Topic: The Movie Thread

Could we all stop saying Hack Snyder's name here, it might summon him to make more slow-mo movies that went out of fashion many, many, many, many, many years ago. Thanks 😁

Glad you enjoyed Superman, @FuriousMachine not sure it will be for me, as it isn't a franchise I've ever cared about, but i'm glad Gunn has pleased those he aimed to please, as it seems. I'll probably check it out one day simply because I liked GotG and remember laughing a few times at his version of Suicide Squad which was definitely better than the other one that I instantly deleted from my memory, I believe.

@FuriousMachine @Pacific

Anyway, back to Bourne, I honestly don't know. I think it probably would be Identity too, due to it being the first one, and how it made such an impression on me, but it's been so long that they are honestly a bit blurred into one in the memory. I do specifically remember liking the Greengrass entries as well, and there being a thing about it 🤷‍♂️ but I never liked Identity any less I don't think. And I feel like it has so many moments that are 'screenshotable' that sum up why I first loved it. It is so European and grounded compared to most other films in the spy genre, and it is also kind of 'half love story/half espionage thriller', and it isn't shy about it being like that, or about it not glorifying the fact they are ruthless killers too much. I'm sure Clive Owen had a quote relating to that, where even 'the enemy' of that moment is still something more than just that, and it's the system (or in this case, the program) that uses people up and tries to remove any humanity from them. Something like that, anyway. I'll have to get them and watch them again soon, for sure. I used to watch them every autumn/winter for a few years. They definitely have the perfect atmosphere for that, Identity maybe most of all.

also, speaking of Clive Owen, star of both of your favourite scenes: Croupier is a film that is definitely on my list to get as I saw it on HMV the other day and it sparked a memory. I remember really liking it, but its the kind of film I saw a long time ago (probably when you'd get a late night BBC1/2 movie of weekend, or maybe even Film4 🤷‍♂️) and I have no real recollection of why I liked it, I just know I did, so it'd be a nice surprise to see it again and see if I feel the same, and thus remember it or feel some nostalgia, perhaps. I kind of trust that Arrow release 4K's that suit my tastes anyway. But it is a potential hidden gem if anyone hasn't seen it. And apparently they did a cracking job with it too! It's hard to plain recommend it when I can't remember it, but i'm almost doing just that.

Decided to disembark from The Irishman as I didn't feel like it was going anywhere, and started Shogun Assassin which I am enjoying a lot more. No spoilers, please. 😅😂

@Ravix It's funny, even though I hate, hate, hate... uh... Schmack Schmyder's DCEU output, I do like a few of his other movies. I'm in the minority, but I think he nailed "Watchmen" and his "Dawn of the Dead" remake is a favourite of mine. I even liked "300" when it came out, but I've cooled off on that since. I didn't actively hate his "Army of the Dead", either. The rest of his filmography I've either not seen or managed to repress ("Sucker Punch"... oof).

Think I'll schedule a Bourne rewatch myself when the leaves start falling; been a while and, as I mentioned, I've yet to see the newest one.

Never did see "Concierge", but it was pretty much his "breakthrough" role, wasn't it? Will try to track it down. For me, it was with "Children of Men" where he went from "that guy in that other movie" to someone I started paying attention to.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN That assessment of The Irishman jives with what I've heard elsewhere, which is why I haven't bothered with it yet. Don't think I ever saw Shogun Assassin (saw plenty of ninja/samurai movies in the 80s, mostly DTV b-movies and they are all a blur, but I think I would have remembered this one, as it looks to be of fairly high quality). Looking forward to hearing what you think!

They’re shooting Spider-Man in Glasgow. With Batgirl not releasing, it’s nice to see other films still using our streets.

