Movies you've just watched

[Some-Mist]

Mononoke Hime (1997)

Special midnight showing at the Music Box Theater here in Chicago. Subtitled. This one was special to me as I had only ever seen it once, right when it was released on VHS in Japan, which was coincidentally the first month I lived there. It has aged quite well, as most of Miyazaki's films have. Was a special treat to see it in the theater.

man... I love that theater so much. from the vaudeville vibe with creepy statues and that giant hungarian-style theater curtain, I'm going to miss being so close to it. I'm currently a 5 minute walk but I'm moving to hermosa/logan soon and while the logan theatre is great, it doesn't really have the same indie vibe with rare treats that they offer at music box. music box is where I just went to go see wiener-dog and I've been there a handful of times for alejandro jodorowsky flicks and double features + Q&As (like the primer/upstream color q&a with shane carruth). even if the seats aren't all that comfortable, it's my absolute favorite movie theater.

keep an eye out near mid-September to October for the chicago international film festival announcements that they host at the AMC river east theater. some tickets go quick with rush seating available afterwards so it's worth staying in the loop. I went for the first time last year and I don't plan on missing any of the future ones.

[Leandro]

X-Men Apocalypse.

I enjoyed this new trilogy. Better than the original X-men movies. First Class is still the best movie of the lot

[Ji-L87]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I'm really late to the party on this one. I thought I'd go and see this in the cinema but never got around to it (never actually liked going to the cinema ) but I picked up the bluray right away when that dropped. Then it was placed on a shelf, forgotten about until a couple of friends of mine, who also hadn't seen it, wanted to make a thing out of it. Then it took some more time to decide upon a time where people were available...you know how this goes.

Anyhow, it was a good time. A good workout for my new subwoofer and it was a fun little ride. My friends liked the experience (but not all liked the movie). I personally came away liking some of the aerial battles the most which had a fun sense of "weight" to the ships as they whizzed about. The escape in the Millennium Falcom particularly stands out in my mind because of this. I guess this as a good place as ever to confess that as a kid, I liked the Pod Racing scene the most in Episode 1.....

I can't really make up my mind of the new actors and their characters, but I didn't mind them. In the end, it wasn't bad. I did enjoy the movie more during it's runtime than when I sat back and started to think about things, however I think all nitpicks and things I had issues with have already been mentioned at this point.

I will however say this: I loved the beginning of it, with the spectacular landscape shots and Ray zooming about on her hoverbike. I would really liked to have see more of her working as a junker in that environment before the story got going. I wouldn't mind if some time was cut from that weird Han Solo introduction mexican stand-off scene to make room for that


2001: A Space Odyssey

I went ahead and watched this because Star Wars put me in a sci-fi, life in space and practical effects mood.
Also I stumbled over the poster online which looked really cool.

I was not expecting the (seemingly) long stretch of time spent on the evolution of mankind, and the choir that sung when the monolith appeared really creeped me out for some reason.
I didn't mind the next long section with the docking sequence set to An der schönen blauen Donau, in fact I found it slightly amusing and to be fair I went for the movie precisely because I wanted to see this kind of thing. I was however disappointed that they skipped the landing inside the station entirely, having got up my expectations with all the teasing up to that point.

This is not the right film for me to really write about. I watched it for the special effects and the enviroments and that sort of thing and I think it was good from that perspective. It was also slow and surprisingly trippy. Not perhaps the best thing to watch before going to bed. That shit keeps you up, man

In short, I'm glad to have experienced it. I can't say it made it onto my list of favourites but I guess that's fine.


Real Genius (1985)

Only found out about this because I was watching those "hacking supercut" videos on youtube.
Silly little movie about smart college kids unknowingly building laser for military purposes.

Did not go in expecting anything special but I found it to be an entertaining little experience. Had some good music too.
The ending was the weakest point and I'm not sure which side performed the biggest dick move

That said, wouldn't mind watching more silly films in this vein...

[Opus131]

The film is actually not that difficult to understand, once you know what Kubrick was aiming for:

http://www.kubrick2001.com/

Some recommend reading the novel but in truth it isn't really the story or plot of the film that matters. 2001 is an ode to progressivism, and it is more about the "ideas" dealt with in the story rather than the specifics of the story itself. I personally fall more into a traditionalist camp so the "message" of the film (if you can call it such) didn't resonate with me but i still think the movie is a masterpiece from a cinematographic point of view.

