Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate it | {Insert Appropriate Seasonal Greeting Here}
- Thread starter ProstheticConscience
- Start date
Ceremony
How I choose to feel is how I am
- Jun 8, 2012
- 114,299
- 17,384
This was me. Tom Cruise is either an android or an alien who is very eager to convince the world that he is a normal adult human male who enjoys the company of adult human females an appropriate amount, even when their existence adds literally nothing to the movie he happens to be in.Which one of you crazies rewatched all the Mission: Impossible movies in the last few months and concluded that they're all about Tom smoochin' ladies. Finally caught up with the new one and it's all I could think about. Not much smoochin' in it, but an overwhelming message of "Tom loves, believes and supports women." They added like three new women in this one on top of two carry overs from the previous movies!!!
I definitely enjoyed it (as I do most of the series). As with Fallout, my biggest complaint is that I thought Dead Reckoning is a bit exhausting, though I don't necessarily feel any plot should be cut or action scene should be trimmed ... the pleasure of these movies is largely from how the action sequences start at one place and shift through about 3-4 scenarios before ending some where else. Definitely very maximalist. Really appreciated several call backs to the first movie. (Though the new Hunt backstory is a little out of nowhere).
The last four movies have hit a really nice rhythm. They know what they are and how to do it.
ItsFineImFine
Registered User
- Aug 11, 2019
- 3,745
- 2,389
The Train (1964) - 7.5/10
Don't think I've ever thought this before but this is one b/w film which I wish was actually in colour. It's a big budget Hollywood film from the mid-60s and based on the poster, I thought it was in colour so it looked almost strange to see it in b/w. Anyways it's a good train I mean film especially i fyou're into trains and people talking about trains and turning wrenches on trains. The rest is a decent Burt Lancaster action flick with him running around evading nazis. A bit of uneven pacing and wooden dialogue prevents it from being one of the better WW thrillers but worth a watch. The nazi villains aren't oafs here either they're relatively smart and evil.
Splendor In The Grass (1961) - 7/10
Typical Elia Kazan film where people act melodramatic with the added theme of teenagers being horny to the point of having a mental breakdown and being institutionalized. Has a redeeming ending and a decent first act but the middle bits are a bit too much to take seriously. I never got American films making teenage years portrayed as the highest stake thing in the universe.
Made In Hong Kong (1997) - 7/10
Somewhat similar in style to a film like Chungking Express but just a lot more angrier. Shows a lot of teen angst but in a stylish way and 90s east-Asia is a terrific setting for good cinematography. Storyline is a bit thin and stretched out but again, more of a film I enjoyed for how it looked and felt than what it actually was. The HD shot of a guy throwing a TV off a highrise apartment building and the camera tracking the TV till it crashes to the ground....perfection.
Easy Living (1937) - 6/10
Ol' Jean Nasal Voice Arthur is pretty good here providing some decent comedy and not being as annoying as she is when she's acting like she's in love in later films. The problem is everyone else with a bland performance from a young Ray Milland as her romantic interest and Edward Arnold acting like a bully and yelling throughout the whole film. Some decent laughs here and there but it's a film that relied far too much on physical screwball comedy and pratfalls instead of on a well-written script the way that Stage Door from the same year did.
Don't think I've ever thought this before but this is one b/w film which I wish was actually in colour. It's a big budget Hollywood film from the mid-60s and based on the poster, I thought it was in colour so it looked almost strange to see it in b/w. Anyways it's a good train I mean film especially i fyou're into trains and people talking about trains and turning wrenches on trains. The rest is a decent Burt Lancaster action flick with him running around evading nazis. A bit of uneven pacing and wooden dialogue prevents it from being one of the better WW thrillers but worth a watch. The nazi villains aren't oafs here either they're relatively smart and evil.
Splendor In The Grass (1961) - 7/10
Typical Elia Kazan film where people act melodramatic with the added theme of teenagers being horny to the point of having a mental breakdown and being institutionalized. Has a redeeming ending and a decent first act but the middle bits are a bit too much to take seriously. I never got American films making teenage years portrayed as the highest stake thing in the universe.
Made In Hong Kong (1997) - 7/10
Somewhat similar in style to a film like Chungking Express but just a lot more angrier. Shows a lot of teen angst but in a stylish way and 90s east-Asia is a terrific setting for good cinematography. Storyline is a bit thin and stretched out but again, more of a film I enjoyed for how it looked and felt than what it actually was. The HD shot of a guy throwing a TV off a highrise apartment building and the camera tracking the TV till it crashes to the ground....perfection.
Easy Living (1937) - 6/10
Ol' Jean Nasal Voice Arthur is pretty good here providing some decent comedy and not being as annoying as she is when she's acting like she's in love in later films. The problem is everyone else with a bland performance from a young Ray Milland as her romantic interest and Edward Arnold acting like a bully and yelling throughout the whole film. Some decent laughs here and there but it's a film that relied far too much on physical screwball comedy and pratfalls instead of on a well-written script the way that Stage Door from the same year did.
These were my thoughts exactly. I even bought the DVD of this without having seen it and was surprised that it wasn't in color. Perhaps the producers figured that the movie was mostly shades of gray (smoke, soot, night), so it wasn't really worth the added cost. I still enjoyed it, but I think that I would've enjoyed it a little more if it had been in color.
Unholy Diver
Registered User
KallioWeHardlyKnewYe
Hey! We won!
