@nessisonett This movie is a little on the busy side too, but I feel like there's an emotional and thematic core to it that really makes it work for me in a way a lot of his other films didn't.
Definitely recommend giving it a watch. It's the best anime film since Your Name, and one of the best films released in the last several years period. I'm not surprised it's getting rave reviews.
Currently Playing: Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition
Just finished watching the second Jurassic Park movie 'The Lost World' and it was pretty good overall. I was glad to see that Jeff Goldblum was the protagonist this time around since we got to see more of him. I was also glad to see that Peter Stormare was in this movie, but I was very disappointed that they didn't give him a bigger role. I feel like he was always getting small roles back then considering I watched Bad Boys II a couple of weeks ago and he also had a small role in that movie.
Anyway, my biggest issues with the movie is just how stupid some scenes were. The most notable one being how the team Jeff was with decided for some reason to abduct the baby T-rex, which led to the parents following them, destroying their vehicle and killing one of their friends. What was the point of that? Why not just leave the baby alone? Not to mention how long they dragged it out when they were hanging from the vehicle off the cliff. Then we have the ship scene towards the end, like can someone explain to me how the crew died? At first I thought some velociraptors had accidentally gotten on board and killed them, but apparently not because we only saw the baby T-rex and its parent. So how did they die? I feel like the whole ship crashing into the harbour was just so stupid because it wasn't explained well. There's one more scene that bugged me: when Jeff and his girlfriend brought back the baby T-rex to the ship, why did they jump into the water and then got back up again onto the ship? Why didn't they just stay on the ship? I genuinely feel like so many scenes were just so poorly put together.
Other than that, this was a good movie but definitely not on the same level as the first one, which was just so good.
the Good Dinosaur - I don't think it'll go down as anything particularly memorable, but it decent enough time with a few chuckles & cute moments, and the almost photorealistic environmental shots were absolutely gorgeous.
Blank Check - It's not realistic in the slightest, but I think if you were a kid in or around the 90's I think there's some fun to be had in the way it absolutely indulges in all the materialistic fantasies a kid of the era would have. While I wouldn't go as far to say I found it offensive, I will say the "romantic" subplot simply doesn't make much sense (I can't imagine the intended audience would care about it in the slightest), and his obsession with it would have made more sense if he was his older brothers' age (lamenting that he's only a couple sweet years away from adulthood & all that). I think it's also somewhat compounded by the fact that while he's supposed to be 12(?) he could easily pass as under 10.
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Wanted to post my thoughts on some movies I've seen from the past two days. I know I never post on here (I do check the thread frequently though), but I just had to get my thoughts out somewhere.
The Naked Spur (Blu-Ray) Director: Anthony Mann
Western about a former rancher who's trying to capture an outlaw and take him back to Kansas, but ends up getting help from two strangers along the way. I'll admit I like Westerns that are a bit dark, so this is right up my alley. This film is very psychological, although there a few quality action scenes. Most of this film is Robert Ryan trying to find a way to escape by any means. Ryan plays a terrific villain. He looks the part and his character is a real slimeball, willing to get into the other characters heads if it means escaping. James Stewart also does a great job playing against type. It's almost hard to believe that this is the same guy who played the likes of Jefferson Smith or George Bailey. He's determined to get Ryan back to Kansas by any means necessary, even if it means being just plain nasty! The film also does a great job explaining his motivations so he's more than just a simple jerk and you can somewhat sympathize with him. The rest of the supporting cast does a fine job, but the film belongs to Ryan and Stewart. The film was shot in Colorado and the it looks outstanding (if it's a Western, it better look good). I'm also glad the film was shot in color. The pacing is great as well. It may only be around 90 minutes, but it never feels too short. The ending feels a bit contrived, but that's old Hollywood for you. Ditto for the romance between Stewart and Janet Leigh's characters. With that being said, I think that this is one of the better Westerns to come out of the '50's. 8/10
The Fortune Cookie (Blu-Ray) Director: Billy Wilder
