Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched
- Thread starter Th3Ch33s3Cak3
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Got my daughter to commit to watching with me when we're done with Schitz Creek this week.
Just watched 41 on Amazon Prime. Not sure what happened but it is OK. About the 5th time looping movie I've seen in about 6 weeks. It's now its own genre.
Through the whole thing I'm asking myself can one ever really change time? If you went back in time to change it, you would change your reason for ever going back. Maybe the earlier you that grows into the current you remembers what was done and goes back to ensure the change happens again?
EDIT: I had shown the trailer but youtube has the whole movie:
Unhinged: Ooookay? / Great
A plus-sized Russell Crowe plays a man who’s… gone through a rough patch in his life, and just wants a little common decency from a world that he feels just can’t be bothered to give it. A single mother and her child have a minor misunderstanding with him at a traffic light; he requests an apology, doesn’t get it, and the next hour and a half makes the term “road rage” sound like “hissy-fit.”
Crowe is just scary in this one. The opening scene is nothing short of horrific. It’s fiction of course, but given all the tragedy in the news of late, the idea that there are people out there harboring this kind of pure rage and potential for violence makes one just wanna stay home and out of everyone’s line of sight. Basically, be kind to everyone you meet; you never know which fractured psychopath doesn’t take kindly to indifference and social slights.
A plus-sized Russell Crowe plays a man who’s… gone through a rough patch in his life, and just wants a little common decency from a world that he feels just can’t be bothered to give it. A single mother and her child have a minor misunderstanding with him at a traffic light; he requests an apology, doesn’t get it, and the next hour and a half makes the term “road rage” sound like “hissy-fit.”
Crowe is just scary in this one. The opening scene is nothing short of horrific. It’s fiction of course, but given all the tragedy in the news of late, the idea that there are people out there harboring this kind of pure rage and potential for violence makes one just wanna stay home and out of everyone’s line of sight. Basically, be kind to everyone you meet; you never know which fractured psychopath doesn’t take kindly to indifference and social slights.
that's the thing though, it's not. I've lost count of "angry white dudes who take out their insecurities in violence for minor slights" based films, and this is no different. It's why I can't enjoy The Punisher, because it's not escapism, it's just Steve McChucklefuck, the gun toting shitbag. It's like a very depressing, IRL variation on "It was Tuesday" speech. It's not escapism, it's just the nightly news.
That's my point. This tale is fiction, but so representative of reality, it makes one wonder how many times they've crossed paths with someone like Crowe's character. An anecdote I've mentioned here before: in 2007, I received a random friend request via Xbox Live from someone with a Virginia Tech logo as their pic. I'd not played with them, so I deleted the request; the next morning, the infamous mass shooting at Virginia Tech happened. Of course, I believe this was an insane coincidence, but when fiction such as this film exists, it makes one wonder: how often have we been in close proximity to someone whose breaking point is nigh if not long since surpassed, and the slightest encounter had unfathomable repercussions?
I like horror films when they involve supernatural shit, but when you have stuff like "Saw" or "Hostel" that are so clearly grounded in dark realities and potentialities, it makes me uncomfortable.
Even if it's that true with you denying the friend request from the Virginia tech shooter, that's not your fault. He made his own choice. He knew what he was doing and it was wrong, but did it anyway. You have nothing to feel guilty over.
I don't think it WAS the Virginia Tech shooter, but the coincidence was eerie and disturbing. Didn't help that his activity on Xbox ended that same day as of my checking several weeks later...
Oh I know, I've had many a random encounter with unhinged people, not the least of which is my own brother. I'm the kind of person that apparently just broadcasts "I will listen to your tales of woe", on some frequency that people can pick up on, because I've lost count of the number of times random, unstable people have done things like just, sit down at my table at a 24 hour diner, and just start talking to me about their problems. This includes a guy who said he was a vietnam vet (who was drunk as hell), who wanted me to go out to his car and take his gun and shoot him, because he wanted to die, but was too scared to do it himself. The unhinged are all around us. That's why I just don't find those kinds of films all that engaging. It doesn't feel like fiction to me or anything, it just feels exploitative of a really horrible situation.
