Mondess122

Mad Max - Not at all what I expected when I watched the Fury Road trailer and snippets of The Road Warrior, but it's alright. The pacing is insanely uneven and you never get a clear sense what the villains are doing, but the opening car chase is awesome - even if the film goes downhill once it's over - and Miller certainly shows he can direct. 3.1 out of 5.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief - Awesome. You could view this through a journalist's eye and say that it's very much a "gotcha!" documentary and thus not very objective ("I wanted to hear from people inside scientology!"). Plus, it's a bit weird to see former heads of the church all point to Miscavige without ever really admitting / apologizing for the horrible things they probably have done to (ex-)members, but it's such a fascinating documentary about such a fascinating subject that I can forgive those flaws. Also, Bohemian Rhapsody has never sounded so intense. 4.3 out of 5.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior - Better than the original, not quite great. 3.6 out of 5. 

Mission: Impossible II - This HAS to be among the most boring blockbusters released in the last 20 years or so. The slow-motion didn't help either. Even Cruise looked unusually bored. 2 out of 5.

Mission: Impossible III - Philip Seymour Hoffman is the villain. That's cool, I guess. It's pretty much what you'd expect from a J.J. Abrams M:I films a flashy (both literally and figuratively speaking) action film that's almost instantly forgettable. Fun while it lasts. 3.4 out of 5.

Westworld - Aside from its (at the time) interesting ideas and concepts, and Yul Brynner as the most terrifying cowboy put on screen, there's not much to see here. Some Carpenter-esque qualities and it has ideas that might have inspired films such as The Terminator and The Cabin in the Woods, but the film is by no means a masterpiece. 3 out of 5.

^Bump to point out that that is a fantastic documentary that everyone - including people who don't know much or care much about Scientology - should watch when they get the chance. Fascinating stuff.

"Huhuhu, more like SkyFAIL!!11!"

Wait, wrong film.

Quite ballsy for a first trailer, I have to say. No action or action-related things whatsoever and a vibe that has more in common with a horror film than a Bond film - which I like. Ofcourse, that will probably upset Bond fans that want Bond to be Bond ("A weak and vulnerable Bond? I DON'T LIKE."), which I guess is understandable to some extent, but I'm all for trying something new, as long as that change is good. It seems to be judging from the trailer, but we'll have to wait and see. 

I really hope it's not as completely legless as Quantum of Solace (better known as Casino Royale: Part 2) by tying itself to Skyfall, though. I don't want this to be an extension piece to Skyfall, I want this to be a film that's able to stand on its own.

eXistenZ (1999)

1.8 Whats out of 5 Huhs.

The ultimate film for people who complained that Inception's dream sequences weren't, well, "dreamy" enough. Basically Videodrome meets Inception, but not as clever nor nearly as good as either of those films. If you're looking for some awkward laughs, then definitely check it out, otherwise just watch Videodrome or Inception again. This just boils down to nonsense.

TV's Frink said:

Mondess122 said:

Tobar said:

Mondess122 said:

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (on equal level as the original, except in much different ways);

 Now that's crazy talk!

I never cared much about most of the characters in the original Gremlins, while the sequel makes the original characters more likeable and brings in some fun new ones, like Christopher Lee and John Glover. Plus, I can't help but appreciate that go all out with the crazyness à la Big Trouble in Little China (one of my favorite films). It's admittedly somewhat of a mess, but I think it's much funnier than the original and in some ways more clever, too. Gremlins is equally enjoyable, but mostly because of its effective horror aspects and the christmas vibe that it has. It's not as funny as the sequel, not even close.

Plus, you got to love Brain Gremlin. 

Plus, Joe Dante prefers it as well, so that automatically means I'm right! 

TV's Frink said:

Since when is BTTF a comedy?

Wait...Ghostbusters was a comedy as well?! (I didn't find it that funny, honestly. 2.5 out of 5.) 

 Get out of this thread.

Tobar said:

Mondess122 said:

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (on equal level as the original, except in much different ways);

 Now that's crazy talk!

I never cared much about most of the characters in the original Gremlins, while the sequel makes the original characters more likeable and brings in some fun new ones, like Christopher Lee and John Glover. Plus, I can't help but appreciate that go all out with the crazyness à la Big Trouble in Little China (one of my favorite films). It's admittedly somewhat of a mess, but I think it's much funnier than the original and in some ways more clever, too. Gremlins is equally enjoyable, but mostly because of its effective horror aspects and the christmas vibe that it has. It's not as funny as the sequel, not even close.

