[Movies] Talk about the last movie you saw 2: Electric Threadaloo
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Kung Fu Panda 2: Damn. Daaaaaaaamn. This was really good. I heard people say it was, but I didn't believe them, because the first one didn't feel like it needed a sequel. Holy crap though. Lots of great dialogue and fight scenes. I could've done without them making it like they were saving the art of kung fu when there was the more pressing issue of saving China that had the same goal, but I guess that was simpler to digest for some. Really, not much to complain about.
And then the climax:
Between that, Po's flashbacks, and a couple of in-movie deaths, I'm not surprised this was rated PG.
And then the climax:
Po's use of motion was great, but what really got me was Shen's death. I saw the cannon creaking and thought "Of course, they can't have the hero kill the bad guy, he has to cause his own demise, even though he could easily dodge out of the way." And he could have. But he chose not to--when he saw the cannon coming down and a simple side-step would have saved him, he instead closed his eyes and held his head high. He didn't know how to be happy without power, and when it became clear he couldn't have power, he let himself be killed.
Between that, Po's flashbacks, and a couple of in-movie deaths, I'm not surprised this was rated PG.
Given the tease we got at the end of that, you know what I'd love for a sequel? A Kung-Fu Panda version of Seven Samurai.
That would be cool - especially if they make it quasi-serious and not 4 hrs long. Would Po be Toshiro Mifune?
I'm certainly hoping they get around to a third.
I need to watch the first one again though. It's been a while.
I need to watch the first one again though. It's been a while.
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Well...that was a total piece of shit.
Well...that was a total piece of shit.
I liked it.
Why exactly?[DOUBLEPOST=1382604077,1382603555][/DOUBLEPOST]
I was so damn impressed with Kung-Fu-Panda 2. I think it's one of those rare instances where the sequel absolutely shows up the first film. Don't get me wrong. I loved Kung Fu Panda. But 2 not only involved a more epic plot, but did so with beautiful animation and battle sequences. When it was funny I laughed hard. When it was sad I actually cried.
I was quite disappointed when Rango took home Best Animated Film that year. Also a good film. But didn't leave the impact that Panda managed.
Madagascar 3 had this same impact for me. It was amazing that a 3rd movie in an animated series was so damn good.
I'll try to be brief here, but honestly, a lot of it has been discussed by others on here before. Spoiler cut, just in case someone still hasn't seen it.
1) Khan doesn't work. Not only is he a walking fan-service, but his big reveal "My name...IS KHAN!" is meaningless to Kirk and the others. The way the line is delivered is PURELY for the audience who saw it coming a mile away, anyway. Worse, it was supposed to be this big mystery of who Cumberbach's character was even though everyone kept saying, "Yeah, it's going to be Khan, isn't it?" Yet Abrams and the others involved kept saying it wasn't. But it was. Cumberbach was basically just there to mimic a role that was done better and more iconic all those years ago. Not only that, but we get very little back story on the character because we're just assumed to already know it from the previous movie. Yes, we get some, but there's no mention of the Eugenics War or why these super-soldiers were created in the first place.
2) The callbacks to Wrath of Khan are ridiculous. Not only do they do the BIG SACRIFICE but with a twist (which is even more eye-rolling), but the sacrifice is made meaningless anyway because they magically bring Kirk back, anyway. Spock's big "KHAAAAAAN!" scream was not only cheesy but made little sense since it was Kirk who made the sacrifice himself and we didn't even see Khan again until his super-ship blew past the Entrerprise.
3) The whole "we're being pulled into Earth's gravity" or something. Gravity in space doesn't work that way! They'd stay afloat, dead in the water, losing power, but they wouldn't suddenly fall like that.
4) Where the hell were all the other ships? They were right above Earth. Where's the Earth defence force? And wouldn't there be some kind of a no-fly zone around Starfleet's building during such a major meeting of the big heads?
5) Blondey McStrips-a-Lot was only there for more fan service. Not just for her name, which led to more pre-movie speculation, but for the meaningless stripping and was basically just there to play damsel in distress for Kirk and the boys.
6) How the hell did Scotty manage to sneak aboard this super-ship?
7) There were several mentions early in about Kirk's health and then just dropped. Why bother bringing it up? Also, Spock and Uhura were suddenly fighting when there was no indication or build up of it beforehand.
