Topic: The Movie Thread

@LN78 I may check that out, when I saw that title I thought it was some film I'd never heard of. I got curious and found the vid I saw

Yeah Taika Waititi really turned Thor around after 2 average films and I love 'What We Do In The Shadows'. I haven't seen JoJo Rabbit yet but I've added it to my Disney+ watchlist. I'm really curious to see what he can do with Star Wars, I believe that's still happening.

@LN78 The first I was aware of Taika was as director of Flight of the Conchords and stuff after that so not familiar with the titles you've mentioned. I'll certainly look those up.

Edit: Found the former on Prime so have added that to my watchlist there. Not sure I have access to the latter but I will try and find a way, I'll watch anything with Rhys Darby. He's probably my favourite part of FotC and the best Werewolf to be committed to film. 😁

@BearsEatBeets @LN78
Agree that Hunt for the Wilderpeople and JoJo Rabbit are well worth a watch and just because it's not yet been mentioned I would also give a recommendation to the film Boy. Was that one that started me paying attention to Taika and looking forward to his next projects.
Haven't personally seen Eagle Vs Shark so guessing that's probably going to be hunted down and watched this week.

@RogerRoger I've decided I'm going to rewatch Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation (possibly tonight) before Fallout to reacquaint with the characters/events. It's crazy the authenticity he goes for in stunts, especially as he's 59!!! I'm guessing the story must be pretty big for the new one if it's only 'part one'.

@sorteddan @LN78 Eagle vs Shark is also on Prime (in UK) but only to rent/buy. I don't mind spending a few quid on it though.

@RogerRoger I've now watched those 3 MI films and really glad I finally got round to it. It's genuinely a bizarre series in that they have got better with each installment. I haven't watched the first 2 in a long time but remember them being enjoyable if nothing special. The main continuation thread certainly started with 3 and I think that's where the series started to grow although I feel I need re-watch that one. Ghost Protocol is very good but Rogue Nation and Fallout were both excellent. I think Rebecca Ferguson's IIsa was an excellent addition to the cast/story and glad to see she will be back for the new one.
After watching Rogue Nation and Fallout I actually watched the special features which I haven't done in a long time. The work going into the action sequences is mind blowing, I was especially impressed with the underwater training in RN and the HELO jump work done for Fallout. There was even a bit about a stunt I couldn't recall watching and wondered if I got distracted for a few minutes but they did a load of work to have Tom swing off the roof of the building they parachute onto only to cut it. No wonder these films cost so much to make.

I re-watched the trailer for Dead Reckoning afterwards and I'm even more excited for it now. Just a shame I noticed it's actually still over a year away.

Watched Watchmen this morning.

I'd seen parts of it before, although never the whole thing, but I thought it was quite good. It's much more of a slow burn than your typical CBM (and more graphic as well), which gave it a pretty unique vibe amongst it's contemporaries. The action scenes really hit hard when they did happen though, and the backdrop of an alternate reality history was pretty interesting.

Really sad to see about Ray Liotta. Came totally out of nowhere but then again, I had no idea he was approaching 70.

@LN78 I was wondering why I didn't get a notification for your question then noticed you missed out an 's'. Come on, you know bears are social eaters and wouldn't eat beets on their own.
Anyway, like @RogerRoger American Psycho has never appealed to me to warrant watching. I know very little about and therefore have no opinion on Christian Bale or much more about Tom Cruise for that matter other than him being a Scientologist. That seems like a bizarre thing to come out and say if they have only met in those circumstances, guessing they didn't bond at time.

Not sure how I feel about Indiana Jones 5. I suppose I'll wait to see/hear more about it but this sprung to mind

@LN78 Apparently on set in Glasgow, James Mangold went around saying the city was a “sh*thole” so Indy 5 is already going to be the worst movie ever made 😂

@LN78 It’s admittedly less of a sh*thole than it was in 2002, that’s for sure. And we’ve had way less complaints from the other cast and crew of films like Fast and Furious, The Flash, Batgirl, The Batman and so forth!

Just watched Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

Never watched the original cartoon so I wasn't all that invested in the core story/narrative (though it was fun enough in that manner for a kids' movie), so I was more interested in what they were going to be able to pull off cameo wise, and although it wasn't quite to the level of Who Framed Roger Rabbit in that regard, it was more impressive in that regard than I had imagined going in. Massive thumbs up for having South Park's Randy Marsh just sitting there out in the open. Didn't think they'd go that far. Also had a few subtle nods to Rick & Morty.

Just finished watching Just One of the Guys (currently free on Pluto TV). 80's comedy that follows a female high school student as she decides to go undercover as a Boy for a week at another school, as she believes the only reason her journalism assignment didn't win a competition was because she's a girl, and she'd be able to succeed at the other school as a boy.

The main premise for the swap is soon largely dropped (outside of some lip service at the end of the film) in favor of typical 80's teen romance/drama cliches (they don't even bother to explain how she's able to skip out from her own school for an entire week, let alone why this other school just let's "him" walk in), so your enjoyment of it will entirely come down to how much you enjoy said cliches. That said, it gains some level of uniqueness just for the pure Ranma-esque web of relationships (you have Terry's shallow college aged boyfriend whom she's trying to hide her adventure from, the girl who has the hots for "boy" Terry, the dorky boy Terry decides to help out socially whom she starts to like but can't tell him in order to maintain her facade, who himself begins to catch the eye of the school's hottest girl, which draws the ire of the cliche douchebag jock. Then you have Terry's dateless best friend, & her perpetually horny younger brother whom is a carbon copy of Bud Bundy from Married With Children, right down to being named Bud).

Ghostbusters Afterlife. Just about entertaining enough to while away a couple of hours. But it is the A Force Awakens of the series and almost a complete retread of the first film, which I think is much better.

Top Gun. Possibly the most homoerotic movie ever made. I swear there’s more sexual tension between Maverick and Iceman than you’ll find in Brokeback Mountain.

@LN78 Well I have now! And I agree 😂

Saw Top Gun Maverick at the cinema last night.

I don't have any specific attachment to the original film, but I thought this one was really good. I think it helps that while it is a reboot, it feels like one that they (or at least Cruise) really wanted to do rather than just being a cash in (it ends in a way that it ties up character relationships/drama left over from the first film really well).

Of course the action in the sky was the real draw for me & it didn't disappoint. There was plenty of it, brilliantly filmed, with the climax being one of the most excitingly tense showdowns I've seen in a while. The last act of the movie really feels like they commited an Ace Combat game to film, which is really impressive given the sheer amount of physical stunt work on display.

Seemed to be a real crowd pleaser for the relatively largish audience in attendance, too.

@RR529 Yeah, I went to the IMAX yesterday. What a film. The moment the first beat from the TR-808 with the bells for Harold Faltermeyer's track hit, goose bumps.

Can't recommend Top Gun: Maverick enough.

Just finished up watching The Wolverine in my journey through all the X-Men films. I'd seen it before, though I actually think I enjoyed it more the second time (I think I may have been slightly unnecessarily confused by the separate factions the first time). I really appreciated the fight on top of the bullet train in a way I hadn't before, and it was the first time I watched a film on Blu Ray in awhile & I forgot how good the picture quality could be that way.

@SoulChimera, I'll bet that was something. I've never been to an IMAX, though I think my brother wants to see Avatar: the Way of Water at a more premium screen, so I'll probably have a chance then.

@RR529 @SoulChimera My desire to see films at the cinema was already pretty much gone before Covid came along and didn't really think I'd ever probably bother again. The trailers and reception for Top Gun Maverick has certainly made consider experiencing it on a big screen.