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.

Half Moon Killing II and III

A series of Samurai movies. The quality between II and III has a striking drop.

However, if you are into Samurai drama this movie is mostly that with not so much sword play. The main character has a lot of angst about his mother dying and his relationship with women.

I also find the Half Moon technique to be very underwhelming. It is basically using your sword to catch the moonlight and temporarily blinding your opponent with a whole lot of cheap camera tricks to make it look like it is something more.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

I finally went and saw this with my brother this past weekend, and we both enjoyed it a lot. It's another solid entry in the franchise. They handled how Shadow is kind of a dark mirror of Sonic very well, and Jim Carrey continues to be hilarious as Dr. Robotnik. There were plenty of little winks and nods at the games, too. Just a great fun movie to pass part of an afternoon with. Is it Oscar-worthy? Of course not, it's about talking animals and it's based on a video game from the early '90s. But it's very fun. Here's hoping they keep making more Sonic movies, they've been great. So glad they changed up Sonic's look before the first one released, as it would have been a mediocre to bad movie if they'd stuck with their original abomination of a character design, and we certainly wouldn't have gotten sequels.

Ugly Sonic shows up memorably in D+ Rescue Rangers movie. Yeah, you read that right.

He’s one of the highlights of that movie.

Hostiles (2017)

This is a very bleak movie, but I really love it and re-watched it again last night. Absolute stacked cast in this movie. Just a well made movie from start to finish.

edit: I've probably posted about this movie before.

Ted


The movie where Seth MacFarland voices a horny teddy bear.

As far as raunchy, gross-out comedies go, this one was a good date movie*. There was just enough heart to make us care about Ted and Lori, and enough to make Mark Wahlberg tolerable. Mostly. He’s hard to root for in this film.

For memorable scenes, Ted gets most of them, including a Family Guy style fight scene and a success-fail set of job interviews. Giovanni Ribisi’s disturbing dance scene is right up there with Buffalo Bill’s Goodbye Horses. It’s worth finding the clip of that.

Over all, one of the better raunchy comedies.

*although I’m having trouble of thinking of many other raunchy date movies besides No Hard Feelings.

Calvary (2014)

Brendan Gleeson stars in this depressive drama laden with pitch black humor, as a priest who is told in confessional by a victim of clergy abuse that he will be killed in a week. He’s told by the would be killer: “There’s no point in killing a bad priest. But killing a good one, that would be a shock.”. Gleeson’s priest dutifully goes about his parish duties, amongst an eclectic cast of very flawed characters in what seems to be a dying town. Wild, but bleak film that leaves a little sliver of hope at the end.

Sicario (2015) An FBI joins a special task force dealing with Mexican cartels and learns she is in way over her head. Beautifully shot film with very tense scenes of violence with solid performances all around. If you enjoy stories that tend be in a morally grey area and somewhat bleak endings then this may be worth a look.

 Ahtman wrote:
Sicario (2015) An FBI joins a special task force dealing with Mexican cartels and learns she is in way over her head. Beautifully shot film with very tense scenes of violence with solid performances all around. If you enjoy stories that tend be in a morally grey area and somewhat bleak endings then this may be worth a look.

Great movie, and iconic score.

Music in this movie does so much to build tension.

Too bad about its sequel. And the dumb luck (cranked so high, they broke the knob) that is required for the movie to work.

The Outlaw Johnny Black

Do you like Michael Jai White? Do you think Black Dynamite is awesome? Then do I have a movie for you to check-out next.....

In all honesty, it is not as outright funny as Black Dynamite but follows the same general idea but in the Wild West. It is overly long and tried to cover too much territory and tropes in the running time. The script needed another good pass through the editing machine.

However, it does have one of the best sight gags I have seen in a long time involving a horse and a water bucket. Also, a bad guy specifically saying it will take 9 bullets, and than fanning his six-shooter and killing everyone without re-loading. Good times!

They say you couldn't make Blazing Saddles today, well Michael Jai White tried..... (Note: This is no Blazin' Saddles)

Heretic

A horror film, starring Hugh Grant. And it’s pretty effective so far.

Two Mormon Sisters visit Hugh Grant’s house as part of their rounds (I’m not sure if it’s described as missionary work, but trying to be sensitive). And it soon becomes clear something isn’t quite right.

How not quite right remains to manifest as I’m only forty minutes into a two hour film.

What’s working here is Hugh Grant. He’s laying on his easy charm, but in a way which might be unsettling. As in such is his performance? It’s really difficult right now to say if he’s just mucking them around, or if he’s up to something much more sinister. And the Sisters are doing an excellent job of emoting genuine anxiety about their situation.