8) Spock and Kirk's friendship - and thus Spock's rage at Kirk's death - are meaningless because they've only known each other for a short period of time. It had such a huge impact in Wrath of Khan because we'd known those characters for over 20 years. Those characters have known each other for over 20 years. Spock was an iconic, household name by that point.
I will say that the special effects, score, and action were pretty great. But there were far too many problems with the story, the characters (who were basically just a bunch of frat boys)
And before you say, "Oh, you're just overthinking this dumb, action, popcorn flick" but you can have a big, dumb action flick and have it all make relative sense within the logic of the movie (see also: Pacific Rim). It's also huge, useless fan-pandering, which only serves to compare with another, far superior movie. There are endless problems with the story and its characters that seem to only serve to move it from set piece to set piece. Everything presented is meaningless fluff to set up fan-service moments in the third act.
2) The callbacks to Wrath of Khan are ridiculous. Not only do they do the BIG SACRIFICE but with a twist (which is even more eye-rolling), but the sacrifice is made meaningless anyway because they magically bring Kirk back, anyway. Spock's big "KHAAAAAAN!" scream was not only cheesy but made little sense since it was Kirk who made the sacrifice himself and we didn't even see Khan again until his super-ship blew past the Entrerprise.
3) The whole "we're being pulled into Earth's gravity" or something. Gravity in space doesn't work that way! They'd stay afloat, dead in the water, losing power, but they wouldn't suddenly fall like that.
4) Where the hell were all the other ships? They were right above Earth. Where's the Earth defence force? And wouldn't there be some kind of a no-fly zone around Starfleet's building during such a major meeting of the big heads?
5) Blondey McStrips-a-Lot was only there for more fan service. Not just for her name, which led to more pre-movie speculation, but for the meaningless stripping and was basically just there to play damsel in distress for Kirk and the boys.
6) How the hell did Scotty manage to sneak aboard this super-ship?
7) There were several mentions early in about Kirk's health and then just dropped. Why bother bringing it up? Also, Spock and Uhura were suddenly fighting when there was no indication or build up of it beforehand.
8) Spock and Kirk's friendship - and thus Spock's rage at Kirk's death - are meaningless because they've only known each other for a short period of time. It had such a huge impact in Wrath of Khan because we'd known those characters for over 20 years. Those characters have known each other for over 20 years. Spock was an iconic, household name by that point.
I will say that the special effects, score, and action were pretty great. But there were far too many problems with the story, the characters (who were basically just a bunch of frat boys)
And before you say, "Oh, you're just overthinking this dumb, action, popcorn flick" but you can have a big, dumb action flick and have it all make relative sense within the logic of the movie (see also: Pacific Rim). It's also huge, useless fan-pandering, which only serves to compare with another, far superior movie. There are endless problems with the story and its characters that seem to only serve to move it from set piece to set piece. Everything presented is meaningless fluff to set up fan-service moments in the third act.
Minus the ridiculous amount of fan-pandering? Sure, more or less.
the sacrifice is made meaningless anyway because they magically bring Kirk back, anyway.
Star Trek III: the search for spock, lmao
A completely different movie released years later. Not magically fixed five minutes later in the same movie. Search for Spock has its own ridiculousness to it, but at least Wrath of Khan still leaves you to mourn without a cop out.
Also agree to this one. Not an emotionally powerful movie. But it was funny as hell and so god damn pretty to look at.
Cajungal
Staff member
I saw the new Carrie, and I actually liked it ok.
Chloe Grace Moretz did a good job with the role, I thought. I liked most of the cast. Julienne Moore scared the crap out of me. Bobby was still a lovable bonehead. There was a spoiled Daddy's girl angle that they added to Chris's character that made her even more insufferable. They modernized it by showing how social media can make bullying even more devastating. It lacked the tension of the original. Maybe it's because I knew the story, but the first one used suspense and music so well that it would be hard to improve upon.
My biggest beefs:
One thing I liked that they changed a little was
TL;DR: Not a bad night at the movies, but, as you could all guess, the original cannot be beaten.
Chloe Grace Moretz did a good job with the role, I thought. I liked most of the cast. Julienne Moore scared the crap out of me. Bobby was still a lovable bonehead. There was a spoiled Daddy's girl angle that they added to Chris's character that made her even more insufferable. They modernized it by showing how social media can make bullying even more devastating. It lacked the tension of the original. Maybe it's because I knew the story, but the first one used suspense and music so well that it would be hard to improve upon.
My biggest beefs:
(1) At one point, Carrie locks her mom in the closet by melting the lock with her mind, making her seem like a firestarter as well. Just a nitpick that bugged me a little.
