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Flyboys: As a WW1 aviation nut this is a simple "cope with it" kind of film. The CGI is mediocre, the Germans are moustache-twirling villains who inexplicably all fly red Dr.I's....etc. But, it gives just enough amusement to be worth an occasional watch. As long as I don't take it too seriously.

Strictly Ballroom. Considering the era in which it was made, it surprisingly straddles the line between a formulaic rom-com with enough self-awareness to wink at the camera and a full on (but dry) parody of formulaic rom-coms. It’s a quirky, charming movie. The dancing is fun and the soundtrack is excellent.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Strictly Ballroom. Considering the era in which it was made, it surprisingly straddles the line between a formulaic rom-com with enough self-awareness to wink at the camera and a full on (but dry) parody of formulaic rom-coms. It’s a quirky, charming movie. The dancing is fun and the soundtrack is excellent.

It is indeed a fun little film, and why I can't take telly dancing shows at all seriously


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Elbows wrote:
Flyboys: As a WW1 aviation nut this is a simple "cope with it" kind of film. The CGI is mediocre, the Germans are moustache-twirling villains who inexplicably all fly red Dr.I's....etc. But, it gives just enough amusement to be worth an occasional watch. As long as I don't take it too seriously.

I kind of liked it, as much like Fury, if you treat it as a live action Battle comic rather than any kind of serious history its a lark

Samurai Cop.

 Elbows wrote:
Flyboys: As a WW1 aviation nut this is a simple "cope with it" kind of film. The CGI is mediocre, the Germans are moustache-twirling villains who inexplicably all fly red Dr.I's....etc. But, it gives just enough amusement to be worth an occasional watch. As long as I don't take it too seriously.

Not as eye-burningly painful as Red Tails so there's that.

Battle Beyond The Stars is on Amazon Prime.

Good quality print too.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 Elbows wrote:
Flyboys: As a WW1 aviation nut this is a simple "cope with it" kind of film. The CGI is mediocre, the Germans are moustache-twirling villains who inexplicably all fly red Dr.I's....etc. But, it gives just enough amusement to be worth an occasional watch. As long as I don't take it too seriously.

Not as eye-burningly painful as Red Tails so there's that.

Red Tails was the movie that convinced me Lucas doesn't know how the make good movies (which I already thought, I was just further convinced).

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Samurai Cop.

You have tickled my interest, horrible fun or just horrible

Just horrible.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Just horrible.

In my years I have learned that life is too @#$%ing short for "so bad it's good" cause honestly, it ain't.

Pretty sure Samurai Cop is a legend on Best of the Worst. Is that the Len Krabasinski film? Or a film that inspired him? Either way, it reminds me that I saw Space Cop, so...


Space Cop. He’s a cop from the future, the future of space.
It’s a bad movie made by connoisseurs of bad movies. I was entertained. However, I can’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t already fully aware what they’d be stepping into.
I spent far too much of the run time scrutinizing their kitbashed props looking for parts I recognized from the $25 battleship model kit sold at Michaels.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Just horrible.

In my years I have learned that life is too @#$%ing short for "so bad it's good" cause honestly, it ain't.

I don’t know. I laughed harder and deeper at Cats than I have at any film since ...maybe Borat? Transformative, healing laughter. With tears and snot.

 Elbows wrote:
Mortal Engines: I ordered this, despite its poor performance and general poor reviews...I was curious how they could screw up such a cool possible concept. This is one of the most painfully average, mediocre, inconsistently done movies....ugh...borderline painful. Also, the main male protagonist looks just like Emilia Clarke (and has a similarly pale performance).

Truly awful isn't it.

makes no sense either, and it's like all the main actors think they're in a different style of movie than the one they're actually in.

recently watched "Link" from 1986 or around then





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_(film)

Link is supposed to be a chimpanzee, as is evidenced by a poster of him in his old circus days as a chimpanzee, but for some unknown reason he is played by an orangutan who has his fur colored darker and is wearing prosthetic ears to make him resemble a chimpanzee.

when you read that you know you're in for a treat.

How the hell Goldsmith was nominated for an award here I have no idea , score sounds more like a zany 80s comedy than the Birds style horror they're going for.

Cracking appearance by the guy who played Tosh Lines in "The Bill" too,

with a bit of luck I'll get round to watching




.. for reasons that I'm not entirely sure of.

I have seen Konga.... it is okay but nothing special.

I recently watched Jupiter Ascending

This movie has characters with motivations, backgrounds, and goals. It has world-building. It has great sets and costuming. It has sub-text about the nature of immigration, exploitation, and Capitalism. It has a plot line that follows the Hero's Journey.

