[Movies] Talk about the last movie you saw 2: Electric Threadaloo
- Thread starter Dave
- Start date
His videos since then have been decidedly dark, what with his whole trapped in the matrix/jacob's ladder type thing he appears to be doing throughout is videos.[DOUBLEPOST=1377483884,1377483821][/DOUBLEPOST]Speaking of Chanel Awesome stuff, someone needs to give Brad Jones a freakin sammich.
The World's End was excellent. Certainly on par with both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Simon Pegg as Gary King is great. The character is cringeworthy, he's so pathetic, but somehow still likeable, (and ultimately sympathetic). The ending is a bit abrupt, as Nick pointed out, but I think it works great. The action scenes are ridiculoulsy well choreographed and the whole movie is filled with laugh out loud moments. I know I haven't begun to brush the surface of it yet, Edgar Wright's movies always improve on multiple viewings, but I caught quite a few of the layered foreshadowing and things he likes to hide in the dialogue, character names and background of his films.
The characters surnames are all representing a King and his household:
Gary KING
Andy KNIGHTLY
Stephen PRINCE
Oliver CHAMBERLAIN
Peter PAGE
A building can be seen with three banners (I believe its a construction site, if I recall) hanging on the exterior wall. They read "We build. We Innovate. We Improve". Tying in to the network robots.
The Pubs, as Edgar has stated in interviews, are like tarot cards that give you hints as to what's going to happen in each:
The First Post- One of the most obvious, they start here.
The Old Familiar- The pub looks exactly the same as the First Post. Also, Oliver's sister Sam arrives, stirring old familiar feelings in both Gary and Stephen
The Famous Cock- Gary is the famous Cock; or rather the infamous one. He is banned from the pub for his behaviour on previous nights.
The Crosshands- Our heroes first have to fight the robots. Crossing hands, as one crosses swords. The pub sign features five hands gripping eachother. One hand for each of our heroes. The hands have spatters of blue on them
The Good Companions- All five guys act like especially good friends, trying to not arouse suspicion. Gary is the only one having a genuinely good time. The Pub sign features 5 drama masks; 4 morose faces and one happy fool.
The Two Headed Dog- Here, they fight the twins. The sign has spatters of blue on it.
The Trusty Servant- Talking to Reverend Green, they discover the truth here about how humans are expected to behave. Reverend Green is the network's trusty servant. Although its not revealed until later, this is also where Oliver is replaced with a replicant. He too is a trusty servant now. The man on the pub sign looks a lot like Michael Smiley, who plays Reverend Green.
The Mermaid- The boys are seduced here by the siren song of the MArmalade sandwich: 2 blondes with a redhead in between. The pub sign features three mermaids; two blondes with a redhead in the middle.
The Beehive- The hive mind mentality of the network is revealed. One could also say Andy stirs some serious shit up here, kicking the bee's nest so to speak. The sign has spatters of blue on it.
The King's Head- Gary King is the only one to have a drink here. The King on the sign bears a pretty good resemblance to Simon Pegg in a wig. Also, the "Ooh, Ah, Dracula" Fruit machine from Shaun of the Dead can be heard here.
The Hole in the Wall- An obvious one, Stephen drives the Beast through the wall, creating a hole through which they can escape. Gary escapes through the window (Another hole in a wall) The sign has spatters of blue on it.
The World's End- The crew trigger the apocalypse.
Every pub where they fight the blue filled robots, the sign has spatters of blue. This one I didn't actually notice while watching, I noticed afterwards when I wanted to corroborate my theories on the meanings of the pub names, and found a link with images of the signs.
Gary KING
Andy KNIGHTLY
Stephen PRINCE
Oliver CHAMBERLAIN
Peter PAGE
A building can be seen with three banners (I believe its a construction site, if I recall) hanging on the exterior wall. They read "We build. We Innovate. We Improve". Tying in to the network robots.
The Pubs, as Edgar has stated in interviews, are like tarot cards that give you hints as to what's going to happen in each:
The First Post- One of the most obvious, they start here.
