Topic: The Movie Thread

Finished watching Alien 3. What an awful sequel, easily the worst movie of the original trilogy. The premise was so dumb, making the movie take place in a prison with only men along with the female protagonist was so unnecessary. Like why focus on that stuff when people want to see unknown worlds, technologically advanced structures and you know, aliens? One of the things that impressed me about the first two movies was how they portrayed the future with all the technological stuff. Alien 3 didn't have any of that stuff, it was the most "present-day" Alien movie of them all.

Then we have the first half of the movie where barely anything was happening. People were constantly talking and characters were being developed, which you think would mean that some of these guys would survive but nope. Everyone died, so what was the point? And that's another thing that bothered me about this movie: they just killed off all the survivors from the second movie. So again, what was the point then of having them survive just to kill them all off in this movie?

Subsequently, I barely cared about any of the characters this time around. Most of the characters in the second movie were memorable and stood out, while in this one, almost everyone is a white male with a shaved head. The only character that stood out was the medical officer and I was actually starting to like him because he's the actor who plays Tywin Lanister in Game of Thrones and I thought it was cool to see a "young Tywin" lol.

The thing is that after you've watched the first two movies, you'll realise that it was only downhill from here. Not only because the second movie was so good, but because the whole reason these movies are interesting is because you don't know anything about the aliens and you want to find out more about them. After you've watched the first two movies, you'll already know all there is to know about them, so nothing will be new and interesting from here on out. And just as a I thought, Alien 3 didn't introduce any new facts about them.

So yeah, I have no idea how the fourth movie is going to be any better unless they start to expand on the "Company" aspect of these movies, i.e. the Umbrella Corporation of the Alien universe. I wanted to see more of them but unfortunately, they only briefly showed up at the end of Alien 3. Would be cool to see them get hold of the aliens and mass produce them only for everything to go wrong. Now THAT would be a great premise!

Just got back from The Matrix Resurrections, and I'm conflicted. It's 70% the film I wanted it to be. Almost the Wes Craven's New Nightmare of the franchise, but it falls short at the end, which devolves into formulaic superhero fluff like the original did (although the original did a better job of actually building to to that).

Still probably one of the best films in the franchise, though.

I actually like Alien 3 and would still consider this to be an almost obvious statement. The first two films in the series are deservedly legendary.

I understand why it's a marmite film, especially compared to the first two, but it's still at least a nicely moody and atmospheric picture. Alien Resurrection, on the other hand, is just a mess, and the prequels are forgettable, apart from certain hilariously homoerotic character interactions in Covenant.

Stepped away from this thread for a while and wow was catching up brutal, and risky as I still haven't seen Dune.

Anyway just a few quick shares to no one in particular because it's too much to keep up with who said what...

So really been looking forward to two films and that's Passing and Don't Look Up. Don't get me wrong I've wanted to see other movies but these were day-one watches for me. While I found Passing to be interesting but ultimately disappointing, Don't Look Up was amazing. Incredibly entertaining and percipient just start to finish. Great performances throughout as well.

Anyway finally saw Old also. It was terrible. I much prefer the one where the plants attack over this and I dislike that movie.

I didn't think much of No Country For Old Men either but idk it really haunted me that first viewing and I've gone back to it a couple times and appreciated more each time. For what it's worth. Strangely similar experience with Brokeback Mountain also.

Alien 3 is imperfect but I think the premise is solid. Could have definitely been better and the effects have not aged well but still one of the more thought provoking Alien movies imo. Maybe that's why it doesn't fit so well with the others.

I know very little about the Bond films other than I know they aren't really my thing.

Shang Chi, which I had absolutely no interest in seeing, was actually really enjoyable. I like both leads. Awkwafina is a hard person not to like imo but y'know, everyone has different tastes. Kinda same for Simu Liu. Didn't so much love the cgi fest at the end but what're you gonna do?

No Way Home additionally was really good. Entertaining and touching (but not overly saccharine). Helped to watch all the other Spiderman's a couple days before. Also made me realize how much I prefer the current take on the character. It's to the point I had a quasi argument defending this newest iteration on Peter and MJ in the comic shop the other day. Idk, I think they really work despite the unconventional pairing. Maybe I'm just a Zendaya stan. Anyway, I'm a grown man and cried in the theater on like two different occasions whilst also being excited to see it all unfold so... idk... good stuff if you ask me.

Thor Ragnarok is just a good time movie imo. I really like 1 and think 2 is rubbish but 3 is easily the most enjoyable. But I can see being frustrated with how they treat the character in that one. Feel the same with Endgame. I'll probably never get over my anger over THAT Thor. Ah well. It's in the books now. Or the can. Whatever.

Malignant was terrible. Paper Spiders is one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. Uhh, No Sudden Move was... kinda boring. Bit of a let down. Re-watched It Comes at Night to realize it's just a damn good movie. Horror or otherwise.

Probably forgetting some things but this post is long enough anyway.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

@Ralizah The first movie had great atmosphere, while the second one had great action. The third one doesn't really exhibit any of that. The area that they're in is too large and there are too many people compared to the isolated spaceship with a small crew in the first movie, so the encounters aren't really that tense. Not to mention that they don't use any weapons at all compared to the second movie. So I don't know, I definitely didn't watch this movie to listen to a bunch of people talk for an hour.

