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It did poorly at the box office because it came out during a pandemic and appealed more to the types of demographics least ready to return to cinemas.

I found it uninspiring, despite I love the two leading actors. Well, one leading actor since Alicia Vikander had 10 minutes on screen in total, which was my first reason of disappointment . Good acting and visuals but quite boring overall.

One scene, totally invented, is copy paste from Kubrick's Barry Lyndon.

Yes Bob - also I think the lack of exploding robots or zombies didn't help.

 LordofHats wrote:
The Green Knight

I'm going to go against the grain of what I've seen a lot of people say about this film.

This movie is brilliant and claims that it bastardized the source material are idiotic. The movie does divert from the classical version of the story (or at least, the most famous version from the 14th century), but I don't see the issue with that. It's typical of Arthurian tales and this movie does it the right way by making the moral of the story more obvious to a modern audience by dumping a lot of super-obscure conventions only middle English aficionados would get anyway. Gawain has always been one of the more interesting knights because he's not perfect, and this movie plays that straight.

At its core, the movie is the essence of the original story about being your own man, the nobility of doing something for its own sake, and the folly of seeking glory. If anything, the film's main sin is that while it cuts out or alters multiple plot elements to be more familiar/less weird for a modern audience, it still seems to expect the audience to do a lot of the work in piecing it's meaning together and the modern film audience it seems is too lazy and much prefers the original story's ending where a character spends several minutes spelling it out for them. In a lot of ways though, the way the story is told perfectly mimics middle ages literature, so I can't help but wonder if all the people bashing the movie have ever read the source material at all.

I'm unsurprised this movie did poorly at the BO. It's exactly what movie audiences claim to want when they moan about the formulaic nature of modern film, but then is shunned by them as they go and spend another couple hundred billion on the next mainstream blockbuster because anything else requires more than passive viewing to enjoy.

I really enjoyed it too. Definitely one that you took away afterwards and had a long think about. The ending initially befuddled me, but I think I get the point now in terms of Gawain's development as a character.

Definitely think its a love/hate film though. Had a look at people's reviews and it does seem to be a lot of 5 or 1 star reviews, with a lot less in between! A bit like The Fountain, although I found this film a lot more comprehensible.

I enjoyed it, but could see how the pacing could turn off modern audiences.

Paranormal Activity: Next Of Kin

Or should that be Paranormal Activity: DOA?

The reason often touted for sequels suffering against the original in the horror genre, is that much of the fear is derived from the unknown and mysterious, and as the mythos expands the familiarity undermines that fear.

Well PA:NOK, touted as a reboot of the franchise, doesn't suffer from that as it commits the capital horror crime of largely explaining everything.

But, fundamentally, my issues with this movie are that, while it is a found footage horror, it just isn't a PA movie. The signature of those films, the locked off CCTV showing events occurring often while the cast sleep on oblivious to much of it, that static camera that makes the viewer feel like a witness to something but powerless to intervene, is essentially absent.

We instead get to follow a group making a documentary following Margot back to meet her biological family for the first time. Now, this conceit isn't without its merits, it frees the film makers up with more options to shoot disguised as the conceit of the vast array of camera tech that a contemporary film crew has at their disposal. But the consequence is this simply doesn't feel like a movie that belongs to the same series as any of the others, and simultaneously offers nothing fresh or new either.

There are creepy moments, and should one become sufficiently invested, some scares to be had. Emily Bader deserves some praise for doing a lot of the heavy lifting as Margot, and Dan Lippet as the giant, stoner local sound engineer Dale provides some moments of levity which help contrast out some of the darker moments in the first couple of acts.

But ultimately what we get is a film that doesn't feel much like a new beginning, and that while larger in scope than its predecessors, feels much less impactful. Anyone choosing this as their Halloween scare is unlikely to feel cheated, but this never reaches the highs that this series, that found a new way to do found footage in the wake of a thousand Blair Witch clones, has formerly reached.

In fact, it seems to go out of its way to avoid the comparison.