- May 30, 2003
- 15,772
- 3,808
John Wick Chapter 4. So a day after I complained (at least a little bit) about enoying but not really needing a 2-hour-45-minute, relentless action movie, I subjected myself to another 2-hour-and-45-minute, relentless action movie ... AND I DON'T REGRET A SINGLE MOMENT OF IT.
Can I articulate why the girthiness of the past two Mission: Impossible movies are something I push back against, but I completely embrace the equally over-loaded John Wick 4? I cannot! I am human. I am inconsistent. I contain multitudes! Life is complicated. But I don't.
I struggle to think of a series that genuinely feels like they're making it up as it goes along (uuuhhh MARKERS and THE TABLE and, uh, now you need a CREST and well there are OLD RULES, etc, etc, etc) and that is part of the charm. It works, not because it is deep or well thought out (I'm not sure it is) but because it serves a single goal ... make John Wick's life as tough as possible. And when life is tough for John, whoa buddy is it good for us.
This feels like the most video game movie in a series that always feels constructed like an old platform video game ... Distinct, colorful levels and backdrops; An endless parade of faceless attackers that require multiple punches, stabs and shots to put down; An end boss who has some sort of quirk ... repeat again and again ... You have to obtain this or defeat that to proceed.
This is just an all-you-can-eat buffet of clever, gorgeous, violent fighting. And once you're coming down from one great sequence, it is throwing you into another. All anchored by Keanu Reeves whose zen passivity is exploited to great effect. But the action also is well used as a tool — new characters like Tracker and Caine — are developed largely through and by their action (and inaction).
I know it sounds crazy to float Donnie Yen as a best supporting actor candidate but I really want to make the argument when the time comes.
This series always nails its sniveling evil villains too. Bravo.
And an excellent nod to The Warriors to top it all off.
Can I articulate why the girthiness of the past two Mission: Impossible movies are something I push back against, but I completely embrace the equally over-loaded John Wick 4? I cannot! I am human. I am inconsistent. I contain multitudes! Life is complicated. But I don't.
I struggle to think of a series that genuinely feels like they're making it up as it goes along (uuuhhh MARKERS and THE TABLE and, uh, now you need a CREST and well there are OLD RULES, etc, etc, etc) and that is part of the charm. It works, not because it is deep or well thought out (I'm not sure it is) but because it serves a single goal ... make John Wick's life as tough as possible. And when life is tough for John, whoa buddy is it good for us.
This feels like the most video game movie in a series that always feels constructed like an old platform video game ... Distinct, colorful levels and backdrops; An endless parade of faceless attackers that require multiple punches, stabs and shots to put down; An end boss who has some sort of quirk ... repeat again and again ... You have to obtain this or defeat that to proceed.
This is just an all-you-can-eat buffet of clever, gorgeous, violent fighting. And once you're coming down from one great sequence, it is throwing you into another. All anchored by Keanu Reeves whose zen passivity is exploited to great effect. But the action also is well used as a tool — new characters like Tracker and Caine — are developed largely through and by their action (and inaction).
I know it sounds crazy to float Donnie Yen as a best supporting actor candidate but I really want to make the argument when the time comes.
This series always nails its sniveling evil villains too. Bravo.
And an excellent nod to The Warriors to top it all off.
BobColesNasalCavity
Registered User
An American Christmas Carol (1979)
An old TV movie, where 'the Fonz' played a Depression-era, American Scrooge. Sounds goofy, but it wasn't bad. They did a good job with the time setting(s), tho there were a couple scenes where Henry Winkler (in old man makeup) looked like a Muppet..
I streamed it on Peacock.. remembering this was in the peak of Winkler's fame, I wonder how it did in the ratings then..
An old TV movie, where 'the Fonz' played a Depression-era, American Scrooge. Sounds goofy, but it wasn't bad. They did a good job with the time setting(s), tho there were a couple scenes where Henry Winkler (in old man makeup) looked like a Muppet..
I streamed it on Peacock.. remembering this was in the peak of Winkler's fame, I wonder how it did in the ratings then..
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
3.60 out of 4stars
“A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.”
An excellent musical romantic comedy satire that is fantastic on many levels. While its iconic/titular movie magic scene is all around genius and metaphorically layered with a great message, the film as a whole is phenomenal. Considered by many to be the greatest musical of all-time and by some amongst the greatest romantic comedies of all-time. The film is a shot full of sunshine: it's very funny, very fun, infectiously charming/joyous, has iconic cheery songs, impressive energetic dances, and is full of bright vibrant colors that jump off the screen. Additionally, the smooth satire is spot on with the transition of silent films to talkies, and with the many of the moving parts within as well as some audience commentary, is often funny as previously stated and sometimes even slyly presented. Without mention, the film material itself is historically relevant and meaningful within the medium it exists in. Lots of behind the scenes/background stories on this film, and aside from the famous 103 degree fever Kelly apparently had filming the titular scene, I’ll state that Donald O’Connor’s 4 minute “Make ‘em Laugh” scene was done while he was smoking 4 packs of cigarettes a day and supposedly almost killed him….causing him to be bedridden in a hospital for 3 days from physical exhaustion. Interestingly, out of all the cinema masterpieces talked about historically, this is one of the few not child targeted that children can enjoy and understand on a high level.
The Red Shoes (1948)
3.40 out of 4stars
“As an aspiring ballerina Victoria rises to fame as the prima ballerina in the Ballet Lermontov, she also falls in love with a young composer. Next she must choose to pursue the man she loves or her dream to become the greatest ballerina of all-time.”
