Topic: The Movie Thread

@ThereThere I agree with Bong Joon-Ho, I've not seen Mother but his other films I've enjoyed them all. I think he is such a master craftsman and his films always have something a bit extra about them, something usually unexpected which makes for great viewing.

Interesting. And I see Alicia Vikander in not attached to star in any upcoming Tomb Raider film.

@JohnnyShoulder Oh, blast. As somebody who enjoyed the previous reboot movie for what it was, and who was looking forward to its teased sequel, this news kinda sucks.

Here's hoping whoever picks up the rights doesn't wanna reboot everything again, just for the sake of it.

I watched the recent The Gray Man on Neflix. It was enjoyable enough and the cast are great, I get the feeling Chris Evans reveled in playing such a scum-bag after so long as Cap. I think these super expert killer films are getting a bit long in the tooth now though, if they weren't already.

Following on from last week, I watched Conan the Destroyer this morning.

It was decent, though I think I prefer the first. It definitely has a bit of a quicker pace (and shorter runtime), which I think helps it compared to how slow the first could be at times, however I think it overall feels more pedestrian. The set up is very run of the mill fantasy fate (steal a magical jewel from a wizard's castle, etc.), they've added more humor (and removed nudity) to maybe make it seem more palatable as a mainstream appeal, and it completely removes the mysticism from the magical elements (most sorcery in this movie boils down to someone quickly waving their arms to lift a door or spark a fire, which is a step down from the elaborate set ups in the first film, such as the snake transformation or the nightmarish scene where spirits were trying to drag Conan to death).

I will say it has a more exciting climax than the original, with a pretty cool monster.

That sucks about Tomb Raider, Vikander was wicked in the role and I would love to watch more Tomb Raider films with her in it. I know that's probably an unpopular opinion 😅

@ThereThere It is worth it to watch Tilda Swinton's performance, which I thought was menacing and hilarious at the same time. Don't think I've seen her put in a bad performance yet.

@ralphdibny @RogerRoger I've still not seen that one yet. I think when it came out I was disillusioned with movies based on video games, so decided to skip it. May give it a watch at some point as whatever I was feeling back then has passed.

@ralphdibny @JohnnyShoulder @RogerRoger I liked Vikander in the Lara Croft role also. The movie was pretty decent, all things considered. It and Ex Machina made me a Vikander fan.

@JohnnyShoulder I hope it doesn't disappoint. The general consensus indicates that it was unpopular but I still enjoyed it and thought that Vikander carried the film.

@Th3solution I think tomb raider is the only film I've seen with her in it. Ex machina has been on the "to watch" list for a while so I should probably give it a go soon!

@Th3solution She was in the film 'IT'?!

But Ex Machina is excellent @ralphdibny. I remember that was my choice to go and watch it at the cinema, so was chuffed when it turned out like it did, as it was a bit of an unknown quantity when it was released.

@JohnnyShoulder I've loved everything I've seen that Alex Garland has written so I should definitely give it a go! Oscar Isaac has made a bit of a name for himself since as well. I remember watching some coen brothers film in the cinema where he plays a guitarist. I can't remember it being that notable to be honest

Just finished up Lupin the 3rd: Jigen's Gravestone. The first in the so-called "Koike" trilogy of Lupin anime films (named after the guy who directed them), that forgoes the sillier/family friendly vibe of most of the series' other anime adaptations in favor of a more serious tone more similar to that of the original manga.

In this first entry, Jigen (the gang's sharpshooter) has his work cut out for him when he finds himself in the crosshairs of an assassin that's purportedly even a better shot than himself. With a fantastic visual style, some thrilling action set pieces, and a few clever narrative twists I thought it was a blast. It was perhaps a bit shorter than I typically expect from a movie (ran for just about an hour), and despite the narrative ultimately centering around Cold War politics they made it take place in a fictional country (a pet peeve of mine in stories that otherwise take place in the real world, which the Lupin series is admittedly a repeat offender), but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to getting to the next one.

Saw some movies I saw on HBO Max before they left the service. Some quick thoughts.

