Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[BrawlMan]

Promare - Studio Trigger is basically the Platinum games of anime now. God, I love them. This movie is basically Fire Force, but better. Basically about people who can use fire called the Burnish. They started when people began combusting. Shit went bad, and now there are forces dedicated to putting out fires caused by the Burnish. But are the Burnish as evil as the film and in-universe news makes them out to be? Hhhhhhhmmmmmm....

If you're a fan of Kill La Kill, Gurren Laggan, and Panty & Stocking, you will love this. If you are not familiar with any of those, you will most likel love this film. The animation is once again top notch, and Trigger always seems to outdo themselves when it comes to action scenes. I did not get a chance to see it theaters, but it's still nice viewing it on the big screen. The dubbing has an all star cast: Kari Walgreen (Haruko from FLCL), Steve Blum, and Johnny Yong Bosch (Using his Nero and Ichigo voice, He even does Nero scream). Ironic, because at the beginning of the movie he pulls a, Urizen/Dracula slouch of villainy pose. The dubbing is on point, the movie does not waste time nor feels like it's going too fast, and it lands all the right beats on funny, heartwarming, tear jerking, and nightmare.

If there is a flaw, is that you don't get see enough of Galo's (main character) team on the fire fighter side. They are there, but it's pretty obvious the movie is more about Galo and Lio. If this were a TV series, it would not be much of a problem. Then again, I don't know how they would have topped the final battle in the film. So I am not that bothered by it.

I got the film yesterday in the mail, and watched it at night. I got steel book case edition.


I also re-watched Redline earlier this week. Still one of the best racing films ever made. Better than the entire Fast & Furious franchise.

 

[gorfias]

Now on Netflix: A Futile and Stupid Gesture

A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018) ⭐ 6.7 | Biography, Comedy

1h 41m | TV-MA

www.imdb.com

Kinda a biography of National Lampoon founder.
Nostalgia trip for me. Acting like it should be much funnier than it is, I still had fun watching it. 7/10

 

[Breakdown]

Gauntlet, a 1977 thriller starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke. Good looking film and entertaining enough. Eastwood and Locke obviously had good chemistry together (one of a million movies they were both in). The plot was pretty stupid though.

Manhunter (1986). Great film. Got to love the eighties soundtrack. I prefer Brian Cox's version of Hannibal Lector to Anthony Hopkins.

 

[BrawlMan]

I got my Tenchi Muyo Movie Collection (Blu Ray/DVD). It comes with all three films taking place in the Universe continuity. Though I only got for Tenchi Muyo In Love and In Love 2 (aka Tenchi Forvever in the West). Daughter of Darkness is non-canon and inconsequential. It was originally supposed to be the second official movie, until the creators decided canon discontinuity. Which the best option as it feels like an official fan fic, and adds yet another lover interest.

For those that don't know, the Tenchi series is about a regular guy who has encounters with hot space alien babes from different walks of life. It was not the first harem show, but it was one of the most popular and put it in to the mainstream of anime. I consider it the best the harem genre has to offer.

In Love 1 is basically Back to the Future with the Tenchi cast. A villain named Kain, breaks out of prison, goes back in time, and kills Tenchi parents in revenge for the Jurians (Tenchi's royal bloodline) justly imprisoning him. So Tenchi and the gang go back in time to prevent his parents death. The movie is good with better production values and an animation bump. The animation is back to high caliber like the first OVA of the original continuity. Universe had decent to good anime, but it's obvious they were working with a smaller budget due to being a 26 episode TV series. The film is something you should watch only after seeing Universe first (the same applies to Forever too) as it takes place after the TV series. The movie is one for the fans, and is all about the subtle character moments and them playing off of each other. That said, you get cute and heartwarming moments from seeing Tenchi's parents interact with each other when they were teenagers. My only problem with the film is that Ryoko and Ayeka's (the Betty and Veronica of all the continuities) bickering can be tiring around this point. The gag wears thin, and only got worst in OVA 3 and Tenchi in Tokyo; which are different alternate stories altogether. Thankfully, it does not drag on that much with even Tenchi telling them to put a lid on it. Then again, his existence is in jeopardy and he's right to be angry. Also, it feels less like a film, and more like an 1 and 20 minute episode. Good overall; a solid B.