The Old Familiar- The pub looks exactly the same as the First Post. Also, Oliver's sister Sam arrives, stirring old familiar feelings in both Gary and Stephen
The Famous Cock- Gary is the famous Cock; or rather the infamous one. He is banned from the pub for his behaviour on previous nights.
The Crosshands- Our heroes first have to fight the robots. Crossing hands, as one crosses swords. The pub sign features five hands gripping eachother. One hand for each of our heroes. The hands have spatters of blue on them
The Good Companions- All five guys act like especially good friends, trying to not arouse suspicion. Gary is the only one having a genuinely good time. The Pub sign features 5 drama masks; 4 morose faces and one happy fool.
The Two Headed Dog- Here, they fight the twins. The sign has spatters of blue on it.
The Trusty Servant- Talking to Reverend Green, they discover the truth here about how humans are expected to behave. Reverend Green is the network's trusty servant. Although its not revealed until later, this is also where Oliver is replaced with a replicant. He too is a trusty servant now. The man on the pub sign looks a lot like Michael Smiley, who plays Reverend Green.
The Mermaid- The boys are seduced here by the siren song of the MArmalade sandwich: 2 blondes with a redhead in between. The pub sign features three mermaids; two blondes with a redhead in the middle.
The Beehive- The hive mind mentality of the network is revealed. One could also say Andy stirs some serious shit up here, kicking the bee's nest so to speak. The sign has spatters of blue on it.
The King's Head- Gary King is the only one to have a drink here. The King on the sign bears a pretty good resemblance to Simon Pegg in a wig. Also, the "Ooh, Ah, Dracula" Fruit machine from Shaun of the Dead can be heard here.
The Hole in the Wall- An obvious one, Stephen drives the Beast through the wall, creating a hole through which they can escape. Gary escapes through the window (Another hole in a wall) The sign has spatters of blue on it.
The World's End- The crew trigger the apocalypse.
Every pub where they fight the blue filled robots, the sign has spatters of blue. This one I didn't actually notice while watching, I noticed afterwards when I wanted to corroborate my theories on the meanings of the pub names, and found a link with images of the signs.
Last edited:
It's not psychotic to dump Spoony.
Yeah, I don't know much about it but it's not exactly easy being with someone who is bipolar.
Spoony came off as a clingy boyfriend. Some people like that, some don't.
He's bipolar isn't he? That's a nasty thing to subject someone to untreated.
Yeah, he is. My wife is too and she's been on meds for it for years, and it's still a struggle. Off meds, untreated, must be a nightmare both for the person with the disorder and those around.
The Cabin In The Woods
Surprisingly not as scary as I thought it would be, which probably explains why I rather enjoyed it. I usually hate scary movies, but I quite liked this one. It helps that its twist is revealed so early on, it's less of a "twist" and more of a "premise." That means the film has the time and space to build on the twist elements, and flesh them out.
Surprisingly not as scary as I thought it would be, which probably explains why I rather enjoyed it. I usually hate scary movies, but I quite liked this one. It helps that its twist is revealed so early on, it's less of a "twist" and more of a "premise." That means the film has the time and space to build on the twist elements, and flesh them out.
Just did a "found footage" horror double feature.
The Bay
This was pretty good. The film uses a good mix of different pieces of found footage to tell a tale of a town terrorized by mutant creatures. My main critique is that the film was inspired by Chesapeake Bay's pollution problems, but the film almost hammers too hard its environmental message. Some of info reveals are also a little weak, but it still has good atmosphere as its story unfolds.
V/H/S
I wasn't sure if they could pull off a "found footage" anthology film, but they did a great job on it. Each of the stories are nice and compact, giving you enough without overexplaining the horrors within. They also took advantage of the VHS concept, with old-school camera technical restraints and problems helping to add a layer of mystique to the action. Second-to-last story was the weakest, but they definitely saved the best for last.
...and now I realize the stupidity in watching horror movies late at night.
The Bay
This was pretty good. The film uses a good mix of different pieces of found footage to tell a tale of a town terrorized by mutant creatures. My main critique is that the film was inspired by Chesapeake Bay's pollution problems, but the film almost hammers too hard its environmental message. Some of info reveals are also a little weak, but it still has good atmosphere as its story unfolds.
