Topic: The Movie Thread

@LtSarge Honestly, for my money, the original LotR is cinematic perfection. I should try not to oversell it, but I just find them the perfect match of excellent production, world class acting, and a narrative that is simply one of the best thought provoking studies of good vs evil that I’ve ever seen. Of course having a working knowledge of the books adds a little flavor to the experience, but honestly, the film adaptation is so good that you can get most of the nuance through the exceptional movie production. The 3 Hobbit movies can be kept for follow up films to watch as prequels, and I still think they are very good, but it’s more of a divided opinion on those. If you really like LotR when you’re done (and with the extended cuts, if that’s what you watch, that’s about 10 hours worth of films) then try The Hobbit

@Th3solution I don't think you're overselling it at all because I know how popular these movies are. When growing up, most people I knew had watched Lord of the Rings and absolutely loved the movies. I even remember back in upper secondary school (high school) when the first Hobbit movie came out that all the guys in my class went out and watched it together at the cinema. I was invited to come as well but sadly I didn't have an interest in the franchise back then so I declined. But yeah, I'm well aware of how regarded this franchise is and now's the time to finally find out why!

@SoulChimera I've seen Bond spoilers. Glad to hear that they've pulled it off, well done them.

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@LtSarge Ah, to be watching the Indiana Jones films for the first time... I'm really jealous, you've got so many awesome moments to discover! My weird opinions are a matter of record (the first film is the weakest, and Crystal Skull is very nearly my favourite) but regardless of where you fall, you're just gonna have a heck of a lot of fun! Be sure to let us know your thoughts, if that's okay!

@RogerRoger Hopefully I can avoid those spoilers until Sunday, My dad's a bond nut so taking him to see it for his 65th birthday.

I've never really understood the hate for Crystal Skull, I put it on equal footing with the other movies.

@MightyDemon82 Hope you both enjoy, and many happy returns to your father!

@RogerRoger Cheers, I'll be sure to check in with my thoughts once I've seen it.

Personally I'm far more interested in Dune, The Last Duel and Last night in Soho.

@RogerRoger Well I finished watching Temple of Doom earlier today and just finished watching The Last Crusade and really liked them both! Out of the original trilogy though, I think my favourite is The Last Crusade purely because you get to see Indy go on an adventure with his father. And the actor who plays his dad is Sean Connery of all the people! That's so cool to see.

If I have to rank the three movies, I'd put The Last Crusade at the top, then The Raiders of the Lost Ark and finally Temple of Doom. A lot of people seemed to really like Temple of Doom but I just didn't like it as much because it didn't really feel like the complete package. To elaborate, the whole thing about the franchise is that Indy is constantly traveling around the world but here he's just in the same place for half of the movie. It didn't feel as much of an adventure, you know? No puzzles to solve, no exploration, the gang just randomly stumbles into the bad guys' lair and defeats them. It's kinda underwhelming, but it was still a great movie with lots of memorable moments and I think the trio of that little kid, Indy and that singer was the best group.

Next will be The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! Really looking forward to watching it tomorrow.

@LtSarge That’s my ranking of them as well. Temple of Doom has its moments but the cast around Indy isn’t as good and the adventure does feel quite self contained. Last Crusade is just so so good.

@LtSarge Brilliant, am so glad you enjoyed The Last Crusade that much! It's my favourite, as well. I put Temple of Doom above Raiders, but understand why others don't and agree that it's constructed entirely of random happenstance (which is a similar flaw to Raiders and the whole "Indy's role was pointless" argument). It's also way darker than any of the other films, which would usually put me off, but there's something about its payoff which justifies the journey for me, and I love the moment-to-moment stakes and frantic humour of the whole thing.

Here's hoping you're enjoying, or have enjoyed, the current conclusion to the series!

Watched Muppets Haunted Mansion last night, great special. I’ve never screamed “Oh my god, Geoff Keighley” so loudly in my life.

So I just finished watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and I thought it was very good! I was so impressed by how much effort was put into making the movie feel like it came out right after the third one. Like I couldn't believe this movie was made in 2008, it felt like a movie from the early 90s, in a good way that is! For example, the goofy combat, the hilarious sound effects, the cheesy moments like an eyeball looking at you through the wall, it all gave the feeling of a 90s movie, which is awesome! It felt like a direct continuation after the third movie, except of course that everyone was 20 years older now. Speaking of which, I can't believe that Harrison Ford was over 60 years old when he was in that movie. Holy crap, that man is in very good shape! Not to mention that I just read that he will star in the next Indiana Jones movie, which is even more insane! He's 80 years old now, how the hell is he going to pull off all the crazy stunts at that age? Either way, I also read that Mads Mikkelsen will be in the movie, which is a nice surprise. I'm definitely looking forward to watching it next year!

But yeah, I really enjoyed The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and I think I would put it right after The Last Crusade in terms of the best movies in the franchise. So in order:

1) The Last Crusade
2) The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
3) Raiders of the Lost Ark
4) Temple of Doom

I'm really glad that I've finally experienced all the movies and that I'm caught up with the series now so that I can fully enjoy the upcoming game as well as the fifth movie.

Saw No Time to Die at the weekend. Not sure how to spoiler tag bits out so I'll just say it was awesome. Arguably the best Bond cold open scene overall.

@LtSarge I was gonna come here today and ask you whether you'd managed to get around to Crystal Skull or not, so I'm super-pleased to see such a positive reaction! Especially since you've ranked it just behind The Last Crusade in second place, like I do. Real glad you enjoyed it as much as you did, and (obviously) agree with all of your points! Didn't know about Mads Mikkelsen being in the forthcoming fifth film, either. That makes me even more excited for it!

Oh boy that trailer for The Batman is brilliant. Very very much looking forward to it. Still no chance that’s Colin Farrell as Penguin though.

@Keith_Zissou I fundamentally dislike trailer editing so I know what you mean. Battinson is dead on though, loving the whole ‘Brian Wilson meets Robert Smith’ vibe they’ve got going on. It’s as close to The Crow as I hoped it would be.

@Keith_Zissou Ahshshajfklopargh I think.

Good trailer.
After watching some of the DC Fandome; I decided to catch up on this year’s superhero movies, starting with The Suicide Squad.

Gunn is really good at these, isn’t he? Lol

@Voltan I dunno, I’m a bit worn out by the fact Gunn has made the exact same movie about 4 times now. There’s having a style and that’s fine but I’m a bit bored by it now.

@nessisonett You do have a point, it’s a lot like Guardians. Still pretty good though.

Edit: Checking out Black Widow now.

I watched Black Widow last week. It was solid enough, though I can't shake the feeling it felt like filler. I did like Alexei and was kinda disappointed he never really got his moment though.