Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon... was good but kinda disappointing. in retrospect, the hype might have been too high, because it's still a good movie, but i still feel like i expected too much

Jen is great, and when the film is concerned with her. the way the film shoots the landscapes of China is also great. but the rest of the cast doesn't have her depth, and all the fights at night felt a bit more muddled due to being shot so dark

i think my favorite scenes were the ones in the desert, because that openness contrasted against all the tight spaces of the earlier scenes really gave a sense of freedom and acted as a breath of fresh air. oh, and the bamboo forest scene was as good as everyone says it is

which itself is reminding me of when Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon came up in Microphones in 2020, and reading over the lyrics in question again, this feels like the best possible sell for what makes the movie so good. so i guess i should go listen to Microphones in 2020 again and reflect on the movie because maybe doing so will make me appreciate it more

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Knowing

Nic Cage horror thriller supernatural mystery flick.

Nic Cage, via his son’s schools’ time capsule comes into possession of a list of numbers, which had been buried in said time capsule for 50 years.

Nic Cage realises the numbers have significance, and relate the date, geolocation and death toll of disasters. Including those yet to come. But nothing as to what is going to happen.

This is, if nothing else, an interesting premise, and Nic Cage is pretty restrained. And the first (I’m assuming it’s the first) disaster yet to come was pretty impressive, with some neat tricks by the film makers to slightly wrong foot us. Like the good, smart rug pulls I really appreciate.

It’s kind of in the same vein as Final Destination, of knowing something is gonna happen, but not what, and being powerless to stop it.

I always confuse that one with the much worse "Nicholas Cage can look 3 seconds into the future" film.

The Third Saturday in October Part 5

Pastiche slasher flick, ostensibly as a follow up to a lost classic slasher series. But of course it’s just riffing off Friday the 13th.

Not as daft as Scary Movie and its many imitators, this is more tongue in cheek than an outright parody. And crucially, we have some pretty impressive though by no means original practical gore effects. And the telly ad for Catfish Cabin has me hankering to visit.

Overall, it’s an odd fish and whilst I’m definitely enjoying it, I’m not sure why. It’s definitely well made with decent performances and technicals and that, but it’s neither a slasher nor a “proper” comedy, and as such it shouldn’t work, as it’s not committing to either bit. And it’s not really sending up any specific scene or trope.

Mad Max

The first one.

No, not The Road Warrior. The boring one.

It has a few impressive stunts, especially near the beginning, but feels very slow. Not by any means a bad movie, it feels like the gawky awkward stage before the Mad Max series comes into its full form.

Logan’s Run

A Sci Fi classic. Weird and trippy, with a few obvious attempts to recapture some Planet of the Apes magic. I was not expecting a PG movie to have more nudity than a Game of Thrones exposition episode, nor for it to have a chase scene through a slow-motion orgy. Stand out scenes are the Carousel and the robot named Box.

Motherly

Psychological Thriller. And I really enjoyed it, as such, not much more I can say without ruining it.

At 1h 20m it moves at a decent pace, and I think that’s to its benefit, as there’s no room for filler.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
...
Logan’s Run

A Sci Fi classic. Weird and trippy, with a few obvious attempts to recapture some Planet of the Apes magic. I was not expecting a PG movie to have more nudity than a Game of Thrones exposition episode, nor for it to have a chase scene through a slow-motion orgy. Stand out scenes are the Carousel and the robot named Box.

Yea, people had sex back then. It's a cool film. I'm not a fan of the Planet of the Apes films (any, really), but Logan's Run I like.

Mazes and Monsters

Look it’s on Prime, so it’s gonna get a watchin’. Plus it’s been ages since I bathed in the tepid waters of manufactured outrage,

I know for a fact that you have just yesterday bathed in the raging waters of manufactured outrage in no less than two threads.


@Sigur, not in American PG movies they didn’t.

Shhhhh! Quiet you!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Well this wasn’t very good.

In short, Tom Hank’s’ character clearly has some undiagnosed mental health issues. Possibly as severe as schizophrenia.

