Movies you've recently watched

residentgrigo

Excitement and Enjoyment!
@Eluvei Me and Tarkovsky will never see eye to eye (Stalker should be his best). He certainly knew how to make pretty and nice sounding movies. Fun to discuss and analyze, but such a slog to actually watch. Eh. There is a reason for the madness of my scores:
I throw on a movie or show and just go though my "Recommended for you" box and rate everything i ever saw or played that shows up. Or go though recommended list with the patience of a serial killer... It become very tailored to me after a few thousand voted on entries. Then my "work" payed off and games / movies / shows i would have never known about started to emerge. Really interesting failures, hidden classics, another crap 80s OVA with amazing animation and so on. The metrics my Imdb profiles has on me are also a joy to show off to friends and i used my profile for my final exam to get my librarian certificate. I scored the 2nd highest score of all participants and what you see in the box has practical applications for my job! I wrote job and school related papers on comics, game and movies.
I will continue to do so, as i am now off to get my library science bachelor.
Everyone should feel free to laugh a me but i will laugh all the way to the bank :ganishka: . I made my hobby and "expert opinions" my job after all. The badges you see in my profile aren´t bogus btw.
I saw every movie on the Imdb Top 250 from 2016 to 1996. I will thus lastly recommended a few hidden gems: The Big Blue (director´s cut) 1988, Underground 1995 and Rang De Basanti 2006 :slan: .

Sausage Party was very entertaining. I could have used less exposition but the destined sequel will fix that. Rogen´s recent Neighbors 2 was fun too.
 
JMP said:
Saw Kubo and the Two Strings and really enjoyed it. Great movie with a lot of heart and beautifully animated! :ubik:
Man, I missed this in theaters!

Last night I watched the 2nd Rurouni Kenshin movie from the trilogy - Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno. I'd seen it before thanks to DirectDK (that was one mighty marathon) and thought the movies progressively got better in the trilogy. It'd been a while so I didn't remember all of it but parts that stood out were - I liked the soundtrack in the first two sequences; Saito, old man Okina and Cho's parts remained just as memorable even though Saito wasn't given much development or screen time, he continued to be a badass and had good screen presence. The first time I watched it, I doubted how (well) they were going to adapt the final Kenshin - Shishio fight and was left impressed when I did watch it. So, can't wait to see the third film - Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends - on the big screen next month.
 
Alamo Drafthouse finally after months and months of delay opened in Brooklyn and it was amazing. They officially open this coming Friday but they've started showing movies and opened the bar up for people so they can test/ try things out before going fully functional. The moment you walk in, the carpet is from The Shining and they have amazing posters of rare old monster films. The bar is exquisite with a wooden wall displays for severed heads and various anatomy or babies. We hit up The Dragon Lives Again which's my second time watching the film, I wonder if I posted about it before in this thread!

The Dragon Lives Again is def top 5 of the Brucesploitation genre. Watch the trailer (click). Bruce Lee is dead and is somewhere between Heaven and Hell when he encounters a bunch of dead people that want him gone. Some of the dead people he has to fight are Dracula, The Godfather, 007 and Clint Eastwood. The very last scene is funny as hell.

I've watched Coming To America a dozen times or more at my friends place on cable/ TV and it never gets old. I recently checked it out on Netflix and the Netflix version is a sort of extended, uncensored version! Still fun.

My Mom's visiting me and wants to check out Inferno, so that's something I'm going to have to force myself to watch. And Doctor Strange opens next week. The Arrival will be a must-see because of Amy and Dennis. Hope it isn't disappointing.
 
Just watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople the other day. I really enjoyed it. It has lots of quirky humor and charm. It doesn't shy away from some sad and difficult circumstances either, but it approaches them in what feels like a very natural and matter-of-fact way. The main characters are really likeable and human. Lots of funny moments!
 

Grail

Feel the funk blast
JMP said:
Just watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople the other day. I really enjoyed it. It has lots of quirky humor and charm. It doesn't shy away from some sad and difficult circumstances either, but it approaches them in what feels like a very natural and matter-of-fact way. The main characters are really likeable and human. Lots of funny moments!

That's so funny that you mentioned that movie JMP, Gobs and I just saw it this weekend too!

