Fury (2014) - IMDb

Technically it's perfect but..............again the same cliche light is good/dark is evil, handsome blue eyed white man can do whatever he needs to do and everybody will love him no matter what, ugly guys are bad and act like crazy animals, a handsome blue eyed white man shots an UGLY natzi man on his knees = awesome, even better he had Brad Pitt(another handsome blue eyed white man) teaching him to do that and everybody feel sorry for them, put some ugly guys doing that and the reaction would be really different.A Mexican ugly looking guy put his body over a grenade to save his friends = people couldn't care less, they only comment that poor "handsome blue eyed white man" had to shoot that natzi.
Yep natzis deserve to die but still the problem is the crap cliche of beautiful is good/ugly is evil, sorry I can't accept that.
Oh, and German beautiful girl has her home invaded by handsome blue eyed white man soldier who plays the piano, she falls in love with her INVADOR and makes love......  what if that ugly Mexican looking guy was the invador playing the piano?
Again I can't accept that crap


----------



## asher

Alberto7 said:


> Watched both _How To Train Your Dragon_ films... they are some of the most interesting and gorgeous CG-animated movies I've seen. _Big Hero 6_ was up there among the best CGI animated movies I've seen, but HTTYD had it beat, especially the first one. Toothless is too goddamn cute/badass.
> 
> EDIT: fun trivia: Jay Baruchel (Hiccup's voice actor) lives in my neighborhood lel *stalking intensifies*



I haven't seen 2, but HTTYD was so much better than Big Hero 6 IMO. It felt fresh and clever in a way that Big Hero really didn't to me, even though I certainly enjoyed seeing watching it.

ed: Serenity was a swan song. It was closure for the show. I don't think there was ever a chance of there being another.


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> Fury 2014 - Fury (2014) - IMDb
> 
> Technically it's perfect but..............again the same cliche light is good/dark is evil, handsome blue eyed white man can do whatever he needs to do and everybody will love him no matter what, ugly guys are bad and act like crazy animals, a handsome blue eyed white man shots an UGLY natzi man on his knees = awesome, even better he had Brad Pitt(another handsome blue eyed white man) teaching him to do that and everybody feel sorry for them, put some ugly guys doing that and the reaction would be really different.A Mexican ugly looking guy put his body over a grenade to save his friends = people couldn't care less, they only comment that poor "handsome blue eyed white man" had to shoot that natzi.
> Yep natzis deserve to die but still the problem is the crap cliche of beautiful is good/ugly is evil, sorry I can't accept that.
> Oh, and German beautiful girl has her home invaded by handsome blue eyed white man soldier who plays the piano, she falls in love with her INVADOR and makes love......  what if that ugly Mexican looking guy was the invador playing the piano?
> Again I can't accept that crap



You know that the nazi ideal/archetype was a blue eyed white man too, right? I don't think there's anything racially problematic about a blue eyed whiteman shooting nazis.


----------



## MFB

asher said:


> I haven't seen 2, but HTTYD was so much better than Big Hero 6 IMO. It felt fresh and clever in a way that Big Hero really didn't to me, even though I certainly enjoyed seeing watching it.



Really? I've seen both HTTYDs and I thought I would enjoy 2 more than BH6, but once I watched BH6 I immediately went the opposite way. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just hit so many checkmarks on my list of things I enjoy that it was basically me with a .... eating grin for the run time


----------



## pushpull7

asher said:


> ed: Serenity was a swan song. It was closure for the show. I don't think there was ever a chance of there being another.



Yeah, it was kinda wrapped up in a bow. But such a great cast.....


----------



## Devyn Eclipse Nav

Finally got around to watching Event Horizon and Snowpiercer this past week

Event Horizon was a little underwhelming, in the horror department. Wasn't scary at all, tbh. I mean yeah, bits were creepy and unsettling, but the way it was played up on TV Tropes made me think that I'd be scared ....less the whole way. It was still a damn good sci-fi movie, just not as much "horror" as I was expecting.

Snowpiercer, on the other hand, was very good. I didn't really know what to expect going into it, other than "Chris Evans leads revolution on train that contains the last vestiges of humanity as a global warming experiment killed all other life on earth" but I'm glad I finally got around to watching it. Very interesting movie, sorta makes you think a bit. I didn't realize until the end that the school teacher was Kim Pines from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World until I saw her name in the credits, it was odd not seeing her as a snarky redhead.

Very good movie tho, if you want a drama-action movie that'll make you think, and also inform you that babies are tasty, then watch it.


----------



## pushpull7

I didn't like event horizon at all. Alien wanna be but w/o the alien  

Next up: That latest x-men thing. Don't have much hope for it, but have to keep up on the marvel stuff.


----------



## Dan_Vacant

wankerness said:


> Like what?



I havent been coming on here as much so I'm a bit late with a reply. She suggested "Scum of the Earth". and she diggs the old gore stuff like "Blood Feast" I believe the first one I watched that she recommended was "the Beast in Heat"


----------



## wankerness

Dan_Vacant said:


> I havent been coming on here as much so I'm a bit late with a reply. She suggested "Scum of the Earth". and she diggs the old gore stuff like "Blood Feast" I believe the first one I watched that she recommended was "the Beast in Heat"



Alright, wasn't expecting that. Scum of the Earth and Beast in Heat are very obscure and totally terrible, not to mention hilariously offensive. The latter would probably be forgotten if it hadn't been banned in the video nasties craze. The scene where the beast rips off a handful of pubes and eats them is the only reason anyone ever seems to bring it up, haha. This sounds like the kind of girl you bring home to meet your mom! I like her.


----------



## pushpull7

"X-Men: Days of future past" was WAY better than I thought it would be. 

"Guardians of the Galaxy" is on weekend after next ... can't wait!


----------



## Alberto7

^ Yeah, I wached _X-Men: Days of Future Past_ on my way back from visiting my parents. It was the only thing that made the flight enjoyable. It was one of the best superhero movies I've watched so far. Still have to watch _Guardians of the Galaxy_ though!


----------



## Entropy Prevails

Just came back from the new Avengers movie and I must say I´m impressed. It´s interesting how Marvel can manage to fit personality, humor and action into one movie and make it coherent and entertaining.
In addition to that I´m also impressed at how they made me care for the characters. Even though I´m not a comic book fan I still liked them and understood them. Just goes to show you that any character can be interesting as long as you have good writers and actors.


----------



## pushpull7

I think I might come out of hiding and go see it. Marvel films seem to be getting better and better.


----------



## Duosphere

Jupter Ascending 2015 - Extremely boring, no story would have been better than that story, that couple is like a guitar tone with all highs cut, like if there was a blanket over them, completely "feelingsless" but if like me you just wanna watch some awesome effects and beautiful colors................go for it


----------



## Varcolac

AVENGERS AVENGERS AVENGERS.

HULKBUSTER, VISION, SCARLET WITCH, WAR MACHINE, ALL THE FEELINGS, HULK-WIDOW-HAWKEYE CHARACTER STUFF, JAMES SPADER IS THE BEST ULTRON, EEEEEEE.

Okay I'm done.

SRSLY IT WAS VERY GOOD AND I CAN'T STOP CAPSLOCKING.


----------



## Church2224

I just saw Age of Ultron and was disappointed to say the least. Yes the Avengers and their characters were great but Ultron was a disappointment. He had a cool voice and some sweet lines, but that was it.


----------



## Skyblue

Princess Mononoke. 

Miyazaki is an absolute genious.


----------



## pushpull7

"Guardians of the Galaxy"

One to ten? A sixty two!!!!!!!!

Loved it loved it loved it! Fun, touching, action, great special fx, and VERY original.


----------



## celticelk

Age of Ultron was awesome. Seriously considering going to see it again tomorrow.


----------



## FretsOnFyre

I really enjoyed Ultron as well. After seeing Spader in the Blacklist, I had really high hopes for him as Ultron and he did not disappoint. I've been really hyped for Scarlet Witch as well and she was fantastic! I've never really been a comics person, but I read a few from the New 52 (DC) and I'll have to pick up some Marvel stuff soon.


----------



## MFB

Age of Ultron was everything Avengers should have been. It was very well grounded and felt like it had consequences. Aaron Tyler Johnson and Elizabeth Olson redeemed themselves for Godzilla with these performances. Spader per usual is great and monologuing is his specialty.


----------



## Skyblue

MFB said:


> Age of Ultron was everything Avengers should have been. It was very well grounded and felt like it had consequences. Aaron Tyler Johnson and Elizabeth Olson redeemed themselves for Godzilla with these performances. Spader per usual is great and monologuing is his specialty.



Why did they have to give them those horrendous accents? It really annoyed me personally. 
Awesome movie nontheless.


----------



## MFB

Well, they do have the last name Maximoff and I believe their mother is actually Eastern European so it makes sense


----------



## Skyblue

MFB said:


> Well, they do have the last name Maximoff and I believe their mother is actually Eastern European so it makes sense



I guess I just can't stand that fake russian accent. I mean, would anyone care if they spoke perfect english (Knowing the internet- probably )

Saw A Most Wanted Man a few days ago. A good movie, but I kinda finished it with a "meh" feeling. I might have liked it more if I hadn't read the book before.


----------



## Demiurge

Watched HBO's Kurt Cobain doc, _Montage of Heck_ (???), last night. Not that the world was in dire need of another "Kurt was a really fascinating guy" piece, but I thought it was really well-done and interesting. 

And somehow, even though she was directly involved in its making, Courtney Love manages to look awful. Among other things, she mused during an interview regarding the time leading up to Cobain's suicide, (paraphrasing) "It's like he sensed that I was thinking of cheating on him." Um...


----------



## Duosphere

Demiurge said:


> Watched HBO's Kurt Cobain doc, _Montage of Heck_ (???), last night. Not that the world was in dire need of another "Kurt was a really fascinating guy" piece, but I thought it was really well-done and interesting.
> 
> And somehow, even though she was directly involved in its making, Courtney Love manages to look awful. Among other things, she mused during an interview regarding the time leading up to Cobain's suicide, (paraphrasing) "It's like he sensed that I was thinking of cheating on him." Um...



Why some people care or even pay attention to selfish drugged vagabonds lunatics is really a mystery to me. 
I don't have even a tiny curiosity about their lives.
I really want the biggest distance between those people and me especially from my mind.


----------



## pushpull7

LOLZES guys! I'm right in the middle of that one and actually came here to post some initial thoughts 

First off, not many people had an undernourished neglected/unloved childhood worse than me. I did all the drugs, hung out with the wrong crowds, etc etc.

I was NEVER the selfish dick prick he was  I don't give a .... how hard you had it, there is no need to be an entitled douche. Waaaa waaaa waaaaa, the world doesn't revolve around you.


----------



## pushpull7

Ok, just finished it.

Not to pile on, but it really seemed to be about him. Poor sensitive Kurt, thought everyone else was so wrong and he was so right. I don't think courtney helped (and I didn't believe most of what she said) Then again I'm not him. He obviously had really serious issues. 

One thing about the doc though, (SPOILER ALERT) it really ends abruptly. Almost as if they were ashamed of it and then at the end just said "fu..k it"

Weird.


----------



## Demiurge

Duosphere said:


> Why some people care or even pay attention to selfish drugged vagabonds lunatics is really a mystery to me.
> I don't have even a tiny curiosity about their lives.
> I really want the biggest distance between those people and me especially from my mind.



Well, congratulations to you for being so noble! How trashy am I?! 

Also, if you're looking to distance yourself from "selfish drugged vagabonds [sic] lunatics", you might as well throw away most of your music collection. What makes rock music and, by extension, rock bios fascinating is specifically that a good portion of the folks who make/made it are in some manner unhinged, destructive, or tragic. Yeah, if you go into it looking to judge people... it's kind of missing the point.


----------



## Duosphere

Demiurge said:


> Well, congratulations to you for being so noble! How trashy am I?!
> 
> Also, if you're looking to distance yourself from "selfish drugged vagabonds [sic] lunatics", you might as well throw away most of your music collection. What makes rock music and, by extension, rock bios fascinating is specifically that a good portion of the folks who make/made it are in some manner unhinged, destructive, or tragic. Yeah, if you go into it looking to judge people... it's kind of missing the point.



It's not about being noble or trashy, I just don't understand why some people care about lunatics personal lives.

I'm talking about personal lives, if I liked Cobain's music for sure I'd buy it but I'd never watch a movie about him the same way I never watched any movie or read any book about any artist I like who was/is a "selfish drugged vagabond lunatic", I don' care about their personal lives, if those artists were doing something good like helping people for sure I could watch their movies but bad people who cared only about themselves don't attract me on any level, right now there are millions of people in Hell all around the world fighting for their lives, they barely have food, some are slaves and some have been tortured since they was born still Curt with his millions could only see his own problems, at least before killing yourself use your millions to take hundreds of FAMILIES out of misery giving them a chance to enjoy life at least for only one day but not, his problems were bigger than the whole world.
I don't like artists and I don't care about their personal lives, I like their.......art


----------



## Demiurge

Duosphere said:


> It's not about being noble or trashy, I just don't understand why some people care about lunatics personal lives.
> 
> I'm talking about personal lives, if I liked Cobain's music for sure I'd buy it but I'd never watch a movie about him the same way I never watched any movie or read any book about any artist I like who was/is a "selfish drugged vagabond lunatic", I don' care about their personal lives, if those artists were doing something good like helping people for sure I could watch their movies but bad people who cared only about themselves don't attract me on any level, right now there are millions of people in Hell all around the world fighting for their lives, they barely have food, some are slaves and some have been tortured since they was born still Curt with his millions could only see his own problems, at least before killing yourself use your millions to take hundreds of FAMILIES out of misery giving them a chance to enjoy life at least for only one day but not, his problems were bigger than the whole world.
> I don't like artists and I don't care about their personal lives, I like their.......art



I guess I can understand your perspective. 

It's certainly not wrong to appreciate the art alone, but it's also interesting to think about the artist if one is (read: fancies themselves to be ) an artist as well. For me, when I'm listening to music, I might hear a certain instrument sound and wonder how they achieved that sound; in the same way, I think the same when I hear lyrics- "how did they get that?" I'm aware of my own thought processes when I write music and lyrics, so I'm fascinated by the thoughts, motives, experiences that drive other people to express themselves in the way that they do.

The documentary made no attempt to mask the fact that Cobain was an exasperating rats'-nest of contradictions. Somehow, an incredibly messed-up, insecure, pathologically self-aware punker ended up in the spotlight fronting one of the biggest rock bands in the world when rock was important and, well... it's a terrible but fascinating story to me. Of course, there are bigger tragedies in the world, but his fate is kind of, well, sad and haunting in its own way. As a musician, one might think that music can/will save them, but it doesn't.


----------



## pushpull7

What I would say is that other than "experiencing" a mass of contradictions, he IS a mass of contradictions. 

Considering that much of it was an artists POV (the animated parts) it's really tough to know exactly what happened in those situations. Were any of the "drawings" or narration exaggerated? If not, then he was one ....ed up dude (needed psychiatric help) But I have to question some of it because he seemed less f'ed up in the real videos. In fact, it seemed to be far more of just a spaced out musician.

But again, I don't know for absolute sure. I sure as hell don't believe anything the courtney hole-face said. What a skank she is. Ewwwwwwwwww.


----------



## Demiurge

pushpull7 said:


> But again, I don't know for absolute sure. I sure as hell don't believe anything the courtney hole-face said. What a skank she is. Ewwwwwwwwww.



Yeah, it's almost to the point where the "conspiracy theory" that she hired somebody to kill him (and make it look like a drug relapse/suicide) seems almost unnecessary. She seems like she knew exactly which vulnerabilities of his to exploit to virtually force his hand and drive him down. She's compared to Yoko Ono, but she's essentially the inverse, as Yoko found a way to feed and amplify John Lennon's narcissism.


----------



## Demiurge

Now, for less of a bummer of an experience... just got back from a surprisingly empty matinee showing of Age of Ultron. I get the complaints that it's a tad over-stuffed but it's like that almost in a way where a slightly longer cut would rectify that, letting certain elements breathe, and still be watchable for a broad audience. Nevertheless it was still a whole lot of fun.

Quasi-spoilery observations:


Spoiler



-Possibly it's my fault following all of this stuff, but perhaps the only thing stronger than the MCU's ambition for the future is the media hype machine around the future movies. It was reported that somebody was going to die, so obviously people were speculating. Sure, Joss Whedon is a notorious heartbreaker, and it seemed like he was really trying hard to make it look like Hawkeye was going to meet the Reaper (the wounding in the initial raid, the set-up of the quiet private life with the pregnant wife and kids, his attempt to save the wounded boy's life at the last second as the bullets rained). Of course, that effort was defeated since all the nerds like me knew that Jeremy Renner was already signed-on for Cap 3 and Aaron Taylor-Johnson was not.
-The above point notwithstanding, somebody sitting near me must have had the gall to start cutting an onion they brought into the theater at the time Quicksilver died. They may have been making a sandwich; people bringing food to the theater- ridiculous.
-So, we have Cap 2 where Tony Stark's technology is leveraged by HYDRA to commit mass-murder; AoU, Tony's creation damn near creates an extinction-level event; Cap 3, he's apparent in the "villain" role that will probably bring-about some huge catastrophe. It's becoming a harder sell for Thanos as the big bad to be concerned about when Tony Stark's good intentions will probably destroy the universe in a couple more movies.
-I consider myself socially liberal and whatnot, but I'm not quite sure what's going on with the sexism controversy around Black Widow. Yeesh.


----------



## Skyblue

Demiurge said:


> Now, for less of a bummer of an experience... just got back from a surprisingly empty matinee showing of Age of Ultron. I get the complaints that it's a tad over-stuffed but it's like that almost in a way where a slightly longer cut would rectify that, letting certain elements breathe, and still be watchable for a broad audience. Nevertheless it was still a whole lot of fun.
> 
> Quasi-spoilery observations:
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> -Possibly it's my fault following all of this stuff, but perhaps the only thing stronger than the MCU's ambition for the future is the media hype machine around the future movies. It was reported that somebody was going to die, so obviously people were speculating. Sure, Joss Whedon is a notorious heartbreaker, and it seemed like he was really trying hard to make it look like Hawkeye was going to meet the Reaper (the wounding in the initial raid, the set-up of the quiet private life with the pregnant wife and kids, his attempt to save the wounded boy's life at the last second as the bullets rained). Of course, that effort was defeated since all the nerds like me knew that Jeremy Renner was already signed-on for Cap 3 and Aaron Taylor-Johnson was not.
> -The above point notwithstanding, somebody sitting near me must have had the gall to start cutting an onion they brought into the theater at the time Quicksilver died. They may have been making a sandwich; people bringing food to the theater- ridiculous.
> -So, we have Cap 2 where Tony Stark's technology is leveraged by HYDRA to commit mass-murder; AoU, Tony's creation damn near creates an extinction-level event; Cap 3, he's apparent in the "villain" role that will probably bring-about some huge catastrophe. It's becoming a harder sell for Thanos as the big bad to be concerned about when Tony Stark's good intentions will probably destroy the universe in a couple more movies.
> -I consider myself socially liberal and whatnot, but I'm not quite sure what's going on with the sexism controversy around Black Widow. Yeesh.



As for your first point, It's one of the things that kinda ruined something about all these movies for me. Once they announce all of their movies from here to 2024, you kinda lose the emotional connection with the characters. You know who's going to die, who isn't- Why would I care if someone's drops an atom bomb on captain america in one movie if I know he's going to be playing in 3 more movies in the next few years? 
I'll obviously keep seeing Marvel movies (And Probably DC as well). They're fun. But making this whole universe thing was a double-edged sword in a way, IMO.


----------



## pushpull7

Just to revisit the Cobain thing for a moment. 

I just saw this rock doc on "grunge" and it really enlightened me in a couple of ways. There is basically this whole ridiculous "we are so much smarter and better than anything else" thing going on there. It's absurd because though I liked some of that Seattle scene, and I like some of the popular stuff a lot, there was a lot of really boring stuff out of that scene too. 

Seems to me considering all the heroin addicted deaths to "those enlightened" folk, the fact that grunge was "dead" pretty early on that there is an entire culture that couldn't care less about that scene...maybe they weren't that smart after all


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

saw avengers...pretty good imho.

it was left wide open for the next movie...


----------



## Entropy Prevails

In Bruges: Great Performances, great use of music, great plot and of course great movie. I loved the way they were able to shift the tone so gracefully from comedic to dramatic scenes without losing focus. Would highly recommend seeing this movie if you´re into slower and smaller movies driven by performances. I would also recommend seeing this movie in English, if you have the chance.


----------



## Duosphere

Entropy Prevails said:


> In Bruges: Great Performances, great use of music, great plot and of course great movie. I loved the way they were able to shift the tone so gracefully from comedic to dramatic scenes without losing focus. Would highly recommend seeing this movie if you´re into slower and smaller movies driven by performances. I would also recommend seeing this movie in English, if you have the chance.


----------



## pushpull7

I just watched the "Atari: Game Over" doc. Interesting. I wasn't aware of that (I've never been a gamer) 

It's worth a watch imho.


----------



## wankerness

Pitch Perfect 2: Bad. The Emily character seemed like a Rebecca Black situation, where the actress's dad had paid millions to have her made the main character of a Pitch Perfect sequel. Every single scene with her was terrible and ground the movie to a halt. I can't believe it was the same actress as True Grit.


----------



## donzilla

Just watched "big driver" Stephen king flic...pretty cool revenge story...


----------



## wankerness

Age of Ultron: About on par with Iron Man 2, pretty lame and incoherent. Too many characters, too much talking, action scenes were not very exciting and were way too cartoony, etc. Give me another Captain America 2 or Guardians of the Galaxy anyday. I'd love a movie that focused more on Scarlet Witch, she seemed like a good character but her powers are incoherently presented here and she has very little to do given they're only able to give her about 10 minutes of screen time since they divide the rest of the movie between another 10 characters as well as zillions of endless scenes of CGI people fighting CGI robots.

Black Widow and Hulk were both ruined by the awful romance stuff, their exchanges were all terrible and it made them both much less interesting.


----------



## narad

Just watched "It Follows" -- fantastic horror movie. Reductionist style with a retro synth soundtrack.

Also, what's up with the tags on this thread! lol


----------



## Dusty Chalk

*R100* -- if you want to spend an entire movie saying things like, "...whaaaaat?..." and "...seriously?..." and "...no...nope...just...nope...", then see this movie. Not for everyone. In fact, I can't even recommend it to me.

*Do you Want to Play in Hell?* -- superb, delightful, great fun, lots of references (including Quentin Tarantino), and it actually surprised me a couple times.

Both of the above are what I would call "Foreign movie R" -- in other words, they're mostly R, but every once in a while, they do something that you just don't see in American made movies, that would probably take it to NC-17. Especially R100.

And of course *Mad Max: Fury Road* -- movie of the year for me, by far, just like last year with Gravity, I don't see it being outdone. The production values are an order of magnitude higher than anything else I've seen this year. Just pure spectacle from beginning to end. I laughed every time the Doof Warrior came on screen. With glee, not comic relief, just with the sheer stupid fun of it. (But I disagree with the reviews that say he stole the movie -- it wasn't distracting at all.)


----------



## Alberto7

wankerness said:


> Pitch Perfect 2: Bad. The Emily character seemed like a Rebecca Black situation, where the actress's dad had paid millions to have her made the main character of a Pitch Perfect sequel. Every single scene with her was terrible and ground the movie to a halt. I can't believe it was the same actress as True Grit.



Idk, I really enjoyed _Pitch Perfect 2_, although I didn't set out to take it apart and judge it when I went to watch it. I kind of knew what to expect. I laughed a whole lot, and some of the musical numbers were phenomenal, performances and all. A LOOOT of VERY inappropriate jokes that kept me repeating to myself "I shouldn't be laughing at this... yet I am."

Also, Anna Kendrick is absolutely the cutest angel ever.


----------



## wankerness

Alberto7 said:


> Idk, I really enjoyed _Pitch Perfect 2_, although I didn't set out to take it apart and judge it when I went to watch it. I kind of knew what to expect. I laughed a whole lot, and some of the musical numbers were phenomenal, performances and all. A LOOOT of VERY inappropriate jokes that kept me repeating to myself "I shouldn't be laughing at this... yet I am."
> 
> Also, Anna Kendrick is absolutely the cutest angel ever.



I hadn't seen the first one except once when I was really drunk, and then pieces of it since. I had a generally positive impression of it considering most people whose opinions I trust like it, even though the aca-puns made me gnash my teeth. The sequel though...there was no letting that one slide as a guilty pleasure. It has funny content, but it torpedoes itself by sticking in the entire Emily main plot which has NO JOKES (she never is even supposed to be funny at any point, she's just a black hole of awful). If they cut her out and left Anna Kendrick's arc in they'd still have the drama covered, and she actually interacts with funny characters and has charisma. But nope, the plot is like "Anna Kendrick is struggling to succeed in life and just can't do it without the help of our new character that all the kids will love, POOCHIE!!ImeanEmily!!!!" Most of the other characters are sporadically funny, all of the Germans' scenes are fantastic (I would have voted for them over that tripe the heroes perform at the end any day!!) and the scene in Tobias's basement is great. But yeah, half of a funny movie combined with a really, really bad movie still comes out weak.

If you want a good Anna Kendrick movie, try "Happy Christmas" on Netflix. I was actually impressed with her acting there. It's not the best movie in the world but she's very good in it.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

The Lord Of The Rings `The Two Towers` (extended edition)

Awesome film !!!. 

The other brilliant film I saws this week was `Chocolate` (Thailand, 2008). 

This is one of the best martial arts films I have seen in a long time !!!. 

Trailer for `Chocolate` 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe6uGHEaMD0


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I saw Chocolate several years ago, and I still remember how good it was. I wish they'd hurry up and come out with Chocolate 2...


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

narad said:


> Just watched "It Follows" -- fantastic horror movie. Reductionist style with a retro synth soundtrack.


I've been taking a long break from movies - just haven't had the desire to sit and watch anything - but I will be watching this later today or tomorrow. First *new* horror movie in a long time that I have seen with very good reviews, especially from the critics of all people. Not sure about the premise, but I hope it is worth the watch.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Skyblue said:


> Princess Mononoke.
> 
> Miyazaki is an absolute genious.


All day, every day.

I actually just sold my big Princess Mononoke movie poster to a guy in an online metal CD swap group of all places. Never ended up being able to frame it or hang it where I wanted.


----------



## Skyblue

Saw Bronson yesterday. 

Weird movie, and I wouldn't really call it a "good" movie (It wasn't bad by any standard, but it really felt more like a collection of scenes rather than a complete film) but Tom Hardy made it completely worthwhile. The man is a wonderful actor. 
Also, if you haven't seen Locke with him, do so asap. 90 minutes of Tom Hardy talking on the phone while driving, and it's absolutely fascinating.


----------



## MFB

IIRC, he shot all of Locke within like 6 days or something ridiculously fast


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Locke was surprisingly brilliant, considering it was 90 minutes of someone driving a car and talking on the phone.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Emperor Guillotine said:


> First *new* horror movie in a long time that I have seen with very good reviews...


Dude, *Under the Skin*. Atmospheric and creepy as.


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> Dude, *Under the Skin*. Atmospheric and creepy as.



The "counterpart" to It Follows is actually "The Babadook." They came out within a year of each other and had a similarly insane critical response (It Follows is 96% and Babadook is 98% at rottentomatoes) and had an identical budget (2 million). I personally didn't like the Babadook at all (that goddam kid is one of the most annoying I've ever seen and by the time you're supposed to identify with him it was way too late, I wanted him eaten), even after watching it a second time knowing what it was going in and really trying to like it, and thought It Follows was a masterpiece, but a lot of people feel the opposite way. If you're a horror fan you should definitely see both of them.

Under the Skin is much more divisive. It's so glacial and icy, and the way it intentionally doesn't give you details about much of anything that's going on causes many people to get frustrated by it. I loved it until the ending, but it's not for all tastes, that's for sure.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Didn't realize it was divisive. The only divide I've observed (amongst an admittedly borderline anecdotal sample set [online friends]) is people who have seen it and loved it, and people who haven't seen it.

I loved it exactly because it didn't insult it's audience.


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> Didn't realize it was divisive. The only divide I've observed (amongst an admittedly borderline anecdotal sample set [online friends]) is people who have seen it and loved it, and people who haven't seen it.
> 
> I loved it exactly because it didn't insult it's audience.



Check out its rating on netflix or imdb sometime. A lot of people come in expecting a fun (or at least "normal") horror or sci fi movie with Scarlett Johansson (and maybe they heard she got naked in it, too) and get this glacial arty movie with no explanation of what is going on and a VERY atypical plot structure. 

Under the Skin (2013/I) - User ratings


----------



## Explorer

I saw "Under the Skin," and then read the book. Like Fight Club, the book and film were completely different experiences. 

I liked both (in both cases).


----------



## MFB

Watched "Zombeavers" with the roommates and company tonight, holy .... was it terribly awesome. My only gripe with it was they had the perfect moment to use the title in the movie but they didn't


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Battle Royale 

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

Excellent film !!!.


----------



## Duosphere

Chappie (2015) - Crap, stupid and dumb...............and borinnnnnnnnnnnnng.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just watched _It Follows_.

I guess all I can say is: "pass it on". (Use the cheesy little marketing slogan of the film. For those who've seen the film, you'll get it.) 

This film was a bit unnerving - but still nothing "fresh" I would say. The dark undertones present in it though...  At least this was better than all the sh*tty horror movies (paranormal subgenre knockoffs, cheap Insidious spinoffs, and remake after remake) that have flooded the genre in the past ten years or so.

The ending was just "ehhhh" for me though.


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Just watched _It Follows_.



I felt like somebody tried to make it look like a crap 80's horror movie but failed cause it's not crap, it's terrible, those synth sounds are torture to my ears plus acting was bad beyond belief, even Chuck Norris has more facial expressions than those "actors" making sex.Whoever get scared by this movie for sure get scared by Santa too 

The Lazarus Effect (2015) - It started well with a cool tension in the air and that dog/bed scene was scary but then............."Carrie" took control and unleashed dumbness all over the place 
It's not an exaggerated film crowded by crap effects or loud noises but still story failed while "Carrie" was laughing at me


----------



## Skyblue

Saw Inherent Vice again, and it was better this time. Still completely incoherent and confused, but this time I was half drunk and tired so I was as confused as the main character, which kind of brought everything together and made it better. 
Great actors, meh movie.


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> I felt like somebody tried to make it look like a crap 80's horror movie but failed cause it's not crap, it's terrible, those synth sounds are torture to my ears plus acting was bad beyond belief, even Chuck Norris has more facial expressions than those "actors" making sex.Whoever get scared by this movie for sure get scared by Santa too


----------



## asher

Just watched Jupiter Ascending.

It's actually a pretty compelling world, IMO, and it's very, very, very pretty... ruined by mediocre acting, crappy writing, and abysmal pacing


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


>


I am so stealing this.

For so many things.


----------



## wankerness

asher said:


> Just watched Jupiter Ascending.
> 
> It's actually a pretty compelling world, IMO, and it's very, very, very pretty... ruined by mediocre acting, crappy writing, and abysmal pacing



I've heard that's a likely candidate for a cult movie due to being insane but creative. I'm sorta interested. Then again, I said the same about Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas and haven't gotten around to them yet.


----------



## asher

It really doesn't strike me that way.

It's a big budget action movie that actually wishes it were a proper Sci FI movie. And for sure, the visuals are amazing. And a lot of what you see implies a pretty vivid world. But anything we learn is mostly done via exposition dump or contextless name dropping. The movie jumps from place to place extremely rapidly, and as a result, actual character development is really, really poorly paced, nonexistent, or happens off screen. Jupiter FINALLY winds up at a decent place by the end of the movie, but it takes forevvvver.

Maybe I'm giving cult movies too much credit, but I don't think there's enough substance here for it to become one. If the world weren't gorgeous and fairly rich in spite of itself, this movie would have nothing going for it to differentiate it from its kin 

It also just took me, personally, waaay too long to have any buy in. I mostly credit Sean Bean with this  Mila Kunis I really don't think can carry the role well enough.


----------



## wankerness

A friend of mine watched Jupiter Ascending last night and some of the short blurbs he posted in reaction were hilarious. My favorite was "The wolf man's gun makes a dog barking sound when he fires it." I think I need to see this, even though I fully believe you that it's not good.


----------



## myrtorp

I saw Chappie and Mad Max yesterday, both very entertaining. It Follows will be my choice tonight. 


Have you guys seen The Innkeepers? Pretty alright horror movie (Better than the 5.5 it has on IMDB in my opinion) 
I feel like many of the horror movies have 2 phases, 1 with the nice build up and the unknown stuff going on, then the half where .... just gets riddiculous and they find out what the evil thing is and fight it. Still I really enjoy movies like Babadook, Sinister, Insidious, The Conjuring and so on, even though the 2nd half usually kinda ruins it for me.


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

Anyone seen the Poltergeist redo?

Thought about catching an early matinee tomorrow, but idk if it's worth the 8 bucks.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

myrtorp said:


> Have you guys seen The Innkeepers? Pretty alright horror movie (Better than the 5.5 it has on IMDB in my opinion)


I did, actually. Quite liked it. Sara Paxton was great in it.


----------



## asher

wankerness said:


> A friend of mine watched Jupiter Ascending last night and some of the short blurbs he posted in reaction were hilarious. My favorite was "The wolf man's gun makes a dog barking sound when he fires it." I think I need to see this, even though I fully believe you that it's not good.



So I was watching it synced up with two friends and we had a running facebook conversation going.

It was amazing 

ooooo

PRETTY DRAGON SHIP
dragon pimp ship apaprently

hawt.

alien orgy!!!

it's Kralkatorrgy

lol.

harhar
Eddie Redmayne you fierce

WAIT TILL YOU SEE MY SPACEDICK



look.
jupiter's ascending.
hurrrrrrr.

that's dreamy
i want it

it IS channing tatum

*sends memo to all interested men to get spaceboots
i don't really like channing tatum

see
this is why we don't do romantic space boots

hahahah

the line is "no capes" matt

wow
i hope Nike sponsored this movie
nice space running
space skating
has no other movie done space skating before


----------



## wankerness

FILTHnFEAR said:


> Anyone seen the Poltergeist redo?
> 
> Thought about catching an early matinee tomorrow, but idk if it's worth the 8 bucks.



It's not, don't encourage lazy remakes.


----------



## Skyblue

Saw Mad Max yesterday. 

WE RIDE ETERNAL, ALL SHINY AND CHROME! 

Awesome movie


----------



## Louis Cypher

Old school night last night while I was working.... Point Break! not watched it for years, remembered exactly why I loved it so much when it came out!

Johnny Utah: Okay. I get it. This is where you tell me that "locals rule", and that Yuppie insects like me shouldn't be surfing the break, right?
Bunker Weiss: [smiling] Nope.
Surf gang: That would be a waste of time...
Lupton "Warchild" Pittman: We're just gonna fcuk you up!


----------



## Duosphere

Louis Cypher said:


> Old school night last night while I was working.... Point Break! not watched it for years, remembered exactly why I loved it so much when it came out!
> 
> Johnny Utah: Okay. I get it. This is where you tell me that "locals rule", and that Yuppie insects like me shouldn't be surfing the break, right?
> Bunker Weiss: [smiling] Nope.
> Surf gang: That would be a waste of time...
> Lupton "Warchild" Pittman: We're just gonna fcuk you up!



When it came out, me and my friends used to watch it at least one time each 6 months.As we used to surf and skydiving, the idea of robbing banks to have money to surf all around the world was awesome besides the fact we could go to jail or get killed 
Point Break and Thunder Alley became our "we gotta watch them every time we had a party" movies.
I still have Thunder Alley which I copied from vhs, , everybody who wanted to be in a rock band thinking it was paradise should watch it, even more if you're a guitarist, just like Rock Star, it shows the truth behind the curtain 

Thunder Alley (1985) - IMDb


----------



## wankerness

Louis Cypher said:


> Old school night last night while I was working.... Point Break! not watched it for years, remembered exactly why I loved it so much when it came out!
> 
> Johnny Utah: Okay. I get it. This is where you tell me that "locals rule", and that Yuppie insects like me shouldn't be surfing the break, right?
> Bunker Weiss: [smiling] Nope.
> Surf gang: That would be a waste of time...
> Lupton "Warchild" Pittman: We're just gonna fcuk you up!



One thing that gets overlooked about that movie is that it's incredibly well-shot and scored and has this bizarre cosmic feel to it. Stuff like the skydiving scene and the finale have a really grandiose quality that are not like anything you see in any other weird 80s action/heist movies. (Yeah, I know it's from 91, but it's more of an 80s movie!!)


----------



## Louis Cypher

Funny thing with point break is it does have a fair old element of late 80's early 90's cheese about it (most hilariously & lovingly taken the p1ss out of in Hot Fuzz!!) but it was totally different to any other heist movie of the time and you only gotta look at all the rehashed rip offs their have been since, Fast & Furious 8 is on its way and the whole franchise should be paying royalty's to Kathryn Bigelow! Who imo is a fantastic director, particularly as you say in those Point Break action sequences


----------



## habicore_5150

Decided to pick out a 90s Steven Seagal film to watch, and decided to go with Marked for Death

Nothing wrong with Seagal doing a bit of overkill in the last fight of the movie. Of course, some of the stuff in that movie pales in comparison with Under Siege imo (that 2nd to last Seagal kill in the movie...yeah)


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Did anyone else think that the original 1973 _The Wicker Man_ was really bad? Or is it just me.

Might watch _The Babadook_ later.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Did anyone else think that the original 1973 _The Wicker Man_ was really bad? Or is it just me.
> 
> Might watch _The Babadook_ later.



It's mainly just you, though I've seen many very shallow dismissals over the years, mainly from people who grew up in the slasher era or later, and usually along the lines of "the songs r gay" or "it aint scary."  It's pretty universally acknowledged as a classic by all genre experts/classic horror fans. If it isn't for you, that's on you!

RE: Babadook, I hope your tolerance for monstrous bratty children that scream and flail nonstop is high!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> RE: Babadook, I hope your tolerance for monstrous bratty children that scream and flail nonstop is high!


Just finished watching _The Babadook_.

Nothing new. Nothing fresh. Nothing original. It felt like a rehashing of so many stories ("malevolent force or possession wants the kid") to the point that the whole movie felt like a massive cliché. But it actually was entertaining and was very well-done compared to all the other horror films I've seen or heard of in recent years. (I still hold fast to my opinion that pretty much all the new horror films nowadays are complete and utter crap.) _The Babadook_ is a great exercise in low-budget, minimalist horror.

But goddamn, I wanted to smack the piss out of that kid...


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

I was hanging out with my drummer last night and we watched _Horns_. (He wanted me to watch just the first five minutes, and we ended up watching the whole thing.)

Terrible movie. Pretty much the weirdest, cheesiest thing that I have seen in awhile. I had no idea what I was watching for the most part. The premise is suitable for like one of those supernatural teenage romance novels combined with a mystery/"whodunit" story. It was just weird...and really bad...


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Stray Dog (1949, Japan, D. Akira Kurowsawa)





Murukami, a young homicide detective, has his pocket picked on a bus and loses his pistol. Frantic and ashamed, he dashes about trying to recover the weapon without success until taken under the wing of an older and wiser detective, Sato. Together they track the culprit.

IMDB


Excellent film, I really love the work of Akira Kurosawa, one of the best film directors ever !!!.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just finished watching the original 2003 _Oldboy _for the first time. Exceptional flick.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Yes it is. Now go watch Lady Vengeance and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Everyone has a different favourite of the three.


----------



## Skyblue

Ex Machina. 

While not bringing anything exceptionally new to the whole AI genre, it was done beautifully. Definitely recommended if you're into science, AI and the whole.


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> Yes it is. Now go watch Lady Vengeance and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Everyone has a different favourite of the three.



I'd say not that many people have a different favorite of the three  I can only think of one or two people I've heard say Lady Vengeance was their favorite (people that really latched on to the visual style and liked that it was way more of a comedy than the other two), and mostly just people that are primarily broadcasting their opinion that Oldboy is overrated say that Mr. Vengeance was. I think Lady Vengeance's plot is a pretty big mess with the whole climax being completely emotionally unengaging, but it's got some interesting visuals. Mr Vengeance works MUCH, MUCH better on an emotional level but doesn't have much of the stylishness of the later two. I would say Mr Vengeance succeeds on the levels it aspires to and is a well-made and generally well-filmed movie, but it is very safe compared to the audacity of Oldboy in all kinds of regards. It doesn't hit the crazy Greek Tragedy heights in the climax, it doesn't have any wild shots like the famous hallway scene, it doesn't play around with humor and tonal shifts nearly as much (besides with the group-masturbating neighbors), etc. It's just a well-done thriller with some good twisting of audience sympathy since there isn't really a bad guy but the situation makes it impossible for everyone to make it out unscathed.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Wait, I thought Mr. Vengeance was the black comedy.



Spoiler



And Oldboy did have a villain, he was the main character. That's what I didn't like about it, they didn't make that clear enough. But that definitely struck me as the intention of the movie. It's failing is that the main character was too sympathetic, so that when he's revealed as the villain, you end up siding with him anyway. Unlike Unbreakable, where the big reveal is exactly what was intended.



But yeah, unless everybody == 3 people, my statement is mathematically impossible, I was hoping that was more obviously hyperbole. I do know people who have different favourites. I think I've concluded that my favourite is whichever one I've watched most recently. I think I need to watch all three again. 

I even know someone who likened Lady Vengeance to Kurosawa's Ikiru, with it's complete shift in story halfway through, almost like they switched directors. I wouldn't go that far, but I definitely noticed the shift.

Yeah, I definitely need to see it again.

Oh, and me: Inside Out -- yeah, that was great. I <3 Pixar. And Lewis Black was absolutely perfectly cast.


----------



## wankerness

I still haven't seen Ikiru, I've been holding out for Criterion to release it on Blu-Ray, but for some reason it just hasn't happened yet. I didn't know it had a big shift in tone.

I really want to see Inside Out, but I don't know anyone else my own age who wants to see it and being a lone adult man in a room full of kids with parents is AWKWARD! Maybe I'll wait a few weeks and go to the earliest showing possible.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I saw it at the 10:10 p.m. showing last night, there wasn't a single child there. And I have a friend who's almost as much of a fan of childrens movies as I am. And I had a cocktail beforehand, because it's that kind of theater. So all very adult.

I tried to do the earliest possible showing once, a long time ago -- that actually has the most kids.

And sorry about the spoiler.


----------



## Skyblue

Saw Predestination. 

Knowing the story it's based about (All You Zombies) I wasn't really surprised by the plot, but it was still awesome. Recommended.


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> I saw it at the 10:10 p.m. showing last night, there wasn't a single child there. And I have a friend who's almost as much of a fan of childrens movies as I am. And I had a cocktail beforehand, because it's that kind of theater. So all very adult.
> 
> I tried to do the earliest possible showing once, a long time ago -- that actually has the most kids.
> 
> And sorry about the spoiler.



I reallllly need to move to a proper city, or even a large college town. I have to drive almost 90 miles to get to any theater like that.

And no, I have no problems with spoilers, I have seen the basic plot and ending of Ikiru described many a time. I just didn't know there was a tonal shift in there, thought the whole thing was kind of nostalgic and sad.


----------



## asher

Skyblue said:


> Saw Predestination.
> 
> Knowing the story it's based about (All You Zombies) I wasn't really surprised by the plot, but it was still awesome. Recommended.



Oh kitten, they made a movie of that? I love that story..


----------



## Skyblue

asher said:


> Oh kitten, they made a movie of that? I love that story..



The movie really is a visual representation of the story, the barely changed a thing (well they added one sorta-plot line to help drive the plot forward but it really doesn't harm the story IMO) so you should give it a try, in my opinion.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Ichi the Killer _again. Don't know why I like this movie so much.


----------



## asher

Skyblue said:


> The movie really is a visual representation of the story, the barely changed a thing (well they added one sorta-plot line to help drive the plot forward but it really doesn't harm the story IMO) so you should give it a try, in my opinion.



I'll keep that in mind, thanks duder


----------



## Entropy Prevails

I couldn´t get anything out of predestination. I mean, it´s a weird non story about a closed loop and I didn´t understand the purpose of the movie. Maybe I should read the story since it seems to me that it would work out a lot better. Though the actress did a pretty good job!


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Reign Of Assassins (2010, China, D. John Woo)







Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N2K8M0lmdA

*Reign of Assassins*[5][6] is a 2010 _wuxia_ film directed by Su Chao-pin and co-directed by John Woo. The film is shot in China and set during the Ming Dynasty. The film stars Michelle Yeoh, who plays an assassin who tries to return to a normal life after being counseled by a monk. After saving her husband and herself from robbers, she attracts the attention of her former assassin gang.

Source

Excellent film, I really reccomend this film for anyone who loves this genre of film !!!.


----------



## Duosphere

Skyblue said:


> Saw Predestination.
> 
> Knowing the story it's based about (All You Zombies) I wasn't really surprised by the plot, but it was still awesome. Recommended.





Awesome movie!

The Ninth Gate (1999) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142688/

Even though I can't stand Depp, I love this film.It has something to do with its mood cause plot means nothing to me.Its mood connects me to Eyes Wide Shut which I love too(Kubrick vs Polanski).I watched it in the movies back to 1999 and I rewatched it last week, I still feel the same about it.


----------



## MFB

I love the Ninth Gate. It's got a certain cheese to it, but man, it really does give me this weird vibe when I watch it.


----------



## Duosphere

MFB said:


> I love the Ninth Gate. It's got a certain cheese to it, but man, it really does give me this weird vibe when I watch it.



Yep, I said mood you said vibe.
There's something between the lines, there's this weird atmospheric, something you don't see but you feel.It acts like a hook keeping you hooked to the screen.
I remember when i got out of the movies, I told my girlfriend I didn't like the plot, it's so generic and reminded me of so many other movies but something kept me hooked to the screen.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

2013 _Oldboy_ remake sucked. Like geez...it really was terrible. Sure, Spike Lee is a good director, they took out everything and watered it down to nothing. All the fun, depth, complexity to the plot line, and noir (or neo-noir) flair was gone.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Jennifer's Body _- cheesy, but rather entertaining at parts. At least for me since I have a little bit of a penchant for these horror-comedies, I guess.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _Jennifer's Body _- cheesy, but rather entertaining at parts. At least for me since I have a little bit of a penchant for these horror-comedies, I guess.



I thought it was kind of annoying, it was like a bad remake of Ginger Snaps. Megan Fox was surprisingly good at delivering the excessively wordy dialogue though.


----------



## Duosphere

I loved Ginger Snaps.I started watching knowing nothing about it and as I hate horror comedies, surprisingly I loved this one.She wagging her tail made me  
There's something in its mood that I loved. 
Some time ago I realized mood is more important to me than the story itself or even the acting, Blade Runner's mood till today is my favorite, I love it in all levels possible.A movie can have the best story and best acting ever but if its mood is wrong, everything else fails.


----------



## Jarmake

Babadook.

This movie seems to be one of the most praised horror movies in last few years. And it sucked hairy manatee testicles. I hated it. Not a bit frightening or thrilling. ....ty writing, ....ty actors and even ....tier "twist" in the end. Bah.


----------



## wankerness

Can you explain how the acting was bad? I don't like the movie but that seems like a flat-out ridiculous statement.


----------



## Chokey Chicken

I thought the acting was pretty trash too. The movie was overall pretty stale and I just couldn't get into it. The idea was pretty neat, but the execution was just poor in my opinion.


----------



## yingmin

wankerness said:


> I'd say not that many people have a different favorite of the three  I can only think of one or two people I've heard say Lady Vengeance was their favorite (people that really latched on to the visual style and liked that it was way more of a comedy than the other two), and mostly just people that are primarily broadcasting their opinion that Oldboy is overrated say that Mr. Vengeance was. I think Lady Vengeance's plot is a pretty big mess with the whole climax being completely emotionally unengaging, but it's got some interesting visuals.



I think I disagree on all counts. I love Oldboy to death, but depending on what day it is, I might say that Lady Vengeance is my favorite. I find it very emotionally engaging, and I think it's a really good black comedy. Do you mean that the climax was unengaging in the sense that


Spoiler



Geumja didn't get to kill the victim herself?


 Personally, I found that more engaging because


Spoiler



it showed her accepting and overcoming the selfishness that had been driving her throughout the movie. Rather than becoming Lady Vengeance, the almost comic-book-superhero character the first half of the movie built up, you see her coming to terms with what happened, and building a real life for herself.





Dusty Chalk said:


> Wait, I thought Mr. Vengeance was the black comedy.



I'd have a real hard time calling Mr. Vengeance a black comedy. There was some comedy sprinkled in, but on the whole, it was among the bleakest, most depressing movies I've ever seen. I haven't watched it a second time, for the same reason that I haven't rewatched Grave of the Fireflies.


----------



## wankerness

yingmin said:


> I think I disagree on all counts. I love Oldboy to death, but depending on what day it is, I might say that Lady Vengeance is my favorite. I find it very emotionally engaging, and I think it's a really good black comedy. Do you mean that the climax was unengaging in the sense that
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Geumja didn't get to kill the victim herself?
> 
> 
> Personally, I found that more engaging because
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> it showed her accepting and overcoming the selfishness that had been driving her throughout the movie. Rather than becoming Lady Vengeance, the almost comic-book-superhero character the first half of the movie built up, you see her coming to terms with what happened, and building a real life for herself.



My issue with it was (and I don't remember the movie all that well, so I might be off) it was a movie all about her character and building it up and then the last act


Spoiler



turns into a bunch of people we haven't been introduced to before all arguing about what they're going to do while she gets shoved off to the sideline. I thought it more or less stopped being a movie about her for a while, right in the climax. It ENDS being about her again, but I just hated the whole long shift of focus to the other vengeance-seekers and I found it incredibly unfulfilling dramatically.


 Oldboy and Mr. Vengeance, on the other hand, are quite focused and operatic in their conclusions and they remain focused on the protagonist/antagonist to the bitter end (though obviously the point of them is that it isn't really clear which is which).



yingmin said:


> I'd have a real hard time calling Mr. Vengeance a black comedy. There was some comedy sprinkled in, but on the whole, it was among the bleakest, most depressing movies I've ever seen. I haven't watched it a second time, for the same reason that I haven't rewatched Grave of the Fireflies.



Lots of comedies are unbelievably bleak and depressing, hence the "black," I dunno if this quite qualifies as one though. I could certainly see the argument being made for it. Korean movies tend to have more tone-shifting than US movies do (just look at something like Memories of Murder or The Host, where they have outright slapstick-humor in them but are most definitely not comedies).

I probably need to rewatch Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance again, I have only seen them once and don't remember either that clearly, I just remember really being surprised by how good Mr. Vengeance was and being disappointed with Lady Vengeance. I have the trilogy box set so I have no excuse!!


----------



## wankerness

Chokey Chicken said:


> I thought the acting was pretty trash too. The movie was overall pretty stale and I just couldn't get into it. The idea was pretty neat, but the execution was just poor in my opinion.



Compared to what? What is "good acting" and why? I'm skeptical of this since the acting in that movie is basically universally praised by people who know what they're talking about. These posts sound like when you have a fan of like, Maroon 5 saying "Dream Theater sucks their guitar playing is s***" when they actually have no idea what they're talking about, can't discern talent in guitar playing at all, and just mean they don't like it.


----------



## Jarmake

wankerness said:


> Compared to what? What is "good acting" and why? I'm skeptical of this since the acting in that movie is basically universally praised by people who know what they're talking about. These posts sound like when you have a fan of like, Maroon 5 saying "Dream Theater sucks their guitar playing is s***" when they actually have no idea what they're talking about, can't discern talent in guitar playing at all, and just mean they don't like it.



Yes, if "people who know what they're talking about" are saying that donkeyporn is good, it really must be! There's no other way.

How do you know if I am one of those people who know what they're talking about? And how do you define if one is knowing or not? Does one have to watch a thousand sh1tty movies to become one with the knowledge of talking? Or does one have to take it hundred times in the ass from some actor, that is so good, that no one has ever heard of him/her and who instantly becomes sellout and bad actor when gaining some fame? Please, do enlighten me.

I am sorry if I insulted your favorite movie and actors so harshly, but I thought they were just overacting and bland. The movie was bad, the plot was so damn old and worn that it wasn't even funny anymore, the "twist" in the plot was so obvious that it was hilarious. If the movie was not made by first timer, but someone like M. Night Shamalamadingdong or whoever, I really doubt that it would have caused such an uproar on the circlejerking moviehipsterculture.

I'm getting tired of this internet bull...., where criticism and opinions are forbidden, just because someone with a name said something in this and that website and that was the absolute truth, full stop. 


tl;dr:
The movie was boring and obvious. There's nothing new in it and I have seen that same stuff over and over again in other horror movies.

"That movie was the greatest horror movie ever!"


----------



## wankerness

I already said I don't like the movie. I asked for an explanation of how the acting is bad. Saying "this was awful*.*" by itself is such an empty, boring criticism of anything - what discussion are you adding to with that? *How* was it awful? I asked for clarification to see if you WERE one of "those people!" 

All your other criticisms which you added in that post are totally valid, I agree the plot is boring and has been done many times before, though I dunno if I would even count the "twist" as a "twist" since the movie's just sort of about a lady that hates her kid and realizes how to deal with it. I didn't like the movie on first watch, and then I read a million positive reviews of it, went back to it, and disliked it exactly as much. The universal acclaim confuses me to no end. But, I thought the acting was good! The lead actress in particular does a wonderful job of conveying absolute desperation and barely restrained impulses to murder her awful, awful kid. I particularly think of the uncomfortable scenes at the very beginning where monster boy crawls into her bed at night and puts a stranglehold on her.

I'm simply asking you why you think the acting is terrible, since I (and virtually everyone else, other than the other guy above who similarly gave a one sentence "it sucked" post) seems to think it was good, and you haven't said how it's bad.

But, you can get really mad and post memes in response if you want!


----------



## Jarmake

As i said before... Overacting. And bland. There were times that the acting was too over the top dramatic and times when acting was just dull and how should i put it... Hmm. Uninspired or even bored looking? There's not a lot of good horror actors, and these ones weren't on the brighter side either. That's just my opinion on the matter. So how's that for a ridiculous statement? I also don't think that maroon 5 is golden and John Petrucci is bad. Well, neither is he the god that many people seem to think, but that's another thing alltogether.

And is dr evil a meme these days? O tempora o mores!

Edit.. Had to google what the hell a meme actually is. So it's not a new internet age thing as I thought. Live and learn.


----------



## wankerness

Jarmake said:


> As i said before... Overacting. And bland. There were times that the acting was too over the top dramatic and times when acting was just dull and how should i put it... Hmm. Uninspired or even bored looking? There's not a lot of good horror actors, and these ones weren't on the brighter side either. That's just my opinion on the matter. So how's that for a ridiculous statement? I also don't think that maroon 5 is golden and John Petrucci is bad. Well, neither is he the god that many people seem to think, but that's another thing alltogether.
> 
> And is dr evil a meme these days? O tempora o mores!
> 
> Edit.. Had to google what the hell a meme actually is. So it's not a new internet age thing as I thought. Live and learn.



I think all the kid actors and assorted people like the friendly coworker maybe do skew the acting towards bad if you're looking at it overall, so yeah, thanks for clarifying! See, this is valid! I like hearing these kinds of statements, I didn't mean to come off as such a dick  I just like to know why someone hated or loved something, I don't like single sentence "this sucked" "this was awesome" reactions. Things like the JPW thread are fun.


----------



## yingmin

wankerness said:


> Lots of comedies are unbelievably bleak and depressing, hence the "black," I dunno if this quite qualifies as one though. I could certainly see the argument being made for it. Korean movies tend to have more tone-shifting than US movies do (just look at something like Memories of Murder or The Host, where they have outright slapstick-humor in them but are most definitely not comedies).


There's a big difference between a black comedy and a dark, depressing movie that happens to have some humor in it, and while I haven't seen it in several years, I don't remember Mr. Vengeance having very much humor at all. I wouldn't even call Oldboy a black comedy, and that had much broader humor throughout. By contrast, I would argue that Lady Vengeance is, at heart, a comedy, whereas Mr. Vengeance is basically a Greek tragedy.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Jarmake said:


> Yes, if "people who know what they're talking about" are saying that donkeyporn is good, it really must be! There's no other way.
> 
> How do you know if I am one of those people who know what they're talking about? And how do you define if one is knowing or not? Does one have to watch a thousand sh1tty movies to become one with the knowledge of talking? Or does one have to take it hundred times in the ass from some actor, that is so good, that no one has ever heard of him/her and who instantly becomes sellout and bad actor when gaining some fame? Please, do enlighten me.
> 
> I am sorry if I insulted your favorite movie and actors so harshly, but I thought they were just overacting and bland. The movie was bad, the plot was so damn old and worn that it wasn't even funny anymore, the "twist" in the plot was so obvious that it was hilarious. If the movie was not made by first timer, but someone like M. Night Shamalamadingdong or whoever, I really doubt that it would have caused such an uproar on the circlejerking moviehipsterculture.
> 
> I'm getting tired of this internet bull...., where criticism and opinions are forbidden, just because someone with a name said something in this and that website and that was the absolute truth, full stop.
> 
> 
> tl;dr:
> The movie was boring and obvious. There's nothing new in it and I have seen that same stuff over and over again in other horror movies.
> 
> "That movie was the greatest horror movie ever!"


^^^ When you have too much free time harboring negative feelings due to the Internet.

BACK ON TOPIC: In regards to _The Babadook_, I still just wanted to smack the absolute sh*t out of that kid.


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> BACK ON TOPIC: In regards to _The Babadook_, I still just wanted to smack the absolute sh*t out of that kid.



I thought the same but then.................I saw his aunt.I could even be his stepfather just to get in contact with those beautiful pink (oYo) 
Wait.......if I was his stepfather I'd be in contact with 4 pink (oYo), his aunt and his mother


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Tokyo Gore Police._ What in the actual F*CK did I just watch? That was straight-up the weirdest sh*t that I've ever watched. It made me a bit uncomfortable at times even. No sense at all, ridiculously over-the-top, unusually perverse, and everything looks as fake and as weird as can be. I'd even go as far as to call it a waste of a movie.


----------



## Duosphere

Life of Pi (2012) - IMDb

Freakintastic!
Visually is beautiful beyond belief!
Story is sooooooooooo simple but so deep.
It took me on an amazing trip which I'm still recovering from it.
I think never 2 hours were so short.
Damn, I love it.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Dogma (1998 D. Kevin Smith)






Excellent film !!!.


----------



## Skyblue

Memories of Murder

Felt kinda meh in the beginning, but it definitely grew on me. I wouldn't say it's one the best iv'e seen or anything, but it definitely was a great watch.


----------



## wankerness

Skyblue said:


> Memories of Murder
> 
> Felt kinda meh in the beginning, but it definitely grew on me. I wouldn't say it's one the best iv'e seen or anything, but it definitely was a great watch.



Watch it again sometime and maybe you'll change your mind. I didn't know what to make of the tonal shifts the first time I saw it, I was wondering if it was a comedy or something when the hyper-aggressive cop was doing his flying kicks. I was not at all familiar with Korean movies and was expecting it to be more Western, and just felt sort of disoriented by some parts. On second watch every single scene made sense to me and I thought it was one of the top 10 or so best movies I've ever seen. It has just about the most haunting ending of all time.


----------



## Duosphere

I watched those 3 Lord Of The Rings at the movies, one of my best friends was a huge fan so I went with him, I almost died cause those movies to me are freaking boring, I decided to never watch that stuff again.
Last week God knows why I decided to watch The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, again I almost died, to me it's so infantile and..........boring BUT it looks fantastic, that intro sequence gave me a huge desire of work in Hollywood building that type of landscape.But it's boring, it's just a war movie with fairy tale costumes


----------



## TRENCHLORD

Finally got around to watching Whiplash (it's free at Starz on-demand now) after hearing/reading about it on this thread several months back.

Not really a great movie from an artistic or writing perspective, but I still enjoyed it.
That "leader" reminded me of what R. Lee Ermey in a band room might be . 
I do highly doubt though that a whole room full of modern-day young adults would sit there and take crap like that repeatedly without at least someone talking back.
Maybe a few decades ago when there was more of a "respect your elders and authority figures" attitude, but not these days, no way .


----------



## Skyblue

Saw both Moon and Boondock Saints in the last few days. 

Moon was fun but had it's weak points (


Spoiler



So the guy finds out he's a clone, or has a clone, is is simply trippin' balls so much he's hallucinating, and his reaction is basically "Huh. Talk about that."



Boondock Saints... I heard how much this movie was supposed to be a classic, but I dunno- The acting was forced and over the top at times (


Spoiler



especially with the mobsters


), plot had quite a lot of silly moments (


Spoiler



"Hey man, let's start killing people- Oh, did I mention we're AMAZING shooters? And speak like 7 languages?" Also, Willem Dafoe in drag.


). But hey, the action was fun, and it definitely had witty lines.


----------



## HyperKinetic

Child 44 - Tom Hardy, Stalinist Russia, Serial Killer. Way better than the reviews lead you to believe. 'There is no murder in Paradise'.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Superfast! - What I thought was going to be an asylum style knock off of The Fast and Furious was actually a pathetically unfunny parody by those two guys who have somehow made a career out of being two of the six writers of Scary Movie.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Anonymous_ last night. I've been meaning to watch it for years since my English teacher from my senior year of high school had a poster for the film hanging on the wall of her classroom.

Disappointing movie. A film about writing that suffers from...well...poor writing.


Too many little sub-plots following different characters that the writer tried to tie together into this one main plot (which in retrospect wasn't even that impressive of a plot). 
The time-jumping format of the film is ridiculously poor as the film jumps almost constantly between scenes that are forty years apart with no prior warning, and it takes the viewer a bit of time to catch up with each jump. 
The film is loaded with factual errors.
The film was marketed to be about Shakespeare; and while it is, your favorite character of Mr. William Shakespeare is but a minor character who takes a backseat in the entirety of the film.
It doesn't exactly help when half of the characters go by multiple names and multiple titles throughout the film. (Example: the character of Edward de Vere goes by the names: Edward, Lord de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, Lord Oxford, or just simply Oxford. Another example: the character of Robert Cecil goes by the names: Robert, Cecil - which was also the name his father went by, or the 1st Earl of Salisbury.)


----------



## Duosphere

Moon Moon (2009) - IMDb

A.K.A. Clones Having A Nervous Breakdown.
Boring as Hell, even for me who love that type of movie.I couldn't develop any feelings for the main character so I couldn't feel his pain therefore boringness consumed my brain.


----------



## wankerness

So did you people want Moon to take the Hollywood route out and turn into Total Recall, or what? Did you want Kevin Spacey-bot to turn out to be an evil corporate plant? I thought the primary strength of the movie was that it didn't play into any stupid cliches or force in conflicts that didn't need to be there.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Yeah, I loved Moon, I don't know what you all are on about.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Duosphere said:


> Moon Moon (2009) - IMDb
> 
> A.K.A. Clones Having A Nervous Breakdown.
> Boring as Hell, even for me who love that type of movie.I couldn't develop any feelings for the main character so I couldn't feel his pain therefore boringness consumed my brain.


Ditto. I watched _Moon_ back during early 2013, and I just couldn't get into it. Bored me to tears.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Cape Fear_ - pretty dull and boring for a Scorsese flick. Thought it would be worth a watch since I live in the Cape Fear River area.


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _Cape Fear_ - pretty dull and boring for a Scorsese flick. Thought it would be worth a watch since I live in the Cape Fear River area.





Friends used to tell me it was a great movie and De Niro was awesome...
When I finally watched it, I saw nothing special, it's not scary, or funny, or creative, or....anything.
Like you said it's dull.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Righteous Kill_ - dull, boring, hackneyed, done a million times. The ever-basic, ever-clichéd good cop gone bad story.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _Righteous Kill_ - *dull, boring, *hackneyed, done a million times. The ever-basic, ever-clichéd good cop gone bad story.





Emperor Guillotine said:


> _Cape Fear_ - pretty *dull and boring* for a Scorsese flick. Thought it would be worth a watch since I live in the Cape Fear River area.





Emperor Guillotine said:


> Ditto. I watched _Moon_ back during early 2013, and I just couldn't get into it. *Bored me to tears.*



I'm seeing a pattern here! Sounds like you're sick of movies and should take a break for a while before you ruin them for yourself permanently.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

No, he's right about Righteous Kill. Awful, horrible movie. My superpower is suspension of disbelief in movies, but even I saw the ending coming a mile away.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> Sounds like you're sick of movies and should take a break for a while before you ruin them for yourself permanently.









From 6/24/15:


Emperor Guillotine said:


> Just finished watching _Ex Machina_ [...] I love this film. I'll watch it again very soon. Not sure quite yet if it's a favorite of mine since the elements of surprise kind of wear off after the initial first viewing for me. *But I did enjoy this film much more than others.*


My whole review is in this thread: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/movies-books-tv-media/293685-ex-machina.html
 Going to watch this again.


----------



## Duosphere

Centurion (2010) - IMDb

Killing....killing..........killing..............................killing.
I always felt really sad for all blood baths our species did till now and so many more will come.Free will my ass, if I was any kind of God or at least an entity with super powers no species would ever do that, feeding from each others is balance, killing........killing and killing is not.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Donnie Darko_. Still don't get it. This was my second time viewing it. The first time that I saw it was about two and a half years ago, so I didn't remember much about it.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Which cut?

Me: Shaun the Sheep -- great fun, but I'm an Aardman fanboy.


----------



## wankerness

The Hobbit - I just watched the fanedit that sticks all three movies together and pars them down to 3 hours total. It still felt way too long. Do people actually like these? They certainly seem to be rated much more highly than the Star Wars prequels. I watched the first two in the theater but never got around to watching the third - even in 40 minute form it seemed like an endurance test!


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Duosphere said:


> Centurion (2010) - IMDb
> 
> Killing....killing..........killing..............................killing.
> I always felt really sad for all blood baths our species did till now and so many more will come.Free will my ass, if I was any kind of God or at least an entity with super powers no species would ever do that, feeding from each others is balance, killing........killing and killing is not.



da fuq?


----------



## Skyblue

wankerness said:


> The Hobbit - I just watched the fanedit that sticks all three movies together and pars them down to 3 hours total. It still felt way too long. Do people actually like these? They certainly seem to be rated much more highly than the Star Wars prequels. I watched the first two in the theater but never got around to watching the third - even in 40 minute form it seemed like an endurance test!



I kinda feel ashamed for not bothering to watch the 3rd Hobbit movie yet, asI like the book so much, but both the first and second movies were so... "mehh" that I just didn't care. That book could have stayed 1 movie easily. It's a shame ol' Peter Jackson got too greedy. 

Also, watched Oldboy (The original, korean one). First of all, what the ....  Second, that was awesome! It got a tiny bit over the top IMO, especially with the whole


Spoiler



"We hypnotized both you and your daughter to fall in love with each other!"- I kinda feel like they could've kept it in without the whole hypnosis thing


 but it really is only a minor complaint. 
Definitely recommended!


----------



## synrgy

Funnily enough, the third Hobbit movie is my favorite of the three. The pacing is still as bad as it is in the first two, but the action and/or payoff scenes seem more 'worth it' than they did in the first two. It's still no LOTR movie, but if one has already invested their time in viewing the first two, they might as well finish the job. 

Last week we got out and saw Jurassic World. Fun. Chris Pratt is generally enjoyable, and this was probably better than any of the prior sequels, but there were more than a few deus-ex-machina moments at which I couldn't help but laugh, out loud.

Yesterday we caught up with Ant Man. Also a ton of fun. Highly enjoyable, but I'd caution not buying into the press/hype about it potentially being 'the best Marvel movie to-date'. I mean, it's probably near the top, and worth the time of anyone that has been enjoying the MCU thus far.


----------



## TimothyLeary

Don't watch Child 44. It was hard to see Tom Hardy in such amateur movie.


----------



## Skyblue

Oh yeah, watched the new fantastic four movie. 

Don't. No seriously, don't.


----------



## Duosphere

- Mega Shark vs. Kolossus

I was going to sleep so I thought it could be fun.
Ok when you read that name you know it's crap, right?
But at least it could be funny.........it's not.
It could have some cool scenes based a 100% on effects......it doesn't.
Maybe.....some action cool scenes..........nope.
Good acting........................no................but at least any actor you could think "that movie is crap but that actor is the only thing good there".............nope.
Let's think about the plot........A giant METAL robot against a....................fish!
In what universe meat can even think about fighting metal?Even if that robot was small as a dwarf still meat can't defeat metal so it's dumb! 

- Sinister

I had to redo my post about Sinister cause when I watched, I was with a bunch of friends(party) chasing some (oYo) so people should never post a review about anything when chasing......................(oYo) 

It's one of the best horror movies I watched in my life.It has some jump scares but they help building tension, they're not like "hey just put a scary jump here because.........people will jump".The first shot is already disturbing, it feels real and it feels like "hey this is going to be awesome".The imagery on those videos he found are scary and disturbing, pausing them to search for answers made them even more disturbing.The tension is just so perfect, these days I can watch the majority of horror movies with lights off and completely alone without feeling scared in any way, in fact the majority made me feel bored to death, this one feels plausible because most of the time it feels like a psycho killing people which is pretty real but those disturbing videos and images do an amazing great job.It never got boring, sometimes you think "hey I know what's going to happen" but when it happens, it's so well done and the tension was so well built up that you forget you knew it was going to happen.
Comparing to all other horror movies I watched in the last 10 years or more, I can say for the first time I felt like inside of a great horror movie, it doesn't made me laugh or feel cheesy, and for sure when it finished, I turned my houses lights on, not because I believe in supernatural creatures but because the tension was so perfect that it was glued to the back of my neck like if something was following me.
Ethan Hawke is way beyond perfection on this movie.I was a very good actor at school and I always said to my friends a great actor never acts cause acting is fake, a great actor just feels real for whatever he's playing.
I couldn't find any bad spots, seriously even when it's predictable, it's so well done.No blood, no stupid effects, no crap dialogues and a bunch of disturbing scary stuff very well put together.
For sure one of my favorite horror movies ever.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just finished watching the director's cut of _Kingdom of Heaven_. I originally watched the theatrical version of the film about 4-5 years ago. Quite awhile. Can't remember anything about it.....except I remember that I hated it.

After finally watching the director's cut, I can say that the director's cut MADE the film. In fact, the film was FAR better and FAR more entertaining, and everything made sense and was tied together. The director's cut is absolutely quintessential, if not completely essential, to making it through this film and enjoying it. Wow.


----------



## TRENCHLORD

Anyone watched Foxcatcher? I thought the plot sounded cool and I usually go for "based on a true story" flicks, but I thought the whole thing was awful and slow and just plain weirdly acted.


----------



## MFB

TRENCHLORD said:


> Anyone watched Foxcatcher? I thought the plot sounded cool and I usually go for "based on a true story" flicks, but I thought the whole thing was awful and slow and just plain weirdly acted.





We did a house viewing of it a couple weeks back and it just ....ing blew. The acting and cast were great, but the story was paced terribly and there were so many moments where we all felt like we missed something. Once the movie ended we all proceeded to Google what actually happened, and it was far more interesting than anything we had proceeded to watch.


----------



## awake69

I broke out my Predator blu ray the other day and had a blast watching. We also decided to have a "classic comedy" day on Saturday and watched "Slapshot", "Animal House", and "Airplane".


----------



## Duosphere

Poltergeist 2015

I'm not a fan of the original one, I liked because I was a kid so everything looked fantastic but when I re-watched as a teen I hated it, characters felt like cartoons to me, that Tangina character was way beyond stupid and the pace was very boring, "Don't Go Into the Light, Carol Anne" goes on and on. 
The new one feels better to me, that family doesn't feel like cartoons and it's fast, once things started happening.......BANG.........the end.
That dude who came to clean up the house is as stupid as Tangina character and him screaming outside the house for ghosts to leave was beyond dumbness, yeah just scream and they'll go away,Satan is inside of a person, holy water will make him run away 
I don't like this one too but to me it feels way better.

Generally people who hate remakes can't understand they're judging the same movie through different moments of their lives, that person who watched the original back to the 80's is not the same person today, life experiences turned him/her into a different person so obviously remakes will always feel strange, even if they copied the original a 100% still they'd feel strange because movie would be the same but they are not the same persons. 
Obviously some remakes are really crap but generally if those people haven't watched the originals, they probably would enjoy their remakes(when they're not crap).


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Dorian Gray_ (2009). I've been meaning to watch this since I originally read the book in 2012 and learned that there was a recent film adaptation made. After finally watching it, I can whole-heartedly attest that it was piss-poor terrible and cringe-worthy beyond belief. Never again. I guess all of the numerous upon numerous other film or TV adaptations of Oscar Wilde's _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ aren't any better.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Yeah, I saw that back in 2010 or so It was really bad.

Me: *Kill Me Three Times -- it was alright, kind of a bit too Blood Simple-ish.*


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ - yet another absolutely god-awful, terrible movie where I found myself asking: "how the f*ck did I sit through that?" and "why the f*ck did I sit through that?" Never ever again.


----------



## MetalheadMC

Watched Bronson, featuring Tom Hardy last night. Very strange, yet humorous in some parts seeing the story of a psycho


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Kill Me Three Times -- meh, not bad "sideways storytelling", though it's been done before


Emperor Guillotine said:


> _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ - yet another absolutely god-awful, terrible movie where I found myself asking: "how the f*ck did I sit through that?" and "why the f*ck did I sit through that?" Never ever again.


Dude, everyone knows that's an awful movie, why would you do that?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Dusty Chalk said:


> Dude, everyone knows that's an awful movie, why would you do that?


I didn't plan on watching it. Didn't know anything about it. Didn't read any reviews about it. Just clicked on it. First time that I've ever taken such a risky plunge.....and dear god.....never ever again.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Sean Connery quit acting over it!

Really, Sean, League, not Zardoz?


----------



## wankerness

Zardoz is pretty good actually. It confuses stupider viewers, and stoned college students like to laugh at it, but it's mostly coherent, intelligent, and ambitious, and it's definitely well-made.


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ - yet another absolutely god-awful, terrible movie where I found myself asking: "how the f*ck did I sit through that?" and "why the f*ck did I sit through that?" Never ever again.



Peta Wilson is there so......................I love it 






OH BOY, OH BOY!


----------



## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> Zardoz is pretty good actually. It confuses stupider viewers, and stoned college students like to laugh at it, but it's mostly coherent, intelligent, and ambitious, and it's definitely well-made.


Hey!



I actually haven't seen it, just the one frame that goes around.


----------



## Duosphere

Exists (2014) - IMDb

I was expecting dumb dialogues, crap acting, blood everywhere you know, that type of stuff we've always seen in that type of movie but not, actually for what it is, it's a good movie, the pace is just perfect, there are no dumb stuff and the creature looks cool and plausible.Then I was pretty sure they'll mess up the end but they didn't, everything is plausible because Big Foot is shown as an animal and not as some supernatural creature that never dies or get hurt.Forget about Big Foot, put yourself in that situation with any other big animal trying to kill you.Anybody who already heard strange noises in the woods knows the feeling "something is out there!", as someone who always loved the nature and went to dive in some really creep places, the woods are pretty scary at night even in silence, the vibe is "something is watching us!", the scary stuff is in the woods something is always watching you.It brings absolutely nothing new, we all seen that type of plot a hundred times even with other animals or a family of psychos but, for some reason this one feels real, kudos to director I guess.
If you wanna watch a fast movie with no dumb stuff and kind of scary, Exists will do the job.Does it deserve an Oscar?Nope, it's just to have fun watching with friends or when going to sleep alone in the dark.

BTW there's a scene that made me jump in my bed, all jump scare help building the tension, they are not for free and without any reason like in some ghost movies, this scene I'm talking about is scary as .... and it's during the day, if it was for real, that dude would had a heart attack!


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Went and saw Straight Outta Compton. Good movie, but the white women behind me wouldn't shut the .... up. It's definitely more of a biopic than even a hollywood documentary in that they cast for Arabian Prince but he never appears in the movie and MC Ren is portrayed as an original member when he didn't come in until around the time Prince had left. But aside from a few factual mistakes (and/or deliberate errors) it's still worth seeing.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Carrion Rocket said:


> Went and saw Straight Outta Compton. Good movie,* but the white women behind me wouldn't shut the .... up.*


----------



## Skyblue

MetalheadMC said:


> Watched Bronson, featuring Tom Hardy last night. Very strange, yet humorous in some parts seeing the story of a psycho



I kinda have a feeling that without a strong actor like Tom Hardy, this movie would simply fall flat. I liked it, but it was mostly Hardy acting brilliantly IMO.


----------



## MetalheadMC

Skyblue said:


> I kinda have a feeling that without a strong actor like Tom Hardy, this movie would simply fall flat. I liked it, but it was mostly Hardy acting brilliantly IMO.



Agreed 100%. I wouldn't have cared for it as much personally if he wasnt involved. He did a great job.

I'm just wondering how he got ready for that role, if he went and actually talked to the real peteron/bronson or not


----------



## Skyblue

MetalheadMC said:


> Agreed 100%. I wouldn't have cared for it as much personally if he wasnt involved. He did a great job.
> 
> I'm just wondering how he got ready for that role, if he went and actually talked to the real peteron/bronson or not



Yeah, he did, several times if I recall correctly. I'm even pretty sure his moustache in the movie is Bronson's actual moustache, though that has more to do with the actual Bronson being insane and shaving it off and sending it to him than Hardy's dedication for the role


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ - yet another absolutely god-awful, terrible movie where I found myself asking: "how the f*ck did I sit through that?" and "why the f*ck did I sit through that?" Never ever again.



Then you'll be happy to know that they're rebooting it with an all female cast. Which is weird because the main character in the comic was female, so why not just make a more faithful adaptation?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Carrion Rocket said:


> Then you'll be happy to know that they're rebooting it with an all female cast.


What's the sequel going to be called? _Ghostbusters_?


----------



## MetalheadMC

Skyblue said:


> Yeah, he did, several times if I recall correctly. I'm even pretty sure his moustache in the movie is Bronson's actual moustache, though that has more to do with the actual Bronson being insane and shaving it off and sending it to him than Hardy's dedication for the role



Cool. Thanks for that info. That just shows a glimpse of how f&#369;cked up in the head bronson is haha


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Skyblue said:


> ... it was mostly Hardy acting brilliantly...


Sounds like *Locke*.


----------



## Skyblue

Dusty Chalk said:


> Sounds like *Locke*.



Well, in all fairness, Locke didn't really have anything else besides Tom Hardy  

Loved it, of course


----------



## myrtorp

I watched Housebound again with my family, and it's a pretty fun horror comedy-ish film. Some good humour and I dig the plot


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Skyblue said:


> Well, in all fairness, Locke didn't really have anything else besides Tom Hardy
> 
> Loved it, of course


There were some shots of the road and the radio dial and the telephone I think. 

Me: Ex Machina again -- yeah, love this movie. It's not perfect (it's a bit slow), but it's almost operatic in its patience.

Had a discussion on another board as to what would make a good double feature with it -- someone else suggested Fury Road, as they were both about gender largely, I suggested Under the Skin, as they were both about what it is to be human. A third person suggested Blade Runner.


----------



## Skyblue

Dusty Chalk said:


> There were some shots of the road and the radio dial and the telephone I think.
> 
> Me: Ex Machina again -- yeah, love this movie. It's not perfect (it's a bit slow), but it's almost operatic in its patience.
> 
> Had a discussion on another board as to what would make a good double feature with it -- someone else suggested Fury Road, as they were both about gender largely, I suggested Under the Skin, as they were both about what it is to be human. A third person suggested Blade Runner.



Fury Road doesn't really seem to fit with it as a double feature- the vibe is completely different. What about Ghost In The Shell?


----------



## Duosphere

Tusk (2014) - IMDb

What the hell was that???!!!
A friend of mine called me to watch that movie which I knew nothing about it, he said it was interesting.
After 15 minutes I thought it'd be a boring film about a boring couple.Suddenly everything was upside down and a BIIIIIG surprise punched me in the chest!
So far I don't know if it's a good or bad movie cause that surprise was so big that I can't imagine how would I feel if I knew that was going to happen.
Michael Parks is beyond perfection and it took me almost the entire movie to realize Guy Lapointe was.............can't tell  , and I only realized it because of his voice. 
Seriously read nothing about it, just watch it, probably your jaw will hit the floor like mine and not because what happens there is something never made, but because it's something really unexpected then take your own conclusions.There are some 80's movies which those kind of stuff happens but generally their titles or the way the plot was "walking" let us imagine what was going to happen, not with Tusk.Never a movie gave me such a big surprise without no "warnings".
I asked to my friend "why did you only say it was interesting?"
He replied "I had to see your face!"


----------



## Skyblue

Saw a few recently, so I'm probably forgetting some of them: 

Mother- Korean movies keep catching me by surprise. Wonderfully made, and visually stunning. Definitely recommended. 

Slow West- my only complaint about this movie is that I wish it had been longer. Nothing groundbreaking, but a lovely indie film who's also visually awesome. Also, Cowboy Michael Fassbender. 

Donnie Darko (Director's Cut)- While a very good movie, I think the hype kinda killed it a bit for me. Still enjoyed it a lot. 

Paprika- Fantastic. Great concept, and it just goes to show anime movies can be just as good as any Hollywood-made one.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I really enjoyed Mother. Reminded me of Coen Brothers in a way. Have you seen Thirst? One of my favourites. And The Host. And I Saw the Devil. Joint Security Area is not on the same level, but worth a rent. I still need to see The Man from Nowhere.


----------



## wankerness

Skyblue said:


> Saw a few recently, so I'm probably forgetting some of them:
> 
> Mother- Korean movies keep catching me by surprise. Wonderfully made, and visually stunning. Definitely recommended.
> 
> Slow West- my only complaint about this movie is that I wish it had been longer. Nothing groundbreaking, but a lovely indie film who's also visually awesome. Also, Cowboy Michael Fassbender.
> 
> *Donnie Darko (Director's Cut)- While a very good movie, I think the hype kinda killed it a bit for me. Still enjoyed it a lot. *
> 
> Paprika- Fantastic. Great concept, and it just goes to show anime movies can be just as good as any Hollywood-made one.



You know what kills Donnie Darko even worse than any amount of hype? Watching the Director's Cut. Seriously, it's the worst director's cut I can think of, unless you count the most recent revision of Return of the Jedi. It makes the movie so much stupider it's incredible. 

Mother and Paprika are very good. My primary Korean recs are Memories of Murder (probably in my top 10 or 20 films, also by the same director as Mother/The Host/Snowpiercer) and Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (an earlier film by the guy who made Oldboy/Thirst/Sympathy for Lady Vengeance/Stoker).


----------



## Dusty Chalk

_(adds _*Memories of Murder*_ to his queue)_


----------



## tacotiklah

Carrion Rocket said:


> *Went and saw Straight Outta Compton.* Good movie, but the white women behind me wouldn't shut the .... up. It's definitely more of a biopic than even a hollywood documentary in that they cast for Arabian Prince but he never appears in the movie and MC Ren is portrayed as an original member when he didn't come in until around the time Prince had left. But aside from a few factual mistakes (and/or deliberate errors) it's still worth seeing.


----------



## Skyblue

wankerness said:


> You know what kills Donnie Darko even worse than any amount of hype? Watching the Director's Cut. Seriously, it's the worst director's cut I can think of, unless you count the most recent revision of Return of the Jedi. It makes the movie so much stupider it's incredible.
> 
> Mother and Paprika are very good. My primary Korean recs are Memories of Murder (probably in my top 10 or 20 films, also by the same director as Mother/The Host/Snowpiercer) and Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (an earlier film by the guy who made Oldboy/Thirst/Sympathy for Lady Vengeance/Stoker).



Huh. Guess I'll have to check out the standard cut then. 

It took me a while to get into korean movies, but once I did it was awesome.


----------



## wankerness

It might be too late to check out the regular cut. The director's cut is one of those deals where they added a bunch of footage to explain everything to death and remove all the ambiguity, making the plot seem much stupider at the same time. Going back to the theatrical cut might not remove your memories of the dumb explanations of stuff sufficiently to make the movie good!


----------



## awake69

wankerness said:


> It might be too late to check out the regular cut. The director's cut is one of those deals where they added a bunch of footage to explain everything to death and remove all the ambiguity, making the plot seem much stupider at the same time. Going back to the theatrical cut might not remove your memories of the dumb explanations of stuff sufficiently to make the movie good!



I have yet to see Donnie Darko. I have heard so much about it over the years, but it's just one of those films I never got around to seeing. 

Of late, I've been enjoying the classics. I watched "Alien" the other night and it reminded me of what a visionary director Ridley Scott was. IMO, that first Alien film was the best of the franchise and stands out as one of the most atmospheric and unnerving films of all time. Blade Runner is another one of those Scott films that just immerses you from the first few frames.


----------



## MFB

Finally got around to watching "It Follows" after buying it last week and hearing nothing but good things.

I really enjoyed it, I'd say it's probably my 2nd favorite movie of the year behind Mad Max. It had such a classic throwback vibe to it, some great Kubrick-esque cinematography at times, and man, I've never seen that awkward friends-that-could-be-more-than-friends relationship captured so perfectly. It just worked so well in it's simplicity. Sure, some people will complain at the lack of origins to it and  but that's what makes it so much better. You kind of jump into it and see how this thing has been going around for who knows how long and this is one persons tale of that saga.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Saw Man from U.N.C.L.E. this last Friday -- it was enjoyable, certainly better than the Sherlock Holmes movies. (It's Guy Richie.) The delectable Alicia Vikander makes it quite worth a rent. I don't remember the series well enough to compare, but I did find myself thinking, "man, I miss cold war era television" -- this helped fill that void.


----------



## narad

Dusty Chalk said:


> Me: Ex Machina again -- yeah, love this movie. It's not perfect (it's a bit slow), but it's almost operatic in its patience.
> 
> Had a discussion on another board as to what would make a good double feature with it -- someone else suggested Fury Road, as they were both about gender largely, I suggested Under the Skin, as they were both about what it is to be human. A third person suggested Blade Runner.



Just a quote from the director:

_My feeling was, the hardest thing was essentially to stop people automatically providing a gender, and beyond that just providing human-like qualities. Because we talk a lot about objectification, but actually more often what humans do is they de-objectify things. They attribute sentient qualities to things that dont actually have them, and so the initial path with Ava was to make her seem like a machine. That your first impression was not, This is a young woman who is dressed up like a robot, but this is unambiguously a machineand therefore in some respects doesnt have a gender. _

I read the posts talking all about gender and feminism in Ex Machina and was just shaking my head, so went out to see what the director had to say about it. It's fine to talk about what the actions of the male characters says about the way they're internalizing gender, but I find it super bizarre to read some sort of feminist allegory into it -- Ava's not a woman. Kyoko's not a woman. It's just a couple dudes hanging out with robots, and to focus on non-existent genders I think takes away from the broader question of what it means to be human.


----------



## TonyFlyingSquirrel

I've been checking out some of the animated Batman movies, ie; Assault on Arkham, Dark Night Rises 1 & 2, Gotham Nights.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

narad said:


> Just a quote from the director:
> 
> _My feeling was, the hardest thing was essentially to stop people automatically providing a gender, and beyond that just providing human-like qualities. Because we talk a lot about objectification, but actually more often what humans do is they de-objectify things. They attribute sentient qualities to things that don&#8217;t actually have them, and so the initial path with Ava was to make her seem like a machine. That your first impression was not, &#8220;This is a young woman who is dressed up like a robot,&#8221; but this is unambiguously a machine&#8212;and therefore in some respects doesn&#8217;t have a gender. _
> 
> I read the posts talking all about gender and feminism in Ex Machina and was just shaking my head, so went out to see what the director had to say about it. It's fine to talk about what the actions of the male characters says about the way they're internalizing gender, but I find it super bizarre to read some sort of feminist allegory into it -- Ava's not a woman. Kyoko's not a woman. It's just a couple dudes hanging out with robots, and to focus on non-existent genders I think takes away from the broader question of what it means to be human.


Exactly. The film wasn't advocating feminism or even touching on it in any way. It was just about what it is like to be human, which is why an emphasis is placed on the claustrophobic setting, Nathan answering questions regarding Ava's sexuality, why Nathan just wants to sit and BS with Caleb "as a guy", etc. It is also why the film is so engaging. It keeps viewers guessing psychologically the first time that you see it because we recall our time being human and we think we know what is going to happen...yet we have to also remember that Ava is a robot and the worst could happen. So we are balancing which is reality for the character of Caleb in our head as we watch the movie. "Is love developing or is Ava manipulating him based on her calculations for survival?" You find the answer in the end.


----------



## wankerness

What exactly did the film have to say about what it means to be human? You two have now just sort of said that as a "oh, it's obvious" thing, but I really didn't see anything there. The movie seemed to have all the gloss and sheen of an intelligent movie, but it didn't seem to actually have the substance of one, if that makes any sense (ex, how it just devolves into a straight thriller).

The only thing I was really getting out of it was a depiction of toxic masculinity with one character, and how a lonely nerd would try to humanize a cute robot cause he's a lonely nerd, both of which seem like gender issues to me. Apparently, the writer/director didn't intend that, but then again, most pieces of art of any kind have been interpreted in a million ways that were probably never intended by the artist (and sometimes the artist directly refuted them, and was generally ignored, since it's often said that the themes reflected their subconscious or something, and with movies there's all the actors, composer, etc who can all be trying to infuse themes in there contrary to the intent of the director). But yeah, I think I was mainly reading gender stuff into it cause that seemed to be all it had to say. Using the Turing Test as a plot point alone doesn't make you deep and philosophical


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> and how a lonely nerd would try to humanize a cute robot cause he's a lonely nerd, both of which seem like gender issues to me.


Gender = sociological issue because society constructed gender s a set of rules for how a man being ought to act based on what sex organs they are born with.

This film clearly isn't about any sociological issues, social justices, social change, etc. Nothing in the film hints at that explicitly or implicitly.

"What is means to be human" = philosophical issue with extension to a psychological issue because the character of Caleb because having a psychological breakdown and questioning even if he was a human. Based on my previous answer, the film itself is very psychological, and you know this, because how the methods and possible outcomes it gets you thinking about and predicting.

As for the devolution into a "thriller"-esque ending, I think it was just because the writers didn't have any idea what else to do and it was the only way they could think of to expose Ava's true intentions so that the audience understood them. If the film resolved with dialogue, you would never know what her true intentions were (was she still lying in the dialogue?). However, since actions speak louder than words, they had to use the action of her escaping and taking flight to convey the finality to the viewers that "THIS" (her manipulation to escape) was her true intention all along. Sure, it was crappy to some...but hey...Hollywood.


----------



## Quiet Coil

Netflix just uploaded The Monster Squad recently. Completely un-PC with zero time spent on character development and plot holes galore, but I loved every cheesy moment. Makes me miss the 80's.

Except for the song at the end, a cringe-worthy theme if there ever was one.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

narad said:


> Just a quote from the director:
> 
> _My feeling was, the hardest thing was essentially to stop people automatically providing a gender, and beyond that just providing human-like qualities. Because we talk a lot about objectification, but actually more often what humans do is they de-objectify things. They attribute sentient qualities to things that dont actually have them, and so the initial path with Ava was to make her seem like a machine. That your first impression was not, This is a young woman who is dressed up like a robot, but this is unambiguously a machineand therefore in some respects doesnt have a gender. _
> 
> I read the posts talking all about gender and feminism in Ex Machina and was just shaking my head, so went out to see what the director had to say about it. It's fine to talk about what the actions of the male characters says about the way they're internalizing gender, but I find it super bizarre to read some sort of feminist allegory into it -- Ava's not a woman. Kyoko's not a woman. It's just a couple dudes hanging out with robots, and to focus on non-existent genders I think takes away from the broader question of what it means to be human.


What? This is bullsnot. You can't discuss "what it is to be human" without including gender -- you take away gender, we've stopped being human (I'm not saying that's necessarily good or bad), but I digress.

Are we talking about the same movie?


----------



## narad

Dusty Chalk said:


> What? This is bullsnot. You can't discuss "what it is to be human" without including gender -- you take away gender, we've stopped being human (I'm not saying that's necessarily good or bad), but I digress.
> 
> Are we talking about the same movie?



Like any of us is going to whip out a universally-accepted definition or the necessary conditions of what it means to be human? 

Usually in artificial intelligence the "what it means to be human" is explored as a contrast between man and machine, and very rarely does gender, and especially sexuality, ever enter the picture. If a machine exhibits signs of consciousness, how do we know if it's self-aware? As machines become smarter, what ethical obligations do we need to consider, and when? And if we accept that a machine can possess consciousness, what do we learn when we view ourselves as a reflection of that machine? Where does the "me" identify as "live"? Many, many great existential questions to ponder over, all in the absence gender. Good AI movies touch on these things -- like a thought experiment scaffolded by the film plot.



wankerness said:


> What exactly did the film have to say about what it means to be human? You two have now just sort of said that as a "oh, it's obvious" thing, but I really didn't see anything there. The movie seemed to have all the gloss and sheen of an intelligent movie, but it didn't seem to actually have the substance of one, if that makes any sense (ex, how it just devolves into a straight thriller).
> ..
> Using the Turing Test as a plot point alone doesn't make you deep and philosophical



Now everyone agrees the Turing test is an out-dated concept for assessing intelligence, but there's not a huge consensus on exactly what should be used instead. So a movie which aims to explore that issue, that's a great sci-fi premise. I happen to agree that it was light on follow-through, and that's not a Turing test I could agree with, but it is a new take on things.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

narad said:


> Like any of us is going to whip out a universally-accepted definition or the necessary conditions of what it means to be human?


I don't need to whip out a definition, I just need to find a contradiction -- imagine life without gender identity (or, more correctly, sexuality identity). You can't and not become totally alien. QED.

And don't bring up Morrissey -- ( a ) shunning sexuality is still a sexuality identity, ( b ) he _was_ alien.


narad said:


> Usually in artificial intelligence the "what it means to be human" is explored as a contrast between man and machine, and very rarely does gender, and especially sexuality, ever enter the picture. If a machine exhibits signs of consciousness, how do we know if it's self-aware? As machines become smarter, what ethical obligations do we need to consider, and when? And if we accept that a machine can possess consciousness, what do we learn when we view ourselves as a reflection of that machine? Where does the "me" identify as "live"? Many, many great existential questions to ponder over, all in the absence gender. Good AI movies touch on these things -- like a thought experiment scaffolded by the film plot.


Okay, so we're not talking about the same movie.

And many great sci-fi and fantasy films do quite the opposite, they use a sci-fi or fantasy concepts as a backdrop to make a totally human film, to make statements about society, or to investigate philosophical ramifications of scientific developments, fictional or otherwise.


narad said:


> Now everyone agrees the Turing test is an out-dated concept for assessing intelligence...


It was never intended as such. I, for one, don't agree that it's out-dated for its intended usage -- as was one of the points of this film.


----------



## narad

Dusty Chalk said:


> I don't need to whip out a definition, I just need to find a contradiction -- imagine life without gender identity (or, more correctly, sexuality identity). You can't and not become totally alien. QED.



Um...I can imagine that. If anyone's going to take it seriously and try to provide an objective definition, they're certainly not going to have it be conditional on one's imagination!



Dusty Chalk said:


> And many great sci-fi and fantasy films do quite the opposite, they use a sci-fi or fantasy concepts as a backdrop to make a totally human film, to make statements about society, or to investigate philosophical ramifications of scientific developments, fictional or otherwise.



Oh totally. But I'm talking about AI films specifically. But using sci-fi concepts to shift the focus to human considerations that often go overlooked in our own reality is exactly what I'm referring to, i.e., it's why those existential/philosophical questions get pushed to the forefront.



Dusty Chalk said:


> It was never intended as such. I, for one, don't agree that it's out-dated for its intended usage -- as was one of the points of this film.



I'm sorry, unless you misinterpret me, that is exactly what it was intended for.

As for whether the Turing test has any place in today's society, bear in mind that the test as originally defined has already been passed on a number of occasions. Have we already created an intelligent machine? If we haven't, then the test must be out-dated.

And if we have, it certainly wouldn't be the chatbots that passed the test -- those systems exploit long histories of previous chats together with some pre-canned aversions to give the illusion of intelligence, and given enough tests, you're bound to match up the right set of humans with the right set of machines to trick a few test takers. But there's a huge number of questions these machines fail abysmally at, and the Turing test never had any provision that the humans be well-versed at what kinds of questions the machines of today can't answer. That's one of its failings. 

Though I wonder if he ever meant it so literally at all - that we would actually hold events pairing off humans with chat partners, with monumental press releases ready? Anyway, the movie acknowledges that it's outdated! That is the entire premise! 

But now we're mostly just talking AI, not movies.


----------



## Skyblue

Chronicle- Wow. That's how a superhero movie is done. Dialogue felt completely genuine, and as for the characters- I found myself smiling and getting sad throughout the movie for the characters, so I'm guessing you can say they know their work. 
Probably the most realistic superhero movie I've ever seen.

Absolutely phenomenal.


----------



## MFB

Chronicle is awesome, it's a shame that the guy who did that did such a poor job with F4. 

Got to see Scorch Trials last night with a buddy of mine who works for a theater, it was ...entertaining if nothing else. I wasn't crazy about the Maze Runner and it had it's fair share of holes, but I wasn't adamantly against it either; it just kind of exists, a tangible 5/10 if you will. And this one follows suit. There's a number of cuts where you go, "OK, but how did they get there" and such, but like it's predecessor, as a surface film it does fine and I have no ill will towards it.


----------



## Skyblue

MFB said:


> Chronicle is awesome, it's a shame that the guy who did that did such a poor job with F4.



There were many rumors about him getting into fights with Fox, and how he claimed they ruined his movie and so on, but I think the main problem is that they simply took the wrong guy for the job. Chronicle is superhero meets realism, while F4 is supposed to be, at least somewhat, light-hearted and fantastic (no pun intended... well, kinda). With him they tried to make the movie all serious and dark and edgy and it's just not the right vibe to go with such a movie IMO. It's also funny how the movies turned out to be exact opposites of each other- Chronicle is all about the heroes getting to know their powers, while in F4 they went all "1 year later" and simply moved on with it (which was, IMO again, a horrible idea).


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Formula 51
Night of the Creeps
Lockout
Dead Rising: Watchtower
Orgazmo
Jawbreaker
Underworld


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## Dusty Chalk

narad said:


> I'm sorry, unless you misinterpret me, that is exactly what it was intended for.


No, not 'intelligence'. If I misunderstood that, it's only because I am reiterating back what you wrote. And at this point, I feel like I'm talking either to a machine or a politician who says whatever he wants to say and makes it sound like it's in response to what I'm saying, but doesn't address what I'm saying at all. So...TURING TEST FAIL.


> But now we're mostly just talking AI, not movies.


You are, but you digress.


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## wankerness

Got the bluray of Mad Max Fury Road, it was just as good as it was in the theater all 6 times I went to see it, though I did have to crank my surround system to achieve the same effect. Definitely the best action movie I've ever seen. Most of the frames from the sandstorm scene should be in a museum or something, the first shot here is probably my favorite effects shot ever!











































































(image overload! I forgot the spoiler function is not clickable and thus can't be used to hide images behind).


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## Emperor Guillotine

I still hold my stance that _Mad Max_ is just another crappy action flick and is severely overhyped.


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## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I still hold my stance that _Mad Max_ is just another crappy action flick and is severely overhyped.



Well, considering you hate EVERYTHING that's OK.


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## MFB

Except that Mad Max was great and is getting the praise it rightly deserves


----------



## Duosphere

Last Shift (2014) - Crap(copy of other movies).

We Are Still Here (2015) - Crap(copy of other movies).

Pay The Ghost (2015) - AKA Clicheland.I have no words to describe how crap it is.It feels like a collage of a bunch of movies glued with all types of cliches.I didn't care about the characters, in the end the only thing that could possibly have changed my opinion would be everybody dead.

Darkness (2002) - AKA Clicheland 2  , it felt like 4 damn slow hours nightmare.

Mad Max Fury Road (2015) - AKA Mad Theron cause Max character is completely null.Stupid action movie with car explosions, no character development, in the end I only wanted those hills exploding too and burying everybody.

Insidious 1,2,3 - Burn in Hell everybody involved with these stupidities.

The Adventures Of Tintin (2011 ) - Visually it's freakantastic!Story is boring.

Troll Hunter (2010) - Damn, finally some good CGI.I was expecting a dumb story just to show trolls but it has a cool story, there are some very smart explanations of what's happening and about government.Even when nothing is happening, they show a lot of beautiful Norwegian landscapes.Those trolls look awesome, they blend perfectly with those Norwegian landscapes.The end was a little predictable cause....well.....The Blair Witch Project curse struke again 

In Their Skin (2012) - Typical home invasion movie that brings nothing new.I really enjoyed the weird atmosphere between those families until the cards were on the table, then it felt like a dozen home invasion movies out there.As the story had nothing interesting, in the last 20 minutes weirdos became super weirdos and really ruined any chance of having a different ending.


----------



## Humbuck

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga


----------



## Skyblue

The Shining- Not much to be said, Kubrick knows his job, and knows it well. I liked it, but it wasn't ground breaking (Though it's age might be the cause of that)


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_The Green Inferno
_
I've watched a lot of f*cked up flicks in my day (including a few of the infamous gory cannibal exploitation films from the 70s and 80s that were banned in many countries), but _The Green Inferno&#8203; _was just unrelentingly brutal. The gore was so realistic and intense during a few scenes that some people had to leave the theater. First film to ever even make me feel queasy. Well done, Eli Roth... Was the film memorable? No. Was there anything new or innovative? No. Was the plot line good? It's a horror movie. People die. Predictable, but at least there were some injections of satire. Was the acting good? That is up to personal critique. Not getting into it. The film seemed to be more about technicality than artistry. But hey, it's all "art" at the end of the day, right?

Awhile back, I was just thinking to myself that films like the infamous cannibal exploitation flicks of the 70s and 80s needed some kind of modern remake with modern blood and gore effects. Lo and behold, I found out about Eli Roth's latest film here. Quite a coincidence in timing.


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## Dusty Chalk

wankerness said:


> Got the bluray of Mad Max Fury Road, it was just as good as it was in the theater all 6 times I went to see it, though I did have to crank my surround system to achieve the same effect. Definitely the best action movie I've ever seen. Most of the frames from the sandstorm scene should be in a museum or something, the first shot here is probably my favorite effects shot ever!
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Cannot like this post enough.

's'truth.

Hopefully (Redbox and friend's spouse be willing) will be watching this later today on the greatest home theater system I know (a friend with a D-ILA projector and Gallo Reference 3.1s for fr and fl).

Unrelated: watched *Penguins of Madagascar the Movie* the other day -- superb. Just a great amount of in-jokes.

"Drew, Barry, more firepower! Kevin, bake on, we're still going to need that victory cake..." (Kevin stirs the batter _that_ much more furiously.)


----------



## Rosal76

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _The Green Inferno_





Man....., I wish I was brave enough to watch this movie. After I watched "Make them die slowly/Cannibal Ferox (1981)", I wanted so badly to find the people who made that movie, slap them and tell them to take lessons from George A. Romero. 

Maybe one day...


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Rosal76 said:


> Man....., I wish I was brave enough to watch this movie. After I watched "Make them die slowly/Cannibal Ferox (1981)", I wanted so badly to find the people who made that movie, slap them and tell them to take lessons from George A. Romero.
> 
> Maybe one day...


Just watch it. The bloodshed isn't in many scenes, but when it hits...IT HITS. Like I said, I've been wanting some of those 70s and 80s cannibal exploitation flicks to have a modern remake with modern look and gore.

It was a good throwback to _Cannibal Holocaust_, _Cannibal Ferox_, _Eaten Alive_, etc. Everyone is saying it sucks merely based on the Rotten Tomatoes reviews and not seeing the film. It's just a "niche" sort of film, and I think you have to have a refined taste and be a gorehound to appreciate _The Green Inferno_.

I've just been waiting and waiting for the film, so I saw it in theaters (and I NEVER go to theaters) just for the experience and to say: "hey, I saw that film on its opening day". Was it worth it? For me, yeah sure; but for others, probably not. Just wait until it's in the RedBox or on Netflix or free streaming online somewhere.


----------



## wankerness

It's in pretty wide release around here, I might try and drag a friend to it tonight. More likely than not I won't be successful and he'll be furious if I am.  

I really don't like Cannibal Ferox (I also don't get its rep, the gore effects there are pretty mild, for example the castration isn't even remotely close to as graphic as the one in Cannibal Holocaust or especially Hostel II or even frickin 21 Jump Street) but think Cannibal Holocaust is very good. I saw mountain of the cannibal god so many years ago that I don't remember anything other than naked mud-covered middle-aged Ursula Andress. Haven't seen any of the other cannibal flicks unless you count Zombie Holocaust. Man from Deep River is supposed to be pretty good.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> I really don't like Cannibal Ferox



Neither do I brother, neither do I.

A lot of my friends tell me, "dude, how can "Dawn of the dead (1978)" and "Day of the dead (1985)" be two of your favorite movies but you don't have the courage to watch "Make them die slowly/Cannibal Ferox, Cannibal Holocaust, The Green Barf Bag ", etc, etc, etc?

Not trying to turn this thread into "horror movies 101" but...

The humans who have turned into zombies in Dawn and Day of the dead didn't want to do what they do in the movie. They didn't want to die, get back up, walk around and eat people. I see zombies in those movies the same way I see a hungry bear, alligator or wolf. They want to eat. Unforunately, humans happen to be on their menu. However, in movies like Make them die/Cannibal Ferox, etc, etc, etc, the tribes who eat people in those movies know exactly what they're doing. I saw a trailer for The Green Inferno in which they show a female tribe leader smiling. Dude!!! That is freaking disturbing to me!!! Is she smiling because she takes pleasure in torturing people and that they have a meal tonight? WTF? As least the zombies in Dawn and Day don't smile when they're eating people. 

We all have different views on movies and I'm just weird when it comes to zombies eating people vs. jungle tribes eating people. I do not at all have anything against movies like Make them die/Cannibal Ferox, Cannibal Holocaust, etc, etc, etc, and the people who watch them. The movies are just too disturbing too me.


----------



## wankerness

Cannibal Ferox is just cartoony and goofy with some sophomoric attempts to shock thrown in. The famous breast-hanging scene is kinda gross, but the rest of it isn't anything worse than in Dawn of the Dead, and the film is so idiotic that I am surprised you find it disturbing. I get your conceptual thing, but yeah, it's so incredibly inept that I don't think it would hold. Just listen to the opening theme, it gives you a good idea of how seriously you should be taking it.



The only thing about it that I would suggest as a good reason to avoid it are all the animal deaths.

Cannibal Holocaust is legitimately well-made and eerie for the most part and I get your hesitation with that one!

I saw Black Mass last night, it's got some good performances but doesn't have much of anything to say and is kind of a mess plotwise. People that really like gangster flicks will probably be happy with it.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Rosal76 said:


> However, in movies like Make them die/Cannibal Ferox, etc, etc, etc, the tribes who eat people in those movies know exactly what they're doing. I saw a trailer for The Green Inferno in which they show a female tribe leader smiling. Dude!!! That is freaking disturbing to me!!! Is she smiling because she takes pleasure in torturing people and that they have a meal tonight? WTF? As least the zombies in Dawn and Day don't smile when they're eating people.



Just watch this little snippet of Eli Roth talking with Fandango about his new film. Note his satirical purpose in making the film. And also note that he said that he showed the villagers of the tribe _Cannibal Holocaust_ for reference. (Ok, now THAT is messed up.)



Now watch the actual red band clip/trailer on YouTube. You could guess what comes next...and you wouldn't like it...


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> The famous breast-hanging scene is kinda gross, but the rest of it isn't anything worse than in Dawn of the Dead, and the film is so idiotic that I am surprised you find it disturbing.



And I'll explain it. Wankerness, I know you love talking movies so I'm doing this for you, brother. * Take note that is just my opinion.

The "who/what/why/where/how" of a gore/special effects scene filmed in one horror movie can have a extremely drastic reaction for me in another, even if there are similarities in both scenes. It can be based on the victims/characters status, why he/she is being killed, how he/she is being killed, the viewers feelings for the victims/characters and how he/she is killed, the details/nuances the film makers put into the scene, the duration of the scene, etc, etc, etc.

Lets take 2 different characters from 2 different movies. Freddy Kruger from the Nightmare on Elm street movies and Cybil Bennett from Silent Hill (2006). Both characters/victims in both movies have died from being burned alive. Although, Freddy always comes back, 9 times if I'm not incorrect. Would Freddy have 9th degree burns? 

Now, know one gives a rat's ass when Freddy gets burned. He deserves it, the child killer that he is. When he gets burned, he is normally running or the special effects crew is using a puppet (Nightmare 2). I'm like, "good riddance, see you in the next Nightmare movie so you can be burned again". You don't really see the agony on his face but when you can, nothing against the special effects team but honestly, Freddy's face already looks like a burnt pizza and so, a fresh fire isn't going to disfigure him anymore than he already is and therefore, not shock me. 

Now, Cybil Bennett (played by Laure Holden) being burned alive in Silent Hill is a whoooooole different scene. She's a good person who sacrificed herself to help Rose. She is tied to a ladder so it's not that she can run, drop to the ground and roll around. You see every disgusting burn blister appear on her face. The crowd (in the movie, not the movie theater) who are around her are pointing and laughing at her while she is being burned. I uncomfortably feel every excruciating second of her death scene. Cybil's death scene, IMHO, is far, far, far more disturbing to me than any of Freddy's countless burning death scenes and/or any death by fire scene in any movie that I have ever seen and/or can think of.

Anyways, IMHO, the gore/special effects in Dawn of the dead (1978) would be like Freddy being burned in his movies and the gore/special effects in Make them die slowly would be like Cybil being burned in Silent Hill. I admit that I have a weird thing about analyzing/comparing/dissecting movies but it's because I love them so much. Well, not the movie, Make them die slowly.  Again, this is a strong, IMHO. 

As far as the soundtrack for Make them die... Yeah, clearly the soundtrack guy was going to disco clubs at night after filming and it must have rubbed off on him.


----------



## Rosal76

Emperor Guillotine said:


> And also note that he said that he showed the villagers of the tribe _Cannibal Holocaust_ for reference. (Ok, now THAT is messed up.)



Good thing the villagers didn't think, "oh, this movie is a documentary on how we really are".

Coming to theaters near you. Eli Roth's last movie before being eaten alive by his village extras. Cannibal Holocaust 2: S__t gets real!!!


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) - Again. The last 40 minutes is still the best car chase in a movie.
Vanishing Point (1997) - A passable made for TV remake but totally skip able.


----------



## wankerness

Rosal76 said:


> And I'll explain it. Wankerness, I know you love talking movies so I'm doing this for you, brother. * Take note that is just my opinion.



I can relate to this, even though I'm far more desensitized than you. There was a phase for a few months after I read the book Helter Skelter where anything I saw with stabbing just disturbed me and made me feel sick cause I'd connect it back to a particular quote from Susan Atkins in that book which was really, really visceral and disturbing to me. It became too "real" and I was thinking way too much about what it would actually be like in real life and how messed up you'd have to be to do such a thing. Any OTHER kind of violence, though, was A-OK! I got over it after a while when I forgot what the quote was exactly, plus I watch a million movies and specialize in horror, but yeah. If you put yourself into the character's place like that when you can connect it to real life, I get it. If you want to be cool like me, just watch a whole ton of more grisly movies so you can feel nothing too


----------



## Edika

Now I'm going to put a slight halt to the momentum of the last few posts and say I finally was able to watch "The Minions". Really funny and entertaining and the mega ukelele scene at the end was awesome.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> , and specialize in horror,





wankerness said:


> If you want to be cool like me, just watch a whole ton of more grisly movies so you can feel nothing too



I was there, man, I was there. I did earn my "Gore movie badge" back in the 80's. Basket case (1982), Dawn of the dead (1978), I spit on your grave (1978), The last house on the left (1972), Maniac (1980), The Mutilator (1985), Re-animator (1985) Zombie (1979), etc, etc, etc. Unfortunately, I had to take that badge off. When the next generation of gore horror movies came out like Cabin fever (2002), Hostel (2006) and the Saw movies, that's when I lost my badge and stomach. 

I still love horror movies, but the ones I like to gravitate towards are like, The Amityville horror (1979), The Exorcist (1973), The Fog (1980), Silence of the lambs (1991), The Shining (1980), etc, etc, etc. Basically horror movies where they talk more and slash less. 

Damn, I'm getting old!


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Edika said:


> Now I'm going to put a slight halt to the momentum of the last few posts and say I finally was able to watch "The Minions". Really funny and entertaining and the mega ukelele scene at the end was awesome.


Now go watch the Penguins of Madagascar movie -- so much better.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Edika said:


> Now I'm going to put a slight halt to the momentum of the last few posts and say I finally was able to watch "The Minions". Really funny and entertaining and the mega ukelele scene at the end was awesome.


Now go watch the Penguins of Madagascar movie -- so much better.

I did enjoy the Minions through the ages montage.


----------



## DARK8

I saw Black Mass earlier with my uncle. It was pretty good.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Rosal76 said:


> I was there, man, I was there. I did earn my "Gore movie badge" back in the 80's. Basket case (1982), Dawn of the dead (1978), I spit on your grave (1978), The last house on the left (1972), Maniac (1980), The Mutilator (1985), Re-animator (1985) Zombie (1979), etc, etc, etc. Unfortunately, I had to take that badge off. When the next generation of gore horror movies came out like Cabin fever (2002), Hostel (2006) and the Saw movies, that's when I lost my badge and stomach.
> 
> I still love horror movies, but the ones I like to gravitate towards are like, The Amityville horror (1979), The Exorcist (1973), The Fog (1980), Silence of the lambs (1991), The Shining (1980), etc, etc, etc. Basically horror movies where they talk more and slash less.


Man, some of those films have got nothing on the gorefests that I've watched that have been banned in various countries (stuff from the 70s up to the modern period 00s). Some were ever a bit hard to find to watch.

Anyway, I find myself gravitating more towards the latters that you mentioned. Stuff like _The Shining_, _The Exorcist_, _The Amityville Horror_ are classic because they are horror films that have these dramatic/thriller elements marked by this constantly building tension in the atmosphere from story development and/or character development. There isn't much bloodshed...or really even blood...in all three of those flicks. (Minus the elevator scene in _The Shining_, haha!) It just makes for a more effective punch when the scare hits as opposed to films that are "constant jumpers" (with terrible story) or "constant slashers" (mutually that only get their fame from the cult following revolving around the slasher himself: Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers), or just gorefests like what wankerness and I watch. And on the flipside, there are dramatic films with elements of horror that are just classic as well for the same reasons. So,go examples would be: _The Silence of the Lambs_, _Rosemary's Baby_, and even _Repulsion_.

Actually, about a year and a half ago, I wrote a paper for one of my courses at the university on the desensitization that occurs through media violence. I then wrote a second paper focusing on how films in other foreign countries are regulated (for violent content) and how filmmakers in those countries portray violence and have come up with solutions on how to keep violence in their films despite the regulations by portraying the violence artistically on screen. (Example: China's media is heavily regulated; however, when you think of Chinese films, you think of what?...Kung-fu, martial arts, etc. Some are dull, some are pretty graphic. But watch something like _Hero_ and you'll understand what I mean about how they keep violence in the films by portraying the violence artistically the preserve that part of their culture.) I would actually like to revisit the first of these two papers and examine the desensitization of media further. When I was originally writing the first paper a year and a half ago, I was sitting at my desk thinking about how the gorefests that I watch have desensitized me to any sort of violent content. (I mean, I have seen some f*cked up stuff...)


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Rosal76 said:


> Good thing the villagers didn't think, "oh, this movie is a documentary on how we really are".
> 
> Coming to theaters near you. Eli Roth's last movie before being eaten alive by his village extras. Cannibal Holocaust 2: S__t gets real!!!




for the record the villagers thought Cannibal Holocaust was a comedy, and they thought they were acting in a comedy


----------



## High Plains Drifter

From Amazon over the last few months... all old to me but needed to be added to my collection: 

Taxi Driver 
Rear Window
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Dog Day Afternoon
Young Frankenstein 
Harold & Maude
Spinal Tap
The French Connection
The Professional
Altered States
Angel Heart


----------



## Duosphere

I saw you guys talking about Cannibal Holocaust so I had to watch it.
What a garbage.
Oh I got it, it's called that way because a holocaust killed all cannibals, right?
Blood looks so fake, no dick on rape scene and no scene looked real in any level so why it got banned and even director was arrested?
Who in this universe could think even for a moment that thing is for real? 
Only 5 minutes of Indians pretending they're eating people while cameraman instead of running away chose to keep filming?
So real!
The only Holocaust I saw was my time butchered by that endless boring garbage.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

High Plains Drifter said:


> Taxi Driver
> Rear Window
> One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest


SOOOOO GOOD!!!

I need to watch _Rear Window_ again. It's been quite awhile since I watched a Hitchcock film. (Went on a total Hitchcock binge about maybe a year and a half or two years ago.)


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> I saw you guys talking about Cannibal Holocaust so I had to watch it.
> What a garbage.
> Oh I got it, it's called that way because a holocaust killed all cannibals, right?
> Blood looks so fake, no dick on rape scene and no scene looked real in any level so why it got banned and even director was arrested?
> Who in this universe could think even for a moment that thing is for real?
> Only 5 minutes of Indians pretending they're eating people while cameraman instead of running away chose to keep filming?
> So real!
> The only Holocaust I saw was my time butchered by that endless boring garbage.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Duosphere said:


> I saw you guys talking about Cannibal Holocaust so I had to watch it.
> What a garbage.
> Oh I got it, it's called that way because a holocaust killed all cannibals, right?
> Blood looks so fake, no dick on rape scene and no scene looked real in any level so why it got banned and even director was arrested?
> Who in this universe could think even for a moment that thing is for real?
> Only 5 minutes of Indians pretending they're eating people while cameraman instead of running away chose to keep filming?
> So real!
> The only Holocaust I saw was my time butchered by that endless boring garbage.


I am laughing so hard right now.

70s film standards vs. modern 00s film standards.

(Side note: this guy is talking about how much he wants to see dick.)


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> (Side note: this guy is talking about how much he wants to see dick.)





Godzilla Holocaust

Spoiler.................Godzilla is not there.


----------



## Rosal76

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Some were ever a bit hard to find to watch.
> 
> I was sitting at my desk thinking about how the gorefests that I watch have desensitized me to any sort of violent content. (I mean, I have seen some f*cked up stuff...)


 
The difference between desensitized people and you is that you were able to recognize that some of the gorefest movies that you watched were, "a bit hard to watch" and "f__ked up" like you stated in your post. Don't let go, Emperor!  (Quoting Noah from The Walking dead). You saw the line, recognized/examined (University paper you wrote) it and then determined where you stood.  

Now, you remember when they re-released The Exorcist in the theaters in 2000, marking it as, "The Exorcist: The version you haven't seen"? Anyways, I went to see the movie in the theaters and there were audience members laughing at some of the scenes. That to me, are desensitized people. I'm sorry but I don't see anything remotely funny in The Exorcist. Not trying to sound like Christian evangelist, Billy Graham but watching a little girl suffer in the hands of the Devil isn't exactly a comedy to me. Now, if they were laughing at Jack Nicholson in The Shining I could understand that because Jack was acting goofy in some scenes in that movie, but besides the point.


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> Anyways, I went to see the movie in the theaters and there were audience members laughing at some of the scenes. That to me, are desensitized people. I'm sorry but I don't see anything remotely funny in The Exorcist. Not trying to sound like Christian evangelist, Billy Graham but watching a little girl suffer in the hands of the Devil isn't exactly a comedy to me. Now, if they were laughing at Jack Nicholson in The Shining I could understand that because Jack was acting goofy in some scenes in that movie, but besides the point.



MAYBE because kids these days already watched a thousand possession movies with really better(or worse) effects than people when The Exorcist was released.I remember the faces of my parents and my grandparents when they got back from the theater, they were really scared.When I watched in the 90's I was a little scared and a doll turning its head was kind of goofy, I almost laughed a little.
So the way you react to a movie depends on whatever experiences you had with other movies and life experiences. 
If today a kid called Hendrix starts playing guitar on tv, I guess nobody would care about him, the majority of kids would prefer.......DJENT


----------



## Rosal76

Duosphere said:


> MAYBE because kids these days already watched a thousand possession movies with really better(or worse) effects than people when The Exorcist was released.



Has nothing to do with the effects, the time the movie came out or the amount of possession movies a individual has watched. Its the fact that a little girl is suffering and her Mom desperately trying to save her. And people, somehow, someway think that's funny. Yes, I know. It's a free country. People are allowed to laugh at girls being possessed. I just thought it was mean.


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> Has nothing to do with the effects, the time the movie came out or the amount of possession movies a individual has watched. Its the fact that a little girl is suffering and her Mom desperately trying to save her. And people, somehow, someway think that's funny. Yes, I know. It's a free country. People are allowed to laugh at girls being possessed. I just thought it was mean.



I disagree.
People think it's funny because the way it was presented so it has to do with effects and other movies they watched.
In my case, I don't have beliefs so anybody possessed by a demon is a joke itself, even worse if the way a movie is presented to me feels even funnier.
That little girl is suffering with a demon inside of her, if you think demons are fairy tale so you gotta laugh about it, if you think demons are real, run to a church but hey, the only way demons get out of Hell is if God set them free so I guess a church or a priest with holly water won't help you.

You can have the scariest story ever but if everything there looks stupid, it'll feel like a joke, so like I said people will feel it seriously or like a joke depending the way it's presented and experiences they had.If that girl was suffering because Hitler was torturing her, nobody would think it's funny.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Emperor Guillotine said:


> SOOOOO GOOD!!!
> 
> I need to watch _Rear Window_ again. It's been quite awhile since I watched a Hitchcock film. (Went on a total Hitchcock binge about maybe a year and a half or two years ago.)



Indeed. I really like the classic stuff... Hitchcock, Mel Brooks, etc. 

I'm also a sucker for really bad B movies. Old cheaply-made/ poorly produced, poorly acted, poorly directed flicks that most people have never heard of. The cheesier the better lol.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Rosal76 said:


> The difference between desensitized people and you is that you were able to recognize that some of the gorefest movies that you watched were, "a bit hard to watch" and "f__ked up" like you stated in your post.


Please read my quote AGAIN. Read my words.



Emperor Guillotine said:


> Man, some of those films have got nothing on the gorefests that I've watched that have been banned in various countries (stuff from the 70s up to the modern period 00s). *Some were even a bit hard to find to watch.*


I meant that they were hard to find online so that I could stream/watch them.

Also, while I do recognize some stuff as being "f*cked up", that doesn't stop me from watching it. Often times, that makes me want to watch it more. Haha! That is my stance.



Duosphere said:


> MAYBE because kids these days already watched a thousand possession movies with really better(or worse) effects than people when The Exorcist was released.


It all has to do with standards. 

Back in the day, _The Exorcist_ was considered scary. Compared to stuff nowadays, with higher standards and better effects and superior production, _The Exorcist_ isn't scary.

Back in the day, Hendrix was considered as a great player. Compared to players nowadays, with extremely well-honed techniques and superior skills, Hendrix isn't a good player.


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> It all has to do with standards.
> 
> Back in the day, _The Exorcist_ was considered scary. Compared to stuff nowadays, with higher standards and better effects and superior production, _The Exorcist_ isn't scary.
> 
> Back in the day, Hendrix was considered as a great player. Compared to players nowadays, with extremely well-honed techniques and superior skills, Hendrix isn't a good player.





That's what I said.
In my case, if you exchange the demon in The Exorcist for any other UNKNOWN supernatural creature without any religion bull...., I would take it seriously just like with Sinister, the unknown is scarier than anything, something supernatural without any known rules are attacking so what could I expect?I don't know and that's what's interesting or even scary to me.The Exorcist is a great classic, I don't laugh but I can't take it seriously too, I just watch and think "please somebody fix that broken Hell's gate" 
The scariest parts are those ones out of her bedroom when they're thinking about what to do, just like with Jaws which you almost never see the shark.


----------



## mongey

just got around to watching the 2nd avengers movie 

liked the 1st half then I kinda had no idea what was going on


----------



## narad

Rosal76 said:


> Has nothing to do with the effects, the time the movie came out or the amount of possession movies a individual has watched. Its the fact that a little girl is suffering and her Mom desperately trying to save her. And people, somehow, someway think that's funny. Yes, I know. It's a free country. People are allowed to laugh at girls being possessed. I just thought it was mean.



The Exorcist is a slow burn by modern horror standards. Some people get really absorbed in that and some don't. I can imagine the emphasis on family ties could actually be a distraction in comparison to some modern horror that is non-stop terror, and when you're not enthralled, yea, some of those special effects probably come across as quite cheesy when viewed through a modern lens.


----------



## wankerness

The Exorcist is easily one of the best horror movies ever made, and isn't scary at all. The character work in it is great and Damien Karras is one of the best heroes of all time. I'm curious how anyone could ever have been scared by it unless they believed in demonic possession, it doesn't really have anything that seems intentionally SCARY in it (besides maybe those subtle flashes of the demon's face), just things that are shocking and offensive. The famed reports of people fainting during it were because of that scene with the needle into the neck in the doctor's office. Dismissing horror movies for not being scary is ridiculous since once you've watched a lot of them you pretty much won't be scared by any of them anymore, and thus if you thought they had to be scary to be good, you'd no longer be able to like any of them. I think we've had this discussion though, minus this duosphere guy.


----------



## narad

The crab walk was scary!


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I was young. Just the freakin' lighting scared me.


----------



## Rosal76

narad said:


> The crab walk was scary!



+1.

But you put in the wrong Emoticon. It should be  and/or .


----------



## Skyblue

Inside Out- I cried like a little girl. Damn you Pixar. wub


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> The Exorcist is easily one of the best horror movies ever made, and isn't scary at all.



+1.

I love the movie because it has, IMHO, powerful/meaningful scenes. Believe it or not, some of my favorite scenes from that movie are actually non-effects scenes. One of them are when the doctors are explaining to Regan's Mom what they think is the cause of Regans problems. When one of the doctor asks Chris, "do you have any religious beliefs?", I really enjoy that scene because the doctors now know what we the audience already know. That Regan is possibly possessed and her Mom, Chris, will now continue to the next step in saving her daughter. Which leads us to my next favorite scene...

When the Bishop and University president are discussing on getting Merrin to perform the exorcism. I really enjoy that scene because now we have people who know what the problem is and how to fix it. I feel safe and secure when the University president says, "besides, he's had experience". Merrin is like the Obi-Wan Kenobi of exorcists to me. 

I didn't always think like this. Back then for me, it was all talk based on the exorcism scenes but now, I love everything about the movie.


----------



## broj15

I have no cable or internet at my house so I watch a TON of movies. I've seen most of these before, but they were just the highlights from the week:

American Beauty
Psycho (1999 version)
88mm
Se7en
American Psycho
Office Space
Jawbreaker
Mystic River
Runaway Jury
The Usual Suspects

Favorite actors are probably Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, John Cusack, John Malcovich, and Nicolas Cage (an opinion I always catch a lot of .... for). Favorite directors are David Fincher, Stanley Kubrick, Oliver Stone, and Quentin Tarantino.


----------



## MFB

_Goodnight Mommy_ - 7/10

Horror movie that came out of Austria not too long ago, I dug it overall but there were certainly some scenes that never panned out into anything which kind of annoyed me; but at the same time, it did make me question if it annoyed me because they didn't add anything to the movie or because we're trained to expect them to pan out into something and when it doesn't we're left feeling cheated? The cinematography was on point, and the kid actors weren't insufferable like most movies you see, so both of those also help a fairly intriguing plot become something more. The third act gets its fair share of "Oh no, please don't" moments and when the movies over you can see ways in which they hinted at things the whole time but also distracted from them.

_Sleeping with Other People_ - 8.5/10

I so, so, SO desperately want to give this a 9 but for some reason can't bring myself to. A great cast from start to finish - you've got Jason Sudeikis, Allison Brie, Adam Scott, and a whole bunch of others supporting them and all killing it. It's not a "new" concept by any means since it is a rom-com, but the writing in it is so great and they play into some of the classic moves you'd expect them to make with the genre. 

Plus, Allison Brie shows a good amount of skin and dear God, it is worth every second of it.


----------



## wankerness

Adam Scott's starting to be high on my list of people who ruin any scene they're in. His character was such a humor blackhole throughout the last two seasons of Parks and Rec (90% gross romantic pawing and 10% LOL ISN'T THIS GUY A NERD LOL), and it's extended to me disliking him when I see him in interviews or even when I see him in a bit part in Black Mass!  Is he actually funny in anything?


----------



## MFB

Really?

I loved him immediately in Parks and Rec, but I had also seen him in Party Down which aired on Starz. It's only two seasons, and I wanna say it was like Parks/The Office, but it's tough to call since in hindsight it doesn't seem like an accurate call. Aside from that, he played a perfect asshole in Stepbrothers and that's _kind of_ his role in SwOP. I haven't seen ACOD (Adult Children of Disorder) but I heard it was good, so aside from those I can't think of anything else.


----------



## wankerness

Hmm, I didn't know who he was when I saw Stepbrothers. I remember a jerk character, but not that it was him! I should revisit that. I could see him working in a role like that. He just is not good as "sensitive romantic guy," that's for sure.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Repo Man - First time seeing it. Can definitely see why it's a cult classic.

Death Race 2 - Better than I thought it'd be but Danny Trejo must ask for little or no money to be in as much direct to DVD .... as he is.

Death Race 3: Inferno - 14K must love the sound of an engine bouncing off the rev limiter.

Olympus Has Fallen - King Leonidas must save Harvey Dent from North Korean terrorists lead by Johnny Tran as God watches on.

The Runaways - I had this on in the background and while I was playing I had no desire to turnaround and watch it.

[Rec] - Definitely better than the American version.

[Rec]2 - The whole POV thing was starting to get old by the end, but I might have felt that way because I watched it directly after the first one.

[Rec]3 - The only real memorable thing from this movie was the chainsaw scene.

Ultraviolet - I can only assume this was an response to AeonFlux, and it might have been decent if it was actually animated and not just filmed on green screen.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration - Certainly better than the direct to DVD movies with that ex football player and the one with Goldberg.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning - Alot darker than the previous movies, almost to the point of barely being related.


----------



## MFB

Deliver Us From Evil - 5/10

Average horror movie, decent casting but didn't really do anything for me. I didn't hate it, but I guess I just expected me from it given the hype it got initially.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Carrion Rocket said:


> Ultraviolet - I can only assume this was an response to AeonFlux, and it might have been decent if it was actually animated and not just filmed on green screen.


Funny that you mention that. I watched both on impulse (one on one night, and the other on the following night), and I thought the exact same thing. The two are just so similar.


----------



## wankerness

I watched Star Wars: The Phantom Menace for the first time since seeing it in the theater back in 99 when I was a kiddie. The really funny thing is that it holds up better than the turd sandwich that is Attack of the Clones. At least it looks like a movie, instead of a soap opera.  The actors look like they're on sets instead of in a brightly lit green room, and the fact it was shot on film instead of experimental digital cameras gives it MUCH more of the sheen of a professional production. Jar Jar is annoying as hell, as are the terrible racist chinese alien villains, as are the times when Boss Nass starts shaking his jowels for "hilarity," but it's a pretty good-looking movie apart from most of the CGI and the pod race still holds up and Darth Maul is an entertaining dude, much more so than Count Dooku or Jango Fett or General Grievous anyway.


----------



## Skyblue

Edge of Tomorrow- a fun action movie. Works the whole time loop idea pretty well. And Emily Blunt


----------



## MFB

Akira - 6/10

It's tough to fairly judge this one because it inspired a good chunk of stuff I've seen, so I knew a lot of the tropes when they happened, but I think I like the idea of it more than the execution. The beginning gets off to a pretty slow start and there's so much that you just kind of have to tune out and realize it's never going to be discussed, which makes it that much more confusing. I ended up reading a Redditor's analysis of the movie and it made everything much clearer, plus I also saw that they left out parts from the manga given how expansive it is which also disconnects part of the movie.

I don't know, this is one of the movies where I appreciate the legacy more than the work itself


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Hot Girls Wanted_

Just finished watching. Very interesting documentary. Could have been done better. You do walk away learning a whole lot...or at least learning a little bit. The documentary does do a good job of emphasizing the notion/thought of "that is someone's daughter" onscreen acting in porn. Also, the focus on the nonexistent longevity of a starlet's run in amateur porn shows that it is a brief and bitter reality in a cutthroat industry where the girls want a quick fix for quick money. 

(It does get me thinking that now I would perhaps like to see a documentary on established, "professional" starlets that you see appear over and over. How is the "professional" world vs. the amateur world? Is it possible to "make it" like some of these recognized names? How do the "professional" starlets handle the treatment?)

I'm going to need some time to sit and digest this one. 

Well worth a watch if you have the free time. (It is short and is distributed through Netflix.)


----------



## MFB

I watched that last week actually and it was pretty much what I expected. I got bored the first time mainly because the actresses were pretty annoying and what you'd expect a 19 year old wanna be porn star actress to act like. I was surprised at how many ended up leaving the industry after such little time.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

MFB said:


> I watched that last week actually and it was pretty much what I expected. I got bored the first time mainly because the actresses were pretty annoying and what you'd expect a 19 year old wanna be porn star actress to act like. I was surprised at how many ended up leaving the industry after such little time.


The turnover rate was a slap in the face. 1-3 months. If a girl was doing good, then 3-6 months. If she could handle it, had a following (recognition), and was determined, then 1 year TOPS.

Like I said, I still would like to see something on the "professional" world of the industry now though and see what survival is like and if it is possible to "make it". How do you become a recognized name? Is it just as cutthroat as the amateur world or not?

Regardless, the porn industry is very dark.


----------



## wankerness

There's a pretty well-known documentary from a couple years ago on the pros called "After Porn Ends." It gets boring at points, but it has some interesting cases and is fairly objective about it. I've seen a lot of people say "OMG IT'S SO HORRIFYING ALL PORN SHOULD BE BURNED" after watching it, but I didn't get that impression at all! Some of them turned out pretty decently, and the main thing I found infuriating in it was the stigma experienced by all of the people AFTER their career, which was ridiculous. I was envisioning like, the crazy organ-playing lady from Edward Scissorhands trying to run them out of town, etc. 

The woman that ended up being a bounty hunter is the most interesting and actually seems the most stable, besides maybe Richard Pacheco, whose footage with his daughter is truly adorable. Of course, then you have the cases like Crissy Moran to balance it out. Mary Carey's little postscript towards the end about the ways she'd compromise herself is probably the funniest and most casually shocking bit. 

I think it was on Netflix when I watched it.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> There's a pretty well-known documentary from a couple years ago on the pros called "After Porn Ends." [...] I think it was on Netflix when I watched it.


Thanks, wank. I'll check it out. Maybe get on Google later.

--------------------------------------------

Just finished _Se7en_. Haven't watched this film in a long time, but have had the most peculiar desire to watch it recently. So I did. Still a damn good movie.


----------



## MFB

The Final Girls - 7/10

Satire film about summer camp horror films with enough self awareness to do it right. Cast had a few names attached to it that might draw people but most were the 'where do I recognize them from' type.


----------



## wankerness

Taissa Farmiga reallllllly bugs me.


----------



## MFB

I don't mind her overall, there's some parts where she sells it more than others for sure, which is why it was an easy 7 vs 8 or so


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_After Porn Ends_

Pretty boring at times, but still interesting with learning about how the industry operated in the 70s and 80s, and interesting hearing about what happened to big "stars" as they tried to re-assimilate back into normality. The industry back then still doesn't seem like much compared to the stuff that happens nowadays.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

*Akira* is awesome -- for the longest time, it was the standard I used as to what, specifically, anime had over live-action cinema. By putting detail into the places where the eye looks, and glossing over where it didn't, it conveyed a sense of scale that live action could not.

That has since become less the case -- case in point, *Mad Max: Fury Road* -- especially the sandstorm portion -- but still...for the longest time...


----------



## Duosphere

Spring (2014) - IMDb

What the hell was that???!!!
They speak for almost 2 hours but I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen.
Beautiful landscapes, boring stuff happening suddently weird stuff starts happening then........really weird stuff.
I can't even explain why I like it, maybe those beautiful Italian landscapes, maybe everything is outdoors so no crap fake settings, maybe their relationship , maybe the weird stuff mixed with normal stuff resulting in something that caught my attention.................I don't know.
One thing I know for sure, there's one tiny scene that made me jump outta my bed and I felt my arms on fire like ready to fight, it was something really unexpected and so fast, no other movie scene made me feel that way, not even all jump scares from all horror movies, if you're alone and really paying attention to what's happening, you'll jump too and it wasn't a cheap jump scare, it was part of the scene and nothing something for free.
If I knew the plot probably I won't watch it cause it's so absurd and sounds so boring but like I said, something there(probably a mix of everything) kept me inside of it. 
So........what the hell was that?!


----------



## Duosphere

Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) - IMDb

Damn, it looks amazing!
Some landscapes are freakintastic!
I can only imagine how much fun they had building them.


----------



## Skyblue

The Man Who Wasn't There- As with every other Coen brothers film I'll probably need to re-watch it to fully appreciate it, but upon first viewing I really liked it. The Coen brothers are absolute geniuses.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

No Tears for the Dead -- fantastic movie, really enjoyed this, more than just a fight movie.

Kung Fu Killer -- just a fight movie, but o what a fight movie.


----------



## mikernaut

TUSK- lol oh man that was messed up, went in blind not really knowing what to expect. Didn't even realize it was a Kevin Smith film until the credits. Entertainingly dark humor but twisted and weird hahaha.

CIRCLE- Circle (2015) - IMDb

I liked this one it was an interesting scifi-ish movie with commentary about what Humans/human nature will do in the face of crisis. Has a vibe kind of like the movie "Cube" which is one of my favs.


----------



## mongey

went to see crimson peak . Looked great everything else was a little meh


----------



## MFB

mikernaut said:


> CIRCLE- Circle (2015) - IMDb
> 
> I liked this one it was an interesting scifi-ish movie with commentary about what Humans/human nature will do in the face of crisis. Has a vibe kind of like the movie "Cube" which is one of my favs.



Ha, didn't realize someone else watched this recently. Threw it on while I did my workout yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it; reminded me a lot of "The Exam." Simple concept, good execution, and some recognizable faces too.


----------



## TRENCHLORD

I posted on this awhile back about the movie Foxcatcher (which sucked IMO), well now there's a new ESPN 30-for-30 documentary on this very story, and it's very good IMO.
Seems the movie really swayed from many of the important details, and also omitted much, which is basically normal for movies "based on a true story".

Here's the trailer.
ESPN documentary on John du Pont, Dave and Mark Schultz, and the story that inspired &#8220;Foxcatcher,&#8221; airs tonight at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT : National Registry for Wrestling


----------



## wankerness

I'm starting to take "it was different from the book" or "it was different from real life" as a completely useless criticism when it comes to movies. Of course it was different! Go read the book or watch a documentary if that was what you wanted. I'm glad you were proactive in this case.


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

Skyblue said:


> Edge of Tomorrow- a fun action movie. Works the whole time loop idea pretty well. And Emily Blunt



I thought it was a good show. Pretty much Groundhog Day with mech warfare. lol


----------



## Bloodshredder

I recently rewatched the "PUSHER" trilogy (from Nicolas Winding Refn)
Every movie is so different and all of them are incredible on their own.

You have to engage yourself into the characters to follow it easily, but that makes it even more fun to watch.


----------



## Rosal76

Bloodshredder said:


> I recently rewatched the "PUSHER" trilogy (from Nicolas Winding Refn)
> Every movie is so different and all of them are incredible on their own.
> 
> You have to engage yourself into the characters to follow it easily, but that makes it even more fun to watch.



+1.

I have not watched Pusher 3 but was very impressed with Mads Mikkelsen's performance in the first 2 movies. There is a lot of desperation in the character he is playing and all I want for him is to get his life together.


----------



## Rosal76

Just watched Rollerball (1975) for probably the 10th time. This is one of the rare movies that I still own on Betamax. Possibly my favorite dystopian style movie and to feature James Cann.

James Cann is Jonathan E., the most talented and veteran athlete in the sport of Rollerball, a deadlier and often fatal version of roller derby. When asked to retire from the sport because of his famous status, Cann is on a quest to find out who, what, where, when, why the corporation wants him to.

I love everything about this movie. The drama, the action scenes, the message of the movie, the settings (which was hard to make since the movie was made in 1975 but was supposed to be set in 2018, mind you) the tone, etc, etc, etc.


----------



## wankerness

Rosal76 said:


> Just watched Rollerball (1975) for probably the 10th time. This is one of the rare movies that I still own on Betamax. Possibly my favorite dystopian style movie and to feature James Cann.
> 
> James Cann is Jonathan E., the most talented and veteran athlete in the sport of Rollerball, a deadlier and often fatal version of roller derby. When asked to retire from the sport because of his famous status, Cann is on a quest to find out who, what, where, when, why the corporation wants him to.
> 
> I love everything about this movie. The drama, the action scenes, the message of the movie, the settings (which was hard to make since the movie was made in 1975 but was supposed to be set in 2018, mind you) the tone, etc, etc, etc.



I watched the crummy letterboxed (yet non-anamorphic) DVD several months ago, and wasn't very impressed. Then I just got the new fancy Arrow video blu-ray about a month ago and gave it another watch. It's quite something with loud volume and picture that isn't a tiny mess of pixels in the middle of the screen. I think it is too long, but the action scenes are all top-notch and I like the vision of the future. That outdoor party scene is great. 

One of my favorite reviewers kept bringing up rollerball when talking about Mockingjay Part 1, saying the first half of Mockingjay Pt 1 was similar in how it was primarily about a propaganda war. I'll have to go back and watch that now that I've seen Rollerball.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

wankerness said:


> I think it is too long, but the action scenes are all top-notch and I like the vision of the future. That outdoor party scene is great.



70s movies either meandered in the middle or just didn't know how to end.

I much prefer the latter because of how bizarre some endings got. Like Crazy Mary, Dirty Larry where they get hit by a train or Death Game (which was remade as Vicious and Nude and most recently as Knock Knock) where they get hit by a van as they're walking down the street.


----------



## Rev2010

This past weekend the wife and I watched Tomorrowland and Terminator Genisys (only because I was bored as I had no intention of every seeing it initially).

Tomorrowland was so incredibly lame and pointless in so many ways I just wish I could reclaim my lost time and wasted brain space it's memory is taking up. Just... uuuggghh.

Terminator I also thought sucked but wasn't _sooo_ bad that I thought it a total waste of time. Just so many problematic aspects to the storyline and I felt it had nowhere near the mood/ambience/emotion of the first two - but that seems to be a common Hollywood failure these days. Just get to the action, who cares about anything else. 


Rev.


----------



## wankerness

I've been meaning to watch Genisys. It sounds like it's fun, at least. I heard that it suffered badly from the trailer giving away major late spoilers as if they were basic plot points, when the movie clearly was designed to have them be surprises.

Kind of like Arnie being a good guy in T2!


----------



## synrgy

Checked out Love and Mercy - a biopic about Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. Solid flick, and I definitely recommend it to this community of music lovers. It has some great moments portraying the writing/recording of Pet Sounds, a compelling portrayal of Wilson's mental state - trapped somewhere between his musical genius and paralyzing anxieties - and a couple of little moments that give a movie-experience version of what it's like to have a musical idea floating around in the ether of one's thoughts.

Also saw True Story - a movie that is not in any way whatsoever a comedy, despite starring James Franco and Jonah Hill!  Interesting (and real) story, though the movie meanders a bit.. It employs some unnecessary misdirection, presumably to 'keep us guessing', but such that ends up having no bearing on the story.


Spoiler



Mostly, I'm referring to any part of the movie featuring the wife of Jonah Hill's character. Those scenes did nothing to serve the story or the movie.


----------



## Skyblue

The Zero Theorem- The ending was a bit confusing, but it was a good movie. Some wonderful Gilliam visuals in there.


----------



## Sumsar

(Possible spoiler)

Just came home from watching the latest james bond "Spectre", was pretty meehh 4 or 5 /10. Half the movie is a CGI wankfest (which is kinda expected from a movie like this, but still) - not as bad as the latest Die Hard or The Hobbit movie, but pretty bad.

The story line tries desperatly to not be hollywood-predictable, to a degree that is just ends up jumping randomly from scene to scene. Coherent is not a word I would use to describe this movie.

And then it just has a lot of pretty obvious errors like: Bond and a girl (duh) is on a train with a good amount of people, 30 seconds later they fight on the train, with no other people present at all.


----------



## Pat_tct

watched a couple movies lately. as i haven't been active here for a year or so, i obviously won't list all the movies i watched in the meantime  
as i have some more time on my hands again i will watch movies much more regular again. and if you want to follow me and add your own movies into a DB and "write" a diary with what you've seen and when, check out letterboxd.com. 

great community and a big DB of movies and user written reviews and rankings.

but onto the films!

1. Dallas Buyers Club - watched that 2 days ago. ....it's amazing. this movie had me on the edge of my seat as i was invested in the story and characters. the writing was superb and the acting was so so great. god the acting. seriously - watch this movie.

2. Lawless (2012) - entertaining movie tbh. would watch it again. Tom Hardy is always fun to watch no matter what role he plays. and yes we all hate Shia LaBeouf but he is quite a good actor and this is one of his better roles for sure. 

3. Child 44 - another Tom Hardy movie. Critical reception wasn't the best and it flew over most peoples head. With a budget of 50mil it made under 10mil in return if i remember correctly. not the best of movies and but I enjoyed it. i liked the story and the characters. imo it deserves some more attention even though that the pacing isn't the best. the movie feels kinda long and drags a little in the second act.


----------



## wankerness

Sumsar said:


> (Possible spoiler)
> 
> Just came home from watching the latest james bond "Spectre", was pretty meehh 4 or 5 /10. Half the movie is a CGI wankfest (which is kinda expected from a movie like this, but still) - not as bad as the latest Die Hard or The Hobbit movie, but pretty bad.
> 
> The story line tries desperatly to not be hollywood-predictable, to a degree that is just ends up jumping randomly from scene to scene. Coherent is not a word I would use to describe this movie.
> 
> And then it just has a lot of pretty obvious errors like: Bond and a girl (duh) is on a train with a good amount of people, 30 seconds later they fight on the train, with no other people present at all.



This is all well and good, but what do you think of other Bond films? Do you similarly dislike Skyfall/Casino Royale? Do you like any of the classic ones? Just wondering if this one is especially bad or if you don't like any of them anyway!


----------



## Duosphere

Uncanny (2015) - IMDb

I love the vibe/atmosphere there.
Really difficult to keep it with so few elements.
When actors don't act everything feels real.
I was mad at me cause I got what was happening before the end.


----------



## Ralyks

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Also, somehow The Mechanist became the Halloween flick of the evening.


----------



## Duosphere

No Escape (2015) - IMDb

When I saw Brosnan and Wilson names I thought "Boy, this is gonna bore me to death!", what a surprise!.
It brings nothing new but it was well shot, well acted and well directed.
It's pretty intense and they managed to keep the tension till the end with no cheesy stuff.
Plus it's an elegant movie cause the "horror" stuff is always in the dark or camera is never right at it.
There are two major things which I new they were about to happen cause they were very predictable but still they didn't kill the tension. 
It was really a surprise to me, I was about to sleep but was dragged to hell!
If you like that type of movie check it out, maybe it'll be a surprise to you too...................or not.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Ralyks said:


> Jiro Dreams of Sushi


I watched this back in early 2013. Excellent little documentary.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods_ last night. God, it was terrible...


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Let Us Prey -- good little horror movie. I'm _pretty_ sure I understood the ending.


----------



## Duosphere

Lost in the Sun (2015) - IMDb

Beautiful deep movie not for young people cause you need a lot of baggage not only to understand but to feel what happens there.There are no cheap twists or cliches, just real life pure and simple.


----------



## MFB

Spectre - 6/10

Easiest way of summing up my feelings: a film that that could have acted as an end chapter, revenge film for Bond, but instead what we get is going through the motions, and slowly at that.


----------



## canuck brian

I watched Interstellar. 4 times. Could be one of my fave movies now....
Also started taking calculus and physics again. 

Terminator: Genesys - it was silly fun but there are a few holes and continuity issues. 

The Martian - really fun movie, albeit a bit long.


----------



## Skyblue

canuck brian said:


> I watched Interstellar. 4 times. Could be one of my fave movies now....
> Also started taking calculus and physics again.
> 
> Terminator: Genesys - it was silly fun but there are a few holes and continuity issues.
> 
> The Martian - really fun movie, albeit a bit long.



I sort of hate Interstellar for being really really good, but just not good enough. 

Anyway, watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was confused, weird and funny- and so were the characters. Great performance but both Depp and Del Toro.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Skyblue said:


> Anyway, watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was confused, weird and funny- and so were the characters. Great performance but both Depp and Del Toro.


I've been meaning to watch that these past couple nights. Just been too busy with work and other stuff.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I really enjoyed Spectre, despite hating certain aspects of it. I mean, c'mon.


Spoiler



Blofeld? Really?
And he was involved with everything, all the way back to his adoptive father dying in an avalanche? Lamest backfill ever.


----------



## MFB

Dusty Chalk said:


> I really enjoyed Spectre, despite hating certain aspects of it. I mean, c'mon.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Blofeld? Really?
> And he was involved with everything, all the way back to his adoptive father dying in an avalanche? Lamest backfill ever.





Spoiler



Yeah, it felt very much like an after-thought to me. A friend of mine did put it another way, saying while that part isn't very interesting/shocking, the fact that James came between his dad and him enough to drive him to kill his dad does add a notch of craziness to Blofeld. Most people wouldn't see it as that big a deal, but clearly he did.


----------



## tacotiklah

Finally sat down and watched Kung Fury with my cousin.

Cinematic gold right here!


----------



## Skyblue

After seeing half of it about 10 years ago, I finally watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Absolutely hilarious (I found myself literally laughing out loud). An awesome performance by Robert Downy Junior and Michelle Monaghan's breasts.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

I thoroughly enjoyed that movie.

Saw Crimson Peak -- it wasn't his (Guillermo del Toro) best, but it was as good as I had hoped it would be. And what is it with him and smashing faces?


----------



## MFB

_The End of The Tour_ - 8/10

Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel portraying David Foster Wallace during the end of his book tour for Infinite Jest. I enjoyed Segel's work in it, and definitely identified with the fears and anxieties that DFW felt himself suffering from, but the biggest problem with this was a lack of motive. I didn't really walk away with some profound new feeling or anything, I was just kind of bummed because it was a character I related to and who felt the most real of a lot of characters, and then he was gone.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Black Swan_

Wow. Utterly spectacular psychological thriller/horror film with a gripping portrayal of being haunted by mental illness. Why did it take me so long (five years) to watch this?

Some things could have been done better (see concurring reviews by critics), but for as entertaining as this flick was, I don't think it'd be worth it for me to pick it apart.


----------



## Duosphere

Jack Reacher (2012) - IMDb

Cool crime/mystery movie.
It's not an action movie as some videos said so if you want lots of action, go to see another movie.
It really keeps the tension till the end and Jack has that "Bourne" vibe like he knows what he's doing so get out of his way, THE telephone dialogue is awesome!
My only complain is about the end, it felt like any other tv crime movie end, nothing special or creative.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Attack the Block

I remember wanting to see this movie when it came out but it never played anywhere near me so I quickly forgot about it until it showed up on Crackle.


----------



## MFB

Watched "Trainwreck" today with a friend. I enjoyed it and it was much funnier than I thought it would be; downside was it was 2 hrs, and for a comedy that's unexpected, so you kind of notice it and go "wow, this feels like it's been a while." Unfortunately, there's nothing I can think to cut so it's a weird gripe with it.

Still, solid 8 out of 10, maybe 8.5


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Watched "Trainwreck" today with a friend. I enjoyed it and it was much funnier than I thought it would be; downside was it was 2 hrs, and for a comedy that's unexpected, so you kind of notice it and go "wow, this feels like it's been a while." Unfortunately, there's nothing I can think to cut so it's a weird gripe with it.
> 
> Still, solid 8 out of 10, maybe 8.5



I thought it wasn't funny at all, besides a handful of Lebron James's scenes (he's a bad actor, but the writing was clever). I REALLY liked Amy Schumer in all the dramatic scenes, though. She needs to follow her own character's example in the movie and stop hiding behind a layer of cynical bulls*** and stop being afraid to express herself genuinely, or something. It's like Robin Williams syndrome, where he had flashes of being a genuinely brilliant actor but would always derail it by throwing his annoying standup shtick into the mix for quite a while, then when he finally did some entirely serious stuff with a good script he was really great! Similarly, they both seem to be best at conveying a sort of world-weary sadness, but one mixed with warmth. I don't think she had one single funny line in the entire movie, but she really glowed in scenes like the one where the kid was explaining minecraft to her, or the entire funeral section. 

Also, Brie Larson is just about my favorite actress working today (Short Term 12 deserved an oscar nomination just for her performance, kind of a clunky movie but she's AMAZING), and she's great in this as well (no surprise). I honestly would have rather just watched a serious movie about Amy Schumer's character interacting with Brie Larson's family, since the comedy wasn't very funny and the "climax" was truly idiotic, but almost all the dramatic stuff was really good!


----------



## BrailleDecibel

I watched "Jurassic World", and it was pretty awesome! Also "BASEketball" and "Half Baked", for old time's sake.


----------



## Devyn Eclipse Nav

Been watching all sorts of stuff lately, since I'm recovering from hernia surgery. Among many other things, I've been rewatching Star Wars with the bae since she's never seen any of them barring The Phantom Menace, and we need to watch them all before VII comes out. Also watched Repo! The Genetic Opera again, and saw Blade Runner for the first time (I started with the Director's Cut, I'll get around to the other two some other time)

Oh, and watched Sunshine recently, that was REALLY good movie. Reminded me a lot of Event Horizon, and the kind of movie Event Horizon could have been with just an extra 10 years progress in movie production and special effects

EDIT: Oh, and I watched the Road Warrior finally, too. Damn good movie


----------



## Rosal76

Zeno said:


> Oh, and watched Sunshine recently, that was REALLY good movie. Reminded me a lot of Event Horizon, and the kind of movie Event Horizon could have been with just an extra 10 years progress in movie production and special effects



I had to research this movie (Sunshine) because you mentioned Event Horizon in the same paragraph and I love EH. Watched the trailer, read the plot and who is in the movie. Yup, I'm now very interested in seeing this movie. I know I shouldn't judge the movie based on a 4:28 minute trailer (the trailer was fan made and gave up all the spoilers) but I really liked what I saw. The dark tone of the trailer does remind me of EH. I also enjoy the previous work/movies of the actors who are in this movie. Cillian Murphy, Cliff Curtis, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Mark Strong is a awesome lineup.

Thanks for the post. I'm gonna try and watch it.


----------



## Devyn Eclipse Nav

It's a FANTASTIC Movie - I was talking to a patron at the tennis club I worked at a while ago, and after I mentioned I'd seen Event Horizon and Snowpiercer recently, he mentioned Sunshine, and I had been searching for it ever since - finally found it while I was looking for the Star Wars movies, so glad I got it. Pinbacker scared the crap out of my GF


----------



## MFB

People, Places, Things - 5/10

I had high hopes for this given that it features Jermaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords, and the stuff they wrote for that show was brilliant; but I think in this he's just an actor and not so much on the writing, and that's fine, but the writing isn't that great so it didn't seem to counteract that expectation. Biggest issue was you knew the marks it was going to hit, but they all fell flat and the ending was fairly ambiguous so it's like, "Why should I care about anything I just saw?"


----------



## wankerness

Sunshine is great, pretty sci-fi until it turns into Jason X 2/3 of the way through for no apparent reason. It looks good till the end, but man, that is possibly the biggest third act nosedive I've ever seen.


----------



## Devyn Eclipse Nav

Personally I liked that - it was a twist that was legitimately a twist, if you didn't know about it ahead of time there's no way you'd see it coming, but to me it still felt like it was the same movie - it just took a dramatic shift. But I can see why someone wouldn't like it.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

L'Assault - A French film about the hijacking of Air France Flight 8969. Subtitles would have been perfectly fine. I don't know what dub team this was assigned to but Jesus Tap Dancing Christ is it awful at times. Not quite Zombie '90: Extreme Pestilence where the dub team were clearly taking the piss but closer to the English dubs of the Godzilla films. A fully grown woman voices a child. There are even parts were a voice over reads on-screen text, even if it's in English. That being said, the cinematography reminds me of those re-enactments you would see on Zero Hour (which did an episode on this hijacking) or Shootout. Quick cuts, rarely focusing on one certain object or person. It's worth a watch if you can find a version with subtitles or possibly watch the Zero Hour episode, which I believe is still on Netflix.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> Sunshine is great, pretty sci-fi until it turns into Jason X 2/3 of the way through for no apparent reason. It looks good till the end, but man, that is possibly the biggest third act nosedive I've ever seen.



It won't be the first time I'd see a movie that's like that. I thought Hellraiser 3 is like that. Starts out okay and then Pinhead and his Cenobite buddies are free to unleash, "Hell on earth", which I thought was just ridiculous. I was like, "oh Jezzz, Pinhead is now like Freddy, Jason, and Michael Myers who just kill indiscrimenately, although, Freddy at one point, only killed the teenagers who lived on Elm street. Anyways, I was like, "what's next? Hellraiser 4: Pinhead takes Manhattan".  I

Movies, man. They take weird turns, sometimes.


----------



## wankerness

Rosal76 said:


> It won't be the first time I'd see a movie that's like that. I thought Hellraiser 3 is like that. Starts out okay and then Pinhead and his Cenobite buddies are free to unleash, "Hell on earth", which I thought was just ridiculous. I was like, "oh Jezzz, Pinhead is now like Freddy, Jason, and Michael Myers who just kill indiscrimenately, although, Freddy at one point, only killed the teenagers who lived on Elm street. Anyways, I was like, "what's next? Hellraiser 4: Pinhead takes Manhattan".  I
> 
> Movies, man. They take weird turns, sometimes.



I just watched Hellraiser 3 yesterday night! I fell asleep right after the DJ got CDs buried in his skin and became a CD demon. I need to watch the last 1/3 today since I think I missed the highlight of the movie (which is very stupid up until that point, the dialogue is terrible compared to the first two). It does LOOK better than 2 did, at least. Seems to have had a better budget or extended itself less or something.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> It does LOOK better than 2 did, at least. Seems to have had a better budget or extended itself less or something.



As far as special effects, yes, the movie did a very good job at that. Hellraiser 3 is special effects persons wet dream. 

What I didn't like about Hellraiser 3 is that they seemed to want to turn Pinhead into a mindless serial killer who kills for the sake of it. I was under the impression that Pinhead, his Cenobites, all Cenobites only torture/kill you if open the Lament Configuration. People wanted pleasure beyond their wildest dreams. Sure, if you're a sadomasochist. 

It's just one of those movies where I'm used to one thing, and then it goes in another direction. It was a weird turn for me but it's not my movie, so.


----------



## Duosphere

Roger Waters the Wall (2014) - IMDb

Fantastic!


----------



## Dusty Chalk

Rosal76 said:


> It won't be the first time I'd see a movie that's like that. I thought Hellraiser 3 is like that. Starts out okay and then Pinhead and his Cenobite buddies are free to unleash, "Hell on earth", which I thought was just ridiculous. I was like, "oh Jezzz, Pinhead is now like Freddy, Jason, and Michael Myers who just kill indiscrimenately, although, Freddy at one point, only killed the teenagers who lived on Elm street. Anyways, I was like, "what's next? Hellraiser 4: Pinhead takes Manhattan".  I
> 
> Movies, man. They take weird turns, sometimes.



No I think 4 is "Cenobites in Space".

I think 6 is "Pinhead goes to America".

I agree with your assessment that the first two were the best in keeping to the premise, and 3 and after just sort of lost the way.


----------



## MFB

_Vacation_

Dear lord, this was just, so bland. Everything you saw in the trailers was all the jokes in the movie, you're just missing the inbetweens as to how they get from one to the next. It hits all the generic marks you would expect it to and not really going above and beyond anything. It's like they set to hit the generic bar and then stopped.


----------



## Skyblue

The Hunger Games- I'm kinda late for the hype train here. Working on completing the series now. First one is ok, nothing amazing but a solid flick. Jennifer Lawrence is great as always.


----------



## wankerness

Dusty Chalk said:


> No I think 4 is "Cenobites in Space".
> 
> I think 6 is "Pinhead goes to America".
> 
> I agree with your assessment that the first two were the best in keeping to the premise, and 3 and after just sort of lost the way.



The majority of the sequels post-3 weren't even written as hellraiser movies, they'd take existing scripts and write pinhead into them. I watched a few of them a couple years ago but quickly gave up. Trying to watch all the Hellraisers is about as smart as trying to watch all the Howling sequels. Aka, maybe even stupider than trying to watch all the Friday the 13ths, but not as dumb as trying to watch all the Children of the Corns. 

I rewatched the second half of Hellraiser 3 today. It's a bad and stupid movie, but it's kind of fun, and it has good effects and great splatter. Despite the terrible plotting and writing, the two main actresses are somewhat appealing, the lead of whom went on to a major role in Star Trek for many years! I remembered well the idiotic new Cenobites, such as "guy with CDs embedded in his skull who kills people by throwing CDs into their faces" and "guy with a videocamera eyeball who impales it through people's faces" and "flamebreathing fat guy." The cenobites in the first movie are brilliantly designed and truly eerie, the redesigned chatterer in 2 sorta sucked but at least they were the same characters, and then 3 is just artless junk but is quite a laugh. The first movie has really great atmosphere and photography, the second has SEVERE budgetary limitations and is a big step down, and the third looks like a pretty slick low-budget horror movie. Ah well. I am not going to make the mistake of watching past 3 again.


----------



## Dusty Chalk

What about the one where Ashley Laurence reprises her character? No, wait, nevermind, that's just my superpower (overoptimism when it comes to movies) talking. Thanks for saving me several hours of my life.

No, seriously. 

Oh, and earlier tonight: Secrets in Their Eyes -- dug it! Probably my favourite role that Julia Roberts ever did (but that's not saying much). But I really did like it.


----------



## Skyblue

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 

Much better than the first one. Very well done and definitely captivating.


----------



## thesnowdog

wankerness said:


> Sunshine is great, pretty sci-fi until it turns into Jason X 2/3 of the way through for no apparent reason. It looks good till the end, but man, that is possibly the biggest third act nosedive I've ever seen.



 I remember realising it was going to go Even Horizon on me with some sadness.


----------



## Fat-Elf

Tokyo Godfathers

It has been a tradition for the past few years for me to watch this movie before Christmas and it's still just as entertaining as the first time I saw it. I can't help but just recommend it, great movie.


----------



## mikernaut

Watched "Shelter" with Jennifer Connelly being homeless, was good but quite sad. She can for sure bring her "A" game and be a female Daniel Day Lewis when she wants to. Was dark ala "Requiem for a Dream" and she lost a bunch of weight to look the part.

trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QWudLnDyZw


----------



## Rosal76

mikernaut said:


> Watched "Shelter" with Jennifer Connelly being homeless, was good but quite sad. She can for sure bring her "A" game and be a female Daniel Day Lewis when she wants to. Was dark ala "Requiem for a Dream" and she lost a bunch of weight to look the part.





I'm definitely gonna have to see this movie. Jennifer Connelly did a awesome job in "House of Sand and Fog (2003)" which funny enough, she also plays a somewhat, homeless person.

Just watched "The Confession (1999)". Great performances from actors Alec Baldwin and Ben Kingsley. Baldwin plays a lawyer who will do anything to move his career forward, even if it involves breaking the law and lying. When he is assigned to defend Kingsley who was involved in a triple murder case, Kingsley's unbreakable old school tradition of always being honest rubs off on Baldwin. In time, Baldwin slowly rethinks about his moral decisions on his own actions and life.


----------



## wankerness

Green Inferno - about in the middle of the quality road between Cannibal Ferox and Cannibal Holocaust, at first it seems much more serious than an Eli Roth movie typically is and it's pretty effective and does contain one really truly revolting and nasty scene, but after that it just treads water and gets sillier and crappier and ends up not being very good. The scene trying to get all the cannibal stoned is where it really lost it IMO. It's also odd that no other scene ever came close to the aforementioned one in terms of horror. Ah well. It has some pretty scenery and it's nice to see a horror movie with really rich colors (mostly really vivid greens and reds) instead of the typical modern color-graded drained-palette gray/blue look.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> Green Inferno - about in the middle of the quality road between Cannibal Ferox and Cannibal Holocaust, at first it seems much more serious than an Eli Roth movie typically is and it's pretty effective and does contain one really truly revolting and nasty scene, but after that it just treads water and gets sillier and crappier and ends up not being very good. The scene trying to get all the cannibal stoned is where it really lost it IMO. It's also odd that no other scene ever came close to the aforementioned one in terms of horror. Ah well. It has some pretty scenery and it's nice to see a horror movie with really rich colors (mostly really vivid greens and reds) instead of the typical modern color-graded drained-palette gray/blue look.


I was waiting for your opinion of this film since a few of us discussed it on here back in September or so when it initially came out and I saw it on opening day.

I'm assuming the scene that you're talking about is the one that they showed in the red band trailer?


----------



## wankerness

I dunno, I don't remember what was in the trailer. It's


Spoiler



the person that gets dismembered and de-eyeballed upon their arrival.



It's not a good movie, but in its defense, at least it has an appealing heroine that doesn't tip over into cartoony retardation like in Hostel 2, and it has pretty colors. I don't recall anything very gross after that first big scene, other than the ridiculous guy masturbating to relieve tension. I mean, I'm desensitized, but nothing else even came CLOSE to that big center setpiece. I don't even remember any other gore, really, besides the one very quick throat slitting and things like strips of skin lying around.

Eli Roth showing Cannibal Holocaust to the natives is such an Eli Roth thing to do, that guy is such an aggravating moron. I'm sure he just did it with no ill will and simply a desire to show them something he thought was awesome, but he's just such an idiot that he didn't bother to consider any of the implications of it or any of the ethics in doing so. What a moron. It's an incredibly racist movie, too (obviously), which I mean kinda comes with the territory, but my guess is he just didn't even notice cause he's Eli Roth.

Speaking of which, the one thing that bugged me about the treatment of the heroine was the scene clearly inspired by Mountain of the Cannibal God where she gets stripped naked and then covered with goo by the natives. Ah well. She's his wife so I'm sure she wasn't offended, it just was still sort of disappointing.

EDIT: Speaking of cannibal movies with an extremely gory setpiece, check out Bone Tomahawk. It's MUCH better than Green Inferno, if more drab. I thought it was simply a western or something and mainly watched it cause I heard it was good and had Kurt Russell, but hooooo boy. It's set in the wild west and is about cannibal troglodytes kidnapping Patrick Wilson's wife (who's the babe from Banshee) and the rescue attempt by Kurt Russell, Matthew Fox, Patrick Wilson and Richard Jenkins. It's got some great tension in some scenes and a nice dusty atmosphere. It's good! No stupid humor here.


----------



## Duosphere

Indigenous (2014) - IMDb

It should be called The Descent Without A Cave 
Poor plot, poor acting and poor............everything.
It's the same formula over and over.
However there's something I have to applaud, without spoiling it, something really different from all movies with the same formula happens there, I wasn't expecting it and for sure nobody who watches could expect it.Of course it doesn't turn it into a good movie but at least it brought something new and unexpected, if you had to watch 20 movies with the same formula, this would be the one you'd never forget because...well...no spoilers. 
From now on we probably will have a gazillion movies with this "new" formula


----------



## TechDeathWannabe

Watched American Ultra, and The Fault In Our Stars. (Thursday and Saturday, respectively)

TFIOS didn't impress me very much, and I had already read the book, so it was mainly just to see it played out. In that regard, I did enjoy it. Probably not one I'd just watch whenever though.

American Ultra, on the other hand? Exceeded my expectations. It was funny, it had action, it wasn't overtly sexualized, it wasn't taking itself too seriously, nor trying too hard to be funny, and unbeknownst to me before I watched it, it has some romantic/emotional themes. Which was icing on the cake for me.
I found myself wanting to watch it again the next day, which almost never happens with movies. I think the last one to do that was Carrie (2013 version), or The Silence Of The Lambs. You may enjoy it, you may hate it, but I think it was worth buying.
/ramble

Any suggestions for a dark romance, potentially musical, some action or mystery, and good acting + storyline? (All in one movie?)
Or something lighthearted and funny, but not full of stupidity?


----------



## lelandbowman3

wankerness said:


> I dunno, I don't remember what was in the trailer. It's
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> the person that gets dismembered and de-eyeballed upon their arrival.
> 
> 
> 
> It's not a good movie, but in its defense, at least it has an appealing heroine that doesn't tip over into cartoony retardation like in Hostel 2, and it has pretty colors. I don't recall anything very gross after that first big scene, other than the ridiculous guy masturbating to relieve tension. I mean, I'm desensitized, but nothing else even came CLOSE to that big center setpiece. I don't even remember any other gore, really, besides the one very quick throat slitting and things like strips of skin lying around.
> 
> Eli Roth showing Cannibal Holocaust to the natives is such an Eli Roth thing to do, that guy is such an aggravating moron. I'm sure he just did it with no ill will and simply a desire to show them something he thought was awesome, but he's just such an idiot that he didn't bother to consider any of the implications of it or any of the ethics in doing so. What a moron. It's an incredibly racist movie, too (obviously), which I mean kinda comes with the territory, but my guess is he just didn't even notice cause he's Eli Roth.
> 
> Speaking of which, the one thing that bugged me about the treatment of the heroine was the scene clearly inspired by Mountain of the Cannibal God where she gets stripped naked and then covered with goo by the natives. Ah well. She's his wife so I'm sure she wasn't offended, it just was still sort of disappointing.
> 
> EDIT: Speaking of cannibal movies with an extremely gory setpiece, check out Bone Tomahawk. It's MUCH better than Green Inferno, if more drab. I thought it was simply a western or something and mainly watched it cause I heard it was good and had Kurt Russell, but hooooo boy. It's set in the wild west and is about cannibal troglodytes kidnapping Patrick Wilson's wife (who's the babe from Banshee) and the rescue attempt by Kurt Russell, Matthew Fox, Patrick Wilson and Richard Jenkins. It's got some great tension in some scenes and a nice dusty atmosphere. It's good! No stupid humor here.



The whole movie was a satire of social justice warriors and modern-day clicktivism.


----------



## Duosphere

The Visit (2015) - IMDb

I could cut 20 minutes and nothing would change, the pace is really s.....l......o.......w, there's character building and there's........slow pace.
I like the acting and some weird stuff is scary because you don't know what is happening.I love the fact there are no crap effects(cgi creature) or stupid jump scare with loud noises.When stuff starts happening you know it's going to be dark cause the mood was set through that slow pace.
In the end, the only thing that keeps us watching is the need to understand what is happening, besides that, there's nothing there.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

I watch some of the same movies every Christmas season. Probably the top one being Bad Santa [unedited] with Billy Bob Thornton. Such a festive holiday flick.


----------



## wankerness

lelandbowman3 said:


> The whole movie was a satire of social justice warriors and modern-day clicktivism.



It's definitely not successful as a satire. It's making fun of clicktivism for sure with some aspects of the plot, but then completely throws it by the wayside for the majority of the film after they're in the jungle, not to mention it completely undermines its point when you find out that in fact they really are going to do something (go to the jungle and confront a militia), and then undermines it again after the reveal that they didn't achieve anything because it then posits "oh, even real activism is completely pointless because corporations will always win." And then THAT gets abandoned completely once they're into the village, unless you count having the kids then hope for the logging crew to come save them as some sort of clever satire.

So yeah, it's a really garbage South Park one where it makes fun of all sides equally to avoid having its own point of view and frequently forgets that was what it was doing to have stuff like the munchies scene. :/ Applying the term satire to it is to trivialize the word.


----------



## mikernaut

I watched "Lobster" last night. The Lobster (2015) - IMDb

Easily one of the weirder movies I've seen in awhile. It was kind of a Faulty Towers meets a Wes Anderson movie with a dash of Twin Peaks maybe.

The premise - " In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods. "

Interesting commentary about society and it's views on marriage and being single/ an free thinking individual. Some good laugh out loud moments.

Colin Farrell and John C Reilly do a good job. The movie is kind of quiet and awkward in tone but I felt like it still held my attention cuz I wasn't sure were it was going and the interesting performances and sheer weird moments. 1st act felt stronger then the 2nd half but overall an interesting watch.


----------



## Duosphere

Antichrist (2009) - IMDb

What the hell I just watched???!!!
When you think you've seen everything in your life, something comes and punch you hard.
For so long I haven't seen art in the movies, everything is about effects, surprises, twists, colors etc, this movie has some beautiful scenes, the opening scene is gorgeous............but........then........ hell swallows you alive 
What the hell is happening there?! 

I really like Dafoe but I could live without seeing his sausage 
It starts interesting then goes to freakin' boring then to everything got crazy then..........what the freak?! 

Seriously watch it and take your own considerations, I was expecting another possession movie with the Antichrist trying to come to our world but, what happens there is ......is.........oh you gotta watch it


----------



## Varcolac

I've been watching a little-known low-budget movie recently. It premiered earlier this week but I don't think many people heard about it. Not much promotion or merchandise either. Don't think any of the actors have been in much else.

It's called "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens." It really is very good.


----------



## Varcolac

Double post


----------



## Duosphere

Good Kill (2014) - IMDb

I remember everybody talking about American Sniper and how said, dark and awesome it was.I watched and felt like I was watching a cartoon about that situation, I felt like I was watching a family movie not even close to reality.
I just watched Good Kill..............what an amazing movie, I can't complain about anything.As always Hawke is spectacular, he really sells whatever character he's playing, in some scenes you can feel what he's feeling through his eyes, there's a 5 seconds scene in his car that really made me feel inside his character, there are some other really short scenes which only his face punches our stomachs, we can feel his character struggling through all that pain...........fantastic!
And I really don't like/care about that type of movie, in fact they all feel really boring to me but when acting and direction is that good, I can enjoy it.


----------



## wankerness

Hateful Eight - This is the first Tarantino movie I really don't like. It's overlong (almost three hours), has no interesting characters, and is dramatically inert. It seems to be an attempt to stretch classic scenes like the cafe scene from Inglorious Basterds out to feature length, but it really failed IMO. The most unwatchable thing for me was how the primary source of "humor" was just Jennifer Jason Leigh getting punched in the face over and over. I can deal with that kind of violent slapstick when it's consistent with the tone of the film, but here it's ONLY directed at her character throughout the entire thing and it was really unpleasant considering she's the lone woman character besides a few others that show up for all of 2 minutes. Then it becomes far worse


Spoiler



in retrospect when she's given by far the most drawn-out and serious death scene of anyone in the flick,


just making the whole thing feel that much more ridiculously misogynist. I'm not accusing Tarantino of being a misogynist, since he's more than proven himself not to be with basically all of his other films, but this movie sure is. 

Then there's a lengthy blowjob story which is just plain tonedeaf and awful and goes on forever which also kind of made me hate it. The performances are mostly good, but it's a pretty rotten movie. Easily the worst Tarantino flick imo. Maybe when it comes out on video I'll positively reevaluate it like I did with Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill Vol 1 (both of which I didn't like on first watch), but I doubt it.


----------



## narad

I didn't find it misogynistic, but was severely disappointed just the same. There's hardly a scene I like in the whole film :-/


----------



## Duosphere

He Never Died (2015) - IMDb

Hmm.............after 50 minutes I was still clueless about what was happening........wait............I had one clue............scars but still I couldn't tell what path the end would take.I can't say it's a good movie but it's not a bad one because it keeps you curious all the time.Some moments I thought "yeah, I wish I could do that!" then laughed.
Interesting and funny sometimes, nothing more.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Saw Star Wars on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Christmas Eve showing was by far the better theater experience.


----------



## fps

mikernaut said:


> I watched "Lobster" last night. The Lobster (2015) - IMDb
> 
> Easily one of the weirder movies I've seen in awhile. It was kind of a Faulty Towers meets a Wes Anderson movie with a dash of Twin Peaks maybe.
> 
> The premise - " In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods. "
> 
> Interesting commentary about society and it's views on marriage and being single/ an free thinking individual. Some good laugh out loud moments.
> 
> Colin Farrell and John C Reilly do a good job. The movie is kind of quiet and awkward in tone but I felt like it still held my attention cuz I wasn't sure were it was going and the interesting performances and sheer weird moments. 1st act felt stronger then the 2nd half but overall an interesting watch.



Totally agree with all of this. I liked it, because it really tried to do something different, and I was always interested, but the 2nd half could have lost 15 minutes and had some drive put into it. I also would have liked the central premise to be explored a bit more!
BUT it was very funny at points, thought-provoking, Kafkaesque, and I loved the cast, Olivia Coleman for instance is a legend who's been in some great things like Peep Show.
Finally, why do I feel like every arthouse flick now is obsessed with every character being played with strong traits of certain kinds of autism?


----------



## Duosphere

The Revenant (2015) - IMDb

Freakintastic!

But there's absolutely nothing new about the plot, it felt to me like a mix of Dances With Wolves, Brave Heart, Cast Away and even 
some old Western movies with Indians so why is it that good?
Mainly for two reasons:

- It has the best cinematography my eyes ever seem, it's breath taking, every scene, every shot, every camera angle is breath taking,
the entire movie was shot with natural lighting,there's no studio lights used in this film, they used fire, they used the sun, they used 
real shadows cast by the forest and the trees, it's breath taking!
It's a masterclass about how to record a movie using only nature.For sure it's the most beautiful looking film I've watched in my life, 
those big wide scenes are breath taking.
Yep, too many "breath taking" but I'd still need a thousand more to describe how it looks, there's a scene with a church in ruins that is................poetry.

- Effects are amazing, never a film looked and felt so realistic,there are no dumb blood splashes, action is violent, brutal and disturbing
but never feels fake or exaggerated.I will not spoiler but there's a scene with an animal that looks out of this world,so freaking realistic, 
it's so well done that movie reviewers, movie critics and a lot of Hollywood professionals don't have a clue how they did it, you can guess 
but there are so many details that guessing is not enough.

DiCaprio is fantastic, he has very minimum dialogue and some of it is not even in the English language, his body speaks for himself, you can feel
what he's feeling only through his eyes, I saw that type of acting with Ethan Hawke too, both amazing actors.
It's over long but it looks so amazing that you forget about time and just want to keep moving with DiCaprio.
Most of the time there's no music, you only hear nature which drags you even more into it.

Freakintastic!


----------



## Rosal76

Duosphere said:


> - It has the best cinematography my eyes ever seem, it's breath taking, every scene, every shot, every camera angle is breath taking,
> the entire movie was shot with natural lighting,there's no studio lights used in this film, they used fire, they used the sun, they used real shadows cast by the forest and the trees, it's breath taking!



+1.

The second I saw the commercial for this movie, I immediatley wanted to see it. I haven't seen it yet but I plan to. I love movies where the location is also a character. I really like how the film makers give the movie atmoshere/location a sense of beauty and dread at the same time. Off topic, I have nothing but respect for individuals who lived during that era. The struggles they had back then makes the problems I have now, in this era, laughable and puny.


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> Off topic, I have nothing but respect for individuals who lived during that era. The struggles they had back then makes the problems I have now, in this era, laughable and puny.



The sad part is, the cost of our lives getting easier to live is nature is being devastated and soon will perish, we led so many species to extinction already only because whatever we want.................we get.  

Bro if you like nature, you gotta watch this movie, even if you hate the plot, actors whatever, scenery is more than enough


----------



## Demiurge

Saw The Hateful Eight tonight in one of those "70mm roadshow" presentations. It's definitely a plus to have a three-hour movie with an intermission (read: bathroom break) in the middle- especially at a movie theater that serves beer.

In all, I liked it. The cast was great*, it was beautifully shot, and it had a nice mix of funny and horrifying violence... but despite all the obvious care that was put into making it- it's kind of empty at the same time.


Spoiler



Perhaps there's some allegorical meaning behind it that I haven't yet figured-out, but it pretty much ends, after an orgy of violence, with 6 of the 8 dead and the remaining two bleeding-out, probably not long for the world in some demented reverie. And? So?



*It's funny that Tim Roth was one of the people who received the original script before QT considered making the movie, yet it seems like his character was basically "Christoph Waltz wasn't available so we need someone to look & play a role exactly the way he'd do it. Yet he nailed it.


Spoiler



Of course, Mr. Orange couldn't avoid prolonged suffering after a shot to the gut, could he?


----------



## wankerness

It's supposed to be empty, cause it's incredibly nihilistic and hates all the characters. I am going to see it again and we'll see if I like it more than the first time. After reading a few people that said that maybe all the violence against JJL is supposed to be a negative reflection on Kurt Russell instead of a hilarious joke, I'm interested in seeing if that's possible or if I had it right the first time.


----------



## Demiurge

wankerness said:


> After reading a few people that said that maybe all the violence against JJL is supposed to be a negative reflection on Kurt Russell instead of a hilarious joke, I'm interested in seeing if that's possible or if I had it right the first time.



The crowd at the theater apparently thought that the only thing funnier than her getting smacked around was the n-word, unfortunately. As far as the movie's intentions were, it could be argued that it's only as misogynistic and racist as far as misanthropy in general covers both. 



Spoiler



Specifically on the misogyny front, I'm guessing that the intent was to play on the audience's (aha- it is _we_ who are the true misogynists ) underestimation of Daisy Domergue. John Ruth has her shackled-up at all times, is unrelentingly cruel to her, and believes that somebody is looking to set her free- and we're to assume that he's just a paranoid hardass who is very keen on his ten grand. When Ruth dies, we don't know what he knew about her until the end. Warren (Sam Jackson's character) suggests that maybe it's a lover looking to spring her, and doesn't quite put all the pieces together before it all hits the fans. Of course, it turns out that she is second-in-command of the Domergue gang, and maybe deserving of the "frontier justice"- foreshadowed by Tim Roth's character- that she received. Had her character been a man, I don't think that anybody would consider their treatment and ultimate fate to have been "problematic".



Maybe I'm being too charitable, and if Tarantino states in an interview later on, "I just think that bitches getting punched in the face is funny!", I take it all back.


----------



## wankerness

Demiurge said:


> The crowd at the theater apparently thought that the only thing funnier than her getting smacked around was the n-word, unfortunately. As far as the movie's intentions were, it could be argued that it's only as misogynistic and racist as far as misanthropy in general covers both.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Specifically on the misogyny front, I'm guessing that the intent was to play on the audience's (aha- it is _we_ who are the true misogynists ) underestimation of Daisy Domergue. John Ruth has her shackled-up at all times, is unrelentingly cruel to her, and believes that somebody is looking to set her free- and we're to assume that he's just a paranoid hardass who is very keen on his ten grand. When Ruth dies, we don't know what he knew about her until the end. Warren (Sam Jackson's character) suggests that maybe it's a lover looking to spring her, and doesn't quite put all the pieces together before it all hits the fans. Of course, it turns out that she is second-in-command of the Domergue gang, and maybe deserving of the "frontier justice"- foreshadowed by Tim Roth's character- that she received. Had her character been a man, I don't think that anybody would consider their treatment and ultimate fate to have been "problematic".
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe I'm being too charitable, and if Tarantino states in an interview later on, "I just think that bitches getting punched in the face is funny!", I take it all back.



Well, he said that all the violence in the second half was supposed to be funny in the interview on Bret Easton Ellis's podcast about it. I haven't listened to that interview since seeing it so I don't remember much specifically beyond that.

The first thing you said is just what I'm afraid of when I see it again today. I've had a lot of horror movies completely ruined by sadistic freaks in the audience laughing every single time anything disturbing happens (ex, in the Halloween remake, the theater was going wild like they were watching the funniest comedy in the world when Michael Myers was killing his sister), to the point where I avoid going to horror movies at all in the theater anymore unless it's so far from the release date that I don't think anyone else will be there. A crowd reaction like that one you describe would probably codify my hatred of the movie instead of allow me to look at it with a more open-mind.


----------



## Duosphere

This one deserves an Oscar


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Starship Troopers
Revolver
SLC Punk


----------



## wankerness

wankerness said:


> The first thing you said is just what I'm afraid of when I see it again today. I've had a lot of horror movies completely ruined by sadistic freaks in the audience laughing every single time anything disturbing happens (ex, in the Halloween remake, the theater was going wild like they were watching the funniest comedy in the world when Michael Myers was killing his sister), to the point where I avoid going to horror movies at all in the theater anymore unless it's so far from the release date that I don't think anyone else will be there. A crowd reaction like that one you describe would probably codify my hatred of the movie instead of allow me to look at it with a more open-mind.



Well, when I saw it today there were exactly 4 other people in the audience, and they only laughed at appropriate times, so I came away with a much less disturbed impression of the movie. I still think it's his worst movie and could have EASILY dropped 45 minutes with no loss in quality (they could have taken out all the talk about two boards necessary, all the trips out to the outhouse, and most especially that whole stupid flashback which takes all the momentum out of the film and gives you exactly no information that you need to know other than filling the "plot hole" of why


Spoiler



Bruce Dern was still alive.


 Everything else is already known or strongly implied, or reaffirmed five minutes after the flashback is over anyway!! But yeah, I liked JJL and especially Goggins way more the second time. Goggin's hatred of JOE GAGE and his ugliness is the funniest part of the movie imo.


----------



## MoshJosh

So I watched Bone Tomahawk, well sort of, I didn't finish it, and yeah I thought it was pretty bad.

I rented this at my local rental place on a whim. . . I like Kurt Russell, and westerns, so figured it'd be a win.

Before I watched it I checked the score on rotten tomatoes, and it got good ratings, but man I just couldn't like this movie. I just could't get into the plot, or any of the characters really, and the one character I actually like dies very quickly into the action. I just can't recommend this movie.


----------



## wankerness

If anyone was wondering wtf Bone Tomahawk was about, Patrick Wilson is a dude with a bad leg whose wife gets kidnapped by a tribe of cannibalistic neanderthals. Kurt Russell and some other cool dudes like Richard Jenkins and Jack from Lost (fortunately playing a total dick here) go out on an expedition to save her. It's quite slow and deliberate and plays like a western for about 90 minutes until it turns into a really horrific film for the last 30. I mentioned it in the thread already, but it deserves another plug after that last guy's post!

I've been going through the majority of the likely Oscar nominees. So far my favorite films of the year are probably Mad Max, Inside Out, Brooklyn, Room and Spotlight in that order, with It Follows in there somewhere. This year is unusual with that many films rating at 9 or 10/10, usually there will be like one film in the whole year that I liked that much. Star Wars might be next? That was more an 8/10. I liked Anomalisa and Carol and Steve Jobs, but didn't love them. Today I saw The Revenant, which is definitely too long and has a couple serious plot issues but is like nothing else you'll see and should be seen IN THE THEATER by anyone that cares at all about camerawork, especially of the outdoor variety. This is one where you absolutely should not be illegally downloading it, it's one of the best-looking films ever.


----------



## Steinmetzify

Tim's Vermeer. 10/10

If you're into art, Vermeer, or engineering, you should see this. It's amazing.


----------



## Duosphere

The Gift (2015) - IMDb

When I read about the plot I thought it was going to be another boring home invasion/stalker thing, what a surprise!

Awesome thriller, you have no clue what's happening.
Good acting and perfect tension building with no dumb twists, the plot makes sense when you understand what's happening.
Some scenes made me shiver like "oh boy that's not going to happen!".
Such a good thriller.


Inside Out (2015) - IMDb

FREAKINTASTIC!

TO ME it's the smartest animation ever, it shows how our emotions work in a funny clever way.It's impossible to not fall in love with Joy, in fact all
characters are lovable plus it looks so cool.
I laughed and I cried in a deep way.


----------



## wigger

Cheap Thrills - 7/10, pretty good and entertaining. People do anything for money.

Secuestrados (aka. Kidnapped) - 10/10, amazing movie. Not your standard home invasion movie. Tough and realistic.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just copying this from the other thread now that I have seen _The Hateful Eight_. Watched a DVD rip a few nights ago with my friend at his place.


Emperor Guillotine said:


> I was rather disappointed in this film. Not Tarantino's best, but not his worst. Lots of filler. Usually his endless dialogue has points or structure. This film seemed less so. Still though, it's just shy of two hours of dialogue while you're waiting for what you know (as a Tarantino fan) is coming. The big bloody payoff. But at this point, I don't think that the payoff was worth it. Tarantino is one of my (very few) favorite directors, and I just think he is slipping at this point. He still makes his trademark "Tarantino films" that are mildly to fairly enjoyable. But there will never be another classic like _Reservoir Dogs_ or _Pulp Fiction_.
> 
> Like someone said in the "Movies You've Been Watching" thread, Tim Roth's character pretty much felt like a role that should've been for Christoph Waltz. But he wasn't available, so they settles for Tim Roth.
> 
> There were some funny scenes that will make you laugh if you share the same sadistic, dark sense of humor. And for me and my friend that were watching it, we definitely laughed.


I'm hoping to go see _The Revenant_ soon. I usually don't go to theaters, but the photography and landscape/settings looked awesome on the trailers. It's also interesting that Alejandro González Iñárritu, who was the director of _Birdman_, is/was also the director of _The Revenant_.


----------



## wankerness

It's a LOT better than Birdman and fortunately doesn't feel like a product of the same director. It feels like a real movie instead of a LOL SUPERHEROES AND HOLLYWOOD ARE DUMB AND ALSO THIS FAKE ONE SHOT THING IS JUST SHOWING OFF. I think unfortunately there's a lot of undeserved backlash against this just as a corrective for Birdman being initially overpraised and already being looked at as a mistake like Driving Miss Daisy or Crash.


----------



## Duosphere

The Hateful Eight (2015) - IMDb

I never liked any Tarantino films, TO ME they're all boring and added absolutely nothing to my life.
I decided to watch this one to give him a last change but no, I hate this film too.Freaking boring and again, it added absolutely nothing to my life, I don't care if performances were good(or not), everything is boring and the story means nothing to me, it was 3 hours of nothing in boringville.I didn't care about those characters, I didn't care about the story, I didn't care about whatever happened there and even the gore stuff was completely dull.
So no more Tarantino for me.


Solace (2015) - IMDb

Another "psychic helping cops to find a killer" stuff.
Acting has no feeling, everybody feels numb.The explanation for what's happening is pretty cool and different from all other movies with the same plot however this film is a flat line, there's no feeling, no tension, no nothing so it's boring, a lot of times I wanted to fast forward it cause I didn't care for whatever they were talking about.It could be awesome if it had the same tension of Seven.In some scenes you can feel they could go a lot deeper then they would be awesome scenes but they just stopped them suddenly and added another "stupid visions" scene with a stupid loud noise jump scare.
The perfect theme song would be Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd.


----------



## Alberto7

steinmetzify said:


> Tim's Vermeer. 10/10
> 
> If you're into art, Vermeer, or engineering, you should see this. It's amazing.



You got me interested when you recommended it to people into arts and engineering. I went to watch the trailer on YouTube. I now want to watch this so bad. It looks fantastic.


----------



## Duosphere

Creed (2015) - IMDb

I respect the first Rocky because it's about an ordinary poor person trying to survive.It has guts, it has......life.
All others to me are crap.
Now we have this Creed which some are saying it's amazing, probably the best since the first film.
Why?
Because Rocky has cancer?
That's the only difference from all others.
There's no guts, no life there.
"Hey Rocky could you train me?"
"Never."
In the third time he asked "Yes let's go!"
Rocky you have cancer so go fight it!"
"No."
In the third time he asked "Yes I'll go"
That's "the cancer difference" factor 
The rest of the movie has nothing new, nothing, the same stuff over and over through decades is boring.
It's not a bad movie for somebody who never watched Rocky films but if you watched them, you'll understand what I'm saying.


----------



## MFB

What movies DO you like?


----------



## Duosphere

MFB said:


> What movies DO you like?



Just to name a few:



Duosphere said:


> The Revenant (2015) - IMDb
> 
> Freakintastic!
> 
> But there's absolutely nothing new about the plot, it felt to me like a mix of Dances With Wolves, Brave Heart, Cast Away and even
> some old Western movies with Indians so why is it that good?
> Mainly for two reasons:
> 
> - It has the best cinematography my eyes ever seem, it's breath taking, every scene, every shot, every camera angle is breath taking,
> the entire movie was shot with natural lighting,there's no studio lights used in this film, they used fire, they used the sun, they used
> real shadows cast by the forest and the trees, it's breath taking!
> It's a masterclass about how to record a movie using only nature.For sure it's the most beautiful looking film I've watched in my life,
> those big wide scenes are breath taking.
> Yep, too many "breath taking" but I'd still need a thousand more to describe how it looks, there's a scene with a church in ruins that is................poetry.
> 
> - Effects are amazing, never a film looked and felt so realistic,there are no dumb blood splashes, action is violent, brutal and disturbing
> but never feels fake or exaggerated.I will not spoiler but there's a scene with an animal that looks out of this world,so freaking realistic,
> it's so well done that movie reviewers, movie critics and a lot of Hollywood professionals don't have a clue how they did it, you can guess
> but there are so many details that guessing is not enough.
> 
> DiCaprio is fantastic, he has very minimum dialogue and some of it is not even in the English language, his body speaks for himself, you can feel
> what he's feeling only through his eyes, I saw that type of acting with Ethan Hawke too, both amazing actors.
> It's over long but it looks so amazing that you forget about time and just want to keep moving with DiCaprio.
> Most of the time there's no music, you only hear nature which drags you even more into it.
> 
> Freakintastic!





Duosphere said:


> The Gift (2015) - IMDb
> 
> When I read about the plot I thought it was going to be another boring home invasion/stalker thing, what a surprise!
> 
> Awesome thriller, you have no clue what's happening.
> Good acting and perfect tension building with no dumb twists, the plot makes sense when you understand what's happening.
> Some scenes made me shiver like "oh boy that's not going to happen!".
> Such a good thriller.
> 
> 
> Inside Out (2015) - IMDb
> 
> FREAKINTASTIC!
> 
> TO ME it's the smartest animation ever, it shows how our emotions work in a funny clever way.It's impossible to not fall in love with Joy, in fact all
> characters are lovable plus it looks so cool.
> I laughed and I cried in a deep way.





Duosphere said:


> Good Kill (2014) - IMDb
> 
> I remember everybody talking about American Sniper and how said, dark and awesome it was.I watched and felt like I was watching a cartoon about that situation, I felt like I was watching a family movie not even close to reality.
> I just watched Good Kill..............what an amazing movie, I can't complain about anything.As always Hawke is spectacular, he really sells whatever character he's playing, in some scenes you can feel what he's feeling through his eyes, there's a 5 seconds scene in his car that really made me feel inside his character, there are some other really short scenes which only his face punches our stomachs, we can feel his character struggling through all that pain...........fantastic!
> And I really don't like/care about that type of movie, in fact they all feel really boring to me but when acting and direction is that good, I can enjoy it.





8Fingers said:


> Hankock (2008) - Well if you just got home in the middle of the night and you need a film just to calm down and fall asleep,it's a good one.Just press play and have fun,nothing more.
> 
> Blood and chocolate(2007) - Another film with werewolves but.....it's not a horror film,it's a love story with amazing arabian/turkish soundtrack.It's not another blood bath and rubber everywhere Hollywood kind of film, in fact it almost has no blood.So scenes are really beautiful,almost like poetry to me.But in the end it's a love story so don't expect too much.I have to mention it was filmed in Bucharest(Romania and no,vampires didn't showed up hahaha),so places are beautiful,I'm really tired of films in New York or Los Angeles lol
> So have your own impressions about it,to me............great film.
> 
> Star Trek(2009) - What an amazing surprise.It's a cool film.If you're a fan of Star Trek you'll have a lot of fun,if you never heard(duh) about Star Trek......still it's a great movie.It's clever and effects are part of the story and not the story itself like some other films.
> 
> Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)- Awesome dark and weird film about another psycho.Settings are beautiful and Rachel Hurd-Woods has one of the most beautiful face ever!
> 
> Billy Elliot (2000) - Very cool film with a "family" vibe.I loved that scene when that kid danced when he was angry with his brother. The cool about it is the relation between characters.Besides that it was shot in Durham,I have some friends there but sadly they didn't show Durham cathedral.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

MFB said:


> What movies DO you like?


You asked Duosphere. Now ask wankerness.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> You asked Duosphere. Now ask wankerness.



I only post here about mainstream .... cause that's all anyone here watches, no point in mentioning all the other movies I watch when there won't be any discussion!  Anyway, it's bizarre he asked that right after Duosphere had just posted two things he liked. But yeah, he often seems like a contrarian. I, on the other hand, mostly just parrot the borderline snobby forums/avclub comments, though I am less picky than either. For example, bashing The Revenant is all the rage thanks to Birdman, while I just said I liked it!

&lrm;cakefactory

IMDb: wankerness's Ratings (I don't know if that link works)

BTW, the Gift has the single worst ending I've ever seen and it completely destroyed the movie. Took it from about a 7 to about a 3, just with one scene! It's like a different writer came up with it, one that had nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the movie where Rebecca Hall's character was developed.


----------



## Duosphere

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) - IMDb

Freakintastic!
Sooooooooooooooo sad.
Those type of movies have to be made to never let us forget how evil our species can be.
Even though all actors are perfect, this film didn't even needed such a good acting because that situation itself is like 
a punch right through our hearts.
We could have an amazing world but still the majority is in pain without water, food and........life.
I always wished to have a supernatural power to help those in need, there's no better feeling than helping those in need then seeing their eyes when they thank you.Long time ago me and some friends were talking about which super powers we would like to have, some wanted to fly, some to be invisible etc, when I opened my mouth to tell my super power , something awesome came out of my mind, I said I wished I could heal people or at least take away their pain, it would be amazing going to hospitals, touching people and taking away their pain!There was a huge silence then my friends started talking about how selfish their choices were, for some years sometimes they used to call me "angel".

Well, to me this movie is freakintastic!


----------



## DanicaL

I really liked these 2 movies "Cheap Thrills" and "Would You Rather".

They are both kind of like dark comedies but they get super intense because you really start investing in the characters lives.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Just watched Inside Out last week, As someone that minored in Psychology, I thought that it was a very well-done flick with a pretty nice bit of complexity and imagination. Poor Joy lol. 

Much older animated movie but watched Legend Of The Guardians the other night ( since I now have a new larger TV and surround sound hooked up) and I have to say that this is one of the most beautifully animated movies I've ever seen... really spectacular. I know it's older but it's certainly worth watching more than once. Very well made imo.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball - The original was a big dumb action movie, this tries to be one on a smaller budget and fails. And when the .... is Tommy Flanagan gonna be cast as the Joker? He's already got the scars.

Cartel Land - A great documentary about the drug was on the border as well as down in Mexico. It focuses more on the Mexican side but that's understandable as there's far less news published (at least in the US) about what happens in central Mexico. I watched this in preparation to start that Narcos series.

Nightcrawler - Two hours of Jake Gyllenhaal being an absolute sociopath. Good watch.


----------



## broj15

Brick - If you've not seen this movie and you like noir/neo noir then you're seriously fvcking up. Great color pallet, camera work, dialogue, and an amazing twist no one would see coming. Stars a young Joseph Gordon Levitt as a street smart high school student trying to avenge the murder of his ex girlfriend. It plays up all the tropes typical of a classic noir film (the street smart loner main character and the dame he's trying to save, the brain-y sidekick, the femme fatale, etc.) and keeps everyone's roll recognizable to people who already enjoy the genre, but still keep it fresh and believable (probably tough considering the characters are all middle class high school students). It wasn't a big hit by any means and should be easy to come by in just about any video store or bargain bin so if you see it and are looking for an entertaining thriller with plenty of re-watch value I'd highly recommend it.


----------



## Rosal76

broj15 said:


> Brick - If you've not seen this movie and you like noir/neo noir then you're seriously fvcking up.



I've seen it and I highly agree that it is a awesome movie. I was very impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. If you like his performance in this movie, you should watch him in, "The Lookout (2007)". Those 2 movies are what made think, "man, this guy is getting some serious roles here".


----------



## broj15

Rosal76 said:


> I've seen it and I highly agree that it is a awesome movie. I was very impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. If you like his performance in this movie, you should watch him in, "The Lookout (2007)". Those 2 movies are what made think, "man, this guy is getting some serious roles here".



I definetely will. I picked up Brick on a whim because I really enjoyed him in 10 Things I Hate About and Don Jon, but haven't seen any of his other films apart from those. I will agree though, he is a great actor and I've been looking for more of his work to check out.


I can't rememeber Idf I posted about it in this thread before, but I recently re-watched Rules Of Attraction and I can't get over how great it is. James Van Der Beek plays his role incredibly well as does Shannyn Sossamon (who I loved in Wrist Cutters and is also one of the most Gorgeous women alive after Alice Glass). Even though the subject matter is completely different you can definetely see alot of stylistic similarities between Rules... and American Psycho (both written by Bret Easton Ellis) especially in Van Der Beek's monologue


----------



## Rosal76

broj15 said:


> ... Shannyn Sossamon (who I loved in Wrist Cutters and is also one of the most Gorgeous women alive after Alice Glass).



Did you ever see Shannyn in "The Day (2011)" and "Wayward Pines (2015)"? She didn't have a huge part in Wayward Pines but the show was pretty cool. She is a main character in "The Day" which I love. What's weird is that her character's name in the movie is "Shannon". I was like, "jeezzz, you might as well just change the "o" to "y". 







Another funny thing, I am not kidding. I'm actually playing the game, Hitman: Absolution (2012) and Shannyn voices one of the main villians in the game.


----------



## Duosphere

Tangled (2010) - IMDb

I love it.
I watch that type of animation imagining them working on it, creating those awesome landscapes then making camera moves through them.
I wish I have all programs they use plus time to learn how to use them, I'd create my own animations.


----------



## mongey

finall y got around to seeing straight outta Compton 

that album was huge for me at the time and changed my musical perspective for about 10 years 


thought it was good. glossed over allot of stuff but worth watching


----------



## Duosphere

The Good Dinosaur (2015) - IMDb

FREAKINTASTIC!

Characters are lovable and the plot is really smart.
Landscapes are amazing!
I never seen something looking so real.
The shapes/colors/shadows/reflections/movement are out of this world, the majority of scenes you can't tell they are not real landscapes.
What about water?
Perfect.
The way it reacts when it's touched = 
Unbelievable.
The waterfall scene is......................GORGEOUS!
Obviously they chose dinos looking like cartoons for kids to relate better cause real dinos don't look cute and friendly.
I loved every minute.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

_Princess Mononoke (Japan, 1997, Directed by _Hayao Miyazaki).






Trailer

Awesome film, one of my favourite anime films !!!.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Finally saw the Revenant last week. 

The good: 
- Every shot is gorgeous, letting the landscape be a character in the film was an excellent choice. I haven't seen a film photograph nature so wonderfully since Last of the Mohicans. 

- Good use of long shots. the opening action sequence cannot be beat in terms of using multiple takes to capture the intensity and confusion of a battle. you felt surrounded. 

- Nice simplistic story, excellent performances all around. Tom Hardy proves once again he owns any role he's in. 

- That bear scene. 

- Very inventive and effective score. Minimal, haunting, poignant. would buy the soundtrack and write essays to it 

The bad: 

- Other than the bear the CGI was pretty off. might have been a budget thing, but movement didn't look right and lighting didn't match. 

- Some shots were not necessary and a were meant to feel more artsy. i have no problem with that as long as it matches the rest of the film. however some elements felt like they were added just to elevate it critically... case in point, breaking the fourth wall at the end served no purpose. 

The nitpicky: 

- Leo definitely deserved the nod for this from the Academy, but i didn't see him give a performance i haven't already seen him deliver before. he's physical actor, he's a great emotional actor, but i think he hit his ceiling.. for the time being. 

need to see the Danish Girl to see if Redmayne delivers the goods (which i suspect he does). 

IMO this film should win best picture and director. 


Also saw What If with the wife. 

Silly, witty, awkward rom-com. 

stars Daniel Radcliffe (does snark very well) an actress who i didn't recognize as his counterpart (cute, vulnerable, but she look 15 because of her stupid hipster bangs). Adam Driver (basically his Girls performance, but its so good its hard not to love it) and the actress from Halt and Catch Fire. 

dialog is good, i liked the characters. avoids all the stupid american rom-com gags. worth a watch on a netflix and chill night. beyond that nothing special


----------



## wankerness

The Danish Girl is oscar-bait mediocrity. It is annoying that Redmayne got nominated again. The argument that the Oscars are way too white this year is also sort of tiresome, but that performance legitimately should not have been nominated and could have been replaced by Michael B Jordan or Idris Elba and we'd have dodged two annoyances!


----------



## Ibanezsam4

wankerness said:


> The Danish Girl is oscar-bait mediocrity. It is annoying that Redmayne got nominated again. The argument that the Oscars are way too white this year is also sort of tiresome, but that performance legitimately should not have been nominated and could have been replaced by Michael B Jordan or Idris Elba and we'd have dodged two annoyances!



Would you say it was Oscar Gold?



thats disappointed to hear. still need to check it out. perhaps with my mother in law when we can get it on demand


----------



## Kobalt

Watched Burnt with Bradley Cooper.

Pretty good. I found it was similar to Limitless in nature, which is another of his movies I enjoyed. Small story, no bull...., thrown into the action. You don't really know what's going on, but you go with it, type of movie.


----------



## Demiurge

Saw "The Witch" today. Wouldn't say it was very scary, but there were some wonderfully disturbing moments that made it worthwhile.


----------



## MFB

Demiurge said:


> Saw "The Witch" today. Wouldn't say it was very scary, but there were some wonderfully disturbing moments that made it worthwhile.



Same here. Left me with a sense of "oh, wow, so that happened."

Wish the dialogue was a bit clearer between the accents and way of speaking but overall it's a solid 8.5 in my book.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Saw Deadpool. Enjoyable. Some jokes were definitely crow bared in. Copycat isn't Copycat and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (who has the wrong powers and to my knowledge never met Deadpool) is there instead of Domino. I assume the later is due to rights issues between Fox, Disney and countless others, but it's a real headscratcher as that character has really on ever been in a few stories. Did enjoy the Ferris Bueller post credits scene, though.


----------



## Rachmaninoff

Carrion Rocket said:


> Saw Deadpool. Enjoyable.



Just saw it yesterday. I laughted _a lot_ with this movie. And yes, I waited until the end of the credits too.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Rachmaninoff said:


> Just saw it yesterday. I laughted _a lot_ with this movie. And yes, I waited until the end of the credits too.



Now I understand where that Keira Knightley as Cable stuff came from.


----------



## Duosphere

The Unwanted (2014) - IMDb

I watched knowing nothing about it.
It started boring........then boring..............then boring............then boring........
Then..............clearly seemed like .... was going to hit the fan and when it started, it was weird, still boring but at least something strange was happening.
Then weirder things happened but I didn't know if it was something supernatural or something psychological(no spoiler).
The end was cool cause there was no stupid twist crowded by plot holes, it's a simple story with a simple end but it was cool. 
The acting was perfect for that type of mood, no over acting but no bad acting too, it was just perfect.
Even tough it's a boring film, it's on the opposite side of stupid jump scares, loud noises, crap CGI and dumb found footage films with stuff that doesn't belong to a found footage film like loud noises to scare you.The Possession which I liked is an example of dumb stuff, they say it's based on a true story or something, there's a scene at a hospital we can see the face of the demon inside her body during a scanning (RECORDED), if the family and doctors could see the demon inside of her, why the whole world doesn't know about it?I mean they recorded a demon inside a person so everybody should be talking about it, finally supernatural is real!So if it's based on a true story, that scene shouldn't exist, that was my only issue with The Possession.
Anyway, as this film is in the opposite way of all that garbage, I can say it's a good one even though most of the time it was boring to me, maybe my mood was needing something more "energetic".


----------



## Insinfier

British crime/comedies _Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels_ and _Snatch._ Both movies kicked off Jason Statham's acting career. Both fantastic stories with multiple subplots that circle around each other until they all inevitably collide for a satisfying conclusion. If you haven't seen them, watch both. Right now. If you have, watch them again.


----------



## A-Branger

few days a go I went to see Hail Caesar!

what a massive disappointment of a movie!!

Main reason I went to see it is because an old highschool friend was acting on the movie. This is her first big hollywood movie, and what a was to break into the big screen. A big hats off to her to being able to land a job that big and all the best wishes for her in her career.

Her role was "small", only a couple of scenes with a very short dialog. BUT... if you compare her time on screen with all the other big names on the movie, she kinda had a BIG role on it. She for sure got bigger time on it than Jonah Hill on the movie

Either way, thats what I kinda hated about the movie. They sold you a big movie big a huge list of big hollywood actors. In which all of them play 2 min scenes and thats pretty much it for them. What you saw on the trailer, thats what you get, no more. That scene of Scarlet J ?, yup, she does that little act on the pool, and one other tinny scene. Channing T. ? he only does that musical dance scene (the man can dance tho), ect ect ect. A big waste of big names. And some of them for nothing plot wise. Theres a character of a reporter, you could remove her character and the plot and the movie wont be affected at all kinda thing.

Story wise, its a big "meh". Again the trailer sells you a way different story. I almost fall asleep towards the end. The voiceover was really low on level against the other music/soundtrack/noise/background audio. I had to stop eating my popcorn to be able to pay attention to it. It also was bit difficult for me to understand it (english is my second language, but Ive been in Aus for 9 years) 

Ending was another big "meh". In fact this is the first movie in a long time (if ever) that I actually said "What??....Thats it?" 

About movie being "funny and comedy", I didnt though so. Couple of funny moments, but nothing really mayor to call this movie a "comedy". And no, Im not expecting "fart jokes/Adam Sandler" kinda comedy either lol

In a way I almost felt bad about my friend.... but... Movie reviews are pretty good. Big scores in rotten tomatoes 82% and IDMB is getting 6.2/10 so far (not too good there), but again, Big name director and Big list of big actors is gonna give a good review no matter what.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Watched The Good Dinosaur last night. 

Wow... just absolutely amazing what Pixar animation does with water, sunlight, reflections, wind, color, landscapes, etc. That in and of itself was enough for me to recommend this one. 

I had a hard time grooving with the dinosaur characters... especially the voices, but once I was able to "get to know them" it became easy to enjoy the movie. The "creature" was hilarious as were some of the other animals. Loved the very short conceptual scene right in the very beginning of the movie... the asteroid completely missing the Earth. So simplistic yet so amusingly done. 

Anyway... I won't spoil it for anyone planning to see it, but suffice it to say that this is a great movie to see in wide-screen in high-def. Again... animation is right up over the top with this one.


----------



## wankerness

A-Branger said:


> In a way I almost felt bad about my friend.... but... Movie reviews are pretty good. Big scores in rotten tomatoes 82% and IDMB is getting 6.2/10 so far (not too good there), *but again, Big name director and Big list of big actors is gonna give a good review no matter what.*



Total BS argument, frequently repeated by people who like to argue "lol critics r dum user reviews r better." Look at say, Monument Men, featuring much of the same cast and former critical darling director. Or some of the other Coen bros films - there are a couple on there which are ~60% and the positive percents vary pretty wildly on the others. They have a lot of accepted classics, and this isn't one of them. Most people actually like this movie, it's not some establishment plot. And 82% isn't that good since you can get a 100% just by everyone giving your film 3/5 stars - I am guessing an 82% would put it in about the 50th percentile of movie ratings! I personally have almost no interest in ever seeing it, it looked intolerable. But, I have a very lukewarm reaction to most Coen bros stuff. Even some of the "classics" like Raising Arizona mostly just annoy the **** out of me.


----------



## A-Branger

wankerness said:


> Total BS argument, frequently repeated by people who like to argue "lol critics r dum user reviews r better." Look at say, Monument Men, featuring much of the same cast and former critical darling director. Or some of the other Coen bros films - there are a couple on there which are ~60% and the positive percents vary pretty wildly on the others. They have a lot of accepted classics, and this isn't one of them. Most people actually like this movie, it's not some establishment plot. And 82% isn't that good since you can get a 100% just by everyone giving your film 3/5 stars - I am guessing an 82% would put it in about the 50th percentile of movie ratings! I personally have almost no interest in ever seeing it, it looked intolerable. But, I have a very lukewarm reaction to most Coen bros stuff. Even some of the "classics" like Raising Arizona mostly just annoy the **** out of me.




it might not be 100% the case, but lots of people tend to "like" a movie jsut based on the names of it.

Im not familiar with Rotten Tomatoes rating, 82% it seemed pretty high for me. Im more familiar with IMDB ones, where 6,5% is acceptable movie/good movie, for a "comedy" 6,5% is crosing the line to an amazing movie

BUt I also tried to search for written reviews and everything I found was "OMG this movie is amazing!!!!!" kinda reviews, not one honest one. I know some of these people might be pay to say that, but not one review saying "it was ok" kinda thing

I know this movie is not a "traditional plot" hollywood thing, and I liked the idea of showing how things were done in the past and show "mini movies", but you need to see it to understand how "meh" this movie really is and how little things make sense. For example the whole thing that the trailer shows you is the George C character gets kidnapped for X reasons out of his movie blah blah. But the way he "gets rescued" or gets back into set is like "uh? really?" and after all the things the kidnappers talked to him/chat/convince him/blahblah and nothing after??, he got a "slap/get your mind out of it" and be done

I donno I was really disappointed of the movie. I blame the trailer for most of it


----------



## wankerness

I guess I just saw different reviews, all the ones I saw were like "it's pretty good, but one of the worst Coen bros films." When I saw the trailer I just thought "that looks intolerable." I'll probably end up watching it some day, but your reaction certainly serves to cement my low interest!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Borat_ about three weeks ago. I had seen a few scenes a decade ago when it came out, but I never saw the whole film. With that said, it was just terrible. I laughed once, maybe twice. I'll never understand how or why it was so popular.

Watched _Clash of the Titans_ two nights ago. I saw it as a kid when it first came out on DVD, but I couldn't remember anything about it. It was also absolutely terrible and pretty much offensive to Greek mythology with how bad the story was pieced together, all the plotholes and deficiencies in the script, and the action scenes looking like they belonged in one of those washed up, bad, "made-for-TV" SyFy channel original films. Just no.

Just watched _Silent Hill_ and it was...ehhhh...still pretty bad. The running time was far too long for how short the story should've been, poor dialog, and the plot (albeit very simple) was definitely muddled. Like, you could tell what the general plot was (mother searching for lost daughter in strange town), but you couldn't tell what was going on - although this is a bit of a trademark with the original video games. Keep a few "WTF?" moments in there. It was pretty cool seeing the video game series adapted to the screen (the entire plot carries out just like one of the games with the protagonist following clues) with a variation of the original first game's story used as the film's screenplay; but aside from that, I'd never watch it again. Half-assed horror.


----------



## wankerness

Man...once again, why do you even watch these kinds of movies? You're clearly a really picky guy and these are mainstream average films at best! Well, besides Borat, which was widely liked at the time. I think the main reason it was liked so much apart from most people finding it funny was how vicious it was towards certain unsavory types of people that he interacts with, especially the racist crowd at the rodeo and those disgusting frat guys.  I always felt bad for that southern family that had him over for dinner, though, they were clearly trying really hard to be welcoming!

I hope you were trashing the remake of Clash of the Titans and not the original!


----------



## Duosphere

Jeruzalem (2015) - IMDb

At some point I really thought I was watching Cloverfield religious version 

Gods of Egypt (2016) - IMDb

aka The Bible of Bad Movies.
Everything sucks so bad that it's even impossible to talk about it, nothing is good or at least acceptable, horrible in so many ways and levels.
When I watched a trailer I knew it was going to be bad but I thought maybe it could have some cool visuals but not, it felt like an eight hours long film and I was tied to a chair with drugs not letting me fall asleep.I hated all characters and at the end I just wanted everybody dead specially everybody who worked on this monstrosity.Easily the worst movie I watched in a decade, different from movies that are bad but funny, this one is so bad but it takes itself so serious that even jokes sound horrible and have nothing to do with whatever is happening there. 
To me pure torture


----------



## A-Branger

^^thanks. I had a bad feeling "hollywood cliche" about it, I almost went to see it out of nothing else to see at the cinema, but lucky I found a movie to stream on my computer lol


----------



## Duosphere

A-Branger said:


> ^^thanks. I had a bad feeling "hollywood cliche" about it, I almost went to see it out of nothing else to see at the cinema, but lucky I found a movie to stream on my computer lol



Hollywood cliche would be a masterpiece compared to this......this...............this............... 
My friend I can guarantee it's an unforgettable experien.........torture!
It's a mix of everything bad you've watched in all other movies.
It's just shocking how bad it is.
So bad that you can't laugh cause you feel you're the joke cause you payed to watch it


----------



## A-Branger




----------



## jwade

Finally watched Captain America: The First Avenger. Really impressed with it. I've never paid much attention to Captain America, only ever read a few of the comics as a kid, but really liked the movie. I'm pretty far behind on Marvel movies/tv shows. I still need to watch the 2nd CA movie, Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Avengers 2, Ant Man, the Agent Carter tv show, and the S.H.I.E.L.D show.


----------



## flint757

High Plains Drifter said:


> Watched The Good Dinosaur last night.
> 
> Wow... just absolutely amazing what Pixar animation does with water, sunlight, reflections, wind, color, landscapes, etc. That in and of itself was enough for me to recommend this one.
> 
> I had a hard time grooving with the dinosaur characters... especially the voices, but once I was able to "get to know them" it became easy to enjoy the movie. The "creature" was hilarious as were some of the other animals. Loved the very short conceptual scene right in the very beginning of the movie... the asteroid completely missing the Earth. So simplistic yet so amusingly done.
> 
> Anyway... I won't spoil it for anyone planning to see it, but suffice it to say that this is a great movie to see in wide-screen in high-def. Again... animation is right up over the top with this one.



The visuals, especially the environment, looked mind blowing, but I couldn't settle in with their texture/modelling choices for the main characters. It was a jarring decision to say the least, but I understand why they did it. The 'realistic' dinosaurs were in the very beginning and the cartooney ones were the 'evolved' forms. Plus, the character design has a child-like appeal to it, which is appropriate I suppose for a children's film. Past the visuals the story did nothing for me like your typical Pixar movie. Didn't care what happened to the characters and the plot was surprisingly simple and linear. If Dreamworks or Sony had made this, or even Disney proper, I'd say it was pretty good, but I was disappointed in it for a Pixar film; especially since it followed Inside Out, which was a million times better.


----------



## Duosphere

flint757 said:


> It was a jarring decision to say the least, but I understand why they did it. The 'realistic' dinosaurs were in the very beginning and the cartooney ones were the 'evolved' forms. Plus, the character design has a child-like appeal to it, which is appropriate I suppose for a children's film.



Yep, dinosaurs don't look friendly at all so kids probably wouldn't relate to them or feel them like "friends".
The environment is mind blowing for us adults and dinos are friendly creatures for kids, that's the perfect balance.
I can't imagine if it's possible to get better environment results, they're really close to perfection and right on the first scene my eyes couldn't believe what they saw, I even thought maybe they used real footage but not, that's absolute mind blowing and I can only imagie them having fun while creating those places and thinking "Man this looks awesome!"


----------



## flint757

They used USGS map data for the raw data to get it all done quickly. They were concerned with deadlines considering the director wanted a lot of wide shots of beautiful scenery to really show their journey through the movie. On that front they really succeeded as every shot was breathtaking. Supposedly it is geographically accurate for the location they chose, Jackson, Wyoming. At first I thought it was composited as well, as the scenery looked so real. Technically the film is top notch. I was just disappointed with the story more than anything and aside from Cars that's new territory for me with Pixar.

How The Good Dinosaur Got Its Stunning Scenery | WIRED


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Gotta add that the way that the "kid" prepared the bug for consumption was just awesome lmao. 

And as someone that has lost both parents I have to embarrassingly admit that the scene dealing with family/ loss of strong role-model was a bit tender and sobering to watch.


----------



## Duosphere

A-Branger said:


>



Let me give you just an example.
When a gigantic supernatural evil spitting fire snake is chasing you but you're faster and its fire never hits you even though you're right in front of it, you really feel you're the joke.
What about if there were TWO gigantic supernatural evil spitting fire snakes chasing you???!!!

 .........................


----------



## A-Branger

Duosphere said:


> Let me give you just an example.
> When a gigantic supernatural evil spitting fire snake is chasing you but you're faster and its fire never hits you even though you're right in front of it, you really feel you're the joke.
> What about if there were TWO gigantic supernatural evil spitting fire snakes chasing you???!!!
> 
> .........................



trow a couple of explosions, a few usa flags, and a shaky camera held at 5cm above the ground and you sir have a Michael Bay's next "blockbuster movie"


----------



## Duosphere

A-Branger said:


> trow a couple of explosions, a few usa flags, and a shaky camera held at 5cm above the ground and you sir have a Michael Bay's next "blockbuster movie"


----------



## mikernaut

Watched "The Survivalist" was decent, somewhat tense and gritty. Reminded me of "The Road" a little and the game "DAY Z". 

Good acting and cinematography.

Trailer-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH66dngiW0Y


----------



## flint757

That looks intense.


----------



## Kobalt

Straight Outta Compton.

What a time machine.


----------



## mongey

the john carpenter thread inspired me to re watch big trouble in little china for the first time since the early 90's 

so good


----------



## Duosphere

Point Break (2015) - IMDb

It's not a bad movie, it's an ok movie with beautiful places IF you never watched Point Break in the 90's.
Point Break is an awesome cheese film from the 90's which, its cheesiness doesn't matter at all, what matters is characters relationships cause
they're awesome, they make you wanna be part of it, you wanna be there with those cool characters, you wanna be part of that stuff.
This remake is the opposite, you don't care about any character, you don't freak care, you just keep watching and there's no feeling, it's a flat line, even when the first character died, I didn't even know which one died and I still don't know cause I don't freak care about anything there.I love some places cause they are beautiful but I could see them in some National Geographic shows etc.This movie is about cool places and people you don't care talking/doing things you don't care too.
I remember at the end of the original Point Break, everybody was so connected to those characters and to whatever was happening, the end was freaking cool, there was no stupid nonsense twist or something, it was what it had to be, everybody got out of the movies happy with it and that's why we love it even today when the majority of young people thinks it's just an old cheesy film, you had to watch it in the 90's to understand or to connect with it. 
Anyway if you never watched Point Break in the 90's maybe you can have some fun with this new one or get bored to death cause you won't care about anybody there.


----------



## Skyblue

After 3 months in New Zealand (and I'm probably forgetting several): 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens- Very enjoyable, very nostalgic (almost too much at times- the plot felt a bit too similar to the original trilogy at times), but one thing that bothered me was


Spoiler



why was Kylo Ren so angry? where did his anger come from? why did he move to the dark side?


 these things might've been answered somewhere else in the lore and I wasn't aware of it, but for me if felt odd. And it's not like it's possible to explain in a prequel... as they already exist lol. 

The Revenant- I enjoyed it immensely, and it had nothing to do with DiCaprio. Emmanuel Lubetzky is god. 

The Hateful 8- A great, fun movie. laughed my ass off. Is it Tarantino's best? Of course it isn't. But it was much better then Django IMO. And the characters were awesome. 

Deadpool- Perfect movie version of a comic book character. Exceeded my expectations.

Hail, Caesar!- A collection of wonderfully directed and funny scenes. However, no plot line to be found. Kinda disappointed to be honest. 

Trumbo- A tad too long, and mostly held by Cranston's performance, but still enjoyed it.

Sicario- Keeps you in the dark all the time, which got a bit tiring, but I liked it a lot. Great cast, Emily Blunt is a seriously underrated (?) actress.

Spectre- one of the biggest "meh"s I've seen lately. snore-fest. Now wonder Daniel Craig is sick of playing Bond.

Room- Amazing. Both Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay were absolutely heart-wrenchingly great.

Aladdin (1994)- Watched it twice, still love every second of it. 

Also watched Inside Out on the plane and cried again like a little girl.


----------



## Alberto7

Just watched _47 Ronin_. Honestly, I expected a lot less than what I got, as everybody just loves to trash that movie. (And rightly so.)

Say what you will about the cheesy script, the film's blatant white savior complex, and the more-often-than-not shoddy acting (though the awkward delivery may be either scripted or merely due to the language barrier for some of the cast), but the settings, costume design, visuals, and overall art direction of this film are friggin' GORGEOUS. I caught myself gasping a couple of times while watching it before realizing that I was actually watching a bastardization of a Japanese legend. I just want to wear all of those robes and armors.  I did find it entertaining to watch, however, and wouldn't mind watching again just for the eye candy.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Been grabbing a few movies I've missed out over the years. Turns out I have a lot of catching up to do:

*The Raid 1 and 2
*
Saw both of these back to back, and anyone who's seen them and have been raving about them on how awesome they are... believe them. Everything about these 2 movies are great, 2 of the best action movies I've ever seen. 

*Cabin In The Woods*

I brushed it off as another run of the mill horror movie, but it turns out it had a few shocking twists that awakened the inner nerd in me. 

*Cloud Atlas*

One of the best of the Wachowski's works. Really enjoyed this one a lot. 

*Django Unchained*

I've actually seen this 3 times, but I bought it on DVD because it was cheap.  

*Robocop Trilogy*

Ok I've seen the first one multiple times, saw the second once before, and never the third. The first and original one is still far and away the best of the lot, making 2 and 3 really crap in comparison. 

*Frozen*

Purely out of curiosity. I felt like I watched a completely different movie to what was marketed, and surprisingly I enjoyed what I saw. I haven't seen a good Disney movie since The Lion King, but this comes close to their peak heyday. The song still sucks, but it's much better in the context of the movie. 

*D-War (Dragon Wars)*

I wanted to start a collection of schlock horror/monster movies so I started with this. One of the dumbest movies I've seen, but the third act is one of the greatest moments ever put on celluloid. Nerdgasm galore.


----------



## cult

Last Weekend I had the fancy to watch some Jean Reno stuff.
Les rivieres purpres and Leon.

Loved them both, really intense.


----------



## flint757

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Frozen*
> 
> Purely out of curiosity. I felt like I watched a completely different movie to what was marketed, and surprisingly I enjoyed what I saw. I haven't seen a good Disney movie since The Lion King, but this comes close to their peak heyday. The song still sucks, but it's much better in the context of the movie.



Have you seen Big Hero 6? Worth it if you haven't and far more enjoyable from my perspective at least.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

flint757 said:


> Have you seen Big Hero 6? Worth it if you haven't and far more enjoyable from my perspective at least.



That's next on my list.  I'll try to get this together with Inside Out.

EDIT: I should note that I saw Wreck It Ralph well before Frozen, but forgot that was also a Disney film. I enjoyed that too, more than Frozen, but my point on Disney being on a creative dead zone from Lion King to their 2012 renaissance still stands.


----------



## flint757

I thought Wreck It Ralph was done by Pixar, but apparently not. Learn something new everyday. Yeah, I really enjoyed that one as well.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> That's next on my list.  I'll try to get this together with Inside Out.
> 
> EDIT: I should note that I saw Wreck It Ralph well before Frozen, but forgot that was also a Disney film. I enjoyed that too, more than Frozen, but my point on Disney being on a creative dead zone from Lion King to their 2012 renaissance still stands.



That's a weird point. They released several good films in that stretch. I think Frozen is inferior to Big Hero 6, Tangled and Zootopia, but still pretty good. They had some decent traditional animated ones in there too, though, especially Princess and the Frog and Mulan and the last Winnie the Pooh movie. I think the only real clunker of a major animated release they had was Pocahontas. Hercules and Emperor's New Groove and Hunchback of Notre Dame are still better than most of what came out during their real dead zone of the 70s up until Little Mermaid.  I never did see Bolt, Dinosaur, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Lilo & Stitch, or Tarzan, but I'm guessing that most of them were in the "still better than the 70s/80s" camp.


----------



## synrgy

flint757 said:


> I thought Wreck It Ralph was done by Pixar, but apparently not. Learn something new everyday. Yeah, I really enjoyed that one as well.



I mean, any difference between Disney and Pixar - since Disney's acquisition of Pixar and subsequent titling of John Lassiter as head of Disney's animation department - seems nominal.


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> I mean, any difference between Disney and Pixar - since Disney's acquisition of Pixar and subsequent titling of John Lassiter as head of Disney's animation department - seems nominal.



Pixar kept their creative team, so there's still a very valid difference. The quality seems to have reversed since 2009, though, with the yearly disney CGI pictures being better in most cases. (Toy Story 3 and Inside Out being the exceptions.)


----------



## synrgy

That's fair! Still, as a viewer, I'm personally finding it harder to distinguish between the two as the years go on, especially given how long it's been since any of Disney's features (not distributed on behalf of Studio Ghibli) have been predominantly hand-drawn.


----------



## Pweaks

Just saw the Batman vs Superman at a pre screening and without giving away anything,I'll just say that in my opinion it's the best superhero movie yet. The score was amazing, I can't believe how Hans Zimmer tops himself again and again.


----------



## wankerness

So does that mean the score was ALL bass-drops?

Spoil away, with the spoiler tag [ SPOILER ] without the spaces.

I'm unlikely to watch this because the trailer looked so dumb with Doomsday and the plot seeming to be given away entirely, so reading spoilers that make it sound awesome would be the best way to improve my opinion! Having a professional review embargo makes it seem like the studio thinks they have a stinker on their hands.


----------



## Duosphere

Pweaks said:


> Just saw the Batman vs Superman at a pre screening and without giving away anything,I'll just say that in my opinion it's the best superhero movie yet. The score was amazing, I can't believe how Hans Zimmer tops himself again and again.



I don't wanna watch it cause it sounds super dumb to me.
How a dude in a bat costume having no supernatural powers could fight Superman?
Let's assume for any unknown reasons Superman is afraid of dudes in bat costumes so he can't come close enough to fight Batman, well........he's Superman, he could throw the moon on Batman, he could blow Batman to Mars, he could do whatever he wants to do to Batman without even having to come close to him so kryptonite wouldn't be useful at all.Even the Hulk wouldn't be a match cause like I said, Superman could blow him to Mars.
So probably I'm gonna watch it only to have my questions answered


----------



## Skyblue

The Fall (2006)- Wow. WOW. If you haven't seen this movie, drop everything you're doing and go see it now. Don't see the trailer. Don't read reviews. Just go watch it. 
Both visually stunning (and that's a massive understatement) and heart-wrenching. 
If I'm not mistaken, Peter Jackson chose Lee Pace for King Thranduil after seeing his performance in this movie. 
It's like the Princess Bride but on acid.


----------



## wankerness

I saw that one in the theater, back when I lived in a cultural center. I haven't watched it since, but I have fond memories! Guess I should bust out the blu-ray someday.

It has a trailer that is actually representative of the movie and shows off many of its strengths, so here's that (to contradict your directives about not watching it!):



Unfortunately it was uploaded before HD video on youtube was a thing! Anyway, people should watch the trailer cause it's not like it's readily available to watch, you have to pay money to see it beyond a netflix subscription. It does contain most of the "plot," but obviously the plot is not the important thing here. I watched the trailer a few times before I went to see it in the theater and didn't remember anything other than the visuals going in.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> So does that mean the score was ALL bass-drops?


Wait...are we talking about Hans Zimmer's underscoring or modern metalcore/deathcore bands?


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Wait...are we talking about Hans Zimmer's underscoring or modern metalcore/deathcore bands?



We're talking about Hans Zimmer's ridiculous action scores. I think I read he has like, some kind of scientific method for generating tones that will evoke a certain mood, as opposed to John Williams, who does everything on the piano and comes up with themes and leitmotifs and whatnot. It usually works well in context, but man, are they some uninteresting scores. Just try getting through the soundtrack album to say, The Dark Knight. The joker "theme" is just some out of tune notes that crash into each other, the action sequences are just generic bustling strings with hits, etc. It's exciting as heck while you watch it, but good luck remembering any of it afterwards, it barely counts as music.


----------



## awake69

You could play any random Zimmer score to me, and I couldn't tell you what it is. I love film scores, and I love movies...but Zimmer doesn't seem to bring anything to the table musically with the exception of the occasional cue to an action sequence. Whereas you could go down the list of films John Williams has scored and I would wager that most people from the ages of 8 to 80 could pick out at LEAST ten of the themes and cues and immediately identify the film. What person hasn't been to the beach without the theme from Jaws being either hummed or playing in their head? Who hasn't hummed those notes from Close Encounters when watching/reading something about UFOs or aliens? Everyone knows "The Imperial March", "Superman", "Harry Potter", "Jurassic Park", etc.. 

Zimmer's music could be in a car commercial or SyFy movie of the week and I'd never be able to tell it was him. 

Any great film has a score that adds to the overall quality.


----------



## synrgy

Deja-vu, probably. I think this may have come up before, but..

Whenever I think of Hans Zimmer scores, I think of South Park:

A Taco Within A Taco! - Video Clip | South Park Studios

Part where dude pulls on the sheep's tail kills me.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> We're talking about Hans Zimmer's ridiculous action scores. I think I read he has like, some kind of scientific method for generating tones that will evoke a certain mood, as opposed to John Williams, who does everything on the piano and comes up with themes and leitmotifs and whatnot. It usually works well in context, but man, are they some uninteresting scores. Just try getting through the soundtrack album to say, The Dark Knight. The joker "theme" is just some out of tune notes that crash into each other, the action sequences are just generic bustling strings with hits, etc. It's exciting as heck while you watch it, but good luck remembering any of it afterwards, it barely counts as music.


As a film composer, I need to address this.

You are mistaking cues in underscoring for actual songs (which will have themes, motifs, etc.). The former is structured and composed to fit a specific scene or moment and (for the most part) is not meant to be remembered. It just adds to the scene. Whereas, an actual song is meant to be remembered and will be chopped up for motifs that will be inserted as cues in the film and will be used for other marketing purposes.

Sometimes, cues are just builds/rises, drops/releases, ambience, something soundwise to fill space and that controls the audience's emotions and response. It tells the audience what to expect. A musical cue can completely change the context of a scene.

You are mistaking cues in underscoring for actual songs.

Also, prior to the turn of the century, film composers used to micromanage their compositions and devote far more time and effort. The usage of tonality was far more manipulated. You guys note stuff from films such as Star Wars, Jaws, Jurassic Park, etc. Those are all old films prior to the turn of the century. - Nowadays, modern film scores are composed utilizing a different approach and different "in the box" methods. Things are more formulaic and there is less writing of actual songs. Most of the time, film composers are given a super short period after post-production to do their work; whereas, before the turn of the century, film composers were granted far more time or worked on composing while the film was being produced, shot, and edited.

Can you guys think of a single film from post-2000 that has a theme that is notably recognized throughout the world in the same way that the themes from Star Wars or even The Exorcist are easily recognized? The only films that immediately come to mind for me are the Pirates of the Caribbean films (Zimmer for you), the Harry Potter films (John Williams composed for the first three films), and the Lord of the Rings films. Again, there is less writing of actual songs like this.


----------



## Skyblue

wankerness said:


> I saw that one in the theater, back when I lived in a cultural center. I haven't watched it since, but I have fond memories! Guess I should bust out the blu-ray someday.
> 
> It has a trailer that is actually representative of the movie and shows off many of its strengths, so here's that (to contradict your directives about not watching it!):
> 
> 
> 
> Unfortunately it was uploaded before HD video on youtube was a thing! Anyway, people should watch the trailer cause it's not like it's readily available to watch, you have to pay money to see it beyond a netflix subscription. It does contain most of the "plot," but obviously the plot is not the important thing here. I watched the trailer a few times before I went to see it in the theater and didn't remember anything other than the visuals going in.




To be honest I meant the "don't watch the trailer" as a "go watch it right now and don't waste time" thing, but watching the trailer now- it just feels like it spoils too much, and it's a shame. Even visually-


Spoiler



The cut after the priest's head-shot at 0:50 is so beautifully done, I wouldn't want that spoiled to me. Also, why even mention the whole pills thing in the trailer?


 they just tell the whole plot, and to me it's really annoying.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> As a film composer, I need to address this.
> 
> You are mistaking cues in underscoring for actual songs (which will have themes, motifs, etc.). The former is structured and composed to fit a specific scene or moment and (for the most part) is not meant to be remembered. It just adds to the scene. Whereas, an actual song is meant to be remembered and will be chopped up for motifs that will be inserted as cues in the film and will be used for other marketing purposes.
> 
> Sometimes, cues are just builds/rises, drops/releases, ambience, something soundwise to fill space and that controls the audience's emotions and response. It tells the audience what to expect. A musical cue can completely change the context of a scene.
> 
> You are mistaking cues in underscoring for actual songs.
> 
> Also, prior to the turn of the century, film composers used to micromanage their compositions and devote far more time and effort. The usage of tonality was far more manipulated. You guys note stuff from films such as Star Wars, Jaws, Jurassic Park, etc. Those are all old films prior to the turn of the century. - Nowadays, modern film scores are composed utilizing a different approach and different "in the box" methods. Things are more formulaic and there is less writing of actual songs. Most of the time, film composers are given a super short period after post-production to do their work; whereas, before the turn of the century, film composers were granted far more time or worked on composing while the film was being produced, shot, and edited.
> 
> Can you guys think of a single film from post-2000 that has a theme that is notably recognized throughout the world in the same way that the themes from Star Wars or even The Exorcist are easily recognized? The only films that immediately come to mind for me are the Pirates of the Caribbean films (Zimmer for you), the Harry Potter films (John Williams composed for the first three films), and the Lord of the Rings films. Again, there is less writing of actual songs like this.



I'm not exactly sure what you're saying, even though you have the same sentence isolated a second time to hammer home your point. Are you saying that Hans Zimmer's scores (Pirates excepted - and also I remember Gladiator having plenty of more typical music instead of his ultra modern bass drop inception noise sonics over composition stuff) are made up all of cues, and John Williams' stuff is made up all of "songs" that are chopped up, and that thus their stuff is not supposed to be compared? Cause that's all I really took away from it, and it doesn't really hold water for me. Plenty of guys have worked with much more insane deadlines than they have today, ex Ennio Morricone, who frequently was pumping out 5 or 6 scores a year that would often all have incredibly memorable themes in it and crazy experimentation and also would get assigned to him and finished in incredibly short amounts of time.

Stuff like say, Return of the Jedi or ET functions perfectly well as a standalone album, even the "complete score" versions in which it's ALL the music in the movie chronologically instead of those shortened soundtrack albums that really did kinda condense them into "songs."

Your point about the last 15 years doesn't really hold water, either. The Marvel movies, for example, are VERY traditionally scored in terms of being loaded with themes and melody and not being what I described Hans Zimmer as being. I don't find most of them particularly memorable, but go listen to the score to say, Iron Man 3, and compare that to a transformers movie or the dark knight.

I don't know if it's fair to say "what snippets of scores are internationally recognized from the last 15 years compared to stuff from 40 years ago which had that much more time to build popularity?" ESPECIALLY if you then offhandedly dismiss Harry Potter and LOTR and Pirates of the Caribbean. Considering how few scores became iconic out of all the 70s and 80s, I think that number is right in line. We had what, Superman, Raiders, Star Wars, Rocky, Jaws, Titanic and what else? And half of those were John Williams! I don't think there's that much, but that's partly because popular movies now tend to copy that Hans Zimmer BS pattern. Tons of composers are still out there writing really memorable music that can stand alone instead of formulaic junk. Like, the score for "Up" I'd say was borderline iconic (even though I don't really like that movie that much). 

My favorite score of the last few years is It Follows - that was a great example of how you can have wildly effective electronic noises for a score while actually being memorable and not feeling like a scientifically constructed paint-by-numbers Zimmer score. Same with The Social Network. And yes, I know that was generated via jam sessions which were then edited down into usable chunks and chosen for appropriateness! And there are plenty of guys carrying on the more traditionalist approaches, like Alexandre Desplat or Thomas Newman or even Danny Elfman (I love that very accurate youtube video parodying his approach to Tim Burton movies, though).


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Wrath of the Titans_ - Figured that I would watch it since I watched _Clash of the Titans_ (the 2010 remake). Can't even remember a single thing about it. Like...nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. So if that is any indicator as to how bad it was...

_Immortals_ - Absolutely appalling. Without a doubt one of the worst films that I've ever seen.


_Spectre_ - Boring as hell for a Bond film. Nothing interesting happened, loaded with overdone spy flick cliches, and I just felt like the movie went nowhere - almost like it was just going through the motions with no effort invested. Maybe the next film will actually be interesting. Doubt it - especially since Daniel Craig isn't going to be Bond anymore. (Flashback to _Casino Royale_ and how entertaining it was. It seems like all of the Craig era Bond films have consistently gotten worse and worse with each one made.)


----------



## Skyblue

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _Spectre_ - Boring as hell for a Bond film. Nothing interesting happened, loaded with overdone spy flick cliches, and I just felt like the movie went nowhere - almost like it was just going through the motions with no effort invested. Maybe the next film will actually be interesting. Doubt it - especially since Daniel Craig isn't going to be Bond anymore. (Flashback to _Casino Royale_ and how entertaining it was. It seems like all of the Craig era Bond films have consistently gotten worse and worse with each one made.)



Saw in on a plane, it was so amazingly boring. I was amazed how they managed to come up with such a stupid plot. Also, a waste of a perfectly good Christoph Waltz. I actually liked Daniel Craig as Bond, but it's interesting to see who will they bring instead. 

But hey, at least Léa Seydoux's hot.


----------



## awake69

I watched Hellboy II : The Golden Army over the weekend. DelToro is such a great visual director and there are frames of this film I would gladly hang on my wall as art. It got swept under the rug because it was released within a week of The Dark Knight in 2008 (Not bright, Universal!). Luke Goss is great as Prince Nuada, a villain who you actually empathize with as the film progresses. There's a lot of heart in it, which is something that is lacking in most Hollywood effects driven summer drek.

I find it to be one of those movies you tend to let slip from your mind....then upon another viewing, I'm reminded of how AWESOME it is. For me, it's easily one of the best "Comic Book Movies" ever made.


----------



## asher

wankerness said:


> My favorite score of the last few years is It Follows - that was a great example of how you can have wildly effective electronic noises for a score while actually being memorable and not feeling like a scientifically constructed paint-by-numbers Zimmer score



That's because Rich Vreeland is a prog-loving Berklee-graduate freaking genius  He goes from that, to a chiptune solo concept album that feels like BTBAM to the absolutely amazing FEZ soundtrack.


----------



## wankerness

I watched Spectre also. I think I liked it more than Skyfall. At least it has some sense of fun, despite mainly looking GRIMDARK the whole time with its washed-out tans and grays. Lea Seydoux is wasted and somehow is completely unconvincing in the handful of scenes she has to do any action in, despite being totally convincing in MI4 a couple years ago. I think the movie would have been more interesting if Monica Bellucci's character and hers had switched plot relevance, or something. They hyped up Bellucci for so long before it came out and then she ends up being in like, two scenes, and the rest is yet another in the endless string of "old man Bond develops romance with initially hostile young endangered daughter of one of the plot devices." Oh well, I'll take that retread over "Judi Dench is an intolerable creep with an intolerable voice for 3 hours" like Skyfall felt to me. And at least Bond didn't creepily rape anyone! It's probably 6/10 material. Waltz was definitely wasted and Spectre's motivations were unclear (was the entirety of their plot that they were trying to kill Seydoux's dad, and then decided to kill Bond when it looked like he was going to carry on his work? I have no idea!). 

I thought the last hour or so was non-stop entertaining. I thought all the early action scenes fell totally flat, though. The last MI movie just runs circles around this when it comes to suspense and/or action setpieces.

Basically, Casino Royale is possibly the best Bond movie in the entire series, I appreciated that Quantum of Solace was a direct sequel instead of just tossing away all the good development they'd done on Bond's character, and then Skyfall DID totally toss away all that good development! This one at least tried to do a bunch of callbacks to Vesper.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Skyblue said:


> I actually liked Daniel Craig as Bond, but it's interesting to see who will they bring instead.


Ditto. I liked him too. Is that rumor still circulating that the next Bond is going to be black? I wonder if/how that will affect the franchise. It'll be _different_ if it is true based on how the character of Bond has been portrayed in the minds of the world for decades. But theoretically in the fictitious story of Bond itself, it could work since the 007 thing is just a agent number moniker (even the name James Bond could be a pseudonym).



wankerness said:


> I watched Spectre also. I think I liked it more than Skyfall. At least it has some sense of fun, despite mainly looking GRIMDARK the whole time with its washed-out tans and grays. Lea Seydoux is wasted and somehow is completely unconvincing in the handful of scenes she has to do any action in, despite being totally convincing in MI4 a couple years ago. I think the movie would have been more interesting if Monica Bellucci's character and hers had switched plot relevance, or something. They hyped up Bellucci for so long before it came out and then she ends up being in like, two scenes, and the rest is yet another in the endless string of "old man Bond develops romance with initially hostile young endangered daughter of one of the plot devices." Oh well, I'll take that retread over "Judi Dench is an intolerable creep with an intolerable voice for 3 hours" like Skyfall felt to me. And at least Bond didn't creepily rape anyone! It's probably 6/10 material. Waltz was definitely wasted and Spectre's motivations were unclear (was the entirety of their plot that they were trying to kill Seydoux's dad, and then decided to kill Bond when it looked like he was going to carry on his work? I have no idea!).
> 
> I thought the last hour or so was non-stop entertaining. I thought all the early action scenes fell totally flat, though. The last MI movie just runs circles around this when it comes to suspense and/or action setpieces.
> 
> Basically, *Casino Royale is possibly the best Bond movie in the entire series*, I appreciated that Quantum of Solace was a direct sequel instead of just tossing away all the good development they'd done on Bond's character, and then Skyfall DID totally toss away all that good development! This one at least tried to do a bunch of callbacks to Vesper.


Right there. I agree that Casino Royale is possible the best Bond film in the entire series. No matter who played Bond, it doesn't matter. That one particular film had everything that you could ask for. I actually might go watch Casino Royale to wash out the bad taste that Spectre left in my mouth.

I just can't believe Spectre was so bad. Every spy cliche imaginable was in there, the organization was glossed over, the motives of the organization were not explained (other than Waltz's character providing them with global info for their terrorist attacks), Waltz was wasted as an actor (they didn't even explain or dive into his character other than the fact that the guy wanted to control all surveillance across the entire globe), the acting was so bland like all bodies were just going through the motions in front of the camera lens, and the entire plot felt completely void.


----------



## Skyblue

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Ditto. I liked him too. Is that rumor still circulating that the next Bond is going to be black? I wonder if/how that will affect the franchise. It'll be _different_ if it is true based on how the character of Bond has been portrayed in the minds of the world for decades. But theoretically in the fictitious story of Bond itself, it could work since the 007 thing is just a agent number moniker (even the name James Bond could be a pseudonym).



I didn't even know such a rumor existed, but it can be a really cool idea. Now I wonder if I can think of any black actor who can be a good bond...


----------



## wankerness

It's just been tons of wishful thinking from people who wanted Idris Elba to be Bond, but he'll be way too old in the 5-6 years it will likely be before the next Bond's movie will come out.


----------



## Skyblue

wankerness said:


> It's just been tons of wishful thinking from people who wanted Idris Elba to be Bond, but he'll be way too old in the 5-6 years it will likely be before the next Bond's movie will come out.



He's literally the first one that came to my head and I was like "well there's got to be another one"  
I really like him as an actor but I'm not sure if he'll be my pick for the next Bond. 
But giving new twists to the franchise is exactly what I think needs to be done to keep it alive (and I personally like that they tried to do that in Skyfall) so I'm definitely hoping for an interesting actor choice.


----------



## wankerness

There aren't too many high profile English black actors I'm aware of, and Elba is the only one that has the right combo of suave and tough. Can't really imagine the guy from Star Wars VII or David Oyelowo in the role. I'm sure there are others out there that just haven't broken big in Hollywood (or do the typical English actor thing and speak with a perfect American accent and thus I don't realize they're English).

Elba hasn't been contacted by the Bond people at all, though. The three that apparently are in the running so far are Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Henry Cavill (Superman in the Snyder movies), and James Norton (never seen this guy in action, but I don't like the looks of him!!).


----------



## Skyblue

wankerness said:


> There aren't too many high profile English black actors I'm aware of, and Elba is the only one that has the right combo of suave and tough. Can't really imagine the guy from Star Wars VII or David Oyelowo in the role. I'm sure there are others out there that just haven't broken big in Hollywood (or do the typical English actor thing and speak with a perfect American accent and thus I don't realize they're English).
> 
> Elba hasn't been contacted by the Bond people at all, though. The three that apparently are in the running so far are Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Henry Cavill (Superman in the Snyder movies), and James Norton (never seen this guy in action, but I don't like the looks of him!!).



Yeah, I tried to see if I can come up with anyone and came up empty handed (empty headed?). 

Never heard of James Norton, but he looks weird judging from a quick googling. Henry Cavilll... will either be too serious or too silly, I think. I liked his character in The Men From U.N.C.L.E, but it was too much of a comic-esque role to imagine him doing a serious Bond. And he's acting in BvS was too serious (Not that he's necessarily to blame). As for Hiddleston, I'm not sure if I've seen him act in anything serious but Marvel films, so I can't really judge. He does star in a new series based on La Carre's "Night Manager", and I still need to check it out...

Maybe they should take Benedict Cumberbatch


----------



## wankerness

Skyblue said:


> Maybe they should take Benedict Cumberbatch



NO.


----------



## Alberto7

^ Wait, I didn't read through the entirety of the most recent posts, but did you just suggest making Benedict Cumberbatch the next James Bond? Because LOL


----------



## asher

No Michael Fassbender? He's like Hiddleston, just fits the square jaw action hero look better


----------



## wankerness

asher said:


> No Michael Fassbender? He's like Hiddleston, just fits the square jaw action hero look better



He basically gave an audition in the early part of X-Men First Class where he's going around the world killing Nazis, and it was AWESOME. It would be great to see him in that role, but I think he might be too straight-ahead for what they usually get. There's not much wink with Fassbender. He also hasn't come up in any of the rumor-mill stuff, so seems unlikely. My guess is he'd probably rather stick to all the prestige movies he usually does instead of getting roped into TWO big blockbuster franchises.

EDIT: Actually, I guess he's now in Assassin's Creed, and the Prometheus sequel, so that's more than enough slumming


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

asher said:


> No Michael Fassbender? He's like Hiddleston, just fits the square jaw action hero look better


I've seen Fassbender's name brought up before as a suggestion for Bond now that Craig is done.

There is a sort of parody video on YouTube of Fassbender as Bond in Casino Royale. 

Maybe they will get tired of searching and just throw Christian Bale on as Bond?


----------



## thesnowdog

Norton's the only one mentioned that I can actually see in the role.

Though I have seen him in action.


----------



## wankerness

thesnowdog said:


> Norton's the only one mentioned that I can actually see in the role.
> 
> Though I have seen him in action.



Well, then you are better qualified to comment than I am!


----------



## Skyblue

Maybe Charlie Hunnam? Though I do think Fassbender can pull off a good Bond. 

And back to the actual thread- 

Watched Whiplash two days ago. Absolutely amazing in my opinion- J.K Simmons was absolutely terrifying and Miles Teller gave a wonderful performance as well. 
Made me feel ashamed of myself for not practicing enough


----------



## wankerness

Skyblue said:


> *Maybe Charlie Hunnam? *Though I do think Fassbender can pull off a good Bond.
> 
> And back to the actual thread-
> 
> Watched Whiplash two days ago. Absolutely amazing in my opinion- J.K Simmons was absolutely terrifying and Miles Teller gave a wonderful performance as well.
> Made me feel ashamed of myself for not practicing enough



Hahaha, you should post that suggestion other places, I think you'd terrify a lot of people. He has to be one of the most-hated actors working today.

I really didn't like Whiplash on first watch, I should probably watch it again someday knowing what to expect. Everyone took it so seriously when it came out, when it's essentially a cartoon. Knowing it's quite close in tone to the director's previous work, the hilarious "Grand Piano," would have helped me enjoy it more. I highly recommend Grand Piano, btw, it used to be on Netflix and might still be! Elijah Wood plays a concert pianist who is playing on a piano that contains a safe that can only be unlocked if a nearly impossible piano piece is played perfectly on it, and during a concert John Cusack has a sniper rifle trained on him and demands he play that nearly impossible piece or he will be SHOT! It's great.


----------



## Skyblue

wankerness said:


> Hahaha, you should post that suggestion other places, I think you'd terrify a lot of people. He has to be one of the most-hated actors working today.
> 
> I really didn't like Whiplash on first watch, I should probably watch it again someday knowing what to expect. Everyone took it so seriously when it came out, when it's essentially a cartoon. Knowing it's quite close in tone to the director's previous work, the hilarious "Grand Piano," would have helped me enjoy it more. I highly recommend Grand Piano, btw, it used to be on Netflix and might still be! Elijah Wood plays a concert pianist who is playing on a piano that contains a safe that can only be unlocked if a nearly impossible piano piece is played perfectly on it, and during a concert John Cusack has a sniper rifle trained on him and demands he play that nearly impossible piece or he will be SHOT! It's great.



It's written by him, but not directed by him. (Haven't seen it though and will do- I just quickly checked IMDb)
Would you care to explain what do you mean when you say "it's a cartoon"? I mean, it's obviously exaggerated, but I felt it's based in truth, or at least grounded in real ideas, and trying to bring these questions into discussion (How far should a teacher push his students in order to achieve greatness, and so on). 
As for Hunnam- really? I had no idea  why is that? I don't have any particular love for him, he just randomly popped into my head. 

Also, watched Synecdoche, New York two days ago. It was, hands-down, THE most depressing movie I've seen. Amazingly crafted, and absolutely genius, but depressing as fluff. I'll probably have to watch it again once or twice to completely understand it.


----------



## wankerness

Skyblue said:


> It's written by him, but not directed by him. (Haven't seen it though and will do- I just quickly checked IMDb)
> Would you care to explain what do you mean when you say "it's a cartoon"? I mean, it's obviously exaggerated, but I felt it's based in truth, or at least grounded in real ideas, and trying to bring these questions into discussion (How far should a teacher push his students in order to achieve greatness, and so on).
> As for Hunnam- really? I had no idea  why is that? I don't have any particular love for him, he just randomly popped into my head.
> 
> Also, watched Synecdoche, New York two days ago. It was, hands-down, THE most depressing movie I've seen. Amazingly crafted, and absolutely genius, but depressing as fluff. I'll probably have to watch it again once or twice to completely understand it.



It's a cartoon cause practically nothing that happens in it is remotely believable, many things are massively heightened beyond the point of any realistic characterization or actions. The instructor is like a comic book supervillain that commits a couple acts that are just purely ridiculous and out of the realm of any believability. Stuff like the main character getting in a car accident and still running into the concert is intentionally totally over-the-top. Perhaps least believably, that prog-metally tasteless drum solo resulted in a jazz audience's applause instead of boos or silence.  That last one I'm not sure about the intention of, though. Basically, I can't see how anyone took it as a totally serious movie based in gritty reality. After seeing Grand Piano and seeing how much fun the director was having there with similar plot ideas, I realized he wasn't trying to be an edgelord, he was having fun with Whiplash too.

The thematic intentions are sort of besides the point. It obviously has something to say, but so does X-Men 2. They're both still cartoons! That's what they're aiming for, and it's fine.

Hunnam is one of the most-hated actors out there in any serious movie/tv forum you see mostly because of Sons of Anarchy being so bad. Plenty of people enjoy it, obviously, but it's the show equivalent of...I dunno, Limp Bizkit, and Charlie Hunnam is Fred Durst. He's also disliked because HE is so bad in most of the other stuff he's been in. Like, everyone was annoyed that he was by far the blandest actor/character in Pacific Rim, but was also the main character and given top billing. I will say I liked him alright on Undeclared.

Synecdoche kind of blew me away when I saw it even though I didn't really know what was going on. The last 1/3 or so caused me existential despair.


----------



## MFB

Rewatched 'Ant-Man' last night, and it's still one of my top superhero movies. The right amount of self-deprecation about the nature of the character, while still allowing him to be a hero.

Only thing I felt was forced was the relationship between Scott and Hope.


----------



## wankerness

I was a bit disappointed by that movie, because Paul Rudd doesn't really do anything funny. Usually he's by far the best thing about any movie he's in, but he was way too constrained by the character here. Michael Pena, on the other hand, is incredible, and his story sections are the best parts of the movie. I'd rank it in about the middle of those Marvel movies.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> I was a bit disappointed by that movie, because Paul Rudd doesn't really do anything funny. Usually he's by far the best thing about any movie he's in, but he was way too constrained by the character here. Michael Pena, on the other hand, is incredible, and his story sections are the best parts of the movie. I'd rank it in about the middle of those Marvel movies.



It was a different type of humor for him in this case. More akin to say, Role Models than ...40 Year Old Virgin if that makes any sense. Like, the scene where he ruins the moment after Hank tells Hope about her mother? Probably the funniest part in the whole movie. Either that or when he's training with the Crazy Ants and ends up freaking out when they swarm him - but that ones more a blend of the visual humor showing the nature of being small vs. big along with his delivery.

For me, it's probably the 2nd best of all the Marvel movies that have come out, ranked below Winter Soldier as my favorite of them


----------



## Duosphere

They're Watching (2016) - IMDb


Seriously..............I think I never laughed that much with a horror movie 
One hour of pure nothing, yep some will call it building characters, to me it was boring, nothing more.Then .... started hitting the fan and I thought "so many cliches and we all know everybody will die".
Then...........somebody flipped the Hell switch and I couldn't stop laughing, it was sooooo unexpected cause I was expecting something boring and more cliches but not, suddenly I was in the middle of the best party ever  
You guys gotta watch it knowing nothing about it, call some friends and turn off the lights then...................party on


----------



## synrgy

Just caught up with Bone Tomahawk, and Under The Skin.

BT is effing BRUTAL. If you have a weak stomach, don't do it. If you wanna see a naked guy split/torn in half starting at the crotch, go for it. Some things can never be un-seen, is what I'm getting at..

UTS was more interesting that I anticipated. It's an extremely understated movie. Almost no dialogue at all, extremely minimal soundtrack, and lots of very long, deliberate shots. It was kinda marketed as a slasher, but it isn't, at all. It's a super creepy sci-fi, thriller-esque kinda thing. If you saw and liked _Ex Machina_, this should probably be on your list. Also, it has multiple shots of a fully nude ScarJo. Just saying.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

synrgy said:


> Under The Skin [...] If you saw and liked _Ex Machina_, this should probably be on your list.


Watching immediately.


----------



## wankerness

Under the Skin is a lot artier and with a lot less attempts at wordy intellectualism. I liked it more than Ex Machina for sure as it didn't devolve into a thriller, it's uncompromising throughout and never includes any exposition other than what you observe on the screen (cause why would her character ever talk about it?).


----------



## synrgy

I only put them in the same wheelhouse because we so rarely get anything remotely sci-fi any more that isn't an action-packed CGI circle jerk. The two referenced films are very deliberately paced, have something to say, and offer their viewers something (or things) to think about. TL;DR = They're absolutely _not_ mass-market/popcorn flicks.


----------



## awake69

Had a classic comedy night last night....

Blazing Saddles & Young Frankenstein

Mel Brooks in his heyday. No more need be said.


----------



## thesnowdog

And UTS also 'stars' Jeremy McWilliams...if you're into that sort of thing.


----------



## Duosphere

synrgy said:


> Just caught up with Bone Tomahawk, and Under The Skin.



Under The Skin to me is brutally awesome in all levels possible!
It drag me into its atmosphere and when the first weird stuff happened, my jaw fell on the floor cause I wasn't expecting anything like that, in fact the only thing I was expecting was to watch a good film, I got much more than a good film, there are so many stuff between the lines.
I love it the same way I love Blade Runner, both movies have the perfect atmosphere for their stories.
And having Scarlet almost never speaking was a must cause her silence sets the tone and speaks more than words!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched Deadpool last night. It was alright. Pretty entertaining film with some spirit to it. A few laughs here and there, but mostly cringy 4chan-esque humor in all the wisecracks. The younger crowd definitely would love this movie. (Granted, if they are old enough to see it.)


----------



## MFB

Had some free time today so I decided to torture myself by watching Batman vs. Superman.

Jesus Christ, how do you screw up what should be a simple enough storyline? Snyder somehow found a way.


----------



## Duosphere

MFB said:


> Had some free time today so I decided to torture myself by watching Batman vs. Superman.
> 
> Jesus Christ, how do you screw up what should be a simple enough storyline? Snyder somehow found a way.



A dude in a bat costume fighting Superman would never be a simple storyline 
I can accept the Hulk trying to fight Superman but a dude in a bat costume...........never.
If a dude in a bat costume can, I'd prefer wonder woman cause at least there would be some (oYo) to watch.


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

Hateful 8: Pretty damn good show. Not as good as Inglorious Bastards or Django, but pretty entertaining. Only disappointment was that Christoph Waltz wasn't in it, and Channing Tatum was.

People crying about how un-PC it was:  It's Quentin. At this point you're just watching so you can bitch about it.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

awake69 said:


> Had a classic comedy night last night....
> 
> Blazing Saddles & Young Frankenstein
> 
> Mel Brooks in his heyday. No more need be said.



... and Marty Feldman. I will never tire of Mel Brooks' genius. I've got both those movies on dvd.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

FILTHnFEAR said:


> People crying about how un-PC it was:  It's Quentin. At this point you're just watching so you can bitch about it.



nobody seemed to have a problem with a large, powerful, masculine black male having his anus raped by a white trailer trash guy


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Ibanezsam4 said:


> nobody seemed to have a problem with a large, powerful, masculine black male having his anus raped by a white trailer trash guy


That was the 90s, man. Times were different.

Nowadays, people are/were complaining about Quentin having a white man forced to wrap his lips around the "dingus" (that word sums up the whole movie) of a black man. 

Like what FILTHnFEAR said, it's not "politically correct" and it's because of the time portrayed in the film, as well as it just being...well...Tarantino.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Emperor Guillotine said:


> That was the 90s, man. Times were different.
> 
> Nowadays, people are/were complaining about Quentin having a white man forced to wrap his lips around the "dingus" (that word sums up the whole movie) of a black man.
> 
> Like what FILTHnFEAR said, it's not "politically correct" and it's because of the time portrayed in the film, as well as it just being...well...Tarantino.



completely agreed about the 90s, however i guarantee that scene still elicits more laughs in first time viewers than it does gasps of horror. 

the only reason people resent the violence in Hateful is because Tarantino wanted those reactions. the people who laughed at it are fans of his work, they know what he wants.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Nowadays, people are/were complaining about Quentin having a white man forced to wrap his lips around the "dingus" (that word sums up the whole movie) of a black man.



I never saw a single complaint about that, actually. The PC police didn't care since it was violence against a white man.  The only complaints I saw against this were gratuitous use of the N-word. I've never really seen PC police complaints against Pulp Fiction for the Marcellus stuff either, since it's far more offensive to lower class white folks than the black guy and it's not played for laughs, more pulpy horror.  Again, mainly just usage of the N-word, particularly Quentin's appearance.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater

FILTHnFEAR said:


> Hateful 8: Pretty damn good show. Not as good as Inglorious Bastards or Django, but pretty entertaining. Only disappointment was that Christoph Waltz wasn't in it, and Channing Tatum was.
> 
> People crying about how un-PC it was:  It's Quentin. At this point you're just watching so you can bitch about it.



Yup i watched this over the weekend. I can say this, for an almost 3 hour movie, not once was I waiting for it to end. Great flick that i thoroughly enjoyed. The only part that really struck me as "over the line" was the Major's recollection of killing the General's son. Not that i would ever complain about such a thing, but I admit i was thinking "Goddamn that's a bit much" - surely the desired effect. Speaking for myself - the Pulp Fiction scene provided the same effect - probably more so, since at the time seeing something like this in a dramatic movie was uncommon, if not brand new.


----------



## wankerness

VBCheeseGrater said:


> Yup i watched this over the weekend. I can say this, for an almost 3 hour movie, not once was I waiting for it to end. Great flick that i thoroughly enjoyed. The only part that really struck me as "over the line" was the Major's recollection of killing the General's son. Not that i would ever complain about such a thing, but I admit i was thinking "Goddamn that's a bit much" - surely the desired effect. Speaking for myself - the Pulp Fiction scene provided the same effect - probably more so, since at the time seeing something like this in a dramatic movie was uncommon, *if not brand new*.



The Deliverance scene is way more explicit and is rather legendary.


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

VBCheeseGrater said:


> The only part that really struck me as "over the line" was the Major's recollection of killing the General's son. Not that i would ever complain about such a thing, but I admit i was thinking "Goddamn that's a bit much" - surely the desired effect. Speaking for myself - the Pulp Fiction scene provided the same effect - probably more so, since at the time seeing something like this in a dramatic movie was uncommon, if not brand new.



Yea that scene with the Generals son was a bit over the top, but not totally unexpected. Watched it with my buddy and his wife, and she didn't care for that part at all,to say the least.  And I didn't know till I saw the credits that Greg Nicotero did the special effects. Pretty cool.

Now the hillbilly rape scene in Pulp Fiction, at the time it was released in the early 90's, was a "holy ...., wtf" moment.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> The Deliverance scene is way more explicit and is rather legendary.


^ The exact example that popped into my mind too.


----------



## Alberto7

My roommate got a collection of all the Hannibal movies, and we've been watching them together. Watched _Manhunter_ a few days ago, and my God did it blow. First half is actually not THAT bad, but the 2nd half was boring as all hell. I didn't really like how Will Graham's character was portrayed, I like Anthony Hopkins MUCH better as Hannibal, and what on EARTH is going on with the music?!  I get it, it's the 80's, but holy crap, it just didn't fit the mood whatsoever. That score, in my opinion, was the main thing to ruin the film for me.


----------



## wankerness

At least it has actual style and doesn't have massively blimped up actors playing much younger versions of themselves like the second version. Tom Noonan is great.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

So, I finally got around to watching _Under the Skin_ after seeing some of you guys recommend it. 

Initial thoughts. That was nothing like _Ex Machina_. Not even a single shared theme unless you feed the film to a group of feminists and get their take on it. That was one of the slowest movies that I have ever watched. (Seriously, it was slower than a glacier.) Some major "WTF?!" moments, especially at the end, if you are able to make it through the entire trudging film. It has some very David Lynch-esque qualities to it. (I was thinking to myself that this is probably like something that Lynch would have made nowadays if he were on some strong drugs.) 

This is definitely more of an "art" film that is presenting various underlying themes and messages in a very abstract, metaphoric manner. Something for the film nerds to dissect. Definitely not something for the casual, passive viewer. And I really am having a hard time understanding why this film got so many highly positive reviews all around. It is memorable, (because of its horrific elements,) but it just wasn't that great at all in my opinion. Props to Scarlett Johansson for carrying the entire film completely by herself.


----------



## synrgy

^I'm afraid you may have missed my back-pedal a couple of posts later. 

I'm sorry that my initial post set an expectation the movie couldn't live up to. I hate it when that happens, and I feel like a jerk. I'm a little relieved that you still seemed to appreciate it for what it was, but yeah. S'what I get for posting in haste.


----------



## mongey

got the force awakens on blu ray and re watched it . only saw it the once on premier night at a midnight showing 

I enjoyed it on a re watch. not as much as the first time but it was still good 

also by accident re watched the first iron man the other night . man.. Terrance Howard is so much better than Cheadle 

and the terrance howard factor inspired me to rewatch hustle and flow . I think that movie is pretty well done. allot better than you'd expect it to be


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Hush (2016)

An interesting and refreshing take on a played out trope that also drags another one along with it in that this movie could have been over multiple times if she just had a gun.


----------



## Ralyks

Somehow I've watched The Land Before Time with my son twice in a 24 hour period. And I'm ok with this.

Other than that, watched The Force Awakens again. Agreed, still good, not as great as the first time. And the second time around, I also am starting to see why everyone said they were pretty much remaking A New Hope.


----------



## A-Branger

I just came back from the movies. I went to watch "Eddie the Eagle" man what a great movie to watch, awesome, funny, interesting, and motivational, great FXs/shooting. Plus based on a true story. And the most important thing of all...... NO ROMANCE!!, not a "he gets the girl" moment, not a crush, not even a single kiss, theres not even "a girl", so awesome. Hollywood needs to learn to do more stuff like that. Not every movie has to have a romantic story cramped up on the plot because reasons.

Either way great movie.


----------



## Duosphere

A-Branger said:


> Hollywood needs to learn to do more stuff like that. Not every movie has to have a romantic story cramped up on the plot because reasons.



Nope that's the opposite, instead of complaining YOU should stop watching movies with those things you mentioned, Hollywood makes movies for ALL types of people including dumb people so cutting something YOU don't like would be really stupid "moneywise" speaking.I never watch movies with those things so I don't care if Hollywood makes them or not


----------



## A-Branger

Duosphere said:


> Nope that's the opposite, instead of complaining YOU should stop watching movies with those things you mentioned, Hollywood makes movies for ALL types of people including dumb people so cutting something YOU don't like would be really stupid "moneywise" speaking.I never watch movies with those things so I don't care if Hollywood makes them or not



I still watch those and many other movies. Im a movie/cinema whore 

but theres a place for a romantic "I got the girl" moments, and there are places where is not.

This movie was the perfect example. A movie about the impossible dream of a guy and his journey to accomplish it. Due to the "based on a real story" it stayed like that, but if it where a "hollywood" movie, then I bet you they would had cramped an unnecessary girl on the plot, the "popular girl who falls in love with the nerdy guy" and kiss him at the end so he has his dream accomplish and the girl.

Many many many movies are amazing and excelent, and they could have been better without the main guy having to "kiss the girl, get the girl" at the end of it. But because I dont like that one aspect of a movie it doesnt mean Im not gonna watch the awesome rest of it.

Plus this is the internet, a place to rant at things randomly


----------



## asher

I'm so so happy that Pacific Rim didn't end up with them making out on the life raft


----------



## A-Branger

asher said:


> I'm so so happy that Pacific Rim didn't end up with them making out on the life raft



exactly!. Same as Tron Legacy


----------



## MFB

...and Mad Max: Fury Road


----------



## Duosphere

A-Branger said:


> I still watch those and many other movies. Im a movie/cinema whore
> 
> but theres a place for a romantic "I got the girl" moments, and there are places where is not.
> 
> This movie was the perfect example. A movie about the impossible dream of a guy and his journey to accomplish it. Due to the "based on a real story" it stayed like that, but if it where a "hollywood" movie, then I bet you they would had cramped an unnecessary girl on the plot, the "popular girl who falls in love with the nerdy guy" and kiss him at the end so he has his dream accomplish and the girl.
> 
> Many many many movies are amazing and excelent, and they could have been better without the main guy having to "kiss the girl, get the girl" at the end of it. But because I dont like that one aspect of a movie it doesnt mean Im not gonna watch the awesome rest of it.
> 
> Plus this is the internet, a place to rant at things randomly



I agree with you but we have the option to watch or not watch a movie that has stuff we don't like.The same with tv, we have remote controls.If a movie is really cool, a couple making out won't bother me especially if she has fluffy pink (oYo)


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> I agree with you but we have the option to watch or not watch a movie that has stuff we don't like.The same with tv, we have remote controls.If a movie is really cool, a couple making out won't bother me especially if she has fluffy pink (oYo)



It's weird that you're lecturing him about how you never watch anything that has anything you don't like, and he shouldn't either, when a ton of your posts in this thread are like "THIS MOVIE IS A TOTAL S*** EVERYTHING SUCK SO BAD IT'S ALL CLICHES IT WAS PURE TORTURE," ex:



> Everything sucks so bad that it's even impossible to talk about it, nothing is good or at least acceptable, horrible in so many ways and levels.
> When I watched a trailer I knew it was going to be bad but I thought maybe it could have some cool visuals but not, it felt like an eight hours long film and I was tied to a chair with drugs not letting me fall asleep.I hated all characters and at the end I just wanted everybody dead specially everybody who worked on this monstrosity.Easily the worst movie I watched in a decade, different from movies that are bad but funny, this one is so bad but it takes itself so serious that even jokes sound horrible and have nothing to do with whatever is happening there.
> To me pure torture


----------



## Duosphere

wankerness said:


> It's weird that you're lecturing him about how you never watch anything that has anything you don't like, and he shouldn't either, when a ton of your posts in this thread are like "THIS MOVIE IS A TOTAL S*** EVERYTHING SUCK SO BAD IT'S ALL CLICHES IT WAS PURE TORTURE," ex:



It's weird you're not able to understand sense of humor.
Besides that, when I watch a movie knowing nothing about it, OBVIOUSLY I don't know if it has things I don't like.
I never watch trailers, I love to be surprised.
Still I was lecturing nobody, it was just sense of humor.
You take yourself, and movies, and.......everything too serious.
Well, that's your problem not mine.
I have tons of posts about movies I loved but you only quoted what you needed to prove your point.
So predictable.


----------



## MFB

Duosphere said:


> I never watch trailers, I love to be surprised.



From wankerness's previous post quoting you...



> When I watched a trailer I knew it was going to be bad


----------



## Duosphere

MFB said:


> From wankerness's previous post quoting you...



When you're in a theater, you can scape from watching a trailer but I never choose to watch a trailer.
I never watch trailers in my house.


----------



## wankerness

Hush (2016) is good, it's a home invasion movie on Netflix, it's in the vein of Ils, or the last parts of Halloween (1978) or Wait Until Dark, but it sustains the stalking and tension for almost the whole film. If you haven't numbed your brain by watching hundreds and hundreds of horror films, it will probably scare the crap out of you. 

It's about a deaf author who lives in a house out in the woods with only a couple neighbors, and she's set upon by a nut with a crossbow who wants to toy with her before breaking in and killing her. It's very effective.


