Movies you've just watched

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

^Yeah, I cant see why its okay to toss off over TF '87s soundtrack and animation but not the live action film's CGI and fights. Plot wise, both are infantile shite.

Pacific Rim gets a high 3. I've wanted someone to make a film like this for a long time and it was pretty good - but held back by a weak ending and general uncompelling design.

This Is The End get a low 4. On paper, this shouldn't have been more fun than Pacific Rim.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

I remember when I was young, I kept getting Flash Gordon mixed up with Masters of the Universe.

It's that "Saviour of the universe!" line in the main theme.

That, and that Flash Gordon has more in common with the MOTU universe than the actual MOTU movie. And they both star a muscular blonde dude.

Dont forget they both had Filmation cartoons.

[cj iwakura]

I got to watch Optimus Prime behead Bonecrusher with an energon broadsword, and skewer Megatron's skull with one arm.

That was worth the price of admission.

Except it wasn't Optimus Prime or Megatron, but thin soulless derivatives fashioned to appeal to today's Ritalin popping Justin Bieber youth, who go "ooh, shiny effects. Just what I paid for. The sparkles!"

Fuck that shit with a capital F.

I thought the soul of Optimus was definitely there, thanks mostly to Peter Cullen's voice. Megatron kind of sucked, but ah well.

Soundwave was dead-on at least.

And to be fair, the source material isn't exactly Shakespeare.

[spadgy]

Strange double bill, but two firsts for me: Donnie Brasco and House Party II.

[Skykid]

And to be fair, the source material isn't exactly Shakespeare.

Dunno, there are some serious lines in the '87 movie.

[cj iwakura]

And to be fair, the source material isn't exactly Shakespeare.

Dunno, there are some serious lines in the '87 movie.

-Be silent or we'll hold you in contempt of this court.
-I have nothing BUT contempt for this court!

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

- Not today, Galvatron!

[Skykid]

- one shall stand, one shall fall
- A coronation Starscream? This is bad comedy.
- Now all we need is a little energon, and a lot of luck.
- First we crack the shell, then we crack the nuts inside!

- Unicron: I have summoned you here for a purpose.
Megatron: Nobody summons Megatron.
Unicron: Then it pleases me to be the first.

-Megatron: No more, Optimus Prime, grant me mercy, I beg of you.
Optimus Prime: You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff.

Shakespeare would have approved.

[EmperorIng]

Does anyone know a good ninja movie? I'm looking for classic style ninja--black suit, trick doors in old-style houses, preferably something that doesn't do CGI or color-tinted lenses (hate how fake modern films look).

Something like this is probably not what you're looking for, but amazing in its own right...

However, if it's more pure ninja, there's Shogun Assassin (samurai vs. ninja), which is one of my favorite grindhouse Japanese movies, Revenge of the Ninja (pure 80s ninja carnage), or the more authentic Shinobi no Mono.

-Megatron: No more, Optimus Prime, grant me mercy, I beg of you.
Optimus Prime: You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff.

Shakespeare would have approved.

Fuck yes he would have.

[trap15]

-Megatron: No more, Optimus Prime, grant me mercy, I beg of you.
Optimus Prime: You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff.

Shakespeare would have approved.

Fuck yes he would have.

Goddamn that's awesome. Very much would have.

[cj iwakura]

-Megatron, is that you?
-Here's a hint.


It does have some great lines, most of them Grimlock's.

The only memorable lines for me from the live actions were, of course, Optimus's.


-Come now, Prime. What would you do without me?
-Only one way to find out.

[BIL]

-Megatron, is that you?
-Here's a hint.

Best one. John Matrix would have approved.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

- Me Swoop no see nothing!

[rapoon]

Pacific Rim (3D)

Don't typically like 3D, but was absolutely worth it. In 3D on a massive screen, it was fucking awesome.
Plot is paper thin and I have a few other criticisms, but overall it was a blast. I dragged my girl along and
she ended up loving it.

[Moniker]

Nice. Really looking forward to Pacific Rim.


Regarding Transformers - live action:

[boagman]

What? Why? I thought Oblivion was pretty shitty too, so I don't see any contradiction?

We're talking about Michael Bay's Transformers movies right? Why the crap would I have a conversation about the movie equivalent of used toilet paper?

After Earth and Oblivion, in the grand scheme of things, are pretty much pap, but there's more general entertainment to be had with them than Transformers. Christ.

My mistake. I thought by saying "not as good as 'Oblivion'" that you were, in fact, saying that "Oblivion" was actually good. Remember: you said you were *entertained* by "After Earth". I wasn't entertained by "Oblivion" *at all*, and I saw it at no charge!

I'm still a bit confused by the statement, but I'm willing to chalk it up to me being a bit wonky and leave it at that.

[Skykid]

-Megatron, is that you?
-Here's a hint.

Best one. John Matrix would have approved.

One of the most important aspects in making the OG movie so great is it's unabashed ultraviolence. It's bordering on extreme, and I remember my mother being distinctly unhappy that it was so aggressive, while I was revelling in it and looping the VHS. The scriptwriters obviously just thought they could pack it full of murder since they're only robots, but it doesn't quite come across that way.

When Megatron and co. tear into that spaceship crying "Let the massacre begin!" or something similar, and proceed to gun down everyone inside, or Galvatron has Hot Rod in his grip and is practically salivating "I'll rip out your optics", it's really the stuff little boys dreams are made of.

Incidentally, Leonard Nimoy is amazing as Galvatron, a voice like gravel. "Want me to gut Ultramagnus?"

