Movies you've just watched

[soprano1]

Too bad aging boomers gave the academy award to Forrest Gump instead.

The Samuel L Jackson dis was whorable, and the ensuing reaction video moment of the announcement will go down in awards history.

Landau was great as Bela Lugosi, but fuck me, Sam Jackson should have gotten the award that year.

[GaijinPunch]

Just because certain details of the Ghostbusters theme song are different doesn't mean it isn't a ripoff of I want a new drug.

I even picked that up as a 10 year old kid.

[boagman]

Also why am I critiquing a fucking LEGO film?

And that was kind of my point. It surprises me that you saw the first and didn't really come to the same conclusion. Your explanation helps a bit, though.

[BrianC]

I've heard the Lego Batman movie is no way near as good as the Lego movie.

It depends on how much you like Batman, especially the 60s Batman. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm not sure if I liked it as much as the Lego movie. I am a huge fan of Batman, though.

[boagman]

I've heard the Lego Batman movie is no way near as good as the Lego movie.

It depends on how much you like Batman, especially the 60s Batman. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm not sure if I liked it as much as the Lego movie. I am a huge fan of Batman, though.

I think it probably also depends on how much you like the original "LEGO Movie". I didn't see it in theaters, so I didn't waste any money on it, but I was told, by multiple people, in no uncertain terms, how hilarious it was. I waited to see it when I could view it for free, and it was "cute": it had some decent ideas, I laughed here and/or there, and I wasn't rolling my eyes at the end of having watched it (I'm looking at *you*, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"). Having said that, I didn't have any real inclination to watch it again, nor did I understand, even a little, why Will Arnett's version of Bat-Man was so stinking well-received. Obviously, those factors are going to guide me toward not seeing the pseudo-sequel in theaters.

I'm still not sure of why that choppy, choppy, crude animation style has been able to achieve any kind of success at all. I'm sure that there are long-standing people at Disney/PIXAR who'd like to know the answer to that question as well. Even the worst they have to offer ("Cars" series, anyone?) is at least aesthetically pleasing to the eye and you can tell that it's a labor of love...even if the scripts and/or voice talent makes you wish you hadn't taken it in.

[BIL]

Life (2017) Oh heck no, a trapped space crew is being gradually picked off by a hostile extraterrestrial. Decent Alien-esque space horror. Predictable, but executed with likable conviction in what RedLetterMedia commendably identified as that "B movie with actual actors" feel. Compared to the 1979 standard it's moderately more scifi than slasher, with cursory but heartfelt existential ruminations amid some diverting logistical perils. Although the creature design lacks style, it has a devious functionality that serves the movie well, so okay.

[Skykid]

I've heard the Lego Batman movie is no way near as good as the Lego movie.

It depends on how much you like Batman, especially the 60s Batman. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm not sure if I liked it as much as the Lego movie. I am a huge fan of Batman, though.

The major criticism I heard is that the script spends too much time turning the Batman character into a parody. It's ok for initial comic relief, but later you still want a hero factor at some point to bouy the adventure, but it never comes, because the "dulbass Batman" convention overshadows everything.

That's what I heard anyway.

[null1024]

Transformers: The Last Knight.
my nephew wanted to see it, so I got dragged into going

In a word: don't.
Save your time and money.

[WelshMegalodon]

It depends on how much you like Batman, especially the 60s Batman. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm not sure if I liked it as much as the Lego movie. I am a huge fan of Batman, though.

So how do you feel this compares to the first two Burton films? The Nolan films? The animated series?

And Skykid, do you read comics? You've at least read Watchmen, but you don't at all seem the type to enjoy superhero fare.

[BrianC]

It depends on how much you like Batman, especially the 60s Batman. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm not sure if I liked it as much as the Lego movie. I am a huge fan of Batman, though.

So how do you feel this compares to the first two Burton films? The Nolan films? The animated series?