He plays some sessions of Not D&D and then goes awol around NYC, eventually ending up on the roof of the WTC, where his friends track him down and talk him down. Talk him down by playing into the delusion, including the “Maze Master” explaining his word is law, so stop being a tit and come away from the edge. Which he does. Months later he’s still suffering the delusions, which his Mum has seemingly done nothing about. Like, I dunno….seeking medical assistance for her son, who is clearly still in distress.

Even the conclusion isn’t that the game was at fault. Which given this was part of the Satanic Panic makes me wonder what it was all about. A PSA about the dangers of untreated mental health? A PSA about “oh noes TTRPG am evils and will make your kid try to top themself”


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Zombie Creeping Flesh aka Hell of the Living Dead.

Now you’re talking! Pretty ropey Italian Zombie Flick. Dodgy synth score. Wildly varying zombie make up (from the crap to the genuinely impressive), buckets of violence and of course obligatory knockers.

There’s absolutely nothing original or fresh in this 1980 effort. But as Zombie flicks of this era go? It’s genuinely one of the better ones.

Whilst as I said the zombie makeup varies (some are just…blue, others are right proper manky), their behaviour is consistent. They’re slow, ponderous, need a headshot to drop them, and are dangerous in large numbers.

Oh wait, the kid zombie. That’s a noteworthy inclusion and kill.

In the world of Dodgy Zombie Movies? I’d give this a comfortable 8/10. Whilst it borrows element from the Romero movies, it’s clear they’ve understood why those elements work, and what they add to the overall tale. And as such, it’s definitely enjoyable. If you’re into this sort of thing.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Dead Dudes In The House

Indie supernatural flick distributed by Troma.

This didn’t go as I expected. At all. First, the thumbnail on Prime suggested a faux blaxploitation bit of silliness, as did the title. And when the Troma intro played, I was settling in for proper daft nonsense. Both of which I was looking forward to, because I love Troma films, and sendups of exploitation movies.

Yet here I am, disappointed in the best possible way. Because this is an 80’s low budget haunted house/slasher flick hybrid. And it’s a proper attempt at one.

The makeup effects are solid efforts. The acting is more than acceptable, it’s even pretty tense when it gets going. So much so this is going on my list of Hidden Gems.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Logan’s Run

A Sci Fi classic. Weird and trippy, with a few obvious attempts to recapture some Planet of the Apes magic. I was not expecting a PG movie to have more nudity than a Game of Thrones exposition episode, nor for it to have a chase scene through a slow-motion orgy. Stand out scenes are the Carousel and the robot named Box.

I offer my perspective largely in ignorance of what's in Game of Thrones, not having watched the show, but it feels like you overstate what's in Logan's Run just a little. Being a 70s movie, the skirts are short and there's a notable absence of bras, which is understandable because bras are how THE MAN oppresses you. But aside from that, for a 70e movie Logan's Run is pretty tame. It might just be the European perspective, but what's really there? I checked, in the name of scientific interest. The slow motion orgy scene has a bit of dancing, a few sultry moves and a pair or two of boobies. There are half a dozen naked corpsicles later on. A blink and you miss it nude scene of the female lead. That's it.

There's plenty of pussy in the last part of the movie, but it's the meow kind and obviously not problematic even to the most Victorian censor.

Which makes me think that this:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
@Sigur, not in American PG movies they didn’t.

Is more a curiosity than an issue. Usually I'd say, hey, it's a 70s movie. Don't overthink it. They did drugs back then and caught the rating board on a good day. But let's have a tiny bit of a detour here.

You know, I happened to watch Passion of the Christ on TV back in the day. Take this as a perfectly neutral observation. Any slasher/torture porn movie that would have emulated it scene for scene would have been rated 18 and not shown uncut on German TV. By virtue of being a Christian slasher/torture porn movie, Passion of the Christ was shown uncut with a 16 rating. I consider this a lesson in bias.