V/H/S
I wasn't sure if they could pull off a "found footage" anthology film, but they did a great job on it. Each of the stories are nice and compact, giving you enough without overexplaining the horrors within. They also took advantage of the VHS concept, with old-school camera technical restraints and problems helping to add a layer of mystique to the action. Second-to-last story was the weakest, but they definitely saved the best for last.
...and now I realize the stupidity in watching horror movies late at night.
Honestly, I really liked the movie, right up to the very last scene.
Love both of these, very underrated and hidden little gems.
Spoony is now whining about everybody picking on him for not liking The Worlds End, and says everyone who likes it deluding themselves. And for good measure goes on to hate on SR4.
Par for course.
2001: A Space Odyssey
I'd never seen it before, so I decided to sit down and watch it on bluray in high def.
First thoughts: There's an awfully large gorilla suit budget for a space movie.
Final thoughts: WTF just happened?
Spoilers ahead.
So, I'm a bit conflicted here. Overall, I have to say I quite enjoyed the experience, because it kept me in a sense of mystery wondering what was going to happen next. If I were to watch it again, though, I think all I would feel is boredom. The film is vastly self-indulgent, allowing itself to spend an inexplicably long time in banal scenes, whose very banality is meant to set mood. And it worked, I suppose, but this film could have still been much, much shorter. The stargate scene near the end is 15 straight minutes of funky flashing colors and eery, high-pitched music. 15 minutes. And then the ending... well, the ending at least makes you think.
Hal really stole the show in the third act. I was surprised to discover that he's really just a sub plot, and not really a part of the overall story. Of course, I knew from pop culture what was going to happen, but the characterization of Hal, the voicework, and the slow descent into computer madness still made it chilling. Hal is memorable because there's very little dialogue in this 3 hour movie, and of those that do speak, he is the most human, unchanging monotone and all. His presence was menacing and suspenseful, and in the end of his arc, even a little sad. When Dave is disconnecting his core memory, and HAL changes from trying to talk him out of it, to saying he's scared, I got chills. Yes, he's a crazy killer computer, but he's also a sentient being, and in this scene he's pleading for his life as he's murdered. To bring out that emotion for a character that doesn't even have a face is spectacular.
The other big positive is that this movie is absolutely gorgeous. I would never have believed this film to have been made in 1968. The special effects are mind blowing, the space scenes are just absolutely epic, and the camera angles and colors are absolutely wonderful. Every shot is striking and iconic, and I can't imagine what it must have been like for an audience that hadn't yet experienced the moon landing.
I'd never seen it before, so I decided to sit down and watch it on bluray in high def.
First thoughts: There's an awfully large gorilla suit budget for a space movie.
Final thoughts: WTF just happened?
Spoilers ahead.
So, I'm a bit conflicted here. Overall, I have to say I quite enjoyed the experience, because it kept me in a sense of mystery wondering what was going to happen next. If I were to watch it again, though, I think all I would feel is boredom. The film is vastly self-indulgent, allowing itself to spend an inexplicably long time in banal scenes, whose very banality is meant to set mood. And it worked, I suppose, but this film could have still been much, much shorter. The stargate scene near the end is 15 straight minutes of funky flashing colors and eery, high-pitched music. 15 minutes. And then the ending... well, the ending at least makes you think.
Hal really stole the show in the third act. I was surprised to discover that he's really just a sub plot, and not really a part of the overall story. Of course, I knew from pop culture what was going to happen, but the characterization of Hal, the voicework, and the slow descent into computer madness still made it chilling. Hal is memorable because there's very little dialogue in this 3 hour movie, and of those that do speak, he is the most human, unchanging monotone and all. His presence was menacing and suspenseful, and in the end of his arc, even a little sad. When Dave is disconnecting his core memory, and HAL changes from trying to talk him out of it, to saying he's scared, I got chills. Yes, he's a crazy killer computer, but he's also a sentient being, and in this scene he's pleading for his life as he's murdered. To bring out that emotion for a character that doesn't even have a face is spectacular.
