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.

Ant Man and The Wasp:- Quantumania

It's a shame they went for more of a generic, quippy Marvel movie rather than sticking with the lighthearted crime capers that the previous Ant Man films were, but it was still a fun watch.

Completely disposable though.

The best part was people asking Ant-man to take selfies with their dogs.

I really liked it actually. But I'm biased in that I love the girl they recast as his daughter in this one from Supernatural

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I don’t think that’s all that damning. For example, I can’t remember any character names from Captain Marvel and that film was just about okay.

Oh come on, you're given the only one that matters in the title! How hard is that?

ccs wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I don’t think that’s all that damning. For example, I can’t remember any character names from Captain Marvel and that film was just about okay.

Oh come on, you're given the only one that matters in the title! How hard is that?

That’sthejoke.gif

But if you want to be serious, how many character names can you remember from Independence Day? How about from Everything Everywhere All At Once? Some movies lean more into the premise or the plot or themes than into characters; that doesn’t make them bad.

The Giant Gilla Monster.

A B&W giant creature feature from 1959

Plot: A gilla monster made gigantic via camera tricks terrorizez some rual Texas town/countryside by attacking cars, a train, and whatever humans come near it.
Most of the time when you see the gilla you can't tell it's supposed to be giant.
Then you see it superimposed next to something & it looks like.... well, exactly like you think a super enlarged picture of a gilla monster would look next to a Pic of a car etc.
Some how the townsfolk are going to defeat this thing....

Solidly mediocre. A prime example of its genre.

Public Enemies

John Dillinger and crew in great depression era USA, holding up banks, killing people and being generally crappy sods. It stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, neither of whom are on the list of actors I particularly look out for, and pretty much does it's thing quite well. It's a good film but not great.

The soundtrack on the other hand is brilliant. I heartily encourage you to put it on play one evening.

Resident Evil Apocalypse

Not exactly a good film. But still bloody good fun. Bit hokey, bit brutal. Tongue possibly accidentally in-cheek.

As a long term zombie fan, genuine points awarded for a decent effort made to contain the problem.

I have seen the Giant Gila Monster more than I care to admit.

Spontaneous
Teenagers in their senior class start to explode randomly during school.

A thinly disguised allegory for school shootings, but it gets its point across fairly easily and with a combination of horror and fun.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
The Naked Gun

This is a comedy classic. It you’ve never seen it before, see it now.

There's a reboot scheduled to hit the big screen next July starring Liam Neeson. Let's hope they don't it up.

The Giant Avila Monster was one of those movies I enjoyed as a kid for the bad special effects. That and the movie where they glued sails to baby alligators and stuff.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Resident Evil Apocalypse

Not exactly a good film. But still bloody good fun. Bit hokey, bit brutal. Tongue possibly accidentally in-cheek.

As a long term zombie fan, genuine points awarded for a decent effort made to contain the problem.

Was this the second movie? IIRC it was the last fun zombie movie to come out before 28 Days Later, when the whole genre doubled down on no fun having.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
The Giant Avila Monster was one of those movies I enjoyed as a kid for the bad special effects. That and the movie where they glued sails to baby alligators and stuff.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Resident Evil Apocalypse

Not exactly a good film. But still bloody good fun. Bit hokey, bit brutal. Tongue possibly accidentally in-cheek.

As a long term zombie fan, genuine points awarded for a decent effort made to contain the problem.

Was this the second movie? IIRC it was the last fun zombie movie to come out before 28 Days Later, when the whole genre doubled down on no fun having.

Yeah it’s the second one. Many quotable lines and a healthy dose of nonsense.

Poor Things

I….i don’t know what I just watched. But it was sublime. Just the right side of off-kilter surrealism with a solid script and strong performances.

This could’ve disappeared square up its own fundament, but the director treads that line with confidence and aplomb.

This is an attentive watch though. But I think you’ll find it rewarding,


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Atragon

All bound for Mu Mu Land!

Yay! It’s a Japanese model and kaiju flick! With a….is that a flying submarine? Yes it is! Good gravy!

The model work is predictably fantastic. Silly and hokey, but fun. Which to be honest sums up the entire film. The dubbing is solid too, with voice actors who clearly gave a damn about their craft.

Poor Things is a film I really want to see, but I think there’s about 0% chance of getting my family onboard. I’ll have to wait for streaming.


Which reminds me: I should see if Pearl is streaming yet.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Speaking of flying submarines, if you haven’t seen Godzilla Final Wars yet, you might want to make time. It’s nuts in a great way. Even the Secretary General of the UN gets to pop caps in arses.


Flying submarine side note, my son has really been enjoying crazy music videos lately, such as Yello’s Oh Yeah and Genesis’s one with the masks, so…

Yellow Submarine

Yes, the music cartoon by the Beatles. It has stood the test of time in that it is still hilarious.

Poor Things is not family friendly! Mary Whitehouse is spinning in her grave.

Good to know. Might have been Everything Everywhere all over again.

Copious nudity, Rude Things and top shelf swears.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
National Lampoon’s Vacation

The original road trip comedy.

I was surprised at how unlikeable Chevy Chase was in this movie. His character, too. They really brought down the mood.