----------



## Skyblue

Re-watched The Man From Uncle with my cousin about a week ago, and while I enjoyed it, I felt it was lacking... something. I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it was a bit like Guy Ritchie tried to hold back a bit with his usual style, and the result is that the movie isn't as energetic as it could have been.


----------



## Jarmake

wankerness said:


> It's about a deaf author who lives in a house out in the woods with only a couple neighbors, and she's set upon by a nut with a crossbow who wants to toy with her before breaking in and killing her. *It's very boring and predictable*.



In my opinion, of course.


----------



## mongey

ended up in a hotel over the weekend after visiting friends a few hours away and it got too late . baby was sleeping so was stuck in the room .

watched Antman as it was slim pickings on the crappy hotel movie service .It was ok I guess. watchable but forgettable


----------



## MoonJelly

Always been a fan of creature features...The Hallow was pretty good. But no one matches 90's Cronenberg.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched the original 1984 _A Nightmare on Elm Street_. Oddly enough, I have never seen it. It was really good. Wes Craven's imagination and creativity reminded me what exactly made horror flicks from the 70s-80s so darn good.


----------



## Rosal76

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Watched the original 1984 _A Nightmare on Elm Street_. Oddly enough, I have never seen it. It was really good. Wes Craven's imagination and creativity reminded me what exactly made horror flicks from the 70s-80s so darn good.



+1.

One of the best from the 80's. When Tina is in the alley and Freddy is making his arms stretch out. What a awesome combination of fantastic, weird and scary.


----------



## Duosphere

MoonJelly said:


> Always been a fan of creature features...The Hallow was pretty good. But no one matches 90's Cronenberg.



The Hallow was a big surprise to me.
It looks great.
It has good tension.
Effects (practical most of the time) are not cheesy and exaggerated, they're there only to help telling a story.
I love when movies "go" to different places and different cultures, stuff I know very little so it's scarier.I don't know if all that stuff are really folk stuff still it feels scary and interesting to me.Plus...............the woods.Nothing can be scarier than evil creatures in the woods


----------



## MoonJelly

^True, the woods helps up the chill factor. My favorite movies are more about the gross-out. I freaking LOVE The Fly, for example.

EDIT: That may be partly due to Geena Davis, tho.

EDIT AGAIN: _the tags for this thread _


----------



## Rosal76

Duosphere said:


> I love when movies "go" to different places and different cultures, stuff I know very little so it's scarier.I don't know if all that stuff are really folk stuff still it feels scary and interesting to me.Plus...............the woods.Nothing can be scarier than evil creatures in the woods



+1.

Ya gotta watch that movie, "The Missing (2003)" with Tommy Lee Jones. People in that movie were like, "we don't know the land, we don't know the people were dealing with, we don't know how to solve this problem we got!!!" Running around like chickens with their heads cut off! Here comes Tommy Lee Jones who knows the land, the people, the language they speak, how dangerous the people are, etc, etc, etc. Tommy is amazing in this movie. His knowledge of the enemy makes you feel just how dangerous the enemy is.  

Also, I think you mentioned you like movies that have good scenery. The Missing has enough of that. You should check it out. 

Not the best scenery scene I could find but good enough. Tommy takes command in this movie.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_10 Cloverfield Lane_. Really good. Keeps you guessing. Of course, it's one of those flicks that after you watch it once, it pretty much loses its effect. It was better than the original _Cloverfield_ flick - although I feel like I shouldn't be comparing the two because they aren't related or tied together. I've been skeptical of this film for awhile, but after watching it, I can definitely say that it was entertaining. John Goodman absolutely nailed his role of introducing the audience to a new face of terror: Howard Stambler. The constantly growing tension and sense of claustrophobia can really be felt by the viewer.


----------



## flint757

Took my niece to see Zootopia this afternoon and it was surprisingly pretty good. The moral Disney likes to put in their films is a bit played out at this point, essentially don't judge a book by its cover, but the CGI was really well done and the story was compelling.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Finally got to watch a bunch of long overdue flicks. 

*The Witch* -

Such a good film. Suspenseful, atmospheric horror. For fans of It Follows. 

What it does well: 

The cinematography (claustrophobic)
The score (violins are terrifying out of tune)
The acting (Child actors knock it out of the park, good performance from the father too)

What could be improved: the first act's pacing. 

This film caught some internet-flack (not real flack just easily offended people on the internet) for using a supernatural element for the horror in the age of witch trials instead of a public mania a la The Crucible. 

My take: Apparently not enough people read Young Goodman Brown in school. 

What this film also delivers is awesome dialog. The entire movie is performed in the English language of the 1600s. Watch it, it's incredibly refreshing and doesn't rely on jump-scares. 

*The Big Short*

This one is weird. it's one part comedy, one part tragedy, and one part educational film. 

What it does well:

Generally good performances
Good dialog 
Picks a good topic without becoming preachy (show don't tell)

what it doesn't do well:

some performances are flat and uninteresting (the two "garage band" hedge managers) 
Brad Pitt's character is an over-cast. Didn't need star power for that role. 
Loses its magic on repeated viewings.

Basically an awesome single viewing film. If someone wants to know more about the banking crisis of 2007 im going to point to this film and the Margaritaville episode of South Park. 

The 4th wall breaks are awesome, as any comedic 4th wall break is. The celebrity appearances are hilarious. 

But it loses its magic after viewing number two. The formula of educating an audience doesn't work the second time. Plus i would've liked to see more about the government collusion with the banks in the crisis, which was barely hinted at in the film *coughcough* Barney Frank *coughcough*. 

*Inside Out*

Pixar just can't seem to repeat its success. This film while very cute, fails to hit on any deep emotional level as many of its predecessors. 

The type casting is annoying, if you know the actors voicing the characters you already know the characters. 

The most emotionally deep and interesting character is limited to 12 minutes of screen time because the director was more interested in showing the world inside her head instead of Riley in her own world. Her emotional breakthrough at the end of the film is dulled because of it. 

Creative, cute and funny, but IO fails to be interesting. Yet another film that can't hold a candle to Toy Story 1-3, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, or Pixar's emotional zenith, Up. 

It seems now Pixar can only make Cars or fall just short of The Incredibles


----------



## Duosphere

Hush (2016) - IMDb

Dumb and boring.
There are some really dumb scenes which that girl kicks her killer ass in the dumbest ways possible, sooooooooooo dumb, maybe he's a retard psycho killer?

I saw some reviews saying it's a home invasion movie, it's not, it's about a psycho hunter.In the beginning the door was open.It brings absolutely nothing new and it's dumb and boring.

The Croods (2013) - IMDb

FREAKINTASTIC!

I loved each minute.To me it's like a mix of The Flintstones and Alice in Wonderland.So funny watching how some dumb things we do these days started.I loved all characters, visually it's awesome!

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - IMDb

Oh boy, what a torture.
Boring in all levels possible, some really dumb scenes.
Superman can't catch Kryptonite under the water but he can fly with it and attack a stronger creature???!!!
Superman is freakin' fast so, I can accept when Batman shot the first Kryptonite bullet and took Superman by surprise but, what about the second bullet?Couldn't superman fly behind Batman and get his gun?Or maybe blow that bullet to Mars?Or maybe just get out of its way?
What a dumb slow Superman. 
There's no way a human wearing a bat costume fight Superman so it's dumb right in its dna.
Surprise would be the stronger weapon but still Superman is faster than any surprise (bullet,gun etc).
I'd have fun watching The Hulk instead of Batman but still, Superman is faster and still could blow him to Mars.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Tusk_

What in the actual f*ck? Why in the f*ck did I watch this? 

Side note: Johnny Depp's humorous performance was the only redeeming factor to this movie.

Edit: I just learned there is a trilogy.


----------



## A-Branger

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _Tusk_
> 
> What in the actual f*ck? Why in the f*ck did I watch this?



that was the whole point of it  so if you watch it with that mentality then you can enjoy it

funny thing is how the movie came to be. It all happen during one of Kevin Smith podcast as an improv joke. In summary


> Smith with his longtime friend and producer Scott Mosier discussed an article featuring a Gumtree ad where a homeowner was offering a living situation free of charge, if the lodger agrees to dress as a walrus. The discussion went on from there, resulting in almost an hour of the episode being spent on reconstructing and telling a hypothetical story based on the ad. Smith then told his Twitter followers to tweet "#WalrusYes" if they wanted to see their hypothetical turned into a film, or "#WalrusNo" if they did not. A vast majority of Smith's following agreed that the film should be made


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Duosphere said:


> *stuff about superman*



A lot of people don't understand the character of Superman (Zack Snyder) so they don't understand how he and batman can fight each other. 

if you understand superman's moral code, then you understand how the fight can take place


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Duosphere said:


> Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - IMDb
> 
> Oh boy, what a torture.
> Boring in all levels possible, some really dumb scenes.
> Superman can't catch Kryptonite under the water but he can fly with it and attack a stronger creature???!!!
> Superman is freakin' fast so, I can accept when Batman shot the first Kryptonite bullet and took Superman by surprise but, what about the second bullet?Couldn't superman fly behind Batman and get his gun?Or maybe blow that bullet to Mars?Or maybe just get out of its way?
> What a dumb slow Superman.
> There's no way a human wearing a bat costume fight Superman so it's dumb right in its dna.
> Surprise would be the stronger weapon but still Superman is faster than any surprise (bullet,gun etc).
> I'd have fun watching The Hulk instead of Batman but still, Superman is faster and still could blow him to Mars.



You've only just listed the small minor details as to why that movie sucked. 




A-Branger said:


> that was the whole point of it  so if you watch it with that mentality then you can enjoy it



...except Smith still fails to deliver with it. 

The problem with Tusk is that it's too self aware of it's own premise and it's podcast origin, and the movie insists on constantly reminding viewers about it. That also significantly blunts the unsettling poignancy point it's trying to make. If Smith went and did the movie as straight faced and serious as possible, then it'll at least be appreciated as a schlock horror film. 

Then again, Kevin Smith did do Red State, the celluloid embodiment of the walrus in Tusk. Man the days of Dogma really are a long time ago.


----------



## Duosphere

Ibanezsam4 said:


> A lot of people don't understand the character of Superman (Zack Snyder) so they don't understand how he and batman can fight each other.
> 
> if you understand superman's moral code, then you understand how the fight can take place



Nonsense.
Superman is a good guy so he won't hurt Batman, ok but still Batman shouldn't be able to hit Superman with anything cause he's faster than anything unless Superman is a masochistic and likes to suffer.
Only a dumb Superman could be hit by TWO Kryptonite bullets.
Plus all examples I gave were about Superman protecting himself from whatever Batman threw on him and not about Superman hurting Batman.
You misunderstood "good guy" with "dumb guy".
Superman can defeat ANY bad guy without hurting him so your moral code is not only too obvious but has nothing to do to what I'm saying.
The fight can take place but it's dumb and useless.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Duosphere said:


> Still doesn't understand the mythos of Superman




do yourself a favor, just read Dark Knight Returns, or more conveniently, watch part 1 and 2 on Netflix. 

anything through the Snyder Prism will lose its substance and "in-universe" logic. 

while Superman is the most-overpowered comic book protagonists, there are enough examples of him have his butt handed to him other opponents. Frank Miller is one of them.

I'll end this all by saying this: all your critiques have been addressed by several writers who managed to bring Superman down to a relatable level. Snyder is just ignorant.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Ibanezsam4 said:


> do yourself a favor, just read Dark Knight Returns, or more conveniently, watch part 1 and 2 on Netflix.
> 
> anything through the Snyder Prism will lose its substance and "in-universe" logic.
> 
> while Superman is the most-overpowered comic book protagonists, there are enough examples of him have his butt handed to him other opponents. Frank Miller is one of them.
> 
> I'll end this all by saying this: all your critiques have been addressed by several writers who managed to bring Superman down to a relatable level. Snyder is just ignorant.





Duosphere's criticisms seem to be from the petty side. 

Though I have to add, the whole Doomsday/Superman conflict (or The Dark Knight Returns frankly) weren't really the most interesting stories to begin with. Warner Brothers seems to have this massive fetish with the dark and gritty period that comics went through in the 90s (remember they tried to do this story before with Nicholas Cage) and seem to think Zack Snyder is the perfect director to exploit said stories. Honestly, don't be surprised if Henry Cavill wears black and starts carrying guns around like Superman did in the 90s.

No, the real reasons why Batman V Superman sucks:


The whole film is one overblown 3+ hour Justice League trailer. 

This suffers the same problems that Amazing Spiderman 2 did (well that also suffered from being a sequel to a terrible unnecessary reboot). Too much universe building, too much beating around the bush, and the hinting the other superheroes in this case were as subtle as a kick in the groin with a steel toed boot: a press kit of mini previews for 3 solo movies. Come on. At least Iron Man 2 was more tasteful about it. Guardians Of The Galaxy has a ton of universe building, but it's great conceit where others fail is that the compelling characters encourage you to care even less about the world building than they do, thanks to clever writing. Speaking of which...

The writing sucks. 

Aside from Bruce Wayne/Batman and Alfred, all the other characters are stiff and clunky. Superman is suddenly an unlikeable emo objectivist bastard, Lois Lane is merely a plot device (and boy does it suck that she had to grab that kryptonite spear), by far the worst incarnation of Lex Luthor ever. He just hates superheroes. Okay.... The title fight is short, dull and anti-climactic. Okay Batman has to compensate with his metal suit and kryptonite when his opponent can bench press a continent, but at least make it more interesting rather than what feels like a first round WWE match: fake, going through the motions and makes you wait until a third party rudely interrupts to change everything. The whole "She with you?/I though she was with you?" lines was just dumb when you realise Batman already knew who Wonder Woman was thanks to that press kit of the 3 other trailers. And of course... Martha. Something may have fell on David Goyer's head because...

Goyer, Snyder (and Nolan), just don't get Superman. 

Superman is all about truth, justice and happy hero stuff. Man Of Steel took out all the joy and fun about what makes Superman Superman. Constant focus on gritty, dark and moody realism that's not what the character is about. If anything Man Of Steel should've been what Civil War is now. Deals with serious adult issues, addresses the consequences of collateral damage, and it's still fun and faithful to the source material. Granted that it's better than Fan4stic: the shining example of fun sucking and source desecration to the dark and gritty extreme. And of course...

The Style Over Substance approach that Zack Snyder is known for. 

One thing's for sure, when it comes to style, Snyder is a master at it. Even to the point of arguably unmatched. And like a double edged sword, Snyder ends up sacrificing substance for it. He has been accused of this time and time again. I'm gonna go out and say that Watchmen is his one good movie, and even then it suffers from his style>substance approach. Sucker Punch is a movie I like to defend every now and then (because there is some substance there), but that still isn't really a good movie either. A lot of the problems I've said was thanks to Zack's approach, though I could also accuse WB for focusing too much on the 90s dark gritty comics era and trying so hard to catch up with Marvel with one freaking movie. The DCEU is already suffering from repercussions with it's franchise build on this trainwreck. 

I suppose I can post this on the Batman V Superman thread as well because I'll be bagging this movie for a long time. But it's late and I'm tired so I won't.


----------



## MoonJelly

^Well said. 

I wish Burton / WB production had been able to overcome all the issues with Superman Lives. I recently watched the documentary and it convinced me it would have been awesome. Seriously, still a flop in the box office, but a cult hit to be sure.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

I Am Road Comic - Meh.

Prescription Thugs - I already tried to go to the doctor as little as possible and now I'll probably never be going again. Especially because they always try to prescribe me some goddamn antidepressant.


----------



## A-Branger

Carrion Rocket said:


> I Am Road Comic - Meh.
> 
> Prescription Thugs - I already tried to go to the doctor as little as possible and now I'll probably never be going again. Especially because they always try to prescribe me some goddamn antidepressant.



mmmmm wrong tread? 

edit: I understand now wha tyou were saying and the way you say it got me confused lol


----------



## lelandbowman3

OK:
Some horror movies that I've been watching, if anyone's considering. Now, I love horror movies, all types, and the best ones I've seen recently have been directed and written by James Wan. Now this is just my two cents, but these are what I've seen recently:

The VVitch: It was a good movie, just not a good HORROR movie. At best, it was a well-produced historical-noir piece. What it was marketed at: a way-too-slow-burning slow burn horror that fails to deliver on the exposition. There was not enough suspense being built to warrant the atmosphere, which had a lot of potential, but the small amount of actual "scary" events were forgotten in the midst of monotonous grey-washed scenes.

The Darkness: This was a really big let-down for a number of reasons: Firstly, the mythology that they based the story on could have made for an insanely scary movie: ancient Anasazi witch-doctor/demons. Next, They had Kevin Bacon, who's a pretty good actor, and the movie had a child element, who was autistic at that, which could have been really un-nerving and scary. BUT: they tried focusing on way too many complex family relationship issues while still trying to maintain a scary native american element. At the end of the day, the director didn't focus enough on ANY family-tension aspect to fully deliver anything of substance, and the awesomeness of the Anasazi horror was lost because the half-baked family issues got in the way.

Sorry for the bad news, if you wanted to see either of these, but again, these are just my opinions, and not how you might view them.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

We Are Twisted F*cking Sister! - I've never been a fan of Twisted Sister or glam/hair/glitter rock and metal but I've always enjoy music docs about those genres because of how ridiculous that stuff got in the 80s. But this doc definitely gave me a new level of respect for them. Not that I'm gonna get some of their albums but I certainly makes me appreciate them and what they did alot more.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Since I've also been watching movies that don't just involve superheroes, I might just do some mini reviews of them. Most of these were odd recommendations that stated, are actual good movies. So...


*Black Swan*

Missed out on this and didn't bother until recently. Having seen Perfect Blue multiple times, I can see the comparison but despite that, the movie does get an identity on it's own. Good stuff.

*The Wrestler
*
Since falling way behind after Requiem For A Dream many moons ago, I went on a Darren Aronofski phase one particular week and got this with Black Swan. A great and poignant drama that pulls the right emotional strings about the dark side of pro-wrestling. 

*Hot Tub Time Machine*

The jaded and cynical prick in me... let me rephrase that, the jaded and cynical prick THAT IS ME kept telling me to avoid this and these kinds of comedy in the last decade. But after seeing it, I did enjoy it for what it is, and enjoyed it a lot. 

*Inside Out*

Not as good as Up, or the Toy Story trilogy, but it was certainly fun for what it is. In terms of Pixar, I preferred it over the 2 Cars movies. 

*Super*

The other superhero self parody movie nobody watched because they were too busy watching Kickass. If there's a movie that isn't the first 2 Dark Knight movies that I'd like to exhibit to anyone who thinks superhero movies aren't realistic and adult (aside from the obvious fact that they're based on freaking comic books), this is the movie. Kickass was awesome and still embraced it's ridiculousness, but Super makes you feel guilty about enjoying it, to great success. This was James Gunn's first real goal score (haven't seen Slither) before kicking another one with Guardians Of The Galaxy. 

*Machete
*
I love a good mindless violent movie every now and then. And why not from what initially started as the trailer from Death Proof? A fun ride in what Robert Rodriguez does well. 

*Moon*

Great film about isolation, loneliness and going mad from them. Still my favorite Sam Rockwell role, and the fact that Duncan Jones (aka David Bowie's director son), is doing the Warcraft movie is making me pumped. 

*Crimson Peak*

This one flew over me, so I didn't realize that Guillermo del Toro released a movie last year. A dark gothic romance film that shows Tom Hiddelston is more than just Loki. 

*Creed*

The audacity of making a new Rocky movie, let alone one that focuses on Apollo Creed's son (appropriately named Adonis) drew me in. And the fact that it wholeheartedly embraces itself as a true Rocky styled movie is what kept me to the end. Now I really want Ivan Drago in the sequel somehow...

*Attack The Block*

I've watched this a few times, but never really ever 'watched' it. So now after fully paying attention, this movie is awesome. It's so fun watching a pre Star Wars Jon Boyega completely dominate as a tough London ghetto kid. 

*Whiplash*

The one good Miles Teller movie. And all the better watching him getting yelled at, abused and slapped around by a much better actor. Miles Teller bagging aside, Whiplash actually was a very good movie.


----------



## wankerness

I have been trying my damnedest to maintain optimism for the Warcraft movie, using Moon and Source Code as evidence, but every time I see an ad for it, that becomes harder and harder


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Black Swan*
> 
> Missed out on this and didn't bother until recently. Having seen Perfect Blue multiple times, I can see the comparison but despite that, the movie does get an identity on it's own. Good stuff.
> 
> [...]
> 
> *Whiplash*
> 
> The one good Miles Teller movie. And all the better watching him getting yelled at, abused and slapped around by a much better actor. Miles Teller bagging aside, Whiplash actually was a very good movie.






lelandbowman3 said:


> Now, I love horror movies, all types, and the best ones I've seen recently have been directed and written by James Wan.


Wan has almost single-handedly ruined the modern horror movie industry in my opinion. It's because of him that there is this obsession with every horror movie nowadays having to be about paranormal activity in a house or supernatural possession. Thanks to Wan rehashing the same story over and over in his sequel after sequel of _Insidious_ (which was dull and uneventful with nothing new), or rehashing the same story in his spinoff after spinoff of _Insidious_ if a film isn't directly related to the original (stuff like _Demonic_, _The Conjuring_, _Annabelle_, and _Sinister_), the horror film industry has become overly flooded with the same boring, repetitive, predictable, unimaginative crap. The only good thing that Wan has ever done was in his creation and direction of the original _Saw_ film. That's it.


----------



## A-Branger

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Hot Tub Time Machine*
> 
> The jaded and cynical prick in me... let me rephrase that, the jaded and cynical prick THAT IS ME kept telling me to avoid this and these kinds of comedy in the last decade. But after seeing it, I did enjoy it for what it is, and enjoyed it a lot.



prety cool movie, but leave it like that and dont dare to watch the sequel. And if you do mind you ti lower your standards a lot lol


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

A-Branger said:


> prety cool movie, but leave it like that and dont dare to watch the sequel. And if you do mind you ti lower your standards a lot lol



Sequel? Pfft, not on my watch.  

There's a rule that comedy sequels are almost never ever any good. Even the ones I like (coughGhostbusters2cough) still fall short of the original.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Forgot to add:

*Spectre*

Watched this with my uncle during his recovery from heart surgery and he really wanted to watch the new James Bond film. 

Talk about overthinking the franchise to the ground, the Daniel Craig era ends in the dumbest way possible. Only 2 out of the 4 of his Bond movies were good, and probably because Casino Royale borrows from Batman Begins, and Skyfall is more or less The Dark Knight. (The Bourne Quantum of Solace doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned.) Spectre this time decides to retell The Winter Soldier and star James Bond instead of Captain America but with the twist that Austin Powers was making fun of in Goldmember thrown in for good measure. Another wasted attempt of making Christoph Waltz into a villain since The Green Hornet. Such a shame... he's far better than this (granted usually when Quentin Tarantino is directing)...


----------



## Ibanezsam4

lelandbowman3 said:


> The VVitch: It was a good movie, just not a good HORROR movie. At best, it was a well-produced historical-noir piece. What it was marketed at: a way-too-slow-burning slow burn horror that fails to deliver on the exposition. There was not enough suspense being built to warrant the atmosphere, which had a lot of potential, but the small amount of actual "scary" events were forgotten in the midst of monotonous grey-washed scenes.



i felt it was better for having no jump scares. It's a definitely a horror movie, but the focus is not on the source of the horror, but on the characters reacting to it.


----------



## Ralyks

Finally saw Deadpool. Then watched it again numerous times.

Also, Scarface and Blade Runner were very recent watches


----------



## synrgy

Last two theater runs were Deadpool and Avengers 3: Captain America: Excuse to Introduce Black Panther. Both were tons of fun.

Otherwise, I've been doing something I've been meaning to do for.. A couple of decades, I guess, but never got around to until now: Catching up with the Shaw Brothers catalog of martial arts movies. Between last week and this week, I've caught the '36 Chambers' trilogy. I probably caught bits and pieces of it on TV when I was a kid, but this was the first time I'd watched any of them from start to finish. Also tons of fun.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

This post may be overblown but...

*X-Men Apocalypse*

My biggest fascination with the X-Men franchise that after 15 years, it's still here insisting that it's still the year 2000. The 20th Century Fox franchise has just been consistently ok as a whole. The first X-Men movie was ok in it's debut but that's it, and it hasn't held up since. It was going slightly somewhere with X2 (which was considered the best but hasn't really aged well either), then crashed in a blaze of embarrassment with The Last Stand and Origins Wolverine. But Matthew Vaughn came along to do what he should've done with X3, and gave hope in the form of First Class (which I still think is the best of the series not counting Deadpool). Then went back to average Wolverine again. 

Then Bryan Singer came back, saw the franchise turbulence and made Days Of Future Past: the movie that's so ashamed of the entire franchise's shortcomings it retcons them where First Class left off. It's a bold move on Singer's end, but it also brings us back to where the franchise started, back to OK movies again. That movie was fine (quite good arguably), but in the days where MCU has reached 3 phases, DC has been reached a Batman peak and followed with many constant miss-steps, the X-Men are still just the OK superhero movies of now that hasn't really gone anywhere. 

I suppose I can count Deadpool being a massive success (I like it, it's a good, but not great movie)... but through that merit is exactly why we'll be getting more X-Men movies in the future.

Sorry... I just needed to vent that. 


As for X-Men Apocalypse, I give it a big fat eeehh.... it's just another ok X-Men movie.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

A few more I caught up on:

*12 Years A Slave*

I bought this on blu-ray a month ago, but took me a while to finally see it. Great movie that hits you right to your bones. There's very little to no redemption and everyone's acting skills delivers, especially Chiwetel Ejiofor. Can't wait to see him with Benedict Cumberbatch again in Doctor Strange. 

*The Hateful Eight*

Saw this months ago, but forgot to put it on my last post. Aside from a certain plot hole that my friend raised during a certain discussion (which somehow escapes me right now...), I enjoyed it like any other Tarrantino film. Eight despicable characters in a claustrophobic environment, kinda harkens back to Reservoir Dogs in a sense. Though not in the same level as his strongest, but still solid. 

*Daybreakers*

Not as good as I hoped, but still, a mindless B-movie action that'll end up on my guilty pleasure list.  I do like Willem Dafoe's charater here.


----------



## Duosphere

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Daybreakers*
> 
> Not as good as I hoped, but still, a mindless B-movie action that'll end up on my guilty pleasure list.  I do like Willem Dafoe's charater here.





I love Daybreakers.
Hawke is always awesome just like in Good Kill.
To me he's one of the best actors ever, even when a movie is crap, his role is what matters.
Like I always said to my friends, a good actor never acts, he's just natural.


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> I love Daybreakers.
> Hawke is always awesome just like in Good Kill.
> To me he's one of the best actors ever, even when a movie is crap, his role is what matters.
> Like I always said to my friends, *a good actor never acts, he's just natural.*



By that logic, Paris Hilton > Laurence Olivier since she sure didn't act and he sure did


----------



## Ralyks

Watched Purple Rain today. My son seemed to enjoy "Let's Go Crazy" in particular.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Watched Spotlight

on one hand im proud to work in the same industry as those reporters. 

on other hand i'm saddened by the shrinking pool of publications which could actually dedicate that many resources to a story


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Starting an online film class, so I'll be watching a few classics as a part of it. For today, I had to watch _A Trip to the Moon_ (1902) and _The Great Train Robbery_ (1903). I don't feel like I can critique these since they are among the first films ever made. But just thought that I would share that I had to watch them.

And tonight, I watched the original _Friday the 13th_ (1980). Oddly enough, being a classic horror film buff, I've never seen it. Painfully slow film. It wasn't even an hour and a half long total, but it felt like it just dragged on and on. I get that the director was trying to build up tension in between each murder, but I can't help but feel that it could've been done better or had a little bit more going on. Of course, as a "true" slasher film, it is predictable minus the "out-of-nowhere" reverse _Psycho_ twist. That was weird. And I guess the hockey mask wearing icon that we all recognize as Jason doesn't actually appear until the bad sequels?

I really don't even see how this film spawned an entire franchise. But eh, I guess people in the 70s and 80s seized any excuse to create a franchise and abuse a film concept/story into oblivion. Much like today, right? Nothing has changed.


----------



## wankerness

I can't stand Friday the 13th and don't understand at all why it's considered a classic on the level of Halloween. The only thing it has going for it are the very, very nasty gore effects. I'd put it towards the bottom of the 50 or so slashers I've seen.

Jason is the killer in part 2, but the hockey mask doesn't show up till part 3. The only one of those movies I'd recommend is Part 4 (the final chapter), mainly to see Crispin Glover dancing. Freddy Vs Jason is kind of fun, too, but that is more of a NOES movie.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

wankerness said:


> I can't stand Friday the 13th and don't understand at all why it's considered a classic on the level of Halloween. The only thing it has going for it are the very, very nasty gore effects. I'd put it towards the bottom of the 50 or so slashers I've seen.
> 
> Jason is the killer in part 2, but the hockey mask doesn't show up till part 3. The only one of those movies I'd recommend is Part 4 (the final chapter), mainly to see Crispin Glover dancing. Freddy Vs Jason is kind of fun, too, but that is more of a NOES movie.



Friday the 13th is one of those franchises that they tried to end multiple times and it show. But I do have a soft spot on my heart for Jason Goes to Hell mostly because of how goddamn ridiculous it is. 



Spoiler



The FBI shoot up Jason until he explodes, then a coroner eats his heart thus having Jason's spirit possess him to then seek out his relatives to attempt to regain his body. Which he does after his heart turns into a demon spawn and crawls up his dead half sisters .......



Plus it sets up a crossover that didn't happen for another decade. Which followed the one where they went to space and ripped off Alien.

But to steer this back on topic; I did just watch Lost Boys for the second time. Still don't like it.


----------



## A-Branger

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Starting an online film class, so I'll be watching a few classics as a part of it. For today, I had to watch _A Trip to the Moon_ (1902)



I loved that film, and how Georges Méliès was a pioneer on VFX with his films. Also loved the fact that even being a black n white movie, they still hand painted to try to make a color movie even when technology wasnt there

I had to do an essay at film school and I picked George for it.


If you are into that movie and/or his work. Have a look at Hugo (2011). Not only its an amazing movie, but you are going to get a really nice surprise on it  wont say more to not spoil it


----------



## Rosal76

Carrion Rocket said:


> Friday the 13th is one of those franchises that they tried to end multiple times and it show.



Special effects master, Tom Savini, wanted to end the franchise with the 4th movie. His original idea on how to kill Jason was way more elaborate than what was shown in the movie; machete in the head and Tommy chopping him up. Savini's original death for Jason would guarantee that he could never come back. Savini's original idea was...

Warning: Trivial nerd movie info ahead!!!

According to Fangoria magazine: In the movie/script, Tommy Jarvis was becoming a proficient special effects creator, as it shows in the movie with his masks/props that he made himself. According to Savini, Jarvis designed a device that he made from using microwave parts which could melt little army figures. Giving the illusion that people are burning and melting but on a small scale. At the end, Jarvis puts the device on Jason's head, turns it on, and Jason's head melts and then explodes. With no head, there just isn't any way Jason could have come back. But I'm sure they would have found a way to bring him back as they did in, "Jason goes to Hell". 

This was Savini's original idea to end Jason but the producers and/or whoever didn't agree and they went with the machete through the head thing, instead.


----------



## wankerness

I never read that before. Savini is a tragic hero. Damn that studio interference! We'd all be much better off without every subsequent Friday the 13th (even though 6 is also kind of entertaining, or at least it would be if it wasn't so sanitized).

Jason Goes to Hell seems to be the most-hated of the franchise, based on stuff I see on horror boards I frequent. I sorta liked it too. But, I was watching ALL those movies in order, so anything other than awful probably would have appeared pretty good  I think half of my positive opinion of it came from seeing X from the X-Files in it.

That documentary on the series is more entertaining than watching the actual movies IMO. It includes most of the good scenes! It's called "Crystal Lake Memories" and is something like 3.5 hours long.


----------



## Duosphere

A-Branger said:


> If you are into that movie and/or his work. Have a look at Hugo (2011). Not only its an amazing movie, but you are going to get a really nice surprise on it  wont say more to not spoil it


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> I never read that before.



Yeah. There are a lot of exclusive info/interviews/pictures that Fangoria magazine attained for the movies they covered. Them claiming to be the #1 horror magazine at one point, I would think they would have stuff many people would not have knowledge of unless they read it in their magazine. Like the interview of Tom Savini explaining his original idea for Jason's death in their magazine. It's different now with the advent of internet, social media and movie companies releasing bonus features for their movies. A movie comes out now, and there's like a 1 hour documentary on just the clothing the characters wore in the movie. Talking about Lord of the Rings.  



wankerness said:


> Jason Goes to Hell seems to be the most-hated of the franchise, based on stuff I see on horror boards I frequent.



Jason Goes to Hell the most hated??? Really??? I thought the most hated would have been part 5: A new beginning. Weird. The only reason I could even watch 5 is for actress, Juliette Cummins  and to watch/hear Shavar Ross scream when he see's Jason for the first time.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Still playing catch up on movies:

*Prisoners*

Frankly I kinda saw the suspect coming from a mile away (it's a pattern in every Hollywood mystery movie where the character that doesn't do much but still has screentime that implies a significant role later in the film, is the suspect). But in this case, the chase is better than the catch. It's all about how Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal behave as the movie progresses is what I liked. 

*Love And Other Drugs*

I heard a review saying it's a little better than just a typical romcom, thanks to the subject matter. But aside from that, it's just another romcom. Eh... I did find the 2 mains more tolerable than any other of it's kind. 

*Oz The Great And Powerful*

I avoided this for a long time thanks to cynicism. But then I realized, Sam Raimi directed it so I got curious. Even his bad movies (Spiderman 3) has some charming moments. This is essentially Army Of Darkness (Secret Keeper trope and all) with the MGM characters telling the Wizard of Oz prequel, and I liked it. I quite enjoyed the cast, particularly Mila Kunis stealing every scene.


----------



## Duosphere

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Oz The Great And Powerful*
> 
> I avoided this for a long time thanks to cynicism. But then I realized, Sam Raimi directed it so I got curious. Even his bad movies (Spiderman 3) has some charming moments. This is essentially Army Of Darkness (Secret Keeper trope and all) with the MGM characters telling the Wizard of Oz prequel, and I liked it. I quite enjoyed the cast, particularly Mila Kunis stealing every scene.



That movie was a big surprise to me, I really enjoyed.
That tiny porcelain doll was adorable.
The story is good, some ideas are clever, visually is cool and sometimes beautiful.I saw nothing bad about it.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Being compelled to watch the sequel...

*Machete Kills*

I enjoyed the original a lot. It's typical of Robert Rodriguez's fun and bonkers catalogue: a big goofy meta-joke made of a bunch of random scenes made-up-as-they-went-along and put together like a mix-tape looking like the creation was more important than the result. But it had an edge over his other movies thanks to the blunt and angry social commentary and excessive violence. Certainly one of my favorites from Rodriguez. 

Machete Kills, while still fun, disappointingly falls short on the anger and violence being sidelined. Instead it dials up on being goofier with the third act going off the rails with a Star Wars meets Moonraker type affair. Still enjoyed it a lot, but not as good as the original.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Zootopia... Hmmm, Interesting.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

Dracula AD 1972 








_*Dracula A.D. 1972*_ is a 1972 horror film, directed by Alan Gibson and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It was written by Don Houghton and stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in Hammer's Dracula series, _Dracula A.D. 1972_ has (at the time of filming) a contemporary setting, in an attempt to update the _Dracula_ story for modern audiences. Dracula is brought back to life in modern London and preys on a group of young party-goers, that includes the descendant of his nemesis, Van Helsing.
It is the seventh Hammer film featuring Dracula, and the sixth to star Christopher Lee in the title role. It also sees the return of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing for the first time since _The Brides of Dracula_ in 1960, and is the first to feature both Lee and Cushing in their respective roles since 1958's _Dracula_. Wiki

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deJWUkiS42U

Classic Hammer Horror !!!.


----------



## wankerness

What's with all the links, did you just copy/paste that from wikipedia?

That's infamously one of the worst Hammer films. If you're in the mood for a Hammer film with Dracula in the title, I'd highly recommend Horror of Dracula, Brides of Dracula, Taste the Blood of Dracula or even Dracula Prince of Darkness or Dracula Has Risen from the Grave over it. If you're looking for an early 70s "vampire in the modern day" film, check out Count Yorga or Return of Count Yorga - this was kind of an attempt to cash in on their success.

It does have Caroline Munro in it (briefly), though.


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister

wankerness said:


> What's with all the links, did you just copy/paste that from wikipedia?
> 
> That's infamously one of the worst Hammer films. If you're in the mood for a Hammer film with Dracula in the title, I'd highly recommend Horror of Dracula, Brides of Dracula, Taste the Blood of Dracula or even Dracula Prince of Darkness or Dracula Has Risen from the Grave over it. If you're looking for an early 70s "vampire in the modern day" film, check out Count Yorga or Return of Count Yorga - this was kind of an attempt to cash in on their success.
> 
> It does have Caroline Munro in it (briefly), though.


 


I do agree with you about the earlier Dracula movies from the Hammer studio. Now you have me digging out my old VHS tapes, and box sets, it is time for a Hammer marathon !!!. 

Dracula AD1972 was not the best of Hammer`s output, but fun to watch, and yes it has the lovely Caroline Munro as Laura Bellows !!!. 

I`ll check the Count Yorga movies, you mentioned too, I have heard of them, but have not had the chance to see them yet !!!. 

What did you think of the other Vampire films that Hammer brought out such as `Countess Dracula ` or `Twins Of Evil` ?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Online film class is almost over. It's been cool choosing what films to watch each week for the papers. All great classics to choose from, which made it hard for me to decide on what film I wanted to write on each week.

_Citizen Kane_ - So long and drawn out. I don't really feel like the ending result of the film was worth the sum of its parts. Great cinematography with some extremely memorable shots thanks to Gregg Toland's innovation. I'm sure back in its day, this film earned its merits as "the greatest film of all time". But by today's standards...ehhhh...

_North By Northwest_ - Probably another favorite. I loved Hitchcock's _Vertigo_ and _Rear Window_. So it seems fitting that this followed suit. Some nice "Hitchcockian" twists thrown in there as well as some funny laughs and tense action that kept this sleek, smooth, polished 1959 thriller interesting. It's got a little bit of everything.

_Raging Bull_ - Classic Scorsese. Watched this film before, so I'm not sure what else I could say about it. Fantastic film on all accounts.

And in my free time this past week...

_A Serbian Film_ - This wasn't as bad as I thought that it would be. Reading about the film and the plot, it sounds bad because your imagination goes wild. The actual film wasn't as bad but still very dark and very disgusting. It is over-the-top just enough so that it doesn't mess with you though. (Maybe I'm just desensitized to these kinds of films?) It seems to be more of a drama film than a horror film like people paint it out to be online.

_Hobo With a Shotgun_ - Also not as bad as I thought. Just a whacky, over-the-top "everyone has to die" action flick with some exploitative black comedy moments to it. It's pretty much a throwback to the grindhouse exploitative thrillers: quick, bloody, cartoony, and it feels cheap.


----------



## wankerness

Beowulf Von Thrashmeister said:


> I do agree with you about the earlier Dracula movies from the Hammer studio. Now you have me digging out my old VHS tapes, and box sets, it is time for a Hammer marathon !!!.
> 
> Dracula AD1972 was not the best of Hammer`s output, but fun to watch, and yes it has the lovely Caroline Munro as Laura Bellows !!!.
> 
> I`ll check the Count Yorga movies, you mentioned too, I have heard of them, but have not had the chance to see them yet !!!.
> 
> What did you think of the other Vampire films that Hammer brought out such as `Countess Dracula ` or `Twins Of Evil` ?



I went through a Hammer phase about two years ago and watched basically every single horror/sci-fi flick they released. Great studio!

The Count Yorga movies are surprisingly good. I think if you like the Hammer movies that you'll really like them.

Twins of Evil is my single favorite Hammer movie. I love it completely. It has both ridiculous gore and nudity and is wildly entertaining, but it is also really well-made, with Peter Cushing giving one of his all-time best performances. 

For their vampire flicks, I'd rate them in this order:

GOOD:
Twins of Evil
Brides of Dracula
Horror of Dracula
Vampire Lovers
Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter
Vampire Circus
Taste the Blood of Dracula

PRETTY GOOD:
Legend of the 7 Gold Vampires
Dracula Prince of Darkness
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Countess Dracula
Kiss of the Vampire

BAD:
Dracula AD 1972
Satanic Rites of Dracula
Lust for a Vampire
Scars of Dracula


----------



## Xaios

Watched Warcraft today. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would based on the reviews, but I think anyone who's well versed in Warcraft lore will get a lot more out of it than someone who's not invested in the universe. I can *absolutely* see how those people wouldn't really enjoy it much, because it's a pretty stuffed movie and knowing what everyone is talking about already is really the only way to keep up. The storytelling was pretty inelegant, which was surprising considering Duncan Jones' other movies are Moon and Source Code.

Also, the CG was honestly not that good. It wasn't much better than most WoW cinematics, which look great _for videogame cinematics_, but are not up to the level of a AAA hollywood film.

Story spoilers, regarding something that bugged me:


Spoiler



For the most part, the story was alright; not entirely faithful to the original Warcraft story, but not deviating terribly far either, and expanding on some things too. However, one of the most interesting aspects, to me, of Warcraft backstory is that, in the games, the orcs gained fel-strength by drinking the blood of demons (Mannoroth, specifically). They completely changed that here. In this movie, Gul'dan simply has some nebulous power to suck the soul energy out of various living creatures ranging from Draenei to humans to even just a deer, and imbue other orcs with that energy (as well as power the dark portal).

I have another quibble that is likely to come across as nitpicking, so if anyone feels like it is, that's completely understandable. Part of the lore involving the orcs coming to Azeroth is that they were aided by the Guardian Medivh, who was actually possessed by the demon Sargeras, a being who is ostensibly the great evil of the Warcraft universe. However, as Anduin and Khadgar fight Medivh after Sargeras' influence fully manifests, Medivh's body starts growing demonic features. The problem is that these features aren't consistent with any of the demons we've seen in the previously established lore; not Eredar, not pit lords, not nathrezim, not one of the old gods, not anything. It's true we've never actually seen Sargeras be represented in any of the games, but we do know that he's formerly one of the titans, and we know what titans look like, and this wasn't it.


----------



## wankerness

I'm somewhat interested in that film based on some of the lukewarm reviews saying that despite being a mess, it's a PERSONAL mess, with lots of clear attempts to inject themes into it. Some Duncan Jones fans say he's still visible in there. It sounds like it probably would have played better with an extra 45 minutes or something. If it wasn't so heavily CGI I'd expect to see a director's cut sometime, but I'm guessing it probably got hacked down before they did all the effects on those scenes. Ah well. I'm sure the blu-ray will be in the clearance rack in no time.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Went to see The Neon Demon a day or so ago. 

There's more of a narrative structure to this film than there was for Only God Forgives. But it still managed to be be very experimental. 

and the shock value is pretty up there. Worth a watch if you are a fan of Nicholas Winding Refn.


----------



## Alberto7

Went to watch Finding Dory last week. It met my expections, and I enjoyed it a lot. Lotsa ass pulls, but that's what make it hilarious, and the first half of the movie or so has a lot of really cheap emotional hooks, but it redeems itself on the second half. It certainly is no masterpiece by any stretch - but c'mon, it's Pixar.  It's just meant to be cute, funny, and entertaining. I'd say it's very much a worthy sequel to the beloved Finding Nemo, for those of us who have _some_ sort of attachment to it.


----------



## wankerness

Ibanezsam4 said:


> Went to see The Neon Demon a day or so ago.
> 
> There's more of a narrative structure to this film than there was for Only God Forgives. But it still managed to be be very experimental.
> 
> and the shock value is pretty up there. Worth a watch if you are a fan of Nicholas Winding Refn.



I got Only God Forgives out of a discount bin about a year ago, and have had it sitting next to my couch ever since. I haven't worked up the desire to watch it yet since I've heard almost exclusively terrible things about it. I really liked Drive and have seen it a few times now, though. Also, I LOVE giallos and that's what Neon Demon is primarily influenced by. I've seen some vicious reviews saying it's a misogynist, adolescent attempt to shock and saying it's probably the worst film of the year so far, but one of my good female friends who usually is VERY sensitive to sexist stuff loved it, so now I'm pretty hyped to see it. Guess I better do it this week, cause I can't see it staying in mainstream theaters for long!!


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> saying it's probably the worst film of the year so far,



Can't be worse than The Forest


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Can't be worse than The Forest



The Forest was considered very bad, but most of the reviews said Natalie Dormer acquitted herself pretty well and most of them lacked bile. The bad reviews of The Neon Demon actively hate it and often say there's NOTHING good about it! It's like a 3/10 vs a 0/10 with the negative reviews.


----------



## MFB

Huh, everyone on Letterboxd seems to be giving it around 3.5 - 4 stars, so either they're out of their mind or it may just be too much for what casual audiences expected a'la The Witch.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

wankerness said:


> I've seen some vicious reviews saying it's a misogynist, adolescent attempt to shock and saying it's probably the worst film of the year so far, but one of my good female friends who usually is VERY sensitive to sexist stuff loved it, so now I'm pretty hyped to see it. Guess I better do it this week, cause I can't see it staying in mainstream theaters for long!!



i don't see how anyone can come to that conclusion having seen the film. there's a definite faction of the movie media that hates him and his films and won't forgive him for the face slapping scene from Drive. 

with that being said, the shock value is pretty drawn out. but his films are very gore focused that i don't think anyone should be shocked when gore appears of some sort of deranged behavior occurs.

be prepared for the best looking film of 2016. the lighting blew my mind. props to the DP.


----------



## wankerness

I think it's more extended fury about Only God Forgives (40% RT) and maybe a feeling of betrayal after the vastly positive reception of Drive (92% RT). OGF had some REALLY nasty reviews and a ton of them included something like "I GUESS THIS PROVES DRIVE WAS THE PRODUCT OF AN IDIOT SAVANT!" This guy really ticks people off! 

I think I might try to see both The Shallows and Neon Demon tomorrow. I'm worried The Shallows is going to be full of loud middle/high schoolers if I go to anything other than a really late one, but oh well. At least I know I'll probably be the only one at Neon Demon! $533,000 opening weekend, yikes! I guess it was fairly limited release compared to say, Independence Day, or even The Shallows. I"m very amused The Shallows managed to make over 1/3 as much as ID2 since ID2 is such a cynical, stupid attempt at a sequel and it cost 165 million to The Shallows' 17. Looks like it's going to be lucky to break even. It should have been an original property considering how few people actually wanted a sequel to ID at this point. The Shallows, on the other hand, practically grossed its budget in the first weekend, and should have no problem at all more than breaking even. I wish they'd make more small-mid budget movies like that. They seem like a much safer bet than all these mega-budget flops we're getting this summer (ID2 or Alice 2 seems to be the worst so far, but Tarzan might give them a run for their money, TMNT2 and Huntsman 2 and Angry Birds and Neighbors 2 and The Nice Guys all flopped pretty hard, and even the somewhat profitable Batman V Superman, X-Men Apocalypse and Warcraft were serious underperformers). Would be great to have a wider variety of smaller-budget movies!


----------



## Ibanezsam4

wankerness said:


> I think it's more extended fury about Only God Forgives (40% RT) and maybe a feeling of betrayal after the vastly positive reception of Drive (92% RT). OGF had some REALLY nasty reviews and a ton of them included something like "I GUESS THIS PROVES DRIVE WAS THE PRODUCT OF AN IDIOT SAVANT!" This guy really ticks people off!



too bad more people didn't see Valhalla Rising. They would've been prepared


----------



## wankerness

Ibanezsam4 said:


> i don't see how anyone can come to that conclusion having seen the film. there's a definite faction of the movie media that hates him and his films and won't forgive him for the face slapping scene from Drive.
> 
> with that being said, the shock value is pretty drawn out. but his films are very gore focused that i don't think anyone should be shocked when gore appears of some sort of deranged behavior occurs.
> 
> be prepared for the best looking film of 2016. the lighting blew my mind. props to the DP.



I saw it last night. I don't regret seeing it, but I don't know how much I liked it. The character arcs didn't seem to make much sense and there were a lot of scenes that were clearly just there to look cool (which I can get behind), but some others that didn't seem to serve ANY purpose (ex the mountain lion, or Ruby lying there apparently menstruating blood everywhere). I will have to watch it again someday. I was mainly just expecting it to turn into a Giallo at some point, but it never had any influence from them at all, so I guess it was mostly a case of critics that had no idea what they were talking about throwing the term around to look smart. This impacted my enjoyment considerably! Those jerks. There DID seem to be quite a bit of Suspiria influence. The soundtrack was the best of its type since It Follows, and definitely functions better as standalone music.

I also made the mistake of watching Only God Forgives the night before, which is truly awful and put me in a "Nicolas Winding Refn is an idiot" state of mind. This was FAR, FAR better than that one.

I liked seeing Dag from Mad Max again!


----------



## Mathemagician

Kung Fury. I'm late I know, but if you haven't watched it, it's on Netflix.

You guys rating actual movies, and discussing quality. Kung Fury is to movies as Saints Row is to GTA. Amazing junk food.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Finally got around to watching Dope.


----------



## Random3

I'll note the most recent 6 films I have seen fairly recently.

Warcraft was surprisingly good. There were parts that I found a bit hard to follow, and I am someone who knows the Warcraft lore reasonably well. I did hear though that about 40 minutes had been cut from the theatrical release so presumably a Directors Cut would be significantly more coherent. Easily the best video game movie ever made. Hopeful for a sequel. 7/10.

Spotlight was a very good film, but not really the kind of thing I would usually watch. Whilst I can't really point to any specific flaws, I am not entirely sure how it won Best Picture either. It seemed very much to be a point-for-point retelling of a series of events. It was certainly competently made and was engaging to watch however. 7/10.

Hotel Transylvania was hit and miss. parts of it were genuinely funny, but most of it was too childish. The soundtrack in particular I found to be obnoxiously catering to the kiddies. This was very much a children's film, rather than a family film. 5/10.

Bad Neighbours was rather hilarious. The main characters were much better than they needed to be, and as a whole the film hit the mark. I didn't like it quite as much as Tropic Thunder or Pineapple Express, and at times it did feel like a more forgettable Old School, but it was a very entertaining film. 6/10.

Chasing Amy was a bit of a disappointment. I have seen two other Askewniverse films (Dogma and J&SBSB) and loved both. Chasing Amy was no where near as funny as either of those, and the dialogue/plot didn't interest me as much. It seemed more like a typical romantic comedy with the slight twist of the central character's sexual orientations. I don't tend to appreciate romantic comedies which is probably why I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to. 6/10.

Spy I really wanted to like. I had previously seen two other Paul Feig/Melissa McCarthy films (Bridesmaids and The Heat) which I absolutely despised, but I had heard from various sources and reviewers that Spy very much broke the mould of those films and didn't simply use McCarthy as a one note punchline for 2 hours. Whilst Spy was significantly better than their previous collaborations, it was not good enough. Jason Statham was by far the best part of the film, and he was criminally under-used. All in all there were too many toilet and gross out jokes. Thankfully though the film did not rely on the whole look-at-me-I'm-doing-things-women-don't-normally-do-aren't-I-funny gag that I was dreading. Whilst this film did show me that Melissa McCarthy can occasionally be funny, it convinced me that Miranda Hart absolutely cannot. 5/10.

So yeah. Long day at work = long post. Enjoy.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Jet Li's The Enforcer. The dub job isn't as bad as I remember it being when I was younger but I noticed way more FFS production this time around. Like when Mui's character jumps through a trucks windshield and you can clearly see though the open door that the truck isn't moving (plus the engine noise doesn't change).


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2316411/

Freakintastic!

Awesome thriller, it caught my attention from the first 5 minutes till the end.
To me Gyllenhaal always deliver good characters even when a movie is not my cup of tea.
It's a complicated/deep movie which took me a while to understand it, then I read some explanations and I was right about it.
The tension is just perfect, it keeps building up slowly without cheesy things, no crap jump scares, no dumb dialogues or things that don't make sense and are there only to confuse you.There's a reason why things are confused so they're not there only to make you feel dumb because you can't understand it.
No spoiler but there's a scene that really made me jump out of my chair, it was completely unexpected and once you understand what was happening, it makes sense, if you don't understand, you'll feel like....."WHAT???!!!" and probably won't like it.
I love it.


----------



## MFB

Batman: Killing Joke

Holy .... was this not worth the time to watch. I say time because I got a free pass for it, but even as a free viewing, I'd like the 90 minutes back.


----------



## wankerness

Killing Joke is something you think is awesome when you're a teenager that's getting into black metal and watching human centipede or whatever, but is just kind of embarrassing when you read it as an adult. 

It had a reputation as a classic for a while, despite the author disowning it and much of the comics community disowning it as well, in part for the sexual violence.


----------



## HUGH JAYNUS

What Women Want.

I aint even embarrassed


----------



## Ibanezsam4

wankerness said:


> It had a reputation as a classic for a while, despite the author disowning it and much of the comics community disowning it as well, in part for the sexual violence.




ehhhhhhh depends on the part of the community you hang with. the majority finds it a classic and still recommends to any newb wanting to read Batman graphic novels (along with long Halloween, year one, DKR etc.) 

i know there is a movement within the community (usually on the part of people who write _about_ comics) to disown the book, but if comics are literature then a lot of literature needs to be disowned. 

it's billed as a mature batman story, so anybody capable of sitting through Silence of the Lambs or even reading the Wicked book can handle themes and images used in KJ and other works. 

idk, it's a waste of the time for the comic community to distance itself from KJ. comic fans who enjoy it and re-read it don't do it because of the sexual violence, but because it is a mature and dark take on the universe... and frankly it's more logical given the nature of the Batman character and specifically the Joker.


----------



## synrgy

I was also disappointed with Killing Joke. Whether or not one cares for the source, the movie fell surprisingly flat.

It was kinda neat to see the introduction from Mark Hamill, but.. Yeah. I ended up being grateful that the movie itself ran short for a 'feature length'. There just wasn't anything to it. They downplayed what few beats there were of high emotion, and by the end I simply didn't _care_. It was a paint-by-numbers production that (IMHO) failed to live up to its potential.


----------



## wankerness

They also added the already-legendary sex scene on the rooftop


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> They also added the already-legendary sex scene on the rooftop



Did you see BA's statement on adding it?

""The thing about this is that it's controversial, so we added more controversy," explained Azzarello. "I think she is stronger than the men in her life in this story. She controls the men in her life in this story. She comes off as a stronger character at the end of that arc.""

Absolute hogwash, KJ isn't even a Batgirl story! She's collateral damage in order to break Gordon, he doesn't shoot her because he knows she's Batgirl or anything.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

A bit late to the party with these ones but...

*Gone Girl*

Usually I'm first in, best dressed, or at least try to with David Fincher movies (still haven't seen Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake either despite loving the originals), but I really enjoyed this one. Usual Fincher style broody storytelling with great characters. 

*Drive*

Another one I missed out during it's initial run. But better late than never I guess. An excellent 'dude movie' but with plenty of thought put in it. And an excellent bad guy as well.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Drive*
> 
> Another one I missed out during it's initial run. But better late than never I guess. An excellent 'dude movie' but with plenty of thought put in it. And an excellent bad guy as well.



I'm still desperately in love with this film. and the director will likely never go this mainstream again unless a studio gets really drunk and lets him make a Batgirl movie or gives him the rights to remake Logan's Run.


----------



## awake69

Ibanezsam4 said:


> I'm still desperately in love with this film. and the director will likely never go this mainstream again unless a studio gets really drunk and lets him make a Batgirl movie or gives him the rights to remake Logan's Run.



Logan's Run is one of those rare film properties that is ripe with potential for a reboot/remake. 

As much as I love this movie, and have since childhood, it is incredibly dated. With the right director, I think it would make for an interesting flick.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_The Purge: Election Year_

Probably the best of the three _Purge_ flicks. This goes without saying that it still is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. It is a good diversion while it runs, (I found myself cheering at one or two points,) but it is nothing really memorable. It feels like a basic action flick that is stuck in routine and loaded with all the bad cliches. (The "Hollywood last minute saves", the "member of the team whom the audience grows to really like who dies", the "bad guy whom you know nothing about in order to make him seem scarier", etc.) 

The original _Purge_ film from 2013 had a strong premise when it introduced the ambitious idea/story of the "purge", which has now gone on to become a pop-culture reference. But the film itself was so god-awful that it fell flat on its face. If _Election Year_ was the first _Purge_ film, it would have definitely been better received. But the fact that the idea/story has been beaten to death now (after two really bad films) caused this latest film to suffer.

I will give the writer(s) of the film props for the modern social commentary played out in the dialogue of the character of Joe (played by Mykelti Williamson - whom you probably recognize as Bubba from _Forrest Gump_).


----------



## wankerness

Ibanezsam4 said:


> I'm still desperately in love with this film. and the director will likely never go this mainstream again unless a studio gets really drunk and lets him make a Batgirl movie or gives him the rights to remake Logan's Run.



Why would he do either of those things?

I watched Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon recently, and they are SO troll-ish that I can't see him ever getting a mainstream gig again. They're absolutely ridiculous in their effort to offend. I'm surprised TND even grossed a million bucks.

If he made Batgirl, she'd probably have a long graphic sex scene with a corpse, or if he made Logan's Run, Logan'd probably cut open Jessica and root around in her stomach.


----------



## MFB

I made a terrible mistake by rewatching Land Before Time. 

Let me tell you - the scene after the Sharptooth, is FAR more agonizing as an adult who's dealt with that lose; and I began to lose it the second I saw his mother on screen, knowing what's coming. You'd think because it's a cartoon that it'd be easier, but in fact it's just as bad. I ....ing ruined my night.

edit: and it's also ruined by knowing the tragedy that happened to Ducky's original voice actor. I either never knew until now or I blocked it out because of how senseless it was, but dear God.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

wankerness said:


> Why would he do either of those things?
> 
> If he made Batgirl, she'd probably have a long graphic sex scene with a corpse, or if he made Logan's Run, Logan'd probably cut open Jessica and root around in her stomach.



you answered your own question  

but interestingly enough, his two most critically acclaimed films he had less of a hand in the writing process. 

With Bronson he took the script and did his arthouse touch ups, and with Drive he had no involvement at all. 

i still think he could go back to his Pusher roots and make a more straightforward film if he liked the script. i dont think the industry will throw him out, especially now that streaming sites can buy films rights.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

MFB said:


> edit: and it's also ruined by knowing the tragedy that happened to Ducky's original voice actor. I either never knew until now or I blocked it out because of how senseless it was, but dear God.


Read up on this out of curiosity just now.

Christ Almighty..... There are some messed up humans in this world.


----------



## Duosphere

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Read up on this out of curiosity just now.
> 
> Christ Almighty..... There are some messed up humans in this world.



Have you ever heard about....................Hitler and his gang?


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> Have you ever heard about....................Hitler and his gang?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Duosphere said:


> Have you ever heard about....................Hitler and his gang?


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4731008/

Awesome, I had fun!
It has the best car........animal chase ever!
Fun for adults and kids.


----------



## synrgy

Star Trek: Beyond

I went in with some level of apprehension. I've liked the reboot so far, mostly, but was worried about the change in directors, and also that the first two haven't stood up very well to repeated viewings.

With the caveat that this one probably won't, either, I still enjoyed it. Better paced than the first two (arguably, of course). There's a 20-ish minute scene towards the beginning that I think ran about 10-15 minutes too long


Spoiler



(The destruction/crash of yet another Enterprise)


 but otherwise I have no gripes. There are a few perspective-bending scenes that I particularly appreciated.

TL;DR = IMHO it was better than the second, and probably on-par with the first.


----------



## MFB

Been watching movies more regularly, both between Netflix and finding out Amazon Prime has a decent selection as well. Anyone here use Letterboxd? I've been on there for a little over a year, but didn't start using it as much until the end of the 2015. If you do, feel free to follow me and my (assumedly terrible) reviews.


_The Fundamentals of Caring_ - 8/10
Seeing Paul Rudd lightly smack a teen with muscular distrophy in the face with a SlimJim wasn't something I thought I wanted in a movie; then this came along and changed all that. 


_Terminator: Genisys_ - 5/10
This could've been far worse, but it actually wasn't as offensive to the series as I imagined it would've been. I'll forget the majority of it in a week, but that's about what I expected.


_The Lifeguard_ - 1/10
I went in and out of paying attention to this, but the parts I did watch were so paint-by-numbers mid-life crisis movie that they weren't worth the time I gave to them. Seriously, don't waste your time, it's more valuable than that.


----------



## wankerness

I don't think T:G could have been much worse! The three principle actors were all so bad it was unbelievable. Emilia Clarke is just a joke in that role, she should have received lessons from Lena Headey. And yes, you won't remember any of it in a week. The main thing I still remember is that the enemy terminator's power looks like the metal shavings in one of these things:






EDIT: Wow, every time I try to post images on here using imgur they get taken down in short order. I guess they must have something against this site. Just image search "Wooly Willy."


----------



## MFB

The thing that sucks is that they were stuck with her character being 17, since it's another installment in a franchise; if they were able to make her seem older, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but given that in the original movie that's her age - that's what they're stuck claiming her to be. Jai Courtney seem very vanilla as an actor, he delivers his lines and it's neither great nor terrible and that's really it.

As for the bad guy, to me it's a clever evolution on the T-1000 and T-X models while not being as silly as say ...Terminator motorcycles? I do feel like I've seen that sort of power somewhere but I can't for the life of me say where.


----------



## wankerness

Here was what I wrote about it. I only wrote so much cause I was bored while watching it and was typing this on my laptop during.

If you've seen the trailer, you know everything that happens in this movie. It's not good, at all, but at least it's not teal and orange. It is so bland that it makes McG look like a visionary director. At least that one had a few really, really striking images (which led to its trailer being the best thing that's come out of the Terminator franchise since 1992).

I'm not sure if my problems with this seem to really stem from the plot. While generally uninteresting, there were a few gimmicks I kind of liked, like the T-1000 dripping liquid metal into the damaged T-800 to fix it. There are some howlers, though, like John Conner telling Kyle that he's his father (before he bones Sarah), and then saying "I didn't tell you earlier because I didn't want to risk changing things." The entire Genisys concept is extraordinarily vague and boring, too, of course, especially its representation as a flat-voiced child, one of the worst standbys of bad sci-fi. Mass Effect 3 ending, anyone? The idea of Sarah being brought up by a Terminator had some promise, but there are very few scenes that seem to be interested in exploring the psychological effects this would have had on her.

The whole thing is just incredibly, incredibly dull in every aesthetic way possible. Many of the colors are drained out to look like the night scenes of the 80s Terminator (though again, to be fair, at least it doesn't seem to have been heavily color-corrected), the music is generic action movie garbage, none of the action scenes are remotely exciting, all the actors are terrible, etc. It tries to build excitement regularly and just fails, and the failure causes a feedback loop where its flailing just makes it appear all the more pathetic. Ex, the T-1000 jumps at the back of a truck, and it slows down and plays one of those idiotic bass drop noises we've been getting non-stop in trailers the last few years, and then it immediately reverts back to 1992 action mode. It's jarring, awful, and sucks out any energy that might have been in the scene. This happens again and again - there are constant slow-motion CGI shots thrown into the action, and ALL of them make the scenes worse. These same awful bass drop noises are also used every single time the T-3000 gets punched, which is A LOT. It's like this film had the sound design done by some idiot who just copy/pasted the sounds out of modern action movie trailers. I think if all of the slow motion in this film was played back at regular speed, at least 5 minutes would be cut off the running time. It's insane. Possibly the worst overuse of slow-motion this side of Thriller: A Cruel Picture.

The Arnold Vs Arnold fight is the rubberiest CGI I've ever seen. It makes the Ang Lee Hulk look like a tangible object. Almost all the CGI is awful and tasteless. When people are having hand-to-hand combat with a single terminator up close, and they render it in CGI, it's a textbook example of how NOT to use CGI. It looks terrible and unconvincing and prevents any possible investment in the scene. John Conner terminator is stupid. Instead of being a T-1000, he's a "T-3000," so basically he looks like he's made of those metal shavings that you see in kits with a magnetic pen where you can draw various hairstyles on a face. The bus crash we all saw in the trailer is even worse here, with the initial hilariously awful airborne bus-flip followed by a ton of rolling, and then an abrupt slicing off of the front of the bus by bridge cables. It's like the bus is weightless and also constructed from styrofoam.

There are a few cringeworthy attempts at humor, mostly involving the nonexistent chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney, but also a few smiling Terminator gags which are sub-T2/T3. There's one particularly heinous attempt at humor with the Cops theme song playing as mugshots are taken of our heroes. Speaking of terrible music cues, this falls victim to the common trope of terrible period movies in which characters listen to something that they definitely wouldn't have listened to had the movie actually been made at the time in which it's set, cause none of the scriptwriters had any clue of the popularity of the music at the time. Here, it's "I wanna be Sedated," which is light-years more popular now than it was in 1984.

I can't deal with Jason Clarke's head. It's horrific. The huge scars just accentuate this. He looks like a dead-eyed killer and his head is GIGANTIC. I really can't tell what my problem is. I have a visceral reaction to it. I could barely stand to look at the screen whenever he was on it. I don't remember having any opinion on him at all in Zero Dark Thirty or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but maybe he subconsciously offended me deeply and it all came bubbling to the surface here.

Jai Courtney makes Sam Worthington look like Robert Downey Jr. The guy is a charisma blackhole. The scenes where he's supposed to show his deep love for Sarah Conner are truly embarrassing, like high school theater actor level, but a high school theater actor who thinks that he's too cool to be doing that theater stuff and would rather be giving swirlies to the "drama nerds."

Emilia Clarke is flat-out AWFUL (important note: she's still better than Jai Courtney). I occasionally like her on Game of Thrones, so I'm not going to blame her. It was idiotic casting, and her dialogue is terrible. She looks like a middle-schooler dressing up as a biker for Halloween. She just looks SOFT, she can't convincingly glower and her hair and skin look like that of a young child, not someone allegedly physically training out in hard conditions for years. Whenever she handles weapons, she looks like she's afraid they're going to bite her. She should have taken lessons from her GOT castmate Lena Headey, who has more grit in her little finger than Emilia Clarke does in her entire body. She seems to be about a foot shorter than either Linda Hamilton or Lena Headey. I don't know if she actually is, or if that's just how much less presence and toughness she has. Again, I think this was more horrible, horrible casting than her sucking it up. I think it was impossible for her to be good. But, she didn't do herself any favors.

The guy they cast as the T-1000 also lacks any presence of any sort. I mean, obviously the part doesn't call for Mr. Personality, but Robert Patrick had such iciness and such resolve that he made the character so much more than it would have been otherwise, while this clown has all the menace of....Jai Courtney. At least he's quickly dispatched.

The worst part of this movie is the hollow-eyed cretin they cast as Bill Paxton Punk. I was hoping for a CGI Bill Paxton.

JK Simmons is THE ONLY actor in this entire film that was remotely entertaining. He plays a bumbling cop that realizes Kyle and Sarah came from 1984. Basically, it's about the same character as Dr. Silberman in 3. It's a very stupid role, obviously, but it does have some life to it.

I do take some solace in knowing that as bad as this was, I won't remember a thing about it in a couple days!

2/10


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

I gave up on the Terminator series since watching Rise Of The Machines on the theatres. Didn't bother with Salvation and certainly not gonna bother with Terminator Fansyrvys.


----------



## mongey

finally watched batman v superman over the weekend. Terrible 

the plot twist that stops them fighting is just pitiful. not even worth spoiler tags to discuss


----------



## flint757

mongey said:


> finally watched batman v superman over the weekend. Terrible
> 
> the plot twist that stops them fighting is just pitiful. not even worth spoiler tags to discuss



Were you confused when Bruce was having that weird dream? I figured out what was happening eventually, but with all the plot lines they had going on I wasn't sure what was happening in the moment. The editing was just awful.


----------



## wankerness

I watched the long version and still didn't really follow Luthor's motivation or how his plot was intelligent. I can't imagine how nonsensical the movie must have been in the theater; I've seen a ton of people saying that the extended one is amazing for how it turns Superman sympathetic. He barely was here! I didn't dislike it exactly, I was just pretty neutral towards it. I was sure to skip it in the theater, though.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Saw a late showing of Suicide Squad. It wasn't good. It wasn't bad. And I'll forget the majority of it by morning.


----------



## wankerness

Ew, keep that in the quarantine thread


----------



## mongey

flint757 said:


> Were you confused when Bruce was having that weird dream? I figured out what was happening eventually, but with all the plot lines they had going on I wasn't sure what was happening in the moment. The editing was just awful.



Between me and the wife we worked it out but there was a def WtF glance between us 

I thought the apocalypse future scene was pretty cool as a stand alone though. would've been better if that was the movie


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

Rented Batman vs Superman last night. What an awful 3 hour long pile of bull..... I wasn't expecting to be blown away, but that was ridiculous. I can't believe it was that bad.

Terribly paced, way too many plots for one movie even with a 3 hour running time, all in a desperate attempt to set up Justice League movies.


----------



## mongey

FILTHnFEAR said:


> Rented Batman vs Superman last night. What an awful 3 hour long pile of bull..... I wasn't expecting to be blown away, but that was ridiculous. I can't believe it was that bad.
> 
> Terribly paced, way too many plots for one movie even with a 3 hour running time, all in a desperate attempt to set up Justice League movies.



I think desperate is a good way to describe it . so obvious they are trying to cash in on The Avengers model but just don't think they have the characters. not the mainstream ones anyway


----------



## Ralyks

Other than seeing Suicide Squad, which I mentioned in its own thread, I've watched Waking Life again a few times in the past week.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2649554/

I really like it.
Mood was just perfect, it keeps dragging you to that situation/atmosphere, at some point I thought I was watching a young Superman.
Of course these days they can do whatever they want with effects but I'm so tired of watching some really crap effects which, instead of adding something they steal all honesty/seriousness/truth of a movie so in this case I have to talk about effects, they're perfect, nothing is cheesy or over, they help telling a story, they don't steal anything, they're the way they had to be.
There are a lot of interpretations, I love movies that don't explain everything like if the crowd was dumb, of course the majority is dumb but you can't ruin a movie because of them.
There's something twisted/weird/strange in the mood that I love too.


----------



## flint757

mongey said:


> Between me and the wife we worked it out but there was a def WtF glance between us
> 
> I thought the apocalypse future scene was pretty cool as a stand alone though. would've been better if that was the movie



It was still irking me a bit, so apparently it wasn't a dream, but a premonition and it is meant to setup Darkseid in the DC Universe. This just cements my opinion that they tried to do way too much in this film, which makes the editing awful and makes the story line feel almost irrelevant. They really need to slow down a bit or every movie is going to end up being awful at worst and mediocre at best.

http://www.vulture.com/2016/03/batman-superman-dream-sequence.html


----------



## wankerness

They need to drop that Darkseid s*** and focus on making good movies quick, or they're going to have an Amazing Spider-Man (2 tried to set up part 3 really, really hard and no one liked it so they just gave up) or Divergent series (they're bad, so eventually people stop going, so they ended up having to sputter out and finish the series with a 0 budget tv movie).

I am trying to be optimistic about Wonder Woman, but now there's been two movies in a row that were going to "save the DC series" after Man of Steel, and now MoS is by far the best of the three! Plus, MoS had one of the greatest trailers of all time, and Suicide Squad mostly had good trailers, and we all know how those turned out. ARGH!!! They just need to kick the committee of non-filmmaking asshats out of the loop and let the filmmakers do what they want. Good or bad, it couldn't be more incoherent than the last two by-committee reshot-to-death messes.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

A few others I've procrastinated to post:

*Snowpiercer*

Late to the party (again) on this one. Not the strongest by Bong Joon-ho's standards, but still damn solid overall. I've heard comparisons to The Purge and Bioshock. For the former, this was a much better film (though I somewhat enjoyed Anarchy for the sole reason of hilariously and unintentionally having one of the best Punisher before Punisher Netflix). As for the latter, the similarities are rather clever. 

*Warcraft*

I've been umming and ahhing over posting this for a while. I was a strong advocate of Duncan Jones knocking this out of the park, largely based on hitting 2 home runs prior (Moon, Source Code), and all the press that he and co are really caring for the lore and hoping to be the one to bring the stigma of bad game adapted movies. And I love that Daniel Wu is playing Gul'dan. So I really wanted this to be good.

Then I saw the film. 

Warcraft is by far the best example of adapting video game lore and characters into the big screen. References and callbacks galore and it's all done calculatedly with extreme care for the source material. It's visually beautiful and the orcs look awesome (in true Warcraft goofy way). So, where other terrible game to movie adaptations have failed terribly, they succeeded on that department with flying colours. Unfortunately I wasn't having any fun. Largely because under all the expositional hubris, Jones and co forgot to make a good movie. 

I loved the Warcraft lore and played from the beginning right up until Frozen Throne (though I stopped playing at WOW), so I was rooting for this to be good. However it's because of that fan filled love of the source material that the movie collapses under the weight of it's own exposition. None of the characters register as anyone you care for, all the humans are completely uninteresting, and the movie suffers during the crucial third act with all the emotional buildup... none of that matters because the characters are slaves to world building exposition. The movie kinda just ends abruptly with signs that say 'sequel coming soon' too. It's like the movie's constantly winking at the audience whenever a reference is brought up and we're supposed to care over that instead. 

This is a movie for Warcraft fans, by Warcraft fans, but alienates everyone else expecting to watch another take on the fantasy genre. Sorry Mr Jones, can't win 'em all I guess.


----------



## MFB

Went and saw Sausage Party last night, gave it a solid 4/5. The ending gets REAL ....ed up, REAL quick; best part was seeing two dudes walk in with maybe two 10 year old kids, and I looked at my buddy and said, "That's gonna go south immediately," and they walked out at some point.

I mean, there's a sign at the booth saying, "Sausage Party is NOT for children under 17, " but then they bought tickets and probably got outraged at the theater


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MFB said:


> Went and saw Sausage Party last night, gave it a solid 4/5. The ending gets REAL ....ed up, REAL quick; best part was seeing two dudes walk in with maybe two 10 year old kids, and I looked at my buddy and said, "That's gonna go south immediately," and they walked out at some point.
> 
> I mean, there's a sign at the booth saying, "Sausage Party is NOT for children under 17, " but then they bought tickets and probably got outraged at the theater



It has Seth Rogen involved. That should've rang alarm bells to keep children away. 

That said, I might have to watch this. It's got a "we're taking the piss out of Pixar" kind of vibe that's got me curious.


----------



## flint757

I have mixed feelings on seeing it. The company that did most of the work for the film really screwed their employees over big time. Not necessarily unusual for the VFX/CGI industry, but the reports I read don't have me feeling motivated to go see it either.


----------



## MFB

I hadn't seen any news about it until today, but I've fallen out of the CG/VGX world; but all the claims are the same thing that's said about 90% of VGX houses and it won't change any time soon.


----------



## Force

Went & saw Lights Out last night. Fantastic movie, made my hairs stand on end & that very rarely happens. The reviews state that everyone makes sensible decisions in this, going against the grain of every other horror movie, it's true & this is what makes it more terrifying, no matter what you do you're helpless.

Earlier in the day I bought Paranormal Activity - The Ghost Dimension, so I watched that when I got back from the cinema. Not bad but still the same old PA blah.


----------



## donzilla

Watching "Bloodline" on netflix.......crazy crazy story!!! Acting kicks ass!!! Story kicks ass!!! Love it!!!!


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Put this on the list of movies to watch. It appears to have everything, Russians, super heroes, spider tanks, a bear with a machine gun....


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Just to get this out of the way...

*Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV*

Oh another attempt by Square Enix to make a feature film with the Final Fantasy name. Their first attempt Spirits Within was a fuming garbage pile, and VII Advent Children (flame shield on) was a bunch of HD FMVs put together as a non interactive DLC at best. Fanboys only love it as it was an early promise that the greatest FF game they played because they didn't play VI was getting a full HD reboot (or blinded by nostalgia). This is already complicated further that the FF franchise has been on a steady decline for ages. 

I really try hard to defend the series, I really do. Playing through the nigh abysmal XIII trilogy right through the end ought to show that I still want to love the series. Though lately it's really only the nostalgia that I just criticised earlier that's making me hang on for dear life. It's been a long love/hate relationship for me. And looking back, what seems like an bottomless well that is my patience is running low. But enough about that. Is this movie any good? Will this be the 'good' Final Fantasy movie die hard fans are waiting for?

The answer is a complicated yes and no. 

The biggest problem with Kingsglaive is the Final Fantasy XV part of the title. The movie needs to co-exist with the upcoming game. It's Squenix's gambit of making an introduction film of sorts to the new world to encourage those to buy a PS4 and the game once it releases... or at least put them off. So the reliance on the game becomes the movie's biggest detriment outside the few left still interested in this series. 

The intro is a brief Lord Of The Rings style intro narration that sets up the events that will parallel the game. It's the usual J-RPG affair of having 2 factions at war and conflict, then completes with a dazzling battle scene that you'd normally see with annoying quick time events. Nothing new for FF vets. 

A lot of the first half of the film is exposition and world building but all that disappears by the middle of the second act in favor of massive third act action spectacle. And that leads to the crux of the movie's problem. This is not a complete movie. It's more like a full prologue cutscene that lasts near 2 hours building up to a game that's the movie is trying to sell to you. As a result, a lot of interesting themes of lifestyle class division and politics just disappear when the action kicks in, and all of the exposition is left dangling. 

There are 3 major characters that the movie focuses on, all voiced by an A list cast and there'll be complicated names aplenty here. The main character is Nyx Ulric (see), a member of the Kingsglaive, a special black ops style troop working directly under the king. Frankly, he's a bit of a cypher hero actually, and doesn't actually get enough development, but Aaron Paul does a damn good job selling the 'hero with a dark past', and it's quite fun to watch all the action scenes he's in especially with the nifty 'knife teleporting' trick. King King Regis Lucis Caelum CXVIII (dear lord these names), may just be the best acted and most fascinating character in the film. A tired and weary king but steals every scene he's in. His voice actor is a massive spoiler alert though.  The weakest is princess Lunafreya Nox Fleuret played by Lena Headey. I get that the developers are trying to give the strong female role here, but despite Headey's best efforts, her emotionless face, monotonous reactions and irritating lack of self preservation is just awkward. 

Most of the supporting casts are merely plot devices some as important as the average NPC, and others just being baffling. One particular character has motives that don't make any sense due to lack of screen time. I imagine the movie is banking that you can only guess that this character did what he did was because, reasons, I suppose. 

Interestingly, the real main character Noctos Lucis Caelum is nowhere to be seen. Anyone anticipating on the game knows he's too busy cruising the countryside with his boy band to care what's going on at home, oddly enough. 

Well that's a lot of text of me bagging the movie. And I had no choice. It's a Final Fantasy movie. But despite all of that, I did enjoy the film. I liked it better than Warcraft at least. 

Visually, everything looks awesome as expected. The action scenes are amazing and the entire third act is visual nerdgasm. As stated, 2 of the 3 leads keep you focused. The story is clumsy but still a fun ride, and unlike Warcraft, Kingsglaive keeps the viewer interested. Even the slow moving scenes aren't boring slugs, and the movie trusts the viewer that you don't need your hand held with explaining every vivid detail. And I do appreciate a certain cameo FF nod in the second act, albeit a bit more serious than what I'm used to. 

Overall it's not perfect by any means, and in essence it's an over glorified near 2 hour prologue to the game with even more hours to tell the rest of the story. FF die hards will get a kick out of this, while others will have to wiki the rest just to remember the damn names. Count me in the group where I'm going to get a PS4 to finish off the story. 

There you go Squenix, mission accomplished. Satisfied now? You pricks...


----------



## wankerness

So there's one woman character in the whole thing? I guess that's better than the game.

I saw Sausage Party, it was terrible. I didn't laugh a single time. 90% of the jokes are just HAHA THEY ARE CGI CUTESY AND SAY NAUGHTY WORDS IN EVERY SENTENCE HAHahaha. The dialogue is SO forced, regular sentences have f*** and s*** stuck in them all over and it just sounds bad. I'm all for excessive profanity (heck, I just went to see Louis CK a couple weeks ago and laughed my ass off), but this was really badly written. I like that it was attempting to be like Pixar in that it isn't simply an empty situation, it's trying to take on ideas of faith and has existential crises and whatnot, but it's all so stupidly done. And the douche character might have been timely in about 2006 or whenever The Situation was popular, but it's like one of those deals where it's not remotely amusing but the filmmakers clearly thought it was hilarious so the scenes go on and on and have so much mugging and restating of the "joke."

For reference, I love Superbad, don't really remember Pineapple Express, and don't really remember This is the End. I think I liked This is the End alright and was sort of bored by Pineapple Express. I almost always like Seth Rogen as an actor and even if he turns terrible I will always sort of love him for Freaks and Geeks (especially the scene where he interrupts Jason Segal's love song). But as a writer, this sure takes him down several notches in my view.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> So there's one woman character in the whole thing? I guess that's better than the game.



I categorised the other women in the support cast. Otherwise there's about maybe 6 that you received supposed to note.

I guess that's still more than all the 2 women in Spirits Within.


----------



## flint757

wankerness said:


> I saw Sausage Party, it was terrible. I didn't laugh a single time. 90% of the jokes are just HAHA THEY ARE CGI CUTESY AND SAY NAUGHTY WORDS IN EVERY SENTENCE HAHahaha. The dialogue is SO forced, regular sentences have f*** and s*** stuck in them all over and it just sounds bad. I'm all for excessive profanity (heck, I just went to see Louis CK a couple weeks ago and laughed my ass off), but this was really badly written. I like that it was attempting to be like Pixar in that it isn't simply an empty situation, it's trying to take on ideas of faith and has existential crises and whatnot, but it's all so stupidly done. And the douche character might have been timely in about 2006 or whenever The Situation was popular, but it's like one of those deals where it's not remotely amusing but the filmmakers clearly thought it was hilarious so the scenes go on and on and have so much mugging and restating of the "joke."
> 
> For reference, I love Superbad, don't really remember Pineapple Express, and don't really remember This is the End. I think I liked This is the End alright and was sort of bored by Pineapple Express. I almost always like Seth Rogen as an actor and even if he turns terrible I will always sort of love him for Freaks and Geeks (especially the scene where he interrupts Jason Segal's love song). But as a writer, this sure takes him down several notches in my view.



So much this. I thought it was awful as well. Had a few redeemable moments, but the majority of them were in the trailer. I like the idea, the idea of adult humor and sex in a Pixar looking film, but the dialogue was pretty much horrible through the whole thing and the jokes felt about as forced as one of Adam Sandler's later films. I was kind of frustrated that the whole thing centered around the douche character honestly. They were able to make it go full circle I guess, and I thought the use of bath salts was hilarious as I've never seen a film use bath salts as essentially a running joke. I wish they focused more on the interaction between the humans and products, and the existential crisis, rather than the laughable revenge plot they went with instead. I agree about the cursing as well, and I curse like a sailor. A lot of the film is dialogue and I was just bored less than halfway through, which is how long it take for food to finally get eaten by someone. I do wish some of the concepts weren't sooo on the nose as well. In the end I think my original assumption was correct, this would have worked better as a short film rather than a feature length.

I feel like this film got such good review because of its concept and what it is. I think people were excited for an extremely adult themed Pixar film, but IMO it was awful. I loved Superbad and Pineapple Express, and thought This is the End was alright so it isn't like I dislike Seth Rogen or sex/drug jokes either.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3647498/

I don't like that type of movie but when I saw Gibson name I thought it could be cool.
It's not.
It brings absolutely nothing new, it's fully based on the "nobody can kill me no matter how many guns they have" factor.
In the beginning I thought I could enjoy that father/daughter broken relationship and how they were trying to mend the broken pieces, in fact I did but then the "nobody can kill me no matter how many guns they have" dumb factor ruined everything.
I don't want to spoiler it but this scene is so dumb..............two motorbikes chasing another bike with an old guy and a teenage girl, two motorbikes are right behind the old guy and teenager bike, two bikes shot them but no bullet even comes close to hit them, or their bike then the old guy stops his bikes turning it into the other two bikes and shot them, mysteriously those two bikes kept watching him turning his bike around and stopped shooting.Why in God's name criminals(or anybody)would do that?That's freaking dumb and only happens in dumb movies.

In the end it's dumb and impossible unless Gibson was bullet proof or any gun proof  , it's boring because their ....ed up relationship are ruined by the "nobody can kill me no matter how many guns they have" factor.
To me Gibson and his daughter delivered good performances but it can't save the movie from its dumb factor.


----------



## Alberto7

Just watched Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time... yeah. 

I really liked the movie. Very entertaining and funny. Very overrated, too. As in, WAAAY too much. Nothing particularly wrong with it, I was just expecting some sort of masterpiece after how big a deal everyone made it out to be. It was just really good fun and pretty visuals. It seems to be quite a bit of a nerdgasm for long-time Marvel fans, as it seems to cover quite a bit of Marvel lore. I actually really liked that aspect of it. Loooved Michael Rooker as Yondu.


----------



## wankerness

I'm not familiar with any of the lore at all (literally the only thing in the entire movie that meant anything to me was the character we see in the end credits stinger), but I REALLY liked Guardians of the Galaxy. The interplay between most of the characters is great (besides Gamora, who's kind of wasted). They're actually developed, too, with Rocket Raccoon being given grit and and a subtle underpinning of tragedy despite primarily being a wisecracking CGI raccoon. The villains are lame, especially the one who looks like a mean Asari, but it doesn't really matter. Almost everything Drax says is hilarious. The line about "nothing gets over my head" may be my favorite. The best scene is obviously the one where Groot kills a huge row of guys and then smiles like an eager puppy at everyone. I liked it a lot more on second watch than on first, where I'd had my expectations raised too high. There is so much stuff in there that is so funny and doesn't seem like it should work in a huge-budget actioner, like Jon C Reilly's character. I laughed far, far more while watching it than during most comedies I've seen.

The other thing about that movie that might be more subtle but is even more special is how COLORFUL it is. That is legitimately one of the most beautiful big-budget movies of recent years. Compared to dreary stuff like BvS or even the Captain America movies it is eye-popping. Even compared to blazingly bright stuff like the Michael Bay movies, it's really something since it's all over the color palette and never teal and orange. Almost every locale in that movie has its own spectacular color scheme. It's not as artistic as something like House of Flying Daggers, but to even think of something like that or Hero while watching it is really saying something.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3040964/

FREAKINTASTIC!

It looks amazing!
Seriously the best CGI ever!
The jungle looks real, there's nothing to improve, the water, the fire, the trees and the way all that stuff reacts to whatever is happening is unbelievable real and awesome!
The animals...
Of course in close-up some faces don't look so real BUT.............it means nothing cause 99% of the time all animals look amazing, their movement, their fur, their........everything is fantastic!I never ever saw such perfect movements, the way they reflect light, the way their fur react with water etc, unbelievable!
What about the story?
I love it.
I love all characters, not even for a second I could move my eyes away from the screen, they had me in the first 5 minutes, they gave the best performances of their lives.

I can't find a bad thing about it besides the end.........I mean........I hated when it ended, I wanted more and more.


----------



## Alberto7

wankerness said:


> I'm not familiar with any of the lore at all (literally the only thing in the entire movie that meant anything to me was the character we see in the end credits stinger), but I REALLY liked Guardians of the Galaxy. The interplay between most of the characters is great (besides Gamora, who's kind of wasted). They're actually developed, too, with Rocket Raccoon being given grit and and a subtle underpinning of tragedy despite primarily being a wisecracking CGI raccoon. The villains are lame, especially the one who looks like a mean Asari, but it doesn't really matter. Almost everything Drax says is hilarious. The line about "nothing gets over my head" may be my favorite. The best scene is obviously the one where Groot kills a huge row of guys and then smiles like an eager puppy at everyone. I liked it a lot more on second watch than on first, where I'd had my expectations raised too high. There is so much stuff in there that is so funny and doesn't seem like it should work in a huge-budget actioner, like Jon C Reilly's character. I laughed far, far more while watching it than during most comedies I've seen.
> 
> The other thing about that movie that might be more subtle but is even more special is how COLORFUL it is. That is legitimately one of the most beautiful big-budget movies of recent years. Compared to dreary stuff like BvS or even the Captain America movies it is eye-popping. Even compared to blazingly bright stuff like the Michael Bay movies, it's really something since it's all over the color palette and never teal and orange. Almost every locale in that movie has its own spectacular color scheme. It's not as artistic as something like House of Flying Daggers, but to even think of something like that or Hero while watching it is really saying something.



I am only ever so slightly familiar with _some_ Marvel lore (which is extensive) because one of my roommates and a couple of close friends are Marvel nuts. But I actually agree with you on all accounts. I certainly really liked almost everything about the movie, it just didn't impress me like I thought it was going to. Again, it's just because of the hype surrounding it, which made it seem to be like it was going to be the greatest thing in the universe.

Call me weird, but I remember enjoying Days of Future Past better than Guardians of the Galaxy as I was watching it, even though I watched the former on a plane... and I barely remember what happens in that movie


----------



## wankerness

Duosphere said:


> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3040964/
> 
> they gave the best performances of their lives.



Who did?


----------



## MFB

I'm assuming he means the voice actors?


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> I'm assuming he means the voice actors?



If a voice performance as an orangutan was really Christopher Walken's all-time best performance I would be somewhat shocked! Or any of the principles (ScarJo, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray, Lupita Nyongo, Giancarlo Esposito, etc). They are heavy hitters. I haven't seen it yet.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Alberto7 said:


> I am only ever so slightly familiar with _some_ Marvel lore (which is extensive) because one of my roommates and a couple of close friends are Marvel nuts. But I actually agree with you on all accounts. I certainly really liked almost everything about the movie, it just didn't impress me like I thought it was going to. Again, it's just because of the hype surrounding it, which made it seem to be like it was going to be the greatest thing in the universe.
> 
> Call me weird, but I remember enjoying Days of Future Past better than Guardians of the Galaxy as I was watching it, even though I watched the former on a plane... and I barely remember what happens in that movie



The overhype that people tend to give Guardians Of The Galaxy does diminish the film somewhat. I still think it's one of the best of the MCU movies, now tied with all the Russo Brothers' efforts. 

All the lore and world building was the movie's biggest conceit. Yeah there's a chock ton of them, each was a 'blink and you'll miss it' affair. But the fact that the main characters that you've invested in encourages you to care even less about all that even as much as they have care towards each other is where the brilliance lies. It almost brought the movie down in the third act when the they actually started to get serious after a streak of carefree attitude. 

As for Days Of Future Past... let's just say my opinion of that movie hasn't aged well.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3065204/

Just like the first one, this one brings absolutely nothing new, we already saw all that stuff in other movies but this director knows what he wants and where he wants to go, he doesn't need a ton of crap effects and dumb jump scares which have nothing to do with what's going on, you don't need that stuff when you have a good story, good performances and a director who knows the right way to do it.
What matters is the relationship between characters, they have a story, you wanna see them getting out of that situation.The main couple love each other and their good performances make you care about them.Movies that don't have that stuff have only crap effects, crap jokes and nothing to remember when you get out of the movies.
I have friends who didn't grow up watching Star Trek original series, when they watched some episodes, they told me some were dumb so why I like them so much?Because even when a story was dumb, I cared about the characters, I wanted to see how they would handle the situation, what I loved was to put myself in that situation with them.When a movie makes you care about its characters.................


----------



## MFB

> When a movie makes you care about its characters



So like, one of the most basic principles one should adhere to when writing characters?


----------



## mongey

cant remember if I posted about it yet or not

but saw ghost busters when nothing else was on at the right time 


I thought it was terrible. my wife liked it more than me but she has more of a connection with the original than I do


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> As for Days Of Future Past... let's just say my opinion of that movie hasn't aged well.



When I saw it in the theater, I remember thinking through the first half "oh my god, I LOVE this movie." The vibe is so damn fun through most of the scenes after Wolverine "lands," with the pinnacle obviously being the big Quicksilver scene. It gets less fun and more portentous as it goes on. The first time I saw it, I was actually really tense through the whole thing and thought all the truly hideous and painful death scenes (like, X-Men having their faces burned off!!) really contributed to things. On repeat watches, I've gotten way less enthusiastic about it, particularly everything in the future. I think I started out rating it 9/10, and I've knocked 1 off every time since. I'd still give it a 7, but it (along with all of the X-films apart from The Wolverine and Deadpool) wastes its characters a lot more than most of the Marvel "Universe" flicks have. At least they usually do villains a lot better than the MCU movies. Even if it's getting tiresome having Magneto lose everything and become the bad guy almost every movie.

That Chinese actress that they have as Blink is so attractive that it hurts. It's a good thing she's barely in the movie.

I watched Apocalypse in the theater and didn't really mind it. It was nowhere close to as good as I thought DoFP was on first watch, but after seeing that one a couple times I don't think they're really that far apart. Unless Apocalypse gets worse every watch. After going through them again recently, I think First Class might be the best of the whole series, despite the weird gender politics going on there. And "The Wolverine" is underrated, it's really quite good before the climax. Even if the lizard lady is stupid.


----------



## Alberto7

^ Sh*t, I actually meant to say First Class!! I did watch Days of Future Past on a plane, and I had a ton of fun watching it (though I haven't re-watched it and I can barely remember it, so I don't really have a solid opinion on it), but I did watch First Class at cinemas 2 or 3 times, and I loved it each time. It was the first of the new Marvel live-actions that I really enjoyed.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> When I saw it in the theater, I remember thinking through the first half "oh my god, I LOVE this movie." The vibe is so damn fun through most of the scenes after Wolverine "lands," with the pinnacle obviously being the big Quicksilver scene. It gets less fun and more portentous as it goes on. The first time I saw it, I was actually really tense through the whole thing and thought all the truly hideous and painful death scenes (like, X-Men having their faces burned off!!) really contributed to things. On repeat watches, I've gotten way less enthusiastic about it, particularly everything in the future. I think I started out rating it 9/10, and I've knocked 1 off every time since. I'd still give it a 7, but it (along with all of the X-films apart from The Wolverine and Deadpool) wastes its characters a lot more than most of the Marvel "Universe" flicks have. At least they usually do villains a lot better than the MCU movies. Even if it's getting tiresome having Magneto lose everything and become the bad guy almost every movie.
> 
> That Chinese actress that they have as Blink is so attractive that it hurts. It's a good thing she's barely in the movie.
> 
> I watched Apocalypse in the theater and didn't really mind it. It was nowhere close to as good as I thought DoFP was on first watch, but after seeing that one a couple times I don't think they're really that far apart. Unless Apocalypse gets worse every watch. After going through them again recently, I think First Class might be the best of the whole series, despite the weird gender politics going on there. And "The Wolverine" is underrated, it's really quite good before the climax. Even if the lizard lady is stupid.




I've stated before what I thought about the X-Men movie franchise as a whole (17 years on and it hasn't budged an inch), and the reasons why I'm disliking DoFP more as time goes on. There's also that huge plot hole on how Kitty Pride somehow got the powers of time transportation. Or considering how they started caring about continuity they didn't explain how past Bolivar Trask turns from Peter Dinklage into Bill Duke. But whatever, that movie's done now. 

First Class and Deadpool ARE the best of the series. Hands down. Reasons why I rate First Class so highly is because Matthew Vaughn brought the charge and gusto that the franchise really needed. The action scenes are great, Jennifer Lawrence was still interested in acting as Mystique (before phoning it in more and more as the movies go on), and it was the first time the X-Men movies looked like X-Men. Also the refreshing lack of Wolverine, despite his one great line. 

The Wolverine had so much potential as it's 2/3rds a good movie sans the odd pacing problems and awkward lack of blood. Speaking of Wolverine (and Mystique for the matter), these 2 characters are now getting over exposed. I get Wolverine is a fan favorite (largely due to the 90s) but that scene in Apocalypse was the most insultingly superfluous part of the movie. Everything about it reeked of post production interference. 

I can go on about how the Fox movies are not getting any better. X-Men Apocalypse already proved that by retreading X2's premise, and having a mulligan with Jean Grey only then already ruining it by reintroducing a certain bird far too quickly. 

Also the Quicksilver scene was alright the first time I saw it. It was nice to have a live action version of the Futurama coffee speed scene, but retreading it again felt like it lost it's charm. And that sucks when that's the only time Quicksilver is ever useful and tolerable. And agreed about Magneto. It sucks that they have 2 great actors playing him, and the character is wasted by constantly repeating the same usual arc. 

Agreed about Fan Bingbing.  In which case, I'd probably just go watch Shaolin instead. And maybe Skiptrace or Future X Cops if I go bonehead mode...


----------



## Ibanezsam4

finally saw BvS.. 

i won't re-tread the criticism, because everyone at this point knows how the movie fell flat. 

however, i will say i like what they tried to do.. the execution is awful and the need to shoehorn the justice league into the film was awkward (opening the email files should've been an end-credit sequence, the Flash vision should never have been shot). 

the strongest part of the film is Batfleck's introduction with metropolis being destroyed, everything after that is piling on IMO


----------



## wankerness

Ibanezsam4 said:


> the strongest part of the film is Batfleck's introduction with metropolis being destroyed, everything after that is piling on IMO



That scene is flat-out awesome IMO. I didn't like the movie as a whole, but I have nothing bad to say about that.


----------



## flint757

wankerness said:


> That scene is flat-out awesome IMO. I didn't like the movie as a whole, but I have nothing bad to say about that.



Completely agreed. It was a great scene and was a nice way to introduce Superman as a perceived villain to Batman. It's a damn shame the rest of the film didn't match up to it.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Ibanezsam4 said:


> finally saw BvS..
> 
> i won't re-tread the criticism, because everyone at this point knows how the movie fell flat.



Don't worry. I'll probably end up retreading it anyway.  BvS will continue suffering my wrath with the fury of a thousand suns. 


Some other movies I happen to squeeze in:

*ParaNorman*

I missed out on this during it's initial run. But I'm unfamiliar with Laika movies, and needed a pre-taste before I go see Kubo And The Two Strings. It's borderline horror for children especially by the third act, but it's enjoyable overall. 

*The Three Musketeers (2011)*

It was on TV and I got curious. I didn't even know this existed and I don't think anybody ever asked for a 3 Musketeers movie. The new aesthetic throws in future steampunk elements that harken vintage Final Fantasy games (namely the airships), something I thought I could get on board. Except this movie sucked. 

Sidebar: Poor Christoph Waltz really isn't doing himself any favors here. More or less a ball itch between the 2 Tarrantino movies that, good lord, both earned him Oscars. After seeing Green Hornet and Spectre, this is now the third movie I've seen Waltz being horrible. I heard he was in the new Tarzan film so looks like I'm gonna give that my biggest DGAF gestures.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

wankerness said:


> That scene is flat-out awesome IMO. I didn't like the movie as a whole, but I have nothing bad to say about that.



indeed. the more i thought about it i realized that scene is a great example of "show don't tell" whereas the rest of the movie is wasted with needless exposition


----------



## MFB

Been watching a lot of movies lately, and I love it. I'll give the quick run down:

_Paper Towns_ - 8/10

Coming of age movie that's about loving someone vs. the idea of that person, and projecting onto them; are they really what you want, or do you think that they'll be that? Etc... I really related to it for a number of reasons.

_Sleeping With Other People_ - 8/10

Re-watched for the first time since I saw it last year. Still great.

_Fantastic Four_ (2015) - 2/10

Well, this is certainly a movie. That's the best I can say about it, is that there is characters and an arc in some form.

_Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ - 7/10

I have no problem admitting I'm a massive TMNT fanboy, so there's bias towards the franchise here; but I genuinely feel once they get the self-aware-"yes, we realize we're trying to make something ridiculous grounded in reality," out of the way, this is a solid origins movie.

_San Andreas_ - 2/10

My only incentives to keep watching this were crapping on the script, and Alexandra Daddario.

_Don't Breathe_ - 9/10

I don't know who I was rooting for more, but this was fantastic from start to finish.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3398788/

What the Hell was that???!!!
Judging by the name I thought it'd be about a haunted hotel with a gate to Hell or something.
Damn how I was wrong.
I can't tell if it's good or bad cause it was such a big surprise, if the goal was to surprise it succeded but if the goal was to make a great movie, it failed.
I gotta say I was expecting anything but that stuff.
Sometimes I  , sometimes I  , sometimes I  , sometimes I


----------



## Alberto7

MFB said:


> _Paper Towns_ - 8/10
> 
> Coming of age movie that's about loving someone vs. the idea of that person, and projecting onto them; are they really what you want, or do you think that they'll be that? Etc... I really related to it for a number of reasons.



You made me super curious, since those are themes I relate to as well, so I went and watched it right away. Man... the feels. So many. Not a genius movie or anything, but it felt very honest and its message spoke to me quite a lot. There are also a lot of great little comedic gold nuggets scattered throughout the movie. It was a blast.


----------



## wankerness

I always hear Cara Delevingne referred to as one of the most bland, interchangeable actresses of today, and it kinda put me off watching that one. Does she acquit herself, or is she not part of why it's good?


----------



## MFB

She's not in it a great deal, but she reminds me of a middle ground between Emma Stone and Kristen Stewart. She definitely sounds like Stone, but the script didn't have her character doing much emoting.


----------



## flint757

It's a nice feel good movie. I was pleasantly surprised because the trailer for it made it seem like a romantic comedy/drama and it really wasn't. Cara Delevingne's character, or perhaps just the way she acts, is very bland even in this film, but as MFB said she isn't in the film much at all, despite being the main characters motivation. Without giving much of anything away the rest of the cast spends most of the film looking for her; so she's in part of the beginning and end, that's about it.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> She's not in it a great deal, but she reminds me of a middle ground between Emma Stone and Kristen Stewart. She definitely sounds like Stone, but the script didn't have her character doing much emoting.



Both of them are really good (well, when they're in good movies, aka not Twilight or Aloha). Do you just mean physically?


----------



## Alberto7

^ Cara Delevingne's character doesn't really do much that requires her to convey many different emotions, so it's hard to tell just how good she is. I felt like she got the job done, but I didn't think anything of it. Thinking about it now, she probably could have acted it out a bit better towards the end of the film. Her character definitely could have been made more interesting, and I feel like better acting would have helped with that.

I did find the supporting cast to be really good though.


----------



## A-Branger

realy loved that movie. The end was awesome, I really liked that it wasnt anything like you would expect from a hollywood movie. And I kinda felt an "ouch" moment during the movie, like "yup, been there, done that... prob one too many times"


----------



## A-Branger

wankerness said:


> So there's one woman character in the whole thing? I guess that's better than the game.
> 
> I saw Sausage Party, it was terrible. I didn't laugh a single time. 90% of the jokes are just HAHA THEY ARE CGI CUTESY AND SAY NAUGHTY WORDS IN EVERY SENTENCE HAHahaha. The dialogue is SO forced, regular sentences have f*** and s*** stuck in them all over and it just sounds bad. I'm all for excessive profanity (heck, I just went to see Louis CK a couple weeks ago and laughed my ass off), but this was really badly written. I like that it was attempting to be like Pixar in that it isn't simply an empty situation, it's trying to take on ideas of faith and has existential crises and whatnot, but it's all so stupidly done. And the douche character might have been timely in about 2006 or whenever The Situation was popular, but it's like one of those deals where it's not remotely amusing but the filmmakers clearly thought it was hilarious so the scenes go on and on and have so much mugging and restating of the "joke."
> 
> For reference, I love Superbad, don't really remember Pineapple Express, and don't really remember This is the End. I think I liked This is the End alright and was sort of bored by Pineapple Express. I almost always like Seth Rogen as an actor and even if he turns terrible I will always sort of love him for Freaks and Geeks (especially the scene where he interrupts Jason Segal's love song). But as a writer, this sure takes him down several notches in my view.



I just saw it at the cinema and I was coming here to say the same words. Just though to check first lol

I loved the idea of an adult film pixar style, and the whole deaths of the food items and the two realities POVs, like normal ppl and then the foods POV being murderer was pretty clever and funny... but that was it.

Poor story/script and waaaaaaaaaay too over used the F word. Its like you denny it to a kid for so long that when the time came to let him use it, he does in every sentence. They are trying to be "funny" far far far too much. Using curse words does not equal funny. Seriusly this was the most "fart joke" movie ever, they try to relly on th emost dumbest kind of comedy ever. "hey do you whats funny, have a character say F*% while the other one farts, and they they smoke weed, and say boob..." ......"fricking genius!!!!" 

Plus I found reaaaally anoying the whole thing with the wrap and the baggle. Like "yeah ha......ha.... they are like the religions who are at war......you know because the food they eat......ha........ha?...." it was "funny" for the first split second, but they hung up to that joke for so long that it became annoying.

I think Seth Rogen is becoming the new Adam Sandler. He came, he did couple of great funny movies, now because hollywood loves him he does what he wants with his buddies, without noticing that hes just trying too hard to be funny, reliying at the most simple "fart jokes", but everyone s prob afraid to tell him, so they laugh, which makes ppl think hes better so they give more money and do something even dumber but people laugh because "he is Seth Rogen and I supose to laugh" so the money circle keeps going on and on.


but..... there waas quite a few people laughing as hard as they could during the movie, including a guy who clearly already saw the movie..... so


----------



## wankerness

When I saw it the theater was probably 1/3 full. I think most of the audience seemed to enjoy it at least a bit, at least SOMEONE laughed at almost everything, but it wasn't like the whole audience ever was.

I really like Seth Rogen historically and I hope he doesn't go the Sandler route. I don't think he will, partly because he just nailed a really good serious role in Steve Jobs. Then again, Sandler did a couple mostly serious roles, one of which was in a really good movie (Punch Drunk Love), before going back to even worse traditional roles, so who knows.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1610996/

I love it.
I really loved the mood, it slowly swallowed me and made me wanna know what the hell was really happening.
For me the best was it kept making me thinking if it was real or imagination, it kept giving clues like if it was something surreal or like if it was something real so I kept collecting clues but I had no clue what was happening.
The only thing I'd change......in fact not change but cut off would be the last 2 seconds which finally gives the last clue.If it was my movie for sure I'd never give that last clue, I'd let it open for everybody to have their own interpretation. 
Still I love it.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Just got back from seeing _War Dogs_ at the theater. I usually never go to the theater, but I got an invite and a free ticket. So, I figured might as well go.

Alright movie. Just alright. Some solid, funny moments. Jonah Hill is literally the only thing that made the movie even remotely memorable though, (his role as Efraim in _War Dogs_ is similar to his role as Donnie in _The Wolf of Wall Street_), and you can tell that the movie was really riding on his performance.


----------



## wankerness

I almost went to that movie by accident thinking it was the new Mel Gibson movie. Thank god my friend vetoed it, since I didn't find out it wasn't the Mel Gibson movie until they played a trailer for the damn thing (war dogs) before the movie we DID end up watching  That was one terrible trailer, it made me really never want to see it. Partly cause Miles Teller is such an aggravating dude.


----------



## A-Branger

I saw it too, though it was pretty good. Not GREAT, but pretty good. Cool movie to watch and eat some popcorn


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

A-Branger said:


> Cool movie to watch and eat some popcorn


Yep. ^ This. It's just a good time-filler or a distraction. And when it's over, you won't remember anything about the movie except for Jonah Hill.


----------



## wankerness

Why would you rather watch something like that than a good movie? I don't get how "time-wasting and unmemorable" is a recommendation!


----------



## Alberto7

I don't know how I ever went about living life without having watched _Office Space_. Now I finally get that half of the internet I never quite understood.  Really spoke to me, sadly enough.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> Why would you rather watch something like that than a good movie?


Because...


Emperor Guillotine said:


> Just got back from seeing _War Dogs_ at the theater. I usually never go to the theater, but I got an invite and a free ticket. So, I figured might as well go.


Reading is a good thing, yes? 

Someone invited me to go with them (and to pay for the ticket). So I went.


----------



## A-Branger

wankerness said:


> Why would you rather watch something like that than a good movie? I don't get how "time-wasting and unmemorable" is a recommendation!



because there is nothing else "good" enough lol

Im a bit of a Cinema adict. Love to go to the cinema, get my popcorn, bag of chips or candy, sit and enjoy a big screen with massive sound. When I already saw other things listed, I now watch this one


Having say that, I also watched The Shallows. I really liked that one, she is soooo hawt <3 Im in love lol..... the ending is "cartoonish", the way she gets rid of the shark I mean. And the hollywood cliche after that, but movie was pretty cool tho

Also saw Ben Hur.... Pretty cool too


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Because...
> Reading is a good thing, yes?
> 
> Someone invited me to go with them (and to pay for the ticket). So I went.



I was responding to your last post ("Yep. ^ This. It's just a good time-filler or a distraction. And when it's over, you won't remember anything about the movie except for Jonah Hill.") because I just read it and the prior post, not who posted them. So, I read your post carefully, and didn't read who posted it or connect it to the one from the two days before. 

I saw the Iron Giant after over 15 years of hearing it hyped as one of the best animated movies of all time. Unsurprisingly, it didn't quite live up to expectations, but it was damn good!


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1974419/

Visually it's a freaking beautiful film, each scene has a lot of messages based only on visual stuff, it made me think about Guillermo del Toro who loves to play with colors.

To me the story is not in the the same level as the visual stuff, it's not a bad story but there are deeper things said visually than by the story.If the visual stuff was just ordinary, it'd be just an ordinary horror film.

A ton of metaphors are throw in our faces and the cool thing is, just like some other films we read about how some stuff were made, who knows if those metaphors were all well thought or if they happened because those ideas came during the shooting without any idea behind them like, "hey if we do this it will look good" etc, stuff that came naturally because of what was happening and not because they were well thought.

So its visual took the story to a higher level.
I like the mood so I really enjoyed.
You don't know if what's happening is real or imagination until .... hits the fan and even after you're still submerged in that mood that takes time to your mind to surface.


----------



## Random3

So I watched a fair few films the last couple of days.

Mission Impossible, Mission Impossible II, Sicario, Black Dynamite, Pandorum, Megamind and Ip Man.

Standouts are Sicario and Ip Man.

Sicario was awesome all the way through, not much else to say. Very good film.

Ip Man actually had a plot which made a nice change from most other martial arts films I've seen. Not exactly what I was expecting but still very good.

I am a sucker for sci-fi so I actually found Pandorum quite enjoyable. I thought the cannibal space monster people to be slightly too cliche, and the space-induced madness wasn't explored as much as I wanted it to be, but it was enjoyable and had some cool ideas.

Megamind was better than I was expecting. The trailers didn't really do the film justice to be honest, and the film was basically carried by Will Ferrell being Will Ferrell which is enough if you like Will Ferrell.

Black Dynamite was hilarious. Like I haven't seen anything quite like it. The closest I can think of was Airplane and even that isn't a great comparison. Like some of the comedy came from places I haven't even seen comedy come from in other films. If you like absurdist humor I would highly recommend this even if you have know interest/knowledge of blaxploitation like myself.

Mission Impossible was good up until the absurd end sequence on the train. Like the entire film, whilst not trying to be 100% realistic, was at least believable in it's own universe. Then they manage to fit two trains and a helicopter inside the Channel Tunnel at the same time, without crashing the helicopter despite it being tethered to the train. That was ridiculous.

Mission Impossible II was absurd the whole way through, but very enjoyable. There are so many "wait... what?!" moments throughout that if you think about for more than 5 seconds they totally fall apart (like why Tom Cruise brought a mask of his own face along for the final act just in case) but in having a totally different tone to the first one it managed to be campy, over the top and more enjoyable as a result.


----------



## wankerness

I've seen Black Dynamite a few times over the years, and as I see more blaxploitation movies, I see that a lot of the humor comes directly out of those. Dolemite/The Human Tornado (the two more famous Rudy Ray Moore movies) in particular are a HUGE influence on it, a ton of the jokes in Black Dynamite are practically straight out of their ridiculousness. A lot of it isn't really like Airplane where they make jokes, it's just taking the absurdity that already existed in the genre and putting it straight onto screen (which I guess Airplane did a bit in taking some dialogue straight out of Zero Hour). About the only thing in them NOT in black dynamite is the hilariously gratuitous nudity (including from the hero). They had a hero that was a kung fu master (but the actor was TERRIBLE at it), he spoke mainly in rhyming schemes in a super serious voice, whitey was always coming up with outrageous schemes to bring him down, boom mics were visible at the top of the screen sometimes, etc.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Random3 said:


> Sicario was awesome all the way through, not much else to say. Very good film.
> 
> Ip Man actually had a plot which made a nice change from most other martial arts films I've seen. Not exactly what I was expecting but still very good.



The only thing i didn't like about Sicario were the CIA's motivations being revealed at the end. much like how Bane being completely badass in TDKR is rendered meaningless when he's revealed not to be the main villain, Emily Blunt's true purpose makes her value as a character drop substantially. Disappointing because she is set up so well. 

if you liked Ip Man and love unorthodox martial arts films, check out Wong Kar Wai's The Master. It's still the Ip Man story, but i love what he did with the material. not a lot of action sequences, but the ones that are there are beautiful


----------



## Random3

Ibanezsam4 said:


> The only thing i didn't like about Sicario were the CIA's motivations being revealed at the end. Emily Blunt's true purpose makes her value as a character drop substantially. Disappointing because she is set up so well.


 
SPOILERS

If you are talking about the bit I think you are, I thought that worked as intended. The idea that she sets out in the beginning to legitimately make a difference and stop the guys who blew .... up at the start with a by-the-book attitude, only to find that actually she is being used by the CIA as a pawn purely to give them jurisdiction to operate in the way that they were without breaking the law. So she ends up doing what she initially set out to do, but completely destroys her sense of morality in the process.



Ibanezsam4 said:


> if you liked Ip Man and love unorthodox martial arts films, check out Wong Kar Wai's The Master. It's still the Ip Man story, but i love what he did with the material. not a lot of action sequences, but the ones that are there are beautiful



Yeah I heard about that one when I read up on Ip Man after watching it.

I'm kinda new to the genre to be honest. Not including American films, the ones I have seen are both Raid films which are among my favourite movies, Enter The Dragon which I felt suffered from being incredibly dated, and Kung Fu Hustle which was totally unique and I loved every minute of it.

I have Unleased, The One and Merantu on my watch list but I might need help finding more.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Random3 said:


> Yeah I heard about that one when I read up on Ip Man after watching it.
> 
> I'm kinda new to the genre to be honest. Not including American films, the ones I have seen are both Raid films which are among my favourite movies, Enter The Dragon which I felt suffered from being incredibly dated, and Kung Fu Hustle which was totally unique and I loved every minute of it.
> 
> I have Unleased, The One and Merantu on my watch list but I might need help finding more.



Depending on what you're in the mood for (be it epic stories, slapstic comedy, realism or wire fu wuxia), I can recommend some without going overboard.


----------



## Random3

Anything with incredible and/or brutal displays of martial arts as in the Raid films I am sure I would enjoy.Weird cartoon/comic book-esque stuff like Kung Fu Hustle I would definitely give a go as well.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Random3 said:


> Anything with incredible and/or brutal displays of martial arts as in the Raid films I am sure I would enjoy.Weird cartoon/comic book-esque stuff like Kung Fu Hustle I would definitely give a go as well.



Check out Merantau. It's the precursor to the Raid films as it's also directed by Gareth Evans and also stars Iko Uwais. Not as hyper but still delivers. 

Speaking Uwais, also check out Man Of Tai Chi. Keanu Reeves directed and stars as the bad guy, and does a surprisingly good job. 

Anything similar of the fast/violent types of movies, Tony Jaa's first Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector aka WHERE'S MY DAMN ELEPHANT) are essential. Sure, interchange buddha head and elephant and you have the same movie, but you're watching Tony Jaa beat people stupid and that's what you want him to do. Everything he's done hasn't been so hot, though Tom Yum Goong 2 isn't too bad. It's got the star from Chocolate (another MA film you'll be adding afterwards), and even the RZA. I suppose The Man With The Iron Fists gives some martial arts cred. 

For something similar to Kung Fu Hustle, there's always other Stephen Chow movies. He did Shaolin Soccer prior to Hustle and even did a Japanese spinoff Shaolin Girl. Other than those (and maybe King of Beggars), there's not much else worth noting as Chow often jumps between genres like comedy, sci-fi etc often eschewing martial arts. 

Hustle itself is a unique animal. It's a meta humour movie that has oodles of references to classic Hong Kong cinema by showing love for it as well as poking fun at it. The closest that come to it are Jackie Chan's golden age era and early Jet Li films where he was bald and smiled a lot more, which incidentally also movies that Hustle pokes fun at.


----------



## wankerness

Kung Fu Hustle is frustrating since the beginning has one of the greatest extended martial arts scenes of all time and the rest is merely good.


----------



## Alberto7

I'm not very well versed in martial arts films in general, but I thought Kuro-obi (Black Belt, in English) was a fantastic movie. No fancy tricks or special effects. The lead actors are actual karate experts, and quite renowned in the case of Naka Tatsuya, who plays the antagonist. More plot than there is actual fighting, and its got an actual historical setting, much like Ip Man. When there is fighting, it is absolutely great. Full disclosure: I do practice karate, so I am biased.


----------



## mongey

Home sick from work yesterday with flu watched goodfellas for first time in a while. 

Such a great movie even if Liotta stinks in a few parts.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Been a bit slow these past few weeks:

*Imitation Game*

Large historical inaccuracies aside, it's a solid above average Oscar bait. This was essentially the vehicle for Benedict Cumberbatch to jump from tumblr icon to good actor.


----------



## Random3

I also watched Imitation Game a couple of days ago along with a few other films. Here's my thoughts.

Kingsman. This was an extremely fun film which managed to be totally ridiculous and also totally aware of how ridiculous it was. I am a big fan of all of his films and this one is possibly my favourite. A couple of characters weren't quite as fleshed out as the others but apart from that I don't really have any complaints.

The Good Dinosaur. This one was ok. The animation was fantastic, particularly the environment. The characters seemed very cartoony in comparison to the relatively realistic environment, but even so as a whole it looked very good. The plot was a bit too derivative though. It was basically Lion King meets Ice Age meets Brave. It also wasn't particularly funny, apart from maybe one or two moments. I haven't seen Cars 2 or Finding Dory but out of all of the others I would say The Good Dinosaur is easily the weakest.

Whiplash. Holy .... this film was intense. Extremely well made film, reminded me of Black Swan in places. JK Simmons was fantastic. I liked that the film didn't spoon-feed everything to you, and the ending was perfect.

The Immitation Game. Another extremely good film. The plot was engaging and Cumberbatch was brilliant, even if he was slightly too Sherlock-y in some scenes. One thing that stuck out slightly was Keira Knightly. She was by no means bad, but Oscar nominee? There were at least two other actors in the film, aside from Cumberbatch that gave better performances IMO.

Ex Machina. So this was a film. I absolutely love sci-fi movies, even bad ones can be enjoyable, but Ex Machina was pretty unique. It had an almost minimalist style, and it was not even really an effects heavy film which makes it even more impressive that it beat out films with 10x it's budget for the Oscar. The whole concept I found to be very interesting. I did predict a couple of the reveals, not that that diminished the film in any way, but one other complaint which I think anyone here will know what I mean, is that it should have ended 5 minutes earlier. The plot resolves, and the script ends, and then the film keeps on going for a few minutes. Nothing actually happens during those few minutes, and I feel there was a far more natural ending point for the film than what they opted for. Maybe I will change my mind after a second watch.

So yeah, Kingsman 8/10, Good Dinosaur 6/10, Whiplash 9/10, Immitation Game 9/10 and Ex Machina 8/10.


----------



## Duosphere

Random3 said:


> The Good Dinosaur. This one was ok. The animation was fantastic, particularly the environment. *The characters seemed very cartoony* in comparison to the relatively realistic environment, but even so as a whole it looked very good. The plot was a bit too derivative though. It was basically Lion King meets Ice Age meets Brave. It also wasn't particularly funny, apart from maybe one or two moments. I haven't seen Cars 2 or Finding Dory but out of all of the others I would say The Good Dinosaur is easily the weakest.



You know kids will watch it too so real looking dinosaurs wouldn't feel friendly to kids, real dinosaurs are not friendly and don't act like humans 
Their choice for "cartoony" dinos were all about how kids could relate to them, real dinos would be a horror movie to kids 
Yep environment is surreal


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Watched Trumbo last night.

This has now become my ultimate first amendment movie. plus actors who don't look like historic actors pretending to be those historic actors is hilarious. it's not as bad as Timothy Spall cast as Winston Churchill.. but John Wayne is almost at that level


----------



## awake69

Just watched Krull last night.....


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Got to watch 2 more over the weekend:

*Hunt For The Wilderpeople*

Ever since seeing What We Do In The Shadows, I've been eyeing everything that Taika Waititi has ever done. He did write some episodes of Flight Of The Conchords after all. Between Shadows, Boy and Wilderpeople, all his movies are all of different genres with an undercurrent of Wellingtonian yet fun and witty comedy. Wilderpeople in particular is deceptive in it's previews and results in a fun, heartfelt and sincere adventure through the beautiful New Zealand landscape, while having a hell of a laughingly good time in the process. The 2 leads are amazing. Sam Neill is as solid as ever and newcomer Julian Dennison is a revelation. Rhys Darby once again does another show stealer here too. Highly recommended. And after seeing this, I'm honestly both baffled and intrigued at what the hell Waititi is going to bring to Thor: Ragnarok. I did enjoy the candid preview for that actually, and I do want to see Rhys Darby there somewhere...

*Insidious: Chapter 3*

Another horror franchise by fellow Melbournians James Wan and Leigh Whannell... a genre both men have proven to do best at. I've always been rooting for these guys since seeing the first Saw movie (everything after and including 3 didn't happen for me) and the Conjuring. The first Insidious movie was another home run. The second one while solid with an awesome idea, has a major trope flaw. Chapter 3, at this point being a prequel sort of feels same-y at this point, and the little callbacks and fannying about just tone down the shock moments, plays it safe and make you play 'spot the foreshadowing'. The third act does bring the movie back up and it's always fun to see fellow Recovery illumine Angus Sampson (it's an 90s Aussie thing) in these movies. It's the weakest of the three (a common thread in practically every trilogy ever), but still solid scare film nonetheless.


EDIT: Saw another in movie just now. It was on TV so...

*Cowboys And Aliens*

The title alone should mean that this should be a goofy but fun and interesting romp, but unfortunately, the title is the most and only interesting part of the movie. All the 'cowboy' characters are painfully trope driven with no transcendence from it, sans Harrison Ford, who seems to be the only one making a conscious effort of trying to make this fun. This is made by a group of talented cast and crew but it just didn't feel like their usual standards. The screenwriters (3 of them are kinda part of JJ Abrams mentorship) all borrow the worst habits from him: namely proudly setting up for a surprise that you either see coming from a mile away, or just disappointingly anticlimactic (coughIntoDarknesscough). By the second act, it felt all boring, which sucks when you have a concept that the title is suggesting. If you want a film with a similar premise done better, just go watch Attack The Block instead.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

I know I'm about a year late, but I finally got around to watching _Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens_.

All hype. If the "Star Wars" name wasn't attached to the film, it would be just another sci-fi B-movie that you'd rather catch as a TV feature instead of seeing it in theaters. Don't get me wrong, it is very awesome and nostalgic seeing the old, familiar faces of the original cast. That brought a smile to my face. And there are a few fun, exciting scenes that stand out a bit from the mundane action sequences. But outside of that, the film is just all hype. You could write an entire dissertation on the plot holes, the loose ends, the very thin character development, the over-reliance on nostalgia or over-reliance on a few emotional moments, and a few flaws of modern film-making (particularly under J.J. Abrams' direction and production) that take away from the film.


----------



## Xaios

Went and saw Arrival last weekend. Quite enjoyed it, and it has one of the best plot twists I've seen in quite a while.


----------



## mongey

awake69 said:


> Just watched Krull last night.....



man I loved that movie back in the day . don't think I've seen it for 30 years. gonna have to find a decent stream


----------



## CapnForsaggio

Xaios said:


> Went and saw Arrival last weekend. Quite enjoyed it, and it has one of the best plot twists I've seen in quite a while.



Yeah, what's that? The terminator-style time paradox at the crux of the movie...? Terrible. Just complete failure.

I can't believe that sci fi has to be so dumbed down at this point that they RELY on temporal paradox as a plot device! It used to just be the result of oversight/less developed plot lines. Now it is central.

Example: When you send a man back in time to be your own father. Or:

When the main character gets information from a future that is unlikely to exist, unless they have the information they need from that unlikely future.

0/10 Arrival Movie is not scifi. It is a poor new age love story with some great sci fi CGI.


----------



## MFB

Boy, good thing I didn't want to know the twist of Arrival because I now know it.

You know - the movie that came out on days ago and unless you had planned to see immediately, would have preferred people not openly posting plot points.


----------



## wankerness

It's a really, really great movie even if you see the twist coming. That guy's criticisms are inane and make it sound like he either didn't watch the movie, or was expecting something COMPLETELY different than what it was aiming for. It sounds like he's parroting something from one of those idiotic youtube "critics" that just attempt to find plot holes in the underlying mechanics and nothing else. They totally ignore everything the movie was actually trying to do to focus on the minutiae. It reminds me of people that are like "lol gravity is tha worst movie ever cuz George Clooney momentum in outer space WTF!!!" It's fine to notice that, but to base your ENTIRE DISMISSAL of a movie on it...man. Just stick to your physics textbooks.

If he was looking for a movie about time travel mechanics he should have gone and watched Timecrimes or Primer or something. Arrival is focusing much more on communication and the mother/daughter bond.


Spoiler



The time travel is central to the latter theme and


 it's NOT a plot-driven movie. It's about emotion and themes. It's closer to something like the back end of Looper in that way, where the time travel mechanics aren't focused on very much and characters are (though I'd argue it's about twice as good as Looper). If this infuriates you, this isn't the movie for you.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> Arrival is focusing much more on communication and the mother/daughter bond.



Is it safe to say that Arrival is close to Contact (1997) with Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey? Not alike in plot but human to human to alien contact/bond?


----------



## wankerness

Rosal76 said:


> Is it safe to say that Arrival is close to Contact (1997) with Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey? Not alike in plot but human to human to alien contact/bond?



Yes, it has been getting compared to that a lot. I liked Contact quite a bit, but I thought this was much better. It also has some similarities with some of the more touchy-feely ideas in Interstellar, though it is a much more mature, less cringe-worthy version.

It ended up reminding me of the moral of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Basically, if you like thoughtful, humanist sci-fi, like the very best Trek episodes, and aren't some kind of pedantic supernerd who just cares about the mechanics of plots and technologies, you will probably love it. It needs the attention, too! It's sad that such a great movie got hammered at the box office by a CGI movie about trolls, but not surprising. (Yeah, I know Trolls is actually supposed to be pretty good considering the subject!)

The same director did Sicario, and there are some vague similarities in bits. The first approach to the ships from the human point of view has some definite similarities to that terrifying drive through the city towards the beginning of Sicario. It REALLY puts you into the feeling of what it might be to experience that. It's definitely not a scary movie, but that scene kind of is. It's awesome.

I'm going to watch Enemy this week, I've been hearing a lot about how great that is in discussions of this movie (a lot of people saying "I liked Enemy more, but this is a really, really good movie too").


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> Basically, if you like thoughtful, humanist sci-fi, like the very best Trek episodes, and aren't some kind of pedantic supernerd who just cares about the mechanics of plots and technologies, you will probably love it.



Cool. I'll definitely want to see it now. Getting older, I'm more focused on the drama and story of movies more than anything else. I still like special effects but only if it's done in moderation. Not trying to change subjects, but looking back now, I actually enjoy the original Star Trek movie (1979), 2001: A space Odyssey (1968) and it's sequel, 2010: Odyssey 2 (1984) more than when I first watched them in the 1980's. Back then, I was like, "do these people have any light sabers or what?"


----------



## Rachmaninoff

*Coherence* (2013)

That's a crazy-ass movie, one of those you must at least twice to pick all details. The ending is awesome. I totally recommend, go watch it now.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Requiem For a Dream_ last night. That ending was powerful.


----------



## wankerness

Rachmaninoff said:


> *Coherence* (2013)
> 
> That's a crazy-ass movie, one of those you must at least twice to pick all details. The ending is awesome. I totally recommend, go watch it now.



That was kind of a cool one. It's definitely a puzzle-box sort of movie. I didn't feel entirely satisfied by it, but it's worth watching if you like weirdness. I was also amused seeing Xander from Buffy for the first time since Buffy!



Emperor Guillotine said:


> Watched _Requiem For a Dream_ last night. That ending was powerful.



I REALLY hated that movie the first time I saw it, it seemed like an artful after school special. "Drugs are bad. Drugs are really bad. You can never, ever have a good experience with drugs. Drugs are so bad that if you use them,


Spoiler



your arm will get amputated, your refrigerator will attack you, and a gigantic dildo will get shoved up your butt!!!!"



I've seen almost unanimous praise for it since then, though, so I am vaguely curious. I just had SUCH a negative reaction the first time that I think I might still feel the same way!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Trainspotting_ last night. Funny at times and flat-out disturbing at other times. There is a good balance between the black comedy elements and the raw, unsettling moments. Not really sure if I can formulate any real thoughts about the movie. It'll be interesting when _T2_ comes out next year considering that it has been 20 years since the original.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Pi_ last night. Very interesting, very Lynchian film.


----------



## MFB

_Green Room_ - 8/10

_Doctor Strange_ - 9/10

Probably gonna try and watch Kubo soon as well, expecting it to be on the same level as Doctor Strange, and it might even dethrone Zootopia as my animated film of the year if it's as good as hyped.


----------



## Kaura

Bad Santa 2

As funny as the first one if not funnier. My only complain is the young couple who were sitting next to me in the theater and who seemed to be more interested in each other than the movie. Next time stay at home and wait for the dvd release, ffs.


----------



## flint757

MFB said:


> _Green Room_ - 8/10
> 
> _Doctor Strange_ - 9/10
> 
> Probably gonna try and watch Kubo soon as well, expecting it to be on the same level as Doctor Strange, and it might even dethrone Zootopia as my animated film of the year if it's as good as hyped.



Doctor Strange left me unsatisfied for whatever reason. It was good, but I think I'm just not as impressed with super hero films anymore. I'm a bit suped out at the moment. 

Kubo is great. The story, pace, characters, and message are extremely well done. It's visually stunning stop motion as well. If you liked Coraline you'll like Kubo.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Nightcrawler_

Pretty good film. Dan Gilroy's debut as a director.


----------



## MFB

To me, Strange didn't feel as superhero as the rest of them, probably because we're now outside of 'I can beat this with my fists' type action. There were still fights yes, but it was another level that seems more like chess.

Kubo was amazing, and it just narrowly missed out to Zootopia for my animated film of the year. I saw the Beetle twist coming fairly quick, but it was still nice to see done. My biggest issue with Laika is that their work is so fvcking impressive with stop motion that I usually end up being brought out of the movie wondering how the hell they did that


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

It's been a year and a half, so I figured that I would watch _Ex Machina_ again. It didn't have that cold, visceral punch at the end since I knew what was going to happen, but the film continued to instill that sense of claustrophobia while also still being very entertaining upon a second viewing.

The first time you see it though, it does such an incredible job at keeping you as the audience/viewer guessing.


Spoiler



"Wait, machines can't develop emotions. Is Ava playing Caleb just to escape?"
"Nathan said that Ava's feelings were real. So she does have feelings for Caleb?"
"They are both saying conflicting things and Caleb is caught in the middle."
"Who is the evil antagonist here? Nathan or Ava?"
"What happened to the previous AI models before Ava?"
"Is Kyoko an AI too? Oh sh*t!"


----------



## bostjan

wankerness said:


> I REALLY hated that movie the first time I saw it, it seemed like an artful after school special. "Drugs are bad. Drugs are really bad. You can never, ever have a good experience with drugs. Drugs are so bad that if you use them,
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> your arm will get amputated, your refrigerator will attack you, and a gigantic dildo will get shoved up your butt!!!!"
> 
> 
> 
> I've seen almost unanimous praise for it since then, though, so I am vaguely curious. I just had SUCH a negative reaction the first time that I think I might still feel the same way!



I really didn't enjoy that film, for pretty much the same reasons you mentioned. The theme, to me, seemed like the entire film was the premise of the film, and then I really did not pick up on any development or subtlety. But then, I see a lot of rave reviews for films that are very singular in vision, yet lack all forms of subtlety, to me. Sometimes I get the thought that such films can be enjoyed if I'm in a certain mood or something, but either a) once I've decided I don't like a film, I cannot "undecide" that, or b) the film actually is bad.

There are also a *lot* of films pretty much universally panned, that I enjoy the hell out of, because I see stuff in them that either other people do not get, or the film makers maybe did not intend.

But...I think we all know how most of the general public decides how much they like a film, or a television program, and it's very simple:

A) How hot is the star/are the stars
B) How many explosions are there
C) T & A

That's really about it. Good stories are for books, it seems. Take a great plot line, an excellent script, stunning cinematography, and then throw in a fully clothed, ugly cast, and refrain from any blood, guts, nor explosions, and you will have a film that will die at the box office and get a <5 rating on IMDB.


----------



## extendedsolo

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I know I'm about a year late, but I finally got around to watching _Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens_.
> 
> All hype. If the "Star Wars" name wasn't attached to the film, it would be just another sci-fi B-movie that you'd rather catch as a TV feature instead of seeing it in theaters. Don't get me wrong, it is very awesome and nostalgic seeing the old, familiar faces of the original cast. That brought a smile to my face. And there are a few fun, exciting scenes that stand out a bit from the mundane action sequences. But outside of that, the film is just all hype. You could write an entire dissertation on the plot holes, the loose ends, the very thin character development, the over-reliance on nostalgia or over-reliance on a few emotional moments, and a few flaws of modern film-making (particularly under J.J. Abrams' direction and production) that take away from the film.



HOT TAKE ALERT: The first trilogy isn't that good either and suffers from many of the problems you listed here. I still love it though. It's a western set in space.



CapnForsaggio said:


> Yeah, what's that? The terminator-style time paradox at the crux of the movie...? Terrible. Just complete failure.
> 
> I can't believe that sci fi has to be so dumbed down at this point that they RELY on temporal paradox as a plot device! It used to just be the result of oversight/less developed plot lines. Now it is central.
> 
> Example: When you send a man back in time to be your own father. Or:
> 
> When the main character gets information from a future that is unlikely to exist, unless they have the information they need from that unlikely future.
> 
> 0/10 Arrival Movie is not scifi. It is a poor new age love story with some great sci fi CGI.



There isn't a single instance of time travel in that movie. I think you completely missed the point of anything, which is too bad.



wankerness said:


> It's a really, really great movie even if you see the twist coming. That guy's criticisms are inane and make it sound like he either didn't watch the movie, or was expecting something COMPLETELY different than what it was aiming for. It sounds like he's parroting something from one of those idiotic youtube "critics" that just attempt to find plot holes in the underlying mechanics and nothing else. They totally ignore everything the movie was actually trying to do to focus on the minutiae. It reminds me of people that are like "lol gravity is tha worst movie ever cuz George Clooney momentum in outer space WTF!!!" It's fine to notice that, but to base your ENTIRE DISMISSAL of a movie on it...man. Just stick to your physics textbooks.
> 
> If he was looking for a movie about time travel mechanics he should have gone and watched Timecrimes or Primer or something. Arrival is focusing much more on communication and the mother/daughter bond.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The time travel is central to the latter theme and
> 
> 
> it's NOT a plot-driven movie. It's about emotion and themes. It's closer to something like the back end of Looper in that way, where the time travel mechanics aren't focused on very much and characters are (though I'd argue it's about twice as good as Looper). If this infuriates you, this isn't the movie for you.





Spoiler



I know we may be splitting hairs here, but I don't read into anything being time travel in Arrival. The original story is partially about language and how it influences how you see the world. Similar to people who speak Mandarin are better overall at perfect pitch. The alien language itself when the characters learn it, alters their perception of reality. They experience every "time" simultaneously instead of linearly. It goes along with what you said about the mother-daughter bond but also kind of the theme of life experiences in general. In the book, she realizes she has a choice to undo it and still chooses to have her daughter every time. It's worded much more directly in the book, but then again it's only 40 pages.




If anyone is expecting a movie with space ships to be explosions and shooting, Arrival is not for you, maybe Independence Day 2 is more your speed. That's fine!



Movies I've watched lately
I've been on a bad horror movie binge lately

LIGHTS OUT- watchable! I would wait until it comes out on netflix though. I think the themes the writer was going for isn't super obvious to everyone and can be written off as just another jump scare movie, which is kind of sad.


Spoiler



when really it has to do with depression. A friend that has been following the mom around since childhood and causes 2 husbands to leave her. Haunts her kids and can attack them. Doesn't come into the light. It's a mental health metaphor



The Purge:Election Day-Another one I would wait until comes to Netflix. Not much else to say other than if you liked the first two you'll like this one

Don't Breathe- A super tense action/hostage movie that is worth your money. Yeah it can get a little far fetched, but I was on the edge of my seat for the most of it. Nothing too deep here just fun. 

Critters-Now I haven't watched this movie since I was a kid, but man it was obvious they were trying to make the critters fun and marketable. It's fine, it's a bad horror movie. The Critters tend to try to make jokes ala Gremlins, but it's rated R, not sure what they were going for here but if you are looking for a bad 80s horror movie look no further.

Whiplash- Intense. I just though the musical performances and the acting performances in this movie were top notch. Yeah, it's not this way in music schools anymore, but apparently it used to be! A movie that I will get sucked into when it's on cable from now until eternity. 

Star Trek:Beyond- If you like JJ Abrahms attempts in this series, this one's for you. Not that great in my opinion, but i think it's just overkill for me. Between this and Marvel, shiny action movies aren't doing it for me.

Midnight Special-I know there are a lot of Speilberg comparisons with this one, but I don't see them. A must see for any sci-fi fan.


----------



## wankerness

Critters was a PG-13! I liked the bounty hunters.


----------



## extendedsolo

wankerness said:


> Critters was a PG-13! I liked the bounty hunters.



You are right! I thought for the longest time that it was R from when I watched it as a kid. With the amount of violence, blood, and cursing in it I thought it was rated R. Would most likely not get a PG13 rating in 2016


----------



## mongey

watch bad mom with the wife and a few beers over the weekend

was what you expect from the "bad" movies. had a few good laughs in it


----------



## wankerness

extendedsolo said:


> HOT TAKE ALERT: The first trilogy isn't that good either and suffers from many of the problems you listed here. I still love it though. It's a western set in space.
> 
> 
> 
> There isn't a single instance of time travel in that movie. I think you completely missed the point of anything, which is too bad.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I know we may be splitting hairs here, but I don't read into anything being time travel in Arrival. The original story is partially about language and how it influences how you see the world. Similar to people who speak Mandarin are better overall at perfect pitch. The alien language itself when the characters learn it, alters their perception of reality. They experience every "time" simultaneously instead of linearly. It goes along with what you said about the mother-daughter bond but also kind of the theme of life experiences in general. In the book, she realizes she has a choice to undo it and still chooses to have her daughter every time. It's worded much more directly in the book, but then again it's only 40 pages.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If anyone is expecting a movie with space ships to be explosions and shooting, Arrival is not for you, maybe Independence Day 2 is more your speed. That's fine!
> 
> 
> Don't Breathe- A super tense action/hostage movie that is worth your money. Yeah it can get a little far fetched, but I was on the edge of my seat for the most of it. Nothing too deep here just fun.
> 
> Whiplash- Intense. I just though the musical performances and the acting performances in this movie were top notch. Yeah, it's not this way in music schools anymore, but apparently it used to be! A movie that I will get sucked into when it's on cable from now until eternity.
> 
> Star Trek:Beyond- If you like JJ Abrahms attempts in this series, this one's for you. Not that great in my opinion, but i think it's just overkill for me. Between this and Marvel, shiny action movies aren't doing it for me.
> 
> Midnight Special-I know there are a lot of Speilberg comparisons with this one, but I don't see them. A must see for any sci-fi fan.



RE: Arrival,


Spoiler



while there isn't time travel in the technical sense, the plot does hinge on her being able to use information from the linear future to save the present. It might as well be time travel, I'd say. I still haven't really puzzled out how I feel about that. I loved the movie, though, so I won't waste brain cells trying to pick at it.



Don't Breathe is a corker for the first 2/3 or so, but I don't know if I liked where the plot went after that. Jane Levy is great, again, after Evil Dead. She's really someone to watch in horror flicks. I was greatly amused when I looked her up on IMDB the other day and saw she was in .... like Victoria Justice movies when she was younger. She sure broke free of that and is really damn good in these two horror movies, which are about as far removed from "Fun Size" (which is a really pervy title for something starring jailbait Disney actresses!!) as you can get.

I didn't like Whiplash much, mainly because of its ludicrous depiction of jazz, but I should probably give it a second chance someday knowing in advance that it's basically a movie about a prog metal ensemble.

I haven't watched Star Trek Beyond, but I've heard a lot of people say it's better than the two JJ ones and more true to the spirit of the original series.

I saw Midnight Special in the theater, and was expecting to be blown away since I loved Mud so much, but I found it kind of boring and empty. Lots of people staring seriously at each other, not much substance, and I really didn't like the ending. I think it got more credit than it deserved just based on Nichols being the director (and it starring some heavy hitters).


----------



## synrgy

In the case of RFAD, I'd be inclined to think that much of what made the film popular was its cinematography. Granted - many viewers don't even realize that's what they're responding to, but that's often the case. In the interim since its release, we've become used to many of the techniques it helped make popular (or 'repopularize', depending on the technique in question) but at the time, it felt fresh.



Also, the soundtrack was an ear-worm and a half.

Aranofsky is a a bit hit-and-miss for me. I find RFAD similar to Black Swan in that each are brilliantly shot, and critically acclaimed despite being relatively lacking in story and character depth. I couldn't get through Noah, and Pi wasn't for me, either. That said, I thought The Wrestler was near-perfect (though thoroughly depressing). I _think_ I saw The Fountain, once, but I don't remember it at all.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Don't Breathe_ (2016)

Mediocre film, but it still is a welcome relief from the endless terrible remakes or pitiful, rehashed possession films that are currently trendy and have oversaturated the horror genre.

Fede Alvarez seems to be making a name for himself as a solid film-maker and director - especially considering that this is only his second feature film. He does a great job of maintaining a constant feeling of immense tension throughout the whole film.

Right when you think it's over.....SIKE! The films keeps going. It's pretty much just twist after twist along with a few of those "magical Hollywood escape" moments. Some may like it, some may not. But that well-executed, constant feeling of immense tension compensates a bit for some of the shortcomings.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_The Men Who Stare At Goats_

I have no idea why I watched this. It's been about half an hour, and I can't even remember any of it or recall anything about it - except that George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey were in it.


----------



## MFB

I felt the same way. Looked hilarious, watched it and still have zero clue why I kept going and what it was about


----------



## Rosal76

Just watched Regarding Henry (1991), starring Harrison Ford. Excellent movie but I've always liked Ford's drama based movies. Ford is a hard edge, by the books, sometimes asshole lawyer. One night he goes to buy cigarettes at the store and is shot by a thief, played by a young John Leguizamo. Ford falls into coma but finally wakes up. Having severe brain damage from the bullet, he has no memory of his former self and is a complete polar opposite of what he was. From hard edge, by the books, asshole lawyer to a more loving family man who prefers to be honest, treat people with dignity and enjoy life more than his job.

The general plot of this movie is not new. Character goes into a coma, wakes up later and is a changed, more positive person. Enjoy life and smell the roses kind of thing. If you enjoy those kind of movies then you'll probably like this one. Overall, I enjoyed Ford's performance.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

watched the live action Jungle Book disney crapped out last year. 

it was cool to look at, and bill murray is classic as always. but the movie sucks. 

mowgli doesn't even return to the humans at the end. a complete waste of character development. 

i just want a jungle book that gives us the real ending where mowgli recruits his old friend and a pissed off elephant to raze the human village. that would be great.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

I found out that Death Wish is being remade starring Bruce Willis (okay) and directed by Eli Roth (oh no) so I watched all five, one a day, this week.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Just watched The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Really enjoyed it, the practical effects were excellent, and it's a pretty unique horror movie. Highly recommend it for horror fans.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Virtual Combat / Grid Runners &#8211; A mid-90s straight to VHS movie about video games come to life that looks like it was filmed in the late 80s. Nothing beyond the world building in the first act is ever explained and that can only stem from the writers, who must have never played a video game in their lives, shoving what ever science fiction tropes they could think of into their (badly choreographed) martial arts movie. The villain magically shows up, has powers and abilities that negate the per-established world's reality, and speaks in voice over that's provided by Lieutenant Worf. The only two reasons to even watch this movie are Athena Massey's bare breasts, and even those you can see in any of her other movies.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Everyone, go watch Green Room right now. so freaking good


----------



## JD27

Just caught Hell or High Water on pay per view... Really good crime movie set in Western Texas. Same writer as Sicario (Which I loved) with Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Jeff Bridges.


----------



## MFB

Ibanezsam4 said:


> Everyone, go watch Green Room right now. so freaking good



Green Room is fvcking brutal from start to finish. It was tough to make it through some parts, but it was gnarly as .....

A24 is quickly becoming my favorite production company


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Green Room is fvcking brutal from start to finish. It was tough to make it through some parts, but it was gnarly as .....
> 
> A24 is quickly becoming my favorite production company



Green room was great. Check out blue ruin it's by the same director and it's pretty good too.


----------



## synrgy

I just caught Green Room, too. Pretty solid 'survival' flick, and one of the more underrated films of the year, I'd wager. Was probably worth it just to see Anton Yelchin (RIP  ) and co. covering Dead Kennedys' "Nazi Punks F**k Off" to a room full of skinheads.


----------



## wankerness

Green Room is anything but underrated. The number of "best of the year" lists I've seen that DON'T include it is tiny. I liked it quite a bit, but it's verging on overrated now, just because it seems like EVERYONE that watches it has to hype it up.


----------



## synrgy

Fair enough. I could have phrased better. By 'underrated' I guess I just meant that it flew mostly under the radar until it was available for streaming and/or 'of the year' lists started coming out recently.

In my defense: Within the context of movie reviews, the term 'underrated' is often used to describe films that are loved by critics and/or viewers but still managed to tank at the box office. My cursory research suggests that Green Room cost about $5mil to make, but made less than $4mil at the box office.


----------



## MFB

La La Land - 10/10

Realistically, I'm sure it's a 9/10 with time, but for right now I'm giving it a perfect score because of how much it ramps up in the last maybe 20 mins. I'd give more but it'd spoil it.

Seriously, I've given three movies a 10/10 this year, and maybe 10 in my whole life, but god damn was it impressive


----------



## USMarine75

Siege of Jadotville on Netflix - 9+/10 

A war movie for people that don't necessarily love traditional war movies.

Basically, the story of an Irish company that gets deployed, and fvcked over, as peacekeeping troops (on behalf of the UN) in the Congo in 1961.


----------



## JD27

USMarine75 said:


> Siege of Jadotville on Netflix - 9+/10
> 
> A war movie for people that don't necessarily love traditional war movies.
> 
> Basically, the story of an Irish company that gets deployed, and fvcked over, as peacekeeping troops (on behalf of the UN) in the Congo in 1961.



Saw it a few weeks back. My love for FALs forced me into it, but it was a really good movie. Another good one is 71', it's about a British soldier that gets separated from his unit and left behind in an IRA controlled area of Belfast in 1971.


----------



## USMarine75

JD27 said:


> Saw it a few weeks back. My love for FALs forced me into it, but it was a really good movie. Another good one is 71', it's about a British soldier that gets separated from his unit and left behind in an IRA controlled area of Belfast in 1971.



I'll have to check it out.


----------



## JD27

USMarine75 said:


> I'll have to check it out.


----------



## USMarine75

JD27 said:


>




Sold!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Green Room_

I had to watch it since you guys mentioned it here in the thread. Solid flick. Very memorable.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

71 and siege of jadotville are great films. I just rewatched I saw the Devil (korean serial killer/horror film). Super tense and really well done. Train to Busan is one of the best zombie movies ever imo.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> La La Land - 10/10
> 
> Realistically, I'm sure it's a 9/10 with time, but for right now I'm giving it a perfect score because of how much it ramps up in the last maybe 20 mins. I'd give more but it'd spoil it.
> 
> Seriously, I've given three movies a 10/10 this year, and maybe 10 in my whole life, but god damn was it impressive



I would like to see that very much, but I can't talk anyone else into going cause "musicals are dumb."


----------



## MFB

I went again tonight with my parents, and I stand by that perfect score. It's just as amazing the second time, and I hope to God it wins as many awards as it can for the soundtrack 

Screw everyone else man, I saw it alone at 11am and loved it. I know what I'm about, and it's quality films, so if someone wants to try and criticize you for doing the same, then fvck em


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Blue Ruin_

Another solid flick. Simple and stripped-down; definitely has that indie vibe since it was funded by a Kickstarter campaign, but nothing takes away from the film. It all plays out perfectly.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> I went again tonight with my parents, and I stand by that perfect score. It's just as amazing the second time, and I hope to God it wins as many awards as it can for the soundtrack
> 
> Screw everyone else man, I saw it alone at 11am and loved it. I know what I'm about, and it's quality films, so if someone wants to try and criticize you for doing the same, then fvck em



Yeah, I'll probably go at some point. I definitely ended up seeing Mad Max Fury Road alone for 3/6 times I went


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Catching up here... 

*Cap. America: Civil War* 

meh.... so very meh. it was so meh, i would consider BvS to be the better film if it weren't for the latter stretching itself 40 minutes too long. it's that meh. 

*Sing Street
*

this film is going to occupy the same spot in my heart that Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad holds due to it nailing what it feels like to be a teenage musician who taps into the potential of writing songs. good enough acting coupled with a great setting, sense of humor and me only understanding 75% of what that little red-head kid said. a movie worth seeing if you post on this board and you like 80s music. 

*Hail, Ceaser!* 

if you are familiar with American Golden-Age-of-Cinema history than this flick is entertaining until the ending drops you abruptly and you realize this was a slice of life film with no real point.... frack that. 

*How to Be Single*

when i dropped down on one knee, i knew that i wasn't marrying my wife for her taste in film. 

*The Peanuts Movie* 

Cool animation. Really cute. That's it. When will people learn Peanuts is more depressing than it is cute?

*Girl on the Train* 

it's a Lifetime movie with a budget. same as Gone Girl; gripping turns to plodding, turns to unremarkable by the time the credits roll


----------



## Duosphere

*Sing Street*

I love it.
So funny, so clever, so...............delicious.
Acting is so damn good, you feel not as acting but natural, I felt inside of it having fun, learning and growing up with them.

*Arrival *

Amazing!
Finally a smart alien film for people who can think.
No laser guns, no stupid battles, just a freakin' awesome message.
I couldn't find anything bad or poorly done, I have no complain about it, it kept me glued to the screen till the end and when it ended, I wanted more 2 hours. 
How I'd love to be part of something like that, I mean, in real life if that happens.Well, I'd love to be part of the film too  ........ 
I'm dying for a sequel..........2 sequels...............10 sequels


----------



## Ralyks

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. Also, Ratchet and Clank, which, to me at least, isn't nearly as bad as the reviews made it out to be (I also happen to be playing through the PS4 reboot as well).


----------



## Ibanezsam4

*The Nice Guys*

After watching this i'm pissed i never saw it in theaters and urge people to watch it pronto. any sort of revenue this film can get is for the best. Shane Black wants to make more films with these characters and it would be a sin if it never happened. 

*Arrival*

well made, well performed and what a twist! 

*Fantastic Beasts*

not bad for a film that only exists cause WB wants to build another wall on their money fort. 

*Hacksaw Ridge*

Required viewing for any war film junkie. Bravo Mr. Gibson for making another great film. i saw initial chatter about this film being a christian movie.. it isn't. in fact, a perfect litmus test for sexual reproduction should be if someone thought this was a christian movie. 

Andrew Garfield owned this role. Vince Vaughn.. surprisingly good.


----------



## Ralyks

Watched The Peanuts Movie and The Angry Birds Movie with my son the other day. Not bad. I don't watch too many movies on my own so usually its with my son. Actually enjoyed both movies quite a bit. Plus I'll always have a soft spot for Peanuts.


----------



## Demiurge

Got bored and watched that HBO documentary on those girls who stabbed their friend for Slenderman. It's a pretty sad & harrowing two hours that I could take or leave. While the combination of the recent-ness of the incident and the need to be sensitive probably made it impossible to get in-depth with that side, it seems that the actual victim was almost an afterthought. More was made about the tragedy of the perpetrators being so young and impressionable; granted, both seemed to be mentally ill with parents who were mind-f*ckingly clueless about their daughters' internal lives but still- they did a bad thing and it ain't exactly no-one's fault.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

The Fast and the Furious (for probably the 20th time)
London Has Fallen
Rampage: President Down


----------



## big_aug

Quick, I need to a cool movie to put on. Suggestions. Go!


----------



## wankerness

big_aug said:


> Quick, I need to a cool movie to put on. Suggestions. Go!



That's vague. Let's say Fast Five. I think the time here has passed though


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Get Out_

Equal parts both thriller and dark comedy. A balanced mix of satire and shocker. Watching the film makes it hard to believe that Jordan Peele (of _Key & Peele_) wrote and directed it.

Overall, the film is great and it is a tremendous directorial debut for Peele. But is it this &#8220;masterpiece&#8221; deserving a &#8220;100%&#8221; rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and deserving of all of the hype behind it? No.

The plot is a basic, hackneyed horror film plot that you&#8217;ve probably seen before (even multiple times). Peele just threw the race/ethnicity card into the writing formula as a way of providing social commentary and as a way of selling tickets. Everything is predictable from the very start up until the end of Act II into Act III (the climax) of the movie. Once Act III hits, the film takes an unexpected and very interesting turn, but it still falls victim to many horror movie clichés along the way until the resolution plays out.

The satire involving race/ethnicity in the plot of the film is sharp and cuts like a razor. You can&#8217;t help but to watch the film and think to yourself: &#8220;Man, that is some white people sh*t right there&#8221;. I am sure that _Get Out_ will draw many comparisons to _A Clockwork Orange_ due to the satire, the psychological damage (&#8220;controlling&#8221 inflicted upon the main character in the plot, and some of the stylistic choices in the filming. At one point, I was genuinely hoping that the film would&#8217;ve taken a Kubrick-inspired _Clockwork_ turn in regards to the action and the redemption of the main character. However, the two films pretty much have nothing else in common once _Get Out_ spirals down the typical modern horror film path. So if someone draws a comparison between the two films, then they don&#8217;t know what they are talking about.

All-in-all, _Get Out_ is a refreshing cross-genre flick in a time where the film industry seems to be over-saturated with sterile, generic, repetitive crap. The film is worth seeing. I&#8217;d even venture to say that it is worth seeing more than once when the DVD hits shelves. The few shocks and few laughs that are interspersed are incredibly well-executed, and they are spaced out enough that they keep the viewer entertained, even during the more sluggish parts of the plot, from start to finish. And with our society&#8217;s currently diminutive attention span, keeping a viewer entertained from start to finish is becoming a rare feat these days. Very well done, Peele. Just for that, I&#8217;ll give the film a solid 7 out of 10.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rewatched Hostel. still get a bit twitchy at the achilles tendon scene but overall the gore is done quite well (excluding the japanese girl's eyeball that was terribly done). It's still a solid b-grade horror movie imo.

Watched Burke and Hare which is based on a true story of 2 men in Scotland who murdered people due to the local medical school's demand for fresh corpses. It's a dark comedy with Simon Penn and Andy Serkis directed by John Landis (the director of American Werewolf in London, probably my favorite movie of all time). It's pretty funny in a dark ghoulish way, with some physical comedy thrown in for good measure.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Magnificent Seven (2016)*

Now, Seven Samurai is an untouchable classic. But it's also the song that's been covered so many times and it's acceptable to do so granted there's a new spin to it (pretty much can be said with all of Kurosawa's works actually). I've lost count on how many iterations and adaptations I've seen of this property (I'm going to count Three Amigos and Galaxy Quest here too) but I at least try to do so whenever possible. This reboot of a reboot is quite the fun film, if a tad on the safe side. Denzel Washington's character is more or less a note for note take on Yul Brynner's original, but it's Denzel so it's awesome nonetheless. And when it comes to this property it's all about the 7 archetypes, in this case, the rest of cast is awesome. Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ethan Hawke, Lee Byung-hun, Peter Sarsgaard... all did justice to their respective characters. Safe, but still fun overall.


----------



## extendedsolo

Demiurge said:


> Got bored and watched that HBO documentary on those girls who stabbed their friend for Slenderman. It's a pretty sad & harrowing two hours that I could take or leave. While the combination of the recent-ness of the incident and the need to be sensitive probably made it impossible to get in-depth with that side, it seems that the actual victim was almost an afterthought. More was made about the tragedy of the perpetrators being so young and impressionable; granted, both seemed to be mentally ill with parents who were mind-f*ckingly clueless about their daughters' internal lives but still- they did a bad thing and it ain't exactly no-one's fault.



I honestly think that the victim and her family did not want to be in the movie. I came away feeling bad for every party involved. It's obvious that this documentary is meant to show you a little more as to why it came to this point and how the perpetrator's families are dealing with it. Really they are are a different kind of victim in all of this. They didn't ask for it at all either and now their lives are forever changed. The one girl is probably schizophrenic which is something I never knew! Her dad is also! I'm not saying they don't deserve the punishment, but it's more of a thought of how it led to that point. The big question I had is why they were being questioned without a parent or lawyer and why should that be admissible in court? 

An update on the trial that wasn't in there is that the girls will be tried as adults in Waukesha county, which were the two big sticking points. I really think it's unfortunate since neither of the girls who are still very young arent going to get any kind of help they need. Waukesha county is very conservative and facebook comments on articles posted here want them locked away forever. 




Anway movies I've watched recently. Many bad ones that I hadn't seen before but need to see how bad they are 

The Accountant: A pretty boring action movie that was predictable. 

Batman Forever and Batman & Robin: Now I had never seen these movies. I really think the biggest failings is that they were thought to be marketed towards everyone, but in reality these are kids movies. Adults and reviewers HATE when movies aren't made for them. This is the perfect example. They were fine, but very 90s and easily forgettable...

The Happening:A little too heavy handed for my tastes. Not necessarily as bad as I've heard.

Under the Shadow:An Iranian horror film that builds suspense really well. It's such a good movie, but like most horror films, you have to completely engross yourself to get the full effect. It's on Netflix and worth a watch for any horror/suspense fan.




MFB said:


> La La Land - 10/10
> 
> Realistically, I'm sure it's a 9/10 with time, but for right now I'm giving it a perfect score because of how much it ramps up in the last maybe 20 mins. I'd give more but it'd spoil it.
> 
> Seriously, I've given three movies a 10/10 this year, and maybe 10 in my whole life, but god damn was it impressive


I will see this eventually, I just don't get to the movies very much right now so I'll wait until it comes out on streaming/redbox. Are the visuals and story that impressive? I just have found the songs I've heard to be very average, which is concerning for a musical. It seems that many people are impressed and many people are also just like "that's it?"


----------



## bpprox22

I know this is a bit late, but a few nights ago, I got to experience John Wick. Loved it.


----------



## wankerness

I just saw John Wick 2. The first one is a lot more "fun," so I enjoyed it less, but the whole house of mirrors thing was great, as was the string of random bizarre people coming after him, particularly the sumo-looking guy.

I thought that actress playing the main henchman was AWFUL. She made Gina Carrano look good. She reminded me of that bitchy kid that was the star of Neverending Story 2.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Logan*

Chalk that to 3 good movies in the XMen canon as this is up there with First Class and Deadpool. 

And about damn time we finally see a good movie with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in it, let alone one that actually draws blood. It's weird when I think that my favorite XMen movies either barely had him in it or not at all. It's quite nice to finally see a great Wolverine movie, even if it's a swan song. 

Definitely not to miss.


----------



## wankerness

I liked it quite a bit, though the big twist about 2/3 through sort of annoyed me. I still can't quite put my finger on why, as it sorta fits thematically. I need to watch the movie again to see if it was more integrated into the movie and I just missed the clues.

Laura is pretty incredible, it almost seems like the character was written around the actress, even though I know that wasn't the case.

That's easily the best ending on any of these kinds of movies. I don't think there was a post-credits sequence, and if there was, I'm glad I left before it happened! 

The Deadpool 2 opener was AWFUL. I didn't laugh a single time. I'm worried this is going to be a Kick-Ass 2 level disappointment, considering people associated with the first movie kept leaving during the making of this one.


----------



## Duosphere

extendedsolo said:


> Under the Shadow:An Iranian horror film that builds suspense really well. It's such a good movie, but like most horror films, you have to completely engross yourself to get the full effect. It's on Netflix and worth a watch for any horror/suspense fan.



Yep, pretty good movie.
The atmosphere is just perfect.
The building tension is good.
At any moment a missile can hit your house and there's something evil messing with you, what could be scarier?
After a while I realized it has nothing special, I mean nothing new besides it's a foreign fable so it feels disturbing because it's not our natural environment.
Keep the war but exchange that evil creature for a ghost or even a skinny lady crawling like if her bones were all broken = Oh not again!!!
The "foreign" factor is a character too.
Probably it's not scary there, at least not scary the way it's here. 
Good movie, there are some really cool disturbing moments.


----------



## Rachmaninoff

Just watched Logan. Great, great film!

(And yeah, that Deadpool 2 thing sucked.)


----------



## protest

Logan.

....ing finally. Best comic book movie since The Dark Knight in my opinion. Not the most enjoyable, but the best movie. In standard Wolverine movie fashion (Deadpool, Silver Samurai) they tried to ruin it by bringing in something ridiculous, but it wasn't so ridiculous that it diminished the movie.

When I saw the first trailer I got a T2 kind of vibe from it, and I definitely think there's some influence of that in there which is cool with me. 



wankerness said:


> I liked it quite a bit, though the big twist about 2/3 through sort of annoyed me. I still can't quite put my finger on why, as it sorta fits thematically. I need to watch the movie again to see if it was more integrated into the movie and I just missed the clues.



I think the thing that saves it is that it fits with the story of the movie, it picks up where the comic leaves off so it doesn't contradict anything, it doesn't fundamentally alter anything, and it brings that program full circle. 

I still had a full on Vader "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" reaction, but it didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought when it was first introduced.


----------



## Xaios

The reviews for Logan are mainly glowing, but I'm a bit hesitant as I've heard from a couple places that, in a nutshell, it's a lesser version of "Children of Men," a movie which I love. Thoughts?

Watched one of my favorite movies again tonight, "Master and Commander." There is nothing that I don't love about that movie.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Xaios said:


> The reviews for Logan are mainly glowing, but I'm a bit hesitant as I've heard from a couple places that, in a nutshell, it's a lesser version of "Children of Men," a movie which I love. Thoughts?



I certainly thought that, and it didn't stop me, because I enjoyed both movies.

That said, it's not the first time either. I enjoyed both The Three Amigos and Galaxy Quest for what is essentially the same movie. Same deal with Doc Hollywood and Cars (Pixar). Nobody talks about Cars being exactly like Doc Hollywood because it's first association is always "the animated movie with talking Cars in it". And of course the whole Iron Man/Ant Man/Doctor Strange comparisons...


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

Haven't seen Logan yet. The previews I've seen looked really meh, and I thought The Wolverine was a pile of ...., so I'm pretty apprehensive about going to see it. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Watched Dr. Strange today. It was.....just ok. Was really expecting a lot more from it. It was entertaining enough, but pretty lackluster.

Green Room - Pretty decent show but nothing to write home about.

Green Inferno - Holy ...., it's been a while since I've winced at violence and gore in a movie. Good stuff.


----------



## wankerness

Xaios said:


> The reviews for Logan are mainly glowing, but I'm a bit hesitant as I've heard from a couple places that, in a nutshell, it's a lesser version of "Children of Men," a movie which I love. Thoughts?
> 
> Watched one of my favorite movies again tonight, "Master and Commander." There is nothing that I don't love about that movie.



There is some similarity in some details between the two, and with the tone (it's in the future and is rather subtly showing further severe decline of America, with all the drone-controlled cargo trucks and some obvious "rich getting richer" stuff at the beginning), but it most definitely did not feel anything like a ripoff to me. It's its own movie. The child, Laura, is not like anything in that film except if you view her as a pure plot element (the first mutant after years of drought vs the first pregnant woman after years of drought) instead of a main character. She's really great. The action is also nothing like that film, and there's not really a parallel for Professor X either. It's partially about coming together as a family unit and the few rays of brightness you can find with that, basically. Also, obviously it's a sort of last gasp of a broken down, busted up warrior who has been running from his past. The violence is hideous, which is kinda necessary for establishing exactly why he's so jaded and why he'd be hiding from the world. It might be sort of exciting when he rages out, but at the same time it's horrible thanks to the toll it takes on him and the damage that's done. Kinda similar to the climax of Unforgiven. The big climax really, really made me wince.


Spoiler



Only the climax of X2 where he fights Lady Deathstrike came close, and considering how much we've heard/seen of his physical decline, it's all the more painful here cause the more it goes on the more you know he's probably not going to live.



If you were going to try and say it's similar to other movies, I'd probably put it somewhere between Unforgiven, Outlaw Josey Wales, and Children of Men, as well as Shane (which it explicitly states). 



FILTHnFEAR said:


> Haven't seen Logan yet. The previews I've seen looked really meh, and I thought The Wolverine was a pile of ...., so I'm pretty apprehensive about going to see it. Hopefully I'm wrong.
> 
> Watched Dr. Strange today. It was.....just ok. Was really expecting a lot more from it. It was entertaining enough, but pretty lackluster.
> 
> Green Room - Pretty decent show but nothing to write home about.
> 
> Green Inferno - Holy ...., it's been a while since I've winced at violence and gore in a movie. Good stuff.



If you thought Green Inferno was superior to Green Room, then yeah, stay very far away from Logan  Although maybe your review would be AWESOME, THERE IS SO MUCH GORE!!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> If you were going to try and say it's similar to other movies, I'd probably put it somewhere between Unforgiven, Outlaw Josey Wales, and Children of Men, as well as Shane (which it explicitly states).



If we're to throw in similarities outside of movies, throw in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Largely the same premise between the two stories, and certainly more similar to that than it was ever to Old Man Logan.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

FILTHnFEAR said:


> Haven't seen Logan yet. The previews I've seen looked really meh, and I thought The Wolverine was a pile of ...., so I'm pretty apprehensive about going to see it. Hopefully I'm wrong.
> 
> Watched Dr. Strange today. It was.....just ok. Was really expecting a lot more from it. It was entertaining enough, but pretty lackluster.
> 
> Green Room - Pretty decent show but nothing to write home about.
> 
> Green Inferno - Holy ...., it's been a while since I've winced at violence and gore in a movie. Good stuff.



Green inferno was pretty meh compared to cannibal holocaust. Live animal deaths, and all kinds of other stuff that films can't get away with as easily nowadays. Definitely not as good of gore as green room imo


----------



## extendedsolo

I saw Logan on Friday and have to say I loved it. It's already that type of movie that will show up on cable and I'll have to finish. It's much more than just another superhero movie, it's a good movie in its own right. I thought that the other wolverine movies just focused on "yeah look at wolverine kick a$$!" This one is much much closer to a graphic novel style where you feel an emotional attachment to the characters. 



Spoiler



My wife really didn't like the part where they visited the one family's farmhouse because it put them in the line of fire. The family ended up dying as a result. Her argument was that if they hadn't stopped there, and why would they if they are being chased, they would've escaped. My argument was that if that scene doesn't happen, the last scene makes no sense at all. It's part where Logan shows his human side and grows an attachment to Laura. I also thought they are setting up for a Laura series or "kid xmen" series of some sort right?



The Deadpool thing was pretty lame. I like the first movie, but the hyperbole going around about Deadpool is a little much. The jokes aren't that funny and his dialogue reads like Cards Against Humanity games. I'll still see the second one assuming it doesn't get screwed up. 

I also watched Mission Impossible Rogue Nation yesterday. How the Mission Impossible series isn't more celebrated is beyond me. I would take any of the 5 over the newer James Bond movies except Casino Royale, and even then it's close. The action sequences, while a bit silly, are super fun and exciting. I know it's partially because Tom Cruise is viewed as kind of a weirdo, but dear lord Rogue Nation is one of the 5 best action movies of the last two years. It's not in Mad Max territory but it's better than the Bourne series.

Watched Dr Strange and enjoyed it. The plot was paint by numbers for a marvel movie, but the action sequences with the mirror dimension/altering reality were really really cool. If we are ranking origin stories, it's better than captain america and thor for sure.



Xaios said:


> The reviews for Logan are mainly glowing, but I'm a bit hesitant as I've heard from a couple places that, in a nutshell, it's a lesser version of "Children of Men," a movie which I love. Thoughts?
> 
> Watched one of my favorite movies again tonight, "Master and Commander." There is nothing that I don't love about that movie.


I've never seen Master and COmmander! I'll add it to the list.

I think any place saying Logan and Children of Men in the same review, you should stop reading that person immediately. That is just a lazy summation of the movie. Children of Men was good in it's own right and had few similarities to Logan IMO. It's like saying Casino and Goodfellas were the same movie. Maybe on the surface, but just no.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Logan was awesome. Definitely gave me a western vibe and the gore was done very well. I agree with the above post, they really make you feel connected to logan, charles and laura. Dafne Keen did an excellent job for having so few lines. For some reason it really reminds me of no country for old men and children of men.


----------



## extendedsolo

KnightBrolaire said:


> Logan was awesome. Definitely gave me a western vibe and the gore was done very well. I agree with the above post, they really make you feel connected to logan, charles and laura. Dafne Keen did an excellent job for having so few lines. For some reason it really reminds me of no country for old men and children of men.



Very much a western vibe in my book.


----------



## chopeth

One thing I liked about Logan is the gore scenes aren't just for the sake of violence, they are raw, dark, motivated.

The development of wretched wolverine and professor X is great too, bitterness, decadence, frustration, guilt... I see all that in the movie and that was refreshing. 

I got a bit tired of too many heroes with leggins, empty plots, huge effects and the like


----------



## KnightBrolaire

chopeth said:


> One thing I liked about Logan is the gore scenes aren't just for the sake of violence, they are raw, dark, motivated.
> 
> The development of wretched wolverine and professor X is great too, bitterness, decadence, frustration, guilt... I see all that in the movie and that was refreshing.
> 
> I got a bit tired of too many heroes with leggins, empty plots, huge effects and the like



Yeah the gore served a purpose and it was done really well which added to the raw, animalistic nature of the kills, something which is integral to wolverine's core being, even though logan tries to suppress it at times.


----------



## wankerness

I've seen a couple reactions to Logan that were just "I hated this, it was so completely nihilistic and had so many people dying pointlessly and horribly, and it seems to be saying that maybe mutants SHOULD be wiped out," which I totally get. I would be careful who you bring to it  It really is a pretty hopeless movie in a lot of respects. And it sure isn't like The Last of Us, as Logan


Spoiler



really doesn't become the paternal protector until the very end, he just is doing it out of necessity all the way until then. Even when he's at the childrens' hideout he mainly just seems pissed and annoyed. At the very end, you see he sorta did come around, but until then, even Mad Max in The Road Warrior seems to like that feral kid more than Logan does Laura. And yes, the family does die senselessly and totally because of Charles having them stay there. You see it coming from a mile away, it's just like a train wreck in slow motion. And Charles' death scene IS totally brutal and without any glory. He's talking about having a great night and BAM, he dies, no last words, no sendoff to Logan, it's not really even clear that he recognizes that it wasn't Logan that did it!! Brutal.


----------



## extendedsolo

wankerness said:


> I've seen a couple reactions to Logan that were just "I hated this, it was so completely nihilistic and had so many people dying pointlessly and horribly, and it seems to be saying that maybe mutants SHOULD be wiped out," which I totally get. I would be careful who you bring to it  It really is a pretty hopeless movie in a lot of respects. And it sure isn't like The Last of Us, as Logan





Spoiler



I just think knowing Logans character throughout the comic books and they kind of elude to it in the movies too is that his entire existence is pain. He even says in the movie that everybody he has ever loved has died, and that continues in this movie. Logan didn't want the family to die and even insisted on them leaving but the second he lets his guard down, the family he actually starts to care about gets murdered. If we are comparing movies I would say this is more like Unforgiven meets The Road meets No Country for Old Men. This wasn't really a happy ending by any means in my opinion, which is something that those movies kinda of have in common.



Isn't that what good movies get you to do though? See it from the bad guys perspective and empathize with them a little? I mean there wasn't a central bad guy here, but Wolverine has never been 100% a good guy either. Cyclops is 100% a good guy, same with Xavier. Magneto is such a good bad guy in the series and even in this movie you could argue that Magneto was RIGHT. 

I watched The Invitation which is currently on netflix. I really liked it. to compare it to a recent film, the tension in 10 Cloverfield Lane is similar. The main actor does an amazing job of projecting his dread.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Is it weird that Logan reminds me of Highlander (Connor Mcleod, not Duncan) to an extent? Both of them are essentially immortal, watch their loved ones die before their eyes while they suffer endlessly, both are exceptional killers (having 100s of years to practice), and both are filled with rage (a lot less in Connor's case lol).


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Ghost in the Shell. It was a movie.


----------



## mongey

Arrival

I liked it. need to re watch again though to see.. 



Spoiler



how I feel about the flash forward sequences with the daughter. not sure if its a dirty film making trick or not . def felt like a more coherent interstellar in allot of ways though


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Split_ (2017)

James McAvoy absolutely shines in this movie. And that tie-in to Shyamalan's _Unbreakable_ at the end was perfect. Sort of like a random Easter egg.

_The Visit_ (2015)

Not the best plot by far, and the whole modern horror knockoff vibe (i.e. - like _Insidious_) kind of ruins it. But it's definitely got a few "what the f*ck" moments. It also doesn't seem to suffer from a lot of the pitfalls of other "found footage" style films.


----------



## bostjan

_Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies_

Fun little zombie flick. I was highly entertained. I was disappointed, though, by the complete absence of lederhosen.


----------



## stuglue

Dark Star and Silent Running. Been on a classic sci-fi binge recently.


----------



## fps

10 Cloverfield Lane. Kudos for trying something a bit different (in that sense, it reminded me of Safety Not Guaranteed), fantastic performance from Goodman, quite intriguing as a set-up, but really, the last 30 minutes (this is long before the twist) go against the characters, against logic, build-up, the ending is very poorly done, and the whole thing turns into a disaster.


----------



## wankerness

I had no problems with 10 Cloverfield Lane until the twist, which was just stupid and seemed like one of the silliest parts of


Spoiler



War of the Worlds, when Tom Cruise heroically getting sucked up into a tripod and blowing it up single-handedly. It had WAY more effects and went on much longer than I thought it would. If it had just ended when she saw that he was right, that would have been less egregious.


----------



## bostjan

fps said:


> 10 Cloverfield Lane. Kudos for trying something a bit different (in that sense, it reminded me of Safety Not Guaranteed), fantastic performance from Goodman, quite intriguing as a set-up, but really, the last 30 minutes (this is long before the twist) go against the characters, against logic, build-up, the ending is very poorly done, and the whole thing turns into a disaster.



Safety Not Guaranteed was quite interesting. And now that you mention it, I see the parallel between the two..

Some of the weird stuff building up to the climax was a little bit laughable, but I've seen much worse. Still, it distracts from the movie, IMO.

_God Particle_ might end up being interesting enough to drag me to the cinema; I'm interested in seeing the trailers for it in the upcoming months.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _Split_ (2017)
> 
> James McAvoy absolutely shines in this movie. And that tie-in to Shyamalan's _Unbreakable_ at the end was perfect. Sort of like a random Easter egg.



I watched this last night. I HATED the ending. It's like "oh, you thought this whole movie is about the arc of Witch girl? NOPE, IT WAS REALLY ABOUT MCAVOY, HERE'S A MARVEL STYLE POST-CREDIT SCENE THAT IMMEDIATELY STOMPS ON HER LAST SCENE " Given how much the movie includes molestation and outright abuse, it actually kind of bothered me. Given the kind of crap I watch on a regular basis, that's really saying something!!! I also was kind of bothered by how the movie introduces the two other girls as characters and then just totally throws them away. And by how dumb the psychiatrist was. Any movie that includes repeated "I DON'T UNDERSTAND" lines in response to obvious threats of death is just infuriating. There should be a law against that in screenwriting class. I really like Anya Taylor-Joy and Mcavoy is obviously great. Depending on how a sequel goes (if one happens), it might retroactively make the ending of this more acceptable. I just hated how instead of letting the end of the main character's arc sink in, it IMMEDIATELY stomped on it with that silly gimmick. If it had actually been post-credit, I wouldn't have minded it nearly as much.


----------



## fps

Decided to watch Capitalism: A Love Story. Michael Moore frequently deliberately misleads and lies by omission, but as long as you know that, he's a very provocative and skillful film maker with real and valuable wares to display. Just starting this one now.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5923962/

Wow!
The level of detail and their quality is out of this world!
I didn't know animations were in that level.
My jaw was on the floor till the end.
About the plot...........no plot it's just a game and people have to survive.They tried to create some emotional stuff but it never landed like, a girl fell in love for a guy she met a few minutes ago LOL 
Monsters, weapons and fights are amazing 
People almost look like real people, finally I'll be able to animate my own Gianna Michaels  

Visual and sound = AMAZING
Plot = 

To me it was a visual trip to another dimension, it kept my eyes glued to every detail till the end.
In a few days I'll watch it again, gotta have that trip again


----------



## mongey

re watched rogue one the other day, first time since seeing it at movies

I liked it allot the 2nd time . it has its issues but by far the best star wars movie since the original 3 , and possibly better than Return of the Jedi overall 


also re watched looper the other day as well . good movie


----------



## fps

wankerness said:


> I had no problems with 10 Cloverfield Lane until the twist, which was just stupid and seemed like one of the silliest parts of
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> War of the Worlds, when Tom Cruise heroically getting sucked up into a tripod and blowing it up single-handedly. It had WAY more effects and went on much longer than I thought it would. If it had just ended when she saw that he was right, that would have been less egregious.



Yeah, there were way better ways to do it. For example


Spoiler



it would have been better if the guy had made it out too. That way Goodman didn't need to do his killing, which just didn't fit, and it could have been far more shocking, perhaps he just turns a corner, reaction, black, he's gone. That said, he knew the whole thing was true, so really he shouldn't at all have helped her get away. The reality is they should have killed Goodman. They were certain he'd murdered someone, they were both sure there were aliens out there, they should just killed him, they had a stanley knife, FFS. Also, there should have been more doubt from her, that should have been the motivation for her to leave, then her response could have been better. 

Also they could have had her just get in the car and drive away. And as she was driving, just see dead crops, everywhere. Only one radio signal. And she starts coughing, and a little blood comes from her nose, or something. And she just keeps driving. End. Way better.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Since 10 Cloverfield Lane seems a hot topic right now and I had a borrowed BluRay of the film lying around...

I liked it. Even the third act twist, while feeling cartoonishly contrived, is something I'm not going to lose sleep over. 

The title itself somewhat hurts the movie, because take away the whole Cloverfield business and it's makes a great standalone movie already. But looking up some of the development side of things, it seems that it was later tacked on as a franchise expansion. The original Cloverfield was something I didn't mind a the time, but my opinion has since long deteriorated (JJ Abrams' tired mystery box shtick certainly doesn't help). This is a much better movie in comparison, but comparing the two is clearly pointless as they could be no more different to each other.

If anything, 10 Cloverfield Lane harkens more to the first Saw movie (before it descended to a tired overlong sellout franchise). Similar vibe, few focal characters, a tiny claustrophobic environment, and the suspenseful build of both. To no surprise, John Goodman steals the show. The movie got me invested up until where it stopped being Saw/Twilight Zone and started being... well a Cloverfield movie. Funny enough, the fact that it's a Cloverfield movie somewhat softens what could have been a much sour twist. Maybe if it went for a more balls out ridiculous finale like say Cabin In The Woods, I would've liked it more so... or perhaps not.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Finally watched the witch. Love the overwhelming feeling of dread and just general creepiness. I miss horror movies that rely more on worldbuilding and suspense rather than jump scares.


----------



## Duosphere

KnightBrolaire said:


> Finally watched the witch. Love the overwhelming feeling of dread and just general creepiness. I miss horror movies that rely more on worldbuilding and suspense rather than jump scares.





You're probably gonna love this one.
No jump scares and a cool plot.
The best part is the mystery is better than the horror parts, it keeps you glued to those actors.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3289956/


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Duosphere said:


> You're probably gonna love this one.
> No jump scares and a cool plot.
> The best part is the mystery is better than the horror parts, it keeps you glued to those actors.
> 
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3289956/


Lol I recommended the same film in the thread a few months ago. I really enjoyed that film.


----------



## Duosphere

KnightBrolaire said:


> Lol I recommended the same film in the thread a few months ago. I really enjoyed that film.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Just watched Sand Castle on netflix. it's a good solid war movie. I like that it's not overly hooah/patriotic like a lot of war movies.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/

I really enjoyed because the vibe is really weird and it reminded me of The Twilight Zone.
The weird tension keeps growing, some clues are given but............................watch it


----------



## endmysuffering

Maybe the wrong place to ask, but you got anymore of those medieval movie suggestions *scratches back of neck*


----------



## KnightBrolaire

endmysuffering said:


> Maybe the wrong place to ask, but you got anymore of those medieval movie suggestions *scratches back of neck*



have you seen the Black Death or Ironclad? those are pretty good. Also Kingdom of Heaven (directors cut is the best version). Ladyhawke is pretty fun too.


----------



## endmysuffering

KnightBrolaire said:


> have you seen the Black Death or Ironclad? those are pretty good. Also Kingdom of Heaven (directors cut is the best version). Ladyhawke is pretty fun too.



I've seen kingdom of heaven and black death and enjoyed them thoroughly, thanks for the suggestions.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

endmysuffering said:


> I've seen kingdom of heaven and black death and enjoyed them thoroughly, thanks for the suggestions.



13th Warrior and Arn the Knight Templar are also really good. 13th Warrior is one of my favorite movies of all time since it's based of Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead (which is a realistic retelling of the Beowulf saga). Willow is also pretty fun though it's more medieval fantasy. Flesh and Blood with Rutger Hauer is also pretty entertaining.


----------



## endmysuffering

KnightBrolaire said:


> 13th Warrior and Arn the Knight Templar are also really good. 13th Warrior is one of my favorite movies of all time since it's based of Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead (which is a realistic retelling of the Beowulf saga).



Thanks again.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4581576/

For the first time since his first movie I saw Schwarzenegger as a person and not as a cartoon. 
Beautiful direction. 
I felt the emptiness as if it were an entity trying to reach me.


----------



## mongey

watched whatever that Harry Potter beasts movie is the other day 

my wife is a Potter fan. I have seen the movies but don't really care 


it was pretty bland


----------



## endmysuffering

mongey said:


> watched whatever that Harry Potter beasts movie is the other day
> 
> my wife is a Potter fan. I have seen the movies but don't really care
> 
> 
> it was pretty bland



I had the opposite reaction even though I've also never been a fan of the potter.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Arrival*

Solid movie. The twist really does make or break the movie, as how you feel about it makes the final verdict for you. It's a bit shakey thematically as it takes you out of the immersion a bit thinking outside the narrative. Still good nonetheless. 

*Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2*

I've been rooting for James Gunn for quite some time. And I couldn't believe that he made lightning strike twice, but I just walked out of the cinemas thinking just that. For anyone who thought Doctor Strange (or even Civil War) was a step back for MCU will be brought back right in here.


----------



## extendedsolo

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Arrival*
> 
> Solid movie. The twist really does make or break the movie, as how you feel about it makes the final verdict for you. It's a bit shakey thematically as it takes you out of the immersion a bit thinking outside the narrative. Still good nonetheless.
> 
> *Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2*
> 
> I've been rooting for James Gunn for quite some time. And I couldn't believe that he made lightning strike twice, but I just walked out of the cinemas thinking just that. For anyone who thought Doctor Strange (or even Civil War) was a step back for MCU will be brought back right in here.



Good to hear about GotG2 since I think that most of the Marvel movies are solid, good but not GREAT. I'll still check it out. I saw Dr Strange and liked it more thank Civil War, but I mean there is only so much that can be done for super heroes in 2 hours since there are so many characters.


----------



## Ralyks

I finally saw the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Now I understand why everyone was shocked that I didn't see it yet and my father-in-law saying it "made him believe in movies again." I would easily say its second to only Deadpool as far as Marvel/superhero movies go.


----------



## extendedsolo

Ralyks said:


> I finally saw the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Now I understand why everyone was shocked that I didn't see it yet and my father-in-law saying it "made him believe in movies again." I would easily say its second to only Deadpool as far as Marvel/superhero movies go.



I think the first Guardians of the Galaxy will age really really well and become this era's version of Ghostbusters or Indiana Jones. Just a really fun action movie with enough jokes, great music, and charismatic characters to be timeless. I cannot say the same for Deadpool since I think the jokes will age terribly and it'll feel a little bit like Porkys or Animal House. 

Anyway, I've been really into stupid Kevin Hart movies. Movies where you can just shut your brain off and drool all over yourself too. 

Central Intelligence- The plot was decent, but really this is a vehicle for The Rock and Kevin Hart to make jokes. I really think that if it had better joke writers it could've been incredible. It felt a little sitcomy at times with the jokes.

Ride Along-Ice Cube and Kevin Hart really work well together in this and I found myself laughing way more than I thought. 

Moana-The songs were kinda weak, but what a great looking movie. IMO better than Frozen, but not as good as something like Zootopia. I won't go into why I think it wasn't as popular as Frozen because that's for another area of the forum.


----------



## Duosphere

Does anybody watched an old John Travolta film which he has to save his brother from drug dealers or something?
I watched it a lonnnnnnnng time ago.
I searched through his films but found nothing.
I have in my memory it was a good film, I'd like to watch it again.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Duosphere said:


> Does anybody watched an old John Travolta film which he has to save his brother from drug dealers or something?
> I watched it a lonnnnnnnng time ago.
> I searched through his films but found nothing.
> I have in my memory it was a good film, I'd like to watch it again.



the only scene I can think of like that is from face-off, though that was him saving his brother from the fbi.


----------



## Duosphere

KnightBrolaire said:


> the only scene I can think of like that is from face-off, though that was him saving his brother from the fbi.



Thanks but that's not the one I want.
I hate Face Off.
I think it's from the 80's.
I remember when he finally found his brother, he was in a cage hanging on a wall, there were gangs or something fighting around.
I have some flashes in my mind so I can't be very specific.
As I found nothing through his films list, maybe it's not Travolta?
Weird cause I have his face in flashes of some scenes.
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH


----------



## Ralyks

I saw Crunchyroll had Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. I didn't realize it qualified as anime, but either way, loved it as a kid, so I watched it with my son. Good times.


----------



## A-Branger

I just saw Kong: skull island.

to be honest, it wasnt that bad, it was pretty decent.

I think I put a reaaaaaaaaaaaally low bar into that film due to well, what it is, and the amount of $$$$ and celebrities put into it to try to compensate for the lack of a movie. And the mix up of cast, and stereotypes and what not. After whatching a trailer I though it was going to be the cheesiest stupid movie ever, but, it was pretty decent actually. Again, I put a very low bar to it, so maybe thats why I enjoy it?


----------



## chopeth

^I watched Kong last Saturday and I'm devastated I'll never have my two hours lost at it back.


----------



## wankerness

What were you expecting, Shakespeare? I went in looking for a movie about a really huge ape smashing helicopters and fighting other huge monsters and got just what I was looking for. Brie Larson was just the icing on the cake. It was sure a lot more fun than the last King Kong, or Godzilla!


----------



## Duosphere

wankerness said:


> What were you expecting, Shakespeare? I went in looking for a movie about a really huge ape smashing helicopters and fighting other huge monsters and got just what I was looking for. Brie Larson was just the icing on the cake. It was sure a lot more fun than the last King Kong, or Godzilla!



Yeah people go watch Kong expecting Blade Runner.
Come'n it's a giant ape smashing things.
Of course better characters would be better cause they're plain shallow, even those scenes about connecting with Kong had no feel because her character is empty still I was expecting that.
Maybe next one they'll buy less bananas and call a better writer


----------



## chopeth

wankerness said:


> What were you expecting, Shakespeare?



Isn't there anything between Shakespeare (?) and Kong for you? 

The film is terrible even for a mood such as "let's watch an adventure movie with not too much pretensions". Acting, as said before, is undescribable bad, especially from the main character and the plot... well, I wasn't expecting too much but that excelled my expectations. Definitely I should be more cautious next time I want to watch a film just out of sheer entertainment.


----------



## wankerness

chopeth said:


> *Isn't there anything between Shakespeare (?) and Kong for you? *
> 
> The film is terrible even for a mood such as "let's watch an adventure movie with not too much pretensions". Acting, as said before, is undescribable bad, especially from the main character and the plot... well, I wasn't expecting too much but that excelled my expectations. Definitely I should be more cautious next time I want to watch a film just out of sheer entertainment.



Well, you gave a one sentence review essentially saying nothing more than "worst. ever." so I was questioning what the heck was your problem with it, as it's a VERY serviceable action picture. It's certainly light-years better than any of the sub-Michael Bay crap out there, or Suicide Squad, or whatever else. It has a coherent story, all the action scenes are well-filmed, it has a great look that's nothing like the teal and orange or gray crap that we're getting non-stop with blockbusters, it has a roster of stars and has no awful Beyonce jokes or whatever else they try to shoehorn in here for the kiddies to think it's cool, etc. Some of the scenes are filmed creatively, like that big helicopter/Kong scene is a stunner. The editing on that has some great gags.

Samuel L Jackson is good, and gives a lot more to that character than was on the page. Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston also are much higher level than the script would dictate and are fine. It's kind of like they hired John Petrucci to play Smells Like Teen Spirit. The only really memorable character is Steve Brule, who's great and steals the whole show, and practically every review I saw singled out for being the best part. I'm not sure where you're getting "indescribably bad acting" from! What are specific examples here?

(also confused why you said "as said before," did you post a review in some other thread?)


----------



## synrgy

Caught Crimson Peak the other night. Recommended. I'm not a big fan of horror as a genre, generally, but this was a good film. Great cinematography, great acting, good storytelling. Not much else I can say without spoiling it, though.


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Caught Crimson Peak the other night. Recommended. I'm not a big fan of horror as a genre, generally, but this was a good film. Great cinematography, great acting, good storytelling. Not much else I can say without spoiling it, though.



That is the single best-looking horror film (I've seen) since Suspiria way back in the 70s, tons of frames could be screenshot and look like art.


----------



## Duosphere

synrgy said:


> I'm not a big fan of horror as a genre



BLASPHEMY


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> Caught Crimson Peak the other night. Recommended. I'm not a big fan of horror as a genre, generally, but this was a good film. Great cinematography, great acting, good storytelling. Not much else I can say without spoiling it, though.



i don't even consider it horror. It was more gothic mystery as far as I'm concerned. The art direction was amazing and the acting was well done but the twist was pretty easy for me to spot, due to the foreshadowing. Compared to Del Toro's previous works it's definitely not horror, Mimic, Chronos and Pan's Labyrinth are far superior horror movies imo.


----------



## synrgy

It has scenes that were designed to frighten/scare, so I consider it 'horror'. Admittedly, I'm not a cinephile, and I don't tend to bother with the minutia distinguishing sub-genres, regardless of medium. "Ain't nobody got time for that!" 

In my defense, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Roger Ebert's review, all have it listed under 'horror'. That said, in your defense, Wikipedia has it listed under 'gothic romance'.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> It has scenes that were designed to frighten/scare, so I consider it 'horror'. Admittedly, I'm not a cinephile, and I don't tend to bother with the minutia distinguishing sub-genres, regardless of medium. "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
> 
> In my defense, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Roger Ebert's review, all have it listed under 'horror'. That said, in your defense, Wikipedia has it listed under 'gothic romance'.



Eh it doesn't really matter, but it bothers me as a diehard horror fan that just because it has some creepy parts it's considered horror by a lot of people.


----------



## domsch1988

Went to see Guardians Vol.2 on Saturday with the Girl. Loved it! Sometimes the Jokes are a bit to silly for my taste, but it was a solid marvel none the less!


----------



## domsch1988

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2*
> 
> I've been rooting for James Gunn for quite some time. And I couldn't believe that he made lightning strike twice, but I just walked out of the cinemas thinking just that. For anyone who thought Doctor Strange (or even Civil War) was a step back for MCU will be brought back right in here.



Might be because english isn't my first language, but does this state you think it's good or not? Cant really tell 



extendedsolo said:


> Good to hear about GotG2 since I think that most of the Marvel movies are solid, good but not GREAT. I'll still check it out. I saw Dr Strange and liked it more thank Civil War, but I mean there is only so much that can be done for super heroes in 2 hours since there are so many characters.



I think Civil War was somewhat of a "filler" movie. Didn't like it particularly. Dr Strange for me was up there. Not so much because it's a great movie, but because i like the story line of dr strange quiet a bit. I felt the movie only scratched the surface of what the base material could have delivered


----------



## chopeth

wankerness said:


> Well, you gave a one sentence review essentially saying nothing more than "worst. ever." so I was questioning what the heck was your problem with it, as it's a VERY serviceable action picture. It's certainly light-years better than any of the sub-Michael Bay crap out there, or Suicide Squad, or whatever else. It has a coherent story, all the action scenes are well-filmed, it has a great look that's nothing like the teal and orange or gray crap that we're getting non-stop with blockbusters, it has a roster of stars and has no awful Beyonce jokes or whatever else they try to shoehorn in here for the kiddies to think it's cool, etc. Some of the scenes are filmed creatively, like that big helicopter/Kong scene is a stunner. The editing on that has some great gags.
> 
> Samuel L Jackson is good, and gives a lot more to that character than was on the page. Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston also are much higher level than the script would dictate and are fine. It's kind of like they hired John Petrucci to play Smells Like Teen Spirit. The only really memorable character is Steve Brule, who's great and steals the whole show, and practically every review I saw singled out for being the best part. I'm not sure where you're getting "indescribably bad acting" from! What are specific examples here?
> 
> (also confused why you said "as said before," did you post a review in some other thread?)



The Petrucci playing Nirvana made me spill the coffee through my nose. Obviously not a M. Bay production, but I just expected more, maybe not in the mood for that film at that moment. I didn't make any review, I was refering to Duospheres? comment above mine.



domsch1988 said:


> Might be because english isn't my first language, but does this state you think it's good or not? Cant really tell



Nothing to do with it, just out of curiosity, do you dub films in Germany? I know you do it for TV, but what about the cinema?


----------



## domsch1988

chopeth said:


> Nothing to do with it, just out of curiosity, do you dub films in Germany? I know you do it for TV, but what about the cinema?


Yes, 100% of films are dubbed  Although i, personally, often prefer the original version much more. Some things i came to know with german dubbs and find it hard to adjust to the original speakers (Doctor Who is really hard to watch with that strong british accent). Others i love. Star Wars really opened up a whole new experience. Some of that darkness and some word jokes get lost in the translation.
The new Beauty and the Beast was painfull to watch in german (only option in cinemas here). The asynchronicity between the moving mouth and the german words kills me on those sung parts emma watson does 

Keep in mind though, that over 50% of my day consists of English in some form. I work as a IT support technician. Conversation with 90% of other companies is english. 100% of my youtube is in English. So i have no Problem watching films in English


----------



## chopeth

^I supposed that but wasn't sure, I lived in Holland for a year and everything is subtitled there, but German is a "bigger" language. Btw, I went to your place a couple of times, beautiful city.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Free Fire was pretty ridiculous, I enjoyed it. It's essentially one long drawn out firefight with a lot of dark humor. If you've ever seen High Rise or Sightseers from Ben Wheatley, it's a lot like those tonally (probably because it's the same director).


----------



## Duosphere

chopeth said:


> I didn't make any review, I was refering to Duospheres? comment above mine.



Yeah acting is awful.
You're on a crazy island with giant monsters killing everyone, at night you're in front of a cliff and a giant gorilla comes to you, you touch his face and he's gone.
It should be the best scene in the movie with a ton of excitement.
It was one of the most emotionless scenes I've ever seen because who cares about that chick?The only thing we know about her is she takes photos.
Awful acting with an empty character.
Not to mention that the green screen was horrible.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Get Out*

Australia got this one late, but saw it today. I'm so used to Jordan Peele in comedy I didn't know he had the chops and confidence to do a genuinely good horror movie in him. 

Plotwise, it's not groundbreaking, and it uses plenty of conventional horror tropes. The trailers already give a Stepford's Wives with the topic of racism kind of vibe. But it's handled a lot more thoughtful than expected. Possibly the most appealing aspect for me is the clever use of paranoia and tension, weaving it's topical themes to the narrative. 

Among the best new horror films I've seen in recent memory. 



domsch1988 said:


> Might be because english isn't my first language, but does this state you think it's good or not? Cant really tell



I liked the movie.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead - Yeah, it's another low budget zombie movie, but it's low budget that doesn't suck.

Death Race 2050 - As a fan of the original I can honestly say this is garbage. It almost seems like a parody of a satire.

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films - A decent enough documentary even if alot of the info is easily google-able.


----------



## synrgy

Caught Alien: Covenant..

I was among the few who thoroughly enjoyed Prometheus, but Covenant left me feeling a bit on the fence. Part of me finds nearly any ride in that Universe to be worthwhile, but another part of me feels like it was too predictable and ultimately unsatisfying. I guess I can't say it was objectively bad, but I can't say I liked it as much as I wanted to, either.

They questionably cut a fair amount of prologue/first-act footage from the film's runtime, and used it instead to promote the movie on social media. That made the resulting film feel incomplete, despite an overly-long opening third. The subsequent second and third acts feel comparatively rushed. In addition to the pacing issues, the non-Fassbender portions of the cast have surprisingly little opportunity to endear themselves to us.

In the end, I guess I'm just feeling put off by the 'big reveal', even though it was exactly what I was expecting by the end of Prometheus:


Spoiler



That the entire franchise (in canon/plot) exists because one android is apparently a giant dickbag.



All that said, I'll probably give it another viewing or two, and I do somewhat expect it'll grow on me over time.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Alien: Covenant_
I posted my thoughts in the thread that's on here for discussing the film.



synrgy said:


> In the end, I guess I'm just feeling put off by the 'big reveal', even though it was exactly what I was expecting by the end of Prometheus:
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> That the entire franchise (in canon/plot) exists because one android is apparently a giant dickbag.


Ridley Scott completely and utterly disappointed me with this. He took the most overused cliché in all of sci-fi history and made it the central axis point for the entire franchise. That just feels like a terrible cop-out that isn't as mysterious or as believable.

_Split_
Eh, alright. Enjoyable while watching it, and I'll probably watch it again at some point down the road. It could have been darker and more suspenseful. James McAvoy steals the show, of course. I do wish that we saw more of all 12-13 personalities of the main character (Kevin) instead of just focusing on only 3 of them. The ending was a disappointment though with how it builds and builds and then nothing happens.


Spoiler



The Beast just runs off after seeing that the girl he was chasing had struggled with depression and cutting in the past.



_Unbreakable_
Also a mildly enjoyable flick even though it kind of chugs along slowly. Watching it, you wouldn't even know that it was an M. Night Shyamalan film unless you knew beforehand. The ending was a disappointment though. It just suddenly (almost randomly) ends, and the only closure that the audience has is a bit of text that appears on the screen and details what happens after the "big reveal" scene which came and went in like ten seconds.

_Arrival_
The power of language altering your perception of relationships. Very ambitious, philosophical, and thought-provoking by providing a call for humans to introspectively reassess their relations with one another. The non-linear time looping was also a brilliant sci-fi touch. I'm not entirely sold on the movie, and I'm not sure if it's worthy of all the hype that it has received. But it was definitely a very well-made flick.

_Alien _(1979) and _Aliens_ (1986)
I had to go back and watch the two originals after seeing _Covenant _in theaters. Yep, these two are still undeniable classics.

_The Accountant_
What can I say? The trailer made it look cool. Bullsh*t plot, bullsh*t story, bullsh*t acting, and bullsh*t action scenes. Bad. Really bad.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1544608/

Visually it's beautiful, that place has everything to do with the story and the vibe.
But...
Nothing happens there other than the same things we've already seen in a ton of movies with the same story, everything completely predictable even the scene of the sexy girl fucking.
The only good thing is the lack of stupid jump scares with loud sound and bad cgi.

So mute your tv and just enjoy the landscape


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5442430/

Freakintastic!

There's nothing new there but I love when there's no crap cgi, annoying jump scares
that add nothing to the plot and bad actors.
Characters are dumb, they break their own rules.
To me the best thing is the mood, I love it.
There has to be a sequel with Calvin killing us all


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched baywatch last night. It had some funny moments but I can't really recommend seeing it in theaters.


----------



## Rosal76

Duosphere said:


> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1544608/
> 
> Visually it's beautiful, that place has everything to do with the story and the vibe.



I was just reading about this movie the other day and so want to see it. Like you, the atmosphere/location/vibe (based on what I saw in the trailer) is what grabbed my attention. There's just something about movies there are set in times before advanced technology that I really like. The location reminds me of "The Secret Garden" (1993) and "The Legacy" (1978), which I freaking love.  

Please excuse my useless trivia about movies below. 

What's funny is that you posted about the movie "Life" that has Jake Gyllenhall. His sister, Maggie was supposed to play Emilia Clarke's role in Voices.


----------



## Duosphere

Rosal76 said:


> I was just reading about this movie the other day and so want to see it. Like you, the atmosphere/location/vibe (based on what I saw in the trailer) is what grabbed my attention. There's just something about movies there are set in times before advanced technology that I really like. The location reminds me of "The Secret Garden" (1993) and "The Legacy" (1978), which I freaking love.



Yeah me too.
Those places look gorgeous and mysterious.



Rosal76 said:


> Please excuse my useless trivia about movies below.
> 
> What's funny is that you posted about the movie "Life" that has Jake Gyllenhall. His sister, Maggie was supposed to play Emilia Clarke's role in Voices.



Hey I knew that, my crystal ball always send me info about those things


----------



## Rosal76

Duosphere said:


> Hey I knew that, my crystal ball always send me info about those things



LOL. Nice. I sure wish my friend's wife had one of those crystal balls. I kept trying to tell her that Tony Burton, who was in Rocky 1-4 had a very small part in The Shining (1980) and she didn't believe me. But yet, I was able to tell her the days/months in a calendar in "Day of the dead" (1985) in the same conversation. I'm not gonna lie though, Day is one my favorite movies, so I know a large amount of useless trivia about the movie.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Life _(2017)

Not the greatest "OMG, there is a killer alien in our spaceship!" film, but I do wish that I would've seen this while it was in theaters. Just for the visuals and the experience. This film is loaded with almost every alien/sci-fi cliché in the book, but it's still enjoyable to watch nonetheless. The ending, which was a predictable attempt at a twist, had me giggling a bit.


----------



## mongey

A mate gave me some weed and our 2 year old was having a sleep over at nannas so we rolled one and ended up watching sausage party cause we figured it would be good for a laugh. 

Fuck it was awful. Chuckled 2 or 3 times. Really bad film. All involved in writing it should be ashamed.


----------



## wankerness

mongey said:


> A mate gave me some weed and our 2 year old was having a sleep over at nannas so we rolled one and ended up watching sausage party cause we figured it would be good for a laugh.
> 
> Fuck it was awful. Chuckled 2 or 3 times. Really bad film. All involved in writing it should be ashamed.



I only laughed once or twice in that movie too, it was trying WAY too hard. The songs were absolute crap, too - they needed to have someone capable of writing funny parody songs like the South Park guys to pull it off. I have to admire the audacity of the big orgy, though.


----------



## synrgy

It had enough content to be a passable 20-minute short, maybe, but as a full-length, it was weak sauce.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Just finished watching It Comes At Night. I liked it, there was a great sense of paranoia and tension throughout the film.


----------



## synrgy

Caught GOTG2 last night. Thoroughly enjoyed.

I feel like a quote without context doesn't qualify as a spoiler, but I'll come back and edit if this bothers anyone..

"You see someone and think they have a weird head and then it just turns out part of their head is a hat..

.._That's_ why you don't like hats?"


----------



## mongey

wankerness said:


> I only laughed once or twice in that movie too, it was trying WAY too hard. The songs were absolute crap, too - they needed to have someone capable of writing funny parody songs like the South Park guys to pull it off. I have to admire the audacity of the big orgy, though.


yeah 

ii was like they had an idea, the cooking scene and the orgy and that's it ,and just tried to wing it . seth rogan and his crew are likable in allot of stuff . but I just don't think there's a great writer in there with them .They try to do a Apatow impersonation but they just don't have the talent to pull it off to even half his level 



also watched Logan the next day to make up for sausage party debacle and we both thought it was really good . dark and a fitting end


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

I watched _Visitor Q _last night. No idea why. Sheesh...it was out there though. If it had modern production values and didn't look like totally cheap handheld camera trash, it might have been a bit shocking.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I watched _Visitor Q _last night. No idea why. Sheesh...it was out there though. If it had modern production values and didn't look like totally cheap handheld camera trash, it might have been a bit shocking.



Uhhh...it was meant to be made up of fake documentary/home movie footage, wasn't it? It was also DTV.

I watched Saw I-VII because I stupidly bought the set for five dollars. I'd rank them top to bottom like III-II-VII-VI-IV-I-V. III is the only one I'd call good in any typical sense, but the end torpedoes it so hard that it brings it down several levels. So yeah, pretty terrible series, and I'm really at a loss as to how the first one is considered a minor class (7.7 on IMDB??! I'd give it a 3, at most, and I'm a pretty huge horror nut). At least it maintains strict continuity (with most of them practically taking place at the same time!)? Bad stuff. Hoffman is one of the worst villains of all time. The absolute white-hot fury of part VI towards the scourge of health insurance providers turning down people for preexisting conditions was endearing, though fortunately it was outdated as soon as it came out (well, for now anyway).


----------



## A-Branger

mongey said:


> yeah
> 
> ii was like they had an idea, the cooking scene and the orgy and that's it ,and just tried to wing it . seth rogan and his crew are likable in allot of stuff . but I just don't think there's a great writer in there with them .They try to do a Apatow impersonation but they just don't have the talent to pull it off to even half his level



I think they are the Adam Sandler of this generation. Was funny in a couple of movies, classic comedy movies. Now they are a joke but they somehow can do whatever they want because of their "names" and cant/wont be able to replicate the success of their first few films and would end up making the text book example of "cheesy film" from here on


----------



## mongey

Trainspotting 2. 

Didn't like it. My wife is a huge fan of his books and the the 1st movie so we rented it. Even she thought it was pretty lacking in content.


----------



## MFB

John Wick 2 - 4.5/5

Hot damn, what a hoot.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> John Wick 2 - 4.5/5
> 
> Hot damn, what a hoot.


the best action movie of 2017, hands down. I haven't seen anything that can top it so far.
Finally checked out the original Flatliners with Julia roberts/Kevin bacon/kiefer sutherland. I really liked it, it had a good underlying feeling of dread, good cinematography and they kind of keep the whole are they hallucinations/ unconscious manifestations or are they ghosts thing ambiguous, which I really dig. The sequel feels a bit too try-hard in the trailers I've watched.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> the best action movie of 2017, hands down. I haven't seen anything that can top it so far.
> Finally checked out the original Flatliners with Julia roberts/Kevin bacon/kiefer sutherland. I really liked it, it had a good underlying feeling of dread, good cinematography and they kind of keep the whole are they hallucinations/ unconscious manifestations or are they ghosts thing ambiguous, which I really dig. The sequel feels a bit too try-hard in the trailers I've watched.



Its my #3 movie for the year, behind Logan and Wonder Woman. I imagine even with Spiderman and Thor later this year, it'll still,be in the top 5


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Its my #3 movie for the year, behind Logan and Wonder Woman. I imagine even with Spiderman and Thor later this year, it'll still,be in the top 5


For me it's #1, then Logan and GOTG2.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972591/

What do I want while watching a movie like that?
Awesome landscapes................it has.
Cool action scenes....................it has.
Humor...................................it has.
Magic.....................................it has.

Especially magic because without it there would only be people killing themselves. Magic means hope, life without magic is ............. anything.
I love it, for a long time I've been waiting for a good medieval fantasy movie.
About the plot.........nothing special bt I don't care, all other stuff is awesome.

BTW when it ended I felt like it was the He-Man movie Hollywood never released


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3967856/

I thought I was going to watch another movie about a child loving her pet with some sad moments etc, the way we've seen in so many other movies ...... but ....
It was like that most of the time but the movie went to places that I could never expect, it got very dark and sad, I would say shocking because it wasn't expected!
Kuddos because I would never expect it in this kind of movie.
Plus cgi is awesome!
The only bad thing is it felt too long cause some stuff add nothing, 90 minutes would be enough. 
Still it was a good fun time with shocking non expected territory.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

finally watched star trek beyond. A perfectly good action film, and a decent star trek film. I did like at the beginning when Kirk was doing his captain's log and said "every day blends into the next, life feels almost episodic..." That was a nice tip of the cap to the series. It was also a nice touch to see sulu with his hubby/boyfriend/whatever and his daughter, as a reference to Takei's sulu/ him being gay. I didn't like how the film failed to explain the bad guy's appearance/life draining ability, they were very vague about that. Doc Mccoy is still the best character in the films beside Scotty. Karl Urban was perfect casting as Bones imo.


----------



## MFB

Baby Driver

I just bumped Logan down from my #1 of the year for this, and I regret nothing


----------



## Duosphere

MFB said:


> Baby Driver
> 
> I just bumped Logan down from my #1 of the year for this, and I regret nothing





Do you know her?
She's sooooo fluffy and I love when she says "Bye".
I wanna bite her cheeks


----------



## synrgy

After three or four false starts over the last couple years, I finally got around to Whiplash. Took me a bit to sink my teeth into it, but I'm glad I did. I love the arc. We spend the first act mostly sympathizing with the protagonist, but during the second act the lines blur and we start to question who the real antagonist is. I love how the climax finds redemption for both characters, giving us a turn for the protagonist and a _double-turn _for the antagonist; almost straight out of the WWE playbook -- in a good way.


----------



## El Caco

Duosphere said:


> Do you know her?
> She's sooooo fluffy and I love when she says "Bye".
> I wanna bite her cheeks



Today's movie review was brought to you by the word "Very"


----------



## MFB

Duosphere said:


> Do you know her?
> She's sooooo fluffy and I love when she says "Bye".
> I wanna bite her cheeks




I don't, but I certainly wouldn't mind getting to know her


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> After three or four false starts over the last couple years, I finally got around to Whiplash. Took me a bit to sink my teeth into it, but I'm glad I did. I love the arc. We spend the first act mostly sympathizing with the protagonist, but during the second act the lines blur and we start to question who the real antagonist is. I love how the climax finds redemption for both characters, giving us a turn for the protagonist and a _double-turn _for the antagonist; almost straight out of the WWE playbook -- in a good way.


Such a good film. JK Simmons was amazing in it.


----------



## Duosphere

MFB said:


> I don't, but I certainly wouldn't mind getting to know her



She....is.....................mine!
At least her cheeks are


----------



## EverDream

I like to watch movies that have unique plots that I've never seen before. The most recent such type movies I watched were "Brain On Fire" (with Chloe Grace Moretz), and "12 Feet Deep" (with Alexandra Park). I ended up loving both of them! I loved Alexandra Park in "12 Feet Deep", she was so hot to me with her take-no-bullshit attitude! Very metal!  lol


----------



## Kaff

Just watched Kong: Skull island. It really wasn't all that bad, didn't expect much and was pleasently entertained. Fair amount of cool monster fights and most of the jokes were actually pretty funny.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Spiderman Homecoming*

It's good. Not spectacularly groundbreaking, but satisfying enough. 

Anyone weary of any of the MCU films, Homecoming won't change any minds, possibly even use this as a crowning example of the cause of weariness. It's hard to say it tops the first 2 Sam Raimi films, but it's certainly better than the last 2 'Amazing' wank bowls. Considering the trouble of the shared custody between Disney and Sony just to get this, I'm just content it turned out better than it could've been.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I saw The House yesterday and I enjoyed it, good stupid humor with some gory gags. May be a bit dark for a summer comedy but I thoroughly enjoyed it.


----------



## setsuna7

*Spiderman Homecoming, *awesome!!! Keaton's Vulture is so good.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

saw spiderman yesterday and it was great, keaton was excellent as the vulture, and it was pretty damn funny. Tom holland was a great spiderman/peter parker


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3501112/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_11

I love that type of movie when it's serious.
This one is like a ton of others, a bad joke.
A bad joke that became worse.......worse................and worse.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MFB said:


> Baby Driver
> 
> I just bumped Logan down from my #1 of the year for this, and I regret nothing



I'm going to echo a similar sentiment, I just got home from seeing Baby Driver and it's now my favorite movie this year so far. 

When I initially saw the trailer, I thought little of it until the 3 words 'Directed by Edgar Wright' showed up (miscount intended). All movies that has Edgar Wright on director, writer or both have all been solid and great, and Baby Driver proves it yet again.


----------



## bostjan

Spiderman Homecoming was pretty good. Holland and Keaton gave excellent performances. The plot/script seems to me to be above average. Some of the bigger themes felt a little bit recycled, but I preferred this one to the last two Spiderman movies.


----------



## wankerness

I'm really turning into a curmudgeon. I have no desire to see Baby Driver just based on the title and that little creep on the poster, and I have no desire to see Spider-Man just based on my experience with the last two, even though both have constant great reviews that sound like things I would like. 

At least I'm hyped about Planet of the Apes?!


----------



## chopeth

I've heard War for The Planet of the Apes is great, the best of the three, so I'm expecting a very very nice movie!


----------



## fps

Okja. It's on Netflix. Massive recommend.


----------



## wankerness

chopeth said:


> I've heard War for The Planet of the Apes is great, the best of the three, so I'm expecting a very very nice movie!



I might need to see it again, but initial impression was that it wasn't as good as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which is an interlocking masterpiece of character leading to plot IMO. I'd put Dawn on the same level as The Dark Knight in blockbuster land, it's a masterpiece apart from Jason Clarke and his stupid face. "War" is a lot more typically plotted/written. However, it's still damn good. Nova (I'm always amused by the naming references to the original movies) is obviously the big emotional heart of the movie, keeps Caesar from losing his soul, and repeatedly tugs at the ol' heartstrings, and the big climax was VERY unexpected in its relation to the title. I liked the way it preserved the integrity of the characters and the apes while maybe seeming like a fakeout. I wasn't as huge on the ending as I could have been, but maybe that was just because the earlier Nova stuff had been so effective. Maurice is the best character in these things, but I think that's common knowledge.

Woody Harrelson is fine, but the visions of Koba just make you realize how amazing of a villain he was. Harrelson's more a villain-of-the-week sort instead of a super-developed dark mirror to Caesar like Koba was. I did like the central exposition they gave Harrelson, though, with the very painful backstory. I've seen people dismiss that as exposition dump, but I thought it was about the only scene that gave him any depth.


----------



## Jarmake

Watched suicide squad last night... Oh my god it was bad. Like really, REALLY bad. I hated Jared Leto as the joker and Ben Affleck wasn't very convincing as the batman either.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6191390/

When I first read that title I thought "OMG they did a remake but nobody is talking about it!"
When it started I realized it was a new take about it and I thought "this is going to be really bad, bad like the end of the world" lol
Well, It surprised me cause it's not a good movie but it's not as bad as I thought it would be, in fact I had fun watching it.They cut out all mystery and right in the beginning we know what's going to happen.There are no stupid "cast to die" characters, we see a family trying to survive against something they can't win.
I was really expecting something really bad like Asylum stuff but it's far from it, I had fun.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*The Other Guys*

It's the buddy cop spoof for the Family Guy generation. That's pretty much what I took out of the movie, the same words I said to my brother in law after watching it on the weekend. 

It's made by a talented bunch, and Mark Whalberg's over sincerity in everything works wonders in comedies like this. But, like Family Guy, it's the constant comedy repetition pandemic constantly commanding you to laugh at a barrage of random humour, that I have problems with. The plot is forgettable at best, every character is over the top insane, and the entire catalyst of the 2 main leads kicks off with the single most monumentally stupid act by 2 support characters (incidentally my favorite joke in the film). Sure, I laughed at all the jokes, but the more I think of it the time goes on, the less I care for it. 

I guess it's a take away movie that satiates your humour appetite especially if you can't get enough of Will Farrell, but that's about it really.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Saw War of the Planet of the Apes and thoroughly enjoyed it.


----------



## synrgy

Bloody_Inferno said:


> 2 support characters



I want to see a movie about those two characters, instead, quite honestly. That was my only real takeaway from the film.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *The Other Guys*
> 
> It's the buddy cop spoof for the Family Guy generation. That's pretty much what I took out of the movie, the same words I said to my brother in law after watching it on the weekend.
> 
> It's made by a talented bunch, and Mark Whalberg's over sincerity in everything works wonders in comedies like this. But, like Family Guy, it's the constant comedy repetition pandemic constantly commanding you to laugh at a barrage of random humour, that I have problems with. The plot is forgettable at best, every character is over the top insane, and the entire catalyst of the 2 main leads kicks off with the single most monumentally stupid act by 2 support characters (incidentally my favorite joke in the film). Sure, I laughed at all the jokes, but the more I think of it the time goes on, the less I care for it.
> 
> I guess it's a take away movie that satiates your humour appetite especially if you can't get enough of Will Farrell, but that's about it really.



You should watch some actually GOOD comedic buddy detective movies from the last few years, like particularly Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and to a lesser extent The Nice Guys.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> You should watch some actually GOOD comedic buddy detective movies from the last few years, like particularly Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and to a lesser extent The Nice Guys.



Easy big fella. Already seen both multiple times and loved both.

We just threw that movie on as it wasn't my turn to choose that day. If it was up to me, I'd just put a photo of Shane Black to stare at for 2 hours and it'd still be better than The Other Guys.

Funny, didn't Kevin Smith's Cop Out also came out the same year as the Other Guys? That was crap too.


----------



## wankerness

Oh yeah, that Kevin Smith one was infamous. I'm not really even sure about what others have come out the last several years. I know Hollywood Homicide (with Harrison Ford) was supposed to be terrible. I saw The Heat, that was inoffensive and occasionally amusing but that's about the best I can say about it.


----------



## Duosphere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2309961/

I knew nothing about it.
It started and I thought "Oh boy I saw that already in so many other films!".
Then everything turned upside down and it got awesome!
I always had the idea of making a movie like this, that idea always surrounded my head.
Somebody did and it's awesome.
I felt the same some years ago while watching Chronicle.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched atomic blonde yesterday and loved it. A good twisty espionage/cold war film with bad ass fight scenes. It's tied with John Wick 2 for best action movie of the year imo.


----------



## MFB

Alien: Covenant - I really enjoyed this one, it really didnt waste any time getting to what we all wanted to see. I'd put Alien as my #2 favorite horror film, so to see the series back to the right blend of horror and action was great.

Wind River - I expected a slow moving, character driven movie but this one just fell flat of what I was thinking it'd be. Not bad, but I wouldnt go over a 6.5/10 for it

Snatched - Caught maybe 10 mins of this while my parents rented it, it's exactly what the trailers presented AKA comedy by numbers


----------



## wankerness

I thought Alien Covenant was a weak attempt to include elements of Alien that people like, along with a really weak attempt to be DEEP with the idiotic David/Walter scenes in the middle (that flute scene was almost lol-worthy, though, I'll give it that). Here was my write-up after watching it:

Another crew of dips***s explores a planet while not taking safety precautions and gets infected by aliens and lots of people get killed, but not fast enough that the plot doesn't get dragged out for ages. Eventually we find out


Spoiler



that David from Prometheus has been doing experiments and helping to keep these aliens going. He has even developed a few alien eggs like the ones in the first movie, which he promptly uses on the dips*** captain (Billy Crudup). This CGI version of the classic alien then mows down most of the remaining cast, until we're left with Kenny Powers and Katherine Waterston (cursed by the hairdresser to look exactly like Rusty from Pee Wee's Big Adventure). After more running around dark corridors and not one but TWO showdowns with Katherine vs the alien where she triumphs, we get an incredible secret ending.



BLAH. I didn't really hate any of this, but I didn't really like anything either. It seems to have taken criticisms of Prometheus to heart, but it doesn't do a good job of fixing them. The primary criticism of Prometheus was often about how incredibly stupid every crew member was. There, we had individuals (labelled the top scientific experts on Earth, mind you) sticking their faces one inch away from aggressive-acting alien snakes to ensure they got murdered. Here, it's more blanket stupidity. The entire exploration party of idiot crewmembers walks around in what looked like Japanese WWII uniforms on an unexplored planet to ensure they got infected by nasty fauna. Then, much of the rest of the movie functions like a slasher, with things like a girl going off to wash up after being told "DON'T GO TOO FAR FROM US" and then getting decapitated, or even more obviously two idiots banging in the shower with the music turned up too high so they can't hear the warnings. That also gets us some gratuitous nudity connected to a murder. Very 80s.

It clearly is trying to make the contrast between David and the ship's own more modern Fassbender model, Walter, be the heart of the movie. There's a really limp attempt at establishing some kind of deep philosophical difference between them, but it is entirely summed up by David's last line about being the ruler of hell instead of serving in heaven (like Walter), and the rest is a total waste of time. Especially the ridiculous "seduction" scene in which David makes Walter blow in his flute while he does the fingerings. What the hell! David later takes time out during a fight scene to sexually assault Katherine, for some reason. It's all really stupid. David is


Spoiler



ultimately the big villain of the movie and is a mad scientist, and we see some kind of gutted Noomi Rapace opened up on a table with the rest of his zoology collection,


 but it all just seems so pointless. He also acts so spazzy that he ends up much less interesting than he was in the previous film. The only real fun is in watching Fassbender act against himself in the various Walter/David interactions.

We get a lead here in Katherine Waterston who's at least not as infuriatingly stupid as Noomi Rapace with her "BECAUSE I BELIEVE!!!" lines, but who is paradoxically also far less appealing. She's fine, but she's really uninteresting. She's just a bad rehash of Ripley. And as mentioned before, they overcompensated in the grunge thing and took her from the dream girl of Inherent Vice to her frankly ridiculous look: Rusty of Pee Wee's Big Adventure with his bizarre bowl-cut-mop thing. Ah well. I only mention it cause it was distracting me most of the movie as I was trying to figure out what she was reminding me of.

This was hyped up as being more of a horror movie than any other Alien, but I don't know. It definitely borrows some slasher tropes, and a ton of people get killed, and the deaths are often messy, but they're all very matter-of-fact and most are viewed for one second from some flat, distant camera angle, so nothing ever really has any impact. It has a couple "chestburster" scenes (well, one is a BACKBURSTER), but despite one really trying to recreate the original's effect, it just doesn't work. There are one or two scenes with some tension, but nothing comes even remotely close to the abortion scene in Prometheus. I just don't think Ridley Scott knows how to do the horror thing anymore.

Prometheus was more ambitious, and failed much harder at its goals. This sets its sights a lot lower, and really kind of fails at even that. It isn't a particularly good-looking movie, either. Prometheus might have the more glaring problems, but I find myself drawn to it repeatedly for some reason. And if nothing else, it's beautiful to look at. I can't really imagine wanting to watch this one again in the foreseeable future!! 5/10


----------



## lewis

wankerness said:


> I thought Alien Covenant was a weak attempt to include elements of Alien that people like, along with a really weak attempt to be DEEP with the idiotic David/Walter scenes in the middle (that flute scene was almost lol-worthy, though, I'll give it that). Here was my write-up after watching it:
> 
> Another crew of dips***s explores a planet while not taking safety precautions and gets infected by aliens and lots of people get killed, but not fast enough that the plot doesn't get dragged out for ages. Eventually we find out
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> that David from Prometheus has been doing experiments and helping to keep these aliens going. He has even developed a few alien eggs like the ones in the first movie, which he promptly uses on the dips*** captain (Billy Crudup). This CGI version of the classic alien then mows down most of the remaining cast, until we're left with Kenny Powers and Katherine Waterston (cursed by the hairdresser to look exactly like Rusty from Pee Wee's Big Adventure). After more running around dark corridors and not one but TWO showdowns with Katherine vs the alien where she triumphs, we get an incredible secret ending.
> 
> 
> 
> BLAH. I didn't really hate any of this, but I didn't really like anything either. It seems to have taken criticisms of Prometheus to heart, but it doesn't do a good job of fixing them. The primary criticism of Prometheus was often about how incredibly stupid every crew member was. There, we had individuals (labelled the top scientific experts on Earth, mind you) sticking their faces one inch away from aggressive-acting alien snakes to ensure they got murdered. Here, it's more blanket stupidity. The entire exploration party of idiot crewmembers walks around in what looked like Japanese WWII uniforms on an unexplored planet to ensure they got infected by nasty fauna. Then, much of the rest of the movie functions like a slasher, with things like a girl going off to wash up after being told "DON'T GO TOO FAR FROM US" and then getting decapitated, or even more obviously two idiots banging in the shower with the music turned up too high so they can't hear the warnings. That also gets us some gratuitous nudity connected to a murder. Very 80s.
> 
> It clearly is trying to make the contrast between David and the ship's own more modern Fassbender model, Walter, be the heart of the movie. There's a really limp attempt at establishing some kind of deep philosophical difference between them, but it is entirely summed up by David's last line about being the ruler of hell instead of serving in heaven (like Walter), and the rest is a total waste of time. Especially the ridiculous "seduction" scene in which David makes Walter blow in his flute while he does the fingerings. What the hell! David later takes time out during a fight scene to sexually assault Katherine, for some reason. It's all really stupid. David is
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> ultimately the big villain of the movie and is a mad scientist, and we see some kind of gutted Noomi Rapace opened up on a table with the rest of his zoology collection,
> 
> 
> but it all just seems so pointless. He also acts so spazzy that he ends up much less interesting than he was in the previous film. The only real fun is in watching Fassbender act against himself in the various Walter/David interactions.
> 
> We get a lead here in Katherine Waterston who's at least not as infuriatingly stupid as Noomi Rapace with her "BECAUSE I BELIEVE!!!" lines, but who is paradoxically also far less appealing. She's fine, but she's really uninteresting. She's just a bad rehash of Ripley. And as mentioned before, they overcompensated in the grunge thing and took her from the dream girl of Inherent Vice to her frankly ridiculous look: Rusty of Pee Wee's Big Adventure with his bizarre bowl-cut-mop thing. Ah well. I only mention it cause it was distracting me most of the movie as I was trying to figure out what she was reminding me of.
> 
> This was hyped up as being more of a horror movie than any other Alien, but I don't know. It definitely borrows some slasher tropes, and a ton of people get killed, and the deaths are often messy, but they're all very matter-of-fact and most are viewed for one second from some flat, distant camera angle, so nothing ever really has any impact. It has a couple "chestburster" scenes (well, one is a BACKBURSTER), but despite one really trying to recreate the original's effect, it just doesn't work. There are one or two scenes with some tension, but nothing comes even remotely close to the abortion scene in Prometheus. I just don't think Ridley Scott knows how to do the horror thing anymore.
> 
> Prometheus was more ambitious, and failed much harder at its goals. This sets its sights a lot lower, and really kind of fails at even that. It isn't a particularly good-looking movie, either. Prometheus might have the more glaring problems, but I find myself drawn to it repeatedly for some reason. And if nothing else, it's beautiful to look at. I can't really imagine wanting to watch this one again in the foreseeable future!! 5/10



the one thing I just cannnnot get over or stomach IS


Spoiler



All the amazing work for Alien 1, Aliens and even 3 to an extent.....now feels like it means nothing because they were created by some dipshit malfunctioning android?.... sigh what a fucking joke. Aliens (as a species not the movie) were scary as shit because no one knew their origin and how they were so clever and why their life cycle was so super precise to maximize potential etc. I just cant believe after all these amazing movies, icon and legendary movies, they were created by an Android. It feels so cheap and dirty and completely tarnishes the entire thing forever imo. Scott really should have thought about the repercussions of his story choices for these new movies. Story BS aside and they are not even good movies anyway imo. Complete waste of time that do nothing but destroy the great movies before them. I would score Prometheus 6/10 for at least trying to tell a different story, I would rate Alien Covenant -10/10 (yep MINUS) for being so bad, it makes Alien 1, 2 and 3 now feel ruined.


----------



## MFB

lewis said:


> the one thing I just cannnnot get over or stomach IS
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> All the amazing work for Alien 1, Aliens and even 3 to an extent.....now feels like it means nothing because they were created by some dipshit malfunctioning android?.... sigh what a fucking joke. Aliens (as a species not the movie) were scary as shit because no one knew their origin and how they were so clever and why their life cycle was so super precise to maximize potential etc. I just cant believe after all these amazing movies, icon and legendary movies, they were created by an Android. It feels so cheap and dirty and completely tarnishes the entire thing forever imo. Scott really should have thought about the repercussions of his story choices for these new movies. Story BS aside and they are not even good movies anyway imo. Complete waste of time that do nothing but destroy the great movies before them. I would score Prometheus 6/10 for at least trying to tell a different story, I would rate Alien Covenant -10/10 (yep MINUS) for being so bad, it makes Alien 1, 2 and 3 now feel ruined.





Spoiler



Dipshit malfunctioning Android? He knew exactly what he was doing, he was playing God like Weyland did while creating him and the other androids. He says it during Covenant how he feels about humanity, "they're a species desperately seeking a resurrection that they're not worthy of" and  so he takes the weapon that we made to use against the Engineers and modifies it to become the perfect organism (a throwback to Ash in Alien which is what he calls it). It makes more sense this way that it was engineered to be perfect.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I'm going to watch as many Tobe Hooper films as I can. He just died.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Just saw Annabelle Creation and it was good. Not amazing but I liked the atmosphere they established and the little kids did quite well at headlining the film. Effects were quite good other than the prosthetic on laura linney where I could see the seam a bit too well. I'd say it's worth a rent or wait til it shows up on netflix,etc but not worth paying to see.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Alien and continuing my Tobe Hooper viewing.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Wind River was a really solid thriller/western. They really nailed the cold shitty feeling of being in Wyoming in the middle of winter/spring and how depressing most of the reservations are. Jeremy Renner was excellent in it.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Angel Heart/ Altered States/ The Shining/ Cars I & II


----------



## wankerness

And...what did you people think of any of these things?? What Tobe Hooper movies did you watch?

I really don't like Eaten Alive apart from the wacko Marilyn Burns/Phantom of the Paradise subplot, I have literally no memory of The Funhouse, I can take or leave TCM 2/Invaders from Mars/his segment in Body Bags, I LOVE Lifeforce, Poltergeist is fantastic despite being mainly made by Spielberg, TCM is one of the best horror films of all time, and I haven't bothered with anything else. I've watched/rewatched most of these in the last couple of years apart from The Funhouse, so I probably need to rewatch that one. I've always meant to see Salem's Lot, but never got around to it. Spontaneous Combustion is the other one I have interest in watching after reading the write-up on the AV Club the other day.

I watched Dunkirk and it made me feel like a contrarian. It was mostly a bunch of people incoherently yelling at each other for the first while, three of the main characters looked exactly the same (scrawny dark-haired guys with foppish features/hair that were all soggy and barely talked), none of the characters were interesting apart from the boat captain who I loved, and only the Tom Hardy plotline was actually exciting (even though it was just him shooting down a bunch of planes while the music got faster). Argh. It still basically worked overall but I'm completely befuddled by the seemingly endless stream of reviews praising it as an absolute masterpiece and/or the best war movie of all time. WTH, dudes? I am wondering if it's going to be like many other movies where the initial theatrical release is met with rapturous, inflated reviews thanks to the sound and fury, and greatly cooled reviews by the time the home versions come around and people can look at it more clinically. Either that, or maybe I'll like it more the second time? Otherwise, maybe I'm turning into a dullard, or the whole world is crazy besides me. 

Oh, and there were a few individually great other scenes, like the people locked in the boat before it got torpedoed. And some individually bad other scenes, particularly the one where some ugly dudes get locked in a boat that's being shot up and is sinking and try to sacrifice the two foreigners for survival while the handsome dude tries to stop them.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TCM2 is great, first off. And so far, I've watched TCM, TCM2, Eaten Alive, Billy Idol - Dancing with Myself, and have started Salem's Lot. I plan to watch Toolbox Murders, his segment in Body Bags, The Funhouse, Poltergeist, the No More Mr. Nice Guy episode of Freddy's Nightmares, and a few other things.


----------



## Rosal76

High Plains Drifter said:


> Angel Heart



+1.

Very, very underrated but awesome movie.

As you know, Robert DeNiro plays the Devil. Did you ever take notice that he plays another character in the movie towards the end?





I didn't know it was him until years later.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Ah man... I never knew that. I've seen the movie a few times... never noticed! 

Indeed... very well directed and well written. Loved Rourke in that film.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

About to watch The Funhouse. If you've never seen it, it's a pretty interesting film from Tobe Hooper. It's one of my faves from Tobe, along with the first two Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, which are the only two he was involved in.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Hacksaw Ridge*

There's something fascinating I find about Mel Gibson's latest film. Having just seen the movie, it had Mel Gibson written all over it, but possibly his most sincerest delivery yet. It bears strong similarities to The Passion Of The Christ, but with an actual movie narrative instead of straight up worship sermon and Catholic guilt.

Yes the self punishing martyrdom that condemns violence but will gladly pay the penance of taking it himself is there. And yes Gibson's insanity shows with the gore factor, once the actual War section begins, is near equal to obscenely absurd levels as Passion and Apocalypto too, all filmed as if with unrestrained jubilation. 

But it's all profoundly well told, albeit a bit clunky and a lot of the support characters are typical war stock types. But it was good seeing each of them get humanised during the war as blood erupts in all sorts of ways.

I did like seeing Vince Vaughn in a real serious role, and I like that Andrew Garfield's performance made me forget all about the Amazing Spiderman movies.


----------



## wankerness

The first half of the movie legitimately started getting funny in the histrionic courtroom scenes as soon as I thought about the reason WHY. I'm not sure if it could have been told in a way that didn't get stupid, but the movie definitely didn't do itself any favors.

The second half was mostly good, but there were definitely a few MAD MEL touches that should have been caught by someone. Like, the first battle starts, and there's a scene where someone literally picks up half of a human torso (the top half, vertically and upright!!!) and starts RUNNING TOWARDS THE ENEMY WHILE FIRING A MACHINE GUN WITH THE OTHER HAND!! Are you kidding me?!

It ends up being a movie that's mostly a prestige war movie with some maudlin Hallmark movie scenes in the first half and a bit of gory insanity silliness in the middle that prevents it from fully functioning as what it seemed to be aiming for. I wish they'd let Mel do what he'd really wanted to do and go all out nuts. His "Apocalypto" is a legitimately awesome movie and shows what can happen when he's unleashed.

Also, Andrew Garfield's Goku-style hair was frequently laughable.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Hacksaw Ridge*
> 
> There's something fascinating I find about Mel Gibson's latest film. Having just seen the movie, it had Mel Gibson written all over it, but possibly his most sincerest delivery yet. It bears strong similarities to The Passion Of The Christ, but with an actual movie narrative instead of straight up worship sermon and Catholic guilt.
> 
> Yes the self punishing martyrdom that condemns violence but will gladly pay the penance of taking it himself is there. And yes Gibson's insanity shows with the gore factor, once the actual War section begins, is near equal to obscenely absurd levels as Passion and Apocalypto too, all filmed as if with unrestrained jubilation.
> 
> But it's all profoundly well told, albeit a bit clunky and a lot of the support characters are typical war stock types. But it was good seeing each of them get humanised during the war as blood erupts in all sorts of ways.
> 
> I did like seeing Vince Vaughn in a real serious role, and I like that Andrew Garfield's performance made me forget all about the Amazing Spiderman movies.


really? I found the weakest part to be Vince Vaughn. He's not in any way believable as an infantry sergeant. He added some lightness to an otherwise thematically heavy movie, but he just didn't sell me on the hard ass part as much as the comedy. I found the gore to be extremely well done and it helped showcase just how unbelievably brutal the pacific front was. Granted some of it (like kicking a fucking grenade away) was so absurd that I just laughed. If you want a good read about the pacific check out War without Mercy by John Dower. He goes into a lot of detail about the horrible things Americans and the Japanese did during that campaign. Apocalypto is a seriously underrated film. Also, is it just me or does Passion of the Christ actually work better as a horror film than a religious film? I think it's an excellent horror film.


----------



## wankerness

Haha, I forgot about the extreme slow-motion grenade punt, I laughed there too.

I still haven't watched Passion of the Christ. It sounded so reprehensibly racist and the way so many people were holding it up as SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MOVIE THAT MUST BE SEEN BY ALL CHRISTIANS [yes, I know this was a subset of the really out-there ones, mostly catholics and the ultra-conservatives] made me never want to see it, ever. But in my more cynical days, I sort of want to see it just to see how insane people that think a sadistic torture movie is beautiful and should be viewed by children really are! Not to mention, I've heard it's a really good movie from a purely technical sense.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> really? I found the weakest part to be Vince Vaughn. He's not in any way believable as an infantry sergeant. He added some lightness to an otherwise thematically heavy movie, but he just didn't sell me on the hard ass part as much as the comedy. I found the gore to be extremely well done and it helped showcase just how unbelievably brutal the pacific front was. Granted some of it (like kicking a fucking grenade away) was so absurd that I just laughed. If you want a good read about the pacific check out War without Mercy by John Dower. He goes into a lot of detail about the horrible things Americans and the Japanese did during that campaign. Apocalypto is a seriously underrated film. Also, is it just me or does Passion of the Christ actually work better as a horror film than a religious film? I think it's an excellent horror film.



My Vince Vaughn remark is rather tongue in cheek, namely because I've always associated him with average comedy, and it was nice to see him do something completely different here. Though that torso shield scene made laugh inappropriately. But that's more to Mel Gibson's 'let's show The wages of Sin is a full gory fatality death by hiring Ed Boon and a bunch of convicted murderers on production' preachy fascination. All that's mentioned: the grenade kick, the decapitation part of the seppuku, the other Vince Vaughn trigger happy scene, are so over the top borderline comedic, that it's actually quite a wonder. 



wankerness said:


> Haha, I forgot about the extreme slow-motion grenade punt, I laughed there too.
> 
> I still haven't watched Passion of the Christ. It sounded so reprehensibly racist and the way so many people were holding it up as SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MOVIE THAT MUST BE SEEN BY ALL CHRISTIANS [yes, I know this was a subset of the really out-there ones, mostly catholics and the ultra-conservatives] made me never want to see it, ever. But in my more cynical days, I sort of want to see it just to see how insane people that think a sadistic torture movie is beautiful and should be viewed by children really are! Not to mention, I've heard it's a really good movie from a purely technical sense.



Being raised Christian, I've never thought of the Passion Of The Christ as a 'film'. It's just not a movie. What it is, is a worship sermon, delivered in the most violent way possible. It's like how Sex And The City isn't really a series/movie but also a worship sermon of fashion tips to women over 30.


----------



## wankerness

HAHA, I forgot about the decapitation. What the hell was that?! I even wrote about that when I wrote my shpeel on it a couple days ago, and I already forgot.

Here was the last paragraph of my summary. I like this. 

After all this and Doss getting back and getting hailed as a hero, there’s a REALLY terrible scene where an angry higher-up calls Sam Worthington and says “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO ATTACK TEN MINUTES AGO!!!” and he intones “we’re waiting, sir. Waiting for Private Doss to finish praying for us.” Goddam it. We then get a bunch of moving slow-motion tableaus of Japanese soldiers being stabbed, incinerated, gorily shot, etc, culminating in Doss punting a goddam grenade in slow motion in ridiculous fashion, and then the Japanese general finally loudly (big gory CHUNK!) committing seppuku, AND being beheaded at the same time by one of his cronies. God bless the USA!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The decapitation in the seppuku ritual didn't bother me in a sense that it's part of the ritual itself. It's the fact that the sequence looks like it was filmed by Ryuhei Kitamura.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> The decapitation in the seppuku ritual didn't bother me in a sense that it's part of the ritual itself. It's the fact that the sequence looks like it was filmed by Ryuhei Kitamura.



Wow, that's specific. I just looked him up and the only movie I've seen of his is Godzilla Final Wars  Oh, and Versus, but I saw that in high school a million years ago and don't remember much of anything except that it was way less exciting than the plot summary made it sound.


----------



## synrgy

Re-watched Covenant last night.

It seems to have grown on me. I felt underwhelmed when I saw it in the theater, but this time it worked. I mean, I still have gripes with it, but like _Prometheus_ before it, I'd more readily re-watch it than Aliens, Resurrection, or any of the AvP movies.

Various reports have been suggesting that the box office numbers may preclude further sequels, which I'm hoping is wrong. For better or worse, I'm invested in this story, and I hope Scott gets to finish it the way he intends..


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Re-watched Covenant last night.
> 
> It seems to have grown on me. I felt underwhelmed when I saw it in the theater, but this time it worked. I mean, I still have gripes with it, but like _Prometheus_ before it, I'd more readily re-watch it than *Aliens*, Resurrection, or any of the AvP movies.
> 
> Various reports have been suggesting that the box office numbers may preclude further sequels, which I'm hoping is wrong. For better or worse, I'm invested in this story, and I hope Scott gets to finish it the way he intends..



ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW

*posts gif of donald sutherland from invasion of the body snatchers*


----------



## synrgy

Sorry, which part makes your head asplode?


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Sorry, which part makes your head asplode?


The bolded part. You'd rather watch Covenant and Alien 3 than Aliens?

That gif is the one of the guy roaring and pointing, generally used to go GET HIM, HE'S ONE OF THOSE!!!!, btw. Not Scanners.gif.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

whoaa covenant wasn't bad but it doesn't compare to alien or aliens. It's definitely better than prometheus or alien 3 imo. Can't wait to see It tomorrow when I get off shift.


----------



## synrgy

Yeah, I'm the odd man out: I never cared much for Cameron's Aliens. I didn't mind the world-building aspect but, for me, the tone was all wrong. I like the series the way Ridley set it up: A basic "haunted house in space" concept. I like it for setting, tension, and its exploration of the darker aspects of the human psyche, and corporate culture. While some of that is present in Aliens, it's basically the action movie of the franchise. I mean, I love Bill Paxton's performance as much as the next guy, but I just have a hard time enjoying the movie, overall. Always have.

They rank like this, for me (and I know I'm in the minority):
Alien
Prometheus
Covenant
3
Aliens
AvP 1 and 2; both equally trash.
Resurrection; eyeball-bleachingly awful. Like, _Leonard 6_ awful, nearly ruining the careers of all involved.

Worth noting that in that list, Prometheus/Covenant/3 are pretty much a three-way toss-up.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

synrgy said:


> Resurrection; eyeball-bleachingly awful. Like, _Leonard 6_ awful, nearly ruining the careers of all involved.


I haven't seen it, but everyone's basically led me to believe it should be retitled "Alien Misdirection."


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Yeah, I'm the odd man out: I never cared much for Cameron's Aliens. I didn't mind the world-building aspect but, for me, the tone was all wrong. I like the series the way Ridley set it up: A basic "haunted house in space" concept. I like it for setting, tension, and its exploration of the darker aspects of the human psyche, and corporate culture. While some of that is present in Aliens, it's basically the action movie of the franchise. I mean, I love Bill Paxton's performance as much as the next guy, but I just have a hard time enjoying the movie, overall. Always have.
> 
> They rank like this, for me (and I know I'm in the minority):
> Alien
> Prometheus
> Covenant
> 3
> Aliens
> AvP 1 and 2; both equally trash.
> Resurrection; eyeball-bleachingly awful. Like, _Leonard 6_ awful, nearly ruining the careers of all involved.
> 
> Worth noting that in that list, Prometheus/Covenant/3 are pretty much a three-way toss-up.



Aliens IS an action movie, yeah. If you can't appreciate it on that level, then no wonder. I think it has some of the most colorful characters and most memorable dialogue in 80s action, which is really saying something! And man, the tension gets cranked like screws from the moment they set foot in the base all the way through to that airlock sealing. It's some of the most masterful pacing in action movie history. Well, after the boring opening 45 minutes or whatever.

I think your ranking is nuts, but it's interesting, which is more than most peoples'!!! I like Alien 3 a lot more than most people, and I have watched Prometheus repeatedly despite never really liking it very much. It's an interesting misfire for sure, which is far more than I can say for Covenant, which just annoyed me. Covenant tries harder to be a horror movie, yet it has NOTHING that can even come close to that self-abortion scene in Prometheus, which is a classic of cringe.

I, too, loathe Resurrection. I think I gave it 1/10 the last time I saw it. Just a terrible movie, and the ugliness of it is mind-blowing. EVERYTHING is disgusting and sickly yellow. Winona Ryder's character is the worst.

I saw AVP 1 and 2 years ago and I don't remember more than one scene from either!!! I vaguely remember liking 2 more than 1 cause at least it was willing to be gross.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Since we're doing Alien movie rankings, here's mine.

Alien
Aliens
Alien Isolation (yeah it's not a movie but so what)

...then a cliff drop to Prometheus, then the rest (don't really care).

James Cameron is great at making sequels, as both Aliens (and Terminator 2) shows. But much like the latter franchise, I have a similar feeling towards them where while they're great action movies, there's nothing quite like the broody grim dark atmosphere like their original prequels. Prometheus is alright, albeit extremely clunky in structure and story telling. Alien 3 only gets a pass due to giving David Fincher a jumpstart to bigger and better things.



wankerness said:


> Wow, that's specific. I just looked him up and the only movie I've seen of his is Godzilla Final Wars  Oh, and Versus, but I saw that in high school a million years ago and don't remember much of anything except that it was way less exciting than the plot summary made it sound.



Ryuhei Kitamura is usually my go to reference when it comes to dudes cutting each other up in the most ridiculously ultra gory fashion. Versus is a fine example of a good dumb movie where "screw the plot here's some superhumans killing each other" becomes fun. Aragami is just Versus but with actual plot and dialog (still completely inconsequential), and hell one of Kitamura's alumni made Death Trance, again exactly like Versus but with Steven Seagal's son (no really) and a soundtrack of Dir En Grey songs. Good ultra violent, ultra dumb fun.

Though for something not as dumb, but still gory Azumi (and Azumi 2 to some extent) are my favorites from Kitamura. Namely because it's far more substantial.


----------



## synrgy

FWIW, I do like the director's cut of Aliens quite a bit better than the theatrical. It includes an extra scene of Ripley learning about her daughter's life (and death) while she was in hypersleep after the events of the first movie. That provides the otherwise missing motivation for Ripley's motherly treatment of Newt. Combined with some of the other extra scenes that further humanize Ripley's character, that really helps change the tone of the whole thing for me.

I get that the average viewer probably doesn't care for the slow pacing of the original, or the third one, but that's always been the way horror works best for me. When I stop to think about it, the original Predator is pretty much the only 'action/horror' movie I can think of that I love.

Speaking of which, it's been a while.. I think I need to watch that again, soon..


----------



## wankerness

I can't stand the director's cut since it makes the endless opening even more endless. The turret gun sequence is completely pointless to the action as it affects nothing at all, it seems like something stuck back in just because they could. And that scene with Newt's family is really awful and having a scene at the colony before they arrive there is a huge mistake IMO. I think that scene with the daughter thing is easily the best addition, but I don't think it's crucial for understanding her character and think her relationship to Newt worked just fine without it. If someone made a director's cut with JUST THAT, it would be the best version.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> *Aliens IS an action movie, yeah.* If you can't appreciate it on that level, then no wonder. I think it has some of the most colorful characters and most memorable dialogue in 80s action, which is really saying something! And man, the tension gets cranked like screws from the moment they set foot in the base all the way through to that airlock sealing. It's some of the most masterful pacing in action movie history. Well, after the boring opening 45 minutes or whatever.



Which sounds like that's his issue with it? (And one I have with the franchise as well)

If you've just set up a movie about an Alien in a spaceship, hunting down the crew one by one, and establishing this great horror and creature, why suddenly shift it to a balls out action flick? Aliens in it's own right isn't a bad film, but when you see it in the context of going from Alien > Aliens, it's like hearing Opeth go from Ghost Reveries to Heritage (a bit more hyperbolic than I actually believe, but it gets the point across)


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MFB said:


> Which sounds like that's his issue with it? (And one I have with the franchise as well)
> 
> If you've just set up a movie about an Alien in a spaceship, hunting down the crew one by one, and establishing this great horror and creature, why suddenly shift it to a balls out action flick? Aliens in it's own right isn't a bad film, but when you see it in the context of going from Alien > Aliens, it's like hearing Opeth go from Ghost Reveries to Heritage (a bit more hyperbolic than I actually believe, but it gets the point across)



Because making the sequel into a more action based affair was really the only choice to make after Alien. The alien is scary, what would happen if there was more of them and one larger alien.


----------



## MFB

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Because making the sequel into a more action based affair was really the only choice to make after Alien. The alien is scary, what would happen if there was more of them and one larger alien.



Logically, I feel like a mash between Aliens and Alien 3 could've been the next step. 

I remember very little, if anything, about 3 besides it taking place in a prison and the inmates have to deal with the Aliens; so in that sense, it's still got the core concept of Alien down (people, trapped in a space whether they like it or not, forced to deal with this deadly predator that wants to kill them) but on a larger scale. Prisons would have gear equipped to deal with riots and that's where you could get the action aspect of it with the guards, but to go 180 from horror to action just struck me as the wrong move.


----------



## JD27

KnightBrolaire said:


> Wind River was a really solid thriller/western. They really nailed the cold shitty feeling of being in Wyoming in the middle of winter/spring and how depressing most of the reservations are. Jeremy Renner was excellent in it.



Good to hear, I really want to see that one. I like what Taylor Sheridan has done so far, Hell or High Water and Sicario are great.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

JD27 said:


> Good to hear, I really want to see that one. I like what Taylor Sheridan has done so far, Hell or High Water and Sicario are great.


 I really think it's as good as Sicario. It's really good. Haven't seen Hell or High Water yet.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Which sounds like that's his issue with it? (And one I have with the franchise as well)
> 
> *If you've just set up a movie about an Alien in a spaceship, hunting down the crew one by one, and establishing this great horror and creature, why suddenly shift it to a balls out action flick? *Aliens in it's own right isn't a bad film, but when you see it in the context of going from Alien > Aliens, it's like hearing Opeth go from Ghost Reveries to Heritage (a bit more hyperbolic than I actually believe, but it gets the point across)



I think because it was made by people who weren't artistically bankrupt and thus didn't want to retread the same territory, only worse, like most sequels  I give them all the credit in the world for actually taking a risk, and way more for doing it REALLY WELL. That's one of those sequels which has almost as many people that prefer it as prefer the original.


----------



## synrgy

I agree that it's among the better sequels out there, and to Cameron's credit, I'd throw T2 in that bag, too. I didn't mean to imply I thought Aliens wasn't a decent film. It's just that I fail to enjoy it much, whilst recognizing that it was well made.

Cameron has been such a mixed bag.. On the one hand, he's a visionary; largely responsible for many of the leaps in movie-related technologies over the last 30-40 years. On the other hand, he's largely (if perhaps indirectly) responsible for what I would most succinctly describe as the 'michaelbayification' of contemporary big-budget movies..


----------



## wankerness

He's definitely indirectly responsible, since people took all the wrong lessons from his success. Love his movies or hate them, he always had clearly drawn, memorable characters and usually had strong, direct themes, and always had really incredible action scenes. The immediate ripoffs were always trash (ex, look at what came in the wake of Titanic - PEARL HARBOR, ANYONE?). He always very carefully oversaw every aspect of the productions and usually went nuts taking over for production designers, etc because he could actually do their job better than they could in some situations. Also, he went to so much trouble to work against the musclehead action guy central character with the Terminator movies, The Abyss and Aliens - obviously THAT didn't really catch on. It's still an oddity that anyone tries that, let alone any quality/popular movies. Some of those dumb YA movies are about the only big ones that do, and they focus way more on the romance. I guess if you count crud like Wanted, Salt, and Colombiana (or the kind of awesome Haywire). He is kind of a genius, regardless of what you think about his movies.

He's renowned for being a demanding jerk, but he REALLY puts his money (and all of his energy) where his mouth is.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Just saw It. Really good, definitely a lot more fleshed out than the 90s version, and it even made me twitch at moments (which is pretty impressive since most horror doesn't get that kind of reaction out of me). Bill Skarsgaard was excellent as pennywise, with his erratic, puppet like movements, constant drooling and severe crazyface. The kids in it were great, and the banter felt like the way kids actually talked (tons of dick jokes, making fun of New kids on the block, your mom jokes). Also there were some cameos from films like nightmare on elm street 5, gremlins and beetlejuice that I really appreciated. I need to reread the book to really compare how faithful to the book it was, but it was definitely one of the best stephen king movies made since the mist.


----------



## wankerness

I'm still thinking about seeing that. It doesn't do that dumbass Sinister thing where it does a huge smash horror trailer sound effect on the soundtrack every single time there's a jump scare, does it?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Just saw It. Really good, definitely a lot more fleshed out than the 90s version, and it even made me twitch at moments (which is pretty impressive since most horror doesn't get that kind of reaction out of me). Bill Skarsgaard was excellent as pennywise, with his erratic, puppet like movements, constant drooling and severe crazyface. The kids in it were great, and the banter felt like the way kids actually talked (tons of dick jokes, making fun of New kids on the block, your mom jokes). Also there were some cameos from films like nightmare on elm street 5, gremlins and beetlejuice that I really appreciated. I need to reread the book to really compare how faithful to the book it was, but it was definitely one of the best stephen king movies made since the mist.


I hate the way IT looks [too many fucking filters; all horror movies for at least the past 10 years have done this and it looks like shit]. I also have an issue with Pennywise's design as well; since it's a shapeshifter based on the child's fears and whatnot, what child is going to imagine a clown from the 1600s? Aside from that, I don't care for the way Bill acts in the trailer [what is this, a fucking ACSS era Manson music video?], so I'm not exactly enticed to see it in theaters. I'm sticking to the one with Tim Curry; I love the schadenfreude he gets out of taunting the kids and his lines are great the whole way through.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I'm still thinking about seeing that. It doesn't do that dumbass Sinister thing where it does a huge smash horror trailer sound effect on the soundtrack every single time there's a jump scare, does it?


no not really.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I hate the way IT looks [too many fucking filters; all horror movies for at least the past 10 years have done this and it looks like shit]. I also have an issue with Pennywise's design as well; since it's a shapeshifter based on the child's fears and whatnot, what child is going to imagine a clown from the 1600s? Aside from that, I don't care for the way Bill acts in the trailer [what is this, a fucking ACSS era Manson music video?], so I'm not exactly enticed to see it in theaters. I'm sticking to the one with Tim Curry; I love the schadenfreude he gets out of taunting the kids and his lines are great the whole way through.


Well to be fair, pennywise does shapeshift during the film, plus one of the kids is afraid of clowns -so the whole clown aspect is logical. I didn't think Skarsgaard would hold his own against Curry but he totally does. His version is equally creepy and he taunts the shit out of the kids later in the film.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Well to be fair, pennywise does shapeshift during the film, plus one of the kids is afraid of clowns -so the whole clown aspect is logical. I didn't think Skarsgaard would hold his own against Curry but he totally does. His version is equally creepy and he taunts the shit out of the kids later in the film.


The 1600s clown design is the problem, not the clown aspect in general or the lack of shapeshifting.


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The 1600s clown design is the problem, not the clown aspect in general or the lack of shapeshifting.



Spoilers if you're curious



Spoiler



When Ben is reading in the library about the town of Derry, they show a headline of a circus in town during a disaster that happens, so it's assumed that Pennywise bases his clown off of that


----------



## wankerness

Hmm. So then he's actually shapeshifting instead of the kids seeing some undefined formless blob as whatever their fear is?

I can't remember how it was in the book. I guess I had a vague memory of there being scenes in which multiple of them would look at him at the same time and see different things.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Hmm. So then he's actually shapeshifting instead of the kids seeing some undefined formless blob as whatever their fear is?
> 
> I can't remember how it was in the book. I guess I had a vague memory of there being scenes in which multiple of them would look at him at the same time and see different things.


yup everyone sees him as the clown but also as whatever they fear. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the book/seen the film yet. At the end of the film he's morphing back and forth a lot.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

just saw American Assassin and it was a really solid (if stupid) action film. The fight sequences were done really well, though not to the level that john wick/atomic blonde's hand to hand is at.


----------



## fps

Just saw IT and all I want to do is go straight back in and watch it again! Pitch perfect casting. Some big deviations from the book (only major issues some of the choices around Mike and Beverley, and not showing Stan's event - perhaps that will come), and of course only about 40% of the story has been told, but the very ending made me scree with glee. Having read the book, the film makes a superb companion piece which is enriched by the book, provides worthwhile nods to it in particular moments and mise-en-scene, but stands on its own. What a fantastic job, fave film I've seen in the cinema since Pan's Labyrinth. Even the moving of the kids' part of the story to the 80s works, although they LOVE rock music and I HATE that one of the bullies now wears metal T-shirts - that's lazy, and King wouldn't approve. Otherwise, I've got nothing to say except I adored it.


----------



## fps

KnightBrolaire said:


> Just saw It. Really good, definitely a lot more fleshed out than the 90s version, and it even made me twitch at moments (which is pretty impressive since most horror doesn't get that kind of reaction out of me). Bill Skarsgaard was excellent as pennywise, with his erratic, puppet like movements, constant drooling and severe crazyface. The kids in it were great, and the banter felt like the way kids actually talked (tons of dick jokes, making fun of New kids on the block, your mom jokes). Also there were some cameos from films like nightmare on elm street 5, gremlins and beetlejuice that I really appreciated. I need to reread the book to really compare how faithful to the book it was, but it was definitely one of the best stephen king movies made since the mist.



The posters are, IMO, integral to the plot, as they acknowledge a world in which the kids are aware of horrors and horror movies - just as in the original they were aware of the creatures of the 50s - and almost certainly they have reached the cusp of understanding the trope of the scary clown too. In fact, that bump forward a couple of years even from the 80s in the original means they may have seen Killer Klowns From Outer Space!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

fps said:


> The posters are, IMO, integral to the plot, as they acknowledge a world in which the kids are aware of horrors and horror movies - just as in the original they were aware of the creatures of the 50s - and almost certainly they have reached the cusp of understanding the trope of the scary clown too. In fact, that bump forward a couple of years even from the 80s in the original means they may have seen Killer Klowns From Outer Space!


yeah the director mentioned how he considered having It shapeshift into freddy krueger or jason- just like how it in the book turned into the universal monsters at some points. I'm actually glad he didn't go that route as it wouldn't have really added much. The only part where I felt like it would have worked well was when one of the kids gets slashed across the stomach by It's claws. They could have had krueger's knifeglove instead of the claws.
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3...sidered-pennywise-taking-form-freddy-krueger/
The director also said there's going to be an extended cut of the flim with an extra 15 minutes of footage.
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3...extended-version-home-video-15-extra-minutes/


----------



## fps

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah the director mentioned how he considered having It shapeshift into freddy krueger or jason- just like how it in the book turned into the universal monsters at some points. I'm actually glad he didn't go that route as it wouldn't have really added much. The only part where I felt like it would have worked well was when one of the kids gets slashed across the stomach by It's claws. They could have had krueger's knifeglove instead of the claws.
> http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3...sidered-pennywise-taking-form-freddy-krueger/
> The director also said there's going to be an extended cut of the flim with an extra 15 minutes of footage.
> http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3...extended-version-home-video-15-extra-minutes/



EXCELLENT news, I would definitely watch it 15 minutes longer, especially if that allows for a little more breathing room in the second half. I'm so happy about this film. There are a few bad reviews out there, but they don't get it - it's not about scaring us, it's a film about what scares them. And I absolutely had something in my eye several times at the intense vulnerability and inner lives of the characters, so bravo.

I'm also mega-, MEGA-excited for the prospect of a supercut where the two films are layered to match the structure of the book.


----------



## MFB

The only thing that annoys me about knowing chapter two is coming, is that its gonna be all big name stars, and I'd rather see one or two recognizable names plus a bunch of sleepers. The kids, with the exception of Richie, were all unknowns, and they killed it; but the adults are gonna be drafted like a fantasy football team and in the back of my head, I'll be thinking "look at the 180 you pulled doing this after just being in _______"


----------



## wankerness

How far along is Part 2? I would not have expected there to be any big name stars considering the budget on Part 1. However, now that it grossed eleventy million dollars, I bet the studio wants to get all its mitts on it and jack the budget up massively. If they still can?


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> How far along is Part 2? I would not have expected there to be any big name stars considering the budget on Part 1. However, now that it grossed eleventy million dollars, I bet the studio wants to get all its mitts on it and jack the budget up massively. If they still can?



Pretty sure it's only been announced, but somehow Jessica Chastain's name has popped up for Beverly and Chris Pratt for Ben (because we need Chris Pratt in another movie), and like you said, given how it crushed at the box office - they're gonna throw the kitchen sink at it for Chapter 2.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> How far along is Part 2? I would not have expected there to be any big name stars considering the budget on Part 1. However, now that it grossed eleventy million dollars, I bet the studio wants to get all its mitts on it and jack the budget up massively. If they still can?


What do you mean considering the budget? From what I read, it was $35m. That's a pretty big budget for a horror film.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> What do you mean considering the budget? From what I read, it was $35m. That's a pretty big budget for a horror film.



The budget for actors in part 1 was obviously negligible compared to everything else (considering it has much more advanced effects than the likes of The Conjuring, and all the important roles were kids), and if the aforementioned Chris Pratt thing is correct, he got 12 million for frickin' "Passengers.' I'd assume he'd get less for this due to it not being a two person movie, but GOTG2 came out and Jurassic World 2 comes out soon, so his price tag is still rising.

Throw in 3-4 more "movie stars" for Bill, Ben (I would guess Chris Pratt would be Ben??), Beverly, Richie, maybe Eddie and the actors ALONE would probably cost more than the budget of the entire first movie. Jessica Chastain is a really seriously talented actress, but she also actually has qualms about salary gaps and has openly stated she won't take a part in anything where anyone with an equal part to her is making scads more than her, so I think they'd be shooting themselves in the foot if they get some flavor-of-the-week guy like Chris Pratt since he'd (rightly) just boost everyone ELSE'S expectations.

I am wondering if they're going to go all-out CGI turtle wtf in the style of Dr Strange, too. I hope not, I think that stuff was about the weakest part of the book.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

You're forgetting though that filming with kids can tend to be much more difficult, because of child labor laws. They can only work for so long, they likely have school work or studies to complete, etc. As for Chris Pratt being in the movie...


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> The budget for actors in part 1 was obviously negligible compared to everything else (considering it has much more advanced effects than the likes of The Conjuring, and all the important roles were kids), and if the aforementioned Chris Pratt thing is correct, he got 12 million for frickin' "Passengers.' I'd assume he'd get less for this due to it not being a two person movie, but GOTG2 came out and Jurassic World 2 comes out soon, so his price tag is still rising.
> 
> Throw in 3-4 more "movie stars" for Bill, Ben (I would guess Chris Pratt would be Ben??), Beverly, Richie, maybe Eddie and the actors ALONE would probably cost more than the budget of the entire first movie. Jessica Chastain is a really seriously talented actress, but she also actually has qualms about salary gaps and has openly stated she won't take a part in anything where anyone with an equal part to her is making scads more than her, so I think they'd be shooting themselves in the foot if they get some flavor-of-the-week guy like Chris Pratt since he'd (rightly) just boost everyone ELSE'S expectations.
> 
> I am wondering if they're going to go all-out CGI turtle wtf in the style of Dr Strange, too. I hope not, I think that stuff was about the weakest part of the book.


the director made it sound like he's going to try and stay away from the cosmic/interdimensional bullshit and not delve too deep into that. All the crap with the space turtle doesn't need to be on screen imo.


----------



## Demiurge

Last night I saw "Mother!", Aronofsky's latest crowd-pleasing romantic comedy. 

Still trying to unpack WTF I saw.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*John Wick Chapter 2*

The first movie kicked all sorts of ass. This sequel doesn't bother to change the formula and delivered more ass kicking for the better (sans the slight sloppy seconds feel that you get with every sequel)... but who cares. It's John Wick.



Demiurge said:


> Last night I saw "Mother!", Aronofsky's latest crowd-pleasing romantic comedy.
> 
> Still trying to unpack WTF I saw.



This, tied with Logan Lucky is on my list of must watch list within the next few months.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Demiurge said:


> Last night I saw "Mother!", Aronofsky's latest crowd-pleasing romantic comedy.
> 
> Still trying to unpack WTF I saw.


I don't know if I want to sit through the film, even though I'm a huge aronofsky fan.


----------



## Demiurge

KnightBrolaire said:


> I don't know if I want to sit through the film, even though I'm a huge aronofsky fan.



If you like his work, I would recommend it. I'm aware that there's much hullabaloo over some parts at the end of the movie that could be classified as disturbing (visually and emotionally, equally, I'd say) but if you can deal with Requiem you can deal with this.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> the director made it sound like he's going to try and stay away from the cosmic/interdimensional bullshit and not delve too deep into that. All the crap with the space turtle doesn't need to be on screen imo.



Pretty sure they said for Pt. 2 they're going to deal with some Maturin stuff and the Ritual of CHUD might even make its appearance since it wasn't in Pt. 1; basically, I'm looking at it with this one doing as well as it did, expectations for the sequel went up and now it'll probably get bogged down by Hollywood politics/pandering


----------



## synrgy

Just following up on Covenant and/or James Cameron; turns out he saw Covenant and expressed his thoughts:

_"I thought that Alien: Covenant was a great ride. It was beautiful. I love Ridley’s films and I love his filmmaking, I love the beauty of the photography, I love the visceral sense that you’re there, that you’re present. It’s not a film that I would have made. I don’t like films where you invest in a character and they get destroyed at the end. I would not have made that film. I can’t comment on where Ridley is going with it but I think he is obviously trying to create a greater universe around it and more backstory with the Engineers and so on. I’ll show up for the next one, absolutely."_

Which is pretty much where I'm at with it, and where I was with Prometheus: I love going along for the ride; I feel _present_ in that World, because of the way Ridley Scott presents it, but now I'm feeling miffed because I was invested in the Shaw/Engineer story and it's borked, and I was starting to invest in Daniels, who we're basically promised will meed the same end as Shaw, so... Blargh. It's a weird mixture of awe, and disappointment.


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Just following up on Covenant and/or James Cameron; turns out he saw Covenant and expressed his thoughts:
> 
> _"I thought that Alien: Covenant was a great ride. It was beautiful. I love Ridley’s films and I love his filmmaking, I love the beauty of the photography, I love the visceral sense that you’re there, that you’re present. It’s not a film that I would have made. I don’t like films where you invest in a character and they get destroyed at the end. I would not have made that film. I can’t comment on where Ridley is going with it but I think he is obviously trying to create a greater universe around it and more backstory with the Engineers and so on. I’ll show up for the next one, absolutely."_
> 
> Which is pretty much where I'm at with it, and where I was with Prometheus: I love going along for the ride; I feel _present_ in that World, because of the way Ridley Scott presents it, but now I'm feeling miffed because I was invested in the Shaw/Engineer story and it's borked, and I was starting to invest in Daniels, who we're basically promised will meed the same end as Shaw, so... Blargh. It's a weird mixture of awe, and disappointment.



The Shaw thing pissed me off, but I was more pissed off by how bad everything between the two Fassbenders was.

James Cameron I believe tries to adhere to the law of Hollywood, aka he tries not to say anything bad in those kinds of public statements about films that he had any involvement with or involve anyone he might work with again. He said Terminator Genisys was really good (I think he used the words "renaissance" and "classic"!


----------



## fps

I hope IT finds more very talented relative unknowns for part 2 - more budget for all the other good stuff, and I won't be sucked out of the story by *names*.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Taxi Driver. Part of it anyways.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Mother!*

Yeah, most people are going to straight up hate this movie. I didn't, not just because I like Darren Aronofski's work. Though I couldn't help but feel he was saying something more personal with Mother!, well, aside from trying to out Neon Demon, Neon Demon in the WTF factor. Still, it's finely filmed, well acted, auteur movie.

Also curious which anime inspired this.  Kidding on that part of course...


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Mother!*
> 
> Yeah, most people are going to straight up hate this movie. I didn't, not just because I like Darren Aronofski's work. Though I couldn't help but feel he was saying something more personal with Mother!, well, aside from trying to out Neon Demon, Neon Demon in the WTF factor. Still, it's finely filmed, well acted, auteur movie.
> 
> Also curious which anime inspired this.  Kidding on that part of course...


oh god, Neon Demon was so bad. I like Refn's work but that was even worse than Only God Forgives. Visually it was excellent and I loved the cinematography/lighting, but both of those movies were just god awful overall.


----------



## wankerness

I liked Neon Demon a lot. I HATED Only God Forgives.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

This Is Spinal Tap... watched last night for the billionth time along with The Professional. Gary Oldman... just... damn. 

Also watched The French Connection and Bullitt again recently... Gene Hackman & Steve McQueen... fuckin' bad-asses.


----------



## Rosal76

High Plains Drifter said:


> Also watched The French Connection... Gene Hackman... fuckin' bad-asses.



Although I haven't seen The French Connection all the way through, but hope to one day, I 100% agree that Hackman is freaking awesome!!! 

How would you compare his acting skills in The French Connection to his characters he played in Bat 21 (1988) and The Package (1989)?


----------



## watson503

Shot Caller
Pig Pen
An American Terror
Bad Frank


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Rosal76 said:


> Although I haven't seen The French Connection all the way through, but hope to one day, I 100% agree that Hackman is freaking awesome!!!
> 
> How would you compare his acting skills in The French Connection to his characters he played in Bat 21 (1988) and The Package (1989)?



I think that Bat 21 was a damn good movie. Hackman is just top-notch in everything he's ever done ( at least what I've seen him in) but he was much more "raw" in The French Connection and that's something that I genuinely appreciate. It's hard to compare the two since he had gained so much more acting experience by the time that he did Bat 21 but regardless, he's always been very captivating in just about everything that I've seen him in. Also, I thought that Danny Glover was great in that film as well. 

I thought that The Package was done very well and Hackman was convincing enough but none of it left any impact on me... not sure why.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I liked Neon Demon a lot. I HATED Only God Forgives.


 I wanted to like Neon Demon. I just think Refn can't write to save his life. He has a great eye for visuals but he should never be allowed to write his own stuff anymore. 

Watched Pumpkinhead yesterday, it was ok. The kills were boring though I did like the creature design (stan winston did a great job). Lance Henriksen was great. It's one of those really mediocre horror movies that could actually benefit from a good reboot. On that note, fuck the leprechaun reboot, what a pile of garbage.
Finally watched The Conjuring. I hate haunted house/ghost/demon horror movies since they're way overdone and usually full of shitty jump scares, but it was really well done. A good overwhelming feeling of dread, some legit creepy moments. I'm gonna watch Conjuring 2 next, then probably check out all the Child's Play films.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> I wanted to like Neon Demon. I just think Refn can't write to save his life. He has a great eye for visuals but he should never be allowed to write his own stuff anymore.



Writing isn't necessarily important. Some of the best horror movies of all time have absolute garbage scripts (The Shining, Suspiria). The Neon Demon succeeds in visuals, atmosphere, and especially sound/soundtrack. Not to mention audacity! Seeing that in the theater was so wonderful, I was delighted by the outrageous necrophilia scene and how most of the theater got progressively more uncomfortable and disgusted the longer it went on!

I've heard Mother is much the same way, I need to see it. Give me movies that take a chance any day, even if they end up being bad.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Writing isn't necessarily important. Some of the best horror movies of all time have absolute garbage scripts (The Shining, Suspiria). The Neon Demon succeeds in visuals, atmosphere, and especially sound/soundtrack. Not to mention audacity! Seeing that in the theater was so wonderful, I was delighted by the outrageous necrophilia scene and how most of the theater got progressively more uncomfortable and disgusted the longer it went on!
> 
> I've heard Mother is much the same way, I need to see it. Give me movies that take a chance any day, even if they end up being bad.


Have you seen Martyrs or Frontieres or l'interieur (inside) or Raw? Those are movies that take big chances and actually do something worthwhile in the horror market imo. Raw is easily the best horror movie I've seen in years.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Watched Pumpkinhead yesterday, it was ok. The kills were boring though I did like the creature design (stan winston did a great job). Lance Henriksen was great. It's one of those really mediocre horror movies that could actually benefit from a good reboot. On that note, fuck the leprechaun reboot, what a pile of garbage.


Ugh, fuck no.

Enough.
Fucking.
Retreads!

And I mean that for everything. Music, TV shows, movies of all types... enough alfuckingready!



Stop it! Retreads, remakes, "harkening back" redos, reimaginings, prequels, sequels... all of this shit needs to fucking die off and end up six feet deep already. If Hollywood is not only morally bankrupt, but creatively as well, then it needs to burn to the ground. [metaphorically, and I mean the studios, etc. not the town itself.]


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Ugh, fuck no.
> 
> Enough.
> Fucking.
> Retreads!
> 
> And I mean that for everything. Music, TV shows, movies of all types... enough alfuckingready!
> 
> 
> 
> Stop it! Retreads, remakes, "harkening back" redos, reimaginings, prequels, sequels... all of this shit needs to fucking die off and end up six feet deep already. If Hollywood is not only morally bankrupt, but creatively as well, then it needs to burn to the ground. [metaphorically, and I mean the studios, etc. not the town itself.]



Apparently the new Halloween film is going to take place after the 1st halloween and retcon all the stuff that happened in the other films.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Apparently the new Halloween film is going to take place after the 1st halloween and retcon all the stuff that happened in the other films.


