Movies you've just watched

[Ixmucane2]

Ghostbusters (2016)

Good but not great.
The insistent repetition of details and plot points of the original (even the music, unchanged!) is very sad; it underlines the distance between a great idea in 1984 and a mere competent imitation in this sad age of franchise reboots and Twitter insult campaigns. Good actors, funny dialogue, tight writing, excellent special effects: all wasted to make an unneeded cover version of a classic.

[Vexorg]

Super 8: **

My wife wanted to watch this again after seeing Stranger Things (which seems to have a decent amount of thematic similarity) and quite frankly, I thought Stranger Things was much better than this was. The plot felt severaly forced, The CG seemed rather overdone all of the teenage actors felt like they were mailing their performances in, and the cliched JJ Abrams lens flares were so gratuitous that it seriously distracted from everything else. Skip it and watch Stranger Things instead.

[boagman]

Super 8: **

My wife wanted to watch this again after seeing Stranger Things (which seems to have a decent amount of thematic similarity) and quite frankly, I thought Stranger Things was much better than this was. The plot felt severaly forced, The CG seemed rather overdone all of the teenage actors felt like they were mailing their performances in, and the cliched JJ Abrams lens flares were so gratuitous that it seriously distracted from everything else. Skip it and watch Stranger Things instead.

Wow, completely disagree with the rating, and *absolutely* disagree with the performance of the teenagers.

[boagman]

"Jason Bourne"

I liked it a good bit. I don't think that it's quite as good as the original trilogy of films, but it's still quite good, and *gobs* better than the atrocity that was "Legacy". It's certainly not perfect, and there are certainly things/plot points that you can see coming from miles and miles away, but it stays true enough to the originals that it's a fun watch anyway. They really, really know how to choreograph the action sequences in these movies, and they deliver, and being honest: the shaky camera thing during the one-on-one battles wasn't as bad as I remember it being in the others. In other places? Yeah, it still distracts a bit, but I wasn't really ticked off about it this go-round.

I'll take my dad to see it with me again.

[Skykid]

Super 8: **

My wife wanted to watch this again after seeing Stranger Things (which seems to have a decent amount of thematic similarity) and quite frankly, I thought Stranger Things was much better than this was. The plot felt severaly forced, The CG seemed rather overdone all of the teenage actors felt like they were mailing their performances in, and the cliched JJ Abrams lens flares were so gratuitous that it seriously distracted from everything else. Skip it and watch Stranger Things instead.

Wow, completely disagree with the rating, and *absolutely* disagree with the performance of the teenagers.

Agreed, the casting and performances are largely outstanding when considering the average age.

Super 8's only real issues are the climatic blow out that gives way to too much schmaltz - one aspect of Spielberg tribute unnecessary to include - and a few pacing problems here and there. I felt like it never reached its full potential, but certainly achieved many things not managed successfully since the mid 80s.

[Vexorg]

On its own Super 8 would be a reasonable if cliched creature feature, but the main characters all seemed to have the collective charisma of a soggy tortilla, which really drags the movie down a lot in my book. It seems that none of the lead actors from this film have managed much more than a few scattered supporting roles in middle-of-the-road films since this one. I don't know exactly what it is, but this movie just annoyed me for some reason. It may be the fact that a lot of these "Retro" films are so loaded with CGI and overwrought special effects that they look like 2011 wearing a poorly made 1979 costume (X-Men: Days of Future Passed had this same issue) and things just seemed out of place. Call it a case of trying too hard, and missing the mark entirely. I think they would have been better off setting it in the present day instead of trying to pass it off as 1979 when it looked absolutely nothing like 1979.

[Skykid]

On its own Super 8 would be a reasonable if cliched creature feature

That's exactly what it was.

but the main characters all seemed to have the collective charisma of a soggy tortilla

Compared to what other early teen movie ensemble? The kids in Stranger Things are ok, probably less charismatic and less accomplished actors.

It seems that none of the lead actors from this film have managed much more than a few scattered supporting roles in middle-of-the-road films since this one.

That doesn't mean anything. 90% of the Goonies cast didn't end up in Lord of The Rings or Cohen Brothers movies either.

Call it a case of trying too hard, and missing the mark entirely. I think they would have been better off setting it in the present day instead of trying to pass it off as 1979 when it looked absolutely nothing like 1979.

It's a fairly decent approximation of '79. I actually don't think Super 8 is a great movie so I feel weird defending it, but your appraisal is far too disparaging and seems to have overlooked nearly all of its qualities.