Also because they feel like scare tactic cautionary tales, like you yourself mentioned "Be nice, or the scary White Guy With a Gun Boogeyman might shoot you in traffic."
I think that's what they're going for, actually. Horror works best when you leave the theater and realize "oh, shit; that could actually happen. To ME." A film about aliens or spirits one can be easily written off as escapism, but films like "Unhinged" remind us that the guy sitting next to you, y'know, the guy from whom to took the last hot pretzel at the concession stand 45 minutes earlier, aren't fantasy. They are indeed cautionary tales.
To be clear, I don't think this was an exceptional film. It was a movie; I watched it. Crowe's character could have used some more development, but then again, he was the "monster" this time, not a character. It plays out as a thriller with a lot of unintended messages, i.e.: they went for shock and awe with a "cinematic crazy guy," and reality was like, "no, these kind of people actually exist."
Just watched a cult horror movie called Basket Case. It was...an experience. It's hard to call it a good movie, but it definitely had heart. Given the low budget (it was made in the 1980's on $35,000), it was definitely successful for the most part, but it is just a weird movie, and the ending was flat-out uncomfortable to watch for me. You can definitely do worse, however, if you want to see a movie where the passion of the filmmaker is clearly shining through an extremely limited budget.
Tom Clancy's Without Remorse
What a boring movie. *This* generic, uneventful, boilerplate supersoldier-out-for-vengeance shtick was in development hell for 20 years? Van Damme could've made the same movie 20 times during that time. And at least a couple would've been better than Tom Clancy's Without Remorse.
What a boring movie. *This* generic, uneventful, boilerplate supersoldier-out-for-vengeance shtick was in development hell for 20 years? Van Damme could've made the same movie 20 times during that time. And at least a couple would've been better than Tom Clancy's Without Remorse.
To extend that a little, all of the, for example, Alien films, are in large part about uncaring rich and powerful people deliberately endangering the little people to gain power/profit.
Which is every day since the earliest cities were built in the Fertile Crescent.
OTOH, the specifics of "The Company" in Aliens is a step away from day to day life.
You're talking about the allegorical nature of "Aliens;" most movies have fundamentally relatable aspects to them when broken down to the raw components. I'm talking about stuff happening on screen easily being 1:1 with stuff that could happen in real life. "Unhinged" could easily be a true story. Hell, watch the news; it's not far from a true story.
This is how forgettable that film was: I watched it just a few days ago, and FORGOT I'd watched it until I read this post just now. Seriously, it sounded familiar, so I Googled it, and yep; apparently, I've seen it. Left about as much an impression on me as a commercial for adult diapers or laundry detergent.
Saw The Edge of Seventeen, and it was really quite good. For what is essentially just another high school comedy with some edge (hurr) it manages to stand out with a lot of energy and momentum. Before I realized it the movie was almost over and it felt like I'd been watching it for at best 45 minutes -- it just flies by. And this is primarily due to Hailee Steinfeld who seems to race into every scene like a tornado and just drags everything along with her. She was always a very solid and likeable actor, but the last time I saw her command this much attention was in True Grit. It shows what she can bring when they allow her to just cut loose, and it's a shame we don't get to see this more often. And serving it with a side of Woody Harrelson makes it hit the spot that much better.
Really good watch.
Really good watch.
The Lego Movie part 2
Ok I really loved part 1 the meta elements worked and the messaging felt on point and not really mean spirited.
The Lego Movie part 2 I skipped at the time it was out because I hadn't watched the first one yet as it was only after that people were on about how good it was and how much of a must watch it was and how it was more than just a brand film.
The Lego Movie part 2 was mediocre compared to 1 and in hindsight now Jesus the messaging and theme comes off as having aged badly or at least society has very much changed and events have happened that lets say makes the films messaging and theme come off as kinda creepy.
