Topic: The Movie Thread

@Matthewnh @FuriousMachine but do they contain any Gun-Fu? 🤔 Your comments, (cheers Matthew for the added input, btw) and how movies potentially changed post Matrix kind of put Equilibrium in my mind as well, which is maybe the most Keanu movie Keanu never appeared in. And by God, that movie had the exact level of pretentiousness that I always love in a movie/game, it has to be said. Another tangent, but maybe worthwhile if there is indeed some gun-fu 😁

@Ravix The final boss fight at the end of "Equilibrium" between Batman and Robert the Bruce has much in common with the gun stylings of John Wick, so there are comparisons to be made (though the Wick universe is a bit more grounded, but no less stylish). I must say that you liking "Equilibrium" (can we have a 4K from Arrow, please?) makes me even more confident that you may like the Wick movies.

And looking at the screenshots from "The Guest" (which, by the way, has completely passed me by, but I love Wingard/Stevens combos, so I will rectify that ASAP), you will probably like the aesthetic of the Wick movies as well.

Speaking of roles Reddick was well and truly suited for: His role in the Wick movies was tailor made for him and it was bittersweet to see him cameo in this year's "Ballerina", probably one of the very last things he filmed, but it felt good to see him one last time in his role as Charon (who, as it happens, is a... wait for it.... Concierge!!)

@FuriousMachine haha the stars and tangents really have aligned for this one then! I'll probably pick up the box set at some point. Sounds like my cup of tea, and i'm craving new entries to movies I like as I need to expand my horizons once again. Seems like I may have done myself a disservice avoiding it until now, although it's always good to have something to semi-binge rather than wait for sequels!

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on The Guest one day. And speaking of the very thing... "Onslaught is an upcoming American action horror thriller film directed by Adam Wingard and written by Wingard and Simon Barrett and starring Adria Arjona, Dan Stevens" !!!!!!

I'd definitely recommend watching The Guest ASAP in anticipation of their next project 😁

I'd love a 4k Equilibrium, I think I have it on an old DVD somewhere, but it might have been lost. Hopefully no one trod on it... because, damn... that would almost be akin to someone treading on my dreams 👀

Jesus fluffy Christ I just totalled up the cost of Blu Rays and 4ks I had started to add to a shortlist of future buys, and I highly recommend that no one ever does the same... EVER 💀💀💀💀 I think we maybe should just shut our eyes and spread the purchases out over the years and no one will ever be the wiser to how insanely ridiculous that number can actually be for a few shiny discs 🙈

Christ Damn, I genuinely need a sit down after seeing that 😭

@Ravix Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll keep my eyes open for it. Also, I’ve watched the first two John Wick movies and they’re pretty good. I do want to finish the series but haven’t taken the time.

Right... so, turns out, Taika Waititi is tapped to direct a "fun sci-fi blockbuster" version of Judge Dredd. Much as I love Waititi, I'm not sure I want him for Dredd. Actually, I'm pretty sure I don't want him for Dredd. The 2012 version with Karl Urban was pretty great and at least got the character right, in my opinion. I worry that this new one will be too... jaunty?

Oh well, I will reserve judgement (heh) until I see it, but I'm sceptical.

holy moly, a new Judge Dredd movie is good news. I have seen the Stallone and the Urban version and they both have their flaws and strengths compared to the comic. I am not gonna start comparing the versions, but in my opinion the best Judge Dredd is still to come. In that spirit i have started reading the Judge Dredd comics chronologically and lo and behold there is a lot of fun and british humour in the comic. So, dont you worry FuriousMachine , maybe you will have a blast at the cinema. And @BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN if you are looking for sword action/samurai movies i would recommend Akira Kurosawas many movies with Toshiro Mifune. Mifune is a legend and he starred in many samurai movies. Kill bill is good but Seven Samurais is way better

@Skarasny Yeah, Judge Dredd is supposed to be funny and is at times excellent satire (Deputy Chief Judge Fish, anyone?), but I still don't feel it vibes well with Waititi's "zany" humour. We'll see, though, hopefully I'm wrong

@FuriousMachine, i want Walther the Wobot and more of the apocalyptic world of Mega City. The only movies i have seen him direct is the Thor movies, and Ragnarok was good but love and thunder was so and so. Maybe Nolan should do it Anyways Dredd had the best song ever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Pga70f_YQ

@Skarasny I think I saw Seven Samurai a few years ago, but don't remember much about it apart from one of the characters being frequently intoxicated. 🍺 I thought it was a good movie, but I wasn't as interested in Samurai/Swordsmanship as I am now, so maybe it's worth a rewatch, I'll put it on the list.

@FuriousMachine I am about halfway through Shogun Assassin now and it seems to be mostly action-centred, and I've heard that's the way it stays, throughout the duration of the film, so you should be alright to watch it, based on my limited experience with it so far, if the quality of the action endures throughout the second half, I would say it's well-worth a watch.

Full review incoming.

Do you have any favourite Samurai/Swordsman movies outside of the Kill Bill franchise, just out of interest?