Fire In The Sky (1993) — based on allegedly true events surrounding a missing person and purported UFO abduction, this film tries to be a murder mystery, small town drama, and horror movie ... tries, yes, but ultimately fails to do any of these things in a compelling way ... would not recommend

Demon House (2018) — a feature film-length episode of Zak Bagans’s amusing charlatanry missing nearly every aspect that makes his Ghost Adventures show worth watching ... in a word, boring ... would not recommend

Stargate (1994) — a typically excessive 90s-era action adventure but nonetheless charming in its direct, workmanlike approach to the concept of teleporting across the galaxy to lead a slave rebellion against an alien pharaoh ... highly recommend

 Pacific wrote:
The ending initially befuddled me, but I think I get the point now in terms of Gawain's development as a character.

Its the thing that's most different from the original telling but it works here. I like that we're faced at the end of the movie with the exact same question Gawain was confronted with;



I can see it as a love it/hate it film, but what mostly gets me are all the comments saying it's not faithful. Yeah, it changes stuff but in terms of what themes it chooses to emphasize, I think it's extremely faithful to the source material and some of the changes to story and its characters are arguably more accurate to older Arthurian legends (particularly the late Welsh and early French versions) than those being told in the 14th century. One of the most interesting things to me are the parallels between the movie's Gawain and Mordred. In Lancelot Grail cycles of Arthurian legend, Mordred was Gawain's half-brother, and the character of Morgan le Fey hadn't fully emerged yet. Her role as this sort of troublemaking figure in Arthur's court was usually filled by Morgauze, Gawain and Mordred's mother and Arthur's sister. In this regard, people are mostly bitching that the story doesn't adhere to the most famous version of Arthurian Legend, Le Morte Darthur (a 15th century version), but most of the lore of the movie isn't that out of step with even older variations of the stories.

Binged Inside Job on Netflix on my days off.

It was...a show. Basically the show with the alien that isn't Family Guy, but for conspiracy theories. And dad issues.

Its... basically nothing you haven't seen before (Seriously. This might have been groundbreaking in the time before Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, Not Family Guy, the Family Guy Spinoffs and etc. But in 2021... its just a cheap copy of all the above). Evil corporation of evilness runs all conspiracy theories, and the 'protagonists' are basically the company's inner circle. The main character wants to rule the world but also not be particularly evil.

Checklist for:
Everyone is horrible, but you're supposed to like them because of their 'character flaws.'

Intelligent women are always neurotic.

Nerds are stinky basement dwellers who suck.

The show is going to tell you nostalgia is bad, even when trading directly on nostalgia.

Celebrities we don't like are lizard people or whatever.

and so on.

Some of the jokes could be funny, but they're constantly undercut by weird tonal shifts, and the main character's history of abuse that's... supposed to be funny, I guess?

Pass.

The Night House

I don't usually do horror outside of spooky season and this having the rather agreeable Rebecca Hall in it most likely swayed my decision, starts with her character trying to deal with the aftermath of her husbands unexpected suicide, starts strong as a study of grief and loss but starts tripping over itself about half ways in as the woo woo creeps in but Ms Hall carries it over the finish line with some proper good acting, worth a go

Paranormal Activity

Not so much a planned viewing as simply tripped over it just as it was starting while surfing and stuck with it for a rewatch, in part because I'd watched the latest installment recently.

Next Of Kin should consider itself fortunate inviewwd it first, as this rewatch only serves to show how far the series has fallen, and how divergent NoK is from the original.

By and large the film is an exercise in "less is more." From the small number of location (generously calling different rooms in the same house locations,) tiny cast and largely understated effects, more than a decade on, it still holds up. If you suspend your disbelief even a little bit, then you've pretty much had it.

Something I think I've missed previously is how much if a dick Micah (the boyfriend) is for good portions of the film. This somewhat changes the emotions around the final scene (was he ultimately deserving of a fate he helped manufacture?)

I'm also still undecided as to whether the cinematic ending (the version aired) or the alternate ending is the more effective, but either way this film remains a modern horror classic.

