[Movies] Talk about the last movie you saw 2: Electric Threadaloo

[ThatNickGuy]

Unfriended

Very unique concept for a horror flick: its whole point of view is from someone's computer screen, primarily Skype. Usual bad acting for this kind of horror movie, but I liked how it played with the style it was set.

And of course, because every horror movie has to end on a cheap-ass jump scare, it does so in the most jarring, cliche, unstylistic way possible that every horror movie these days seems to have to end. It's Paranormal Activity all over again: ending with a cheap jump scare that's uncharacteristic to the rest of the movie's style.

Even though it wasn't great, the movie had me right up until those last few seconds. I actually very verbally said, "Oh fuck off!" at those 5 seconds before the credits.

 

[Ravenpoe]

Unfriended

Very unique concept for a horror flick: its whole point of view is from someone's computer screen, primarily Skype. Usual bad acting for this kind of horror movie, but I liked how it played with the style it was set.

And of course, because every horror movie has to end on a cheap-ass jump scare, it does so in the most jarring, cliche, unstylistic way possible that every horror movie these days seems to have to end. It's Paranormal Activity all over again: ending with a cheap jump scare that's uncharacteristic to the rest of the movie's style.

Even though it wasn't great, the movie had me right up until those last few seconds. I actually very verbally said, "Oh fuck off!" at those 5 seconds before the credits.

This movie actually surprised me. I think you sum it up great. It's not a great movie, but it's not terrible, and it does some unique things with its format that are actually inventive.

 

[ThatNickGuy]

This movie actually surprised me. I think you sum it up great. It's not a great movie, but it's not terrible, and it does some unique things with its format that are actually inventive.

Yep, exactly. But fucking hell, that ending.

 

[fade]

I liked the ending of paranormal activity. I didn't feel like it was a jump scare so much as the dividend paid for no real monsterism through the whole rest of the movie.

 

[ThatNickGuy]

I liked the ending of paranormal activity. I didn't feel like it was a jump scare so much as the dividend paid for no real monsterism through the whole rest of the movie.

My issue with Paranormal Activity was more the unnecessary CGI monster face at the end, after a whole movie of trying to convince you it was real, using practical effects. It took me right out of the movie.

What's worse is the alternate ending that was more in line with the whole movie. But of course, that ending wouldn't have meant a gaggle of sequels.

 

[Yoshimickster]

Kung fu panda 3

Fun film, and hopefully a good end to the series. The parts with the panda village were a liiiiiitle cheesy, but not enough to detract my enjoyment of it. Only real bad thing about it my opinion was the end credit sequence not being up to snuff to the first 2, and even then it still looks okay.

 

[Bubble181]

Kung fu panda 3

Fun film, and hopefully a good end to the series. The parts with the panda village were a liiiiiitle cheesy, but not enough to detract my enjoyment of it. Only real bad thing about it my opinion was the end credit sequence not being up to snuff to the first 2, and even then it still looks okay.

....Huh, it's out already? I'd seen some trailers, but then nothing. No commercials, no tie-ins, no nothing. Weird.

 

[strawman]

Kung Fu Panda 3

Lots of fun, but honestly not as good as the first two. Still has a good "Oh, nice!" moment, but I think it got lost in the weeds a little...

Spoiler

...trying to extend the two dads conflict unnecessarily.

Also, similar to a lot of "protagonist increases capability exponentially during fights" tropes, including the previous two movies, I felt this one was too abrupt, though it does have a slight twist on it which improves the trope.

It was a good, fun movie, and I think a reasonable ending to the trilogy. The cast were on point, they were given good material, lots of opportunities to laugh.

The scenery and fight scenes weren't as spectacular as it could have been, and thus I don't think it needs to be seen in the theater. There are certain points in the movie where 3D makes a slightly positive difference in the scenery, but certainly not necessary to enjoy the film or the scenes where it is well used.

 

[bhamv3]

Deadpool

This is a Deadpool movie all right, and I say that as a good thing because Deadpool's previous cinematic outings have not been Deadpool. The humor was good, with lots of fourth wall breaking (but not, I feel, so much as to feel heavy handed). The action and fights felt suitably exciting. Lots of boob shots. Some delicious take-thats to other movies, like the Wolverine film.

If I had to make a complaint, it's that the movie can't decide if it's for Deadpool fans or general cinemagoers. It has a bit too much origin story for die hard fans, and yet some things are left a bit vague for people not familiar with the character. What are Deadpool's powers? Why can he talk to the audience? What's a chimichanga? Who's the big metal guy and the bald girl, and why are they in the movie?