This completely passed me by on its release, but I’m really into it.

Yup. Really enjoyed that. However, it might not be for everyone, as it delves into religious themes, without dumping on any one faith. But keep in mind that may make it an insulting watch for persons of faith. Certainly I’d be interested in the opinion of a believer on this.

So, would you describe it more as Bill Maher’s Saw or Kirk Cameron’s Psycho?

Much closer to Psycho.

Not sure what Kirk “absolutely nothing of value to add to the world, but thanks for all the extra atheists” Cameron has to do with it though

His feelings toward nonreligious people mirror Maher’s feelings toward religious people. Also, both are huge douches.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Too bad about its sequel. And the dumb luck (cranked so high, they broke the knob) that is required for the movie to work.

So the second doesn't need to be a priority, it sounds like. Honestly not sure how they would capture the feel of the first film considering that part of what makes it work is not really knowing what everyone is up to.

 Ahtman wrote:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Too bad about its sequel. And the dumb luck (cranked so high, they broke the knob) that is required for the movie to work.

So the second doesn't need to be a priority, it sounds like. Honestly not sure how they would capture the feel of the first film considering that part of what makes it work is not really knowing what everyone is up to.

The second film feels more like a generic action film. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil the bit that occurs that caused a great many people in the theater to groan loudly and say fun things like: "Oh Come on!" or "What the is that ?"

It's not a bad movie, it just felt like a shameless cash in of the first film.

Finally saw Nosferatu(2024)

I digged it. Really like Robert Eggers style. Nicholas Hoult always seems to deliver and Lily-Rose Depp showed that she had some acting chops. All the support cast was great

“I am an appetite. Nothing more” -Count Orlok. Great portrayal of a vampire. Just a brutal killer/monster.

 Overread wrote:
I feel like the first 3 work but I do dislike how in 2 and 3 Jack Sparrow becomes basically less and less viable as a drunken charismatic leader and becomes more just a drunk fooling around on set.

I had no ideas what I was about to see in the cinema with the first one. So skeletons etc. were surprising.

But I was really disappointed how the language went from being clever in the first film to people writing a script that was trying to sound clever.

I vaguely remember watching the first one twice at the cinema even. Not quite by choice, but I just went with two different groups of friends, so I watched it once in English, once in German. I found it alright then (and "blacksmith's hands" somehody still is mentioned sometimes between my brother and me), maybe watched the second one on tv some time, but wouldn't go out of my way to watch any of them now.

Despicable Me 4

Not good. You can tell they had no ideas going into this one, it was just done to pump out some more Minions merchandise (Is there Minions merchandise? I don't think I've ever seen any.)
Should've stopped at three. It wasn't that good but at least it had a story (And I liked the 80's obsessed villain).

Robocop:- The Prime Directives

A quartet of low budget, made for TV films that, I think, the Sci-fi Channel put out in the late 90's/early 00's. They're not great, and get increasingly silly as they go along, however I do think they're a step above the other attempts to revive the franchise (They're also better than Robocop 3, but that's a very low bar).

The Robocop live action TV series was unexpectedly enjoyable.

The violence is of course heavily watered down, but the plots and action are all perfectly fine.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
The Robocop live action TV series was unexpectedly enjoyable.

The violence is of course heavily watered down, but the plots and action are all perfectly fine.

Admittedly, it's been quite a few years since I've watched anything apart from the original movies, wouldn't be surprised if it was better than I remembered.

I rewatched it recently and its honestly great fun. There is 100% a style and writing change part way through that you can feel (esp when binging in a block); but its really solid all told and a great adaptation considering how violent the original was and how they tone it for a younger audience whilst still keeping a lot of what made Robocop work

I never knew Robocop had so much going on! I eagerly await someone to create the pen and paper RPG.

Stigmata
This is a very 90's movie. It is a PG-13 Religious Conspiracy, Erotic Thriller with Mira Sorvino and Gabrielle Byrne. This movie is a time capsule to life before Smartphones, and the 90's. It could only have been made in that very short window.

Remember when Mira Sorvino won an Academy Award for Mighty Aphrodite and it looked like she had a big future. Then, Harvey Weinstein got involved and tanked her career so she could only star in lower grade drek like this, the Replacement Killer (which I love), and Mimic (Which is also pretty solid work from Guillermo Del Torro) and never really featured in a headline, big time film role again?

Pepperidge Farm remembers!

I am honestly surprised her dad Paul Sorvino never had Weinstein killed for that. What? He was an actor and not an actual gangster? Sure..... sure..... whatever you say......

 Easy E wrote:
I never knew Robocop had so much going on! I eagerly await someone to create the pen and paper RPG.

