Topic: The Movie Thread

I've said this many times on here before, Blade Runner 2049 is one of the few films I fell asleep when I watched it at home. I was hungover at the time, but I generally try to watch the whole thing if I can. And if not, I'll pick up where I left off the next day or something. I loved the original but all the different versions and cuts annoy me, as it is different to the one I remember watching growing up.

But I liked Dune 21 more than I thought as I never enjoyed the original. Didn't like the cliffhanger of an ending though.

@JohnnyShoulder fair play to ya!

Do you remember which cut you remember watching growing up? I'd be really happy for someone to tell me which one is the best! 😅

I don't think I watched blade runner as a kid or even as a teen so I don't have a great amount of nostalgia for it. I actually don't think I watched it until after that 5 version DVD set came out. I think I've watched two different versions since then and I can appreciate the artistry but I just didn't feel that engaged unfortunately. Would really like to get in on it though, it had everything in it that I should love about a film but my mind always begins to wander half way through.

Annoyingly Terminator 2 has also gone a similar way with multiple cuts of the film. Its one of my favourite films and in my opinion, I actually consider it to be the best film ever made. My blu ray of it has 3 different versions and I always have to do the research to find out which one is the one I love before I watch it. I'm pretty sure it's the middle cut though, extra footage but no/minimal alternate scenes - could be wrong about the details on that though!

Agreed about the cliffhanger in Dune and I'm somewhat annoyed they didn't greenlight part 2 until they knew part 1 was a box office draw so it's still a couple years out. I am really looking forward to watching both films in succession.

@ralphdibny At this point I'm not even sure myself. 😂 it would be whatever version was on terrestrial tv/VHS, so maybe the theatrical cut?

Don't think I've ever seen any of then other versions of Terminator 2. It is one of my faves, defo top 10. I would have it on 4K blu ray, but I hear it was mucked around a fair bit with which has put me off getting it for now.

@JohnnyShoulder haha fair enough! I'll probably have to do the research next time I feel like watching it. I'm sure it won't be fun 😅

@LN78 I think I've seen the final and theatrical cuts, thinking about it now. I don't think I've seen the middle 3. Will have to do some more research when I get around to watching it again

I'm sure it's not easy to get to my preferred version of T2 on the blu ray I have. Like it plays the Enhanced version by default or something and you have to put in a code to get the regular extended cut as an Easter egg or something equally weird. It's been a while since I've watched it so I can't remember

@LN78 I wouldn't mind getting one if there was a set available for the Daniel Craig films, even if I didn’t think all of them were great. All 25 films in one 4K set would be too costly for me to consider. Plus I would need to build an extension to my house to store them. 😂

I'm guessing you are probably not a fan of them, but I see Amazon have reissued the Steelbooks for the two Venom films, in limited quantities.

@JohnnyShoulder Hallelujah, I can finally watch the elusive Spectre so I can finish the set with No Time to Die.

Since mostly everyone else here has set up a Letterboxd, I have as well.

Here's my review for Raw Deal, a Schwarzenegger movie I watched this afternoon:

https://letterboxd.com/rr529/film/raw-deal-1986/

watching Umma on Netflix. Not bad for a horror movie involving Korean boogeyman folklore or whatever.

Just finished watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and thus I've wrapped up the LOTR trilogy of movies. It was a really good movie but just like with the other ones, it's so long lol. I often wonder how the franchise would've been perceived if it started out as a TV show with 30-40 minute episodes instead. I guess that's why they decided to make a TV show now! It's honestly a better format considering how much content that needs to be shown.

Anyway, one thing I love about the last movie, and the other movies as well, is how well done the battles are. They're absolutely epic and brutal, I've never seen a movie/show portray battles with such a high production quality and level of scope. Not even the battles in Game of Thrones could top them. They were incredible and definitely the highlights of the movies.

All in all, I'm glad that I've finally experienced these classic movies. While a bit long for my taste, they were certainly worth watching to the end. Now I think I'll take a break from this series and save The Hobbit movies as well as the TV show until a later date. I've definitely had my fill of LOTR for now lol.