Tenchi Forvever takes place after the first movie and TV series, and is the final end of the Universe timeline. Tenchi gets captured by a mysterious spirit named Haruna that lives in a tree. She lured/hypnotized him after Tenchi ran away from Ryoko and Ayeka, once again, fighting over him. Only this time it's put better use in story and character. Forever actually has the best character development for these three: Ryoko, Ayeka, and Tenchi. Especially the first two on the list. The ladies actually have to work together, and are actually nice to each other when Tenchi is in danger. It's nice seeing character development actually stick. Given it's the final Tenchi product in the Universe timeline, it makes sense. The film also gets a different art style that is serious and slightly more realistic. Some people hate it, but it's not too different that it goes in to unwatchable or uncanny valley. My only main beef is with the villain, Haruna. She is supposed to be seen as sympathetic, but it's hard to sympathize with woman who's already willing to make a booty call/rape her former lover's teenage grandson. For the record, she raped him twice, and none of the characters acknowedge this (because they weren't there to witness it, and film chooses to ignore it). I hate double standard rape in stories. Otherwise, I do like the film and has a sense of finality. Tenchi does not choose a final girl, and both Ryoko and Ayeka realize to let him do what he wants and what makes him happy without having to force or pressure him. Tenchi loves drawing so they let him be. We need to see more in the zombie genre that is harem. When the protagoinst ain't a total pushover and women all have personality instead of character stereotypes like: tsundere/major b!tch, shy girl, weird girl, etc. Despite my major problem in the spoiler, it is the best of all three Tenchi films. I give it an A.

 

[Baffle]

Men in Black 4. This is a bad film. I was desperate for a power cut to put me out of my misery, but had to drink myself to sleep instead.

 

[Chimpzy]

Attraction

It's basically Russian The Day the Earth Stood Still (the 2008 remake to be exact). Alien spaceship gets downed by the Russian air force, crashlands in Moscow. Bunch of Russian chavs go explore the landing site which was cordoned off by the military. The chavs come across an alien robot who saves the female lead and her boyfriend, what with being a chav, beats the robot til it falls off a building. Psyche, not a robot, but an exosuit with a conveniently human-looking alien inside. Chavs take suit, girl lead takes alien. Then some stuff happens about people getting angry about the military not revealing what's going on in the cordoned off area, so riots break out. Alien does some fish out of water stuff. Girl comes to like the alien. Falling in love happens. Boyfriends of course pissed. Incites mob. More angry mob fighting military and other suits, boyfriend in suit fights alien, standoff between military and suits, alien sacrifices himself for girl. Then ship heals girl, explaining to girl dad (who is military officer) that galactic community thinks humans are violent shits to stay away from, but having seen the power of love maybe they should reevaluate. Or something like that. Spaceship leaves. The end.

Yes, I'm spoiling the movie. I think. I got bored about 20 minutes in and only paid intermittent attention. There's honestly not much to talk about. It's derivative and trite. None of the characters are likeable. The soundtrack is annoying. The English dub is atrocious. There are some really nice vfx in the opening scenes and finale, I mean, I watched the movie because they got big praise in a Corridor Digital video, but that's basically it has going for it.

I rate it one half-squashed bananito that is about to go bad.

 

[McElroy]

Point Break

A classic action-thri- oh it's from 2015... uh... this existed?

Well, let's see. The stunts are well-done. They are in fact so authentic that in some wide shots they don't even try to hide that they have a cameraman with them (like, you can clearly see an extra character in there). It's silly, but they did the stunts for real so I'll give it a pass. EVERYTHING else is embarrassing B-movie stuff. Delroy Lindo and Ray Winstone guest star as old men who aren't at all into rock climbing or surfing or snowboarding or whatever and they do a stellar job when compared to the wooden acting of the main cast. The theme of the movie is against the same consumerism the film ends up promoting anyway (we get close-ups of a dozen sports equipment logos throughout the film). Didn't the surfer girl have some character in the original? Now she's just kinda... there. Gets basically fridged too. 4/10

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Leatherface.

I was apprehensive going into it even by slasher horror movie standards and the IP in general lately, but surprisingly it was probably the best of the more recent movies in the series, including the remake from what, 17 years ago already? The only thing that saved those movies were the portrayals of the crazy Sawyer clan, most notably R. Lee Ermey's performances. The 3D movie that came after those was basically just a carnival and Alexandria Daddario's rack. Well, I also can't forget about the biggest star; the *Saw is really what people want to see here.

Anyways back to this latest installment, it was less about Leatherface's early life itself and more about keeping you guessing as to which one of the crazies he was going to end up being. Steven Dorff actually plays a convincing loose canon sheriff upon dealing with a personal tragedy, and Lili Taylor is more memorable here as Verna than she was in that Conjuring movie, imo.

For any fans of the series, you've probably already seen it and hopefully enjoyed it as being something a bit different than expected from this series. For everyone else, this will probably be a tough sell. Liking horror movies is certainly a prerequisite, and it wouldn't hurt if you also don't mind them peppered with a bit of literal crazy.

