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 Frazzled wrote:

Thats actually an excellent movie from back in the day.

I hope I didn't imply it wasn't - I see I didn't actually praise it in so many words - it's just that it's quite a bit darker than I anticipated.

Underwater: Knew it wouldn't be great given the scores, etc...and it was frustrating. A lot of wasted potential. Could have actually been really good.

Extraction: A wannabe-John Wick...and that's not a bad thing. A solid, mostly mindless shoot-em-up action film. Blessingly spared of the modern politics and agenda.

Rise of Skywalker. . . . Well, I only rented it, so there's that. . . As for the movie/story, well, it was telegraphed to hell and back (wife and I were calling the shots before they happened, which is bad if even she's able to do that). Action sequences were pretty cool, I guess.


Overall, it wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be, but any further reviews or discussions I would bet should be taken to one of the *other* star wars threads.

On a random note for those who've seen it. . . those early shots with Palpatine, is that how yall imagine the 40k emperor looking??

The Wiiloughby's

A computer animated kids flix on Netflix that was #1 on USA Today when I watched. i have no idea why it was number 1.

Definitely heavy on the magical realism and nothing connects to any purpose. It is unlike most movies I have seen as there are lots of set-ups, but no payoffs, and nothing that happens can be predicted or makes sense from what happened before. Even for a kids flix this had some strange writing choices.

The Cat narrator voiced by that guy who does the Oscars on occasion (and whose name escapes me completely as of writing) was the highlight.

Mowgli

The newer live action version with computer animated animals.

I was surprised to see this was directed by Andy Serkis. Typically he is the mo-cap performer so someone thought he had something to bring to the table for this type of film.

As for the movie itself, it is a case study in making an amoral psychopath. Then, the character becomes an amoral psychopath just like the villain and we are all happy! Roll credits.

Not sure I can saw I endorse this film.....

Is that the one where they turned King Louis into King Kong?

 Vermis wrote:
Is that the one where they turned King Louis into King Kong?

Nope. No King Louie in this one..... but Monkeys do play a big part.....

 Easy E wrote:
Mowgli

The newer live action version with computer animated animals.

I was surprised to see this was directed by Andy Serkis. Typically he is the mo-cap performer so someone thought he had something to bring to the table for this type of film.

As for the movie itself, it is a case study in making an amoral psychopath. Then, the character becomes an amoral psychopath just like the villain and we are all happy! Roll credits.

Not sure I can saw I endorse this film.....

Yeah, somehow I have not the slightest interest in any of the "live action" Disney redos of classic cartoons. I think a good case could be made in favor of calling these cartoons as well though, especially in the case in which 80% of characters are CGI animals. I'M sure it looks impressive though.


Universal Soldier (1992)

Secret programme of bascially freezing mortally wounded or dead US Vietnam soldiers. By 1992 the technology's there, they enhance them with a bit of cyberware (minimal), stick bunch of biotech in there as well and reawaken these bascially undead to be super-soldiers. Of course there's a tiny malfunction (because this is about the most problematic scientific undertaking possible) and the soldiers' programming messes up. Basically they act upon the last wish they had before they got quasi-killed. In the case of Luc Devraux (Jean-Claude van Damme) that was 'going home', in the case of his direct superior Sgt.Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) and a bunch more of his men (including Tiny Lister!) it's basically "the enemy is everywhere, it's never-ending war!11".

I own the DVD, but it's been a while since I watched this film. If you got access to the DVD, make sure to listen into the audio commentary by Roland Emmerich and one of the producers (I think). Really, really itneresting stuff about the craft side of things and so on. Anyway, the film is really good. Van Damme (who is the leading man of course)'s role is a bit ungrateful I think since he's an undead robotic super soldier. He flees along with a spunky and very pretty reporter lady, Dolph and his pals are on their heels because the super soldier programme is tip top secret and things shouldn't get out. They aren't very subtle about it, but somehow the people behind the programme try to frame the reporter lady for a motel that got shot up with 200 billion bullets and other things. Anyway, van Damme's role is unthankful. Dolph Lundgren on the other hand has the time of his life with the role as the evil sergeant Scott. He's bascially a Space Marine (sans all the extra-silly Imperium ideology) and knows it. In possibly the best scene of the film he holds a big speech in a supermarket which is reminiscent of the 'bad guy' speech in Scarface.