Besides the theme the film kept trying to be too meta and almost too reference heavy with the whole "Ok this is a kids film so we have to have an cheesy song to get stuck in peoples heads" being one of the few bits to really land well and not fell like they were trying to push things a bit too much
Ok I really loved part 1 the meta elements worked and the messaging felt on point and not really mean spirited.
The Lego Movie part 2 I skipped at the time it was out because I hadn't watched the first one yet as it was only after that people were on about how good it was and how much of a must watch it was and how it was more than just a brand film.
The Lego Movie part 2 was mediocre compared to 1 and in hindsight now Jesus the messaging and theme comes off as having aged badly or at least society has very much changed and events have happened that lets say makes the films messaging and theme come off as kinda creepy.
Rex Dangervest is Emmet from the future but bitter because he was abandoned so determined to save his past self and teach him to be the man Lucy wants him to be a new tough guy dude and rescue people from and deal with the Sistar system who have kidnapped Emmets friends.
Only the coming apocalypse will be due to Emmets own actions and the Sistar system aren't evil Rex DangerVest just hates them because he's a manly man and the Sistar system is all feminine or something.
I can see why certain film critics like it due to the whole idea of films in the past being seen to have "Feminine" coded villains while the hero is the macho dude and the idea of this was to play on said expectations but Rex Dangervest felt like he needed more motivation than "I'm bitter cause I was left alone and now I'm a self made man".
Also given things that have happened in the world and how things and perceptions have changed, Weinstein wasn't some manly man hell before he was outed he was presented as some big promoter of women and was all I'm #withher and any dudes not on the side of Hillary et al are just toxic men suffering from Toxic masculinity. Add to that a string of other such men who have been outed or even convicted and well the whole "I'm a non threatening male vampire who just wants to talk about feelings" hits very differently as does the overall message of "Oh the many male character is the villain cause Toxic masculinity is also somehow just old macho dude tropes and not actually anything else added but it's Toxic for some reason". It also doesn't work in terms of the death of imagination angle because clearly there was some imagination in regards to the space ship and the raptors vehicles and kit etc. It seemed like a very thin barely coherent message about how it's only ok if the imagination fits within certain boundaries. It also reminded me very much of a videos by a certain person.
(Before anyone complains I'm bringing her up, I fucking bothered to watch all this crap to try and understand a different perspectives in the past and I'm fed up of being told "Oh you're just ignorant and didn't bother to actually find out out what was said you just watched some Toxic angry male youtuber". No I watched the actual stuff hence why I can point to videos like these which are some of her older output)
I wonder where the idea that the more macho version of Emmet should be an explicit villain should come from? Not like said things was specially mentioned as a problem in said video series whose whole message was pretty much Lego is being problematic by trying to actually tailor it's products to appear to specific groups. Also probably a total co-incidence that the Lego Movie Part 2 pushes the idea of combining the more feminine in and the idea of everyone playing together to make things together while oddly rather explicitly rejecting the more macho stuff coming off as only neutral or feminine is acceptable.
Only the coming apocalypse will be due to Emmets own actions and the Sistar system aren't evil Rex DangerVest just hates them because he's a manly man and the Sistar system is all feminine or something.
I can see why certain film critics like it due to the whole idea of films in the past being seen to have "Feminine" coded villains while the hero is the macho dude and the idea of this was to play on said expectations but Rex Dangervest felt like he needed more motivation than "I'm bitter cause I was left alone and now I'm a self made man".
Also given things that have happened in the world and how things and perceptions have changed, Weinstein wasn't some manly man hell before he was outed he was presented as some big promoter of women and was all I'm #withher and any dudes not on the side of Hillary et al are just toxic men suffering from Toxic masculinity. Add to that a string of other such men who have been outed or even convicted and well the whole "I'm a non threatening male vampire who just wants to talk about feelings" hits very differently as does the overall message of "Oh the many male character is the villain cause Toxic masculinity is also somehow just old macho dude tropes and not actually anything else added but it's Toxic for some reason". It also doesn't work in terms of the death of imagination angle because clearly there was some imagination in regards to the space ship and the raptors vehicles and kit etc. It seemed like a very thin barely coherent message about how it's only ok if the imagination fits within certain boundaries. It also reminded me very much of a videos by a certain person.