(2) She used her powers around her mom more freely in this one when confronting her. I didn't buy that she would have the confidence to do this after all she'd been through. It made more sense in the original when she would just push her mom aside instead of making her float in midair. I guess they wanted to use more effects and showcase her powers more.
(3)The original ending had such a wonderful, shocking moment that you sort of knew was coming, but it all happened so slowly--including the way Carrie's hand pops out of the rubble--that it still makes me jump every time. In the new one, there's a court hearing, and Sue makes some speech about pushing people too far... and then pan to Carrie's tombstone, and it starts to crack and kind of glow, then this weird rock music starts playing (if I remember right). Boooo. It was a flat and boring ending to an otherwise passable movie.
(2) She used her powers around her mom more freely in this one when confronting her. I didn't buy that she would have the confidence to do this after all she'd been through. It made more sense in the original when she would just push her mom aside instead of making her float in midair. I guess they wanted to use more effects and showcase her powers more.
(3)The original ending had such a wonderful, shocking moment that you sort of knew was coming, but it all happened so slowly--including the way Carrie's hand pops out of the rubble--that it still makes me jump every time. In the new one, there's a court hearing, and Sue makes some speech about pushing people too far... and then pan to Carrie's tombstone, and it starts to crack and kind of glow, then this weird rock music starts playing (if I remember right). Boooo. It was a flat and boring ending to an otherwise passable movie.
One thing I liked that they changed a little was
that Carrie was making friends at the dance instead of just clinging to Bobby. People from other schools were reaching out to her. They thought she was nice and interesting, and even though I knew what was coming, I still felt that hope. This is her chance for a happier life! Nope.
TL;DR: Not a bad night at the movies, but, as you could all guess, the original cannot be beaten.
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GasBandit
Staff member
Comparing it to an odd numbered original trek movie is damning in and of itself.
The Kings of Summer. I was apparently the wrong demographic for this movie. Also, Napoleon Dynamite killed quirky movies for me. Quirky = irritating. However, I did laugh a few times. Though, the story kind of went now where. I would have liked to have seen more of the parents and less of the children. Biaggio's character kept the film going.
Wes Anderson does quirky kids much better.
Buck. It's a documentary about the guy that inspired the movie The Horse Whisperer. I really enjoyed it. I found it to be quite inspiring. For anyone who has a past that they can't shake, I'd give this one a go. I don't really even care about horses and this doc kept my attention. I found a good number of life lessons in it. It's on Netflix streaming.
Wes Anderson does quirky kids much better.
Buck. It's a documentary about the guy that inspired the movie The Horse Whisperer. I really enjoyed it. I found it to be quite inspiring. For anyone who has a past that they can't shake, I'd give this one a go. I don't really even care about horses and this doc kept my attention. I found a good number of life lessons in it. It's on Netflix streaming.
Not sure what to think of this complaint. Fan-pandering meant to affect the audience more than the characters themselves is bad? Seems to be a pretty common and inevitable occurrence in reboots. The moment you find out who Kirk, Bones, Scotty, etc are it's a fan-relevant moment.
It's weird how movies don't always have to follow exact science.
This one's just kinda nitpicking a bit don't you think? We don't know how Spock and Kirk's relationship has evolved over the time they have known each other. For all we know the original series would have had a similar scene if Spock died in the second season. They clearly had a bond that could result in that kind of rage. I could see that. And yes, I suppose it wouldn't necessarily be as big an impact on the audience as the characters, but weren't you complaining about that happening earlier anyway?
Everything else are perfectly valid complaints. I guess I just enjoyed the movie despite them.
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Honestly, I just think Star Trek Into Darkness was just a weaker film overall. It had some good action, but the plot was weak and I didn't want to just see
.
Part of it for me is the fact that, because they created their own timeline, they could have done anything. To me, this could have been a great opportunity to reimagine old-school Star Trek foes that some people may not know. For example, what I would have liked to have seen is Benedict Cumberbatch as Gary Mitchell, idolizing Kirk for becoming a Starfleet captain so fast. While serving under Kirk, Kirk's hubris results in the accident which gives Gary his powers. He initially tries helping the crew using his newfound gifts, but he gradually grows to resent them and becomes crazy due to the power going to his head. In the meantime, the Klingons learn about Gary Mitchell and prepare for war, believing him to be a new Starfleet superweapon that could be used against them. Thus, Kirk and his crew end up not only having to deal with an increasingly powerful Gary Mitchell, but also defuse a potential war with the Klingons.
