@LN78 I don’t think Glazer’s misfired at all yet. I know Birth is very very controversial but it’s so unsettling that it totally succeeds at what it’s trying to do. Even his music videos and adverts are all iconic. To make Jamiroquai tolerable is a feat. The advert he did for Sony with the paint splatters is literally the reason we got a Bravia back in the day too.
"Anthropoid" - the other fact based WW2 set movie starring Cillian Murphy. This one is about the Czech resistance in Prague, the assassination of Heydrich and the immediate aftermath of that event. There are some patchy accents (Irish for Eastern European) and a weirdly out of place romantic subplot but the thrilling assassination scene and final sequence (the siege of a church where the resistance cell is holed up) are brilliantly staged and shot and worth watching the movie for.
"Tar". Hyper accomplished classical conductor's life disintegrates as her past sexual improprieties and borderline sociopathy begin to take their toll. Superb (as in one of the best I've ever seen) central performance from Cate Blanchett and some beautiful music but not much else - overlong movies about scumbag rich people being miserable just really aren't my thing, I suppose. My sister-in-law thinks it's a masterpiece, for whatever that's worth.
@LN78 Interesting to hear you say that. Seems "everybody" was raving about this movie, but I didn't find anything other than Blanchett in there worth raving about. Two thirds into the movie I realized I didn't give two whotsits about whatever happened next to any of these characters and I was struggling to maintain any focus. So, when my viewing partner said she was bored to tears and deeply disappointed (we had both looked forward to this) we simply bailed on the final third.
On the plus side, at least Madame Web is a new IP, I guess. I have no idea if there are actual comic books with her or not. But from a cinematic standpoint, it is a fresh superhero story so I’ll give it that.
@JohnnyShoulder is right in saying that Madame Web has been part of Spidey lore for a while. She also showed up as a major part of a PS3 game called Shattered Dimensions, which is closely linked to the concept of the Spider-Verse, so it's no surprise that Sony are rushing to introduce a version of her to their MCU-adjacent continuity. Thing is, since she's a wise, all-seeing sage, she's usually presented as a much older woman, so it's a shame that the filmmakers didn't have the guts to cast a Helen Mirren type... but hey, marketing department staff have got to feed their kids, I suppose.
@RogerRoger Oh wow, I didn’t know that. I skipped the PS3 Spider-Man games and have never read a SM comic book.
Interesting theory about the choice of the young actress. The trailer does give a ‘teenage angsty’ vibe with the classic young confused misfit with powers having to rally her Gen Z counterparts into believing her so they can help save the world. A matronly wise savant type is hard to put next to the Spider-Verse.
Still, credit for casting relative lesser known actors. With all due respect to the Fifty Shades series and Cha Cha Real Smooth, Dakota Johnson isn’t selling tickets on her body of work alone.
@Th3solution That’s harsh considering Dakota Johnson was excellent in both A Bigger Splash and Suspiria! Yet another actress with gems in her catalogue who does the occasional rubbish movie for a big pay check.
"The Killer". Disappointing, insubstantial hitman thriller directed by David Fincher, written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton. With above the line talent like that and a fantastic, maudlin soundtrack (featuring The Smiths and Portishead) why didn't I like this more? It should've been a slam dunk. One of the biggest letdowns of the year.
@nessisonett Nothing against her skills. Good to know she’s got some highlights on her resume. Perhaps she’ll sell some tickets based on her previous solid performances, even if they were smaller movies.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
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Forum Megapoll 2020 - Best Video Game Box Art: Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Special Edition
@JohnnyShoulderHere you go (hyperlinked rather than embedded for neatness; we are in the movie topic, after all). The game was praised for the way it handled its source material, so I'm guessing its Madame Web is pretty accurate. There was a follow-up called Edge of Time but it lacked two of the four Spideys, and Madame Web wasn't in it, either.
@Th3solution Don't worry, I'd never even heard of Dakota Johnson before!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@nessisonett I agree in regards to Dakota Johnson. She has been fantastic in a couple of films I've seen her in, but have not seen any of Fifty Shades films.
Do find it strange when actors get labelled after they been in a series of films. Robert Pattison I thought was unfairly labelled similarly after the Twilight movies, but in the lead up to The Batman I thought he was outstanding in a few films.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
300: Rise of an Empire (Blu-Ray) - Felt a bit more cartoony than the first, probably because of all the slow mo effects clearly there for 3D (and was mostly set concurrently to the first, rather than being an in depth prequel or sequel), but it's still quite a fun "dude film". Would love to see more stuff like this (& Sin City) come out of Hollywood.
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - We watched this as a family for our annual Thanksgiving watch. The 80's is absolutely unmatched at these comedies that despite having some wacky moments somehow feel believable & grounded, and have a real heart to them.
Spirited Away (Blu-Ray) - Wonderfully animated & imaginative film. I don't think I'd seen this since the days of watching it on SDTV cable, so seeing it in HD brought some real life to it.
What the Peeper Saw (Blu-Ray) - Known in the UK as Night Hair Child, it's a 70's thriller where the new young wife of a widower suspects her calculating 12 year old stepson of murdering her husband's last wife (& the boy's mother). Interesting... but it definitely pushes some taboos you wouldn't be likely to see today in a film (or at the very least it'd be handled much differently).
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To prepare for the Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters I decided to rewatch all the four "monsterverse" movies to refresh my memory.
And while I well and truly love these movies purely for being kaiju flicks, they aren't without problems.
I feel Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the weakest of the bunch; it's messy and overstuffed and I found myself checking out several times during the movie; which is surprising considering the sheer amount of monster madness going on in the movie.
Gareth Edwards' Godzilla was way more interesting, but it has a major flaw: Hiding the main attraction. Of course we come to see the big dude himself, but he doesn't appear nearly as much as he should and often when he does (or the other monsters are on the rampage) the movie is so dark that it is almost impossible to see what's going on at times. Still, I was engaged all the way through this time around as well, so it's by no means a misfire in my book. Godzilla vs. Kong is also a bit hit and miss at times for me, but all is forgiven and forgotten when we get to the final battle royale between Godzilla, Kong and fricking Mechagodzilla, which is easily my favourite showdown in any of these movies.
Topping my list is Kong: Skull Island which hits all the right notes for me. The cast is sublime for an adventure movie like this and Jordan Vogt Roberts serves up some truly excellent visual flourishes throughout the movie that makes me wonder why on earth he hasn't directed any other big movies after this. IMDb claims he's in pre-production on a Gundam movie, as well as Metal Gear Solid, so hopefully we'll get to see more from him soon.
Coincidentally, I have tickets to see Godzilla Minus One in IMAX this Sunday, so there's more kaiju goodness in my near future. I have high expectations for this one
@FuriousMachine They really are pushing that Monarch show. I’ve seen ads for it at every turn. It looks really good, but Apple seems to be over-marketing it, which makes me wonder if they know it’s going to disappoint.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
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Forum Megapoll 2020 - Best Video Game Box Art: Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Special Edition
@Th3solution Think it's more that they consider it a potential subscription seller, moreso than any of their other (rather excellent) shows. It's got pretty good reviews, too, with a minor complaint that there's not enough monsters. Having seen the first three episodes myself, I must say it's delivered for me so far. Might be a bit slow off the bat, but I felt it worked pretty well, especially when "old man" Russell joined in
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