Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[Hawki]

It needs a second! So many loose story threads!

That's not exactly a point in the movie's favour.

Alita is a mess. I can understand why some people might like it, but still, it's a mess.

 

[Agema]

Us is another interesting divide between critics and viewers, the critics have it around 93% on Rottentomatoes to a very lukewarm 60% from viewers. As is often the case in these situations critics loved the themes so much they glossed over whether or not the movies story actually works (Looking at you TLJ). Nearly 100% of the people I talk to say all agree Us was a neat movie, but the ending falls apart when they try to make it realistic yet literally impossible. Its a shame cause it's like "whelp..I liked most of it.."

I think, on average, movie critics are less plot-focused than audiences. So where audiences find plot holes and similar absurdities bring a film to a crashing halt for them, critics might rate them higher for quality acting, direction, tone, style etc.

 

[gorfias]

That's not exactly a point in the movie's favour.

Alita is a mess. I can understand why some people might like it, but still, it's a mess.

I think it is a mess the way Final Fantasy 10 is a mess. Just a crazy disjointed narrative. So much was terrific. The visuals, the characters, the world building. I want more.

 

[Hawki]

I think it is a mess the way Final Fantasy 10 is a mess. Just a crazy disjointed narrative. So much was terrific. The visuals, the characters, the world building. I want more.

I sort of get what you're getting at, but I'd maintain there's a key difference - structure.

FFX has a case of, to borrow a term, "weird for weirdness's sake." As in, this is a setting where blitzballs are deadly objects for instance. However, FFX still tells its story succinctly, and is bolstered by thematic depth. Alita, as far as I'm aware, was adapted wholesale from a no. of manga volumes and it really shows. Films usually operate on a three act structure, and if they don't, many more might operate on a two or four act. Alita's pacing and story structure feels off - less a cohesive story, more a sequence of events that form a loosely connected story. That might work for manga, it might even work for TV, but it doesn't for a film. At least not in this case.

 

[Hawki]

On the subject of some other films here:

-Jojo Rabbit: Really not a fan of this. Yes, prejudice is bad, Nazism is bad, blah blah blah. It doesn't excuse its pacing, which drags through most of the film. It's also got a weird case of insanity for insanity's sake - not so much Taika as Hitler, but Captain K for instance. I mean, what the hell was that meant to be in the end? This is a final battle scene where a Nazi is wearing a rainbow uniform where, elsewhere, children are being used as suicide bombers.

-Predators/The Predator: I'm one of those weirdos who thinks The Predator is the second best film in the series, but now, I can't actually say why. I have a feeling if I rewatched it, it might fall down my rankings.

But Predators is still fun. It does something at least mildly interesting by bringing humans to an alien planet, and diversifying them (as in, humans from different branches rather than a single military unit).

When K encounters the Joi poster, he's not realising how fake is relationship with his Joi was. He's realizing that his Joi, whether she was "real" or not, was a unique individual with her own irreplaceable experiences and memories, and that when she died all those moments were lost in time, perhaps like some kind of wet thing in a bigger wet thing.

Really disagree. The film definitely leaves it open to interpretation that Joi may have been more than just programming, but the core of the theme is that K is crushed by the realization, so to speak.

 

[gorfias]

I sort of get what you're getting at, but I'd maintain there's a key difference - structure.

FFX has a case of, to borrow a term, "weird for weirdness's sake." As in, this is a setting where blitzballs are deadly objects for instance. However, FFX still tells its story succinctly, and is bolstered by thematic depth. Alita, as far as I'm aware, was adapted wholesale from a no. of manga volumes and it really shows. Films usually operate on a three act structure, and if they don't, many more might operate on a two or four act. Alita's pacing and story structure feels off - less a cohesive story, more a sequence of events that form a loosely connected story. That might work for manga, it might even work for TV, but it doesn't for a film. At least not in this case.

