What are you watching?

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Caught Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Pretty good, some nice moments. There are two post movie scenes, the first one's a little spicy given that things are supposed to be looking up for the web-slinger, the second is more amusing.

Also saw Blinded by the Light, a coming of age musical about a young Pakistani lad and his discovery of Bruce Springsteen. Not something I would have chosen to see, but something I can recommend.
 
Saw the "Sound! Euphonia" anime movie with my sister.

Great animation and sound design, but some pretty choppy editing. Lots of unspecified time jumps.
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Crawl: a nice tight creature feature with alligators.

Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw: Ridiculous, but charming nonsense.
 

da_fox2279

California Crackpot
Finally watched Endgame. Just... Wow. I teared up more than once. Grest film.
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Watched Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's pretty good. It's a Quentin Tarantino movie, so it comes with certain things: Great music, snappy dialogue, lots of profanity, brutal violence and feet. Lots of feet.

If you don't like Tarantino's work, stay away. If you don't mind it, and want to see some quality filmmaking (the driving scenes are fantastic), then check it out.
 

da_fox2279

California Crackpot
Watched Shazam and John Wick 3 recently. Shazam! is easily one of the best DC films, hands down. Funny and heartwarming all at once, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

John Wick 3 was just amazing. Almost non-stop action from start to finish, and that ending...! Man, these films just keep topping themselves.
 
Don't see John Wick 3 twice. It's great the first time but then you start noticing the plot holes.
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Saw Ad Astra last night. Pretty good. A nice self-contained movie, something that is rare for a large budgeted project these days.
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Rambo: Last Blood.

It is not an objectively good movie. There's no witty dialogue, no performances that will stick with you once you get home. It is, however, a throwback to the brutal action movies of the 80's & moves along at a brisk pace & is never boring.

If you like seeing bad people get butchered for doing bad things, then I think you'll like it. If you think that seeking revenge is bad, then you'll hate it.

Personally, I enjoyed it as a bit of mindless and disposable ultraviolence.
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Just back from Joker.

I think it's pretty good. It shows what happens when you don't have proper mental healthcare available to those that need it. Also, it shows how the 1% do have a certain contempt for the lower classes.

Would recommend, but remember that it's rated R/15 for strong language and bloody violence.
 
Joker is Taxi Driver meets King of Comedy with a DC Comics coat of paint on it that is more than just superficial. It is also just as violent and R rated as the Scorsese films.

It's not really a "fun" movie, but has some genuine laughs in it as well.

It has a couple of neat twists, but also remains surprisingly ambiguous about a lot of things, yet still works amazingly well.

If that sounds awesome, you should go see it at the earliest convenience.

It's a beautiful, brutal, and disturbing all at the same time. It immediately sets you up to understand that it is not concerned with the comfort of the audience. Don't bring the kids.

I'll be amazed if this doesn't get a host of nominations and at least a few wins at various awards, including the AAs.
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Just back from The Day Shall Come. It's from the director of Four Lions.

I didn't think it was as funny as Four Lions, but it is a good satire of law enforcement and counter-terrorism. The ending is powerful stuff.
Here's the trailer:

 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Recently caught the new Shaun the Sheep movie, which I can whole-heartedly recommend to people who like good sci-fi references and a movie with no songs that you'll have to hear over and over again.

Also, I saw Terminator Dark Fate. I liked it a lot less than Farmageddon. It's the same plot as the first Terminator movie with a reskin for [Current Year].
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Just caught a preview screening of Le Mans '66 (AKA Ford vs Ferrari).

Nothing groundbreaking, but entertaining enough for its running time.
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Since I last posted, I've seen Midway (shiny, but shallow. What else do you expect from Roland Emmerich?), Knives Out (Rian Johnson works better with smaller stories that he's got full control over and doesn't have to worry about the consequences), Gremlins (Still holds up pretty well after 35 years) and most recently A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

Tom Hanks is perfectly cast and it's nice. What? You think I'm going to say something bad about Mister Rogers?
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Just back from The Rise of Skywalker.

You'll know if you want to see it or not.

I did not like it. I was not bored at any time during the movie, but it was not good. I shan't go into any spoilers here, but no. Just no. Too many plot contrivances, too much retconning. Looks nice and there's plenty of action in the first act, but I can't recommend this one.
 
