Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[gorfias]

Don't know how many around here watched "The Babadook" but it was pretty terrific. As a followup to it, writer/director Jennifer Kent gives us a terrific revenge tale on Hulu, The Nightingale. (2018) Much of it smacks of having a true historical bent to it. The bad guys are bad, and we want the catharsis of vicarious revenge on them. 8/10.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Shin Godzilla

Japanese Godzilla reboot directed by Hideaki Anno, creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion. As far as I'm aware Anno's first foray into live action cinema, a test that he passed with flying colours. I'm not exactly big on monster movies, generally speaking, but Shin Godzilla has a rather entertaining hook: How would a committee deal with a monster attack? Accordingly, it doesn't so much present a ground level perspective on the titular creature but rather that of various government representatives. Politicians, crisis management, military, you name it. There is definitely a satirical edge to how it presents these institutions as they're faced with a very absurd situations but it also serves to lend a sense of realism and scale to it.

Shin Godzilla has very snappy editing, it's filmed not quite in a documentary style but definitely something adjacent to it, cutting quickly between different institutions and offices handling the situation. The movie features a lot more scenes of people talking about Godzilla then it features scenes that have Godzilla in them, but the fast paced editing, along with Anno's striking visual style, that he translates seemingly effortlessly into live action, keeps those just as engaging. When it does show the monster, and the destruction it causes, though, it does a surprisingly convincing impression of a Hollywood production. There are some absolutely breathtaking snippets of pure monster movie mayhem in it and I can't help but wonder what Anno could do with an actual Hollywood sized budget.

That being said, it doesn't quite have Evangelions strong sense for characterization and does, for better or for worse, show a more restrained version of Anno's love for spectacle. That doesn't detract from the fact though, that it's definitely one of the more inventive approaches to a genre widely considered cheesy and old fashioned these days. Various American attempts at bringing back monster movies generally, and Godzilla specifically, have been met with lukewarm responses at best and disinterest at worst and I can't say I disagree. Shin Godzilla, however, did not only grab my attention, it actually managed to earn my good will for a theoretical sequel. More than anything, though, I hope it won't be Anno's last live action production.

 

[Trunkage]

Don't know how many around here watched "The Babadook" but it was pretty terrific. As a followup to it, writer/director Jennifer Kent gives us a terrific revenge tale on Hulu, The Nightingale. (2018) Much of it smacks of having a true historical bent to it. The bad guys are bad, and we want the catharsis of vicarious revenge on them. 8/10.

Always ready to give out likes for ‘The Babadook... dook... dook.’

 

[Xprimentyl]

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.

Whether you waste an hour and a half twice or three hours all at once, it's still wasted time. Nothing substantive happens; even the "climax" is ultimately just a meaningless thing that happens. It's the least interesting bits of several, disparate stories told over an unduly long time.

 

[Xprimentyl]

The One And Only Ivan: Tears/10

Formulaic PG outing about a circus gorilla and his desire for the wild. Even when you know what's coming... fuck, man; why do I love animals so much??? An entertaining watch. DeVito as the dog is special.

 

[gorfias]

Got to see Shaft 2019. 8/10. I'd post the trailer but too many spoilers. It should be seen knowing as little as possible.
-1 point: retro humor; Shaft makes fun of someone for politically incorrect reasons.
-1 point: 80s action style where machine gun clips are unloaded in his direction without hitting him. Uh huh.
+8 for snappy writing and fun pacing. Only 1 real 10 minute bog point. For some reason, funny movies often feel the need for a serious beat. Damn near ruined "Brides Maids" for me that the bummer beat lasts nearlly an entire act. Not here. Maybe 10 min.
Now I want to see another 4 Shaft movies, including Shaft from 2000. 19 years before this one!

 

[Xprimentyl]

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines; they really should have stopped at Terminator 2.

Splice. A film that meanders until its finale where it just decides to get gross and disturbing.

It's 1am and just wasted almost 4 hours of my life; time to make a drink.