An excellent drama about art and love. Rich in emotion and symbolism while visually beautiful, most specifically in the ethereally phenomenal 17 minute “Red Shoes” ballet sequence during the middle of the film. Rightfully winning Oscars for both Art Direction and Score, a score of which brings expressive life and harmony to its on screen counterpart. The dialogue has many notable quotes about the meaning and cost of peak artistic expression. One gets to see an interesting glimpse into the demanding world of famed ballet production. I enjoyed the way and timeliness of the development of both the artistic and romantic relationships within, done with elegance and intent. The film is about the passion in one’s heart in need of obsession, specifically for greatness in an art or a fully realized personal/romantic life, and how meaningful sacrifices need to be made to achieve either goal (especially art greatness) but attaining both together is an impossibility as one will always be a priority over the other amongst this split focus. The why on both sides of the argument is intriguing. Art or professional mastery here means becoming immortal, your life’s significance and name living on well beyond your death, reshaping world history forever. A mastery itself that comes with ecstatic heights. Those stakes make private/personal temporal satisfactions and happiness seem miniscule, even if they may be emotionally and psychologically essential. The weight of such a conflict is suffocating. And purposefully or not, there seems to be a parallel between this theme and male dominance/control/jealousy here as well for our protagonist. Well acted with Holbrook as the ballet impresario that demands evolutionary perfection as the standout, albeit all the dancers do great work. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name, an overall haunting tale.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (Part 4) (1984)
2.90 out of 4stars
“After being announced dead and taken to a morgue, Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives, escapes from the hospital, and stalks a group of friends renting a house in the countryside near Crystal Lake.”
A great slasher horror that delivers brutal kills alongside playful raunchiness that has humorous tones. As brought to my attention previously which this film delivers on, Friday the 13th is the most visceral horror franchise of the main slashers: Jason is the most brutal/physically-imposing killer and there are usually attractive and often scantily-clad/naked women. Of that note, Jason uses a surprising variety of tools in his line of work here completing his tone setting murders. The comedic relief humor bits hit well on lower spectrum levels, especially Crispin Glover’s memorable turn. The film is also surprisingly lean, as far as main protagonist’s storylines go, I’d guess the scenes for Feldman and Beck without Jason in them are combinedly shorter or equal to the screen time they share with Jason altogether. The extended ending is a quite thrilling and fitting battle too. Definitely enjoyable and fun. Something that never quite clicked before for me with Jason is his quickness, he does jog/run after victims at times when need be. A nice touch. And the franchise as a whole deserves more credit than I was previously attuned to. In addition to the above, it’s indirect premise is realistic, the franchise was successful on multiple fronts, and it's all around influence on the genre is immense, including its characteristics which were/are heavily mimicked.
3.60 out of 4stars
“A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.”
An excellent musical romantic comedy satire that is fantastic on many levels. While its iconic/titular movie magic scene is all around genius and metaphorically layered with a great message, the film as a whole is phenomenal. Considered by many to be the greatest musical of all-time and by some amongst the greatest romantic comedies of all-time. The film is a shot full of sunshine: it's very funny, very fun, infectiously charming/joyous, has iconic cheery songs, impressive energetic dances, and is full of bright vibrant colors that jump off the screen. Additionally, the smooth satire is spot on with the transition of silent films to talkies, and with the many of the moving parts within as well as some audience commentary, is often funny as previously stated and sometimes even slyly presented. Without mention, the film material itself is historically relevant and meaningful within the medium it exists in. Lots of behind the scenes/background stories on this film, and aside from the famous 103 degree fever Kelly apparently had filming the titular scene, I’ll state that Donald O’Connor’s 4 minute “Make ‘em Laugh” scene was done while he was smoking 4 packs of cigarettes a day and supposedly almost killed him….causing him to be bedridden in a hospital for 3 days from physical exhaustion. Interestingly, out of all the cinema masterpieces talked about historically, this is one of the few not child targeted that children can enjoy and understand on a high level.
The Red Shoes (1948)
3.40 out of 4stars
“As an aspiring ballerina Victoria rises to fame as the prima ballerina in the Ballet Lermontov, she also falls in love with a young composer. Next she must choose to pursue the man she loves or her dream to become the greatest ballerina of all-time.”
An excellent drama about art and love. Rich in emotion and symbolism while visually beautiful, most specifically in the ethereally phenomenal 17 minute “Red Shoes” ballet sequence during the middle of the film. Rightfully winning Oscars for both Art Direction and Score, a score of which brings expressive life and harmony to its on screen counterpart. The dialogue has many notable quotes about the meaning and cost of peak artistic expression. One gets to see an interesting glimpse into the demanding world of famed ballet production. I enjoyed the way and timeliness of the development of both the artistic and romantic relationships within, done with elegance and intent. The film is about the passion in one’s heart in need of obsession, specifically for greatness in an art or a fully realized personal/romantic life, and how meaningful sacrifices need to be made to achieve either goal (especially art greatness) but attaining both together is an impossibility as one will always be a priority over the other amongst this split focus. The why on both sides of the argument is intriguing. Art or professional mastery here means becoming immortal, your life’s significance and name living on well beyond your death, reshaping world history forever. A mastery itself that comes with ecstatic heights. Those stakes make private/personal temporal satisfactions and happiness seem miniscule, even if they may be emotionally and psychologically essential. The weight of such a conflict is suffocating. And purposefully or not, there seems to be a parallel between this theme and male dominance/control/jealousy here as well for our protagonist. Well acted with Holbrook as the ballet impresario that demands evolutionary perfection as the standout, albeit all the dancers do great work. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name, an overall haunting tale.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (Part 4) (1984)
2.90 out of 4stars
“After being announced dead and taken to a morgue, Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives, escapes from the hospital, and stalks a group of friends renting a house in the countryside near Crystal Lake.”