Only serious Batman mentioned, when Lego Batman Movie isn't serious Batman? Lego Batman Movie shouldn't be compared to serious Batman. It's more of a parody, so I don't think it's a fair comparison, not to mention it has a ton of references to the 60s Batman TV series (though it also references serious Batman, among other things).

As far as my opinions on serious Batman, I need to see the Burton movies again for an opinion, but I remember liking them quite a bit. TAS is one of my favorite versions of Batman. The first two Nolan films are very good, but the third isn't as good as the other two.

Anyway, the point is that the movie is more enjoyable if you get the references to various Batman series and movies in the film.

[emphatic]

Batman's lines are written much better in the Lego Movie than in the Lego Batman Movie. It also depends a lot on the first movie's context, him being reduced to the self-absorbed boyfriend using double standards for himself and everyone else. What I enjoyed the most about the Batman Lego Movie was the crazy line-up of baddies. And of course, it was beautifully animated and you could tell whoever was in charge of imagining all the action sequences has great imagination.

[xxx1993]

Just saw Transformers: The Last Knight.

Spoiler

The movie ended on such a high note, was the stinger showing Quintessa still alive really worth it?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Transformers: The Last Knight.
my nephew wanted to see it, so I got dragged into going

In a word: don't.
Save your time and money.

I have to confess that one ENORMOUS ad on my way to work has kept luring me to go watch it, except I don't know of a sole person I wish watched it with me.

One movie I watched recently that I must recommend would be Locke (2013). Just when I was wondering how much read Joseph Conrad books are in English-speaking countries anymore, here came Tom Hardy driving a car, talking on the phone for about as long as it would take in real life on the road chosen for the picture. Doesn't matter what you think of the actor or the film's "high concept"; it all just about does the job of keeping one interested. When was the last time you watched a film that you, like, really wanted to know how it ends?*
All the while, it's a "production film" - one Soviet genre I see embodied in English for the second time (first was a US film about corn farming of which I can't remember its title).

*) If it happens to be the 1971 Duel** by Steven Spielberg, that's all the more reason to watch Locke.

**) Or the 1971 Vanishing Point, except Locke pedles BMW rather than Dodge.

[BryanM]

The protagonist is a man who is successfully following the career path laid out for him by society and has received the material rewards that come with that success, but he nevertheless finds himself profoundly unhappy with his situation. He manages to to assuage his discontent through dishonest escapism for a while, but one day he meets a female character who shocks him out of his complacent funk. The protagonist begins intentionally breaking society's taboos while sexually fantasizing about the female. As he chooses to move further and further away from society's goals he's surprised how much he manages to get away with, including a scene where he blackmails his boss into giving him a salary to pursue his subversion full time. The more the protagonist breaks his own rules, the more people surrounding him begin to break theirs as well, and the very culture begins to crumble around them. Then the protagonist has a pivotal moment where he confronts the female and realizes that he's gone too far. He comes to understand that the freedom he seeks doesn't come from defying society's expectations, but from actually letting them go. Right after the character achieves this moment of zen, the ripple effects of his actions in society literally explode on the screen.

34-50 year old male.txt

[Skykid]

And Skykid, do you read comics? You've at least read Watchmen, but you don't at all seem the type to enjoy superhero fare.

My dad collected comics his whole life. I grew up reading everything under the sun and then some. Today I still read plenty of Seinen if it it's to my taste.

I simply deplore bad product, and Marvel's cinematic universe has none of the creative imagination or spirit of the comics it plagiarises; it's merely a hollow shell that uses elements of comic books fashioned around a stale and utterly boring repeated formula. I believe it's achieved the status of true trash.

[neorichieb1971]

Blomkamp released his first 21 minute monster studio experiment - Rakka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjQ2t_yNHQs


I kinda like it. Very moody and atmospheric. The last section has Sigourney Weaver in it. She was supposedly supporting Blomkamp making an alternative Alien 3 movie where Newt and Space Marines survive. So I guess she is supporting his projects since Ridley Scott put that to bed in the past 3 months.

