Movies you've just watched

[xbl0x180]

Hmmm...Am I the only person who thinks every Alien movie, besides the first, is a turd?

The second is a mindless campy action film unrelated to the first. I can watch it if I keep telling myself that. The 3rd is a MEGAterd

[njiska]

Watching Gremlins and WTF? There's a time machine joke that I've never noticed before. Such a subtle nice background touch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8LIffvjnb8

Seriously, how did I not know about this?

[GaijinPunch]

I also love the opening credits to Alien 3, despite Newt and Hicks' offing. Fincher doesn't seem to have the same artistry these days.

Agreed on both parts. The track I believe is called Agnus Dei. I actually bought the OST for that one. Creepy.

[GaijinPunch]

1: Where's the joke?
2: Is that really Spieldberg at 0:36?
3: What a piece of shit phone!

[xbl0x180]

I just remembered there is a movie called Alien Resurrection! It was directed by Jeunet (same guy who did Amelie), so I can rest assured it was crap

[CMoon]

Hmmm...Am I the only person who thinks every Alien movie, besides the first, is a turd?

The second is a mindless campy action film unrelated to the first. I can watch it if I keep telling myself that. The 3rd is a MEGAterd

I don't think Aliens is a turd. If you are thinking in terms of Cameron, it is artistically somewhere between Terminator and Terminator 2--and if the whole world is finally ready to admit that Terminator 2 is a huge pile of crap, then maybe we're on to something, but meanwhile, Aliens to me does a lot of things really well while not managing the more physical 'body horror' as its been called elsewhere. Aliens is without a doubt an action-horror movie, versus whatever Alien and Carpenter's The Thing are. I think it actually plays this card quite well and doesn't lose a beat until the 'go back and rescue Newt, fight alien momma with roboforklift' nonsense. Still, it has a strong soundtrack, great practical effects and actually manages to keep you on the edge of your seat the entire film. What it does not manage is anything resembling the true repulsion or claustrophobia of the original.

If I was going to be critical of anything it's the directors cut. I very rarely watch Aliens, but last two times I saw it, it was the LONG version, and seriously, the only scene which actually justifies the slower pacing is the turret scene.

[xbl0x180]

No, no, no. I agree with you. I also think Cameron made a decent sequel to Rambo. They look unrelated to the first movies, so they kinda get away with the nonsense I wouldn't accept from a boner fide sequel

[njiska]

1: Where's the joke?
2: Is that really Spieldberg at 0:36?
3: What a piece of shit phone!

It's in the background at the inventors fair on the right. The first time that side is shown there's someone operating the Time Machine from 1960's The Time Machine and the next cut back it's gone.

And yes, that is Spielberg.

In other news I just watched License to Kill for the first time. What a piece of shit. It suffers from what I like to call the Bob Hoskins effect, in that the film just doesn't feel like a Bond movie and suffers because of it. It might have done better as a generic 80s drug cop movie, but as a Bond film it's just crap. Bad title song, bad characters, stupid story.

Now on to GoldenEye.

[Mischief Maker]

In other news I just watched License to Kill for the first time. What a piece of shit. It suffers from what I like to call the Bob Hoskins effect, in that the film just doesn't feel like a Bond movie and suffers because of it. It might have done better as a generic 80s drug cop movie, but as a Bond film it's just crap. Bad title song, bad characters, stupid story.

At least it didn't feature Joe Don Baker as a bond villain!

[njiska]

Just got back from Wreck-It Ralph. What a fantastic movie. Great characters, a heart warming story that will hit home with anyone stuck in a job they hate and some fantastic acting between John C. Riley and Sarah Silverman. Gaming references were numerous, but largely kept to the background and used in a way to give authenticity to the world, rather than drown the viewer with very specific in-jokes. Curiously Root Beer Tapper is just called Tapper, but is serving Root Beer instead of Budweiser.

Animation was great, as should be expected, with some serious work spent on making the characters feel authentic when the move. This is particularly noticeable with the people in Ralph's game. Art with there's a rich mix of 3D, 2D pixel-art and 3D interpertations of 2D art. They even tried to draw the phosphors of the arcade monitor when showing the world outside the game. Just a beautiful film. Credits are also a nice treat.

[Skykid]

The Cabin in The Woods

This was... awesome!

Didn't see that coming, I didn't even realise this was a parody/stab at the horror genre.

Loads of fun, we laughed our asses off.

[njiska]

Didn't see that coming, I didn't even realise this was a parody/stab at the horror genre.

It really is the most fun when you know nothing about it and everything hits you by surprise.

