Topic: The Movie Thread

@KALofKRYPTON @KratosMD I’d have to agree on the watching 2001 more than once if you really want to ever like it. That movie is sorta weird. I won’t spoil it, but there are some instantly gratifying plot points and drama, but there is a lot of strange sub-narrative that can be offputting, depending how “in the mood” you are for a symbolic and cryptic experience. But it’s a space odyssey, so given your interest in Star Wars and Star Trek, it might click for you. But it is absolutely NOTHING like either of those Sci-Fi classics.

@Th3solution @KratosMD Closest any of them come is Star Trek: The Motion Picture - and even then it's largely stylistic.

Once you're done with 2001, give Naked Lunch a try.

@KratosMD 2001 is... dense. Not one of my favorite films, but I do appreciate what it was going for. It requires a lot of patience, though, so just sort of settle down and let it wash over you the first time through, I'd say.

Glad you enjoyed Jaws.

@KratosMD Hey, thanks for the tag!

Glad you enjoyed the film. Unfortunately, you used terms like "jump scare", "corpse" and described watching terrified children as genuinely "disheartening", so it's a hard pass from me. I'm a proper coward.

Plus I love animals, so the idea of vilifying and killing a shark for being a shark and doing what sharks do would never have sat right with me anyway. I know it's a movie and all, but I'd just spend the entire time yelling at the stupid humans. Stay on land, for goodness sake.

I'm pre-judging a lot here, which is very bad of me, so feel free to tear any of this to pieces!

@KratosMD absolutely.

Sorry to break up the flow, folks, but I just wanted to note that I've now finished the entire prequel era of the Star Wars saga (Episode I, Episode II, The Clone Wars film and television show, Episode III).

I've written far too many walls of text about Star Wars of late, though, so I'll keep it brief by saying that I'm not going any further. The prequel era is "my" Star Wars and it was so incredibly satisfying and emotional watching it all flow in chronological order; it gave so much more weight to Episode III that it might've toppled Episode I as my favourite of the entire franchise (it was always close anyway, but I'd never watched it all in this way before, and therefore found new layers and perspectives... in a film I've been watching regularly for thirteen years, which is pretty darn incredible).

Maybe I'll watch the rest when Solo comes out on Blu-Ray and I finally see it. I just know that I don't wanna go immediately into the originals, as to me they're the lesser films that, in my mind, existed to allow the creation of the superior prequels. Plus, thinking about it, Solo would be next in the timeline anyway.

So I'll come back later. Or I'll just start all over again. I actually wouldn't mind.

For now, though, I'm Qui-Gone.

@KratosMD Yeah, my vote would be to go ahead and watch 2001: A Space Odyssey at least once. But it’s very possible that you may have the same response I did — which was, I did not like it at all after seeing it the first time. Found it boring and slow to develop and confusing. Then after watching it the second time I found it to be quite deep and fulfilling. The two viewings were separated by a couple years so it could be my frame of mind and maturity level that made the difference, who knows. But it’s kind of a rite-of-passage type movie for geeks and nerds. That music. You gotta see where that iconic Space Odyssey music comes from, if nothing else. That alone is reason enough. Plus the cultural references and quotes from it that you’ll at least be exposed to.
Kind of like when I watched “Chariots of Fire” and am glad I did just so I can identify the cultural reference of that awesome musical score. The movie itself it rather disliked and found boring.

@RogerRoger Nice work. Yeah, it’s kind of like after seeing Episode 4 in succession after watching “Rogue One”, suddenly “A New Hope” rose in my mind to be a better movie after seeing the context.
I do think Episode 3 is my favorite of the prequels, because everything comes together. And the romance is less cheesy
When Padme says, “Anakin you’re breaking my heart! You’re going down a path I cannot follow!” I actually felt like there was a relationship there, as opposed to dialogue between the two in the others.

@KratosMD Yeah, 2001 is worth watching. Even if you don't like it, I feel like it'll still have been worth your time. Kubrick's films are still a huge part of our shared Western cultural landscape.

And, you know... you might really like it! Some people think Kubrick is one of the greatest directors in the history of the medium.