A great slasher horror that delivers brutal kills alongside playful raunchiness that has humorous tones. As brought to my attention previously which this film delivers on, Friday the 13th is the most visceral horror franchise of the main slashers: Jason is the most brutal/physically-imposing killer and there are usually attractive and often scantily-clad/naked women. Of that note, Jason uses a surprising variety of tools in his line of work here completing his tone setting murders. The comedic relief humor bits hit well on lower spectrum levels, especially Crispin Glover’s memorable turn. The film is also surprisingly lean, as far as main protagonist’s storylines go, I’d guess the scenes for Feldman and Beck without Jason in them are combinedly shorter or equal to the screen time they share with Jason altogether. The extended ending is a quite thrilling and fitting battle too. Definitely enjoyable and fun. Something that never quite clicked before for me with Jason is his quickness, he does jog/run after victims at times when need be. A nice touch. And the franchise as a whole deserves more credit than I was previously attuned to. In addition to the above, it’s indirect premise is realistic, the franchise was successful on multiple fronts, and it's all around influence on the genre is immense, including its characteristics which were/are heavily mimicked.
If you liked that, especially its traces of humor, you may also like Part VI, Jason Lives. It's on par or even a little better. Fair warning, it's less realistic, but the most humorous and, arguably, most fun entry in the franchise. It's too bad that the following entries didn't maintain that tone and went really downhill.
TIFF 2023 is coming soon. Here are a few links to warm you up.
www.narcity.com
and the official Wikipedia page
en.wikipedia.org
TIFF's 2023 Lineup Is Stacked & Here Are 10 Movies To Add To Your Toronto Film Festival List
You don't want to miss these movies!
www.narcity.com
and the official Wikipedia page
2023 Toronto International Film Festival - Wikipedia
That's ironic, I watched both Friday the 13th Part 4 and Part 6 in one night, enjoyed both and decided to review Part 4. While I enjoyed 4 better, 6's audience winks, while funny, felt a bit forced and unnatural to me at times. But there were also many other times of joy to be had in the film, especially shadow1's new signature photo of such an iconic shot:
Pranzo Oltranzista
Registered User
- Oct 18, 2017
- 3,981
- 2,900
Agreed. Graham was a cool Jason. Other than that, and Alice Cooper's music of course, this one is pretty much a miss for me, and it's where the series derailed into doing too much.That's ironic, I watched both Friday the 13th Part 4 and Part 6 in one night, enjoyed both and decided to review Part 4. While I enjoyed 4 better, 6's audience winks, while funny, felt a bit forced and unnatural to me at times. But there were also many other times of joy to be had in the film, especially shadow1's new signature photo of such an iconic shot:
The Night of the 12th (2023) Directed by Dominik Moll 8A
The Night of the 12th starts by informing the audience that there are 800 murders committed in France a year and 20% of them remain unsolved and that this movie is about one of those. Why would a movie start with its own spoiler? Well, it's got some pretty good reasons. What follows is reminiscent of Memories of Murder and Zodiac, a genuine thriller about an unsolved crime that has a lot more on its mind than being merely a highly skillful police procedural. The victim in this case is Clara who walking home from a friend's house late one night is accosted by a masked stranger and deliberately set on fire and burned to death. Yohan (Bastien Bouillon, vaguely Steve McQueen-ish), the newly appointed head of the Grenoble crime division, and his older, worn down partner Marceau (Bouli Lanners), interview several possible suspects, all of whom had sex with the victim, and while each of them seem capable of murder, there is not enough evidence to arrest any of them. Time passes, the detectives become more obsessed and frustrated as the movie gradually shifts its focus to some troubling ideas, to paraphrase two lines in the film, the idea, eventually realized by Yohan, that "there is something amiss between men and women" and the notion expressed by the lone female detective that "most crimes are committed by males and most of the cops that investigate these crimes are male. Doesn't that seem a little weird?."
The Night of the 12th works so well because of how adept director Dominik Moll is at getting inside the cops heads and showing the stress that inevitably corrodes their lives as well as the attitudes and assumptions that can create blind spots in their investigations. Misogyny is certainly an important theme but it is dealt with so subtly that it is almost more atmospheric than substantive. The Night of the 12th swept last year's Cesars, the French equivalent of the Oscars, and I sure can see why it did. The movie isn't as good as Bong Joon-Ho's Memories of Murder, but it is definitely in the same league.
subtitles
Best of '23 so far
Riceboy Sleeps, Shim, Canada
Barbie, Gerwig, US
Talk to Me, Philippou brothers, Australia
The Night of the 12th, Moll, France
Oppenheimer, Nolan, US
Last edited:
ItsFineImFine
Registered User
- Aug 11, 2019
- 3,745
- 2,389
Twentieth Century (1934) - 7.5/10
Surprisingly funny, this early screwball is manic with fun over the top performances from Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. There's a lot of the usual yelling that I hate in certain screwballs but the writing and timing is good enough for it to not be annoying here. Also largely takes place on a train and the sets are fairly static but it's a fun 90 minute watch.
