Topic: The Movie Thread

I'll have to admit that the new Justice League trailer does looked rather cool. Snyder's specialty has always been on the visual side but it's both the story and characterization that I'm worried about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiAmnKUaNmc

No idea as to why he changed Flash's yellow streak to blue, though.

@WanderingBullet I think the Justice League trailer looks good but then that's the point of a trailer. So many look great but the actual movie can disappoint - BvS for example - not that I hated that movie but it wasn't the best. Generally I prefer the 'solo' movies to a group of superheroes although I do enjoy the Avengers and some are better than the 'solo' movies but then in some cases these were more to set up the Avengers than a 'good' movie in their own right.

Maybe they changed the streak to blue to differentiate it from the series. Blue makes it look more electrical in my opinion.

@BAMozzy Could be like you said so it looks more like electric.

Watched a ton since my last post. It's been a couple months and I probably don't remember everything.

• First off, a bunch of animated Marvel flicks on Netflix. Hulk VS > Planet Hulk > Ultimate Avengers > Ultimate Avengers 2 > the Invincible Iron Man > Doctor Strange.
• Animal House (Netflix) - I've heard it referenced as the granddaddy of the raunchy comedy, so I decided to check it out. It's a bit dated in places, but overall I thought it worked for what it is.
• Deadpool (DVD) - Raunchy, but fun and unique superhero romp. I liked it.
• Disney's Pete's Dragon (Netflix) - The new one. It's a family film, but it's actually well made, and doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator, if that makes sense. Probably would have loved it when I was younger.
• Hacksaw Ridge (DVD) - WWII film about Desmond Doss, a soldier who wanted to serve, but wouldn't use a weapon. It's based on a true story, and the things he did to rescue those he did were stunning. Great film.
• Kubo & the Two Strings (Netflix) - Absolutely fantastic, visually striking animated adventure on par with Disney's classics like the Lion King, Aladdin, Hercules, Mulan, and the like. Really loved it, and as the rest of Laika's catalogue has failed to impress me, it was a real suprise.
• License to Drive (Netflix) - Cheesy 80's comedy about a teen who's looking forward to a night out on the town once he gets his driver's license. Of course, when he fails the test, that doesn't stop him from stealing the car and getting into progressively more wild scenarios. As I mentioned before, it was cheesy, but it was fun & I liked it.
• the Manhattan Project (Netflix) - 80's film about a teen who discovers that a company in his home town is secretly developing nuclear bombs, and to expose them steals some plutonium... in order to build his own homemade nuclear device. Naturally, danger ensues as he gets in over his head.
• Ratchet & Clank (Netflix) - Never played an R&C game before, but watched this because I had nothing else to do at the time. Pretty average mainstream animated fare.
• Star Trek Beyond (DVD) - This was a good time. It saw the crew of the Enterprise marooned on a planet after being attacked by a strange enemy, and they have to find a way back to headquarters in order to stop said enemy from launching a more devastating attack.
• Suicide Squad (DVD) - I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It had a pretty unique vibe for a superhero (or should I say supervillain) film, which helped it, but I don't know, I guess I just wasn't feeling it.

Sorry for the double post, but I've watched quite a bit since my last post and don't want to forget anything.

Batman VS Superman: Dawn of Justice (DVD) - It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. There were a couple of briefly confusing dream sequences (notably the one with Batman in the desert), and the way they incorporated Doomsday into it was asinine, but otherwise I thought it was alright. Some pretty exciting action.

Big Trouble in Little China (Netflix) - Very 80's film about a trucker who goes to Chinatown to save his friend's fiancé from a Chinese crime syndicate, and as you do, gets involved in an ancient plot to revive a 2,000 year old magical emperor bent on world domination. Not something I'd buy, but I enjoyed it for what it is.

Ghost in the Shell (Amazon Video) - The original, and it's a fantastic film. The animation is absolutely stunning, with some great action scenes, and the story is both easy enough to casually follow (the main gist), as well as deep enough to warrant multiple views.

Halo: the Fall of Reach (Netflix) - Watched this since I was looking for a decent sci-fi watch at the time (I've played the first game in the series before). It has some of the caveats you'd expect from a budget CGI flick, but I otherwise quite enjoyed it.

Pixels (Encore) - Caught this on TV, and figured what the heck. The concept is stupid, and for awhile I thought I could accept it as dumb fun, but then they introduced Q-Bert, and what started out as an annoying sidekick became disturbing by the end.

the Siege of Jadotville (Netflix Original) - Set in 1961, UN peacekeeping forces are sent to intervene in the Congo civil war, and after their position is deemed unimportant in the grand strategy, 150 untested Irish soldiers must fend for themselves against 1,500 experienced mercenaries led by ex-French Legionaires. Ended up being a great watch.

I recently watched the Boruto movie and I gotta say, Boruto is a much more awesome protagonist than his hyperactive and dorky father ever was lol! xD

• Doctor Strange (DVD) - Pretty good. The heavy emphasis on magic gives it a unique place in the MCU (they even tried explaining away Thor's abilities as science we don't yet understand in previous films, so this is the first time they really embraced magic), and it was visually quite stunning.
• the Legend of Tarzan (DVD) - the new one from last year. I thought it was pretty decent, but should really watch it again if I get the chance to better judge it, as I was super tired when we watched it.

the Mars Generation (Netflix Original) - Documentary about the history of the US space program (including past Mars projects/plans), and the young space fanatics growing up believing that they'll be the generation that makes it to the red planet. Nice watch if you find the subject matter interesting.

