Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[happyninja42]

Been watching The Dark Knight Trilogy throughout the month. Begins is the weakest for me due to pacing reasons, but I still like it. The hand to hand action sucks and it was clear Nolan was still green when it came to those type of fight scenes. The Dark Knight is still the best. Rises is great despite some obvious flaws. A great ending to a trilogy.

Begins is a C, Dark Knight is an S, and Rises is a B+.

I love the final battle in Rises. One of the most epic moments in cinema for me. Gotta gives props to Bale, Hardy, and Nolan improving on the hand-to-hand. He would perfect that in Inception and Tenet.

EDIT: Channel Awesome, Cinema Sins, and Honest Trailers can go all go fuck themselves. This movie is not bad. Y'all just love to hear yourselves biatch and act like the smartest people in the room.

​

Eh, I still don't think it's a good film overall, it's got it's moments, like that final brawl. But, funny enough, one of the things I've seen people most criticize, I actually like that they did it (the voice thing), and one I've never seen anyone criticize, I can't stand.

Ok so, I equate Bruce Wayne, to people like Brad Pitt, and George Clooney, as far as a social media presence. These are men with strikingly distinct features, and SO in the public eye, that their every move is monitored. And I'm sorry, but if you closed your eyes, and heard George Clooney talking like normal, you would know it was him. So the voice modulation, I approve. They maybe should've altered the effects a bit, because it sounds goofy, but the idea, good call.

On that same note! At the end, when Bruce retires, and goes off to live "anonymously"....um...ok no. Sorry but...no. George Clooney just suddenly hanging out in French cafes , isn't 'disappearing" People would be like "Holy shit! I just saw Bruce Wayne at this cafe with a total hotty!" *shares phone pic of them at the table* "Didn't they say he died or something in Gotham?!" So yeah, that part I just, didn't stomach at all.

And a lot of other things that just made me facepalm more than Fuck Yeah! during the film. It's a mixed bag for me.

 

[BrawlMan]

Eh, I still don't think it's a good film overall, it's got it's moments, like that final brawl. But, funny enough, one of the things I've seen people most criticize, I actually like that they did it (the voice thing), and one I've never seen anyone criticize, I can't stand.

Ok so, I equate Bruce Wayne, to people like Brad Pitt, and George Clooney, as far as a social media presence. These are men with strikingly distinct features, and SO in the public eye, that their every move is monitored. And I'm sorry, but if you closed your eyes, and heard George Clooney talking like normal, you would know it was him. So the voice modulation, I approve. They maybe should've altered the effects a bit, because it sounds goofy, but the idea, good call.

On that same note! At the end, when Bruce retires, and goes off to live "anonymously"....um...ok no. Sorry but...no. George Clooney just suddenly hanging out in French cafes , isn't 'disappearing" People would be like "Holy shit! I just saw Bruce Wayne at this cafe with a total hotty!" *shares phone pic of them at the table* "Didn't they say he died or something in Gotham?!" So yeah, that part I just, didn't stomach at all.

And a lot of other things that just made me facepalm more than Fuck Yeah! during the film. It's a mixed bag for me.

Honestly, I can see your point with the ending, but it didn't bother me. Bruce deserved something after all that crap he's been through. So those details didn't bother me much back then and don't do much for me now.

Funny enough, my dad didn't like Rises. He thought it was okay, but the main reason he didn't like it is different from a lot of people's. He was upset that being beat up Batman badly, even though I told him that's what happened in the comics. he really doesn't like seeing Batman getting beat up. He believes that he should be almost invulnerable or rarely get hurt. I'm assuming that's still the child in him talking. I do not know. Do note, that he has not read a Batman comics since the early 1970s, if I remember correctly.

 

[BrawlMan]

Then again, people thought the Matrix was mind-blowing and not just an action movie take on the Allegory of the Cave.

It was mind blowing for this lad when he was 9 back in 1999. Though Dark City was even more mind blowing for me at a young age. Good thing, I saw that one first before The Matrix.

 

[Hawki]

speak for yourself, the bean bags never felt out of place and felt perfectly in character for someone like Harley. Had me rolling.

I've read the idea that Harley's actually killing the cops, that we see the events as she does - that the bean bags are actual projectiles, and that the red mist is meant to represent blood.

Make of that what you will.

Prometheus? It is a story about an uncaring creator (both the actual aliens and mr. Weyland) and the extremes the progeny will go to to be recognized by their creator. That's not a visceral horror, that's a very intellectual horror and one that many of us, particularly those of us who aren't religious, won't have experienced or can really relate to in any meaningful fashion.

