Last movie seen — Page 395

Scream 2 (1997)

I don’t really have much to say about this film. For the most part it’s good, but the whole time watching it I just wished I was watching the first one. It certainly paled in comparison to that film.

6/10

Lord Haseo said:

The twist definitely paled in comparison.

Especially since the actual killer was barely in the film.

Spider-Man (2002) - 7/10

dahmage said:

SkyderHouseMafia said:

Drive (2011)

Such a great movie. This was my second time around and I think I enjoyed it more, not being slightly overwhelmed by the violence like I was in my first viewing. So many sequences and elements this film are almost tailor made for me. I love how ultra-stylish many of the shots and scenes are, how well the music compliments the visuals, how cool Gosling is, how relaxed and long a load of shots are, how tightly paced it is, how pure the romance is, how moody the atmosphere is…my only complaints are that the dialog is a tad clunky and that it lacks some emotional impact towards the end.

I think I had a similar reaction to your first one when I saw this in the theater. Perhaps I should revisit this one soon.

Yeah, it’s definitely worth another go! 😃

DRIVE SPOILERS

It’s hilarious/amazing just how powerfully the motel scene was burnt into my mind. The shot were the woman has her head blown off I remembered as a roughly 8 second slow motion shot, where you could see the killer slowly come into frame, aim the gun, fire, then the this woman’s head just explodes and splatters all over the bathroom…but in reality the actual headshot-shot is barely a second long and over before you know it!

Welp.

Just finished Jurassic World. I haven’t really sat down to really watch a movie in nearly a year, but I figured I could take a day off the thesis and get one out of the backlog. Be forewarned that there will be spoilers in here if you’re like me and don’t watch movies.

I went into it expecting fully to not like it. I’d had most of it spoiled by now, so I had all these things on the tip of my tongue, ready to say about the movie.

Turns out, I thought it was pretty good.

It has a lot of flaws, for sure. The Indominus Rex and the domesticated raptors were stupid like I thought they would be, but not nearly as heinous as I expected (going in I had already justified both, because of course we’d try breeding new animals, especially considering the Wu/Hammond discussion in the Jurassic Park novel; and of course we’d try domesticating them for other uses). However, I think that they handled the “bioengineered dinosaurs for military use” so, so, so much better than that stupid human/dinosaur hybrid concept.

There were also scenes like the pterasaurs being stupid(?) enough to just fly into a helicopter? What? And the death of the co-pilot? Really? Also, would animals escaping just attack a group of people like that? I don’t feel like that would be the first thing on their minds, but maybe I’m wrong. I don’t get why they didn’t just disperse once they left the aviary and all just made a beeline in a mix-species flock to attack people for no real reason.

I thought that Zara’s death was far overdone and that Masrani was a great, Hammond-esque character (genial billionaire who wants to provide an amazing experience for people but who doesn’t have a clue how things really are) who was mostly wasted. I think one of my biggest issues with a lot of the movie was its gratuity in terms of death.

Initially I was annoyed by the dinosaur reveal, since they’re introduced in a very matter-of-fact way. There are just dinosaurs. But I think that was the point: it’s been 22 years, people know. People are “bored of dinosaurs,” which leads us to the events of the movie. The way everything is sponsored and “brand-dealed” up is a great satire of just how this kind of thing would be in real life.

The gyrosphere seemed like a bad idea, considering the kids have control and start a stampede with one, it seems like a liability waiting to happen despite what Jimmy Fallon said.

I think the worst part of the movie is that the Indominus Rex is part velociraptor and so suddenly, that means the velociraptors that imprinted on Owen, that he raised and trained from birth suddenly switch alphas magically? That’s not how domestication works. And the fact that the Indominus Rex, which up to this point has been indiscriminately murdering everything it can find, suddenly bros up to these tiny things it has very little in common with? Stupid.

All of that would have been forgiven, even, as a “hubris of man” situation that is the whole point of the series (the raptors are wild and can’t be controlled), but then in the final battle the raptors just suddenly decide to flip flop again? Why? And then when her entire pack is dead, Blue decides to ignore the animal instinct of self-preservation and just fight a battle she knows she can’t win in order to “team up” (what?) with the Tyrannosaur to take down the Indominus. None of that makes any sense.

