Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[McElroy]

Jurassic World
So much of it is simply insane. Like how am I supposed to think the dinos are simple animals from the past (like Chris Pratt's character reminds us again and again) while they function much more like xenomorphs. Sure, they were 'enhanced' with other genes, but come on, physics-breaking genes too? Then you have your silly parts, horror-comedy style carnage, and the female lead is frankly okay imo, starting from a stuck-up *****, sinking to the point it would've been just fine for somebody to punch her piehole shut, but redeeming herself by being a good runner in heels. Chad Pratt barely breaks a sweat (runs faster with his eyebrows UP). Other side dudes chew the camera with their one-dimensional lines. And get chewed on. 5/10

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Jurassic World
So much of it is simply insane. Like how am I supposed to think the dinos are simple animals from the past (like Chris Pratt's character reminds us again and again) while they function much more like xenomorphs. Sure, they were 'enhanced' with other genes, but come on, physics-breaking genes too? Then you have your silly parts, horror-comedy style carnage, and the female lead is frankly okay imo, starting from a stuck-up *****, sinking to the point it would've been just fine for somebody to punch her piehole shut, but redeeming herself by being a good runner in heels. Chad Pratt barely breaks a sweat (runs faster with his eyebrows UP). Other side dudes chew the camera with their one-dimensional lines. And get chewed on. 5/10

That's what happens when there’s like over half dozen of these now. I can just see the pitch meetings for these,

“How can we make these dinosaurs more exciting?”

*bewildered looks around the room*

“M…maybe give them lasers?”

“…That…could work!”

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

The Innocents (purchase)
If you thought you couldn't fear (some?) children more. This is like the classier, more grounded version of that disappointing film about the evil superman child. But set from the viewpoint of one of the younglings, similar to the style of Florida Project. It good. But children bad. Stop the children.

 

[Gordon_4]

That's what happens when there’s like over half dozen of these now. I can just see the pitch meetings for these,

“How can we make these dinosaurs more exciting?”

*bewildered looks around the room*

“M…maybe give them lasers?”

“…That…could work!”

Which was said in spirit by Dr.Wu in the first Jurassic World movie to the owner, Masrani.

“You didn’t ask for real, you asked for more teeth”

 

[thebobmaster]

Which was said in spirit by Dr.Wu in the first Jurassic World movie to the owner, Masrani.

“You didn’t ask for real, you asked for more teeth”

Well, he wasn't Wong.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Ocean's 8

Bunch of big or sorta big female stars, who apparently were told to avoid acting in a movie (in fairness, Helena Bonham Carter seems to have not paid as much attention to that as everyone else) with no story to speak of, in which I didn't care at all what happened, except for vaguely hoping the main characters would lose because they were doing illegal things for no adequately justified reason.

Boo. Booooo!

 

[Thaluikhain]

The Lost Jungle (1934)

Forgettable low budget movie made in conjunction, seemingly, with a zoo, so lots of exotic animals.

Though, one thing they got right, when they had lions and tigers and other animals together in a jungle, people are surprised and make a fuss about how odd that is. Fair enough.

 

[Bartholen]

City of God, 9/10

This is a crime drama about a favela in Rio de Janeiro. That's the best summation of the plot I can give, because this film doesn't really have a story. It's more like a loosely structured series of vignettes about several characters' lives, and it feels more like a television show than a movie, but in a good way. The film has a POV character who acts as the narrator, but he's not the main character, and there's no single protagonist. The film just kind of drifts in and out of these people's lives, with the only constant being the cycle of crime and violence that dominates the city. It gives the film a very unique feel which is reinforced by the similarly loose, non-linear storytelling. It feels almost like a Tarantino film at times with chapter headings, backstories, flashbacks and freeze frames, but never like it's copying something.

I loved this movie. Usually when dealing with slum or ghetto movies you expect lurid misery porn, but this movie covers the whole spectrum of life. The tone can switch on a dime from exuberance to horror to abject misery, yet it feels completely natural, and the world feels very alive and lived in as a result. The important characters are all engaging, and one of the best aspects is how they all constantly cross lines of morality and law on both sides. A well-intentioned victim can become a ruthless monster, and a psychotic murderer can make people's lives better. The movie never casts strong moral aspersions, settling on merely showing actions and consequences. It has a couple of spectacularly uncomfortable and distressing scenes, and they were some of the strongest ones. The film also is surprisingly stylized visually, with lots of frenetic editing, close-up shakycam and interesting lighting, which all serve to sell the crazed whirlwind of the characters' lives.