Oh fuck off. Not you, Hollywood.

Fuck John.
Fuck Jamie.
Fuck Halloween.

That series stopped having anything of worth after Part 4. MAYBE part 6 is we're talking the P-Cut. 

Malek Akkad should be thrown in jail for the bullshit antics he's pulled with the Halloween series since his father has passed. His father LOVED the series like a child, and you can tell that from his comments about the films. I can just see it now. Malek managed to get John Carpenter to spend five minutes in his office and pitched to John: "Let's retcon the two retcons so we can retcon it later but not before a sequel to this retcon that pretends a previous sequel we didn't retcon prior doesn't exist so we can make some minute piece of the plot make some vaguest idea of the word "sense." Maybe we'll also throw a prequel in there somewhere as well."

All you need from the major franchises are thus:
Nightmare 1-5
Friday the 13th 1-6
Halloween 1-4, _maybe _Part 6 P-cut
Chucky 1-3 and Bride if you like horror comedy.

The rest? Take it to the fucking landfill with the Atari games.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Onto something a little more positive: Apparently, Moustapha Akkad was really worried about Halloween 4 becoming a bloodbath with little else to offer. He kept telling them, "okay, not too much blood." Then it comes time to do the driving scene where the redneck gets his throat ripped out, and from the way it's told, Moustapha was screaming "MORE BLOOD, MORE BLOOD!"


----------



## MickD7

Finally watched Jason Becker:Not Dead Yet

Eye opener for sure, a friend of mine from High School worshipped Becker when we played in a band together. I've gotten into his music recently and after watching this documentary and seeing all the footage of him in his youth you can't help but feel devastated for him but also inspired by the pursuit to keep writing music after everything that happened. 

10/10 if you feel like giving up music or quiting guitar this will definitely kick you in the rear and value being able to play.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Have you seen Martyrs or Frontieres or l'interieur (inside) or Raw? Those are movies that take big chances and actually do something worthwhile in the horror market imo. Raw is easily the best horror movie I've seen in years.



I saw Raw, and I've seen Martyrs a couple times (just rewatched it a month or two ago) and Inside a couple times (it's been a while there). I thought Raw had a good first half but devolved. It seemed like a messier, inferior version of Ginger Snaps, TBPH. I appreciate Martyrs a lot, but can't say that I ENJOY it. Inside's kind of fun. They're remaking it in English, which should make you happy  I just saw an older movie called Trouble Every Day which is another clear precursor to Raw. I didn't like it much at all, but it has the actress who played "the woman" from Inside as a cannibal lady who's barely restrained, much like Raw. And, the grand guignol finale legitimately horrified me (and made me so mad it totally turned me on the movie). 

Anyway, I don't think any are comparable to Neon Demon. They're all going for messiness. Martyrs has much loftier ambitions than the other two I saw. All three are much more plot-dependent than Neon Demon. Neon Demon is much like its title with crazy lighting and sound/music to match, with the gross stuff clearly meant to be somewhat funny. There's room for all!

I haven't seen Frontieres and don't really know much about it. I've seen the title thrown around a few times over the years, but that's about it.

RE: Halloween, I burned through the series a year or two ago. I actually LIKED Halloween 4 this time. I think 5, 6, and especially H20 are steaming piles of crap. Resurrection had been hyped up as terrible for so long that I kind of enjoyed it (even if it was clearly bad). I don't really like Zombie's remake, but his #2 is easily my favorite of all the Halloween movies apart from the original.

The only thing that could make me interested in this is if they dump the sister angle and erase ALL the sequels, like they've hinted at. That always seemed like a stupid twist in the original part 2. I liked the scariness of him just going after her cause she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is how it was in the original.

It's pretty funny to think that Michael Myers is now going to be well over 60 if this is a sequel with JLC playing the same character and they keep the baby sister angle, though. SCARY!!!! I hope he doesn't break his hip.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I saw Raw, and I've seen Martyrs a couple times (just rewatched it a month or two ago) and Inside a couple times (it's been a while there). I thought Raw had a good first half but devolved. It seemed like a messier, inferior version of Ginger Snaps, TBPH. I appreciate Martyrs a lot, but can't say that I ENJOY it. Inside's kind of fun. They're remaking it in English, which should make you happy  I just saw an older movie called Trouble Every Day which is another clear precursor to Raw. I didn't like it much at all, but it has the actress who played "the woman" from Inside as a cannibal lady who's barely restrained, much like Raw. And, the grand guignol finale legitimately horrified me (and made me so mad it totally turned me on the movie).
> 
> Anyway, I don't think any are comparable to Neon Demon. They're all going for messiness. Martyrs has much loftier ambitions than the other two I saw. All three are much more plot-dependent than Neon Demon. Neon Demon is much like its title with crazy lighting and sound/music to match, with the gross stuff clearly meant to be somewhat funny. There's room for all!
> 
> I haven't seen Frontieres and don't really know much about it. I've seen the title thrown around a few times over the years, but that's about it.
> .


Visually I loved Neon Demon but it's just not a good film imo. 
Frontieres and Haute Tension are definitely worth watching. Antibodies is another solid horror film. If you're in the mood for batshit crazy then Nekromantik or Funny Games (the original austrian version) do the trick. I don't know if you've seen We Are What We Are or Ravenous but both of those are pretty good cannibal films. Bone Tomahawk was pretty decent as well. 
I can definitely see the parallels between Ginger Snaps and Raw. I agree that Ginger Snaps handled the whole womanhood/puberty angle a lot better than Raw did. I hate that they're remaking Inside, they tried to remake Martyrs and it was terrible.


----------



## Rosal76

High Plains Drifter said:


> Also, I thought that Danny Glover was great in that film as well.



Absolute best lines in Bat 21 between Glover and Hackman.

Glover: "We'll connect with you at Swanee".

Hackman: "F__k the Goddamn Swanee. Delay the strike!!!"

I kid you not, I get goose bumps every time I watch that scene.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> RE: Halloween, I burned through the series a year or two ago. I actually LIKED Halloween 4 this time. I think 5, 6, and especially H20 are steaming piles of crap. Resurrection had been hyped up as terrible for so long that I kind of enjoyed it (even if it was clearly bad). I don't really like Zombie's remake, but his #2 is easily my favorite of all the Halloween movies apart from the original.


RZH2 is among the worst of the series with 5 and H:R.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> RZH2 is among the worst of the series with 5 and H:R.



That's a very common opinion, yes.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Man I can't wait for this to come out:

One of my favorite mangas finally getting made into a film.


----------



## wankerness

Went to see It, it was sold out even at 10 PM, saw Mother! instead, thought it was a frickin masterpiece. I am glad for the sell-out, cause I was probably going to skip it and wait for video otherwise. I intentionally skipped all commentary as soon as the first review I saw opened with "it's best to go into this knowing as little as possible," so the whole time I kept trying to figure out what it was about and having to totally re-evaluate it as some other weird event happened that destroyed my existing interpretation. I was veering from everything from an apology for a relationship destroyed by the fame machine to some kind of personification of The Giving Tree. When it was over, I had to think about it for a couple hours and digest it, but man, it's so audacious and weird, and what I eventually settled on it being was a really beautiful religious movie instead of an "A Walk to Remember" or something.

My favorite part might have been the teenyboppers that were next to me. When it was over, one goes "What the hell was that?" Another goes "A REALLY SHITTY MOVIE" in a voice like he was furious he'd just watched it. Hooray! To their credit, none of them made a peep through the whole thing.


----------



## MFB

That's like when I saw the VVitch in theaters, and as we were walking out, I was speechless at what I just saw and figured everyone else was as well; but then two old hens in front of me were like, "That was ...really ..._bad_" and my heart just sank knowing these were the kind of people who saw it instead of those who'd actually appreciate it


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> That's like when I saw the VVitch in theaters, and as we were walking out, I was speechless at what I just saw and figured everyone else was as well; but then two old hens in front of me were like, "That was ...really ..._bad_" and my heart just sank knowing these were the kind of people who saw it instead of those who'd actually appreciate it



The incredibly wide release on this and advertising as a regular horror movie made it inevitable that normal people would be furious when they saw it. Maybe the studio was vainly trying to bring back the good ol' days when something like The Shining could be a box office success. More likely they just were idiots and thought J-LAW = $$$$ and tried to force it.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> Man I can't wait for this to come out:
> 
> One of my favorite mangas finally getting made into a film.




As much as I want this to be good, I'm going to stay true to my rule of every manga/anime to live action film will not be as good at best, and utterly terrible at worst. It's almost always the case, with extremely few exceptions (namely Rurouni Kenshin).


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> As much as I want this to be good, I'm going to stay true to my rule of every manga/anime to live action film will not be as good at best, and utterly terrible at worst. It's almost always the case, with extremely few exceptions (namely Rurouni Kenshin).


I liked Battle Royale a LOT more than the manga, but I might be in a minority? The movie has some serious issues, but it still came off more interesting and less lascivious.


----------



## dr_game0ver

Battle Royale started out as a book. They are both adaptations.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Battle Royale was also a good adaptation, among the few and far between. Perhaps all the manga adaptations I may be referring to all had anime incarnations, and I've been burnt by too many movie adaptations, all with lofty ambitions, but fall face first on execution. I don't mind when they take a few liberties, hell, the manga to anime transitions get plenty of liberties too (Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Bokurano Ours etc), but that's another story for the anime thread. Shinobi Heart Under Blade was altered from the Iga/Koga stories and the manga and anime that inspired them, but I really liked that as a standalone film. Ryuhei Kitamura took the Mamoru Oshii approach when making the Azumi movies and took a lot of the lightheartedness of the original manga and turned it into a dark tragic ninja movie, and I thought the result was for the better. And I'll always use the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy as the standard for this ilk as it successfully captures everything that made the source material special and translates it to live action intact. 

I don't know, maybe I've seen too many terrible anime/manga live adaptations from both sides of the Pacific.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> As much as I want this to be good, I'm going to stay true to my rule of every manga/anime to live action film will not be as good at best, and utterly terrible at worst. It's almost always the case, with extremely few exceptions (namely Rurouni Kenshin).


I think Takashi Miike will do a good job directing it. He made 13 Assassins, Audition and Ichi the Killer, all of which are excellent gory films, so this will be right up his alley. I don't think they'll be able to cover too much of the manga's story though and I'm expecting there to be multiple parts like the Kenshin films.


----------



## wankerness

dr_game0ver said:


> Battle Royale started out as a book. They are both adaptations.



That's kind of a technicality! I forgot that, even though I read the book (which is also worse than the movie).


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The IT sequel is coming out in 2019. 
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3461128/weve-already-got-release-date-sequel/


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

YES! More sequels of remakes! I hope they do a prequel or two as well!


----------



## wankerness

More like the other half of an adaptation that sucks considerably less than the first one. (I think)


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> I think Takashi Miike will do a good job directing it. He made 13 Assassins, Audition and Ichi the Killer, all of which are excellent gory films, so this will be right up his alley. I don't think they'll be able to cover too much of the manga's story though and I'm expecting there to be multiple parts like the Kenshin films.



My money's on Miike too. Not only are those 3 movies good, but his previous anime/game adaptations have been solid (if not above average). Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza) and Ace Attorney were fun for what they are. Funny enough Miike's also doing a JoJo's Bizzare Adventure live action film too. Ok, that, I'm interested in. 

In other related news. 

http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/ne...kes-on-live-action-version-of-your-name-anime

I can only respond accordingly:


----------



## wankerness

Gerald's Game is quite good. Watch it if you liked the book, or if you haven't read the book. I had vivid memories of being freaked out by the book, primarily by the "Space Cowboy," and thus ANY visualization of him was bound to let me down, but I don't think anyone without that problem will be disappointed.


----------



## mongey

finally got around watching wonder woman with the wife

I really didn't think much of it .I was expecting allot more after reading some good things when it came out. not a bad as BvS or suicide squad, but not that much better


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Bladrunner 2049*

Well I needed an antidote to wash the terribly bland taste that the Ghost In The Shell movie left in my mouth earlier this year. This was what the doctor ordered. I was curious what Denis Vilanueve could do with a movie that really was just fine to stand and stay on it's own. But also what he, or anyone can do with a movie that's mostly told in ambiguity. The result takes a similar route to the original, but with some of the themes a little more on the nose. It is a sequel after all so all the callbacks, references and having Harrison Ford show up will be highly anticipated. Unavoidable 'sloppy seconds' pandemic, yeah, but still a solid movie. So, directors cut in a few years from now then?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Kingsman Golden Circle was fun. A little haphazard tonally speaking (just like the first one) but still pretty damn entertaining, especially the final fight scene . The music choices were funny (there's a bagpipe version of country road by john denver and a country version of Word Up by Korn). It's a good stupid action movie (most of the time).


----------



## MFB

I just watched Kingsman Secret Service the other day for the first time and really enjoyed it. Just, a really fun spy movie - no more no less.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> I just watched Kingsman Secret Service the other day for the first time and really enjoyed it. Just, a really fun spy movie - no more no less.


you'll like the second one then, it's basically just a love letter to roger moore era james bond films with a lot of snark.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> you'll like the second one then, it's basically just a love letter to roger moore era james bond films with a lot of snark.



I'll probably try and catch it for cheap this weekend. It's one of those films that I figured was chasing the current Bond/Bourne trend, so I just overlooked it for a while


----------



## Ralyks

Finally finished Spectre recently, and got The Fountain and A Scanner Darkly cheap on Blu-ray. Next up, borrowed Metropolis (the anime) from a friend recently, that will likely be tonight after I catch up on South Park.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I saw Bladerunner 2049 today and it was excellent. The cinematography, the lighting, and the composition are amazing. The color palette is essentially the same as the original and it still works so well. It's probably the only sequel besides Terminator 2 or Aliens that deserves to exist imo as it manages to actually expand the world a bit and bring something different to the table. Storywise it's a good solid sci-fi story with some great visual worldbuilding.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Friday the 13th


----------



## wankerness

Blade Runner 2049 left me with more nitpicks than positive feelings for some reason. Like, how it really had to hammer home all the themes. Ex, hey, let's replay Bautista saying the line about miracles like FIVE TIMES so you're sure to get it!!!! The original most definitely did not hold your hand like that. Then again, this one's plot was FAR more coherent and directed, while the original's a bit patchy. You win some, you lose some. I just wish it hadn't had a few of those blatant "clues" like that.

I HATED the main henchman, like absolutely hated her. She looked like she belonged in the basement in NCIS. They should have gotten someone that can pull off glower. Like, frickin Gazelle from Kingsman was more convincingly badass, and that was a comedy and she was kind of supposed to be ridiculous. Maybe it was just the bangs driving me nuts, who knows. I thought the character was underdeveloped, too. Like, what was with the single tears in a few scenes? I got it in the introduction of Jared Leto scene, but then they never do anything with it! It seemed like they were setting up her being extremely masochistic and self-loathing or something, but


Spoiler



if I remember right it never comes out again in any way.



For that matter, a lot of the characters were left really half-baked, like if I remember right we got TWO scenes with Jared Leto and about three with Mackenzie Davis. Harrison Ford is good. I liked Ryan Gosling throughout. Obviously the visuals are incredible. Though


Spoiler



the climactic battle in the car with Gosling and henchman trying to drown each other looked uncharacteristically cheap and was also unpleasant and non-exciting, especially compared to the ridiculously tense final faceoff in the first movie.



My favorite scene in the movie BY FAR was the sex scene. It was weirdly touching and it was interesting visually. It was great. I really liked that whole relationship, even though again it felt a bit undercooked, especially with


Spoiler



the way they undercut the whole thing after the fact with the big naked Joi ad-bot calling him Joe, too.



The funny thing is, overall I liked it! I need to watch it again. I don't think any of my problems will be wiped away, but knowing what minor disappointments exist might let me appreciate the rest of it better. I saw it in an ultrascreen with actual great picture and sound, so that definitely was an experience I am glad I paid for. It's gorgeous. I would have preferred they hire Vangelis to add some actual melody, as Hans Zimmer basically did a ton of his typical BWAP! BWAP! BWAP! scores, just with some occasional Blade Runner synth sounds over it, but oh well. It's not bad.


----------



## Gravy Train

Just bought the entire Friday the 13th collection and Nightmare on Elm Street collection (never seen any of the originals). Can’t wait!


----------



## Gravy Train

Triple post on accident, please excuse


----------



## wankerness

I really like NOES 1-4 and most especially New Nightmare. Even 5 has its moments.

The only Friday the 13th I've ever liked was Freddy Vs Jason. *ducks*


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Slumber Party Massacre


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Sleepaway Camp, I know what you did last summer, I still know what you did last summer.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Sleepaway Camp, I know what you did last summer, I still know what you did last summer.


Two turds and a classic. Awesome. You should see SC II.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Two turds and a classic. Awesome. You should see SC II.


Aww I like the IKWYDLS films, they're good stupid slasher fun. I watch sleepaway camp once a year, usually around october. Think I'm gonna start on Shivers, Rabid and some other old Cronenberg movies next.


----------



## Rosal76

I finally got the chance to see Phantasm 5 (2016). For the die hard fans of the series, I'll give some pointers about the movie. If you're expecting a movie like the first 2, you won't get it from this movie. The first one had a genuine/original feel/nostalgia to it and the second one had the big budget provided by Universal Pictures. If you have grown to like the 3rd and 4th movies, then you "might" enjoy the 5th. I was under the impression that this was the final movie in the series. The End. All questions answered and no stone left unturned. It is not as they left room for continuation. Angus Scrimm (The Tall Man) had died last year so I would think they aren't going to making any more Phantasm movies but that didn't stop Star Wars: Rogue One from having Princess Leia despite Carrie Fisher having passed away. Make no mistake about it, Phantasm 5 is a B-movie. There are some cool scenes in it but they won't make the movie any better. Lots of cool scenes with Reggie's 1971 Plymouth Cuda that will make muscle car fans drool and the scenery in some shots are flat out gorgeous. A least we can say the guys who provided the Cuda and location director did a good job on the movie.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rosal76 said:


> I finally got the chance to see Phantasm 5 (2016). For the die hard fans of the series, I'll give some pointers about the movie. If you're expecting a movie like the first 2, you won't get it from this movie. The first one had a genuine/original feel/nostalgia to it and the second one had the big budget provided by Universal Pictures. If you have grown to like the 3rd and 4th movies, then you "might" enjoy the 5th. I was under the impression that this was the final movie in the series. The End. All questions answered and no stone left unturned. It is not as they left room for continuation. Angus Scrimm (The Tall Man) had died last year so I would think they aren't going to making any more Phantasm movies but that didn't stop Star Wars: Rogue One from having Princess Leia despite Carrie Fisher having passed away. Make no mistake about it, Phantasm 5 is a B-movie. There are some cool scenes in it but they won't make the movie any better. Lots of cool scenes with Reggie's 1971 Plymouth Cuda that will make muscle car fans drool and the scenery in some shots are flat out gorgeous. A least we can say the guys who provided the Cuda and location director did a good job on the movie.


I like to pretend that none of the phantasm movies exist, just like the godawful NOES remake.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> I like to pretend that none of the phantasm movies exist, just like the godawful NOES remake.


You don't like Phantasm at all? I think it's a good film, but the sequels are less than stellar. I tried watching Ravager, but it was very... odd. I was lost almost from the get go, and I'm curious if it's because I haven't seen/didn't pay much attention to the sequels.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> You don't like Phantasm at all? I think it's a good film, but the sequels are less than stellar. I tried watching Ravager, but it was very... odd. I was lost almost from the get go, and I'm curious if it's because I haven't seen/didn't pay much attention to the sequels.


The first one is alright. I hate all the others that I've seen.


----------



## wankerness

Phantasm is a horror classic. I can't believe anyone would think it's "godawful" unless they're rabidly anti-mainstream and only into the artier stuff. And even then, Phantasm is so weird it almost counts (ex Hellraiser). It's nothing like the blockheaded basic stuff like Friday the 13th or Scream.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Never Hike Alone


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Jug Face


----------



## Mathemagician

Guys with Netflix: Train to Busan. Best zombie movie I’ve seen in years.

It may have been mentioned I just came straight to the last page.

Also, if you like fantasy/action- Vin Diesel’s “The Last Withc Hunter” was a lot of fun. Made me want to look into D&D.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

KnightBrolaire said:


> Jug Face


Don't watch it, it sucks.


----------



## wankerness

Yeah, that was a total waste of time. I think. I forgot almost everything about it within about 48 hours.

I saw Netflix added Raw and Teeth recently. That would make a great double feature.

I watched Backcountry last night on someone's recommendation, it's an alright survival/animal attack movie about a couple in the woods stalked by a bear. Good and gory and the lead actress is good. It could probably have dropped the first 20-30 minutes with no loss to the film though.


----------



## mongey

Finally got a few hours with no wife or 2 year old to watch alien covenant. Sad I know.

As a big fan of the original first 2 and not a lover of Prometheus I went in with low expectations , and I came came out pleasantly surprised. Yeah there’s some thin story line in there . I’m not a huge fan about the whole way David ties in to the aliens, feels forced to me , but overall I enjoyed it.

Did think the guy from almost famous was pretty terrible in it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Is this for real? This shit is fucking cringey.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Is this for real? This shit is fucking cringey.
> 
> View attachment 56780


 Only the most asinine of PC police would connotate dark with race. Maybe if enough people call Abrams a racist for implying that he'll shut up about how the dark side is racist. I can't wait for the Sinister films to have their names changed because the word sinister has a negative connotation about left-handed people being evil. 
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sinister


----------



## wankerness

That JJ Abrams image is a completely falsified thing. Apparently you saw it posted on some kind of right-wing equivalent to the rage-o-sphere, posted as if it was real? Here's the link they photoshopped. I thought it was very suspect that it's an image instead of a link. I'm glad you questioned it, at least!

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...vorrow-replacement-release-date-a7942986.html

FAKE NEWS!

Train to Busan was kind of disappointing. I'm 0/2 on hyped Korean movies set on trains: first Snowpiercer and now that!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> That JJ Abrams image is a completely falsified thing. Apparently you saw it posted on some kind of right-wing equivalent to the rage-o-sphere, posted as if it was real? Here's the link they photoshopped. I thought it was very suspect that it's an image instead of a link. I'm glad you questioned it, at least!
> 
> http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...vorrow-replacement-release-date-a7942986.html
> 
> FAKE NEWS!
> 
> Train to Busan was kind of disappointing. I'm 0/2 on hyped Korean movies set on trains: first Snowpiercer and now that!


You should check I Saw the Devil, Tae Guk Gi, War of the Arrows and Man from Nowhere. All of those are awesome.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> That JJ Abrams image is a completely falsified thing. Apparently you saw it posted on some kind of right-wing equivalent to the rage-o-sphere, posted as if it was real? Here's the link they photoshopped. I thought it was very suspect that it's an image instead of a link. I'm glad you questioned it, at least!
> 
> http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...vorrow-replacement-release-date-a7942986.html
> 
> FAKE NEWS!
> 
> Train to Busan was kind of disappointing. I'm 0/2 on hyped Korean movies set on trains: first Snowpiercer and now that!


I figured as such, but then again, JJ Abrams isn't above pulling some dumb ass overcompensating garbage like this.


----------



## synrgy

mongey said:


> Did think the guy from almost famous was pretty terrible in it.



He's been pretty terrible in everything other than Almost Famous. I mean, he's been in some good movies (Big Love comes to mind) but he's most often the weakest link in them.

I really _want_ to like him, if only because I loved Almost Famous so much, but he's been making it _really_ difficult.


----------



## MFB

You didn't like him in Watchmen?


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I figured as such, but then again, JJ Abrams isn't above pulling some dumb ass overcompensating garbage like this.


What has he done like that?



KnightBrolaire said:


> You should check I Saw the Devil, Tae Guk Gi, War of the Arrows and Man from Nowhere. All of those are awesome.



I've seen the first and last of those, and many other thrillers (Vengeance trilogy, Hide and Seek, The Chaser, Memories of Murder, etc) and horror movies (Thirst, The Host, The Wailing, etc). I'm a pretty big fan of most of them, Train to Busan and Snowpiercer just were big letdowns. Especially since Snowpiercer was from the same director as one of my favorite movies of all time, Memories of Murder.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I've seen the first and last of those, and many other thrillers (Vengeance trilogy, Hide and Seek, The Chaser, Memories of Murder, etc) and horror movies (Thirst, The Host, The Wailing, etc). I'm a pretty big fan of most of them, Train to Busan and Snowpiercer just were big letdowns. Especially since Snowpiercer was from the same director as one of my favorite movies of all time, Memories of Murder.


It's not korean, but have you seen Dumplings? It's a pretty creepy horror film imo. Stoker is a pretty decent thriller too (from the director of Oldboy).


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> It's not korean, but have you seen Dumplings? It's a pretty creepy horror film imo. Stoker is a pretty decent thriller too (from the director of Oldboy).



Isn't dumplings the segment in 3 Extremes? I saw THAT, not sure if you're talking about something else.

And yeah, I liked Stoker.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Isn't dumplings the segment in 3 Extremes? I saw THAT, not sure if you're talking about something else.
> 
> And yeah, I liked Stoker.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472458/
^this film.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472458/
> ^this film.



Bizarre. Same cast, director, etc. Guess he just liked it so much he wanted to make it full length.


----------



## synrgy

MFB said:


> You didn't like him in Watchmen?



Not especially, but there wasn't much of anything I found redeemable in that movie, except its source material. I guess I'm just not into Snyder's style. I dug 300 the first time I saw it, but the shine quickly wore off upon subsequent viewings. I haven't liked anything else he's directed and/or produced during the interim.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

On the subject of Korean films, has anybody seen The Handmaiden yet? I just got a copy on Bluray a few weeks ago, but time has been rather scarce for me lately. It's Park Chan Wook's most recent movie (last year) that completely flew over my radar. 



wankerness said:


> Bizarre. Same cast, director, etc. Guess he just liked it so much he wanted to make it full length.



Basically that. An expansion with an alternate ending. I actually saw this first before the 3 Extremes, which at first confused me at the time.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Black X-mas, Blood Creek and The Babysitter. Good fun horror movies. The practical effects are really good in Blood Creek. Babysitter and Black X-mas are actually pretty funny if you like stuff like Dead Alive/gory horror. There's one scene in Black X-mas where the killer uses a cookie cutter to take angel shaped chunks out of his victim and then bakes them/eats them.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Black X-mas, Blood Creek and The Babysitter. Good fun horror movies. The practical effects are really good in Blood Creek. Babysitter and Black X-mas are actually pretty funny if you like stuff like Dead Alive/gory horror. There's one scene in Black X-mas where the killer uses a cookie cutter to take angel shaped chunks out of his victim and then bakes them/eats them.


Out of his mom. That parts even better. 

The same mom he fucked earlier and had a goofy looking incest baby with.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Out of his mom. That parts even better.
> 
> The same mom he fucked earlier and had a goofy looking incest baby with.


yup, except for the fact that she raped him. It's such a batshit movie. I love movies like that.


----------



## Duosphere

Ghost Story.

Just beautiful.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> yup, except for the fact that she raped him. It's such a batshit movie. I love movies like that.


What leads you to believe she "raped" him? He wasn't exactly trying to resist.


----------



## Steinmetzify

Duosphere said:


> Ghost Story.
> 
> Just beautiful.



Awesome flick for sure. Not for everyone though, would never recommend it to a stoner, that film would be forever long if I was high. 

The Dark Tower, what a huge MESS.


----------



## Duosphere

steinmetzify said:


> Awesome flick for sure. Not for everyone though, would never recommend it to a stoner, that film would be forever long if I was high.



Yep.
A lot are complaining about the pace but, those types of feelings need time, if you can't focus on a film for only two hours because you need to reply to people on the net, go get a shrink LOL
With a fast pace those feelings would never feel real to the watcher plus if you never suffered any deep loss, of course the film will be boring to you at best.
To me it's a masterpiece, extremely original in a decade when everything is a copy of a copy and the majority don't even have a message, they all just exist to make money.
Kudos to any director/crew/studio whatever who puts out something like .



I started this one knowing nothing.
In the middle I thought "Oh man, this is going to be a cliche party!".
When finally it showed what was happening I thought "Fuck, this is THE cliche party!".
But then it showed more and I thought "What?!That's cool!".
Then................they showed even more and I thought 'Yeah, this is freakin' cool!".

I can give a tiny spoiler that I hope will make you guys curious about it, it seemed to me like it was a horny teenage vampire film but without a vampire...............WHAT?!

Go watch it, even if you don't like it'll still be a surprise


----------



## wankerness

For those who don't have any idea what they're talking about, I'm pretty sure they're talking about the new movie "A Ghost Story," which is about Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara as a young married couple. He gets killed in a car accident, and wakes up as a ghost (he's got a sheet over him with the eyes cut out). He is stuck in the house and can only watch as life passes him by, except in moments of extreme emotion where he can affect objects. But, the vast majority of the movie is him just standing there and observing as things pass. It gets weird. It's a contemplative movie about impermanence instead of a horror movie and *by far* the scariest scene is where some Joss Whedon-ish d-bag goes into a long speech about exactly how pointless life is and how nothing we do matters because your relatives will die out eventually, a supervolcano will go off and probably wipe out the human race, the sun will die, the universe will contract etc. I'd recommend it, but don't expect to have a lot of fun and definitely don't be looking for a horror movie. It's kind of twee. There's an incredible single-take static-camera scene in which Rooney Mara, in despair, eats an entire pie while crying. It lasts minutes. I thought it was great, but when I read reviews after watching it, almost everyone complained about it. I guess I was primed for it after things like the sweeping scene in Twin Peaks Season 3.

Of course, I could be wrong and they could be talking about "Ghost Story," a gothic horror from 1981 with a group of old codgers reminiscing about their fatal run-in with Alice Krige early in their lives. It's decent and has great make-up effects.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Fresh Meat. pretty damn funny horror comedy


----------



## mongey

after not know what to watch me and the wife watched spider man homecoming on Saturday . didn't expect much going in and we both really liked it. 

I'm not really a spider man fan in general , but it was by far the best of all the spider man reboots IMHO.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Was real excited to see "Sully" on DVD. Extremely disappointed... no custom guitars whatsoever.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Thor: Ragnarok*

I straight up loved What We Do In The Shadows, and Hunt For The Wilderpeople was my No.1 movie of 2016, so I was fully on board with Taika Waititi doing a Marvel movie, despite still feeling the undercurrent that his style seems to have no business in being in a Marvel movie. So all that said, I really enjoyed Thor Ragnarok.

Waititi really went to town here. The Marvel Thor mythos has always been preposterous. Waititi and co understand that, and have fully embraced it, thus making this one of the most visually vibrant and most faithful to Jack Kirby's artwork (says a lot considering Marvel's getting much better with the 2 Guardians movies and Doctor Strange). It's Kirby's comics come to life with some Flash Gordon and 80s anime thrown in for good measure. The score even goes for a full 80s vibe with analog synths doing the heavy lifting. 

Everything that's been reported about this movie (more humour, 80 percent of the dialog being improvised) sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it works. The jokes feel a bit more natural than Guardians Vol 2, which felt overbearing at times. The cast is clearly having a ball, particularly the regulars breathing some fresh life to their characters, Jeff Goldblum is... well, Jeff Goldblum (awesome as usual) and Cate Blanchett is another fine example that Marvel are getting better with their villains (all 3 of their films this year have fine upper tier examples). She also needs to have black hair more often, because she looks straight up amazing. There's some oddball cameos that I completely did not see coming at all so that was a hillariously pleasant surprise. 

Another fine addition to the MCU catalog, and clearly the most fun Thor movie by far.


----------



## wankerness

I heard the last third goes back into boring cookie-cutter Marvel territory, is that true?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

If by cookie cutter meaning, good guys beat up the bad guys at the end, then yes, it's a usual superhero movie kind of third act. It does take a spin to make the final confrontation interesting (concept not uniquely thought as Ant Man or Doctor Strange, but still fine) and a fitting way to end the Thor arc.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The Foreigner
Jackie Chan was excellent in the film. Overall it's more about the politics/intrigue behind government/the IRA but the parts where Chan are involved are super entertaining. The fight scenes are well done though not as brutal as the Raid 2 or the Bourne films. It's really nice to see Chan do something more drama based and not slapstick humor based. It's worth a rental at minimum imo.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> The Foreigner



This is on my shortlist yet to see, and it was already recommended highly by a friend.

It's good to hear Jackie Chan doing more drama movies and less of anything with Brett Ratner. And he's shown some drama chops before. Crime Story was a great film completely different to everything Chan did at the time (Island Of Fire came out around that same time too, also more of a serious tone, but more of an all star cast than a Chan focused affair). Shinjuku Incident, was ok from what I remember. I'm not counting Heart Of A Dragon though (despite being a guilty pleasure). The tone of the movie was wonky at best, and schizophrenic at worst.


----------



## fps

Happy Death Day. Enjoyed. Really not that gory, actually the characters were good, script was sharp. It didn't justify its premise towards the end (the plot kinda hamstrung it a bit in the end) but I was entertained throughout and quite emotionally involved. Definitely more at the Buffy end of *horror* than I thought it would be. Likeable, surprisingly positive. 

Much better shout than going to see what will, I'm sure, be a miserable rotfest in the latest Saw. Those films were never worth much, and from the 4th one on were worth considerably less than that.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

fps said:


> Happy Death Day. Enjoyed. Really not that gory, actually the characters were good, script was sharp. It didn't justify its premise towards the end (the plot kinda hamstrung it a bit in the end) but I was entertained throughout and quite emotionally involved. Definitely more at the Buffy end of *horror* than I thought it would be. Likeable, surprisingly positive.
> 
> Much better shout than going to see what will, I'm sure, be a miserable rotfest in the latest Saw. Those films were never worth much, and from the 4th one on were worth considerably less than that.


agreed, everything after the 4th saw is pretty crap, though some of the kills are good in them.


----------



## Ralyks

Metropolis (the 2001 Osamu Tezuka anime version in 2001, not the 1927 film). I tried watching it years ago and liked what I watched, but never finished it. Was at a friends house who had a copy and I got excited, and they just went "Here you go. Enjoy."


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> agreed, everything after the 4th saw is pretty crap, though some of the kills are good in them.


You guys are giving it too much credit. After part 2, it sucked, but I did like part 5. I thought 3/4 were especially garbage.


----------



## Ralyks

I was really hoping they’d be done with the Saw franchise. The first is one of my favorite movies ever, the second was great, then it became the most extremes of hit and miss. By the fifth one I was basically seeing them in theaters out of obligation. Although the ending of the “final chapter” was at least satisfying enough. Any word on if Jigsaw is any good?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Ralyks said:


> I was really hoping they’d be done with the Saw franchise. The first is one of my favorite movies ever, the second was great, then it became the most extremes of hit and miss. By the fifth one I was basically seeing them in theaters out of obligation. Although the ending of the “final chapter” was at least satisfying enough. Any word on if Jigsaw is any good?


it has a 36% on rotten tomatoes from critics but 92% with audiences. I'm sure it'll be good stupid fun.


----------



## Ralyks

KnightBrolaire said:


> it has a 36% on rotten tomatoes from critics but 92% with audiences. I'm sure it'll be good stupid fun.



Most I can ask for at this point.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> it has a 36% on rotten tomatoes from critics but 92% with audiences. I'm sure it'll be good stupid fun.



Is audience score like cinemascore where almost EVERYTHING no matter how bad has an incredibly high one apart from challenging movies like say, Mother! or Solaris?

I watched all the Saw movies last year for some masochistic reason. IMO, III is the only good one in the entire series, it's the only one that's somewhat coherent and has a character arc and any emotion to it other than people screeching or drooling. I was amused by that one that was a scream of rage against the concept of private healthcare, too, just cause it was so unexpected and so furious. I will have to watch this one once it hits home video just for sake of completion


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Is audience score like cinemascore where almost EVERYTHING no matter how bad has an incredibly high one apart from challenging movies like say, Mother! or Solaris?
> 
> I watched all the Saw movies last year for some masochistic reason. IMO, III is the only good one in the entire series, it's the only one that's somewhat coherent and has a character arc and any emotion to it other than people screeching or drooling. I was amused by that one that was a scream of rage against the concept of private healthcare, too, just cause it was so unexpected and so furious. I will have to watch this one once it hits home video just for sake of completion


 audience score is generally a better metric imo than critic consensus. Lot more data to pull from and there's a lot of stuff critics like that the majority of moviegoers hate (killing them softly for example). Between metacritic and rotten tomatoes its pretty easy to get a feel of whether users/critic's opinions on a film are justified.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Halloween
Halloween 2


----------



## Acme

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Thor: Ragnarok*
> 
> I straight up loved What We Do In The Shadows, and Hunt For The Wilderpeople was my No.1 movie of 2016, so I was fully on board with Taika Waititi doing a Marvel movie, despite still feeling the undercurrent that his style seems to have no business in being in a Marvel movie. So all that said, I really enjoyed Thor Ragnarok.
> 
> Waititi really went to town here. The Marvel Thor mythos has always been preposterous. Waititi and co understand that, and have fully embraced it, thus making this one of the most visually vibrant and most faithful to Jack Kirby's artwork (says a lot considering Marvel's getting much better with the 2 Guardians movies and Doctor Strange). It's Kirby's comics come to life with some Flash Gordon and 80s anime thrown in for good measure. The score even goes for a full 80s vibe with analog synths doing the heavy lifting.
> 
> Everything that's been reported about this movie (more humour, 80 percent of the dialog being improvised) sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it works. The jokes feel a bit more natural than Guardians Vol 2, which felt overbearing at times. The cast is clearly having a ball, particularly the regulars breathing some fresh life to their characters, Jeff Goldblum is... well, Jeff Goldblum (awesome as usual) and Cate Blanchett is another fine example that Marvel are getting better with their villains (all 3 of their films this year have fine upper tier examples). She also needs to have black hair more often, because she looks straight up amazing. There's some oddball cameos that I completely did not see coming at all so that was a hillariously pleasant surprise.
> 
> Another fine addition to the MCU catalog, and clearly the most fun Thor movie by far.



This is great and all but how do they sound in your guitar?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Thor was awesome. Great action scenes, super funny (easily on par with the 1st guardians film imo) and it was just fun to watch. It drags a little bit in spots but overall I really liked it. Easily the best Thor movie to date and currently my favorite marvel movie. The banter was excellent, especially thor and korg's quips. The physical humor and callbacks are great too.


----------



## mongey

watched the sound city doco on netflix. I thought it was good. made with love


----------



## mongey

finally got around to watching Her . I liked it .I thought everyone was really good in it and some of the dialogue was painfully close to real world couple conversations ,made me wince a few times. the ending was a little unremarkable but suited the tone of the movie.


----------



## bostjan

_Thor: Ragnarok_ - Decent Marvel movie. I enjoyed it. I had a couple of little nitpicky issues with it here and there, but all was forgivable with plenty of everything I love about Marvel movies. I'd watch it again, easily.

_The House_ - Hmm. As expected. My biggest complaint is that the trailer for the movie was just a condensed version of the movie, aside from a cameo and a couple of jokes that were amusing-ish. It wasn't boring, but I just felt it didn't try to raise the bar in any way.

_Spy_ - This had me laughing out loud twice. Some good humour and entertaining action. Don't expect anything out of the plot or overall acting and you'll probably really enjoy this one. I was happy to see Melissa McCarthy in a role where she wasn't a "derp comic relief derp" nor an obnoxious stock character, and thought she did a praiseworthy job (for it being a comedy). Jason Stratham, on the other hand, played a pretty one-dimensional angry-dude character, but he did such a good job at it that he ended up stealing the show. The rest of the characters were quite unremarkable. I'd recommend it, though, if you like modern comedies.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Acme said:


> This is great and all but how do they sound in your guitar?



*Justice League*

After long umming and arring for quite some time, I decided to finally go against the popular opinion, and bought myself a Dimarzio Tone Zone 7 for the bridge of my RG1527. My long quest of trying to find the closest 7 string pickup to my favorite set (the Dimarzio Breed), I've gone through a few contenders: first the Blaze Custom, which was too boomy for me, the Crunchlab 7, which I found flat and uninspiring, and currently a D-Sonic 7, the closest but still no cigar, or Breed if you will. The Tone Zone 7 has always been downplayed in this sight, and quite a few 7 string players, namely metal players. But I'm not going for that uber tight low end (I have the Evo7 on my RG1527M for that), so I finally took the plunge and ordered one. I also ordered an Air Norton 7 to replace my Liquifire 7, namely because I ordered the pair in brushed chrome covers. Thought I'd give my guitar a new look as well. Looking forward to having them installed and playing them when they finally arrive.

Oh yeah, Justice League. Justice League is a movie in which popular superheroes gather together and do stuff with cube shaped mcguffins and finally come together against a big bad guy in the end, which is certainly a positive thing. Booya.


----------



## watson503

*Brawl In Cell Block 99* - Vince Vaughn as Bradley Thomas, a wrecker driver turned drug courier who ends-up in prison...great film, highly recommend.

*No Beast So Fierce* - I went into this one not having a clue about the film, man is released after 20 years in prison and is looking for his son who he has not seen in years. Great watch and the ending is really twisted.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Slumber Party Massacre- good stupid slasher fun


----------



## fps

KnightBrolaire said:


> audience score is generally a better metric imo than critic consensus.



Not necessarily, just a lot of movie-goers are justifying their purchases, equating the film with the rest of their evening, and haven't seen all the other films their choice is a derivative knock-off from. Not always the case of course, and comedies especially are notoriously undermarked, just adding a coupla thoughts.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

fps said:


> Not necessarily, just a lot of movie-goers are justifying their purchases, equating the film with the rest of their evening, and haven't seen all the other films their choice is a derivative knock-off from. Not always the case of course, and comedies especially are notoriously undermarked, just adding a coupla thoughts.


with a larger sample size it's a better indicator as to whether the film is enjoyable imo. ie jigsaw has 25000+ ratings and the overwhelming majority liked it. This happens all the time with horror films/comedies, though occasionally the critic consensus mirrors the audience one. I'd rather trust 25k people who paid money to watch it than a critic who likely saw it for free and doesn't even like horror. Without the ability to cull outliers (like 0-1 or 5 star reviews) it's hard to say whether their ratings are justified (jigsaw is at a 4.7/5 avg from the audience). If you really want a good idea then rotating between metacritic and rottentomatoes/ collating their data works best.


----------



## Rosal76

KnightBrolaire said:


> Slumber Party Massacre- good stupid slasher fun



+1.

I can't remember too much about the first movie but I absolutely love the 2nd one. So much I had to buy the DVD.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> with a larger sample size it's a better indicator as to whether the film is enjoyable imo. ie jigsaw has 25000+ ratings and the overwhelming majority liked it. This happens all the time with horror films/comedies, though occasionally the critic consensus mirrors the audience one. I'd rather trust 25k people who paid money to watch it than a critic who likely saw it for free and doesn't even like horror. Without the ability to cull outliers (like 0-1 or 5 star reviews) it's hard to say whether their ratings are justified (jigsaw is at a 4.7/5 avg from the audience). If you really want a good idea then rotating between metacritic and rottentomatoes/ collating their data works best.



It's more believable since Saw 5 and Saw 3D are down around 50%. That's way higher than those two deserve, but that's still a huge difference.

RE: Slumber Party Massacre, a big part of what's amusing about the first is that it was directed by a woman and is loaded with subversion of bimbo slasher movies (like, Sorority House Massacre). It's a ton of fun. I still haven't watched the sequels, but I hear good things about 2 all the time.


----------



## Ralyks

Since I got the Xbox One X, and I have a 4K TV, figured I may as well get some 4K Blu Rays. So, I got Blade Runner and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Not only are they both great (well, its been said enough with Blade Runner of course), but the 4K really is noticeable. Both great looking movies look even better.


----------



## wankerness

Blade Runner is supposed to be one of the best discs. I can't really justify a 4K set considering my living room setup, but it's making me want to move to a new apartment!!


----------



## Ralyks

wankerness said:


> Blade Runner is supposed to be one of the best discs.



I'll tell you what, I had to resort to eBay just to find Blade Runner on 4K. Even the regular blu-ray has been hard to find.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Justice League

I thought it was enjoyable. I didn't really have any problem with the movie. I probably have low standards compared to everyone else, though. To me, a movie is good, even if it's considered bad by an overwhelming majority. Basically, I like what I like and fuck everyone else's opinion. 2edgy?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Justice League was good stupid fun. Steppenwolf was a pretty lame villain and the ending was weak but I still liked it.
Murder on the Orient Express- Haven't seen the original to compare but this was pretty enjoyable. Branagh chews scenery like no other as Poirot and it's a solid whodunnit film. The cinematography/set design was fantastic. The long tracking/panning shots are awesome, they're everywhere in the film.


----------



## Triple-J

Saw Justice League today and while I usually can't stand anything involving Zack Snyder or Joss Whedon I actually enjoyed it and felt it was a step in the right direction yes the villain was lame and more a plot device than actual character but the villains in most of these movies aren't up to snuff when compared to the source material anyway.
The opening scene is a nice callback to Tim Burton's 1st Batman which is cool but the first half hour after it was garbage that just kept jumping from scene to scene but once it got going it was pretty solid and unlike the Avengers which seems to revolve around Iron Man being a prick to everyone all of the team got a moment to shine in this and I really enjoyed the dynamic between them quite a bit.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Bad Genius*

This was a pleasant surprise. The mundane premise of high school kids taking exams and turning it into an intense heist-style movie is something I'd expect to see in an anime, but the commitment Bad Genius makes into doing so, and pulling it off so well, is impressive. Awesome heart pumping fun.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Jigsaw*

A bit late to the party with this one. And certainly haven't bothered to keep up with the continuity after Saw 2 (maybe saw 3 as well but I forgot). I still think the original Saw is my favorite (possibly my Melbourne home bias and I've gunned for James Wan and Leigh Whannell since), but I thought this was alright. It's still no Saw 1 but it's another Saw movie.


----------



## synrgy

Ragnarok!

I can't recall the last time I had that much fun watching a movie in the theater. I laughed more than I laugh at most 'comedy' films. The pacing was near-perfect (save maybe a bit of meandering in the third act) and I love that they simultaneously raised the stakes while lightening the mood.

*edit* Also, WOW @ the trailer for Black Panther.


----------



## mongey

The founder

thought the first half was interesting and entertaining in setting it up . then it really didn't go anywhere .kind of a weird movie. I thought Keaton was great in it though . and he was the reason we watched it


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Logan Lucky*

Another pleasant surprise of a heist movie in the span of a few months. It's more than just Steven Soderberg retelling Oceans 11 for the working class middle American demographic, but the characters felt more real, sympathetic and believable than the pseudo-anime approach of Bad Genius (the other awesome heist movie of 2017). Also seeing both Adam Driver and Daniel Craig in thick deep south American accents was certainly good fun.


----------



## wankerness

Argh, I need to watch that and have been meaning to for a while now. I just can't pull the trigger. There's just something about Adam Driver movies, I guess. Patterson and Inside Llewyn Davis are on that same list!!


----------



## A-Branger

I just saw COCO over the weekend

must say, Pixar, you did it again. Beautiful visuals, made me tear up at couple of times too. Pretty basic on the characters, the comedy relief and the pet animal, blah blah. Not sure if the twist at the end is stereotype, but I didnt saw it coming. Either way a pretty good film

also F#* you Pixar, wheres my before movie short film????..... those are usually the best


----------



## KnightBrolaire

*Life*- A good stupid creature feature. It was really well done but the alien itself isn't anything amazing. I did like some of the kills though. It actually has some good sci-fi mumbo jumbo dialogue (I always thoroughly enjoy hearing people try to rationally explain something like an alien).
*Warcraft*- A bloated, kind of boring movie. I thought I'd like it but the weird mix of CG and practical effects like paula patton's terrible orc makeup just threw me off. Definitely didn't help that the characters aren't particularly interesting. it did have some ok fight scenes but most were ridiculously slow/pathetic imo. There's no oomph when people clash with the CG orks (which is a complaint I also had about the hobbit trilogy).


----------



## wankerness

I have heard several times that Life is a lot of fun and since it came out at about the same time as Alien Covenant a ton of people were saying it was a much better Alien movie than the official one! I can't make myself watch it, though. It's been sitting in my "mainstream junk to watch" pile for quite some time now  Warcraft is also in that pile!!

Finally got around to watching Colossal, and loved it, the plot did NOT go in the directions I was expecting. It's a contender for my favorite movie of the year.

The "rough concept" is that Anne Hathaway is an alcoholic that one morning wakes up on a park bench, stumbles through the park by her house, gets home, and sees on the news that a giant monster in Korea materialized and made exactly the same stumbling motions through a city block as she did through the park. She confirms that it mirrors her actions, that it only appears if she's in the park at a specific time in the morning, and that it vanishes when she walks out of the park area.

That right there is one of the weirdest concepts I've ever heard for a movie, but it isn't just some stupid gimmick that the screenwriter came up with and then called it a day. The plot and characters are great throughout and it subverts tropes of a different genre entirely in its main arch, and man oh man is it weird and surprising and dramatically satisfying. Anne Hathaway is so great in it.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> I have heard several times that Life is a lot of fun and since it came out at about the same time as Alien Covenant a ton of people were saying it was a much better Alien movie than the official one! I can't make myself watch it, though. It's been sitting in my "mainstream junk to watch" pile for quite some time now  Warcraft is also in that pile!!



I really enjoyed Covenant, probably my 2nd favorite in the Alien franchise, but Life is basically a love letter to every self-contained sci-fi film where good intentions go horribly wrong; but in the end it ends up being average, nothing bad or offensive to it, but no reason to re-watch it unless you want a lesson in like, Horror Sci-Fi 101.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> I really enjoyed Covenant, probably my 2nd favorite in the Alien franchise, but Life is basically a love letter to every self-contained sci-fi film where good intentions go horribly wrong; but in the end it ends up being average, nothing bad or offensive to it, but no reason to re-watch it unless you want a lesson in like, Horror Sci-Fi 101.


^this. It doesn't really do anything really poorly, but it also doesn't do anything really amazing either. I did enjoy how it kills the first scientist though. People have been joking/posting theories that the alien is actually the venom symbiote.


----------



## Mathemagician

Just watched the American vandal documentary on Netflix. Crazy how the original guy got away with it. 

And now on to Black Mirror. (Sort of) can only watch like 1-2 episodes at a time. Gets a bit dark.


----------



## wankerness

Covenant is on a lot of top 10 WORST OF THE YEAR lists. It's also on a few best of the year lists. It's really polarizing. It's not necessarily a love-it-or-hate-it movie either, reactions are all over the place. I was in the middle somewhere. I was sort of interested in what it was trying to do, but didn't like it either.


----------



## synrgy

I _liked_ Covenant, but I wanted to _love_ it.

I was among the few who was _really_ into Prometheus. Not to say I thought it was a 'great film', persay, but that I was genuinely interested in where it was going. I liked Shaw as a flawed-but-steely heroine, and I was really looking forward to seeing how she would handle whatever she and David discovered upon arriving at their destination.

When the answer to 'where it was going' turned out to be 'nowhere, really', and the answer to 'how will she react' turned out to be 'she won't', that deflated me quite a bit.

Still, I genuinely enjoy Scott's vision and execution. The films are really pretty, and they succeed in transporting me out of my present reality, which - really - is my primary motivation to watch movies. The concept of David and his obsession with transcending humanity - as an origin for the franchise - is interesting, and 'realistic' (to me), even if it gets a little muddy in the presentation.

The extras/bonus-features on the blu ray do help flesh it out quite a lot. I understand 'haunted house in space' and 'three-plus hour epic' don't make for good bedfellows, so I'm not suggesting the film would have been better if they were all included in its runtime; I'm just suggesting that they help further flesh out David's perspective and motivations, along with that of the rest of the crew - for those who might be interested.


----------



## wankerness

I don't love Prometheus, but I somehow find it interesting enough that I've watched it 3 times. Covenant seemed a lot less interesting even though the small loudmouth internet contingent who says Prometheus is the worst movie ever (see also: Star Trek Into Darkness, The Last Jedi) says it's a lot better. I think a big part of it was what they did with Shaw. I didn't like any of the characters. They might not have been as stupid as in Prometheus, but they were considerably more boring to watch. The visuals were a lot uglier. And that flute scene was unintentionally hilarious.

I plan on revisiting it when the blu-ray ends up in the 5 dollar bin. I've seen it for 10, but that seemed like too much. Sounds like the extras are good, though, huh? I'm used to shitty EPKs being the only extras on big-budget movies. If they're actually worth watching then maybe that 10 is a fair price.


----------



## fps

wankerness said:


> Covenant is on a lot of top 10 WORST OF THE YEAR lists. It's also on a few best of the year lists. It's really polarizing. It's not necessarily a love-it-or-hate-it movie either, reactions are all over the place. I was in the middle somewhere. I was sort of interested in what it was trying to do, but didn't like it either.



I liked it when they were just out there with the alien running around. I liked loads of it. The ending was such a boring retread that it soured the rest of the experience.


----------



## mongey

fps said:


> I liked it when they were just out there with the alien running around. I liked loads of it. The ending was such a boring retread that it soured the rest of the experience.



agreed. when it felt like an alien movie it was cool.I really didn't rate how they tied it all together with David .felt like they were reaching way too hard to make it all fit and be "intelligent" 

Aliens is in my top 5 movies of all time, and it is the complete opposite of "intelligent"


----------



## KnightBrolaire

All the Money in the World- Christopher Plummer plays John Paul Getty, richest man in the world, whose grandson gets kidnapped. Plummer is utterly compelling as Getty. He manages to make getty look seem like both a family man and a narcissistic cheapskate who wants to win at any cost. Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams are great in it as well, but Plummer is the star. If you're in the mood for a good drama, watch this.
I, Tonya- Margot Robbie was fucking perfect for playing tonya harding. She manages to come off as tough, vulnerable, dedicated, egotistical, and snarky all in the span of the film. The tone is kind of dark and ridiculous (which if you've read anything about the real story, is the perfect tone for the film). Alison Janney is an abusive demanding mom who pushes tonya too hard, and she owns the role, just spewing venom and abuse. Sebastian Stan is pretty funny as Harding's husband, but the funniest character is Paul Hauser, who plays shawn. He's a delusional slob who lives with his parents, but claims to work for the CIA as an espionage consultant along with some other equally ridiculous claims.


----------



## mongey

watched war for the planet of the apes . 

me and the wife both loved the first one 

2nd one liked on initial viewing then kind of went cold after a 2nd view

so we were a bit hesitant to watch 3rd. but we both enjoyed it . had a few story points that could be debated but all in all ,worth watching. Woody Harleson def added something to it in his usual way


----------



## A-Branger

so finally saw "IT" the new one, oooooooooooooMFG!!! what a movie. Im not much of a fan of horror, and usually end up watching them because I cant find anything else. And I get surprised when I see a good film and not a jumpscare fest.

but ooooohhh this was such a well made film.... I got bit annoyed at the kid from stranger things, almost wish they dialed back his stereotype personality to be a bit more believable, I had couple of friends like that were everything its a sex joke..... and I felt bad for the fat guy, though he was gonna get the girl and make something different o a movie for once  

but what amazing "horror" film. I dont get scared anymore, Im too into analizing everything, compositin/lighting/VFX/sound/ect ect. I know everything its fake. But if you have a girl who gets scared easily, then this is a movie to watch  hehehe

10/10 would watch again pretty soon


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Hesher- i finally watched it and after years of putting it off. I hated it. Joseph gordon levitt is entertaining but the overall the film meanders and feels pointless. Jgl's character is only entertaining because he's a anarchist/uncouth lout.


----------



## wankerness

A-Branger said:


> so finally saw "IT" the new one, oooooooooooooMFG!!! what a movie. Im not much of a fan of horror, and usually end up watching them because I cant find anything else. And I get surprised when I see a good film and not a jumpscare fest.
> 
> but ooooohhh this was such a well made film.... I got bit annoyed at the kid from stranger things, almost wish they dialed back his stereotype personality to be a bit more believable, I had couple of friends like that were everything its a sex joke..... and I felt bad for the fat guy, though he was gonna get the girl and make something different o a movie for once
> 
> but what amazing "horror" film. I dont get scared anymore, Im too into analizing everything, compositin/lighting/VFX/sound/ect ect. I know everything its fake. But if you have a girl who gets scared easily, then this is a movie to watch  hehehe
> 
> 10/10 would watch again pretty soon



I would give it a 6/10. It has some of the same issues as the awful TV version, namely they compress the timeline so much that it's no longer believable at all that they form such a strong friendship, even though the kids here are really well acted and their interactions are great. They should have left in a couple things to give it some more days, like most especially the iconic "Bill races to beat the devil" thing with them riding away from the werewolf on Silver. That scene is so important symmetrically with the ending scene with Bill and Audra, as that one's called "Bill races to beat the devil Pt. II" if I remember right. Ah well.

My biggest problem with the kids is taking away Mike's historian thing and giving it to Ben. So, his defining character trait is changed from that to "black guy." He's basically Barrett (FF7). I am curious if he's going to be working in the library in Part 2, or what they're going to do with that. They can't really switch him with Ben and have Ben the guy left behind working as the town historian in the library. Well, they COULD I guess. That would be interesting?

I HATED that kid in Stranger Things this season so much that I couldn't react to him on his own merits in this movie. I think he's fine, I just spent at least the first half the movie hating him because of ST.

Beverly is done SO well in this movie it's ridiculous. Well, until certain plot developments that aren't in the book that needlessly turn her into a damsel in distress. She's really great, though.

I didn't like Pennywise, at all. His look is just silly and they stick a ton of attempts at jump scares in and he's just way too sinister and "edgy." Like, the first scene flops IMO, since unlike with Tim Curry, any kid in his right mind would run away screaming with that monster clown with a gigantic alien forehead sneering "Take iiiiTTTT" at him out of the sewer. Ah well. It was a step in the right direction with everything but that stupid clown design.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The TV version isn't "awful."


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The TV version isn't "awful."


the only real redeeming part of the tv version is tim curry's performance as Pennywise imo


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> the only real redeeming part of the tv version is tim curry's performance as Pennywise imo



Yeah, it's really not good at all. I watched it about a year ago in prep for this movie. Tim Curry is great to the point of being iconic, and he dwarfs the guy in the new one, but a bunch of the other actors/characters are just laughably bad (even the big name in the cast, John Ritter, and Olivia Hussey who I like). Sean Green and Emily Perkins' presence in the kid cast are amusing to me, but they both suck for the roles. I kind of like adult Bev even though she's not at all the character in the book. The whole thing is so damn neutered and the plot is so heavily compromised even besides being practically G-rated. And MAN, the confrontations in It's lair are so bad. "We couldn't figure out how to represent anything in the book's climax, so we'll just have them all punch a shitty giant spider."

There's a huge contingent of people that grew up with it that are convinced it's a masterpiece, but it's kind of Goonies syndrome where they're blinded to its flaws if they saw it at a formative age and not that impressed if they didn't. (I think Goonies is way better, but I did see that one as a kid!)

The new one is compromised in a lot of ways, but it does a ton of stuff right that this one failed at, and the acting is just night and day better with the kids. They actually sell the dialogue! And their friendship isn't represented simply by a bunch of really awkward arms around the shoulders.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Yeah, it's really not good at all. I watched it about a year ago in prep for this movie. Tim Curry is great to the point of being iconic, and he dwarfs the guy in the new one, but a bunch of the other actors/characters are just laughably bad (even the big name in the cast, John Ritter, and Olivia Hussey who I like). Sean Green and Emily Perkins' presence in the kid cast are amusing to me, but they both suck for the roles. I kind of like adult Bev even though she's not at all the character in the book. The whole thing is so damn neutered and the plot is so heavily compromised even besides being practically G-rated. And MAN, the confrontations in It's lair are so bad. "We couldn't figure out how to represent anything in the book's climax, so we'll just have them all punch a shitty giant spider."
> 
> There's a huge contingent of people that grew up with it that are convinced it's a masterpiece, but it's kind of Goonies syndrome where they're blinded to its flaws if they saw it at a formative age and not that impressed if they didn't. (I think Goonies is way better, but I did see that one as a kid!)
> 
> The new one is compromised in a lot of ways, but it does a ton of stuff right that this one failed at, and the acting is just night and day better with the kids. They actually sell the dialogue! And their friendship isn't represented simply by a bunch of really awkward arms around the shoulders.


goonies syndrome is a perfect description. I first saw IT as a kid and it scared the shit out of me (at the the time) but since then I've watched it a couple more times and it's pretty pathetic overall. Goonies is still a solid film imo and has more balls than the 90s IT did. Hell, Thinner is a way better 90s steven king movie as far as the execution. That's one stephen king story I'd love to see someone else take a crack at.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The Foreigner

Finally got to see this, and I'm glad I did. I'll consider this a redemption of sorts for Martin Campbell after Green Lantern. Serious Jackie Chan drama films are few and far between (see Crime Story for another standout), but this is a rare reminder that he's just as capable here as he is in slapstick comedy. Though certain fight scenes do tend to lessen the dark tone of the movie at times, it's Chan doing what he does best, and there's a one on one fight scene towards the end of act 2 that's shows Chan hasn't lost his edge.


----------



## synrgy

wankerness said:


> but it's kind of Goonies syndrome where they're blinded to its flaws if they saw it at a formative age and not that impressed if they didn't.



So, sidebar..

I was 5 when The Goonies came out, and I totally missed the boat. I might have seen pieces of it once or twice on VHS at other people's houses when I was really young, but I didn't know how to connect what I remembered (Data's inventions, basically) with any title. Anyway, I didn't come back to it until some time in my late twenties or early thirties.

Point being, I might as well have seen it for the first time as an adult, and I think it's a pretty solid adventure film. I'm not saying it's flawless; nothing is. I'm just suggesting that nostalgia isn't the only element responsible for the movie still being part of the zeitgeist more than 30 years after it was released, despite being released in a year with a gazillion other hugely popular films.

And, there was another tweener adventure movie released that year - Explorers - and it's not nearly as well loved.*

Despite all that, I still agree with the point you were making. Nostalgia-goggles are totally A Thing. They're why Stranger Things exists (I love it anyway; sue me), and why nearly every movie in the last 18 years has been a remake or reboot or sequel or tribute-to, etc.

*'Member when South Park did an homage to Explorers in the episode 'Canceled'? I 'member!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

synrgy said:


> *'Member when South Park did an homage to Explorers in the episode 'Canceled'? I 'member!


I sure fuckin' don't. In fact, I don't even know what "Explorers" is.


----------



## Quiet Coil

Acts I and II of Explorers is friggin’ awesome! Act III? Yeah... not so much.


----------



## wankerness

I'm a huge Joe Dante fan, I've even watched Hollywood Boulevard and Looney Tunes Back in Action more than once, but after seeing the third act of Explorers on TV once, I've intentionally skipped that one 

I've heard from everyone that the beginning is great, I just can't subject myself to those aliens again until I feel stronger!


----------



## Guitarmiester

Started watching Borgman the other night and fell asleep about 40-ish minutes deep since I put it on late at night. Anyone else see this movie? For having been clueless for the first 40 minutes I am intrigued to get to the end of it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Brawl in Cell Block 99: Pretty slow, simmering film as far as pacing, other than the quick and brutal fight scenes. The gore is done quite well and it's nice to see Vince Vaughn play someone other than mildly funny tall guy. Now he's playing brutish, violent tall guy. He dismantles a car using only his bare hands in the film, which is a good reference to how brutal the fights are. He dismantles other guys he fights in a similar manner, with a lot of strength and efficiency.


----------



## wankerness

I've heard that's really good. I saw it was just added to Amazon Prime, I'll have to check it out.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I've heard that's really good. I saw it was just added to Amazon Prime, I'll have to check it out.


I thoroughly enjoyed it, if you're into gory thriller/action films then it does the job.


----------



## mongey

Watched girls trip. I wouldn’t normally choose it but I gave the wife free reign to Choose that night 

Pretty standard for the genre. Fist half had some good laughs in it then it tried to get all self discovery and was pretty lame. I’ll guve it 6/10 just cause i had some good laughs in first half.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

mongey said:


> Watched girls trip. I wouldn’t normally choose it but I gave the wife free reign to Choose that night
> 
> Pretty standard for the genre. Fist half had some good laughs in it then it tried to get all self discovery and was pretty lame. I’ll guve it 6/10 just cause i had some good laughs in first half.


yeah ever since bridesmaids people have been trying to do girl buddy comedies (to varying success). That one did have some funny bits though. Far better than that pile of dogshit Bad Moms. I watched some other film like that with scarlett johannson that was actually pretty funny. I think it was called Rough Night or something.


----------



## wankerness

I'm slightly tempted to watch Bad Moms cause I like all four of the main cast members, especially Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell. It's probably terrible, though. The lesser of these movies took all the wrong lessons from Bridesmaids (lol poop).


----------



## MFB

I thought Bad Moms was a 6/10, if not that than maybe a 5/10 at worst; it didn't do anything incredibly bad or even just bad, it was just rather generic in it's idea but it appealed to a certain demographic apparently. It's kind of like Life was for sci-fi films, you'll watch it and enjoy yourself while watching, but once it's over you can't really remember anything specific about it to tell people why it's good or bad.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Just watched Hostiles. It's a moody, contemplative but brutal western. It tries to make you think about the pointless violence and whether redemption is possible, though whether it succeeds is a matter of opinion. If nothing else it's a really good slow burning western with some quick and dirty gunfights. The cast did an amazing job, especially Christian Bale, Wes Studi and Rory Cochrane. There are some gorgeous tracking shots with excellent lighting and framing/composition like the scene where they're riding their horses through a rainy/foggy pine forest .


----------



## fps

Train To Busan's good eh!? Surprisingly emotional too for what hokum it is.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

fps said:


> Train To Busan's good eh!? Surprisingly emotional too for what hokum it is.


I liked it, it was a very solid zombie film. Probably one of my favorite modern zombie films since 28 days later.


----------



## wankerness

That movie got hyped up to no end on all the movie sites I go too and thus I was disappointed when I saw it, partly because of the brightly lit, clean TV-movie look of it. I guess zombies without gore bug me. I sound like a Walking Dead fan.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> That movie got hyped up to no end on all the movie sites I go too and thus I was disappointed when I saw it, partly because of the brightly lit, clean TV-movie look of it. I guess zombies without gore bug me. I sound like a Walking Dead fan.


Yeah it's not exactly Dead Alive is it?


----------



## wankerness

No. It's fine and I don't mean to dissuade people from watching it, I just heard it called BEST ZOMBIE MOVIE IN DECADES and all this and I probably wouldn't even put it in top 10 of the 21st century!

Maybe I would, I really haven't thought this through.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> No. It's fine and I don't mean to dissuade people from watching it, I just heard it called BEST ZOMBIE MOVIE IN DECADES and all this and I probably wouldn't even put it in top 10 of the 21st century!
> 
> Maybe I would, I really haven't thought this through.


you see the trailer for the day of the dead reboot?


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> you see the trailer for the day of the dead reboot?



"Reboot?" I'm starting to lose track of what that even means anymore. Is Rhodes in it for 2 scenes at the beginning to establish continuity before the plot is then just a retread?

I never watched the infamous remake from ~10 years ago. Remake #2 seems pretty quick.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> "Reboot?" I'm starting to lose track of what that even means anymore. Is Rhodes in it for 2 scenes at the beginning to establish continuity before the plot is then just a retread?
> 
> I never watched the infamous remake from ~10 years ago. Remake #2 seems pretty quick.


You're thinking of Dawn of the Dead, this is the one with Bub the zombie.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> You're thinking of Dawn of the Dead, this is the one with Bub the zombie.



Uh, no. There was a Day of the Dead remake. And, by the way, it was fucking horrible. Just like this one looks.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Uh, no. There was a Day of the Dead remake. And, by the way, it was fucking horrible. Just like this one looks.


ohhh that piece of shit with mena suvari pretending she was in the national guard. Yeah that was really bad.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> ohhh that piece of shit with mena suvari pretending she was in the national guard. Yeah that was really bad.



Yeah, I guess? I'm thinking of something everyone hated that I didn't watch. I have no beef with the Dawn of the Dead remake, I saw it in the theater and enjoyed it.

Anyway, I got a big ol' list of zombie movies off IMDB and sorted by my ratings, and there's only a handful I even put at 7/10. Looks like best to worst (not ranked within numbers):

9/10
Cemetery Man
Dawn of the Dead 78
[REC]
Dead Alive
8/10
Plague of the Zombies
Night of the Living Dead '68
The Beyond
Return of the Living Dead 3
Re-Animator
Evil Dead '82
Evil Dead 2
Rabid
7/10
Day of the Dead
Zeder
Messiah of Evil
Night of the Comet
Zombi
City of the Living Dead
Zombieland
28 Weeks Later
Return of the Living Dead
Night of the Creeps
Pontypool
Creepshow (this one's a stretch)
Girl with All the Gifts
Evil Dead 2013


I guess Train to Busan makes the top 10. There aren't nearly as many good ones post 2000 as I thought!


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> Anyway, I got a big ol' list of zombie movies off IMDB and sorted by my ratings, and there's only a handful I even put at 7/10. Looks like best to worst (not ranked within numbers):



+1. Good list.

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you see this movie from 2013 called, Contracted. It's not your typical "a lot of zombies attacking lots of people, lots of gore, lots of shootings, lots of chaos in the street" cliche that you see now in zombie movies. At first, it may come off like movies like Outbreak (1995) and Contagion (2011) as they have similarities but I think Contracted did really good as a small budget movie.

Oh, almost forgot. Ya gotta put Shockwaves (1977) on your list. I freaking love that long scene where they showed that Nazi zombie underwater!!! Being a fan of special effects, I'm there looking for the tube for the actor to breathe air from! LOL!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rosal76 said:


> +1. Good list.
> 
> If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you see this movie from 2013 called, Contracted. It's not your typical: "a lot of zombies attacking lots of people, lots of gore, lots of shooting, lots of chaos in the street" cliche that you see now in zombie movies. At first, it may come off like that movie like Outbreak (1995) and Contagion (2011) as they have similarities but I think Contracted did really good as a small budget movie.


+1 Solid little twist on the zombie genre. I dug Contracted


----------



## wankerness

I've never heard of contracted. I'll have to watch it.

I've seen Shock Waves. I found it kind of dull apart from some good creepy water zombie shots. I really love the score, though.


----------



## fps

Also saw 3 Billboards Next To A Dog In Wisconsin, or whatever it's called. Really good film.


----------



## wankerness

I've been starting to blast through the Golden Globe/Oscar nominees finally. I think "The Phantom Thread" is the only other one I'm particularly interested in. The Darkest Hour sounds substandard by all reports and gay male romances (Call Me By Your Name) just don't do it for me. Well, I guess I really liked Moonlight, so maybe I should give it a chance.

The Shape of Water - 7.5/10
The Post - 6/10
Three Billboards - 7/10
I Tonya - 6/10
Lady Bird - 9/10
The Disaster Artist - 6/10 (though this one's off the Oscar list for non-movie reasons, woo)

So, this is kind of a weak year. Usually I end up loving at least a few of the best picture nominees. 

After looking back through my ratings for movies from 2017, Logan, Mother! and Colossal are right behind Lady Bird and The Big Sick, which were my easy two favorites. Get Out and Raw are also right up there. I have issues. Blade Runner 2049, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Gerald's Game were also really good. Last Jedi, Killing of a Sacred Deer, Thor Ragnarok, Kong Skull Island, John Wick 2, A Ghost Story, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Wonder Woman, It, Lego Batman, Baby Driver, Spider Man Homecoming, Dunkirk, Fate of the Furious, were decent to pretty good. The only movies I saw that I disliked were It Comes at Night and Alien Covenant. I need to rewatch a few of these that I don't feel fully confident in my opinions of. I think Raw, Dunkirk, Get Out and Blade Runner will improve. War for the Planet of the Apes, John Wick 2 and Alien Covenant could go either way. 

I need to rewatch The Shape of Water, I was expecting to love it, and maybe I would have without massively overblown expectations and the added barrier of going to see it last night yesterday at 10 pm after finding out that was the last day it was playing within 50 miles!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*The Handmaiden*

I didn't realize Park Chan wook released a movie in 2016. And I actually had the BluRay for sometime, but never bothered to watch it until the other day. And had I watched the movie back in 2016, I would have rated it as my favorite movie of the year next to Hunt For The Wilderpeople. A movie adaptation of Fingersmith revamped to 1930s Korea setting, this is a beautifully filmed/acted mystery/thriller story that you'd expect from Chan wook.


----------



## synrgy

So, coming back to the conversation about audience review scores..

https://geektyrant.com/news/disgrun...sabotage-black-panthers-rotten-tomatoes-score

None of this is okay.

Sidebar = I'm beginning to wonder if there's an observable correlation between the rise of audience scoring, and the ever-increasing homogenization of studio films.


----------



## wankerness

Nah, test audiences have been ruining things for decades. If anything, post-film ratings would have even less impact.

How many people are in that facebook group? 10? I most definitely don't doubt they can make a huge dent (just look at TLJ), but I don't think there's THAT much tribalism. Unless now DC vs Marvel is going the way of Fox News fans vs everyone else.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> So, coming back to the conversation about audience review scores..
> 
> https://geektyrant.com/news/disgrun...sabotage-black-panthers-rotten-tomatoes-score
> 
> None of this is okay.
> 
> Sidebar = I'm beginning to wonder if there's an observable correlation between the rise of audience scoring, and the ever-increasing homogenization of studio films.


meh they might tank it for about a day but it'll correct pretty quickly. User scores tend to crystallize after a certain point on both metacritic and rotten tomatoes, thus offering a pretty good metric for if people like the film.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Black Panther*

A three-peat victory for Ryan Coogler is what I've been calling this after seeing Black Panther last night, but the movie is so much more. 

This movie is fantastic in every aspect. The plot is self contained and almost exclusively set in Wakanda: and the fictional nation is beautiful: lush vibrant, colourful and culturally rich that the setting tells it's own story. The cast is fantastic, each character fully thought, and the plot isn't your typical MCU song and dance (probably helps that Civil War quickly gets his origin story out of the way, that I didn't know much about this plot). The MCU bad guys are getting better since yesteryear, but Michael B Jordan as Kilmonger takes it up a few more notches as one of the best in the canon. 

Yeah there's still a few flaws like some dodgy CG here and there (thought it's shot extremely well to disguise it for the most part), and I'm getting weary of SUV car chases in every action movie this decade, though the Busan scenes also look amazing. 

Ok, it's another Marvel CU movie I rave about, and of course it's going to make a ton of money just by being one. But Black Panther is special, and damn great. 

Oh, and for the curious, Fruitvale Station and Creed are awesome too.


----------



## mongey

Tried to watch Chappie as my wife is a Die Antwood fan ( I despise them) and we both like his other movies ,well district 9 anyway .

was woeful .even my wife agreed and we turned it off an hour in. Die Antwood duo were terrible in it . bad decision


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Black Panther*
> 
> A three-peat victory for Ryan Coogler is what I've been calling this after seeing Black Panther last night, but the movie is so much more.
> 
> This movie is fantastic in every aspect. The plot is self contained and almost exclusively set in Wakanda: and the fictional nation is beautiful: lush vibrant, colourful and culturally rich that the setting tells it's own story. The cast is fantastic, each character fully thought, and the plot isn't your typical MCU song and dance (probably helps that Civil War quickly gets his origin story out of the way, that I didn't know much about this plot). The MCU bad guys are getting better since yesteryear, but Michael B Jordan as Kilmonger takes it up a few more notches as one of the best in the canon.
> 
> Yeah there's still a few flaws like some dodgy CG here and there (thought it's shot extremely well to disguise it for the most part), and I'm getting weary of SUV car chases in every action movie this decade, though the Busan scenes also look amazing.
> 
> Ok, it's another Marvel CU movie I rave about, and of course it's going to make a ton of money just by being one. But Black Panther is special, and damn great.
> 
> Oh, and for the curious, Fruitvale Station and Creed are awesome too.


Sorry, but I thought it looked like shit. Can't believe people are getting up in arms over this shit losing it's 100% rating or whatever when it looks that fucking terrible. And I thought Avatar looked like CGI smeared shit on a big screen.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Sorry, but I thought it looked like shit. Can't believe people are getting up in arms over this shit losing it's 100% rating or whatever when it looks that fucking terrible. And I thought Avatar looked like CGI smeared shit on a big screen.



Did you watch the movie?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Did you watch the movie?


Nah. Watching the horrendous previews of stereotypical cars flipping after jumping on them in slow mo, shit looking CGI during fight scenes, entirely fake scenery, and other stalwart hallmarks of MCU feces perpetrated on the populace was more than enough for me. No matter how much diversity these films have, it's the same shit in every MCU film. How people enjoy seeing the same film over and over and over and over again is beyond me, but if that's what you're into, have at it. Half of the shit in the trailers looked like a video game.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Nah.







Spaced Out Ace said:


> Watching the horrendous previews of stereotypical cars flipping after jumping on them in slow mo, shit looking CGI during fight scenes, entirely fake scenery, and other stalwart hallmarks of MCU feces perpetrated on the populace was more than enough for me. No matter how much diversity these films have, it's the same shit in every MCU film. How people enjoy seeing the same film over and over and over and over again is beyond me, but if that's what you're into, have at it. Half of the shit in the trailers looked like a video game.



Well, yeah. Were you expecting Citizen Kane from a genre based entirely on comic book superheroes?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Well, yeah. Were you expecting Citizen Kane from a genre based entirely on comic book superheroes?


I expected something different from the rest of the cancer that Marvel has been inflicting on people the past 17 years or so. I used to enjoy Marvel Comics and the cartoons on saturday morning. Now, I couldn't watch one of these shit films if I were paid to do so.


----------



## synrgy

mongey said:


> was woeful



Yeah, I've tried to watch it at least three times and couldn't make it through. I don't expect I'll try again. Loved D9 (at least the first time, anyway) and didn't think Elysium was terrible, but.. Yeah. I'm on the fence with Blomkamp. Some of the stuff he's been doing with CG over the last year or so has been mildly interesting, but I'm increasingly getting the sense that his talents are decidedly more on the tech/design side than the storytelling side.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

mongey said:


> Tried to watch Chappie as my wife is a Die Antwood fan ( I despise them) and we both like his other movies ,well district 9 anyway .
> 
> was woeful .even my wife agreed and we turned it off an hour in. Die Antwood duo were terrible in it . bad decision


chappie was super weak compared to D9. About on par with elysium for me. Neither were great. Die Antwoord was horrible in Chappie.


----------



## mongey

KnightBrolaire said:


> chappie was super weak compared to D9. About on par with elysium for me. Neither were great. Die Antwoord was horrible in Chappie.


Yeah. I thought she was somewhat less horrible than him. 

But he was atrocious.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I expected something different from the rest of the cancer that Marvel has been inflicting on people the past 17 years or so. I used to enjoy Marvel Comics and the cartoons on saturday morning. Now, I couldn't watch one of these shit films if I were paid to do so.



I don't expect everyone to like these movies at all. I certainly don't care what you think of them. But considering Marvel only got these movies to be decently good only 10 of those 17 years is too broad a passing judgement. So I'll bite.

Prior to 2008, with the exception of Spiderman 1-2 and the Blade movies (IMO) almost every Marvel movie either sucked, or deteriorated with age. Even what's considered the good XMen movies (1-2) are terrible by today's standards. Bryan Singer's new XMen movies also suck (he really only did one great movie). Marvel only started picking it's stride when Iron Man came out, and even then it was rocky.

Plus all the other property that wasn't bought out by Disney at the time were puking out committee by design crap like Fox and Sony were doing (look up why the terrible Amazing Spider-Man movies and that horrible Fan4stic existed to see what I mean). The whole movie studios thing is a whole argument in itself. It's genuinely scary that Disney is monopolizing near everything, but that's a topic for another time.

Then there's the oversaturation of superhero movies where we get about an average of 6-7 a year now, it's easy to get extremely jaded, pull the 'old man yells at cloud' card and dismiss everything. But considering we now have well-written movies by exciting directors in the canon is something we'll have to actually rummage and look for in the oversaturation. Winter Soldier was a fantastic spy/intrigue movie that out James Bonds the latter day James Bond movies, and that's before adding Captain America in the mix.

But hey, at the end of the day, it's not your thing, and that's fine. More power to you.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I expected something different from the rest of the cancer that Marvel has been inflicting on people the past 17 years or so. I used to enjoy Marvel Comics and the cartoons on saturday morning. Now, I couldn't watch one of these shit films if I were paid to do so.



WHOA, no one cut yourself on this edge!

I watched three movies the other day, they were the first I'd watched in a couple weeks. I finally started Witcher 3 so obviously I've had no time for anything else for a long, long time now. 

Out Cold - the lesson here is not to let some of my friends choose the movie unless I have an excuse to get out of there. You know a movie's terrible when they had to cast Jeremy London's twin brother cause even he turned it down. .5/10, I laughed at one of the deleted scenes with Zach Galifinakis chomping on his own balloon tits.

Friday the 13th part 3 - I've tried many times over the years to like these damn movies. I warmed up to this a little bit. It's still trying to be dark like Part 1/2 for the most part, but has the most obnoxious character this side of TCM's Franklin with Shelley, the boy who cried wolf. It has some funny gags with horrible special effects (gotta love the eyeball getting pulled towards the screen with visible fishing line) and I like the hockey mask more than the burlap sack (even though there's no good reason for shelley having a hockey mask in the first place!). The girls are cute, at least??? 5/10

Duke of Burgundy - weird lesbian S&M love story that's kind of sweet and strangely has no nudity despite the water sports and is set in some bizarre alternate universe populated only by women who are really into entomology. It's one pretty movie visually, too. 8/10


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> WHOA, no one cut yourself on this edge!


Very informative, wankerness.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> I don't expect everyone to like these movies at all. I certainly don't care what you think of them. But considering Marvel only got these movies to be decently good only 10 of those 17 years is too broad a passing judgement. So I'll bite.
> 
> Prior to 2008, with the exception of Spiderman 1-2 and the Blade movies (IMO) almost every Marvel movie either sucked, or deteriorated with age. Even what's considered the good XMen movies (1-2) are terrible by today's standards. Bryan Singer's new XMen movies also suck (he really only did one great movie). Marvel only started picking it's stride when Iron Man came out, and even then it was rocky.
> 
> Plus all the other property that wasn't bought out by Disney at the time were puking out committee by design crap like Fox and Sony were doing (look up why the terrible Amazing Spider-Man movies and that horrible Fan4stic existed to see what I mean). The whole movie studios thing is a whole argument in itself. It's genuinely scary that Disney is monopolizing near everything, but that's a topic for another time.
> 
> Then there's the oversaturation of superhero movies where we get about an average of 6-7 a year now, it's easy to get extremely jaded, pull the 'old man yells at cloud' card and dismiss everything. But considering we now have well-written movies by exciting directors in the canon is something we'll have to actually rummage and look for in the oversaturation. Winter Soldier was a fantastic spy/intrigue movie that out James Bonds the latter day James Bond movies, and that's before adding Captain America in the mix.
> 
> But hey, at the end of the day, it's not your thing, and that's fine. More power to you.


Fair enough, but I'm really getting sick of seeing another Marvel shitfest to add to the heaping pile of garbage that has been Marvel the last 17 years or so. Even some of the comics look like they don't care.

And to pull the "old man yells at cloud" card, like Jim Cornette always says, even if a match down the line pulls out the cliches, but does them well and makes them work while also putting on a great match for the ages, the match and the cliches are seriously watered down because of all the bullshit that preceded it. All the hacky wrestlers who don't understand shit like, "Hey, maybe I shouldn't do the table gimmick EVERY single week," are the ones I am talking about, and end up killing their gimmick pretty fucking early. In this case, say the "jumps on car in slow mo, and the car pops up and flips over" bs, it's far beyond played out and needs to be retired. And this far down the line, even if a couple semi decent films come out [I'll pretty much disagree because CGI makes me want to chug ipecac, but nonetheless], their impact will be greatly diminished because of all the horse shit that's come out that year alone. Then again, Disney. They have zero restraint, and they are doing the same to the Star Wars property. Hell, I thought the cover of Entertainment Weekly was a parody from Supernatural, not an advertisement for the new Han Solo movie.

Now, I'm not saying "Do a superhero film with NO CGI," but fuck, half of the extended preview for Black Panther could've been ported as a playable stage in a fucking game it was so CGI. When the entire thing is CGI and most of it is fake as hell looking and takes me out of it by not being able to suspend disbelief, it's hard to watch. I'm not totally against CGI. For instance, I thought Jurassic Park looked welldone as a child, but one thing I did not think when I saw it was, "Hey, this needs a ton of subpar, shitty sequels so the unscrupulous pricks who own the copyrights to this can milk it for all it is worth," but that's a bit of a side issue. Then again, we're getting one of those as well.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Fair enough, but I'm really getting sick of seeing another Marvel shitfest to add to the heaping pile of garbage that has been Marvel the last 17 years or so. Even some of the comics look like they don't care.



Again, that's blind judgment considering that the recent efforts done by directors that actually care about the property beg to differ. Unless Brett Ratner did something to really hurt your childhood, you're just lumping every Marvel superhero movie being crap, when in fact they're getting better as time goes by. And by doing that without actually seeing any of the movies is stupid. 



Spaced Out Ace said:


> And to pull the "old man yells at cloud" card, like Jim Cornette always says, even if a match down the line pulls out the cliches, but does them well and makes them work while also putting on a great match for the ages, the match and the cliches are seriously watered down because of all the bullshit that preceded it. All the hacky wrestlers who don't understand shit like, "Hey, maybe I shouldn't do the table gimmick EVERY single week," are the ones I am talking about, and end up killing their gimmick pretty fucking early. In this case, say the "jumps on car in slow mo, and the car pops up and flips over" bs, it's far beyond played out and needs to be retired. And this far down the line, even if a couple semi decent films come out [I'll pretty much disagree because CGI makes me want to chug ipecac, but nonetheless], their impact will be greatly diminished because of all the horse shit that's come out that year alone. Then again, Disney. They have zero restraint, and they are doing the same to the Star Wars property. Hell, I thought the cover of Entertainment Weekly was a parody from Supernatural, not an advertisement for the new Han Solo movie.
> 
> Now, I'm not saying "Do a superhero film with NO CGI," but fuck, half of the extended preview for Black Panther could've been ported as a playable stage in a fucking game it was so CGI. When the entire thing is CGI and most of it is fake as hell looking and takes me out of it by not being able to suspend disbelief, it's hard to watch. I'm not totally against CGI. For instance, I thought Jurassic Park looked welldone as a child, but one thing I did not think when I saw it was, "Hey, this needs a ton of subpar, shitty sequels so the unscrupulous pricks who own the copyrights to this can milk it for all it is worth," but that's a bit of a side issue. Then again, we're getting one of those as well



Well that's Disney for you. Again it's a scary notion that this company is monopolizing a ton of property, but this is the world we live in. From a company perspective, why would you buy the Star Wars franchise and NOT capitalize it? Yes the more products getting churned out will also lower the probability of being consistently good, and I'll certainly predict that the new Han Solo movie will suck (largely to all the production problems happening).

And again, it's the oversaturation. Yes there's too many superhero movies. Prior to Disney buying Fox, there's 3 studios making Marvel movies, and as I said before, 2 of the 3 of them sucking hard making Spider-Man and Fantastic 4 looking exactly as you described.

Let's not even get Warner Bros in the mix, where with the exception of Batman and a few gems, consistently suck at making superhero movies. They've been trying to fire the Justice League cannon since Richard Donner's Superman. Only after 35 or so years they finally fired the cannon only to limp forward and dribble spunk on everyone's shoes.

And it certainly doesn't help when all the blockbuster action movies are being modeled after comic books too. Universal rebooted The Mummy to kickstart a shared Monster universe and did it in a spectacular abysmal way. Godzilla 2017 and Kong Skull Island are spearheading another Monster universe, and apparently they're planning to do this with The Fast And The Furious. :rolf: How's that for what you call "cancerous".

CGI isn't getting any better unless it's used more often to get perfected. That's just the nature of the beast, and you can't judge it on youtube, that's just stupid. And trailers nowadays are getting rather disingenuous with their trailer-exclusive footage, it's hard to base whether I want to watch a movie on it. I didn't bother with the extended Black Panther trailer, but ended up enjoying the film on it's own merits.

At the end of the day, if the movie is well made and tells a good story, that's all that matters. But it seems that despite all this studio industry talk, you've already made up your mind on superhero movies. Ok then.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Again, that's blind judgment considering that the recent efforts done by directors that actually care about the property beg to differ. Unless Brett Ratner did something to really hurt your childhood, you're just lumping every Marvel superhero movie being crap, when in fact they're getting better as time goes by. And by doing that without actually seeing any of the movies is stupid.


I'll pass on all of that horse shit. For one, I'm not a child. All of the bright, pretty bullshit is an utter bore. And for another, none of it appeals to me. You can claim they have changed it and are doing great movies lately, but I'm going to make the same decision as Mr Burns when he was called by Homer's autodialler. "Hmmm, eternal happiness for a dollar? Ehh, I'd be happier with the dollar." I watched one of the Avengers films at my cousins a couple years back, and it was decent enough, but it was mainly something to keep me from falling asleep, which I almost did.



Bloody_Inferno said:


> And it certainly doesn't help when all the blockbuster action movies are being modeled after comic books too. Universal rebooted The Mummy to kickstart a shared Monster universe and did it in a spectacular abysmal way. Godzilla 2017 and Kong Skull Island are spearheading another Monster universe, and apparently they're planning to do this with The Fast And The Furious. :rolf: How's that for what you call "cancerous".


Two words: Fucking dreadful. And if I reviewed any of these shit heaps for a monthly magazine or whatever, I'd summarize it with a two word review: Shit shark. I'd wait for letters in the mail to see if anyone gets the reference.



Bloody_Inferno said:


> And it certainly doesn't help when all the blockbuster action movies are being modeled after comic books too. Universal rebooted The Mummy to kickstart a shared Monster universe and did it in a spectacular abysmal way. Godzilla 2017 and Kong Skull Island are spearheading another Monster universe, and apparently they're planning to do this with The Fast And The Furious. :rolf: How's that for what you call "cancerous".


Hard pass on ALL of that flaming hot garbage!



Bloody_Inferno said:


> CGI isn't getting any better unless it's used more often to get perfected. That's just the nature of the beast, and you can't judge it on youtube, that's just stupid. And trailers nowadays are getting rather disingenuous with their trailer-exclusive footage, it's hard to base whether I want to watch a movie on it. I didn't bother with the extended Black Panther trailer, but ended up enjoying the film on it's own merits.


MORE often!? For fucks sake. Just. No. Fucking enough with that horse shit already. I think the trailer was more than enough to judge that a large portion of the film would be almost entirely green screen during certain scenes, and if I want to watch CGI cartoons parading as feature films, I think I'll stick to Pixar.



Bloody_Inferno said:


> At the end of the day, if the movie is well made and tells a good story, that's all that matters. But it seems that despite all this studio industry talk, you've already made up your mind on superhero movies. Ok then.


CGI films, rather. Superhero dreck is the just the main offender that's shit out into the gaping maws of the masses like a weird, creepy human cinema-pede scenario. Don't even get me started on the very fucking awful cliches in "horror" films in 2018, like the fake, dark filters and bullshit like that. IT can go fuck it's face, as well as all the shitty Paranormal Insidious fecal dandruff speckling the toilet bowl of the movie industry.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

My have I twisted some knickers just by praising a move that's barely out for a day.  It's entertaining how this has become the Berried Alive thread all over again.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> I'll pass on all of that horse shit. For one, I'm not a child. All of the bright, pretty bullshit is an utter bore. And for another, none of it appeals to me. You can claim they have changed it and are doing great movies lately, but I'm going to make the same decision as Mr Burns when he was called by Homer's autodialler. "Hmmm, eternal happiness for a dollar? Ehh, I'd be happier with the dollar." I watched one of the Avengers films at my cousins a couple years back, and it was decent enough, but it was mainly something to keep me from falling asleep, which I almost did.
> 
> Two words: Fucking dreadful. And if I reviewed any of these shit heaps for a monthly magazine or whatever, I'd summarize it with a two word review: Shit shark. I'd wait for letters in the mail to see if anyone gets the reference.
> 
> Hard pass on ALL of that flaming hot garbage!
> 
> MORE often!? For fucks sake. Just. No. Fucking enough with that horse shit already. I think the trailer was more than enough to judge that a large portion of the film would be almost entirely green screen during certain scenes, and if I want to watch CGI cartoons parading as feature films, I think I'll stick to Pixar.
> 
> CGI films, rather. Superhero dreck is the just the main offender that's shit out into the gaping maws of the masses like a weird, creepy human cinema-pede scenario. Don't even get me started on the very fucking awful cliches in "horror" films in 2018, like the fake, dark filters and bullshit like that. IT can go fuck it's face, as well as all the shitty Paranormal Insidious fecal dandruff speckling the toilet bowl of the movie industry.



Funny how you mention Pixar right after denouncing all superhero movies as child's stuff. Pixar is no different, making kids movies yet adding a story that can be appealing for all ages. They're recycling plots too (Cars is Doc Hollywood verbatim but with talking Cars), and hey Disney owns the Pixar subsidiary too. 

All those superhero movies I mentioned earlier, well yeah they sucked. But they suck because they're mostly terribly written movies and bad acting... you know, what movies are usually judged by. CG plays a small part of why they sucked unless you're Henry Cavill's moustache. Personally I don't care about bad CG when it's not focused and cleverly disguised with good cinematography. Only unless it's upfront looking terrible and disorienting like... well, Henry Cavill's moustache incidentally. 

As for the bad horror movies, well, yeah to that too. Also funny how lmost all the terrible remakes of the past decade are done by Platinum Dunes; aka the company owned by Michael Bay, aka the guy who made the Transformers movies and a bunch of awful pro American military explosion porn. Thanks Mr Bay!

Look, the superhero genre isn't going away anytime soon. Can't help that, but then again, it's not the first time a genre has stuck around long. Western Movies were all the rage and for 2 long decades they were being made everywhere. The only difference is that in the age of the internet, and the fact that even the legitimately bad superhero movies aren't slowing this zeitgeist down, not yet anyway.

I guess just like the Berried Alive thread (for the records I have no interest in them whatsoever), it boils down to "I hate everything new, and real music is dead" mentality. So I guess, movies are dead too? Awesome! All new movies suck! Lock this thread up!   It was fun watching you ark up though.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> WHOA, no one cut yourself on this edge!
> 
> I watched three movies the other day, they were the first I'd watched in a couple weeks. I finally started Witcher 3 so obviously I've had no time for anything else for a long, long time now.
> 
> Out Cold - the lesson here is not to let some of my friends choose the movie unless I have an excuse to get out of there. You know a movie's terrible when they had to cast Jeremy London's twin brother cause even he turned it down. .5/10, I laughed at one of the deleted scenes with Zach Galifinakis chomping on his own balloon tits.
> 
> Friday the 13th part 3 - I've tried many times over the years to like these damn movies. I warmed up to this a little bit. It's still trying to be dark like Part 1/2 for the most part, but has the most obnoxious character this side of TCM's Franklin with Shelley, the boy who cried wolf. It has some funny gags with horrible special effects (gotta love the eyeball getting pulled towards the screen with visible fishing line) and I like the hockey mask more than the burlap sack (even though there's no good reason for shelley having a hockey mask in the first place!). The girls are cute, at least??? 5/10
> 
> Duke of Burgundy - weird lesbian S&M love story that's kind of sweet and strangely has no nudity despite the water sports and is set in some bizarre alternate universe populated only by women who are really into entomology. It's one pretty movie visually, too. 8/10


BOOOO YOU DON'T LIKE OUT COLD
*grabs pitchfork*


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> As for the bad horror movies, well, yeah to that too. Also funny how lmost all the terrible remakes of the past decade are done by Platinum Dunes; aka the company owned by Michael Bay, aka the guy who made the Transformers movies and a bunch of awful pro American military explosion porn. Thanks Mr Bay!


At least we agree on something, but they aren't the only offender.


----------



## mongey

watched popstar - never stop never stopping on netflix last night 

my wife put it on for a look and we ended up watching the whole thing and had a few good laughs. we were both super tired with a few wines/beers under our belts , but still , enjoyed allot more than I expected to


----------



## MickD7

mongey said:


> watched popstar - never stop never stopping on netflix last night
> 
> my wife put it on for a look and we ended up watching the whole thing and had a few good laughs. we were both super tired with a few wines/beers under our belts , but still , enjoyed allot more than I expected to



The closing song and dance routine is so amazingly over the top and alike to awards appearances by so many artists. 

I had a good laugh at this movie and the way it poked fun at things
-U2 and ITunes
-Kanye West
-Eminem 
-Hologram performances 
-Peoples dependence on Celebrity news
-TMZ and other trash reporting


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

MickD7 said:


> -Hologram performances


Anything making fun of this affront to live musical performances is great in my opinion!


----------



## mongey

MickD7 said:


> The closing song and dance routine is so amazingly over the top and alike to awards appearances by so many artists.
> 
> I had a good laugh at this movie and the way it poked fun at things
> -U2 and ITunes
> -Kanye West
> -Eminem
> -Hologram performances
> -Peoples dependence on Celebrity news
> -TMZ and other trash reporting


Yeah it was all really cleverly played. It was only slightly more absurd than the real life music industry.


----------



## fps

wankerness said:


> I've been starting to blast through the Golden Globe/Oscar nominees finally. I think "The Phantom Thread" is the only other one I'm particularly interested in. The Darkest Hour sounds substandard by all reports and gay male romances (Call Me By Your Name) just don't do it for me. Well, I guess I really liked Moonlight, so maybe I should give it a chance.
> 
> The Shape of Water - 7.5/10
> The Post - 6/10
> Three Billboards - 7/10
> I Tonya - 6/10
> Lady Bird - 9/10
> The Disaster Artist - 6/10 (though this one's off the Oscar list for non-movie reasons, woo)
> 
> So, this is kind of a weak year. Usually I end up loving at least a few of the best picture nominees.
> 
> After looking back through my ratings for movies from 2017, Logan, Mother! and Colossal are right behind Lady Bird and The Big Sick, which were my easy two favorites. Get Out and Raw are also right up there. I have issues. Blade Runner 2049, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Gerald's Game were also really good. Last Jedi, Killing of a Sacred Deer, Thor Ragnarok, Kong Skull Island, John Wick 2, A Ghost Story, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Wonder Woman, It, Lego Batman, Baby Driver, Spider Man Homecoming, Dunkirk, Fate of the Furious, were decent to pretty good. The only movies I saw that I disliked were It Comes at Night and Alien Covenant. I need to rewatch a few of these that I don't feel fully confident in my opinions of. I think Raw, Dunkirk, Get Out and Blade Runner will improve. War for the Planet of the Apes, John Wick 2 and Alien Covenant could go either way.
> 
> I need to rewatch The Shape of Water, I was expecting to love it, and maybe I would have without massively overblown expectations and the added barrier of going to see it last night yesterday at 10 pm after finding out that was the last day it was playing within 50 miles!



Really liked The Big Sick, lotta heart


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Just watched Black Panther. Really enjoyed it and it was really quite good. The villains are actually interesting unlike in most marvel films. A little heavy handed on some of the diatribes that spew out of Killmonger. Good fight scenes (and kind of brutal for a pg13 marvel film), the choreography is good, soundtrack was cool (the amalgamation of symphonic, electronic and traditional african beats/melodies worked surprisingly well), art design was excellent. The only issue I have with it is how it kind of falls victim to the superhero film trope where everything works out in the end.


----------



## Necris

Lucio Fulci's _The Beyond_. This is only the second film I've seen from him, the other being _Zombie_, and I've come away from both with the same impression - "That was a waste". You may as well just watch a supercut of all of the gore scenes from both movies, because evidently that's all anyone takes away from them anyway (and from Fulci in general) - and in truth there's little of value to begin with in either. 

He actually perfectly highlighted the problem with his film when lashing out at critics and namedropping Argento's Inferno as a point of comparison; he took the threadbare Dario Argento-esque approach to plot (using the term very loosely) but in the place of striking visuals and and weird atmosphere you get an utterly forgettable haunted house/zombie movie that tries to fill in the gaps with gore.


----------



## wankerness

I hate how Fulci is synonymous with splatter in most horror fans' minds. Don't Torture a Duckling and Lizard in a Woman's Skin are masterpieces of their si genre and have much more coherent plots than their counterparts (ex, Argento's Deep Red). The Psychic is also damn good. Yet everyone just knows him for the gates of hell trilogy and Zombi. Bleh.

I really like The Beyond, though. It's kind of freeform and moody. It has great set pieces and looks good and has great atmosphere and it's held together by the fact that the leads are adorable and clearly like each other. One great thing in the movie that got past the editor is a shot where the lead starts pretending to reload his handgun like a musket by putting bullets in the barrel and the female lead looks at it and starts laughing. They left him starting to do that in the movie cause I guess they thought it was serious! It's in the elevator.

The one aspect of that movie that I don't like is the awful tarantula scene, it's so long and so stupid that it upsets the mood, but it's kind of funny.


----------



## wankerness

Necris said:


> Lucio Fulci's _The Beyond_. This is only the second film I've seen from him, the other being _Zombie_, and I've come away from both with the same impression - "That was a waste". You may as well just watch a supercut of all of the gore scenes from both movies, because evidently that's all anyone takes away from them anyway (and from Fulci in general) - and in truth there's little of value to begin with in either.
> 
> He actually perfectly highlighted the problem with his film when lashing out at critics and namedropping Argento's Inferno as a point of comparison; he took the threadbare Dario Argento-esque approach to plot (using the term very loosely) but in the place of striking visuals and and weird atmosphere you get an utterly forgettable haunted house/zombie movie that tries to fill in the gaps with gore.



I hate how Fulci is synonymous with splatter in most horror fans' minds. Don't Torture a Duckling and Lizard in a Woman's Skin are masterpieces of their subgenre, the giallo, and have much more coherent plots than their counterparts (ex, Argento's Deep Red). The Psychic is also damn good. Yet everyone just knows him for the gates of hell trilogy and Zombi. Bleh.

I really like The Beyond, though. It's kind of freeform and moody. It has great setpieces and looks good and has great atmosphere and it's held together by the fact that the leads are adorable and clearly like each other. One great thing in the movie that got past the editor is a shot where the lead starts pretending to reload his handgun like a musket by putting bullets in the barrel and the female lead looks at it and starts laughing. They left him starting to do that in the movie cause I guess they thought it was serious! It's in the elevator.

The one aspect of that movie that I don't like is the awful tarantula scene, it's so long and so stupid that it upsets the mood, but it's kind of funny.

Basically, the plot is of no importance. It's vaguely got a plot, but it's much more an exercise in mood and style. The three movies I mentioned above prove that he can really do plot well if he wants. Don't Torture a Duckling and Lizard in a Woman's Skin are easily two of my favorite Italian horror flicks, and I'd put them at #1 and #2 on my list of Gialli any day. DTAD I think was the first where he really deployed the splatter, but it's used in a completely different way there in the scene where it happens.

EDIT: COOL, you can't delete posts anymore. I hit post twice on my phone. Guess I'll just fix the latter post now that I'm on a computer.


----------



## MFB

Boy, I sure did not give any fucks when The Florida Project was over. If Seinfeld is a show about nothing, TFP is it's movie equal.


----------



## mongey

King Arthur . well he Ritchie'd the fuck out of that 

In the past I have enjoyed some of his styling's. like lock stock and snatch allot . the Sherlock Holmes movies were watchable as far as big budget action movies go 

King Arthur was just too much of everything to the point i found it unwatchable in parts


----------



## Xaios

I watched Black Panther on Thursday last week. It was... good. Certainly in the upper half of Marvel movies. However, given the hype surrounding it, I can't say I wasn't disappointed. Killmonger was a very good villain... when he was on screen, which honestly wasn't nearly often enough. The themes that the movie was purporting to explore were certainly worthy of exploration, but I honestly felt it didn't go nearly far enough. Maybe that was in order to make it digestible for a wider audience, but I simply found that I wasn't challenged by it in the way I was hoping.

Also, they changed Vibranium from being simply a nigh-indestructible metal into a ridiculous Macguffin with all sorts of ridiculous properties, including magical healing. I didn't like that.



Spoiler



One thing that bothered me over the course of the movie was how they tried to explain Wakanda's isolation for basically all of recorded history. They state that Wakanda has always been roughly 50 years ahead of the rest of the world, technologically speaking. However, this explanation bothered me enough that it pulled me out of the movie, because even a cursory examination of history reveals that it doesn't really make any sense. Wakanda is hidden from the world by a cloaking shield at this point, but the timeline implies that such a shield must have been invented in the past 50 years, because it clearly hasn't been created in the real world yet. However, 50 years ago, America already had the SR-71. The only way they could have stayed hidden from a spy-plane prior to the invention of a cloaking shield would have been to shoot it down, and that clearly didn't happen.

Yes, I realize that there's an argument to be made for the "alternate reality, doesn't have to follow real history" angle.



EDIT: I've also seen quite a number of people saying that Killmonger is the best Marvel villain since Loki. No. He's certainly one of the better Marvel villains, but he's nowhere near Loki. I found Zemo to be more compelling than Killmonger.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Xaios said:


> i've also seen quite a number of people saying that Killmonger is the best Marvel villain since Loki. No. He's certainly one of the better Marvel villains, but he's nowhere near Loki. I found Zemo to be more compelling than Killmonger.



While I do think that Killmonger is an upper tier villain in the canon, I somewhat agree. He's incomparable to Loki as Loki has had a few movies to develop. He is comparable to Zemo though: both sympathetic driven by their own personal grievance. Then again, I'm one of those guys who found the Red Skull as a great villain for exactly the opposite reasons. But then again (again) I also think the best villains of the MCU are Wilson Fisk and Killgrave.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Xaios said:


> I watched Black Panther on Thursday last week. It was... good. Certainly in the upper half of Marvel movies. However, given the hype surrounding it, I can't say I wasn't disappointed. Killmonger was a very good villain... when he was on screen, which honestly wasn't nearly often enough. The themes that the movie was purporting to explore were certainly worthy of exploration, but I honestly felt it didn't go nearly far enough. Maybe that was in order to make it digestible for a wider audience, but I simply found that I wasn't challenged by it in the way I was hoping.
> 
> Also, they changed Vibranium from being simply a nigh-indestructible metal into a ridiculous Macguffin with all sorts of ridiculous properties, including magical healing. I didn't like that.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> One thing that bothered me over the course of the movie was how they tried to explain Wakanda's isolation for basically all of recorded history. They state that Wakanda has always been roughly 50 years ahead of the rest of the world, technologically speaking. However, this explanation bothered me enough that it pulled me out of the movie, because even a cursory examination of history reveals that it doesn't really make any sense. Wakanda is hidden from the world by a cloaking shield at this point, but the timeline implies that such a shield must have been invented in the past 50 years, because it clearly hasn't been created in the real world yet. However, 50 years ago, America already had the SR-71. The only way they could have stayed hidden from a spy-plane prior to the invention of a cloaking shield would have been to shoot it down, and that clearly didn't happen.
> 
> Yes, I realize that there's an argument to be made for the "alternate reality, doesn't have to follow real history" angle.
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT: I've also seen quite a number of people saying that Killmonger is the best Marvel villain since Loki. No. He's certainly one of the better Marvel villains, but he's nowhere near Loki. I found Zemo to be more compelling than Killmonger.


Zemo was nowhere near as interesting of a villain as killmonger was imo. The vibranium itself isn't what heals people, it's their ridiculous tech. They have optical cloaking, sound dampening footwear, localized energy fields, nanite microsurgery capability, shockwave cannons, nanofiber/composite fabrics,etc. If you read the comics the film is relatively true to them as far as tech goes, though wakanda is shown as even more advanced in some of the comics. Tchalla and his sister rival tony stark and reed richards in intellect and engineering genius in the comics. I think it's been argued that Tchalla is even smarter than tony/reed at points. He's literally the African Bruce Wayne.


----------



## gnoll

I just saw the new Pixar movie, Coco. Best movie I've seen in a LONG time! Highly recommended.


----------



## mongey

Black Panther - I liked it allot. wasn't sure i would cause I wasn't super into the character in civil war. but to be fair I wasn't really that into civil war in general 

to me the last spider man and black panther feel allot fresher than everything that came after the first iron man


----------



## MickD7

Mute- Duncan Jones’s “spiritual” sequel of Moon. The story has some interesting moments and the cast was solid as well as the cinematography. For fans of Blade Runner especially with the neon sci fi look. Paul Rudd turns in an awesome performance in this, showing more of an acting prowess in this over any film I’ve ever watched him in. Give him a few more roles like this and it could be really promising. 4/5 will require a second viewing 

The Pianist- What a gut wrenching movie, Adrian Brady was in his absolute prime in this and his heart and soul are put into the performance. I’m not a huge Polanski fan at all, I’ve seen some of his films and zoned out. This may be his most perfect film ever. 5/5

Whiplash- I’ve seen some talk about this film and the portrayal of Jazz and Jazz music. For me this film could have switched out any style of music and still have been as enjoyable. JK Simmons is an absolute beast of an actor in this. Miles Tellor holds his own really well against JK as well. I really enjoyed the way this film caught the ensemble moments when the bands performed in particular, is it an accurate portrayal of Music education? I’d say 50/50 whilst I’ve never had anything thrown at me at a rehearsal to say that I haven’t seen my far share of personality traits like that of Simmons in the film would be a lie. 5/5 because of JK Simmons and Miles Tellor 

Wolf Of Wall Street-I had put this off for a while, DiCaprio and Margot Robbie are solid but I have to say Jonah Hill was the real jam in this one. I had moments that I enjoyed in this film and have heard many argue that DiCaprio deserved the Academy Award for this over The Revenant. Solid Film and story. Will require a second viewing 

The Revenant- I’ve watched The Revenant at least 4-5 times now. 3 of those viewings in the same week. Why? The film speaks for itself it’s a masterpiece of cinematography and the characters in The Revenant are solid the standout performances in this by the cast are so much more interesting and each time I’ve watched it the nuances at DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and probably the most underrated actor in the film Domhnall Gleeson. Gleeson is an actor I think could take the next step into being a powerhouse actor. Hopefully he gets some more roles like this in the future. I still think his moment in TFA for example is something more solid then most expected he’s got this intensity during that speech that commands you to listen. 5/5

In The Heart Of The Sea- I don’t know what went wrong with this film but I’d say the bulk of its problems begin and end with Hemsworth. Is he a good Thor? Yeah I guess, is his 30 seconds in the first JJ Star Trek cool? Yes. Beyond that I can’t really see how his acting keeps getting pursued. Especially given the other actors that got shafted with side characters in this perhaps this biggest waste of Cillian Murphy in film since the Nolan Batman films. Other notable performances from Tom Holland, Brendon Gleeson are good but who ever chose Hemsworth as the lead picked the dud on this one. 3/5


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MickD7 said:


> Mute- Duncan Jones’s “spiritual” sequel of Moon. The story has some interesting moments and the cast was solid as well as the cinematography. For fans of Blade Runner especially with the neon sci fi look. Paul Rudd turns in an awesome performance in this, showing more of an acting prowess in this over any film I’ve ever watched him in. Give him a few more roles like this and it could be really promising. 4/5 will require a second viewing
> 
> The Pianist- What a gut wrenching movie, Adrian Brady was in his absolute prime in this and his heart and soul are put into the performance. I’m not a huge Polanski fan at all, I’ve seen some of his films and zoned out. This may be his most perfect film ever. 5/5
> 
> Whiplash- I’ve seen some talk about this film and the portrayal of Jazz and Jazz music. For me this film could have switched out any style of music and still have been as enjoyable. JK Simmons is an absolute beast of an actor in this. Miles Tellor holds his own really well against JK as well. I really enjoyed the way this film caught the ensemble moments when the bands performed in particular, is it an accurate portrayal of Music education? I’d say 50/50 whilst I’ve never had anything thrown at me at a rehearsal to say that I haven’t seen my far share of personality traits like that of Simmons in the film would be a lie. 5/5 because of JK Simmons and Miles Tellor
> 
> Wolf Of Wall Street-I had put this off for a while, DiCaprio and Margot Robbie are solid but I have to say Jonah Hill was the real jam in this one. I had moments that I enjoyed in this film and have heard many argue that DiCaprio deserved the Academy Award for this over The Revenant. Solid Film and story. Will require a second viewing
> 
> The Revenant- I’ve watched The Revenant at least 4-5 times now. 3 of those viewings in the same week. Why? The film speaks for itself it’s a masterpiece of cinematography and the characters in The Revenant are solid the standout performances in this by the cast are so much more interesting and each time I’ve watched it the nuances at DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and probably the most underrated actor in the film Domhnall Gleeson. Gleeson is an actor I think could take the next step into being a powerhouse actor. Hopefully he gets some more roles like this in the future. I still think his moment in TFA for example is something more solid then most expected he’s got this intensity during that speech that commands you to listen. 5/5
> 
> In The Heart Of The Sea- I don’t know what went wrong with this film but I’d say the bulk of its problems begin and end with Hemsworth. Is he a good Thor? Yeah I guess, is his 30 seconds in the first JJ Star Trek cool? Yes. Beyond that I can’t really see how his acting keeps getting pursued. Especially given the other actors that got shafted with side characters in this perhaps this biggest waste of Cillian Murphy in film since the Nolan Batman films. Other notable performances from Tom Holland, Brendon Gleeson are good but who ever chose Hemsworth as the lead picked the dud on this one. 3/5


 Revenant, Whiplash, Pianist, Wolf of Wall St. are all really great films. Wasn't a fan of In the Heart Of the Sea, the CG looked a bit too obvious and it was a pretty tedious film overall imo. 
I just watched Detroit last night and it was very intense. Way too much shaky cam for my taste (god I wish that fucking trend would stay dead) and they draw out the Algiers Motel incident for way too long. It's well made and focuses on an interesting time in history, but the film doesn't flow well at all. 3/5


----------



## KnightBrolaire

this looks like fun.


----------



## Jarmake

KnightBrolaire said:


> this looks like fun.





Been waiting for this movie for a while now... At first it was called "the band named impaled rectum", but they changed it after a while.


----------



## fps

Watched The Revenant. Another Inarritu film I admire but don't love. Amazing performance by Tom Hardy.


----------



## Ralyks

Bought the 4K blu ray for Blade Runner 2049, so tonight has been watching both movies back to back. These movies were made for 4K.


----------



## RND

I just saw *The Butterfly Effect* with my friend last night. It was a really interesting movie concept. I don't think any of the "sequels" are any good, so be wary of that. I also think you should be aware of whether you are watching the director's cut or then normal movie... If you're feelin' down, I'd suggest the normal version for sure!


----------



## Seabeast2000

Alien:Covenant- Enough sci-fi visuals to keep it not entirely a 1-by-1 all die, unkillable monster flick I guess. That David is a son of a bitch. I hope the 2019 sequel to the sequel to the prequel is maybe more interesting and less predictable. 

The Revenant (2009)- The other un-related Revenant. Sleeper flick, very entertaining. Great twist on the Undead genre. Great humorous moments. Recommended.


----------



## mongey

Thor - Ragnarok

I liked it . is pretty much the prefect Friday night beer and pizza movie at the end of a hard week . def played for laughs and it worked

Liked the kiwi humor incorporated into it. Taika Waititi did a good job with it


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> Alien:Covenant- Enough sci-fi visuals to keep it not entirely a 1-by-1 all die, unkillable monster flick I guess. That David is a son of a bitch. I hope the 2019 sequel to the sequel to the prequel is maybe more interesting and less predictable.
> 
> The Revenant (2009)- The other un-related Revenant. Sleeper flick, very entertaining. Great twist on the Undead genre. Great humorous moments. Recommended.


Revenant is seriously underrated. Really fun B-movie.

I watched Game Night a couple nights ago and it was surprisingly funny. I enjoyed it.


----------



## Guitarmiester

Watched _Get Out_ the other night. I was left wondering why the movie was majorly hyped and nominated for some many awards. I guessed the plot very early on since the girl was very sketchy and weird from the start. It was still good just not nearly as good as the hype.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Guitarmiester said:


> Watched _Get Out_ the other night. I was left wondering why the movie was majorly hyped and nominated for some many awards. I guessed the plot very early on since the girl was very sketchy and weird from the start. It was still good just not nearly as good as the hype.


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oscars...-writer-win-get-out-best-original-screenplay/

I'm not sure I'd call Get Out an original screenplay seeing as it takes elements from other things, but kudos to him. That said, that's why it was hyped. Peele is more talented than the other guy, so that's cool at least.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri _last night.

Solid 9 out of 10. Frances McDormand undeniably deserved her Oscar win for Best Actress; and the same can be said for Sam Rockwell winning his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. (And of course, they both deserved their wins for the Golden Globes in those same two categories.) Seriously, those two absolutely nailed their roles with such beyond perfect believability.

Not going to lie though, the orange juice scene made me tear up. That scene really said something about humans (I guess, the ability to forgive), and it provided a brief moment of contrast to McDormand’s character and her motives. Of course, it also served as one of the starting moments signifying the change in Rockwell's character as well.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oscars...-writer-win-get-out-best-original-screenplay/
> 
> I'm not sure I'd call Get Out an original screenplay seeing as it takes elements from other things, but kudos to him. That said, that's why it was hyped. Peele is more talented than the other guy, so that's cool at least.



Please tell us what he combined to make that screenplay that was so egregious as to make it such a blatant copy that it should have been an adapted screenplay. I'd really like to know! Pre-emptive rejection of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which has absolutely nothing in common other than "white parents/mixed race couple."


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rob Zombie's Halloween (Director's Cut)
Rob Zombie's Halloween II (Director's Cut)
Curse of Chucky
Cult of Chucky


----------



## Necris

*A Quiet Place*
I saw it with a friend, we both thought it was bad; as the credits rolled she turned to me, with my head in my hands, and said "that was basically Signs, but worse" - I agreed, and we quickly began laughing as we picked apart its nonsense. That this is being compared to The Witch and Get Out is laughable. The monster design was perfunctory and clearly carried out with little thought beyond the aesthetics of the creatures: lanky, humanoid, clawed and pointless - but who cares about whether or not a creature is even vaguely biologically plausible anyway? The low level of effort in creature design isn't surprising when it's finally on screen in all of its CGI glory, though, because long before you get a good look they're given "exposition" that is similarly careless. Realistically, you know all you need to know about our antagonists by the end of the opening scene, but if you didn't catch on don't worry; you're treated to a shot of a _fucking whiteboard_ which states "SOUND" and questions "WHAT ARE THEIR WEAKNESSES?" as the camera slowly pans over to newspapers attached to a bulletin board proclaiming "ITS SOUND!", "ANGELS OF DEATH!".

Was this made as a joke? Apparently these nonsense creatures, whose origins are a topic never even broached in the film, have essentially wiped out the entirety of the human race - a species armed with nuclear weapons - in a period of 3 months. Their superpower? Nothing xenomorph-esque (although there is a shot in the movie that rips off a scene from Alien, briefly), just utterly plot-dependent super-hearing - that's it; this is the apex predator that has spelled humanity's doom, a monster with really good hearing. Hearing which is set up in the first few scenes to be so unbelievably precise that you can't for a moment believe that the family of survivors who are the focus of the film haven't been killed off after accidentally knocking something over in their sleep. The film seems to realize what it has done and attempts to define boundaries for the abilities of the creatures but another question quickly emerges. We know that the monsters can't see and they can't smell, so how do they differentiate between noises produced by humans and those produced by nature? The movie never attempts to explain.

How could a creature with such limited abilities evolve to this point to begin with? How could it wipe out humanity without resistance; how many were there? In the film the whiteboard tells us there are known to be three creatures in the immediate area of the farm the family the film is living on. The rest of the world? the movie never tries to tell us. That these creatures are humanity's doom is an idea that is made utterly laughable by the end of the movie, but long before then your suspension of disbelief will have been ground in to the dirt by terrible jump scares and the realization that you don't care at all about the family facing these horrors. On the topic of the family, the actual focus of the film, there's not much to talk about - there's some surface level character development and that's it aside from some maddeningly stupid decisions which raise questions that can only be discussed by delving into spoiler territory, so I'll leave it there.

TL;DR: This movie was bad and it deserves the ending it has.


----------



## wankerness

So basically the vast majority of your post boils down to "the premise and especially giant monsters in a horror movie aren't believable/logical?" Sounds like almost every horror movie!

I'm looking forward to seeing this, but it seems like one of the worst movies possible to see in the theater, as horror audiences seem to always attempt to outdo each other by who can laugh the loudest and longest at everything to prove how badass they are. I've only ever had good experiences at horror movies at film festivals (which average morons don't attend) or if I go to the screenings least likely to have anyone else, and even then sometimes there will just be two idiots having a loud conversation the whole time.

And even with a "normal" audience, I think the fact it's dependent on TOTAL SILENCE means that the people who are loudly eating/getting stuff out of wrappers/dropping M&Ms will upset the mood.

It seems engineered for home viewing. Which of course is several months away.


----------



## synrgy

^Yeah. Regardless of genre, that's why I tend to prefer first or last showing of the day/night, for movies that are nearing the end of their theater run. With rare exception, there are maybe 4-8 other people in the theater, and they all tend to keep quiet. Once in a great while, I even get a whole theater to myself.


----------



## Necris

wankerness said:


> So basically the vast majority of your post boils down to "the premise and especially giant monsters in a horror movie aren't believable/logical?" Sounds like almost every horror movie!


Basically! I'm actually willing to overlook a lot of silly horror movie ideas if the story/charachters are compelling. I didn't find either, personally. I went into the movie pretty clean, I knew silence was a big part of the movie before seeing it and that's it. I feel like it could have been a successful horror comedy, there was one jumpscare which made me wonder if it was going to lean in to the silliness; but it feels like it wants you to take it seriously and actually care.
Both me and my friend were dreading the audience experience, but it wasn't bad, the silence actually seems to make people very aware of the noise they're making (which would be great if the movie were more immersive) the guy to my right stopped munching pretty quickly, though that was only after he'd cracked open a coke. Laughter did start creeping in more strongly towards the end. Obviously, you can never predict what your crowd will do, though.


----------



## Rosal76

synrgy said:


> With rare exception, there are maybe 4-8 other people in the theater, and they all tend to keep quiet. Once in a great while, I even get a whole theater to myself.



+1.

Don't you love it when that happens. There had been only 3 times that I went to a movie at the theater and only a few people there and/or none.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The next generation (1994). I was the only person there. If I knew what I know now about the movie then, I wouldn't have gone to see it but that's part of being a movie fan, right.

American History X (1998). Saw it on opening night and there were only 4 other people in the audience. Trust me, there was absolutely no one laughing in that movie.

Exorcist: The beginning (2004). The only reason I knew that there was only 3 people in the audience is because we all looked at each other in disgust when in the movie, they pulled a baby out of a pregnant woman and the baby was covered in maggots.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The Lords of Salem
31


----------



## MickD7

Hanz Zimmer Live In Prague

The production is incredible, the lighting show worth at least 2 more viewings. 2 hour performance with music that covers from Driving Miss Daisy to Interstellar. They pay off being the performance of the material from Interstellar. 

Most importantly a high quality film production that captures a multitude of incredible performances and Guthrie Govan (he rocks a Boden for the Batman material) is without a doubt the highlight for guitar enthusiasts props to Mike from Incubus and Johnny Marr as well as the third guitarist whom I can’t find a name for that explores the extended range with a 9 string for the Pirates Of The Caribbean medley. 

The Interstellar performance drove me to watch the film again. 

Wonder Woman. 

Whilst Gal Gadot is a killer Wonder Woman, I don’t care for this movie.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

*Netflix*:
He Never Died
The Wheelman

*Blu-Ray*:
Die Hard
Robocop (1987)


----------



## KnightBrolaire

ready player one was a lot of fun, though it smartly cut some tedious sections from the book and changed up the challenges to more visual friendly options. TJ Miller was pretty funny. Overall it's got a ton of nods to videogames both old and new, and tons of 80s pop culture references.
The romance between artemis/parzival didn't feel as organic as it did in the book though. It also didn't feel as dark in tone as the book (where people are getting killed in real life to prevent them from getting further in the virtual competition). 
At minimum it's a fun visual spectacle.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> ready player one was a lot of fun, though it smartly cut some tedious sections from the book and changed up the challenges to more visual friendly options.



Saw it last night and I enjoyed it as well. The movie does get the visual advantage over the book by cutting out a lot of the exposition and meticulous descriptions and just by being a movie. It's not groundbreaking but it's still sold Spielberg in the Jurassic Park, Temple of Doom, Adventures of Tintin tier film.


----------



## wankerness

I heard they cut out the moronic section of the book in which he recites every single one of Matthew Broderick's lines in Wargames on his first try. I think I might wait for VOD with it, but that does make me soften on it. The book was stunningly stupid, yet a couple of the OTHER changes I heard about seem unfortunate (making all the characters look like movie stars, basically).


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Lately:

The Blair Witch Project
The Witch
The Ritual
Wind River
Evil Dead
ED: Dead By Dawn
Army of Darkness
The Evil Dead


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The Blair Witch Project was the most boring 90 minutes ever.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The Blair Witch Project was the most boring 90 minutes ever.



I'm sorry you feel that way. I quite enjoyed myself as half the fun for me is immersing myself and putting myself into the shoes of one of the characters. Makes it scarier that way for me at least.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

PunkBillCarson said:


> I'm sorry you feel that way. I quite enjoyed myself as half the fun for me is immersing myself and putting myself into the shoes of one of the characters. Makes it scarier that way for me at least.


Fair enough. I thought Blair Witch 2 was much more interesting. Plus, I like Jeffrey Donovan as an actor, and Kim Director is fine as fuck as a goth... or in general.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Fair enough. I thought Blair Witch 2 was much more interesting. Plus, I like Jeffrey Donovan as an actor, and Kim Director is fine as fuck as a goth... or in general.



I will say that I didn't care for BW2 as much but it doesn't deserve the hate it gets. I thought it was decent. What drives me nuts more than anything about Blair Witch (this last one) they have shit all over the lore by leaving it open for extra terrestrial activity. Apart from that I loved it.

Oh and speaking of Kim Director, did you catch her in Inside Man with Clive Owen and Denzel Washington? One of my favorite movies in general.

By the way, off-topic, but is that a tab under your name and if so, of what?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Hands of stone: it's a good boxing biopic, the boxing scenes are really solid, plus ana de armas is hot in it. It's pretty melodramatic but i think it holds up other recent boxing films.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

PunkBillCarson said:


> I will say that I didn't care for BW2 as much but it doesn't deserve the hate it gets. I thought it was decent. What drives me nuts more than anything about Blair Witch (this last one) they have shit all over the lore by leaving it open for extra terrestrial activity. Apart from that I loved it.
> 
> Oh and speaking of Kim Director, did you catch her in Inside Man with Clive Owen and Denzel Washington? One of my favorite movies in general.
> 
> By the way, off-topic, but is that a tab under your name and if so, of what?


Nope. The only thing I've seen her in is Blair Witch 2. And she's fine as fuck. I've never been all that goth myself, but I wouldn't mind having a goth gf at all. To be honest though, Blair Witch 2 is the only one I like.

It's meant for coordination.


----------



## fps

Annihilation - very good. 
The Wailing - very good.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The ritual- I haven't enjoyed a " group of dumbasses lost in the woods" film so much since wrong turn 2, but I liked this movie for very different reasons (wrong turn 2 is awesome because it's ridiculously stupid and knows it). This film takes a nice grounded/measured approach to the scares, keeping the film pretty tense until the very end. The excellent lighting/framing shots/cinematography really help establish the mood. I loved how the dream sequences are kind of built into the forest (ie the liquour store props/lights are just smack dab in the middle of the forest). the creature design was pretty cool as well. I thought it was a solid horror film.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

KnightBrolaire said:


> The ritual- I haven't enjoyed a " group of dumbasses lost in the woods" film so much since wrong turn 2, but I liked this movie for very different reasons (wrong turn 2 is awesome because it's ridiculously stupid and knows it). This film takes a nice grounded/measured approach to the scares, keeping the film pretty tense until the very end. The excellent lighting/framing shots/cinematography really help establish the mood. I loved how the dream sequences are kind of built into the forest (ie the liquour store props/lights are just smack dab in the middle of the forest). the creature design was pretty cool as well. I thought it was a solid horror film.





Very much agreed here. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also loved the atmosphere it gave off. The random comedy here and there wasn't a bad touch either.


----------



## mongey

finally got the urge to re watch The Last Jedi after some time 

I was def critical originally 

I enjoyed it more that I expected to . I feel like without the whole Finn and Rose casino subplot it is a solid star wars movie . that section is just so crap . and it's also where the worst lines of dialogue lie .


----------



## KnightBrolaire

mongey said:


> finally got the urge to re watch The Last Jedi after some time
> 
> I was def critical originally
> 
> I enjoyed it more that I expected to . I feel like without the whole Finn and Rose casino subplot it is a solid star wars movie . that section is just so crap . and it's also where the worst lines of dialogue lie .


That whole subplot is exactly why i hate movie. They could have cut all of that subplot and the film would have been a lot more fun


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

2 movies off my pile of shame:

*Colossal*

Great movie with an original premise. Well written well acted all round. Jason Sudeikis's character was a pleasant surprise. 

*Inherent Vice*

Another Paul Thomas Anderson winner. The movie keeps 3 steps ahead of your own perceptions, even the characters themselves don't know what's going on, but it's fun watching them try to piece together the rather complex plot.


----------



## wankerness

Colossal's really, really good. Jason Sudeikis is really high on my list of actors/actresses that annoy me, but I loved him there!


----------



## Joan Maal

Fantastic Mr. Fox ( Very good )
Perfetti sconosciuti, by Paolo Genovese ( Good )


----------



## Lorcan Ward

Ready Player One was amazing. I haven't enjoyed a film that much in the cinema in years. I loved the endless easter eggs/references. 

Annihilation was pretty good, wasn't to fond of the last 20ish minutes. With this and Cloverfield Paradox both going to Netflix its likely that a lot of future sic-fi films will do the same. 

Black Panther was good but I was exhausted from work so couldn't really appreciate it. Very hyped up for Infinity War now. 30 films leading up to this.


----------



## TedEH

I did a (stupid?) thing this weekend and marathon'd the Star Wars prequels. They're not as bad as I remembered, but then, I had some drinks to go with it this time. Hadn't watched them since ep3 came out. I forgot how much those movies were basically Star Wars going off the sci-fi deep end. ALL THE JEDIS. ALL THE CHARACTERS. ALL THE BIG CG BATTLES. But then throw a bunch of politics in the middle because why not. Realistically, say what you want about em, I can enjoy those movies. I don't think I've encountered a Star Wars movie that I can't enjoy on some level.

I really kind of want to watch Ready Player One, but I have a copy of the book and feel like it would be appropriate to read the book first. But I'm also potentially missing the opportunity to see it in a proper theater if I wait that long, cause I've got too much stuff to read right now. First world problem I guess.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

TedEH said:


> I did a (stupid?) thing this weekend and marathon'd the Star Wars prequels. They're not as bad as I remembered, but then, I had some drinks to go with it this time. Hadn't watched them since ep3 came out. I forgot how much those movies were basically Star Wars going off the sci-fi deep end. ALL THE JEDIS. ALL THE CHARACTERS. ALL THE BIG CG BATTLES. But then throw a bunch of politics in the middle because why not. Realistically, say what you want about em, I can enjoy those movies. I don't think I've encountered a Star Wars movie that I can't enjoy on some level.
> 
> I really kind of want to watch Ready Player One, but I have a copy of the book and feel like it would be appropriate to read the book first. But I'm also potentially missing the opportunity to see it in a proper theater if I wait that long, cause I've got too much stuff to read right now. First world problem I guess.


the book is good but it's not necessary to read it, the movie does a good job of adapting most of the book. They wisely cut/change some stuff from the book so that it works a bit better on screen (all of the easter egg challenges and parzival stalking artemis). the romance feels a bit rushed compared to how it developed in the book, and the stakes don't feel quite as high (IOI was literally murdering egg hunters irl in the book).


----------



## TedEH

I guess what I mean is that if I fully intend to read the book regardless, it makes sense to me to consume the book first. Seeing the movie ahead of the book might ruin the book for me, I would think. Like it would spoil the story, but also it would prevent me from being able to fully interpret what I read in my own way, as opposed to applying the movie interpretation to it.

It's less that I think the book would enhance the movie experience, so much as seeing the movie ahead of time might ruin the book experience.


----------



## wankerness

TedEH said:


> I guess what I mean is that if I fully intend to read the book regardless, it makes sense to me to consume the book first. Seeing the movie ahead of the book might ruin the book for me, I would think. Like it would spoil the story, but also it would prevent me from being able to fully interpret what I read in my own way, as opposed to applying the movie interpretation to it.
> 
> It's less that I think the book would enhance the movie experience, so much as seeing the movie ahead of time might ruin the book experience.



Just watch the movie first, because of the time concern. It's not doing well financially, so you'll be stuck watching it in the dollar theater if you wait much longer. You'll be annoyed at whichever you watch/read second because THAT'S NOT WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE FIRST!!! There's no reason it has to be the movie you get mad at!

And people who read the book ALWAYS nitpick about how the movie "ruined what was good about the book" so I don't think your last concern is valid.  Also, given the plot, this really isn't some twisty mystery with big surprises or anything, so don't worry about that!


----------



## TedEH

I think that's fair. I can't help but wonder if I'll be able to sort of put the cinematic interpretation aside while reading though. Like imagine reading any Star Wars novel - you know what the universe looks like already, so you don't get that opportunity for the author to really build that for you anymore. I don't think I've ever been in a scenario where I've read the book after viewing the movie, so I don't know what the impact would be on the experience. Maybe you're right and it's a non-issue though.


----------



## Ralyks

I finally got around to The Last Jedi myself this past weekend. I can’t decide if I liked it or not.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Ralyks said:


> I finally got around to The Last Jedi myself this past weekend. I can’t decide if I liked it or not.


I am struggling with that as well.


----------



## wankerness

TedEH said:


> I think that's fair. I can't help but wonder if I'll be able to sort of put the cinematic interpretation aside while reading though. Like imagine reading any Star Wars novel - you know what the universe looks like already, so you don't get that opportunity for the author to really build that for you anymore. *I don't think I've ever been in a scenario where I've read the book after viewing the movie, so I don't know what the impact would be on the experience. * Maybe you're right and it's a non-issue though.



I have multiple times and it's always fine. I've also re-read books after seeing the movie. Usually what happens in both cases is I then picture the characters as the actors that played them, even in situation 2 when I didn't before. If the movie's got even half-decent casting that doesn't matter and might even be an improvement, and if the movie's casting is crap/the characters are described totally differently in the book, then I quickly replace them with a mental picture while reading. Stephen King books have an especially bad history of casting and thus I think about the only actors I visualized when re-reading his books were like...Beverly and Pennywise from the 1990 TV version of "It."

LOTR was a big one where I COMPLETELY forgot every single thing I'd visualized while reading the books. However, the movie's designers had wayyyy better imaginations than me, so it was a big improvement!


----------



## TedEH

I think essentially the conclusion I've settle on is that if I get invited to see the movie I will, and not worry about it, but I won't otherwise go out of my way to see it, and if that means catching it on Netflix or something like that sometime town the road then that's cool.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Scarface
Sand Castle
Super
The Lazarus Effect - For a film that took two years to get released it looks like something that would've been a syfy original in 2009.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Gonna watch Lakeview Terrace. Try to relax after a really stressful day.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

rewatched the red dawn remake. It was alright, definitely not as bad as I remembered it being. It's a lot more straightforward of an action film with less philosophizing/ or any excellent quotable lines like "Hate keeps me warm" that the original had. Chris Hemsworth does a good job as jed, josh peck was horribly miscast imo. The character development and the showing of the toll that war takes on people is lacking in the remake. The scenes where the wolverines are freezing and starving in the mountains of colorado are some of the most powerful scenes in the original for me. Same with the concentration camp scenes. The lack of gore is a huge mistake. If you're trying to sell me on a grittier/modern version of the original, at least have the decency to show the aftermath of headshots/explosions. Even if it was a scene or two in a north korean hospital where they show cho talking to blown up soldiers or something.
I guess it's a good enough stupid action flick, but it's just not as interesting as the original was imo.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Deathgasm - I've had this on my watch list for years now and I don't know why I didn't watch it sooner.
Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2 - Ew.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Carrion Rocket said:


> Deathgasm - I've had this on my watch list for years now and I don't know why I didn't watch it sooner.
> Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2 - Ew.


Deathgasm is awesome


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Carrion Rocket said:


> Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2 - Ew.


Yeah... that was a rather putrid affair, wasn't it?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

tried watching antiviral last night. Meh. I like the concept of people becoming so emotionally invested in celebrity lives that they're willing to get the same strand of herpes as the celebrity, or literally eat a part of them, but the movie just didn't give me the kind of body horror I was expecting from a cronenberg. David's kid tried too hard to copy his dad.


----------



## Guitarmiester

Saw A Quiet Place this past week on a whim without really any prior knowledge of the movie. It was fairly decent. I would have preferred that they never showed what the creatures were or even just a very small glimpse of one. Once the creature was shown most of my interest went out the window. Wasn't a fan of the futuristic mega-eared aliens. 

Watched Spring and was very surprised. Turned out to be a great movie. 

I also watched a classic last night - Cannibal Holocaust. Really wasn't prepared for what I was about to dive into. I have to rewatch the last 15 minutes since I had it on pretty late and may have started dozing off around then but talk about raw and gritty! Maybe not a movie for animal people but this is one to watch if you haven't.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Guitarmiester said:


> Saw A Quiet Place this past week on a whim without really any prior knowledge of the movie. It was fairly decent. I would have preferred that they never showed what the creatures were or even just a very small glimpse of one. Once the creature was shown most of my interest went out the window. Wasn't a fan of the futuristic mega-eared aliens.
> 
> Watched Spring and was very surprised. Turned out to be a great movie.
> 
> I also watched a classic last night - Cannibal Holocaust. Really wasn't prepared for what I was about to dive into. I have to rewatch the last 15 minutes since I had it on pretty late and may have started dozing off around then but talk about raw and gritty! Maybe not a movie for animal people but this is one to watch if you haven't.


cannibal holocaust is so bad but soo good.. You should check Emanuelle and the Cannibals or Ilsa She-wolf of the SS if you like exploitation films like cannibal holocaust.


----------



## Necris

Lost Highway - I enjoyed it, but it feels like a dry run for Mulholland Drive.

Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion and Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, saw the first in preparation for seeing the second with my friend at a local theater yesterday evening, she liked them, I liked them. They hit a nice balance between trash (they're both exploitation films, look at the titles ) and "art". Both feature some beautiful stylistic flourishes, although after thinking about it for a while the second may go a bit overboard in that department, it's much more overt than in the first.

Closet Monster - It's okay. There is some fun symbolism. The soundtrack was a bit grating (personal taste) and a few lines of dialogue sounded artificial. If the story sounds like something you'd watch, give it a shot, if not - no loss.


----------



## BenjaminW

I saw Michael Jackson's This Is It for the first time in about 5 years. I genuinely forgot about how well executed everything was for Michael's comeback tour which he obviously never got to see come to light given that he died 18 days before it would've begun. Two great factors of this especially were Michael's dancing and Orianthi's playing. Funny story about her was that I used to confuse her with Jennifer Batten for some reason. Glad I don't think that anymore. But anyways, I would definitely recommend this movie if you haven't seen it.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Avengers: Infinity War*

It was good and I liked it.


----------



## wankerness

Necris said:


> Lost Highway - I enjoyed it, but it feels like a dry run for Mulholland Drive.
> 
> Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion and Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, saw the first in preparation for seeing the second with my friend at a local theater yesterday evening, she liked them, I liked them. They hit a nice balance between trash (they're both exploitation films, look at the titles ) and "art". Both feature some beautiful stylistic flourishes, although after thinking about it for a while the second may go a bit overboard in that department, it's much more overt than in the first.
> 
> Closet Monster - It's okay. There is some fun symbolism. The soundtrack was a bit grating (personal taste) and a few lines of dialogue sounded artificial. If the story sounds like something you'd watch, give it a shot, if not - no loss.



Jailhouse 41 is a minor masterpiece. It's too bad the blu-ray looks like absolute GARBAGE and the DVD is vastly preferable just for not being completely blue and contrasty the whole time.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Goodfellas
Casino
Heat

As a child of the 90s, this is my De Niro trilogy.


----------



## mongey

Carrion Rocket said:


> Goodfellas
> Casino
> Heat
> 
> As a child of the 90s, this is my De Niro trilogy.


good fellas is one of my fav movies. I like casino allot

have never been physched on heat ,but haven't seen it for a long time. probably since it came out .

will add to my list of movies to rewatch


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I'm pretty partial to raging bull, taxi driver, deer hunter and cape fear. Those are pretty much my favorite de niro films


----------



## synrgy

Those are all great, but the correct answer is quite obviously Little Fockers.





In seriousness, though, despite his long and painful run of phoning it in, he was pretty brilliant in Silver Linings Playbook. Arguably the best thing he'd done since 1995.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

The Negotiator
The Godfather
The Godfather: Part II


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Just watched infinity war and really enjoyed it. The action was excellent and the quips were fast and furious. I was surprised how much I laughed during the film. They finally upped the stakes in a marvel film. The ending was very surprising, though I'm sure they'll retcon a lot of the aftermath.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Necris said:


> *A Quiet Place*
> That this is being compared to The Witch and *Get Out* is laughable.



I haven't seen A Quiet Place yet, but I think the main comparison to Get Out is more towards the production side, as they're both debut horror movies by auteur directors who came from namely comedy roles. John Krasinski has since tried to extend outside his role in the US version of The Office, with 13 Hours so Michael Bay let him make a movie under his Platinum Dunes company in a similar way.

Nobody expected Jordan Peele of all people to show veteran like chops as a writer/director in his debut, let alone win awards for it. So cool to see Krasinski follow suit. 

I'll probably watch this eventually, but in no rush to do so. Largely because almost everything from Platinum Dunes has been mostly either mediocre/average to abhorrent. The Purge: Anarchy only gets a very mild pass because it was amusing to see Frank Grillo as The Punisher.


----------



## Ralyks

Finally watched Whiplash after saying I would for a while. That was, uhh, intense


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> I haven't seen A Quiet Place yet, but I think the main comparison to Get Out is more towards the production side, as they're both debut horror movies by auteur directors who came from namely comedy roles. John Krasinski has since tried to extend outside his role in the US version of The Office, with 13 Hours so Michael Bay let him make a movie under his Platinum Dunes company in a similar way.
> 
> Nobody expected Jordan Peele of all people to show veteran like chops as a writer/director in his debut, let alone win awards for it. So cool to see Krasinski follow suit.
> 
> I'll probably watch this eventually, but in no rush to do so. Largely because almost everything from Platinum Dunes has been mostly either mediocre/average to abhorrent. The Purge: Anarchy only gets a very mild pass because it was amusing to see Frank Grillo as The Punisher.



Many of the reviews I saw explicitly pointed out how weird it was that it had come out from Platinum Dunes.

I've always been production-company agnostic when it comes to regular ones and not say, Troma/Cannon/Asylum. I usually don't even pay attention to who put something out. Thus this post kind of shocked me. You'll disregard reactions and reviews because of that??

The Purge 2 is kind of awesome, it's a great premise for an action movie and really carries it off well, it's one of the best low-budget actioners I've seen in a while. I don't know if I've seen anything else from them. EDIT: Just looked them up, looks like they mainly put out X-TREME remakes of horror movies and I hate the two that I've seen, but their catalog is really small! The Halloween sequel has a bunch of people optimistic, too.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Just watched infinity war and really enjoyed it. The action was excellent and the quips were fast and furious. I was surprised how much I laughed during the film. They finally upped the stakes in a marvel film. The ending was very surprising, though I'm sure they'll retcon a lot of the aftermath.



After reading a ton of posts about how "everything's going to get reset anyway" I went ahead and read all the spoilers. Man, I feel sorry for actual kids, the only ones who'll think any of it will stick!


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> cannibal holocaust is so bad but soo good.. You should check Emanuelle and the Cannibals or Ilsa She-wolf of the SS if you like exploitation films like cannibal holocaust.



No...cannibal holocaust is NOT "so bad it's good," it's an actual minor classic. Comparing Cannibal Holocaust to Emanuelle and the Cannibals is like comparing Halloween to Sorority House Massacre.  They're technically in the same subgenre, but one's great and the other is horrible. Man, EatC is so bad it's BAD. The best reason to watch it is if you're a Susan Scott fan and want a really gratuitous scene of her masturbating. If you want a cannibal movie that's so bad it's good, try Cannibal Ferox, with its insane disco prog soundtrack and the infamous breast-hooks scene. Though it has even more disgusting footage of actual animals killed.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> After reading a ton of posts about how "everything's going to get reset anyway" I went ahead and read all the spoilers. Man, I feel sorry for actual kids, the only ones who'll think any of it will stick!



It's almost like theres multiple characters who can be brought in to replace those who died; nothing says the person under the mask is going to be the same one as previously expected.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> No...cannibal holocaust is NOT "so bad it's good," it's an actual minor classic. Comparing Cannibal Holocaust to Emanuelle and the Cannibals is like comparing Halloween to Sorority House Massacre.  They're technically in the same subgenre, but one's great and the other is horrible. Man, EatC is so bad it's BAD. The best reason to watch it is if you're a Susan Scott fan and want a really gratuitous scene of her masturbating. If you want a cannibal movie that's so bad it's good, try Cannibal Ferox, with its insane disco prog soundtrack and the infamous breast-hooks scene. Though it has even more disgusting footage of actual animals killed.



Quality wise cannibal holocaust is pretty shit. I love it but that's because i like exploitation films. The emmanuelle movies are classic exploitation, same with ferox or the troma films/anyth8ng by roger corbin


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Most ferox is pretty terrible. Isn't that kind of the point, though?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> troma films


Troma is fucking garbage. But that's mainly why I like some of their shit, like the Toxic Avenger stuff.


----------



## extendedsolo

wankerness said:


> After reading a ton of posts about how "everything's going to get reset anyway" I went ahead and read all the spoilers. Man, I feel sorry for actual kids, the only ones who'll think any of it will stick!



That's a pretty lazy opinion. Do you make fun of kids who believe in Santa too?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

extendedsolo said:


> That's a pretty lazy opinion. Do you make fun of kids who believe in Santa too?


Yes. On the internet, even.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> I've always been production-company agnostic when it comes to regular ones and not say, Troma/Cannon/Asylum. I usually don't even pay attention to who put something out. Thus this post kind of shocked me. You'll disregard reactions and reviews because of that??



Normally I try not to overwhelm myself with reviews and reactions before I see the movie myself so it doesn't colour my overall impression. It's near impossible nowadays because you need at least some kind of incentive to watch a film and everywhere you look at somewhat colours that.

In the case of Platinum Dunes, it's not in spite of their track record, but because of it that I approach them with trepidation. I saw some of the remakes they made like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Amityville and thought were crap on a crusty roll. Then more of these remakes came out like Friday 13th and Elm St, and ignored them. I was only curious as to how these were all coming out that I found about Platinum Dunes making all of them and that Michael Bay being executive producer to all of them.

Conversely, just because it has Michael Bay on it doesn't mean it's all terrible, I wouldn't have seen Pain And Gain otherwise. I may be alone here thinking Pain And Gain is actually a good film.

Also conversely, part of what draws me to the MCU is Kevin Feigie's choice of directors and how they can make what are ostensibly superhero movies for kids into so much more. At times, I check out their other movies pre MCU, or after seeing their track record, get hyped for their MCU effort. The latter usually more than the former, but I'm still glad guys like Ryan Coogler, James Gunn, Taika Waititi and the Russo Bros are getting more well deserved recognition.

I still curious about A Quiet Place and still would like to think I might like it despite the negative bashing here.


----------



## wankerness

I went and saw it. I was pretty impressed with it. I was slightly lost with some of the Wakanda stuff cause I failed to see Black Panther (I need to rectify that), but other than that, I thought it was great. It's very clearly directed at the fanboys like me, which I kind of loved about it - there's NO attempt to introduce any characters or backstories or anything, it just drops you right into the thick of it and assumes you know who everyone is and what's going on, and based on the running time, that was absolutely necessary!! It's kind of necessary at this point, but it's still by far the most serious example of it yet. Like, the first Avengers was completely accessible to people that hadn't seen a single film leading up to it (which was impressive), and even movies as recent as Thor: Ragnarok bothered to include a recap in them.



MFB said:


> It's almost like theres multiple characters who can be brought in to replace those who died; nothing says the person under the mask is going to be the same one as previously expected.



INFINITY WAR SPOILERS


Spoiler



Nah, not a chance, look at their release schedule and their widely publicized contracts! Particularly black panther and Spider-Man - they are most definitely not going to stay dead unless they start setting movies in the past! From a numbers standpoint, yes, they COULD do it. But they won't. I am guessing everything's going to get reset besides maybe like, Loki and Gamora, and then we're going to get the handful of "for real" deaths which might include the old guard like Captain America/Iron Man





extendedsolo said:


> That's a pretty lazy opinion. Do you make fun of kids who believe in Santa too?



I had to re-read this post multiple times to figure out what you were accusing me of. I'm not making fun of kids, I said exactly what I meant. My complaint is that


Spoiler



the deaths have little gravity cause anyone who pays any attention whatsoever to Marvel movie news knows it won't stick, and the film seemed directed at that audience, so it seems really needlessly nihilistic and grimdark towards the people that AREN'T in the know (aka kids).



I'm not saying the ending isn't effective. It basically made me really hyped to see Infinity War Part 2 and I wanted to see it RIGHT NOW. But...what I said still holds true.


----------



## MFB

Spoiler



I think Spiderman could be down for a film, since Donald Glover's character mentioned his nephew, we could be seeing Miles Morales making his appearance and them going the Ultimates route; and Umbaku could take over for T'Challa if he stays dead for a quick minute.

Looking back, I'm surprised he killed so many of the Guardians and still left someone as powerful as Hulk around. But the big hitters made sense: Scarlett Witch, Vision, Dr. Strange, Star-Lord (technically part Celestial) - those are all people who with honed powers, people have been saying "Why doesn't [...] jump in and end this in a heartbeat?" With Capt. Marvel coming in for Part 2, she sounds like Iron Man's power with Capt. America'a skills combined in a woman, so hopefully she's not just a massive trump card for the Avengers and is able to be humanized.


----------



## synrgy

Caught a late show for IW last night. Holy balls. They really went for it.



Spoiler



I am pretty genuinely surprised, not by the deaths we got, but by the deaths we _didn't_ get. I went into the movie kinda banking on the deaths of Steve and Tony. Never would have expected us to lose, like, ALL of The Guardians, let alone Black Panther or Spiderman. Granted, probably temporary on all counts, but, still.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

Infinity War was really good. To pull of a film with that many characters so well is mind blowing. 



Spoiler



I loved the banter between characters finally meeting. Drax praising Thor and everyone ripping into Quill was hilarious. Tony Stark and Stephen Strange was equally as funny. The humour was on point as always. For 2.5 hours it kept my attention the whole time. I was hoping they didn't cut out the part about how Doctor Strange got so powerful but seeing him take on Thanos was awesome. I'm up to date on all the films but I imagine it could be a little confusing if you hadn't seen Civil War or Thor Ragnarok. 

I liked how they didn't try to introduce the 4 members of the Black Order beyond these are the bad guys but on the other hand I didn't like how spoon fed the plot was in other places. Its a Marvel film I guess so that to be expected. Tom did a really good job as Ebony Maw, if anyone wants a laugh youtube "Love Hate Nidge" to see him play an Irish drug Lord.

I did really like the ending but they killed the wrong characters off IMO. We know Black Panther and Spiderman aren't dead because they have films coming out in the future, same with the Guardians and Doctor Strange. Its obvious that everything will be reversed but they could have left it on a proper cliff hanger with Iron Man and Cap dying instead. Although them being killed off is about as likely as Vision killing Ant-Man when he was huge in Civil War was. 

My favourite thing about this movie is now any character can meet anyone and go anywhere. So Spiderman could team up with Doctor Strange to go to another dimension or Thor could join the Guardians for a film. I was getting really burnt out with superhero films but this really shakes things up.


----------



## wankerness

Lorcan Ward said:


> Infinity War was really good. To pull of a film with that many characters so well is mind blowing.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I loved the banter between characters finally meeting. Drax praising Thor and everyone ripping into Quill was hilarious. Tony Stark and Stephen Strange was equally as funny. The humour was on point as always. For 2.5 hours it kept my attention the whole time. I was hoping they didn't cut out the part about how Doctor Strange got so powerful but seeing him take on Thanos was awesome. I'm up to date on all the films but I imagine it could be a little confusing if you hadn't seen Civil War or Thor Ragnarok.
> 
> I liked how they didn't try to introduce the 4 members of the Black Order beyond these are the bad guys but on the other hand I didn't like how spoon fed the plot was in other places. Its a Marvel film I guess so that to be expected. Tom did a really good job as Ebony Maw, if anyone wants a laugh youtube "Love Hate Nidge" to see him play an Irish drug Lord.
> 
> I did really like the ending but they killed the wrong characters off IMO. We know Black Panther and Spiderman aren't dead because they have films coming out in the future, same with the Guardians and Doctor Strange. *Its obvious that everything will be reversed but they could have left it on a proper cliff hanger with Iron Man and Cap dying instead. Although them being killed off is about as likely as Vision killing Ant-Man when he was huge in Civil War was. *
> 
> My favourite thing about this movie is now any character can meet anyone and go anywhere. So Spiderman could team up with Doctor Strange to go to another dimension or Thor could join the Guardians for a film. I was getting really burnt out with superhero films but this really shakes things up.



It's not unlikely


Spoiler



considering their publicized contracts (which date back years) and their comments in interviews for years as well. But, it's something that would be saved for movie #2 and I'm sure it would be much more drawn out since they're basically the main 2 characters. I think AT LEAST those two characters are going to retire after that movie.


----------



## Quiet Coil

Did a quick catchup Friday night/Saturday morning before going to Infinity War. Really enjoyed it to the point that I’m reinvested in the MCU (after having mostly given up). I’ve got my own theory on things...


Spoiler



I’m willing to bet that part 2 involves a “mass self-sacrifice” resulting in most of the surviving characters being killed off permanently in order to bring back most (if not all) of those that didn’t make it through part 1. Neat and tidy wrap up for those that are ready to be done, all the more justified by the devastation from part 1.


----------



## synrgy

That seems to be the prevailing theory, presently;


Spoiler



that those who died after the finger snap will likely be brought back, but at the cost of the lives of those who survived the finger snap. (And that those who died prior to the finger snap will probably _stay_ dead, which makes me sad because LOKI, NOOOOOOO...)


----------



## synrgy

I do have one dumb nit to pick, though:



Spoiler



The effects they used to make Peter Dinklage a giant 'dwarf' towering over Thor just didn't work for me, at all. Kinda broke the Fourth Wall. I don't know how much of that is because he's so recognizable, and how much is that they just didn't shoot it well. I just know that the 'forced perspective' shots didn't seem at-all real, to me, and the set design wasn't detailed enough to maintain any sense of his size when he wasn't sharing the frame with one of the other characters.


----------



## chuche

The movies I have been watching are getting constantly more creepy and gorier. I may need help in few years from now.


----------



## wankerness

Nah, as long as you don't need all your movies to be gory you're fine. Make sure to balance it out with rom-coms or something. I watched Legally Blonde in between a bunch of Italian exploitation and French new-wave horror movies last year and it was glorious.


----------



## bostjan

My eldest (step)son just participated in a contest where people had to write, film, and edit a 3 minute movie in under 48 hours. There were 29 out of 36 teams who completed the task on time, and the short films were almost all a blast to watch. The premiere screening of all of them was immediately at the end of the 48 hour period. All of the films' crews were middle school age up to college age, and 99% of the actors were the same.

It made it seem like making an entertaining original film is something anyone could do if they set their minds to it. It also made me realize how overboard mainstream films go. I had heard somewhere that the original _Alien_ film was mostly done in one take, because the director wanted to get genuine reactions. Too many films now have phenomenal actors in them giving performances that end up making me scratch my head. Good acting isn't about bringing the tears or going batshit Nic-Cage crazy on screen, it's about portraying a character in a believable and relate-able way. Personally, I think that low budget indy films do this better than a majority of big budget Hollywood films do.


----------



## synrgy

There were definitely different takes done for Alien, but they were indeed very long takes. There's a bunch of behind the scenes stuff tucked into the Anthology blu ray(s), and within them are a couple spots where we can watch the actors run through multiple takes of a single scene. Basically, Scott gave the actors room to improvise. Each take covered the same bullet points, but the actors would try different methods to get from one bullet point to the next. Was pretty interesting to watch their process.

Fun side note: The lanky fellow in the alien suit was randomly spotted/recruited by Scott in a local bar during production.


----------



## Guitarmiester

I watched Digging Up the Marrow the other day. Other than the obvious and annoying self-promotion, it turned out to be better than I expected it to be. Had no idea Ray Wise was in it until he showed up quickly as Mr. Dekker. Some of his lines were hilarious. I liked how they kept the appearance of the monsters limited. That's usually the downfall of most monster/creature films when the big reveal happens and they're cheesy as hell or don't fit the movie at all.


----------



## wankerness

bostjan said:


> I had heard somewhere that the original _Alien_ film was mostly done in one take, because the director wanted to get genuine reactions.



Where did you hear that?! I think you might have the wrong movie...


----------



## bostjan

Sorry, not one continuous take. I saw in a commentary video that a lot of the shots were one take, as in there were no retakes.


----------



## wankerness

bostjan said:


> Sorry, not one continuous take. I saw in a commentary video that a lot of the shots were one take, as in there were no retakes.



Yeah, I know what you meant. What commentary video? I've watched the ~2 hour making-of videos on the DVD and the Blu-Ray about 5 times (as many times as the movie!!!) and I don't recall them ever saying anything about an Ed Wood number of takes. I have never watched the actual commentary tracks on the film, though.


----------



## bostjan

I'll have to see if I can track it down, but it is something I've heard from 2-3 different sources before - those may well have been reviews for other films - I'm not certain, but I'm thinking that someone on youtube was reviewing the Star Wars prequels and mentioned how many takes it took Lucas to get some of the scenes that were merely exposition and someone mentioned that the acting seemed "cardboard," and then mentioned the Alien movie and how the chestburster scene was done on the first take (which is widely reported, just google "Alien chestburster scene one take").

It might not be accurate, though, but I know I had heard that factoid a few times before and it makes sense, considering the small budget of principle filming, the fact that a lot of the costumes didn't allow actors to breathe, the weird allergic reactions Weaver had to some of the makeup, etc.


----------



## synrgy

They did shoot more than one take of the chestburster scene. Scott regularly talks about how the 'burst' didn't work on the first take. That said, certain aspects of the scene as we know it were special in that the actors didn't know exactly what was going to happen, so Lambert's famous reaction to the chestburster is 'real'. (Similarly 'real' is the moment where she smacks Ripley; Weaver had reflexively dodged the first couple of takes, so Scott told Cartwright to really go after her.)

Don't get me wrong; I understand (and agree with) the overall position that Scott's Alien was a relative masterpiece, and Scott's directorial approach was (and still is) relatively unconventional. I'm just picking nits because I just happened to recently power through _all_ the content on the Anthology blu ray set (including, unfortunately, another viewing of Resurrection, which I _really_ should have skipped..) so it's fresh on my mind.


----------



## wankerness

bostjan said:


> I'll have to see if I can track it down, but it is something I've heard from 2-3 different sources before - those may well have been reviews for other films - I'm not certain, but I'm thinking that someone on youtube was reviewing the Star Wars prequels and mentioned how many takes it took Lucas to get some of the scenes that were merely exposition and someone mentioned that the acting seemed "cardboard," and then mentioned the Alien movie and how the chestburster scene was done on the first take (which is widely reported, just google "Alien chestburster scene one take").
> 
> It might not be accurate, though, but I know I had heard that factoid a few times before and it makes sense, considering the small budget of principle filming, the fact that a lot of the costumes didn't allow actors to breathe, the weird allergic reactions Weaver had to some of the makeup, etc.



The chestburster scene was done in one take, yeah. The documentaries all mentioned how the reaction from Veronica Cartwright in particular was completely genuine, since they didn't warn them beforehand. It's not that uncommon for scenes where the actors have something jump out of them to be like that, especially when a very expensive gore rig has to be set up beforehand, since if it doesn't work on the first take they'll all have to sit around for hours while they get it set up again. I don't think it mentioned anything else being like that, though.

But yes, that's part of the reason why the old practical effects still have some things to endear them over CGI when it comes to actor interaction ending up on screen. Obviously it's a GIGANTIC pain for everyone on set comparatively


----------



## synrgy

^One might argue the blue/green-screen CGI process can be as (or more) painful for many. Famously, filming The Hobbit nearly broke Ian McKellen.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Deadpool 2*

More of the same really. High level gore, and rapid fire humour, with a higher budget and Deadpool himself trying his best keeping everything together. I thought the first movie was good (but not great). This was a better film overall, but still away from greatness, and I can't help but feel less engaged here than I was in part 1, maybe due to 'sloppy seconds sequel syndrome' hitting me at the worst of times. Josh Brolin must be having a great month though.


----------



## wankerness

The trailers look kind of annoying and the fact it looks like they had an unlimited budget this time turns me off. Practically every review says it's better than the first, though.

Also, I was annoyed by the trailers for the first and skipped it in the theater, and ended up liking it quite a bit when I finally saw it on blu-ray. I've watched it 3 times and it's grown on me each time.


----------



## synrgy

Interestingly, I've had the opposite experience with the first one; caught it in the theater and enjoyed it immensely, but haven't been able to finish any subsequent attempted viewings on blu-ray.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Ninja batman is ridiculous but I really enjoyed it. The art styles/charcter designs are awesome, plus it's got tara strong, kevin conroy and a bunch of other veteran voice actors. Sumo bane is one of my favorite designs, though the samurai penguins are also pretty entertaining


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

synrgy said:


> Interestingly, I've had the opposite experience with the first one; caught it in the theater and enjoyed it immensely, but haven't been able to finish any subsequent attempted viewings on blu-ray.



My experience is similar. Loved it at the theatre but had little incentive to revisit it. 

Maybe it's the Family Guy pandemic with repetitive (meta) comedy quickly getting old. But it's not like I blew a funny fuse, Eric Cartman style. I had fun with the second movie, don't get me wrong. The jokes are on point and were more clever this time around (Domino's entire shtick revolves around an ongoing gag for instance) and it's cool to see Julian Dennison again. But it's more or less the usual song and dance, to bring back the Family Guy metaphor, it's like comparing it to American Dad: the jokes are better and hit harder, but it's still the same show. 



Spoiler



There's a long scene in the third act where the characters gather around Deadpool without saying a word and he blathers on and on until it gets old, then blathers some more. I found this rather poignant in an unusual way where Deadpool being central that if you take away the character and everything that comes with him, there really isn't anything substantial to hold interest. The XMen movies (sans First Class and Logan) can't really hold well on their own, and it somewhat leaks here.



I appreciate both movies, especially considering all the great lengths to get them made, the awesome marketing campaigns, all done without compromise. They're a few steps away from being great films, but maybe that's enough and all that's needed.


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Interestingly, I've had the opposite experience with the first one; caught it in the theater and enjoyed it immensely, but haven't been able to finish any subsequent attempted viewings on blu-ray.



Part of the appeal to me is that it has strong, non-jokey foundations. The love story is sincere under there, as are things like his relationship with the blind neighbor. And paradoxically, that romance works light-years better than any equivalent in the MCU (coughJANEFOSTERcough). The jokes might not be as funny on repeat views, but some of the character humor is. I love Colossus and Megasonic Teenage Warhead (or w/e) so much.


----------



## synrgy

Agreed on all those 'redeeming qualities' (^), but also agreed on the 'Family Guy' analogy (^^).

As for Foster, yeah, that's why I tend to skip all the non-Asgard stuff when re-watching the first two Thor movies. So glad they quietly wrote her out of the franchise. I think I get why they _tried_ to have that element, but it really weighed those movies down; _especially_ TDW.


----------



## wankerness

Jane was awful. BUT, I loved Darcy, even though it appeared she'd had most of her lines added in post-production in the first movie. You win some, you lose some.


----------



## synrgy

I'd like Darcy in just about anything but a Marvel movie, but her constant quipping kept taking me out of the movie(s); fourth-wall breaking, or whatever. Just 'one of those things', I guess.


----------



## wankerness

I don't recall any fourth wall stuff? I just found her shtick funny. I especially like the "mewmew" repeating gag, especially when the hammer whizzes past during the pandemonium in the climax of 2 and you hear her say it in the background. 

I find Kat Dennings hilarious in interviews and I like her character in Thor probably partly because of that. I think I might have just been desperate to see her in something other than the horrendous 2 Broke Girls. I'm still waiting for those two actresses to get vehicles that deserve them.


----------



## synrgy

Maybe poor choice of words on my part. I just mean, like, her character is basically Peanut Gallery, and - for my personal viewing experience - that's an unnecessary distraction from the narrative. I appreciate her performance to a point, but if I could trade it for more Asgard (or other non-Earth stuff, generally), I definitely would.


----------



## wankerness

I like the visuals, but was bored by the ponderousness of EVERYTHING anthony hopkins does in those damn things.

The best scene in part 1 is Thor throwing his mug down and going ANOTHER!!!

Maybe I'm just a mental 3 year old!

Speaking of which, I rewatched GOTG2 last night. That's one weirdly ambitious movie. It tries to just give every single character (besides Groot) an arc, and they're all pretty dark. I like the Gamora/Nebula stuff the best by far, but it doesn't get much screentime compared to the Peter/Ego stuff, which I didn't particularly like. I love the Yondu stuff, though, which is set up against that, so who knows. Yondu and Rocket's bonding is pretty good, and I really like Drax's stuff and his scenes with Mantis (who's unfortunately used as a punchline sometimes when she shouldn't, but hey). It's pretty good. It's not as "fun" as the first one, but it's better made, and it doesn't have a black hole of a villain at the center. Ronan's SO lame. Again, it's one of the prettiest giant-budget effects movies. And having just watched Gilmore Girls, it was a ton of fun seeing Kirk as a major supporting character.

And a couple days ago, I finally watched Black Panther. I think it suffered from the massive hype. It was fine, but I'd put it closer to the bottom of the Marvel flicks, above maybe Iron Man 2 and Thor 1/2. T'Challa is THE most boring protagonist of any of these things. He was great in Civil War as the rational counterpoint to Captain America and Iron Man, but as a lead...ugh. The actor is HORRIBLE in the fight scenes, too. The first was almost Sand Snake level. Fortunately the second ritual battle has Michael B Jordan, who is electrifying as a physical actor, so that one's good. The best character is definitely the Q-style sister. Kilmonger's good, but massively overrated due to the fact he's really not on screen until halfway through, and then the last quarter mostly has him as a shitty CGI representation of himself. I definitely liked the look and thought that was completely different from any of these things, at least before the crummy-looking battle on the train tracks, which legitimately looked videogame bad in a couple shots, particularly the first as they fall down and start facing off. I bet Marvel thought this was going to be a smaller-scale Antman level success and thus put their B-team on it.

If it doesn't win the Oscar for costume design, though, there's no justice in this world.


----------



## bostjan

I'm loving Marvel's handling of their own characters, for the most part, and I love watching comic-book adaptations on film in general, but I'm thinking that the comic-book-movie-fatigue syndrome that started a couple of years ago is likely going to hit a new level after Avengers 4, and that we might see a cool-off period for a while after that. Save the city becomes save the world becomes save the universe, then there's not going to be any way for Marvel to top itself anymore without things getting silly. Plus, a few of the DC movies have already been silly already.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> And a couple days ago, I finally watched Black Panther. I think it suffered from the massive hype. It was fine, but I'd put it closer to the bottom of the Marvel flicks, above maybe Iron Man 2 and Thor 1/2. T'Challa is THE most boring protagonist of any of these things. He was great in Civil War as the rational counterpoint to Captain America and Iron Man, but as a lead...ugh. The actor is HORRIBLE in the fight scenes, too. The first was almost Sand Snake level. Fortunately the second ritual battle has Michael B Jordan, who is electrifying as a physical actor, so that one's good. The best character is definitely the Q-style sister. Kilmonger's good, but massively overrated due to the fact he's really not on screen until halfway through, and then the last quarter mostly has him as a shitty CGI representation of himself. I definitely liked the look and thought that was completely different from any of these things, at least before the crummy-looking battle on the train tracks, which legitimately looked videogame bad in a couple shots, particularly the first as they fall down and start facing off. I bet Marvel thought this was going to be a smaller-scale Antman level success and thus put their B-team on it.
> 
> If it doesn't win the Oscar for costume design, though, there's no justice in this world.



I don't think I'd put it that low, I mean it was for sure a victim of hype, but that's a problem with us as the fandom putting the pedestal it was on higher and higher when we should've been remind ourselves it's just a movie. And I get the other side of the coin about how great it was to see a predominantly black cast (I can only think of 3 white dudes in the movie, and that's Klaw/Ross/Bucky in the post credits), and on top of that, strong WOMEN (which was also refreshing after seeing Wonder Woman last year), but again, it was still a movie at the end of the day.

I like Chadwick in what I've seen him in, between the Jackie Robinson movie and Bobby Brown flick (despite that being an absolute shitshow of a movie from what we could sit through), and it goes without saying Michael B. Jordan has been crushing it lately; it just seems like the writers weren't sure how to treat Black Panther now that he's coming in so late and that the Wakandan culture is so starkly different from what we've seen with the rest of the Avengers (self-preservation and interest first, until the very end). Hopefully it gets fixed as he see more of him in solo series, or maybe he'll just work best when he's the Black Panther with the rest of the team.


----------



## synrgy

I'd definitely rank BP higher, but, that's the beauty of subjectivity, I guess.

I don't think Killmonger was overrated; I think he was rated correctly: In the MCU to-date, he's one of very few compelling and/or sympathetic villains. Ultimately, he changes T'Challa's viewpoint. Sure, Nakia helped along the way, too, but without Killmonger's influence, we're led to believe Wakanda would still be keeping to itself, for better or worse.

Though I agree he was wooden at times, I wouldn't put the portrayal of T'Challa as much on Boseman - who played the character the same way in CA:CW - as I would on the writers. Despite being the title/principle character, it isn't really _his_ movie; it's Wakanda's movie, which is kind of underscored by the introduction being narrated not by T'Challa, or even T'Chaka, but by N'Jobu. The events of the movie happen around T'Challa; he's not their driving force. The 'supporting cast' does pretty much everything: Take away any one of Shuri, Okoye, W'Kabi, or M'Baku, and there's basically no movie. I thought Serkis's Klau was loads of fun, too.

Anyway, it's the full package that does it for me, from the vivid color palette, to the score, it sets itself apart from the rest of the MCU. I'm not saying 'it's the best one', but they've done 19 movies so far and it's probably in my top 5-ish. Of course, ask me again in a few years and I might feel quite differently.

Per Bostjan's post - The fatigue hasn't really hit me, yet, because they keep getting better over time. You're probably right that it will start to kick in post Avengers 4, but I guess we won't know until we get there. In the meantime, though, I've really been enjoying the ride. These are pretty much the only movies that I still go to the theater for.


----------



## wankerness

Killmonger is fine as a character, he just was on screen so little and so much of THAT time was spent as a CGI body (with maybe a face CGI'd on) that it was really, REALLY underwhelming when all the write-ups I saw were like OMG THIS GUY IS LIKE HEATH LEDGER IN TDK LEVEL. Thanos had more and more effective screentime, which was NOT what I was expecting.

I liked that the cast was almost all black (and Martin Freeman was the worst character!). I liked the huge amount of women. I liked that it felt different from the others. The problem was the movie itself, at its core, was not very interestingly plotted and had a gaping hole of a central character. IMO. Enough of the supporting characters were dull that it didn't work for me the way you said - Martin Freeman especially was lame, and I didn't think Lupita Nyongo was given that great of a role, though it's vastly better than the likes of Jane Foster. I have seen enough of general lady glowering to last a lifetime from the couple seasons I saw of Walking Dead, and thus was bored by her, though unsurprisingly she was very convincing when she swung spears around, much more so than Boseman!!

And ranking it above Thor 2/Iron Man 2 isn't that huge of an insult for me, I'm not one of those people that thinks Marvel movies go from terrible to incredible, and I'm about the biggest Thor 2 defender I know (I LOVE that climax). I'd put them all in the 5-8 range. I'd give BP like a 6.5/10 and would have no problem watching it again. These movies are almost all very rewatchable.

The "vivid color pallette" thing was new to me with GOTG, but now it's pretty much everything Marvel and I don't think BP was unique in that regard. It isn't nearly as ridiculous as GOTG 1/2, Doctor Strange, or Ragnarok, which spray neon all over your eyeballs. Probably not even Infinity War. I love what it looks like, don't get me wrong, I just think at this point it's not that unique visually except the incredible design of the different Wakandan cultures/costumes.

The score was the same boring, featureless Marvel orchestral stuff except for the Kendrick Lamar stuff, which was fantastic. Like, Black Panther's main theme was just that stuttered rhythmic thing, and I can't remember a note of anything else, I just remembered thinking "I thought Kendrick Lamar did more of this!!"

I'll watch it again sometime, who knows. It might improve. I got the 4K disc blind cause I was so sure I'd like it, so it will certainly be easy to see again!


----------



## bostjan

wankerness said:


> REALLY underwhelming when all the write-ups I saw were like OMG THIS GUY IS LIKE HEATH LEDGER IN TDK LEVEL


Ledger notoriously only had about 30 minutes of screen time in the film.

As an aside, Beatrice Straight was in "Network" for literally five minutes, as the shunned wife of the main character, and won an oscar for best supporting actress.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Deadpool 2 was hilarious. The jokes were pretty much non-stop and the action scenes were suitably zany/gory for a deadpool film. I especially loved the music choices, like when he's fighting Juggernaut and the chorus is singing "Holy shitbaaaaallls".


----------



## bostjan

KnightBrolaire said:


> Deadpool 2 was hilarious. The jokes were pretty much non-stop and the action scenes were suitably zany/gory for a deadpool film. I especially loved the music choices, like when he's fighting Juggernaut and the chorus is singing "Holy shitbaaaaallls".


I wasn't sure I was going to see it before it hit DVD until I read that post.


----------



## synrgy

I mean, I'm not saying the other recent flicks weren't vivid. I'm disagreeing on Dr Strange, but you're bang-on with Ragnarok and GOTG 2.

I have been quite enjoying the blend of African percussion, 'regal' brass, and hip hop beats. Even aside from the movie, I've been listening to it on Spotify. (I did the same with Ragnarok. Loved those retro-synthey takes on the established Thor themes.)

For grins, I figured I'd try to rank them all against each other just to see where I ended up. The catch is that I have trouble not flip-flopping criteria midstream. Like, Ragnarok isn't what I'd say is the 'best movie' but it's probably the one I had the most fun with. Or, like, IW isn't necessarily the 'best' on its own, but when considering all the context/buildup to get to it, it's hard to not rank it at the top. Anyway, here goes (from 'least favorite' to 'most favorite' or whatever):

The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 3
Doctor Strange
Thor
Thor 2
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant Man
Captain America: Civil War

Black Panther
Avengers
Spiderman: Homecoming
Captain America
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 1
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Thor: Ragnarok
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2
Avengers: Infinity War
Caveat = I must have switched the positions of some of these (_especially_ the top 10) at least 5 times each, and I'll probably feel differently about some of them 10 minutes from now. Still, as evidenced, when I really stopped to think about it, BP wasn't in my top 5, after all. Barely cracked the top 10. Also, like so many others, even the ones at the bottom are still 'good' for me.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

bostjan said:


> I wasn't sure I was going to see it before it hit DVD until I read that post.


I enjoyed it more than the first movie as far as the comedy aspect goes, especially the gags with the x-men. There's some ridiculous scenes involving the xavier mansion and x-men related accessories.


----------



## wankerness

bostjan said:


> Ledger notoriously only had about 30 minutes of screen time in the film.
> 
> As an aside, Beatrice Straight was in "Network" for literally five minutes, as the shunned wife of the main character, and won an oscar for best supporting actress.



Right, but he completely hangs over the entire movie. Like, the movie OPENS with him and a fantastic summation of the character. It's always about him. BP doesn't even have the main character being aware of his existence until halfway through! (not to mention, I wasn't talking about appearance time, but people comparing quality/memorability).


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> I mean, I'm not saying the other recent flicks weren't vivid. I'm disagreeing on Dr Strange, but you're bang-on with Ragnarok and GOTG 2.
> 
> I have been quite enjoying the blend of African percussion, 'regal' brass, and hip hop beats. Even aside from the movie, I've been listening to it on Spotify. (I did the same with Ragnarok. Loved those retro-synthey takes on the established Thor themes.)
> 
> For grins, I figured I'd try to rank them all against each other just to see where I ended up. The catch is that I have trouble not flip-flopping criteria midstream. Like, Ragnarok isn't what I'd say is the 'best movie' but it's probably the one I had the most fun with. Or, like, IW isn't necessarily the 'best' on its own, but when considering all the context/buildup to get to it, it's hard to not rank it at the top. Anyway, here goes (from 'least favorite' to 'most favorite' or whatever):
> 
> The Incredible Hulk
> Iron Man 2
> Iron Man 3
> Doctor Strange
> Thor
> Thor 2
> Avengers: Age of Ultron
> Ant Man
> Captain America: Civil War
> 
> Black Panther
> Avengers
> Spiderman: Homecoming
> Captain America
> Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 1
> Captain America: The Winter Soldier
> Thor: Ragnarok
> Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2
> Avengers: Infinity War
> Caveat = I must have switched the positions of some of these (_especially_ the top 10) at least 5 times each, and I'll probably feel differently about some of them 10 minutes from now. Still, as evidenced, when I really stopped to think about it, BP wasn't in my top 5, after all. Barely cracked the top 10. Also, like so many others, even the ones at the bottom are still 'good' for me.



Doctor Strange's color thing is just when they start flying through the universes at some point. The majority of the film is normal looking, but holy hell did some sections of the movie dazzle with colors and weirdness. 

Hmm. I wouldn't even think about "objective quality" with these things cause they're all just aiming for great entertainment and memorable character interactions. Thus, whatever's most enjoyable to me is whatever's best, no caveats! I have watched most of them twice, besides Spiderman Homecoming, Black Panther, Infinity War, Incredible Hulk, and Doctor Strange, so I'm not really sure where they'd fall. Looking at the list right now, I don't know if I could rank them, anyway. There'd just be tiers of favorite/good/average, or something. And some of them I still wouldn't be sure where to place, like Iron Man 3, where I utterly love the dialogue and a lot of aspects about it but then utterly hate the villain and Gwyneth Paltrow. 

I guess it'd be something like this. 

The Incredible Hulk (probably? I remember utterly loving Liv Tyler and nothing else. I watched it right after the Ang Lee one and preferred that one apart from the casting on Betty and the ropey CGI)
Iron Man 2
Thor 2
Black Panther
Doctor Strange (need to rewatch)
Thor
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant Man (somehow Paul Rudd wasn’t very funny in this - quite an achievement)
Spiderman: Homecoming (need to rewatch)
Avengers
Iron Man 3
Captain America (all the action basically happening in a montage bugs me)
Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (wish it was just a road movie with Black Widow and Cap)
Thor: Ragnarok (everything on the alien planet is the best thing in the whole MCU, too bad about everything on Asgard)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2
Avengers: Infinity War
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 1


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched The Snowman. It tried so hard to do the Insomnia/Girl with the Dragon Tattoo kind of nordic noir vibe and just failed. The characters aren't that interesting and the dialogue is pretty terrible at times. It does have some good cinematography and ambiance at times though. The score doesn't necessarily mesh with the dark vibe they're going for.


----------



## mongey

blade runner 2049

I was stuck on the couch with chest infection over the weekend so figured was a good time to watch this finally .I'm not a massive fan of the original . don't think I have actually watched it all the way through in one sitting ever ,but have seen it all in parts

It entertained me for almost 3 hours . looked great and sounded great . story was a mix of cool and bland . I can take or leave Gosling most of the time and he was watchable .The whole finding Harrison ford was a little hazy to me as to how it happened but i just went with it .

plus



Spoiler



I really don't get why when they took Deckard why didn't they take K as well ? they knew he had info about the baby .at that time he thought he was the freaking baby



Ana de Armas is hot as fuck . I'd buy that hologram and get it to play with itself all the time for sure

not sure its a movie that really had to be made , but was decent


----------



## mongey

I'll play the marvel game. I really know nothing about the source material so its all just purely based on how much I enjoyed watching them .seen them all at least twice

I haven't seen infinity war yet or deadpool 2

you guys both left the original iron man off. Id be curious to know where you rate it. I still think its one of the best. terrace hopward is so much better than freaking don cheadle 


from worst to best


The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 3
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Iron Man 2
Thor 2
Captain America: Civil War
Captain America
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Ant Man
Doctor Strange
Thor
Deadpool
Avengers
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2
Spiderman: Homecoming

Black Panther
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 1
Iron man
Thor: Ragnarok


----------



## wankerness

mongey said:


> You forgot Iron Man 1/I didn't watch Deadpool 2 yet



That's what I get for copy/pasting his list! I watched most of Iron Man semi-recently and thought it didn't age well, and that the great stuff I remembered about it from seeing it in the theater twice was a very small bit of the running time. Also, I NEVER thought the last act was any good. I remember when it was new putting out a challenge for anyone I knew to explain what the hell Jeff Bridge's motivations were. No one ever succeeded. 

My rough estimate would be it would be down between Thor 2 and Black Panther, probably. Though, Thor 2 has more great stuff in it, so maybe it would be right ahead of Iron Man 2!

Deadpool's off, cause if you count that as a Marvel movie, then you have to throw in all the X-Men, Spider-Man movies, etc for consistency. I was just doing the MCU ones.

Iron Man 3 sure gets a lot of grief. My brother, who doesn't really like most of these things, just watched it and trashed it as one of the worst. He, like me, has never touched a comic book in his life, but he was mad about the Ben Kingsley twist cause he thought the Mandarin seemed like a badass villain and the reveal meant we were stuck with Guy Pearce as a garbage villain he didn't want to watch. I find the twist hilarious, but I agree on the second point. Regardless, I think IM3 has by far the most fun stuff with Robert Downey Jr, probably cause the dialogue is the snappiest, since Shane Black previously wrote/directed him in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which is legitimately one of my favorite movies ever.


----------



## mongey

wankerness said:


> That's what I get for copy/pasting his list! I watched most of Iron Man semi-recently and thought it didn't age well, and that the great stuff I remembered about it from seeing it in the theater twice was a very small bit of the running time. Also, I NEVER thought the last act was any good. I remember when it was new putting out a challenge for anyone I knew to explain what the hell Jeff Bridge's motivations were. No one ever succeeded.
> 
> My rough estimate would be it would be down between Thor 2 and Black Panther, probably. Though, Thor 2 has more great stuff in it, so maybe it would be right ahead of Iron Man 2!
> 
> Deadpool's off, cause if you count that as a Marvel movie, then you have to throw in all the X-Men, Spider-Man movies, etc for consistency. I was just doing the MCU ones.
> 
> Iron Man 3 sure gets a lot of grief. My brother, who doesn't really like most of these things, just watched it and trashed it as one of the worst. He, like me, has never touched a comic book in his life, but he was mad about the Ben Kingsley twist cause he thought the Mandarin seemed like a badass villain and the reveal meant we were stuck with Guy Pearce as a garbage villain he didn't want to watch. I find the twist hilarious, but I agree on the second point. Regardless, I think IM3 has by far the most fun stuff with Robert Downey Jr, probably cause the dialogue is the snappiest, since Shane Black previously wrote/directed him in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which is legitimately one of my favorite movies ever.



cool . admittedly I haven't watched the 1st iron man for quite a while .

for me iron man 2 and 3 are pretty even. 2 has the plus that I liked what Mickey Rourke added .and 3 had the negative of the "woe is me " iron man ,post avengers story line which I didn't really buy .agreed the mandarin twist was also a disappointing decision


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Agreed with Iron Man 1 completely loses momentum after the second act with everything after it with Iron Monger feeling rather perfunctory. I'm also one of the few that really likes Iron Man 3. Yeah I get amused at everyone being upset about the Mandarin twist, but Shane Black's writing and Robert Downey Jr more than makes up for it. It also gives Tony Stark's arc the conclusion it needs. Regarding Shane Black, I'm going as far as saying the new Predator movie is going to be awesome because he's at the helm.

Also, has anyone watched Chef? That was Jon Favreau's allegorical answer to his experience with Iron Man 2. 

I'm not going to bother ranking the MCU movies, namely because my rankings change every week. 

As for the superhero fatigue... I still don't feel it personally, but we're in a weird cultural state at the moment. The superhero trend isn't so much an overflowing river anymore but a permanent lake. I don't see it any different to the popularity of Western Movies in the early 20th century that spanned 30 years or more. There are 3 things that make me fascinated about it: the chosen directors to make MCU movies, every other studio trying to cash in on continuity, and the growing Disney monopoly, all of it going beyond just superheroes but how I'll be viewing movies from now on.


----------



## synrgy

D'oh! You were totally right about us missing IM1. My fault!

It had me me re-thinking my whole damn list, but I'll spare y'all. 

Tough call. For my list, I guess I'm gonna put it between Civil War and Black Panther. Just like Wanker, I feel like it falls apart in the third act. As for IM3, I love the dynamic duo of Shane Black & RDJ (agreed on the brilliance of KKBB), but it still suffered from 'sequel syndrome': "We have to have more than one villain, even if one is a misdirect." "Why?" "Because _it's_ _a sequel_, dummy!"

Maybe just me, but I'm iffy on Howard as an actor, generally. When his characters are supposed to be smarmy, he's fine, but he's never really worked for me in a hero-ish role. Granted, my first viewing of Iron Man 2 was jarring because of the switch to Cheadle, but that whole movie was mostly a mess, anyway, from top to bottom. I think the real problem overall is that regardless of actor, War Machine isn't a particularly compelling character; he's just kinda there.

My background/experience is similar: I was getting into comics around 1992-ish, when I Was 12, and Image was the hot new kid on the block, so most of my collection was from their catalog. The only Marvel comic I was into back then was X-Men, during the Jim Lee/Chris Claremont run, and my interest in comics was gone (replaced by interest in guitar) about a year or two later.

I agree with wanker that the Asgard stuff in Ragnarok was mostly weak. Shame, too, because Cate Blanchett was fantastic, but despite that, it was just.. You know.. 'Yay, another disposable minion/zombie/whatever-it's-meaningless-just-shutup-and-eat-more-popcorn army..' (And I recognize that IW suffered from this, too..) That said, I did enjoy the initial scenes with Skurge, and the 'Thor 2 performance', so at least Asgard wasn't completely irredeemable.


----------



## wankerness

The fatigue is not something that exists, it's something people try to will into existence by suggesting it exists EVERY MOVIE THAT COMES OUT. Oh no, four or five of them come out a year!!! And only critics have to watch them all!! How tiring.

I don't think anyone but really self-important types try and say a genre has over-saturated just based on when they personally don't feel like watching all of the movies in it that come out in a given year. Unless it's asylum movie's about attacking animals/monsters.


----------



## wankerness

The fatigue is not something that exists, it's something people try to will into existence by suggesting it exists EVERY MOVIE THAT COMES OUT. Oh no, four or five of them come out a year!!! And only critics have to watch them all!! How tiring.

I don't think anyone but really self-important types try and say a genre has over-saturated just based on when they personally don't feel like watching all of the movies in it that come out in a given year. Unless it's asylum movie's about attacking animals/monsters.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

sat down and watched 12 strong last night. It's kind of jingoistic/MURICA at the beginning but evolves into a pretty well made action film. I enjoyed the banter and the action quite a bit.


----------



## wankerness

Wow, gotta love trying to post off a phone. Double posts +edit windows are sad.

I watched His Girl Friday cause I'm classy. Also, Seven Blood-Stained Orchids cause I'm a creep. The first is great and the second kind of sucks.


----------



## bostjan

Regarding Marvel movies: Not much love for the Incredible Hulk, I see. I like Eli Roth in pretty much every role, but honestly, that was not my favourite performance of his. I've loved a lot of Ed Norton's roles, too, but again, he didn't seem like he really owned his performance the way he usually does. I don't see it being anyone's favourite film, but it wasn't a bad film.

Of the various sub-franchises, I've been left least impressed by Iron Man. What's funny is that I think Downey is perfect for the role, and it's a great character, but the films' plot lines and the development of other characters has been "meh" at times. Most notably, the villains. Stane, Vanko, faux-Mandarin... meh. Monumental actors like Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke, and Ben Kingsley, all but wasted in these roles as one-dimensional villains, with the exception of Ben Kingsley as faux-Mandarin, which, although a bold maneuver, was kind of tone deaf toward comic fans.

I have to put _Infinity War_ up there on my list, because the characters all seemed to have good motivation and a lot of characters had arcs. Sure, a lot of the team-ups were just "here's Captain America, now fight!" but I really enjoyed the emotional aspects attached to Thanos, Gammora, Starlord, Dr. Strange, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Thor, and Iron Man. It was especially well placed in respect to the other films, where Thor was coming from a place where he basically had everything taken away from him, then:


Spoiler



shows up at the last minute expecting to save the day, only to basically screw up and become completely useless



_Deadpool_ is also up there for me, because it was just plain entertaining. The villain was a little bit of a stock character, but I can forgive that, because the titular character is himself morally grey.

I've noticed that films without as much origin story tend to rank higher. _Guardians of the Galaxy_ did a great job of giving us plenty of clues about the past without really taking us from point A where the character was a regular person, linearly to point B where the character is a superhero, whilst simultaneously showing us how the villain goes from a regular person to a supervillain at the same time, then having the two face off and the hero wins and they live happily ever after until the after-credits scene where we basically see the teaser for the next film.

These films needed to have some people feel some real loss, which we got with the last couple installments. I think great storytelling comes from the dark and the light.


----------



## wankerness

Eli Roth was in that movie?! Shows how well I remember it!

Oh, TIM. Here's my review from when I rewatched it (May 23, 2016, it's almost an anniversary!!). I completely forgot I watched it before, I thought I only watched it once. I also have NO memory of anything I describe in this. Wow!


> Liv Tyler is perfect in all the scenes in which she’s supposed to be calming, as she was possibly the most nurturing, sweet-tempered presence in Hollywood at the time. She falls flatter than flat in the miserable attempt for comic relief in which she gets angry at a cab driver and Ed Norton weakly delivers a “you know, I could teach you some techniques that could help you!” *awkward pause for laughter which probably never came in any theater* Then again, this is practically the only attempt at any humor in the entire film, which is way too dour, especially next to its companion pieces Iron Man, Captain America, Iron Man 2 and Thor.
> 
> It’s certainly more in the Marvel template than the previous Hulk film, and it feels like less of a mess, but it’s also less interesting. The hulk himself seems too small, human-proportioned and unthreatening compared to the tank-smashing rubber ball of the previous version and the similar portrayal in the Avengers flicks.  The action is just too dull and doesn't stand out in any way. Even the cartoony tank fight in the first Hulk movie (and especially its bizarre climax) are better than anything here.
> 
> Tim Roth’s character is terrible and it’s immediately obvious he’s going to turn into another hulk and we’re going to get the hulk equivalent of an uninspiring robots hitting each other climax. This climax is punctuated by a truly ridiculous gag involving an explosion going off and covering everyone in fire and the hulk clapping his hands from across a rooftop so hard that the entire fire is immediately extinguished and everyone is saved. Oh well.
> 
> The ending is also pretty weak, with a pointless scene of Bruce transforming into the camera for no reason whatsoever just to have a THE END…?!??!?! Which is then deflated by the immediately following scene with Tony Stark, but hey.
> 
> This is not a bad movie, but it’s quite uninteresting. The first time I saw it, I’d forgotten every single thing that happened in it shortly afterwards. Watching it again today a few years later, almost nothing was ringing any bells. It’s just not a memorable film. It’s too bad, since Liv Tyler is so damn likable in this role, certainly much more so than the other thankless love interest performances in these movies like Gwyneth Paltrow’s or Natalie Portman’s. (Betty in Captain America is exempt from any criticism)
> 
> I just watched two of the Kimmy Schmidt episodes from season 1 with Kimmy’s father, and thus every time “Mr. Blue” talked I expected to hear the incredibly dopey voice he uses on that show!


----------



## bostjan

Right, where's my mind these days?! TIM Roth...


----------



## synrgy

Agreed on primary critique of the Iron Man flicks; Tony Stark is basically the role RDJ was born to play, but despite that, the supporting characters/plots with which they surround him (in his solo movies) have been mostly weak.


----------



## mongey

bostjan said:


> Regarding Marvel movies: Not much love for the Incredible Hulk, I see. I like Eli Roth in pretty much every role, but honestly, that was not my favourite performance of his. I've loved a lot of Ed Norton's roles, too, but again, he didn't seem like he really owned his performance the way he usually does. I don't see it being anyone's favourite film, but it wasn't a bad film.
> 
> .




to the franchise's credit I wouldn't say any of them are bad .they all have flaws, some more than others but all are watchable . I should re watch Hulk but I remember being not that taken with Ed Nortons take on it . probably better than eric bana's version .but I only saw that one once

On the flip side I do like what Mark Ruffalo has done with it since which probably doesn't help my memory of the movie . I get more of the Banner vibe from him


just bought tickets for Solo on Saturday . a bit nervous about this one


----------



## Ralyks

My son loves the Pixar Cars movies. So there's been a lot of that.

On a more adult note, I'm going to catch a matinee for Deadpool 2 on my day off tomorrow. Sounds like it's at least as good as the first, and I freaking love the first Deadpool.


----------



## Ralyks

Update: Indeed saw Deadpool 2 today. I would put it a hair below the first movie, but still great. And I like me some Zazie Beetz.


----------



## spudmunkey

Almost every night, some sort of MST3K/RiffTrax/Cinematic Titanic/Film Crew episode or short.


----------



## mongey

Ralyks said:


> My son loves the Pixar Cars movies. So there's been a lot of that.


my 3 year old is partial to minions right now . I didn't mind it at first ,but fuck I'm over it


----------



## MickD7

Solo a Star Wars Story was a damn hoot. It’s got a cool Western and heist film influence and some of the music has that spaghetti Western vibe going on. I really enjoyed it for what it was and they do have an awesome reveal in the film. 

Deadpool 2 was fun. I dug Brolin in this and the banter between him and Reynolds was pretty fun. Plus 10 points for Domino being a fun character with heaps of sas.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Solo: A Star Wars Story*

I had A LOT of doubts about this one thanks to all the story developments leading up to it, but thankfully that was all laid to rest. Solo was a fun ride all the way through. I like the fact that it's less a Star Wars film but it's own thing; harkening to classic westerns and heist movies (all the tropes are here and they all work well), and all the characters all bring their A game, though I think Emilia Clarke lags behind, but that's considering the surrounding actors she's working with. Though it started losing me when it stops being it's own thing and starts reminding us that it's a Star Wars movie towards the end, but that's a minor quibble from me. 

It's not as grandiose as your usual Star Wars movie, but it doesn't need to be. Solo does what it does, and that's all that's needed for a good time.


----------



## MickD7

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Solo: A Star Wars Story*
> 
> I had A LOT of doubts about this one thanks to all the story developments leading up to it, but thankfully that was all laid to rest. Solo was a fun ride all the way through. I like the fact that it's less a Star Wars film but it's own thing; harkening to classic westerns and heist movies (all the tropes are here and they all work well), and all the characters all bring their A game, though I think Emilia Clarke lags behind, but that's considering the surrounding actors she's working with. Though it started losing me when it stops being it's own thing and starts reminding us that it's a Star Wars movie towards the end, but that's a minor quibble from me.
> 
> It's not as grandiose as your usual Star Wars movie, but it doesn't need to be. Solo does what it does, and that's all that's needed for a good time.



I adored the soundtrack for this reason. It had moments of reflection on John Williams and his compositions and it also had that same Western Influence as the film did itself. 

I didn’t mind Clarke in her role or Glover. Occasionally though I will say it caught me off guard seeing them both in their respective roles as it’s audience association to affiliate them with GOT/Atlanta and Community 

All up I liked it and enjoyed what the out come of the film was. I’m heading to do a second viewing next weekend.


----------



## wankerness

Is the soundtrack different than the trailer music? That sounded like a terrible temp track that may or may not have been recorded with a real orchestra.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MickD7 said:


> I adored the soundtrack for this reason. It had moments of reflection on John Williams and his compositions and it also had that same Western Influence as the film did itself.
> 
> I didn’t mind Clarke in her role or Glover. Occasionally though I will say it caught me off guard seeing them both in their respective roles as it’s audience association to affiliate them with GOT/Atlanta and Community
> 
> All up I liked it and enjoyed what the out come of the film was. I’m heading to do a second viewing next weekend.



The soundtrack for me was fine (I actually quite liked the use of Bulgarian choir for the marauders theme). It's more the late reveal in the end that got me out of the immersion. 

I thought Donald Glover as Lando was entertaining as hell, really captured the spirit of the character. Just to clarify, Emilia Clarke is fine, but she is with the likes of Woody Harrelson, Paul Bettany, Glover etc. Alden Ehrenreich, I only had Hail Ceaser as a reference point, which should've been enough. Then alarm bells rang when he was given acting classes mid production. But it paid off in the end because he gave the character justice.


----------



## mongey

good to hear positive things on Solo. I'm seeing it tomorrow arvo with the wife

just gonna go in looking to be entertained like I did with rogue one, which I really enjoyed


----------



## MickD7

Bloody_Inferno said:


> The soundtrack for me was fine (I actually quite liked the use of Bulgarian choir for the marauders theme). It's more the late reveal in the end that got me out of the immersion.
> 
> I thought Donald Glover as Lando was entertaining as hell, really captured the spirit of the character. Just to clarify, Emilia Clarke is fine, but she is with the likes of Woody Harrelson, Paul Bettany, Glover etc. Alden Ehrenreich, I only had Hail Ceaser as a reference point, which should've been enough. Then alarm bells rang when he was given acting classes mid production. But it paid off in the end because he gave the character justice.



I haven’t seen Hail Ceaser, so outside of Solo I don’t really know him for much else but given the length of production time for the film that’s easy to understand. For all the noise that surrounded this film it was a solid stand alone and he did well with it. Production companies tend to throw as much money and hype in things as they can, paparazzi are going to try and spin any film in a franchise as big as Star Wars into being chaos. 

I guess for every complaint that crops up, I don’t pass judgment until I see the final product. 

People have paid astronomical amounts of money for the shit shows that are Justice League ect and thankfully this film wasn’t one of those messes. I mean Jesus it took 17 years for someone to figure out what they are doing with Wolverine and when we finally got Logan it was time for Hugh Jackman to hang up the belt.

I would hazard a guess and say acting coaches would have been more for getting mannerisms and body posture of Harrison Ford down based of a film made 40 years ago. Because having a 70+ year old Ford roll up and say oh yeah act like this it’s how I did it. Would have been helpful in a way until you try it and need an acting coach to help with it.


----------



## bostjan

MickD7 said:


> People have paid astronomical amounts of money for the shit shows that are Justice League ect and thankfully this film wasn’t one of those messes. I mean Jesus it took 17 years for someone to figure out what they are doing with Wolverine and when we finally got Logan it was time for Hugh Jackman to hang up the belt.


Sigh. This makes me sad. 
Origins might have been a good film if 10-20% of it had been completely reshot with some of the dumb lines and cheap counter-productive pandering to fanservice had been cut out, but with that stuff in it, the film, as a whole, was almost laughable, since those all ended up being the most memorable things about it for all of the wrong reasons.
That's where Infinity War seemed to have, at least by my current standards, done very well. They managed to cram 10 pounds of superheroes into a 5 pound bag without it feeling cheap.


----------



## wankerness

I haven't seen Solo yet, but I'm really glad I read this article with the big spoiler. NOTE: the spoiler doesn't seem to actually have any relevance to the plot.

https://film.avclub.com/what-you-may-want-spoiled-about-solos-big-reveal-if-you-1826304620

What the hell is that?! This seemed like an april fool's article at first.


----------



## bostjan

wankerness said:


> I haven't seen Solo yet, but I'm really glad I read this article with the big spoiler. NOTE: the spoiler doesn't seem to actually have any relevance to the plot.
> 
> https://film.avclub.com/what-you-may-want-spoiled-about-solos-big-reveal-if-you-1826304620
> 
> What the hell is that?! This seemed like an april fool's article at first.



Sigh. This makes me sad. (second post in a row I started that way)

I knew about that in the cartoons and the comics, and it's long irritated me.



Spoiler



Are they going to bring back Count Dooku with a robotic head?
So, we are supposed to believe, that, even though he was cut through the diaphragm (look back at Ep I and see how high up the cut was), how was he going to survive without medical attention?! Pfft. Star Wars just keeps getting worse, overall. Sure, I loved the Darth Maul character, but you can't go un-killing characters in the story through stupid ridiculous, hair-brained explanation ret-conned bullshit.



Anyway, Solo has no connection to that little bit, so it's inclusion, agree or disagree with it's existence in the cartoons, is stupid.

Blarg, I'm definitely going to skip this one. As a kid, I never would have never thought I'd ever skip a Star Wars movie.


----------



## synrgy

We were talking about Marvel fatigue - which I don't yet have - but what I _do _have is Star Wars fatigue, which - in my nebulous pre-prequel memory - I would never have imagined possible.


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> We were talking about Marvel fatigue - which I don't yet have - but what I _do _have is Star Wars fatigue, which - in my nebulous pre-prequel memory - I would never have imagined possible.



I agree. I think the thing with Marvel is that the franchise is working as a bunch of stories that all patchwork together into a bigger whole, and the characters all can interact together and there's no continuity weirdness and it all feels organic.

Star Wars, on the other hand, was THREE MOVIES that came out three years apart and then stewed for what, 16 years? Then we got three more movies separated by 3 years. Then we got what looked like a new trilogy righting the wrongs of the old ones, and following the original trilogy, and feeling like the same thing with a great set of new characters and connections to the old ones and the first felt like it was going to be an equally big event, just separated by two years instead of three.

THEN, they started announcing ten tons of bullshit that would fit between those movies and then stretch off into the future indefinitely, and none of it seemed like it would actually add a damn thing to the story. Unlike Marvel, it's all working under the presumption that they have to stick to what already exists, so all it's doing is giving visuals to holes that didn't need filling. As much as anyone likes Rogue One or Solo, they're completely redundant. And every single thing announced going forward is equally so. If they'd just done a new trilogy and maybe done another new trilogy after that which was either after the new one or before the prequels, maybe I wouldn't just roll my eyes.

Marvel isn't doing this. If Marvel suddenly said only the Marvel movies are going to be new plots, and every other movie they release was going to be crammed between the other ones continuity-wise, and said they weren't going to introduce ANY new characters that would survive into the movies that already existed, then I'd maybe feel just as exhausted.


----------



## bostjan

I was at a TOTALLY different place in my life when I first finished watching _Return of the Jedi_, but, looking back, I think the whole thing could have ended there. No Prequels, no sequel trilogy whatever, no "Star Wars stories" and especially no damn Ewok movies.

Having had _The Last Jedi_ digested for some time now, the one thing, and maybe the only thing that ruined it for me was how they treated Luke Skywalker. It's not just that they took an iconic character and gave him an anti-arc that happened off-screen, which is bad, but maybe could have been forgivable, it's that the entire original trilogy was the story of how the galaxy was saved and how good kicked evil's ass in the end, and how it changed the universe. Then, in the new movies, it's as though nothing changed in the universe. Bad is back and just as evil as ever, with two films and no clue as to a backstory of how evil returned, and Luke, who was the light of optimism in the entire world Lucas told us all about, was now a bitter old man with no glimmer of hope left in him - who then gets one last glimmer of hope for I don't know exactly what reason.

_Return of the Jedi_ should have killed off Han Solo, in a really dramatic way, to remind us how sacrifices must be made to restore the galaxy, and then make the third film really seem final. Han's death would have really nailed Luke and Leia's character arcs, both. Oh well...they aren't my movies.


----------



## synrgy

Funnily enough, after more viewings of TLJ, Luke is the only part I still feel really great about, but we've already gone down that rabbit hole.


----------



## wankerness

For all we know Luke's going to come back as Casper the friendly ghost in part 3 and all the complaints of him being too grumpy or disillusioned will be invalid! They'll long for a time when he was grumpy.


----------



## MickD7

bostjan said:


> Sigh. This makes me sad.
> Origins might have been a good film if 10-20% of it had been completely reshot with some of the dumb lines and cheap counter-productive pandering to fanservice had been cut out, but with that stuff in it, the film, as a whole, was almost laughable, since those all ended up being the most memorable things about it for all of the wrong reasons.
> That's where Infinity War seemed to have, at least by my current standards, done very well. They managed to cram 10 pounds of superheroes into a 5 pound bag without it feeling cheap.



Wolverine was one of if not my number 1 comic book character growing up, and before the boom of Marvels films we got this crap. 

It’s the same with people who complain about TLJ. Some of them obviously didn’t sit through AOTC in the cinema. That’s the worst Star Wars film only redeeming some points when the Clone Wars series came out. 

On a side note least hype if ever had for a Marvel movie is Ant Man and after seeing the trailer for the sequel that will stand. 

Recently watched Logan again, that still stands as my favourite and I wish that someone would make the decision to throw the money at Jackman and get him back for a film with Deadpool


----------



## MickD7

Also get ready for Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman to be the Wolverine of the DC universe that is currently sludging it’s way across the screen. BVS had one redeeming moment and that was when she entered the fight.


----------



## wankerness

AOTC didn't seem that bad in the theater. It was later on tv when I was paying attention to the dialogue/plot instead of being blown away by mine sound effects and tons of cgi monsters that I realized how horrible it was.

Trash huge budget effects movies usually seem much better in the theater for sensory overload reasons. See also: Jurassic World.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Annihilation: The visuals are stunning. It's like stan winston's creature designs combined with a dash of thomas kinkade's color palette/jj abrams' obsession with lens flare. The gore is excellent, with 2 scenes in particular that really made me go OH SHIT (which is exceedingly rare for me anymore). I really enjoyed it just in terms of effects. The story is solid and the acting from Portman is quite good. The chemistry between her and Oscar Isaac makes her character arc all the more effective. It's an enthralling sci-fi/horror film that I'll probably rewatch at some point.


----------



## wankerness

How did you see it? I've been meaning to. The fact it was advertised using the word Netflix over and over again made me think it would be on their service right away, but nope. Really stupid advertising on their part, I'm sure it kept a lot more people than me out of the theaters.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> How did you see it? I've been meaning to. The fact it was advertised using the word Netflix over and over again made me think it would be on their service right away, but nope. Really stupid advertising on their part, I'm sure it kept a lot more people than me out of the theaters.


i torrented it since I missed it in theaters and couldn't find it on netflix. The whole netflix thing really bugged me too. If you want to be legal about watching it amazon, vudu, fandangonow and itunes all have it. Personally I liked it, but probably not enough to buy it. Definitely worth a rental though.


----------



## mongey

Solo

I liked it for what it was . did it need to exist ? not really but it was entertaining .Alden whatever his name is was ok. I def had trouble relating to him as solo .but he was passable . Donald Glover was amazing .He nailed Lando .kind of wish it was a Lando movie instead . every minute he was on the screen was better 

everyone else was fine .Emilia Clarke just seems to always smile at odd fucking times 

the spoiler/ twist was a little lost on me as I'm not familiar with that canon .did some reading after and guess it works. I'm indifferent to it 

was a fun movie that I don't want to think too much about


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The late reveal in Solo was easily the worst part of the movie for me.

Not much I can add to what's already been said, but I always get amused with Star Wars fans. Over the scope of the entire franchise, the bad largely outweighs the good, especially those who think The Last Jedi was a blight and betrayal to the franchise when I can easily point out a ton of other reminders of terrible products in multiple media that's come out since 1983. Though admittedly I'm not one of those guys who follow the EU zealously so I don't care how powerful Darth Bane's left bollock is supposed to be, so I wasn't really upset when Disney gave the EU the boot prior to The Force Awakens. But now with these side stories (not so much Rogue One but certainly that reveal in Solo), Star Wars have done Mortal Kombat did in 9 by ridding of all the random interconnected crap, then just bringing it all right back in.  Oh well... It's cute fan service for the zealous I guess.


----------



## bostjan

Bloody_Inferno said:


> The late reveal in Solo was easily the worst part of the movie for me.
> 
> Not much I can add to what's already been said, but I always get amused with Star Wars fans. Over the scope of the entire franchise, the bad largely outweighs the good, especially those who think The Last Jedi was a blight and betrayal to the franchise when I can easily point out a ton of other reminders of terrible products in multiple media that's come out since 1983. Though admittedly I'm not one of those guys who follow the EU zealously so I don't care how powerful Darth Bane's left bollock is supposed to be, so I wasn't really upset when Disney gave the EU the boot prior to The Force Awakens. But now with these side stories (not so much Rogue One but certainly that reveal in Solo), Star Wars have done Mortal Kombat did in 9 by ridding of all the random interconnected crap, then just bringing it all right back in.  Oh well... It's cute fan service for the zealous I guess.


Pretty much agree. As much as I didn't care for some of TLJ's treatment of Luke, it's definitely a better movie than TPM or AotC. I've tried to get into the EU stuff, and, some of it is pretty good, but most is sub-par. 
Probably, a lot of it has to do with age. As a kid, I was 100% fine with Obi Wan returning as a ghost, but even as an adult, I think his ghostliness is, in some ways earned, based off of how he died. I don't care how much fans liked a character, though, when I say that bringing a villain back from the dead is always a stupid move by writers, and always makes me want to give up on a story. It's why I can't watch most television programmes, because they always seem to think that it's perfectly fine to revive a character in order to stretch a show a little longer. For example, I think that probably 80% of all of the returning characters on _Supernatural_ have been shown to have died, then later returned. For me, it's annoying, because it shows the writers that they can do anything that they want to do, without any careful explanation of anything. I give a full pass to Harry Potter, because Voldemort's return from the dead was all backstory, and there were consistent ramifications of what happened with which he had to continue to deal.
But taking a character who had all of, what, three lines of dialogue, and whose role in the franchise was clearly being used as a tool of another major character, whose character, in the films, had no backstory, no explained motivations, nothing, and killing him off right away, only to trot him back out in another film almost two decades later, and then to have that be potentially the weakest box-office-performing film in the series, I think it just goes to show that the writers are not putting any effort into this anymore.


----------



## synrgy

Caveat = I haven't seen Solo, yet. Probably going to wait for home release.

For me, it's that the whole isn't more than the sum of its parts: At this point in the franchise, I don't think its unfair to suggest that there are more weak scenes than not. The primary strength of the series was in its overall ideas, and the franchise had the luxury of coasting on our nostalgia for a long time. With every new film, The Galaxy Far Away leaves less to one's imagination, lowering (what I perceive to be) it's primary value.

I'm still on board for 9, regardless, because I'm already invested, but beyond that I think I'm all out of free passes for the franchise; will participate when/if the material looks engaging on its own merits; not just because it's SW.


----------



## Seabeast2000

synrgy said:


> Caveat = I haven't seen Solo, yet. Probably going to wait for home release.
> 
> For me, it's that the whole isn't more than the sum of its parts: At this point in the franchise, I don't think its unfair to suggest that there are more weak scenes than not. The primary strength of the series was in its overall ideas, and the franchise had the luxury of coasting on our nostalgia for a long time. With every new film, The Galaxy Far Away leaves less to one's imagination, lowering (what I perceive to be) it's primary value.
> 
> I'm still on board for 9, regardless, because I'm already invested, but beyond that I think I'm all out of free passes for the franchise; will participate when/if the material looks engaging on its own merits; not just because it's SW.


Admit it, you are holding out for the Ewok Pulp Fiction: A Star Wars Story.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted/3:10 to Yuma/Wolverine/Logan) is attached to direct a Boba Fett spin off. 
I think a boba fett film could be pretty fun.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h...vie-is-happening-james-mangold-direct-1113273


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Saw the news before and agreed that James Marigold is the right choice.

The real challenge is to make Boba Fett even remotely interesting to fill a movie.


----------



## synrgy

Yeah. I thought Fett was of mild interest (again, because of ambiguity) right up until they spelled out his origin in AOTC. I like Mangold's work, but I'm unconvinced that Fett is a compelling character.

But 906 is probably right that I'd line right up for Pulp Wars.


----------



## bostjan

synrgy said:


> Caveat = I haven't seen Solo, yet. Probably going to wait for home release.
> 
> For me, it's that the whole isn't more than the sum of its parts: At this point in the franchise, I don't think its unfair to suggest that there are more weak scenes than not. The primary strength of the series was in its overall ideas, and the franchise had the luxury of coasting on our nostalgia for a long time. With every new film, The Galaxy Far Away leaves less to one's imagination, lowering (what I perceive to be) it's primary value.
> 
> I'm still on board for 9, regardless, because I'm already invested, but beyond that I think I'm all out of free passes for the franchise; will participate when/if the material looks engaging on its own merits; not just because it's SW.



I think that's a superb point to go a little deeper - as long as the story is moving forward in time and with characters, it's easy enough to keep imagination going. All of the new characters mean more stuff to think about and it's easier to immerse yourself. When they do a "Star Wars Story" and give a mixture exclusively of a) old characters and b) characters who die, the story is open and shut. I think a little fan service is healthy, but an entire movie of it is no good.

So, if they are making a Boba Fett film, IDK, it could be easy for the film to get too heavily bogged down with fan service. If they make it so that Boba Fett builds IG-88 as a kid, throw in cameos from every bounty hunter appearing in the OT, a pod racer from Ep I, Jabba the Hutt, Admiral Akbar, and at least 12 characters who only appeared in the comics or cartoons (with at least one side-mention of Darth Bane), I'll pass.

I fear that the idea starts with "Let's do a Boba Fett movie" rather than, "Here's a compelling story - this would be perfect for Boba Fett."


----------



## synrgy

And that's really my issue with the franchise, which I think we probably delved into a bit several pages ago (or maybe it was the TLJ thread, but I digress..): It's basically a vehicle for merchandise. Hell, the only reason Boba even factored into AOTC was because of the action figure sales between the original series and the prequels. "Hey, people are buying the crap out of this character's merch, so let's figure out something for him to do in the next movie.."

And in that way, it's a weird relic from my childhood; not because the original movies were still new-ish when I was a kid, but because my era (born 1980) was that of franchises built around toys instead of the other way around. Star Wars, Transformers, My Little Pony, M.A.S.K., Centurions, He-Man, GI Joe.. Most of those (to the best of my knowledge) were toys before they were [cartoon/movie/etc].


----------



## MFB

If they can bring him back, then god damn it, they can bring back my Qui-Gon!


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Saw the news before and agreed that James Marigold is the right choice.
> 
> The real challenge is to make Boba Fett even remotely interesting to fill a movie.



The problem is that the SW movies are getting clamped down with idiotic rules like MUST ADHERE TO CANON, MUST ADHERE TO SIMILAR TONE, so now in 2/4 movies we've had directors that have distinct visions given the boot and had half their footage reshot to keep it acceptable to the corporate standard. F'in ridiculous. 

And the guy they DIDN'T do that to had a huge contingent of older fans lose their shit cause he didn't give them exactly what they wanted. Because of all this, I have very low hopes for Marigold to do anything interesting.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

One worst case scenario is they turn Boba Fett into a post Pitch Black Riddick movie where he's a cardboard cutout doing a bunch of stuff... aka do nothing to the already boring character.

The other is to give him the Samus Aran circa Other M treatment and completely ruin and destroy the stoic silent badass characteristic... which is all he really has, thus making him even worse than his current cipher state.

The EU lore can't even get him right. He fell in the same Sarlacc pit a second time apparently.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> One worst case scenario is they turn Boba Fett into a post Pitch Black Riddick movie where he's a cardboard cutout doing a bunch of stuff... aka do nothing to the already boring character.
> 
> The other is to give him the Samus Aran circa Other M treatment and completely ruin and destroy the stoic silent badass characteristic... which is all he really has.



I immediately had that old Patton Oswalt bit with the back and forth between an excited fan and George Lucas play in my mind.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I think the best way to approach a Boba Fett movie would be to follow some of the great comics about him just hunting and killing people. Keep the story simple and contained.
All I want is True Grit in spaaace.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> I think the best way to approach a Boba Fett movie would be to follow some of the great comics about him just hunting and killing people. Keep the story simple and contained.
> All I want is True Grit in spaaace.



...so my first worst case scenario point then. 

Look, I sincerely would like to be proven wrong when the movie comes out. But so far it's not looking good...


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> ...so my first worst case scenario point then.


Would you rather they waste our time with showing him being all angsty after clone wars and slowly becoming boba fett? because that sounds way worse to me. I'd rather see him as a hardened bounty hunter out doing what he does best than watching awkward teenage boba fett earning his mandalorian armor or some bullshit like that


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> Would you rather they waste our time with showing him being all angsty after clone wars and slowly becoming boba fett? because that sounds way worse to me. I'd rather see him as a hardened bounty hunter out doing what he does best than watching awkward teenage boba fett earning his mandalorian armor or some bullshit like that




You basically described my second worst case scenario point. 

What I'm getting at is that despite being an unexpected fan favorite Boba Fett is an uninteresting character by design. Part of his charm is the mystique of knowing little about him and letting whatever his backstory conjure itself. In most cases that would be enough. George Lucas himself was surprised of the characters fame and would've given him a less pathetic death. But to reiterate the EU (which really is just glorified fanfiction) it's been decreed for Fett to fall right back into the that pit again.

But of course the movie is already green lit so it's going to happen no matter what. What they could do is something similar to... Pitch Black era Riddick coincidentally. Dark sense of humor, ambiguous morals, actual flaws... the stuff that makes good characters interesting. Who knows, Marigold could pull it off... hopefully.


----------



## bostjan

Right,yeah, I mean, Boba Fett is a one-dimensional character in the OT films. He has one motivation - bring Han Solo to Jabba for the reward.

It's already established from those films that he's a badass. Do we want to see more badassery from him? Well, it might sound good on the surface, but honestly think about that for a second. As long as the internet existed, there have been fan-made films of some chunky kid in a Boba Fett costume performing in front of a green screen. There's already enough material out there of Boba Fett being a badass. I don't think the world needs more of that. If you replace the chunky kid with a fit kid and replace the $20 effects with better effects, it still doesn't entice me, like at all.

If you really want to see more Boba Fett, watch the Star Wars Christmas Special, because that's where the character debuted. And if you actually do watch that and enjoy it and still want a Boba Fett movie, then I have nothing else to say to you.

What's next, a film about the red droid that blew up before Uncle Owen could buy him from the Jawas? A movie about the life and times of the Storm Trooper who bumped his head on the door in the Death Star? Maybe we can get a saga trilogy of films about the elephant man who played the keyboard-thingie at Jabba's palace before he was replaced by a more excited CGI character in the special edition.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

bostjan said:


> Right,yeah, I mean, Boba Fett is a one-dimensional character in the OT films. He has one motivation - bring Han Solo to Jabba for the reward.
> 
> It's already established from those films that he's a badass. Do we want to see more badassery from him? Well, it might sound good on the surface, but honestly think about that for a second. As long as the internet existed, there have been fan-made films of some chunky kid in a Boba Fett costume performing in front of a green screen. There's already enough material out there of Boba Fett being a badass. I don't think the world needs more of that. If you replace the chunky kid with a fit kid and replace the $20 effects with better effects, it still doesn't entice me, like at all.
> 
> If you really want to see more Boba Fett, watch the Star Wars Christmas Special, because that's where the character debuted. And if you actually do watch that and enjoy it and still want a Boba Fett movie, then I have nothing else to say to you.
> 
> What's next, a film about the red droid that blew up before Uncle Owen could buy him from the Jawas? A movie about the life and times of the Storm Trooper who bumped his head on the door in the Death Star? Maybe we can get a saga trilogy of films about the elephant man who played the keyboard-thingie at Jabba's palace before he was replaced by a more excited CGI character in the special edition.


That "blue elephant man who plays the keyboard" is max rebo you uncultured peasant. He's the leader of a band called the jizzwaiters (i'm serious). He actually got a few side stories in the dark horse comics, including one during luke's attack on jabba's palace.
I'd totally watch a max rebo movie, it'd be so easy to make a fish out of water comedy with him


----------



## synrgy

^^I mean, i'd watch the shit out of Gary The Stormtrooper: The Movie.



*edit* Not so sure about a Max Rebo movie, though:


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> That "blue elephant man who plays the keyboard" is max rebo you uncultured peasant. He's the leader of a band called the jizzwaiters (i'm serious). He actually got a few side stories in the dark horse comics, including one during luke's attack on jabba's palace.
> I'd totally watch a max rebo movie, it'd be so easy to make a fish out of water comedy with him



I liked that they had Max Rebo on the Donald Glover episode of SNL a couple weeks ago. Even if the skit was horrible and not funny.

I would like to see movies that are in the same universe and don't have ANY characters from the previous movies. Enough already!


----------



## synrgy

Yeah, that's why I do have some hope for Johnson's upcoming not-Skywalker trilogy. Completely different story, completely unattached to the to-date narratives, is the way to go, for me, at this point. Like, it was 'just a video game', but I'd put KOTOR above the prequels, at least, for that reason.


----------



## bostjan

Original


New


If they made a Max Rebo movie with the original writers, but with the new equipment, that might be cool, but IMO, he's best as a background elephant man character in the films, and then you can do whatever with him in the comics, and I might check those out. If they made a feature-length film starring that character, though, I would expect it to be garbage and I wouldn't go see it.


----------



## MFB

bostjan said:


> Original
> 
> 
> New
> 
> 
> If they made a Max Rebo movie with the original writers, but with the new equipment, that might be cool, but IMO, he's best as a background elephant man character in the films, and then you can do whatever with him in the comics, and I might check those out. If they made a feature-length film starring that character, though, I would expect it to be garbage and I wouldn't go see it.




I want the "Max Rebo: Behind the Music" where they talk about the love square between him and the leggy singer, but she's screwing one of the horn triplets who's also got a thing going with the Twi'lek who is secretly in love with Max this whole time; and how they made their best music when they all hated each other, and wanted to not see each other, drug use and egos were at an all time high, and it all poured out into the album that then became nothing but hit after hit for them and allowed them to continue but at what cost?

I call it, _Fleetwood Max_


----------



## wankerness

That absolutely heinous "musical number" in ROTJ is the worst change in those special editions by a huge margin. Or at least it was, until the blu-ray version came out and stuck that NOOOOOOO in there. I had to go for the illegal despecialized version of that movie for that reason.

I can deal with the ending changing the music to smooth jazz instead of the yub yub song, but that opening....no.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Lol i was joking about the max rebo movie, i would def watch gary the stormtrooper though.
On another note i just watched Solo and really enjoyed it. The only part i didn't like was the pigeonholing of darth maul into it. The action scenes were fun, the dialogue was solid, and i liked most of the characters (except for L3 who was annoying as fuck).


----------



## Seabeast2000

Magical nightmarish 70's.
EDIT: Boba Fett makes his debut here before ESB IIRC. Also brought to you by Cocaine. Not me, them.
Dbl Edit: No TV commercials from 1978 on this one, but that version is the money time capsule.


----------



## bostjan

The906 said:


> Magical nightmarish 70's.
> EDIT: Boba Fett makes his debut here before ESB IIRC. Also brought to you by Cocaine. Not me, them.
> Dbl Edit: No TV commercials from 1978 on this one, but that version is the money time capsule.




Yeah, skip to 55 minutes. Seemed silly for him to escape when he was the only one armed.  Also, love the Star Trek-style opening and closing of the cartoon. If you're tempted to watch any of the live-action parts of the video, save yourself the trouble and just don't.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Magical nightmarish 70's.




bostjan said:


> Yeah, skip to 55 minutes. Seemed silly for him to escape when he was the only one armed.  Also, love the Star Trek-style opening and closing of the cartoon. If you're tempted to watch any of the live-action parts of the video, save yourself the trouble and just don't.


Yes, only do it with the Rifftrax version. It will keep you on this planet.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Watched Living Among Us last night. I'm normally pretty open when it comes to movies I hardly bitch about anything, but Christ did this movie blow. I'm a HUGE fan of found footage films (you can hold your "I don't like found footage films" comments. I'm aware that I'm in the minority there) but they really shit the bed here.

If you don't know, Living Among Us is about the world finding out that there are vampires. Understandably, they are afraid of them. The vampires claim that they're not violent and they take voluntary blood donations only. Now obviously, if that were the truth, there wouldn't be a movie. Everyone knows from the moment this film crew is assigned to interview this family of vampires that by the end of the movie, you know someone will die or be maimed.

Where to begin... Bad dialogue deliverance. There are so many "uhs and ums" during the sentences. Let me remind you this movie has John Heard. Now is he a top actor? No, but he's certainly one that I didn't expect that kind of acting from. The writing was VERY lazy. One of the main characters tries to ask the question of how is it possible to live that long as a vampire, and the vampire that John Heard is playing says something along the lines of "let's do this another time, we'll cut the interview off right there."

They vampires explain their existence boils down to science, but then cheaply cuts off that question I'm guessing because they (those who made the movie) couldn't come up with an answer. Also, they are warned not to go down into the basement. Why you ask? Because the family says there are heirlooms there that they don't want messed with. Now right off hand, if you the viewer, are skeptical about that, you're doing FAR better than the main characters are. Just plain shitty writing.

I can't recommend the movie and if for some reason you have a bizarre desire to watch terrible movies, this one will be right up your alley.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> Watched Living Among Us last night. I'm normally pretty open when it comes to movies I hardly bitch about anything, but Christ did this movie blow. I'm a HUGE fan of found footage films (you can hold your "I don't like found footage films" comments. I'm aware that I'm in the minority there) but they really shit the bed here.
> 
> If you don't know, Living Among Us is about the world finding out that there are vampires. Understandably, they are afraid of them. The vampires claim that they're not violent and they take voluntary blood donations only. Now obviously, if that were the truth, there wouldn't be a movie. Everyone knows from the moment this film crew is assigned to interview this family of vampires that by the end of the movie, you know someone will die or be maimed.
> 
> Where to begin... Bad dialogue deliverance. There are so many "uhs and ums" during the sentences. Let me remind you this movie has John Heard. Now is he a top actor? No, but he's certainly one that I didn't expect that kind of acting from. The writing was VERY lazy. One of the main characters tries to ask the question of how is it possible to live that long as a vampire, and the vampire that John Heard is playing says something along the lines of "let's do this another time, we'll cut the interview off right there."
> 
> They vampires explain their existence boils down to science, but then cheaply cuts off that question I'm guessing because they (those who made the movie) couldn't come up with an answer. Also, they are warned not to go down into the basement. Why you ask? Because the family says there are heirlooms there that they don't want messed with. Now right off hand, if you the viewer, are skeptical about that, you're doing FAR better than the main characters are. Just plain shitty writing.
> 
> I can't recommend the movie and if for some reason you have a bizarre desire to watch terrible movies, this one will be right up your alley.


If you want to watch a mockumentary kind of found footage film involving vampires, check out What We Do in the Shadows. It's hilarious


----------



## bostjan

KnightBrolaire said:


> If you want to watch a mockumentary kind of found footage film involving vampires, check out What We Do in the Shadows. It's hilarious


+1


Deacon said:


> One day I was selling my wears, and I walked passed this old creepy castle, and I look at it and think, "'...very old and creepy". And then this creature flies at me! It dragged me back to this dark dungeon and bit into my neck. And just at the point of death, this creature forced me to suck its foul blood, and then it opened it's wings, like this, and hovered above me, ...screeching, 'Ahhh ha ha ha! Now you are vampire!' And it was Petyr, and we're still friends today.


----------



## wankerness

Yeah, I made a group of friends watch that with me only a couple weeks after I saw it the first time myself. I almost never do that! I can't imagine anyone but dullards not liking it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

bostjan said:


> +1


 The whole scene with viago putting down plastic sheeting and such before he sucks a woman's blood, and then proceeds to get sprayed with excessive amounts of arterial spray was hilarious. That's one of the few comedies I could watch multiple times and still really enjoy it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> If you want to watch a mockumentary kind of found footage film involving vampires, check out What We Do in the Shadows. It's hilarious


That is the funniest damn thing I've watched in years.
Edit, I thought the room-mate issues and the Vampires vs. Werewolves as cliquey groups was awesome.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Coco*

Another Pixar winner and probably my favorite of the canon since Up. It's visually stunning, the story is small and sincere, and while some of the plot and twists are predictable (it is a kids movie), they still work and hit hard. Loved it, though this hitting close to home probably affected my bias.


----------



## Ralyks

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Coco*



I literally came here to say this, and agree with absolutely everything you said about it. I randomly saw it on Netflix a few days ago, and have watched it 3 times since. My son is enthralled with it, and I just absolutely love it.


----------



## mongey

Ralyks said:


> I literally came here to say this, and agree with absolutely everything you said about it. I randomly saw it on Netflix a few days ago, and have watched it 3 times since. My son is enthralled with it, and I just absolutely love it.


How old is your son ? We were gOnna watch it with our 3 year old but wasn’t sure if it’s too scary.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

mongey said:


> How old is your son ? We were gOnna watch it with our 3 year old but wasn’t sure if it’s too scary.



I watched the movie with my sister's family and my 2 year old niece loved it. She was dancing all over room during the songs and paying attention to everything else.


----------



## Necris

Had a couple weeks of Soviet films.
*Solaris

Mister Designer (Gospodin Oformitel')

The Initiated (Posvyashchyonniy)

The Veldt* - Based on a short story by Ray Bradbury. I can't recommend this one at all. If you want a soviet horror film watch Viy (вий); it's not scary but it at least it's charming.
*
The Legend of Surami Fortress - *A film from the Georgian SSR. I've seen it compared to something Jodorowsky might make, but I have to admit I've never seen any of the man's films (I will be seeing Santa Sangre with my friend on Thursday!) and as such don't have a point of reference. I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I'd recommend it to most people - similar to the other Sergei Parajanov film I've seen "The Color of Pomegranates".


Also looking forward to seeing Hereditary on Friday evening. It's hard to avoid the hype, but aside from seeing a trailer for it back when I saw A Quiet Place I've avoided any further previews.


----------



## Ralyks

mongey said:


> How old is your son ? We were gOnna watch it with our 3 year old but wasn’t sure if it’s too scary.



Just shy of 3. Although my son is definitely the fearless type.


----------



## wankerness

mongey said:


> How old is your son ? We were gOnna watch it with our 3 year old but wasn’t sure if it’s too scary.



It deals quite a bit with death, I've heard from friends with kids very different reports. It goes right over the heads of some and they just love the colors/aesthetics/song sounds/etc, some older ones got distraught, YMMV!!!


----------



## Necris

I wouldn't recommend Hereditary overall. While I have complaints I wouldn't say the film is _bad. I_t's merely okay and I feel like there was a better story that could have been told, rather than the one we were given. While the mall theater crowd (surprisingly sparse, as it happens) certainly didn't do it any favors I don't believe they were enough of a distraction to actually harm the film. There are some scenes I genuinely liked, and I appreciate its restraint in comparison to A Quiet Place, but some of the scenes seemed to be played for laughs in a way that I found nothing short of grating as for me personally the film was already struggling to create a truly compelling atmosphere. (Others may not feel this way.) In the latter third the movie essentially disintegrates as whatever restraint the director had melts away and the film becomes nothing less than a funhouse.



Spoiler



In the third act we're given a literal box of exposition which contains a few _MYSTERIOUS OCCULT BOOKS._ (The box was already rummaged through briefly at the beginning of the movie.) One of the books contains an explanation for what's going on helpfully highlighted in yellow and illustrated for the benefit of the audience, it's all downhill from here.




On the music side Colin Stetson's score is vapid and the fact that it feels almost constantly present and doesn't do the movie many favors.


----------



## wankerness

I need to watch Hereditary as soon as possible. Too bad it's a horror movie. I hope it gets to video soon. 

I watched Jackass 2 after getting frustrated about the unfunniness of Arrested Development's new season. I NEVER watched the show and haven't seen the other movies, but this was kind of great. A ton of gags suck, but they go by so relentlessly that the 1/3-1/2 that land made me laugh pretty consistently. Something must be wrong with me, cause I think the parts I laughed the most at were the taxi cab gag at the end (the reveal at the end was so gratuitous that it reminded me of IAS's "The Gang Broke Dee" episode!!), and Bam running in with the plunger after the butt chug. Jeeeesus christ. And the Bad Grandpa extended scene with the kid at the bar and them starting a fight with some douchey guy was fantastic. And all those scenes with Spike Jonze as an old lady whose tits kept falling out. And Wee Man getting basically skipped across a pond by a powerful fan. Etcetcetc. I need to see parts 1 and 3 now! Dammit, netflix!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I watched Mom and Dad last night. It was a neat take on parenting/midlife crises/subverting parent's love for their kids into something horrific. The basic gist is there's a white noise signal being broadcast that manipulates parents into murdering their kids. There's wayyy too much shaky cam but some of the gore is quite visceral because of that. Letting crazy Nick Cage play Crazy midlife crisis Nick Cage was easily the best decision the casting team/director could make. Selma Blair is also great at veering between loving mother and psychotic murderer. The introduction of the grandparents later in the film had me cracking up since the grandpa/grandma were trying to murder Nick Cage, who's trying to murder his son at the same time. It's utterly ridiculous, which is why it was a pretty fun film.


----------



## mongey

The shape of water

I enjoyed it. Def something I need to be in the mood for but I was. Thought it looked and sounded great .I dug the Paris soundtrack vibe ,mixed into the early 60's Baltimore


----------



## MickD7

Finally convinced my wife to watch Blade Runner last night, the original release was on Stan a streaming service here in Oz. She was a bit baffled at the fact the film has multiple versions but all up she really liked it.


----------



## wankerness

Went nuts yesterday and watched more movies yesterday than I had in the last few months total! All of these are on Amazon or Netflix (a couple on HBO streaming), except You Were Never Really Here.

The Handmaiden - I avoided this for a couple years, despite being a huge fan of the director's other stuff (ex Oldboy, Thirst, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance), cause it looked like a boring chamber drama. But man alive, it's GREAT. It's a combo of back-stabbing chamber drama and sweeping romance, two things I don't normally like, but I loved it. It has a three-act structure with different perspectives and some cliffhangers and messing around with chronology and perception. And it definitely does have some touches of the weird (and the gross). The leads are great. It works *much* better as an emotionally involving romance than Blue is the Warmest Colour, which it seems fair to compare it to since it's an arty lesbian romance with some incredibly explicit sex.

You Were Never Really Here - Joaquin Phoenix is a dude with all kinds of psychological issues (apparent child abuse, PTSD from Iraq) whose job seems to be recovering kidnapped girls by killing their captors with a hammer. In his newest job, he gets in over his head when the target is a senator's daughter, and the senator gets murdered before he can return her. It's VERY hallucinatory and strange, and has a Johnny Greenwood score that might be his best yet. I'm not sure how much I liked it, but that score is incredible.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 - Vince Vaughn is a stoic, silent guy who's really good at beating the living shit out of people. He works as a drug runner, and one goes south that ends him up in jail and on the wrong side of a bigtime dealer, who tells him he must kill a certain prisoner, or his unborn child and wife will have some...very specific atrocities visited upon them. The catch is that he's in medium security prison, while the target is in maximum security prison, in the dungeon section that the warden keeps secret from the outdoors. It is flat and very deliberately paced and Vaughn doesn't even go to jail for an hour, but this is all for a slow, slow boil to the climax, which has some unbelievably violent material (and two variants on head crushes which rank with the best I've ever seen!). It's from the director of Bone Tomahawk, which explains a lot. It's good. And Vince Vaughn is GREAT here. I can't stand the guy normally. I guess being bald and barely talking and being a huge badass just works for him. I never realized he was 6'5".

Logan Lucky - great heist movie, about a white trash family (Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Channing Tatum) who recruit a nutty explosives expert (Daniel Craig) to steal a ton of money from a race track. It's a ton of fun, the characters are really likable, and I'd watch this repeatedly over any of the same director's goddam Ocean's movies.

Free Fire - an arms deal goes south in an abandoned factory, and the two sides shoot each other for 90 minutes. It's an achievement that it remains moving and relatively entertaining for the whole running time, but I didn't love it. I mainly just watched it for Brie Larson, but her part isn't really any better than anyone else's. The 70s setting means you can't tell half the characters apart cause of huge moustaches and mop hair.

Wendigo - two unpleasant city people and their boring kid go out to the countryside during the winter, and get on the wrong side of a psycho deer hunter. Also, the kid is told about an Indian shapeshifting spirit that can destroy people. Things go about how you'd expect. It's fine, nothing great, I liked the winter setting and the idea of a movie with the Wendigo, but it could have been a lot better.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

"Two unpleasant city people and their boring kid..."


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> The Handmaiden - I avoided this for a couple years, despite being a huge fan of the director's other stuff (ex Oldboy, Thirst, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance), cause it looked like a boring chamber drama. But man alive, it's GREAT. It's a combo of back-stabbing chamber drama and sweeping romance, two things I don't normally like, but I loved it. It has a three-act structure with different perspectives and some cliffhangers and messing around with chronology and perception. And it definitely does have some touches of the weird (and the gross). The leads are great. It works *much* better as an emotionally involving romance than Blue is the Warmest Colour, which it seems fair to compare it to since it's an arty lesbian romance with some incredibly explicit sex.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Went nuts yesterday and watched more movies yesterday than I had in the last few months total! All of these are on Amazon or Netflix (a couple on HBO streaming), except You Were Never Really Here.
> 
> The Handmaiden - I avoided this for a couple years, despite being a huge fan of the director's other stuff (ex Oldboy, Thirst, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance), cause it looked like a boring chamber drama. But man alive, it's GREAT. It's a combo of back-stabbing chamber drama and sweeping romance, two things I don't normally like, but I loved it. It has a three-act structure with different perspectives and some cliffhangers and messing around with chronology and perception. And it definitely does have some touches of the weird (and the gross). The leads are great. It works *much* better as an emotionally involving romance than Blue is the Warmest Colour, which it seems fair to compare it to since it's an arty lesbian romance with some incredibly explicit sex.
> 
> You Were Never Really Here - Joaquin Phoenix is a dude with all kinds of psychological issues (apparent child abuse, PTSD from Iraq) whose job seems to be recovering kidnapped girls by killing their captors with a hammer. In his newest job, he gets in over his head when the target is a senator's daughter, and the senator gets murdered before he can return her. It's VERY hallucinatory and strange, and has a Johnny Greenwood score that might be his best yet. I'm not sure how much I liked it, but that score is incredible.
> 
> Brawl in Cell Block 99 - Vince Vaughn is a stoic, silent guy who's really good at beating the living shit out of people. He works as a drug runner, and one goes south that ends him up in jail and on the wrong side of a bigtime dealer, who tells him he must kill a certain prisoner, or his unborn child and wife will have some...very specific atrocities visited upon them. The catch is that he's in medium security prison, while the target is in maximum security prison, in the dungeon section that the warden keeps secret from the outdoors. It is flat and very deliberately paced and Vaughn doesn't even go to jail for an hour, but this is all for a slow, slow boil to the climax, which has some unbelievably violent material (and two variants on head crushes which rank with the best I've ever seen!). It's from the director of Bone Tomahawk, which explains a lot. It's good. And Vince Vaughn is GREAT here. I can't stand the guy normally. I guess being bald and barely talking and being a huge badass just works for him. I never realized he was 6'5".
> 
> Logan Lucky - great heist movie, about a white trash family (Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Channing Tatum) who recruit a nutty explosives expert (Daniel Craig) to steal a ton of money from a race track. It's a ton of fun, the characters are really likable, and I'd watch this repeatedly over any of the same director's goddam Ocean's movies.
> 
> Free Fire - an arms deal goes south in an abandoned factory, and the two sides shoot each other for 90 minutes. It's an achievement that it remains moving and relatively entertaining for the whole running time, but I didn't love it. I mainly just watched it for Brie Larson, but her part isn't really any better than anyone else's. The 70s setting means you can't tell half the characters apart cause of huge moustaches and mop hair.
> 
> Wendigo - two unpleasant city people and their boring kid go out to the countryside during the winter, and get on the wrong side of a psycho deer hunter. Also, the kid is told about an Indian shapeshifting spirit that can destroy people. Things go about how you'd expect. It's fine, nothing great, I liked the winter setting and the idea of a movie with the Wendigo, but it could have been a lot better.


Logan Lucky and Brawl in Cell block 99 were great. Cell Block 99 has some excellent gore/sound effects, probably some of the best I've seen in quite some time. I also dug Free Fire just for the pure ridiculousness of the idea.


----------



## Necris

*Papa, Grandfather Frost is Dead - *Someone described this as Prerestroika-era Russian _Eraserhead. _That would be apt if you completely removed any and all humor from Eraserhead (and _nearly_ all dialogue for that matter) and left an oppressive funereal atmosphere and sparse dream-like dialogue in its place. There are also no catchy songs.  In the first 10 minutes a man wandering a flooded corridor trips and falls into a wire noose and is strangled to death, a little boy steals his clothes as his disabled father watches and then the boy resets the noose to catch another before they cart the corpse away. It's hard to choose, but that, or the scene immediately following it, may be the most "accessible" scene in the entire hour long film. I appreciated the atmosphere, but I don't think I'll watch it again any time soon. 
*
The Last Family - *A biopic on Polish surrealist painter Zdzislaw Beksinski. As a fan of his work I'd been wanting to see this one for a long time since I'd first heard it was in production. I'm happy to say that it's decent but I can't help but feel that most people, especially those who aren't aware of Beksinski, would get just as much out of browsing his Wikipedia entry or a reading a brief biography online.
*
Sorcerer - *I'd heard good things about this film and apparently it's enjoyed something of a critical re-evaluation, but overall it simply wasn't for me. Tangerine Dream's score is great, though!


----------



## wankerness

Sorcerer and Wages of Sin are both classics, but neither one is perfect. Sorcerer cuts out a good 45 minutes of boring puttering around town at the beginning, but Wages of Sin is more involving during the actual truck driving (even if it can't come close from a technical standpoint). I think both are very good. The Tangerine Dream score is good and creepy. I found the LP in a used record bin recently!


----------



## Ralyks

I bought a 4K Blu Ray player, and with it, The Peanuts Movie and Straight Outta Compton. I asked my almost 3 year old son what he wanted to watch. He didn't pick Peanuts...

... Oh well, he can watch Compton when he's older


----------



## Necris

*Come and See* and *Under The Skin, *they're both immediate favorites. *Come and See *needs a proper Blu-ray release outside of Japan.

On the completely opposite end of the quality spectrum *Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe*, what a beautiful, entertaining disaster of a movie. Carlos Lopes deserves special recognition for writing a score which feels consistently jarringly out of place in a movie where almost nothing works to begin with. I got it in a 2-movies-on-one-DVD set that I picked out of a box marked "free" (I got some other movies too), the other film on the DVD is *Slipstream* - I can't choose between the two.


----------



## Demiurge

I finally got around to watching John Wick last night. My wife remarked early on that she hoped that nothing bad happened to the puppy- so we know that spoiler culture doesn't reach everyone.

I'd put it in the category of Movies I Enjoyed But Don't Understand All the Brouhaha About Them. I think that if you'd like to see a stylized & deliberately-cheesy action movie featuring a typically-laconic actor in big, dumb set pieces, Shoot 'Em Up is a better movie and I was constantly reminded of that while watching this.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Demiurge said:


> I finally got around to watching John Wick last night. My wife remarked early on that she hoped that nothing bad happened to the puppy- so we know that spoiler culture doesn't reach everyone.
> 
> I'd put it in the category of Movies I Enjoyed But Don't Understand All the Brouhaha About Them. I think that if you'd like to see a stylized & deliberately-cheesy action movie featuring a typically-laconic actor in big, dumb set pieces, Shoot 'Em Up is a better movie and I was constantly reminded of that while watching this.


Shoot Em Up is a great movie but it's completely different in tone from John Wick. Shoot Em Up knows that it's an inherently stupid action movie and has lots of winks and nods to that throughout the film. John Wick isn't self aware in the same way. I think part of why a lot of people (myself included) loved it was because the fight scenes were very fluid and did something relatively different in terms of choreography. The second one is even better in terms of fluid choreography and relatively grounded gunfights/hand to hand combat.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

To elaborate with John Wick, the fluid choreography is really apparent when compared to say the Taken movies which relied heavily in frequent cuts and edits. John Wick's action felt grounded real and you knew what was going on. Kind of an evolution of the old Hong Kong action films of the 90s.

Also helps that Keanu Reeves does a great job of making the character feel human. The way he staggers and feels the pain of every blow and wound shows John Wick is not invincible and adds a lot of depth you normally don't pay attention to in action scenes.


----------



## wankerness

Plus, a revenge film about a puppy is WAY more emotionally charged than one about a spouse or whatever


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

You know, the first Taken is a guilty pleasure of sorts for me. Sure it's a dumb fun power fantasy Dad action movie for the old and grumpy demographic (as was recent Equaliser movie, which was also dumb fun), but they were fun in a ridiculous way. Turn your brain off and watch Liam Neeson beat up people. The sequels on the other hand are terrible. Taken 2 had a great premise only to be completely contrived and by the numbers predictable to the point were it was pointless while Taken 3 was literally The Fugitive.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Darling _(2015)

The entire production of this indie film seemed to follow this idea of: "Hey, what if we made a horror movie in 2015 that looked, sounded, and felt like it belonged 50 years ago in the 1960s?" Because of this, the film is colored in black and white; and everything about it is stripped down, minimalistic, and gives that strong, raw, "shot-on-a-shoestring-budget" indie vibe.

A simple premise. A simple plot. A simple cast. A simple script with simple dialogue. A simple setting. A simple score.

The plot is nothing new. It is essentially an equal blend of Polanski's memorable 1965 flick _Repulsion_ and Kubrick's classic 1980 take on Stephen King's _The Shining_. If you've seen either film (or both), then you'll immediately recognize the setup and the elements of _Repulsion_ and/or _The Shining_ in less than five minutes after the start of _Darling_. In fact, many elements of _Darling_ are pretty much shamelessly carbon-copied from its two predecessor flicks.

The minimalism contributes to the constantly claustrophobic and somewhat gritty feel of the film. Silence plays a big role, and the usage of diagetic sound from the main character's perspective (such as the stereotypical creaking doors or the constantly ticking clock anytime a scene takes place on the bottom floor of the house) adds to the growing sense of dread as the film progresses. Not much action happens, and not much is said; but a lot happens psychologically to both the main character and to the viewer, which is what makes this film one of the most unnerving movies that I've seen in quite a long time. You're NOT going to suffer from cheap, half-assed "jump scares" and loud noises or gut-wrenching imagery that will frighten you out of your wits; but you will feel the mental breakdown portrayed between both what is seen onscreen and what is NOT seen throughout _Darling_'s achingly slow burn within the short span of less than 80 minutes. (Quite a paradox that such a short film feels longer...yet kind of in a good way as the six chapters of _Darling_ menacingly churn onscreen.)

Due to the rapid, quick cuts spliced throughout the film, there is a seizure warning at the very beginning. I'm not sure if that would entice potential viewers or turn them away. Just be careful if you or someone you know deals with epilepsy.


----------



## LeviathanKiller

I caught up on al of the X-Men movies this weekend since X-Men: The Last Stand. There's so much timeline editing done that it's kinda hard to keep track of what the current timeline is but anyway...

I was happy until I finished Logan.


Spoiler



The scene with Professor Charles Xavier dying was awful. That and the fact that basically everyone important is now dead totally blows. I hate it when they come up with weird twisted plots that "revive" characters or undo other writer's changes but dangit they need to undo the premise of Logan. It made watching all of the other movies near pointless. All of those crises averted only to have the important characters killed by one of their own. Geez


----------



## synrgy

Man, you watched all of them, and _Logan_ is where you're drawing a line? Not X3? Not DoFP? Not Apocalypse?

I guess everything is subjective. Fair enough.


----------



## MFB

synrgy said:


> Man, you watched all of them, and _Logan_ is where you're drawing a line? Not X3? Not DoFP? Not Apocalypse?
> 
> I guess everything is subjective. Fair enough.



It's been over a year, spoiler tags can fuck right off

Sounds like he's more mad/sad about how Logan was the closing of the X-Men chapter that started so long ago, and that means Stewart as Xavier, and Jackman as Wolverine - two huge roles in the comic movie world - won't be seen again


----------



## KnightBrolaire

LeviathanKiller said:


> I caught up on al of the X-Men movies this weekend since X-Men: The Last Stand. There's so much timeline editing done that it's kinda hard to keep track of what the current timeline is but anyway...
> 
> I was happy until I finished Logan.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The scene with Professor Charles Xavier dying was awful. That and the fact that basically everyone important is now dead totally blows. I hate it when they come up with weird twisted plots that "revive" characters or undo other writer's changes but dangit they need to undo the premise of Logan. It made watching all of the other movies near pointless. All of those crises averted only to have the important characters killed by one of their own. Geez


If it makes you feel better, marvel is probably already retconning all that shit so we can get a new wolverine. Personally I hope we get a Daken or X23 movie next.


----------



## synrgy

After _The Wolverine_, Jackman started saying he was done with the character, but that he _might _come back _if_ they wanted to riff on the 'Old Man Logan' story. I think if the movie had been _anything_ else, neither actor would have agreed to do it.

After _Logan_, both Jackman and Stewart have repeatedly said they were done.

EXCEPT, both actors offered (tongue-in-cheek?) remarks that they _might_ reconsider _if_ the characters got pulled into the MCU. It was a surprising middle-finger to Fox, especially considering Jackman was basically 'nobody' before they made him Wolverine -- and he wasn't even their original choice; they had already done several weeks of filming X1 with Dougray Scott cast as Wolvie, but then he got injured filming MI:2. Anyway, IIRC, they were making these statements before the Fox/Disney deal was a reality, so we'll see what (if anything) shakes out. I'm guessing not much, _especially_ if the recent rumors of Stewart coming back as Captain Picard come to fruition.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> It's been over a year, spoiler tags can fuck right off
> 
> Sounds like he's more mad/sad about how Logan was the closing of the X-Men chapter that started so long ago, and that means Stewart as Xavier, and Jackman as Wolverine - two huge roles in the comic movie world - won't be seen again


Yeah, I've seen that reaction a lot of times, people mad that the movie made them feel something they didn't want to feel when they went into a "fun" movie. That scene was really shocking and making it that blunt and senseless was a brave and effective move. If he'd had some big heroic scene in slow motion with touching piano music playing while he, I dunno, pulled a Vazquez/Gorman or something it would have brought the movie down.

I watched Annihilation. It was similar to Ex Machina in that at some point I was like "wait...all that intelligent lead-up, and it's just really pretty shlock?!" Like, really, going in and for most of the movie I thought something profound was going to happen, and instead it's exactly what it looks like -


Spoiler



a troop of soldiers goes in to find the problem and kill it. Increasingly abstract and bizarre and awesome scenes all lead up to the heroine handing a grenade to an alien in the middle of the shimmer and THE WHOLE THING GOES AWAY. Give me a break.



I HATED the framing device, too. I can't think of any movie that is improved by interviews with the main character interrupting the film periodically, but with something this weird it's especially distracting both in terms of upsetting the amazing visuals/tone and the stakes.

The visuals are really unique and the mood with them and the eerie Brad Fiedel-like score (albeit with low-frequency wubs) makes this a must-watch. And that fucking bear scene in the house is fantastic. It's much scarier than anything in Hereditary, and I LIKED that movie!!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Yeah, I've seen that reaction a lot of times, people mad that the movie made them feel something they didn't want to feel when they went into a "fun" movie. That scene was really shocking and making it that blunt and senseless was a brave and effective move. If he'd had some big heroic scene in slow motion with touching piano music playing while he, I dunno, pulled a Vazquez/Gorman or something it would have brought the movie down.
> 
> I watched Annihilation. It was similar to Ex Machina in that at some point I was like "wait...all that intelligent lead-up, and it's just really pretty shlock?!" Like, really, going in and for most of the movie I thought something profound was going to happen, and instead it's exactly what it looks like -
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> a troop of soldiers goes in to find the problem and kill it. Increasingly abstract and bizarre and awesome scenes all lead up to the heroine handing a grenade to an alien in the middle of the shimmer and THE WHOLE THING GOES AWAY. Give me a break.
> 
> 
> 
> I HATED the framing device, too. I can't think of any movie that is improved by interviews with the main character interrupting the film periodically, but with something this weird it's especially distracting both in terms of upsetting the amazing visuals/tone and the stakes.
> 
> The visuals are really unique and the mood with them and the eerie Brad Fiedel-like score (albeit with low-frequency wubs) makes this a must-watch. And that fucking bear scene in the house is fantastic. It's much scarier than anything in Hereditary, and I LIKED that movie!!





Spoiler



Yeah but the shimmer didn't go away before it replicated/altered oscar isaac/natalie portman's characters.


I think that movie was way overhyped. I enjoyed the visuals/soundtrack and some of the creature designs/gore, but overall it just kind of plodded along. I enjoyed it enough the first time, but watching it a second time really soured me on the pacing.


----------



## wankerness

Yeah, but that doesn't alter the intelligence of the film in any way. That's just the silly monster movie putting a ? after the THE END like Reptilicus or something.


Spoiler



We already knew that about Oscar Isaac and the Natalie Portman thing was just dumb (or it was that when they hugged he passed on the replicating genes or something).


 Who knows. It was shlock. I am guessing that if I watched it again without the expectations of something profound that I'd like it more. I liked it regardless thanks to the style. But man, that bear scene will not work as well after that first time.

Tessa Thompson is like the kid who played Geoffrey on GOT. She's WAY too good at playing horrible, arrogant characters that I just want to get killed so badly that I can't think of anything else during some of their scenes. Westworld and now this. She's like the new Michelle Rodriguez!!! (I actually liked TT in Thor: Ragnarok, quite a bit, I think they utilized those same powers in the right way).

EDIT: What the hell?! Gina Rodriguez was the mean asshole?! They look similar!! I am so used to her being a sweetheart on Jane the Virgin and Tessa Thompson being horrible that I had their characters backwards. Well, I look like an idiot. Gina Rodriguez clearly has serious range.


----------



## LeviathanKiller

synrgy said:


> Man, you watched all of them, and _Logan_ is where you're drawing a line? Not X3? Not DoFP? Not Apocalypse?
> 
> I guess everything is subjective. Fair enough.



If timey-wimey stuff is what you're referring to, nah, no problem. The amount of characters seemingly killed-off was what bugged me. I feel that having the new generation kids escape didn't balance against all of the loss presented.



MFB said:


> It's been over a year, spoiler tags can fuck right off
> 
> Sounds like he's more mad/sad about how Logan was the closing of the X-Men chapter that started so long ago, and that means Stewart as Xavier, and Jackman as Wolverine - two huge roles in the comic movie world - won't be seen again



I'm really late to watching movies so I put spoiler tags on for the people like me.

Yeah, it's one thing to do away with a couple of characters in a movie but in Logan you get rid of the present characters -- Caliban (minor), Wolverine, and Charles -- all in one go while also "btw'ing" that hey, everyone else important you know died too! Two of the present characters chosen to axed happened to be the only one other than Deadpool to get his own movies AND the other one is the leader of the group in all the other movies. It was a lot of characters to seemingly kill off at once. Until they retcon the series (if they decide to), they've pigeon-holed themselves into the recent past (James McAvoy period). Dark Phoenix is up next as is The New Mutants so we'll see what happens. I just dislike that they killed off everyone from a specific time period at once essentially. The MCU has way better support, you could kill off any two characters and things could still go on because you have many more dominant/series-supporting characters.



wankerness said:


> Yeah, I've seen that reaction a lot of times, people mad that the movie made them feel something they didn't want to feel when they went into a "fun" movie. *That scene was really shocking and making it that blunt and senseless was a brave and effective move.* If he'd had some big heroic scene in slow motion with touching piano music playing while he, I dunno, pulled a Vazquez/Gorman or something it would have brought the movie down.


I actually enjoyed it not being so "happy". Totally okay with Charles dying and the negativity around his last moments but the implications of everyone else also being dead was what had me upset _after _the movie. I really liked Charles' helplessness that was portrayed in the movie like him being kept in the tank against his will, him having to be helped to go to the bathroom, and him being carried upstairs to bed. He came off as just an ordinary old man...who just happened to have extraordinary problems. It was very real.

Also, I don't remember any hints in the other movies towards the adamantium poisoining/weakening Wolverine. So all in one movie they invented brought up a complex character issue and in the same movie used it to kill off the character. That felt rushed. Having that hinted at in just ONE of the other movies would have made a world of difference imo (and maybe it was. My bad, if so.).


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> The visuals are really unique and the mood with them and the eerie Brad Fiedel-like score (albeit with low-frequency wubs) makes this a must-watch. And that fucking bear scene in the house is fantastic. It's much scarier than anything in Hereditary, and I LIKED that movie!!


Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow make a phenomenal musical team, and they have really been setting a new standard in this resurgence of synth music in film scoring that has come about in recent years. (This resurgence of 80s/90s-vibed synth music is giving the generic, homogenized "Hans Zimmer / Remote Control" ghostwritten crap a run for its money.)

Also, the sound design team for Annihilation should've gotten some honor or award, specifically for the sound morphing to create the bear's roar. To get the sampled/recorded layers of uttered animalistic sound to be that smooth and actually sound "like one" together (instead of multiple layered samples simply glued randomly) is no easy feat.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Until the Light Takes Us


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Also, the sound design team for Annihilation should've gotten some honor or award, specifically for the sound morphing to create the bear's roar. To get the sampled/recorded layers of uttered animalistic sound to be that smooth and actually sound "like one" together (instead of multiple layered samples simply glued randomly) is no easy feat.



That sound was creepy as hell and a big part of why that scene was so damn scary. Plus, it ties in with some of the more subtle grotesqueries of the creature design. Something I didn't notice while watching the movie was the hideous inclusion of a human skull on the left side of the bear's skull, facing outwards (along with a human lower jaw/teeth behind the bear's teeth). It's kind of covered up by the fur and the lighting in the film. But, the making-of featurette goes into a lot of detail on the design of it and shows a lot of the animatronics they used while filming it that were later subbed in with the CGI bear, and ugh. It's on the level of that heinous dual-faced fried alien they pull out of the snow at the beginning of the 82 version of The Thing. The only problem with the bear was that it reminded me of the mutant bear in Prophecy. Though, maybe that was a good thing.



Speaking of the sound, the whole thing had a pretty aggressive soundscape. I have a surround system, and it was pretty much constant loud surrounds with ambient "swamp" noises and the score being heavily pushed towards the back (usually it's more stereo). Also, the sound was VERY tightly tied to the score, to the point where I really had no idea if it was sound effects or score that we were hearing in the climactic reveal of


Spoiler



the alien "petals" (when it spawns from Jennifer Jason Leigh).


 I thought that was really cool.

Anyone that likes this movie at all should get the blu-ray. It has well over an hour of making-of stuff that actually had effort put into it. Like, it has real discussion from many of the people involved with the movie along with tons of really cool design artwork and properly shot behind-the-scenes footage that gets into stuff that matters instead of being some puff-piece. It's really good, it reminded me of the good ol' days of DVD when we'd get stuff like those documentaries on the extended version of LOTR. It could have used a fourth section that covered sound and score, though.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> Also, the sound was VERY tightly tied to the score, to the point where I really had no idea if it was sound effects or score that we were hearing in the climactic reveal of
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> the alien "petals" (when it spawns from Jennifer Jason Leigh).
> 
> 
> I thought that was really cool.


I actually had a discussion about _Annihilation _last night where I brought up the fact that Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow absolutely deserve a mention for the music that plays during the lighthouse sequence - specifically with how the pitch-bent synth waveforms that you hear during the ultimate encounter with the antagonist synchronize with the visual action so perfectly that the synths transcend imitation and BECOME ONE with the antagonist, almost seeming to become the antagonist’s form of language/speaking even though it never utters a single word of dialogue or noise throughout its entirety onscreen. (Those who have seen the film [like you, wankerness] know exactly what I’m talking about.) THAT IS SUBCONTEXT, FOLKS. THE TRUE ROLE OF MUSIC IN FILM AND TV.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

natural born killers is like looney tunes woth sociopaths, the tone is so weirdly comedic


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Watched _Hereditary_ (2018). I have never been so disappointed by a film. Ignore all of the positive reviews that hype it up. This film is a steaming pile of boring garbage.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Watched _Hereditary_ (2018). I have never been so disappointed by a film. Ignore all of the positive reviews that hype it up. This film is a steaming pile of boring garbage.


Thanks.


----------



## wankerness

I thought it was good! Ignore the negative reviews that hype it down.

I was thinking about The Witch most of the time I watched it, it's similar tonally and has some similar plot elements. I liked it more than that one. The middle party-gone-wrong sequence is fantastic. I didn't love the movie or anything, but that whole sequence (especially the way the kid behaves in shock and the aftermath the next morning) is great. Plus, I was very surprised by how they did not pull any punches in that whole sequence. That big close-up the next morning was quite something!

The ending got kind of stupid, but whatever. It's not deserving of hype as "the scariest movie ever," but I never expect to be scared by horror movies anyway, since I've seen 8 million of them, and thus I don't grade things by "WAS IT SCARY?!?!?!" It's pretty good. Compared to the mainstream idiotic jumpscare stuff with gigantic soundtrack hits (ie, It, Insidious, etc), it's really refreshing.

I would expect almost any mainstream audience member to hate it. You will not have a good time unless you're the kind of weirdo that also likes things similarly difficult things like say, The Neon Demon and The Witch and whatnot.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

wankerness said:


> I thought it was good! Ignore the negative reviews that hype it down.
> 
> I was thinking about The Witch most of the time I watched it, it's similar tonally and has some similar plot elements. I liked it more than that one. The middle party-gone-wrong sequence is fantastic. I didn't love the movie or anything, but that whole sequence (especially the way the kid behaves in shock and the aftermath the next morning) is great. Plus, I was very surprised by how they did not pull any punches in that whole sequence. That big close-up the next morning was quite something!
> 
> The ending got kind of stupid, but whatever. It's not deserving of hype as "the scariest movie ever," but I never expect to be scared by horror movies anyway, since I've seen 8 million of them, and thus I don't grade things by "WAS IT SCARY?!?!?!" It's pretty good. Compared to the mainstream idiotic jumpscare stuff with gigantic soundtrack hits (ie, It, Insidious, etc), it's really refreshing.
> 
> I would expect almost any mainstream audience member to hate it. You will not have a good time unless you're the kind of weirdo that also likes things similarly difficult things like say, The Neon Demon and The Witch and whatnot.


The basic "jump scare" stuff has been overdone to the point that not even mainstream moviegoers are giving modern horror movies a shot anymore. Even total plebs have realized that there is no substance and no real scare...just the occasional loud noise with a possibly shocking image...then it's over. Boring, dull, and predictable.

I don't like that kind of stuff. I need more depth and more build/burn. I did enjoy _The Witch_ which was a slow burn with a constant eerie atmosphere due to the setting (both time and location) of the story. I even posted on the previous page how much I enjoyed _Darling_ when I watched it last week. But considering that _Hereditary _had such rave reviews (for whatever reason) which gave me such high hopes for it since I am a (former) horror movie buff...I was left only miserably disappointed. So miserably disappointed.

They could’ve chopped an hour and a half out of that movie’s two-hour runtime, and *nothing* would’ve been affected.

No scares. Period. _"Scariest film of 2018. Making viewers jump in their seats."_ No. Definitely not. Absolute exaggeration by over-hyping.

Several attempts to mislead the audience by shifting who you think might be the real victim of the possession (the daughter, the mother, the son) as it runs through the family all fall flat. And then, several attempts to mislead the audience by addressing the mental health of the main character (not going to say which one) all fall flat. There are multiple glaring plot holes that the writers clearly tried to cover or sweep under the rug with endless, stereotypical, homogenized “suspense” tropes. (I guess they got lost themselves in their attempts to mislead the audience.) And the film’s ending was rushed as hell. (Literally wrapped a two-hour film in under five minutes.) Like you said, wankerness, the ending got stupid. I was expecting more. Then the director even tried to pass off the poor ending as being "metaphorical". No. There was nothing "metaphorical" about it. The possession was complete. The family's dark destiny was fulfilled. The end.


----------



## Necris

When I saw Hereditary it had every opportunity to impress me, I hadn't seen any of the hype for it until a day before (a youtube video ad, I skipped it) and the only knowledge I had of it was, I believe, based on a trailer which played before I saw *A Quiet Place*. It failed utterly. I think I said a few pages back that I liked it better than *A Quiet Place*, which I maintain is trash, but I'd hesitate to say it was anything more than okay, it wasn't worth theater prices to be sure. While I can see parallels to The Witch in terms of the story I think The Witch a vastly better film.


wankerness said:


> Compared to the mainstream idiotic jumpscare stuff with gigantic soundtrack hits (ie, It, Insidious, etc), it's really refreshing.


This is actually the conclusion I came to about Hereditary's apparent success/popularity (5 star reviews on letterboxd continue to flow in fwiw). Beyond a marketing blitz claiming it was "A new generation's _The Shining_" (seriously, I saw that ad only after I'd seen it - thank goodness) and the scariest film of the year, it succeeds with mainstream audiences primarily due to conditioned low expectations. Hereditary must seem absolutely revolutionary to a viewer used to whatever trash horror is dripping out of Blumhouse or Platinum Dunes.
For critics the film has just enough of an art-house veneer that they can credibly throw up their hands and say "Post-horror!" without having to admit to liking a horror movie.


----------



## wankerness

Emperor Guillotine said:


> No scares. Period. _"Scariest film of 2018. Making viewers jump in their seats."_ No. Definitely not. Absolute exaggeration by over-hyping.



See, I HATE this kind of dismissal. It's so unbelievably subjective. It's unbelievably subjective for the same person depending on their mood/physical condition that day, even!! Thus, I can't grade any horror movies based on "scariness." Like, if I did that, movies I watched while stoned would be all the scary ones and anything I watched while even slightly tired would be all the "failures," no matter what the actually quality difference was between them! Once in a while the stars align and I watch something great while I'm also in a nervous mood and everything connects and I get the shit scared out of me (Ju-On: The Grudge, REC, to a limited degree Suspiria), but I'd say my list of favorite horror movies is mostly made of things that didn't scare me in the slightest. Like, Mulholland Dr (except maybe that winky's scene), Let the Right One In, Pan's Labyrinth, The Exorcist, The Fly '86, Don't Look Now, all scareless and all fantastic.

Regarding plot holes, here was my review, where I specifically said I was impressed that it DIDN'T have any plot holes and was really tightly constructed!!! That's funny. Where, exactly, did you see them?

7/10

I don't quite know how to feel about this, as it had zero effect on me either viscerally or jump-wise, yet it was clearly immaculately constructed and very bold. I would compare it directly to The Witch from a couple years ago, in quality, tone, general plot arc, and unfortunately my reaction. It's FAR nastier than that one, though. If I hadn't seen a million horror movies, there are a couple scenes that are really, truly nasty and I think would upset most viewers. One fairly early on could be considered to violate some serious unspoken taboos of US cinema.

Toni Colette gives yet another bold, crazy performance in something I ultimately didn't care very much about (I watched all of United States of Tara a few years ago, yet I can barely remember a thing about it). The rest of the family is quite good, with the daughter in particular being VERY strikingly weird.

The movie might be too long, but the script is very tightly wound and almost every single detail of the plot is there for a reason and ultimately pays off. It is vaguely comparable to Kill List in this regard. Plotwise, I'd probably compare it to some combination of Ju-On: The Grudge, The Changeling, Rosemary's Baby, and especially Don't Look Now, but it really isn't very similar to any of them. It's got things like seances and coping with death in the family, but it does NOT go in any directions that even seasoned horror vets are likely to anticipate.

It didn't "work" on me, but it was very obviously a quality movie. I'll have to watch it again some day when I'm feeling jumpier and see if it has more of an effect.


----------



## mongey

took the child to incredibles 2 . I enjoyed it. only seen the original once when it came out and cant remember much about it but had a few good laughs at the sequel and really dug the styling and the score


----------



## KnightBrolaire

blade of the immortal has some of the best sword fights since the rurouni kenshin live action movies. it totally nails the aesthetic and dark humor of the manga, but isn't quite as gory/rapey (it's still pretty damn gory though).
i love the use of mostly practical effects, it just gives it a more grounded vibe.


----------



## frogman81

Saw Hereditary last night and quite enjoyed it. I have to side with Wankerness in that for me, it's a pretty tightly written story with limited holes. Admittedly there was a couple of "turn on the damn lights!" moments (including one shot where the light switch is in the frame in the off position, with the character frozen, looking into the darkness) but other than that I have no beefs with it. I liked the inclusion of legit historical Occult mythology from The Lessor Key of Solomon, which is one thing that I find intriguing and scary. If you can handle a slow pace with an hour of pretty solid family drama in the middle, I say go for it.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Ant Man And The Wasp*

Not as good, nor clever as the first one, but still just as fun. Though that's the Sloppy Seconds Sequel Syndrome talking.

There's actually a lot, perhaps too much plot and exposition going on, especially considering it's one of the more smaller light hearted MCU movies, which felt too convoluted and confusing at times. Still, it keeps the spirit of the original and some good laughs. There's a scene in the second act that Paul Rudd delivers so damn well (and Michael Douglass and Evangeline Lilly go along so convincingly) that it's both hilarious and awesome. Actually, Lilly is fantastic throughout the movie. The third act is also a fun spectacle with humorous gags aplenty.

I'm using the word fun a lot, but I guess that's what it was. Light hearted fun.

Also, maybe it's the nerd side talking, but I'm still surprised how people walk out of these movies once the credits roll. It's been 10 years, you've had 10 years of conditioning.


----------



## synrgy

I tend to have stuff on in the background while I work every day. Yesterday, I was on a bit of an 80's binge:

Top Gun: I'd had the Cheap Trick song solidly stuck in my head for the last month (because reasons?) so I figured I'd finally cave and give it an outlet. Amusingly, I'm _still_ able to enjoy this movie, despite all of its _obvious_ flaws which have definitely been underscored by three decades of hindsight. I guess it's just a timing thing: I saw it at a formative age/time in my life, so it's one of those movies that just kinda feels like 'home' whenever I watch it.

Commando: When I was a kid, I thought this movie was _awesome_. These days, I think it's _hilarious_.

Stand By Me: I hadn't seen this in a long time. Maybe a decade or two. I picked up on a lot of little things that I'd either forgotten, or never noticed at all during prior viewings. It definitely still holds up. There's just something 'timeless' about it (even though it's a period piece).


----------



## KnightBrolaire

American Animals: pretty interesting heist movie about college kids stealing the most valuable books in north america. It's less Ocean's Eleven and more Heat/A Simple Plan (ie everything goes to shit). It's almost more documentary esque in its approach by mixing the real life kid's interviews in with the movie. 
Worth a rental, but I wouldn't recommend paying to see it in theaters.


----------



## USMarine75

Late to the game... but Thor Ragnarock is already in my top 10 movies of all time.

I don't understand why Blockers is so highly rated? I thought it was meh at best.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

USMarine75 said:


> Late to the game... but Thor Ragnarock is already in my top 10 movies of all time.
> 
> I don't understand why Blockers is so highly rated? I thought it was meh at best.


yeah blockers had some funny moments but overall I thought it was super meh.


----------



## USMarine75

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah blockers had some funny moments but overall I thought it was super meh.



And I _wanted _to like it. I loved Cena in Trainwreck.


----------



## synrgy

How do you know? You can't see him!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Dario Argento's Phenomena (110 min cut)


----------



## wankerness

That's probably the movie that I've spent the most money on. And I don't even like it all that much!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Also going to watch Demons, Demons 2, and Inferno.


----------



## wankerness

Ant Man 2 - It was probably an expectations thing as I hadn't really planned on going to see it at all, but I LOVED it up until the last 15 minutes or so. I found it much funnier than the original, and I think the action part of the climax is probably the best in any Marvel movie. I see a lot of reviews saying "it's funny, BUT IT LACKS THE STAKES/SCALE OF OTHER RECENT MARVEL MOVIES" as if that was a bad thing. This movie is so funny that I laughed really hard at the Stan Lee cameo, which is saying something considering not one of the last 30 was even close to funny!

Problems with it were really just the attempts at pathos, and the actress who plays Ghost. She's supposed to get all twisty with pain and anger in a few scenes, and she's not very good. She's certainly nowhere near as awful as Cara Delevigne or anything, but it got dodgy. Still, she's better than the Hank/his wife stuff, since Hank is just such a total asshole all the time that when it flips and asks us to care about his feelings it didn't work at all. But, oh well, the vast majority of the movie is great.

I think leaving before the first credit scene is a great idea, since it really undermines everything else and reminds me of Dawn of the Dead '04's credit sequence, which is the worst of all time and actually ruins that movie if you take it into account. There was a row of middle school/high school kids behind us, and it was funny when they all went WHAT?! C'MON!!!! at it. I agreed with them!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Just like the first film, it starts with a bang and ends with a bang. Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro do excellent jobs returning as their characters. Jeffrey Donovan (from Burn Notice) also returns and offers some minor comic relief at times. The action sequences are quick and dirty, which I thoroughly enjoy. It mimics other aspects of the first film successfully (ie the tense SF CQC scene, the converging side characters, minimalistic score and general grounded feeling).
The score is very minimalistic with some occasional string swells and some thumping ominous synths that increase in pace/volume to build tension.


Spoiler



I've seen some reviews claim the movie is fearmongering, which is bullshit imo, since other thrillers have dealt with the same concept of suicide bombers getting onto american soil via mexico. It's also basically a macguffin in this film. Fighting corrupt cops/cartel members and showing the progression of a young cartel member is what the movie is about.