I thought Watchmen would be unfilmable. But I think they did a pretty good job bringing a 12 issue limited series to the screen. It can be done but I do see what you are saying. (BTW: Sam Hamm who did the 1989 "Batman" story did a script for Watchmen. More coherent but totally basterdized the comics. Ozymandias' plan to was to open a portal to the past and assassinate Dr. Manhattan before he gets his powers. Ugh.)

 

[Thaluikhain]

Really disagree. The film definitely leaves it open to interpretation that Joi may have been more than just programming, but the core of the theme is that K is crushed by the realization, so to speak.

Can't it be both? That his Joi was unique and he can't replace it with another off-the-shelf product, but that she was an off-the-shelf product and not really real, despite being different to the other not really real ones? That he can get another one, but it wouldn't be the same, and what was the point anyway?

 

[Piscian]

Im generally pretty good at ignoring my bias but Alita definitely ruined my childhood a bit. I grew up during that anime rise, so I'd seen the anime and read the books as they came out. Massive fan, it really tears my heart out when they don't just adapt the damn books. I don't think excuses work anymore in a post-Harry Potter world. They got a lot of the themes and style right, but there was enough material in the books to do a trilogy, they just didn't care enough to do it right. I enjoyed Alita overall but only doing the first book for most it's run time and then condensing 3 or 4 books into 5 minutes is a typical case of Hollywood shooting itself in the foot to cash in. The sad thing is that the first book ends on a cliffhanger that would have both satisfied audiences and had them hyped for a sequel. If it was just a budget thing they shoulda stuck to that first arc. I woulda left much happier. As is it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Even on its own it feels messy and rushed because of the previous points mentioned.

 

[BrawlMan]

Alita is a mess. I can understand why some people might like it, but still, it's a mess.

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It's not a mess! It's God-Tier awesome! S-Rank! Smokin' Sexy Style! Sure it compresses some things from the manga, and rushed in some parts, but otherwise, it's a 100% faithful adaption. Even the creator of the manga, Yukito Kishiro, loves it and has his approval. Alita deserves a sequel.

 

[gorfias]

Can't it be both? That his Joi was unique and he can't replace it with another off-the-shelf product, but that she was an off-the-shelf product and not really real, despite being different to the other not really real ones? That he can get another one, but it wouldn't be the same, and what was the point anyway?

I don't think he is "crushed" to find he can get another Joi off the shelf: it is that he cannot. There's a giant naked version of her right in front of him and he realizes that isn't really her because she does not have the memories and lived the experiences of the real Joi. This happens at least 2 more times in the movie. Unsettling to see "Rachael" killed but it isn't really her. Same for Luv.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I watched Predators 2010 again last night. Probably for the 5th or 6th time. This has, since it's release, been on my list of films I could pretty much watch anytime it's on with anybody. It just hits all the right beats for me. Like Battle Royale, Raid Redemption, Dredd etc. I love these "Most Dangerous game" genre films and this one is so epic because they picked just the right crowd of actors and character types. It reminds me so much what a Predator comicbook adaptation might look like. I maintain that anyone that likes this sort of thing, but doesn't like Predators is out of their skulls. Predators is my Qanon.

 

[happyninja42]

OMG: My sides hurt. I just watched the craziest piece of fluff you can imagine.


So many random things thrown at you. So much that is just hilarious. Helps to be a super hero loving nerd. 8.5/10. I'd rate it higher but I recognize that so much is random and silly and not thought out but it just doesn't matter. A silly lark. Disney +. Hope y'all get to see it.

I feel like I watched the beginnings of Squirrel Girl. Like that's her first connection to the Squirrel Spirit Anima or whatever, through that super hero animal, and then it grows into her having a connection to the entire species. And she like levels them up with ambient power so they are all super powered squirrels that work for her. ......and I kind of love that idea in my head.

 

[happyninja42]

On the subject of some other films here:

-Jojo Rabbit: Really not a fan of this. Yes, prejudice is bad, Nazism is bad, blah blah blah. It doesn't excuse its pacing, which drags through most of the film. It's also got a weird case of insanity for insanity's sake - not so much Taika as Hitler, but Captain K for instance. I mean, what the hell was that meant to be in the end? This is a final battle scene where a Nazi is wearing a rainbow uniform where, elsewhere, children are being used as suicide bombers.