Anyway, the film's even better than I had remembered. It's easy to watch, it's fun, there are some nice scenes between van Damme and the reporter lady, there are amazingly funny and evil scenes featuring Lundgren and some cringe-funny one-liners.

Watch It.


Sea of Love (1989)

Al Pacino is a policeman who's on an undercover hunt for a killer after two murders have taken place in exactly the same fashion. During his investigation he meets a mysterious woman named Helen (Ellen Barkin) and there's some mutual interest. On a personal level as well as on a professional level, as she might be a suspect for the killings.

Oh yes, that one's right up my alley. Very film noir, 80s saxophones, Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman as Pacino's colleague. As much as it is a noir thriller, the interesting aspect about the film is the urban romance story between people who aren't quite young any more and both of them wounded in a way. It's really interesting to see how these characters get involved with each other. They are very unsure about this whole thing (murder suspicions aside). He is insecure about telling her that he works as a cop, she isn't sure about his fits of rage or at least general tenseness and she can't afford to make any bad choices in men since she's been hurt before and she's got a little daughter.

The film works with a very small cast, but it doesn't feel small. It's just a personal story between very engaging characters.

Watch It. It's not a great film, but it's engaging and very charming in a way.


Downfall (2004)

You've seen it. And if you haven't, go watch it. It's just well done, it's gripping and insane and sombre and mind-boggling and all of that. I've seen it a few times since it was released, this time I switched off before Magda Göbbels does that thing. It's not a spoiler, because we all read about what generally went on in the Führerbunker.

Watch It. it's good.



Since it's the 75th anniversary of the end of WW2 ('round these parts at least), tv channels are showing documentaries and films about the topic. While channel flipping I caught Cross of Iron 2, but I can't find myself bothering with that film. And why would I, to be honest.

Then, last night, I saw a film I think I hadn't seen before.

The Murderers Are Among Us (1946)

After the end of the war a woman (illustrator and photographer and liberated from a concentration camp, played by Hildegard Knef) returns to her former flat in the completely destroyed Berlin. While she was gone, former army surgeon Dr.Mertens (Ernst Wilhelm Borchert) had taken shelter in the flat. She's obviously pretty beaten up by his war experiences, seems cynical and dismissive towards everybody, and drinks the nights away in clubs. Since neither has anywhere to go they are forced to become flatmates. Then a letter appears which brings back a figure from Merten's past in the army, who basically is the cause of the worst of all his bad memories about service and things get really interesting.

IIRC this was the first film made in Germany after the end of the war. They started shooting it in 1945 and shows a lot of the devastation of the city, it draws really interesting characters in this insane post-war situation. Oh, and I also get now why Hildegard Knef is so revered. Borchert is really good too. Visually the film is a very interesting mix of 1920 and 30s expressionist film (loads of light and shadow going on there. Great stuff) and post-war Germany realism. Of course the most interesting person is Mertens former captain Brückner. Not only the casting, but also his presentation is really clever insofar as that he's a seemingly small, unassuming and jovial fella with a nice family.

I'm sure a ton of treatises by people who are much more educated and clever than me about Knef's and Borchert's characters, their different experiences during the war, the way the system hurt them and how they are coping with it. The film even breaks it down rather clearly in the beginning: Knef's character tells an old man that she just wants to live now, while it's pretty clear that Borchert's character just doesn't. Either lived through terrible things during the war (different experiences, but both terrible). The illustrator didn't have a choice in what happened to her, whereas Dr.Mertens felt like he had, but somehow didn't. Yet he believes he should have done something and this tears him up. Both were powerless then and after the war in a way still are, but now they are more in charge of their lives than they were within the system. Their experiences shape how they cope with it though. Interesting stuff, well played, impressive.

Good film, watch it.

I have never seen Downfall. Only the memes it spawned.

Sea of Love I recall it being interesting for what it was. At the time, I seem to recall the "erotic" thriller was a subgenre spawned from a few very successful movies whose names escape me at the moment. I also recall being somewhat surprised by the obligatory "twist" ending, but back then I was still a bit new to the movie scene.

