Movies you've just watched

[GaijinPunch]

Spoiler

The flash back scene give us some tidbits (we see that everyone is full of shit, except Bruce Dern's character). Isn't even Tim Roth's accent different? And it shows the relationship between the captured and her brother... without it she'd be "just his sister".

[Skykid]

The movie overall actually reminded me a lot of Reservoir Dogs or the tavern scene in Inglorious Basterds except without the gripping element of knowing who is who

I also felt shades of RD because of the bottle environment, but as you said, the level of tension was comparatively non-existent. In fact, a RD style scene arrangement would probably have benefited the movie greatly over it being laid out relatively straight.

For me the Sam J scene where he confronts Dern is the best in the movie, but then once over it's never touched upon again. It was an unusual kind of laziness where I would have expected QT to have filled us in with the truth of it at a later point. But like a lot of character elements, it seemed to just stop there.

I wonder if this is even partially due to having to rewrite the ending after the Internet leak fiasco

Yes, this also crossed my mind. I heard the ending was rewritten twice, and I'd be curious as to the original. In this case the ending was far too much barking across the room without much in the way of gravity for any potential outcome. In short I didn't care much and felt it was all a little aimless. Not the climatic finale I was hoping for. In contrast Django is like a masterpiece of suspense and twists from its third act through to the finale.

GP wrote:

Spoiler

The flash back scene give us some tidbits (we see that everyone is full of shit, except Bruce Dern's character). Isn't even Tim Roth's accent different? And it shows the relationship between the captured and her brother... without it she'd be "just his sister".

But she was pretty much "just his sister". Roth's accent changed but you didn't have any additional scope for his character at all - no background, purpose, personality. He was better as Oswaldo the hangman. Channing Tatum was a non-entity for his brief cameo, and none of the band amounted to much more than a regular low life gang. I wasn't exactly enamoured or intrigued by the flashback - if it wasn't there at all the movie wouldn't have lost much IMO.

[GaijinPunch]

The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Very good, and to be certain Forest Whitaker killed it, but it didn't quite move me like I thought it would. Definitely not light on subject matter, but I felt that a film about an oppressive dictator would have had far more violence.

[boagman]

Saw "Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens" on Thursday night in IMAX 3D OU812.

Enjoyed myself thoroughly. Did I think it was The Greatest Movie Ever Produced By Humankind? No, but I was plenty entertained by it on several different levels. I had successfully avoided all spoilers beforehand so the movie was fresh for me, and I thought it was a good story told well. I liked a lot of the characters and their dialogue, and I wasn't annoyed by BB8. I think it came together very well, especially considering that they were introducing a bunch of new characters into an established story...and trying to develop them as well.

For me, it was quite a nice success. I'd see it again.

[neorichieb1971]

American Ultra

Picked it up for the steelbook packaging. Unfortunately that was the best part of the deal, the movie was absolute bollocks.

[Volteccer_Jack]

the movie was fresh for me

The fact that you've never seen A New Hope explains a lot about why you liked The Force Awakens.

[Lord Satori]

When did he say he hadn't?

[GaijinPunch]

the movie was fresh for me

The fact that you've never seen A New Hope explains a lot about why you liked The Force Awakens.

what about for those of us that saw A New Hope before it was A New Hope but still liked Episode VII. Beyond explanation?

[Volteccer_Jack]

what about for those of us that saw A New Hope before it was A New Hope but still liked Episode VII. Beyond explanation?

The only thing that's beyond explanation is how you can convince yourself that nothing is wrong with Luke Skywalker knowing more about the Millennium Falcon than Han Solo I mean I guess if you always wanted a remake of A New Hope where Luke wins every conflict with ease by himself and has no flaws or vulnerabilities and is instantly liked and loved by everyone including Han Solo, then this is your dream movie.

When did he say he hadn't?

When he said that Episode 7 -- a movie about R2D2 being sent on a vital mission by the Rebel Alliance and escaping from Darth Vader onto Tatooine where it is found by a young orphan Skywalker right before the Empire destroys Skywalker's hometown and forces Skywalker to escape in the Millennium Falcon with an old mentor figure from the previous war who reveals to Skywalker that the force isn't a myth after all but doesn't reveal to Skywalker that Darth Vader is actually a Skywalker as well, and the two of them go on to learn that the Empire has a mighty new super weapon called the Star Deather that can destroy entire planets, which they then infiltrate resulting in the old mentor's tragic demise, while a small handful of X-Wings attack the Star Deather's exhaust port and blow it up, saving the day, after which Skywalker heads to a remote planet to train with a legendary Jedi master -- was "fresh", and that he "avoided spoilers", the implicit statement was that he had never seen the first six Episodes of this movie franchise.

[Lord Satori]

what about for those of us that saw A New Hope before it was A New Hope but still liked Episode VII. Beyond explanation?

