Topic: The Movie Thread

@MightyDemon82 Cool! That is a movie that just recently showed up on my radar ("The Wild Robot" being another) that I've added to my fall cinema itinerary. Glad to hear it's a worthwhile trip to the movies

I know this will probably be a bit TL;DR for most, but here's a list of all the films I've watched over the past few weeks.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - After a wartime video goes viral showing the titular Billy Lynn heroically protecting his commanding officer's body from being taken by enemy forces, his entire squad is sent on a publicity tour back in the States where they must face how disconnected the populace is from their struggle (outside of vague patriotic platitudes) and what it really is they're fighting for.

Godzilla 2014 (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - I think this one is sooo close to being something great, but just makes too many mistakes to quite get there. I love that it spends time building up suspense (the best Godzilla films often don't have much of Big G and have great human drama, after all), but Bryan Cranston is the only one who really puts in a noteworthy performance & it really loses something once he's killed off. Again, I don't really have an issue with the amount of Godzilla, but rather how that time is used (oftentimes it'll completely cut away to something entirely else as soon as he clashes with one of the MUTO, dodging the actual monster fighting). That said, there are some good shots, and a satisfyingly brutal finish. It's also waaay too dark (in terms of lighting), the scene where the MUTO attacks the train is a huge example of this where I could barely see anything except it's glowy spots & the flaming wreckage in the river at the end. A real shame too as it can be a real looker when you can actually see what's going on (like the sequence in the rain where Godzilla & the MUTO descend on San Francisco).

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - A tonally confused affair, on one hand resigning itself to being nothing more than popcorn entertainment (any poignant "man vs nature" themes are undercut by Monarch transforming into a facsimile of the MCU's SHEILD, and it starts to dive headlong into the "Hollow Earth" nonsense), but on the other hand it seems like it wants to take itself waaay to seriously with an overdramatic environmentalist message & visually gritty aesthetic. As a big Godzilla fan there are things for me to like here (there are a lot of fan favorite Kaiju here, including a pretty cool version of King Ghidorah that goes pretty hard, though it's so much that it teeters along a similar issue that Spider-Man 3 had with too many big names for one movie), but I wouldn't blame anyone for not liking it.

Godzilla VS Kong (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - At this point the Monsterverse has given up any pretense of offering any sort of compelling human drama (which it was rarely good at anyways, at least not on the level of stuff like Godzilla: Minus One) and lunged head first into being a big dumb monster punch 'em up flick, and honestly, it works. Revelling in the absolute dumbest aspects of it's convoluted lore, it's a film more concerned with having fun than trying to say/do anything meaningful, and boy is it a fun film. Godzilla & Kong's fights are awesome (the best in the franchise), and you never go too long without them tearing through things on screen.

Hancock (Blu-Ray) - Before we had like 6 different versions of "Superman but Evil", we had "Superman but just kind of a jerk in need of some good PR". I think this is pretty fun in the first half when it's working on that core concept, but kinda loses itself when trying to explore lore/backstory & forcing and endgame villain.

the Killer's Game (Cinema) - Dave Bautista plays the best assassin in the game, but wants to get out once he finds a woman and starts developing health issues. Soon it's learned he's come down with an incurible disease, so he puts a hit out on himself so she doesn't have to watch him slowly die & can get his life insurance. He learns that the diagnosis was a mistake and he's going to live, but now only if he can survive the onslaught of eccentric assassins out to get him. I'm pretty sure this just bombed, but honestly I kinda liked it. It's not a masterpiece (and I think kinda tonally inconsistent), but with a lot of creative (& bloody) kills, explosions, and some light female nudity, it's an enjoyable enough "Dude/Dad" film if that's something you're into (not as good as "the Beekeeper" from earlier this year though).