@Th3solution Agreed; there's definitely a way to do these things properly, in a way that expands and supports the original. I fear that Rogue One might've been beginner's luck for Disney.

Now free from Star Wars, I finally got around to watching Batman Ninja this morning and LOVED it. At times, it was perhaps even too bonkers for the already-bonkers premise, but if you just roll with it and let it happen, it's probably the best animated Batman film of all time, and I can imagine it being absolutely everything anybody could ever possibly want from a Batman anime film. Gorgeous, hilarious, spectacular and just a quality, quality piece of art from start to finish.

Also, with Mark Hamill saying he'll no longer voice the Joker, I think we've found a worthy replacement in Tony Hale. He was incredible throughout. Utterly fantastic.

@RogerRoger I mostly enjoyed Batman Ninja, although I'll admit that, near the end, it got a bit too stupid for me. And that's a pretty hard threshold to cross. I don't regret watching it, though, and it was definitely more enjoyable than something comparably dour like Gotham by Gaslight.

With all due respect, though, the best animated Batman film of all time is most definitely still the stellar Mask of the Phantasm. I also really liked Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. And Batman: Assault on Arkham, which is what Suicide Squad should have been in the first place.

I had pre-ordered Batman Ninja but decided to cancel it when one of my friends said it wasn't very good. :/

@Ralizah All of the more unusual bat-films hold their concepts pretty well. Gotham by Gaslight is a very good Victorian-Era detective thriller... it's just that, because Victorian-Era detective thrillers are, as you say, quite dour, I'd find myself in the right mood to watch it far less often than I would the bonkers, madcap insanity of Batman Ninja. You can't really switch your brain off for some films, but you certainly can for this (although I can totally understand where you're coming from, and don't blame you for finding some parts of the ending a giant, bounding leap too far).

I should point out that I'm no aficionado of anime, not in the slightest (Summer Wars and some Naruto is roughly the sum of my experiences) and much of my laughter came from the ridiculous nature of some events towards the end. I just rolled with it, I guess. Logic was never gonna work, so I didn't even try.

Perhaps part of me was, if I'm honest, caught up in the moment when I called it "probably the best animated Batman film of all time" but it's always gonna be close. I agree; Mask of the Phantasm is a true classic and rightfully placed at the top by many. I'd also include Under the Red Hood in favour of the others you mention, although they're also incredible. In many ways, Batman Ninja is too different a film to judge alongside them. It isn't a story so much as a visual experience, created in the traditional Japanese way of animating first and sorting out words to say alongside it later. Again, I suppose it'll all come down to the perspective of the viewer. Yesterday it really clicked, but I can see days in the future where it wouldn't quite match my mood, or I'd be looking for a more intricate, interesting narrative.

@WanderingBullet Perhaps rent it from PSN or something, as a cheaper gamble? I'd certainly encourage you to make up your own mind about it. There seems to be a little bit of Marmite in the reactions; many love it, but some hate it quite vociferously, for various reasons (some anime fans don't like the Batman stuff, whereas some bat-fans can't engage with Japan's take on their hero).

@RogerRoger Thanks. I might buy it eventually but not now since I'm a huge Batman fan and samurai/ninja genre as well. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of CGI animes but when I first saw the trailer I was really looking forward to watching it, which is why I decided to pre-ordered it. My friend then told me that some parts of the movie were pretty stupid, so I went to read some reviews and they were pretty mixed.

@WanderingBullet Batman Ninja is worth a go. I enjoyed it, it is bonkers and all the better for it.

DC rarely fumble when it comes to the animated stuff, and even when they do (Death & Return of Superman) they acknowledge it and correct it.

The latest Death of Superman is nicely done. Not particularly ground-breaking in any way, but re-tells the story to fit in with the animated feature New 52(ish) timeline. It's well acted, nicely written and does the work to set up Reign of the Superman/Return in a pretty snappy run-time.

I managed to watch Ready Player One at the weekend. And, to keep it brief - what a piece of crap. I was actually staggered at, not only how poorly adapted the film is in almost every way, but at the utter lack of emotional resonance. It didn't even feel at all like Spielberg was involved.
I understand that licencing, or the lack of it will have played a key part in what could make it in to the film and what couldn't. But even then, what's left is an incredibly shallow, even hollow notion of what the book - not exactly a sprawling master work - is. Very disappointing.