To me, the movie had a kind of Wes Anderson feel about it. I imagine that fans of Moonrise Kingdom would like Hunt for the Wilderpeople. By the way, did you recognize Sam Neill? :ganishka:
 
Grail said:
That's so funny that you mentioned that movie JMP, Gobs and I just saw it this weekend too!
Weird!

Grail said:
To me, the movie had a kind of Wes Anderson feel about it. I imagine that fans of Moonrise Kingdom would like Hunt for the Wilderpeople. By the way, did you recognize Sam Neill? :ganishka:
Yeah, definitely had a Wes Anderson-ish vibe going on there. I didn't recognize Neill! I actually didn't even register that was him till you mentioned it!
 
JMP said:
Just watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople the other day. I really enjoyed it. It has lots of quirky humor and charm. It doesn't shy away from some sad and difficult circumstances either, but it approaches them in what feels like a very natural and matter-of-fact way. The main characters are really likeable and human. Lots of funny moments!

Just watched the trailer for it and it looks fun. I'll check it out if I can.

JMP said:
I didn't recognize Neill! I actually didn't even register that was him till you mentioned it!

He isn't in a scary movie or doesn't look like he's a serious character. So NOT Sam Neil~like!
 
JMP said:
Well, his character is a taciturn, grumpy, mountain man type guy in this movie. Here's an interview with him and his co-star.

He's so charismatic and the beard looks good on him. Thanks for sharing that!

Benedict_Cumberbatch_as_Doctor_Strange.jpg


Watched Dr Strange last evening and it was ... well ... not bad, not bad at all. Parts I loved were a trippy scene in the beginning and the Inception~like visuals (if you're a fan of Escher = wohoo this's like Halloween candy) that's just gorgeous to watch and I doubt it'll have that same awe~ing effect if you were to watch it at home. Godzilla too felt very much like it where the scale of the monster and everything going on fell flat when I watched it at home versus when I watched it on the big screen. Anyway, I liked the mystical aspect of the film and how they approached it. Mads I felt may have had more meat to his role but we'll get to see it on an extended cut. The bad is that this's like any other formulaic super hero film and if you're OK with that, it'll be fun. Benedict I personally don't really like, at all. I felt like the wit he brought to his character in Sherlock or the delivery of his humor was missing here. There were things around him, characters or situations, where the humor hit more than his punchlines. Overall, this isn't as good as Civil War/ Winter Soldier/ the first Iron Man movie but it's kinda fun in the first Thor category. There are two post credit scenes for those who're curious.

Spoilers -
The dark dimension looked cool and I haven't read the comics or anything so I didn't know what to expect. Looked like a soft, fluffy, psychedelic version of bacteria or atoms or something like that. And the design for Dormammu looked pretty familiar ... kinda like Doomsday.
 
Sooooo, for those who have seen it, are we gonna rank Rogue One right under Empire and New Hope? I was quite impressed.

Didn't realize all the political crap in the media until after I saw that and it sounds like journalists projecting from their black hearts. I remember when episode 3 came out and Anakins "you're either with me or my enemy" line was the subject of GWB. Haha, never get the idiocy I read occasionally in the news.

Bottom of the barrel would be Phantom and Clone and top would be new hope and empire. TFA somewhere right above episode 1 and 2.
 
I'd put TFA around the same quality as episode 3, only better if the questions it raised are answered well.

Edit: I love star wars, so bottom of the barrel is a poor choice of words. I don't plan on watching episode 1 or 2 much during the rest of my life span is the best way to put it. My favorite moments in the saga are in Jedi, but its not the best movie.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
My first impressions are that it's better made than the prequels of course, but not the original trilogy, and other than the technical details a lesser tribute than TFA, particularly the spirit of it; worse on that note, and to my fear, it's the first truly average Star Wars movie and kind of boring for the most part. It's Star Wars' footnotes rehashed with generic story elements and a superficial pretension of seriousness only someone going in with the lowest sort of expectations could find on par with the originals, let alone inspired. It's also full of nonsensical plot elements and awkwardly forced hopey dopey dialogue that chafes with that veneer of realism. All this babble about it being up there with Empire is nonsense and shows a lack of thought as to what actually makes that film great or even what great is versus merely competent, if boringly self-serious, tribute. I mean, there's nothing really special about it other than it makes references to and is nominally "Star Wars" but has a more somber tone (which, in and of itself, does not make it a superior entry in the canon).

