Total Recall is defintely the better film, but I find The Running Man more entertaining when I am in a certain mood. I've seen the latter more times than the former. Plus, you're looking at a big fan of Smash TV & Mad World right now!
Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched
- Thread starter Th3Ch33s3Cak3
- Start date
I watched two newish movies recently. By "newish" i mean from last year. Although thanks to the current year's Troubles, it feels like they're practically fresh.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu
Our protagonist, Tim receives bad news. His father, a police detecive, is believed to be killed. He leaves to the town where his dad used to work.
A Zootopia-like city where Pokémon and humans live in harmony, and Pokémon battles are outlawed(!!!). Unexpectedly, Tim joins forces with titular Pikachu - his presumably dead father's now former partner. Later a nosey blogger/tv station intern/romantic interest with a Psyduck joins them.
The history serves as a pretext to present Pokémon in all their modern 3D cgi glory, with Pikachu(played by Ryan Reynolds) of course standing out as the most polished, fluffy and adorable. Gladly, lots of them were First Gen, so even a pokéboomer like me wasn't too distracted by monsters he didn't recognize.
Two human leads do alright, considering what was given to them. Ryan Reynoldschu is Ryan Reynolds. There's also Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy.
There are some weird writing decisions, like: Why set your first big budget, live action Pokémon movie in one place where the whole battle, trainer, catch'em all stuff doesn't normally happen? Other than that, it's a perfectly adequate Pokémon commercial in the shape of a kids' movie. Nothing to write home about. A 6/10.
Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood
9th Quentin Tarantino film. A nostalgic homage to late 60's era Hollywood, those that made it possible, but were a bit forgotten by history and Sharon Tate - in that order.
There was some mixed reception of this movie(for various reasons), and i understand why now. It's a very "Tarantino movie", while at the same time quite different from his previous ones.
With its meandering narrative, set in similar timespace, it reminded me of P.T. Anderson's Inherent Vice, except with even less actual plot. It's more a collection of vignettes from the lives of the three main characters: A tv star past his prime, Rick Dalton(Di Caprio), his best buddy and stunt double, Cliff(Pitt) and a rising starlet, living next door to those two guys, Sharon Tate(Robbie).
All those "plotlines" are brought together in the climax of the movie, that ensured much of the controversy surrounding the project. The culmination in the infamous murders commited by the Manson "Family" members.
...Except not really? More in the spoilers:
The movie ends on this bittersweet note, hanging between the fantasy, and the meta we know. It also neatly ties the "End of an Era" themes that echo throughout it.
In the conclusion, if you like stuff that Tarantino also likes - 60s music, film history trivia,feet, spaghetti westerns, slow burns, movie star cameos and excessive violence(but in this case, only in one point, at the very end), all packed in a non-standard, rambling narrative - you might like this one. If not, steer away.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu
Our protagonist, Tim receives bad news. His father, a police detecive, is believed to be killed. He leaves to the town where his dad used to work.
A Zootopia-like city where Pokémon and humans live in harmony, and Pokémon battles are outlawed(!!!). Unexpectedly, Tim joins forces with titular Pikachu - his presumably dead father's now former partner. Later a nosey blogger/tv station intern/romantic interest with a Psyduck joins them.
The history serves as a pretext to present Pokémon in all their modern 3D cgi glory, with Pikachu(played by Ryan Reynolds) of course standing out as the most polished, fluffy and adorable. Gladly, lots of them were First Gen, so even a pokéboomer like me wasn't too distracted by monsters he didn't recognize.
Two human leads do alright, considering what was given to them. Ryan Reynoldschu is Ryan Reynolds. There's also Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy.
There are some weird writing decisions, like: Why set your first big budget, live action Pokémon movie in one place where the whole battle, trainer, catch'em all stuff doesn't normally happen? Other than that, it's a perfectly adequate Pokémon commercial in the shape of a kids' movie. Nothing to write home about. A 6/10.
Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood
9th Quentin Tarantino film. A nostalgic homage to late 60's era Hollywood, those that made it possible, but were a bit forgotten by history and Sharon Tate - in that order.
There was some mixed reception of this movie(for various reasons), and i understand why now. It's a very "Tarantino movie", while at the same time quite different from his previous ones.
With its meandering narrative, set in similar timespace, it reminded me of P.T. Anderson's Inherent Vice, except with even less actual plot. It's more a collection of vignettes from the lives of the three main characters: A tv star past his prime, Rick Dalton(Di Caprio), his best buddy and stunt double, Cliff(Pitt) and a rising starlet, living next door to those two guys, Sharon Tate(Robbie).
