Topic: The Movie Thread

@JohnnyShoulder yes that was it. Thank you.

Get Over It

Peak early 00s teen schlock. Not quite Bring It On levels but Martin Short is brilliantly horrible as a psychotic drama teacher.

Batman (1989)

I recall only seeing it once a long time ago (not when it released but maybe when it went to VHS) and I recall enjoying it quite a bit.

I didn't mind at it for the first half hour upon this rewatch... But good grief I found it dull as dishwater by the time I got to the end and couldn't wait for it be over.

Didn't think much of Jack Nicholson's Joker either to be perfectly honest.

Very drab.

Honestly I enjoy Batman & Robin more then I enjoyed this... Even if that film is BAD it's at least fun

@HallowMoonshadow A little while back I was in the mood to re-watch Batman '89 and seeing as none of the streaming services had it I found a cheap Blu-ray. Totally agree about Jack Nicholson's Joker and not feeling engrossed with it at all. Suffice to say I was much less impressed with it than I remembered and the Blu-ray went to the charity shop.

I've been pondering renting the new Batman off Amazon as it sounds like that won't be free on any service for a long time. I'm more curious than excited to watch it, reviews seem to be on both extremes of the spectrum.

A while back I added the recent (kind of) Planet of the Apes films to my Disney+ watchlist as I'd only watched the first of the 3 films. Last night I started with a re-watch of the first then viewed Dawn (I had to check the dates as I wasn't sure what was first, Rise or Dawn). I was really impressed with it and think it might be one of the best films I've watched in a while. The effects are outstanding to the point I totally forgot I was watching a load of CGI characters and just got into the story.
I'll probably watch the third film War in a bit, hopefully it's as good.

Ha ha well I'll only be saying it here @RogerRoger so I think I'll be ok

To be honest I wasn't expecting anyone to come to the same conclusion so cheers @BearsEatBeets... even if it unfortunately meant you didn't enjoy it too.

Whilst I wasn't sold by the trailers for The Batman I reckon I'll be giving it a look sometime soon too thanks to the reviews being all over the place. It'll hopefully be a bit more interesting as Batman '89 at least 😄

Also totally agree with the recent Planet of The Apes films.

Andy Serkis is soooooo good as Caesar and it's a great set of films.

I've only watched War the once I think. I really enjoyed it too from what I remrmber though maybe not quite as much as Dawn?

Probably should go through that series again. I think there's supposed to be a 4th film but it's been a good while since War released (2017 I think?)

@BearsEatBeets By far one of the best modern trilogy of movies out there, I really enjoyed all 3 movies.

@HallowMoonshadow @MightyDemon82 I watched War last night and yes it makes for a very high quality trilogy of films. I think I agree Dawn is the best but War is very close. I did love the Bad Ape character in War and thought his addition of levity to quite a sombre series was delicately but expertly done. They were so well made I was curious to look up what else the director has done only to discover he made The Batman, so that raised my interest in that to the point I think I'm going to rent that tonight.

Maybe Warner convinced him to shelf a forth film for a while to make Batman (£££).

Oh yes and Andy Serkis is outstanding, as were much of the ape actors.

watching Jurassic Park 2 today. good movie to watch during this insane hot weather this summer

I got the ol' covid so I'm having a day of feeling sorry for myself. Watching Doctor Strange 2 on Disney+ at the mo. It's actually way better the second time around. I really like how it just goes from action scene to action scene but still expertly manages to tell a cohesive story without it getting confusing, all while retaining a fairly unique visual aesthetic. Definitely in my top 10-15 MCU films. Without watching the film, one might think the cameos were gratuitous but they feel really organic within the story of the movie.

@ralphdibny I need to give it a rewatch I think. Thought it was ‘okay’ when I watched it back a couple of months back but was definitely a bit disappointed. Following your post, I’m hopeful it’ll hit with me in a future viewing.

Hope you get well soon buddy.

@colonelkilgore cheers mate, I hope you are well!!

I think sometimes with the especially hyped Marvel films, they can be simultaneously overwhelming and underwhelming on first viewing which is kinda how I felt about Doctor Strange 2. It was like I could see why I would like the film without necessarily enjoying it fully at the time. But watching it again for fun, without my critical mind whirring and in 4K on a home TV screen instead of in a stressful busy cinema situation has kind of just allowed me to enjoy it!

@ralphdibny recently had the dreaded covid myself mate… still not quite myself if I’m honest. Also, without wanting to worry you, the mother-in-law who also contracted it the same time has just been taken into hospital and she’s still testing positive! Crazy s**t.

I’ll be sure to tag you when I get around to a rewatch 👍

Oh yeah I forgot to say that Wanda's heel turn is handled really well in this movie. It's clear that Elizabeth Olsen is enjoying chewing the scenery and it's so much more fun to watch than Wanda's roles in previous films. I know that plot point gets a lot of heat but I really like where they went with her and the performance it allowed her to give. Not every great character has to be a hero!