I think Prometheus is a lacklustre film, but it's a question of execution rather than conception. There's a fascinating premise there (what happens when the created makes the creator, and finds the creator is indifferent/hostile to them?) I don't think you have to be religious to relate to those ideas - certainly I have no problem appreciating religious themes, even if I'm not religious myself.

I think that's part of the problem with Aliens at this point, as a horror franchise. The "unknown". At this point, they are so far from "unknown" that they carry no real fear for the audience anymore. The diehard fans know EVERY detail about the xenomorphs (you know, like the fact that they're CALLED xenomorphs ) how they breed, what the host's DNA does to the new alien's abilities, all that stuff. There isn't anything unknown to truly scare the people who are most likely going to be the ones showing up to the theaters.

I mean I don't consider myself a diehard Alien fan, not by a long shot, but since I'm a nerd, and have read comics, and play video games, that stuff just bleeds in via osmosis. So I think the movie, and the franchise as well, is kind of doomed at this point, to just be sort of schlocky, B-movie fodder till the end of time.

I agree with that broadly, but I don't feel it undermines Alien itself. The film works perfectly as a stand-alone.

The Terminator and Predator franchise all suffer from this. No ones trying anymore

I'm more of a Terminator fan than most people here, but I can't accuse Dark Fate of "not trying." However one likes or dislikes the film, everything in Dark Fate is trying to modernize the IP for the 21st century, from its setting to its themes. Whether it worked or not is down to the individual, but the effort was definitely there. Conceptually, Dark Fate is the most interesting Terminator has been since T2.

Predator is another story, but unlike Terminator or even Aliens, Predator has never really had any deeper themes or ideas. Predator is "put alien monster in scenario, cue bloodshed." The first Predator film arguably has some subtext and Vietnam allusions, but that's about it. So it's why you can have four, soon to be five Predator films (plus two AvP films I guess) that barely connect to one another, because Predator is B movie schlock at the end of the day. Schlock that I've enjoyed to various extents, but still schlock.

I won't disagree for a second that Aliens, Predator, and Terminator that are IPs that are well past their heyday, but while I may be an outlier, I'm still more reciprocal to their later works than a lot of others.

 

[09philj]

The White Tiger on Netflix. Pretty good. It's about an Indian man telling the story of how he went from poverty to wealth. Takes a while to really get going, but it evokes the injustice of Indian society very well, and brutally skewers the attitudes of wealthy liberals.

 

[Neuromancer]

Ash is Purest White by Jia Zhangke. Stunning film. It's basically a 17 year long journey from 2001 to 2017 of a dancer who shot in the air an illegal gun to save her gangster boyfriend, resulting in her going to prison for 5 years.

There is a lot to take in. The movie is slow, but its pacing is deliberate. Beyond the journey of the main lead, it also works as a looking glass into modern chinese society, especially in its rural parts. Unlike what one might expect out of a Chinese film, it does not idealize it. As a matter of fact, it offers a rather grounded look at, and especially how, as time passes, the way that life in those parts changes (but in many ways, remains the same). Strong performances, a melancholic soundtrack that really amplifies every scene it is in, beautiful cinematography. Definite recommendation.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Yeah, not seeing that myself. He was following orders/programming, not seeing any need to put active malice in there as well. Especially since later films establish synthetics being nice because they are programmed to be.

I wouldn't have seen it either if not for the last time we hear Ash speak, where he talks with a lot of admiration about the alien and gives Ripley, Parker, and Lambert his "sympathies" with a smile as a final 'fuck you' to them. The point being that there was more to Ash than just him following Company orders.

 

[Xprimentyl]

What Happened To Monday :Yeesh / Great

Due to a rising food crisis and overpopulation, the US government starts a very rigid "one-child" policy called the Child Allocation Act which disallows siblings; if more than a single child is found, one of them is taken and put into cryostasis to be awoken at a time when the world can support a larger population. A set of septuplets, all girls, are born and the mother dies during the birth. Willem Defoe, their grandfather, names the girls after the days of the week, and raises all 7 girls surreptitiously on a strict, unbendable rule that, while they are free to be their unique selves inside their home, in society, they must share a singular identity, going out only on the day of the week corresponding with their name. I found the idea of basically downloading "your" entire day to someone who will play "you" tomorrow really intriguing, and of course, it leads to the some of the primary complications of the film. Good enough movie; I rated it a "yeesh" because it goes to some pretty dark places, often unexpectedly.

