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

Monsters University: WOW that did not exceed my expectations. I mean it could just be a lot better. The first 25 minutes I would like to say set things up, but the real plot begins after this and you could start here. Basically not something I'm ashamed to have seen, but not something I'd buy the DVD for.
The credits scenes were more interesting. They should have made the movie about that.
 
I would totally be up for Pixar shorst showing Mike and Sully in the mail room.

Also, other than explaining his rivalry Randall did NOT need to be in this movie. I'd hate to watch this NOT having seen the original, cos if I didn't I'd be really confused when Randall said "Thats the last time I'll lose to you Sullivan" and doesn't do anything for the rest of the film. That's straight up implied villainous intent right there that this film did not deliver upon.
 
I think I said this here when it first came out but I don't understand why it wasn't Monsters High or even Elementary. None of what they did in that movie couldn't have been done in those settings while being a better fit. You can't have drugs or sex or even "bad language" in these movies so the choice to take them to University or College, where those things are expected of movies in those settings, didn't make sense to me, other than trying to capitalize on the people having seen the first when they were 7-13 now being in Uni.

Having it Monsters High you could still have the Scare Competition, you could still have the frats and sororities, instead being clubs and teams.
 
I think I said this here when it first came out but I don't understand why it wasn't Monsters High or even Elementary. None of what they did in that movie couldn't have been done in those settings while being a better fit. You can't have drugs or sex or even "bad language" in these movies so the choice to take them to University or College, where those things are expected of movies in those settings, didn't make sense to me, other than trying to capitalize on the people having seen the first when they were 7-13 now being in Uni.

Having it Monsters High you could still have the Scare Competition, you could still have the frats and sororities, instead being clubs and teams.
There is more at stake when someone is in College though. Elementary or High School there isn't really a lot of room to fail. I mean I suppose you could fail a grade in high school, but they won't kick you out.
For MU the bet was that he win the scaring competition or be completely kicked out of the University and therefore fail ultimately at being a scarer. If it were set in Elementary school the stakes would not be nearly as high, because well... no one is going to kick you out of Elementary school, or tell you that you will never be what you aspire to be.

So no. I don't think you could have the same movie in a different age setting. I'm not saying you couldn't have a good movie in either setting, but the scripts would have to be much different with very different things at stake.
 
Escape Plan

So yeah, that wasn't half bad. Pretty by-the-numbers, nothing really surprising, but a fun little flick. Don't go out of your way to see it or anything, but if it happens to pop up on Netflix or something, it's worth a watch.
 
Escape Plan

So yeah, that wasn't half bad. Pretty by-the-numbers, nothing really surprising, but a fun little flick. Don't go out of your way to see it or anything, but if it happens to pop up on Netflix or something, it's worth a watch.
Thats not what I want to hear. Sigh.

I want to hear: This is a awesome 80's throwback action flick with over the top violence, cheesy one liners and tons of fun.
 
Thats not what I want to hear. Sigh.

I want to hear: This is a awesome 80's throwback action flick with over the top violence, cheesy one liners and tons of fun.
Yeah, it's not that stellar, unfortunately. The biggest thing from that film for me was seeing Sam Neill turn up in something again.
 
Yeah, it's not that stellar, unfortunately. The biggest thing from that film for me was seeing Sam Neill turn up in something again.
It took me several minutes of asking myself, "Is that Sam Neil? I think that's Sam Neil. No, wait...it's not. Crap, what does Sam Neil look like again? Wait, yeah, that IS Sam Neil. I think."

But yeah, there aren't a lot of cheesy one-liners and such. It's a good prison break movie, but it's nothing stellar. Both guys have been in better movies.
 
Amazing Spider-Man

Well, with the sequel nearly upon us, I thought I'd revisit the first. And honestly, I still stand by that this is pretty good. The effects are great, the action is great, and I like some of the modernizations on the mythos.

Is it without its flaws? No, not even close. Even for Spider-Man and comics in general, there are a few too many happy coincidences. And his hunt for Uncle Ben's murderer gets pushed aside in favour of the film's main story a little too quickly.

But yeah, I still like it. At the very least, it made me actually feel like watching it again. I can't say that for Man of Steel.
 
Well, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 was fun. A lot of really fun food-related jokes. I don't think it was as good as the first one, but it was still a lot of fun.
 
Just finished watching Meet the Robinsons, which I managed to keep unspoilt aside from what was revealed in the trailers. It is such a kids' movie. The kid in me loved it. The adult in me thought it got kinda creepy in spots. The message is a little schmaltzy, but the cameos, cuts, and throwaways more than make up for the G.I. Joe PSA-ness of the ending.

--Patrick
 
Raiders of the Lost Ark

I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I sat down and watched this. I know I used to watch it all the time as a kid when I caught it on TV. But so some reason, the Indy films never had the same "ZOMG watch it at least once a year!" effect that, say, the Back to the Future movies have on me.

But after playing through the new Tomb Raider, I was in the mood for the stuff that inspired it.

Wow, does it ever hold up. Some of the camera shots in this are amazing. You have all the iconic ones, such as Indy being face-to-face with a cobra (a shot taken from behind the cobra and it filling most of Indy's face at first) or the beloved idol scene at the beginning. But even the smaller moments are great, like a shot of Marion in Nepal where the candle flame is perfectly lined up between her eyes while she looks at the medallion.

Then of course, you have the amazing action. What amazes the most is just how steady the shots are. This always blows my mind when I go back and watch older films like this. These days, almost every action sequence is filmed on the back of a rabid, seizuring dog. Here, though, even the most wild action shots are perfectly stable so you can see and appreciate everything.

