Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

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hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
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Nov 18, 2010
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Avatar aka Fancier Waterworld

Even if we didn’t have the gross disturbance of some sicko coughing and blowing his nose a few seats down for like the first half hour (I was like OMG are you kidding me? out loud and he left twice before it was finally tolerable) it was, well, not as good as I thought it would be. I mean, visually it was more interesting/impressive than the first as there’s a lot more going on in that regard with the water creatures and sea-to-air fighting, etc.

But story-wise it literally felt like a rough draft, where the writers basically shrugged their shoulders and said, “Good enough, right?” The focus on family angle isn’t the issue; it’s the fact that most of the movie just feels like it’s treading water and lacks the flow (no pun), vision and conciseness of the first one. Whatever arc is supposed to be here with anything is more like a plateau that’s just waiting for the next installment to move things forward. The movie’s overall message of a family learning to trust each other and stick together was pretty much where things began and ended, with very few moving parts otherwise outside of that bubble. Well, we get more of the sky people doubling down on civilizing suppressing the natives, but more interesting is the new substance that apparently stops human aging. I’m more curious to see where they go with that than anything, because it’s only briefly touched on so far.

Other than the family drama, spends too much time blatantly harkening back to the first movie’s themes almost verbatim. The destruction of chunks of Pandora, the screams of anguish at that and the loss of family members; hell they even used the same *tragedy* theme when mourning the tulkun. It felt kinda patronizing.

For part three we get to looking forward to more of the drawn out unfinished business between Jake and Mr. Hoo-Rah. Hopefully there will be some resolution there, along with everything else. But probably not much, as this vehicle isn’t even half finished yet.

Also, with all the tech in this movie, why didn’t they use some audio trick to make Weaver’s character actually sound younger?
 
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Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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Jul 18, 2009
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Also, with all the tech in this movie, why didn’t they use some audio trick to make Weaver’s character actually sound younger?
Probably because they wanted her to sound recognizable as Sigourney Weaver, or maybe they didn't actually have the time and manpower to make her sound (naturally) younger. I noticed for example that whenever most of Steven Lang's avatar goon squad talked it was off-screen so that they didn't have to animate their faces - I remember a particular female voice that only ever said 'shut up' and 'don't move'. So yeah, they clearly cut some corners here and there.

In the end though what was even the point of casting her? Initially, judging from the trailers I figured her soul or whatever got absorbed into that giant tree when she died in the first movie, and that she got reincarnated as the blue girl in the sequel. Hence why they wanted Sigourney Weaver's voice to make the link. But no, she was a product of Grace's avatar having gotten pregnant somehow. So why did this require Weaver's voice? Unless the reveal will be that Grace's human form got her avatar form preggers when they were line-up together at the tree to transfer her consciousness. And let's hope that's not where they're going, though it would be more interesting than most concepts in these movies. Fucking creepy, but interesting.
 

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
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Nov 18, 2010
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Probably because they wanted her to sound recognizable as Sigourney Weaver, or maybe they didn't actually have the time and manpower to make her sound (naturally) younger. I noticed for example that whenever most of Steven Lang's avatar goon squad talked it was off-screen so that they didn't have to animate their faces - I remember a particular female voice that only ever said 'shut up' and 'don't move'. So yeah, they clearly cut some corners here and there.

In the end though what was even the point of casting her? Initially, judging from the trailers I figured her soul or whatever got absorbed into that giant tree when she died in the first movie, and that she got reincarnated as the blue girl in the sequel. Hence why they wanted Sigourney Weaver's voice to make the link. But no, she was a product of Grace's avatar having gotten pregnant somehow. So why did this require Weaver's voice? Unless the reveal will be that Grace's human form got her avatar form preggers when they were line-up together at the tree to transfer her consciousness. And let's hope that's not where they're going, though it would be more interesting than most concepts in these movies. Fucking creepy, but interesting.
Funny thing is it was Cameron who insisted on this too, as Weaver had her doubts about pulling it off. Maybe if I didn’t read anything about it first it wouldn’t have bothered me as much. But as-is my disbelief was incapable of being suspended enough there.

 

Baffle

Elite Member
Oct 22, 2016
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Lords of Metal: A lighthearted and fairly gentle coming of age kinda thing. Worth a watch, but not at the cinema.

Boogie: Just couldn't get through it, not really into basketball and most of the characters are a bit annoying? Sorry Boogie.
 

Phoenixmgs

The Muse of Fate
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Apr 3, 2020
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Also, with all the tech in this movie, why didn’t they use some audio trick to make Weaver’s character actually sound younger?
I had more an issue that she was voicing a character that wasn't her vs her voice sounding old. I kept having to remind myself that wasn't Weaver's character throughout the movie.
 

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
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Nov 18, 2010
8,738
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I had more an issue that she was voicing a character that wasn't her vs her voice sounding old. I kept having to remind myself that wasn't Weaver's character throughout the movie.
They wanted it to sound like her because there will probably be some revelation later that she’s basically an extension of Grace via Eywa magic or something.
 

Bob_McMillan

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Aug 28, 2014
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I really enjoyed the first half of Glass Onion. The terrible people and terrible accent of Craig had my girlfriend and I in stitches. We actually felt kind of tense since quite a lot of the movie takes place before the murder.

Then the main twist comes, and we basically go through the whole movie again. Really fun concept in theory. In practice, it felt like the pacing slammed into brick wall. The mystery itself isn't particularly suspenseful in retrospect (literally), and the answer to the mystery is also anticlimactic.

The finale was... odd. Didn't really understand the point of it. Maybe Johnson thought it made a nice visual?

Speaking of... yeah the cameos in this movie felt self-indulgent. It was fun at first then just became distracting. After The Last Jedi, I always saw Johnson as a bit pretentious. After Glass Onion, it's clear the man sniffs too much of his own farts.