(Before anyone complains I'm bringing her up, I fucking bothered to watch all this crap to try and understand a different perspectives in the past and I'm fed up of being told "Oh you're just ignorant and didn't bother to actually find out out what was said you just watched some Toxic angry male youtuber". No I watched the actual stuff hence why I can point to videos like these which are some of her older output)
I wonder where the idea that the more macho version of Emmet should be an explicit villain should come from? Not like said things was specially mentioned as a problem in said video series whose whole message was pretty much Lego is being problematic by trying to actually tailor it's products to appear to specific groups. Also probably a total co-incidence that the Lego Movie Part 2 pushes the idea of combining the more feminine in and the idea of everyone playing together to make things together while oddly rather explicitly rejecting the more macho stuff coming off as only neutral or feminine is acceptable.
Besides the theme the film kept trying to be too meta and almost too reference heavy with the whole "Ok this is a kids film so we have to have an cheesy song to get stuck in peoples heads" being one of the few bits to really land well and not fell like they were trying to push things a bit too much
Just watched a horror-comedy by the name of Tales From the Hood. It was really freaking good. It got intense when it needed to, had some solid humor throughout, and surprisingly good acting overall, but where the movie went from good to great, IMO, is the message. See, it's an anthology film, with each segment dealing with a different real-life issue (police brutality in story 1, domestic violence in story 2, racist politicians and reparations in story 3, and gang violence in story 4), and while each story stands on its own merits, it does a fantastic job of not just brushing over the themes, but actually holding a magnifying glass into the underlying issues that lead to those themes.
The Black Cauldron (4/10)
This film is bad. Like, really bad. So bad in fact that it's now the worst DAC film I've ever seen (yes, even worse than Dinosaur).
I didn't want it to be. I know this film has its fanbase, and there's no shortage of films that I really like that everyone else doesn't, but this film isn't among them. It's simply bad. And I'm going to give some pointers as to why:
-The animation is lacklustre. Compare this to anything Disney did in the 90s for instance, and you'll see what I mean.
-The worldbuilding is non-existent. Now, this isn't necessarily something that a film has to have, but things are left so vague that the film can't help but suffer for it. We know that there's a war being fought (that we never see) somewhere (never named) by the Horned King (whose backstory is never given), who wants to conquer the land/world for reasons that are similarly unexplained. You might say I'm being unfair, and point to other DAC films with similarly sparse worldbuilding, but the worldbuilding in those films still gives a solid framework. Lion King has sparse worldbuilding but we understand the layout (Pridelands vs. Outlands), why Scar wants power, and how he can use the Outlands/Pridelands divide to his advantage. Simple, but effective. Black Cauldron has none of this, and suffers for it. One of the characters keeps exclaiming "Great Batlin," and I'm left to ask who the hell this "Batlin" is, because the film never explains it.
-The plot makes little sense, worldbuilding or not. So, a magic pig (Hen Wen) can see visions in puddles (just roll with it) and the Horned King wants her to find the Black Cauldron (this film's McGuffin). Upon capturing Hen Wen, he uses her to find out that the Black Cauldron does indeed exist, but she's able to escape before he can find out where. He sees this as a victory because he believes that Taran (who later escapes) can be tracked to where the cauldron is. So, not only did you get a pig to tell you something that you already knew (the thing you're after exists), but you believe that Taran knows where it is, and is going to go there...but if you believe he knew, why didn't you try finding out from him in the hours/days you had him locked in your dungeon?
This film is bad. Like, really bad. So bad in fact that it's now the worst DAC film I've ever seen (yes, even worse than Dinosaur).