Spoiler: *

Somehow I never thought of this before, but Chainsaw...saw...Sawyer clan. Yup.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Monster's Ball

I have a weird history with this movie. I very much remember it from the Blockbuster shelves, being intrigued by the name, what I got from the blurb (3 generations of racist prison guards) and the fact that everybody was making such a fuzz about some kind of problematic angle/naked Halle Berry getting an Oscar. But I was a minor so I never got around renting it. Well 20 years later I've finally seen it and enjoyed it. And I can report that it's a MOVIE like they don't make 'em anymore.

 

[Trunkage]

Monster's Ball

I have a weird history with this movie. I very much remember it from the Blockbuster shelves, being intrigued by the name, what I got from the blurb (3 generations of racist prison guards) and the fact that everybody was making such a fuzz about some kind of problematic angle/naked Halle Berry getting an Oscar. But I was a minor so I never got around renting it. Well 20 years later I've finally seen it and enjoyed it. And I can report that it's a MOVIE like they don't make 'em anymore.

I don't remember a lot but the same position father and son were in with a particular person was memorable. So was where Ledger ended up

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Uncut Gems

I heard great things about it and was pretty excited to watch it when it came out on Netflix today.

I hated my entire viewing experience. It's like 2 and a half hours of people just yelling non stop. I was sick of it by the time the opening credits finished but it just kept going. It was like going to a family gathering. Everyone is yelling about nothing for no reason and you just want to leave.

2/10.

 

[Baffle]

Brightburn. Rubbish -- fell asleep and had a horrendous nightmare, and it was still an upgrade.

 

[Dalisclock]

Brightburn. Rubbish -- fell asleep and had a horrendous nightmare, and it was still an upgrade.

This should be on the box.

 

[McElroy]

The Trust
6/10

A small heist film starring Nicholas Cage and Elijah Wood. It's also supposedly a black comedy, but it's actually in my opinion a serious film, but Cage's character is a bit jokey and especially towards Wood's because he gets worked up about it. So the chemistry between those two is really great, and the movie doesn't look as cheap as you'd expect.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Just marathoned the three Beverly Hills Cop movies.

Beverly Hills Cop 1: Eddie Murphy is a Detroit police officer whose friend is shot and he has to go off his jurisdiction to Beverly Hills to solve the case.
Beverly Hills Cop 2: Eddie Murphy is a Detroit police officer whose friend is shot and he has to go off his jurisdiction to Beverly Hills to solve the case.
Beverly Hills Cop 3: Eddie Murphy is a Detroit police officer whose friend is shot and he has to go off his jurisdiction to Beverly Hills to solve the case.

Along the way he annoys and harangues a series of clerks, receptionists, secretaries and other petty bureaucrats for his own benefit in scenes that amuse him more than amuse me. At his worst he reminds me of Adam Sandler, who is usually more annoying than the people I'm supposed to dislike, but Eddie Murphy's natural charm makes you root for him anyway. The first movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, if you can believe that, but it's little more than a vehicle for Eddie Murphy. Cast anybody else in the role and nobody would've cared.

In any case I'm more fascinated by the production behind the movies than by the movies themselves.

1 was the hit nobody saw coming, canonizing Eddie Murphy as a movie star.
2 was the quickie sequel that the studio ordered following the surprise hit, basically a remake of the first movie. This was top-of-his-game Murphy.
3 was in development hell for way too long and by the time it came out not even the people making it cared. This was "I'll do it for enough money" Murphy. His words.

 

[BrawlMan]

Just marathoned the three Beverly Hills Cop movies.

Beverly Hills Cop 1: Eddie Murphy is a Detroit police officer whose friend is shot and he has to go off his jurisdiction to Beverly Hills to solve the case.
Beverly Hills Cop 2: Eddie Murphy is a Detroit police officer whose friend is shot and he has to go off his jurisdiction to Beverly Hills to solve the case.
Beverly Hills Cop 3: Eddie Murphy is a Detroit police officer whose friend is shot and he has to go off his jurisdiction to Beverly Hills to solve the case.

Along the way he annoys and harangues a series of clerks, receptionists, secretaries and other petty bureaucrats for his own benefit in scenes that amuse him more than amuse me. At his worst he reminds me of Adam Sandler, who is usually more annoying than the people I'm supposed to dislike, but Eddie Murphy's natural charm makes you root for him anyway. The first movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, if you can believe that, but it's little more than a vehicle for Eddie Murphy. Cast anybody else in the role and nobody would've cared.

In any case I'm more fascinated by the production behind the movies than by the movies themselves.

1 was the hit nobody saw coming, canonizing Eddie Murphy as a movie star.
2 was the quickie sequel that the studio ordered following the surprise hit, basically a remake of the first movie. This was top-of-his-game Murphy.
3 was in development hell for way too long and by the time it came out not even the people making it cared. This was "I'll do it for enough money" Murphy. His words.