6 Underground.

It's a Netflx original.

Ryan Reynolds is basically playing "What if Bruce Wayne was Deadpool", which is fine.

It's a turn your brain off Bay flick that is entertaining, but as shallow as you'd expect. Don't expect a deep plot and the villain is a comic book evil dictator. There's also a fairly large amount of gore in this one with some inventive deaths.

The paper thin plot does have some good character work in Reynolds's totally not an X-force stand in crew. This movie seems to be his way of getting that out of his system since an X-force film probably isn't going to happen anytime soon.

Lots of great action, overdone explosions and excessive vehicle demolition, and a really good chase sequence at the start of the film.

It's worth a look and has more soul than Transformers or Ninja Turtles. I like Michael Bay more when he's not working with an established franchise or trying to do horror generally.
 

Zetas

Lurking upon the deep
Back from The Rise of Skywalker, and I have to agree with Lord Raa, the movie may not be boring but it was not good as a Star Wars film. Personally i thought the film felt rushed in parts and was just cut really weird in others, probably due to them splicing in old footage of Carrie Fisher from before her death. And the plot did feel like a bad fanfiction like some other people had suggested.
 
Just back from The Rise of Skywalker.

You'll know if you want to see it or not.

I did not like it. I was not bored at any time during the movie, but it was not good. I shan't go into any spoilers here, but no. Just no. Too many plot contrivances, too much retconning. Looks nice and there's plenty of action in the first act, but I can't recommend this one.
This is the first time I've not gone to see a Star Wars film on opening day ever. Even the rereleases.

I'll still see it in a theater, but haven't yet. I'm not one of those people who think their "childhood has been ruined" but I didn't care for the new trilogy on the whole, which is why I haven't bothered to see it yet. It will probably be a bit before I do actually as I'm kind of busy, prior to TLJ I would have made time for this, but given the current state of things I don't think that is worth it.

I didn't hate TLJ and see what Rian Johnson was going for, but it didn't work either. I initially liked the film a lot less, but over time and another viewing given some distance has improved my take on it. That doesn't mean I think it is a good movie, it's just that some of it makes more sense now than it did when I first saw it, and I can see the shell of what they wanted to do and didn't pull off.

Some of the character elements make more sense than a lot of the salty fans give it credit for. It wasn't as "subversive" as a lot of people think and makes more sense in some places than it's given credit for, but it's also so subtle and obtuse sometimes that it's not surprising that people missed it.

I don't think Rian's filmmaking style goes well with the kind of movie Star Wars probably should be.

I don't think TLJ in particular left enough to build this filrm on either, so I'm not expecting it to be a "good" Star Wars movie. It has too much ground to make up even for a 2+hour film. Also, Rey as a character kind of sucks. I don't blame Daisy for that as nothing about the character's flaws are her fault.

Kylo has the most interesting arc in the new Trilogy so far. Adam Driver has been the best thing about the new Star Wars movies. Finn was great in TFA, he had the most original and interesting arc in the film, but TLJ kind of ruined that by basically not knowing what to do with him.

Overall, I'm not really impressed with any of the new Star Wars movies. However, I also wasn't with the Prequel Trilogy. Particularly Episode 1, but Episode 2 wasn't that much of an improvement. Revenge of the Sith was really the only film in that trilogy I'd say is actually good to this day, though they all had good sequences in them.

I kind of wish they'd move away from the whole Skywalker thing at this point. I'm hoping we get new characters in a different time period that have nothing to do with them when they make another Star Wars film. They don't have to go back in time and do the Old Republic, but just far enough away that they can sever the connection with this story pretty much entirely and start fresh. There is just too much division with staying where they are, and it's been building since Episode 1. TLJ and Rise are just the peak of it.
 
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Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Saw The Gentlemen. If you liked Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, then you'll like this.

Though, there is definitely some elements that are going to make some people uncomfortable, be they the regular use of the C-Bomb, the bloody violence or the slightly racist elements.


Also, just back from 1917. Would definitely recommend that one to everyone who's of an appropriate age. It shows the horrors of The Great War and has some brilliant cinematography and editing.
 