[drauch]

^I concur! First half bored the hell out of me, but the last bit is certainly worth it. Quite a nice surprise for what is now a terribly stale genre.

Watched the first Deathstalker film last night. Good god, Sword & Sorcery rules when it's done right--or in this case, absolutely batshit crazy. Heads go rolling, TONS of boobies (seriously, like boobies every couple of minutes), Gamorrean guards, warlocks, and a super long drunken orgy/brawl. Main character is a complete goober with awful synthetic hair. Kinda looks like a buff Peter Weller. Not really looking forward to the 2nd one, especially after watching the trailer. Jim Wynorwski directs and turns it into a comedy, much like his other awful movies. Conceptually a fantastic director, but a shit one in reality.

[KAI]

Watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, again, can't get enough of Indy.

[mesh control]

Troll Hunter
jesus

[system11]

Watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, again, can't get enough of Indy.

Same, the new BR set is good. Also:

Chernobyl Diaries - 6/10
Good concept, great location, let down by casting and primarily script.

[SuperGrafx]

Chernobyl Diaries here as well.
Better than I expected.

[Skykid]

Troll Hunter
jesus

Yes.

I had another run in with a Norweigan film last night, Dead Snow.

Not great, but amusing and often quite funny Zombie Nazi movie. Yes, Zombie Nazis. That's surely reason enough alone to watch it, but there are also homages to Evil Dead and other comedy horror movies that make it worth a once over.



Skyfall

Not bad, although the raving and hype is a little overcooked for what's actually on offer. It does bring a lot of traditional Bond elements back and it's enjoyable enough that you don't notice the lengthy run-time, but it's got weaknesses. He's still super Bond rather than espionage agent Bond and the lack of reality gets tiring at points, while the plot is a bit thin and many good characters feel underdeveloped. Hugely better than Quantum of Solace (not hard) but Casino Royale is still a better film because it's more grounded in reality, and engaging because of it.

[emphatic]

I saw Skyfall last night. Best villain so far in the Craig series, and the ending really left me wanting to see the next Bond film.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Didn't see that coming, I didn't even realise this was a parody/stab at the horror genre.

It really is the most fun when you know nothing about it and everything hits you by surprise.

Cabin in The Woods certainly has it's surprises towards the eventual conclusion.

Watched "The Loved Ones" and found out that it was an Aussie-based horror flick despite it's original 2009 release there...it just got a proper 2012 release stateside just recently. Truly quite some fucked up and demented shit (despite it's slow and normal pacing towards what happens/unfolds in the kitchen/dining room scene) indeed. Rented it blind one day just to see how it unfolds and it'll be right up any Saw/Hostel movies franchise fan's alley.

The Collector is another one not for the screamish -- the way how it ends could lead to another sequel easily.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Skykid]

I saw Skyfall last night. Best villain so far in the Craig series, and the ending really left me wanting to see the next Bond film.

SPOILERS

I like Javier Bardem, but didn't you think his character was way underdeveloped? He doesn't turn up until halfway through, has very little screen time and his motives are relatively unexplored. Bar the fact he has the murder of one particular individual in mind, I was curious about his prestige as a villain in general, what the Shanghai assassination was related to, and what he spends all his time doing on an abandoned island.

[Octopod]

Watched the first Deathstalker film last night. Good god, Sword & Sorcery rules when it's done right--or in this case, absolutely batshit crazy. Heads go rolling, TONS of boobies (seriously, like boobies every couple of minutes), Gamorrean guards, warlocks, and a super long drunken orgy/brawl. Main character is a complete goober with awful synthetic hair. Kinda looks like a buff Peter Weller. Not really looking forward to the 2nd one, especially after watching the trailer. Jim Wynorwski directs and turns it into a comedy, much like his other awful movies. Conceptually a fantastic director, but a shit one in reality.

I used to watch the hell out of these when I was a teenager. Good fun stuff . Make sure you watch the Barbarian queen films as well if you haven't already.

[drauch]

Yeah, it was a blast. I've had a few Deathstalker VHS tapes lying around forever, but I never got around to it until they released that Corman fantasy 4 pack. I've got Barbarian Queen 1 (I guess 2 copies now) and 2 for years as well on DVD, but they've kinda received the same fate, of rotting on shelves unwatched. Someday...someday.

[system11]

The Wild Geese - 8/10

Great fun old action film with some classic actors of the 70s. The only real letdown in my opinion was the sympathetic light shone on a few of the characters - you just knew they were going to die well ahead of time.

[Raytrace]

yeah I've never actually seen The Wild Geese though I've always intended to, I must watch it soon.