It's often best to ignore the 3rd film. I love 1 and 2, but the first film will always be the best. Especially the soundtrack.You had Pattie LaBelle and the Pointer Sisters on the soundtrack. True perfection.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

It's often best to ignore the 3rd film. I love 1 and 2, but the first film will always be the best. Especially the soundtrack.You had Pattie LaBelle and the Pointer Sisters on the soundtrack. True perfection.

I thought the movies had a good soundtrack but suffered from some very awkward choices of when and where to use it.
I also think the third movie is too wacky for its own good. The first two movies are more or less grounded, which means Murphy is funny by contrast. In the third movie everyone and everything acts as hysterical as he does (the movie starts with 2 fat dudes dancing and doing cartwheels in a chop shop), which defeats the purpose of Murphy trying to be over the top. It's set in a theme park, for crying out loud.

 

[BrawlMan]

I thought the movies had a good soundtrack but suffered from some very awkward choices of when and where to use it.

I never found them awkward.

 

[Trunkage]

Harley Quinn and a bunch of other words

Suicide Squad did it better. (I also didn't hate SS, thinking it was a 6/10ish.)

Harley Quinn was NOT charismatic at all here. You'd almost think a different actor took the role. Everything was disjointed which... I suppose was to replicate her mind, I guess. Didn't make a pleasant view experience. Too many times bad guys were after Harley but suddenly stop and disappear from the movie without explanation. Its like heaps of the movie was cut and it no longer makes sense

The fight in the fun house was a good idea but only passable execution. Shotgun paintball was fun. My partner couldn't handle the scrapiness of the fights. I found them okay but then I only find John Wick okay.

And it's sad to see Gotham, a show with a limited budget and is absolutely ridiculous do a better rendition of Zasz and Roman

5/10. Can we have the real Harley back please

 

[happyninja42]

Just watched Assassin's Creed for the first time in a while.

Yeah I really don't see why people shit on this film so much. I really loved it.

I give it a good 8/10, and as far as an adaptation of the AC story about the Apple, it's a really solid streamline of the events that Ubisoft draaaaaaagged out over like 10 freaking games, when it could have easily been told in one.

The CGI isn't great at times, but I've lost count of the number of films where "the CGI isn't great" is a criticism. We've become so used to it, it's easy to spot, so I don't really even count that personally.

The story focus is where it should be, on the present day prison break story, about trying to actually stop Abstergo from getting the Apple in the Final Hour. The history stuff is used as a proper flashback sequence should, a single event arc, to convey more information, and to slowly work the protagonist to the memory of the Apple itself.

The female antagonist was compelling, and believable to me as a True Believer of what the Templar were preaching, how she genuinely wanted to try and cure humanity of violence.

And something that I just realized as an interesting wrinkle in their plans. The whole crux of their dilemma is that they are trying to rid humanity of Free Will, because they feel that is seed of humanity's violence, and the root of all evil. People being able to choose whatever, leads people to choose self gratifying actions, that are ultimately harmful to the world long term. Ok fine, weird way to look at "peace", but they are an evil religious cult so you expect that. But, the interesting thing, the Animus is incredibly taxing on the minds of those who use it, and if you are resistant to the process, it burns you out fast. This very fact is why they have almost failed, with Cal being their last chance. For them to have the best chance of getting the Apple....they have to rely on Cal's free will, the very thing they are trying to tamp out of humanity, in order to get the Apple in the first place. Interesting little twist there I thought.

The music is really good, if a bit repetitive, but, it's powerful drums and string instruments, which are sort of my personal weakness, so I don't mind at all. I bought the soundtrack years ago in fact.

The final Animus sequence, when Cal is basically becoming like Leto from Dune, and Awakening to his ancestral memories as some kind of amalgamation of all of them, with the spectral images of all of his ancestral line, gathering around him, to give him his initiation ritual into the Creed, with the music drumming in the background, and the susurrus of voices as they appear, just gives me chills every time. I admit this is probably because I'm a huge Dune fan, and have always found the concept of ancestral memory fascinating, even though it's completely fictional. But that sequence, is just...damn good. The other inmates looking on, and smiling a bit, and you realize that they had something very similar as well happen to them, so they are glad to see him join their ranks.

I just, I love the idea of the new generation of Assassin's, being reborn through a ritual of their own past, the memories of the ones who came before them, unlocking the skills and abilities they would need to rebuild the Creed, and fight back against the Templar. The imagery and symbolism of it is just really fucking cool to me, and hits a lot of my buttons, especially the Legacy trope button, that I am a huge fan of.

So yeah, 8/10, it's not perfect, it's got some chunky bits around the edges, and the CGI could've used some more polish, but a solid adaptation of a meandering, drawn out story, condensed to a proper length. Much better than people give it credit for.