The music during the monolith scene was extracted from a micropolyphonic work by Gyorgy Ligeti:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wawSCvuGj4o

[Ixmucane2]

Star Trek: Beyond

Nice space opera, with a traditional Star Trek villain (this time, the man of destiny is more evil than mad; his tragic backstory is revealed very late, somehow reinforcing the first impression that he's a mean bastard) and a traditional dangerous situation (this time, spiteful revenge and terrorism rather than more understandable conquest or more acceptable natural dangers). The plot is reasonable and well-paced, although often unrealistic.

While unrealistic details (for example, implausibly durable Federation ship hulls) can be forgiven in the interest of the story, there is a deeper flaw: poisonous irony, with characters (particularly Spock and Kirk) aware that they have a role as heroes of the Federation and as protagonists of typical Star Trek plots.

CGI scenery is a bit out of control: some things are plain and well made (e.g. the villain's home), some are strange and creative (e.g. the Yorktown Starbase, built on artificial gravity), some are confusing (e.g. the Enterprise interior). Good space battles, with one of the best weapons ever.

[soprano1]

Batman: The Killing Joke
What the fuck was up with the first half hour?

[electricgrave]

Watched Creed, I actually liked it. I always enjoyed Rocky, the first 2 movies are my favorites specially the first one. However, even though the cheese got thick with Rocky I still like the characters, Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago, no matter what they are very memorable, I feel that's what Rocky Balboa was missing, I liked the movie but this time his opponent was pretty flat. Creed doesn't fall far from that, both movies have too much emphasis on one side of the story, it's always been this way (except for the 1st 2, specially 2) but it's more evident in the last 2 movies.

Well in the first one was supposed to be one-sided because Apollo Creed was supposed to be this distant godlike figure to Rocky. He was based on Muhammad Ali. The whole point was that Rocky didn't stand a chance of beating him, so he set his sights on going the distance and that was enough. There's even an exchange between the two in the end:

Apollo: "There won't be a rematch!"
Rocky: "I don't want one!"

For this reason I find 2 to be the real betrayal. Even though it retained a lot of the charm from the first, having Rocky beat Apollo missed the point of the first movie entirely. The fact that Rock barely trained and still beat a maniacally training Apollo just added insult to injury. Might as well have Rocky buy a robot and end the cold war after that, the heart's already been torn out.

I can appreciate Rocky II for what it was, to me it was more of a good template for a decent promo than a good movie. This time around Stallone directed it, it shows, I think he must have filled in the gaps with whatever he could come up with which is a shame. The movie still holds up though, there are holes in the plot but still better than the other sequels for sure. I think it needed to be done though, 2 great characters that stole the show, you couldn't possibly let that put, it needed to be worked with, people love Apollo as much as they love Rocky, at least I know I do.

I prefer the raw and gritty feel of the first one, nothing like it. Amazing score too!

[Obiwanshinobi]

Is (The Brothers) Grimsby the latest film blokes are ashamed to admit they watched for they have no clue what to write about it that would seem smart to themselves?

[Some-Mist]

I really wanted to see it in theaters since I love sasha baron cohen and mark strong (haven't seen strong in anything since kingsman or the guard), though I was hoping it would be more in vein of cohen's other flicks and I heard it wasn't.

I'm still expecting it to be fun/filled with potty humor and I plan on watching it within the next couple of months. I did watch beerfest again recently so I'm expecting it to be somewhat in line with that

[GaijinPunch]

an eye out near mid-September to October for the chicago international film festival announcements that they host at the AMC river east theater. some tickets go quick with rush seating available afterwards so it's worth staying in the loop. I went for the first time last year and I don't plan on missing any of the future ones.

Cheers -- I will. I always mean to go more than I do. Trying to be better about that. Always keeping an eye on what's showing. Right now, not a hell of a lot that's motivating me to go that way, but I'm sure there will be something soon.

