Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It (Part XXVI)

[Shareefruck]

Haha yeah his system is easier and more accurate I find. I should definitely thank him for that.



Definitely an interesting take, I've never heard of this before. Now that I think of it, I don't even differentiate movies by company when I watch them aside from the obvious ones like Finding Nemo and Toy Story (I think) being Pixar, maybe I should start taking note of subtle things like the studio and directors if it'll help me pick out more movies.

I liked my neighbour Totoro because the whole movie was based on the children, the dad and granny were secondary characters who were just there to support and enable them. I don't know if Mei was mature but the other young girl was definitely mature like an adult. She'd make lunch for the family, think of bringing an umbrella to her father, understand the hospital situation with rationality all while still being a child at heart (running around dancing and singing, looking for those little gremlin soots or whatever). I can definitely appreciate a movie like that, over the ones like you described earlier, that make children dumber than than they really are.



I'm thinking I should rewatch this movie because I rated it too low

You made me look at it from a different perspective, I didn't really think of the bolded on top of appreciating the maturity of the kids while watching the movie. I just saw it as a movie with no villain or lesson or major plot, just a family living life. A simple movie in short, and there's nothing wrong with that, it's a nice change from regular movies.

I think I'll give it a go in Japanese. I was actually going to ask you guys if I was supposed to watch the original oldboy in Japanese or dubbed but nvm I think you answered it.

I think Oldboy is a Korean movie, but yeah, I'd always recommend subtitles instead of dubs. Dubbing over a movie in another language, to me, is the equivalent of replacing all the great actors in a movie with bad ones, and expecting it to be just as good.

For the record, I was actually saying the opposite of the mature thing-- These movies, to me, are evidence that not every movie needs to appeal to the mature, adult sensibilities that most movies are held to, in order to be brilliant. The purity, humanistic care, and simplicity from the POV of children is in many ways more profound. All other kids movies talk down to kids as if their natural sensibilities are inherently inferior to ours and don't need to be treated with equivalent care and respect.

Another movie from Ghibli that is like this is Ponyo, IMO.

 

[ottawa]

I think Oldboy is a Korean movie, but yeah, I'd always recommend subtitles instead of dubs. Dubbing over a movie in another language, to me, is the equivalent of replacing all the great actors in a movie with bad ones, and expecting it to be just as good.

For the record, I was actually saying the opposite of the mature thing-- These movies, to me, are evidence that not every movie needs to appeal to the mature, adult sensibilities that most movies are held to, in order to be brilliant. The purity, humanistic care, and simplicity from the POV of children is in many ways more profound. All other kids movies talk down to kids as if their natural sensibilities are inherently inferior to ours and don't need to be treated with equivalent care and respect.

Another movie from Ghibli that is like this is Ponyo, IMO.

I'm not going to lie I definitely had to click the English version trailer on the sidebar because I couldn't figure what was going on lol. Looks like a movie i might like so I added it to my list.

I got the original version of my neighbor Totoro though hopefully I'll give that one a second watch later this week.

 

[Shareefruck]

This probably explains it better than I could

 

[x Tame Impala]

Just watched "The Warriors" on Netflix.

It's loosely based on Xenophon's epic, the "Anabasis" where 10,000 Greek soldiers get stuck in Persian territory and have to fight their way out to the sea and back home. Apparently the writer Sol Yurick wrote the novel as a response to the glamorizations of gangs in West Side Story.

It's a really cool concept, a little homo erotic, and almost not at all comparable to present day gangs, but I liked it a lot. It's an interesting story about young men and while it moves quickly it covers a lot of ideas.

8/10

 

[Voight]

Independence Day - Resurgence

7.5/10

A LOT better than critics were rating it. I actually really enjoyed it and it was action-packed throughout. Plot was pretty good too and I'm excited for the next one.

 

[kihei]

Three (2016) Directed by Johnnie To 5B

Johnnie To makes movies in a hurry. In this century alone, he has directed 34 movies with more to follow shortly. Sometimes these are good genre works, sometimes they are bad genre works, and sometimes it is hard as hell to figure out what is going on, as is the case with Three. A bent or not so bent cop (hard to tell), a hysterical doctor (bad, bad female stereotype), and a philosophy-spouting crook who makes a better rooting interest than the rooting interests do, all match wits with one another in a hospital setting in Hong Kong after the crook has been shot in the head (doesn't seem to faze him much). What the point of the exercise is exactly is not very clear--getting information, I guess. There is no back story to speak of, and it takes a while to sort out what is going on. And then it still confusingly jumps around from this to that. However, Three is kind of fun anyway. The major action set piece that comes near the end of the movie is dazzling to behold. Where do the explosions come from? Who knows? I thought for a second To was throwing in an earthquake, but no, no explanation offered. I also thought that carnage shot in ultra-slow motion had worn out its welcome a quarter of a century ago at least, but To resurrects the technique to absolutely spectacular advantage. I kept thinking, "If I could figure how all these pieces fit together, I would probably like this movie." Three is a seriously sloppy film but I had a reasonably good time anyway.

subtitles

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Just watched "The Warriors" on Netflix.

It's loosely based on Xenophon's epic, the "Anabasis" where 10,000 Greek soldiers get stuck in Persian territory and have to fight their way out to the sea and back home. Apparently the writer Sol Yurick wrote the novel as a response to the glamorizations of gangs in West Side Story.

It's a really cool concept, a little homo erotic, and almost not at all comparable to present day gangs, but I liked it a lot. It's an interesting story about young men and while it moves quickly it covers a lot of ideas.

8/10

Almost.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates

Haven't seen it, won't be seeing it, just wanted to say I'm glad it's coming out soon so I can stop seeing all these moronic ads for it while I'm trying to watch Archer.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Been rewatching a lot of movies

Rushmore is still a classic

 

[member 51464]

It's Such A Beautiful Day - 8/10 That was certainly unique!