I'd love if it were about this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_Wild_Geese

:p

[emphatic]

I like Javier Bardem, but didn't you think his character was way underdeveloped? He doesn't turn up until halfway through, has very little screen time and his motives are relatively unexplored. Bar the fact he has the murder of one particular individual in mind, I was curious about his prestige as a villain in general, what the Shanghai assassination was related to, and what he spends all his time doing on an abandoned island.

Something that bugged me about this film is the lack of dialog throughout it. You just see lots of stuff happen for long stretches of time, too much silence. About Bardem, sure, the baddie was shown quite late in the film, as they probably wanted to take their sweet time "building up tension" (I personally thought it dragged here) to what the evil boss would be like, so it was a bit anti-climatic when he finally turned up, but all of his persona was spot on for me, and I loved the "big reveal". Great CG work. As for that murder, he did say that he felt running around and blowing stuff up was pointless, so to me it was like a cruel gag on Bond's behalf.

[Randorama]

I saw Skyfall yesterday, which I liked.

I think that they could have used Silva's character better, as it was clearly meant to be a foil to Bond.

Among other things, it is somewhat obvious that both characters have a death wish, although they act upon it in different ways. Why they didn't exploit more this theme? Were they afraid that Bardem would have trampled over Craig? (ahem!)

I generally think that this the Bond movie that the character deserved, since its inception. Some may dislike may comment, but the Craig movies seem to be finally doing justice to the novels. I have read the books ages ago, but I still recall that they features much darker themes and moods than the techno-pop that went on screen for 40 years or so. I liked one line from M: "Orphans make the best recruits", which sums up very well some of the forlornness that constantly lingers in the books.

Also, the fact that the final battle is set at Bond's old house in the Highlands is to an extent a brilliant choice.

[Skykid]

I saw Skyfall yesterday, which I liked.

I think that they could have used Silva's character better, as it was clearly meant to be a foil to Bond.

Among other things, it is somewhat obvious that both characters have a death wish, although they act upon it in different ways. Why they didn't exploit more this theme? Were they afraid that Bardem would have trampled over Craig? (ahem!)

I generally think that this the Bond movie that the character deserved, since its inception. Some may dislike may comment, but the Craig movies seem to be finally doing justice to the novels. I have read the books ages ago, but I still recall that they features much darker themes and moods than the techno-pop that went on screen for 40 years or so. I liked one line from M: "Orphans make the best recruits", which sums up very well some of the forlornness that constantly lingers in the books.

Also, the fact that the final battle is set at Bond's old house in the Highlands is to an extent a brilliant choice.

I agree the tone of the Craig movies is far superior to the ridiculousness of Brosnan (especially at the end of his run) and probably the most accurate since Connery, but I still think Casino Royale had more believability when it comes to the 'dark' side of Bond than Skyfall. That film opened with him beating a man to death in a bathroom, which is more Fleming's Bond than running around on top of moving trains. Also, we should write off QOS entirely as it's a pile of shit, one of the worst Bond movies ever, which only really leaves CR and Skyfall in contention.

Silva was interesting, but unexplored, Séverine had an infectious screen quality and was dynamite as a Bond girl... for all of the four minutes she was in the movie. These things were irksome.

Also, I disagree the Highlands actually worked that well - to me the sequence felt like a movie other than Bond, as though we had strayed onto a different film set.

None of Skyfall is bad per se, just not quite up to the standard I was hoping for.

[GaijinPunch]

Safety Not Guaranteed:

Had no idea what to expect, and was delightfully surprised. I'd say the IMDB rating of 7.2 is probably a bit on the low side. The jokes were really, well written I thought, and there is a massive hat-tip to game dorks like us in there. Super easy to spot, so I won't mention it. We are probably more likely to relate to the main characters than in most other popcorn flicks of the day. It'd give it an 8. Would easily watch it again.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World:

Again, I think the IMDB rating (6.8 ATM) is a little on the low side) . Did it have it's problems? Yes. However, I give it huge points for sticking to an R rating and not trying to cash in by watering down the humor to PG-13. The irony is, it probably could have done just fine for the most part. I'm not a huge fan of any of the actors (although I dislike none of them either), except for Rob Corddry who has a small part. He was as about as classless as you'd expect. Very funny.

Spoilers?
Yes, they could have taken it to some deeper places, but I was fine with the pacing. Maybe this is the prequel to The Road? Haha. Solid soundtrack, btw.

[shmuppyLove]

Popped on X-Men: First Class last night on Netflix, and quite enjoyed it.

Fassbender wins and award for Manly Tears, and the scene near the end when all the US and Russian ships fire on them on the beach was FULL SHMUP.