My memories of Paranormal Activity still end up in my nightmares and weirder dreams about 10 years after having watched it once. I found it very effective! Especially the bit with the photograph.

It's the ouija scene that does it for me, the pointer just merrily swinging around when nobody's even home, silently watched by the camera, before bursting into flames when by that point we know that mysterious fires are something Katie experienced before...

Mortal Kombat 2021

Whatever the failings and merits of this movie (and there's far more of the former than the later), the biggest highlight for me is Cole Young's armour. I don't think I have seen such a comically bad prop used in a movie in ages. Aside from it looking tremendously awful, at one point you can literally see the suit come apart at the seam. And that's the shot the director decided was the best!

I'm not sure if this is a "so bad it's good" movie, but it certainly is bad.

I was forced to watch something new. And a Netflix production too. I'm 6 episodes into the Squid Game now. It's alright. The actors work well. Opportunist lady is very entertaining. Evil Guy is very nice, very evil. Main guy is very nice. And so on. Yes, the thing is very violent. And that's about it.

Yes, capitalism. Well done. And not incorrect of course. That aside though, somehow I think that many, many tv shows could more efficiently be turned into a 100 minutes film, tell the same story, say the same things, and be more concise and to the point.

All I can say to that is who loves you and who do you love?

Whitman, Price and Haddad? Last season’s winners.

Eternals (2021) - Planned to see it today, only to find it was banned in Egypt due to a gay kiss. Moreover the website that reported this was blocked in Egypt.

So uh, Enigma Stars out of 5?

Currently watching Home Sweet Home Alone

I’m a fan of the original two, and trying to watch this with Kid Mind engaged.

Up to the actual home invasion bit. Lead kid is sadly pretty awful as a character, and the plot is….dodgy.

But as a family film? I think those with younger kids will find it Time well spent.

The Man from UNCLE

A "modern" re-make of an old 60's spy show I always liked. This one was written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and you can tell when you watch it!

Henry Cavil and Armie Hammer are really strong as Solo and Ilya respectively. Viklander as Gabby is also good. The Italian villainess is great. Hugh Grant is fun.

Don't look too closely at the plot, just squint at it and look sideways. There are some head scratchers in there. Instead, just absorb the cool stylings and directorial flourishes.

I liked it! Too bad they did not make any more.

Black Widow: I've generally enjoyed all the MCU films on one level or another. This was just nothing. Would not watch again or recommend it.

Avengers: Infinity War - IMAX Enhanced.

Nobody needs a review of this movie any more. But just to say that as part of Disney + Day, a bunch of the MCU films have had new IMAX versions uploaded. I believe the new versions also have additional support for different audio and HDR formats.

Suffice to say, they're superior to the existing versions. The revised aspect ratio give about 10-15% more picture/less black border than before on a typical modern TV. Any other difference will be subject to one's own tech and what is supported, but I swear the HDR effect and colour in general on my setup is improved.

Without doing a side by side comparison, it is easy to convince oneself of these things though, but the objectively larger picture is more impactful than one may think.

Probably not worth rewatching a whole movie unless you already planned to, but maybe worth skipping forward to your favourite scenes to see how much different they look in the update.

Shang-Chi is on Disney+ and it is far better than I had hoped. Best post Endgame MCU movie or show for me.

Edit: Getting kind of tired of Awkwafina tbh.

Just for completeness' sake:

I finished watching Warten Auf'n Bus (2020). German TV series, 8 episodes, less than half an hour each. It's about two men in their late 40s in Eastern Germany (Brandenburg). One of them is disabled after a work accident, the other one is long-time unemployed. Every day they sit at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere and wait for the bus to arrive. Or rather the bus driver, who they both fancy.

Until then these two men, who have been friends for a long time, just talk to each other. Often meaningless stuff, but just as often they touch on pretty important things. One of them is more well-versed in the humane disciplines, the other one is a bit more of a hot-head and a man of numbers (I think he used to be a pretty well-off engineer before the fall of the iron curtain. Because this is one of the central themes of the show: the life of people in rural parts of Eastern Germany, and the last generation who lived their early adult life in the German Democractic Republic. This still is a thing in Germany, although one that isn't talked about much, although it somewhat mirrors the fate of people across the Western world.