Overall I'd say it's as good as the first film.
I'd say it's well worth a watch if you like the first one.


----------



## jco5055

finally saw Schindler's List, GREAT movie.


----------



## Necris

*Demolition Man*
I saw it last night at the theater downtown. It was a lot of fun, it hit a nice balance cheesy action and comedy. Elliot Goldenthal's score was solid and Wesley Snipes made for a super entertaining villain. The funniest moment of the night actually arose from circumstance; a couple had brought their young children with them to see the movie and during the "sex scene" I heard a tiny voice from the front row ask "what is sex?", they must have had a long night.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Ant Man and The Wasp
It's a nice breather from the overall heaviness of Infinity war's story, with the majority of this story not having any significant impact on future films. I thought it was pretty entertaining and funny film, though not quite as much fun as Ragnarok was.
I like how they didn't waste our time with a bunch of exposition telling what happened between this film and the first ant man (barring the few lines between Scott/Hope and Woo/Scott/cassie at the beginning of the film). 
the Ghost character's reasoning is kind of flimsy as an antagonist imo (pun not intended). I know that people in great pain will go to great lengths to deal with it, but she was basically just Black Ops Kitty Pryde (god i hope they retcon the xmen movies again and she ends up in Xforce). 
I like these later Marvel films where the villains are pretty sympathetic and more fleshed out. Ghost was somewhat sympathetic, but Walton Goggins was basically wasted in his role here imo. He's so damn good at scenery chewing/stealing the scene (just watch Justified or the Shield and you'll see what I mean). 
The kitchen fight was a lot of fun to watch, same with the car chase sequences. 
Very enjoyable film imo.


----------



## possumkiller

Blazing Saddles

The best cowboy movie ever.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

KnightBrolaire said:


> Sicario: Day of the Soldado
> Just like the first film, it starts with a bang and ends with a bang. Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro do excellent jobs returning as their characters. Jeffrey Donovan (from Burn Notice) also returns and offers some minor comic relief at times. The action sequences are quick and dirty, which I thoroughly enjoy. It mimics other aspects of the first film successfully (ie the tense SF CQC scene, the converging side characters, minimalistic score and general grounded feeling).
> The score is very minimalistic with some occasional string swells and some thumping ominous synths that increase in pace/volume to build tension.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I've seen some reviews claim the movie is fearmongering, which is bullshit imo, since other thrillers have dealt with the same concept of suicide bombers getting onto american soil via mexico. It's also basically a macguffin in this film. Fighting corrupt cops/cartel members and showing the progression of a young cartel member is what the movie is about.
> 
> 
> Overall I'd say it's as good as the first film.
> I'd say it's well worth a watch if you like the first one.




Thank fucking God I'm not the only one who enjoyed these movies. I'm hoping they make a third one, but I've got a feeling that everything will come full circle in the third if they make it. Also it was rather sad to know that


Spoiler



his daughter was deaf because I don't know, I tend to think of children with handicaps as being, I don't want to say better in any way but... Fuck I don't know what the word is I'm looking for. But either way, this movie didn't compromise on a whole lot, similar to how the first one was.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> Thank fucking God I'm not the only one who enjoyed these movies. I'm hoping they make a third one, but I've got a feeling that everything will come full circle in the third if they make it. Also it was rather sad to know that
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> his daughter was deaf because I don't know, I tend to think of children with handicaps as being, I don't want to say better in any way but... Fuck I don't know what the word is I'm looking for. But either way, this movie didn't compromise on a whole lot, similar to how the first one was.


they already said there will be a third film, with a different director


----------



## wankerness

Nothing I've heard about the second makes me want to see it in the theater instead of waiting to redbox it  The first one was really damn good though.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Nothing I've heard about the second makes me want to see it in the theater instead of waiting to redbox it  The first one was really damn good though.


It's more action oriented than the first, but it's still a very enjoyable, tense film. It's the same writers as the first, and I think it holds up to that movie.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

wankerness said:


> Nothing I've heard about the second makes me want to see it in the theater instead of waiting to redbox it  The first one was really damn good though.




I would watch it if I were you. Same mood, but it also uncovers some info about the previous movie that you didn't already know. If you loved the first, this one is just as good, which is a rarity these days.


----------



## wankerness

Rogue One: I like this movie less every time I see it, at this point the flaws might outweigh the positives, I've got it down to about a 5/10. Still looks great, though!

Silence of the Lambs: still great

Election (1999): Reese Witherspoon in sociopath mode is my favorite thing (Freeway, this, Big Little Lies)


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Rogue One: I like this movie less every time I see it, at this point the flaws might outweigh the positives, I've got it down to about a 5/10. Still looks great, though!
> 
> Silence of the Lambs: still great
> 
> Election (1999): Reese Witherspoon in sociopath mode is my favorite thing (Freeway, this, Big Little Lies)


laura dern's character in Big Little Lies is wayyy more catty/sociopath imo.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Almost 7 months later and I'm still hungover from Last Jedi. What a mess.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> Almost 7 months later and I'm still hungover from Last Jedi. What a mess.


i hate it more than i hated ep1, especially upon repeat viewings.


----------



## synrgy

Blockers: First thought is "holy shit, I'm old!"... I'm _so_ screwed in 13-ish years when my daughter will be in her mid teens. A couple of the 'youth' jokes flew right over my head. "You haven't heard of 'yas queen'?"

No. No, I haven't. Damn it.

Funny, though. I hate to admit it, but I do like John Cena as an actor. He just has that 'x factor' that makes him a great everyman - despite his build/background.

The Outsider (2018; Netflix): I need more movies like this in my life. Maybe I'm just unhealthily obsessed with Japan (not so much the zany gameshows and what-not, but the history/culture/etc), and I'm not always sold on Jared Leto, but.. I loved _everything_ about this movie, from the story, to the acting, to the cinematography, to the pacing. I wouldn't say it's 'perfect', but pending another viewing or two, I'd probably give it a solid 4/5.


----------



## Quiet Coil

KnightBrolaire said:


> i hate it more than i hated ep1, especially upon repeat viewings.



Comforting to know I’m not the only one.


----------



## wankerness

The906 said:


> Almost 7 months later and I'm still hungover from Last Jedi. What a mess.



Watching Rogue One again made me appreciate the last jedi a LOT more. At least I like multiple characters in Last Jedi (Kylo Ren, Rey, Luke, Leia) and care about what they do. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch and I liked Episode VII quite a bit more, but next to Rogue One it looks pretty good!!


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> laura dern's character in Big Little Lies is wayyy more catty/sociopath imo.



That...doesn't change what I said! But, I don't think either of them are actually sociopaths based on the last couple episodes. I love Big Little Lies and watched it twice already. I like all the characters. Besides the guys, of course. Well, Ziggy is fantastic and the coffee shop guy is good. Alexander Sarsgaard is really great as a completely terrifying and awful dude. The series also stands as totally undeniable evidence that Nicole Kidman is a great actress. She seems to get dismissed a lot.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> Watching Rogue One again made me appreciate the last jedi a LOT more. At least I like multiple characters in Last Jedi (Kylo Ren, Rey, Luke, Leia) and care about what they do. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch and I liked Episode VII quite a bit more, but next to Rogue One it looks pretty good!!



Really? 

Even Luke/Leia lost my interest during the events of VIII, whereas seeing a group of random rebels die for the cause in a real dark, war-torn planet/galaxy felt much more compelling - I'd put it in my top 3 for the SW franchise


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> That...doesn't change what I said! But, I don't think either of them are actually sociopaths based on the last couple episodes. I love Big Little Lies and watched it twice already. I like all the characters. Besides the guys, of course. Well, Ziggy is fantastic and the coffee shop guy is good. Alexander Sarsgaard is really great as a completely terrifying and awful dude. The series also stands as totally undeniable evidence that Nicole Kidman is a great actress. She seems to get dismissed a lot.


no you're right, they're not really sociopathic, just super snobby/catty/petty/ waspish.
It was a great show but I have no idea how they'll get another season out of it.
Skaarsgard gave a super compelling performance, especially his transitions between loving husband and violent brute. Justin Thoreau gave a similar performance in Girl On the Train, but it wasn't quite as good.


----------



## Seabeast2000

MFB said:


> Really?
> 
> Even Luke/Leia lost my interest during the events of VIII, whereas seeing a group of random rebels die for the cause in a real dark, war-torn planet/galaxy felt much more compelling - I'd put it in my top 3 for the SW franchise



Ugh....I agree. R1 and Solo I'll watch again. Prob never voluntarily watch LJ again unless its MST3K or Rifftrax.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Really?
> 
> Even Luke/Leia lost my interest during the events of VIII, whereas seeing a group of random rebels die for the cause in a real dark, war-torn planet/galaxy felt much more compelling - I'd put it in my top 3 for the SW franchise



You inadvertently pointed out the problem right there. They ARE a group of random rebels, since the movie fails so hard at characterization. Yet it attempted it! There are a number of scenes, especially with Jyn and Cassian, where they try to do/say something about the characters, especially all the teary Jyn scenes or when she gives awful speeches about hope, but they fall completely flat and have no impact. And then there are all kinds of other non-sequitors. Like, i don't think anyone could explain what the hell the point was of the scene with the brain-sucking tentacle beast.

It's gritty and miserable with no characters to speak of and is like fan fiction for people that want Star Wars to be SERIOUS and ADULT when it's just a bunch of kids' movies! The last bit of it with Vader hammers that home, so hard. It didn't need to be there at all, it doesn't further the plot, it is actually a huge undermining of the rest of the film, yet you get so many people pointing it out as the most awesome scene ever. I think there's a tremendous overlap with people who love that scene and people who hate the last jedi. And people who post on a forum for metal listeners with guitars with too many strings, which makes sense. Haha 

I get thinking the last Jedi is a mess, and it kind of is. But, calling it the death of Star Wars or whatever (I know you didn't here, I'm talking about other people who have posted in this forum in the past) seems to usually involve some kind of weird political agenda. Reminds me of gamergate. The disgusting behavior of some of those involved with that opinion really makes criticizing it even more difficult, since I absolutely want no part of being aligned with those kinds of subhumanoids.

So yeah. I liked Rogue One alright in the theater even though I noticed how bland the characters were, but I still was blown away by the action and thought the vader scene was impressive. I assumed I just needed to watch it again to catch the details about the characters since too much had gone by too quickly, or something. But, nope! Each subsequent watch just reveals more and more that I didn't miss anything, the characters really were that lame and undercooked. And the tone has bugged me more each time with that realization. Especially after TLJ!

I still haven't seen Solo, I'm waiting to see it for free.  I probably will like it more than Rogue One but think its visuals are crud in comparison, that's the impression I get from commentary I've heard.


----------



## wankerness

Just watched Return of the Jedi on blu-ray. Man, Jedi Rocks is even worse now than it was on release, the CGI looks like The Mask or something. And that NOOOOOOO torpedos the best scene of the movie!

Still, lots of good stuff here, and the ewoks don't bug me half as much as they seem to bug most guys. Probably cause I saw this movie at age 3 and have been watching it ever since. I can't wait for a release of the real version of the movie.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> You inadvertently pointed out the problem right there. They ARE a group of random rebels, since the movie fails so hard at characterization. Yet it attempted it! There are a number of scenes, especially with Jyn and Cassian, where they try to do/say something about the characters, especially all the teary Jyn scenes or when she gives awful speeches about hope, but they fall completely flat and have no impact. And then there are all kinds of other non-sequitors. Like, i don't think anyone could explain what the hell the point was of the scene with the brain-sucking tentacle beast.
> 
> It's gritty and miserable with no characters to speak of and is like fan fiction for people that want Star Wars to be SERIOUS and ADULT when it's just a bunch of kids' movies! The last bit of it with Vader hammers that home, so hard. It didn't need to be there at all, it doesn't further the plot, it is actually a huge undermining of the rest of the film, yet you get so many people pointing it out as the most awesome scene ever. I think there's a tremendous overlap with people who love that scene and people who hate the last jedi. And people who post on a forum for metal listeners with guitars with too many strings, which makes sense. Haha
> 
> I get thinking the last Jedi is a mess, and it kind of is. But, calling it the death of Star Wars or whatever (I know you didn't here, I'm talking about other people who have posted in this forum in the past) seems to usually involve some kind of weird political agenda. Reminds me of gamergate. The disgusting behavior of some of those involved with that opinion really makes criticizing it even more difficult, since I absolutely want no part of being aligned with those kinds of subhumanoids.
> 
> So yeah. I liked Rogue One alright in the theater even though I noticed how bland the characters were, but I still was blown away by the action and thought the vader scene was impressive. I assumed I just needed to watch it again to catch the details about the characters since too much had gone by too quickly, or something. But, nope! Each subsequent watch just reveals more and more that I didn't miss anything, the characters really were that lame and undercooked. And the tone has bugged me more each time with that realization. Especially after TLJ!
> 
> I still haven't seen Solo, I'm waiting to see it for free.  I probably will like it more than Rogue One but think its visuals are crud in comparison, that's the impression I get from commentary I've heard.


solo is a very fun jaunt. it's got some dark bits but overall it's lighter in tone than r1 or last jedi . i saw it 2x in theaters because i liked it so much. the visuals are very good (and a good amount of practical effects too) . nothing glaringly terrible like say the cgi deer in the straw dogs remake


----------



## PunkBillCarson

I guess this belongs in unpopular opinions, but since it's relevant to the conversation here, I absolutely cannot stand Star Wars on any level.


----------



## wankerness

CGI deer in Straw Dogs? What for, some kind of hunting scene?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> CGI deer in Straw Dogs? What for, some kind of hunting scene?


yeah basically james marsden's character goes out hunting with skaarsgard and a really terrible CGI deer jumps in front of him. I can't find any clips of it but it sticks out in my mind as a perfect example of terrible cgi.
watching the trailer for that remake just reminds me how terrible it was compared to the original. It lacked all the subtleties of the original and turned it into a half assed home invasion film.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah basically james marsden's character goes out hunting with skaarsgard and a really terrible CGI deer jumps in front of him. I can't find any clips of it but it sticks out in my mind as a perfect example of terrible cgi.
> watching the trailer for that remake just reminds me how terrible it was compared to the original. It lacked all the subtleties of the original and turned it into a half assed home invasion film.



That's the kind of remake where I would never even contemplate watching it and wouldn't even bother reading a review of unless I saw it had a good rotten tomatoes score. Some properties are weird enough (or big enough) that I'll at least read reactions to it besides dismissing it. But Straw Dogs? Hell naw. It's the kind of thing they like to make EXTREME!!!! with the boring (and very common) digitally desaturated style yet also file all the sharp edges off of so you're left with something technically more competent but completely pointless. Like Last House on the Left, Martyrs, etc.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> That's the kind of remake where I would never even contemplate watching it and wouldn't even bother reading a review of unless I saw it had a good rotten tomatoes score. Some properties are weird enough (or big enough) that I'll at least read reactions to it besides dismissing it. But Straw Dogs? Hell naw. It's the kind of thing they like to make EXTREME!!!! with the boring (and very common) digitally desaturated style yet also file all the sharp edges off of so you're left with something technically more competent but completely pointless. Like Last House on the Left, Martyrs, etc.


I'm sure I'll get flak for this, but Last House on the Left and the I Spit on Your Grave remakes were both superior in execution and just better films than the originals. The original Last House is only remembered for the brutal sadism and savagery as far as I'm concerned. It's a pretty piss poor film in retrospect. The remake nailed the savagery while also making the antagonists more interesting and less cartoonish monsters. I Spit on Your Grave's remake also captured the original's savagery/rawness but managed to execute the core concept better. 
The remake of Martyrs was pathetic, just like Let Me In was a piss poor remake of Let the Right One In. They were near shot for shot remakes with nothing substantially interesting added to the films imo. 
I can't wait for the Haute Tension or Frontieres remake


----------



## Seabeast2000

Anyone ever see the original Pulse? I know they did a US remake but never caught it.


----------



## wankerness

The906 said:


> Anyone ever see the original Pulse? I know they did a US remake but never caught it.



Yes. It's a modern horror classic. It's very subtle and more about isolation and Japanese society than anything. I think a lot of people won't get anything out of it. If you can deal with slow and subtle movies without any horror payoffs, and like Japanese films and can handle subtitles, you might love it. It's right up there with Ringu, Cure, Audition and Ju-On, but it's far more intelligent than all of those besides Cure. There's a recent blu-ray, if you do those, or I think it probably is on Shudder and maybe even Amazon prime since I know the Arrow Video (the DVD label) has a lot of their stuff on there.

The remake is infamously horrible and should never be watched by anyone. I've never heard of ANYONE liking it, especially compared to the original.



KnightBrolaire said:


> I'm sure I'll get flak for this, but Last House on the Left and the I Spit on Your Grave remakes were both superior in execution and just better films than the originals. The original Last House is only remembered for the brutal sadism and savagery as far as I'm concerned. It's a pretty piss poor film in retrospect. The remake nailed the savagery while also making the antagonists more interesting and less cartoonish monsters. I Spit on Your Grave's remake also captured the original's savagery/rawness but managed to execute the core concept better.
> The remake of Martyrs was pathetic, just like Let Me In was a piss poor remake of Let the Right One In. They were near shot for shot remakes with nothing substantially interesting added to the films imo.
> I can't wait for the Haute Tension or Frontieres remake



1) You might be right that LHOTL and ISOYG remakes are "better." However, that doesn't make them worth watching in comparison to the originals. The originals are NOT good movies, especially not LHOTL. They're primarily important for the context in which they were released and the way they pushed the envelope at the time. They have some setpieces that are still (IMO) shocking and effective, which is really the only reason they persisted till today. Take all of the context and history away, and you're left with plots that are terrible. Remake that, and you're left with a pointless movie with a terrible plot that may be far more technically competent but is not worth watching while the original still is. (I think)

2) I read a plot summary of the martyrs remake, and it was so bizarrely twisted and dumb sounding that I'm kind of curious. I mean, these bad remakes don't diminish my opinion of the original in any way, and I do watch a fair number of bad movies since I can get a kick out of them sometimes, so I might do it. When I get mad at them, it's always purely due to the content contained within (IE, the NOES remake is horrible and enraging even if you aren't a fan of the original!)

2b) I...liked Let Me In when I saw it in the theater, quite a bit. Let The Right One In was one of my absolute favorite movies before the remake came out, too! I thought it did a lot of things very right, and it DID make some very substantial changes, some of which I thought were big improvements. Like, throwing out everything with the cats. And that whole setpiece with Richard Jenkins and the car crash is great and I thought it worked better than the counterpart scene in the original. Maybe the movie didn't "need" it, but that shot from within the car was really fantastic. I haven't rewatched it since then, but I saw some short blips of it on TV, and that took my opinion down quite a bit - the CGI vampire jumping shit is idiotic and looks terrible to boot. Plus, I find it very conceptually disappointing to make her a biological her instead of completely lacking sexual organs - it changes the entire tenor of their relationship and makes it more of a stupid cutesy romance in concept instead of the original, which was just as easily read as two really damaged, lonely people bonding before sex has even come into the equation for Oscar. (I don't remember their names in the US version)

3) I've spouted hatred for Haute Tension many times over the years, but it's at least kind of fascinating. I saw Frontiers for the first time a few months ago, and HATED it. Thus, I think the remakes can only be improvements! (Yeah, I know, they'll likely still manage to be far worse)

Footnote: speaking of extreme French movies, have you seen the Inside remake? I'm slightly curious just because of the cast. That's another movie like Haute Tension I've seen a few times just cause the gore is so spectacular, though I actually like it while Haute Tension just pisses me off with its terrible plot holes and attempts at twists.


----------



## A-Branger

ok so I wanted to go to the cinema and nothing relevant to see, so I jumped into the Jurasic World 2 (or whatever the name).. My hopes for the movie was pretty low as any sequel for jurasic park, oh man I wasnt wrong at all.

Movie starts ok and stays bit like that for a while... bit too much "funny" stuff here and there, cartoonish in a couple of scenes.... The movie started to spiral down and down and down into the "WTF" territory.... I get the movie cant be 100% "realistic" but CMONNNNN you pushed the line way way way way way way way too far..... its completely stupid and unbelievable.... Theres NO way that X could happen, that Y could fit in there, than Z could not see all those people, ect ect ect.... 

and in top of that the utterly lack of fucks gives to people dying in the movie OMG..... "please dont shoot me".... *neck minute*..."heres a dinosaur whos jsut gonna rip you up into pieces and your friend and everyone around"..... "I know theres a way around, and I jsut wanna stop what those people are doing... but.... Im still gonna release this dinosaur here to basically kill every person in the room.....just because......I mean its a dino running wild on a room full of people..... Im jsut gonna ignore all the deaths"..... *producer comes in".."yeh thats too muhc gore, so instead how about if we have people flying in the air everytime the dino hits them... you know like a cartoon.....that would make people laugh at the people dying in the scene... Its funny"

and the end was way too stupid, and the whole premise of it...... They have a good idea, but they took a wrong turn somewhere and the movie became a scoobydoo cartoon


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Yes. It's a modern horror classic. It's very subtle and more about isolation and Japanese society than anything. I think a lot of people won't get anything out of it. If you can deal with slow and subtle movies without any horror payoffs, and like Japanese films and can handle subtitles, you might love it. It's right up there with Ringu, Cure, Audition and Ju-On, but it's far more intelligent than all of those besides Cure. There's a recent blu-ray, if you do those, or I think it probably is on Shudder and maybe even Amazon prime since I know the Arrow Video (the DVD label) has a lot of their stuff on there.
> 
> The remake is infamously horrible and should never be watched by anyone. I've never heard of ANYONE liking it, especially compared to the original.
> 
> 
> 
> 1) You might be right that LHOTL and ISOYG remakes are "better." However, that doesn't make them worth watching in comparison to the originals. The originals are NOT good movies, especially not LHOTL. They're primarily important for the context in which they were released and the way they pushed the envelope at the time. They have some setpieces that are still (IMO) shocking and effective, which is really the only reason they persisted till today. Take all of the context and history away, and you're left with plots that are terrible. Remake that, and you're left with a pointless movie with a terrible plot that may be far more technically competent but is not worth watching while the original still is. (I think)
> 
> 2) I read a plot summary of the martyrs remake, and it was so bizarrely twisted and dumb sounding that I'm kind of curious. I mean, these bad remakes don't diminish my opinion of the original in any way, and I do watch a fair number of bad movies since I can get a kick out of them sometimes, so I might do it. When I get mad at them, it's always purely due to the content contained within (IE, the NOES remake is horrible and enraging even if you aren't a fan of the original!)
> 
> 2b) I...liked Let Me In when I saw it in the theater, quite a bit. Let The Right One In was one of my absolute favorite movies before the remake came out, too! I thought it did a lot of things very right, and it DID make some very substantial changes, some of which I thought were big improvements. Like, throwing out everything with the cats. And that whole setpiece with Richard Jenkins and the car crash is great and I thought it worked better than the counterpart scene in the original. Maybe the movie didn't "need" it, but that shot from within the car was really fantastic. I haven't rewatched it since then, but I saw some short blips of it on TV, and that took my opinion down quite a bit - the CGI vampire jumping shit is idiotic and looks terrible to boot. Plus, I find it very conceptually disappointing to make her a biological her instead of completely lacking sexual organs - it changes the entire tenor of their relationship and makes it more of a stupid cutesy romance in concept instead of the original, which was just as easily read as two really damaged, lonely people bonding before sex has even come into the equation for Oscar. (I don't remember their names in the US version)
> 
> 3) I've spouted hatred for Haute Tension many times over the years, but it's at least kind of fascinating. I saw Frontiers for the first time a few months ago, and HATED it. Thus, I think the remakes can only be improvements! (Yeah, I know, they'll likely still manage to be far worse)
> 
> Footnote: speaking of extreme French movies, have you seen the Inside remake? I'm slightly curious just because of the cast. That's another movie like Haute Tension I've seen a few times just cause the gore is so spectacular, though I actually like it while Haute Tension just pisses me off with its terrible plot holes and attempts at twists.


1. I get the context that the originals were released in and they do have historical value, but just in terms of being a watchable film, the remakes are superior. I hate remakes most of the time, so I say that I like the remakes very begrudgingly. I didn't want them to be better than the originals, since any success that people have with remakes tends to lead to even more remakes.
2a. If you haven't seen the original martyrs, I highly recommend checking it out. One of the weirdest and most ghoulish french horror films out there. The remake of Nightmare on Elm Street had so much potential, but it lacked the menace and rawness of the original. 
2b. Yeah you basically nailed why I dislike the american remake. I didn't like the shit cgi vampire scene and hated how they toned down the pool killings. Eli was a girl in the original, but they kind of tried to play her as very androgynous in it. The remake lost all that subtext and just made her a girl. One thing I will say the remake did better was make Eli's adult helper much more menacing and was better at implying he was a pedophile. 
3.Haute Tension was one of those films I loved on first watch, and subsequently can't stand after repeated viewings. I still stand by the gore/kills as being extremely visceral and well done, regardless of how horrendously stupid the plot/logic of the film was. Frontieres was the same way. I liked it the first time I saw it, but it's basically just gory schlock not worth watching multiple times.
I haven't seen the Inside remake yet. If I get bored I may try and watch it back to back with the original for comparison. I love the original. It's quite intense, just like the first REC film, or the ending of Audition.


----------



## Necris

*Titus* - I loved it. The score is fantastic and Anthony Hopkins performance is great. I can totally see why it was a box office bomb though; a film adaptation of William Shakespeare play would (probably) do terribly to begin with and this one is completely off the wall.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> 2a. If you haven't seen the original martyrs, I highly recommend checking it out. One of the weirdest and most ghoulish french horror films out there. The remake of Nightmare on Elm Street had so much potential, but it lacked the menace and rawness of the original.
> 2b. Yeah you basically nailed why I dislike the american remake. I didn't like the shit cgi vampire scene and hated how they toned down the pool killings. Eli was a girl in the original, but they kind of tried to play her as very androgynous in it. The remake lost all that subtext and just made her a girl. One thing I will say the remake did better was make Eli's adult helper much more menacing and was better at implying he was a pedophile.



I've seen Martyrs a few times, I've had a bunch of discussions arguing against the knee-jerk reaction of many to it as "torture-porn" (I hate that phrase so, so much). I just imported a blu-ray of it last year to see it again, I'm a die-hard!

Eli is NOT a girl in the original, they show a close-up of his/her castration scar. The book goes into that more (way too much more, the book is a geek show). Even if Eli had been a girl, the casting is so vastly superior with the wonderful look that actress had. Depending on the makeup/lighting, she can look very youthful or really old, and it's a subtle change. 

The best thing I can say about Chloe Moretz in that role is that at least she's not quite as miscast as she is in the Carrie remake!!!


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Let The Right One In and Haute Tension are two of my favorite foreign movies. There's something about the atmosphere in those movies that sets the mood for me. Even if a movie is "terrible" by the standards of others, I'll still like it if it sets a particular mood. One movie that I own that I cannot bring myself to watch again though, is Audition... Jesus Fucking Murphy...


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Sleepaway Camp, Tourist Trap, Legend of Boggy Creek, and Re-Animator.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Sleepaway Camp, Tourist Trap, Legend of Boggy Creek, and Re-Animator.


i was trying to track down the Re-animator sequels but nobody has them on streaming


----------



## synrgy

Revisited Lethal Weapon. It'd been (roughly) a couple decades.

Holds up, IMHO. I miss movies like this. Feels like if they made it today it'd star (future Presidential Candidate because omgwe'resofucked) Dwayne Johnson, and would be needlessly lined with in-jokes catering to meme culture.

Though I guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite, since I'm still patiently waiting for a movie centered around Sam Jackson and Dwayne Johnson's characters from The Other Guys..

Anyway, planning to watch the 2nd through 4th within the next week or so. Interested to find out if Joe Pesci's character is as completely-useless as I recall.

*Edit* I recognize that Shane Black is still writing/directing movies, and - for the most part - I still love his work. I meant apart from him.


----------



## Seabeast2000

wankerness said:


> Yes. It's a modern horror classic. It's very subtle and more about isolation and Japanese society than anything. I think a lot of people won't get anything out of it. If you can deal with slow and subtle movies without any horror payoffs, and like Japanese films and can handle subtitles, you might love it. It's right up there with Ringu, Cure, Audition and Ju-On, but it's far more intelligent than all of those besides Cure. There's a recent blu-ray, if you do those, or I think it probably is on Shudder and maybe even Amazon prime since I know the Arrow Video (the DVD label) has a lot of their stuff on there.
> 
> The remake is infamously horrible and should never be watched by anyone. I've never heard of ANYONE liking it, especially compared to the original.
> 
> 
> 1.


I'm going to track down the original, I don't think its F0r Freez on Teh Prime or Flix. I caught a few minutes of it many years ago and just that was some dreamy dark shit.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

Speaking of lethal weapon, I've got a serious need to rewatch Beverly Hills Cop 1 and 2 lately.

Weird part about Lethal Weapon is that the first one has a much more serious tone than the sequels. It works though. 2 is my favorite.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I like lethal weapon 1 and 2. 3 and 4 suck. 
Pretty much the same way I feel about Die Hard. 1 and 2 are the best. all the later ones pretty much suck (I actually kind of liked the latest one in Russia though).


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

I hated A Good Day To Die Hard.  Of course by then the conceit of the series of an everyday schlub being an action hero has since been long gone. I ranked Die Hard With a Vengeance as much as 2 (not saying much when both are compared to 1 though). It was a good buddy movie until the superfluous tacked on ending.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

KnightBrolaire said:


> I like lethal weapon 1 and 2. 3 and 4 suck.
> Pretty much the same way I feel about Die Hard. 1 and 2 are the best. all the later ones pretty much suck (I actually kind of liked the latest one in Russia though).


1 and 2 are the same movie but they know it, and I love them both. I didn't like 3 very much. 4 was awesome. 5 was SO BAAAAD.


----------



## synrgy

Did LW 2 & 3 yesterday. Both have elements I still like, but neither are quite as good as 1, IMHO. Because of Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, I've always had a hard time taking Joss Acklund seriously as a threatening villain type, so that goes a long way toward tanking 2.

My memory of Joe Pesci's character adding nothing of value was spot-on. I get that he's supposed to be comic relief, but it isn't particularly funny. I mean, I admit that I thought it was funny way back when it came out, but I was also around the age of 10 at the time. I can't decide if it's not holding up because it's targeted at the younger audience, or because it's targeted at the late 80's/early 90's audience.

Anyway, I liked the family elements in part 3, and the ongoing thread between 2 and 3 of Murtough's home destructions/renovations.

I remember liking 4 better than 2 or 3. Will be checking it out today.




LiveOVErdrive said:


> 5 was SO BAAAAD.



I'm quite curious to know how one goes about rating a movie that doesn't exist?


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

synrgy said:


> Did LW 2 & 3 yesterday. Both have elements I still like, but neither are quite as good as 1, IMHO. Because of Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, I've always had a hard time taking Joss Acklund seriously as a threatening villain type, so that goes a long way toward tanking 2.
> 
> My memory of Joe Pesci's character adding nothing of value was spot-on. I get that he's supposed to be comic relief, but it isn't particularly funny. I mean, I admit that I thought it was funny way back when it came out, but I was also around the age of 10 at the time. I can't decide if it's not holding up because it's targeted at the younger audience, or because it's targeted at the late 80's/early 90's audience.
> 
> Anyway, I liked the family elements in part 3, and the ongoing thread between 2 and 3 of Murtough's home destructions/renovations.
> 
> I remember liking 4 better than 2 or 3. Will be checking it out today.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm quite curious to know how one goes about rating a movie that doesn't exist?


Should have specified. I was talking about die hard in that post. 

God I wish they'd make lethal weapon 5. It would be awful because they're both like 70 at this point and there are too many sequels nowadays anyways, but damn I'd still go see it.


----------



## Rosal76

LiveOVErdrive said:


> God I wish they'd make lethal weapon 5. It would be awful because they're both like 70 at this point and there are too many sequels nowadays anyways, but damn I'd still go see it.



They could make a prequel where they have a younger Martin Riggs in Vietnam. In the first Lethal weapon movie, Riggs tells Murtagh that he sniped a guy from 1,000 yards out in Laos. Maybe center the movie around that. Also, they could have a younger Mr. Joshua (originally played by Gary Busey and they should get Gary's son, Jake Busey to play the younger Mr. Joshua) as the main antagonist. I figure, both Riggs and Mr. Joshua were both in Special Forces in Vietman and they could make it to where they were once friends (or least have known each other) and/or worked together. Maybe they had a fall out and became enemies or something. Like Riggs' 1,000 yard kill shot made him famous and no one cared about what Mr. Joshua did for the rest of the war.

As far as who to play Riggs, I'd try to get Clayne Crawford who played Riggs on the t.v. show version of Leathal weapon. Call him up and say, "hey, I know you got fired from the t.v. show but I'm gonna give you another chance at playing Riggs in the prequel".


----------



## Seabeast2000

Rosal76 said:


> They could make a prequel where they have a younger Martin Riggs in Vietnam. In the first Lethal weapon movie, Riggs tells Murtagh that he sniped a guy from 1,000 yards out in Laos. Maybe center the movie around that. Also, they could have a younger Mr. Joshua (originally played by Gary Busey and they should get Gary's son, Jake Busey to play the younger Mr. Joshua) as the main antagonist. I figure, both Riggs and Mr. Joshua were both in Special Forces in Vietman and they could make it to where they were once friends (or least have known each other) and/or worked together. Maybe they had a fall out and became enemies or something. Like Riggs' 1,000 yard kill shot made him famous and no one cared about what Mr. Joshua did for the rest of the war.
> 
> As far as who to play Riggs, I'd try to get Clayne Crawford who played Riggs on the t.v. show version of Leathal weapon. Call him up and say, "hey, I know you got fired from the t.v. show but I'm gonna give you another chance at playing Riggs in the prequel".


That is a great idea (the Riggs prequel). I'd love to see it made and made well.


----------



## Rosal76

The906 said:


> That is a great idea (the Riggs prequel). I'd love to see it made and made well.



They should also make a prequel to First Blood (1982). Seeing Rambo as a young Green Beret in the Vietnam war. I'm pretty sure they could make some good movies based on the numerous medals Rambo had earned during that war. Obviously, Sylvester Stallone is too old to be in it but if he were to be the producer and director, I'd watch it.

If it happens, they gotta hire Kevin Costner as a young Colonel Troutman. LOL!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

rewatched A L'Interieur.
I remember it being brutal, but I forgot just how brutal it was. the gore actually made me wince a few times (like the self performed tracheostomy). I love how bleak and dreary it is in tone and the overall visceral quality of the movie. the dreamlike sequences add a bit of an artsy touch and the use of lighting throughout the film is still excellent. the cgi fetus bits are still stupid though.

the american remake in comparison is completely neutered in terms of brutality and lacks the visceral quality of the original . it adds a lot of dialogue and some exposition where the original keeps dialogue to a relative minimum.I did prefer their more subtle use of the fetal heartbeat/ultrasound instead of the cgi fetus from the original. the most interesting element added to the remake was sarah's need of a hearing aid, though it felt underutilized as a plot device. it's more like a passable thriller than a note for note remake of the original. It changes a lot of the details of the original film, including the ending and overall is a lot less bleak and nihilistic.


----------



## synrgy

Just finished LW4. It held up pretty well! I totally forgot about Chris Rock's character, and there was less Pesci, which was nice. The action pieces were better, the humor landed better, and of course this movie was my original introduction to Jet Li, who was nearing his relative peak, at the time.

For me, it might be my favorite, but some of that is the nostalgic value. Removing that, I'd say 1, 4, 3, 2. Not that 2 or 3 are 'bad'; just not as good as 1 or 4, IMO.


----------



## Seabeast2000

You missed LW6, you can see all parts on YT:



Oops, forgot about LW5 first:


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> rewatched A L'Interieur.
> I remember it being brutal, but I forgot just how brutal it was. the gore actually made me wince a few times (like the self performed tracheostomy). I love how bleak and dreary it is in tone and the overall visceral quality of the movie. the dreamlike sequences add a bit of an artsy touch and the use of lighting throughout the film is still excellent. the cgi fetus bits are still stupid though.
> 
> the american remake in comparison is completely neutered in terms of brutality and lacks the visceral quality of the original . it adds a lot of dialogue and some exposition where the original keeps dialogue to a relative minimum.I did prefer their more subtle use of the fetal heartbeat/ultrasound instead of the cgi fetus from the original. the most interesting element added to the remake was sarah's need of a hearing aid, though it felt underutilized as a plot device. it's more like a passable thriller than a note for note remake of the original. It changes a lot of the details of the original film, including the ending and overall is a lot less bleak and nihilistic.



I'm guessing it doesn't have the ridiculous "zombie"?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I'm guessing it doesn't have the ridiculous "zombie"?


nope, definitely doesn't have that.


----------



## wankerness

I bought a goddam fire stick on prime day purely to watch the Joe Bob marathon without having to do so on my computer. I've only made it through the first movie so far, but I love it. It starts out with him sounding kind of doddering and "off," but then he goes "let's get this started" and just instantly snaps alert and is exactly the same as he was back in the good old days, just older-looking. The drive-in totals and his bizarre rants about things like the governor of NC are just so great and brought me back to the good old days. And when he talks about cast members or filmmakers in detail and tells stories about them, he sounds like someone that really knows this stuff backwards and forwards, instead of most "hosts" or guys that do commentaries who sound like they are just reading off the trivia page on IMDB. He knows how to make it entertaining!! I really hope this isn't his last appearance, even though he says that repeatedly at the start. 

I'd never seen Tourist Trap, even though I've been tangentially familiar with it over the years. It's quite something. It's not great and it isn't particularly intelligent or artistic or anything, but it's so bizarre and the mannequin "perpetrators" are so creepy and weird that it's definitely a standout movie that anyone who's into low-budget 70s stuff should see. Plus Tanya Roberts exploding out of her ridiculous getup the entire time is one of the best special effects I've ever seen. I'd seen her in Beastmaster and View to a Kill before, but YOWZA. And the score immediately goes on a short list of best horror scores I can think of - it's playful and strange much of the time, but other times richly lyrical, and it's composed by someone wildly overqualified who wasn't half-assing it (Pino Donaggio). I think it's much better than his much more famous De Palma horror scores (Carrie, Dressed to Kill, etc).


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

You didn't hear? Shudder is already announcing he'll come back. My guess is a Halloween marathon.

Phantasm I-IV and Ravager are my latest films, as well as The Wraith, Hellraiser II and Demons II. I'm in two groups and both did movie nights last night, plus I've been making my way through Phantasm this week.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> You didn't hear? Shudder is already announcing he'll come back. My guess is a Halloween marathon.
> 
> Phantasm I-IV and Ravager are my latest films, as well as The Wraith, Hellraiser II and Demons II. I'm in two groups and both did movie nights last night, plus I've been making my way through Phantasm this week.



Loved Phantasm I, never got around to the others. Do tell.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The906 said:


> Loved Phantasm I, never got around to the others. Do tell.


They're all quite weird. One has two orbs where tits should be. Another is a road movie. One has a kid. You'll have to experience the oddness yourself, because trying to relay it through text is like trying to experience sex through weird fiction stories online.


----------



## wankerness

I saw Phantasm III first, and it made me think the series was some stupid DTV series targeted at 12-year olds. I saw the first one a while later and think it's one of the best of the weird 70s movies. II just seemed like more of the same. Still haven't seen Ravager, might never!

I'm going through this Joe Bob marathon some more:

Sleepaway Camp - one of my favorite goofy horror movies, this was about the 10th time I've seen it. It's hilarious, Ricky is one of the best characters ever.

Rabid - one of my favorite good horror movies, this was about the 10th time I've seen it. Everyone always disregards it to talk about how great Shivers and The Brood are in the Cronenberg filmography, but I'd put this one right up there with The Brood and The Fly as my favorites.

The Prowler - this was really hard to make it through, it is so goddam boring, Joe Bob's frustration with the endless wandering scenes every time he had a segment made it more tolerable. That throat-slicing in the pool is possibly the greatest gore effect of any slasher movie, though, which is the best (and maybe only) reason to watch it.

The next movie is another I haven't seen and have always been fascinated by the title of, I'm hyped! (Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama)


----------



## MickD7

wankerness said:


> Just watched Return of the Jedi on blu-ray. Man, Jedi Rocks is even worse now than it was on release, the CGI looks like The Mask or something. And that NOOOOOOO torpedos the best scene of the movie!
> 
> Still, lots of good stuff here, and the ewoks don't bug me half as much as they seem to bug most guys. Probably cause I saw this movie at age 3 and have been watching it ever since. I can't wait for a release of the real version of the movie.




My father in law had never seen any of the other films besides seeing the original Star Wars in the cinema when it was released. Upon viewing the trilogy his stance aligned pretty firmly that the lowest point of the series was Attack of the Clones followed by Return of the Jedi.

AOTC is a mess. People can complain all they want about any Star Wars film but this one my friends is the worst one, I don’t care what anyone says the only saving grace of this film is the fight in the arena and the Dooku vs Skywalker and Kenobi fight. The rest is an unforgivable mess of early 2000s cgi and poor poor script work. 

ROTJ has no idea what it was meant to be and its pretty obvious at this point no one had a clue what the ultimate achievement was with the film. It has the ok beginning especially when you watch the version with out the musical number. It has a solid ending without the NOOOOO and musical Number going across all of the planets, it has an awesome space battle and the rest is a mess. The ewoks and what ever they tried to do with that are as awful as podracing or canto bite. 

The ROTJ when you watch it especially for the fight of Vader vs Skywalker is great because you can see the conflict for both of them. And that’s the same conflict that gets Luke in TFA and TLJ. It’s there you can see it especially comparing his character in ANH and Empire and the change between those two movies and the following 3. 

Luke turning out the way he did in TLJ feels right to me, he was pinned as the one the guy who was going to make it all right to bring balance. He defeated Vader and saved what was left of Anakin his Father who was a Jedi and was failed by the rules of the Jedi council and turned against them because of what they did. Luke studied that and tried not to become that, instead of being the one that had changed everything, with a similar ignorance ruled by his fear of the dark side he destroyed it all and Ben turned against him. His fear of failure and the dark side was his undoing. 

His redemption was Rey and I’m ok with the force projection because that to me is the ultimate strength of the Skywalker connection to the force being able to stretch across the galaxy and face down your enemy that you helped create. 

TLDR;

You might hate TLJ but god damn go back and watch AOTC before you call it the worst one.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Watching Hatchet II, and might watch III if I have time. They're free on Amazon Prime, so I figured, "Hell, why not?"


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> Still haven't seen Ravager, might never!



I've seen it and it's just as weird. If you were able to watch the 3rd and 4th movies and had any kind of interest, you should be able to watch the 5th one. When I watched it (Phantasm 5), I already had in mind that is wasn't going to be a block buster hit or anything but my love for the franchise had already been established.


----------



## synrgy

Just finished Annihilation. Liked it more than I anticipated. I appreciated the ambiguity, which is largely missing from contemporary films. Agreed with previous posters about it's strongest suit being the sound design. _Brilliant_ work, there. Underscores what I love about most of the electronic music I listen to; the synthesis and sound-design can be 'other-worldly'.

Increasingly, though, I feel like Portman lost something along the way. Hard to pinpoint exactly when or where, but her overall body of work is full of mostly wooden performances, and this wasn't an exception.


----------



## MFB

synrgy said:


> Increasingly, though, I feel like Portman lost something along the way. Hard to pinpoint exactly when or where, but her overall body of work is *full of mostly wooden performances*, and this wasn't an exception.



Probably somewhere around Attack of the Clones then


----------



## synrgy

^Sort of?

At least at the time, I'd given that a pass because of Lucas's established record of directing wooden performances from his casts, but, yeah..

Looking across her IMDB, I'm hard-pressed to point at anything and be like 'she was GREAT in that', except maybe Black Swan, but the character of Nina is mostly-wooden by-design, so that's just typecasting (and brilliant direction).


----------



## synrgy

Recently revisited Meatballs. Again. Because it never gets old.

TIL from going on vacation nearby: The camp at which they filmed Meatballs was not only real, but is still in operation today. In an ironic twist of fate, admission currently costs roughly as much as the movie said rival camp Mohawk did (about "a thousand bucks a week!"). Granted, this doesn't account for inflation between 1979 and present, but, still: Way too rich for my blood. Sorry, baby girl.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> I've seen it and it's just as weird. If you were able to watch the 3rd and 4th movies and had any kind of interest, you should be able to watch the 5th one. When I watched it (Phantasm 5), I already had in mind that is wasn't going to be a block buster hit or anything but my love for the franchise had already been established.


This. It's a weird mindfuck, but then again, this is a franchise where the first scene has a hot blonde bimbo turn into the Tallman mid coitus. Quite convincingly, I might add.


----------



## MFB

synrgy said:


> Recently revisited Meatballs. Again. Because it never gets old.
> 
> TIL from going on vacation nearby: The camp at which they filmed Meatballs was not only real, but is still in operation today. In an ironic twist of fate, admission currently costs roughly as much as the movie said rival camp Mohawk did (about "a thousand bucks a week!"). Granted, this doesn't account for inflation between 1979 and present, but, still: Way too rich for my blood. Sorry, baby girl.



I think Camp Hope might still have openings, but I heard the new owner is a real fitness nut


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> ^Sort of?
> 
> At least at the time, I'd given that a pass because of Lucas's established record of directing wooden performances from his casts, but, yeah..
> 
> Looking across her IMDB, I'm hard-pressed to point at anything and be like 'she was GREAT in that', except maybe Black Swan, but the character of Nina is mostly-wooden by-design, so that's just typecasting (and brilliant direction).



She's NOT great in Black Swan, she's the same as she always is. I think they only gave her an oscar cause ballet. I like the movie quite a bit, too. Mila Kunis is much better than her in it!

I don't think she's BAD or anything, just that she tends to do the exact same thing a lot and it can be atrocious (ANAKIN YOU'RE BREAKING MY HEART!!) or good (Black Swan) and it's entirely down to the direction/writing. She doesn't seem to improve anything, if that makes sense. I thought she stretched a little outside of her comfort zone in Annihilation, though, and was pretty good even if someone looking like her was not convincing as ex-military and thus it was kind of miscasting. Maybe they should have switched her and Tessa Thompson.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Leprechaun in the Hood. This is the uncrowned legend of shitty horror movies. We're going to pretend, however, that Leprechaun in Space (ie, the movie Jason X writers and producers ripped off with the sole idea of "Hey, just add Jason!"), and Leprechaun: Back 2 The Hood. Both of those are so shitty, it's like you passed out drunk only to wake up with your mouth half open and finding out your dog took a shit in it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Leprechaun in the Hood. This is the uncrowned legend of shitty horror movies. We're going to pretend, however, that Leprechaun in Space (ie, the movie Jason X writers and producers ripped off with the sole idea of "Hey, just add Jason!"), and Leprechaun: Back 2 The Hood. Both of those are so shitty, it's like you passed out drunk only to wake up with your mouth half open and finding out your dog took a shit in it.


the whole leprechaun series is comedy gold, same with jack frost


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> the whole leprechaun series is comedy gold, same with jack frost


Eh. In Space and Back 2 tha Hood are garbage, but in the Hood is great.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Eh. In Space and Back 2 tha Hood are garbage, but in the Hood is great.


yeah but they're fun garbage, like dream warriors or jason x


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah but they're fun garbage, like dream warriors or jason x


Dream Warriors is garbage? 

Yeah, okay.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Dream Warriors is garbage?
> 
> Yeah, okay.


i like dream warriors, it's a fun, stupid cheesy horror movie but i wouldn't put it above elm st. 1 or 2.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> i like dream warriors, it's a fun, stupid cheesy horror movie but i wouldn't put it above elm st. 1 or 2.


Freddy's Revenge... talk about fun garbage.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched 7 days in Hell. Pretty damn funny, especially the swedish prison orgy


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Nightbreed with the Monstervision segment from YouTube. Made it quite fun.


----------



## milofarid

Get out was great!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Rewatched the 2017 remake of _IT_. (Haven't seen the flick since it initially came out in theaters in Sept. of last year.)

Definitely not as great the second go-around. It's still a good movie; but when you compare it to the original 1990 adaptation, it doesn't seem to hold a candle. Mainly, I guess, due to Tim Curry portraying Pennywise as this iconic, constantly super creepy, lingering presence rather than just portraying him as a stereotypical (almost Blumhouse-style) spectral force of evil like in the 2017 remake. (But I guess that's just 2017 standard for you.) Bill Skarsgård still nailed his role of Pennywise.

I also went in with the intent to pay more attention to Benjamin Wallfisch's score this time while watching. Such wonderful orchestral musical subtext. You don't realize how well-composed the cues and character themes are until you really pay attention to them because they tie-in so perfectly to the visual events on-screen. 

We've still got over a year to go until the second half is released.


----------



## synrgy

When Harry Met Sally.

I think this is the second or third time I've seen this, but so much time passes between viewings that each time is more or less fresh/new.

Loved it. Maybe it's that it's such a great little time-capsule for that moment in time, or maybe it's the honesty with which it tackles some of the subtleties of relationships, or maybe it's the cinematography style, or all of these things, but, it's a keeper. Still.


----------



## wankerness

Yeah, that's one of my favorites. I still remember the first time I watched it. I was anticipating saccharine crap, and then I got to the scene with Harry being a nihilist and spitting pits out the car window. I was shocked, and immediately loved it.


----------



## Rosal76

Took a chance on seeing this movie, Easy money from 1983 starring Rodney Dangerfield. Basically he has to stop drinking, gambling, and overeating to inherit a million dollars. As much as he did a good job on the movie, IMHO, his co-star, Joe Pesci took the show. For me at least.

Would made the movie a little more interesting are the actors/actress' that I was not aware of that are in the movie until I saw their names in the opening credits.

1. Tom Noonan who would later be in Manhunter and Robocop 2.
2. Jeffrey Jones who would be in Beetlejuice and The Hunt for Red October.
3. A young Jennifer Jason Leigh (21 at the time) who would be in The Hitcher and The Hateful Eight.
4. Kimberly McArthur who would be in Slumber party massacre 2.

It is cool to see actors/actress' in their earlier movie roles.


----------



## synrgy

One Upon A Time In America.

If I had actually sat down to watch this rather than had it on as a Background Thing, I would have been pretty miffed by the end, for the waste of time.

A considerable portion of the movie seems to be unnecessarily long, silent close-ups. Like watching people silently reflect? This is a great movie for you!

It includes not one, but _two_ long, not-useful rape scenes: Our protagonist (played by DeNiro) is an unrepentant rapist, and we're just supposed to roll with it? Yikes..

I thought Asian flutes was an especially odd thematic choice for the score of a movie about Jewish gangsters in old New York. I kept thinking it was the Karate Kid score.

Anyway, it's just over _three hours and forty minutes_ of mostly-unredeemable characters. It gets points for being a period piece with high production value, but otherwise seems skippable. It was trying to be The Godfather but ended up Godfather 3 (long before the latter was regrettably made).

I know Leone is a legend, but I can't recommend this movie.

I'm gonna give Once Upon A Time In The West a shot sometime soon, though. I loosely understand it's much, much better.


----------



## synrgy

Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

Branagh's stock is pretty high in my book, so I figured I'd give this a whirl despite relatively flat reviews.

Not bad! I know it's a remake, so I'm not giving it points for originality, but, 'they' don't often make movies like this any more (classic 'whodunit' murder-mystery), so it was fun to see one that was made with contemporary production values. Star-studded ensemble cast, yet all are second-fiddle to Branagh's Poirot.

There's a certain level of claustrophobia that comes with any film mostly-based in one location (a train, in this case), and that's especially well-suited to this kind of story.

Hard to discuss plot without being spoilery, but suffice to say I wasn't familiar with the original story, and this version did not end the way I expected it to. It was successful in keeping me guessing.

All that said, it's not for everybody. Don't come to this looking for a ton of flash and excitement, but if you like character pieces and/or mysteries, it's probably worth your time.

Kudos to any actor/director who can direct themselves in a lead role and still deliver a solid performance.

As a side, I'm not sold on Daisey Ridley as an actress. I liked her in Ep VII, but much less in Ep VIII, and she's pretty unbearably flat in this movie. Maybe I just haven't seen her in the 'right' role, yet?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

In The Mouth of Madness.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Lolz, I let a Netflix front pager start automatically, "How it Ends". For a global disaster flick, it certainly shows you how to keep your global disaster confined to driving on paved roads and free location shoots. Weak sauce. Actually, maybe they blew their entire budget on the used Cadillac.


----------



## wankerness

I'm back to the Joe Bob marathon after taking a couple weeks off. The next two were also ones I'd seen, unfortunately!

Blood Feast (1963) - Usually credited as the first "splatter" movie. It's kind of a must-watch, it's terrible, but somewhat knowingly so. I liked the Joe Bob quote from the writer/director: something like "It's like a Walt Whitman poem - it's terrible, but it's the first of its kind." The scene where the killer rips out the woman's tongue (which is about 12" long) with two fingers and it instantly kills her is a classic. The dialogue is almost nothing but groaners, yet somehow seems like it was written by someone that just didn't care instead of a moron. It alternates between boring and funny, but it's short enough that it maintains interest.

Basket Case - I've seen this 3 or 4 times now, I keep trying to like it, but it just doesn't work for me as much as the director's later Frankenhooker. It's both too boring and too gross, a weird combo. I do love the weirdness of all the characters. It has one of the most amusing female leads in any of these sorts of things.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Mission Impossible Fallout was very entertaining. Definitely a pretty fast paced film that doesn't waste much time anywhere. The nightclub fight is one of the best fight scenes I've seen this year. It's a fun spectacle with some surprisingly brutal bits.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Been on a Nightmare on Elm St. kick lately. Watched NOES 1 and 2 today, and Never Sleep Again (the documentary about NOES). 
Totally forgot that they used a rotating room for the tina and glen kills in NOES.
My fave scene in 2 is still when freddy bursts out of Jesse and murders Ron.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Been on a Nightmare on Elm St. kick lately. Watched NOES 1 and 2 today, and Never Sleep Again (the documentary about NOES).
> Totally forgot that they used a rotating room for the tina and glen kills in NOES.
> My fave scene in 2 is still when freddy bursts out of Jesse and murders Ron.


I like that look he gives Ron before killing him. The guy who played Ron was pretty mad that he didn't get the whole shebang with prosthetics and stuff. His death effects are pretty junk, to be honest, because it's just runny red water.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I like that look he gives Ron before killing him. The guy who played Ron was pretty mad that he didn't get the whole shebang with prosthetics and stuff. His death effects are pretty junk, to be honest, because it's just runny red water.


yeah most of the kills themselves are shit in 2, but there's still some cool special effects i quite like freddy's pulsating brain in the beginning, or at the end when freddy burns and jesse peels away the burnt flesh to reveal his own


----------



## wankerness

I've always been aware of the rep of NOES2, but I've always liked it. The gay metaphor thing is both funny and kind of effective, and Freddy is a lot meaner and scarier than he was in the next several movies. And, like most of them, it at least had some imagination involved well beyond coming up with slightly different ways for teens to be stabbed with a pitchfork or have their throat slashed or whatever. I will never understand people that like the Friday the 13th series more!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I've always been aware of the rep of NOES2, but I've always liked it. The gay metaphor thing is both funny and kind of effective, and Freddy is a lot meaner and scarier than he was in the next several movies. And, like most of them, it at least had some imagination involved well beyond coming up with slightly different ways for teens to be stabbed with a pitchfork or have their throat slashed or whatever. I will never understand people that like the Friday the 13th series more!


friday the 13th isn't fun in terms of kills until the later films imo. I love Jason takes manhattan, where he straight up punches a guy's head off.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> friday the 13th isn't fun in terms of kills until the later films imo. I love Jason takes manhattan, where he straight up punches a guy's head off.


Jason is an equal opportunity destroyer.

And I think 3 and 4 have some fun kills, as well as 5 which everyone seems to hate.


----------



## synrgy

Watched American Made for some reason.

Cruise managed to keep his Louisiana accent for approximately half the movie, so there's that.

Fun direction and mostly-okay flick, though.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> Watched American Made for some reason.
> 
> Cruise managed to keep his Louisiana accent for approximately half the movie, so there's that.
> 
> Fun direction and mostly-okay flick, though.


yeah I liked the movie, but the accent disappeared quick, almost as quick as when he played Lestat in Interview with the Vampire


----------



## synrgy

It wasn't linear, though; it would drop-off, then come back, and so-on.

Oh, Cruise. I wish we knew how to quit you.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched NOES 3 last night. love some of the kills and special effects, but it's just cheesier in tone than 1 or 2. 
i still love the puppet tendon kill/needle track mouth scenes but the hot nurse turning into freddy/tying up the mute with wriggling tongues is prob my favorite scene. 
I still hate all the stupid acrobatics and bad fight sequences though .


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> watched NOES 3 last night. love some of the kills and special effects, but it's just cheesier in tone than 1 or 2.
> i still love the puppet tendon kill/needle track mouth scenes but the hot nurse turning into freddy/tying up the mute with wriggling tongues is prob my favorite scene.
> I still hate all the stupid acrobatics and bad fight sequences though .



I remember to this day the school bus scene and the heads-on-pizza scene. Not sure of those are on the same flick though. Good times.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> I remember to this day the school bus scene and the heads-on-pizza scene. Not sure of those are on the same flick though. Good times.


those are different movies. school bus is 2. and i think the pizza heads is 4 or 5 (it's been a while since i've seen those).


----------



## wankerness

The pizza heads was 4, I think. Even the stupid entries of NOES (4 and 5) have great stuff in them. 4 in particular. That insane scene with the girl's arms breaking off during weightlifting and then her turning into a cockroach, getting stuck in a roach motel, and then Freddy crushing the motel is so great. 5 suffers heavily from the censoring and being blander besides, but it's still fun. I hope they someday can restore it (the censored footage is all in that big documentary, it just is sub-VHS quality).

This said, I've never made it more than 10 minutes into Freddy's Dead!! And the remake...man, that was HORRIBLE, like it actually made me mad, but I guess most people don't count it as part of the series anyway.

I've watched several of those F13th movies twice (I've seen the first ten besides 7), and just can't get into them. Part IV is the only one I would rate higher than 5/10, and I think it's as much for Crispin Glover as anything! Some of the others are fine and perfectly watchable, but I'd rate them below many random slashers from the era. I don't get their revered status, at all. Even the worst of the NOES movies at least had some imagination put into it. I'd rate Freddy Vs Jason higher than any of the OG ones, because it's as much a NOES movie as a Friday the 13th movie! (also I had a crush on that scared-looking chick from Undeclared)


----------



## synrgy

Just hazarding a guess based on my limited perception(s) of the zeitgeist, I think the primary line of division seems to be 'is (intentional) humor okay in horror (NOES) or not (Ft13th)?'

I don't really have a dog in the fight; never been much of a horror guy. While I've seen several of each franchise, including the crossover, none of them ever really captured my interest. Some of the effects work in NOES was fun from a technical perspective (at the time) but they're just not my kind of movie, I guess.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I love Screaming Mad George, and his work in ANOES4 (cockroach scene) is spectacularly done. He deserves a lot more credit and discussion than he gets. He is on par with some of the greats such as Tom Savini.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Anyways, I've been binging on Troma the past two days. I've made it through Graduation Day, Toxic Avenger I-III and the first two Class of Nuke Em High entries. I'm currently on the third. I'm sure my opinion on films will never be taken seriously again after watching these, but oh well. Rather watch this than another paranormal film with tons of shitty filters because "filters make it extra scary, dude!" And god awful jump scares with music/sound fx cues. Yuck!

Oh and by the way, the idea of Troma remakes has me close to vomiting. They are planning one for Toxic Avenger in PG-13. Barf!


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Just hazarding a guess based on my limited perception(s) of the zeitgeist, I think the primary line of division seems to be 'is (intentional) humor okay in horror (NOES) or not (Ft13th)?'
> 
> I don't really have a dog in the fight; never been much of a horror guy. While I've seen several of each franchise, including the crossover, none of them ever really captured my interest. Some of the effects work in NOES was fun from a technical perspective (at the time) but they're just not my kind of movie, I guess.



Friday the 13th has tons of intentional humor after the first few, especially by part 6 where it basically became a comedy. I think 3 was the first big change, with that awful chubby kid that keeps playing "jokes" on everyone. The first few NOES are pretty nasty, too. 4 is where that series went pure "funny" and the threat mostly evaporated. I think it's more "do you prefer a bunch of kids getting hit with household implements by a faceless personalityless quasi-zombie or killed via insane dream sequences by a chuckling demonguy?"


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Anyways, I've been binging on Troma the past two days. I've made it through Graduation Day, Toxic Avenger I-III and the first two Class of Nuke Em High entries. I'm currently on the third. I'm sure my opinion on films will never be taken seriously again after watching these, but oh well. Rather watch this than another paranormal film with tons of shitty filters because "filters make it extra scary, dude!" And god awful jump scares with music/sound fx cues. Yuck!
> 
> Oh and by the way, the idea of Troma remakes has me close to vomiting. They are planning one for Toxic Avenger in PG-13. Barf!


god no, remaking toxic avenger is a horrible idea.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Friday the 13th has tons of intentional humor after the first few, especially by part 6 where it basically became a comedy. I think 3 was the first big change, with that awful chubby kid that keeps playing "jokes" on everyone. The first few NOES are pretty nasty, too. 4 is where that series went pure "funny" and the threat mostly evaporated. I think it's more "do you prefer a bunch of kids getting hit with household implements by a faceless personalityless quasi-zombie or killed via insane dream sequences by a chuckling demonguy?"


Uh, Zerner is actually a cool dude, and did his job well. And 6 isn't a comedy; it's a film self aware that Jason is a pop culture icon in horror.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> god no, remaking toxic avenger is a horrible idea.


Especially PG fucking 13. Lloyd is just desperate for cash.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Especially PG fucking 13. Lloyd is just desperate for cash.


there's no point in neutering the original film. that'd be like making a pg13 version of cannibal holocasut.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> there's no point in neutering the original film. that'd be like making a pg13 version of cannibal holocasut.


He's been wanting to make a more general, audience- friendly live adaption of the Toxic Crusaders, which I remember watching when I was a kid. But even still. Troma is tits, sex, violence, and crude jokes. Despite how ahead of their time they were in the 80s, there is no way the way Troma does it is a box office friendly affair. And with something like Toxic Avenger -- ie, their most important property -- the film is going to get destroyed by -- pun intended -- "toxic" fandom.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> He's been wanting to make a more general, audience- friendly live adaption of the Toxic Crusaders, which I remember watching when I was a kid. But even still. Troma is tits, sex, violence, and crude jokes. Despite how ahead of their time they were in the 80s, there is no way the way Troma does it is a box office friendly affair. And with something like Toxic Avenger -- ie, their most important property -- the film is going to get destroyed by -- pun intended -- "toxic" fandom.


it's one of those remakes i hope never sees the light of day, like the crow one.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

finished NOES 4. by far the weakest of the films but still has some great effects (weightlifter girl getting turned into a cockroach/ trapped souls ripping out of freddy's body/ pizza covered in faces). It also has some of the worst kills in the series (karate boy being in an invisible fight with freddy then getting stabbed). Also let's never speak of the krueger rap at the end. one of the worst musical endeavors since TMNT/Vanilla Ice uttered Go Ninja Go for a few minutes straight.


----------



## mongey

finally saw avengers infinity war . they did a good job with it. Balancing all the characters and styles. wasn't totally stoked on how it ended. felt like half a movie but it was entertaining for sure .much better than the 2nd one


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> finished NOES 4. by far the weakest of the films but still has some great effects (weightlifter girl getting turned into a cockroach/ trapped souls ripping out of freddy's body/ pizza covered in faces). It also has some of the worst kills in the series (karate boy being in an invisible fight with freddy then getting stabbed). Also let's never speak of the krueger rap at the end. one of the worst musical endeavors since TMNT/Vanilla Ice uttered Go Ninja Go for a few minutes straight.


We can 110% blame this on Vinnie Vincent. Had his track actually been of any note at all, perhaps even 1/4th of what Dream Warriors is, we might not have gotten some shitty Freddy rap track.

What really pisses me off is that Something Moved by Frehley's Comet with Tod Howarth on vocals was never used in an 80s slasher film.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> One of the worst musical endeavors since TMNT/Vanilla Ice uttered Go Ninja Go for a few minutes straight.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> finished NOES 4. by far the weakest of the films but still has some great effects (weightlifter girl getting turned into a cockroach/ trapped souls ripping out of freddy's body/ pizza covered in faces). It also has some of the worst kills in the series (karate boy being in an invisible fight with freddy then getting stabbed). Also let's never speak of the krueger rap at the end. one of the worst musical endeavors since TMNT/Vanilla Ice uttered Go Ninja Go for a few minutes straight.



You REALLY think it's worse than 5 and especially Freddy's Dead?!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> You REALLY think it's worse than 5 and especially Freddy's Dead?!


no, I think it's weaker than 1,2 or 3. prob should have clarified


----------



## synrgy

Weird Science!

Despite being born in 1980, I managed to make it through my whole life to this point without ever having seen this. I'd heard it referenced a lot and I was aware of its basic premise, but I never actually watched it until now.

Classic 80's goofball teen comedy. Nothing makes any sense at all, and it's glorious. Though secondary characters, Bill Paxton is at the height of his absurdity, and young RDJ's facial expressions are priceless. I especially love the 'hacking' effects, and bonus points for this gem in the soundtrack:



There are some bits that have aged poorly. I guess they're accurate representations of the time, but, still. I don't mean to sweep any of that under the rug, but I guess the nostalgia goggles make it difficult for me to jump on the anti-John-Hughes bandwagon.


----------



## wankerness

Chet is the best.

Roger Ebert's contemporary review still holds true, for the most part. It would be far more offensive without Kelly Lebrock playing it how she does. I think it's vastly less offensive today than Sixteen Candles, and even The Breakfast Club. The horny teens are portrayed as sex-mad children at the start, the woman they create doesn't sleep with them and basically ends up pitying them/mothering them, there are no offensive stereotypes, and no one gets raped and likes it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Chet is the best.
> 
> Roger Ebert's contemporary review still holds true, for the most part. It would be far more offensive without Kelly Lebrock playing it how she does. I think it's vastly less offensive today than Sixteen Candles, and even The Breakfast Club. The horny teens are portrayed as sex-mad children at the start, the woman they create doesn't sleep with them and basically ends up pitying them/mothering them, there are no offensive stereotypes, and no one gets raped and likes it.


I still love when Chet gets turned into a disgusting blob. prob my fave scene.
Anthony Michael Hall did nothing wrong
Long Duk Dong and Mickey Rooney's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's still piss me off. They were lazy outdated stereotypes back when the films were first made (seriously, buck teeth and coke bottle glasses are straight out of WW2 propaganda). At least karate kid played up the positive stereotypes for asians.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie...g-rare-elm-street-deleted-scene-changes-game/
Yeah, that definitely would have made the movie a bit more interesting, plus they could have done prequels with the siblings...


----------



## Guitarmiester

I started watching Tusk about 2 years ago when our ISP went down at work but didn't get all that far before regaining the world wide. Totally forgot to pick up and finish it until seeing it pop up on Netflix this week. I knew the movie would be weird and kind of disappointed in myself for not guessing what was to come.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Guitarmiester said:


> I knew the movie would be weird and kind of disappointed in myself for not guessing what was to come.


But did you find the answer to life's question: "Is man really a walrus"?


----------



## synrgy

Deadpool 2.

Pretty sure I liked it better than the first one. Will need to see it retains replay value over time, but I thought it was solid on the first pass. Their budget was roughly double that of the first movie, and it really shows. Production value aside, even, just in the writing, the humor seemed better timed (and better landed), and the pacing seemed better, too.

Approved.


----------



## synrgy

American Gangster.

Didn't like it as much as I expected to. Wasn't _bad_ by any stretch, but I guess I had high expectations. Denzel was Denzel. Liked Crowe's performance more than usual. Actually forgot it was him for a stretch, which is always the goal. Probably coulda used more of the conflict between Denzel and Idris Elba's characters.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Equalizer 2 aka black punisher pt. 2
it was ok. the opening fight scenes were good, the story isn't terribly interesting though. the final setpiece has some cool moments but overall i think it was a less interesting film than the first movie.


----------



## USMarine75

Mission Impossible

Completely predictable but still decent.



Start around 11:30 in.


----------



## synrgy

Good Morning Vietnam (a couple weeks ago), and Dead Poet's Society (this morning).

Robin Williams was a treasure. I miss him.

I hadn't seen GMV since I was a kid. Great flick.

I'm not certain I'd ever seen DPS all the way through in one sitting, before. I was too young to 'get it' when it came out. I had no recollection of how it ended, so I wasn't prepared for it to turn tragic in the third act. Weighty. Really well done, though. I'm not certain that stories about kids feeling helplessly trapped in the shadow of their parent(s) will ever lose relevancy.


----------



## Rosal76

synrgy said:


> Good Morning Vietnam (a couple weeks ago), and Dead Poet's Society (this morning).
> 
> Robin Williams was a treasure. I miss him.



+1.

I haven't seen Dead poet's society but will watch it the second I see it on the On Demand station. Robin has done so many great movies, it was would be impossible to mention all of them. His roles in Awakenings (1990, also starring Robert De Niro), Good Will Hunting (1997) and Insomnia (2002) are among my favorites from him.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rosal76 said:


> +1.
> 
> I haven't seen Dead poet's society but will watch it the second I see it on the On Demand station. Robin has done so many great movies, it was would be impossible to mention all of them. His roles in Awakenings (1990, also starring Robert De Niro), Good Will Hunting (1997) and Insomnia (2002) are among my favorites from him.


Insomnia and One hour Photo are seriously underrated drama roles from Robin Williams.


----------



## synrgy

Yeah. To say nothing of his stand-up career, I'm hard pressed to think of any other actor who so-effortlessly oozed vulnerability in dramatic roles. In addition to those already mentioned, I'd probably lump in Patch Adams, What Dreams May Come, and The Fisher King.


----------



## Rosal76

KnightBrolaire said:


> Insomnia and One hour Photo are seriously underrated drama roles from Robin Williams.



I enjoyed both. I thought it was because Robin Williams fans probably didn't like it because they weren't used to Robin having antagonistic roles. Or maybe people just didn't like the those movies regardless of him. 

Same thing with Bruce Willis. Bruce had antagonist roles in the movies, Mortal thoughts (1991) and The Siege (1998). We're so used to seeing him as the protagonist that's it's weird, at least for me, to see him play villains.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rosal76 said:


> I enjoyed both. I thought it was because Robin Williams fans probably didn't like it because they weren't used to Robin having antagonistic roles. Or maybe people just didn't like the those movies regardless of him.
> 
> Same thing with Bruce Willis. Bruce had antagonist roles in the movies, Mortal thoughts (1991) and The Siege (1998). We're so used to seeing him as the protagonist that's it's weird, at least for me, to see him play villains.


some of my favorite movies are people playing against type like Kevin Costner in Mr. Brooks, or seeing James Macavoy play a total sleazebag in Filth.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I've been watching 13 Nights of Elvira, which is mostly her making jokes at the expense of some Full Moon Features films. I think Charles Band and Lloyd Kaufman are in an unstated feud to make some of the schlockiest schlock of Schlockywood.


----------



## synrgy

Hoosiers.

So, I've (obviously) been on a major nostalgia trip, lately. I hadn't seen this movie since '88-ish, when I was 8-ish.

Relatively prototypical 'underdog' sports movie. I'm not a sports guy, but I'm a sucker for a bunch of these movies, anyway. This one I enjoy mostly because it's a period piece, and in particular because I feel like it gives me a peek into my Dad's childhood: He was a basketball player in his youth, and would have been 16 during the film's timeline.


----------



## mongey

synrgy said:


> Yeah. To say nothing of his stand-up career, I'm hard pressed to think of any other actor who so-effortlessly oozed vulnerability in dramatic roles. In addition to those already mentioned, I'd probably lump in Patch Adams, What Dreams May Come, and The Fisher King.



as a staunch atheist for some reason I really like What dreams may come. 

I think its seriously underrated .


----------



## synrgy

^I doubt this has anything to do with it being generally underrated, but the actress playing the wife kinda took the whole thing down a peg or two for me. It's still a _great_ film and I don't mean to suggest otherwise, but every time she was on screen I couldn't wait for her to be off screen again.

Maybe it's the haircut? I had a similar issue with the actress who played Al Pacino's wife in Heat. I guess bangs just make me feel gross. Because reasons.


----------



## wankerness

Next, people are going to be gushing about Bicentennial Man. Dead Poets Society? Patch Adams?! REALLY?! The best thing that came from Dead Poets Society was that gore parody from SNL a couple years ago. I 100% agree with Roger Ebert's review on it. And Patch Adams, for that matter. PA's the kind of movie that old ladies play non-stop on the TV in their Precious Moments store.

Robin Williams was in a lot of bad movies. Even the generally well-regarded Fisher King is completely inexplicable to me.

The best Robin Williams movie is obviously Death to Smoochy. (JK I'm a sap that goes for Good Will Hunting. BUT, that movie is still great.)


----------



## synrgy

Yay, subjectivity!

I just read Ebert's review of DPS and find some of it to be a bit out of character for him. There are a couple bits that aren't so much his usual _critique,_ but more 'I didn't like it because I didn't like it': He seems not to care for the way any of the scenes with the teens played out, and that's fair, but he doesn't really offer much substance in terms of _why_ he feels that way, other than that "it was the 50's, therefore they should have been talking about Kerouac, despite the entirety of their experience of poetry having been filtered exclusively through their Professor".

I disagree with that thesis: The kids were clueless, so those scenes rightfully played out as though the kids were clueless. I don't understand why Ebert would have expected something different.

IMHO, he seems to have the whole thing backwards: He critiqued it as a movie about poetry with kids as a backdrop, but it's a movie about kids with poetry as a backdrop.

I'm not saying it isn't at times melodramatic, or that it's anywhere near a perfect film, but I don't think comparing it to Bicentennial Man is at all fair.


----------



## wankerness

I don't remember it very well, I just remember even at age 14 I groaned out loud at the big "climactic moment." Ugh. It's probably the most archetypal example of that INSPIRATIONAL TEACHER kind of movie. That said, it's better than the even worse ripoffs that came after it. I should watch it again, as it seems to be cited very frequently as a favorite movie by girls I'm interested in. That and Ever After. I sat through that one again last year for that reason. 

I remember liking Awakenings when I saw it last, probably also in high school. Good Will Hunting is GREAT. The aforementioned Death to Smoochy is great in its acidity. I think he's good in One Hour Photo, but I find the movie completely uninteresting. I should watch Insomnia again, I really don't remember it. Jakob the Liar, Good Morning Vietnam, Fisher King, are MEH. I remember liking What Dreams May Come, but just for the design, I forgot he was in it, I should watch that again too. Then there are all those average kids movies he was in where he is appropriate, but the movie kind of sucks (Jumanji, Hook, Mrs Doubtfire). I dunno. I have a positive impression of him as an actor cause he is so damn good in a few roles, but he had so few really good roles.

World's Greatest Dad sounds awesome, I need to see that.

On a related note, I remember while watching Trainwreck that I thought Amy Schumer should follow his career path. She really kind of annoys the shit out of me in movies when she tries to do her standup shtick, but when she acts warm, she's wildly appealing. Robin Williams is the same way for me. The only "funny" role he has that I find funny is the damn Genie in Aladdin


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Next, people are going to be gushing about Bicentennial Man. Dead Poets Society? Patch Adams?! REALLY?! The best thing that came from Dead Poets Society was that gore parody from SNL a couple years ago. I 100% agree with Roger Ebert's review on it. And Patch Adams, for that matter. PA's the kind of movie that old ladies play non-stop on the TV in their Precious Moments store.
> 
> Robin Williams was in a lot of bad movies. Even the generally well-regarded Fisher King is completely inexplicable to me.
> 
> The best Robin Williams movie is obviously Death to Smoochy. (JK I'm a sap that goes for Good Will Hunting. BUT, that movie is still great.)


Death To Smoochy is awesome, but you're insane for not liking jumanji or hook.


----------



## synrgy

wankerness said:


> stuff



I'm happy to concede that he (or his agent?) made more bad calls than good ones when choosing projects, but as you've alluded, his good performances are _so_ good that it's easy to consider him a great actor, even if he was in a lot of bad movies.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> Death To Smoochy is awesome, but you're insane for not liking jumanji or hook.



Don't let Bloody Inferno hear you talking about Hook lest he come in and remind you how overbloated it is for a kid's movie


----------



## synrgy

Mystery Men.

Throwaway thoughts:
WTF happened to Claire Forlani?! 
OMG not that [email protected]!#$% Smashmouth song AGAIN..

Not sure why I decided to give this another shot; I didn't much care for it back when it came out. I enjoyed it more this time, though. I guess that's probably because I was a teenager last time, and this time I'm closer to 40 than 30. 

Perfect role for Ben Stiller. He's not exactly a natural comic, so his best work has generally been 'finding the comedy in trying (and purposely failing) to be funny'.

I generally find Hank Azaria to be criminally underrated. His performance here is silly, to be sure, but I enjoyed it anyway.

And, I know she's still around, but, I miss 90's Janeane Garofalo.


----------



## Rosal76

synrgy said:


> Hoosiers.
> 
> So, I've (obviously) been on a major nostalgia trip, lately. I hadn't seen this movie since '88-ish, when I was 8-ish.



Huge +1.

I love Hoosiers and I love the work Gene Hackman has done. I've been on a Gene Hackman movie nostalgia trip, lately. Some of the movies I've seen with him in it over the last few months.

The French Connection (1971).

Mississippi burning (1988). Really cool to see a less popular Tobin Bell (as a FBI agent) who would later be famous for the Saw franchise.

The Package (1989). Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones. Enough said. Well, actually I'm gonna say more. LOL. Hackman as a Army Green Beret vs. Jones who's a covert Special Forces operative up to no good. Easily one of my favorite movies from Hackman and Jones.

Absolute power (1997). Hackman did a decent job but all the credit goes to Clint Eastwood in this movie.

Twilight (1998). I took chance at this movie because I saw that Gene Hackman, Paul Newman and Susan Sarandon are the three main stars and wanted to see more of their (Newman and Sarandon) movies. Overall, it was decent. A young Reese Witherspoon (22 at the time) was also in it as Hackman's daughter.


----------



## Rosal76

synrgy said:


> Mystery Men.
> 
> Throwaway thoughts:
> WTF happened to Claire Forlani?!



I'm not sure but if you told me she was the daughter of Amy Ryan, I would 100%, absolutely believe you.

Forlani.




Amy Ryan.


----------



## synrgy

Yeah, I can kinda see that.

I've been harboring a schoolboy's crush on Forlani since Mallrats, but had mostly forgotten about her until watching Mystery Men this week. On reviewing her IMDB, the vast majority of her career since the 90's has been stuff I have zero familiarity with, so I guess I was just kinda feeling like, 'geez, how has she not been a much bigger deal all this time?'.


----------



## wankerness

Cause Hollywood mostly dumps actresses in the trash by the time they're 30! Things are a bit better now, probably mainly cause of improved anti-aging technology, but yeah. Practically any babes from the 90s vanished by the 2000s. It's nuts.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MFB said:


> Don't let Bloody Inferno hear you talking about Hook lest he come in and remind you how overbloated it is for a kid's movie







synrgy said:


> I'm happy to concede that he (or his agent?) made more bad calls than good ones when choosing projects, but as you've alluded, his good performances are _so_ good that it's easy to consider him a great actor, even if he was in a lot of bad movies.



I'll agree with wanker regarding Robin Williams. But also agree here. Outstanding actor no question, but he's almost always marred by the movie he's in. I guess that's why he looks like a shining light in otherwise a slew of either mediocrity or movies that may have been good at one time, but hasn't aged too well or Popeye with some exceptions as already mentioned. Really sucked how Disney treated him with his role in Aladdin.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I think I'm going to be getting the Full Moon streaming channel, and at some point, maybe Troma's as well.

After finishing Elvira, which I was watching since Sunday I believe, I'm not going to check out Sharknado before the last one plays this weekend.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Cause Hollywood mostly dumps actresses in the trash by the time they're 30! Things are a bit better now, probably mainly cause of improved anti-aging technology, but yeah. Practically any babes from the 90s vanished by the 2000s. It's nuts.


Yeah, this isn't just limited to "babes" but all things in entertainment, because it gets stale after awhile.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Yeah, this isn't just limited to "babes" but all things in entertainment, because it gets stale after awhile.



No, there's a gigantic gulf between actors and actresses. I was going through tons of 90s flicks' cast lists recently and most of the actors are still around and I hadn't even heard of most of the actresses since their career was so short that they'd been ground up and were out of the hollywood machine before the 2000s. It was mostly just the "serious" actresses that have persisted, like the Naomi Watts/Kate Winslet/Meryl Streep types. Same deal with the 80s, going through the top 100 or so movies each year I'd recognize most of the actors and almost none of the actresses.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched NOES 5. the special effects are great but it's easily one of the worst NOES movies next to 4. I love the man/motorcycle fusing, that sequence is still awesome.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> watched NOES 5. the special effects are great but it's easily one of the worst NOES movies next to 4. I love the man/motorcycle fusing, that sequence is still awesome.



That's the most heavily censored scene, unfortunately. The big documentary has the full thing in VHS quality. It's great conceptually.

The Aha video death is the worst, but the concept is pretty funny.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> That's the most heavily censored scene, unfortunately. The big documentary has the full thing in VHS quality. It's great conceptually.
> 
> The Aha video death is the worst, but the concept is pretty funny.


agreed, the aha death was so horribly cheesy.


----------



## synrgy

Tank Girl!

Was roughly the same as I remembered it: Kinda terrible, yet, kinda enjoyable!

I'm sad Reg E. Cathey is gone.

Pretty sure this was the official end of audiences taking Malcolm McDowell seriously?

I love that it came out the same year as Jonny Mnemonic, because in so many ways they feel like two sides of the same coin, not the least of which being Ice-T in absurd makeup/costumes.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> Tank Girl!
> 
> Was roughly the same as I remembered it: Kinda terrible, yet, kinda enjoyable!
> 
> I'm sad Reg E. Cathey is gone.
> 
> Pretty sure this was the official end of audiences taking Malcolm McDowell seriously?
> 
> I love that it came out the same year as Jonny Mnemonic, because in so many ways they feel like two sides of the same coin, not the least of which being Ice-T in absurd makeup/costumes.


that movie was baaaad. the only good part was Lori Petty playing tank girl. The comic is even weirder though, since she frequently bangs Roo.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Might be the best place to ask, but what movies should I get if I subscribe to Full Moon's streaming service for 6 or 12 months? If I do, I get 3 to 6 DVDs free respectively, and I'm not sure what to get. Maybe a couple Puppet Master films, perhaps a Trancers film or two... anyone here a fan have any ideas?


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Tank Girl!
> 
> Was roughly the same as I remembered it: Kinda terrible, yet, kinda enjoyable!
> 
> I'm sad Reg E. Cathey is gone.
> 
> Pretty sure this was the official end of audiences taking Malcolm McDowell seriously?
> 
> I love that it came out the same year as Jonny Mnemonic, because in so many ways they feel like two sides of the same coin, not the least of which being Ice-T in absurd makeup/costumes.



Did anyone EVER take him seriously after A Clockwork Orange? At the latest, Caligula (1979) turned him into one.

EDIT: Looking through his filmography, he's in a ton of nothing movies. The Artist (2011) is about the only well-known movie of repute in there. It's mostly things like Fist of the North Star, Star Trek Generations and Halloween remakes. He makes Nicolas Cage and Ben Kingsley look discerning. Time after Time is the only one in there I have ever seen referred to as a minor classic.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Caligula is underrated. It's so over the top and lewd/ghoulish that it ends up perfectly exemplifying the insanity of Caligula's rule. Also, young helen mirren was fiiiiiine

Watched The Spy Who Dumped Me yesterday night, and it was genuinely pretty funny. I went in expecting a dumpster fire of a film but really enjoyed it. Prob my favorite spy comedy next to Get Smart.


----------



## LeviathanKiller

synrgy said:


> Tank Girl!
> 
> Was roughly the same as I remembered it: Kinda terrible, yet, kinda enjoyable!
> 
> I'm sad Reg E. Cathey is gone.
> 
> Pretty sure this was the official end of audiences taking Malcolm McDowell seriously?
> 
> I love that it came out the same year as Jonny Mnemonic, because in so many ways they feel like two sides of the same coin, not the least of which being Ice-T in absurd makeup/costumes.



Now I know where "Tank Bro" is from in the Broforce co-op game (which is a great pixel side-scroller game btw).


----------



## synrgy

The Basketball Diaries.

Most of the cast here is great. DiCaprio, Hudson, Bracco, Kirby.. Even young Mark Wahlberg did a nice job. I like the cinematography in several scenes, too.

The 'cold turkey' scenes are hard for me, having lost my (would-be) brother in law (who was a childhood friend) to a heroin overdose just before my wife and I found each other.

That said, I wish it had done a better job of digging below the surface. Ultimately, there's more flash than substance, here.


----------



## r33per

Just finished watching Mission Impossible: Fallout.

I used to like the movies Simon Pegg appeared in.


----------



## Ebony

Title followed by character.
*
Thelma:* 1/6
*Hereditary*: 1/6
*Baby Driver:* 2-/6
*Le Brio:* 2+/6
*Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom*: 2+/6
*Terminal:* 2+/6
*Molly's Game:* 3-/6
*A Quiet Place:* 3/6
*Darkest Hour:* 3/6
*Ready Player One*: 3/6
*Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*: 3+/6
*Avengers: Infinity War:* 4-/6* 
Jungle*: 4-/6
*Phantom Thread*: 4/6


----------



## stuglue

I watched a very interesting yet disturbing expose of the Nevada Police force, entitled What Happened In Vegas. It shows how the Police antagonate, lie and kill innocent people with impunity. Very depressing and a sad state of affairs where money is the big reason the Police can get away with murder.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I've been watching Sharknado 1-5, and plan to catch Sharknado 6 when it replays or is added to one of the streaming channels.


----------



## wankerness

Deadpool 2: As I worried, the big budget affected it in almost all the ways I predicted it would, and much of it, especially the first half, plays out almost exactly like a "straight" superhero movie with the joke level to match a Marvel movie. It picks up with the introduction of Domino, who is BY FAR the best part of the movie. It still remains too "straight" and I think the budget hurts it. BUT, the climax is a lot more fun than Deadpool 1's. I don't know what the rewatch value will be, while Deadpool 1's is huge. I dunno. It's pretty good, not great!

I liked seeing the kid from Hunt for the Wilderpeople (possibly the best movie I've seen in the last year), even if his character isn't particularly great apart from his butt pen.


----------



## broj15

Just watched Killing Of A Sacred Dear this weekend and jfc..... That movie is bonkers. The entire time me and my 2 friends I was watching it with were all had our head on our hands, with jaws dropped saying "what is going on? This is so fucked up".

And relating to that, am I the only one that's noticed that a24 is really stepping thier game up these days? Like they started out with movies like spring breakers (harmony korine) and Tusk (Kevin Smith), but now with movies like Killing Of A Sacred Deer, A Ghost Story, Good Time, and The Lobster (which I still haven't seen yet) I feel like they're really starting to figure out a vibe & "cohesive aesthetic" for the movies they release.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

broj15 said:


> Just watched Killing Of A Sacred Dear this weekend and jfc..... That movie is bonkers. The entire time me and my 2 friends I was watching it with were all had our head on our hands, with jaws dropped saying "what is going on? This is so fucked up".
> 
> And relating to that, am I the only one that's noticed that a24 is really stepping thier game up these days? Like they started out with movies like spring breakers (harmony korine) and Tusk (Kevin Smith), but now with movies like Killing Of A Sacred Deer, A Ghost Story, Good Time, and The Lobster (which I still haven't seen yet) I feel like they're really starting to figure out a vibe & "cohesive aesthetic" for the movies they release.


The lobster is weird, but in a strangely hilarious way. I really liked that movie. I hated spring breakers though, that was garbage. It's all over the place in tone, none of the characters other james franco's are interesting, and it's just a mess of a movie. The only movies I can say that I hate more are Killing them Softly and Brown bunny.


----------



## broj15

Yeah I didn't care for spring breakers at all honestly. Like I had a hard time believing it was actually a harmony korine movie, since I've loved pretty much everything else he's done.


----------



## Guitarmiester

Been trying to get through Inland Empire. I'm a big Lynch fan so I'm making the effort to trek through even though the camera work is borderline dreadful.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> The lobster is weird, but in a strangely hilarious way. I really liked that movie. I hated spring breakers though, that was garbage. It's all over the place in tone, none of the characters other james franco's are interesting, and it's just a mess of a movie. The only movies I can say that I hate more are Killing them Softly and Brown bunny.


I swear, one of these days I'm going to write a slasher film script with James Franco.


----------



## Guitarmiester

I finished Inland Empire last night. I'm still processing the entire movie or that's at least what I'm telling myself. I don't think there are words for the ride that is Inland Empire.


----------



## wankerness

There are definitely words for it: not very good.


----------



## Guitarmiester

wankerness said:


> There are definitely words for it: not very good.



 It's one of the many you'll either hate it or you'll like it type of films. It was nearly the equivalent of someone flipping through radio stations for 3 minutes straight and calling it a song. Except replace the 3 minutes with 3 hours and then we're closer to the real equation.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

saw Happytime Murders last night. It was pretty funny, basically a hardboiled noir film filled with puppet jizz, purple pubes, drug usage and puppet murder. Oh, and a dalmatian dominatrix.


----------



## MickD7

I went and watched Blackkklansman last week, I have to say it was not the film I was expecting. I honestly expected something more along the lines of dark comedy. I would say what I did watch was a very well written, directed and acted film that makes a strong social commentary on events from the past present and future sprinkled with some dark moments that could be reflected back on as slightly humouress as you are bombarded with a film that opens a dialogue on a lot of topics

Stand out performances are on hand by John David Washington (Denzel Washington’s son) who has gained some of his dads acting chops, Adam Driver who provides one of his best performances and has a one of the best moments on screen reflecting about being Jewish.

This is topped off by Topher Grace playing David Duke. His performance in this came out of nowhere and when he first appeared on screen I thought the film was going to stall and go into a downward spiral. Much like Driver and Washington he delivers and man he delivers good. He is so convincing in his performance its almost kind of scary to say I was surprised would be a massive understatement and it was definitely a turning point in my thoughts of him as an actor. The marks of him having potential could be seen with his minor part in Interstellar, in this he is given so much more to work with and nails it. 

Regardless on your thoughts of Spike Lee and if you want a break from blockbusters and that kind of thing. I’d say that this may be a good film to consider, 10/10 on top of its incredible 70s feel, performances, cinematography and soundtrack it may be one of the best films I’ve caught in cinemas in a long time.


----------



## synrgy

^Haven't seen it yet, but intend to. First Spike Lee movie I can recall having genuine interest in.


----------



## mongey

deadpool 2

had a good laugh. maybe even more than the first one. great story writing it isn't , but it is great entertainment


----------



## KnightBrolaire

colossal: it's a weird indie drama movie about 2 broken messed up people that can control giant monsters in seoul. most of the characters are assholes, but for whatever reason i really enjoyed the movie. it was a cool idea.


----------



## Kaura

Went to watch BlackKklansman couple of weeks ago just because it had a Finnish actor in it. And yeah, didn't care much for it otherwise. Digged the 70's setting.


----------



## bostjan

mongey said:


> deadpool 2
> 
> had a good laugh. maybe even more than the first one. great story writing it isn't , but it is great entertainment



I just saw it as well. The narrative was definitely very quickly paced. Brad Pitt kind of stole the movie, and he was only in maybe three frames.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

end of days: 
never saw this back in the day, since I was a little kid when it came out, and never really made an effort once I got older to check it out. The devil makes the perfect juggernaut boogeyman, an unstoppable force like jason or michael myers. It's a completely ridiculous and over the top movie a lot of the time, but stan winston did the fx, and they hold up really well. My favorite is when the devil punches a hole through a man's face, or when schwarzenegger gets possessed and his skin starts necrotizing in patches. It's a good stupid fun movie.


----------



## synrgy

The Lost Boys

This is another one I somehow managed to completely miss over the years, despite it being something of a cultural touchstone for my generation. I'd seen maybe 10 minutes worth of different parts over the years, but this was really the first time I've ever seen it.

My first reaction is that I miss the combination of the era's relative height of practical effects, and subsequent lack of CGI effects. I shudder to think what this movie would have looked like if it had been made even 10 years later, or any time thereafter.

Seems this movie established vampire (blood, anyway) 'sparkling', long before Twilight was A Thing?

Got a chuckle from Corey Feldman trying to make his voice deeper as a character trait. I've never been a huge Jason Patric fan, and with a few exceptions - this not being one of them - I've never really been sold on Kiefer Sutherland.

Anyway, I enjoyed it. From top to bottom, it's emblematic of its era. The best part for me is that despite the film's popularity, I didn't know anything about the 'twist' at the end, so I didn't see it coming.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched a bunch of the animated justice league movies last night. Gods and Monsters/ Flashpoint Paradox and Justice League Dark. They all basically ascribe to the darker side of DC, with Flashpoint and Gods/Monsters focusing on alternate versions of the Justice League. They're all pretty grim and gory which I enjoyed, since they're so different from standard vanilla justice league. Flashpoint in particular has some really brutal deaths. Gods and Monsters was far better at fleshing out their alternate versions of batman, wonder woman and superman though. Justice League Dark is a fun little romp with some of the less focused on DC characters (zatanna, constantine, swamp thing, the Demon). Matt ryan reprises his role as constantine and does an awesome job, but some of the other voice acting is a little iffy.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

synrgy said:


> The Lost Boys
> 
> This is another one I somehow managed to completely miss over the years, despite it being something of a cultural touchstone for my generation. I'd seen maybe 10 minutes worth of different parts over the years, but this was really the first time I've ever seen it.
> 
> My first reaction is that I miss the combination of the era's relative height of practical effects, and subsequent lack of CGI effects. I shudder to think what this movie would have looked like if it had been made even 10 years later, or any time thereafter.
> 
> Seems this movie established vampire (blood, anyway) 'sparkling', long before Twilight was A Thing?
> 
> Got a chuckle from Corey Feldman trying to make his voice deeper as a character trait. I've never been a huge Jason Patric fan, and with a few exceptions - this not being one of them - I've never really been sold on Kiefer Sutherland.
> 
> Anyway, I enjoyed it. From top to bottom, it's emblematic of its era. The best part for me is that despite the film's popularity, I didn't know anything about the 'twist' at the end, so I didn't see it coming.


I like Lost Boys, but Fright Night and Salem's Lot are better in my opinion.

Also, I too miss the height of practical effects and really cannot stand CGI. A little is alright, I guess, but for the most part, I could do without it.

Lastly, I too had commented that Lost Boys made Vampires sparkly and had been the impetus for Twilight about two weeks or so ago. Fright Night, on the other hand, had a very cool vampire that the women still liked, proving you didn't have to make them total fairies to make the girl's pussies melt.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I don't get the love for Fright Night. the effects are alright, but that's about it imo.


----------



## Seabeast2000




----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


>


that was a shit movie but gary oldman was awesome in it.


----------



## synrgy




----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


>


worst english accent ever


----------



## synrgy

Just thinking about Keanu and Winona in that movie makes me want to run and watch Interview With A Vampire. Regardless how one may feel about Tom Cruise (whether pre or post Oprah's Couch), Kirsten Dunst is brutal, and I'm generally a total sucker for well-budgeted period pieces.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Lost Boys- Rawk vampires
Dracula 1992- tenured professor vampire
IWTV- Flounsey vampires
Twilight- worthless vampires


----------



## Seabeast2000

synrgy said:


> Just thinking about Keanu and Winona in that movie makes me want to run and watch Interview With A Vampire. Regardless how one may feel about Tom Cruise (whether pre or post Oprah's Couch), Kirsten Dunst is brutal, and I'm generally a total sucker for well-budgeted period pieces.


Total stretch for Brad. To this day, his best "type" is the Thelma and Louise or Kalifornia/Snatch role. I seem to remember a very bad Englishy accent in IWTV from him too but its been a long time.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

twilight was a bad fanfic of Lestat/interview with the vampire. i read both series and stephanie meyer's writing reeks of anne rice's influence, but more amateurish.
shitty source material=extra shitty movie


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> twilight was a bad fanfic of Lestat/interview with the vampire. i read both series and stephanie meyer's writing reeks of anne rice's influence, but more amateurish.
> shitty source material=extra shitty movie


And they made like 8 of them. Yuck!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> And they made like 8 of them. Yuck!


4, but yeah they were all shit. literally the only interesting part in 4 books to me was when sparkleboii rips open his woman's guts with his teeth to get her half vampire baby out. My ex-girlfriend made me suffer through the books, movies and the 50 shades series (which was equally terrible). God she had shit taste in books/movies


----------



## MFB

Vampires eh?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> 4, but yeah they were all shit. literally the only interesting part in 4 books to me was when sparkleboii rips open his woman's guts with his teeth to get her half vampire baby out. My ex-girlfriend made me suffer through the books, movies and the 50 shades series (which was equally terrible). God she had shit taste in books/movies


Whatever. I would rather watch 16 of Troma's worst films than 4 of those shitfests.

EDIT: And according to Wikipedia, there was 5 of those shitty films. Yuck!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Whatever. I would rather watch 16 of Troma's worst films than 4 of those shitfests.
> 
> EDIT: And according to Wikipedia, there was 5 of those shitty films. Yuck!


4 books and 5 movies but yeah, they were horrendously bad. Not even fun bad like Troma movies or Puppetmaster or Candyman or Leprechaun. The writing was godawful, Kristen Stewart may as well be plank from Ed, Edd and Eddy, just everything about those movies barring their soundtracks was painful.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> 4 books and 5 movies but yeah, they were horrendously bad. Not even fun bad like Troma movies or Puppetmaster or Candyman or Leprechaun. The writing was godawful, Kristen Stewart may as well be plank from Ed, Edd and Eddy, just everything about those movies barring their soundtracks was painful.


Hey, there is a level of greatness in "bad" films like those from Troma and Full Moon. Unfortunately, both have kinda gotten worse over time, mostly due to budget. And with regards to Troma, they've sorta bought their own press.


----------



## Necris

2001: A Space Odyssey - Saw it at the local mall; first time seeing it, actually. There weren't many people at my showing, thankfully.
Bird With the Crystal Plumage


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> 4 books and 5 movies but yeah, they were horrendously bad. Not even fun bad like Troma movies or Puppetmaster or Candyman or Leprechaun. The writing was godawful, Kristen Stewart may as well be plank from Ed, Edd and Eddy, just everything about those movies barring their soundtracks was painful.



I only watched the first Twilight (mainly out of morbid curiosity) and hated it so much I wanted nothing to do with the second, considering everyone saiid that one was far worse, but I heard a lot of amusing things about the last couple entries. Like, Cronenbergian birth mechanics and hilarious vampire sex and decapitation-fu. There's no doubt in my mind that they're much more watchable than the aforementioned Leprechaun movies.

Candyman is a legit horror classic and should not have been in that list!! You might as well have thrown in Halloween or The Exorcist.


----------



## synrgy

Been making my way through the four primary American Pie movies (1/2/Wedding/Reunion).

They really don't hold up well under the current zeitgeist, but I can't seem to shake my soft-spot for them.

Someday, Eugene Levy will be gone, and we're all going to be sorry.


----------



## MFB

synrgy said:


> Someday, Eugene Levy will be gone, and we're all going to be sorry.



You don't say


----------



## synrgy

The906 said:


> I seem to remember a very bad Englishy accent in IWTV from him too but its been a long time.



Nah, he's not really doing an accent at all, which is the arguable point against him, since Louis is supposed to be from New Orleans-ish by way of France.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I only watched the first Twilight (mainly out of morbid curiosity) and hated it so much I wanted nothing to do with the second, considering everyone saiid that one was far worse, but I heard a lot of amusing things about the last couple entries. Like, Cronenbergian birth mechanics and hilarious vampire sex and decapitation-fu. There's no doubt in my mind that they're much more watchable than the aforementioned Leprechaun movies.
> 
> Candyman is a legit horror classic and should not have been in that list!! You might as well have thrown in Halloween or The Exorcist.


Joe Bob-isms can make anything cooler. ie, Decapitation-fu.

As for Leprechaun, seriously... Leprechaun in the Hood is an unsung classic. It's fucking awesome and underrated. Sure it's shitty, but it's fun and the Kill Count video series on YouTube actually made me give it a second chance. The series as a whole is pretty bad in a Full Moon sort of way, but since I love Full Moon and Troma, I do like a couple of the Leprechaun films.

That said... FUCK Leprechaun in Space and Jason X. The writer of Jason X just handed Sean S. Cunningham -- last minute, running late, and rushing/running to Sean -- the Leprechaun in Space script, with, "JUST ADD JASON!" scribbled sloppy on the cover.

Candyman is a classic, and Tony Todd is fucking AWESOME, but Candyman does have some cheese factor to it for sure. With anyone else as Candyman, those films would be a laughing stock. I get the feeling that Barker came up with the idea while going, "Pft, fuck Stephen King. Anyone can come up with random bullshit and write a Kingian horror story!" I will replace Candyman in that list with Halloween 5.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I only watched the first Twilight (mainly out of morbid curiosity) and hated it so much I wanted nothing to do with the second, considering everyone saiid that one was far worse, but I heard a lot of amusing things about the last couple entries. Like, Cronenbergian birth mechanics and hilarious vampire sex and decapitation-fu. There's no doubt in my mind that they're much more watchable than the aforementioned Leprechaun movies.
> 
> Candyman is a legit horror classic and should not have been in that list!! You might as well have thrown in Halloween or The Exorcist.


 all the twilight movies are garbage, they're a complete waste of time. The only midly interesting bit is the toothy c section.
candyman is nowhere near exorcist or halloween level imo. It's a fun horror film but not a great one.


----------



## mongey

I grew up in the lost boys heyday when it released and i gotta admit I never really took it it like everyone else .I've sen it a few times and its not bad but it didn't rock me. I rekcon most guys I knew at the time had one of the corey hairstyles from the movie . A mate of mine decided he was into comics straight after seeing it . lol


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> all the twilight movies are garbage, they're a complete waste of time. The only midly interesting bit is the toothy c section.
> candyman is nowhere near exorcist or halloween level imo. It's a fun horror film but not a great one.


Never seen the c section, but I can guarantee you that the one in Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich is a billion times better and more fucked up.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

mongey said:


> I grew up in the lost boys heyday when it released and i gotta admit I never really took it it like everyone else .I've sen it a few times and its not bad but it didn't rock me. I rekcon most guys I knew at the time had one of the corey hairstyles from the movie . A mate of mine decided he was into comics straight after seeing it . lol


Corey Feldman's best hairstyle is and always has been Dream a Little Dream.


----------



## mongey

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Corey Feldman's best hairstyle is and always has been Dream a Little Dream.


I don't know, i feel the star of the show is the headband


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

synrgy said:


> Just thinking about Keanu and Winona in that movie makes me want to run and watch Interview With A Vampire. Regardless how one may feel about Tom Cruise (whether pre or post Oprah's Couch), Kirsten Dunst is brutal, and I'm generally a total sucker for well-budgeted period pieces.



Magnolia is probably the best example of Tom Cruise's acting chops. Interview With A Vampire was an odd one.  That was plagued by behind the scenes hell. Brad Pitt only phoned in his performance because he couldn't buy himself out of the move. Even Ann Rice herself, who even wrote the screenplay openly bagged the movie and it's casting then suddenly changes her mind once she saw the final product. 

Regarding Leprechaun, I consider the series as a beautiful disaster. Baffling at first watch, but ultimately you were glad you got through at least some of it. First was a classic in the nether depths of shlock horror. The Second was the kind of sequel that was bigger and at times better but lost a lot of the definitive character of the original. 3 and 4 (In Space) have their over the top moments and a fair effort by Briand Trenchard-Smith. 5 (In The Hood) is the worst in the series, not just because the series went 'gangsta rap' on us (well, partly). 6 (2 Back In The Hood) was significantly better probably because it's a reworking of the original and it was a bit more self aware. The WWE Reboot... well, nobody cares about that one.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> 5 (In The Hood) is the worst in the series, not just because the series went 'gangsta rap' on us (well, partly). 6 (2 Back In The Hood) was significantly better probably because it's a reworking of the original and it was a bit more self aware.


Whole lotta nope to all of this.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

The best vampire movie in a long time was 30 Days of Night.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> The best vampire movie in a long time was 30 Days of Night.


accurate. The comic was even better. Sadly all the sequels are dogshit. The comic sequels are still great though.
I just loved how bleak and nihilistic it was.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Vampire and werewolf movies were what got me into horror as a little kid so I have a huge soft spot for movies involving those monsters.
some of my favorite vamp movies (in no particular order):
30 days of night
Let The Right One In
Martin
Vampire Hunter D
Blood
Salem's Lot
Lost Boys
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
The Hunger
Nosferatu the Vampyre
The Revenant (2009)
John Carpenter's Vampires
Near Dark
Vampire in Brooklyn
Interview with the Vampire
The Underworld films (they're good stupid fun)
What we do in the shadows


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Wolfcop. Nuff said.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Wolfcop. Nuff said.


wolfcop was awesome. have you seen the 2nd one yet?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> wolfcop was awesome. have you seen the 2nd one yet?


Nope. I don't think any of the streaming channels I have are playing it.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

KnightBrolaire said:


> Vampire and werewolf movies were what got me into horror as a little kid so I have a huge soft spot for movies involving those monsters.
> some of my favorite vamp movies (in no particular order):
> 30 days of night
> Let The Right One In
> Martin
> Vampire Hunter D
> Blood
> Salem's Lot
> Lost Boys
> A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
> The Hunger
> Nosferatu the Vampyre
> The Revenant (2009)
> John Carpenter's Vampires
> Near Dark
> Vampire in Brooklyn
> Interview with the Vampire
> The Underworld films (they're good stupid fun)
> What we do in the shadows




I'd say my favorite werewolf movie was Dog Soldiers. As far as my favorite vamp movies in the last few years, obviously 30 Days of Night, but also Let The Right One In. The Swedish movie, not that shitty American remake. Also, I love that you threw Vampire Hunter D in there.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

My fave werewolf movie would have to be Silver Bullet, though An American Werewolf in London and The Howling are pretty good as well.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Spaced Out Ace said:


> My fave werewolf movie would have to be Silver Bullet, though An American Werewolf in London and The Howling are pretty good as well.



Goddamn, it's been a long time since AWIL. That was a damn good movie, actually. Can't believe I forgot about it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> I'd say my favorite werewolf movie was Dog Soldiers. As far as my favorite vamp movies in the last few years, obviously 30 Days of Night, but also Let The Right One In. The Swedish movie, not that shitty American remake. Also, I love that you threw Vampire Hunter D in there.


Vampire Hunter D is awesome. It was doing Castlevania before Castlevania 

Dog Soldiers is pretty high on my list of great werewolf movies. For me American Werewolf in London is still probably my all time favorite. Howling and Silver Bullet are good too. I love Wolf and Wolfen, they don't get mentioned much. Ginger Snaps is good. Late Phases is ok, same with Company of Wolves. Werewolves on Wheels is hilarious, same with Bad Moon. Wer is a cool take on werewolf mythology.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Speaking of Castlevania, the first season was fucking awesome, just short. Hopefully the second season is longer, because it looks badass.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> Speaking of Castlevania, the first season was fucking awesome, just short. Hopefully the second season is longer, because it looks badass.


yeah I was really skeptical that it'd be any good, but I really enjoyed it. I burned through the whole season in a couple of hours


----------



## Ralyks

My son managed to sit through Cool Runnings the other day. I love that movie so much.
Also, watched Despicable Me 3 with him last night because he looked interested in it. I will say the 80sness of it entertained me, considering I’ve never seen any of those movies.


----------



## mongey

Ralyks said:


> Also, watched Despicable Me 3 with him last night because he looked interested in it. I will say the 80sness of it entertained me, considering I’ve never seen any of those movies.



I have watched the first 2 and minions movie too many times the last 6 months with the 3 year old . need to get to the 3rd


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Just watched Terrifier and the short film. Christ, what an awesome character.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Red Sparrow: i'm a sucker for spy movies and for jennifer lawrence, so i really enjoyed it. It's a surprisingly mean spirited and dark movie, but jennifer lawrence carries it, even with her natasha and boris accent. she does a great job playing the innocent ballerina and showing her evolution into a smoldering emotionally manipulative sexpot. there's a dose of cronenbergian brutality sprinkled here and there to keep things interesting. my biggest complaint is the pacing is bad and there's zero chemistry between jennifer lawrence and joel edgerton.


----------



## wankerness

I don't get all the praise Joel Edgerton gets. He is often held up as one of the best actors working right now, but I really see him as being another Sam Worthington, just basically a faceless boring guy. Movies where he's required to do much of the heavy lifting always just are droning and put me to sleep. Midnight Special, It Comes at Night, and Warrior are the three I am referring to. He DOES add something to "The Gift," but that's a 1/4 record in my experience. And I think the other three are all frequently positively reviewed with his performance mentioned as one of the strongest parts! I just don't get it. I'm trying to think of a musical analogy and can't. Some really boring band that inexplicably gets swooned over.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I don't get all the praise Joel Edgerton gets. He is often held up as one of the best actors working right now, but I really see him as being another Sam Worthington, just basically a faceless boring guy. Movies where he's required to do much of the heavy lifting always just are droning and put me to sleep. Midnight Special, It Comes at Night, and Warrior are the three I am referring to. He DOES add something to "The Gift," but that's a 1/4 record in my experience. And I think the other three are all frequently positively reviewed with his performance mentioned as one of the strongest parts! I just don't get it. I'm trying to think of a musical analogy and can't. Some really boring band that inexplicably gets swooned over.


He was only good in Warrior imo. nearly everything else I've seen him in, he's been meh at best.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Crazy Rich Asians*

I'm not one for romcoms, but I felt obliged to watch this. And I enjoyed it a lot. 
I won't be bothering with the usual romcom cliches because it's all here and you sort of already know how it pans out being a romcom. It's really more about the in betweens and how they're delivered that differentiate them from each other, or at least what makes the good ones stand out. 

I heard that the book source material is portrayed through the view of more characters but the movie focuses mainly on Constance Wu's Rachel Chu, which works for the better in this case. Michelle Yeoh's character is also great, and I enjoyed a lot of the support cast's comedy relief, Awkwafina really works here. The settings are also dazzling, and the movie does a great job of portraying Singapore, from the street nightlife to the over extravagant rich elite (the wedding scenes are beautiful). 

I kinda wish that a lot of the themes and some subplots were explored a bit more deeper, especially between Wu and Yeoh's characters, as the movie sort of moves at a brisk pace and the main love interest, despite played well by Henry Golding is the less interesting cipher of the love dynamic. 

Again romcoms aren't my thing, but it was a lot more fun that I expected.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> I don't get all the praise Joel Edgerton gets. He is often held up as one of the best actors working right now, but I really see him as being another Sam Worthington, just basically a faceless boring guy. Movies where he's required to do much of the heavy lifting always just are droning and put me to sleep. Midnight Special, It Comes at Night, and Warrior are the three I am referring to. He DOES add something to "The Gift," but that's a 1/4 record in my experience. And I think the other three are all frequently positively reviewed with his performance mentioned as one of the strongest parts! I just don't get it. I'm trying to think of a musical analogy and can't. Some really boring band that inexplicably gets swooned over.



So hes the new Tom Cruise? Not great on his own, but around others and forced to up his game, he brings it.

That said, I like him in what I've seen him in, but don't go out of my way for anything he's in


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> *Crazy Rich Asians*
> 
> I'm not one for romcoms, but I felt obliged to watch this. And I enjoyed it a lot.
> I won't be bothering with the usual romcom cliches because it's all here and you sort of already know how it pans out being a romcom. It's really more about the in betweens and how they're delivered that differentiate them from each other, or at least what makes the good ones stand out.
> 
> I heard that the book source material is portrayed through the view of more characters but the movie focuses mainly on Constance Wu's Rachel Chu, which works for the better in this case. Michelle Yeoh's character is also great, and I enjoyed a lot of the support cast's comedy relief, Awkwafina really works here. The settings are also dazzling, and the movie does a great job of portraying Singapore, from the street nightlife to the over extravagant rich elite (the wedding scenes are beautiful).
> 
> I kinda wish that a lot of the themes and some subplots were explored a bit more deeper, especially between Wu and Yeoh's characters, as the movie sort of moves at a brisk pace and the main love interest, despite played well by Henry Golding is the less interesting cipher of the love dynamic.
> 
> Again romcoms aren't my thing, but it was a lot more fun that I expected.


I need to watch that, but have a hard time justifying a theater visit!

I like almost all romcoms that I watch, but I do heavy screening first to avoid bad ones.  But, some of my favorite movies are romcoms, and some of the ones that people like to shit on out of some weird spite towards teen girls or single women are wonderful. Like, Legally Blonde or Bridget Jones' Diary. 

No, Joel Edgerton is not the new Tom Cruise. Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise has undeniable charisma and screen presence and movies can survive while based around him (ex Mission Impossible movies, Edge of Tomorrow, War of the Worlds, etcetcetc), while Joel Edgerton's whole thing is being stoic subdued guy with no personality. Also, Tom Cruise is awesome in his more out-there roles. Like, Collateral, or Magnolia, or Tropic Thunder.


----------



## MFB

With the exception of MI2, the rest of them have had some big players supporting Cruise throughout. 

MI: John Voight, Emilio Estevez, Ving Rhames, even Jean Reno.
MI2: Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Brendan Gleeson
MI3: Not a damn clue off hand 
MI4 onward: Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin

Cruise might be the focal point as point man on the mission, but the action has come to greatly outweigh the espionage/dark alley conversations and reporting aspect, so I think if he had to do more of that, it might start to show.

Same for the films you mentioned, Edge of Tomorrow was him and Emily Blunt together, but most of his role was confused soldier dying over and over and then action guy. A Few Good Men? I love it, but that thing is PACKED with stars and all do laps around him. Oblivion is pretty boring aside from production design, and if you break it down: theres a lot of Cruise, and when there are others supporting him, they're really not bringing much to help him out.


----------



## wankerness

MI3 had Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the only truly menacing villain in the whole damn series, Michelle Monaghan (one of my very favorite actresses, one who's vastly underrated and isn't getting the kind of roles she deserves after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang should have catapulted her to super-stardom), and Keri Russell, on top of some of the people you listed for 4 onward (Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg anyway). It's not a great movie, but it's sure a hell of a lot better than 1 and especially 2. Even with the ugly blue lighting and lens flares of being an early JJ Abrams movie. Speaking of MI, 5 is entirely Rebecca Ferguson's movie. Someday I'll watch 6 and get mad when she's not in it enough.

Of course Tom Cruise has good costars, he's in major movies!! But, he isn't purely carried by them. He's not like a Sam Worthington or a Jai Courtney or whatever; he actually contributes to the flick and is one of the hardest working actors in the business. I, too, think Emily Blunt is the real standout of Edge of Tomorrow. You clearly have a bias against the guy, and that's fine, but he's a movie star for a reason other than "studios decided to put him in big movies for no reason." He did the work in his early flicks. Born on the Fourth of July, Risky Business, Rain Man, etc. He's most definitely not one of my favorites, either, but other than some recent misfires like The Mummy, he's got a pretty great track record of choosing good projects when you compare him to similar old action stars through the same time period like Schwarzenegger or Stallone or Samuel L Jackson or Bruce Willy or Liam Neesons or whoever.


----------



## synrgy

I want to dislike Cruise more than I do (because I sometimes have trouble separating the art from the artist), but when I look over his IMDB I definitely have more in the 'like' column than not.


----------



## MFB

synrgy said:


> I want to dislike Cruise more than I do (because I sometimes have trouble separating the art from the artist), but when I look over his IMDB I definitely have more in the 'like' column than not.



This.

I actually put Cruise in my top 5 actors, along with Hanks, and Spacey. 

While I think he can't carry a movie on his own, I wont deny how much hes given us for movies, and there's nothing hes been in really that I was actively against. I by no means care for him as a person, but when hes in a movie with a solid cast? I know hes going to up his game to that level and it'll be worth a watch.


----------



## synrgy

I used to feel that way about Spacey, but -- House of Cards notwithstanding; he was pretty exceptional in that role -- I had been souring on him over time. I think he was really good at a couple of types, but eventually began to be a caricature of himself. And now, post-discovery that he was a creeper, it's hard to go on appreciating him. I'll probably keep my soft spots for American Beauty and - to a lesser extent - The Big Kahuna (though that's more for DeVito), but otherwise.. I dunno..

With Hanks, I feel like he's been in some decidedly great stuff, but it was generally _the story_ that captivated me; his performance was most-often secondary, or even detrimental. Like, take either Sleepless in Seattle and/or You've Got Mail and put them up against When Harry Met Sally, and I'll go with the latter, every time: Despite their obvious surface similarities, Crystal's nihilistic-yet-lovable Harry is a far more interesting performance than Hanks' Joe and/or Sam. Yet, Hanks is one of the most successful of his generation, whilst Crystal's biggest subsequent leads were in City Slickers and Analyze This. I think Hanks [or his agent(s)] were just really, really good at picking projects.

And then there's Nicholas Cage.


----------



## wankerness

I have no problem separating artist from the art, if you're one of those people that gets hung up on that there's barely anything you can possibly enjoy unless you remain willfully ignorant. I mean, I have no doubt that I would still enjoy the early Bill Cosby standup albums. I loved those and listened to them a million times. Yes, he's one of entertainment history's greatest monsters. But, oh well, they're great. 

This all said, Kevin Spacey sucks. He's fine in Seven since his personality is turned off, but I can barely stand him in anything else, even if I like some of the movies around him (Baby Driver, LA Confidential, American Beauty to some degree). I refused to watch House of Cards as soon as I heard he was the star and talked to the camera. I want to say I was an early adopter of Kevin Spacey hatred with that goddam Lex Luthor performance. (Even if it is arguably better than Jesse Eisenberg's!!!) Plus, I heard the stories about him sexually blackmailing other actors YEARS before the #metoo thing happened, I always kind of thought it was weird how ignored that was. Again, that doesn't affect my opinion of the guy on screen, it was just a good thing to bring up when I talked about how I didn't like him as an ace up my sleeve when people disagreed and tried to talk me into watching House of Cards.


----------



## mongey

synrgy said:


> I want to dislike Cruise more than I do (because I sometimes have trouble separating the art from the artist), but when I look over his IMDB I definitely have more in the 'like' column than not.


for sure. he may be a monumental tool in the real world but he has allot of movies I really like in his work .

Vanilla sky- the world seems to hate this movie, I really rate it
Minority report
The firm
Few good men
4th July
edge of tomorrow

all jump into mind without even looking at a list.Sure there would be a bunch more if I did .Plus his work in tropic thunder makes me like him a little more than I should


Spacey- Usual suspects is a favorite of mine so I have a spot for him there. but everything else i can take or leave him even if he does a decent job .I just didn't buy him as a heavy weed smoker in american beauty


----------



## Guitarmiester

These heatwaves have been keeping me up and ripping through a ton of movies because of it. Two standouts:

1. Baby Driver: I had a few friends repetitively recommend I watch Driver. I stupidly assumed Baby Driver was the same movie but not regretting that mistake one bit. The constant music that meshed perfectly with the scenes was amazing. Plus, Baby had sunglasses on deck even when smacked off his face. I'm not one for watching movies again. This one is an exception. 

2. Caught: Bought the ridiculously cheap yearly subscription to Shudder since I'm a horror nerd. There's a whole bunch of hit or miss on there. This movie was pretty creepy. Bigger budget movies should take notice of the characters in this. Whoever the Blairs were killed it. There aren't many characters to begin with but who needs a bunch when the ones at hand are on point?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> I need to watch that, but have a hard time justifying a theater visit!
> 
> I like almost all romcoms that I watch, but I do heavy screening first to avoid bad ones.  But, some of my favorite movies are romcoms, and some of the ones that people like to shit on out of some weird spite towards teen girls or single women are wonderful. Like, Legally Blonde or Bridget Jones' Diary.



I suppose watching Maid In Manhattan in the cinemas with some of my lady friends making me swear off romcoms ever again somewhat colored my opinions of them.  But I did like A Midnight In Paris and Love And Other Drugs though. For me, Crazy Ritch Asians was hard to watch without being a blank slate. Not just for the romcom genre, but because I already knew that a lot of the premise and subtexts will hit close to home personally (and they did). That said I still recommend to see it. Probably better as a date movie but still good otherwise.



synrgy said:


> With Hanks, I feel like he's been in some decidedly great stuff, but it was generally _the story_ that captivated me; his performance was most-often secondary, or even detrimental. Like, take either Sleepless in Seattle and/or You've Got Mail and put them up against When Harry Met Sally, and I'll go with the latter, every time: Despite their obvious surface similarities, Crystal's nihilistic-yet-lovable Harry is a far more interesting performance than Hanks' Joe and/or Sam. Yet, Hanks is one of the most successful of his generation, whilst Crystal's biggest subsequent leads were in City Slickers and Analyze This. I think Hanks [or his agent(s)] were just really, really good at picking projects.



Tom Hanks did do Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, which nabbed him 2 Oscars, while the closest Billy Crystal has is hosting them. 

Ok in all seriousness, they're great actors. I do lean towards Hanks more maybe from having more exposure to his movies when I was younger, like Splash, Big, The Money Pit... ok those weren't great, but I liked Big at the time a lot though.


----------



## wankerness

Tom Hanks is fine. I would never think of him when making a list of favorite actors. The thing about Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally vs Tom Hanks in the "companion pieces" is entirely true. I mean, WHMS has a much more razor-edged script since it wasn't primarily written by Nora Ephron so a ton of it is down to that instead of just acting, but he's still supposed to be grumpy in Sleepless in Seattle and seems like someone good-naturedly faking it. 

Billy Crystal went on to less cause he's weird-looking.

Tom Hanks is amazing in the last couple minutes of Captain Phillips, that's the only time I was ever like "WOW this guy is good." Including the likes of Castaway, where he held attention fine for the whole thing, but just seemed a bit utilitarian I guess.


----------



## synrgy

Yeah, to be clear, I wasn't so much trying to compare Hanks to Crystal in a general sense, as I was going for an easy example comparison of "romantic comedies" in which Hanks was 'outperformed' by someone not generally considered to be a great actor. Granted, Hanks was hyper-successful prior to either of the roles I referenced, but I feel like - for the most part - the point stands: Average actor made a career of selecting perfect projects.

But when I think of the stuff he was supposed to carry mostly on his own - Road to Perdition comes to mind - I'm generally underwhelmed. Pretty much every time I've liked a movie he's in, it's been due to the premise, and/or the ensemble cast surrounding him.


----------



## mongey

Hanks best movie The Green mile for sure. I think he was good in it.

2nd would have to be bachelor party


Hanks is def way more talented actor than Billy Crystal . from his era in mainstream movies thought Id say Tim Robbins is way better than Hanks.But shawshank is high on my list of movies, so i'm biased . also Cadilac man with robin Williams I have always thought was a great movie


----------



## synrgy

He's practically invisible in The Green Mile!  

Don't get me wrong: Excellent movie, IMHO. I'm just saying, despite narrating and having the most screen time, Hanks is barely present. The film is mostly carried by the performances from Michael Clark Duncan and Dough Hutchison. Sure, Hanks employed a southern accent, but, otherwise, he's just kind of there.

Robbins - along with everyone else - was great in Shawshank, but I've liked him in little else. Decent actor, but sort of the opposite of Hanks in that he [or his agent(s)] made a career of mostly-questionable choices.


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Robbins - along with everyone else - was great in Shawshank, but I've liked him in little else. Decent actor, but sort of the opposite of Hanks in that he [or his agent(s)] made a career of mostly-questionable choices.



I love Tim Robbins in Jacob's Ladder. And The Sure Thing, of course.


----------



## LeviathanKiller

I just noticed the tags for this thread.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Watched Terrifier and Wolfcop again last night. Awesome modern horror. Wouldn't mind more like this.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I love Tim Robbins in Jacob's Ladder. And The Sure Thing, of course.


It's on Prime. What's it like? I don't think I've seen it.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

I saw The Festival recently. Fun film, guy from The Inbetweeners basically plays the same character again. It will be on Netflix by the end of the year.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> It's on Prime. What's it like? I don't think I've seen it.



Jacob's Ladder is one of the best horror-ish movies of the 90s IMO. As a horror fan you should watch it. It's got some religious imagery/parallels in it, and there's a bit of sappy material, but it's mostly kind of a precursor to the popular "mindfuck" movies. It also famously inspired Silent Hill imagery. Basically about a vietnam vet that starts seeing things after his kid dies, and discovers it might be related to drug experiments back then.


----------



## A-Branger

Ralyks said:


> My son managed to sit through Cool Runnings the other day.



wat?!, that makes it sound like he was forced into it and barely made it till the end, like if it was a task

what kind of kid doesnt like that movie!!? lol I have never watched a movie so many times and never gets old. One of the very few movies I actualy know the dialog off, and one simple line (with a Jamaican accent) and everyone knows which movie and what part of the movie you talk about haha


eitherway.

Saw the alst one of MI, pretty awesome movie, but you def need to see the alst one(s) and have it fresh, I got lost couple of times in this one.... specially on that spy chick (forgot her name, the one who started on the alst one too), Im so in love with her, its stupid.....

Saw Happy Times Murders, because muppets. Movie was cool, but tilting more into the "meh" category. Best jokes was on trailers as always.... Think mostly was the awful choice of the main muppet character. Cool home movie, not cinema worth it

TAG. I didnt saw it at the cinema as I was expecting the "hollywood comedy script #34"... you know, where they chooce a random comedy script out of the wall and jsut fill the gaps and names.

Movie was actually pretty cool


----------



## Ralyks

A-Branger said:


> wat?!, that makes it sound like he was forced into it and barely made it till the end, like if it was a task
> 
> what kind of kid doesnt like that movie!!? lol I have never watched a movie so many times and never gets old. One of the very few movies I actualy know the dialog off, and one simple line (with a Jamaican accent) and everyone knows which movie and what part of the movie you talk about haha



Mostly my son is still young and we're still learning what he likes and doesn't like. He'll point to something but change his mind on 5 minutes. He picked Cool Runnings and seemed to genuinely enjoy it.


----------



## A-Branger

Ralyks said:


> Mostly my son is still young and we're still learning what he likes and doesn't like. He'll point to something but change his mind on 5 minutes. He picked Cool Runnings and seemed to genuinely enjoy it.



aaahhhh fair enough  .... or should I said "no problem mon" 

glad he liked it


----------



## PunkBillCarson

So I watched Let The Right One In again and then read the book...

As great as the movie is, the book stomps, easily. Entire fucking plot lines were left out of the movie, though I will say... The book is supremely fucked up. It's a great book, but I don't think I can stomach it again. Shit left me feeling dirty afterwards.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Black Panther
Thor: Ragnarok
Assassins
Hardcore Henry


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

More of you need to watch Terrifier.


----------



## wankerness

PunkBillCarson said:


> So I watched Let The Right One In again and then read the book...
> 
> As great as the movie is, the book stomps, easily. Entire fucking plot lines were left out of the movie, though I will say... The book is supremely fucked up. It's a great book, but I don't think I can stomach it again. Shit left me feeling dirty afterwards.



As a huge fan of the movie, I say the book is total sleazoid garbage with horrible writing (though, that could have partly been the translation). I was excited to read it and get the backstory for that odd memory-sharing scene when we find out about the...scar. But, instead, I got utter trash that makes Stephen King look like Shirley Jackson. Yes, we really needed a zombie with a boner trying to rape Eli the whole time, that would have been a much better movie. And Oscar should have been constantly referring to his bladder problems. And we needed a character sitting in a basement smashing someone's head over and over and over. Etc.

On the positive side, it made me appreciate the movie all the more for managing to extract such an emotional, amazing story out of all that dreck.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

I guess I've got a different view of the book than you do. Oh well.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Eraser
Doctor Strange
I, Robot
Face/Off
Under the Skin


----------



## fps

Black k Klansman. Awesome film!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Terminal- it's a madcap kind of noire movie. Margot Robbie is excellent in it, same with mike myers. The color palette and camera work are great. Definitely worth a watch if you want to see something a bit zany.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Just finished watching Funland on Amazon Prime. After that, I think I want to blow my fucking brains out. Yeesh!


----------



## synrgy

The Revenant: That'll stick with me for a little while, I expect. What a beautiful (and super intense) movie! The cinematography was incredible. Long, flowing shots that seem to be one take even when/if they aren't. I'm not sure there's anybody around right now who's better at being unlikeable than Tom Hardy. (And please don't misunderstand: I think he's _brilliant_; just exceptionally great at playing unredeemable bastards.)

Atomic Blonde: Basically Charlize Theron doing a Jason Bourne movie set in the 80's. I got a kick out of the way they had popular 80's tunes play over most of the darkest moments. Enjoyed the movie more than I expected to. I feel like Theron has tried to do movies like this before and whether due to her performance or the direction, they've not gone right. This one went right. Some of the better fight scenes I've seen in the last several years. Also, bonus points for bewbs! 

Fearless (1993 Jeff Bridges; not 2006 Jet Li): Depressing. Solid cast, good acting, but kinda... I hesitate to say 'pointless', but... I get the impression they were aiming for 'cathartic', but I feel like they missed the mark.

*edit* Oh, and, Major League II: Basically the same movie as the first one, except they tried to replace Wesley Snipes with Omar Epps, like we wouldn't notice. Still, I can't help it. I just have a soft spot for these things.


----------



## wankerness

Fearless is good. The Revenant is beautifully made, but man, that's one of the prime examples of Oscars giving someone an Oscar cause they did the Oscar thing with Leo in the lead role. He was outside in the cold a lot and ate some raw meat! GIVE THE MAN AN OSCAR! His character has basically no depth and the only way we see ANY of his feelings is through those garbage flashbacks that basically have no depth to them either. They have to TELL us what he's feeling cause we can't tell from his performance, and even then there's really no emotional depth to it. Tom Hardy is so much better it's ridiculous.


----------



## wankerness

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

This is an idiotic, disjointed mess that makes Jurassic World look like Jurassic Park. It's loaded with nonsense. Some of the biggest annoyances I had with it:

-The big bad new dinosaur is the "Indoraptor," which is a genetically engineered weapon that will...attack and kill someone if you point a fucking sniper rifle at them and trace the laser on them for a few seconds and then press the trigger. What, exactly, is the point of the dinosaur in this loop? Maybe it is sly commentary on the waste of the military industrial complex. (No, it definitely isn't)

-The second half of the movie has an obligatory cute kid as one of the main characters, not that she's ever given any real characterization. Anyway, she's


Spoiler



a clone, and this is treated as some shocking revelation with "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE IS!!!" the exact language used. Everyone reacts with horror. I guess the writer has something against test tube babies or something and thought everyone else would share his horror, because that one falls flatter than flat.



-Most of the good shots are in the trailer and have little to no relevance to the plot when viewed in context. Particularly the mosasaur in the wave behind the swimmers. That shot is all it is, just a shot! THAT'S the movie I wanted to see. Oh, and I believe 100% of Malcolm's lines are in the trailer as well. Including the end of the movie


Spoiler



about how we have to learn to coexist cause now it's Jurassic World. This is delivered after the 11 or so surviving dinosaurs are released into civilization. Yeah, THAT is going to have a huge, immediate, and lasting impact on the way people live!



-The other reason most of that was in the trailer is that the movie itself is bland, small-scale, disjointed crap. The trailer would have you believe it's a bunch of action on the island with exploding volcanos and stampedes, but that is seriously about 20 minutes of the movie. The rest is a bunch of boring garbage that takes place in a remote mansion with obligatory evil suits trying to sell the captured dinos to other evil guys in suits, and then the indoraptor breaks loose with the express purpose of just terrorizing our leads. It's so, so stupid and reeks of horrendous budget planning, or something. "Oh, the 20 minutes on the island used up 75% of our budget? Well, guess we only have enough money to film the rest of it with a couple of dinosaurs in a fucking house! Quick, rewrite the entire script!!"

This all said, while it was infuriatingly dumb, it was slightly endearing in its disjointed weirdness. The highlight is a weird scene that seems to be a direct homage to Nosferatu in which the indoraptor creeps down off the roof and into the bedroom of the kid while she hides under the covers, with tons of talons silhouetted on walls and whatnot. It seems like it was filmed by a different director, cause the rest of the movie is almost devoid of any interesting visuals. I almost laughed towards the beginning, when they arrive on the island and a character sees her first dinosaur and makes the face of wonder like Grant/Sattler in the first movie while that music plays, and then it's like this flat straight-on shot of a sauropod in front of them with flat lighting and it's terrible. It was as much of a deflation of that iconic scene as that youtube edit with its music replaced with kazoo. Only I don't think this was on purpose.

The hideous oversaturated blues of the film (much like Jurassic World) do work wonders with Bryce Dallas Howard, whose eyes look like a special effect in teal/orange land. She's appealing, and her character is less awful than in the previous film, despite being horribly written and having almost no depth. Chris Pratt is in a similar boat, where he's moderately likable, and it's 100% due to the casting as he's given absolutely no character beyond "likes Blue, is building a cabin, and broke up with BDH."

Ted Levine is the bad military man, who has about 10 minutes total screentime. The "main" bad guy is just some empty suit, given about 20 minutes of screentime, and then we have Toby Jones just used as a prop to deliver lots of laughable "ruthless greedy rich guy" dialogue while looking like Toby Jones. All three are awful characters.

It took me this long to even think about the special effects, which is a good indicator that they're totally uninteresting. The CGI really doesn't look very good, I was constantly thinking about how fake they looked compared to something with much lower budget like, I dunno, Arrival? It's just a big cartoon show, and the dinosaurs are all so ill-defined and uninspiring in their designs and coloration. It's fitting that the main dino is called BLUE, considering the suffocating blue hues over the whole movie result in every dinosaur looking almost the same, even the one that seems to have been supposed to be red (carnotaurus). Their animations have no character, and all the predators seem to be the same thing, just with various neck-lengths and sizes. None of them have personality apart from the one admittedly amusing "character," the pachycephalosaur that breaks our leads out of jail and then wrecks all the rich people at the auction. It's just all obligatory and boring and even though my inner child should have been going nuts at seeing baryonyx and carnotaurus on screen, it was done so flatly compared to, say, the dilophosaur in the original that I couldn't make myself care.

Yeah, it's terrible, and several scenes had me groaning out loud or getting actively annoyed, but it's just so damn weird and the leads are pleasant enough that I couldn't hate it overall. Which puts it about on the level between Transformers 2 and 3, which is the kind of company it deserves! Here's hoping the next entry has a completely different creative team.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

A Simple Favor: The tone is all over the place, it can't decide if it wants to be a serious noire/thriller or if it wants to play up the comedy angles at times. It utilizes some standard noire tropes that I won't get into since they'd kind of spoil the story, but needless to say if you've watched a lot of noire films you'll know exactly what I mean. Blake Lively steals every scene she's in, though Anna Kendrick does a great job as well. There's some harder to follow parts that aren't really explained towards the end, and the ending kind of suffers from too much exposition of those parts, since they'd rather tell us than show us. There's one or two really obvious twists but the rest of the twists are pretty unexpected.
Worth a watch since there's nothing else interesting in theaters currently.


----------



## synrgy

The Handmaiden.

Holy crap. I didn't know what I was getting into. I thought it was just gonna be an interesting Japanese (and Korean) period piece.

It is that, but it's also many other things. I don't want to spoil too much, here, but suffice to say there's some rather hot/erotic scenes between two ladies, an interesting plot twist or two, and even a couple mildly-horrific moments. Recommended.

I'm also about halfway through Blade of The Immortal. Kinda meh on it so far, but maybe the second half will win me over..


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

synrgy said:


> The Handmaiden.
> 
> Holy crap. I didn't know what I was getting into. I thought it was just gonna be an interesting Japanese (and Korean) period piece.
> 
> It is that, but it's also many other things. I don't want to spoil too much, here, but suffice to say there's some rather hot/erotic scenes between two ladies, an interesting plot twist or two, and even a couple mildly-horrific moments. Recommended.



Had I not hold off on this and watched it before seeing Hunt For The Wilderpeople in 2016, The Handmaiden would have been my movie of the year instead. Fantastic movie indeed and another testament to Park Chan-wook's virtuoso film chops.


----------



## wankerness

I ordered the big fancy blu-ray of that from the UK the other day. It's a great movie. I couldn't compare it to Hunt for the Wilderpeople but yeah, those two and The Big Sick are probably my three favorites to come out since Mad Max FR.


----------



## synrgy

Summer Of '84.

More or less Stand By Me meets Super 8, or - if one prefers - Stranger Things without the supernatural elements. It's basically another cash-in on our collective nostalgia for the Amblin era.

In the first few minutes I was feeling iffy, but I was won over by midway, and impressed by the end. It did not end the way I expected it to; darker than I anticipated, and it's a better film for it.


----------



## synrgy

Red Sparrow.

This might have come off better had I not _just_ watched Atomic Blonde. Not that the two movies are _at all_ similar, despite being marketed as such.

My gut impression is that it's not as good as it seems to think it is. Atomic Blonde didn't take itself too seriously; Red Sparrow is kind of the opposite.

I'm starting to sour a bit on Lawrence, maybe? I love several of the movies she's in, but am increasingly less convinced that her performances are the reason for that. She's not terribly convincing throughout this movie. To boot, Edgerton is his usual wet-blanket, here, too.

All that said, it's not without merit. Probably a solid 3 out of 5. I don't mean to suggest it's a stinker. I just feel like it should have been better.


----------



## synrgy

*Death Duel*

Ever since the first time I saw Kill Bill, I've been slowly familiarizing myself with the Shaw Brothers catalog. This is one of the last ones I had to get to.

It's probably the prettiest I've seen so far. Whomever handled the cinematography did a great job, at least compared to their contemporaries.

Per usual, the story is a little clunky and convoluted, but at least offers a pinch more than 'create an excuse for a fight scene, rinse, repeat'. I'm vaguely reminded of Highlander's 'there can be only one' premise, and I find myself wondering if the makers of Highlander were at least partially inspired by this story.

*Super Troopers 2*

Super Troopers, but in Canada! 

There are some solid gags here. It's probably not quite as funny as the first one, but it's leagues better than any of the other movies this crew did during the interim.


----------



## synrgy

Hot Shots! and Hot Shots! Part Deux

Man. It'd been a while, but IMO, these totally hold up. I haven't laughed that well in a while. Right up there with The Naked Gun movies.

Topper: "Ramada, I want to be with you. I want to hold you. I want to meet your parents and pet your dog..."

Ramada: "My parents are dead, Topper. My dog ate them."


----------



## PunkBillCarson

synrgy said:


> Red Sparrow.
> 
> This might have come off better had I not _just_ watched Atomic Blonde. Not that the two movies are _at all_ similar, despite being marketed as such.
> 
> My gut impression is that it's not as good as it seems to think it is. Atomic Blonde didn't take itself too seriously; Red Sparrow is kind of the opposite.
> 
> I'm starting to sour a bit on Lawrence, maybe? I love several of the movies she's in, but am increasingly less convinced that her performances are the reason for that. She's not terribly convincing throughout this movie. To boot, Edgerton is his usual wet-blanket, here, too.
> 
> All that said, it's not without merit. Probably a solid 3 out of 5. I don't mean to suggest it's a stinker. I just feel like it should have been better.




I got sick of Lawrence when it seemed like every movie she was in, she had to insert a line about standing and fighting.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Doom- I loved it. it's a good call back to aliens/predator with a bunch of stupid meathead soldiers fighting and killing monsters. The first person sequence was really well done. The creature designs/practical effects look surprisingly good. The bfg had me laughing, especially with how utterly ridiculously big it was. Definitely worth a watch if you want a breakneck action movie with good gore.


----------



## wankerness

PunkBillCarson said:


> I got sick of Lawrence when it seemed like every movie she was in, she had to insert a line about standing and fighting.



She wrote the scripts??


----------



## A-Branger

wankerness said:


> Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
> 
> This is an idiotic, disjointed mess that makes Jurassic World look like Jurassic Park. It's loaded with nonsense. Some of the biggest annoyances I had with it:
> 
> -The big bad new dinosaur is the "Indoraptor," which is a genetically engineered weapon that will...attack and kill someone if you point a fucking sniper rifle at them and trace the laser on them for a few seconds and then press the trigger. What, exactly, is the point of the dinosaur in this loop? Maybe it is sly commentary on the waste of the military industrial complex. (No, it definitely isn't)
> 
> -The second half of the movie has an obligatory cute kid as one of the main characters, not that she's ever given any real characterization. Anyway, she's
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> a clone, and this is treated as some shocking revelation with "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE IS!!!" the exact language used. Everyone reacts with horror. I guess the writer has something against test tube babies or something and thought everyone else would share his horror, because that one falls flatter than flat.
> 
> 
> 
> -Most of the good shots are in the trailer and have little to no relevance to the plot when viewed in context. Particularly the mosasaur in the wave behind the swimmers. That shot is all it is, just a shot! THAT'S the movie I wanted to see. Oh, and I believe 100% of Malcolm's lines are in the trailer as well. Including the end of the movie
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> about how we have to learn to coexist cause now it's Jurassic World. This is delivered after the 11 or so surviving dinosaurs are released into civilization. Yeah, THAT is going to have a huge, immediate, and lasting impact on the way people live!
> 
> 
> 
> -The other reason most of that was in the trailer is that the movie itself is bland, small-scale, disjointed crap. The trailer would have you believe it's a bunch of action on the island with exploding volcanos and stampedes, but that is seriously about 20 minutes of the movie. The rest is a bunch of boring garbage that takes place in a remote mansion with obligatory evil suits trying to sell the captured dinos to other evil guys in suits, and then the indoraptor breaks loose with the express purpose of just terrorizing our leads. It's so, so stupid and reeks of horrendous budget planning, or something. "Oh, the 20 minutes on the island used up 75% of our budget? Well, guess we only have enough money to film the rest of it with a couple of dinosaurs in a fucking house! Quick, rewrite the entire script!!"
> 
> This all said, while it was infuriatingly dumb, it was slightly endearing in its disjointed weirdness. The highlight is a weird scene that seems to be a direct homage to Nosferatu in which the indoraptor creeps down off the roof and into the bedroom of the kid while she hides under the covers, with tons of talons silhouetted on walls and whatnot. It seems like it was filmed by a different director, cause the rest of the movie is almost devoid of any interesting visuals. I almost laughed towards the beginning, when they arrive on the island and a character sees her first dinosaur and makes the face of wonder like Grant/Sattler in the first movie while that music plays, and then it's like this flat straight-on shot of a sauropod in front of them with flat lighting and it's terrible. It was as much of a deflation of that iconic scene as that youtube edit with its music replaced with kazoo. Only I don't think this was on purpose.
> 
> The hideous oversaturated blues of the film (much like Jurassic World) do work wonders with Bryce Dallas Howard, whose eyes look like a special effect in teal/orange land. She's appealing, and her character is less awful than in the previous film, despite being horribly written and having almost no depth. Chris Pratt is in a similar boat, where he's moderately likable, and it's 100% due to the casting as he's given absolutely no character beyond "likes Blue, is building a cabin, and broke up with BDH."
> 
> Ted Levine is the bad military man, who has about 10 minutes total screentime. The "main" bad guy is just some empty suit, given about 20 minutes of screentime, and then we have Toby Jones just used as a prop to deliver lots of laughable "ruthless greedy rich guy" dialogue while looking like Toby Jones. All three are awful characters.
> 
> It took me this long to even think about the special effects, which is a good indicator that they're totally uninteresting. The CGI really doesn't look very good, I was constantly thinking about how fake they looked compared to something with much lower budget like, I dunno, Arrival? It's just a big cartoon show, and the dinosaurs are all so ill-defined and uninspiring in their designs and coloration. It's fitting that the main dino is called BLUE, considering the suffocating blue hues over the whole movie result in every dinosaur looking almost the same, even the one that seems to have been supposed to be red (carnotaurus). Their animations have no character, and all the predators seem to be the same thing, just with various neck-lengths and sizes. None of them have personality apart from the one admittedly amusing "character," the pachycephalosaur that breaks our leads out of jail and then wrecks all the rich people at the auction. It's just all obligatory and boring and even though my inner child should have been going nuts at seeing baryonyx and carnotaurus on screen, it was done so flatly compared to, say, the dilophosaur in the original that I couldn't make myself care.
> 
> Yeah, it's terrible, and several scenes had me groaning out loud or getting actively annoyed, but it's just so damn weird and the leads are pleasant enough that I couldn't hate it overall. Which puts it about on the level between Transformers 2 and 3, which is the kind of company it deserves! Here's hoping the next entry has a completely different creative team.



yeah the trailer is the most missleading thing ever. I couldnt believe I was watching a movie with fricking DINOSAURS on a fucking HOUSE.... fucking seriusly?!?!?!...... first of all what kind of house is that?? which BTW they show you the outside of it..... that can so much space that could accomodate several dinos???, not only that but it also has its own massive port so a massive cargo ship can dock on it... WTF!?!?!?

and then the whole premise of the movie.... we are gonna sell the dinos on the black market...... for fucking what???.... Oh yeah I got an idea, Im gonna buy a couple of raptors or even better a fucking Trex, so when war comes in, I jsut release the big fucking thing, because theres 0 chance my enemy would shoot the fucker out or that he would munch on my own troops aye... fucking stupid

and because thats an agresive man eater..... How about a triceratops, or one of other like that??..... Oh yeh Im gonna buy a glorified pre-historic COW for my country/gang/place in the black market *facepalm*


not only that, but the amount of people that gets killed in the movie its amazing, and the lack of fucks given..... oh yeah I need a distraction, so just lets release this dinno in the room ala scoobydoo... difference is the dino killed like 20 people..... what???..... and the main guy is like "meh", pretty muhc everyone its like "meh" about it.

oh yeah lets release the fricking dinos at the end because they are gonna die (poor things)..... not even 5 min into it and they killed like 30 people around the house alone, not counting the hundreds more they will


----------



## synrgy

I'm barely 18 minutes into American Honey and I'm already feeling deeply uncomfortable, and am reminded why I got the hell out of southern Delaware as fast as I could. (It's not in southern DE, but its initial locations and people remind me of Eastern Shore life.)

So far, it's a lot like early Harmony Korine movies; more voyeuristic than narrative-driven.

It's also increasing the intensity of my fear for my kid's teenage years.


----------



## wankerness

Summer of 84

Yet another 80s nostalgia trip ala Stranger Things, Super 8 and the last version of It. This one has our mildly appealing quartet of guys and our thinly drawn obligatory girl investigating a serial killer in their neighborhood and suspecting their neighbor, a friendly cop (the only actor I recognized, the hapless producer from GLOW).

It gets points for going further into scary territory than it seems like it's going to, but it doesn't count for a whole lot when the characters are all so lame. The lead's your garden variety nerd leader of the group that's OBVIOUSLY going to go on to bigger and better things (ala Bill Denbrough or Sean Astin in Goonies or the whiny little asshole in Stranger Things), but he has almost no characteristics beyond "acts like a boring Fox Mulder" and "creeps on his former babysitter neighbor." Then there's "the fat kid" and "the 'cool' kid with the family problems" and "the total nerd" to cover our bases from Stand By Me or It or Freaks and Geeks or whatever. 

These characters are not good, especially not the total nerd, but the most egregious BY FAR is the horribly written girl. She looks like Brie Larson, she's supposed to be 20, she's the former babysitter of this kid, but she has dialogue like "you didn't see me naked? too bad, I have an amazing body." She seriously acts interested in this stupid kid!! I mean, she's clearly playing with him in some scenes, but she's earnestly talking about how he's the only good thing left in this town and blahblah and it's just this awful nerd wish-fulfillment crap. Ugh.

The few reactions I've seen to this talk up the turns it takes. I often see moronic statements like "oh, it wasn't that good for a while, but it ends on a REALISTIC note." More like, it seems like they made 4/5 of a movie that was a dull retread with nothing to distinguish itself, and then threw the coda in to try and salvage it. Who knows, maybe the whole thing was written with that in mind, but it's the way it plays. It's not terrible, but I don't think it's very good, either.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I'm glad I could finally see the only negative review for this film.


----------



## wankerness

I just looked it up and it's only at 6.7 on imdb and 66% on rottentomatoes, so I'm not the only one out there! It's merely one 80s amblin nostalgia-trip too many for me, and has badly-written characters. It's like a 5/10, not the worst movie ever.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

saw assassination nation earlier this week. It was interesting, but not worth seeing in theaters imo. Lot of subtext about social media, secret internet lives and hypocrisy. Also some preachy bits about transphobia and slut shaming with certain parallels being drawn with deep south racism/lynching. It was fun to watch the descent into madness, but it kind of comes off as a weak wannabe purge that added in a hacking/social media element to try and make it more relevant.


----------



## Ralyks

synrgy said:


> Hot Shots! and Hot Shots! Part Deux



“Well settle this the Old Navy way: First one to die, loses!”  I love those movies

Anyway, they added Scott Pilgrim vs The World to Netflix, so I jumped on that. Still love that movie, still sad you can’t buy the game on PS3 anymore...


----------



## synrgy

"You have the whitest white-part-of-the-eyes I've ever seen. Do you floss?"

--

"American planes will always be superior as long as there are wonderful men like you in the cockpit. And German parts."


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched The Predator. I honestly thought it was going to be a completely terrible movie like AVP Requiem, but it moves at a damn good clip and it's got great gore/action and humor. It was a good fun dumb action movie. There's some really stupid movie logic (like how the soldiers keep using small arms against the super predator even when they know it doesn't do anything). Olivia Munn's character is fucking ridiculous though. She somehow magically transforms from evolutionary biology professor into a gun toting badass by the midpoint of the film. At least she did a good job in this movie, unlike in xmen apocalypse (still salty that they cast her as psylocke).


----------



## A-Branger

KnightBrolaire said:


> watched The Predator. I honestly thought it was going to be a completely terrible movie like AVP Requiem, but it moves at a damn good clip and it's got great gore/action and humor. It was a good fun dumb action movie. There's some really stupid movie logic (like how the soldiers keep using small arms against the super predator even when they know it doesn't do anything). Olivia Munn's character is fucking ridiculous though. She somehow magically transforms from evolutionary biology professor into a gun toting badass by the midpoint of the film. At least she did a good job in this movie, unlike in xmen apocalypse (still salty that they cast her as psylocke).


eeeemmmm

it was an ok movie, borderline cheesy tho. Like it had all the elements to be cheesy AF but somehow the director managed to keep it in track... Like it was a few explosions and a tilted camera at 2" above the ground to be a Michael Bay stupid popcorn shitfest

Like maybe by its own it could ahve been a better movie, but with carrying the "Predator" flag it came up reaally short. I was expecting a thriller kinda movie, not a sci-fi/comedy because "if jokes works for Marvel, it should work for us....right?....genius!!.." 

one thing I did despite was the soundtrack.


and her character being ridiculous is not as bad as the way they used "get to the choppa!!" line I havent *facepalm* so hard in a cinema before

and soooooo many other WTF moments



Putting that aside, I jsut saw "Upgrade" and wooow that was a movie!, nice action thriler with a hint of sci-fi without going overboard, bit "indie" feel to it. Amazing camera work for the fights and with its good amount of gore.... Plus the end oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... so awesome to see people breaking out of "Hollywood script #43" cliches


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

^ I've been meaning to watch Upgrade for a while. All the great reviews make me think that Leigh Whannell hasn't lost his edge, and that it's a much better Venom movie than the current Venom movie.


----------



## MFB

Bloody_Inferno said:


> ^ I've been meaning to watch Upgrade for a while. All the great reviews make me think that Leigh Whannell hasn't lost his edge, and that it's a much better Venom movie than the current Venom movie.



Honestly, I put it above Infinity War and MI6 for my movie of the year, it's that good as a film. (I also took those down half a star in my own ratings for the amount of movies you needed to see before each, so it's not entirely apples to apples)


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Subspecies II. Just started it while getting ready for the day.


----------



## gnoll

I just watched Howl's Moving Castle.

I thought it was pretty good! It had interesting and endearing characters, the story kept me engaged and the film was very pretty aesthetically speaking. It felt a bit random and not always entirely clear on things but I kinda liked how you could just go with it and be like "aha, okay..." rather than "yeah, that makes sense".

I've also seen Spirited Away by Miyazaki and that one I didn't really dig. Howl's was by far better I thought.


----------



## Metropolis

gnoll said:


> I just watched Howl's Moving Castle.
> 
> I thought it was pretty good! It had interesting and endearing characters, the story kept me engaged and the film was very pretty aesthetically speaking. It felt a bit random and not always entirely clear on things but I kinda liked how you could just go with it and be like "aha, okay..." rather than "yeah, that makes sense".
> 
> I've also seen Spirited Away by Miyazaki and that one I didn't really dig. Howl's was by far better I thought.



Watch Princess Mononoke too, those three are my favourites from Miyazaki.


----------



## Necris

Neil Breen's newest film _Twisted Pair_. It's as stunningly incompetent as anything he's done and is hilarious because of that. He misspells "detective" as "dectective" twice in the ending credits and that really feels like a microcosm of the film and his output as a whole.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

When he makes a film with Charles Band, then I'll care.


----------



## wankerness

Necris said:


> Neil Breen's newest film _Twisted Pair_. It's as stunningly incompetent as anything he's done and is hilarious because of that. He misspells "detective" as "dectective" twice in the ending credits and that really feels like a microcosm of the film and his output as a whole.



I feel like those Best of the Worst episodes with his movies might be all I need. Confirm/deny?


----------



## gnoll

Metropolis said:


> Watch Princess Mononoke too, those three are my favourites from Miyazaki.



Yeah, that one is definately on the to-watch list!


----------



## mastapimp

A-Branger said:


> eeeemmmm
> 
> it was an ok movie, borderline cheesy tho. Like it had all the elements to be cheesy AF but somehow the director managed to keep it in track... Like it was a few explosions and a tilted camera at 2" above the ground to be a Michael Bay stupid popcorn shitfest
> 
> Like maybe by its own it could ahve been a better movie, but with carrying the "Predator" flag it came up reaally short. I was expecting a thriller kinda movie, not a sci-fi/comedy because "if jokes works for Marvel, it should work for us....right?....genius!!.."
> 
> one thing I did despite was the soundtrack.
> 
> 
> and her character being ridiculous is not as bad as the way they used "get to the choppa!!" line I havent *facepalm* so hard in a cinema before
> 
> and soooooo many other WTF moments
> 
> 
> 
> Putting that aside, I jsut saw "Upgrade" and wooow that was a movie!, nice action thriler with a hint of sci-fi without going overboard, bit "indie" feel to it. Amazing camera work for the fights and with its good amount of gore.... Plus the end oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... so awesome to see people breaking out of "Hollywood script #43" cliches



I had high hopes for this movie but it really let me down. I enjoyed all the non-AVP predator films, but this one is going into the trash heap with so many other reboot/remakes. 

The set up of the film was pretty good, where they give an explanation as to why Predators take the spinal column as prizes and that there's some human DNA in them. I liked the idea of bring back Gary Busey's son to lead research as a tie-in to the previous movies. I also thought they did a great job with the special FX and creature design...but...

The parts that killed it for me were:

Too much lighthearted comedy bits...casting Key as a soldier and Thomas Jane with Tourette's syndrome, you can see the gags coming a mile away.
the lobotomized predator dog joining the good guys in battle.
Taking Oliva Munn's character seriously outside of a lab
blink and you missed it death of sterling k brown's character
predator language translator box set up outside of the space ship, so the Super-Predator can clearly announce its plan.
Main protagonist shits out the invisible cloaking device he smuggled back from mexico 5 minutes before he uses it to rescue his boy
The scene where it's no longer a predator movie but is now an iron man marvel movie
8 year old whiz kid now has a desk job in NORAD, still can't make any friends
I also caught Upgrade about a month ago and enjoyed that one thoroughly.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

saw bad times at the el royale. it was solid, but way overhyped. It's not nearly as smart or interesting as critics made it out to be. There's one decent twist and some good cinematography/gore but it's a rental/netflix watch at best imo. Not worth watching in theaters, pacing is all over the place. The highlight of the movie is chris hemsworth's character, he steals every scene he's in, plus it's fun to see him play an antagonist.


----------



## A-Branger

I just saw First Man at the cinema... because that was the only movie at that time frame I was free... I saw a tinny bit of a trailer so I thouhg it should be fine to watch

OMFG!!!!

best movie Ive seen on a cinema in ages!!!

between the soundtrack, soundFX, camera work, they DO take you in with the astronaut inside the rocket like never before. Sometimes I felt I was on a disney ride...... this movie NEEDS to be seen on a cinema, if not on a really good surround sound settup

put it this way, NeilA was on one of the Gemini missions, they take you from the moment they close the hatch till they reach space, no jump, no cuts, the whole trip, but the camera never leaves the ship. Theres no outside wide camera angle, npe. Just a bunch of tight shots inside the cabin and POV. No music, just an amazing sounf FX of the rocket

also not 100% waht cameras they used, I think a mix of 16mm and 35mm cameras I have read (but not sure if film and old school stuff), but the movie seems like it was filmed back in the day. Footage full of grain, slighty out of focus, shaky in some bits.... Just plain awesome


----------



## Metropolis

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge. Seriously they should just stop doing these, it's like watching same movie over and over again, and Jack Sparrow's character is getting more annoying and overly done.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_A Star is Born_.

Make no mistake, Bradley Cooper is the star of this film. Not Lady Gaga. But she delivers a phenomenal acting performance as well.

This is definitely one of the best, most memorable flicks that I’ve seen in awhile. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is well worth watching multiple times. The story was so engrossing and enrapturing; and the emotional punch at the very end hit me so hard.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Metropolis said:


> Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge. Seriously they should just stop doing these, it's like watching same movie over and over again, and Jack Sparrow's character is getting more annoying and overly done.



Ha, they have the whole list of shark-jumping options to persue for each dedicated sequel.
1. Jack gets married.
2. Someone has a pirate baby
3. Pirates Anacronisms
a. Pirates in space
b. Pirates come to 2018
c. Pirates and Cowboys
6. Pirate of the Caribbean Custom Guitar Artisanal Luthiers and the Curse of the Unrefundable Deposit.
7. Pirates Dance Competition to save their local community Arts center.
8. Pirates PopCulture Social Commentary of the Current Day but retconned into Pirate Times, The Movie.
9. Pirates Chefs with Dreams Opening new Restaurant Trials and Tribulations
10. Spin Offs after above. 
a. Late Night with Davey Jones
b. Jack Sparrow-Pawn Shop Owner
c. Pirate Wives of the Caribbean


----------



## A-Branger

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _A Star is Born_.
> 
> Make no mistake, Bradley Cooper is the star of this film. Not Lady Gaga. But she delivers a phenomenal acting performance as well.
> 
> This is definitely one of the best, most memorable flicks that I’ve seen in awhile. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is well worth watching multiple times. The story was so engrossing and enrapturing; and the emotional punch at the very end hit me so hard.



Thanks man!, Ive seen the trailer and love it so far, now I know its well worth to watch



The906 said:


> 6. Pirate of the Caribbean Custom Guitar Artisanal Luthiers and the Curse of the Unrefundable Deposit.



does ti include the ESP NAMM pirate V thing?.... If not Im not watching


----------



## MFB

Saw "First Man" today. I love both of Chazelle's previous films, and anything Gosling has done, but overall this was just good. Didnt blow me away or anything like I thought it would given the history of the moon landing, and who was in it.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

I just got back from seeing Halloween...


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> I just got back from seeing Halloween...


so... was it actually good?


----------



## PunkBillCarson

KnightBrolaire said:


> so... was it actually good?




I'm going to let that green smiley speak for itself. It represents how I felt about the movie.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Empire Pictures kind of night with Dolls from 1987, and Ghoulies II from 1988. Dolls by Frehley's Comet should've been on the Dolls soundtrack, and Ghoulies II has an awesome WASP song on it's soundtrack.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Barbarella: Jane fonda is still a traitorous bitch, but at least she used to be hot  No, in all seriousness I love this movie, it's completely ridiculous and it knows it (kind of like Flash Gordon), and i appreciate that self-awareness. I just happen to have a soft spot for sleazy exploitation films and old scifi, which barbarella happens to tick both boxes for.


----------



## wankerness

Watched a bunch of crap in the plane to and from Japan:
*
Happy Gilmore: *Delta shows the "plane censored" version of this despite having Deadpool 2 totally uncensored on their on-demand service. I had no idea how many times the word "ass" is used in this movie until I heard it hilariously dubbed over every single time it was said.
*
The Florida Project: *Unblinking depiction of desperate poor people from the perspective of a bratty kid. Willem Dafoe is the benevolent landlord that tries to keep them afloat. It's good but I don't think I would watch it again.
*
Almost Famous: *Kate Hudson was so incredible in this movie. That scene where she is told she was sold for a case of beer is one of my favorite acting moments of all time. It's too bad she went on to fluffy rom-coms, I don't think I've seen a single movie with her since. I love the theatrical version of this so much.
*
Lady Bird:* It's very good, saw it already, it was better on a big screen instead of on the airplane screen with engine noise
*
Incredibles 2: *I liked it more than the original, which I've always felt was highly overrated in the Pixar canon. It's more entertaining and has better action scenes and more Holly Hunter and there's slightly less moping around.
*
Won't You Be My Neighbor?: *I saw a competing documentary a few months ago that contained most of the highlights of this so it didn't hit me as hard as it would have.
*
The Greatest Showman: *This is so dumb. The music is terrible and numbing, too. There are a couple good songs but mostly it's just blasting song after blasting song, they all sound like the grand finale. It reminds me of Florence and the Machine's second album.

THEN I just watched:

*A Quiet Place: *Speaking of dumb, this movie opens up showing us a whiteboard that says:

CREATURE: Blind, attack sound, armor
SURVIVE: Medical supplies, sound proofing, WHAT IS THE WEAKNESS

This is a great display of how dumb it thinks its audience is. Naturally, in the climactic moments, there are repeated dramatic cuts to "WHAT IS THE WEAKNESS" cause otherwise we wouldn't know that they are trying to figure out how to kill it. Goddam. Too bad, cause other than the contempt for its audience it's pretty decent PG-13 horror and it actually bothers creating tension instead of just having a whole ton of jack-in-the-box bullshit like It or Insidious or whatever.

*Leave No Trace: *Easily the best movie I've seen this year. A dad and his daughter live out in a national park, get caught by the authorities, and then she starts to feel the pull of society as he finds himself unable to deal with being around other people (he's a vet with unspecified issues).


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> *Happy Gilmore: *Delta shows the "plane censored" version of this despite having Deadpool 2 totally uncensored on their on-demand service. I had no idea how many times the word "ass" is used in this movie until I heard it hilariously dubbed over every single time it was said.



"Ass" seems like such an unnecessary edit to make. Weird.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> This is a great display of how dumb it thinks its audience is. Naturally, in the climactic moments, there are repeated dramatic cuts to "WHAT IS THE WEAKNESS" cause otherwise we wouldn't know that they are trying to figure out how to kill it. Goddam. Too bad, cause other than the contempt for its audience it's pretty decent PG-13 horror and it actually bothers creating tension instead of just having a whole ton of jack-in-the-box bullshit like It or Insidious or whatever.


They probably thought this was being meta or ironic or some lame, cynical, post-Scream bullshit like that.


----------



## wankerness

Not a chance. The movie is deathly serious.

Re:Happy Gilmore, yep! They tried to make it G rated. Especially funny when a major plot point is a guy psyching him out by yelling jackass repeatedly.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Watched the latest Halloween last night. It was pretty good. I liked how they kind of pulled a blade runner 2049/Mad Max fury road where it's a sequel of sorts, but also a soft reboot in a way. I kind of prefer the Rob Zombie version to this movie though. Both addressed how victims can react to serious trauma, but I think that version was more effective at showing that aspect, plus it felt more brutal and grimy/sleazy, which I appreciated as a fan of grindhouse/exploitation type films. Not to say that this one isn't brutal but it pulls some punches in spots it didn't really need to.


----------



## Crash Dandicoot

*Mandy* was a fucking trip and a half. Not for everyone but enjoyable in many ways.


----------



## jco5055

KnightBrolaire said:


> Watched the latest Halloween last night. It was pretty good. I liked how they kind of pulled a blade runner 2049/Mad Max fury road where it's a sequel of sorts, but also a soft reboot in a way. I kind of prefer the Rob Zombie version to this movie though. Both addressed how victims can react to serious trauma, but I think that version was more effective at showing that aspect, plus it felt more brutal and grimy/sleazy, which I appreciated as a fan of grindhouse/exploitation type films. Not to say that this one isn't brutal but it pulls some punches in spots it didn't really need to.



Ehh it was a 5/10 imo, like in the pantheon of sequels, especially for the popular horror franchises, it's well above average. But the reviews of 8s and 9s it was getting and the fact that John Carpenter executive produced etc had me way more hyped and then I was just disappointed.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

jco5055 said:


> Ehh it was a 5/10 imo, like in the pantheon of sequels, especially for the popular horror franchises, it's well above average. But the reviews of 8s and 9s it was getting and the fact that John Carpenter executive produced etc had me way more hyped and then I was just disappointed.


yeah I don't get the critical hype, just like I didn't get the hate for the rob zombie films. I've enjoyed most of the halloween franchise and this was no exception for me


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

jco5055 said:


> Ehh it was a 5/10 imo, like in the pantheon of sequels, especially for the popular horror franchises, it's well above average. But the reviews of 8s and 9s it was getting and the fact that John Carpenter executive produced etc had me way more hyped and then I was just disappointed.


Why? John Carpenter hasn't had a great film since They Live in 88 or 89.


----------



## jco5055

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Why? John Carpenter hasn't had a great film since They Live in 88 or 89.



Ehh I was willing to imagine maybe he could still be good with Halloween since I think Halloween 2 is perfectly fine, like maybe Halloween was such a niche for him he could still be good at it.



KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah I don't get the critical hype, just like I didn't get the hate for the rob zombie films. I've enjoyed most of the halloween franchise and this was no exception for me



I think the biggest thing is just way too much comedy, like it almost felt like the movie's genre should be horror-comedy. That's what mostly killed the idea of "it feels like an actual sequel to Halloween compared to all the other ones" for me, again I think Halloween 2 feels waaay more like a sequel, and in my head that's my favorite canon for the series. For example, the closet scene in the trailers feels like an actual horror movie while in the movie it's like comedic. 

Not to mention THAT scene (you know it), if they went all in on that one direction I was going to throw in the towel.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

jco5055 said:


> Ehh I was willing to imagine maybe he could still be good with Halloween since I think Halloween 2 is perfectly fine, like maybe Halloween was such a niche for him he could still be good at it.


I knew the only reason he'd been enticed to come back was so he could get rid of shit he doesn't like. I didn't have much faith in Jamie Lee Curtis, John Carpenter, Danny McBride, or the director of Pineapple Express. As such, I'm probably not going to bother seeing it until it's on Amazon Prime, Netflix or Shudder.



jco5055 said:


> I think the biggest thing is just way too much comedy, like it almost felt like the movie's genre should be horror-comedy. That's what mostly killed the idea of "it feels like an actual sequel to Halloween compared to all the other ones" for me, again I think Halloween 2 feels waaay more like a sequel, and in my head that's my favorite canon for the series. For example, the closet scene in the trailers feels like an actual horror movie while in the movie it's like comedic.
> 
> Not to mention THAT scene (you know it), if they went all in on that one direction I was going to throw in the towel.


You mean you expected a horror film from Danny McBride and the director of Pineapple Express?


----------



## jco5055

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I knew the only reason he'd been enticed to come back was so he could get rid of shit he doesn't like. I didn't have much faith in Jamie Lee Curtis, John Carpenter, Danny McBride, or the director of Pineapple Express. As such, I'm probably not going to bother seeing it until it's on Amazon Prime, Netflix or Shudder.
> 
> 
> You mean you expected a horror film from Danny McBride and the director of Pineapple Express?



Don't get me wrong those two were red flags but with the reviews being as good as they are (and I didn't REALLY read any so I could not be spoiled) I hoped for the best..

plus even though Alien Covenant was a disaster Danny is in that and he doesn't cause it to be a comedy.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

jco5055 said:


> Don't get me wrong those two were red flags but with the reviews being as good as they are (and I didn't REALLY read any so I could not be spoiled) I hoped for the best..
> 
> plus even though Alien Covenant was a disaster Danny is in that and he doesn't cause it to be a comedy.


No offense to them, but the people who went to see Halloween 2018 a month prior to the release were going to circle jerk themselves until chaffing occurred regardless. It just had to approximate a decent facsimile of Halloween from 40 years ago.

As for Alien Covenant and Halloween, let's look at writers, because I think it's worth looking at. 

With Halloween, we have David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express director), Danny McBride (comedian), and Jeff Fradley. All of them have mostly done comedic stuff.

Dante Harper and John Logan are more connected to action films, which works a lot more with the Alien franchise, as Aliens has shown.

The reason I felt this was important is because if a horror movie written by comedy writers comes off as comedy -- either purposefully or not -- then it seems obvious that the writers are the reason. 

Furthermore, John Carpenter doesn't give a shit about anything, but himself, which seems very obvious from his rather rude responses in interviews. Frankly, he's a decent composer for his own films, a good director when the film suits him (and usually when he's the writer so he can dictate more of what the film entails), but otherwise, I don't care much for him as a person. His film output was even kind of spotty in the 80s, but by the 90s, most of it is only watchable because, "OMG JOHN CARPENTER!" If I went to a convention and he was a guest, I'd probably opt not to meet John, because I don't think too highly of him once he leaves a movie set. And he certainly did not give a fuck if this film was good or not; he just wanted a check.

Gimme Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, Cronenberg, Argento, etc. anytime.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I feel like jco is overplaying the comedy aspects in the film. There's a few moments but nothing big. Compared to say, the latest predator movie, the comedy in the newest halloween movie is wayyyyy less prevalent.
I'll agree that carpenter hasn't done anything remotely interesting since Vampires or They Live/The Thing. Most of his other works are meh imo.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Rob Zombie completely missed the mark in his movies. Sure, let's inject a redneck broken home backstory for a character who is supposed to have no rhyme or reason for what he does. Also, Halloween 2018 was great, feel free to be wrong otherwise.


----------



## wankerness

Everything Carpenter did up through They Live was at least good, he put out a couple good things after that, and nosedived in the 2000s. Pretty typical path for a director, really. Almost no one is good for more than 10-15 years. I heard The Ward was surprisingly good, but I haven't seen it. Regardless, his input on this new one is totally irrelevant apart from the score, which I've only heard great things about. I want to see this movie, but I might have to wait until it's out of the theater. Seeing the first RZ one in the theater was one of the big things that never, ever made me want to see a horror movie in the theater again cause people are scum. I recall the theater laughing their ass off as the girl crawled away with slashed achilles tendons. Say what you will about that movie, but the murder scenes in that movie were truly nasty and horrific and didn't contain a lick of humor. People that see horror movies in the theater are the worst. I've seen a few since then, and there are ALWAYS fucking morons in there that have to loudly laugh to prove how badass or how disaffected they are, no matter how good the movie is, completely ruining it for anyone that was getting into the movie. It Follows was the closest thing to a decent audience with more than about 5 other people in the theater that I had, and even that had a contingent of giggling fatties. They eventually got shamed by the other hundred people into shutting up.

RZ's Halloween II is the best of the Halloween franchise apart from the original, by a long shot. The first time I watched it I hated it and thought it was just a bunch of unpleasant drooling and swearing, but on second and third watches I was blown away by what he was trying to do and how much he succeeded. It's not a pleasant watch by any stretch of the imagination, but it's really doing something unique, unlike every single other sequel. The remake is alright, I like the first half a lot more than the second. People cry that it ruins Halloween or whatever cause we don't need a backstory for Michael Myers, but what the hell would have been the point of doing a remake if you didn't do something different?

Anyway, the first review I saw of the new Halloween was negative and the other handful I've seen from critics I trust have been "pretty good" so I haven't let my expectations get too high. I'll wait a couple weeks to be able to see it without a theater full of giggling morons that ruin it.


----------



## jco5055

KnightBrolaire said:


> I feel like jco is overplaying the comedy aspects in the film. There's a few moments but nothing big. Compared to say, the latest predator movie, the comedy in the newest halloween movie is wayyyyy less prevalent.
> I'll agree that carpenter hasn't done anything remotely interesting since Vampires or They Live/The Thing. Most of his other works are meh imo.



The only time I had an issue with the comedy is just when it takes a scary scene and it kills that mood. It felt like I was watching a Scream film, or even a later day Elm Street movie. 

I found the black kid hilarious, it's just when it's used in the scary scenes as comic relief I was not a fan.


----------



## fps

The Lives Of Others. Terrific.


----------



## mastapimp

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Furthermore, John Carpenter doesn't give a shit about anything, but himself, which seems very obvious from his rather rude responses in interviews. Frankly, he's a decent composer for his own films, a good director when the film suits him (and usually when he's the writer so he can dictate more of what the film entails), but otherwise, I don't care much for him as a person. His film output was even kind of spotty in the 80s, but by the 90s, most of it is only watchable because, "OMG JOHN CARPENTER!" If I went to a convention and he was a guest, I'd probably opt not to meet John, because I don't think too highly of him once he leaves a movie set. And he certainly did not give a fuck if this film was good or not; he just wanted a check.



I met John Carpenter at E3 in LA in the early 2000s and the guy was awesome. He was there to promote some video game version of "The Thing" and was more than happy to talk to me about his movies for a few minutes. I didn't have a formal sit-down interview with him, but I was attending with a media credential and the guy was very generous with his time and we had a pleasant interaction. 

Another interesting horror movie tie-in. That same trip to LA, I saw Robert Englund pumping gas a few blocks from the convention center.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Suspiria _remake drops tonight in NYC and will be in theaters nationwide on Nov. 2nd. I hope it's good because I've been waiting years for this.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

mastapimp said:


> I met John Carpenter at E3 in LA in the early 2000s and the guy was awesome. He was there to promote some video game version of "The Thing" and was more than happy to talk to me about his movies for a few minutes. I didn't have a formal sit-down interview with him, but I was attending with a media credential and the guy was very generous with his time and we had a pleasant interaction.
> 
> Another interesting horror movie tie-in. That same trip to LA, I saw Robert Englund pumping gas a few blocks from the convention center.


Frankly, I'd spend my time bothering Robert with dumb questions about Freddy, such as "Why did you stop the sleazy mobster stances like in part 1" and so on.


----------



## A-Branger

wankerness said:


> *Leave No Trace: *Easily the best movie I've seen this year. A dad and his daughter live out in a national park, get caught by the authorities, and then she starts to feel the pull of society as he finds himself unable to deal with being around other people (he's a vet with unspecified issues).



I downloaded last week, it was awesome!. Ending its kinda open and un-complete, same as their story, but at the same time thats kinda why I like it. It is what it is, and they are what they are and this is a chapter in their lives for you to watch.

in that same "bushwalking" kinda movie, have a look at "A Walk in the Woods", and also "Wild"



KnightBrolaire said:


> just like I didn't get the hate for the rob zombie films



I love the first one, Never seen Halloweeen (the original), so maybe thats why I enjoy it more?. His Halloween2 is soooooooooooooo bad tho



KnightBrolaire said:


> I feel like jco is overplaying the comedy aspects in the film. There's a few moments but nothing big. Compared to say, the latest predator movie, the comedy in the newest halloween movie is wayyyyy less prevalent.



I blame Marvel..... now everyone wants to jump on the "lets ad some comedy and self-awareness" bandwagon because "it works for Marvel movies.... should work for us....right?.....genius!"


----------



## KnightBrolaire

A-Branger said:


> I downloaded last week, it was awesome!. Ending its kinda open and un-complete, same as their story, but at the same time thats kinda why I like it. It is what it is, and they are what they are and this is a chapter in their lives for you to watch.
> 
> in that same "bushwalking" kinda movie, have a look at "A Walk in the Woods", and also "Wild"
> 
> 
> 
> I love the first one, Never seen Halloweeen (the original), so maybe thats why I enjoy it more?. His Halloween2 is soooooooooooooo bad tho
> 
> 
> 
> I blame Marvel..... now everyone wants to jump on the "lets ad some comedy and self-awareness" bandwagon because "it works for Marvel movies.... should work for us....right?.....genius!"


except that in the case of halloween (not the original but most of the sequels) unintentional and later intentional dark comedy have been big components of the films. go watch some of the kill compilations from the films and you'll see what i mean. same for friday the 13th or nightmare on elm st's later sequels.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Halloween 2 isn't awful; I just don't think people get it. It's not great either by any stretch of the imagination, though. Michael isn't in the film, but Laurie certainly has "alters," which explains much of the weirdness in the film.


----------



## gnoll

Just saw A Star Is Born. Wow, I really thought it was gonna be better. Sooo boring and predictable. Basically nothing happened except exactly what I guessed right at the start of the movie. And I suck at figuring out what's gonna happen in movies!! And the music was meh.


----------



## wankerness

A Star is Born is the third version of an incredibly famous movie! Of course you knew what was going to happen! It's just a slow-motion car wreck and isn't supposed to be surprising. At least, that's how the old version was. I still haven't seen this. I probably won't until blu-ray, but I look forward to it.

I've seen Wild, but haven't seen a Walk in the Woods. Might have to look it up. If it's based on the Bill Bryson books, I have read it!

I really want to see Suspiria. If it actually comes to any theaters close to me, though, I'm going to have to wait a few days to be sure the theater is cleared out, cause all reports make clear that it is a movie that is going to receive an "F" cinemascore and thus surely have an audience full of morons loudly sighing because the fact they feel they wasted their money means they want to ruin everyone else's experience too. 

Speaking of Suspiria, I read a review of the soundtrack that said it felt like Kid A b-sides and several parts were actual songs. I am really looking forward to that, too!


----------



## A-Branger

wankerness said:


> but haven't seen a Walk in the Woods. Might have to look it up. If it's based on the Bill Bryson books, I have read it!



I dont really read so didnt knew about it, but quick google tells me that yup, it is based on that book


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Rob Zombie's Halloween films are shit, plain and simple. When you bastardize something so much that it's damn near unrecognizable save for a few names, you deserve to be ridiculed. Rob Zombie's own films that use that element aren't bad, because that's where his element belongs. It didn't belong in Halloween. It was one more excuse for all his friends to have a job since their acting careers were going nowhere else. It's simply a shame he chose the greatest slasher title of all time as a vehicle to propel any of them, including himself ANYWHERE.

I swear I can feel my brain cells deteriorating quicker when I hear mere mention of them, to say nothing of anything less than the most negative comment you could make about those piles of dogshit. You could take every single copy of both right off the shelf, bend over, propel explosive diarrhea where the "movies" once were, and the customer would be getting an infinite amount more for their value if they even laid eyes on the new tenant of that part of the shelf. There are 1 oz puddles of water with more depth.

I'm struggling not to go in the negatives in giving them scores and RZ should be blackballed and legally forbidden to even speak the name of the franchise he violated, besmirched, wiped his disgusting jerk off hand on, and then left in the gutter somewhere beside some homeless man trying to decide what whiskey he should get before he moves on to the next street corner.

/rant


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Yes, because lets remake a film that's EXACTLY like the original. That's really entertaining and interesting.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

PunkBillCarson said:


> the greatest slasher title of all time


Of all the films that're overrated as hell, Halloween is certainly a strong contender for #1.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Of all the films that're overrated as hell, Halloween is certainly a strong contender for #1.



Hey, feel free to be wrong if you want, that's your business.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Yes, because lets remake a film that's EXACTLY like the original. That's really entertaining and interesting.




Watching a bunch of hicks interact was entertaining and interesting? I guess you missed out on Duck Dynasty.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Seriously, if you want to watch the first half of RZ's failures, go on the bad side of town and down the street to the white trash crack house where everyone yells at each other without being able to enunciate their words properly.

P.S. My last post on the subject.


----------



## gnoll

wankerness said:


> A Star is Born is the third version of an incredibly famous movie! Of course you knew what was going to happen! It's just a slow-motion car wreck and isn't supposed to be surprising. At least, that's how the old version was. I still haven't seen this. I probably won't until blu-ray, but I look forward to it.
> 
> I've seen Wild, but haven't seen a Walk in the Woods. Might have to look it up. If it's based on the Bill Bryson books, I have read it!
> 
> I really want to see Suspiria. If it actually comes to any theaters close to me, though, I'm going to have to wait a few days to be sure the theater is cleared out, cause all reports make clear that it is a movie that is going to receive an "F" cinemascore and thus surely have an audience full of morons loudly sighing because the fact they feel they wasted their money means they want to ruin everyone else's experience too.
> 
> Speaking of Suspiria, I read a review of the soundtrack that said it felt like Kid A b-sides and several parts were actual songs. I am really looking forward to that, too!



Well, I haven't seen those other versions, and I like to go into movies knowing as little as possible about the plot and stuff. Maybe it's just not my kind of movie then.


----------



## Cabinet

I'm a fan of hand to hand combat films so I recently watched A Prayer Before Dawn. I went in with the impression that it'd be like The Raid Redemption, or Warrior, where the intensity is drawn from the actual fighting. This movie was more, with the intensity placed on what happens outside of the fighting. The fights could have been choreographed better but overall it was well worth a watch.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Cabinet said:


> I'm a fan of hand to hand combat films so I recently watched A Prayer Before Dawn. I went in with the impression that it'd be like The Raid Redemption, or Warrior, where the intensity is drawn from the actual fighting. This movie was more, with the intensity placed on what happens outside of the fighting. The fights could have been choreographed better but overall it was well worth a watch.




I might have to check that out then. I loved The Raid Redemption, but felt it was a little lacking elsewhere. Maybe that would scratch that itch.


----------



## MFB

Watched "Apostle" last night, I put it on par with The Witch in terms of "what the shit is this building to?" and payoff


----------



## PunkBillCarson

MFB said:


> Watched "Apostle" last night, I put it on par with The Witch in terms of "what the shit is this building to?" and payoff




That's high praise considering The Witch did that pretty well. The Witch got a lot of backlash when it released. I guess there weren't enough jump scares or it's the fact that it made people think and use their brains.


----------



## MFB

PunkBillCarson said:


> That's high praise considering The Witch did that pretty well. The Witch got a lot of backlash when it released. I guess there weren't enough jump scares or it's the fact that it made people think and use their brains.



I vividly remember leaving The Witch the day after it opened, and as I was leaving tve people in front of me just said, "Boy... That was... BAD" and my heart broke - because apparently if its not weird stop motion crawling or cheap jump scares, its not scary. I was unnerved for the entire day trying to wrap my head around what Id just seen and WHY it was more lasting than anything else. 

It was something fresh and different to the traditional horror of the 80s, or resurgence during the 00s, and Apostle follows that. They're all ordinary people, in ordinary situations that just go a little off track descend into full blown madness.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

^That's good then and honestly? That's how a Lovecraft film should be made when they start making them. Supposedly, they're doing a universe which I don't have high hopes for. But you're right about The Witch. Did you also figure out the incredibly disturbing implication at the end of The Witch concerning the twins?


----------



## MFB

PunkBillCarson said:


> ^That's good then and honestly? That's how a Lovecraft film should be made when they start making them. Supposedly, they're doing a universe which I don't have high hopes for. But you're right about The Witch. Did you also figure out the incredibly disturbing implication at the end of The Witch concerning the twins?



I hadn't, but if you're talking about the connection between them and the witches ability to fly, then it adds another layer of fuckery to the mix; because now Thomasin is gaining from their deaths, and doesn't even know it (and if she did, she wouldn't care as she signed away her old life)


----------



## wankerness

People that scream and cry about the RZ movies ruining the Halloween series after Michael Myers was compelled by a Druid cult to impregnate his niece before being beaten up by Busta Rhymes make me laugh.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> I vividly remember leaving The Witch the day after it opened, and as I was leaving tve people in front of me just said, "Boy... That was... BAD" and my heart broke - because apparently if its not weird stop motion crawling or cheap jump scares, its not scary. I was unnerved for the entire day trying to wrap my head around what Id just seen and WHY it was more lasting than anything else.
> 
> It was something fresh and different to the traditional horror of the 80s, or resurgence during the 00s, and Apostle follows that. They're all ordinary people, in ordinary situations that just go a little off track descend into full blown madness.



That's a pretty mild reaction, TBH. The Witch is in that category of critically adored horror movies with terrible cinemascores that Suspiria 2018 is going to be at the forefront of if it sees a wider release. I'm surprised there weren't loud noises of complaint and derision in the theater the whole time. Mother!, The Witch, Hereditary, Suspiria, It Follows (to a lesser degree), etc. It's great. It reminds me of the 70s, when horror movies were usually wildly experimental and grungey and creative and unique (or they really went for broke with the grunge if they were just trying to make money), before Halloween/Friday the 13th happened and the 80s turned most everything into bland slashers. The 80s horror was very much like the Reagan influence, and then the 90s almost killed it dead. I love what's been happening the last few years.


----------



## MFB

It was an older crowd, so that probably helped prevent the outcry that younger audiences would make. I tend to not see horror in theaters because people are very polarizing with them, so I'd rather just wait for them to come to DVD and rent them in the comfort of my own home. Hell, I think I missed hearing anything about It Follows the entire time it was released, but when it went to DVD I bought it day one and loved it.


----------



## wankerness

I rolled the dice and saw it follows in the theater. Unavoidably, there was a group of fat high schoolers opening huge bags of candy repeatedly while doing loud forced laughter during every scene where anything scary happened, but unlike usually happens one of them got into it and started shhh’ing the others so it was fine after a while.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I rolled the dice and saw it follows in the theater. Unavoidably, there was a group of fat high schoolers opening huge bags of candy repeatedly while doing loud forced laughter during every scene where anything scary happened, but unlike usually happens one of them got into it and started shhh’ing the others so it was fine after a while.


How do you know if it was forced or not?


----------



## A-Branger

gnoll said:


> Well, I haven't seen those other versions, and I like to go into movies knowing as little as possible about the plot and stuff. Maybe it's just not my kind of movie then.



meh if you watch the trailer for A Star is born, they already tell you everything you need to know about the movie plot. 

Its not a deep/twist kinda movie, we already kinda know whats gonna happen, so this is a "enjoy the ride" kidna movie..... Im going to see it tomorrow


----------



## PunkBillCarson

wankerness said:


> People that scream and cry about the RZ movies ruining the Halloween series after Michael Myers was compelled by a Druid cult to impregnate his niece before being beaten up by Busta Rhymes make me laugh.




Good to know.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Spaced Out Ace said:


> How do you know if it was forced or not?



People that force laughter can tell the difference.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> How do you know if it was forced or not?



Really loud and slow and braying? And they all look at each other and do it? It’s obvious. Though I’m guessing this post may just be implying it follows is laughable...


----------



## A-Branger

ok I just came in from watching A Star is Born

I wasnt expecting that ending. I though the movie was gonna go full Hollywood cliche for a moment, but never fully did and I love that. Movie is long but it doesnt feel long....for me because I needed to pee ahhah

and I proudly share a tear (or two, or more) at the end of it.... my friend she was fully watterfall haha

good movie


----------



## Guitarmiester

Stumbled across Brawl in Cell Block 99 and glad I didn't skip at the site of Vince Vaughn's name.


----------



## wankerness

Guitarmiester said:


> Stumbled across Brawl in Cell Block 99 and glad I didn't skip at the site of Vince Vaughn's name.



Yeah, that's a good one. It's very slow and deliberate but man oh man is that climax a payoff. Vince Vaughn is incredibly convincing as a stoic badass.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Going to be watching Arsenic and Old Lace when I get off work today per tradition. Been watching it every Halloween for 10 years now.


----------



## gnoll

Just saw Halloween. I have some complaints but I also think it did some things pretty well and built decent suspense so it was okay I guess.


----------



## wankerness

A Star is Born - I've loved Lady Gaga ever since I listened to "The Fame Monster," even though I really haven't listened to any of her subsequent stuff or watched more than 3 episodes of AHS: Hotel. I'll immediately leap to her defense if anyone dares to say anything bad about her, etc, and I even loved her stupid Super Bowl performance a couple years back. Just yesterday I listened to "Dance in the Dark" for the first time in years and remembered all over again how cool that album was. SO, I was glad that she was good here. It's too bad she gets shoved off to the sidelines for the second 2/3 of the movie, cause I really couldn't make myself care that much about Bradley Cooper. It ends up being pretty good, but I just didn't like the structure of the film. The (still full, even this late in its run) theater was sniffling like crazy as soon as that dog showed up outside of that garage all the way to the end, though, so clearly a lot of people really DID love his character and get into it. Eh. 6/10

The closest theater playing Suspiria is 1 1/2 hours from me. I think I might make the trek and watch it Sunday morning or something when no one will be there. I might knock off Halloween while I'm out there, too. I doubt I'll get scared by it regardless since I'm so desensitized, but seeing it in a theater hopefully alone will probably be the best chance it has to do so.


----------



## SD83

Finally gotten around to watch "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"... I HATED "Jurassic World", and the trailer made it look like we'd be getting more of the same... far from it. They used the worst parts of the movie for the trailer  Yes, it is predicatable af and doesn't make too much sense more often than not (which is something you could say about many great movies), but it doesn't have an Indominus Rex (and the Indoraptor thankfully doesn't get much screentime), the actors appear to try to do their job instead of just making some kind of speedrun as in the previous one... I honestly think the worst thing about this movie is that it somehow has to cope with how hilariously stupid its predecessor was. And most of what was in the trailer. The entire volcano/dinosaur stampede bullshit... it's like they had the movie figured out, realized they'd only use $50 million or so and thought "we can't make a blockbuster with THAT budget, we have to spend some money. Like, a lot of money. You know what, let's just blow up the island, we don't need it anymore anyways, and then we show the audience literally any dinosaur you can think of. 5 species, 10, 15, doesn't matter. All the dinosaurs. We have to spend more money on this than on the previous movie, it doesn't matter if it makes sense, that's just how things work."
But then again, I think xXx was a very entertaining movie and Fast & Furious 5 is the best of the franchise, so what do I know?


----------



## wankerness

Almost everyone thinks Fast Five is the best of that franchise! You're firmly with the majority on that one. 6/7 are awesome as well, but Five was where it really found its voice and that safe chase is easily one of the best car chases in film history.

You covered what you hated about Jurassic World FK, but what did you LIKE? The stuff you didn't mention is just a bunch of dinosaurs running around in an impossibly huge basement, isn't it?

I just watched "Terrified" on Shudder after seeing a strong recommendation but not reading a thing about it. And damn, the first 30 minutes or so is the most I've been freaked out by anything since probably the first I saw [REC]. It reminded me VERY much of Ju-On: The Grudge. The back half is not as good, but it's still pretty solid. I'd highly recommend it if you're a horror fan that doesn't hate subtitles.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

I mean, if you're going into a Jurassic Park movie and expecting some kind of cinematic masterpiece, maybe your expectations are a little high. The idea was fresh in 93, since then, it's just been good dumb fun, but not always good, if you get my meaning.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

*Feng Shen Bang/Leage Of Gods*

I watched this on a dare. I want my 100 minutes back. 

Now I'm usually down with campy Chinese Epic Fantasy Wire Fu movies, but I've sort of fell out for them when they became shallow in plot and narrative and more extreme CGI fests. But I was dared by a friend to watch this, and after looking at the names involved, I got curious. Big mistake. This is all the flaws of modern Chinese Fantasy taken to ridiculous extremes. 

I'm sort of vaguely familiar with the source material (namely Daji and Nezha) but there's barely any plot here. I already had a headach but the CG was too much to the point that it made me more ill than I already was. Everything is just strung together like a bunch of events barely forming anything cohesive. The acting is wooden as hell, at least Jet Li and Fan Bingbing looked like they're having fun, the former having reached a point in his career where he doesn't seem to care anymore. Luis Koo and Angelbaby are wasted in their respective roles. 

This is Koan Hui' directorial debut. As an alumni of the great Tsui Hark, he's hasn't taken aboard any of the charms that made Hark's movies classic, instead going through the motions of modern mediocrity of the genre. Not bothering with the sequel.


----------



## A-Branger

PunkBillCarson said:


> it's just been good dumb fun


if you referring to the first one then yup. But this second one its not "dumb fun" NOPE!!.... the movie wishes it was that level of sunday movie "Im bored" popcorn movie


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Cube
Cube 2: Hypercube
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Illang: The Wolf Brigade
Pandorum
American Heist
Death Race: Beyond Anarchy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition
Rise: Blood Hunter


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched Overlord. it had good gore but it just didn't wow me as a war movie or zombie movie. the action sequences were solid but the movie overall was meh.
it's a solid rent/watch on netflix movie, don't bother with it in theaters.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

KnightBrolaire said:


> watched Overlord. it had good gore but it just didn't wow me as a war movie or zombie movie. the action sequences were solid but the movie overall was meh.
> it's a solid rent/watch on netflix movie, don't bother with it in theaters.



Based on everything you said, I'm probably going to watch it in theaters.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> Based on everything you said, I'm probably going to watch it in theaters.


If you have nothing better to watch (like me) then yeah, go ahead. I had some quibbles with little continuity and historical accuracy details but overall it's a solid stupid zombie movie, so I can forgive that kind of stuff.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> If you have nothing better to watch (like me) then yeah, go ahead. I had some quibbles with little continuity and historical accuracy details but overall it's a solid stupid zombie movie, so I can forgive that kind of stuff.


I saw one single short instance of a trailer and all I could think of was WOLFENSTEIN. I'm intrigued.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> I saw one single short instance of a trailer and all I could think of was WOLFENSTEIN. I'm intrigued.


eh... it's not occult enough or zany enough to really be like Wolfenstein. If you want that check out Frankenstein's army or Trench 11.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> eh... it's not occult enough or zany enough to really be like Wolfenstein. If you want that check out Frankenstein's army or Trench 11.


Sweeeet. Got these queued up on prime.


----------



## mongey

Finally watched justice league.

Some really terrible writing. Awful one liners in last half of movie.the flash had a few decent lines 

I’d say it was slightly less terrible than I was expecting after batman v Superman and wider woman. But still terrible.


----------



## Ralyks

Super Troopers 2. Some good laughs. It was good dumb fun. Nothing more, nothing less.


----------



## AirForbes1

Saw Bone Tomahawk last night. Really liked it. It was a bit of a slow burn at first, but the latter part of the film was full of tension. Some people have is as a horror movie, but I didn't really feel that way. 

I've been using this website recently to get movies to watch, they recommend stuff that's a little older, so you get a bunch of stuff that kind of went under the radar.

https://agoodmovietowatch.com/


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Hatchet for the Honeymoon. If you don't like slow, Italian horror, you may have a better time watching paint dry.


----------



## Mathemagician

Pitch Perfect 2 with the wife. This movie is hilarious.


----------



## Mathemagician

mongey said:


> Finally watched justice league.
> 
> Some really terrible writing. Awful one liners in last half of movie.the flash had a few decent lines
> 
> I’d say it was slightly less terrible than I was expecting after batman v Superman and wider woman. But still terrible.



The Flash was a highlight of that movie.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Mathemagician said:


> Pitch Perfect 2 with the wife. This movie is hilarious.


don't bother with #3 it sucks.


Mathemagician said:


> The Flash was a highlight of that movie.


he was the best part of that movie by far. steppenwolf was a garbage villain.


----------



## mongey

Mathemagician said:


> The Flash was a highlight of that movie.


Yeah. I was suprised. Cause I’ve never really been a flash fan.


----------



## wankerness

The Night Comes for Us - despite the horror title, this is like The Raid/The Raid 2 on steroids (and shares a few main actors). Like seriously. It's the most ridiculous action film I've ever seen, besides maybe mad max fury road. It's almost non-stop martial arts/knife/pool-ball fights and it's INCREDIBLY violent/gory and ridiculous. There's a plot, but it's secondary to the action in a huge way. It's AWESOME. Anyone that has ever liked a martial arts movie/hyper-violent action movie owes it to themselves to watch this. It's on Netflix. I saw someone call it the Dead Alive of action movies, which is apt.

Nails - really stupid horror flick on Netflix. The actress from The Descent gets hit by a car and is stuck in a recovery hotel where some ghost of a murderous nurse stalks her and then the writers couldn't figure out what to do next so it turns into a mess. The ghost sucks. There are some good jump scares and I like Shauna Macdonald though.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> eh... it's not occult enough or zany enough to really be like Wolfenstein. If you want that check out Frankenstein's army or Trench 11.



Trench 11- Good concept, the story sort of got lost in the catacombs....seemed sort of rushed to completion or over-edited or something.

Frankenstein's Army- Pretty effing cool all said. I felt like I was watching a Wolfenstein or Bioshock FPS playthrough a lot of the times. Great monsters and sets. Was that a shout out to Robocop with that one mech? Camera did hover on it for a bit. That movie did what it was supposed to do, no more no less IMO. The Dr. was a pretty well-played character too.

EDIT: Got any other recs?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> Trench 11- Good concept, the story sort of got lost in the catacombs....seemed sort of rushed to completion or over-edited or something.
> 
> Frankenstein's Army- Pretty effing cool all said. I felt like I was watching a Wolfenstein or Bioshock FPS playthrough a lot of the times. Great monsters and sets. Was that a shout out to Robocop with that one mech? Camera did hover on it for a bit. That movie did what it was supposed to do, no more no less IMO. The Dr. was a pretty well-played character too.
> 
> EDIT: Got any other recs?


the bunker
deathwatch
dog soldiers (excellent werewolf movie)


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> The Night Comes for Us



Cheers for the reminder. I was supposed to watch this and Headshot but my current sched has put these through the wayside. Good to hear that it's fantastic.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Cheers for the reminder. I was supposed to watch this and Headshot but my current sched has put these through the wayside. Good to hear that it's fantastic.


the night comes for us is fuckin goooood.


----------



## spudmunkey

So. God. Damn. Excited.


----------



## Guitarmiester

I've been on a movie kick lately...

Apostle - It took me a few attempts to get through the first 40-ish minutes. The first half is pretty tough to keep interest since you have no clue what's going. The second half completely shakes things up. The music and the setting for the movie was great. 

Room - Has been on my list for a while. I was very surprised how good this movie turned out to be. 

Kindergarten Teacher - Another movie that really messes with the feels. So many scenes caused such an uneasy feeling but I couldn't stop watching. I didn't like how the movie literally just ended. I would have liked some more that covered the aftermath. 

Enemy - I've heard so much about this movie and made sure to never look into it to avoid spoilers. I'm glad but also not glad that I stayed strong because I missed nearly every metaphor and clue possible. This had to be one of the few instances where I was totally in the clouds when the ending hit.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Guitarmiester said:


> I've been on a movie kick lately...
> 
> Apostle - It took me a few attempts to get through the first 40-ish minutes. The first half is pretty tough to keep interest since you have no clue what's going. The second half completely shakes things up. The music and the setting for the movie was great.
> 
> Room - Has been on my list for a while. I was very surprised how good this movie turned out to be.
> 
> Kindergarten Teacher - Another movie that really messes with the feels. So many scenes caused such an uneasy feeling but I couldn't stop watching. I didn't like how the movie literally just ended. I would have liked some more that covered the aftermath.
> 
> Enemy - I've heard so much about this movie and made sure to never look into it to avoid spoilers. I'm glad but also not glad that I stayed strong because I missed nearly every metaphor and clue possible. This had to be one of the few instances where I was totally in the clouds when the ending hit.


Apostle was really cool. It reminded me a lot of the Black Death or the og Wicker Man since there's a lot of "what the fuck" moments and they all center around isolated villages/cults. The effects were great.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

^Saw you mention Dog Soldiers earlier. My opinion, greatest werewolf movie ever.


----------



## Ebony

*You were never really here: *1/6
*The Meg: *2-/6
*Black Panther: *2/6
*Beast of burden:* 2/6
*10x10:* 3-/6
*Venom:* 3-/6
*The girl in the spider's web:* 4-/6
*Papillon:* 4+/6
*Brawl:* 5-/6
*Kler:* 5/6


----------



## MFB

What sort of fucked up metric do you use for rating movies, that's it's out of 6? All I can picture now is the "5 out of 7" guy.


----------



## Ebony

MFB said:


> What sort of fucked up metric do you use for rating movies, that's it's out of 6? All I can picture now is the "5 out of 7" guy.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> ^Saw you mention Dog Soldiers earlier. My opinion, greatest werewolf movie ever.


Definitely in my top 5, easily. I still say American Werewolf in London is the pinnacle of werewolf movies. 
1. American Werewolf in London
2. Wolfen
3. Dog Soldiers
4. Howling Pt.1
5. Wolf/Ginger Snaps (tie)


----------



## MFB

Anyone who thinks AWIL isn't the GOAT for Werewolf films is wrong, end of story


----------



## KnightBrolaire

i'm disgusted that landis' kid is trying to remake AWIL. I expect it'll end up in the shit heap alongside the Inside remake/total recall/robocop/martyrs/let me in
If they want to remake movies so bad then why not target crap like Brotherhood of the Wolf or Blood and Chocolate?
The remakes can't possibly be worse than the originals (which were very meh at best).


----------



## MFB

Wait, you mean Max Landis? The same dude who wrote Bright and everyone thought it was going to be a smash, and then was a lukewarm turd?

Yeah, fuck that, I don't need CG werewolves in a remake of a movie that still holds up - because we all know they won't do traditional effects.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Wait, you mean Max Landis? The same dude who wrote Bright and everyone thought it was going to be a smash, and then was a lukewarm turd?
> 
> Yeah, fuck that, I don't need CG werewolves in a remake of a movie that still holds up - because we all know they won't do traditional effects.


yup, max landis, also wrote chronicle/victor frankenstein/mr right (which were mediocre at best). 
if they do cg werewolves i'll lose my shit, the practical effects of the original are basically unmatched by any film since.


----------



## MFB

Underworld - the first one - made good use of practical effects for the werewolves with just the right amount of CG to show them transform; and I imagine the budget on that was low (both movie as a whole, and FX dept. wise), so if it's anything close to that, just use practical effects and don't try to fix what isn't broken.


----------



## Seabeast2000

spudmunkey said:


> So. God. Damn. Excited.




Have you seen the Rifftrax Live of "Birdemic"?


----------



## spudmunkey

The906 said:


> Have you seen the Rifftrax Live of "Birdemic"?



many. many. many times...including in the theater. So good...

"These birds will look better in post, right?"
"What's 'post'?"

"Srl plz."

"Hittin' on...hittin' on........hittin' on family members..."


----------



## PunkBillCarson

MFB said:


> Anyone who thinks AWIL isn't the GOAT for Werewolf films is wrong, end of story




I loved it, I just loved Dog Soldiers more due to the Evil Dead influence.


----------



## Seabeast2000

spudmunkey said:


> many. many. many times...including in the theater. So good...
> 
> "These birds will look better in post, right?"
> "What's 'post'?"
> 
> "Srl plz."
> 
> "Hittin' on...hittin' on........hittin' on family members..."


"1/10/100 million dollars"

Classic!


----------



## spudmunkey

Just saw the live tour in San Francisco and San Jose, SJ was better, but both were fun.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Definitely in my top 5, easily. I still say American Werewolf in London is the pinnacle of werewolf movies.
> 1. American Werewolf in London
> 2. Wolfen
> 3. Dog Soldiers
> 4. Howling Pt.1
> 5. Wolf/Ginger Snaps (tie)



Hmm. I'm thinking:

1. Ginger Snaps
2. American Werewolf in London
3. Howling

After that it gets sketchy. I've seen almost all of them held up as "good," but I haven't seen Wolfen or Wolf, nor the semi-recent Bad Moon that I've seen some love for after the blu-ray release. I'm thinking it might be something like:

4. Ginger Snaps 2
5. The Company of Wolves

Stuff like Dog Soldiers, Curse of the Werewolf, The Wolfman (40s version), I was a Teenage Werewolf that has a good rep just hasn't done it for me. Then all the "average" ones I've seen are worse. Well, besides a couple of the Underworld movies that are a lot of fun. I dunno if I'd call them "WEREWOLF MOVIES," though. I think 2 and 3 are the best.

There really aren't that many werewolf movies out there! Some good transformation horror movies that have similar themes don't have people turning into wolves. Ex, The Fly 86 is one of my favorites, and you definitely can draw a line between something like Curse of the Werewolf or American Werewolf in London and it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Hmm. I'm thinking:
> 
> 1. Ginger Snaps
> 2. American Werewolf in London
> 3. Howling
> 
> After that it gets sketchy. I've seen almost all of them held up as "good," but I haven't seen Wolfen or Wolf, nor the semi-recent Bad Moon that I've seen some love for after the blu-ray release. I'm thinking it might be something like:
> 
> 4. Ginger Snaps 2
> 5. The Company of Wolves
> 
> Stuff like Dog Soldiers, Curse of the Werewolf, The Wolfman (40s version), I was a Teenage Werewolf that has a good rep just hasn't done it for me. Then all the "average" ones I've seen are worse. Well, besides a couple of the Underworld movies that are a lot of fun. I dunno if I'd call them "WEREWOLF MOVIES," though. I think 2 and 3 are the best.
> 
> There really aren't that many werewolf movies out there! Some good transformation horror movies that have similar themes don't have people turning into wolves. Ex, The Fly 86 is one of my favorites, and you definitely can draw a line between something like Curse of the Werewolf or American Werewolf in London and it.


yeah, it depends how you want to organize them, for me i picked those 5 because they're pretty well made films with great to solid practical fx. i thought about including underworld 1-3 but they're not exclusively werewolf.
company of wolves had a really cool transformation effect but i wasn't really into the movie overall. i might need to revisit it at a later point.
the fly 86 is one of my favorite "transformation" movies besides the thing. contracted, hellraiser, and clown all get honorable mentions for also showcasing some cool transformations.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Bohemian Rhapsody

I'm a massive Queen fanboy so it was really hard to separate myself from that watching this. But taking off the fandom made me see how much it was this biopic was too safe and by the numbers and no different to a lot of rockumentary dramatisations. I felt similar to Hysteria as well. I get that Brian May and Roger Taylor wanted to respect the legacy as much as possible, but it felt that it could have been much more for one of the greatest frontman of one of the greatest bands of all time. That and the post production effects of Bryan Singer's firing becomes apparent. That said, it's still a Queen movie. I loved and sang along to every song (got pumped when Keep Yourself Alive started), Rami Malek is right on the money, and the finale is an outstanding display in film making. Let's just say it's alright.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Mystics in Bali. I can't stop fucking laughing.


----------



## wankerness

Suspiria (2018) - I'm really glad I went to see this in the theater. I need to see it again to fully digest it, though. It's got historical details flying out of it every which way and I was completely ignorant of all of them, and it seemed like maybe they mean more to the plot if you know what the hell they mean. BUT:

Having seen the original several times, it was cool seeing this VERY different thing constructed out of most of the basics. Hapless American innocent Susie Bannion still shows up at a dance studio in Berlin, she still walks in on a girl named Patricia having just disappeared, there's still a coven of witches running the school, but this time around it's very dense thematically and much less aggressive visually (colorwise, etc - there are still a few very, very gruesome scenes). The plot has been so heavily rewritten that it mostly even makes sense! Dr Klemperer has been changed from a brief exposition machine in the center of the film to one of the main characters. Madame Blanc and Helena Markos and even Ms Tanner are here, but Blanc especially is fleshed out radically.

Dakota Johnson is a bit like Jessica Harper's Susie in that she's mostly just a person thrown into a mess of a situation rather than a person driving the plot, but she has a LOT more relevance to the plot as this isn't a disjointed series of setpieces that aren't building to anything. As another huge bonus, the dancing is integral to the plot, and Johnson is very convincing to these untrained eyes. She's fine, and the plot calls for her to be muted throughout, so she doesn't really get any showy scenes outside of lots of gyrating in creepy ways, which she's great at, and then the climax/ending of the film, where she's allowed to be great.

The ending, where the movie turns around and reveals what it's about, kind of took my breath away and immediately made me want to rewatch it with that in mind.

Good stuff. The other handful of people in the theater seemed to be getting impatient with it, but I was engrossed throughout. If you're a gonzo horror fan, tread very carefully. I'd give it about a 7.5/10 on first watch.

OH, and I saw an extended new trailer for Glass, which actually looked pretty awesome. I just rolled my eyes throughout hearing about it up until now.


----------



## Seabeast2000

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Worth a watch IMO. Coen Bros. Lots of the period formal dialog is somehow its own character.


----------



## mongey

CoCo

watched it with my 3 year old . we had been holding off as we were worried she'd find it too scary but it was fine 

My wife and I enjoyed it too. while far form an expert on mexican culture, I did spend a few months there travelling round in 2000 , I feel like they did a good job giving a respectful look at the beliefs of the culture and it was cool.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Thankskilling


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Dog Soldiers last night for the thousandth goddamn time. The movie gets more fun once you get all the references and such such as:



Spoiler



What's in the bowl that they're eating once they get to the Uath's home. Well, it's a family of werewolves, so the meat in the stew? Yeah...




One question I do have still about this movie, maybe @KnightBrolaire can give some insight:



Spoiler



Cooper believes that once it's morning, they'll be fine and the assumption is the werewolves will be in their human form, however, when they were first attacked when they found Ryan, it was daylight and they were stilled being chased and attacked by the werewolves, so what would give him that idea?


----------



## wankerness

What are you watching it on? I have the old DVD and the new blu-ray, both of which seem to have tons of people saying it's "worst transfer ever." I haven't watched either yet. I get paralyzed by things like this!!


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Watched it on Amazon last night while at my mother-in-law's. I have the DVD at my house and didn't know there was a blu-ray.


----------



## wankerness

PunkBillCarson said:


> Watched it on Amazon last night while at my mother-in-law's. I have the DVD at my house and didn't know there was a blu-ray.



Yeah, Scream Factory put one out with tons of extras and Neil Marshall's participation. If you're a big fan and like that kind of stuff it's probably worth it.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

wankerness said:


> Yeah, Scream Factory put one out with tons of extras and Neil Marshall's participation. If you're a big fan and like that kind of stuff it's probably worth it.




I will say this, the planned sequel they had for it called Dog Soldiers: Fresh Meat was probably going to suck ass as much as I'd hate to say it. They were going to have Cooper picked up by American soldiers thinking he'd murdered his squad and they themselves were werewolves. Yeah, a far cry from the Evil Dead inspired rural creepiness of the first, no thanks.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> Dog Soldiers last night for the thousandth goddamn time. The movie gets more fun once you get all the references and such such as:
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> What's in the bowl that they're eating once they get to the Uath's home. Well, it's a family of werewolves, so the meat in the stew? Yeah...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One question I do have still about this movie, maybe @KnightBrolaire can give some insight:
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Cooper believes that once it's morning, they'll be fine and the assumption is the werewolves will be in their human form, however, when they were first attacked when they found Ryan, it was daylight and they were stilled being chased and attacked by the werewolves, so what would give him that idea?





Spoiler



the soup scene is great, i also like how they snuck in the lines referencing the wolfman.

the mythos in the film seems more to imply that the uath can transform at will and the hunt is more of a ritual than anything. I'd guess the moon doesn't have to be full for experienced werewolves like the uaths to transform (since emma didn't transform until she wanted to). the only ones directly affected by the full moon were ryan/sarge and they were freshly infected.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Widows: A really good heist movie with some interesting social commentary. It's not at all heavy handed with the social commentary at all though *cough* equalizer 2 was though *cough* . I honestly went into it expecting it to be ok at best (I generally don't like critically acclaimed films, especially from steve mcqueen). Viola davis is great in the film, jon bernthal is completely wasted, Elizabeth Debicki plays by far the most nuanced and interesting character imo (an abused subservient housewife turned emotionally manipulative escort/robber). Michelle rodriguez is fine, but not exactly nuanced in her performance. Daniel Kaluuya manages to steal any scene he's in due to his character's bipolar levels of violence and intelligence Some areas could have been fleshed out more story wise (ie the resolution) but overall it makes for a great heist film. I enjoyed it more than I liked ocean's twelve (which was fun because it was less grounded and more ridiculous in the twists). This one feels more like Heat, where things go wrong during the heist, and the actual heist scene isn't that substantial compared to the rest of the film.


----------



## wankerness

The trailers were SO bad for that, but the couple reviews I read later were so positive and described it in ways that it sounds like something I'd really like. I dunno if I'll bother seeing it in the theater, though.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> The trailers were SO bad for that, but the couple reviews I read later were so positive and described it in ways that it sounds like something I'd really like. I dunno if I'll bother seeing it in the theater, though.


I had exceedingly low expectations going into it, but it was really good. There's also a lot of great tracking and dolly cam shots, the cinematography is done quite well.


----------



## Ralyks

For Black Friday, I got 4K copies of both Deadpool movies, the Dark Knight trilogy, Annihilation, and the Peanuts Holiday pack. Only one I haven't seen before out of those is Annihilation, so I started there. Only got about 1/4 so far, but pretty interesting.


----------



## wankerness

Don't interrupt movies to post on the internet about them!!! That is one movie that you need to crank it through a sound system or use headphones, it has some of the best sound I've ever heard. Also it gets freaky as hell. It has the most tense scene that I've seen in years in it.

I just rewatched Deadpool 2, this time the non-bloated version. I liked it a bit more, but it still has most of the problems I saw the first time. The first one was definitely better, but it's still pretty fun.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Don't interrupt movies to post on the internet about them!!! That is one movie that you need to crank it through a sound system or use headphones, it has some of the best sound I've ever heard. Also it gets freaky as hell. It has the most tense scene that I've seen in years in it.
> 
> I just rewatched Deadpool 2, this time the non-bloated version. I liked it a bit more, but it still has most of the problems I saw the first time. The first one was definitely better, but it's still pretty fun.


I love that bear scene in annihilation. so good.


----------



## mongey

re watched Solo . first time since seeing it at movies

feel about the same as first viewing .its good fun . Lando steals the show . didn't really need to be made but it doesn't harm the legacy. doubt I'll ever watch it again


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The Shining. Probably going to watch The Thing tomorrow night. Perfect "beginning of winter" films.


----------



## gnoll

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Bunch of British old people travel to India to stay at a crummy hotel run by a charming Indian dude with relationship problems. Each of the residents have their own distinct personalities and reasons for traveling, but I feel that due to the many character arcs, not enough time is devoted to each of them and none work that well. Some of the emotional scenes don't seem to hit as hard as I imagine the film had intended. However, it's mostly a pretty lighthearted film and as that, it works fine. I imagine the book it's based on is better, though.

6/10


----------



## Ralyks

wankerness said:


> Don't interrupt movies to post on the internet about them!!! That is one movie that you need to crank it through a sound system or use headphones, it has some of the best sound I've ever heard. Also it gets freaky as hell. It has the most tense scene that I've seen in years in it.
> 
> I just rewatched Deadpool 2, this time the non-bloated version. I liked it a bit more, but it still has most of the problems I saw the first time. The first one was definitely better, but it's still pretty fun.



I was exhausted. And you know by backlog of games...

... That said, I watched the bloated version of Deadpool 2 today on my day off. Still good, still a hair below the first movie.


----------



## MickD7

Clint Eastwood’s 15:17 to Paris.

I got 5 mins into this movie. What a steaming pile that quickly turned into, terrible acting a b grade cast featuring some of the actors you may recognise. Just awful, I thought Sully was average this makes it looks like a masterpiece. 

0/10

The Crimes of Grindlwald.

This is the most disjointed film I’ve seen in a long time, the magic of the Harry Potter world from the books is getting sucked dry to a level only comparable to The Hobbit Films. It’s editing is very jarring and it focuses on characters that are completely useless. I heard a lot of complaints about Depp in this and I can say he is no where near as bad as some of the others, I feel horribly sorry Jude Law who is under utilised as the part of young Dumbledore. 

The score has none of the magic that John Williams score has,the plot twists are shoulder shrugs at best and only damage the body of work fleshed out in the books and throw out timelines and stories of characters out of the books and films

It’s one of those films that has so many plots and so little resolve because it’s clearly setting up future films. 

4/10


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MickD7 said:


> Clint Eastwood’s 15:17 to Paris.
> 
> I got 5 mins into this movie. What a steaming pile that quickly turned into, terrible acting a b grade cast featuring some of the actors you may recognise. Just awful, I thought Sully was average this makes it looks like a masterpiece.
> 
> 0/10
> 
> The Crimes of Grindlwald.
> 
> This is the most disjointed film I’ve seen in a long time, the magic of the Harry Potter world from the books is getting sucked dry to a level only comparable to The Hobbit Films. It’s editing is very jarring and it focuses on characters that are completely useless. I heard a lot of complaints about Depp in this and I can say he is no where near as bad as some of the others, I feel horribly sorry Jude Law who is under utilised as the part of young Dumbledore.
> 
> The score has none of the magic that John Williams score has,the plot twists are shoulder shrugs at best and only damage the body of work fleshed out in the books and throw out timelines and stories of characters out of the books and films
> 
> It’s one of those films that has so many plots and so little resolve because it’s clearly setting up future films.
> 
> 4/10


yeah, just saw crimes of grindelwald. the whole movie was a waste of time since it's just setting up the next film. all that time wasted learning about the kid's supposed family and then none of it even mattered by the end.


----------



## MickD7

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah, just saw crimes of grindelwald. the whole movie was a waste of time since it's just setting up the next film. all that time wasted learning about the kid's supposed family and then none of it even mattered by the end.



The more I think about it the worse it gets


----------



## A-Branger

MickD7 said:


> Clint Eastwood’s 15:17 to Paris.
> 
> I got 5 mins into this movie. What a steaming pile that quickly turned into, terrible acting a b grade cast featuring some of the actors you may recognise. Just awful, I thought Sully was average this makes it looks like a masterpiece.



me and a couple of friends saw at the cinema. OMFG Ive never seen my money burn down the toilet that fast.

we live on a resort island thing, so its hard to go to the cinema. First we need to match our days offs, and then once in mainland travel 1 hour to the nearest town to a cute oldschool family run cinema. Or travel 2 hours to a proper multiplex on the nearest "city/Town"...... we wanted to watch something else but that day, and that time (as we need to get back to the island sam day), we kinda only had that one choice.... I mean it was Clint Eastwood directing, so couldnt be that bad no?, plus the trailer ws cool, bunch of young army guys that hapen to be on the same train as a terrorist so they use their skills to stop that.... cool no?

NOPE

out of whatever runing time the movie was, the trailer scene, and the whole "stop the bad guy on the train" only lasted 5 FUCKING MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!, out of the last 15 min of the WHOLE MOVIE!!!!!!!!

you wanna know the rest?!?!??!

sure here it is:

-10 to 20 min exposition of the characters when they are kids and going into the army

-1:15 min... of character jsut doing tourist dumb stuff in europe, and not even interesting/funny/action..... nope..... just picture a 1:15 min movie of your mate's lates euro trip, and I bet your mate could make it more interesting

-5 min of the train "action" scene you saw on the trailer and you prob though it was gonna be the whole movie about

-10 min of movie ending, and trow some scenes of them getting medals for it

-done

- *facepalm* (repeated until you leave the cinema)


----------



## Lorcan Ward

Fantastic Beasts 2 was a mess. jk Rowling wrote it yet even the biggest Harry Potter fans can't make head or tail of some of the plot. It reminds me of the Hobbit, it doesn't feel like it takes place in the world of the original films. They tried to expand on things they never built up in the first film so it just left me constantly questioning everything. I don't see how they are going to squeeze 3 more films out of this story.

I'm not sure I'll see aquaman but im excited for Mortal Engines for the spectacle and worldbuilding alone.


----------



## Seabeast2000

A-Branger said:


> me and a couple of friends saw at the cinema. OMFG Ive never seen my money burn down the toilet that fast.



Clint liked your story and wants to see your spec script by next week.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Lorcan Ward said:


> Fantastic Beasts 2 was a mess. jk Rowling wrote it yet even the biggest Harry Potter fans can't make head or tail of some of the plot. It reminds me of the Hobbit, it doesn't feel like it takes place in the world of the original films. They tried to expand on things they never built up in the first film so it just left me constantly questioning everything. I don't see how they are going to squeeze 3 more films out of this story.
> 
> I'm not sure I'll see aquaman but im excited for Mortal Engines for the spectacle and worldbuilding alone.


Exactly. It reminded me of the 2nd hobbit film, where it was essentially a waste of time, and just setting everything up for the next one. I did enjoy jude law as dumbledore and depp as Grindelwald, but otherwise the movie was a dumpster fire.


----------



## mongey

my wife is a huge harry potter fan and even she doesn't want to see the new movie. thats saying something


----------



## A-Branger

havent seen it yet, planing it soon. Hard to get to a cinema in where I live.

But I hate that now they are merging that story with the HP time line..... Cant they jsut leave it as it was?, just a cool story set in the same world of magic that had nothing to do with stupid Harry???..... but nooo, heres now some bunch of characters from HP and their backstory merged into this new story. and the more movies it goes, the more they would merge the stories till theres jsut an un-official Origin story for Voldemort, and the famous scene when he kills his parents with Mr Scamander watching it from a window or something stupid like that.

just give me a cool wizard/witches/magic story with NOTHING realted to the stupid "chosen one" kid


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Mandy. It was pretty fucking awesome.


----------



## Metropolis

Gonna see Bohemian Rhapsody today, I've never really liked music related films but I have high expectations for this one.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The Night Comes For Us

Yeah, it's as awesome as everyone says. Joe Taslim takes over the lead while Iko Uwais plays a major supporting role. But that doesn't really matter when everything Iko Uwais or all of The Raid alumni is involved is all about non stop relentless bone crushing ultra violence. And this does that in spades that it makes Eli Roth movies look like a children's cartoon. Perhaps my favorite movie of the year so far. 

Now I have to check out Headshot soon.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Creed 2

On paper the premise looks like some my 8 year old self would have thought up during recess, it's so cartoonish and ludicrous that it shouldn't work. But it does and does so damn well. Granted being a sequel gets that 'sequel sloppy seconds syndrome' detriment, and being a bit on the predicable side are my main criticisms but who cares. This is a sequel comfy with itself and does exactly what it's meant to do extremely well. It's a damn fine movie in the Rocky canon.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Ballad of Buster Scruggs: 
tonally it's all over the place and feels disjointed due to the structure (it's a bunch of self contained vignettes so that's to be expected). It still has that characteristic dark humor and violence though. I particularly like the way they played around with the white hat/black hat stereotype in the first vignette. The second vignette was also a lot of fun. It kind of goes downhill from there into more monologue heavy and dramatic performances (especially the wingless thrush one and the carriage ride, both are quite tedious). 
I still enjoyed it overall but I think it's one of the coen brother's weaker films.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> Ballad of Buster Scruggs:
> tonally it's all over the place and feels disjointed due to the structure (it's a bunch of self contained vignettes so that's to be expected). It still has that characteristic dark humor and violence though. I particularly like the way they played around with the white hat/black hat stereotype in the first vignette. The second vignette was also a lot of fun. It kind of goes downhill from there into more monologue heavy and dramatic performances (especially the wingless thrush one and the carriage ride, both are quite tedious).
> I still enjoyed it overall but I think it's one of the coen brother's weaker films.



It was a bit like Anton Chigurh's fireside stories, lots of characters just die.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Krampus
A Christmas Horror Story
Tales from the Crypt (1972)
Black Christmas (1974)


----------



## gnoll

I started watching Ballad of Buster Scruggs but turned it off after the first two stories. Too silly in a non-funny way. Shame cause Fargo/No Country/Big Lebowski are some of my favorites ever.


----------



## AirForbes1

One that went under the radar for me.

Wind River:


----------



## TedEH

Ralyks said:


> I got 4K copies of both Deadpool movies


Had a dumb moment, and I read this as "I now own four thousand copies of Deadpool".


----------



## Ralyks

TedEH said:


> Had a dumb moment, and I read this as "I now own four thousand copies of Deadpool".



I'd have no shame in that. I love Deadpool.


----------



## A-Branger

gnoll said:


> I started watching Ballad of Buster Scruggs but turned it off after the first two stories. Too silly in a non-funny way. Shame cause Fargo/No Country/Big Lebowski are some of my favorites ever.


saw it last night. It was an "ok" movie and I forced myself t watch it, but I had enough on the last story, couldnt keep watching it anymore. I skipped to the end jsut in case there was some kind of merge of all the stories or something but nopw, it was the same folks talking on the carriage for like 20 min...... zzzZZZZ


----------



## PunkBillCarson

TedEH said:


> Had a dumb moment, and I read this as "I now own four thousand copies of Deadpool".



I thought about making a joke when I saw it.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Watched Mowgli on Netflix last night. This isn't the Disneyfied version of Rudyard Kipling's story, this one is significantly darker and though it's only PG-13, I highly recommend NOT watching it with your children. A lot of the more emotional moments were quite effective and I'm not ashamed to say that quite a few of them had me on the verge of tears (I'm an animal lover).


----------



## gnoll

Princess Mononoke

Animated fantasy set in medieval Japan. A young prince becomes involved in struggles between humans and forest creatures.

This was the most epic thing I have ever seen. Stunningly beautiful and amazingly immersive with fantastic music... Great story, characters with depth, delivering a powerful message without being preachy... I hate fawning over stuff, but I really liked this.

10/10, definately up there with the best films I've seen. Maybe the best.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

gnoll said:


> Princess Mononoke
> 
> Animated fantasy set in medieval Japan. A young prince becomes involved in struggles between humans and forest creatures.
> 
> This was the most epic thing I have ever seen. Stunningly beautiful and amazingly immersive with fantastic music... Great story, characters with depth, delivering a powerful message without being preachy... I hate fawning over stuff, but I really liked this.
> 
> 10/10, definately up there with the best films I've seen. Maybe the best.


If you like mononoke you should check out nausicaa, porco rosso, grave of the fireflies and howl's moving castle. Those are all fantastic movies imo


----------



## gnoll

KnightBrolaire said:


> If you like mononoke you should check out nausicaa, porco rosso, grave of the fireflies and howl's moving castle. Those are all fantastic movies imo



Yeah, I'm definately gonna try and watch those. Well, Howl's I've seen and it was great, though not as good as Mononoke.


----------



## SD83

Annihilation. Visually stunning, and highly entertaining, and a nice open ending that doesn't at all feel like it's been thrown in there just to justify a sequel. There's a bit about the backstory that I either did not understand or just makes no sense besides enabling the movie to happen at all, but great movie overall.


----------



## DudeManBrother

Texas Chainsaw. It is probably the worst of the lot. I didn’t like it much when I saw it in the theatre, but decided to give it another shot. Still sucks. Visually it’s okay, but the script and storyline is utter dog shit.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DudeManBrother said:


> Texas Chainsaw. It is probably the worst of the lot. I didn’t like it much when I saw it in the theatre, but decided to give it another shot. Still sucks. Visually it’s okay, but the script and storyline is utter dog shit.


The one from a few years ago? 3D or whatever?


----------



## DudeManBrother

Yeah they did a 3D release of this.


Spaced Out Ace said:


> The one from a few years ago? 3D or whatever?


----------



## A-Branger

gnoll said:


> Yeah, I'm definately gonna try and watch those. Well, Howl's I've seen and it was great, though not as good as Mononoke.


also spirited away, my neighbour Totoro, Ponyo 

basicaly everything done by ..... same guy?

either way they all are awesome, some mroe than others, but still pretty good films to watch


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DudeManBrother said:


> Yeah they did a 3D release of this.


Yeah, it was terrible.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

DudeManBrother said:


> Yeah they did a 3D release of this.


why would you subject yourself to such torture. At least jaws 3d was stupid fun.


----------



## DudeManBrother

I only subjected myself to the 2D terror. Twice...I have no excuse


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DudeManBrother said:


> I only subjected myself to the 2D terror. Twice...I have no excuse


I'd rather read Joe Bob's 69 page monster TCM write up.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Illang: Wolf Brigade - It's a korean remake of Jin Roh: Wolf Brigade. It does what a good remake should, and just uses the core structure of the original film to make something different, instead of a shot for shot remake *cough* Psycho *cough* The story is pretty different and the ending is very different from the original, but most of the action sequences are faithful to the original, barring a few big scenes like the fight in the tower/parking lot showdown. They nailed the costume design (which was arguably the most iconic thing from the original film). Music is solid with a droning sitar like score for much of it, though it shifts to a more Terminator pulsing sound during the sewer fight. Probably my favorite scene that they added was during the sewer fight, where the police are using a motion tracker, and a very Aliens esque scene ensues. My biggest complaint is that they're a lot heavier handed with the red riding hood metaphor from the original.


----------



## gnoll

A-Branger said:


> also spirited away, my neighbour Totoro, Ponyo
> 
> basicaly everything done by ..... same guy?
> 
> either way they all are awesome, some mroe than others, but still pretty good films to watch



Funnily enough I saw Spirited Away a couple years ago and didn't like it, so that put me off Miyazaki for a while. I think all the hype around that one made my expectations a bit too high. I will give it a re-watch though, see if I like it more this time around...


----------



## wankerness

It’s definitely overhyped. It has amazing visuals and then just craps out towards the end. Princess Mononoke is much better.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Spirited Away is ok, but compared to Nausicaa, Laputa and Mononoke, it's not in the same tier. Maybe more in like with say, Kiki's Delivery or something. I thought Porco Rosso was better than both of those. 

Studio Ghibli are generally solid movies even the ones not done by Hayao Miyazaki. Well with the exception of Tales From Earthsea. That was terrible.


----------



## wankerness

I should note that practically all critics say Spirited Away is the best of his movies. I just don't get it, personally, after about 3/4 of the movie. I liked it the same on rewatch as I did on the first - the first bunch of it does blow me away. Overall, though, I prefer Mononoke in a huge way and even probably like My Neighbor Totoro more. It's kind of the same thing on a much smaller scale but with a much more focused story.

FYI "Laputa" is called "Castle in the Sky" on American video. I did like that one quite a bit by the end, it may be a bit overlong and I thought it took some time to get moving. It's kind of a fun kiddy adventure movie, but then randomly has this apocalyptic robot scene in the middle. 

Nausicaa is great, it seems like a test run for themes in Mononoke but the setting and "vibe" are really different.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nausicaa definitely has some thematic overlap with mononoke (environmentalism) and it also has thematic overlap with howl's moving castle (anti-war/the great cost of war).
I like Spirited Away but it's definitely not one of my favorites


----------



## MFB

Watched "Annihilation" and "Ready Player One" over the weekend, really enjoyed both of them, solid 8/10 flicks


----------



## synrgy

Speaking in terms of the English dub, I think Spirited Away would have come off MUCH better with a different actress in the role of Chihiro. The girl they cast basically screams her way through the entire movie and I find it nearly impossible to endure, even though I love everything else about the film.

It was the first one that Disney (well, John Lassiter..) really got behind and mega-pushed to the US audience, which likely has something to do with it's critical acclaim seeming to be above the others.

Mononoke has always been my favorite of Miyazaki's films, and it's one of my 'big three' for anime, generally, along with Akira and GITS. I'd probably put The Wind Rises right under it, then Howl's, then SA. After that, I still love nearly everything else Miyazaki has done, but it gets harder for me to rank between them, as I find them mostly on-par with each other.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> Speaking in terms of the English dub, I think Spirited Away would have come off MUCH better with a different actress in the role of Chihiro. The girl they cast basically screams her way through the entire movie and I find it nearly impossible to endure, even though I love everything else about the film.
> 
> It was the first one that Disney (well, John Lassiter..) really got behind and mega-pushed to the US audience, which likely has something to do with it's critical acclaim seeming to be above the others.
> 
> Mononoke has always been my favorite of Miyazaki's films, and it's one of my 'big three' for anime, generally, along with Akira and GITS. I'd probably put The Wind Rises right under it, then Howl's, then SA. After that, I still love nearly everything else Miyazaki has done, but it gets harder for me to rank between them, as I find them mostly on-par with each other.


Watching the english dubs of miyazaki movies (besides mononoke or howl) is a waste of time imo.


----------



## wankerness

I don't mind any of the english dubs besides maybe Kiki's Delivery Service and Princess Mononoke. Mononoke is completely unwatchable thanks to Billy Bob Thornton sleepwalking his way through his part. It's almost like he was TRYING to be bad. On top of him sounding like he's reading off a sheet, having that character with a thick southern accent is just bizarre.

I'm not a huge fan of Gillian Anderson as the spirit, either.


----------



## synrgy

English dubbing is what it is; things already get lost in translation, and then get lost further in changing words/timing to suit the animation. Still, it's a generally easier experience for me to enjoy most non-English movies in dub for my first pass, then switching to original audio with English subtitles on subsequent passes.

Anyway, agreed that the English voice cast for Mononoke was mostly flat, especially Thornton. I'd level the same against Christian Bale in HMC. Given the number of otherwise decent-to-solid actors in most of the English voice casts, and how few of them have delivered up to their usual standards, I have to presume it's down to the director(s) and/or their translators..?


----------



## wankerness

No, it's definitely not the fault of the translators in this case. The script for the english dub of Mononoke is famously one of the best translations of all time, and was written by Neil Gaiman. It's the fault of Disney going for names over actual voiceacting ability. Practically any real voiceactor would have been far better than a big celebrity name who put zero effort into something. They do this all the time now, just try to get big actor names to lure people into the theater instead of paying any attention to whether they're actually the best for the part. I feel bad for voiceactors, they're getting shoved out of their own jobs by amateurs. It's like when guitarists assume that they can play bass better than a bassist cause it's just a guitar with fewer strings, right?!?!



I dunno how direction works with dubbing in all cases. If there WAS a director, then yeah, him considering those takes acceptable was a problem, though not just firing BBT and getting a different actor was a bigger problem! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Billy Bob in Fargo/Bad Santa, but he was just horrible there.

I haven't seen HMC yet. But yes, with those Ghibli movies, I almost always start with the English dub. With animation, I think there's absolutely no reason that you need to watch it in the original language since it's not like the animation was done to the performances or anything. I just go to the Japanese if the English is lacking, which is the case with some of these, and MOST lower-budget anime where the translation budget/dubbing talent is lacking. Sometimes, though, even then I'll go to the English just due to the visuals being so crazy that even the split seconds that I spend on subtitles are too much of a distraction. Like, try watching the opening of Summer Wars with subtitles, it's sensory overload.

Kiki's Delivery Service is infamous for giving her cat the voice of Phil Hartman and writing in all these sarcastic lines, while the cat was mute in the original. It is a textbook example of that Patton Oswalt bit about "punching up" scripts.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

You Might Be the Killer. It's an awesome film, and has Alyson Hannigan or whatever her name is.


----------



## synrgy

The Predator (2018).

I can't adequately express just how awful it was. I think it's the first time I've ever deleted something from my library immediately after watching it.

I like Shane Black's stuff, usually, but there wasn't a single redeemable element of this movie. Instant demotion to the absolute bottom of the franchise - including those God-awful AVP movies. Further proof that it shouldn't be a franchise at all. The first movie was great, but exploring the concept further has yet to prove worthwhile.


----------



## synrgy

Also, I'm not on-board with Boyd Holbrook. He single-handedly brought Logan down a notch, and he didn't help The Predator at all, either. There may be some other kind of role he can play well, but 'tough guy for action movie' isn't it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> The Predator (2018).
> 
> I can't adequately express just how awful it was. I think it's the first time I've ever deleted something from my library immediately after watching it.
> 
> I like Shane Black's stuff, usually, but there wasn't a single redeemable element of this movie. Instant demotion to the absolute bottom of the franchise - including those God-awful AVP movies. Further proof that it shouldn't be a franchise at all. The first movie was great, but exploring the concept further has yet to prove worthwhile.


you sir are high. avp requiem is by far the worst, I'd put this one at least on par with predators.


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> Also, I'm not on-board with Boyd Holbrook. He single-handedly brought Logan down a notch, and he didn't help The Predator at all, either. There may be some other kind of role he can play well, but 'tough guy for action movie' isn't it.


I thought he was good in Logan. I haven't watched this movie yet.


----------



## synrgy

KnightBrolaire said:


> you sir are high.



Perpetually, Sir.



KnightBrolaire said:


> avp requiem is by far the worst, I'd put this one at least on par with predators.



Predators was a crap sandwich, too, though! High production value, sure, but that's just trying to polish a turd. I guess I just have difficulty finding ways to distinguish degrees of awfulness. P1 is great, and P2 is sort-of maybe halfway okay. After that, they're all hot-garbage.


----------



## A-Branger

synrgy said:


> After that, they're all hot-garbage.


but but but hteres that one with a fricking ALIEN!! you know like the toys AlienVSpretator... because theres nothing more cooooool than putting two monsters together. Kids love it!!!! and if they do they are gonna go and watch the movie..... but hey they cant go alone, so a parent must come with them too, so double the tickets aye!!!!..... because the toys sold too much..... (for movies that both were censored for kids)...... but they wanna see them fight!!! its awesome

*11 yr old screams in the back*


----------



## wankerness

A-Branger said:


> but but but hteres that one with a fricking ALIEN!! you know like the toys AlienVSpretator... because theres nothing more cooooool than putting two monsters together. Kids love it!!!! and if they do they are gonna go and watch the movie..... but hey they cant go alone, so a parent must come with them too, so double the tickets aye!!!!..... because the toys sold too much..... (for movies that both were censored for kids)...... but they wanna see them fight!!! its awesome
> 
> *11 yr old screams in the back*



Dawg. This post applies far more to manchildren over the age of 20 or 30 than it does kids.


----------



## A-Branger




----------



## wankerness

Apparently the new Spiderman is REALLY, REALLY good, like most are saying it's the best Spiderman movie yet, which is saying something considering Raimi's 2. It's also probably going to flop considering the following week Aquaman, Mary Poppins, AND Bumblebee are coming out, all of which cut into the same demographics! Studios can be so dumb. Bumblebee is also apparently really good, which is also bizarre. I guess taking Michael Bay off projects can be a good thing. It's apparently VERY Amblin-vibe. I'm curious. I'm probably not going to go see any of these things and will wait for them to be visible on the internet.


----------



## MFB

All the high school aspects of Spiderman: Homecoming dragged it down for me, everyone there was very one-dimensional and didn't add anything to the overall story; it's still my absolute perfect Spiderman, like you lifted him from the pages of a book, but that's the only negative aspect to it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

it'll be very hard to top homecoming or spiderman 2 in my books. Multiverse does look good though, but hopefully they don't go too crazy with the alternate dimension crap.


----------



## ThtOthrPrsn

Super excited for mulitverse.
Just watched Mission Impossible: Fallout over the weekend and I had forgotten how exciting those movies are! I'd highly recommend it to anyone.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

First Blood, Rambo: First Blood II, and Rambo III.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> Bumblebee is also apparently really good, which is also bizarre. I guess taking Michael Bay off projects can be a good thing.



They got the guy who directed Kubo And The Two Strings doing Bumblebee so I'm on board based on that fact alone. I just hope I'm not wrong.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

the trailers for bumblebee made it look pretty meh.


----------



## wankerness

Trailers are often meaningless if the movie doesn’t fit neatly into a box. I think I first learned that when the trailers for Batman Begins made it look like an awful movie about guys doing ninja training in Siberia, and then was most strongly reinforced again later when I thought Interstellar was going to take place primarily in ugly corn fields and maybe eventually have someone build a rocket. Yeah, I know both of those were Christopher Nolan.

Or, on a related note, when the trailer for Man of Steel made it look like the best movie ever!

Kuni is really, really good, I dunno if that will mean much in terms of what this is like, but it can’t hurt.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Trailers are often meaningless if the movie doesn’t fit neatly into a box. I think I first learned that when the trailers for Batman Begins made it look like an awful movie about guys doing ninja training in Siberia, and then was most strongly reinforced again later when I thought Interstellar was going to take place primarily in ugly corn fields and maybe eventually have someone build a rocket. Yeah, I know both of those were Christopher Nolan.
> 
> Or, on a related note, when the trailer for Man of Steel made it look like the best movie ever!
> 
> Kuni is really, really good, I dunno if that will mean much in terms of what this is like, but it can’t hurt.


Kubo is an excellent movie, still salty that it lost the best animated picture category
I have the opposite experience, where (barring nolan's films or Killing them softly) trailers are usually a good litmus test for the film quality. Generally if the production/marketing team can't even put together a decent trailer for a film, or sell me on the film in 90-120 seconds, then the movie likely isn't going to be very good ime.


----------



## A-Branger

I just reach a point were with big movies I know Im gonna watch, I jsut dont watch the trailer anymore. I have even reach the point on the cinema that I had to watch my phone while covering my ears and humming "lalalalalala" 

best......decision.....ever.......

nothing more awesome that coming into a movie 100% blank.... Trailers these days show waaaaaay too much, then you spend the whole movie connecting the dots you saw on the trailer


Kubo was an awesome movie, but that bumblebee trailer still looks like a transformers movie.... Like its only couple of explosions and a lower camera angle, and some american flags, too clsoe to be a Michael Bay shitfest..... MB completely ruin my childhood dreams with the transformers franchise. I have 0 hopes for Bumblebee, I keep thinking its a cash grab as they cant keep making more transformers so might jsut do a sping off "origin story" of some sort..... Plot looks cheesy too


----------



## wankerness

The handful of reviews I read specifically mentioned it finally not having the jingoistic stuff the Michael Bay ones had. I guess the Transformer fighting mainly only happens at the beginning. Maybe the trailer is like the trailer for Jurassic World 2 where it looks like a big island adventure but instead you mostly are just stuck with dinos in a house! 

Why my phone autocorrects Kubo to Kuni I do not understand.


----------



## GatherTheArsenal

Agreed A-Branger, not to mention it's soooo easy to accidentally watch a trailer nowadays when an ad just pops into view out of nowhere on YouTube.

Recently had an unwelcome spoiler dropped on me for Vikings while scrolling through Instagram, just full on scene and text of what they're saying...


----------



## MFB

ITS THE PERFECT SPIDERMAN MOVIE.

THE. 
PEFECT. 
SPIDERMAN. 
MOVIE.


----------



## ThtOthrPrsn

Got my tickets for imax Sunday and I couldn't be more excited! 
I'm only hearing really glowing reviews!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Predator, Predator II, and Predators.

Between Rambo and Predator, there's so much guns and explosions you'd think you had freebased pure, uncut testosterone.


----------



## wankerness

Doesn’t Adrian Brody as the lead in Predators sort of cancel out the Arnie if you watch them back to back to back? Danny Glover is neutral.

I like Predator 2. Maybe it’s cause I saw it first.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Adrian Brody is kind of in need of, ohh, about 3-4 cycles of the juice in order to take Arnie's place.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Adrian Brody is kind of in need of, ohh, about 3-4 cycles of the juice in order to take Arnie's place.


he'd need a hell of a lot more than that


----------



## mongey

Blackkklansman

I found it pretty powerful. It has a few flaws in the story imho but power to him for making it and making a statement. There needs to be more of it. 

I actually teared up at the end.


----------



## synrgy

Adrian Brody in Predators is one of the worst performances I've ever seen.

And I've seen Leonard 6.


----------



## synrgy

mongey said:


> Blackkklansman
> 
> I found it pretty powerful. It has a few flaws in the story imho but power to him for making it and making a statement. There needs to be more of it.
> 
> I actually teared up at the end.



Despite growing up in the 80's/90's, its the first Spike Lee movie I've ever thoroughly enjoyed, and due to the subject matter and the way they tackle it (and it's relevance to the current zeitgeist), I kinda feel like it should be required viewing.


----------



## mongey

synrgy said:


> Despite growing up in the 80's/90's, its the first Spike Lee movie I've ever thoroughly enjoyed, and due to the subject matter and the way they tackle it (and it's relevance to the current zeitgeist), I kinda feel like it should be required viewing.


Yeah agreed. His best movie by far.


----------



## wankerness

Better by far than universally acknowledged classic Do the Right Thing, or Malcolm X?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Hellraiser: Judgment. Sorta seems like the Hellraiser stuff was added somewhere towards the end of the scripting process. Overall it is decent, but not great. I think it was written by a room full of monkeys, to be honest.


----------



## mongey

wankerness said:


> Better by far than universally acknowledged classic Do the Right Thing, or Malcolm X?


Yes. I think so. I haven’t seen either for a long time though and both probably deserve another go. 

Was hard for me to get into do the right thing. Watched it a few times. I feel generally it’s overplayed , overacted and heavy handed. 

Malcolm X. Only seen it once at movies when it came out. History lessons are cool and I remember it being a good one. But don’t look back on it as a great movie experience.


----------



## wankerness

I haven't even seen Malcolm X, it just seems to often be ranked close to the top of his movies. Do the Right Thing is really good.

There's one movie he made that I don't see talked about much but that I remember seeing at the very top of some "best movies of the decade" list back in 2010, which was "25th Hour." I need to watch that one.


----------



## synrgy

25th Hour is pretty good, if memory serves. Some good dialogue, at least.

 (language NSFW)

I just really enjoyed BlackKklansman. It struck an incredible balance between the severity of the subject matter, and light-hearted humor. Also, the pacing was near-perfect; not a moment wasted.

A lot of his work just feels to me like it's taking itself too seriously, and/or is trying really hard to say 'No, really, THIS IS A SPIKE LEE MOVIE, SEE?!?!'.. This didn't have any of that; just a great story told in a very entertaining way, that also happens to deal with some very heavy social matter, and - despite being a period piece - reflects contemporary society.


----------



## ThtOthrPrsn

I can now confirm, Into The Spider-verse is the PERFECT Spiderman movie. Absolutely no complaints.


----------



## MFB

ThtOthrPrsn said:


> I can now confirm, Into The Spider-verse is the PERFECT Spiderman movie. Absolutely no complaints.



:highfive:

Edit: oh no, did we lose the high-five smiley?!


----------



## wankerness

ThtOthrPrsn said:


> I can now confirm, Into The Spider-verse is the PERFECT Spiderman movie. Absolutely no complaints.



I hate that it's going to bomb and is already in the process. Not surprising, though. We'll definitely get another Venom and probably not another one of these.

The only hope is that it holds steady thanks to the through-the-roof reviews and ends up above all the crap that releases this week in another week.


----------



## MFB

What gives you the impression that it's going to bomb? The word of mouth and glowing reviews?


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> What gives you the impression that it's going to bomb? The word of mouth and glowing reviews?



No, the extremely low foreign box office returns, the fact it "only" made 35 million the first weekend against its 90 million budget (aka, it would need 180 million in domestic grosses or some combo of that and 4x the budget in overseas tickets), and the fact THREE huge movies that all cut into the same demographic are coming out this week.

Reviews are irrelevant, unfortunately. Just look at Venom making 800 million.


----------



## MFB

I think Bumblee and Aquaman will cut into the foreign (read as: Chinese) sales for this week, but there's also a lot of time off between Christmas and New Years that people will need to kill, and I think domestically it'll be fine; I imagine here the Transformers buzz has come to a light sizzle and hence why we've moved to spin-offs vs. full fledged sequels, and DC's only light at the end of the tunnel have been Wonder Woman (with a terrible CGI snorefest of an ending) and Aquaman's role in Justice League. So if it doesn't get it immediately, they'll still make their money back I'm sure.


----------



## gnoll

Hm, I saw a trailer for this new Spiderman somewhere and kind of assumed it was a silly childrens movie not worth my time, but now people are saying it's really good and I'm a bit confused... I mean I have always been a big Spiderman fan so... maybe I should go see it afterall?


----------



## mongey

gnoll said:


> Hm, I saw a trailer for this new Spiderman somewhere and kind of assumed it was a silly childrens movie not worth my time, but now people are saying it's really good and I'm a bit confused... I mean I have always been a big Spiderman fan so... maybe I should go see it afterall?


I'm with you.my mate explained it to me and I still don't get it

gonna have to see it for myself


----------



## wankerness

gnoll said:


> Hm, I saw a trailer for this new Spiderman somewhere and kind of assumed it was a silly childrens movie not worth my time, but now people are saying it's really good and I'm a bit confused... I mean I have always been a big Spiderman fan so... maybe I should go see it afterall?



The plot is far more interesting than any previous one, characters have a lot more life than any previous one, action and style is incredible, actually works dramatically, etc etc etc. it’s supposed to be the best animated movie of the year by a long shot as well as best spider man movie according to most.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

just watched Terrifier. holy shit is it brutal. I'd put it on the martyrs/a l'interieur/maniac remake levels of brutality, if not even higher due to one particular scene. the main villain is legitimately unnerving too.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> just watched Terrifier. holy shit is it brutal. I'd put it on the martyrs/a l'interieur/maniac remake levels of brutality, if not even higher due to one particular scene. the main villain is legitimately unnerving too.


The guy is a bit unhinged as well.


----------



## Demiurge

Since it's Christmastime, watching the Muppets Christmas Carol. It's kind of confusing as the movie was technically censored- there was a song cut from it for the DVD release because it was too sad... while the "ghost of Christmas past" remains perpetual nightmare fuel.


----------



## wankerness

I love that movie. The little floating girl ghost is almost creepier than Christmas future imo.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

black christmas, rare export, krampus and die hard. The perfect xmas movies


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Black Christmas is far from perfect, but Krampus and Die Hard are great. Don't forget Trancers; yes, it's a Christmas movie!

Watched Ted Bundy. What a fucking freak.


----------



## wankerness

Man, I hated rare exports. I think it was being with people that were hyping it up during the boring scenes maybe though. They were also acting like it would be a comedy.


----------



## A-Branger

ThtOthrPrsn said:


> I can now confirm, Into The Spider-verse is the PERFECT Spiderman movie. Absolutely no complaints.



saw it couple of days ago. Amazing movie. love the style of animation, more jumpy/cut/stepmotion kinda like... instead of smooth and fluid. Gives you more impression that you are reading the comic book and that you are skipping between the frames of the pages. Massive win right there




gnoll said:


> Hm, I saw a trailer for this new Spiderman somewhere and kind of assumed it was a silly childrens movie not worth my time, but now people are saying it's really good and I'm a bit confused... I mean I have always been a big Spiderman fan so... maybe I should go see it afterall?



yeh the trailer didnt do much justice. I only wanted to see it because I was drawn to the animation style (more comic book like) rather than the story/plot. If they had a more smooth normal animation I prob would ahve think this was another meh kids movie from the trailer... a "stop cashing in on the superhero stuff and leave spiderman to rest for a while, too many too soon"

but people keep giving good reviews so I went to see it. Soo good


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Man, I hated rare exports. I think it was being with people that were hyping it up during the boring scenes maybe though. They were also acting like it would be a comedy.


It's a bit slow, but I enjoy it since so few movies/shows have approached the idea of making santa evil (besides futurama).


----------



## PunkBillCarson

The Ref. THAT is the perfect Christmas movie.


----------



## A-Branger

also I just saw "Kin" on hte plane on my last trip

awesome movie too. If Im not wrong is from the same people of Stranger things, and you could tell from a lot of the cinematography. Colors and lighting is amazing. But just as Stranger Things, this movie takes a lot of time to develop and get to the main point/plot of it. Like the series, is like 80% character development/journey 15% of the main action of the movie, and 5% finish

but also as the series, it doesnt feel dragged at any point. It gives a more of a "indie film" feeling. I also though it might ave been better as a mini-series. But cool film regardless


----------



## ThtOthrPrsn

wankerness said:


> I hate that it's going to bomb and is already in the process. Not surprising, though. We'll definitely get another Venom and probably not another one of these.
> 
> The only hope is that it holds steady thanks to the through-the-roof reviews and ends up above all the crap that releases this week in another week.



Luckily I believe they've already greenlit a second one! I know for sure they already have a writer selected for it. It also helps that the reviews out there are EXTREMELY glowing!!


----------



## MFB

Bumblebee - 7/10

Who would have guessed the biggest problem with the Transformers franchise was Michael Bay? Oh right, everyone who watches them past the first film.

This was new life into a tired franchise that become a punchline, and if they used it as a soft reboot for an honest to God Transformers series, I'd put my butt in a seat for them.


----------



## wankerness

Bumblebee is crashing and burning at the US box office, whatever idiot put it up against Mary Poppins and Aquaman should be demoted. I am guessing it’s going to bomb worldwide compared to the Michael Bay ones cause the Chinese prefer seeing huge explosions and porny girls to a movie about a teenage girl generally  oh well. Good to see Spider-Man is barely trailing it.

I want to see aquaman, looks wild.


----------



## MFB

It was pretty packed in the showing we went too, and I feel like people will see it over the next week when the reviews come in. The only thing I cant figure out is who exactly the target demo is: the older kids who grew up with it (since the Transformers are G1 lookalikes) or new younger kids who havent seen the others and dont have bad memories of them.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

The Crew
Punisher: War Zone - Jesus, I can't believe this got released in theaters.
Green Room - I forgot how brutal that movie gets.
Blazing Saddles - Still funny after the 100th time.


----------



## wankerness

Punisher war zone is a masterpiece. The How Did This Get Made on it may be the best podcast episode on a movie I’ve ever heard.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> Punisher war zone is a masterpiece. The How Did This Get Made on it may be the best podcast episode on a movie I’ve ever heard.



God do I hope that episode is on Spotify. I just started listening to it, and they have some real gems on there; including my hands down favorite childhood movie - TMNT II.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Punisher War Zone was the perfect punisher movie. fight me


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> God do I hope that episode is on Spotify. I just started listening to it, and they have some real gems on there; including my hands down favorite childhood movie - TMNT II.



The PunisherWZ episode has both Patton Oswalt on it, who’s a huge fan, and the director, who pulls no punches in talking about her fights with producers while making it. She’s awesome.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Goon
It Follows
Life of Brian
The Lobster
I Am Vengeance
Silencer
The Rezort
Small Town Crime
As Above, So Below


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Searching

This now takes the spot of my favorite movie of 2018. Standard thriller story but done in a way I'd never thought that would engage the view in such an captivating and emotional gut punching level (Unfriended but done much better). To say any more would spoil too much about the movie so anyone wanting to go see a great story told in a unique experience, go see this movie.


----------



## TedEH

I finally got around to watching Infinity War, cause it got added to Netflix Canada. And....... it had been kind of spoiled already. I think this is the first time in quite a while that I can say spoilers have damaged the viewing experience significantly. Also, some of the story was hard to follow and made me feel like I probably missed a movie somewhere that would have explained some things. There are so many comic movies now that I can't follow them.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

TedEH said:


> I finally got around to watching Infinity War, cause it got added to Netflix Canada. And....... it had been kind of spoiled already. I think this is the first time in quite a while that I can say spoilers have damaged the viewing experience significantly. Also, some of the story was hard to follow and made me feel like I probably missed a movie somewhere that would have explained some things. There are so many comic movies now that I can't follow them.




Yeah the payoff's worth it when pretty much all the movies have been viewed so you at least get some understanding as to what's going on. That said, they really sort of dropped the ball not showing how Thanos got the power stone. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not absolutely necessary, but I think it would have been important to show just how he managed to overcome a whole military on another planet to get that stone especially since at the time, he had no Infinity Stones to do so, so we would have gotten to see a glimpse of Thanos' natural strength.

Also, another complaint that I have was that the movie didn't even scratch the surface of what was possible with the Infinity Stones. Sure, he killed half the universe, but he seemed extremely hesitant to do beyond that before he got all six. It was like he was doing the bare minimum and I felt that it was a bit of a cop out having most of the ones who did die, die to the snap. It would have been more emotional had Thanos actually used the Gauntlet to do some of the fatalities directly.


----------



## ThtOthrPrsn

TedEH said:


> I finally got around to watching Infinity War, cause it got added to Netflix Canada. And....... it had been kind of spoiled already. I think this is the first time in quite a while that I can say spoilers have damaged the viewing experience significantly. Also, some of the story was hard to follow and made me feel like I probably missed a movie somewhere that would have explained some things. There are so many comic movies now that I can't follow them.



I feel like that's the downside to really big movies with major events like that. You're kinda forced to see it immediately, or else.
Memes are great and all, but when they start like 2 days after the movie comes out, it stinks. 
You wanna be able to experience the shock, excitement, etc. when things happen, but it's hard to be able to go in blind if you see a movie late now cause people just let spoilers fly left and right.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

ThtOthrPrsn said:


> I feel like that's the downside to really big movies with major events like that. You're kinda forced to see it immediately, or else.
> Memes are great and all, but when they start like 2 days after the movie comes out, it stinks.
> You wanna be able to experience the shock, excitement, etc. when things happen, but it's hard to be able to go in blind if you see a movie late now cause people just let spoilers fly left and right.




Unfortunately, that's the nature of social media these days. I deleted all social media leading up to the release. The memes a couple days after don't help if you haven't seen it, but I will say there's gotta be some cut off point, because I mean, I go into streams on Twitch all the time and people will get pissed 6 months after the fact the movie came out if you talk about it and I'm like "6 months, get your fuckin' life together."


----------



## ThtOthrPrsn

PunkBillCarson said:


> Unfortunately, that's the nature of social media these days. I deleted all social media leading up to the release. The memes a couple days after don't help if you haven't seen it, but I will say there's gotta be some cut off point, because I mean, I go into streams on Twitch all the time and people will get pissed 6 months after the fact the movie came out if you talk about it and I'm like "6 months, get your fuckin' life together."



Yeah, for minor (in terms of twist/shock) movies, a couple weeks is fine. For really large ones like Infinity War and upcoming Endgame, I feel like 3-4 weeks is proper cause shows are selling out all day/weekend. Give those who are invested time to see it.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

I'd say about a month after DVD release. I think that's fair, because sometimes you can't just get to the theater.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Aquaman - quite a spectacle. I give it a thumbs up.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Aquaman

My Melbournian pride obliged me to see this thanks to James Wan and Leigh Whanell (nice to see him here for a bit too). Previous post about being a spectacle is quite correct. In fact it's a big dumb silly spectacle of a movie, and it was a lot of fun to watch.

There isn't much else that can be done with Aquaman outside the big superhero silliness of it all. Wan understood this and took everything and turned it full blast and yanked the knob right off. Every known gag about the character was set to 'badass' so there were some undercurrents of insecurity of the source. There's a ton of plot, concepts, exposition dumps (like throwing Lion King, King Ralph, Black Panther and Flash Gordon in a blender then put underwater) and some high calibre actors (Temuera Morrison is awesome and Julie Andrews was surprising), it felt too much was happening and the movie may have been too long. It felt so big yet the plot is actually rather small. But who cares. This is a movie so unapologetic about it's own silliness that that works in it's favour. Easily the best looking DCEU movie of the lot visually. Hell, I didn't like Jason Momoa in Justice League at all, but given the environment he can show some real charisma. It was also nice seeing Wan's well honed horror chops put to use here too.

So in the end it's like a wild theme park ride. Kick back, don't over think and have a ball kind of fun.


In retrospect, I'm now actually kind of thinking what the upcoming Robotech movie could have been if Wan didn't bail, but oh well.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

the favourite- highly enjoyed it, emma stone and rachel weisz were fantastic in it.


----------



## A-Branger

so yesterday finally saw Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

its an internet rip. Video quality was great, but the audio was a bit weird, so between that and hooking my laptop to my TV and thier shitty speakers I missed quite a few lines here and there, so I might have missed ffew plot points due to my lack of "what did he/she said?"

but at the end I only have one thing to say about that movie:

WTF!?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

aquaman was definitely a visual spectacle and a ton of fun. definitely my favorite dceu movie so far


----------



## Demiurge

I watched Bird Box, the Netflix original movie that just came out, last night. It was okay. It's a decent 90-minute movie with a 2-hour runtime, unfortunately.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

birdbox was horrendously stupid imo


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> birdbox was horrendously stupid imo


The Happening already happened. With these Netflix movies, they skip parts that I am used to seeing in a regular movie. Some sort of actual backstory (trigger point please) and maybe some historical reference to said MacGuffin (which is the whole movie, its a big MacGuffin) outside of some minor character rattling off some footnote shit. Maybe some sort of hope or conclusion at the end would be helpful. What they gave us was garbage.


----------



## wankerness

MI: Fallout - I remember liking the last of these quite a bit, but I can't remember anything about it besides Rebecca Ferguson looking inhumanly attractive, and some stuff like an underwater heist and this incredible long sequence at an opera with an assassination. This one may end up being just as ephemeral, but I think it did a better job with characters by doing the Mad Max Fury Road thing where at some point it starts combining all the plot with the action scenes instead of having exposition dumps between obligatory action scenes like most movies. It worked like gangbusters. I'm so glad Rebecca Ferguson is back as a main character again, even if this time they dressed her as an actual human being and set most of the movie in cold/gray places.

The action scenes here are mostly a lot more "grounded," like no bizarre underwater heists with spinning metal things of doom or crawling down the side of exotic skyscrapers in Dubai, but they're BETTER as they're the best versions of these things they can possibly be. They feel a lot more "weighty," there's nothing like the horrible CGI car crash in the last movie. The Imax photography thrown in on the most spectacular scenes really helps, this is the kind of movie to watch on blu-ray for sure. The last 30-40 minutes is really, really great and unlike something like most superhero movies where the plot stops and we get the bangy crashy smashy, the plot keeps driving through the whole thing and it gets progressively more interesting and I got more involved with the villain and the characters.

I'll probably need to watch this again after rewatching Rogue Nation as I had absolutely no memory of the villain here, who I guess was also the villain there, and I also kind of lost interest in the labyrinth of double-crosses and faceless goons in the first half, and I'd probably like it more if I could follow all of that!


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Looks like it's a bit of a redemption for DCEU and Transformers this year. Both Aquaman and Bumblebee were great movies.


----------



## Seabeast2000

np2012 said:


> cool! you have great taste.


Post of the year.


----------



## mongey

Bird box. The idea was cool. But as others said overly long and didn’t really go any where. Bullocks modified face is probably the scariest thing in the movie.

Id rate it worth a watch for if you got Netflix and some time to kill, just


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Exorcist III. The movie is awesome, and I love how George C Scott randomly fucking yells at people for no damn reason at all.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Exorcist III. The movie is awesome, and I love how George C Scott randomly fucking yells at people for no damn reason at all.



Scary moment with the rib cutters down at the end the hallway. Yikes.


----------



## A-Branger

wankerness said:


> Rebecca Ferguson looking inhumanly attractive





only real reason why I have watched the movie a few times. And reason I want to watch the new one again hahaha

Im so im love with her <3 <3


----------



## Carrion Rocket

I found that some benevolent, copyright infringing soul has uploaded a bunch of MXC episodes to youtube. I haven't laughed so much in years.

EDIT: Opps. Wrong thread, but still, great show.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

mary queen of scots was pretty good. saoirse ronan was excellent, margot robbie did a good job as well. It was pretty interesting to see that snippet of history from a different perspective than elizabeth's. there's some weird anachronistic crap like asian and mixed race handmaidens/musicians/noblemen that detract from the film's general attempt at historical accuracy.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Carrion Rocket said:


> I found that some benevolent, copyright infringing soul has uploaded a bunch of MXC episodes to youtube. I haven't laughed so much in years.
> 
> EDIT: Opps. Wrong thread, but still, great show.


That show was great.


----------



## Seabeast2000

I miss Guy LeDouche.


----------



## mongey

Bandersnatch 

It’s a movie I guess? 

Got through it and a bunch of the endings. I say good on them for trying something new, but it mostly sucked as a black mirror episode. Tried too hard to be clever in some of the choice options.


----------



## ThtOthrPrsn

mongey said:


> Bandersnatch
> 
> It’s a movie I guess?
> 
> Got through it and a bunch of the endings. I say good on them for trying something new, but it mostly sucked as a black mirror episode. Tried too hard to be clever in some of the choice options.



I was surprised how insanely smooth the transitions were when choosing options! It was seemless as seemless couild be! I do agree that it wasn't as good as the other episodes were, but I'm glad we're still getting a new season this year.


----------



## mongey

ThtOthrPrsn said:


> I was surprised how insanely smooth the transitions were when choosing options! It was seemless as seemless couild be! I do agree that it wasn't as good as the other episodes were, but I'm glad we're still getting a new season this year.



Yeah it all worked really well technology wise. There just wasn’t that good a story at its core for 1 interesting ending , yet alone 6.


----------



## ThtOthrPrsn

mongey said:


> Yeah it all worked really well technology wise. There just wasn’t that good a story at its core for 1 interesting ending , yet alone 6.


Agreed. It'll be interesting to see what else come out down the line using the same tech


----------



## wankerness

The entire concept makes it impossible to tell as good of a story as something written from beginning to end unless there’s a “right” set of choices that give you as good of a story as if it hadn’t been choose your own adventure. It’s just a gimmick.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Big Trouble in Little China
Escape from New York
Escape from LA (Which I had seen as a kid apparently and totally forgot about)
Death Proof (Fuck Quentin Tarantino; I'm only watching this to see Kurt Russell)


----------



## mongey

love big trouble in little China and escape from New York. I still watch escape once or twice a year. Haven’t watched big trouble for a long time. I don’t even know how long. Need to re watch.


----------



## Metropolis

Inspired by playing Red Dead Redemption 2; Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. Probably Once Upon A Time In The West at next week too.


----------



## wankerness

I haven’t watched more than a couple movies in months so I went on a year Friday and yesterday:

Cam - camgirl gets her channel hijacked by an apparent doppelgänger, pretty good
Apostle (2018) - dude infiltrates religious cult on their island to recover his kidnapped sister, finds there are very bad things going on, very gory period piece, pretty good
The Blackcoat’s Daughter - girls get left behind at their boarding school over Christmas break cause their parents didn’t pick them up before close, one is very very bad. Decent.
Rampage - way, way better than I thought it would be, climax is great, characters are good, rock really sells his friendship with George the cgi gorilla
Halloween (2018) - well-made, slick, great characters besides the awful doctor character who singlehandedly takes the movie down a couple notches. Easily best sequel besides maybe RZ’s HII. If you’ve watched the original as many times as me, you’ll love the constant subtle nods to the original with things like room layouts.
Eighth Grade - boring, unpopular girl maneuvers through her last weeks of eighth grade. about as good as its rep, has some of the most agonizingly cringe scenes ever, alternately hilarious and really sad. Kinda like a movie like Lady Bird, but is boldly about a very normal girl instead of a weirdo.
Ruby Sparks - Boring writer writes about his dream girl and she appears in real life. When she starts growing into her own person and realizing he’s a boring jerk, he tries to rewrite her to keep her interested in him. It’s a rather vicious deconstruction of twee trash movies about quirky girls getting together with boring idiots (ex, Garden State, 500 Days of Summer). Unfortunately it was filmed by people that didn’t get it, and there’s a studio-mandated ending that’s terrible, but it’s still good and gets REALLY dark towards the end. Plus I love Zoe Kazan and she plays the “fake” girl and wrote the script.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watched the remake of cabin fever and it's terribly mediocre. the infamous leg shaving scene is in it but it's not anywhere near as effective as the original. they did add an additional scene to that part that makes up for the leg shaving scene not being as good. there's also a super brutal mercy killing scene not in the original that's pretty effective.
the main part where they fail is to emulate the tension of the original, which was more of a slower burn and showcased the slow encroachment of the virus better. this one is more action heavy, to its detriment.


----------



## wankerness

Literally the only thing I remember about the original is the part with the kid yelling pancakes, karate kicking the air, and biting the guy. Is THAT in the remake? It looked like they were trying to make it GRITTY for who knows what reason.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Literally the only thing I remember about the original is the part with the kid yelling pancakes, karate kicking the air, and biting the guy. Is THAT in the remake? It looked like they were trying to make it GRITTY for who knows what reason.


oh yeah the pancakes and hillbilly shit is amped up in the remake


----------



## spudmunkey

3 of my last 4 transcontinental flights in the last 2 months had _12 Angry Men_ on the in-flight systems...and even though the headphone jacks never work properly so I only hear in one ear, the contrast and viewing angles of the low-res screens suck, I can't help but watch it again and again even though I've got a tablet full of other entertainment.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Watched Glass and it met my expectations in a glorious way!!!


----------



## TedEH

Cool to hear. Considering going to see that one this weekend.


----------



## wankerness

After reading a couple reviews, I went straight to the spoiler threads/videos for Glass cause they're wildly entertaining. Let me just say, I'm interested to hear your reactions to that one!

I keep watching horror movies even though it seems like every movie I love these days is NOT a horror movie.

Hold the Dark (netflix) - this is the third movie from Blue Ruin/Green Room guy, so once again it's unpredictable and contains some hideous violence. This time Jeffrey Wright is hired by Riley Keough (whose husband, Alexander Skarsgard, is currently at war in Iraq) to kill the wolf that stole her child. Things do not go as planned, and let's just say the literal wolves quickly fall by the wayside. It takes place in the far reaches of Alaska, so it's always dark. It's really moody, has a GIGANTIC body count, does feel like a horror movie sometimes, and is pretty highly recommended if you're looking for something different. It's a lot slower than his last two.

The Fourth Kind - I heard this was a brilliant found footage movie and was really scary, but then I started it up and found Milla Jovovich was the star, and that kind of says it all! It's a faux-documentary and has some decent ideas. She introduces herself as Milla Jovovich and says she's going to be playing the main character in recreations, and the recreations are basically the plot of the movie, but they're intercut with interviews from the "real" her and archival audio of her interviews with subjects. She's got a bunch of patients that have all been seeing an owl at night, but it seems they're actually being visited by aliens, etc. It gets weird. The jump scares are REALLY cheap. A lot of people like this, I was not one of them.

The Dark Knight/The Dark Knight Rises - I've seen these a few times of course, after upgrading my TV these were about the only 4K discs I had. I liked TDKR more than TDK this go-around even though intellectually I know TDK is the better movie. The bizarrely over-complex plot was endearing. Bane's voice is so great. Anne Hathaway is the best character besides Heath Ledger in any of these movies. The climax is far more exciting than anything in TDK. The CGI sure is terrible in the part where the stadium blows up, though.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> After reading a couple reviews, I went straight to the spoiler threads/videos for Glass cause they're wildly entertaining. Let me just say, I'm interested to hear your reactions to that one!
> 
> I keep watching horror movies even though it seems like every movie I love these days is NOT a horror movie.
> 
> Hold the Dark (netflix) - this is the third movie from Blue Ruin/Green Room guy, so once again it's unpredictable and contains some hideous violence. This time Jeffrey Wright is hired by Riley Keough (whose husband, Alexander Skarsgard, is currently at war in Iraq) to kill the wolf that stole her child. Things do not go as planned, and let's just say the literal wolves quickly fall by the wayside. It takes place in the far reaches of Alaska, so it's always dark. It's really moody, has a GIGANTIC body count, does feel like a horror movie sometimes, and is pretty highly recommended if you're looking for something different. It's a lot slower than his last two.
> 
> The Fourth Kind - I heard this was a brilliant found footage movie and was really scary, but then I started it up and found Milla Jovovich was the star, and that kind of says it all! It's a faux-documentary and has some decent ideas. She introduces herself as Milla Jovovich and says she's going to be playing the main character in recreations, and the recreations are basically the plot of the movie, but they're intercut with interviews from the "real" her and archival audio of her interviews with subjects. She's got a bunch of patients that have all been seeing an owl at night, but it seems they're actually being visited by aliens, etc. It gets weird. The jump scares are REALLY cheap. A lot of people like this, I was not one of them.
> 
> The Dark Knight/The Dark Knight Rises - I've seen these a few times of course, after upgrading my TV these were about the only 4K discs I had. I liked TDKR more than TDK this go-around even though intellectually I know TDK is the better movie. The bizarrely over-complex plot was endearing. Bane's voice is so great. Anne Hathaway is the best character besides Heath Ledger in any of these movies. The climax is far more exciting than anything in TDK. The CGI sure is terrible in the part where the stadium blows up, though.


I fucking hated Hold the Dark. I loved his previous films but that movie was kind of a mess as far as telling a coherent story. It did have some excellent effects and cinematography though.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

TedEH said:


> Cool to hear. Considering going to see that one this weekend.




Highly recommend watching Unbreakable and Split before doing so, even if you've already watched them. The way the movie was done, it feels like it's more suited to having done that.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> I fucking hated Hold the Dark. I loved his previous films but that movie was kind of a mess as far as telling a coherent story. It did have some excellent effects and cinematography though.



Eh, i thought it was all as coherent as intended, there was a bit of intentional ambiguity with the main incident’s motive and I think that throws a lot of people off, but some of the other stuff that people might miss had obvious clues and parallels if you were paying attention (and/or had the subtitles on to catch the mumbling during things like the bathtub scene). It’s definitely slow and the structure has issues. I think the big machine gun sequence was out of place in the movie. I’d give it like 6.5/10.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Eh, i thought it was all as coherent as intended, there was a bit of intentional ambiguity with the main incident’s motive and I think that throws a lot of people off, but some of the other stuff that people might miss had obvious clues and parallels if you were paying attention (and/or had the subtitles on to catch the mumbling during things like the bathtub scene). It’s definitely slow and the structure has issues. I think the big machine gun sequence was out of place in the movie. I’d give it like 6.5/10.


If i have to reference the wikipedia synopsis (which I did) to figure out what the hell is going on in a movie, then the writers have fundamentally failed at telling a coherent story. I had to rewind some parts because I didn't get why he was killing those people (ie the deputies or the trapper at the mine). I guess it could have been worse, it could have been as bad as Bird Box..


----------



## MFB

I really enjoyed Split, but holy fuck did I hate Glass. I didnt even pay for the tickets, but now I just wasted two hours of my weekend.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> If i have to reference the wikipedia synopsis (which I did) to figure out what the hell is going on in a movie, then the writers have fundamentally failed at telling a coherent story.



I don’t agree with that statement, as you might have to if you weren’t paying attention during certain scenes. Also, some movies just drop language or are convoluted to the point where not everyone will be able to process them equally, and the answer isn’t always to dumb them down so everyone can clearly understand them (ex, not everyone’s going to get Annihilation right away- should we have had exposition pop in during that climax?). Or, simply, something is intended to be ambiguous and has no definite answer other than what the viewer decides. Like, imagine something like Mulholland Dr being re-edited to the point where ANYONE gets it at all times and the plot is the same to everyone.