 

[Shareefruck]

It's Such A Beautiful Day - 8/10 That was certainly unique!

The World of Tomorrow (by the same guy) is really good as well-- Only a 15 minute runtime.

 

[Shareefruck]

Hail Caesar - 1.5 (Neutral)
It was fine.. had moments... didn't leave much of lasting impression

 

[member 51464]

The World of Tomorrow (by the same guy) is really good as well-- Only a 15 minute runtime.

I have that in my Netflix queue already. I had been bookmarking people's "top-however many" lists for quite some time and finally compiled them and am working through them all

 

[kihei]

Hail Caesar - 1.5 (Neutral)
It was fine.. had moments... didn't leave much of lasting impression

I thought this one was really lame, the Coens worst movie since The Ladykillers.

 

[ottawa]

Last 3 movies I saw

Finding Dory: 8/10
We bought a zoo: 6/10
The dictator: 8/10

 

[ottawa]

This probably explains it better than I could

Any spoilers in here or safe to watch?

 

[Shareefruck]

Any spoilers in here or safe to watch?

Doubt it. I'm not sure there's such thing as a spoiler in a Miyazaki movie, personally. They're not movies particularly interested in traditional "drama" or "twists" or "reveals".

Just a dude going on and on about how great and uniquely one of a kind that guy is, with sequences that help you "feel" it.

 

[Shareefruck]

I thought this one was really lame, the Coens worst movie since The Ladykillers.

I pretty much sleepwalked through most of it with a mild smirk here and there. By the time it ended, it didn't even really feel like it had begun. There wasn't anything that aggressively annoyed me, though, and I still like some technical things about anything the Coens do.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

The Good Dinosaur (2015) - C-

In a way I'm glad I saw this movie now instead of right after Inside Out. Where Inside Out was creative fun, and the best movie I saw in 2015, this movie was simplistic, average, and reminded me too much of Land Before Time meets The Lion King. This isn't a bad story, but it's really an average one, and for Pixar's standards, an average story is kinda bad. This film is marketed as what if the Dinosaurs never went extinct, yet that really wasn't what the film was about. It was that common coming of age story about facing fears and becoming the man you're destined to be. There are so many other movies that did it better that this one just came across as disappointingly bland.

I will say I thought the scenery was gorgeous and the best parts of the movie. That scene with the light bugs, for example, was beautiful to look at. Also, the music in this movie gave it a country western feel which I appreciated.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Doubt it. I'm not sure there's such thing as a spoiler in a Miyazaki movie, personally. They're not movies particularly interested in traditional "drama" or "twists" or "reveals".

Just a dude going on and on about how great and uniquely one of a kind that guy is, with sequences that help you "feel" it.

But would those sequences hold the same emotional pull for someone who hasn't seen the films yet, and thus doesn't have a context to frame them within? Just wondering, really.

 

[Shareefruck]

But would those sequences hold the same emotional pull for someone who hasn't seen the films yet, and thus doesn't have a context to frame them within? Just wondering, really.

Probably not, but I'm not sure it would hurt, either. They're beautiful and appealing shots/clips of animation by themselves anyways, the guy does a better job than I could to verbally explain what feelings his work gives me, and even if the clips don't resonate emotionally, I don't think (I hope not, anyways) that would be enough reason for someone to write it off (I hope anyways).

At the very worst, it's probably a better way to catch a sample/glimpse of the movies than watching trailers (which, I find always frames it like some crappy misleading Disney movie), IMO.

Also, I just saw the clip, loved it, and wanted an excuse to plaster it somewhere

 

[kihei]

But would those sequences hold the same emotional pull for someone who hasn't seen the films yet, and thus doesn't have a context to frame them within? Just wondering, really.

Good point, but still a worthwhile commentary on the great director's work. Hopefully that short will encourage more people to see Miyazaki's wonderful movies. Shareefruck, any thoughts as to the order people should start with?

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Also, I just saw the clip, loved it, and wanted an excuse to plaster it somewhere

Hey, nothing wrong with that.

Shareefruck, any thoughts as to the order people should start with?

I'd be interested in this as well. FTR, I've already seen Howl's Moving Castle, Totoro, and Spirited Away (in that order). I have Nausicaa, but Princess Mononoke is next on the priority list (which I never get to since I seemingly never have time to watch movies anymore). Maybe expand it to include non-Miyazaki Studio Ghibli movies as well?

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I thought this one was really lame, the Coens worst movie since The Ladykillers.

I liked it better than that, but it's definitely in the lower half of their filmography.

But I really loved the long discussion between the four religious figures and Josh Brolin. A real highlight for me.
The rest of the movie is a lot of movie star mugging.

 

[kihei]

The Secret Life of Pets (2016) Directed by Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney 5A

Max is a cute little dog madly in love with his owner Katie. However, Max's life is turned upside down when Katie brings home another dog, a big, shaggy beast named Duke who promptly takes over. Though Max gets the upper hand, it backfires and as a result both dogs get lost in Manhattan and have to join forces to find their way home. Along the way they run into a tough gang of rejected pets who are some tough hombres. As many people have pointed out, this movie is like a near remake of the original Toy Story with pets substituting for toys. I was hoping that The Secret Life of Dogs would be smarter than it is, but unfortunately it's aggressively average. There are some cute bits, a couple of mild laughs, and a few nice animated sequences. However, nothing really stands out except the first-rate voice work which is really where most of the fun is. Louie CK as Max, Kevin Hart as a hopped-up (cough, cough), aggressive bunny and Albert Brooks as a hawk perhaps not completely sold on being friends with animals he can eat, are all standouts. The fast pace will please the children and keep most of the adults from getting restless. Or is that the other way around?