Kong: Skull Island (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - Even as someone who is much more of a Godzilla fan, I'll say that Kong's solo movie is probably the Monsterverse's best. It's really the only one that successfully invests you to it's human cast (you really want to see John C. Reilly's character make it home, and Samuel L. Jackson's Packard is a compelling villain, jaded after pouring his military career into Vietnam with nothing to show for it, he becomes obsessed with taking out Kong, even if it means the deaths of his men that he supposedly cares so much about). There's a lot of imagination on display when it comes to the flora & fauna of the titular island itself, which leads to a lot of exciting encounters, whether it be our group of survivors finding themselves underfoot a massive spider, or the various punch 'em ups Kong winds up in with other beasts. Just a really enjoyable time.

the LEGO Movie (Blu-Ray) - Who knew that a movie about LEGO would be so solid(ly built)? At it's core it's just a family film with a message about how we're all special in it's own way, but it's still one of the most visually stunning/unique CGI animated films from a big studio and the cast is pretty fun, whether it be Will Ferrell hamming it up as unrepentantly evil "President Business" or Will Arnett's "Batman" trying to hard to be cool. Enjoyable watch.

Lone Survivor (Blu-Ray) - Speaking of "Dude/Dad" films, this one goes pretty hard. I can understand that glorifying war (especially something as modern/touchy as recent Mideast conflicts) is going to rub some the wrong way, but I honestly liked this. Based on a True Story (but obviously embellished for movie's sake), it follows Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of a small band of Navy Seals who found themselves surrounded by a couple hundred Taliban fighters after getting found out during a reconnaissance mission.

Ranma 1/2: the Battle of Nekonron: the Fight to Break the Rules! (Blu-Ray) - Very by the numbers movie adaptation of a long running Shonen anime. New one off villain shows up to antagonize our protaganists, has just enough henchmen that almost every recurring cast member gets to tag along as they get a fight (though I'm a little salty that Ukyo & Kodachi were who were left behind this go around, lol), but the good guys save the day in the end and go home. For die hard fans of the franchise only (even the animation is nothing special. There are some TV & OVA episodes that look better).

Ranma 1/2: the Battle of Togenkyo: Rescue the Brides! (Blu-Ray) - Much like the first film, it sees the extended cast facing off against a one off movie villain, and although the concept wasn't anything new, I think it was much better executed here. The animation quality was a pretty big jump up (not up there with something seminal like Ghost in the Shell or Memories, but still nice 90's anime vibes), and it was overall much more fun and the cast has never looked better. I'd still likely say this is one for existing fans of the property only, but as a fan I couldn't much tell you what more I could want from a film in this franchise (other than the fact that it completely snubbed Kodachi, the only extended cast member to be left out).

the Shallows (Blu-Ray) - While surfing off of a secluded beach in Mexico, a woman is injured by a shark (which is stalking the area due it being the site of it's latest kill, a whale) and must find a way to get back to land. There's a few contrived moments narratively (how did no one see that huge whale carcass just a few hundred feet from the shore while they were surfing?), but overall it was a tense ride that gripped me throughout and it has some of the most gorgeous scenery shots I've seen in a film.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - This is perhaps one of the most epic superhero films ever crafted. Now, I get that a 4 hour+ runtime is a huge ask and that a better storyteller may (should?) have found a way to trim some fat (I could have probably done without the lengthy epilogue added, which was a lot of buildup to stuff he knows he was never going to get to do), but at least it now has the time to build up characters like Cyborg & some of the greater lore behind what is going on. It's certainly better than the theatrical cut though, and the definitive way to watch the film if you decide to do so.

Finished watching Lethal Weapon 2. This movie was so much better than the first one! It feels like the first movie had a hard time finding its identity. It didn't know whether it wanted to be a serious or a funny movie. The second one focused more on being a funny movie and it worked out wonderfully. It also helped that Joe Pesci was in this one. He was absolutely hilarious. I'm really looking forward to watching the third movie now.

Furiosa A Mad Max Saga (Blu-ray)
I liked this. Very entertaining. Good origin story broken up in chapters. Borderline comedy in places. Good action setpieces. Chris Hemsworth, Lachy Hulme and Anya Taylor-Joy were great. At times that character Dementia did things that would be described as 'comedy of errors'.