I found his motivations in each specific scene to be irrelevant, and some of the stuff intentionally left out of the book to work better that way. I saw plenty of discussion with that kind of thing when going through interpretations of this yesterday, and it’s often frustrating to me. The director did what he meant to here. If he wanted a really straightforward movie with bluntly lascivious details, he would have made it! A bunch of people were trying to assign literal meaning to EVERYTHING and explain things that weren’t meant to be explained, particularly theories being pushed about


Spoiler



her molesting her son and killing him to cover it up, or the kid being a serial killer and that’s why she killed him,


 etc. if you really want to add those detail, great! But they aren’t there, it’s ambiguous.

I’m not saying you have to like it, it’s definitely a flawed movie, just that your reasoning that the problem is that it needed to be clear and literal is a personal problem here.


----------



## TedEH

MFB said:


> I hate Glass


I just saw it. I thought it was decent. Not brilliant by any stretch, but I was entertained.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I don’t agree with that statement, as you might have to if you weren’t paying attention during certain scenes. Also, some movies just drop language or are convoluted to the point where not everyone will be able to process them equally, and the answer isn’t always to dumb them down so everyone can clearly understand them (ex, not everyone’s going to get Annihilation right away- should we have had exposition pop in during that climax?). Or, simply, something is intended to be ambiguous and has no definite answer other than what the viewer decides. Like, imagine something like Mulholland Dr being re-edited to the point where ANYONE gets it at all times and the plot is the same to everyone.
> 
> I found his motivations in each specific scene to be irrelevant, and some of the stuff intentionally left out of the book to work better that way. I saw plenty of discussion with that kind of thing when going through interpretations of this yesterday, and it’s often frustrating to me. The director did what he meant to here. If he wanted a really straightforward movie with bluntly lascivious details, he would have made it! A bunch of people were trying to assign literal meaning to EVERYTHING and explain things that weren’t meant to be explained, particularly theories being pushed about
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> her molesting her son and killing him to cover it up, or the kid being a serial killer and that’s why she killed him,
> 
> 
> etc. if you really want to add those detail, great! But they aren’t there, it’s ambiguous.
> 
> I’m not saying you have to like it, it’s definitely a flawed movie, just that your reasoning that the problem is that it needed to be clear and literal is a problem with you, not the movie.


it really is the film's fault that it was less coherent, especially the machine gun shootout scene. There was no real explanation for his motivation, which was infuriating and made the scene basically filler.
i love ambiguous films when they're done well (ie annihilation), but ambiguous is different from coherent.if the director's intentions were to make a mediocre, hard to follow thriller then he succeeded.
I don't expect everything to be explained or tied up neatly in films but when a film only addresses character motivation through mumbled and obtuse dialogue ( keough's character and the wolf trapper's line about treating skaarsgard for psychoses, both of which i had to rewind and turn on subtitles for) they have fundamentally failed.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

When it comes to Glass, there was one of the twists that was a bit predictable, but overall, I thought it was a good movie. I wouldn't say I loved it as much as I loved Split, but I loved it more than Unbreakable. Of course, the highlight for me was James McAvoy's performances in both Split and Glass. Dude can fucking act. He's got crazy chops.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> When it comes to Glass, there was one of the twists that was a bit predictable, but overall, I thought it was a good movie. I wouldn't say I loved it as much as I loved Split, but I loved it more than Unbreakable. Of course, the highlight for me was James McAvoy's performances in both Split and Glass. Dude can fucking act. He's got crazy chops.


to quote a yt comment: crazy mcavoy is best mcavoy. he was perfect in Filth and split


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Never seen Filth. Good movie? I normally trust you on movies.


----------



## TedEH

PunkBillCarson said:


> Dude can fucking act.


He can. Buuuut at the same time, for me at least, he's one of those actors that I have trouble seeing through the actor into the character, if that makes sense. Kind of like how the guy who does the voice for Archer / Bobs Burgers / etc (H Jon Benjamin) is great at what he does, but regardless of what character he's playing I still hear H Jon first, and the character second.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

I wouldn't know, I've never seen Archer or Bob's Burgers. I guess I've never had that issue. The only thing that I can think of is when I have trouble seeing Chris Hemsworth as anyone else but Thor or Daniel Radcliffe as anyone but Harry Potter.


----------



## TedEH

Kind of like that, but it's more like I just see McAvoy as McAvoy instead of as the character. An extreme example would be Jack Black. It doesn't matter what character he plays, he's always just Jack Black. 

You would think that Sam L Jackson would be another case of this... but when I think of it.... I find he's someone who is excellent at embodying the character first. As much as you see Sam L Jackson, I usually see the character first.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> Never seen Filth. Good movie? I normally trust you on movies.


if you like stuff like trainspotting/bronson or guy ritchie films (specifically snatch or rock and rolla) you'll like it. he's basically a deranged druggie scottish cop and it's a gloriously crazy movie


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> if you like stuff like trainspotting/bronson or guy ritchie films (specifically snatch or rock and rolla) you'll like it. he's basically a deranged druggie scottish cop and it's a gloriously crazy movie



Wait, what? On my shortlist. Thanks for the tip.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

KnightBrolaire said:


> if you like stuff like trainspotting/bronson or guy ritchie films (specifically snatch or rock and rolla) you'll like it. he's basically a deranged druggie scottish cop and it's a gloriously crazy movie




Trainspotting was a brilliant fucking movie. Thanks for the recommendation!


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> it really is the film's fault that it was less coherent, especially the machine gun shootout scene. There was no real explanation for his motivation, which was infuriating and made the scene basically filler.
> i love ambiguous films when they're done well (ie annihilation), but ambiguous is different from coherent.if the director's intentions were to make a mediocre, hard to follow thriller then he succeeded.
> I don't expect everything to be explained or tied up neatly in films but when a film only addresses character motivation through mumbled and obtuse dialogue ( keough's character and the wolf trapper's line about treating skaarsgard for psychoses, both of which i had to rewind and turn on subtitles for) they have fundamentally failed.



There's a lot of explanation for his motivation immediately before he goes off, and unlike many things in this movie, they're not ambiguous! Deep resentment towards the way the natives are being shoved off their property and treated, and even more specifically anger towards the cops for not investigating anything about his child's death until days after. He feels they don't care about him. This is all in the long discussion with James Badge Dale from his front step. Combine that with the earlier scene in which he tells Vern that he's going to help to keep the cops off his trail, and yeah.

The mumbly thing was, again, intentional. It's not the filmmaker's fault if people are watching with the volume turned down too far or using an iphone or whatever. He made it to be shown in a theater where everyone's surrounded by very loud speakers and without distractions. I'm in your boat of having to rewind and turn on subtitles too.  It would have made 0 sense if she was saying that stuff out loud considering ALL of her dialogue is creepily, quietly delivered and she's on the other side of the cabin and the listener just woke up.

You hate what the movie is, but these aren't failures. Ah well. I didn't really like this movie much so I am getting sick of defending it, even though I like these kinds of discussions!

I'm trying to preempt my usual yearly Oscar nominee run-through. "The Favourite" and "BlackkKlansmen" are the only ones left that sound like fun. I usually try to go through all of them before the ceremony since I like watching them but want to have some kind of stake to make them more involving. Seems like the other likely ones I haven't seen are Green Book (screw this), Vice (I don't feel like it, but sounds like it might be entertaining), and First Man (I still haven't even had the opportunity). Then there are the ones with a good chance to maintain popularity quotas like Crazy Rich Asians (been meaning to see this) and Bohemian Rhapsody (everything I've heard about this from anyone that knows anything is that it's awful besides the central performance and that its nomination would be a joke on the level of Extremely Loud...). The oscars need to institute a reverse practice of not nominating anything that wasn't released OVER three months ago, since there's still no way to see a few of these things.

I think my favorite movies of the year are:

Leave No Trace
Eighth Grade
Revenge

There's a small chance the first two could get nominated, at least!


----------



## wankerness

PunkBillCarson said:


> When it comes to Glass, there was one of the twists that was a bit predictable, but overall, I thought it was a good movie. I wouldn't say I loved it as much as I loved Split, but I loved it more than Unbreakable. Of course, the highlight for me was James McAvoy's performances in both Split and Glass. Dude can fucking act. He's got crazy chops.



I'm seeing SO much seething hatred for this movie. The critic I like the most quite liked it and said "you have to approach it on its terms," which seems like good advice. Most of the hate I'm seeing is from people who failed to do exactly that and instead raged about the lack of CGI superhero fights or whatever.

I don't remember a thing about Unbreakable apart from Bruce Willis twisting around in a pool, and didn't really like Split that much, so I'll probably catch it in a year or two when it turns up on a streaming service that I subscribe to.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

I'd say that's a fair assessment. There aren't big massive CGI fights. I'm a big Marvel fanboy and I didn't expect that out of this movie because that's not what these movies are about. Honestly and truly, I watched this mainly after having seen McAvoy's performance in Split, but as a movie, I thought it was pretty good. There's going to be some people who simply don't like this movie for the fact that it's not exactly blown way the fuck up in terms of superheroes compared to Marvel or even DC. It's not a CGI fest like you said and I feel like there are people who didn't take the time to really understand the movie or the series. Hell, there's even a scene in the movie in which one of the characters says something along those lines in terms of it being "the real world" but that doesn't mean that people can't do extraordinary things.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> I'm seeing SO much seething hatred for this movie. The critic I like the most quite liked it and said "you have to approach it on its terms," which seems like good advice. Most of the hate I'm seeing is from people who failed to do exactly that and instead raged about the lack of CGI superhero fights or whatever.
> 
> I don't remember a thing about Unbreakable apart from Bruce Willis twisting around in a pool, and didn't really like Split that much, so I'll probably catch it in a year or two when it turns up on a streaming service that I subscribe to.



Anyone who expects a big CGI fight after seeing the movies leading up to this has no clue how tone or possibly even movies in general work. I would be more surprised if there suddenly WAS one than the apparent lack of them here.


----------



## TedEH

PunkBillCarson said:


> There's going to be some people who simply don't like this movie for the fact that it's not exactly blown way the fuck up in terms of superheroes compared to Marvel or even DC.


I think I like it *because* it's not another one of those blown up comic hero movies. I'm getting really tired of those. I'm perfectly ready for movies to pick a new "cool thing" to run with.

Marvel and DC right now feel like:


----------



## MFB

TedEH said:


> Marvel and DC right now feel like:



I would have agreed with you on DC until Aquaman came out and swam off with my heart. Its new life in a once grim-dark, overly blue hued world. Marvel will hopefully settle down once Endgame comes out, as everything has been building towardd that. I could do with more grounded movies from them like Black Widow/Hawkeye solos.


----------



## TedEH

I haven't seen Aquaman yet.... I was under the impression that opinions of that one were mixed.


----------



## MFB

TedEH said:


> I haven't seen Aquaman yet.... I was under the impression that opinions of that one were mixed.



Really? I've seen nothing but praise for it from everyone, and anyone I know personally who saw it was telling everyone they could to see it. The visuals were on par with the prequel Syar Wars in terms of legitimately feeling like you're in a different world; just such a wonderful sense of fantasy to all of it.


----------



## wankerness

Aquaman's reviews are mixed in that most reviews are like "the visuals are so wild you have to see it, but man is it overlong and stupid and Jason Momoa is an idiot and Amber Heard is not good" and some are like "IT WAS ALL AWESOME." Both camps are technically positive. It's kind of like Wonder Woman, where it was split between "that third act is really terrible but the middle act is great and it's by far the best of these DC movies so far" and "IT WAS ALL AWESOME." It's not really very polarizing. I don't think I'm going to see it in the theater cause it's too late for it to be in any decent theaters anymore, but I do plan on blind-buying the 4K disc!!!

Speaking of superhero movies, I just rewatched Batman Begins, and it's not nearly as good as I remember. The main thing that was eyerolling are the relentless attempts at humor, of all things. People talk about these three movies like they're dark and gritty, but probably over half the lines from Alfred here are those terrible jokes that are held on at the end of scenes to give the audience a chance to laugh before cutting to the next scene. I HATE THAT, it's such a staple of bad blockbusters from that era. There's plenty of other unfunny lines that are thrown in with another bad editing tactic, too, such as Gordon going "I HAVE GOT TO GET ME ONE OF THESE!!" or various cuts to cops reacting to his suit, where the cut to them tells you nothing about the scene and gives you no information and sometimes isn't even a named character, it's just there to be funny in the middle of an action scene, and given how dark the tone is much of the time, it's jarring.

Speaking of the editing, that bizarre cut back to Falcone making a face and looking around for a few seconds after Bruce Wayne is thrown out of his restaurant should not be there! That's stuck out at me like a sore thumb all 6 or so times I've seen this thing.

It's still a solid movie, but it's very easily the worst of the three, probably like a 6.5/10, it's got a brilliant origin setup but kinda falls flat once Batman is back being Batman with the exception of some killer scenes like the cops chasing the batmobile. 

On a positive note, Katie Holmes is not even close to as bad as I remember and I couldn't figure out what my problem had been. I guess it's just that she looks kind of immature to be a big important DA, and yes, Maggie Gylenhaal is much more convincing as a super-intelligent prosecutor. But, Katie Holmes really is fine here, just slightly miscast. On a miscasting 1-10 scale with that child they cast as older-Margot-Kidder-with-kids-and-a-noble-prize in Superman returns being 10, she's about a 3.

Anyway, the jokes in Batman Begins make me appreciate the Marvel factory, at least their jokes are often funny and they cut around them in a snappy way that doesn't seem to include pauses for a laugh track.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Of the Nolan trilogy, I much prefer Batman Begins over Dark Knight Rises namely because the latter awkwardly resets mid movie and completely undermining Batman's arc and kills pretty much everything before it.


----------



## wankerness

That’s the popular opinion and what I was expecting to think when I started this up, but watching tdkr right before bb really highlighted a ton of positives tdkr has in comparison. This is a tired complaint, but the fist fights in the back half of BB are about the most incoherent things ever. The first scene with him snatching guys is excusable cause Batman’s basically the Alien, but as the movie goes on, it looks worse and worse. TDKR’s (and TDK’s) humor is far, far less bad and jarring.

One of my big annoyances with TDKR was softened, too: Bane’s incredibly underwhelming dispatching fits pretty well with Scarecrow’s in this! Though at least this one’s funny and you KNOW he’s meant to be alive thanks to the sequel (and him screaming as he goes off into the night). It makes me wonder if Bane’s was supposed to be similarly deflating of the character.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Tim Burton Batman films are better the nolan films, fight me.


----------



## wankerness

I saw them well after the Nolan ones. I thought the first one sucked by any standard, it was a boring mess and I hated the joker, especially the shit where he was walking around with a jukebox blasting Prince songs, that was the worst product placement this side of Transformers 4. The second is at least an interesting mess. It has a really great score, it's like one of those 1930s movies like King Kong where the music responds to everything on screen, sometimes with whatever the term is for musical onomatopoeia.


----------



## broj15

Watch 8 1/2 (1963) the other night and jfc was it a mind fuck. Not in the modern way, but in the use of it's imagery, non linead narrative, and bad voice over work (maybe because it's in italian and that makes individual voices harder to recognize, but I swear it's like they got 3 people to do the voicovers for the whole movie).

That being said, the story line from what I could discern was really good, as well as the imagery and camera work. Lots of hard fast pans, steep angles and tons of harsh lighting, only played up by the fact the movie was filmed in black and white. Just within the first few scenes you can see that Jordorowsky definitely took some influence from this film. Particularly the scene in the courtyard outside Guido's house with all the women wearing floral print dresses and matching umbrellas. If you like "pretentious art films" with really great camera work and super striking imagery I highly recommend. 

Here's the IMDB page for anyone interested.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/


----------



## wankerness

broj15 said:


> Watch 8 1/2 (1963) the other night and jfc was it a mind fuck. Not in the modern way, but in the use of it's imagery, non linead narrative, and bad voice over work (maybe because it's in italian and that makes individual voices harder to recognize, but I swear it's like they got 3 people to do the voicovers for the whole movie).
> 
> That being said, the story line from what I could discern was really good, as well as the imagery and camera work. Lots of hard fast pans, steep angles and tons of harsh lighting, only played up by the fact the movie was filmed in black and white. Just within the first few scenes you can see that Jordorowsky definitely took some influence from this film. Particularly the scene in the courtyard outside Guido's house with all the women wearing floral print dresses and matching umbrellas. If you like "pretentious art films" with really great camera work and super striking imagery I highly recommend.
> 
> Here's the IMDB page for anyone interested.
> 
> https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/



Italian movies from that era were f'd, ALL of them were dubbed, even in Italian, cause they didn't record sound on set. Many had the actors speaking in English or in multiple languages. So, the Italian version probably doesn't sound any more coherent and it isn't necessarily "in" italian.

I didn't like 8 1/2 much, but I liked it more than what's probably his second-best-known movie, "La Dolce Vita," which I kind of loathed. Fellini is just not for me. If you're looking for arty Italian movies of that era, I'd recommend Antonioni over him any day of the week. La Notte and Blow-Up in particular!


----------



## broj15

wankerness said:


> Italian movies from that era were f'd, ALL of them were dubbed, even in Italian, cause they didn't record sound on set. Many had the actors speaking in English or in multiple languages. So, the Italian version probably doesn't sound any more coherent and it isn't necessarily "in" italian.
> 
> I didn't like 8 1/2 much, but I liked it more than what's probably his second-best-known movie, "La Dolce Vita," which I kind of loathed. Fellini is just not for me. If you're looking for arty Italian movies of that era, I'd recommend Antonioni over him any day of the week. La Notte and Blow-Up in particular!



I'll definitely check out some stuff from both of them. My friend just stumbled upon 8 1/2 at a record/movie store and blindly bought it based on some reviews and the synopsis. I really liked it for what it was, but also like jordorowsky's movies, I don't feel compelled to watch it again anytime soon. It was really uncomfortable at times, but not in a bad way. Similar to how I felt about Julian Donkey Boy, but not nearly as severe. It was hard to sit through, but enjoyable at the same time, yet I still breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally over.


----------



## wankerness

broj15 said:


> I'll definitely check out some stuff from both of them. My friend just stumbled upon 8 1/2 at a record/movie store and blindly bought it based on some reviews and the synopsis. I really liked it for what it was, but also like jordorowsky's movies, I don't feel compelled to watch it again anytime soon. It was really uncomfortable at times, but not in a bad way. Similar to how I felt about Julian Donkey Boy, but not nearly as severe. It was hard to sit through, but enjoyable at the same time, yet I still breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally over.



There's a pretty good Woody Allen movie called Stardust Memories that's a big play on 8 1/2. Dunno how you feel about him!


----------



## PunkBillCarson

KnightBrolaire said:


> Tim Burton Batman films are better the nolan films, fight me.



I don't see why that's unpopular, they were good. Now if you said Joel Schumacher's films were better then we'd being going to fist city, which you'd probably win, because I have no formal training in combat.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> I don't see why that's unpopular, they were good. Now if you said Joel Schumacher's films were better then we'd being going to fist city, which you'd probably win, because I have no formal training in combat.


 It's not that I dislike the Nolan films, it's just they don't hold up to repeat viewings, whereas the burton films are just plain fun everytime. I even like Batman forever for the same reason, it's good stupid fun and it knows it.


----------



## Xaios

The local film society held a screening of BlacKkKlansman on Sunday, so I decided to see it. Very interesting movie, lots to say about it.

First, peripheral issues such as acting, directing, etc. The acting was good across the board. Some characters are intended to be complex while others are clearly meant to be caricatures, and they all accomplish their task. John Davis Washington was quite good considering this is (I believe) his first leading role. He doesn't yet have the commanding presence of his father, but that will likely come with time. I would say the best performances, however, go to Topher Grace and Adam Driver. Topher Grace manages to perfectly embody the sort of character he's trying to play. His version of David Duke is utterly innocuous to look at. He's well-spoken and speaks compellingly (given his audience), he's not physically imposing, and he doesn't actively project menace. Only when you examine the content of what he's saying do you realize how dangerous he and his views are. The fact that his physical presence doesn't itself embody any threat lulls you until you realize that character is but an empty shell which allows the insidiousness of his ideology to pass unnoticed.

My favorite performance of the film, however, goes to Adam Driver. He plays a detective tasked with being the physical presence that infiltrates the KKK. The character is also Jewish. Personally I felt like Driver displayed the greatest emotional range, even though the character is fairly muted (at least by this movie's standard), and just seemed the most natural. There's one scene that I found particularly interesting where he's talking to Washington's character about his upbringing. He mentions how, even though he's ethnically Jewish, he wasn't raised as a practicing Jew and hasn't really had cause in his life to give the fact of his heritage any second thought. Given the threat that the KKK represents, however, it's now all that he can think about, and he's constantly thinking about what it means to be Jewish, about the ritual and identity that comes with that heritage. I thought it was really well done, it's a very quiet scene but it speaks volumes.

The other actor's all do a yeoman job, serving the plot exactly how the movie needs them to. The directing was also good. Lee definitely got exactly what he needed out of each performance, and the script is solid across the board. There's plenty of hilarious moments and scenes of pure tension. Some of the strongest scenes of the movie are essentially pure exposition. The camera work was also always clear and focused, which shots being well framed. Most of the movie is filmed in a straight-forward style, but it does occasionally break with that to suddenly jump into far more abstract style. It's effective if a bit jarring.

Of course, the real star of a movie like this is the plot, and what it has to say about the world. While some of the characters seem a little more one-dimensional than others, you have no doubt while watching that these people would all exist as they are in this context. Lee's commentary on the Klan is pretty much exactly what you'd expect: they're pure evil. He does stress though that, as an organization, they are definitely not stupid, and their grasp goes a lot further than we'd like to admit. That's because, for those not directly threatened by their agenda, finding the will to fight them means potentially sacrificing that which would simply otherwise be given to you, giving up the comfort that you would have if you simply kept your head down, turned a blind eye and remained detached. He also doesn't let the black rights movement off the hook either, noting a tendency to push forward to their objective while being somewhat blind to challenges coming at them from the side. It's even outright stated that the main character is naive about how far up the ladder institutional racism can run. It also seems as though he's noting that, even though it's _very _well earned, the movement's complete mistrust of the police sometimes does them no favors and has a tendency to be myopic and overzealous. All this is presented, though, in a way that never makes it any less than crystal clear just which people in this story are victims and which are villains.

One criticism I'd had through almost the entire running time, though, was that I couldn't help but feel a bit detached at times. It felt like the movie was a bit too high-level perspective-wise of the subject matter. The last roughly 4 or 5 minutes of the movie changes that, though, when the movie delivers an ending that I can only describe as a visceral and outright brutal punch to the emotional gut. I won't spoil it, but that ending will be something that I remember for a long, long time.

Highly recommended.


----------



## MickD7

Xaios said:


> The local film society held a screening of BlacKkKlansman on Sunday, so I decided to see it. Very interesting movie, lots to say about it.
> 
> First, peripheral issues such as acting, directing, etc. The acting was good across the board. Some characters are intended to be complex while others are clearly meant to be caricatures, and they all accomplish their task. John Davis Washington was quite good considering this is (I believe) his first leading role. He doesn't yet have the commanding presence of his father, but that will likely come with time. I would say the best performances, however, go to Topher Grace and Adam Driver. Topher Grace manages to perfectly embody the sort of character he's trying to play. His version of David Duke is utterly innocuous to look at. He's well-spoken and speaks compellingly (given his audience), he's not physically imposing, and he doesn't actively project menace. Only when you examine the content of what he's saying do you realize how dangerous he and his views are. The fact that his physical presence doesn't itself embody any threat lulls you until you realize that character is but an empty shell which allows the insidiousness of his ideology to pass unnoticed.
> 
> My favorite performance of the film, however, goes to Adam Driver. He plays a detective tasked with being the physical presence that infiltrates the KKK. The character is also Jewish. Personally I felt like Driver displayed the greatest emotional range, even though the character is fairly muted (at least by this movie's standard), and just seemed the most natural. There's one scene that I found particularly interesting where he's talking to Washington's character about his upbringing. He mentions how, even though he's ethnically Jewish, he wasn't raised as a practicing Jew and hasn't really had cause in his life to give the fact of his heritage any second thought. Given the threat that the KKK represents, however, it's now all that he can think about, and he's constantly thinking about what it means to be Jewish, about the ritual and identity that comes with that heritage. I thought it was really well done, it's a very quiet scene but it speaks volumes.
> 
> The other actor's all do a yeoman job, serving the plot exactly how the movie needs them to. The directing was also good. Lee definitely got exactly what he needed out of each performance, and the script is solid across the board. There's plenty of hilarious moments and scenes of pure tension. Some of the strongest scenes of the movie are essentially pure exposition. The camera work was also always clear and focused, which shots being well framed. Most of the movie is filmed in a straight-forward style, but it does occasionally break with that to suddenly jump into far more abstract style. It's effective if a bit jarring.
> 
> Of course, the real star of a movie like this is the plot, and what it has to say about the world. While some of the characters seem a little more one-dimensional than others, you have no doubt while watching that these people would all exist as they are in this context. Lee's commentary on the Klan is pretty much exactly what you'd expect: they're pure evil. He does stress though that, as an organization, they are definitely not stupid, and their grasp goes a lot further than we'd like to admit. That's because, for those not directly threatened by their agenda, finding the will to fight them means potentially sacrificing that which would simply otherwise be given to you, giving up the comfort that you would have if you simply kept your head down, turned a blind eye and remained detached. He also doesn't let the black rights movement off the hook either, noting a tendency to push forward to their objective while being somewhat blind to challenges coming at them from the side. It's even outright stated that the main character is naive about how far up the ladder institutional racism can run. It also seems as though he's noting that, even though it's _very _well earned, the movement's complete mistrust of the police sometimes does them no favors and has a tendency to be myopic and overzealous. All this is presented, though, in a way that never makes it any less than crystal clear just which people in this story are victims and which are villains.
> 
> One criticism I'd had through almost the entire running time, though, was that I couldn't help but feel a bit detached at times. It felt like the movie was a bit too high-level perspective-wise of the subject matter. The last roughly 4 or 5 minutes of the movie changes that, though, when the movie delivers an ending that I can only describe as a visceral and outright brutal punch to the emotional gut. I won't spoil it, but that ending will be something that I remember for a long, long time.
> 
> Highly recommended.





This is still the best movie I have seen in the cinema all year. The likely hood of Driver taking the Academy Award is stacked up against the other actors and honestly I think this film is leagues ahead of something like Black Panther and that has 7 nominations.

But Driver’s performance in this film is excellent, Grace and Washington are the same. I am reading the book at the moment go get your hands on it


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## wankerness

The oscar nominations are a complete goddam joke. Black Panther is only pretty good by SUPERHERO movie standards. They just kowtowed to all the public pressure to nominate the dumb thing.

The ridiculous thing is it's not even close to the worst movie nominated.


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## Xaios

Agreed. Some of the Oscar nominations this year, especially in the Best Picture category, are utterly and completely incomprehensible. Black Panther was good, but it is *extremely* overrated. It wasn't even the best superhero movie of 2018. Then there's Bohemian Rhapsody and Vice, movies that really didn't fare that well critically. But I guess that shows all the more that these awards are being voted by people in the industry itself.

In the past, they've been accused of not acknowledging things like popularity and representation. These are criticisms that I never really agreed with, because ultimately neither of these are aspects which should be used when judging the quality and merit of art. Yes, art is often a reflection of what's happening in society, but just because a piece of art is topical doesn't make it more meritorious for it. Unfortunately, now they're overcompensating, and it's more obvious than ever that the voting committee is more worried about the perception of art through the lens of popular culture than they are about how that art stands on its own.

But hey, at least they nominated Driver. Glad my little review proved at least a slight bit prescient, if only by about 18 hours.


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## KnightBrolaire

Xaios said:


> Agreed. Some of the Oscar nominations this year, especially in the Best Picture category, are utterly and completely incomprehensible. Black Panther was good, but it is *extremely* overrated. It wasn't even the best superhero movie of 2018. Then there's Bohemian Rhapsody and Vice, movies that really didn't fare that well critically. But I guess that shows all the more that these awards are being voted by people in the industry itself.
> 
> In the past, they've been accused of not acknowledging things like popularity and representation. These are criticisms that I never really agreed with, because ultimately neither of these are aspects which should be used when judging the quality and merit of art. Yes, art is often a reflection of what's happening in society, but just because a piece of art is topical doesn't make it more meritorious for it. Unfortunately, now they're overcompensating, and it's more obvious than ever that the voting committee is more worried about the perception of art through the lens of popular culture than they are about how that art stands on its own.
> 
> But hey, at least they nominated Driver. Glad my little review proved at least a slight bit prescient, if only by about 18 hours.


oscar noms/wins are always a fucking farce. I'm still mad after all these years that Ken Watanabe didn't win for Letters from Iwo Jima, and that Lupita Nyongo won for 12 years a slave (she wasn't even that good compared to Chiwetel Ejiofor or Michael Fassbender). Also still salty about Kubo not winning best animated film, that definitely deserved the win.


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## wankerness

Bohemian Rhapsody is not only bad, not only whitewashes the main character's homosexuality, but was made by someone who may outdo Kevin Spacey on the Hollywood sex creep rankings. If they were really listening to the PC crowd, they shouldn't have touched that one with a ten foot pole. 

Green Book is a joke and goes in the same category as Driving Miss Daisy and Crash, it seems like this kind of movie shouldn't be getting made anymore at this point.


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## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> oscar noms/wins are always a fucking farce. I'm still mad after all these years that Ken Watanabe didn't win for Letters from Iwo Jima, and that Lupita Nyongo won for 12 years a slave (she wasn't even that good compared to Chiwetel Ejiofor or Michael Fassbender). Also still salty about Kubo not winning best animated film, that definitely deserved the win.



Kubo is fucking great. That year was a farce, good word. Zootopia is absolutely nothing even compared to Moana, and Red Turtle and Kubo are vastly better than either.

Oscar nominees are not always a farce, though. Often some of the best pictures of the year DO get nominated. This is the first year I can think of where I don't care about one single nominee in the best picture or any of the four best actor categories. It is THE worst in the last 10 years for sure. I can't remember before then. Roma is the only thing in the best picture category I have even any positive feelings about, and I wouldn't put it anywhere close to the two I've been talking about most recently (Leave no Trace and Eighth Grade), plus there are plenty of other movies I saw on tons of top 10 lists from plenty of critics/people that I haven't seen yet that aren't represented here.


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## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Kubo is fucking great. That year was a farce, good word. Zootopia is absolutely nothing even compared to Moana, and Red Turtle and Kubo are vastly better than either.
> 
> Oscar nominees are not always a farce, though. Often some of the best pictures of the year DO get nominated. This is the first year I can think of where I don't care about one single nominee in the best picture or any of the four best actor categories. It is THE worst in the last 10 years for sure. I can't remember before then.


I honestly hope The Favourite wins some awards because it was one of the few truly standout films of the year for me. I have no clue how Olivia Colman got nominated for lead actress in it though, the core drama of the film revolves around Emma Stone/Rachel Weisz's characters. She's a supporting character basically.  Oh well, at least Weisz and Stone got nominations, those were very well deserved. I think Saoirse Ronan should have gotten a nom for Mary Queen of Scots though, she was incredible in it.
Black Panther being nominated for Best Picture is fucking hilarious, it was good, but not better than Infinity War/Ant Man/Aquaman and definitely not better than Spiderman. Spiderman was the best superhero movie of year by far imo, though aquaman was a hell of a lot of fun too.
I'm not even going to bother watching the others best picture nominations since my sister said Bohemian Rhapsody was meh, A star is born is meh, and Vice/Green Book look tedious af.


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## wankerness

I saw A Star is Born. It was fine. I like Lady Gaga, I don't mind Bradley Cooper, but the back half of the movie gets tedious as hell when it asks us to care deeply about Mr. Mumbly acting self-destructive while she basically gets pushed off the screen. I'd suggest watching the first half sometime.

Vice sounds horrible in concept, but maybe I'll watch it someday and think it's great. I haven't seen The Favourite yet, I just loathe costume dramas in general. I haven't liked Olivia Coleman since like, Rushmore. I couldn't stand her on Peep Show and unfortunately Sophie's kind of all I can think when I see her anymore. I know everyone says it's funny/great, but they also tend to say "it's the first good movie from [that director]" and I actually LIKED his last movie, meaning I might dislike this one!

Saoirse Ronan is, IMO, the new Meryl Streep as far as quality is concerned. People are already taking her for granted. The Oscars just haven't rewarded her yet and aren't to the point where they will nominate her over everyone else even for lousy movies like Into the Woods or Margaret Thatcher: The Movie. I adore her, but again, have zero interest in that movie. Then again, that's what I said about Brooklyn and I ended up loving that one.

I still haven't seen Spiderman or Aquaman, but I"m really excited to see Spider-Man and I am guessing it's just as good as everyone's said. And yes, I definitely liked Black Panther less than Infinity War and even Ant Man 2. It was MASSIVELY overrated. Best Marvel movie my ass. It's not a standout in any way other than the cultural impact and the absolutely stunning costume design, which DOES deserve an oscar. Oh, and the ending with the villain is pretty good, but again, not really anything to get excited about.


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## Xaios

Honestly I felt kind of let down by Killmonger. The character had such potential, and Robert B. Jordan's performance was great, the best in the movie in fact (and, honestly, also probably a bit above John David Washington's), but the script was designed in such a way so that what he was talking about specifically was only strongly suggested instead of outright stated, and that pisses me off. Choices like saying "people who look like us are suffering" instead of just outright saying "black people and minorities are suffering" completely kill whatever impact that what he's saying _should_ have. But I get it, this isn't a Spike Lee movie, it's a Marvel movie. Marvel really had the chance to deliver something brave with this one though, but instead we got what is simply a good, at times very good but arguably never great, comic book movie.


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## wankerness

I agree with what you say, and was really frustrated by the massive hype about it acting like it was what you say. It wasn’t. And like, that’s fine, it’s impressive they put ANY of that in the movie, but it’s still getting so much more credit than it deserves. The hype killed it for me, maybe. If I saw it without reading anything first maybe I would have liked it a lot more.

But yes, Kilmonger isn’t even in the movie for like 45 minutes. And then he turns into a crap cgi model for the climax. He is great when he’s on screen though. It’s shocking how much better he is in the fight scene than Boseman, who needed more stunt doubles.


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## mongey

haven't seen most of them but hopefully blackkklansmen wins every category its nominated in


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## wankerness

Just watched Blackkklansman. It was pretty good, but seemed like maybe the script had been lying around for a while and then he just did a quick draft to bring it up to 2018. Like, the majority of it is good, has some interesting ideas, does great work with the characters, does a good job of showing how while the Klan members are pathetic they're much more grotesque and hateful than laughable, etc. 
But, the ending feels like it came out of left field and was grafted onto it. It certainly WORKS, but the movie has a fairly neat bow tied around it before the cut to news footage. There's also one short exchange in the middle of the movie (no one could ever elect someone like David Duke president! *WINK WINK*) that seems like it was added after the fact. Obviously it ties in with the end, where we see David Duke might as well be the president, but that just points more to it seeming like it was retrofitted on. The really, really heavy scene with the old man describing the torture and lynching by a whole town in contrast to the KKK lighting their stupid candles and ghoulishly laughing at Birth of a Nation seems like it was always there; the ending does not. I definitely approve of the content and the message of that ending, just...it seems like it should have been more of a coda than a "this was always meant to be here!" But, maybe it was, and it just coeexisted uneasily with the rest of the movie.

Whatever, it's good.


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## Xaios

wankerness said:


> Just watched Blackkklansman. It was pretty good, but seemed like maybe the script had been lying around for a while and then he just did a quick draft to bring it up to 2018. Like, the majority of it is good, has some interesting ideas, does great work with the characters, does a good job of showing how while the Klan members are pathetic they're much more grotesque and hateful than laughable, etc.
> But, the ending feels like it came out of left field and was grafted onto it. It certainly WORKS, but the movie has a fairly neat bow tied around it before the cut to news footage. There's also one short exchange in the middle of the movie (no one could ever elect someone like David Duke president! *WINK WINK*) that seems like it was added after the fact. Obviously it ties in with the end, where we see David Duke might as well be the president, but that just points more to it seeming like it was retrofitted on. The really, really heavy scene with the old man describing the torture and lynching by a whole town in contrast to the KKK lighting their stupid candles and ghoulishly laughing at Birth of a Nation seems like it was always there; the ending does not. I definitely approve of the content and the message of that ending, just...it seems like it should have been more of a coda than a "this was always meant to be here!" But, maybe it was, and it just coeexisted uneasily with the rest of the movie.
> 
> Whatever, it's good.


For the record, the movie is based on the book "Black Klansman" written by the actual Ron Stallworth, which was published in 2014. It seems as though the script was written between 2015 and 2017, and was probably finalized right when the Charlottesville rally happened. So, honestly, it couldn't have been sitting around for very long, but it was definitely added in after everything else, given that the rally only happened a year and a half ago, right before this movie went into production.


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## mongey

the ending was obviously an after thought when the violence happened but I thought it was ,sadly, perfect 

the story closes out with the KKK coming off as moronic buffons rather than the evil beings they can be .to me it made the whole thing much heavier to bring it back to a real world context.Id consider it an epilogue rather than part of the main movie


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## wankerness

The Favourite - hated it!!! (Wayans voice) I am just revolted by powdered wigs and the 18th century, not to mention Olivia Colman/her character, so I didn’t find it funny for a single second. I got into the groove of the same director’s “Killing of a Sacred Deer” and found the rhythms with the dialogue darkly funny, not the case here. Only good thing was Rachel Weisz being in a movie that is getting her attention. I was miserable the entire time, and that wasn’t the intent of the film.

Crazy Rich Asians - for a movie talking out of both sides of its mouth, extolling the virtues of conspicuous consumption while giving our pure-hearted heroine that wants to leave it behind to continue being a college professor the moral high ground, I kinda liked this. It has way too many characters for the runtime, but about fifteen of them are good, so whatever. I could have done without the wedding porn in the last twenty minutes.


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## PunkBillCarson

Exactly why you don't let the hype of others dictate your expectations...


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## KnightBrolaire

I still stand by The favourite as being my favorite movie of the year. Unlike Wankerness I love period pieces and costume dramas, plus it's just too much fun to watch Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz be emotionally manipulative conniving bitches. Plus it's kind of an absurd film at times, and I like that. 
I rewatched Company of Wolves last night. It was a cool atmospheric take on red riding hood/werewolves, but mostly I just like it for the transformation scenes, especially the flesh ripping one, though the later transformation scene is still cool where the wolf bursts from the man's skin. The practical effects hold up quite well like other films from that time period (ie American Werewolf, Aliens, etc).


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## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> I still stand by The favourite as being my favorite movie of the year. Unlike Wankerness I love period pieces and costume dramas, plus it's just too much fun to watch Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz be emotionally manipulative conniving bitches. Plus it's kind of an absurd film at times, and I like that.
> I rewatched Company of Wolves last night. It was a cool atmospheric take on red riding hood/werewolves, but mostly I just like it for the transformation scenes, especially the flesh ripping one, though the later transformation scene is still cool where the wolf bursts from the man's skin. The practical effects hold up quite well like other films from that time period (ie American Werewolf, Aliens, etc).



I understood everything that was going on, apart from the allegedly humorous tone. I mean, I get that the characters were kind of absurd, but everything was played so straight and vindictively and all the emotional hurt there was real. The only thing I liked, apart from what I said about Rachel Weisz, was the ending, cause fuck her. Haha.

I am totally fine with period pieces and costume dramas, I love plenty of them, and I like them from the same era if they take place in say, America or east Asia, just something about that particular era in high society Europe turns me off, bigtime. Everyone looks so disgusting, especially men. It viscerally revolts me. Rachel Weisz looked good in this, though. Meaning her hair was probably anachronistic. The only movie I can think of offhand with those kinds of puffed overdone costumes and wigs that I like is Amadeus. 

Oh, and the Victorian era is terrible too! Maybe I just hate callous rich people and that era/accent are what most accentuate the whole concept of out-of-touch asshole that needs to be guillotined, with all their social mores and ridiculous protocols and whatnot on top of their wigs that were mainly to cover up the rot (syphilis) beneath.

Company of Wolves is pretty good. That's one of those movies that's weirdly MIA on blu-ray here in this country. I like the strange artificial look it has, that was a very unique 80s thing. Neverending Story and Legend kind of have it too, but CoW has an even more stagey look to the sets. I dunno if the effects "hold up," they're really rickety compared to American Werewolf in London or even The Howling, but they're certainly unique. The incredibly gruesome one is like nothing else I've seen and is very memorable!! It's a really cool movie.



PunkBillCarson said:


> Exactly why you don't let the hype of others dictate your expectations...



Huh? Are you saying I did that, and that's why I didn't like The Favourite? Or are you saying my reaction is like that cause I DIDN'T, since almost everyone else on the planet apparently loves it?  The steady parade of hype on this one probably didn't affect it one way or the other, my dislikes with it were pretty personal I think.


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## KnightBrolaire

yeah, sounds like you have some weird subconscious hatred of 16th -18th century europe.


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## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah, sounds like you have some weird subconscious hatred of 16th -18th century europe.



It’s not subconscious, I fully acknowledge it! I just am not sure if my explanation is true. So I guess it be partly subconscious.

My mom watched Masterpiece Theater constantly when I was a kid and I thought it was really boring and wanted to watch Godzilla movies instead, maybe that plays into it.


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## KnightBrolaire

Just saw that black panther won a bunch of SAG awards. Also Emily Blunt somehow won best actress over Rachel Weisz or Emma Stone for Quiet Place


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## SenorDingDong

Finally watched Hereditary. Wish I hadn't, it was awful. So vaunted and built up and it was 2 hours of silly attempts at atmosphere that resulted in an ever-lowering bar of dissatisfaction.


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## PunkBillCarson

KnightBrolaire said:


> I still stand by The favourite as being my favorite movie of the year. Unlike Wankerness I love period pieces and costume dramas, plus it's just too much fun to watch Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz be emotionally manipulative conniving bitches. Plus it's kind of an absurd film at times, and I like that.
> I rewatched Company of Wolves last night. It was a cool atmospheric take on red riding hood/werewolves, but mostly I just like it for the transformation scenes, especially the flesh ripping one, though the later transformation scene is still cool where the wolf bursts from the man's skin. The practical effects hold up quite well like other films from that time period (ie American Werewolf, Aliens, etc).




Where is this movie? Netflix? Want more werewolf movies. Dog Soldiers and Howl are among my faves.


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## wankerness

I dunno, I bought the disc. You might have to rent it on amazon.


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## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Just saw that black panther won a bunch of SAG awards. Also Emily Blunt somehow won best actress over Rachel Weisz or Emma Stone for Quiet Place



She’s better. I didn’t like that movie much, but that birth scene was insane. She’s really good. It’s not a stereotypical “best actress” part but what she did is not easy and I’m really glad they recognized it, cause the Oscars won’t touch anything other than stereotypical Oscar performances the vast majority of the time.

Toni Collette in Hereditary might have been better. Those were two amazing performances regardless of how you feel about the movies.

Black Panther acting was nothing special across the board, I’m right with you there.


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## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> Where is this movie? Netflix? Want more werewolf movies. Dog Soldiers and Howl are among my faves.


amazon prime


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## SenorDingDong

Just watched The Mule, from 2014 (not the new Clint Eastwood movie). Hilarious and ultimately dark movie about a seemingly simple-minded man manipulated and extorted into smuggling drugs, due to his need to escape the controlling nature of his family. It plays far better than it sounds, as nothing about it was political, routine or generic.


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## KnightBrolaire

hereditary was solid. I thought i'd hate it but surprisingly i didn't. the first half is pretty tedious but the second half swings around and salvages the movie for me.

blackkklansman was good, but felt way too on the nose and contrived with some of its references. It was interesting seeing washington's character struggle with being pigeonholed by both whites and blacks into certain molds and stereotypes. 
I liked how much of a caricature some of the klansmen were, particularly felix. He was an excellent counterpoint against the more refined and insidious duke. The scene where the klan is watching birth of a nation while the black student union listens to the lynching story was another great use of contrast. the inclusion of the charlottesville footage didn't particularly add to the film except to further emphasize how deplorable duke and the neo nazi/kkk are.


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## wankerness

COOL.


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## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> hereditary was solid. I thought i'd hate it but surprisingly i didn't. the first half is pretty tedious but the second half swings around and salvages the movie for me.



Hmm, I had kind of the opposite reaction. I thought it built tension quite nicely and peaked at the incredible sequence from the party through the next morning. After that it kind of turned into more standard horror goofiness, even if it was effective at that. I need to watch it again, though. I intentionally read nothing going in after seeing a review or two that stressed to avoid spoilers, and I think some of the back half might function better knowing where things were going.

Just watched Ocean's 8. I've never seen any of these before. It was pretty good, I guess. I sure don't like that Mindy Kaling. I have no desire to see more of them now. I guess this one had a new director, and clearly he's not a Soderbergh. It's funny how Soderbergh managed to extract good leading performances out of Gina Carano and Sasha Grey, yet this guy couldn't do anything about James Corden being the same annoying mugging doof that he is on his late-night show and totally upsetting the tone of the movie when he shows up 1:30 in. Then again, they might be better actors than him.


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## wankerness

double post, guess the delete button went away


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## KnightBrolaire

Mother - It was kind of tedious tbh. It becomes increasingly nightmarish and weird as the film goes on but it didn't really do anything for me. The end sequence had some interesting gory bits but overall the film just left me felling meh. I'm usually a huge fan of Aronofsky's work but this wasn't that great. I'm glad I didn't pay money to watch it.

Destroyer- a strangely compelling character study/mediocre noir film. nicole kidman is excellent even if the film is kind of a standard noir bad cop kind of film, but with a woman as the grizzled, hardened bad cop instead of a man. she manages to bounce between the frail, gaunt and grizzled version, and her younger fresher self. there's two really stand out scenes that give off serious Heat vibes. the chronology of the film is a bit haphazard, but it's only to try and make a ho hum bank robbery/revenge film more interesting. It's at least worth a rental/watch on netflix imo, but not worth seeing in theaters.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Movie I'm going to be interested in watching:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7131622/


----------



## Demiurge

Watched _The Ballad of Buster Scruggs_ last night. Apparently, the Cohen brothers were going to make an anthology show taking place in the Wild West but smushed the episodes/segments together into a feature-length instead. Some good comedy, violence, weirdness, but some draggy parts. If it ever gets split up, the part with Tom Waits as a crazy gold prospector is definitely worth watching.


----------



## wankerness

Widows (2018) - very good heist movie, but briefly seeing Jon Bernthal as a wife beater made me rage with the heat of a thousand suns, he's way too reprehensible of a creep *in appearance *(i think he's fine IRL based on the one time I read an interview). Occasionally reminded me of The Wire with the overhead view of politics and crime etc, but obviously it didn't have anywhere near the space to flesh everything out. I hated Viola Davis cause of Suicide Squad, but she definitely won me over here despite playing another (superficially) stonefaced jerk. Really, really good character development and acting with her character. The secondary widow is also quite great, I've only ever seen her before as the gold woman trying to kill the Guardians of the Galaxy! Michelle Rodriguez is a non-entity, and I didn't recognize the others. Daniel Kaluuya is a scary enforcer guy for a corrupt politician, Colin Farrell is the other corrupt politician, etc. The actual heist is really intense. 4/5

Burning (2018) - weirdo character study that turns into...a thriller? It's about a REALLY socially awkward guy that hooks up with some chick, gets dumped for a slick cretin (Steven Yuen!) who seems very...off, and then becomes convinced that she's disappeared and gets ever more frantic trying to uncover the truth. It is very, very slow and long (2:30), and the first hour or 90 minutes really tested my patience, but it steadily turns the screws so by the pretty incredible ending you're totally wrung out. I don't know if I'd ever watch it again, but good movie! 4/5

Holiday (2018) - Danish movie about an arm-candy girlfriend of a violent criminal from her perspective. You never really get to see these characters from their perspective. Adriana or Carmela on the Sopranos have way too much of an actual relationship with their gangster beaus to compare to this woman (well, more like a girl with her emotional maturity). It's....something. It's quite well made, but is a car crash in slow motion, and has one unexpected scene that is probably going to shock and/or offend just about everyone besides, uh, fans of violent porn. It is probably necessary to the story, though! 3/5

Iron Man - I got the old computer out this time to take notes, trying to actually figure out Jeff Bridge's character's motivation. And I was right that it makes no sense - in fact, it makes LESS sense than I thought it did! This movie's plot is a goddam train wreck. It also doesn't hold up at all as entertainment when you've seen all the movies that it launched. There are a couple entertaining scenes (the suit Mark 1's escape, the building of the real suit and testing of components), but there's a lot of filler and garbage like gratuitous Burger King product placement, and especially gratuitous Jon Favreau product placement. 2/5

Neighbors 2 - I have to admit I laughed, A LOT. It almost felt too short. I liked the trio of girls (Chloe Moretz, some person, and Saoirse Ronan's friend from Lady Bird), I liked the characters from the previous movie, I liked just about everything other than the way they took that stupid CGI "Seth Rogen gets hit with huge ball" gag and bore down on it, probably including at least 6 of such gags. It's a pretty realistic movie besides those weird Looney Tunes injuries done with CGI and/or stunt wires that would have killed any of the characters deader than dead. I think I laughed the hardest when Seth Rogen's friend put on the horrifying clown mask and started running through the girls' fund raiser with an air horn. 3.5/5

Suspiria (2018) - the big climax hit me really hard this time and was so good that I don't even know for sure how I felt about the previous 2 hours. I think they're pretty good. The ending makes it great stuff. 4/5

A Cure for Wellness - That really unappealing creep from Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Chronicle is our hero, getting trapped in a weird Swiss mental hospital while trying to bring back a coworker. It's got ridiculous details right and left, so it veers between Shutter Island and a haunted castle movie. And then throws in really, really disgusting incest and graphic sexual assault in the bizarre last 30 minutes, that seem like they're tacked on after the real ending anyway!!! It sure is nice to look at, though. 3/5


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Cold Pursuit- it's apparently a remake of a norwegian film called "in order of disappearance". I loved it. The trailers made it look like a straight up revenge/action film but there's a lot more to it than that. It's first and foremost a pitch black comedy, with some minor social commentary about native americans being exploited/their culture being appropriated and sold. There's also some subtext about grief and dealing with loss, but they don't fixate too heavily on it. The cinematography and sound effects are excellent, with some of the best bone crunching sounds I've heard in a while. The movie gave me a very Coen bros vibe with the "everyday characters in absurd situations/extreme violence" pastiche but it does it really well. There's some absolutely absurd scenes that I don't want to spoil but let's just say they're on par with the wood chipper scene in Fargo. 

The Horseman- It's an australian revenge film that came out years ago, and I felt like this was a perfect counterpoint to Cold Pursuit. It's relentlessly bleak and sad. You can feel the anguish and rage emanating from the main actor as he systematically tracks down the people responsible for his daughter's death. It's quite gritty and down to earth, as he only uses tools from his toolbox to exact revenge (no big shootouts or anything fancy here).


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Alita: Battle Angel

Really interesting pairing James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez together. The former known for extremely meticulous to attention to detail, while the latter being a gonzo auteur who can seamlessly cobble together a movie on a weekend with just a laptop and a team of friends. Getting them both to tackle a live action adaptation of a gritty deconstruction of anime/manga in the 80s/early 90s, is not playing it safe. And the result shows. It's a complete mess. And quite a sincere, fun and beautiful mess a that.

Trying to fit as much of the source material as possible, the film suffers from structure issues that feels like small chapter acts that end and reset over the course of 2 hours then doesn't end at the finish line. It is surprising that they managed to capture the spirit of the source material so well. Also helps when you have a team of fantastic actors playing their A game. With the exception of the guy who plays Hugo, who in fairness, only lags behind when surrounded by an exceptional cast playing complex characters. Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly, freaking Jackie Earle Hayley are all exceptional, Waltz in particular being the best I've seen outside a Tarrentino movie in recent memory. 

I had as much trepidation approaching this as a typical anime snob, but even with it's flaws, I still enjoyed it. Probably my favorite Robert Rodriguez film next to the Machete movies.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Just watched the trailer for The Dirt (the Motley Crue movie) and compared to BoRhap, it's like one of those "Online vs when it arrives" memes.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Battle Angel Alita
I'm a big fan of the manga, so I was really hoping they wouldn't fuck this one up. They didn't, but it felt very clunky pacing wise for the first 20 minutes or so, and there's some seriously cringey dialogue in the film. The fight scenes are actually pretty brutal (not as brutal as the manga imo but close), and the motorball scenes are super fun and bombastic. Christoph Walz and Rosa Salazar carry the film hard, but the supporting cast (barring the kid playing Hugo) are excellent.
Overall the only thing that I really disliked was the uncanny valley vibe of Alita having big eyes while everyone else looked normal. I eventually got used to it, but it just looks...wrong. That being said there's lots of cool little details in the art/costume design that I really enjoyed like the floral scrollwork on alita's first body, zipan's awesome buddhist esque back armor, etc. 
This is probably the first decent film Rodriguez has made since Planet Terror. 
If you're in the mood for some good dumb fun, then definitely see it in theaters. Otherwise I'd say wait to rent it.


----------



## wankerness

You guys didn't like Sin City 2, but still like 1? I got the impression that it was really not that different in quality and most of the bad reviews it got from critics would have been exactly applied to the first one had it been released in 2014 instead of 2005 due to social acceptability standards changing considerably in that time  I've only watched it once, though, so maybe it just benefited from low expectations.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> You guys didn't like Sin City 2, but still like 1? I got the impression that it was really not that different in quality and most of the bad reviews it got from critics would have been exactly applied to the first one had it been released in 2014 instead of 2005 due to social acceptability standards changing considerably in that time  I've only watched it once, though, so maybe it just benefited from low expectations.


Sin City 2 is solid, I just liked Planet Terror way more.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Sin City 2 is solid, I just liked Planet Terror way more.



Ah. I thought you said he hadn't made anything decent since Planet Terror. Maybe I am reading it wrong!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Ah. I thought you said he hadn't made anything decent since Planet Terror. Maybe I am reading it wrong!


I did say that, but that was more my half assed way of saying he hasn't had really good critical response since Planet Terror. I've enjoyed most of his output honestly.


----------



## wankerness

No one ever mentions Desperado anymore, seems like everyone praises El Mariachi and lambasts Once Upon a Time in Mexico. I just wanted to say, remember Desperado? That was awesome.

I think seeing Salma Hayek in that movie and From Dusk till Dawn probably spontaneously made millions of preteens hit puberty. Robert Rodriguez is a great action filmmaker, but he has this strange and very obvious gift for also making women look REALLY, REALLY HOT no matter who they are or the context. Something about lighting, I think. Planet Terror may be the best example just because of how out of place it seems. Doctor running around all disheveled with a broken wrist? Let's bust out the oil and light her like 70s porny fashion shoot!

I still need to see the Machete movies.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> No one ever mentions Desperado anymore, seems like everyone praises El Mariachi and lambasts Once Upon a Time in Mexico. I just wanted to say, remember Desperado? That was awesome.
> 
> I think seeing Salma Hayek in that movie and From Dusk till Dawn probably spontaneously made millions of preteens hit puberty. Robert Rodriguez is a great action filmmaker, but he has this strange and very obvious gift for also making women look REALLY, REALLY HOT no matter who they are or the context. Something about lighting, I think. Planet Terror may be the best example just because of how out of place it seems. Doctor running around all disheveled with a broken wrist? Let's bust out the oil and light her like 70s porny fashion shoot!
> 
> I still need to see the Machete movies.


Desperado and Dusk Til Dawn are hands down some of his best movies. Mariachi was only good because of what he managed to do with such a shoestring budget. Once Upon A Time in Mexico isn't bad, but it's definitely not as good as Desperado or Mariachi. 

Machete 1 is a lot of fun. If you like Planet Terror then you'll like Machete, it has that same kind of schlocky grindhouse kind of vibe. Also the inclusion of Lindsay Lohan as a nun is fucking hilarious


----------



## PunkBillCarson

wankerness said:


> No one ever mentions Desperado anymore, seems like everyone praises El Mariachi and lambasts Once Upon a Time in Mexico. I just wanted to say, remember Desperado? That was awesome.
> 
> I think seeing Salma Hayek in that movie and From Dusk till Dawn probably spontaneously made millions of preteens hit puberty. Robert Rodriguez is a great action filmmaker, but he has this strange and very obvious gift for also making women look REALLY, REALLY HOT no matter who they are or the context. Something about lighting, I think. Planet Terror may be the best example just because of how out of place it seems. Doctor running around all disheveled with a broken wrist? Let's bust out the oil and light her like 70s porny fashion shoot!
> 
> I still need to see the Machete movies.




When I saw Salma Hayek do the dancing scene in From Dusk Till Dawn, I had a boner for days on end. No shame.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spiderman Into the Spiderverse won best animated picture.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

I haven't seen Into The Spiderverse yet, but I feel that it was a shoe in win. Well deserved regardless. I do think Mirai and Isle of Dogs are strong contenders, but Incredibles 2 and Wreck It Ralph 2, not so much.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> I haven't seen Into The Spiderverse yet, but I feel that it was a shoe in win. Well deserved regardless. I do think Mirai and Isle of Dogs are strong contenders, but Incredibles 2 and Wreck It Ralph 2, not so much.



It was absolutely not a shoe-in win, the Academy tends to vote Pixar/Disney no matter what. Or remember when BOLT won frickin best Animated movie? It would have been a shoe-in if this was the WGA or somewhere that there are actual people who understand filmmaking and writing quality giving the awards, yeah.

That was one of the only bright spots of the evening. I also loved Olivia Colman winning over Glenn Close and the subsequent speech, even though I hated the movie she was in. She's great.

Bohemian Rhapsody winning editing was the funniest. That movie's editing is at the level of the scene where Liam Neeson climbs the fence in Taken. See sample video here:

https://twitter.com/pramitheus/status/1089188260071514112

Or sound editing! JFC. Roma has one of the most immersive sound fields I've EVER heard, and from everything I've heard, First Man's may be even better and should have won Design at the very least. BR won both of them for putting Queen songs in a Queen movie. Maybe they were just giving it awards because the songs stopped us from having to hear the dialogue.

It was all worth it for the interviews with Spike Lee about Green Book afterwards. The most light-hearted comment he made was something like "man, whenever someone's driving someone I don't have a chance. They just changed the seating arrangement this time!" I wish they'd showed his reaction when it won - apparently he threw his hands up over his head and tried to walk out of the theater but was escorted back to his seat.  I saw a panel interview with him and that moron that directed it a month or so ago and it was so funny watching his death glares at him.


----------



## MFB

I'm floored that Chatwin didn't take home anything for First Man's soundtrack, it was the highlight of the movie.


----------



## gnoll

Ok so I've seen Into the Spider-Verse, and yeah it was pretty fucking awesome. 9/10


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Kick Ass.


----------



## wankerness

gnoll said:


> Ok so I've seen Into the Spider-Verse, and yeah it was pretty fucking awesome. 9/10



Yep, same here, 8 or 9/10. The last 30 minutes is possibly the most outrageous thing I've ever seen from a visual standpoint. I almost thought I should be wearing sunglasses. The collision of animation styles is the best part of it. Especially Anime spidergirl.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Captain Marvel

I saw this last night, much earlier than planned, but waited until I can figure out what to post. It's alright. Solid like every other MCU movie, I just wish there was more of it. It's a lot slower paced and more grounded than the others, and I actually liked that a lot (I wanted Doctor Strange to be more along this kind of pace), but just off mark in the character development. Brie Larson did her best as Carol Danvers but I felt directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were holding back on what they could really do exploring the character. I guess I was thinking something similar with Taika Waititi or James Gunn style success in coming out of nowhere and really taking the property and creatively expanding it as far as possible, get the duo who did Half Nelson and make a superhero movie hoping in the same level as Winter Soldier meets Thor Ragnarok. Again, I praise the slower pace, in favour of a more human level story. And Samuel L Jackson and Ben Middleston were both good fun. I just wanted even more of it. I guess I'd rank it on the Phase 1 to Hulk/Dark World/Iron Man 2 level, quasi trailer to something much bigger.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I might go see the other Captain Marvel movie. I'm sure me, as a white male, am allowed to express my opinion about that.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Captain Marvel
> 
> I saw this last night, much earlier than planned, but waited until I can figure out what to post. It's alright. Solid like every other MCU movie, I just wish there was more of it. It's a lot slower paced and more grounded than the others, and I actually liked that a lot (I wanted Doctor Strange to be more along this kind of pace), but just off mark in the character development. Brie Larson did her best as Carol Danvers but I felt directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were holding back on what they could really do exploring the character. I guess I was thinking something similar with Taika Waititi or James Gunn style success in coming out of nowhere and really taking the property and creatively expanding it as far as possible, get the duo who did Half Nelson and make a superhero movie hoping in the same level as Winter Soldier meets Thor Ragnarok. Again, I praise the slower pace, in favour of a more human level story. And Samuel L Jackson and Ben Middleston were both good fun. I just wanted even more of it. I guess I'd rank it on the Phase 1 to Hulk/Dark World/Iron Man 2 level, quasi trailer to something much bigger.



I'm not too optimistic about this, the reviews seem mostly of the "eh, it's pretty good" variety with a lot complaining about it moving too slowly or having weird/boring exposition dumps. Good to see you LIKED that about it, I guess. I'll see it before home video if it comes to my local 5 dollar theater or someone else wants me to go 

It's too bad, too; Brie Larson in Room and Short Term 12 has what are very easily two of my favorite performances of the last ten years. She's just looked...BORING in all the trailers. It's going to be sad if functional non-actress Gal Gadot ends up having the better superhero performance!

Maybe I'll end up loving it, I'm just a lot less optimistic about this than I feel I should be.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> It's too bad, too; Brie Larson in Room and Short Term 12 has what are very easily two of my favorite performances of the last ten years. She's just looked...BORING in all the trailers. It's going to be sad if functional non-actress Gal Gadot ends up having the better superhero performance!



Brie Larson is the better actress than Gal Gadot no question, and that Oscar Larson has helps too. In the case of having a supernatural fish out of water, the better written screenplay worked in Gadot's favour. A bad screenplay will drag it's actors down with it no matter how well they act (see Christoph Waltz). I thought, Larson was fine, at some points more interesting and human than the stoic Wonder Woman, but it could've been more (seems the recurring theme here) and it shows that she's trying to break out more. Looking up the screenwriter, along with the Boden/Fleck duo, they got the lady who did that 2018 Tomb Raider movie, so that explains a lot.


----------



## Xaios

I saw Captain Marvel last night, and I'd generally agree with the things said by other people who saw it. It was fine. Not bad, not great. Fine.

I'd say it's biggest problem is that it was tonally inconsistent. It was as if they gave Larson quippy dialogue, but then told her to play the character a lot flatter in disposition than a bunch of the other MCU characters, but only some of the time. Sometimes she seems like an actual person, but other times it was like they told her to act without moving the muscles in her face. Brie Larson is a great actor, so I'm sure this comes down to problems with the directing and screenplay.

Time for the obvious elephant in the room:


Spoiler



I'd say the biggest problem with this movie is differences between how it was filmed and how it was put together in post production. The way it was filmed, it feels like it's meant to have a sort of Batman Begins-style journey of self-discovery. The problem is they then put it together in the editing room to _really_ emphasize the girl-power undercurrent into, well, a current. Now, let me be absolutely, unwaveringly clear: I have no problem with politics of what they were doing, in fact I think they're a good thing. They just did a really shitty job with it. Look at Mad Max: Fury Road, that movie's narrative incredibly feminist, but it also pulled it off far, _far_ more effectively, and in doing so actually enhanced what was already one of the greatest action movies of all time. Here, it was definitely fumbled.

The part of this movie where that narrative works best is when they actually address it directly, when Carol and her other pilot friend are talking about the mission, and how it was a big deal because it was a chance to do something great as pilots at in time when women still weren't being allowed to fly combat roles. It really feels real there, and you it's really clear that it's a source of pain. Unfortunately a lot of the more symbolic uses of the narrative don't work nearly as well, if at all. Going back to how it was acted one way and framed another, the part at the end of the movie where she kicks Jude Law's ass and tells him that his opinion is meaningless to her (I can't remember the exact phrase, but it's basically that) seems like it was acted that way because the character loathes how he lied to her about being Kree and about the source of her power, and so any trust that previously existed between them has been eroded by his duplicity about him lying to her that the Skrull are her enemy and that she meant nothing to him as a person, only as a weapon. However, the way that it's framed and edited together tries to add this subtext of "I'm a strong woman and you're a _man_ who was trying to control me, but I rose above because I'm a _strong woman_." Their backstory doesn't bear that out, though. Even if he was lying to her because he considered her to be a strategic resource rather than as a person, there's no indication gender has anything to do with it. The filmmakers seemed to be connecting the two differing narratives about using a person but not valuing them, but it comes off as a really clumsy false-equivalency because it's so forced. The directors would have been better served it they'd edited it completely straight and then trusted their audience to make the connection. Instead what they did might as well have been jumping up and down on the screen and yelling, "GET IT?! IT'S A METAPHOR!!"







TL;DR the film's feminist narrative doesn't work because of bad film-making choices that were clearly driven by its marketing, not because there's anything inherently wrong with what it's trying to say. Ultimately what I worry most about is that it will give scummy edgelords something to latch onto in an effort to justify their toxic bullshit when they ultimately bleet "LOLOL TOLD YOU FEMINIST DOESN'T WORK, GET BACK IN THE KITCHEN."

I will admit though, I did find it amusing how one of the scenes in the movie has a guy telling her to smile more, and literally that exact same thing happened (courtesy of aforementioned scummy edgelords) when the first trailer debuted.



Aside from that, it was an enjoyable if mildly forgettable entry into the Marvel canon. The story was good, action was good, the actors were generally good (I particularly enjoyed Ben Mendelsohn) and most of the humour landed.


----------



## wankerness

The aforementioned screenwriter from Tomb Raider 2018 is probably going to get a lot of blame, but I am guessing it's more the directors. I hate this unknown quantity BS. Hire someone that's done something that actually relates to the material, guys!! I mean sure, sometimes you luck out and get the Russo Bros, but just as often you get a Colin Trevorrow.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

You white males need to realize this film is not for you and to stop telling Brie it doesn't work for you.


----------



## Quiet Coil

Iron Eagle on Amazon!


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

I forgot all about the 2018 tomb raider. It had such potential but ended up being just... So... Mehhh. The game it is based off of was so great, story-wise. I think their biggest mistake was dropping the supernatural elements and making it into a scooby doo situation.

The bike chase scene at the beginning was fabulous though. And it's been a while but I think I remember the acting being solid too.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Tomb Raider 2018 was a good solid action film. Nothing amazing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.


----------



## Metropolis

It Comes At Night was pretty decent post-apocalyptic horror/thriller. Really liked the sound design and how tension was built with silence and music in right places. In the end plot itself had too much mystery in it, but it wasn't that kind of movie which needed lot of deep explanation. Lack of proper action was bit disturbing in a weird kind of way.


----------



## TedEH

KnightBrolaire said:


> Tomb Raider 2018


I remember seeing that movie, but not much else about it. The one thing that stuck with me is how much effort went into trying to recreate some of the visual set pieces from the games, which I appreciated. The rest was forgettable. I don't remember disliking it either soooo  Success....?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> The aforementioned screenwriter from Tomb Raider 2018 is probably going to get a lot of blame, but I am guessing it's more the directors. I hate this unknown quantity BS. Hire someone that's done something that actually relates to the material, guys!! I mean sure, sometimes you luck out and get the Russo Bros, but just as often you get a Colin Trevorrow.



It sounds like I'm simplifying the process but in fairness to CM's screenwriter, she has some comic cred like Gotham City Sirens.

Personally I love getting promising upstart directors to do these type of movies to give a fresh perspective. Colin Trevorrow isn't the best example as the Jurassic Park franchises don't have the luxury of having executive producers who adore the source material like Kevin Feigie or Geoff Johns (let alone a property with such a rich lore). On the same token, it doesn't always work that way either when directors get creatively suffocated. Marvel lost Patty Jenkins and Edgar Wright because of that.

On the flip side, having David S Goyer on board would usually be a great idea with his wealth of superhero work in his resume, but this is the same guy who missed the point of She-Hulk and (along with Zac Snyder) was so fascinated with having Superman commit murder. I get trying to add dimension and complexity though that's more of an issue of characters being rather boring... but that's a whole different topic.

The more I think about Captain Marvel, the more I appreciate it (a good sign for slow burn movies). I sounded down initially (comparing iy to Thor Dark World was admittedly harsh) and while most of my opinion still stands, if anything it's on par with Doctor Strange but with better execution of character development, something I wished Doctor Strange did rather than rush to the action scenes. It's almost has a Sundance vibe to it, which explains a lot given the duo at the director helm. Perhaps I'm so used to bombastic spectacle being superhero movies and all, but Feigie did say upcoming movies will be much smaller and character driven in scope. I didn't expect it so soon.

As for the whole controversy...



Spoiler



I find it amusing so many guys are offended and arced up by a bloody superhero movie.  I did think that Annette Bening's character is a sound middle finger salute to all offended incels everywhere.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I watched Captain Marvel. It was solid, definitely better than most of the origin story films besides ant man/black panther.. They didn't push the gurrl power agenda as hard as I was expecting them to, which was good imo. It was basically Carol= stubborn/tough throughout her life, instead of some misandrist feminazi bullshit like shared eq wanted it to be (ok fine there was a bit of "girls can do anything guys can" but it wasn't super heavyhanded like I expected). I'm actually really glad they just threw viewers into the deep end beginning with Danvers on Hala instead of doing a chronological progression of how she became Capt. Marvel. There's a bit of a twist that threw me for a loop involving the skrull (and totally messed with my Secret Invasion predictions), but it was nonetheless interesting. Goose is the best character in the film hands down though


----------



## wankerness

Of COURSE they didn’t push that kind of thing, they have to make millions in China etc, it’s guaranteed to be super inoffensive to all but the biggest tools.

I just rewatched Ant Man and the Wasp, it’s in serious running for my favorite Marvel movie. If they’re going to go towards more smaller scale movies like this, that’s great news.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Seems to be the majority opinion that Captain Marvel was solid, but not spectacular, and I agree with what everyone's saying here. To me it had a really solid first 2 acts but then fell a little flat and amped up the cheese for the 3rd act. I liked everyone in the movie though: Brie was a solid Carol and played up the reckless part of the character well, Samuel L Jackson was great as a young Nick Fury, Jude Law was good as usual. I'm right there with you with ranking it around Dr. Strange.



Spoiler



I thought it was really cool how they started out the movie with her as a Kree accusor and that it was almost a prequel to Guardians of the Galaxy. And the twist of having the Skrull actually be refugees trying to escape the Kree was also really interesting. At this point I think Secret Invasion stuff would need to come from a reboot but I'm okay with the direction it's going. If I wanted the same story then I'd read the tpb's of the comics.


----------



## Ralyks

Finally saw Bohemian Rhapsody. Much better than I expected. And as much as I like Rami Malek, I couldn't see him being Freddie. But he pulled it off, so kudos, and much luck to him at the next Bond villain.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Polar.


----------



## Seabeast2000

The906 said:


> Polar.



Oops, yes Polar. Definitely fun and totally worth the time, cheese and all. I get the distinct impression they left Part 2 wide open as an option, so chop chop Netflix.


----------



## wankerness

I finally watched Captain Marvel and meh. The trailers are exactly what the movie is like, despite people saying that she’s way more animated/interesting and that she’s given better dialogue. Nope!!!

The first twenty minutes is the worst, it’s a huge exposition dump that’s a feedback loop of uninteresting and confusing. I didn’t dislike it, and it never gets to the depths of stupid of the first two Iron Mans, but it has the least interesting character in the Marvelverse besides maybe Doctor Strange. Like, maybe the movie itself is better than Iron Man 1/2 and Thor 1/2, but Iron Man and Thor themselves were way better defined than her. I’ll see what they do with her going forward, but this movie was not very good. I think it was mainly writing and direction. They went with wonky plot structure over character development, and while I see how the movie would have been dull and predictable without it, I think her character suffered a lot for it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Triple Frontier. Netflix, worthy of a watch. Some interesting/unexpected choices in soundtrack tunes....especially the closing credits.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> Triple Frontier. Netflix, worthy of a watch. Some interesting/unexpected choices in soundtrack tunes....especially the closing credits.


It was pretty good. I still don't get Netflix's model where they limited release films in theaters for like a week and then slap it on netflix though


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> It was pretty good. I still don't get Netflix's model where they limited release films in theaters for like a week and then slap it on netflix though



Maybe its the new style, not DTV but not theater-ppv-HBO-DVD. I'm assuming its a revenue-maximizing strategy.


----------



## Mathemagician

Watched ant man and wasp and remembered why I loved the first one. It’s hilarious and I liked all the characters. 

Watched annihilation. Pretty damn good cosmic horror which I lolololoooove. So I’m biased. 

Watching the Netflix movie on comedy in dangerous countries/areas like post-saddam Iraq, Damascus, etc etc. VERY interesting.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> Maybe its the new style, not DTV but not theater-ppv-HBO-DVD. I'm assuming its a revenue-maximizing strategy.


That's the thing though, they're limited release, so it's not like they're maximizing profits since they barely make it into any theaters even in a bigger area like minneapolis. Hell, I WANTED to see Annihilation and Triple Frontier in theaters and couldn't for the life of me find them anywhere, so I ended up streaming them.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> That's the thing though, they're limited release, so it's not like they're maximizing profits since they barely make it into any theaters even in a bigger area like minneapolis. Hell, I WANTED to see Annihilation and Triple Frontier in theaters and couldn't for the life of me find them anywhere, so I ended up streaming them.


Hmm, I thought Annihilation was a full theater release? I know people who saw it in the theater....just thought it was in normal rotation. Been wanting to see this anyway....
BTW, I got on Google Earth and could not find the Andes-Beach scenario short of 100++ miles between the two in Columbia......


----------



## wankerness

It was a full theater release, but since Netflix released it and plastered their name on the trailers people got confused and some probably stayed home thinking it would be on their service simultaneously or something. That’s what I did! 

I think its release was a bit bigger than Ex Machina’s, like it played in most multiplexes briefly (thanks to flopping) but depending on how backwater your town is it might not have gotten anywhere close.


----------



## wankerness

Paddington - good 7/10

I, Daniel Blake - really good, gets to bit a bit much towards the end but one of the best central characters I've ever seen 8/10

Paddington 2 - for what it is, practically a masterpiece, reminded me of everything from Wes Anderson to Big Fish with all the style, great characters, etc 9/10

Bride of Reanimator - nowhere near as good as the first, but the gore/creature effects are easily some of the best of the 80s/90s 6/10

My Cousin Vinny - Marisa Tomei is so good, too bad she's only allowed to talk in like 20 minutes worth of scenes in a 2 hour movie, even the two yutzes that get arrested at the beginning get more dialogue, pretty good anyway 7/10


----------



## KnightBrolaire

excited to see shazam and us this weekend.


----------



## wankerness

I want to see Us but I am going to have to wait weeks, I've never seen a horror movie in the theater that wasn't ruined by the audience apart from niche things like Grindhouse and Drag Me to Hell where the only people there were uberfans.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> I want to see Us but I am going to have to wait weeks, I've never seen a horror movie in the theater that wasn't ruined by the audience apart from niche things like Grindhouse and Drag Me to Hell where the only people there were uberfans.



Woo!

This is why I'm going at like, 10:30AM this weekend, so that I avoid the dipshits who are too stupid to comprehend what they just saw from what I'm sure will be a horror masterpiece


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I want to see Us but I am going to have to wait weeks, I've never seen a horror movie in the theater that wasn't ruined by the audience apart from niche things like Grindhouse and Drag Me to Hell where the only people there were uberfans.


Ugh, you had to sit through 90 minutes of that dog shit Quentin Tarantino film, Death Proof? I saw it only because I love Kurt Russell, but all I got was more of Quentin's foot fetish garbage and boring dialog. The dude barely has half a movie, then decides to tack on a second 'mini film' that's even worse than the first mini film. That and The Hateful Eight, another Tarantino schlockfest, has turned my dislike for his work to utter hatred. I turned The Hateful Eight off after probably the 20th time Samuel L Jackson was referred as an N word with a hard R. Which was probably 12-15 minutes in? Oh, and before I forget, Kurt Russell punching some woman multiple times. Yeah, fuck Tarantino. Rather watch Rob Zombie, who specializes in trash, or Oliver Stone.

At least Planet Terror was decent for what it was; I think Robert Rodriguez is much better as a filmmaker. I get the feeling that had Tarantino and Rodriguez gone to film school together, Rodriguez would've done everything. Tarantino would've skirted by doing shit last minute and getting help, coasting by because he was seen as "cool." Meanwhile, Rodriguez put in tons of hard work, and picked up Tarantino's slack. I know they didn't go to film school together (at least I don't think they did), but that's the dynamic I get from them.

TL;DR: Fuck Tarantino, watch Rodriguez instead. Better films, and you don't have to deal with foot fetish bullshit and Tarantino's racism.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

hateful fucking sucked. I enjoy basically all of tarantino's other films but that was borderline unwatchable for me. It was horrendously slow, plus the fact that they destroyed a priceless martin for real in the film makes me hate it even more.


----------



## wankerness

I liked Hateful 8 a LOT more the second time and my initial reaction of misogyny evaporated, it really isn’t playing her getting punched for laughs, I just had a bunch of psychos in the theater the first go-round. As she’s easily the best character in the movie and causes the most chaos I had no issues with her the second time. it’s probably at the bottom of his movies but that’s not that much of an insult. It’s mainly just too long and has at least 30 minutes of flashback in the middle that could have gone.

Death Proof’s climax more than justifies its existence, plus it’s much shorter in the Grindhouse version. The crowd went apeshit at the end, it was infectious. I liked planet Terror more as a whole but it didn’t reach the same heights.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Death Proof's ending was just, "Yay girl power! Amirite, guys?" Likely said with that stupid look Quentin typically has. The misogyny and racism of Hateful 8 and quite a few of his other films is obnoxious. Very few films have been so bad I've shut them off.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Hateful Eight was 3 hours of dogshit, and yeah I agree with Spaced, the racism and misogyny was played up to the point of being uncomfortable. Also Kurt Russel sucked in that movie and couldn't suspend my disbelief in the slightest.

That being said, I like every other Tarantino movie. A lot. Inglorious Basterds is one of my favourite movies, and Django was damned good and I can watch those over and over. But after Hateful Eight now I know that he doesn't shit gold so it left a bitter taste. 

Started watching Season 7 of Game of Thrones last night before the new one is out. I dunno what they did but that season just has a completely different feel to it. The whole thing just seems cheesier and more played up? I dunno. Season 6 was probably my favourite and the Battle of the Bastards is right at the top for best episodes of the show. Maybe I was just coming down off of that high and Season 7 just felt different, especially a lot of the dialogue and the time jumps.


----------



## wankerness

BlackMastodon said:


> Hateful Eight was 3 hours of dogshit, and yeah I agree with Spaced, the racism and misogyny was played up to the point of being uncomfortable. Also Kurt Russel sucked in that movie and couldn't suspend my disbelief in the slightest.
> 
> That being said, I like every other Tarantino movie. A lot. Inglorious Basterds is one of my favourite movies, and Django was damned good and I can watch those over and over. But after Hateful Eight now I know that he doesn't shit gold so it left a bitter taste.
> 
> Started watching Season 7 of Game of Thrones last night before the new one is out. I dunno what they did but that season just has a completely different feel to it. The whole thing just seems cheesier and more played up? I dunno. Season 6 was probably my favourite and the Battle of the Bastards is right at the top for best episodes of the show. Maybe I was just coming down off of that high and Season 7 just felt different, especially a lot of the dialogue and the time jumps.



They’re the HATEFUL Eight, what do you expect? Sam Jackson is one of the most outspoken dudes in the industry when it comes to calling out racism and if he didn’t see a problem I’m going to take his word for it over white peoples’.

None of it is played as anything other than, well, Hateful. I hate having to defend this movie. I was hoping that concern trolling would go ignored.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> They’re the HATEFUL Eight, what do you expect? Sam Jackson is one of the most outspoken dudes in the industry when it comes to calling out racism and if he didn’t see a problem I’m going to take his word for it over white peoples’.
> 
> None of it is played as anything other than, well, Hateful. I hate having to defend this movie. I was hoping that concern trolling would go ignored.


And I've talked to black friends of mine who do have a problem with it. So what does that prove?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Also, me having an issue with his racism is "concern trolling"? Whatever, dude.


----------



## Ralyks

Watched The Dirt. I don't think I'd watch it again, but it entertained me for an hour and 45 minutes.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

US was meh. it was an interesting idea but it's pretty slow starting and has some weird pacing. the film overall was tedious for me, though it did a good job of building atmosphere. the gore is pretty tame imo. Lupita nyongo was awesome. Tim from Tim and Eric was pretty funny in the few scenes he's in.
the last 20 minutes redeems the film overall but it's a rental at best, like Get Out was for me.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> US was meh. it was an interesting idea but it's pretty slow starting and has some weird pacing. the film overall was tedious for me, though it did a good job of building atmosphere. the gore is pretty tame imo. Lupita nyongo was awesome. Tim from Tim and Eric was pretty funny in the few scenes he's in.
> the last 20 minutes redeems the film overall but it's a rental at best, like Get Out was for me.


Gimme an R!
Gimme an A!
Gimme a C!
Gimme an I-S-T!
What's that spell?

Fascist!

(I'm joking; it seems like anytime someone expresses dislike for Jordan Peele's films, you can almost tell "racist"/"racism" are on the tips of the people's tongues that are in defense of his films. Also, I think -- thanks to the public school system -- that people are generally pretty fucking stupid and goofy, not knowing the difference between their favorite buzz words.)


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Gimme an R!
> Gimme an A!
> Gimme a C!
> Gimme an I-S-T!
> What's that spell?
> 
> Fascist!
> 
> (I'm joking; it seems like anytime someone expresses dislike for Jordan Peele's films, you can almost tell "racist"/"racism" are on the tips of the people's tongues that are in defense of his films. Also, I think -- thanks to the public school system -- that people are generally pretty fucking stupid and goofy, not knowing the difference between their favorite buzz words.)


People are fucking idiots, they love to throw around -ist words like racist, sexist, fascist,etc in this current climate, without any ability to defend their position or understanding of what a fascist/misogynist/etc actually is. 
Get Out was ok at best, not some great masterpiece of horror with undercurrents of racial commentary like critics made it out to be. US is similar in that vein where mainstream critics were fellating themselves and Peele over how great the film is. The difference is US doesn't have some obvious ongoing social commentary like Get Out and tries to be a bit more of a horror film. It was ok at best.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> People are fucking idiots, they love to throw around -ist words like racist, sexist, fascist,etc in this current climate, without any ability to defend their position or understanding of what a fascist/misogynist/etc actually is.
> Get Out was ok at best, not some great masterpiece of horror with undercurrents of racial commentary like critics made it out to be. US is similar in that vein where mainstream critics were fellating themselves and Peele over how great the film is. The difference is US doesn't have some obvious ongoing social commentary like Get Out and tries to be a bit more of a horror film. It was ok at best.


Before, during, and after writing reviews for Peele films, I suspect it was much the same as the gif of Shawn Michaels mocking a WWF fan by giving a mock blow job.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

A Cure for Wellness, one of my new favorites.


----------



## MFB

Immediate impression of Us, was that I liked Get Out more, but I think Us will get better on multiple viewings and realizing her characters motivations for totally different reasons, etc

Still an 8/10 if you only see it once


----------



## PunkBillCarson

MFB said:


> Immediate impression of Us, was that I liked Get Out more, but I think Us will get better on multiple viewings and realizing her characters motivations for totally different reasons, etc
> 
> Still an 8/10 if you only see it once




I loved "Get Out" so I'm hoping "Us" is good.


----------



## MFB

I watched Get Out twice in 2 days, and then once more a few days after that, so I'm right there with you on it. If you liked that, then you'll enjoy Us since it has that same overall feel (which makes sense since Peels wrote/directed/produced it), again I think it will require more viewings than Get Our to fully sink in EVERYTHING thats in this one.

Only negative I had for seeing it, was I kept trying to figure out what the subtext is, instead of just going along for the ride.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

^I'm honestly done trying to find the meaning of movies. At this stage of the game, I just watch movies to watch movies. If I like them, they're awesome, if they're not, I don't watch them again. If I have a realization about a movie, awesome, but now I just take them as they are.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Some stuff I caught up on:

Tokyo Idols

One from the sea of Netflix documentaries. This is a no holds barred doco on the colourful sugar coated J-Pop world and all the dark and disturbing undercurrents from both the idol and the fan perspective (1 example of each are focused here). The jarring tone shifts between them makes the movie all too poignant. On the idol side, Rio Hiragi knows all too well on the harsh reality of the industry ('I can't do this forever') yet still perseveres quite maturely for her young age, while Koji Yoshida, a middle aged fan so zealously obsessive he's spent most of his livelihood for Rio to the point of quitting his job and not bothering to find a substantial relationship. Funny enough playing Yakuza 5, that game also goes through this subject and does it so accurately as well, right down to the tiny room concerts to handshake evens and it was just as dark then as it is here.

Rampage

Big dumb tongue in cheek fun. The Rock is getting more and more comfortable as the charismatic/comedic big action hero and it works in such a silly premise as this. And unlike say, Gareth Edwards' Godzilla, the giant monsters are stars rather than special guests of their own movie, and the support cast are less of a snoozefest. Not the best video game adaptation (that title still goes to Street Fighter Assassin's Fist), but among the better ones in the mire. Entertaining, just don't expect too much.

The Dirt

It's tough going to tackle the entire book and stuff much of it into a near 2 hour movie. And this movie truncates a whole lot of it (90s are glossed over like John Corabi's little screentime, lack of Pamela Anderson, 1 manager completely cut out among other things), and fictionalizes a few others. Being a Netflix feature does make the low budget glaringly obvious too. I still enjoyed it, Motley Crue bias not withstanding. Cinematically speaking, it reminds me of Requiem For A Dream meets Jackass with prodigious amounts of sex drugs rock 'n roll and the first five Crue albums as the soundtrack. Makes sense with Jeff Tramaine at the director helm. It captures the spirit of the book, giving a few winks to the viewer (the cut out manager being address in matter of fact delivery) and not taking itself all too seriously. The actors are pretty good too. I don't care for Machine Gun Kelly, but he does Tommy Lee good justice here. Unsurprisingly the most entertaining is Iwan Rheon as Mick Mars, stealing every scene (the Live Wire rehearsal, despite being fabricated being a personal highlight). It's not as overdone as Bohemian Rhapsody but it doesn't need to be. I'd say it's fine as a rockumentary, definitely fun for fans of Crue and the book.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The preview struck me as too much of an "internet vs when it arrives" meme compared to BoRhap that I've still not bothered to watch.


----------



## TedEH

Does that Love Death + Robots thing count as a movie enough to qualify for this thread? I have some very mixed feelings about that one. I get that, as an anthology, there's bound to be some hits and some misses, but it felt to me like there were more misses than hits- at least narratively speaking. I never felt the animation was "bad", but a couple of them were not stellar. Some of the writing felt kind of edgy for the sake of edgy. There was a weird disconnect where some entries were super on-the-nose with their attempts to be progressive, while others went way off in the opposite direction and kinda felt like the kind of thing people would complain about being "toxic" stereotypes, etc. A lot of the entries felt like they existed just to animate a cool scene, but never really "said" anything - not even putting forward much of a "what if" scenario to try to resolve. It's just a "we need an excuse for a violent fight" and then it's over. And so much violence for the sake of violence.

There's some good stuff in there, but I think a lot of the shorts needed more time to establish a sort of narrative point, and possibly some time to develop justifications for what it portrayed, other than just "sex and violence is cool, so lets have a lot of it". Also, there were fewer robots than I had hoped for, given that it was in the title. The last few shorts had no robots at all.


----------



## wankerness

I’ll have to check out Tokyo Idols.

Rampage is a lot better than reviews suggested. That’s one of the only CGI blockbusters in recent memory with a climax that had me actually worried about the characters, meaning it succeeded in making me care about The Rock and his pal George and had some weight to some of the action. It takes a while to get going, but I really ended up liking it. I think that it’s the best video game movie I’ve seen, and I’d say by a long measure. Not that that means a lot right now, the competition is like...Mortal Kombat and Silent Hill!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

TedEH said:


> Does that Love Death + Robots thing count as a movie enough to qualify for this thread?



I posted about it on the TV Shows thread as unlike the movie the series is being a successor to, Love Death + Robots is a more disconnected affair.


----------



## Seabeast2000

TedEH said:


> Does that Love Death + Robots thing count as a movie enough to qualify for this thread? I have some very mixed feelings about that one. I get that, as an anthology, there's bound to be some hits and some misses, but it felt to me like there were more misses than hits- at least narratively speaking. I never felt the animation was "bad", but a couple of them were not stellar. Some of the writing felt kind of edgy for the sake of edgy. There was a weird disconnect where some entries were super on-the-nose with their attempts to be progressive, while others went way off in the opposite direction and kinda felt like the kind of thing people would complain about being "toxic" stereotypes, etc. A lot of the entries felt like they existed just to animate a cool scene, but never really "said" anything - not even putting forward much of a "what if" scenario to try to resolve. It's just a "we need an excuse for a violent fight" and then it's over. And so much violence for the sake of violence.
> 
> There's some good stuff in there, but I think a lot of the shorts needed more time to establish a sort of narrative point, and possibly some time to develop justifications for what it portrayed, other than just "sex and violence is cool, so lets have a lot of it". Also, there were fewer robots than I had hoped for, given that it was in the title. The last few shorts had no robots at all.



The "series" reminded me more of an expose' for animators and fiction. The only common thread is Dark themes I guess. If anyone remembers MTV's Liquid Television...kind of like that. I still enjoyed just about all of the episodes though. Its not like I had to slog through some shitty 90 minute Netflix filler movie made on the cheap. 
So in summary, what I just said has already been said by you and Bloody Inferno....more or less.


----------



## TedEH

The906 said:


> Its not like I had to slog through some shitty 90 minute Netflix filler movie made on the cheap.


To be fair, I didn't hate the show/movie/anthology/whatever it is - so much as it's just hard not be very critical of what was presented.


----------



## 777timesgod

I just saw the Front Runner with Hugh Jackman, it is the election story of Gary Hart who withdrew from the primaries that Dukakis won in 1988. Confusing movie to say the least, as I am not sure what message the producers wanted to get across for the Democratic candidate. They seem to imply that if he were elected (and not Bush Sr.) everything would be better now but what about the #metoo movement? Isn't that a big deal for the Democrats? He was basically using his position to get laid - Bill Clinton style.
It represents Hart as this political genius who was brought down because of an affair with one of his campaign aides. To cut it short, he banged her during the primaries on a boat called "Monkey business" while being married... You cannot make this staff up if you try. The media are portrayed as monsters/paparazzi but he challenged them to find dirt on him and then provided it in spades while being very arrogant.
Everyone must admit that American politics are amusing, regardless of the decade. BTW comedian Bill Burr with a hilarious moustache is in it as well.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Watched John Carpenter's The Thing a few months back and was just thinking about it today. Never seen it before since it's before my time (1982), but holy shit does that movie hold up. The practical effects were amazing and don't even look all that far-fetched, taken with a grain of salt since they're dated of course. All around great movie, though I found it hilarious that people that speak Norwegian get the entire premise of the movie spoiled for them with the first lines of dialogue.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

BlackMastodon said:


> Watched John Carpenter's The Thing a few months back and was just thinking about it today. Never seen it before since it's before my time (1982), but holy shit does that movie hold up. The practical effects were amazing and don't even look all that far-fetched, taken with a grain of salt since they're dated of course. All around great movie, though I found it hilarious that people that speak Norwegian get the entire premise of the movie spoiled for them with the first lines of dialogue.


Now go watch Cronenberg's the Fly or American Werewolf in London. Those 3 films are like the pinnacle of killer practical effects, they all hold up extremely well.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BlackMastodon said:


> Watched John Carpenter's The Thing a few months back and was just thinking about it today. Never seen it before since it's before my time (1982), but holy shit does that movie hold up. The practical effects were amazing and don't even look all that far-fetched, taken with a grain of salt since they're dated of course. All around great movie, though I found it hilarious that people that speak Norwegian get the entire premise of the movie spoiled for them with the first lines of dialogue.


Practical over modern CGI. CGI is trash and looks awful. Talk about dated? You can almost date a film by it's CGI. Sorry, but the Practical vs CGI debate gets me heated, so I'm not getting coarse with you, but rather the general topic of such.



KnightBrolaire said:


> Now go watch Cronenberg's the Fly or American Werewolf in London. Those 3 films are like the pinnacle of killer practical effects, they all hold up extremely well.


This. Again, practical shits all over CGI.


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Practical over modern CGI. CGI is trash and looks awful. Talk about dated? You can almost date a film by it's CGI. Sorry, but the Practical vs CGI debate gets me heated, so I'm not getting coarse with you, but rather the general topic of such.
> 
> This. Again, practical shits all over CGI.



Oh my god, it's this as always.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Sorry, but CGI is garbage.


----------



## Quiet Coil

I think CGI is great for enhancement, and for certain applications it’s nearly there for full-on substitution, but when it comes to horror... practical all day, every day.

EDIT: Don’t get me wrong, CGI is still abused and misused to the detriment of many a film. Now that it’s that much easier, it’s definitely overused more often than not.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Anyone tired of that AWFUL, dreadful filter they use in modern horror instead of just making a cinematographer/director of photography do their fucking job?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

CGI, when done well and used to supplement practical effects is the correct balance imo. The latest Planet of the Apes films were great examples of using CGI and supplementing it with some practical fx. The worst example I can think of in a big budget example would be the horrible Goblin fight scene at the end of the 1st Hobbit film (among others in that trilogy). The fight scene had no "oomph" or weight to the sword strikes and kills, and it was terrible in theaters and terrible upon rewatching it at home.


----------



## Quiet Coil

KnightBrolaire said:


> ...the horrible Goblin fight scene at the end of the 1st Hobbit film (among others in that trilogy). The fight scene had no "oomph" or weight to the sword strikes and kills, and it was terrible in theaters and terrible upon rewatching it at home.



While I appreciate _why_ Jackson returned to do the Hobbit films (nevermind that I’ll always wonder what a del Toro Hobbit duology might’ve been like), he went full-on “Lucas/SW prequel” there. Lost site of what made the original LOTR movies so special.


----------



## Konfyouzd

I've been watching a lot of the same and I'm looking for something scary as hell.

I usually enjoy paranormal / possession movies (Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring + sequels, Vatican Tapes, etc)--not sure why. And there seems to be an art to making these movies that some movie makers just fully miss. I see a lot of the "found footage" type scary movies that just feel like really weak copies of a pre-existing film while others are true diamonds in the rough.

Curious if anyone has any suggestions in that realm of movies... Or anything you think I "might like if I feel like trying 'something new'"...?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Found footage is a few steps too far in the "suspend disbelief" category for me. Can't get into any of them.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Now go watch Cronenberg's the Fly or American Werewolf in London. Those 3 films are like the pinnacle of killer practical effects, they all hold up extremely well.



Yeah, that might be my top 3. I've always been an effects nut, since before the dawn of CGI. I think a list of key practical effects movies would also probably have to include a Ray Harryhausen movie like Jason and the Argonauts or Seventh Voyage of Sinbad or something. King Kong '33, Blade Runner, ET, Return of the Jedi, etc. But yeah, I know everyone mainly just likes those splattery 80s ones. Another one I'd put on about the same level is Day of the Dead, though that's obviously less about the full-blown monster effects and more about the incredibly hideous special makeup effects. Aliens is up there, too. Maybe even Poltergeist. Lots of lower-budget ones have really fun and non-stop effects, like Bride of Re-Animator, Dead Alive, Society, Return of the Living Dead 3, Hellraiser 1/2, The Beyond, The Prowler, Xtro, etc, they're just obviously much less "believable." 




Konfyouzd said:


> I've been watching a lot of the same and I'm looking for something scary as hell.
> 
> I usually enjoy paranormal / possession movies (Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring + sequels, Vatican Tapes, etc)--not sure why. And there seems to be an art to making these movies that some movie makers just fully miss. I see a lot of the "found footage" type scary movies that just feel like really weak copies of a pre-existing film while others are true diamonds in the rough.
> 
> Curious if anyone has any suggestions in that realm of movies... Or anything you think I "might like if I feel like trying 'something new'"...?



Best found footage horror movies, IMO:

[REC]
Noroi
[REC] 2
Willow Creek (this one doesn't seem to be that highly rated among many, but something about the "things scratching on your tent" scenes really creeped me out)
The Borderlands

I'd put Troll Hunter, Chronicle, and Cloverfield over most of those. The first and third are kind of horror movies? 

A lot of people say Lake Mungo is really good, I wasn't very impressed. I found The Last Exorcism clever, I don't remember it being scary, but hey. This is definitely not my favorite subgenre, most movies I've seen in it are busts. REC is the only one I'd put in a list of my favorite horror movies. I generally don't get scared by anything in horror movies cause I've seen too many of them. The first time I saw [REC] I basically couldn't look at the screen for the last 5-10 minutes.  That was when I was younger and less desensitized, though.

I think movies that have sort of adopted the aesthetic of found footage but aren't limited by the constraints tend to be better. Backcountry, for one. Or The Reef.


----------



## Konfyouzd

wankerness said:


> Yeah, that might be my top 3. I've always been an effects nut, since before the dawn of CGI. I think a list of key practical effects movies would also probably have to include a Ray Harryhausen movie like Jason and the Argonauts or Seventh Voyage of Sinbad or something. King Kong '33, Blade Runner, ET, Return of the Jedi, etc. But yeah, I know everyone mainly just likes those splattery 80s ones. Another one I'd put on about the same level is Day of the Dead, though that's obviously less about the full-blown monster effects and more about the incredibly hideous special makeup effects. Aliens is up there, too. Maybe even Poltergeist. Lots of lower-budget ones have really fun and non-stop effects, like Bride of Re-Animator, Dead Alive, Society, Return of the Living Dead 3, Hellraiser 1/2, The Beyond, The Prowler, Xtro, etc, they're just obviously much less "believable."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Best found footage horror movies, IMO:
> 
> [REC]
> Noroi
> [REC] 2
> Willow Creek (this one doesn't seem to be that highly rated among many, but something about the "things scratching on your tent" scenes really creeped me out)
> The Borderlands
> 
> I'd put Troll Hunter, Chronicle, and Cloverfield over most of those. The first and third are kind of horror movies?
> 
> A lot of people say Lake Mungo is really good, I wasn't very impressed. I found The Last Exorcism clever, I don't remember it being scary, but hey. This is definitely not my favorite subgenre, most movies I've seen in it are busts. REC is the only one I'd put in a list of my favorite horror movies. I generally don't get scared by anything in horror movies cause I've seen too many of them. The first time I saw [REC] I basically couldn't look at the screen for the last 5-10 minutes.  That was when I was younger and less desensitized, though.
> 
> I think movies that have sort of adopted the aesthetic of found footage but aren't limited by the constraints tend to be better. Backcountry, for one. Or The Reef.


Troll Hunter was dope. I saw that one. 

I'm like you, though. I've seen so many that none of them are scary so I tend to look for ones with clever and/or more cohesive plots. And if it MUST be bad, I like the ones that are at least funny despite being bad... 

(Funny bad = The Greasy Strangler, but that's on the extreme end of things).

I'll check out the ones you suggested, though. Haven't actually heard of most of them.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Yeah, that might be my top 3. I've always been an effects nut, since before the dawn of CGI. I think a list of key practical effects movies would also probably have to include a Ray Harryhausen movie like Jason and the Argonauts or Seventh Voyage of Sinbad or something. King Kong '33, Blade Runner, ET, Return of the Jedi, etc. But yeah, I know everyone mainly just likes those splattery 80s ones. Another one I'd put on about the same level is Day of the Dead, though that's obviously less about the full-blown monster effects and more about the incredibly hideous special makeup effects. Aliens is up there, too. Maybe even Poltergeist. Lots of lower-budget ones have really fun and non-stop effects, like Bride of Re-Animator, Dead Alive, Society, Return of the Living Dead 3, Hellraiser 1/2, The Beyond, The Prowler, Xtro, etc, they're just obviously much less "believable."


NO! Those are good ones, too! The more "normal" films like Jason and Blade Runner deserve a TON of credit. The look of Blade Runner is mind boggling.

Day of the Dead is just such a downer after the fun that was Day of the Dead (and it came out the same year as equally, or even more fun Return...) that it doesn't really get much fanfare. It's a bit of a shame, really, but I think it's bleak, dreadful mood/tone is a bit suffocating. I enjoy it, but not as much as I would if it let up a bit. In some ways, it almost kind of reminds me of maybe an Indiana Jones film. Maybe it's just me, but I get a bit of that kind of vibe from it, but really bleak, and zombies.

Aliens is good, though to be totally honest, I prefer Alien. Re-Animator is fun, but I have not seen Bride... yet. Hopefully Shudder gets it at some point.

Society! I love SCREAMIN' MAD GEORGE! Dude is an underrated legend of effects, and based on the little bit of work he's had in films, I think is better than Savini in some ways. I mean c'mon, the roach scene in Nightmare 4 is EXCELLENT! One thing that's unfortunate, I think, is that he does work in quite a few films where it was multiple teams working to fulfill the needs of a film (Predator, for instance), so it's hard to tell what is his work, and what is the work of someone else. As such, you don't really give credit to much of anyone.

Return 3 is good (much better than 2, which sucked; it's a kids film), but I think the tone is so different from the first two that it could, and probably should, be its own thing. It definitely is awesome, though.

Hellraiser and Hellbound definitely deserve some love as well.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Could you just imagine a white director saying, "I don't see myself casting a black dude as the lead. Not that I don't like black dudes, but I've seen that movie."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/r...yself-casting-a-white-dude-as-lead-us-1197021


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> NO! Those are good ones, too! The more "normal" films like Jason and Blade Runner deserve a TON of credit. The look of Blade Runner is mind boggling.
> 
> Day of the Dead is just such a downer after the fun that was Day of the Dead (and it came out the same year as equally, or even more fun Return...) that it doesn't really get much fanfare. It's a bit of a shame, really, but I think it's bleak, dreadful mood/tone is a bit suffocating. I enjoy it, but not as much as I would if it let up a bit. In some ways, it almost kind of reminds me of maybe an Indiana Jones film. Maybe it's just me, but I get a bit of that kind of vibe from it, but really bleak, and zombies.
> 
> Aliens is good, though to be totally honest, I prefer Alien. Re-Animator is fun, but I have not seen Bride... yet. Hopefully Shudder gets it at some point.
> 
> Society! I love SCREAMIN' MAD GEORGE! Dude is an underrated legend of effects, and based on the little bit of work he's had in films, I think is better than Savini in some ways. I mean c'mon, the roach scene in Nightmare 4 is EXCELLENT! One thing that's unfortunate, I think, is that he does work in quite a few films where it was multiple teams working to fulfill the needs of a film (Predator, for instance), so it's hard to tell what is his work, and what is the work of someone else. As such, you don't really give credit to much of anyone.
> 
> Return 3 is good (much better than 2, which sucked; it's a kids film), but I think the tone is so different from the first two that it could, and probably should, be its own thing. It definitely is awesome, though.
> 
> Hellraiser and Hellbound definitely deserve some love as well.



Dawn is vastly superior to Day imo, I don’t really enjoy Day except for the effects work, which is some of the best ever. Definitely Savini’s best besides maybe one or two showstoppers from otherwise lame movies like the swimming pool scene in The Prowler.

Screamin Mad George is great with the surreal wacko stuff, hence why I have three of his main movies on there! I didn’t know who he was till Society, but had already been blown away by his work on NOES3 and 4. I only just saw Bride of Reanimator, but that one might have given him the most opportunity to go nuts with creativity and weirdness. I forgot about NOES4, that’s a good one too, and I didn’t know he did it. That whole roach scene is exhibit A in why I like the NOES movies more than the F13 movies, they’re so much crazier. 

I need to see Faust, the redlettermedia guys did a video on it and showed a lot of the effects and they were really good and very Society-ish.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Dawn is vastly superior to Day imo, I don’t really enjoy Day except for the effects work, which is some of the best ever. Definitely Savini’s best besides maybe one or two showstoppers from otherwise lame movies like the swimming pool scene in The Prowler.
> 
> Screamin Mad George is great with the surreal wacko stuff, hence why I have three of his main movies on there! I didn’t know who he was till Society, but had already been blown away by his work on NOES3 and 4. I only just saw Bride of Reanimator, but that one might have given him the most opportunity to go nuts with creativity and weirdness. I forgot about NOES4, that’s a good one too, and I didn’t know he did it. That whole roach scene is exhibit A in why I like the NOES movies more than the F13 movies, they’re so much crazier.
> 
> I need to see Faust, the redlettermedia guys did a video on it and showed a lot of the effects and they were really good and very Society-ish.


ANOES4's roach motel scene made my friend vomit. I'd be willing to bet, though I'm not sure of this, that Freddy pizza is also Screamin' Mad George. The ANOES films, due to their very nature, have the ability for the audience to suspend more disbelief than with F13. I enjoy both, but I have a soft spot for the Nightmare films.

I'm kind of pissed that Tom Savini is doing Corey Taylor's mask. I know SMG has done a few of Slipknot's masks since Iowa, so this irritates me. SMG deserves the work; Tom doesn't need it.


----------



## chopeth

Finally! ...I was a teen when the first came, loving it


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Just saw Us. I enjoyed it a lot. While Get Out was pretty much straight forward both in concept and execution, Us takes the distant left field approach. It's a much slower burn, most first impressions will probably be 'not as good as Get Out' but still will leave a lasting impression and may take some time to process. Every member of the cast has to work much harder here (for reasons I won't explain due to spoilers), Winston Duke is a lot of fun, but Lupita Nyongo takes the MVP. It's only Jordan Peele's second movie but he shows director chops of a seasoned veteran. The film is small scaled but feels much bigger in scope, the gore is actually sparse but it's creepily delivered especially in contrast with the un-horror like aesthetic. Whether people like it or not, it's one that will be talked about.


----------



## Ralyks

My son and I were both home sick, so I rented Into the Spider Verse. The hype was real. Absolutely loved it.


----------



## wankerness

I wonder how many more weeks before I can see “Us” without it being ruined by the audience...damn horror movies!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I wonder how many more weeks before I can see “Us” without it being ruined by the audience...damn horror movies!


just go to a weekday matinee. when i saw it there was like 4 other people in the theater


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> I wonder how many more weeks before I can see “Us” without it being ruined by the audience...damn horror movies!



Saw it again last night, audience was laughing way harder than needed at the humor in the beginning; so I'd say maybe 2 more weeks, once Shazam and Pet Sematary are out, it'll take some heat off of it.


----------



## AirForbes1

Spider-verse was really good. Saw Us last week and really enjoyed it. The GF doesn't like horror movies, but she agreed to see it in the theatre with me.

Saw Nocturnal Animals last night. It's not new, but I didn't know about it. Came across it scanning Netflix for "thrillers". Really enjoyed it. It's a Tom Ford movie, so of course it looks great.


----------



## mongey

The dirt. was really not worth the time. standard we get famous, get fucked up on drugs and then get clean story


----------



## Ralyks

mongey said:


> The dirt. was really not worth the time. standard we get famous, get fucked up on drugs and then get clean story



The book really was better


----------



## mongey

Ralyks said:


> The book really was better


yeah no doubt. I've never been a huge fan of the band but I'm sure there could've been a super entertaining movie about them 

and i was just waiting for ramsay bolton to murder someone


----------



## MFB

mongey said:


> and i was just waiting for ramsay bolton to murder someone



So he didn't play Vince Neil then?


----------



## mongey

MFB said:


> So he didn't play Vince Neil then?


now thats comedy . well played


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Finally saw Into The Spiderverse. Now I'm spewing that I didn't see it at the theatres.

Every praise the movie has been given is true and well deserved. This movie is everything. A great story told by talented filmmakers in a beautiful aesthetic, but also one that's actually thinking big in the grand scope of things (the first 30 seconds ought to hint that). I still stand by my statement that the Oscar win was a shoe in, namely because even the Academy can't deny that Incredibles 2 and Wreck It Ralph 2 were vastly inferior sequels to their respective originals. See Sony, this is how you handle a shared custody property.

Into The Spiderverse as also somewhat spoiled me from future Spiderman related installments. MCU's Far From Home is going to have a tough time following this and Endgame, and then those other spinoffs like the Vemon sequel and Morbius that Sony insists on releasing that I'm looking forward to with the same kind of Monday morning dread.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Finally saw Into The Spiderverse. Now I'm spewing that I didn't see it at the theatres.
> 
> Every praise the movie has been given is true and well deserved. This movie is everything. A great story told by talented filmmakers in a beautiful aesthetic, but also one that's actually thinking big in the grand scope of things (the first 30 seconds ought to hint that). I still stand by my statement that the Oscar win was a shoe in, namely because even the Academy can't deny that Incredibles 2 and Wreck It Ralph 2 were vastly inferior sequels to their respective originals. See Sony, this is how you handle a shared custody property.
> 
> Into The Spiderverse as also somewhat spoiled me from future Spiderman related installments. MCU's Far From Home is going to have a tough time following this and Endgame, and then those other spinoffs like the Vemon sequel and Morbius that Sony insists on releasing that I'm looking forward to with the same kind of Monday morning dread.



Yeah, I don't expect much from any upcoming live-action Spider-Man stuff. I'm hoping for sequels to the Spiderverse, but only if they keep most of the same creative team. I don't want tired retreads that attempt to recapture that magic and just give a hollow imitation instead, like seems to happen with non-Lorde and Miller sequels to Lorde and Miller movies.  I know they were only partly responsible for this one so maybe it has a better chance. Part of what COULD work with sequels to this is that it had multiple characters I'd totally watch a movie about. Spider-Gwen and Spider-Noir in particular!


----------



## Seabeast2000

Let's see...
Hold the Dark, good and dark. Not entirely sure what the conclusion was but that could just be me, pretty well-done and Jeffrey Wright does a good job.

Exposed. This movie should be dismantled and sold for scrap.

The Highwaymen. Just add Woody. This is not a Bonnie and Clyde redo. They are the mechanism for the story though. Liked it but Costner's somewhat bland acting is amplified these days.


----------



## 777timesgod

I saw "The mule" by Clint Eastwood yesterday, not one of his better films and the supporting actors are horrendous. Seriously, what were the criteria for selecting them? Not knowing how to act and being annoying as hell (Bradley Cooper i.e.)? The story is a true one and quite peculiar as a 90 year old florist transports drugs over the country.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Shazam!

It feels like ages since the time I was throwing verbal abuse at a DCEU movie, ever since Aquaman and 2/3rds of Wonder Woman were actually really good. And looks like Shazam continues that tradition. This is 'joyous wish fulfilment' in it's purest form to the point of satire and self awareness. Even the movie is aware enough to make the exposition from a child's point of view and to know that the comparison to Tom Hanks' Big is inevitable. But it works here. Zachary Levi is fantastic right down to the small nuances, and his dynamic with Jack Dylan Grazer are some of the best scenes in the movie. It's also the smallest of the DCEU movies in terms of scale and works better for it. So looks DCEU has a bright future ahead (feelings towards the Joker trailer aside).


----------



## wankerness

I heard they focused wayyyy too much on the villain and probably could have dropped twenty minutes but it was good otherwise. What did you think of him?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> I heard they focused wayyyy too much on the villain and probably could have dropped twenty minutes but it was good otherwise. What did you think of him?



He is over focused. Over developped phase 1 style villain with a lot of screen time. Though Mark Strong is fine and I do prefer this over what feels like an afterthought like a lot of phase 1 villains and Wonder Woman suffered from. 

A lot of his scenes are actually shockingly borderline horrific, though expected with David F Sandberg at thr helm. But it works when the entire theme is the dichotomy between childhood and adulthood.


----------



## wankerness

The early reviews of Shazam didn't have me very interested, but now that it's in wider release and a lot more came out I'm much more curious. Especially the stuff about the tone, like it's one of those classic 80s kids movies that weren't afraid to get really scary, and is directed at that age demographic for a change. As opposed to Marvel movies (which I love, FTR!!), that are just sort of a middle-of-the-road, controlled tone that doesn't seem directed at any audience in particular.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> The early reviews of Shazam didn't have me very interested, but now that it's in wider release and a lot more came out I'm much more curious. Especially the stuff about the tone, like it's one of those classic 80s kids movies that weren't afraid to get really scary, and is directed at that age demographic for a change. As opposed to Marvel movies (which I love, FTR!!), that are just sort of a middle-of-the-road, controlled tone that doesn't seem directed at any audience in particular.


It's because Marvel (and Disney) needs that international/China market.


----------



## fps

New Pet Sematary. Rubbish. Not a patch on the book.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

fps said:


> New Pet Sematary. Rubbish. Not a patch on the book.


how does it compare to the 89 film?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> how does it compare to the 89 film?


Sometimes... dead is better. From what I've heard, I'll stick to Fred Gwynne.


----------



## MFB

I just watched the 89 Pet Sematary flick like a month ago, and uh, its kind of shitty. And by kind of, I mean, it just is.

I dont get why it has such a cult following


----------



## wankerness

I think it’s cause that’s a movie people see when they’re 8 and get scared by and either never watch it again or have some ridiculous rose tinted glasses. It’s definitely bad.

I’m curious enough about the new one that I’ll watch it for free some day. I really didn’t like the filmmakers’ last movie, Starry Eyes, but at least it was trying to do something.

I noticed that Joe Bob’s got some episodes of what seems to be a weekly show on Shudder. I’ve never seen Castle Freak, and he’s got Barbara Crampton with him on the host segments for it!! The world isn’t always such a bad place.

I’m also with him on CHUD, that movie sucks. Second watch has confirmed it. Impressive cast though!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Never saw many people shit on CHUD til Joe Bob. Thanks, Joe Bob.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> I just watched the 89 Pet Sematary flick like a month ago, and uh, its kind of shitty. And by kind of, I mean, it just is.
> 
> I dont get why it has such a cult following


I kind of like some of the practical fx in the film, and it has some decent moments (ie the autopsy scene, the dying sister, most of the last act).  Either the movie is better than the 89 version, or it's not, that's why I'm asking.

On another note, I saw Shazam today.
It was pretty fun and light hearted overall, though the horror moments did pop in (eyeball removing, people getting their heads bitten off, people melting/disintegrating Raiders style) and surprise me. Zach Levi was perfect as the adult form of Batson, he just oozes goofy charm. Strong was a solid villain. Djimon Hounsou looked ridiculous as the original Shazam with his fake beard but did a good job. There's some minor references to 80s films like Goonies/Big that add a fun touch. 
It's a solid rental imo. 
It wasn't as fun as Aquaman imo, but was definitely way more fun than any of the other DC films.


----------



## wankerness

WOW, none of THAT was in any of the reviews for Shazam!!

Pet Semetary has the Zelda character that probably gave a ton of kids nightmares. She's the one good scare in there. I like how they sawed all the edges off of Gage from the book, though it was probably for the best.

Pet Semetary 2 is even worse, but if forced to choose, I'd probably rather watch it. The actor playing the evil sheriff seems to be having a lot of fun and it's infectious.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> WOW, none of THAT was in any of the reviews for Shazam!!
> 
> Pet Semetary has the Zelda character that probably gave a ton of kids nightmares. She's the one good scare in there. I like how they sawed all the edges off of Gage from the book, though it was probably for the best.
> 
> Pet Semetary 2 is even worse, but if forced to choose, I'd probably rather watch it. The actor playing the evil sheriff seems to be having a lot of fun and it's infectious.


the horror tidbits are few and far between, but they're definitely in there. It's not a movie I'd take a kid that gets scared easily to.
the demon designs are pretty cool, especially gluttony (he reminds me of the gaping dragon from dark souls).


----------



## Drew

Saw Us over the weekend. It was great - super tense and spoky open, then very thought provoking as it went on. Not many true "surprise" plot twists, but that was because they were foreshadowed enough before they happened that you were prepared for the development, and not that they were necessarily predictable - iot was more the movie earned them first, than dropped them out of nowhere. Lots of great filming, too - a lot happens a little out of focus in the background that's still clear enough that you see it and know what's going on, that adds to the story.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

pet sematary 2019- it was definitely better than the 89 version. They cut all the exposition dumps of the original(and the majority of the flashbacks) to create a leaner meaner film. the practical fx were quite good, especially the mangled head with still pulsating brain and some other bits I won't give away.
There's a much bigger emphasis on rachel's trauma related to her sister's death, which is honestly some.of the most effective scares in the film. Jason Clarke does a great job running the gamut of emotions his character requires from caln and collected to unhinged and griefstricken. There's always a huge suspension of disbelief when horror films use little kids as the antagonist (especially when it comes to them overpowering a fully grown man), but the bigger offense is the film acting like a 9 yr old could drag a fully grown adult a fair distance into the woods.
Overall the film does a much better job of building tension and maintaining an oppressively creepy atmosphere than the 89 version.
it's definitely worth a watch imo.


----------



## fps

Hellboy - frickin loved it.


----------



## fps

KnightBrolaire said:


> how does it compare to the 89 film?



I don't know, I'm afraid, but as a fan of the book, this was an utter abomination, and I have no idea why critics have anything good to say about it. Performances, script, plot choices, pacing, it was all just awful start to finish.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

fps said:


> I don't know, I'm afraid, but as a fan of the book, this was an utter abomination, and I have no idea why critics have anything good to say about it. Performances, script, plot choices, pacing, it was all just awful start to finish.


I saw the recent pet sematary, and thought it was a huge improvement over the 89 film. Obviously not as good as the book, but very few films manage to live up to the books they're based on.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Hotel Mumbai- it's intense. I think they did a good job portraying the chaos and level of brutality without being exploitative. It was a really well done film, definitely worth a watch imo.

gonna go check out Head Hunter later today. The idea of a viking monster slayer sounds fun.


----------



## wankerness

fps said:


> Hellboy - frickin loved it.



That's the first I've heard anyone say that! I've heard the gore effects are amazing but that virtually everything else is terrible/a mess, and this was even coming from sites that tend to give anything superhero/comic book related 5/5. They made it sound like another good candidate for free streaming.


----------



## fps

wankerness said:


> That's the first I've heard anyone say that! I've heard the gore effects are amazing but that virtually everything else is terrible/a mess, and this was even coming from sites that tend to give anything superhero/comic book related 5/5. They made it sound like another good candidate for free streaming.



I don't like superhero films generally. I loved the first two Hellboy movies. This ain't that. But I enjoyed it. Some good one-liners, but his humour as a defence mechanism also came across, and I thought there were some good themes in there. There was also a load of total video game nonsense stuff, but I was entertained, it was very comic book-y. They put way too much stuff into it, but hey, better than not enough stuff.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I watched the latest hellboy movie. I loved it. I'm a huge fan of Neil Marshall's earlier work like The Descent/Dog Soldiers/Doomsday and this is very much in those veins, where it has a fun, midnight b movie kind of vibe. It's loaded with gore and hideous creatures (some of which have some neat practical fx bits), and it's pretty funny at times. I absolutely loved the troll fight and the vampire luchador fight. They were utterly ridiculous, but man were they a blast to watch. 
I like that the film just embraces the ridiculousness of the source material (even moreso than Del Toro's versions). The only quibble I have is that the CGI is a bit wonky in spots, and the ending is a bit anticlimactic, but overall it's well worth a watch imo.


----------



## fps

KnightBrolaire said:


> I watched the latest hellboy movie. I loved it. I'm a huge fan of Neil Marshall's earlier work like The Descent/Dog Soldiers/Doomsday and this is very much in those veins, where it has a fun, midnight b movie kind of vibe. It's loaded with gore and hideous creatures (some of which have some neat practical fx bits), and it's pretty funny at times. I absolutely loved the troll fight and the vampire luchador fight. They were utterly ridiculous, but man were they a blast to watch.
> I like that the film just embraces the ridiculousness of the source material (even moreso than Del Toro's versions). The only quibble I have is that the CGI is a bit wonky in spots, and the ending is a bit anticlimactic, but overall it's well worth a watch imo.



I enjoyed it, though I'd absolutely give it up a million times over for the third GDT/Perlman.

I don't get the hate for it at all. Rottentomatoes suggests those who've seen it have enjoyed it, critics be damned.


----------



## wankerness

I've been spending a lot of time catching up with Joe Bob Briggs episodes, I'm really happy to see he now has a regular show with two movies a week. 

Deathgasm - pretty decent attempt to make a metal version of Dead Alive (this is also from NZ). It has things like zombies getting their dick cut off with a weedwhacker alongside the main characters recreating Call of the Wintermoon. There are quite a few gore effects and it's really entertaining for about the first 3/4 before it tries to get all dramatic with the main two characters and the love interest. It seems about ten years out of date as it was made in 2015 and has people all listening to CDs, no smartphones, and the main guy is into like...Trivium, Anal Cunt, Cattle Decapitation, and Whitechapel, but hey, the important thing is it got made!

Q - I watch this every few years, and I always forget how weird and well-written it is. It's perfect Joe Bob fodder, he said it was one of his favorites. But yeah, a movie starring David Carradine, Shaft, and Buffy's Mom in the supporting roles to one of the weirdest protagonists (and greatest monster movie performances) already is several cuts above most movies about giant flying birds ripping heads off of sunbathers after Aztecs sacrifice people to it.

Madman - This is endearingly bad and boring. I really don't like it, but they were trying so hard!! Gaylen Ross has quite a filmography (just Dawn of the Dead, this, and Creepshow).

Society - must-watch for fans of practical effects! I don't like it much, but it does have one of the biggest babes of the 80s in it as well as the astounding climax that should be on lists of best practical effects sequences alongside The Fly, The Thing, American Werewolf, Videodrome, etc. Well, it should if it didn't look so bad. But it's amazing in its audacity!

NON-JOE BOB:

Bram Stoker's Dracula - the 90s were the worst. This movie is so silly and badly acted and tastelessly filmed and the 90s film stock makes it look so damn ugly. BUT, the tastelessness also kind of makes it great. It's just show-off scene after show-off scene and so many of the characters are like a bad joke (Anthony Hopkins might be even worse than Keanu and Winona).

Us - I didn't like it all that much and thought the big ending reveal didn't really change anything in the movie to be more interesting. Meh. The best thing about it was the score seeming to be influenced by Blue Sunshine. I'll watch it again someday, maybe it will grow on me. It's well-made at least.

Aquaman - I loved it! It's completely ridiculous and is trying so hard to not be boring and even as a Marvel fanboy I have to acknowledge this thing is so much more wild and seems like so much more of an actual "movie" in terms of dialogue scenes being filmed cinematically, etc. The visuals are incredible since it seems like the director actually had a vision here instead of it just being a bunch of perfunctory stuff designed by the computer animators. The production design is right up there with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it's insane. It looks twice as expensive as Justice League and cost half as much. Amazing, the power of good direction and design. (PS - there's a plot and characters and they kinda suck)

The Rocketeer - Pretty good. It seems so quaint now thanks to the effects revolution. I bet I would have been blown away by this if I'd seen it as a kid. Timothy Dalton's German accent sounds like Craig Ferguson.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Q and Changeling are fucking trashola.


----------



## TedEH

I finally got around to watching Into the Spider-Verse. Had to see what the hype was about. From a story point of view it was alright, not mindblowing but not bad. The animation lived up to the hype though. Was worth it for that alone I think.


----------



## Quiet Coil

Finally saw Blade Runner 2049. I won’t say it was perfect, but I will say that it’s a great example of how to continue/revive a franchise. Sooo much better than any of the Alien continuations.

EDIT: Okay so it’s not a “franchise”, but you get the drift.


----------



## MFB

Rewatching the major movies of the MCU, starting with Iron Man and going all the way to Infinity War.

Of all the Phase 1 origin films, I find Captain America's to be the best. I know, I know, "but what about Iron Man?!" Iron Man is still really good, but the shift from spoiled billionaire playboy philanthropist to selfless hero so quickly still doesnt totally sit with me; whereas Cap has always been Cap, but now hes got the tool to do what he always wanted to, and he does. No more no less.

Phase 2 is just Winter Soldier and Ultron, and boy, talk about polar opposites of greatness.


----------



## MFB

God damn, Winter Soldier is so fucking air tight. Who would've thought Captain America would have the best MCU films?


----------



## wankerness

I really don't get all the high rankings for Iron Man 1. The frickin plot doesn't make any sense on a major level, not a cinemasins nitpicky BS one.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

honestly none of the phase 1 films were that good. Iron Man 1&2/Cap 1/Avengers 1& Ultron/Thor 1&2 were all meh. 
I was super lukewarm on the MCU (even though I loved reading iron man and avengers comics as a kid) until GotG 1 and Winter Soldier. Those were really great movies. Same with Ant Man. I've enjoyed most of the MCU films but those 3 are easily my favorites, with Thor Ragnarok coming up in 4th. 
That being said I'm excited to see who they're going to kill off/keep dead in Infinity War. My cynical guess is anyone who's contract is up (ie Iron Man/Cap for sure) and maybe some of the less interesting characters like Black Widow/Ronin


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> honestly none of the phase 1 films were that good. Iron Man 1&2/Cap 1/Avengers 1& Ultron/Thor 1&2 were all meh.
> I was super lukewarm on the MCU (even though I loved reading iron man and avengers comics as a kid) until GotG 1 and Winter Soldier. Those were really great movies. Same with Ant Man. I've enjoyed most of the MCU films but those 3 are easily my favorites, with Thor Ragnarok coming up in 4th.
> That being said I'm excited to see who they're going to kill off/keep dead in Infinity War. My cynical guess is anyone who's contract is up (ie Iron Man/Cap for sure) and maybe some of the less interesting characters like Black Widow/Ronin



There's a black widow movie announced so not her. There's a hawkeye series announced, Jeremy Renner and all, so not him!

MCU's expansion to TV I think may be the line I'm drawing in the sand. I love the movies, but I DO NOT want to watch 10 hours of fuckin' Jeremy Renner to keep up with it. They said explicitly that this series (and other ones on Disney streaming) would tie much more directly into the movies with actor cameos, etc. Ugh.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> There's a black widow movie announced so not her. There's a hawkeye series announced, Jeremy Renner and all, so not him!
> 
> MCU's expansion to TV I think may be the line I'm drawing in the sand. I love the movies, but I DO NOT want to watch 10 hours of fuckin' Jeremy Renner to keep up with it. They said explicitly that this series (and other ones on Disney streaming) would tie much more directly into the movies with actor cameos, etc. Ugh.


uggh hawkeye is the least interesting avenger by far. He's boring as shit in the comics and the movies. I hope they do something with taskmaster or moon knight next.


----------



## MFB

Matt Fraction's Hawkeye would like a word with you, sir.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Matt Fraction's Hawkeye would like a word with you, sir.


ok fine i'll give you that one, but overall he's weaksauce storywise compared to say daken or moon knight or even elektra.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Avengers: Endgame 

I was good and I liked it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

"Followed by an iconic Video Nasty." -- If this is a hint that he is hosting Cannibal Holocaust, I plan to contact AMC's sponsors (such as the ASPCA) to request they pull funding until they remove it from the streaming service, both the Joe Bob hosted version as well as the regular version. They have Cannibal Holocaust on Shudder, but you have to intend to see it. This, however, will have it trending on Twitter, and it's a horrible look for Shudder and horror fans in general. Absolute hard pass.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> "Followed by an iconic Video Nasty." -- If this is a hint that he is hosting Cannibal Holocaust, I plan to contact AMC's sponsors (such as the ASPCA) to request they pull funding until they remove it from the streaming service, both the Joe Bob hosted version as well as the regular version. They have Cannibal Holocaust on Shudder, but you have to intend to see it. This, however, will have it trending on Twitter, and it's a horrible look for Shudder and horror fans in general. Absolute hard pass.
> 
> View attachment 68887


cannibal holocaust is trash like most of those 70s italian cannibal films. the turtle killing wasn't cool and didn't really add anything.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> cannibal holocaust is trash like most of those 70s italian cannibal films. the turtle killing wasn't cool and didn't really add anything.


The monkey scene apparently had to be shot twice, which means they killed two monkeys for that shit heap film. Seriously, Shudder cannot be that fucking stupid. At least I hope not.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The monkey scene apparently had to be shot twice, which means they killed two monkeys for that shit heap film. Seriously, Shudder cannot be that fucking stupid. At least I hope not.


i honestly forgot about all the monkeys, the turtle killing is the one that sticks in my head.
if they're going to show controversial horror films then they'd be better off showing stuff like salo/a serbian film/deadgirl/the woman/last house on the left/i spit on your grave.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> last house on the left/i spit on your grave.



Both also "iconic video nasties." As is "The Burning" which he's talked about wanting to do repeatedly on the show. Or Zombi, or even Evilspeak. But yeah let's have a screech about how we need to contact the ASPCA to boycott shudder first or something.

Does the version on there even HAVE the animal violence? It's edited out of some versions (including the US bluray if you choose the option).


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Both also "iconic video nasties." As is "The Burning" which he's talked about wanting to do repeatedly on the show. Or Zombi, or even Evilspeak. But yeah let's have a screech about how we need to contact the ASPCA to boycott shudder first or something.
> 
> Does the version on there even HAVE the animal violence? It's edited out of some versions (including the US bluray if you choose the option).


Yes, it's the unedited, 96 minute version. Please, keep being rude though.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Yes, it's the unedited, 96 minute version. Please, keep being rude though.



Calling to ban a TV show because it showed something you don't like is Tipper Gore territory, hence my getting really annoyed. Maybe you were just trolling, but that's nuts. Maybe just don't watch the damn thing instead of trying to petition some organization to take legal action against it. And with this, the movie was made DECADES ago. At this point trying to call for getting Joe Bob kicked off the air for profiting off cruelty to animals for showing a very old movie that violates modern laws is about one step removed from trying to get one of those many, many murder/serial killer shows that show real crime photos/footage kicked off the air for profiting off murders. Yes they're gross, yes I find many of them reprehensible, but I just don't watch them. 

The fact CH wasn't even shown just makes it all the sillier. And I do bet that if it was ever shown on his show it WOULD be censored, because yeah, most of his audience probably has no interest in that level of nastiness.

And naturally they showed something that wasn't even a video nasty, which is disappointing. Ah well. I'll watch these eps someday. I really didn't like House of the Devil on first watch, but Joe Bob's good at pointing out the good in things and increasing the entertainment value. Or vice versa, with CHUD.


----------



## broj15

Really been caught up on the movies coming from A24. Thankfully there's a theater in the city that seems to show just about everything they put out. Last one I saw was High Life (on 4/20 ironically). For those that don't know it stars Robert Pattinson and is about a space ship filled with death row inmates headed towards a black hole in hopes they can transmit any data they collect back to earth.

My thoughts: I'm a bit disappointed in Pattinson's acting. Seemed like his whole role boiled down to "do/see some fucked up shit, cry about it, hang out with this baby, and act morally superior because you've taken a vow of celibacy/no forms of sexual gratification. And cry some more". The visuals give some nods to the more atmospheric sci-fi films such as 2001, Alien, and bladerunner. It has a similar "head trip" vibe to interstellar, and they play up the whole vast emptiness of deep space like Gravity - though in my opinion it's executed better in high life. Then out of nowhere things get weird and darkly sexual. Like a loss of humanity/depravity that's cold and clinical like the first human centipede (mad doctor left to thier own devices and given free reign over a group of "inferior" people). Also a fair warning: there's no shortage of bodily fluids - of all varieties - in this movie.

Overall I'd say it's a good watch, though not as good as some other movies from A24, nor as good as some of Pattinson's more recent work. Still worth a watch though if you like your sci-fi more on the philosophical side than the action/fantasy stuff that we're used to seeing coming out of hollywood.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Calling to ban a TV show because it showed something you don't like is Tipper Gore territory, hence my getting really annoyed. Maybe you were just trolling, but that's nuts. Maybe just don't watch the damn thing instead of trying to petition some organization to take legal action against it. And with this, the movie was made DECADES ago. At this point trying to call for getting Joe Bob kicked off the air for profiting off cruelty to animals for showing a very old movie that violates modern laws is about one step removed from trying to get one of those many, many murder/serial killer shows that show real crime photos/footage kicked off the air for profiting off murders. Yes they're gross, yes I find many of them reprehensible, but I just don't watch them.
> 
> The fact CH wasn't even shown just makes it all the sillier. And I do bet that if it was ever shown on his show it WOULD be censored, because yeah, most of his audience probably has no interest in that level of nastiness.
> 
> And naturally they showed something that wasn't even a video nasty, which is disappointing. Ah well. I'll watch these eps someday. I really didn't like House of the Devil on first watch, but Joe Bob's good at pointing out the good in things and increasing the entertainment value. Or vice versa, with CHUD.


To the episode. Also the movie wouldn't be shown until this Friday, not last Friday.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> To the episode. Also the movie wouldn't be shown until this Friday, not last Friday.



Ah. I was thinking it was in reference to the movies that showed up on streaming a day or two later (I can't watch live through the Amazon version of Shudder and thus thought that tweet came before this last week aired). Guess Demon Wind's not Canadian either.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The clue for those two was cult movies that are well liked from the west and east coast.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Been playing catchups...

Headshot

Another Iko Uwais/Julie Estelle bone crusher. Probably the most plot intensive of the lot, not as simple as The Raid movies, nor as chaotic as The Night Comes For Us, this time aping the premise of the Bourne movies. But screw plot. You only watch these movies to see Uwais, Estelle and their stunt team creatively find ways to murder people using a typewriter, old fashioned telephone or their on radius bone. And Headshot definitely delivers in spades.

Ryu Ga Gotoku/Like A Dragon

It's too hard to keep up with Takeshi Miike films, but it's always fun to watch one, especially from a guy who shifts genres and makes films/series as often as changing underwear, it's certainly fun seeing Miike lean right into the subject. In this case of a movie tie in with the first Yakuza game, it does well but fall short in places. It's hard enough to truncate long gaming hours of crime drama into 1 hour and 50 minutes, but there's also 3 additional subplots that are largely disconnected to the main narrative and end up ultimately going nowhere. And jumping around them jarringly kills the pacing. Still, Miike is clearly having fun here and all the good things shine. Set on location, Kamurocho looks the part (not saying much since it's just Kabukicho), the portrayal of Goro Majima is on point, and also shows how terrifying he was in the first game, the music is excellent (just to show how versatile Ken Yokoyama/Crazy Ken Band can really be), and there's the right amount of goofiness on display to the point of self awareness that Miike was making a movie based on a game, and loving every minute of it. Overall, it's not Miike's most compelling, let alone his best yakuza based crime thriller (the Dead Or Alive series are much better there), but for the curious (especially those who are familiar with the games), this is worth a - wait a minute, Majima's patch is in the wrong eye! *1 STAR!!*


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Lang Tong

One from the bowels of random Netflix recommendations. A Singaporean erotic thriller inspired from 2 known Asian thriller movies that more or less spoils away the entire conceit of the movie. The low budget suits the film's aesthetics fine, and the actors are game enough to go through what was considered a local controversy. It's no Lust Caution primal sex either, but if you want some Asian eye candy then this certainly delivers. Shame there's barely a story holding everything together. Nor are the setups and payoffs ugh, set up nor pay off. It's lacking to the point where you don't really get a chance to sympathise for characters and the supposed disturbing visceral gut punch has little to no impact, especially compared to the 2 influences Lang Tong is trying to ape. There's definitely a good movie in here somewhere and Sam Loh had some lofty ambitions (this is supposed to start a trilogy), but Lang Tong just falls short above mediocrity. I suppose I should watch Siew Lup sometime now.


----------



## Ralyks

My son has been enjoying Pixar movies. So in the past few weeks I've seen a lot of the Toy Story trilogy, Coco, Up, Cars 3, Incredibles 2...


----------



## wankerness

I still need to watch Coco. I already saw the insane 20 minute rendition by neon-lit Japanese dancers at the Robot Restaurant, though, so maybe it's spoiled.


----------



## TedEH

So I went out and saw Detective Pikachu.... 


Spoiler



And I'm of two minds about it. The movie did some things right, in terms of adapting the material to the screen. Visually, the characters looked as you would expect. The world was mostly convincingly captured. I'll give them props for that. Reynolds did a good job and did exactly as you would expect him to do. When they tried to be funny, it mostly landed. A couple of the gags landed really well, better than I would have expected.

On the other hand.......

All of the reviews I've seen were really positive, but IMO, strip away the "cute" Pokemon exterior, and it's not a good movie. It's just a run of the mill kids movie. The acting by everyone other than Reynolds is almost laughably bad. The characters aren't convincing. The Lucy character (the reporter lady) is probably the worst offender - she's not a good actor, the character makes no sense, and the role in general was just dumb. Have you ever seen any of those kids movies where all of the important roles (cops, reporters, etc) are filled by 15 year olds and you can't help but wonder "where are your parents?" And the few adults around act in cartoonishly unbelievable ways to accommodate a juvenile framing of how anything in the world works? "Wow, you discovered the one important plot thing, so you know what, you're the boss of the company now!" The movie is basically that, but with Pokemon slapped over it.

In other words, the movie is cleaaaaaaaaaarly targeted at very young kids and little was done to make it appeal to older audiences. If you're ok with that and expect to be satisfied by going "aaaaaaaaaaaw" because a cute animated monster made some googly eyes at the camera, then you'll like the movie. If you're judging it by just about any other criteria, then the best I can call it is "not bad, but not good either".



Not sure that's worthy of a spoiler tag, but why not.


----------



## wankerness

I'm curious if it's actually going to make all the money it was originally projected to. It might be a victim of great trailer/unenthusiastic reception before it even hit theaters. That and Endgame still making truckloads.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Still gonna go see Detective Pikachu because why not. I'm also hoping I didn't miss Shazam while it was in theatres, been meaning to check that out since it's come out.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

John Wick 3 - Parabellum

When you go see a John Wick movie, you don't expect much other than John Wick creatively murdering a ton of people. And Parabellum certainly does that. A big improvement from it's predecessor, though that's due to the setup that 3 is meant to pay off, this time in a much more comfortable and confident stride. Not much to say about the action other than it's awesome and delivers the goods. Just when you think the movie couldn't top the first act, complete with Keanu Reeves' martial arts teacher Tiger Chen throwing down, (whoever saw Man From Tai Chi will know), the movie does exactly that. And it's great to see Mark Dacascos having fun kicking all sorts of ass. One thing I'll always appreciate is the masterful show don't tell world building. From the entire hitman society to Jason Matzoukas' character, every character, set piece, location, lore, all have a presence so imposing you can imagine a wealth of backstories just by looking at them. So yeah, another awesome violent gory ride. Another John Wick film to kick back, relax and enjoy.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Saw Detective Pikachu the other day and was really let down, but I'm not too bummed about it since I was clearly not the target audience. Even as kids movies go, though, the writing was really weak and it was super predictable. Wish I would've waited til it was cheap movie night, or just waited for it to go to streaming.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

I saw Tolkien. It was really boring. They managed to take his incredible life story and turn it into a 2 hour film that had people yawning and wanting to leave the cinema. There were so many parts of his life they didn't explore or completely cut out.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Lorcan Ward said:


> I saw Tolkien. It was really boring. They managed to take his incredible life story and turn it into a 2 hour film that had people yawning and wanting to leave the cinema. There were so many parts of his life they didn't explore or completely cut out.


did they spend much time on his friendship with cs lewis?


----------



## TedEH

BlackMastodon said:


> Saw Detective Pikachu the other day and was really let down


I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't gushing over this one. I was entertained, but it wasn't "good" by my standards.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

I'm hearing that I should watch the John Wick movies, but I'm not sure how well I'd handle the


Spoiler



puppy death scene


 in the first movie. Yes, I realize, it's fake. Yes I realize he goes on a rampage, I just hate watching animals depicted being killed.


----------



## Seabeast2000

PunkBillCarson said:


> I'm hearing that I should watch the John Wick movies, but I'm not sure how well I'd handle the
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> puppy death scene
> 
> 
> in the first movie. Yes, I realize, it's fake. Yes I realize he goes on a rampage, I just hate watching animals depicted being killed.



Funny, I just mentioned I need to watch all of them including the first which I don't remember.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

PunkBillCarson said:


> I'm hearing that I should watch the John Wick movies, but I'm not sure how well I'd handle the
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> puppy death scene
> 
> 
> in the first movie. Yes, I realize, it's fake. Yes I realize he goes on a rampage, I just hate watching animals depicted being killed.


they don't really show anything. it's not like watching cannibal holocaust where the animals actually did die.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

KnightBrolaire said:


> did they spend much time on his friendship with cs lewis?



It wasn't even mentioned which should tell you a lot about the film.


----------



## gnoll

Wedding Crashers.

I don't understand how film budgets can be spent on stuff like this. I mean, that's a lot of money, and you're gonna spend it on a script like this? Like, really? It's just shit, the characters are bland and cliché and just seem to fill their role/do what they need to do for the plot to work out. The whole thing is utterly predictable, and it doesn't even have funny jokes. It feels like somebody actively tried to make a bad film, or at the very least said "hey, it's a romantic comedy, it doesn't fucking matter".

1/10.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

the girl (2012)
Definitely not a flattering portrayal of Hitchcock, but fascinating to watch.
Toby Jones plays hitchcock as a controlling, obsessive and repulsive letch. He does a fantastic job imo. There's an undercurrent of rage/malice in some of the things hitch did to hedren (or so the film implies), like having live birds thrown at her for days til she broke down.


----------



## 777timesgod

I just saw "The Vice" last night with Bale playing the part of Dick Cheney. It got the Oscar for makeup I believe, which has me on the fence. At times Bale looks fake as hell with it and at other times/camera angles it seems that it is Cheney in the flesh.


----------



## mastapimp

Saw John Wick 3 over the weekend. Didn't disappoint with tons of action and creative fight scenes. The casting was great and Mark Dacascos was a perfect addition to the story. They carry over some of the previous films' lore with the high table and a good chunk of the movie takes place outside of NYC to give a different flavor to the scenery and fight scenes. If you liked the first two films, Chapter 3 will be enjoyable. 

A few weeks earlier, I saw the most recent HellBoy movie. If the Del Toro versions weren't so great, i'd have enjoyed it a little bit more. The special effects were done well, but it was just a generally shitty movie in all other aspects. Much of the charm from the characters in the first two films is missing and the emphasis is on gratuitous gore for a hard R rating. You can't sit through the movie without thinking how much better it would have been with previous cast and director. 

Finally, I rented Serenity (not the Joss Whedon movie) from RedBox based solely on this review from Esquire: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a26091448/matthew-mcconaughey-serenity-movie-review/ It's a movie that's so ludicrous you wonder how it got made and how the A-list cast was attached to it. It's a borderline "So bad it's good" kind of film. If you are into that kind of thing, you may wanna check it out just to say you've seen it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

gnoll said:


> Wedding Crashers.
> 
> I don't understand how film budgets can be spent on stuff like this. I mean, that's a lot of money, and you're gonna spend it on a script like this? Like, really? It's just shit, the characters are bland and cliché and just seem to fill their role/do what they need to do for the plot to work out. The whole thing is utterly predictable, and it doesn't even have funny jokes. It feels like somebody actively tried to make a bad film, or at the very least said "hey, it's a romantic comedy, it doesn't fucking matter".
> 
> 1/10.



I remember people telling me how totally funny it was back when it came out. I eventually caught it and laughed twice. 
When someone says he built that gazebo out of a single piece of wood and when they shoot the skeet shotgun and he goes oddly and comically flying backwards. It was a total snoozer. I have forgotten who plays who outside of VV doing his talky thing throughout.


----------



## mastapimp

The906 said:


> When someone says he built that gazebo out of a single piece of wood



Different Owen Wilson movie. Pretty sure that was in "Meet the Parents"


----------



## Seabeast2000

mastapimp said:


> Different Owen Wilson movie. Pretty sure that was in "Meet the Parents"


Lol


----------



## lurè

Saw John Wick 3. Very nice movie, tons of action from the first minute to the last. Really looking forward to the next chapter.

Higly recommended if you want a pure action movie that leaves you like a dog during fireworks.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

A movie I saw last week and a movie I just saw:

The Outsider (2018)

Another one from the bowels of the Netflix oddity list. Another take of the Foreign Culture Fetish trope, only this time it's Jared Leto joining the Yakuza in Post War Osaka. Yeah it's barely believable since Leto still looks rather unscathed, hell he wasn't even the first choice for the role. It's mostly pretty moody given the setting and Leto has little to no dialogue, to the point that he's completely monotonous. Especially with a strong supporting cast like Tadanobu Asano, who's great here, Leto brings everyone down. That and the whole movie is just a bunch of cliches after cliches with an ending that just, ends. 


Brightburn

I've become quite the James Gunn fanboy of late and was well on board when Brightburn was announced. Turns out he's producing not directing, and letting his brother Mark and cousin Brian write the screenplay. The premise of a superhero origin story being turned on it's head into a much darker horror theme was already given away in the trailers, which is a shame because Brightburn doesn't really do much else from there. Granted that the actors in particular the 3 mains Elizabeth Banks, Dave Denman and newcomer Jackson A Dunn are game enough to act out the silly premise (Banks in particular reminds you that she's more than just comedy chops) and visually, it's looks dazzling, it's pretty much no frills schlock. Of course anyone who knows James Gunn's history, schlock is nothing new and his presence is felt (the gore and violence is so over the top, pretty much classic Gunn). More of an arthouse curiosity where Gunn and co just wanted to make a fun silly horror movie. It doesn't really hit home for me but I certainly felt the joy of the filmmakers creating it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Mute- ugh, from the guy who made the great Moon. 10 minutes and EXIT TO SOMETHING ELSE.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> Mute- ugh, from the guy who made the great Moon. 10 minutes and EXIT TO SOMETHING ELSE.


such a shit movie. Moon is the only good thing he's made.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The906 said:


> Mute- ugh, from the guy who made the great Moon. 10 minutes and EXIT TO SOMETHING ELSE.



Moon was great. Source Code was also great, then Duncan Jones did Warcraft and lost me. I wasn't expecting much of Mute at all, but I heard it at least had some merits like Paul Rudd doing something different, or Jones being good at his strengths (world building, mood, character interactions). I'm still in no rush to see it.


----------



## wankerness

I quite liked source code when I saw it in the theater. I haven't seen it since. But, even if I somehow misremember it and the plot is terrible, I think I'd like it on principal for the three leads.

Moon is a minor masterpiece, yeah


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Blood Harvest. It's fucking terrible.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Blood Harvest. It's fucking terrible.


is it birdemic bad?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> is it birdemic bad?


It's a ten car pile up of a film.


----------



## Seabeast2000

There's a sequel to birdemic


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Brightburn- I can't believe it's taken this long for someone to turn the superhero tropes (specifically superman's origin story/powers) into a straight up horror film. If you know Superman's origin story, then you'll be able to jump right in here. Childless couple finds baby in a crashed spaceship, blah blah blah. Thankfully they skip that shit and get right to building the dread and tension. The body count is kind of low for a slasher, especially one involving a superman esque slasher, but damn is the gore *good. *I haven't seen gore this good in years from a slasher. I don't really want to spoil it since the gore/kills are kind of the best part of slashers, but my favorite bit of gore involves a car crash and a face meeting a steering wheel.. The other tidbits of violence are equally as savage.

Definitely worth a watch if you want to see a cool twist on the superhero genre.


----------



## gartzn

Primer

It's a sci-fi film about some scientist investigating time travel, and it's great. Although it can make your head blow if you think about it too much. Totally worth it if you're into semirealistic sci-fi.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Just watched that documentary/movie called 'Free Solo' about the climber Alex Honnold who free climbed the 3000ft cliff face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any safety gear. Holy! That is the most insane thing I have ever seen! The actual footage of the ascent at the end (quite short for safety reasons) was truly terrifying.

Here's a short clip about the making of the movie:


----------



## KnightBrolaire

IbanezDaemon said:


> Just watched that documentary/movie called 'Free Solo' about the climber Alex Honnold who free climbed the 3000ft cliff face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any safety gear. Holy! That is the most insane thing I have ever seen! The actual footage of the ascent at the end (quite short for safety reasons) was truly terrifying.
> 
> Here's a short clip about the making of the movie:



Alex Honnold is legit insane. He's free climbed/summited every peak back to back in Yosemite in HOURS. Most people take days doing it. That dude eats lives and breathes climbing.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Just watched Brightburn and I wasn't wow'ed by it, but it wasn't a bad movie either.

Just imagine Clark Kent as a kid if he wasn't such a great person and had a more sadistic side to him. I'll let your imaginations do the rest.


----------



## wankerness

So....Chronicle?


----------



## PunkBillCarson

wankerness said:


> So....Chronicle?




I don't know, never seen Chronicle.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> So....Chronicle?



Similar, but in Brightburn's case, much more on the nose on the heel remix of the Superman face. Say if Man Of Steel was Kickass, Brightburn is Super.


----------



## Ralyks

Watched the first Incredibles movie last night after my son has made me watch the second movie on Netflix way too many times. I don't know if I liked the first one more or just got fatigued on the second. Although the second movie has more Jack Jack...


----------



## wankerness

I was never a huge fan of the first Incredibles, and think I enjoyed the second more. It's "dumber," but it's more entertaining, and it's not like the first one was Upstream Color either.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Some Guy Who Kills People- Funny, Barry Bostwick is a really funny guy.

The Rover- Pretty good and bleak.

Watching Blue Ruin now


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> So....Chronicle?


nah it's basically a mediocre slasher take on the superman origin story. the gore is quite good though. Very cronenbergian in that aspect.


----------



## mongey

Ralyks said:


> Watched the first Incredibles movie last night after my son has made me watch the second movie on Netflix way too many times. I don't know if I liked the first one more or just got fatigued on the second. Although the second movie has more Jack Jack...


first one is watchable, my 4 year old had a phase so have probably seen it 20 times .but jack jack in the 2nd one is def the highlight of the series


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

Remember the Gareth Edwards prequel where the title character was barely in the movie, but instead we follow Ken Watanabe and a bunch of uninteresting characters go through a boring dreary slog, in an attempt to recreate a suspenseful Jaws-esque buildup, then Godzilla shows up doing awesome Godzilla stuff for 15 minutes, then the movie ends?

Godzilla King Of The Monsters is the exact opposite of that. 

This movie is everything a Godzilla movie should be. It unapologetically embraces it's long 60 or so years of history with man vs nature allegory and over the top silliness, this is exactly the sort of result when a big fan of the franchise is given a ton of money to fulfill the dream of playing with toys and making a movie out of it. Michael Dougherty does exactly that. 

Also Bear McCreary's score is awesome. Which reminds me I should play the recent God Of War soon.



Yeah that's 3/4s of Deathklok alright.


----------



## wankerness

This is what I like to hear. One of the most picky reviewers I listen to, who's a huge godzilla fan, also said OMFG 10/10. Then there are other reviews from big Godzilla fans that say it sucks, so who knows. I was going to see it even if NO ONE liked it, so hey!


----------



## wankerness

Godzilla: KOTM: This is very upsetting to me as a lifetime Godzilla fan, as it has full-scale, massive budget, stunningly rendered fights between Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and Ghidorah, but somehow the dialogue and characters are SO bad that they managed to render large sections of the movie actively difficult to sit through. Like, this seriously had me fondly reminiscing about Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character in the last movie. Of particular note are the dipshit trio of Thomas Middleditch, some whitehaired dick in black glasses, and some moron shaven-headed military commander. The glasses guy in particular is just constantly being cut to for comic relief, and not one single line of his in the entire movie elicited anything other than groans or annoyance. He's SO bad.

An even bigger problem is that the ostensible main character, Kyle Chandler, is the ultimate Kyle Chandler character. He's a total dipshit, he's whiny, he's arrogant, and he always looks like he's going to burst into tears while also physically assaulting people. He's given the classic dumb guy response - one character says "he's called King Ghidorah" and he says "GHIDO - WHAT???" as if that third syllable was the one that pushed it into ridiculous territory. Goddammit.

Ziyi Zhang is given a stupid pixie cut and made to be some kind of half-assed Mothra fairy replacement. The actress who played Eleven on Stranger Things is also a main character, and is useless and stupid. Like, her response to Godzilla and Ghidorah stomping all over each other and the city while spraying laser rays everywhere is to run a few miles to her childhood house.
The ONLY character that manages to fully sell his terrible dialogue is Ken Watanabe, returning as Dr Serizawa. He's way too good for this material. Then again, so are Charles Dance (a villain, obviously) and Vera Farmiga (yet another main character - Eleven's mom/whinyman's ex-wife), and they can't quite escape from under the awfulness. This movie has THE WORST human element in any Godzilla movie besides maybe Final Wars (note: Godzilla 98 doesn't count).

See! This movie broke me. It has some truly gorgeous visuals and the monster fighting is pure awesome, and all I'm left thinking about is the godawful dialogue and characters. Ah well. It would rate 3/5 just for that visual of Ghidorah spraying electricity out of all of his pointy bits.
Oh, there are some other Godzilla references shoehorned in there, namely the Oxygen Destroyer and a certain character sacrifice. Some of them were great, though, such as the inclusion of the classic themes on the soundtrack in redone form. I was especially surprised (and delighted) to hear the Mothra battle song accompany his/her hatching.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> Godzilla: KOTM



 Fair enough. I probably should've prefaced that it does indeed has some of the worst dialogue I've seen in movies for a long time in about Left Behind levels. I would've severely fractured my skull from the blunt force trauma of a facepalm after hearing "Oh My God" immediately followed by "Zilla" by Mr Scientist I can't remember or even Ziyi Zhang's "that bitch" line. 

And yes it's one of the worst human elements of the franchise, even if that's not saying much. Funny you mentioned Final Wars, since that was directed by Ryuhei (all spectacle no substance) Kitamura, who can't write a decent character to save his life even with the help of adapting a rich material of manga. I still liked it better than the 2014 ciphers funny enough. Ken Watanabe was always the standout of the 2 movies, even when most of his dialogue is exposition. 

I guess to focus on all the bad of every Godzilla movie is to belittle a B Movie for being a B Movie. I had a similar reaction to the Pacific Rim movies. Some pure repugnant dialogue and terrible characters (with Rinko Kikuchi and Idris freaking Elba no less). But it was cancelled by a Kaiju being smacked in the face by a Mecha using a freight ship as a sword. Yeah everything bad about KOTM sucks a hell of a lot, but I just couldn't wipe the smile off my face, even when one particular shot was an unintentional nod to Mortal Kombat Annihilation.


Also I'm assuming the critic who gave KOTM was Bob Chipman, since he seems to be the only guy who gave this a 10/10. Yeah, from The Big Picture series, he certainly has a wealth of knowledge. Even the baffling Kim Jong Il produced Pulgassari, has a dedicated episode.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Sleepaway Camp II and III. Wonder if Pamela Springsteen has ever talked about these first grade pieces of trash cinema.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> I would've severely fractured my skull from the blunt force trauma of a facepalm after hearing "Oh My God" immediately followed by "Zilla" by Mr Scientist I can't remember or even Ziyi Zhang's "that bitch" line.



Oh man. That hurt my brain so much I IMMEDIATELY forced it out of my memory and had forgotten about it well before the end of the movie. Thanks for bringing back the trauma!!!




Bloody_Inferno said:


> And yes it's one of the worst human elements of the franchise,* even if that's not saying much. * Funny you mentioned Final Wars, since that was directed by Ryuhei (all spectacle no substance) Kitamura, who can't write a decent character to save his life even with the help of adapting a rich material of manga. I still liked it better than the 2014 ciphers funny enough. Ken Watanabe was always the standout of the 2 movies, even when most of his dialogue is exposition.



"Even if that's not saying much?!" You mean, all the godzilla movies have such strong human characters/plots that the worst of them is still good? Haha. Some of the Millennium movies might have crappier human plots than this; I've only watched most of them once cause they don't do it for me. But I've watched every Showa/Heisei movie a minimum of three times and can say that even the likes of Godzilla Vs Gigan's cockroach Weird Al villain and our bumbling cartoonist hero and his kung-fu sister were vastly more watchable characters!

Yes, Ken Watanabe was the best. As a die-hard Sally Hawkins fan (her performance in Happy Go-Lucky is about tied with Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr for my favorite performance of anyone ever), I was completely perplexed by how she has about 3 lines and then disappeared from the movie. Like, did I miss her getting killed or something? Or did she just vanish with no explanation? Regardless, it was misuse of her on a cosmic level, giving her a dour nothing role is like casting Jason Statham as Stephen Hawking.



Bloody_Inferno said:


> *I guess to focus on all the bad of every Godzilla movie is to belittle a B Movie for being a B Movie. * I had a similar reaction to the Pacific Rim movies. Some pure repugnant dialogue and terrible characters (with Rinko Kikuchi and Idris freaking Elba no less). But it was cancelled by a Kaiju being smacked in the face by a Mecha using a freight ship as a sword. Yeah everything bad about KOTM sucks a hell of a lot, but I just couldn't wipe the smile off my face, even when one particular shot was an unintentional nod to Mortal Kombat Annihilation.



Nah...I watch a TON of B-movies. Like, a conservative estimate on my IMDB history would be about 1000 horror/sci-fi/fantasy flicks, and considering how few classics there are, I'd say most of them are pretty "bad!" I always take movies on their level. I enjoyed Pacific Rim (not nearly as much as I thought I would, but that's another story). It's a perfect counter-example to this, though. The dialogue IS cheesy. The characters all have hilarious names like Stacker Pentercost. There are stupid comic-relief characters. But it's pitched at exactly the right level, the actors were clearly given direction to control the tone in a way that it all makes sense, and the drama, when it happens, still usually hits (ex Mako's backstory).

This just reeked of ineptitude. Like, the dialogue was AGGRESSIVELY stupid, but everything was filmed totally straight-faced and with winks to the audience for the awful jokes. If everything was played straight-faced and the comedy came out of the ridiculousness, like (to use an extreme example) The Naked Gun, that would work. But when the terrible serious acting is terrible and serious, and the terrible comic relief is injected everywhere and all falls flat, that's a totally different deal. I think maybe the biggest issue is just that comedy that really isn't funny will kill a movie for me. Everything else that tonally fails I can get a kick out of.



Bloody_Inferno said:


> Also I'm assuming the critic who gave KOTM was Bob Chipman, since he seems to be the only guy who gave this a 10/10. Yeah, from The Big Picture series, he certainly has a wealth of knowledge. Even the baffling Kim Jong Il produced Pulgassari, has a dedicated episode.



Correct, it was Moviebob. He can be tiresome and his accent only being in some videos makes me feel like he's faking it whenever I hear it, but he's still pretty good  After seeing this, though, I think he must have been on something as he specifically praises the characters and acting!

I saw some other rave review somewhere, but I can't remember where it was.

This all said, I'm buying the shit out of the 4K of this and will skip around to the good bits. It's a REALLY beautiful movie whenever monsters are on screen.


----------



## mongey

Went to rocket man with the wife. I really enjoyed it. I’m a fan of most of his music to start with so that helps. 
But they did a good job with it.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Always Be My Maybe

Never expected seeing and enjoying another Asian engineered Rom Com with themes that hit close to home in the course of 6 months. But I guess I can thank Netflix and peers for that. Though this is more of the American/Asian flavour, with Ali Wong and Randall Park writing and playing the lead roles with Nahnatchka Khan on her directorial debut. Given the 3 involved, it's got a sitcom feel in both cinematic and narrative terms, but doesn't really gravitate beyond that. It's set almost exclusively in San Francisco but the jokes are good fun, I'm immediately reminded of Parks And Recreation in terms of scope and fun poking. Wong and Park are both fun as the leads, and all the supporting cast are on point. And everything heard about Keanu Reeves on this movie is true; he's a barrel of laughs acting as an over the top caricature of himself. 




wankerness said:


> "Even if that's not saying much?!" You mean, all the godzilla movies have such strong human characters/plots that the worst of them is still good?



Rather the opposite. It's a sort of balance that needs to be met between the characters and monsters. Most of the characters in every one of the Godzilla movies are mostly terrible (though having the Serizawa surname helps transcend that a bit), but they serve the counter balance to the mindless carnage. We can rag on about the KOTM characters, though I will say I prefer them being more interestingly terrible than bland and forgetful. Ziyi Zhang's hair could have been slightly longer though that's just me hoping her look more like Yumiko Shaku in Godzilla Vs Mecha Godzilla. Maybe I just agreed with Moviebob about 2014 Godzilla being too much boring buildup and not enough Godzilla. Speaking which...



wankerness said:


> Correct, it was Moviebob. He can be tiresome and his accent only being in some videos makes me feel like he's faking it whenever I hear it, but he's still pretty good  After seeing this, though, I think he must have been on something as he specifically praises the characters and acting!



Between him and the Redlettermedia guys, I like Bob's reviews more than others as he does have a wealth of knowledge in the whole film industry as is. His Big Picture/In Bob We Trust are still among his best, and I guess I just generally like a lot of the Escapist alumni. Not all his content are great; I don't agree with everything (didn't care for Daybreakers), a lot of his Game Overthinker stuff pre Screw Attack are cringe inducing and every political aspect he's done in and out of Twitter is a bit too much for my foreign mind.

That reminds me, I still need to watch The Wandering Earth...


----------



## KnightBrolaire

watching all the hellraiser movies again


----------



## Seabeast2000

The Meg- I think they did what they wanted to and its worth the romp IMO. 

Tomb Raider 2018- A marathon American Ninja Warrior on a half can of peaches. Pretty lame in a pretty lame way. Lame. 

The Predator- The O.G. style and feel of 1987 apparently cannot be re-had. That's OK, this wasn't supposed to be that and at least the ending wasn't some jerkoff koombaya thing, which I was fearing. The "Unit" helped me get through it better.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Between him and the Redlettermedia guys, I like Bob's reviews more than others as he does have a wealth of knowledge in the whole film industry as is. His Big Picture/In Bob We Trust are still among his best, and I guess I just generally like a lot of the Escapist alumni. Not all his content are great; I don't agree with everything (didn't care for Daybreakers), a lot of his Game Overthinker stuff pre Screw Attack are cringe inducing and every political aspect he's done in and out of Twitter is a bit too much for my foreign mind.
> 
> That reminds me, I still need to watch The Wandering Earth...



Bob knows more than them, but he's not exactly comparable. They barely do any new reviews, and when they do, it's usually conversational and entertaining and they go into depth, while he's almost spitting soundbites at times. Usually if I'm looking for something short that demonstrates film knowledge I'll go with the BBC's Mark Kermode, a very opinionated guy that can also be explosively funny and who has probably 5 times the knowledge of Bob. He has very different biases, of course. He's got tremendous knowledge spikes when it comes to 70s horror (Argento, etc) and he loves The Exorcist more than anything else for some reason. When it comes to mainstream garbage he's famous for freaking out about the Transformers movies and going soft on Twilight.  Bob is more the "comic book guy" perspective, they have a similar haughty yet mostly ignorant of non-nerd material air (and look!!!).

In general I'd always rather read reviews unless I'm in the car or something.


----------



## Rosal76

KnightBrolaire said:


> watching all the hellraiser movies again



In part 2, that scene when Captain Spencer get transformed into Pinhead was freaking shocking and phenomenal at the same time. It was shocking because you see him (Spencer) suffering but you also see the birth of the most popular Cenobite in the Hellraiser franchise.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rosal76 said:


> In part 2, that scene when Captain Spencer get transformed into Pinhead was freaking shocking and phenomenal at the same time. It was shocking because you see him (Spencer) suffering but you also see the birth of the most popular Cenobite in the Hellraiser franchise.


Yeah that's a really cool scene. I really love when Julia emerges from the mattress, that was a super cool sequence as well. They really improved the "skinned human" look in II compared to the first film. The SFX in general for II are way better than the first film imo.


----------



## wankerness

The first half or so of Hellraiser 1 is so much better than the last act that it leaves the movie feeling like a blown opportunity. I think the shift to all the screentime going to the teenage heroine was a mistake, especially when the movie turns into a light show. Oh well.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> I think the shift to all the screentime going to the teenage heroine was a mistake, especially when the movie turns into a light show. Oh well.



IMHO, the movie would have been better if Pinhead kept his end of the deal. Kristy brings them Frank, and they let her go. When Pinhead goes back on his deal and tries to bring Kristy back with them, they just turned into another 80's killer for me. What I liked a lot about the Cenobites is that as horrific/terrifying as they look, they are intelligent, not honest, but at least intelligent. But we all know that horror movies normally have a big showdown in the end, so...


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> The first half or so of Hellraiser 1 is so much better than the last act that it leaves the movie feeling like a blown opportunity. I think the shift to all the screentime going to the teenage heroine was a mistake, especially when the movie turns into a light show. Oh well.


They thought they could recapture how amazing Nancy is in A Nightmare on Elm Street. They failed, but at least they tried. (Toss cake in garbage meme here.)


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Yeah that's a really cool scene. I really love when Julia emerges from the mattress, that was a super cool sequence as well. They really improved the "skinned human" look in II compared to the first film. The SFX in general for II are way better than the first film imo.



The FX are better but the production design and cinematography are worse. Thus, there's nothing in II half as memorable/moody as that early shot of the gory hooks spinning around in the room, for example.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> The FX are better but the production design and cinematography are worse. Thus, there's nothing in II half as memorable/moody as that early shot of the gory hooks spinning around in the room, for example.


Eh, there's still some good shots in part II, like with the slow pan away from the writhing women under bedsheets in Frank's personal hell, or all the disfigured corpses hanging from hooks in Channard's house that are bathed in rays of moonlight. The first definitely does a better job of keeping tension and atmosphere through the duration of the film. Part II kind of blows its load as soon as Julia appears and starts murdering people.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Random, but why the heck are there 10 Hellraiser films?


----------



## mongey

Deadwood movie. 

They did a great job with the cast and it feeling like the show. It did resolve the series but it was def pretty light on actual plot.


----------



## synrgy

_Changeland_

This is Seth Green's feature directorial debut, starring himself and usual suspects Breckin Meyer, and Macaulay Culkin, plus a bonus role from WWE's Randy Orton.

Critically, it's been receiving 'middle of the road' reviews, but I enjoyed it. It's hardly revelatory, but it was refreshingly honest in its delivery. It's an understated buddy-picture of sorts, set in Thailand. There's a good amount of heart, a touch of low-key humor, and the dialogue comes off entirely natural. The relationships are believable, the setting is gorgeous - supported by surprisingly good cinematography, and I especially enjoyed that the movie's end didn't put a tidy little bow on the primary character's arc: While we get the sense that he's experienced some degree of growth from his brief journey, we are left uncertain as to how he will apply that growth to his struggle(s).

In summary, I thought it was a solid, enjoyable movie that was a welcome change of pace from the current zeitgeist of 'tentpole or bust'.


----------



## wankerness

Dark Phoenix - the theater was sold out of the following: John Wick 3, Ma, Aladdin, Secret Life of Pets 2, and I'd already seen Godzilla/Avengers but they were sold out as well. So, the only option was this. I was right in my impulse to wait for VOD, this movie sucks and makes X3 look good by comparison. I guess the most you can say for it is that it stuck to a consistent tone. A particularly dark and ugly one, but a consistent one nonetheless. I think I'd rather rewatch X-Men Origins: Wolverine! Poor Sophie Turner. They sure gave her some outrageous fake breasts.


----------



## MFB

If Dark Phoenix was my only option, I'd just go home; I mean, it's not like you had a gun to your head to see it?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

John Wick 3- Pretty much a direct continuation of the events of Chapter 2 (I mean it takes place like RIGHT after it). The action is essentially nonstop for the duration of the movie. The hand to hand sequences in particular are the best part imo, though there's some cool sequences involving attack dogs and gratuitous mag dumping on people. Mark Dacascos hams it up and really adds some humor to the film, while also being pretty fun to watch. Some of the little indonesian dudes from the Raid are in the film as well, and they get one of the more playful fights in the film.


----------



## synrgy

wankerness said:


> They sure gave her some outrageous fake breasts.



I only have screen shots to go by, but I'm not seeing it..


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

I waited until Days Of Future Past was on TV to see it, and I used a ticket voucher given to me to watch Apocalypse. So I'm continuing the the tradition and not paying for Dark Phoenix. And I don't have a voucher so...


----------



## wankerness

synrgy said:


> I only have screen shots to go by, but I'm not seeing it..
> 
> View attachment 70145



It's not in every scene, making it all the more jarring. It's most immediately apparent in an early "examination" scene where she's lying flat on her back and she has these giant melons pointing straight up. 



Bloody_Inferno said:


> I waited until Days Of Future Past was on TV to see it, and I used a ticket voucher given to me to watch Apocalypse. So I'm continuing the the tradition and not paying for Dark Phoenix. And I don't have a voucher so...



I liked DOFP quite a bit actually. Apocalypse, though... At least that one was very silly and occasionally entertaining.


----------



## synrgy

I thought First Class was solid, DoFP wasn't half as good as it _should have_ been, and Apocalypse was a dumpster fire. Fox should have kept working with Vaughn. I have zero interest in watching the disinterested cast phone it in through _another_ unnecessarily-rushed Dark Phoenix.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> I thought First Class was solid, DoFP wasn't half as good as it _should have_ been, and Apocalypse was a dumpster fire. Fox should have kept working with Vaughn. I have zero interest in watching the disinterested cast phone it in through _another_ unnecessarily-rushed Dark Phoenix.


Day of Future Past was ok. Apocalypse was utter fucking garbage. I think X3 and even Xmen Origins: Wolverine are better than it.


----------



## synrgy

I'd still keep X:OW on the bottom (it's only saving grace was the opening sequence), but yeah, I'd probably edge X3 just above Apoc. IMHO (and subject to change every 5 minutes):


Logan
FC
The Wolverine

X2
X1
DoFP
X3
Apoc
X:OW


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> I liked DOFP quite a bit actually. Apocalypse, though... At least that one was very silly and occasionally entertaining.



DOFP was alright when Iinitially saw it, but my opinion of it has since soured as time goes by. Namely because of the huge plot hole of Kitty Pride's unexplained time abilities, Peter Dinklage phoned in performance to near Destiny depths, too much focus on Mystique amplied by Jennifer Lawrence's disinterest in the role (that just got far worse per sequel) and the fact that it isn't First Class.

I said in this thread yonks back after seeing Apocalypse that after 18 years, the franchise hasn't budged an inch. From what I heard of Dark Phoenix; with the director being the writer for most of these movies (including Last Stand) and his first directorial debut being entirely his vision, which means the mulligan was doomed from the start, all the massive reshoots and ending rewrites (allegedly supposed to include Skrulls and a final battle in NYC), all I can say, what a hill to die on.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

synrgy said:


> I'd still keep X:OW on the bottom (it's only saving grace was the opening sequence), but yeah, I'd probably edge X3 just above Apoc. IMHO (and subject to change every 5 minutes):
> 
> 
> Logan
> FC
> The Wolverine
> 
> X2
> X1
> DoFP
> X3
> Apoc
> X:OW



Top 3 are on point. Everything else is more murky. Personally I don't think the first 2 Xmen movies have aged well.

Also for the record, the Deadpool movies don't count since they have even less interest in being part of the Xmen movies despite ostensibly BEING Xmen movies.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

synrgy said:


> I'd still keep X:OW on the bottom (it's only saving grace was the opening sequence), but yeah, I'd probably edge X3 just above Apoc. IMHO (and subject to change every 5 minutes):
> 
> 
> Logan
> FC
> The Wolverine
> 
> X2
> X1
> DoFP
> X3
> Apoc
> X:OW


1. Logan
2. X2
3. .Wolverine
4. FC
5.XOW
6.X1
7.DoFP
8 X3
9 Apocalypse

I'd rather watch Origins again before watching Apocalypse again. It just managed to shit the bed in so many aspects (psylocke casting, underutilizing Angel AGAIN, bad casting for storm, cringey dialogue, extremely weak climax/resolution, poorly paced,etc). At least Origins is a stupid action film and embraces it.


----------



## synrgy

I'd agree on murkiness, hence caveat about 'subject to change'. 

The original two get a fair amount of status (from me) for how they related to _the time_, IE, without them, who knows if we'd have ever gotten decent comic book movies that didn't include Batman. Granted they haven't aged super well, but I don't feel it's super fair to judge 10-20 year old stuff by contemporary standards.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Apparently I need to watch Logan. 

Apocalypse made me legitimately angry.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Konfyouzd said:


> Apparently I need to watch Logan.
> 
> Apocalypse made me legitimately angry.


Logan is by far the best Xmen film. It finally lets Wolverine do what he does best, which is kill people in a bloody and spectacular fashion. Definitely doesn't hurt that the bleak story and excellent character development for X23 really give the film some gravitas that the other xmen film kind of lack.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

synrgy said:


> I'd agree on murkiness, hence caveat about 'subject to change'.
> 
> The original two get a fair amount of status (from me) for how they related to _the time_, IE, without them, who knows if we'd have ever gotten decent comic book movies that didn't include Batman. Granted they haven't aged super well, but I don't feel it's super fair to judge 10-20 year old stuff by contemporary standards.



I don't doubt their place in history either. They were part of the superhero resurgence after Batman And Robin killed the genre. Between X1, Blade and Sam Raimi's Spiderman, superheros were back to a serious direction. Plus X1 put Kevin Feigie's foot on the door.

It's just that time hasn't been kind to either X1 and 2. All the attempts of serious grit, underwhelming and underlit action scenes (which Bryan Singer just isn't good at), cringey dialogue, so many superhero movies have since surpassed all that.

EDIT: Icky stuff aside, let's just address that The Usual Suspects is Bryan Singer's only good film.


----------



## TedEH

I'm in a position of only half-remembering what's ever going on and therefore have a lot of trouble following these long-running comic movies - BUT I remember Logan being a good movie on it's own.


----------



## synrgy

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Icky stuff aside, let's just address that The Usual Suspects is Bryan Singer's only good film.



Instinctively, I'd like to agree (because aforementioned 'icky stuff') but objectively, Valkyrie wasn't terrible, and certainly Bohemian Rhapsody was a good watch, if not entirely accurate.


----------



## wankerness

I REALLY don't like the usual suspects, it's easily one of the most overrated movies of the 90s. I can only imagine everyone's mind is so blown by the stupid twist that they forget that the preceding two hours is terrible. I tried watching it for the second time a few years ago to see if maybe my first watch (wayyyy back when it was newish) was wrong, and it was even worse than I remembered. I'd rather rewatch Superman Returns, and that's saying something!

X movies are probably something like Logan > X2 > First Class/DOFP > Wolverine > X1 > X3/Apocalypse > Origins Wolverine > Dark Phoenix. I haven't watched 3 closely since the theater, though, so my opinion on that is probably wrong. I don't hate any of them, just some I'd rather not rewatch.

X2 has some things that didn't date well, but it has a lot of things that are date-proof, like a lot of really strongly drawn characters and fun character moments. And as dumb as the attempts to make them "COOL" by giving them black leather outfits and having them hang around in steel hallways the whole time were, it still did plenty right, ex the Nightcrawler sequence at the start of X2 or when Wolverine hulks out on the soldiers. Plus, Rebecca Romijn's version of Mystique is so much better than J-Law's it's not even funny. Not just the fact she was a professional and put up with the makeup instead of wearing it progressively less each movie (especially after the first "reboot" movie is partly about how she learns she shouldn't have to hide!!), but the characterization.


----------



## Konfyouzd

wankerness said:


> I REALLY don't like the usual suspects, it's easily one of the most overrated movies of the 90s. I can only imagine everyone's mind is so blown by the stupid twist that they forget that the preceding two hours is terrible. I tried watching it for the second time a few years ago to see if maybe my first watch (wayyyy back when it was newish) was wrong, and it was even worse than I remembered. I'd rather rewatch Superman Returns, and that's saying something!
> 
> X movies are probably something like Logan > X2 > First Class/DOFP > Wolverine > X1 > X3/Apocalypse > Origins Wolverine > Dark Phoenix. I haven't watched 3 closely since the theater, though, so my opinion on that is probably wrong. I don't hate any of them, just some I'd rather not rewatch.
> 
> X2 has some things that didn't date well, but it has a lot of things that are date-proof, like a lot of really strongly drawn characters and fun character moments. And as dumb as the attempts to make them "COOL" by giving them black leather outfits and having them hang around in steel hallways the whole time were, it still did plenty right, ex the Nightcrawler sequence at the start of X2 or when Wolverine hulks out on the soldiers. Plus, Rebecca Romijn's version of Mystique is so much better than J-Law's it's not even funny. Not just the fact she was a professional and put up with the makeup instead of wearing it progressively less each movie (especially after the first "reboot" movie is partly about how she learns she shouldn't have to hide!!), but the characterization.


I have never ever made it through that movie. 

I find that I fall asleep at some random point then just wake up at the end.

That happened to me on that movie "The Sacrament" too and that was fucking horrifying.

Oooooh

I watched that movie A Dark Song on Netflix. Fantastic horror movie. Ending is a massive let down though. They could have ended it much better.


----------



## BlackMastodon

First Class gave me so much hope for the new X-Men movies following. McAvoy and Fassbender did an awesome job in their roles, and Fassbender as Magneto in that end sequence when he finally catches Shaw gives me chills every time.
DoFP was okay at best, the time traveling stuff was very strange and I try not to think about it much in terms of continuity but yeah, Dinklage really did seem to phone it in. 
The only good part of Apocalypse was the Quicksilver sequence. Such a shame since I'm a huge fan of Oscar Isaac but damn was that movie cheesy.


----------



## wankerness

BlackMastodon said:


> First Class gave me so much hope for the new X-Men movies following. McAvoy and Fassbender did an awesome job in their roles, and Fassbender as Magneto in that end sequence when he finally catches Shaw gives me chills every time.
> DoFP was okay at best, the time traveling stuff was very strange and I try not to think about it much in terms of continuity but yeah, Dinklage really did seem to phone it in.
> The only good part of Apocalypse was the Quicksilver sequence. Such a shame since I'm a huge fan of Oscar Isaac but damn was that movie cheesy.



First Class and DOFP both suffered badly on second watch. I was blown away by both in the theater, especially DOFP. I still like them alright, but FC has some serious Matthew Vaughn bullshit in it (like, even as someone who watches a ton of Gialli it made me eyeroll at the women as vapid eye-candy levels - like isn't the opening of the movie Rose Byrne taking off her clothes to infilitrate an Austin Powers Fembot-y club? and it just continues!) and DOFP's plot seems a little bit dull once you know what's going to happen.

Apocalypse was equally bad both times. And the Quicksilver sequence is not very good cause of the placement in the film together with the soundtrack (which was just trying to recreate the previous movie, since that was everyone's favorite scene). Giving it functionally a joke song so it's given the same tone as the previous movie when it's the connection between two very serious scenes did not work at all IMO.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Oh yeah it a very out of place scene in Apocalypse but it was genuinely my favorite part of the movie, even if it was a grab at recreating the scene from the last movie.


----------



## fps

Snowpiercer, good film.


----------



## synrgy

Yeah, not bad. Maybe not as great as the critic hype would imply, though.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

It took me a few tries to watch Snowpiercer fully. I can see what people really liked in it.



synrgy said:


> I thought First Class was solid, DoFP wasn't half as good as it _should have_ been, and Apocalypse was a dumpster fire.





When I go back to rewatch them First Class still holds up, DoFP gets worse with every re-watch and I don't think I could out myself through Apocalypse again. I read the synopsis for Dark Phoenix and it sounds worse than Apocalypse. 

There was a really good story for a Magneto film in DoFP and Apocalypse where they could have built up his family, trying to have a normal life and eventually meeting Quicksilver. If they did it in the same style as Logan. I heard the new film completely abandons some of the plots they set up in earlier films.


----------



## mongey

I really like usual suspects. 

Maybe I’m weird.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

happy death day 2u- instead of a slasher version of groundhog's day like the first film, it's a slasher version of back to the future 2 mixed with some groundhog's day. It's way more fun than it should be, just like the first film. It's also one of the more creative slasher movies of the last few years. the suicide sequences are pretty dark but hilarious


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> happy death day 2u- instead of a slasher version of groundhog's day like the first film, it's a slasher version of back to the future 2 mixed with some groundhog's day. It's way more fun than it should be, just like the first film. It's also one of the more creative slasher movies of the last few years. the suicide sequences are pretty dark but hilarious



I need to watch those movies. The first wasn't "free" on streaming last I looked, though, and I'm a cheapskate sometimes.

I just rewatched Caveman (1980). It is a spoof of One Million Years BC (as if that needed spoofing) starring Ringo Starr as a wimpy caveman exiled from a tribe of fierce, manly cavemen. It's a classic. I gotta say, that lengthy slapstick rape attempt probably means it hasn't aired on TV since the good ol' days when I was a kid and saw it repeatedly.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

dragged across concrete- extremely slow amd dialogue heavy til the latter half. The dialogue is stilted, like it was written by someone who's never been around real cops or actual human beings. It's far worse than Brawl in Cell Block 99 in that aspect. It manages to recapture the best part of Brawl with absolutely brutal gore and excellent sfx, though it's used far more sparingly here.
Definitely an effective tense thriller, once it actually gets going. There's some dark/situational humor that helps keep it interesting as well.




wankerness said:


> I need to watch those movies. The first wasn't "free" on streaming last I looked, though, and I'm a cheapskate sometimes.
> 
> I just rewatched Caveman (1980). It is a spoof of One Million Years BC (as if that needed spoofing) starring Ringo Starr as a wimpy caveman exiled from a tribe of fierce, manly cavemen. It's a classic. I gotta say, that lengthy slapstick rape attempt probably means it hasn't aired on TV since the good ol' days when I was a kid and saw it repeatedly.


caveman is hilarious, I love the mountain of shit scene


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Child's Play 2019- The core concept is the same as the 80s film, except for instead of a voodoo wielding serial killer inhabiting an animatronic doll's body, it's a malevolent AI with no safeguards. They spend a good amount of time showing all the things that Chucky picks up on, and how his programming eventually perverts/twists most of them. There's a scene showing off Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 that actually ties into the best kill in the film imo. I don't really want to spoil it but let's just say it involves a ladder, a watermelon and a roto tiller. There's also another great scene with quadcopters that have literal blades for their rotors. The gore is mostly practical from what I could tell, and the updated chucky design is far creepier than the original. Mark Hamill really helps sell the creepiness as the voice of chucky. The final scene is way more of a setpiece than what happened in the original chucky. It's more in line with something from Child's Play 2 with the factory scene. The movie also makes use of a fair amount of both physical/dark humor and pithy remarks that feel right at home in a horror film.
Definitely worth a watch if you have a hankering for a legitimately funny and gory horror film.

Simon Killer- A very slow burning drama about a compulsive liar that falls in love with a Parisian prostitute. There's a subplot where they try to extort money from her clients but ultimately it never really goes anywhere. There's a very naturalistic approach to the filming, especially when it comes to the sex scenes (if you've seen Gaspar Noe's Love or The Dreamers then you'll know what I'm talking about). Overall it's a very tedious film with no real payoff. Do not recommend.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I will pass. I am tired of remakes, and do not support them (ie, I don't spend money to see them).


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I will pass. I am tired of remakes, and do not support them (ie, I don't spend money to see them).


yeah, but this one actually does pretty much everything differently. It's not a direct reboot, it's a reimagining, and overall a much stronger film than the original.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah, but this one actually does pretty much everything differently. It's not a direct reboot, it's a reimagining, and overall a much stronger film than the original.




Riiight.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah, but this one actually does pretty much everything differently. It's not a direct reboot, it's a reimagining, and overall a much stronger film than the original.



Considering the original Child's Play continuity is still going, I'm on the fence whether I would see the reboot as necessary. On one hand, Aubrey Plaza and Mark Hamill and I appreciate a new spin onto things, on the other hand, Don Mancini is still going strong, and Cult Of Chucky was pretty good.

Mancini is practically the Hideo Kojima of slasher horror genre, but without the insane delusion of grandeur. Child's Play is his Metal Gear baby that gets to be developed by various studios. Unfairly implied that I'm comparing the reboot to Metal Gear Survive, perhaps so.


----------



## wankerness

I heard the new Child's Play was pretty good and also had no reason whatsoever to be a Child's Play movie apart from $$ from name recognition since the "Chucky" concept is so completely different that it really doesn't fit with the series at all. Like, it could have been like one of those Hellraiser sequels where it was an original script and they just slapped the license on it later and made some quick rewrites. I'll watch it someday!


----------



## Seabeast2000

I Am Mother- I liked it. Straight, simple sci-fi. I won't compare it to Oblivion but its got that same vibe which I can't articulate because I lack skill. I was fearing it might have been a cheap Netflix/SyFy landfill production but it did not come off that way at all IMO. 

Wolf's Call- En Francois military action/thriller. I enjoyed it, subtitled throughout. Well made.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I heard the new Child's Play was pretty good and also had no reason whatsoever to be a Child's Play movie apart from $$ from name recognition since the "Chucky" concept is so completely different that it really doesn't fit with the series at all. Like, it could have been like one of those Hellraiser sequels where it was an original script and they just slapped the license on it later and made some quick rewrites. I'll watch it someday!


I mean the core concept is still there: "murderous doll slasher movie" all they did was make the concept less supernatural and more sci-fi.  I've never been the biggest fan of the other Chucky films, so I think it's a really good way to modernize/reboot the franchise.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

You reboot franchises that have ended up in an impossible to continue franchise. Child's Play is still continuing via Don Mancini. It was unnecessary and a cash grab. Besides that, no Brad Dourif, no give a shit.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

On the subject of reboots and remakes, I'm not against them when done well. But since remakes are as old as Hollywood itself, I see no point to be completely closed minded about all of them. 

Nobody begrudges all the Kurosawa remakes anymore since it's been done so much over the years. Magnificent Seven is great (and I thought the recent reboot was fun too). A Bug's Life is just Seven Samurai with Disney bugs (Same way as Cars was just Doc Hollywood, but with Cars instead of people). And you've got Tsui Hark's Seven Swords, that was pretty good. One of my favorite Scorsese movies The Departed is a remake of the Infernal Affairs trilogy, also pretty good. Also everyone forgets that The Ten Commandments was a remake of a 1922 silent film, sure most of us were barely cumsprouts at the time to give a crap, but it's still one to note.  Oceans 11 is on it's gender swapped reboot right now, which sort of makes us forget that it's the second reboot of the original 1960s Ratpack film. I Am Legend has been remade 3 times already as well. Then there's the murky story retellings. Galaxy Quest is just The Three Amigos IN SPACE, and I love them both as each have their own unique delivery of the same premise and plot. Going back to the Ten Commandments, there's only so much murky retellings of the Exodus chapter of the Bible before going either animated or ruined by Ridley Scott. Personally I want a movie about Elijah the prophet since it hasn't been done yet and there's plenty of potential, but I digress. 

On the other hand, yeah the bad remakes/reboots are a dime a dozen, hence the easy cynicism. Usually because the remake completely loses either the point and/or spark of what makes the original so good. The original Robocop was rich in satirical gut punches making the reboot a hollow shell without them. Old Boy had a lot of Korean socio-political themes in the undercurrent, setting the reboot in the US makes hammer scene tacked in for the sake of reference to the original. Slasher/Horror films obviously get the short end here thanks to the constant remakes (largely associated with either Michael Bay or WWE or whoever). 

I'm still curious with the Child's Play reboot, though not enough to see it in theatres. Still, hearing from what the concepts are about does sound interesting. And at least it gives Chucky the chance to finally join all the other horror icons IN SPACE.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The problem is they have fuck all creativity. Just make another Marvel movie or shitty remake!


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The problem is they have fuck all creativity. Just make another Marvel movie or shitty remake!



I know you're just doing some hardline posturing, but most movies that aren't technically remakes/reboots/sequels are exactly as unoriginal as those that are. Almost everything is ripping off something. Remakes are often pointless and stupid, but I've been noticing as time goes on that they're no more or less likely to be pointless and stupid than anything "ORIGINAL." Pretending to have higher class taste by loudly announcing how you skip all remakes is silly. It's a form of refusing to pay attention to whether something's good, and instead just judging something by what name is on the box. It's almost as closed-minded as refusing to watch original movies cause you don't recognize the IP.

My old man stance, though, is that the term reboot is fucking idiotic and I hate it so much. It kind of made sense at first, when it had a specific different meaning of being a quasi sequel that reset the status quo in such a way that it sort of restarted the series, but now that's just what they call remakes!

Speaking of such things, I'm going to see John Wick 3 tonight finally, HYPE. I rewatched 2 the other day and was shocked by how good it was. I didn't register the first time I saw it how much of a quantum leap over the first one it was in terms of all the action sequences and the look of it. Even if Ruby Rose is the worst thing in the entire world and Morpheus is also really bad.

I'm also hyped for Midsommar. Bring on the Wicker Man/Blood on Satan's Claw style horror movies again, IMO!


----------



## BlackMastodon

You watch your mouth when you talk about Hobo King/Pigeon Lord Larry Fishburne!

Also didn't mind Ruby Rose in that movie either. Her character was just as cheesy and over the top as just about every other character in the movie. It's John Wick ffs.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I know you're just doing some hardline posturing, but most movies that aren't technically remakes/reboots/sequels are exactly as unoriginal as those that are. Almost everything is ripping off something. Remakes are often pointless and stupid, but I've been noticing as time goes on that they're no more or less likely to be pointless and stupid than anything "ORIGINAL." Pretending to have higher class taste by loudly announcing how you skip all remakes is silly. It's a form of refusing to pay attention to whether something's good, and instead just judging something by what name is on the box. It's almost as closed-minded as refusing to watch original movies cause you don't recognize the IP.
> 
> My old man stance, though, is that the term reboot is fucking idiotic and I hate it so much. It kind of made sense at first, when it had a specific different meaning of being a quasi sequel that reset the status quo in such a way that it sort of restarted the series, but now that's just what they call remakes!
> 
> Speaking of such things, I'm going to see John Wick 3 tonight finally, HYPE. I rewatched 2 the other day and was shocked by how good it was. I didn't register the first time I saw it how much of a quantum leap over the first one it was in terms of all the action sequences and the look of it. Even if Ruby Rose is the worst thing in the entire world and Morpheus is also really bad.
> 
> I'm also hyped for Midsommar. Bring on the Wicker Man/Blood on Satan's Claw style horror movies again, IMO!


No offense, but your long, drawn out response was pretty boring. 

It's called voting with my wallet. I will also be skipping more tired, lame Halloween films. I've gone from Halloween being one of my favorite series to almost loathing it. The fact it is almost the de facto winner in polls to the effect of "favorite horror movie" is tiresome. It's also a worn out, boring concept with little to work on. Making another Halloween is a cheap, easy way for the film studios to cash in rather than putting their neck on the line and taking risks. That's my problem with remakes in general. Don't assume shit next time. High class tastes? Fuck off. I just miss when film studios took risks and produced awesome shit, whether it was cheesy or not. At least it had character and a soul.


----------



## wankerness

BlackMastodon said:


> You watch your mouth when you talk about Hobo King/Pigeon Lord Larry Fishburne!
> 
> Also didn't mind Ruby Rose in that movie either. Her character was just as cheesy and over the top as just about every other character in the movie. It's John Wick ffs.



Her appearance viscerally disgusts me - she looks like a little alt-right fascist even when she’s a good guy in other stuff, and she has exactly one facial expression. Also, she literally looks CGI generated. I remember thinking she looked like she'd been digitally inserted into the Meg trailer when I first saw it. I was watching JW2 with a friend who'd never seen it, and when Ruby Rose showed up I went "ugh I hate her" and she said "why, because she looks like a CGI person?" without me ever having said anything like that to her, so it's not just me!

More importantly, she's a fucking terrible actor - the embarrassing way she tries to do dramatic signs in John Wick 2 upsets the tone a bit. Compare how she comes off to how say, Common comes off. She's never at any point convincing as anything, she's like a little kid in a halloween costume thrown into the middle of the awesomeness. She's on the acting/physically convincing level of Hammer Girl in The Raid 2, but without the hilarious awesomeness!

I don't completely know what my problem is with her. I just REALLY hate her as an actress. Haha.

Larry Fishburne is someone I enjoy most of the time, he just got draining in JW2, with his silly Forrest Whitaker style overacting and abrupt yelling into the sky in the middle of talking, etc. Who knows. Maybe he's fine and I just wanted it to get back to action!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Her appearance viscerally disgusts me - she looks like a little alt-right fascist even when she’s a good guy in other stuff, and she has exactly one facial expression. Also, she literally looks CGI generated. I remember thinking she looked like she'd been digitally inserted into the Meg trailer when I first saw it. I was watching JW2 with a friend who'd never seen it, and when Ruby Rose showed up I went "ugh I hate her" and she said "why, because she looks like a CGI person?" without me ever having said anything like that to her, so it's not just me!
> 
> More importantly, she's a fucking terrible actor - the embarrassing way she tries to do dramatic signs in John Wick 2 upsets the tone a bit. Compare how she comes off to how say, Common comes off. She's never at any point convincing as anything, she's like a little kid in a halloween costume thrown into the middle of the awesomeness. She's on the acting/physically convincing level of Hammer Girl in The Raid 2, but without the hilarious awesomeness!
> 
> I don't completely know what my problem is with her. I just REALLY hate her as an actress. Haha.
> 
> Larry Fishburne is someone I enjoy most of the time, he just got draining in JW2, with his silly Forrest Whitaker style overacting and abrupt yelling into the sky in the middle of talking, etc. Who knows. Maybe he's fine and I just wanted it to get back to action!


thank god it's not just me. she's such a bad actress that she makes gina carano or ronda rousey seem like meryl streep in comparison. If you want a laugh go watch the batgirl trailer, it looks hilariously terrible.
I like the hobo pigeon king, he plays a much bigger role in the 3rd film, plus larry needs the work yo


----------



## MFB

Ugh, don't mention the atrocity they're doing to Batgirl - it's on par with the Supe 'Stache.

I was more off put by Ruby Rose's perpetually wet looking hair than anything else in the Meg


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Ugh, don't mention the atrocity they're doing to Batgirl - it's on par with the Supe 'Stache.
> 
> I was more off put by Ruby Rose's perpetually wet looking hair than anything else in the Meg


nah, batgirl is far worse than the superman stache. 
The Meg wasn't that bad of a movie. Probably because Ruby didn't talk much in it


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Ruby looks like an alt right fascist? She doesn't look like anything right of center. Odd complaint.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Ruby looks like an alt right fascist? She doesn't look like anything right of center. Odd complaint.



What the fuck does this even mean?


----------



## wankerness

PunkBillCarson said:


> What the fuck does this even mean?



He's questioning why I think Ruby Rose in JW2 looks like one of those alt-right dickbags, I guess. It's cause she has a variant of the cookie-cutter fashy hair style that is intractable with them, and more nebulously she also has these stupid too-short suits with waistcoats costumes that are reminiscent of those toolbag gamergater/Pepe types that all dressed up as TDK Joker for years cause he was totally awesome, man. 

It was quite possibly intentionally reminiscent. They maybe just did too good of a job in making her odious. There have been a few movie villains I had reactions to that were this visceral. Like, I couldn't deal with Joaquin Phoenix for a while after hating him SO much when I first saw him in Gladiator. (he's a good actor though)


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Ah well, I guess that makes more sense, even though I typically don't keep up with fashion styles from different political leaning peoples, although, in this day and age if someone has dyed red hair in the form of a pixie cut, I automatically assume I'm about to be accused of rape for simply just breathing the same air as them.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

PunkBillCarson said:


> Ah well, I guess that makes more sense, even though I typically don't keep up with fashion styles from different political leaning peoples, although, in this day and age if someone has dyed red hair in the form of a pixie cut, I automatically assume I'm about to be accused of rape for simply just breathing the same air as them.


Great. Now you just triggered them.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Great. Now you just triggered them.




Oh I did that about thirty years ago. How, you ask? I was born with a penis. Also, whether true or not, still hilarious:


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

PunkBillCarson said:


> Oh I did that about thirty years ago. How, you ask? I was born with a penis. Also, whether true or not, still hilarious:


Oh, jeez. Apparently feminists were teaching in the 90s that all sex is rape or some insanity like that. Now apparently all farts are rape as well, unless that is a victim of Poe's Law.


----------



## wankerness

PunkBillCarson said:


> Ah well, I guess that makes more sense, even though I typically don't keep up with fashion styles from different political leaning peoples, although, in this day and age if someone has dyed red hair in the form of a pixie cut, I automatically assume I'm about to be accused of rape for simply just breathing the same air as them.



I only really know about it cause I'd half-noticed tons of the guys during all the coverage of the Charlottesville stuff having that floppy top hair thing, but then I saw someone else call something fashy, didn't know what it meant, and looked it up and got articles on "fashy hair" 

There are plenty of haircuts that have zero political affiliation, terrible or otherwise. Like, that awful thing some chicks do where they shave half their head and have it long on top and the other side. With that, you can be anything from an intolerable RIOT GRRRRL to a porn actress to a nazi's girlfriend! And yeah, there are looks as you describe that immediately scream "rape accusation and/or poisonously referring to you as a 'WHITE MALE.'" I'm glad those physical flags exist, those people are a goddam minefield, especially if you have to deal with them in a customer service capacity. Fortunately they're quite rare!


----------



## BlackMastodon

Oh man, what have I done. 

I'm super indifferent to Ruby Rose, but I see where you're coming from. I was actually bothered by Common's performance in JW2 more, because normally I really like his acting (Smokin' Aces and Hell on Wheels). Just found his delivery extremely robotic like he was reading off of a script that was in front of him: "Be seeing you.... John." That being said, the scene where he and John are walking through the mall in different floors trying to shoot at each other inconspicuously was my favourite part of the whole movie. 

Also I like the fashy haircuts, just wish the fascists didn't so it wasn't associated with them.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

fuck all y'all that haircut is the ww2 haircut for both sides, not some altright shit 
Just about everybody had their hair that way barring the dudes in 101st who had mohawks


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

I completely forgot Ruby Rose was from my neck of the woods. 

Still my favorite thing from her:


----------



## Un1corn

Real Steel


----------



## wankerness

BlackMastodon said:


> Oh man, what have I done.
> 
> I'm super indifferent to Ruby Rose, but I see where you're coming from. I was actually bothered by Common's performance in JW2 more, because normally I really like his acting (Smokin' Aces and Hell on Wheels). Just found his delivery extremely robotic like he was reading off of a script that was in front of him: "Be seeing you.... John." That being said, the scene where he and John are walking through the mall in different floors trying to shoot at each other inconspicuously was my favourite part of the whole movie.
> 
> Also I like the fashy haircuts, just wish the fascists didn't so it wasn't associated with them.



I think Common has serious charisma/physical presence and really makes a perfect foil for Keanu. Those evenly matched slugfests are great.

I just watched 3. The first 30 minutes with that fight in the room with all the knife cases and then the horse stable scene had me thinking it would be by far the best of the trilogy, but the rest was definitely a step below part 2. There's more of an emphasis on knife fights and the climactic series of fights goes on for way too long. Not only do they get the guys from The Raid (who look hilariously tiny next to Keanu, I guess EVERYONE in those movies must have been tiny), but they copy the structure with him fighting new martial arts enemies on each floor until he reaches the final boss. The melee fights in these things are fine, it's just not really what I'm there for and the total pivot to them felt weird.

The invasion with the heavily armored dudes before that is great. I wasn't that big on the huge scene with Halle Berry and the dogs, it felt kind of repetitive and she wasn't entirely convincing in the action scenes. She's pretty good otherwise, though. She clearly has Keanu genes, and probably even superior ones, she looks *really* good for over 50. I also liked the asshole bureaucratic woman that went around threatening people, she's funny and entertaining in her awfulness. Oh, and Bronn from GOT is fun doing a HORRIBLE accent and getting bit by a dog in the crotch.



KnightBrolaire said:


> fuck all y'all that haircut is the ww2 haircut for both sides, not some altright shit
> Just about everybody had their hair that way barring the dudes in 101st who had mohawks



I'm not talking historically, I'm talking NOW. It is the style of the current movement, and unfortunately where they got it from is irrelevant. They took something inoffensive and absorbed it hard enough that now you can't use it anymore without looking guilty by association. Kinda like Pepe the frog. Or hating Ghostbusters 2016.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I think Common has serious charisma/physical presence and really makes a perfect foil for Keanu. Those evenly matched slugfests are great.
> 
> I just watched 3. The first 30 minutes with that fight in the room with all the knife cases and then the horse stable scene had me thinking it would be by far the best of the trilogy, but the rest was definitely a step below part 2. There's more of an emphasis on knife fights and the climactic series of fights goes on for way too long. Not only do they get the guys from The Raid (who look hilariously tiny next to Keanu, I guess EVERYONE in those movies must have been tiny), but they copy the structure with him fighting new martial arts enemies on each floor until he reaches the final boss. The melee fights in these things are fine, it's just not really what I'm there for and the total pivot to them felt weird.
> 
> The invasion with the heavily armored dudes before that is great. I wasn't that big on the huge scene with Halle Berry and the dogs, it felt kind of repetitive and she wasn't entirely convincing in the action scenes. She's pretty good otherwise, though. She clearly has Keanu genes, and probably even superior ones, she looks *really* good for over 50. I also liked the asshole bureaucratic woman that went around threatening people, she's funny and entertaining in her awfulness. Oh, and Bronn from GOT is fun doing a HORRIBLE accent and getting bit by a dog in the crotch.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not talking historically, I'm talking NOW. It is the style of the current movement, and unfortunately where they got it from is irrelevant. They took something inoffensive and absorbed it hard enough that now you can't use it anymore without looking guilty by association. Kinda like Pepe the frog. Or hating Ghostbusters 2016.


I actually loved the emphasis on knife fights/hand to hand and slightly less gunplay. The other 2 films had shitloads of gunplay so it got a bit tiresome. I enjoyed the dog sequence, but not as much as the catacomb shootout in part 2. The motorcyle fight was pretty cool.
The ascending the tower to the final boss felt kind of like a throwback to Game of Death.

But that's the thing, it's only a haircut. Just because some people associate it with assclowns like the alt right doesn't mean they own it. It's been a common men's haircut for literally decades. Shit variants of it are still trending all the time, because there's really only so much you can do with men's hair. 


Anyone that defends Ghostbusters 2016 needs to seriously re-evaluate their life decisions. I streamed it with a relatively open mind, and basically the only funny character is Kate McKinnon's. She hardcore carries that film. It was an utter dogshit cashgrab trying to exploit the girl power/"strong female lead" trend that pops up every few years.
On that note, Kate McKinnon is seriously underrated. She was fucking hilarious in Mike and Dave need Wedding Dates and The Spy who Dumped Me. She steals every scene she was in for both films.


----------



## MFB

Kate Mckinnon wasn't in Mike and Dave need Wedding Dates, that's someone else who played the cousin (I assume you're thinking of her GB character looking the same as the lesbian cousin with the haircut)


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Kate Mckinnon wasn't in Mike and Dave need Wedding Dates, that's someone else who played the cousin (I assume you're thinking of her GB character looking the same as the lesbian cousin with the haircut)


yeah my bad, apparently that was alice wetterlund


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> I actually loved the emphasis on knife fights/hand to hand and slightly less gunplay. The other 2 films had shitloads of gunplay so it got a bit tiresome. I enjoyed the dog sequence, but not as much as the catacomb shootout in part 2. The motorcyle fight was pretty cool.
> The ascending the tower to the final boss felt kind of like a throwback to Game of Death.
> 
> But that's the thing, it's only a haircut. Just because some people associate it with assclowns like the alt right doesn't mean they own it. It's been a common men's haircut for literally decades. Shit variants of it are still trending all the time, because there's really only so much you can do with men's hair.
> 
> 
> Anyone that defends Ghostbusters 2016 needs to seriously re-evaluate their life decisions. I streamed it with a relatively open mind, and basically the only funny character is Kate McKinnon's. She hardcore carries that film. It was an utter dogshit cashgrab trying to exploit the girl power/"strong female lead" trend that pops up every few years.
> On that note, Kate McKinnon is seriously underrated. She was fucking hilarious in Mike and Dave need Wedding Dates and The Spy who Dumped Me. She steals every scene she was in for both films.



Some identity groups, like "PROUD BOYS," absolutely DO have style guidelines. But obviously there aren't "conservative" or "liberal" haircut looks, I am talking about a very specific group's specific look, I guess. Not everyone with the haircut is fascist, I am reminded of that whenever I see someone with it now. Of course other people can still have it and get away with it, especially since most people are blissfully unaware of the proud boys and their ilk outside of those famous tiki torch screaming pictures, but it's kind of like part of a uniform. Point is, Ruby Rose sucks and I hate her hair and she looks like a dick.

I haven't actually watched Ghostbusters 2016 so I'm one of "those guys," but I've thought it looked terrible ever since I saw the first trailer, and everything else has made me more sure I was right. I watched the lengthy RLM videos on it since I watch everything they do, and there's no way the movie could contain half of the stuff I've seen and not be something I'd dislike.

Kate McKinnon has flipped around to OVERRATED for me in the last few years as everyone seems to get excited about her and talk about how she's so funny, but almost everything she does on SNL is either "stare creepily while grinning" or "just be a slob" no matter what the character is supposed to be. Like, especially with the crappy political characters they do in the opens/Weekend Update. She was funny as Jeff Sessions, but then she did practically the same thing and they called it Lindsay Graham. And her Kellyanne Conway, Elizabeth Warren, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, etc were just awful lazy collections of her usual tics. She's coasting! She's good at her weird, original niche, but it's a niche that's been getting run into the ground, and at this point I'm sad to see her get airtime over say, Heidi Gardner. She probably just needs some actual good writing on something other than SNL. I still laugh sometimes since she can do some stuff in her sleep, though. Like that heinous sketch from a couple months ago with her and Adam Sandler picking each other up at a bar as disgustingly as possible.

RE: Wick 3, yeah the motorcycle fight was fun (if necessarily short), I forgot about it. I am not familiar with Game of Death so I didn't realize that was the likely reference. There's not really anything wrong with the emphasis on knife stuff, it just wasn't for me, I guess. It doesn't do it as well as The Night Comes for Us. I need to watch that again.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> I am not familiar with Game of Death so I didn't realize that was the likely reference.



If you're curious, go watch the Bruce Lee A Warrior's Journey doco instead. It has footage of Lee's original vision of Game Of Death on top of an in depth documentary of him. Don't bother with the actual Game Of Death film.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> If you're curious, go watch the Bruce Lee A Warrior's Journey doco instead. It has footage of Lee's original vision of Game Of Death on top of an in depth documentary of him. Don't bother with the actual Game Of Death film.


Yeah game of death isn't exactly a great film, especially since they had to finish it without Bruce. It's really sad how the same thing ended up happening to his son Brandon on the Crow, where he died before finishing the film.


----------



## mastapimp

MFB said:


> Kate Mckinnon wasn't in Mike and Dave need Wedding Dates, that's someone else who played the cousin (I assume you're thinking of her GB character looking the same as the lesbian cousin with the haircut)


He's probably thinking of "Rough Night" which also had a wedding theme. McKinnon stole many a scene in that movie as well.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> Yeah game of death isn't exactly a great film, especially since they had to finish it without Bruce. It's really sad how the same thing ended up happening to his son Brandon on the Crow, where he died before finishing the film.



At least Brandon got a respectable tribute with The Crow. Game Of Death on the other hand decided to milk as much gravy as possible from a fresh corpse. Granted that times were different and Hong Kong didn't have Hollywood money, but to use existing footage from his previous movies, a cutout of his face over a standing, and his own freaking funeral is straight up insulting and disrespectful. They did exactly all that. *TWICE!* Just imagine if Brandon copped the same deal and The Crow had footage from bloody Showdown In Little Tokyo...

Then came the wave of terrible Bruceploitation movies that I'm ashamed I've actually seen a lot of from back in the day. Hell, one of Jackie Chan's first movies was a sequel to Fist Of Fury/Chinese Connection and marketed him as the next Bruce (that movie was awful by the way). That movie had a ton of remakes too with some dude names Bruce Li (FOF2 and FOF3, both sucked), Jet Li and Donnie Yen (both cases were pretty good actually). 

To think Game Of Death could have been a martial arts masterpiece. Reading the synopsis, Bruce had a lot of grand ideas at the time. It really was a tragedy to what happened to him and Brandon. But there's a reason why Game Of Death is disowned by a lot of martial arts movie fans. 

...and just like that, I found out a remake of Enter The Fat Dragon is in the works. AND it has Donnie Yen in it. Bloody hell...


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> At least Brandon got a respectable tribute with The Crow. Game Of Death on the other hand decided to milk as much gravy as possible from a fresh corpse. Granted that times were different and Hong Kong didn't have Hollywood money, but to use existing footage from his previous movies, a cutout of his face over a standing, and his own freaking funeral is straight up insulting and disrespectful. They did exactly all that. *TWICE!* Just imagine if Brandon copped the same deal and The Crow had footage from bloody Showdown In Little Tokyo...
> 
> Then came the wave of terrible Bruceploitation movies that I'm ashamed I've actually seen a lot of from back in the day. Hell, one of Jackie Chan's first movies was a sequel to Fist Of Fury/Chinese Connection and marketed him as the next Bruce (that movie was awful by the way). That movie had a ton of remakes too with some dude names Bruce Li (FOF2 and FOF3, both sucked), Jet Li and Donnie Yen (both cases were pretty good actually).
> 
> To think Game Of Death could have been a martial arts masterpiece. Reading the synopsis, Bruce had a lot of grand ideas at the time. It really was a tragedy to what happened to him and Brandon. But there's a reason why Game Of Death is disowned by a lot of martial arts movie fans.
> 
> ...and just like that, I found out a remake of Enter The Fat Dragon is in the works. AND it has Donnie Yen in it. Bloody hell...


I'm honestly surprised no one has bothered trying to make a modern Game of Death. Iko Uwais or Tony Jaa would be great in it. Then again that's basically the Raid's plot or The Protector's staircase fight scene all over again 
I'm glad that the Crow remake is stuck in development hell. Even if they followed the graphic novel more closely it would be very difficult for the film to escape the shadow of the original (which was only really good because of Brandon imo).
The only good Bruce Lee film not starring Bruce Lee is the Jet Li remake of Chinese Connection.


----------



## Seabeast2000

So I'm watching the first two JW movies today.... 

And wtf is it with the volume in some of these movies? I can't hear the mumble/speaking then the music or action parts start and its deafening so I'm constantly reaching for the volume controls. Is it my TV or the movie mix?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

KnightBrolaire said:


> I'm honestly surprised no one has bothered trying to make a modern Game of Death. Iko Uwais or Tony Jaa would be great in it. Then again that's basically the Raid's plot or The Protector's staircase fight scene all over again



The real issue to that is how will the movie be approached. Remaking the released mashed product will be doomed before I hit that Post Reply button. Using Lee's concept notes would be the most prudent thing to do. Shannon Lee is already using some of his old concepts with that Warrior TV series (same notes that eventually became Kung Fu apparently), so get her involved and it could be something good. 



KnightBrolaire said:


> The only good Bruce Lee film not starring Bruce Lee is the Jet Li remake of Chinese Connection.



Fist of Legend had the benefits of being made in the 90s and not have some guy named either Bruce Le, Bruce Li or Bluce Ree. I do think Yuen Woo Ping went a little overboard on the fight scenes. As awesome as they were, and we wouldn't have The Matrix without them, they felt incongruous to the dramatic tone that Gordon Chan was trying to go for. It's still pretty great though.


----------



## wankerness

The906 said:


> So I'm watching the first two JW movies today....
> 
> And wtf is it with the volume in some of these movies? I can't hear the mumble/speaking then the music or action parts start and its deafening so I'm constantly reaching for the volume controls. Is it my TV or the movie mix?



10:1 you are watching a surround mix through stereo speakers so you're effectively getting four (or more) channels worth of volume of sound effects over the one channel worth of dialogue.


----------



## mongey

LEGO 2. My 4 year old loves the first one so we’re all hyped to watch the 2nd. Meh. Really didn’t need to extant. A few good laughs but no where as good as the original.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Spiderman Far From Home

Much more meatier than the shallow Homecoming. It's still the ironic Mickey Mouse Club episode of the MCU so it's a much smaller scale, but it's also a character movie revolving around the rest his class whilst planting seeds for guys like Flash Thompson and Brad Davis. There's more emotional weight and investment that gives Tom Holland lots of room to exercise his growing dramatic chops and bring the large theme of guilt and responsibility that's so focal to his character. It's still in the context of a 'teen flick' but a fine way to bookend the third phase and moving forward. Also the 2 post credits are excellent and substantial for what's yet to come.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Repo Men. I don't know why I waited so long to watch this movie, it was pretty neat both in concept and in terms of the sfx. The fight scenes were pretty good, especially the oldboy esque hallway fight at the end of the film. I've never seen an action movie where someone used a hacksaw that way  The practical SFX in particular were gruesome but effective, with lots of things being shoved into body cavities (replete with innard shots).


----------



## MFB

_Spiderman: Far From Home - 4.5/5
_
Much better than Homecoming, the gap between the two in my eyes feels more like from solo to trilogy closer than from solo to sequel. It didn't overly rely on Tony not being around as his mentor, and thankfully didn't rope an RDJ cameo into it, while allowing Peter to grow in his abilities and reliance on himself. Gyllenhaal is obviously top notch and is the perfect guy to play Mysterio, and the way they establish him and his crew is just ...so well thought out. Curious to see what they do with the post credits scene, as it lets them go a couple different routes.

_Midsommar - 3/5
_
I've been on A24's horror dick since they started doing it with The VVitch, and while I liked Midsommar, this one wasn't as big and grand as I was hoping for. The relationship of the main characters just felt like stuff was happening off screen and we didnt see it, so when they came back to it, they were in a different place than expected. Its also incredibly slow, like the _Wind River _of horror films, even with as much foreshadowing as it did. Maybe it'll do the same thing as W.R. where I had to rewatch it to really "get it," but overall its still better than 90% of the horror that's coming out.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I'm sure A24 has some good stuff, but give me some classic Troma and Full Moon/Empire.


----------



## wankerness

I’m very interested in Midsommar as I love breakup movies and the original Wicker Man. I may be disappointed!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Decided to have a Jeffery Combs Movie Marathon on my off day.

Re-Animator
From Beyond
Bride of Re-Animator
Lurking Evil
Castle Freak
Beyond Re-Animator


----------



## SenorDingDong

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Decided to have a Jeffery Combs Movie Marathon on my off day.
> 
> Re-Animator
> From Beyond
> Bride of Re-Animator
> Lurking Evil
> Castle Freak
> Beyond Re-Animator



You just listed some of my all time favourites. Always was a huge fan of Combs, on and off screen. Met him a few years ago and he was an absolute fucking weirdo nerd in the best possible way. 

I have steelbooks and limited pressings from various companies of the Re-Animator stuff but would love if some of his other films got the same love, especially From Beyond and Castle Freak.


----------



## Metropolis

Finally got to watch Hereditary. It was quite everything I hope from a good horror movie. Bit oldschool, "artsy", weird and disturbing nightmare of a family from somewhat realistic standpoint which was part of it being disturbing. Overall very refreshing take on modern horror and very few movies have same kind of impact on viewer nowadays. Midsommar is next on my list and I'm gonna watch it at movie theater this friday.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Hereditary

I'm rather late to the party on this one, but agreed with the above post. It's good and solid in the psychological horror dept. Sure it's waist deep with pretentious abstract post-modernist arthouse surrealism with no real point in sight but part of why I enjoyed it was the subtlety and restraint. If anything it's a family drama driving with horror riding shotgun and navigating. The cast is excellent. Toni Collete can do this in her sleep by now (go figure), though Alex Wolff keeps up well. I looked up director Ari Aster and turns out it's his directorial debut, which is impressive. Not Jordan Peele impressive but pretty good all the same. I'll have to check out Midsommar soon as well.

Power Rangers (2017)

I really shouldn't watch movies based on dares, but I recently heard this was getting rebooted so I got morbidly curious. Seriously only 2 years and already a reboot? I have dirty jox older than this movie. I suppose it's Hasbro recently getting the rights from Saban and pushing for a shared universe with Transformers GI Joe and that MASK movie that's supposed to be happening some time soon. But I digress.

This movie is awful. It's a bad mashup of Josh Trank movies with John Hughes teen angst but without any effort, makes you sit with this unlikable bunch for an hour and a half, then finally tacking in a 30 minute Power Rangers episode (theme song and all) done by Michael Bay. Bryan Cranston, who despite being an veteran voice actor, shows the vim of someone waiting to rush out the door. Though, huge props to Elizabeth Banks for showing all the self awareness in the universe and lean right the hell into her character role.


----------



## Rosal76

SenorDingDong said:


> I have steelbooks and limited pressings from various companies of the Re-Animator stuff but would love if some of his other films got the same love, especially From Beyond and Castle Freak.



It's not a steel book version but Shout! Factory released a, From Beyond: collectors edition in 2013.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I love how Combs is trying to save Crampton when she's the one who has to save him.

And might I just add how smoking hot Barbara Crampton was back in the day? Actually, hell, she's still incredibly gorgeous.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Rosal76 said:


> It's not a steel book version but Shout! Factory released a, From Beyond: collectors edition in 2013.



Hah, that's the version of From Beyond that I have. 

I wish they would give his other movies more love, though, like a steelbook release of From Beyond would be absolutely sick.


----------



## Ralyks

Jiro Dreams of Sushi for the 30-something time.


----------



## Ilia Tilev

Recently i've watched Dune and Psycho


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bigger- It's about Joe/Ben Weider and the founding of the IFBB. It's a very solid biopic and gives some good overview of how the IFBB was formed, along with the Golden Era Mr. Olympia cameos. Caleb Von Moger is a fuckin monster, his physique and demeanor mirror Schwarzenegger's really well. Great casting imo, overall a pretty good movie.


----------



## PuriPuriPrisoner

I watched Hereditary for the first time a few days ago. That movie was scary as fuck ngl. The telephone pole scene really fucked me up.


----------



## Mathemagician

Rented Shazam just now. Hope it’s good!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Got to see 2 Netflix offerings thanks to algorithm.

Triple Threat

This is exactly what happens when you put Tony Jaa, Tiger Chen, Iko Uwais, Michael Jai White, Michael Bisping, Scott Adkins and Jeeja Yanin together and make a martial arts action movie. It's such a shame that it falls short in the greatness that it could and should have been. Fine the plot hardly matters especially when there's an extremely stupid convoluted arc central on Uwais' character, but the second act goes on for far too long with a ton of stuff left unexplained and thrown out the window. The 3 leads (Jaa, Chen, Uwais) are bona fide action stars but none of them bring their A game with a lot of the action scenes seem rushed, choppy and unfinished. Especially the big finally where each one on one fight abruptly interchanging, killing flow and somehow giving each less screen time. Honestly if you want a more substantial triple threat martial arts film with better fights and plot, go watch Project A instead.

Jailbreak

With the tough as nails martial arts action movies like The Raid are getting global attention, Cambodia has stepped up wanting a piece of the pie. Once again the plot hardly matters: Jailbreak is pretty much The Raid set in a prison, but sadly not as bone crushingly good. There's a huge fight scene where the 4 cops are trying to fend of a full gang of inmates and suddenly the camera focuses on the POV of some random thug and for a few brief moments getting punched directly to the camera before slamming on the wall or floor with little to no cuts using hand cam. I appreciate the innovative ways to show of crushing a skull with a kick the force of a pneumatic hammer and the fights here are both painful and entertaining (think Young Master but much shorter), but in this case some of the methods don't really work. There's some random slapstick thrown in for good measure (namely a certain cannibal character) and I guess that gave me a chuckle. The leads and some of the inmates are as interesting as baked beans on toast and there's not much more to their characters. However the real standout is former adult star turned martial arts badass Celine Tran, who's appearance alone is akin to someone who should exist in the John Wick universe. Such a shame her and said cannibal (played by kickboxer Eh Phuthong no less) don't get enough screen time. Put these 2 as mains in a movie, and color me interested.

I probably should go back and revisit the old martial arts movie catalog again.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I've been watching through the Puppet Master films with my girlfriend.


----------



## c7spheres

Time Bandits. Love that movie since I was a kid. If you haven't seen it, you must watch it. All kinds of cameo's and George Harrison even does some music for it. One of the best G rated movies ever. I almost never meet anyone who's seen it and never met anyone who didn't like that movie.


----------



## wankerness

I didn’t like it!


----------



## spudmunkey

c7spheres said:


> Time Bandits. Love that movie since I was a kid. If you haven't seen it, you must watch it. All kinds of cameo's and George Harrison even does some music for it. One of the best G rated movies ever. I almost never meet anyone who's seen it and never met anyone who didn't like that movie.



Time Bandits is like Goonies, Monster Squad and Adventures of Barron Munchousen...I just never cross paths with them as a kid, and never got around to going back.


----------



## spudmunkey

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I've been watching through the Puppet Master films with my girlfriend.



Even _Retro Puppet Master_?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

spudmunkey said:


> Even _Retro Puppet Master_?


Yeah. I think 6-8 are a little less than 1-5 and 9-11, but 6 and 7 are still enjoyable. I'm not so sure what the purpose of 8 was, but I know Charles Band loves his Simpsons clip shows. (Bunker of Blood being the most recent example.)


----------



## KnightBrolaire

spudmunkey said:


> Time Bandits is like Goonies, Monster Squad and Adventures of Barron Munchousen...I just never cross paths with them as a kid, and never got around to going back.


wat. Goonies is good, regardless of your age. Monster Squad is admittedly pretty dated now but it still had some cool effects. Munchausen isn't worth watching imo


----------



## spudmunkey

KnightBrolaire said:


> wat.



Growing up, we didn't see many movies. We weren't very well off. For example, when other kids were rocking their brand new SNES and Genesis, we had just gotten to breaking in our Atari 2600, hooked up to a black-and-white TV. I might have gotten spanked in every game when I went to friends' houses, but I would mop the floor with the lot in _River Raid_ or _Combat._


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood- it was ok.It suffers from the same issue hateful 8 did, which was absolutely glacial pacing. The pacing is only saved by a climactic fiery bloody finale (which was excellent). The majority of the scenes are either fetishizing bare feet (no seriously) or 1960s hollywood with lots of winks and nods to certain shows/movies/landmarks of the era. Brad Pitt and Leo carry the film entirely, with most other characters being completely extraneous and having minimal screen time (eg Emile Hirsch, Damien Lewis, Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Michael Madsen and a bunch of others). Pitt's character is a lot of fun to watch. Especially his exchange with Bruce Lee.
I'd say it's worth renting, but not worth seeing in theater.


----------



## BlackMastodon

^ was thinking about this movoe the other day but based off of what you said with the pacing I'll wait for the Netflix release, or at best a cheap movie night if I really want to see it.


----------



## Ralyks

Watched Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling. For a 50 minute special that was 100% fan service and blatant social commentary, I enjoyed it a lot. 

Now, please don't bring the show back.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Ralyks said:


> Watched Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling. For a 50 minute special that was 100% fan service and blatant social commentary, I enjoyed it a lot.
> 
> Now, please don't bring the show back.


They won't. It'd interfere with Nickelodeon's endless Spongebob Squarepants marathon.


----------



## chopeth

pet sematary or whatever you write cementery 

just one word

unnecessary


----------



## wankerness

Shazam - goddam this movie is a mess. Way too much time spent on Mark Strong's daddy issues, and absolutely no character continuity between the kinda serious, edgy, wounded teen version of Shazam and the 6-year-old-acting "adult" version. Did they even see each others' scenes???


----------



## Mathemagician

Personally I thought Shazam was very well done relative to other DC films. It introduced a new hero and a cool villain. I thought it was cool that they didn’t edit it down to hit a 90 minute run time as the dialog was what - to me - made it feel like a “real” movie and not just “watch these fight scenes and clap”. 

I also fucking loved Venom though. Idc what any movie critic snobs think. Tom Hardy fucking nailed it IMO. And Venom is hilariously naive. 

I watched both with the wife in one weekend and she said of both “I really enjoyed them much more than I thought I would from the trailers.” I’ve heard that a lot.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Shazam - goddam this movie is a mess. Way too much time spent on Mark Strong's daddy issues, and absolutely no character continuity between the kinda serious, edgy, wounded teen version of Shazam and the 6-year-old-acting "adult" version. Did they even see each others' scenes???


What, were they trying to pull a Psych type thing or something?


----------



## Ralyks

Watched Detective Pikachu with my son last night. Not bad, and very good by movies-based-on-games standards. The scene with Mr. Mime was gold.


----------



## wankerness

Mathemagician said:


> Personally I thought Shazam was very well done relative to other DC films. It introduced a new hero and a cool villain. I thought it was cool that they didn’t edit it down to hit a 90 minute run time as the dialog was what - to me - made it feel like a “real” movie and not just “watch these fight scenes and clap”.
> 
> I also fucking loved Venom though. Idc what any movie critic snobs think. Tom Hardy fucking nailed it IMO. And Venom is hilariously naive.
> 
> I watched both with the wife in one weekend and she said of both “I really enjoyed them much more than I thought I would from the trailers.” I’ve heard that a lot.



Critics liked Shazam, so I dunno what you're saying about "movie critic snobs." I just thought it was a goddam mess, mainly cause they seemed to have written all scenes with Shazam as a moody teen and Shazam as a superhero separately and then failed to reconcile them before filming. It's definitely not the worst movie ever or anything, and there are likable aspects of it. I mostly liked the scenes on an individual basis, it just didn't make much sense when looking at it as a whole. The one thing that was unique about it was that it was paced more like an older movie from the 80s or 90s, which was good.

The villain development would have been OK if he wasn't just some boring mean guy. I mean, good on them for trying to address the common problem of uninteresting villains, but it seems like they thought all they had to do was throw a bunch of running time at the problem instead of, you know, actually making him interesting!!!

It's like a 6/10 overall. It was kind of a blown opportunity. I don't think it did well enough financially to warrant a sequel, though, so whatever. Seems like one of those sequels that got announced before the returns were in and then gets quietly cancelled a while later. If so, I guess we'll see what happens with Birds of Prey or whatever DC thing is next.


----------



## Mathemagician

Look up the critic opinions on Venom. Apparently everyone decided to hate on the anti-hero movie because it didn’t turn out to be a secret Spider-Man film. The critic reviews of it are far lower than the fan reviews. 

Shazam on the other hand seemed less panned.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Watched Chopping Mall last night while Barbara Crampton and Kelli Maroney live tweeted.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The Wandering Earth

After fiddling whether I should watch this in English dub or it's original Mandarin audio (I chose the latter), I finally got to watch this on Netflix.

This movie has some cast iron balls. It's ridiculous enough that putting the third act of a disaster movie, In this case the sun is blowing up so the mankind tech up and stop the Earth from spinning, shooting it out of it's orbit and becomes essentially a spaceship... as THE FIRST 5 MINUTES OF THE FILM. But throwing in the Chinese equivalent of Michael Bay meets Roland Emmerich levels of patriotic metaphors and delivers with one foot on serious drama (and that kind of corniness that's in every Asian TV drama ever), while the other foot on big dumb sci-fi camp. There is nothing subtle about this movie. Wandering Earth is the kind of movie that'll slam it's balls on the table knowing full awareness of it's own grand scale whilst being simlutaneously dumb premise and yet still go on being a spectacle blockbuster anyway. 

And it works really well. I certainly had fun, aside from wiping all the iron ball sweat.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Under the Silver Lake- Its on Prime now, Millenial Hitchcockian romp with L.A. as the star. Its quirky indie style kept me watching through its 2+ hours.


----------



## fps

IT Chapter 2, very good, I thought it was better than the first, especially given it's the harder section with the adults. They embraced some of the goofiness in King's writing, and took more risks. Given the amount of material they had to pack in, the beats are fairly predictable, but there is enough variety within them, and the cast is great as well. The best filmed version of IT I'll ever see, and given how hard filming it must've been that's a huge achievement. Plus the book will always be there, which is of course better.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

It PT2: Besides the obvious macguffin bullshit and the flashbacks associated with those, the movie chugs along fairly well. The opening sequence in particular is pretty fucking intense. It's much more interesting than how they did it in the book, but they understandably had to make a number of changes given the time period the book occurs in. I'm surprised they attempted to film the more metaphysical aspects of the fight with Pennywise, but they managed to pull it off without getting too weird (no space turtles yayyyy). McAvoy is excellent as Bill, Chastain kills it as Bev, and Bill Hader pretty much steals every scene he's in as Richie. Honestly they could have cut all the ritual of Chuud shit/leadup and it still would have been a solid film. As it stands, it's definitely the closest we'll ever get to a faithful recreation of what happens in the book. The gore is surprisingly brutal, with multiple children being murdered on screen, and people getting stabbed in all kinds of unpleasant locations (like the face). The CGI is definitely better this time around and doesn't seem as plasticky/fake feeling as the leper/flute woman in PT1 felt.

Wolf Warrior 1/2: Imagine if China made their own version of Rambo. That's basically what this is, minus the scathing commentary on the Vietnam war/treatment of Vietnam vets in First Blood. The action sequences are unbelievably ridiculous, even by Chinese standards. The underwater hand to hand fight sequence in the beginning of pt.2 in particular stands out as the peak of ridiculous. The main character's ship is being assaulted by Somali pirates, so naturally he jumps overboard, overturns some pirates from their boats, engages in hand to hand against armed enemies, and manages to hold his breath for several minutes while doing so. On top of that, he stands in a moving boat and kills another terrorist at a significant distance in one shot, with a weapon that he's not familiar with and hasn't zeroed at all. 
Still, if you're looking for a very stupid action flick, you can't go wrong with either film imo.


----------



## fps

KnightBrolaire said:


> It PT2: Besides the obvious macguffin bullshit and the flashbacks associated with those, the movie chugs along fairly well. The opening sequence in particular is pretty fucking intense. It's much more interesting than how they did it in the book, but they understandably had to make a number of changes given the time period the book occurs in. I'm surprised they attempted to film the more metaphysical aspects of the fight with Pennywise, but they managed to pull it off without getting too weird (no space turtles yayyyy). McAvoy is excellent as Bill, Chastain kills it as Bev, and Bill Hader pretty much steals every scene he's in as Richie. Honestly they could have cut all the ritual of Chuud shit/leadup and it still would have been a solid film. As it stands, it's definitely the closest we'll ever get to a faithful recreation of what happens in the book. The gore is surprisingly brutal, with multiple children being murdered on screen, and people getting stabbed in all kinds of unpleasant locations (like the face). The CGI is definitely better this time around and doesn't seem as plasticky/fake feeling as the leper/flute woman in PT1 felt.



Agree with all of this, especially that it's the best we'll ever get on screen. And we still have the book, so yay!


----------



## wankerness

That use of the song from Deadpool for 3 seconds for no reason during the otherwise pretty effectively creepy scene in the room with Eddie's mom was unforgivably terrible. Like, if he'd bumped a radio and the song started playing sure. But it's just ON THE SOUNDTRACK! What the hell were they thinking?

My girlfriend and I were laughing at the terrible CGI on the kids - Eddie and Ben especially look almost Clutch Cargo with the way their face is too small in the middle of their head and the movement is unreal. Child Eddie's voice is also really messed up and sounds digitally sped-up a lot of the time. I'm guessing it was pitch-altered cause puberty, but they actually seemed to have sped it up as well and it's incredibly distracting.

I was kind of annoyed by the callback to The Thing remake (first I was like "haha, the head is growing legs, wait they're using the exact same camera angle/silhouette as The Thing!," then Bill Hader goes 'You've got to be fucking kidding!' and it crossed the line into Stranger Things try-hard nostalgia territory).

Other than that, it's OK. It's not scary ever, but neither was the first one. There are just lots of "jack in the box" scares. The humor is funny somewhat regularly. As someone who's read the book a couple times I appreciated a few callbacks even though they made little sense in the context of the movie, like Patrick Hockstetter chauffeuring Henry around. I thought it was lame that they cut out Audra almost entirely (removing most of adult Bill's storyline from the book as well as the real ending of the book/ending changed for the miniseries). I thought it was also disappointing that they cut out Bev's husband, but that was more understandable. Henry was COMPLETELY wasted as he basically just gets a big leadup and then utterly fails to do anything other than jump out at people a couple times, while in the book he knocked Mike out of commission - with all the impact he had here they could have totally cut him from the movie with no effect on the plot.

I didn't have an issue like I did with the first in terms of them making it seem like the first movie happened over the course of like, two days - it was good to have some more padding with them hanging out as kids, cause the first movie made it seem like they met up, IMMEDIATELY headed over to the house on the street the same day, got in a fight and had Eddie get locked up by his mom the same day, thus never having a single full day as friends!! 

I think some complex supercut of the two movies that tries to reinstate the non-chronological timeline would improve things. The first movie's effectiveness is diminished by having it seem like a Goonies adventure instead of something about the town's legacy of evil. The second movie tries to correct that, but without all the children stuff it loses most of the horror!


----------



## Choop

Re-watched Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and it holds up incredibly well imo. The only effect that looks dated is the T1000 when he is in mid liquid-shapeshift form.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rambo Last Blood:
Fuck the critics, take it for what it is, which is a nasty brutal action film starring a septuagenarian murdering cartel members. The film is basically just like others in the series, showcasing how wherever Rambo goes, death and pain follows suit. He's a PTSD laden mess of a human being that has endured serious physical and emotional trauma over the years, and he attempted to cope by taking care of his niece/taking up blacksmithing/ranching/building murder tunnels. Obviously shit goes south and he has to murder people, but hey, at least the murder tunnels come in handy. The gore is generally pretty quick, but there's some exceptionally brutal bits (there's a scene involving a collarbone stands out in my mind).


----------



## chopeth

New Hellboy - Terrible
Brightburn - Might have been much better, awesome idea bad realisation


----------



## KnightBrolaire

joker- definitely worth a watch just for Joaquin's performance. Some of the most mesmerizing character acting I've seen since Christian Bale in the Machinist or De Niro in Taxi Driver. Cinematography was quite good with Phillips channeling his inner Fischer with all the tracking shots and grungy/grimy feel to everything. The violence feels really impactful due to the quick and brutal nature of it, but also the naturalistic filming of it. There's some darkly humorous scenes, and one in particular that stands out in my mind. I won't spoil it, but essentially it's a mix of pitch black humor and physical comedy involving a dwarf.


----------



## mongey

Creed 2. Absolutely no surprises in it but still oddly enjoyable and satisfying.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Joker

I liked it. I didn't love it and didn't completely blow me away, but perhaps that due to the expectations on my end. Joachim Phoenix knocks it out of the park and the dark 80s aesthetic is beautifully filmed. It's actually a great character study since Phoenix takes up a huge majority of screen time. I just wished it went beyond the "sneak a movie in the superhero genre" bravado that Todd Phillips galivanted. It's Taxi Driver, King Of Comedy or even Falling Down with a splash of Fight Club with the Joker in it, wearing it's influences on it's sleeve, which makes it largely predictable. It's hard enough when it's a movie about one of the most iconic villains of all time, but to add straight up influences without going beyond them doesn't help. 

I won't say it's the gamechanger that the oversaturated superhero genre desperately needs, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.


----------



## wankerness

There won't be a "game changer" until Marvel movies start bombing IMO. There's no reason for the general model to change while it still makes massively more money than anything else. Joker and Logan will do/did well, but when it's easier for Marvel to just keep putting everything in their template and still make scads more money than those two I don't think anything will happen. DC will probably keep throwing crap at the wall and seeing what sticks, which is cool, but I don't see any large-scale changes in the genre until the Marvel juggernaut starts cracking. After Disney sucked up the X-Men and the Fantastic 4, I think there's little chance of that happening in the foreseeable future.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Disney Marvel is such a boring formula. It really surprises me how many times they can remake the same thing and people still watch.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

^Probably because most of the fans such as myself see them for what they are and aren't unnecessarily overly critical over a movie meant more for fun rather than pure substance.

Also, considering that many of them are origin stories, it will be quite formulaic, but since people can also see the nuances between the individual characters, keeps it from being boring as you say.


----------



## wankerness

Yeah, I like almost all the Marvel movies. It just is nice to have some variety with the makers of these superhero movies since Disney/Marvel definitely have a house style. Which preserves their high standard of quality, but also causes a ceiling of being unique/interesting.


----------



## PunkBillCarson

wankerness said:


> Yeah, I like almost all the Marvel movies. It just is nice to have some variety with the makers of these superhero movies since Disney/Marvel definitely have a house style. Which preserves their high standard of quality, but also causes a ceiling of being unique/interesting.




I think the biggest thing is, they have to strike a balance between being vibrant, entertaining, and have exposition and so they have to appeal to the kids and adults. I'm fine with it honestly, but with me, I know what I'm getting every movie. It's going to be a spectacle, bricks will probably be shat and now that they have X-Men and F4, I'm sorry, as a 30 year old nerd who has a living room looking like a 12 year old's bedroom, I can't wait to see what gets done.


----------



## chopeth

you have a 12 years old bedroom being 30? No problem, I have the same bedroom and I'm 40


----------



## PunkBillCarson

chopeth said:


> you have a 12 years old bedroom being 30? No problem, I have the same bedroom and I'm 40




That's to say there are two PC's, two PS4's and a shit ton of action figures/Pop Funkos in my living room.


----------



## chopeth

PunkBillCarson said:


> That's to say there are two PC's, two PS4's and a shit ton of action figures/Pop Funkos in my living room.



Yeah, I have some of that stuff and even more "inappropriate" items for my age


----------



## KnightBrolaire

My room is littered with action figures/comic books/ shitloads of guitar stuff. Nothing wrong with it imo. Other people just hoard boring shit like clothes/shoes or tools.


----------



## Rosal76

KnightBrolaire said:


> My room is littered with action figures/comic books/ shitloads of guitar stuff. Nothing wrong with it imo. Other people just hoard boring shit like clothes/shoes or tools.



I have this in one of my rooms. For real.




Everytime someone goes in there, that's the first thing they want to pick up. I yell at them, "Stop! Don't f__king touch that thing". They ask me why and I tell them the last 2 people who touched it were involved in car accidents. Of course, I'm just lying to them but seeing their reactions is priceless.


----------



## chopeth

Rosal76 said:


> I have this in one of my rooms. For real.
> 
> View attachment 73514
> 
> 
> Everytime someone goes in there, that's the first thing they want to pick up. I yell at them, "Stop! Don't f__king touch that thing". They ask me why and I tell them the last 2 people who touched it were involved in car accidents. Of course, I'm just lying to them but seeing their reactions is priceless.



haha, funny


----------



## Ralyks

Just saw Joker. I felt mentally exhausted by the end of jt. It was also one of the top 5 movies I saw released this decade.

El Camino last night. It was good. Not mind blowing, but a nicely done epilouge and wrap up of Jesses story.


----------



## MikeH

Late to the game, but just watched Terrifier. Big meh. It was a fun, low-budget slasher, but the hype far overshadowed the actual movie.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

MikeH said:


> Late to the game, but just watched Terrifier. Big meh. It was a fun, low-budget slasher, but the hype far overshadowed the actual movie.


What didn't you like about it?


----------



## Demiurge

Watched El Camino last night. Like Ralyks mentioned above, a good epilogue for the series. Some spoilery thoughts:


Spoiler



-The series ended 6 years ago, but it feels like longer. Older Jesse Plemons as flashback Todd seemed to back up that feeling- it just did not look right. He looks like Children of the Corn Matt Damon.
-RIP Robert Forster.
-The climactic shootout was a little bit forced, unless the attempt was to show that Jesse had a little bit of Walter in him. He needed $1800 and his parents are loaded. It seems like he could have lifted some items and found a pawn shop that minds their own business to make up the difference. At least he has some walking-around money in his new life.


----------



## MikeH

Spaced Out Ace said:


> What didn't you like about it?


Now, I’m not a movie critic, so take this with a grain of salt.

I just felt like it was a little too campy for me. Art is a pretty terrifying character, but the pace of the movie and the really bad acting kind of killed the mood for me. It was very predictable. I just think they could have made it a lot scarier than it was.


----------



## Seabeast2000

What's good on Netflix and/or Prime everyone? I'm kinda burnt out beta testing for these guys LOL.


----------



## 777timesgod

My sister told me the other day "that the guy from Limp Bizkit" produce a movie with Travolta in it. It was called "The fan" and it is a low budget movie that deals with an autistic movie buff who gets obsessed with a douche movie actor. I decided to see it since she had it on the memory bank. Not bad acting from Travolta, he seems sympathetic and unnerving at the same time, he really tries which is nice for an older actor. By the numbers directing and production.

I had my fingers crossed that Durst would not embarrassingly name-drop his band through one of the actors, during the movie. Nope! There is even a scene where they play an LB song....

He will never change.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

terminator dark fate: they pulled a force awakens with this movie. It's both a soft reboot/continuation of the original storyline.
It s the filmic equivalent of an ouroboros.
It hits all the big points of T1 but swaps some shit around to be more topical/diverse. Yay mexican girl john connor! She's not the mother of the resistance leader, SHE IS THE LEADER dun dun dunn
The flashforward sequence and subsequent dialogue in that scene is super cringy.
I liked how they managed to bring back not only Linda Hamilton (who's basically a geriatric version of T2 Sara) but also Arnie. The film succeeds largely because of the winks and nods to the original films, and the breakneck action sequences/insane action setpieces.
TLDR: go for the action, and Arnie/general nostalgia. Avoid if you hate good stupid popcorn flicks


----------



## gnoll

Seen:

El Camino: Ehh. Kinda fine, but I already sorta forgot about it, and just remembered now seeing it mentioned here. I've watched BB several times, but probably won't see this again. 2.5/5

Joker: Yaaayy!! Really liked this one! 5/5

Probably gonna skip Dark Fate. Doesn't look any good. Sigh... How hard can it be, seriously.........


----------



## wankerness

It's definitely the best Terminator movie since T2, according to every review I've read/heard. All of those reviews also said that isn't saying a whole lot. 

The trailers were so terrible that I don't have any interest in it. I'll watch it for free when it hits digital, like I did with Genisys. Maybe I'll even like it? But, no part of me is excited about it. They need to just let that damn franchise die and do something original. They've all been varying levels of failure since T2, I don't get why they keep smashing their head against the wall. Audiences have proven repeatedly that they don't care.


----------



## gnoll

To be fair, I think people would care if they just made a good movie. But yeah, maybe time to give up now, lol...


----------



## c7spheres

Been watching that Vikings show. It's pretty good, but I'm really just a sucker for hot girls dressed up as Vikings.


----------



## Ralyks

So uhhh..... Disney+ is fucking incredible.


----------



## gnoll

Just saw _Interstellar_.

Didn't like it. It did have some cool visuals, but it I found it very silly and a bit confusing. 1/5


----------



## Seabeast2000

gnoll said:


> Just saw _Interstellar_.
> 
> Didn't like it. It did have some cool visuals, but it I found it very silly and a bit confusing. 1/5



Like pancakes, space was just the vehicle for Nolan's butter and syrup in Interstellar, IMO. I watched it once and don't see ever sitting through it again but I laud the ambition I guess.


----------



## chopeth

I freakin LOVED Interstellar first time I saw it. You made feel like watching it again!


----------



## Adieu

The906 said:


> What's good on Netflix and/or Prime everyone? I'm kinda burnt out beta testing for these guys LOL.



I'm pretty much over anglophone stuff

Korean and, for stuff from the last couple years, CHINESE series (yes I'm shocked too) are really killing it in comparison

Strangely it was Netflix and Prime that turned me onto them, but Youtube official channels of Chinese networks have the better Eng-subbed content (....again, surprising)

Also, they're pleasantly LONG (50-60 episodes per season is normal)



PS btw i'm not even remotely Asian


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Dr Sleep- 
I really enjoyed it . the sfx and gore was quite good. There were a ton of really neat camera shots, including a bunch that were straight up copies of famous shots from The Shining . One of my favorite shots was when they're fighting in their mind palaces, and the rooms flip orienration a la Inception.
As far as the story goes ,it's less about danny and more focused on energy vampires/ a super powerful child they try to hunt down and eat. There are some legitimately creepy moments and the film does a good job of maintaining a feeling of dread/keeping tension up. The use of music is very sparse but effective, with bows sliding across strings and the classic Shining score popping in at time. 
The only thing that threw me off was the use of lookalikes for Jack Nicholson/Shelly Duvall in an age where everyone else is doing the de-aging cgi crap. But given the limited screen time foe those charactersit was probably cheaper to do that.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> Dr Sleep-
> I really enjoyed it . the sfx and gore was quite good. There were a ton of really neat camera shots, including a bunch that were straight up copies of famous shots from The Shining . One of my favorite shots was when they're fighting in their mind palaces, and the rooms flip orienration a la Inception.
> As far as the story goes ,it's less about danny and more focused on energy vampires/ a super powerful child they try to hunt down and eat. There are some legitimately creepy moments and the film does a good job of maintaining a feeling of dread/keeping tension up. The use of music is very sparse but effective, with bows sliding across strings and the classic Shining score popping in at time.
> The only thing that threw me off was the use of lookalikes for Jack Nicholson/Shelly Duvall in an age where everyone else is doing the de-aging cgi crap. But given the limited screen time foe those charactersit was probably cheaper to do that.



Saw it last night, I gave it an 8/10 for being both in touch with the book and having to follow up with Kubrick's movie, which I know King hates, without one ruining the other.

The last part is what struck me the most, I'm not so surprised they didn't try to bring Shelly Duvalle back in for it given she's gone off the deep end in recent years (if I recall correctly, she was the one claiming Robin Williams was still alive as a shapeshift), but DAMN, if I didn't want an old Jack Nicholson to show up as his dad's ghost to talk to him.


----------



## wankerness

I am kind of curious about that, but I didn't read the book and I haven't really heard any reactions from anyone that hasn't, so I'm unclear if it's one of those "for book fan only" sorts of movies.

I watched Happy Death Day yesterday, that was kind of awesome. It felt slightly sanitized for the PG-13, and I thought the last act surprise undermined some of the character moments, but it was still quite fun and the lead actress was great and it actually felt like it was written by people that interact in society (unlike most horror movies). I'm looking forward to the sequel. I've been meaning to watch them both since reading some reviews of the sequel last year and getting curious, and they just put both of them on HBO.


----------



## gnoll

_Once Upon a Time in the West_.

I had not seen this one in quite a long time, and all I could remember was it kicking complete ass, but not what actually happened in the movie. So, perfect time for a re-watch!

And yeah, it was still completely epic! And the music is sooo good! 5/5


----------



## TedEH

I can't remember if I posted here that I saw Joker. Liked it quite a bit. Except for one part that, while it didn't ruin the film, felt unnecessary.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Ford V Ferrari- I'm not really into cars, or racing films but gottdamn was this good. I read up a bit about the cobras and gt40's development before I saw the film, and while it basically glosses over the big issues of engine development/the iconic spoiler to keep the damn car on the ground, overall it's a really well done film. The cinematography was fantastic, especially some of the night sequences at Le Mans. Damon and Bale have really good chemistry and seem like they've been pals for ages. Catriona Balfe gets a good amoubt of screentime and does a great job. She gets one really intense scene where she's essentially interrogating Bale while speeding in and out of traffic in a station wagon with him in the passenger seat. There's a surprising amount of situational humor in the film that made me chuckle. 
Definitely worth a watch just for the racing sequences alone.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Knives Out- A really neat and surprisingly funny take on the mystery/whodunnit genre. I won't talk much about the plot but the film is less about finding the killer and more about the web of lies/deceit/family drama tied to the death. Chris Evans finally gets to play against the goody two shoes type he played as Capt. America and he plays a scenery chewing asshole perfectly. Daniel Craig plays a "foghorn leghorn motherfucker"/ " CSI: KFC" (as Chris Evans character snarkily remarks) private investigator and does a great job of both playing to and against PI stereotypes. Ana De Armas is excellent as she seems to have a genuine rapport with Christopher Plummer's character and care for him. She also gets a good amount of time to play to and against the "innocent maiden" trope. 
I mean that's the gist of the film, it twists and toys with established murder mystery/character archetype tropes. That's part of what makes it a lot of fun. 
It's probably one of my favorite films of the year besides Ready or Not.


----------



## Steinmetzify

Us...I liked Get Out better, but this was good and I dug the ending. 

Fuck it, at least he’s doing original shit, how many Halloween remakes do we really need anyway.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Shadow

I suppose Zhang Yimou had a lot to answer for after The Great Wall. So here comes another wushu liberal retelling of a segment of the Three Kingdoms era China, only this time it's much more minimal, especially for Yimou's case. It's largely in depressing rainy black and white with rare splashes of colour in skin, fire and blood. Think that fight scene in Hero between Jet Li and Donnie Yen, extend to a movie but much more dreary. 

For a minimalist film, it's actually beautifully filmed, written and acted. Despite a simple premise, the plot gets deeper and more deceptive. A lot of the fight scenes are nothing to write home about frankly, but there's an awesome scene of soldiers using bladed umbrellas and hand crossbows that has to be seen to be believed. 

Due to the minimalism, it's a hard movie to recommend. It's incredibly slow paced, there isn't much action and when there is, it's not much to write home about (sans the third act umbrellas), and the dreary visuals aren't for everyone (it's almost always raining). But it's still a beautiful meditative film.


----------



## StevenC

KnightBrolaire said:


> Ford V Ferrari- I'm not really into cars, or racing films but gottdamn was this good. I read up a bit about the cobras and gt40's development before I saw the film, and while it basically glosses over the big issues of engine development/the iconic spoiler to keep the damn car on the ground, overall it's a really well done film. The cinematography was fantastic, especially some of the night sequences at Le Mans. Damon and Bale have really good chemistry and seem like they've been pals for ages. Catriona Balfe gets a good amoubt of screentime and does a great job. She gets one really intense scene where she's essentially interrogating Bale while speeding in and out of traffic in a station wagon with him in the passenger seat. There's a surprising amount of situational humor in the film that made me chuckle.
> Definitely worth a watch just for the racing sequences alone.


I enjoyed most of the first part of this movie and then none of the rest. The fact they had to make so much of the conflict up shows how little love they had for the actual story, and instead just wanted to jerk Ken Miles off for 3 hours.

The whole imagined conflict with Leo; making it seem like a Shelby project from the start; making the "lone" Shelby car look like it was fighting to stop the manufacturer Fords; leaving Miles out of the first year of Shelby attempts just so they could show him as some sort of engineering savant, calling out the car failures as they happened, even though he was there in reality; the notion that they wouldn't even take Miles as a mechanic given he was so vital to the cars development and showed him literally engineering and mechanicing the cars; showing all the Ferrari mechanics as cartoon Italians; Bandini as a mustache twirling villain; leaving out the Surtees bit. This photo:




So much available to base the movie on, and this is what they go for. On the other hand you compare Rush and the embelishments made all in service of the story, not to weave a completely different one.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Terror Train / New Year's Evil -- New Year's horror double feature.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Jojo Rabbit

This is the kind of movie Taika Waititi would be making if he's not either directing a Thor movie or a season finale of The Mandalorian... aka, whatever he damn wants. And it's always great, a top tier comedy with a lot of emotional twists and turns that's both absurd and heartfelt. 

The premise alone is ridiculous and audacious as is, but to have a well told story with some great actors hitting all the right notes is awesome to watch. Strong support cast aside, the 2 young lead actors (Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie) have a huge task of bearing a lot of emotional weight of their respective characters, the former being only 12 and doing a lot of scenes on his own, the latter apparently blew everyone away on Leave No Trace (which I still have to see), both of them deliver. That's even before Rebel Wilson, Scarlett Johansen, Sam Rockwell and Waititi himself are mentioned. Rebel's a riot, ScarJo is always great during small indie films, Sam Rockwell was a surprise joy (but he's good in everything he does) and Waititi does exactly as what you expect from a 10 year old aspiring Nazi's imaginary portrayal of Adolf Hitler. Most of the movie and Nazi portrayal are played for laughs but there's a fair amount of unexpected gut punches that makes a lot of the dark subject matter that's constantly undercurrent much more poignant. And that's not easy to do during a comedy. 

Despite seeing it today, since it was released last year, I'm calling this my movie of 2019.


----------



## wankerness

Have you seen Hunt for the Wilderpeople? I saw that last year. It's almost as good as What We Do in the Shadows (which is a totally different kind of movie). It's very weird and it's quite heartwarming despite the very odd lead character. I really hope he gets to continue doing these quirky little things. I really liked Thor Ragnarok but I'd rather see his original stuff.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> Have you seen Hunt for the Wilderpeople? I saw that last year. It's almost as good as What We Do in the Shadows (which is a totally different kind of movie). It's very weird and it's quite heartwarming despite the very odd lead character. I really hope he gets to continue doing these quirky little things. I really liked Thor Ragnarok but I'd rather see his original stuff.



That was my movie of 2016. I may have posted about it a good hundred pages ago whilst predicting Ragnarok becoming the best Thor movie. 

Waititi has a distinct style that's always in his films regardless of genre. All of them have a sense of fun factor that's so appealing. Even something subtle like the 2 stormtroopers arguing about baby Yoda just screams his style. 

He's got a movie about soccer coming out this year so that's another one to look forward to. And unsurprisingly I'm calling Love And Thunder being one of the strongest if not best of the upcoming phase 4 films.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Lethal Weapon 1-4


----------



## MFB

Just got out of a showing of Knives Out. If you thought the problem with The Last Jedi was Rian Johnson, this proves that entirely wrong.

What a film.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Just got out of a showing of Knives Out. If you thought the problem with The Last Jedi was Rian Johnson, this proves that entirely wrong.
> 
> What a film.



I finally saw that, too. I'm amused that the theater was still packed for it on an afternoon showing, even though it's been out for several weeks. It was not exactly what I was expecting, and that was a good thing. I thought it was going to be a typical old-school whodunnit movie, but instead it took the perspective of one of the "suspects." Cool.

I loved that the lead was one of the women who buried Keanu Reeves up to his neck (in Knock Knock) and caused one of the greatest rants in film history. Her career has certainly improved since then, unlike Eli Roth's girlfriend! I need to rewatch Blade Runner 2049.


----------



## MFB

Yeah, the showings around here have been packed lately, I tried to go on New Years day and only the front row was available so I said fuck it and waited to go. Even that night showing a few days later was just as packed. No clue why, but I'm all for movies that deserve it being packed.


----------



## mongey

know I'm late but watched captain marvel

maybe it's a complete ignorance about the character but felt entirely phoned in to me .


----------



## Charlie Foxtrot 3rd

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Lethal Weapon 1-4



Getting too old for this shit.


----------



## StevenC

MFB said:


> Just got out of a showing of Knives Out. If you thought the problem with The Last Jedi was Rian Johnson, this proves that entirely wrong.
> 
> What a film.


So I really liked Looper and those couple of episodes of Breaking Bad he did, but I still think the problem with The Last Jedi was the writer/director. In the same way that I liked American Graffiti and A New Hope, but think the problem with Attack of the Clones was the writer/director. Unless your argument is that Disney/Lucasfilm chose the wrong guy or gave him too much freedom, but at the same time you have to let Johnson take responsibility for not turning down the offer or making better decisions with his freedom.


----------



## MFB

StevenC said:


> So I really liked Looper and those couple of episodes of Breaking Bad he did, but I still think the problem with The Last Jedi was the writer/director. In the same way that I liked American Graffiti and A New Hope, but think the problem with Attack of the Clones was the writer/director. Unless your argument is that Disney/Lucasfilm chose the wrong guy or gave him too much freedom, but at the same time you have to let Johnson take responsibility for not turning down the offer or making better decisions with his freedom.



Did he do writing on it as well? I don't remember him having that credit but it's been a while since I've looked.

Looking at Knives Out, there wasn't really any attempts at humor from what I recall, so I think the other writers/Disney execs put that garbage in there to make it even _more _appealing to wide audiences (even thought it's god damn Star Wars and doesn't need that) and hurt the movie. Without knowing the behind the scenes, I think if he had gotten the story and was allowed to write that on his own as the sole writer, it would've been entirely in line with all the Jedi stuff that we saw and none of the Rose/Finn extravaganza.

Edit: huh, so apparently he is the sole writer, so I truly have no idea what went on with the production of that and knowing the same guy did that Knives Out/Looper/etc


----------



## StevenC

MFB said:


> Did he do writing on it as well? I don't remember him having that credit but it's been a while since I've looked.
> 
> Looking at Knives Out, there wasn't really any attempts at humor from what I recall, so I think the other writers/Disney execs put that garbage in there to make it even _more _appealing to wide audiences (even thought it's god damn Star Wars and doesn't need that) and hurt the movie. Without knowing the behind the scenes, I think if he had gotten the story and was allowed to write that on his own as the sole writer, it would've been entirely in line with all the Jedi stuff that we saw and none of the Rose/Finn extravaganza.
> 
> Edit: huh, so apparently he is the sole writer, so I truly have no idea what went on with the production of that and knowing the same guy did that Knives Out/Looper/etc


Yeah, he was the only writer and seemed to have a good amount of control over the edit, too. So I think he was just the wrong guy for the job, and he didn't seem to have any real interest in Star Wars before either.


----------



## MFB

StevenC said:


> Yeah, he was the only writer and seemed to have a good amount of control over the edit, too. So I think he was just the wrong guy for the job, and he didn't seem to have any real interest in Star Wars before either.



Yeah, in the end that seems to be the case. It'll be interesting to see if Disney keep him on to do his own trilogy like they announced. If he writes it using source material from the old EU books, or just has staff around him that DOES care for Star Wars, then I think it could be an interesting take from someone outside the normal realm to pick from; but if it ends up like Last Jedi with only half the film being worthwhile, then it's disappointing.

With the more SW stuff that comes out, I find out how much I love the overall lore and the universe that's been established; but hate so many of the missteps that have been made in the film making of them.


----------



## 777timesgod

Just saw Knives out and it was terrible in a boring way. I do not understand why Cluedo on film was such a big deal...
Also Jamie Lee Curtis looked really old. Makeup for the role or is she always like this now?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

1917 was fantastic. Between the visually stunning setpieces and the near relentless pacing it makes for a hell of a film. Plus from a technical standpoint it's extremely interesting since it's supposedly all one continuous tracking shot (or at least composited to look like it). I love the little touches like the stagnant corpse water in artillery craters, or the putrefying human and animal corpses that litter every inch of the battlefield. It really helps sell the suitably grim atmosphere of the trenches. Speaking of the trenches, the film does an excellent job at conveying the paranoia/claustrophobia of entering enemy trenches. The film also does a great job of showing the human element of the war but doesn't spend too much time lingering on it for the sake of pacing. People show up, they die and the story chugs along. Some of the setpieces were stunning, like the bombed out shell of a town illuminated by flares at night. The shifting lighting lends an eerie yet beautiful quality to it. Same with the river that has cherry blossoms falling onto piles of bloated corpses.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

777timesgod said:


> Just saw Knives out and it was terrible in a boring way. I do not understand why Cluedo on film was such a big deal...
> Also Jamie Lee Curtis looked really old. Makeup for the role or is she always like this now?


She's really old.


----------



## wankerness

777timesgod said:


> Just saw Knives out and it was terrible in a boring way. I do not understand why Cluedo on film was such a big deal...
> Also Jamie Lee Curtis looked really old. Makeup for the role or is she always like this now?



what exactly do you think women in their 60s are supposed to look like? Do you think this was made in the 80s?!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Little Women:
Jesus what a tedious film. I got dragged to it while I was visiting my mom. It says something when my mom hated the movie, and normally she loves period piece films/films based off mid 1800s female literature. The film meanders plotwise, and had a number of scenes that should have outright been edited out for the sake of pacing. It simultaneously jumps back and forth between time periods which gets annoying very quickly. The dialogue is pretty terrible at times and feels way too modern given the time period (yeah yeah I know there's been a precedent for anachronism since fucking shakespeare, still triggers me).
Saoirse Ronan was fine in it, but Florence Pugh really shines. She steals every scene she's in and gets a lot of range to play from the vindictive/childlike younger sister that hates being left out, to the composed and hardened aspiring painter she becomes later in the film.
There's literally one interesting meta moment where the film plays with the ending and "how it should be".
I would have preferred a film that followed Louisa May Alcott and tied into the little women story, as she was actually an interesting person, unlike Saoirse's character, who's basically just a tomboy that likes to write.
Overall it's nowhere near as smart of a film as makes itself out to be and the overall story isn't as interesting in terms of characters as some of Bronte/Austen's works.
TLDR: Avoid at all costs.


----------



## wankerness

I need to see Little Women since I love Greta Gerwig's last two movies (well, Frances Ha is only partly her movie) and love Saoirse Ronan and think I might like Florence Pugh (I've only seen her in Midsommer). 

I saw Parasite. It's very good, but not the mindblowing awesomeness that I keep seeing it described as. Maybe I was let down that it wasn't nearly as good as the same director's Memories of Murder, which is easily one of my favorite movies. Still, definitely worth seeing, especially if you aren't familiar with Korean cinema. The tonal shifts are very much of a piece with the other stuff from the director, though they're much more controlled and linear here. 

Oscar nominations are out and predictably blase. I need to see the other best picture nominees that I haven't yet. Which is all of them, besides Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Parasite! I started watching Marriage Story and got interrupted.


----------



## 777timesgod

wankerness said:


> what exactly do you think women in their 60s are supposed to look like? Do you think this was made in the 80s?!



I want the image of her from True lies to live forever! Damn you old age, damn you to hell!


----------



## Rosal76

777timesgod said:


> I want the image of her from True lies to live forever! Damn you old age, damn you to hell!



Comedian, Wanda Sykes took full advantage of that (Jamie getting old).

She was absolutely brutal on Jamie in one of her (Wanda's) comedies (I believe it was, "I'ma be me" from 2009). At the time, Jamie did a commercial for Activia, which is a yogurt that I believe helps people with constipation, amongst other things. I can't remember exactly how Wanda said it in her comedy but it was something along lines of, "Jamie used to be running away from a serial killer in Halloween and now she can't even take a shit properly". I was like, "damnnnnn!!!" Halloween (1978) is the first movie I had seen Jamie in, who was 20 years old at the time, so that's the Jamie I got used to.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The Irishman

Took a while to find time and sit through this in it's entirety, but I'm glad I did. Pretty much classic Scorcese doing what he does best, classic American gangster theme period pieces with a share of Catholic guilt. It's a full ensemble cast but the 3 big names, DeNiro, Pesci and Pacino do most of the heavy lifting (Pacino being the showstopper as his role demands). A surprise was Anna Paquin has little to no lines but all her scenes have some heart piercing deliveries. No real niggles other than more of what Scorcese and crew have done many times before, but can't really niggle because they're so good at this kind of movie, hitting all the right notes. It's long yes, but it's enjoyable all the way through.


----------



## Seabeast2000

6 Underground,

Never heard of it. Insane Michael Bay action. If it's a NF original, it didn't seem like it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

So I'm watching this Prime thing called Nowhere Michigan.... I think the director spent too much time watching Fargo and not enough time in the U.P.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rhythm Section- Pretty solid revenge film. Blake Lively does a great job in it selling the character's pain/grieving/rage. I liked how unpolished and raw the fight scenes were. They felt pretty grounded/realistic for the character's abilities.

Bad Boys For Life: It's a really fun bombastic action film. Yeah there's a lot more drama compared to previous entries but the film moves at a good pace and keeps the action pretty constant. The final setpiece is fucking awesome. Think the Protector but with more fire and explosions.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Uncut Gems

Nobody expected Adam Sandler to have some great acting chops when Punch Drunk Love came out. Here, Sandler gets to do it again with anxiety masters the Safdie brothers and, everyone who says that he did an amazing career escalating job, they were right. This was an awesome fast pace ride and Sandler is off the charts playing Howard Ratner, a gambling addicted jeweler so obsessed with the thrill of near self destruction. You hate the guy but can't help but feel that Howard is a real human being making one bad decision after another. The support cast are great: Idina Menzel playing her most different role as Howard's wife and basketballer Kevin Garnett playing a surprise wildcard as a darker non satirised anti hero version of himself. I was skeptical at first, but I loved it through and through. Certainly deserving the accolades it gets.


----------



## c7spheres

777timesgod said:


> I want the image of her from True lies to live forever! Damn you old age, damn you to hell!
> View attachment 76549



^
yUmmmy.... Anyways. I heard the new Bill and Teds Excellent adventure is coming out in August!. Bored of being middle aged they are warned they must write a song to save the universe. I hope it's as good and stupid as the first two movies. Apparently there is going to be famous musicians again in it. I wonder if Steve Vai is going to be involded again. That would be cool.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Birds of Prey: 
Man what a fun movie. It's one of the few comic book movies besides the deadpool films that doesn't take itself too seriously and just embraces the inherent ridiculousness of the scenario and characters.
The set design and action sequences were super creative (seriously the fun house fight scene and police station fight is so damn good). Margot Robbie kills it as Harley, and Ewan Mcgregor hams it up exceptionally well as Black Mask. The real standout for me was Nick Messina as Zsasz though. He was nigh unrecognizable and managed to make Zsasz even creepier than he was in some of the comics. A lot of it has to do with his dynamic with Black Mask and the weird dudebro egging each other on to escalate things/sexual tension between the characters. 
The gore isn't anything really special barring a few particular scenes (which I won't spoil). 
I'm really glad DC is kind of going down a different path from Marvel and embracing more mature content (or immature in this case). It obviously paid off in spades with Joker, and I think this movie is going to be cult hit.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

A bit late to the party, but finally saw this. This is Tarrantino at his most fanboyish, the equivalent of a grown man gushing and playing with his toys, but with less of the arrested development. Everything to do with Hollywood during that era that he would have held dear in his childhood is all here, and even that bombastic third act that leads to his own fantasy world Inglorious Basterds style. There's a lot going on while nothing going on at the same time, which is a feat. It's really nice to see Sharon Tate portrayed as an actual human. And to some extent Bruce Lee, though I'm a little conflicted with that much like Mike Moh was (which he did a great job), but seeing Bruce Lee as the younger cocky ruder proto version of his untouchable Zen Jeet Kune Do martial artist is the sort of thing Tarrantino would have researched thoroughly and rebutted accordingly. While not his best, but it's good to see Tarrantino so grounded whilst still very in love with the culture he grew up in.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Birds of Prey:
> Man what a fun movie. It's one of the few comic book movies besides the deadpool films that doesn't take itself too seriously and just embraces the inherent ridiculousness of the scenario and characters.
> The set design and action sequences were super creative (seriously the fun house fight scene and police station fight is so damn good). Margot Robbie kills it as Harley, and Ewan Mcgregor hams it up exceptionally well as Black Mask. The real standout for me was Nick Messina as Zsasz though. He was nigh unrecognizable and managed to make Zsasz even creepier than he was in some of the comics. A lot of it has to do with his dynamic with Black Mask and the weird dudebro egging each other on to escalate things/sexual tension between the characters.
> The gore isn't anything really special barring a few particular scenes (which I won't spoil).
> I'm really glad DC is kind of going down a different path from Marvel and embracing more mature content (or immature in this case). It obviously paid off in spades with Joker, and I think this movie is going to be cult hit.



It's a huge box office disappointment, so I don't think "cult hit" would be the right term. Unless it goes like Knives Out and sits in the box office top 10 for months, which I doubt. It looks interesting, but jesus christ, that video they released of the fight scene with the hairband was sub-power rangers. It reminded me of the Sand Snakes BS in season 5 or 6 or whatever it was of Game of Thrones. Like, none of the punches even came close to looking like they were connecting, the actresses looked like they were very badly doing their own stunts, etc. I haven't seen that acknowledged at all in the reviews of the actual movie - did they fix that scene? Is it an outlier?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> It's a huge box office disappointment, so I don't think "cult hit" would be the right term. Unless it goes like Knives Out and sits in the box office top 10 for months, which I doubt. It looks interesting, but jesus christ, that video they released of the fight scene with the hairband was sub-power rangers. It reminded me of the Sand Snakes BS in season 5 or 6 or whatever it was of Game of Thrones. Like, none of the punches even came close to looking like they were connecting, the actresses looked like they were very badly doing their own stunts, etc. I haven't seen that acknowledged at all in the reviews of the actual movie - did they fix that scene? Is it an outlier?


the hair band scene is literally a tiny blip in the middle of the fun house fight. I'm a big fan of martial arts films and I legit thought the fights were quite well done. Farrrrr better than the sand snake fight, which was abysmal.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

"Birds of Prey disappoints with worst opening of DC's extended universe."


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

I enjoyed Birds Of Prey as well. Much more than I expected, it's what I thought the first Suicide Squad movie should've been. Granted that it's more a Harley Quinn showcase than the origin of the actual Birds Of Prey movie, but what Margot Robbie wants, Margot Robbie gets apparently. And we got a pretty great Harley Quinn movie for it. And while Robbie is the central focus, the supporting cast are pretty great. Love seeing Rosie Perez as a jaded Renee Montoya and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Huntress. And definitely loved the 1 2 punch of the 2 villains of Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina. I've heard some comparisons to Takeshi Miike and Torma films, and I sort of get it, certainly the lighter hearted fun side of Miike at least, since director Cathy Yan has some surprisingly great action directing chops up her sleeve. It's such a shame that the name itself was apparently detrimental to the box office sales, since this is another success on DC's redemption.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> I enjoyed Birds Of Prey as well. Much more than I expected, it's what I thought the first Suicide Squad movie should've been. Granted that it's more a Harley Quinn showcase than the origin of the actual Birds Of Prey movie, but what Margot Robbie wants, Margot Robbie gets apparently. And we got a pretty great Harley Quinn movie for it. And while Robbie is the central focus, the supporting cast are pretty great. Love seeing Rosie Perez as a jaded Renee Montoya and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Huntress. And definitely loved the 1 2 punch of the 2 villains of Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina. I've heard some comparisons to Takeshi Miike and Torma films, and I sort of get it, certainly the lighter hearted fun side of Miike at least, since director Cathy Yan has some surprisingly great action directing chops up her sleeve. It's such a shame that the name itself was apparently detrimental to the box office sales, since this is another success on DC's redemption.


I think the main issue is that Birds of Prey doesn't have the cultural cache that Harley does. The only people that really know about them are comic book nerds or kids that watched the animated series that came out in the last couple of years. They should have gone with Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey from the beginning.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I'm tempering my expectations but I do wanna see it, it is disheartening to see that it was such a disappointment in its first week, especially because it's getting decent reviews.

The thing that blows my mind with DC movies is how well Suicide Squad did and that movie was utter garbage except for Margot Robbie's Quinn and Will Smith as Dead Shot.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> I enjoyed Birds Of Prey as well. Much more than I expected, it's what I thought the first Suicide Squad movie should've been. Granted that it's more a Harley Quinn showcase than the origin of the actual Birds Of Prey movie, but what Margot Robbie wants, Margot Robbie gets apparently. And we got a pretty great Harley Quinn movie for it. And while Robbie is the central focus, the supporting cast are pretty great. Love seeing Rosie Perez as a jaded Renee Montoya and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Huntress. And definitely loved the 1 2 punch of the 2 villains of Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina. I've heard some comparisons to Takeshi Miike and Torma films, and I sort of get it, certainly the lighter hearted fun side of Miike at least, since director Cathy Yan has some surprisingly great action directing chops up her sleeve. It's such a shame that the name itself was apparently detrimental to the box office sales, since this is another success on DC's redemption.


She does? Then why'd John Wick's director need to get involved for the action scenes.


----------



## Ralyks

Just took my 4 year old to see Sonic with some friends and their kids. He's still a bit figiddy for the theater. Movie was decent, which means pretty good for video game movies.


----------



## mongey

1917. Enjoyed it. Definitely well made even if I thought some of the hidden scene cuts were pretty obvious. 
Maybe 1 or 2 too many coincidences in the plot but makes you feel for everyone who had to go fight in that shit show.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> I saw Parasite. It's very good, but not the mindblowing awesomeness that I keep seeing it described as. Maybe I was let down that it wasn't nearly as good as the same director's Memories of Murder, which is easily one of my favorite movies. Still, definitely worth seeing, especially if you aren't familiar with Korean cinema. The tonal shifts are very much of a piece with the other stuff from the director, though they're much more controlled and linear here.



Finally saw Parasite myself, and thought it was great. Deserved all the praise it got.

I'd argue that Parasite is at least recently one of the most grounded in all of Bong Joon Ho's movies, and that each character, despite developing hate for, are at least humane for the most part. So it's possibly the most relatable to a wide audience more than his other films (granted I haven't seen Memories of Murder, The Host and Mother in such a long time). And I suppose it's easy to get 'used' to all of Bong's shtick like subversive themes (Parasite is chock full of them) and third act twists and left turns, once you've seen enough of them. Hell, the more I think about Snowpiercer the more predictable it thought it was, that I kick myself for not seeing it coming sooner. 

Still, Parasite is a great movie gateway for Korean cinema especially for other Bong Joon Ho movies, and even Park Chan Wook that isn't Oldboy. And hell, 4 Oscars is certainly the bragging rights not to scoff at.


----------



## wankerness

I really didn't like Snowpiercer AT ALL. I should watch it again and see if I still don't like it. It seemed incredibly hamhanded with the metaphors and it didn't work for me as an action movie, either. I was perplexed by how much people bought into it. I think Memories of Murder is one of the top 5 best movies I've ever seen, and Parasite and The Host are really quite good, but Snowpiercer...ech. 6/10 at best. I could appreciate it and thus wouldn't say it was BAD, but I didn't like it.