@FuriousMachine to be fair, I quite liked Watchmen at the time, maybe I even still do. Being younger when I saw it and having no reference to the source material probably helped with that. And 300, at the time, was different enough to be good (there used to be some right stinkers and the 00's is hardly the best time for popular cinema bar a few outliers) like you say though, I doubt it holds up today as his overall style is pretty... how do I put it?... pretty sh**? and kind of stagnant and reliant on effects, slow motion and general hackyness? 😅

'Croupier' (it may have alternate names elsewhere) seems to be considered the film that made him, yes. I wish I could remember more, but I may have seen it on tv after getting in from a night out or something like that, and all I can remember was I liked it and it isn't a film you see streaming anywhere or certainly isn't one that is advertised much if it is streaming. I remember Children of Men, also. I may even have the old DVD knocking about in a box somewhere if it survived 'the great DVD cull'. A good film for those of a certain age and mindset when they saw it, perhaps. Idealistic kids unite! I dont know how well it holds up, but I will have watched a lot of similar types of movies in my time. So again, a bit of a blur. I am/was a sucker for anything either dystopian, a little idealistic or satirical.

@FuriousMachine I watched a bit more of it since my last post and think it's absolutely fantastic so far. Will give my full thoughts once I've completed my ..er... 'watchthrough' .😉😂

@Ravix No, it's called "Croupier" here as well, the misnomer was a result of me attempting to have more than one thought in my head at the same time. Rarely works

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Excellent, looking forward to it

@FuriousMachine okay. But I will now pitch to you the movie Concierge.

We follow the life of Mr. Hector, or 'Concierge' from Home Alone 2, as his resentment grows towards his boss Don...actually we might leave that one for a few years 😅

@Ravix Will Tim Curry reprise his role? And will it be a movie akin to "The Raid" / "Dredd", where the concierge rampages from the lobby to the penthouse in order to take down the evil boss? If so, I would watch that. They could get an orangutan to play the boss, though they would have to train it well to be able to act as stupid as the role requires...

@FuriousMachine

@FuriousMachine As someone who appears to be a confirmed movie buff ,I would ask your opinion on the Kill Bill movies, would you say they would be enjoyable for a fan of all things swordsmanship-y, such as, perhaps, a BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN? 😉

According to Google they are generally well-received, some say they prefer the action of the first over the more poignant second volume, or vice verca, but does your opinion differ, what's your two cents?

Edit: If anyone else wants to weigh in on the matter, no spoilers, please, I still haven't seen them.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Absolutely, they are my favourite Tarantino film's. I highly recommend them. I probably could do with watching them again, as it's been a while. Uma Thurman is superb as the lead.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Most definitely, especially volume 1, which really leans into (and homages) old, classic martial arts movies. I would caveat this with it being Quentin Tarantino, so if you don't like his movies, this will probably not do it for you either, but otherwise you should definitely give them a go.

When I first saw them, I absolutely loved vol 1 and was massively disappointed with vol 2, as it is a very different movie, but upon a recent re-watch, vol 2 had grown considerably on me. I suppose that came down to different expectations the second time around. Note, there isn't that much sword fighting in vol 2, if memory serves and vol 1 is still vastly superior in my opinion, but they are both good movies and worth a watch. Awesome cast, too!

Hope you'll give them a go and that you'll enjoy them

@MightyDemon82 @FuriousMachine Thanks for the advice, I think I'll definitely look into giving them a watch. They sound like decent movies.

As I often have a habit of removing myself from popular culture, where I absolutely avoid watching/playing/listening to some of what is considered most popular at the time, for at least a few years, and then end up going back to the thing if it has held up to see for myself I wanted to ask about John Wick, a franchise I have somehow avoided since its inception. I don't know why, I guess at the time I'd had my fill of lower quality or more middling action flicks (Hello Jason Statham my old friend) and just thought I can't even be bothered to keep watching titles in the genre unless they were maybe classic 80's flicks or had some kind of new hook or a certain style or flair. It was pobably genre burn out in this case as a bunch of forgettable movies kind of made me question why bother watching them in the first place 😅 but I feel like this is maybe a franchise that is popular with people for more than just a "it's guns and bombs, init" reasoning.

I'll tag @FuriousMachine as you recently mentioned the spin off being your action movie of the year.

So... Is the franchise worth it? As if to say "Sell me on it, if you will" 😂

I'd consider the type of action I would still like to be Bourne, as you know (more grounded and European style) anything Arnold (they just understood how to make that type of movie in the 80's/90's) some Nic Cage stuff, I guess earlier Keanu too. And the kind I no longer have the desire or time for would be anything by Michael bloody Bay, or anything like the FAST franchise, I doubt I'd even have time for stuff like Crank, which sadly I liked at the time, but doubt if I saw it for the first time today I'd make it past 15 mins.

