[Movies] Talk about the last movie you saw 2: Electric Threadaloo
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I mean, it does fall under #4 on my list. I kept waiting for John Travolta to drive by in Greased Lightning. Or fly. I think the flying car would have made more sense in this movie.
Spenser Confidential on Netflix.
It kinda left me wanting more.
Wahlberg is a douchebag, but he's good in his niche.
Alan Arkin is always fun.
The new Hawk is interesting , Winston Duke does a good job as the 'gentle until pissed giant'
I have vague memories of the tv show, but they were good ones. Marky Mark is never gonna let himself come off as the semi competent *physically* guy and let Hawk be the COOL *Avery Brooks* bad ass.
Overall, it's worth a watch, but somewhere Avery Brooks is deciding between his doing his best DS9 "NOOO!" and "I can live with that"
It kinda left me wanting more.
Wahlberg is a douchebag, but he's good in his niche.
Alan Arkin is always fun.
The new Hawk is interesting , Winston Duke does a good job as the 'gentle until pissed giant'
I have vague memories of the tv show, but they were good ones. Marky Mark is never gonna let himself come off as the semi competent *physically* guy and let Hawk be the COOL *Avery Brooks* bad ass.
Overall, it's worth a watch, but somewhere Avery Brooks is deciding between his doing his best DS9 "NOOO!" and "I can live with that"
I doubt I'll be able to watch it.
All it could do is make me sad about Robert Urich again.
--Patrick
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Caught Fast And Furious: Tokyo Drift on TV. Still a decent movie, pleasantly focused on driving and racing.
The thing is, though, while I was watching this movie, for some reason I kept getting a mental image of several girls beating the hell out of each other. And then it hit me: The music from the racing scenes was also used by the late, great, unparalleled genius Monty Oum in Dead Fantasy 2:
The thing is, though, while I was watching this movie, for some reason I kept getting a mental image of several girls beating the hell out of each other. And then it hit me: The music from the racing scenes was also used by the late, great, unparalleled genius Monty Oum in Dead Fantasy 2:
figmentPez
Staff member
The Girl With All the Gifts
As is usual, the book is better. If you haven't already, go read the book, and the prequel "The Boy on the Bridge". They're really a fantastic pair of novels, and I highly recommend them. I'd advise reading them with as few spoilers as possible, and sadly the movie trailer spoils a lot, and I think most plot synopses spoil too much as well.
With that out of the way, the movie is damn good. It deserved so much more attention than it got. Gemma Arterton and Glenn Close give really solid performances, and Sennia Nanua shines in a role that cannot have been easy, especially for a young actress.
It is a horror movie, with very tense moments, and definitely reaches R-rated levels of blood and gore, so I can't recommend the movie to everyone, but if that doesn't send you running, I definitely think you should watch this one.
As is usual, the book is better. If you haven't already, go read the book, and the prequel "The Boy on the Bridge". They're really a fantastic pair of novels, and I highly recommend them. I'd advise reading them with as few spoilers as possible, and sadly the movie trailer spoils a lot, and I think most plot synopses spoil too much as well.
With that out of the way, the movie is damn good. It deserved so much more attention than it got. Gemma Arterton and Glenn Close give really solid performances, and Sennia Nanua shines in a role that cannot have been easy, especially for a young actress.
It is a horror movie, with very tense moments, and definitely reaches R-rated levels of blood and gore, so I can't recommend the movie to everyone, but if that doesn't send you running, I definitely think you should watch this one.
Yesterday: Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel.
Today: first 20 min of Endgame, then Wonder Woman (obviously, Endgame is coming up next).
I liked Infinity War, though there are definitely huge Idiot Ball moments scattered throughout the movie. Antman & the Wasp was a fun lighthearted romp with a bit of a gut punch as a stinger.
Captain Marvel...I can definitely understand why a lot of people had problems with her as a Deus Ex Machina. I liked the movie, overall, though, and I like the character. It might have been better had this movie been released earlier and Marvel somehow taken out of the action during IW, though that would've changed the tone of IW, I guess.