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) - 7/10
I've found the majority of John Huston's films to be decent but overrated including this one. Sean Connery and Michael Caine acting like a couple bastards is fairly entertaining in their scenes together, everything else is a bit dated and childlike. Maybe not the same impactful ending as it was building up to but a decent ride on the way with one of the funnier battles I've seen on film.
Red River (1948) - 6/10
Boring Howard Hanks/John Wayne collab following a cattle rancher herding thousands of cows from one location to the next. There's a decent-ish final act with some actual tension but it has a bizarre Hollywood-ending conclusion. The rest of the film is constantly having cattle ranchers march face a problem them the sun sets and rinse and repeat. John Wayne's oaf-ish stubborn character is not the riveting cinema he thinks it is. The amount of cows in this film is truly impressive though. I could imagine some young people in the 40s being disappointed expecting a typical Western and watching a weak drama unless you're really into cattle ranching.
Surprisingly funny, this early screwball is manic with fun over the top performances from Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. There's a lot of the usual yelling that I hate in certain screwballs but the writing and timing is good enough for it to not be annoying here. Also largely takes place on a train and the sets are fairly static but it's a fun 90 minute watch.
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) - 7/10
I've found the majority of John Huston's films to be decent but overrated including this one. Sean Connery and Michael Caine acting like a couple bastards is fairly entertaining in their scenes together, everything else is a bit dated and childlike. Maybe not the same impactful ending as it was building up to but a decent ride on the way with one of the funnier battles I've seen on film.
Red River (1948) - 6/10
Boring Howard Hanks/John Wayne collab following a cattle rancher herding thousands of cows from one location to the next. There's a decent-ish final act with some actual tension but it has a bizarre Hollywood-ending conclusion. The rest of the film is constantly having cattle ranchers march face a problem them the sun sets and rinse and repeat. John Wayne's oaf-ish stubborn character is not the riveting cinema he thinks it is. The amount of cows in this film is truly impressive though. I could imagine some young people in the 40s being disappointed expecting a typical Western and watching a weak drama unless you're really into cattle ranching.
There are all of three movies I want to see this year, two of which are already scheduled for wide release. Either I'm getting really jaded or this is a really poor year for movies. Maybe bothTIFF 2023 is coming soon. Here are a few links to warm you up.
TIFF's 2023 Lineup Is Stacked & Here Are 10 Movies To Add To Your Toronto Film Festival List
You don't want to miss these movies!
and the official Wikipedia page
2023 Toronto International Film Festival - Wikipedia
I think we might all get more grumpy as we get older. However I think it might also be a poor year for movies.
And who might have predicted this new trend?
Brawling at Barbie and the rise of movie theatre misbehaviour
From texting to tweeting to full-on fistfights, the cinema survived the pandemic, only to deal with silver screen scofflaws.
nationalpost.com
Ceremony
How I choose to feel is how I am
- Jun 8, 2012
- 114,299
- 17,384
Men in Black (1997) The Fresh Prince leaves school and gets a job being a policeman for aliens. The aliens are everywhere. Hilarious, and surprisingly good CGI for the time. This might also be the first time I ever saw Tommy Lee Jones on film, and I'm going to guess he's looked like this his entire life.
Ghostbusters II (1989) This film starts with some of the Ghostbusters going to a children's party as entertainers. The children are unhappy at this. A bit ironic, given this is almost certainly purely a children's film. It's alright. It's also an example of the internet ruining things, because when you watch this as an unconnected child you think Vigo might actually be real. It's a letdown to find he isn't.
Cape Fear (1991) A Scorsese adaptation of the Simpsons episode where they join the witness protection program because Sideshow Bob is stalking them. The one thing I always find with Scorsese films is they're just inherently watchable. There's nothing fancy going on with the picture, you just sit and you're drawn to what you see and what the people are doing. In contrast, this film has a distracting musical score (which admittedly I can't take seriously because of the Simpsons), Robert De Niro with a silly voice and loads of random zooms and camera movements that look like something from one of those Bollywood scenes that goes on forever. I think the ultimate problem is there was no real sense of threat from the stalker. The scene in the school was creepy, the rest was just silly.
Quantum of Solace (2008) I like this film. I think it's good. Well, one time I watch it I'll think it's good, the next time my mind will wander and I'll be online after half an hour. The opera scene and the plane fight scene are great. The villain is good because he's not a typical Bond villain. The girls are interesting rather than just window dressing. Even the theme song sounded alright this time. This is a very 2023 assessment, but trying to present an inherently political plot in an apolitical way leaves it a bit unclear. Do you know what this film is about? Do I, having finished it twenty minutes ago? Of course we don't.
Ghostbusters II (1989) This film starts with some of the Ghostbusters going to a children's party as entertainers. The children are unhappy at this. A bit ironic, given this is almost certainly purely a children's film. It's alright. It's also an example of the internet ruining things, because when you watch this as an unconnected child you think Vigo might actually be real. It's a letdown to find he isn't.
Cape Fear (1991) A Scorsese adaptation of the Simpsons episode where they join the witness protection program because Sideshow Bob is stalking them. The one thing I always find with Scorsese films is they're just inherently watchable. There's nothing fancy going on with the picture, you just sit and you're drawn to what you see and what the people are doing. In contrast, this film has a distracting musical score (which admittedly I can't take seriously because of the Simpsons), Robert De Niro with a silly voice and loads of random zooms and camera movements that look like something from one of those Bollywood scenes that goes on forever. I think the ultimate problem is there was no real sense of threat from the stalker. The scene in the school was creepy, the rest was just silly.