Outside The Wire: Really Good / Perfect

A US Air Force drone pilot Lt. Harp is reprimanded after disobeying a direct order during operations in an Eastern European civil war which, while saving the lives of several dozen Marines, cost the lives of two of them. Believing his apparent recklessness was brought upon by his lack of empathy from being involved remotely, he is sent to the active war zone to report to a Captain Leo for some one-the-ground experience. Moments after arriving and learning that his first assignment begins right away, Harp learns Leo is a classified military android prototype. As they two of them set off on their mission and various types of shit hits the fan, Harp begins to feel some of Leo's calls to be morally dubious, and he struggles with being beholden to an out-ranking machine and being beholden to what is the "human" thing to do. Pretty good movie; really great action sequences and it's smart enough to keep you thinking up to the end. I'd watch it again.

White Tiger: ...Okay? / Okay!

A movie about young man, Balram, raised in the slums of India, who spends most of his impoverished life believing "success" meant entering indentured servitude to high class, powerful people, finds himself with a dream job: driving for the son of their landlord. I'll admit, not knowing much about Indian culture, I'm not sure how much of this is a fictional depiction of very real realities or not, but it's a rough watch. Seeing Balram accept inhuman treatment with a smile on his face, call his employer "master," even when more sensible people around him try to convince him to have even an ounce of respect for himself, he can't be convinced. He eventually suffers, willingly, the biggest slight from his employer, and puts himself in a very danger situation which he thankfully evades, but Balram begins to see the situation for what it is, and devises a plot to become truly successful, despite everyone. I enjoyed the film, but I was left with a few unanswered questions and unaddressed issues, but not enough that it ruined the film for me.

 

[BrawlMan]

I'm more of a Terminator fan than most people here, but I can't accuse Dark Fate of "not trying." However one likes or dislikes the film, everything in Dark Fate is trying to modernize the IP for the 21st century, from its setting to its themes. Whether it worked or not is down to the individual, but the effort was definitely there. Conceptually, Dark Fate is the most interesting Terminator has been since T2.

Hard disagree. When you're plot revolves around making T2 pointless again, that is not trying in my book. They already kill Connor off two times already (would have been three had they gone with the original ending in Salvation). Once off-screen in the future in T3, and on screen in Genysis. When just rehashing the same shit over and over, and way less interesting version of T1&2, I've already lost interests. I am glad Linda Hamiltion took care of herself, and was able to get in to shape for old Sarah, her talents were wasted on this piece of shit.

Predator is another story, but unlike Terminator or even Aliens, Predator has never really had any deeper themes or ideas. Predator is "put alien monster in scenario, cue bloodshed." The first Predator film arguably has some subtext and Vietnam allusions, but that's about it. So it's why you can have four, soon to be five Predator films (plus two AvP films I guess) that barely connect to one another, because Predator is B movie schlock at the end of the day. Schlock that I've enjoyed to various extents, but still schlock.

Schlock or nor, does not excuse the bullshit they've been putting in the film franchise. Predator was Vietnam crossed with Beowulf. Plus, P1 is special because there in uncertainty and that no one is coming out of that jungle alive. Everyone is at risk and the Predator could be watching you anytime. Predator 2 is almost as good as the first one. That's all I have to say. I liked Predators, and it sucked they never did a follow up on that one. AvP1 was okay, but I hated that it was PG-13 and wasted the concept that was originally in place. Requiem fucking and sucked was no excuse to make the movie that dark (I can't see shit!) and the human so fucking boring. The Predator (really?) was the worst live-action fan fic I have ever seen! The twists where stupid, nonsensical and creates many a plot hole and unnecessary retconning. I'll let TV Tropes take it from here:

Spoiler

• The movie decides to up and rewrite 30 years worth of film continuity by saying the Predators were never just trophy hunting, but stealing DNA to modify themselves. This is especially jarring as previous lore showed that Yautja were disgusted and offended by genetic modification, as it diluted bloodlines.
• Even in its own continuity, the movie still screws things up with the reveal that the Fugitive Predator was actually trying to help humans. So why was hunting down and killing Quinn's first team in traditional Yautja fashion the first thing it did when it got to Earth, with no indication of ulterior motives?

I've read the idea that Harley's actually killing the cops, that we see the events as she does - that the bean bags are actual projectiles, and that the red mist is meant to represent blood.

Make of that what you will.

I tend to ignore it, as it does not add anything for me nor the film's overall experience.

 

[MrCalavera]

Yes. I'm amazed at the completely half-arsed crew, who basically seem to be a panicky and rash bunch of incompetent nitwits. I'm sure a high profile and expensive mission would have hired much more level-headed and thoughtful staff, but I guess it wouldn't make as much easy drama.

This right here is what kills the movie for me, as anything other than a dumb sci-fi romp.

How am i supposed to ponder about your High Concepts, Ridley, if this team of the best Weyland-Yutani could buy is busy playing Idiot Ball with each other?

 

[Thaluikhain]

Predator was Vietnam crossed with Beowulf. Plus, P1 is special because there in uncertainty and that no one is coming out of that jungle alive.