That's what I would have done for a sequel to J. J. Abrams' Star Trek.
a Wrath of Khan retread
Part of it for me is the fact that, because they created their own timeline, they could have done anything. To me, this could have been a great opportunity to reimagine old-school Star Trek foes that some people may not know. For example, what I would have liked to have seen is Benedict Cumberbatch as Gary Mitchell, idolizing Kirk for becoming a Starfleet captain so fast. While serving under Kirk, Kirk's hubris results in the accident which gives Gary his powers. He initially tries helping the crew using his newfound gifts, but he gradually grows to resent them and becomes crazy due to the power going to his head. In the meantime, the Klingons learn about Gary Mitchell and prepare for war, believing him to be a new Starfleet superweapon that could be used against them. Thus, Kirk and his crew end up not only having to deal with an increasingly powerful Gary Mitchell, but also defuse a potential war with the Klingons.
That's what I would have done for a sequel to J. J. Abrams' Star Trek.
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It's funny Nick uses Pacific Rim as an example of a film with internally consistent logic, because I watched it again recently and yep, all the plot holes are still there. Still a spectacular movie though. As the Honest Trailers video put it, it's either the dumbest awesome film ever, or the awesomest dumb film ever. Either way, it's awesome. Dumb, but awesome.
One thing I appreciate about both movies is the handling of the villains. Though both have what could be seen as generic villain goals, the reasons behind them are set in deeply-flawed perspectives on happiness. I also like that ...
In both cases, Po has to learn the lesson that, had the villains been willing to learn it, might have turned their lives around.
The Avengers
My god, I'll never get tired of watching this movie. It is, in my mind, the perfect superhero movie. It's not without its flaws in terms of story or plot holes (like the lack of communication devices for them during the big battle), but it's nitpicking. Everyone gets their chance to shine and everyone gets to beat up Loki at one point or another.
I love this movie. SO MUCH. I just wish Warner Bros could do the equivilant when it comes to pure fun.
My god, I'll never get tired of watching this movie. It is, in my mind, the perfect superhero movie. It's not without its flaws in terms of story or plot holes (like the lack of communication devices for them during the big battle), but it's nitpicking. Everyone gets their chance to shine and everyone gets to beat up Loki at one point or another.
I love this movie. SO MUCH. I just wish Warner Bros could do the equivilant when it comes to pure fun.
Curse of Chucky
This is a recent straight-to-video new Chucky sequel. And it's...okay. Its pace is atrocious, as the first half just slogs by with very little tension. The second half gets a little interesting, but it's not enough to really make this anything more than ho-hum. There's only one REALLY good bit of gore early in, but the rest of the kills are mostly meh. There's a bit of fun towards the end with pair of fun cameos, but the after-the-credits stuff doesn't make sense with the just-before-the-credits stuff.
Chucky's redesign just looks...off. It's revealed later that there's a reason for it, but even after that, it still just doesn't work for me. Maybe I'm just used to the original design used in the first three films. I'm not including Bride or Seed of Chucky in those because I was never a fan of the stitched up scarred look that he had in those.
So yeah, I'm pretty disappointed. I was kind of expecting it would be better, but it's just not as much fun as the others. There's some clever angles and shots, but it's not enough to make it more than ho-hum. I see what they were trying for: making the movies scary again instead of quasi-comedies. But they forget the original fun of the original three was that, like any good slasher flick like Chucky or Freddy, that the kills are quips are just as entertaining. And here, they're just not.
This is a recent straight-to-video new Chucky sequel. And it's...okay. Its pace is atrocious, as the first half just slogs by with very little tension. The second half gets a little interesting, but it's not enough to really make this anything more than ho-hum. There's only one REALLY good bit of gore early in, but the rest of the kills are mostly meh. There's a bit of fun towards the end with pair of fun cameos, but the after-the-credits stuff doesn't make sense with the just-before-the-credits stuff.
Chucky's redesign just looks...off. It's revealed later that there's a reason for it, but even after that, it still just doesn't work for me. Maybe I'm just used to the original design used in the first three films. I'm not including Bride or Seed of Chucky in those because I was never a fan of the stitched up scarred look that he had in those.
