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.
2022/03/30 12:08:24
Subject: Re:Cinematic Perfection. Champion a movie.
I would have made one change… a scene at the end of a rescue team searching wreckage and one guy shouting ‘over here…’.
I don't know - I really like that we don;t know what happens or even if either / both of them are the Thing.
I AM A MARINE PLAYER
"Unimaginably ancient xenos artefact somewhere on the planet, hive fleet poised above our heads, hidden 'stealer broods making an early start....and now a bloody Chaos cult crawling out of the woodwork just in case we were bored. Welcome to my world, Ciaphas."
Inquisitor Amberley Vail, Ordo Xenos
"I will admit that some Primachs like Russ or Horus could have a chance against an unarmed 12 year old novice but, a full Battle Sister??!! One to one? In close combat? Perhaps three Primarchs fighting together... but just one Primarch?" da001
A movie that I'd put up alongside Princess Bride for just being a fun couple of hours, especially if youve got no/older kids:
The 5th Element. It's sci-fi, its a bit of mystery, its a bit of action, its got comedy and drama, and it even has a romantic thing thrown in there. It's got big budget, blockbuster effects and "mindless popcorn eating" appeal as well.
Gary Oldman is perfect as well. . . Gary Oldman's character (I mean, was there anything he was terrible in???), Bruce Willis as Corbin Dallas was about as perfect a cast as you could get for that particular film as well.
Yeah, its just a fun flick to return to over and over again
Gary Oldman is perfect as well. . . Gary Oldman's character (I mean, was there anything he was terrible in???), Bruce Willis as Corbin Dallas was about as perfect a cast as you could get for that particular film as well.
Apparently just "The Woman in the Window" who had terrible reviews and got plenty of nominations at razzie awards, although Oldman's wasn't directly nominated. I thought it was a solid movie instead, and certainly a solid performance by Oldman so I'd say no there isn't anything he was terrible in .
2022/03/31 10:28:07
Subject: Re:Cinematic Perfection. Champion a movie.
I would have made one change… a scene at the end of a rescue team searching wreckage and one guy shouting ‘over here…’.
I don't know - I really like that we don;t know what happens or even if either / both of them are the Thing.
Me too, I love the ambiguous ending. There has been loads of commentary on whether either one of them is the Thing (I read one a while ago saying the chap sat opposite McReady isn't exhaling any warm air when he breathes - I don't know if anyone has asked John Carpenter if that was intentional!)
It has for me I think the single most tense, uncomfortable scene I have ever seen in any film. The part when McReady has everyone tied to chairs and is going through one after the other testing the blood with a hot wire. I think I held my breath through that entire sequence. It then dispels manages to dispel tension before (quite literally) jumping out at you with the scare. I think it has to rank as one of the finest bits of film making I have ever seen, and definitely a high point from Carpenter.
Also the bit with the stoner guy witnesses the head detaching, falling to the floor and walking off "you've got to be fething kidding me"
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/04/01 10:03:42
"Gentlemen. I understand you've all been through a lot lately. But if its all the same to you I'd rather not spend the rest of this winter...TIED TO THIS ****ING COUCH!!!"
Big Fish is a great movie, but a bit too emotional for me to rewatch it often. It’s probably also the reason the narmtastic original ending for Secondhand Lions was cut and replace with a more subdued and tasteful ending.
Secondhand Lions is not quite a perfect movie, but it’s like a blend of two movies that are: Big Fish and Princess Bride.
"Unimaginably ancient xenos artefact somewhere on the planet, hive fleet poised above our heads, hidden 'stealer broods making an early start....and now a bloody Chaos cult crawling out of the woodwork just in case we were bored. Welcome to my world, Ciaphas."
Inquisitor Amberley Vail, Ordo Xenos
"I will admit that some Primachs like Russ or Horus could have a chance against an unarmed 12 year old novice but, a full Battle Sister??!! One to one? In close combat? Perhaps three Primarchs fighting together... but just one Primarch?" da001
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is quite possibly the best time travel movie ever made. Also, quite possibly the best buddy movie ever made. Arguably the most wholesome movie ever made.
Blade Runner. I'm not even gonna explain this one, I don't have to.
The Mummy (1999) the first one - CGI was just good enough to pull it off, the cast has amazing chemistry. One of the best pulp movies ever made.
The Empire Strikes Back - This is IMO the movie that truly made Star Wars and arguably changed film making in many ways (true serialization of film, bad guys ascendant, etc).
Tremors - this movie takes what 'should' be a low budget horror movie and somehow turns a turd into a perfect diamond with a combination of fantastic casting and NOT making the protagonists horror movie stupid.
Now this might seem low hanging fruit, given it’s a broadly well received cash juggernaut. But to me it’s extra special, because some of early scenes are set in my home city of Edinburgh.
Given Edinburgh is a capital city of the world, it’s oddly rare for it to feature in a movie. Even Trainspotting filmed certain scenes in Glasgow.
That in itself is a treat to me. Pretty much everywhere, barring rooftops, I can say “I’ve been right there!”. Which is pretty rad in my book.
