Re: The last film you watched Thread

by dste01 Thu Apr 07, 2016 9:57 am

Blue Ruin. Really liked this, a low budget version of all the revenge films but it's an ordinary guy instead of the likes of Arnie and Neeson.

by aaroncupboard Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:00 pm

So Batman versus Superman was better then I thought it would be, quite easy actually as I was fully prepared to hate it. Yet, a swift two and a half hours later and I really enjoyed it. The action scenes were pretty good, Batman was excellent, Wonder Woman impressed and the touches of Justice League set-up were quite exciting. Say what you will about Zack Snyder but he can direct action very well and it was full of superhero moments-as in images that could have come directly off the comic book pages.

But...the more I reflect on it, the less I like. The main issue for me in the film was Lex Luthor. He was awful in it and threatened to derail the entire film whenever he appeared. Consider the fact his whole plan was muddled, didn't make sense and was utterly ridiculous and the horrendous performance...it all combines into a stunningly shit character. All the stuff with Superman could have been quite interesting but was rushed and so lost all impact. In fact, Superman kind of sucked throughout.

by dste01 Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:01 pm

He Never Died - Henry Rollins in pretty good form in a film that had potential. Sadly it didn't quite reach it.

We are the Best - Really enjoyed it, more than I thought I would.

Troll Hunter - Enjoyed this as well.

by Wolvieware Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:56 pm

Saw Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice tonight and it was shit. I didn't want to believe the reviews but it's all true! I like Zach Snyder but this is him on Sucker Punch level bad. Lex Luthor was terrible. Superman was boring. It was so dark and depressing and somber. Darkness! Dead parents! The plot is good but poorly told I thought. At points it's rushed, going full steam ahead in just a few scenes which makes me wonder what has been left on the cutting room floor. Lois Lane starts iff investigating and seemingly finding clues but that just tails off by the end. And the ending was just awful. Truly awful. It felt like being smacked in the face with CGI. Repeatedly. So much CGI that you still just can't really tell what you are looking at. Until I just didn't care anymore.

The one positive to takeaway? Ben Affleck. I knew he'd be good.

by dste01 Mon Apr 18, 2016 11:22 pm

John Dies at the End.

Very much a cult film. Very enjoyable but nothing haven't seen before.

by dste01 Sat Apr 23, 2016 8:07 pm

Safe starring the Stath.

Pretty decent watch.

by dste01 Tue Apr 26, 2016 10:04 pm

After discussing it on here I watched Hush.

Couple of urgh, so annoying moments but apart from that it's worth a watch.

by dste01 Mon May 02, 2016 9:41 pm

Couple of Pixar films that I've not seen before in the form of Toy Story 3 and Brave.

Bit disappointed with TS3, slow to get going and then just a bit meh. Brave was fairly predictable but enjoyable.

by Wolvieware Mon May 02, 2016 10:56 pm

Saw The Jungle Book and it was pretty impressive. It takes balls to remake a classic. What they have here is a technically masterful and faithful adaptation. Ben Kingsley is perfect as Bagheera and Shere Khan has never been more terrifying. Yet for all its glossy modern aesthetic it loses 100% in classic cartoon charm. The dark and realistic look is more grown up and adult but it's not got the impromptu jazz like charm of the original. No Baloo dressing in a coconut bra and grass skirt. It's a good movie but it will never be timeless.

by **cal_el** Wed May 04, 2016 12:26 am

Saw Captain America: Civil War yesterday and had a blast. Great story, action and characters. It sets the stage for Phase 3 really well and the new Spidey is awesome.

BUUUUUUUUT it shouldn't have been billed as a Captain America movie. This could easily have been Avengers 3 or its own thing.

by dste01 Wed May 04, 2016 10:00 pm

I too saw Civil War last night and loved it.

My only criticism is that it could and should have been two films, one concentrating on Zemo and Bucky and the other concentrating on the Accords, apart from that it was fab.