Bit late to some of this chat - I loved BR2049 and Dune in the cinema. Both absolutely beautiful films with huge powerful visuals and sound. Less impressive at home (to me), but still great films.

Watched PETERLOO (Mike Leigh) yesterday. Interesting film, focusing on the working classes in Manchester of the early 19th century. It’s about a shocking incident I was totally ignorant of. Really well-made and interesting if you like listening to people talking for almost two and half hours. The main issue for me was the script, which had a bit too much exposition and was as guilty of painting the characters as good vs evil as any trashy action flick. The magistrates are heartless monsters and the common folk have more knowledge of politics than a politics major.
7/10 for me.

Films I watched over the weekend.

Blonde (Netflix)

A, highly speculative, journey behind the stardom of Marylin Monroe, exploring her troubled past & how those around the star used her.

It's a highly difficult film to watch, with some scenes being hard to stomach & other decisions being outright odd (and some will say exploitative), but it's also highly accomplished from a technical standpoint, with some of the most mesmerizing visuals I've seen in some time (I personally enjoyed the way it played with aspect ratios & color).

Trailer:

Raw Deal (Tubi)

Schwarzenegger vehicle that sees him in the role of a small town sheriff who goes undercover in a Chicago Mafia family for a chance to get reinstated back into the FBI. It naturally gets to the point where he straps various firearms to his person & transforms the scenery into swiss cheese.

It's not a great movie, but there's some cool action to be had.

Trailer:

Canadian Bacon (Tubi)

Political satire that sees the president (Alan Alda) trying to start a cold war with Canada in order to mask his poor approval ratings (he can't blame his failures on the Soviets any longer), and a small border town sheriff (played by John Candy) takes the whole situation a bit too seriously.

It's not a classic, but it elicited a few chuckles from me.

Trailer:

Saw See How They Run earlier. Honestly, the writing and British Sam Rockwell are worth the price of admission alone.

@RogerRoger, not really.

Sign up is easy & free (though they have an ad free "pro" tier). Just search for movies (& shows) via the search function (though they have categories for what's "hot" & so forth you can browse too).

Once on a movie's page (which has info about it, and reviews from other users which you can like & comment on), you have the option to add your own review (choose between 1-5 Stars, including half Stars, a Heart icon to click if you "Like" it, the date you watched it which defaults to current day until you change it, the space for your main body of text, then two icons at the bottom to click, the first indicates it's a film you've rewatched, the other spoiler tags your review).

Only issue I've ran into is I haven't yet figured out how to indicate I watched a movie in a previous month. When you click the date section a little calendar of the current month appears where you can pick a different day, and by clicking the year you can change that too, but I haven't figured out how to change the month (clicking the current month doesn't bring up any options).

@LN78 I've seen it mentioned by a couple of youtubers i watch on a semi regular basis, and wondered the same thing. Doesn't sound like something I'll sign up to in all honesty.

@LN78 The service I use to rent discs kind of has the same thing, where you can leave reviews and 5 star ratings. I've never done the former but always do the latter.

@LN78 I have an almost morbid curiosity to watch it now, and my expectations are quite low for the film, so who knows I might actually get some enjoyment from it.

@LN78 I wanted to like Blonde. I get the intention and it’s adapted from a book written by an actual woman so the charges of it being inherently sexist as a concept don’t wash with me. That being said, it was a bloody slog. Utterly miserable and this is coming from someone who likes The Painted Bird. I lost it at the scene with the CGI foetuses (foeti?) getting annoyed at Marilyn, who never actually had an abortion. Bizarre, especially given recent events in the US.

@LN78, sorry for the late reply (regarding Letterboxd), but I think it's presented mostly like a film diary of sorts (you can go back & review movies you've seen in the past, but it seems geared towards cataloging them as you watch).

There are some social features (again, you can read/like others' reviews, and I think you can even make & share lists & stuff, though I haven't looked too deep into it, & some aspects may be locked behind the "Pro" subscription).

@RogerRoger, it does let you switch months, I was just being dumb.

Since you change the year by clicking on it I figured it'd be the same for the month, but instead you have to slide your finger up or down on the calendar to "flip" to the next page. I thought I had tried that already, but I must have only tried left to right which didn't work.