[Ixmucane2]

The Lost City of Z
From a true story: at the beginning of the 20th century British officer Percy Fawcett is recycled as an explorer. In the uncharted jungle between Bolivia and Brazil he discovers archeological remains and (with a break for World War I) dedicates his life to further expeditions in search of the apparent lost civilization.

Not very decided between divergent themes (dangerous adventure, society of imperialist Britain, family relationships, introspection of an obsessive personality), with simplifications, ellipses and important omissions (e.g. Fawcett's formative years) taking away most of the potential depth and intensity.
However, Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson are quite good, the description of a time when explorers were important is effective and rather moving, and the question of why Fawcett should prefer his family or his lost city is difficult and timeless enough to make this flawed biography unexpectedly interesting.

[Skykid]

However.... Robert Pattinson are quite good

[boagman]

The Lost City of Z
From a true story: at the beginning of the 20th century British officer Percy Fawcett is recycled as an explorer. In the uncharted jungle between Bolivia and Brazil he discovers archeological remains and (with a break for World War I) dedicates his life to further expeditions in search of the apparent lost civilization.

Not very decided between divergent themes (dangerous adventure, society of imperialist Britain, family relationships, introspection of an obsessive personality), with simplifications, ellipses and important omissions (e.g. Fawcett's formative years) taking away most of the potential depth and intensity.
However, Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson are quite good, the description of a time when explorers were important is effective and rather moving, and the question of why Fawcett should prefer his family or his lost city is difficult and timeless enough to make this flawed biography unexpectedly interesting.

You are far, far, far, far, far more generous to this movie than I am. I thought it was patently awful and basically non-sensical, with copious amounts of boredom. Calling it "The City of Lost Zzzzzzzzzzz..." would have been far more accurate. Too, they marketed this movie *completely* dishonestly.

[boagman]

However.... Robert Pattinson are quite good

You know, I understand why you reacted that way, but as much as I hated the movie, to be honest, Pattinson wasn't one of the reasons, believe it or not. Then again, he doesn't have very many lines of dialogue, *and* his face is covered by a pretty large beard for most of the film, so he doesn't actually have to say a lot and his mug is pretty well covered. I'm hardly a fan of his, but fair is fair: he wasn't the problem with this movie.

[GaijinPunch]

Sleepers 1996:

I saw this a while back, but the GF is into fucked up shit, so recommended it. While I found it interesting, and entertaining, it's worth noting there's no real stand out performance by any singular actor. I guess I would argue Kevin Bacon was the best. In fact, some of the direction and delivery kinda reeks of 90's hollywood, which I guess isn't their fault as it's a pretty well-budgeted endeavor. There's a few plot holes that now irk me, but don't kill it.

[Mischief Maker]

The Sixth Sense

How... how?

I was expecting to see little hints of the shit that would follow when rewatching this film but no. The mom was great, Bruce Willis and the kid had great chemistry, everyone is acting like flawed human beings with wants and desires. How do you go from this to The Happening?

[GaijinPunch]

I was expecting to see little hints of the shit that would follow when rewatching this film but no. The mom was great, Bruce Willis and the kid had great chemistry, everyone is acting like flawed human beings with wants and desires. How do you go from this to The Happening?

I won't say that Shamalan is a redefined one hit wonder (I thought Unbreakable and Signs had their moments, even if flawed) but none of his other stuff have ever come close to The Sixth Sense. All his flicks make money though, don't they?

[Skykid]

I was expecting to see little hints of the shit that would follow when rewatching this film but no. The mom was great, Bruce Willis and the kid had great chemistry, everyone is acting like flawed human beings with wants and desires. How do you go from this to The Happening?

I won't say that Shamalan is a redefined one hit wonder (I thought Unbreakable and Signs had their moments, even if flawed) but none of his other stuff have ever come close to The Sixth Sense. All his flicks make money though, don't they?

