Topic: The Movie Thread

@RogerRoger for what it's worth, I don't think the rocky films are a tough sell. I think only one of them (rocky V) is actually considered bad by fans and I don't even think it is that bad tbh ( + it's fairly short iirc so not a big deal sandwiched in the middle of 7 other films)

The first one is definitely the best though imo. It tells a real story with real characters that are much more flawed in many ways than the later films which are a bit more like, this character is flawed in one way and here is how they overcome that flaw.

2, 3 and 4 are all excellent, if not a little cheesey. Balboa (6) is great too as a kind of sending off. Creed is very much a rehash (but a very good one) of the first Rocky film and not only homages moments and scenes but also plays with flawed characters that aren't actually that nice even though you still root for them. Creed 2 is good as well and is like a direct sequel to Rocky IV.

@LN78 Fair enough. Should’ve just said “classic movies that don’t click with people”. That’s how I feel about most of the movies I posted tbh.

@RogerRoger I feel like The Goonies is one of those movies people remember fondly because it's mixed in with other memories of the era they also liked.

As for Close Encounters, go ahead, but know I watched it in my mid-20s and still found it to be dreadfully boring. And the ending is so brazenly selfish that even the director has said he would have opted to change it had he made the film when he was older.

@LN78 Yeah, I didn’t necessarily mean that Robin Hood and Waterworld were considered classics (in fact Waterworld still is probably considered one of the worst projects in the history of film) but I consider all these Costner films similarly painful. He’s so one-note in his “acting”… which I dare say barely even qualifies as acting. He does a great job of acting like a random guy named Kevin Costner. I never understood why he took Hollywood by storm for that chunk of time. And yes, I include Field of Dreams in that same category of Costner films, where I feel that watching them is like having your fingernails slowly pulled out one by one.

Perhaps it’s fair to say that Kevin Costner is my Tom Cruise. I probably harbor prejudice against all his movies just because of him.

@RogerRoger I agree that Titanic had some nice visuals and the eye-candy part of it alone makes it worth the watch. I just am not a Leo DiCaprio fan either. He’s another one that I’ve never understood the adoration. After the spectacle of the ship and the iceberg, the story of Titanic becomes this long drawn out teenage romance novel fodder.

As for Rocky, the first film is a slower movie than the sequels. Stallone’s eponymous Rocky Balboa starts as an Everyman Hero, but his rise to glory feels neither emancipating nor tragic; It lies in the lukewarm middle of just a ‘meh’ character who doesn’t have an interesting conclusion. He’s just sort of… there. Only in Rocky 2 and onward does he really get into his own and fill the space where a viewer might have interest in seeing how his life plays out.

Edit: all due respect to @ralphdibny who already tossed some praise toward Rocky. I don’t intend to be contrary for argument’s sake. It’s clearly me that in the minority so take what I say with a grain of salt 😄

@Th3solution “I agree that Titanic had some nice visuals and the eye-candy part of it alone makes it worth the watch.“
I dunno, that is a massive turn off for me and I need a bit more substance from films.

@LN78 Ha ha, oh OK. It has been a couple of years since I've seen it, so couldn't explain it to you now. There are a few decent vids on YouTube which do a better job than me.

@Th3solution haha not at all mate, we all like what we like for different reasons! You know I myself, am an unintentional contrarion for loads of things 😅

@LN78 nah I haven't seen the Rocky IV DC. It's been on my radar to watch since I heard about it though. I haven't watched the original since Creed II came out though and my memory of the specifics have faded so I feel like I'd have to watch both in succession to spot the difference.

How was it? Any good?

@LN78 fair enough, that's kinda what I'd heard about it. I didn't think there was anything majorly wrong with the original despite how on the nose it is about certain things and I actually really enjoy it so my desire to watch the DC is more out of curiosity than anything.

@LN78 ahh Rocky IV… there is just something about that movie that I absolutely love. As you mentioned, the original is by far and away the best actual movie… but whenever I sit down for a Rocky-thon it’s always IV that I’m looking forwards too.

