I saw Spirited Away over the weekend. A pure gem of a movie and truly magical. Still can't decide which is my fave between that and Princess Mononoke, which I'll be watching again in the upcoming weeks.
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.
@Keith_Zissou It's actually one of the better Lupin films, IMO, although, even if it was more traditionally animated, it'd still feel pretty distinct from most of the other Lupin movies. Tbh in terms of how Lupin is written and how it functions as a classic adventure vehicle, it resembles Castle of Cagliostro more closely than more modern Lupin fare.
@JohnnyShoulder Princess Mononoke is my favorite Miyazaki film. The writing is superb, and it's so distinct from anything else he's ever directed.
Have you seen Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind? Princess Mononoke feels very much like a response, of sorts, to that film, as they share a lot of narrative and thematic similarities. If you watch the two films in close succession, they almost form a dialogue between younger, idealistic Miyazaki and the more world-weary realist he turned into over time.
@Ralizah Yeah seen that one, defo one of the better ones. Didn't notice any similarities with Princess Mononoke, but not seen that in years. It was my first Ghibli film and although I really enjoyed it did take me a couple of watches to get my head round it.
I'm always disappointed when there are no fantasy elements to their films. I remember watching one with my niece and it was just a plain old love story, and I kept expecting a witch or a talking cat to turn up.
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.
@Voltan I was really curious where they were going to go with this film after the twist ending to the last one. Thought the trailer looks really promising but have a feeling this idea will either be awesome or a complete mess and nothing in-between. Fingers crossed because it seems like a bold plot.
Alfred Malina is definitely back but they only teased Goblin, wonder if it will still be Willem Defoe.
Totally agree with you the 'teaser' certainly showed a lot. Hopefully the later trailers won't give too much away like some film trailers do. I wonder if they will show the other Spideys(If true) in one of the trailers or save that for when you see the film.
Just watched The Witcher Nightmare of the Wolf on Netflix. Enjoyed it a lot and it got me thinking of playing the game again. Hopefully the PS5 upgrade isn't too far off now.
@JohnnyShoulder I had no idea there was such a delayed release for you folks. Its terribly silly. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. See it in the loudest, clearest setting possible. The soundscape of this film is truly incredible.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
I've got a week off beginning of October, so if it is still showing in my local flix an I'm feeling brave enough, I may give it a shot. And the cinema really will be my local as it is only a 15 - 20 min walk from my new place.
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 can’t lie, I’m a little jealous of your proximity to a cinema. Closest one to me is about 100km. Makes it a special trip when I go though, so that’s cool. Hope you enjoy your new place!
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
@Jimmer-jammer Cheers! Currently my nearest one is on a retail park, which is 5 minute bus journey followed by 10 minute walk. That is not as nice as the one which is near my new place, which would be a 30 minute bus journey and then a 5 minute walk.
I used to frequent the cinema a lot more, think my last film was Avengers Infinity War. Think I had a bad run of films which put me off paying £10 to watch a film and I got slight fed up of the cinema experience.
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.
I don't make a habit of only watching parts of films, but after watching the first disc of the Snyder Cut, which was 2 hours and 20 mins, I can safely say I am done with it and won't even bother with disc 2.
The action scenes seemed better with the special effects improved in most instances, although Cyborg still didn’t look right in some places. Steppenwulf is hugely improved though and was a highlight whenever he was on the screen.
But just like the original cut, my main problem with the film was the boring non-action scenes, with some really awful miss timed forced humour. And I never felt invested in any of the characters. I need something a bit more than some decent actions scenes now and again to keep me interested. I wasn't keen on the aspect ratio either and didn't think it suited the film personally. Thought it worked in The Lighthouse, which added to the sense of claustrophobia, but not a 4 hour super hero epic.
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.
@RogerRoger I’ve been meaning to drop a few thoughts on Suicide Squad, so your query is timely.
And maybe I’ve dragged my feet on it because the movie itself was a little… I don’t know, uninspiring? Not sure that’s exactly the word I’m meaning, but I just didn’t feel very excited about it after watching it. It’s a hard one to pass judgment on, but I’ll try to briefly break it down:
Is it better than the first Suicide Squad?
In my opinion, er… yes?… but not by much. I was one of the few that kinda liked the first movie. And by “kinda liked” I mean that I didn’t hate it like everyone else.
In my opinion this new movie is pretty similar in its basic set up and narrative construction to the 2016 movie. It’s just a more violent and mature reboot of the same concepts. And that’s not a criticism necessarily, but it’s to say that I can’t really wrap my head around the common opinion out there that this new movie is the cat’s meow and the greatest DC movie in years, and yet the first Suicide Squad was awful. The two shows don’t seem that different to me.
The movie dials up the violence 100 fold, and it is way more mature in tone. It has everything — blood spurting gore, bodies being sliced and torn apart, a million F-bombs, plenty of genitalia jokes, and a touch of full frontal nudity. I guess that’s what people were really wanting, but thematically and narratively it’s really just as shallow as the first one. Nothing revolutionary here.
I did like how the movie threw a few unexpected twists and I thought it handled that quite well. Probably my biggest issue with it was the tone was all over the place. Like I say, it’s got the over-the-top violence down, but then it’s got the goofiness and comedic humor attempts that often fall short. Same with the production value and special effects — A lot of it looks fantastic and the ultra-violence and fight scenes are well done, but then the CGI is really cheesy looking in other parts. Especially at the end it is just eye-rollingly stupid by that point that I just lost all interest in the outcome.
