Topic: The Movie Thread

Anora (Blu-Ray)
Watched it to see why it got the Best Picture Oscar for 2025. I did like it, but don't think it is Best Picture Winner. This is the 1st time saw a film by Sean Baker, and never heard of Mikey Madison. The first 40 or so mins has many "ahem" moments, then turns into a racous comedy once the Armenians showed up. This is when the very frequent high-level swearing kicked in.

9 / 10

watching some stuff on Tubi this week and the rest of this month

the classic Earth vs the Flying Saucers
My Girl 2
The Guyver . wish they would add Guyver 2
Evolver a decent old late 1980s early 1990s sci fi flick
little bit of the original first season of the original Ninja Turtles cartoon since all seasons got added to watch by themselves

“Explorer from another world” on Freevee/Amazon.
Modern take on the old 60s B movie sci-fi genre. Only 40 mins long, low budget although the direction and camera work doesn’t reflect that (no out of focus shaky cam here). Deliberately hammy acting and dialogue which adds to the experience.

Also just seen a trailer for the new Naked Gun film, hmm I suspect the trailer included the best bits and some of those were repeated.

watching the old Earth vs the Flying Saucers on tubi right now. I've always wanted to watch that movie ever since the Mars Attacks movie back then in the mid late 1990s but old movies like Earth vs the Flying Saucers were hard to find back then

Wow! Denis Villeneuve directing the new Bond... did not see that coming. I assumed the next Bond would be a roaring dumpster fire after Amazon bought out the Broccolis, but Villeneuve is definitely not a trash arsonist and I am suddenly intrigued.

@FuriousMachine I'm not a fan of Bond as a franchise, but that's an incredible choice that instantly makes me intrigued. I had a feeling Amazon might know what they're doing when they attached David Heyman and Amy Pascal as producers, and this is just another one of those choices that I feel like makes me confident in how they're going to treat the franchise. Maybe it'll eventually even manage to appeal to me personally, haha!

I thought Denis Villeneuve would be busy making Dune Messiah, but I would love to see his take on a James Bond film.

I highly recommend Sicario, a thoughtful, intelligent action thriller. So Villeneuve’s idea of a James Bond film will be intriguing and action-packed. If this is true, I look forward to it.

Hopefully it gets released to cinemas, eventually, and not just Amazon Prime Video. I always feel that movies deserve to be seen on the big screen.

@FuriousMachine @Tjuz @Jimmer-jammer @Matthewnh

It made me ponder if Roger Deakins would be up for one last hurrah, too. He is 'soft-retired' but Bond x Villenueve would be a hell of a last project to be involved in. And I'm sure Amazon will be happy to pour a bunch of resources into the first one to make sure it makes a statement visually.

But then again, I have no idea how long they are going to take with actually writing it or who is driving the creative direction (it says co-writer to focus on script while Dune is shooting, so 🤷‍♂️) last I heard was they wanted to completely reinvent it, though

@Jimmer-jammer ah, I lost my comment. But the long and the short of it was that it was mostly just a long shot thought, based more on how it'd be really fitting, well deserved, and just plain nice to see. And also because Skyfall was stunning, Blade Runner was stunning and Sicario is around the time when DV was starting to say he'd love to do Bond because action is art when executed well.

But now you've said that, I kind of want to see a Robert Eggers' James Bond production 😭 sack Villenueve now! There is your new direction, Amazon 😂

@Matthewnh The co-writer will be taking first crack at the Bond script while Villeneuve finishes "Dune Messiah", which is still slated for release next year. And if the skip a theatrical release for Bond I'll be livid, but I'm not worried, there's too much money to be made on a theatrical Bond run, I think (especially since Villeneuve now has a bit of a box-office pull of his own).

I second the recommendation for "Sicario" for those who haven't seen it; excellent movie!

@Ravix Oh please, dear God, no. Let Eggers keep doing his own thing and keep him out of the franchises I love. I've yet to see an Eggers movie I liked, though I've not seen "The Lighthouse". "The Northman" wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special either.

@FuriousMachine

"The name's Bond..."

*a harsh violin sounds. A woman screams. A pig is slaughtered and it's blood poured into a martini glass lit by candlelight.

A close up of Willem Dafoe crying in pain with a toothy grin on his face

"I know exactly who you are, Mr. Bond, you are my conscience come to haunt me, torment me, mock me"

*Ralph Ineson pours the pigs blood over his face, never once blinking as he is covered in the viscous goo

"James Bond"

And... Scene.

Well then, I hope A Christmas Carol isn't one of your most beloved tales, as Eggers is doing that, after he is done with some other projects, I actually think this is a genius move by Warner Bros. I believe his next release is called Werwolf and he was due to make a medieval movie about a Knight, which I could see being utterly brutal, in a good way. I always appreciate when we get to see the more realistic, bloody side of medieval warfare

@Jimmer-jammer

I have seen Day of the Soldado, because I owned the disc at one point. I do not remember it very well. So it probably did not make a great impression, unlike the first one. It was much more of a generic action film, to me, than anything that really stood out as original.

Having Kate Mercer in the original film, the Emily Blunt character, she was an outsider, a kind of proxy for the viewer, I feel. That really pulled you in to the story.

In a funny sort of way, I now almost resent sequels that I think are completely unnecessary. Here in the UK, the film was actually called Sicario 2:Soldado. So they even butchered the title as well.