When I used to weight train regularly… getting up for my Sunday morning sesh was always a struggle. I’d just stick the IV montage on YouTube and I was ready to snap the handles off of hammers and bite through sickles while bare-chested on a winter morning.

@colonelkilgore I remember back when I was at school, there was a small period of time where I'd wake up at 6am and put on Kickboxer to get me pumped for the day 😂

I can't say it lasted an amazingly long time though.

@ralphdibny nice… A.W.O.L was my Van-Damme of choice but Kickboxer (and Bloodsport) were also great.

@LN78 🤨 hmmm… I’ll see your Van-Damme shade and raise you Hard Target 😉

@LN78 🤣 apparently Jean Claude Van Johnson is actually decent on amazon. Can’t say that I’ve ever felt compelled to actually test that theory out though.

@LN78 Eh. People can re-edit films, but have enough respect for their original vision that they don't drastically alter the narrative arc of the story.

@LN78 I just think he meant the film's narrative and emotional arc would be wildly different if he made it today, because of how his values have shifted over time.

He wouldn't change such an old film in a fundamental way like that, though. Even if he doesn't like it now, it's a reflection of the values of his past self, and changing it would be a betrayal of who he was at that point as a filmmaker.

@colonelkilgore @LN78 @ralphdibny We can agree on Rocky IV at least. 😄 It might’ve been the first of the series that I watched and so perhaps it set unrealistic expectations which made going backward feel disjointed by comparison. Admittedly, it’s a film of its Cold War time and the original Rocky is more timeless in the tale it tries to tell, even if I didn’t enjoy that one. So we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.

There’s no discounting the original’s iconic musical score and pop culture touchstones though. Having been to Philadelphia, amongst all the things to see there (the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall where the US Constitution was forged by the founders, JFK Plaza, etc, etc) you can’t visit the city without running up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art humming the music and then holding up your arms at the top.

@LN78 Fair enough. Two of those movies (JFK and Untouchables) I haven’t seen and I imagine if I could look past my prejudice I’d be able to appreciate them.

@JohnnyShoulder You’re right, especially with modern cinema it takes more than visuals to keep my interest. Even low budget movies can have grand special effects nowadays, so it’s not enough to carry a movie anymore.

@RogerRoger As I said above, there’s definitely a rock solid (no pun intended) place amongst cinematic history for the series, so if you do end up giving them a shot one day, I’ll be curious how you feel they hold up.

@LN78 I haven’t seen it, partly because I’ve just fallen off of going to the cinema lately, and partly because the reception is so mixed. But it did immediately come to mind when having that “special effects alone can’t carry a movie anymore” thought — mostly because I had just mentioned Cameron’s Titanic as a movie that doesn’t quite live up to the hype (for me) if you peel away the visual spectacle. Honestly the original Avatar also was a tad disappointing on a rewatch. As the special effects have aged, the movie seems to have frayed at the edges from what I remember when it came out.

I’m debating whether to go ahead and bite the bullet to see Avatar 2 in 3D on the big screen though. Something tells me that watching it 2D on the small screen is going to feel much more underwhelming.

@LN78 Makes sense. I can probably track down an IMAX screen, if only I can find someone who wants to go with me 😅. At the very least it’s a cheaper alternative to taking a trip to Disney World to experience the Avatar ride.

@Th3solution The first Avatar film did come to mind, as if you watch it sans 3D the film is nothing special.

Been watching through Mission Impossible films for the first time. Watched the 2nd one and it seems a controversial opinion but I actually enjoyed it more than the 1st.

I get the 1st one was iconic and it was nice to see those famous scenes but I just thought the 2nd was better. Hopkins steals the show in his scene and the action scenes are trademark John Woo. Decent film.

@The_Moose the first two are the worst if you ask me mate… MI3 seemed to set a bit of a template for those that followed… real good action flick too.