Not sure about the part of sending out the kids as suicide bombers being historically accurate, but I think it was just to sort of show how desperate the nazi's got at the end, and some of the tactics they tried to employ when they were surrounded and everyone was closing in. But I mean the nazi's were/are sick fucks, that had zero regard for life in general, so it wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that a leader, in an isolated pocket of the final forces, ordered people to strap bombs to themselves and die for the fatherland or some such bullshit.

As to Captain K letting his freak flag literally fly, that one's pretty straightforward. He knew they were losing, he knew he was going to be killed for being part of the nazi army, so he decided, instead of hiding who he was any longer. No more fear of reprisal from his society, he was going to live a few days, or maybe just hours, as HIMSELF. To go out like the absolute queen he saw himself as.

 

[Piscian]

Not sure about the part of sending out the kids as suicide bombers being historically accurate

It is https://www.history.com/news/how-the-hitler-youth-turned-a-generation-of-kids-into-nazis They mention it towards the end of this article. There's lots pictures around online of them in the final siege of berlin being shuffled off to eat bullets and run at allies with grenades. Insane and very depressing.


I quite adored Jojo Rabbit and found it very accurate despite the satire or maybe because of it. It's so topical these days with the modern return of zealotist nationalism around the world. I can't speak for pacing, I felt the opposite. I can think of very few moments spent absorbing the weight of their situation before they charged into the latest low. Definitely 10/10 for me. I think Taika did an amazing job of portraying just how insane the nazi got towards the end of the war. Captain K was a representation of the post WWI german heroes who were both completely disillusioned with their country and at the same time felt powerless to do anything about it and so in his final moments he just didn't give a poop anymore. There's a bunch of those dudes in the history books sadly who were genuinely good military dudes trapped in the Third Reich who lost hope and either killed themselves, went bananas or like in operation valkyrie tried and failed to stop the madness.

 

[deleted20220709]

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[Piscian]

But probably way less then we think. Most of the Wehrmacht leadership were pro-nazi even before the Nazis rose to power and harbored very similar views about revanchism and Germany's rightful place in the world as a European Hegemon. The Wehrmacht didn't so much dislike Nazis or Nazism as they were fair weather friends who's goals and visions aligned with the Nazis (and in questions which they didn't care about, like the Holocaust, they were fine with just not bothering with "civilian affairs") but who would also sell the Nazis out at the drop of a hat if the diplomatic escalation, war preparations or war didn't go as they wanted. The constant General Staff protests leading up to WW2 were not the General Staff trying to avoid war, it was them telling Hitler they thought he was being hasty because they wanted more tanks, aircrafts and guns before plowing through Germany in the grandest Bewegungskrieg ever.

When the war was on they were also entirely fine with all the shit the Nazis pulled, including open participation in establishing the General Government (and ensuing genocide) in Poland and enacting Generalplan Ost in the USSR. They only started getting vocal about bad nazis when they were no longer winning the war, first because they thought they could do governing better then the Nazis and after that because they desperately did not want their legacy to be as the willing goons of an insane and genocidal regime. Whatever military ability they had should be overshadowed by the way they acted like utter doormats as long as the Nazis kept wanking their massive warboners and promising them eternal glory if they could just occupy all of Europe. That they decided to kill Hitler only after they started losing the war and not at any other point prior when it was obvious that Hitler wanted to murder hundreds of millions of people to make way for the Aryan race doesn't make them good. It makes them opportunistic and cowardly turncoats at best and actual nazi supporters and warmongers at worst.

I was actually just reading Stauffenberg's wiki because I wanted to be careful on this discussion, I can be prone to exaggeration. I also want to avoid any kind of political discourse this kinda stuff can lead into, but yeah I agree. I'll only defend that people like Captain K existed, but on a whole most were either cowards or zealots.