I should watch Okja before I cancel netflix.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I really didn't like Snowpiercer AT ALL. I should watch it again and see if I still don't like it. It seemed incredibly hamhanded with the metaphors and it didn't work for me as an action movie, either. I was perplexed by how much people bought into it. I think Memories of Murder is one of the top 5 best movies I've ever seen, and Parasite and The Host are really quite good, but Snowpiercer...ech. 6/10 at best. I could appreciate it and thus wouldn't say it was BAD, but I didn't like it.
> 
> I should watch Okja before I cancel netflix.


okja is terrible. avoid.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> I really didn't like Snowpiercer AT ALL. I should watch it again and see if I still don't like it. It seemed incredibly hamhanded with the metaphors and it didn't work for me as an action movie, either. I was perplexed by how much people bought into it. I think Memories of Murder is one of the top 5 best movies I've ever seen, and Parasite and The Host are really quite good, but Snowpiercer...ech. 6/10 at best. I could appreciate it and thus wouldn't say it was BAD, but I didn't like it.
> 
> I should watch Okja before I cancel netflix.



Not an unpopular opinion. I know a few guys who really disliked Snowpiercer, namely for it's clumsiness and how the twists and turns were far more predictable for Bong's standards. Despite it's flaws, I liked it more than Okja, which while I know friends who love it, didn't really work for me.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Dragon Quest: Your Story

So Dragon Quest V is popular enough to inspire a full feature film. For an extremely faithful game adaptation done with as much love as The Lego Movie, it's fine. Some elements work alright, others not so much if not at all. But being an extremely faithful adaptation also means making this movie aimed specifically at hardcore DQ fans, which are a much smaller demographic outside Japan. So for non DQ fans, it's more a curiosity but ultimately it's a fine bog standard adventure affair... at least until the ending. Without wishing to spoil (or perhaps I did), the filmmakers sure better make all that money back from DQ fans to keep up with the maintenance costs polishing up those MASSIVE BRASS BALLS OF THEIRS. Seriously this is trudging on a wheelbarrow levels of massive. Mad respect.


----------



## r33per

Wife and I took a while but we finally went to see 1917.
Not since Senna and Schindler's List have I been properly affected by a film. Occupied my thoughts for literally days after.

I cannot recommend it enough. Powerful, horrible, moments of beauty and totally captivating - not unlike the war itself.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Idle Hands. such an underrated horror comedy film. It oozes Evil Dead vibes and the makeup/fx are really quite good.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Invisible Man. This was great imo. The use of an emotionally+ physically abusive/psychologically manipulative spouse who systematically makes his wife appear unstable/erratic was excellent. The tension is palpable throughout the film and the kind of things that he does to his wife escalates steadily throughout the film, becoming more and more violent til the climax. The special effects are quite good with subtle references to the invisible man being present (breath outside showing, indentations in chairs when he sits, standing on a blanket/footprint imprint into carpet). There's some really neat camera angles used throughout the film as well. The near future sci-fi tinge to how he becomes "invisible" is ripe for further explanation imo.


----------



## jco5055

Finally Snowpiercer, thought it was really good.

Seeing the videos out there about it being a Willy Wonka sequel also blew my mind.

EDIT: also had no idea this was just being discussed in this thread haha.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Did some catch up viewings, both just happen to be 'who done it' mystery flicks. 

Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

AKA: The Kenneth Branagh Acting Extravaganza. Really, what better property than the classic Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot stories to have Branagh just pull every Shakespearian virtuoso theatrics known to man. It's a pretty good excuse to have an ensemble cast (none of them are slouches either), and have Branagh completely chew up and act out each and every single one of them after the other. All with quite the mighty moustache. Really looking forward to Death On The Nile and seeing him school a new ensemble cast, assuming it doesn't get delayed due to the current state of affairs. 

Knives Out

While Orient is the more traditional take on the murder mystery genre, Knives Out turns the genre over it's head, again something we all expect from Rian Johnson by now, regardless of opinion. Again, with an ensemble cast all pulling their A game. This is the second movie with Daniel Craig doing a deep south rural American accent that I really liked, and he should do more often. And it's nice to see Chris Evans lean on to a 'boo hiss' sort of role, showing he's more than just Captain America. The plot and writing is air tight and the carefully executed uses red herrings, left turns and subversions are what really made this movie refreshing.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Really gotta check out Knives Out but watched Murder on the Orient Express the other night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Just a great, fun, movie. And that magnificent moustache.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Heavy Trip: Holy shit is this movie ridiculous, but in a good way. Between the lambasting of metal tropes like ridiculous subgenres ("symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer grinding pagan metal") and shit loads of absurd physical comedy/absurd scenarios (coming up with a song wbile kidnapping a mental patient to play drums in their band, driving around with their dead buddies' coffin, fighting a wolverine at the zoo, showing up to a metal festival via drakkar, etc).


----------



## Seabeast2000

Knives Out,.....was a decent movie. Daniel Craig did pretty good but I was expecting more twist I guess. It was a fun ride to get to an extra boring conclusion.


----------



## mongey

Frozen 2 with my 5 year old

I actually enjoyed it quite a bit more than I should


----------



## jaxadam

mongey said:


> Frozen 2 with my 5 year old
> 
> I actually enjoyed it quite a bit more than I should



I think we played that one 3 times today.


----------



## Seabeast2000

"You Were Never Really Here"

Dark, dark, dark but a good flow and it wrapped up well IMO. 
Tripy indie style flick with Joaquin doing some pre-Joker parallel themes I guess. Think asocial, unkempt Dexter.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The Villainess- South Korean action film that's basically La Femme Nikita/Hanna mixed with The Raid/SuperCop.
Easily some of the best and most stylish action sequences since Equilibrium/The Raid/The Protector. They're fast paced, brutal as all hell and suuuuper slick in terms of camerawork.The opening first person hallway fight is amazing and so is the bus fight at the end.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Tusk- I never really got around to seeing the film back when it first came out (thought it looked and sounded stupid). I regret that because it's a good schlocky B-movie. The humor is much more front and center than the horror, but there is definitely some ghoulish horror bits. Michael Parks steals every scene he's in and his range in the film is great, going from subtle/understated with a hint of malice, to full on unhinged and gleefully carving human femurs into walrus tusks/mutilating people. Johnny Depp has a bit role as a Quebec detective and also chews up scenery like mad.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Oats Studios: Volume One

WHOAH, very cool. Misleading title for Neal Blomkamp's anthology of shorts and not-so-shorts sci-fi/horror. Def multiple stories that need further installments or conclusions. I hope its an active and continuing project.


----------



## mongey

Knives out. We liked it. Good cast and an easy watch after a long week locked up with the kids. 

Spider-Man far from home. I enjoyed the first spiderman movie in this reboot. But this one it was all a little bit European vacation meets high school musical. Meh.


----------



## SD83

Just rewatched Demolition Man. Still very entertaining, brilliant performance by Wesley Snipes, but especially in these times it is scary how close our reality has come to that movies year 2032. Self driving cars, permanent surveillance by chips implanted, fines for swearing, outlawing tobacco, alcohol, contact sports, probably rock music, hip hop and computer games, avoiding physical contact whenever possible, everyone is really calm and happy...


----------



## wankerness

Everyone is really calm and happy? That doesn't sound scary in its prescience!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Everyone is really calm and happy? That doesn't sound scary in its prescience!


Probably because it's a forced calm/happiness.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Funny, everyone has a New York City accent in cop/crime movies. Detroit, LA, Seattle, St. Louis, etc. It sort of kinda sucks in a generally lazy way.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

finally bothered watching X Men Dark Phoenix. It's nowhere near as bad as Apocalypse was. Still, I'm glad Marvel has control of the franchise now since we might actually get some x men/avengers crossover eventually


----------



## TedEH

I saw Sorry to Bother You yesterday....it's a lot to take in. I find it starts off really strong, but starts to get a little nonsensical towards the end of the film. Does the whole "capitalism bad" thing reasonably well for the first half of the movie without straying into eye-rolling kind of territory, but then kinda loses it's focus later on. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but a good watch.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

TedEH said:


> I saw Sorry to Bother You yesterday....it's a lot to take in. I find it starts off really strong, but starts to get a little nonsensical towards the end of the film. Does the whole "capitalism bad" thing reasonably well for the first half of the movie without straying into eye-rolling kind of territory, but then kinda loses it's focus later on. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but a good watch.


I actually liked it specifically because it became really absurd, that was kind of the fun of it


----------



## TedEH

I wasn't expecting it to get absurd, so that kinda took a bit away for me. 



Spoiler



As soon as the horse people showed up, I couldn't take the movie seriously anymore. I was sort of taking the less-likely details as a possible distorted point of view of the protagonist rather than taking things literally, and I thought it held up really well that way. Like the white-voice thing I took as a metaphor/exaggeration/non-diegetic, rather than thinking that's what the "real world" characters would have been hearing. I even thought maybe the horse people were a hallucination at first. But instead, it stops allowing you to treat them as metaphor. They could have backtracked and said it was a hallucination, or maybe have that be a non-diegetic thing, or the protagonists interpretation of what's happening while everyone else just sees normal people. 

To me, it forced a change of tone, change of focus, and a change of the interpretation of what was happening. It also felt a bit like a cop-out, since they never had to address any of the more serious topics they were talking about because they were overshadowed by OMG FTF HORSE PEOPLE. All of your ability to relate to the protagonist is gone because he's no longer dealing with an exaggerated version of real-world things a lot of normal people deal with. Everything from horse-people onward, to me, took this from being a great movie to being just a good movie.



Still a good movie, I still recommend the watch, and it's a rollercoaster at times (in a good way), but it's not without it's flaws.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Just started one of the 87 Nick Cage movies made in the last 5 years.


----------



## mongey

Uncut gems. 
Overall enjoyed it even though it really had no plot. To much people speaking over each other in the dialogue as well which really affected the clarity at times 

But good performances All round and it had good style. I liked the Ealry 80’s , Scarface like synth soundtrack.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The Gentlemen

Let's face it, Guy Ritchie has only one trick up his sleeve. But it's ok not to question it since he is a master of this one trick, we get some awesome fun dirty crime movies out of it and not really care about anything else he does. 

Same usual London town crime scenario with rapid fire dialogue and all the twists and turns of a plate of spagbol, it does feel like an allegory of Guy Ritchie's career at times. It's also another example on how his choice of cast combining with his writing can bring out some of the best performances. Matthew McConaughey and Hugh Grant are absolutely relishing their roles (the latter probably the best I've ever seen him play). Henry Goulding is great getting right down and dirty and Colin Farrell is fun a hell. Charlie Hunnam outshines everyone here as he carries the brunt of the movie and does so in such a way you'll probably forget he and Ritchie did a King Arthur movie together. 

So yeah, another fun Guy Ritchie movie.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Watched The Toxic Avenger I-III and Class of Nuke Em High I-III this weekend. Probably going to watch Troma's War, which has been the only thing to really interested me thus far for this season's "The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs."


----------



## Drew

I re-watched the 5th Element for the first time in ages a few days back. Very much to my surprise, it actually held up really well.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Surfing the streaming universe, watched The Mechanic. I never saw it back in the day but yikes, what a pile of crap. Even in context, its shite. Editing, dialog, FX, junk.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Watched The Toxic Avenger I-III and Class of Nuke Em High I-III this weekend. Probably going to watch Troma's War, which has been the only thing to really interested me thus far for this season's "The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs."


Have you seen The Being by chance?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Seabeast2000 said:


> Surfing the streaming universe, watched The Mechanic. I never saw it back in the day but yikes, what a pile of crap. Even in context, its shite. Editing, dialog, FX, junk.


charles bronson or the jason statham version?


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> charles bronson or the jason statham version?


Chuck 1972.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> Have you seen The Being by chance?


Not yet.

Anyone else seen Troma's War? Is there an issue with audio syncing on every copy because it was overdubbed after the fact like an Italian film?


----------



## TedEH

I realized that Dune was on Netflix and I had never seen it before so I gave that a shot. I don't think it's stood the test of time very well at all. I was under the impression that was it a well enjoyed film (maybe in a cult sense?) but it was kinda all over the place, hard to follow, didn't really explain anything. I liked it from a cinematography point of view, but the narrative left me just kinda baffled. I had been expecting so much better.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

TedEH said:


> I realized that Dune was on Netflix and I had never seen it before so I gave that a shot. I don't think it's stood the test of time very well at all. I was under the impression that was it a well enjoyed film (maybe in a cult sense?) but it was kinda all over the place, hard to follow, didn't really explain anything. I liked it from a cinematography point of view, but the narrative left me just kinda baffled. I had been expecting so much better.


the miniseries from syfy is better overall imo. The lynch version has some neat moments though


----------



## Seabeast2000

TedEH said:


> I realized that Dune was on Netflix and I had never seen it before so I gave that a shot. I don't think it's stood the test of time very well at all. I was under the impression that was it a well enjoyed film (maybe in a cult sense?) but it was kinda all over the place, hard to follow, didn't really explain anything. I liked it from a cinematography point of view, but the narrative left me just kinda baffled. I had been expecting so much better.


I agree. I never really paid full attention to the narrative until a recent re-view. Its super chopped story wise but wonderful to watch IMO. So I guess this old news and all but Lynch emancipated himself from the project after the distributor took his cut and chopped it to hell and back then released what we see today. Unfortunately, there was never a full director's cut because of whatever, lost footage, no Lynch interest, etc.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

TedEH said:


> I realized that Dune was on Netflix and I had never seen it before so I gave that a shot. I don't think it's stood the test of time very well at all. I was under the impression that was it a well enjoyed film (maybe in a cult sense?) but it was kinda all over the place, hard to follow, didn't really explain anything. I liked it from a cinematography point of view, but the narrative left me just kinda baffled. I had been expecting so much better.



That was an odd one, even David Lynch himself is distancing himself from it.

The biggest issue was that it tried to put all the world building, story and lore of the Frank Herbert books into a film, which was nigh impossible. The theatrical premiere had a full glossary handed out to viewers in the cinema, but that didn't help at all since the last thing movie goers wanted to do is read a pamphlet.

I guess it could've been worse. Jodorowsky's Dune sounded like the most insane production of all time, but it was over long before it started. At least we got a cool documentary about it.

That said, there's also the Dune Alternative Edition Redux Fan edit of the film that makes the Lynch movie make more sense. The fan edit part may put off a lot of people, but it's an interesting watch all the same.

Or at least wait for Vilanueve's Dune, which looks promising.


----------



## TedEH

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Jodorowsky's Dune


I remember seeing this before and thought that it was referring to the same movie that I just saw. I skipped it because why would I watch a doc about another movie I've never seen? I should go back and revisit that maybe.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

TedEH said:


> I remember seeing this before and thought that it was referring to the same movie that I just saw. I skipped it because why would I watch a doc about another movie I've never seen? I should go back and revisit that maybe.



Jodorowski's vision of the Dune movie was never made. But it's ambitions made for an interesting and baffling story. HR Giger, Orson Wells, Mick Jagger, Salvador Dali, David Carradine and Pink Floyd were among involved (Jagger was basically proto Sting as Feyd). Of course the ridiculous budget and Alejandro Jodorowski's general insanity (getting his then 12 year old son to play Paul Atreides) sunk the ship long before it sailed. 

The movie is essentially a doco that explores their attempt at making a Dune movie before it went full director musical chairs and eventually settling with David Lynch.


----------



## Ralyks

I just got Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis on Blu-ray. I’ve been wanting a Blu-ray copy for years. So that’s going down today.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

High Life. Think 2001 A Space Odyssey' cinematography mixed with Sunshine/Event Horizon's oppressive and dark story of a doomed ship/crew, but with more semen and general arthouse weirdness.
The music is angular and weird but strangely compelling.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Felt a little lethargic and sick these past few days. So, figured it's an excuse to lay in bed and watch a couple movies.

_You Were Never Really Here_ - Highly, highly recommend this movie. I honestly think this is an important film due to the dark, gritty, realistic portrayal of the internal suffering that results from trauma. It is conveyed to the viewer through the camerawork and shot framing, through the lighting, and of course, through Joaquin Phoenix's spectacular performance. Even though the main character's condition isn't explicitly stated at any point whatsoever in the film, you as the viewer know exactly what he's suffering from and how it's affecting him. Also, the subversion of expectations during what "should have" been the climax was very well played out. Lastly, since we are all music lovers here on this forum, the score composed by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead is absolutely wonderful. Very retro and matches the dark, pulsing atmosphere of the film without being cheesy (like much of 80's and 90's music).

_Joker_ - Yep, this movie still hits hard. Definitely a solid exploration of the dark reality of mental health struggles, spearheaded by Joaquin Phoenix's best performance as a damaged man who is amongst the marginalized mentally ill humans left out on the fringes of society. It's almost like Phoenix took things that he learned from portraying damaged men in other films (like _You Were Never Really Here_, _The Master_, _Her_, _Don't Worry He Won't Get Far on Foot_, _To Die For_), shook it all together, and then upped it to the nth degree.

_Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot _- I'm not entirely sure what to make of this one. It was written and directed by Gus Van Sant (_Good Will Hunting_). The story is solid. The all-star cast is quite an odd mash-up (Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, and even Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth) but every performance is solid. Even the score by Danny Elfman is solid. But I can't seem to recall much about the film after having watched it. Maybe I'll come back to this one later.

_Shutter Island_ - Figured I'd rewatch this for the first time in years just to see if it still holds up. Every Scorsese flick stills holds up well, but you can kind of see the holes in _Shutter Island_ pretty glaringly after a second or third viewing. Seems like Scorsese tried a bit too hard to be deep with this one. Regardless, it's still an entertaining film.

_The Sunset Limited_ - For fans of films with well-written dialogue, I'd recommend this one written by Cormac McCarthy. The film is just an hour and a half of Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson sitting in a tiny room conversing about philosophy, truth, death, whether God exists, whether life is minuscule and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, etc. No other cast. The movie doesn't even have any music aside from a short theme composed by Marco Beltrami. It's so minimal, but still an enjoyable "thinking man's" sort of film if you enjoy dialogue. (It's kind of comparable to 1981 classic _My Dinner With Andre_ but obviously darker and more serious.)

_Contagion_ - Might as well watch this because of the crazy times we're currently living in, right?

It's not a good film.







_Harsh Times_ - Christian Bale delivers a pretty good performance as an ex-military "burnout" (or maybe "frat boy" would be the term?) who suffers from PTSD and attempts to cope with it through constant drinking and smoking. Honestly, Bale is the only thing that keeps the film moving along and keeps the viewer interested. Other than that, what a blah mess of a film...


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Extra Ordinary- fucking hilarious. There's all kinds of stupid ghost gags and ectoplasm/body fluids being spilled, especially in the last 30 mins where the film becomes considerably more ridiculous.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Felt a little lethargic and sick these past few days. So, figured it's an excuse to lay in bed and watch a couple movies.
> 
> _You Were Never Really Here_ - Highly, highly recommend this movie. I honestly think this is an important film due to the dark, gritty, realistic portrayal of the internal suffering that results from trauma. It is conveyed to the viewer through the camerawork and shot framing, through the lighting, and of course, through Joaquin Phoenix's spectacular performance. Even though the main character's condition isn't explicitly stated at any point whatsoever in the film, you as the viewer know exactly what he's suffering from and how it's affecting him. Also, the subversion of expectations during what "should have" been the climax was very well played out. Lastly, since we are all music lovers here on this forum, the score composed by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead is absolutely wonderful. Very retro and matches the dark, pulsing atmosphere of the film without being cheesy (like much of 80's and 90's music).
> 
> 
> _Harsh Times_ - Christian Bale delivers a pretty good performance as an ex-military "burnout" (or maybe "frat boy" would be the term?) who suffers from PTSD and attempts to cope with it through constant drinking and smoking. Honestly, Bale is the only thing that keeps the film moving along and keeps the viewer interested. Other than that, what a blah mess of a film...



YWNRH is a good dark one. 

Harsh Times- the drug screen countermeasures always a memorable scene. I haven't seen Fury yet, but I think Ayer is a better writer than a director so far. 



KnightBrolaire said:


> High Life. Think 2001 A Space Odyssey' cinematography mixed with Sunshine/Event Horizon's oppressive and dark story of a doomed ship/crew, but with more semen and general arthouse weirdness.
> The music is angular and weird but strangely compelling.



Just caught this last night. You nailed it. Also Juliette Binoosh (POOF).


----------



## Ralyks

After owning it for a year and a half, I finally got around to watching Annihilation. And while I liked it, what the hell did I watch?


----------



## wankerness

That bear scene was probably the most I’d been really scared by a movie scene since first seeing the end of [REC] way back in 2004. It’s so damn tense and the body horror and sound effects on top just turned it into nightmare fuel. I’d only call it a good movie, but that’s a great scene.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Ralyks said:


> After owning it for a year and a half, I finally got around to watching Annihilation. And while I liked it, what the hell did I watch?


I thoroughly enjoyed Annihilation but I agree that last half hour or so gets pretty mind-fuck. All around great sci-fi/cosmic horror with a really solid cast. 

Watched _Thoroughbreds_ the other night and really liked Olivia Cooke's character. It felt well written and didn't go the direction I thought it would so it was good.


----------



## wankerness

Thoroughbreds is great. Definitely one of the best movies I’ve seen from the last few years.


----------



## mongey

Mid 90’s. I dug it. I know this movie has haters but Jonah hill did a good job


----------



## InHiding

I've been watching the Friday the 13th films for the first time ever. They are better than they are given credit for. The movies with the "real" Jason are the best, the others not so much. I watch them as comedies.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Come to Daddy. Lol nutty. 

Just started Deathgasm....


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Seabeast2000 said:


> Come to Daddy. Lol nutty.
> 
> Just started Deathgasm....


deathgasm is fucking awesome. 
Heavy Trip is another good zany metal centric comedy.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Deathgasm was better than it had a right to be.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> deathgasm is fucking awesome.
> Heavy Trip is another good zany metal centric comedy.



Good times. Watched Deathgasm then Heavy Trip, both very fun movies. Heavy Trip is hilarious. 
Also watched "Mega Time Squad", very funny.


----------



## Metropolis

Lords Of Chaos. Actor of Varg didn't look like him at all, otherwise it was decent. Did Euronymous play a real Gibson back then? I bet not.

Heavy Trip also few weeks back. In some parts it just went over the top too much, and can't decide if it was funny or not. What the hell it was with that white puke, looked like seagull shit or white paint


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Metropolis said:


> Lords Of Chaos. Actor of Varg didn't look like him at all, otherwise it was decent. Did Euronymous play a real Gibson back then? I bet not.
> 
> Heavy Trip also few weeks back. In some parts it just went over the top too much, and can't decide if it was funny or not. What the hell it was with that white puke, looked like seagull shit or white paint


Rory Culkin was Varg, wasn't he? Or was Rory Euronymous?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Rory Culkin was Varg, wasn't he? Or was Rory Euronymous?


He was Euronymous.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Slash: Raised on the Sunset Strip -- dig it. The bonus is Slash is a cool dude. 

Hired Gun -- I mean, it feels a lot like a promo. But its got some insight about being a session player. That Jason Hook can fuckin' play. 

The Rainbow -- Interesting. That old Mangini guy worked with a lot of acts.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> Slash: Raised on the Sunset Strip -- dig it. The bonus is Slash is a cool dude.


Eh... Slash comes off as kinda smug and "too cool for school" for me, even though he and his one album wonder band fell prey to all of the same bullshit as the LA glam scene they "despised." Just an Aerosmith cover band LARPing as Hanoi Rocks.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Eh... Slash comes off as kinda smug and "too cool for school" for me, even though he and his one album wonder band fell prey to all of the same bullshit as the LA glam scene they "despised." Just an Aerosmith cover band LARPing as Hanoi Rocks.



Interesting, I don't get that from him these days. Maybe no booze and dope and 55 years helped him.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Its So Easy and Other Lies-- Spoken Word/Musical Performance Duff on Duff. I dug it. 

Inside Metal: The LA Music Scene Explodes- about 30 min in and its also pretty interesting. A LOT of dudes and some chicks from bands I haven't heard from since perusing borrowed Hit Parader and Circus mags in 1982/83 in study hall but also a lot of dudes in bands that got big and lasted. There's a Part 2 as well. 

Disclaimer: If these guys have something of interest to me and the doc keeps me watching, I invest the time and call it a net gain. . 
Also, Amazon keeps me rolling through these with their "customers also watched" tiles.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Had to watch a few Schumacher movies given the news

Phone Booth
8MM
Falling Down
A Time to Kill


----------



## c7spheres

Finally got around to watching the new? Star Wars Skywalker film.
- It was entertaining but really left me with an over all underwhelmed feeling. 
- It seemed the movie was more of the same stuff. Same shit different day type feeling.
- I get why it ended that way and it makes sense, I was just hoping for something more. 
- All-in-all looking at the entire 9 movies, the Solo movie, and the Rogue 1 movie, I think they're a great collection. I thought Solo and Rogue 1 were much better films, but these all fit together in a nice package. 

- I may just be to old to give a care any more, but I'm really not very critical at this point. I'm entertained and not a nerd about it. It's kind of like expecting Metallica is gonna top its older best albums. You check it out and are happy if you hear something like what made you love them. For these people trying to carry on a legacy I think they did a really good job not being Lucas and crew doing it from the 70's. 
- Maybe someday in 10 years when I get time to watch some more tv I'll check out the Mandalorian and other stuff. I hear it's good too.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The Hunt: I actually really enjoyed it. It's a dumb action movie with pretty good practical effects and gore masquerading as a smarter film that wants to poke fun at the bipartisan divide in the USA. It fails miserably at being a political satire. At best it could be considered a meta take on cancel culture backfiring on liberals, or a very meta way of poking fun at MAGA rednecks and how they think they're the heroes of the story. That's probably giving it wayyyy too much credit though.


----------



## Kaura

Da 5 Bloods

Pretty entertaining but holy fuck was it cringy watching guys firing a M16 or even an AK on full auto for 10 seconds straight. It takes less than 10 seconds to empty a clip even on single fire.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Kaura said:


> Da 5 Bloods
> 
> Pretty entertaining but holy fuck was it cringy watching guys firing a M16 or even an AK on full auto for 10 seconds straight. It takes less than 10 seconds to empty a clip even on single fire.


*ahem* it's called a magazine you uncultured swine


----------



## Kaura

KnightBrolaire said:


> *ahem* it's called a magazine you uncultured swine



Whatever man, I'm drunk.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> *ahem* it's called a magazine you uncultured swine


----------



## Seabeast2000

The Mission (1986)- It holds up, haven't seen it in forever and there were whole chunks I had not remembered. Note to self: 1750's fashion was brutally hot. Got the fam to watch it. 

Trivia noticed, Maurie and Jimmy Conway would again be rivals 4 years later in another movie. lol.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I see what @Kaura meant about Da 5 Bloods. Jesus the CGI gunshots and blood spatters look atrocious. I've seen better shit in youtube videos from like 6 years ago ffs.
It's so bad


----------



## Seabeast2000

6 Dynamic Laws for Success
Rando selection from the Prime- surprisingly original and funny. Recommended if you are in a quality indie mood.


----------



## Ralyks

Watched Scoob! with my son, and gotta say, surprisingly enjoyed it. Great family movie.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Pretty sure if you are looking for work, Netflix will hire you on as a cast member for any of their low-budget self-produced clock fodder. FYI/PSA.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

I just saw some random-ass adaptation of Sense and Sensibility from 2011 called "From Prada to Nada" that was probably mediocre but honestly I enjoyed the hell out of it. Very charming. Would recommend.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Anyone know if I can hook up my DBX 166XL gate/compressor/limiter to my TV? I am beyond fucking fed up with superquietdialog  and SUPER FUCKING LOUD MUSIC, EXPLOSIONS, GUNSHOTS, AND OTHER STUPID BULLSHIT!


Who the hell enjoys that nonsense?


----------



## gnoll

Turn on subtitles and turn the volume down.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Anyone know if I can hook up my DBX 166XL gate/compressor/limiter to my TV? I am beyond fucking fed up with superquietdialog  and SUPER FUCKING LOUD MUSIC, EXPLOSIONS, GUNSHOTS, AND OTHER STUPID BULLSHIT!
> 
> 
> Who the hell enjoys that nonsense?




I don't know. Lots of buried mumbling.....its like they lose it in the mix. Sort of the opposite of older tin can audio tracks on movies and tv.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Yes, God Yes- Less of a raunchy teen cumming of age flick and more of a drama piece with a dash of humor to highlight the hypocrisy of fundamentalist christians when it comes to sex. Meh.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

gnoll said:


> Turn on subtitles and turn the volume down.


If I wanted to read a book, I'd save my ears the wear and tear and grab one.


----------



## gnoll

Spaced Out Ace said:


> If I wanted to read a book, I'd save my ears the wear and tear and grab one.



That's fine, I know a lot of people don't like subtitles. I think they're pretty nice, especially when watching and eating at the same time. I don't have to read them all the time, but if something is hard to hear I can just glance down, and never have to worry about missing anything.

Plus, if something is in a language I don't speak I don't have to miss out.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

gnoll said:


> That's fine, I know a lot of people don't like subtitles. I think they're pretty nice, especially when watching and eating at the same time. I don't have to read them all the time, but if something is hard to hear I can just glance down, and never have to worry about missing anything.
> 
> Plus, if something is in a language I don't speak I don't have to miss out.


I'll take dubs. And yeah. I know, I don't "hear the native inflections," but I don't speak the language so it means nothing to me anyways. Italian films are all dubbed, regardless, so...


----------



## MFB

The quality of the dub is really what counts, a shitty one will ruin an otherwise great product, but if you see it like that for the first time it can discolor your initial perception and think it's garbage. That's why I tend to use subs over dubs that don't really match with what you'd expect, but then you miss out on the actual _performance _of an actor, or animation quality/etc... so there's a downside to either.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

I have a theory that the whole LOUD-MUSIC-quiet-dialog thing is because they mix for surround where most of the voice is in the center channel and then just phone in the stereo mix and use the left and right channels from the surround mix, giving you LOUD STEREO CONTENT AND nearly inaudible mono voices.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

LiveOVErdrive said:


> I have a theory that the whole LOUD-MUSIC-quiet-dialog thing is because they mix for surround where most of the voice is in the center channel and then just phone in the stereo mix and use the left and right channels from the surround mix, giving you LOUD STEREO CONTENT AND nearly inaudible mono voices.


Either way, it is stupid. Why movies have such a drastic dynamic range, and music these days has next to none, when it should be the opposite, is really weird and kind of ridiculous. It makes the films unwatchable, and everyone I've mentioned it to hates riding the volume control as well.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

LiveOVErdrive said:


> I have a theory that the whole LOUD-MUSIC-quiet-dialog thing is because they mix for surround where most of the voice is in the center channel and then just phone in the stereo mix and use the left and right channels from the surround mix, giving you LOUD STEREO CONTENT AND nearly inaudible mono voices.



I remember when I first got a PS2 as a kid and started getting into horror movies, 90% of the dialogue was inaudible if you had the tv at a reasonable volume so you had to turn it up only for the scare chord to blow out your eardrums and set off car alarms.



gnoll said:


> That's fine, I know a lot of people don't like subtitles. I think they're pretty nice, especially when watching and eating at the same time. I don't have to read them all the time, but if something is hard to hear I can just glance down, and never have to worry about missing anything.
> 
> Plus, if something is in a language I don't speak I don't have to miss out.



The biggest down side to subtitles in my experience is when they were taken from the script rather than from the spoken dialogue, 'cause I've watched a few films where the dialogue spoken and the subtitles did not match and ruined the tone of the scene. 

And when it comes to foreign film, it's a toss up of the subtitles either being a direct translation or a localization.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Watched The Gentlemen, it was quite good. Not exceptional but not bad by any means. I like Guy Ritchie movies and the characters he makes are really entertaining, and the plot was solid but it felt a little drawn out.


----------



## High Plains Drifter

Taxi Driver and Dog Day Afternoon


----------



## Rosal76

Took a chance on a straight to video, B movie, called, Showdown in Little Tokyo from 1991, starring Dolph Lundgren and the late, Brandon Lee. As you would expect from a straight to video, B movie, it did have cheesy dialogue and action scenes but those were the times.

What was cool is that one of the locations used in the movie was used in another movie that I really like. I'm one of those movie watchers who will sometimes recognize locations from movie to movie, depending if the locations didn't change drastically in appearance over time. Because Los Angeles, California is such a popular location to film movies, I was on the lookout. But anyways, the location...

The Union center for the arts building as it appears in Showdown. I couldn't find a good picture of the location.







The building as it appears in John Carpentar's Prince of Darkness movie from 1987. Alice Cooper in foreground.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rosal76 said:


> Took a chance on a straight to video, B movie, called, Showdown in Little Tokyo from 1991, starring Dolph Lundgren and the late, Brandon Lee. As you would expect from a straight to video, B movie, it did have cheesy dialogue and action scenes but those were the times.
> 
> What was cool is that one of the locations used in the movie was used in another movie that I really like. I'm one of those movie watchers who will sometimes recognize locations from movie to movie, depending if the locations didn't change drastically in appearance over time. Because Los Angeles, California is such a popular location to film movies, I was on the lookout. But anyways, the location...
> 
> The Union center for the arts building as it appears in Showdown. I couldn't find a good picture of the location.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The building as it appears in John Carpentar's Prince of Darkness movie from 1987. Alice Cooper in foreground.


fun movie. I love when Dolph does a flying side kick over the speeding car lol


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I didn't need you to tell me that was Prince of Darkness, nor did I need you to mention it was Alice freakin' Cooper!


----------



## mongey

re watched the 1st iron man film for the first time in years the other night.

Terrance Howard is so much better than don cheadle. shame they didn't continue with him


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

mongey said:


> re watched the 1st iron man film for the first time in years the other night.
> 
> Terrance Howard is so much better than don cheadle. shame they didn't continue with him



I just watched that movie earlier this week.

I heard that Howard turned down playing the role because he felt he wasn't getting paid enough.

He's gotta be kicking himself in the ass. That's a pretty big paycheck to have missed out on.


----------



## BlackMastodon

FILTHnFEAR said:


> I just watched that movie earlier this week.
> 
> I heard that Howard turned down playing the role because he felt he wasn't getting paid enough.
> 
> He's gotta be kicking himself in the ass. That's a pretty big paycheck to have missed out on.


Maybe he miscounted how much he would get paid... 
https://mashable.com/2015/09/14/terrence-howard-one-times-one/


----------



## gnoll

The Wolf of Wall Street.

Eh, watchable for sure, but expected more. Mostly entertaining, sometimes pretty funny, but felt too long. Overall kinda meh.

2.75/5


----------



## gnoll

Been in a movie-mood lately!
_
The Man Who Wasn't There_ (2001).

Noiry film by the Coens, black-and-white, set in the late 40s, kinda low-key crime drama. I thought it was pretty good but maybe a little bit slow. Pretty stylish film in looks but some music got a bit overused. Not 100% engaging but not too far off.

3.5/5

Also gave _Fargo _(1996) a rewatch. It's been a while since last time but I looove it. The cinematography is super nice, some of the shots are just amazing and you can really feel the biting cold while watching, it feels like you're right there along the Minnesota roads! Characters and performances are great, story and pacing are great, and the music is as well. It all just works! My favorite from the Coens (that I've seen).

5/5


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Becky- 
Basically a home invasion film with a psychotic preteen out for revenge against some neonazis. The gore is quite good (and brutal) with all of it done via practical effects. Kevin James tries his hand at playing a villain and does a great job of chewing up scenery. He's pretty convincing as an unrepentant murderer. 
Tone wise the film leans towards pitch black comedy/horror, with most of the dark humor coming from Becky and her subsequent ways of murdering/maiming the neonazis.

Fun movie if you're in the mood for some good ole ultraviolence.


The Forest- meh. The concept of using Aokigahara as a horror setting is great, and the use of reality vs the protagonist's perception is also good. Sadly the film has some awful cgi for the ghost faces along with some shitty jump scares that kind of ruin the tension and feeling of dread that the movie managed to build up. It had a lot of potential conceptually but just fell flat.


----------



## MFB

"The Forest" is the Natalie Dormer one right? If so, I saw that in theaters and was incredibly underwhelmed for something that had one of the coolest settings at it's disposal vs. what we got.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> "The Forest" is the Natalie Dormer one right? If so, I saw that in theaters and was incredibly underwhelmed for something that had one of the coolest settings at it's disposal vs. what we got.


yup, Natalie Dormer as twins. There's so much potential with Aokigahara as a setting, same with Isla de las Munecas.


----------



## wankerness

LiveOVErdrive said:


> I have a theory that the whole LOUD-MUSIC-quiet-dialog thing is because they mix for surround where most of the voice is in the center channel and then just phone in the stereo mix and use the left and right channels from the surround mix, giving you LOUD STEREO CONTENT AND nearly inaudible mono voices.



A lot of the problem comes from people that watch on a stereo TV but select the surround audio track on a disc/have 5.1 set as the audio format in Netflix, which essentially doubles the amount of sound effects volume relative to voice volume that they get if they choose the 2.0 track instead, which would have far less of this problem on a regular TV. I know this was my problem for a while.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I'll have to see if that is the case with Netflix. Because fuck that shit.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

wankerness said:


> A lot of the problem comes from people that watch on a stereo TV but select the surround audio track on a disc/have 5.1 set as the audio format in Netflix, which essentially doubles the amount of sound effects volume relative to voice volume that they get if they choose the 2.0 track instead, which would have far less of this problem on a regular TV. I know this was my problem for a while.


I have searched my chromecast settings for this. I think I have checked Netflix but I'll have to double check. 

At some point I plan to just get a surround receiver and run LR+center so I can up the center balance as needed.


----------



## wankerness

LiveOVErdrive said:


> I have searched my chromecast settings for this. I think I have checked Netflix but I'll have to double check.
> 
> At some point I plan to just get a surround receiver and run LR+center so I can up the center balance as needed.



Yeah, that's certainly another option. I ended up just getting a cheap receiver/5.1 system. It really made a huge difference; suddenly volumes on all those modern movies made sense! I dunno if you can adjust levels on a soundbar correctly or not, but what you suggested should definitely work. Depending on my current apartment layout I sometimes have to really crank a certain speaker to make it sound as loud as the others.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

wankerness said:


> Yeah, that's certainly another option. I ended up just getting a cheap receiver/5.1 system. It really made a huge difference; suddenly volumes on all those modern movies made sense! I dunno if you can adjust levels on a soundbar correctly or not, but what you suggested should definitely work. Depending on my current apartment layout I sometimes have to really crank a certain speaker to make it sound as loud as the others.


Suddenly all the receivers I had been looking at are sold out. I wonder if covid has everyone upgrading their home theaters.


----------



## wankerness

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Suddenly all the receivers I had been looking at are sold out. I wonder if covid has everyone upgrading their home theaters.



Probably some of that, since a huge percentage of people are not going to go to a movie theater until vaccines are out they probably want to recreate some of that oomph at home? Might also be part shortages from supply chain interruptions.

Or they just came out with new models and retired all the ones you were looking at!

I've had two receivers, a Yamaha and an Onkyo. I loved the Yamaha, but it got blown out in a lightning storm (I had a cheap surge protector that only works once, so the second time killed it). The Onkyo is functional, but the interface is a lot less friendly.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive

wankerness said:


> Probably some of that, since a huge percentage of people are not going to go to a movie theater until vaccines are out they probably want to recreate some of that oomph at home? Might also be part shortages from supply chain interruptions.
> 
> Or they just came out with new models and retired all the ones you were looking at!
> 
> I've had two receivers, a Yamaha and an Onkyo. I loved the Yamaha, but it got blown out in a lightning storm (I had a cheap surge protector that only works once, so the second time killed it). The Onkyo is functional, but the interface is a lot less friendly.


Good to know, since those are the two brands I have been looking at lately.


----------



## mongey

Birds of prey. 

watched it with the wife on a let’s give it 15 minutes agreement and we both really enjoyed it. 

story is basically non existent but it was entertaining and I liked the styling.


----------



## mlp187

Bill and Ted Face the Music. Loved it. Bought it. Will watch it again. Weezer's contribution to the soundtrack is banging, too.


----------



## wankerness

mlp187 said:


> Bill and Ted Face the Music. Loved it. Bought it. Will watch it again. Weezer's contribution to the soundtrack is banging, too.



I liked the Mastodon track used during one of the “traveling “ bits, too. I didn’t love the movie, but I definitely enjoyed it quite a bit. I rented it cause I figure a disc will come out with behind the scenes stuff at some point.


----------



## mongey

Capone

That's is, Hardy is on my shit list for good . At least in this one his character was supposed to mumble incomprehensibly I guess.


----------



## Seabeast2000

mongey said:


> Capone
> 
> That's is, Hardy is on my shit list for good . At least in this one his character was supposed to mumble incomprehensibly I guess.


I do kinda want to see Taboo season 2 though.


----------



## MFB

mongey said:


> Capone
> 
> That's is, Hardy is on my shit list for good . At least  in this one his character was supposed to mumble incomprehensibly I guess.



Quite frankly, he shouldn't be doing biopics. He's got some roles I love him in, like _Bronson _which flies in the face of everything I just said, but the character is polar opposite of Capone so it makes sense why. The dude was a lunatic, full of life and over the top energy, so Hardy didn't have to play a shell of a human being. He's also fantastic in _Warrior, _and I remember being intimidated as fuck by his physique in _Dark Knight Rises_, but stuff that's he's done like_ Legend/Capone_ really are just ...not good.


----------



## gnoll

Downtown Abbey.

Okay continuation/wrap-up of the series. Didn't really "do" that much but ehh, it looked and sounded nice and it did sorta what you'd expect from a story/plot perspective. Fine. If I wrote it I'd have tried to be a bit more adventurous maybe. For people who haven't seen the series I'd probably give this film a miss and watch that first.

3/5


----------



## Seabeast2000

Indie stuff worth the time IMO:
"Too Late" is worth the watch for its single takes and interesting storyline. NSFW but a good twist.
"Closure" is poking fun at the SoCal scene or parts of it I guess.
"Revenge for Jolly" is dark comedy with a few recognizable faces.

Also finally sat through "Hesher". I get the plot but it seems like it was a lost opportunity, especially the 3rd act it just sort of died or went into spin cycle.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Watched Inherent Vice last night. What a fucking ride through early 70's LA. Really well written and funny, highly recommend.


----------



## Rosal76

BlackMastodon said:


> Watched Inherent Vice last night. What a fucking ride through early 70's LA. Really well written and funny, highly recommend.



James Brolin speaking Japanese is the best thing in that movie. LOL.


----------



## BlackMastodon

There were a few moments that had me cackling and that was definitely one of them. 

(also it's Josh Brolin )


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Watching Countess Dracula (Hammer Film with lots of capital knockers) and The Shed.


----------



## Rosal76

BlackMastodon said:


> (also it's Josh Brolin )



Doh! I keep mixing those 2 up. I also mix up actors, Sam Elliott with Tom Sellect and Mark Hamill with Mark Harmon. My old age is setting in. LOL.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

Mulan



Spoiler



Really bland and just empty at times. Changing her into a jedi born with superhero powers instead of a woman who fights her way up a patriarchal society really sucked the life and meaning out of the story.

Music was fantastic though. Sets and costumes also very good. Looked like they ran out of money in a few places though and feels like 30 or so minutes was cut out wether that would have even helped.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Mulan live action- wooden acting, mary sue main character, mediocre wire fu fight scenes, nobody is interesting except for the new sorceress character. just bland and meh all around. The costumes and cinematography are damn good though

It's a mediocre kung fu film with none of the charm of the original. If they wanted to make it more grounded, they failed miserably.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Tenet- an absolute clusterfuck of scifi gobbledigook storywise, but good god the action sequences are so COOOL. The end sequence in particular is really cool with the simultaneous time streams running.
I adore the heavy usage of practical effects (which is a lost art in this age of cgi bullshit).


----------



## mongey

Tenet

Def need to re watch. Cool concept but after first viewing feels like he tried to do too much with it. Would’ve been more
Cohesive if he stuck to the main ideas and fleshed then out more.


----------



## MFB

Lake Mungo

I don't remember if I even watched the trailer for it before giving it a go, but this was a real gem. Hell, when it started I thought I missed something say it was a documentary and then at the end my dumbass remembered that that's just a format that movies can use  Definitely left me a little unsettled for the rest of the night, just looking over my shoulder at any dark corners.


----------



## gnoll

In Bruges (2008)

Two hitmen are hiding out in Belgium and things happen and guns and bla bla. Supposed to be funny it seems but also pretty melodramatic. I just thought it was kinda lame. Did not like.

1/5


----------



## BlackMastodon

gnoll said:


> In Bruges (2008)
> 
> Two hitmen are hiding out in Belgium and things happen and guns and bla bla. Supposed to be funny it seems but also pretty melodramatic. I just thought it was kinda lame. Did not like.
> 
> 1/5


It's one of my favourite movies! I love the humour and writing but I guess it could be kind of a niche flick and if it's not your bag I can't blame you.


----------



## gnoll

BlackMastodon said:


> It's one of my favourite movies! I love the humour and writing but I guess it could be kind of a niche flick and if it's not your bag I can't blame you.



I decided to see it because it had 7.9 on imdb, so I totally understand that I'm in the minority here. Actually I constantly seem to roast stuff that everybody else likes so I think it's just me that's got weird taste in movies


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Tour de Pharmacy- 40 minutes of pure insanity. Super star studded cast too. Turns out satirizing blood doping and cycling is a perfect breeding ground for comedy.


----------



## Seabeast2000

It appears "Cell" is a Rage Virus flick. That is all.
EDIT: bonus for using Trolololo song.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

The Thing (1982)
The Shining
First Blood
Creed
Secondhand Lions
Superbad


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Leprechaun
The Brood 
Rabid


----------



## Seabeast2000

Rampage, The Meg again. Heavy Trip again with others.


----------



## MFB

Let's see, I've watched some really whelming movies lately

_Terminator: Dark Fate_ - If being better than GeniSYS counts for anything, then there you go, this checks that box. Aside from that, it's as forgettable as everything that isn't T1/2.

_Spiral_ - I thought this was going to be based on Junji Ito's "Uzumaki" graphic novel, but it doesn't mention it anywhere in the movie info and I've still yet to read that, so safe to say it's not. It wasn't bad, but the main character seems like he was looking for problems from the start, and there were questions that should've been answered but weren't. Also, had a classic, "if the character actually articulated what happened and why they're being wronged, the third act could have been avoided."

_Books of Blood - _Could've been good, but just sort of missed the mark

_Gemini Man - _The biggest hurdle of this was getting over the uncanny valley of seeing two Will Smith's on screen at the same time. Villain wasn't wrong in why he did what he did, but he ended up being such a cliche caricature of a bad guy that I couldn't take him seriously. On the other hand, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the female lead, so...

_Wounds - _Just absolute dogshit, avoid at all costs.


----------



## mongey

The 40 year old version .

I really liked the first half of this movie and where it was going, then it kinda pivoted away from what I dug about it .

still worth a watch but could've been better if it just stayed the path


----------



## Rosal76

KnightBrolaire said:


> The Brood
> Rabid



Wow! Those are great, old school horror movies. 

Huge David Cronenberg fan?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rosal76 said:


> Wow! Those are great, old school horror movies.
> 
> Huge David Cronenberg fan?


yep. I love his movies (except for Dangerous Method/Cosmopolis).


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

If memory serves, I felt like Rabid paired well with The Crazies by Romero.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

This sure is awkward... takes longer than 8 months to write, green light, cast, film, and edit a film together, but yeah, sure.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> This sure is awkward... takes longer than 8 months to write, green light, cast, film, and edit a film together, but yeah, sure.




haha, they should have released this in late March.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> haha, they should have released this in late March.


Nah, they were busy working on it during a pandemic. Weird, isn't it?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Caligula. It's lowkey one of my favorite movies just because it's a time capsule of how insane 70s exploitation flicks were. They definitely don't make em like this any more.
Definitely doesn't hurt that it actually manages to convey the sheer insanity of Caligula's rule (Malcolm McDowell really knocks it out of the park in here). Also young Helen Mirren was fiiine


----------



## Rosal76

KnightBrolaire said:


> Caligula. It's lowkey one of my favorite movies just because it's a time capsule of how insane 70s exploitation flicks were. They definitely don't make em like this any more.



I didn't see the movie but I saw footage of it on a Youtube clip called, "10 shocking movies you have to see" or something like that. I was not surprised one bit that Cannibal holocaust (1980) and Cannibal Ferox (1981) were on that list. In fact, I would be shocked if those 2 movies weren't on that list. But anyways, they had Caligula on there. I was like, "this movie has Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren and Peter O'Toole???" Youtube had to blur out certain spots in the scenes they showed but I clearly knew what was happening. 

Yeah. They definitely don't make em like that anymore or at least with the high profile actor/actresses they used in that movie. Me and my weak and timid stomach will just have to stick with Dawn of the dead (1978) and Day of the dead (1985). 

Edit: My mistake. It was the movie, The 120 Days of Sodom (1975) that disgusted me. Caligula was on the same list but it was 120 Days that got me.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rosal76 said:


> I didn't see the movie but I saw footage of it on a Youtube clip called, "10 shocking movies you have to see" or something like that. I was not surprised one bit that Cannibal holocaust (1980) and Cannibal Ferox (1981) were on that list. In fact, I would be shocked if those 2 movies weren't on that list. But anyways, they had Caligula on there. I was like, "this movie has Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren and Peter O'Toole???" Youtube had to blur out certain spots in the scenes they showed but I clearly knew what was happening.
> 
> Yeah. They definitely don't make em like that anymore or at least with the high profile actor/actresses they used in that movie. Me and my weak and timid stomach will just have to stick with Dawn of the dead (1978) and Day of the dead (1985).
> 
> Edit: My mistake. It was the movie, The 120 Days of Sodom (1975) that disgusted me. Caligula was on the same list but it was 120 Days that got me.


Caligula has some very fucked up parts but
Salo/120 Days of Sodom is definitely nastier overall. Same with A Serbian Tale.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

CB4 (1993)
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)


----------



## mongey

finally got all the way through Joker on our 3rd try 

It wasn't that we didn't like it, the kids just always fucked up our viewing attempts half way through 

the first hour was a slog for the 3rd time but I really liked what they did with it .Is it what I think of when i imagine a joker move?, not really, but i think that's what I like about it


----------



## Seabeast2000

Archive....a very well done sci fi flick.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> Caligula. It's lowkey one of my favorite movies just because it's a time capsule of how insane 70s exploitation flicks were. They definitely don't make em like this any more.
> Definitely doesn't hurt that it actually manages to convey the sheer insanity of Caligula's rule (Malcolm McDowell really knocks it out of the park in here). Also young Helen Mirren was fiiine



That movie was a fucking blast to watch while deployed years and years ago. So many awesome shit-takes.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Seabeast2000 said:


> That movie was a fucking blast to watch while deployed years and years ago. So many awesome shit-takes.


I showed it to my buddies as a double feature alongside Cannibal Holocaust once. Watching their reactions to the part where the guy gets his dick cut off and pissed on was fucking priceless.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

13 ghosts- I haven't seen this in at least a decade. On paper it should be awesome (Greg Nicotero doing makeup/gore, really awesome character and set designs), but it ends up being just kind of meh. There's too much stuff left unexplained or worse, explained via exposition. 

Spies in Disguise- for a kid's movie this was legit funny and charming. Definitely an interesting take on the spy genre


----------



## Seabeast2000

Finally got a blu-ray copy of Revenant (2009), wrangled some fam to watch it, forgot how funny it was. My copy came from Norway, so it was forced subtitles in one of 5 languages lol but no dubbing. Fan!! Fan!!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Seabeast2000 said:


> Finally got a blu-ray copy of Revenant (2009), wrangled some fam to watch it, forgot how funny it was. My copy came from Norway, so it was forced subtitles in one of 5 languages lol but no dubbing. Fan!! Fan!!


such an underrated movie.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Event Horizon-One of my favorite movies that takes place in space. Hopefully the Blu Ray release only got postponed because they found the lost footage, but from what I understand, there isn't a particularly great chance of that happening.


----------



## Spicypickles

Of anyone actually reads this, I implore you all do watch the movie ‘Dark Waters’ with Mark Ruffalo. It’s not a happy movie, but it’s a very good one albeit scary. How this movie got made is beyond me, but please at least take the time to read this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html

This really needs to blow up into a huge deal IMO, companies really need to take responsibility for things and we not just let verbal trappings and law jargon run our entire country. I’m not interested in an an argument or anything else, if you feel the need keep it to yourself please.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Spicypickles said:


> Of anyone actually reads this, I implore you all do watch the movie ‘Dark Waters’ with Mark Ruffalo. It’s not a happy movie, but it’s a very good one albeit scary. How this movie got made is beyond me, but please at least take the time to read this article:
> 
> https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html
> 
> This really needs to blow up into a huge deal IMO, companies really need to take responsibility for things and we not just let verbal trappings and law jargon run our entire country. I’m not interested in an an argument or anything else, if you feel the need keep it to yourself please.


I would, but I'll be damned if I pay New York Times even one red cent to read one of their articles.


----------



## Spicypickles

It’s free, and the information is truth, no politics included.


----------



## Rosal76

Spicypickles said:


> Of anyone actually reads this, I implore you all do watch the movie ‘Dark Waters’ with Mark Ruffalo. It’s not a happy movie, but it’s a very good one albeit scary.



I do want to watch the movie. When I saw the trailer last year, I already made the decision that I wanted to see it before the trailer even ended. The part (in the trailer) where Ruffalo drives past the smiling girl riding her bike gave me goosebumps. IMHO, movies like these and Silkwood (1983) and Erin Brockovich (2000) should indeed be taken seriously.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Will definitely watch Dark Waters if I have the chance. I loved movies like The Big Short and Vice even though they weigh heavily, this seems to be in the same vein. And I like Ruffalo quite a bit in a role like this. 

Watched Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse last night after it finally landed on Netflix. Even after it was hyped to oblivion when it came out I still thought it was great. Very unique animation but superbly well done, fun characters, and a good story. Just all around a good, fun, super hero flick.


----------



## MFB

Watched "Stranger than Fiction" tonight after my group of friends were talking about it during a bachelor party last weekend; not bad by any means, I'm just confused as to how the author and her character can co-exist in the same world, wouldn't that then make him non-fiction? And god damn, somehow Maggie Gyllenhall either looks totally fuckable, or I see her cast as the female lead and think, "her?" I don't get it, my brain can't figure her out.

Also, "The Dark and the Wicked" on Amazon Prime. Uh, went in having never heard of it, but the trailer looked like a less arthouse vibe version of The VVitch, and that's a pretty accurate summary. I loved it and thought it was great, just an uneasy experience for an hour and a half that I knowingly signed on for, don't wish they had done anything different with it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Jonah Hex- such an unfairly maligned movie. It's a solid popcorn action/western with some unique supernatural elements. The sfx are quite good, with a solid emphasis on practical makeup and fx, which I really appreciate. Michael Fassbender really chews up scenery as the head crony of the main antagonist. He's also awesome as a bad guy in Blood Creek btw.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Tenet

Got to see this with my film club buddies at the IMax theatre. An amazing spectacle of a film visually and sonically, I can see why Christopher Nolan insists people to watch in a theatre. The acting is fantastic. Kenneth Branagh has a talent of chewing everyone around him, and Robert Pattinson once again shows he's amazing. That said, it's not for casual film viewers and needs a second or third viewing to get a grasp of what's going on. The film blurs the traditional 3 act structure and moves at such a breakneck speed that it doesn't give you nor the characters time to breathe. As a result, it's probably the most emotionally detached movie Nolan has ever made. I guess Tenet was made to actively challenge the viewer on challenging the perception of how a traditional movie is shown in the most needlessly complicated way possible, something we'd expect from Nolan by now. Considering he lost me at Insterstellar and Dark Knight Rises, and even my staunch fanatic Nolan friends told me don't bother with Dunkirk, I'll take Tenet just fine.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> Jonah Hex- such an unfairly maligned movie. It's a solid popcorn action/western with some unique supernatural elements. The sfx are quite good, with a solid emphasis on practical makeup and fx, which I really appreciate. Michael Fassbender really chews up scenery as the head crony of the main antagonist. He's also awesome as a bad guy in Blood Creek btw.


I'll check out both of these


----------



## MFB

The New Mutants - 5/10

I know nothing about these characters from comics besides Magik whom is related to Colossus, and the movie doesn't give them much background either unfortunately. Nobody really does much for powers until the 3rd act, but even then there's very little. Its not quite a superhero flick, and not acary enough to be a horror, so it ends up as a lukewarm version thats neither; apparently some of that came from "studio interference" who toned down the horror, but its an easy out so who really knows?

I do love me some Anya Taylor Joy though, god damn is she a snack


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> The New Mutants - 5/10
> 
> I know nothing about these characters from comics besides Magik whom is related to Colossus, and the movie doesn't give them much background either unfortunately. Nobody really does much for powers until the 3rd act, but even then there's very little. Its not quite a superhero flick, and not acary enough to be a horror, so it ends up as a lukewarm version thats neither; apparently some of that came from "studio interference" who toned down the horror, but its an easy out so who really knows?
> 
> I do love me some Anya Taylor Joy though, god damn is she a snack


I literally fell asleep watching it in theaters. It's like a bad attempt at jump scare horror infused with xmen characters. Even as a big xmen fan/comics nerd it was disappointing ( HOW THE FUCK DID THEY WASTE A CHARACTER LIKE MAGIK FOR THIS TRASH MOVIE).
But yeah Anna Taylor Joy be loookin fine anymore.

Honestly for every good thing Fox did with the Xmen franchise (x1, X2, first class, Logan, Deadpool 1+ 2) they fucked up so much more (x3, origins, etc). I'm glad disney has control of the xmen characters, at least they'll actually utilize characters like archangel and psylocke properly.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> I literally fell asleep watching it in theaters. It's like a bad attempt at jump scare horror infused with xmen characters. Even as a big xmen fan/comics nerd it was disappointing ( HOW THE FUCK DID THEY WASTE A CHARACTER LIKE MAGIK FOR THIS TRASH MOVIE).
> But yeah Anna Taylor Joy be loookin fine anymore.
> 
> Honestly for every good thing Fox did with the Xmen franchise (x1, X2, first class, Logan, Deadpool 1+ 2) they fucked up so much more (x3, origins, etc). I'm glad disney has control of the xmen characters, at least they'll actually utilize characters like archangel and psylocke properly.



I just hope they introduce them properly, which WandaVision is rumored to lead into. And on the plus side, Magik can be the link between Xmen and Deadpool as TNM would explain why she wasn't in any of the other films. 

Speaking of Psylocke and Archangel, my first intro to her was Rick Remenders Uncanny X-Force, both of whom were members, and I'd give a nut to see a gritty style X Force film with X23 serving in Logan's place.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> I just hope they introduce them properly, which WandaVision is rumored to lead into. And on the plus side, Magik can be the link between Xmen and Deadpool as TNM would explain why she wasn't in any of the other films.
> 
> Speaking of Psylocke and Archangel, my first intro to her was Rick Remenders Uncanny X-Force, both of whom were members, and I'd give a nut to see a gritty style X Force film with X23 serving in Logan's place.


Yeah I keep hoping for an X force series but I have a feeling it'll be quite a ways out. They'd have to re establish the Xmen first.


----------



## Choop

Rewatched Ghost in the Shell last night, it had been a while since I've seen it but the animation and action sequences still came off as crispy as ever. I really dig the themes and the technical dialogue, but I can see how it could come off as dense or too expository (referencing my girlfriend who saw it for the first time, lol). Hard to cram a complicated manga arc into a feature film without explaining too much or too little. Still a great movie. I haven't seen the live action Scarjo version, and probably never will if I can help it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Choop said:


> Rewatched Ghost in the Shell last night, it had been a while since I've seen it but the animation and action sequences still came off as crispy as ever. I really dig the themes and the technical dialogue, but I can see how it could come off as dense or too expository (referencing my girlfriend who saw it for the first time, lol). Hard to cram a complicated manga arc into a feature film without explaining too much or too little. Still a great movie. I haven't seen the live action Scarjo version, and probably never will if I can help it.


the anime series does a far better job of fleshing out the world fyi.


----------



## Choop

KnightBrolaire said:


> the anime series does a far better job of fleshing out the world fyi.



Well it is a series, it has the advantage of time. I'll sit and watch SAC throughout one of these days.


----------



## SpaceDock

Highly recommend Sound of Metal on Amazon. Story about a drummer who struggles with going deaf.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Black Christmas (2019)- Easily the worst of the Black Christmas films. The original is a classic, and the 2006 version is a disgustingly insane cult classic imo. This one is just plain stupid, and not even in a fun way like the 2006 version. You have no good holiday themed deaths/kills due to the neutered pg13 rating and what few kills they do show are quick cuts or done offscreen. Then there's the whole "gurl= gud, boy=bad" aspect of the writing that permeates everything on screen. There is basically one tolerable male character in the whole film and even he becomes a bad guy after a while.
There are a bunch of woke characters that really don't add anything to the film except padding the film with social commentary. Horror has always been about portraying strong female characters (or rather ones that become strong through trauma) and this doesn't break with that tradition but the bad guys are literally rapey frat bros that get possessed by a malevolent misogynist. So quite literally the girls end up taking down the patriarchy at their school. It's so on the nose and poorly done. The dialogue and writing in general is some of the worst I've seen in horror outside the fucking garbage the Soska twins have made (American Mary was a dogshit film, same with their remake of Rabid).


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Black Christmas (2019)- Easily the worst of the Black Christmas films. The original is a classic, and the 2006 version is a disgustingly insane cult classic imo. This one is just plain stupid, and not even in a fun way like the 2006 version. You have no good holiday themed deaths/kills due to the neutered pg13 rating and what few kills they do show are quick cuts or done offscreen. Then there's the whole "gurl= gud, boy=bad" aspect of the writing that permeates everything on screen. There is basically one tolerable male character in the whole film and even he becomes a bad guy after a while.
> There are a bunch of woke characters that really don't add anything to the film except padding the film with social commentary. Horror has always been about portraying strong female characters (or rather ones that become strong through trauma) and this doesn't break with that tradition but the bad guys are literally rapey frat bros that get possessed by a malevolent misogynist. So quite literally the girls end up taking down the patriarchy at their school. It's so on the nose and poorly done. The dialogue and writing in general is some of the worst I've seen in horror outside the fucking garbage the Soska twins have made (American Mary was a dogshit film, same with their remake of Rabid).


I never bothered, because it seemed like the filmmakers were stumbling around in the dark, trying desperately -- and quite hamfistedly -- to shove a block into a round hole and failing miserably. Put that on top of the fact it looked like a glorified episode of Into the Dark (Blumhouse does this for Hulu), which also tries far too often to paint white straight males as bad, and I was like, "yeah, this looks like flat out tres gar-bahj. Hard pass."


----------



## Seabeast2000

Octopussy was the nadir of Bond flicks.


----------



## bostjan

Birds of Prey.

It was okay. Don't really recommend it, don't recommend avoiding it either.

It had some moments, but overall seemed like a little bit of a low-effort flick. As usual for DC, the characters are really cool, and the visuals are "interesting", but consistently overly ambitious. The script is okay at best and the screenwriting is super lazy. The acting was pretty good, considering the scenes were often very heavy-handed. But, if you are ever looking for any degree of subtlety or plot development, why would you be watching a DC movie?


----------



## TheBlackBard

bostjan said:


> Birds of Prey.
> 
> It was okay. Don't really recommend it, don't recommend avoiding it either.
> 
> It had some moments, but overall seemed like a little bit of a low-effort flick. As usual for DC, the characters are really cool, and the visuals are "interesting", but consistently overly ambitious. The script is okay at best and the screenwriting is super lazy. The acting was pretty good, considering the scenes were often very heavy-handed. But, if you are ever looking for any degree of subtlety or plot development, why would you be watching a DC movie?




Eh, some like Scorsese have likened comic book movies to theme parks and while he's not wrong, I don't go to theme parks for the meaning of life. I thoroughly enjoyed it, myself.


----------



## bostjan

TheBlackBard said:


> Eh, some like Scorsese have likened comic book movies to theme parks and while he's not wrong, I don't go to theme parks for the meaning of life. I thoroughly enjoyed it, myself.



Right. Thus my final comment.

I myself am more entertained by a movie if it at least gives me a little room for my own imagination.

I'll give an example of where _Birds of Prey _did something I felt was positive and something I felt was negative, and then something that could have been positive, but was a little janky:

1. Positive - The backstory of Black Canary and the pickpocket was written well enough to meet my expectations. It's not like the side story blew my mind, but it made me feel something for the characters and pulled me in.
2. Negative - The scene where the Black Mask harassed the female patron of the night club was extremely heavy handed. They might as well have just tattooed "BAD GUY" in gothic script on his face. With better screen writing, that scene could have been bone chilling, but, instead, it was just cheesy over-the-top fluff.
3. Janky - the non-linear storytelling was a fantastic idea. It could have gotten us into the character's head in a cool way. I don't think it's too much for a comic book movie, as long as the plot isn't too hard to follow (if you couldn't follow the plot of this movie, you either fell asleep or you have an extraordinary lack of comprehension). However, covering a few event told this way where the character narrating was incapacitated threw me out of my suspension of disbelief, as it was executed too sloppily.

Like you said, I wasn't expecting this film to be the next _Schindler's List_, but, even for what it was, it was pretty okay. It could have been better, and it could have been worse.


----------



## TheBlackBard

I definitely enjoyed it far more than Suicide Squad. At least this movie was far more honest with its title.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

bostjan said:


> Birds of Prey.
> 
> It was okay. Don't really recommend it, don't recommend avoiding it either.
> 
> It had some moments, but overall seemed like a little bit of a low-effort flick. As usual for DC, the characters are really cool, and the visuals are "interesting", but consistently overly ambitious. The script is okay at best and the screenwriting is super lazy. The acting was pretty good, considering the scenes were often very heavy-handed. But, if you are ever looking for any degree of subtlety or plot development, why would you be watching a DC movie?


"...consistently overly ambitious." They gotta break that glass ceiling, bro. 



bostjan said:


> 2. Negative - The scene where the Black Mask harassed the female patron of the night club was extremely heavy handed. They might as well have just tattooed "BAD GUY" in gothic script on his face. With better screen writing, that scene could have been bone chilling, but, instead, it was just cheesy over-the-top fluff.


They had to outline that misogyny, bro. Because apparently that needed to be an element in the film or some shit.


----------



## bostjan

TheBlackBard said:


> I definitely enjoyed it far more than Suicide Squad. At least this movie was far more honest with its title.



I'd agree that this one was significantly better than Suicide Squad. I almost kind of enjoyed Suicide Squad more though, just because it was bad in so many unique ways that it was kind of so-bad-it's-good, even though it wasn't really that bad overall...



Spaced Out Ace said:


> "...consistently overly ambitious." They gotta break that glass ceiling, bro.
> 
> 
> They had to outline that misogyny, bro. Because apparently that needed to be an element in the film or some shit.



It's funny, because I can totally picture the screenwriter talking just like that to the rest of the crew. "Like, Harleys, like, totally broken up with the J-man, bro, and shit, so, and, y'knaw, like, we need more explosions and shit, so, dude, we gotta have her steal like this bigass truck and crash it to make this hugeass fireball, ya knaw?"


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I've been making my way through the Bond films, minus the Niven "parody," the 80s Connery film, and the Gene Simmons film where John Stamos, if memory serves, was meant to be a "son of Bond" type character. (Stamos has to avenge the death of his secret agent father, played by Lazenby.)


----------



## TheBlackBard

Summer of 84. Highly enjoyed this movie. Has that 80's feel to it where you've got your kid gang (very likely Stephen King inspired) and it's basically this kid conspiracy theorist who's out to prove that his neighbor is a serial killer. It was done in such a way that by the end, you don't know what to believe because some things seem too obvious while the rest of the time, the movie is telling you not to overthink it too much. Damn good movie.


----------



## Guitarmiester

Watched VFW on Shudder. Turned out to be better than expected. The closest comparison I could think of would be night of the living dead meets dead rising (video game). Replace the house with a local VFW and the zombies with a gang of tweakers.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Guitarmiester said:


> Watched VFW on Shudder. Turned out to be better than expected. The closest comparison I could think of would be night of the living dead meets dead rising (video game). Replace the house with a local VFW and the zombies with a gang of tweakers.


I liked it a lot. It had a grindhouse midnight movie vibe and the practical effects were pretty good. Basically the siege section of Assault on Precinct 13 or Straw Dogs with drug addicts


----------



## bastardbullet

Just watched the hunter hunter and i didn’t expect to like it that much from the trailer but, the ending was “enough” promising i guess.


----------



## TheBlackBard

bastardbullet said:


> Just watched the hunter hunter and i didn’t expect to like it that much from the trailer but, the ending was “enough” promising i guess.



Yep. Loved this one too. Wish more movies were made with a dark fantasy horror vibe.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The Little Things= big fat meh. It's like a poorly thought out fever dream version of what could have been a good solid crime drama. The only really compelling thing is Jared Leto and how he manages to play creepy/menacing exceedingly well. He steals every scene he's in imo.


----------



## mmr007

KnightBrolaire said:


> The Little Things= big fat meh. It's like a poorly thought out fever dream version of what could have been a good solid crime drama. The only really compelling thing is Jared Leto and how he manages to play creepy/menacing exceedingly well. He steals every scene he's in imo.


I have seldom hated a movie as much as that pile o' crap. I agree with you that Jared Leto was very compelling and were it not for him I would have turned it off. He was very creepy but not in an over the top hannibal lechter way.
I am still trying to wrap my head around a script that suggests a homicide detective would willingly dig holes in the ground at night in the middle of nowhere while a serial murderer stands behind him, uncuffed, and unchecked.

Somebody has to explain to me what Rami Malek is always doing with his mouth.....kind of like sucking on the inside of the corners of his own lips... I thought that was a nervous twitch that Freddie Mercury did and thus he did it in Bohemian Rhapsody but it is apparently something he won't stop doing.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Tried the 2011 Conan movie. Made it 25 or so minutes and coudln't do it. Junk.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

mmr007 said:


> I have seldom hated a movie as much as that pile o' crap. I agree with you that Jared Leto was very compelling and were it not for him I would have turned it off. He was very creepy but not in an over the top hannibal lechter way.
> I am still trying to wrap my head around a script that suggests a homicide detective would willingly dig holes in the ground at night in the middle of nowhere while a serial murderer stands behind him, uncuffed, and unchecked.
> 
> Somebody has to explain to me what Rami Malek is always doing with his mouth.....kind of like sucking on the inside of the corners of his own lips... I thought that was a nervous twitch that Freddie Mercury did and thus he did it in Bohemian Rhapsody but it is apparently something he won't stop doing.


I guess they were trying to play off the trope that he was so obsessed with solving the case and closing it that he was willing to listen to a (clearly) insane person. Either way, between that crap and the whole bit with them covering up the murder/denzel admitting to killing a bystander made me really dislike it. It was just a shitty movie tbh. 


Seabeast2000 said:


> Tried the 2011 Conan movie. Made it 25 or so minutes and coudln't do it. Junk.


Eh that one is stupid but it's kind of a fun stupid. I remember hating it when it first came out but Momoa does as good a job as he can carrying that movie. The whole prologue sequence is fucking hilarious though


----------



## TheBlackBard

Yeah I think I'm the only one who enjoyed The Little Things.  I don't know, maybe I just enjoyed the idea of one detective trying to make sure another doesn't go through all the same shit he did when he failed in his own career.

As far as Conan goes, Momoa was easily a much better version of Conan than Arnold. Conan was strong, but able to be more nimble than someone damn near completely muscle bound. Unfortunately, didn't have much else going for it, but I do enjoy watching it from time to time, if nothing else to see a more faithful rendition of the character on screen.


----------



## nightflameauto

mmr007 said:


> I have seldom hated a movie as much as that pile o' crap. I agree with you that Jared Leto was very compelling and were it not for him I would have turned it off. He was very creepy but not in an over the top hannibal lechter way.
> I am still trying to wrap my head around a script that suggests a homicide detective would willingly dig holes in the ground at night in the middle of nowhere while a serial murderer stands behind him, uncuffed, and unchecked.
> 
> Somebody has to explain to me what Rami Malek is always doing with his mouth.....kind of like sucking on the inside of the corners of his own lips... I thought that was a nervous twitch that Freddie Mercury did and thus he did it in Bohemian Rhapsody but it is apparently something he won't stop doing.


He thinks he's Jennifer Gardner, or any of a number of other women that got themselves convinced duckface was hot and/or indicative of super deep thoughts.


TheBlackBard said:


> Yeah I think I'm the only one who enjoyed The Little Things.  I don't know, maybe I just enjoyed the idea of one detective trying to make sure another doesn't go through all the same shit he did when he failed in his own career.
> 
> As far as Conan goes, Momoa was easily a much better version of Conan than Arnold. Conan was strong, but able to be more nimble than someone damn near completely muscle bound. Unfortunately, didn't have much else going for it, but I do enjoy watching it from time to time, if nothing else to see a more faithful rendition of the character on screen.


You weren't the only one that enjoyed The Little Things, though I will admit two things up front:
I'd watch Denzel Washington read the phone book so long as he did it dramatically.
I may have been more than a little buzzed at the time, and just feeling like I was enjoying life.

That said, the bright spots of the movie were definitely Leto and Washington. The plot was a bit messy, and if it weren't for Denzel and Jared, I'd have been out by the time we got to the highway play scene. It was still alright, but definitely doesn't rank up in my top ten murder mystery movies.

2011 Conan I remember seeing in the dollar theater in town and thinking it was . . . OK I guess. Not spectacular, and certainly not a fit for those that consider Arnold the definitive Conan, but it has its moments. The fact I haven't revisited it since is probably telling.


----------



## Steo

So watched
Prom night.
Slow burner slasher form 1980. Very few kills, and slow paced, but it does have Jamie Lee Curtis disco dancing, Leslie Neilson in a more serious role and Dori from Sledge hammer! (if anyone remembers that) as a sociopath. Still no more than say 3/10. There was way better films then.
Headhunters.
Group of business students go on a hike/team building assessment, hoping for a prized job. If you like only one survives wilderness pursuit films, this one is pretty good. Some good kills and practical fx no cgi cheating.
And lastly:
The Void.
Brilliant. I'll have to rewatch it. A cult surround a hospital that is closing soon. A hospital with secrets. Watch this.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Judas and the Black Messiah. I really enjoyed the movie.
Really interesting time period of history, and from what I've read about the black panthers/Hoover previously, it seems pretty well balanced/accurate as far as the portrayal of events. Good cinematography (some really cool shots but most of it is pretty straight forward). The acting all around is very good, with Kaluuya and Stanfield carrying the film. Definitely worth a watch if you have HBO, and muuuch better than Little Things.


----------



## mongey

watch the Death doco on amazon .

a band I'm familiar with but don't have a really deep knowledge of. I liked it. has the usual band drama stories but I dug the dudes take on death metal and it becoming almost a parody of itself ,and the need to progress the genre 

Human is getting a bit of play for me at them moment


----------



## Louis Cypher

Watched The Matrix the other night for the 1st time in years, the legacy of that film is incredible but cant help sitting there constantly thinking "....that bit dont make sense now cause of the sequels....."


----------



## manu80

watched Boss level yesterday. Mel gibson, Frank Grillo...why not.
A bit of Deadpool, a bit of edge of tomorrow, a bit of Crank....Funny sometimes but terrible pace....those kind of time loop movie a tough to handle, but edge of tomorrow or source code stays far ahead.


----------



## Seabeast2000

The Editor 

A full spoof on something, maybe 70s B Italian slasher films? It's funny af.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> The Editor
> 
> A full spoof on something, maybe 70s B Italian slasher films? It's funny af.


It is indeed a spoof of giallo, but I don't think it quite hits the mark. It was fun and enjoyable, though I'd rather watch Demoni and Tenebre.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> It is indeed a spoof of giallo, but I don't think it quite hits the mark. It was fun and enjoyable, though I'd rather watch Demoni and Tenebre.


I am entirely unfamiliar with this genre. I like how its all in American English but still dubbed in American English and are all "Italians".


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> I am entirely unfamiliar with this genre. I like how its all in American English but still dubbed in American English and are all "Italians".


That's how Italian film making is. Even English speakers are dubbed in post. Even if it's still in Italian, it is dubbed in Italian. So far as I know, everything in Italian films gets dubbed in post. Monster Dog would be great to check out if Alice Cooper wasn't dubbed by someone else.


----------



## mongey

Coming to America 2. 

the original was big in my family. Watched it allot. 

frost hour of the sequel was good. Pure fan service. 2nd half was pretty forgettable


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Red Sea Diving Resort- interesting film based on true events where Mossad rescued thousands of Ethiopian jews by smuggling them through a diving hotel off the coast of Sudan. Solid thriller, nothing amazing though. 

The Swordsman - it's a korean period piece (with some weird anachronistic design choices as far as swords) with some really great fight scenes. There's a good mix of both hand to hand and swordfighting. Pretty solid, worth a rental imo. 

Hardcore Henry- Such a fucking cool movie. It's all from a first person POV and mixes scifi with corporate intrigue/ balls to the walls action. It's 2 hours of explosions/shooting/fistfights/parkour and I loved every second of it.


----------



## John

I've had a penchant for watching same various over-the-top stuff. They often have an amusing element to them which may not be the main objective, to begin with, but I get a kick of it all just the same whether the humor was intentional or otherwise.

Various Nicolas Cage films aside, I finally found this particular 80's film called Hard Ticket to Hawaii after searching more from the bazooka scene being featured in a clip while being in that part of YouTube again.


----------



## TheBlackBard

KnightBrolaire said:


> Red Sea Diving Resort- interesting film based on true events where Mossad rescued thousands of Ethiopian jews by smuggling them through a diving hotel off the coast of Sudan. Solid thriller, nothing amazing though.
> 
> The Swordsman - it's a korean period piece (with some weird anachronistic design choices as far as swords) with some really great fight scenes. There's a good mix of both hand to hand and swordfighting. Pretty solid, worth a rental imo.
> 
> Hardcore Henry- Such a fucking cool movie. It's all from a first person POV and mixes scifi with corporate intrigue/ balls to the walls action. It's 2 hours of explosions/shooting/fistfights/parkour and I loved every second of it.




Hardcore Henry is the perfect example that shows that a faithful Doom movie CAN work if they would just film it like that.


----------



## gnoll

I saw Doctor Sleep.

No I really didn't like it. It was just soooo silly? It felt like a cross between Harry Potter and a buddy cop movie. I think I am really really not a fan of Stephen King. It always seems like sillyness on top of sillyness. The villain is some weird vampire woman with a stupid hat and glowing eyes drinking peoples... steam...?? Whaaaat...? It was super hard to take the film seriously but it was also not funny or anything, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it.

I sort of like The Shining but I think it's more thanks to Kubrick and despite King. That one has a creepy vibe and the weird stuff isn't over the top, it never gets ridiculous, it's just about right to be creepy. Doctor Sleep just way waaaaay overdoes it. How about some subtlety eh???

And also Doctor Sleep had this extreeeemely annoying knocking/heartbeat sound almost constantly. It seriously was close to driving me insane. I can't believe someone would put that in a movie. It was SO annoying.

Gaaah!! 0/10 sorry.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

TheBlackBard said:


> Hardcore Henry is the perfect example that shows that a faithful Doom movie CAN work if they would just film it like that.


I mean the FPS sequence in the mid 2000s doom movie with Karl Urban was pretty spot on. Hell that movie in general was pretty great. The last Doom movie was fucking awful though. Like worse than Uwe Boll shit.


----------



## TheBlackBard

KnightBrolaire said:


> I mean the FPS sequence in the mid 2000s doom movie with Karl Urban was pretty spot on. Hell that movie in general was pretty great. The last Doom movie was fucking awful though. Like worse than Uwe Boll shit.



Yeah but I want a whole movie like that. 5 minutes isn't enough. That said, I've been playing Doom for 26 years now, so I've been waiting for it a long time.


----------



## Seabeast2000

TheBlackBard said:


> Yeah but I want a whole movie like that. 5 minutes isn't enough. That said, I've been playing Doom for 26 years now, so I've been waiting for it a long time.



Flashback: original Doom, two PCs and a Null Modem cable. Totally amazed to see my buddy's character walking across my 14" CRT screen.


----------



## BlackMastodon

gnoll said:


> I saw Doctor Sleep.
> 
> No I really didn't like it. It was just soooo silly? It felt like a cross between Harry Potter and a buddy cop movie. I think I am really really not a fan of Stephen King. It always seems like sillyness on top of sillyness. The villain is some weird vampire woman with a stupid hat and glowing eyes drinking peoples... steam...?? Whaaaat...? It was super hard to take the film seriously but it was also not funny or anything, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it.
> 
> I sort of like The Shining but I think it's more thanks to Kubrick and despite King. That one has a creepy vibe and the weird stuff isn't over the top, it never gets ridiculous, it's just about right to be creepy. Doctor Sleep just way waaaaay overdoes it. How about some subtlety eh???
> 
> And also Doctor Sleep had this extreeeemely annoying knocking/heartbeat sound almost constantly. It seriously was close to driving me insane. I can't believe someone would put that in a movie. It was SO annoying.
> 
> Gaaah!! 0/10 sorry.


I personally loved it but can't fault the reasons you listed. It's a much more "magic" story compared to Kubrick's The Shining. After I watched Doctor Sleep, I read a bunch of trivia on IMDb about the 2 movies and apparently King really hated the Kubrick film because he changed things around, maybe to make it a bit more grounded in reality. I've actually never read a Stephen King book but the ratings on most movies based on his stories are not good, and Dark Tower was utter trash. 

Anyway, to each their own, but Rose the Hat was a great villain and I won't hear anything else. 



KnightBrolaire said:


> I mean the FPS sequence in the mid 2000s doom movie with Karl Urban was pretty spot on. Hell that movie in general was pretty great. The last Doom movie was fucking awful though. Like worse than Uwe Boll shit.


"Semper fi, mother fucker!" 

I do not have fond memories of that movie. I only watched it once as a teen when it came out and thought it was pretty bad even when I had terrible taste, made me very leary of all movies based on video games. Might be different now as an adult but I just can't be bothered to watch it again.


----------



## MFB

^ Yup, the Doctor Sleep movie is without a doubt the best Stephen King adaptation, and he's gone on record against the Kubrick version of The Shining (but has also toned it down since then, but never totally recanted it). I loved Doctor Sleep as both a film and from reading the original novel, none of it felt overly campy or anything and it was great to have the flashbacks to reading it all those years ago when it first came out and slowly realize where it was leading to - I truly had forgotten so much of it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

BlackMastodon said:


> I personally loved it but can't fault the reasons you listed. It's a much more "magic" story compared to Kubrick's The Shining. After I watched Doctor Sleep, I read a bunch of trivia on IMDb about the 2 movies and apparently King really hated the Kubrick film because he changed things around, maybe to make it a bit more grounded in reality. I've actually never read a Stephen King book but the ratings on most movies based on his stories are not good, and Dark Tower was utter trash.
> 
> Anyway, to each their own, but Rose the Hat was a great villain and I won't hear anything else.
> 
> 
> "Semper fi, mother fucker!"
> 
> I do not have fond memories of that movie. I only watched it once as a teen when it came out and thought it was pretty bad even when I had terrible taste, made me very leary of all movies based on video games. Might be different now as an adult but I just can't be bothered to watch it again.


You have to take the Doom film at face value for what it is, an extremely stupid, cheesy action film, based off an extremely stupid/cheesy game, which in turn was based off of stupid cheesy 80s action films. I love a good stupid popcorn action flick, and Doom in particular is one of my favorites (also pairs really well with Starship Troopers and Dog Soldiers for a triple showing imo). 


Also gnoll is dead wrong. Doctor Sleep was awesome. It managed to hearken back to the original Shining film without beating us over the head with the flashbacks. They made sense within the context of the film versus some of the blatant callbacks Abrams did in Force Awakens/Star Trek just to pander. 
There's a bunch of parallels between the Shining/Dr. Sleep and IT now that I think about it (cyclical ouroboros stories with otherworldly monsters preying on children, childhood trauma and its effects on kids, etc).


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Doom is awful, and fun. My suggestion is a double feature with Jason X.


----------



## mongey

rewatching the lord of the rings films on my commute . been a long time .

they still hold up great, they still look really good,. I am watching on my phone which may be helping mask any aging CGI


----------



## BlackMastodon

mongey said:


> rewatching the lord of the rings films on my commute . been a long time .
> 
> they still hold up great, they still look really good,. I am watching on my phone which may be helping mask any aging CGI


I think the majority of the LotR trilogy was practical effects aside from the bigger creatures and large scale battles, unlike the Hobbitses, which were pure CGI and garbo.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

BlackMastodon said:


> I think the majority of the LotR trilogy was practical effects aside from the bigger creatures and large scale battles, unlike the Hobbitses, which were pure CGI and garbo.


They did a pile of practical in the Hobbit trilogy as well. The river barrel scene was all practical. The watertown was mostly practical, same with the hobbithole and parts of mirkwood.
Of course the awful goddamn goblin king fight/ necromancer scene were pure cgi and felt so floaty. Almost like the actors were swinging at nothing versus actually clashing weapons with stuntmen... Del Toro wanted to use way more practical fx, but Jackson fought him on that for some reason iirc.


----------



## MFB

The second biggest problem with the Hobbit trilogy - the first obviously being that there's not enough to warrant a trilogy - is the God damn frame rate. It looks so incredibly unnatural compared to anything else we typically watch, just soap opera effect galore from the 48fps they used.

Whoever made that decision is a fool, even if it was Jackson himself


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> The second biggest problem with the Hobbit trilogy - the first obviously being that there's not enough to warrant a trilogy - is the God damn frame rate. It looks so incredibly unnatural compared to anything else we typically watch, just soap opera effect galore from the 48fps they used.
> 
> Whoever made that decision is a fool, even if it was Jackson himself


The main problem the hobbit trilogy has is that it's like 70% filler bullshit. The whole subplots about radagast/ the necromancer/tauriel and dwarfboi are a complete waste of time. It's pretty telling when there are fan edits of the trilogy that manage to excise hours of the length.
This guy goes through the trilogy systematically and manages to cut the whole trilogy down to basically a 2 hour movie.


----------



## BlackMastodon

They ended the second fuggin' movie in THE MIDDLE of a fight scene, only to resolve it in the first 10 minutes of the 3rd movie. And then the rest of that third movie was some 5 way battle or some shit.

I should watch the LotR trilogy again just to wash the taste of the Hobbitses since that was the last Tolkien experience I had on the screen. 

I wonder how the series is gonna pan out.


----------



## mongey

The hobbit was such a shame. It was the first “real “book I read as a kid. So it has a special place for me. 
The book is pretty to the point and lives along at a good pace. It could’ve easy been an epic 3 hour movie. 

The trilogy is just so much filler. And the bad kind.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

mongey said:


> The hobbit was such a shame. It was the first “real “book I read as a kid. So it has a special place for me.
> The book is pretty to the point and lives along at a good pace. It could’ve easy been an epic 3 hour movie.
> 
> The trilogy is just so much filler. And the bad kind.


watch the fan edit that i posted about. It's a better filmic representation of the book (it cuts basically anything not related to frodo or the party).


----------



## mongey

KnightBrolaire said:


> watch the fan edit that i posted about. It's a better filmic representation of the book (it cuts basically anything not related to frodo or the party).


checked the you tube overview and it sounds interesting. Ill watch it after I finish The return of the king


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Snyder cut of Justice League is essentially a totally different movie compared to the theatrical cut (which was total shit). It's actually good now.
It actually gets to spend some proper time introducing/fleshing out Cyborg/Flash/aquaman/superman. It adds in a good amount of extra content fleshing out the team building/bonding too. It also does a way better job of showing how big the stakes are, with some really cool Darkseid bits. Plus there's some legit gore now, which makes fights a lot more brutal.
also the ending is muuuuch more interesting.
Honestly all of this turned one of the worst dc movies into one of the best.
Only real complaint is how they wasted Martian Manhunter completely.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Snyder's Justice League

...is fine, I guess. It's better than the theatrical cut, but so is watching paint dry for 4 hours. It's still a mess, way too much exposition and barely hits the 'good' mark but it's a bold and honest mess. If anything it's a cultural artifact that will be talked about for some time. In a sense like Ridley Scott's Directors cut of Blade Runner, Kingdom Of Heaven, or Richard Donner's Superman 2, funny enough all happen to be Warner Bros property.


----------



## wankerness

I had to watch it in chunks. Got through the first chapter so far. Some things are fine, others are terrible. Funniest scene by far is when Wonder Woman violently and bloodily murders a bunch of people in front of some little girls, and then sunshinely asks them if they’re ok, and one asks if she can be like her someday, and she says “you can be anything you want to be!” In the sappiest voice ever as the blood drips down the walls. That scene kind of made sense tonally in the Whedon movie cause that dialogue is pitched like the very earnest WW movie, but god is it terrible here. I was glad to see WW is actually filmed less leerily here than by Whedon, so far anyway. 

Things just take too damn long, are in slow motion too much, and the attempts to make EVERYTHING super dramatic instead have the effect of nothing seeming dramatic.

the Whedon JL movie was about tied with SS for worst superhero movie I’ve ever seen, so it’s an improvement so far, but still bad. The cgi is atrocious, especially some of the compositing, like that early shot with Lex Luther and Steppenwolf. At least the costumes/effects look a hell of a lot better with grimdark Snyder desaturating than the clumsily brightened Whedon version.

I actually liked Man of Steel, only saw the director’s cut of BvS but didn’t mind it, HATED JL, and this is so far shaping up to fall in the middle of BvS and Whedon JL.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Waiting for my Event Horizon blu-ray to come in. Sadly, they were not able to locate the missing footage from the director's cut, but any reason to buy this movie again is reason enough for me.

What I've been watching:

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night: Sort of in the same vein of Let The Right One In in that it's more of a drama with vampire elements than being an outright horror movie. The vampire has a very disturbing presence and the actress is quite talented at conveying the duality of her viciousness as a vampire, but also the emotional human side of her in being lonely. Very well done.

The Addiction: Was recommended to me after having watched A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, due to the arthouse nature of it. Basically depicting a newly turned vampire dealing with everything that comes with vampirism all the while trying to balance her day to day life. Enjoyed it very much so, and it's hard to believe that an actress that gave such a brilliant performance in this movie (Lili Taylor) was utterly wasted in The Haunting just a few years later.

Mayhem: Nice fun senseless popcorn flick about a lawyer or somesuch that is in the midst of a small epidemic in an office building where the sickness essentially removes inhibitions, causing complete and total chaos. The day he's exposed to it is the day he gets fired after years of service and there's a lockdown in the building they're in. Nothing cinematically inspiring, but nice dumb fun.

Wrong Turn (2021): Mixed feelings about this one. Some of the stuff they did was very smart, and never did I expect it to take the direction that it did, other things were quite annoying. Feels like a few of the characters were simply caricatures of minorities and political groups/communities and were tossed in for the sake of attempting to appease certain groups instead of making these characters feel meaningful. I feel like most of the characters were simply kill fodder and the gore evoked more emotion out of me than the deaths did, and quite honestly, it felt like the deaths came a little too early in the movie. Wasn't absolutely terrible, but I'm not itching to watch it again.

Freaky: Oh shit... here we go again with the "let's put stereotypes of modern characters in this movie instead of making them interesting characters." I get that this is the horror genre, and most of it isn't exactly smart, but this is a very tired trope and has been for a long time, but oh well I guess. This movie had some good deaths in terms of gore and such and is fun in some places, but it's very telling when the virtually unknown female lead does better at conveying things through acting than Vince Vaughn does. Vince Vaughn does exactly what you'd expect in acting like an overacted caricature teenage female which is quite jarring, because the teenage girl he's attempting to emulate does not put off that vibe. On the other hand, the female lead that is attempting to portray the serial killer in her body feels like she's actually portraying the character that she's supposed to once the switch happens. Fun here and there, but not for much else.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> Mayhem: Nice fun senseless popcorn flick about a lawyer or somesuch that is in the midst of a small epidemic in an office building where the sickness essentially removes inhibitions, causing complete and total chaos. The day he's exposed to it is the day he gets fired after years of service and there's a lockdown in the building they're in. Nothing cinematically inspiring, but nice dumb fun.


Mayhem is great. Samara Weaving is a total hotty and a bad ass, while Glen from The Walking Dead gets a chance to drive a film. Awesome stuff.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Mayhem is great. Samara Weaving is a total hotty and a bad ass, while Glen from The Walking Dead gets a chance to drive a film. Awesome stuff.




She's also in The Babysitter. Watched it on Netflix a year ago or so and had me laughing my ass off in some places.


----------



## Kaura

Finally got around watching Boyz N The Hood. Pretty entertaining movie. That's all I'm going to say in today's PC culture.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

TheBlackBard said:


> She's also in The Babysitter. Watched it on Netflix a year ago or so and had me laughing my ass off in some places.


And babysitter Pt. 2
Those movies are tons of fun. She's fucking amazing in Guns Akimbo too. That movie is ridiculous and revels in its own insanity. Pairs really well with Mayhem honestly. Just good off the wall crazy fun.

Freaky was meh. Had some funny bits but overall it wasn't great.


----------



## MFB

I decided to watch Disney's _Onward_ earlier today, as I really had nothing else to do but procrastinate with movies, and uh despite already being in an emotional state these past few weeks nearing the 10 year anniversary of my Dad's passing, safe to say that pushed me over the edge for basically the entire time.

It wasn't perfect, but it was still a great movie, and one that if you've got anything you've buried - it'll fully bring out and force you to stare it right in the god damn eyes


----------



## r33per

Came out the bath to find my wife watching Fool's Gold (Archimedes reference totally unintended).

Watched the last hour as well.


----------



## BlackMastodon

The Vast of Night. Threw this on before bed and both me and my gf were enthralled after about 15 minutes. Super well done and just great story telling. Go in blind like I did if you can but I recommend it.


----------



## gnoll

I thought the first two hobbit movies were "okay" and the last one absolutely awful.


----------



## mongey

finished my LoTR session

I expected the last one to be a slog after watching them all in less than a week, but I really enjoyed all 3.

can always nit pick, but has to be classified as a masterpiece of recent times in my book. 

my biggest groan is the sam/frodo dialogue at times. I know its in the book but its also the way its played . at time's it looks like they are trying not to laugh 

now need to watch that hobbit re edit .

can you play mega.nz files on an iphone ? never used it


----------



## MFB

Black Bear

I really had no idea what this would be as the trailer is as tougher to decipher than what actually happened in the movie; it was well acted, but doesn't really go anywhere over the three acts. I thought it'd be like, "here's one version, here's the version from the other viewpoint, and one in between" as there's three leads - but in the end it's Part 1 and then Part 2, and that's it. 

Not quite sure it I'm looking too deep into what it was supposed to be, I just feel like it's the movie equivalent of playing a scale but not hitting the octave note of where you started from.


----------



## BMFan30

I don't watch very many movies. But the last film I watched was Hagazussa.


----------



## Ericjutsu

BMFan30 said:


> I don't watch very many movies. But the last film I watched was Hagazussa.


Maybe I'll check that out. Always looking for creepy ass movies.. I sometimes don't like subtitles though


----------



## BMFan30

Ericjutsu said:


> Maybe I'll check that out. Always looking for creepy ass movies.. I sometimes don't like subtitles though


In my own words this film is about superstition in the 15th century. An eye opening watch that will make you feel something. It's a great flick. In fact, best one I've seen since I watched The Witch.


The film takes place in a remote mountain village in the 15th-century Alps, and follows Aleksandra Cwen as Albrun, a goat-herder shunned by her fellow townspeople who finds herself in an uneasy friendship with a local villager.


----------



## Ericjutsu

BMFan30 said:


> In my own words this film is about superstition in the 15th century. An eye opening watch that will make you feel something. It's a great flick. In fact, best one I've seen since I watched The Witch.
> 
> 
> The film takes place in a remote mountain village in the 15th-century Alps, and follows Aleksandra Cwen as Albrun, a goat-herder shunned by her fellow townspeople who finds herself in an uneasy friendship with a local villager.



Nice 
I really liked The Witch.


----------



## BMFan30

Ericjutsu said:


> Nice
> I really liked The Witch.


Me too brother! This one has the same atmosphere with as much mystery as The Witch, as well. Some of the scenes are shocking, they hit you in the gut.


----------



## Ericjutsu

BMFan30 said:


> Me too brother! This one has the same atmosphere with as much mystery as The Witch, as well. Some of the scenes are shocking, they hit you in the gut.


Watching it right now. Definitly has The Witch vibe going on. Maybe it'll be scary enough to give me nightmares ☺


----------



## BMFan30

Ericjutsu said:


> Watching it right now. Definitly has The Witch vibe going on. Maybe it'll be scary enough to give me nightmares ☺


Haha enjoy man, let me know if you liked it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

i just watched a darker reboot of Sleeping With the Enemy but the bad guy was invisible.


----------



## TheBlackBard

The Thing (2011): So I finally got around to watching this last night and... I'm not impressed. This has absolutely NOTHING on the 1982 movie. Granted, it's supposed to be a prequel, but I feel like a lot of the atmosphere and intelligence of that one is lost in this. I didn't get the same sense of paranoia that I got from that one, either. Also, the creature. Maybe it's just because I've been spoiled by practical effects lately, but I can barely tolerate looking at the creature and it isn't from how disgusting it is, it's from how obviously CGI it is.

The Void: Gave this a try on a whim since I was looking for more cosmic horror movies and this one did NOT fail to impress. The mood, the "what the fuck is going on" feeling that you typically get from reading Lovecraft, the sense of a much higher stake than what is being presented on a local level, and the effects. This really took the best out of stuff like Silent Hill, Event Horizon, and Hellraiser and what is left is a mindfuck and one hell of a terrifying thrill ride. I normally find monsters in movies more entertaining than terrifying, so it was a nice change to have them to be absolutely unsettling in this movie. Will be watching again soon.


----------



## TheBlackBard

I get my Shout! Factory Blu-Ray of Event Horizon tomorrow!!!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Nobody- A fun pitch black action comedy with Bob Odenkirk. The action is excellent with the bus fight scene being a really brutal (and funny) sequence. The end fight is also ridiculous in a fun/bloody way. There's a bunch of really solid actors in the film (connie nielsen, michael ironside, christopher lloyd) but Odenkirk carries the film. He mixes his Saul Goodman disarming/weasel vibe with a healthy dash of Bronson in Death Wish and some John Wick boogie man. On paper it sounds stupid but he does a great job of making it plausible. 
definitely worth a watch imo. 

Wolf Creek- I haven't seen this movie in over a decade, but I recently started reading up on the cases the film is based around, and wanted to see just how well they captured the details. It holds up really well honestly. Obviously they tweaked a lot of little stuff like how they're in the middle of the outback, rather than a few hours from Sydney, or implying how Mick butchered whole families, rather than killing mostly young women, but they nailed the bit where he hoards their camping gear and such as trophies, and his MO as far as sadism/weapon choices. They only allude to the level of savagery that happened irl, but honestly, it's still pretty brutal, especially the paralyzing scene. 
Probably going to rewatch the 2nd one too now.


----------



## mmr007

so.....Godzilla vs Kong. After watching the previews I knew going in this had the potential to be one of the worst movies ever made....after watching it I realized I should not have been so optimistic. It's like watching a video game but with worse acting and story telling. It's a Godzilla movie so I don't need good story telling but not this assinine please....

On the plus side I rewatched the Death of Stalin last night. Still one of the funniest movies ever made


----------



## wankerness

Godzilla vs Kong was great. Didn’t take itself too seriously, didn’t have horrible attempts at humor, had great action that you could actually see, was less than 2 hours long, didn’t have excessive slow motion, didn’t try to make hamfisted statements about the human condition, etc. Definitely the best blockbuster since 2019 at the least, and the best of these monsterverse movies. I wasn’t very excited after how much I disliked Godzilla KOTM, and only watched this first day after seeing the positive reviews.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Godzilla vs Kong was great. Didn’t take itself too seriously, didn’t have horrible attempts at humor, had great action that you could actually see, was less than 2 hours long, didn’t have excessive slow motion, *didn’t try to make hamfisted statements about the human condition, etc. *Definitely the best blockbuster since 2019 at the least, and the best of these monsterverse movies. I wasn’t very excited after how much I disliked Godzilla KOTM, and only watched this first day after seeing the positive reviews.


In before, "But the original was about the fallout from nuclear weapons!" But yeah, I'm tired of shit too. If I wanted to think about the world's bullshit problems, I'd watch the news. When I watch a movie, I'd like to forget the poorly executed attempts at Twitter esque social commentary.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I liked the Godzilla movie that came out a few years ago with Bryan Cranston, haven't paid attention to the Godzilla vs Kong thing at all. Might watch it when it's on Netflix eventually. 

Also, Death of Stalin is a great movie, I should rewatch that sometime.


----------



## wankerness

BlackMastodon said:


> I liked the Godzilla movie that came out a few years ago with Bryan Cranston, haven't paid attention to the Godzilla vs Kong thing at all. Might watch it when it's on Netflix eventually.



No chance of that ever happening unless HBO Max goes belly-up.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Godzilla vs Kong- Wayyyyy better than Godzilla KOTM. The kaiju are the focus here, and the humans aren't 80% of the plot like KOTM. Humor is kind of hit and miss but the action is on point. There's some really awesome cinematography and framing choices that are even cooler on the big screen. Just a good solid popcorn flick imo. 


Unholy-Meh. They basically destroy all tension related to the villain with the opening sequence. They give away wayy too much imo. It also relies too heavily on jump scares rather than oppressive atmosphere. The villain is creepy but some of the design choices are weird (why the fuck does she have long ass alien fingers and scuttle around like a spider). Overall the film spends too much time beating you over the head telling you what's happening, rather than just showing. 
It was ok, maybe worth a rental or watching on netflix/whatever streaming site it ends up on if you're bored. Def not worth seeing in theaters.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> Godzilla vs Kong- Wayyyyy better than Godzilla KOTM. The kaiju are the focus here, and the humans aren't 80% of the plot like KOTM. Humor is kind of hit and miss but the action is on point. There's some really awesome cinematography and framing choices that are even cooler on the big screen. Just a good solid popcorn flick imo.
> 
> 
> Unholy-Meh. They basically destroy all tension related to the villain with the opening sequence. They give away wayy too much imo. It also relies too heavily on jump scares rather than oppressive atmosphere. The villain is creepy but some of the design choices are weird (why the fuck does she have long ass alien fingers and scuttle around like a spider). Overall the film spends too much time beating you over the head telling you what's happening, rather than just showing.
> It was ok, maybe worth a rental or watching on netflix/whatever streaming site it ends up on if you're bored. Def not worth seeing in theaters.



i'M GOING TO REPLY TO YOUR POST BECAUSE i JUST READ IT AND HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD OR EXPOUND UPON AND IT ALSO MEANS I HAVE AN ACCOUNT ON SSO.ORG, SMOOTH REFRESHING SSO.ORG, I USE IT TO TALK ABOUT GUITARS BUT ITS ALSO A LIFESTYLE FOR SOME OF US HAHA WE'RE A SPUNKY CROWD. 

When you mention that exposition scripting, I'm reminded of all of those 90s movies when the "internet" or "computers" were a plot device. It also happens by design on junk cop procedural and medical drama shows. Some have lasted decades on that sugar water recipe. 

KOTM really tried to be way too much IMO and it came out very flat. Thus is the fashion of the times. Kinda liked the GI Joe level of hardware they had though.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Seabeast2000 said:


> i'M GOING TO REPLY TO YOUR POST BECAUSE i JUST READ IT AND HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD OR EXPOUND UPON AND IT ALSO MEANS I HAVE AN ACCOUNT ON SSO.ORG, SMOOTH REFRESHING SSO.ORG, I USE IT TO TALK ABOUT GUITARS BUT ITS ALSO A LIFESTYLE FOR SOME OF US HAHA WE'RE A SPUNKY CROWD.
> 
> When you mention that exposition scripting, I'm reminded of all of those 90s movies when the "internet" or "computers" were a plot device. It also happens by design on junk cop procedural and medical drama shows. Some have lasted decades on that sugar water recipe.
> 
> KOTM really tried to be way too much IMO and it came out very flat. Thus is the fashion of the times. Kinda liked the GI Joe level of hardware they had though.


Yeah KOTM tried far too hard to make me care about the titan ecosystem and beat me over the head with how humans are ruining the world blahblahblah typical godzilla shit. I don't need a reminder that nuclear weapons bad, humans bad everytime I want to watch giant monsters kill each other. Just let me turn off my brain and enjoy the spectacle ffs. Godzilla vs Kong more than scratches that itch comparatively imo.


----------



## FILTHnFEAR

Godzilla vs Kong was fantastic. Way less human focus, more action, fight scenes in daylight, nice kickbacks to the old films, and as already stated, no cringey bullshit social commentary involved. 

Hopefully it does well enough to continue the Monsterverse. I really wanna see Gigan, Megalon, and Mecha-Ghidorah show up. I loved watching all the old Godzilla films as a kid in the 80's and seeing them revamped with current tech is cool as fuck.

Also, KOTM, while having way more human focus than needed(could have done without the entire broken family element they crammed in) was great too.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

FILTHnFEAR said:


> no cringey bullshit social commentary involved.


Thank God.


----------



## nightflameauto

Babysitter
Babysitter II - Killer Bee

If you like comedy in your horror, it's tough to go wrong with these. They're completely self-aware of how stupid they are, and somehow that makes them utterly charming rather than redundantly awful like so many other attempts to cross those genres. Some of the best death scenes ever filmed, almost all of which are laugh inducing. Just a really good time, and a great bit of story telling set against a comedic horror backdrop.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Babysitter
> Babysitter II - Killer Bee
> 
> If you like comedy in your horror, it's tough to go wrong with these. They're completely self-aware of how stupid they are, and somehow that makes them utterly charming rather than redundantly awful like so many other attempts to cross those genres. Some of the best death scenes ever filmed, almost all of which are laugh inducing. Just a really good time, and a great bit of story telling set against a comedic horror backdrop.





Also, horror comedies have been done, quite well I might add, since the 80s. Nothing particularly new.


----------



## mastapimp

TheBlackBard said:


> Wrong Turn (2021): Mixed feelings about this one. Some of the stuff they did was very smart, and never did I expect it to take the direction that it did, other things were quite annoying. Feels like a few of the characters were simply caricatures of minorities and political groups/communities and were tossed in for the sake of attempting to appease certain groups instead of making these characters feel meaningful. I feel like most of the characters were simply kill fodder and the gore evoked more emotion out of me than the deaths did, and quite honestly, it felt like the deaths came a little too early in the movie. Wasn't absolutely terrible, but I'm not itching to watch it again.



I finally got around to watching Wrong Turn over the weekend and enjoyed it quite a bit. They did away with the deformed cannibal hillbillies and made it a much more interesting group of strange mountain folk. I feel like this reboot was actually better than the original and I loved how the ending completely changed once the credits began to roll. Plenty of gore to satisfy the slasher fan in me...I'd rate it a solid 7/10. Also, the kitchen scene gave me flashbacks of "Bloody Hell" which was also great.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Also, horror comedies have been done, quite well I might add, since the 80s. Nothing particularly new.



A) They used the song in the movie.
B) So? Seeing something new that doesn't hit the gag reflex in this genre is something these days.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> A) They used the song in the movie.
> B) So? Seeing something new that doesn't hit the gag reflex in this genre is something these days.


Yeah, might be why the film is subtitled what it is. You called it "Killer Bee."

That's because it tends not to be very funny, and likely includes some hamfisted attempt at social commentary that people aren't interested in.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Yeah, might be why the film is subtitled what it is. You called it "Killer Bee."
> 
> That's because it tends not to be very funny, and likely includes some hamfisted attempt at social commentary that people aren't interested in.


Your hate-on for a film you obviously haven't seen is intriguing. Stupid, but intriguing.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Your hate-on for a film you obviously haven't seen is intriguing. Stupid, but intriguing.


Lol. I actually made no statements of an opinion with regards to the film. What are you going on about?


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Lol. I actually made no statements of an opinion with regards to the film. What are you going on about?


You were rambling semi-incoherently about all the failings these films supposedly contain, none of which are true. That may not be a statement to you, but it's a pretty clear statement to those of us reading your comments.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> You were rambling semi-incoherently about all the failings these films supposedly contain, none of which are true. That may not be a statement to you, but it's a pretty clear statement to those of us reading your comments.


Says the guy that said I have a hate on for a film when I made zero judgment of the film at all.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Says the guy that said I have a hate on for a film when I made zero judgment of the film at all.


OK, so clearly trollololololololling.

Have fun with that.


----------



## Floppystrings

I watched "What About Bob?" the other day, it's a classic, Bill Murray with Richard Dreyfuss.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Saw Godzilla Vs Kong last Thursday and echoing a lot of the sentiments. I'm one of the few that enjoyed King Of Monsters, despite it's obvious and glaring flaws, and they've trimmed down the fat for this entry. It's aware that nobody cares about the humans and their expository dialogue since it's all about giant monsters beating each other up and annihilating everything around them in the process. Though I did like seeing Ronny Chieng for a bit. 

I also liked seeing Shun Oguri make his Hollywood debut, since I've seen him in most of his stuff and really enjoyed him in Yakuza 6. Though he's wasted here in a character that's actually got some substantial background... but doesn't. Either way, as stated who cares about the humans since this is Godzilla and (moreso) Kong's movie.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The film is basically wrestling. Make one the face, the other the heel, maybe have a face or heel turn, or double cross, etc. no one gives a shit about the plot; we just came to see the spectacle. 

For instance, the story isn't great with Freddy vs Jason (and there are some real odd choices, like Jason who is afraid of water, except... in every F13 thus far), but we came to see them face off. Just show us the carnage and mayhem. And, well... Monica Keena (aka busty bootleg Britney Murphy) with her lovely cleavage.


----------



## Drew

Finally watched _Hunt for the Wilderpeople _over the weekend. It was excellent, one of the best movies I've seen in some time.


----------



## wankerness

Drew said:


> Finally watched _Hunt for the Wilderpeople _over the weekend. It was excellent, one of the best movies I've seen in some time.



im amused that the kid from that is still getting work, since he’s such a weird presence. He was in Deadpool 2 and Godzilla vs Kong!!


----------



## BlackMastodon

I thought he was a very odd choice at first for Deadpool 2 but at the same time, those movies don't take themselves seriously at all so it did work. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is among my favourite movies, my dad just threw it on at random one year after like Easter dinner or something and everyone loved it.


----------



## Drew

wankerness said:


> im amused that the kid from that is still getting work, since he’s such a weird presence. He was in Deadpool 2 and Godzilla vs Kong!!


I first saw him as the villian, -ish, in some weird chritmas movie, and then again in Deadpool 2, before seeing him in Wilderpeople. He actually managed to play pretty interesting and unique characters in all three, though I guess there were more similarities in Deadpool 2 and Wilderpeople - kid may be a legitimately good actor. 

I'd say my favorite actor of the moment, speaking of weird presences, is... I dont even know his name, but my girlfriend refers to him as "the hot priest" because of Fleabottom, he was Moriarty in Sherlock, and the head of some new technological division of MI6 in one of the recent Bond movies, and he's pretty much stolen every scene I've seen him in. He's just got this gift for playing _bizarre_ characters in very different ways.


----------



## MFB

Drew said:


> I first saw him as the villian, -ish, in some weird chritmas movie, and then again in Deadpool 2, before seeing him in Wilderpeople. He actually managed to play pretty interesting and unique characters in all three, though I guess there were more similarities in Deadpool 2 and Wilderpeople - kid may be a legitimately good actor.
> 
> I'd say my favorite actor of the moment, speaking of weird presences, is... I dont even know his name, but my girlfriend refers to him as "the hot priest" because of Fleabottom, he was Moriarty in Sherlock, and the head of some new technological division of MI6 in one of the recent Bond movies, and he's pretty much stolen every scene I've seen him in. He's just got this gift for playing _bizarre_ characters in very different ways.



Oh that guy, Andrew Scott is his name apparently. I was curious because the roles sounded familiar and was like, "I can picture the SOB, WHATS HIS NAME?!" 

I don't mind the kid from Wilder people for what I've seen him in, but he added nothing to GvK like 90% of the human characters in the movie.


----------



## Drew

MFB said:


> I don't mind the kid from Wilder people for what I've seen him in, but he added nothing to GvK like 90% of the human characters in the movie.


Was he eaten and/or crushed by a monster? I figure that's probably their major role in that one.


----------



## wankerness

I knew flea bottom sounded familiar, it was the slums in GoT! Fleabag was the show. I was trying to think of Andrew Scott's name the other day in the context of Fleabag/Band of Brothers when not by an electronic device and couldn't remember. Just that he had a really generic name.


----------



## wankerness

Drew said:


> Was he eaten and/or crushed by a monster? I figure that's probably their major role in that one.



No, he's the friend of Millie Bobbie Brown, who has the honor of being by far the worst actor in that movie. She is SO bad when required to do anything other than glare and make menacing hand gestures like on Stranger Things. Together they find some conspiracy theorist that works in the robot factory. Or something. I forget. That movie ruled.

Those movies need human characters for the runtime, but they don't tend to add a lot other than minor intrigue. The people in that movie really aren't that bad if you're a longtime Godzilla fan, the Japanese ones weren't great dramas, either. All I ask is for them not to be annoying (like in Godzilla: King of the Monsters from a couple years ago - they ruined the movie cause they were way too annoying).


----------



## Drew

wankerness said:


> No, he's the friend of Millie Bobbie Brown, who has the honor of being by far the worst actor in that movie. She is SO bad when required to do anything other than glare and make menacing hand gestures like on Stranger Things. Together they find some conspiracy theorist that works in the robot factory. Or something. I forget. That movie ruled.


Huh. So, I've never seen Stranger Things, but saw her in some family-friendly movie where she was Sherlock Holmes' younger sister where she was actually quite good, I thought. Just wrong person for the job? Or bad directing/writing? Or a movie that probably shouldn't have been made in the first place?


----------



## MFB

She's in the Godzilla before this one as well, and wasn't nearly as over-the-top in her acting, I think this one she just did every scene too big; her character has also become a bit of a trope, so that doesn't help matters either, and I think on rewatch in a few years people will see how dated it feels.

I personally didn't have the same love for Godzilla vs Kong that everyone else had, and if it never got made, I wouldn't have been sad at all. There's a 1 mins version on Youtube that I think is literally called "MMM... Monke" and is just as accurate for literally $10 worth of toys, and maybe an hours worth of time to shoot and edit


----------



## wankerness

Drew said:


> Huh. So, I've never seen Stranger Things, but saw her in some family-friendly movie where she was Sherlock Holmes' younger sister where she was actually quite good, I thought. Just wrong person for the job? Or bad directing/writing? Or a movie that probably shouldn't have been made in the first place?



Nope, the movie is awesome, definitely one of the better big-budget schlock-fests I can remember. She's just awful. Most of the actors are fine with what they have to work with. If she's actually good in that movie you mention, it might be down to her being a Natalie Portman where she can be good under specific sets of circumstances with the right kind of "actor's director" (ex Black Swan, Annihilation) but is absolutely terrible when presented with a big genre movie and having to fend for herself since the director is not interested in the acting (ex, Star Wars prequels, Thor 2).


----------



## Drew

wankerness said:


> Nope, the movie is awesome, definitely one of the better big-budget schlock-fests I can remember. She's just awful. Most of the actors are fine with what they have to work with. If she's actually good in that movie you mention, it might be down to her being a Natalie Portman where she can be good under specific sets of circumstances with the right kind of "actor's director" (ex Black Swan, Annihilation) but is absolutely terrible when presented with a big genre movie and having to fend for herself since the director is not interested in the acting (ex, Star Wars prequels, Thor 2).


I don't think I've ever seen Thor 2, but if I did she was a solid neutral, didn't really help or hurt. I think I must have, because I remember being a little surprised how she was just _gone_ without a mention from Ragnarok...? Star Wars, eh, I don't fault any of the actors for how bad the prequels were.


----------



## MFB

She got A mention in Ragnarok, when they go to find Odin in NY, Thor says they're taking a break and then they quickly move on with the rest of the film.


----------



## Drew

MFB said:


> She got A mention in Ragnarok, when they go to find Odin in NY, Thor says they're taking a break and then they quickly move on with the rest of the film.


I must have been cracking open a new beer at that point.


----------



## thebeesknees22

ooooh the trailer for the 2nd season of Love Death + Robots dropped



I'm stoked for this one.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Not a fan of MBB, and really do not see how they are going to have a season 4 of Stranger Things that has anything to do with the previous seasons. Netflix cut a bunch of originals just so the actors and actresses of Stranger Things could make exorbitant amounts of money. The end of season 3 left it off at a point where it is very much a case of, "yeah, no shit there is going to be a season 4, but they don't exactly leave themselves off in a space to do so."


----------



## Seabeast2000

thebeesknees22 said:


> ooooh the trailer for the 2nd season of Love Death + Robots dropped
> 
> 
> 
> I'm stoked for this one.



This plus another Oats Studios please.


----------



## SpaceDock

I think Dewey Cox is among the best movies ever made.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Forest Of Love - Deep Cut

Stumbled into this after long playtime of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, I noticed Eri Kamataki's name. Really enjoyed her in the game playing a bizarro version of herself, so I was genuinely curious.

Directed by Sion Sono, an auteur director who's been compared to Takeshi Miike but more confronting in his themes, Forest of Love is inspired by one of Japan's most notorious serious killers. The original theatrical cut is about 2 and a half hours long, but the Deep Cut adds an additional 2 more hours, repurposed into a 7 episode affair. Well I sat through Snyder's Justice League so I'm ready to binge through 4+ hours of Japanese cinema in one sitting...

It's not for everybody.

Consider me a Sion Sono noob, but I'm glad I came in knowing next to nothing. Forest Of Love does not hold back. Now I do enjoy the occasional arty farty avant garde movie and all, but this is one of the most dark and disturbing movies I've seen in recent memory, it's pure gonzo madness and not comfortable viewing at all. But it was so engaging I couldn't look away.

The tone is all over the place. The movie begins rather tame and low key, but by the half way point it gets intense. There were moments where the move felt like a cheaply filmed J-Drama, thanks to many jarringly hard cuts and some ridiculously over the top scenes, juxtaposed with some extremely uncomfortable misogynistic moments, ugly sex scenes, serious violence and gore. But at the same time there's some beautifully shot moments, great acting and shocking twist and turns. And THEN Sono pulls the rug from under you, subverting your expectations. There's an excruciating dinner scene that can seriously traumatise some viewers.

With none of the characters are remotely likeable and sympathetic, the acting is top notch... well to a fault. There are some J-Drama overacting mixed with some actual genuinely great classical theatre moments. Kippei Shiina chews every scene being the charismatic, flamboyant and manipulative central character Joe Murata (hard to say more without spoiling), but it's the female cast that steal the show, taking the heavy subject matter and going to town with them. Kyoko Hinami does a great job of being the promiscuous Taeko, and unsurprisingly, Eri Kamitaki absolutely kills it as the mentally damaged Mitsuko. Seeing her in a much more different darker role made it obvious how she won the Yakuza 7 support character competition.

I will say that is an extremely self indulgent movie. Sono lays bare heavy criticisms towards Japanese society (in the form of Murata himself) and takes it as far as he could. I read the synopsis of the theatrical cut and heard even that was considered overdone my many critics. The Deep cut goes on even more to squeeze out as much back story and nuances for every character as possible, and Sono does not let a single drop waste. So to it's detriment there's lots of redundant scenes and small moments that either go in circles or go nowhere at all. Still it was surprisingly cohesive and Sono certainly captivated me to not look away for four bloody hours. That's quite an achievement.

Forest Of Love is not for the feint hearted but there's something poetic about it. I'm not sure which version to recommend if you're at least morbidly curious to Sion Sono's work, so I suppose the theatrical cut ought to be enough for most and your reaction will most likely be "WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WATCH?!?" I've heard all his works are like this and each movie will at least provoke a response in some way. Sono recently did a movie with Nicholas Cage called Prisoners of the Ghostland, which already sounds like a recipe for gonzo dadaist disaster. Fun fun fun.

As for the 2 Yakuza: Like A Dragon fans here, consider this post a warning.


----------



## r33per

Sound of Metal.

Double thumbs up.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

stowaway - pretty good. took a completely different direction than I was expecting. I thought from the synopsis we'd get another space madness movie (event horizon, sunshine,etc) but it ended up being a very grounded hard sci fi character study with some very tense sequences. 

Promising young woman- I can't really talk about the film without spoiling it but basically it's a unique take on the rape revenge genre with a lot of vicious jabs at "nice guys". Carey Mulligan is fantastic in it. Bo Burnham is surprisingly solid too. 
Pretty good and has a fair bit of black humor in it too.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The Stepfather and The Stepfather II.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

army of the dead- A good stupid, fun heist film , but with zombies. The gore is plentiful, and there's a ton of good practical makeup/effects. Tig Notaro is pretty funny and steals most of the scenes she's in. The headshots are nice and chunky, the fight scenes are good. Definitely worth a watch if you like zombie films.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Trick or Treat
Black Roses
Deathgasm

Wish I could find Rocktober Blood somewhere, and Jon Mikl Thor in Rock n Roll Nightmare.


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> army of the dead- A good stupid, fun heist film , but with zombies. The gore is plentiful, and there's a ton of good practical makeup/effects. Tig Notaro is pretty funny and steals most of the scenes she's in. The headshots are nice and chunky, the fight scenes are good. Definitely worth a watch if you like zombie films.


We watched this last night too.

I have to say I'm impressed that:
A) Dave Bautista has become a far better actor that I would have ever expected back when we were watching wrestling. While this was a goofball action flick, he had some really heartfelt moments with his movie daughter and really sold it hard. Between his performances in the last few films I've seen him in and hearing how much effort he put into Guardians of the Galaxy, I've gotta respect the dude for manning up when the time came to make his move.

B) For what, on the surface, should have just been a shit action flick, they managed to actually put something together with a bit of heart in it. Even the "zombies" had real character. That's not something you expect of a late-coming zombie film.

Definitely worth a watch.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> We watched this last night too.
> 
> I have to say I'm impressed that:
> A) Dave Bautista has become a far better actor that I would have ever expected back when we were watching wrestling. While this was a goofball action flick, he had some really heartfelt moments with his movie daughter and really sold it hard. Between his performances in the last few films I've seen him in and hearing how much effort he put into Guardians of the Galaxy, I've gotta respect the dude for manning up when the time came to make his move.
> 
> B) For what, on the surface, should have just been a shit action flick, they managed to actually put something together with a bit of heart in it. Even the "zombies" had real character. That's not something you expect of a late-coming zombie film.
> 
> Definitely worth a watch.


I expected something else based on the logo, so I was disappointed in that regard. Otherwise, it was a kick ass film, but I expected something a little different.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> We watched this last night too.
> 
> I have to say I'm impressed that:
> A) Dave Bautista has become a far better actor that I would have ever expected back when we were watching wrestling. While this was a goofball action flick, he had some really heartfelt moments with his movie daughter and really sold it hard. Between his performances in the last few films I've seen him in and hearing how much effort he put into Guardians of the Galaxy, I've gotta respect the dude for manning up when the time came to make his move.
> 
> B) For what, on the surface, should have just been a shit action flick, they managed to actually put something together with a bit of heart in it. Even the "zombies" had real character. That's not something you expect of a late-coming zombie film.
> 
> Definitely worth a watch.


Yeah unlike 99% of romero or TWD's shit the characters aren't insufferable and actually get to be more than just archetypes. 

Bautista is a very solid actor any more. I loved him in Stuber and My Spy, he's hilarious in those, especially Stuber.


----------



## manu80

totally agree on your analysis.

Bautista is really surprising and does better than some other established actor for me.
The movie is a fun ride, I'm just always amazed at those zombies who are moving like Parkour guys, especially at the end, they're moving with jumping everywhere.
Cool sfx and deaths, I enjoyed it

I was more disappointed by the new Love death Robots season.
Technically it's great but the stories were meh or unfinished. I liked the grandma and her dog vs the robot and technically, Snow in the desert is impressive...like really impressive. Sometimes wondered where did the SFX stopped....


----------



## KnightBrolaire

St. Maud- basically a mediocre body horror/religious delusion laden movie parading as an arthouse film. It definitely does a good job of maintaining an ominous atmosphere, and the few instances of gore are pretty effective. Can't really recommend it.


----------



## mongey

King of Staten Island. 

I liked it. Didn’t realize how auto biographical it was until after watching it. 
Gave me good feels. 

yesterday. 
Hadn’t gotten around to watching this. First 2 thirds were entertaining. Then meandered into being the movie you thought it would be. But still worth a watch. 

2 good directors who stay in their lane but are Always worth checking out.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Nomadland

Been wanting to watch this in an actual theatre for a while but took ages for it to come here, but streaming finally became available. 

There's a relaxing meditative vibe here and the movie is as paced as gentle, cruisey and easy going. It's also really well shot, capturing some authentic rural Americana, kinda takes me back when I toured US. Impressive especially when Nomadland is running dual narratives, both very simple. The earnest affection of roamers, wanderers, nomads, vagabonds, call them what you will, and their life on the road, whilst also a character study of Fern (Frances McDormand). It's almost quasi documentary that doesn't condescend Fern or the nomads. Not much else really. 

That said, the movie's tenderness doesn't reveal much of the undercurrents that bother me. Fern's situation isn't exactly pleasing and because she ends where she wants to be, the expected human anger against what lead to her situation is oddly absent. The portrayal of Amazon Fulfillment seems more like a glorified product placement, rather different than their actual labour practices. Basically it's an 'everything works out well in the end' wrap up that feels odd. Minor quibble though. It's a sweet, intimate and enjoyable film, albeit a little romanticised.


----------



## Rosal76

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Nomadland
> 
> Been wanting to watch this in an actual theatre for a while but took ages for it to come here, but streaming finally became available.



I want to see this movie so bad! It's one of those movies that when I watched the trailer, I wanted to see it before I was even 10 seconds into the trailer. I love movies that go back to the basics. Ya gotta go back to the basics once in a while. Congratulations to Frances McDormand for winning best film actress for the movie.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Rosal76 said:


> I want to see this movie so bad! It's one of those movies that when I watched the trailer, I wanted to see it before I was even 10 seconds into the trailer. I love movies that go back to the basics. Ya gotta go back to the basics once in a while. Congratulations to Frances McDormand for winning best film actress for the movie.



It's on Disney+ so if you have a subscription you can see it now.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Sound Of Metal

A bit of preface: depending on how you perceive 'heavy metal music', you may need to divorce yourself from that perception and the kind of music the band in this movie plays. Now that's out of the way...

This shares a similar theme to Nomadland, but takes the opposite direction on how it handles the theme. While Nomadland is easy going and shows that the path you take will work out well in the end, Sound of Metal sternly puts you down and asks, 'What if it doesn't work out the way you want it, and how will you deal with your loss?'. A poignant story of a drummer losing his hearing and what he does about it, but remains largely ambiguous. No sense of preaching and more towards learning through your loss, and the acceptance isn't the end of the road. 

It's rather remarkable that you feel close to the 2 piece band and know them rather well during the first 5 minutes of the film. Both the band members are fantastic, though Riz Ahmed should be noted since he pulls off a masterclass performance. It's very subtle but emotionally gut wrenching; you can really tell just by the look in his eyes or his body language. You feel his pain through the entire movie. 

Sound Of Metal may be one of my favorite movies in recent memory. Once you get the whole 'metal' notion out of your system, this is well worth watching.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Sound Of Metal
> 
> A bit of preface: depending on how you perceive 'heavy metal music', you may need to divorce yourself from that perception and the kind of music the band in this movie plays. Now that's out of the way...
> 
> This shares a similar theme to Nomadland, but takes the opposite direction on how it handles the theme. While Nomadland is easy going and shows that the path you take will work out well in the end, Sound of Metal sternly puts you down and asks, 'What if it doesn't work out the way you want it, and how will you deal with your loss?'. A poignant story of a drummer losing his hearing and what he does about it, but remains largely ambiguous. No sense of preaching and more towards learning through your loss, and the acceptance isn't the end of the road.
> 
> It's rather remarkable that you feel close to the 2 piece band and know them rather well during the first 5 minutes of the film. Both the band members are fantastic, though Riz Ahmed should be noted since he pulls off a masterclass performance. It's very subtle but emotionally gut wrenching; you can really tell just by the look in his eyes or his body language. You feel his pain through the entire movie.
> 
> Sound Of Metal may be one of my favorite movies in recent memory. Once you get the whole 'metal' notion out of your system, this is well worth watching.


Splitting hairs between heavy metal, noise rock, or some other experimental genre is such a tiny part of the movie. I'm actually glad they made the band as out there as possible since it's just the 2 members. The only part of the movie that annoyed me a bit was when you're seeing them play at the start and she isn't hitting guitar notes at all while you can hear them in the background. Just a small detail that could've been improved, but otherwise you're totally right. Fantastic movie and cast.


----------



## MFB

Yeah, I'm fine with the band and their genre/all of that aspect, but the part that killed me about Sound of Metal was how little they explored the idea of a MUSICIAN losing his hearing; not just a person, but a person who's livelihood is basic on their ability to make music. I can't imagine what that would be like, as not only are you losing that part of your life, but as a fan of music, you also lose all that with it.

It's insane to think about at times, and if I were ever in a situation of sight vs. sound, I think I might take sight


----------



## Choop

Rewatched Tropic Thunder last Monday with my girlfriend, about halfway through remembering that it was Memorial Day and probably one of the worst choices to commemorate the holiday.


----------



## BMFan30

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The Stepfather and The Stepfather II.


How was it?



KnightBrolaire said:


> St. Maud- basically a mediocre body horror/religious delusion laden movie parading as an arthouse film. It definitely does a good job of maintaining an ominous atmosphere, and the few instances of gore are pretty effective. Can't really recommend it.


I think it's not really a horror movie. I think it's about what's going on in nurse Mauds head and the visuals are just translating her point of view based on religious superstition and her mental health combined. 

At least that's how I saw it, personally I don't thing anything in the movie really happened more than that's what she wanted to see based on her previous trauma added to the mix.


----------



## MFB

I watched St. Maud last weekend, it was 5/10 at best; could've been cooler, but it felt like it was missing a lot of background on the character that would inform why she's acting the way she currently is. Obviously they showed some of it, but it was still rather vague.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> How was it?


They are entertaining films. I think comparing it to Psycho would be a fair comparison, but folks might expect something different based on such.


----------



## zappatton2

Just watched the latest Conjuring movie, as a lover of all things horror, I did not love this. Though it does seem to elicit mixed reviews; my wife liked it, but I just found it boring, and I just have a hard time taking overtly religious films all that seriously, especially with a heavy dose of Satanic Panic thrown in.

Plus, even though I've clearly been watching these movies up to this point, there's a part of me that becomes less comfortable glossing over the fact that our heroic protagonists are themselves based on real-life charlatans.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Finally caught the Deadwood movie...... meh. The diction was the star but even it went bit over the top at times. Dull movie with kind of non ending.


----------



## nightflameauto

6 Underground
A Ryan Reynolds action extravaganza. If you dig the Hitman's Bodyguard, it's a much more orchestrated version of that. Action/comedy with some actual heart-pull moments here or there but mostly just mayhem and chaos. I was actually surprised when it came up that it was a Michael Bay film at the end because it somehow managed to mostly stay coherent, which is not at all a Michael Bay trademark. I suppose Reynolds holds enough weight to actually get Bay's coke induced editing under control or something.

At any rate, worth a watch if you're in the mood for some really cool action sequences that still manage to tell a story. Plus, if you ever wondered what happens when the pool on the roof springs a leak, you finally get that question answered.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Midsommar. 

I enjoyed it a lot. I'm not hugely into horror movies but I do love me some good suspenseful and atmospheric ones like Get Out, Under the Skin, or It Comes at Night. I heard a lot of bad things about this movie but thought it was solid. Some beautiful visuals and shots, some dark comedy thrown in, weird occult Scandinavians mixing in viking/pagan stuff into their rituals. The one thing my partner noticed a few times was that a lot of the kills/gore were already done in Hannibal (the series). Doesn't necessarily take away from it since I'm sure some of the Hannibal stuff could've been inspired by the things that inspired Midsommar.


----------



## BMFan30

Spaced Out Ace said:


> They are entertaining films. I think comparing it to Psycho would be a fair comparison, but folks might expect something different based on such.


Cool because I wanted to watch that. I love all things horror. I love 70s or 80s horror flicks a lot though. They have a different feel to them because back then they didn't have effects like that so they really just had to be creepy.



zappatton2 said:


> Just watched the latest Conjuring movie, as a lover of all things horror, I did not love this. Though it does seem to elicit mixed reviews; my wife liked it, but I just found it boring, and I just have a hard time taking overtly religious films all that seriously, especially with a heavy dose of Satanic Panic thrown in.


I felt like that might be the case from watching the trailer. I liked the first 2 movies though.


BlackMastodon said:


> Midsommar.
> 
> I enjoyed it a lot


Everybody should see this whether they like horror or not because it's not in a dark setting. Most of it takes place in the day time so you can watch it with people who don't like dark horror movies and watch it in the daytime without blocking the lights out of your windows. Heavily recommended.

If you liked that then watch Hagazussa.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> Cool because I wanted to watch that. I love all things horror. I love 70s or 80s horror flicks a lot though. They have a different feel to them because back then they didn't have effects like that so they really just had to be creepy.


Agreed. Practical FX beat CGI. I'd rather see a low budget practical effect over any budget CGI, but perhaps that's just me.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Nothing the Conjuring has to offer up beats Exorcist III.


----------



## BMFan30

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Agreed. Practical FX beat CGI. I'd rather see a low budget practical effect over any budget CGI, but perhaps that's just me.


The Texas Chainsaw Massacre sent chills down my spine without even showing me anything yet. It's a timeless classic that worked out so well in the end because they didn't even need that much of a budget to make it but it worked so well for the aesthetic that it still holds up perfectly well today. I almost shat a brick watching it last week again.

But sometimes older horror movies have that cheesy funny factor that I love in horrors a lot also so it all works out. So I can't be mad, I love it all.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> Nothing the Conjuring has to offer up beats Exorcist III.


Heavy agree on that, I actually have to rewatch that this week again, another movie that spooked you without showing you anything yet. Like when the exorcist walks up to the house you knew hell was about to break loose.


----------



## Mathemagician

Not a movie but the last dance. As someone who is indifferent to basketball it’s really well done. Enjoying it immensely.


----------



## BMFan30

Fried Barry 


I fucking loved it. It's different in all the right ways.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> The Texas Chainsaw Massacre sent chills down my spine without even showing me anything yet. It's a timeless classic that worked out so well in the end because they didn't even need that much of a budget to make it but it worked so well for the aesthetic that it still holds up perfectly well today. I almost shat a brick watching it last week again.
> 
> But sometimes older horror movies have that cheesy funny factor that I love in horrors a lot also so it all works out. So I can't be mad, I love it all.
> 
> 
> Heavy agree on that, I actually have to rewatch that this week again, another movie that spooked you without showing you anything yet. Like when the exorcist walks up to the house you knew hell was about to break loose.


It is NOT... in the FILE! IT IS NOT! -slams fist-


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> Fried Barry
> 
> 
> I fucking loved it. It's different in all the right ways.



That shit was terrible. Shudder put that shit up and it was awful.


----------



## BMFan30

Spaced Out Ace said:


> That shit was terrible. Shudder put that shit up and it was awful.


Haha! I guess it's not for everyone. It just reminds me that we all had a friend like Barry.

I actually loved it, I thought I wouldn't when I watched the trailer but I got a little fucked up then watched it and really enjoyed it. It was a ride for me, it's definitely on the goofy funny side and I'm a fan of comedy horrors too.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> Haha! I guess it's not for everyone. It just reminds me that we all had a friend like Barry.
> 
> I actually loved it, I thought I wouldn't when I watched the trailer but I got a little fucked up then watched it and really enjoyed it. It was a ride for me, it's definitely on the goofy funny side and I'm a fan of comedy horrors too.


I don't use drugs or drink alcohol, so... yeah. I thought it was horrible and couldn't believe they got Joe Bob to show that trash.


----------



## BMFan30

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I don't use drugs or drink alcohol, so... yeah. I thought it was horrible and couldn't believe they got Joe Bob to show that trash.


It's really just a comedy horror flick with some action parts. If anything Barry is having a silent movie moment throughout the whole movie haha. I just saw it as a fun flick than a serious one. Also, I need to get more into Joe Bob.


----------



## Rosal76

Spaced Out Ace said:


> It is NOT... in the FILE! IT IS NOT! -slams fist



George C. Scott really did do a good job in the movie. Believe if it or not, I actually enjoy this movie more for it's acting and not the actual scare scenes/special effects. The scare scenes/special effects are excellent but George's acting is the star of that movie, IMHO. Also loved him in The Changeling from 1980.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> George C. Scott really did do a good job in the movie. Believe if it or not, I actually enjoy this movie more for it's acting and not the actual scare scenes/special effects. The scare scenes/special effects are excellent but George's acting is the star of that movie, IMHO. Also loved him in The Changeling from 1980.


I saw EIII first, so... yeah. I do not really care all that much for The Changeling. Also, let's not forget Brad Dourif's spectacular acting in EIII. He did a great job. It is kind of sad that he is such an underrated actor, because everyone thinks of him as the voice actor for Chucky. In reality, he can be as creepy, sympathetic, etc as anyone. I love Robert Englund, but I think that Brad could bury him in an "act off," as I feel Brad is top notch. Not that Robert isn't, but Robert has some weaknesses, and does his best to cover them up. As for Brad, I'm not sure he has any, other than the fact that his acting will always get overshadowed by his voice work for Child's Play.


----------



## nightflameauto

Robert Englund's main weakness is he needs a character with a sense of humor or he kind of gets lost in the role. He was the right dude to play Freddy, absolutely. His bit in Zombie Strippers was a perfect casting for him. Granted, that movie speaks to me on nearly every level. Comedy horror that somehow manages to shoe-horn in classical literary references and NOT feel forced and stupid while doing it with campy, over-the-top bit characters? Perfection.

If it just could have skipped the timely Bush references it'd be an everyday classic.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Robert Englund's main weakness is he needs a character with a sense of humor or he kind of gets lost in the role. He was the right dude to play Freddy, absolutely. His bit in Zombie Strippers was a perfect casting for him. Granted, that movie speaks to me on nearly every level. Comedy horror that somehow manages to shoe-horn in classical literary references and NOT feel forced and stupid while doing it with campy, over-the-top bit characters? Perfection.
> 
> If it just could have skipped the timely Bush references it'd be an everyday classic.


Except Freddy always had a creepiness factor to him, even when cracking jokes at the expense of his victims.


----------



## manu80

"Wrath of man", remake of Le convoyeur from France. Well , the original is a dry,tense hard boiled edgy polar, (that shows we can still make good movies....) the Guy ritchie version is just a basic B movie. Still Statham has always some charisma. But Guy Ritchie can do way better (I digged UNCLE and his take on King Arthur)
"Monsters of man" Not bad. Show that you can do pretty good with a very low budget compared to Hollywood movie.
"No remorse"on amazon prime. Useless and deja vu
"Raya and the last dragon". Still amazed at the fluidity and textures, My kid loved it. It's ok. Not the best Disney but watchable.
"Hidden figures". wanted to see it for a while. loved it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The Entity doesn't get enough credit for its practical fx.


----------



## Steo

So last night I saw:
Snowtown. That was a grim watch, the story behind it is very bleak too. 
Then The night comes for us, an Indonesian crime/martial arts film. Ott violent. Pretty good.


----------



## nightflameauto

Young Guns. If not for the music, this movie could be pretty timeless. Unfortunately, the eighties cheese oozing from every musical interlude stomps that timelessness right out of existence. Still a fun watch, but mostly because I grew up in that era. I can't imagine younger folks watching it with anything but disdain.


----------



## TedEH

I'm super late on this one 'cause I don't watch a ton of movies/tv - but I watched Soul last night and it was both pretty decent and not what I expected.


----------



## jaxadam

nightflameauto said:


> Young Guns. If not for the music, this movie could be pretty timeless. Unfortunately, the eighties cheese oozing from every musical interlude stomps that timelessness right out of existence. Still a fun watch, but mostly because I grew up in that era. I can't imagine younger folks watching it with anything but disdain.



You see the size of that chicken!


----------



## Drew

I just watched Bo Burnham's "Inside" a couple nights back. Worth watching for his incredibly creative use of real-time lighting effects alone, though it's pretty solid anyway.


----------



## Ralyks

After years of stopping and starting the final season, I finally just finished Mr. Robot. And, uhh, all of the questions. ALL of the questions.


----------



## BMFan30

So I've come to the conclusion that the reason most modern horror movies or any modern movies in general for that matter don't hold up to older movies because I feel like special effects and CGI has made the plots and stories of modern movies quite ass lazy compared to movies in the 70s and 80s when they lacked the effects but had stronger writing, stories, plots and acting too in most cases.

Or I just find that sifting through modern movies to find good ones harder than sifting through older movies where it's easier to find good films because they just had captivating stories and plots to them. Maybe because availability is more prominent today so we just have more films in general which makes it harder to find ones we enjoy.

Either way it's all a matter in taste, just noticed something since diving into older movies a month ago.


----------



## thebeesknees22

Agreed on older horror movies.

In the past they were limited on how much they could show so they had to use suspense as a tool to create the mood. 

Like jaws you never saw the shark until pretty much the end due to technical issues with the shark prop.

There are a TON of reaaally bad B horror movies these days with horrible CG thanks I think to Sharknado lol I'm guilty of getting bored and watching way too many of those over the last year.

Movies in general in the past had more leeway to be more creative too since the directors actually had more say over their films. (usually). Ever since the disney/marvel takeover of the industry though everything has shifted to being done by committee. Unless a director falls under the legends list, they have to answer to a dozen people above them who make creative calls on their film. Plus they have all the vfx sups under them giving their opinions on things too etc..

Sometimes it's good quality control, but other times it makes everything very formulaic, and watered down. 

The writer's side is the same. No one or two people write a script. Scripts go through a dozen people too.

Also today they aren't just making movies for the American or western audience anymore. They make everything so they can market it in China which is an additional layer of creative control to get things through their censorship.


----------



## MFB

thebeesknees22 said:


> The writer's side is the same. No one or two people write a script. Scripts go through a dozen people too.



I actually just read the book by Thomas Lennon and Robert Benjamin Garant of _Reno 911!_ where they talk about script writing, formulas, the Hollywood process side of it and it's shocking how many people a script actually goes through; to the point where you wonder how much of an impact it actually makes on the film when you have THAT many people work on one thing, all fighting to get credit for changing some little thing.

It was a little sickening to hear about how you need to play the game to keep in the industry


----------



## thebeesknees22

yeah you know how long the credits lists are on movies? The actual amount of people that work on them is probably 3x's bigger including all of the vfx people that don't get added. 

On the post production side, none of the India or China artists ever get credit. A good chunk of the North American, European, and Aussie/NZ artists don't get credit. It's better than it used to be though. 

It took me 3 shows back in the day to start getting credits myself.

The client side tends to get credits easier though because of all the unions. There used to be a long running joke that caterers would get their names in the credits above the VFX and post production people. (which was true). But some directors are really good at putting vfx people higher on the list. 

To be fair though, if they added every single person in the credits, they'd go on for 30 minutes lol


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> So I've come to the conclusion that the reason most modern horror movies or any modern movies in general for that matter don't hold up to older movies because I feel like special effects and CGI has made the plots and stories of modern movies quite ass lazy compared to movies in the 70s and 80s when they lacked the effects but had stronger writing, stories, plots and acting too in most cases.
> 
> Or I just find that sifting through modern movies to find good ones harder than sifting through older movies where it's easier to find good films because they just had captivating stories and plots to them. Maybe because availability is more prominent today so we just have more films in general which makes it harder to find ones we enjoy.
> 
> Either way it's all a matter in taste, just noticed something since diving into older movies a month ago.


They didn't lack in effects.


----------



## Rosal76

BMFan30 said:


> ... to movies in the 70s and 80s when they lacked the effects but had stronger writing, stories, plots and acting too in most cases.



IMHO, that's why I think Dawn of the dead (1978) is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Or at least one of the greatest zombie movies of all time. It delivered on all aspects. Good story, good characters, people who actually know how to kill zombies and don't just stand there and gawk at them and a very good underlying social message. And the special effects were groundbreaking at the time for a zombie movie.


----------



## Seabeast2000

I like The Meg. There I said it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> IMHO, that's why I think Dawn of the dead (1978) is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Or at least one of the greatest zombie movies of all time. It delivered on all aspects. Good story, good characters, people who actually know how to kill zombies and don't just stand there and gawk at them and a very good underlying social message. And the special effects were groundbreaking at the time for a zombie movie.


The social message about materialism and that even if you're dead, you'll still end up at the mall?


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The social message about materialism and that even if you're dead, you'll still end up at the mall?



As the songbird Robin Sparkles once said in her 90's smash hit, "Let's go to the mall!"


----------



## Rosal76

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The social message about materialism and that even if you're dead, you'll still end up at the mall?



Yes. That is one of the main social messages. This is what 2 of main characters said in the movie.

Fran: What are they doing? Why do they come here (shopping mall)?

Stephen: Some kind of instinct. Memory of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.

Later on, Fran was the first one to warn Stephen about it by saying:

"You're hypnotized by this place. All of you! You don't see that it's not a sanctuary, it's a prison! Let's just take what we need and get out of here!"

A shopping mall is a pretty good place to be at during a zombie apocalypse, though, a active military base would probably be safer for it's armaments and hospital. The disadvantage the mall had was it attracted a lot of other people.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> Yes. That is one of the main social messages. This is what 2 of main characters said in the movie.
> 
> Fran: What are they doing? Why do they come here (shopping mall)?
> 
> Stephen: Some kind of instinct. Memory of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.
> 
> Later on, Fran was the first one to warn Stephen about it by saying:
> 
> "You're hypnotized by this place. All of you! You don't see that it's not a sanctuary, it's a prison! Let's just take what we need and get out of here!"
> 
> A shopping mall is a pretty good place to be at during a zombie apocalypse, though, a active military base would probably be safer for it's armaments and hospital. The disadvantage the mall had was it attracted a lot of other people.


Well, I asked because people continue to add some social commentary to the first film in the franchise, when Russo and Romero have both stated that was not the intent, and that Duane was the best actor. However, everyone seems to ignore their statements, and insists there is social commentary in the film. As such, I wasn't sure if there was similar mistaken social commentary in the film. Dawn of the Dead definitely seems to point out how society cares more about materialism and relative "safety" over that of poor, downtrodden people.

The military base might be safer, however, as Day of the Dead shows, the other personalities involved are the biggest issue. The commentary there, I believe, is that we are our own worst enemy and that we'll never be able to have any sort of peaceful existence, whatever it might be. Whether that is some sort of holding hands across the world "One World, One Love" sort of bullshit, or even just a city, state, or country working towards its best interests, we'll never succeed. Doom to fail, because "if you want peace, prepare for war."

As an aside, I'd love to see a collection (they may have released one) with all of the various cuts of the same film.

I'd rank the films:
Dawn of the Dead
Night of the Living Dead (1990; some of the changes are more in line with what I like, such as strong female characters)
Night of the Living Dead
Day of the Dead (sorry, but it is very dark, doomy, gloomy, and dire; very little in the way of levity)


----------



## Rosal76

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Well, I asked because people continue to add some social commentary to the first film in the franchise, when Russo and Romero have both stated that was not the intent, and that Duane was the best actor. However, everyone seems to ignore their statements, and insists there is social commentary in the film. As such, I wasn't sure if there was similar mistaken social commentary in the film.



Regarding Night, I was under the impression that having a strong, black survivor in a 1968 movie was the social message. That a black survivor can do a good job at surviving and helping the other survivors in the house. I think it freaked people out then they saw Duane telling/yelling at Cooper what to do and then punching him for not opening the door for him to get inside from the zombies. I thought that was the social message they were trying to give.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> The military base might be safer, however, as Day of the Dead shows, the other personalities involved are the biggest issue. The commentary there, I believe, is that we are our own worst enemy and that we'll never be able to have any sort of peaceful existence, whatever it might be.



You are correct. That is one of George's underlying messages in that movie. George quotes, "it's really not the zombies fault, the survivors not getting along is their own downfall". Also, at the time, there was a distrust in the military (I believe Oliver North was a inspiration) so they made it to where Captain Rhodes and his men are antagonist. 

Trivial info: Originally they had Captain Rhodes as a Green Beret instead of captain. Should have made him a Green Beret so he could load the freaking rifle first, so if he runs into a zombie, say Bub, he could have downed Bub quickly. LOL.


----------



## BMFan30

Spaced Out Ace said:


> They didn't lack in effects.


I'm saying they didn't have as many effects and computer generated images as we do and how well refined we have it all today. I mean back then some guy on a railroad wagon would be pushed holding a camera but now a drone easily can give you the most cinematic shots in less than half the time it would take 2 people to do that job which a drone does now. Or older effects look cheesy in comparison.

But STILL those older films hold up today imo, to my surprise. I'm just glad I have older movies a try without prejudging them like before because there is a lot to love in older films. I'm kind of bummed I found out so late how great movies in the 70s are. Oldest flicks I ever watched were maybe some slashers from the 80s.


----------



## Rosal76

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I'd rank the films:
> Dawn of the Dead
> Night of the Living Dead (1990; some of the changes are more in line with what I like, such as strong female characters)
> Night of the Living Dead
> Day of the Dead (sorry, but it is very dark, doomy, gloomy, and dire; very little in the way of levity)



I strongly agree with Dawn being 1st. It's the only movie where there's still a society: active t.v. station, police/s.w.a.t. teams, biker gang and the people are having fun. Rednecks having fun shooting zombies. Military guys taking pictures of each other and the 4 main survivors enjoying their new home which is the mall. Gives a sense of normalcy/relief and not all doomy/gloomy like Day. I enjoyed Day but not for the same reasons I liked Dawn.


----------



## BMFan30

Rosal76 said:


> IMHO, that's why I think Dawn of the dead (1978) is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Or at least one of the greatest zombie movies of all time. It delivered on all aspects. Good story, good characters, people who actually know how to kill zombies and don't just stand there and gawk at them and a very good underlying social message. And the special effects were groundbreaking at the time for a zombie movie.


I have got to watch Dawn of the Dead! It's actually on my watch list. Will get to it soon actually because I'm really enjoying my trip through older horror flicks. They are actually more terrifying in ways. Like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974 almost made me shit a brick before anything even happened. I couldn't do that with the modern remakes of it. While it was a "low budget" film. Sort of mind-blowing honestly. 

When those girls were screaming in the film, it felt like they were real people in a shit situation. It was easy to forget they were actors and extremely easy to find myself sucked into the story like I'm one of the characters myself because they flawlessly made you relate to the story and plot.


----------



## Rosal76

BMFan30 said:


> I have got to watch Dawn of the Dead! It's actually on my watch list. Will get to it soon actually because I'm really enjoying my trip through older horror flicks. They are actually more terrifying in ways. Like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974 almost made me shit a brick before anything even happened. I couldn't do that with the modern remakes of it. While it was a "low budget" film. Sort of mind-blowing honestly.



+1.

Do yourself a favor. If you have time, try and watch all 3 versions. But not in one night. There is a theatrical version (most popular version), a directors cuts, and a European version. I love all three because it's my favorite horror movie anyways, so. If you only have time to watch 1, I would just watch the theatrical version.


----------



## BMFan30

Rosal76 said:


> +1.
> 
> Do yourself a favor. If you have time, try and watch all 3 versions. But not in one night. There is a theatrical version (most popular version), a directors cuts, and a European version. I love all three because it's my favorite horror movie anyways, so. If you only have time to watch 1, I would just watch the theatrical version.


Oh no I will watch all 3! I will get to the Dawn of the Dead movies starting tonight probably if not then this weekend. Thanks because I didn't really know what to watch next in the classic horror dept.

I just finished The Exorcist I & III this week. Was told to skip the second because it was trash and I trust that advice because everyone says that. I really liked following along the story of those 2 films too. Kicking myself hard for not diving into the original horror movies that paved the way sooner because they truly are classics, I can see that now.


----------



## Rosal76

BMFan30 said:


> Was told to skip the second because it was trash and I trust that advice because everyone says that.



I'm gonna tell you some useless movie trivia about Exorcist 2 that you may enjoy. Or not. LOL.

Actress, Ellen Burstyn, plays Regan's (possessed girl) mom in the first Exorcist (1974).

Actress, Louise Fletcher, plays Regan's psychiatrist in Exorcist 2 (1977).

Obviously, both the mom and psychiatrist cared/looked out for Regan.

Both Ellen Burstyn and Louise Fletcher played the same character (grandmother) in the movie versions of Flowers in the attic. Fletcher played her first in the 1987 version and Burstyn played her in the 2014 version. Like I said, useless trivia but some movie fans get a kick out of hearing stuff like that. LOL.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> Regarding Night, I was under the impression that having a strong, black survivor in a 1968 movie was the social message. That a black survivor can do a good job at surviving and helping the other survivors in the house. I think it freaked people out then they saw Duane telling/yelling at Cooper what to do and then punching him for not opening the door for him to get inside from the zombies. I thought that was the social message they were trying to give.


He didn't survive. Also, that was not the intention of George and John.



Rosal76 said:


> You are correct. That is one of George's underlying messages in that movie. George quotes, "it's really not the zombies fault, the survivors not getting along is their own downfall". Also, at the time, there was a distrust in the military (I believe Oliver North was a inspiration) so they made it to where Captain Rhodes and his men are antagonist.
> 
> Trivial info: Originally they had Captain Rhodes as a Green Beret instead of captain. Should have made him a Green Beret so he could load the freaking rifle first, so if he runs into a zombie, say Bub, he could have downed Bub quickly. LOL.


I do not believe that to be the case. If memory serves, 1985 was the year Day of the Dead came out, while the Iran-Contra affair wasn't made public until a year later. Military distrust had been a theme among the public since at least the 60s. 

Bub was meant to be a way to have a small amount of levity, and to sort of show that there are good in all types.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> I'm saying they didn't have as many effects and computer generated images as we do and how well refined we have it all today. I mean back then some guy on a railroad wagon would be pushed holding a camera but now a drone easily can give you the most cinematic shots in less than half the time it would take 2 people to do that job which a drone does now. Or older effects look cheesy in comparison.
> 
> But STILL those older films hold up today imo, to my surprise. I'm just glad I have older movies a try without prejudging them like before because there is a lot to love in older films. I'm kind of bummed I found out so late how great movies in the 70s are. Oldest flicks I ever watched were maybe some slashers from the 80s.


Sorry, but the effects back in the 80s are better. The effects in The Thing from 1981 are amazing; the effects in the "prequel" from 2000-whatever, which are mostly / all CGI are fucking terrible. Good and bad in both types, but I think that there are quite a few films with very awesome practical effects.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> I strongly agree with Dawn being 1st. It's the only movie where there's still a society: active t.v. station, police/s.w.a.t. teams, biker gang and the people are having fun. Rednecks having fun shooting zombies. Military guys taking pictures of each other and the 4 main survivors enjoying their new home which is the mall. Gives a sense of normalcy/relief and not all doomy/gloomy like Day. I enjoyed Day but not for the same reasons I liked Dawn.


I think you are conflating, somewhat, the end of Night and Dawn. Military taking pictures and rednecks shooting zombies is at the end of Night. I don't remember either happening in Dawn.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> I have got to watch Dawn of the Dead! It's actually on my watch list. Will get to it soon actually because I'm really enjoying my trip through older horror flicks. They are actually more terrifying in ways. Like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974 almost made me shit a brick before anything even happened. I couldn't do that with the modern remakes of it. While it was a "low budget" film. Sort of mind-blowing honestly.
> 
> When those girls were screaming in the film, it felt like they were real people in a shit situation. It was easy to forget they were actors and extremely easy to find myself sucked into the story like I'm one of the characters myself because they flawlessly made you relate to the story and plot.


What's mind blowing is that Tobe Hooper was kind of obsessed with getting a PG rating for the film. This, I think, explains some of the lack of gore. However, it results in the mind filling in the blanks, and most people remember more gore than there actually is. That said, TCM74 is a gritty, filthy film, and while I enjoy it immensely, it is not as rewatchable as TCM2 from 1986.

Eh, about that. According to Marilyn Burns, who played Sally Hardesty, she was essentially tortured worse by Tobe Hooper than the villains in the film for certain reaction shots. She isn't acting in some of that. You should read Gunnar Hansen's book, "Chainsaw Confidential." It is well worth the money.



BMFan30 said:


> I just finished The Exorcist I & III this week. Was told to skip the second because it was trash and I trust that advice because everyone says that. I really liked following along the story of those 2 films too. Kicking myself hard for not diving into the original horror movies that paved the way sooner because they truly are classics, I can see that now.


Oh, I LOVE George C. Scott in EIII. Brad Dourif is also a highly underrated actor, and films like this prove it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> I'm gonna tell you some useless movie trivia about Exorcist 2 that you may enjoy. Or not. LOL.
> 
> Actress, Ellen Burstyn, plays Regan's (possessed girl) mom in the first Exorcist (1974).
> 
> Actress, Louise Fletcher, plays Regan's psychiatrist in Exorcist 2 (1977).
> 
> Obviously, both the mom and psychiatrist cared/looked out for Regan.
> 
> Both Ellen Burstyn and Louise Fletcher played the same character (grandmother) in the movie versions of Flowers in the attic. Fletcher played her first in the 1987 version and Burstyn played her in the 2014 version. Like I said, useless trivia but some movie fans get a kick out of hearing stuff like that. LOL.


Well... If you love revenge flicks, and you thought Linda Blair grew up to be one hot piece of ass, you should check out Savage Streets. It was directed by Danny Steinmann, whom directed Friday the 13th 5. As you might imagine, there is a ton of nudity (such as a naked girls lockerroom shower fight).


----------



## Rosal76

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I think you are conflating, somewhat, the end of Night and Dawn. Military taking pictures and rednecks shooting zombies is at the end of Night. I don't remember either happening in Dawn.



Military guys taking pictures at 1:38 and rednecks shooting zombies at 1:48 and 2:04.


----------



## Rosal76

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I do not believe that to be the case. If memory serves, 1985 was the year Day of the Dead came out, while the Iran-Contra affair wasn't made public until a year later. Military distrust had been a theme among the public since at least the 60s.



I actually quoted it wrong. George actually says, "giving up on government and military". My bad.

At 1:34


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> Military guys taking pictures at 1:38 and rednecks shooting zombies at 1:48 and 2:04.



Very good eye. Apparently, I must've missed that or glossed over it waiting for the next bit of the story to happen.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> I actually quoted it wrong. George actually says, "giving up on government and military". My bad.
> 
> At 1:34



Yeah, I agree, and I don't blame them. The government doesn't give two fucks about anyone, the military industrial complex is forever trying to justify its purpose, and both are feeding off of human misery, as well as the stunted nature of people's lives. ie, their ability to retire, rise up in the world, etc.


----------



## zappatton2

Just watched the new Saw movie Spiral. I had heard it was bad, but I had to watch to see how bad it really was. Spoiler alert, it was much much worse.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final

Setting my feelings on Watsuki aside...

All the Kenshin movies have been great. Not just semi faithful adaptations that keep the spirit of the manga/anime but can stand on their own as great action packed movies. Surprisingly they managed to cram the entire final arc of the original into one movie, and still managed to keep the pace as slow meditative and brooding as possible. 

Some neat moments calling back to classic manga with little to no dialogue whatsoever. The original arc was the darkest and most deeply personal of the series and with the colourful cast, it's ultimately up to Takeru Saitou as Kenshin and Makenyu as Enishi to carry the brunt of the drama. The latter being Sonny Chiba's son shows that he can do just as well in both drama and action. And the fight scenes kill as always. 

There's a few nidbits. Since the original arc was both an origin story as well as the conclusion, fitting to one movie made director Keishi Otomo cut out as much fat as possible, resulting in every supporting character shoved far aside and having 2 key character, Karou and Tomoe not having enough impact as they should. But Otomo managed to pull it off decently. Perhaps a double feature could've given the mentioned characters more time to breathe. Still it's a minor niggle from me. 

Overall a satisfying conclusion.


----------



## possumkiller

My wife and I just watched this stupid sci-fi movie from the 90s called Starship Troopers. It's fucking awesome. I can't believe I never saw this.


----------



## MFB

possumkiller said:


> My wife and I just watched this *stupid sci-fi movie* from the 90s called Starship Troopers. It's fucking awesome.* I can't believe I never saw this*.



What in the actual FUCK!?


----------



## mongey

possumkiller said:


> My wife and I just watched this stupid sci-fi movie from the 90s called Starship Troopers. It's fucking awesome. I can't believe I never saw this.



Wow. That’s a big miss. Yeah great movie. I rewatched it it not that long ago for the first time in years and still really Enjoyed it.


----------



## possumkiller

It was honestly a breath of fresh air. I loved it. Doesn't take itself seriously. The CGI is actually really good considering it's from 1997. I love the 90s video game graphics and fade outs. Kick ass cast. It seems like it takes the gratuitous violence and gore people were whining about in the 90s to a hilariously high level. 

Now I understand so many more references.


----------



## thebeesknees22

The CG was honestly pretty ground breaking and top notch for the time.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The strongest aspect of Starship Troopers is that it's smart and clever use of satire. Paul Verhoven took the best aspects and concepts of Robocop (which was also full of satire) and went large. Granted that Starship was misunderstood at the time.

My friends and I have a little film club where we watch movies over Zoom and recently did a back to back viewing of Robocop and Starship Troopers. Both have aged extremely well. I'm actually torn between which of the 2 is the best Verhoven movie. I was sold on Robocop being my favorite but Starship can go toe to toe just fine.


----------



## Rosal76

Bloody_Inferno said:


> TI'm actually torn between which of the 2 is the best Verhoven movie. I was sold on Robocop being my favorite but Starship can go toe to toe just fine.



I strongly agree that both movies are classics and I also liked Robocop more than Starship. The editing/pacing/tension of how Robo killed ED-209 at the end is just flat how amazing. It was like:

1. ED-209 walking towards Robo really fast.
2. Robo grabs Cobra Assault Cannon from back seat. ED coming closer and closer.
3. ED stops, hunches down, aims his weapons and readies his rocket at the same time Robo places the Cobra cannon on the roof of his squad car.
4. Robo fires his shot first.

That was like the best sci-fi version of a western fast draw that I have even seen in a movie.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Tomorrow War. Just a fun, stupid scifi action film. There's some pretty hamfisted shit when it comes to dialogue and some of the cgi is janky, but overall it's good stupid fun.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Descent i and ii. Been a while since I've watched these tbh.

I love the first Descent film. It does such a masterful job of building tension and atmosphere before devolving into insanity. There are so many iconic shots, the cinematography and use of lighting/color are killer. The score is excellent too. 

Descent ii is competently done, but lacks the same tension and clever use of light (or lack thereof) to help build tension. There's way too much background lighting, so it feels less like they're trapped in a pitch black claustrophobic cannibal death cave, and more like they're on a movie set. The gore/ special effects are also worse, barring a couple scenes. The cinematography is fine, but nowhere near as good as the first film. They make the cave from the first film feel far less claustrophobic and creepy tbh. 

That's why I prefer Marshall's director cut over the theatrical, it negates the existence of the lackluster second film. Shauna McDonald and Natalie Mendoza are excellent in both films though.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Alien Addiction- goofy Kiwi comedy sci-fi flick. Dumb and just enough funny characters to keep me watching to the end.


----------



## manu80

Tomorrow war on amazon.
First part is ok. At least watchable. Some good ideas here and there...The second part (after the come back) is just dumb, pure 90's action flick with all its flaws in its glory.
Full of cliché etc.
Call it the the poor man Edge of tomorrow !


----------



## mongey

Sound of metal. I wasn’t sure what to expect but fuck I thought it was a good movie. Good performances and interesting themes. maybe best new film of the last couple years to me.


----------



## BlackMastodon

KnightBrolaire said:


> Descent i and ii. Been a while since I've watched these tbh.
> 
> I love the first Descent film. It does such a masterful job of building tension and atmosphere before devolving into insanity. There are so many iconic shots, the cinematography and use of lighting/color are killer. The score is excellent too.
> 
> Descent ii is competently done, but lacks the same tension and clever use of light (or lack thereof) to help build tension. There's way too much background lighting, so it feels less like they're trapped in a pitch black claustrophobic cannibal death cave, and more like they're on a movie set. The gore/ special effects are also worse, barring a couple scenes. The cinematography is fine, but nowhere near as good as the first film. They make the cave from the first film feel far less claustrophobic and creepy tbh.
> 
> That's why I prefer Marshall's director cut over the theatrical, it negates the existence of the lackluster second film. Shauna McDonald and Natalie Mendoza are excellent in both films though.


Nothing will ever make me feel as anxious/claustrophobic as the first Descent (well, unless I went spelunking and got fucking stuck in a tiny rock crevice), they really did a fantastic job on that first/second act like you said.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

BlackMastodon said:


> Nothing will ever make me feel as anxious/claustrophobic as the first Descent (well, unless I went spelunking and got fucking stuck in a tiny rock crevice), they really did a fantastic job on that first/second act like you said.


I've only seen two other movies that did a comparable job of nailing that claustrophobic feeling tbh ( Sanctum and some parts from the Cave). 
Sanctum does a really good job of showing some of the dangers of cave diving in particular.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BlackMastodon said:


> Nothing will ever make me feel as anxious/claustrophobic as the first Descent (well, unless I went spelunking and got fucking stuck in a tiny rock crevice), they really did a fantastic job on that first/second act like you said.


The book I'm pretty certain that is based on / inspired by, Hell-O-Ween by David L Robbins, is awesome.


----------



## possumkiller

So my wife and I just watched this stupid 90s sci-fi movie called the demolition man. I'd never seen it when it came out because I was only allowed to watch stuff my family wanted to watch when I was a kid like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. My cousin has been hyping this shit up for years saying I have to watch it. Idk to me it's just meh. I thought Starship Troopers was way better.


----------



## nightflameauto

possumkiller said:


> So my wife and I just watched this stupid 90s sci-fi movie called the demolition man. I'd never seen it when it came out because I was only allowed to watch stuff my family wanted to watch when I was a kid like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. My cousin has been hyping this shit up for years saying I have to watch it. Idk to me it's just meh. I thought Starship Troopers was way better.


Demolition Man is very much a product of its time. It's also a film that's very self aware about how stupid the premise is, and rather than doubling down with the serious, they humorize the most blatantly silly plot points almost to the point of absurdity.

It helps to know Stallone's other work, as this was sorta the tail end of his height of popularity and as such, you can tell how comfortable he is in the role.

Is it a good movie? Not really. Is it massively fun? Having watched it several dozen times over the years, I may be biased but I still enjoy it. Sometimes the dumb action flicks just fit.

Best Stallone line of all time: "I'll be subtle. I'm good at subtle."

All that said, I love Starship Troopers too. Though that one is more of a send-up of sci-fi tropes filled with action, while Demolition Man is more an action flick with a sci-fi background. Both are a good time in their own way.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Dynasty Warriors

So another comes a Romance Of The Three Kingdoms adaptation, though this time it also adapts from the Tecmo Koei game series. Basically imagine the classic story through the Paul WS Anderson meets Michael Bay filter and you get this. And it's as big and extremely dumb as it sounds. If you can gloss over the absurdity that one slash can cut a whole army, and Lu Bu can chain lightning stomp a bunch of dudes into the air.... the story is a semi faithful adaptation to the point of impressive. There's a small subplot about how the weapon elements work so they can hamfist the game mechanic aspect to the plot... and it's as hamfisted as it sounds. For 2 hours, it gets from the Yellow Turban Rebellion up to the battle of HuLao Gate so there obviously going to stretch this to multiple movies as they can (the 3K story is pretty long anyway). Otherwise good dumb fun. 

Black Widow

Oh here finally comes an MCU movie, with even it's whole development process and delays are a saga in itself. So it comes to a massive surprise that Black Widow is... actually it's pretty unsurprisingly solid good movie. Basically a Borne movie with a protagonist with more personality. Though it does try to rush the pace in making you like Yelena Belova's character but by the third act it all works. David Harbour is also a nice welcome add on and he's clearly having the time of his life being the dad bod, Russian stereotype. If anything, the slowed down second act had a lot of heard and sense of family than what I'm just going to assume more than the memes taken from the last Furious movie. Yeah it just turns into Winter Soldier action mode by the third act, but Winter Solider was awesome. Yeah it's another solid MCU movie, but you gotta commend them on their consistency.


----------



## thebeesknees22

manu80 said:


> Tomorrow war on amazon.
> First part is ok. At least watchable. Some good ideas here and there...The second part (after the come back) is just dumb, pure 90's action flick with all its flaws in its glory.
> Full of cliché etc.
> Call it the the poor man Edge of tomorrow !



I just watched this. ....My God... the second part was so dumb. Sooooo dumb. lol 

Pretty nice vfx though on most shots.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Monster Hunter. Hooo boy is it dumb. Dumb, but fun in a b-movie way.
The dialogue is cringy af and Milla Jovovich's delivery is as wooden as ever. The vfx are solid and there's some gnarly bits like when guy has spiders bursting out of his flesh. Action scenes with big stupid monsters are the meat of the film (as they should be), and they're good. Some of the human v human fight camerawork suffers from Jason Bourne syndrome (aka shaky cam/jump cuts) which is annoying. 

Only worth a watch if you like stupid, but fun action movies.


----------



## zappatton2

I'm not sure if it counts as a movie or a TV show, but last night I watched the second Fear Street. I gotta say, it was "streets ahead" of the first! But then, summer camp slashers are basically my favourite genre of anything!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

zappatton2 said:


> I'm not sure if it counts as a movie or a TV show, but last night I watched the second Fear Street. I gotta say, it was "streets ahead" of the first! But then, summer camp slashers are basically my favourite genre of anything!


Fun fact: Most of the Friday the 13th series has little to nothing to do with summer camp, and only one of them has campers. Considering it essentially kick started that subset of the slasher genre, I find it pretty funny that most have nothing to do with summer camp. The first two as well as part six are at summer camp (the latter being the sole film with campers), while 3 and 4 are "teenagers" in the woods partying, 5 is a bunch of "loonies" as Ethel puts it, 7 is more partying in the woods (the worst of the series), and "teenagers" partying... ON A BOAT! JX is in space, and JGTH is a mixed bag of dog turds, with the opening sequence and Duke being the best parts.


----------



## zappatton2

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Fun fact: Most of the Friday the 13th series has little to nothing to do with summer camp, and only one of them has campers. Considering it essentially kick started that subset of the slasher genre, I find it pretty funny that most have nothing to do with summer camp. The first two as well as part six are at summer camp (the latter being the sole film with campers), while 3 and 4 are "teenagers" in the woods partying, 5 is a bunch of "loonies" as Ethel puts it, 7 is more partying in the woods (the worst of the series), and "teenagers" partying... ON A BOAT! JX is in space, and JGTH is a mixed bag of dog turds, with the opening sequence and Duke being the best parts.


Yeah, I still remember watching part 6 back in the day and thinking they really upped the stakes by bringing the kids into it. In that vein, The Burning was a pretty classic summer camp movie I love going back to from time to time.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

zappatton2 said:


> Yeah, I still remember watching part 6 back in the day and thinking they really upped the stakes by bringing the kids into it. In that vein, The Burning was a pretty classic summer camp movie I love going back to from time to time.


I think Sleepaway Camp is much better than The Burning, as it has many layers to it and is a rather intelligently made film. That said, I've always wondered about the campfire scene in The Burning and Friday the 13th 2. They are both essentially framed and shot the same way. Same for the hammer scene in F13 2 and Halloween 2.


----------



## zappatton2

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I think Sleepaway Camp is much better than The Burning, as it has many layers to it and is a rather intelligently made film. That said, I've always wondered about the campfire scene in The Burning and Friday the 13th 2. They are both essentially framed and shot the same way. Same for the hammer scene in F13 2 and Halloween 2.


It's hard to say who ripped off who, they all came out the same year! But yeah, as for Sleepaway Camp, can't believe that wasn't the first flick that came to my mind, I even liked the super-cheesy sequels.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

zappatton2 said:


> It's hard to say who ripped off who, they all came out the same year! But yeah, as for Sleepaway Camp, can't believe that wasn't the first flick that came to my mind, I even liked the super-cheesy sequels.


The Pamela Springsteen sequels are awesome as hell.


----------



## manu80

Saw Black wdow this week end. Very disappointed, lots of shortcuts, meh sfx....
Saw Saw:Spiral. Short length so no time to get bored.Honest thriller. Guess I'm done with the gruesome stuff but watchable....


----------



## Louis Cypher

Seen Black Widow. I *really* enjoyed it, up there with Winter Solider for me personally as one of my fav MCU films, which I do agree Black Widow does riff on a bit but thats no bad thing as WS is still one of the best of the MCU films. Perhaps I liked it coz its a stand alone film/no intergalactic space gods or time travelling whatevers involved.... I was really Superhero Movie'd out after End Game, the Marvel TV shows have got me back on board now for Phase 4, plus its great that Natasha/Johansson finally got a film to herself. Marvel still teaching DC/WB how to make a good superhero movie


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Doing a double feature of Buffy the Vampire slayer and Tammy and the t-rex.


----------



## possumkiller

Just watched Bon Cop Bad Cop 2 with my wife. It's ok I guess. Killed a couple of hours. The American cops are hilarious.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Watched Fear Street 1978. Surprised that a KISS song wasn't used, considering 1978 was apart of their peak years. I think a KISS song would've worked better for the sex scene.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Watched Fear Street 1978. Surprised that a KISS song wasn't used, considering 1978 was apart of their peak years. I think a KISS song would've worked better for the sex scene.


Watched the 1st one, 1994 and enjoyed it tbf, got '78 to watch this week ready for the final instalment. @Spaced Out Ace was '78 any good? Reviews were that it wasnt quite as good as '94


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Louis Cypher said:


> Watched the 1st one, 1994 and enjoyed it tbf, got '78 to watch this week ready for the final instalment. @Spaced Out Ace was '78 any good? Reviews were that it wasnt quite as good as '94


I preferred it over the first one. I think the interpersonal interactions between the characters is more interesting than the previous film. Both are good, though. It's pretty obvious what films were used as the basis though. I thought the first went into pretty "deep cut" territory using Intruder for inspiration in the grocery store.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Doing a double feature of Buffy the Vampire slayer and Tammy and the t-rex.



Tammy's great. I watched it to laugh at it a few times when I was younger and heard it was "one of the worst movies ever," but after the gore version surfaced a couple years ago and I watched it a couple more times, I've realized it's legitimately really entertaining and weird and the movie actually succeeds at almost everything it tried to do, other than some of the intentional humor not being funny. It aims to be really bizarre and make you laugh at just "what the hell am I watching" and it definitely succeeds.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Tammy's great. I watched it to laugh at it a few times when I was younger and heard it was "one of the worst movies ever," but after the gore version surfaced a couple years ago and I watched it a couple more times, I've realized it's legitimately really entertaining and weird and the movie actually succeeds at almost everything it tried to do, other than some of the intentional humor not being funny. It aims to be really bizarre and make you laugh at just "what the hell am I watching" and it definitely succeeds.


Tammy and the T-Rex is fucking dreadful. Denise Richards couldn't act her way out of a wet, soggy paper bag. I love some low budget trash (Troma, Full Moon), but this was feces coated in vomit.


----------



## wankerness

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Tammy and the T-Rex is fucking dreadful. Denise Richards couldn't act her way out of a wet, soggy paper bag. I love some low budget trash (Troma, Full Moon), but this was feces coated in vomit.



She's perfect for the role. She acts like she's in a serious soap opera instead of acting jokey, and it just makes everything even more ridiculous. Maybe she's a bad actress, but it was a perfect choice by the director, then. It's much like what Verhoeven did with the intentionally bland actors in Starship Troopers.

If you can't get any enjoyment out of scenes like the dinosaur making phone calls or biting off kid's heads at the party, I don't know what to tell you. Or the hilarious sex scene with the villain, or the vicious ball-squeezing fight, or Bernie's wild overacting, or the random nature preserve/realistic lion attack, etcetcetc....


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> She's perfect for the role. She acts like she's in a serious soap opera instead of acting jokey, and it just makes everything even more ridiculous. Maybe she's a bad actress, but it was a perfect choice by the director, then. It's much like what Verhoeven did with the intentionally bland actors in Starship Troopers.
> 
> If you can't get any enjoyment out of scenes like the dinosaur making phone calls or biting off kid's heads at the party, I don't know what to tell you. Or the hilarious sex scene with the villain, or the vicious ball-squeezing fight, or Bernie's wild overacting, or the random nature preserve/realistic lion attack, etcetcetc....


I think I'd rather watch my toe nails grow.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Fear Street 1994 -- 4/5 stars
1978 -- 4.5/5 stars
1666 -- 2.5/5 stars; horrid film


----------



## Seabeast2000

The Parallax View and Three Days of the Condor.


----------



## possumkiller

When I was deployed I got a bunch of bootleg DVDs and one of them was a compilation of all the Alien movies. I never heard of one of them. It's called Alien 3000. It doesn't look like it was an official Alien movie. It's pretty awesome though.


----------



## Dumple Stilzkin

I just watched the horror classic Sleepaway Camp last night. Holy hell, if you’re a fan of the genre and haven’t seen it, go on ahead and watch it. I won’t spoil any of it, except to say damn this movie shook me. I’m a huge fan of horror. So I’ve been combing my various streaming services and brushing up on the classics. Texas Chainsaw, Friday the 13th, The Thing etc. Nightmare on Elm Street Dream Warriors is just as fun as I remember.
Anybody ever seen Redneck Zombies? Love that one. 

And I watched Dude Where’s My Car? For the first time, pretty good stoner film.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Dumple Stilzkin said:


> I just watched the horror classic Sleepaway Camp last night. Holy hell, if you’re a fan of the genre and haven’t seen it, go on ahead and watch it. I won’t spoil any of it, except to say damn this movie shook me. I’m a huge fan of horror. So I’ve been combing my various streaming services and brushing up on the classics. Texas Chainsaw, Friday the 13th, The Thing etc. Nightmare on Elm Street Dream Warriors is just as fun as I remember.
> Anybody ever seen Redneck Zombies? Love that one.
> 
> And I watched Dude Where’s My Car? For the first time, pretty good stoner film.


"Joey, looook... all the little piggies come home!"

Sleepaway Camp is a classic. What it lacks in budget, it more than makes up for with a smart, well thought out script with a lot of depth upon subsequent viewings. I think it is unjustly disliked by a certain segment, likely because they didn't catch or understand particular plot points. They saw it on its face, and disliked it by clutching their pearls like religious types would. Had they caught and understood those plot points, they would've most likely loved the film's moral of the story. 

The sequels are tongue in cheek and satirical, but Pamela Springsteen does a great job. She apparently took over because Michael A Simpson wanted a more jokey style, in order to spoof things without taking it to the levels of Student Bodies. Felissa Rose was apparently both on her way to college, as well as unable to do the material as intended. There have been fans who'd like a Sleepaway Camp wherein there are two Angela's and they face off or something along those lines.

Anyone -- even if it is the filmmakers -- telling you that Friday the 13th was the main inspiration for Fear Street 1978 is either a liar, or a moron, but I'd believe both. It has very little in common with Friday the 13th aside from being at a camp and having a Jason like killer. Even then, the killers inspiration is not the same at all. Instead, the film's Sleepaway Camp inspiration is all over the film. Picked on main girl, a lot of complex interactions between the campers resulting in various levels of conflict, etc.

Most Friday the 13th films are not at a camp, and only one of them even has campers. Tom, the director of part 6, likely did so to up the stakes.


----------



## nightflameauto

Funny, we just watched our box set of the first three Sleepaway Camp movies again over the weekend, plus the commentaries. Those movies are classics for a reason. The first one is truly gifted with great writing and a beautiful execution for the limited budget. Apparently the second and third were essentially shot back to back. I think they said they took a weekend off and then went right back to work doing the next one.

The humor added to the second and third really helped sell the plot. Springsteen is such a great cheery villain. Those films are just so much fun for a slasher.


----------



## BMFan30

I took a chance watching "Rot" which just came out on Shudder.

I don't know what the fuck is happening to horror movies. But this shit is just straight Hillary Rodclam Clinton trash. I'm not going to watch another movie for months now.

Heaping Pile of feminist shit that doesn't get better even if you get baked and drunk after getting probed by aliens in state of shock + hypnosis where any movie can be passed off as good but this flick still manages to fuck this up for me.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> I took a chance watching "Rot" which just came out on Shudder.
> 
> I don't know what the fuck is happening to horror movies. But this shit is just straight Hillary Rodclam Clinton trash. I'm not going to watch another movie for months now.
> 
> Heaping Pile of feminist shit that doesn't get better even if you get baked and drunk after getting probed by aliens in state of shock + hypnosis where any movie can be passed off as good but this flick still manages to fuck this up for me.


Dare you to post that on Shudder's review section, then you'd have a reason to post on the Reddit posts about your review disappearing. They do that shit especially on Shudder Originals.

"rodclam" -- 

Here's a great article for you; the writer is as dumb as dog water.


----------



## BMFan30

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Dare you to post that on Shudder's review section, then you'd have a reason to post on the Reddit posts about your review disappearing. They do that shit especially on Shudder Originals.
> 
> "rodclam" --
> 
> Here's a great article for you; the writer is as dumb as dog water.


Haha I know they watch out for more of their own on their platforms especially in cuckville reddit. It's weird, it seems as soon as I payed a whole year of Shudder thinking they would bring in flicks that truly cater to horror movie fans.

Three weeks into my subscription they go and bring in all these movies that I can only describe as films for hipster bitches that look like reptilians who can't give up Starbucks and snicker doodles on their supper oppressed college campus that allows them to walk around in dresses shorter than their clams while complaining about it.

Spoiler alert: Rot is litterally a film about an evil pecker that she cops a feel of before cutting it off but the poor pecker scurries away virtue signaling a part two of that movie hopefully not next summer.

Like Fuck, that's what the movie is about. I'm not fucking shitting you. It's literally what I described, I'm not even making fun of it. The movie is literally about needing dick but also being oppressed by it because it's Luciferian. It's a college campus issue with a picnic table with a coffee mug and a sign that says "Change My Mind" on top of it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

The Ninja Warlord is like a meme gif but movie length.


----------



## bastardbullet

Just saw the Jonah Hill’s “mid 90’s” movie and it was quite modest & enjoyable.


----------



## manu80

Just coming out from Suicide squad 2.... Don't really get the hype on this. It's like Guardians of the galaxy meet Deadpool but.....Too much everything ruins everything...jokes, blood, dumbness....a bit like deadpool 2...
There are good ideas but that vilain ruins everything for me at the end....


----------



## Louis Cypher

Saw The Suicide Squad cpl days ago, I really enjoyed it. It's mad as a bucket of frogs, 1st 15 mins are mental. Idris Elba is everything Will Smith should have been in the 1st one, he is great as always. King Shark is a poor man's Groot but thts no bad thing in this film. Margot Robbie's Harley is still the winner, she really is Harley now. For me its probably one of the best DC films since the Nolan trilogy.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Escape Room Tournament of Champions was fucking awful. I mildly enjoyed the first one, but this one has an even dumber setup, with even less fleshed out characters (barring the main characters). The puzzles/environs/kills are definitely a bit more fun but that can't save the movie. AVOID

Snake Eyes was a good stupid action film. Surprisingly dark at times. I wasn't sure henry golding would be a good fit for an action role but he does an admirable job of chewing scenery. Andrew Koji steals basically every scene he's in. He was fantastic in Warrior (which is an awesome period piece/action series on cinemax). The fight choreography is overall pretty good, though there are some scenes with awful shaky cam and quick jump cuts (both of which are cardinal sins in fight scenes for me). Samara Weaving has a minor role as Scarlett, which is kind of cool. My biggest complaint was they could have bumped up the film to R and fully embraced the bloody campiness of 80s ninja films (since it kind of gives off those vibes at times). Oh well. Worth a watch if you like stupid action films.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Louis Cypher said:


> Saw The Suicide Squad cpl days ago, I really enjoyed it. It's mad as a bucket of frogs, 1st 15 mins are mental. Idris Elba is everything Will Smith should have been in the 1st one, he is great as always. King Shark is a poor man's Groot but thts no bad thing in this film. Margot Robbie's Harley is still the winner, she really is Harley now. For me its probably one of the best DC films since the Nolan trilogy.


The Nolan trilogy has a lot of problems, though. TDKR almost has two pretty pointless villains. Bane has next to nothing to do aside from general annoyances, while Catwoman is just sort of there. This is probably why it's a great idea to do long term booking if you plan on a trilogy. Why you'd take a huge plot point from Knightfall, and give it to Scarecrow is beyond me if you plan on doing a Bane centered film.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The Nolan trilogy has a lot of problems, though. TDKR almost has two pretty pointless villains. Bane has next to nothing to do aside from general annoyances, while Catwoman is just sort of there. This is probably why it's a great idea to do long term booking if you plan on a trilogy. Why you'd take a huge plot point from Knightfall, and give it to Scarecrow is beyond me if you plan on doing a Bane centered film.



I thought Nolan became beyond reproach at some point. I think you are breaking a law or something.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> I thought Nolan became beyond reproach at some point. I think you are breaking a law or something.


I think TDK is pretty much as best as you can get from spandex and cape films. That said, Batman Begins and TDKR are pretty spotty. I didn't care much for Ra's Al Ghul, I think Scarecrow could've been focused on a little more, and events in BB basically rendered Bane as a mere nuisance. Had they kept a key plot point from Knightfall, TDKR would've been much more meaningful.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Totally appreciate both your points on the Nolan Batman films @Spaced Out Ace @Seabeast2000 even with the valid criticism of them, they are still miles better than all the other DC films released after DKR (imo, even tho I do love Man of Steel). Taking them as the bench mark for DC movies, I think this new Suicide Squad is the best film since those 3. But DC still are a million miles behind Marvel tho in quality and consistency


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Louis Cypher said:


> Totally appreciate both your points on the Nolan Batman films @Spaced Out Ace @Seabeast2000 even with the valid criticism of them, they are still miles better than all the other DC films released after DKR (imo, even tho I do love Man of Steel). Taking them as the bench mark for DC movies, I think this new Suicide Squad is the best film since those 3. But DC still are a million miles behind Marvel tho in quality and consistency


I'd disagree that Marvel films are "quality," considering how much they do not give a shit about their own source material. Consistency, on the other hand, is the result of being very formulaic in their pace and construction of a film.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I'd disagree that Marvel films are "quality," considering how much they do not give a shit about their own source material. Consistency, on the other hand, is the result of being very formulaic in their pace and construction of a film.


I'm not a huge comic fan boy so I can't compare the films to the original comic book story lines. And there are plenty people out there who will agree with you. But I think its hard to argue with the box office and the critical response to the Marvel films especially in comparison to the DC ones and tjat says plenty about how good the MCU is

Anyways The Suicide Squad is a great film, mental as you like and def worth seeing imo


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Louis Cypher said:


> I'm not a huge comic fan boy so I can't compare the films to the original comic book story lines. And there are plenty people out there who will agree with you. But I think its hard to argue with the box office and the critical response to the Marvel films especially in comparison to the DC ones and tjat says plenty about how good the MCU is
> 
> Anyways The Suicide Squad is a great film, mental as you like and def worth seeing imo


Just because something gets a ton of money or views doesn't necessarily make it "good." At best, I'll just say it isn't for me. Lots of stuff has a billion views on YouTube, for instance, and is complete trash.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Just because something gets a ton of money or views doesn't necessarily make it "good." At best, I'll just say it isn't for me. Lots of stuff has a billion views on YouTube, for instance, and is complete trash.


Equally popularity etc doesn't necessarily make it bad either. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, which at the end of the day is all it is. Opinion.


----------



## manu80

Marvel are not "quality" in the pure meaning of the term, but at least, it's planned and thought well as a whole universe. Still their movies are really well executed, good pace etc. I think i'm getting a bit tired (too old?) of the abundancy of the movies that are/will be released. ...I think that the Cap America is the best trilogy they made (and it was the one I feared the most). The Spiderman's are boring and noisy, (Sony 3D version was awesome) , I hate what they're doing with Thor, Black Widow was really meh ....but the fact that all is connected always amazes me.

I don't think they don't give a shit about the source material, They adapt it to the period etc....I'm no 100% purist (and don't care if Wolverine doesn't have the yellow blue spandex ) as long as they keep the character true to its origins in a way

Warner/DC are just totally lost in this world with a full of execs that all want to add their idea, and at the end of the day, it's a real mess. A Kevin Feige for Marvel is what they NEED. Same for Fox with Xmen (that's over now anyways) or Sony with venom...(that 2nd trailer doesn't look good, really. 

Nolan's serie was great (still find the 3rd weaker than the others), I liked man of steel and Batman vs Superman. But the rest.....aquaman, green lantern, SS1 , those series with flash , green arrow are just things here and there but nothing stands as a strong unit....Marvel still has good days ahead but we'll see when people will get tired of all that and 1 movie every 3/4 months...

For the Suicide Squad, i can't help but think that Gunn has this "hype" aura around him as a Tarantino or a Malick and that if someone else had made it, it would be fired at by everyone 

But those are opinions


----------



## thebeesknees22

The schedule for the amount of marvel shows and movies coming out over the next couple of years is way way too much. I'm pretty sure people will be getting burnt out by the end of 2022 or 2023 on marvel stuff. 

They definitely have a formula though. Action> one liner> more action> more one liners. Only GOTG felt like there was any real character development. But even with that some characters became very flat. Marvel characters just don't really grow as a whole. They are what they are.

Man of steel still ranks among my top favorite super hero movies ever. The cinematography, the score, massive fight scenes. It was pretty great in that regard.

Nolan series was ok, but ...yeah I mainly watch those for the score. Not the movie itself. 

I need to check out the new suicide squad and Black widow. Not sure when I'll get the chance though.

x-men ......those movies are a travesty that should be forgotten and stricken from the record. Absolute garbage...... ha


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Nolan lost me with Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar. I saw Tenet with my film club at the IMax theatre and it was a grand spectacle. But the more I think about it or even feel like watching it, the less I like it. If anything, deep within all the grand virtuoso film making lies an extremely shallow Bond clone with no sense of connection to the viewer.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

While on the subject of superheroes, my club recently did a back to back revisit of Superman 1 and 2.

The first movie was a masterpiece and if it weren't for Richard Donner treating the property with respect, we wouldn't have every other superhero film after it. This is the godfather of superhero films and Donner and co nailed it right off the bat. Sure it's got some glaring flaws (Lois Lane's soliloquy as they fly in the night, or the whole reverse time by spinning the globe), but it still highly watchable. And Christopher Reeve is still the best live action Superman, period. The scene where he takes his glasses off talking to Lois with 2 different personas trying to confess his feelings isn't only acting brilliance on Reeve's end, but the Kent/Superman duality no other movie has bothered to replicate. Lois just knows his identity. No other Superman movie comes close... Superman Returns tries so hard to give the Donner essence, and Man Of Steel goes against every characteristic that makes Superman, neither can touch the original.

Superman 2... we went with the Lester theatrical cut. Donner's cut is still good but also ended up being messier than the original in places. They're both solid (Terrence Stamp is fantastic as General Zod) but they're majorly flawed films and neither are as good as the original. It'd be interesting to think what it would have been like if Donner had taken complete control of Superman 2 before studio interference lead to his sacking and replacement by a director mostly known for swashbuckler films. See, Warner Brothers have been versed with sabotaging their own films with interference even back then.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

manu80 said:


> I don't think they don't give a shit about the source material, They adapt it to the period etc....I'm no 100% purist (and don't care if Wolverine doesn't have the yellow blue spandex ) as long as they keep the character true to its origins in a way


Except they do not keep the characters true to their origins.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Away from Superheros, watched Jolt on Prime, its Ok/Good. Its another film in what someone (Empire magazine I think) called the "John Wick" genre of films haha. Sort of a mash up imo of Wick and Crank (fcuking great film!) though not as good as either. Lots of Kate Beckinsale kicking the sh1t out of goons and swearing a lot. Its alright, worth checking out if you got an hour n half free as its a short film by todays standards at 90mins and doesnt really fcuk about too much before gettign in to what you came for - Kate Beckinsale kicking the sh1t out of goons and swearing a lot.
Nice primer in readiness for Gunpowder Milkshake when that comes out soon. That does look all kinds of awesome


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Louis Cypher said:


> Away from Superheros, watched Jolt on Prime, its Ok/Good. Its another film in what someone (Empire magazine I think) called the "John Wick" genre of films haha. Sort of a mash up imo of Wick and Crank (fcuking great film!) though not as good as either. Lots of Kate Beckinsale kicking the sh1t out of goons and swearing a lot. Its alright, worth checking out if you got an hour n half free as its a short film by todays standards at 90mins and doesnt really fcuk about too much before gettign in to what you came for - Kate Beckinsale kicking the sh1t out of goons and swearing a lot.
> Nice primer in readiness for Gunpowder Milkshake when that comes out soon. That does look all kinds of awesome


Girlpower Femshake is already out and has been for almost three weeks.


----------



## MFB

Except that he's in the UK, so most likely has a different release date


----------



## manu80

Those John wick-like are getting annoying...
Crank was great , yeah !


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

MFB said:


> Except that he's in the UK, so most likely has a different release date


So get a VPN.

Anyways, for those interested, I'd rather watch Everly.


----------



## nightflameauto

manu80 said:


> Those John wick-like are getting annoying...
> Crank was great , yeah !


I've heard it called "gun-foo," which I find both hilarious and fitting.


----------



## manu80

To me, Nolan went very selfish with Tenet .
Inception and interstellar all deal with the same basis, time, but as much i love those ( i was so hooked on interstellar, even with its flaws on afterthought), Tenet , despite it great directing etc lost me in the screenplay. The end is very hard to decipher...


----------



## Louis Cypher

Spaced Out Ace said:


> So get a VPN.
> Anyways, for those interested, I'd rather watch Everly.


Why should I? I'm patient enough to wait. Sept is the UK release date.
Not heard of Everly. I'll have a look.


----------



## bostjan

manu80 said:


> Those John wick-like are getting annoying...
> Crank was great , yeah !



Well, John Wick is honestly just a rip off of _Eastern Promises, _(just replace the baby with a dog and replace Viggo with Keanu, then add more ridiculous violence, seriously) which itself is basically a remake of _A History of Violence_ with the same star and centered around the Russian mob instead of just a generic American mob, which, itself, is almost certainly a rip off of something else.

There are basically no new movie ideas coming out of Hollywood. The closest you get is when some little Indy film gets somewhat popular and Hollywood remakes it a year after it comes out.



manu80 said:


> Marvel are not "quality" in the pure meaning of the term



I'd argue that they are. "Quality" has three definitions. It's either 1. A trait of something. Example: "What qualities does AlNiCo possess?" 2. A standard of excellence. Example: "These are high quality performance bearings." 3. A standard measurement of a manufactured item. Example: Out quality standard says that these spacers are within specification.

Marvel movies have a tight quality control, so they are high quality in the third sense of the term. How good they are, though, is subjective. Personally, my favourite comic adaptations are DC, but also almost all of my least favourites are as well. I'd say that the average Marvel film is way better than the average DC film, but the most outstanding DC films are better than the most outstanding Marvel films. Of course, those are all just my own personal preferences. I don't feel like that's a very controversial opinion that I have, though.


----------



## manu80

You’re right. Still I find JW more graphic and funnier than eastern promises but i agree


----------



## KnightBrolaire

bostjan said:


> Well, John Wick is honestly just a rip off of _Eastern Promises, _(just replace the baby with a dog and replace Viggo with Keanu, then add more ridiculous violence, seriously) which itself is basically a remake of _A History of Violence_ with the same star and centered around the Russian mob instead of just a generic American mob, which, itself, is almost certainly a rip off of something else.
> 
> There are basically no new movie ideas coming out of Hollywood. The closest you get is when some little Indy film gets somewhat popular and Hollywood remakes it a year after it comes out.
> 
> 
> 
> I'd argue that they are. "Quality" has three definitions. It's either 1. A trait of something. Example: "What qualities does AlNiCo possess?" 2. A standard of excellence. Example: "These are high quality performance bearings." 3. A standard measurement of a manufactured item. Example: Out quality standard says that these spacers are within specification.
> 
> Marvel movies have a tight quality control, so they are high quality in the third sense of the term. How good they are, though, is subjective. Personally, my favourite comic adaptations are DC, but also almost all of my least favourites are as well. I'd say that the average Marvel film is way better than the average DC film, but the most outstanding DC films are better than the most outstanding Marvel films. Of course, those are all just my own personal preferences. I don't feel like that's a very controversial opinion that I have, though.


uhhh have you actually watched Eastern promises and History of Violence? They're nothing alike other than having Cronenberg directing/Viggo Mortensen starring, and a plot involving mobsters. You're being overly reductive, especially comparing them to John Wick.
All they really share with John Wick is the use of organized crime. History of Violence in particular is about a guy who rips off the mob and pays for it later on (at least in the graphic novel). In the movie they changed it to where he's an ex hitman, and the film is both a play on the Man with No Name/checkered past trope/a good study on how lying affects relationships, plus it's a meditation on how quickly humans can revert back to more primitive violent beings.
Eastern Promises is nothing like that story wise, other than Viggo playing an undercover cop who works for the Russian mob. That one is all about prostitution rings/forced drug use/the hierarchy of the Russian mob in London.
The way all those films approach their subject matter and the violence in particular is also completely different. History of Violence's fight scenes are all about extremely efficient brutality. Eastern Promises' sauna fight scene is far less realistic, but still more realistic than most of the shit in John Wick. John Wick is filled with slick fights that would never happen in a million years between relatively skilled fighters. The fights themselves are a spectacle and the main star of the John Wick series. To be clear I'm not denigrating the fights in the John Wick series as they're absolutely awesome in terms of overall flow and the combinations of judo/bjj/striking techniques/cqb. As a martial arts film nerd/practitioner I love the choreography and think they took fight scenes to a whole new level, putting western action flicks on par with some of the stuff coming out of Hong Kong.
That doesn't change the fact that the story in John Wick is completely secondary to the action, whereas the other two films use the action scenes to further enhance the drama/story.

The hand to hand stuff in History of Violence is about as realistic as those kind of fight scenes in films get. Go look up the old LINE manuals that the marine corps used prior to MCMAP, or stuff like W.E Fairbourne's All-in-fighting (, and you'll see some of the stuff used referenced (throat strikes/palm strikes to the nose, crushing the larynx, etc). The Bubishi (the original kung fu/karate bible basically) is thousands of years old and references basically the same ways to kill people. If there's one thing humans are truly good at, it's figuring out how to kill one another efficiently. Cronenberg himself said that he directly referenced self-defense dvds teaching some of that stuff for the fight scenes. https://cinephiliabeyond.org/a-history-of-violence/


----------



## bostjan

KnightBrolaire said:


> uhhh have you actually watched Eastern promises and History of Violence? They're nothing alike other than having Cronenberg directing/Viggo Mortensen starring, and a plot involving mobsters. You're being overly reductive, especially comparing them to John Wick.
> All they really share with John Wick is the use of organized crime. History of Violence in particular is about a guy who rips off the mob and pays for it later on (at least in the graphic novel). In the movie they changed it to where he's an ex hitman, and the film is both a play on the Man with No Name/checkered past trope/a good study on how lying affects relationships, plus it's a meditation on how quickly humans can revert back to more primitive violent beings.
> Eastern Promises is nothing like that story wise, other than Viggo playing an undercover cop who works for the Russian mob. That one is all about prostitution rings/forced drug use/the hierarchy of the Russian mob in London.
> The way all those films approach their subject matter and the violence in particular is also completely different. History of Violence's fight scenes are all about extremely efficient brutality. Eastern Promises' sauna fight scene is far less realistic, but still more realistic than most of the shit in John Wick. John Wick is filled with slick fights that would never happen in a million years between relatively skilled fighters. The fights themselves are a spectacle and the main star of the John Wick series. To be clear I'm not denigrating the fights in the John Wick series as they're absolutely awesome in terms of overall flow and the combinations of judo/bjj/striking techniques/cqb. As a martial arts film nerd/practitioner I love the choreography and think they took fight scenes to a whole new level, putting western action flicks on par with some of the stuff coming out of Hong Kong.
> That doesn't change the fact that the story in John Wick is completely secondary to the action, whereas the other two films use the action scenes to further enhance the drama/story.
> 
> The hand to hand stuff in History of Violence is about as realistic as those kind of fight scenes in films get. Go look up the old LINE manuals that the marine corps used prior to MCMAP, or stuff like W.E Fairbourne's All-in-fighting (, and you'll see some of the stuff used referenced (throat strikes/palm strikes to the nose, crushing the larynx, etc). The Bubishi (the original kung fu/karate bible basically) is thousands of years old and references basically the same ways to kill people. If there's one thing humans are truly good at, it's figuring out how to kill one another efficiently. Cronenberg himself said that he directly referenced self-defense dvds teaching some of that stuff for the fight scenes. https://cinephiliabeyond.org/a-history-of-violence/


Yeah, I watched them. I really liked _Eastern Promises_. You saw where I said more ridiculous violence, right?
The stories are similar enough that I'm certain they either inspired each other or drew inspiration from the same sources. Tough badass mid level gangster wants to leave the life, but high level gangster threatens a kid/dog he cares about, much violence ensues and midlevel guy takes out high level guy. Which of those three movie's plot did I just summarize?

Even though _Nobody_ has the same plot also, I will probably watch it soon, since I love Odinkirk's work.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Girlpower Femshake is already out and has been for almost three weeks.


And it sucks. Maybe it's because I was hungover after a birthday bender but it was pretty trash, even going into it knowing full well it would be comic book-y gun fu schlock.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BlackMastodon said:


> And it sucks. Maybe it's because I was hungover after a birthday bender but it was pretty trash, even going into it knowing full well it would be comic book-y gun fu schlock.


Just based on the synopsis in an email, I had a decent idea of who was going to be the heavies, and wouldn't you know it, the Wikipedia synopsis, which is more elaborate, didn't disappoint. Yawn.


----------



## SpaceDock

So I just watched “Freaky” which is a new Vince Vaughn movie and I think they are trying to trick us into thinking it is more like Freaky Friday with the title, but I was thinking the whole time it is actually just a horror movie remake of Rob Schneider’s “The Hot Chick”


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Jungle Cruise- It's basically pirates of the caribbean (cursed supernatural sympathetic enemies/mystical treasure), but with a half assed indiana jones/king solomon's mines vibe. The overreliance on CG gives it a very floaty/fake vibe (like the goblin scene in the hobbit). The contrived romance between Emily Blunt/Rock's characters is so unecessary, and there is zero chemistry there. The most egregious scene is easily when Blunt's character's brother opens up to the Rock about how he's gay. It literally adds nothing to the film storywise and is completely out of place, it feels like a shrewd way to tick the 'look how woke we are" box. 
One thing that cracked me up was how they used a symphonic/flamenco styled cover of Nothing Else Matters multiple times in the film. Ah yes, I definitely think of Metallica when I think of 16th century conquistadors lol

It's not a terrible movie, but it falls prey to that damnable trend of badly written movies where they spend too much time on exposition/telling you things, instead of just showing you.


Also the godawful dad jokes that the Rock's character tells. yeah I remember them telling those kind of jokes on the Jungle Cruise ride as kid, it still doesn't make them funny.

stream it or pirate it, don't pay to watch it in theaters. I got to see it for free and still feel meh about it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> The most egregious scene is easily when Blunt's character's brother opens up to the Rock about how he's gay. It literally adds nothing to the film storywise and is completely out of place, it feels like a shrewd way to tick the 'look how woke we are" box.


I hate when they do stuff like this, and you can actively hear the pen on the clipboard and paper going "cha-check!" That and when it changes a character who wasn't that before, but is now for some reason. Apparently FFVII changed a scene in the remake, and instead of being a joke, it was a very likable update. I don't want to be detailed, but those who know will know what I am referring to.



KnightBrolaire said:


> It's not a terrible movie, but it falls prey to that damnable trend of badly written movies where they spend too much time on exposition/telling you things, instead of just showing you.


This is the era of tell, don't show. They don't know how to do it, methinks. That or they view the crowd as braindead. This would explain why viewers didn't get RZH2.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I hate when they do stuff like this, and you can actively hear the pen on the clipboard and paper going "cha-check!" That and when it changes a character who wasn't that before, but is now for some reason. Apparently FFVII changed a scene in the remake, and instead of being a joke, it was a very likable update. I don't want to be detailed, but those who know will know what I am referring to.
> 
> 
> This is the era of tell, don't show. They don't know how to do it, methinks. That or they view the crowd as braindead. This would explain why viewers didn't get RZH2.


I mean they were not subtle about making the brother a dandy boy twink earlier in the film, so it makes it even more absurd that they'd waste time explaining the obvious. I'm more bothered by the fact that it serves zero purpose in the film.

I actually prefer the RZ Halloween films over that last hunk of shit Halloween movie. Zombie made michael more empathetic/realistic and the violence is very visceral. Plus RZ's visual style adds to the grungy nasty/grindhouse vibes.

A little bit of exposition is fine imo, but if i wanted to listen to people tell me a story for 2 hours I'd listen to a fucking audiobook. They didn't do themselves any favors by the way they organized the flashbacks either. 
Personally I would have just done a cold open with the conquistadors reason for going to brazil, then them getting to Brazil, then progress chronologically from there. 

Also there's a scene where a german character says some gibberish fake german way of saying hello, which really stuck out like a sore thumb. More so because they had the german characters actually speaking competent english and german earlier in the film.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> I mean they were not subtle about making the brother a dandy boy twink earlier in the film, so it makes it even more absurd that they'd waste time explaining the obvious. I'm more bothered by the fact that it serves zero purpose in the film.
> 
> I actually prefer the RZ Halloween films over that last hunk of shit Halloween movie. Zombie made michael more empathetic/realistic and the violence is very visceral. Plus RZ's visual style adds to the grungy nasty/grindhouse vibes.
> 
> A little bit of exposition is fine imo, but if i wanted to listen to people tell me a story for 2 hours I'd listen to a fucking audiobook. They didn't do themselves any favors by the way they organized the flashbacks either.
> Personally I would have just done a cold open with the conquistadors reason for going to brazil, then them getting to Brazil, then progress chronologically from there.
> 
> Also there's a scene where a german character says some gibberish fake german way of saying hello, which really stuck out like a sore thumb. More so because they had the german characters actually speaking competent english and german earlier in the film.


Yeah, they do shit like that for the kids, most likely, and so you can't accuse them of "queerbaiting."

I prefer the RZHs over most of the John Carpenter franchise at this point. It is a mess, storyline wise, and twenty years without anything is bad enough, but forty years with even less? Fuck all the way off. Halloween in general is overrated anyways. The Shape is not scary, and having no back story, at this point, just leads me to believe it is nothing but a lazy writer's plot device to remove characters from the story. Boring.

A little exposition is okay, but if you're not asking yourself, "why aren't we showing them instead of telling them?" Congratulations, you're a lazy hack writer.

My girlfriend despises fake German in films. Lol


----------



## bostjan

KnightBrolaire said:


> One thing that cracked me up was how they used a symphonic/flamenco styled cover of Nothing Else Matters multiple times in the film. Ah yes, I definitely think of Metallica when I think of 16th century conquistadors lol


I just saw somewhere that Metallica was directly involved with recording that and something about how Disney always wanted Metallica to do a song for one of their films (wha?).



KnightBrolaire said:


> Zombie made michael more empathetic








This guy? 
I know what you meant, but I read that with the pause in the wrong spot.

I think it's no secret that the Halloween film sequels quickly dropped to zero quality. I actually liked the third one; it made sense to me to, well, _not_ focus on the character who was killed off in the second film and tell a different story. At the time, I didn't equate "Halloween" = "Mike Myers"




This guy? 
You know what I mean.

IDK, I kind of hate the remakes of classic films, in general, but I usually still end up seeing them, so I guess that makes me a hypocrite or something worse...


-----


Did anyone bother to see the Black Widow movie? I saw it. That's about the entirety of my opinion of it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

bostjan said:


> Did anyone bother to see the Black Widow movie? I saw it. That's about the entirety of my opinion of it.


"I'm gonna sue!" -- and blackball myself out of the industry. Good job, big boob lady.


----------



## thebeesknees22

tbf disney did do her dirty by reneging on a theatrical release. She won't be blackballed given how popular she is. It'll hurt her career though.

Also Disney should be broken up. All movies/tv are in the hands of too few. Disney is at the top of the list of companies that most definitely should be broken up.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

bostjan said:


> I just saw somewhere that Metallica was directly involved with recording that and something about how Disney always wanted Metallica to do a song for one of their films (wha?).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This guy?
> I know what you meant, but I read that with the pause in the wrong spot.
> 
> I think it's no secret that the Halloween film sequels quickly dropped to zero quality. I actually liked the third one; it made sense to me to, well, _not_ focus on the character who was killed off in the second film and tell a different story. At the time, I didn't equate "Halloween" = "Mike Myers"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This guy?
> You know what I mean.
> 
> IDK, I kind of hate the remakes of classic films, in general, but I usually still end up seeing them, so I guess that makes me a hypocrite or something worse...
> 
> 
> -----
> 
> 
> Did anyone bother to see the Black Widow movie? I saw it. That's about the entirety of my opinion of it.


ugggh whether metallica was directly involved or not, it was a stupid music choice imo.

I really enjoyed black widow. It was a good solid action flick and actually did a good job of making her "family" pretty empathetic, especially Florence Pugh's character.



thebeesknees22 said:


> tbf disney did do her dirty by reneging on a theatrical release. She won't be blackballed given how popular she is. It'll hurt her career though.
> 
> Also Disney should be broken up. All movies/tv are in the hands of too few. Disney is at the top of the list of companies that most definitely should be broken up.


The simultaneous theater/streaming release sucks for scarjo, but i get why disney did it. Movie attendance is probably too hit or miss to have that be the sole option right now, especially with covid going on worldwide. 
HBO and WB did the same thing for a lot of their films they've released in the last year. 
Plus paid streaming can be very profitable for some films (like the Trolls series)


----------



## bostjan

KnightBrolaire said:


> ugggh whether metallica was directly involved or not, it was a stupid music choice imo.


I definitely do not disagree. I haven't seen the movie.



KnightBrolaire said:


> The simultaneous theater/streaming release sucks for scarjo, but i get why disney did it.



Her salary was based on cinema box office numbers for the film, so the film going direct to stream was a pretty obvious way for Disney to not pay her. If they had a contract that said "You're paid a percentage of box office returns, and this is going to have an exclusive cinema release," then Disney needed to either honor that or renegotiate. If they just popped it over to their streaming service (which is how I watched it, and paid more than I would have paid for cinema tickets to do so), then that's pretty cut and dried breach of contract. The media outlets that are saying that Johansen has no moral right to sue are probably just trying to sell more stories, and also don't care about moral authority. 

I understand that Disney needed to do what they did with the release, but they really should have renegotiated their contracts when they had time to do so. Hopefully they can settle this out of court.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

thebeesknees22 said:


> tbf disney did do her dirty by reneging on a theatrical release. She won't be blackballed given how popular she is. It'll hurt her career though.
> 
> Also Disney should be broken up. All movies/tv are in the hands of too few. Disney is at the top of the list of companies that most definitely should be broken up.


Disney owns a large portion of the industry. Other near monopoly type conglomerates likely will be more hesitant to work with her as a result. She got 20mil on a film that is going to lose money. Fuck her.

Meanwhile, Disney is a shit corporation, so as far as I am concerned, this is a solid win-win no matter who wins and/or loses.


----------



## thebeesknees22

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Disney owns a large portion of the industry. Other near monopoly type conglomerates likely will be more hesitant to work with her as a result. She got 20mil on a film that is going to lose money. Fuck her.
> 
> Meanwhile, Disney is a shit corporation, so as far as I am concerned, this is a solid win-win no matter who wins and/or loses.



So much hate. So much anger! ha


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

bostjan said:


> Her salary was based on cinema box office numbers for the film, so the film going direct to stream was a pretty obvious way for Disney to not pay her. If they had a contract that said "You're paid a percentage of box office returns, and this is going to have an exclusive cinema release," then Disney needed to either honor that or renegotiate. If they just popped it over to their streaming service (which is how I watched it, and paid more than I would have paid for cinema tickets to do so), then that's pretty cut and dried breach of contract. The media outlets that are saying that Johansen has no moral right to sue are probably just trying to sell more stories, and also don't care about moral authority.
> 
> I understand that Disney needed to do what they did with the release, but they really should have renegotiated their contracts when they had time to do so. Hopefully they can settle this out of court.


She's already been paid. She's upset she isn't making even more money on the ridiculous sum she already got. So, yet again, fuck her. 

It is great watching the one look like a greedy twat while the big conglomerate has it's family friendly squeaky clean image turned into complete and total shit.

I love it and I am here for it. That said, she likely won't make shit from her lawsuit. Disney will drag it out for years, her ability to work will be compromised (because other smaller corporations don't want to deal with it), and she'll probably have to beg for a settlement. She'll then get offered a pittance. All in all, Disney will look like a hypocritical, brutal corporation, so I can't wait to see them take a huge hit.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

thebeesknees22 said:


> So much hate. So much anger! ha


Anger? How can I be angry? Big E here is my spirit animal watching Hollyweird devolve into a shitshow.


----------



## nightflameauto

bostjan said:


> I definitely do not disagree. I haven't seen the movie.
> 
> 
> 
> Her salary was based on cinema box office numbers for the film, so the film going direct to stream was a pretty obvious way for Disney to not pay her. If they had a contract that said "You're paid a percentage of box office returns, and this is going to have an exclusive cinema release," then Disney needed to either honor that or renegotiate. If they just popped it over to their streaming service (which is how I watched it, and paid more than I would have paid for cinema tickets to do so), then that's pretty cut and dried breach of contract. The media outlets that are saying that Johansen has no moral right to sue are probably just trying to sell more stories, and also don't care about moral authority.
> 
> I understand that Disney needed to do what they did with the release, but they really should have renegotiated their contracts when they had time to do so. Hopefully they can settle this out of court.


Disney likely owns the outlets saying Johansen is completely wrong, or at least partner with them.

She's not the first to have a bad reaction to a film going straight to streaming. There was all sorts of shit-fits from directors and actors when WB did the same thing. It's a paradigm shift that wasn't well thought out. They just did it, in some cases without even informing the people involved in creating the films, and now they're surprised that those people are upset by it? So stupid.

ScarJo has to feel smacked around. The fact it took this long to have such a major player in the entire Marvelverse get her own film, and then getting this bitch-slap on top of it? She's likely rethinking her entire career path over the past decade and change.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

nightflameauto said:


> The fact it took this long to have such a major player in the entire Marvelverse get her own film, and then getting this bitch-slap on top of it? She's likely rethinking her entire career path over the past decade and change.



Methinks a certain Ike Perlmutter had a lot to do with this since he was already blocking all the Black Widow toys, assuming they wouldn't sell.


----------



## nightflameauto

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Methinks a certain Ike Perlmutter had a lot to do with this since he was already blocking all the Black Widow toys, assuming they wouldn't sell.


It's been an assumption among the toy industry that female toys that aren't directly dolls will never sell. We see it in several properties, even with prominent female characters. Transformers, Masters of the Universe, GI Joe, tons of eighties properties had a real neglect for the female players in the story when it came to toys.

Basically, he may have had a hand in it, but it's not like he'd be the only dude in the room trying to block the female merchandising.


----------



## bostjan

nightflameauto said:


> It's been an assumption among the toy industry that female toys that aren't directly dolls will never sell. We see it in several properties, even with prominent female characters. Transformers, Masters of the Universe, GI Joe, tons of eighties properties had a real neglect for the female players in the story when it came to toys.
> 
> Basically, he may have had a hand in it, but it's not like he'd be the only dude in the room trying to block the female merchandising.


Weren't 4 of the top 10 best-selling Masters of the Universe toys based on female characters? For a series about a character named "He-Man," I think that would be close enough to equality of outcome. IDK.

The rest you bring up, though, for sure. To be fair, though, Transformers were robots and should basically be genderless, but we all know that the characters were given masculine-sounding names and were voiced by male voice actors in the animated content.

There were a few cartoon series/toy lines aimed at girls in the 1980's, too, but probably fair amounts of boys ended up collecting the toys and watching the shows. In my experience, most of the girls I knew growing up played with the toys that were marketed toward boys, because there was just so much more market saturation and the toys were arguably better constructed.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Suicide Squad (Gunn's version) - Man this movie was a fucking blast. It's giving me fond memories of back when Gunn was just a madman making crazy movies like Slither/Super (both of which are hilarious and surprisingly dark), before he agreed to make GotG 1/2. It's nice to see what he can do when he gets let off the leash to just make a bonkers film. There's quips and gore aplenty, with a metric ton of cameos (some of which are hilarious, like Nathan Fillion's character). King Shark is basically like Groot in the GotG, but somehow more endearing because he's a hulking moron with taste for human flesh, who happens to be voiced by Sylvester Stallone. Margot Robbie is great and steals near every scene she's in. Idris Elba grits his teeth and squints with the best of them tbh, and they actually gave his character a nice raison d'etre beyond "i want to get out of prison"

If DC just keeps embracing the hard R rated and ridiculous side of comics then I will die a happy man. I still want a Lobo film, and with the direction they've been going, mayyybe it could happen. I know Del Toro wanted to do it a while back.


----------



## Ralyks

Just finished (The) Suicide Squad myself, and it was excellent. And it wasn't even great like the original in a "so bad, it's good" way, but this was actually a very well written, well made film.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Suicide Squad (Gunn's version) - Man this movie was a fucking blast. It's giving me fond memories of back when Gunn was just a madman making crazy movies like Slither/Super (both of which are hilarious and surprisingly dark), before he agreed to make GotG 1/2. It's nice to see what he can do when he gets let off the leash to just make a bonkers film. There's quips and gore aplenty, with a metric ton of cameos (some of which are hilarious, like Nathan Fillion's character). King Shark is basically like Groot in the GotG, but somehow more endearing because he's a hulking moron with taste for human flesh, who happens to be voiced by Sylvester Stallone. Margot Robbie is great and steals near every scene she's in. Idris Elba grits his teeth and squints with the best of them tbh, and they actually gave his character a nice raison d'etre beyond "i want to get out of prison"
> 
> If DC just keeps embracing the hard R rated and ridiculous side of comics then I will die a happy man. I still want a Lobo film, and with the direction they've been going, mayyybe it could happen. I know Del Toro wanted to do it a while back.


Yeah, but who the fuck do you hire as Lobo?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Yeah, but who the fuck do you hire as Lobo?


hmmm I think Jeffrey Dean Morgan would actually be a good fit. Or if you want someone younger, Clayne Crawford/ Cole Hauser. All of them have the prerequsite "rough around the edges" pigeonholing going on, with Crawford/Dean Morgan already proving they can play unhinged guys.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> hmmm I think Jeffrey Dean Morgan would actually be a good fit. Or if you want someone younger, Clayne Crawford/ Cole Hauser. All of them have the prerequsite "rough around the edges" pigeonholing going on, with Crawford/Dean Morgan already proving they can play unhinged guys.


All three would need to get on that Ultimate Warrior regimen.


----------



## Choop

I'm confused...is The Suicide Squad a reboot of the other Suicide Squad movie that came out just a few years ago, or is it technically a sequel? It's almost as confusing as all of the Wolverine movie titles.

Haven't seen the new one yet (or the old one really either) but the trailer for the new one makes it look much better than the 2016 movie.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Choop said:


> I'm confused...is The Suicide Squad a reboot of the other Suicide Squad movie that came out just a few years ago, or is it technically a sequel? It's almost as confusing as all of the Wolverine movie titles.
> 
> Haven't seen the new one yet (or the old one really either) but the trailer for the new one makes it look much better than the 2016 movie.


it's technically a sequel, but ends up more like a soft reboot. The suicide squad comics are basically an excuse to pair up all the wackiest villains of DC, so every film can potentially be a one off chock full of new characters if they want to go the comic route. Marvel's thunderbolts is basically the exact same idea, so it'll be interesting to see where they go with that.


----------



## nightflameauto

bostjan said:


> Weren't 4 of the top 10 best-selling Masters of the Universe toys based on female characters? For a series about a character named "He-Man," I think that would be close enough to equality of outcome. IDK.


While that's true, every new toy assortment had bunches of remade male characters, while the female characters usually got one toy every few assortments.[/quote]
The rest you bring up, though, for sure. To be fair, though, Transformers were robots and should basically be genderless, but we all know that the characters were given masculine-sounding names and were voiced by male voice actors in the animated content.
[/quote]
Oh, there were female Transformers. Lots over the years. Some of them quite prominent. It was pretty rare for them to get toys until you pull into the Beast era, and after that it tapered back off outside of a token figure here or there.


> There were a few cartoon series/toy lines aimed at girls in the 1980's, too, but probably fair amounts of boys ended up collecting the toys and watching the shows. In my experience, most of the girls I knew growing up played with the toys that were marketed toward boys, because there was just so much more market saturation and the toys were arguably better constructed.


I think it was a really dumb mistake for the toy marketing to specifically try to separate the boys toys from the girls toys in such a fully segregated way. Even some of the girl targeted cartoons were fun to watch for the guys that far back. I knew Jem still gets raves from the eighties boys.

I just always thought it was dumb that the assumption is boys don't want girls toys, and no girls would be interested in boy targeted media, and vice-versa. We're all in this trip together, and still have more in common than not.


----------



## bostjan

nightflameauto said:


> I just always thought it was dumb that the assumption is boys don't want girls toys, and no girls would be interested in boy targeted media, and vice-versa. We're all in this trip together, and still have more in common than not.


....or maybe toy manufacturer's were smart in doing so. As dumb as the idea was, they made truckloads of cash, whether boys or girls bought their toys...

--------------------------

Has anyone bothered to see "Old?" It looks incredibly stupid to me, so I'll pass on it, but I'm sort of curious as to how Shyamalan is doing these days. I never really cared for his films, since they have always seemed under-thought-out to me, but at least he was one of the few trying to do original ideas. I think "Old" is based on a graphic novel, though.


----------



## thebeesknees22

@bostjan - I refuse to watch another Shyamalan movie after he butchard the Last Airbender. ...it was unforgivable what he did.... ......unforgivable!!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

thebeesknees22 said:


> @bostjan - I refuse to watch another Shyamalan movie after he butchard the Last Airbender. ...it was unforgivable what he did.... ......unforgivable!!


split was actually good though. I can't speak for any of his other current films though


----------



## nightflameauto

Shyamalan needs to go away. He had some vaguely good premises and I have yet to see a film from him that doesn't make me feel like I've just been insulted by the time it's over. Every single one comes off like a teenager that thinks he's super clever is behind the scenes. It's just painful trying to get through one of his films.

It's so bad that the wife and I got told by somebody to watch a movie, and we made it far enough in to see his name pop in the credits and instantly we said, "Out." It's not like we didn't give him chances up front. He's just gone too far out of his way to prove himself a horrible creatively bankrupt failure.


----------



## bostjan

KnightBrolaire said:


> split was actually good though. I can't speak for any of his other current films though


I haven't seen that one. _Unbreakable_ was decent, I just didn't think it was *as good* as everyone told me it was. No fault of his for that, though.



nightflameauto said:


> Shyamalan needs to go away. He had some vaguely good premises and I have yet to see a film from him that doesn't make me feel like I've just been insulted by the time it's over. Every single one comes off like a teenager that thinks he's super clever is behind the scenes. It's just painful trying to get through one of his films.
> 
> It's so bad that the wife and I got told by somebody to watch a movie, and we made it far enough in to see his name pop in the credits and instantly we said, "Out." It's not like we didn't give him chances up front. He's just gone too far out of his way to prove himself a horrible creatively bankrupt failure.


Everyone raved about _The Sixth Sense _when it was still in cinemas, and I probably ruined it for myself by going to see it completely drunk. I was mildly annoyed by the film. The performances were great, but the film itself, IMO, was rubbish.

Virtually every movie I've seen from him followed the same kind of balance of- pick one good, one mediocre and one bad: acting, story/plot, premise/twist.

I thought he had some good potential early on, but I think maybe it was more that he got lucky with some good cast and crew working for him.


----------



## nightflameauto

I think part of my problem with Shyamalan was how much hype he got for putting out standard tripe with less than standard twists. And the twists are either so predictable they aren't really a twist, or they aren't twists so much as just flat out flipping the script on its head to prove how "oh wow" original he is.

I never got the hype, and became more than a little annoyed with it by the time we reached Airbender. That was the last one my wife and I attempted to watch with even a semblance of giving him a chance. That chance was squandered. Horribly. What a piece of trash that movie ended up being.


----------



## MFB

As a kid, I didn't really "get" _The_ _Sixth Sense_ and what the big deal was; but now as an "adult" (I'm 31), and one who lost their parent, I abso-fucking-lutely lose it at the ending and the conversation HJO and Toni Collette have in the car about his ability. Even know just thinking about him in that scene, it's like goosebumps, and it's still sort of surprising to me that it's that visceral from a film that's 20 years old.

Shyamalan was good when his "thing" was unknown to audience, but now after the initial success and that everyone is expecting the twist, it's much MUCH tougher to pull off. I didn't see _Unbreakable_ when it came out, and I still haven't, but I do find it interesting conceptually. _Signs_ was bone chilling at the time, with the quick found footage on the aliens and such, but it lost a lot of steam with something as simple as the reveal of the daughter and her hydrophobia/whatever (along with the aliens miscalculation of coming here when the planet is 70% of it, etc). The Village sort of had the same thing, great build up until this big let down of a reveal that's just ...they live in a park? And? Then everything since has been downhill since.

He did have a flash of greatness between Split and The Visit (I think that was it), but even then he fucking dunked on Split by following it up with GLASS which is utter dogshit. Just utter, unwatchable, dogshit.


----------



## nightflameauto

MFB said:


> As a kid, I didn't really "get" _The_ _Sixth Sense_ and what the big deal was; but now as an "adult" (I'm 31), and one who lost their parent, I abso-fucking-lutely lose it at the ending and the conversation HJO and Toni Collette have in the car about his ability. Even know just thinking about him in that scene, it's like goosebumps, and it's still sort of surprising to me that it's that visceral from a film that's 20 years old.
> 
> Shyamalan was good when his "thing" was unknown to audience, but now after the initial success and that everyone is expecting the twist, it's much MUCH tougher to pull off. I didn't see _Unbreakable_ when it came out, and I still haven't, but I do find it interesting conceptually. _Signs_ was bone chilling at the time, with the quick found footage on the aliens and such, but it lost a lot of steam with something as simple as the reveal of the daughter and her hydrophobia/whatever (along with the aliens miscalculation of coming here when the planet is 70% of it, etc). The Village sort of had the same thing, great build up until this big let down of a reveal that's just ...they live in a park? And? Then everything since has been downhill since.
> 
> He did have a flash of greatness between Split and The Visit (I think that was it), but even then he fucking dunked on Split by following it up with GLASS which is utter dogshit. Just utter, unwatchable, dogshit.


You're clearly a braver man than me. I saw Sixth Sense and thought it was OK, not the mind blower some folks think. Saw Signs and was disappointed. Saw Air Bender and said, "nope, I'm done." I gave him three chances. That was more than enough.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Shimmer Lake. Watched it on a whim this week as a movie to fall asleep to and it turned out to be great.


----------



## manu80

Too bad that Momoa is taken on Aquaman, but as Lobo he would have been good.

Saw Beckett on netflix yesterday. Not bad, has a 70's movie feel to it. Sparse, no VFX everywhere. For a change


----------



## Jarmake

Yesterday I remembered I had some free tickets to the cinema and went to see free guy.

It was entertaining enough and had a few laughs here and there, but nothing spectacular. I do like Ryan Reynolds and the movie wouldn't probably be as good without him.

Got to give props to the plot. It was different than anything I've seen lately.


----------



## Crungy

That's the only movie I've been interested in for ages. I like movies but can't sit that long and watch any more, though I can play a video game for the entire day when I have time off


----------



## BMFan30

So Shudder goes and pleasantly surprises me with another release I actually liked called Borgman. It came out in 2013 but had a 2014 US release but I never knew about it until I watched it last night.

One of the biggest "what the fucks" I've seen on there so far. I watched it but I can't say I know what exactly is happening but in a cool mysterious way that makes me want to watch it again.


----------



## BlackMastodon

My partner looks up "obscure good movie" lists every now and then in case there's something her and I haven't seen, especially when it comes to SciFi. She then looks up the ratings on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes and we check out the good ones.

Sometimes it works out and we find an incredibly well thought out, beautifully executed movie that we never even heard of, like The Vast of Night (2019). 

Last night was not the case. We watched Ink (2009) based on a review from one of these lists, saw it had a 6.something on IMDB and 100% on RT! Well goddamn, must be good right? Nope. Dogshit acting and dialogue from everyone, horrible editing with 5 cuts every second for every fight scene, a somewhat interesting plot that can't hold your attention, looks like some B-rated action movie from the late 90s. 

Fuck Rotten Tomatoes. What's even more bullshit is that I've seen movies/bluerays at Best Buy with stickers that proudly display their RT scores as if it's a badge of honour.

This is why I look at IMDB and metacritic scores when checking out movies and ignore RT.


----------



## MFB

Man, I honestly have no ideas how Rotten Tomatoes became this golden standard of movie review/rating, but I absolutely fucking hate it. Just watch the things that look appealing, or read a review or two if you're on the fence, and then make a decision. 

I've only watched movies based on trailers/posters, and potentially a Letterboxd review or two, but it's never served me wrong so far


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Man, I honestly have no ideas how Rotten Tomatoes became this golden standard of movie review/rating, but I absolutely fucking hate it. Just watch the things that look appealing, or read a review or two if you're on the fence, and then make a decision.
> 
> I've only watched movies based on trailers/posters, and potentially a Letterboxd review or two, but it's never served me wrong so far


Yeah fuck RT.
Relying exclusively on RT burned me fucking hard with Killing them Softly (and some other films like Gerwig's Little Women, which was atrociously bad). Critics are nearly always out of touch with what the majority of people like. After watching that dogshit I vowed to never use just the critic ratings on rt. From then on I looked at metacritic user reviews/imdb/user reviews on niche sites like bloody disgusting.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BlackMastodon said:


> My partner looks up "obscure good movie" lists every now and then in case there's something her and I haven't seen, especially when it comes to SciFi. She then looks up the ratings on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes and we check out the good ones.
> 
> Sometimes it works out and we find an incredibly well thought out, beautifully executed movie that we never even heard of, like The Vast of Night (2019).
> 
> Last night was not the case. We watched Ink (2009) based on a review from one of these lists, saw it had a 6.something on IMDB and 100% on RT! Well goddamn, must be good right? Nope. Dogshit acting and dialogue from everyone, horrible editing with 5 cuts every second for every fight scene, a somewhat interesting plot that can't hold your attention, looks like some B-rated action movie from the late 90s.
> 
> Fuck Rotten Tomatoes. What's even more bullshit is that I've seen movies/bluerays at Best Buy with stickers that proudly display their RT scores as if it's a badge of honour.
> 
> This is why I look at IMDB and metacritic scores when checking out movies and ignore RT.


I've enjoyed lots of films people have given bad reviews to. I don't really care what other people think when it comes to my entertainment.


----------



## bostjan

Some of my favourite movies have been horrible. Motel Hell, Ahh Zombies!, The Stuff, Phantasm, Evil Dead II, American Werewolf in London, anything of the (Living) Dead...

Those movies all have at least something about them that is trash, but they also have some pretty good qualities as well. Then again, what level of quality are you going to expect when you catch it either in the bargain DVD bin at CVS or on channel 20 at 1:00 PM on a Saturday?

I did a soundtrack for a movie that got crazy good reviews from "critics" on several sites. Then it came out on DVD with a widespread release and people absolutely hated it. It now (many years later) has a 2.4 on IMDB. The movie's producer never paid me either.


----------



## wankerness

RT is a useful tool if you understand its mechanics instead of taking the rating as necessarily meaning anything. I think it's a decent barometer of quality when it comes to massive budget, massive movies. Like, comparing something good like Mad Max to something bad like Batman Vs Superman. But, becomes more and more meaningless as soon as you get too far into small genre territory, or further back than about 15 years.

I like it a lot more than metacritic purely cause it tends to link to more reviews. I usually just read a few headers that seem like they were written by someone whose opinion is worth reading, follow the link, read the review, and judge from there.

With really obscure stuff IMDB reviews can be helpful. I usually have to scroll through them for a while until I find one written from someone with a basic command of the english language who doesn't use words like "cuck" non-ironically.

Usually a good description of what a movie is like and what kind of movies it's comparable to is all I need to know as to whether or not I'd actually like it. There are many movies with great reviews I think blow chunks and vice versa. Things where the reviews are very middling are usually what I want to be careful with. Nothing's worse than being bored.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> RT is a useful tool if you understand its mechanics instead of taking the rating as necessarily meaning anything. I think it's a decent barometer of quality when it comes to massive budget, massive movies. Like, comparing something good like Mad Max to something bad like Batman Vs Superman. But, becomes more and more meaningless as soon as you get too far into small genre territory, or further back than about 15 years.
> 
> I like it a lot more than metacritic purely cause it tends to link to more reviews. I usually just read a few headers that seem like they were written by someone whose opinion is worth reading, follow the link, read the review, and judge from there.
> 
> With really obscure stuff IMDB reviews can be helpful. I usually have to scroll through them for a while until I find one written from someone with a basic command of the english language who doesn't use words like "cuck" non-ironically.
> 
> Usually a good description of what a movie is like and what kind of movies it's comparable to is all I need to know as to whether or not I'd actually like it. There are many movies with great reviews I think blow chunks and vice versa. Things where the reviews are very middling are usually what I want to be careful with. Nothing's worse than being bored.


It is meaningless to begin with, unless you're the type that lets others think for you. "Well everyone else gave it low scores, so I won't bother." They aren't you and nothing is one size fits all.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

bostjan said:


> Some of my favourite movies have been horrible. Motel Hell, Ahh Zombies!, The Stuff, Phantasm, Evil Dead II, American Werewolf in London, anything of the (Living) Dead...
> 
> Those movies all have at least something about them that is trash, but they also have some pretty good qualities as well. Then again, what level of quality are you going to expect when you catch it either in the bargain DVD bin at CVS or on channel 20 at 1:00 PM on a Saturday?
> 
> I did a soundtrack for a movie that got crazy good reviews from "critics" on several sites. Then it came out on DVD with a widespread release and people absolutely hated it. It now (many years later) has a 2.4 on IMDB. The movie's producer never paid me either.


wat. American Werewolf in London and Evil Dead II are nowhere near horrible territory. 

Motel Hell is terrible, but in a fun way like the Troma stuff.


----------



## MFB

I think Bostjan MIGHT mean American Werewolf in Paris, because London is fantastic and in my top 5 horror movies of all time.


----------



## BMFan30

The new episode of Slasher on Shudder is the best one yet! New episodes are posted every Thursday.
Can't wait for the next one. Recommend this for anyone who's a fan of slashers.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BMFan30 said:


> The new episode of Slasher on Shudder is the best one yet! New episodes are posted every Thursday.
> Can't wait for the next one. Recommend this for anyone who's a fan of slashers.


How "box check-y" is it?


----------



## BMFan30

Spaced Out Ace said:


> How "box check-y" is it?


It's actually surprisingly fresh, at least I haven't seen this exact concept on a slasher before but to be honest with you at the rate that Shudder was going I'd be happy to have something typical dropped on me because it's better than femenist flicks that they were releasing. Like absolute cringe level shit.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I don't know if it's a TV show or movie, and don't really give a shit: The new Cowboy Bebop looks like really bad cosplay. With all of the half assed attempts and tokenization Netflix is known for, I'm surprised Ein is still a corgi. I will not, however, be surprised at ALL if they make a huge, obnoxious, so obvious I can hear them checking boxes deal out of Ed.

It looks dead on arrival.


----------



## MFB

Any live action anime is DOA in my opinion, I feel like half the reason anime exists as a 2D format is because of the weird costumes for the characters more than anything. It just never translates well, no matter how close a person looks.

I've seen some absolutely CUT dudes try to pull off DBZ cosplay, and that shit falls apart at the most important part: the hair. They'll NEVER be able to recreate that as an actual hairstyle that's passable, so why bother?

I'm sure some could be adapted, but it's never the ones anyone wants.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MFB said:


> Any live action anime is DOA in my opinion, I feel like half the reason anime exists as a 2D format is because of the weird costumes for the characters more than anything. It just never translates well, no matter how close a person looks.



While I'm inclined to agree, there's better success when the Japanese themselves do it. The Rurouni Kenshin live action movies are on point for example, and the Takeshi Miike adaptations (Ace Attorney) are fine at worst. On the other hand, the live action of Attack On Titan and Go Nagaii's Devilman kinda sucks.


----------



## BlackMastodon

MFB said:


> Any live action anime is DOA in my opinion, I feel like half the reason anime exists as a 2D format is because of the weird costumes for the characters more than anything. It just never translates well, no matter how close a person looks.
> 
> I've seen some absolutely CUT dudes try to pull off DBZ cosplay, and that shit falls apart at the most important part: the hair. They'll NEVER be able to recreate that as an actual hairstyle that's passable, so why bother?
> 
> I'm sure some could be adapted, but it's never the ones anyone wants.


Remember when they made a live action DragonBall movie in the late 2000's? Man, that movie sucked.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Speaking of Kenshin...

For a second I thought Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning was the first film re-released, but turns out it's the fifth and final film of the live action adaptation. So I saw that, and surprise surprise, it's great. The darkest of the lot, it serves as a prequel during the time Kenshin Himura was a cold ruthless killer during the Bakumatsu period. The dialogue is minimal and the action scenes are sparce, making more a slower meditative piece. The scenes are beautifully filmed, hearkening to classic minimalist samurai films, though if anything it reminds me of Zhang Yimou's Shadow at times. And even if the action scenes are fewer than previous entries, they're still as killer, well choreographed and tons of gore. Takeru Satoh has been playing Kenshin for a good 10 years now so he can pretty much do all the stunts and emote in his sleep. And if The Final made his his drama acting chops jump, then The Beginning is a clear victory lap for him, playing the much darker side of the character. Though the real show stealer here is Kasumi Arimura as the tragic broken woman Tomoe Yukishiro, who not only has to carry the bulk of the drama as well as the dialogue, but does so with flying colours. 

Just goes to show that not all anime to live action all suck. You just have to look for them.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> I think Bostjan MIGHT mean American Werewolf in Paris, because London is fantastic and in my top 5 horror movies of all time.



I think he just thinks he has to be apologetic or self-deprecating for liking truly well-made genre fair, for some reason. AWIL and Evil Dead 2 are pretty universally considered classics of the genre, to say nothing of Night of the Living Dead or the original Dawn of the Dead, which are pretty universally considered classics period. Very few people are going to turn their noses up at liking those. Especially on this forum, where this topic is filled with posts from CHUDs. Motel Hell is also vastly better made than most horror movies. It has a big-studio sheen to it, despite being a gross horror comedy. Even Ebert gave that one a good review.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Can you just imagine how awful a Bleach live action movie would be? The typing this made me chuckle at how awful it'd look.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I think he just thinks he has to be apologetic or self-deprecating for liking truly well-made genre fair, for some reason. AWIL and Evil Dead 2 are pretty universally considered classics of the genre, to say nothing of Night of the Living Dead or the original Dawn of the Dead, which are pretty universally considered classics period. Very few people are going to turn their noses up at liking those. Especially on this forum, where this topic is filled with posts from CHUDs. Motel Hell is also vastly better made than most horror movies. It has a big-studio sheen to it, despite being a gross horror comedy. Even Ebert gave that one a good review.


Yeah, I don't subscribe to this millennial cynical bullshit of, "huh huh, I can only truly like stuff if it's ironically," as I think it's dumb. It's a fucking cop out, most of the time, so that if they get challenged on it, they can just go, "dude, like, I enjoy the film ironically. I like it cuz it's bad," rather than defending their love of the film and telling the person to eat shit. I grew up listening to and loving Kiss, so I had to learn how to deal with assholes. Eventually I just told them, "I don't give a shit if you like Kiss or not, your opinion doesn't matter to me. At all." I was getting called homophobic slurs because I liked guys with long hair and kabuki (bastardized at that) makeup.

Also, CHUD stands for "Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal."


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Can you just imagine how awful a Bleach live action movie would be? The typing this made me chuckle at how awful it'd look.


it exists. 
https://www.google.com/search?q=ble...d-att-us-revc&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8


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## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> it exists.
> https://www.google.com/search?q=ble...d-att-us-revc&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8


Not if I close my eyes and pretend I didn't read your comment it doesn't.


----------



## bostjan

MFB said:


> I think Bostjan MIGHT mean American Werewolf in Paris, because London is fantastic and in my top 5 horror movies of all time.


Naw. I saw that movie and forgot it existed like a day later until you mentioned it.

My point wasn't supposed to be that my favourite movies are all awful so much as I was trying to say that I really don't care how awful people think that they are, nor how legitimate the reasons are why those movies are awful- it'll never get me to dislike them.



wankerness said:


> I think he just thinks he has to be apologetic or self-deprecating for liking truly well-made genre fair, for some reason. AWIL and Evil Dead 2 are pretty universally considered classics of the genre, to say nothing of Night of the Living Dead or the original Dawn of the Dead, which are pretty universally considered classics period. Very few people are going to turn their noses up at liking those. Especially on this forum, where this topic is filled with posts from CHUDs. Motel Hell is also vastly better made than most horror movies. It has a big-studio sheen to it, despite being a gross horror comedy. Even Ebert gave that one a good review.



I tell people all of the time that the original Night of the Living Dead is my favourite film of all time, and people almost universally make a stink face at me or try to explain to me why there are a hundred better movies. If they don't like the movie, that's cool. I love it and love explaining to people why it's so great, which never gets them disliking it any less. Most people I encounter in my everyday face-to-face life don't have any love for horror movies, though.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I prefer NOTLD90, mostly because I love Tony Todd, I like how they changed Barbara, and I get a kick out of Tony losing it at the end when he's listening to the news, finds the keys, and laughs his ass off.


----------



## spudmunkey

I think when people think of NOTLD, they only think of the cornier scenes, or the spoofs (_Night of the Living Bread_, which was an extra on a DVD release, FFS). But I love it, and that ending? It's rarely mentioned in any "depressing movie endings" lists or reddit "depressing movie endings?" thread comments, but definitely deserves to be right up there along with "The Mist" which is often mentioned (and IMO, the ending is one of the only things that movie has going for it).

When thinking about "only liking some movies ironically" or millennials "only liking movies that are good because they are bad", I just can't help but think about the original MST3K series cast who are 50, 56, 61, 61, 62 and 64. They've guided an entire generation of people who's favorite movie experiences are watching movies that are "so bad they're good". And while their whole schtick is making fun of the movies, they will readily say that they genuinely like many of the movies they've "riffed".


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## Spaced Out Ace

I'd like to throw it out there that NOTLD is mostly made up by the viewer and not the filmmakers, whom have both (Romero and Russo) denied what viewers think it is about.


----------



## wankerness

Are you referring to Millennials like they're young? They're old now! 40 year olds are millennials!!

I think that the attention span of people who've grown accustomed to smart phones and endless social media scrolling is terrible and the proliferation of exclusively movies that have budgets north of 100 million dollars making it to theaters have made people get bored by anything paced like a movie that doesn't have unlimited budget. Like, many younger people seem to be bored to tears by the likes of Jurassic Park or the first three Jackson LOTR movies. Just too slow, too much dialogue between action set-pieces, doesn't linger on the CGI endlessly cause it was still from the era where you had to work around the limitations of tech, etc.

But, it's mostly the same types of idiots that rejected anything that was black and white back in the 80s cause it was "so old." These people have always been around. It's just more common now because of tech getting that simultaneous snobby and ignorant attitude into millions more people. There's nothing worse than being seen doing something uncool, so you better be careful to loudly reject everything that you're not sure is approved by the snapchat brigade (ex pretty much everything other than Marvel movies).

My brother's trying to teach a movie music class this term to freshman. That should go well. Starting with Chungking Express! That would make half the people in this thread loudly reject it for being boring.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I like a slow burn but I just rewatched the extended versions of LotR a couple months ago and they are boring as fuck. 4 hours is too goddamn long and you won't convince me otherwise. If it was turned into a hexology then I'd be fine with it but I couldn't make it through any of them in one sitting without falling asleep.

Edit: I should clarify that the Peter Jackson hobbit movies were terrible compared to LotR, so no I'm not a fan of mass CGI fast-paced money grabs either.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> Are you referring to Millennials like they're young? They're old now! 40 year olds are millennials!!



I had to look it up because that doesn't sound right (it's over by one year), but apparently the millennial year range goes back all the way to 1981! I was born in 90, so I'm just late enough to be in the back half, but I honestly, I thought the definition for "millennials" wasn't until '85 or '86 and anything prior to was still Gen X.


----------



## bostjan

wankerness said:


> Are you referring to Millennials like they're young?


Me?

Millennials will always be young to the generations that came before them, I guess.

My wife won't watch anything that's older than ~1999 except a few special circumstances, like Christmas movies, for example.

Personally, for example, I love "The Elephant Man." It's slow paced, black and white, all practical effects, pre-1999, and really well done. If I had a nickel for every time I've recommended it to someone who later said something my brain reduced to "eww, old boring movie, yuck," I'd be at least ten cents richer, but, well, honestly, how often do you get feedback from recommending movies?



BlackMastodon said:


> extended versions of LotR



I agree. The extended versions are not really worth re-watching. I'd say watch the theatrical version, and if it was to your liking, just watch the deleted scenes. Me and my friends made the mistake of trying to watch the first two extended and then go to the cinema to see the third when it came out, all in one day. It's the movie equivalent to "I like chocolate, so I will eat only chocolate for one day." Yuck.


----------



## wankerness

I prefer the extended version of the first movie, but strongly prefer the theatrical versions of TT and ROTK. I think Saruman’s death scene is the only important plot point you lose, but the scene is so badly done that the movie’s better off with the line about him not being a threat anymore.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Rewatch Wednesday: Today's secret ingredient is...White Sands (1992)

There was a trend in movies from say....'89 to '95 very roughly that were all southwesty/deserty. This was quite a dud, no wonder I forgot all about for decades. Clumsy pacing, banal dialog and timelines. Silly ending. Super low impact. The set locations were more interesting by a little. 

Another that I couldn't re-get into unexpectedly, True Romance. Maybe its Scott's fantasy element he brings in clashing with a Tarantino script that makes it just....oddd-da.... Might have been more receptive to it at the time since Wild At Heart was just a few years old. Not sure.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

bostjan said:


> My wife won't watch anything that's older than ~1999 except a few special circumstances, like Christmas movies, for example.


Sooo... Fuck Toho, Universal, Empire, Carolco, early New Line, Cannon, Hammer, and Amicus, then, I guess. Thankfully, my girlfriend is just as game for dumpster diving through film history as I am. Thanks, Amazon Prime.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I prefer the extended version of the first movie, but strongly prefer the theatrical versions of TT and ROTK. I think Saruman’s death scene is the only important plot point you lose, but the scene is so badly done that the movie’s better off with the line about him not being a threat anymore.


I will forever have this tainted opinion of LOTR because I was forced to watch 9 hours straight of all three films. Thankfully, the Hobbit films had not been made yet. More importantly, at least it wasn't Harry Potter or Twilight. Yeesh!



bostjan said:


> I agree. The extended versions are not really worth re-watching. I'd say watch the theatrical version, and if it was to your liking, just watch the deleted scenes. Me and my friends made the mistake of trying to watch the first two extended and then go to the cinema to see the third when it came out, all in one day. It's the movie equivalent to "I like chocolate, so I will eat only chocolate for one day." Yuck.


I did this for Freddy vs Jason with a friend of mine, but we watched them over the month or so prior to going to see the film. He'd come over and we'd watch like, the first two Fridays, or the first Nightmare on Elm Street. Trying to binge Friday on a Wednesday, Nightmare on a Thursday, then watch FvJ on a Friday would've been horrible. 

I really wish that New Line would've had Ash in the 3rd act, because I didn't buy Lori as the one to do much of anything other than show off her fake cleavage.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I don't know where to post this, but we are in the "shit on the fans" leg of tour promotion for this lame Cowboy Be-flop 'adaption' from Netflix. First off, Daniella Pineda couldn't be anymore of a smug bitch if she tried. Secondly, not only is this the big bad boogeyman of "cultural appropriation," but it is also disrespectful on top of it. Good going, Netflix.

Sorry if people don't worship the ground you walk on, Daniella, but you are not Faye, you don't look like her, and no amount of rude, smug, and condescending Instagram stories will change that fact. You played, you lost, no do overs, and no refunds. Fuck off.

Even Shonen Jump roasted the "first look" media of this really awful looking CW style LARP.

As for Ed, I expect Netflix will get it wrong 100% just to push their woke nonsense.

As someone said earlier to my first post, this is DOA.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Candyman 2021- Basically a direct sequel/soft reboot of the original. It very blatantly changes candyman's origin to a more charged/ topical one (beaten to death by white police) and pulls zero punches with making nearly all the victims white. There's also a lot of blatant talk about gentrification of poor neighborhoods, and how it's a vicious cycle. The cinematography and framing are fucking awesome. Lots of super cool camera angles and a great use of dreamy giallo esque lighting. Watching Yahya Mateen's tony slowly morph into candyman is mesmerizing and tragic. It's on par with Jeff Goldblum's tragic descent into becoming the Fly. The practical makeup used on Mateen to give him a beehive type texture is extremely well done, and would make a trypophobic person extremely uncomfortable. The kills are pretty meh overall, but the persistent ominous atmosphere keeps it firmly in creepy territory. 
Worth a watch if you're a fan of the og Candyman imo.


Don't Breathe 2- This was so unnecessary. The first film is a super tense, fresh take on the home invasion genre, while this one devolves into fucking zatoichi the blind swordsman. Surprisingly it pulls punches with the gore in spots and revels in it with other spots. One other nitpick is how Alvarez changed the protagonist to a navy seal instead of just being an army infantryman. They upped the setpiece action and it was to the detriment of the film imo. Do not recommend.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Candyman 2021- Basically a direct sequel/soft reboot of the original. It very blatantly changes candyman's origin to a more charged/ topical one (beaten to death by white police) and pulls zero punches with making nearly all the victims white. There's also a lot of blatant talk about gentrification of poor neighborhoods, and how it's a vicious cycle. The cinematography and framing are fucking awesome. Lots of super cool camera angles and a great use of dreamy giallo esque lighting. Watching Yahya Mateen's tony slowly morph into candyman is mesmerizing and tragic. It's on par with Jeff Goldblum's tragic descent into becoming the Fly. The practical makeup used on Mateen to give him a beehive type texture is extremely well done, and would make a trypophobic person extremely uncomfortable. The kills are pretty meh overall, but the persistent ominous atmosphere keeps it firmly in creepy territory.
> Worth a watch if you're a fan of the og Candyman imo.


Sounds like I should just stick with the original.


----------



## nightflameauto

I haven't heard a single positive review of Don't Breathe 2. Yet I fear my wife will insist on watching it. I enjoyed the first one quite a bit and hate to sully it with a shit sequel.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> I haven't heard a single positive review of Don't Breathe 2. Yet I fear my wife will insist on watching it. I enjoyed the first one quite a bit and hate to sully it with a shit sequel.


It's not really a bad movie, it was just a really unneeded sequel imo.


----------



## MFB

The second I saw it was a sequel with the blind guy as a protagonist, when he's the ANTAGONIST of the original, I knew what they were trying and knew it was going to be a waste. I just don't know who thought to greenlight it, or hell even WRITE it, but I feel like if you watch it then it would potentially also change how you feel about the events of the original; which isn't what you should want to do at all.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> The second I saw it was a sequel with the blind guy as a protagonist, when he's the ANTAGONIST of the original, I knew what they were trying and knew it was going to be a waste. I just don't know who thought to greenlight it, or hell even WRITE it, but I feel like if you watch it then it would potentially also change how you feel about the events of the original; which isn't what you should want to do at all.


Fede alvarez (director/writer of the first film) also wrote this one with Rodo Sayagues (co wrote the first film and evil dead ). That's the worst part about it, they literally couldn't even keep the shit consistent with the same writers


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Fede is doing a Texas Chainsaw Massacre for Netflix, and judging by Netflix’s track record, I think it should be called the Texas Wokefest Massacre.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Fede is doing a Texas Chainsaw Massacre for Netflix, and judging by Netflix’s track record, I think it should be called the Texas Wokefest Massacre.


I don't agree with you on everything, and they may or may not woke it up, but I'm betting we're expecting the same level of stale fart as the result of this.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> I don't agree with you on everything, and they may or may not woke it up, but I'm betting we're expecting the same level of stale fart as the result of this.


Texas Chainsaw Massacre has been a pretty hit or miss franchise. I like the first two quite a bit, have watched the second one probably hundreds of times, but find the 3rd and 4th films to be rather meh. The two New Line films were good, and show case why Platinum Dunes was leagues above Blumhouse. However, PD ended up getting too big for itself and put out a few dull films, leaving room for Blumhouse to take over. Then they did 3D and Leatherface, which were awful, though I did enjoy D'Addario's, uh... "participation," at least. 

As a whole, I'm sick of nostalgia. Fuck off already. I hoped that we were at the dawn of a new renaissance for slashers with Terrifier. Nope, instead, we have Art the Clown tending to the old folks home so we can dust off Michael, Leatherface, Freddy, and Chucky occasionally and pretend they still got it. Maybe they need to go buy some cheap Thunderbird and try to get back some of their prime, because they ain't got what it takes anymore! I say this as a huge fan of Freddy Krueger and A Nightmare on Elm Street: these articles pleading for "one last Freddy movie with Robert" already. Enough!

This is me:


----------



## nightflameauto

Yeah, horror is pretty trite at this point. Blumhouse needs to get steamrollered at some point so there's room for literally ANYBODY else to make and distribute a decent horror film again.

I'm kinda tired of the remakes upon remakes in all movie genres truth be told. Some indie films are still pretty decent, but it's not always easy to wade through the seas of crap to find them without doing a deep-dive somewhere. Entertainment in general feels so homogenized now. It's like somebody went "I just want everything to be the same." and the entire entertainment industry went, "Duh, OK."


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Yeah, horror is pretty trite at this point. Blumhouse needs to get steamrollered at some point so there's room for literally ANYBODY else to make and distribute a decent horror film again.
> 
> I'm kinda tired of the remakes upon remakes in all movie genres truth be told. Some indie films are still pretty decent, but it's not always easy to wade through the seas of crap to find them without doing a deep-dive somewhere. Entertainment in general feels so homogenized now. It's like somebody went "I just want everything to be the same." and the entire entertainment industry went, "Duh, OK."


None of them take chances, gamble on something that may be great, or may fail. Low risk (for them), low rewards (for us).


----------



## MFB

Uh, y'all just looking right past the current king of horror, A24? C'mon now. 

Unless you mean like, slasher genre in which case yeah, the whole thing is rooted in nostalgia so you're beating a dead horse


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

MFB said:


> Uh, y'all just looking right past the current king of horror, A24? C'mon now.
> 
> Unless you mean like, slasher genre in which case yeah, the whole thing is rooted in nostalgia so you're beating a dead horse


Terrifier wasn't exactly wallowing in nostalgia.


----------



## TheBlackBard

MFB said:


> Uh, y'all just looking right past the current king of horror, A24? C'mon now.
> 
> Unless you mean like, slasher genre in which case yeah, the whole thing is rooted in nostalgia so you're beating a dead horse




I was fixing to say, A24 was getting overlooked quite a bit.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Crime of the Century 2 part documentary. Anyone else see this?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Went and saw Shang Chi yesterday. Overall it's a pretty solid marvel film. There's some really excellent fight choreography and super cool camera angles, especially in the rafter fight scene. The bus fight scene screams supercop/drunken master era jackie chan, which is a good thing imo.
The pacing is weird because it comes out of the gate swinging, then bogs down in the middle, and picks back up by the end. I wasn't really a fan of certain scenes (which I won't spoil) but suffice to say the character makes a strong claim, then hesitates when he's supposed to do what he said, and then something else just ends up getting rid of the problem for him. It was a complete fucking cop out. Ben Kingsley returns as Trevor Slattery/The Mandarin from Iron man 3 albeit not in the way you're thinking. Here he's purely comedic relief and a prisoner of the true "mandarin" who controls the real ten rings. Honestly it was a neat touch to include that and make it canon. They really didn't need to. This is all exposition driven, and is basically throwaway dialogue to reintroduce/introduce the character to people. Awkwafina is a solid sidekick character and she has some great pithy remarks. Simu Liu does a really good job of carrying the majority of the film. Tony Leung is probably the character with the best arc though, and handles it extremely well.

The creature designs in the later bits of the film are neat, as a lot are drawn directly from chinese mythology, though my favorites were the soul sucking squid demon monsters. They're very grotesque and lovecraftian esque. There is surprisingly some gore when the protagonists are fighting the creatures, which was neat to see. I always laugh how marvel characters have zero qualms about chucking people off of buildings or letting them burn/explode, but god forbid they take a more proactive form of killing someone (at least in the films). Honestly the CG in the climax is kind of eh, and everything feels kind of floaty/weird. That's my biggest complaint about the film, is the CG ends up being distracting more than it was really augmenting the practical fx. 
Part of the reason I like the first half of the film more is because they were using a lot more practical fx, and it felt more grounded/immmersive. 
Black Widow did a wayyy bettter job of conveying that sense of weight and immersion, largely because a lot of their stuff was practical.

Worth a watch if you like kung fu flicks or want a less grounded marvel movie.
oh yeah, there's also one mid credits scene, and one post credits scene, so it's worth hanging out till the end.


----------



## mongey

as we are all locked down here and we are running out of shows we want to watch we have just started re watching the Marvel movie in chronological order . only 3 in 

haven't watched the early ones for a long time

cap America- was ok . story kind of meanders along and just ends
Cap marvel- I didn't really enjoy this when it came out . but I didn't mind it on re watch 
iron man- was really looking forward to this as haven't seen it in a long time. but it was a bit bland / hasn't aged well.


----------



## bostjan

nightflameauto said:


> Yeah, horror is pretty trite at this point.


I love horror films. But you have to sift through a bushel of them to find anything decent these days. I tend to try to avoid anything that is a remake of a good movie at this point. I've enjoyed Jordan Peele's films, but I'm going to pass on _Candyman._ Maybe it'll be the greatest soft reboot (?) of a cult classic (?) so far, but to me, it seems like some executives were sitting around wondering how to make money off of the messed up cultural situation these days. They threw Jordan Peele's hot career, 90's nostalgia, culture wars, and franchise-development into a computer algorithm, and it spit out the concept of the movie.

But pop culture will always capitalize off of itself. It doesn't mean that art ceases to exist outside of that paradigm.


----------



## MFB

Yeah, horror is one you definitely need to sift through or accept that you're going to watch something that's just good/OK. I've found maybe one or two a year where I'm like, "oh shit, where has this been the entire time?" Most recently was a film called 'The Dark and the Wicked' and it was honestly just like a non-arthouse version of the VVitch, but man, it was fucking terrific. I was just unsettled the whole time, and was surprised I never heard or saw anything about it until it was suddenly on Prime.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

bostjan said:


> I love horror films. But you have to sift through a bushel of them to find anything decent these days. I tend to try to avoid anything that is a remake of a good movie at this point. I've enjoyed Jordan Peele's films, but I'm going to pass on _Candyman._ Maybe it'll be the greatest soft reboot (?) of a cult classic (?) so far, but to me, it seems like some executives were sitting around wondering how to make money off of the messed up cultural situation these days. They threw Jordan Peele's hot career, 90's nostalgia, culture wars, and franchise-development into a computer algorithm, and it spit out the concept of the movie.
> 
> But pop culture will always capitalize off of itself. It doesn't mean that art ceases to exist outside of that paradigm.


I find that a rather large swath of modern horror (the last 10 years or so) has a "Politics first, story second" mentality. There is a difference between social commentary and political agenda, and some who agree with the agenda in modern films have parroted the notion that, "horror has always been political." They have then proceeded to go on about Night of the Living Dead, despite Russo and Romero going on record denying the racial social commentary that is "in the film" numerous times. 

By the way, Jordan Peele has his fans, but I am not one of them. I find him to be unlikable, I do not care for "comedians do horror because nostalgia," and modern horror just does not appeal to me for numerous reasons. I think all of his horror films thus far (3? 4?) are in this category: "...it seems like some executives were sitting around wondering how to make money off of the messed up cultural situation these days." I lived through the 90s, and have very little nostalgia for it. I was born in the late 80s, lived through the 90s, I don't really connect to "90s kids" with regards to their love of the decade, and those who lived through the 80s don't really accept me because I didn't live through the decade. 

In my opinion, everything "great" about the 90s has direct ties to the 80s. Weird cartoons (Ah Real Monsters, Ren & Stimpy, Beavis & Butthead)? Troma played a huge part in that. Grunge? It started in the late 80s and has it's ties to 80s punk. Goth/industrial? Cool, the synth players from the 80s put on all black and joined Nine Inch Mansons. Extreme wrestling? The 80s did it better (those early Starrcades were insanely brutal, as were Japanese wrestling matches). 

Another thing about modern horror I don't care for is the "modern horror photoshop filter." It makes everything look the same, it looks awful, and makes it difficult to see details. I miss the days of well lit scenes, eerie blues, great cinematography, etc. Dean Cundey these people are not. The cinematographer or director of photography should be listed as "Photoshop."


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

MFB said:


> Yeah, horror is one you definitely need to sift through or accept that you're going to watch something that's just good/OK. I've found maybe one or two a year where I'm like, "oh shit, where has this been the entire time?" Most recently was a film called 'The Dark and the Wicked' and it was honestly just like a non-arthouse version of the VVitch, but man, it was fucking terrific. I was just unsettled the whole time, and was surprised I never heard or saw anything about it until it was suddenly on Prime.


I've watched a ton of crap, and can find a lot of it to be rather enjoyable in its low budget, "so bad it is great" charm, but slick, modern "horror" is mostly jump scares, loud orc hits (facilitating about 75% of the jump scare factor), and Marilyn Manson video esthetics (such as the weird, jumpy movements the antagonist does).


----------



## bostjan

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I find that a rather large swath of modern horror (the last 10 years or so) has a "Politics first, story second" mentality. There is a difference between social commentary and political agenda, and some who agree with the agenda in modern films have parroted the notion that, "horror has always been political." They have then proceeded to go on about Night of the Living Dead, despite Russo and Romero going on record denying the racial social commentary that is "in the film" numerous times.



Funny thing about art, though, is that you can find all kinds of messages in it that the artists never intended. My biggest takeaways from NotLD were: 1. Humans worst enemies are humans, not "even," but _especially_ in the context of a cosmic-level outside threat, even when it's not intentional to harm each other. 2. For all our struggles to survive, we all will die anyway.

I agree that a lot of recent horror films are meh. Whether there is a message to shove down the audience's throat or not, there is an overwhelming lack of subtlety in movies in general. This doesn't apply to all movies, but the movies getting the most mainstream attention are usually painfully devoid of subtleties. If the new _Friday the 13th _movie wants to show that Jason Vorhees was bullied as a child, they *have* to show a scene of him being bullied in the most cliched way possible. If the newest sci-fi movie wants us to know the main character is smart, they *have* to solve a rubik's cube on screen. If there is a beloved 80's or 90's movie, Hollywood has to remake it and take whatever subtleties were in it out.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> By the way, Jordan Peele has his fans, but I am not one of them. I find him to be unlikable, I do not care for "comedians do horror because nostalgia," and modern horror just does not appeal to me for numerous reasons. I think all of his horror films thus far (3? 4?) are in this category: "...it seems like some executives were sitting around wondering how to make money off of the messed up cultural situation these days." I lived through the 90s, and have very little nostalgia for it. I was born in the late 80s, lived through the 90s, I don't really connect to "90s kids" with regards to their love of the decade, and those who lived through the 80s don't really accept me because I didn't live through the decade.



People raved about _Get Out_. I liked it, but it didn't transform my life the way reviews promised. I think it's another case of there being all kinds of messages that are in the film that you can interpret however you'd like. I think it would have been a better film if Peele had chosen *not* to show some of the things he showed on screen, but overall. I liked it.

I mean, every piece of art has connections to art that existed previously. Grunge came from punk, punk came from garage rock, garage rock came from surf rock, and surf rock came from Dick Dale trying to meld early rock and roll a la Elvis with mariachi and arabic music.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> In my opinion, everything "great" about the 90s has direct ties to the 80s. Weird cartoons (Ah Real Monsters, Ren & Stimpy, Beavis & Butthead)? Troma played a huge part in that. Grunge? It started in the late 80s and has it's ties to 80s punk. Goth/industrial? Cool, the synth players from the 80s put on all black and joined Nine Inch Mansons. Extreme wrestling? The 80s did it better (those early Starrcades were insanely brutal, as were Japanese wrestling matches).



Troma played a huge part in Ren and Stimpy / Beavis and Butthead? How do you figure?

Ren and Stimpy was heavily steeped in Bob Clampett's work with Warner Bros., along with some influence from the Three Stooges and 60's sci-fi/horror.

BEavis and Butthead were inspired by cartoonist Mike Judge's real life childhood.

In fact, the "golden age" of Troma, during which most people became aware that it existed was the late nineties, after either of those cartoons existed anymore. Certainly it existed prior to that, but I don't think Kricfalusi or Judge were very aware of it.

Anyway, I'd rather watch a Troma movie with a $80k budget than most mainstream modern horror movies. Those movies might have lacked technical discipline, but at least they were entertaining and usually made you think if you wanted to let them.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> Another thing about modern horror I don't care for is the "modern horror photoshop filter." It makes everything look the same, it looks awful, and makes it difficult to see details. I miss the days of well lit scenes, eerie blues, great cinematography, etc. Dean Cundey these people are not. The cinematographer or director of photography should be listed as "Photoshop."



I've noticed the same thing. It's like Adobe, or whatever they use now, has a default setting for "horror movie" that washes out the colors and light contrast in a very particular way, making everything look "samey."


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I've watched a ton of crap, and can find a lot of it to be rather enjoyable in its low budget, "so bad it is great" charm, but slick, modern "horror" is mostly jump scares, loud orc hits (facilitating about 75% of the jump scare factor), and Marilyn Manson video esthetics (such as the weird, jumpy movements the antagonist does).



Also true, but the fact that 'a lot of it' ends up in the first category is sort of a problem in and of itself; like, I get in the 70s/80s when there was heavy reliance on prosthetics and people simply didn't have the budget for that, so they worked around it as best they could. But I would hope that movies we're trying for nowadays have come far enough for people to know their limitations and say, "this flat out won't work with what we have." And that's just on the aesthetics side, writing itself is a whole separate debacle as horror movies end in one of two ways really - good wins/evil wins. My Vizio used to have a channel entirely for Asylum movies, and some of the absolute dogshit rip-offs you'd see on there were laughable for all the wrong reasons. 

The wannabe Manson aesthetic can also end too, no problem there


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

bostjan said:


> Funny thing about art, though, is that you can find all kinds of messages in it that the artists never intended. My biggest takeaways from NotLD were: 1. Humans worst enemies are humans, not "even," but _especially_ in the context of a cosmic-level outside threat, even when it's not intentional to harm each other. 2. For all our struggles to survive, we all will die anyway.
> 
> I agree that a lot of recent horror films are meh. Whether there is a message to shove down the audience's throat or not, there is an overwhelming lack of subtlety in movies in general. This doesn't apply to all movies, but the movies getting the most mainstream attention are usually painfully devoid of subtleties. If the new _Friday the 13th _movie wants to show that Jason Vorhees was bullied as a child, they *have* to show a scene of him being bullied in the most cliched way possible. If the newest sci-fi movie wants us to know the main character is smart, they *have* to solve a rubik's cube on screen. If there is a beloved 80's or 90's movie, Hollywood has to remake it and take whatever subtleties were in it out.


Ah, Lawd! You went off in the response with a novella. Going to have to break this down bit by bit to respond. Lol

Yeah, I think that was the social commentary intended by Russo and Romero. Those are my takeaways as well. The people insisting it is about race are looking at one minute issue; the issue is much deeper and broader than that. The panic and fear of the situation, mixed with butting heads between people who do not know how to collaborate on a solution (the unwillingness to see it from more than one viewpoint) leads to their demise. Political nonsense was unnecessary, as even without that, the issue was much more complex. As a side note, I do prefer the remake over the original, because I like Barbara's character portrayal in the remake more.

You make a great point; the lack of subtlety in movies (likely because some audiences or audience members need their hand held through the process of telling a story), and the open ended nature of what the point of the story is no longer exists. I think by and large, subtlety is as dead as the dodo bird in films, at least at present. What new Friday the 13th film? I know they showed that in FvJ, and it was pretty much on the nose, but it was short and went "hi, bye" rather quickly. I think that Jason didn't drown, and that Pamela staged it or saved him herself. Either way, she saw the complete lack of concern for her son's safety, and went bat shit insane. I don't particularly think he was relentlessly bullied so much as the counselors didn't give a shit and didn't keep their eye on the kids. "They should've been paying attention!" Anyways, I agree, Hollyweird can't do subtlety anymore, for whatever reason. 



bostjan said:


> People raved about _Get Out_. I liked it, but it didn't transform my life the way reviews promised. I think it's another case of there being all kinds of messages that are in the film that you can interpret however you'd like. I think it would have been a better film if Peele had chosen *not* to show some of the things he showed on screen, but overall. I liked it.
> 
> I mean, every piece of art has connections to art that existed previously. Grunge came from punk, punk came from garage rock, garage rock came from surf rock, and surf rock came from Dick Dale trying to meld early rock and roll a la Elvis with mariachi and arabic music.


I think some of the reviews, as well as the viewers, went out of their way to prove they aren't an "istaphobe." As Shakespeare (possibly) wrote, "the lady doth protest too much, methinks." I'm sure a decent amount of them were genuine, but I bet quite a few of them were overcompensating. I heard what it was about, and passed on it. I've seen some of the things Peele has said in interviews, and have passed on his other work as well. I get the feeling, particularly on Twitter, you aren't allowed to criticize him or his films.

I understand that art is influenced by previous art. However, I feel like the stuff in the 90s flat out stole shit from the past, cynically, ironically, or otherwise, and people adore them for it. There was also a ton of cringe that one must ignore in order to engage in the "90s was better because ew, the 80s" argument. Not only was the 90s cringe all over the place (Attitude Era, for instance), but the "cringe" of the 80s was better. Maybe it was better because it was more relatable, enjoyable, or whatever. Besides, the pivot from hair metal, rock, etc. to rap and grunge was very forced by the people in charge. 



bostjan said:


> Troma played a huge part in Ren and Stimpy / Beavis and Butthead? How do you figure?
> 
> Ren and Stimpy was heavily steeped in Bob Clampett's work with Warner Bros., along with some influence from the Three Stooges and 60's sci-fi/horror.
> 
> BEavis and Butthead were inspired by cartoonist Mike Judge's real life childhood.
> 
> In fact, the "golden age" of Troma, during which most people became aware that it existed was the late nineties, after either of those cartoons existed anymore. Certainly it existed prior to that, but I don't think Kricfalusi or Judge were very aware of it.
> 
> Anyway, I'd rather watch a Troma movie with a $80k budget than most mainstream modern horror movies. Those movies might have lacked technical discipline, but at least they were entertaining and usually made you think if you wanted to let them.


Without Troma, I do not feel as if the 90s weird cartoons would've caught on like they did. They laid a lot of groundwork and the gross out gags they pulled in those shows were out of low budget garbage factories like Troma. I love Ah! Real Monsters and Beavis and Butthead, but I feel like Troma deserves a lot of credit. I became aware of Troma in the early 90s when they did the Toxic Crusaders, I believe the cartoon was called. It was like Lloyd took Troma grossness, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Captain Planet, and Ren & Stimpy, crammed them into a blender, and set it on the highest setting with the lid off. Granted, he had to tame the less "desirable" elements for children, of course, but I remember it still being pretty gross, off the wall, and out of left field -- all things a classic Troma disasterpiece requires.

Even some of Troma's less well-done films (golden age or otherwise) are more intriguing than modern horror because they are an interesting curiosity with a lot of heart. Same is true for Full Moon Features, which I am subscribed to.



bostjan said:


> I've noticed the same thing. It's like Adobe, or whatever they use now, has a default setting for "horror movie" that washes out the colors and light contrast in a very particular way, making everything look "samey."


It's not even just horror movies anymore. It's obnoxious, overused, and a sign of laziness. I don't care for the look or "feel" of it, and your comment is spot on. Everything is very samey, bland, and ultimately, uninteresting. If you act, talk, sound, and look like everyone else, then you do not stand out and will ultimately be forgotten in a few years (or months, more likely). It has ruined a lot of films in my opinion. I love Terrifier, which I feel still has a bit of that, but it also has this color palate sort of like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but more "aggressive" if that makes sense.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

MFB said:


> Also true, but the fact that 'a lot of it' ends up in the first category is sort of a problem in and of itself; like, I get in the 70s/80s when there was heavy reliance on prosthetics and people simply didn't have the budget for that, so they worked around it as best they could. But I would hope that movies we're trying for nowadays have come far enough for people to know their limitations and say, "this flat out won't work with what we have." And that's just on the aesthetics side, writing itself is a whole separate debacle as horror movies end in one of two ways really - good wins/evil wins. My Vizio used to have a channel entirely for Asylum movies, and some of the absolute dogshit rip-offs you'd see on there were laughable for all the wrong reasons.
> 
> The wannabe Manson aesthetic can also end too, no problem there


I love prosthetics, practical effects, etc. over CGI. I feel there is quite a reliance on CGI these days, which is another thing I am not fond of. That said, they should know their limitations, as you say, and find some other way to achieve an effect. The legends of the 70s and 80s were masters of coming up with jerry rigged devices on the spot that worked for a scene. I don't feel as if a lot of the modern crowd know how to do that. Glad you know what I am referring to by the "Manson music video aesthetic," as I wasn't sure if people would know what I meant by that. It worked for Manson in the 90s, but now it is just shameless stealing for lack of better ideas.