Still though, this is definitely a Deadpool movie made by people who know and love the character, and I'd definitely recommend it.

 

[GasBandit]

Deadpool

This is a Deadpool movie all right, and I say that as a good thing because Deadpool's previous cinematic outings have not been Deadpool. The humor was good, with lots of fourth wall breaking (but not, I feel, so much as to feel heavy handed). The action and fights felt suitably exciting. Lots of boob shots. Some delicious take-thats to other movies, like the Wolverine film.

If I had to make a complaint, it's that the movie can't decide if it's for Deadpool fans or general cinemagoers. It has a bit too much origin story for die hard fans, and yet some things are left a bit vague for people not familiar with the character. What are Deadpool's powers? Why can he talk to the audience? What's a chimichanga? Who's the big metal guy and the bald girl, and why are they in the movie?

Still though, this is definitely a Deadpool movie made by people who know and love the character, and I'd definitely recommend it.

I could have sworn I saw a trailer somewhere where Negasonic Teenage Warhead says her name but I might just be remembering a comic. But I'm pretty sure everybody already knows who colossus is after the X-men movies.

 

[Ravenpoe]

I could have sworn I saw a trailer somewhere where Negasonic Teenage Warhead says her name but I might just be remembering a comic. But I'm pretty sure everybody already knows who colossus is after the X-men movies.

I think Deadpool says it, as in "Negasonic Teenaged Warhead? That's... the best name ever!"

 

[fade]

Deadpool AND boobs?!?

 

[Ravenpoe]

Deadpool AND boobs?!?

I've heard it's got dick, too. Truly, something for everyone.

 

[Dei]

Might go on Valentine's day, it depends on if we decide to ski an extra day.

 

[IronBrig4]

Just got from seeing Deadpool and I loved it. Btw, stay through the end credits.

 

[BErt]

I think Deadpool says it, as in "Negasonic Teenaged Warhead? That's... the best name ever!"

Yes, that happens. This movie was great. Tons of throws to other movies (whether they own the properties or not), lots of action, and I thought they toed the line of the "4th-wall" stuff perfectly.

Btw, stay through the end credits.

Yeah, what he said.

 

[PatrThom]

....Huh, it's out already? I'd seen some trailers, but then nothing. No commercials, no tie-ins, no nothing. Weird.

There's a billboard in my town touting the benefits of being a good dad and featuring the characters.
But no billboards (specifically) announcing the movie.

--Patrick

 

[Frank]

Saw The Revenant and Hail, Caesar.

I've lived more northerly than most of you will ever go most of my life, some of it small town, some of it small city. Hell, I was born in the Northwest Territories. Twice in my life I've come face to face with a bear. Twice in my life the bear has decided to sniff at me, mumble a bit, and move on. That bear attack scene is the scariest fucking thing I've ever seen on film. All the Paranormal Activities and scary board game movies have nothing on the real, actual, nervous terror I felt watching that knowing that could have been me. The film was really, really, really beautiful and all the effort they put into filming in the natural light shows. Great performances all around. People are looking at Leo for the Oscar nod, but I loved Tom Hardy way more in this. Great film. Go see it.

Hail, Caesar on the other hand was kind of a mixed bag for me. I love the Coens. I love, love, love their movies. I don't think they've ever made a bad movie. They've made not great movies, but never a bad one. This is one of their not great movies. It was funny and charming and full of their obvious love of films and film history, but it's honestly not much of a movie. Also, the white washing of the main character, characterized as a good guy trying his best to wrangle insane cats instead of the kind of manipulative monster implicated in murders and worse that the real man was bothers me. I can't really recommend this.

 

[Yoshimickster]

DEADPOOL was fucking great, can't to see it again.

 

[GasBandit]

Deadpool was pretty good. All the trailers did take away from some of the impact of many scenes, but it didn't spoil the whole movie.

 

[Yoshimickster]

Deadpool was pretty good. All the trailers did take away from some of the impact of many scenes, but it didn't spoil the whole movie.

Yeah its why I avoided the bulk of them like the plague, I remember all the teasers and trailers for "Inside Out" were pretty much the first act felt SO weird re-watching those scenes again.

 

[Bubble181]

. Also, the white washing of the main character, characterized as a good guy trying his best to wrangle insane cats instead of the kind of manipulative monster implicated in murders and worse that the real man was bothers me.

