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 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Even Galaxy Quest?

Probably not at the time, but if I went back and watched it again? Maybe, because I'd know what he's become.

 warhead01 wrote:
Apocalypse now - 1979 / remastered?
The complete directors cut, or what ever it's called.
3 hours and 15 minuets long. It's a lot to take in.
Which seems fitting to me because the trip up river is akin to a religious experience for Cpt. Willard. I enjoyed this version Cpt. Willard has a since of humor in this cut that some people don't care for but I think it adds to his character as he is a burnout with a death wish, in a way. But deep down there was this dude who was fairly cool but he's lost himself. Seeing a glimpse of that just adds a layer to his character.
In the end. Col. Kurtz philosophical views weren't wrong but his implementation was just more than the powers that be could handle.
It's an experience if nothing else.

It may be too long and meandering for many audiences but I felt it made a great film even better. It has amazed me how the film has taken on so many different meanings for me over the course of my 5 decades of life, before… during… and after my time in the military. I particularly liked the inclusion of the Indochinese French enclave and more detailed story of the USO entertainers.

Some of what Kurtz says I agree with, such as the absurdity of US Command, but I do not think in a war you should try to defeat horror with greater horror. It may help win battles but I think that path does not win wars and ultimately destroys those that wage war with such tactics. I think that is one of the key messages of the movie.

Black (but not in a racial sort of way) Adam

Surprisingly good, not great, but better than expected. Surprised to read it was not filmed in Egypt but all on sound stages in Georgia, the cars, the concrete, the dust, were all very familiar.

They don't quite land the moral ambiguity, and the Justice Society is so thinly developed the contrast doesn't really work. Probably a lot left on the cutting room floor, like where did Adam learn English. But still, good.

Tangent - The Justice Society was really ripe for more development. In the comics both Dr Fate and Hawkman have links to ancient Egypt where Black Adam is from (never mentioned but the helm of Fate was around at the time, and Hawkman is a reincarnated pharaoh). A few throw away lines to the effect of 'that guy again' or 'I warned them he'd be back' would go a long way towards explaining why these randoms are there. Heck have the actors in the background of some of the flashbacks and see who catches it.

Also the JSA were the premier heroes of World War II, again never mentioned. They could have filled Hawkman's house with JSA memorabilia, old costumes, comic covers as paintings on the wall etc. Given them a sense of history. Which would make it very very sad that they can only rally 2 dudes and 2 rookies for this vital mission. Have someone go down a list - Wildcat? Retired, Spectre? No one knows, Hourman? heart attack, Sandman? died in his sleep last year...

But now I'm in full on 'rewrite the movie' mood which inevitably ends with me liking the movie in my head rather than the one on film. Ah well, in 10 years an AI will be able to deliver me the film I want.

Solid 3/5.

Glass Onion

A sequel to Knives Out. It’s alright. I’ve seen better, but I’ve also seen far worse movies.

Good for killing a couple of hours, and Daniel Craig remains a highlight.

Rewatched The Losers.

Not as good as I remember it being, but it's still a fun little action romp somewhat letdown by the sequel bait ending (Considering they never did make another one).

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Glass Onion

A sequel to Knives Out. It’s alright. I’ve seen better, but I’ve also seen far worse movies.

Good for killing a couple of hours, and Daniel Craig remains a highlight.

I also watched Glass Onion yesterday and I thought it was pretty great. I like Rian Johnson as a director, he always makes a good cinematic experience. Which sounds obvious but there's plenty of directors who can't do that. Whoever does the costuming for Benoit Blanc is a genius. It's an enjoyable satirical movie and the over the top comic characters fit into the story excellently. Any movie that spends a good two hours just taking the piss out of tech billionaires is a good one.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Glass Onion

A sequel to Knives Out. It’s alright. I’ve seen better, but I’ve also seen far worse movies.

Good for killing a couple of hours, and Daniel Craig remains a highlight.

I watched the first hour of that a few days ago. I really dislike the pictures in these films. Everything looks incredibly instagrammable and fake. One may argue that this is in tone with the film and how over the top it is. Still, I'm getting the impression that this film couldn't produce a real looking shot if it tried.

The first 15 minutes are entirely unnecessary; it looked like it's been made soley for the trailer. The very one-dimensional characters (at least for the purpose they have to serve then) are much more effectively introduced in the fist 20 seconds after Craig arrives in Greece.

The satire part is ....yeah, it makes fun of all the crap that's going on, but it's not really critisizing the crap; it just shows it and shows the protagonists of said crap as baffoons, but we already know that. We know that most silicone valley tycoons are narcissistic, detached egomaniacs. We know that influencers and youtube coaches are useless gakkers (who sometimes actually believe in their own bs), we know that greenwashing exists and many try to ride the wave without having any change in mind, and so on. We know that. It's just a means to an end show these infinity pools once more, to show some tasteless plexiglass interiors once more, and so on.

