@FuriousMachine Good to know that it still holds up. I think most of my 4K's are from the 70's to the 2000's. I've not really noticed any that I had an issue with due to modern sensibilities, but maybe that it is something I don't notice as much as others.
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.
@GirlVersusGame On that subject, I will be watching Logan during that period, most likely. I saw the trailer with the Johnny Cash song playing on YouTube and listened to some country music to put me in the right mood to read the graphic novel that inspired the movie, before watching the movie itself. Like I was saying to @Th3Solution I hope the movie lives up to the hype of the trade paperback and I'll report back on here in due course.
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
@JohnnyShoulder I find that if I watch movies from that era for the first time now, I am less forgiving of less advanced special effects, overacting, etc. than if it's a movie I've had affection for back then. Not that movies I liked back then are immune either; there are plenty of movies I liked back then that I feel has aged poorly.
Interestingly, that seems to be a thing with movies from the 60s to the 90s, though - going back further I become more forgiving again.
A recent example of a movie from that era that I simply couldn't finish is "Barbarella". A cult classic to some, I saw that it had a big collector's edition release coming up so I figured I would attempt to get on the cult bandwagon, but I couldn't even get halfway through. Simply too much cringe in every aspect of it. If I had grown up with it, that may have been a different story, though.
Oh, The Last of the Mohicans is an absolute classic! The soundtrack and atmosphere are just incredible — even after multiple viewings it never loses its power. I totally agree that this is one of those rare cases where the movie actually surpasses the book. Every scene feels so intentional, and Mann’s direction gives it that timeless, almost poetic quality.
First reactions to Predator: Badlands have dropped and they are quite enthusiastic, which is promising. However, one comment read something akin to "taking the series out of the horror genre and into strict sci-fi action", which made me do a double take. When was this series ever in the horror genre?
I've personally never considered the Predator movies to be anything but sci-fi action spectacles, but that made me wonder what the people on here think about them. Horror or not?
@FuriousMachine ended up agreeing with you on the latest Scarface steelbook release, and noticed this was available when browsing. So I thought... Don't mind if I do 😅
Matches 'The Shining' with it being The Film Vault release, and it looks good in-hand. I may have overwatched Scarface in the past, but it has been a while, and it is definitely one I have a soft spot for. Plus i've never seen it in 4k (apparently it "pops" with the added HDR @JohnnyShoulder 🙃)
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@FuriousMachine I've never once thought of Predator as horror and that includes all of the Predator novels too. It's like I said with Sinners, genre labels are like musical chairs now. I've only ever seen Predator as Sci-fi and people like Stan Winston (the original FX/make-up behind Predator) said the same thing. It's possible it got lumped in with Halloween (the season) and people went with 'this is a horror movie because it's spooky season'. It's also possible that for some people Badlands is their first Predator movie, or the person is just easily affected by a little gore (Predator taking trophies) Another reason for the horror comment could boil down to the current state of reviewers. It's never been easier to voice an opinion and most professional reviewers I know in publishing and beyond don't know what they are talking about half the time.
These violent delights have violent ends & in their triumph die, like fire & powder Which, as they kiss, consume.
@Ravix Does it have much to show off those inky OLED blacks?
Speaking of which my latest purchases were Pitch Black on 4K and VHS on blu ray. I quite like the art on the case on the former (the film has always been one of my faves too). The latter was only a couple of quid with Pitch Black ay my local HMV and was on my list. I've seen most of the other VHS's and I realised I'd not seen the first one. When i saw them I was surprised that there were more hits than misses, but the first one wasn't on any service I sub to, so I added it to my wishlist.
@Ravix That one is infinitely prettier than the other release, for sure! I'm not a huge fan of the movie, but that artwork is so good that I kinda want it just for that.
@GirlVersusGame Yeah, absolutely. This wasn't a reviewer, though, these were simply the reactions of fairly "regular" movie goers, so that was what made me wonder if people in general viewed these movies as "scary movies" and I was just being jaded or something.
@JohnnyShoulder I'm also a big fan of "Pitch Black". I have the Arrow release from 2020 and it's a wonderful package
The Vin-man is busy prepping the next movie in the franchise; think maybe they've even entered active production on it. Looking forward to that one!
@FuriousMachine Nah it sounds like that person needs to be sat down with an actual horror movie, then they'll know the difference. I hope they know the Robocop and The Terminator are Sci-fi too. Though I have heard some people refer to the original Alien as horror, I think the original Fox genre on the VHS box was 'Sci-fi Horror'.
These violent delights have violent ends & in their triumph die, like fire & powder Which, as they kiss, consume.
@GirlVersusGame Of all mentioned, I would say "Alien" is the one that hews closest to being "horror", but that comes mainly from the movie being very good at creating suspense (something I felt was lost in the subsequent movies, but was brought back to a large degree in "Alien: Earth"). Wouldn't go so far as calling it actual "horror", though.
@JohnnyShoulder I will have to find out if the blacks are inky enough to pontificate about 🧐
Apparently the uptick in detail intensifies the wounds and gore 😂 so there's that, haha! think it will be a grainy film, but I can take that with Scarface, as I have probably only ever seen it on tv or dvd anyway. I imagine the club and night scenes will look noice.
