Topic: The Movie Thread

@MightyDemon82 Happy to hear you had a good time with it! And, yeah, where to go next without overstuffing it?

I made the mistake of going to see Ghostbusters - Frozen Empire yesterday, in spite of all the warnings. I was always going to see it to make up my own mind and I was bored yesterday so I went (and if I'd remembered that WRC Rally Kenya was this weekend, I would have stayed home).
Production wise it is fairly competently made, but it is completely dull and lazy and missing the charm that could be found in the previous effort.
I think it takes a great amount of skill to manage to remove Paul Rudd's natural charm from a movie with such surgical precision, but I guess it was nigh impossible for anyone to muster any sort of enthusiasm for a movie that insists on tripping over itself in order to deliver poorly executed throwbacks to the original movie in the worst way possible.

@MightyDemon82 @FuriousMachine Have you guys seen Zero One yet? I've not seen any news when it releases over these shores, either on physical or streaming.

@JohnnyShoulder Minus one you mean 😉. I saw it on release. Fantastic movie. I've read online that it may be delayed whilst the legendary movie is on it's theatre run. Possibly some kind of deal between Toho and Legendary.

@JohnnyShoulder Not sure, but I assume Zero One is the movie that is called Godzilla Minus One here? If so, then yes, I saw it in the theatre last year and it was absolutely brilliant (and the complete opposite of the "monsterverse" movies). As far as streaming/physical releases, I've not seen anything concrete, other than it's supposed to get a physical release in Japan on May 1st

@FuriousMachine @MightyDemon82 Cheers, and yeah it was Godzilla Minus One I was referring to lol.

Made the mistake of giving Black Panther Wakanda Forever another shot. An almost 3 hour slog where basically nothing happens. I’m not even sure what I expected to happen, that I’d suddenly decide it was good or that the Oscar noms were somehow justified. It ultimately just boils down to ‘Mexicans vs Africans’ while the white people steal resources and come out of things much better off. Poor Chadwick Boseman but that movie didn’t need to be made. It’s ok to let people grieve off camera rather than attempting to channel that grief in a way that feels borderline exploitative.

On a lighter note, X-Men 97 is brilliant and an incredibly faithful continuation of the original series. Also Magneto is hot now. And basically right.

Godzilla X Kong: the New Empire 3D (Cinema) - Plot is about as dumb as a box of rocks, but man if this isn't the most fun I've had at the theatre this year. It's more Kong centric, but Godzilla definitely steals the show whenever he does show up on screen. The spectacle really shines in 3D too (whether it be Big G splattering bug guts everywhere, or all the dizzying twirling Hollow Earth shots & anti-grav shenanigans).

The Favourite (Blu-Ray) - Picked this up thrifting, and while it does have it's merits, I just don't think it's my kinda thing. That's okay though, it's good to take a step out of your comfort zone every once in awhile, even if it doesn't always pay off.

Summer Job (Tubi) - this 80's comedy doesn't have much in the way of a plot, just a bunch of college kids partying, pranking one another, & looking for romance while working a summer job at a beach resort, with a lot of screentime dedicated to beautiful beach bods, sunsets, and pristine waters (even with the effect a bit muted as it seems to be taken from a tape master, the definite SD resolution doesn't do it much favors). Still, it's fun if you're in the right mood.

Netflix and Shudder weekend for me

Netflix
-The Four Seasons

• the new Demetri Martin special
  watch at least Silverado before it leaves or stick with Pope's Exorcist since its still on my watch list

Shudder
-Suitable Flesh

@LN78 I hear (no pun intended) the Atmos is supposed to be good on the latest Cameron 4K releases. I will most likely pick them all up at some point, as I remember enjoying them all. Just not seen The Abyss and True Lies in ages, so will be interesting if I think they still hold up.

going to be watching the Suspiria remake on Freevee sometime later tonight since I just watched RedLetterMedia's reviews of both Suspiria movies on YouTube.

I watched Suzume on Netflix last night, loved the whole package. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves animation!

From Up On Poppy Hill (Blu-Ray) - Set in 1960's Japan as the nation prepares for the Tokyo Olympics, a pair of high schoolers find love as they campaign for the restoration of a historic school facility earmarked for demolition, however secrets behind their parantage may bar them from being together. Absolutely brilliant film, definitely at or near the top of my Ghibli ranking. Very beautiful & emotional.

Minions: the Rise of Gru (Amazon Prime) - Pretty much run of the mill affair for what, the 5th(?) entry in this franchise. But hey, it was amusing enough, which is why they're able to churn out as many as they do.

Private Lessons (Tubi) - When the teenage son of a multimillionaire is left home alone while his father is away on a trip, he lives every teenage boy's fantasy when the new hot housemaid starts coming on to him. Turns out it's all part of a plot by the family's greedy chauffeur who's trying to blackmail the kid out of $10,000, and he has to find a way to get it back before dad comes home. It's so absurd it loops to being funny, although even by 80's standards I'm surprised this was allowed to be made (let alone available on a modern streaming platform).