I've found Chevy Chase to be fairly unlikeable in pretty much everything. The exception is the Three Amigos, which somehow managed to take three comedians I disliked intensely and combine them into a movie that was just a hell of a lot of fun.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
The Purge

The one that started the series. And it’s a pretty straight forward home invasion horror, with added moral quandaries.

It’s original enough to be an interesting take, and pretty well made with a solid cast.

No complaints at all. Give it a watch.

I enjoyed the first couple of Purge movies. After that they seemed to be trying to take it all too seriously, which just made the ridiculousness of the underlying premise more apparent. But the first one was definitely an ok watch.


For an actual contibution... watched Elemental with the girls. Thoroughly predictable Pixar fare, but some absolutely gorgeous visuals, and a fun enough watch if you don't go into it expecting the next Toy Story.

Rebel Moon

Watched the first half. It is visually stunning. Great effects and the design languages set out for the various factions are interesting and unique.

It’s also a totally unfocused mish mash of plot as they try to crowbar about 18 different storylines for 10 main protagonists into one film.

Not expecting the second half to pull it up much

I tried watching that whilst Pup sitting. And around the halfway mark I think we had identical experiences.

I didn’t give a flip who was who, what they were doing, or why. Just an absolute mess of ideas presented with no narrative discipline.

Silver Bullet

The adaptation of Stephen King’s Cycle of the Werewolf.

It’s pretty solid in terms of story and character acting. The special effects are not top tier. Overall it has strong TV Movie energy.

It’s an inessential werewolf movie for anyone but the die hard King or werewolf fans.

Meatball Machine

A very low budget Japanese sci-fi horror movie with ropy acting and a barely there plot.
Despite coming across as a student/fan film, it's surprisingly entertaining.

Friday the 13th, parts 1-4

Ah the originals. When the series was somewhat grounded. Whilst undeniably tough, Jason wasn’t some weird supernatural zombie type thing.

The second is probably the weakest of the original series, as the bit we’re all here for (deffs!) are pretty boring. Seemingly they’d been asked to tone down the violence, which of course removes much of the point of any slasher flick.

There’s a nice progression at play across the four movies, building Jason’s backstory and overall mythos. And we even get to see some sensible actions from his victims.

They are however very, very tame by today’s standards, where Torture Prawn has sadly ruined many a genre by giving us gloriously explicit deff, at the cost of the art of suspense. Remember, film makers. Just because you can show explicit violence, doesn’t mean you have to do that alone.

Whilst a fan of the entire series, these four are easily the most accomplished and interesting for my money.

3 and 4 feel like they’re discovering the formula. The kills are more visceral. The characters are more memorable. The pacing is geared more towards scares and less towards suspense.

We haven’t gotten past 4 yet, but I remember Goes to Hell being delightfully schlocky. And I can’t wait for Jason X.

Jason X is an odd one. It’s a crap Friday the 13th as it’s much too self aware. But for an early 2000’s “yes we know it’s daft, just go with it” movie, it’s among the best.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I tried watching that whilst Pup sitting. And around the halfway mark I think we had identical experiences.

I didn’t give a flip who was who, what they were doing, or why. Just an absolute mess of ideas presented with no narrative discipline.

Finished Rebel Moon tonight.

Never has the phrase “curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal” been more apt.

It’s like it was written by a 14 year old. With ADHD. And an unlimited supply of Monster. And an infinite budget.

Dark Harvest

I'm going to say a lot of reviews and comments I've seen of this film completely missed the pointed satire that it is. It's not just a run of the mill horror/slasher fic. It's very similar in tone and style to the Purge (the original film before they became schlock).

Hidden in this small town is a message about small town America I think most people who have lived in small town America at any point will recognize.

At the heart of this movie is an accusation against an image of what small town America is, an argument for why it is dying, and a further argument that maybe it deserves to die least of all because it has killed itself.

I like this movie a lot and if the political/social commentary isn't you're deal it's still a pretty solid creature feature in the vein of Stephen King but with a fresher coat of paint on it.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Not the director’s cut.


Because it’s important for every budding Star Trek fan to experience this time capsule. Stilted, off-putting character interactions, bizarre non-sequiturs, special effects shots that linger so long they move beyond boring and into hilarious, 15 minutes of reaction shots, the cheesiest twist ending ever. It’s a failed masterpiece. See it.

It’s worth seeing just for the scope of the space scenes, really.


Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

No director’s cut needed.

This is the opposite in TMP in almost every way. The characters feel natural and empathetic, the story moves at a good pace with a fantastic ending. There is a full range of emotional experiences from humor to horror to triumph. The scope is more personal and much smaller. This is one of the best Sci Fi movies ever made. See it.

Blade

A cracking film sorely let down by ropey CGI blood. Possibly as a result of pleasing film certification boards.

Fantastic scenes, and some solid dialogue.

But? I dunno what they summoned in the finale. But given they offed a key ingredient of the ritual before attempting the ritual? It was not what they intended. Which might be why they got bad CGI now I think about it,

Apparently they wanted to make a blood-tornado final boss, but it looked too goofy, so instead we get that sword fight. If I recall, it’s the first fight in the film that isn’t Steven Seagal levels of lopsided in Blade’s favor.


The CGI blood just adds to that 90’s cheese for me. That and the soundtrack.