[soprano1]

Trainspotting (1996)
Really decadent movie, with some really fucked up people. The baby scene was horrible.
Should i watch Crash, or just read the book?

[soprano1]

Is (The Brothers) Grimsby the latest film blokes are ashamed to admit they watched for they have no clue what to write about it that would seem smart to themselves?

It's good for a few laughs, especially if you watch it with friends, like i did. Two people cried and dropped their drinks during the elephant scene.

[iconoclast]

Occult (2009)

Noroi is probably the second best horror movie I've seen, so I'm not sure why I've waited so long to check out Koji Shiraishi's other films. Similarly, Occult is presented as a low budget documentary. It has an interesting story with interesting characters and a good soundtrack (NSFW album art) that adds to the creepy vibe. I think it would have been better if they left the final scene out, though. They tried to do something they couldn't pull off with their shoestring budget, which made it look more comedic than anything. It's still a very good movie, though, even if it's not quite as good as Noroi.

[emphatic]

Trainspotting (1996)
Really decadent movie, with some really fucked up people. The baby scene was horrible.
Should i watch Crash, or just read the book?

I love Trainspotting, but Crash was only so-so to me.

[neorichieb1971]

Hateful 8 - Blu ray

Hmm, a 2.5 hr narrative by nobody less than QT at the helm. Don't get me wrong I like his narratives in movies, they make you think about things you never thought of before, a differing perspective.

But without much to go between the narratives the movie feels a bit barren. The locales stick to you like they did in "Reservoir dogs" and then you have the conundrum style of editing where the beginning is always at the end. The movie unravels like a puzzle, but only presents all the players at the end so you can't possibly guess the end before its conclusion.

Overall QT took a short story and blew it into a Hollywood 2.5 hour production filled with narratives. You might think i'll knock it down given my summation but i'll still give it a 7/10.



Star Trek - Beyond - Cinema

I only watch super hero movies at the cinema to see how the cinema tech is moving along over the years and since my friend usually wants to watch a super hero movie I go along with him. Star Trek is a super hero movie because none of the main characters die. Since STB is heavy on the action and a war breaks out there is a ton of damage to ships, fleets and a space station, but none of the main cast get even a scratch even when right in the thick of things. When I know the main characters will not die it takes the edge off the movie and I don't think Hollywood truly understand how to protect characters but still make the audience 2nd guess the status of that character in the movie.

Every planet in Star Trek has breathable air when you crash land on it with the same look, feel and gravitational pull as Earth, no suits required. Maybe its just me, but this isn't ST. ST is supposed to be life like, the enemy is supposed to possess forces the Enterprise cannot fathom at first. JJ Abrams has created a Star Wars parallel universe in the ST universe. The only difference is that there are no Jedi's and no dark side and dudes walking around with helmets on.

STB is a pop corn movie. I won't grade it out of 10 like I usually do. Just know thats its a pop corn movie, its the most poppy corny movie of the 3. Its an enjoyable ride in a Star Wars kinda fashion.

[Vexorg]

My wife and sister-in-law went for the first showing on opening night for Star Trek Beyond (My sister in law is a big Trekkie, and has flown across the country to go to the big Star Trek conventions before), but I skipped it because I can't stand NuTrek (all of the characters seem like really terrible bastardizations of their prime universe counterparts with the possible exception of Simon Pegg as Scotty) and Into Darkness was just plain stupid. That said, I'll likely end up seeing this in a few weeks when my wife and I are in Utah where the Megaplex theaters have $5 tickets on Tuesdays. I've been informed that this one gets pretty ridiculous, but mostly I just want to see how they're going to manage to solve whatever problem they're solving without having access to a suspiciously convenient Nimoy Ex Machina....

[Volteccer_Jack]

JJ Trek already made starships obsolete and then cured death, which has made it impossible for me to watch the new one. It's been established that a person doesn't need a starship to travel across the galaxy anymore, so being stranded somewhere shouldn't be a real thing, and even if someone dies, McCoy will just rant a bit while he waits for the resurrection serum to bake (assuming the dead guy is a main character, if it's some redshirt they will look sad before declaring that there's no time to bake the resurrection serum). Blowing the Enterprise up could've been cool, except they've blown up three already in two movies. Also, like has been said, the characters behave like they were written by someone who only watched an hour or two of Trek beforehand.