It’s also such an excellent pay off on everything that came before. Sure it’s somewhat trope based, but I figure they earned it.
Every Avenger gets their chance to kick someone’s arse, and none of it feels forced. And more impressively to my mind, it captures the feel of each movie that came before. When it’s a GOTG scene, it feels like a GOTG scene. Thor’s scenes kinda of straddle his three solo outings, so forth and so on.
Nothing feels forced, or compressed, or skipped over.
And let us all be completely honest. The MCU has been not just a box office juggernaut (I do like that word!), but a cultural one. Often imitated, but no-one coming even close. This could’ve been phoned in, and like the slags we are, we’d still have shelled out. To borrow from other movies, it’s still a Slice of Fried Gold through and through,
That it’s sequel, in my opinion, topped it is another thread entirely - because End Game came off a series High and somehow climbed higher.
It’s just a very, very satisfying movie. A bit dumb and certainly not exactly perfect. But it’s still a genuine Chef’s Kiss of a blockbuster, precisely because we’re all media slags and would’ve paid to see it regardless.
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
The Three Musketeers ('73)/The Four Musketeers ('74). Shot as one movie, divided into two in post-production, and simply excellent at everything it does. The casting is perfection, the acting is superb, the writing has just the right mix of pompous period drama and down-to-earth wit, it slides from heart-rending drama to side-splitting comedy with a seamless ease that more recent imitators have often tried and failed to manage, and there is a tension and a drama to the action that movies with twenty times the budget often fail to achieve.
Another rare example of a sequel arguably topping the original.
Given its tooled up and trained soldiers vs the star beast, this could’ve been a massively dumb mess. A movie made In The Kwest 4 Kash.
Instead we get a movie which only builds on the original - and importantly not only keeps the beastie terrifying, but (again arguably) makes it more terrifying, when we see it’s part of a Hive Mentality, and capable of complex team work.
The final scenes are kind of a retread (yeeted into space), but don’t really feel like a retread. It’s the same death, but on a different scale.
The Power Loader could’ve felt like a convenient contrivance. But thanks to its intro scene, where we find Ripley is trained in its use, unless you’ve already seen the film it doesn’t land as a Chekov’s Gun. It has a clear civilian use, so Ripley being trained makes sense. We see it put to its intended purpose, so it’s mere existence makes sense. It’s eventual use feels suitably desperate thanks to some excellent tension building.
The entire cast are great. The Colonial Marines we get to know feel like distinct characters. Their banter feels natural (Vasquez, you ever been mistaken for a man? No, have you?). Gorman in particular is one of my favourites, simply because we see some level of redemption. And one can argue The Company chose him because he was a bit green, therefore more likely to make mistakes and get more people implanted through mistakes. Yet at his demise, he’s a Good And Loyal Comrade. He doesn’t leave his soldier behind. He fights as hard as he can.
Just all of it is superb. So, so many nice little touches, including things the cast wouldn’t see as out of place (sticky goo on the dropship ramp, in a harsh and damp atmosphere) which gives us the audience a sense of foreboding.
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
Surprised no one has mentioned LotR yet, but I'm nonetheless going to take that as read and go for something a little less epic and a lot more recent:
Knives Out.
On a surface level, it's a flawless execution of a modernised Whodunnit format, bringing with it a charismatically odd detective, a cast of suspects and supporting characters that transcend just being Cluedo pieces, and a knowing nod-and-a-wink appreciation of the genre's long history, from Holmes through Poirot to where we are now. Fantastic performances from a stellar cast, and most importantly a mystery that is by no means easy to solve, but when viewed from the end of the movie with all the information, makes perfect sense and doesn't rely on any sudden rug-pulls or facts that aren't largely apparent with hindsight.
But what elevates it beyond a very saturated genre and makes it one of my all-time favourites, a cosy armchair of a film I can fall into again and again, is the sheer style and flair with which it's executed. The camera work, set design and score turn scenes of static investigation into compelling, evocative theatre (incidentally, it'd work perfectly adapted to stage, I do hope that happens one day), and the subtlties of structure and attention to detail render the film impeccably coherent. Not a single moment goes wasted, not one character irrelevant except, amusingly, the handful whose irrelevance is their whole purpose. The script just bursts with wit, charm and smirking judgement of the more reprehensible characters whom it lets hang themselves with their own dialogue throughout, leaving you in no doubt who's good, who's bad and who's neither.
Spoilers ahead as I continue to wax lyrical
Spoiler:
It subverts the genre by having the typical detective slowly shift from simply 'solving' the case to arriving at genuine justice, an important distinction, and conversely manages to make its true villain stand out as utterly vile even amongst a cast of dislikeable and flawed individuals. Meanwhile, you're shown all this from the perspective of a character who has (or thinks she has) all the answers, who you root for even as she attempts to get away with what looks like murder.