That said, I was cheering my way through the final battle in spite of myself. It was another allegory about nature vs. man, I thought, with the “real dinosaurs” triumphing over man’s attempt at control. And the part where the Tyrannosaur bursts through the spinosaurus skeleton was pretty great, too. Fuck that guy. It was also nice to see that Tyrannosaurus was an old friend.

Lots of little nods in the movie were nice. Mentions of Hammond and Malcolm’s book, the spinosaurus bit mentioned above… and the whole section in the old visitor’s center was great. That’s one of my favorite parts of the franchise, the exploration of the monuments to the hubris of man. It’s why The Lost World and the game Trespasser stick in my mind, I love the idea of exploring that universe and trying to find out “what went wrong.”

There were also a few nods to the original novel that surprised me. The waterfall, taking the jeep (which isn’t that much of a reference, granted), triceratops riding, exploding raptors… I enjoyed those. I think the best was the allusion to the Wu/Hammond conversation about the reality of the dinosaurs from the book. That has always been one of my favorite parts of the novel.

I thought all the actors did a great job. D’Onofrio was great at being the InGen bad guy, Pratt was a bit goofy but still did a good job of being a… game warden? What was his role? But he was a cool character nonetheless. Bryce Dallas Howard was great as the “too busy to function” detached businesswoman who becomes human as things fall apart, and even the kids were good, though Ty Simpkins was a bit “know it all kid” tropey for me. Lowery was a good character too, and I feel like he may be a bit of a nod and wink to the fans.

I think that B.D. Wong’s reprised role as Henry Wu was the most disappointing. He seemed to have learned nothing from the failure of Jurassic Park and if anything had even more crazy hubris than before.

This is dragging on and on, so I’ll get to the main failing of this movie and of all these reboots, soft or otherwise, in recent years: They always seem to fall into the trap of being “more” than the last one. They always have stronger and more skilled characters, bigger and meaner bad guys, smarter and quicker geeks. It’s like an arms race, as a friend of mine put it, and it annoys me. You don’t have to top the last thing to be as good or better. And I think that’s where this movie fails the most, and where a lot of reboots fail: you can see the amazing movie in there somewhere, but they just didn’t fully excavate it, which is sad.

And, of course, with all modern movies and all modern blockbuster action flicks, the over-reliance on CGI was rampant. I cared less about this than I thought I would initially (the first minute or so of the movie is full CGI) but it’s still there and the film is less for it. More practical shots would have really helped sell the CGI, just like with Jurassic Park.

So yeah. I’ll let it have “good,” but only just. Not anywhere close to the same level as Jurassic Park, but not anywhere as bad as is sequels (both of which I enjoy as fun dinosaur flicks). I’m not sure I’d make a point to sit down and watch it again (and I re-read Jurassic Park once a year), but I wouldn’t change the channel if it was on.

3.5/5

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

Wow. A good Michael Myers movie not directed by John Carpenter? Did not expect that at all! I really liked seeing Jamie Lee Curtis back in the role of Laurie Strode, and she did a really good job. I also liked seeing her finally get her revenge against Michael at the end. All the other characters were good in the film, like Laurie’s son John, and Ronny, the security guard played by LL Cool J, who did a (very) surprising good job in the role. I liked the more restrained approach to the death scenes, and how the film makers didn’t go overboard with gore. The suspense was also good in the film, like the scene with the teenagers trapped behind a gate. There were things that didn’t work, like the excessive jump scares, Michael Myers’ ever changing mask, and the extremely short length, which made the film feel rushed at times. But I really liked the film regardless, and it ranks second in the series for me.

7/10

Unless you’re into pain, skip the next movie in the series entirely, and pretend H20 is the final end of Mikey. 😉

SilverWook said:

Unless you’re into pain, skip the next movie in the series entirely, and pretend H20 is the final end of Mikey. 😉

I plan on it. I’ve only seen the bit where Busta Rhymes electrocutes Michael, and that was enough for me to figure out it wasn’t my kind of movie.

What’s sad is the studio was planning that even as H20 was being shot.

Two more tonight.

Quantum of Solace (2008)

I had actually seen this in theaters when it came out, but for some reason I didn’t remember any of it at all. Upon this second viewing, I think I know why. It felt like an older Bond film in terms of structure, but with none of the charm and no innovation (not to mention terribly-edited, Michael-Bay-esque action scenes and the worst theme song I’ve ever heard). It hits the usual Bond notes well, but that’s about all it does. It’s just there. Not amazing, not terrible, just… there. A fairly forgettable film.