Star Wars - Ep 9 - Rise of Skywalker

Synopsis: Palpatine returns and is revealed as having been behind it the whole time! Still destroying planets, but this time the guns are mounted on the big triangle ships! Hooray for micronization! All your favourite characters are back, but now they’re generals! The empire still hasn’t leaned from it’s all-eggs-in-one basket follies, so the resistance can find all the planet busters in one place... but it gets better, because the ships are all controlled by a single thing, so if you blow it up they all crash!

Oh, Rey and Kylo are linked in the force, and the good guys beat the bad guys because they have the magic of friendship.

Analysis: I had *absolutely zero expectations* for this movie. It was ok for a movie night with the kids. Felt oddly rushed, plot wise, at times while at others, the plot seemed to drag. Pacing was a bit strange, and the time-Focus for different elements of the movie felt off to me. Lots of time looking for the space-gps, not much time developing anything else, really. Not a bad movie per se, but kinda forgettable.

It’s on Disney Plus, so if you have that, it’s basically free to watch, and it’s part of pop culture so I say give it a go.

Rewatched Age of Ultron while playing the new solo raid boss mode for Crisis Protocol. It's often cited as one of the worst Marvel movies but I really enjoyed it. It's definitely more rooted in the 60's incarnation of the team, but I really struggled to find anything to gripe about.

AoU is my 2nd favourite Marvel Movie. Mostly for the Ultron character, loved the sense of humour.

Rewatched Star Trek 6 with my family and friends via zoom and Facebook messenger. It’s still a fun movie, even if we spent most of our time discussing all the character actors and whether or not all Efrosians are blind. (They aren’t! Jeez!) The boy enjoyed the Klingons. My wife enjoyed the alien dogs on Rura Penthe.



*For example, Pat Tallman/Lyta Alexander is uncredited, but she’s one the bridge almost the whole movie.

Is 6 the "Undiscovered Country" I can;t keep them straight?

Yup. Not to be confused with The Final Frontier.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 LunarSol wrote:
Rewatched Age of Ultron while playing the new solo raid boss mode for Crisis Protocol. It's often cited as one of the worst Marvel movies but I really enjoyed it. It's definitely more rooted in the 60's incarnation of the team, but I really struggled to find anything to gripe about.

It also sets up quite a few of the following films, though of course we’d no way of knowing that at the time. Still better than its reputation suggests.

 Easy E wrote:
I have never seen Downfall. Only the memes it spawned.

Sea of Love I recall it being interesting for what it was. At the time, I seem to recall the "erotic" thriller was a subgenre spawned from a few very successful movies whose names escape me at the moment. I also recall being somewhat surprised by the obligatory "twist" ending, but back then I was still a bit new to the movie scene.

It's a good film. Portrays crazy things well. And it's pretty easy to watch, with some peaks of insanity being fittingly unsettling.

What intrigues me about films is the depiction of Göbbels. So very often he's veering towards caricature. I guess it's because of all the ingredients (his stature, the dialect, the foot, the resort, the fascination with certain esoteric ideas, etc.) which are easy to use for identifying the character. There's just a complete clown like in Jew Suss - The Rise and Fall (played by Moritz Bleibtreu). In Downfall it's a bit less distracting, but the face is slightly unsettling.

Oh well. Sea of Love is nice. Yeah, erotic thriller. That's been a thing for a while, hasn't it. Not sure it really applies to this film; the two characters just interact in a kinda erotic fashion and the enviroments sure help. And of course a ton of erotic thrillers followed in the early to mid 1990s, along with a whole lotta made-for-tv sex films. Those were the days! All ruined by the internet, wasn't it. Last erotic thriller I saw must have been Basic Instinct 2, which itself was an odd thing in itself. There's a thing - do hollywood films nowadays still have sex scenes at all? I don't think I've seen one, even the tamest, in a long time.


I think last night I listened to a film while reading something. Can't remember which one it was. I know that I did see the beginning of Batman&Robin. Maybe I'm doing Batman Begins a disservice, but I think I'd rather watch Batman&Robin than Batman Begins. Or Dark Knight Rises for that matter. Watched a bit of The Untouchables on Netflix. But watching films on a tablet is just wrong. Watched the beginning of the excellently nice "My Neighbors the Yamadas". Good fun, funny, heart-warming. Watch It.

As for Age of Ultron - yes, I've seen it up until the last 15 minutes or so.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Yup. Not to be confused with The Final Frontier.

I should re-watch it as I recall that being a Trek film I actually liked!