[GaijinPunch]

Super 8: **

My wife wanted to watch this again after seeing Stranger Things (which seems to have a decent amount of thematic similarity) and quite frankly, I thought Stranger Things was much better than this was. The plot felt severaly forced, The CG seemed rather overdone all of the teenage actors felt like they were mailing their performances in, and the cliched JJ Abrams lens flares were so gratuitous that it seriously distracted from everything else. Skip it and watch Stranger Things instead.

Agreed across the board. Super 8 was ultimately a let down for me, and Stranger Things did better what Super 8 intended to do. ST might have taken it a bit far w/ the 80's hat tips, but it's also for the small screen so I feel has a bit more freedom on that front. On that note, this weekend I watched...

The kids in Stranger Things are ok, probably less charismatic and less accomplished actors.

They felt a lot more like 1980's rural American kids. Lucas didn't impress me much (go ahead, call me racist) but the other two delivered. I went to school w/ kids just like that (and I might have been one at one point). I don't remember shit about the kids in Super 8.

[GaijinPunch]

Cloverfield

This gets some flack, but to me this is what I need sometimes. It's under 90 minutes, and is well paced. I actually wanted something on sort of in the background as I made some clothes for an upcoming soiree in a remote location. It delivered, and watching it again I got to see a couple of actors after they had gotten around: namely the hilarious Erlich (sp?) Bachman on Silicon Valley.

[xxx1993]

Sniper: Ghost Shooter. Worthy installment in this underrated direct-to-video series. Brandon Beckett is once again the protagonist, and his father Thomas doesn't return for the sequel. He is mentioned in passing, however. It's also interesting to see an action movie where the protagonists take on ISIS for once.

[Ixmucane2]

A bay of blood (Reazione a catena)

A greed-based plot (who'll end up inheriting and owning the valuable real estate around the titular bay? Not murdered people...) takes the shape of a series of gratuitously brutal killings, with the obligatory twist ending and a deliciously consistent cynical treatment of the whole situation.

Good acting (Laura Betti in particular) relative to the deliberately grotesque style, funny moments (like a discussion about a threesome ending with two people in bed and one in the living room) and a few great lines.

[soprano1]

The Warriors
Music was fucking good, a few more gang beat down would have been cool.

[Skykid]

Sniper: Ghost Shooter. Worthy installment in this underrated direct-to-video series. Brandon Beckett is once again the protagonist, and his father Thomas doesn't return for the sequel. He is mentioned in passing, however. It's also interesting to see an action movie where the protagonists take on ISIS for once.

LMAO!

[xxx1993]

The Sniper movies are highly underrated. The fact that they're direct-to-video doesn't help either. But I like it.

[GaijinPunch]

Billy Zane is in it. Did anyone else notice he's in Biff's squad in Back to the Future?

[soprano1]

The Untouchables
Great movie, loved Connery's no-bullshit approach. The scene with Nitti the hitman at the end was kinda weird, but OK.

[Obiwanshinobi]

The Warriors
Music was fucking good, a few more gang beat down would have been cool.

In this vein, I can recommend After Hours. If anyone else finds those two anything alike, can you think of any more titles of the kind?

Spoiler

Well, of course there is Stranger Than Paradise, or even Bleak Moments, but not very sensational those two (intentionally so).

[Volteccer_Jack]

Just saw the new Bourne thing. Extremely average. I really like the idea of having two super spies doing totally separate super spy and stuff and only directly interacting in brief bursts of action, but the execution left a lot to be desired. The movie likes to dangle imminent threats seconds in the future and then drag on for seemingly an eternity pretending the threat doesn't exist, and repeatedly undermines its own dramatic tension (especially when the imminent threat is "computer hacking" that is about as believable as that two-hackers-one-keyboard scene from NCIS).

Also, shakycam has gone too far. Too. Far. It must be stopped. There's a bunch of moments where action is entirely off-screen.

[trap15]

Deliverance (1972)

Pretty good. Some really good camera work and the scenery was gorgeous, sometimes I was questioning if this was really 1972.

[Axelay]

Billy Zane is in it. Did anyone else notice he's in Biff's squad in Back to the Future?

Yeah right here . He looks so young doesn't he have a tooth pick?!

In back to the future 2 Jason Scott lee is in biffs squad .

[xxx1993]

Billy Zane reprises his role as Richard Miller, yes. I should also mention, David Palmer from 24 is in Sniper: Legacy and Ghost Shooter.