Spider-Man felt like he had been there all along and I instantly liked Tom Holland as Peter Parker and his lines at the airport were fantastic but then the whole airport scene was. Black Panther was good and a hell of a lot less annoying than the comics version which was good.

Actually, the only other thing I didn't like was that some characters felt a bit meh for being there. All really well written and well acted (RDJ in particular) but others just made an appearance more than an actual role.

Also still love Black Widow's fighting style and Aunt May was hot...

by Wolvieware Sat May 07, 2016 11:42 pm

Saw Captain America Civil War and it is fan-fucking-tastic! I thought the Marvel movies were all leading up to the first Avengers movie, but I feel that was now wrong. All this build up over the years was actually coming down to THIS! You know why Batman Vs Superman was so shit? Because they are rushing it. A dozen or so movies and 8 years in the making, and this movie is the superhero payoff we wanted. It's just brilliant. I had a total moment in the middle if the film where I felt I just couldn't contain the excitement of this movie. It's light hearted but has such a deep storyline. It's full of character moments, but has massive action. And in 5 minutes, we got the best screen Spidey we've ever seen. Ant Man stole the movie though! I actually want to go see this again, that's how good it is.

by dste01 Sat May 14, 2016 8:55 am

25mins of Bad Neighbours before switching it off.

by Wolvieware Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:35 pm

Saw X-Men: Apocalypse tonight. It was alright. Not bad, but not brilliant. It was pretty standard stuff really. Apocalypse was a disappointing baddie, and the film is fairly straightforward. Build up of enemy, enemy recruits army, battle, end. It really is by the numbers movie making, and even the amount of CGI destruction is just standard Hollywood blockbuster boredom these days.

Fortunately, its not all negative, and it was a really enjoyable movie, unlike Batman Vs Superman which was like being stabbed in the eye. It kept it lighthearted mostly, and contained the kind of nods and winks a series with about 9 entries in it can have. My stand out moments were Nightcrawler was excellent, Wolverine steals the movie again, and Quicksilver has another running fast scene that trumps the last film. All in all, glad I saw it, but perhaps mildly disappointed as I expected it to be a bit better.

by Wolvieware Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:46 pm

Saw Alice Through The Looking Glass tonight. I really liked Alice in Wonderland, and thought this was a great follow up. It really does continue the story from the original, and although not directed by Tim Burton managed to contain all the same gothic and quirky stuff. This time round though it had a really good story about time, told some good lessons and had a nicer overall theme about the different concepts of time. Very enjoyable.

by dste01 Sun Jul 03, 2016 10:08 pm

21 and 22 Jump Street.

Slightly preferred 21 but both were funny and worth a watch.

by **cal_el** Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:17 am

I watched the Election because the Cinema Sins guys recommended it in a recent episode of their podcast. I really enjoyed it. Quite different from what I was expecting in a good way. It is a funny look at how ambition, jealously and perceived moral superiority can drive people to do despicable things. All shown against the back drop of a US high school student council election.

by dste01 Tue Jul 05, 2016 10:05 pm

I presume that is the film with Reese Witherspoon. Haven't seen it in years but loved it the first time that I saw it.

Another Reese Witherspoon to check out if you haven't before is Freeway. It also stars Kiefer Sutherland and is based on Little Red Riding Hood. It's a very low budget movie and quite messed up. We were laughing whilst thinking should we be laughing at this.

by Wolvieware Sat Jul 09, 2016 12:27 am

Saw Now You See Me 2 tonight. They missed a trick here not calling it Now You Don't. It's more of the same from the surprisingly good original movie, but obviously not quite as good, so standard sequel. Still very enjoyable, but an overly long scene involving a playing card mid film was just ludicrous and pointless, and the film has an annoying habit of constantly talking in riddles. But Daniel Radcliffe is great in it, and Woody Harrelson is having a ball playing two roles.

by **cal_el** Wed Jul 20, 2016 7:29 am

I watched both the original Ghostbusters and the new all lady-fied one over the weekend.