And when it all comes together at the end, it's with a wonderful sense of relief that everyone gets exactly what they deserve, rendering this a modern-day An Inspector Calls where those who have lived via lies, intimidation and spite find themselves at the mercy of a fate they brought wholly upon themselves. The movie's commentary of class, on politics and on society in general feels completely earned, again in a way that is atypical in a genre that often deals in well-to-do victims and lowly, working-class villains. It is a genuinely satisfying, feel-good finish to a narrative that at times, has you fooled towards thinking the wrong people are coming out on top.
And if all that's not enough to convince you, just google a trailer, behold Daniel Craig's... unique... accent choices for this one, and let that be all the proof you need!
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/04/14 21:12:46
Another rare example of a sequel arguably topping the original.
Now, Aliens is very good, but those are fighting words!
Alien, The Thing (1982) and Event Horizon are my perfect trifecta of atmosphere horror films.
Ahhhh, hence the key word arguably.
I know which I prefer, and I know it couldn’t be what it…erm….be, without its very excellent predecessor. But for me, the sequel pips the original, thought there’s barely a Gnat’s Chuff between them,
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
I know which I prefer, and I know it couldn’t be what it…erm….be, without its very excellent predecessor.
I think what I love about the pair of them is that even though they are in the same universe, with the same lead character and the same gruesome monster, is how distinct they are from each other. Which makes arguing over which is the better pointless as, for all their similarities, they're trying to achieve different things.
(and there's also no point arguing as Alien is clearly the better of the two)
Exactly. Aliens is t an atmosphere horror film, it’s a straight up war film, and I love it so. I can also highly recommend Alien elite fireteam if you feel the need to revisit the universe. It’s just perfect!
Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!
(and there's also no point arguing as Alien is clearly the better of the two)
There is a point. They're very different movies, written and directed in a very different way. It's perfectly fine to prefer the sequel over the first episode, it's actually the consensus.
I for example have never understood all the hype towards Terminator 2, since the first one was IMHO the absolute perfection and one of my favorite movies of all times and the sequel "just" a wonderful action movie. But I get that it's just my opinion.
I know which I prefer, and I know it couldn’t be what it…erm….be, without its very excellent predecessor.
I think what I love about the pair of them is that even though they are in the same universe, with the same lead character and the same gruesome monster, is how distinct they are from each other. Which makes arguing over which is the better pointless as, for all their similarities, they're trying to achieve different things.
(and there's also no point arguing as Alien is clearly the better of the two)
One of the wonderful things about people. They can watch the same things and come away with different opinions, and each opinion will be equally valid.
Yes, I know this sounds funny coming from me, after I trashed Disney Star Wars so often and so virulently. I've grown up a bit since then and moved on, and realized the wisdom of not fighting over matters of opinion.
I prefer Aliens over Alien. But I won't argue that you should too; your opinion is just as valid as mine.
AnomanderRake wrote: The Three Musketeers ('73)/The Four Musketeers ('74). Shot as one movie, divided into two in post-production, and simply excellent at everything it does. The casting is perfection, the acting is superb, the writing has just the right mix of pompous period drama and down-to-earth wit, it slides from heart-rending drama to side-splitting comedy with a seamless ease that more recent imitators have often tried and failed to manage, and there is a tension and a drama to the action that movies with twenty times the budget often fail to achieve.
I'm going to add another, which I had forgotten about but it happened to be on TV last night and I rewatched it for the umpteenth time and it still didn't disappoint.
Cube (1997- not the new Japanese remake)
6 complete strangers wake up in a cube shaped room with 6 doors, one on each face of the cube. They don't know how they got there, or why, but to escape they must pass through more and more rooms in a trap filled, deadly, maze.
This was a very low budget sci-fi movie that has become somewhat of a cult classic, and elements of the movie have been copied or referenced in other movies.
It works so well because they only had to build one set, and they just relit it to represent different cubes.
But it's more about human nature. Think of Hitchock's Lifeboat and you will know the type of thing.
Anyway, I had forgotten how much I loved this movie and it still holds up pretty well for a 25 year old movie. I haven't seen the recent Japanese remake so can't comment on that one, but I might give it a watch to see how faithful it is to the original.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/04/16 08:45:58
Cube is pretty excellent. Particularly for me, as we the audience never know anymore than the characters. Yes we see someone get trapped before they do, but the rest is played very close to the chest.
Hyper cube is to be avoided, on account it’s utter cack. But, the prequel Cube Zero? Not essential watching, but if you do watch it after Cube.
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
Yeah, HyperCube is an example of how cheap CGI just doesn't age well, whereas competent practical effects seem to hold up pretty well.
But also HyperCube just seemed to have forgotten what it was supposed to be (and end product was allegedly completely different to what was planned due to the producers rewriting it....)
I actually really enjoyed Cube Zero though, but definitely watch it after Cube.
Should probably be part of a hypothetical “greatest films you’ve never seen” thread. And it might be yet.
Anyways. Relatively low budget British movie. Background is the near future, and a near total societal collapse because Humans Can’t Have Babies Anymore.
Like the best Zombie movies (though this isn’t a Zombie movie!) the cause isn’t the thrill. The situation is.
It’s so good I don’t want to say anymore. Just watch it by hook or by crook. Just be aware it’s one to pay attention to!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/04/16 14:33:15
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
.
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 