Wonder Woman: the redemption of the DC movie universe...well, I dunno. I like WW as a character, too, and Gal Gadot is pretty much the personification of my beauty ideal in this movie (out of character I usually think she's too thin). The two movies side by side... for some reason a lot of cliches in WW just bothered me more than in Captain Marvel. They're there just as much, but somehow they don't bother me as much? That's on the direction and camera work and script and stuff, though, not the characters. WW is a very pretty movie, though, no question there.
Today: first 20 min of Endgame, then Wonder Woman (obviously, Endgame is coming up next).
I liked Infinity War, though there are definitely huge Idiot Ball moments scattered throughout the movie. Antman & the Wasp was a fun lighthearted romp with a bit of a gut punch as a stinger.
Captain Marvel...I can definitely understand why a lot of people had problems with her as a Deus Ex Machina. I liked the movie, overall, though, and I like the character. It might have been better had this movie been released earlier and Marvel somehow taken out of the action during IW, though that would've changed the tone of IW, I guess.
Wonder Woman: the redemption of the DC movie universe...well, I dunno. I like WW as a character, too, and Gal Gadot is pretty much the personification of my beauty ideal in this movie (out of character I usually think she's too thin). The two movies side by side... for some reason a lot of cliches in WW just bothered me more than in Captain Marvel. They're there just as much, but somehow they don't bother me as much? That's on the direction and camera work and script and stuff, though, not the characters. WW is a very pretty movie, though, no question there.
Logan.
It's not a bad movie, but...I dunno, it wasn't as good as I expected? I admit, I went in with high expectations, which is never a good idea I guess.
I dunno, i felt like this movie told half a story, pretty much?
It's not a bad movie, but...I dunno, it wasn't as good as I expected? I admit, I went in with high expectations, which is never a good idea I guess.
- Mutants are pretty much a stand-in for LGBT people. So....The storyline basically comes down to The Government Put Chemicals in HFCS to Stop The Gay?
- I don't think this was an especially interesting or worthy send-off for either Xavier, or Logan himself.
- Logan was being poisoned by the adamantium, because his healing factor was being suppressed by the chemicals.
- At the end of the movie...Alkali and Transigen are still just as successful and powerful as before. There's no reason they won't just open a next can of Wolverine clones and sell them all over the place. The chemical in the corn hasn't been stopped or changed or made public, the arms program isn't stopped, or anything. Sure, one researcher is dead. There's no reason to think or believe this is a Mad Scientist Whose Undocumented Work Can Never Be Repeated, this is just thoroughly documented work in a research environment.
- The kids cross the border into Magical Fairyland Canada and suddenly they're safe, secure, healthy, happy, and well-cared-for? Or something?
I dunno, i felt like this movie told half a story, pretty much?
IT: Chapter 2
Yeah, that was disappointing.
Pretty major changes from the book and proof that the best parts of the story were the kid's stuff. It really suffered from having to make up a bunch a stuff to make their ending work. Liked the first one, didn't care for this one.
Bill Hader was awesome though.
Yeah, that was disappointing.
Pretty major changes from the book and proof that the best parts of the story were the kid's stuff. It really suffered from having to make up a bunch a stuff to make their ending work. Liked the first one, didn't care for this one.
Bill Hader was awesome though.
Yakuza Apocalypse
Yeah...NOT the worst film I've seen, but definitely not one of Takaashi Miike's best. I en-JOYED it a bunch, but the story was all over the place, and the climax is just something that just...sorta happens rather than ends on a logical conclusion.
It feels like a 1980s Troma movie but with better cinematography if I'm honest.
Yeah...NOT the worst film I've seen, but definitely not one of Takaashi Miike's best. I en-JOYED it a bunch, but the story was all over the place, and the climax is just something that just...sorta happens rather than ends on a logical conclusion.
It feels like a 1980s Troma movie but with better cinematography if I'm honest.
The whole movie feels like a live action anime or manga series where the editor demand drastic changes from the author while the story goes along.
Critters (1986) Oh I love me some 80s horror/comedy creature movies.
This one has been a personal favorite of mine growing up so I revisit it from time to time. It's got its problems and definitely suffers from the lower budget, but the performances are great and you do really care for the Browns throughout the film. One of those rare films 80s horrors where no character is especially despicable to the point where you WANT them to be killed horribly.