The movie reminds me of that meme for Game of Thrones where the production committee was all made up of 13 year old boys. It’s a little like that.
On the positive side — As far as the characters, I do like Bloodsport (the ever-changing Idris Elba). He’s just a fantastic actor and his voice is so smooth and the character design of his fighting style and weaponry is really magnificent. He definitely wins in the head-to-head battle versus the first movie’s Deadshot courtesy of Will Smith. Harley Quinn / Margot Robbie is still really good in this, which leads me to…
Is it better than Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn?
Oh gosh yes, Miles better than that lump of garbage. But I’ve said my peace on that.
Is it better than Joker?
Emphatically, no. Joaquin Phoenix’s magnum opus portrayal of Arthur Fleck and his descent into madness was just leaps and bounds a more moving and well executed tale. Granted, despite the two movies being in the same neck of the villainous woods in the DC Universe, they are drastically different kinds of movies. Still, I tend to compare all the recent DC output together.
Is it better than WW84?
That’s a tough one. It’s probably about the same level of enjoyment for me. Maybe a touch less fun for me than WW, although I think the best parts of Suicide Squad trump the best parts of WW84, but as a whole the movie is not quite as fulfilling as WW.
Is it better than The Justice League Snyder Cut?
I don’t know. I need to watch that and see. I’m guessing no.
Is it better than (fill in the blank with a new-age DC television series)?
Having only seen a handful of episodes of Doom Patrol and Watchmen, and haven’t yet watched any of Gotham, Titans, Batwoman, Swamp Thing, etc, etc., I think the movie is on par with a lot of DC TV.
I get the feeling though that this new Suicide Squad movie is slightly inspired by the success of the grittier and more adult HBO type DC shows like Doom Patrol and Titans. It seems this is the direction DC is wanting to go, given Birds of Prey, Joker, and Snyder Cut have also upped the dark and mature level content.
—————
So overall, I think Suicide Squad is a decent entry into the franchise, but I’m just not that excited about it. I think it doubles down on the pathway that the DC films appear to want to follow and if nothing else, at least it separates itself from the MCU in the process.
@Th3solution Yeah, The Suicide Squad is basically the first one except you’re allowed to like it because Our Lord and Savior James Gunn directed it. I just find that schtick very cringey, both in Deadpool and in Suicide Squad. Ironically, ‘mature’ content comes across as extremely immature.
@Th3solution Thanks for such a detailed response, even if it was already in the pipeline! Aside from general curiosity, the reason I asked is because I stumbled across a clip from the movie whilst browsing around YouTube and, since I'm not the biggest fan of James Gunn's previous superhero flicks, the fear of spoilers didn't stop me from watching it... but damn, I wish I hadn't. It was only forty seconds or so, but it was a particular character's gruesome death and it instantly made me feel physically sick. At which point Mr. Gunn would probably go "Great, that's exactly the reaction I wanted!" but it's not what I want to feel when seeking out an evening's entertainment, not by a long shot.
I'm with Ness in that such "mature" content feels anything but, and a cursory glance at the comments beneath said YouTube video confirmed as much. There's a difference between showing necessary violence and glorifying it for kicks (and probably clicks). Whilst I probably shouldn't have, I immediately vowed never to watch the movie on the basis of those forty seconds.
Everything you've written reinforces my fears, but in a helpful way, so I'm grateful.
***
@JohnnyShoulder I'd missed your post about The Snyder Cut up there, but I'm sorry to see you didn't get along with it, and stopped after the first disc. You're probably right to. For all the changes, it's still fundamentally the same movie as before, so if you didn't like the original cut's conclusion then I doubt that second disc is gonna do much to change your mind.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger You’re very welcome. I had intended to include in that post an actual recommendation for you to avoid it. Just knowing your preferences over the last few years I’m fairly certain this wouldn’t be your cup o’ tea. I wish I had gotten to you before you had to discover it on your own via that YouTube clip. The sad thing is, there are quite a large number of clips that could have been and I’m not even sure which one you saw, if that tells you something about the volume of such sequences. Regardless, your instincts after seeing that are accurate, from my point of view, so definitely follow your inclination to give the movie a wide berth. Ultra-violence aside, the crude humor would be enough to wear the viewing experience down for you. I think I liked Guardians of the Galaxy a lot more than you did (especially given that a recent re-watch has only strengthened your opinions of it) and it feels like DC wanted to have their own GotG movie franchise. In my opinion, Suicide Squad fails by a large margin on getting anywhere near the quality of GotG. It actually makes me a little worried about GotG Vol. 3. Hopefully James Gunn gets back on track with balancing that film better than this one.
Just as an aside, I’m less certain about how you’d get along with Joker. I don’t recall you commenting on having seen it, so I feel like maybe you haven’t. Forgive me if my memory has failed me on a previous conversation we may have had when I watched it last year. The violence might deter you, as well as the dark tone, but nothing in the movie comes across as gratuitous like in SS. It’s hard for me to say whether you’d like it. Being the DC fan that you are, I’m sure it’s been something you’ve at least considered watching.
@Th3solution@RogerRoger Joker’s an interesting one in that regard. I personally found it to almost revel in the violence at times, which felt a bit gratuitous. There’s a great movie in there but it was actively being held back by Todd Phillips.
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