Also, Batman and Robin by Joel Schumacher sucks and you should feel bad Sigur...... very bad!

If i guy who likes watching Reptilicus and The Giant Claw says your movie sucked.... it really did suck!

Star Trek V:The Final Frontier will always hold a special place in my heart for that scene where Captain Klaa made a satellite cry out like a little child.

 Easy E wrote:
...
Also, Batman and Robin by Joel Schumacher sucks and you should feel bad Sigur...... very bad!

If i guy who likes watching Reptilicus and The Giant Claw says your movie sucked.... it really did suck!

BUT they aren't boring! Well, some bad films are very boring. But Batman and Robin didn't bore me (not that I sat through the whole thing).

My strongest memory of Batman and Robin (beyond the stuff that's been giffed to death) is that there were so many trailers in front of it I forgot what movie I'd gone to see when "Feature Presentation" showed up on the screen.

Watched Toy Story 4 last night. It's quite good, but didn't pack as much punch as the third or second. It's always been more of a series I appreciate as excellent films rather than one where I'm super invested in the characters though, and I suspect for people who saw it as kids there's a lot more to unpack here.

 Sigur wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
...
Also, Batman and Robin by Joel Schumacher sucks and you should feel bad Sigur...... very bad!

If i guy who likes watching Reptilicus and The Giant Claw says your movie sucked.... it really did suck!

BUT they aren't boring! Well, some bad films are very boring. But Batman and Robin didn't bore me (not that I sat through the whole thing).

That is the worst sin of cinema..... yeah..... I'm looking at you Starcrash!

Romeo Must Die

So, i thought this would be a modernize adaption of Shakespeare. My daughter and I kept looking for parallels. The closest is that one star is from one ethnic crime family and the other is from a different ethnic crime family. They have a meet-cute and a weak romance side plot.

Nothing else is at all like Shakespeare. The title comes from a throw away line from one bad guy to Jet Li.

This movie is very 90's in execution. (Note I probably spell everyone's name wrong in the following paragraph) It has Aliyah, a rising hollywood star who was killed in a plane crash after filming Queen of the Damned. I have no idea why I remember that.... but I do. It also was one of Jet Li's first attempts to get into mainstream Hollywood movies. Del Rey Lindo rules this film and completely dominates every scene he is in. This movie was clearly trying really hard to be a Hollywood Hong Kong Wire-fu action movie, but it just fails.

I’ll always remember that as the movie where two minority crime empires are forced to fight each other by their Jewish overlord.

Mazes & Monsters. MAZES AND MONSTERS. Even though I think I might have done this already in another thread long ago(its happened quite a bit of late)...LETS DO THIS!

Tom Hanks plays a young college student named robbie who goes full Pardu, in the movie that explains what that actually means to D&D players who still don't understand what the other players are accusing them of. Back in the late 70s/80s, D&D Dungeon Masters were a greater threat to society than drug dealers, cult worshippers, brutal dictators and the cast of Cats, and so they made this made-for-tv movie based on a book of the same name by Rona Jaffe to expose how evil DMs really are...

Just like Michael Corleone, Robbie tries to get out of the game but new friends drag him back in(one of which is a DM, who is so evil he looks like Fred from Scooby-Doo). Before long hes back in fantasy land and after a traumatic experience in an attempt to make the game more real, starts to believe that he is the character he plays. Pardu - sorry, Robbie - goes walkies and his friends have to find him quickly before he does something in which they all might regret, such as playing an extra in West Side Story or even taking up Sky diving...

This film was obviously jumping on the D&D-bashing band wagon of the time, and on that front its a cheese fest that invokes face palm within the first five minutes. But once one has repented for being D&D worshiping scum, there is a genuinely fun 80s adventure-thriller to be found here! Robbie begins to see the real world as an analogy to the game world, and despite the efforts to place blame on the game it actually does a good job of highlighting the real villian of the film - dysfunctional families! Each of the players - especially Robbie - essentially retreat into a world of make believe where they can give structure and dignity to their lives, and in the process form a close friendship.