That's bull. The Sixth Sense isn't that great; he's definitely done better. Unbreakable is better than SS, The Village is better than SS, and the recent The Visit is also better. And although I haven't seen Split yet I hear it's very good. I don't care much for Signs ending because the Disney schmaltz goes up to about 7, which is four notches too many - but the build up, and pretty much the first two thirds are handled very well indeed in terms of dramatic tension.

Sixth is kind of wooly and definitely completely fucked once you know the twist, whereas some of his other movies don't suffer so bad on the rewatch.

[EmperorIng]

I watched Mulholland Dr. the other day. I think it might be the best movie I have seen in some time. The final section of the movie really hit me blind-side and left me reeling. But well before that I was consistently unsettled and put ill at ease by the various threads being woven.

I had to watch a bunch of analysis videos later just because I wanted to know more about the world. I don't know if that might overly-color any future re-watches, but it is a movie I want to watch again soon. It's a pretty huge chasm from David Lynch's Eraserhead, another I've watched recently - in the sense of following what was going on, and understanding what was happening on-screen - Eraserhead is much more impenetrable and obscure than Lynch's later work (at least what I've seen - and I haven't seen Inland Empire or the new Twin Peaks yet).

[GaijinPunch]

I won't say that Shamalan is a redefined one hit wonder (I thought Unbreakable and Signs had their moments, even if flawed) but none of his other stuff have ever come close to The Sixth Sense. All his flicks make money though, don't they?

That's bull. The Sixth Sense isn't that great; he's definitely done better. Unbreakable is better than SS, The Village is better than SS, and the recent The Visit is also better. And although I haven't seen Split yet I hear it's very good. I don't care much for Signs ending because the Disney schmaltz goes up to about 7, which is four notches too many - but the build up, and pretty much the first two thirds are handled very well indeed in terms of dramatic tension.

Sixth is kind of wooly and definitely completely fucked once you know the twist, whereas some of his other movies don't suffer so bad on the rewatch.

I've only seen the three I mentioned. I stand by my well-informed comment (although I saw them ages ago). Haley Joel Osment's performance in Sixth Sense alone puts it above the others. I still think the other two (and my guess the Village and whatever else he does) takes a bit too much flack. Maybe I'll try Split.

[Skykid]

I'm surprised anyone rates SS over Unbreakable. But yeah, he's made a couple of non-starters, but I think he takes way too much flak too.

[emphatic]

I watched Mulholland Dr. the other day. I think it might be the best movie I have seen in some time. The final section of the movie really hit me blind-side and left me reeling. But well before that I was consistently unsettled and put ill at ease by the various threads being woven.

I had to watch a bunch of analysis videos later just because I wanted to know more about the world. I don't know if that might overly-color any future re-watches, but it is a movie I want to watch again soon. It's a pretty huge chasm from David Lynch's Eraserhead, another I've watched recently - in the sense of following what was going on, and understanding what was happening on-screen - Eraserhead is much more impenetrable and obscure than Lynch's later work (at least what I've seen - and I haven't seen Inland Empire or the new Twin Peaks yet).

Naomi Watts is amazing in Mulholland Drive. One of Lynch's best films.

[boagman]

The Village is better than SS...

WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!?!?!?????

Oh, my gosh. They must have some serious drugs in China. "The Village" is absolute, unadulterated garbage in basically every way. After the massive annoyance/disappointment that "Signs" was, I didn't think it could get any worse from there. I mean, *surely* he'll reverse course and start going back to doing things better.

I couldn't have been more wrong. "The Village" was basically an insult to everyone, including every actor in it. They should all be ashamed of themselves. They should have at least had the courage to walk away from it.

[boagman]

I'm surprised anyone rates SS over Unbreakable. But yeah, he's made a couple of non-starters, but I think he takes way too much flak too.

Both are good, but I would give the nod to his original. After "Unbreakable", though, there's a treacherous fall from there. It's amazing how much worse his movies got. "Signs" is just a massive let-down from his previous movies.