See, while you won't hear me claiming Caesar was a good guy - he did conquer this region and slaughter a buttload of the people around here - this isn't entirely fair. We've long had a historical view where we sort of believed official historical writing from the era, making the victors look good. The last decade or two we've seen a reversal, where people have been looking back and re-examining, giving more credence to critical thinkers/writers/sources from other cultures than the one being discussed, giving a grimmer, more negative view of the matter.
However, while "believing the conqueror's official biography" is silly, "believing the opposition" is just as short sighted. If a historian is trying to decide whether George W Bush was a pragmatic, charismatic hero, or a bumbling buffoon, it's a bad idea to go just by "George W: the Story of a True American", written by Barbara Bush, but considering only the Huffington Post a credible source isn't right either.

Honestly, we can say with near certainty Caesar wasn't the Second Coming of Christ (especially considering it'd have been the First Coming of Christ if he was ). He was a power player who was involved in the creation of an empire and the subjugation of several other cultures and tribes. Being implicated in "murders and worse" isn't saying much considering a) that's true for every politician of the era and b) who's doing the implicating. He wasn't an angel, but assuming he was the Devil because the opposition didn't like him isn't right either.

 

[Ravenpoe]

See, while you won't hear me claiming Caesar was a good guy - he did conquer this region and slaughter a buttload of the people around here - this isn't entirely fair. We've long had a historical view where we sort of believed official historical writing from the era, making the victors look good. The last decade or two we've seen a reversal, where people have been looking back and re-examining, giving more credence to critical thinkers/writers/sources from other cultures than the one being discussed, giving a grimmer, more negative view of the matter.
However, while "believing the conqueror's official biography" is silly, "believing the opposition" is just as short sighted. If a historian is trying to decide whether George W Bush was a pragmatic, charismatic hero, or a bumbling buffoon, it's a bad idea to go just by "George W: the Story of a True American", written by Barbara Bush, but considering only the Huffington Post a credible source isn't right either.

Honestly, we can say with near certainty Caesar wasn't the Second Coming of Christ (especially considering it'd have been the First Coming of Christ if he was ). He was a power player who was involved in the creation of an empire and the subjugation of several other cultures and tribes. Being implicated in "murders and worse" isn't saying much considering a) that's true for every politician of the era and b) who's doing the implicating. He wasn't an angel, but assuming he was the Devil because the opposition didn't like him isn't right either.

This is a long way to go just for a joke... So I approve.

 

[Hailey Knight]

Saw Deadpool. It was great, but I wish I'd seen less trailers because they give away about two-thirds of the movie, and so it felt like the movie was just getting started, when it was actually getting into the final act.

Surprised and amused by the number of little kids in the audience, particularly the little 8 or 9-year-old girl who was hopping through the lobby to the auditorium and shouting to her dad "I. Love. DEADPOOL!" Dad probably regrets that decision at this point, but the kid seemed to have a good time.

 

[Yoshimickster]

Rewatched Beerfest with my bro last night, still a fun B-comedy but MAN was the cheapness of it more noticeable.

 

[CynicismKills]

I really enjoyed Deadpool. I liked the splitting up of the origin into digestible smaller bits between action and the current day. I know Deadpool and his history, and I didn't ever find myself bored by re-treading the basic idea of how he got his powers. Reynolds really nails the most popular version of Deadpool, but does so without overdoing it to the point he devolves into Waypool (only one mention of the infamous chimichangas). I hope Reynolds gets his X-Factor movie off the ground, because if he can get it that R rating too, it could be a great follow-up to whatever's coming in Deadpool 2.

 

[Far]

Also saw Deadpool. Most of what's been said so far mirrors my thoughts as well so I won't rehash that all over again though I will say I really enjoyed it. With it being filmed in Van, I also had a decent time recognizing places, in particular

Spoiler

The final fights in the junkyard were filmed about 5 minutes away.

 

[Hailey Knight]

When Marnie Was There: It's unfortunate that Inside Out is going to win Best Animated Oscar, because it should really be this.

 

[strawman]

When Marnie Was There: It's unfortunate that Inside Out is going to win Best Animated Oscar, because it should really be this.

Rotten tomatoes and IMDB both rate Inside Out 5-10% higher than When Marnie Was There, and on metacritic which normalizes ratings Inside was rated 22% higher, so you're probably right about which one will win, but I'm curious whether you think Marnie was objectively better, or if it simply appealed to you, personally, more than Inside did. Reading the reviews it sounds like Inside was simply put together well, while Marnie set up a few things that simply didn't pay off - notably the jealousy of Marnie dancing with the boy, and the scary tower, which almost seem like slice of life or anime tropes but neither of them had any impact on the story or ending.