 

[deleted20220709]

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[BrawlMan]

I watched the Rush Hour Trilogy on Blu Ray. One of the more unique buddy cop franchise films. Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan work well together and they bonded over when doing the films. The action and stunt scenes never lost their luster, and are still cool seeing all the stunts Jackie could pull off. Tucker did a wonderful job in the fight scenes too, and was totally in sync with Jackie. Out of all the three films, I'd say that RH1 is the best followed by 2, and then 3 in terms of tone and pacing. The first film has the right balance of grittiness and humor that's lacking in the sequels. RH1 is similar to Lethal Weapon 1 & 2 in tone (the LW films are still darker in tone by comparison), while RH2&3 feel more denser and wackier like LW3&4.

RH2 has the best action sequences and stunts, but what holds the film back is there are some scenes that are not funny and feel forced. Also, the sequels is when they made Carter more obnoxious. 2 suffers from this the most, despite me still liking the film. 3 kinda tones it down, but some situations could have been avoided had Carter shut up and follow Lee's advice. Even 3 is aware of this as a lot of characters got fed up or tired of Carter's antics. To the point that by the third film Carter is demoted to traffic duty at the start of the film, because of his cowboy cop shtick getting him to constant trouble. So at leas they follow through on consequences. Yet, Carter still has moments of competence and figuring things out before almost anyone else, so they did make him in to a complete thundering, narcissistic dumb ass. With that said, Carter's character moments were at his best in the first film.

RH3 is the weakest of the trilogy, but still decent. It's a one more for the road movie. Also, it's the shortest movie in the trilogy clocking in a 87 minutes. The film feels rushed. Even as a teenager, something felt off when I saw it back in 2007. Some comedic scenes make me laugh, while some others make me roll my eyes, or feel it drags on for way too long. I'll give credit though making Carter have elements of himself from the first film again, even though he has his personality moments from the second film. The final action scene is great too. Love the sword fighting on the Eiffel Tower.

Definitely an end of an era. Overall I rate the films:

• Rush Hour - A
• Rush Hour 2 - B
• Rush Hour 3 - B-

My ranking in Buddy (Cop) films are:

1. Lethal Weapon Franchise
2. Big Trouble in Little China
3. Rush Hour Trilogy
4. Beverly Hills Cop I & II
5. Tango & Cash

 

[happyninja42]

I watched the Rush Hour Trilogy on Blu Ray. One of the more unique buddy cop franchise films. Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan work well together and they bonded over when doing the films. The action and stunt scenes never lost their luster, and are still cool seeing all the stunts Jackie could pull off. Tucker did a wonderful job in the fight scenes too, and was totally in sync with Jackie. Out of all the three films, I'd say that RH1 is the best followed by 2, and then 3 in terms of tone and pacing. The first film has the right balance of grittiness and humor that's lacking in the sequels. RH1 is similar to Lethal Weapon 1 & 2 in tone (the LW films are still darker in tone by comparison), while RH2&3 feel more denser and wackier like LW3&4.

RH2 has the best action sequences and stunts, but what holds the film back is there are some scenes that are not funny and feel forced. Also, the sequels is when they made Carter more obnoxious. 2 suffers from this the most, despite me still liking the film. 3 kinda tones it down, but some situations could have been avoided had Carter shut up and follow Lee's advice. Even 3 is aware of this as a lot of characters got fed up or tired of Carter's antics. To the point that by the third film Carter is demoted to traffic duty at the start of the film, because of his cowboy cop shtick getting him to constant trouble. So at leas they follow through on consequences. Yet, Carter still has moments of competence and figuring things out before almost anyone else, so they did make him in to a complete thundering, narcissistic dumb ass. With that said, Carter's character moments were at his best in the first film.

RH3 is the weakest of the trilogy, but still decent. It's a one more for the road movie. Also, it's the shortest movie in the trilogy clocking in a 87 minutes. The film feels rushed. Even as a teenager, something felt off when I saw it back in 2007. Some comedic scenes make me laugh, while some others make me roll my eyes, or feel it drags on for way too long. I'll give credit though making Carter have elements of himself from the first film again, even though he has his personality moments from the second film. The final action scene is great too. Love the sword fighting on the Eiffel Tower.