The only thing that's beyond explanation is how you can convince yourself that nothing is wrong with Luke Skywalker knowing more about the Millennium Falcon than Han Solo

Okay, what? Did we see the same movie?

Star Deather

You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

[boagman]

was "fresh", and that he "avoided spoilers", the implicit statement was that he had never seen the first six Episodes of this movie franchise.

You're being a bit of a Skykid here. You know *darned well* what I meant by "fresh" there, especially in the context.

You didn't like it. More power to you! That's fine! No one says you have to!

You don't have to be a dick about it and twist the words of other people who, yes, happen to like it, just so that you can be *more* of a dick about it. I avoided any spoilers about the movie, and thus went in fresh. Quit being obtuse about it and just be done with it. You didn't like it. WE GET IT. Your point is made...the horse is *long* dead.

[Volteccer_Jack]

You know *darned well* what I meant by "fresh" there, especially in the context.

I actually don't. Your two uses of the word fresh have not even been consistent with each other. In your previous post, you said "the movie was fresh", but in this post you claim that you "went in fresh." So which is it? Were you fresh? Was the movie fresh? Were both you and the movie fresh? Do any of these possibilities tell me anything useful, or are they just sloppy language?

I made the (possibly unfair) assumption that by "fresh" you meant the movie was "not stale", which is a demonstrably false statement. Logically you must have been missing some data in order to reach an illogical conclusion, that data being previous movies. Why would someone going to see a remake need to avoid spoilers? Obviously because that person never saw the original.

[Skykid]

You're being a bit of a Skykid here.

By doing what, using words you can't understand?

[GaijinPunch]

You're being a bit of a Skykid here.

Haha... is that thing now? I wouldn't call it Skykid though. Whether you're for him or against him, Skykid's thoughts are at least coherent...

[GaijinPunch]

Why would someone going to see a remake need to avoid spoilers? Obviously because that person never saw the original.

what movie are you talking to yourself about?

[dan76]

what about for those of us that saw A New Hope before it was A New Hope but still liked Episode VII. Beyond explanation?

The only thing that's beyond explanation is how you can convince yourself that nothing is wrong with Luke Skywalker knowing more about the Millennium Falcon than Han Solo

Spoiler

I guess you mean Rey knowing more about the Falcon than Han? Or were you being funny?
Either way, Rey already knows enough about the Falcon to know it's garbage. She trades with it's owner, Unkar Plutt, and probably has worked on it at some point. I'm pretty sure it's his hand holding her in the flashback she has when her family left. It's just to show she knows her way around a ship, what's the big deal? That's why Han Solo likes her.

She's much stronger than Luke, she lives alone scavenging scrap from fallen ships, not at home with an aunt and uncle to look after her. As for her Force powers... The film is called the Force Awakens. Snoke repeats the line to Ren. Something is going on.

That said, I agree there are too many similarities in the plot, JJ Abrams saying that in 1977 Star Wars was hardly "original" doesn't wash. The whole Starkiller base was the weakest part, but still enjoyable to watch.

[Xyga]

A New Hope is a ripoff of a 1955 movie ? https://youtu.be/lNdb03Hw18M

[Mischief Maker]

A new Hope, and to some degree the entire original trilogy, is based on Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress along with scattered bits of "Seven Samurai" and Yojimbo. Doesn't everyone know this?

One of the major elements of the Hidden Fortress is that it isn't told from the point of view of the heroic protagonists, but from a pair of bumbling borderline criminal peasants who get roped into the adventure against their will. C3P0 and R2D2 are those bumbling peasants in a sci-fi setting.

But let's be honest, "Yojimbo" is a samurai-ified mashup of two prohibition-era detective novels by Dashiell Hammet, "Red Harvest" and "The Glass Key." Then "Yojimbo" was cowboy-ized into "A Fistful of Dollars" and "Seven Samurai" was less-successfully coboy-ized into "The Magnificent Seven."

As much as I love to shit on Lucas, this kind of thing falls under the categories of influence and homage, he didn't pull a Carlos Mencia, here.

[lilmanjs]

The Admiral: Roaring Currents
Was kinda put off of seeing this for a while. I'm not crazy about naval battle movies, but then reading the history of the battle in the movie made me want to see it. Pitch perfect movie that doesn't feel forced during the battle scenes, and is done quite well. Some of the CGI is noticeable, but doesn't take away from the entire movie. Good acting and action was done well. Nice to capture that feeling of a navy seemingly knowing they will all die in this very lopsided battle.

[GaijinPunch]

As much as I love to shit on Lucas, this kind of thing falls under the categories of influence and homage, he didn't pull a Carlos Mencia, here.

He has always said as much as well... I think. I quit listening to him ages ago.

[GaijinPunch]

True Grit (2010)
Not my first viewing, but made for a great Netflix & Chill in the fucking cold movie. Please never stop making films, Coen Brothers.