The funny thing is that nothing in this film looks authentic even if we get to a (supposedly) authentic layer of that onion.


Solid cast though. Yes, Daniel Craig is fun to watch, and it's nice to see Edward Norton.


edit: That's highly unfair and unfounded though, because I've only watched the first half so far. Instead of watching the rest I'm watching the first film now. That's a neat film, that.

edit2: I watched the first film. It's not perfect, but really good fun. It's nice to see a murder mystery film even though it took more twists than a twisty thing on a twisty road. And I watched the rest of the second film. Then I looked up who wrote the scripts for both films, and it's the same writing credits, it's the same producer credis. That surprised me, because the second one is so much worse.

I'm all for taking the piss out of tech billionnaires just like anybody else, but the broadness of that thing, and lack of anything but broadness (especially in the end).... that's just disappointing. I would love to see films shown produced for Netflix without the big red N in front, because I'm not sure at this point if this ruins films for me in the first place, or if I would have disliked this film as much under any other circumstance.

Finally saw Black Adam.

Not terrible, not spectacular. As good as most of the Marvel entries.

Almost all of the stuff with the civilian side characters was cringey.

I’d watch a Hawkman or Dr. Fate movie. Liked both of them a lot. Felt like Cyclone could have had a better presentation of her powers. It always looked too busy when she was doing her thing. Atom Smasher was just ok. Aside from the one casualty, I’d like to see them have a spot in Gunn’s future project.

The vilian could’ve had some build up.

Shame that The Rock put so much effort into this, and it was all for nought.

6/10.

We just saw Avatar. Not the wet one. Dry Avatar.

I’d say it didn’t hold up, but it was pretty cringy back when it came out. The effects are pretty and the action is better than average, but the story is cliche central, and the direction and core creative decisions are condescending*, and the musical score is bafflingly bad for a James Cameron film**. Damn if it isn’t gorgeous, though. Shame it doesn’t have a brain. Still not sure if we want to see Wet Avatar for the experience.

*Making the space natives tall, lithe and sexy seems like a good way to tell your audience you don’t trust them to get the point without everything circled in crayon.

*Sure it has that one “Duh. duhduhluh Duh.” sound over and over again so that ut sticks in your head like a burr. But that’s all it’s got. Even when the scene needs something with more energy or impact, say a Terminator Running or Escaoing the Hive, nope! You get “Duh. duhduhluh Duh.”

I've been rewatching Avatar I on Disney Plus and...

Funny how it is already outdated.

It hit me when I saw someone driving a cart in the human base. And my first thought was you flew a dude a million light years to a planet where everything, including the air, is trying to kill him, and you have him driving a cart? Don't you have an AI/drone/thing to do that?

And then when Jake disappears their plan for finding him is to fly around yelling 'Jake!" instead of a swarm of drones to look under every leaf and tree.

(also why can't you triangulate his location from the signal his Avatar body is putting out, but that's more a plot hole)

It's funny how in just 10 years drone tech, self driving cars and the like just have changed what I think the future will be like. And it won't be like the Vietnam War but with blue cat people.

I know I am not supposed to, but I can not help but like Col. Quaritch. He reminds me of the First Sergeant I had in my company of the Berlin Brigade back when the Wall came down. I am a bit surprised to hear he is supposed to somehow be back in the sequel.

I'm quite sure he's a fan favourite.

I just watched a film called American Psycho (1999). Never watched it before, but it's as good as peeps say. Can't say much more about it than others have already. Watch It.


Operation Petticoat (1959)

Very one-note of the surface, but there are some fun bits in there, and a good main cast. Supposed to illustrate the utter chaos in the early stages of the war in the Pacific, which gives some interesting hooks for wargaming the period. Some will not be able to watch this film, but I can't help that.

Take or Leave.





Btw, yesterday I read that The Ninth Gate got lukewarm reviews in the US at release. sheesh.

 Sigur wrote:
Btw, yesterday I read that The Ninth Gate got lukewarm reviews in the US at release. sheesh.

While I liked enough to try to read The Club Dumas, it was pretty slow paced and I remember Depp being pretty wooden throughout. Its one of those movies that I wouldn't mind watching from time to time.

Wet Avatar

It’s basically Star Trek 4, but wayyy less funny.


There is a “wrong kid died” moment, but I was the only one who laughed.

Violent Night

Probably one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Really enjoyed it. Solid character build up. People acting in their natures consistently throughout. And just fun. It's a new one for the christmas rotation for sure.