God, I miss movies like this.
 
Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom

Well, the Indy train continues. I honestly don't know what many have a problem with this movie, calling it the weakest of the three. To be honest, I found this one a lot more edge of my seat action packed and fun than Raiders. There's a lot less globe-trotting, too, since almost the entirety of the movie takes place in India (well, Sri Lank where it was filmed). And the entire movie is built entirely around getting them to the underground temple, where I swear the last half hour of the movie just action action action.

Is it as good as Raiders, overall? No, I'd say Raiders has a better overall story and feels more focused on the investigation and mystery, playing hand-in-hand with the idea that Indy is an archaeologist. Here, it's more focused on the adventure. Which I kinda loved, actually, as it felt more like an old school pulp adventure where every situation leaves Indy in a worse place than before. Right at the beginning, he makes his big getaway on an airplane...owned by the Chinese bad guy. Every time, it just makes you want to hang your head and go, "Aw crap" for Indy.

The actress this time was definitely not as interesting or independent as Marion Ravenwood was. She plays the damsel in distress more, which makes sense given that she's an entertainer, not an adventurer. And she's a great scream queen. While she was funny throughout the movie, I just didn't find her as compelling a character.

And yeah, while Short Round was a little annoying at times, I didn't find him that bad. In fact, he was Indy's sidekick more often than another innocent bystander to save. He even manages to fight off some bad guys in his own way. Not to the point of overshadowing Indy, but at least holding his own.

I will say that I can see why many people - especially Indian or those of Indian descent - thought the movie was very racist. While the movie is fun, disturbing, and totally gross at times, it's not even a remotely accurate portrayal of Indian or Hindu culture. Then again, neither were the old pulps in the 30s when it came to other culture. They were just as bad, if not worse. Not really much defence for the movie's portrayal, but it lessens the blow a little, I think.

Tonight or tomorrow, I'll tackle Last Crusade. Not sure if I'll keep going with Crystal Skull. I haven't seen it since it was in theatres, but I liked it and to this day don't think it's that bad. We'll see.
 
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I'd say a lot of why Temple of Doom is considered the weakest of the three is because Raiders and Last Crusade are so damn good.
 
I'd say a lot of why Temple of Doom is considered the weakest of the three is because Raiders and Last Crusade are so damn good.
Yeah, weakest of the three isn't that big an insult when all three are still super awesome.


Dun da dun DUUUUUN.... Dun da dunnn...
 
I really don't like Temple of Doom, but this is because it was my dad's favorite, and he made us watch it over and over again and it creeped me the fuck out everytime because I was just not old enough for that shit. Maybe I was, and just a wuss, what year did it come out again? :p
 
I really don't like Temple of Doom, but this is because it was my dad's favorite, and he made us watch it over and over again and it creeped me the fuck out everytime because I was just not old enough for that shit. Maybe I was, and just a wuss, what year did it come out again? :p
1984
 
The problem with TEMPLE is that the stunts were too over the top and a bit cartoonish. After about 30 minutes of mine car action (exaggeration) I felt like screaming "ENOUGH ALREADY." I also did not enjoy the shrieking violet for the female lead.
 
The Silence of the Lambs: Been a few years since I watched this and since we were caught up on Hannibal, my wife and I decided to put it on.

I don't think many would argue against this being the best of the Hannibal Lector films, considering the competition is the atrocious sequel, a Brett Ratner prequel, and Hannibal Rising, which I didn't see but didn't seem like that great a premise. Silence is a solid thriller with some great performances, a simple yet powerful score by Howard Shore, and many memorable scenes. Everything that happens in Memphis is solid.

That said, having watched this recently now, I feel I've really come to prefer the show to the books or movies. As effective as Silence is, some of the characters come off as cartoons. At times it feels like Hannibal being a cannibal is treated like he has super teeth or something.

Also, I've clearly seen the TV edit way more times than I've seen the movie uncut. Now I remember why it would always cut to commercial during the "Goodbye Horses" scene.
 
The Great Gatsby: I actually enjoyed this film more than I thought I would. Of course it is a bit over the top, but I think it does work for a story that is really pretty slow in developing.
 
The Silence of the Lambs: Been a few years since I watched this and since we were caught up on Hannibal, my wife and I decided to put it on.

I don't think many would argue against this being the best of the Hannibal Lector films, considering the competition is the atrocious sequel, a Brett Ratner prequel, and Hannibal Rising, which I didn't see but didn't seem like that great a premise. Silence is a solid thriller with some great performances, a simple yet powerful score by Howard Shore, and many memorable scenes. Everything that happens in Memphis is solid.

That said, having watched this recently now, I feel I've really come to prefer the show to the books or movies. As effective as Silence is, some of the characters come off as cartoons. At times it feels like Hannibal being a cannibal is treated like he has super teeth or something.

Also, I've clearly seen the TV edit way more times than I've seen the movie uncut. Now I remember why it would always cut to commercial during the "Goodbye Horses" scene.
I didn't mind Red Dragon; but have you seen Manhunter? It's the same story, but made before any of the now well-known Hannibal films. Brian Cox plays Hannibal Lector, and it's a very different character. I like it a lot, if just for the contrast between Red Dragon.
 
I didn't mind Red Dragon; but have you seen Manhunter? It's the same story, but made before any of the now well-known Hannibal films. Brian Cox plays Hannibal Lector, and it's a very different character. I like it a lot, if just for the contrast between Red Dragon.
I haven't seen Manhunter, but I saw Nostalgia Critic's comparison and thought it looked like a more interesting movie.

I don't hate Red Dragon, but I don't ever feel like watching it. It looks nice, but I feel like the content falls flat.
 
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