Just got back from seeing The First Omen in the theatre. There is no shortage of really bad horror movies being released and while this is not one of those, neither is it a very good horror movie.
It's certainly a solid cut above the likes of The Nun (and sequel) and it has some pretty cool imagery at times, along with some truly excellent sound design (which needs a good surround system to be fully appreciated), but despite bringing a somewhat fresh idea to the franchise, you still feel like you've seen it all before (and you'd be right, there is very little originality on display here). So, weakest in the franchise IMO, but not a complete disaster.

EDIT: Not sure if the movie intentionally sets up a sequel (or a "sidequel" to the original Omen, if you will) but I'd definitely watch that movie if the final scene sets the premise. I mean, the anti-christ's twin sister being hunted by the church and satanists alike? Where do I sign up?

noticed couple of days ago while i was browsing Freevee on my playstation 4 that Mad TV keeps popping up on Freevee.

that a tease that they might finally add Mad TV on Freevee? That would be nice

Civil War (Cinema) - Set during a hypothetical modern US civil war, the film doesn't take any time to set up why the conflict is happening in the first place nor does it take a hard line politically (while there may be a few subtle hints of Trump in the president come dictator, such as a dismantling of the FBI & a murderous distrust of the media, his political party is left unmentioned, & while the unlikely union of Texas & California's "Western Forces" is the predominant rebel force against the government, the film doesn't portray them as heroes or liberators). Rather, it focuses on a small group of photojournalists making the dangerous trek from NYC to the front line, in the hopes of documenting the WF's historic seige of D.C., travelling through the ruined carcasses of towns which the fighting has already passed through, documenting small outer skirmishes, stopping at a small town that has seemingly managed to avoid the ravages of war, a refugee camp, & more on their way to the big show. While it may disappoint some that it doesn't take a blatant hard line stance on current political discourse, the imagery is all too often raw & pulls no punches when it comes to the brutality of war from all involved, and it had more than one absolutely heart stopping moment.

Deadpool (Blu-Ray) - Another thrift pick up. Probably have done a write up of this one at some point before, but it remains pretty fun, and I always seem to pick up on a new reference or two I missed out on the last time I watched it. Some good, inappropriate, laughs.

Neighbors (Blu-Ray) - The last of my thrift pick ups. Seth Rogan comedy about a couple of new parents who have to make a choice between the responsibility of adulting and trying to hold on to their youth when a roudy fraternity moves in next door. It seems well made enough for what it is & provided a few laughs, but I think I just overall don't care for the vibe of Seth Rogan's work (maybe I'm just a little old at heart, but give me Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, or John Candy any day of the week. Heck, even Will Ferrell will do for someone a bit more modern).

Pretty Smart (Tubi) - 80's teen comedy that sees a pair of sisters with polar opposite personalities (a good girl & troublemaker respectively) sent to private school in Europe & end up in rival cliques. When it's learned that the skeevy headmaster is secretly recording the girls' dorms (& selling the tapes) and using the students to move drugs, the sisters will have to get the cliques to put aside their differences in order to take him down & save the school. Maybe not a particularly novel setup for a teen comedy of the era, but I had a load of fun with it.

Saw Monkey Man last night, a revenge action flick written and directed by Dev Patel (of Slumdog Millionaire fame), who also stars.
Brutal and very well made, though it doesn't really offer anything new, particularly not if you've seen the John Wick movies. Now, I recently complained about the lack of originality dragging The First Omen down; Monkey Man, however, doesn't suffer as much from it as it is quite kinetic, fast moving and, above all, entertaining. Also, the setting is fresh and Patel does a fine John Wick impression (they are very similar characters, I felt).
I enjoyed it and will be getting the 4K release when it arrives

@RR529 I'm a bit on the fence about Civil War, but I will most likely go as I now have a movie pass type membership valid for most of the cinemas in Oslo. Comes down to timing, I suppose (the new vampire movie from Radio Silence, Abigail, comes out at the same time and will likely disappear faster, so that has priority for me).

@Jimmer-jammer Garland's directorial output is pretty much all miss for me. I kind of like Ex Machina even though I felt it came close but ultimately failed at having anything interesting to say about its subject matter (beautifully shot, though). Annihilation was a messy adaptation of a poor novel and while I didn't hate it, I didn't particularly like it either. I could never figure out why everybody was so over the moon about it; maybe the baggage of the novel colored my perception of the movie, IDK.

Still, have tickets to see Civil War on Sunday (and Abigail on Saturday)

@Jimmer-jammer Men has flown completely under my radar, hadn't heard of it until now and based on your assessment I'm quite unsure whether I should track it down or not

Hadn't heard about Sasquatch Sunset either, but, based on the trailer I just saw, it has the potential to be something truly special, but if it misfires it could wind up being a snoozefest. It takes a swing, at least! Will definitely check it out, but it probably won't have a theatrical release over here, so I will keep an eye for it on streaming.

I'll keep you posted re.: Civil War