[worry]

Are you talking to me? It's not a puzzle movie like Primer or Triangle by any means. It's more about chewing over the metaphors at play. So one viewing probably is enough, though a second might change the way you view it.

[QuickTidal]

worry, on 28 November 2014 - 07:24 PM, said:

Are you talking to me? It's not a puzzle movie like Primer or Triangle by any means. It's more about chewing over the metaphors at play. So one viewing probably is enough, though a second might change the way you view it.

I read a review with the title you only need to watch it once, but that it's great. I'm not sure why.

[McLovin]

Watched PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR. The kids liked it. I got to see THE FORCE AWAKENS teaser. Everyone wins.

[QuickTidal]

Finally got around to watching POMPEII and we really liked it. I was impressed with the level of accurate detail, roadside market stalls with HOT pot holders cut into the marble, the street designs and layout, the wall art, the inner villa layouts, and most especially the main amphitheatre...having been in Pompeii over the summer I smiled to see how nailed accurate all that was (aside from the destruction of the one side of the amphitheatre in the film [as it is pretty much intact]). They also could have just gone for destruction-porn for 3/4 of the film and they don't. 3/4 on story and buildup and then only the last act is the volcano. Id' say it's one of Paul W.S. Anderson's more accomplished films to be honest.

[amphibian]

I saw Big Hero 6, which was good in its "make science friendly/cool/worth making a movie about" way.

There's a certain level of "accept that the 'science works by way of magic' and don't complain" in the movie (particularly involving power sources, physical miniaturization and so on. The movie makes it clear that this is not the real world by showing that many, many things are hybrids and portmanteaus - even the setting of San Francisyoko and the combination of today's world and some hypothetical future 200 years down the temporal way.

The diverse cast, the treatment of the characters as individuals with real motives and the overarching plot are all good. The action is fun, the comedy is solid and the moments of emotional impact do land. They absolutely got Baymax's design and ethos right (probably the most important part of the movie) and the rest all flows from that.

I'd give it 8.5 rocket powered fists smashing into the bad guys out of 10.

[QuickTidal]

amphibian, on 01 December 2014 - 07:54 PM, said:

I saw Big Hero 6, which was good in its "make science friendly/cool/worth making a movie about" way.

There's a certain level of "accept that the 'science works by way of magic' and don't complain" in the movie (particularly involving power sources, physical miniaturization and so on. The movie makes it clear that this is not the real world by showing that many, many things are hybrids and portmanteaus - even the setting of San Francisyoko and the combination of today's world and some hypothetical future 200 years down the temporal way.

The diverse cast, the treatment of the characters as individuals with real motives and the overarching plot are all good. The action is fun, the comedy is solid and the moments of emotional impact do land. They absolutely got Baymax's design and ethos right (probably the most important part of the movie) and the rest all flows from that.

I'd give it 8.5 rocket powered fists smashing into the bad guys out of 10.

Did you stay for the post-credits scene?

[amphibian]

I had a feeling there was one, but at 3 or 4 minutes into the credits, my date wanted to get out of there, so I went.

Would you mind telling me what it was? My guess is something in tribute to the comic book writers who made the work this movie is based on.

[QuickTidal]

amphibian, on 01 December 2014 - 08:39 PM, said:

I had a feeling there was one, but at 3 or 4 minutes into the credits, my date wanted to get out of there, so I went.

Would you mind telling me what it was? My guess is something in tribute to the comic book writers who made the work this movie is based on.

Sure, spoilered for others.

Spoiler

It was a riff on the painting in Fred's house that you see briefly of his father, which is clearly Stan Lee, after the credits Fred discovers a secret passage in the mansion revealing that his dad is still alive and in the secret room still being a superhero. It's a cute scene that pays off the painting form earlier.

[A Demon Llama!]

The Guest was surprisingly entertaining. Plus a good soundtrack too.

[champ]

The Suicide Squad casting announced...

• Jared Leto as The Joker
• Will Smith as Deadshot
• Tom Hardy as Rick Flag
• Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
• Jai Courtney as Boomerang
• Cara Delevingne as Enchantress

This could be awesome!

This post has been edited by champ: 03 December 2014 - 10:03 AM

[Defiance]

Saw Birdman a few days ago. Incredible film in every sense. It needs to win awards for cinematography, that was one of the most beautifully shot movies I've ever seen. I also love how the lack of cuts mirrored what the film was about.

[Jakovasaurus]

Birdman was amazing. The way the film was shot had to be demanding on the actors. Michael Keaton and Edward Norton were amazing. They deserve Oscar nods.
# # # #
Saw The Babadook. Flippn' A that movie gave me the heebie-jeebies. That poor mother. I think maybe the entity was meant to represent her spiral into mental illness (or something profound like that ). And man, did I sure want to strangle her little son. I know kids say things with no filter, but this little jerk was out of control.

[Aptorian]

Just watched Hercules. What an awful film this is. The only redeeming thing about the film I can see is that The Rock was a perfect cast for the role of Hercules, but what is the point when there is nothing of value in the plot or production of the movie? This was like watching a made for TV movie with A and B list actors that had been tricked into starring in the film. Who the hell okay'd this production? Who said to themselves "You know what we should do? We should make a movie about a Greek hero but strip away all the cool mythical shit and just base the story around one of the episodes from the shitty television show." And yet that's not fair because the Aventures of Hercules at least had magical bullshit in it.

The ministry for Greece cultural heritage should fucking sue MGM and Paramount for this travesty of a film. I haven't seen a fantasy film this shitty since I watched the Scorpion King 2.