So apart from life, love, work, family, friendship, philosophy, 'self-care', and so on, there's some pretty hefty stuff on the rise of the extreme right, frustration with politics, the internet and so on. The main thing is though that these two never stop talking, no matter how divided their views are on something. They never succumb to wrong pride or are 'too insulted' to stop talking to each other. They are the antithesis of internet conversations or social media. These two are friends, and they know that this is way more important than a singular opinion. And they know that in the world they live in the most stupid thing they could do is "just go talk to somebody else who shares my opinion", which is what social media is built on. Also, they know that they can not go anywhere else.

I started watching the show back when it first popped up in mid-2020. I liked it fine, but it got too depressing for me, so I stopped. Just last night I caught the rest of the episodes on TV, and it was nice. So maybe not for going to bed, but it's a really precious little show. Very minimalist; most of the time all we see is the two guys at that bus station and wide, flat country around them. The two main actors are really, really good though, and so is the writing. For a show like that you'd think that there's a lot of improv, but I think it's all properly scripted. Both of the guys delivery is very natural though, right down to the very broad dialect used. Just adds to the sense of reality though. Good stuff.

Watch It. IF you're not in the mood for the Marvel film and if your German is pretty much bulletproof.

The Old Ways

A Netflix Original, The Old Ways follows a young American reporter on her return to the family home in South America some 20 or so years after she left as a child.

What we have here is 90 minutes of "some film." It can't really be criticised for production values, acting or writing, they're all perfectly adequate, but precious little sets it apart.

This is essentially a riff on The Exorcist formula. The trouble is that riffs on The Exorcist formula are hardly rare, and while the idea of transplanting it into Amazonian South America and exploring culture and beliefs many won't be all that familiar with has promise, the execution is lacking. The creature itself is visually reasonably striking, but this alone isn't going to carry the film, especially with only brief appearances.

Ultimately what we get is a lightweight film that would really benefit from more atmosphere and a deeper dive into the lore it skirts. If you manage to stay focused through the whole thing then give yourself a pat on the back, I didn't.

trexmeyer wrote:
Shang-Chi is on Disney+ and it is far better than I had hoped. Best post Endgame MCU movie or show for me.

Edit: Getting kind of tired of Awkwafina tbh.

Just watched this with my wife. Thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s not deep, nor is it meaningful, but it is playful and visually stunning and Ben Kingsley just gets to play. Top marks.

Olympus has Fallen

And it can’t get it up.

This is a very silly film. A very, very silly film. Mostly because it kinda makes American forces look incredibly incompetent.

Bad guys firing some kind of heavy machine gun? Guess we’d better just….sort of….stand around here. Pointing out pistols. And be gunned down in short order.

The baddies? Oh yeah, the South Korean Prime Minister is apparently really awful at choosing his aides, given they’re all in on it.

If I was a service person or police officer, I’d feel bloody insulted.

Next thing is that Japanese Defense Force feel all insulted because they don't deal with Godzilla easily in each film?

There’s a difference between being squished by a Kaiju, and standing around in the open during a firefight

 Easy E wrote:
The Man from UNCLE

A "modern" re-make of an old 60's spy show I always liked. This one was written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and you can tell when you watch it!

Henry Cavil and Armie Hammer are really strong as Solo and Ilya respectively. Viklander as Gabby is also good. The Italian villainess is great. Hugh Grant is fun.

Don't look too closely at the plot, just squint at it and look sideways. There are some head scratchers in there. Instead, just absorb the cool stylings and directorial flourishes.

I liked it! Too bad they did not make any more.

I agree, it also had humor without getting too campy.

Goldeneye

One of my favourite Bond films, and the first I ever saw in the cinema. It of course also benefits massively from fond memories of Goldeneye on the N64. Not only a rare example of a decent movie tie-in, but a great game in its own right.

Man it’s showing it’s age. But then, it is 26 years old, so perhaps not surprising.