So why does it not work? It makes no sense. On paper this movie is "good", but when you watch it all together.... it is just boring. Why? I do not understand!

If you are a film student, this movie could be a great subject for research and review. It should work, all the parts are there, but it just doesn't work.

 Easy E wrote:
I have seen Konga.... it is okay but nothing special.

I recently watched Jupiter Ascending

This movie has characters with motivations, backgrounds, and goals. It has world-building. It has great sets and costuming. It has sub-text about the nature of immigration, exploitation, and Capitalism. It has a plot line that follows the Hero's Journey.

So why does it not work? It makes no sense. On paper this movie is "good", but when you watch it all together.... it is just boring. Why? I do not understand!

If you are a film student, this movie could be a great subject for research and review. It should work, all the parts are there, but it just doesn't work.

I think its cos is a bit too cluttered as a film, might have been better as a 8-10ep streaming show even if you lose some of the visuals

I watched the new Ghostbusters (2016) film last night.

First off - I'm not hugely into the original films. I think they're nice, they're fun for the most parts and the special effects were great (some stuff's scary too, especially part 2 I thought), but they're not more than "perfectly fine". I expected to be very annoyed by the new film, especially since I watched the German dubbed version on TV. So I watched the thing and the characters kinda won me over. They're a good mix and a good unit at the same time. I enjoyed the build-up, the look of the technology and the ghosts were mostly fine as well. There is too much 'chattiness', there is this constant sound carpet of one-liners and attempts at jokes, which is superfluous and distracting. There is dancing for no reason.

The problem with many comedies these days (especially ones which employ established comedians) I think is that all too many times they seem to want to get 'their gak in' all the time. This is probably more of a production/management problem than an ego thing, who knows. But it's annoying. Yes, you like do to funny voices. Great. Doesn't mean it's gotta be done all the time. Dave Coulier on Full House was more restrained than the blonde lady in that film. And yet, she was kinda my favourite thing about it. The hair was silly, but what can you do. Silly hair is the order of the day.

There's also a ton of unnecessary, senseless and misplaced fan service and references. All of the three surviving Ghost busters actors make an appearance (plus Janine and some others), and NONE of them further the plot one bit, help in any way or are that funny. Especially Sigourney Weaver's at the end was the top of several unnecessary things. And all of that adds up over the course of the film.

The last third is garbage. And even before that it's hard not to realize that this script is about as strong as one for a 22 minutes kids cartoon show. They even have two whole sequences of stupid weapons (first shown, then used) to sell toys. A film driven by fan service (a.k.a. fear of fans and at the same time deep, deep scorn for them) and production companies, chewed up by test audiences and marketing.

All that being said - it's not the fault of the main characters. They could be more toned down and less chatty, but oh well. They are fine and engaging at times. I really like Melissa McCarthy, and I liked her in this film. Not the least because I didn't catch even once reference to her weight or looks. The characters are competent in their fields, don't whine, they are active and work together. I really like that. I also really enjoyed their headquarters. It's just the script, fanservice and fear that lets this film down and kinda kills it over the second and third thirds of the film.

Pass


Oh, as for the whole women-thing: that is not the problem. It's not a bonus either though. And most of all - swapping genders is NOT emancipatory. It's lazy, it's cheap, it insults the viewer's intelligence. Make a good film starring women or make good films starring men - a good film's a good film, a bad film's a bad film. And middle-of-the-road, lukewarm, produced-and-tested-to-death films are the worst.

This may sound overly negative, and in retrospect I notice mostly negative things about the film. But the first ....almost half of it? Third? kinda won me over due to the charcters.

I think the biggest issue of the "new" Ghostusters film is that there was no reason for it to exist, and everyone working on it seemed to know that.

 Easy E wrote:
I think the biggest issue of the "new" Ghostusters film is that there was no reason for it to exist, and everyone working on it seemed to know that.

Well, there is, it just happens that 'virtue signalling' isnt a legitimate reason.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
I think the biggest issue of the "new" Ghostusters film is that there was no reason for it to exist, and everyone working on it seemed to know that.

Well, there is, it just happens that 'virtue signalling' isnt a legitimate reason.

and I don't even think it was that much of a signal to start with, lot of SNL graduates get, for good or ill, get to craft their own movie, whereas the ladies get lumped with reheating a movie that either isn't a thing to the younger gen or a precious part of folks teen years, they just couldn't win

 Turnip Jedi wrote:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
I think the biggest issue of the "new" Ghostusters film is that there was no reason for it to exist, and everyone working on it seemed to know that.