If there's some criticisms I have, it's that Rocket, the POV character, feels a lot of the time like a doormat and not very likeable as a result. But that's part of the point, because there will be other characters you'll find interesting. The color grading is also kind of ugly in parts. I thought it'd been done digitally to distinguish the different time periods the movie goes through, but apparently that was just the raw footage. It still looks ugly. Otherwise this film is awesome.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Which was said in spirit by Dr.Wu in the first Jurassic World movie to the owner, Masrani.

“You didn’t ask for real, you asked for more teeth”

One of the biggest complaints I've seen is generally symptomatic of the corner the filmmakers paint themselves into with multiple sequels like this:

They've normalized dinosaurs. There's nothing to be scared of or intimidated by anymore because everyone's so used to them being around. That might be why they introduced the locusts, but then that's taking the focus off the dinosaurs. The series has become almost a parody of itself, where all that's left is seeing how many kinds of different those teeth they can stuff into it.

 

[BrawlMan]

Which was said in spirit by Dr.Wu in the first Jurassic World movie to the owner, Masrani.

“You didn’t ask for real, you asked for more teeth”

One of the biggest complaints I've seen is generally symptomatic of the corner the filmmakers paint themselves into with multiple sequels like this:

They've normalized dinosaurs. There's nothing to be scared of or intimidated by anymore because everyone's so used to them being around. That might be why they introduced the locusts, but then that's taking the focus off the dinosaurs. The series has become almost a parody of itself, where all that's left is seeing how many kinds of different those teeth they can stuff into it.

That scene with Dr. Wu is the best piece of dialogue in Jurassic World and my favorite in the entire franchise. I am questioning, if I should even bother seeing Dominion at this point.

​

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

Good Time - (Netflix)
From the ppl behind Uncut Gems, the Safdie Bros, is this. As stylistically claustrophobic too. And full of unsympathetic protagonist, played by Robert Pattinson who is a more akin to a low level Batman goon type of criminal, trying to rescue his bro with learning difficulties out of police custody. Whom he got in there the first place. Even that description affords more sympathy than the film gives him. It can be a dizzying anxiety watch at times. But the craft is clear, the soundtrack is a submersive ocellating synth, and it remains stubbornly grounded while dragging you along for the uncomfortable ride.

 

[gorfias]

The Innocents (purchase)
If you thought you couldn't fear (some?) children more. This is like the classier, more grounded version of that disappointing film about the evil superman child. But set from the viewpoint of one of the younglings, similar to the style of Florida Project. It good. But children bad. Stop the children.

Love the Florida Project. Love the idea of the evil superman idea and skimmed over the movie. This is now on my radar. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Thaluikhain]

The 4D Man (or The Evil Force in the UK or Master of Terror in the US)

Jack H. Harris took the money he made from making The Blob and made a movie about a guy who basically turns into Rogue and Shadowcat from X-Men. Quite decent, and features Lee Merriweather in her first thing that wasn't being Miss America.

Uncharted
Ok, I probably shouldn't compare this to the Tomb Raider films, but it's hard not to, just Tom Holland isn't Angelina Jolie. Maybe he's *googles* Alicia Vikander, the annoying sorta whiny teen looking one. Meh.

 

[thebobmaster]

The 4D Man (or The Evil Force in the UK or Master of Terror in the US)

Jack H. Harris took the money he made from making The Blob and made a movie about a guy who basically turns into Rogue and Shadowcat from X-Men. Quite decent, and features Lee Merriweather in her first thing that wasn't being Miss America.

Uncharted
Ok, I probably shouldn't compare this to the Tomb Raider films, but it's hard not to, just Tom Holland isn't Angelina Jolie. Maybe he's *googles* Alicia Vikander, the annoying sorta whiny teen looking one. Meh.

I'd say comparing Uncharted to Tomb Raider is completely fair. Tomb Raider was blatantly Indiana Jones with a female protagonist, Uncharted was pretty obviously Tomb Raider with a male protagonist. We've just come full circle now.

 

[Agema]

That scene with Dr. Wu is the best piece of dialogue in Jurassic World and my favorite in the entire franchise. I am questioning, if I should even bother seeing Dominion at this point.