Salem said:
Sooooo, for those who have seen it, are we gonna rank Rogue One right under Empire and New Hope? I was quite impressed.

No. I mean, why? Because it's not bad (which is still arguable)? That doesn't make it good, let alone great like those movies.

Salem said:
Didn't realize all the political crap in the media until after I saw that and it sounds like journalists projecting from their black hearts. I remember when episode 3 came out and Anakins "you're either with me or my enemy" line was the subject of GWB.

Yeah, on top of everything else there seems to be some misguided political motive for trashing or praising the film, which is dumb. Speaking of the prequels as hamfisted Bush administration metaphor though... would that make this year's election like if Sidious had just openly campaigned to be an Evil Emperor as his Sithy self, and actually won!? :troll:

Salem said:
I'd put TFA around the same quality as episode 3, only better if the questions it raised are answered well.

Episode III is still pretty damn clunky and embarrassing all around in its fanservice despite its "darker" tone. I'd actually say Rogue One has more in common with that one, though more restrained and less remarkable for better and worse, than any other. I'd say Rogue One is somewhere between the prequels and the original trilogy like TFA, so it's really a toss up between which of those two you put on top. One could make cases for either and YMMV for both. I get that this one hits some notes reminiscent of Empire as opposed to the overall ANH vibe of TFA, but in this case it's pretty superficial and certainly didn't build to or earn something grander like the originals. I think the main problem is the original Star Wars movies were truly something special and these simply aren't. [editor's note: this pretty much sums up all my points here]

Johnstantine said:
Just got back from Rogue One. Really, really enjoyed it.

That's fine, it had some nice touches, I especially liked...

Johnstantine said:
I thought it was second only to Empire.

...OH JESUS SKULLFUCKING CHRIST!! Seriously, dude!? Better than Star Wars 1977? An important, revolutionary, and objectively much better film beyond the geekdom-exploiting franchising that fuels the riffs on it like Rogue One? That's some truly circular logic (and you couldn't think about it for a week? Assuming you won't think it's the greatest movie of all time by then at this rate). The tail is wagging the dog; it's not better Star Wars than Star Wars. What's even the point of liking Star Wars to think like this? If that's the case, I've got some recommendations for local Elvis impersonators and Beatles tribute bands I'm sure you'll think are better than the originals (or maybe CGI Tupac is a more appropriate comparison =).

Anyway, containing easter eggs to Star Wars does not make it better than Star Wars, even with some hard, if obvious, realities put more into focus. Everything in the original Star Wars, beginning, middle, and end, is literally iconic, and the only things iconic in this, except for the sense you've seen it all elsewhere before, are taken from the original Star Wars. Putting Darth Vader in it for a few minutes doesn't make it better than the movie that invented Darth Vader and to which he is actually vitally involved (and CGI recreations of memorable characters aren't better than the real actors, etc). But step aside Vader, the real best villain in cinema history is here: Ben Mendelsohn's Director Krennic! :ganishka: See him not blow up a planet with the Death Star, and see that Death Star not get destroyed either; the literal point is it's all leading to something better.

This should all go without saying, but to reiterate, generic plotting and characters scrawled into the margins of Star Wars is not better than Star Wars, one of the 25 inaugural films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry, especially when there's nothing inherently revelatory about said generic plot, characters, and action. Everything good about this movie is predicated on it's relation to the original Star Wars, therefore it cannot, and in fact is not, better than the original Star Wars, for which it is largely derivative and uninspired in comparison to. It's a video game tie-in level story. I know Star Wars is almost 40 years old now, we've seen it a million times, and you just saw this in the last 72 hours and want it to be just as good and more meaningful somehow, but how about a dose of perspective to temper that recency bias over the shiny, new homogenized "Star Wars" that you're mistaking for better how much more average it actually is? I hope I've at least provoked that perspective in my acerbic way, otherwise you might as well just say it's better than Empire too for all the sense this makes. Sorry to be a jerk, but that's just how I feel about saying this officially licensed reproduction is better than the original Star Wars. I mean, let's enjoy the ride down memory lane, but let's not go nuts.

i-find-your-lack-of-faith-disturbing-2.jpg



Anyway, I'll see what time and perspective does for me. I didn't enjoy TFA my first time seeing it, but eventually came around, but this was different in that I found it genuinely boring, predictable, and unworthy of the praise it's getting, let alone putting it on par or, blasphemously above, any of the originals. It probably doesn't help that it doesn't even have the cover of rehabilitating and taking the saga forward in a new direction, but is actually trying to fit in with the originals in a way it really fails to in my eyes. It's more like The Thing prequel if anything, which was also more clever and better than one would think, but to what end?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Salem said:
Didn't realize all the political crap in the media until after I saw that and it sounds like journalists projecting from their black hearts.