The recent Critters Attack movie and the series Critters a New Binge were pretty awful. New Binge was especially insulting to the series as a whole.
This one has been a personal favorite of mine growing up so I revisit it from time to time. It's got its problems and definitely suffers from the lower budget, but the performances are great and you do really care for the Browns throughout the film. One of those rare films 80s horrors where no character is especially despicable to the point where you WANT them to be killed horribly.
The recent Critters Attack movie and the series Critters a New Binge were pretty awful. New Binge was especially insulting to the series as a whole.
Alita: Battle Angel
Nice action movie, nice world. Story was kinda predictable and I'm emphatically not a fan of anime eyes in an otherwise live action movie, it pushes the girl completely into uncanny valley for me. But the action sequences were cool, and I'm interested in the sequel.
Nice action movie, nice world. Story was kinda predictable and I'm emphatically not a fan of anime eyes in an otherwise live action movie, it pushes the girl completely into uncanny valley for me. But the action sequences were cool, and I'm interested in the sequel.
So I watched EXTRACTION last night, the no-nonsense action flick starring Chris Hemsworth that dropped on Netflix.
It's...okay? The story isn't anything to write home about. The action is fantastic, unsurprising for a stunt coordinator turned direction. While Hemsworth is just sort of there, the Indian and Pakistani actors really bring their A game. I wound up rooting for Hemsworth's mercenary equal, for example. And there are some nice shots in the film. It's no John Wick in terms of style, but it's not bad.
But, you know how I said "no-nonsense"? Recently, I was watching clips of the Joe Russo directed episodes of Community. They're both hilarious and engaging because they take an earnest no-nonsense approach to nonsensical situations (paintball, The Floor is Lava, etc).
And it got me thinking why he and his brother are producing these straight, no-nonsense, safe movies like EXTRACTION and 21 BRIDGES. I would love to see them dive right into a full-length movie idea like the paintball or floor is lava episodes of Community. Something akin to perhaps Hot Fuzz, where it's a weird blend of comedy and genuinely great action. Take a silly concept, take it 100% - well, 80% serious - and just roll with it. I think they'd have a legitimate hit that wouldn't just be safe Netflix fodder.
I should add that I watched EXTRACTION with Dad last night because I thought he'd dig it. He loves, loves, LOVES movies like Death Wish, the Thomas Jane Punisher, the Equalizer films, and the first John Wick (he didn't care for the later ones as much because they went further into world building).
Surprisingly, he didn't care for this. He was bored by the scenes in between the spectacular action. He didn't understand what was going on sometimes. And didn't like when characters spoke in Hindi with English subtitles.
It's...okay? The story isn't anything to write home about. The action is fantastic, unsurprising for a stunt coordinator turned direction. While Hemsworth is just sort of there, the Indian and Pakistani actors really bring their A game. I wound up rooting for Hemsworth's mercenary equal, for example. And there are some nice shots in the film. It's no John Wick in terms of style, but it's not bad.
But, you know how I said "no-nonsense"? Recently, I was watching clips of the Joe Russo directed episodes of Community. They're both hilarious and engaging because they take an earnest no-nonsense approach to nonsensical situations (paintball, The Floor is Lava, etc).
And it got me thinking why he and his brother are producing these straight, no-nonsense, safe movies like EXTRACTION and 21 BRIDGES. I would love to see them dive right into a full-length movie idea like the paintball or floor is lava episodes of Community. Something akin to perhaps Hot Fuzz, where it's a weird blend of comedy and genuinely great action. Take a silly concept, take it 100% - well, 80% serious - and just roll with it. I think they'd have a legitimate hit that wouldn't just be safe Netflix fodder.
I should add that I watched EXTRACTION with Dad last night because I thought he'd dig it. He loves, loves, LOVES movies like Death Wish, the Thomas Jane Punisher, the Equalizer films, and the first John Wick (he didn't care for the later ones as much because they went further into world building).
Surprisingly, he didn't care for this. He was bored by the scenes in between the spectacular action. He didn't understand what was going on sometimes. And didn't like when characters spoke in Hindi with English subtitles.