I also got to see Tag. Which was a blast.

@KALofKRYPTON I’ll agree with you that RPO was a poor adaptation and did lack some of the emotional impact. It felt rushed, as many book to movie adaptations can be. But the eye candy was nice, as were some of the gaming references. I managed to get a little bit of enjoyment out of it.

@Th3solution honestly, I'm not sure I can think of a worse direct adaptation I've seen.

There were a few fun references, but it was just throw away fan service every time; fleeting glimpses: RoboCop; Spartans; Chun Li - the utter dedication that must have been employed to license and model Serenity for her all to brief cameo speaks volumes that the film was a contractual obligation for most involved. Wreck It Ralph did a better job, it celebrated everything it managed to put on screen.

It's not only the lack of much resembling the story from the book. The whole thing drips with laziness. Even the depiction of people using VR so meticulously described in the book is junked: because reasons and this treadmill looks cool... And the people fighting in VR in the streets...

It's rare that a film I decide to watch seems so utterly devoid of a soul and apologetic for its existence. RPO doesn't even work well as the pure popcorn movie the producers clearly wanted it to be.

@KALofKRYPTON 2 hours of your life you’ll never get back. Lol
What about Eragon? I never read the book or saw the movie but the word on the street was that it was an abysmal adaptation.

@Th3solution too right. I'm glad I read it beforehand. Wouldn't have on the strength of the film.

I've seen bits of Eragon. Wasn't great, but it at least has the caveats of being based on the first novel by a teenaged author and a directorial debut to boot.
Pretty fair adaptation I reckon.

Seriously though, I am genuinely struggling to think of an adaptation gone so fundamentally wrong. The Hobbit films are pretty bad; there are several Steven King based duffers (The Tommy knockers being possibly the worst) but really, I can't think of much that does everything so badly.

Before a few replies, I'll just note that my partner and I used a free trial of DisneyLife this weekend to marathon an insane amount of content. We watched Enchanted, The Muppets Christmas Carol, Star Wars: Droid Tales, Inside Out, The Princess and the Frog, The Muppets (2011), Up, Muppets Treasure Island and Monsters University. My head is a blur of jokes (many hit, some miss) and genuine emotion, for better and for worse. I need a nice, calm week. Maybe a documentary or nine will redress the balance.

@WanderingBullet Fair enough.

All I will add is that, if you've read a few reviews, it's hopefully not a spoiler to say that the animation style switches up more than a couple times throughout. It's truly beautiful and not all of it includes CGI. Yes, where it is used, the CGI can be a little obvious but it's (mostly) consistent and really nicely done, one of the first examples where I could truly see the benefits and the potential of introducing the technology to animation (even if they didn't quite get there this time). It never felt jarring but, as I said, my experience with anime is incredibly limited. Your mileage may vary.

@KALofKRYPTON You're right about DC animation correcting their mistakes. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for a proper adaptation of The Killing Joke, then? Or at least a release which skips that hideously sexist, homophobic, character-destroying Batgirl prologue.

@RogerRoger That's inspiring me to start an 'Unpopular Comics Opinion' thread, lol: The Killing Joke isn't very good.

The Killing Joke is a bad film, but it is most definitely a worse comic. I find Moore relatively hit & miss; his original work is usually solid, existing character properties rarely fare particularly well.

Firstly, the story is boring. The characterisations are rote at best and brings absolutely nothing to the table but starting off DC's exacerbatingly poor treatment of the Batgirl character.

The implied rape is at best crass, and at worst an ugly (and unlikely) slashfic fantasy.

Moore characterises and writes The Joker poorly. His dialogue is intended to be sharp, intelligent and witty - but it never moves beyond Moore's egotistical notions of what any of that is.

The film suffers from all of these things of course. It's certainly a case where diverging from the source would've helped the story leaps and bounds; instead they compounded the whole thing in to an even more severe mess with... Well, actually in keeping with the source material - more creepy slashfic.

I'm certain that given the time and a free hand, Bruce Timm could salvage the story and make something of it. I'd say they're best leaving it alone and producing one of the better recent Batgirl stories.