Beyond the controversy of the game and scapegoating to gloss over more serious issues happening in society even to this day, Mazes and Monsters does occasionally shine a light on the fragile connection between the unlimited power of our imagination and the constraints of reality. Robbie is a bit like Arthur in The Joker, where reality is not in healthy harmony with the imagination, and where most of us merely struggle with that issue as we adapt to new difficulties in life, Arthur and Robbie are lacking a strong enough foundation in reality to keep the imagination in check. Yet Mazes and Joker are contrasts to each other, and controversial in their own rights; M&M blames a recreational game, whereas Joker blames the state of society. Both Arthur and Robbie are lost to their imaginative alter-egos; The Joker and Pardu, respectively.

But "Pardu" has the support of friends, family and society so that he may one day find Robbie, but The Joker is lost in the wilderness of Gotham( much like Robbie where he is lost in the night life of New York ) and unlikely to find Arthur again. While we may never know the fate of either("AM I JOKE TO YOU?", Batman), we do know that Darth Vader was reunited with Anakin, and thus restoring balance to the Force!

OMG! Slow motion this side...mmmmmmmmmhhhhhhh....

...thats right deep divers! The balance of the force is the balance of the imagination and reality!

Can I get a hellllloooooooooo thereeeeeee!

LOL, shout out to Ralph Smart over on Infinite Waters for just popping to mind as I wrote this shamelessly indulgent not-so-mini-review of a film that is so bad its good.

I never thought I would see someone compare and contrast The Joker with Mazes and Monsters. Kudos to you.

Why thank you!

@Easy E: I enjoy your choice of films.

@SamusDrake: Yeah, I heard of this one a few times, but never watched it. The D&D scare never took place here, which may have something to do with it.


Heyhey, I saw a vastly mediocre film.

The Hunted (2003)

US special elite supersoldier (benicio del toro) kills lots of people, but some of them not being the people he should have killed (shock horror). He claims they were baddies too, official story claims "nuh-uh, they were like kids and stuff". Former US special elite supersoldier trainer (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired to help hunt him down.

Good things: Good protagonists who are enjoyable to watch, good low-key action scenes. Remember, this is from a time at which we got mostly overchoreographed, stylized fight scenes and action scenes. This film does everything more down to earth and 'realistic' (with several head-shaking-inducing moments). The film also kinda slightly tries to delve into the inherent problem of turning people into really capable killers, send them somewhere to kill people, and then not having a plan where to put them once the people-to-be-killed are killed.

Bad things: .....but isn't really interested in that thing in the end. It really likes scenes in which people make knives though for some reason. This film is basically First Blood (Rambo I), but with less depth and less of an identity. It's just not very interesting. It's OKAY to watch, but ultimately very by-the-numbers, criminally lets go of the actual topic in favor of a regular chase film and just leaves you with a feeling of 'meh'.

Don't Watch.


I also watched Jack Reacher, because I greatly enjoy that film. And it's SO weird seeing (and hearing!) Werner Herzog as the bad guy. Tom Cruise is the perfect casting choice for that character.

Night of the Seagulls - 1975.

Final entry in The Blind Dead.

It’s got Zombie Templars. But so far, no seagulls.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Night of the Seagulls - 1975.

Final entry in The Blind Dead.

It’s got Zombie Templars. But so far, no seagulls.

Hadn't even heard of that series before, but it's intriguing. Also seems to be available on Amazon Prime. I'm no fan of Amazon, but it's cool that they got older and slightly more niche stuff to offer. As opposed to Netflix, whose film library is disappointing, especially from a genre film perspective and for someone who doesn't feel like watching films from years with a 2 in front.

Just watched "Annihilation" with Natelie Portman.

First off, I don't want to hear any BS about "SJWs" or "Empowered women". Maybe there was no reason for the movie to have a female cast, anymore than there's any reason a lot of movies have all male leads. So I don't want to hear anything about that!

Or maybe there was a reason for a female lead, more on that...

It was not a bad movie. All in all it was a welcome relief from action movies, slob comedies, etc. It tired to be a serious, intelligent SF movie and generally came close enough for me. It had a lot of good effects, good acting, the plot wasn't explained much as in why "it" came to earth or what "it" was. There was some good dialog. "I don't know what it wants. I don't know if it wants."

I think it tried to be kinda sorta like 2001 in some ways, with more action and humanity. A scene near the end is vaguely like the stargate sequence.

The end is very ambiguous. It also might tie in to the female cast.It's very open to interpretation. I had my own if you want some heavy spoilers.




All in all I saw give it a shot.