 

[Trunkage]

Knives Out

This was a pretty fun and good movie. As long as you can handle Craig accent because its extra. I think it either needed a few less twists or speed up some of the slower bits. About half way through, they threw off a bunch of characters reducing the suspects to hardly anyone and some of the ‘whodunnit’ness was gone. Everything was placed I got the movie for a reason and the logic of the scenario was better explained than Last Jedi

Fun little romp. 8/10

Sully

This was a Clint Eastwoodass movie. Utterly boring for 2/3 before actually doing something interesting. This interesting part was okay but kinda ruined by Eastwood politics. Eg. Eastwood blames a lot of things on the NTSB when the NTSB was THE one defending Sully IRL against companies not wanting any blame. (Eg. The extra 30Ish seconds added during the flight recreation to cover the time where Sully was checking on options was demanded to added into the simulation by the NTSB. Not Sully. All these lies because Eastwood is anti-government. It’s politics ruining movies again, am I right?)

6/10

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Splice. A film that meanders until its finale where it just decides to get gross and disturbing.

It's 1am and just wasted almost 4 hours of my life; time to make a drink.

I admit the only time I saw Splice was not overly impressed, but it has proven to be more memorable than most films over time. Must have gotten under the skin. (Ooh, Under The Skin is a recommended creepy alien movie with Scarlett Johansson as the alien! Though probably best to shed any expectations beforehand)

 

[Xprimentyl]

I admit the only time I saw Splice was not overly impressed, but it has proven to be more memorable than most films over time. Must have gotten under the skin. (Ooh, Under The Skin is a recommended creepy alien movie with Scarlett Johansson as the alien! Though probably best to shed any expectations beforehand)

I willingly followed along with Splice as a sci-fi drama until its end, then it was "Jesus effing Christ..." It didn't really delve into horror until the last few minutes, and it certainly ended horrifically. Granted, I'm sensitive to depictions of certain things in film, particularly when they're unexpectedly thrust upon me like that.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

I admit the only time I saw Splice was not overly impressed, but it has proven to be more memorable than most films over time.

Oh yeah, I'll never forget Splice because after that ending, I was like how the fuck did something like this get made?

 

[gorfias]

Oh yeah, I'll never forget Splice because after that ending, I was like how the fuck did something like this get made?

I recall liking it, particularly the psychological aspect of it. That the main scientist is not just to be frowned upon for playing g-d, but apparently has damage that has nothing to do with science.
It was also kind of a body horror genre, except the horror was not to the protaganists own body experiencing the horror.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Oh yeah, I'll never forget Splice because after that ending, I was like how the fuck did something like this get made?

Exactly this. I was fine (if slightly bored) with the movie until the end where it made me extremely uncomfortable and just... Christ. Had I known Guillermo del Toro was involved, I would have braced for it, but as I didn't, well, buyer beware...

 

[Xprimentyl]

I recall liking it, particularly the psychological aspect of it. That the main scientist is not just to be frowned upon for playing g-d, but apparently has damage that has nothing to do with science.
It was also kind of a body horror genre, except the horror was not to the protaganists own body experiencing the horror.

I consider myself to be fairly empathic, so body horror is hard for me to witness, which is why [the ending of] Splice was a huge turn off from what could have easily been just a movie I saw. It's been over a day, and I still keep thinking about how it disturbs me. I watched "Wreck-It Ralph" afterwards for some levity because I didn't want the movie to be the last thing on my mind before going to bed.

Oh, yeah, "Wreck-It Ralph": Better than "Splice"/10.

Not unlike "Ready Player One" in its video game-fan pandering, tells a cute enough story about a bad guy who wants to be treated like the good guy for once. Much needed reprieve from what i watched previously.

 

[gorfias]

I consider myself to be fairly empathic, so body horror is hard for me to witness, which is why [the ending of] Splice was a huge turn off from what could have easily been just a movie I saw. It's been over a day, and I still keep thinking about how it disturbs me. I watched "Wreck-It Ralph" afterwards for some levity because I didn't want the movie to be the last thing on my mind before going to bed.

Oh, yeah, "Wreck-It Ralph": Better than "Splice"/10.

Not unlike "Ready Player One" in its video game-fan pandering, tells a cute enough story about a bad guy who wants to be treated like the good guy for once. Much needed reprieve from what i watched previously.

Really enjoyed Ready Player One. Especially the "Shining" scene. Under appreciated gem.

 

[happyninja42]

Really enjoyed Ready Player One. Especially the "Shining" scene. Under appreciated gem.

My issue with the movie of RP1, was it left out all of the non-visual callbacks in the book. Which I get why, it's a movie, and they have to move it along. But for me personally, the best moment was the...I think it was the challenge for the second key in the book?