So yeah, Character Action, stylish action, grounded action I can probably still do if John Wick slots in to anything like that?

@Ravix Definitely "stylish action". The Wick franchise is directed by Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman / stunt-coordinator, and it shows. Keanu is the titular Wick, a retired assassin who goes on a vengeful rampage when goons connected to a crime syndicate takes away his last link to his dead wife.
It is a tour-de-force of badassery and Keanu is perfect for it. Also, great turns from fellow castmates Alfie Allen, Michael Nyqvist, Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane and the late, great Lance Reddick.
It is, in my mind, the most solid action franchise ever created, with hardly a misstep (though the third one is the weakest of the bunch, with the fourth one being my favourite action movie of all time).

I don't really like "selling" movies to people, they either will see it or they won't, but I'll happily provide my thoughts, with the caveat that they are my thoughts and their experience may be different. I'll say this, though, if you're curious about it, give it a try, you can always turn it off if you don't like it I don't know its availability on streaming, but it should be available from various digital outlets for less than a fiver, as far as I can tell

@Ravix

Adding to the comment by @FuriousMachine, I will say that the John Wick series are excellent movies.

The gunfights, whilst very stylised, and certainly not as crazy as those in the Matrix. That is to say that the laws of physics still very much apply (Gravity especially). This actually gives these films a grittiness and realism that has not often found in recent action cinema - thanks in part to the Matrix.

That is to say, everything seems to be done properly and practically. There seem to be very few actual “special effects” shots in the series as whole. They have a certain style, but they also have substance.

In a peculiar sort of way, I would say that John Wick is actually a throwback to the Heroic Bloodshed genre of movies popularised by John Woo, and Chow Yun Fat. I do not know if @FuriousMachine would agree with my assessment, but I believe that to be a fairly good comparison.

If you have access to Amazon Prime, then the first three movies in series are available to stream for free. As is a television series “The Continental”, which is set in the same universe, but years before the events that set off the movies.

@Matthewnh Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Woo's Hong Kong movies with Chow Yun Fat are excellent comparisons! The Wick films have much of the same flair (though, no flying doves or slo-mo, if I recall correctly). It's all very kinetic and incredibly well choreographed.

@FuriousMachine cheers for the response 😃

It was more a colloquial 'sell' so this description and summary of your thoughts is pretty much perfect. As i'm trying to bolster my selection of owned movies for long Autumn and Winter nights I might just take the gamble on the box set as the price is very reasonable for 4 whole movies. It feels weird thinking so much about movies at a time where i'm not watching a great deal anyway, but I know as soon as the nights draw in the habits will change.

I think the Lance Reddick mention has actually tipped it on the scales for me too, as I actually have 'The Guest' on the docket for my next showing as I was watching some of the bonus features recently (I feel like calling it a showing legitimises my transition to physical movie geekdom 🤷‍♂️😅) and remembering he was in the Guest made me a little mournful and thus he is in my thoughts at the moment, I suppose. He was so suited to certain roles, and as a gamer his work on Quantum Break and then Horizon took that to the next level, in a way, with games being kind of more personal with the way you interact with them. And again, he was just so suited to those kind of roles, an irreplaceable kind of genre talent.

Speaking of The Guest, is this one that ever made your collection? I know it is kind of marmite, maybe even leaning on the side of people disliking it more than liking it, but I knew as soon as I first saw it it would be a cult classic, so i'm glad it had a little 4k resurgence courtesy of Second Sight Films. It absolutely oozes style, it pays homage to classic Horror movies, and yet it isn't really a full on horror movie (I guess that was one reason people didn't gel with it) I thought it was pretty bold with what it wanted to be and I really got what they were aiming for with it. People don't make movies in this style very often now either, and it's kind of a shame because it is super stylised and well shot.

I'm going to tag @th3solution too, as tbh there is some crossover between Remedy, Lance Reddick and The Guest, with The Guest being maybe the closest movie I can think of at the moment to the mind of Sam Lake, so it would pair well with Alan Wake/Control. (Ignoring the obvious David Lynch stuff)

Man, I really do like when creators care about the style and atmosphere of their creations. Hence this tangent getting quite tangenty 😛