I mean, just look at the first hour of the second movie. There was stuff happening all the time and constant tension/action until the end of the hour. When they were about to leave the place, I genuinely thought that was the end of the movie due to how action-packed it was. But that was only the first hour! And the movie just kept getting better from there.

I’ve been on a bit of a queer cinema binge which has finally led me to actually watch Shortbus. I’ve been avoiding it for years due to the ‘unsimulated’ nature of well, the entire movie. Bizarrely, it’s actually an incredibly cute and life-affirming movie. I love John Cameron Mitchell’s work but I could never bring myself to watch this one so I’m glad I did. It’s a movie I couldn’t ever recommend to people though! It’s always refreshing to see sex treated matter-of-fact and Shortbus basically takes that concept to the absolute cliff edge. Couldn’t imagine watching it at the cinema 😂

Watched Predator (1987) yesterday and overall, it's not that good. But it's iconic as hell, there are so many things that I recognise hearing throughout the years that I had no idea they were from this movie. This meme for example:

And of course:

And lastly:

So I'm glad I watched it for that.

Ooooh Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is currently on Amazon Prime in the UK. If you are after a twisty noir, with a couple of top performances by Val Kilmer and (a pre-Iron Man) Robert Downey Jr, I highly recommend it. I'll be giving it watch this week.

Finished watching Alien Resurrection and holy crap, that was easily one of the best Alien movies. I think I liked it even more than the second one.

For starters, great premise and it was much better than the third movie's. Just as I thought, the movie was going to be about the Company and them trying to create xenomorphs of their own but everything backfires. More importantly, it took place on a spaceship, which we haven't seen since the first movie. This definitely felt like a true Alien movie.

Further, they made Ripley very badass in this one (even though it's not actually her). I've always thought that they should've made her that as the movies went on, but sadly they didn't. Maybe it's because they wanted to portray her as "a normal human-being who's managed to overcome all these obstacles without being anything special". But yeah, glad to see they changed her dramatically in this movie.

There were lots of memorable characters this time around and some managed to actually survive, which I was pleased to see. I also really liked that they introduced new things about the xenomorphs. Apparently they're great swimmers, they can spit their acid and they're quite intelligent. That scene where they killed one of their own in order for the acid to corrode the floor so that they could escape was absolutely brilliant. Not to mention that we got to see a new type of xenomorph at the end, which I guess was a mix of human and xenomorph? That scene where it died was absolutely HORRIFYING. If I had watched that as a kid, I would've had nightmares for days. Good lord, I don't think I've ever seen a death that brutal and detailed in a movie, on top of the sad moment between it and Ripley. And the way that it screamed! Absolutely brilliant scene, now that's how you make a memorable movie.

Well, I've finally watched the first four Alien movies and overall, they were great. Definitely looking forward to playing the games now more than before!

I watched The Marksman last night. This was a cut above most recent Liam Neeson vehicles, and ended up being rather compelling, if a little predictable (although I loved the abrupt and ambiguous ending it gave his character). I guess it didn't review well with professional critics because it used a hot button issue for setting and context, but didn't make any clear, preachy comment about it. At least they all praised Mr. Neeson's performance, which was even more superb than usual.

@LtSarge Blimey, you've been on quite the classic movie binge lately! I'm long overdue an Alien marathon myself, so I'm glad you've largely enjoyed the series. Do you think you'll watch Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, or any of the Aliens Vs. Predator movies?

Also, if you're in the market for cheesy 80s action, don't sleep on Commando. It's so much fun!

@RogerRoger Well I figured that since I have Disney+ and all these movies are on there that I'd finally watch them. Sadly I grew up in a household that didn't care much about movies and such, so I've missed out on so many classics. For example, I watched the Indiana Jones movies for the first time a couple of months ago since they were on HBO.

I'm definitely interested in watching Prometheus, Alien: Covenant and the Alien vs Predator movies. I saw that Commando is on Disney+, so I might watch that too. However, my Disney+ is running out today so I'm quite unsure if I'll watch any of them today since I like to take my time with these sorts of things. But I'll definitely watch them eventually!

@LtSarge I sympathise, as I also missed some real classics growing up, but then the thrill of discovering a new favourite series (and being able to skip the two-to-three year gaps between sequels) is undeniable, especially when you factor in the ease and cost-effectiveness of streaming services.

It's just a shame when they run out, yes! You'll renew eventually, if not straight away, right?

@RogerRoger I think I’m lucky in that my mum’s an 80s kid therefore we were relentlessly exposed to Indiana Jones, Top Gun and other 80s/90s movies from a relatively young age. In many ways they’ve influenced my tastes more than most movies that came out since I was born! Although I had to watch Star Wars whenever she wasn’t in the room, she’s never been a fan 😂

Finishing up the rush hour trilogy and the matrix trilogy...quadriology?