You could argue that the first half is them being action heroes in an action film, the second half is them being victims in a slasher film, and not immediately grasping things have changed.

This right here is what kills the movie for me, as anything other than a dumb sci-fi romp.

How am i supposed to ponder about your High Concepts, Ridley, if this team of the best Weyland-Yutani could buy is busy playing Idiot Ball with each other?

This.

 

[Dalisclock]

This right here is what kills the movie for me, as anything other than a dumb sci-fi romp.

How am i supposed to ponder about your High Concepts, Ridley, if this team of the best Weyland-Yutani could buy is busy playing Idiot Ball with each other?

That's what killed it for me too. THey make a big deal about them being specialists and they all act like dumbasses the moment they get the chance.

What online degree mill university did you guys get your SCIENTIST degrees from, again?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

John Carpenter's Vampires

The last time Carpenter had any fun making a movie, even if it isn't an especially good one. I love the concept and the characterization - James Woods leads a team of vampire slayers across New Mexico in a crusade that looks like Mad Max met Ghostbusters. But it's all downhill as the movie never lives up to its first act and keeps cycling through the same scenes over and over without any real sense of development. Woods is great as his usual macho blabbermouth, Sheryl Lee is great as vampire Laura Palmer and that's about it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I've read the idea that Harley's actually killing the cops, that we see the events as she does - that the bean bags are actual projectiles, and that the red mist is meant to represent blood.

Make of that what you will.

Maybe it's a crappy movie because she sees it that way too.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Maybe it's a crappy movie because she sees it that way too.

Maybe it's a totally awesome movie, but what we are seeing is from the PoV of a disillusioned fan.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Maybe it's a totally awesome movie, but what we are seeing is from the PoV of a disillusioned fan.

Well I'm not a fan so I'm not disillusioned. Just thought the characters were annoying, the plot was stupid and the overall "quirkiness" was too belabored to be as clever or funny as the movie pretended. Just an embarrassment in general.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Well I'm not a fan so I'm not disillusioned. Just thought the characters were annoying, the plot was stupid and the overall "quirkiness" was too belabored to be as clever or funny as the movie pretended. Just an embarrassment in general.

I don't think it was that bad, myself, but with room for improvement everywhere, and it looks like only the bare amount of effort was involved, which seems annoyingly common these days.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I don't think it was that bad, myself, but with room for improvement everywhere, and it looks like only the bare amount of effort was involved, which seems annoyingly common these days.

I will give them credit for calling in the guy from the John Wick movies for the fight choreography.

 

[Hawki]

Hard disagree. When you're plot revolves around making T2 pointless again, that is not trying in my book. They already kill Connor off two times already (would have been three had they gone with the original ending in Salvation). Once off-screen in the future in T3, and on screen in Genysis. When just rehashing the same shit over and over, and way less interesting version of T1&2, I've already lost interests. I am glad Linda Hamiltion took care of herself, and was able to get in to shape for old Sarah, her talents were wasted on this piece of shit.

Dark Fate doesn't make T2 pointless. I can understand the argument, but I disagree. T3 is an example of making T2 pointless, because its conceit is that, contrary to what the prior two films told us, it's that the future IS set, that you can't change it, and that T2 was basically a waste of time. Dark Fate is more "okay, now what?" To answer that is a film that combines the mythos of Terminator with 21st century anxieties instead of late 20th ones - drones, Internet, artificial intelligence, societal collapse, etc. It doesn't negate any of the actions of previous characters - the world is still saved from Skynet's Judgement Day, now, can it be saved from Legion's?

Of course, we'll never find out the answer to that. I'm not too fussed about that, since the majority of Terminator media treats T1/T2 as a kind of core canon, and almost everything goes off in its own direction from there. At the least though, Dark Fate does interesting things conceptually, whereas something like T3 is devoid of interesting ideas.

 

[Agema]

John Carpenter's Vampires

The last time Carpenter had any fun making a movie, even if it isn't an especially good one. I love the concept and the characterization - James Woods leads a team of vampire slayers across New Mexico in a crusade that looks like Mad Max met Ghostbusters. But it's all downhill as the movie never lives up to its first act and keeps cycling through the same scenes over and over without any real sense of development. Woods is great as his usual macho blabbermouth, Sheryl Lee is great as vampire Laura Palmer and that's about it.

John Carpenter made some really good movies. He also put out a load of dubious trash, which is virtually everything after 1984. There are glimpses of his skills and some signs of interesting stuff usually sufficient to have some post-84 stuff gain a "cult" reputation, but really, the spark was gone. He was wise to mostly retire after Vampires and Ghosts Of Mars.