2.5/5

Skyfall (2012)

I actually started Skyfall and had just gotten to the part where Q was introduced and realized that I didn’t remember anything of Quantum of Solace. I know it has no bearing on Skyfall, but it felt wrong to go into it not remembering what happened beforehand.

After mostly sleeping through Quantum and getting back into Skyfall, the difference was obvious. It had everything Quantum was missing. It had charm and wit and smart writing, wonderful characters, and great action. Silva is a great villain in the vein of Alec Trevelyan (a rogue agent with an eye on cybercrime, and my favorite villains are rogues), Bond is almost right-out-of-the-novel Bond, Q is a filthy Millennial but manages to be respectable and smart and humorous, M is just fantastic, and all the support are great as well.

Where Quantum hit all the Bond notes, Skyfall shows that you can take that same old dog and teach it new and very exciting tricks. Quantum was the Bond formula, but Skyfall was the Bond feel.

Spoiler time, again if you’re like me watching years-old movies.

I was initially sad about M’s death, but as it was happening, I began to realize that Judi Dench couldn’t hold the role forever, and that she’d served admirably as one of the best M’s in the series so far (certainly the most-developed character) and that her passing was very dignified and well done. A strong end to a strong character.

Early in the film I was thinking about Mallory’s name and thinking “Hrm, was one of the male M’s a Mallory?” and sure enough, who occupies the office and the title at the end of the film but Mallory himself. I think he’s a perfect fit and most definitely has a modern Bernard Lee appeal to him. I couldn’t be happier.

And, of course, Moneypenny. I think she’s perfect. I enjoyed the banter and I think that Naomie Harris is fantastic in the role. I really enjoyed this all being set up slowly during the film and then all falling into place in the final scene (and it was nice to see some people out in the field). The moment I saw the coat rack, I thought “so is James going to toss his hat up there?” and it took me a second to realize I was meeting the old gang again. The layout of the offices (especially M’s), was so classic. When Bond said they were going back in time on the way to his old family home, he meant it. Even the titles were miles better than recent entries. I love the return to form and I’m very excited to see Spectre now.

4.5/5

SilverWook said:

What’s sad is the studio was planning that even as H20 was being shot.

Is that why Michael tried to take his mask off? Because it was another dude?

Tyrphanax said:

I’m very excited to see Spectre now.

Eh, don’t get your hopes up too high.

suspiciouscoffee said:

Tyrphanax said:

I’m very excited to see Spectre now.

Eh, don’t get your hopes up too high.

Aw maaaaan.

Tyrphanax said:

suspiciouscoffee said:

Tyrphanax said:

I’m very excited to see Spectre now.

Eh, don’t get your hopes up too high.

Aw maaaaan.

It’s not bad imo, just not really that good either.

I’ve never even watched that show, but Robot Chicken’s parody kills me every time.

The Fifth Element (1997)

Wild, wacky and oddly sexual. It’s goofy and silly, but retains a definitive charm. The action and editing was quite solid and the characters were never boring. A fun sci-fi romp which certainly isn’t bogged down by any hint of seriousness.

Only God Forgives (2013)

Stunningly beautiful. I think this is the best looking film I’ve ever seen. The strength of the atmosphere and mood was phenomenal – Cliff Martinez’s soundtrack was even possibly better than his work on Drive. But boy do you ever have to work hard to get anything more from the movie. This is the ULTIMATE style over substance film. There’s loads of symbolism to digest and a decent amount of it is easy to see…but to understand and generate meaning from? You almost need a cheat-sheet or guidebook to read while watching!

District 9 (2009)

I really liked it, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. The first half of the film was borderline perfect, with it’s great, original concept, subverting of cliches, and fun and interesting characters. The second half was disappointing, as the film forayed into a rather generic (yet still very fun) shoot-em-up brawl between the main character and several faceless goons. I feel that if the whole film had been in the same vein as the second half, I would have liked it more, as I wouldn’t have been as disappointed, because of the stellar first half. But Sharlto Copley’s main character was excellent and the story was very good, and overall the good bits far outweigh the bad bits.

7/10