Only exception to your PotA ratings is that I think Escape is the most watchable sequel. But not by much.
Beneath is pulpy fun, Escape has a nice satirical edge, and Conquest is pretty subversive for mainstream SF. It’s Battle that’s the glorified TV movie weak spot because the budget got slashed to hell.
Especially the original Cloverfield.
And check out the hidden backstory with this guide to the viral marketing and this retrospective on the whole thing first.
10 Lane is good, but would’a been better without the Cloverfield tag on the end.
That marketing tie-in stuff is kind of cool.
Delete this double post, mods. Damned iPhone.
Especially the original Cloverfield.
And check out the hidden backstory with this guide to the viral marketing and this retrospective on the whole thing first.
10 Lane is good, but would’a been better without the Cloverfield tag on the end.
That marketing tie-in stuff is kind of cool.
When you look at just how bad some of the CGI is, it’s amazing to think that it cost $300 million.
did batman kill in JL?
Just against Parademons, which aren’t human.
Tried watching Justice League tonight.
Tried. Holy shit is it bad.
And this is coming from someone who genuinely liked Man of Steel and didn’t think BvS was quite the abomination many saw it as (though it’s not exactly good).
I’m going to try to finish it someday, but I’ll need lots more booze first, if only to be able to see past the mustache removal (which isn’t even the worst of the CGI I’ve seen so far).
I thought that Justice League was better than I was expecting, though majorly flawed. WB want to hurry to catch up with Marvel, and they’re trying to do something fast that you just can’t rush.
The Magnificent Seven- It ain’t Sturges, and it sure as hell ain’t Kurosawa, but director Antione Fuqua’s remake/retelling/reimagining/whatever is a lots of fun as a straight action flick with some good performances from a a team of cool stars. It has little or the social depth of either of the previous versions and is light on character development, but has a couple of impressive action set pieces and some striking cinematography. Denzel Washington is a commanding screen presence, Chris Pratt has fun as his usual wisecracking hero, Ethan Hawke is terrific as a self-loathing PTSD-rattled soldier, and Vincent D’Onofrio has a blast chewing the scenery. Nothing like a masterpiece, but a solid, entertaining action movie-Western that has no delusions about what it is or wants to be. Lots of fun.
Damn, the DVD special feature spoiled that BEFORE the movie came out?! That’s pretty low.
Yeah, it was really disappointing, especially given how good the first three were.
No kidding. It was basically just more of the same, just not as good.
Alas, no more invites. I have no doubt that you did excellent work though 😉.
Collipso might be a green robot but I’ll still read his posts.
Is it just me or is that robot possessed?
Isn’t it just plugged in?
Predator 2- Many sequels, even good sequels like Rocky II, Terminator 2, Evil Dead II, are essentially remakes with a bigger budget. Predator 2 isn’t. It actually does something genuinely different. That said, that doesn’t mean it does it well. Like it’s predecessor, the characters are pretty thinly written (though Bill Paxton, remains ever lovable), and they don’t have the iconic cast to carry them or as many memorable lines. The main problem though is director Stephen Hopkins, who has none of John McTiernan’s skill at crafting suspense. Predator 2 thus instead comes across as an excercise in excess. Sometimes fun excess, admittedly, but with little of the taut tension or atmosphere of the first film. There are nonetheless a few fairly impressive set pieces, and the bigger budget means that the FX teams of R/Greenberg and Stan Winston have a lot more room to flex their muscles and create cool stuff, like the Predator’s new arsenal. That’s not really enough to make it a very good movie, but it is enough give it a few interesting elements that make it worth watching.
I just realized I failed to include Mother! in the list of last movies I’d seen. I guess I should say something about it.
I sympathize with the allegory, but the allegory was eclipsed by the imagery. If I never see Jennifer Lawrence brutally beaten to within an inch of her life — or an innocent baby killed, butchered, and eaten — in a movie ever again, it’ll be too soon.
4 sober Barnies out of 9 (5/10)
He’s unquestionably a technical virtuoso, but his films always make me feel like someone is shouting at me.
IIRC, the blank bullets scene was taken from a screen test, they never got around to filming the scene proper as the production concentrated on finishing the first film.
Yep, Donner says that on the disc. You’ll notice during the scene that among other things, Reeve’s hairstyle keeps changing.
Return of the Jedi- …sidestepping… Han Solo and Lando’s redemption arc
Why would Lando, the guy who saved an entire city and his friends (woulda’ saved Han on the spot if not for a certain wookie and lady) need a “redemption arc”?
It’s a personal peeve that this is so misread by audiences.
I guess I am misreading it then; I suppose even as a kid, it always played to me like he sold them out to Vader. I do see your point though.