I looked up the market response, and it seems that even in Japan this was one of Ghibli's worse releases, receiving a rather tepid response. I don't think it's fair to compare budget and box office numbers given the relative sizes of the two studios responsible, but Marnie only returned 3:1 on investment, whereas Inside returned 5:1.

That said, I haven't seen Marnie so I don't have any foundation to compare them myself, but even the worst rating it got was still 3/5, and often received 4/5, and it's a Ghibli film (they've never left me feeling disappointed) so I'll add it to my list of movies to watch when it shows up on netflix or amazon prime.

 

[Hailey Knight]

Rotten tomatoes and IMDB both rate Inside Out 5-10% higher than When Marnie Was There, and on metacritic which normalizes ratings Inside was rated 22% higher, so you're probably right about which one will win, but I'm curious whether you think Marnie was objectively better, or if it simply appealed to you, personally, more than Inside did. Reading the reviews it sounds like Inside was simply put together well, while Marnie set up a few things that simply didn't pay off - notably the jealousy of Marnie dancing with the boy, and the scary tower, which almost seem like slice of life or anime tropes but neither of them had any impact on the story or ending.

That doesn't sound like it came from people who finished watching the movie, because the final act addresses all of that. I imagine some kids might not understand what was going on, but the award is Best Animated, not Best Kids.

Both are films where an adolescent girl deals with depression, but one from inside and the other from outside. When Marnie Was There is not about what most people who haven't seen it think it's about; I'll just say that.

I looked up the market response, and it seems that even in Japan this was one of Ghibli's worse releases, receiving a rather tepid response. I don't think it's fair to compare budget and box office numbers given the relative sizes of the two studios responsible, but Marnie only returned 3:1 on investment, whereas Inside returned 5:1.

That said, I haven't seen Marnie so I don't have any foundation to compare them myself, but even the worst rating it got was still 3/5, and often received 4/5, and it's a Ghibli film (they've never left me feeling disappointed) so I'll add it to my list of movies to watch when it shows up on netflix or amazon prime.

Ghibli disappointed me with Tales from Earthsea, but I'll lay the blame less on the studio and more on poor Goro Miyazaki for feeling pressured to follow in his father's footsteps.

If the Oscars were based on box office (which they can be sometimes) then no one would need to make the winners a secret until the big night; we could just look it up on Box Office Mojo. By that degree, The Blair Witch Project would be considered one of the greatest horror movies ever made because it only cost 50k to make, but raked in millions. Award should be based on merit. On the note of box office though, Marnie isn't a Miyzaki film and that seems to have been the killing blow for Studio Ghibli, that without Miyazaki, they aren't getting the same support they used to. (And now, of course, Miyazaki is coming out of retirement ... what is this, the fourth time?)

With that said, I liked Inside Out a lot and it's a really clever movie, but it's not Pixar's finest either. Marnie is no Spirited Away, but Inside Out is no Ratatouille.

 

[strawman]

Well, I still don't understand why you think it's better, but it's obviously not worth probing further. Perhaps I'll revisit this discussion after I've seen it as well.

 

[AshburnerX]

Ghibli disappointed me with Tales from Earthsea, but I'll lay the blame less on the studio and more on poor Goro Miyazaki for feeling pressured to follow in his father's footsteps.

He's been doing better... From Up on Poppy Hill was better than Tales from Earthsea and Ronia, The Robber's Daughter was actually pretty cool for a TV series. But yes... you know Goro must have been forced to eat shit by his dad after his Dad spends 5 minutes apologizing to him in a movie.

 

[LittleKagsin]

Deadpool

Nate and I loved it so much we saw it twice over the weekend. There's a lot to love about it, but my favorite thing is the writing. I really don't think the movie would've worked nearly as well if it hadn't been written the way it was, so those guys did a stellar job in my opinion. And what an opening for a first time director (well feature film)! Super curious to see where he goes in the industry.

I wonder how much of a ripple effect this might have on superhero movies for the future? Like, how many more R rated ones will start popping up because of how successful this one has been.

 

[fade]

Deadpool

Nate and I loved it so much we saw it twice over the weekend. There's a lot to love about it, but my favorite thing is the writing. I really don't think the movie would've worked nearly as well if it hadn't been written the way it was, so those guys did a stellar job in my opinion. And what an opening for a first time director (well feature film)! Super curious to see where he goes in the industry.

I wonder how much of a ripple effect this might have on superhero movies for the future? Like, how many more R rated ones will start popping up because of how successful this one has been.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/it-begins-fox-says-wolverine-3-will-be-rated-r-1759434090

 

[Yoshimickster]

Yeah I liked Inside Out too, but I think Marnie was a better flick too.