And of course, the late Orson Welles is a theatrical power that elevates the entire movie into, well, Shakespeare territory.

...Michael Bay's stuff in comparison? ... talk about dull, Daniel.

[cj iwakura]

There's also the god-tier soundtrack. 80s synth and shredding everywhere.

[Skykid]

There's also the god-tier soundtrack. 80s synth and shredding everywhere.

Indeed, God-tier it most definitely is!

[null1024]

Man, now I'm mad that my nephew took my VHS of that movie... been absolutely forever since I've seen it. The bugger is the entire continent away from me.

siiiiigh

[emphatic]

I've never seen the animated Transformers film. *Securing 720p video from iTunes*

[Edmond Dantes]

Well, TF: The Movie is available on DVD several times over, so you could replace your lost VHS tape that way. I personally own three copies of it (the original Rhino DVD, the UK Ultimate Edition, and the US 20th Anniversary Edition).

If you just want to watch the movie, the Rhino edition is usually dirt-cheap since to many fans its been superceded by the 20th Anniversary Edition. And weird as it may sound, I actually like it better than the others, at least as far as the core movie is concerned. Yes, the 20th Anniversary is digitally remastered and the film quality is pristine, but for some reason that, in and of itself, takes me out of the movie (no, its not DVNR issues--there weren't any, at least as far as I could tell--but for some reason cartoons just look weird when they're digitally remastered. Like enhancing the image somehow calls attention to the flaws. I had this issue with Disney's The Little Mermaid too.)

[7711]

Watched Team America : World Police and loved it.
Planning to see Pacific Rim once its released but I'll wait a bit, I'm kinda agoraphobic and the theater is obviously going to be full for the first weeks.

[cj iwakura]

Minor nitpick, but the VHS/Rhino editions also have a touch of censorship. At one point Spike says "shit!" when Unicron approaches, and I think they even removed Ultra Magnus' "Damn it! Open!"

Also, no scrolling credits over the final frame.

[Aguraki]

I loved the 1st 2 transformers.
action scenes are excellents,fx are great and photography has an air of experimental in some scenes.
scenario is perfect in the 1st 2 parts,casual and entertaining,as dumb as 99% of super hero movies.
These movies fullfill their function perfectly:I just watch them to empty my brain after a whole day thinking hard.

[cj iwakura]

I loved the 1st 2 transformers.
action scenes are excellents,fx are great and photography has an air of experimental in some scenes.
scenario is perfect in the 1st 2 parts,casual and entertaining,as dumb as 99% of super hero movies.
These movies fullfill their function perfectly:I just watch them to empty my brain after a whole day thinking hard.

Did you watch the third? It goes all post-apocalyptic, but it definitely has some great fights. Soundwave and Shockwave!

[Aguraki]

Did you watch the third? It goes all post-apocalyptic, but it definitely has some great fights. Soundwave and Shockwave!

the 3rd rubbed me wrong the minute they introduce a new gf without any explanation(Im laughing for saying that but yeh).
its not like indiana jones where there is no continuity between 1 2 and 3.
the new robots were pretty cool and all but idk I didnt enjoy it as much as the first 2.
I liked the character of sentinel.
didnt like that watch thing,even in the most absurd situation its hard to accept the hero goes unnoticed acting like this.

I cant exactly tell why I didnt like it,it just a bit confused and it goes in too many differents directions.

[cj iwakura]

Did you watch the third? It goes all post-apocalyptic, but it definitely has some great fights. Soundwave and Shockwave!

the 3rd rubbed me wrong the minute they introduce a new gf without any explanation(Im laughing for saying that but yeh).
its not like indiana jones where there is no continuity between 1 2 and 3.
the new robots were pretty cool and all but idk I didnt enjoy it as much as the first 2.
I liked the character of sentinel.
didnt like that watch thing,even in the most absurd situation its hard to accept the hero goes unnoticed acting like this.

I cant exactly tell why I didnt like it,it just a bit confused and it goes in too many differents directions.

I like to imagine Optimus squished Megan Fox's character by accident between 2 and 3.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

This isn't directly movie related, but because it's Transformers-related and there's currently Transformers talk, I figured it's as good here as anywhere else.

Is Beast Wars considered any good or not generally speaking? I remember seeing it a few times as a kid but I never seriously tried watching it, I'd been toying with the idea of actually going through the whole series for nostalgia's sake.

[CMoon]

Watched Pacific Rim (My AC died a few days back, and I'm doing anything I can to get out of the heat), and give it a solid 3/5. This is very enjoyable fan service flick with some interesting monster and mecha designs. Like everything before, the human plot is disposable, and even the plot surrounding the existence of kaiju is effectively throw away. My perseverance in the belief that Del Toro is a great director not yet actualized is supported here (see the designs in the film), but ultimately there are many opportunities thrown away.

I don't care much for the actors in general, and little is done (short of Mako) to make their characters sympathetic. I don't even know if this is the right direction for the film...perhaps it isn't, so how do you judge?

I wonder if less could have been done with more. There are a lot of Kaiju, but not a single memorable one. How 'about keep it down to 3 or less. Give them names. Maybe there were too many mechs...how about only 1 or 2? At the end of the day I think MechaGodzilla II was a better film than this, but I'm not shaking my head or complaining. Definitely enjoyed it and would go see more of the same.

I think ultimately I wanted all the mechs and monsters to be more memorable. Maybe this is a fault of CG vs rubber suits. So much action, but so many points in the film I couldn't actually describe the kaiju/jaeger. Even with Del Toro, who I know is in love with the designs of said things, I wish more attention had been given to the identity of these super-sized beasts!