As for writing, don't even get me fucking started! The issue is industry wide; even wrestling shows are written and booked like utter horse shit. Even on the chance that the writing/booking isn't bad, the finishes are a total train wreck in the midst of a tornado travesty. It's amazing, almost -- and not in a good way -- that they can have such shitty finishes. I am convinced it is because of either of these two things: The writer either needs to get their shit in, and forces it in the final act, with a sloppy setup, or they -- thanks to smart phones -- have less face to face interaction experience, and have no clue how it'll play out to a crowd. You'll have films that'll be decent to even great for the first two acts, then the third act will be at the corner of Bullshit Boulevard and What the Fuck Junction. That's if the film is actually "decently" written. You also have a massive issue with these dickheads writing this stuff being a total choad heel thinking they are the hero, and writing their hero of the film in much the same manner. 

It is truly appalling. Don't write a fucking hero out of your show or film, promote the 2nd tier character to protagonist written as a heel, and call them the good guy. It doesn't work.


----------



## mmr007

They still make movies? Huh....I'll look into that


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

mmr007 said:


> They still make movies? Huh....I'll look into that


Who?


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I love prosthetics, practical effects, etc. over CGI. I feel there is quite a reliance on CGI these days, which is another thing I am not fond of. That said, they should know their limitations, as you say, and find some other way to achieve an effect. The legends of the 70s and 80s were masters of coming up with jerry rigged devices on the spot that worked for a scene. I don't feel as if a lot of the modern crowd know how to do that. Glad you know what I am referring to by the "Manson music video aesthetic," as I wasn't sure if people would know what I meant by that. It worked for Manson in the 90s, but now it is just shameless stealing for lack of better ideas.
> 
> As for writing, don't even get me fucking started! The issue is industry wide; even wrestling shows are written and booked like utter horse shit. Even on the chance that the writing/booking isn't bad, the finishes are a total train wreck in the midst of a tornado travesty. It's amazing, almost -- and not in a good way -- that they can have such shitty finishes. I am convinced it is because of either of these two things: The writer either needs to get their shit in, and forces it in the final act, with a sloppy setup, or they -- thanks to smart phones -- have less face to face interaction experience, and have no clue how it'll play out to a crowd. You'll have films that'll be decent to even great for the first two acts, then the third act will be at the corner of Bullshit Boulevard and What the Fuck Junction. That's if the film is actually "decently" written. You also have a massive issue with these dickheads writing this stuff being a total choad heel thinking they are the hero, and writing their hero of the film in much the same manner.
> 
> It is truly appalling. Don't write a fucking hero out of your show or film, promote the 2nd tier character to protagonist written as a heel, and call them the good guy. It doesn't work.



If you get a chance, read the book (or at least some of the chapters on this concept) by Thomas Lennon and Robert Benjamin Garant AKA Jim Dangle and Deputy Jr from Reno 911!

They're a screen writing duo and they talk about how many writers hands one script will go through and a truly good writer (usually the original) will try to get back on the project in various stages to get it back to where it was. It's a great read on the screen writing process from people who genuinely know about it and have made things that people WATCH.


----------



## mmr007

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Who?


"They"...as in Hollywood. I can't tell you how long it has been (mostly because of Covid) since I've seen an ad for a movie of any interest to me.


----------



## Seabeast2000

mmr007 said:


> "They"...as in Hollywood. I can't tell you how long it has been (mostly because of Covid) since I've seen an ad for a movie of any interest to me.


The Ten Buttholes of Dr. Kaligari is the best crossover reboot. Rotten tomatoes has like 400 bot reviews aggragating to 94%.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

mmr007 said:


> "They"...as in Hollywood. I can't tell you how long it has been (mostly because of Covid) since I've seen an ad for a movie of any interest to me.


Regardless of COVID, I can't tell you how long it has been since I've seen an ad for a movie of any interest to me.


----------



## BlackMastodon

How did y'all feel about The Color Out of Space (2019)? I remember loving the story in my teens and felt like this was a great movie adaptation of it, even to the point where the story almost justifies Nic Cage's over-the-top acting (almost). Pretty sure they used some practical fx heavily inspired by John Carpenter that really added to it but I thought it was really solid, but I'm not at all a horror buff.


----------



## bostjan

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Without Troma, I do not feel as if the 90s weird cartoons would've caught on like they did. They laid a lot of groundwork and the gross out gags they pulled in those shows were out of low budget garbage factories like Troma. I love Ah! Real Monsters and Beavis and Butthead, but I feel like Troma deserves a lot of credit. I became aware of Troma in the early 90s when they did the Toxic Crusaders, I believe the cartoon was called. It was like Lloyd took Troma grossness, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Captain Planet, and Ren & Stimpy, crammed them into a blender, and set it on the highest setting with the lid off. Granted, he had to tame the less "desirable" elements for children, of course, but I remember it still being pretty gross, off the wall, and out of left field -- all things a classic Troma disasterpiece requires.
> 
> Even some of Troma's less well-done films (golden age or otherwise) are more intriguing than modern horror because they are an interesting curiosity with a lot of heart. Same is true for Full Moon Features, which I am subscribed to.



Interesting. I guess I never thought of Troma as the cause of the 90's gross-ness, but more like Troma's sudden popularity was an effect of the 90's gross-ness. Before Ren and Stimpy, there were "Garbage Pail Kids," which were collectable cards that spoofed Cabbage Patch Kids, but with that very characteristic gross-ness. The Toxic Avenger and the Garbage Pail Kids cards debuted within months of each other, but I don't think kids were savvy to Toxie until the cartoon (the film was R-rated and not really in theaters, unless you lived in a very specific neighbourhood of NYC). Kids my age were definitely savvy to Garbage Pail Kids, though. I'm sure something or other kicked off the Zeitgeist, but I'd venture a bet that Troma's boom in popularity had a lot more to do with 80's kids who grew up on Garbage Pail Kids getting old enough to buy VHS tapes of Troma movies.

Don't take that as me knocking Troma. I own pile of their DVD's. They had some really fun movies. My love of those films is what got me sucked into the production of a couple of low-budget films when I was in my 20's.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> It's not even just horror movies anymore. It's obnoxious, overused, and a sign of laziness. I don't care for the look or "feel" of it, and your comment is spot on. Everything is very samey, bland, and ultimately, uninteresting. If you act, talk, sound, and look like everyone else, then you do not stand out and will ultimately be forgotten in a few years (or months, more likely). It has ruined a lot of films in my opinion. I love Terrifier, which I feel still has a bit of that, but it also has this color palate sort of like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but more "aggressive" if that makes sense.



I think the whole sentiment can be summed up with your comment. Pop culture in the 21st century has boiled over into art, music, films, celebrities, etc., and it's one defining characteristic is samey-ness, and formulaic laziness. Olivia Rodrigo just got sued for her song sounding too much like Paramore, because it uses the same chord progression, tempo, feel, and a similar melody. But, that chord progression is the same for something like 40% of pop songs that came out in the past year, the tempo is one of the four acceptable pop music tempos, the feel and melody are basically built from the Green Day catalogue. I think there are just so many lawsuits in music recently because the computer algorithm that chooses which artists/songs to promote tends to choose things that are similar. But I digress. Movies are the same way. It seems like every big budget movie comes out in pairs.  Did you see the Fred Rogers biopic from 2018? Which one, you ask? Oh, well, what about the Ruth Bader Ginsburg movie from that same year? Which one? Umm, well what about that animated film about the Abominable Snowman making first contact with humans in the Himalayas? Oh, there were two movies with that exact plot from 2018 as well? Ok, what about the American film about a teenage girl finding out she is pregnant and going on a road trip with her best friend to another state to get an abortion without her parents consent? Two of those, I mean the one that came out last year... Well, shit. I think the pop culture computer algorithm is broken again.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

bostjan said:


> Interesting. I guess I never thought of Troma as the cause of the 90's gross-ness, but more like Troma's sudden popularity was an effect of the 90's gross-ness. Before Ren and Stimpy, there were "Garbage Pail Kids," which were collectable cards that spoofed Cabbage Patch Kids, but with that very characteristic gross-ness. The Toxic Avenger and the Garbage Pail Kids cards debuted within months of each other, but I don't think kids were savvy to Toxie until the cartoon (the film was R-rated and not really in theaters, unless you lived in a very specific neighbourhood of NYC). Kids my age were definitely savvy to Garbage Pail Kids, though. I'm sure something or other kicked off the Zeitgeist, but I'd venture a bet that Troma's boom in popularity had a lot more to do with 80's kids who grew up on Garbage Pail Kids getting old enough to buy VHS tapes of Troma movies.
> 
> Don't take that as me knocking Troma. I own pile of their DVD's. They had some really fun movies. My love of those films is what got me sucked into the production of a couple of low-budget films when I was in my 20's.
> 
> 
> 
> I think the whole sentiment can be summed up with your comment. Pop culture in the 21st century has boiled over into art, music, films, celebrities, etc., and it's one defining characteristic is samey-ness, and formulaic laziness. Olivia Rodrigo just got sued for her song sounding too much like Paramore, because it uses the same chord progression, tempo, feel, and a similar melody. But, that chord progression is the same for something like 40% of pop songs that came out in the past year, the tempo is one of the four acceptable pop music tempos, the feel and melody are basically built from the Green Day catalogue. I think there are just so many lawsuits in music recently because the computer algorithm that chooses which artists/songs to promote tends to choose things that are similar. But I digress. Movies are the same way. It seems like every big budget movie comes out in pairs.  Did you see the Fred Rogers biopic from 2018? Which one, you ask? Oh, well, what about the Ruth Bader Ginsburg movie from that same year? Which one? Umm, well what about that animated film about the Abominable Snowman making first contact with humans in the Himalayas? Oh, there were two movies with that exact plot from 2018 as well? Ok, what about the American film about a teenage girl finding out she is pregnant and going on a road trip with her best friend to another state to get an abortion without her parents consent? Two of those, I mean the one that came out last year... Well, shit. I think the pop culture computer algorithm is broken again.


It does seem like AI is just playing madlib with music, movies, and tv shows. Films that look and feel the same, actors and actresses who act like drones, music that’s barely different from the previous song. No one is truly going out on a limb or gambling with their artistic endeavors anymore, artist and consumer alike. No one wants to fail, because their fear is keeping them from growing. It’s weird.


----------



## bostjan

I'd still like to think that there is plenty of unique music, art, and film (maybe not TV shows, so much) out there, but they are getting more and more difficult to come across. Mainstream media, though, is getting really stifled. When I was coming of age, we had a pretty good mixture, I thought, of unique and rehashed music. There was the grunge thing and the infamous vocal yarl, but we also had Tool, which, love them or hate them, were not like anything before. Soundgarden, even as a grunge-scene band, was doing wild stuff with funky tunings and odd time/feel that you couldn't really hear anywhere else. Green Day, as bland as they sound through today's ears, were blending pop-rock and punk in a way that hadn't been done, really, up to that point. Hell, even poppy musical acts like the Cranberries, Beck, Lisa Loeb, etc., all sound super weird by today's standards, and those were all chart-dominating mainstream pop-rock artists of the time.

Anyway....



BlackMastodon said:


> How did y'all feel about The Color Out of Space (2019)? I remember loving the story in my teens and felt like this was a great movie adaptation of it, even to the point where the story almost justifies Nic Cage's over-the-top acting (almost). Pretty sure they used some practical fx heavily inspired by John Carpenter that really added to it but I thought it was really solid, but I'm not at all a horror buff.



You talked me into checking it out. I enjoyed the imagination that went into the original short story. Often, short stories make boring movies, though (not always, just kind of generally).


----------



## Seabeast2000

I have been deep diving into Prime's Indie/unknown/obscure movie offerings for a while now to avoid the formula/labotomizing effects of pop bulk cinema.


----------



## nightflameauto

We watched a decent little flick over the weekend called "Lucky Day." It was a comedic action flick that really didn't pull any punches at all. Any movie that can pull off a line like the scene where the art house director is telling the artist that the paintings weren't finished until they were "painted with the blood of your critics," and it actually fits the scene and the story? Fuck yeah. That's bonus.

It was nice to see Nina play somebody other than the utterly detestable Elaina too.

If you dig action films that sometimes go way over the top for comedic effect, I'd suggest it. Just a whole lot of fun with some really random WTF moments. Like the little clown car driving by as the main actor gets out of his car. Crispin Glover plays the most psychotic killer ever portrayed on screen. And even that plays perfectly with the comedy.


----------



## Kaura

Finally watched "No Country For Old Men". Great movie.


----------



## mongey

about 14 movies deep into the marvel, timeline order , re watch now and i cant be bothered writing about them all but 

age of ultron was as disappointing as I remember after the first one being so good 

guardian of the galaxy 2- take a few good laughs out of this movie and there isn't really anything left 

but I did enjoy iron man 3 and dark world , after not remembering too fondly from my last watch

out of the first 14 movies my top 3 would be 

the avengers 
Thor 
iron man 2


----------



## thebeesknees22

I just watched Silence of the Lambs for the first time in like... 25 years. It's still pretty great.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Watched The Nightmare Before Christmas with my daughter last night. Just gets better every time I watch it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Watched Heavy Metal 2000 again since I totally forgot everything about it.
Kinda weird low cel count animation ala 1981 mixed with random CGI bits.
It coukd have been a lot better overall. The execution was cheesy af in parts.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Venom : Let there be carnage.
Just a fun movie. Wayyy more humor and insanity versus the first film.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_The Many Saints of Newark_

Truly underwhelming and completely forgettable.

Very thinly scripted. If you zoom out, barely anything actually happens throughout the course of the entire film. (It's to the point that I kind of can't believe that David Chase wrote the script. He must be slipping after years and years of being adamantly against a _Sopranos_ feature film being made. Let's see how he responds to the landslide of lukewarm, middle-of-the-road reviews.) The whole film felt more like "a tribute to gangster films of the 90s" (like _Goodfellas_) rather than its own thing, regardless of the _Sopranos_ franchise name being attached.

It seems like the film's only selling point is all of the _Sopranos_ tie-ins and Easter eggs. (It produces the same "nostalgia effect" that other films, series, and games try to cash-in on as their only selling point.) And then, of course, you've got young Michael Gandolfini physically looking like his late father.

There is already rumored to be possible talks of a sequel to this prequel. And we all know that Hollywood (in its current state) cannot simply leave shit alone.


----------



## TedEH

I watched the Wacken doc this weekend that they have on Amazon. It was mostly just a big ad for the festival that didn't say anything meaningful, but having been to zero shows in the last two years, it still struck that "I miss shows" thing.


----------



## nightflameauto

Emperor Guillotine said:


> _The Many Saints of Newark_
> 
> Truly underwhelming and completely forgettable.
> 
> Very thinly scripted. If you zoom out, barely anything actually happens throughout the course of the entire film. (It's to the point that I kind of can't believe that David Chase wrote the script. He must be slipping after years and years of being adamantly against a _Sopranos_ feature film being made. Let's see how he responds to the landslide of lukewarm, middle-of-the-road reviews.) The whole film felt more like "a tribute to gangster films of the 90s" (like _Goodfellas_) rather than its own thing, regardless of the _Sopranos_ franchise name being attached.
> 
> It seems like the film's only selling point is all of the _Sopranos_ tie-ins and Easter eggs. (It produces the same "nostalgia effect" that other films, series, and games try to cash-in on as their only selling point.) And then, of course, you've got young Michael Gandolfini physically looking like his late father.
> 
> There is already rumored to be possible talks of a sequel to this prequel. And we all know that Hollywood (in its current state) cannot simply leave shit alone.


About three quarters of the way through this steamer when still literally nothing at all had happened, I told my wife this is CLEARLY meant to be the origin of a long running franchise of films by the creators. What they didn't realize is that long running franchises need a god damned foundation to build on. Thus far, if you separate this from what you know of where everybody ends up, and just view this film as its own thing we know that Tony Soprano is gonna kill some people at some point, and there's other people in the background acting like gangster thugs around him.

A big solid meh. I regret the time wasted on it.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

nightflameauto said:


> About three quarters of the way through this steamer when still literally nothing at all had happened, I told my wife this is CLEARLY meant to be the origin of a long running franchise of films by the creators.


Boom. Nailed it.

My fear is that either David Chase is going to cave-in and churn out some more shit-tier steamers like this film (even though he doesn't need to do so?), or HBO is going to wait until Chase dies (since he is really up there in years) and then proceed to plow on ahead and annihilate the Sopranos series with more films like this.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Boom. Nailed it.
> 
> My fear is that either David Chase is going to cave-in and churn out some more shit-tier steamers like this film (even though he doesn't need to do so?), or HBO is going to wait until Chase dies (since he is really up there in years) and then proceed to plow on ahead and annihilate the Sopranos series with more films like this.



Can't wait until someone who appreciates the Expanded Soprano Universe gets to write/direct.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Seabeast2000 said:


> Can't wait until someone who appreciates the Expanded Soprano Universe gets to write/direct.


_Sopranos: Infinity Mob War_


----------



## Demiurge

I liked The Sopranos, but a prequel does nothing for me. The show often had the characters referencing The Godfather, so having something attempting their version of, as the characters on the show call it, "Two", is kind of lame. Vito Corleone was kind of an enigma in the first movie so a backstory was welcome and intriguing. By the end of The Sopranos, it was laid bare that Tony was little more than a fount of belligerence & greed inside of a person-suit, so what depths are there to plumb?


----------



## nightflameauto

Demiurge said:


> I liked The Sopranos, but a prequel does nothing for me. The show often had the characters referencing The Godfather, so having something attempting their version of, as the characters on the show call it, "Two", is kind of lame. Vito Corleone was kind of an enigma in the first movie so a backstory was welcome and intriguing. By the end of The Sopranos, it was laid bare that Tony was little more than a fount of belligerence & greed inside of a person-suit, so what depths are there to plumb?


I don't know, man. It could have been at least a passably interesting concept had it done any of the things it was advertised to do. Like, maybe show Tony's real initiation into mob life. What they did was build set dressing and give us brief glances of how fucked up his childhood was. Like you said, we already knew that part. And the bullshit happening around him meant absolutely nothing at all. It was tough for me to even feel bad for the chick tossed down the stairs. I mean they gave us zero character there. They just plopped her in our view and then tried to say "feel bad for her" without giving any attempt at all to develop her as a character. She was a dishrag there for plot convenience.

By the time we see the "retaliation" scene there's so little attempt to do anything other than tick boxes that you can't be bothered to care even the slightest. If not for tying names to the show universe, you'd basically be left going, "Who the fuck are these people and why the fuck would I give a toss?"

I hope it bombs hard so they get the message the need to just leave shit alone if they're going to half-ass it. But with HBO involved in the decision making, expect another to make the last season of Game of Thrones seem like Shakespeare.


----------



## Jarmake

Kaura said:


> Finally watched "No Country For Old Men". Great movie.



It's one of my favorite movies of all time.

Saw "no time to die" yesterday. It was a fun movie and I was very entertained by it. The plot in the end was a bit sappy, but I thought it was a good way to say goodbye to Daniel Craig's 007.

I must say, Daniel Craig is by far my favorite Bond. He is just so damn good at what he does. Just perfect blend of very dry humor and unforgiving seriousness. Craig's Bond is a beaten and broken down man, who has given up everything for his job.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

nightflameauto said:


> They just plopped her in our view and then tried to say "feel bad for her" without giving any attempt at all to develop her as a character. She was a dishrag there for plot convenience.
> 
> By the time we see the "retaliation" scene there's so little attempt to do anything other than tick boxes that you can't be bothered to care even the slightest. If not for tying names to the show universe, you'd basically be left going, "Who the fuck are these people and why the fuck would I give a toss?"


As someone who actually works in TV/film production, along with getting some time working in writing/development, I must say that you absolutely nailed it.

This film was so thinly scripted with nothing to it. Just _"here are characters flopped into front of ya whose names you recognize, and you're expected to care about them while knowing nothing about them and having zero investment"_.

The entire schlock comes across as lazy and unmotivating for the viewers, which makes it difficult to get invested in the world being portrayed onscreen. And there were almost no new details or events introduced around Tony Soprano. It's all just shit we the viewers knew already. (We knew that his mother was severely mentally ill. We knew that Dickie Moltisanti stepped-up in place of Tony's father. We knew the family dynamic revolving around ol' Johnny Boy Soprano. We knew the family soldiers like Big Pussy, Paulie Walnuts, Sil Dante, etc. all worked alongside Tony's father and Dickie before Tony took the reigns. We knew all this shit. So, where was the new material?)

Many, many reviews online seem to be labeling the film as "half-assed" and a cheap grab at (what I addressed as) the "nostalgic effect" hearkening back to the original Sopranos series. Seems like a fitting label.



nightflameauto said:


> I hope it bombs hard so they get the message the need to just leave shit alone if they're going to half-ass it.


Honestly, same here. (And again, I say this as someone who works first-hand, on-the-ground in the industry.) These Hollywood production companies and media distributors who order films and series _*need to learn*_ to stop accepting half-assed content. There is a reason why viewership for so much content tanked, even amidst the height of the pandemic last year when people were trapped in their homes not doing anything except watching subscription streaming services. These companies need to hire people with actual original ideas (and hire folks based on merit, not "identity"), and these companies need to stop bowing to the "woke" cult with their ham-fisted tactic of beating viewers over the head relentlessly with socio-identity politics bullshit shoved into content that is already poorly scripted.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Walnuts: Oaragence


----------



## nightflameauto

Emperor Guillotine said:


> As someone who actually works in TV/film production, along with getting some time working in writing/development, I must say that you absolutely nailed it.
> 
> This film was so thinly scripted with nothing to it. Just _"here are characters flopped into front of ya whose names you recognize, and you're expected to care about them while knowing nothing about them and having zero investment"_.
> 
> The entire schlock comes across as lazy and unmotivating for the viewers, which makes it difficult to get invested in the world being portrayed onscreen. And there were almost no new details or events introduced around Tony Soprano. It's all just shit we the viewers knew already. (We knew that his mother was severely mentally ill. We knew that Dickie Moltisanti stepped-up in place of Tony's father. We knew the family dynamic revolving around ol' Johnny Boy Soprano. We knew the family soldiers like Big Pussy, Paulie Walnuts, Sil Dante, etc. all worked alongside Tony's father and Dickie before Tony took the reigns. We knew all this shit. So, where was the new material?)
> 
> Many, many reviews online seem to be labeling the film as "half-assed" and a cheap grab at (what I addressed as) the "nostalgic effect" hearkening back to the original Sopranos series. Seems like a fitting label.
> 
> Honestly, same here. (And again, I say this as someone who works first-hand, on-the-ground in the industry.) These Hollywood production companies and media distributors who order films and series _*need to learn*_ to stop accepting half-assed content. There is a reason why viewership for so much content tanked, even amidst the height of the pandemic last year when people were trapped in their homes not doing anything except watching subscription streaming services. These companies need to hire people with actual original ideas (and hire folks based on merit, not "identity"), and these companies need to stop bowing to the "woke" cult with their ham-fisted tactic of beating viewers over the head relentlessly with socio-identity politics bullshit shoved into content that is already poorly scripted.


I would give you a standing ovation, but I'm lazy. 

I don't work in the industry, but I have written stories, novellas, and novels since I was a teenager. If my characters ever came across so non-descript I'd have to burn the manuscript. And maybe the computer I used to write it. It all starts there. Add on the fact that the plot was so marginally non-existent that I literally can't tell you what happened outside of somebody getting their face smashed in, well, it's tough to care.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

TedEH said:


> I watched the Wacken doc this weekend that they have on Amazon. It was mostly just a big ad for the festival that didn't say anything meaningful, but having been to zero shows in the last two years, it still struck that "I miss shows" thing.



I'm surprised I didn't see anything about this documentary. I'll check it out.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

nightflameauto said:


> Add on the fact that the plot was so marginally non-existent that I literally can't tell you what happened outside of somebody getting their face smashed in, well, it's tough to care.


Honestly, Joey Diaz being cast in the movie was the best part about it.

That's it. Like, that was seriously the best part.

Our favorite ex-felon, Cuban-American, out-of-body-experience-exploring, "Jersey-as-fuck!" uncle of a comedian definitely deserved the role he got. We've gone from listening to him on Joe Rogan's podcast, to watching him doing insanely strong edibles for the internet while hosting his own podcasts, and now watching him star in a tie-in to the Sopranos. It's so fitting for him!


----------



## MFB

Emperor Guillotine said:


> We've gone from listening to him on Joe Rogan's podcast



Speak for yourself on that one


----------



## Louis Cypher

Watched The Green Knight. Its a brilliant but slightly bizarre film though tbh I found it a real breath of non-hollywood blockbuster/superhero fresh air. Visually its an amazing film and Dev Patel as Gawain is excellent. Def worth seeing


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I see quite a few of the Hellraiser films are available on AMC+, so I'm watching those currently. I am not sure where I stopped off before a few years back, but I hope to get further along this time.


----------



## Rosal76

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I see quite a few of the Hellraiser films are available on AMC+, so I'm watching those currently. I am not sure where I stopped off before a few years back, but I hope to get further along this time.



+1. I did what you're doing last year. I stopped watching the Hellraiser movies a long time ago and then decided to watch the ones I didn't see. This year, I'm gonna try and watch all the Omen movies. I saw the first one in the early 1980's but just wasn't into it but gonna give the franchise another chance. They only made 4 excluding the 2006 remake so it shouldn't take too much time to watch them all. I was also thinking of watching all the Children of the corn movies but that's gonna take some time. Gotta love certain t.v. stations releasing certain horror movie collections during Halloween.


----------



## nightflameauto

The first two Hellraisers are some of the best horror movies ever made to my mind. Three and four were ROUGH after that start. Four has good parts in it, but it's EXTREMELY uneven. Five is middle-road, but watchable. I don't even know that I've tried six and on. I suppose at some point I should.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> The first two Hellraisers are some of the best horror movies ever made to my mind. Three and four were ROUGH after that start. Four has good parts in it, but it's EXTREMELY uneven. Five is middle-road, but watchable. I don't even know that I've tried six and on. I suppose at some point I should.


there is zero reason to watch beyond the first two imo.


----------



## CovertSovietBear

nightflameauto said:


> The first two Hellraisers are some of the best horror movies ever made to my mind. Three and four were ROUGH after that start. Four has good parts in it, but it's EXTREMELY uneven. Five is middle-road, but watchable. I don't even know that I've tried six and on. I suppose at some point I should.


That's a lot of ground to cover. I've never seen Hellraiser and I imagine I'll go through the same route I did with Saw. After watching the first one I kept going through the sequels until Saw 6? I think there are more but had to stop myself regardless even though the later films were kinda meh


----------



## bostjan

Re: Sopranos - excellent show. Loved the ending. People who don't get the ending need to go back and watch the show again. If you have the events of the last season clear in your mind, the finale makes perfect sense.

As for a Sopranos movie, we didn't need one, and even if we had needed one, the time to do one is long gone. Not only is The Sopranos an old show now, but the entire genre of the Italian Mob flick has dried up pretty much completely.



Louis Cypher said:


> Watched The Green Knight. Its a brilliant but slightly bizarre film though tbh I found it a real breath of non-hollywood blockbuster/superhero fresh air. Visually its an amazing film and Dev Patel as Gawain is excellent. Def worth seeing



I've read the Tolkein short story. It's pretty surreal for a medieval tale. I'm interested how that could ever translate to film.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> I see quite a few of the Hellraiser films are available on AMC+, so I'm watching those currently. I am not sure where I stopped off before a few years back, but I hope to get further along this time.



As much as I _love _Hellraiser, they are all tough films to watch. I think the first is the best, the second is equally cerebral, but kind of cheapened in a way or two, and then from the third on, they sort of lose whatever it was that made the first one so endearing.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

CovertSovietBear said:


> That's a lot of ground to cover. I've never seen Hellraiser and I imagine I'll go through the same route I did with Saw. After watching the first one I kept going through the sequels until Saw 6? I think there are more but had to stop myself regardless even though the later films were kinda meh


Saw is a completely different situation tbh. Most of the saw movies are good (1-3) to decent (4-7). Hellraiser is pretty much a shitshow after the 2nd one. And not even a fun shitshow like NOES, Friday the 13th or Leprechaun's later entries.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

bostjan said:


> As much as I _love _Hellraiser, they are all tough films to watch. I think the first is the best, the second is equally cerebral, but kind of cheapened in a way or two, and then from the third on, they sort of lose whatever it was that made the first one so endearing.


Well, I'm doing a horror movie challenge thing, and need to watch one in space. I figured I'd watch through the Hellraiser films to fulfill that requirement.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Anyone ever check out the Phantasm sequels? Any good?


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Well, I'm doing a horror movie challenge thing, and need to watch one in space. I figured I'd watch through the Hellraiser films to fulfill that requirement.


It's a tough call to say whether the Hellraiser in space or Jason in Space films are the worse choice to fulfill that requirement. At least the Jason in space movie was bad enough to be entertainingly stupid. I mean, it's not the Room by any means, but it can bring the savage comments in almost every scene.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> Anyone ever check out the Phantasm sequels? Any good?


If you love bat shit insanity, akin to a fever dream during a bad acid trip, then YES, they are quite good. I credit the Joe Bob Christmas special, wherein he showed 1, 3, 4, and 5, as the reason my girlfriend and I are together.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Burton's Sleepy Hollow. It's the movie i kick off my spoopy season film list with every year.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The last week I did a back to back re-viewing of Infernal Affairs and The Departed. Both great films but for different reasons. 

The original was a game changer and it still holds up great. Lean and tightly knit, no superfluous filler and keeps you at the edge of your seat. Some support characters are underdeveloped but they serve their role and any further screen time will just bloat the movie. Also another good example of Tony Leung Chiu Wai's acting with just facial emotions with little to no dialogue. I also like the ambiguity of the end and allows you to ponder on the fate of Andy Lau's character. 

The Departed is a good example of how to make a good remake. If anything, it's a retelling from a different cultural perspective. Replace Hong Kong with Boston, Triad with The Mon, Buddhist hell cycle trap with, Catholic guilt, silence with a ton of swearing etc. It's a lot more bloated, with extra character development (namely Jack Nicholson's character), but it works here. I didn't realise how much rapid cuts were incorporated from the original until this viewing, something that usually doesn't work but does well to keep the pace up. 

I still give Infernal Affairs the edge personally, but both movies are excellent essential viewing.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

After I watch Hellraiser all the way through (non Doug Bradley Pinhead does not count), I plan to watch through Children of the Corn.


----------



## bostjan

Seabeast2000 said:


> Anyone ever check out the Phantasm sequels? Any good?


I wouldn't say "good," but I'd say that they are very "interesting."

I'd say that the people making those films put just about as much passion into the sequels as they did into the originals.

One of my favourite franchises for sure, but I'm a weird dude, so take that with a pillar of salt.


----------



## Rosal76

Seabeast2000 said:


> Anyone ever check out the Phantasm sequels? Any good?



I absolutely love the Phantasm movies. If you are going to watch any of them, try and watch the first 2. Most dedicated Phantasm fans like myself would be perfectly fine if you watched the first 2 and stopped after that. One thing you must tell yourself when watching those movies is, they are weird movies. Not weird as you don't understand what's happening. Weird in it's execution and storytelling. Once you understand the style of the first movie and enjoy it, you may like the other 4 sequels.

Off topic, I saw this a few months ago at Best Buy. I was gonna buy it but didn't have the money at the time. May try to get it before the year it out.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> It's a tough call to say whether the Hellraiser in space or Jason in Space films are the worse choice to fulfill that requirement. At least the Jason in space movie was bad enough to be entertainingly stupid. I mean, it's not the Room by any means, but it can bring the savage comments in almost every scene.


leprechaun in space. Or just watch Event Horizon (which is basically hellraiser in space)


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> leprechaun in space. Or just watch Event Horizon (which is basically hellraiser in space)


Event Horizon is fantastic and I'll cut any bitch saying otherwise.

Sunshine's an interesting twist on that type of thing, but it gets so out there by the end it leaves you questioning what they were actually going for.


----------



## Seabeast2000

bostjan said:


> I wouldn't say "good," but I'd say that they are very "interesting."
> 
> I'd say that the people making those films put just about as much passion into the sequels as they did into the originals.
> 
> One of my favourite franchises for sure, but I'm a weird dude, so take that with a pillar of salt.



Thanks, I always dug the unique mix of, well, a lot of different themes of the original then realized there are 4 or 5 sequels going back to 1988.... wtf.
Also, the original Phantasm was anything but trope and formula, I think its execution outside-the-envelope is always the best quality of it.


----------



## Rosal76

Seabeast2000 said:


> Thanks, I always dug the unique mix of, well, a lot of different themes of the original then realized there are 4 or 5 sequels going back to 1988.... wtf.
> Also, the original Phantasm was anything but trope and formula, I think its execution outside-the-envelope is always the best quality of it.



I didn't realize you already saw the first one. As for it's sequels (2-5), they branch out with new locations and characters. In the first movie, it takes place pretty much in the same locations: Mike and Jody's house, the cemetery, and Morningside mortuary. In the sequels, Mike and Reggie pretty much travel around in pursuit of the Tall man. They come to new locations and meet new characters who help them in their fight. For me, I like it because it has a adventurous feel to it.

A little off topic but some may find interesting. The Morningside mortuary in the original Phantasm, which is the Dunsmuir mansion located in Oakland, California has been used in several other movies including the James Bond movie, A view to a kill (1985).

How the mansion appears in the original Phantasm.






How it appears in the horror movie, Burnt offerings (1976). I had no clue they filmed it there. When I watched the movie for the first time, I was like "man, that mansion look really familiar".


----------



## Seabeast2000

Alright, gonna hunt down the sequels and see what's up.


----------



## bostjan

Rosal76 said:


> I didn't realize you already saw the first one. As for it's sequels (2-5), they branch out with new locations and characters. In the first movie, it takes place pretty much in the same locations: Mike and Jody's house, the cemetery, and Morningside mortuary. In the sequels, Mike and Reggie pretty much travel around in pursuit of the Tall man. They come to new locations and meet new characters who help them in their fight. For me, I like it because it has a adventurous feel to it.
> 
> A little off topic but some may find interesting. The Morningside mortuary in the original Phantasm, which is the Dunsmuir mansion located in Oakland, California has been used in several other movies including the James Bond movie, A view to a kill (1985).
> 
> How the mansion appears in the original Phantasm.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> How it appears in the horror movie, Burnt offerings (1976). I had no clue they filmed it there. When I watched the movie for the first time, I was like "man, that mansion look really familiar".


The Psycho house was used in tons of shows and movies, including the Munsters and Knight Rider. The funniest part of this is that it's not even a whole house - or back then it wasn't. They only built the parts visible in the exterior shots. There's a house here in our little town that appeared in a few movies, which is weird, since film crews have to take an entire day to get out here to film their shots, and then an entire day to make it back to California. I'm sure there are millions of other houses they could use, but there's _something_ about this one in particular, I guess.


----------



## Rosal76

bostjan said:


> The Psycho house was used in tons of shows and movies, including the Munsters and Knight Rider.



Very, very cool to know. I loved watching Knight Riders back in the day. Had no idea the Psycho house appeared in one of the episodes. Cannot believe I missed that. Thanks for sharing that info.



bostjan said:


> There's a house here in our little town that appeared in a few movies,



One are the movies that the house appeared in?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> Event Horizon is fantastic and I'll cut any bitch saying otherwise.
> 
> Sunshine's an interesting twist on that type of thing, but it gets so out there by the end it leaves you questioning what they were actually going for.


 Sunshine is a neat movie. Definitely doesn't get mentioned enough imo.


----------



## bostjan

Rosal76 said:


> Very, very cool to know. I loved watching Knight Riders back in the day. Had no idea the Psycho house appeared in one of the episodes. Cannot believe I missed that. Thanks for sharing that info.
> 
> One are the movies that the house appeared in?



It was (one of) the Halloween episode(s).

The house in question - I'm not sure what it has been in recently. I know it was in Return to Salem's Lot, way back long before I lived here, but there are still film crews popping up outside of the house every few years to film it. The reason I am privy to that is because I drive by the house on the way to and from work. I usually check in the newspaper or ask around what movie is being filmed there, and I only vaguely remember once a guy at work knew about the movie they were making at the time, and he told me the name of the movie, and I even tracked down a trailer for it about a year later, but since forgot what it was. All I remember about the movie was that it was some sort of thriller but it didn't strike me as being particularly thrilling or memorable from the trailer, then I never saw the actual movie. Sorry that's not much help.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Seabeast2000 said:


> Alright, gonna hunt down the sequels and see what's up.



All of them are on Tubi.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

MFB said:


> Speak for yourself on that one


Oh god... You're on of _those_ people...


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Last night's Joe Bob special (Halloween Hoedown) was the absolute worst he's ever done. It was truly awful. 6 hours for two 90 minute films, with the remaining three hours taken up by David Gordon Green and Jason Blum. They had zero to do with the films being shown (well, David was apparently a fan of the first film, whatever that is worth), and they spent the majority of the time talking about fucking Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills. This was basically (most likely paid) product placement, as evidenced by the fact that a "Blumhouse Productions" pumpkin was seen in the majority of wide shots of Joe Bob.

David was marginally entertaining and relatable, I guess, but Jason is nothing but a grifter, and it is completely gross. He only discovered horror 17 years ago, when he realized he could make a name for himself putting out tons of garbage (occasional gems almost seem as if by accident). Joe Bob, if memory serves, tried to compare him to Roger fucking Corman, which I could not believe, and that was about the moment I couldn't give a fuck less about this thing. This was during Terror Train, which I absolutely love.

Apparently, DGG and Blum picked this films (which I doubt), and according to Joe Bob, he wanted them to debut Halloween Kills a week ahead of the theaters and Peacock. They apparently laughed about that for a good long while, then he brought up Halloween (2018), I believe, which they also laughed off, because basically, Shudder and AMC doesn't want to or can't spend the money. So basically, what we got, was a 3 hour long advertisement for some shitty, played out Halloween sequel, with the occasional annoyance (to them) of a fucking film.

If they do this again, I will be done with the series as a whole. At least when Joe Bob had Corman, Kaufman, etc. on The Last Drive-In, they were entertaining, loved the films, and so on. With Blum, he was just such a smarmy cunt, that I couldn't care less what he had to say. This was the only time where I had ZERO interest in the Joe Bob segments at all. Typically, even with a film I don't care for, the Joe Bob segments will at least bring some interesting tidbits up or whatever, but no. Joe Bob showed a film about a teenage prostitute killing a murderous would-be John, because his real name is John, and he got prostituted out by his pimp, Shudder.

0/4 stars. Spaced Out Ace says DON'T check it out.


----------



## thebeesknees22

I finally got around to watching Snyder's cut of Justice League. 

I liked it. I was..dare say I.... entertained. 

Imho....it's way better than the joss whedon one (which was really awful, and borderline unwatchable). 

I didn't expect to actually like it. Color (colour?) me surprised.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Its still comedy genius. My only gripe is the usual John Hughes "Little Rich Kid" with parental issues, but at least Cam is loveable and funny too so its always been a small gripe.
I still laugh out loud at this film


----------



## nightflameauto

I love Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I was super, SUPER pumped the first time I saw that commercial that I can't remember what it was for but it came across like a trailer for a new Ferris Bueller's Day Off with him skipping out on work. So bummed it ended up being a regular commercial.


----------



## possumkiller

I was looking on youtube for some Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom II documentary and stumbled across this. It was made contemporary during the time of the war and released the year before the fall of Saigon. I have no idea how I never heard of this film. It is really great if you are into the history of our wars and how fucked up they are. It is crazy how Iraq and Afghanistan were literally Vietnam sequels with the same script. 

This one really focuses on the self-righteous militarism as a religion that makes up so much of American culture. I look at the parades and the speeches at schools and remember my childhood being similar. Singing about fighting in god's army when I was a small child in Sunday school. Being divided into teams of us vs them in every facet of life from sports to math competitions. Boy scouts. ROTC. I used to watch every war movie and documentary I could get my hands on. I collected Desert Storm trading cards in elementary school. I was raised and trained to be a killer of the enemies of the American way of life. Somehow, when I finally got to Iraq for my chance to kill some towel-headed haji terrorists, I couldn't find the monsters I was supposed to be looking for and only found other humans. Then little by little, I began to find the reality I was raised and trained to believe in and defend did not actually exist and that I was used as a pawn to make rich people richer.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

I saw the new Bond last weekend. First half was great, some of the best Bond there is but the second half lost me. A bit to much spoon-feeding and felt like there was a lot of re-writes and edits but nice to be back in the cinema after nearly 20 months. Looking forward to seeing DUNE next.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Holy shit. Hellraiser: Inferno (I think that's the fifth one's subtitle) is horrendously bad. This would've been better as a 30-40 minute piece in a Hellraiser anthology film (at this point in the series, this might've been a better idea as opposed to several meh, direct to DVD releases, but alas). For fuck's sake, Pinhead makes a cameo towards the end of the film, it is some vague, half assed morality tale, and like I said, would've made a better 30-40 minute piece in an anthology film. 

I also started Hellraiser: Hellseeker last night, and Dimension brings back Ashley Laurence (mmm, Ashley Laurence), just to have her in the film sparingly. Apparently, they gave her just enough to put a down payment on a fridge. This, too, from what I saw before falling asleep, would've made a better piece in an anthology film. 

As for the new Bond film, I saw Phoebe Waller-Bridge was attached and noped the fuck out. The films have been vaguely disparaging towards the title character since the Brosnan era, and increasingly moreso with Craig. There are only 24 Bond films, and the next film will likely be worse. The rest is fan fic trash.


----------



## Rosal76

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I also started Hellraiser: Hellseeker last night, and Dimension brings back Ashley Laurence (mmm, Ashley Laurence), just to have her in the film sparingly.



I'm not gonna lie. I was looking forward to seeing actress, Kari Wuhrer (from Thinner) in Hellraiser: Deader (2005). I had no idea she was going to be in the movie until I saw her name in the credits when the film started. Opinions about that movie aside, the one good thing about the Hellraiser movies is that they absolutely do not discriminate on who and how they torture/kill people.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Rosal76 said:


> I'm not gonna lie. I was looking forward to seeing actress, Kari Wuhrer (from Thinner) in Hellraiser: Deader (2005). I had no idea she was going to be in the movie until I saw her name in the credits when the film started. Opinions about that movie aside, the one good thing about the Hellraiser movies is that they absolutely do not discriminate on who and how they torture/kill people.


Fair point.


----------



## manu80

Saw the James Bond too. Must admit that it ends the Craig saga on a good note. I looooved Casino Royale, which is one of the best Bond movie to me, at least in my Top 5.
Quantum was average, I hated Skyfall and Spectre ( I'm sure that Mendes directing adds to the hype, like a Tarantino movie etc...) that were boring, dull and uninteresting. The Blofeld revelation was just dumb as f...k
This one is (a bit long) cool to watch, great scenes, some balls for the screenplay, and Craig looks much more invested and not as bored as before. Nice directing too (wasn't expecting less from Fukunaga).
Gotta see Dune and the Last Duel now !!!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

No Time to Die: Definitely on par with Casino Royale for me. I rewatched all the Craig era films leading up to this one, and I enjoyed the journey Craig's Bond takes. This movie nails that visceral feeling that the action sequences in Casino Royale that I love (eg the staircase and bathroom fight scenes). The fight scenes are generally short and brutal, as befitting a guy as well trained as Bond is supposed to be. Fukunaga and his director of photography had some super creative shots like the mercenaries Australian rappelling down a building and the camera inverts with them and also reorients when they breach, as though it was a 1st person shot. There's a really sick staircase fight where it feels like one giant tracking sequence which was also excellent. There is some incredible set designs as well, though I can't really talk too much about them without giving stuff away. 




Spoiler



Story wise it's a bit long in the tooth and the actress that's playing the new 007 is relatively unpleasant at first, but she becomes tolerable by the end. The way they closed the loop with Seydoux's character, and fleshed out her story was really well done. Her relationship with Bond is really the crux of the film, and the way the dynamic unfolds makes the ending hit much harder.
Malek's character unfortunately kind of flops at the end. He feels too much like Silva did in Skyfall, where he's built up to be a cunning adversary, but at the end of all he's just a mutilated nut job.




Last Duel:
I think this is Ridley Scott's best work in years tbh. He took everything he learned on Robin Hood/Kingdom of Heaven, and applied it here.
The fight scenes are short, nasty and particularly brutal. I loved the choreography because they actually incorporated a lot of HEMA into the fight scenes. There was plenty of half handing blades, mordhau (using the crossguard as a pick/hammer), pommel strikes, and other stuff that tickles my martial arts nerd brain. Scott and his fight coordinators already dabbled in this with Robin Hood/Kingdom of Heaven, but they really doubled down on it here. It's some of the best HEMA fighting I've seen on screen in recent years. 
The music is very eerie, and sparsely orchestrated. There's a lot of use of siren type voices, and wolf howls throughout the film. Overall it sets a certain tone but it's not a particularly compelling score imo. 
The film has a very dark and dreary color palette with most everything feeling very desaturated and blue. Kind of like what he did with Robin Hood/Kingdom of Heaven. The sets/costumes/makeup fx makes everything/everyone feel grimy and beaten up, just like they did with Robin Hood/Kingdom of Heaven. It's especially apparent with Damon's character, whose body and armor bears a mass of scars from his life as a career soldier. 
Matt Damon doesn't even bother with an accent most of the film, which is hilarious to me. His mullet is strangely awesome in a "so bad it's good" way. 
Ben Affleck attempts some sort of poncy british accent, and Adam Driver vaguely does as well. The rest of the cast have a mishmash of very british accents, to vaguely french leaning. It's one of the most jarring things about the film for me. 

The whole multiple perspectives on an event has been in film before, but it's all a matter of execution. Scott doesn't dick around and has no problem editing the later perspectives for the sake of brevity. He gets straight to how their perspectives differ, then advances the overall story a ways. The thing I really enjoyed about the film, is how much the character's perception changes the scene. In one scene, Damon is the hero, in another, he's a prideful buffoon. In one scene Driver thinks he's in love and getting overt signals, in another he's just being manipulated. None of the characters are inherently reliable narrators, and that makes the movie more interesting imo. 


I'd say both films are worth a watch


----------



## Louis Cypher

Saw No Time to Die this evening and really enjoyed it, little shocked tbh but I'd def agree it's up there with Casino Royale for me and a really fitting closure to Daniel Craig as Bond. Few grips for me are already well known from reviews: Maleks villian is a weak one, similar to some of the other weaker villians across the whole franchise like Hugo Drax or Stromberg. Lashana Lynch's double 0 wasn't in it enough and was a bit wasted. Ana de Armas excellent Paloma character got more to do in her short appearance than Lynch did pretty much the whole film. But tbf this was a Craig/Bond farewell vehicle and as far as that goes it was great. His action/fight scenes where brutal and excellent same as Casinos were. Lot of fanboy nods to the past era's of Bond as well that are really good, not forced or contrived. Definitely a really fitting finale to the Craig era of James Bond.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Watched Halloween Kills. I personally enjoyed it.


----------



## wankerness

Watched Halloween Kills. It's pretty bad, but that still puts it above much of the series. HUGE step down from the last movie, though. I'd rank them something like this:

Great:

Halloween 1978

Good:
Halloween III (mainly for entertainment/wtf value, but I have watched it more than any other sequel)
Halloween 2018
Halloween 2 (2009)

Decent:
Halloween 4
Halloween II (1981)

Meh:
Halloween Kills
Halloween 2007

Horrible:
Halloween Resurrection
Halloween H20
Halloween 5
Halloween 6 (either version)

Disclaimer: I've only seen H20, Resurrection, and 2018 once each so I'm not totally sure on their placements.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Joe Bob is really showing himself to be a disingenuous corporate shill with this shit.




https://www.patreon.com/posts/halloween-kills-57581270

"But the reason I say the movie is ballsy is that this is the first _Halloween _movie—how many have there been? an even dozen?—in which Michael doesn’t die."

Seriously, what the fuck are you talking about Joe Bob? He doesn't die in 1, 5, 6, and HR. As in the film verifies before the credits roll that he is not dead. I get it, you got paid off and need to shill this shit, but can you at least use your brain while doing so? I KNOW he knows this, so this just annoys the shit out of me.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Good:
> Halloween 2 (2009)


Who is the killer in RZH2?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Dune (2021): So this is just part one of what I would assume is a trilogy, just for the first book. I don't really want to compare it to Lynch's version, but it's hard not to, considering how iconic some of the imagery is. Welp, Villeneuve's film blows it out of the water tbh. The camera work and the framing of shots is so masterful, at times it's almost painterly. Everything his camera team did well in Blade Runner 2049, they do even better here in terms of that. Zimmer's score is kind of like a mishmash of the wonder woman yodel shit with throat singing, bagpipes and lots of arabic influences to give a very alien feel to the score. Not one of his best, but he wasn't phoning it in like has been with some of his other recent scores. 
The fight scenes are chaotic and the implementation of the personal shields adds a very staccato feel to fights early on. I think Lynch's Dune did a better job of representing those fights tbh, though the scale here is undeniably larger and more impressive from a technical standpoint. 
The special effects are great, and they especially do a great job of conveying just the sheer scale of the shai hulud, the imperium space craft, and facilities within Arrakis. There's no weird floaty quality to the characters interacting with the CG like you get in some films *cough* Hobbit *cough*
In terms of the acting, Chalamet is solid, same with Ferguson. Skaarsgard is excellent. Momoa is very mediocre as Duncan Idaho (mostly because of his flat delivery). Isaac's Leto is great. Honestly the casting/direction was pretty damn good minus Momoa. 

It's a pretty neat movie if you're a fan of the dune books, but I wouldn't recommend watching it if you haven't read the book. There's some parts that would be pretty confusing and are poorly explained in the film if you don't have that prior knowledge tbh. 



Spoiler



The pacing is a little weird tbh. They make up and flesh out some parts of the story that aren't present in the book or Lynch's film, but in other parts are extremely faithful to the books. Some of the dialogue that they added is ok, but doesn't add much other than establishing certain characters a bit earlier. Gurney Halleck is extremely underutilized in the film, same with Kynes, Thufir, Rabban, Baron Harkonnen, and his mentat, which is a shame. Skarsgaard's Harkonnen is very imposing and menacing, and I'm sure he'll get much more screen time in the sequel. They tried really hard to set up the political stage early on, which lays the ground work the fall of the Atreides palace. It generally works well. They truncated a lot of the build up with Kynes, and Paul's first fight in the sietch. Idaho's death falls very flat due to his limited screentime.


----------



## nightflameauto

I will say about the new Dune that there are some odd-ball line-swaps between characters here or there that really hit me funny. The mentats barely exist in this first installment, which is an odd choice.

That said, I thought they did incredibly well with special effects. The shield fights were really cleverly played. The box for the hand test was . . . a little lackluster, but matched the book description well enough to fit. The ornithopter designs were spot on. The ship designs were pretty epic and very other-worldly, which fits. Can't complain much about any of the effects work. I'll probably have to watch it again to get it all set in my brain as I was a little under the influence by the end of it, but I'm fairly happy with it. It does have Hollywood syndrome a bit here or there, but good luck finding anything on this scale that doesn't. At least they didn't let it take over completely and scrap the entire DNA of the story just because they could.


----------



## thebeesknees22

I thought Dune was ok. (but i was never a fan of the original so take my opinion with a grain of salt)

People whisper too much... Like....damn.. "What's you say? huh? whaat? whaaat?" lol. I just zoned out after a while.

It was visually interesting though as is usually the case with Villeneuve movie. (but i though the sand fx in the Mandalorian was better...but maybe that's just me remembering it being better than it was. I need to go back and watch it again)

I do think this version of Dune is the best version yet of it, but the story of Dune itself just doesn't do much for me. I have a hard time getting into "the chosen one"/prophecy stories the older I get.


----------



## USMarine75

Best comedy-adjacent (dramedy?) movie I’ve seen in forever.


----------



## thebeesknees22

USMarine75 said:


> View attachment 99306
> 
> 
> Best comedy-adjacent (dramedy?) movie I’ve seen in forever.



awesome!

I was on that for just a bit ....but only for a few weeks to help out on like one small shot. I still got a crew gear coffee mug for it though lol

I still need to watch it....maybe I'll do that this weekend if I get time.


----------



## TedEH

I kinda want to see that one.... but mostly because it _looks like it should be bad_, but people keep saying it's good.


----------



## USMarine75

thebeesknees22 said:


> awesome!
> 
> I was on that for just a bit ....but only for a few weeks to help out on like one small shot. I still got a crew gear coffee mug for it though lol
> 
> I still need to watch it....maybe I'll do that this weekend if I get time.



Nice! So awesome. My wife would be jealous. I’m in the same boat I’m in the background on 6 Underground and I haven’t seen the whole movie yet either. (Wife thought it was so bad she made me turn it off )


----------



## thebeesknees22

@USMarine75 ha! that's awesome dude!


----------



## Seabeast2000

OK now tell me where you are @USMarine75


----------



## USMarine75

Seabeast2000 said:


> OK now tell me where you are @USMarine75



Oops my bad I’m on a rooftop of the Burj Al Arab. The Misfits is the movie where I’m at the casino. Sorry I just had surgery and I’m home on a lot of really good drugs right now.


----------



## philkilla

KnightBrolaire said:


> Dune (2021): So this is just part one of what I would assume is a trilogy, just for the first book. I don't really want to compare it to Lynch's version, but it's hard not to, considering how iconic some of the imagery is. Welp, Villeneuve's film blows it out of the water tbh. The camera work and the framing of shots is so masterful, at times it's almost painterly. Everything his camera team did well in Blade Runner 2049, they do even better here in terms of that. Zimmer's score is kind of like a mishmash of the wonder woman yodel shit with throat singing, bagpipes and lots of arabic influences to give a very alien feel to the score. Not one of his best, but he wasn't phoning it in like has been with some of his other recent scores.
> The fight scenes are chaotic and the implementation of the personal shields adds a very staccato feel to fights early on. I think Lynch's Dune did a better job of representing those fights tbh, though the scale here is undeniably larger and more impressive from a technical standpoint.
> The special effects are great, and they especially do a great job of conveying just the sheer scale of the shai hulud, the imperium space craft, and facilities within Arrakis. There's no weird floaty quality to the characters interacting with the CG like you get in some films *cough* Hobbit *cough*
> In terms of the acting, Chalamet is solid, same with Ferguson. Skaarsgard is excellent. Momoa is very mediocre as Duncan Idaho (mostly because of his flat delivery). Isaac's Leto is great. Honestly the casting/direction was pretty damn good minus Momoa.
> 
> It's a pretty neat movie if you're a fan of the dune books, but I wouldn't recommend watching it if you haven't read the book. There's some parts that would be pretty confusing and are poorly explained in the film if you don't have that prior knowledge tbh.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The pacing is a little weird tbh. They make up and flesh out some parts of the story that aren't present in the book or Lynch's film, but in other parts are extremely faithful to the books. Some of the dialogue that they added is ok, but doesn't add much other than establishing certain characters a bit earlier. Gurney Halleck is extremely underutilized in the film, same with Kynes, Thufir, Rabban, Baron Harkonnen, and his mentat, which is a shame. Skarsgaard's Harkonnen is very imposing and menacing, and I'm sure he'll get much more screen time in the sequel. They tried really hard to set up the political stage early on, which lays the ground work the fall of the Atreides palace. It generally works well. They truncated a lot of the build up with Kynes, and Paul's first fight in the sietch. Idaho's death falls very flat due to his limited screentime.



I'd never read the books or seen the original movies, but am a huge fan of Denis Villenvue's work. Everything you mentioned was awesome, and I loved every minute plus the handful of awesome actors.


Did you catch the Guthrie Govan credits?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

philkilla said:


> I'd never read the books or seen the original movies, but am a huge fan of Denis Villenvue's work. Everything you mentioned was awesome, and I loved every minute plus the handful of awesome actors.
> 
> 
> Did you catch the Guthrie Govan credits?


Nah i missed that. 
supposedly part 2 will be out 2023.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Robo Vampire - so insane and bad it should be remade into something just as insane and bad.


----------



## jaxadam

The Tomorrow War. Pretty good.


----------



## Seabeast2000

The Midnight After- subtitles aside, I have no idea what it was about.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Shang Chi and the legend of the Ten Rings

Late to the party since Melbourne was stuck in lockdown for 3 months. And going back to the theaters showed the rowdiness on some of the people here who haven't been in some time. I had the unfortunate time of sitting next to someone who despite being invested in the film, just decided to pull out their phone and put on youtube at full volume for about 5 seconds... which is an excruciatingly long time in a theatre. Disgraceful. 

Anyways, the movie was fine, in a good solid MCU flavour most people just casually expect nowadays. The Asian representation was something I knew I was going to watch no matter what. And it was mostly good. There were times where I felt at home and really connected with it (it felt like Simu Liu and Awkwafina were friends I've known forever), and while all the romanticised mystic spectacle of the entire second half is nice, I just wish they leaned into the more social side of the culture harder. If anything, Always Be My Maybe may still be the best film in that regard (better than Crazy Rich Asians). MCU has done better before with Black Panther and even topped that with Falcon And Winter Soldier (Isiah Bradley). I still had fun in a rollercoaster kind of way and the fight scenes were filmed as if you were part of them, I just wished Shang Chi had a larger cultural gravitas. Oh well, maybe it's my Asian side that is asking for that remaining percentage away from perfection. More for the inevitable sequel I guess.

I will say that Tony Leung Chiu Wai deserves every praise he's been getting, since he's by and large the best part of the entire movie.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Eternals

Yeah another post of mine for these roller coaster rides, it's catchup here. Though it doesn't help it's the second time the theater experience has been marred, now it's a bunch of kids running and jumping up and down during toilet breaks. 

I have tremendous respect for Chloe Zhao. Turning down Black Widow only to pitch a movie based on Jack Kirby's least popular Chariot Of The Gods fever dreams then the corp giving her a ton of money for her to do whatever she wants, back to back with her own passion project that won her 2 bloody Oscars this year... that's standing ovation applause. As for this film, it 'mostly' hits the mark for me, but I can see why it's the most divided of the blockbusters. 

And that's a good thing. 

MCU has been criticised largely by being above average, inoffensive and mostly safe. Eternals is the most unsafe property they've tackled since the first Thor movie. It's also a movie you can tell that it's truly spoken sincerely from the director, for good or ill. The closest MCU has done to an pretentious arthouse drama. Basically The Tree Of Life with costumes and CGI fights. 

It's not for everyone. A lot less banter and quips, or even nods and references to other MCU movies, so a lot less colourful acting with some exceptions, and definitely extremely slower paced. It's also a lot less saturated harking more to the Snyder DCEU aesthetic. But it's well filmed, most on location, and the third act has a lot of emotional weight to it for those who didn't doze off midway through. 

Eternals is clearly Zhao's baby so it does demand more patience like her other films.


----------



## manu80

Just watched some few movies.

Halloween kills: So nothing new here in this chapter. Doesn't add anything to the legacy except killcounter is growing. So what ?

Red notice on Netflix.
Damn.... 200M budget and no exotic locations for real ? green screen and ugly SFX for every location ...ugly. And Ryan Reynolds should stop playing Deadpool in every movies he's in.....Boring

Saw Dune too. Wow?Very nice movie. I often think that Villeneuve is on the same frequency than Nolan. Looking forward for the sequel

Now I'm waiting for Ghostbusters


----------



## BMFan30

I saw Leatherface recently. A film about events predating The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 
I enjoyed it much.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Eternals= ok. maybe a rent/stream if you're super bored. Definitely not a must watch in my book. 
The camerawork and some of the framing shot are fantastic. The overall art design is equally lush and nice to look at. The fight scenes are surprisingly brutal in spots (like dismemberment/ alien heads exploding) and quite well done, though they feel very floaty compared to Shang Chi or Venom. The scale of celestials is absolutely massive, and they do a great job of showcasing that. Where I disliked the film is pacing (which is all over the place) and the stilted dialogue/flat acting at times. There are some good performances, such as Angelina Jolie's portrayal of a 7000 year old space warrior with space dementia , or Gemma Chan's arc as a space wizard trapped in a love triangle/hero arc, or parts of Richard Madden's portrayal later in the film (I can't really talk about it due to spoilers). Kumail Nanjiani brings some much needed humor to a thematically heavy handed film. Most of the other actors were pretty flat/stilted. Even Madden had moments where he was very flat. 
Unfortunately the whole aloof extraterrestrial god shit doesn't play out well, and it's equally as uninteresting when they try to make it seem like they actually care about humanity as a whole. That being said, it is setting up some very interesting stuff. I'm very interested to see where it goes from here.


----------



## nightflameauto

manu80 said:


> Red notice on Netflix.
> Damn.... 200M budget and no exotic locations for real ? green screen and ugly SFX for every location ...ugly. And Ryan Reynolds should stop playing Deadpool in every movies he's in.....Boring


Have you ever had a nemesis before? Because you're setting yourself up to get a nemesis.

Truth of the matter is, the line between Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds is so thin to begin with that half the time the only difference when he's doing real interviews is he doesn't wear the costume. The other half he's in the costume.

And I want him to do everything as Deadpool. If he retires and starts a business, I want him walking around in that business in the suit wise-cracking and fourth-walling god all day long.


----------



## manu80

Ah ah  Hi Nemesis !
Well it’s just that hearing punchlines every 2 sec is fine but after 20mn, well....it brings fun but i’d rather hear him with real dialogue sometimes. Like in Safe house 
First Deadpool was really really good. Brought some fun and trash in super hero world. But the second pushed that too far ( cable was good, still) and hearing him do that all the time is a bit boring to me now
But seems like that's how he likes to act, he was already like that in Blade 3....

We can be friend you know, it’s not too late


----------



## r33per

Harriet.

It was OK. An interesting story, but for the weight of the subject matter it somehow lacked depth. Performances were OK, but not really memorable. Shame, really.


----------



## nightflameauto

manu80 said:


> Ah ah  Hi Nemesis !
> Well it’s just that hearing punchlines every 2 sec is fine but after 20mn, well....it brings fun but i’d rather hear him with real dialogue sometimes. Like in Safe house
> First Deadpool was really really good. Brought some fun and trash in super hero world. But the second pushed that too far ( cable was good, still) and hearing him do that all the time is a bit boring to me now
> But seems like that's how he likes to act, he was already like that in Blade 3....
> 
> We can be friend you know, it’s not too late


I offer this olive branch: If you want to see non-Deadpool Reynolds, try "The Voices."

Warning: it's fucked up beyond all belief, but also has some of my favorite actors and actresses playing various parts to move the plot along. Truly an underrated / unheard of gem.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> I offer this olive branch: If you want to see non-Deadpool Reynolds, try "The Voices."
> 
> Warning: it's fucked up beyond all belief, but also has some of my favorite actors and actresses playing various parts to move the plot along. Truly an underrated / unheard of gem.


the Voices is sooo good. 
I'd also recommend Buried. Very taut, claustrophobic horror film with him in it.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> the Voices is sooo good.
> I'd also recommend Buried. Very taut, claustrophobic horror film with him in it.



Yeah, Buried is great but it's obviously one that you might not be able to sit through. Let's not forget the OG non-Ryan Reynolds performance of his career: the '05 Amityville Horror. Dude is a straight up monster in it, and it's those performances that make me wish he'd do more of them.


----------



## manu80

Oh right ! Amityville was really good too.


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> the Voices is sooo good.
> I'd also recommend Buried. Very taut, claustrophobic horror film with him in it.


I love Buried. Not a rewatch frequently type film, but so very well done.

I'd forgotten about Amityville.


----------



## Drew

nightflameauto said:


> Have you ever had a nemesis before? Because you're setting yourself up to get a nemesis.
> 
> Truth of the matter is, the line between Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds is so thin to begin with that half the time the only difference when he's doing real interviews is he doesn't wear the costume. The other half he's in the costume.
> 
> And I want him to do everything as Deadpool. If he retires and starts a business, I want him walking around in that business in the suit wise-cracking and fourth-walling god all day long.





manu80 said:


> Ah ah  Hi Nemesis !
> Well it’s just that hearing punchlines every 2 sec is fine but after 20mn, well....it brings fun but i’d rather hear him with real dialogue sometimes. Like in Safe house
> First Deadpool was really really good. Brought some fun and trash in super hero world. But the second pushed that too far ( cable was good, still) and hearing him do that all the time is a bit boring to me now
> But seems like that's how he likes to act, he was already like that in Blade 3....
> 
> We can be friend you know, it’s not too late




We watched the first half of it, maybe just over the first hour, last night (they're currently under the bull ring). We were both dead tired so we shelved the rest for tonight. So, this is a VERY incomplete review, but not for nothing, this is probably one of the few times we've ever said "well, let's start this, and we can shut it off after an hour" where we did actually follow through. For perspective, we did the same thing with Dune last week, and neither of us made any effort at all to stop - that movie was awesome. 

It's a fun movie. It's been very enjoyable to watch.

Barring some amazing plot twist, it's on track to be the sort of movie that no one's going to look back on as anything more than a fun way to kill an hour and a half. My one sentence review is the directors blew their entire budget on Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot, and didn't have much left over for supporting actors, writers, or on-location filming. The Rock's reasons for being along on this whole escapade are probably the hardest thing to understand, I guess, but there's a lot of this that don't make sense if you stop and think about it, so you have to just go with it.

It's a lot like Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool in everything, really - total guilty pleasure material, it's fun in the moment, but if you stop and think about it then you realize it makes no sense at all and you really wish he'd vary it up about it. If you can stop thinking, it's a lot of fun though.


----------



## Drew

Update, so there was a bit of a twist, not enough to salvage this being anything more than a kind of fun movie. I still think most of the budget here went to hiring their leading trilogy.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Apparently, people didn't know Ryan Reynolds' brand of comedy before Deadpool like Van Wilder or Waiting, because if you did, you'd realize that he was essentially Deadpool before actually being in a movie about him.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

TheBlackBard said:


> Apparently, people didn't know Ryan Reynolds' brand of comedy before Deadpool like Van Wilder or Waiting, because if you did, you'd realize that he was essentially Deadpool before actually being in a movie about him.


You forgot Just Friends, which is one of his most underrated comedies imo. Also a good xmas flick


----------



## TheBlackBard

KnightBrolaire said:


> You forgot Just Friends, which is one of his most underrated comedies imo. Also a good xmas flick



I didn't forget so much as just bring up the two that come to mind, but Just Friends is pretty damn hilarious. My wife and I love that movie.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Watched The Harder They Fall on Netflix. Poss the best film I have seen all year. Not a fan of Westerns outside of the Dollars trilogy tbh, but this is the uber cool Tarantino style Western that Tarantino wishes he could make. Its a cool as fcuk film really harking back to the early Tarantino films, from too cool for school characters to brilliant use of music. All the acting is spot on from pretty much everyone, but Idris Elba as Rufus Buck is next level, for once a real genuine villian that everytime he is on screen you have no idea what he is gonna do next he is that ruthless and cold, in comparison to someone like DiCaprio's villian in Django where there was a comedy ridiculousness to him, Elba's Buck is a 100% stone cold bad guy which seems to be so rare these days in films. The action/gun fights are brilliant too, the final stand off/gunfight is worth the wait. I honestly cannot say enough good stuff about it.


----------



## thebeesknees22

I finally got around to watching No Time to Die.

I'm not a fan a the Daniel Craig Bond, but this one was good. Definitely better than the last ones.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Wil be watching a good Rifftrax tomorrow as is tradition. Probably Samurai Cop Live or the original Space Mutiny. Miami Connection as a backup.


----------



## nightflameauto

Seabeast2000 said:


> Wil be watching a good Rifftrax tomorrow as is tradition. Probably Samurai Cop Live or the original Space Mutiny. Miami Connection as a backup.


I have a copy of Space Mutiny on VHS. That movie is so filled to the brim with stupid and disconnected plots I have no idea how it ever got the green light. I don't even need the Rifftrax. I just make up my own.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

Well now... this is by and far the most confusing movie in a lot of ways out of the series, and possibly of all time. What I don't understand is how the hell someone finds the perfect juxtaposition between getting so much right, yet so much wrong. And I'm not talking about the dipshits who literally let one scene out of a movie ruin the whole experience for them and watch the stupid fickle motherfuckers let a "woman power" scene in a comic movie, which is already unbelievable to begin with take it from a 10 to a 5. I'm talking about, "let's fuck this up, but then give them a shit load of references and fan service to try and make up for it" and the way that it happens could make one believe that they were doing it that way on purpose.

First and foremost, if you are a fan of Leon Kennedy, you will be disappointed in how he's presented and possibly the rest of the characters. I'm not talking about the color of his skin, I'm not talking about his hair, I'm talking about how they took a promising character from the series that many cite as their favorite character and present him as a clueless twenty something with the uncertainty of a modern teenager. Some of what goes on will have fans saying, "hey I got that reference" while other things such as traits of characters in the game have seemingly been given to other characters. If you know the games, specifically the first two, you're going to know exactly what I'm talking about, especially if you know Jill and Claire like the back of your hand.

The first mistake I think they made was trying to fit two games into one movie, but even accounting for that, some character assassinations just do not make sense, neither do certain plotlines and the goddamn dialogue. If your aspiration is to become a movie critic along the lines of the YT channel Cinemasins, this movie will make you feel like an expert at on a whim smartass remarks, yet pointing out perfectly fair criticisms. This movie is going to hinge on one thing for anybody who sees it with the expectation of it being closer to the source material: are easy references (from the games that a fan would remember no problem) enough to save the rest of the movie? For me, this is the only movie I have openly mocked in a theater in my 32 years of living, and I was not alone in my outspoken criticisms.

The dialogue. If you thought it was bad from the games, this movie has outdone even that. I will not say exactly what situation this gem is from but, there is a scene where one character is telling another that he has never been in a certain room before. Thing is, HE JUST GOT TO THAT LOCATION A FEW HOURS PRIOR! He's making it seem like he'd been there for years and years, yet never bothered opening that room.

For what it's worth, I don't blame any of the actors/actresses. I think they did fine for what they were given, and in another world where someone aspires to finally do this series justice, I could easily see any of them becoming the part they were meant to play. I had a few laughs, I even silently cheered at some iconic moments from the games being shown, and some of the locations being accurately depicted but I can't just ignore the shit that comes between these moments, which seem to be right after they fuck something up. Other minor annoyances such as showing the time repeatedly, because there is an element of time running out. Sometimes they'd show the time between an hour, sometimes, only minutes in the movie had passed.

What upsets me beyond the laughter is the fact that with everything that was done right, so much was done wrong and had they just buckled down and do something more faithful, this had so much potential. In terms of staying close to source material from the first two games, it does it in ways that matter less than the times they strayed away, and that's my personal opinion. It's really hard to put this necessarily above the 2002 and 2004 movies, because with those, yes they strayed, but what they gave us was executed much better. For what it's worth, this movie is much more horror oriented than the previous installments and that's something I have to give it credit for. It's more on the nose and it feels outdated because we've seen arguably much more graphic on the big screen, but that's no fault of the movie itself, just us as a society having seen "everything." The biggest question I had when I got done watching it: Would this have been better a B-movie if the source material hadn't existed, or is this better knowing it pays a certain amount of homage, but ultimately shits on the source material it's from? I still don't have an answer 24 hours later.

The Good: An actual horror Resident Evil movie, familiar references, iconic scenes, and locations will perhaps make fans somewhat happy.

The Bad: Terrible dialogue, tropey plotlines deviating from the source material, feels rushed due to the nature of being based on the first two games.

The Ugly: Character assassination in the worst ways including giving traits to different characters, presenting characters completely different to where they are unrecognizable without knowing their names.


5.5/10


----------



## nightflameauto

Nothing to Lose.

This was a movie that, twenty-two years ago, my wife and I watched together on our second date. That was her pick, mine was Men in Black. LOL. How romantic we were.

Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins buddy movie, basically, but with a big twist. It starts with Tim's character, Nick, thinking he caught his wife doinking his boss, after the boss goes out of his way to ruin his plan to get home for date night with his wife.

Setup clear?

Martin Lawrence's character, Terrence/T. jumps in his car and tries to get him to hand over his money. "Boy did you pick the wrong guy on the wrong day."

Oh my god. So much hilarity. The one liners are fast and furious. And the action sequences are hilarious too.

If you want stupid comedy, it's tough to beat this one.


----------



## mongey

Finished our marvel Marathon. Apart from the new one which we will watch this weekend. 

enjoyed it overall. There were a few turds in there though. Looking at you age of ultron


----------



## manu80

Went to see Ghostbusters afterlife yesterday.
Man I'm getting old and this movie reminded it to me all way long ! 
Long story short I guess the Star wars approach has helped to greenlight that movie. It's kinda the same way, but with more soul (to me)
Such a pleasure to hear proton pack noises and Ecto 1 roaring on the big screen!!!!!!
The story is directly linked to the 1st movie, it could even be called a rehash story in a way but you gotta keep old fans in and bring new ones.... 
Some clichés here and there, but the end is really touching, I cracked some smiles and a tear or two. Glad to see a new one on the big screen anyways. The previous one was well made technically , but the 4 girls were really annoying and the story was meh....
Now let's wait for Top gun 2


----------



## manu80

Totally agree about "The harderthey fall" too...Cool western, very Tarantino-like, less boring and shorter !!!!
Idris Elba is great as usual, the rest of the cast works well too. I'like to see more Blackpoitation-like movies. they got that cool vibe... Still, some stuff bother me here and there but that's another (long and complicated) debate. But cool flick anyways


----------



## nightflameauto

Red Notice
Movie wise, I know it ain't all that, but I could listen to Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds banter back and forth all freakin' day and be perfectly happy. The one liners and back and forth exchanges of sarcasm as a fetish were way over the top in all the best ways. Which is about all I expected from it, so I came away satisfied.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Some friends thought it'd be funny to watch shitty christmas movies and do rifftrax type commentary over them. Surprisingly LoveHard and Holidate (the two movies they picked) were legit funny and well done. I usually detest holiday romcoms (besides Just Friends) but these were great. Holidate has some really great gags like aping the final dance in Dirty Dancing, but the chick's top falls down and her partner drops her, some ridiculous scenes involving a detached finger, and Kristin Chenoweth stealing every scene she's in as a slutty cougar. LoveHard is more cutesy funny, but it has some good gags, like one involving dick pics, but it's pics of Andy Dick/Richard Nixon, etc.

Of course now we have to pick some truly awful hallmark shit for the next round lol


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Spiderman: No Way Home

The shared custody between Marvel and Sony getting more and more terrifying. Disney have weaponised the "no spoiler" culture and Sony's marketing dept have gone above and beyond with every trailer more relentless than ever. Considering that even Spiderman scratching his bum has to involve 9 teams of lawyers. 

And it worked. Certainly more obvious when the theatre I saw the movie was packed to the rafters. 'So much for social distancing' one quiped. Couldn't help myself either since I quiped 'Sony's marketing campaign really helped'. Though trying to rush in to your seats even when you know you've already booked it was silly. Even the staff had to remind the punters that it's like booking a plane... you've already got your seat. Then again, after 2 years of a pandemic and no flights (and in Melbourne's case, 6 lockdowns), most of us haven't felt that experience. So a full packed and rowdy theatre it was. I will say it was a better experience than what I had with Wonder Woman where my seat sucked, or Avengers Endgame where a family front row of me didn't realise they were in the wrong theatre and killed the first 5 minutes of the movie as they were booed as they exited. 

But it was one of the better signs of the theatres coming back to normal. And the rowdy crowd I'll admit added some positive vibes. Normally when I watch these kind of roller coaster movies I go for a late and less populated screening, since I don't see the appeal to a crowd cheering to a pre-recorded theatre performance (doesn't happen often in AU). But as stated, it's a Spiderman movie overhyped by marketing. It was bound to happen. 

Paul Thomas Anderson recently said how much he loved the Marvel machine and that Spiderman No Way Home will save the theatres. It's nice and refreshing hearing that since most of the prestigious 'New Hollywood' directors will throw shade at the genre (whilst trying to promote their own movie). And slyly I also found out that PTS also has a movie coming out: Licorice Pizza. I'll have to check it out. 



Spoiler



As for the movie... I had fun. Were you expecting a spoiler?


----------



## MFB

Spiderman: NWH

Reminds me of why I love Spider-man as a hero, but I do have some minor gripes with it.


----------



## thebeesknees22

The Matrix 4. 

...My God... Just..... that was awful. Beyond terrible.

The story is a mess. It was shot like a college project. They definitely went cheap on the vfx so it wasn't even interesting to look at. 

I don't think they even tried to flush out a real cohesive story. Chalk this up to a shameless money grab.


----------



## MFB

thebeesknees22 said:


> The Matrix 4.
> 
> ...My God... Just..... that was awful. Beyond terrible.
> 
> The story is a mess. It was shot like a college project. They definitely went cheap on the vfx so it wasn't even interesting to look at.
> 
> I don't think they even tried to flush out a real cohesive story. Chalk this up to a shameless money grab.



The beginning was so heavy handed, then I fell asleep for an hour because I've been stressed working before the holidays.

I'm rewatching the OG Matrix and this shit still holds up, shame the new one is in line with the sequels


----------



## TedEH

This is one one of those cases where I'm 100% going to wait and see for myself, taking any review with a grain of salt. Or maybe a lot of salt. Then again, I didn't hate the sequels, and I didn't hate the modern Star Wars movies, sooooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But also, avoiding reviews might be tough, since there's nowhere to watch the movie legally in Canada, that I'm aware of, without going to an actual theatre, and I've no interest in doing that right now.


----------



## TheBlackBard

TedEH said:


> This is one one of those cases where I'm 100% going to wait and see for myself, taking any review with a grain of salt. Or maybe a lot of salt. Then again, I didn't hate the sequels, and I didn't hate the modern Star Wars movies, sooooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> But also, avoiding reviews might be tough, since there's nowhere to watch the movie legally in Canada, that I'm aware of, without going to an actual theatre, and I've no interest in doing that right now.



Does Canada not have HBO Max?


----------



## thebeesknees22

TedEH said:


> This is one one of those cases where I'm 100% going to wait and see for myself, taking any review with a grain of salt. Or maybe a lot of salt. Then again, I didn't hate the sequels, and I didn't hate the modern Star Wars movies, sooooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> But also, avoiding reviews might be tough, since there's nowhere to watch the movie legally in Canada, that I'm aware of, without going to an actual theatre, and I've no interest in doing that right now.




I too didn't hate the previous sequels. I found them ok enough. 

I won't say anything to spoil it. Just check it out.


----------



## TedEH

TheBlackBard said:


> Does Canada not have HBO Max?


Nope. I think it used to be part of crave....? But as I understand it, it's VPN or nothing. And I don't want the hassle of signing up for a VPN and another service just to watch one movie.


----------



## Rev2010

Just watched "Don't look up" on Netflix. Very much enjoyed it. While it's satirical I didn't find it "funny" really cause society has really gotten that fucking dumb that it's more scary IMO that were already living in such a time. If you watch it keep going while the credits are rolling as there's more to it.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Taking an intermission through my first pass at Dune....reciting aloud To Tame A Land without thinking about it.


----------



## TedEH

I'm using the excuse of the new Matrix movie to go through all the old ones while I decide whether or not I want to brave a theatre. I've always thought of these as pretty classic. Nothing changing on the re-watch.


----------



## CanserDYI

TedEH said:


> I'm using the excuse of the new Matrix movie to go through all the old ones while I decide whether or not I want to brave a theatre. I've always thought of these as pretty classic. Nothing changing on the re-watch.


Isn't it on HBO Max or whatever? Might be able to watch it from your toilet, if you so wish.


----------



## TedEH

There's no HBO Max in Canada as far as I'm aware. I think this has been gone over in another thread somewhere already. Options are fiddle with VPNs and junk or go to an actual theatre. I'm hoping maybe I can get away with picking a time everyone's back to work, maybe I can get an empty theatre to myself.


----------



## CanserDYI

TedEH said:


> There's no HBO Max in Canada as far as I'm aware. I think this has been gone over in another thread somewhere already. Options are fiddle with VPNs and junk or go to an actual theatre. I'm hoping maybe I can get away with picking a time everyone's back to work, maybe I can get an empty theatre to myself.


Dude that sucks lol had no idea you guys didn't get services like that. I live like a football toss from Canada, that's so weird to me.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Alright..Dune. Well done, great movie, well-paced. Glad they chopped it into to two longer movies vs. one shortened. 
I will watch again for sure, the only thing that stuck out was Javier's Stilgar. Not sure that was a good casting choice. Everyone else seemed to PLAY their part, but he sort of Anton'd Chigurd'd his way through it without the benefit of a Coen Bros direction or screen play. Maybe he will grow more in the 2nd half. I don't know.


----------



## nightflameauto

The new Matrix movie? I've tried watching it twice and fell asleep. And I'm somebody that NEVER falls asleep during movies unless I'm blackout drunk.

The beginning is like playing whack-a-mole with shit from the first three movies and the previous video games. Then they do the stupid flirty scene between "not" Neo and "not" Trinity and then my brain goes, "what else can we think about?" Next thing I know my wife's waking me up to go to bed.

I can't legit say I like or dislike it because it can't hold my interest long enough for me keep watching it. Maybe I'll find a bunch of stimulants and try again someday in the future.


----------



## manu80

Went to see Spiderman. While I'm glad that they went full fan-service for this one (it's funny in some parts with the road they took but the humor fall flat very often), I can't help being disappointed by the full-on VFX mode, it's even ugly when you see the actors head feel like they're plugged on digital bodies
Also I hope the next movies will show us a more mature Parker because after 3 movies and some presence in other Avengers movies, they still really make him look like a dumb brainless kid. He's light hearted and fun in the comics but not that stupid....
As for Matrix, i choose the download pill. we'll see.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

manu80 said:


> Went to see Spiderman. While I'm glad that they went full fan-service for this one (it's funny in some parts with the road they took but the humor fall flat very often), I can't help being disappointed by the full-on VFX mode, it's even ugly when you see the actors head feel like they're plugged on digital bodies
> Also I hope the next movies will show us a more mature Parker because after 3 movies and some presence in other Avengers movies, they still really make him look like a dumb brainless kid. He's light hearted and fun in the comics but not that stupid....
> As for Matrix, i choose the download pill. we'll see.


Isn’t Parker supposed to be relatively bright in the comics?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Matrix Resurrections was fucking awful. It was extremely on the nose with the metacommentary (moreso than the first two films, which i watched right beforehand). The story meandered aimlessly, there were exposition dumps everywhere and the action was more chaotic and harder to follow visually. 
I want those 2.5 hrs of my life back.


----------



## CanserDYI

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Isn’t Parker supposed to be relatively bright in the comics?


He's a LITERAL GENIUS in the comics lol.


----------



## manu80

He got that sense of humor , sometimes childish but he’s not that dumb as in the movies. They make him like a dreamer but after the mysterio chapter, doesnt seem he got it
My favorite period was the Mcfarlane run and he even if he was more adult in it he didnt lose his punchlines in it….worked fine


----------



## MFB

You forget that in the movies, he's being played as a character who's a senior in HS, I can attest that I was dumb as fuck and even some of the smartest people I knew had moments where it meant jack shit after that one dumb idea they just had - which is what the past two Spiderman films have been.

I think now with the ending to NWH and that trilogy, he's going to be moving towards the more traditional comic sense and we won't get as much in-your-face/love-it-or-leave-it humor. He's seen what happens when you don't think, and now has to be cognizant of just how far it can go.


----------



## USMarine75

The Beatles - Get Back. 

It’s surreal.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I paid for a month of HBO to watch Tenet because I had just finished The Primer after being disappointed by Chris Pratt and was on a time travel kick. "It can't be worse than The Tomorrow War," I cautiously hoped.

At the end of it, I wished someone would have come back from the future and told me not to waste my fucking time. It would've been totally "okay" as an action flick, but the poorly-thought-out "time travel" was incredibly distracting with how inconsistently it was applied. The backwards driving car was the specific point at which I realized I was putting more brain power into this movie than the writers had, and from there I shut my brain off and just started marveling at the sheer badness.

It's really too bad because the lead guy's acting was fine and I actually enjoyed his character as far as 2D action guys go. This movie had a lot of potential but after about an hour I had the distinct sensation that I was paying money to drink Christopher Nolan's pee.


----------



## manu80

yeah, I think Nolan went too far in his delirium this time.
Inception and Interstellar were great and understandable (but interstellar raises some question marks sometimes...) but he went too far in this one. It still well shot, even if it stays "cold" on some areas (relations between characters etc...as always) but after one hour, yeah , my brain pulled the plug !!!! Some good moments though. I even thought I got it more at the first time than the second when I watched it with my wife !!!!
I was more disapoointed technically with Dunkirk.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

manu80 said:


> yeah, I think Nolan went too far in his delirium this time.
> Inception and Interstellar were great and understandable (but interstellar raises some question marks sometimes...) but he went too far in this one. It still well shot, even if it stays "cold" on some areas (relations between characters etc...as always) but after one hour, yeah , my brain pulled the plug !!!! Some good moments though. I even thought I got it more at the first time than the second when I watched it with my wife !!!!
> I was more disapoointed technically with Dunkirk.



I never saw Dunkirk, I'll take that as a warning and leave you with my thanks.

It almost defies belief that he did Intersellar and Inception too, those were so well thought out compared to this. Oh well. Some days you get Master of Puppets, some days you get St Anger.


----------



## manu80

Well Dunkirk is good storywise, always that Time Factor that obsesses him (but it's easy to follow here), it's just that for a guy like Nolan, who is very precise in his movies, there are a lot of incoherences, things that should have been CGI erased etc...and it's not like you need to freeze every frame to watch what happens in the back, it's just plain obvious so I was a bit disappointed about those details.
But it's a good movie to watch, don't get me wrong, just technically it could habe been way better 
Nolan and Villeneuve are made of the same wood to me. Great cinematographers, just a bit clinic sometimes, but visionnaires.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

manu80 said:


> Well Dunkirk is good storywise, always that Time Factor that obsesses him (but it's easy to follow here), it's just that for a guy like Nolan, who is very precise in his movies, there are a lot of incoherences, things that should have been CGI erased etc...and it's not like you need to freeze every frame to watch what happens in the back, it's just plain obvious so I was a bit disappointed about those details.
> But it's a good movie to watch, don't get me wrong, just technically it could habe been way better
> Nolan and Villeneuve are made of the same wood to me. Great cinematographers, just a bit clinic sometimes, but visionnaires.



I also just learned that Villeneuve did Arrival, which is also surprising because I thought that movie was really bad and I've loved the other titles I see his name on. Then again, I went to school for linguistics so I may have had unfair expectations regarding the translation plot device. The plot felt really thrown together to me though, for how beautiful the film was.


----------



## manu80

Just watched Matrix 4....it's....well...what can I say...it's...mmmmm...well....
2 hrs wasted i guess. Big mess. The matrix is in the matrix but not totally but a bit of both but maybe not....wtf ?
Carrie Ann Moss is still beautiful


----------



## manu80

Went to see Kingsman, 1st mission. Loved the take on the WW1, with famous figures used here and there. Ralph Fiennes is awesome in it, still, the whole movie lacks pace. Some scenes are great (war field especially) some are too long and what's fun becomes boring after 3mn as it become repetitive or vulgar for no reason (rasputin's fight for ex...). Same as in the 2 and a bit in the first (head explosions....1..2...3 yeah we got it thx! ). The first was a really cool movie, lots of great ideas, etc... but it seems like the movie ain't performig well...too bad, there are still some stuff to do with it (stay after the credits). Cool watch though


----------



## Kaura

Pretending I'm A Superman (THPS documentary)

Finally, fucking finally it's available here in Finland after two years the initial release. Well worth the wait. Seemed to concentrate more on the skate culture rather than the game but it kinda made sense especially with all the videos on Youtube getting more into the actual game and how it got into making.


----------



## Steo

Watched For the sake if vicious, on Shudder. Good, short, super violent, tense home invasion/revenge film. Worth a watch


----------



## WarMachine

Binge watched 4 back to back on Kodi Friday night. 

Antlers....
Been wanting to see it for a bit. Fucking awful movie.

Resident Evil WTRC
Actually this didn't turn out nearly as bad as I imagined it was going to. But then again I went at it with low expectations. Still. Cannot. Fucking. Understand.Why....they decided to pick a cast that looks like literally NO ONE from the series, besides MAYBE Chris. Wow..

Matrix Resurrections
It's already been said several times here. WTF were they thinking?? Fuck awful movie...

James Bond No Time To Die
By FAR the best of this list. I'm a Bond fanboy anyways but I really liked this one.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

_Joe
_
2013 indie flick starring Nicholas Cage, once again proving why he is such a phenomenal actor in some roles. The whole film and its premise (from the source book) are super stripped down and simple, but really dark. The film makes you think about the culturally removed, backwoods folks who exist in rural areas on the furthest fringes of society. You never think about them, but you know that they exist.

Definitely worth a watch if you’ve got HBO.


----------



## jaguar78

Free guy is a halfway decent movie. This film gets all sci-fi philosophical-existential and I didn't see it coming.


----------



## manu80

Well. Watched Cruella this week end. And I liked it a lot. Very Punk Rock smart screenplay, good performance (Emma Stone and Emma Thompson are awesome).
Saw the Eternals also. By far one of the best recent Marvel movie to me.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Had a few days off work so I watched a few movies for the first time in a while.

Fury
Takers
Underworld: Blood Wars
Swamp Zombies 2
War of the Worlds: Annihilation 
30 Days of Night
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Swordfish
Drive

There's probably a couple others I'm forgetting since I just left Tubi running while I was doing housework and working out also.


----------



## Choop

Carrion Rocket said:


> Had a few days off work so I watched a few movies for the first time in a while.
> 
> Fury
> Takers
> Underworld: Blood Wars
> Swamp Zombies 2
> War of the Worlds: Annihilation
> 30 Days of Night
> Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
> Swordfish
> Drive
> 
> There's probably a couple others I'm forgetting since I just left Tubi running while I was doing housework and working out also.



Fury had some good moments, and it's so awesome to see the only operational Tiger tank in the world in action,


Spoiler



even if IRL it'd probably have just sat and picked off the Shermans from the treeline haha.



I've been meaning to rewatch Drive. Also Swamp Zombies 2, I haven't seen but I've seen the stuff on Red Letter Media with Len Kabasinski lol. What a good sport that guy is.


----------



## manu80

Swordfish....it was ok when it was released, really liked it. Travolta, Jackman, the OST..... Watched it last year...and ...yeah some movies get old sometimes


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Cable and internet went out so I pulled a few DVDs off the shelf.

Strange Brew (1983)
Last Action Hero (1993)
Pineapple Express (2008)


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Watched a documentary about Death called Death by Metal. Doesn't really cover any new ground tbh but it's well done. Wish they had a paul masvidal interview though. They got basically everyone else


----------



## CovertSovietBear

Carrion Rocket said:


> Pineapple Express (2008)


Pineapple Express is a classic movie for me now. Great film. 

I watched Rakka yesterday on Netflix, come to find out it's the District 9/Chappie/Elysium studio and they've had the video up for a few years on YT. Hopefully they can get some new projects in as this short movie was too good.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I had to watch Lorenzo's Oil for a class I'm in. First, I always thought this was a movie about an Italian guy and his olive oil. Well, it still sort of is, but not really. 

From the first few minutes onward, this movie continued to periodically surpass my expectations for how bad it could be until the very end. Fortunately, my assignment centers around the actual disorder and how it would relate to a classroom environment as a teacher, and I don't actually have to write a serious review of that polished turd of a movie. 

Main takeaways:
- It was the 90s and there was no such thing as HIPAA or medical consent. 
- Parents who refuse to believe doctors who tell them things they don't want to hear are heroes. 
- The library is rad because I don't have to be mad about paying money to watch stupid movies.


----------



## Seabeast2000

CovertSovietBear said:


> Pineapple Express is a classic movie for me now. Great film.
> 
> I watched Rakka yesterday on Netflix, come to find out it's the District 9/Chappie/Elysium studio and they've had the video up for a few years on YT. Hopefully they can get some new projects in as this short movie was too good.




Sweet, I remember seeing these fellas in one of the segments in that Oats Studios anthology.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Nightmare Alley- Del Toro's latest. Still has his gothic tone but it's basically a noir/character study. I liked how they pulled back the curtains on carnie/magic tricks, especially mentalists. Absolutely stacked cast, but Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett steal every scene. Blanchett and Dafoe chew scenery so well. Only complaint is the foreshadowing is super heavy handed at times, and it takes a while to get going pacing wise.


----------



## jco5055

Finally this weekend watched Leon: The Professional for the first time (unbeknownst to me it was the Amercian version that's 25 minutes shorter than the International version), but I loved it. So much style, and almost felt like a videogame to me (in a good way).


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Uncharted: 
It was fun. Way better than I was expecting tbh. The fight scenes and choreography are great, especially the inclusion of some parkour elements (since Tom Holland is a big fan of parkour/gymnastics). There's a fun cameo from Nolan North late in the film. Sofia Ali and Tom Holland are great as Chloe/Nate. Wahlberg is solid. The only thing that annoyed the shit out of me is how they keep having characters TELL instead of show. Exposition dumps suck ass and I hate them, but I get they're a necessary evil for these types of films.

Worth a watch in theaters purely for the spectacle.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the new one on Netflix.

Bad, dumb, and not fun. Not even a little bit.


----------



## thebeesknees22

TheBlackBard said:


> Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the new one on Netflix.
> 
> Bad, dumb, and not fun. Not even a little bit.


oooooh, i've watched every TCM movie there is.... and I had to shut that one off after 10 minutes.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

thebeesknees22 said:


> oooooh, i've watched every TCM movie there is.... and I had to shut that one off after 10 minutes.


I love the first two, as well as the two Platinum Dunes films from the remake series which I enjoy. The ones after that aren’t great, but Alexandria D’addario is beyond sexy, so I’ll give that one a little leeway. The Netflix Lamesaw Massacre though — no fucking thanks.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I actually sat through the Netflix TCM. It was alright. The kills were sufficiently gnarly and the special effects were done really well. It was a ton of fun to watch a bunch of insufferable hipster shits on a bus get annihilated by Leatherface. The characters are annoying as shit, but that's been a thing in slasher flicks for decades at this point. 



I think the 06 TCM reboot attempt and it's prequel were solid (much moreso than the godawful friday the 13th reboot).


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> I actually sat through the Netflix TCM. It was alright. The kills were sufficiently gnarly and the special effects were done really well. It was a ton of fun to watch a bunch of insufferable hipster shits on a bus get annihilated by Leatherface. The characters are annoying as shit, but that's been a thing in slasher flicks for decades at this point.
> 
> 
> 
> I think the 06 TCM reboot attempt and it's prequel were solid (much moreso than the godawful friday the 13th reboot).


The best part of the Friday the 13th attempt was in the extra features. The director really thought he had done something incredible. And the way he talks about that uncomfortably long sex scene is super creepy.

For some reason, my wife digs that movie so I get to watch it every couple years. Man, let me tell you, it does NOT get better on a rewatch.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> The best part of the Friday the 13th attempt was in the extra features. The director really thought he had done something incredible. And the way he talks about that uncomfortably long sex scene is super creepy.
> 
> For some reason, my wife digs that movie so I get to watch it every couple years. Man, let me tell you, it does NOT get better on a rewatch.


Nispel is a shit director. His version of Conan sucked ass too (although I do have a soft spot for Pathfinder).


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> Nispel is a shit director. His version of Conan sucked ass too (although I do have a soft spot for Pathfinder).


I didn't even realize he did that Conan movie. That was mildly entertaining, but it was definitely NOT a Conan movie.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> I didn't even realize he did that Conan movie. That was mildly entertaining, but it was definitely NOT a Conan movie.


It had so much potential but just fell super short.

Conan would benefit more from a tv series imo. Literally all they have to do is follow the Dark Horse runs and it'd be gold.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Tried watching Countdown. ugghh what a shit movie. Tied with Fantasy Island for one of the worst horror movies I've seen in a while. Not even bad in a fun way like say Jack Frost


----------



## TheBlackBard

Jason was a much better Conan, but unfortunately, the rest of the movie didn't do him any favors. The older one with Arnold is a better movie, overall, but he didn't fit the Conan build.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Harkening back to my comment on the Netflix TMC, this is only proof we need all new slasher icons, because I'm sorry... whether or not I'm supposed to turn my mind off for horror, explain to anyone how a normal guy in his 70's can toss a goddamn chainsaw and have a John Wick-esque killing efficiency? Explain to me how a 70 year old woman who got impaled with a chainsaw can be coherent enough to pull a fucking trigger? She's either dead or in shock at that point. Oh and apparently, Leatherface is strong enough to toss the same girl OFF the chainsaw without cutting her further, and better than an actual strongman could. The kills would be great if I didn't feel like it were Keanu Reeves in a Leatherface costume. 

Ignoring all that shit, the generational spouts between the open carrier and the member of the Gen Z Ghost Town restoring gang had no subtlety whatsoever. Literally served no purpose, added nothing to do the story. Complete and utter dogshit.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> Harkening back to my comment on the Netflix TMC, this is only proof we need all new slasher icons, because I'm sorry... whether or not I'm supposed to turn my mind off for horror, explain to anyone how a normal guy in his 70's can toss a goddamn chainsaw and have a John Wick-esque killing efficiency? Explain to me how a 70 year old woman who got impaled with a chainsaw can be coherent enough to pull a fucking trigger? She's either dead or in shock at that point. Oh and apparently, Leatherface is strong enough to toss the same girl OFF the chainsaw without cutting her further, and better than an actual strongman could. The kills would be great if I didn't feel like it were Keanu Reeves in a Leatherface costume.
> 
> Ignoring all that shit, the generational spouts between the open carrier and the member of the Gen Z Ghost Town restoring gang had no subtlety whatsoever. Literally served no purpose, added nothing to do the story. Complete and utter dogshit.


Nostalgia can eat my ass clean while I deal with food poisoning. I love Freddy, but I have zero interest in seeing anymore films from that or any other horror franchise. The one that can still have something interesting to say is Child’s Play/Chucky.


----------



## nightflameauto

Watched the new Hulu dumbfuckery: No Exit

Not as bad as some of their originals, but still. This isn't going to go down as a classic. Not by any means.

A group stranded in a center together during a big storm. A kidnapped girl is discovered by a junkie in recovery. There were some cool tricks. We got a right proper power-up from the junkie at one point with a cocaine fueled "rip a nail out of my arm and kick some ass" stuff. Outside of that the "OH BIG SHOCK" reveal was pretty timid and frankly dumb to the point of ruining the whole thing. Maybe these people that pull tricks directly from the long and tired played out Bumhouse "twists" should just not worry about a twist? The movie was doing fine until that moment. Then it went full cheese whiz.

If I had something better to do, I woulda shut it off after the twist. Some fun along the way, but gotta give it a nope.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Watched the new Hulu dumbfuckery: No Exit
> 
> Not as bad as some of their originals, but still. This isn't going to go down as a classic. Not by any means.
> 
> A group stranded in a center together during a big storm. A kidnapped girl is discovered by a junkie in recovery. There were some cool tricks. We got a right proper power-up from the junkie at one point with a cocaine fueled "rip a nail out of my arm and kick some ass" stuff. Outside of that the "OH BIG SHOCK" reveal was pretty timid and frankly dumb to the point of ruining the whole thing. Maybe these people that pull tricks directly from the long and tired played out Bumhouse "twists" should just not worry about a twist? The movie was doing fine until that moment. Then it went full cheese whiz.
> 
> If I had something better to do, I woulda shut it off after the twist. Some fun along the way, but gotta give it a nope.


Blumhouse ruined that Amazon movie in the old folk's home. I was digging it a lot (for a Blumhouse production), then the last 3-5 minutes completely undid all of that, and I hated the entire film as a result. Absolute trash company. Bring us back Platinum Dunes, PLEASE! At least they had some gems. Blumhouse just has pure garbage.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Blumhouse ruined that Amazon movie in the old folk's home. I was digging it a lot (for a Blumhouse production), then the last 3-5 minutes completely undid all of that, and I hated the entire film as a result. Absolute trash company. Bring us back Platinum Dunes, PLEASE! At least they had some gems. Blumhouse just has pure garbage.


The problem is, this film I was watching wasn't even a Blumhouse controlled movie. It was made by someone else, but had EXACTLY the same Blumhouse formula that has ruined so many movies. It's like the Blumhouse mentality has completely decimated horror to the point there's no attempt at creating original content that's really original. Now it's just "tick the Blumhouse beat sheet" with different actors in the main parts over and over again.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> The problem is, this film I was watching wasn't even a Blumhouse controlled movie. It was made by someone else, but had EXACTLY the same Blumhouse formula that has ruined so many movies. It's like the Blumhouse mentality has completely decimated horror to the point there's no attempt at creating original content that's really original. Now it's just "tick the Blumhouse beat sheet" with different actors in the main parts over and over again.


The only thing they missed was the hair flip and the flipper punch. Oh, wait... that was Jim Cornette training the fake Diesel. Nevermind.

They even got the white man bad trope, though at least it had a little more depth than your typical Blumhouse villain, as it was also a hispanic man bad, and they were foster brothers or some shit. Anyways, if you replaced the beginning production companies with Blumhouse, I'd believe it was legitimately from them. Their "brand" of horror sucks, and is mostly a bad influence on the genre. Blum had zero fucking clue what horror even was before he started his shitty production company.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The Batman

There's a lot of ambition here and the The Batman swings high, though there's too much ambition so it misses every now and then. It definitely shows when the it's narrative feels like an episodic series hammed together to what feels like a 15 act structure in the long time of 3 hours. 

Taking the ideas from the stories of Hush and The Long Halloween, but it's more towards just another retelling of Se7en, Zodiac and The Dark Knight with hints of Klute and The Conversation, which interestingly feels similar to Joker... a movie that I disliked as time went on. But unlike Joker, which I felt failed for being a shallow aping of Scorcese's 2 psychological thrillers offering nothing new, The Batman at least gets into the meaty questions of what is to be a superhero. The cast is fun; Rob Pattinson is great and shouldn't be surprising by now, and Collin Farrel completely disappears into The Penguin. Matt Reeves did a great job on the directors chair, and special note to the sound design and score, which are great. 

Funny the more I think about it, all Batman movies have their glaring flaws, even the ones I really liked. The Batman continues that notion; it has it's fun moments but does nothing new or different. And it's over ambitious and trips over itself because of it, but it's a good effort for trying, and I gotta respect that.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I think Joker, from what I've read, might've been more akin to Christmas Evil (You Better Watch Out/Terror in Toyland), and probably done better there. That said, The Batman looks ridiculous, and I'm tired of the origin story at this point.


----------



## MFB

The Batman

Absolutely incredible, the pinnacle of comic movies for me at this point.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Just got done with watching The Batman. No complaints from me, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Surprised me in some good ways, surpassed a few expectations in certain regards. 9.5/10 for me.


----------



## DestroyMankind

I watched the Netflix Texas chainsaw massacre..I thought Halloween kills was a bad movie. Man this was way worse than I could've imagined.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

The Batman.

The people you expect to be outraged by it absolutely are, just check twitter. Who else is gonna keep the professionally outraged in business until Lil Nas X makes another music video?


----------



## TheBlackBard

Carrion Rocket said:


> The Batman.
> 
> The people you expect to be outraged by it absolutely are, just check twitter. Who else is gonna keep the professionally outraged in business until Lil Nas X makes another music video?




One of the best things I did for my emotional and mental health other than quitting alcohol was deleting that toxic cesspool from my life. I was losing my vision from eyerolling every few seconds after being subliminally called out by people who expect you to feel and shout at every single outrage and microaggression.


----------



## Louis Cypher

TheBlackBard said:


> Just got done with watching The Batman. No complaints from me, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Surprised me in some good ways, surpassed a few expectations in certain regards. 9.5/10 for me.


Pretty much what I thought of The Batman. Really enjoyed it. Agree with someone elses comment that it did reminded me of Se7en. All the big names delivered, especially Paul Dano as the Riddler and Andy Serkis as Alfred. Persoanlly I really liked RPatz's take on Batman/Wayne. His performance in Tenet actually gave me the confidence he would be a good Batman


----------



## nightflameauto

Finally saw Free Guy. A better Matrix remake / redo / alt-take than the new Matrix movie. Funny, and the meta-jokes flew fast and furious while he was figuring out what was going on. I could see this turning into one of our favorites to rewatch just to laugh along with the meta-jokes.

Fast9 - I think they've become too self-aware to be good for the franchise. The jokes about being invincible, while funny, are really just years of fan comments making the script for them. Granted, Fiero is space was pretty absurdist level "what else can we possibly do?" Makes me wonder if this was the end-goal my neighbor had back when he had nine fieros in his yard and garage all in various states of disrepair. Oh, the "let's Batman this motherfucker" moment with the car swinging on the rope? *SMASHES HEAD INTO DESK* No. "That was new." SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!

LOL at calling Cena and Diesel the same height, then having face-offs where Diesel's like four inches shorter even on screen.

I mean, I watch the Fast movies as an absurdist escape for the most part, but they're so far beyond absurd at this point it actually pulls me out of the fantasy. I have no idea how they think they have another movie in them when they've killed off and brought back almost half the "fambily" and bad-dudes.

What's next? A trip around Jupiter? Or maybe through it! I mean, it is a "gas" giant, and ain't no way they'd stop to do the science to figure out exactly how crumpled and dead that 72 Pinto would be if it flew through it.


----------



## StevenC

Saw The Batman last night and loved it. Might be my favourite Batman movie. Really gets more of the comic book vibes than any of the other movies ever have.

Really enjoyed Rpatz take on a less fully realised Batman. It was sort of like watching Abed's Batman at times.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The Batman:
I liked it. It was a good mix of Long Halloween and Year One vibes. My only quibble besides the pacing of the film (it's a bit ponderous at 3 hours long) is the fight scenes feel less polished. I mean come on, Bruce has been fighting crime for two years at this point, he should be pretty decent at fighting groups of goons by now. I'm also not a huge fan of how they made him tanky as fuck rather than sneaky. Mmmhmm yeah he just tanks mutliple high caliber rifle and shotgun rounds to the chest. No modern body armor in the world would let you survive that many hits.
Fraser's cinematography and Giacchino's score were excellent. The action sequences in general were clear and easy to follow, if a bit stiff when it came to the hand to hand sequences.
Paul Dano and Colin Farrell were standouts as Riddler/Penguin, and stole every scene they were in imo.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Hey peeps, after having watched The Batman, and as a result having rewatched Zodiac and Se7en, does anyone know any more gritty style serial killer feeling movies/shows like that? I've watched Dexter, but the cheery juxtaposition of Miami doesn't keep it feeling gloomy all the time. I binged the first season of True Detective, and didn't go further because I was told that the first season was good only and that helped scratch the itch. I started watching Hannibal, and that's pretty close to what I'm looking for, and a good show besides. What about The Killing, would that be a decent show? I've heard good things, and any other movie suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

TheBlackBard said:


> Hey peeps, after having watched The Batman, and as a result having rewatched Zodiac and Se7en, does anyone know any more gritty style serial killer feeling movies/shows like that? I've watched Dexter, but the cheery juxtaposition of Miami doesn't keep it feeling gloomy all the time. I binged the first season of True Detective, and didn't go further because I was told that the first season was good only and that helped scratch the itch. I started watching Hannibal, and that's pretty close to what I'm looking for, and a good show besides. What about The Killing, would that be a decent show? I've heard good things, and any other movie suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!


The killing is good. Also check out The Bridge and Mare of Easttown. If you want more stuff from the killer's perspective check out Maniac.


----------



## thebeesknees22

TheBlackBard said:


> Hey peeps, after having watched The Batman, and as a result having rewatched Zodiac and Se7en, does anyone know any more gritty style serial killer feeling movies/shows like that? I've watched Dexter, but the cheery juxtaposition of Miami doesn't keep it feeling gloomy all the time. I binged the first season of True Detective, and didn't go further because I was told that the first season was good only and that helped scratch the itch. I started watching Hannibal, and that's pretty close to what I'm looking for, and a good show besides. What about The Killing, would that be a decent show? I've heard good things, and any other movie suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!


the vfx breakdown for zodiac is pretty fun. 



I was at that studio at the time they were working on it and remember seeing it and being like.....dauummn. They did an amazing job for the limitations we had back then. Wish I could have worked on that one.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Hmm "you were never really here" is a pretty dark trip. Not entirely a gloom world but recommended.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Hmm "you were never really here" is a pretty dark trip. Not entirely a gloom world but recommended.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

It Chapter 2: _MEH_


----------



## BlackMastodon

Did a double feature today of The Batman and Death on the Nile. 

The Batman was very good, even with having my hopes set pretty high from hearing the positive buzz. I liked the darker, grittier take on it in contrast to Nolan's trilogy, it felt more like a dark psychological thriller than it did a super hero movie. Much less focus on sexy gadgets and tech and a great split between fights and him actually doing some detective work. I wasn't sure how Pattinson was gonna be in the role but I think it was very solid, although it still had a few cheesy moments like all comic book/hero movies but still great.

Death on the Nile was pretty lukewarm, definitely not as good as Murder on the Orient Express but still a passable murder mystery. Kenneth Brannagh carries the whole thing again as Poirrot so I could watch him do that all day, but every other character feels pretty hollow and no one else is very fleshed out. I do hope they keep releasing these movies and learn from the mistakes of this one.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Heavy Metal 2000. Not as good as the original. First time watching it, and someone was pretty infatuated with Julie Strain. Julie is attractive and all, but sheesh.


----------



## spudmunkey

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Heavy Metal 2000. Not as good as the original. First time watching it, and someone was pretty infatuated with Julie Strain. Julie is attractive and all, but sheesh.



I didn't like how it was just a very linear, straight narrative all the way through. In the original _Heavy Metal, _sure, there was the common thread that held all of the acts together (sort of), but 2000 was just "a movie" movie. Loved the soundtrack, though. Hate Dept., Apartment 26, Full Devil Jacket, MDFMK, SOTD, Bauhaus... (but then also Days of the new, Insane Clown Posse, Monster Magnet, Billy Idol...)

The sequel game, F.A.K.K. 2, was pretty OK, especially for a "licensed" game.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

spudmunkey said:


> I didn't like how it was just a very linear, straight narrative all the way through. In the original _Heavy Metal, _sure, there was the common thread that held all of the acts together (sort of), but 2000 was just "a movie" movie. Loved the soundtrack, though. Hate Dept., Apartment 26, Full Devil Jacket, MDFMK, SOTD, Bauhaus... (but then also Days of the new, Insane Clown Posse, Monster Magnet, Billy Idol...)
> 
> The sequel game, F.A.K.K. 2, was pretty OK, especially for a "licensed" game.


There was next to nothing that really connected it to the first, and the lack of an anthology narrative really killed the film. I hate the soundtrack. It is a glaring reminder that the 90s is overrated as a whole (yes, it came out in 2000, but it was made in the late 90s). I can't believe that Sony paid 15 million for HM2k. Surely that is false (it was on Wiki), as I think it went direct to video. I much prefer the original film. It was sleazier in a fun way, and the orb used to draw the whole thing together made for a much more enjoyable story. The 80s had a number of cool adult animated films. A return of that, unfortunately, would miss the mark almost 100% of the time.


----------



## manu80

only read the comics adaptation by Simon Bisley, who I was crazy about back then, before he became a tad lazy....


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> There was next to nothing that really connected it to the first, and the lack of an anthology narrative really killed the film. I hate the soundtrack. It is a glaring reminder that the 90s is overrated as a whole (yes, it came out in 2000, but it was made in the late 90s). I can't believe that Sony paid 15 million for HM2k. Surely that is false (it was on Wiki), as I think it went direct to video. I much prefer the original film. It was sleazier in a fun way, and the orb used to draw the whole thing together made for a much more enjoyable story. The 80s had a number of cool adult animated films. A return of that, unfortunately, would miss the mark almost 100% of the time.



Yeah, its a weird trade-off. The original animation was fun but cheap with a very Rock n Roll style stories. If they could have bumped the cels/frames per second it would have come off as a much more polished effort. Visually, it looks very clunky and like shit in a lot of shots, ngl. 
HM2 was better visually but the story was just meh. IIRC HM2 was in theaters. Maybe limited IDK.


----------



## nightflameauto

Mare of Eastdown is brutally downer.
Third season of True Detective is pretty much in that vein. It doesn't resolve in happy fun time either.
Second season is more light-hearted and, at the core of it, not all that great, though it does have its moments.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> Yeah, its a weird trade-off. The original animation was fun but cheap with a very Rock n Roll style stories. If they could have bumped the cels/frames per second it would have come off as a much more polished effort. Visually, it looks very clunky and like shit in a lot of shots, ngl.
> HM2 was better visually but the story was just meh. IIRC HM2 was in theaters. Maybe limited IDK.


I'll take real animation over bland, CGI'd crap with little to keep your interest. If they really spent 15 million on HM2k... wow. I'd expect more for that amount of money.


----------



## Steo

Wednesday night watched Ravenous. Cannibals, Odd characters, Great sound track, Jeffrey Jones playing a character very like A. W. Merrick. Yes.

last night
The town that dreaded sundown.
More a thriller than horror, and with some oddly placed slapstick humour (it was the mid 70's) Not to bad bar the odd tone. In 1946, a small rural town on the Arkansas/ Texas boarder is terrorised by an unknown assailant who attacks people randomly at night.

The Untold story. The eight immortals restaurant. Again, starts of with mix of slapstick and gore, then it gets very, very dark. There is a lot of brutality in this. But the acting from Anthony Wong Chau-Sang as the demented protagonist Wong Chi Hang carries it.


----------



## manu80

Watched the Adam Project. No brainer, fun Si-Fi. The chemistry between RR and the kid is pretty good and RR goes soft on the "every 2 sec punchlines" this time.


----------



## spudmunkey

1995's _Othello_ with Lawrence Fishburne

I would never have attempted to watch it without reading it first, with an annotated version that has summaries of each act/scene, and almost line-by-line translations ( I HIGHLY recommend this one). I've never had to read a single word of Shakespear for school before, so it's been interesting and a bit fun. I knew "old" English was different from modern language, but combining that with Shakepear's flair for rhythm and wordsmithing, and it'd be a slog to make it through the movie without the help of reading this book first.

I've only watched up through the 2nd act, which is only as far as I've read. I'm not at the point where I'd really enjoy the film and a part of it is simply because I genuinely get zero enjoyment out of dramatic theater and it still has that feel, but I do like the film adaptation over stage presentations. I'm actually surprised there haven't been any period-correct movie adaptations, with more "modern" language, because it is a good story. I don't want to see another high school, or jazz club adaptation (especially not one with a happy ending...thanks a lot, _All Night Long.._.) .


----------



## KnightBrolaire

spudmunkey said:


> 1995's _Othello_ with Lawrence Fishburne
> 
> I would never have attempted to watch it without reading it first, with an annotated version that has summaries of each act/scene, and almost line-by-line translations ( I HIGHLY recommend this one). I've never had to read a single word of Shakespear for school before, so it's been interesting and a bit fun. I knew "old" English was different from modern language, but combining that with Shakepear's flair for rhythm and wordsmithing, and it'd be a slog to make it through the movie without the help of reading this book first.
> 
> I've only watched up through the 2nd act, which is only as far as I've read. I'm not at the point where I'd really enjoy the film and a part of it is simply because I genuinely get zero enjoyment out of dramatic theater and it still has that feel, but I do like the film adaptation over stage presentations. I'm actually surprised there haven't been any period-correct movie adaptations, with more "modern" language, because it is a good story. I don't want to see another high school, or jazz club adaptation (especially not one with a happy ending...thanks a lot, _All Night Long.._.) .


There are modern iterations of it. Look up O.


----------



## spudmunkey

KnightBrolaire said:


> There are modern iterations of it. Look up O.


I did, and that's one I mentioned in the line about not wanting a "high school" version. By "period correct", I meant I'd like the historical aspect of Venice, Cypress, the possible battle with the Turks, etc...but told with dialog one could more easily understand. I could see enjoying a mob-themed re-telling, maybe, though.


----------



## syzygy

nightflameauto said:


> Finally saw Free Guy. A better Matrix remake / redo / alt-take than the new Matrix movie. Funny, and the meta-jokes flew fast and furious while he was figuring out what was going on. I could see this turning into one of our favorites to rewatch just to laugh along with the meta-jokes.


Funnily enough, I actually got around to watching Free Guy last night with my sister. It was a dumb-fun movie, and I enjoyed it for what it was. Kinda felt like the Truman Show and the Lego Movie got together and had a baby that was fed only on video game references. Didn't think any of the real-world stuff was compelling at all compared to the "Free City" world happenings, and for as comically evil as Taika Waititi was as the villain, I think he had a point. 

Overall would watch again, not bad


----------



## BlackMastodon

Windfall. 

Really solid Hitchcockian thriller with a great small cast, perfect run time, some good twists. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and it makes me realize I've been missing a good movie like this for a while now.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Watched Bakshi's LOTR again. Always delivers. There's a staggering amount of visual detail, I notice new things every time especially in the clever way they switch between rotoscoped actors and animated characters. It's a shame he never finished it.


----------



## CanserDYI

wheresthefbomb said:


> Watched Bakshi's LOTR again. Always delivers. There's a staggering amount of visual detail, I notice new things every time especially in the clever way they switch between rotoscoped actors and animated characters. It's a shame he never finished it.


Hah no shit, I just watched the Hobbit 1977 and this is on my watch list for tonight with the wife after work. As a huge LOTR fan, surprised I haven't watched it yet, glad it delivers.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Just watched Bladerunner 2049 again. I liked it quite a bit more the second time. Love the soundtrack.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Goddamn, Bladerunner 2049 is so good. I never watched the original (director's cut, in this case) until maybe a month before 2049 released so getting to experience them back to back made me fully appreciate each. Everything about 2049 is so perfect, from the visuals, the story, the immense sound design. The only way it could've been better is if David Bowie could've played Niander Wallace. When I found out that that was the original plan but Bowie had died before production, I was heart broken. He would've been perfect in that role but instead we got Jared Leto, who my partner and I both think sucks, but at least he didn't detract from the movie. It's just a shame that it could've been that much better.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

BlackMastodon said:


> Goddamn, Bladerunner 2049 is so good. I never watched the original (director's cut, in this case) until maybe a month before 2049 released so getting to experience them back to back made me fully appreciate each. Everything about 2049 is so perfect, from the visuals, the story, the immense sound design. The only way it could've been better is if David Bowie could've played Niander Wallace. When I found out that that was the original plan but Bowie had died before production, I was heart broken. He would've been perfect in that role but instead we got Jared Leto, who my partner and I both think sucks, but at least he didn't detract from the movie. It's just a shame that it could've been that much better.



Leto was the weakest link in a strong chain, to be sure. Didn't know that about Bowie, he would've been exceptional.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Killing of a Sacred Deer: 
What a fucking weird movie. All of Lanthimos' movies have this bizarre flat line delivery and weird way of announcing everything. None of the dialogue ever feels organic in his films. 
This one isn't as abrasive as Dogtooth or as fun as The Lobster/The Favourite though. 
Great camera work and a lot of neat shots though.


----------



## Naxxpipe

Finally got around to watching The Lighthouse yesterday, and what a ride. I really don't know what to say, other than I liked it, despite being layers of weird upon weird. It's the kind of movie that presents more questions than answers, which is right up my alley. Also the old-school (I think 35 mm) film used causes an extra claustrophobic effect which was nice. 
Extremely artsy, my fiancé fell asleep during it, 9/10.


----------



## DestroyMankind

Watched the new Scream movie a couple days ago. It was a fun time. Definitely a lot better than whatever that Texas Chainsaw movie they did on Netflix was. I just hope this is where Scream ends.


----------



## TheBlackBard

DestroyMankind said:


> Watched the new Scream movie a couple days ago. It was a fun time. Definitely a lot better than whatever that Texas Chainsaw movie they did on Netflix was. I just hope this is where Scream ends.




Sorry to disappoint you, but they're already planning another.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Morbius: It was solid. Nothing amazing, but nowhere near as bad as critics are making it seem. This is not anywhere near as bad as the Fantastic 4 movies (or their godawful edgelord reboot), or Dark Phoenix bad. It's like a midtier superhero movie tbh. 
Honestly the only real issues I have with it are the special effects are kind of ehh and the later action sequences could have been a bit easier to follow. Also the ending is kind of ehh. I feel like they blew their load with the budget earlier on and decided to cut the final fight short because of it. I was expecting an epic knock down drag out fight.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I think they announced a sequel very shortly after releasing the latest its of fan fiction. Both can go direct to the garbage bin. No Craven, no film worthwhile.


----------



## manu80

seeing what Sony did with Venom, no way I'll see Morbius...Still Espinosa is a good director (I love Life and especially Safe house) but no.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

manu80 said:


> seeing what Sony did with Venom, no way I'll see Morbius...Still Espinosa is a good director (I love Life and especially Safe house) but no.


Venom was miles better


----------



## manu80

wow...that tells it all !!!! ahah !


----------



## mongey

Metal lords. For what it was , had some
Cool references both in music and a gear. Like the rat into the scooped Mxr 10 band.

Maybe I needed something positive in my day but I liked it.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

How It Ends

Cool concept, the ending was a total letdown, extremely unrelatable and annoying main character. There must be a huge demographic of upper-upper-middle-class white businessppl with netflix subscriptions, that or they just decided to see what it would be like to have a lead nobody could relate to, just for funsies. This is not the first movie I've tried to watch recently that's made me wonder, "who is supposed to be relating to these people??"


----------



## wheresthefbomb

In The Shadow of the Moon

I guess I'm on a mediocre scifi binge. This was less bad than How It Ends, the ending wasn't terrible and their time travel mechanics were less questionable than Tenet. Not sure how I feel about the movie's overall message that "some ideas are so bad we should go back in time and bury them" but I don't think it was thought out past being a plot point. Will definitely upset some right-leaning viewers, will definitely add fuel to the fire of "liberal hollywood." The movie started off with a white cop killing. a black female suspect with no investigation and then telling his kid that the people protesting "just wanted something to be mad about" so it was really all over the place, I doubt very strongly the makers had taking political stances in mind. Just a series of questionable writing choices.

Overall a slightly better than average sci fi flick.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The Trip : I have a huge soft spot for pitch black comedy, especially Scandinavian films like Headhunters/The Lottery/Klown. This movie absolutely fits in that vein. It's gory, absurd and hilarious. Aksel Hennie and Noomi Rapace are great as a married couple (literally) at each others throats Highly recommend.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Everything Everywhere All At Once 

The movie has been getting a ton of rave reviews and acclaim. And I can now say that all reports are absolutely right. 

It's difficult to talk about since it's best experienced knowing as little as possible. The multiverse premise hides a deep personal narrative with well acted characters (Michelle Yeoh and the whole cast are fantastic but Ke Huy Quan gets the MVP) and well shot fight scenes (Yeoh, Andy and Brian Le deliver) that puts you through a unique emotional gonzo ride doing exactly what the title implies. 

This movie is awesome and everyone should see it. Top contender for movie of 2022.


----------



## Seabeast2000

wheresthefbomb said:


> How It Ends
> 
> Cool concept, the ending was a total letdown, extremely unrelatable and annoying main character. There must be a huge demographic of upper-upper-middle-class white businessppl with netflix subscriptions, that or they just decided to see what it would be like to have a lead nobody could relate to, just for funsies. This is not the first movie I've tried to watch recently that's made me wonder, "who is supposed to be relating to these people??"



Ha, garbage. This is one of many cheap Netflix turds pushed out that shakes the camera, advertises how cheap every shot location was and never shows you much visually. I remember this being my one of my first "wtf is this shit on netflix? moments.


----------



## Kaura

Hevi Reissu (aka Heavy Trip)

Holy shit, this is how you make a movie about metal. Great plot, great acting and above all, great music. If any of yall still haven't seen it, I definitely recommend doing so! As always with Finnish movies, I think a bit will be lost in translation especially with this one due the fact all the characters speak a northern dialect which sounds funny to a southern guy like myself but I think the movie will still hold if you don't know a lick of Finnish and can stand subtitles. 

Thanks @KnightBrolaire for reminding me this movie exists.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Kaura said:


> Hevi Reissu (aka Heavy Trip)
> 
> Holy shit, this is how you make a movie about metal. Great plot, great acting and above all, great music. If any of yall still haven't seen it, I definitely recommend doing so! As always with Finnish movies, I think a bit will be lost in translation especially with this one due the fact all the characters speak a northern dialect which sounds funny to a southern guy like myself but I think the movie will still hold if you don't know a lick of Finnish and can stand subtitles.
> 
> Thanks @KnightBrolaire for reminding me this movie exists.


Great flick


----------



## Seabeast2000

Not really a movie....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8vX4qUuy9I


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Seabeast2000 said:


> Great flick



I also just watched Heavy Trip, and really enjoyed it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

7thxaj said:


> I just finished watching Cockneys vs Zombies. It was fantastic. The titles provides literally everything you need to know going in


underrated film. I thought it was hilarious.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Moxie. It was great. Solid soundtrack, did not rely on sensationalizing teen sexuality and/or drug use as so many teen movies do. Even Metal Lords fell into this trap. 

I can see this getting a whole new generation of girls interested in Riot Grrl which I can only see as a good thing.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Randomly found The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Unexpectedly funny.


----------



## thebeesknees22

Old Henry popped up so I checked it out. As a huge western fan, I gotta say it was pretty good. 

Would watch again. It's simple, but well done.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Dead Bullet - pretty darn well done drama. Recommended. Good characters , good pace, good soundtrack.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

V/H/S/94

Not everyone's taste but I've always liked this franchise and I thought this was a pretty good addition. It tried to do more with VFX than the first two, but they were still not good and the over-use of them really weakened some of the vignettes. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the absurd humor of the rat man bit, and the militia bit was solid, classic V/H/S storytelling with a hilarious nod to Monty Python. The cop raid meta storyline was pretty unbearable, but did set the scene with the Waco footage. To be honest I couldn't tell if it was campy or just bad acting but by the end I was picking up (or imagining) some Tales from the Crypt vibes that made it a little less unbearable.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness

Remember those moments when you're all set to see a big headlining band that you're looking forward to? You rock up to the show, see the opening act take you by surprise, completely tear the house down with all sorts of new and refreshing takes of the music you love. Their set becomes so memorable you buy out their merch desk between sets, and wear them for the rest of the show. Then the headline act plays and the beats are still on point even pulling some signature tributes from the greatest hits songbook that ceartainly put a massive smile. Overall a good show, but you can't help but can't shake off the lingering thought that the opener completely blew the headliner off the stage.

Oh look at me dancing around the issue of the second multiverse movie of this year. Dancey dancey la di dah...

Well aside from the weaponising of spoiler culture, to which I'll comply just in case I get condemned to internet death... Sam Raimi is having a lot of fun here, and I'll always appreciate that. And I also appreciate that it wasn't so indulgently proud of itself like the multiverse movie of last year, but more like that sly grin you'd expect from a Raimi movie.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Dead Man

I've been meaning to watch this for a long time. Did not disappoint.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Everything Everywhere At Once- Absolutely wild film. It's like an arthouse Kung Fu Hustle. Drags out the second act wayyyyy too long and kind of fizzles out. The fight scenes are magnificent (especially the fanny pack one). Definitely a cool movie, but it overstays its welcome tbh. 

The Night House = meh. It's a very slow burn and relies more on ambiance/an overwhelming feeling of dread (which I appreciate) but shits the bed with the ending.

Guest House: meh. Takes the innocuous concept of people renting an Airbnb (or its competition) and turns it into a relatively understated horror film. Some cool shots, but the idea of a voyeuristic serial killer has been done plenty before.


----------



## syzygy

- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness -

I'll admit that outside of slow-burn horror stuff like The Shining or Alien, I really don't like horror movies, so this might taint my opinion on the movie, but the movie wasn't for me. I've come to enjoy Marvel stuff for being big dumb action with some witty lines that I can turn my mind off to, but this movie was short on the humor and heavy on some pretty intense violence for a PG-13 rating. It was in this weird place where it was too Disneyfied to earn an R-rating and really go heavy into the horror/violence, but as is I wouldn't feel comfortable taking my little brother to see it. I was kinda surprised to see how graphic they went on some of the kills in the movie given that this is the MCU we're talking about. Wish they had either cleaned it up or doubled down on the horror and went full R-rating. 

Outside of that, I thought the movie was pretty meh. Visually cool, but the script was pretty nonsense and characters either info-dumped too much or didn't explain anything. Not super stoked for future Marvel stuff coming down the line. Not that I've been super invested after Endgame or anything, because they really jumped the shark with that one, but beyond Spider-Man and maybe Shang-Chi I just can't find anything they've put out to be enjoyable at all.


----------



## thebeesknees22

finally watched the new Batman. When it was first announced that robert whatshisface was going to be batman I wrote it off as going to suck no matter what, but I actually really dug it a lot. Would watch again. 

I really hope they don't go with the joker on the next round though.

I'm hoping they go for someone like Clayface since we'd finally be able to do him proper in vfx.


----------



## MFB

thebeesknees22 said:


> finally watched the new Batman. When it was first announced that robert whatshisface was going to be batman I wrote it off as going to suck no matter what, but I actually really dug it a lot. Would watch again.
> 
> I really hope they don't go with the joker on the next round though.
> 
> I'm hoping they go for someone like Clayface since we'd finally be able to do him proper in vfx.



As much as I'd love to see Clayface done justice, with as grounded as the new Batman is, I just don't see it happening any time soon. We need some sort of build up to the more mystic elements within the Bat-verse.

I think they flat out said Joker won't be next, and a lot of people (myself included) want justice for Mr Freeze


----------



## TheBlackBard

thebeesknees22 said:


> finally watched the new Batman. When it was first announced that robert whatshisface was going to be batman I wrote it off as going to suck no matter what, but I actually really dug it a lot. Would watch again.
> 
> I really hope they don't go with the joker on the next round though.
> 
> I'm hoping they go for someone like Clayface since we'd finally be able to do him proper in vfx.




Which was pretty unfair given Robert Pattinson has done some excellent movies since Twilight, and had people educated themselves they would have known that. The Lighthouse, The Devil All the Time, High Life just to name a few.


----------



## TheBlackBard

I'm really not certain that they're going to go into the whole mystic side of Batman. It seems pretty damn grounded in a lot of aspects, which I appreciate. I'm hoping for Poison Ivy or Mr. Fries. Poison Ivy would fit right in with the current climate of trying to save the world, so all you really need with that is a treehugger gone batshit (no pun intended) insane that harvests poison from plants and weaponizes it. Mr. Fries would be looking for a cure for his wife and if we're keeping with the whole serial killer thing could borrow some elements from the Ice Truck Killer from Dexter Season 1. I mean, why not. They already have Bats and Joker in a Clarice/Lecter style relationship in a deleted scene. Either way, I'm excited to see what happens next.


----------



## thebeesknees22

TheBlackBard said:


> Which was pretty unfair given Robert Pattinson has done some excellent movies since Twilight, and had people educated themselves they would have known that. The Lighthouse, The Devil All the Time, High Life just to name a few.


oh yeah, I haven't seen any of those. ha


----------



## TheBlackBard

Just got back from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Sam Raimi is the only one allowed to do Doctor Strange from now on. I don't know about you guys, but this surpassed my expectations. I loved every single second of it. Raimi was clearly having a lot of fun with it and it showed big time. I didn't know, as a Doctor Strange and an Evil Dead fanboy, that I needed his universe seen through a Raimi lense, but here we are. Spoilers:


Spoiler: Scarlet Witch Mannerisms



I was also getting some major Carrie vibes at times with Scarlet Witch given her appearance and such with blood all over her.


----------



## jaxadam

For mother’s day the kids wanted to take the wife to see The Bad Guys.


----------



## Hollowway

I just finished watching The Batman. I LOVED it. I knew it would be good when I heard Paul Dano was The Riddler, and when I saw his outfit. But I heard so many meh reviews about it I didn’t get around to seeing it until now. This was definitely my first or second favorite Batman. I liked Dark Knight a lot, as well, so I’d have to see it again to decide which I liked better. I definitely liked the detective aspect of this, and the darker nature, though.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Hollowway said:


> I just finished watching The Batman. I LOVED it. I knew it would be good when I heard Paul Dano was The Riddler, and when I saw his outfit. But I heard so many meh reviews about it I didn’t get around to seeing it until now. This was definitely my first or second favorite Batman. I liked Dark Knight a lot, as well, so I’d have to see it again to decide which I liked better. I definitely liked the detective aspect of this, and the darker nature, though.




The meh reviews came from people who claimed it was too dark, too moody, too long. That only reinforced me wanting to see it.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

TheBlackBard said:


> The meh reviews came from people who claimed it was too dark, too moody, too long.



I was one of those who thought The Batman was just alright. Not a game changer by any means, but just alright. Sure it's long, but surprisingly trimmed to the bone. 

My biggest issue lies beyond the movie but maybe Batman as a franchise. It's been bogged down to the aesthetic the Burton movies and the Animated series have planted, a great and heavily influential aesthetic mind you, but hasn't really grown since. It's a movie I feel that I've already seen many times before. 

Granted that I do appreciate how the movie is essentially telling an 'anti-Batman' story especially with the Riddler's entire conceit. That's a good starting theme and can lead the character to new kinds of stories to tell.


----------



## nightflameauto

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Granted that I do appreciate how the movie is essentially telling an 'anti-Batman' story especially with the Riddler's entire conceit. That's a good starting theme and can lead the character to new kinds of stories to tell.


This only applies if they allow the continuity to grow beyond two movies. The biggest problem with Batman as a movie franchise at this point is the insistence of the property holders that they push the reset button every other time they come up with a script. I want to see the new Batman because it sounds like a lot of stuff is finally being done right in a "let's build a foundation" sort of way, but the DC films have hit the absolute absurdity of never allowing the continuity to even take its first breath, let alone become a living thing.

While the zombified corpse of something that used to be a living continuity kicks around the Marvelverse, the DC movieverse continues to pop out baby after baby, then smother them with the next generation while they're fresh out of the womb.


----------



## Quiet Coil

I dug the new Batman for sure, more so the second time around once I knew what to expect. While it didn’t get me psyched up like the Dark Knight Trilogy, after 3 hours I could easily say that I wanted to spend more time in this universe getting to know everyone better (even if Bats himself was the least interesting character - but that’s nearly always the case).

P.S. I hated the tumbler until I saw it in action and this batmobile was no different. Sure it’s fun that it’s built on a muscle car, but I like how it’s basically just an overpowered battering ram (both in function and appearance).


----------



## thebeesknees22

Quiet Coil said:


> I dug the new Batman for sure, more so the second time around once I knew what to expect. While it didn’t get me psyched up like the Dark Knight Trilogy, after 3 hours I could easily say that I wanted to spend more time in this universe getting to know everyone better (even if Bats himself was the least interesting character - but that’s nearly always the case).
> 
> P.S. I hated the tumbler until I saw it in action and this batmobile was no different. Sure it’s fun that it’s built on a muscle car, but I like how it’s basically just an overpowered battering ram (both in function and appearance).



oh i loved the new batmobile. I thought it was great for an early days batman batmobile.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness- I'm a huge Sam Raimi fanboy and you can feel his stylistic touches everywhere here, from the evil dead/Drag Me to Hell style camera angles (lots breakneck spinning and twisting shots encircling people) to the deliberate choice to use practical effects when possible. Its's definitely the darkest and goriest film in the MCU to this point, and the antagonist they chose is legitimately intimidating, yet also somewhat sympathetic. Letting someone like Raimi run rampant with multiverse concepts opened up some really neat ideas, but they're kind of just window dressing tbh. 
The cameos were awesome. I won't go in to specifics but suffice to say they're at least opening up a way to tie a lot of older marvel films back into the mix. Elfman's score is pretty meh compared to a lot of his other work, except for some very specific instances which I won't go into due to how they directly relate to the action onscreen. 
I love the darker turn the last few MCU films and series have been taking. Makes me super pumped for Blade's reboot. 


Spoiler



Definitely recommend watching wandavision before seeing it though


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I didn't realize Blade was getting a reboot. That must be why all the movies have been on Netflix.


----------



## Drew

jaxadam said:


> For mother’s day the kids wanted to take the wife to see The Bad Guys.


How was that? Previews looked cute. 

Recently rewatched LotR, annd for the 2nd and 3rd watched the Extended editions for the first time - myu fiancee had a stomache bug and whenever she's facing adversity she likes to watch someone deal with even more adversity than she's feeling. 

Two takeaways. 

1) I've gradually come around to this opinion over the last several years, but as a kid I read this and naturally assumed Frodo was the hero. I was wrong, watching this again made it that much clearer that Sam is 100% the hero of the story, Frodo's an emo little damsel in distress, and Tolkien's decision to close the saga from Sam's point of view, which felt weird as a kid, makes perfect sense in hindsight. 

2) It's been a while since I've watched these. The CGI is pretty obvious. It's... it allowed stuff to happen that would have been completely impossible otherwise, and where it works best (large backdrop scenery like Gondor and Rivendell and the Grey Havens) it works because it has sort of a watercolor vibe and doesn't even _pretend_ to be real, but it's already a little distracting at the margins elsewhere. Then you go back and watch something like Jurassic Park, the original, that relied heavily on practical effects, and it feels just as real. CGI is a very slippery slow, and a game changer, but one that can make movies start to feel dated fast.


----------



## thebeesknees22

Drew said:


> How was that? Previews looked cute.
> 
> Recently rewatched LotR, annd for the 2nd and 3rd watched the Extended editions for the first time - myu fiancee had a stomache bug and whenever she's facing adversity she likes to watch someone deal with even more adversity than she's feeling.
> 
> Two takeaways.
> 
> 1) I've gradually come around to this opinion over the last several years, but as a kid I read this and naturally assumed Frodo was the hero. I was wrong, watching this again made it that much clearer that Sam is 100% the hero of the story, Frodo's an emo little damsel in distress, and Tolkien's decision to close the saga from Sam's point of view, which felt weird as a kid, makes perfect sense in hindsight.
> 
> 2) It's been a while since I've watched these. The CGI is pretty obvious. It's... it allowed stuff to happen that would have been completely impossible otherwise, and where it works best (large backdrop scenery like Gondor and Rivendell and the Grey Havens) it works because it has sort of a watercolor vibe and doesn't even _pretend_ to be real, but it's already a little distracting at the margins elsewhere. Then you go back and watch something like Jurassic Park, the original, that relied heavily on practical effects, and it feels just as real. CGI is a very slippery slow, and a game changer, but one that can make movies start to feel dated fast.



I still love the LOTR movies. The CG is obvious on quite a few shots yeah, but it was pretty ground breaking on a lot of levels at the time. Some shots they just ran out of time on which Peter jackson actually discussed in the commentary. (which isn't an excuse. It's a real issue that happens a ton today with all the reshoots and changing edits up until the last month or so of a production. People can only do what they can do in the time and resources they have)


----------



## Drew

thebeesknees22 said:


> I still love the LOTR movies. The CG is obvious on quite a few shots yeah, but it was pretty ground breaking on a lot of levels at the time. Some shots they just ran out of time on which Peter jackson actually discussed in the commentary. (which isn't an excuse. It's a real issue that happens a ton today with all the reshoots and changing edits up until the last month or so of a production. People can only do what they can do in the time and resources they have)


Hey, it's a great movie, no doubts. 

I guess takeaway #3 is I hadn't previously appreciated just how much he drew from his prior history in low budget horror while working on this - all the ghost scenes and the Nazgul when Frodo is wearing the ring, Frodo's little posessed act whenever Sauron or the Nazgul make him feel compelled to put the ring on, etc etc etc. Watching that next to something like "Dead Alive" is kind of amusing.


----------



## spudmunkey

Drew said:


> I hadn't previously appreciated just how much he drew from his prior history in low budget



Smaug is clearly the best of The Feebles.


----------



## Drew

spudmunkey said:


> Smaug is clearly the best of The Feebles.


You know, I've still only seen the first of those. I kinda checked out after bunny drawn sleighs and the goblin hordes evidently needing a Big Bad for dramatic effect, rather than just being a faceless horde.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Drew said:


> You know, I've still only seen the first of those. I kinda checked out after bunny drawn sleighs and the goblin hordes evidently needing a Big Bad for dramatic effect, rather than just being a faceless horde.


don't waste your time. The Hobbit trilogy is a bloated pile of garbage that manages to destroy all the goodwill/credibility that the LOTR films established.
There are some fanmade supercuts that turn it into one single watchable movie (rather than a padded out shitshow of a trilogy) if you do want to suffer through it.


----------



## Drew

KnightBrolaire said:


> don't waste your time. The Hobbit trilogy is a bloated pile of garbage that manages to destroy all the goodwill/credibility that the LOTR films established.
> There are some fanmade supercuts that turn it into one single watchable movie (rather than a padded out shitshow of a trilogy) if you do want to suffer through it.


I got that sense from the first.  

I suppose over a long enough timeline I'll get to it, but it's hardly a priority.


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> don't waste your time. The Hobbit trilogy is a bloated pile of garbage that manages to destroy all the goodwill/credibility that the LOTR films established.
> There are some fanmade supercuts that turn it into one single watchable movie (rather than a padded out shitshow of a trilogy) if you do want to suffer through it.


I've heard of the fan edits, but have a hard time believing they came up with enough meat to have a decent fan cut from the trilogy. What an utter travesty of filmmaking that was. Not only did it shit on the legacy of the LOTR films, it also shit on storytelling, scriptwriting, directing and general good taste.

And I say that having sat through three of the Michael Bay Transformers movies. Not that I'm holding those up as positive examples, just as something I could tolerate. Well, the first two I could tolerate. The third was the line in the sand for me.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> I've heard of the fan edits, but have a hard time believing they came up with enough meat to have a decent fan cut from the trilogy. What an utter travesty of filmmaking that was. Not only did it shit on the legacy of the LOTR films, it also shit on storytelling, scriptwriting, directing and general good taste.
> 
> And I say that having sat through three of the Michael Bay Transformers movies. Not that I'm holding those up as positive examples, just as something I could tolerate. Well, the first two I could tolerate. The third was the line in the sand for me.


i sat through all the michael bay transformers and tmnt movies. I'll take those over the hobbit trilogy anyday, because at least they're all dumb fun. The hobbit trilogy isn't even fun to watch. How they managed to make LOTR work and fuck up the Hobbit is still mindboggling.


----------



## Drew

nightflameauto said:


> And I say that having sat through three of the Michael Bay Transformers movies. Not that I'm holding those up as positive examples, just as something I could tolerate. Well, the first two I could tolerate. The third was the line in the sand for me.


New Years 2020, me and a very small group of friends rented an airbnb, all swabbed, and got together to have as normal a long weekend as possible. On New Years itself or the day after, I forget for reasons that will become increasingly clear as this post goes on, we ended up watching a Michael Bay film, "Six Underground," starring a post-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds, that we figured would be pretty bad, but we hoped would be _entertainingly_ bad. Myself and a buddy had the genius idea, it being a Michael Bay movie, to play a drinking game wherein we drank whenever there was a lensflare. 

We stopped after the opening action sequence, admitting defeat. 1.5/10, would not recommend.  

(the movie was bad, too).


----------



## Thaeon

Really enjoyed The Batman and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Both tonally perfect for their respective characters in my opinion. More to chew on in The Batman. MoM is more along the lines of bubble gum. But it was fun and Raimi was doing Raimi as you would want him to do. The camera tricks, cameo gags, and camp are all there. The camp is just enough though. Not too much.


----------



## MFB

Drew said:


> New Years 2020, me and a very small group of friends rented an airbnb, all swabbed, and got together to have as normal a long weekend as possible. On New Years itself or the day after, I forget for reasons that will become increasingly clear as this post goes on, we ended up watching a Michael Bay film, "Six Underground," starring a post-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds, that we figured would be pretty bad, but we hoped would be _entertainingly_ bad. Myself and a buddy had the genius idea, it being a Michael Bay movie, to play a drinking game wherein we drank whenever there was a lensflare.
> 
> We stopped after the opening action sequence, admitting defeat. 1.5/10, would not recommend.
> 
> (the movie was bad, too).



Oh man, me and my parents tried to watch Six Underground - absolute dogshit. Just the first maybe 10-15 mins with the opening heist was so lukewarm that we got to the funeral scene and turned it off. We would have rather flipped channels trying to find something to watch then keep up with that meh-fest.

I blame Blade Trinity for Ryan Reynolds thinking he just had to be Ryan Reynolds in all his movies for the next 20+ years, instead of actually, ya know, ACTING


----------



## Drew

MFB said:


> Oh man, me and my parents tried to watch Six Underground - absolute dogshit. Just the first maybe 10-15 mins with the opening heist was so lukewarm that we got to the funeral scene and turned it off. We would have rather flipped channels trying to find something to watch then keep up with that meh-fest.
> 
> I blame Blade Trinity for Ryan Reynolds thinking he just had to be Ryan Reynolds in all his movies for the next 20+ years, instead of actually, ya know, ACTING


I mean, if you accidently through back four or five whiskeys during that 10-15 minute opening heist, your ability to sit through the rest improves markedly.  

But yeah, post-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds is awesome and all, but he's now done that in, sticking to just movies _I've_ seen and that's not a large number, Six Underground, Red Notice, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard... I kinda want to see the Adam Project, but I have a feeling it's going to be more Ryan-Reynolds-Spends-All-Movie-Breaking-the-Fourth-Wall melee.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Drew said:


> I mean, if you accidently through back four or five whiskeys during that 10-15 minute opening heist, your ability to sit through the rest improves markedly.
> 
> But yeah, post-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds is awesome and all, but he's now done that in, sticking to just movies _I've_ seen and that's not a large number, Six Underground, Red Notice, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard... I kinda want to see the Adam Project, but I have a feeling it's going to be more Ryan-Reynolds-Spends-All-Movie-Breaking-the-Fourth-Wall melee.


Nah there's no real 4th wall stuff in Adam Project. It is very much him firing off quips and laconic phrases left and right though. It was a fun movie, kind of gives off Last Starfighter vibes


----------



## Quiet Coil

KnightBrolaire said:


> ….Adam Project….kind of gives off Last Starfighter vibes


And now I have a reason to actually care about this movie.


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> i sat through all the michael bay transformers and tmnt movies. I'll take those over the hobbit trilogy anyday, because at least they're all dumb fun. The hobbit trilogy isn't even fun to watch. How they managed to make LOTR work and fuck up the Hobbit is still mindboggling.


Having been a Transformers fan since 1984, and making the mistake of paying attention to Bay's comments on set and during shoots, I got tired of feeling insulted after the third Transformers film. I didn't even bother with the TMNT. I have no idea where he ended up, but I stopped even paying attention to production when he first floated the idea of making them aliens instead of mutants during the development cycle.

Here's what kills me. I watched the first TF Bayverse film in the theater ten times and several times on DVD.

The second I watched three times in the theater, and didn't bother buying the DVD nor ever watching it again.

The third, I went to the theater opening night with a friend, left feeling utterly insulted and fucked over. The wife convinced me to take her to see it that weekend, and about halfway through my brain just pulled a Peter Griffin, and went, "DUN!" Never had a desire to ever watch even the first film again.

I did watch the Bumblebee movie once, just because I knew he wasn't involved. It wasn't insulting, but knowing the production issues and the fact Paramount kept dicking around with the actual director and going back and forth on whether he needed to tie it to the Bayverse, it ended up as lackluster as I feared it would. Too bad. Knight's capable of one hell of a story visually. Look at his animated films for proof of that.

And that's more time than the entire Transformers film franchise deserves from me. Bleh.

Time to pop in the animated 1987 film and cleanse the palate.

EDIT:
Some of us like Ryan Reynolds being Ryan Reynolds, but for a more manic Ryan Reynolds, try out The Voices. That's got some good shit in it, and he actually doesn't do the usual quip, quip, fourthwall quip, quip thing.

That said, if you really were hoping for a new Deadpool movie, just watch Free Guy. It's not exactly Deadpool, but it's about as fourth wally / sarcastic as you can get, just with a little bit more happiness shoved in there.

"Did that look cool? It felt like it looked cool!"


----------



## Thaeon

nightflameauto said:


> Having been a Transformers fan since 1984, and making the mistake of paying attention to Bay's comments on set and during shoots, I got tired of feeling insulted after the third Transformers film. I didn't even bother with the TMNT. I have no idea where he ended up, but I stopped even paying attention to production when he first floated the idea of making them aliens instead of mutants during the development cycle.
> 
> Here's what kills me. I watched the first TF Bayverse film in the theater ten times and several times on DVD.
> 
> The second I watched three times in the theater, and didn't bother buying the DVD nor ever watching it again.
> 
> The third, I went to the theater opening night with a friend, left feeling utterly insulted and fucked over. The wife convinced me to take her to see it that weekend, and about halfway through my brain just pulled a Peter Griffin, and went, "DUN!" Never had a desire to ever watch even the first film again.
> 
> I did watch the Bumblebee movie once, just because I knew he wasn't involved. It wasn't insulting, but knowing the production issues and the fact Paramount kept dicking around with the actual director and going back and forth on whether he needed to tie it to the Bayverse, it ended up as lackluster as I feared it would. Too bad. Knight's capable of one hell of a story visually. Look at his animated films for proof of that.
> 
> And that's more time than the entire Transformers film franchise deserves from me. Bleh.
> 
> Time to pop in the animated 1987 film and cleanse the palate.
> 
> EDIT:
> Some of us like Ryan Reynolds being Ryan Reynolds, but for a more manic Ryan Reynolds, try out The Voices. That's got some good shit in it, and he actually doesn't do the usual quip, quip, fourthwall quip, quip thing.
> 
> That said, if you really were hoping for a new Deadpool movie, just watch Free Guy. It's not exactly Deadpool, but it's about as fourth wally / sarcastic as you can get, just with a little bit more happiness shoved in there.
> 
> "Did that look cool? It felt like it looked cool!"



I hated Transformers at the second movie. TMNT was fun. They got left as mutants. The second one was bad, but maybe bad in an acceptable way? The version of Casey Jones, while acted decently, was written as if they didn't know who the character was at all other than a brawler who uses sports equipment. Disappointing. They don't have the edge the comics had.

As for Bumblebee. I really liked that one. It felt like the same bumblebee from the 80's cartoons. Especially his very strong connection to humanity.


----------



## nightflameauto

Thaeon said:


> I hated Transformers at the second movie. TMNT was fun. They got left as mutants. The second one was bad, but maybe bad in an acceptable way? The version of Casey Jones, while acted decently, was written as if they didn't know who the character was at all other than a brawler who uses sports equipment. Disappointing. They don't have the edge the comics had.
> 
> As for Bumblebee. I really liked that one. It felt like the same bumblebee from the 80's cartoons. Especially his very strong connection to humanity.


Bumblebee was OK, but it was very teen melodrama standard, which is not at all what I'd expect from a movie made by Travis Knight. Some of the teen drama bullshit was just gag inducingly cliche.

Still, a hundred times better than the last Bay film I saw. I didn't walk away from it feeling like I'd lost brain cells and maturity, like I did over the leg humping and slow-mo shots of girls asses while robots are fighting in the background with Bay.


----------



## Thaeon

nightflameauto said:


> Bumblebee was OK, but it was very teen melodrama standard, which is not at all what I'd expect from a movie made by Travis Knight. Some of the teen drama bullshit was just gag inducingly cliche.
> 
> Still, a hundred times better than the last Bay film I saw. I didn't walk away from it feeling like I'd lost brain cells and maturity, like I did over the leg humping and slow-mo shots of girls asses while robots are fighting in the background with Bay.



I saw it as a kid with first car sort of thing... Teen melodrama doesn't bother me all that much. Its the same as adult melodrama with less responsibility attached and less potential consequences. But I'm also the parent of two kids. So drama is daily life. I'm probably desensitized to it.


----------



## TheBlackBard

As much as I love the Lord of the Rings movies, extended versions that is, there's a lot they did wrong. Firstly, it gave a lot of people the completely wrong impression about Sauron among other things. Sauron didn't die from some lucky strike from Isildur. His physical body was only weakened due to battling the legit top tier examples of the Elven and Numenorean race, so he was basically fighting two warriors of magnificent ability and strength. They both died fighting him and Isildur pretty well looted a body that was either dead or very close to it. Also, Sauron isn't some big fucking eye in the sky, either. He's a terrifying entity and he's damn close to victory until he realizes that someone has the ring in his own backyard. At that point, his entire army loses its will. I really feel like the movies didn't impress just how dangerous Sauron was even without the ring, because he was about to win the fight without it. 

Secondly, "why didn't Elrond just kick Isildur into Sammath Naur aka "Cracks of Doom?" Well that's because that scene never happened in the books. There WAS a council meeting that Isildur and Elrond DID attend that did NOT happen in Sammath Naur but given that a.) The ring would be no better in Elrond's hands than anyone else's and absolutely had the power to corrupt him b.) Both the armies of men and elves had been drastically weakened due to the how long was it? Seven year siege at Barad-Dur AFTER the Battle of Dagorlad that eventually led to Sauron's downfall? An assassination attempt would have resulted in another war, especially one against someone like Isildur c.) Ignoring everything else, it just doesn't seem to be Elrond's nature.

Now all that said, I still love the movies. I don't particularly dislike the Hobbit movies even if it was largely depending upon appendices and lesser known plot points such as Saruman beginning to delve into ring-lore and such which lends to his suspicious nature beginning to take hold, and other things that weren't in the Hobbit book itself (a few things happened alongside The Hobbit in that time period, so I can't give it too much shit for bloating). Hell, by that point, you could say that secretly, Saruman had already started to fall from what he was supposed to do.

Oh yeah, speaking of Saruman, they fucked that up about him too. The goal of Saruman was NEVER to join with Sauron, at least on an endgame level. Saruman wanted the Ring of Power for himself. As a matter of fact, the Witch-King of Angmar, I imagine was quite pissed when Saruman refused to tell him where the Halflings were. WK came across Grima and well... the rest is history.

Carry on.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I watched The Harder They Fall. Overall I thought it was really good, I really enjoyed the soundtrack, and the actors were great in roles that they were cast in. 

I felt like this scene where Cuffee gets outed as AFAB and forced to wear a dress for the bank robbery could've been handled little bit better, especially with the whole "wHaT's yOuR rEaL nAmE" bit. I understand that it's likely accurate how the characters would've acted, but it felt out of character for Cuffee not to have anything to say about it considering he spends the rest of the movie being tougher than nails and taking 0% of anyone's shit, and left the problematic aspects feeling a bit unaddressed.

That said, I really enjoyed the movie overall, and I specifically thought that Cuffee was a really great character who I found consistently more interesting than the two main characters and would love to have seen developed more.


----------



## Kaura

Scarface

Believe it or not, I had never seen it before. Didn't really like it apart from all the parts and songs that clearly inspired GTA Vice City. Also, I have to mention how terrible the sound design was. Hardly could understand half the lines that Al Pacino mumbled.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Kaura said:


> Scarface
> 
> Believe it or not, I had never seen it before. Didn't really like it apart from all the parts and songs that clearly inspired GTA Vice City.



Yeah, its overrated in a lot of ways including much of (but not all) the acting. The overall feel is definitely that weird kind of cheap De Palma thing esp with the editing.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Seabeast2000 said:


> Yeah, its overrated in a lot of ways including much of (but not all) the acting. The overall feel is definitely that weird kind of cheap De Palma thing esp with the editing.


But CoCaInE iN tHe 80s BrOoO!


----------



## wankerness

I absolutely love a lot of DePalma movies (Blow Out, Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Femme Fatale, Sisters, Obsession, The Fury) but find Scarface totally uninteresting. It's too "normal" and the crazy stuff in it isn't crazy in a way that appeals to me. I think the same thing about his other "mainstream" movies like Mission Impossible and The Untouchables.


----------



## mastapimp

wankerness said:


> I absolutely love a lot of DePalma movies (Blow Out, Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Femme Fatale, Sisters, Obsession, The Fury) but find Scarface totally uninteresting. It's too "normal" and the crazy stuff in it isn't crazy in a way that appeals to me. I think the same thing about his other "mainstream" movies like Mission Impossible and The Untouchables.


No mention of Body Double? Also, check out the De Palma documentary where he just sits down and discusses his career evolution alongside selected scenes from his films. Was very entertaining as a long time De Palma fan.


----------



## wankerness

I don't remember much about Body Double other than the brief appearance by Gozer the Gozarian, and the fact the lead was that Bill Maher lookalike from Nightmare on Elm Street 3. I think I remember a murder scene with a power drill coming through the ceiling, too! I should rewatch it sometime. I really can't remember if I liked it or not.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I don't remember much about Body Double other than the brief appearance by Gozer the Gozarian, and the fact the lead was that Bill Maher lookalike from Nightmare on Elm Street 3. I think I remember a murder scene with a power drill coming through the ceiling, too! I should rewatch it sometime. I really can't remember if I liked it or not.


Body Double is one of his best movies imo. Just a good solid thriller with some funny bits like melanie griffith accusing the main character of being a necrophiliac, or when the killer's drill gets unplugged from the wall right before he murders someone


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Body Double is one of his best movies imo. Just a good solid thriller with some funny bits like melanie griffith accusing the main character of being a necrophiliac, or when the killer's drill gets unplugged from the wall right before he murders someone


I got curious and searched this thread, only to find I posted a brief review of it when I watched it in 2013 in this very thread. This forum has been around a long time!

"Body Double - Amusing thriller, clearly a huge (acknowledged) ripoff of Vertigo and Rear Window but definitely fun to watch. It's not nearly as good as the director's own "Blow Out" or "Dressed to Kill" but it's amusing. It's basically Vertigo but with a claustrophobic actor instead of a detective that's scared of heights. Melanie Griffith plays a porno star and is pretty funny and likable in the role, I like that this incredibly explicit movie paved the way for her getting hired for "Working Girl." The star is the Bill Maher-looking dweeb from Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and there were a lot of scenes where I wanted to reach through the screen and smack him, but I guess that was the point. There are some amazing Hitchcockian suspense scenes which are incredibly manipulative in the best way possible, especially a threatening scene with a giant power drill. The whole movie is on youtube for some reason. [obviously link is broken now]

I also enjoyed recognizing a store clerk as being Gozer from Ghostbusters. What a frightening lady! 7/10"

Yeah, I need to rewatch this. I fortunately bought the blu-ray during the brief window it was available back in 2013.

I was having a De Palma discussion on some other film board, since Femme Fatale just came out on blu-ray this week. A bunch of people recommended Casualties of War, that's the only one of his non-disastrous studio movies I haven't seen. Guess I should check it out. I don't tend to like his mainstream movies much, though. Carlito's Way also left me pretty cold, same as Scarface and Untouchables.

I was in a used vinyl store yesterday and saw Phantom of the Paradise's soundtrack, got excited, and then saw it was 75 dollars.  I go through phases where that's my favorite of his movies. Regardless of if it's my favorite of his, it totally rules. It deserves a way bigger reputation than it has. The music and filmmaking is SO much better than the infinitely more famous Rocky Horror Picture Show.

That place's selection was insane, they had probably a thousand soundtracks on vinyl. Most of the interesting ones were jacked up, though.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The new Evil Bong came out, so my girlfriend and I are watching all of them. Before anyone asks, we love a good "so bad it's good" film.


----------



## manu80

Went to see Top gun yesterday. Impressive plane/fly scenes, visually stunning. And the Iceman tribute hit me ...lots of humor also. Still the story is paint by numbers, a la star wars...why tell that a screenplay takes you a long time to polish as it's just a cut/paste , like 80% of the Previous movie ? but it's a fun ride
at least it changes a bit of marvel 
Speaking of marvel....Didn't find Dr trange that great....


----------



## nightflameauto

The Adam Project - 7/10
Enjoyable, if predictable, Ryan Reynolds with a kid playing a younger Ryan Reynolds and them continually sniping each other in Ryan Reynolds fashion. I enjoyed it, but could totally see where some might balk at it.

The Ridiculous 6 - 6/10
No, this is not a quality film. But, it's one of the few Sandler flicks that doesn't see Sandler play an even more simple version of himself than he actually is. And the all-star cast really kicks this up next level. Taylor Lautner was a fuckin' riot. "lots more attractive than the canti-lope." LOL. Tons of fun, but you'd have to be in the right mood for it.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I watched The Batman. It fell victim to a lot of the usual cringy "brooding hero dood" archetypes including him creeping on Selina Kyle's bedroom and then repeatedly invading her personal space in very uncomfortable ways because he "had to." It also skipped a lot of the eye-rolling machismo that Bale's Batman had, so that was nice. Emo batman with gross hair and eye makeup was a refreshing take on the archetype, at least.

I did appreciate the nuance around the Wayne family legacy, as a person Batman sucks a lot and is just a power trip/savior complex with a bunch of armament, so it was refreshing to have non-villain characters be critical of that, even if it seemed to be just moving the plot along. I will say I have grown very fond of Gotham's My Chemical Romance Penguin character, it was hard to see Oz as the Penguin. Gotham's Penguin was the right fit for Gotham's aesthetic though.

Batman is one of my least favorite superheroes, but I am also fascinated by portrayals of him and what they might have to say about our culture and society. I enjoyed Gotham a lot and am very curious to see where they take this rendition.



nightflameauto said:


> The Adam Project - 7/10
> Enjoyable, if predictable, Ryan Reynolds with a kid playing a younger Ryan Reynolds and them continually sniping each other in Ryan Reynolds fashion. I enjoyed it, but could totally see where some might balk at it.



My only real problem with this movie was that everything else around the "Ryan Reynolds quips at Ryan Reynolds" gag was a pretty bare scaffold. I didn't even finish the end. I would've appreciated a story that tried a little harder. It was entertaining, I give it that, and they still did a better job at time travel than Tenet. On the whole it was just a better sci-fi flick than Tenet, which considering my core criticism is that it's not sci-fi enough, is also the most blistering critique of Tenet I can conjure.


----------



## thebeesknees22

finally took a day to catch up on all the marvel movies I've missed

black widow - meh.... it's ok. Some of the vfx definitely showed just how rushed things were at the end of the project. Some of the plates they shot were just terrible, and it didn't matter how good the vfx were, they were just poorly shot.

shang chi - unwatchable. turned it off after 15-20 minutes. Just couldn't do it.

Eternals - it was........ really bad tbh. edit is terrible. just no flow to the whole movie. Shot like a day time soap opera, and not like a film. All that marvel money, and that's how marvel shot that thing? ooof.... Characters are flat dull and boring. Just no life or spark to them.

...bah! 
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻​
Spiderman: No Way Home was better though. Overall good. Some parts were just kinda weird or fell flat, but not enough to detract from the overall movie.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Superhero movies have never had a huge appeal to me, but I am Super over the Marvel movie franchise.


----------



## MFB

wheresthefbomb said:


> Superhero movies have never had a huge appeal to me, but I am Super over the Marvel movie franchise.



The only Marvel movie I'm seeing this year is Thor 4, aside from that nothing else has interested me and they're playing so safe with everything that it's become stale as hell. I applaud them for what they did with the Infinity Saga, and it was great to have everything lead by one vision and therefore everything felt in the same universe with materials/locations, etc... but to have everything with the same humor and tones just becomes uninteresting at this point.

Which is especially sad if they're willing to give IPs like Moon Knight and Blade a chance. I'm very curious to see where Blade goes, but I think now is the time that they HAVE to start diversifying if they want to stay alive.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

MFB said:


> The only Marvel movie I'm seeing this year is Thor 4, aside from that nothing else has interested me and they're playing so safe with everything that it's become stale as hell. I applaud them for what they did with the Infinity Saga, and it was great to have everything lead by one vision and therefore everything felt in the same universe with materials/locations, etc... but to have everything with the same humor and tones just becomes uninteresting at this point.
> 
> Which is especially sad if they're willing to give IPs like Moon Knight and Blade a chance. I'm very curious to see where Blade goes, but I think now is the time that they HAVE to start diversifying if they want to stay alive.



Hard to imagine Blade any way but Wesley Snipes and maximum 00's trenchcoat goth cringe.

I thought the captain America/Ironman conflict in Civil War was a high point of the Marvel movie writing. That story arc posed some incredibly deep questions about individual accountability and the role of government in such a globalized society. Capt America's position ends up looking a lot like some basic anarchist principles, namely that giving ultimate authority over the Avengers to a third party insulates them from being directly, personally accountable for the now-substantial fallout of their actions, not to mention further entrenching them in the military-industrial complex.

Most of the movies weren't nearly that interesting.


----------



## MFB

And to think, that came from guys who only a few years earlier were writing staircar jokes for Arrested Development; but yeah, the entire Capt. America trilogy is for sure the stand-out of the MCU, as each one is sort of it's own genre.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

The general trend I've noticed with Marvel is they keep dipping their toes into the darker side of their properties, but never fully committing. They're almost there with Moon Knight and the latest Dr. Strange, but they still hamstrung them for my tastes. Hopefully with Blade they'll lean into the nastier side of their comics, or at the minimum introduce the Midnight Sons. Plus they still have all the netflix marvel shows to draw from (since those characters are canon).


Fox and DC have had no problem doing more adult standalone films/shows, a good pile of which have been successful (The Wolverine, Old Man Logan, Deadpool 1/2, Joker, Peacemaker, Doom Patrol, Birds of Prey, Suicide Squad 2.0, Constantine, Snyder Cut Justice League).


Marvel is definitely not playing it safe in terms of the characters they've introduced over the last year or two. 99% of people didn't know who Shang Chi, Moon Knight or the Eternals were until Marvel pushed them to the forefront. 
Shang Chi was great, Black Widow was good. Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness was one of the best marvel movie of the last 2 years imo, besides Spiderman No Way Home.
Eternals was mediocre and had a lot of cringy shit in it.
She Hulk looks awful.


----------



## MFB

The thing that needs to happen but probably won't because it'd make too much sense: have a separate division for the R-rated titles that NEED it (Deadpool, Daredevil, Punisher, Blade, bump up Moon Knight into it) and then there's no confusion for what's "all ages" accessible versus those that are obviously for adults/mature audiences.

DC at this point can do whatever they want because they know nothing is going to last for more than one movie so they've been in full YOLO mode. Whatever works, they're gonna stick to that for as long as they can, and try not to fuck it up behind the scenes like shelving Cavill Superman when he wasn't the problem with Man of Steel. Same for FOX, they got X-Men and X2 right, but shit went off the rails after that; and even when they nailed it with the first two reboots with a younger cast, then they took a big dump on that trilogy by ending with Apocalypse, and if the horse wasn't dead enough, hired the same guy who fucked up the Phoenix Saga the first time to do it AGAIN. Spoiler alert: he did and no one gave a shit about the movie the second it was announced. The definition of dead on arrival. And in the Mouse's infinite wisdom it's not like he'd ever bring back those that were cast and worked. The kid who played Cyclops works, Alexandra Shipp as Storm? Yes please. I forgot who played Jubilee but she was good too, but no - none of them will come back because they think people are too stop to consider them separate franchises if they do.

I hate the movie monopolization thats occurred with the comic genre


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> The thing that needs to happen but probably won't because it'd make too much sense: have a separate division for the R-rated titles that NEED it (Deadpool, Daredevil, Punisher, Blade, bump up Moon Knight into it) and then there's no confusion for what's "all ages" accessible versus those that are obviously for adults/mature audiences.
> 
> DC at this point can do whatever they want because they know nothing is going to last for more than one movie so they've been in full YOLO mode. Whatever works, they're gonna stick to that for as long as they can, and try not to fuck it up behind the scenes like shelving Cavill Superman when he wasn't the problem with Man of Steel. Same for FOX, they got X-Men and X2 right, but shit went off the rails after that; and even when they nailed it with the first two reboots with a younger cast, then they took a big dump on that trilogy by ending with Apocalypse, and if the horse wasn't dead enough, hired the same guy who fucked up the Phoenix Saga the first time to do it AGAIN. Spoiler alert: he did and no one gave a shit about the movie the second it was announced. The definition of dead on arrival. And in the Mouse's infinite wisdom it's not like he'd ever bring back those that were cast and worked. The kid who played Cyclops works, Alexandra Shipp as Storm? Yes please. I forgot who played Jubilee but she was good too, but no - none of them will come back because they think people are too stop to consider them separate franchises if they do.
> 
> I hate the movie monopolization thats occurred with the comic genre


The whole multiverse schtick for Marvel opens up the possibility for dakrer, hard R rated one shots and shows. Hopefully they embrace that more like they already kind of did with Dr. Strange.
Plus multiverse stories gives them oodles of teamup options and not having to lock the same actors into a role for a decade. 

cavill got shelved due to netflix contract shenanigans (they had exclusive rights to his face/likeness for a period of time, which is why he didn't show his face in Shazam/Peacemaker cameos)


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MFB said:


> The thing that needs to happen but probably won't because it'd make too much sense: have a separate division for the R-rated titles that NEED it (Deadpool, Daredevil, Punisher, Blade, bump up Moon Knight into it) and then there's no confusion for what's "all ages" accessible versus those that are obviously for adults/mature audiences.
> 
> DC at this point can do whatever they want because they know nothing is going to last for more than one movie so they've been in full YOLO mode. Whatever works, they're gonna stick to that for as long as they can, and try not to fuck it up behind the scenes like shelving Cavill Superman when he wasn't the problem with Man of Steel. Same for FOX, they got X-Men and X2 right, but shit went off the rails after that; and even when they nailed it with the first two reboots with a younger cast, then they took a big dump on that trilogy by ending with Apocalypse, and if the horse wasn't dead enough, hired the same guy who fucked up the Phoenix Saga the first time to do it AGAIN. Spoiler alert: he did and no one gave a shit about the movie the second it was announced. The definition of dead on arrival. And in the Mouse's infinite wisdom it's not like he'd ever bring back those that were cast and worked. The kid who played Cyclops works, Alexandra Shipp as Storm? Yes please. I forgot who played Jubilee but she was good too, but no - none of them will come back because they think people are too stop to consider them separate franchises if they do.
> 
> I hate the movie monopolization thats occurred with the comic genre



The first 2 Xmen movies were fun for their time, but just doesn't hold up now, even compared to First Class. Though my biggest gripe with the whole Fox Xmen movies is that throughout the franchise, it's barely moved an inch, just jogging in place, bar for a few good movies, and even most of those tend to distance themselves from continuity (Deadpool and Logan). 

I also have a serious gripe with how they handled the Dark Phoenix saga. Both times they missed the point of what made Chris Claremont's story so compelling and just rushed straight to it, hence why they failed flat on both swings. 


I'm ok with WB treating DC movies as standalone stories with little to no continuity, as long as they make good movies and not something as offensive and unwatchable as the first Suicide Squad and the theatrical cut of Justice League. People often say they need a Kevin Feigie to run their ship, often forgetting that Feigie is a sharp and shrewd businessman as much as he his a massive fanboy. Sure there's a byzantine amount of BTS secrecy that everyone involved has to abide to, but it keeps the ship afloat. The state of DC and WB at the moment is in such a disarray: lack of cohesive focus, doing Ray Fischer dirty, the long Snyder saga, WB being sold to Discovery, Ezra Miller doing a ton of stupid stuff... it's hard to remain enthusiastic. I have low hopes for the Flash, not just because of Miller, but the long delays, switch of directors, making the 2 past Batman actors as marketing pushes over the title character... this is a recipe for disaster. 

As for Marvel... well we can all blame their successful business model for making every other film studio follow suit releasing mediocre to terrible movies in a rush for a cinematic franchise, all missing the point of the slow burn. MCU are in a good position to explore other genres that may not appease the usual fanbase while gaining new ones in the process. It's healthy to have a diverse amount of content of varying degree. All these movies still suffer from a strict Disney house brand feel like a high floor, low ceiling quality to them, but these new different experiments of the most recent output do help them from stagnation and the inevitable superhero fatigue that will hit us all at some point, if not already. 

Having said that, this has all happened in the film industry before. Even the big epic films of the 50s and 60s came to a massive halt that lead to the New Hollywood auteur guys doing small grounded high concept movies. It could happen again, and it's already happening simultaneously with a lot of current auteur directors and writers dipping their feet on both ends.


----------



## wankerness

thebeesknees22 said:


> finally took a day to catch up on all the marvel movies I've missed
> 
> black widow - meh.... it's ok. Some of the vfx definitely showed just how rushed things were at the end of the project. Some of the plates they shot were just terrible, and it didn't matter how good the vfx were, they were just poorly shot.
> 
> shang chi - unwatchable. turned it off after 15-20 minutes. Just couldn't do it.
> 
> Eternals - it was........ really bad tbh. edit is terrible. just no flow to the whole movie. Shot like a day time soap opera, and not like a film. All that marvel money, and that's how marvel shot that thing? ooof.... Characters are flat dull and boring. Just no life or spark to them.
> 
> ...bah!
> (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻​
> Spiderman: No Way Home was better though. Overall good. Some parts were just kinda weird or fell flat, but not enough to detract from the overall movie.


I've been catching up with them slowly. I get them on 4K as soon as the price goes under 20 dollars cause they're usually worth it as system demos and I mostly like them. Haven't bought Eternals yet cause that one really does sound bad, but I'll watch it eventually somehow.

Black Widow - I liked it more than I thought I would. Florence Pugh is fun, Stranger Things guy is really bad at a Russian accent but at least he's also fun, I sorta like the family unit thing that it has going on, it's overall just pretty fun if not very memorable.

Shang-Chi - after about the first 20 minutes I REALLY liked this. I think it might be the best origin movie in the MCU. I like that it really goes all out on being some kind of weirdo Wuxia movie instead of just feeling like cookie-cutter Marvel stuff. I mean, the martial arts stuff is definitely brought down a bit by the integration of cool CGI iron man effects, but it's still a hell of a lot more fun in the action department than pretty much anything else in the MCU. The lead guy and his sister are kind of boring but the villain is seriously probably the best in the whole MCU, they got a really really good actor from some classics like In the Mood for Love and he is great. Plus, his motivations are a lot better and more integrated into the plot than most of these things. Overall a hell of a lot better than I was expecting, definitely one of the best Marvel movies. The beginning did make my head spin with the exposition dump and has by far the worst fight scene in the movie (cause it's between an old actor and a non-stunt actress and it really shows).

Spider-Man No Way Home - this is pretty good. We watched the Garfield movies and the Macguire movies in prep for it, and those Garfield ones are ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. Like some of the worst big-budget movies I've ever seen. And it's too bad, cause Garfield is such a likable actor! This movie really was most appealing as a sort of opportunity for him to atone for that, and it leaves you feeling the warm fuzzies about Garfield Spider-Man, when his movies were utter disasters. Not as keen on the attempt to resuscitate Electro, but hey. It's pretty good.

Dr Strange 2 - I wanted to like this, and I loved the Raimi-isms that are in it (lots of dutch angles, scenes reminiscent of Bruce Campbell losing it while inanimate objects get zoomed in on and mirrors turn into water, possibly Bruce Campbell's best-ever cameo, etc), but it's really a big mess and not very involving. I also hated that it pushes the Disney+ shows. I'm not watching those damn shows, and this is the first movie that's tried to tell me I had to. I have always been a HUGE fan of Elizabeth Olsen (since seeing her in Martha Marcy May Marlene long before Avengers 2) and she's really good here, it's just too bad a lot of the impact of her arc seems to be dependent on having watched her damn show. All the alternate universe stuff with Rachel Macadams feels empty and worthless, and while some of the "alternate universe Avengers" were fun I didn't really want to see more of any of them besides their equivalent of Captain America.



wheresthefbomb said:


> I watched The Batman. It fell victim to a lot of the usual cringy "brooding hero dood" archetypes including him creeping on Selina Kyle's bedroom and then repeatedly invading her personal space in very uncomfortable ways because he "had to." It also skipped a lot of the eye-rolling machismo that Bale's Batman had, so that was nice. Emo batman with gross hair and eye makeup was a refreshing take on the archetype, at least.
> 
> I did appreciate the nuance around the Wayne family legacy, as a person Batman sucks a lot and is just a power trip/savior complex with a bunch of armament, so it was refreshing to have non-villain characters be critical of that, even if it seemed to be just moving the plot along. I will say I have grown very fond of Gotham's My Chemical Romance Penguin character, it was hard to see Oz as the Penguin. Gotham's Penguin was the right fit for Gotham's aesthetic though.
> 
> Batman is one of my least favorite superheroes, but I am also fascinated by portrayals of him and what they might have to say about our culture and society. I enjoyed Gotham a lot and am very curious to see where they take this rendition.
> 
> 
> 
> My only real problem with this movie was that everything else around the "Ryan Reynolds quips at Ryan Reynolds" gag was a pretty bare scaffold. I didn't even finish the end. I would've appreciated a story that tried a little harder. It was entertaining, I give it that, and they still did a better job at time travel than Tenet. On the whole it was just a better sci-fi flick than Tenet, which considering my core criticism is that it's not sci-fi enough, is also the most blistering critique of Tenet I can conjure.


I watched The Batman. I was enjoying it for a while despite the plot seeming pointless, mainly cause The Penguin is great. However, it's way too long, and that Wayne stuff that you mention as a positive isn't a positive at all. It's a waste of screentime the way they implemented it. Basically it's three long scenes introducing and resolving the drama, and they stick them back to back. It's like "you find out Thomas Wayne was a dick, another bad guy says he's a dick, then Alfred says actually no he wasn't a dick he was good, the end."

The worst part of the Batman by far is the fucking Riddler. I HATED what they did with that character. Utterly hated it. I know they were trying to make him creepy like the Zodiac or whatever, but it's just ponderous and idiotic and they should have called him Hush or something instead of trying to use a more recognizable character to just be generic serial killer man. "Riddles" barely come into it. And Paul Dano is unbelievably awful in the role towards the end in the prison scenes. This edit of him going NOOOO NOOOO THAT WASN'T WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN NOOOO with the I Think You Should Leave stinger was not something I thought of while watching it, but it's dead-on. And that scene, as laughably bad as it is, gets radically worse after that clip cuts it, when he starts singing Ave Maria! What the hell. Paul Dano is great in other stuff but he's so, so bad here. 



And bad as he is, I'd rather see more of him than the horrible version of The Joker that they introduced. (I watched the deleted scene with him, too, and that was also heinous). This version seems neck and neck with the Jared Leto one for worst possible version of the character. I guess I'll at least give it a chance if they keep some of the same crew. Matt Reeves made some of my favorite blockbusters of all time in the last couple Planet of the Apes movies and he does pull off a few good scenes here, and I like the general look of it, the script just totally sucks and it's way too long. And I love Robert Pattinson in stuff like Cronenberg movies and The Lighthouse, but he's pretty much a non-entity here. Still, I didn't mind the direction they took the character, even though it was frequently unintentionally funny the way Batman came to crime scenes to investigate in his costume while the cops all stand around. Oh, I think this design of Catwoman is terrible, too, her hat looks even stupider than Halle Berry's. Dunno what they were thinking. The actual character is OK and I don't mind Kravitz though.


----------



## thebeesknees22

wankerness said:


> I've been catching up with them slowly. I get them on 4K as soon as the price goes under 20 dollars cause they're usually worth it as system demos and I mostly like them. Haven't bought Eternals yet cause that one really does sound bad, but I'll watch it eventually somehow.
> 
> Black Widow - I liked it more than I thought I would. Florence Pugh is fun, Stranger Things guy is really bad at a Russian accent but at least he's also fun, I sorta like the family unit thing that it has going on, it's overall just pretty fun if not very memorable.
> 
> Shang-Chi - after about the first 20 minutes I REALLY liked this. I think it might be the best origin movie in the MCU. I like that it really goes all out on being some kind of weirdo Wuxia movie instead of just feeling like cookie-cutter Marvel stuff. I mean, the martial arts stuff is definitely brought down a bit by the integration of cool CGI iron man effects, but it's still a hell of a lot more fun in the action department than pretty much anything else in the MCU. The lead guy and his sister are kind of boring but the villain is seriously probably the best in the whole MCU, they got a really really good actor from some classics like In the Mood for Love and he is great. Plus, his motivations are a lot better and more integrated into the plot than most of these things. Overall a hell of a lot better than I was expecting, definitely one of the best Marvel movies. The beginning did make my head spin with the exposition dump and has by far the worst fight scene in the movie (cause it's between an old actor and a non-stunt actress and it really shows).
> 
> Spider-Man No Way Home - this is pretty good. We watched the Garfield movies and the Macguire movies in prep for it, and those Garfield ones are ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. Like some of the worst big-budget movies I've ever seen. And it's too bad, cause Garfield is such a likable actor! This movie really was most appealing as a sort of opportunity for him to atone for that, and it leaves you feeling the warm fuzzies about Garfield Spider-Man, when his movies were utter disasters. Not as keen on the attempt to resuscitate Electro, but hey. It's pretty good.
> 
> Dr Strange 2 - I wanted to like this, and I loved the Raimi-isms that are in it (lots of dutch angles, scenes reminiscent of Bruce Campbell losing it while inanimate objects get zoomed in on and mirrors turn into water, possibly Bruce Campbell's best-ever cameo, etc), but it's really a big mess and not very involving. I also hated that it pushes the Disney+ shows. I'm not watching those damn shows, and this is the first movie that's tried to tell me I had to. I have always been a HUGE fan of Elizabeth Olsen (since seeing her in Martha Marcy May Marlene long before Avengers 2) and she's really good here, it's just too bad a lot of the impact of her arc seems to be dependent on having watched her damn show. All the alternate universe stuff with Rachel Macadams feels empty and worthless, and while some of the "alternate universe Avengers" were fun I didn't really want to see more of any of them besides their equivalent of Captain America.
> 
> 
> I watched The Batman. I was enjoying it for a while despite the plot seeming pointless, mainly cause The Penguin is great. However, it's way too long, and that Wayne stuff that you mention as a positive isn't a positive at all. It's a waste of screentime the way they implemented it. Basically it's three long scenes introducing and resolving the drama, and they stick them back to back. It's like "you find out Thomas Wayne was a dick, another bad guy says he's a dick, then Alfred says actually no he wasn't a dick he was good, the end."
> 
> The worst part of the Batman by far is the fucking Riddler. I HATED what they did with that character. Utterly hated it. I know they were trying to make him creepy like the Zodiac or whatever, but it's just ponderous and idiotic and they should have called him Hush or something instead of trying to use a more recognizable character to just be generic serial killer man. "Riddles" barely come into it. And Paul Dano is unbelievably awful in the role towards the end in the prison scenes. This edit of him going NOOOO NOOOO THAT WASN'T WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN NOOOO with the I Think You Should Leave stinger was not something I thought of while watching it, but it's dead-on. And that scene, as laughably bad as it is, gets radically worse after that clip cuts it, when he starts singing Ave Maria! What the hell. Paul Dano is great in other stuff but he's so, so bad here.



Ugh.... I'm going to have to back and watch the rest of Shang-Chi ....ugh... I don't want to lol


----------



## wankerness

thebeesknees22 said:


> Ugh.... I'm going to have to back and watch the rest of Shang-Chi ....ugh... I don't want to lol


I had a bad time for a bit, I think I noticed I was really getting into it around the half hour mark or so. Maybe a little bit more. I think it's worth it.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

wankerness said:


> I watched The Batman. I was enjoying it for a while despite the plot seeming pointless, mainly cause The Penguin is great. However, it's way too long, and that Wayne stuff that you mention as a positive isn't a positive at all. It's a waste of screentime the way they implemented it. Basically it's three long scenes introducing and resolving the drama, and they stick them back to back. It's like "you find out Thomas Wayne was a dick, another bad guy says he's a dick, then Alfred says actually no he wasn't a dick he was good, the end."



This is a very fair point, to be honest I didn't look too much deeper then its implications for the story canon in general. I definitely agree that the villains were totally lackluster with the exception of Penguin, who I did enjoy despite my strong appreciation for the Gotham Penguin.

Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow is probably my top "in my lifetime" Batman villian. He's incredibly creepy in the ways this recent Riddler tried and failed to be.


----------



## wankerness

There was a string of great jokers from Romero through Ledger, but after the last couple terrible ones (and Phoenix who was good but probably wouldn’t fit in a Batman movie), now I think Penguin is the new streak of good performances! I like the ridiculous 60s one, Danny Devito’s great, and now Farrell as this one was great too. And they’re all really different! I wish they’d give Penguin the lead villain role for next movie so his scenes don’t ultimately feel pointless, but I bet they will go with the acid scarred joker instead.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

wankerness said:


> There was a string of great jokers from Romero through Ledger, but after the last couple terrible ones (and Phoenix who was good but probably wouldn’t fit in a Batman movie), now I think Penguin is the new streak of good performances! I like the ridiculous 60s one, Danny Devito’s great, and now Farrell as this one was great too. And they’re all really different! I wish they’d give Penguin the lead villain role for next movie so his scenes don’t ultimately feel pointless, but I bet they will go with the acid scarred joker instead.



I have to agree, and I have a feeling I may be taking a minority opinion, but I really enjoyed Gotham's My Chemical Romance Penguin as well.


----------



## thebeesknees22

wankerness said:


> There was a string of great jokers from Romero through Ledger, but after the last couple terrible ones (and Phoenix who was good but probably wouldn’t fit in a Batman movie), now I think Penguin is the new streak of good performances! I like the ridiculous 60s one, Danny Devito’s great, and now Farrell as this one was great too. And they’re all really different! I wish they’d give Penguin the lead villain role for next movie so his scenes don’t ultimately feel pointless, but I bet they will go with the acid scarred joker instead.


I don't really consider Pheonix's Joker movie a real joker movie. He didn't fit the character at all. He was just some super depressed dude who could have been anyone.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> There was a string of great jokers from Romero through Ledger, but after the last couple terrible ones (and Phoenix who was good but probably wouldn’t fit in a Batman movie), now I think Penguin is the new streak of good performances! I like the ridiculous 60s one, Danny Devito’s great, and now Farrell as this one was great too. And they’re all really different! I wish they’d give Penguin the lead villain role for next movie so his scenes don’t ultimately feel pointless, but I bet they will go with the acid scarred joker instead.


Can we seriously get a proper Scarecrow led horror movie Batman film for fucks sake? Fuck Ra's Al Ghul.


----------



## WarMachine

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Can we seriously get a proper Scarecrow led horror movie Batman film for fucks sake? Fuck Ra's Al Ghul.


And somehow incorporate Clayface in there? I've been wanting to see Clayface in a main role for YEARS. With CG the way it is now, it could be pretty badass if done right.


----------



## MFB

WarMachine said:


> And somehow incorporate Clayface in there? I've been wanting to see Clayface in a main role for YEARS. With CG the way it is now, it could be pretty badass if done right.



I was telling my coworkers I'd love for The Batman sequel to take place on like, the anniversary of the Riddler attacks leading into winter and for them to do a Mr. Freeze & Clayface combo. Unfortunately with how grounded that universe is, I think we need one more movie to introduce some of the more "mystic"/"fantasy" elements to the villains; not sure how you justify a dude who can suddenly alter his appearance at will.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

WarMachine said:


> And somehow incorporate Clayface in there? I've been wanting to see Clayface in a main role for YEARS. With CG the way it is now, it could be pretty badass if done right.


We need sequel material.


----------



## MFB

Incarnate - I knew this would be bad, it's just like, demonic Inception I guess; except instead of DiCaprio, we have Eckhart playing a paralyzed asshole, and no JGL/Tom Hardy/Ken Wantanabe.

From Within - also bad, this one walked so It Follows could run.


----------



## Mathemagician

Just watched the 2012 Spider-Man for the first time ever with Garfield. I never saw them at the time just because I was busy w/school. But I’m surprised people seemed to “hate” them for so long. Was it just because everyone wanted Toby back?


----------



## wankerness

Mathemagician said:


> Just watched the 2012 Spider-Man for the first time ever with Garfield. I never saw them at the time just because I was busy w/school. But I’m surprised people seemed to “hate” them for so long. Was it just because everyone wanted Toby back?


No, it's cause it's terrible and doesn't know what it's doing in terms of characterization or writing. It's some of the worst character writing imaginable. Garfield is good enough that he can trick you into thinking his character has any consistency, but holy SHIT is the movie horribly written.

Spider-Man himself seems to waver between being tortured emo kid, goofy nerd, and smart-ass cocky asshole, but not through any sort of character development. He just acts like a different character depending on what each scene calls for. It's a mess. Tobey Maguire certainly had mood swings, but the crucial difference is that those movies have things like "character arcs" or "people reacting to events in some approximation of the way you'd expect a human to behave," while ASM doesn't even pretend.

The villain's even worse, with him initially presented as some kind of benevolent scientist ala the early scenes with Dr. Octavius, but then just randomly turning into a complete psycho with no real explanation. The worst is the unbearable scene in which he very angrily starts defending lizards to Peter Parker well beyond the point of any audience member getting frustrated thinking "Peter, you dumbass, he's basically screaming from the rooftops that he's the giant lizard monster."

And what the hell is with the scene where Peter parks himself in the center of a sewer listening for the lizard with his camera set up in a corner, but then as soon as the lizard shows up, he just leaves the camera there instead of using it/taking it?? It's like they forgot to put in WHY Peter had his camera there when trying to come up with a scene to explain how the lizard would figure out Spider-Man was Peter.

And then there's Emma Stone, who's given an endless parade of short skirts and tall boots and a lot of sassy, brainless dialogue while also trying to convince us she's such a genius that she as a high schooler is working in one of the most high-tech laboratories in the world. I think it's probably just that the writers for this movie were way too stupid to come up with intelligent-sounding dialogue rather than anything that could be blamed on Emma Stone.

It's bad, bad, bad. The adult casting is no fun, either. Martin Sheen is completely unconvincing as a blue-collar regular guy. Sally Field is trying way too hard to dramatically act for the level that this tripe deserves, and she ends up bringing down her scenes by making them too miserable. The only guy that comes out relatively unscathed is Denis Leary, who manages to snark his way through the early scenes but become likable by the end.

The sequel's even worse (epic dubstep Itsy Bitsy Spider, anyone?). I don't totally love the ones with Tom Holland or anything but at least they have vibrant characters that do things that are consistent with their established personalities.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Agree with every point above. I didn't watch the Garfield movies when they released but watched the first one a year or 2 ago and thought it was utter trash. Just an insulting movie, compared to the Tom Holland ones and even the Toby McGuire ones (which really show their age, I think).


----------



## Mathemagician

wankerness said:


> No, it's cause it's terrible and doesn't know what it's doing in terms of characterization or writing. It's some of the worst character writing imaginable. Garfield is good enough that he can trick you into thinking his character has any consistency, but holy SHIT is the movie horribly written.
> 
> Spider-Man himself seems to waver between being tortured emo kid, goofy nerd, and smart-ass cocky asshole, but not through any sort of character development. He just acts like a different character depending on what each scene calls for. It's a mess. Tobey Maguire certainly had mood swings, but the crucial difference is that those movies have things like "character arcs" or "people reacting to events in some approximation of the way you'd expect a human to behave," while ASM doesn't even pretend.
> 
> The villain's even worse, with him initially presented as some kind of benevolent scientist ala the early scenes with Dr. Octavius, but then just randomly turning into a complete psycho with no real explanation. The worst is the unbearable scene in which he very angrily starts defending lizards to Peter Parker well beyond the point of any audience member getting frustrated thinking "Peter, you dumbass, he's basically screaming from the rooftops that he's the giant lizard monster."
> 
> And what the hell is with the scene where Peter parks himself in the center of a sewer listening for the lizard with his camera set up in a corner, but then as soon as the lizard shows up, he just leaves the camera there instead of using it/taking it?? It's like they forgot to put in WHY Peter had his camera there when trying to come up with a scene to explain how the lizard would figure out Spider-Man was Peter.
> 
> And then there's Emma Stone, who's given an endless parade of short skirts and tall boots and a lot of sassy, brainless dialogue while also trying to convince us she's such a genius that she as a high schooler is working in one of the most high-tech laboratories in the world. I think it's probably just that the writers for this movie were way too stupid to come up with intelligent-sounding dialogue rather than anything that could be blamed on Emma Stone.
> 
> It's bad, bad, bad. The adult casting is no fun, either. Martin Sheen is completely unconvincing as a blue-collar regular guy. Sally Field is trying way too hard to dramatically act for the level that this tripe deserves, and she ends up bringing down her scenes by making them too miserable. The only guy that comes out relatively unscathed is Denis Leary, who manages to snark his way through the early scenes but become likable by the end.
> 
> The sequel's even worse (epic dubstep Itsy Bitsy Spider, anyone?). I don't totally love the ones with Tom Holland or anything but at least they have vibrant characters that do things that are consistent with their established personalities.



You know you put to words a lot of the different things I’d noticed especially in regards to the character personalities/acting. I agree with pretty much all of them. 

One scene that stuck out as well done character wise was the saving of the kid in the car. That actually felt like a really cool thing for Peter Parker to do. I wish we’d had a little more of that stuff. 

It also feels like a classic move where they had to cut it down to reach a fixed run time. I feel like anything that would have noted character development got cut or something. 

I still had fun though. And I’m glad he got a bit of a redemption story in the latest spider man movie.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Watched the most recent Dune again as I am reading the book for the first time.

I've seen the older movies many times at this point, but as I read the book I am realizing there is so much even within the parts of the story that do make it onto film that just doesn't get the detail necessary to fully understand WTF is going on.

Perfect example, I didn't realize the full extent to which the Bene Gesserit had engineered the _entire_ arc of the Maud'dib prophecy. The movies all make reference to it in their own ways and I notice it now having read (part of) the book, but the fact that they _did it all_ is not as clear.

To me, this makes it a much more interesting take on the "white savior" trope. The Fremen had their entire culture and religion infiltrated by what surely must have been many generations of social engineering. That is a lot more believable than them and just arbitrarily having a prophecy that can only be fulfilled by white space jesus, but that in and of itself is a rather common trope and so I applaud Frank Herbert, especially given the time in which he wrote this, for putting substantially more nuance to the events, allowing them the weight of more meaningful implications.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> We need sequel material.


Why? It's a DC film. They'll push the reset button and have a new Batman to play with in less than three films. I'd be shocked to see Pattinson's second outing as Batman make it to release. That management team hates nothing more than they hate continuity.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Why? It's a DC film. They'll push the reset button and have a new Batman to play with in less than three films. I'd be shocked to see Pattinson's second outing as Batman make it to release. That management team hates nothing more than they hate continuity.


Meanwhile, Ezra Miller is a fucking dumpster fire piece of genetic feces and is still going to be in The Flash, apparently. 

As for Pattinson, I have no interest in this version of Batman. For whatever reason, I'm just not interested and I love Batman movies.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Meanwhile, Ezra Miller is a fucking dumpster fire piece of genetic feces and is still going to be in The Flash, apparently.
> 
> As for Pattinson, I have no interest in this version of Batman. For whatever reason, I'm just not interested and I love Batman movies.


 he's done as the Flash and fired from WB after this film. The only reason they kept him on was to finish the film.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Meanwhile, Ezra Miller is a fucking dumpster fire piece of genetic feces and is still going to be in The Flash, apparently.
> 
> As for Pattinson, I have no interest in this version of Batman. For whatever reason, I'm just not interested and I love Batman movies.


Unfortunately, I don't think the movie making machine will be completely satisfied until Batman is destroyed as a movie property. I'm a huge Batman fan, and have been since I was a kid, and I haven't bothered watching a Batman movies since Bale's. I can't stand having a completely new cast every time a movie comes out. I've been tempted by this one, as it does at least sound interesting in concept, but it is Pattinson. Very few actors get a bigger *meh* from me. He's not a bad actor, but doesn't inspire with most of his performances either.


----------



## MFB

nightflameauto said:


> Unfortunately, I don't think the movie making machine will be completely satisfied until Batman is destroyed as a movie property. I'm a huge Batman fan, and have been since I was a kid, and I haven't bothered watching a Batman movies since Bale's. I can't stand having a completely new cast every time a movie comes out. I've been tempted by this one, as it does at least sound interesting in concept, but it is Pattinson. Very few actors get a bigger *meh* from me. He's not a bad actor, but doesn't inspire with most of his performances either.



Man, that's an absolute shame as Affleck was a perfectly cast Batman for a DKR style, and Pattinson coming in for a year two style origins looks to be on track as the next Keaton; Bale's trilogy has moments where it's good, but overall, it's pretty hokey.


----------



## nightflameauto

MFB said:


> Man, that's an absolute shame as Affleck was a perfectly cast Batman for a DKR style, and Pattinson coming in for a year two style origins looks to be on track as the next Keaton; Bale's trilogy has moments where it's good, but overall, it's pretty hokey.


I got burnt out on the flip-flip-flip nature of the DC franchises and gave up on them altogether movie-wise. I watched the Keaton Batman's, hit the Kilmer one, then bowed out when they changed to Clooney. Three Batmans in three films is two too many.

Got into the Bale ones even if they aren't the favorites of anybody, then they announced before the third came out that they're restarting yet again in the hopes of creating a "universe," and just sorta pffffffffffffted out. Flipping actors is one thing. Claiming you're going to create a "universe" by throwing out everything you've already done was sorta nail-in-the-coffin. Yet it pisses me off they have these characters and they CLEARLY have no clue what to do with them.


----------



## MFB

Yeah, as someone who was born in '90, the general consensus is that the best two Batman films came out either the year before I was born or when I was around 3 years old (I believe Batman Returns in 1993), and then to have two more actors portray the character when I was getting the age to be able to see them and recognize them so quickly was a bit like, "Wait, what?" I think at the time I thought it was more natural and it didn't really affect much, but then as you get older you hear how bad those movies were and what they did to the legacy of the character for future movies, it's a bummer; especially since after/during Clooney we had the Batman Animated Series going on parallel with it, and following that we also had Justice League Unlimited, which I think my generation consider those two the definitive Batman and he's not even live action!

As a character he's had highs and lows, which is a nightmare that there's no real consistent bar for anyone who might want to check out any of the live action Batman offerings. I think with the WB/DC shakeup we'll hopefully see that coming with Pattinson's universe that'll hopefully be disconnected for a minute and not hinge on roping him into some forced Justice League immediately.


----------



## wankerness

I think saying Batman ‘89 is better than the Bale movies is a minority/contrarian position mainly pushed by aging millennials who have a lot of nostalgia for it. It’s really not very good. Batman Returns is at least incredibly interesting and has one of the most intricate scores ever in a blockbuster, but I wouldn’t call it a classic either. That’s not to say they’re bad movies, but especially the 89 one fails pretty hard in a narrative sense imo and I find Nicholson’s presence overpowering and mostly annoying. Not to say he’s bad, the movie just can’t handle him. It ends up working best as a really stylish music video almost. Speaking of which, I hate the Prince songs on the soundtrack’s prevalence as much as the repeated Nirvana needledrops in this newest one.

From what I hear the animated series might be the best portrayal. I’ve only seen the mister freeze “movie” and mask of the phantasm, the former of which I did find pretty impressive. But I definitely think the Bale movies are really good even if they aren’t perfect.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> From what I hear the animated series might be the best portrayal. I’ve only seen the mister freeze “movie” and mask of the phantasm, the former of which I did find pretty impressive. But I definitely think the Bale movies are really good even if they aren’t perfect.


The wife and I are currently about halfway through a rewatch of the animated series. Anybody that's a Batfan needs to watch this at least once. I hadn't seen it since it was originally airing way back when, and it's killing me how much of it I remember in hazy terms. It's definitely the backbone of my Batman fandom. While my first encounter of the caped crusader was reruns of the old Adam West series, the Animated will forever be my "that's Batman" choice for TV/Film. Unless something miraculous happens and somebody gets "Ryan Reynolds into Deadpool" level fan-cray into Batman with the money and clout to steer the ship. And somehow I don't see that happening, as too many big dollar folks see Batman as a money maker. They'll forever fuck up how good it could be, all in the hopes that they can make it "better" by messing with it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I think saying Batman ‘89 is better than the Bale movies is a minority/contrarian position mainly pushed by aging millennials who have a lot of nostalgia for it. It’s really not very good. Batman Returns is at least incredibly interesting and has one of the most intricate scores ever in a blockbuster, but I wouldn’t call it a classic either. That’s not to say they’re bad movies, but especially the 89 one fails pretty hard in a narrative sense imo and I find Nicholson’s presence overpowering and mostly annoying. Not to say he’s bad, the movie just can’t handle him. It ends up working best as a really stylish music video almost. Speaking of which, I hate the Prince songs on the soundtrack’s prevalence as much as the repeated Nirvana needledrops in this newest one.
> 
> From what I hear the animated series might be the best portrayal. I’ve only seen the mister freeze “movie” and mask of the phantasm, the former of which I did find pretty impressive. But I definitely think the Bale movies are really good even if they aren’t perfect.


Lol


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> The wife and I are currently about halfway through a rewatch of the animated series. Anybody that's a Batfan needs to watch this at least once. I hadn't seen it since it was originally airing way back when, and it's killing me how much of it I remember in hazy terms. It's definitely the backbone of my Batman fandom. While my first encounter of the caped crusader was reruns of the old Adam West series, the Animated will forever be my "that's Batman" choice for TV/Film. Unless something miraculous happens and somebody gets "Ryan Reynolds into Deadpool" level fan-cray into Batman with the money and clout to steer the ship. And somehow I don't see that happening, as too many big dollar folks see Batman as a money maker. They'll forever fuck up how good it could be, all in the hopes that they can make it "better" by messing with it.


TAS was and is killer! I love that stuff like X-Men, Spiderman and Batman had animated series that weren't specifically for children.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

A Scanner Darkly

Second time I've seen it, I found it streaming on some sketchy website. Highly worth a re-watch, I picked up a lot of stuff I missed the first time. I will probably read the story when I finish Dune, and will likely watch the movie again-again in the meantime.

The paranoid group drug freakout scenes are a perfect mix of psychotic, hilarious, and maybe a little uncomfortably relatable. Downey and Harrelson are great. Even Keaneu himself feels like the right casting for this movie, instead of his usual "Ted just wandered on set lost and high as a MF" performances



EDIT: And now I'm watching Mask of the Phantasm. I haven't seen this since my mom brought it home from the movie rental store when I was a kid. Will be watching SubZero next, then starting in on TAS. Planning a full on nostalgia blowout today.


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> TAS was and is killer! I love that stuff like X-Men, Spiderman and Batman had animated series that weren't specifically for children.



There's like a 20 min video with the composer of the X-Men Animated Series theme song and they talk about the series and what made it so loved; ultimately it came down to not treating it like a "kids" show, because the second you do that, it dates it for when they're older and won't want to watch it. If you approached stories/concepts at a level that's basic enough for everyone to understand but still well written, then that's what will sell (and it did).


----------



## Mathemagician

MFB said:


> There's like a 20 min video with the composer of the X-Men Animated Series theme song and they talk about the series and what made it so loved; ultimately it came down to not treating it like a "kids" show, because the second you do that, it dates it for when they're older and won't want to watch it. If you approached stories/concepts at a level that's basic enough for everyone to understand but still well written, then that's what will sell (and it did).



And the theme song is fucking godly.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

wankerness said:


> I think saying Batman ‘89 is better than the Bale movies is a minority/contrarian position mainly pushed by aging millennials who have a lot of nostalgia for it. It’s really not very good. Batman Returns is at least incredibly interesting and has one of the most intricate scores ever in a blockbuster, but I wouldn’t call it a classic either. That’s not to say they’re bad movies, but especially the 89 one fails pretty hard in a narrative sense imo and I find Nicholson’s presence overpowering and mostly annoying. Not to say he’s bad, the movie just can’t handle him. It ends up working best as a really stylish music video almost. Speaking of which, I hate the Prince songs on the soundtrack’s prevalence as much as the repeated Nirvana needledrops in this newest one.



This is an interesting topic that will get a lot of resistance. Funny since I speak to my film buff friends a lot about it too. Batman 89 is the definitive influential superhero movie of all time... well the other one after Richard Donner's Superman 1 (arguably more so). It cast aside the 60s TV camp and put the Frank Miller/Allan Moore aesthetic to life and looks amazing. The whole superhero bloat of today won't exist without Donner and Burton. 

Which is why a lot of fans will refuse to admit that Batman 89 is a disjointed mess. It takes an embarrassing amount of time for Batman to realise and foil Joker's plot for one, and making the Joker as the killer of the Wayne parents was dumb here as it was in the recent Joker. Jack Nicholson is good fun, but was the start of stunt casting that plagued the next 3 movies, and also highlighted that Batman as a character has never been that interesting to begin with. It was fun, and I enjoyed it as a kid but we all know that nostalgia is a deceitful mistress.

I have fond memories of Batman Returns, but it's a magnified version of 89 where all the good is better and all the bad is even worse. The plot makes even less sense and there's very little for the title character to do. I do appreciate how much WB panicked when they realised they're making Maccas Happy Meals and other toys to tie in with what is essentially nightmare fuel.


----------



## wankerness

Batman Returns stops even pretending to care about Batman and just goes full Burton in the celebration of the grotesque and weird. I admire it for that. I haven't seen it in a while but I remember quite liking it. Again, not a cohesive masterpiece or anything, but there was way more to like about it than the first one, especially for someone like me that has a lot of affection for some of Burton's other stuff.

And yes, the look and sound of the first movie are incredible and were wildly influential. But the plot and action are SO thin. I remember being confused the first time I saw it - "that was it?!" From what I remember, the plot is like, "Batman punches some street toughs, a gangster gets dumped in some waste and becomes the joker, Batman drives his car once, then the joker threatens to gas people, including Batman's girlfriend, and then he shoots down Batman's plane, so Batman makes him fall off a roof" with a couple of flashbacks mixed in. To be fair, I didn't see it till probably about 2010. I'm sure it would have had a different impact as a kid who hadn't already seen many of its superior successors. But I was kind of blown away by just how little action or plot was in there.

I did see a fun montage video a couple weeks ago of all the times Batman turns in those Keaton movies (since he couldn't turn his neck and very dramatically has to pivot his entire body like some kind of statue).

Anyway I stopped playing videogames for a week so I did a lot of movie watching. Went on a Dan Curtis binge for some reason:

Trilogy of Terror - last segment is better than its rep, really classic
Burnt Offerings - interesting as a Shining-style haunted house movie, not that great
The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler - these are awesome and obvious templates for The X-Files, Darren McGavin is so good at being an annoying asshole

Watched a bunch of old movies I've been meaning to see for a while:

Cruising - weird slasher/Giallo style thing set in New York City in 1980. Al Pacino is a cop that goes undercover in the extreme gay scene of the time to catch a serial killer, he gets warped, things get confusing, it's awesome.
The Andromeda Strain - the most dry and clinical alien outbreak movie imaginable, pretty cool and feels really ahead of its time
Deranged - from the same year as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but it feels about 10 years older, tries to be a more accurate story about Ed Gein (with names changed), succeeds in that regard I guess, lots of gross and nasty stuff, central performance is pretty good, a couple good scenes
Cannibal Apocalyse - sorta disappointing, was hoping for something insane and large scale like Nightmare City where zombies are everywhere in the city and multiplying like crazy, instead the "cannibal virus" here results in like three guys biting like 10 people, most of whom die shortly afterwards, and then it's just "three vietnam vets get chased around by the cops for a while the end." John Saxon's cool.


Then watched Last Night in Soho and Censor yesterday, for a double-dose of movies about loner women that take heavy inspiration from old Italian flicks. Both are good, neither are great. I was amused to find that Censor had a direct reference to Deranged and tons of clips from old "Video Nasties" that I recognized.

Also watched The Giant Spider Invasion since I'd been watching some other Bill Rebane (really cheap Wisconsin-based genre filmmaker). This one is by far the best and is utterly hilarious, especially all the attack scenes with the truly giant spider. The MST3K episode is a classic, too, thanks to the incessant Wisconsin jokes, but I was glad to find it's almost just as funny without the MST3K commentary.


----------



## nightflameauto

My love for the Keaton Batman movies will never die. Yeah, they're cheesy and dumb as far as movies go, but they were big, had at least some level of seriousness to them, and the one-liners are ridiculous. Come on, the presentation on "This town needs an enema" is so goofy, how could you not love it? And "Where does he get those wonderful toys" has been reused in movies ever since as varied as Jay & Silent Bob to hardcore porn. It's integrated itself into the very fabric of what little culture we have in America in that way.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> Burnt Offerings - interesting as a Shining-style haunted house movie, not that great



It was very average. Trivial info. The house that they used was used in a lot of other movies/t.v. shows including one of my favorite horror movies, Phantasm (1979).

Top picture is from Burnt Offerings and bottom is from Phantasm. Pretty cool.




Cannibal Apocalyse - sorta disappointing,

It had potential. On script, I liked it. Actual film, it could have done better. Not gonna lie. The beginning scene where John Saxon gets bit by the P.O.W. was kinda scary.


----------



## Rosal76

wankerness said:


> Cruising - weird slasher/Giallo style thing set in New York City in 1980. Al Pacino is a cop that goes undercover in the extreme gay scene of the time to catch a serial killer, he gets warped, things get confusing, it's awesome.



If you like that movie you should definitely, if you didn't already, watch his movie, Sea of love from 1989. Pacino, as always, did a awesome job. The movie also has John Goodman, Ellen Barkin and Michael Rooker.


----------



## wankerness

Rosal76 said:


> If you like that movie you should definitely, if you didn't already, watch his movie, Sea of love from 1989. Pacino, as always, did a awesome job. The movie also has John Goodman, Ellen Barkin and Michael Rooker.


Hmm, I don't actually know that one. I'll have to look it up. I've seen a few other seedy 80s NYC thrillers like Crime of Passion but not that one.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Fantastic Beasts 3: Dumbledore likes peepee - I couldn't even make it 20 mins into it. It's just boring as fuck. 

Halloween Kills- very meh. The kills were done well and there are some black comedy moments but overall it just meanders along with zero resolution.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Fantastic Beasts 3: Dumbledore likes peepee - I couldn't even make it 20 mins into it. It's just boring as fuck.
> 
> Halloween Kills- very meh. The kills were done well and there are some black comedy moments but overall it just meanders along with zero resolution.


"EVIL DIES TONIGHT!" has to be the most unintentionally ridiculous thing to happen in Halloween, besides the fact that Michael is now old enough for AARP.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> "EVIL DIES TONIGHT!" has to be the most unintentionally ridiculous thing to happen in Halloween, besides the fact that Michael is now old enough for AARP.


my headcanon is michael has dementia and got sundowner strength. It makes the movie way funnier. But yes there was a lot of cringe dialogue.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> my headcanon is michael has dementia and got sundowner strength. It makes the movie way funnier. But yes there was a lot of cringe dialogue.


Lol. Once I found out that no only was everything but H1+H2 was retconned, but even H2 as well, I was done. That plus "What is the best horror film" polls always resulted in unanimous votes for Halloween. It is played out to me. H20 was bad enough ignoring 4-6. Now we have 40 years, not 20, between films, and only 3 kills to base the trauma on. Really goofy. I think H20 would've worked ignoring the Thorn shit, which would be easy to do, because Laurie has no clue about that. You could have her knowing about the "copycat" killings, as she's trying to convince herself they are, but trying to pretend it is over. Meanwhile she is dealing with the abandonment and death of her daughter Jamie. That makes for a much better story. 

Instead, we got John and Laurie arguing like a bad fucking drama show from ABC or whatever. Boring.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Old---- It was The Happening meets The Village but by gum it was pretty clumsy. We all know there is going to be MNS Twist....but jeez it was just scripted weird with awkward dialog for most of the movie. It was like a TV series where all of the plot devices were thrown in for exhibition.
The Torment phase of the movie was pretty exhausting as well but the Twist end was condensed and absurd.

Edit: The Twist was decent in and of itself, but there was a part right after Twist Reveal that was just plain old silly.



Spoiler: Spoiler



OK they explain why hair and nails don't grow but wouldn't you be shitting and pissing seconds after consuming liquid or solid? Likewise, wouldn't you be starving to death in a few minutes?


----------



## mastapimp

Seabeast2000 said:


> Old---- It was The Happening meets The Village but by gum it was pretty clumsy. We all know there is going to be MNS Twist....but jeez it was just scripted weird with awkward dialog for most of the movie. It was like a TV series where all of the plot devices were thrown in for exhibition.
> The Torment phase of the movie was pretty exhausting as well but the Twist end was condensed and absurd.
> 
> Edit: The Twist was decent in and of itself, but there was a part right after Twist Reveal that was just plain old silly.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> OK they explain why hair and nails don't grow but wouldn't you be shitting and pissing seconds after consuming liquid or solid? Likewise, wouldn't you be starving to death in a few minutes?


The most egregious error in this movie thinking a character named "Midsize Sedan" could be taken seriously.

I agree with your review and thought the movie was average. I enjoyed one of his previous films, "The Visit" much more.


----------



## RevDrucifer

I love the Keaton Batman flicks and it’s certainly related to nostalgia. I saw the first one in the movie theater with my dads ex-girlfriend and loved it, I was 7. I love the Batmobile in both, the Batmobile is a huge part of any Batman flick for me and I really prefer the 90’s versions to anything that came before or after. 

That said, the best Batman scene ever is this one-


----------



## Kaura

Freaky Friday

This is definitely one of the movies. Seriously, way funnier than I remembered. 

Also, the Telecaster Lindsey Lohan plays is rad.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Blair Witch Project- I haven't seen this movie since I was a little kid and it does not hold up at all. It does a good job of building tension and dread by basically not showing anything, but beyond that it's just obnoxious. It's 90 minutes of people being annoying and screaming at nothing, blurry camera angles or shots of people's feet, literally everything I hate about "found footage" films . 

The main thing that irritates me is that the kids in it are saying shit like "there's no wilderness in the USA left, we destroyed all our natural resources" while they're literally lost in the fucking woods with no understanding of orienteering or what heading they came from. They're literally trapped in the woods by their own stupidity.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Blair Witch Project- I haven't seen this movie since I was a little kid and it does not hold up at all. It does a good job of building tension and dread by basically not showing anything, but beyond that it's just obnoxious. It's 90 minutes of people being annoying and screaming at nothing, blurry camera angles or shots of people's feet, literally everything I hate about "found footage" films .
> 
> The main thing that irritates me is that the kids in it are saying shit like "there's no wilderness in the USA left, we destroyed all our natural resources" while they're literally lost in the fucking woods with no understanding of orienteering or what heading they came from. They're literally trapped in the woods by their own stupidity.


I don't know who was stupider: The dimwitted dweebs in the film or the idiotic adults at the time certain it was real. Then again, people were convinced most/all of the Faces of Death film was true. To my understanding, FoD was not real. As a wrestling fan as a kid at the time, I could smell it was a work a mile away. It was sad to see grown adults swearing it was real.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I don't know who was stupider: The dimwitted dweebs in the film or the idiotic adults at the time certain it was real. Then again, people were convinced most/all of the Faces of Death film was true. To my understanding, FoD was not real. As a wrestling fan as a kid at the time, I could smell it was a work a mile away. It was sad to see grown adults swearing it was real.


I'm used to idiotic protagonists in horror, but they take the cake for being exceptionally dumb. Hmm yes let's go to the creepy death house to look for our missing friend, who conveniently keeps beckoning us deeper into it. 


Yeah I watched Faces of Death as a kid and it was blatantly obvious it was fake. I'm honestly surprised no one has made an updated faces of death with all the cell/liveleak footage of people actually dying floating around.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Eh, I still love The Blair Witch Project, even if the protagonists are annoying.

Besides, not only that, it wasn't just their lack of orienteering that kept them in the woods. That can be blamed for some of it, but there was also some fucky shit going on as well.


----------



## nightflameauto

I'll never forive the Blair Witch Project for making the whole found footage thing popular. God damn have there been some absolute horrible stinkers released as found footage movies. And most of them wouldn't have been made at all if they had to have a real budget because somebody would have read the script and went, "Ah, how 'bout you try again, dumbass."


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Thor: Love And Thunder 

Taika Waitit is never one for subtlety. It's safe to say that the Thor series going goofier as time goes on has become better for it. Waititi understood this in Ragnarok and pushes even harder with Love And Thunder. 

The lightning doesn't always strike twice though. There's 3 overarching strong plots all fighting over each other so it gets messy and each plot remains under developed. The abundance of both comedy and some of the dark, serious and sad themes makes the tone shifts flail wildly all over the place in similar issues with JoJo Rabbit, but Waitit was always good at flailing humour and emotional narritive together.

What makes Thor Love And Thunder work is its blatantly unapologetic of its identity. It's as colourful as a comic book movie should be while taking cues from classic prog rock albums. The cast are all game and well aware of their roles: Natalie Portman is having a lot of fun, unsurprisingly Christian Bale is fantastic but surprisingly Russell Crowe is amazing, both completely hamming it up.

The jury is still out whether it's better than Ragnarok or not, but as blockbuster movies go, Love and Thunder is pretty much a blockbuster in its purest form.


----------



## mmr007

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Lol. Once I found out that no only was everything but H1+H2 was retconned, but even H2 as well, I was done. That plus "What is the best horror film" polls always resulted in unanimous votes for Halloween. It is played out to me. H20 was bad enough ignoring 4-6. Now we have 40 years, not 20, between films, and only 3 kills to base the trauma on. Really goofy. I think H20 would've worked ignoring the Thorn shit, which would be easy to do, because Laurie has no clue about that. You could have her knowing about the "copycat" killings, as she's trying to convince herself they are, but trying to pretend it is over. Meanwhile she is dealing with the abandonment and death of her daughter Jamie. That makes for a much better story.
> 
> Instead, we got John and Laurie arguing like a bad fucking drama show from ABC or whatever. Boring.


I totally agree. I would pay $12 ticket price to see a michael myers screen saver but the whole redux retcon was bullshit. Why was Laurie Strode spending a lifetime preparing for the return of a serial killer who barely killed anyone and seemed more interested in her friends than her


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

mmr007 said:


> I totally agree. I would pay $12 ticket price to see a michael myers screen saver but the whole redux retcon was bullshit. Why was Laurie Strode spending a lifetime preparing for the return of a serial killer who barely killed anyone and seemed more interested in her friends than her


Yeah, really. H20 was bad enough, but Halloween (2018) was awful on paper. I refuse to watch knowing how much I disliked that in H20. They didn't NEED to get into the Cult aspect (in H20), because Laurie would not have known that. It was the perfect excuse to ignore elements while still acknolwedging key parts (her daughter, for instance, as well as repeat occurrences she's trying to convince herself was the act of copycats). No, instead we get Screamoween from Disney with horrid looking masks (sans H6 mask in the intro), Josh's fucking eternal cowlick (which has its own contract, I'm sure of it), and a finish that, as a kid, I knew how they'd retcon it for HR. 

At this point, I'm pretty much "fuck Michael Myers" all day, every day, and I 100% support Rob Zombie's fucked up portrayal of Michael in RZH. I also love seeing people hate RZH2 when they didn't even get it. I didn't either the first time, but felt absolutely stupid when I rewatched it.


----------



## Drew

I would NOT say this was a good movie by any means, but we just watched that new Sandra Bullock flick, "The Lost City" or whatever, on a flight. It was fun if kind of mindless, but the Brad Pitt cameo was unexpected comic gold. It's referenced in a scene in the credits too, so you'll want to at least jump forward to that.


----------



## manu80

I really don't get the hype on Waititi...as usual he 's the trendy guy of the moment so everything he does is great with the critics. Read some bad/mixed reviews of thor L&T so far on some movie sites and as I found Ragnarok boring and not funny, I won't go...I didn't enjoy Spiderman or DS2, and Marvel didn't do Moon Knight justice either.
Same problem as James Gunn to me. Good directors for sure, but too much in their own trip and they forget the public. Peacemaker was fun but sometimes half the episode was useless....


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

manu80 said:


> I really don't get the hype on Waititi...as usual he 's the trendy guy of the moment so everything he does is great with the critics.


If you're exposure ti Waititi is just the Marvel movies then fair enough. The hype is namely because that outside Marvel he's an indie auteur film maker at heart and even after Marvel somehow still remained that.

Discounting a few episodes of Flight Of The Conchords, What We Do In The Shadows was my gateway to his work (and a lot of others), then Boy. Both very different to exch other. I'd argue that his Thor movies are actually his weakest work.


----------



## mongey

Got around to sitting through the new dr strange movie. May just be the worst movie in the entire franchise. The story , if you call it that , is just an excuse to do a bunch of multiverse shit. Some of those scenes were 
Cool , but didn’t carry a whole movie. 

Zombie!! Wtf


----------



## Steo

Last weekend I watched: 
The house that Jack built. Lars Von Trier's serial killer film. Different take on that trope. 
The Sadness. Taiwanese "zombie" / infected populous film. Heavy on the violence/gore, all practical effects, not cgi rubbish. 
Titane. Need to rewatch this. Very odd, dark film.


----------



## Mathemagician

nightflameauto said:


> I'll never forive the Blair Witch Project for making the whole found footage thing popular. God damn have there been some absolute horrible stinkers released as found footage movies. And most of them wouldn't have been made at all if they had to have a real budget because somebody would have read the script and went, "Ah, how 'bout you try again, dumbass."




Found footage also gave us the REC series, and the english Quarantine series. And those are so so good. 

I like REC more though.


----------



## spudmunkey

I'm super excited about the new Predator movie, _ Prey_. Much more so than any Predator movie since the original AvP.


----------



## nightflameauto

Seven Psychopaths: A fun little romp through the Hollywood lens of Hollywood making fun of Hollywood tropes, with Christopher Walken and Woody Harrelson hamming it up for the camera.

"Put your hands up!"
Casual: "No."
"Why not?"
"I don't want to."

Walken's deadpan was on-point during that exchange.

Highly recommended for the goofiness of the situation alone.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Thor Love and Thunder: typical Watiti film, mostly goofy and fun but there are some serious/ dark moments that kind of cause the fun to come to an immediate halt. Not as bad as Jojo Rabbit in terms of dramatic tonal shifts though. Christian Bale is excellent as Gorr. He's the most interesting villain since shang chi's antagonist.
Russell Crowe absolutely steals the show for the few scenes he's in. There's a lot of stylized bloodshed/gore that reminded me of Samurai Jack where they just color swap the blood, and I am all for it. 


worth a watch imo.


----------



## TedEH

mongey said:


> The story , if you call it that , is just an excuse to do a bunch of multiverse shit. Some of those scenes were
> Cool , but didn’t carry a whole movie.


Maybe it's just me, but that's kinda the box I put all comic movies into at this point. I enjoyed the new Dr. Strange 'cause it did just that: delivered a bunch of multiverse nonsense, special effects, interesting shots to take in, and strung it together with just enough story that I don't need to have followed every detail of the MCU to follow the main plot. I personally don't care enough about all the comic-book-guy-esque details to ask for much else in a movie at this point. I guess that's disappointing in it's own way. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Started Jupiter ascending last night, got about 45mins in before bedtime. I already hate it, but an old lady bar regular who is basically a surrogate grandmother/auntie recommended it very highly to me so I can't not finish it.

It's working with a lot of good ingredients, but so far they're coming together in an extremely insufferable way. Perhaps unsurprisingly, everything I hated about the Matrices is here in spades and seemingly turnt to 11.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wheresthefbomb said:


> Started Jupiter ascending last night, got about 45mins in before bedtime. I already hate it, but an old lady bar regular who is basically a surrogate grandmother/auntie recommended it very highly to me so I can't not finish it.
> 
> It's working with a lot of good ingredients, but so far they're coming together in an extremely insufferable way. Perhaps unsurprisingly, everything I hated about the Matrices is here in spades and seemingly turnt to 11.


quit while you're ahead. That patron has awful taste and that film is one of the worst thing the wachowskis have ever made


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> quit while you're ahead. That patron has awful taste and that film is one of the worst thing the wachowskis have ever made


Channing Tatum is never more Channing Tatum until he plays McBride's gimp in This is the End.

I remember people being pissed Bean doesn't even die in JA. I dunno, I seem to have an affinity for the Wachoskis. I've been able to enjoy them all except the latest Matrix failure. I feel like I should write them and say, "Uh, ya lost me. And I freakin' loved Speed Racer and liked Jupiter Ascending, so you know ya dun goofed."


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> Channing Tatum is never more Channing Tatum until he plays McBride's gimp in This is the End.
> 
> I remember people being pissed Bean doesn't even die in JA. I dunno, I seem to have an affinity for the Wachoskis. I've been able to enjoy them all except the latest Matrix failure. I feel like I should write them and say, "Uh, ya lost me. And I freakin' loved Speed Racer and liked Jupiter Ascending, so you know ya dun goofed."


Speed Racer is actually fun. JA is just bad tryhard scifi like matrix 3+4. 

Channing Tatum's bad english accent in JA made me want to to sudoku


----------



## wheresthefbomb

KnightBrolaire said:


> quit while you're ahead. That patron has awful taste and that film is one of the worst thing the wachowskis have ever made



after seconds of careful consideration based on feedback here and how much it already sucks I decided to lie and tell her I watched it, and then redirect the conversation to what _she _liked about it. Sorry, Auntie. Still love you.

This reminds me of the time I accidentally started Iron Man 2 halfway through. It seemed sort of odd that there was a bunch of scantily-explained plot development, but it was literally not until the credits rolled 45 minutes later that I realized what had happened. In hindsight, I think my friend who was sharing our netflix acct started watching it and got bored. I, on the other hand, skipped all the stupid bullshit and got to watch the sweet action scenes. Highly recommended way to watch Iron Man 2.


----------



## Quiet Coil

Started watching The Dark Knight Rises for the umpteenth time since it’s on Netflix, then remembered I hadn’t seen Tenet yet so I switched over to that.

It was fun - this is one case where I feel like having been exposed to spoiler-ish stuff long beforehand helped me keep up the whole way through (without ruining anything for me). I couldn’t help but think of John David as “baby Denzel”, but an apple could certainly have worse trees from which to fall. Thought Branagh was solid too.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Quiet Coil said:


> Started watching The Dark Knight Rises for the umpteenth time since it’s on Netflix, then remembered I hadn’t seen Tenet yet so I switched over to that.
> 
> It was fun - this is one case where I feel like having been exposed to spoiler-ish stuff long beforehand helped me keep up the whole way through (without ruining anything for me). I couldn’t help but think of John David as “baby Denzel”, but an apple could certainly have worse trees from which to fall. Thought Branagh was solid too.



I was very disappointed with Tenet but I was on a time travel movie kick and it was much more focused on being an action flick. I spent most of the movie being distracted by trying to rationalize the inconsistent time travel mechanics. I was never the target audience but all the same, a big miss for me.


----------



## Quiet Coil

wheresthefbomb said:


> I was very disappointed with Tenet but I was on a time travel movie kick and it was much more focused on being an action flick. I spent most of the movie being distracted by trying to rationalize the inconsistent time travel mechanics. I was never the target audience but all the same, a big miss for me.


I think I appreciated how relatively tame the theme and execution were compared to a lot of his other films (most of which I also enjoyed). That and I didn’t have “time travel” in mind going in, so it was just a fun twist on an action thriller for me.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Rewatching Cronos. I have a huge soft spot for Del Toro movies.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Rewatching Cronos. I have a huge soft spot for Del Toro movies.


I still haven't watched that one a second time. I love most of his subsequent movies, especially the other couple in that vein like Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, but that one didn't leave much of an impression. I do have the bluray so I should probably do so at some point.


----------



## wankerness

manu80 said:


> I really don't get the hype on Waititi...as usual he 's the trendy guy of the moment so everything he does is great with the critics. Read some bad/mixed reviews of thor L&T so far on some movie sites and as I found Ragnarok boring and not funny, I won't go...I didn't enjoy Spiderman or DS2, and Marvel didn't do Moon Knight justice either.
> Same problem as James Gunn to me. Good directors for sure, but too much in their own trip and they forget the public. Peacemaker was fun but sometimes half the episode was useless....


Watch "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" and "What We Do in the Shadows" to understand what all the fuss is IMO. Those two are absolutely great. I like Thor Ragnarok but it's definitely nowhere near as interesting.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I still haven't watched that one a second time. I love most of his subsequent movies, especially the other couple in that vein like Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, but that one didn't leave much of an impression. I do have the bluray so I should probably do so at some point.


it's one of his weaker films honestly, but you can see how it ties into his later work. I just love the concept, even though he didn't flesh it out as much as he could have


----------



## manu80

I wiil. thx for the idea.
Still , I went to see Thor Love and thunder this afternoon. Nothing better to see it with your own eyes to judge and....
I enjoyed it a lot. Some moments are funny (Crowe as Zeus is great), some not or too goofy (the Korg's moment), Bale is really great as usual. Hemsworth is on a Conan muscular level , got some funny lines and he finds the badassery he had at the end of the forst avenger infinaty war part 1 back. (I hated how they turned him in the 2nd part)
Thompson is a bit forgotten in all that , they could have used her a lot more.
So yeah ,way better than Raganarok to me, short, no time wasted in a 2h30 movie.


----------



## MFB

Local theater is doing a 35mm marathon of Nightmare on Elm St, from NOES1 through New Nightmare. It started at midnight, we just finished Dream Warriors with 5-10 mins intermissions, and boy, the quality REALLY dips off after the first. NOES2 feels entirely unnecessary and the fact that the director claims he didn't realize how queer it was. Dream Warriors is just so god damn goofy, like they just said fuck it.

I can't imagine it gets better for the next two, and then I'm gonna tap out by the time 6/NN rolls around.


----------



## MFB

MFB said:


> Local theater is doing a 35mm marathon of Nightmare on Elm St, from NOES1 through New Nightmare. It started at midnight, we just finished Dream Warriors with 5-10 mins intermissions, and boy, the quality REALLY dips off after the first. NOES2 feels entirely unnecessary and the fact that the director claims he didn't realize how queer it was. Dream Warriors is just so god damn goofy, like they just said fuck it.
> 
> I can't imagine it gets better for the next two, and then I'm gonna tap out by the time 6/NN rolls around.



Called it quits after NOES4, Dream Master was just boring and the description of Dream Child is even more ridiculous than that was. New Nightmare is on HBO Max so I might watch it later tonight.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Called it quits after NOES4, Dream Master was just boring and the description of Dream Child is even more ridiculous than that was. New Nightmare is on HBO Max so I might watch it later tonight.


New Nightmare is good and I remember being a snotty high schooler that was always trying to proselytize about how it was great and Scream was the much less interesting movie (since they're both very meta, especially New Nightmare, but Scream was a giant hit and New Nightmare flopped terribly). Watching it when older and less stupid, I see it has some big flaws (mainly budgetary and acting-wise), but it's also a LOT more ambitious than most other 90s horror flicks and it's definitely up there with 1 and 3 qualitywise. 5 is pretty boring and was heavily censored though I like the silliness of the A-Ha video segment. I've never made it more than 5 minutes into Freddy's Dead.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> New Nightmare is good and I remember being a snotty high schooler that was always trying to proselytize about how it was great and Scream was the much less interesting movie (since they're both very meta, especially New Nightmare, but Scream was a giant hit and New Nightmare flopped terribly). Watching it when older and less stupid, I see it has some big flaws (mainly budgetary and acting-wise), but it's also a LOT more ambitious than most other 90s horror flicks and it's definitely up there with 1 and 3 qualitywise. 5 is pretty boring and was heavily censored though I like the silliness of the A-Ha video segment. I've never made it more than 5 minutes into Freddy's Dead.


Freddy's Dead is meant to be enjoyed in a double feature with Jason X or Jason Takes Manhattan. It isn't meant to be taken seriously. Despite that, Freddy's Dead is disturbing. I won't go into it for spoiler reasons, but Freddy's is making jokes and being a clown while dark shit is the focus in the film. It is kind of creepy. 

For ANOES4, I would've preferred it if Kristen was written out because she went to college or moved away. I think Kincaid and Joey should've been trying to ignore nightmares they are having as well as their friends, that Freddy isn't back, but inevitably have to go and get Dr. Neil Gordon to help them with what is happening. The "reunion" falls so flat because it isn't Patricia Arquette, so Kristen should've been written out of the film.

I love ANOES5 because of the gothic elements in the film. Plus Lisa Wilcox shines throughout. She's the only reason I watch ANOES4.


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Freddy's Dead is meant to be enjoyed in a double feature with Jason X or Jason Takes Manhattan. It isn't meant to be taken seriously. Despite that, Freddy's Dead is disturbing. I won't go into it for spoiler reasons, but Freddy's is making jokes and being a clown while dark shit is the focus in the film. It is kind of creepy.
> 
> For ANOES4, I would've preferred it if Kristen was written out because she went to college or moved away. I think Kincaid and Joey should've been trying to ignore nightmares they are having as well as their friends, that Freddy isn't back, but inevitably have to go and get Dr. Neil Gordon to help them with what is happening. The "reunion" falls so flat because it isn't Patricia Arquette, so Kristen should've been written out of the film.
> 
> I love ANOES5 because of the gothic elements in the film. Plus Lisa Wilcox shines throughout. She's the only reason I watch ANOES4.



Ugh that reminds me, I couldn't stand the dude who played Kincaid, just annoying as shit. The guy who plays Joey also looks like gender-swapped Nev Campbell which was confusing at first. I have no love for Patricia Arquette, she always struck me as never looking like she's in the same movie as her co-stars, so I was glad when she was written out of NOES4 but then it makes it weird watching the two back-to-back.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The Green Knight

Been trying to play catch ups to movies I've missed out but meaning to see. Green Knight was one of them, and I'm glad I did. A new take on the Arthurian legend but turns it over it's head. Leans hard on the surreal and dreariness of medieval times it often crosses dream and reality to the point it's hard to discern between the two. 

The movie also seems like its telling the classic heroes journey in a deconstructionist twist, where the change in the hero isn't always return triumphant but could also be broken, or not return at all. The dreary sense of unfamiliarity is magnified by David Lowery's meditative direction and Dave Patel as the titular Sir Gawain. It's a nice and refreshingly different take that's worth taking a look.


----------



## Drew

Bloody_Inferno said:


> The Green Knight
> 
> Been trying to play catch ups to movies I've missed out but meaning to see. Green Knight was one of them, and I'm glad I did. A new take on the Arthurian legend but turns it over it's head. Leans hard on the surreal and dreariness of medieval times it often crosses dream and reality to the point it's hard to discern between the two.
> 
> The movie also seems like its telling the classic heroes journey in a deconstructionist twist, where the change in the hero isn't always return triumphant but could also be broken, or not return at all. The dreary sense of unfamiliarity is magnified by David Lowery's meditative direction and Dave Patel as the titular Sir Gawain. It's a nice and refreshingly different take that's worth taking a look.


I forgot all about that. I'll have to add it to the proverbail list. 

I finally watched Everyting Everywhere All At Once on friday. What an absolutely oddball movie... yet, despite its sci-fi underpinnings and bizarre humor, what an oddly heartfelt and touching movie, less mechanically plot driven than the multiverse premise would have you expect, and more about a wife's relationship with a husband she never took seriously, and with her daughter who never lived up to her expectations. I loved it. It didn't over-deliver to the degree of something like Hunt for the Wilderpeople, but it felt like it was coming from maybe the same spiritual vein.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bloody_Inferno said:


> The Green Knight
> 
> Been trying to play catch ups to movies I've missed out but meaning to see. Green Knight was one of them, and I'm glad I did. A new take on the Arthurian legend but turns it over it's head. Leans hard on the surreal and dreariness of medieval times it often crosses dream and reality to the point it's hard to discern between the two.
> 
> The movie also seems like its telling the classic heroes journey in a deconstructionist twist, where the change in the hero isn't always return triumphant but could also be broken, or not return at all. The dreary sense of unfamiliarity is magnified by David Lowery's meditative direction and Dave Patel as the titular Sir Gawain. It's a nice and refreshingly different take that's worth taking a look.


I watched it when I flew to korea earlier this year, and I thought it was visually stunning, but that's about it. 
It'd make a good companion piece for Tales of Tales though. That movie has a similar dreamy, fairy tale/surreal quality.


----------



## wankerness

Drew said:


> I forgot all about that. I'll have to add it to the proverbail list.
> 
> I finally watched Everyting Everywhere All At Once on friday. What an absolutely oddball movie... yet, despite its sci-fi underpinnings and bizarre humor, what an oddly heartfelt and touching movie, less mechanically plot driven than the multiverse premise would have you expect, and more about a wife's relationship with a husband she never took seriously, and with her daughter who never lived up to her expectations. I loved it. It didn't over-deliver to the degree of something like Hunt for the Wilderpeople, but it felt like it was coming from maybe the same spiritual vein.


I really liked it too, even though I think sometimes it went too far into LOL RANDOM BACON EPIC WIN territory (ex the fight scene with dildos) and went on a bit too long by the end, with too many climaxes. Probably a 9/10 or so. I was surprised cause I thought Swiss Army Man was awful. Watched that again afterwards thinking I must have missed something cause obviously the guys are brilliant filmmakers, and liked it even less the second time! Gah.


----------



## Drew

wankerness said:


> I really liked it too, even though I think sometimes it went too far into LOL RANDOM BACON EPIC WIN territory (ex the fight scene with dildos) and went on a bit too long by the end, with too many climaxes. Probably a 9/10 or so. I was surprised cause I thought Swiss Army Man was awful. Watched that again afterwards thinking I must have missed something cause obviously the guys are brilliant filmmakers, and liked it even less the second time! Gah.


Yeah, that scene was... unexpected, for sure.  It was maybe a little over the top, whereas the Everything - literally, everything in the multiverse - Bagel felt just on the right side of absurd. It's a very playful movie for sure though.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Prime kept telling me to watch Nick of Time (1995).... so I started..... what a pile of shit. Depp and Walken in some sort of shaky NYPD Blue camera shit scripted shameful favor to someone. Surprisingly bad.


----------



## MFB

The Gray Man - 5/10

This feels much, much longer than two hours for as lukewarm as it is.


----------



## spudmunkey

_Waiting for Godot_.

I've only ever heard the name before, and have never read or seen any Steinbeck plays or adaptations. I've heard his name, but knew nothing of his work.

It was amusing to watch once. Though I'm OK with watching a 2 hour movie where nothing "happens", like, say, _My Dinner With Andre _and I know that's definitely not "fun" for most people. That said, it's also not something I could re-watch, but enjoy watching that sort of film every so often.

I learned that there was a Robin Williams/Steve Martin stage play, as well as a Patrick Steward/Ian McKellen stage play, and I'd love to see the recordings of those, as they definitely leaned more into the comedy. However, they aren't easily accessible.

Now I want to rewatch _Waiting for Guffman_ (even though it's not one of my favorites from that group) to spot the parallels.


----------



## mastapimp

spudmunkey said:


> _Waiting for Godot_.
> 
> I've only ever heard the name before, and have never read or seen any Steinbeck plays or adaptations. I've heard his name, but knew nothing of his work.


Samuel Beckett wrote Godot. Steinbeck did Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men.


----------



## spudmunkey

mastapimp said:


> Samuel Beckett wrote Godot. Steinbeck did Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men.


Damnit, I did it twice yesterday. S. Beckett <=> Steinbeck in my brain.


----------



## Steo

This morning, The new Beavis and butthead movie. That was very, very funny. Haven't had a good solid laugh like that in a while


----------



## nightflameauto

MFB said:


> The Gray Man - 5/10
> 
> This feels much, much longer than two hours for as lukewarm as it is.


Concur.

I mean, it's fine, and if properly lubricated for entry, watching Chris Evans strut around like a fuckface for big portions of it was fun, but it felt like there were no characters to root for, the plot was basically a shoved together cookie recipe for action sequences, and of course the "little girl" must-have for bit-shit vaguely comedic action films was present.

A fine way to kill time if that's what you're looking for, but it's not going to stick with you at all. In fact, I would guess in six days or so I won't remember I watched it. Which seems to be exactly how most Netflix originals go.

Speaking of shit movies: Tenet.
There were about 23 minutes left and my wife asked, "Are you enjoying this?"
"Not really."

*OFF*

Not a single character mattered. Not even a little. And while I got what they were going for with the time fuckery, which can be fun if done well, there were too many gotchyas and stupidities for it to stick with me. The guns and bullets running backwards thing was particularly galling. Come on. The bullets run backwards. Not everything they hit.

But, even setting that aside, at no point did it feel like there were any real stakes, and that's mostly because there was nobody present in the movie. We watched that much of it and know absolutely fuck-all about anybody in the film. Yet again, somebody picked a premise they didn't understand and thought that was enough to make a compelling movie. Meh.


----------



## Steo

going back a bit, watched: 
Stuffings. A blogging/youtube couple go hiking in rural Adalaide, on Christmas week, and stumble across this weird ritual with scarecrow Santa's that keep the actual santa from killing all the children who believe. Surprisingly good. 

The Burning, was OK, I guess? took far to long to get going & then the kills seemed rushed to get in the final third or so.

Uncle Sam. A soldier, killed in Kuwait comes back from the dead to kill the people he deems unpatriotic in his small town. Rubbish.


----------



## ElRay

spudmunkey said:


> _Waiting for Godot_.
> 
> ...
> I learned that there was a Robin Williams/Steve Martin stage play, as well as a Patrick Steward/Ian McKellen stage play, and I'd love to see the recordings of those, as they definitely leaned more into the comedy. However, they aren't easily accessible.
> ...


There's also a Nathan Lane/John Goodman version that (IIRC) earned a number of Tony Awards.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Steo said:


> going back a bit, watched:
> Stuffings. A blogging/youtube couple go hiking in rural Adalaide, on Christmas week, and stumble across this weird ritual with scarecrow Santa's that keep the actual santa from killing all the children who believe. Surprisingly good.
> 
> The Burning, was OK, I guess? took far to long to get going & then the kills seemed rushed to get in the final third or so.
> 
> Uncle Sam. A soldier, killed in Kuwait comes back from the dead to kill the people he deems unpatriotic in his small town. Rubbish.


The kills were probably rushed so the MPAA can do their part to keep the populace from becoming "degenerates" or some stupid shit like that.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I enjoyed The Gray Man, though I did take a break about halfway through so maybe it didn't seem like a slog because of that. Chris Evans' performance was excellent and he plays an arrogant sadist douche so well. Action sequences were ridiculous and fun and overall it's a good movie to throw on once in a while.


----------



## Drew

mastapimp said:


> Samuel Beckett wrote Godot. Steinbeck did Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men.


Yeah, I did a double take there too.

Frankly, I'm not sure why you'd WANT to make a movie out of Waiting for Godot. Except, like, to prove some sort of artsy film school cred? It's a story about a couple guys who stand around talking about nothing in particular, doing nothing, waiting for the titular character to show up, for reasons unclear, and he never does. I suppose it's more interesting than watching paint dry, but only at the margins.

Beckett wrote some WEIRD shit. Malloy/Malone Dies/The Unnamable were... like a sequentially deconstructed story where you gradually do away with everything that makes a story. It's kind of interesting for intellectual reasons I suppose, but I can't see it translating to the screen.


----------



## mastapimp

Drew said:


> Yeah, I did a double take there too.
> 
> Frankly, I'm not sure why you'd WANT to make a movie out of Waiting for Godot. Except, like, to prove some sort of artsy film school cred? It's a story about a couple guys who stand around talking about nothing in particular, doing nothing, waiting for the titular character to show up, for reasons unclear, and he never does. I suppose it's more interesting than watching paint dry, but only at the margins.
> 
> Beckett wrote some WEIRD shit. Malloy/Malone Dies/The Unnamable were... like a sequentially deconstructed story where you gradually do away with everything that makes a story. It's kind of interesting for intellectual reasons I suppose, but I can't see it translating to the screen.


I remember reading Godot as it was required for one of my high school English classes and know very little about his other works. One interesting thing I remember about him is that he'd write the originals in French, then do the English translations himself, which is about as true to intent as you can get.


----------



## ElRay

Drew said:


> ... Frankly, I'm not sure why you'd WANT to make a movie out of Waiting for Godot. ...


Because you couldn't secure the film rights to Wharton's "Ethan Frome" or Checkov's "The Cherry Trees"?


----------



## Drew

ElRay said:


> Because you couldn't secure the film rights to Wharton's "Ethan Frome" or Checkov's "The Cherry Trees"?


Your self-loathing is most impressive.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Steo said:


> Uncle Sam. A soldier, killed in Kuwait comes back from the dead to kill the people he deems unpatriotic in his small town. Rubbish.



I remember watching this as a kid, even then it seemed pretty stupid. I do still think about the kid whipping his boxers out during the national anthem pretty regularly, haha.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I watched The Green Knight because of people talking about it in this thread, I really enjoyed it. I think I'll re-read The Power of Myth and watch it again.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Green Knight was a trip and absolutely beautiful cinematography. I can see why some people didn't like it when it came out if they were expecting some cookie cutter fantasy romp, but this was way cooler than I even expected.


----------



## nightflameauto

The Green Hornet (Seth Rogan) - meh. I mean, it was funny, sorta. And the in-joke about Kato not existing was sorta fun / sorta painful since we're such fans of Bruce Lee, but overall this movie was pretty lackluster. I understand why the sequel didn't get the green light.

Tickled - a documentary about, and this is true (sorry for cribbin' yer jam, Jon Oliver), Competitive Endurance Tickling.

And we thought that would be the weird part of the story. Holy fuck. There's so many levels to the weird on this one. A self-hating tickle fetishist sets up a CET league that, apparently, is all over the world. Then, of course, denies that it has anything to do with sexuality. Then loses their shit anytime somebody wants to step away from the league. Or cover it. Or film it. Yet, they film it, and post the videos of youtube when one of the participants wants out. Or creates an entire new website using the person's name and smears them with the videos.

There's much more to it than that. Trust me, I'm barely covering the weird here.

You'd think it's an invented story, but it's too fucked up to be something somebody made up. WTF people? Seriously.


----------



## mmr007




----------



## Seabeast2000

The latest James Bond was a mixed bag. Should have been two movies IMO for what they were trying to do. They did it....sort of OK I guess. Some scenes were too Rambo for the other vibe of the movie, the super villain um wtf, but I did like a few of the scenes. The SUV chase/hunt scene was really cool.

Other than that, I'd say it was poorly cast with a juvenile plot that tried to come off as very serious? Fits with current times so brov-ow.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Also, LifeForce. Haven't seen this since the mid 80s on VHS. Had vague memories of it. 

Not bad for a 1985 off-broadway type sci fi movie. The 2nd act was a bit heavy handed and probably overly scripted but overall worth the time IMO, for 1985 sci fi vibes and a mostly digestible space vampire story. Definitely a good candidate for Rifftrax/MST3K as well.


----------



## nightflameauto

Seabeast2000 said:


> Also, LifeForce. Haven't seen this since the mid 80s on VHS. Had vague memories of it.
> 
> Not bad for a 1985 off-broadway type sci fi movie. The 2nd act was a bit heavy handed and probably overly scripted but overall worth the time IMO, for 1985 sci fi vibes and a mostly digestible space vampire story. Definitely a good candidate for Rifftrax/MST3K as well.


Space vampire you say? How have I not heard of it? *adds to queue*


----------



## Seabeast2000

nightflameauto said:


> Space vampire you say? How have I not heard of it? *adds to queue*


Bring a cheese knife, just in case.


----------



## nightflameauto

Seabeast2000 said:


> Bring a cheese knife, just in case.


I'll have a bag of tortilla chips at the ready.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> Also, LifeForce. Haven't seen this since the mid 80s on VHS. Had vague memories of it.
> 
> Not bad for a 1985 off-broadway type sci fi movie. The 2nd act was a bit heavy handed and probably overly scripted but overall worth the time IMO, for 1985 sci fi vibes and a mostly digestible space vampire story. Definitely a good candidate for Rifftrax/MST3K as well.


I love Lifeforce. Who doesn't enjoy some intergalactic vampire space boobs?


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I love Lifeforce. Who doesn't enjoy some intergalactic vampire space boobs?


God damn it. I really fucked up the title of my first book. Didn't i?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> God damn it. I really fucked up the title of my first book. Didn't i?


That'd explain why it sold negative 3 copies!

(I'm joking.)


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> That'd explain why it sold negative 3 copies!
> 
> (I'm joking.)


L.O.L.

More like negative 20, but who's counting?


----------



## spudmunkey

The Apple. Think late 70s rock opera about the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, set in...maybe...a Eurovision-obsessed authoritarian regime in the future of 1994.


----------



## Seabeast2000

spudmunkey said:


> The Apple. Think late 70s rock opera about the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, set in...maybe...a Eurovision-obsessed authoritarian regime in the future of 1994.



I'm hoping you saw the RIffed version. Haven't caught it yet.


----------



## spudmunkey

Seabeast2000 said:


> I'm hoping you saw the RIffed version. Haven't caught it yet.


Yep, it's a favorite to re-watch. It's as totally-bat-shit-crazy as it looks/sounds.


----------



## DestroyMankind

I just watched Dark night of the Scarecrow on peacock. It's a movie I've been meaning to check out for over a decade now. Definitely worth a watch and I will be buying it at some point. Even though it was shown on TV, it's still a good time.


----------



## spudmunkey

It's technically a miniseries, but it's total run time is under 3 hours, so I'll call it a movie:

_Trainwreck: Woodstock '99_ on Netflix

It's a 3 part (one day per part) documentary of Woodstock '99. While fairly surface-level (though it was interesting they got some of the walkie talkie chatter), it was still amusing enough to be reminded of some of the events.

The one guy, though: what a, either delusional or purposefully disingenuous, shithead. Even if the documentary was edited in a way to try to make it seem like they were blaming one person, that person's actions and words simply do not line up with the reality we could all see, plain as day.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> I just watched Dark night of the Scarecrow on peacock. It's a movie I've been meaning to check out for over a decade now. Definitely worth a watch and I will be buying it at some point. Even though it was shown on TV, it's still a good time.


The two Kolchak movies were made for TV. Being shown on TV doesn't necessarily denote it as bad.


----------



## Mathemagician

mmr007 said:


> View attachment 111762



I fucking love that movie.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

rewatching poltergeist


----------



## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The two Kolchak movies were made for TV. Being shown on TV doesn't necessarily denote it as bad.


I guess it's known for "being made for TV" but that isn't the case. It was supposed to be in theaters I believe. CBS picked it up instead. I've seen worse movies in the mainstream by far. I mean IT was made for TV and that still scares people to this day.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Thor Love & Thunder. Enjoyed it tbh even though Christian Bale's excellent Gorr the God Butcher is wasted as is Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie and its not as good as Ragnarok I did enjoy it, loads of GnR and credits roll to Dio! Excellent!


----------



## nightflameauto

spudmunkey said:


> It's technically a miniseries, but it's total run time is under 3 hours, so I'll call it a movie:
> 
> _Trainwreck: Woodstock '99_ on Netflix
> 
> It's a 3 part (one day per part) documentary of Woodstock '99. While fairly surface-level (though it was interesting they got some of the walkie talkie chatter), it was still amusing enough to be reminded of some of the events.
> 
> The one guy, though: what a, either delusional or purposefully disingenuous, shithead. Even if the documentary was edited in a way to try to make it seem like they were blaming one person, that person's actions and words simply do not line up with the reality we could all see, plain as day.


I didn't have much give-a-fuck for the whole Woodstock thing back when it was actually swinging around, but I've gotten a particular fascination for watching documentaries about the total shitfest it turned into. Just amazing how quickly it went from a little questionable to full-blown riot level stupid.


----------



## MFB

I tried watching part one last night, and everyone kept talking about how it was "such a powder keg" but they never explained WHY. Like, it seems like everyone just came in there frothing at the mouth and then it got worse? But there had to be something going on before that, there's no way everyone just in unison came in at like, an 8 just by the time Sheryll Crow was on stage and suddenly got pushed to an 11 to create that level of destruction throughout.


----------



## nightflameauto

MFB said:


> I tried watching part one last night, and everyone kept talking about how it was "such a powder keg" but they never explained WHY. Like, it seems like everyone just came in there frothing at the mouth and then it got worse? But there had to be something going on before that, there's no way everyone just in unison came in at like, an 8 just by the time Sheryll Crow was on stage and suddenly got pushed to an 11 to create that level of destruction throughout.


The HBO documentary actually does a little better job spelling out the behind-the-scenes systemic failures that lead to the crowd getting fed up. I've seen a few others, but all of them seem to point to a management group that had zero fucking clue WTF they were doing, and a mis-match of acts that hit the crowd exactly the wrong way and caused the ever escalating tensions to eventually spill over.

Man, some of that footage during the Limp Bizkit set is just mind boggling. Crowd surfing on the torn down fences while the big speaker arrays in the center are burning down? WTF?


----------



## michael_bolton

Watched 'The Dropout' series on Hulu (it's about the rise and fall of the would-be medical industry game-changer startup Theranos). Hulu's next recommendation was a documentary about the rise and fall of WeWork so I watched that too lol.


----------



## Seabeast2000

michael_bolton said:


> Watched 'The Dropout' series on Hulu (it's about the rise and fall of the would-be medical industry game-changer startup Theranos). Hulu's next recommendation was a documentary about the rise and fall of WeWork so I watched that too lol.


Same vein check "Crime of the Century" if you haven't.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> I guess it's known for "being made for TV" but that isn't the case. It was supposed to be in theaters I believe. CBS picked it up instead. I've seen worse movies in the mainstream by far. I mean IT was made for TV and that still scares people to this day.


Ah-HUH, ah-HUH, ah-HUH, ah-HUH!


----------



## MFB

God damn do I love the 90s IT series


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

MAYBE it might not be a great idea to have Limp Bizkit play a song like Break Shit (if I remember correctly, that's kind of what set everything to 11) and basically encourage the crowd to turn it into Thunderdome.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> MAYBE it might not be a great idea to have Limp Bizkit play a song like Break Shit (if I remember correctly, that's kind of what set everything to 11) and basically encourage the crowd to turn it into Thunderdome.


Yeah, Durst even encouraged some of the shit outright during the song, cheering people for tearing down barricades and tossing them up onto the crowd. It was pretty blatantly stupid all around.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Prey

It took many years, and a bunch of not so good to bad sequels but finally a movie that fits the Predator series name that captures the spirit of the original. 

Director Dan Trachtenberg (who made the only good Cloverfield movie) and screenwriter Patrick Aison understood that the charm of the original Predator is simplicity of it's perfect premise and ran with it here. No over complications or pointless world building, just a simple clean narrative with hints of horror and extreme bloody violence. And it's refreshing when a franchise movie is only just shy above 90 minutes, but Prey is to the point with no second wasted.  

Loved it but its a shame that not only is this only available through streaming, but also it took ages since the original to get another great Predator movie.


----------



## MFB

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Prey
> 
> It took many years, and a bunch of not so good to bad sequels but finally a movie that fits the Predator series name that captures the spirit of the original.
> 
> Director Dan Trachtenberg (who made the only good Cloverfield movie) and screenwriter Patrick Aison understood that the charm of the original Predator is simplicity of it's perfect premise and ran with it here. No over complications or pointless world building, just a simple clean narrative with hints of horror and extreme bloody violence. And it's refreshing when a franchise movie is only just shy above 90 minutes, but Prey is to the point with no second wasted.
> 
> Loved it but its a shame that not only is this only available through streaming, but also it took ages since the original to get another great Predator movie.



Did you watch the English or Comanche version? I'm kind of torn on which version to watch first, I want the Comanche just because logically it makes sense, but don't want to miss anything when reading subs now.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MFB said:


> Did you watch the English or Comanche version? I'm kind of torn on which version to watch first, I want the Comanche just because logically it makes sense, but don't want to miss anything when reading subs now.


I just watched the default setting.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Yeah, Durst even encouraged some of the shit outright during the song, cheering people for tearing down barricades and tossing them up onto the crowd. It was pretty blatantly stupid all around.


Apparently a lot of sexual assaults/harassments were taking place as well, possibly after Nookie or just in general during the 3 days.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Apparently a lot of sexual assaults/harassments were taking place as well, possibly after Nookie or just in general during the 3 days.


Yeah, there's a section of the HBO Doc dedicated to the amount of sexual assaults and how "who gives a fuck" the entire security team was about them when notified. It's pretty horrific.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Did you watch the English or Comanche version? I'm kind of torn on which version to watch first, I want the Comanche just because logically it makes sense, but don't want to miss anything when reading subs now.


There is no straight Comanche version. They just pepper the english version with some Comanche.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> There is no straight Comanche version. They just pepper the english version with some Comanche.



Fucking boo!


----------



## mastapimp

nightflameauto said:


> Yeah, there's a section of the HBO Doc dedicated to the amount of sexual assaults and how "who gives a fuck" the entire security team was about them when notified. It's pretty horrific.


I was at an Ozzfest (pretty sure it was '98) and EVERY girl/woman that decided to crowdsurf near the stage was groped or had their clothes torn off. I saw at least 2 girls get stripped naked by the crowd and passed to the front where security was waiting with a blanket to cover the girl up. 10 minutes later, the girl would be back in the crowd with a free shirt from the Ozzy merch table. Back then it was just this crazy drunk mob mentality and no performers or security said or did anything to stop it. I was just a teenager back then and didn't really think too hard about it, but it was pretty fucked up, especially by today's standards.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> Fucking boo!


If it makes you feel better there's lots of parts where they speak Comanche/French and you'll have no fucking clue what they're saying, as the subtitles don't translate it.


----------



## MFB

KnightBrolaire said:


> If it makes you feel better there's lots of parts where they speak Comanche/French and you'll have no fucking clue what they're saying, as the subtitles don't translate it.



God damn it, I really wanted the Comanche version to be like, the "definitive" take on it since they're Natives so it'd be cool as shit to be that authentic; but I guess that's too much to ask.


----------



## spudmunkey

mastapimp said:


> I was at an Ozzfest (pretty sure it was '98) and EVERY girl/woman that decided to crowdsurf near the stage was groped or had their clothes torn off. I saw at least 2 girls get stripped naked by the crowd and passed to the front where security was waiting with a blanket to cover the girl up. 10 minutes later, the girl would be back in the crowd with a free shirt from the Ozzy merch table. Back then it was just this crazy drunk mob mentality and no performers or security said or did anything to stop it. I was just a teenager back then and didn't really think too hard about it, but it was pretty fucked up, especially by today's standards.


Ozzfest 98 was the last one I went to. Saw the same thing in the milwaukee-area show, as well as people in the grass seating area lighting their blankets on fire and throwing them forward, and I got hit in the face (and then the back if the head while retreating) by a rock and a tennis ball-size piece of concrete thrown from the (real) seats.

Edit: correction, looking back at the posters and lineups, it was 1999.


----------



## works0fheart

nightflameauto said:


> Yeah, Durst even encouraged some of the shit outright during the song, cheering people for tearing down barricades and tossing them up onto the crowd. It was pretty blatantly stupid all around.



While I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, the man very much gives off the impression that this is the type of piece of shit you'd imagine him to be. Good (I think?) to know that the speculations of myself and countless others weren't very far off.



Bloody_Inferno said:


> Prey
> 
> It took many years, and a bunch of not so good to bad sequels but finally a movie that fits the Predator series name that captures the spirit of the original.
> 
> Director Dan Trachtenberg (who made the only good Cloverfield movie) and screenwriter Patrick Aison understood that the charm of the original Predator is simplicity of it's perfect premise and ran with it here. No over complications or pointless world building, just a simple clean narrative with hints of horror and extreme bloody violence. And it's refreshing when a franchise movie is only just shy above 90 minutes, but Prey is to the point with no second wasted.
> 
> Loved it but its a shame that not only is this only available through streaming, but also it took ages since the original to get another great Predator movie.



As a huge fan of the original 2 movies, I was actually pretty excited to watch this. Glad to hear that it ended up being decent. I'll probably pop it on tomorrow when I finally get out of work.

Did any of you like the movie Predators from several years ago? The one with Lawrence Fishburn and Adrian Brody? That one wasn't _tooooo _bad but not that great either.


----------



## MFB

That's an accurate description for Predators, it's not outright BAD, but it's a weird swerve for the franchise given the previous entries.


----------



## manu80

Predators was ok, watchable with action etc. Brody was good in it.I liked it.
But « the Predator » is one of the biggest shit ever released. Even wonder how you can give a green light to a project like this
Can’t wait to watch Prey at home when i’m back
Wanna watch Sandman too, seems it’s getting great reviews


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

manu80 said:


> But « the Predator » is one of the biggest shit ever released. Even wonder how you can give a green light to a project like this



Easy: the concept of getting Shane Black to direct a Predator movie seems perfect in theory... but it was too good to be true. He became in the wrong mindset and 20C Fox tried to change the movie with extensive reshoots with way too many overcomplicated ideas threading all over each other, hence a complete sloppy mess.

Which is a shame since you'd think Shane Black would understand Predator. And coming off some awesome films like The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3 (which is awesome and will die on that hill disproving anyone who says otherwise). Instead it feels like Black got drunk and fell asleep at the wheel confusing Predator with... Iron Man 3 coincidentally enough.


----------



## manu80

We should have a fight on that hill then


----------



## Mathemagician

[Marvel Spoilers] 



So I watched multiverse of madness finally. And I don’t get why people didn’t seem to like it. I think they were just expecting more zany/jokey like Iron Man or the avengers movies. It was 100% focused on the occult/demons/etc while introducing new characters for the multiverse. 

Dr. Strange is inherently a more “serious” personality than Tony stark, etc. like I had a good time, and the universe travel with America Chavez was super visually appealing. 

They had a few variants of Dr. Strange that each got screen time. Sinister strange could have probably been a bit longer/creepier of a scene, but it matched the pacing by that point. 

Scarlet Witch just solo/ing the Illuminati was so awesome IMO because she should have been able to. They barely made her pause. And she killed one of the strongest telepaths on earth like nothing. Finally a reality good job showing off her strength versus just flinging rocks, etc. 

Maybe people were expecting tons of fight scenes? I feel like this strange movies was used for big MCU plot setups with character development as well. I mean 616 Strange used the darkhold and didn’t corrupt himself, he opened his eye of agamotto (3rd eye from the comics). 

Then Clea from the dark dimension showed up. It feels like we’re going to get more magic in future phases not less. And Wang was definitely trying to set up the midnight sons with all his “I’ll be back later” across multiple movies. 

We’re gonna see mephisto at some point.

Overall it did what it needed to do and introduced multiple new characters I’m looking forward to seeing. Maybe the “hate” for it died down already? I just remember seeing a bunch of “eh” reactions initially.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Mathemagician said:


> [Marvel Spoilers]
> 
> 
> 
> So I watched multiverse of madness finally. And I don’t get why people didn’t seem to like it. I think they were just expecting more zany/jokey like Iron Man or the avengers movies. It was 100% focused on the occult/demons/etc while introducing new characters for the multiverse.
> 
> Dr. Strange is inherently a more “serious” personality than Tony stark, etc. like I had a good time, and the universe travel with America Chavez was super visually appealing.
> 
> They had a few variants of Dr. Strange that each got screen time. Sinister strange could have probably been a bit longer/creepier of a scene, but it matched the pacing by that point.
> 
> Scarlet Witch just solo/ing the Illuminati was so awesome IMO because she should have been able to. They barely made her pause. And she killed one of the strongest telepaths on earth like nothing. Finally a reality good job showing off her strength versus just flinging rocks, etc.
> 
> Maybe people were expecting tons of fight scenes? I feel like this strange movies was used for big MCU plot setups with character development as well. I mean 616 Strange used the darkhold and didn’t corrupt himself, he opened his eye of agamotto (3rd eye from the comics).
> 
> Then Clea from the dark dimension showed up. It feels like we’re going to get more magic in future phases not less. And Wang was definitely trying to set up the midnight sons with all his “I’ll be back later” across multiple movies.
> 
> We’re gonna see mephisto at some point.
> 
> Overall it did what it needed to do and introduced multiple new characters I’m looking forward to seeing. Maybe the “hate” for it died down already? I just remember seeing a bunch of “eh” reactions initially.


Midnight Sons better be happening. Mahershala Ali as Blade is already confirmed, and I'd be cool with Nic Cage coming back as Ghost rider tbh. It'd be hilarious to make Morbius canon too.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Watched the entire "Dollars Trilogy" back to back. The movies were fine, but those Morricone soundtracks are really inspiring.


----------



## works0fheart

Just watched Prey and I have the same sentiment as what others have said already. It's definitely the best Predator movie since the original 2. It wasn't too long, the plot was simple but not terrible. It was just all around pretty good. After seeing a lot of movies this year that have been stinkers (The Matrix, Thor) this was a breath of fresh air. I'll say I agree that it would have been a better experience in a theater, but I can live with that.



wheresthefbomb said:


> Watched the entire "Dollars Trilogy" back to back. The movies were fine, but those Morricone soundtracks are really inspiring.



The first 2 movies are decent but yeah, the soundtracks are really the highlight with those. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly though, that one to me just has a genuinely good story and buildup. The pacing in it is absolutely perfect and I appreciate that it doesn't hesitate to take it's time building towards a conclusion. By the end of it you really feel as if you've gone on a journey of sorts watching it. Quentin Tarantino said the same thing about it years ago and tried to emulate it with the Hateful Eight, but that movie ended up boiling down to little more than a western version of Reservoir Dogs.

To the point of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly though, the music in that one is so damned good and adds so much to the scenes. Everyone always remembers The Ecstasy of Gold from it (and rightly so, it's a great piece) but Il Trielo from the final standoff is easily my favorite. It fits the scene so well and really builds the tension up to the moment that everyone finally shoots. The music box break giving a nod to Lee VanCleef was a nice touch as well since it was his theme in the previous movie. 

I could talk about this movie for ages because it's just so damned good so I'll spare all of you that.


----------



## thebeesknees22

I'm trying to watch Tenet right now.

I'm 20min in, and ugh.....this is really stupid. Really ...really stupid.

not sure i can finish this one.


----------



## Seabeast2000

thebeesknees22 said:


> I'm trying to watch Tenet right now.
> 
> I'm 20min in, and ugh.....this is really stupid. Really ...really stupid.
> 
> not sure i can finish this one.


Where the Tool Fan Bro cmon Bro meme for Chris Nolan?


----------



## wheresthefbomb

thebeesknees22 said:


> I'm trying to watch Tenet right now.
> 
> I'm 20min in, and ugh.....this is really stupid. Really ...really stupid.
> 
> not sure i can finish this one.



it's not good and it doesn't get better


----------



## KnightBrolaire

MFB said:


> God damn it, I really wanted the Comanche version to be like, the "definitive" take on it since they're Natives so it'd be cool as shit to be that authentic; but I guess that's too much to ask.


yo i was wrong, the full comanche version is listed as a separate movie. I watched the standard version where they mix comanche with english.


----------



## thebeesknees22

wheresthefbomb said:


> it's not good and it doesn't get better


that's what I figured. I stopped shortly after that. I just couldn't do it.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I watched Green Room and I thought it was pretty cool. Scary and relatable. I was in a pretty fucking gay burlesque show in a bar that we found out during the show was a regular hells angels/other unsavory fringe characters hangout. Nothing happened but we definitely never went back there. 



thebeesknees22 said:


> that's what I figured. I stopped shortly after that. I just couldn't do it.



I watched the entire thing. So glad I could spare you the same suffering.


----------



## MFB

Bullet Train

Much, MUCH better than I thought it'd be and the trailer feels like it did this movie dirty honestly; feels very Guy Ritchie/Shane Black in it's writing/dark humor of "shit going wrong around one man." Only gripe with it is a that I really don't like Joey King, so her being a lead is like, agonizing to me.


----------



## nightflameauto

thebeesknees22 said:


> that's what I figured. I stopped shortly after that. I just couldn't do it.


The wife and I made it to twenty-some minutes left in the darned thing and couldn't, for the life of us, figure out why we should care about any single aspect of the damned thing. The characters didn't matter. The plot (if there was one) didn't matter. The big stakes (that we and characters couldn't figure out) didn't matter. What was the point? Time fuckery can be fun if it's done either well, or in a thought provoking manner, but Tenet felt like, "I wanna do the timey-whimey stuff" with no meat in it.

Dissapoint.


----------



## thebeesknees22

nightflameauto said:


> The wife and I made it to twenty-some minutes left in the darned thing and couldn't, for the life of us, figure out why we should care about any single aspect of the damned thing. The characters didn't matter. The plot (if there was one) didn't matter. The big stakes (that we and characters couldn't figure out) didn't matter. What was the point? Time fuckery can be fun if it's done either well, or in a thought provoking manner, but Tenet felt like, "I wanna do the timey-whimey stuff" with no meat in it.
> 
> Dissapoint.


Glad I didn't waste any more time with it than I did then ha


----------



## soul_lip_mike

The new Predator movie "Prey" is legit really good on Hulu. Highly suggest you check it out.


----------



## BlackMastodon

thebeesknees22 said:


> Glad I didn't waste any more time with it than I did then ha


Just find a clip of the big battle near the end if you wanna be visually entertained, but yeah the rest is mediocre at best.


----------



## nightflameauto

As a Predator follow-up, Prey is better than anything else in the franchise in quite some time.

As an overall movie - meh.

But us TV time suckers need something to pass the time on the weekend.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

nightflameauto said:


> The wife and I made it to twenty-some minutes left in the darned thing and couldn't, for the life of us, figure out why we should care about any single aspect of the damned thing. The characters didn't matter. The plot (if there was one) didn't matter. The big stakes (that we and characters couldn't figure out) didn't matter. What was the point? Time fuckery can be fun if it's done either well, or in a thought provoking manner, but Tenet felt like, "I wanna do the timey-whimey stuff" with no meat in it.
> 
> Dissapoint.



The time travel mechanics were the biggest fail for me. I spent so much time trying to rationalize the inconsistent application of their own mechanic that I wasn't even able to notice how mediocre it was on the whole. 

The car driving backwards was the scene that had me literally yelling at the TV. Is he driving his car backwards in the future or driving it forwards in the future moving backwards through time? Because either way it doesn't work and either way it's stupider than the stupidest 3-bongrip-deep stupid shower thoughts I've ever had. 

By that point I was over the halfway mark though and figured I'd just see it through. 



soul_lip_mike said:


> The new Predator movie "Prey" is legit really good on Hulu. Highly suggest you check it out.



Really enjoyed it. I liked AVP so my standards aren't super high but it was the best I've seen out of that franchise in a while. Appreciated the use of indigenous language and actors. It wasn't groundbreaking or anything but this is now representation gathers steam, and I couldn't find anything glaringly problematic in the overall result. 

I guess what I'm saying is dumb action movies with good representation are as important as big thinky cerebral message films. Actually maybe even moreso if we're honest about what reaches the widest audience.


----------



## nightflameauto

wheresthefbomb said:


> The time travel mechanics were the biggest fail for me. I spent so much time trying to rationalize the inconsistent application of their own mechanic that I wasn't even able to notice how mediocre it was on the whole.
> 
> The car driving backwards was the scene that had me literally yelling at the TV. Is he driving his car backwards in the future or driving it forwards in the future moving backwards through time? Because either way it doesn't work and either way it's stupider than the stupidest 3-bongrip-deep stupid shower thoughts I've ever had.
> 
> By that point I was over the halfway mark though and figured I'd just see it through.


My time-analysis failure meter went off early on with the reverse bullets. Fine, they fire back wards. Cool. They don't make the things they're fired at run backwards. Right? OK, at what point did those bullets become embedded in the item that took the bullet? Right before they're manufactured? WTF? Make freakin' sense.

So, I tried to shut off my brain and look for the "who am I rootin' for, who against?" Couldn't figure that one out either, and by the time we reached fever pitch, I was just going, "Wait? What? Who? Why?" Then *clicky click* on the remote.


----------



## Seabeast2000

spudmunkey said:


> Yep, it's a favorite to re-watch. It's as totally-bat-shit-crazy as it looks/sounds.



The late 70s in TV and cinema was truly a magical acid tripped time. Peak confidence or something.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bullet Train- I went in expecting a wacky action flick, and that's basically what it is. Tons of fun, but a bit unfocused in the way it tells the story. Action sequences are great, especially later in the film. Definitely worth seeing in theaters imo.


Thirteen Lives- An extremely faithful recreation of the Tham Luang cave rescue. Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell did all their own diving in the film, which was super cool. Really well done film and there are a ton of great shots. It really nails the claustrophobic nature of cave diving, and the sets are insane. Highly recommend checking out the behind the scenes. 
Definitely worth a watch.


----------



## TheBlackBard

nightflameauto said:


> As a Predator follow-up, Prey is better than anything else in the franchise in quite some time.
> 
> As an overall movie - meh.
> 
> But us TV time suckers need something to pass the time on the weekend.



Yeah I'm going to disagree. I don't think it's just better than anything in some time, I think it was legit good, and should stand with the first two movies proudly. The only complaints I had were a couple of spots of bad CGI, but other than that, I was so happy to see the Predator in another time, and honestly? I hope they continue this way. It was said in AVP that they've been here time and time again throughout different times in history. There's all kinds of shit they can do with this now.


----------



## narad

KnightBrolaire said:


> Thirteen Lives- An extremely faithful recreation of the Tham Luang cave rescue. Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell did all their own diving in the film, which was super cool. Really well done film and there are a ton of great shots. It really nails the claustrophobic nature of cave diving, and the sets are insane. Highly recommend checking out the behind the scenes.
> Definitely worth a watch.


Really enjoyed this and was genuinely surprised to understand the mechanics behind that rescue. All I remember from the media at that time was Musk being a twat, totally eclipsing the actual story.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Day Shift- A ridiculous pitch black horror/action comedy centered around Jamie Foxx/Dave Franco vampire hunting in LA. The action sequences are fantastic, especially the one with Scott Adkins playing a douchebag Armenian. There are cameos from Snoop Dogg and Peter Stormare as well. It's a super fun popcorn flick with surprisingly cool world building.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Nope

I like what Jordan Peele's doing. Sure they're not groundbreaking nor original and he wears his influences in his sleeve. But there's a child like love and sense of wonder in what he does and uses that love to make cohesive narratives and does well doing so. Get Out and Us were good fun, and Nope rounds out that threepeat. 

Nope is Peele's most simplified work, but takes hard swings in the spectacle side. It's beautifully shot, the night scenes are amazing, and his sense of subtlety is still great. It's also his least horror-esque movie so far and there's a fun dynamic between the stoic Danile Kaluuya and the playful Keke Palmer which keeps the movie grounded. But having said that there's 2 moments where it was some of the most genuinely terrifying experiences I've had in a theatre in recent memory. 