I didn't want it to be. I know this film has its fanbase, and there's no shortage of films that I really like that everyone else doesn't, but this film isn't among them. It's simply bad. And I'm going to give some pointers as to why:
-The animation is lacklustre. Compare this to anything Disney did in the 90s for instance, and you'll see what I mean.
-The worldbuilding is non-existent. Now, this isn't necessarily something that a film has to have, but things are left so vague that the film can't help but suffer for it. We know that there's a war being fought (that we never see) somewhere (never named) by the Horned King (whose backstory is never given), who wants to conquer the land/world for reasons that are similarly unexplained. You might say I'm being unfair, and point to other DAC films with similarly sparse worldbuilding, but the worldbuilding in those films still gives a solid framework. Lion King has sparse worldbuilding but we understand the layout (Pridelands vs. Outlands), why Scar wants power, and how he can use the Outlands/Pridelands divide to his advantage. Simple, but effective. Black Cauldron has none of this, and suffers for it. One of the characters keeps exclaiming "Great Batlin," and I'm left to ask who the hell this "Batlin" is, because the film never explains it.
-The plot makes little sense, worldbuilding or not. So, a magic pig (Hen Wen) can see visions in puddles (just roll with it) and the Horned King wants her to find the Black Cauldron (this film's McGuffin). Upon capturing Hen Wen, he uses her to find out that the Black Cauldron does indeed exist, but she's able to escape before he can find out where. He sees this as a victory because he believes that Taran (who later escapes) can be tracked to where the cauldron is. So, not only did you get a pig to tell you something that you already knew (the thing you're after exists), but you believe that Taran knows where it is, and is going to go there...but if you believe he knew, why didn't you try finding out from him in the hours/days you had him locked in your dungeon?
-The characters are lacklustre. Every. Single. One of them. I'm going to start with Taran, who, despite what some detractors say, is probably the best character in the film by virtue of actually having a character. Yeah, he starts off as a brat, wanting to be a warrior rather than a pig tender, but by the end of the film, he's learnt humility. I mean, okay, it's a simple character arc, but it's at least an arc, which is more than any other character gets. Speaking of those other characters"
-Eilonwey is dire. She introduces herself as a princess who's been captured by the Horned King, because he wants her "bauble" (basically Navi, if she was quiet). Princess of where, and what, is never explained, and she has no personality at all. Towards the end, the Horned King refers to her as a scullury maid, and I briefly thought "oh hey, she was pretending to be a princess, but she isn't, and this might tie in with Taran's work, showing that you don't have to aspire to be someone great to have self-worth," but nup, the comment goes unremarked upon. So either Eilonwey's been lying this whole time, or the Horned King threw out a random comment, and the writers left it at that. Also, Eilonwey and Taran become a 'thing' because...I dunno, the plot says so. Yeah, the shipping here is pathetic, by the numbers, and basically has the checklist of "boy meets girl, boy upsets girl, boy apologizes to girl (literally in the next scene), cue rest of film, cue ending where "oh, we're a couple now, in case you didn't notice").
-Eilonwey is dire. She introduces herself as a princess who's been captured by the Horned King, because he wants her "bauble" (basically Navi, if she was quiet). Princess of where, and what, is never explained, and she has no personality at all. Towards the end, the Horned King refers to her as a scullury maid, and I briefly thought "oh hey, she was pretending to be a princess, but she isn't, and this might tie in with Taran's work, showing that you don't have to aspire to be someone great to have self-worth," but nup, the comment goes unremarked upon. So either Eilonwey's been lying this whole time, or the Horned King threw out a random comment, and the writers left it at that. Also, Eilonwey and Taran become a 'thing' because...I dunno, the plot says so. Yeah, the shipping here is pathetic, by the numbers, and basically has the checklist of "boy meets girl, boy upsets girl, boy apologizes to girl (literally in the next scene), cue rest of film, cue ending where "oh, we're a couple now, in case you didn't notice").