The other big positive is that this movie is absolutely gorgeous. I would never have believed this film to have been made in 1968. The special effects are mind blowing, the space scenes are just absolutely epic, and the camera angles and colors are absolutely wonderful. Every shot is striking and iconic, and I can't imagine what it must have been like for an audience that hadn't yet experienced the moon landing.
I love everything about this review. You should write more on movies, seriously, it was a great read.
I thought that a nice thing about the World's End was how it fits in with the Edgar Wright trilogy in the aspects of small town communities, a change upon the populace, and those who find themselves stuck in the middle of it. But at the same time it's a very different version of that idea each time around. And a different genre each time even (though I guess some might argue that zombies are science fiction). Of the three, I'd say Sean of the Dead is still my favorite, because it gets everything right. The comedy. The pacing. The reactions. My favorite scene in that film is still when Sean climbs up the ladder on the kids slide to see ahead, and comes back down. His distraught reaction is priceless.
See I loved the last scene. I thought it was hilarious, and a great way of continuing the homage to the horror genre.
By last scene, I mean the final decision.
Kick-Ass 2
You know, it's funny. Mark Millar is a mega-popular writer, but he's a TERRIBLE writer. He doesn't understand the idea behind dialing back the excessive swearing or violence in order to make either of them mean something. I have no problem with either, but when it's excessive - like every second word being a swear word - it becomes nauseating. Not because of the swearing, but because of its overuse.
Fortunately, the first movie got some actual writers and editors, to say nothing of an incredibly competent (if not great) director, and made it into a surprisingly great movie. The tone changed from something cynical to something actually kind of hopeful with some likeable characters.
The sequel is no different. It's not quite as good as the first, but there's still a lot to like. The heroes, while maybe a little mentally unbalanced (like Jim Carey's character), they're still relatable and likeable. Hell, the titular character acts more like Superman than Superman did in his own movie this year, showing legitimate compassion for others, even the villains.
Some of the side-story with Hit Girl didn't really hit it for me (no pun intended). It felt a little too Mean Girls for me, but the payoff was pretty great.
What I can't wait to see most, though? More of Olga Kurkulina, who played Mother Russia. She's an awesome, monstrous, opposing force in the movie and definitely the highlight of the whole movie. I hope to hell we see her in more movies, though it'll likely be more roles like this (scary big muscle for the main bad guy). Still, I want more!
You know, it's funny. Mark Millar is a mega-popular writer, but he's a TERRIBLE writer. He doesn't understand the idea behind dialing back the excessive swearing or violence in order to make either of them mean something. I have no problem with either, but when it's excessive - like every second word being a swear word - it becomes nauseating. Not because of the swearing, but because of its overuse.
Fortunately, the first movie got some actual writers and editors, to say nothing of an incredibly competent (if not great) director, and made it into a surprisingly great movie. The tone changed from something cynical to something actually kind of hopeful with some likeable characters.
The sequel is no different. It's not quite as good as the first, but there's still a lot to like. The heroes, while maybe a little mentally unbalanced (like Jim Carey's character), they're still relatable and likeable. Hell, the titular character acts more like Superman than Superman did in his own movie this year, showing legitimate compassion for others, even the villains.
Some of the side-story with Hit Girl didn't really hit it for me (no pun intended). It felt a little too Mean Girls for me, but the payoff was pretty great.
What I can't wait to see most, though? More of Olga Kurkulina, who played Mother Russia. She's an awesome, monstrous, opposing force in the movie and definitely the highlight of the whole movie. I hope to hell we see her in more movies, though it'll likely be more roles like this (scary big muscle for the main bad guy). Still, I want more!
Finally saw Man of Steel. It was okay. A bit slow in parts, but it delivers on the Superman action, though I think they went a little overboard in the blow-up-buildings department.
The Supes/Lois relationship felt a little rushed, too.
The Boondock Saints- I went into the movie pretty much ignorant of anything about it other than it has a huge cult following and that it was very violent.