Pitch Black is another i've casually avoided for reasons unknown. Never felt swayed to watch that one 🤷♂️
@FuriousMachine i'm quite glad you mentioned it at the time, as I would have just pre-ordered that one and moved on. But the fact I didn't led me to find this Film Vault version still knocking about in the depths of the amazon. The blood trail really draws the eye with a kind of semi-gloss effect (pictured with my other October snaffles) And it better portrays Tony's downfall with him sat alone at the desk, rather than the new one where he is surrounded by cut outs of the rest of the cast, which must be the most common design trend going.
Was the movie itself just a 'one-and-done' type affair for you, where it didn't click so you moved on? It isn't exactly absolute cinema, but it had enough ott style and violence to appeal to a younger me. And the OST rivals other 80's cheese such as Top Gun (which i've also avoided and never seen for reasons unknown. I guess I always assumed it was a super Americansed patriotism kind of movie 🫣 and apart from the K-Logg theme tune it might have no redeemable qualities if that were the case)
@Ravix It’s funny because I was just hearing someone say that Top Gun is one of the most overrated movies out there. Honestly, there’s probably some truth to that. I rewatched it a couple years ago and it’s fairly cheesy, even by 80’s standards. I don’t know if it’s Americanized patriotism per se (hard to say since I’m living in it), at least not any more than many of the other military themed movies. I don’t think the fact that the characters are all US Navy pilots is as important as the fact they are just dude-bro pilots in a competitive flight school with all the brash ego that goes with that.
Top Gun Maverick (which is a much more entertaining movie by today’s standards, imho) is probably more rah-rah America than its predecessor. But it’s quite a good popcorn flick. A friend of mine cried during it. So if there’s something good to be said for seeing Top Gun it would be that it serves as a meaningful segue into Maverick.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution oh yeah, the Americanised "I must be better than you, dude-bro" aspect within was maybe what made it more off-putting , to be fair. I prefer my war themed movies to be about, you know, the horrors of war, rather than it being idolised as a fun time for cool guys.
Is there at least a scrap of satire or some poignant questions asked, or is it literally: guys battling over who is faster and more daring, but with million dollar killing machines. And, of course, who gets the girl and a coca cola endorsement at the end, or whatever? 🦅
They are supposed to be top tier 4k transfers, however. And it is Tony Scott, so maybe I should have given it a watch. I just can't get over the feeling they will be empty and exploitative and celebrating something that I despise. Maybe they aren't how I imagine 🤷♂️
@Ravix I might not be a good judge of the way the film may come across to a non-American audience, but in an emperor’s-new-clothes sort of way, I don’t think it comes across nationalistic or even political. But the pilots don’t sit down and discuss flight theory over tea and crumpets before going out and playing a round of croquet. They yell at each other and then play sweaty shirtless beach volleyball before speeding around on their motorcycles. 😂
And in seriousness, there’s more interpersonal plot development than tactical combat. Romance and bromance, with a sprinkling of personal tragedy and redemption. But all pretty standardized, relatively shallow, and predictable. The films play with your emotions on a certain level with the “🎶Highway to the danger zone…🎵” pumping full blast with Cruise gritting his teeth to flex his jaw at every opportunity. There’s a high chance that your eyes will be sore from rolling back so far. But I don’t think that the films honestly are trying to celebrate imperialist, capitalist, ethnocentric militarism or fanaticism (but again — Emperor’s new clothes so I might be blind to it). I would never even class them as war movies. I guess there’s international conflict as part of the plot, but just like with James Bond flicks, the home country is represented culturally and then whoever the bad guy is tends to just be generic “bad people from a cliché system outside” rather than a meaningful targeted lifestyle or ideology. You’re led to root for the protagonists because the film direction steers you that way. But if Cruise and company get on your nerves enough then you may find yourself pulling for his plane to crash into a mountainside. 😂
@Ravix With "Scarface" I think I just came to it too late. Didn't see it until a few years ago, so it had a lot to live up to due to its iconic status and it just didn't deliver for me. I will probably give it a rewatch now that expectations are different, so I may grow to love it. We'll see.
I'll echo most of what @Th3solution says on the Top Guns. I wasn't a rabid Top Gun fan growing up as many of my contemporaries were (are), but it certainly had a place in my adolescence. Plus, Tony Scott. His involvement ensured that I held the movie in high regard even if I hadn't seen it since the late 80s, early 90s. When "Top Gun: Maverick" was about to be released, I gave it a rewatch and hated it.
The movie is quite toothless when it comes to what one might consider glorifying warfare, American military exceptionalism and nationalism and things like that, it's not that kind of movie. Nor is there any satire to be found anywhere. My issues comes from the dude-bro angle and the simple fact that Cruise's character is a massive douchebag who not only gets away with reckless and dangerous behaviour, but is rewarded for it. He's a rebel with a smile, you see. A "Maverick". Utter dreck. Outside of that, you get some cool aerial combat sequences that are pretty amazing considering that the special effects of the time didn't allow for much else than actually doing all the stunts practically. Think that may be where Cruise picked up his stunt-work ethos.
None of the things I hated with "Top Gun" are present in the sequel, though. "Top Gun: Maverick" I really enjoyed and even own the steelbook that came out (which is a quite fine release). I would recommend seeing them both, with the caveat that the first one is something you probably won't like, but no Tony Scott movie should go unseen and you'll have some backstory for the second one (not that it is all that necessary), which is a genuinely good "high-octane action flick" (which, of course, is code for "you won't find much deep character work here, but, oooh, explosions!")
@GirlVersusGame now you've given me some more movies to check out. I have to work this weekend but my wife is away, I can feel a movie marathon coming on as soon as I'm home on Saturday.
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