Stage Fright: B-tier Hitchcock thriller, but even his B-tier films are worth watching if only for the craftsmanship. I thought the plot was engaging and there was a neat twist near the end. Not top 10 material, but I would put it on par with the likes of To Catch a Thief or Family Plot. The best out of the lot I saw. 7.5/10

Captains Courageous: Old MGM family film. Good, although there was nothing about it that particularly stood out. One thing that was a bit odd was the boy that was supposed to be American had an English accent. 7/10

The Asphalt Jungle: Film noir crime film that's about a jewel heist. I've seen this one before and was disappointed that it didn't spend enough time showing the planning and execution of the heist. A few years later, I can happily report that enjoyed the movie more. With that being said, it's more good than great. The screenplay is good, but I've seen other noirs with snappier dialog. I also didn't feel that it was as cynical as it could have been. The movie also takes a more realistic (but not documentary-like) approach which is fine, but it does mean that it's not as interesting as it could be. On the plus side the story is easy to follow and the acting is great, particularly Sterling Hayden. If you want a better example of a noir heist, check out The Killing. 7/10

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The title says it all. Don't go in expecting high art and you'll have a pretty good time. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Tremors in the way that spoofs '50's sci-fi (although Klowns also leans heavily in the horror genre), though I felt Tremors was funnier. The special effects and especially the clown suits were also great considering the low budget. 7.5/10

The Netflix algorithm for showing you what it thinks you might like is far too narrow in my opinion. I find you get a lot of repetition regardless of what category you are looking at. Anyway, due to watching a couple of documentary series lately I've noticed a few different things and watched Spotlight last night.
I was engrossed by it and thought it was incredibly well crafted with great acting and pacing. It wasn't something I was ever eager to watch but gave it a go and I'm glad I did. I've been impressed by a few films lately and this is definitely one of the best.

@ThereThere And as we were just talking about him the other day, news drops about his next film. I like the sound of that cast!

More movie thoughts (also talked about Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but I posted that in the Star Trek thread):

The Tenant: Psychological horror-thriller about a man who rents an apartment with a troubled past directed by Roman Polanski. Like his other two apartment films, Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby, there's a real sense of paranoia. In all fairness a lot of films from the '70's were infused with paranoia, though Polanski was doing this before Watergate. The acting is good, although I wasn't particularly blown away by it. My biggest gripe is with the pacing. While I don't mind watching a slow burner, The Tenant is a bit too slow unfortunately. That's not to say it's uninteresting, far from it, but there's too much time showing the protagonists life in and out of the apartment before the paranoia really takes hold. Compare this to his other apartment films where the paranoia takes hold much earlier, and neither of those films have a particularly fast pace. Really it all comes down to pacing issues for me. I know I'm probably being a bit too negative (if you're still reading my ramblings), but I did like The Tenant. Despite it's leisurely pace it still kept my attention, which can't be said for other films I've seen that have the same problem. If you are a fan of these slower horror films you'll probably get more out of this than be, but every one else be aware. 7/10

Bloody hell, Batgirl’s been scrapped. They spent $90 million on it and definitely filmed it cause we saw JK Simmonds in town. They’re just not releasing it. Mad. So both Supergirl and Batgirl are basically gone before they’ve even been introduced due to the Flash movie being up in the air too. Really feel for the actresses, this isn’t on them at all.

@nessisonett Yeah with the main actor in The Flash movie going totally off the rails by the sounds of it, I'm not sure if they will reshoot the film or not. Kinda like what Ridley Scott did with Kevin Spacey's scenes in All the Money in the World. Except that wasn't for someone in the main starring role in a super hero movie!

@ThereThere No worries buddy!

@JohnnyShoulder @nessisonett This (along with the removal.of Keaton from "Aquaman") looks a lot like a precursor to them quietly shelving "The Flash" as well - a movie conspicuous by its absence at SDCC.. Ezra Miller is a seriously disturbed individual who can be nothing but a liability to WB at this point. I expect they'll release the other movies they already have in the can ("Shazam 2" and "Black Adam") and then concentrate on individual projects like the Joker and Batman sequels and the Superman reboot. The DCEU has been a complete disaster.