Having watched it right on the back of reading Preacher, both works bring up a whole lot of moral and ethical questions about what justice means and who can really be the arbiter of that justice. It calls into question the entire idea that there is an absolute right and absolute wrong, but with both works, there was a niggling little voice in the back of my head that kept asking me if the ends justify the means in these sorts of works of fiction. It also leads me to question the entire vigilante genre from super heroes to movies like Boondock Saints. Just because the main characters in these works of fiction have the power to right what they perceive to be the ills of society, does that necessarily mean that they are justified to do so? What makes their morality so much more superior to the morality of those that they kill or otherwise work outside the law to bring down? A lot of this was addressed directly in the confessional scene, which I thought was a shining spot in the writing of the film.
The biggest issue I see with these types of works, is whether that sort of balance can be maintained. What if anti-heroes and other people who take the law into their own hands to deal out their individual brand of justice believe that those who need to be punished are people you would view as innocent? What if they moved on to brutally punish jaywalkers and people who commit insurance fraud. Do those people deserve to be killed in cold blood as well, rather than being handed over to a flawed justice system? Also, how far is too far. The recent kerfuffle about the ending of Man of Steel has shown that some people have widely varying thoughts about what is right and wrong for a character even as indomitably good as Superman is. For some, his murder was justified, for others it was an affront to the character.
I don't know, just a whole bunch of heady questions that have been swirling around in my head after watching the movie.
OK, that whole quasi-philosophical rambling aside, now for the movie as a cinematic experience. It was an undoubtedly fun movie, albeit with some serious flaws in terms of storytelling. The Duke character kind of came out of left field and the fact that he
was pretty stupid. Even if he was played awesomely by Billy Connelly.
The cinematography was simply gorgeous. For what really boils down to a blood soaked romp, some of the shots were what I dare to consider art in their composition. Willem Defoe was astounding in his role.
Overall, I liked the movie and the fact that it even raised all the questions above attests to how the movie is far more than the sum of it's parts. While it's goofy and over the top in parts, it does raise some great debatable issues.
TLDNR: I liked it.
Having watched it right on the back of reading Preacher, both works bring up a whole lot of moral and ethical questions about what justice means and who can really be the arbiter of that justice. It calls into question the entire idea that there is an absolute right and absolute wrong, but with both works, there was a niggling little voice in the back of my head that kept asking me if the ends justify the means in these sorts of works of fiction. It also leads me to question the entire vigilante genre from super heroes to movies like Boondock Saints. Just because the main characters in these works of fiction have the power to right what they perceive to be the ills of society, does that necessarily mean that they are justified to do so? What makes their morality so much more superior to the morality of those that they kill or otherwise work outside the law to bring down? A lot of this was addressed directly in the confessional scene, which I thought was a shining spot in the writing of the film.
The biggest issue I see with these types of works, is whether that sort of balance can be maintained. What if anti-heroes and other people who take the law into their own hands to deal out their individual brand of justice believe that those who need to be punished are people you would view as innocent? What if they moved on to brutally punish jaywalkers and people who commit insurance fraud. Do those people deserve to be killed in cold blood as well, rather than being handed over to a flawed justice system? Also, how far is too far. The recent kerfuffle about the ending of Man of Steel has shown that some people have widely varying thoughts about what is right and wrong for a character even as indomitably good as Superman is. For some, his murder was justified, for others it was an affront to the character.
I don't know, just a whole bunch of heady questions that have been swirling around in my head after watching the movie.
OK, that whole quasi-philosophical rambling aside, now for the movie as a cinematic experience. It was an undoubtedly fun movie, albeit with some serious flaws in terms of storytelling. The Duke character kind of came out of left field and the fact that he
turned out to be their father
The cinematography was simply gorgeous. For what really boils down to a blood soaked romp, some of the shots were what I dare to consider art in their composition. Willem Defoe was astounding in his role.
Overall, I liked the movie and the fact that it even raised all the questions above attests to how the movie is far more than the sum of it's parts. While it's goofy and over the top in parts, it does raise some great debatable issues.
TLDNR: I liked it.
Years ago on this forum, I would've said prepare to be shit on, but Chaz is gone and probably some others (aside from Charlie) who thought liking this movie means you're stupid. My wife and I like it too. You gave it a lot more thought than I did though.