All those "plotlines" are brought together in the climax of the movie, that ensured much of the controversy surrounding the project. The culmination in the infamous murders commited by the Manson "Family" members.
...Except not really? More in the spoilers:
Tarantino, once again pulls off the same trick that he did in the Inglorious Basterds - sets up the movie as fairly historically accurate, as far as real world characters and events go, only to take a quick turn into revenge fantasy in the end.
While we barely even see the Manson himself, his hippy commune is set up as this menacing, mysterious thing. By the way, one of the better scenes of the whole film - a staple of Tarantino's signature tension building.
Then we reach the third act, which is done in almost documentary fashion - setting up the last moments of Sharon Tate, and her friends staying at the Polański's villa. And then... the whole tragic event is turned into a grim, violent joke. A joke at the expense of murderers.
While we barely even see the Manson himself, his hippy commune is set up as this menacing, mysterious thing. By the way, one of the better scenes of the whole film - a staple of Tarantino's signature tension building.
Then we reach the third act, which is done in almost documentary fashion - setting up the last moments of Sharon Tate, and her friends staying at the Polański's villa. And then... the whole tragic event is turned into a grim, violent joke. A joke at the expense of murderers.
In the conclusion, if you like stuff that Tarantino also likes - 60s music, film history trivia,
The main memory I got of this movie is reading the book after as a young teen and being keenly disappointed and confused as to why they changed so much for the worse in the film, so never wanted to watch it again. To be fair, it was my first experience with such changes between the mediums.
The Difference Between The Running Man Book and Movie - TVovermind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snhAxZb-cGU There were some very big differences between The Running Man book and the movie. In fact you could say that the movie was almost entirely different from the book aside from the name. Where to start? There are more than a few since in the book Ben...
www.tvovermind.com
It is genuinely baffling that you actually found that much to say about that film.
I consider myself a Tarantino fan (fan, not fanatic,) but this movie absolutely missed the mark across the board for me. How does a film with that much star power do so little for so damned long? I'm no film snob, but I do like my time respected, and this film couldn't wait to rub in my face how little it cared for the near 3 hours of my time it demanded. This was clearly a labor of love for Tarantino, and that's perfectly fine for a short, niche, indie film for a specific demographic of in-the-know people, but to go out and get names like DiCaprio and Pitt, knowing you're going to draw an audience on name recognition alone, was borderline offensive. Just sayin', people watch porn for the money shot; not to watch a guy play with his own limp dick for hours.
Haunted and Great Scarrier Reef, which are part of the Monster High franchise which I'd be somewhat but not wildly off mark as saying was the X-Men films but aimed at young girls. But better (especially if you have seen Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix). They've really got the "we're doing an animated film so we can make it visually interesting and weird" thing.
Central Intelligence
They didn't need to make the "Taylor Swift has a lot of boyfriends" joke, but I thought this was quite decent. Also seen Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart in the last 2 Jumanji films, they work well together.
Central Intelligence
They didn't need to make the "Taylor Swift has a lot of boyfriends" joke, but I thought this was quite decent. Also seen Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart in the last 2 Jumanji films, they work well together.
Arkansas
Weird movie. 3rd rate Fargo meets 2nd rate Wes Anderson. Liam Hemsworth and Clark Duke (who directs, of all people) star as small-time traffickers running drugs across state borders in the South. They get roped in by a crooked cop (John Malkovich) who puts them to work for a legendary drug kingpin called 'Frog'. Of course they fuck up and the bodies start piling up although they don't get to do much beyond burying them and staying put, waiting to see what else happens to them. I think that's my biggest beef with the movie. Protagonists aren't actively trying to do or accomplish anything.
Around the point you're thinking this is slow, boring and pointless the movie starts intercutting extended flashbacks of Frog's rise in the criminal underworld, which makes for the fun, intriguing part of the movie. I'd like a whole movie about Frog. I never cared for the other two assholes. Hemsworth remains a charisma vacuum and Duke, sorry, is kinda repulsive to look at (though to be fair he plays it up with the man bun and the fanny packs). Don't believe someone like Eden Brolin would ever give him the time of the day, much less agree to 5 dates after being stalked from the produce section to her car by a man who looks straight outta To Catch a Predator.
Weird movie. 3rd rate Fargo meets 2nd rate Wes Anderson. Liam Hemsworth and Clark Duke (who directs, of all people) star as small-time traffickers running drugs across state borders in the South. They get roped in by a crooked cop (John Malkovich) who puts them to work for a legendary drug kingpin called 'Frog'. Of course they fuck up and the bodies start piling up although they don't get to do much beyond burying them and staying put, waiting to see what else happens to them. I think that's my biggest beef with the movie. Protagonists aren't actively trying to do or accomplish anything.