Only real complaint was the part where Furiosa lost her arm wasn't as dramatic as I expected. At one point in the film, the CGI wasn't implemented properly, and some other scenes it was noticeable but not jarring.

8 / 10

As now I saw every Mad Max film I would rate as below from best to worst. The top 4 are very close to each other. Beyond Thunderdome is a very distant fifth.

1. Mad Max Fury Road
2. Mad Max 2
3. Furiosa Mad Max Saga
4. Mad Max
5. Mad Max Beyound Thunderdome

I love this poster. I'm looking forward to Eggers take on Nosferatu!

@MightyDemon82 This is probably the 2024 film I'm most excited about (even if it doesn't come out here until January). The trailer was fantastic! I've only seen "The Witch" by Eggers and I wasn't blown away by it, but this ticks all my boxes so far

@FuriousMachine You need to check out both The Lighthouse & The Northman. I'm in a real mood for atmospheric horror, at the moment. So Nosferatu will definitely fit that bill!

@MightyDemon82 I agree! @FuriousMachine I can also recommend his others films too. The Lighthouse is a bit harder to recommend as although I really enjoyed, I can appreciate that people not clicking with it.

@MightyDemon82 @JohnnyShoulder Yeah, they are both on my watchlist, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.
Northman is getting a 4K release soon, so I will check it out beforehand to see if it is something I'll want to go for a ltd. steelbook for. Might give it a look this weekend.

@FuriousMachine Is that only on your region? As I thought I saw the 4K blu ray some time ago.

Finished watching Jackie Brown this morning. Arguably, Tarantino's masterpiece.

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, you're right, it is already available in 4K, both in "regular" and "ultimate collector's edition" releases. The new one looks to simply be a steelbook release of the regular one, as far as I can tell.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I wholeheartedly agree! My favourite of his, easily.

@FuriousMachine I especially enjoyed Michael Keaton's performance in the film. I am planning on checking out One Good Cop next, consequently.

@FuriousMachine I might get that steelbook, as I don't have many, if any 4K's

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Yeah, Ray Nicolette is a character, alright! Love that he cameos as the same character in Out of Sight, one of my all time favourite movies. That scene with Dennis Farina is pure gold

@JohnnyShoulder I have too many, but I can't seem to stop buying them. There's a reason I refer to my go-to online store as "my dealer" (they also feed my vinyl addiction)
And now there's a release of Galaxy Quest on the way; a release I probably won't be able to live without

@FuriousMachine Hmmmm, I did see that about Galaxy Quest, but not sure if I like the film enough to warrant a purchase. I'll most likely add to my rental list and go from there.

There are a couple of films releasing on 4K soon such as Seven which I have my eye on.

@JohnnyShoulder Funny you should mention it, Warner Bros. recently released a statement regarding the 4K Se7en releases that were available for pre-orders several places and had their original release dates changed to "TBA 2025". Apparently, the big SKUs are no longer coming, only a digipak and a steelbook release.

The full statement (via TheDigitalBits via Zavvi):

“Thank you for your patience whilst we’ve developed our 4K restoration plans for David Fincher’s Seven. We’re pleased to announce that the restoration will finally be released in early 2025, with a brand-new 4K scan carefully overseen by Fincher.

“We will be releasing two products: a Digipak and a Steelbook release, both developed and designed by the director himself. These products will replace the previously announced What’s in the Box and Ultimate Collector’s Edition versions.

“Pre-order for the new products will go live in early November. Apologies again for the delay, and thank you for understanding. We can’t wait for you to experience Seven in more detail and depth than ever before.

“Apologies for any inconvenience this cancellation might cause, and we genuinely appreciate your understanding.

“Thanks again for your support, we’re excited to share this new release with you soon!”

@FuriousMachine Ah ok, thanks for the info. Not sure if I would have gone for the collecters edition with the goodies, but a bummer for those that were. Looks like I'll be getting the steelbook then!