Well, there is, it just happens that 'virtue signalling' isnt a legitimate reason.

and I don't even think it was that much of a signal to start with, lot of SNL graduates get, for good or ill, get to craft their own movie, whereas the ladies get lumped with reheating a movie that either isn't a thing to the younger gen or a precious part of folks teen years, they just couldn't win

Agreed. No idea why SNL is such a huge thing in the US, but it still seems to be. Anyway, the film was unnecessary, just a money grab basically. Funny thing is that the actresses who did do their best (I think) of course got their paychecks, but no franchise out of it. Production firms just go ahead and do another Ghostbusters film. Weird how these things go.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
I think the biggest issue of the "new" Ghostusters film is that there was no reason for it to exist, and everyone working on it seemed to know that.

Well, there is, it just happens that 'virtue signalling' isnt a legitimate reason.

Pretty sure it didn't even have to do with that.

One of my old script writing profs told me the following (which I will paraphrase since that was a long time ago):

"If you want to sell a script, don't write anything original. Instead, take a movie that all ready was successful and change one element of it to make it new. For example, take a samurai or western movie you like and put it in a different setting, or change up the main character a bit, or re-work the macguffin, or twist a simple plot point. There you go. You now have a new sellable script."

Pretty cynical but also very risk averse, which is what movie companies want right now. I can practically see the pitch meeting in my head.

Exec 1- "It's Ghostbusters, but with an all female cast!"
Exec 2- "he first one made a lot of money!"
Exec 1-"And people are still fond of it today."
Studio Head- "Green light it."

The simple reason Ghostbusters 2016 failed was they took a beloved franchise (I'm not much of a classic Ghostbusters fan, beyond the cartoon) and turned it into an SNL movie...and a bad one (as most SNL films are). It just failed on all fronts. It was a mediocre and not terribly funny movie (not as good as Brides Maids, etc.)....didn't appeal to Ghostbuster fans...didn't even accomplish the director/producer's desires to virtue signal...and didn't bring anything new or interesting to anybody. That's a failure across the board.
______________________

Disturbia: A decently amusing film starring the growing-into-his-roles Shia Lebouf. Fun, but impractical. Some nice thriller moments.

Crimson Tide: Still holds up beautifully. Just a well done, well shot, fun, and well scripted military thriller/drama. Good stuff. Who doesn't like watching Denzel or Gene Hackman? Exactly.

But how does it compare to the Hunt for Red October, the other submarine movie with great music?

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
But how does it compare to the Hunt for Red October, the other submarine movie with great music?

While I prefer the story of Hunt for Red October, I think Crimson Tide is immeasurably better filmed (better lighting, decent CGI, etc.). No Sean Connery not-Russian language, etc. While I enjoy both, I'd say Crimson Tide is the better movie.

Red Sonja-having seeing the two Schwarzenegger Conans I figured I may as well finish with this informal continuation of the trilogy. It... well it had potential. Brigitte Nielsen had the physical presence, but as a model turned actress speaking in her 3rd or 4th language... let's just call it wooden. Like Conan the Destroyer they went for a D&D party type approach but none of the actors, including Arnold really pull it off. 13 year old Ernie Reyes Jr. is impressive as the martial-art skilled Prince Tarn, but that's about it. The set design has some nice ideas, instead of a standard Hollywood rickety rope bridge they cross a dinosaur skeleton. Giant statues are everywhere. Overall it was worth the $5 digital purchase but that's about it.

Ah digital streaming. Now I can see any movie ever made, with about the quality as using my old 12" B&W set to watch a UHF channel in the 80s.

The Handmaids Tale. A how to guide of government takeover and control.

We just watched Battle Beyond the Stars. It’s a bit campy as you would expect from its age and budget, but a much better movie than we were expecting. Good story, good characters, some far out sci fi concepts, and a bit of action.

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker: Wasn't going to watch it, but my brother rented it. Just about as disappointing as I was expecting. Not TLJ levels of gak, but just really underwhelming and...if I'm honest, I'm glad to be done with the Star Wars main story. It's time to put this old horse out to pasture and move on.

Ghostrider and Ned Stark go head to head to find a lost treasure.

True Memoirs of an International Assassin
Fun enough, but nothing groundbreaking or amazing. I enjoyed it for what it was. I wouldn;t rush out to watch it, but when you are on lockdown, you could do much worse.


Iron Superman
Have you seen Ultraman? Imagine something made about 5 years later, only using action figures.... that is this movie. The opening with the big robot using a harpoon to destroy a ship is a glorious use of models. Sadly it is a highlight of the film and it only goes down hill.

If you are absolutely Jonesing for something like a poor man's version of the Power Rangers, you can really skip this one. There are so many better versions of this type of movie out there.

Mad Max: Fury Road: Still a fun action movie, and one of the few movies to have such a definitive style, a kind of 300 feel. Love the dedication to real action set pieces.