• Starship Troopers (Amazon Instant Video) - Bought it awhile ago. It's a bit campy, but I've always enjoyed watching it.
• True Memoirs of an International Assassin (Netflix Original) - Kevin James plays an author who is confused for a famous assassin & is spirited away to Venezuela, and all three warring factions want his services. I actually thought it was suprisingly decent. Better than the Adam Sandler movies he usually winds up in.

I saw Wonder Woman yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. Best DC film yet, well acted and filmed. One of the better superhero origin films out there.

• Tag (Netflix) - Odd Japanese B-movie about a schoolgirl who finds herself slipping between alternate universes where everyone around her seems to die in bizarrely (and hilariously cheesy) gruesome ways. By the end, I'm almost sure it's some sort of statement about how women are represented in media, particularly video games, but perhaps I'm overthinking it.

Rogue one

Verging on nonsense the scale of phantom menace, with an uncanny valley cgi commander.

Its obviously a well shot film but the dad / daughter rubbish was too contrived to be enjoyable. It made sense for the Anakin / Luke / Leia storyline to have the family aspect but rogue one gets it all wrong. The final battle was awesome, but pretty much everything leading up was a total fail.

@themcnoisy I'd agree with you on that. The saving grace for me was Vader being totally badass, that bit was mega.

@themcnoisy @crippyd Whoa - do not blaspheme and compare this film with Phantom Menace.

I rewatched Rogue One last night for the second time after seeing it in the cinema.

My review is average film with amazing ending IF you are a hugely nostalgic Star Wars fan (like me). The end battle made complete sense as a prologue to Episode 4, the fan service was immense (Seeing Red squadron, Darth Vader ending etc.). That said, if you aren't as bothered by fan service and just want a film with a good start/middle/end then this film isn't really worth your time.

@crippyd @Rudy_Manchego I love 😍 starwars, the very end sequence was brilliant with Vader.

At the very start the movie took you to 5 locations within the first 10 minutes. It was too quick. Then the Jeda section was great, them whisked away to another location, then another one, then another one, then the final battle which took up the last 40 minutes.

It seemed the film was a tour of the galaxy. I felt sorry for my wife who's never watched a full star wars film. She didn't know what the hell was going on.

Sand Castle (Netflix Original) - Film set during the Iraq war in the early 00's, where a disillusioned soldier finds himself in hostile territory providing water to villages who's supply has been cut off due to the fighting. It was alright I suppose, but nothing special.

Halo: Legends (Netflix) - Anime film consisting of 8 shorts (each produced by a different studio) all set in the Halo universe. I actually really liked it, though I don't think it really picks up until after the 3rd short (the first two, titled "Origins I" & "Origins II" respectively, cover different aspects of the series lore you probably already know if you've played the games, and the 3rd, "The Duel", I felt was let down by it's experimental art style, which was quite muddy in places, although I liked it's unique narrative). I really liked the rest though, and think the series is a pretty good fit for anime, as far as western properties go.

Really looking forward to Spider-man: Homecoming this week. Don't think there's been a bad superheroes movie in 2017, yet. Really enjoyed Logan and Wonder Woman was pretty good as well except for some pacing issues and the part where she went berserk and the special effects in the background made her looked like the Flash. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 while not as good as the first one but was still a fun watch.

Watched Train to Busan on Amazon the other night, a korean zombie (ish film). Basically World War Z on a train but was a really really great watch, enjoyed it and recommend it.

@Rudy_Manchego I thought Train to Busan was better than World War Z. The Age Of Shadows (Korean) and Okja (Korean/Hollywood) are also pretty good movies if you haven't watched them, yet.

Anyways, I watched Transformers: The Last Knight. Don't ask me why, but I just like watching the CGI of the robots transforming.lol All I can say is the Transformers movies have gone downhill ever since the first one. Dumb stories, characters (a lot of racial stereotypes), dialogues and situations that made no sense. Also, they've successfully managed to make Optimus Prime super lame, he doesn't do much except always getting saved by his friends (in pretty much every movie) or go missing only to make a dramatic entrance during a battle. Can't believe Steven Spielberg's still continuing to produce this franchise.

@WanderingBullet I thought it was far better than World War Z as a film, completely agree there. I have Okja on my to watch list on Netflix but not heard of The Age of Shadows. Will see if I can find it anywhere.

Regarding Transformers, they are one of my guilty pleasures in that the films are utterly terrible (other than the first which was good imo), the acting poor, sexist and racial stereotyping but I like the way Michael Bay films robots fighting each other. I think Steven Spielberg just takes a paycheck to have his name on it now.

So many smart-arsed scifi films like Insipid, Invective, insertion... Inception, that's it! I can't stand those films that try to be clever. Like the Quantum, time travel film behind a bleedin' bookcase for crissake!
I love those Sci-Fi Films that use the genre as a device to convey emotional themes that are universal:
Realive - beautiful human cryogenics based about mortality, love and loss and the values that are worth living and dying for.
Arrival. Profound movie about how language shapes the way we seen and make sense of the world.
Both remind me of The Green Hills of Earth.

@Rudy_Manchego Wonder Woman was fun but the ladling of the importance of "Love" at the end was a bit of a squib. And I was put off by the dark tones of the fight scenes - These night time fight scenes are budget CGI 'get-outs' as used in Godzilla (1998) and Superman V Batman. It cheapened the whole experience.
Why do it when Marvel and Lucas' Star Wars clearly show you can have spectacular sci-fi fight scenes in broad daylight?