Where the entire puzzle is based around a RUSH song from their album 2112. Which hit ME in such a personal nostalgia gut punch, that I got choked up hearing it in the audiobook. RUSH is a VERY important band to me personally, and that album in particular helped to shape my young brain, when it came to music, and creativity, etc. So when they set up that challenge of the guitar in the waterfall area, I was just like "nooo, is this going to be a music namedrop? IT IS!! Yaaay!" I would've so loved to see that scene, of him playing the guitar to that song. Yeah it probably would've been expensive to get the royalties to that song, but I mean they already used a RUSH song in that one really awesome trailer, so it seemed like they might go that route.

So yeah, I was bummed they didn't do that, because of the music lover in me was so looking forward to that. I still enjoyed the film though, even with the stuff they left out. I didn't like how they changed the Oasis to just something like Second Life, that would be shut off like it's just a game, and not the foundational internet system of the entire fucking planet. Used every day by billions of people to function remotely and make their living in the world. Sure, let's just turn it ALL off for 24 hours every 7 days. That will be a good idea, with zero negative consequences.

 

[BrawlMan]

​

I bought Triple Threat for $13 at Best Buy yesterday. Saw it earlier tonight. It's the best Expendables movie! Ever! Fucking! Made! And I like the first two Expendables movies. 3 was forgettable and whatever. The action scenes are well choreographed, no shaky cam or quick cuts, and the hand-to-hand and shooting action is kept to 60:40. 60% h-to-h; 40% shooting. You got Tony Jaa (Ong Bak), Iko Uwais (The Raid), and Tiger Chen as the lead roles. You got Scott Adkins and Michale Jai White as hammy mercenary villains. This film was on the back burner for a long while, but I finally got a chance to buy it at a good deal. If you want no over-bloated CGI, old-school martial arts action. Watch this, now!

 

[Gordon_4]

I bought this for $13 at Best Buy yesterday. Saw it earlier tonight. It's the best Expendables move ever! Fucking! Made! And I like the first two Expendables movies. 3 was forgettable and whatever. The action scenes are well coreagraphed, no shaky cam or quick cuts, and the hand-to-hand and shooting action is kept to 60:40. 60% h-to-h; 40% shooting. You got Tony Jaa (Ong Bak), Iko Uwais (The Raid), and Tiger Chen as the lead roles. You got Scott Adkins and Michale Jai White as hammy mercenary villains. This film was on the back burner for a long while, but I finally got a chance to buy it at a good deal. If you want no over-bloated CGI, old-school martial arts action. Watch this, now!

I caught this on Netflix a few months ago and it’s a blast. I especially liked the grenade launcher kill; you know the one. Plus the three main leads really bounce off each other brilliantly, best bit is when they hold up in a mall or something and I think it’s Jaa decides to make dinner and Chen grabs beers and they all just shoot the shit.

Now can I get a sequel please?

 

[BrawlMan]

I caught this on Netflix a few months ago and it’s a blast. I especially liked the grenade launcher kill; you know the one. Plus the three main leads really bounce off each other brilliantly, best bit is when they hold up in a mall or something and I think it’s Jaa decides to make dinner and Chen grabs beers and they all just shoot the shit.

They were in a closed Chinese restaurant. Agreed. It was interesting seeing Jaa & Iko play trickster type characters. They all bounced off each other so well too. Jaa's character, Payu, has almost this Dante like quality to him. I'd say it's his most memorable character he's ever played.

Now can I get a sequel please?

I'm afraid this a one-off my friend. I don't know how you're going to top something like that.

 

[Gordon_4]

They were in a closed Chinese restaurant. Agreed. It was interesting seeing Jaa & Iko play trickster type characters. They all bounced off each other so well too. Jaa's characte, Payu, has almost this Dante like quality to him. I'd say it's his most memorable character he's ever played.



I'm afraid this a one-off my friend. I don't know how you're going to top something like that.

I only want a sequel because I feel a good portion of this movie was spent setting up our holy trinity here. So now we’ve done the world building, let’s get to a full on adventure. It doesn’t have to be big, just a nice bit of biff and gunplay in say, Malaya or Vietnam or Laos or even head back to Jaka’s home in Indonesia and get their biff on there.