[Ixmucane2]

V/H/S
Horror episodes by various authors, of widely different taste and artistic intent, tied together by the premise of being found footage on VHS tapes.
In most cases there are heavy-handed supernatural elements, which given the short duration of the segments compress the usual element of discovery and familiarization; I prefer horror movies where enough characters understand what's happening, and enough of them survive long enough to act on that knowledge. Instead, here we have cases of first murder a few seconds before the end of the segment and of characters transitioning from actually having no reason to worry to being found dead.
The found footage motif is used very well, except for appalling tape glitch special effects in some tapes (some of the glitches are obviously digital...) and for the obvious use of high-quality digital cameras in some segments.

[BIL]

V/H/S
Horror episodes by various authors, of widely different taste and artistic intent, tied together by the premise of being found footage on VHS tapes.

You might want to give VHS2 a look - its successes and failings are much like the first, but it's a bit more refined, and it features the absolutely mental "Safe Haven" from Gareth Evans (The Raid). Hell, fans of The Raid who like balls-out horror should probably watch it just for that, even if it means ignoring the rest of the set.

[Stevens]

and it features the absolutely mental "Safe Haven" from Gareth Evans (The Raid). Hell, fans of The Raid who like balls-out horror should probably watch it just for that, even if it means ignoring the rest of the set.

Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian vs. dead things?

[BIL]

Less martial arts, about as much or more gun shooting. It is absolutely fucking nuts though, same brand of brutal low-tech, high-impact violence.

[Stevens]

You have convinced me. I am usually not a fan of movies like that (I was when I was younger), but I will watch that part since it's Evans.

[emphatic]

Jason Bourne. 3/5

Massive vehicular damage, yet nobody except some of the starring actors are injured. Is this a sign of the times, or just a way to receive a lower rating?

[Axelay]

V/H/S
Horror episodes by various authors, of widely different taste and artistic intent, tied together by the premise of being found footage on VHS tapes.
In most cases there are heavy-handed supernatural elements, which given the short duration of the segments compress the usual element of discovery and familiarization; I prefer horror movies where enough characters understand what's happening, and enough of them survive long enough to act on that knowledge. Instead, here we have cases of first murder a few seconds before the end of the segment and of characters transitioning from actually having no reason to worry to being found dead.
The found footage motif is used very well, except for appalling tape glitch special effects in some tapes (some of the glitches are obviously digital...) and for the obvious use of high-quality digital cameras in some segments.

I liked the succubus one, and the exorcism one


Bill the cult one was brilliant very tense all the way through then fucking nuts right till the end .
Would love a full movie from the guy .

I did enjoy the one about the eye , although I still don't know why the sex scene happened !

[BIL]

Bill the cult one was brilliant very tense all the way through then fucking nuts right till the end .
Would love a full movie from the guy .

Gareth Evans has made a few, though AFAIK no outright horror ones. You should absolutely check out The Raid: Redemption, it is spectacular. Badass SWAT guy must survive a siege gone wrong in a nightmarish tower block ruled by AK47-wielding crackheads. A pressure cooker of high-performance ultraviolence.

I did enjoy the one about the eye , although I still don't know why the sex scene happened !

Yeah, I thought that was hilarious Good way to subvert the "have sex and you'll die" horror cliche... or was it?!

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Bill the cult one was brilliant very tense all the way through then fucking nuts right till the end .
Would love a full movie from the guy .

Gareth Evans has made a few, though AFAIK no outright horror ones. You should absolutely check out The Raid: Redemption, it is spectacular. Badass SWAT guy must survive a siege gone wrong in a nightmarish tower block ruled by AK47-wielding crackheads. A pressure cooker of high-performance ultraviolence.

I did enjoy the one about the eye , although I still don't know why the sex scene happened !

Yeah, I thought that was hilarious Good way to subvert the "have sex and you'll die" horror cliche... or was it?!

Check out V/H/S Viral as that's the 3rd and final one in the series as well. Two other horror anthology flicks include "The ABCs of Death" and it's sequel aptly titled "The ABCs of Death 2" + "Holidays." Holidays was slated for a nationwide theatrical release, stateside, but ended up being directly released to DVD & Blu-Ray formats as it was more cost effective in hindsight/business-wise (just like with Hostel 3 & Curse of Chucky sequel-based horror flicks went to the direct-to-video format route indeed).

Some of the short stories featured in 'The ABCs of Death" series are quite fun & imaginative as each director was given free creative license to do as they pleased with a given assigned letter to tell his/her story (in fact some of the folks whom did some of the V/H/S short stories did make a guest appearance directing some short stories in this particular latter horror anthology series also).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~