Dark comedy about a cameraman who suffers a minor injury from a football player. His lawyer brother-in-law convinces him to fake a serious injury so he can sue for a million dollars. I thought this was pretty good. The premise is good and I liked how at the beginning of each scene there was a title that introduced it like a chapter in a book. Jack Lemmon plays the cameraman and I enjoyed his role. He isn't really sure whether he wants to go through with the lawyers plans or not. There's also the football player who adds some drama to the film and the only character I felt any pity for. The real highlight for me though is Walter Matthau as the lawyer. Wilder has had some pretty cynical and even sleazy characters in his films, but Whiplash Willie has go to be up there with Chuck Tatum from Ace in the Hole as the worst (at the least the cameraman's life isn't in danger like the poor guy stuck in the cave). In one part of the movie, he says he's going to sue a fruit company because his client slipped on a banana peel and the company didn't print a warning! Most of the funny dialog comes from the lawyer. The screenplay in general is great, but that's to be expected by Wilder. As far as complaints go, I thought the film slowed down some when an important character enters the scene. Overall while I wouldn't rank this amongst Wilder's very best like Sunset Boulevard, The Lost Weekend or Ace in the Hole (to be honest I thought this was one of his weaker films) I thought it was worth a watch. 7.5/10
Days of Wine and Roses (HBO Max) Director: Blake Edwards
Drama about a couple who slowly succumb to alcoholism. Unsurprisingly, this is a pretty downbeat and depressing film so stay away if you're in a negative mood (although if you want to feel worse, this is an excellent film to watch). I think one of the strengths of this film is the realism. I'll admit I don't know any alcoholics but from what I've read this is a pretty accurate portrayal of how they act (although there is one scene that's a bit over the top). Let's be honest though, the real reason this film is worth watching is because of the performances of the two main actors. Jack Lemmon does an excellent job in a more dramatic role. Ditto for Lee Remick. I thought they did a convincing job (apparently they both suffered from alcoholism when the film was made). My biggest complaint about this film is that it's a bit slow starting out. I understand why they did this they wanted to portray the leads while they were still leading normal lives, but I personally didn't find the early parts too interesting. I also don't think the film is as good as The Lost Weekend which has a similar subject matter. With that being said this is a great film that's worth watching, especially if you like great acting. 8/10
I also watched Foreign Correspondent, Bringing Up Baby and Casablanca (all HBO Max). Already seen those, so I'm not going to talk about those. However, I do recommend them although I imagine most of you folks have already seen Casablanca.
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@Jimmer-jammer I need to watch it again. I did enjoy it in the cinema but my nephew kept disappearing (he left his seat about 5 times) I later found out he was checking football scores 😡🤬
@Liam-x
Was gonna suggest Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days later but beaten to it so will second both of those.
Shawn of the Dead for horror comedy and Dead Snow if you can handle subtitles will have to be my recommendations then.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
Watched The Gentleman the other day. Started of slowly but got really good by the end. It felt budget which is surprising considering the cast.
Pretty excited for Uncharted now. Got some friends to with me now straight after work.
Also it’s being advertised like crazy from where I live.
Sony is definitely banking on this to succeed.
Also Spider-Man No Way Home is probably passing $2billion. It’s already at ~$1.8billion. Wonder how long those legs will last. Fully deserved.
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Dies, Died, Will Die.
If we could perceive time for what it really was,
What reason would Grammar Professors have to get out of bed?- Robert & Rosalind Lutece
@Fight_Teza_Fight It will be interesting to see how Uncharted performs. I think releasing on the heels of No Way Home it’s going to get a boost from being Tom Holland’s next film. The marketing has been pretty aggressive for it — I’m seeing advertisements and trailers during the Olympics and other TV shows. I think the ‘Tom Holland effect’ will draw peoples’ eyes just by association and they won’t even know they are watching a video game franchise movie.
I continue to think Uncharted looks like it will be a passable action flick, but just doesn’t seem like it will be a very accurate representation of the flavor and spirit of the games.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Just watched The Kings Man as it surprisingly appeared on Disney+ at no extra cost. Better than the second one but still a fair ways off the original imho. ‘Decent’ though all the same.
@RogerRoger well I hope you enjoy… all I would say is that Ralph Fiennes and the new young chap aren’t a patch on Colin Firth and Taron Egerton (and that’s coming from a huge Fiennes fan). I think the period setting appealed to me though… that and the less of a reliance on hyper-choreographed fight scenes (loved them in 1 but thought they rinsed them in 2) ‘just’ elevated it enough for me to rank it above the sequel. I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.
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