Quantum of Solace (2008) I like this film. I think it's good. Well, one time I watch it I'll think it's good, the next time my mind will wander and I'll be online after half an hour. The opera scene and the plane fight scene are great. The villain is good because he's not a typical Bond villain. The girls are interesting rather than just window dressing. Even the theme song sounded alright this time. This is a very 2023 assessment, but trying to present an inherently political plot in an apolitical way leaves it a bit unclear. Do you know what this film is about? Do I, having finished it twenty minutes ago? Of course we don't.
Ceremony
How I choose to feel is how I am
- Jun 8, 2012
- 114,299
- 17,384
Gran Turismo (2023) Young man from Wales survives being terminally online and having Geri Halliwell for a mother to become a racing driver.
You know when you watch a documentary or a biopic (or even an adaptation) about something you're really passionate about and you sit looking at all of the things they get wrong, and you end up leaving underwhelmed? I first played a Gran Turismo game in 2001. I've spent thousands of hours over the past four or five years racing and watching streams and top level GT competitions. Naturally, then, I'm the right person to provide an objective assessment on the Based On a True Story tale of Jann Mardenborough, who competed in a program run by Gran Turismo and Nissan in 2011 to get a seat in a real race car.
There are good things. The scenes involving cars are all... well, real. I've read a bit about how they were filmed (Mardenborough was his own stunt driver) and it's really great to see a film about motor racing featuring actual driving. Le Mans and Le Mans '66 (the former featuring scenes of the actual race) are probably the best examples of motor racing being properly depicted in films but this is genuinely right up there with them. The acting is all great too. Archie Madekwe is good as a young guy who becomes determined to prove himself. Orlando Bloom is surprisingly good as a bit of a chancing wheeler dealer who convinces Nissan to let someone who's only ever played a video game into a real car. David Harbour is the best turn as the cynical, jaded former driver turned engineer who ends up believing in the kid with a dream. Geri can't act any more than she can sing.
Some things I disliked go beyond my own knowledge of the story and medium. There are four separate races in the film where Jann gets the race result he needs on the last lap, with a split-second run to the finish line. When he competes in GT Academy, the instructors and some of the competitors are mean to him. Some of the competitors in GT Academy are girls. When he gets the race seat with Nissan, his own pit crew tell him he's a geek and he shouldn't be there. When he's racing, there's another guy who's arrogant and stuck up (driving a gold chrome Lamborghini sponsored by Moet champagne) who literally drives into Jann on more than one occasion. It doesn't really take any knowledge of motorsport to know that these things range from fanciful to outright ridiculous.
The two main things I felt the film lacked were context for Jann's career and, oddly, references to Gran Turismo. When he's trying to qualify for GT Academy he plays the game, but sees himself in a real car. When he's racing for real, he sees the game. It's neat way of showing how the two fields can overlap. But outside of Orlando saying (more than once) that Gran Turismo is "the most realistic driving simulator ever created" (it really, really isn't) the game ends up getting lost as time goes on. The film is about the person so this is understandable, but I think more could have been made about how he honed his skills first. The film may as as well start by saying "he played this a lot and got really good and now he's about to be in a competition". I'm saying this with my Gran Turismo fan hat on, obviously. The film also doesn't make any reference to the other people who became racing drivers through the GT Academy in other years, which is a real shame.
When he does qualify from GT Academy and starts racing we don't get much explanation of where the races are, what the competition is or even what he's driving. I don't know if there was a licensing issue here (although it's based on a true story the film as a whole largely glosses over the fine details) but even a voiceover and twenty second montage before the first race would have been enough. "This is your car, a Nissan GT-R GT3. It can go this fast it's got this much power..." and so on. The film inevitably builds towards a climax at Le Mans and the same applies here. It's the hardest race in the world! Alright, care to explain why? Or what he's driving here? And if Le Mans is the toughest race in the world on the toughest track in the world, then what exactly is the Nurburgring, where he drove and crashed and killed a spectator?
Also, all scenes at "Le Mans" were filmed at the Hungaroring in Hungary. You can tell because that whole track is about the same size as the pit lane building at Le Mans. If you don't know anything about motor racing, this is fine. Even knowing why it was like this, it made my teeth itch.
I didn't really have any expectations about this going in. I just went to see it because I like Gran Turismo. By its own nature the concept is something I could easily pick holes in. Some of these are excusable, some just make me frustrated because it seems like an easy thing to have added or changed. Either way I think this actually did end up being better than I expected, and the critical response seems to agree with me. If anything that just makes it more frustrating, than I can just see one or two improvements.
Ceremony
How I choose to feel is how I am
- Jun 8, 2012
- 114,299
- 17,384
View attachment 737335
Gran Turismo (2023) Young man from Wales survives being terminally online and having Geri Halliwell for a mother to become a racing driver.
You know when you watch a documentary or a biopic (or even an adaptation) about something you're really passionate about and you sit looking at all of the things they get wrong, and you end up leaving underwhelmed? I first played a Gran Turismo game in 2001. I've spent thousands of hours over the past four or five years racing and watching streams and top level GT competitions. Naturally, then, I'm the right person to provide an objective assessment on the Based On a True Story tale of Jann Mardenborough, who competed in a program run by Gran Turismo and Nissan in 2011 to get a seat in a real race car.