I enjoyed Pitch Perfect. It’s cliched to the point where the plot is a step away from being an ABC Family original movie, but I found the toe-tapping musical numbers and the cast quite charming. It’s not exactly great art, but I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. The second definitely suffered from the law of diminishing returns, but still had elements of fun. I hear the third is way, way, way too much of a mediocre thing.
Star Wars- Thanks to Harmy, I at long last got the chance to see the original again, and goddamn, I’d forgotten. I’d forgotten that Lucas was once a young renegade who’d synthesized David Lean’s epic sweep with Kurosawa and Ford’s clean lines. I’d forgotten how he once put things onscreen no one had ever seen or heard before, I’d forgotten the lean, economical storytelling, brilliant aesthetic, I’d forgotten so much. Thanks, Harmy. Thanks.
The Empire Strikes Back- I’d also forgotten just how good a sequel this was, how slick, how intelligent, and just how brilliant it is. Superb special effects, strong performances, Kasdan’s witty script, Kershner’s sleek direction, the gorgeous cinematography, the expanding mythology, all of it. God, what a great film.
Return of the Jedi- Unfortunately, I’d also let my childhood memories cloud just how disappointing the conclusion was. The Luke-Vader-Palpatine material is decent, but the film does little to follow on almost everything that Empire set up so brilliantly, sidestepping Luke’s temptation by the Dark Side, Han Solo and Lando’s redemption arc, almost everything. Lucas still manages some impressive set pieces, but the whole thing feels like it wastes way too much potential. Ah, well. Like Meat Loaf says, two out of three ain’t bad.
Predator- John McTiernan’s sci-fi action thriller got planned by critics on first release and embraced as a classic by most action fans in the later years. Personally, I’m definitely more inclined to go with the latter. It’s a bit dated in places, especially with some of its sometimes over-the-top macho dialogue, but its iconic cast of movie badasses goes a long way towards selling it. But the real brilliance comes in the final half hour, a superbly constructed, powerfully suspenseful last act with almost no dialogue. Yeah, overall, revisiting this favorite from my teen years turned out way better than I expected.
Unless you can get a 35mm print, aren’t they the most original anyone will ever see?
xXx is painfully 2002, but kind of fun. The Return of Xander Cage wasn’t too bad; at least Donnie Yen got to kick some ass.
Fermat’s Room- Mark Kermode amusingly quipped that instead of Saw, this is more like Slide Rule. A group of mathematicians are trapped in a room which contracts as they answer puzzles. Needless to say, as an English major who’s terrified of math, it was horror movie to me 😉. Made by a pair of writer-directors bred from the world of TV and made for what looks like my credit card limit, it’s hardly the most cinematic movie, and while it’s wise enough not to overstay its welcome, it’s still a hard premise to stretch to feature length. But it’s a neat little high-concept B-movie while it’s there. Recommended for a rainy afternoon.
That actually sounds pretty awesome, I’ll have to check it out.
It’s a neat little B movie.
Cool stuff RDPlissken!
I should download it before YouTube takes it down. Is anyone here working on mixing the Blu-ray and the LD mono?
where can one get LD mono? or any LD capture including video?
That’s a good question. I guess I don’t know if this was ever even released on LD?
Not enough things make me happy offline, and nowhere near as many as used to either.
Happy Death Day- Groundhog Day meets slasher tropes in this unremarkable but decent PG-13 horror fare. Great central performance by Jessica Rothe, but the storyline is a bit too predictable, indulging in way more cliches than it overturns. Watchable and by no means terrible, but unmemorable. Nicely brisk, funny in places, and has fun with its central gimmick, but is rarely scary.
Fermat’s Room- Mark Kermode amusingly quipped that instead of Saw, this is more like Slide Rule. A group of mathematicians are trapped in a room which contracts as they answer puzzles. Needless to say, as an English major who’s terrified of math, it was horror movie to me 😉. Made by a pair of writer-directors bred from the world of TV and made for what looks like my credit card limit, it’s hardly the most cinematic movie, and while it’s wise enough not to overstay its welcome, it’s still a hard premise to stretch to feature length. But it’s a neat little high-concept B-movie while it’s there. Recommended for a rainy afternoon.
David Lean, the king of epics.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - cool movie, had the potential to be the best Harry Potter franchise movie, but failed because of a confusing plot. I really liked the characters and the part of the story where they’re looking for the lost creatures in New York, and really liked the chemistry between the characters. Unfortunately I didn’t like the Obscurus part of the plot, and honestly it felt like it belonged in a completely different movie, given the huge tone discrepancy between it and the other subplots.
Edit: I liked how it portrayed the US as super conservative 😉
That, and the whole movie looked like a cartoon.
I agree with you both and I was most put off by the generic action movie ending.
You can definitely tell that Rowling is a first-time screenwriter.
Mark’s Down On Your Syntax said:
October! When else?!!
OK, stupid question :-p.