Plus, you got to love Brain Gremlin. 

Plus, Joe Dante prefers it as well, so that automatically means I'm right! 

TV's Frink said:

Since when is BTTF a comedy?

Wait...Ghostbusters was a comedy as well?! (I didn't find it that funny, honestly. 2.5 out of 5.) 

Speaking of where-do-you-draw-the-line-with-comedies, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I find that a pretty funny flick.

Sequels that come to mind:

Toy Story 2 and 3 (both much more clever and funnier than the original);

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (on equal level as the original, except in much different ways);

Kung Fu Panda 2 (good but not great sequel to the underrated first film);

And Back to the Future Part II. I'm much more a Part II guy than a Part III guy; Part III is where the "look, it's the exact same actor, but it's his great-great-grandfather / mother!" schtick got really tiring. I get everyone's problems with Part II, but I think it's a good time. The original is much better, though. 

Does Big Trouble in Little China count? Semi-sequel to Buckaroo Banzai? No? Okay...

If Drew Goddard is really going to direct it, then we've more or less come full circle. First the director of The Evil Dead, now the director of the film that largely parodied that film (The Cabin in the Woods). Can you call that full circle? Whatever.

Sounds exciting, I loved Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods. If anything, it will at least be better than Webb's horrible excuses for Spider-Man films.

If it's half as good as District 9 I'll actually be disappointed, because District 9 wasn't a good movie.

Now with the Chappie trailer out, it further proves to me that Blomkamp is a one-trick pony writer and director who takes existing sci-fi ideas and concepts, places them in South Africa and injects the most heavy-handed and flimsiest social commentary I've ever seen into his films, just to confuse people into thinking his films have something "important" or "interesting" to say.

I'm tellin' ya, his Alien sequel will have something to do with the Weyland corporation being evil, exploitative and greedy (again). Or not. I hope not.

Tobar said:

You really need to read the original graphic novels. I don't know how they managed to stay fairly faithful but at the same time sap all of the entertainment out of those stories.

 I will. I'm not really into comics (or graphic novels), but I keep hearing great things about them, so I'm interested in checking them out.

DuracellEnergizer said:

skyjedi2005 said:

Hard to believe the Cinematographer of Raiders and the director of Empire Strikes Back produced this turkey.

You mean Irvin Kershner? The guy everyone says has never made a remarkable movie outside of TESB?

Yeah, I'm not finding that hard to believe.

 Oh c'mon guys, RoboCop 2 ain't that bad. I found it enjoyable, at least.

I do prefer Octopussy over Never Say Never Again, although not by a whole lot. They're both bad, but at least Octopussy had the familiar cast and music (NSNA's score is horrendous). The first half hour of Octopussy is actually pretty solid, I thought, before it turns into a big slog. Although I do prefer seeing Bond disguised as a clown than seeing him play a videogame with the villain. 

Batman: Year One (2011) - Just like The Dark Knight Returns really underwhelming stuff. At least this wasn't stupid. I've not read Frank Miller's comics so maybe the comic versions are amazing, but either they don't translate from page to screen well at all, or the translation is done very poorly; they're so bland and forgettable. Stick with Mask of the Phantasm or Under the Red Hood, those are much more solid animated Batman films.

Why did Catwoman have to be there anyway?

5 out of 10 Bat...things. I dunno.

Gladiator (2000) - Yawn. Y'know, I realize it's hard to do, but: can we just admit that Ridley Scott is not a very good director? People say Alien this and Blade Runner that, but at the end of the day, his filmography has far more stinkers than you (want to) remember. Gladiator is arguably one of them: a bland and overly predictable swords and sandals flick with dated CGI, a bad script, boring characters, poorly shot and edited action scenes and an unnecessarily long running time (just because Ben Hur and Spartacus were long films doesn't mean you have to make your film almost equally as long). 

4 out of 10 lines about how disappointed you are in your son.

Man on Fire (2004) - Despite a very strong first act that focuses almost exclusively on the relationship between Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning's characters, once the inevitable kidnapping starts it turns into a(n even more) simplistic and obnoxiously edited version of Taken. It has possibly some of the most annoying editing I've seen in a film since Moulin Rouge!. Despite the solid acting and first act, I can't help but kind of hate this.

4.9 out of 10 Creasy bears.

The Rock (1996) - A great action film. I keep forgetting Michael Biehn is in this, and he's really good in the limited amount of screen time he's given. There are enough Cage-isms and Connery "f*ckin' idiot"s here to keep you entertained, despite its duller moments in the first act.