There are good things. The scenes involving cars are all... well, real. I've read a bit about how they were filmed (Mardenborough was his own stunt driver) and it's really great to see a film about motor racing featuring actual driving. Le Mans and Le Mans '66 (the former featuring scenes of the actual race) are probably the best examples of motor racing being properly depicted in films but this is genuinely right up there with them. The acting is all great too. Archie Madekwe is good as a young guy who becomes determined to prove himself. Orlando Bloom is surprisingly good as a bit of a chancing wheeler dealer who convinces Nissan to let someone who's only ever played a video game into a real car. David Harbour is the best turn as the cynical, jaded former driver turned engineer who ends up believing in the kid with a dream. Geri can't act any more than she can sing.
Some things I disliked go beyond my own knowledge of the story and medium. There are four separate races in the film where Jann gets the race result he needs on the last lap, with a split-second run to the finish line. When he competes in GT Academy, the instructors and some of the competitors are mean to him. Some of the competitors in GT Academy are girls. When he gets the race seat with Nissan, his own pit crew tell him he's a geek and he shouldn't be there. When he's racing, there's another guy who's arrogant and stuck up (driving a gold chrome Lamborghini sponsored by Moet champagne) who literally drives into Jann on more than one occasion. It doesn't really take any knowledge of motorsport to know that these things range from fanciful to outright ridiculous.
The two main things I felt the film lacked were context for Jann's career and, oddly, references to Gran Turismo. When he's trying to qualify for GT Academy he plays the game, but sees himself in a real car. When he's racing for real, he sees the game. It's neat way of showing how the two fields can overlap. But outside of Orlando saying (more than once) that Gran Turismo is "the most realistic driving simulator ever created" (it really, really isn't) the game ends up getting lost as time goes on. The film is about the person so this is understandable, but I think more could have been made about how he honed his skills first. The film may as as well start by saying "he played this a lot and got really good and now he's about to be in a competition". I'm saying this with my Gran Turismo fan hat on, obviously. The film also doesn't make any reference to the other people who became racing drivers through the GT Academy in other years, which is a real shame.
When he does qualify from GT Academy and starts racing we don't get much explanation of where the races are, what the competition is or even what he's driving. I don't know if there was a licensing issue here (although it's based on a true story the film as a whole largely glosses over the fine details) but even a voiceover and twenty second montage before the first race would have been enough. "This is your car, a Nissan GT-R GT3. It can go this fast it's got this much power..." and so on. The film inevitably builds towards a climax at Le Mans and the same applies here. It's the hardest race in the world! Alright, care to explain why? Or what he's driving here? And if Le Mans is the toughest race in the world on the toughest track in the world, then what exactly is the Nurburgring, where he drove and crashed and killed a spectator?
Also, all scenes at "Le Mans" were filmed at the Hungaroring in Hungary. You can tell because that whole track is about the same size as the pit lane building at Le Mans. If you don't know anything about motor racing, this is fine. Even knowing why it was like this, it made my teeth itch.
I didn't really have any expectations about this going in. I just went to see it because I like Gran Turismo. By its own nature the concept is something I could easily pick holes in. Some of these are excusable, some just make me frustrated because it seems like an easy thing to have added or changed. Either way I think this actually did end up being better than I expected, and the critical response seems to agree with me. If anything that just makes it more frustrating, than I can just see one or two improvements.
Gran Turismo (2023) Young man from Wales survives being terminally online and having Geri Halliwell for a mother to become a racing driver.
You know when you watch a documentary or a biopic (or even an adaptation) about something you're really passionate about and you sit looking at all of the things they get wrong, and you end up leaving underwhelmed? I first played a Gran Turismo game in 2001. I've spent thousands of hours over the past four or five years racing and watching streams and top level GT competitions. Naturally, then, I'm the right person to provide an objective assessment on the Based On a True Story tale of Jann Mardenborough, who competed in a program run by Gran Turismo and Nissan in 2011 to get a seat in a real race car.
There are good things. The scenes involving cars are all... well, real. I've read a bit about how they were filmed (Mardenborough was his own stunt driver) and it's really great to see a film about motor racing featuring actual driving. Le Mans and Le Mans '66 (the former featuring scenes of the actual race) are probably the best examples of motor racing being properly depicted in films but this is genuinely right up there with them. The acting is all great too. Archie Madekwe is good as a young guy who becomes determined to prove himself. Orlando Bloom is surprisingly good as a bit of a chancing wheeler dealer who convinces Nissan to let someone who's only ever played a video game into a real car. David Harbour is the best turn as the cynical, jaded former driver turned engineer who ends up believing in the kid with a dream. Geri can't act any more than she can sing.
Some things I disliked go beyond my own knowledge of the story and medium. There are four separate races in the film where Jann gets the race result he needs on the last lap, with a split-second run to the finish line. When he competes in GT Academy, the instructors and some of the competitors are mean to him. Some of the competitors in GT Academy are girls. When he gets the race seat with Nissan, his own pit crew tell him he's a geek and he shouldn't be there. When he's racing, there's another guy who's arrogant and stuck up (driving a gold chrome Lamborghini sponsored by Moet champagne) who literally drives into Jann on more than one occasion. It doesn't really take any knowledge of motorsport to know that these things range from fanciful to outright ridiculous.