@colonelkilgore oh dear, I am sorry to hear that. Wishing you and your mother in law all the best! I hope I don't come down too bad with it. My partner has been ill all week and it's only really hit me this morning when I woke up with full body pain. Feeling a bit better after a Lemsip though

@RogerRoger cheers mate! Had to do something passive this morning because I could barely pick up the controller. So a two hour stroll through the Multiverse of Madness is just what the Doctor ordered!

@ralphdibny Definitely one that improves on second viewing. I thought it was rubbish in the cinema because I was focused on the wasted potential of all the cameos and the somewhat messy story. It’s a lot more fun when you just turn your brain off and enjoy it as a horror-tinged action movie.

What I've watched since my last post.

National Lampoon's European Vacation.

It's still worth a few laughs, but it really isn't as good as the first. I think it's actually stronger towards the beginning (particularly during the England & French segments), but falls apart towards the end. Absolutely worst version of Audrey (the daughter) though (she just spends the entire movie complaining about getting fat, in the laziest teenage girl writing ever).

Moonraker.

The big space battle with the astronauts floating around blasting each other with their chest mounted lazer blasters was the most (unintentionally?) hilarious thing I've seen in quite some time. Other than that, I really didn't think it was that bad (really not all that out of line with the other Moore era Bond films). Granted, there was WAY too much "Jaws" for my liking (the more of them I see, the more I think he's my least favorite part of these Moore Bond movies, & he shows up sooo much here. The way the movie ends they should have just written him out after this).

X-Men: Apocalypse.

I've always bounced off it every other time I've tried to watch it (usually just catching it on cable), but actually making the point to watch it & I have to say I liked it more than I thought I would. Still not as good as First Class & it was a bit overly long, but a decent enough superhero action (would have liked to see more Psylocke though).

Thor: Love & Thunder (3D).

It was pretty decent. I think the humor leaned a bit TOO quirky for my tastes, but it still wasn't enough to ruin the serious moments IMO. I think the explanation behind Jane (Mighty) Thor was well done, and quite sad.

As for the 3D, I don't think it was as consistently excellent as Multiverse of Madness, however I thought the scenes on that (black & white) moon looked really good, and the final battle was an absolute tour de force in 3D effect, IMO.

City Hunter the Movie: Shinjuku Private Eyes.

City Hunter has been one of my favorite personal anime discoveries in recent years, so I made a punt on ordering the newest movie on Blu-Ray and wasn't disappointed. Pretty much a long episode of the old TV series (but with modern animation), but that's no bad thing! Fun movie that calls to mind the action romps of the 80's.

@nessisonett oh yeah, Raimi's grotesque comedy style of horror movie really fits the tone of the MCU without it being as cookie cutter as some other entries. I love when the jump scares make you laugh instead of cry. It also feels like this film has a higher death toll than something like Infinity War, in terms of on screen deaths at least. I love how gruesome it can be, especially one of my favourite scenes when one of my favourite characters implodes themselves. Surely Black Bolt still exists in the main universe. Unless they decide to decanonise Inhumans. I suppose we will find out just how much of the Netflix/AoS shows remain canon when Daredevil Season 4 hits 🤞. Hopefully it's all of it 😅 even if they have to drop certain aspects of it and not adhere completely to it for the sake of moving the plot forward.

@RR529 I wish they'd release MoM and Last on 3D blu ray. Both films I'd love to see with an extra dimension but sadly my local cinema doesn't have 3D capability. I highly doubt they will unfortunately 😔

I'm a huge fan of all the X Men films, including the young cast ones. They are just so much fun. I know they get slated and First Class is definitely the best of them but I still love DoFP, Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix

@ralphdibny, yeah, since home 3D is largely dead I make sure to see 3D movies in the theatre when I can, just because once it's run is over it's pretty much lost to time these days.

Since the 3D versions already exist there's no reason Disney shouldn't slap them on Disney+, if only for the benefit of the small number of people who have VR headsets (I mean, it'd be better than them practically vanishing).

@RR529 yeah it's kind of sad that in the back end of the 3D era that more people aren't making enough of a stink about film preservation for these niche and novel experiences. Except of course people like us!

I suspect they will get revived, if not in full when 3D has its next renaissance in a decade or two. Maybe we will get some releases of these lost 3D titles. I think the plus side at least, if 3D does become popular again, is that films could be reconverted if the source files are lost or mired in corporate beauracracy. There are very few films where I think the 3D was essential and unique and should be preserved as is (The Lego Movie springs to mind) and I'd be quite happy for the more cookie cutter 3D blockbuster flicks to get any kind of added dimension on any eventual re release. Some of them could even be improved upon because I have seen a few films with some shockingly pointless 3D effects in.