The Willougbys
An all right quirky toon movie with themes of found family. Admittedly the story is nothing to sneeze about, and the pacing felt a BIT to quick, but its fine.
An all right quirky toon movie with themes of found family. Admittedly the story is nothing to sneeze about, and the pacing felt a BIT to quick, but its fine.
Alita Battle Angel
It's not a perfect movie by any means. It runs a little long and feels more like several movie threads running together. But damn, if it wasn't a lot of fun. I've liked pretty much anything Robert Rodriguez has done and this is no exception. He's the kind of guy that enjoys relishing in the ridiculousness of something while still making it earnest. Having him adapt a manga/anime was absolutely the right choice. The special effects and designs are spectacular and all the actors involved (except for maybe the guy playing Hugo) do a damn good job, especially the girl playing Alita. Even with the trailers, the giant eyes honestly never bothered me. They make her look slightly inhuman, but given that she's a robot/android/whatever, that's okay.
It's a shame we probably won't see a sequel since it didn't do spectacularly at the box office, and especially with Disney buying out Fox, but I'm glad a movie like this exists. It was a lot of fun. I'll probably buy the BluRay at some pont.
It's not a perfect movie by any means. It runs a little long and feels more like several movie threads running together. But damn, if it wasn't a lot of fun. I've liked pretty much anything Robert Rodriguez has done and this is no exception. He's the kind of guy that enjoys relishing in the ridiculousness of something while still making it earnest. Having him adapt a manga/anime was absolutely the right choice. The special effects and designs are spectacular and all the actors involved (except for maybe the guy playing Hugo) do a damn good job, especially the girl playing Alita. Even with the trailers, the giant eyes honestly never bothered me. They make her look slightly inhuman, but given that she's a robot/android/whatever, that's okay.
It's a shame we probably won't see a sequel since it didn't do spectacularly at the box office, and especially with Disney buying out Fox, but I'm glad a movie like this exists. It was a lot of fun. I'll probably buy the BluRay at some pont.
Wife and I finally watched Parasite, and Holy hell it was good. Not at all what I expected (knew nothing about the plot going in- just the theme), but it was funny, shocking, AND depressing, sometimes all at once.
Friend of mine compared it to Get Out in tone, in the way the laughter gets increasingly uncomfortable until it devolves into madness. I'd say it is a fair comparison.
Friend of mine compared it to Get Out in tone, in the way the laughter gets increasingly uncomfortable until it devolves into madness. I'd say it is a fair comparison.
That sounds amazing.
I need to make a better effort to see it. This weekend for sure.
I have a decent grasp on your taste in media. I think you'll dig the HELL out of this.
Just finished watching Peppermint (2018) with Dad. He loves these phoned-in action flicks like this, Taken, The Equalizer, etc. He was practically begging me to watch this one, saying it was better than John Wick.
It was not. Not even close.
It was trying so hard to be "What if JOHN WICK was a woman?" it forgot to add the excellent cinematography, choreography, and world building. It's bland, predictable, and basically treats the Latino Cartel like Hydra. Some decent action, but yeah. Not John Wick.
It was not. Not even close.
It was trying so hard to be "What if JOHN WICK was a woman?" it forgot to add the excellent cinematography, choreography, and world building. It's bland, predictable, and basically treats the Latino Cartel like Hydra. Some decent action, but yeah. Not John Wick.
Batman Returns
MAN-this movie was all over the god damn place. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, would even say it was good, but in terms of a proper 3-act structure film the first Burton film was better. Plus neither Harvey Dent, NOR Vicki Vale were here, and Commissioner Gordon much like the last film had even LESS presence than the last one!
And while Danny Devito as Penguin was great, acted the character fine...anyone else feel he was more like Penguin by way of Killer Croc? For one because of his freak nature (especially the razor sharp teeth) as well as having a bunch of Circus goons which would make more sense for a Circus freak like Croc or a clown like the Joker.
MAN-this movie was all over the god damn place. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, would even say it was good, but in terms of a proper 3-act structure film the first Burton film was better. Plus neither Harvey Dent, NOR Vicki Vale were here, and Commissioner Gordon much like the last film had even LESS presence than the last one!
