Topic: The Movie Thread

I love the Back to the Future movies but fully accept that it's probably based on me seeing them when they were new and pretty cutting edge in effects/spectacle (plus I was very young). Having re-watched them various times through the years I've fully realised they are very flawed and susceptible to criticism but it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of them. Nice to see you mention the score @RogerRoger, the main theme never fails to elicit emotion (I have it on my ipod). Originally I thought the sequels were of slightly lesser quality with the third the least favourite. However I have grown to like the third as much as the original as it has the best character progression and I've always liked the western setting.

@LN78 I have made a list of UHD films I want to get when I get a UHD drive with the PS5 but I've not seen a version of the BttF trilogy, where are you getting it from?

@LN78 In that case I'll wait for the UK release, thanks for the info.

Over the weekend I watched Rebirth of Mothra (Blu-Ray)!

The Premise:

• After a Hokkaido logging company accidentally unearths an ancient seal, the family of the company boss finds themselves in the middle of an ancient battle between Luna & Mona (Mothra's tiny little retainers that regularly appear beside her) and their evil sister Belvera (new for this film, I believe) who aims to undo the seal and unleash Desghidorah upon the world, a prehistoric threat Mothra sealed away millions of years ago. With the titular Kaiju near the end of her natural life, she may not have the strength left to go another round. It has an environmentalist tone, and doesn't feature Godzilla (the first of a late 90's solo Mothra trilogy).

The Takeaway:

• In many ways it differentiated itself from the typical "Godzilla VS" films (beyond the lack of the big guy), with the rivalry between the sisters giving it a slight "Magical Girl" vibe at times, it included a memorable aerial dogfight inside a living room which is just so different to what you'd expect in a Kaiju film in terms of the small scale destruction & quick speed, which I enjoyed. That said, when it came to the big fight it was no slouch either, with Desghidorah having an awesome design more akin to a traditional dragon (in comparison to King Ghidorah), with some weighty combat (the way it tore into Mothra's catipillar form was surprisingly brutal), and a plethora of special attacks (each monster had at least a half dozen, including a bizzare moment where Mothra bombarded her opponent with a swarm of glowing moths, which is a greater variety than you usually see in Godzilla flicks, outside of Mechagodzilla's diverse loadouts). Of course the special effects can be pretty hoaky, which is par for the course when it comes to the genre, but I actually had a pretty good time with it (dare I say I enjoyed it more than any "Godzilla VS" films I've seen in recent memory).

The Package:

• It didn't have a lot of bells & whistles, but as with the Godzilla films I have, it has the film's Japanese Theatrical & TV spots. These seem to be translated more literally than the film itself, with the subtitles referring to Belvera as Berbera, and more interestingly, Desghidorah as Death Ghidorah (I imagine this was changed in the film itself as the American distributors probably didn't want to have a monster with Death in it's name in a movie largely marketed towards kids, though that's just a guess).

@RogerRoger I have not seen the animated film but I have read the graphic novel the film is based on which is how I recognized his look from the trailer with the buttoned up green coat and the tape around his face

I can see the film going that route as well but Paul Dano definitely does channel a bit of that sadistic comedic tone that classic Riddler also has and that Jim Carrey attempted to emulate

@RogerRoger I've met Alan Silvestri, he's a lovely guy. The first time he arrived he was with Bob Gale, as they'd both come over from the US together. It was one of the few times I've broken my golden rule and spoken about that person's work. I told them both how much I loved the Back to the Future when I was younger and said I respected them for not doing a fourth one. Bob Gale replied with something along the lines of "they'll probably do it as soon as I've f***ing died"

@Gremio108 I'm extremely grateful it seems the franchise is owned by Bob and Robert Zemeckis and they are happy to leave it as it is. I'm sure I heard rumblings a few years ago about studios wanting to do a reboot/remake but they shot it down. Also glad I've heard no more on a Princess Bride remake. On the breaking of the news Carey Elwes responded with the perfect tweet.

Also on the topic of Back to the Future, I was very gutted when I finally got around to visiting the Universal Studio theme park several years ago that the ride had been discontinued and removed. Oh well at least Jaws was still there.

@LN78 Amazon currently have a 2 for 30 quid offer on 4K UHD blu rays. I could not find the offer listed anywhere on the app, but it does come up if you search for it.

EDIT: There are also some which are 2 for 20 quid.

Also The Fifth Element is released on the format on 1st September. One of my favourites growing up, but gonna wait to hear what the quality is like before hitting the trigger.

@RBMango Tenet was awesome by the way! But it's definitely one of those films you have to see more than once to truly appreciate it. Looking back, I'm certain a missed a ton of little details in the beginning of the film.

I love The Fifth Element. Gary Oldman is quality in it.

I’m just going to not comment on Tenet at all, other than to say that Nolan is a talentless hack 😛

@LN78 You missed a trick. It should have been Joel Edgerton.

@nessisonett

Just saw about Chadwick Boseman. Holy sh*t, I’m in shock. Can’t believe that. It’s been a while since a celeb death has hit me this hard to be honest, he just seemed healthy and his career was on the up and up.

@Arugula I watched 42 a couple of weeks ago. For this to happen on the rescheduled Jackie Robinson Day, at only 43 years old, it’s a bloody shame. Especially with everything going on right now, Black Panther was so important to so many people and I hope he lives on among those still struggling for basic freedom and dignity.

@nessisonett @Arugula @LN78 Only just seen the news now as I've woken up. Thought it was fake when I first saw it. Such devastatingly sad news. RIP Chadwick Boseman.

Yeah, RIP Chadwick. Sad news, indeed. 2020 continues to bring one tragedy after another.

Watched a couple of movies over the last few days.

The Blues Brothers - One of those movies I’d never got round to watching but my mum said she used to rent it from Blockbuster every few weeks. Really enjoyed how crazy it was and there were some amazing musical numbers from some true legends like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. Just really good fun from start to finish. Loved the scary nun too and her floating.

The Wedding Singer - Honestly way better than I thought it would be. I do have a massive soft spot for 90s Adam Sandler but this was a proper good movie. It was somehow really sweet for a Sandler movie, he doesn’t often dwell on the romantic side of rom-coms but this had a heart, mostly because of his great chemistry with Drew Barrymore. I’m quite impressed by his singing ability too, I know he sings on SNL but I never really thought about it much. I’d honestly recommend it wholeheartedly.

@nessisonett Not a massive fan of Adam Sandler but do like the odd film with him in. Think The Wedding Singer is my favourite of his and your spot with your comments. Not a bad film per se but I never want to see 50 First Dates ever again, as I had a house mate who used to watch it ad nauseum. Whenever I used to hear that the film was on again I would retreat back to once I came! 😂

@JohnnyShoulder There’s something extremely fitting that of all movies to watch over and over again, 50 First Dates was the one chosen 😂

I recently binged through all of Fringe for the first time, and Chadwick Boseman had a guest role in that. I'm not very familiar with his movie roles, and the Marvel movies leave my brain as quickly as they enter it, but he really was incredible there. It's hard to give a memorable enough performance in just one episode that I'd still remember it vividly after binging 92 episodes in like... 2 months, but he sure succeeded. One of the best guest stars of that entire show, up there with at least Martha Plimpton. It's a shame I won't be seeing him again in any future movies/shows, because he clearly was very talented. Not only that, but presumably also a hero to many of the fans of the MCU. I can't think of any better way to prove that an actor deserves to play a hero/role model than to see how he was able to push through cancer for as long as he did, and do so in style. RIP Chadwick Boseman.