All in all, fun watch but a significant step down from Knives Out.
 
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Baffle

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Oct 22, 2016
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I really enjoyed the first half of Glass Onion. The terrible people and terrible accent of Craig had my girlfriend and I in stitches.
That's actually his real voice, he's putting it on in all his other films, interviews, etc.
 

Xprimentyl

Made you look...
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Aug 13, 2011
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The Menu: Good / Great

A group of strangers treat themselves to what they expect to be a very prestigious evening of fine dining by a master chef only to find they're getting WAY more than they paid for.

Wonderfully quirky and probably one of the better black humor films I've personally seen, and I can't even tell you what most people consider black humor. This is the first movies in a long time that I say could easily have been much longer. It barely cracks an hour and a half when two and a half would have made it better. It could have made for better exploration of the individuals involved and the head chef, my God, SO many questions left unexplored.
 
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hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
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Nov 18, 2010
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Smile

As a psychological horror flick it’s rather well directed and well acted, but ultimately frustrating and anti cathartic. I think this is done on-purpose too, which makes it even moreso. Because as an extension of the genre itself, its underlying theme regarding the gross negligence and failures of our mental health professionals and general cultural dismissiveness of mental trauma sufferers help ensure it will not be taken seriously like it needs to be. I did enjoy it but yeah, it’s best not thought about too much beyond the late night scares it delivers.
 
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thebobmaster

Elite Member
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Apr 5, 2020
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Hawki

Elite Member
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Mar 4, 2014
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A Man Called Otto (7/10)

Old guy widower lives in house. Family moves in next door. Old guy is irritated by family and by neighbours, but through interactions, gradually learns how to open up and care again. Old guy changes by film's end.

I pretty much summed up the plot of this film, and it's a plot progression that I'm sure we're all familiar with to at least some extent. The film isn't winning any points for originality. Still, I do think it's a good film at the end of the day - I'm fine with cliches as long as the execution is well done (generally), and if nothing else, the film is indeed well done. I guess after being Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks can now be Otto Anderson in his late year, grumpy old man phase. 0_0

So, yeah. Film isn't really doing anything new, but what it does, it does well. Did get me in "the feels" from time to time, and there's a fair bit of comedy (sometimes quite dark, including multiple failed suicide attempts that are played for laughs, and actually work), so there's that.
 

Bob_McMillan

Elite Member
Aug 28, 2014
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Bullet Train

Had lots of fun with this one. The movie has equal commitment to comedy as it does to its action, which I feel is pretty rare these days. Usually it's 90% comedy and 10% generic action scenes with heavy CGI. I thought the action here was almost Bourne-esque without shakey cam. Pitt's character is constantly improvising, which manages to be cool, clever, and hilarious at the same time. This David Leitch guy sure loves universes with international criminal hitman/mercenary organizations.

I guess the only critiques I have would be that the dialogue can get eye-rollingly profane and the train crash in the finale is a little too stupid and too CGI for me.

All in all, great time watching this. I'm considering watching Violent Night now, which I understand to be the same vibe.
 

Dirty Hipsters

This is how we praise the sun!
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Feb 7, 2011
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3 children in a trench coat
Soul

How did Pixar get away with making a children's movie that is entirely about death, the meaninglessness of life, and unfulfilled potential?

I mean, Pixar movies usually have some adult moments, or some scenes for the parents in the audience that most kids won't really notice while they're watching, but the entire theme of this movie seems to be completely adult oriented. It's the kind of message you don't really understand until you've aged far enough that it's too late to heed it's message.

Honestly, I'm not surprised that it kind of flopped (earned $121 million at the box office on a $150 budget). It's not really a movie for adults, but it's not a movie for children either, because kids aren't going to understand any of the themes. I'm not sure who exactly this movie was aiming for as a target audience.
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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Honestly, I'm not surprised that it kind of flopped (earned $121 million at the box office on a $150 budget). It's not really a movie for adults, but it's not a movie for children either, because kids aren't going to understand any of the themes. I'm not sure who exactly this movie was aiming for as a target audience.
Didn't that movie go straight to streaming though, or at least very quickly? Isn't that the reason it didn't make that much money?
 

Dirty Hipsters

This is how we praise the sun!
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Didn't that movie go straight to streaming though, or at least very quickly? Isn't that the reason it didn't make that much money?
It also probably didn't do very well in China because China doesn't like movies with black characters.
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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It also probably didn't do very well in China because China doesn't like movies with black characters.
Did it even release over in China, what with the whole "ghost" angle of the movie? Anything with like ghosts and skeletons is prohibited in chinese media I think, which is why shit like Ghostbusters isn't allowed in theaters. I think the only exception were the Harry Potter movies, because they were too much of a money maker to ignore.
 
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BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
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Did it even release over in China, what with the whole "ghost" angle of the movie? Anything with like ghosts and skeletons is prohibited in chinese media I think, which is why shit like Ghostbusters isn't allowed in theaters. I think the only exception were the Harry Potter movies, because they were too much of a money maker to ignore.
Yet they have no problem with "theoretical" stories like time travel. Fuck off Chinese government, you limp dick biatch censoring, know nothing assholes.
 

Thaluikhain

Elite Member
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Yet they have no problem with "theoretical" stories like time travel. Fuck off Chinese government, you limp dick biatch censoring, know nothing assholes.
I thought time travel was one of the things they banned in media as well.
 

BrawlMan

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I thought time travel was one of the things they banned in media as well.
China seems to flip flop with this depending on who's doing the movie or how high the position you are in life. Marvel gets a pass with their Age of Ultron movie. I remember back around either 2018 or 2019, there was a science fiction martial arts movie that involved time tribal and pretty much ripped off Terminator, and that thing was low budget as fuck.