From what I gathered "journalists" have nothing to do with it. It's just rabid Trump fans getting angry over nothing.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
From what I gathered "journalists" have nothing to do with it. It's just rabid Trump fans getting angry over nothing.

What's funny is that while I heard that, as with Episode VII, I didn't pay attention to it and assumed Salem meant the reviews that were like, "This movie is Trump's worse nightmare!" Yeah... this will show him. :schierke:
 
No clue where the political side was coming from as I avoided every possible article up to release. Once I saw it I started digging and whoops, should have left it alone. From someone who has seen Clinton as the worst robot in politics since I was a younger rebel, the few I saw were Idiot trumpers, but a few articles provoked the less intellectually challenged.

Who knows if I'll still feel this way in a month. TFA had me initially right behind Jedi, but fell off after it sunk in over time. This could be the OMFG Stuuuur wers! Moment that is eclipsing my inner critic. You're right that the originals are hard to top as the magic of the entire series is enveloped under that shroud. For me, its damn close right now as being that good. Certainly could change. :ganishka:

Aazealh, I forgot you or Walter are in the journalist department, so nothing personal by my comment. This year and the lack of being objective from the many networks have left the worst taste in my mouth. Like burnt popcorn, I didn't realise what happened until it was all in my mouth being chewed on.
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
...OH JESUS SKULLFUCKING CHRIST!! Seriously, dude!? Better than Star Wars 1977? An important, revolutionary, and objectively much better film beyond the geekdom-exploiting franchising that fuels the riffs on it like Rogue One? That's some truly circular logic (and you couldn't think about it for a week? Assuming you won't think it's the greatest movie of all time by then at this rate). The tail is wagging the dog; it's not better Star Wars than Star Wars. What's even the point of liking Star Wars to think like this? If that's the case, I've got some recommendations for local Elvis impersonators and Beatles tribute bands I'm sure you'll think are better than the originals (or maybe CGI Tupac is a more appropriate comparison =).

Anyway, containing easter eggs to Star Wars does not make it better than Star Wars, even with some hard, if obvious, realities put more into focus. Everything in the original Star Wars, beginning, middle, and end, is literally iconic, and the only things iconic in this, except for the sense you've seen it all elsewhere before, are taken from the original Star Wars. Putting Darth Vader in it for a few minutes doesn't make it better than the movie that invented Darth Vader and to which he is actually vitally involved (and CGI recreations of memorable characters aren't better than the real actors, etc). But step aside Vader, the real best villain in cinema history is here: Ben Mendelsohn's Director Krennic! :ganishka: See him not blow up a planet with the Death Star, and see that Death Star not get destroyed either; the literal point is it's all leading to something better.

This should all go without saying, but to reiterate, generic plotting and characters scrawled into the margins of Star Wars is not better than Star Wars, one of the 25 inaugural films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry, especially when there's nothing inherently revelatory about said generic plot, characters, and action. Everything good about this movie is predicated on it's relation to the original Star Wars, therefore it cannot, and in fact is not, better than the original Star Wars, for which it is largely derivative and uninspired in comparison to. It's a video game tie-in level story. I know Star Wars is almost 40 years old now, we've seen it a million times, and you just saw this in the last 72 hours and want it to be just as good and more meaningful somehow, but how about a dose of perspective to temper that recency bias over the shiny, new homogenized "Star Wars" that you're mistaking for better how much more average it actually is? I hope I've at least provoked that perspective in my acerbic way, otherwise you might as well just say it's better than Empire too for all the sense this makes. Sorry to be a jerk, but that's just how I feel about saying this officially licensed reproduction is better than the original Star Wars. I mean, let's enjoy the ride down memory lane, but let's not go nuts.

Wow, guess I struck a nerve. I never said anything to undermine episode 4 or its achievements.

