Maybe next you can check out The Nice Guys. Hopefully haven’t seen it yet?
Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched
- Thread starter Th3Ch33s3Cak3
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Underrated; I really wish that movie had done better business.
The kids and I finished off the Star Wars prequels. It took a month to get through the first two as they didn't want to watch in one sitting (they've recently seen the National Treasure the whole may through.) Dath Maul fight was cool. Gungans were not. I cant remember much of Attack of the Clones already. Mostly pretty boring, especially compared to the originals.
The back half of Revenge of the Sith, on the other hand, really captured their attention like the Spiderverse movies did. I don't think my youngest really got what was going on til way later, he could sense there was something really wrong happening. While I'm not pro-Sith, the Jedis did a bunch of stuff that lead to their own destruction. Mace trying to kill Palpatine scene was pretty good but the set up was not. It sure does make the Jedi seem terrible. Couping without evidence is pretty bad as well. They definitely were worried about their own power, even if they were also worried the Sith. Becoming fascie in response to fascist is not a way to go and is self defeating
Side note: Generally, Obi-wan is a terrible mentor which I think is actually how most Jedi mentors are shown in the franchise. Eg. Yoda trained Dooku. Qui-Gon isnt seen as a good one either as Obi-wan is seen as rash and disrespectful. And Vader is then seen as rash and disrespectful. I'm now watching Rebels and Kanan is the same. So, Luke trying to kill Ben is just a common trait Jedi masters have. The Jedi Council pulls a Holdo, deliberately keeping key people in the dark so they can make mistakes that destroys everything. Also, I totally forgot what actually turns Vader.... Palpatine is doing immortality. So him resurrecting in later movies makes more sense. Yoda is portrayed as weak and inferior even though I dont see how Palpatine is more powerful. The whole thing does not explain why Obi and Yoda didnt keep fighting instead of waiting 20 years for some babies to grow up. That's a really bad paln
The back half of Revenge of the Sith, on the other hand, really captured their attention like the Spiderverse movies did. I don't think my youngest really got what was going on til way later, he could sense there was something really wrong happening. While I'm not pro-Sith, the Jedis did a bunch of stuff that lead to their own destruction. Mace trying to kill Palpatine scene was pretty good but the set up was not. It sure does make the Jedi seem terrible. Couping without evidence is pretty bad as well. They definitely were worried about their own power, even if they were also worried the Sith. Becoming fascie in response to fascist is not a way to go and is self defeating
Side note: Generally, Obi-wan is a terrible mentor which I think is actually how most Jedi mentors are shown in the franchise. Eg. Yoda trained Dooku. Qui-Gon isnt seen as a good one either as Obi-wan is seen as rash and disrespectful. And Vader is then seen as rash and disrespectful. I'm now watching Rebels and Kanan is the same. So, Luke trying to kill Ben is just a common trait Jedi masters have. The Jedi Council pulls a Holdo, deliberately keeping key people in the dark so they can make mistakes that destroys everything. Also, I totally forgot what actually turns Vader.... Palpatine is doing immortality. So him resurrecting in later movies makes more sense. Yoda is portrayed as weak and inferior even though I dont see how Palpatine is more powerful. The whole thing does not explain why Obi and Yoda didnt keep fighting instead of waiting 20 years for some babies to grow up. That's a really bad paln
I, instead, watched a slasher movie from 1982 called Pieces. It is certainly...unique. It's not good, mind you. The acting is terrible even by slasher standards, and the cinematography is matched only by the writing in terms of being uncomfortably sleazy, but it is so fascinatingly bizarre that it kept me watching. No other slasher movie has a scene where a main character is attacked by a kung fu professor, who blames the incident on having had some bad chop suey.
Ostensibly Vader's turn was motivated by a desire to save Padme from death by learning the secrets Palpatine dangled under his nose. However if you watch The Clone Wars you see quite a few events in which the Jedi screw Anakin over professionally and personally - the biggest example being them yeeting Ahsoka under the bus in the last season AND then having the temerity to ask her to come back by offering to promote her to a full Knight. Along with many other tragedies and horrors of war. His actions and desperation in RotS make much, much more sense in light of that show.
I thought it odd. I found it to be a warmed over retread of something Shane Black had done earlier that I thought far superior: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. And Iron Man and Ice Man are in it!!!
I wouldn't call it a retread, its more like the "Snatch" to Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Thematically similar (cos same genre) but with different enough characters and a fun mystery to keep you hooked.
The Equalizer 3: Great / Great
Robert McCall finds himself in Italy for reasons, and upon finding a place to settle and find some peace, discovers a cartel of mobsters have a stranglehold on the local community, so... well, let's just say you can't do that on his watch.