Edit: Further to the conversation, and further inspired by Skarasny, I have decided to skip the Kill Bill movies and cut straight to the "meat" of the sandwich, as it were, by going straight for the reportedly superior classics.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN

The trouble with Shogun Assassin is that it not a complete film. It is an edited, likely butchered version of the first two movies in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, based on the manga of the same name. For this reason, Shogun Assassin does not have much of a plot, and is likely incoherent.

There is definitely a Blu-ray boxed set of the Lone Wolf and Cub series of movies available. I know this, because I had it at one point.

The six films in the series are -
Sword of Vengeance
Babycart at the River Styx
Babycart to Hades
Babycart in Peril
Babycart in the Land of Demons
White Heaven in Hell

Shogun assassin is made up of bits of the first two movies, like an extended highlight reel.

@Matthewnh Oh, thanks, that's very valuable and informative, if I enjoyed any of this "extended highlight reel" ,as you put it, then that implies that I should enjoy the "full experience", a lot more, as this highlight reel may only be a glimpse of the real deal. I will definitely go for one of the individual movies or the box set, next, instead. Thank you.

@FuriousMachine May I direct your attention to the post above, based on what I've seen and the information contained in the aforementioned post, I would recommend either the Box Set, or trying out one of the individual movies, not Shogun Assassin, instead, based on Matthewnh's recommendations.

I absolutely recommend Seven Samurai. Not only a classic samurai movie, but simply one of the greatest action films of all time.

There is a reason why this film has been remade, in one form or another, thirteen times!

I can also recommend “Ran”, another classic Kurosawa film, made in about 1980. It is based on King Lear, and the pitch battles between armies of samurai are some of the best, and best-looking, action sequences I have ever seen.

There is definitely a 4k disc available.

@Pacific The devs that made the Robocop game feel like a perfect fit for a Judge Dredd game!

@Pacific @JohnnyShoulder The people who now own the 2000 AD properties (or at least JD, not sure if they own the others (nor do I know it there are new owners or not (also, apologies for the nested parentheses, I've been reading a lot of "Murderbot Diaries" (which are great)))) are eager to relaunch the property across multiple media, so I would be surprised if a game doesn't show up in the (relatively) near future. Whether it will be any good, though...

@Matthewnh @BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN That is very interesting, I had no idea that it was even based on "Lone Wolf & Cub". I've heard of both the movies and the manga, but haven't seen/read any of it. Will definitely check them out, thanks to the handy list

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Faqvourite swordsman movie is a difficult question, there are many good ones spread across many different styles, and even genres. I would not even dream of comparing Kill Bill with Seven Samurai, as they are wildly different types of movies.

But, yeah, Kurosawa's movies are pretty much stone cold classics, each and every one of them. Yojimbo is another one that has been remade/ripped off a million times, for good reason. I haven't seen Ran since the mid-nineties, so I remember very little of it, other than it was both epic and seriously good.

For a little bit lighter fare, The Tale of Zatoichi (the 1962 original) is a good watch (Takeshi Kitano's 2003 remake is also worth a watch, and for a western take on the blind swordsman, Blind Fury with Rutger Hauer is a fun diverson), I haven't seen any of the 20+ (!!!) sequels, so I can't speak to them, but the original is great

I also have a soft spot for Azumi by Ryûhei Kitamura, who also directed my favourite bad low-budget swordsman vs zombies b-movie gorefest Versus. Warning: The latter is bad, but oh so much fun, especially with good company and a couple of drinks.

These are the ones I can come up with off the top of my head, but if I remember any others I think may be worth taking a peek at, I'll pop back in

@Matthewnh @FuriousMachine Added 'Ran' to the list and am currently greatly enjoying the first volume of Dark Horse's Lone Wolf and Cub Omnibuses, a feeling that I feel will be grealy enhanced by watching some of those DVDs/Blu Rays in the Box Set, should I be able to lay my hands on them.

I already have the Box Set of the Zatoichi movies, unwatched thus far, but it's in the queue, but I have also added Azumi and Versus to the list. 😃

Watching Heretic in a few moments, is it good?

@AngryChainsaw I was so looking forward to that film and while the first half of it definitely lived up to my expectations, I felt the second half became a bit by the numbers if you ask me.

Loaded up the Joker 4K, and oooh, that is a decent, decent looking "film" on disc for sure. It is definitely next on the docket for a showing. And yes I put "film" in inverted commas as it was shot digitally 😛 (Yes, I like to nerd out and look on Blu Ray dot com after forming my own opinion to see if there is any specific reasons for things looking good or bad, and noticed this was native 4K, shot digitally etc etc)

The only problem is, every time I think about Joker I want to watch The King of Comedy instead, but I don't own that 😅 (and there is no 4k!?)

And then inevitably I go down my more Obscure-Scorsese (Obscurcese?) rabbit hole and wonder why I don't own Bringing Out the Dead, God dammit 😂

But I will use this post to once again recommend The King of Comedy

and Bringing Out the Dead

in case anyone isn't familiar with those.