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 insaniak wrote:
Snyder's does a better job of making everybody relevant, but is overly long and takes itself way too seriously.

Would you say it insists upon itself?

Speaking of mindless action fests...

The Princess (2022)

It's a fantasy action movie with a bit of humor sprinkled in. A princess doesn't fancy the arranged marriage with a nobleman to provide an heir to the throne. The nobleman doesn't fancy losing the legitimacy this marriage provides to his claim to the throne. How is one to solve such a conflict? With swords, of course!

It's good fun throughout, at least if you can get behind a clear emphasis on the action and an unstahppable murder machine of a protagonist.

I need to see that film - glad it sounds like a fun action flick!

 insaniak wrote:

 Quixote wrote:

Just picked up Zack Snyder's R-Rated Justice League. About an hour in, and it's amazing how much better it is that the dumpster fire that was released by Joss Wedon. Wonder why Joss chopped out Green Lantern, Zeus, Aries, and Darksied?

Keep in mind a lot of what wound up in the final Snyder cut wasn't actually in the original cut, as the movie wasn't finished when Whedon took over. Snyder had to add a whole bunch of stuff in to get his version finished.

I would honestly struggle to pick which version of the JL movie I like more... Whedon's is an inconsistent frankenstein of a movie, and leans heavily into my least favourite aspect of the Justice League as a group - Superman is the only one who actually needs to be there. Snyder's does a better job of making everybody relevant, but is overly long and takes itself way too seriously. Neither wind up on the list of movies I feel a need to rewatch any time soon.

Whedon didn't cut that stuff. The Snyder Cut got millions in additional funding (and time) to add massive VFX segments and shoot additional footage. It's definitely not the movie we would have gotten at the time.

Whedon's version is just a result of executive demands. My favorite thing in it is honestly just that in the opening credits Whedon's name hangs ominously above a homeless man's sign that reads "I Tried". WB had traditionally been a very "hands off" studio until they failed to successfully launch an MCU success story when they tried to force something that wasn't working to follow a formula it wasn't equipped for. Like their solution for their oval shaped car tires was to put it on railroad tracks.

I'd actually love to see an actual theatrical cut from Snyder at some point. The one we got is a huge improvement, but it also has some scenes that are notably weaker because he included EVERYTHING. The one that always gets me is when Wonder Woman blocks the bullets, there's an extra shot before seeing the guy change his targets to the hostages that lets you see she's like 3 inches away from him. Falling back to do the deflection scene feels ridiciously when you establish something like that.

Ultimately its a LOT better, but it also doesn't exactly work either. At the very least I don't think it would have won over audiences put off by BvS, particularly as it seems plans were to go even bleaker in the films that would have followed.

Dunki (2023)

Bollywood film starring Shah Rukh Khan and company as Indians trying to get a visa to England. "Dunki" being a corruption of Donkey, slang for smugglers basically coyotes. Clever scam for the ending and almost heartwarming. Not the best Bollywood I've seen, that's Happy New Year, but kind of up my alley as I work with students here.

Like a lot of Bollywood films the tone is all over the place. So a zany song about emigrating with 100 villagers in UK, US and Canadian flag shirts, and then a graphic suicide on screen when one guy doesn't get his visa.

Funny scenes where they try to lie through their interviews or cheat on their English tests, and then a dude gets shot in the head trying to sneak across a border, a woman is almost raped, and SRK kills a dude with his bare hands.

All. Over. The. Place.

Yeah, but Shah Rukh Khan is awesome......

 Easy E wrote:
Yeah, but Shah Rukh Khan is awesome......

Indeed he is. We should all watch more Bollywood, it's AT LEAST as crazy as anime. Sometimes moreso.

I’ve a soft spot and genuine admiration for Bollywood as an art form. But it’s not the sort of thing I can really sit down and watch.

I mean, it’s great to see a film industry so Not Hollywood, and still incredibly successful. And I’d like to see more such things in the world, as everyone is better off with greater variety.

But the end product just isn’t for me.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I’ve a soft spot and genuine admiration for Bollywood as an art form. But it’s not the sort of thing I can really sit down and watch.

I mean, it’s great to see a film industry so Not Hollywood, and still incredibly successful. And I’d like to see more such things in the world, as everyone is better off with greater variety.

But the end product just isn’t for me.

Very good take on the subject.

The Outcasts 1982, Ireland.

A random near impulse purchase when recently buying some classic tv horror stuff.

A more or less forgotten film by the brain behind The Blood on Satan’s Claw, and he’s sticking to the folk horror genre.

It’s got a terrific atmosphere, and the 2k Remaster has really done the cinematography justice.

Only downside is, despite being set in pre-Famine Ireland, I keep expecting Father Ted to pop up at any moment.

Late to the party, just seen the Minecraft movie and yea, it's the self-aware cringe of Napoleon Dynamite at the pace of Jumanji, tho not as good as either. Like the Star Wars sequels, the plot barely exists and is just a vehicle for the cringe and Jack Black is the most Jackiest Blackiest he's ever been. If Steve wasn't the default name of the game character, he could just as well just have been named Jack Black in the movie.

Apparently, Matt Berry was originally slated to star as Steve.