"Cuttlefish genes were added in to help them cope with advanced growth rate. Cuttlefish have chromatophores that allow them to change colour."

And those genes that help cope with growth and the ones that allow colour changes... they're the same genes, are they? Are we totally sure about that, because it sounds kind of unlikely to me. I'm also pretty sure that to make colour change work, it also needs a genetically encoded communication system (nervous, hormonal) to instruct skin colour changes as well as the chromatophores that change the colour. How convenient they also left those in, too, in perfect working order!

"It hid from thermal technology"

Why on earth were you using thermal imaging to find cold-blooded animals, which by nature of being cold-blooded tend to the same ambient temperature as the environment?

Oh wait, no, that's too sensible. Apparently it's some other weird genetic shit they chucked in for shits and giggles. And I mean shits and giggles: that is pretty much exactly the given reason they shoved genes in that allowed the dino to modulate infrared yadda yadda yadda.

 

[BrawlMan]

"Cuttlefish genes were added in to help them cope with advanced growth rate. Cuttlefish have chromatophores that allow them to change colour."

And those genes that help cope with growth and the ones that allow colour changes... they're the same genes, are they? Are we totally sure about that, because it sounds kind of unlikely to me. I'm also pretty sure that to make colour change work, it also needs a genetically encoded communication system (nervous, hormonal) to instruct skin colour changes as well as the chromatophores that change the colour. How convenient they also left those in, too, in perfect working order!

Genetic engineering is the new old evil/danger and all that crap.

It hid from thermal technology"

Why on earth were you using thermal imaging to find cold-blooded animals, which by nature of being cold-blooded tend to the same ambient temperature as the environment?

Cuz it's cool(er)!

Oh wait, no, that's too sensible. Apparently it's some other weird genetic shit they chucked in for shits and giggles. And I mean shits and giggles: that is pretty much exactly the given reason they shoved genes in that allowed the dino to modulate infrared yadda yadda yadda.

Funny enough, my dad thought turning raptors and t-rexes in to military weapons was a great idea. Though I am 80% sure he was just joking or trolling. Sometimes it's kind of hard to tell with him.

 

[McElroy]

snip

Let's not forget the alphabet soup gene to teach it to talk Raptor.

 

[BrawlMan]

You know what, I would have prefer that original idea/concept in Jurassic World, where the dinosaurs would be mixed with human DNA and look more humanoid. They are going for a Resident Evil vibe, and I would have dug it. The reason why the idea got abandoned, was because it was considered "weird and too strange". At least it would have been something different, more memorable, and set itself apart from the other movies. They wouldn't have been much nostalgia meeting with that one.

 

[McElroy]

Anyway, Top Gun: Maverick
One third cheese, one third sappy nostalgia, one third heart pounding, hard breathing, dick throbbing adrenaline. Also such an indulgence of shot -- reverse shot with out of focus background. Starts to get a bit tiresome in the end. 7/10 Recommended as a theater-only experience. Like, really, on a tablet it's probably a 2/10.

 

[Agema]

Funny enough, my dad thought turning raptors and t-rexes in to military weapons was a great idea. Though I am 80% sure he was just joking or trolling. Sometimes it's kind of hard to tell with him.

DInosaurs would be shit.

Our ancient forebears, with nothing but pointy sticks, wiped out woolly mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers, and thoroughly dominated just about every other major creature when they set their minds to it. Who on earth could believe dinos, even with fancy genetic engineering, would stand a chance if we felt like exterminating them? If one guy with a rocket launcher can destroy a tank, one guy with a rocket launcher can kill any dinosaur. One guy with a sniper rifle, hit the right spot, dead / crippled T-Rex. Or a dozen guys with assault rifles and a few spare clips will do the job.

Sure, a few modest sized dinos up to around bear size might be able to survive in far wilderness where they're too much effort to hunt, and small ones that could breed and hide like cats, dogs, rats, fine. All the others are toast at our leisure.

And given that, you can imagine how I feel about dinosaurs on a battlefield. Elephants were rendered obsolete by the Romans. What amounts to something about the mass of an elephant (but with big teeth) isn't much of an improvement, plus the same problems of making sure it doesn't turn round and chow down on your own troops. A velociraptor is just a guy bringing a knife to a gunfight.