The two main things I felt the film lacked were context for Jann's career and, oddly, references to Gran Turismo. When he's trying to qualify for GT Academy he plays the game, but sees himself in a real car. When he's racing for real, he sees the game. It's neat way of showing how the two fields can overlap. But outside of Orlando saying (more than once) that Gran Turismo is "the most realistic driving simulator ever created" (it really, really isn't) the game ends up getting lost as time goes on. The film is about the person so this is understandable, but I think more could have been made about how he honed his skills first. The film may as as well start by saying "he played this a lot and got really good and now he's about to be in a competition". I'm saying this with my Gran Turismo fan hat on, obviously. The film also doesn't make any reference to the other people who became racing drivers through the GT Academy in other years, which is a real shame.
When he does qualify from GT Academy and starts racing we don't get much explanation of where the races are, what the competition is or even what he's driving. I don't know if there was a licensing issue here (although it's based on a true story the film as a whole largely glosses over the fine details) but even a voiceover and twenty second montage before the first race would have been enough. "This is your car, a Nissan GT-R GT3. It can go this fast it's got this much power..." and so on. The film inevitably builds towards a climax at Le Mans and the same applies here. It's the hardest race in the world! Alright, care to explain why? Or what he's driving here? And if Le Mans is the toughest race in the world on the toughest track in the world, then what exactly is the Nurburgring, where he drove and crashed and killed a spectator?
Also, all scenes at "Le Mans" were filmed at the Hungaroring in Hungary. You can tell because that whole track is about the same size as the pit lane building at Le Mans. If you don't know anything about motor racing, this is fine. Even knowing why it was like this, it made my teeth itch.
I didn't really have any expectations about this going in. I just went to see it because I like Gran Turismo. By its own nature the concept is something I could easily pick holes in. Some of these are excusable, some just make me frustrated because it seems like an easy thing to have added or changed. Either way I think this actually did end up being better than I expected, and the critical response seems to agree with me. If anything that just makes it more frustrating, than I can just see one or two improvements.
Unholy Diver
Registered User
Blue Beetle - 7/10
Pretty much a paint by numbers origin story for a superhero/comic book that I had never heard of previously. Not bad, but nothing earth shattering either, it probably deserves better than what I expect to be a pretty bad box office performance, but that is the curse of being part of the DC universe with a few exceptions
Pretty much a paint by numbers origin story for a superhero/comic book that I had never heard of previously. Not bad, but nothing earth shattering either, it probably deserves better than what I expect to be a pretty bad box office performance, but that is the curse of being part of the DC universe with a few exceptions
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
That's a spot-on description of Scorcese.
I never remember his dialogue or his sets as all that memorable but they're often such well-rounded films.
No Fun Shogun
34-38-61-10-13-15
MI Dead Reckoning Part 1
Look, I enjoyed it. But holy shit was it a really dumb movie, a major step down in every way from Fallout, and they did Rebecca Ferguson dirty.
But it was still fun, and I'm going to watch Part 2.
Thumbs up.
Look, I enjoyed it. But holy shit was it a really dumb movie, a major step down in every way from Fallout, and they did Rebecca Ferguson dirty.
But it was still fun, and I'm going to watch Part 2.
Thumbs up.
Plane (2023) - 7/10
An airline pilot (Gerard Butler) must deal with a crisis in the air, a convict on the plane and a hostage situation. This felt like a throwback to 90s action movies. The plot is straightforward, the dialogue and drama are minimal, it doesn't try to be clever with twists and turns and the action and suspense are intense. It knows what it wants to be: simply white-knuckle entertainment. The pacing is very good. I never once felt like it dragged or cared to check how much time was left. There's a good deal of action, especially near the end. Butler gives a good performance as a guy who looks like he's going to have a heart attack at any minute because of the stress that he's under and his physical exertion. I like when he grounds his characters by making being a hero look exhausting and painful, ala John McClane. I appreciate that he really puts himself into his roles, more so than some other action stars. I liked that he got to use his Scottish accent for once. I can list some criticisms. A lot of the plot is unbelievable, predictable or contrived and the CGI (of the outside plane and terrain) isn't at all convincing. Those things didn't ruin my enjoyment, though. I still found it quite entertaining, probably because I love 90s action movies and it adheres to a similar formula. If you're not as fond of such movies or don't tend to enjoy Butler's action movies, you may be less impressed. For me, though, it was just plane fun.
Kandahar (2023) - 6/10
A CIA operative (Gerard Butler) and his translator are hunted in Afghanistan after his identity is exposed. This has a lot of similarities to Guy Ritchie's The Covenant, which was released only a few months earlier. It even touches on the same theme of how much Western forces rely on translators. The plot isn't as strong or coherent, but it passes for an action movie. For most of it, I thought that I could see the big plot twist coming a mile away, and then was surprised and pleased that it didn't happen. The cinematography of the desert is a strength, as is the camerawork, in general. Another is the realism of the action. There's isn't much CGI. Most of the explosions are real, for example. This is an action movie that relies on practical filmmaking and effects rather than editing and digital effects, which I appreciated. Butler's performance is OK. He isn't given as much to work with as he is in Plane. On the other hand, the actor that plays the translator gives a very good performance and elevates the movie. Overall, I found the movie hardly exceptional, original or memorable, but decent enough to watch once.
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Nakatomi
Registered User
- Dec 26, 2022
- 156
- 200
Have you seen the 1962 version of Cape Fear with Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck? I saw the newer version first, so I wonder if you got to experience them chronologically.