Supposedly the last installment, and while being probably the slowest burn of the three films, it certainly felt the most visceral. McCall comes across as a man who's just had it with evildoers, and it shows through his ruthlessness and violence. You could almost argue he enjoys it this time out. That said, it was a great film (if you're into this sort of thing, which I most certainly am.)
Robert McCall finds himself in Italy for reasons, and upon finding a place to settle and find some peace, discovers a cartel of mobsters have a stranglehold on the local community, so... well, let's just say you can't do that on his watch.
Supposedly the last installment, and while being probably the slowest burn of the three films, it certainly felt the most visceral. McCall comes across as a man who's just had it with evildoers, and it shows through his ruthlessness and violence. You could almost argue he enjoys it this time out. That said, it was a great film (if you're into this sort of thing, which I most certainly am.)
Splice (2009)
Science-Fiction horror movie about a couple of genetic scientists who end up creating a chimeric homunculus and dealing with the repercussions. Bear with me, this is a very reductive description but I have to start somewhere.
The first thing I found surprising about Splice is that I didn't see the name Cronenberg, father or son, anywhere in the credits. The way it uses the discrepancy between sterile environments and stoic performances and some rather grotesque, fleshy imagery certainly reminded me of them. And it's a Canadian production, too! What I found less surprising is that I did see Guillermo del Toro credited as a producer which... checks out. It does have a lot of mad science and classic creature feature thrills to be up his alley. And some aspects of it feel like they eventually evolved into Shape of Water.
Splice is a movie that I can only describe as "intriguingly uncomfortable", sort of a Freudian Frankenstein that wonders just how we see and how we treat the life we create. There is something oddly distant between scientists Clive and Elsa, played by Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley, who live together as a couple, yet seem rather stilted in the way they display their affection towards each other. Once their experiment comes to fruition, they take a parental role for this chimeric creature that is not quite human, but is undeniably their creation and their responsibility.
The chimera, who ends up named Dren, is obviously the central creature of this creature feature, but torn between animalistic and human behaviour and incapable of speech, it's not her so much that the movie seeks to analyse as it's her creators. Elsa harbours parental feeling for the fast growing homunculus that may not be entirely accidental, meanwhile Clive looks at her purely as a scientific subject at first, until his relationship with her becomes... more complicated.
There is oddly a lot to talk about in regards to Splice's subtext, to a large part because it's not exactly subtle about any of it. It's about the way peoples feelings towards their creation can become twisted and perverted and boundaries are violated when the subject of these feelings is not technically human and not technically their biological offspring. Whether Dren is human, animal or alien to her caretakers depends on their convenience, more than anything, but it's clear that as far as they are concerned, she doesn't get to be her own person.
You know, for most of its runtime I was really into Splice. I enjoyed the way it explored this extremely uncomfortable dynamic between three characters. It's clear that not only there is something extremely wrong with the entire situation, they keep digging themselves deeper into that wrongness until it becomes almost unbearable. From the very beginning it's clear that these peoples attitude towards creating life and towards the life they created is a very unhealthy one and the more the story unfolds, the more do we get to the depths of it.
That said, I felt the movie got sort of dumb towards the end, after a point that would have made for a perfectly fine ending, no less. The climax mostly felt like it was there because something like it is expected from a monster movie and it honestly lost me there. While the last scene of the movie was pretty sweet, it didn't make up for how shlocky it got right beforehand. Which is always a frustrating thing to say about a movie I was pretty into up to that point.
I'd still say Splice is pretty good. I appreciated just how unpleasant it was ready to get. I do think it successfully pushed some boundaries and managed to be actually transgressive moreso than many productions claiming to be science-fiction horror. If the genre's aim is to both disturb you and make you think, I'd argue Splice does a pretty good job of both.
Science-Fiction horror movie about a couple of genetic scientists who end up creating a chimeric homunculus and dealing with the repercussions. Bear with me, this is a very reductive description but I have to start somewhere.
The first thing I found surprising about Splice is that I didn't see the name Cronenberg, father or son, anywhere in the credits. The way it uses the discrepancy between sterile environments and stoic performances and some rather grotesque, fleshy imagery certainly reminded me of them. And it's a Canadian production, too! What I found less surprising is that I did see Guillermo del Toro credited as a producer which... checks out. It does have a lot of mad science and classic creature feature thrills to be up his alley. And some aspects of it feel like they eventually evolved into Shape of Water.
Splice is a movie that I can only describe as "intriguingly uncomfortable", sort of a Freudian Frankenstein that wonders just how we see and how we treat the life we create. There is something oddly distant between scientists Clive and Elsa, played by Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley, who live together as a couple, yet seem rather stilted in the way they display their affection towards each other. Once their experiment comes to fruition, they take a parental role for this chimeric creature that is not quite human, but is undeniably their creation and their responsibility.