Who knows what might have prompted the rating of Logan's Run, but it appears to be enough of a high profile movie that any leeway it received might have just been down to how it jived with the zeitgeist to get away with more than other movies at the time. The movie certainly has very strong personal freedom versus state control themes going. It fits the period well, in my latter day view.

Attack of the Flatulating Dead

Oh. Oh god. This is clearly meant to be a comedy. And obviously has zero budget.

Lots of disembodied voices. Lots of obvious and crap CGI.

But worse. Much, much, much worse? Even the fart jokes aren’t funny. Fart jokes. That most basic and reliable source of humour. Aren’t funny.

I mean, that’s an achievement. Especially as it was the promising of fart arsed Zombies that grabbed my attention.

The film makers couldn’t even manage a baffle on the mic, because whenever there’s an actual actor on screen speaking (and not the aforementioned disembodied voices which may be AI generated, there’s a horrendous echo.

My mate and I do our YouTube videos in my front room, and even we’ve jury rigged some kind of baffle (yay for having lots of cushions).

If there is a hell? This is what I expect to have pumped into my eyeballs for eternity.

 Geifer wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Logan’s Run

A Sci Fi classic. Weird and trippy, with a few obvious attempts to recapture some Planet of the Apes magic. I was not expecting a PG movie to have more nudity than a Game of Thrones exposition episode, nor for it to have a chase scene through a slow-motion orgy. Stand out scenes are the Carousel and the robot named Box.

I offer my perspective largely in ignorance of what's in Game of Thrones, not having watched the show, but it feels like you overstate what's in Logan's Run just a little. Being a 70s movie, the skirts are short and there's a notable absence of bras, which is understandable because bras are how THE MAN oppresses you. But aside from that, for a 70e movie Logan's Run is pretty tame. It might just be the European perspective, but what's really there? I checked, in the name of scientific interest. The slow motion orgy scene has a bit of dancing, a few sultry moves and a pair or two of boobies. There are half a dozen naked corpsicles later on. A blink and you miss it nude scene of the female lead. That's it.

There's plenty of pussy in the last part of the movie, but it's the meow kind and obviously not problematic even to the most Victorian censor.

Which makes me think that this:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
@Sigur, not in American PG movies they didn’t.

Is more a curiosity than an issue. Usually I'd say, hey, it's a 70s movie. Don't overthink it. They did drugs back then and caught the rating board on a good day. But let's have a tiny bit of a detour here.

You know, I happened to watch Passion of the Christ on TV back in the day. Take this as a perfectly neutral observation. Any slasher/torture porn movie that would have emulated it scene for scene would have been rated 18 and not shown uncut on German TV. By virtue of being a Christian slasher/torture porn movie, Passion of the Christ was shown uncut with a 16 rating. I consider this a lesson in bias.

Who knows what might have prompted the rating of Logan's Run, but it appears to be enough of a high profile movie that any leeway it received might have just been down to how it jived with the zeitgeist to get away with more than other movies at the time. The movie certainly has very strong personal freedom versus state control themes going. It fits the period well, in my latter day view.

I was commenting on it out of amusement. Although Inseem to remember a lot more of the lead actress and Michael York than you do, as well as the orgy being more explicitly sexual than say the breastfeeding and bare walk on the beach from Clash if the Titans. And yes, American prudishness with nudity is odd, and it has only grown over time. I don’t know why.


Back in the day, they used to play Shaka Zulu uncut on broadcast television all the time. If those breasts had been paler, they would have been censored out, so yeah biases are pretty funny.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
@Mad Doc Grotsnik

Would you and your friend be willing to make videos review/reacting/trash talking some of these weird, obscure movies?

Reminiscence

This was a Hugh Jackman Neo-Noir that went in and out of the theatre so fast, I thought I had hallucinated the really cool trailer and movie poster I saw.

Overall, if you like Neo-Noir with a Sci-fi lean than this is the flick for you. A solid effort, and a great little piece of film making.

They don't write flicks like this anymore, as almost nothing is wasted. If you see it on screen, you were suppose to see it and it moves the story, character, or plot. Same with the dialogue, it you hear it; it is relevant. I love the craft that went into this thing.