What I should have said is in terms of liking the movies I prefer it over the others.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I've read a handful of reviews of Rogue One along with the discourse here. Nothing has swayed me from my initial assessment of the trailers. It looks like a made-for-TV Star Wars movie. Or more to the point, it looks like a stopgap movie between big releases — a thing that exists because a massive corporation's budget cycle demands it.

Salem said:
Didn't realize all the political crap in the media until after I saw that and it sounds like journalists projecting from their black hearts. I remember when episode 3 came out and Anakins "you're either with me or my enemy" line was the subject of GWB. Haha, never get the idiocy I read occasionally in the news.

Are you some kind of simpleton? It's an election year, and the most divisive one in living memory due to the toxic environment created by the election cycle. So of course whether it's intended or not, that discussion is going to spill over into entertainment, because it's embedded in the zeitgeist. On top of that: "Everything is politics." - Thomas Mann.

Salem said:
Aazealh, I forgot you or Walter are in the journalist department, so nothing personal by my comment. This year and the lack of being objective from the many networks have left the worst taste in my mouth. Like burnt popcorn, I didn't realise what happened until it was all in my mouth being chewed on.

Aren't you the one bringing this garbage into our movie thread? And are you really one of those people who doesn't trust "journalism" of any kind? And if so, what's the alternative for searching for truth in the world, exactly? Your social feed? Breitbart?
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Johnstantine said:
Wow, guess I struck a nerve. I never said anything to undermine episode 4 or its achievements.

You think? The reason it got so long is I had to replace all the swearing with so many words. :mozgus: :ganishka:

Johnstantine said:
I never said anything to undermine episode 4 or its achievements.

Saying one of the most significant and arguably best films ever made is second to its modern run-of-mill derivative, literally re-skinned in some cases/places, without explanation, perhaps because a viable one does not exist, is pretty inherently and inexplicably undermining was my point.

Johnstantine said:
What I should have said is in terms of liking the movies I prefer it over the others.

Alright, there's no point arguing taste, but don't you suspect you may only like it predicated on your enjoyment of the others, so it's a bit strange to be like, "Hey, this dour retread about kyber crystals is way better than that whole rousing mythology that made anybody care about this world in the first place." I get enjoying it based on what it does with the original material, but unless you think these characters and story are so wonderful on their own it's a bit strange to rate it better than the real thing it's constantly referencing. I guess I can take solace in that based on this you'll be quickly abandoning it for the next shiny, new "Star Wars" branded movie that comes out. Fickle Fanbase: A Star Wars Story; I'll be playing the part of the unhinged fanboy furiously typing this in his worn Star Wars shirt from middle school. =)

Anyway, since I'm sure you're tired of me impotently ranting at you I'll try to put a bow on it; I think the main cause of our disagreement is you have a much more holistic view of the Star Wars saga and all its parts whereas I put a premium on the original trilogy, particularly the first two films. Though the first 40 minutes of Jedi alone are still ten times better than this movie... Sorry! Stopping, I swear!

Walter said:
I've read a handful of reviews of Rogue One along with the discourse here. Nothing has swayed me from my initial assessment of the trailers. It looks like a made-for-TV Star Wars movie. Or more to the point, it looks like a stopgap movie between big releases — a thing that exists because a massive corporation's budget cycle demands it.

Ding ding ding ding!
 
Daaaang Walter. Look at our conversation history. Did I wrong your family or something? You come off aggressive, annoyed, and elite with every response.

Why do you insist on being combative with me?

I think you would find me easier to get along with in person. :guts:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Salem said:
Daaaang Walter. Look at our conversation history. Did I wrong your family or something? You come off aggressive, annoyed, and elite with every response.

I don't remember anything about our "conversation history." I waltzed in this thread, saw some ignorant shit (black heart journalists -- seriously, dude?), and responded exactly how I felt about it. That you're trying to couch my responses as some kind of personal grudge is laughable. Or is that your way of ignoring engagement with everything I've asked? Just planning on sniping at "politics" and "journalism" at large?

Salem said:
Why do you insist on being combative with me?

I don't know, why do you make blanket criticisms about pillars of our civilization in a thread about a Star Wars movie?

Salem said:
I think you would find me easier to get along with in person. :guts:

If we were at a party, and you said the same shit you did above, I would respond exactly as I have.
 
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