Around the point you're thinking this is slow, boring and pointless the movie starts intercutting extended flashbacks of Frog's rise in the criminal underworld, which makes for the fun, intriguing part of the movie. I'd like a whole movie about Frog. I never cared for the other two assholes. Hemsworth remains a charisma vacuum and Duke, sorry, is kinda repulsive to look at (though to be fair he plays it up with the man bun and the fanny packs). Don't believe someone like Eden Brolin would ever give him the time of the day, much less agree to 5 dates after being stalked from the produce section to her car by a man who looks straight outta To Catch a Predator.
... never have I wanted something this much and never known. No seriously, Porn Polo sounds like it'd be amazing.
It would definitely bring a new meaning to water sports that's for sure.
I hesitate to say it, but, rimshot.
I googled that to see what the hell shows up and I'm blaming you.
*bows* My work here is done. If it makes you feel better, I also googled it.
Patriot's Day
Peter Berg likes his procedural dramatizations of real life tragedies starring Mark Wahlberg. This one is about the immediate manhunt for the Boston marathon bombers. Finely made and all, but for the questionable inclusion of the Marky Mark character, a fictional composite cop who just happens to be first at every major crime scene. I thought the movie worked all the better when it wasn't focusing on him but rather jumping across the ensemble cast, but I guess he's there as part audience surrogate, part patron saint of Boston crime flicks. And to be fair he doesn't really get any hero moments apart from a cheesy, poorly time monologue about good and evil.
Peter Berg likes his procedural dramatizations of real life tragedies starring Mark Wahlberg. This one is about the immediate manhunt for the Boston marathon bombers. Finely made and all, but for the questionable inclusion of the Marky Mark character, a fictional composite cop who just happens to be first at every major crime scene. I thought the movie worked all the better when it wasn't focusing on him but rather jumping across the ensemble cast, but I guess he's there as part audience surrogate, part patron saint of Boston crime flicks. And to be fair he doesn't really get any hero moments apart from a cheesy, poorly time monologue about good and evil.
The Lighthouse
I won't say it sucked, but I didn't really like anything about it, apart from certain shots. Willem Dafoe and Robert Patterson have very little chemistry, and Patterson seemed unsure on what accent he to stick with. Also, a bit too many body fluids coming out of hairy men.
I fucking loved Roberts Eggers' previous movie, The Witch, but The Lighthouse did ziltch for me, other than occasionally gross me out.
I won't say it sucked, but I didn't really like anything about it, apart from certain shots. Willem Dafoe and Robert Patterson have very little chemistry, and Patterson seemed unsure on what accent he to stick with. Also, a bit too many body fluids coming out of hairy men.
I fucking loved Roberts Eggers' previous movie, The Witch, but The Lighthouse did ziltch for me, other than occasionally gross me out.
Project Power
From the visionary filmmakers who brought you not just Paranormal Activity 3 but Paranormal Activity 4 comes the biggest waste of time since those two movies combined, now spearheaded by Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon Levitt. You really fall up in this business. The premise is there's a new drug scouring New Orleans that unlocks boilerplate superpowers for precisely 5 minutes in the user (or makes them explode, if the plot wants it that way). The bad guys are one of those Weyland-Umbrella types who want to take the human species to the next evolutionary step by giving it powers that would only be useful if we hadn't made it to the 21st century without them.
From the visionary filmmakers who brought you not just Paranormal Activity 3 but Paranormal Activity 4 comes the biggest waste of time since those two movies combined, now spearheaded by Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon Levitt. You really fall up in this business. The premise is there's a new drug scouring New Orleans that unlocks boilerplate superpowers for precisely 5 minutes in the user (or makes them explode, if the plot wants it that way). The bad guys are one of those Weyland-Umbrella types who want to take the human species to the next evolutionary step by giving it powers that would only be useful if we hadn't made it to the 21st century without them.
I actually planned to write even more, lol. About the meta stuff, Rick's and Cliff's relationship(which is the closest this movie has to a backbone), but i was tired and conceded it'll be enough to paint a picture of what this movie is.
TBH i watched it on a streaming servince in two sittings, so that might be why it didn't overstay it's welcome. And in between two screenings i watched an old Corbucci western, further helping me to soak in the atmosphere. Watching it for 3 hours straight in cinema might leave a different impression.
Definitely a movie that you either jump into, or bounce off it.