And while Danny Devito as Penguin was great, acted the character fine...anyone else feel he was more like Penguin by way of Killer Croc? For one because of his freak nature (especially the razor sharp teeth) as well as having a bunch of Circus goons which would make more sense for a Circus freak like Croc or a clown like the Joker.
I think the Penguin being a deformed, feral circus freak probably had more to do with it just being a Tim Burton movie. They used the plot line of Oswald running for mayor from some Batman (1966) TV episodes I believe, but the other elements of the Penguin definitely were Burton touches. The Tim Burton movie did have a big impact on how the Penguin was interpreted in media after though. The Batman Animated series depicted him much more like the Danny DeVito version. Short, roundish, and "flipper-like" hands, but toned down on the feral nature (although there was an episode where he had trouble fitting in with upper-crust society while trying to be legit). Later versions of the Penguin seem to have done away with the flippers for the most part. His most recent appearance in the Harley Quinn series depicts him as having the normal five fingers on each hand.
Whether you're missing something you would enjoy feels harder to define. It's one of those movies that's so all over the place that I feel you can't really assume someone's going to like or dislike it even if you know their tastes. They just have to try it for themselves.
Yeah plus while I feel he's VERY Crocish, I ain't so much complaining in terms or an adaptational change as Pengey has been different across ALL media. Sometimes he's the dapper gentleman villain, other times he's a befanged weirdo who eats fish raw, and sometimes he's a total momma's boy whose in love with the Riddler, plenty of ways to go with Oswald.
I've watched it and I did!
But it was a lot to take in, too. I kept thinking we'd reached the end, and then no, it escalated.
Scoob!
Goddamnit....
I went in with high hopes invested. Sadly, expecting too much from this was not why the movie didn't work for me.
What I did like about the film isn't a long list: Jason Isaacs as Dick Dastardly and Ken Jeong as a competent Dynomutt are the highlights of the film. A great montage sequence that mimics the original show opening. And that's about it on the positives.
Scoob! tries really hard to be the epic love letter to Hanna-Barbera fans that it has advertised itself as, however, it fails to capture a modern day audience by trying to include every cliche you can think of. Everything from standard gags and even multiple musical cliches. Cutting Crew's "I just died in your arms tonight" playing when a character suddenly meets the love of his life type of cliche.
Shaggy and Scooby here are, somehow, far more pathetic goofballs than they have ever been portrayed in the past. The biggest fault here comes from Will Forte and Frank Welker giving the absolutely worst adaptions of Shaggy and Scooby we've ever seen. Well Welker gets a pass on this one, because I can only imagine this was the director's error, as they had Welker change how Scooby normally speaks and try to make him actually have long, easily-understandable conversations with other characters. Welker's been doing Scooby just fine for decades otherwise, so changing that was a huge error.
And then there is Will Forte... He's just not a funny individual. No matter what I see him in I just do not ever seem to like him. I guess we could blame the director again here for replacing Matthew Lilliard (a man who is so "Shaggy Rogers" that he successfully played him in both live action films AND animation for almost two decades), but even Forte should have known he wasn't up for the challenge. His cracking voice "attempt" of the cowardly goof is difficult to watch at times.
All other casting choices were fine, except maybe for Tracy Morgan as Captain Caveman. I get what they were trying to do there... but it really needed some help.
Another big problem this movie has is the writing. It's just a mess and the dialogue is just so damn bad. I am always the first to defend modern day animation as something that both kids and adults can often enjoy together because the films offer quality scripts that fuels the enjoyment of all ages. Scoob! is really just for kids... and honestly I don't even think kids older than 5 will have much fun here .
I may be the only one here who had their hopes high for this one. But if I'm not, I highly recommend waiting to rent this one.
I paid $25 for this. You don't have to.
Goddamnit....
I went in with high hopes invested. Sadly, expecting too much from this was not why the movie didn't work for me.
What I did like about the film isn't a long list: Jason Isaacs as Dick Dastardly and Ken Jeong as a competent Dynomutt are the highlights of the film. A great montage sequence that mimics the original show opening. And that's about it on the positives.