The guy playing Saint Joe is a huge stand-out in this flick for mixing pidgin Chinese AND a New Orleans accent. Great character.

Hundreds of Beavers

This movie is like a mix of silent film, slapstick comedy and Looney Tunes with Itchy and Scratchy-levels of violence. Not every gag landed for me, but I still laughed a lot and had a great time. My wife thought the movie was a bit too gruesome at times, even though the beavers bled stuffing instead of blood. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the film has a great escalation of craziness leading to the big climax.

If you’re looking for something funny and action packed that’s as far from a big IP movie as possible, try Hundreds of Beavers.

Watch it.

Bobtheinquisitor wrote: @Mad Doc Grotsnik

Would you and your friend be willing to make videos review/reacting/trash talking some of these weird, obscure movies?

In due course? Yes! We’re currently working toward a fairly set recording schedule, and for now will attempt to ride the algorithm in search of an initial following.

But eventually, we’ll tackle the obscure and hidden gem.

I’m a little disappointed that people don’t seem to recognise/remember who Jenny Agutter is.

MarkNorfolk wrote:
I’m a little disappointed that people don’t seem to recognise/remember who Jenny Agutter is.

I'm terrible with names. I watched Lost in Space last night and couldn't for the life of me remember Gary Oldman's name until the credits reminded me, even though I recognized him instantly. What chance does an actress from a fifty year old movie stand?

 Geifer wrote:

MarkNorfolk wrote:
I’m a little disappointed that people don’t seem to recognise/remember who Jenny Agutter is.

I'm terrible with names. I watched Lost in Space last night and couldn't for the life of me remember Gary Oldman's name until the credits reminded me, even though I recognized him instantly. What chance does an actress from a fifty year old movie stand?

Fair enough. Maybe as a middle aged Brit it’s very easy for me to remember the actress from The Railway Children, Logan’s Run, An American Werewolf in London, Captain America: Civil War and a plethora of British TV appearances.

Exodus: Gods and Kings

It seems seasonally appropriate!

That said, this is a Ridley Scott film. Therefore, that is what you get! The film looks amazing, great sets, great costumes, and great details. Historically or Biblically accurate? Of course not!

For example, there is a lot of cool Chariot action in this flick. But there is also a lot of guys riding around on horseback. If you could get that many guys on horseback, why would you be using Chariots? Plus, the scene where the chariots smash through some guys with shields..... yeah. So, for those of us interested in the question, "How did chariot armies even work?" this movie is more frustrating than helpful.

It is also fun to see Bale "Batman-up" Moses.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie for what it was, big budget cinema by a visually motivated director trying to deliver a summer Blockbuster formula. However, it is right on the edge of being eminently hate-able.

 Easy E wrote:
Reminiscence

This was a Hugh Jackman Neo-Noir that went in and out of the theatre so fast, I thought I had hallucinated the really cool trailer and movie poster I saw.

Overall, if you like Neo-Noir with a Sci-fi lean than this is the flick for you. A solid effort, and a great little piece of film making.

They don't write flicks like this anymore, as almost nothing is wasted. If you see it on screen, you were suppose to see it and it moves the story, character, or plot. Same with the dialogue, it you hear it; it is relevant. I love the craft that went into this thing.

The guy playing Saint Joe is a huge stand-out in this flick for mixing pidgin Chinese AND a New Orleans accent. Great character.

That's the film! I remember I saw the trailer for that (I don't watch many trailers; mostly by accident), it looked vaguely interesting, and then I never heard of that film again! The way you describe it, it sounds rather cool. I assume it doesn't go on overly long either? like 100 minutes?

 Sigur wrote:
@Kid_Kyoto: Yeah, Fletch is alright, right? What happened to that remake they've been working on?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confess,_Fletch

Thoroughly easy going easy to watch film. Saw it with my mum and daughter one random evening and all thought it was enjoyable enough. Affable really. Better than the average film and you won't go wrong watching it, even if it won't set your world aflame.

Reminiscence is 1 hour and 56 minutes, so closer to two hours long.