Also, gotta love that car chase.

8 out of 10 green balls.

Hannibal (2001) - Delightfully stupid. Cartoony gore, Hopkins and Oldman duking it out in a ham-off (and - to my surprise - Oldman ends up winning), some of unnecessarily funny moments, and a giant gaping plothole: how the hell is Hannibal Lecter, a man just placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, able to travel by plane...TWICE? Even with this film's nonsensical logic, that's a stretch. Kind of weird Scott was picked to direct this anyway, his style is almost a complete opposite to Jonathan Demme's. It's a guilty pleasure.

4.2 out of 10 man-eating pigs.

David Fincher

Paul Verhoeven

Christopher Nolan

Matthew Vaughn

Ethan & Joel Coen

David Cronenberg

Paul Thomas Anderson

John Carpenter

Guillermo del Toro

Gremlins 2: The New Batch - While it may not be as well written as the first film (it does ultimately amount to just the Gremlins wreaking havoc while the human characters run around), I might slightly prefer this one, mostly because of its humor and characters. Gotta love the Brain Gremlin.

7.9 out of 10 Hulk Hogan shirt tearings.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Eh, it's alright. I'm not all that familiar with Studio Ghibli's / Miyazaki's works aside from My Neighbor Totoro, but this felt a little underwhelming. Story was boring and the characters were not that interesting. It does have giant bugs though. That's somethin'.

6.1 out of 10 flying ships.

Labyrinth - David Bowie's junk. Some catchy songs and an explosion of creativity make this quite enjoyable, even if the story is really straightforward and some of its effects have aged quite miserably. 

6.4 out of 10 Escher staircases.

Hulk (2003) - It's the Hulk film we all wanted: overlong and uneffective 'people with daddy issues' drama, Hulk fighting a mutant poodle, a one-dimensional main character and experimental stylistic choices that do nothing aside from distracting you (no, it does not feel like you're reading a comic book...c'mon). 

3.3 out of 10 mutant dogs.

John Wick - Keanu Reeves shoots mobsters in the face. Pretty great. An otherwise straightforward revenge film elevated by its stylish direction and suspenseful action scenes.

7.7 out of 10 headshots.

Predestination (2014)  Oh, now this was interesting. It's actually quite flawed scriptwise (some things simply don't make sense and the film's structure is weird), but it's very intriguing and captivating stuff, mostly thanks to Sarah Snook's amazing performance and the great direction. Definitely check this out when you get the chance.

7.5 out of 10 Ethan Hawke mustaches.

Michael Bay's best movie supplied in

the book contains a secret

, the cursed book written by

whatever that fluffy yellow thing

after looking too much at

his current posts and realized

ridiculous fanedits and prequel scripts

screamed the drag queen Cthulhu

DuracellEnergizer said:

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning - 7/10

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter - 5/10 

 ...I think you posted your list backwards.

In all seriousness, I don't think Part 5 is that bad either. Well, it's bad, but not the worst of the series by a long shot. That mystery aspect made no sense whatsoever though; the killer (who isn't Jason) has clear motivations, yet kills anyone in his path. Melanie Kinnaman is a looker though...too bad she looks hideous nowadays.

The best slasher film has to be Halloween (1978) for me. No other slasher film - at least none of the ones I've seen so far - has managed to scare me as that film did. I think that's thanks to Carpenter's direction, but also Dean Cundey's excellent cinematography. 

Not sure what the best slasher franchise is though, as I haven't seen that many slasher films. The funny thing is that A Nightmare on Elm Street is (from what I've seen so far) the most consistently 'good' franchise, yet of the 'big three' slasher series (Halloween, Friday the 13th, ANoES), it's the one I care the least for. That probably has to do with the fact that I'm not a fan of Freddy.

I also love Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives, by far the best directed, written and possibly acted entry in that series. I really like that the filmmakers abandoned the boobs and blood for a moment to actually try to make a great film. How would you guys rank the Friday the 13th films? My ranking looks something like this:

1. Part 6

2. Part 2

3. Part 4

4. Friday the 13th (1980)

5. Freddy vs. Jason

6. Jason goes to Hell

7. Part 5

8. Jason X

9. Part 3

10. Part 7

11. Friday the 13th (2009)

12. Part 8

that Hillary Clinton burned her

So where exactly is "ah never mind" between 0 and 10? ;)