@JohnnyShoulder Thanks for the Justice League reminder, but double thanks for mentioning Speed which, as Ness says, is a total classic! If I can't find my Blu-Ray copy, I might get that 4K version!
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@Ralizah I keep meaning to track down Escape from New York, given that I've heard so much about it whilst reading around the Metal Gear Solid saga. I'm glad that, as a newcomer to it today, the experience held up to a fair degree. Thanks for sharing!
You're on your own with the Nightmare movies, though. Too scary for me!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
So guys what's a really dumb movie that you still enjoy or maybe even love? I got one and I'm dead serious here. Weekend at bernies! I actually like both of them. The sequel probably even more. Something about two dummies dragging around a dead guy and pretending he's alive just tickles me! In the second one the dead guy moves and dances anytime music is playing so it's even more funny.
@Zeldafan79 My favourite movie of all time, in all seriousness, is Air Force One.
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This afternoon I watched JFK. Was a slog to start with (and I didn't realise its runtime 'til I'd gotten underway, and I don't like to leave a film half-finished) but then, as the second hour concluded, Donald Sutherland sat on a park bench and, for the next twenty minutes, I was glued to the screen. The big courtroom crescendo was worth sticking around for, too. Its message has become tired nowadays (ironically coming across as rather naïve when, in reality, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle) but it was mostly solid stuff, and boasted one heck of a cast. I can see why it generated controversy back in 1991, for sure.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
So Army of the Dead was trash. Roundest zombie characters in cinematic history though so whoever was asking for that here's your movie.
Are new movies just getting worse or am I just getting old?
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"One of the unloveliest and least enlightening aspects of contemporary discourse is the tendency to presume that whatever one disagrees with must be very simple—not only simple, but also simply wrong." - Elizabeth Bruenig
@RogerRoger Yeah, I think it mostly holds up. The set design is impressive given how old it is. It also gets a bit wild in parts, like the bit where a gang composed of feral cannibals pulls one of Snake's companions down through the floor, presumably to murder and consume her.
The first Nightmare on Elm Street is still surprisingly spooky at points, indeed. It's also the film that introduced a young Johnny Depp to the world of cinema. You get to watch a bed eat him and then spew his innards and blood up to the ceiling in a massive, gory geyser! Still one of my favorite deaths in the series from the angle of pure spectacle.
The sequels... eh. The second one, like I said, does an OK job trying to retain some sense of mystery and brutality when it comes to the character, but Freddy is increasingly a cartoon character in subsequent sequels. One the last sequels, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, is actually a fantastic po-mo spinoff of sorts that sees the actors, directors, etc. playing themselves as the demon that inspired the Freddy character starts picking people off in the real world, and it does a good job of actually being kind of scary, like the original.
I went to see Fast & Furious 9 at the IMAX at the weekend. It was definitely more Fast & Furious, with set pieces getting bigger and bigger, unfortunately, for me, it feels like they jumped the shark. I’ve already forgotten most of what happened. Took me a lot longer to forget 8 and I wasn’t a fan of that either.
@Zeldafan79 Yeah, alongside Gary Oldman and the rest of the cast, he lends that movie far more gravitas and empathy than its script deserved. Which is why I unironically adore it.
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@Ralizah Thanks for the subtle warning regarding Escape from New York there! Will definitely brace myself when I watch it now, although I shouldn't have been surprised to read about that sequence, given the frequent disturbing twists and turns in the series it helped inspire. Methinks I'll save it for when I plan a Metal Gear Solid playthrough. The context will pull me through!
And y'know, I think I've seen that Johnny Depp death sequence somewhere before, possibly in one of the lengthy "Top Ten" shows which were briefly popular on British TV, before YouTube took hold and made them largely redundant. Very memorable, you're right!
The cartoonish nature of horror sequels is a common criticism, from what I gather, especially ones built around a villain character like Freddy, Jason, or William Shatner. I'm no expert on the subject, of course, but it's usually been a "Part IV" or equivalent that I've occasionally been able to stomach, moreso than whatever its original was (which was often made on a shoestring, forcing it to get creative and therefore end up more frightening than a big-budget threat escalation).
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
I finally watched Arrival, mostly because of praise I saw on here for it. I’m not much of an Amy Adams fan. But she was pretty good in this. I liked the movie fairly well, although I’d hold off on calling it more than a solid 7. I liked the focus on communication and the importance of conveying meaning through language. That part was well done.
When the movie went off into time travel or time prediction or relativity, or whatever that ending was about — that’s when it lost me. And I like a good open ended narrative and a story that may not spell things out and leaves something to interpretation, but this one just didn’t quite stick the landing for me. Part of it may have been a lack of chemistry between Adams and Jeremy Renner. The ending lost a little of its punch due to a complete lack of build up of the couples potential for romance. And that would have been fine — not every movie has to have a couple that gets together at the end — but it feels shoehorned when it ends that way without any build up. Not to mention the time shifting gymnastics that are involved and it was just a little messy there at the end
But I’m glad to have watched it if for nothing else than to see the first 2/3 as the tension builds between the aliens and humans.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Justice is Gray edition - the black-and-white version of the Snyder cut - is only available as an extra when purchasing a digital copy of the movie. I know a few people on here have shown interest in that version. Also the actual film is split across two 4K Blu-ray disks.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@JohnnyShoulder Ahh, that’s a shame, I was hoping for it to be included in the physical copy. It’s included in Sky Movies in HD so I’ll just watch it there.
I went to buy Zack Snyder’s Justice League here in Canada and was informed at the till that it is only available physically in the U.K. “because we have Crave.” What a strange world.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
Gas Pump Girls (Amazon Prime Video) - 70's comedy that sees a young high school graduate (along with a small group of her friends) running her uncle Joe's gas station over the summer after he's laid out by a minor heart attack (induced due to anxiety over the fact that his mom n' pop operation is threatened by the sleek new corporate outfit across the street taking his business).
A pretty standard story of the little guys standing up to the big conglomerate, though with any deep acting or heavy themes sidelined in favor of a lighthearted vibe, mostly centered around nudity & sexual innuendo. Not the worst way to spend an afternoon as long as you know what you're getting into & take the time era into consideration.
Is it Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? Arrow of the Orion (HiDive via VRV) - Film adaptation of the Light Novel/Anime series that takes place between the anime's first two seasons. Here, our hero Bell obtains a legendary weapon (sword in the stone style) and as such he and the gang are called off to slay a powerful monster that threatens the entire world.
It's okay, though it kinda just feels like an extended episode due to the fact that the animation/style doesn't really hit any highs that seem above & beyond what you see in the tv series. That's not necessarily a shot, as the show can look absolutely gorgeous, but given that the film's narrative is an aside unrelated to the core story, it means there's no reason to really check it out unless you've watched the anime & want more.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones! (Disney+) - Middle entry in the prequel trilogy of the legendary franchise, that continues to follow the exploits of young Jedi Anakin Skywalker and how he slowly starts taking steps to a dark future...
It can be really slow & has some aged CGI elements, but overall I still enjoyed it.
Star Wars: the Clone Wars (Disney+) - Taking place inbetween episodes 2 & 3 of the prequel trilogy, this animated feature covers some exploits of Jedi such as Anakin Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi (including the former grudgingly taking on an energetic young apprentice, Ashoka) during the titular "Clone Wars".
Released in advance of the Clone Wars animated television series, the film was actually made by taking a few episodes intended for the forthcoming series and stapling them together for theatrical release. It shows, but is a decent enough time if you're in a Star Wars mood.
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