Top Gun: Maveric

I do not understand the hype this got. It was decent but not amazing. I don't hate that I watched it or anything and it's perfectly nostalgic and a decent feels film. But it wasn't special. It does have the advantage of being a sequel that doesn't actively destroy the franchise from 25+ years ago though.

Gremlins

Watched this with my kids on Christmas Eve. This holds up. I still love it. And more importantly my kids loved it. They wanted a stairway rail seat till......

Wrath of Man

This was really really well done. It's a Statham movie but more subdued than his general action stuff.

Do you plan to show them Gremlins 2? I’m curious is they will like it as it is a notorious love-it-or-hate-it movie. My son and I loved it.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Do you plan to show them Gremlins 2? I’m curious is they will like it as it is a notorious love-it-or-hate-it movie. My son and I loved it.

Indeed. That'll come up probably this weekend when we can all sit down for family movie I love that one.

Shinobi no mono - 1966
This was a lot better than I had expected. The plot is solid. There's what looks like a fair bit of shinobi/ninja philosophy in action through out the story from disguises to manipulation.
Two rival clans are attempting to kill a would be shogun for religious reasons.
They are both working toward that end but also trying to prevent the other clan from being successful.

There seem to be several movies under this banner and I will look for the rest.
It's worth a watch if you can find it, not as flashy as 80's ninja movies but it does show maybe a more historical ninja in action which I enjoyed.

 Hulksmash wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Do you plan to show them Gremlins 2? I’m curious is they will like it as it is a notorious love-it-or-hate-it movie. My son and I loved it.

Indeed. That'll come up probably this weekend when we can all sit down for family movie I love that one.

For me, Gremlins 2 is the better film.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power

The alternative title for this could easily be Green Lantern: Jon Stewart - Day One

Beginning with the standard GL origin (crashed ship, alien bequeaths mysterious ring) this story goes big early, introducing members of the Justice League and going on an interstellar adventure.

The DCAU continues to outperform the DCEU in most respects, and this is no exception. I'm not sure why we needed this particular story, it seems kinda redundant, but the minimum standard for DC animated movies is always high, so it's welcome nevertheless.

Nothing marks GL: BMP out as exceptional, but it's still decently entertaining, and maybe the best Green Lantern origin movie ever made.

War Machine

Brad Pitt in a thinly fictionalized version of US Afghanistan commander General Stanley McChrystal. (How thinly veiled? He's named Gen McMahon, I guess because McGlass was deemed too close).

I liked it. A lot. Pitt does a great job playing a general who's tough as nails but also smart and sees the war for what it is.

He does a speech where he explains how if you have 10 insurgents and kill 2, you get 20 insurgents, because the 2 guys you killed each had friends/cousins/brothers who were on the fence. He constantly talks about how this war is not about killing but about nation building. If anything I think the film (based on the book The Operators, by a Rolling Stone reporter embedded with McChrystal) is unfair to him.

And the last shot of the film is worth the price of admission.

The film is especially poignant after the collapse in 2021.

The Night House

Given the reach of modern internet communication, it's incredibly rare to discover a genuine hidden gem these days. The times of picking a VHS from the rental place on the strength of its cover and then realising that it is in fact an amazing movie are, I fear, largely gone.

So imagine my surprise to see The Night House referenced briefly in a documentary, and realise that there was an appealing looking, contemporary horror/thriller I'd simply no knowledge of. I was then delighted to discover that it was available to stream on Disney + (UK, suspect it'll be on Hulu in other territories.)

While that sequence of events is rare, it is even rarer that I watch a movie that I can genuinely offer no real criticism of. The Night House put me in mind of Jordan Peele's films in so much as a large part of the movie is spent building a quiet dread, without really offering anything extraordinary to justify it. What Lies Beneath is another point of reference that kept popping into my head.

Rebecca Hall more or less carries the film singlehandedly, and does an amazing job with material that could easily have been accidentally comical in the wrong hands. FX are subtle, but expertly realised. In fact "subtle but expertly realised" pretty much sums up the whole production.

The Night House is a small film that is complex enough to offer multiple interpretations of the story, ranging from a simple ghost story to musings on grief, mental health or the idea of how well we really know those closest to us and how we cope when we're wrong, or the fear of leaving things unfinished. That's after just one viewing. It's also brave enough to leave questions unanswered, allowing the viewer greater freedom to apply their own interpretation.

Unless you're completely unable to watch anything vaguely spooky without ruining your sleep for weeks (these people exist) then this is a film really worth checking out.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
War Machine

Brad Pitt in a thinly fictionalized version of US Afghanistan commander General Stanley McChrystal. (How thinly veiled? He's named Gen McMahon, I guess because McGlass was deemed too close).