It only has 5.9/10 on IMDB but I guess it pushed buttons I like in films. I actually enjoyed this more than Blade Runner 2049, but I also enjoyed that one as well.

John Wick is really cool. gorgeous use of color, gorgeous cinematography, great fight scenes, and Keanu Reeves is able to make himself feel like the coolest man in the world

EDIT : moved to the other thread.

Immaculate (2024)

Sydney Sweeney stars in this fairly run of the mill horror flick. Didn’t hate it, but I feel like I’ve seen this movie or variations of it done so many times over the years. Starts off strong, but kind of meanders for a bit until it gets pretty crazy. I’d give it a rent, but wouldn’t recommend someone go out of their way to see it.

Conan The Destroyer

On Netflix now, I may have praised this here before but I shall praise it again. Best of the Conan movies IMHO, a fun, fun D&D party adventure with everyone playing it absolutely straight.

And Grace Jones!

Dune part 2

I’m so, so confused right now.

This is a really good bit of movie making. And compared to the original, the extra time given lets us delve deeper into the mythos and message.

I’m even happy to say this is, by all metrics, the better take on the story.

But, having not read the book? I still prefer the original, and consider it the better film. Despite it being objectively worse.

I think for me, without denigrating any actor, actress or performance, I just prefer the characterisations in the original. Gurney Halek in particular. Also, when Timotheé’s Paul is shouting, The Grumpy Old Man that is me (used to be in me, but at 43, I am now him proper) struggles to see beyond “spoilt teenager throwing a wobbler”, despite that not really being the tone.

Hence I’m so confused. Normally I know my own mind and can say why I prefer X over Y. But here? No such luck!

The "To Destroy a Thing is to Control a Thing" and "Long Live the Fighters" scene in the Lynch film is much cooler than the new one.

There are a lot of ways I like the Lynch version better, BUT I will still enjoy owning and watching the new ones without hesitation.

Sting was a better Feyd Rutha too.

Abigail

This film is still in theaters. I put a brief review in the upcoming films thread, but wanted to put a mini review in this thread because for me (and I assume others), this is the thread I go back through when looking for ideas on what movies to check out.


Anyway, Abigail is a horror comedy that is all about character actors character acting through a deadly game of character actor cat and mouse. If you love seeing your favorite that guy or that girl taking a big old bite of scenery, check it out. Personally, I think Alisha Weir (Abigail), Dan Stevens (Frank) and Kevin Durand steal all their scenes. Kevin Durand got a ton of laughs.

It’s a little bit gory but a lot bloody, like every action scene is that one scene from Dracula Dead And Loving It. The action is well done, with choreography that is allowed to breathe but also some fast-paced editing that adds energy to some stand out scenes. There’s a bit of crime/heist movie, some Clue style mystery-in-a-mansion stuff, and a healthy dose of Scream/Tremors horror comedy scenes.

If any of that sounds like something you would enjoy, I recommend seeing it with a crowd.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Conan The Destroyer

On Netflix now, I may have praised this here before but I shall praise it again. Best of the Conan movies IMHO, a fun, fun D&D party adventure with everyone playing it absolutely straight.

And Grace Jones!

While I still find the first film superior, Destroyer is the one I rewatch (at least some scenes) the most by far. I love the opening with the riders and the pounding soundtrack. I love the big monster fight at the end. There’s some good stuff in between, mostly due to Grace Jones.

But I will always have a soft spot because that opening track has almost the same rhythm and beat as the sung prayer that essentially goes “blessed is the Name of Holy Majesty forever and ever”, which made Friday nights a lot more fun when I was a child.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Dune 2 cut out all of the epic, big picture stuff to focus on a more personal story. Instead of big splashes of color and strong flavor we got nuance acting and, uh, some super bland action set pieces in a world of sandy beige. Without the mystical mumbo jumbo or the “look to the future and you will see me looking back ant you” grandeur, the climactic fight between Paul and Feyd Rautha was some low stakes low energy stuff. Also, Christopher Walken took me out of the film every time he was on screen.