The chimera, who ends up named Dren, is obviously the central creature of this creature feature, but torn between animalistic and human behaviour and incapable of speech, it's not her so much that the movie seeks to analyse as it's her creators. Elsa harbours parental feeling for the fast growing homunculus that may not be entirely accidental, meanwhile Clive looks at her purely as a scientific subject at first, until his relationship with her becomes... more complicated.
There is oddly a lot to talk about in regards to Splice's subtext, to a large part because it's not exactly subtle about any of it. It's about the way peoples feelings towards their creation can become twisted and perverted and boundaries are violated when the subject of these feelings is not technically human and not technically their biological offspring. Whether Dren is human, animal or alien to her caretakers depends on their convenience, more than anything, but it's clear that as far as they are concerned, she doesn't get to be her own person.
You know, for most of its runtime I was really into Splice. I enjoyed the way it explored this extremely uncomfortable dynamic between three characters. It's clear that not only there is something extremely wrong with the entire situation, they keep digging themselves deeper into that wrongness until it becomes almost unbearable. From the very beginning it's clear that these peoples attitude towards creating life and towards the life they created is a very unhealthy one and the more the story unfolds, the more do we get to the depths of it.
That said, I felt the movie got sort of dumb towards the end, after a point that would have made for a perfectly fine ending, no less. The climax mostly felt like it was there because something like it is expected from a monster movie and it honestly lost me there. While the last scene of the movie was pretty sweet, it didn't make up for how shlocky it got right beforehand. Which is always a frustrating thing to say about a movie I was pretty into up to that point.
I'd still say Splice is pretty good. I appreciated just how unpleasant it was ready to get. I do think it successfully pushed some boundaries and managed to be actually transgressive moreso than many productions claiming to be science-fiction horror. If the genre's aim is to both disturb you and make you think, I'd argue Splice does a pretty good job of both.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Haven't seen the previous Puss in Boots movie (or anything Shrek since Shrek 2 for that matter). This was pretty good, I enjoyed it a lot. Funny, great energy, endlessly creative, corny and equally dark. Maybe I'll get tired of the Spider-Verse school of frame-stuttering and brush stroke textures one day, but this is not it - movie looks gorgeous. Story sags a little bit once they go into the forest. Could've used more Jack Horner too. But all in all a lot of fun.
Haven't seen the previous Puss in Boots movie (or anything Shrek since Shrek 2 for that matter). This was pretty good, I enjoyed it a lot. Funny, great energy, endlessly creative, corny and equally dark. Maybe I'll get tired of the Spider-Verse school of frame-stuttering and brush stroke textures one day, but this is not it - movie looks gorgeous. Story sags a little bit once they go into the forest. Could've used more Jack Horner too. But all in all a lot of fun.
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What a coincidence, that was my new movie today. So good, but man, I was not prepared for it on an emotional level. Glad I watched it alone so no one else saw me cry.
He got the screen time that was needed for the film. I don't know what else they could have done with him, without overstaying his welcome.
Shin Kamen Rider - After seeing the trailer for the new Power Rangers, I decided to watch a live-action Toku/Sentai movie since I haven't touched one in a long time. @Gordon_4, have you seen this movie? Because Hideaki Anno directed this one, and he has his stamp all over it. I know he's fan of the character, and grew up watching the original series from the 70s. The movie is basically a retelling of that, with his on spin, but lover for the source material. I like the film overall, and love the cheesy charm. Most of the action is good, but I do not know why they chose shaky-cam in the final fight scene. It's not the worse, and I get the thematics for it in that context, but wasn't necessary to shake the camera.
Good movie, and glad to see some Japanese superhero material again. With this and RE: Cutie Honey, I might go for Shin Ultraman next. I admit, I never sat down and watched a single thing Ultraman related in my life.
Joy Ride
Recent comedy about 4 Chinese and Chinese-American women that go on a wacky road trip adventure in China and Korea. A breezy 90 minute wacky comedy with pussy jokes and plot holes and enthusiastic performances from "oh it's that chick from that thing" actors. Bridesmaids, Hangover, that kind of vibe.
And I haven't laughed so much at a movie in a long time. It was exactly what I needed and it gets my highest recommendation, absolutely delightful. I mean in the opening flashback scene a little girl punches a boy in the face for saying racist things to her, which lets you know what kind of movie you're in for. It's great.
Recent comedy about 4 Chinese and Chinese-American women that go on a wacky road trip adventure in China and Korea. A breezy 90 minute wacky comedy with pussy jokes and plot holes and enthusiastic performances from "oh it's that chick from that thing" actors. Bridesmaids, Hangover, that kind of vibe.
And I haven't laughed so much at a movie in a long time. It was exactly what I needed and it gets my highest recommendation, absolutely delightful. I mean in the opening flashback scene a little girl punches a boy in the face for saying racist things to her, which lets you know what kind of movie you're in for. It's great.