I liked it. A lot. Pitt does a great job playing a general who's tough as nails but also smart and sees the war for what it is.

He does a speech where he explains how if you have 10 insurgents and kill 2, you get 20 insurgents, because the 2 guys you killed each had friends/cousins/brothers who were on the fence. He constantly talks about how this war is not about killing but about nation building. If anything I think the film (based on the book The Operators, by a Rolling Stone reporter embedded with McChrystal) is unfair to him.

And the last shot of the film is worth the price of admission.

The film is especially poignant after the collapse in 2021.

I agree. I got out in 2000 and the stuff in the movie reflects the Army far above my paygrade but there was an air of poignant, albeit satirical, authenticity many elements of it.

Prey

This one's quite good and a worthwhile waste of your time. The lead is a strong actor although none of the rest of the cast are anything special. We see a lot of the Predator, maybe a little too much.

It reminded me in many ways of the action heavy Mad Max: Fury Road without ever quite being as good as it.

Our hero is a woman who wants to be a hunter rather than her assigned gatherer role. The whole film is centred on her becoming this recognised hunter. We start with "You can't be what you want to be, you're supposed to be something else ..." and I'm waiting for the very tired trope of "because you're a woman" to land, but it never does. Indeed, she gets plenty of opportunity early on to prove herself and the script gracefully handles her failure which sets up the over arching character development. I think they handled this very well.

If I have any complaint it is that the script reads as though it was made for a video game. Our hero starts with limited skills and unlocks new features as we progress, gets a weapon upgrade, interacts with the environment in very set ways, has the obligatory level where they've lost their weapons, fights grow from struggling with a single opponent at the start to single handedly clearing a camp of enemies, has a big boss fight. Maybe I'm being picky and maybe this is how modern action movies are, but for me the script screamed VIDEO GAME! - Lara Croft is Tomb Raider: Predator

On Prey, it’s worth noting it’s the skills she was taught as a woman which lead to success, including figuring out the Predator sees in heat.

Sure she’s not a bad hunter herself, but it’s the uncommon if not not unique mix of skills she has, rather than what I’m sure some would call Mary Sue. That, and she’s clearly observant and clever. Every encounter brings a lesson she ultimately puts to good use.

Last night?

The Secrets of Dumbledore

Laaaaaaaaame. Eddie Redmaybe gurning! Weightless CGI! The audible sound of the bottom of the barrel being scraped! It’s not thrilling. It’s not interesting. The story is outright plodding and boring.

Take everything wonderful about the Harry Potter films, strip it out, and replace with bleach, Eddie Redmayne Gurning and a rather bored looking Mads Mikkelson, and you get this horrific mess of a movie.

No Time To Die

Even though I'm not much of a fan of the Daniel Craig Era, I think it takes itself far too seriously (I'm one of those weirdos who prefer the whimsy of the Roger Moore Years), it was actually a pretty good, if over long, film and a decent finale. Looking forward to where the franchise goes next.

Venom 2 Carnage thingy

Rather disjointed affair with a lot of “well that might as well happen”

The fight scenes were even more confused smashings of big wibbly stringy things punching holes in apparently invulnerable or instantly self healing play-dough beasties. No threat felt at any point, and while I usually really like Tom Hardy, the writers didn’t give him much to work with, which is ironic seeing as he wrote the thing.

Earwig and the Witch

Absolutely flabbergasted that this is a Studio Ghibli film. The main character is intensely unlikeable, the plot is practically non-existent, the animation is so-so (Anime studios still seem to struggle to do that Western CG style) and it doesn't so much have an ending as it just stops.

How the mighty have fallen...

Happy New Year

Still my favorite Bollywood/Heist/Dance off/Musical of all time, and the perfect NYE film.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Happy New Year

Still my favorite Bollywood/Heist/Dance off/Musical of all time, and the perfect NYE film.

Ah, now I'm gonna have to check that out.

I watched RRR, went in with zero expectations as I have little to no experience of Tollywood/Bollywood movies but boy oh boy was I pleasantly surprised.

RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt) is a tale of 2 heroes, from different viewpoints, who apparently are real historical figures but turned into action heroes for this movie.

It has everything, bonkers action set pieces, crazy fight scenes including a using motorbike as a weapon, or a tiger, song and dance numbers, evil British villains, the biggest bromance of all time and was possibly the film I enjoyed the most of 2022. Honestly, it shouldn't work. The story is nothing original, the CGI isn't mindblowing and, out of context, some of it just shouldn't work, but watch it all together and it was the most enjoyable 3 hours I've had in a long time.