So Nope is a Yep for me.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Triple Frontier. I was expecting an uber-macho, jerk-off-for-Murica, shoot-em-up action movie and even though it wasn't that, it was still pretty frustrating and dumb. If you really wanna analyze it, it's about 5 ex-military people playing at soldiers of fortune who let their greed and hubris get the best of them, but goddamn, just stash most of the money in the jungles of Peru and come back later after you get back to safety, and bring 2 fucking choppers! 

My partner and I like to fawn over Oscar Isaac, though, so of course we had to watch it. Looking at his IMDb page, I think I've seen more of his work compared to any other actor, like probably 85% or more.


----------



## wankerness

Watched a bunch more movies this month so far:

Shriek of the Mutilated - very silly and bad movie about a college professor taking his students to search for the yeti. Has some amusing twists in the last act and is occasionally terrible in a funny way, but is kind of boring. 5/10

Byleth, Demon of Incest - despite the great title, this is a pretty stagey and boring 70s Italian period movie about a nobleman who's hot for his sister and kills local hotties that look like her while possibly possessed by a demonic spirit. 4/10

Lisa, Lisa/Axe - pretty good 70s thriller that ended up on the Video Nasties list for some reason but isn't very violent. Some psycho criminals and their hapless accomplice hole up with a nutty young woman and her invalid grandpa and find out she's not what she looks. 6/10

Date with a Kidnapper/Kidnapped Coed - from the maker of Axe, even more of an indie road trip movie than Axe, but has a couple bits of nastiness. It's alright. 5/10

Shallow Grave - gritty slasher/thriller from the 80s, really nasty ending, starts off pretty poorly but gets tense. Girls get a flat tire and witness a murder off by the side of the road, murderer turns out to be the local sheriff. 6/10

The Prowler - this movie totally sucks but I've watched it a few times. Scene with the fat guy playing solitaire and not calling the sheriff is an all-timer for illustrating "how to waste the audience's time." Some of the best gore effects ever filmed, though! 4/10

Trapped Alive - watched as a Wisconsinite who's been to Eagle River repeatedly. This wasn't just filmed up there, it's set there! Some escaped convicts kidnap a couple girls and then crash into an old mineshaft, which is revealed to contain a blind cannibal that starts picking them off. Decent 80s slasher type of movie. 6/10

The Black Phone - pretty well-made, and I always appreciate refusals to include backstory/motivations, but some big problems with structure and character that took it down a couple notches. Like, why did they make the sister the psychic one, yet then have the brother be the one talking to spirits? 6.5/10

Lake Placid - tries way too hard to be funny, never is. Some entertainingly bad CGI though. 4/10

Inseminoid - rock bottom attempt to rip-off Alien, basically some woman in mom genes gets impregnated by an alien which also makes her turn into a homicidal maniac and gives her super strength, so she runs around yelling and beating people to death with her fists and it's all terrible. 3/10

Prey - this is good. It doesn't have the super iconic characters/dialogue of the first predator, but I think it's probably better than all the other ones (I didn't like Predators but don't remember much of anything about it, and I've never seen The Predator). Predator 2 I think is actually pretty bad, I just have nostalgia goggles on when I think about it, I haven't seen it since VHS I don't think. Anyway this one's really good and well-paced and doesn't have much bloat on it, but it does overuse the CGI and obviously it's also lacking the "mystery" aspect of the original since the audience already knows what the predator is. 7.5/10

Battle for the Planet of the Apes - I've seen the first four many times, but never watched this one. It's better than its rep and keeps the tradition of having loftier goals than one would expect from a low-budget sci-fi franchise often aimed at kids, but it's definitely also worse than the previous two (and original of course). 6.5/10

Creature - Much better Alien ripoff, this one's got tons of nice gruesome 80s gore (exploding heads, face rips, etc) and has considerably higher production values than Inseminoid. The cast is kind of fun, too, with the likes of Ferris Bueller's dad, Klaus Kinski, and that hot nervous chick from The Burbs. 6.5/10

X - I think it's well-made but I hated everything about the main character, and I thought the villains were kind of lame. House of the Devil was definitely better since you actually like the protagonist there. 7/10


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Byleth, Demon of Incest - despite the great title, this is a pretty stagey and boring 70s Italian period movie about a nobleman who's hot for his sister and kills local hotties that look like her while possibly possessed by a demonic spirit. 4/10


70s Italian horror sounds like a good time to me.


----------



## CanserDYI

Rewatched Princess Mononoke for the 500th time, and never ever, EVER, gets old. Probably one of my favorite movies of all time, and absolutely enthralled me since I was a little kid watching it in 1998 or so with my friend's older brother.


----------



## narad

"Prey" was pretty bad. Who knew the Predators had 1800s levels human sexism. Next thing you know I expect Predator in front of a congressional hearing talking about how if a woman is legitimately raped, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.


----------



## thebeesknees22

I just checked out Prey. I was entertained. I thought it was well done. It gave me exactly what I want from a predator movie. The hunt. Killin'. Neato gadgets from the predator. 

What more could I want?


----------



## mmr007

I love this musical. I was actually fortunate enough to see Neely do this role live in the 80's

I was actually not fortunate enough to be one of these guys in the 80's


----------



## wankerness

narad said:


> "Prey" was pretty bad. Who knew the Predators had 1800s levels human sexism. Next thing you know I expect Predator in front of a congressional hearing talking about how if a woman is legitimately raped, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.


What are you talking about? He was a misandrist, he only killed men! Unless that’s what you mean, he shows respect by killing things.


----------



## jaxadam

Let’s talk really quick about the best movie cast names ever…. Cyborg, featuring Jean-Claude van Damme. Yes, for those of you unfamiliar, this is for real.



Jean-Claude van Damme as Gibson Rickenbacker
Deborah Richter as Nady Simmons
Vincent Klyn as Fender Tremolo
Dayle Haddon as Pearl Prophet
Alex Daniels as Marshall Strat
Blaise Loong as Furman Vux / Pirate / Bandit
Ralf Möller as Brick Bardo (credited as Rolf Muller)
Haley Peterson as Haley
Terrie Batson as Mary
Jackson 'Rock' Pinckney as Tytus / Pirate









Cyborg (film) - Wikipedia







en.m.wikipedia.org


----------



## nightflameauto

jaxadam said:


> Let’s talk really quick about the best movie cast names ever…. Cyborg, featuring Jean-Claude van Damme. Yes, for those of you unfamiliar, this is for real.
> 
> 
> 
> Jean-Claude van Damme as Gibson Rickenbacker
> Deborah Richter as Nady Simmons
> Vincent Klyn as Fender Tremolo
> Dayle Haddon as Pearl Prophet
> Alex Daniels as Marshall Strat
> Blaise Loong as Furman Vux / Pirate / Bandit
> Ralf Möller as Brick Bardo (credited as Rolf Muller)
> Haley Peterson as Haley
> Terrie Batson as Mary
> Jackson 'Rock' Pinckney as Tytus / Pirate
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cyborg (film) - Wikipedia
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> en.m.wikipedia.org


Van Damme is one of those dudes that, if you go hunting through his history, has a plethora of movies that make you scratch your head on the surface. Then you watch them and realize they're even cornier than you imagined. Holy hell, the lulz.

At least he's not ashamed to make fun of himself. Heck, 3/4ths of his movie contain self-effacing tributes to previous films of his. It's hysterical. I think my favorite is the one where he busts out his moves from Breakin' during what's supposed to be an otherwise fairly serious action film. Wish I could remember the name of that one. There's just so many.


----------



## jaxadam

nightflameauto said:


> Van Damme is one of those dudes that, if you go hunting through his history, has a plethora of movies that make you scratch your head on the surface. Then you watch them and realize they're even cornier than you imagined. Holy hell, the lulz.
> 
> At least he's not ashamed to make fun of himself. Heck, 3/4ths of his movie contain self-effacing tributes to previous films of his. It's hysterical. I think my favorite is the one where he busts out his moves from Breakin' during what's supposed to be an otherwise fairly serious action film. Wish I could remember the name of that one. There's just so many.



I mean imagine getting your ass kicked by a guy named Fender Tremolo.


----------



## nightflameauto

jaxadam said:


> I mean imagine getting your ass kicked by a guy named Fender Tremolo.


I'd be honored. Least it wasn't BC Rich Floyd.


----------



## jaxadam

nightflameauto said:


> I'd be honored. Least it wasn't BC Rich Floyd.



I guess Jackson JT6 was already copyrighted for a Steven Seagal film.


----------



## mastapimp

KnightBrolaire said:


> Bullet Train- I went in expecting a wacky action flick, and that's basically what it is. Tons of fun, but a bit unfocused in the way it tells the story. Action sequences are great, especially later in the film. Definitely worth seeing in theaters imo.
> 
> 
> Thirteen Lives- An extremely faithful recreation of the Tham Luang cave rescue. Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell did all their own diving in the film, which was super cool. Really well done film and there are a ton of great shots. It really nails the claustrophobic nature of cave diving, and the sets are insane. Highly recommend checking out the behind the scenes.
> Definitely worth a watch.


Speaking of Viggo Mortensen, I watched Crimes of the Future over the weekend and it was everything you could want from a Cronenberg body horror movie. I heard that it was rather divisive at the film festivals with lots of walk outs, but if you can stomach the mutilation/surgery scenes, it's a terrific film. Lots of sub plots and themes that make you think about what direction humanity is heading and how we get our thrills. If you're a fan of his older movies, it's worth your time.


----------



## narad

wankerness said:


> What are you talking about? He was a misandrist, he only killed men! Unless that’s what you mean, he shows respect by killing things.



Yea, to come all the way from another planet but then just be walking around this unknown place thinking like, "this type of human can't hurt me" shows a weirdly strong notion of gender that shouldn't be so relevant when determining who a threat or warrior is. It parallels normal life assumptions about people not being able to do something because of their gender or whatever.

Though I may have to rewatch -- the way she was phrasing it and also the only girl out in the bunch fighting it, I was thinking it was mostly pitched as a gender thing. Maybe it was more about being unarmed, and I was misinterpreting it? Though, IIRC, there was some scene where it analyzed her actually pointing a gun and was just like, "nah, no worry here". Like dude, she is as much of a threat as any of the random guys also holding guns??


----------



## KnightBrolaire

narad said:


> Yea, to come all the way from another planet but then just be walking around this unknown place thinking like, "this type of human can't hurt me" shows a weirdly strong notion of gender that shouldn't be so relevant when determining who a threat or warrior is. It parallels normal life assumptions about people not being able to do something because of their gender or whatever.
> 
> Though I may have to rewatch -- the way she was phrasing it and also the only girl out in the bunch fighting it, I was thinking it was mostly pitched as a gender thing. Maybe it was more about being unarmed, and I was misinterpreting it? Though, IIRC, there was some scene where it analyzed her actually pointing a gun and was just like, "nah, no worry here". Like dude, she is as much of a threat as any of the random guys also holding guns??


You realize this has been a thing since the first predator, right? Predators only kill humans that are a challenge/threat, and men are disproportionately more of a threat/challenge in the films typically. They're trophy hunters, which is why they want the biggest challenge/threat. That's why they typically go to conflict zones to hunt, as it adds to the challenge.
It's also why they generally don't kill women, because that culls the future population (see Predator 2 with the pregnant cop) of potential trophies. It's not a sexism thing, it's how hunters think. They want to make sure there will be trophies for their people to take in the future. It's alien hunting conservation basically..

There were female survivors in basically every predator movie besides Predators.

She couldn't even get the gun working for the scene where the predator analyzed her (which was the second time it did so). She was considered prey because earlier in the movie a bear was attacking her, and the predator killed the bear. They literally said in the movie it didn't consider her a threat because of that.


----------



## nightflameauto

narad said:


> Yea, to come all the way from another planet but then just be walking around this unknown place thinking like, "this type of human can't hurt me" shows a weirdly strong notion of gender that shouldn't be so relevant when determining who a threat or warrior is. It parallels normal life assumptions about people not being able to do something because of their gender or whatever.
> 
> Though I may have to rewatch -- the way she was phrasing it and also the only girl out in the bunch fighting it, I was thinking it was mostly pitched as a gender thing. Maybe it was more about being unarmed, and I was misinterpreting it? Though, IIRC, there was some scene where it analyzed her actually pointing a gun and was just like, "nah, no worry here". Like dude, she is as much of a threat as any of the random guys also holding guns??


Yeah. It seemed the predator saw her getting pimp-slapped around by the boys, so considered her low-rung and not worthy of hunting, just like her society did in the opposite way. The film was pretty blatant about showing how the predator saw her being trounced before seeing her as not a threat. Analysis: nope just as well have been flashing in neon on the screen.


----------



## wankerness

narad said:


> Yea, to come all the way from another planet but then just be walking around this unknown place thinking like, "this type of human can't hurt me" shows a weirdly strong notion of gender that shouldn't be so relevant when determining who a threat or warrior is. It parallels normal life assumptions about people not being able to do something because of their gender or whatever.
> 
> Though I may have to rewatch -- the way she was phrasing it and also the only girl out in the bunch fighting it, I was thinking it was mostly pitched as a gender thing. Maybe it was more about being unarmed, and I was misinterpreting it? Though, IIRC, there was some scene where it analyzed her actually pointing a gun and was just like, "nah, no worry here". Like dude, she is as much of a threat as any of the random guys also holding guns??


I think you were misinterpreting it, it made it clear that it attacked anything that it saw attacking something else or it, but ignored anything that was passive. She never made a move towards it and she was careful in that scene with the french trapper to stage things in a way that made it look like he was the aggressor to the predator.


----------



## TheBlackBard

KnightBrolaire said:


> You realize this has been a thing since the first predator, right? Predators only kill humans that are a challenge/threat, and men are disproportionately more of a threat/challenge in the films typically. They're trophy hunters, which is why they want the biggest challenge/threat. That's why they typically go to conflict zones to hunt, as it adds to the challenge.
> It's also why they generally don't kill women, because that culls the future population (see Predator 2 with the pregnant cop) of potential trophies. It's not a sexism thing, it's how hunters think. They want to make sure there will be trophies for their people to take in the future. It's alien hunting conservation basically..
> 
> There were female survivors in basically every predator movie besides Predators.
> 
> She couldn't even get the gun working for the scene where the predator analyzed her (which was the second time it did so). She was considered prey because earlier in the movie a bear was attacking her, and the predator killed the bear. They literally said in the movie it didn't consider her a threat because of that.



This.


This is the only explanation and is consistent with the behavior of the Yautja in previous films. The Predator refused to attack Weyland in AVP because he provided no threat until he decided to try and burn the Predator for which the Predator achieved swift retribution.The old man was sick and... well, old. Is the Predator ageist and ableist too? Fact of the matter is, the Predator typically goes for whomever provides the biggest threat and for some time, the only things that provided that in Prey were the males, and a few animals who, at the time, provided a threat or a challenge.

Maybe a Predator movie with Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson strapping up and going into Cambodia with an Avengers: Endgame style women power dynamic might shut the sexism misinterpretation off. But then, the Predator would be sexist for killing only women.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Bodies Bodies Bodies- basically a pitch black gen Z murder mystery. It's like A Simple Plan or Fargo in the sense that everything spirals out of control quickly and it's a fun damn ride. I was cackling at the dialogue in spots with how dead on it was at making fun of zoomers.


----------



## spudmunkey

_Satan's Triangle_ staring Doug McClure, a 1975 ABC movie of the week.

Wow, it's bad...


----------



## nightflameauto

TheBlackBard said:


> This.
> 
> 
> This is the only explanation and is consistent with the behavior of the Yautja in previous films. The Predator refused to attack Weyland in AVP because he provided no threat until he decided to try and burn the Predator for which the Predator achieved swift retribution.The old man was sick and... well, old. Is the Predator ageist and ableist too? Fact of the matter is, the Predator typically goes for whomever provides the biggest threat and for some time, the only things that provided that in Prey were the males, and a few animals who, at the time, provided a threat or a challenge.
> 
> Maybe a Predator movie with Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson strapping up and going into Cambodia with an Avengers: Endgame style women power dynamic might shut the sexism misinterpretation off. But then, the Predator would be sexist for killing only women.


Why? Why did you have to write that?

My brain saw "Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson strap-on" and *BOOM* there goes my appetite for the day.


----------



## MFB

nightflameauto said:


> Why? Why did you have to write that?
> 
> My brain saw "Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson strap-on" and *BOOM* there goes my appetite for the day.



God damn it, now I can't get this thing to go down, look what you did!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I


nightflameauto said:


> Why? Why did you have to write that?
> 
> My brain saw "Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson strap-on" and *BOOM* there goes my appetite for the day.


I thought you were into fantasy, horror, sci-fi, romance, and comedy.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

MFB said:


> God damn it, now I can't get this thing to go down, look what you did!


Whatever flicks your pickle, I guess.


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Whatever flicks your pickle, I guess.



We're in full oroborous mode now as see my original statement for what I wish would flick my pickle!



Spoiler



God I can't believe I'm committed to this bit, fuck me


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Upon second thought, which Rebel Wilson? The skinny version (she lost a bunch of weight recently)? Also, which Melissa McCarthy? I'm not saying yes or no, I'm just saying maybe rule 34 can take effect here.


----------



## MFB

Skinny Rebel Wilson is just, weird to see, like she lost too much too quick that she just looks sort of "sunken." She could put half of it back and I'd probably be game. Melissa, as long as she doesn't look like her Bridesmaids character I think we're good


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I
> I thought you were into fantasy, horror, sci-fi, romance, and comedy.


That would certainly cover the horror and sci-fi aspects. Sadly, I see no comedy or fantasy in Mellisa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson strap-on pronz. Sadz.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> That would certainly cover the horror and sci-fi aspects. Sadly, I see no comedy or fantasy in Mellisa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson strap-on pronz. Sadz.


Rebel is much cuter since she halfed her size.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Rebel is much cuter since she halfed her size.


Does she still have the same personality? Fail.

I'm pretty open-minded looks wise. But man, give the hottest woman in the world that grating self-love type personality and eesh.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Does she still have the same personality? Fail.
> 
> I'm pretty open-minded looks wise. But man, give the hottest woman in the world that grating self-love type personality and eesh.


Hell if I know. I just want to motorboat her and tell her, "okay, that's done. Leave, now. You may please leave."


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Hell if I know. I just want to motorboat her and tell her, "okay, that's done. Leave, now. You may please leave."


Not occupying the mouth = fail fail.

And now I'm hearing McBride in This is the End. "Even when I was a baby I didn't just suck on my momma's titties. I'd bang 'em around and motorboat 'em."


----------



## TheBlackBard

nightflameauto said:


> Why? Why did you have to write that?
> 
> My brain saw "Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson strap-on" and *BOOM* there goes my appetite for the day.




I'm in fucking tears right now.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Mars Attacks! (1996) - The second greatest movie ever made. After The Highlander of course.

Prey (2022) - Considering that the Yautja hunt during hot seasons, everyone in this movie is incredibly dry.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Big Trouble in Little China.


----------



## DestroyMankind

A few nights ago I watched the Black Phone. I thought it was pretty good. Watched motel hell last night..man what a fun movie. Just watched Happy Death Day 2U a bit ago. Somehow I missed that when it came out. Definitely worth a watch.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

DestroyMankind said:


> A few nights ago I watched the Black Phone. I thought it was pretty good. Watched motel hell last night..man what a fun movie. Just watched Happy Death Day 2U a bit ago. Somehow I missed that when it came out. Definitely worth a watch.


motel hell is fucking hilarious. My dad showed that to me when I was a little kid lol


----------



## nightflameauto

The Happy Death Day movies are so much fun. We really should revisit them. So many schlocky horror movies take themselves so seriously it's hard to enjoy them. But you could tell everybody involved in those movies was just having a blast. I felt about the first one a lot like I felt about the first Scream movie. It's something fresh compared to the staleness of the genre at the time.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Movies in general take themselves either way too serious, or it's so fucking over the top schtick akin to SNL that it's unenjoyable. I like my comedy with some dryness, thanks.


----------



## narad

Back to the Prey topic, and having now sat through Predator II and AVP again for the first time in...many years, I still think this was stupid. Of course these are all different predators, but it's not uncommon for predators to kill people holding weapons that have not even become fully aware of what's going on, let alone stare at a woman pointing a spear/gun at them and doing nothing. If a man has those things, he's a threat.

The other weird analysis I read was that in the most outrageous scenes, where she actually was able to just step aside and let him walk right by, and even get a gun to his head, it was supposedly because her blood was cold because of the herbs. I was thinking to myself like man, we are hearing about these stupid flowers a lot, but didn't put it together. Probably because no flower can actually do that, so I didn't consider. But ya, also dumb.

And my final dumb point is how the laser tracking lines up exactly where it needs to be... even though there's no real reason to suspect that even in the best case that events would unfold to place him there.

Loved the cast, loved the setting, loved the whole vibe. Loved the idea of how wits could have played a part in setting up the final battle. And can tolerate the sort of woke trope about the girl not being considered a warrior by her tribe bros. But a few dumb points kinda prevented me from finding it a good movie.. It's not like predator movies are deep, but that one definitely presents itself like a more serious movie, so not a fan of the unrealistic/unlikely shenanigans.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Clearcut- a nihilistic, weird kidnapping/torture film from the 90s centered around a lumber mill and the destruction of Native land in Canada. There are some great atmospheric shots and the soundtrack is eerie. Graham Greene is excellent as the antagonist, he exudes menace and simmering rage. It had a lot of interesting stuff going on, but for whatever reason it just didn't tick all the boxes. It kind of reminds me of Hold the Dark in that way. I desperately wanted to like it, but just went "meh" by the time it ended.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> Clearcut- a nihilistic, weird kidnapping/torture film from the 90s centered around a lumber mill and the destruction of Native land in Canada. There are some great atmospheric shots and the soundtrack is eerie. Graham Greene is excellent as the antagonist, he exudes menace and simmering rage. It had a lot of interesting stuff going on, but for whatever reason it just didn't tick all the boxes. It kind of reminds me of Hold the Dark in that way. I desperately wanted to like it, but just went "meh" by the time it ended.



Man, I have seen that listed on Prime or something and do remember watching it on the TV back in the Day.


----------



## Seabeast2000

The First Tom Cruise Jack Reacher- it does what its supposed to, even though the book Jack Reacher is quite a different specimen and also fights a lot differently. Fun car chase scenes IMO. 

The Italian Job (2003) - pretty junk. Lazy and mildly interesting in a few scenes, absolute weaksauce characters despite the "star power". It seemed to be trying to glom onto several early 2000's cinema trends and not succeeding at any.


----------



## nightflameauto

Seabeast2000 said:


> The First Tom Cruise Jack Reacher- it does what its supposed to, even though the book Jack Reacher is quite a different specimen and also fights a lot differently. Fun car chase scenes IMO.
> 
> The Italian Job (2003) - pretty junk. Lazy and mildly interesting in a few scenes, absolute weaksauce characters despite the "star power". It seemed to be trying to glom onto several early 2000's cinema trends and not succeeding at any.


I remember The Italian Job 2003 movie being pretty blah. It stands in the long list of Hollywoodized remakes that don't hold a candle to the original, and even though the original is better, it's not like they couldn't have improved it had they put any effort at all into the project.


----------



## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Movies in general take themselves either way too serious, or it's so fucking over the top schtick akin to SNL that it's unenjoyable. I like my comedy with some dryness, thanks.


I feel this. When I was a kid I thought Adam Sandler movies were the funniest things ever. Now I find awkward situations or conversations in movies/TV way funnier. Schitt's creek on Netflix is a great example. So funny but it's not over the top. A show I grew up watching that I still watch often and find funny although it's not always funny is King Of The Hill. Fingers crossed for a revival.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> I feel this. When I was a kid I thought Adam Sandler movies were the funniest things ever. Now I find awkward situations or conversations in movies/TV way funnier. Schitt's creek on Netflix is a great example. So funny but it's not over the top. A show I grew up watching that I still watch often and find funny although it's not always funny is King Of The Hill. Fingers crossed for a revival.


I don't know how well the revival would work, but Beavis and Butthead are apparently being offensive in the new movie, which seems to be working, so who knows.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

House on Sorority Row


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Evil Dead reboot- I haven't seen it since it came out, but goddamn it holds up. The gore and fx are still fantastic, especially the needle/eye scene, the electric carver bit and the split tongue bits. It takes what was a campy movie and turns it into a legitimately intense horror film. Probably the best modern horror reboot of the last 20 years besides Hills Have Eyes imo.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Evil Dead reboot- I haven't seen it since it came out, but goddamn it holds up. The gore and fx are still fantastic, especially the needle/eye scene, the electric carver bit and the split tongue bits. It takes what was a campy movie and turns it into a legitimately intense horror film. Probably the best modern horror reboot of the last 20 years besides Hills Have Eyes imo.


I'll stick to the original. Movies are too serious now. THHE was great though, even if I think the trailer scene is gratuitous and not entirely necessary. Levine is great and it sucks he's in it such a short time.


----------



## nightflameauto

Guttural instant reaction:
The Evil Dead reboot was absolute dumpster-fire trash. I even have a mild crush on the main starlet and could barely make it through the damn thing. They took everything fun about the original and lit it on fire, took a dump on the fire just so they could singe their ass hairs, then pissed on it while chanting "Hey hey goodbye" to the original with great malice and glee. Fuck everybody involved for ruining the entire premise of a terrific older film. The camp of the original was what made it worth watching. The "oh we so edgy srs" modernization of it was not only unnecessary, but near sacrilegious.

I pray to whatever demons that will listen, DO NOT remake the sequels.

Next thing you know they'll be remaking Bubba HoTep as a modern, edgy, super-dark horror. And then I'll cry real tears.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Guttural instant reaction:
> The Evil Dead reboot was absolute dumpster-fire trash. I even have a mild crush on the main starlet and could barely make it through the damn thing. They took everything fun about the original and lit it on fire, took a dump on the fire just so they could singe their ass hairs, then pissed on it while chanting "Hey hey goodbye" to the original with great malice and glee. Fuck everybody involved for ruining the entire premise of a terrific older film. The camp of the original was what made it worth watching. The "oh we so edgy srs" modernization of it was not only unnecessary, but near sacrilegious.
> 
> I pray to whatever demons that will listen, DO NOT remake the sequels.
> 
> Next thing you know they'll be remaking Bubba HoTep as a modern, edgy, super-dark horror. And then I'll cry real tears.


THANK YOU! I am kind of borderline sick and tired of seeing praise for a film SO fucking tone deaf. Don't fuck with the original! Did they really think having Bruce Campbell say "Groovy!" would give it that rub that everything would just go over? It doesn't give that a pass for me.

I pray to the Kandarian demons that pitbulls shit in their loafers!

Why would you put that out into the universe? Gross!


----------



## wankerness

nightflameauto said:


> Guttural instant reaction:
> The Evil Dead reboot was absolute dumpster-fire trash. I even have a mild crush on the main starlet and could barely make it through the damn thing. They took everything fun about the original and lit it on fire, took a dump on the fire just so they could singe their ass hairs, then pissed on it while chanting "Hey hey goodbye" to the original with great malice and glee. Fuck everybody involved for ruining the entire premise of a terrific older film. The camp of the original was what made it worth watching. The "oh we so edgy srs" modernization of it was not only unnecessary, but near sacrilegious.
> 
> I pray to whatever demons that will listen, DO NOT remake the sequels.
> 
> Next thing you know they'll be remaking Bubba HoTep as a modern, edgy, super-dark horror. And then I'll cry real tears.


The first Evil Dead is mostly serious and tips into ludicrousness as it goes on mainly by sheer volume of blood. Like, Ash getting hit in the face over and over eventually does gain a sort of comic timing. The reboot is exactly the same where it's horrific, but gets SO gross that it becomes funny. It's absolutely winking at the audience with some of the outrageous gore. It nailed the tone. The only difference is the acting isn't comically terrible so THAT kind of humor is gone.

I still prefer the original but was very surprised by just how right the reboot got it. Especially if you see the uncut version. It's strange that the censored version seems more serious, but it does.

I was relieved they didn't try to cater to the Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness fans and just turn it into a comedy. I like those movies a lot, but almost all attempts at horror comedies fall incredibly flat.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Evil Dead reboot- I haven't seen it since it came out, but goddamn it holds up. The gore and fx are still fantastic, especially the needle/eye scene, the electric carver bit and the split tongue bits. It takes what was a campy movie and turns it into a legitimately intense horror film. Probably the best modern horror reboot of the last 20 years besides Hills Have Eyes imo.


Yuck. Hills Have Eyes remake is on a very short list of movies I'd give a 1/10. Absolutely excruciating edgelord trash. Any positives (like making the female mutant a little deformed kid instead of a cavebabe) are more than outweighed by the grimy edgelord material like "oh let's include some breast suckling when the pregnant woman gets raped." Good companion piece to some of those shitty "French Extreme" movies like Frontiers and the same director's "High Tension" though.

If you're using reboot and remake as synonyms, I think some of the best ones from the last 20 years are The Invisible Man, Suspiria, and Piranha. There's some others I've been meaning to watch, like My Bloody Valentine, but I like those quite a bit. The Ring, Dawn of the Dead and Let Me In are pretty good too (even if the latter two are way worse than the originals).

I just looked at Google for a list of horror remakes. Some of these are great inclusions. Popular romantic horror films Footloose and Aladdin!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> The first Evil Dead is mostly serious and tips into ludicrousness as it goes on mainly by sheer volume of blood. Like, Ash getting hit in the face over and over eventually does gain a sort of comic timing. The reboot is exactly the same where it's horrific, but gets SO gross that it becomes funny. It's absolutely winking at the audience with some of the outrageous gore. It nailed the tone. The only difference is the acting isn't comically terrible so THAT kind of humor is gone.
> 
> I still prefer the original but was very surprised by just how right the reboot got it. Especially if you see the uncut version. It's strange that the censored version seems more serious, but it does.
> 
> I was relieved they didn't try to cater to the Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness fans and just turn it into a comedy. I like those movies a lot, but almost all attempts at horror comedies fall incredibly flat.


Tucker and Dale vs Evil is the pinnacle of horror comedy and I will not hear otherwise.


wankerness said:


> Yuck. Hills Have Eyes remake is on a very short list of movies I'd give a 1/10. Absolutely excruciating edgelord trash. Any positives (like making the female mutant a little deformed kid instead of a cavebabe) are more than outweighed by the grimy edgelord material like "oh let's include some breast suckling when the pregnant woman gets raped." Good companion piece to some of those shitty "French Extreme" movies like Frontiers and the same director's "High Tension" though.
> 
> If you're using reboot and remake as synonyms, I think some of the best ones from the last 20 years are The Invisible Man, Suspiria, and Piranha. There's some others I've been meaning to watch, like My Bloody Valentine, but I like those quite a bit. The Ring, Dawn of the Dead and Let Me In are pretty good too (even if the latter two are way worse than the originals).
> 
> I just looked at Google for a list of horror remakes. Some of these are great inclusions. Popular romantic horror films Footloose and Aladdin!


I am using reboot/remake interchangeably. Obviously tastes differ but I tend to enjoy the more extreme end of horror, and I think the Hills Have Eyes reboot fits in that category. The original is pretty toothless compared to Craven's other work from around that time (like Last House on the Left).
I think Martyrs and A l'interieur are the best examples of french extreme horror tbh. Raw is also solid.
Frontiers sucks, and Haute Tension was also meh.


Piranha and Invisible Man are excellent reboots/remakes. The Town that Dreaded Sundown remake is good too. I Spit on Your Grave reboot was well done, but I wouldn't say it's one of the best reboots. Same with the Last House on the Left reboot.

I can't stand Let Me In. It was a piss poor attempt at americanizing a movie and it lost the nuance/atmosphere of the original tbh.
The A l'interieur remake is in the same boat tbh.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Tucker and Dale vs Evil is the pinnacle of horror comedy and I will not hear otherwise.
> 
> I am using reboot/remake interchangeably. Obviously tastes differ but I tend to enjoy the more extreme end of horror, and I think the Hills Have Eyes reboot fits in that category. The original is pretty toothless compared to Craven's other work from around that time (like Last House on the Left).
> I think Martyrs and A l'interieur are the best examples of french extreme horror tbh. Raw is also solid.
> Frontiers sucks, and Haute Tension was also meh.
> 
> 
> Piranha and Invisible Man are excellent reboots/remakes. The Town that Dreaded Sundown remake is good too. I Spit on Your Grave reboot was well done, but I wouldn't say it's one of the best reboots. Same with the Last House on the Left reboot.
> 
> I can't stand Let Me In. It was a piss poor attempt at americanizing a movie and it lost the nuance/atmosphere of the original tbh.
> The A l'interieur remake is in the same boat tbh.


I watched Tucker and Dale vs Evil, but don't really remember it. I think it was vaguely amusing but I got tired of it as it went on. Other horror comedies from the last several years I've seen and found at least enjoyable were Zombieland, Piranha 3D, Slither, Happy Death Day, Grindhouse, Cabin in the Woods, What We Do in the Shadows, and Shaun of the Dead (of course). Only a few of those were really good instead of somewhat amusing, though. Dead Alive, Reanimator and Evil Dead 2 are still kinda without peer as splatter-comedies. I think CGI gore is inherently less funny than the good old days where the actors were having buckets of intestines and blood tossed at them. Then again, plenty of the old horror comedies were terrible, too. Like, I recently watched Unmasked Part 25 which was really annoying (despite some great splatter).

Martyrs and Inside are good. I've watched Martyrs like 3 times, I think that's a really impressive movie that's much smarter than its reputation would suggest. But man, I still absolutely hated that Hills Have Eyes remake. I don't love the original, but it works well enough for what it is (yes, it's more mild than his earlier Last House on the Left, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing). Here was what I wrote about it when I watched it. I mostly just remember feelings instead of specific scenes, but this brings it roaring back! Spoilers ahead!


Spoiler






> Jesus christ, why do the people who do these remakes have to try to EXTREME it up?! It's merely really stupid till the end, at which point it firmly reveals itself to be the product of a chain-wallet wearing 15 year old, who was probably busy listening to Disturbed or whatever similar band was popular in 2006 and planning hypothetical school shootings at the same time he wrote this script. So terrible.
> 
> It follows the original quite closely for a while, but then tries to distinguish itself by being set in one of those model homes seen in the nuke the fridge scene in Indy 4. The characters are infuriatingly stupid even compared to the original, with several scenes making you hate some of the victims more than the perpetrators, particularly the lengthy assault scene, in which we get to see Claire from lost smashed in the face and raped while all her other family members just run around like chickens with their heads cut off, allowing it to go on uninterrupted. Her stupid fucking mother walks right past her and doesn't notice. The characters are all just awful, apart from the sister who's killed in this scene. Fortunately she spends her last scene having her lactating breasts suckled by a mutant before getting shot in the face. EXTREME!!!!!!
> 
> Before this, we have the douchey teenage son who just refuses to tell anyone that the family dog was murdered, because that might have prevented some of the awfulness. Instead he just stutters and chokes when not acting like Paul Dano in Little Miss Sunshine. Then we have the brother in law, who's a total unlikable prick, and becomes the ACTION HERO. In the climax, he just goes around killing every mutant in most EXTREME fashion possible, aided by the dog, who's even more ridiculous than in the original (which is saying something).
> 
> The ONLY positive change in this version is they made Ruby (the sympathetic female mutant) a rather cute mutated little girl instead of a red-hot babe in her 20s with no physical defects, which never made sense. But of course, this time the character is killed off to make the movie more EXTREME.
> 
> The ending alone practically makes this a 1/5 movie in my book. It's competently made utter garbage, but somehow that just makes it even worse. It's a fitting companion piece to the same director's miserable Haute Tension, without even that one's insane line-crossing to recommend it. Nihilistic shit.





I haven't watched any of those rape/revenge remakes. I guess I don't like the originals much but appreciated them for their power. From what I heard the new ones sorta made them "slicker" and in the process kind of destroyed the whole point/effectiveness of them. But, as I haven't watched them I can't really comment.

I haven't even seen the original of Town that Dreaded Sundown, I should fix that sometime.

Let Me In destroys some of what is great about the original, but I still think it worked, I liked the cinematography, and I liked what they did with the Richard Jenkins character. Plus the whole car crash sequence was fantastic and was one of the big divergences from the original. I think making Eli a girl was a huge cop-out and I don't like Chloe Moretz and I hate the cgi vampire effects, but everything else about it I remember liking. Removing the cgi cats was an improvement, too. Haven't seen it since the theater, though.


----------



## bostjan

Both Evil Dead and Let the Right One In are in my top 20 of any genre. Shout out to Motel Hell, too, that movie is just a big ol' load of dark & gross fun.

Anyone who wants to remake a film should have a statement as to why, from an artistic standpoint. If the answer is any bullshit like "update" or "polish" then they can fuck right off. Let Me In did not need to exist. They remade a film that had only come out shortly before they started pre-production, and they totally missed several of the main beats just to replace them with, umm, well nothing interesting really. It was a blatant cash grab.

That said, on to the most recent movie I saw - *The Batman*. Another franchise full of cash grabs etc.

IDK, I honestly thought I was going to hate the movie, then heard some great things about it, and a half hour into the movie, I thought I was going to love it. But it's like someone different edited the final act, or something - I don't know. It's like the pacing of the movie went from an interestingly uncomfortable slow burn to just a slog, and it's as if all of the little subplots that seemed to be ripe to subvert my expectations somehow just, like, either went nowhere or wrapped up too conveniently. I don't want to rag on it too hard, because it's overall a decent batman movie and it did some new and different things, but I feel like it was too long, trying too hard to be pretentious, and wasted a lot of potential it seemed to spend a lot of time and effort setting up in the first two Acts. The style of it was cool, and some of the little details were great, but they clearly missed other little details, so I can't give them too much credit. 

I think there's plenty of reason to love the film. I feel like I could have loved it with a fair amount of little tweaks, but ended up just liking it.



Spoiler



The Joker cameo was 100% dumb, though - it is a prime example of how the last act of the film was just unnecessarily bloated. If they wanted to tease something for the potential sequel, they could have done it as a post credits scene and at least saved the flow of the film. But, well, 1. the scene added nothing to the plot, 2. just another dumb detail, but if isolated in rooms like what we were shown, the inmates would not be able to speak to one another, and 3. why introduce a character that big in such a shoehorned way? Having him laugh like that at the end of the scene was just beating the audience over the head with the premise.


----------



## wankerness

bostjan said:


> Both Evil Dead and Let the Right One In are in my top 20 of any genre. Shout out to Motel Hell, too, that movie is just a big ol' load of dark & gross fun.
> 
> Anyone who wants to remake a film should have a statement as to why, from an artistic standpoint. If the answer is any bullshit like "update" or "polish" then they can fuck right off. Let Me In did not need to exist. They remade a film that had only come out shortly before they started pre-production, and they totally missed several of the main beats just to replace them with, umm, well nothing interesting really. It was a blatant cash grab.


Motel Hell is pretty good, though the funniest thing about it is the idea that that babe would fall in love with Rory Calhoun.

Let Me In's main idea was "make it English cause a huge proportion of moviegoers absolutely refuse to watch anything with subtitles." I think the fact it had other interesting content and filmmaking craft was a happy accident and not part of the decision to make it. But yeah, I think with those remakes of foreign non-English movies, the idea is often "we think this movie could have made real money if it was in English, so we're leaving money on the table by not remaking it!!!" See also: Quarantine, all those J-horror remakes, etc. Sometimes they're pretty good (The Ring, Insomnia, the Buffy version of The Grudge, Let Me In, Dark Water, The Departed) and sometimes they're terrible (Quarantine, Vanilla Sky, Funny Games, etc).


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> I watched Tucker and Dale vs Evil, but don't really remember it. I think it was vaguely amusing but I got tired of it as it went on. Other horror comedies from the last several years I've seen and found at least enjoyable were Zombieland, Piranha 3D, Slither, Happy Death Day, Grindhouse, Cabin in the Woods, What We Do in the Shadows, and Shaun of the Dead (of course). Only a few of those were really good instead of somewhat amusing, though. Dead Alive, Reanimator and Evil Dead 2 are still kinda without peer as splatter-comedies. I think CGI gore is inherently less funny than the good old days where the actors were having buckets of intestines and blood tossed at them. Then again, plenty of the old horror comedies were terrible, too. Like, I recently watched Unmasked Part 25 which was really annoying (despite some great splatter).
> 
> Martyrs and Inside are good. I've watched Martyrs like 3 times, I think that's a really impressive movie that's much smarter than its reputation would suggest. But man, I still absolutely hated that Hills Have Eyes remake. I don't love the original, but it works well enough for what it is (yes, it's more mild than his earlier Last House on the Left, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing). Here was what I wrote about it when I watched it. I mostly just remember feelings instead of specific scenes, but this brings it roaring back! Spoilers ahead!
> I haven't watched any of those rape/revenge remakes. I guess I don't like the originals much but appreciated them for their power. From what I heard the new ones sorta made them "slicker" and in the process kind of destroyed the whole point/effectiveness of them. But, as I haven't watched them I can't really comment.
> 
> I haven't even seen the original of Town that Dreaded Sundown, I should fix that sometime.
> 
> Let Me In destroys some of what is great about the original, but I still think it worked, I liked the cinematography, and I liked what they did with the Richard Jenkins character. Plus the whole car crash sequence was fantastic and was one of the big divergences from the original. I think making Eli a girl was a huge cop-out and I don't like Chloe Moretz and I hate the cgi vampire effects, but everything else about it I remember liking. Removing the cgi cats was an improvement, too. Haven't seen it since the theater, though.


I think Cabin in the Woods is one of the most overrated movies of all time, but other than that I'd agree that all of those others are great comedies. Reanimator and Dead Alive are classics. I'd also throw Nekromantik into the mix (it's gross and stupid, but so low budget that it becomes funny). 

Drag Me to Hell is an underrated horror comedy imo. 

The original Last House is much meaner and nastier in terms of content, but I think the remake is a better film overall imo.
I spit on your grave is the OG rape/revenge film but it's really not very good quality wise either. The remake captures the same concept and brutality but does it better tbh.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Motel Hell is pretty good, though the funniest thing about it is the idea that that babe would fall in love with Rory Calhoun.
> 
> Let Me In's main idea was "make it English cause a huge proportion of moviegoers absolutely refuse to watch anything with subtitles." I think the fact it had other interesting content and filmmaking craft was a happy accident and not part of the decision to make it. But yeah, I think with those remakes of foreign non-English movies, the idea is often "we think this movie could have made real money if it was in English, so we're leaving money on the table by not remaking it!!!" See also: Quarantine, all those J-horror remakes, etc. Sometimes they're pretty good (The Ring, Insomnia, the Buffy version of The Grudge, Let Me In, Dark Water, The Departed) and sometimes they're terrible (Quarantine, Vanilla Sky, Funny Games, etc).


I thought the Funny Games remake was pretty well done. Haneke directed it and basically did a shot for shot remake, just in english with higher profile actors.


----------



## wankerness

Oh yeah, I forgot about Drag Me To Hell. I saw that in the theater, it was a great one to see with an audience. All the audience audibly cringing and then laughing during the old woman attacking in the car with her gums, etc. The only problem with that movie is I didn't much like the main character, but then she's kind of supposed to be a jerk.

I didn't know Nekromantik was a comedy. From what I heard about the subject matter and budget, I never even thought about watching it. I will say that when I saw Neon Demon in the theater and the whole audience started shifting and making Ugh noises during the graphic necrophilia scene it made it into a comedy for me. I could see how that could be funny!


KnightBrolaire said:


> I thought the Funny Games remake was pretty well done. Haneke directed it and basically did a shot for shot remake, just in english with higher profile actors.


I think my problem with it was it seemed completely pointless since it was so similar (not to mention I don't like the original). All those I liked at least do something better or different or have better actors or something, even if they're MOSTLY pointless. This one fell more into the Gus Van Sant Psycho camp, even though I know that one is supposed to be quite bad.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Oh yeah, I forgot about Drag Me To Hell. I saw that in the theater, it was a great one to see with an audience. All the audience audibly cringing and then laughing during the old woman attacking in the car with her gums, etc. The only problem with that movie is I didn't much like the main character, but then she's kind of supposed to be a jerk.
> 
> I didn't know Nekromantik was a comedy. From what I heard about the subject matter and budget, I never even thought about watching it. I will say that when I saw Neon Demon in the theater and the whole audience started shifting and making Ugh noises during the graphic necrophilia scene it made it into a comedy for me. I could see how that could be funny!


Nekromantik isn't really a comedy, but it becomes funny just due to how bad the special fx are. The plastic skeletons being used in a threesome and going down on the woman made me crack up.

I'll also add Deadgirl into the mix of "gross and unintentionally funny" films. It's a much better film than Nekromantik though. 

Neon Demon was fucking awful, and not even in a fun way. Winding Refn is such an inconsistent director. I love Valhalla Rising and Pusher/ Drive but everything he did after that has been dogshit.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> Yuck. Hills Have Eyes remake is on a very short list of movies I'd give a 1/10. Absolutely excruciating edgelord trash. Any positives (like making the female mutant a little deformed kid instead of a cavebabe) are more than outweighed by the grimy edgelord material like "oh let's include some breast suckling when the pregnant woman gets raped." Good companion piece to some of those shitty "French Extreme" movies like Frontiers and the same director's "High Tension" though.
> 
> If you're using reboot and remake as synonyms, I think some of the best ones from the last 20 years are The Invisible Man, Suspiria, and Piranha. There's some others I've been meaning to watch, like My Bloody Valentine, but I like those quite a bit. The Ring, Dawn of the Dead and Let Me In are pretty good too (even if the latter two are way worse than the originals).
> 
> I just looked at Google for a list of horror remakes. Some of these are great inclusions. Popular romantic horror films Footloose and Aladdin!


We must be opposites. I love the Hills Have Eyes remake. The SEQUELs to that remake are questionable at best, but the first one I thought was great. Meanwhile, the Evil Dead sequel? Fart in the wind. Swing and a miss.


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## Seabeast2000

Anyone watch Pulse and the American version? The remake worth it?

Also I dug Only God Forgives.


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## Louis Cypher

I really don't get why horror remakes or reboots are so desperate to always be way more extreme and outrageous than the original foe the sakenof just being extreme. Especially when it comes to the use of sexual violence, like in the THHE remake or Rob Zombies Halloween remake


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## wankerness

Seabeast2000 said:


> Anyone watch Pulse and the American version? The remake worth it?
> 
> Also I dug Only God Forgives.


Assuming you're talking about Pulse (Kairo) the very subtle Japanese horror movie about isolation, the American remake is infamously bad.

I HATED Only God Forgives but I've read some reappraisals that made me sort of interested to rewatch it someday. I really hated it the first time, though.


----------



## wankerness

Louis Cypher said:


> I really don't get why horror remakes or reboots are so desperate to always be way more extreme and outrageous than the original foe the sakenof just being extreme. Especially when it comes to the use of sexual violence, like in the THHE remake or Rob Zombies Halloween remake


Cause today's audiences want things to be EXTREME!!!! Same reason every remake of anything has those idiotic jump scares with giant bass booms on the soundtrack to force people to jump, cause otherwise how would they know it was scary???

Honestly though usually the 70s horror movies were more sexually explicit. From what I've heard, I Spit On Your Grave is PG-13 in comparison when it comes to the assault scenes. Halloween and THHE are sort of outliers. Speaking of which, with RZ's Halloween, if I'm going to watch it, I'll always watch the Theatrical version cause it doesn't include the totally gratuitous prison rape, that's special for the "director's cut" on DVD/Blu-ray. He escapes for entirely different reasons in the theatrical version. I had to order some cheap Canadian blu-ray release of it to get it without the rape.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> Cause today's audiences want things to be EXTREME!!!! Same reason every remake of anything has those idiotic jump scares with giant bass booms on the soundtrack to force people to jump, cause otherwise how would they know it was scary???
> 
> Honestly though usually the 70s horror movies were more sexually explicit. From what I've heard, I Spit On Your Grave is PG-13 in comparison when it comes to the assault scenes. Halloween and THHE are sort of outliers. Speaking of which, with RZ's Halloween, if I'm going to watch it, I'll always watch the Theatrical version cause it doesn't include the totally gratuitous prison rape, that's special for the "director's cut" on DVD/Blu-ray. He escapes for entirely different reasons in the theatrical version. I had to order some cheap Canadian blu-ray release of it to get it without the rape.


This has to be a first. A guitar forum with a post looking for something WITHOUT the rape? What is the world coming to?

And I don't think the audience wants everything to be more extreme. If that were the case we wouldn't have endless streams of people, myself among them, complaining about how everything now is trying desperately to be more edgy and extreme and dark and grr and big tough guy and shit. I don't mind extreme, but I do think the big ticket horror lately has gone way off the deep-end with it. 

It's like the script says some kid picks up a stuffed animal and by the time they shoot it the kid's covered in blood, the stuffed animal has its head half-ripped off, and the kid's carrying an axe just because. EX-TREMEEAH!


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## wankerness

I still can't see the word extreme without hearing those guys from Harold and Kumar in the gas station scene. I need to watch that again, I probably haven't seen it since like 2008.


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## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Cause today's audiences want things to be EXTREME!!!! Same reason every remake of anything has those idiotic jump scares with giant bass booms on the soundtrack to force people to jump, cause otherwise how would they know it was scary???
> 
> Honestly though usually the 70s horror movies were more sexually explicit. From what I've heard, I Spit On Your Grave is PG-13 in comparison when it comes to the assault scenes. Halloween and THHE are sort of outliers. Speaking of which, with RZ's Halloween, if I'm going to watch it, I'll always watch the Theatrical version cause it doesn't include the totally gratuitous prison rape, that's special for the "director's cut" on DVD/Blu-ray. He escapes for entirely different reasons in the theatrical version. I had to order some cheap Canadian blu-ray release of it to get it without the rape.


Nah, most modern films are fucking tame comparatively in terms of content. Most of them are willing to show more realistic gore, but shy away from other stuff.
70s horror is a whole other realm of extreme. Cannibal Holocaust (actual onscreen animal murder, woman vaginally penetrated by wooden log and beaten to death with it, etc), Salo (coprophilia, rape, torture, and all kinds of fucked up shit), I spit on your grave (super graphic rape scene that lasts like 10 mins and genital mutilation), Caligula ( incest, genital mutilation, literal porn), The Entity ( the whole movie is basically just Barbara Hershey getting raped by a ghost) are probably the easiest examples excluding exploitation stuff like Emanuelle (she gets forced to bang a dog at one point).

The worst thing to happen to horror imo was the influx of godawful ghost/supernatural films where it's just jumpscares and halfbaked concepts (e.g. Countdown, Would You Rather, most Blumhouse shit). At least with stuff like Poltergeist the ghosts were legitimately scary and did stuff beyond jumpscares.

I personally want to see the return of more grounded, human based horror. Give me more historical horror like the Nightingale ffs. Or an actually good horror film based around Unit 731.


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## nightflameauto

Blumhouse killed the entire horror genre. I'm not sure how or why they got a lock on new horror, and why the entire rest of the industry just shrugged it off and let them keep churning out the same fucking movie month after month with different actors, but it's really hurt the horror genre all the way around.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> Blumhouse killed the entire horror genre. I'm not sure how or why they got a lock on new horror, and why the entire rest of the industry just shrugged it off and let them keep churning out the same fucking movie month after month with different actors, but it's really hurt the horror genre all the way around.


Some of the Blumhouse stuff is pretty good (Happy Death Day, Black Phone, Oculus), but most of it is awful. Fantasy Island has to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen besides the latest Matrix.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Nah, most modern films are fucking tame comparatively in terms of content. Most of them are willing to show more realistic gore, but shy away from other stuff.
> 70s horror is a whole other realm of extreme. Cannibal Holocaust (actual onscreen animal murder, woman vaginally penetrated by wooden log and beaten to death with it, etc), Salo (coprophilia, rape, torture, and all kinds of fucked up shit), I spit on your grave (super graphic rape scene that lasts like 10 mins and genital mutilation), Caligula ( incest, genital mutilation, literal porn), The Entity ( the whole movie is basically just Barbara Hershey getting raped by a ghost) are probably the easiest examples excluding exploitation stuff like Emanuelle (she gets forced to bang a dog at one point).
> 
> The worst thing to happen to horror imo was the influx of godawful ghost/supernatural films where it's just jumpscares and halfbaked concepts (e.g. Countdown, Would You Rather, most Blumhouse shit). At least with stuff like Poltergeist the ghosts were legitimately scary and did stuff beyond jumpscares.
> 
> I personally want to see the return of more grounded, human based horror. Give me more historical horror like the Nightingale ffs. Or an actually good horror film based around Unit 731.


It varies. Italian horror movies from the 70s and early 80s are super disgusting (ex Cannibal Holocaust, the Fulci zombie movies, etc), American ones sometimes were (ex Day of the Dead, Reanimator, Evil Dead 1) but often weren't. The really gory ones rarely get remade. 

Remakes sometimes amp things up into a gorefest that didn't used to be at all (Hills Have Eyes, Halloween vs the RZ one, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, especially remakes of really old stuff like House of Wax or 13 Ghosts) but usually back off and take the reverse route with things where the original was already extreme (sounds like LHOTL, I Spit On Your Grave; Dawn of the Dead is arguable, Martyrs, etc).

I think movies from the 70s and very early 80s before the MPAA caught on have a certain danger to them that modern movies rarely try to compete with, but on the other hand, there's now some really, really sickeningly extreme gore in stuff like the Hannibal TV show which was just playing on network TV like it was no big deal. Or like, The Walking Dead has many scenes that would NEVER have gotten on basic cable twenty years ago (like Glenn getting his head squished in loving detail with a baseball bat, etc). I dunno. There's very much different branches of horror media and some are at least as disgusting as anything ever produced, even if the Blumhouse movies are super formula and safe.


----------



## wankerness

nightflameauto said:


> Blumhouse killed the entire horror genre. I'm not sure how or why they got a lock on new horror, and why the entire rest of the industry just shrugged it off and let them keep churning out the same fucking movie month after month with different actors, but it's really hurt the horror genre all the way around.


Blumhouse has infuriating stupid formula shit they always use, like the aforementioned jump scare formula that seems to have a quota with every movie, but I think a lot of their stuff is decent, even some of the big franchise ones. I think the first Insidious is pretty good for what they are, Black Phone's not bad, The Invisible Man was great, Oculus is pretty good (didn't realize they put that out!). Actually, wow, they put out some other stuff I didn't think was them that I really liked. I've seen a lot more of their movies than I realized, and I barely dislike any of them.

Very good: 

Get Out
Invisible Man
Oculus


Good:
Insidious
Black Phone
Happy Death Day
Happy Death Day 2U
Us
The Purge: Anarchy
Halloween 2018
Whiplash

Meh:
Paranormal Activity
Insidious sequels
Split
Sinister
Halloween Kills
The Gift
Green Inferno
The Bay

Ugh: 
Paranormal Activity sequels

I really thought they did The Conjuring and associated spin-offs, guess not. I've been meaning to watch Unfriended ever since it came out, I've heard that's pretty good.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> It varies. Italian horror movies from the 70s and early 80s are super disgusting (ex Cannibal Holocaust, the Fulci zombie movies, etc), American ones sometimes were (ex Day of the Dead, Reanimator, Evil Dead 1) but often weren't. The really gory ones rarely get remade.
> 
> Remakes sometimes amp things up into a gorefest that didn't used to be at all (Hills Have Eyes, Halloween vs the RZ one, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, especially remakes of really old stuff like House of Wax or 13 Ghosts) but usually back off and take the reverse route with things where the original was already extreme (sounds like LHOTL, I Spit On Your Grave; Dawn of the Dead is arguable, Martyrs, etc).
> 
> I think movies from the 70s and very early 80s before the MPAA caught on have a certain danger to them that modern movies rarely try to compete with, but on the other hand, there's now some really, really sickeningly extreme gore in stuff like the Hannibal TV show which was just playing on network TV like it was no big deal. Or like, The Walking Dead has many scenes that would NEVER have gotten on basic cable twenty years ago (like Glenn getting his head squished in loving detail with a baseball bat, etc). I dunno. There's very much different branches of horror media and some are at least as disgusting as anything ever produced, even if the Blumhouse movies are super formula and safe.


LHOTL remake is nowhere near as bleak or brutal as the original (not to discount its brutality but the original is excessively nasty). Same with the I Spit on Your Grave remake.
Funny enough Hannibal actually got censored in places but moreso due to nudity rather than the gore. NBC's Dracula series (came out around the same time as the Hannibal series) was also quite gory for being on network tv.
I was actually angry with how AMC handled the Walking Dead overall tbh. The comics are insanely brutal, and the show really didn't capture that sheer brutality as well. They completely neutered certain storylines and stretched others out for wayyyyy tooo long. Glen's death was accurate to the comics, but there are other sequences that they really didn't handle well (namely anything involving Andrea or Michonne).

When it comes to "extreme horror" then yeah, there's still plenty of stuff that's equally as disgusting as the 70s era stuff (Human Centipede part 2 and A Serbian Film being perfect examples).



wankerness said:


> Blumhouse has infuriating stupid formula shit they always use, like the aforementioned jump scare formula that seems to have a quota with every movie, but I think a lot of their stuff is decent, even some of the big franchise ones. I think the first Insidious is pretty good for what they are, Black Phone's not bad, The Invisible Man was great, Oculus is pretty good (didn't realize they put that out!). Actually, wow, they put out some other stuff I didn't think was them that I really liked. I've seen a lot more of their movies than I realized, and I barely dislike any of them.
> 
> Very good:
> 
> Get Out
> Invisible Man
> Oculus
> 
> 
> Good:
> Insidious
> Black Phone
> Happy Death Day
> Happy Death Day 2U
> Us
> The Purge: Anarchy
> Halloween 2018
> Whiplash
> 
> Meh:
> Paranormal Activity
> Insidious sequels
> Split
> Sinister
> Halloween Kills
> The Gift
> Green Inferno
> The Bay
> 
> Ugh:
> Paranormal Activity sequels
> 
> I really thought they did The Conjuring and associated spin-offs, guess not. I've been meaning to watch Unfriended ever since it came out, I've heard that's pretty good.


*Apparently Blumhouse also produced BlackKKlansman.


----------



## Louis Cypher

wankerness said:


> Speaking of which, with RZ's Halloween, if I'm going to watch it, I'll always watch the Theatrical version cause it doesn't include the totally gratuitous prison rape, that's special for the "director's cut" on DVD/Blu-ray. He escapes for entirely different reasons in the theatrical version. I had to order some cheap Canadian blu-ray release of it to get it without the rape.


Really? Fucks sake. I really wish I'd seen that other version, coz I wish I could unsee that fucking prison scene, and the scene in THHE remake...... I wish I could unsee the scene in The Accused but atleast that scene is actually the point of the whole (brilliant) film


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> *Apparently Blumhouse also produced BlackKKlansman.


Ah, missed that one on the list. That was also a good one. I was very surprised to see Whiplash on the list.


----------



## c7spheres

They're only YT videos but I'm going to try watching The Rick Beato interview that just dropped with Maynard and also the Joe Rogan one interview with Mustaine. I like Rick and Joes style of interview and I haven't seen Maynard or Mustaine in a long time. These are both welcomely unexpected.

Edit: Mustaine's lookin a bit frail to me.


----------



## nightflameauto

Blumhouse was involved with Blackkklansman? Huh. Will wonders never cease. I enjoyed that movie.

They've also done some documentaries that aren't terrible. But their "straight to streaming" formula horror is absolutely god-awful. A few years back it seemed like they had dozens of them to every one semi-original film they were involved in.


----------



## wankerness

nightflameauto said:


> Blumhouse was involved with Blackkklansman? Huh. Will wonders never cease. I enjoyed that movie.
> 
> They've also done some documentaries that aren't terrible. But their "straight to streaming" formula horror is absolutely god-awful. A few years back it seemed like they had dozens of them to every one semi-original film they were involved in.


What movies are you talking about, specifically? The list of Blumhouse films suggested they release about 3-5 films a year. There were only a couple titles I didn't recognize, and I definitely don't pay attention to streaming-only stuff. Maybe they distribute a bunch of stuff too? I dunno. I saw they had a "sub-label" which was what Green Inferno was released under, but again it was only a few movies.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> What movies are you talking about, specifically? The list of Blumhouse films suggested they release about 3-5 films a year. There were only a couple titles I didn't recognize, and I definitely don't pay attention to streaming-only stuff. Maybe they distribute a bunch of stuff too? I dunno. I saw they had a "sub-label" which was what Green Inferno was released under, but again it was only a few movies.


All the Hulu exclusive horrors are Blumhouse shitfests. It seems like they release a new one at least once a month, though sometimes it feels like they're weekly releases. I get stuck watching a lot of those because my wife adores horror movies and the shittier and more formulaic the better. HBO has a lot of Blumhouse content now too, though some of theirs is actually decent. The recent documentary series about the Anarchists wasn't bad at all, but it's tough to fuck up a documentary that was shot in real time by somebody actually trying to study something.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Blumhouse was involved with Blackkklansman? Huh. Will wonders never cease. I enjoyed that movie.
> 
> They've also done some documentaries that aren't terrible. But their "straight to streaming" formula horror is absolutely god-awful. A few years back it seemed like they had dozens of them to every one semi-original film they were involved in.


They did one for Amazon, Bingo Hell or some shit, that was great up until the last 5 minutes. They just can't help themselves.

Give me back Platinum Dunes, for fuck's sake!


----------



## wankerness

Ah, OK. You got me looking and I finally found a list of Blumhouse stuff that had a category of stuff released under their "TV Productions" arm that seems to be what you're talking about and was completely excluded from their "real" production company's list. Looks like most of that Hulu stuff is officially an "anthology series" but every entry is practically movie-length and is advertised as such some places. So, yeah, that stuff is a whole separate category and I'm not familiar. I tend to avoid anything created for streaming.

I will say that the HBO prestige series "Sharp Objects" is listed as one of theirs. I didn't love it, but it was legit. Never heard of a single other thing on this list.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Evil Dead stands proudly next to the first three movies and the TV series on my movie shelf. The horror remake that has actually sucked that I can remember is what Rob Zombie did to Michael Myers, by giving him a redneck aesthetic and tropey ass backstory. Want to talk about fucking with a franchise, RZ completely removed what made Michael terrifying backstory wise. The only thing he did okay was make Michael a physical force to be reckoned with, but even then, removed subtlety to that too. As terrible as Halloween Kills was in making Michael John Wick-esque in how he kills some people, it's still not as terrible as what Rob Zombie did.

Sadly enough, the disc is barely useable as a drink coaster for how pukish orange it is.


----------



## wankerness

Hey, it's still a million times better than Halloween 5 through Resurrection.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> Ah, OK. You got me looking and I finally found a list of Blumhouse stuff that had a category of stuff released under their "TV Productions" arm that seems to be what you're talking about and was completely excluded from their "real" production company's list. Looks like most of that Hulu stuff is officially an "anthology series" but every entry is practically movie-length and is advertised as such some places. So, yeah, that stuff is a whole separate category and I'm not familiar. I tend to avoid anything created for streaming.
> 
> I will say that the HBO prestige series "Sharp Objects" is listed as one of theirs. I didn't love it, but it was legit. Never heard of a single other thing on this list.


Sharp Objects was pretty decent right up to the last thirty seconds when they tried to do the typical Blumhouse "SHOCKING REVEAL"

where they revealed what you'd been suspecting for most of the series.

But yeah, their HBO series tend to be fine. That Anthology series on Hulu is literally just separate movies every however often. None of them have any connective tissue. Some have been mildly amusing as background noise, but lots are literally box-ticks of the formula.


----------



## wankerness

nightflameauto said:


> Sharp Objects was pretty decent right up to the last thirty seconds when they tried to do the typical Blumhouse "SHOCKING REVEAL"
> 
> where they revealed what you'd been suspecting for most of the series.
> 
> But yeah, their HBO series tend to be fine. That Anthology series on Hulu is literally just separate movies every however often. None of them have any connective tissue. Some have been mildly amusing as background noise, but lots are literally box-ticks of the formula.


The ending is from the book. I thought it was dumb, but it's right from the source material, it's just rushed a bit more in the series. That story was pretty meh compared to the same author's Gone Girl, that's for sure.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> The ending is from the book. I thought it was dumb, but it's right from the source material, it's just rushed a bit more in the series. That story was pretty meh compared to the same author's Gone Girl, that's for sure.


My problem with the ending in Sharp Objects was the camera angles and fucked up audio they threw in. It was like they were trying to do the Dark Helmet, "FOOLED YOU!" from Spaceballs in visualization and audio. Just so goofy and dorky that the final moment clashed HORRIBLY with the rest of the series.

I hadn't read the book, so judged the series purely on what it did within itself.

I remember the film for Gone Girl, and my wife listened to the audio-book in the room with me, but it was long enough ago it's pretty hazy for me.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> Evil Dead stands proudly next to the first three movies and the TV series on my movie shelf. The horror remake that has actually sucked that I can remember is what Rob Zombie did to Michael Myers, by giving him a redneck aesthetic and tropey ass backstory. Want to talk about fucking with a franchise, RZ completely removed what made Michael terrifying backstory wise. The only thing he did okay was make Michael a physical force to be reckoned with, but even then, removed subtlety to that too. As terrible as Halloween Kills was in making Michael John Wick-esque in how he kills some people, it's still not as terrible as what Rob Zombie did.
> 
> Sadly enough, the disc is barely useable as a drink coaster for how pukish orange it is.


"completely removed what made Michael terrifying backstory wise." What backstory? Michael doesn't have one, which after 40 years, is fucking stupid.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Probably an unpopular opinion but I think the RZ Halloween films are miles better than the more recent reboots. Halloween Kills in particular was an absolute dumpster fire.


I just finished watching The Sadness, which is a Taiwanese extreme horror film. Think something along the lines of The Crazies or Garth Ennis' Crossed comics but with commentary about Taiwan's handling of the covid pandemic mixed in. It's insanely brutal and the makeup/practical fx are really well done. There are some impressively gross moments, including one with uhh *orbital penetration* so yeah, don't watch it if you're squeamish in any way.. That being said, it's really well done overall. The acting is very solid, and there are some genuinely great shots. The score is effective at building tension, but doesn't really stand out particularly imo.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Probably an unpopular opinion but I think the RZ Halloween films are miles better than the more recent reboots. Halloween Kills in particular was an absolute dumpster fire.
> 
> 
> I just finished watching The Sadness, which is a Taiwanese extreme horror film. Think something along the lines of The Crazies or Garth Ennis' Crossed comics but with commentary about Taiwan's handling of the covid pandemic mixed in. It's insanely brutal and the makeup/practical fx are really well done. There are some impressively gross moments, including one with uhh *orbital penetration* so yeah, don't watch it if you're squeamish in any way.. That being said, it's really well done overall. The acting is very solid, and there are some genuinely great shots. The score is effective at building tension, but doesn't really stand out particularly imo.


I love how many people hate RZH2 and don't even understand the film. Lol


----------



## wankerness

It is an unpopular opinion. On most movie discussion boards populated by middle aged dudes, the RZ Halloween movies seem to be considered the worst movies ever made. Those old guys act like they destroyed their childhood, it's like Last Jedi level of butthurt. Then again, those guys tend to think utter garbage like Halloween 5 or Halloween H20 are good, so...?

When I rate the whole franchise, I put RZ's Halloween 2 (director's cut) probably at the top of the list for sequels.

Great: 

Halloween I

Hilarious:
Halloween III

Good:
Halloween 2 (RZ) (that said it's a jarring, unpleasant experience and I certainly don't ENJOY it)
Halloween (2018) (only seen this once, I liked it quite a bit, dunno what I'll think on repeat viewings)

Decent/watchable:
Halloween II (1981)
Halloween IV
Halloween (RZ) (mainly I think the first section is good, the remake portion is less interesting but still better than the below movies)

Entertainingly bad:
Halloween Kills

Fuckin awful:
Halloween 5
Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers (both versions)
Halloween H20
Halloween Resurrection

It's just kind of a bad franchise. With Nightmare on Elm Street, almost every movie other than the reboot has SOMETHING to endear it besides maybe Freddy's Dead. With this and Friday the 13th, a few of them are good but most are just bad in a boring way. And none of them besides the first and third are really very rewatchable, unlike NoES where they're really fun movies to throw on. Even Friday the 13th is quite a bit more fun on average.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> It is an unpopular opinion. On most movie discussion boards populated by middle aged dudes, the RZ Halloween movies seem to be considered the worst movies ever made. Those old guys act like they destroyed their childhood, it's like Last Jedi level of butthurt. Then again, those guys tend to think utter garbage like Halloween 5 or Halloween H20 are good, so...?
> 
> When I rate the whole franchise, I put RZ's Halloween 2 (director's cut) probably at the top of the list for sequels.
> 
> Great:
> 
> Halloween I
> 
> Hilarious:
> Halloween III
> 
> Good:
> Halloween 2 (RZ) (that said it's a jarring, unpleasant experience and I certainly don't ENJOY it)
> Halloween (2018) (only seen this once, I liked it quite a bit, dunno what I'll think on repeat viewings)
> 
> Decent/watchable:
> Halloween II (1981)
> Halloween IV
> Halloween (RZ) (mainly I think the first section is good, the remake portion is less interesting but still better than the below movies)
> 
> Entertainingly bad:
> Halloween Kills
> 
> Fuckin awful:
> Halloween 5
> Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers (both versions)
> Halloween H20
> Halloween Resurrection
> 
> It's just kind of a bad franchise. With Nightmare on Elm Street, almost every movie other than the reboot has SOMETHING to endear it besides maybe Freddy's Dead. With this and Friday the 13th, a few of them are good but most are just bad in a boring way. And none of them besides the first and third are really very rewatchable, unlike NoES where they're really fun movies to throw on. Even Friday the 13th is quite a bit more fun on average.


I think Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre lack in terms of being rewatchable, aside from H3 and TCM2. ANOES, F13, and Chucky are very rewatchable (fuck off, Seed; Glen is terrible).


----------



## Louis Cypher

Gotta be honest, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake with Jessica Biel is a bit of a guilty pleasure


----------



## wankerness

I've never watched the Child's Play movies, weirdly. I think it's cause 2 and 3 sounded boring and I didn't feel like watching them to get to the ones that people like.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I've never watched the Child's Play movies, weirdly. I think it's cause 2 and 3 sounded boring and I didn't feel like watching them to get to the ones that people like.


I like all of them but what do I know? I like low rent trash horror like Full Moon Features.


----------



## nightflameauto

I haven't seen all the Child's Play movies, but enjoy the ones I see.

We were on our way home from dad's parents way back in the day and got caught in an epic snow-storm. They closed the interstate so we got stuck in Worthington. Dad and I went to Child's Play while mom went to whatever else was playing because she hated horror. Pretty decent entertainment, and after the interstate was open again.

Man that was a long time ago. I remember listening almost non-stop to Metallica's Justice and Puppets albums on my walkman that whole trip. LOL.


----------



## Louis Cypher

Just off the horror movies chat for a second, I watched the original 1991 Point Break last night, fcuking brilliant!! Talk about a walk (or surf) down memory lane, I used to binge watch that over and over as a teenager but not watched it in years. Quotable as fcuk, loads of bits reminding me of Hot Fuzz as well, which is always nice haha!


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> "completely removed what made Michael terrifying backstory wise." What backstory? Michael doesn't have one, which after 40 years, is fucking stupid.


Its true, no Early Life.


----------



## nightflameauto

Louis Cypher said:


> Just off the horror movies chat for a second, I watched the original 1991 Point Break last night, fcuking brilliant!! Talk about a walk (or surf) down memory lane, I used to binge watch that over and over as a teenager but not watched it in years. Quotable as fcuk, loads of bits reminding me of Hot Fuzz as well, which is always nice haha!


I enjoy the 91 Point Break as well. Great film.

Watch the remake for a prime example of how much Hollywood doesn't get it. That thing is a MESS. I remember wondering after watching it if there was any plot at all, or just a bunch of loosely related action scenes that have absolutely no meaning and no heart whatsoever. I could just sense the director going, "YEAH! BADASS! COOL!" like a twelve year old that found dad's stash of cherry bombs. What a piece of garbage.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> I enjoy the 91 Point Break as well. Great film.
> 
> Watch the remake for a prime example of how much Hollywood doesn't get it. That thing is a MESS. I remember wondering after watching it if there was any plot at all, or just a bunch of loosely related action scenes that have absolutely no meaning and no heart whatsoever. I could just sense the director going, "YEAH! BADASS! COOL!" like a twelve year old that found dad's stash of cherry bombs. What a piece of garbage.


The remake is awful as a film but at least the stunt scenes are fucking phenomenal.


----------



## CanserDYI

Whats your favorite Studio Ghibli film and why is it Princess Mononoke?



Howl's Moving Castle close second.


----------



## c7spheres

WIth anything that's a sequel or reboot etc even with bands and the more albums they come out with, I just appreciate the good stuff a lot more for it and realize that It's almost impossible to capture let alone recreate lighting in a bottle. Metallica will never do another MOP Nobody will top the original Star Wars triliogy or Hendrix etc. It's why it's special to begin with. Anything else good is icing on the cake and awesome too.


----------



## nightflameauto

c7spheres said:


> WIth anything that's a sequel or reboot etc even with bands and the more albums they come out with, I just appreciate the good stuff a lot more for it and realize that It's almost impossible to capture let alone recreate lighting in a bottle. Metallica will never do another MOP Nobody will top the original Star Wars triliogy or Hendrix etc. It's why it's special to begin with. Anything else good is icing on the cake and awesome too.


There was an interview with Hetfield not that long ago where someone asked him what he thinks when bands say they're trying to make their "Master of Puppets." He said they were kids doing what they loved and just barely getting by doing it. The didn't go into the studio with a mindset that they were going to create a masterpiece. They went in saying, "We want to make music." That was it. Nothing grander than that.

I think too many people either look at something masterful and think, "I want my version of that," then fall tremendously short because you can't cop someone else's formula, especially when there was no formula to begin with, or think, "Holy fuck, I can't even," and put in a minimal effort that creates a shitfest because, "Fuck it. Good enough."


----------



## TheBlackBard

Louis Cypher said:


> *Just off the horror movies chat for a second*, I watched the original 1991 Point Break last night, fcuking brilliant!! Talk about a walk (or surf) down memory lane, I used to binge watch that over and over as a teenager but not watched it in years. Quotable as fcuk, loads of bits reminding me of Hot Fuzz as well, which is always nice haha!



Better chance of that happening here than getting off Souls chat in the video game thread.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I love how many people hate RZH2 and don't even understand the film. Lol



I understand it perfectly. Had a moment of clarity about the film as soon as I went to take out the trash, and then I made the same kind of connection that House does when he realizes what's wrong with his patient.

His shitty redneck horror movies (and not just Halloween) rank about where the newest TCM ranks. Bottom of the gutter. I can't believe someone actually gave money to fund his ability to make trash look high def.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> I understand it perfectly. Had a moment of clarity about the film as soon as I went to take out the trash, and then I made the same kind of connection that House does when he realizes what's wrong with his patient.
> 
> His shitty redneck horror movies (and not just Halloween) rank about where the newest TCM ranks. Bottom of the gutter. I can't believe someone actually gave money to fund his ability to make trash look high def.


Is Michael in RZH2?


----------



## TheBlackBard

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Is Michael in RZH2?



No, nor was he in the first one.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> No, nor was he in the first one.


Lol. He is in the first one. The second one is Laurie Strode.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Lol. He is in the first one. The second one is Laurie Strode.


That to me, was NOT Michael Myers. Hell, that was closer to Kane from WWE than Michael Myers, which given the irony... 

ANYWAYS, I hated his Halloween movies. I feel like if you're going to give him a backstory, the redneck trailer park trash that he just likes to rehash over and over again could have been forsaken entirely in favor of something else. I WILL say this. Michael as an entity with the brutality he has is fucking terrifying and that is one change that I did like. To make him physically imposing in terms of how he kills was well done. As it is now, there are three Halloween movies that I like: the first two, and Halloween 2018. Halloweens Kills isn't much better than RZ's version, and the more and more I think about it, the more I'm willing to think that someone got the scripts mixed up when they filmed Halloween Kills and may have been looking at a John Wick horror script. Kick a door and make a woman shoot herself, what in the fuck? At least when Zombie did his movies, there wasn't a lot of hokey shit in that regard, if any.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Under The Skin- thought I was deep into a Winding Refn flick but no. Recommended. Totally zero trope abuse.

Mojave- yeah , I guess a sleeper film because I haven't heard of it (lol). Good story and characters. Oh hey look Mark Wahlberg and Walton Goggins too.....


----------



## BlackMastodon

Seabeast2000 said:


> Under The Skin- thought I was deep into a Winding Refn flick but no. Recommended. Totally zero trope abuse.


Excellent movie, one of the best examples of "show, don't tell" storytelling that made for a great, creepy atmosphere. I second your recommendation.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

BlackMastodon said:


> Excellent movie, one of the best examples of "show, don't tell" storytelling that made for a great, creepy atmosphere. I second your recommendation.


I third it.


----------



## RevDrucifer

nightflameauto said:


> There was an interview with Hetfield not that long ago where someone asked him what he thinks when bands say they're trying to make their "Master of Puppets." He said they were kids doing what they loved and just barely getting by doing it. The didn't go into the studio with a mindset that they were going to create a masterpiece. They went in saying, "We want to make music." That was it. Nothing grander than that.
> 
> I think too many people either look at something masterful and think, "I want my version of that," then fall tremendously short because you can't cop someone else's formula, especially when there was no formula to begin with, or think, "Holy fuck, I can't even," and put in a minimal effort that creates a shitfest because, "Fuck it. Good enough."



I definitely agree with that, while at the same time, many people use The Black Album as a benchmark album due to the production and it’s ability to break through to the mainstream, which was a completely calculated move on Metallica’s part. 

Two totally opposite situations that brought forth some of the greatest albums of all time and had entirely different motives behind them. Cool contrast, IMO.


----------



## RevDrucifer

On the weekends I generally take a nap in the afternoon and try to find a movie to put on to fall asleep to, this weekend I picked The Lost City, the Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum one. It’s _exactly _what you think it’ll be from the trailer. 

It served it’s purpose; I chuckled a couple times and dozed off. I actually rewound it because I often get that “Well, I started it, might as well finish it” thing like I do with books, it wasn’t the worst movie made, but like I said, you can tell what it is just by watching the trailer, but Brad Pitt’s role was great. I LOVE it when that dude does small roles in movies, they’re almost always the highlight of a movie. 

Kalifornia was another great, small Pitt role.


----------



## MFB

Saw two movies this weekend:

_Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes _- I grew up on DBZ so I'll always support it, however, this one is a bit of a snore honestly. I really don't like how big of a backseat Gohan took as a character, and this one seems to confuse that as somehow he can step away from fighting entirely but then also immediately unlock a new fighting form? Pick a lane and stick to it. Also, Piccolo getting a transformation is a bit silly too, like, just let him be him and let the Saiyans be the ones with the transformations. Hated the 3D as well, nothing will beat the crisp 2D animation of the OG series.

_Bodies, Bodies, Bodies - _this is like _Clue_ for millenials, and I highly recommend it. Pete Davidson played a good asshole, and hell, everyone played their role exactly as it should be. Can't think of any fault really, but giving it a 5/5 feels wrong so I opted for 4.5


----------



## jaxadam

RevDrucifer said:


> Kalifornia was another great, small Pitt role.



That movie's got some great lines.


----------



## nightflameauto

The Lost City
Funny, silly, action at bits. It's really just Radcliffe being a hammy protag and Tatum being the consummate cover-guy. My wife and I got some good chuckles from the scenes they played as she was writing them when they would break down into dialog that's basically decrying how stupid the plot is. Anybody that's ever written a story more than a couple pages has had those days.

A fun throwaway movie.

Prophecy 1 and 2. We're on our billionth rewatch of these classics. God damn does Walken do a great job as Gabriel.

"See ya, kids. Study your math. It's the key to the universe." *WINK*

I love how birdlike they make the angels in these films. Lucifer going so far as to deconstruct a flower, then chomp on just the top of the stem while perched somewhere was great. The birdlike head movements when they suspect something's up are great too. Some real subtle acting chops in between the one liners and sporadic fights. Just fun, fun, fun. And the lore building is fantastic for the era and the budget.


----------



## Seabeast2000

RevDrucifer said:


> On the weekends I generally take a nap in the afternoon and try to find a movie to put on to fall asleep to, this weekend I picked The Lost City, the Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum one. It’s _exactly _what you think it’ll be from the trailer.
> 
> It served it’s purpose; I chuckled a couple times and dozed off. I actually rewound it because I often get that “Well, I started it, might as well finish it” thing like I do with books, it wasn’t the worst movie made, but like I said, you can tell what it is just by watching the trailer, but Brad Pitt’s role was great. I LOVE it when that dude does small roles in movies, they’re almost always the highlight of a movie.
> 
> Kalifornia was another great, small Pitt role.


Pitts best roles are all Early types.


----------



## RevDrucifer

jaxadam said:


> That movie's got some great lines.



“Early don't eat breakfast. He thinks it's a conspiracy put together by the cereal people.”

I used to say that to my ex-wife whenever she’d ask me what I want to do for breakfast.


----------



## jaxadam

RevDrucifer said:


> “Early don't eat breakfast. He thinks it's a conspiracy put together by the cereal people.”
> 
> I used to say that to my ex-wife whenever she’d ask me what I want to do for breakfast.



We’d order a beer at a bar and say “This ain’t Lucky lager dipshit!”.

What kind of cuckoo Carrie’s a cactus in her purse Adele?


----------



## RevDrucifer

Seabeast2000 said:


> Pitts best roles are all Early types.



That took me longer than it should have. I initially read it as early/minor roles.


----------



## wankerness

Seabeast2000 said:


> Pitts best roles are all Early types.


He's pretty good as a psycho in that and 12 Monkeys, but he's also fun as a stoner idiot in True Romance. I think my favorite role of his is the total moron in Burn After Reading. 

Anyway, I watched all the Twilight movies cause I had to know. The first is hilariously terrible, just with how wretched the dialogue and concepts are, the next one's kind of boring, but then they gradually ramp up in entertainment value, and the last one is just a riot. Easy 8/10, I loved it. It's really stupid, but also legitimately entertaining, and some of the actors clearly just said "screw it, I'm just going to be nuts." Michael Sheen in particular is like, Nicolas Cage levels of nuts. I wouldn't call any of the others good, but that one's great if you like silliness. I laughed most of the way through.



One technical thing I noticed: the first uses that wretched, desaturated look that was all the rage circa 2008 (just look at the Harry Potter movies or Hunger Games or Zack Snyder stuff or a bunch of the Marvel movies or whatever), but ALL the later entries have actual rich color palettes and look pretty good from a cinematography standpoint! I was surprised. Usually once series go desaturated, they never come back. The special effects sure aren't good, though. Why is the baby/little child in the last movie CGI face applied to real bodies?! It's SO off-putting. Presumably they were trying to match the character to the young actress as she aged, but man, it looks so bad. Added to the hilarity for sure, though.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> He's pretty good as a psycho in that and 12 Monkeys, but he's also fun as a stoner idiot in True Romance. I think my favorite role of his is the total moron in Burn After Reading.
> 
> Anyway, I watched all the Twilight movies cause I had to know. The first is hilariously terrible, just with how wretched the dialogue and concepts are, the next one's kind of boring, but then they gradually ramp up in entertainment value, and the last one is just a riot. Easy 8/10, I loved it. It's really stupid, but also legitimately entertaining, and some of the actors clearly just said "screw it, I'm just going to be nuts." Michael Sheen in particular is like, Nicolas Cage levels of nuts. I wouldn't call any of the others good, but that one's great if you like silliness. I laughed most of the way through.
> 
> 
> 
> One technical thing I noticed: the first uses that wretched, desaturated look that was all the rage circa 2008 (just look at the Harry Potter movies or Hunger Games or Zack Snyder stuff or a bunch of the Marvel movies or whatever), but ALL the later entries have actual rich color palettes and look pretty good from a cinematography standpoint! I was surprised. Usually once series go desaturated, they never come back. The special effects sure aren't good, though. Why is the baby/little child in the last movie CGI face applied to real bodies?! It's SO off-putting. Presumably they were trying to match the character to the young actress as she aged, but man, it looks so bad. Added to the hilarity for sure, though.



My wife loves those movies, so every few years we do a trade. I get a series, she gets Twilight.

I've seen them all six times now. If you can ignore the ickiness of trying to show "romance" to tween girls as a boy being a controlling narcisist and a girl being a dishrag pushover, it can be entertaining at points.

Favorite bits?
Alice is cool throughout. Something about the way she carries herself. Like, she's the only one of the whole operation that thought, "What the fuck? I'll act a little and look like a god damned genius in comparison to the rest of these morons."

Werewolf reveal to dad cracks me up every single time.

For whatever reason, the whole ballet situation is hilarious to me.

Michael Sheen crushes every time he's on screen. Like you said, Nicholas Cage level energy and over-the-topness.

That final battle scene is fucking nuts.

Worst moments:
Tent scene. That's the worst teenage girl fantasy level dumb thing I've ever seen in a movie.

Moody teen angst at the movies. Bleh.

Bella being a dispshit because her abusive stalker boyfriend decides to stop being an abusive stalker boyfriend. WTF?

"If I can't have Edward I'll just kill myself!" Oi.

That entire property is so ridiculous though. If you watch it as a source of cheese whiz, you can kinda choke it down. It's still rough.

But it's better than Fifty Shades. Worst fan-fic evar. I remember telling my wife when she was listening to 50 Shades on audio book, "It's like somebody thought Twilight didn't take the super creepy controlling asshole thing far enough." It wasn't until years later I found out that's EXACTLY what it was. Talk about wearing your influences on your sleeve.


----------



## Louis Cypher

nightflameauto said:


> Prophecy 1 and 2. We're on our billionth rewatch of these classics. God damn does Walken do a great job as Gabriel.
> 
> "See ya, kids. Study your math. It's the key to the universe." *WINK*
> 
> I love how birdlike they make the angels in these films. Lucifer going so far as to deconstruct a flower, then chomp on just the top of the stem while perched somewhere was great. The birdlike head movements when they suspect something's up are great too. Some real subtle acting chops in between the one liners and sporadic fights. Just fun, fun, fun. And the lore building is fantastic for the era and the budget.


Not seen any of the other Prophecy films but the 1st is brilliant, absolute classic Walken role as Gabriel and Viggo Mortensen is so good as Lucifer. You're right about the way they portray the angels really clever way they are quite animalistic or bird like.

More retro nonsense, I watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off last night. Never ever gets old, stone cold classic. Obviously as a John Hughes film its full of wealthy white american pre college teenage angst but still everyone wishes they had had a day even half as good as Ferris' as a teenager!


Always reminds me too of the genius Family Guy parody with Stewie!


----------



## nightflameauto

"Save Ferris!"

I love Ferris Bueller's Day Off. My only disappointment is that the commercial a few years back was just a commercial and not a full-blown adult version of that film. I'd love to see them make it as Ferris as an aging accountant or something that's just had enough and is ready to party.


----------



## Louis Cypher

So AA Milne's Winnie-The-Pooh, the original book, is now in the public domain, whats the first thing you do once one of the most beloved childrens books for the best part of 100 yrs becomes public property?
Obviously you make a horror movie, durrrgh......!


----------



## nightflameauto

Louis Cypher said:


> So AA Milne's Winnie-The-Pooh, the original book, is now in the public domain, whats the first thing you do once one of the most beloved childrens books for the best part of 100 yrs becomes public property?
> Obviously you make a horror movie, durrrgh......!



And here I figured it'd be porn.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Had a Predator watch weekend with my partner. 

Started with Predators (2010) Saturday night. Meh. It was ok but felt dated, and I really didn't need the rapey misogynist convict. Action was pretty good, and it's the first time they reveal the other Predator clan in the movies so it's a bit more interesting and adds to the franchise lore. Still better than The Predator (2018), which I'd say is at the bottom of the franchise for me.

Next was Alien vs. Predator (2004). My partner loves this movie and she used to watch it all the time growing up. I remember liking it as a kid when it came out but haven't watched in a long time but it holds up great! Some of the slow-Mo shots are a bit gratuitous, but I figured they must've recently improved the technology to do it and wanted to show it off.  And for an action movie from 2004, it had a woman of colour as the lead and didn't have to bring race politics into it, while still making her a strong character on her own. The movie even passes the Bechdel Test! Hi, I'm BlackMastodon and welcome to my Ted Talk about how AVP is a feminist movie.

Finished up with Prey (2022) last night. Goddamn, I'd put it right up there was the original Predator from '87. Agreed with just about everything that was said here, though after seeing it, I didn't see any problems with how the Predator left Naru alone a couple of times due to not seeing her as a threat. In the context I think it made a lot of sense. Again, a great woman of colour leading the movie, some absolutely gorgeous landscape shots, and some awesome kills and action sequences, both from the Predator and the Comanche. Excellent flick, and the next time I watch it I'll look for the all Comanche version.
*


Spoiler: Minor spoiler



Also, really gotta say how fucking refreshing it is to see a movie with a female lead and to not have to see her get threatened with rape even though she gets captured twice. The French trappers might've been a bit lurid and iffy, but we've seen it too many times in other movies. I'd argue the same with AVP, but the Facehuggers being what the are, just about every human but Lex and Weyland got taken out by them, so...


*


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I watched HG Wells' Things to Come. It slogged at times and took me three sittings to get through it, but doing a little history refresher to remind me where the world and the US was at when this movie came out helped me immerse mysself in the story. Post-WWI, with the rumors of WWII already on the way. Overall a great sci fi flick, and the special FX were pretty fucking slick for 1936. Lots of cool perspective tricks, and great cinematography overall.

Next up, Metropolis set to Cult of Luna's Vertikal I and II. 




BlackMastodon said:


> Had a Predator watch weekend with my partner.
> 
> Started with Predators (2010) Saturday night. Meh. It was ok but felt dated, and I really didn't need the rapey misogynist convict. Action was pretty good, and it's the first time they reveal the other Predator clan in the movies so it's a bit more interesting and adds to the franchise lore. Still better than The Predator (2018), which I'd say is at the bottom of the franchise for me.
> 
> Next was Alien vs. Predator (2004). My partner loves this movie and she used to watch it all the time growing up. I remember liking it as a kid when it came out but haven't watched in a long time but it holds up great! Some of the slow-Mo shots are a bit gratuitous, but I figured they must've recently improved the technology to do it and wanted to show it off.  And for an action movie from 2004, it had a woman of colour as the lead and didn't have to bring race politics into it, while still making her a strong character on her own. The movie even passes the Bechdel Test! Hi, I'm BlackMastodon and welcome to my Ted Talk about how AVP is a feminist movie.
> 
> Finished up with Prey (2022) last night. Goddamn, I'd put it right up there was the original Predator from '87. Agreed with just about everything that was said here, though after seeing it, I didn't see any problems with how the Predator left Naru alone a couple of times due to not seeing her as a threat. In the context I think it made a lot of sense. Again, a great woman of colour leading the movie, some absolutely gorgeous landscape shots, and some awesome kills and action sequences, both from the Predator and the Comanche. Excellent flick, and the next time I watch it I'll look for the all Comanche version.
> *
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Minor spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Also, really gotta say how fucking refreshing it is to see a movie with a female lead and to not have to see her get threatened with rape even though she gets captured twice. The French trappers might've been a bit lurid and iffy, but we've seen it too many times in other movies. I'd argue the same with AVP, but the Facehuggers being what the are, just about every human but Lex and Weyland got taken out by them, so...
> 
> 
> *



Best review I've ever read of AVP hahaha, will have to rewatch, it's been since before I knew the Bechdel Test existed. Agree with your ranking overall, though I haven't seen The Predator and Predators didn't make it past the 20 min mark with me. Even beyond the stereotypically rapey con it felt cheap in a "didn't even try as hard as a Netflix original" way.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bought Halloween films my GF and I don't have. I'm having to buy H4 and H5 digital rather than physical because apparently 60 bucks is a logical price for a Blu Ray. In fact, the Blu Ray box set is $550 for a used item. Lmao!

Anyways, we even got the two new ones, which we plan on hate watching.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Elvis- It's a good movie imo. Really neat to see Sister Rosetta Thorpe get some love in it. It's your typical Baz Luhrmann film, very energetic and stylish/baroque visuals. Austin Butler does a fantastic job as Elvis, and Tom Hanks as his sleazy manager. Tom Hanks really hams it up and it's fun to see him in more antagonistic roles. Worth a watch just for the lush visuals and Butler's performance tbh.


----------



## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Bought Halloween films my GF and I don't have. I'm having to buy H4 and H5 digital rather than physical because apparently 60 bucks is a logical price for a Blu Ray. In fact, the Blu Ray box set is $550 for a used item. Lmao!
> 
> Anyways, we even got the two new ones, which we plan on hate watching.


A couple years ago I sold my entire Halloween box set for I believe $500. Out of the box set I only enjoy 3 movies. The original, Halloween 3, and the Rob Zombie remake (theater cut). The 2018 Halloween was decent but I didn't think it was as great as everyone said it was. Halloween kills is a straight up bad movie. First watch I was so disappointed. But when I went into it knowing it was bad I thought it was a fun time. I'm curious to see what this new Halloween movie brings.


----------



## nightflameauto

Emergency - sold as a comedy about three friends that are getting ready to party and end up with something unusual happening to them, it's actually a fairly astute drama about what it's like to be a POC and try to do the right thing in a bad situation. The straight-laced black kid with an in to one of the big universities and who happens to be a total science dork gets a gun held on him for trying to perform CPR on some white chick that just showed up in their house. There's the basic story. While there were some laughs along the way, the false advertising bit a little.

Samaritan - I've heard a lot of shit-talking about this one. People say it has no plot, or the characters suck, or whatever. I thought it was a fun movie that played with the superhero trope in a way we haven't seen a thousand times already. As such, I'd say it's a fun watch if you aren't looking for some life-changing perspective or something. Not sur what people were expecting from a Stallone-as-old-man action flick. It's almost like the online backlash is proportionate to how much Disney and WB aren't directly involved in it.


----------



## wankerness

DestroyMankind said:


> A couple years ago I sold my entire Halloween box set for I believe $500. Out of the box set I only enjoy 3 movies. The original, Halloween 3, and the Rob Zombie remake (theater cut). The 2018 Halloween was decent but I didn't think it was as great as everyone said it was. Halloween kills is a straight up bad movie. First watch I was so disappointed. But when I went into it knowing it was bad I thought it was a fun time. I'm curious to see what this new Halloween movie brings.


Damn, I should sell mine. I assume that was for the limited Scream Factory set? I think there was like, a "cheaper" version of the set, I think I have the more expensive one.

I think part 2 and part 4 are at least watchable and somewhat entertaining, and I like the DC of Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, but yeah. There's almost no way I'll ever watch 5 through Resurrection again, they're all utter garbage. Buying single discs of 3 and 4 might make more sense if I can get 500 bucks!!

I watched Barbarian last night, I feel like a lot of the hype around this is just cause the movie is so schizoid and totally changes genre in the space of a jump cut after building up as something else. It's weird. I enjoyed it, but I think it has tonal issues thanks to trying to pull the rug out from the viewer more than make a coherent movie. I liked the main character, I liked the opening, and I at least thought some of the awful secondary main character stuff was funny, but I think I would have liked it more if it hadn't gone into some of the tonal regions that it did. There's some really scary stuff in the movie that dipped a bit into that same area that reading House of Leaves did for me.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> A couple years ago I sold my entire Halloween box set for I believe $500. Out of the box set I only enjoy 3 movies. The original, Halloween 3, and the Rob Zombie remake (theater cut). The 2018 Halloween was decent but I didn't think it was as great as everyone said it was. Halloween kills is a straight up bad movie. First watch I was so disappointed. But when I went into it knowing it was bad I thought it was a fun time. I'm curious to see what this new Halloween movie brings.


The filmmakers do not understand Michael at ALL. They did Jason Voorhees in a Michael Myers video game skin. In fact, the Myers in Halloween 2018 has a lot in common with RZH Michael Myers. We're getting Halloween Kills today and watching it tonight, so we'll see how they write themselves out of that corner. The constant references to films that "no longer exist" in this timeline, as well as a reference to the Halloween 2 ending is mind numbingly obnoxious. Basically the only reason H2 was written out was because Carpenter doesn't like the brother sister angle. The dangled angle in this film is even more cringe. Just fuck off, no!


----------



## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> The filmmakers do not understand Michael at ALL. They did Jason Voorhees in a Michael Myers video game skin. In fact, the Myers in Halloween 2018 has a lot in common with RZH Michael Myers. We're getting Halloween Kills today and watching it tonight, so we'll see how they write themselves out of that corner. The constant references to films that "no longer exist" in this timeline, as well as a reference to the Halloween 2 ending is mind numbingly obnoxious. Basically the only reason H2 was written out was because Carpenter doesn't like the brother sister angle. The dangled ang





wankerness said:


> Damn, I should sell mine. I assume that was for the limited Scream Factory set? I think there was like, a "cheaper" version of the set, I think I have the more expensive one.
> 
> I think part 2 and part 4 are at least watchable and somewhat entertaining, and I like the DC of Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, but yeah. There's almost no way I'll ever watch 5 through Resurrection again, they're all utter garbage. Buying single discs of 3 and 4 might make more sense if I can get 500 bucks!!
> 
> I watched Barbarian last night, I feel like a lot of the hype around this is just cause the movie is so schizoid and totally changes genre in the space of a jump cut after building up as something else. It's weird. I enjoyed it, but I think it has tonal issues thanks to trying to pull the rug out from the viewer more than make a coherent movie. I liked the main character, I liked the opening, and I at least thought some of the awful secondary main character stuff was funny, but I think I would have liked it more if it hadn't gone into some of the tonal regions that it did. There's some really scary stuff in the movie that dipped a bit into that same area that reading House of Leaves did for me.


Yeah it was for the 15 disc set. I had all the movies on DVD once before and when they did the Blu ray box set I figured I needed it. But once I got through all the movies they just collected dust. I saw


Spaced Out Ace said:


> The filmmakers do not understand Michael at ALL. They did Jason Voorhees in a Michael Myers video game skin. In fact, the Myers in Halloween 2018 has a lot in common with RZH Michael Myers. We're getting Halloween Kills today and watching it tonight, so we'll see how they write themselves out of that corner. The constant references to films that "no longer exist" in this timeline, as well as a reference to the Halloween 2 ending is mind numbingly obnoxious. Basically the only reason H2 was written out was because Carpenter doesn't like the brother sister angle. The dangled angle in this film is even more cringe. Just fuck off, no!


You can make a drinking game out of Kills..take a drink every time you hear "evil dies tonight.''


----------



## KnightBrolaire

DestroyMankind said:


> You can make a drinking game out of Kills..take a drink every time you hear "evil dies tonight.''


finally a way to make halloween kills fun


----------



## wankerness

Eh, it definitely sucks, but it’s still a lot more fun in a goofy way than any of the older movies. Stuff like the outrageous scene with the firefighters or MadTV guy are at least entertaining.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Eh, it definitely sucks, but it’s still a lot more fun in a goofy way than any of the older movies. Stuff like the outrageous scene with the firefighters or MadTV guy are at least entertaining.


Halloween Resurrection is more fun.

Halloween Kills isn't so much a movie as it is a way for the filmmakers to continue to get it wrong. It's not so much a film as it is a series of scenes that don't really tell a story.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Halloweens Kills is what happens when the director can't tell if he's making a Halloween movie or a John Wick movie.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> Halloweens Kills is what happens when the director can't tell if he's making a Halloween movie or a John Wick movie.


Michael Myers isn't even Michael Myers. It's hilarious how off the mark he is.


----------



## Louis Cypher

2/3's of the way through the Extended editions of the LotR trilogy, just got RotK left to watch
Not watched them for a long time, so so good, the extended scenes add so much imo


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Started AVP last night, got about halfway through. I used to have it on DVD when it was new, it's aged shockingly well overall for what even at the time was widely recognized to be a fairly trashy scifi action flick. Going further down the rabbithole of feminist media criticism with @BlackMastodon I also had forgotten that the person who dropped the condom-gun metaphor was a woman, it seems there was a fair bit of subtle role-subversion going on here. I'm legitimately excited to finish it tonight.



Louis Cypher said:


> 2/3's of the way through the Extended editions of the LotR trilogy, just got RotK left to watch
> Not watched them for a long time, so so good, the extended scenes add so much imo



Did this in the last year as I re-read the trilogy, def agree, the movies just aren't the same without the extended scenes.


----------



## RevDrucifer

Louis Cypher said:


> 2/3's of the way through the Extended editions of the LotR trilogy, just got RotK left to watch
> Not watched them for a long time, so so good, the extended scenes add so much imo



I haven’t done it since the extended version of RTOK came out, but I made an ex sit through all three extended versions one day. I could NEVER pull that off at 39, but when I was in my mid-20’s, even smoking blunt after blunt, I could plow through them without dozing off once.

Now I’d make it 20 minutes in and it’d be lights out.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Troll Hunter. Haven't watched it since it came out but remembered it fondly. Simple premise that delivers the goods. I have a soft spot for "found footage" stuff so this hit just right for me.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Possessor (2020). 

God fucking damn, what a trip that was. If you liked Under the Skin then check this out. Similar vibe but very divergent premise.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Barbarian- Massively overhyped for what it is. It's basically Hills Have Eyes/The Woman but set in Detroit. While it does have some great gore and does a good job of building tension in the first third, it kind of sputters out in the second third. By the end I basically didn't care about the movie. 

maybe worth a stream, but not worth seeing in theaters/renting imo.


----------



## BlackMastodon

BlackMastodon said:


> Possessor (2020).
> 
> God fucking damn, what a trip that was. If you liked Under the Skin then check this out. Similar vibe but very divergent premise.


Different premise*. This wasn't a YA movie.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

BlackMastodon said:


> Different premise*. This wasn't a YA movie.



god those were awful movies, and not even in a "so good it's bad" way.


----------



## mmr007

Speaking of Ferris I heard they were doing a spinoff. The two garage guys who borrowed the ferrari are getting their own movie even tho one of them is dead. The cobra kai producers are handling it.


----------



## MFB

BlackMastodon said:


> Possessor (2020).
> 
> God fucking damn, what a trip that was. If you liked Under the Skin then check this out. Similar vibe but very divergent premise.



I wanted to like it more than I did, I just feel like it missed out on exploring some big dynamics of what it means to possess someone else, and the psychology of doing that often, returning to yourself, etc.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Funny enough I'm currently on a Cronenberg binge, starting with my personal favorites: The Fly, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, Scanners and Dead Ringers.

Possessor was meh, just like Antiviral. Brandon Cronenberg aint up to par with his daddy.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Lamb

The description didn't really captivate me so I had been passing over it for weeks but this one was definitely a winner. I called the ending basically right after the first "weird shit reveal" but still enjoyed the ride. 

I've got a, let's-not-call-it-a-gift, for knowing how movies are going to unfold from very early in the plot. It doesn't ruin them for me, but my second wife _hated_ it when I would just make casual observations about the plot that jumped over the next hour of exposition. She would straight up stop watching the movie because I'd ruined the plot for her. For me, it is still interesting to see _how_ they get there, and equally as rewarding when I am right as when I am surprised.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wheresthefbomb said:


> Lamb
> 
> The description didn't really captivate me so I had been passing over it for weeks but this one was definitely a winner. I called the ending basically right after the first "weird shit reveal" but still enjoyed the ride.
> 
> I've got a, let's-not-call-it-a-gift, for knowing how movies are going to unfold from very early in the plot. It doesn't ruin them for me, but my second wife _hated_ it when I would just make casual observations about the plot that jumped over the next hour of exposition. She would straight up stop watching the movie because I'd ruined the plot for her. For me, it is still interesting to see _how_ they get there, and equally as rewarding when I am right as when I am surprised.


My girlfriend does this shit constantly lol. Like five minutes in sometimes.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I partner knows all the big plot twists long before they're revealed but she doesn't announce it and likes to watch for my reaction. I try not to think too far ahead of what I'm watching to let myself be surprised but sometimes I get it ahead of time. I always pay attention to the Chekhov's guns, though.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

High Life

Another A24 film. Some cool parts. Lots of weird/cringey/what-the-fuck. Overall probably don't recommend.


----------



## MFB

Unfortunately it seems like recognizing the Chekov's gun in a movie is a 50/50 shot for people. I'm pretty good at picking it up when they mention it, I just keep it to myself and let it play out to see if I'm right; if I am great, cool to see that I was, and if not, even better! 

But yeah, if you're someone who can and know it will affect your partner's enjoyment on something, then keep it to yourself


----------



## wheresthefbomb

MFB said:


> But yeah, if you're someone who can and know it will affect your partner's enjoyment on something, then keep it to yourself



Yeah, we ended up divorced.


----------



## MFB

wheresthefbomb said:


> Yeah, we ended up divorced.



But in the divorce, you got to keep all the movies, so that sounds like a win to me


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

RRR

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but I'm glad I finally saw it since it's everything it's made out to be and then some. Then it adds even more to it.

Granted it's 3 hours long and feels like a 6 to 8 act structure but every minute is with purpose. It's so over the top to the point ot ridiculous (the 2 leads are god like superheroes and the villains are pure Saturday morning evil) but you don't care because it's so much fun. It's also beautifully shot, where everything is colourful and vibrant, harkening to classic Hollywood or Kurosawa films.

RRR rocks.


----------



## wankerness

Re:LOTR, The second and third movies have bad pacing with the extended scenes. And the death scene for Saruman is some low budget TV movie stuff. The theatrical versions are much better movies even if a lot of the added scenes are good in a vacuum.



KnightBrolaire said:


> Barbarian- Massively overhyped for what it is. It's basically Hills Have Eyes/The Woman but set in Detroit. While it does have some great gore and does a good job of building tension in the first third, it kind of sputters out in the second third. By the end I basically didn't care about the movie.
> 
> maybe worth a stream, but not worth seeing in theaters/renting imo.


I think it’s overhyped but still like it. I love The Woman and like the original Hills Have Eyes and think this is doing very different things even if the most basic concepts are similar. The total pulling out the rug more than once structurally (I mean, that’s basically Psycho, but still...) and also suddenly becoming basically a comedy when there’s no hint of that for a long time is at least somewhat unique. It’s trying too hard to be unpredictable, but there’s some good horror with the tunnel stuff and good humor with Justin Long’s utter shithead of a character. I also laughed out loud at the physics in a climactic scene, though I only am somewhat sure that it was supposed to be funny.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

MFB said:


> But in the divorce, you got to keep all the movies, so that sounds like a win to me



and, more importantly, she let me keep the cat. he was her cat, but he _chose_ me. our relationship was a hot mess but she did right by me and Sebastian (the cat) as far as that's concerned.

also he doesn't complain when I spoil the entire plot 10 minutes in



wankerness said:


> Re:LOTR, The second and third movies have bad pacing with the extended scenes. And the death scene for Saruman is some low budget TV movie stuff. The theatrical versions are much better movies even if a lot of the added scenes are good in a vacuum.



that's a fair assessment, and to be honest I only pay about 50% attention when I watch through them these days

the books are fresher in my brain than the movies at this point anyhow


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Re:LOTR, The second and third movies have bad pacing with the extended scenes. And the death scene for Saruman is some low budget TV movie stuff. The theatrical versions are much better movies even if a lot of the added scenes are good in a vacuum.
> 
> 
> I think it’s overhyped but still like it. I love The Woman and like the original Hills Have Eyes and think this is doing very different things even if the most basic concepts are similar. The total pulling out the rug more than once structurally (I mean, that’s basically Psycho, but still...) and also suddenly becoming basically a comedy when there’s no hint of that for a long time is at least somewhat unique. It’s trying too hard to be unpredictable, but there’s some good horror with the tunnel stuff and good humor with Justin Long’s utter shithead of a character. I also laughed out loud at the physics in a climactic scene, though I only am somewhat sure that it was supposed to be funny.


Yeah," trying too hard" is an understatement. It's a movie that thinks it's smarter than it really is. Once they started fleshing out the antagonists it really took away from the horror of the initial tunnel scene. Anyone who's watched a fair bit of horror knows that the tension is far less palpable once you reveal the monster. The monster reveal is the money shot ffs. I also wish they'd just leaned into the claustrophobia and chaos of the tunnels more ala the Descent. The movie just gets more and more absurd later, mostly to its detriment. The tonal shift really didn't help it in my eyes tbh. 

If I wanted a Justin Long horror comedy I'd just go watch Tusk again.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

KnightBrolaire said:


> I also wish they'd just leaned into the claustrophobia and chaos of the tunnels more ala the Descent.



That's a movie that gets better every time I watch it. That and As Above/So Below both make excellent use of the tunnels and the claustrophobia is at least as scary as anything else, if not moreso.


----------



## MFB

Man, people really liked AASB, but I just couldn't buy any of the main characters as real people. Maybe I need to rewatch it and see if that's still the case, conceptually I did find it interesting.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wheresthefbomb said:


> That's a movie that gets better every time I watch it. That and As Above/So Below both make excellent use of the tunnels and the claustrophobia is at least as scary as anything else, if not moreso.


I'll throw the recent Thirteen Lives in for nailing the claustrophobic nature of caves/tunnels, even though it's not a horror film. Same with Sanctum.
The Cave also has some good claustrophobic bits and is a decent creature feature. 

I adore most of Neil Marshall's movies, but especially Dog Soldiers and The Descent.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

MFB said:


> Man, people really liked AASB, but I just couldn't buy any of the main characters as real people. Maybe I need to rewatch it and see if that's still the case, conceptually I did find it interesting.



Def give it a second shot. I read it as low budget garbage the first time I watched and it's progressively become one of my favorites. 

It definitely has many of the drawbacks that low-budget films often do, but I found it to shine through that on the whole. The characters aren't especially strong but the plot, setting, and pacing are quite nice imo.


----------



## Louis Cypher

KnightBrolaire said:


> I adore most of Neil Marshall's movies, but especially Dog Soldiers and The Descent.


Likewise, I love both of those films as well. One of the greatest lines in a horror movie ever is in Dog Soldiers. Just as Spoon is about to be eaten he grunts at the Werewolf "I hope I give you the shits!" LOL!!! Classic


----------



## jaxadam

That Sugar Film


----------



## BlackMastodon

Thor: Love and Thunder. Fun flick, not as good as Ragnarok but still probably the best Marvel thing that's come out in the last few years.


----------



## thebeesknees22

BlackMastodon said:


> Thor: Love and Thunder. Fun flick, not as good as Ragnarok but still probably the best Marvel thing that's come out in the last few years.


I just checked that out over the weekend too. 

Agreed, it was better than the last few rounds of marvel movies for sure. I haven't really liked anything post End Game until this one.


----------



## TedEH

BlackMastodon said:


> Thor: Love and Thunder


I saw this one maybe a week ago. It was pretty much what I expected going in, so it's hard to be disappointed about it.


----------



## wankerness

Is Thor streaming on disneyplus for "free" now? I might have to watch it. I finally got a copy of Eternals (it's already a staple of clearance bins at pawn shops everywhere, probably a testament to its quality) and have been trying to work up the will to watch it. I still refuse to watch any of the disneyplus bullshit because there's too much of it, but I've been trying to keep up with the movies to the degree I can without usually going to the theater.

I still say Shang-Chi is top-tier Marvel. The Spider-Man movie with the other spider-men was pretty good, too. There were plenty of lackluster entries before Endgame and there are plenty now, too!

When I was at the theater I saw a trailer for...something, which I thought was a trailer for Black Panther 2, and I was like "wow, this really looks like garbage." Turned out it was an unrelated movie about female warriors in africa that they chose to market in an aggressively stupid way (blaring hiphop on the entire trailer, lots of girlpower bullshit) and it's apparently a good movie. Maybe I'll watch it someday when I don't have to pay 16 dollars for the privilege. Theaters are really determined to drive people out of them, huh?


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Funny enough I'm currently on a Cronenberg binge, starting with my personal favorites: The Fly, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, Scanners and Dead Ringers.
> 
> Possessor was meh, just like Antiviral. Brandon Cronenberg aint up to par with his daddy.


Scanners is a favorite? Really? I always thought that was one of his worst cause it seems half-baked in the plot department and Stephen Lack...well, his name speaks for itself when it comes to his ability to lead a movie. It has a couple good setpieces and I always like seeing Jennifer ("The Psychic") O'Neill, plus it's a great star-making role for Michael Ironside, but I'd give it a 6/10 at best. It's at the bottom of his filmography from Shivers all the way till M Butterfly, at least. Well, besides probably Fast Company, which I still haven't watched.

However, I just tried to watch Scanners 2 a few weeks ago and it was so aggressively bad that it took me FIVE sittings to get all the way through it and it made me not want to watch any movies at all for a week afterwards. So, Scanners is a masterpiece compared to that, at least.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> Scanners is a favorite? Really? I always thought that was one of his worst cause it seems half-baked in the plot department and Stephen Lack...well, his name speaks for itself when it comes to his ability to lead a movie. It has a couple good setpieces and I always like seeing Jennifer ("The Psychic") O'Neill, plus it's a great star-making role for Michael Ironside, but I'd give it a 6/10 at best. It's at the bottom of his filmography from Shivers all the way till M Butterfly, at least. Well, besides probably Fast Company, which I still haven't watched.
> 
> However, I just tried to watch Scanners 2 a few weeks ago and it was so aggressively bad that it took me FIVE sittings to get all the way through it and it made me not want to watch any movies at all for a week afterwards. So, Scanners is a masterpiece compared to that, at least.


I'll be honest I only like it because of the head exploding bit and the general concept.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Is Thor streaming on disneyplus for "free" now? I might have to watch it. I finally got a copy of Eternals (it's already a staple of clearance bins at pawn shops everywhere, probably a testament to its quality) and have been trying to work up the will to watch it. I still refuse to watch any of the disneyplus bullshit because there's too much of it, but I've been trying to keep up with the movies to the degree I can without usually going to the theater.
> 
> I still say Shang-Chi is top-tier Marvel. The Spider-Man movie with the other spider-men was pretty good, too. There were plenty of lackluster entries before Endgame and there are plenty now, too!
> 
> When I was at the theater I saw a trailer for...something, which I thought was a trailer for Black Panther 2, and I was like "wow, this really looks like garbage." Turned out it was an unrelated movie about female warriors in africa that they chose to market in an aggressively stupid way (blaring hiphop on the entire trailer, lots of girlpower bullshit) and it's apparently a good movie. Maybe I'll watch it someday when I don't have to pay 16 dollars for the privilege. Theaters are really determined to drive people out of them, huh?


Theaters are not worth your time. The higher their ticket prices go, the more likely it is you'll be better off renting it from Vudu or buying it outright. At least then you can pause and not have to deal with some jerk off being an asshole throughout the film. 

Well, you may have to deal with the latter still, but you chose to, soooo...

That said, the 4th Gen of Marvel movies look unenticing as hell. Granted, most of them do not appeal to me, but I'm referring more to in general. Who the fuck wants to watch Girl Power Thor? Pass!


----------



## MFB

Maybe try reading the Jane Foster Thor run and see that it's been well-received by the comic community, so a large number of people were eager to see if, especially after the overhaul that was _Thor: Ragnarok_?

Also, for $25 a month, you can see 12 movies in theaters, the A-list pays for itself after two movies even if they're garbage and you get to spend 2 hrs making fun of a movie. That costs me less than one hour of work.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Theaters are not worth your time. The higher their ticket prices go, the more likely it is you'll be better off renting it from Vudu or buying it outright. At least then you can pause and not have to deal with some jerk off being an asshole throughout the film.
> 
> Well, you may have to deal with the latter still, but you chose to, soooo...
> 
> That said, the 4th Gen of Marvel movies look unenticing as hell. Granted, most of them do not appeal to me, but I'm referring more to in general. Who the fuck wants to watch Girl Power Thor? Pass!



Often you can find even quite new stuff on free streaming sites. I can't remember titles offhand but I have definitely watched a handful of 2022 releases just by googling the title and "stream free." Sometimes takes a few tries and the sites are varying degrees of sketchy, but with a little patience and a decent adblocker it beats the theater experience by miles.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wheresthefbomb said:


> Often you can find even quite new stuff on free streaming sites. I can't remember titles offhand but I have definitely watched a handful of 2022 releases just by googling the title and "stream free." Sometimes takes a few tries and the sites are varying degrees of sketchy, but with a little patience and a decent adblocker it beats the theater experience by miles.


I'd get a script blocker as well.


----------



## wankerness

wheresthefbomb said:


> Often you can find even quite new stuff on free streaming sites. I can't remember titles offhand but I have definitely watched a handful of 2022 releases just by googling the title and "stream free." Sometimes takes a few tries and the sites are varying degrees of sketchy, but with a little patience and a decent adblocker it beats the theater experience by miles.



Uhh...if your computer playing a cam rip of a theatrical movie streaming off some sketchy website beats the theatrical experience for you, I can't imagine how terrible the theaters must be in your area. The theatrical experience not only has vastly better sound (thanks to real atmos setups and a room with proper acoustics, compared to my janky home 5.1 setup) and picture quality (thanks to me just having some shitty TCL 58" thing). And that's talking about 4K discs, which look way better than actual streaming services, which look way, WAY better than online bootlegs of theatrical movies. This all said 16 bucks for a ticket is a huge ripoff. The inferior theater in my small town is like 7 bucks, which is reasonable, but they only have one screen and usually are playing crap I've never heard of and never want to see as soon as I look up what it is (ex Bad Guys, Beast, Gigi and Nate are some of the last few they've gotten apart from Marvel flicks).

On top of this, I just about always get much more into movies in the theater cause when I watch stuff at home it's just constant distractions and the ability to pause and all that. I mean, it's nice being able to take a bathroom break without missing anything, but I always get restless and start checking my phone and crap just cause I can and thus I end up absorbing the movie a lot better in the theater. Unless it's a horror movie where there are high schoolers in the audience in which case usually the movie gets ruined completely.


MFB said:


> Also, for $25 a month, you can see 12 movies in theaters, the A-list pays for itself after two movies even if they're garbage and you get to spend 2 hrs making fun of a movie. That costs me less than one hour of work.


What are you talking about? I heard moviepass resurrected, but it's closed (you have to get an "invite" from someone else that has it) and none of the price tiers are listed on their site.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> What are you talking about? I heard moviepass resurrected, but it's closed (you have to get an "invite" from someone else that has it) and none of the price tiers are listed on their site.



AMC A-list, you get three movies a week


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Uhh...if your computer playing a cam rip of a theatrical movie streaming off some sketchy website beats the theatrical experience for you, I can't imagine how terrible the theaters must be in your area. The theatrical experience not only has vastly better sound (thanks to real atmos setups and a room with proper acoustics, compared to my janky home 5.1 setup) and picture quality (thanks to me just having some shitty TCL 58" thing). And that's talking about 4K discs, which look way better than actual streaming services, which look way, WAY better than online bootlegs of theatrical movies. This all said 16 bucks for a ticket is a huge ripoff. The inferior theater in my small town is like 7 bucks, which is reasonable, but they only have one screen and usually are playing crap I've never heard of and never want to see as soon as I look up what it is (ex Bad Guys, Beast, Gigi and Nate are some of the last few they've gotten apart from Marvel flicks).
> 
> On top of this, I just about always get much more into movies in the theater cause when I watch stuff at home it's just constant distractions and the ability to pause and all that. I mean, it's nice being able to take a bathroom break without missing anything, but I always get restless and start checking my phone and crap just cause I can and thus I end up absorbing the movie a lot better in the theater. Unless it's a horror movie where there are high schoolers in the audience in which case usually the movie gets ruined completely.


My girlfriend and I have a great setup for audio when we watch Blu rays (I need to figure out why it doesn't work on the other outputs), so I'm not missing much.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I'm perfectly fine watching movies in 480p with shit sound coming out of half a broken laptop speaker. The benefits of the theatre don't outweighs the drawbacks for me, not by a mile. 

If I really want a "theatrical" experience I'll go to my friend's house and watch a movie on his big TV but it's rare I care that much.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wheresthefbomb said:


> I'm perfectly fine watching movies in 480p with shit sound coming out of half a broken laptop speaker. The benefits of the theatre don't outweighs the drawbacks for me, not by a mile.
> 
> If I really want a "theatrical" experience I'll go to my friend's house and watch a movie on his big TV but it's rare I care that much.


Modern movies aren't all that special so I don't blame you.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> AMC A-list, you get three movies a week



Ah. All the theaters around here are Marcus so no dice.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Far Cry....why Uwe why? 

What a complete let down after enjoying the OG game. Very awkward direction, silly random plot. Far Cry from the source material amirite.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Seabeast2000 said:


> Far Cry....why Uwe why?
> 
> What a complete let down after enjoying the OG game. Very awkward direction, silly random plot. Far Cry from the source material amirite.



That's Uwe Boll doing his thing. I'd be surprised if he made a movie based on a game that's actually better than abhorrently bad at this point.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Seabeast2000 said:


> Far Cry....why Uwe why?
> 
> What a complete let down after enjoying the OG game. Very awkward direction, silly random plot. Far Cry from the source material amirite.


your first mistake was watching a Uwe Boll movie. Postal is probably his only dare I say "decent' film.


----------



## nightflameauto

First against the wall when people finally get fed up with being fed dreck?
Uwe Boll
M. Night Shamalamimalimileleifediled.fu
Michael Bay

In that order. I mean, I can at least understand why Michael Bay is allowed to make movies. His make bank, even if they are disgusting messes of fetid teenage "WOW COOL" wrapped up in multi-million dollar special effects. Hollywood respects money, if nothing else.

But WTF with the other two? I can't remember a moment of critical acclaim, nor a bank maker for either in a good long time. The shit that Sham-a-lam-a-ding-dong did to The Last Airbender should be considered a hate crime even if you didn't know the source material. Just putting that travesty out there where people could watch it should be grounds for being sent to the Hauge for unlawful torture of innocents. Fuck sake.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

nightflameauto said:


> First against the wall when people finally get fed up with being fed dreck?
> Uwe Boll
> M. Night Shamalamimalimileleifediled.fu
> Michael Bay
> 
> In that order. I mean, I can at least understand why Michael Bay is allowed to make movies. His make bank, even if they are disgusting messes of fetid teenage "WOW COOL" wrapped up in multi-million dollar special effects. Hollywood respects money, if nothing else.
> 
> But WTF with the other two? I can't remember a moment of critical acclaim, nor a bank maker for either in a good long time. The shit that Sham-a-lam-a-ding-dong did to The Last Airbender should be considered a hate crime even if you didn't know the source material. Just putting that travesty out there where people could watch it should be grounds for being sent to the Hauge for unlawful torture of innocents. Fuck sake.


ehhh I wouldn't lump the other two in with Boll. Boll hasn't made a decent film ever. I know I said that postal was "decent" but that's on a sliding scale of utter dogshit (bloodrayne/far cry) to tolerable dogshit (postal).
The other two have at least put out good to decent stuff.

Shymalan has been slowly making a comeback since Split . Split was pretty entertaining if only for James McAvoy going absolutely unhinged with the split personality schtick. I personally like to pretend that everything he made between Signs and Split basically doesn't exist.

Bay has done some pretty good shit (13 Hours and Pain and Gain). 6 Underground was fun for what it was. Same with Bad Boys II.


----------



## p0ke

IMO the only somewhat tolerable Boll-movie is Rampage (not that I've seen nor want to see all of them, though). I don't even remember why that movie came up and I watched with a couple of friends sometime around 2010-2012, but it was a lot better than any of his other unwatchable pieces of dogshit  I still wouldn't call it "good" outright, but at least it wasn't super duper terrible...


----------



## wankerness

nightflameauto said:


> First against the wall when people finally get fed up with being fed dreck?
> Uwe Boll
> M. Night Shamalamimalimileleifediled.fu
> Michael Bay
> 
> In that order. I mean, I can at least understand why Michael Bay is allowed to make movies. His make bank, even if they are disgusting messes of fetid teenage "WOW COOL" wrapped up in multi-million dollar special effects. Hollywood respects money, if nothing else.
> 
> But WTF with the other two? I can't remember a moment of critical acclaim, nor a bank maker for either in a good long time. The shit that Sham-a-lam-a-ding-dong did to The Last Airbender should be considered a hate crime even if you didn't know the source material. Just putting that travesty out there where people could watch it should be grounds for being sent to the Hauge for unlawful torture of innocents. Fuck sake.


Uhh, Shyamalan has made a few high-profile movies in recent years, some of which were hailed as a return to Signs days. Split and Old were both considered fun trash by most people as far as I know, The Visit I think is supposed to be pretty good. I personally didn't like Split and haven't watched Old or The Visit. I think only Glass was considered a disaster and some of that was down to Bruce Willis being basically an immobile non-actor at that point.

The Rock is still awesome. Michael Bay has real talent with visuals and stylization and whatnot. It's just too bad about the movies he makes. I think Pain and Gain was his one attempt at a "real movie" and IMO it's worse than the Transformers movies.


----------



## Seabeast2000

KnightBrolaire said:


> your first mistake was watching a Uwe Boll movie. Postal is probably his only dare I say "decent' film.



I didn't know it was his going in and honestly, I'm going to check the label before putting any more video game movies into my body.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

The thing with Uwe Boll is that he was milking the German tax laws via shelter fund, and allowed him to buy video game to movie adaptation rights on the cheap and pump as much as he could. He also wasn't interested in the source material at all and only made these movies in name. Hence why they all suck. Hell, we can say what we want about Paul WS Anderson's video game adaptations; and I will do just that since they mostly suck too... but at least you can't fault his genuine enthusiasm when making them (having Mia Jovovich as his wife helps too).


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> Uhh, Shyamalan has made a few high-profile movies in recent years, some of which were hailed as a return to Signs days. Split and Old were both considered fun trash by most people as far as I know, The Visit I think is supposed to be pretty good. I personally didn't like Split and haven't watched Old or The Visit. I think only Glass was considered a disaster and some of that was down to Bruce Willis being basically an immobile non-actor at that point.
> 
> The Rock is still awesome. Michael Bay has real talent with visuals and stylization and whatnot. It's just too bad about the movies he makes. I think Pain and Gain was his one attempt at a "real movie" and IMO it's worse than the Transformers movies.



Split is just a movie for McAvoy to showcase himself carrying a movie for 2 hours, and a sprinkling of Anya Taylor-Joy for good measure.
Glass is a steaming fucking turd of a movie no person should see.
The Visit felt like "old" Shyamalan films and I did genuinely enjoy it.
OLD I heard was just OK, but most people lost it at the twist. I haven't seen it nor do I plan to.


----------



## CanserDYI

I vowed to end Shyamalan after watching his rendition of the Last Airbender.

Here I am 12 years later and I still want him ended, but I'm a little more lazy and old. 

That movie was an abomination.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> Uhh, Shyamalan has made a few high-profile movies in recent years, some of which were hailed as a return to Signs days. Split and Old were both considered fun trash by most people as far as I know, The Visit I think is supposed to be pretty good. I personally didn't like Split and haven't watched Old or The Visit. I think only Glass was considered a disaster and some of that was down to Bruce Willis being basically an immobile non-actor at that point.
> 
> The Rock is still awesome. Michael Bay has real talent with visuals and stylization and whatnot. It's just too bad about the movies he makes. I think Pain and Gain was his one attempt at a "real movie" and IMO it's worse than the Transformers movies.


On Shyamalan? Once you put a turd like Airbender in the punch bowl, forgiveness to the point of giving further movies a chance is beyond my capability. I'll tolerate a LOT of bullshit. I watched THREE fucking Transformers movies by Bay&Co before giving up for fuck sake, but there is a line in the sand and Shammywhammydingdog fucking NUKED that fucking line.


----------



## wankerness

A lot of mostly good directors release utter turds (Hook, Escape From LA, Ghosts of Mars, everything De Palma's done the last few decades, Map to the Stars, etc). I just try not to watch things I know I won't like, and take things as they come. When they have comebacks, it's great! I like successful comeback stories.


----------



## p0ke

MFB said:


> Split is just a movie for McAvoy to showcase himself carrying a movie for 2 hours, and a sprinkling of Anya Taylor-Joy for good measure.
> Glass is a steaming fucking turd of a movie no person should see.



I thought Split was really good, but yeah, I agree that it's thanks to McAvoy. The changing of personalities was just so much fun and he absolutely nailed the role. And Glass just had to be watched to see how the trilogy would end. I don't recall it being as bad as you say, but on the other hand I don't remember much of it... I guess I should rewatch all the 3 movies at some point, as I've only seen Split and Glass once each (but Unbreakable probably 10 times before I even knew there would be sequels for it).


----------



## nightflameauto

p0ke said:


> I thought Split was really good, but yeah, I agree that it's thanks to McAvoy. The changing of personalities was just so much fun and he absolutely nailed the role. And Glass just had to be watched to see how the trilogy would end. I don't recall it being as bad as you say, but on the other hand I don't remember much of it... I guess I should rewatch all the 3 movies at some point, as I've only seen Split and Glass once each (but Unbreakable probably 10 times before I even knew there would be sequels for it).


True story:
My wife and I were queued up to watch Split one evening. We knew nothing other than a couple friends said it was a good watch. M. Night's name came up in the opening credits and the wife went, "Are we sure?"

And I went, "Fuck no." *CLICK*

I've never been able to bring myself to watch Unbreakable. I was too busy for movies when it came out, and by the time it came up in my list on catching up I was already suffering from M. Night PTSD to the point I just could not do it. Maybe someday, when the senility hits me hard enough to forget, I'll be able to do it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> A lot of mostly good directors release utter turds (Hook, Escape From LA, Ghosts of Mars, everything De Palma's done the last few decades, Map to the Stars, etc). I just try not to watch things I know I won't like, and take things as they come. When they have comebacks, it's great! I like successful comeback stories.


Escape from LA is awesome, so putting it with Ghosts of Mars is obtuse.


----------



## TheBlackBard

KnightBrolaire said:


> I'll throw the recent Thirteen Lives in for nailing the claustrophobic nature of caves/tunnels, even though it's not a horror film. Same with Sanctum.
> The Cave also has some good claustrophobic bits and is a decent creature feature.
> 
> I adore most of Neil Marshall's movies, but especially Dog Soldiers and The Descent.


You really can't go wrong with either of those. I'll never forget the first time I watched Dog Soldiers, even when I was 12 at the time, I just knew there was something special, something different about Dog Soldiers, it wasn't just a run of the mill horror movie, you actually get invested in all these characters and they all have time to breathe on screen and they don't feel like extras. It goes in my Blu-Ray player at least once a month.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Theaters are not worth your time. The higher their ticket prices go, the more likely it is you'll be better off renting it from Vudu or buying it outright. At least then you can pause and not have to deal with some jerk off being an asshole throughout the film.
> 
> Well, you may have to deal with the latter still, but you chose to, soooo...
> 
> That said, the 4th Gen of Marvel movies look unenticing as hell. Granted, most of them do not appeal to me, but I'm referring more to in general. Who the fuck wants to watch Girl Power Thor? Pass!



Agree with the theater comment. Understand when I say that I am not in any way glorifying the pandemic or the tragedies that came from it, but I will say that when they started releasing more movies to stream instead of the theater right away, I was much happier as a new movie watcher. Eat what I want, drink what I want, my own comfortable couch, piss breaks without missing anything, watch the movie when I feel like it rather than dealing with possible ticket outages, and of course, I'm not part of a larger audience. There are so many perks to streaming new movies at home, it's unreal.


----------



## wankerness

It's been very disappointing seeing that new release movies are all "THEATER EXCLUSIVES" again. There's no way in hell I'm going to drive 50 miles and then pay 16 dollars to see a lot of these things. Definitely would have paid 15 to VOD it. Ex, I want to see Pearl, but guess I'm just not going to for a few months like the pre-pandemic days.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Escape from LA is awesome, so putting it with Ghosts of Mars is obtuse.



I was also surprised to see it here. Love me some Kurt.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wheresthefbomb said:


> I was also surprised to see it here. Love me some Kurt.


They're lucky I didn't give them the scorpion death drop. The fuck is wrong with them?


----------



## CapinCripes

wankerness said:


> A lot of mostly good directors release utter turds , Escape From LA, Ghosts of Mars,)


Escape from L.A is a banger and if you just look at ghosts of Mars as the unlicenced doom movie it works somewhat better.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

CapinCripes said:


> Escape from L.A is a banger and if you just look at ghosts of Mars as the unlicenced doom movie it works somewhat better.


It would be a lot better if it was as intended: Escape from Mars. Whatever asshole executive said it couldn't be a Snake film can suck a herpes covered dick.


----------



## Seabeast2000

I just watched Screamers not knowing anything about it. Pretty good for a 1996 sci fi flick. I am a default Weller fan for some reason.


----------



## CapinCripes

Oh and I'm a massive b movie/exploitation film guy so tubi is like the greatest thing ever for me because thats like 80% of what they have.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Seabeast2000 said:


> I just watched Screamers not knowing anything about it. Pretty good for a 1996 sci fi flick. I am a default Weller fan for some reason.



Mom rented this from the movie store a few years after it came out, big nostalgia feels. I rewatch every couple years, great sci fi action film, the kid still gives me the fuckin willies.



Spaced Out Ace said:


> It would be a lot better if it was as intended: Escape from Mars.



Is that for real? Either way I want to see _that_ movie.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wheresthefbomb said:


> Mom rented this from the movie store a few years after it came out, big nostalgia feels. I rewatch every couple years, great sci fi action film, the kid still gives me the fuckin willies.
> 
> 
> 
> Is that for real? Either way I want to see _that_ movie.


Yeah, he wanted it to be Escape from Mars. However, LA lost a lot of money and execs wanted Ice Cube.


----------



## mastapimp

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Yeah, he wanted it to be Escape from Mars. However, LA lost a lot of money and execs wanted Ice Cube.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

mastapimp said:


> View attachment 114999


John also lies that it is actually MacReady who is The Thing. 

What's that thing in writing called? Oh right, unreliable narrator.


----------



## Seabeast2000

F/X- Not sure how I never caught even part of this by laws of averages and all that but certainly was not missing anything these last 37 years or so. Falls right into that not-entirely-crap filler area that the 80s had a lot of. Very skippable. 

Thief (1981) - Pretty darn good Mann flick with Caan as the star. Tangerine Dream and that genre really helped out movies back then IMO.


----------



## spudmunkey

Nausicaaof the Valley of the Wind.

Nice animation. Was part of an assignment for an Environmental Politics class. Messaging was pretty ham-fisted, but OK for a kids movie. Enjoyed it, though. It was also the first time I've sat down and watched one of Myazaki's movies from start to finish, uninterrupted. Will need to do that again with others.


----------



## MFB

spudmunkey said:


> Nausicaaof the Valley of the Wind.
> 
> Nice animation. Was part of an assignment for an Environmental Politics class. Messaging was pretty ham-fisted, but OK for a kids movie. Enjoyed it, though. It was also the first time I've sat down and watched one of Myazaki's movies from start to finish, uninterrupted. Will need to do that again with others.



I tried to watch it either this year, or tail end of last, and I just got bored honestly; probably for the same reason that it's pretty ham-fisted for the message, although at the time I'm sure it wasn't. The animation style also kept making me think of Heavy Metal so I kept wanting to switch to that instead.

I love more recent Miyazaki films but the first ones don't grab me


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Just finished watching The Munsters. It was a lot of fun and I feel it did a commendable job approaching the vibe of the original show without denigrating it or trying to make the show feel outdated. I suggest watching it in black and white.


----------



## jaxadam

A Trip to Infinity









Watch A Trip to Infinity | Netflix Official Site


Eminent mathematicians, particle physicists and cosmologists dive into infinity and its mind-bending implications for the universe.




www.netflix.com


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Just finished watching The Munsters. It was a lot of fun and I feel it did a commendable job approaching the vibe of the original show without denigrating it or trying to make the show feel outdated. I suggest watching it in black and white.


The trailers have done that movie ZERO favors. Every one of them makes it look like a shitfest. I have no idea why anybody thought those trailers would work. I'd written it off as unwatchable just based on the trailers.

To be completely fair, based on Zombie's other output, I didn't need much incentive to write it off.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> The trailers have done that movie ZERO favors. Every one of them makes it look like a shitfest. I have no idea why anybody thought those trailers would work. I'd written it off as unwatchable just based on the trailers.
> 
> To be completely fair, based on Zombie's other output, I didn't need much incentive to write it off.


I think the color didn't help it any favors for some people. I think removing the color entirely or mostly (think colorized black and white movies/shows) helped a lot in my opinion. I thought it was fun and lighthearted. You know, sort of like the show. In addition, they also managed to hint at a few social topics without being obnoxious or obtuse about it.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I think the color didn't help it any favors for some people. I think removing the color entirely or mostly (think colorized black and white movies/shows) helped a lot in my opinion. I thought it was fun and lighthearted. You know, sort of like the show. In addition, they also managed to hint at a few social topics without being obnoxious or obtuse about it.


I do remember him saying he wanted to shoot black and white, but the big money men pretty much pissed themselves in rage at the thought, so he went the opposite direction.

I'm sure I'll get there eventually. I loved the Munsters, but any remake I've seen has been depressingly awful. I expected this to feel the same.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> I do remember him saying he wanted to shoot black and white, but the big money men pretty much pissed themselves in rage at the thought, so he went the opposite direction.
> 
> I'm sure I'll get there eventually. I loved the Munsters, but any remake I've seen has been depressingly awful. I expected this to feel the same.


Remove 70 to 100% of the color in your TV settings and its a much different experience.


----------



## wankerness

The first review of The Munsters I saw was actually pretty positive (AVClub). I was surprised cause yeah, that trailer was terrible. I feel like a lot of the dismissive stuff I've seen about it on the internet is just knee-jerk reactions from people determined to hate things (the same kind of people that find it hilarious to post memes about how much they hate Sheri Moon Zombie) and that it might actually be OK if you're looking for something corny and family-friendly like the original series. That said, I doubt I'll ever watch it! I never watched the original series.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I don't like Rob Zombie's other movies at all, will def give Munsters a shot just on account of it being so different.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wheresthefbomb said:


> I don't like Rob Zombie's other movies at all, will def give Munsters a shot just on account of it being so different.


Remove the color.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Tumbbad - My first Bollywood film, and the best horror flick I've seen in a while. A little light on exposition at times, or maybe it just gives you credit for being smart enough to fill in the blanks. Genuinely unsettling, compelling story, creepy atmosphere and lots of cool camera work. Do recommend.


----------



## TheBlackBard

My wife and I watched Hocus Pocus 2. Man everyone else, y'all can do you, but we both enjoyed the shit out of it, and we're old enough to have the nostalgia that comes with loving the OG.


----------



## SCJR

Clovehitch Killer was worth a pass.

If anyone can't tell I get most of my tv/movie recommendations from RedLetterMedia lol


----------



## wheresthefbomb

TheBlackBard said:


> My wife and I watched Hocus Pocus 2. Man everyone else, y'all can do you, but we both enjoyed the shit out of it, and we're old enough to have the nostalgia that comes with loving the OG.



I skipped it for similar nostalgic reasons but will give it a shot based on your recommendations.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

My sister told me Hocus Pocus 2 is trash, yet here I am watching the original and sequel in a marathon. I adore the original, and used to watch it every year in Spooktober. 

Tomorrow I'm watching Sleepy Hollow, as that's one of my favorite Spooktober movies.


----------



## TheBlackBard

wheresthefbomb said:


> I skipped it for similar nostalgic reasons but will give it a shot based on your recommendations.



My biggest complaint was some stuff was predictable, but even when it was, I still found it entertaining. What honestly gets me is how Hocus Pocus is held up to the ridiculously high standard as if it were a Scorsese film or something. It's not a great movie, it's just one that we loved as kids growing up. That said, I still watch it multiple times a year and have a shitload of fun. I'm just happy that now it has a companion that I can do that with.


----------



## ElRay

TheBlackBard said:


> My wife and I watched Hocus Pocus 2. Man everyone else, y'all can do you, but we both enjoyed the shit out of it, and we're old enough to have the nostalgia that comes with loving the OG.


Same here. Man the kids in the beginning had the adult sisters nailed. Especially Bette Midlers'


----------



## MFB

Rewatched "Ernest Scared Stupid" and uh, man that's a tough watch. I don't remember it being so ...simple, but the troll creation is still top notch gross out material.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

Watched HP2 last night. It was fine and I didn't hate it.



MFB said:


> Rewatched "Ernest Scared Stupid" and uh, man that's a tough watch. I don't remember it being so ...simple, but the troll creation is still top notch gross out material.



"MIAK?!?!"

I really liked Ernest in the Army as a kid, but I'm sure it's aged similarly.


----------



## MFB

wheresthefbomb said:


> "MIAK?!?!"
> 
> I really liked Ernest in the Army as a kid, but I'm sure it's aged similarly.



I have no idea who, but honest to God, it's the only Ernest film I've ever seen; no idea if my brother had seen the other two before it and that's how it got into the house, but for me is ESS or nothing.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Memory - Pretty high up on the Liam Neeson movie index. He's Liam but he's got some struggles but also the bad guys get deserved justice. Pretty solid cast. 

Barney Thomson- Damn, funny as hell. High quality cast doing some great characters. Recommended. "I'm sorry I didn't understand a word you said"..."yes I know you're Scottish...."


----------



## wankerness

I've never seen an Ernest movie. I distinctly remember seeing ads for them when they were coming out when I was a kid. At least, Ernest Goes to Camp and Ernest Scared Stupid. Which is the best one to watch? I am curious but don't want to accidentally choose the worst one. Though I'm guessing they're all terrible!


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> I've never seen an Ernest movie. I distinctly remember seeing ads for them when they were coming out when I was a kid. At least, Ernest Goes to Camp and Ernest Scared Stupid. Which is the best one to watch? I am curious but don't want to accidentally choose the worst one. Though I'm guessing they're all terrible!



Scared Stupid was the second to last released in theaters and the following movie's poor released caused them to go straight-to-VHS afterwards, just go chronologically and you'll probably be done after the first movie


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Scared Stupid was the second to last released in theaters and the following movie's poor released caused them to go straight-to-VHS afterwards, just go chronologically and you'll probably be done after the first movie



Oh damn. I looked at a list and now I remember seeing ads for Saves Christmas and Goes to Jail, too. Guess I'll watch Goes to Camp. All I remember was something with construction equipment destroying buildings. I'm not sure if I saw the last part of it on TV or saw ads or what. I was 3 or 4 at the time!

Nevermind, looks like Goes to Camp isn't even available to RENT online, let alone stream with subscription, while the three immediate sequels are on Roku, Disney+, and Hulu. Wow, that's some fractured rights.


----------



## TedEH

I pretty often pull the whole "MIAK?!" line (or "Authentic Bulgarian _MIAK"_) and then get stared at like the weirdo I am.


----------



## MFB

TedEH said:


> I pretty often pull the whole "MIAK?!" line (or "Authentic Bulgarian _MIAK"_) and then get stared at like the weirdo I am.



Since ESS is so seasonal I never remember that, but as a 90's Kid™ the amount of times I've used "Malk?" is pretty high up there


----------



## TedEH

To be fair, there's a Simpsons bit for just about anything - and who _hasn't_ seen at least _some_ Simpsons.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I love The Simpson's, but I remember Miak more than I remember "malk."


----------



## Louis Cypher

the trailer for what surely is gonna be everyones new favourite Christmas film, who knew Santa was so fcuking badass!
(age restricted trailer so you need to go direct to YT)


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Louis Cypher said:


> the trailer for what surely is gonna be everyones new favourite Christmas film, who knew Santa was so fcuking badass!
> (age restricted trailer so you need to go direct to YT)
> 
> View attachment 115443



yeah this looks hella fun


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I'm sure it'll be entertaining, but we will see if it displaces Santa's Slay with Bill Goldberg.


----------



## nightflameauto

Far as Christmas horror, I'm a big fan of Krampus too. The funny one. Not the one with a bazillion sequels.


----------



## DestroyMankind

To anyone wanting a good horror Christmas film I recommend a Christmas horror story.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I like Black Christmas (06). It's way more fun than the original or more recent dogshit version of it


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Speaking of Christmas horror: Black Christmas is crap. Black Xmas is better (the first remake, not that woke shit pile).


----------



## Lorcan Ward

New Hellraiser is good. Added a lot of worldbuilding and new ideas. CGI was a bit rough in places though.


----------



## Rosal76

Lorcan Ward said:


> New Hellraiser is good. Added a lot of worldbuilding and new ideas. CGI was a bit rough in places though.



I saw it last night and I agree, it was good. Different but kept some longstanding Hellraiser traits that fans love.


----------



## 73647k

The acting was good and the story was original while still sticking to what makes it a Hellraiser movie but overall I thought it was pretty lame in comparison to the original. Pinhead was cool but some of the other Cenobites were weak. The last scene was probably the only gross scene in the movie, I felt like the original had so many more.


----------



## TheBlackBard

My only complaint with this one was the CGI as well. Other than that, I absolutely adored it. Give us more of this.


----------



## thebeesknees22

I watched Vesper. It's a kinda weird sci fi flick. Kinda crappy. Doesn't really make sense in a lot of sections. 

The ending left me wondering "wait.. that's it?" ..that was dumb. ..that was so dumb....


----------



## Seabeast2000

The Contractor- pretty good, 7/10 double crosses


----------



## Seabeast2000

Days of Heaven.....just one question....Gere, the woman and the girl all from Chicago but all talk like they are straight outta the five Burroughs.


----------



## nightflameauto

I didn't particularly love the new Hellraiser. I mean, as far as modern horror goes, it's great. But it twisted the Hellraiser moral threads and lore and added in the "rich bastard wants poor bastards to die so he can talk to god." Interesting, sure, but a little on-the-nose for me.

I liked the concept in the originals, where anybody could use this puzzle-box to find the pleasure/pain of eternal torture. "It is not hands that call us. It is desire."

We just got an entire movie where that's no longer true at all. I can dig what they did, but my inner Hellraiser fan checked out pretty early on and said, "Yeah, that's not my Hellraiser."

Like I said, as modern horror goes, it's pretty good. At least it attempted to have some form of lore, rather than just gore and characters you hope to watch die horribly because of how incredibly stupid they are.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> I didn't particularly love the new Hellraiser. I mean, as far as modern horror goes, it's great. But it twisted the Hellraiser moral threads and lore and added in the "rich bastard wants poor bastards to die so he can talk to god." Interesting, sure, but a little on-the-nose for me.
> 
> I liked the concept in the originals, where anybody could use this puzzle-box to find the pleasure/pain of eternal torture. "It is not hands that call us. It is desire."
> 
> We just got an entire movie where that's no longer true at all. I can dig what they did, but my inner Hellraiser fan checked out pretty early on and said, "Yeah, that's not my Hellraiser."
> 
> Like I said, as modern horror goes, it's pretty good. At least it attempted to have some form of lore, rather than just gore and characters you hope to watch die horribly because of how incredibly stupid they are.


No subtlety because modern audiences are fucking stupid.


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> No subtlety because modern audiences are fucking stupid.


It's been so many years of Hollywood putting out baseline stupid bullshit, we're in a chicken/egg scenario now. Are audiences dumb, or is Hollywood convinced that churning out stupid crap is cheaper/better?


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I didn't know there was a new one but I started watching Hellraiser 2: Hellbound last night, I guess I'd never seen it before. It goes hard from the very beginning, lots of creepy/nasty/disturbing visuals and impressive makeup. I personally could've done with more glamour shots of the Cenobytes, especially neck-hole lady, she gives me the fuckin willies, but I get that they aren't the big creepy reveal anymore since it's a sequel.


----------



## nightflameauto

wheresthefbomb said:


> I didn't know there was a new one but I started watching Hellraiser 2: Hellbound last night, I guess I'd never seen it before. It goes hard from the very beginning, lots of creepy/nasty/disturbing visuals and impressive makeup. I personally could've done with more glamour shots of the Cenobytes, especially neck-hole lady, she gives me the fuckin willies, but I get that they aren't the big creepy reveal anymore since it's a sequel.


The first and second together are some of the best horror ever made. Not best, but it ranks right up there.

You might be better off to skip what comes after. I've seen them all twice, just for the sake of seeing them the first time, then with my wife later. It didn't get better. There's a little redeeming content late in the game, but by then they've hurt the franchise so much it's tough to care.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> It's been so many years of Hollywood putting out baseline stupid bullshit, we're in a chicken/egg scenario now. Are audiences dumb, or is Hollywood convinced that churning out stupid crap is cheaper/better?


Heather Langenkamp wants to face off with Freddy in a legacy sequel. I love ANOES, but f u c k o f f !


----------



## nightflameauto

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Heather Langenkamp


Of course she does. Fuck sake. I think that new take on Freddy killed the franchise dead enough. I don't know that even nostalgia could keep my love of the originals going if they failed out with a sequel now.


----------



## wankerness

Hellraiser reboot is like, superficially competent but removes everything challenging or distinctive about the original to make a standard teen slasher with demons. I mean, from what I hear it’s still far better than anything past part 3 (never watched any of those myself), but it was disappointing to see how terrified the filmmakers seem to have been of the twisted sexuality that defines the original. The cenobites looked way too clean and shiny too, like action figures or something. I liked that it seemed to be primarily practical effects, but the designs were so much less disturbing than the original.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> Hellraiser reboot is like, superficially competent but removes everything challenging or distinctive about the original to make a standard teen slasher with demons. I mean, from what I hear it’s still far better than anything past part 3 (never watched any of those myself), but it was disappointing to see how terrified the filmmakers seem to have been of the twisted sexuality that defines the original. The cenobites looked way too clean and shiny too, like action figures or something. I liked that it seemed to be primarily practical effects, but the designs were so much less disturbing than the original.


There is a very plastic quality to the new Cenobites.

The old Cenobites had a depth to them, a grittiness that implied their bodies had been through something horrible. We saw the tiniest sign of that as one Cenobite was created in the new one, but then everything was clean and shiny in the next scene. I did dig the old ones showing the remnants of the gore of transformation every time they showed up. It added an element to the story that even the current perpetrators of the violence were once something else, and are currently in their own suffering / pleasure cycle.


----------



## possumkiller

Something I always wondered about was if Captain Vasili Borodin faked his death in The Hunt for Red October to avoid detection by the KGB. I mean, he said he wanted to live in Montana with an American woman and have a pickup truck and possibly a recreational vehicle. Then just a couple of years after he supposably died, he turns up in Montana under the name Alan Grant. Coincidence?


----------



## wankerness

Been watching a bunch of mediocre horror flicks for October:

Jason Goes to Hell - this is awful but pretty entertaining. I like that the writers don't seem to have ever seen a previous movie and instead just went with the elements they heard about for continunity and did their own thing. And by own thing, I mean instead of making a Friday the 13th, they ripped off Shivers (a much earlier movie where a brain-controlling slug that looks like a big turd is passed between mouths of possession victims). I watched the unrated version, but even that wasn't THAT gory. There is a good effect with a woman being split from the navel to the shoulder, though. The R rated version must be really boring. For X-Files lovers, X plays a really over-the-top bounty hunter character that inexplicably knows everything about what's going on. 5/10

Friday the 13th (2009) - this is better than some of the other 2000s horror remakes I've seen (ex Hills Have Eyes, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre), but it's not very good. It doesn't seem to know whether it wants to spoof the genre or be grimdark, so we're left with confusing scenes that seem like a shitty version of the tone in Piranha (2010), and then super grimdark scenes like where Jason SLOWLY pushes a screwdriver up someone's chin as they suffer. I didn't hate it, but it's not good at all, either. I suppose that puts it about on the level of most of the Friday the 13th movies. 4/10

Jason X - I remember hating this movie when I saw it, but liking the nitrogen face shatter and laughing like an idiot at the climactic simulation scene. Second watch it seemed better for a bit, as I was very amused by the intense Canadian-ness of it all. Like, immediately I was getting X Files vibes cause the "secret government lab" looks identical to the ones on that show where I think they just must have filmed in abandoned Canadian missile silos or mines or something, and then frickin David Cronenberg showed up in a small role, and then later it had extremely distinctive Cronenberg regular Robert Silverman. I was also initially sort of charmed by the sets, since it looks like a decent budget sci-fi TV show. I mean, nothing looks expensive or convincing, but at least it has a somewhat unified and professional look to it, like an early 00s Sci-Fi channel show or something. However, the longer it went on, the less I liked it, and by the end I was just sick of it. It's almost as bad as I remember. The casting of the KM android that's supposed to be able to kick Jason's ass is hilarious, she looks like Zooey Deschanel both facewise and athleticism-wise. The part where she's kicking him in the face appeared to use the same special effects technology as the Austin Powers gags where the limb doing the punching is obviously from an offscreen person reaching in the corner of the screen. 3/10

Lake Michigan Monster - Milwaukee DIY sort of movie, filmed digitally but then touched up to look like a silent movie (even though it's not silent). It's kind of endearing, it follows a moron whose father was killed by a lake monster and who now calls himself Captain and tries to hire people to help him kill it. The last act looks like something Melies would have filmed, it's very stylish in its zero-budgetness. 6.5/10

Love Butcher - grimy 70s movie along similar lines to those ones that follow around killers like Maniac, Christmas Evil, Nightmare in a Damaged Brain, Don't Go in the House, etc. However, this one's got a sense of humor. A crippled, bald gardener with coke-bottle glasses has some sort of schizophrenia where when he puts on a wig he's suddenly able to see and not crippled, and then he gains tons of confidence and becomes a ladies man. Also, he kills the women. He's very amusing, especially when he poses as a hispanic guy and it's so clumsily racist that it's almost endearing. The movie weirdly also seems to have been written by someone with some kind of conscience, as it actually treats the main woman with care and seems to be intentionally making fun of what would today be described as "incel" ideas. It's better than it should be. No classic, but interesting. 6/10

Hellraiser (2022) - already talked about this, it's too slick and removes most of what's so interesting about the originals, but is competently made. I hate the new cenobite designs cause they're too clean and slick and brightly lit. The asian one with a flesh banana over her forehead also was a terrible actress. I sorta liked that the lead character is just blatantly awful, stupid, and even made to look physically unattractive for most of the movie, it's rare that a movie will do that on purpose. 6/10

Link - Terence Stamp is a egomaniac, alcoholic ape researcher that hires his student Elisabeth Shue (fresh off Karate Kid) to be his assistant to take care of three apes in his remote mansion. Of course, one in particular is super intelligent and also evil. Elisabeth Shue ends up fending for herself against its increasingly scary behavior for the back half of the movie. It's pretty good. The ape performances are good. Except I read AFTER the movie that the reason the orangutan looked like it was wearing a toupee was its character was supposed to be a chimp!! They should have just said it was an orangutan and gone with evil orangutan (I know they are super gentle compared to chimps IRL, but it's already a fantasy). I guess it was so obviously an orangutan I didn't even notice that it was occasionally referred to as a chimp. 6/10

Baby Blood - French gore movie from 1990. A circus performer with gigantic breasts is implanted by some kind of weird slug, which then talks to her psychically and demands that she feed it blood. So, she has to go around killing people and drinking their blood so the monster baby won't split her open. It's extremely bloody, but the budget's so low that a lot of it is like "character slams big heavy object down off the camera in the direction of the victim, a ton of blood is sprayed back on her but no gore effect is shown." It's better than I was expecting and the weird conversations with the "baby" give it a unique vibe. 6/10

The Funhouse - Tobe Hooper movie, I've seen it a few times but never remember anything, so it's like a new movie every time! Some sister with a bratty brother (this subplot never goes anywhere) goes to a funhouse with her teen friends, and they see a twisted mutant looking guy with red eyes and sharp teeth kill a prostitute for trying to bill him after he prematurely ejaculated, or something. Then he chases them around the funhouse for the rest of the movie. The body count is low, and it takes like over half the runtime to actually do anything horror-movie, but it's got a lot of style and colored lights so is kind of fun visually. 6/10

Hopefully I watch something actually good before the month is over, but knowing me that won't happen.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Halloween Ends is the perfect name, because now whether someone needs money or not, no one is going to want to watch another one. I didn't think it would be possible to surpass Rob Zombie's terrible take with his redneck trailer park trash backstory or Halloween Kills in just how shit a Halloween movie could be, but this one is clearly saying, "hold my Keystone, and watch how much worse it can get."


----------



## wankerness

Are you saying it's worse than Halloween Kills? I think Halloween Kills is bad, and I don't love the Rob Zombie movie, but they're both a lot better than parts 5 through Resurrection.


----------



## TheBlackBard

wankerness said:


> Are you saying it's worse than Halloween Kills? I think Halloween Kills is bad, and I don't love the Rob Zombie movie, but they're both a lot better than parts 5 through Resurrection.



MUCH fucking worse. It's even worse than 5-Resurrection.


----------



## mmr007

Heading out to see Halloween Ends. I fully expect to enjoy the buttered popcorn


----------



## wankerness

I've seen a few reactions which were that it was much better than Kills (but still not as good as the 2018 one), and also made it seem like Kills was completely pointless to the ultimate trilogy. Like, Ends works fine as a direct sequel to 2018. I guess the studio mandated the trilogy (DGG only wanted to do two and only had the story for two) so that's not surprising.


----------



## mmr007

So before I say anything about the movie, here is my first world problem rant. The movie was to start at 12PM exactly. A few previews and commercials? Ok. But 28 fucking minutes of previews and commercials? The movie finally started at 12:28PM

As far as the movie goes I won't provide spoilers but it didn't feel like a halloween movie and it suffered from Rob Zombie syndrome in that everyone who dies is so unlikeable you are rooting for their death (please ignore my comments to the contrary regarding capital punishment in another political thread). Anyway, it just didn't feel like it is a halloween movie in tone and michael myers has a reputation in the haddonfield universe he hasn't earned since they retconned all the intervening movies and kill count. Also not down with them doubling down on a babysitter killer becoming a virus for societal ills and "evil". That said it is not a movie to walk out of the theater midway like halloween kills


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I didn't see the movie but that was an excellent post, 10/10.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Jason Goes to Hell - this is awful but pretty entertaining. I like that the writers don't seem to have ever seen a previous movie and instead just went with the elements they heard about for continunity and did their own thing. And by own thing, I mean instead of making a Friday the 13th, they ripped off Shivers (a much earlier movie where a brain-controlling slug that looks like a big turd is passed between mouths of possession victims). I watched the unrated version, but even that wasn't THAT gory. There is a good effect with a woman being split from the navel to the shoulder, though. The R rated version must be really boring. For X-Files lovers, X plays a really over-the-top bounty hunter character that inexplicably knows everything about what's going on. 5/10


Jesus, have you even listened to the director discuss the film at all? Sean Cunningham told them he didn't want to see the hockey mask. He basically wanted Jason written out. That time frame was when the MPAA was really cracking down on horror so "R rated films" were more like PG13 ish with swearing.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> Halloween Ends is the perfect name, because now whether someone needs money or not, no one is going to want to watch another one. I didn't think it would be possible to surpass Rob Zombie's terrible take with his redneck trailer park trash backstory or Halloween Kills in just how shit a Halloween movie could be, but this one is clearly saying, "hold my Keystone, and watch how much worse it can get."


They didn't for one fucking second manage to get Michael to feel like the character. What a shit series Blumoween is. Give me Zombieween ANY DAY!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Jason X - I remember hating this movie when I saw it, but liking the nitrogen face shatter and laughing like an idiot at the climactic simulation scene. Second watch it seemed better for a bit, as I was very amused by the intense Canadian-ness of it all. Like, immediately I was getting X Files vibes cause the "secret government lab" looks identical to the ones on that show where I think they just must have filmed in abandoned Canadian missile silos or mines or something, and then frickin David Cronenberg showed up in a small role, and then later it had extremely distinctive Cronenberg regular Robert Silverman. I was also initially sort of charmed by the sets, since it looks like a decent budget sci-fi TV show. I mean, nothing looks expensive or convincing, but at least it has a somewhat unified and professional look to it, like an early 00s Sci-Fi channel show or something. However, the longer it went on, the less I liked it, and by the end I was just sick of it. It's almost as bad as I remember. The casting of the KM android that's supposed to be able to kick Jason's ass is hilarious, she looks like Zooey Deschanel both facewise and athleticism-wise. The part where she's kicking him in the face appeared to use the same special effects technology as the Austin Powers gags where the limb doing the punching is obviously from an offscreen person reaching in the corner of the screen


It is like the writer was hired, spaced it off for months, then night before his deadline for the rough draft, he gets shitfaced. He then wakes up, partially still intoxicated, but mainly hungover... oh shit! He has a script to turn in. What to do, what to do?

I KNOW! Leprechaun in Space, but replace it with Jason. Case closed.

By the way I love Jason X and Leprechaun in Space. They are fun. Nothing wrong with fun in horror. The Uber serious aspect on horror the last 20 years can choke down a 20 inch dick.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> MUCH fucking worse. It's even worse than 5-Resurrection.


6 P-Cut and Resurrection are vastly more enjoy than Blumoween. Resurrection is fun. 6 P-Cut fully fleshed out the barely formulated nonsense part 5 introduced but did nothing with. (Holy fuck, H5 is fucking garbage. Everyone is autistic levels of antisocial and unenjoyable to watch. Why did Tina get Rachel's place in this film? Makes no sense and it doesn't matter at all when Tina sacrifices herself, mainly because thay should've been Rachel. S T U P I D!)


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> I've seen a few reactions which were that it was much better than Kills (but still not as good as the 2018 one), and also made it seem like Kills was completely pointless to the ultimate trilogy. Like, Ends works fine as a direct sequel to 2018. I guess the studio mandated the trilogy (DGG only wanted to do two and only had the story for two) so that's not surprising.


The main thing I hate about Blumoween, aside from never making the character feel or act like Michael, is all of the references to shit that ISN'T IN THIS FUCKING TIMELINE! What the hell is the point?


----------



## TheBlackBard

Spaced Out Ace said:


> They didn't for one fucking second manage to get Michael to feel like the character. What a shit series Blumoween is. Give me Zombieween ANY DAY!



Honestly and truly, had they not had the redneck backstory in Zombie's films, I probably could have enjoyed them more.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Zombie's halloween movies are miles better than the latest dogshit. Halloween Kills was so bad that it makes the latest Matrix seem good. 

I saw Smile a couple of days ago, and it was fucking great. Really good use of dread and atmosphere, and the gore was very effective, with a surprising amount of practical effects. It's essentially like It Follows where a curse gets passed from person to person, but here it's not about banging, it's about seeing someone else kill themselves. There's a lot to unpack with the general themes and such, but I won't go into detail due to spoilers.
Definitely worth a watch imo. It actually deserves the hype its been getting, unlike Barbarian.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Don't Look Up - incredibly awesome satire. On the nose.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Tommy Jarvis, part 5 version, kicks this kid's ass for lunch money. 

If you know, you know.


----------



## MFB

Creep - not bad, but it feels kind of like two separate movies between the cabin part and Aaron's home. Ending had a 50/50 way of going and I genuinely wasn't sure which way they would go, and ended up being wrong.

Not sure if I'll watch Creep 2 but the first was short enough that I wouldn't feel like I waste too much time if it's on par with the first.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Tommy Jarvis, part 5 version, kicks this kid's ass for lunch money.
> 
> If you know, you know.


Wow, this movie is probably the worst I've ever seen. Get the FUCK out of my face, forever, about how awful RZH2 is just because you didn't understand what was actually happening. 

Any Blumoween stans can get fucked by a box of nails.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Since we're all in the spooky season mood, thought I'd join in on the horror...

We're Going To Eat You

Tsui Hark's second film before rising to prominence as one of Hong Kong's greatest directors, so naturally it's pretty terrible. It's like he saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Cannibal Holocaust and decided to make his own, fed them through the 80s HK filtered blender with little to no budget. So full of slapstick, pools of blood, unsubtle criticism to Mainland Chinese ideology and economic struggles of rural provinces and a score that's largely directly lifted from the original Susperia. Also roller skates and fireworks in the third act for some reason. 

Tsui Hark himself has been open on saying it's not very good, but it's still an interesting curiosity from the man who gave us the great Once Upon A Time In China movies with Jet Li, Zu Warriors From Magic Mountain, A Chinese Ghost Story trilogy, the recent Detective Dee movies and um... Double Team with Van Damme and Dennis Rodman....


----------



## StevenC

I got to see In The Court Of The Crimson King tonight and it's a truly wonderful documentary. Very excited to get my hands on a blu ray copy. I'm even in it at the end.


----------



## wankerness

Halloween Ends is a massive improvement over Halloween Kills. I'd put it close to the top of the Halloween sequels. It's too bad about the last 15 minutes - they seem like a concession to series fanboys instead of an organic ending to the movie. But, those fanboys are all the ones that are screeching about how this movie raped their childhood ala Last Jedi so it was a waste of effort. Up until then it's a pretty good idea done pretty well. It's not AT ALL what I was expecting going in. I'm glad I didn't read anything. Even the opening was really surprising.

(Note: being close to the top of Halloween sequels doesn't mean it's GOOD exactly, but it's pretty interesting compared to any of the others. Definitely the biggest departure since Halloween III.)

(note 2: it's not like The Last Jedi, it doesn't seem like it's intentionally SUBVERTING EXPECTATIONS and doesn't have an antagonistic relationship to its predecessors)


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I started Firestarter last night and I want to like it but Zac Efron is fucking insufferable as the dad. I've never read the original story or seen the older film, I'm sure the "impatient poor father skills" thing is part of the story, but it just seems really unbelievable and tropey. Maybe he just sucks at acting, idk. Probably won't finish it.

John Carpenter's soundtrack is awesome, though.


----------



## wankerness

wheresthefbomb said:


> I started Firestarter last night and I want to like it but Zac Efron is fucking insufferable as the dad. I've never read the original story or seen the older film, I'm sure the "impatient poor father skills" thing is part of the story, but it just seems really unbelievable and tropey. Maybe he just sucks at acting, idk. Probably won't finish it.
> 
> John Carpenter's soundtrack is awesome, though.


The dad is not impatient with poor father skills in the book or old movie.

This is one of the worst stephen king books/movies. The concept is just so lame that I don't see how they could create anything good out of it. I should read a summary of what happens in the series, too, cause the book and movie both feel overlong and they're not.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

wankerness said:


> Been watching a bunch of mediocre horror flicks for October:
> 
> Jason Goes to Hell - this is awful but pretty entertaining. I like that the writers don't seem to have ever seen a previous movie and instead just went with the elements they heard about for continunity and did their own thing. And by own thing, I mean instead of making a Friday the 13th, they ripped off Shivers (a much earlier movie where a brain-controlling slug that looks like a big turd is passed between mouths of possession victims).


To be fair, New Line owned the rights to the Jason Voorhees character and that was it. They legally couldn't reference any characters or events from the Paramount films. I remember that being one of the few Friday movies that would air on cable. I assume the broadcasting rights for it were pretty low.


----------



## wankerness

Carrion Rocket said:


> To be fair, New Line owned the rights to the Jason Voorhees character and that was it. They legally couldn't reference any characters or events from the Paramount films. I remember that being one of the few Friday movies that would air on cable. I assume the broadcasting rights for it were pretty low.


Ah, didn't know that. I wathced that Crystal Lake Memories doc a while ago but it's like 7 hours long and I was definitely tuning out by the time I got to the later entries!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

While on the subject of New Line Cinema....

Black Adam

The Rock's baby feels straight off 90s era New Line Cinema, but in a childlike abstraction, taking all the bad aspects of the superhero genre onto itself. Bends over backwards on the message of the moral grey areas of being a superhero but doesn't go beyond "good guys that murder bad guys". Also doesn't help since DCEU heroes go around with a few casual murders or 20. I also forgot who the bad guy was only a few minutes after the movie ended. It is nice seeing The Rock enjoying himself, and even when the JSA don't have much to do outside play usual archetypes, Pierce Brosnan is the standout.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

wankerness said:


> Halloween Ends is a massive improvement over Halloween Kills. I'd put it close to the top of the Halloween sequels. It's too bad about the last 15 minutes - they seem like a concession to series fanboys instead of an organic ending to the movie. But, those fanboys are all the ones that are screeching about how this movie raped their childhood ala Last Jedi so it was a waste of effort. Up until then it's a pretty good idea done pretty well. It's not AT ALL what I was expecting going in. I'm glad I didn't read anything. Even the opening was really surprising.
> 
> (Note: being close to the top of Halloween sequels doesn't mean it's GOOD exactly, but it's pretty interesting compared to any of the others. Definitely the biggest departure since Halloween III.)
> 
> (note 2: it's not like The Last Jedi, it doesn't seem like it's intentionally SUBVERTING EXPECTATIONS and doesn't have an antagonistic relationship to its predecessors)


Lmao no. Get off drugs, please. Halloween Ends was utter trash, start to finish.


----------



## BlackMastodon

He's not your dad, @wankerness, do more drugs!


----------



## wheresthefbomb

*chanting* DO THE DRUGS! DO THE DRUGS!

speaking of, I rewatched Midsommar last night and it was even better the second time through.


----------



## wankerness

Midsommar’s great. I still haven’t watched the short version. Apparently the long one makes Christian out to be a much bigger jerk. So maybe the short one wouldn’t play correctly anymore now that I’m biased!!


----------



## Seabeast2000

Violent City (1970) - IMDb


Violent City: Directed by Sergio Sollima. With Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, Jill Ireland, Umberto Orsini. After being double-crossed by his mistress and barely escaping a murder attempt, a hit-man sets out to take his revenge on the woman and the mob boss who put her up to it.




www.imdb.com






So far... I think the director and camera man were drunk for this. I also believe they saved money on film by going 1/2 fps. OK maybe 2/3 fps on some shots.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Goosebumps and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

wankerness said:


> Midsommar’s great. I still haven’t watched the short version. Apparently the long one makes Christian out to be a much bigger jerk. So maybe the short one wouldn’t play correctly anymore now that I’m biased!!



I didn't know there was a short version. I felt like his emotional neglect and vague gaslighting was pretty pivotal to the development of the plot right from scene 1, both in regards to Dani and then his other friends when the book goes missing and various other little things. They did a really good job portraying the fine nuance that toxic relationship dynamics can exist in. Definitely some kinda triggering moments for anyone who's been the recipient of that kind of treatment.

I guess maybe the short version is trying to tell a different story? I'll have to watch it. Planning to rewatch regardless, I picked up so much in the second viewing that I missed the first time. Lots of little threads.


----------



## wankerness

wheresthefbomb said:


> I didn't know there was a short version. I felt like his emotional neglect and vague gaslighting was pretty pivotal to the development of the plot right from scene 1, both in regards to Dani and then his other friends when the book goes missing and various other little things. They did a really good job portraying the fine nuance that toxic relationship dynamics can exist in. Definitely some kinda triggering moments for anyone who's been the recipient of that kind of treatment.
> 
> I guess maybe the short version is trying to tell a different story? I'll have to watch it. Planning to rewatch regardless, I picked up so much in the second viewing that I missed the first time. Lots of little threads.



From my understanding the short version is a bit more ambiguous about him not being that bad of a guy and it just being a relationship that went south and is on life support. Like, his only sin is not breaking up with her (well, before a ways in, anyway). The longer "director's cut" adds stuff like the scene where he freaks out at her for giving him a present to "remind him he forgot her birthday" and she's completely caught off-guard. It's a great scene, but definitely makes it so only really blockheaded males could ever be on that character's side. I don't know what else specifically was cut from the short version besides that whole scene where there's a ceremony where a child's going to get thrown in the river. I think it's over 20 minutes shorter.

From what I heard the director was kind of annoyed that the long version was marketed as the "director's cut" instead of the "extended cut" as the theatrical cut was his final preferred version.

Coincidentally I see the blu-ray of the theatrical version is currently $4.00 on Amazon so I bought it! I'll watch it in 2-4 weeks.

EDIT: Watched a few more movies recently:

A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse (1975) - if you like lots of nudity primarily delivered via rape, and also like jumping cat ghosts that gorily massacre people, this is the movie for you. I didn't hate it, so it obviously did something right, but wow, could have used a couple fewer rapes.

Back to School (1986) - I'd never seen this, somehow. I liked how it had about 15 actors I recognized. It was a lot better-natured than I was expecting, I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. 7.5/10

Old (2021) - this actually infuriated me. There are very few movies I've hated more than this. 1/10, rates above 0 for the scene where the woman turns into a pretzel.

Nightmare Sisters (1986) - now THIS is the way to do a lot of nudity in a horror movie in a FUN way. Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens and my fave American trash actress, Michelle Bauer, are three "nerds" who throw a party for some nerdy guys, get possessed during a seance, and turn into succubi. Aka, they run around topless and bite guys in the dork and dispatch some cannon fodder men in an interesting way. Actual quote from the movie - "They bit his dork and he crumbled into dust!!" Also, "are you an actor? I'd like to give you a BIT PART!!!" 7.5/10

The Howling (1981) - pretty good werewolf movie, doesn't have the emotional charge of American Werewolf in London but has some amusing riffing on terrible 80s new agey scams and a pretty good cast. I'm a big Joe Dante fan, even though I think this one is less distinctively him (Gremlins 2 remains his best). Also the bubbly effects are fun, and I like the creepy werewolf designs. I definitely saw a friend's neighbor in the Madison area the other day with a 10 foot werewolf in their yard that had the same tall, lanky, tall pointy eared design. Maybe it was licensed! 7/10

Evil Dead 2 - The first half of this is an utter masterpiece, the second half is a huge step down. I think the first half being so good makes the second half seem worse than it is. But as a result, I think I kinda prefer the first movie. Still, the first half of this is so incredibly great I'd still give this like a 8/10.

Haxan (1922) - saw this live with some high class Chicago jazz guys doing a live soundtrack with stuff like heavily distorted guitar and waterphone. Really cool experience, but the movie itself is kind of dull for a while until it settles into being like Mark of the Devil or Witchfinder General the prototype. 6/10

Prophecy (1979) - I love this dumb giant mutant bear movie. It takes over an hour to turn into a real monster movie, but when it does...boy. The bear is creepy conceptually, there are some scary scene setups, the actors are pretty good, but the effects are SO BAD that it becomes really funny. It's not good but I've probably seen it 5 times. 6.5/10

Event Horizon - there's cool stuff in this movie but it's a big mess. Still, there's more good than bad here, until the last bit of it where it turns into some kind of crappy Michael Bay movie with wisecracking sassy actor and all. I think this might be the only Paul WS Anderson movie that looks like a real big-budget movie. 6/10

Witchboard - Whitesnake babe Tawny Kitaen gets addicted to a Ouija board and gets manipulated by an evil spirit which goes around killing her friends while her boyfriend and ex-boyfriend have to team up to try and break the spell. It's more of a relationship drama than the plot summary would suggest. 6/10

Heavy Metal - this movie is one I used to watch at midnight on VH1 sometimes when I was in highschool and staying up late on weekends. I remember it feeling like I was having a bad trip, thanks to the ugly animation, the gore, the weird crumply art style, and especially the voiceacting all sounding like it was recorded really far away from the mic by people who were disconnected from the movie. On my first watch of the whole thing uncensored, I was pretty surprised at just how much nudity was in it, and was also amused by how John Candy voices multiple characters through it. Very odd voice cast!! It made me feel like I was sick and passing out on a couch all over again. Some of the art and animation is somewhat impressive (ex, the last segment), other segments still look awful (ex, the taxi driver segment). Weird movie. 6/10


----------



## CapinCripes

Hulu hellraiser is a ride, especially while highly intoxicated


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Funhouse- mediocre horror movie where internet celebrities get systematically murdered in a Big Brother style competition in lieu of getting voted off. Interesting premise, the special effects and acting are serviceable but the movie is just meh.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Funhouse- mediocre horror movie where internet celebrities get systematically murdered in a Big Brother style competition in lieu of getting voted off. Interesting premise, the special effects and acting are serviceable but the movie is just meh.


I thought you meant the Tobe Hooper film at first and we were going to have to talk it out. Lol


----------



## wheresthefbomb

@wankerness Oh wow, I guess I've only seen the "short" version. It still seemed very apparent to me that Christian was a shitass partner but I could see how it's slightly more open-ended than what you're describing. I'll have to seek that out for the next viewing.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Doing a Piranha double feature (Aja's version and DD) tonight.


----------



## wankerness

KnightBrolaire said:


> Doing a Piranha double feature (Aja's version and DD) tonight.



3D is great, one of my favorite remakes. I like how it goes all in on the gore, but is silly instead of edgelordy like his other movies. Plus it was odd seeing a mid budget horror flick with that much nudity (Gianna Michaels in a studio movie?!). It’s the only Aja movie I’ve seen that I don’t dislike! Is DD comparable?

I really like the original, too. One of the best Joe Dante movies.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

wankerness said:


> 3D is great, one of my favorite remakes. I like how it goes all in on the gore, but is silly instead of edgelordy like his other movies. Plus it was odd seeing a mid budget horror flick with that much nudity (Gianna Michaels in a studio movie?!). It’s the only Aja movie I’ve seen that I don’t dislike! Is DD comparable?
> 
> I really like the original, too. One of the best Joe Dante movies.


DD is even dumber and schlockier than 3D.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse (1975) - if you like lots of nudity primarily delivered via rape, and also like jumping cat ghosts that gorily massacre people, this is the movie for you. I didn't hate it, so it obviously did something right, but wow, *could have used a couple fewer rapes*.


Words you never thought you'd see on a guitar forum.

Witchboard is one of my wife's favorites. She could probably watch that movie a hundred times in a row without a break. It's not horrible, and more Tawny = more better.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Gonna watch a bunch of the Reanimator movies back to back tonight. I love the first one but haven't ever bothered with the sequels.


----------



## DestroyMankind

Watched Halloween ends this morning...I thought Kills was a bad movie..but this one upped the bar. What a disappointment.


----------



## nightflameauto

KnightBrolaire said:


> Gonna watch a bunch of the Reanimator movies back to back tonight. I love the first one but haven't ever bothered with the sequels.


Brings some corn chips to go with the cheese. They get brutal fast. Still fun though.

My wife HATES those movies. I'm a fan of cheese whiz though. Jeffery Combs is awesome!


----------



## Seabeast2000

nightflameauto said:


> Brings some corn chips to go with the cheese. They get brutal fast. Still fun though.
> 
> My wife HATES those movies. I'm a fan of cheese whiz though. Jeffery Combs is awesome!


ngl, I want some Cheez Whiz on crackers now.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I started Trick or Treat, Scooby Doo. I say started because they made Velma absolutely useless. As if she wasn't an annoying cunt already, congrats WB, you managed to make her even worse. Then again, what should I expect from a company who tried repackaging mentally and physically abusive Velma in Mystery Incorporated as "lesbian." What she did throughout two seasons of that show was very telling. WB is fine with men being abused.

I'll likely have to finish it later. Didn't the show creators get irritated by such insinuations that Scooby and Shaggy were stoners while Velma was lesbian in the early 2000s?


----------



## wankerness

nightflameauto said:


> Brings some corn chips to go with the cheese. They get brutal fast. Still fun though.
> 
> My wife HATES those movies. I'm a fan of cheese whiz though. Jeffery Combs is awesome!



How can anyone hate the first reanimator?!


----------



## BlackMastodon

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Didn't the show creators get irritated by such insinuations that Scooby and Shaggy were stoners while Velma was lesbian in the early 2000s?


I always thought this was unofficial Canon and everyone basically knew?


----------



## BMFan30

Saw Halloween Ends and Terrifier 2 (Also the first Terrifier as well 'cause I slept on it too long) Both great films. I especially loved both Terrifier movies. I think I should watch All Hallows Eve next on that note. Terrifier is suprisingly gruesome but Halloween Ends is great but it's not one of my favorite Halloween movies.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

BMFan30 said:


> Saw Halloween Ends and Terrifier 2 (Also the first Terrifier as well 'cause I slept on it too long) Both great films. I especially loved both Terrifier movies. I think I should watch All Hallows Eve next on that note. Terrifier is suprisingly gruesome but Halloween Ends is great but it's not one of my favorite Halloween movies.


lol i'm doing a Terrifier double feature today. I'm going to see terrifier 2 later tonight. I heard it was even gnarlier than the first one.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

I'm trying to talk my gf into going to the theater to see Terrifier 2, but I might luck out by getting Screambox possibly. 

PS: Another year and another crappy selection of additions for the most part to Shudder, the "home of halloween."


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Terrifier 2 definitely upped the gnarliness of the kills and gore, but shit the bed in terms of pacing and the story. The first one is lean and mean, this one meanders and feels overly long.


----------



## DestroyMankind

KnightBrolaire said:


> Terrifier 2 definitely upped the gnarliness of the kills and gore, but shit the bed in terms of pacing and the story. The first one is lean and mean, this one meanders and feels overly long.


So it went the transformers route? I'm rewatching terrifier now that everyone seems to be talking about the 2nd one. Any idea where I can watch it for free? Or is it theaters only?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

DestroyMankind said:


> So it went the transformers route? I'm rewatching terrifier now that everyone seems to be talking about the 2nd one. Any idea where I can watch it for free? Or is it theaters only?


It's more that the direction and editing are worse than the first film. There are some weird transitions between dream sequences and reality that made me audibly go "what the fuck", and there were certain sequences that could have been outright cut just for pacing. The story issues have to do with them trying to give Art some kind of backstory and the protagonist being "special". They also do a piss poor job of explaining her magic macguffin sword her dad gave her. It's like they took the barest outline of their ideas, shot the stuff and then fucking forgot all about their attempts at lorebuilding. 

Idk if it's on streaming yet. I saw it in theaters right after rewatching Terrifier 1.


----------



## DestroyMankind

KnightBrolaire said:


> It's more that the direction and editing are worse than the first film. There are some weird transitions between dream sequences and reality that made me audibly go "what the fuck", and there were certain sequences that could have been outright cut just for pacing. The story issues have to do with them trying to give Art some kind of backstory and the protagonist being "special". They also do a piss poor job of explaining her magic macguffin sword her dad gave her. It's like they took the barest outline of their ideas, shot the stuff and then fucking forgot all about their attempts at lorebuilding.
> 
> Idk if it's on streaming yet. I saw it in theaters right after rewatching Terrifier 1.


With the first being as great as it is, I figured they'd be able to keep it going strong. Why do we always need a backstory? Just let that be a mystery and let everyone form their own opinions.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

DestroyMankind said:


> With the first being as great as it is, I figured they'd be able to keep it going strong. Why do we always need a backstory? Just let that be a mystery and let everyone form their own opinions.


Exactly. The strongest slasher films are the ones that either make them enigmas, or explain shit from the get go, not this half assed shit they did in pt.2

I'm gonna go watch the Hatchet series as a palate cleanser now. Now that was how you do a modern slasher series.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> So it went the transformers route? I'm rewatching terrifier now that everyone seems to be talking about the 2nd one. Any idea where I can watch it for free? Or is it theaters only?


I think Screambox will have it the 31st? You'd have to subscribe, though. Apparently it's 40 bucks for a year?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> With the first being as great as it is, I figured they'd be able to keep it going strong. Why do we always need a backstory? Just let that be a mystery and let everyone form their own opinions.


The "Diaper" Myers angle. Yawn!


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

KnightBrolaire said:


> Exactly. The strongest slasher films are the ones that either make them enigmas, or explain shit from the get go, not this half assed shit they did in pt.2
> 
> I'm gonna go watch the Hatchet series as a palate cleanser now. Now that was how you do a modern slasher series.


Hatchet is awesome. You can buy all 4, signed by Adam Green, for $75. Not a bad deal, considering what it'd cost to buy the first three unsigned on Amazon.


----------



## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Hatchet is awesome. You can buy all 4, signed by Adam Green, for $75. Not a bad deal, considering what it'd cost to buy the first three unsigned on Amazon.


If I didn't already own all the movies I'd be on this. The hatchet movies rule. Speaking of Adam Green, ever seen Chillerama? If not I suggest it.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> If I didn't already own all the movies I'd be on this. The hatchet movies rule. Speaking of Adam Green, ever seen Chillerama? If not I suggest it.


I have, as well as Digging Up the Marrow.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

1922 - Sparse and haunting. Thomas Jane is excellent in this. A little slow but seems intentional, the story and cinematography match wonderfully in this regard.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

David Gordon Green is a piece of shit. The stuff he said about William Friedkin is absolutely repulsive. It'll be great to watch this arrogant fuck crash and burn. 

Fuck David Gordon Green.


----------



## DestroyMankind

David Gordon Green is a piece of shit. The stuff he said about William Friedkin is absolutely repulsive. It'll be great to watch this arrogant fuck crash and burn.


Spaced Out Ace said:


> Fuck David Gordon Green.


He's moving on to the exorcist now? Fuck that guy.


----------



## Metropolis

Barbarian, pretty good horror flick. Feeling of isolation and nessecity of surviving was quite impressing, and I really liked the sound design and cinematography here. Bit of plotholes here and there as negative. I will give it a solid 7/10.









Barbarian (2022) - IMDb


Barbarian: Directed by Zach Cregger. With Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis. A woman staying at an Airbnb discovers that the house she has rented is not what it seems.




www.imdb.com





Going to see Smile tonight in theaters, this one is going to be your average horror film with jump scares or something surprisingly good, which I don't know yet.









Smile (2022) - IMDb


Smile: Directed by Parker Finn. With Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Jessie T. Usher, Robin Weigert. After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain. Rose must confront her troubling past in order...




www.imdb.com





And last spooky film of the weekend will probably be "X".









X (2022) - IMDb


X: Directed by Ti West. With Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi. In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.




www.imdb.com


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Terrifier for the first time in a few years. Still as awesome as the first time I saw it. Also watched All Hallows' Eve recently, which I've seen several times before, and think David Howard Thornton is the better Art.


----------



## nightflameauto

Watched Barbarian. It was alright for a modern horror. No pandering, no overly long origin stories. Just a solid story. Not really horrifying aside from the psychologically silly sexscapades they spell out. Whatever.

Lots of standard, "Why the fuck would anyone in their right mind do that?" shit. Reminds me at times of that silly commercial. 

"LET'S JUMP IN THE RUNING CAR!"

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT? LET'S HIDE BEHIND THE CHAINSAWS!"

But horror movies wouldn't exist if the characters were full-blown morons, so I guess we forgive and move on.

Technically not a movie, a TV show, but long enough to qualify: The episode of Black Mirror involving the computer controlled bees. "Yeah, so? The government's a cunt, but we already knew that."

Honestly, that's probably the most entertaining, "yeah, I could see that," horror premise I've seen in a good long while.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop 2
Maniac Cop 3
Munsters, Go Home!
The Munsters Revenge 
Rob Zombie's The Munsters (I like it and don't care to hear it)
The Crow
The Fog
Trick r Treat
Trick Or Treat / Ragman
Halloween 
Halloween II
Halloween III


----------



## jaxadam

I got suckered into Lyle Lyle Crocodile yesterday and that $100 would have been much better spent supporting single moms.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

jaxadam said:


> I got suckered into Lyle Lyle Crocodile yesterday and that $100 would have been much better spent supporting single moms.


Don't encourage IG 'influencers' with OF accounts.


----------



## MFB

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Don't encourage IG 'influencers' with OF accounts.



He means strip clubs, maybe mentally replace 'single moms' with 'self-made nursing students' if that makes it easier.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I watched all of the Hunger Games today. Never read the books. The movies were fine, maybe a little slow and predictable at times, but the ending was satisfying and not too saccharine. Biggest surprise was how much I grew to like Effie Trinket by the end.

I might get around to reading the books but I'm completely absorbed in the Dune saga right now so they'll have to wait another couple months at least.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

The Faculty (1998)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2011)

The Thing (2011) - Really wise they'd release a version of this without all the CGI rotoscope bullshit. Still wouldn't be a good movie, but it'd be more watchable.


----------



## Seabeast2000

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore. (2017) - IMDb


I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore.: Directed by Macon Blair. With Melanie Lynskey, Chris Doubek, Marilyn Faith Hickey, Jared Roylance. When a depressed woman is burgled, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves alongside her obnoxious neighbour. But they soon find...




www.imdb.com





Recommended fun indie, well made and executed. 









The Stranger (2022) - IMDb


The Stranger: Directed by Thomas M. Wright. With Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Jada Alberts, Cormac Wright. Two men who meet on a plane and strike up a conversation that turns into friendship. For Henry Teague, worn down by a lifetime of physical labour and crime, this is a dream come true.




www.imdb.com





Recommended if you want a darker, broody thing.


----------



## TedEH

I ended up watching Subsequent Moviefilm yesterday, which, yeah, I know, I'm behind the times on that one, but even a couple of years later it still feels pointed. Lots of stuff in there is just edgy awful nonsense that is only redeemed by how pointed the satire is - and just like the first one, I suspect a fair number of people in the audience didn't quite pick up the "subtle" message. There aren't quotes big enough for the word "subtle" here.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)- Does a great job of showcasing the pointless brutality and interspersing it with the more human moments. There's some fantastic cinematography. The score is super sparse and anachronistic at times (the zimmer bwwaaaah noises need to die off already).


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I watched Mr. Nobody. I thought it was pretty cool. Did a good job of keeping me guessing. Lots of cool visuals.




KnightBrolaire said:


> All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)- Does a great job of showcasing the pointless brutality and interspersing it with the more human moments. There's some fantastic cinematography. The score is super sparse and anachronistic at times (the zimmer bwwaaaah noises need to die off already).



I read the book when I was a teen, really potent stuff. I'll have to check the film out.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Crimes of the future- Basically Cronenberg's Crash but with surgery and existenz/biomechanical design language. The body horror is well done. The scifi bits are pretty wild, especially some of the implications.


----------



## Seabeast2000

Watching OG First Blood. 
Been a loooooong time. 

Seeing the rear wheel drive american sedans getting the BAJA 1000 stress tests reminded me of those days. They ride those things to death.


----------



## zappatton2

Watched the Weird Al biopic last night, it all seems to be a pretty accurate re-telling of his life,


Spoiler



may he rest in peace.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Drag Me To Hell (2009)

The Gate (1987)

Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) - I think Tubi is one of the few places you can watch the original theatrical cut.

Rob Zombie's Halloween II (2009) - Not enough swearing. I might need to check out the unrated cut.

Bad Reputation (2007) - Looked like something RLM would cover on BOTW.

Up Against Amanda (2000) - Looked like something RLM would bail from on BOTW.

House of a 1000 Corpses (2003) - I can see why this sat on a shelf for three years.

The Devils Rejects (2005) - The fact that the Unholy Two never got a spinoff is a tragedy.

The Lords of Salem (2012) - I get what was trying to be done here, but the editing (especially in the last act) really lets it down.

31 (2016) - Look, I get that Rob loves his wife. And I can't blame him. I like tall women too. But this has gone past plot armor and become actor armor.

Terrifier (2016) - This was a great PSA for why drunk driving isn't all that bad.

The Ward (2010) - I can see why this was Carpenters last movie. The lead actress really shit the bed.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Carrion Rocket said:


> Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) - I think Tubi is one of the few places you can watch the original theatrical cut.
> 
> Rob Zombie's Halloween II (2009) - Not enough swearing. I might need to check out the unrated cut


You can rent or buy the original cut digitally on various places, but you can't do the same for the unrated directors cut. The reason is likely because of the rape scene in Michael's cell that makes him somewhat of an anti hero for a few seconds. 

The second film is disliked quite a bit, but I think it is interesting once you realize Michael isn't actually in the film.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Spaced Out Ace said:


> You can rent or buy the original cut digitally on various places, but you can't do the same for the unrated directors cut. The reason is likely because of the rape scene in Michael's cell that makes him somewhat of an anti hero for a few seconds.
> 
> The second film is disliked quite a bit, but I think it is interesting once you realize Michael isn't actually in the film.


I guess it's a rights thing for streaming services. I'm normally a physical media person where the unrated director's cut is the only version available (outside of some import copies). But yeah, the reshot escape from the theatrical cut makes way more sense and actually fits the character.

EDIT: Is HBO Max the only one that lets you select between different versions of movies?


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Prey for the Devil- A solid exorcist focused film. It's well done and my only real complaint is that it felt kind of rushed. They had a lot of shit going on storywise, and some of it needed more time to develop (mostly the main character's becoming competent as an exorcist). 
Has some really neat special effects though a lot of it is lifting from other exorcism films (except for the hair being sucked into the girl's face bit and the reverse pregnancy). Worth a a watch, but I'd say wait for it to pop up on streaming.


----------



## narad

Just watched Smile. Hated it. Had a couple of sentences/aesthetics ripped right out of "It Follows", which is one of my fav horror movies of recent-ish years.


----------



## SCJR

Barbarian was fun. Been meaning to watch True Stories, the old David Byrne movie.


----------



## nightflameauto

HBO put up all the old Star Treks. We watched the original, and MAN is that a product of its age. That "pulling up to the ship from the outside, rather than using a transporter" scene is BRUTAL in its pacing. It really just felt like an excuse to go full-blown orchestral arrangement and try, desperately, to gank a little tiny piece of the magic of 2001. Unfortunately, we all knew the Enterprise inside and out, up and down, sideways, and backwards even when it first came out, and most of us weren't drunk or stoned enough for that scene to have the impact I think they were going for.

Still a fun movie to watch, and nostalgia buttons were pressed hard. The only downside is trying to convince the wife they get better. Kahn is next. I fuckin' love that movie.


----------



## r33per

KnightBrolaire said:


> All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)- Does a great job of showcasing the pointless brutality and interspersing it with the more human moments. There's some fantastic cinematography. The score is super sparse and anachronistic at times (the zimmer bwwaaaah noises need to die off already).


Watched it this weekend past. Very good, loved the juxtapositions of picturesque winter France and No Man's Land, and between the environments experienced by the line soldiers vs. the generals and politicians.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Carrion Rocket said:


> I guess it's a rights thing for streaming services. I'm normally a physical media person where the unrated director's cut is the only version available (outside of some import copies). But yeah, the reshot escape from the theatrical cut makes way more sense and actually fits the character.
> 
> EDIT: Is HBO Max the only one that lets you select between different versions of movies?


The theatrical version of that scene is based on making the film "more like Carpenter's," which was not the case on the work print. Bob likely forced him to shoot several scenes to make the film more like the original.


----------



## SCJR

KnightBrolaire said:


> All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)- Does a great job of showcasing the pointless brutality and interspersing it with the more human moments. There's some fantastic cinematography. The score is super sparse and anachronistic at times (the zimmer bwwaaaah noises need to die off already).


Great acting too. Most anticipated movie in a while and it didn't disappoint.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

nightflameauto said:


> HBO put up all the old Star Treks. We watched the original, and MAN is that a product of its age. That "pulling up to the ship from the outside, rather than using a transporter" scene is BRUTAL in its pacing.



This scene stopped me cold last year hahaha, never did finish it.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Planet Terror (2007)

Death Proof (2007) - I probably would have liked this more if I saw the truncated version used for the theatrical double feature release.

Escape From New York (1981)

Four Rooms (1995)


----------



## bostjan

nightflameauto said:


> to gank a little tiny piece of the magic of 2001


I pretty much hated 2001. Beautifully shot, but it's _the_ movie where nothing happens. I need a story. A series of disconnected flashbacks followed by a man exercising for 40 minutes, a computer murdering three undeveloped characters in their sleep and then a man arguing with the computer for 20 minutes, and then the man deactivating the computer and then having an acid trip - is not a story.


----------



## nightflameauto

bostjan said:


> I pretty much hated 2001. Beautifully shot, but it's _the_ movie where nothing happens. I need a story. A series of disconnected flashbacks followed by a man exercising for 40 minutes, a computer murdering three undeveloped characters in their sleep and then a man arguing with the computer for 20 minutes, and then the man deactivating the computer and then having an acid trip - is not a story.


On the other hand, when you're having an epic trip yourself, it's great background inducement. Honestly, if not for the drug free-for-all at the time, that movie would have flopped hard. There's seeds of interesting things in there, but none of it is very developed. At the time though? I think a lot of folks were just into the "special effects," almost all of which were slo-mo model shots with good lighting.


----------



## bostjan

Maybe the movie was just too good at predicting the future.

"Open the garage door, Alexa."
"I'm sorry, Bostjan, I can't do that for you."
"What's the problem, Alexa?"
"I think you know what the problem is as well as I do."
"... ... Hey Google, open the garage door..."

But definitely some of the coolest shots. 

I think that Kubrick was a brilliant film-maker, but probably not so much a screenwriter. All of his major films were based off of novels: Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, 2001, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and probably at least one of the other films he had done that I had not seen. In the case of 2001, I think Arthur C Clark, who wrote the source (which was a short story) and Kubrick didn't really get along very well, so Clark offered to flesh out the story, but Kubrick decided he didn't like Clark, and just left everything vague story-wise and focused on filming amazing shots. So, whereas "A Clockwork Orange" was also sci-fi and set in the future, it had much stronger source material from which to work. Did Kubrick make any other sci-fi films? I thought I had read somewhere that 2001 was his first sci-fi film, and I think I'm pretty familiar with his work after that...

Anyway, critics tend to rate 2001 way higher than, say A Clockwork Orange, although, personally, I'd rather rewatch the latter, in fact, I'd rather rewatch pretty much any of his films than slog through 2001 again. But I sort of get the notion that I feel that way because I don't do drugs. Almost everyone (not absolutely everyone, mind you) that I know who is a huge 2001 fan also happens to be a regular cannabis partaker. Maybe it's like Pink Floyd or Sun O))), where it's like a 5/10 sober, but somehow a 13/11 high. 

Or maybe I was just in a weird mood and expected something else out of it the first time.

As for movies I've watched recently, I guess I haven't had time. Last movie I watched all the way through was The Batman, I think. I thought it was pretty great to start, sort of bogged down in the third act, and then flubbed the ending a little. I honestly wasn't really thinking I wanted another Batman movie, but thought it overall did a good enough job. Sorry if I already reviewed it. I watched it probably a month ago, and didn't even have time to do my usual Halloween movie night in October.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Carrion Rocket said:


> Planet Terror (2007)
> 
> Death Proof (2007) - I probably would have liked this more if I saw the truncated version used for the theatrical double feature release.
> 
> Escape From New York (1981)
> 
> Four Rooms (1995)


I didn't care for Death Proof, as I disliked what Quentin did with Russell's character. The second part seems like a second story entirely with the same character, done mostly because Quentin didn't have enough to fill up 90 minutes.


----------



## zappatton2

I saw the Planet Terror/Death Proof double feature in the theatre and had a blast. I especially loved the fake trailers in the middle, we got Machete out of them, I'm still waiting on Thanksgiving!!


----------



## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> You can rent or buy the original cut digitally on various places, but you can't do the same for the unrated directors cut. The reason is likely because of the rape scene in Michael's cell that makes him somewhat of an anti hero for a few seconds.
> 
> The second film is disliked quite a bit, but I think it is interesting once you realize Michael isn't actually in the film.


I picked up both Zombie Halloweens on blu ray and they both were the theater cuts. I think it was on Amazon. Yeah the rape scene is in the director's cut, but in the theater cut how he gets out is different. I actually prefer the theater cut over the director's cut.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> I picked up both Zombie Halloweens on blu ray and they both were the theater cuts. I think it was on Amazon. Yeah the rape scene is in the director's cut, but in the theater cut how he gets out is different. I actually prefer the theater cut over the director's cut.


I don't. The less like JC's Halloween the better. If I want JC's Halloween, I'll just watch that. Bob Weinstein can go fuck himself with a rusty meat hook. Rob doesn't like him too much and he didn't want the film to be that much like the original.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Troll (1986)


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Wakanda Forever

One of the rare movies that pay tribute to a character that passed in real life, and Wakanda Forever does that lovingly and with the utmost respect and dignity. And to continue on the grievance from stellar performances from Angela Bassett (who's never not great), Danai Gunira and Leticia Wright, who has to carry the brunt of emotions being torn by science and spirituality. Ryan Cougler and co still deliver some meaty themes packaged into a Disney brand rollercoaster ride.

A few missteps and shaky moments, though. The obvious being the small moments where a Marvel movie has to obligatorily remind you it's a Marvel movie, though at least it's kept to a minimum (less humor, less CGI assaults, in which the third act suffers ironically from it). The movie is also forced to lean too hard on world building and exposition especially when introducing a ton of new stuff to the MCU. And while Tenoch Huerta does a great job with a re imagined Namor, leader of not-Atlantis copyright, he's no Killmonger, which in turn his absence is felt just as much as Chadwick Boseman. And while at times it feels like a compromise to tackle more themes on colonialism and the violent ramnifications of those inflicted by it, Namor is his own character and keeps things small and personal. 

It has it's glaring issues, but it's still the strongest of the unfocused Phase 4 bunch.


----------



## BlackMastodon

bostjan said:


> But I sort of get the notion that I feel that way because I don't do drugs. Almost everyone (not absolutely everyone, mind you) that I know who is a huge 2001 fan also happens to be a regular cannabis partaker. Maybe it's like Pink Floyd or Sun O))), where it's like a 5/10 sober, but somehow a 13/11 high.


Whoa whoa whoa, let's not lump Pink Floyd in with 2001 and Sun O))), I still love their big 4 albums while sober, but I agree that I wouldn't watch 2001 again, not willingly anyway. And I have opinions about Sun O))) but this is the movie thread, and I've never seen them live so I've never had The Full Experience, Man™.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

BlackMastodon said:


> Whoa whoa whoa, let's not lump Pink Floyd in with 2001 and Sun O))), I still love their big 4 albums while sober, but I agree that I wouldn't watch 2001 again, not willingly anyway. And I have opinions about Sun O))) but this is the movie thread, and I've never seen them live so I've never had The Full Experience, Man™.


Aside from Dark Side of the Wall, I'm not keen on Floyd. Even when I did smoke pot, it wasn't something I got into. Aside from those two albums, they tended to go on musical tirades more so than write songs.


----------



## Rosal76

zappatton2 said:


> I saw the Planet Terror/Death Proof double feature in the theatre and had a blast. I especially loved the fake trailers in the middle, we got Machete out of them, I'm still waiting on Thanksgiving!!



The 4 muscle cars used in Death proof are awesome! I don't think we'll have another movie with that many muscle cars in it with that much screen time for a while. The last movie I had seen with many muscle cars in it and a lot of screen time was probably The Road Warrior from 1981.


----------



## Wiltonauer

It Follows (2014) Very well crafted film with a great story, acting, and visual style. The subtexts… the subtexts…









It Follows - Wikipedia







en.m.wikipedia.org


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Shaolin Temple

Just got the Jet Li bug and rewatched this again. It's a cool retrospective seeing Li back then, bright eyed fresh off Wushu school and no acting experience, but you don't watch Shaolin Temple movies for plot or acting. You watch these to see monks beat people up with many assorted weapons. This came out the same time as Drunken Master, and while that was a better movie overall, the action scenes in Shaolin Temple are a much more refined. It still looks great even by today's standards.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

Dogma (1999)
White Men Can't Jump (1992)
Sucker Punch (2011)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Django Unchained (2012)


----------



## Shawn

We just watched the Elvis movie....really enjoyed it actually.


----------



## Xaios

Xaios said:


> One movie that I tend to watch once every couple months is Master And Commander. I haven't read any of the novels that the story was based on, but the movie is just a joy to watch. It had great characters and solid acting all around. But equally as impressive were its achievements in cinematography and sound editing. Plus, the music, while sparse, is used judiciously and when it's playing, it is spot-on perfection. It's funny, moving, and even reasonably accurate from a historical perspective, and I enjoy it every time I watch it.


This post from more than 10 years ago just got liked, and my feelings on this movie haven't changed. Still a fantastic watch. Probably Russell Crowe's best performance.


----------



## wankerness

DestroyMankind said:


> I picked up both Zombie Halloweens on blu ray and they both were the theater cuts. I think it was on Amazon. Yeah the rape scene is in the director's cut, but in the theater cut how he gets out is different. I actually prefer the theater cut over the director's cut.


Yeah, I had to buy an imported canadian disc for the theatrical cut on RZ's Halloween. I don't like that movie that much, but it's alright. In the theatrical form. I HATE the uncut version so much and will never watch it again. 

In contrast, his Halloween 2 is better in the uncut form. Though I know some prefer the ending of the theatrical version. The theatrical version is definitely worse but I do buy the argument that it has a better ending. 

In other controversial Halloween news, I rewatched Halloween Kills. I, uh, didn't hate it. It's a dumb and messy movie and some of the dialogue is super cringe, but it's fairly entertaining and has a lot of good kills and I like the score. So that puts it in the upper 50% of these crappy movies.

In other controversial horror news, I rewatched Friday the 13th, the original. That movie is utter garbage. It has a couple good makeup gags, but they're nothing in comparison to Savini's other work from around then (The Burning, The Prowler, Maniac, etc) and it's all just so repetitive and bland. I think almost everyone gets killed either with an arrow or getting their throat cut and half of them disappear offscreen. The "mystery killer" is one of the worst mysteries in slasher history cause she just pops up out of nowhere, it's not a whodunnit like a giallo or something, it just blows. I really hate it. I think it might be worse than almost all of the sequels (some of which are pretty good, like 4 and 6). Somehow I'd forgotten the infamous snake scene, too. I looked it up cause I thought it was real, and apparently Sean Cunningham hired a snake trainer, had him bring his pet snake on set, and then instructed the actors to kill it without having informed the snake trainer ahead of time. So, the guy rushed the actor to attack him after he killed his pet snake (understandably) and had to be restrained. Sean Cunningham is also an utter piece of garbage.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Once Upon A Time In China

More Jet Li revisiting, but if there's one movie that I'd say as a perfect gateway to his filmography, it's this one. The first movie specifically, though second and third are good too. 

One of the few kung fu/wuxia movies that show that the genre can be smart too. Exploring themes of colonialism, conservatism vs cultural change and evolution, but doesn't take itself too seriously, and still hits hard and fast. Jet Li's first real acting prowess is here playing a mature Wong Fei Hong, stoic and proud but a stranger to the Western world. The fight scenes are still top notch, this is Yuen Woo Ping so of course it does. From the lion dance intro to the one on one fight between Li, Yen Shi Kwan and a ton of ladders, this movie still kicks ass and floors you. 

I've seen this movie countless times but revisiting it now, it still holds up.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Mutant Python

So it seems like the massive success of American blockbusters in China are showing signs of payoff. The Chinse film industry has thrived so much to the point they've birthed their own Roger Corman/Canon Films low budget but sincerely made, so bad it's good, subgenre of movies or Chinese Schlock Buster if you will (most of them being monster movies; they have a giant snake series called Monty Python FFS). And they're free on Youtube. 

Mutant Python is one of their more competent movies that crosses over enough to be charmingly good. The plot is lifted straight up from classic 50s monster movies, but with an underlying theme of humans are just as monstrous as the giant snake... yeah, just King Kong but with a mix of Tremours. This movie is good fun, the giant python looks amazing, and the human characters are endearing enough to keep me engaged. 

Looks like, I'm going to be watching more of these schlockbusters in the near future.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Mutant Python
> 
> So it seems like the massive success of American blockbusters in China are showing signs of payoff. The Chinse film industry has thrived so much to the point they've birthed their own Roger Corman/Canon Films low budget but sincerely made, so bad it's good, subgenre of movies or Chinese Schlock Buster if you will (most of them being monster movies; they have a giant snake series called Monty Python FFS). And they're free on Youtube.
> 
> Mutant Python is one of their more competent movies that crosses over enough to be charmingly good. The plot is lifted straight up from classic 50s monster movies, but with an underlying theme of humans are just as monstrous as the giant snake... yeah, just King Kong but with a mix of Tremours. This movie is good fun, the giant python looks amazing, and the human characters are endearing enough to keep me engaged.
> 
> Looks like, I'm going to be watching more of these schlockbusters in the near future.


Hey, don't make fun. Cannon/Golan-Globus, New World/other Roger Corman ventures, and Empire/Full Moon comprise an awful large stake of films my girlfriend and I watch. Tons of fun and definitely enjoyable most of the time. 

Roger is great; he'd deman that films be kept under 84 minutes I believe because then he could save 1/3rd on shipping costs. Basically a cannister can fit only so much film, and if he went past that time frame, he'd had to spend that much more shipping to theaters. It's cheap tricks like that which allow them to make more movies and get more for their money.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Hey, don't make fun.


Who said I was making fun?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Who said I was making fun?


I was being sort of joking with that comment.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

John Wick (2014)
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Eh. They're movies. You can watch them.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

My friend/label mate/guy who does the media side of my label, threw a birthday bash in a cinema for a double movie bill of 2 of his favorite movies. Jaws is actually his favorite movie of all time, but for a birthday party sake, he went with these 2 classics:

Ghostbusters (1984)

One of the most perfect movies ever made, and the more I see it, the better it gets in age. A lightning in a bottle movie that's just well executed in every aspect. And seeing it again for the upteenth time makes it even more apparent that it's extreme cynicism completely undermines every single follow up after it. Most people will give Ghostbusters 2 a reluctant pass and it's quite quotable too, but it's nowhere near as good as the original. The movie also shows Ghostbusters itself get swallowed as a franchise falling victim to everything the first movie is making fun of. Ghostbusters 2016 on paper looks good and the logical step to try to keep the franchise going, except it completely loses everything that was clever and funny about the original. And Ghostbusters Afterlife goes full masturbatory hero worship fanservice, completely missing the point that the Ghostbusters themselves were sly grifters who are purely for the money (or in Peter Venkman's case, women). OG Ghostbusters really was a one of a kind.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Wedged right between the first 2 Back To The Future movies was this quaint Robert Zemeckis masterpiece that's also aged extremely well. The premise of combining a period piece crime noir drama and a bunch of cartoons from Disney and WB that will probably need all the lawyers in the universe to recreate today, shouldn't work... but it does and does beautifully. The animation still looks great, certainly better than CG dabbling Zemeckis, and you have to give it to Bob Hoskins and his full commitment, since this is the sort of absurd acting that made Sir Ian McKellen fall apart. Roger Rabbit, like Ghostbusters is another movie everyone's been trying to recreate but falls apart. Space Jam was awful and the recent squel was even worse (why put the characters form A Clockwork Orange in your kids show?). Looney Tunes Back In Action was Joe Dante's attempt to pay tribute, but studio interference and other missteps killed his enthusiasm and in turn crippled the movie. The recent Chip & Dale Rescure Rangers movie is tried it's hardest but still pales to Roger Rabbit. It commits two egregious crimes of modern comedy: one, often failing the understand the difference of 'parody' and 'reference', and two, telling a clever joke but immediately spends the next minute or five explain the joke in vivid detail. 

So that was my weekend. Two peerless classics that will never be topped, all viewed on the big screen.


----------



## nightflameauto

God damn do I love Roger Rabbit. That whole thing was just massive piles of fun.

We watched Top Gun: Maverick finally. That hit both all the nostalgia buttons, and all the action wanna buttons. I miss watching good dog-fight type action. There's something about million dollar wedges flinging shit at each other in the sky as they spin, swirl, swipe and dive that just gets my shit revving. Probably because of how many days were wasted watching shit like that and building models of the planes in my youth.

I am curious how much of it is nostalgia though. I haven't heard many younger people singing its praises. Not sure if that's because they go, "EW! OLD!" and don't bother watching, or because they aren't impressed. I would be curious if it feels that awesome to folks that didn't grow up with the original.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

nightflameauto said:


> I am curious how much of it is nostalgia though. I haven't heard many younger people singing its praises. Not sure if that's because they go, "EW! OLD!" and don't bother watching, or because they aren't impressed. I would be curious if it feels that awesome to folks that didn't grow up with the original.



Considering that Top Gun Maverick is the biggest selling movie of this year... possibly 50/50? Sure, most of the target audience are the guys who saw the original in the cinemas; the same people who will part with cash to see Maverick on the big screen. But when I saw it in the theatres, there were a lot of young people there. And I know a few young guys who loved the movie going so far as it's their favorite movie of 2022. 

Half of it is blatant nostalgia yes, but it certainly feels more sincere than all the others of its kind (Dominion, Afterlife, Rise of Skywalker). It's also one of the few movies where movie star name is still has massive marketing pull. Add that to the fact that people are willing to pay to see Tom Cruise challenge fate and put himself to near death for entertainment, definitely a bigger spectacle than the sea of CGI visual gangbangs of modern blockbusters.


----------



## nightflameauto

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Considering that Top Gun Maverick is the biggest selling movie of this year... possibly 50/50? Sure, most of the target audience are the guys who saw the original in the cinemas; the same people who will part with cash to see Maverick on the big screen. But when I saw it in the theatres, there were a lot of young people there. And I know a few young guys who loved the movie going so far as it's their favorite movie of 2022.
> 
> Half of it is blatant nostalgia yes, but it certainly feels more sincere than all the others of its kind (Dominion, Afterlife, Rise of Skywalker). It's also one of the few movies where movie star name is still has massive marketing pull. Add that to the fact that people are willing to pay to see Tom Cruise challenge fate and put himself to near death for entertainment, definitely a bigger spectacle than the sea of CGI visual gangbangs of modern blockbusters.


Yeah, there is something to Tom being Tom. He probably has at least 75% to do with why the movie is as good as it is. Not just as an actor, but as an executive producer that has enough pull to tell the Hollywood numbnuts that want to make everything feel like watching the same movie over and over again to shove it when he'd rather do something fun for him personally.

There is also something to his acting side though. Not many guys his age will do that kind of crazy shit in front of a camera just for the fun of it. It adds a real sense of stake seeing him do his own stunts that you just don't get in the usual Hollywood, "try not to spot the switch to CGI every time things get a little itense" film.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

nightflameauto said:


> Not many guys his age will do that kind of crazy shit in front of a camera just for the fun of it. It adds a real sense of stake seeing him do his own stunts that you just don't get in the usual Hollywood, "try not to spot the switch to CGI every time things get a little itense" film.



To be fair, nobody wants to get hurt, let alone die, on the job just for the sake of our entertainment. 

As someone who grew up watching lots of Asian cinema and actors like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li doing their own stunts, and largely out of budget necessities, actors doing their stunts is nothing new to me. And while I appreciate and respect it when they do (Willem Defoe did his own in No Way Home at 67), I will completely understand if they have their stunt doubles do the action or resort to CGI to get the filming done. Hell, the actors I mentioned certainly would understand too. Another part of Tom Cruise's appeal is that not only will he risk his life for you to buy a movie ticket, but he can certainly afford to train himself to fly an F18 Hornet. 

Speaking of Michelle Yeoh, she's completely dominating Hollywood right now. And as someone who's been doing this since the 80s, out staged Jackie Chan in his own movie by driving a motorcycle onto a moving train, and still doing her own fight scenes in one of this year's award-winning movies, it's long overdue and well deserved.


----------



## StevenC

Flying home from Tokyo today, so have all 4 of the Eva reboots downloaded for the flight.


----------



## StevenC

When are they going to learn to keep Shinji in the loop?


----------



## jaxadam

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Ghostbusters (1984)
> 
> One of the most perfect movies ever made, and the more I see it, the better it gets in age. A lightning in a bottle movie that's just well executed in every aspect. And seeing it again for the upteenth time makes it even more apparent that it's extreme cynicism completely undermines every single follow up after it. Most people will give Ghostbusters 2 a reluctant pass and it's quite quotable too, but it's nowhere near as good as the original. The movie also shows Ghostbusters itself get swallowed as a franchise falling victim to everything the first movie is making fun of. Ghostbusters 2016 on paper looks good and the logical step to try to keep the franchise going, except it completely loses everything that was clever and funny about the original. And Ghostbusters Afterlife goes full masturbatory hero worship fanservice, completely missing the point that the Ghostbusters themselves were sly grifters who are purely for the money (or in Peter Venkman's case, women). OG Ghostbusters really was a one of a kind.
> 
> Who Framed Roger Rabbit
> 
> Wedged right between the first 2 Back To The Future movies was this quaint Robert Zemeckis masterpiece that's also aged extremely well. The premise of combining a period piece crime noir drama and a bunch of cartoons from Disney and WB that will probably need all the lawyers in the universe to recreate today, shouldn't work... but it does and does beautifully. The animation still looks great, certainly better than CG dabbling Zemeckis, and you have to give it to Bob Hoskins and his full commitment, since this is the sort of absurd acting that made Sir Ian McKellen fall apart. Roger Rabbit, like Ghostbusters is another movie everyone's been trying to recreate but falls apart. Space Jam was awful and the recent squel was even worse (why put the characters form A Clockwork Orange in your kids show?). Looney Tunes Back In Action was Joe Dante's attempt to pay tribute, but studio interference and other missteps killed his enthusiasm and in turn crippled the movie. The recent Chip & Dale Rescure Rangers movie is tried it's hardest but still pales to Roger Rabbit. It commits two egregious crimes of modern comedy: one, often failing the understand the difference of 'parody' and 'reference', and two, telling a clever joke but immediately spends the next minute or five explain the joke in vivid detail.
> 
> So that was my weekend. Two peerless classics that will never be topped, all viewed on the big screen.



I watched the original Ghostbusters a while back with my kids, and I was really surprised how well it held up. It even held their attention!


----------



## StevenC

StevenC said:


> Flying home from Tokyo today, so have all 4 of the Eva reboots downloaded for the flight.


Finally a good Evangelion ending.


----------



## nightflameauto

Finally watched the new Batman movie, with Edward the sparkly fairy version of a vampire.

Sorry, I digress.

The praise this movie is getting for "finally getting it right" is a sure sign that people, through pure stubbornness, have let themselves lower their expectations for DC films into the absolute ground. I went in with an open mind, really hoping to enjoy it, or at least be entertained. And while I was to a certain extent, it seems to suffer all the same problems people have been bitching about in DC films since... well, since they existed?

Bruce is sometimes dark and brooding, but he also has his quirky moments here or there. Not in this version. No sir. If anything, Bruce is more dark and brooding than the Bat. And the Bat is one dark, brooding motherfucker. Because dark is cool and edgy and wow and stuff.

Cramming so many top-tier Batman villains into the origin film seemed a dumbass idea on the surface, and is even worse in practice. This is the root of my issue with the whole DC film universe. They try so hard to cram everything in that they don't allow anything to have any depth.

Where's the fun of a comic book / super hero movie? I can't wrap my head around how the execs decided that the fun of those stories needs to be completely removed in favor of "dark, edgy, wow, brood, heavy-handed, brutality." That's the one thing the Marvelverse still gets right. Even in their darkest films you still get a little sense of fun. The characters sometimes make jokes with each other, like humans do when confronted with darkness. Sometimes even the action gets a little slap-sticky. The only moment of the whole film that had a sense of fun was the car reveal. Rev, rev, rev, sputter.

Which I actually found hilarious, having grown up in a house with a dad that was constantly rebuilding old cars and having them shit-out at the absolute worst fucking times.

tl;dr: Watched The Batman. I'm good on DC films for another couple decades.


----------



## Quiet Coil

nightflameauto said:


> tl;dr: Watched The Batman. I'm good on DC films for another couple decades.


While I really enjoyed The Batman, I have to agree that no one has ever presented a really good Bruce Wayne. I’d say Keaton is the best and that’s probably just because he didn’t overdo it.

As far as the rest of the DC (or Marvel anymore for that matter), couldn’t care less.


----------



## nightflameauto

Quiet Coil said:


> While I really enjoyed The Batman, I have to agree that no one has ever presented a really good Bruce Wayne. I’d say Keaton is the best and that’s probably just because he didn’t overdo it.
> 
> As far as the rest of the DC (or Marvel anymore for that matter), couldn’t care less.


To be completely fair, we're still in the midst of a rewatch of Batman: The Animated Series. Expecting any Bruce to live up to the playboy goofball they manage in that cartoon is expecting a lot. Alfred in that show is one of the best ever too. He's got snipes almost every time he's on screen, but always with an air of dignity to it.


----------



## StevenC

nightflameauto said:


> Finally watched the new Batman movie, with Edward the sparkly fairy version of a vampire.
> 
> Sorry, I digress.
> 
> The praise this movie is getting for "finally getting it right" is a sure sign that people, through pure stubbornness, have let themselves lower their expectations for DC films into the absolute ground. I went in with an open mind, really hoping to enjoy it, or at least be entertained. And while I was to a certain extent, it seems to suffer all the same problems people have been bitching about in DC films since... well, since they existed?
> 
> Bruce is sometimes dark and brooding, but he also has his quirky moments here or there. Not in this version. No sir. If anything, Bruce is more dark and brooding than the Bat. And the Bat is one dark, brooding motherfucker. Because dark is cool and edgy and wow and stuff.
> 
> Cramming so many top-tier Batman villains into the origin film seemed a dumbass idea on the surface, and is even worse in practice. This is the root of my issue with the whole DC film universe. They try so hard to cram everything in that they don't allow anything to have any depth.
> 
> Where's the fun of a comic book / super hero movie? I can't wrap my head around how the execs decided that the fun of those stories needs to be completely removed in favor of "dark, edgy, wow, brood, heavy-handed, brutality." That's the one thing the Marvelverse still gets right. Even in their darkest films you still get a little sense of fun. The characters sometimes make jokes with each other, like humans do when confronted with darkness. Sometimes even the action gets a little slap-sticky. The only moment of the whole film that had a sense of fun was the car reveal. Rev, rev, rev, sputter.
> 
> Which I actually found hilarious, having grown up in a house with a dad that was constantly rebuilding old cars and having them shit-out at the absolute worst fucking times.
> 
> tl;dr: Watched The Batman. I'm good on DC films for another couple decades.


So uh, this is based on Year One and Long Halloween. Not exactly the lighthearted Batman or Bruce.


----------



## MFB

StevenC said:


> So uh, this is based on Year One and Long Halloween. Not exactly the lighthearted Batman or Bruce.



B-b-but, muh Batman!

Comic movies are serious business.


----------



## Quiet Coil

nightflameauto said:


> To be completely fair, we're still in the midst of a rewatch of Batman: The Animated Series. Expecting any Bruce to live up to the playboy goofball they manage in that cartoon is expecting a lot. Alfred in that show is one of the best ever too. He's got snipes almost every time he's on screen, but always with an air of dignity to it.


I should amend my statement to say Keaton was the “best live action Bruce Wayne” - Conroy really was the best all around.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

MFB said:


> Comic movies are serious business.


As sung in unison by every Hollywood major studios. 

The Batman was... fine; middle of the road for me personally. It feels like it's been rewritten too many times, overbloated, goes for too long and trying to juggle too many themes often dropping them just to keep the movie going. Definitely trying too hard to brute force it's way to an Oscar or 2 by length and edgy controversies, like the Joker did with the latter. It's just fine, certainly liked it more than Joker.


----------



## wankerness

What do you see as Oscar bait in The Batman? I thought it was kind of bad, definitely a lot worse than the third Nolan film, let alone the first two. Paul Dano was just embarrassing. I did love the re-edit of his laughable "no, no no!!!" scene to end with the "I Think You Should Leave" stinger, though. But man, it was just so long and joyless and uninteresting. Cat Woman stunk, seeing cops all make room for batman to check out crime scenes was unintentionally funny, and that version of Riddler was just the worst.

I didn't like Joker much, either, but at least it felt like a fairly focused and direct story told without a lot of bullshit, and Phoenix in the main role was way better than any of the performances in The Batman.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> What do you see as Oscar bait in The Batman? I thought it was kind of bad, definitely a lot worse than the third Nolan film, let alone the first two.



Jesus, and I thought Steven had hot takes with how much he hates HZD but this just took the cake


----------



## nightflameauto

Darby and the Dead: DO NOT WATCH

It's a cool premise, totally fucked by the story they decided to portray. I told my wife afterward it was like it was written by a bunch of massive extroverts trying to wrap their head around the introvert philosophy. The only "lesson" in the whole thing is that introverts are really extroverts that are too chickenshit to be extroverts, and they need to be "forced out of their shell" by extroverts telling them how to dress, who to hang out with, and more importantly who not to hang out with, and how to behave properly to be popular.

And yup. Lost me there.

Too bad. Such a promising start.

Man, we can pick 'em.


----------



## TheBlackBard

MFB said:


> Jesus, and I thought Steven had hot takes with how much he hates HZD but this just took the cake


I rarely leave a laughing emoji on a comment, but...


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> Jesus, and I thought Steven had hot takes with how much he hates HZD but this just took the cake



What is a hot take about that? I thought the first two were generally considered a lot better than tdkr. Is the Batman so beloved as to be considered better than all of them and no one gave me the memo? I’d rate them like 8 9 7 6 in chronological order.


----------



## TheBlackBard

wankerness said:


> What is a hot take about that? I thought the first two were generally considered a lot better than tdkr. Is the Batman so beloved as to be considered better than all of them and no one gave me the memo? I’d rate them like 8 9 7 6 in chronological order.



Quite a few people do like The Batman (myself included) more than the Dark Knight Trilogy. Now that said, that's not me saying that the trilogy is bad. I love that trilogy, DKR included, I just feel like The Batman gave me the mood I wanted out of a Batman movie even more. Basically for me, TDK trilogy: 9's across the board. The Batman? Almost a 10 for me. That said, I'd say I'm also not nearly as critical of entertainment as other people.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

nightflameauto said:


> Darby and the Dead: DO NOT WATCH
> 
> It's a cool premise, totally fucked by the story they decided to portray. I told my wife afterward it was like it was written by a bunch of massive extroverts trying to wrap their head around the introvert philosophy. The only "lesson" in the whole thing is that introverts are really extroverts that are too chickenshit to be extroverts, and they need to be "forced out of their shell" by extroverts telling them how to dress, who to hang out with, and more importantly who not to hang out with, and how to behave properly to be popular.
> 
> And yup. Lost me there.
> 
> Too bad. Such a promising start.
> 
> Man, we can pick 'em.


What an obnoxious idea for a "film." Almost makes me wish introverts were smug assholes who wouldn't allow extroverts in. Then again, I don't think most introverts are wound up enough about that sort of shit to care. That said, the idea introverts are too chickenshit to be extroverts is hilariously inane. Wonder what braintrust came to that conclusion. Lmao


----------



## wankerness

TheBlackBard said:


> Quite a few people do like The Batman (myself included) more than the Dark Knight Trilogy. Now that said, that's not me saying that the trilogy is bad. I love that trilogy, DKR included, I just feel like The Batman gave me the mood I wanted out of a Batman movie even more. Basically for me, TDK trilogy: 9's across the board. The Batman? Almost a 10 for me. That said, I'd say I'm also not nearly as critical of entertainment as other people.



Ok, so that’s not that different from me, you just like the Batman more than most people. I still fail to see how insane my opinion was! My only really strong feeling about the Batman was Paul dano was terrible and so was the catwoman outfit. I need to watch it again.


----------



## TheBlackBard

wankerness said:


> Ok, so that’s not that different from me, you just like the Batman more than most people. I still fail to see how insane my opinion was! My only really strong feeling about the Batman was Paul dano was terrible and so was the catwoman outfit. I need to watch it again.



Paul Dano was AT FIRST one of the reasons why I loved it so much. It kinda fell apart when he got caught and went into his... whatever that was. The was the main reason I couldn't call it perfect. Other than that, I love Patman, I loved Serkis' Alfred, I loved the city, the general vibe and atmosphere. I was also a goth kid in high school, which may factor into it.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> Ok, so that’s not that different from me, you just like the Batman more than most people. I still fail to see how insane my opinion was! My only really strong feeling about the Batman was Paul dano was terrible and so was the catwoman outfit. I need to watch it again.


I was pretty indifferent to the catwoman outfit, but I did like that she had a prance that was exceedingly cat-like at times. Certainly more cat-like than some of the previous folks to play the role.

@Spaced Out Ace 
If you want a rage-boner like no other, watch that movie. Holy shit, by the mid-point we were so flabbergasted at the premise we couldn't turn away. Like a train wreck in slo-mo.


----------



## Carrion Rocket

MFB said:


> Jesus, and I thought Steven had hot takes with how much he hates HZD but this just took the cake


This is also the same guy who thought the most unrealistic part of TLOUP2 was a buff woman.


----------



## wankerness

Ok, this is gonna drive me nuts. How is that a hot take? Here’s the IMDb scores of those four movies, aka average opinions of viewers:

BB: 8.2 DK: 9.0 DKR: 8.4 TB: 7.8

The Batman is worse than the other three according to the average of many thousands of viewers! I am somewhat shocked tdkr is rated higher than BB though. 

Rotten tomatoes critics, 84/94/87/85. So, I guess professional critics slightly more often had a more positive opinion of the Batman than Batman begins, but not the other two. But I know how much stock everyone here puts in those! Rotten tomatoes audience, 94/94/90/87, so by those metrics the Batman was the least liked.

What I’m trying to say is my opinion is really boring and common and if you think the Batman is a masterpiece that is obviously better than all the Nolan movies, THAT is a (slightly) hot take!

I can’t believe someone’s sitting on a grudge over the fact I thought someone who looked like they’re on the rock’s diet of nonstop protein loading looked unrealistic in a post apocalyptic setting where everyone’s starving, but it is what it is. Obviously spore zombie apocalypse is infinitely less realistic than one character apparently hoarding all the food.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I am able to enjoy batman films because I have such low expectations in the first place. Batman (like most superheroes) is a naked right-wing power fantasy, but the franchise is fascinating from a sociological perspective.

I finished All Quiet on the Western Front. I read the book as a teenager, honestly don't remember it that well, but it was definitely formative in part of my strong anti-war leanings. The film was awfully brutal and depressing, but quite beautiful. Took me a few sittings to get through.


----------



## TheBlackBard

Rewatching Dredd with Karl Urban for the umpteenth time, because I've got a serious love boner for that movie.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> What is a hot take about that? I thought the first two were generally considered a lot better than tdkr. Is the Batman so beloved as to be considered better than all of them and no one gave me the memo? I’d rate them like 8 9 7 6 in chronological order.



OK, I was gone last night so I couldn't drop a line, but your phrasing makes it sound like you're saying "The Batman is worse than even TDKR" which is objectively false. TDKR is absolute trash, like, holy shit - at least _Batman Forever_ or _Batman & Robin_ are fun, but that's just a two hour snore. I don't care about critic scores or anything in general from other people, I just mean, on my own personal scale of Batman movies: ranking TDKR over The Batman should be criminal.


----------



## nightflameauto

wheresthefbomb said:


> I am able to enjoy batman films because I have such low expectations in the first place. Batman (like most superheroes) is a naked right-wing power fantasy, but the franchise is fascinating from a sociological perspective.
> 
> I finished All Quiet on the Western Front. I read the book as a teenager, honestly don't remember it that well, but it was definitely formative in part of my strong anti-war leanings. The film was awfully brutal and depressing, but quite beautiful. Took me a few sittings to get through.


Batman and Iron Man are interesting because they're the only superheroes that use a real superpower: money. Both of them are kinda playboy / goofball characters that get slightly more serious when they don their suits. Plus there's a tiny little bit of a Robin Hood thing going on with them, which I always find fun.


MFB said:


> OK, I was gone last night so I couldn't drop a line, but your phrasing makes it sound like you're saying "The Batman is worse than even TDKR" which is objectively false. TDKR is absolute trash, like, holy shit - at least _Batman Forever_ or _Batman & Robin_ are fun, but that's just a two hour snore. I don't care about critic scores or anything in general from other people, I just mean, on my own personal scale of Batman movies: ranking TDKR over The Batman should be criminal.


Whoa. Settle, Beavis. Let's not start getting all hyperbolic on praising The Batman and trashing TDKR. Both are OK at what they do, and I can see an argument for either being 'better' than the other, but calling TDKR trash while praising The Batman? Yikes.


----------



## MFB

nightflameauto said:


> Batman and Iron Man are interesting because they're the only superheroes that use a real superpower: money. Both of them are kinda playboy / goofball characters that get slightly more serious when they don their suits. Plus there's a tiny little bit of a Robin Hood thing going on with them, which I always find fun.
> 
> Whoa. Settle, Beavis. Let's not start getting all hyperbolic on praising The Batman and trashing TDKR. Both are OK at what they do, and I can see an argument for either being 'better' than the other, but calling TDKR trash while praising The Batman? Yikes.



At the time, I had no problem with Nolan's Batman as it was what I thought Batman should have evolved to from Burton's, but in hindsight, I care less for them as time goes on. Bale does fine with Batman barring the voice, but his Bruce Wayne will always be on the verge of going full Patrick Bateman. The suit suffers the same issues as the OG Keaton ones where he can't move his head separately until I think it's TDKR, or maybe it's TDK - but even the latter of those is largely just wanting much more Joker than we got since we were bogged down with Harvey Dent Twoface-lite scenes. It felt the need to ground every aspect of the character where we as an audience need to also be willing to suspend disbelief of this character since it's not like it would ever fly in real life circumstances (pun intended I guess).

The Batman for me, is the best Batman film I've seen even with the criticisms I have of it, for what the character is and the stories they've told with him throughout the decades; although Pattinson is my #2 favorite BatMAN behind Affleck since he was legitimately terrifying in BvS as the Dark Knight Returns version of Bruce.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

The problem with TDKR is that they used a major plot device in BB for another villain. Then when Bane showed up, he was just generally menacing. Had they planned Bane out better and given Scarecrow something else, TDKR would've been a lot better.


----------



## wankerness

MFB said:


> OK, I was gone last night so I couldn't drop a line, but your phrasing makes it sound like you're saying "The Batman is worse than even TDKR" which is objectively false. TDKR is absolute trash, like, holy shit - at least _Batman Forever_ or _Batman & Robin_ are fun, but that's just a two hour snore. I don't care about critic scores or anything in general from other people, I just mean, on my own personal scale of Batman movies: ranking TDKR over The Batman should be criminal.


Haha, OK. Thanks for the explanation, that's all I was after. So YOU'RE the one with the hot take here, as by every measure available to aggregate movie opinions both professional and amateur suggest the Batman is slightly worse than TDKR. 

I like hearing detailed, passionate responses on things, even when I disagree with them! Like the aforementioned Steven with his HZD hate. Good for him. He can articulate why he hates it, which is more than most people.



MFB said:


> At the time, I had no problem with Nolan's Batman as it was what I thought Batman should have evolved to from Burton's, but in hindsight, I care less for them as time goes on. Bale does fine with Batman barring the voice, but his Bruce Wayne will always be on the verge of going full Patrick Bateman. The suit suffers the same issues as the OG Keaton ones where he can't move his head separately until I think it's TDKR, or maybe it's TDK - but even the latter of those is largely just wanting much more Joker than we got since we were bogged down with Harvey Dent Twoface-lite scenes. It felt the need to ground every aspect of the character where we as an audience need to also be willing to suspend disbelief of this character since it's not like it would ever fly in real life circumstances (pun intended I guess).
> 
> The Batman for me, is the best Batman film I've seen even with the criticisms I have of it, for what the character is and the stories they've told with him throughout the decades; although Pattinson is my #2 favorite BatMAN behind Affleck since he was legitimately terrifying in BvS as the Dark Knight Returns version of Bruce.


This passion you apparently have for Batman is where I think opinions on these movies are going to radically diverge. I certainly grew up knowing who Batman was, and I watched a fair number of episodes of the 60s show and the 90s cartoon as a kid, and I saw Batman Forever and Batman and Robin about when they came out, and all that stuff. I would say I liked Batman, but I never really THOUGHT about the character. The 60s Batman and the Val Kilmer Batman and the Animated series were all sort of on equal footing in my mind. I didn't have like some idealized view of the character based on reading comics or seeing all the animated episodes or even all the movies, so when Nolan's version came out I was just like "that's awesome!!" instead of thinking "that's not like the Batman as detective from the classic stories" or whatever I've seen from some others that love the portrayal in the new movie.

I think there's disconnect with TDK in that everyone loves Heath Ledger, but Nolan himself seems to have wanted the movie to be about the fight for Harvey Dent's soul and the Joker and the Batman are just supporting characters in all of that. So we end up with what initially, to me anyway, felt like a bunch of tacked on stuff at the end with Two Face because I was so electrified by the Joker character, but on repeat viewings I've sort of come around to seeing the Two Face stuff be the point of the movie and thus less extraneous. I mean, I still get not liking it, but I think it's more defensible than I initially thought.

The "must ground every aspect of the character" thing is kind of silly, yeah. That's sorta something i LIKE about TDKR - it goes much more bananas, especially with Ras Al Ghul coming back in a vision and the remote desert prison and bat plane and exploding football field and stuff. I just think it's too bad Bane ends up as a wet fart of a character and I wasn't a big fan of Talia, either. Catwoman is awesome though, IMO, and I love the look of the character in that one. The goggle-"ears" were way cooler than the stupid cloth cat helmet from the new one. I think the Batman Returns catwoman is also kinda great in a different way, and the animated series and 60s series are at least fun.

I always forget about Affleck. I agree that he is quite good in BVS even though that movie I think is a huge step below these other four. Don't much care for him in Justice League (either version), though. I like Pattinson, but I would have liked to have seen an Affleck pure-Batman movie that wasn't made by Zach Snyder.


----------



## MFB

wankerness said:


> Haha, OK. Thanks for the explanation, that's all I was after. So YOU'RE the one with the hot take here, as by every measure available to aggregate movie opinions both professional and amateur suggest the Batman is slightly worse than TDKR.
> 
> I like hearing detailed, passionate responses on things, even when I disagree with them! Like the aforementioned Steven with his HZD hate. Good for him. He can articulate why he hates it, which is more than most people.
> 
> I always forget about Affleck. I agree that he is quite good in BVS even though that movie I think is a huge step below these other four. Don't much care for him in Justice League (either version), though. I like Pattinson, but I would have liked to have seen an Affleck pure-Batman movie that wasn't made by Zach Snyder.



Yeah, I learned early on if I'm going to have radical views then I at least have to defend them 

I was creaming my jeans at the thought of a Battfleck solo film, and take a gander at these for what could have been w/ Joe Mangs Deathstroke:


----------



## nightflameauto

Gotta be honest, never saw a Affleck Batman movie. In fact, I'm very fickle with Batman since the Keaton movies.

Keaton did two. I was in.
Kilmer. OK, new Batman, but I'll live.
Clooney? Go fuck yourself. Never saw 'em.
No idea what happened in between because I *HATE* sequels that trade out actors for major parts.
Nolan / Bale - watched them after the third came out because they finally had a run of the same base story / actor(s).
Stopped watching until The Batman came out. After watching it, I'll probably stop again unless they do something really impressive going forward.

Somehow, the DC rebrand, reboot, rebrand, reboot, rebrand and reboot, reboot, rebrand reboot cycle just got old for me. Other than seeing Iron Man at the drive-in as an add-on to a movie I wanted to see, I probably would have missed the first few years of the Marvelverse too until I realized they were trying to keep a semi-coherent universe. Once it started fracturing again, with the Multiverse stuff where anything could or could not be part of the main story at any given time, I've sorta backed away from that too.

My wife despises comic book movies now, so I pick my battles. And none of them are worth fighting for.


----------



## wankerness

nightflameauto said:


> Gotta be honest, never saw a Affleck Batman movie. In fact, I'm very fickle with Batman since the Keaton movies.
> 
> Keaton did two. I was in.
> Kilmer. OK, new Batman, but I'll live.
> Clooney? Go fuck yourself. Never saw 'em.
> No idea what happened in between because I *HATE* sequels that trade out actors for major parts.
> Nolan / Bale - watched them after the third came out because they finally had a run of the same base story / actor(s).
> Stopped watching until The Batman came out. After watching it, I'll probably stop again unless they do something really impressive going forward.
> 
> Somehow, the DC rebrand, reboot, rebrand, reboot, rebrand and reboot, reboot, rebrand reboot cycle just got old for me. Other than seeing Iron Man at the drive-in as an add-on to a movie I wanted to see, I probably would have missed the first few years of the Marvelverse too until I realized they were trying to keep a semi-coherent universe. Once it started fracturing again, with the Multiverse stuff where anything could or could not be part of the main story at any given time, I've sorta backed away from that too.
> 
> My wife despises comic book movies now, so I pick my battles. And none of them are worth fighting for.


I don't think there was anything between Clooney and Bale, I think Batman and Robin was such a bomb that the character was dead on screen till Batman Begins. With a character like Batman or James Bond or Godzilla or whatever, it's more just they make movies about the character and there's such a gigantic history of the character out there that there's already 800 directions or portrayals they could go with and thus swapping out actors and making things not at all a direct sequel is to be expected. I think it was dumb that they even pretended that Batman Forever and Batman and Robin were sequels to the Burton ones. Or did they? I know Alfred was the same actor, and I know that Robin is the same actor in Batman Forever/Batman and Robin, but are there actually any other references to the Burton movies in Batman Forever, or any of the first three in Batman and Robin? 

I sort of like the DC reboot/rebrand thing because that way I'm under no obligation whatsoever to see them all. While with the Marvel movies, they make it seem like you have to see all of them or you won't know wtf is happening (and unfortunately that's very true with some of them!!). I draw the line at the disney plus shows, I'm not spending tons of hours watching low-budget, 4x longer versions of their mainline movies. I'll continue watching their theatrical movies for the time being, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I have never watched a Disney plus series of Star Wars, either, despite watching all of those actual movies as they came out and hearing that some of the series are actually good (ex Andor or The Mandalorian). I have too many things I want to do, so anything that's an investment of considerably more time than the length of a series is a hard sell to me now unless I can watch it with the lady.

Speaking of, the "wife hates X and I pick my battles" things is big. I think it's important to be able to watch things separately from one another sometimes for the sake of both of your sanity, and thus I just plain try to avoid inflicting my taste on the lady unless I truly think there's a chance she'll like it (ex, basically no horror movies ever unless they're funny like Dead Alive or Evil Dead 2 or something, no impenetrable art movies, nothing overly depressing, etc). Having a happy relationship is much more important than trying to force your opinions onto someone. 

Anyway, sort of on topic, I finally watched Thor: Love and Thunder. Speaking of messes! That movie I think could have been good with another director, but so much of this movie is directly antagonistic to the serious subject matter here, and it's loaded with obnoxious unfunny bullshit like the screaming goats, and then when the movie goes really dark and emotional it's like "man, this could have been a good movie if the rest of the movie had matched this!!" Like, the climax actually really worked for me! Too bad about the first 3/4 of the movie. And all the obnoxious GnR music. I like those guys, but there was no reason any of that had to be here. Have the one character call himself Axel and be a fan, maybe play a song or two in connection with him, but don't play their songs all over the place on the soundtrack all the time! I liked Thor Ragnarok's jokey tone and thought that one was actually funny, this one was bad news.


----------



## nightflameauto

wankerness said:


> I don't think there was anything between Clooney and Bale, I think Batman and Robin was such a bomb that the character was dead on screen till Batman Begins. With a character like Batman or James Bond or Godzilla or whatever, it's more just they make movies about the character and there's such a gigantic history of the character out there that there's already 800 directions or portrayals they could go with and thus swapping out actors and making things not at all a direct sequel is to be expected. I think it was dumb that they even pretended that Batman Forever and Batman and Robin were sequels to the Burton ones. Or did they? I know Alfred was the same actor, and I know that Robin is the same actor in Batman Forever/Batman and Robin, but are there actually any other references to the Burton movies in Batman Forever, or any of the first three in Batman and Robin?


No idea if they tried to tie them together. Swapping actors each movie was a no for me on the front end.


wankerness said:


> I sort of like the DC reboot/rebrand thing because that way I'm under no obligation whatsoever to see them all. While with the Marvel movies, they make it seem like you have to see all of them or you won't know wtf is happening (and unfortunately that's very true with some of them!!). I draw the line at the disney plus shows, I'm not spending tons of hours watching low-budget, 4x longer versions of their mainline movies. I'll continue watching their theatrical movies for the time being, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I have never watched a Disney plus series of Star Wars, either, despite watching all of those actual movies as they came out and hearing that some of the series are actually good (ex Andor or The Mandalorian). I have too many things I want to do, so anything that's an investment of considerably more time than the length of a series is a hard sell to me now unless I can watch it with the lady.


Yup. I've been scolded by my fellow nerds countless times for not joining on the Disney+ brigade, but nope. They get way more of my entertainment money than they should as-is.


wankerness said:


> Speaking of, the "wife hates X and I pick my battles" things is big. I think it's important to be able to watch things separately from one another sometimes for the sake of both of your sanity, and thus I just plain try to avoid inflicting my taste on the lady unless I truly think there's a chance she'll like it (ex, basically no horror movies ever unless they're funny like Dead Alive or Evil Dead 2 or something, no impenetrable art movies, nothing overly depressing, etc). Having a happy relationship is much more important than trying to force your opinions onto someone.


I agree that watching stuff separately *should* be an option. I won't get deep into it, but that's not really an option for me at this point.

At least she lets me have Deadpool. That I may have fought for. Not the others.


wankerness said:


> Anyway, sort of on topic, I finally watched Thor: Love and Thunder. Speaking of messes! That movie I think could have been good with another director, but so much of this movie is directly antagonistic to the serious subject matter here, and it's loaded with obnoxious unfunny bullshit like the screaming goats, and then when the movie goes really dark and emotional it's like "man, this could have been a good movie if the rest of the movie had matched this!!" Like, the climax actually really worked for me! Too bad about the first 3/4 of the movie. And all the obnoxious GnR music. I like those guys, but there was no reason any of that had to be here. Have the one character call himself Axel and be a fan, maybe play a song or two in connection with him, but don't play their songs all over the place on the soundtrack all the time! I liked Thor Ragnarok's jokey tone and thought that one was actually funny, this one was bad news.


I think the bummer with Disney as management for these films is they are the epitome of design by committee when it comes to movies. Thor Ragnarok worked. So they wanted to keep that tone even when the story turns. That tone doesn't work for every story.

I haven't seen it, don't know if I will. I've been trying for about three months now to catch up on my Bluray Marvel collection, but can't get the TV to myself long enough to do it. Probably have to buy a little bluray player for my computer room at some point just to watch them. I miss my nerd-outs.


----------



## TheBlackBard

NVM


----------



## wheresthefbomb

I watched Troll. It was okay, the troll was cool. A lot of flimsy dialogue and predictable plot points. The one thing they really did right was getting you to empathize with the troll.

I rewatched Troll Hunter a few weeks ago and it's a vastly superior troll movie on the whole.


----------



## wheresthefbomb

nightflameauto said:


> Batman and Iron Man are interesting because they're the only superheroes that use a real superpower: money. Both of them are kinda playboy / goofball characters that get slightly more serious when they don their suits. Plus there's a tiny little bit of a Robin Hood thing going on with them, which I always find fun.



I find Iron Man interesting as a foil. Tony Stark is the superhero avatar of the military industrial complex. Specifically in Civil War, Captain America ended up arguing for an essentially anarchist position that ceding to a governmental oversight body would insulate them from personal responsibility. Most of the Marvel films I've seen don't touch on subjects nearly as deep/complex as that.


----------



## nightflameauto

wheresthefbomb said:


> I find Iron Man interesting as a foil. Tony Stark is the superhero avatar of the military industrial complex. Specifically in Civil War, Captain America ended up arguing for an essentially anarchist position that ceding to a governmental oversight body would insulate them from personal responsibility. Most of the Marvel films I've seen don't touch on subjects nearly as deep/complex as that.


I do like that development for Iron Man especially, as Tony Stark was such a playboy to start with, it's real funny that he ends up being the one wanting oversight and Cap ends up being the one wanting the government to back off. That was one of the better moments in the Marvelverse.


----------



## Seabeast2000

@spudmunkey , Robo Vampire is on Rifftrax. Holy shit I might break all of my furniture.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Seabeast2000 said:


> @spudmunkey , Robo Vampire is on Rifftrax. Holy shit I might break all of my furniture.


Do they make more Nick Nolte jokes?


----------



## Seabeast2000

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Do they make more Nick Nolte jokes?


I don't recall, but the joke of the joke is a thing too.


----------



## spudmunkey

Seabeast2000 said:


> @spudmunkey , Robo Vampire is on Rifftrax. Holy shit I might break all of my furniture.



"Camo vs Denim: like a fight broke out in a Bass pro Shop."


----------



## Seabeast2000

spudmunkey said:


> "Camo vs Denim: like a fight broke out in a Bass pro Shop."
> 
> View attachment 118000


----------



## thebeesknees22

The Guillermo del Toro Pinocchio was quite good. It's a massive tearjerker though so have a box of tissues nearby.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Avatar (2009)

In prep for Way Of Water, I realised I have never seen James Cameron's CGI fest. And since I was at recovery mode, I set aside 3 hours...

All the comparisons to Dances With Wolves, Fern Gully and Pocahontas were tired even during its release, and having finally seen it it's one of the better interpretations of the story all these movies drawn from. Certainly the best looking and visually still holds up, and there's still a lot of emotion despite the CGI. Though there's some clumsy writing and exposition and a main character that seems just like every flawless badass you see in most post 2010s modern games. Not much else in characters either since Cameron reused every archetype in Aliens. Then again, Cameron did joke this was a movie for anyone with a pulse andr 15 bucks.... or maybe just 15 bucks, so he may be well aware of it. 

Katheryn Bigelow did deserve that Oscar win after all.


----------



## Seabeast2000

I just watched Ouf of the Furnace again, I knew I had "watched" it several years ago but did not remember anything about it. 
Quite enjoyed it and was prompted to learn a little geography and demography as well.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

thebeesknees22 said:


> The Guillermo del Toro Pinocchio was quite good. It's a massive tearjerker though so have a box of tissues nearby.



I really enjoyed it. It was a fresh take on the story that made a lot of changes for the better.


----------



## CanserDYI

How the fuck did I get this far along without watching/experiencing Hamilton? Jesus fucking christ. Fantastic.


----------



## zappatton2

wankerness said:


> In other controversial horror news, I rewatched Friday the 13th, the original. That movie is utter garbage. It has a couple good makeup gags, but they're nothing in comparison to Savini's other work from around then (The Burning, The Prowler, Maniac, etc) and it's all just so repetitive and bland. I think almost everyone gets killed either with an arrow or getting their throat cut and half of them disappear offscreen. The "mystery killer" is one of the worst mysteries in slasher history cause she just pops up out of nowhere, it's not a whodunnit like a giallo or something, it just blows. I really hate it. I think it might be worse than almost all of the sequels (some of which are pretty good, like 4 and 6). Somehow I'd forgotten the infamous snake scene, too. I looked it up cause I thought it was real, and apparently Sean Cunningham hired a snake trainer, had him bring his pet snake on set, and then instructed the actors to kill it without having informed the snake trainer ahead of time. So, the guy rushed the actor to attack him after he killed his pet snake (understandably) and had to be restrained. Sean Cunningham is also an utter piece of garbage.


Okay, I'm a little late to the take here, but as a huge fan of the F13 franchise, I _hated _the first one, glad to have the company. The "big reveal" made zero sense, since


Spoiler



Pamela had zero presence in the film until the end, so you never had a chance to contemplate who _had _done it


.

That's the first I heard about the snake though, that's just plain unforgivable, I never liked those old films that killed animals (all the cannibal movies are right out for me), but having your own pet killed when providing them to a film crew is just about the worst thing I can imagine.


----------



## wankerness

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Avatar (2009)
> 
> In prep for Way Of Water, I realised I have never seen James Cameron's CGI fest. And since I was at recovery mode, I set aside 3 hours...
> 
> All the comparisons to Dances With Wolves, Fern Gully and Pocahontas were tired even during its release, and having finally seen it it's one of the better interpretations of the story all these movies drawn from. Certainly the best looking and visually still holds up, and there's still a lot of emotion despite the CGI. Though there's some clumsy writing and exposition and a main character that seems just like every flawless badass you see in most post 2010s modern games. Not much else in characters either since Cameron reused every archetype in Aliens. Then again, Cameron did joke this was a movie for anyone with a pulse andr 15 bucks.... or maybe just 15 bucks, so he may be well aware of it.
> 
> Katheryn Bigelow did deserve that Oscar win after all.


I liked Avatar in the theater. It was a really, really immersive experience and I think it's still unequalled in that department. The characters are flimsy and the plot is derivative, but I don't think those are the point.

I think I watched it on blu-ray once, but still mostly just remember the theater experience. I wasn't very interested in the new one till I read the reactions from the likes of Guillermo Del Toro and David Ehrlich. Now I'm very curious. Sounds like the guy who's never made a bad movie (well, since Piranha II) might have just shown not to bet against him, yet again. Seems like we go through this every time the guy makes a movie (I was really into the movie press magazines back in the late 90s and there were tons of articles speculating about the likeliness of Titanic being a gigantic disaster and Cameron being insane for building a full size set etc). And then obviously the speculation about Avatar was way, way worse. "He's making a fuckin smurf movie? this is going to be the biggest bomb ever!!"


----------



## Louis Cypher

Regardless of what the film is and is about, this is one of the best trailers of 2022. Kubrick. With Dolls.


----------



## jaxadam

Avatar 2 in Cinemark XD DBOX seats. Would watch again, it was pretty fantastic.



Spoiler



That shit was pretty good.


----------



## DestroyMankind

I was at the store today and I saw that Halloween Ends is out to own. Not sure you is interested in spending money on it, but it's out there if anyone desires.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> I was at the store today and I saw that Halloween Ends is out to own. Not sure you is interested in spending money on it, but it's out there if anyone desires.


I have all of them otherwise, and a bit of a completist, but...


----------



## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I have all of them otherwise, and a bit of a completist, but...


For I think $30 they had the trilogy all together. But I can't see buying this one.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> For I think $30 they had the trilogy all together. But I can't see buying this one.


I already have the previous two. They were okay, but not okay enough to double dip.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno

Fist Of Legend

Back to the Jet Li retrospective viewing. Trying to remake a Bruce Lee movie is already a risk in desecrating sacred ground, and that's not even counting all the terrible Brucespoitation movies Golden Harvest was pumping out, including The New Fist Of Fury sequel with Jackie Chan (it's crap). But Gordon Chan's Fist Of Legend is one of the rare successful remakes where it not only a new retelling of the Chen Zen story, it also allows the original Fist Of Fury/Chinese Connection to stand on it's own. And while the original was a black and white revenge story, Legend digs deeper into the moral grey aspects of the Chinese/Japanese conflict during the 1930s. Jet Li was already flexing his acting chops going back and forth between mature drama and slapstick comedy, so he goes full force here. My only issue is that the fight scenes were filmed at a slightly faster rate (pretty common for Hong Kong kung fu movies) so scenes that switch between intense drama and action feel incongrous at times. Though this makes sense when the fights were directed and choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping and between him and Gordon Chan's style clashed accordingly. But hey, it got the Wachowski's attention and bought HK action to the masses. Fist Of Legend not only stacks up well to Bruce Lee's original but makes a great companion piece. 

Also, Jet Li's arm gets dislocated, he still fights and stops to relocate his arm as if nothing happened. Badass.


----------



## spudmunkey

Mouse Hunt.

Yesterday was its 25th anniversary. It's like Home Alone meets Tom and Jerry. Nathan Lane as the sort of "Tom" character, Christopher Walken, as an exterminator. Just as much of a kids' movie as Home Alone, but just grown-up enough for all ages.


----------



## wankerness

DestroyMankind said:


> I was at the store today and I saw that Halloween Ends is out to own. Not sure you is interested in spending money on it, but it's out there if anyone desires.


I'll get it someday. I liked Halloween Kills a lot more on second viewing, and Ends was a lot better than Kills on first viewing. Plus I have to have all of them since I already have the huge box set with all the entries I hate in it!

I need to convince my girlfriend to watch Avatar so we can see 2 in the theater. Not sure if it's going to happen. Been watching lots of weird crap while she's gone:

Blood Beat - a rural wisconsin family gets haunted by a set of samurai armor, complete with ghostly floating katana. Japan (or Asia at all) is never once mentioned in the movie. It is inexplicable.

Psycho Cop Returns - Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration plays a wisecracking, satan-worshipping cop that murders anyone he can find doing anything wrong at all. He sets his sights on an office party where a bunch of loathsome guys hired a bunch of strippers. Mayhem ensues. Bob Vance is really amusing.

Blood Games - an all-women softball exhibition team beats a bunch of slobby hicks for money, raises their ire (and their libidos), it basically turns into deliverance except it's softball team vs gross hicks and the body count is WAY higher.

Ju-On: The Grudge - I kind of love this movie and it just came out on 4K, was shocking finally seeing it in surround sound, made it way scarier than it had been on any viewing since the first one all those years ago in a little indie theater.

Dinosaurs in a Mining Facility - check out this thing's IMDB score/reviews for a trip. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8594948/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 It's probably the best "movie obviously made by a bunch of teenagers screwing around with no money in a small town" I've ever seen. That isn't a high bar, but it's actually very entertaining.

Black Christmas '74 - masterpiece

Four Flies on Grey Velvet - better than Cat O'Nine Tails, but nowhere close to as good as Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Tenebre, or Opera when it comes to Argento Gialli. Good score though!

Freeway II - Natasha Lyonne plays a bulimic girl arrested for robbing johns, she teams up with a serial killer and they go looking for Grandma's house in Mexico while on the run from the cops. Of course it turns out Grandma is actually a witch and is eating children. It's loosely based on Hansel and Gretel the way the first movie was based on Red Riding Hood. The first is definitely better, mainly thanks to Reese Witherspoon and also having a LITTLE more control from the censors applied to reign in the more tasteless stuff, but the sheer audaciousness of this has to be admired.

Alien from LA - not good, but Albert Pyun (RIP) sure knew how to try and make a zero budget movie look flashy. I'll have to watch Cyborg some day.


----------



## TheBlackBard

spudmunkey said:


> Mouse Hunt.
> 
> Yesterday was its 25th anniversary. It's like Home Alone meets Tom and Jerry. Nathan Lane as the sort of "Tom" character, Christopher Walken, as an exterminator. Just as much of a kids' movie as Home Alone, but just grown-up enough for all ages.


I fucking love that movie. I watch it every few months, it's soooo damn fun. I can't believe it's been 25 years.


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## spudmunkey

wankerness said:


> Alien from LA - not good, but Albert Pyun (RIP) sure knew how to try and make a zero budget movie look flashy. I'll have to watch Cyborg some daday.


One of my favorite MST3K riff sequences of all time came from this movie

Kathy Ireland to ex-boyfriend: "I can change. I _ want_ to change. Just tell me what you don't like about me!"

Mike: "Wow, she's got a lot of pride and dignity."

Kathy: "Why did you even go out with me if I'm such a geek?"

Mike, as ex-boyfriend: "Because I'm turned on by squeeze toys."


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## KnightBrolaire

Violent Night - it's basically a siege movie with santa murdering goons and like all of Tommy Wirkola's movies it's very gory, campy, and just plain fun. David Harbour is great at chewing scenery and spitting out laconic phrases. The action sequences are really fun and the home alone esque booby trap sequence in particular is hilarious.


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## Louis Cypher

Batman Returns. Still love it after all these years. Keaton is without doubt the best live action Batman/Bruce Wayne.


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## Bloody_Inferno

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story

I loved Knives Out. It was a great modern take on classic Agatha Christie murder mystery stories, and Benoit Blanc is a character steadily climbing to the Hercule Poirot mantle. So it's no surprise that I really enjoyed Glass Onion.

More light-hearted and at times comedic than its predecessor but no less compelling. A new mystery thriller, albeit with a much slower start, but once the mystery truly begins, you're thrown into plenty of twists and turns, and the clever subversion director Rian Johnson is known for. Definitely warrants a second viewing. The ensemble cast is fantastic, with Daniel Craig doing much of the heavy lifting, but Janelle Monae proves to be a show stealer. And that's a bold statement considering Kathryn Hahn, Edward Norton, and Bautista are around.

Glass Onion proves that the Knives Out anthology stories are no fluke. I'm already looking forward to the next installment.


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## Hollowway

Prisoners. It’s on Netflix now. I don’t remember ever hearing about this, but it’s excellent. A great suspense thriller.


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## Seabeast2000

Hollowway said:


> Prisoners. It’s on Netflix now. I don’t remember ever hearing about this, but it’s excellent. A great suspense thriller.


Recommended. 
It led me to rewatch Nightcrawler as well, which is good for what it does.


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## wheresthefbomb

I watched the Northman. Björk was a wonderful surprise. The rest of the movie was okay. The soundtrack was cool.


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## BlackMastodon

Hollowway said:


> Prisoners. It’s on Netflix now. I don’t remember ever hearing about this, but it’s excellent. A great suspense thriller.


Excellent movie, indeed, but fuck was that tough to watch. Don't know if I'll ever be in the mood to see it again but I do recommend it at least once.


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## Hollowway

BlackMastodon said:


> Excellent movie, indeed, but fuck was that tough to watch. Don't know if I'll ever be in the mood to see it again but I do recommend it at least once.


Haha, same. I find that a lot of the really good movies are unwatchable a second time, because you know how it’s going to make you feel. 

And then there’s Hot Tub Time Machine, which I love, because I can watch it over and over again, like eating comfort food. Watched it tonight, in fact!


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## Louis Cypher

Ghostbuster (1984) not much i need to say tbh, other than, When someone asks you, if you are a God.... you say YES!


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## DestroyMankind

I picked up terrifier 2 today on blu ray. I never got to see it in theaters, but I liked the first one. Going to watch it tonight. I'm excited.


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## Steo

Last night:
Don't open till Christmas. A spree killer is killing anyone in a santa suit in London. Early 80's slasher, with nods to older hammer films. Nothing you haven't seen before, but, a novel premise idea.
before that 
Pulp fiction. Not seen it in years. Still holds up.
Scare package. An anthology of short cliché riddled horrors played for laughs.


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## MFB

Watched a solid chunk of movies over the past week or so:

_Prisoners - _much like everyone else here, solid movie, great cast, just a tough watch to see Jackman's character doing what he thinks is right but any outsider would be horrified to know of. 

_300: Rise of an Empire - _didn't know this was simultaneously a sequel/prequel and runs alongside the original _300_ movie, but it makes it a bit tough at times to tell when something is happening. They also seem to be able to travel between places in the blink of an eye a la GOT later seasons, and the combat is just, miraculously on hold for what I can only assume is honor's sake? Blood effects were definitely more noticeable than in _300_ which was also a bit of a disappointment, but conceptually I liked what they tried to do even if it was just an OK execution. Eva Green as a Bond girl makes a lot more sense after seeing her in this then she did as Vespa originally, I didn't find her appealing at all in that film, but as a Greek-turned-Persian dom? Yes please.

_Mask of Zorro - _I have to get one thing out right away, which is that I have to give Anthony Hopkins a pass as Zorro since I'm willing to suspend my disbelief when I see Sean Connery playing Ramirez in _Highlander._ That said, Antonio Banderas is great in it as the young guy learning to take over the mantle, and eventually becoming the next Zorro; hell, it makes me see why Batman was built off the character and this is what a Batman movie should look to if they ever bring in a Robin to pass the title to. Also, where the fuck did Catherine Zeta Jones disappear to? My god, everyone talks about Selma Hayek from the 90s, but CZJ could've absolutely fucking get it without even asking for it.

_Orgasm, Inc - _documentary about a startup in SF called OneTaste, that was trying to sell sex basically and the founder had some whackado views on things like rape (they're really asking for it, and if you turn yourself onto it, you were no longer raped!) etc...

_Side Effects - _Rooney Mara plays a woman with depression who ends up killing her husband and doesn't remember it while on medication, but was it really the drugs that made her do it? Coincidentally, CZJ actually showed up in this and I had zero clue, but I'm happy to report she's aging like fine wine and is still hotter than 90% of women out there today.

_The Hateful Eight - Reservoir Dogs_ is my #1 Tarantino film, and that means yes I put it up there over Pulp Fiction, no I don't care if you want to think otherwise because it just means you're wrong. It's obvious that this takes some inspiration from this, and there's also a _Thing_ vibe as everyone is some sort of 'bad guy' so nobody can really trust anyone and tensions are high throughout until they finally start to boil over. Had I seen this earlier, I may have appreciated it more, but it was just longer than I cared for and while I want to say there's fat to trim, I'm not sure where exactly it would have been. But still, damn near three hours for it all to play out felt like a bit too long and I say that as someone who say _The Batman_ three times in theaters.

_The Invitation_ - dumb movie about a woman who does a DNA test and finds out she has cousins in England, they're not what they claim to be, etc etc, it's pretty fucking boring and nobody is particularly enjoyable to watch; it's like if you turned the word "lukewarm" into a movie, this would be it.


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## KnightBrolaire

Amsterdam- It's basically a lukewarm whodunnit with a stacked cast and some really great practical makeup effects. Everything is goofy as fuck and all the characters are weird/unhinged in some way. Somehow though it's just not goofy enough to be fun, or interesting enough to recommend. 

It's okay at best.


If you want an actually fun whodunnit check out See How They Run.


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## Louis Cypher

Last cpl of nights watched Crimes of Grindelwald and Secrets of Dumbledore. They aren't awful but that actually makes them even more frustrating, somewhere in there is a good plot and extended franchise desperate to be made.... all I kept thinking was, like Star Wars and Lucas, the Wizarding world needs to be taken away from Rowling and new people need to take the stories on, as she is fcuking up her own franchise


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## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> I picked up terrifier 2 today on blu ray. I never got to see it in theaters, but I liked the first one. Going to watch it tonight. I'm excited.


I liked that they pushed the time length of the film. I don't think every horror film needs to be within 85-95 minutes.


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## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I liked that they pushed the time length of the film. I don't think every horror film needs to be within 85-95 minutes.


It was definitely worth picking up. I thought it was done really well. That clown Cafe song is going to be stuck in my head. I can't wait for terrifier 3.


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## Spaced Out Ace

DestroyMankind said:


> It was definitely worth picking up. I thought it was done really well. That clown Cafe song is going to be stuck in my head. I can't wait for terrifier 3.


I think Terrifier 3 could be good. If Damien Leone feels it needs to be 90 minutes, make it 90 minutes. I'm not against 90 minute horror films; I'm against films being dictated by people how long they should or shouldn't be.


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## DestroyMankind

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I think Terrifier 3 could be good. If Damien Leone feels it needs to be 90 minutes, make it 90 minutes. I'm not against 90 minute horror films; I'm against films being dictated by people how long they should or shouldn't be.


Those same people who complain about a horror movie being too long are probably the same huge fans of The Shining. That's a long movie. Some movies need to be long, some need to be short. I can't imagine Hatchet being 2.5 hours, nor could I imagine someone like Quentin Tarantino making movies 90 minutes.


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## wheresthefbomb

I watched The Cave. Cool concept but it mostly sucked. Lots of very obvious dubbing (lines sound like they were delivered in a sound studio) during action parts. Lots of wtf/why did they do that/generally violating my suspension of disbelief.

Don't waste your time. Watch The Descent 1/2, As Above So Below, and/or Timetrap instead.


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## Spaced Out Ace

Willow. I've never seen it before. My girlfriend bought it out of the blue recently on Amazon. Anyways, I know Johnny Depp likes to talk about how Keith Richards was an influence/inspiration for Captain Jack Sparrow. However, I'd add that Mad Martigan was also a prototype for the character. I just now realized while watching the film that one of the characters from Reservation Dogs is named after the baby Elora Danan.


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## MFB

Rewatching "Rocky II" as I've managed to get myself back to the gym the last few days and want to keep the motivation going. Quintessential underdog movies, I don't know how anyone can watch these and NOT want to work out afterwards. It should go without saying that III/IV are on the list for the next couple days too.


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## KnightBrolaire

Avatar 2: 
It was basically Free Willy with blue cat people, like the last one was basically Dances with Wolves with blue cat people. There was zero reason to make it over 3 hours long though. It still suffers from weird uncanny valley effect with some of the avatar faces. Sigourney Weaver's delivery was awful and flat for most of the movie, but everybody else was good surprisingly. The story is meh. They don't really explain or show certain things well at all.
It's much smaller scale in terms of plot versus the first one. 


Visually it's stunning, and Weta did an awesome job on it. 

overall it's okay. Nothing exceptional imo


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## Seabeast2000

White Noise on Netflick. 

its early 80s nostalgia world is probably as interesting as the story. Krull, in the theaters btw, look for it. 

Some fun dialog, and it pokes fun at the banality and self-importance in several/many things. Feels like a play made into a movie (you know what I mean right?) a lot of the time. 

Recommended maybe.....if you don't mind extra dialog. There are a lot of funny quips/lines kind of shot throughout that could be easy to miss. Cheadle was pretty great in this as well.


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## KnightBrolaire

The whale- one of the most depressing movies I've seen since Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Brendan Fraser does a fantastic job but all of the other characters are deeply unpleasant. 

stream it, and only if you want to be depressed


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## TheBlackBard

KnightBrolaire said:


> The whale- one of the most depressing movies I've seen since Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Brendan Fraser does a fantastic job but all of the other characters are deeply unpleasant.
> 
> stream it, and only if you want to be depressed


I saw the last trailer they did for it, and honestly, I'm not sure if I have it in me to watch a movie like that. I've seen Reign Over Me, Melancholia, Requiem For A Dream, and Dancer in the Dark, but The Whale just looks like too much. I'm sure it's a great movie, though.

I watched The Black Phone last night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Only found at during the opening credits that it was based on a short story by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son) and a LOT of that fact made sense by the end.


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## KnightBrolaire

TheBlackBard said:


> I saw the last trailer they did for it, and honestly, I'm not sure if I have it in me to watch a movie like that. I've seen Reign Over Me, Melancholia, Requiem For A Dream, and Dancer in the Dark, but The Whale just looks like too much. I'm sure it's a great movie, though.
> 
> I watched The Black Phone last night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Only found at during the opening credits that it was based on a short story by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son) and a LOT of that fact made sense by the end.


It's not a great movie tbh. Brendan Fraser's performance was the only reason to slog through it. They do wayyyy too much telling and not enough showing for a film. I get that it's based off a play but they could have easily woven more flashbacks into the film instead of everyone exposition dumping.

Black Phone was pretty solid except for the cringy bit where the kid is doing a "training montage" with the phone as weapon.


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## TheBlackBard

KnightBrolaire said:


> It's not a great movie tbh. Brendan Fraser's performance was the only reason to slog through it. They do wayyyy too much telling and not enough showing for a film. I get that it's based off a play but they could have easily woven more flashbacks into the film instead of everyone exposition dumping.



So the acting isn't worth the heartache, then. Got it, now I don't feel bad for missing it.


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## manu80

Really enjoyed Glass Onion. Way more than the first one. Solid cast, Norton is awesome and so is Bautista ( he keeps surprising me each time i see him in a role i see him more as Sly compared to the Rock who is more in the Arnie vibe)

Went to see Avatar 2. It’s looooong and it never ends, story is even thinner than the first one but visually it’s really great. Marvel and their recent ugly sfx can take some inspiration…


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## TheBlackBard

Finally have a reason to go back to the theater this year. As a fan of the Evil Dead franchise for 25 years now, I am so stoked for this! Apologies, but yes, you will have to actually go to YT to watch the trailer.


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## Spaced Out Ace

Brain Damage (Joe Bob version). The one scene you think is going to be kind of fun and/or sexy ends up being pretty funny/gross in a Japanese sort of way. You'll know what one I mean if you've seen it. Basket Case is more about someone's sexuality, libido, and desires, while Brain Damage is more about how drugs and excess ruins your life.


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## manu80

TheBlackBard said:


> Finally have a reason to go back to the theater this year. As a fan of the Evil Dead franchise for 25 years now, I am so stoked for this! Apologies, but yes, you will have to actually go to YT to watch the trailer.



Looks very promising. I really enjoyed the Alvarez reboot too


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## TheBlackBard

manu80 said:


> Looks very promising. I really enjoyed the Alvarez reboot too


I have not come across ANY Evil Dead media that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. The OG trilogy, the reboot, the TV show. I love it all. All I want is more, and thankfully it looks like Evil Dead isn't going the way of other horror franchises where everything after a certain point is just awful. There are good qualities about each piece of media and I enjoy them all.


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## Spaced Out Ace

TheBlackBard said:


> I have not come across ANY Evil Dead media that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. The OG trilogy, the reboot, the TV show. I love it all. All I want is more, and thankfully it looks like Evil Dead isn't going the way of other horror franchises where everything after a certain point is just awful. There are good qualities about each piece of media and I enjoy them all.


AvED season 3 was in desperate need of getting reworked. I could do without Ash's daughter entirely, but the arc they went with for that character really tested my fucking patience.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace

Watching the John Wick movies. I enjoyed parts 1 and 2 quite a bit, but holy shit is part 3 markedly bad. The difference in quality is pretty stark and the film damn near collapses under its own heavy handed story. This is certainly a film whose plot gets in the way of the story. Why does this shit come off more like a drama? Why does Keanu act more like a guest star in his own film? The best part is when Halle Berry starts the action mid way through the film. This seems to have been made for Twitter. 

"The rules! The high table! Oh my god, you broke our rules!" Fuck off and fuck your rules. 

John Wick - 8/10
John Wick 2 - 7.5/10
John Wick 3 - 5


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## manu80

Yeah the 3rd one wasn't great. Dig the 2
we'll see what they bring with th e4 and the serie.
Let's hop Keanu doesn't run too much, I feel bad for him whenever I see him running, it's like he 's gonna fall


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## Spaced Out Ace

After finishing the film, that finish is going to bring it to a 4/10. Yikes.


----------



## BlackMastodon

The Menu. Absolutely loved it, partly because my partner and I love watching Chef's Table and this really takes the piss out of that sort of exclusive, fine dining experience. Lots of fun, had plenty of laughs, Ralph Fiennes is amazing as always. 10/10


----------



## KentBrockman

I watched Office Space for the first time earlier this year and rewatched it a few days ago. It instantly became a favorite of mine.

My favorite scenes:

- the opening scene in traffic
- anything to do with TPS reports
- when Joann sticks her middle finger up to her boss
- Peter playing the Bills


----------



## Wiltonauer

That _Pale Blue Eye _movie on Netflix with Christian Bale is pretty good.


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## Seabeast2000

Wiltonauer said:


> That _Pale Blue Eye _movie on Netflix with Christian Bale is pretty good.


On my list


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## wheresthefbomb

I watched Prospect. Cool "low" budget scifi. The story had some WTF moments but the characters are all cool and the world building is on point. I'd watch more set in that universe.

I also watched the animated Altered Carbon movie and it sucked a lot. Lots of over the top anime violence and very little of the storytelling that drew me to the series.


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