Chung King Express (1994)
I suck for not having seen this ages ago, as I remember it piquing my interest when I saw a the trailer for it's US release back when I was a younger, smooth-faced college student with blond highlights, studying Japanese. Quite simply: charming, is all I can say, and is probably the perfect date movie if your target doesn't mind subtitles (or speaks Cantonese, with some Mandarin, Japanese, and English thrown in). There are some Asian pop culture references and weirdnesses that won't translate to the average cracker, but whatevah. Still worth watching. Newsflash: Faye Wong is hot.

[emphatic]

Chung King Express is my favourite Wong Kar Wai movie.

[GaijinPunch]

Chung King Express is my favourite Wong Kar Wai movie.

It's his highest rated on imdb, but I will still check out 2046 and In the Mood for Love at least.

[copy-paster]

Pixels

Most jokes are lame, the ending is disappointing, though I'm still enjoyed it a bit.

The next watchlist : Return of the Jedi, Platoon

[rapoon]

hateful eight

when/if it's readily available, watch it again. you'll probably find yourself enjoying it more. i wasn't particularly fond of it the first time around.
i've watched it three times and it's gotten better w/ each view.

Spoiler

it didn't click at first, but tim roth basically dies in the same manner he dies in reservior dogs. also, there's apparently a lineage between roths
character and fastbenders character from inglorious bastards.

marquis was really nothing more than a reprise of jules from pulp fiction. regardless, samuel l jackson is hysterical. popping channing tatums skull with the
excuse 'he was taking too goddamn long, so i helped him out' was a nice touch.

tim roths performance is golden, but michael madsen brings the film down. he can't act worth a shit and ive never understood why tarantino continues to use
this C-rated actor (although he's decent in kill bill.....)

watched 'the bit short' and i would lump it in my 'favorite films of 2015' list, behind 'the end of the tour'.

[Skykid]

^ Agree on the Madsen comment, was very poor in this.

I understand there is some relationship between characters past, but that certainly doesn't make the film a whole. They're circumstantial superfluities as far as I'm concerned. Generally speaking the entire movie was kind of a Tarantino homage to himself, which wouldn't be a bad thing except he kind of got lost on this one - his usual razor sharp ear for dialogue was absent, since he left in far too much and it made what was actually good feel kind of flabby. Certain phrases even kept getting repeated - it was kind of like the whole first act of Death Proof where the prose ran away with itself and lost its purpose: to tell a story.

That said I will certainly watch it again, and hopefully it surprises me better the second time. Some elements are unfortunately unchangeable though. The fact the plot is borderline non-existent, there's little to no meaningful culmination of any events, and some of the more interesting threads are forgotten the minute they're over isn't likely to change much on repeat viewing. I also didn't care much for Leigh's character or performance.

[EmperorIng]

since he left in far too much

Somewhat related: I don't think there is a Tarantino movie out there that would not benefit from having at least a half-hour of run time cut from it. For as much as I enjoyed it, I felt like Django's plot ended three times before it actually ended. I've gotten the impression that he feels like what he shoots is so cool that he can't bare to take it out!

[lilmanjs]

Chung King Express is my favourite Wong Kar Wai movie.

It's his highest rated on imdb, but I will still check out 2046 and In the Mood for Love at least.

I have yet to watch it, but In The Mood For Love is next on my list. Did that get another US release, or is the Criterion 2002 dvd release the only one over here? That's the version the library has.

[BrianC]

True Grit (2010)
Not my first viewing, but made for a great Netflix & Chill in the fucking cold movie. Please never stop making films, Coen Brothers.

I liked it quite a bit. I like it much better than the John Wayne version, though the flaws of the earlier one sadly get ignored because of John Wayne. I couldn't believe the reaction when I said I liked the new one better. I still like the John Wayne one, but it's objectively worse. Lots of changes for the sake of being a John Wayne movie and the casting aside from Wayne is weak.

[GaijinPunch]

I have yet to watch it, but In The Mood For Love is next on my list. Did that get another US release, or is the Criterion 2002 dvd release the only one over here? That's the version the library has.

Haven't checked. Chung King Express on BluRay will cost you a ball though, unless you get the HK release. The Japnaese release is available (in Japan of course) for pennies comparatively, but pretty sure it lacks the English subtitles.

I liked it quite a bit. I like it much better than the John Wayne version, though the flaws of the earlier one sadly get ignored because of John Wayne. I couldn't believe the reaction when I said I liked the new one better. I still like the John Wayne one, but it's objectively worse. Lots of changes for the sake of being a John Wayne movie and the casting aside from Wayne is weak.

Heresey to some, but I've never watched a John Wayne movie... I guess I can tell from a mile a way that the parts are all the same, and the story changes around the actor. Maybe that's not fair, and I'll likely give one a shot one day, but yeah, this one was dope. I was weary thinking it was derivative of No Country For Old Men (I know, it's not a western, but it's pure fuckin' cuntry) as it came out like a year later, but was pleasantly surprised.