Do not take the awesomeness of this movie as representative of the previous movies.
In opinion, remakes should be done on IP that has a good concept but the previous instance was not great. Remaking successful films is really dumb
Miraculous Ladybug and Cat Noir the Movie - 9/10
The movie serves as an origin story primer for the tv show and honestly apart from the singing not being great (it’s not awful caterwauling by any measure but just lacks a little something) this is a really charming, action packed original superhero IP that’s animated beautifully. I recommend it (and the companion tv show) to anyone.
The Gentlemen - 10/10
Flaws and all I love this movie. The dialogue makes me laugh, and indeed every word out of Hugh Grant’s mouth in particular is solid gold. Everyone gives good performances with my standouts being Hugh Grant and Charlie Hunnum.
The movie serves as an origin story primer for the tv show and honestly apart from the singing not being great (it’s not awful caterwauling by any measure but just lacks a little something) this is a really charming, action packed original superhero IP that’s animated beautifully. I recommend it (and the companion tv show) to anyone.
The Gentlemen - 10/10
Flaws and all I love this movie. The dialogue makes me laugh, and indeed every word out of Hugh Grant’s mouth in particular is solid gold. Everyone gives good performances with my standouts being Hugh Grant and Charlie Hunnum.
For my new movie tonight, watched Killer Klowns From Outer Space. From that title, you know you are in for a B-movie, and what a B-movie it is. So much fun, with surprisingly intimidating yet silly villains around a ridiculous concept, and just...a lot of creativity went into this, and the soundtrack did not need to be as good as it is. Seriously, this theme is so good. If you are into B-movies, easy recommendation.
I wanted to like this movie, and while I greatly appreciate parts of it it just kinda felt like another Dreamworks movie. I think every scene with Death is fantastic, I love Jack Horner, especially once Jiminy Cricket shows up, I like that there's a body count, and the scene at the start with the giant is amazing to look at. But while it's nice to see Dreamworks venture into a more unconventional style, visually it still just looks like the same rather boring Dreamworks aesthetics but run through a Spider-Verse filter. Can't say I cared too much for the (hero) characters either, or the usual found-family fuzzies I was supposed to be feeling with Goldilocks. Nice to see Ray Winstone's still getting work though I guess.
Mortal Kombat isn't nearly as good as I thought it was when I was 14. The tournament doesn't really make any sense, the character interactions are weird, the special effects are pretty bad, and Sonya is turned into a screaming damsel in distress for pretty much no reason.
Fun Puss in Boots: The Last Wish fact. Legally and technically speaking, that is not Jiminy Cricket. It is the Ethical Bug, even says so in the credits. You see, he's only ever referred to as the Talking Cricket in the original Pinocchio story, and it was Disney who gave him the name of Jiminy Cricket. So, he's the Ethical Bug in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
That's also why he's now Sebastian Cricket in GDT's Pinocchio.
That's also why he's now Sebastian Cricket in GDT's Pinocchio.
The Flash: Ugh / Great
That was bad. Once I got over the nostalgia of Michael Keaton being Batman again (we're talking about 4 seconds of nostalgia,) the rest just fell apart. Poorly acted, shamelessly bad CGI, and a plot as about as convoluted as they themselves made apparent with an analogy to a bowl of spaghetti. Complete nonsense. And how much did this SCREAM it wishes it was like the MCU! I mean, the snark ratcheted this film closer to a comedy than an installment in a larger universe of ostensibly serious heroes (think Deadpool minus the self-awareness.) It was just dumb.
On the other hand, I was somewhat entertained. Once I realized I didn't need to try and respect it for what it was trying to be, I was able to laugh at and enjoy it for failing to be what it tried to be. It almost attains that "so bad, it's good" level of horribleness. Kinda makes me wanna go back to The Flash series on Netflix(?) which I dropped years ago, but that'd be akin to the trope of stepping on a rake only to step in the other direction onto another rake.
That was bad. Once I got over the nostalgia of Michael Keaton being Batman again (we're talking about 4 seconds of nostalgia,) the rest just fell apart. Poorly acted, shamelessly bad CGI, and a plot as about as convoluted as they themselves made apparent with an analogy to a bowl of spaghetti. Complete nonsense. And how much did this SCREAM it wishes it was like the MCU! I mean, the snark ratcheted this film closer to a comedy than an installment in a larger universe of ostensibly serious heroes (think Deadpool minus the self-awareness.) It was just dumb.
On the other hand, I was somewhat entertained. Once I realized I didn't need to try and respect it for what it was trying to be, I was able to laugh at and enjoy it for failing to be what it tried to be. It almost attains that "so bad, it's good" level of horribleness. Kinda makes me wanna go back to The Flash series on Netflix(?) which I dropped years ago, but that'd be akin to the trope of stepping on a rake only to step in the other direction onto another rake.