Topic: The Movie Thread

@ralphdibny "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call" is the worst culprit of what we're talking about - completely irredeemable in every single respect. I'd actually managed to forget all about it until you brought it up just now. "Afterlife" was almost as bad.
PS I'll have to rewatch the Matt Reeves "Apes" movies at some point. I can't remember them at all beyond the impressive monkey mo-cap effects.

@ralphdibny I'm in the same mindset as @LN78 with remakes of films I grew up watching. There are very few I've seen any which deserved to even wipe the crap off the originals shoes.

@LN78 the recent Apes trilogy is incredible. The first one (directed by Rupert Wyatt) was a nice little origin story for Caesar but the subsequent sequels (by Reeves) are just… amazing movies. In fact, it’s been a few years and I really fancy another ape-a-thon.

@colonelkilgore Just had a look and the 4K boxset is available for a very reasonable price. I'll get it ordered, then.

@LN78 hope you enjoy 👊

@colonelkilgore I enjoyed first of the recent Apes movies, but thought they got worse as with each film. I really didn't like the last one.

@colonelkilgore I'm going to be writing a few reviews on the topic of "original vs remake" but if memory serves the recent "Apes" movies are more like prequels to the Charlton Heston flick from the 60's so I don't think they quite fit the format. The Tim Burton/Mark Wahlberg effort from 20 years ago certainly does, though. That movie was so, so bad.

@LN78 yeah you're right, they would be prequels to the original book and the old movies. And yup, what the hell was going through Burtons mind!

@JohnnyShoulder I can see your point, I do think Dawn... (the 2nd one) was better than War... (the 3rd one) but its so difficult to close a movie trilogy with an adequate crescendo that I think they did as good as anyone really. Although I liked the first movie well enough, it was the dark themes of the sequels that did it for me.

@ralphdibny I like the fifth Die Hard for what it is but, since it's tragically become the definitive end to the series, it's not the high point John McClane deserved to end on. Would've been nice to see one more, have a pair of trilogies for the younger and older versions of the character, but alas.

Thanks for the First Blood recommendation, by the way! It's only a matter of time, I'm sure!

@LN78 As much as I recall being entertained by the RoboCop reboot, I also recall feeling that some of its biggest casting draws (Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson) were poorly utilised. They were clearly doing their best, but I think I wanted more from them, and that reaction might be contributing to why I can't really remember much about the movie nowadays.

@colonelkilgore Burton's "excuse" was that the "Apes" project had gone through several permutations on its way down to him (James Cameron, Peter Jackson and Oliver Stone were all attached at various times) so the script was a hodgepodge at best and he said that it was a rebound movie for him after his "Superman" movie got unceremoniously canned by WB just before shooting was due to start, so his creative juices were running on low. If you say so, Tim.

@LN78 @colonelkilgore @JohnnyShoulder haha fair play, I know a lot of people don't agree! I will say that the ones I've said are good are still nowhere near as good as the originals, they are just good for different reasons.

Apologies for reminding you of the GB remake though! I think it helps that I didn't watch it for years after it came out so the hype/hate train wasn't fresh in my mind at all.

Haven't seen Afterlife yet, I didn't really understand the marketing at all. It was like supposed to be nostalgic for the original GB but it was like an 80s coming of an age film, which GB was not. Seemed really random. I'm sure it's fine but I'm not in any hurry to watch it. I'll probably get around to it next time I watch through the series.

On the topic of PotA, Rise of the PotA is definitely a remake of the fourth film in the series Conquest of the PotA at the very least. They sort of go in their own direction after that that.

@RogerRoger I remember seeing that cast list (I even thought that Joel Kinnaman was a good choice for Murphy having seen his excellent work in "The Killing") and thinking that it might actually be good. Given the pedigree of the original, top drawer talent like that must've been attracted by the powerhouse script and strong creative vision of the director,right? Wrong - it was a paycheck project, pure and simple. I won't get fooled again. Until the next time.

@LN78 Well yeah, it's Hollywood. There'll always be a next time!

@ralphdibny The main problem with "Afterlife" is that it's so cynical that if you listen really hard, you can actually hear the the behind the scenes "creative" discussions (probably involving a few charts and spreadsheets) that took place before the screenwriters ever put pen to paper. You don't even need the DVD commentary track, which is quite the feat.

I actually don't mine the Burton one at all. Yeah it doesn't make a lot of sense but I think it's a really enjoyable watch.

@RogerRoger fair play, it's just one of those I think. It's a bit like Beverly Hills Cop 3 and RoboCop 3, they just forget what the character and film are all about and focus on the wrong things about them. Die Hard 5, loads of action but where is our snarky bad mouthed cop who always has a headache?

@LN78 ahh that's a shame, I do get that with some things I watch. Feels like a box ticking exercise but theyve ticked all the wrong boxes!!

I love that Key and Peele sketch where they do one of those meetings

@ralphdibny You like the Burton Apes movie?! Dear lord! 😂

Afterlife felt like a complete retread of the first film on places, just in a different setting. Just really lazy filmmaking.

There is scene in Matrix Resurrections kinda like that sketch, but it was a bit cringe to watch. Just reminded me of the Pitch Meeting videos on YouTube, except for those are actually funny for the right reasons!

My favourite thing about Prey being massively critically acclaimed is it disproving all the morons who made videos about how bad it was going to be because it stars a woman. Critical Drinker, Nerdrotic, Geeks and Gamers etc, all the right wing grifters catering to that audience all talking about how the movie would bomb and looks like it’s being universally praised. Although it’s probably a stretch to expect any kind of lateral thinking from people who think PredaHer is witty.

@nessisonett really looking forward to watching it having heard all the positive reviews. I'd kinda lost hope for the franchise after the last movie but really happy that they seem to have gotten this right.

Just finished watching Prey, which was... pretty good! Not a huge Predator fan, but it's probably the best film in the series since the original, as it's pleasantly ultra-violent and adopts a 'back-to-basics' approach that works well.

Also, the dog survives until the end, which is always nice.

@nessisonett That didn't really need to be disproved, lol. We've had women helming big sci-fi-action-horror properties since Alien back in 1979.

The 'people don't want women starring in [insert long-running franchise]' line has always been bunk, but you do see it being deployed by both sides for various reasons. The reality is that people just want good entertainment.