Definitely an end of an era. Overall I rate the films:

• Rush Hour - A
• Rush Hour 2 - B
• Rush Hour 3 - B-

My ranking in Buddy (Cop) films are:

1. Lethal Weapon Franchise
2. Big Trouble in Little China
3. Rush Hour Trilogy
4. Beverly Hills Cop I & II
5. Tango & Cash

I never saw the others, as I'm not a huge fan of Chris Tucker, but I really enjoyed the opening bit of the first film a lot. It opens with a very cliche scene, the abduction of the little girl. But they subvert it really well in my opinion. Yeah, she's not going to win against multiple adults with combat training, but she's far from helpless. She's got some good kicking power, and cracks that one guy in the face HARD, and just wails on them with her legs until they lose grip. She then runs, and uses her small size to try and elude them, and is doing a good job of it for a little while, until she's eventually captured. I remember seeing it in the theater, and being immediately surprised, and found myself actually cheering her on out loud. It's so nice to see them let someone who is about to be kidnapped, at least TRY and get away. There's nothing wrong with being a hostage/damsel in distress, if you at least give the character the opportunity to show they aren't completely stupid, and were just overwhelmed. For a split second, watching her fight and evade those guys, I forgot that she was scripted to get captured, and was swept up in her trying to escape.

The rest of the movie was subpar to me, as it basically just boiled down to "Hi I'm Chris Tucker, I'm going to do what I'm typecast to do in every film I'm in." While Jackie just kind of stood there until the action scenes. But the little girl, she was a solidly done child in danger. More like her in films please.

 

[BrawlMan]

I never saw the others, as I'm not a huge fan of Chris Tucker, but I really enjoyed the opening bit of the first film a lot. It opens with a very cliche scene, the abduction of the little girl. But they subvert it really well in my opinion. Yeah, she's not going to win against multiple adults with combat training, but she's far from helpless. She's got some good kicking power, and cracks that one guy in the face HARD, and just wails on them with her legs until they lose grip. She then runs, and uses her small size to try and elude them, and is doing a good job of it for a little while, until she's eventually captured. I remember seeing it in the theater, and being immediately surprised, and found myself actually cheering her on out loud. It's so nice to see them let someone who is about to be kidnapped, at least TRY and get away. There's nothing wrong with being a hostage/damsel in distress, if you at least give the character the opportunity to show they aren't completely stupid, and were just overwhelmed. For a split second, watching her fight and evade those guys, I forgot that she was scripted to get captured, and was swept up in her trying to escape.

Seeing that at 8 years old really caught me off guard in 1998. I'd give who ever decided that subversion, the character, and the child actress props for doing it.

The rest of the movie was subpar to me, as it basically just boiled down to "Hi I'm Chris Tucker, I'm going to do what I'm typecast to do in every film I'm in." While Jackie just kind of stood there until the action scenes.

Yeah, that has mostly been Tucker's gimmick in the 90s. Most of his characters were pretty much expies of Smokey from Friday, but in different flavors. Granted, Carter in the first Rush Hour at least, is not as obnoxious as Tucker's other characters before that. I'm so used to Tucker that is mostly does not bother me, but my problem is more so the sequels. If you do decide to watch the sequels, just stick with 2 for the action scenes and the cameo with Don Cheadle when he was just starting out. 3 you can take or leave, but there are some returning characters from 1. I.E, the little girl, Soo Yung (played by the same a different actress) from the first film all grown up. Also, the final fight scene is awesome and Tucker gets to show off his hand to hand skills even more so. Soo Yung gets some bad ass moments too in the film.

I must say it's amazing Tucker got to work with two legends: Michael Jackson and Jackie Chan. The You Rock My World Music Video. I remember all the hype that got and it came out not long after Rush Hour 2.

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