Mission: Impossible Final: Reckoning It was good, but not great. Most of the other reviews I've seen are more glowing than mine so, as always ymmv. The production is top notch and the set pieces are excellent. It falls apart outside of the setpieces though. Human villain is 'meh' and the AI villain is talked about as a threat more than it feels like one; just repeating "this is The Entities reality" multiple times doesn't give it gravitas or make it feel ominous, it just kind of silly. The tone of the film starts at EVREYTHING IS AWFUL WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE with loud orchestral music and grand sweeping camera movements and stays that way for three hours, which grows tedious. Drawing connections to the older films, even to the original, were for the most part well done. It could lose twenty or thirty minutes easily and have been a tighter film overall and spent less time making subtext text IN BOLD TYPE. Still a fun ride if primarily here for the stunt work.



So to summarize:

Best MI: Fallout
Favorite MI: Ghost Protocol
Best Villain: Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Owan Davian) in M:I III

Masters of the Universe

As an 80’s kids movie, it’s pretty great. As a He-Man adaptation, it’s pretty dire.

But man….Frank Langella’s Skeletor is a superb performance, and Dolph Lundgren works well enough.

Teela and Sorceress kinda get short shrift, but Evilyn is, like Skeletor, a superb performance. Also props for the “humans find a hi-tech thing and immediately nick it and start fiddling” trope. Not on the same level as SG-1, but I’ll accept it.

Ahtman, did you mean Final Reconing? Or Dead Reckoning Part 2?

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Ahtman, did you mean Final Reconing? Or Dead Reckoning Part 2?

Final Reckoning is the correct title. I also, in my head, combined Skyfall and Ghost Protocol and referred to the fourth film as Ghostfall.

 Ahtman wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Ahtman, did you mean Final Reconing? Or Dead Reckoning Part 2?

Final Reckoning is the correct title. I also, in my head, combined Skyfall and Ghost Protocol and referred to the fourth film as Ghostfall.

I spent 15 minutes looking for Ghostfall... I thought it might have been an animated movie.

Just finishing off The Outcasts

Definitely one worth watching if you’re into folklore, supernatural and/or Celtic/Irish culture.

It’s not exactly a horror film, but it’s some stuff in common with The Witch to ally. Certainly I’d not be surprised if it didn’t provide some influence there.

I forgot that about every thirty minutes in the theater the strong smell of marijuana, or the devil's lettuce, would appear. That might explain the more uncritically positive reviews.

Kind of surprised it is the first time I've ever run into this in a theater tbh.

 Ahtman wrote:
I forgot that about every thirty minutes in the theater the strong smell of marijuana, or the devil's lettuce, would appear. That might explain the more uncritically positive reviews.

Kind of surprised it is the first time I've ever run into this in a theater tbh.

Your movie theater sounds more exciting than mine. Here at Fortress Florida, I'm sure someone would call the police if they smelled Marijuana.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

This was.... a thing. The script is not tight at all, and feels like a game of "Yes, and" was happening the writer's room. It almost feels like a anthology film, bit all the anthologies are going on at the same time. There are challenges that come and go as fast as they appear, and nothing really feels earned.

However, there are moments in the flick that really are rather fun, good, or bring a smile. However, I am very glad I did not spend money to see this. It really feels like content for the content gods.

Alien Romulus. Thoroughly enjoyed that. Made me want to play Fireteam Elite again if only to feel like I had agency against the beasties

While the protagonists were all basically kids, there were few if any actually stupid decisions made. Lots of internal consistency and some great action pieces.

It is the film that has united Dakka!

 Flinty wrote:

While the protagonists were all basically kids, there were few if any actually stupid decisions made. Lots of internal consistency and some great action pieces.

Agreed - honestly it was so refreshing to have what was basically an action film where the characters all behaved "in character" and logically and even in panic-logically.
It also didn't feel like half the film had been made and then cut from the final release leaving huge chunks missing or plot points that were undeveloped or such.

The choice to have the main cast basically be young adults thrust into the world was really smart and also risky and yet the script and actors really carried it off fantastically well.

Caught Sinners yesterday and while I think its hype probably has people expecting it to be more than it is, what it is remains a really good time.

Coughler's style kind of fascinates me as I think he does a really great job of showing stories that tell a lot more than they say. Glad this one is doing so well and excited to see what's next.

Is Alien: Romulus the first movie that we all agreed on?

It's just an honest good film on multiple fronts.

The busted android effects were a bit ropey, but the main android guy played an absolute blinder, amongst universally good performances from everyone. Also the proper pulse rifle sounds made my skin tingle

Yeah. Rook’s face isn’t quite right. Which is mildly disappointing, as given the whole point is he’s all messed up, they had a chance to mangle the face, giving the uncanny valley a possible break.

But. Watching it on streaming, it’s better than I remember from in the cinema. Either I’m just more used to it, or there’s been a bit of spit and polish.

I just love the amount of thought that went into the plot and people’s actions. Nothing is done simply because it needs to happen to advance the plot, and there’s always risk.

Watched it for the first time time the other night. Romulus is a really solid Alien film! Can hold it's head up beside the first two!

Then watched Covenant. It.... isn't. Better than Prometheus, but that's a low bar.