Scoob! tries really hard to be the epic love letter to Hanna-Barbera fans that it has advertised itself as, however, it fails to capture a modern day audience by trying to include every cliche you can think of. Everything from standard gags and even multiple musical cliches. Cutting Crew's "I just died in your arms tonight" playing when a character suddenly meets the love of his life type of cliche.
Shaggy and Scooby here are, somehow, far more pathetic goofballs than they have ever been portrayed in the past. The biggest fault here comes from Will Forte and Frank Welker giving the absolutely worst adaptions of Shaggy and Scooby we've ever seen. Well Welker gets a pass on this one, because I can only imagine this was the director's error, as they had Welker change how Scooby normally speaks and try to make him actually have long, easily-understandable conversations with other characters. Welker's been doing Scooby just fine for decades otherwise, so changing that was a huge error.
And then there is Will Forte... He's just not a funny individual. No matter what I see him in I just do not ever seem to like him. I guess we could blame the director again here for replacing Matthew Lilliard (a man who is so "Shaggy Rogers" that he successfully played him in both live action films AND animation for almost two decades), but even Forte should have known he wasn't up for the challenge. His cracking voice "attempt" of the cowardly goof is difficult to watch at times.
All other casting choices were fine, except maybe for Tracy Morgan as Captain Caveman. I get what they were trying to do there... but it really needed some help.
Another big problem this movie has is the writing. It's just a mess and the dialogue is just so damn bad. I am always the first to defend modern day animation as something that both kids and adults can often enjoy together because the films offer quality scripts that fuels the enjoyment of all ages. Scoob! is really just for kids... and honestly I don't even think kids older than 5 will have much fun here .
I may be the only one here who had their hopes high for this one. But if I'm not, I highly recommend waiting to rent this one.
I paid $25 for this. You don't have to.
Birds of Prey
I had heard it was surprisingly good, so I thought I'd give it a go.
"Surprisingly not terrible" would be more accurate. It was worth the $2.50 I spent to rent it.
I think, mostly, I just can't get on board with the art direction of these DC films. It's got the cheese of Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher's sets, with a 90s hip hop filter applied.
Actually, that kind of applies to more than the art direction. Everyone's performance is larger than life as well, and for some characters (ie: Harley Quinn) that works pretty well but for some (Black Mask) it just seemed cheesy.
But I think Margot Robbie did great at walking the line between batshit crazy cartoon come to life and sympathetic character.
Also, maybe this is a minor nitpick, but Gotham has never looked so clean or so west coast, in any portrayal of the city I've ever seen. It was weird.
I had heard it was surprisingly good, so I thought I'd give it a go.
"Surprisingly not terrible" would be more accurate. It was worth the $2.50 I spent to rent it.
I think, mostly, I just can't get on board with the art direction of these DC films. It's got the cheese of Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher's sets, with a 90s hip hop filter applied.
Actually, that kind of applies to more than the art direction. Everyone's performance is larger than life as well, and for some characters (ie: Harley Quinn) that works pretty well but for some (Black Mask) it just seemed cheesy.
But I think Margot Robbie did great at walking the line between batshit crazy cartoon come to life and sympathetic character.
Also, maybe this is a minor nitpick, but Gotham has never looked so clean or so west coast, in any portrayal of the city I've ever seen. It was weird.
When this movie works, it's ether because Margot Robbie hit it out of the park with her character or it's because of something she fought hard for. This movie was clearly a passion project for her and it shows. I find it more hit than miss myself.
I also thought Ella Jay Basco did a pretty good job as Cassandra Cain, even if the characterization is WAY off from the comics, and that the art direction was SPOT. ON.
I also thought Ella Jay Basco did a pretty good job as Cassandra Cain, even if the characterization is WAY off from the comics, and that the art direction was SPOT. ON.
I've found the Harley Quinn animated show to be far more enjoyable.
I'll also agree with this? I feel like the executives at DC Universe didn't expect anyone to watch the show, so the creators were given the creative freedom they needed to actually do something great with it... which is why it's suddenly going to start airing on SYFY because that's where everyone expects a great late night cartoon to air, right? Not on Cartoon Network during/before adultswim, it's gotta be SYFY. *sigh*
Seriously... why are the executives at WB so stupid?