The movie unravels like a puzzle, but only presents all the players at the end so you can't possibly guess the end before its conclusion.

You can. There are plenty of clues about the hidden players, most obvious being the title.

[neorichieb1971]

You can. There are plenty of clues about the hidden players, most obvious being the title.

Really, people counted? I did not even think to count. Either way its not better than 7/10 for me. Was expecting a 3:10 to Yuma type of deal with lots of locations. The carriage special effects were god awful as was the set in the cabin. It still felt good to watch though, but it would take an awful long time to pass before I put the disc in a 2nd time with any enthusiasm.

[Volteccer_Jack]

Well, there's more than 8 characters initially which, for me at least, got me thinking about which ones were part of the titular eight. Once they start killing each other that part gets a lot easier to figure out, and when you know they aren't all present, it's not too much more work to figure out why they aren't.

Mostly I agree with you about the quality. I want to see it again myself, but only because I absolutely adored the visuals.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I don't think I've ever seen SB Cohen in a feature film before Grimsby and while I'd heard of his various personas since that of Ali G, I didn't even realise he was in Grimsby too. So I had no expectations whatsoever and yes, we watched it while partying.

[BIL]

The Phantom of the Paradise (1974) Oh wow, I loved this. What a great mock-gothic rock opera time! Gleefully, movingly unhinged. Fans of Streets of Fire who don't mind trading macho action for cod-horror should give this a look; similarly knowing bombast, warmth and sense of affection for pop cultures before its time.

attack of the somewhat big .giffus

Spoiler

Spoiler

As an aside, wasn't expecting this to be my second apparent Kentarou Miura (Berserk) movie influence after Paul Verhoeven's Flesh+Blood. Speaking of the three aforementioned movies, I hope our absent friend drauch is doing ok out there. ;-; As usual, that excellent beard-having motherfucker has led me to yet more good movies.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

^This is a movie I saw in my teens and couldn't remember the name of until recently. Channel 4 did a season of movies with Rocky Horror, Absolute Beginners and some other stuff - this one really stood out. Would love to see it again.


Ravager October 7th!

[soprano1]

The Great Escape (1963)
Still great. I really need to get a DVD of this movie.

[Obiwanshinobi]

As an aside, wasn't expecting this to be my second apparent Kentarou Miura (Berserk) movie influence after Paul Verhoeven's Flesh+Blood.

My cousin found the Griffith's armour most reminiscent of certain classic Tatsunoko character designs...

[WelshMegalodon]

Dare da? Dare da? Dare da~?
Sora no kanata ni odoru kage...

[Lord Satori]

Saw the latest Star Trek film.

It was far better than the trailers made it look. It was far better than the previous two, especially the second considering it was basically a glorified fan fiction.

This one has an original story with completely new antagonists, unlike the previous movies. All of the action was relevant to the story and wasn't just ramped up Michael Bay style to fill time. I'd recommend this movie even if you didn't care for the previous two.

[xxx1993]

I saw Jason Bourne. It had the best climax of the series (really makes the car chases from Moscow in Supremacy, New York in Ultimatum, and Manila in Legacy look tame by comparison) and the best version of Extreme Ways in the end credits in my opinion.

[BIL]

Green Room (2015) Punk band stumbles across murder backstage at neo Nazi-run backwoods club; impromptu siege ensues. Brutal low-tech thriller from the director of artfully shambolic DIY revenge nightmare Blue Ruin. More conventionally movie-ish than BR, but still delivers the unrefined carnage and sense of mortal terror I'd counted on. Compact and intense, worth a watch.

edit: RIP Anton Yelchin. This was the first decent movie I'd seen him in after one blah Terminator and two blah Star Treks, and he did great.

[emphatic]

Saw the new Star Trek tonight. Fun, looks great and was pretty exciting too. 4/5, will watch again.

[null1024]

Saw Jason Bourne.
Really liked it. Excellent action sequences. Had more to say on it earlier, but it's midnight right now and I'm tired.
My biggest gripes with it were a few instances of really appalling "Hollywood hacking", and shakycam really fucking needs to go die.