Last movie seen — Page 632

Just watched the 1985 movie Real Genius , have seen it dozens of times but never really paid attention to the credits until today and was floored to see all the Star Wars alumni that worked on it …Richard Chew as editor ,who also was an editor on the original Star Wars , Alex Tavoularis is credited as illustrator and he also did Storyboards for Star Wars , Apogee ,which was the effects studio of John Dykstra and Ron Cobb who designed a lot of the cantina aliens ! I guess they could not resist the opportunity to troll Ronald Reagan for his strategic defense initiative which he dubbed Star Wars around the time this movie was made.

Yeah , and he did say The Force Is With Us in one of his speeches . I also found it ironic that so many Star Wars alumni worked on the film as it’s central plot revolves around the characters unknowingly being tasked with creating a space laser that is basically like the Death Star superlaser .

Star Trek Beyond. The first film came across to me as mediocre but there was the potential for improvement with the sequels because they had a good cast. Into Darkness dashed any such hopes by rehashing TWOK within a mindless action film that just happened to utilise the Star Trek franchise as marketing packaging. When STB was released, I stayed at home after the past two disappointments and caught it on TV recently.

It was yet another awful, disappointing film that bore little connection to its source of inspiration. The first few minutes gave me false hope that this entry might actually buck the trend but it went downhill rapidly with yet another mindless and soulless plot. Idris Elba was wasted in his role as the antagonist and STB does have a few, brilliant moments that made me smile but it was jarring to witness them and think of what the film could have been with better writing and direction. Paramount has cancelled the fourth instalment. If Bad Robot cannot muster better than this then it’s probably for the best.

3.5 out of 10.

Apparently so:

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/star-trek-4-film-chris-pine-hemsworth-sj-clarkson-sequel-a8721651.html

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-4-canceled-reason-why/

The 1932 original is overshadowed by Michael Mann’s 1983 remake. Which is a shame because it’s definitely a thought provoking film, particularly when you consider that Prohibition was repealed just a year later. I had no idea about the alternate ending. Unfortunately, there’s no Blu-ray available. With any luck, BBC Two (or Four) might show it in HD…

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019)

LOVED IT.
My face hurt by the end because I was smiling the entire time.
I’ve seen reviews complaining about the human characters being weak. I couldn’t disagree more. All three leads had wonderful arcs (recognizable arcs, sure, but well executed) important things to do that impact the story and were a joy to watch. I also loved the minor characters and villains.
This thing is well made and it’s absolutely WILD. Go see it.

just watched the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger for the first time in ages and noticed it has a guy named Solo , a death ray laser and a junk compactor !

I saw it too, and I thought it was the most ridiculous installment since Godzilla Final Wars. Definitively not the worst installment, but still far below the average Toho film. I’m surprised the audience reaction is so positive. The most I can say without getting into spoilers, it’s that it’s glorified fan fiction.

Society- The directorial debut of genre producer Brian Yuzna strains mightily against its limited budget and slow first two acts to deliver total surrealist chaos in its big finale. It’s decidedly a film whose ambitions exceed its resources, but given how many bigger-budget films play it safe, it’s hard begrudge it for that. It’s an intelligent piece of caustic social commentary, and if it’s reach exceeds its grasp, you have to admire Yuzna’s wild imagination and attempt at saying something.

13 Assassins- Cult provocateur Takashi Miike’s remake of a 1960 film (To my knowledge, one never released in America) as a sort of kinetic Kurosawa homage. It’s a bit generic, particularly in its rather slow first half and the characterization is occasionally thin, but Miike has lots of fun with the extended battle sequence finale. It’s flirts with social commentary but mostly just wants gory thrills as only Miike can deliver them, and does so with lots gusto and style.

Yesterday.

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqvgPm8U4c

A surprisingly enjoyable light-hearted rom-com from Danny Boyle & Richard Curtis. I don’t usual like much of Curtis rom-com sugar schmaltz or his usual portrayal of the UK - though think Boyle may have had input to remedy this (for me, anyway).

The film sped through it’s 2 hour run-time - obviously helped by a boss soundtrack, some decent jokes at the expense of some in the music industry, and some great chemistry and performances from the two leads. (with also by a surprisingly decent Ed Sheeran!)

It does skip over the allure/magic of the performances of Fab Four themselves - as well as the era they were in - and instead concentrates on the songs, though are very ably performed by the effortlessly likable Himesh Patel.

Everyone, literally everyone, in the cinema where I watched it stayed to the end of the credits - a song we’ve all heard countless times before played throughout… probably due to it sounding SO brilliant in the cinema surrounding.

A really likable feel-good film, and one I’d happily watch again (hopefully with more deleted scenes/content in the blu ray).

MAJOR SPOILER

The scene with John… man, that was hard to take in and absorb; I knew it was coming, it was done well, wasn’t sugary (in a Richard Curtis style), it was poignant and had impact on the plot/film itself - though I just wish it had been slightly longer… and maybe had referenced George, Paul & Ringo too.

4 woofs from a possible 5.