[QuickTidal]

Apt, on 05 December 2014 - 06:08 PM, said:

Just watched Hercules. What an awful film this is. The only redeeming thing about the film I can see is that The Rock was a perfect cast for the role of Hercules, but what is the point when there is nothing of value in the plot or production of the movie? This was like watching a made for TV movie with A and B list actors that had been tricked into starring in the film. Who the hell okay'd this production? Who said to themselves "You know what we should do? We should make a movie about a Greek hero but strip away all the cool mythical shit and just base the story around one of the episodes from the shitty television show." And yet that's not fair because the Aventures of Hercules at least had magical bullshit in it.

The ministry for Greece cultural heritage should fucking sue MGM and Paramount for this travesty of a film. I haven't seen a fantasy film this shitty since I watched the Scorpion King 2.

Two words. Brett Ratner.

[Aptorian]

Just looked him up on IMDB. Oh, he did the Rush Hour films, they aren't bad I say to myself, and then it appeared... X-men: The Last Stand. THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE DIRECTED ONE OF THE SHITTIEST SUPERHERO FILMS IN HUMAN HISTORY!

I am terrified to see that he is directing an upcoming Beverly Hills Cop 4.

Oh well, I have Robocop and Godzilla lined up. Oh god please don't shit on my childhood memories.

This post has been edited by Apt: 05 December 2014 - 06:29 PM

[QuickTidal]

Apt, on 05 December 2014 - 06:27 PM, said:

Just looked him up on IMDB. Oh, he did the Rush Hour films, they aren't bad I say to myself, and then it appeared... X-men: The Last Stand. THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE DIRECTED ONE OF THE SHITTIEST SUPERHERO FILMS IN HUMAN HISTORY!

I am terrified to see that he is directing an upcoming Beverly Hills Cop 4.

Oh well, I have Robocop and Godzilla lined up. Oh god please don't shit on my childhood memories.

Robocop is decent. As long as you accept it as an homage to the original. And as long as you don't need it to make too much sense. Action candy.

Godzilla is amazing. Full stop. Classic Monster movie (AKA the monster doesn't properly show up till at least halfway through) fare.

[Aptorian]

This has been a weekend for movie watching.

Watched Robocop and Godzilla yesterday.

Robocop was okay. As a movie, isolated from its predecessors, it's good. I can see how this movie went from a more personal story, about how Murphy the family man adapts to being a machine. How ever in comparison to especially Robocop 1, it's hard to see what the point is of this film. Nothing it does surpasses the first film. The setting and the premise is more mundane. It has none of the edge or goofy yet horrifying societal commentary. It's just a film, there is little depth. The characters are similarly generic and even Gary Oldmans delivery seems lackluster.

Godzilla was so-so. I don't have any particular knowledge about or fondness for the older films, so a lot of the fan tributes probably went by me. I thought it was goofy that Godzilla actually looked like the rubber suit original, but it was also pretty cool. I liked Godzilla's single-mindedness. He came to kick some monster ass and by god that's what he was going to do. The actual human side of the story, particularly the son of nuclear physicist story, was pointless filler in my opinion.

Did anyone else get the impression from various shots that Godzilla is actually conscious enough that it was trying to avoid human collateral?

Today I have watched the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Expendables 3, The Grand Budapest Hotel and 47 Ronin.

I loved TMNT. I honestly cannot find many faults in that film. I think Shredders suit was too ridiculous and bulky, I though the bad guys master plan was dumb, but that was easy to ignore. I suspect some would disapprove of the re-imagining of the turtles but I think it worked really well. Their characters were perfect. The increased size, strength and durability lends itself to more action packed scenes. The action scenes were awesome. Generally the pacing seemed spot on.

If I had watched this film as a kid it would have blown my mind.

Expendables 3 was cool. I haven't been overly fond of any of the films but I think they work in terms of fanservice for a crowd who grew up watching these people as action film stars. I thought the film had a really strong opening but then it just sort of turned to predictable shit. Of the new additions to this film I thought Mel Gibson sucked as a bad guy. He's done well in various anti-hero roles but he did not do a good job in this. Antonio Banderas on the other hand stole the show. Great performance on his part. Harrison Ford was his usual grumpy self, I loved how they made a joke out of him replacing Willis. Wesley Snipes was cool. It's funny looking at Snipes movement. There's these very particular ways he stands and holds himself in an action scene. I haven't seen a Snipes film in 10 years I think but it's pretty distinct.

I hope in the future films of which I am sure there will be a dozen, I hope they go with the idea of reinvigorating the Expendables. Make it a company instead of a small Unit.

The Grand Budapest Hotel was fantastic. I need to mull that movie over a bit but I think it's one of the best films I have ever seen. Just from the trailer I was sure I would like it and the film really didn't disappoint. Just a really enjoyable film through and through. Great writing. Great pick of actors. Great production. Seriously, there's absolutely nothing about this film I did not love.

47 Ronin was a solid fantasy film. Not quite as crazy as the trailers originally had made me think but a good story none the less. I haven't read or watched that many stories about Japans samurai culture so it's always novel to see what they get up to. That whole honor code thing is taken to the extreme in this film.

Think we'll finish off the evening with Season of the Witch and the wolf of wallstreet.

[A Demon Llama!]

Looks like The Birdman actually appeared at one of the theaters here. From the comments i've seen here it should be worth it.

[Jakovasaurus]

A Demon Llama!, on 06 December 2014 - 08:51 PM, said:

Looks like The Birdman actually appeared at one of the theaters here. From the comments i've seen here it should be worth it.

Absolutely. Go see it!

[A Demon Llama!]

Damn, friend backed out.