AoMythology

Apparently a report-er
Saw The Gentlemen. If you liked Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, then you'll like this.

Though, there is definitely some elements that are going to make some people uncomfortable, be they the regular use of the C-Bomb, the bloody violence or the slightly racist elements.


Also, just back from 1917. Would definitely recommend that one to everyone who's of an appropriate age. It shows the horrors of The Great War and has some brilliant cinematography and editing.
A movie covered WW1? I was pretty sure most directors avoided that topic like the plague.
 

akun50

Well-Known Member
I saw Rise of Skywalker and Frozen 2.

I personally don't fully understand the hate for either, honestly. I get some of it, but really, I enjoyed both for what they were: decent movies with some plot holes. Here's a bit more into detail on my thoughts without spoilers:

In regards to Star Wars:

A lot of what I was hearing about against the newest Star Wars trilogy was shit like "NO ONE'S EVER DONE THAT B3F0rE!" or "WH34R W4S DIS IN PREV10uS MooVi35?!" There are a SHITTON of places and force abilities we never saw and pacing is a thing. Yeah, I wasn't a fan of some of the twists and turns, but really, I feel like the Star Wars universe has always had some janky parts to begin with. It's not just a Star Wars thing, every fictional universe has them.

Hell, the real world has them at times.

No one was going to be thrilled regardless of how they made the most recent trilogy and I won't hate anyone but the overzealous fans. (To said overzealous fans: Seriously guys, death threats towards the actors who played Jar Jar Binks and Rose? Holy fuck, that's inappropriate. They were playing the roles created for them! Hate the screenwriters if you have to, but leave the actors alone! AND STOP SENDING DEATH THREATS, YOU IMMATURE TURDLINGS!)

The Star Wars universe has been back and forth on a number of these issues anyway, so despite the hate towards Disney, it seems like they're trying to make a more cohesive universe. Should I miss the Extended Universe that Disney excised from Star Wars canon? Considering I didn't read it, I can't say. But from what I've heard a lot of it could easily fit into the current universe anyway, it just needs some re-tuning. Besides, there are a few bits I did hear about that make me glad some plot points died.

Besides, if it really bothers you that much, just think of Disney's version as an alternate universe. That's right, just consider it fanfiction if it bothers you so much.


In regards to Frozen 2:

I will admit that Frozen felt like a complete story, and Frozen didn't feel like it was 100% needed. But I wouldn't say that it was entirely unneeded either. Let's face it, there were some issues left by the previous movie and it was interesting how they touched on them. Some removed the mystery, but that was almost a given, considering where they went with the story.

And really, considering most of Disney's silver screen releases, this felt more like an actual story that deserved to made.
 

Ordo

Well-Known Member
With the new Trilogy, the actors are the one thing I really loved. I felt they all did a good job with the material given to them. My issues is with the writers and directors and the majority of that comes from a failure to plan. Each creative team for each movie had some good ideas, but they didn't all mesh well together. Other times I felt they ignored potentially interesting aspects of the new characters. I mean Finn was a former Storm Trooper raised by the First Order, and his presence reveals that many of these new troopers are just indoctrinated kids yet little is done with that, which I just don't get. That story arc could've brought something interesting to the new trilogy yet it was ignored. Also, bringing back Palpatine (IMHO) at the last minute was a mistake. I was honestly interested in seeing Kylo Ren as the big bad because I saw potential in that storyline and because I wouldn't be sure of how it'd end. The instant I saw the Emperor was back I knew Kylo Ren would be redeemed just like his grandfather which killed some of the tension for me.

I don't hate the films, I'm just disappointed. JJ Abrams meant well but was seemingly so overwhelmed by the enormity of the task that he clung to nostalgia and thus retreaded the OT. Meanwhile Rian Johnson was so interested in subversion that he sacrificed some interesting plot threads and characterization to ensure his vision worked. It just....makes the entire thing into a bit of a mess that fails to live up to the Star Wars Legacy or even it's ow potential IMHO.

 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Saw Parasite this afternoon. Would recommend for its social commentary about class and there's some great humour in it. However I fear that all that subtlety and wit will be lost in the remake.
 
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