So yeah, I'm pretty disappointed. I was kind of expecting it would be better, but it's just not as much fun as the others. There's some clever angles and shots, but it's not enough to make it more than ho-hum. I see what they were trying for: making the movies scary again instead of quasi-comedies. But they forget the original fun of the original three was that, like any good slasher flick like Chucky or Freddy, that the kills are quips are just as entertaining. And here, they're just not.
You would think making a good Chucky movie would be...child's play.
Wife went to visit a friend, which means trashy horror night!
V/H/S 2 - Saw this soon after gearing up Netflix, so it didn't take long to pick out what I was watching tonight. Overall, I think this was a huge improvement from the first movie. Neither is really scary--I'm more interested in inventiveness and imagination. The first segment of the original was my favorite, but here I think it was a waste. They tell the guy his new artificial eye is competing with his biological eye to feed info to his brain. There are so many possibilities to a neat idea like that, but the best they could do was
Fortunately the other ones are better. Second scenario was just ... wow. Great ideas. The third was unique and kept me guessing as to where it was going. The last was not what I expected and was probably the creepiest in my opinion. Wrap-around story shed a little more light on the VHS tapes, but wasn't much to it. Overall, I enjoyed it.
The Hole - I've been putting off seeing this since it came out in 2009 because people said it was kind of lackluster. People were right. I was hoping for something decent out of Joe Dante, but this came off as a stretched out episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which would be forgivable if there were decent scares, or good performances, interesting characters ... just something. But the movie lacks teeth and the talent just isn't on display. The kid playing the older brother comes off as bored, the younger brother never pulls off fear believably, and the next door neighbor feels like she's in the wrong kind of movie.
Though it was a flawed movie, I think Super 8 better captured the kind of movie this wanted to be. Though tonally inconsistent, there was a lot of talent hands-on with that film, and had interesting characters, story, performances, effects. The Hole was just a weak waste of time.
V/H/S 2 - Saw this soon after gearing up Netflix, so it didn't take long to pick out what I was watching tonight. Overall, I think this was a huge improvement from the first movie. Neither is really scary--I'm more interested in inventiveness and imagination. The first segment of the original was my favorite, but here I think it was a waste. They tell the guy his new artificial eye is competing with his biological eye to feed info to his brain. There are so many possibilities to a neat idea like that, but the best they could do was
I see dead people.
Fortunately the other ones are better. Second scenario was just ... wow. Great ideas. The third was unique and kept me guessing as to where it was going. The last was not what I expected and was probably the creepiest in my opinion. Wrap-around story shed a little more light on the VHS tapes, but wasn't much to it. Overall, I enjoyed it.
The Hole - I've been putting off seeing this since it came out in 2009 because people said it was kind of lackluster. People were right. I was hoping for something decent out of Joe Dante, but this came off as a stretched out episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which would be forgivable if there were decent scares, or good performances, interesting characters ... just something. But the movie lacks teeth and the talent just isn't on display. The kid playing the older brother comes off as bored, the younger brother never pulls off fear believably, and the next door neighbor feels like she's in the wrong kind of movie.
Though it was a flawed movie, I think Super 8 better captured the kind of movie this wanted to be. Though tonally inconsistent, there was a lot of talent hands-on with that film, and had interesting characters, story, performances, effects. The Hole was just a weak waste of time.
There's been some really solid entrees in the past 5yrs actually. My sister turned me onto a few, she'd probably give a better list:
Hatchet 1 & 2
The Collector & Collection
Trick R Treat
Larry Cohen's Pick Me Up
Are a few I found just looking around on Netflix that I found pretty interesting. Most tend to be zombie/supernatural (even Trick R Treat falls a little in that category) but the others are pretty solid slashers if you haven't had a chance to see them, all also made in the 2000s.
I haven't seen any of those except Trick R Treat, which is not a slasher film, at all.
And here comes a several post argument between Gilg and some other forumite about what qualifies as a slasher film.
It's a supernatural horror anthology a la CreepshowAnd here comes a several post argument between Gilg and some other forumite about what qualifies as a slasher film.
Silly Stephen King cameo?It's a supernatural horror anthology a la Creepshow
No. But it's definitely got a twisted sense of humor.
If it's back on Netflix, I'll check it out Thursday when my wife's with her friends again. I tried watching it with her once and the opening five minutes earned it a thumbs down for being a couple's movie.
I really wish I could visit New York soon. My closest friend up there loves these kinds of movies and we try to watch a couple whenever I'm in town.
I really wish I could visit New York soon. My closest friend up there loves these kinds of movies and we try to watch a couple whenever I'm in town.