In short:
- The original is still great but is really starting to show its age.
- The new one is also great and I had a lot of fun watching it. Also the world didn't end because I watched it and no childhoods were ruined in the process.

Both films play into the comedy tastes for their times. With the new one having a lot more humour in my wheelhouse. So at the moment I am actually leaning more towards the new one but that will probably change as time goes on.

I will say that on the whole the characters are more well defined in the new one, as in they are actual characters rather than vehicles for jokes or excuses to keep the plot moving forward. The standout from the main four in newer film is Kate McKinnon as Holtzmann. She is brilliant in the role and I had a smile on my face whenever she was on screen.

I will also give props to Chris Hemsworth for playing into his role so well. Pulling off an over exaggerated flipping of gender roles in a film is a hard thing to do. But Hemsworth does it so well and as a result gets some of the best moments in the film.

The film's bad guy was also interesting in that intentionally or not he is a reflection of the type of self-entitled angry white nerd who demands the world bows to him and his whims which is typical of a portion of the people who hate this movie without even watching it. There are also a couple of other pops at internet culture in the movie which gave me a good chuckle.

Like the original the plot is barebones but what is there is actually pretty good and ties into actual character development which is a step up for Ghostbusters IMO. I would recommend watching the new one if you're on the fence about it or are a fan of Ghostbusters but if you already hate the film for existing, give it a miss. Why? Because you'll probably just get super angry and it is not a film targeted at you.

by Wolvieware Sun Jul 31, 2016 12:16 am

Saw Finding Dory tonight which I thought was easily the best Pixar sequel. They have a habit of crating stunning original movies but then follow up with duff sequels - yes, even the Toy Stories! But Finding Dory was just as good as the original. It takes a similar premise but alters it enough to make it feel fresh and new again, with cameos from favourite characters, to some great new ones. It's was great.

by Wolvieware Wed Aug 03, 2016 6:24 pm

Saw Star Trek Beyond last night. It's an enjoyable and entertaining movie. It has stunning CGI. But it's lacking something. The plot is very thin and its action packed from the word go. I actually think they should tone it down a bit and bring in some of the more subtle Star Trek elements. But it's fun at least, with good humour particularly with Spock and Bones.

by **cal_el** Mon Aug 08, 2016 7:17 am

Saw Suicide Squad over the weekend and enjoyed it. It's a stupid movie with a very thin plot so it is a pretty good adaptation of the comic book. Had fun because I knew going in to switch my brain off Laughing

by dste01 Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:54 pm

Suburban Gothic starring Kat Dennings and Ray Wise.

Spotted it on Netflix the other night and gave it a watch. Is OK for the 90mins.

by Wolvieware Sat Aug 13, 2016 1:15 pm

Seen a couple of movies recently:

The BFG - a big plodding borefest of a movie. I love the book when I was younger, and the cartoon. But this film just seems to show how small a plot the story has, and then drags it out to extreme lengths. Every scene could have been done with being minutes shorter. Also, the sense of fun was gone, and instead it was more of a morose and dark world, then the full of fun and wonder of whizzpopping I remember. Steven Spielberg has done bad.

Suicide Squad - Forget the critics, I loved this movie. A bit like Deadpool, this is the injection of adrenaline the superhero genre needed, especially after the depressing ballsup of Superman Vs Batman. It's a pumping, neon, light hearted romp. Its not perfect - too many characters, for example. There's one guy who comes and goes who I don't even know the name of. Killer Croc just kind of grunts his way through the movie, and having two baddies was overkill. Joker, while good and different from the others, was also a bit of a sideline character. But this is made up by Will Smith on form for the first time in a long time, the madness of Harley Quinn, and the funniest character of Boomerang. The film starts with a blast of energy, music (great soundtrack) and style, but by the second half does become a little bit generic superhero movie with a bland CGI finale, but not enough to dampen what came before.

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