@nessisonett It's funny, even when folks have grown up in a movie-loving household, there's always that one series, isn't there? I count myself incredibly lucky to have gotten a TV in my bedroom in my early teens, not just for gaming purposes but also so that I could watch the stuff I liked, rather than the stuff the wider family would've always chosen. There's only so much costume drama nonsense I can take, just as I'm sure there's only so much Star Wars, Star Trek and James Bond they can tolerate, too!

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@PhhhCough Hey, if you also count The Animatrix and that Enter the Matrix game on PS2, then I don't think there's even a word for what The Matrix has become!

@RogerRoger I probably didn’t take advantage of the PS2 being a DVD player as much as I could have actually! We had a wee rubbish TV in our room without even an aerial but mostly used it for the Cube and PS2. It’s only really the PS5 having 4K Blu-Ray support which has opened my eyes to just how useful the video playback is. I watched Spider-Man in 4K last week while wrapping presents and it was a really fantastic upgrade from how I remembered it!

@RogerRoger I'm honestly kinda burned out now on these franchises that I decided to subscribe to Netflix instead to spice things up. I haven't used it since July so I have tons of new shows and seasons to watch: Arcane, Squid Game, The Witcher, Lost Space, Arrow, Riverdale, Locke & Key, DC Titans and so on. Going to be watching a lot of TV shows in other words! But I might check out some movies that are only on Netflix as well. I was hoping that the MCU Spider-Man movies would be on there, but apparently they aren't. Although the two Amazing Spider-Man movies are on there, would you say they are worth watching?

One thing that bugs me is that Netflix only have some of the movies from certain franchises. For example, only Terminator 2 and Rambo 2 and 3 respectively are on the service. So I guess I'll have to find another way to watch them. At least the first four Jurassic Park movies are on there, so I'll definitely be watching those for the first time!

It feels kinda nice actually to be switching between subscription services. Right now I'm alternating between Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max. It's honestly quite refreshing to have this approach as I'll have something different to look forward to.

@LtSarge I’m answer to your query, I’d say yes — watch the 2 Amazing Spider-Man movies. Don’t mind all the naysayers about Garfield’s depiction of Peter Parker; I thought he was fine and the movies were entertaining enough. He’s still not as good as Holland and Macguire in the role, but I think it’s as much an issue with dealing with a weaker script as it is the actor himself. Either way, I enjoyed them both enough to have watched them each a couple times over the last few years.

As far as your comment about Netflix only having partial series, I have to agree that it’s an annoying thing. In my obsessive-compulsive brain I like to watch a whole set of movies if possible and unless the first movie is awful, I prefer to start at the beginning of a series. I was recently wanting to watch all the Craig Bond films and they are just scattershot around rather than all being on one streaming service and it has been an obstacle to wanting to start them, since I know I’ll have to probably rent one or two of them. It seems like HBO Max is the best about carrying entire series beginning to end.

Speaking of, does anyone recommend the arduous task of watching all the Matrix films? (Especially tagging @PhhhCough here) I’ve only seen the first one and then maybe part of the second one. When the quality seemed to drop off I didn’t bother with continuing the series, but now with the new movie available on HBO for a month, I’m tempted to watch them, but not sure I want to invest the time it would take to go through all of them, especially if this new one isn’t really worth it. It would need to be really awesome for me to feel it worthwhile to dump the 8-10 hours it will take. Thoughts?

@nessisonett Took me a while, too. It was only really when I went to university that my PS2 became more than just a games console. It remains the only hardware I've lost due to general wear, tear and old age, rather than to a specific fault or incremental upgrade. Loved that freakin' machine.

4K really is something, isn't it? I was cool towards the difference at first, because I thought it wasn't as noticeable as previous leaps, but I get it now. Just wish I could afford to re-buy my collection again!

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@LtSarge Oh, for sure, it's good to mix and match the kinds of things you watch (movies and shows, blockbusters and smaller projects, franchises and standalones, etc.) and I'm glad Netflix has so much to offer you in that regard! And yeah, I'm with @Th3solution on the Amazing films. I liked the second one better, but both make for an interesting, fresh take on Spidey, so I reckon they'd be worth four-ish of your hours on a rainy Sunday. It's always a shame to see things broken up over multiple streaming services, but at least that duology will be relatively self-contained for you!

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@Th3solution Hmm. If you couldn't make it through The Matrix Reloaded, then suggesting you return to it and its sequel might be a mistake. I like 'em but they're not for everybody, as evidenced by the polarised reception to the new film. Whilst I've yet to see it, I gather it trades on nostalgia quite a bit, so if you're not a fan from the trilogy's original run, it might not be enough of a payoff for you.

@Th3solution the first matrix holds up well. The reliance on cgi isn't as prevalent as in the sequels. Just saw matrix reloaded. It's alright. I'm cutting the bs parts of the movie, by gaming during the slow parts(yay, second screen). I don't recall the third one, as much. May pay more attention. Then on to the fourth.

I feel it's all subjective and agree with @RogerRoger If you didn't enjoy the movies when they first came out, I don't think time will help. And forcing yourself through it, to watch the fourth, just to be apart of the "watercooler talk", just doesn't seem worth it. Life is short, do what makes you happy(so long as it isn't detrimental to others).