Stigmata
This is a very 90's movie. It is a PG-13 Religious Conspiracy, Erotic Thriller with Mira Sorvino and Gabrielle Byrne. This movie is a time capsule to life before Smartphones, and the 90's. It could only have been made in that very short window.

Remember when Mira Sorvino won an Academy Award for Mighty Aphrodite and it looked like she had a big future. Then, Harvey Weinstein got involved and tanked her career so she could only star in lower grade drek like this, the Replacement Killer (which I love), and Mimic (Which is also pretty solid work from Guillermo Del Torro) and never really featured in a headline, big time film role again?

Pepperidge Farm remembers!

I am honestly surprised her dad Paul Sorvino never had Weinstein killed for that. What? He was an actor and not an actual gangster? Sure..... sure..... whatever you say......

Stigmata was Patricia Arquette.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

The black dog runs at night.


It’s a prequel movie for the series, but not one you would watch before the series. There are a lot of great character actors in it, giving some great quirky or disturbing performances. It’s weird and it’s dark. By the end it’s heavily depressing. Yet still worth the watch.

It sure beats the crap out of that X-Files movie.


Anyway, after a bit of calm down time petting the dog and watching Ryan George…


Frankie Freako

Shabadoo.


It’s a throwback to all those old gross puppets movies, like Howard the Duck, Garbage Pail Kids, Ghoulies, Demonic Toys, Little Monsters, etc.. It does a good job of nailing the vibe, so if you didn’t like those movies…yeah.

The biggest star in the movie is Rich Evans in a voiceover role as Freaklord Munch. The boss had my favorite line deliveries in the film. It wasn’t laugh out loud funny for me, with a few exceptions, but I was entertained the whole time.

“We were roommates in gun college.”



Captain Eo

“Hooter!”

Remember when people didn’t hate Star Wars or Michael Jackson? What a time capsule. It took a tremendous budget to make a short this laughably bad. The only person who didn’t embarrass herself was Angelica Houston.

They need to bring back that cute flying thing.

The Expendables.

I had somehow only seen bits and pieces of (I think) two of them up to now, so decided it was time to work my way through the series.

First three were fun. Predictable, formulaic action flicks, but the action was nicely done and they didn't take themselves too seriously... some fantastic and amusing little nods to the last 30 or 40 years of action movie history.

And then came number 4. I have low standards when it comes to action movies, but I gave up 35 minutes in. It's remarkable just how bad this one is. It's so bad that it's gone right past 'so bad it's good' and just back into 'bad'... Appalling CGI, bad green screens, often used when there is no apparent reason to even be using green screens, and a script seemingly written by the intern.

Nope. Just going to pretend they stopped at 3.

I had forgotten that The Expendables had graced the world with 4 movies.

 nels1031 wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
I never knew Robocop had so much going on! I eagerly await someone to create the pen and paper RPG.

Stigmata
This is a very 90's movie. It is a PG-13 Religious Conspiracy, Erotic Thriller with Mira Sorvino and Gabrielle Byrne. This movie is a time capsule to life before Smartphones, and the 90's. It could only have been made in that very short window.

Remember when Mira Sorvino won an Academy Award for Mighty Aphrodite and it looked like she had a big future. Then, Harvey Weinstein got involved and tanked her career so she could only star in lower grade drek like this, the Replacement Killer (which I love), and Mimic (Which is also pretty solid work from Guillermo Del Torro) and never really featured in a headline, big time film role again?

Pepperidge Farm remembers!

I am honestly surprised her dad Paul Sorvino never had Weinstein killed for that. What? He was an actor and not an actual gangster? Sure..... sure..... whatever you say......

Stigmata was Patricia Arquette.

My god! You are right! So, Mira's career was even worse than I thought!


I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately, so got to binge a few flicks.

Jennifer's Body
This a film with Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried (sp), and .... Chris Pratt?

It was written by Diablo Cody. There was a brief moment in time where she was the new IT girl in Hollywood, but she was a writer and not an actress. It is incredibly rare for that to happen to a writer in Hollywood.

Anyway, a PG-13 horror movie that is about a succubus. Pretty much sums it all up.

The Lair of the White Worm
It features some early work from Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi(!?!).

I'm not really sure how to describe this film, other than it is very, very British? The Freak-out scenes are something to see, and the backstory of the villains is really remarkable. There is also a memorable dream sequence. I recommend checking it out.

Vivarium
It really gives away the game in the first 30 seconds. Poor form.

Jesse Isenberg and Imogene Poots star. The opening has dozens of film companies that helped make this film. It feels very European to me.

Also, film-makers really do not like Suburbia at all.