@FuriousMachine I’m concerned that Villeneuve’s not getting final cut though, because we know what happens when studio execs have the last word. The names flying round just aren’t grabbing me either, far too many vapid pretty boys like Jacob Elordi and the like. My picks would be either George Mackay or James Nelson-Joyce. I loved how rough and tumble Craig is in Casino Royale but I think Skyfall onwards stifled him and downplayed his strengths by sticking him in a tuxedo and making him go through the Bond motions, his portrayal felt a bit paint-by-numbers by the end. I’d go down the ex-Navy angle, ruthless killing machine who uses the charm as a front, rather than suave ladies’ man who happens to be a spy.

I've a been a bit mixed with Villeneuve’s films. Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 I found so boring and i thought the two Dune films were only ok. Sicario and Prisoners are bangers though, and the sense of tension in those films are unrivalled. Shout out to Enemy for being completely and utterly bonkers.

busy with watching the Rifftrax versions of original House on Haunted Hill, Ghosthouse and Yor Space Hunter

and watching the long 2 hour Mel Gibson Hamlet movie

Wicked (2024)
Not really into musicals, but gave this a go. Didn't know this is Part 1, and based on the Broadway musical that I never saw. At 2hr40mins, the 1st 2hrs had hardly any plot development - only side stories per say - and imo far too many back-to-back musical numbers. It's only in the last 40mins that everything happens. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were excellent and both have great singing voices. Jeff Goldblum acts as Jeff Goldblum. Still will watch Part 2.

Prey Predator 5 (2022)
Much better than I thought. Closer to the 1st film in character and having a single Predator hunting. Amber Midthunder was great.

@Ravix Hahaha, I think you absolutely nailed what an Eggers Bond would look like. Maybe add that it's all muted colours, bordering on black and white, and using darkness and shadows and low, natural light, making it stylish as hell and disguising the fact that it is ultimately dull and dreary 😉
No, seriously, I don't really dislike his movies, I just don't see anything special about them and I am completely baffled as to why everybody are so in love with them. After "Nosferatu" I realised that everyone is seeing something I'm missing, came to terms with it and decided to stop looking (though I will probably see the werewolf one, if it comes to fruition, though it will most likely be filmed solely by moonlight and impossible to see anything, which should could down on the effects budget 😉)

I've no special affinity for "A Christmas Carol" and him making one is not a problem for me, I'll always have "Scrooged" and the Muppet one 🙂

@nessisonett The final cut thing was mainly a Broccoli thing (and I sort of understand their reasoning, I think they did a good job protecting the franchise from straying too far from its roots), so I was surprised to read that Amazon MGM decided they wanted final cut as well, now that they finally could entice filmmakers like Nolan, who will never relinquish final cut.

I am also not a fan of the casting choices they are throwing around. I prefer Bond to be at least in his late thirties; he should be a veteran and accomplished, in my mind. I'm not really interested in Young James Bond projects. Now, I like Tom Holland, but, please, no. Just, no. If we must have a Spiderman as Bond, I'd actually prefer Garfield.

I'm not familiar with the actors you mentioned, but both have a good Bond look, I think, especially Nelson-Joyce. Looks like he could fit very well with the rough and tumble type Bond you mention, which I also liked (though I didn't mind the evolution towards the more traditional type in Skyfall as much).

So, not sure what to make of this just yet, but if the final product ends up being directed by Villeneuve I will definitely give it a chance.

@JohnnyShoulder I haven't seen "Prisoners" or "Enemy" (I need to get on that), but I absolutely loved "Arrival"; one of the most interesting "non-spectacle" sci-fi films I've seen in many a year and the notion that language informs our perspective makes for great storytelling (it's a subject that has fascinated me a long time, but I can't remember if the movie introduced me to the concept or if I was aware of it beforehand).

I also really enjoyed "Blade Runner 2049" and both "Dune" films (and, as previously stated, "Sicario"), so Villeneuve is one of my favourite directors working at the moment. As you can imagine, that does a lot for what was initially very low excitement levels for the new Bond 🙂

I've had three enjoyable trips to the cinema these last two days, starting yesterday with the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon. It was every bit as fun, charming and feelgood as the original, but it's been a long time since I saw it so I can't really speak to how similar they are. My guess is "very", so that begs the question whether this version was even necessary. I've been avoiding the Disney live-action remakes for the simple reason of having seen them in animated form before, so it's a bit strange that I felt compelled to go see this one. Still, as I said, long time since I saw the original, so it was a welcome excuse to spend some time with Toothless and Hiccup again.

I followed that with the natural pairing of 28 Years Later 🙃
I'm not ready to categorically state that this is the best of the series, but I am dead certain it is my favourite. I really don't want to go into any details here, but the cast is fantastic and Jodie Comer is easily the MVP here (even with a wonderful turn from Ralph Fiennes). Having recently rewatched the two earlier films, it is clear that each entry can stand solidly on its own; no need to have seen the others to enjoy this one (that will most likely not be the case with the direct sequel coming out in January - no cliffhanger ending here, but there is a plot point that will be explored in the next movie).

And today I watched Megan 2.0. I saw the first one on the big screen following the solid buzz, going in without any real expectation and was very pleasantly surprised. I became a big fan of the original and was happy to find that it was well received and was getting a sequel. This one, though, I was sceptical about. M3gan had become a gay icon, and that's cool, but I was worried when it seemed like the sequel would throw away what made her fun and dangerous in the original in order to cultivate her almost hero status. And while I wasn't really wrong about that - she is no longer the antagonist and they did a genre swap from horror-comedy to action-comedy - it was still a lot of fun and I enjoyed it immensely. So, if you liked the first one and if you can get on board with the genre swap, M3egan is still a blast.

So, all in all, big fun has been had at the cinema and there's more to come. I'll be travelling until Friday, but over the weekend I'll be catching Jurassic World Rebirth, James Gunn's Superman and maybe F1 - The Movie (I'm still on the fence about that one)