Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

terry.330

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Katee Sackhoff is great.

Escape From Butcher Bay may be the best video game adaptation of a film series ever made.
Agreed to both of these.

Candyman (2021)- Oh boy, this was not good. I appreciate that they made it a continuation but I think that was actually a detriment to the movie. It would have been much less convoluted if it had just been a remake/reboot with a handful of changes. Trying to tie everything into the first movie was clunky and beyond suspension of disbelief. None of this there's always been a Candyman/revenge spirit bullshit and that he's so easily transferred from person to person. I knew it was a "black" movie and was made during BLM but it honestly felt cheaply pandering And don't even get me started on the whole painting aspect of it. It looked great and had some awesome camera work but that's it.
 

Burning Fight!!

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Katee Sackhoff is great.

Have you watched Longmire (tv show)? She’s great in that.

The Riddick movie was okay, too derivative of Pitch Black in some ways.

Escape From Butcher Bay may be the best video game adaptation of a film series ever made.
Wanna live? Get a shiv.

Really need to rewatch Pitch Black.
 

SouthtownKid

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I wasn't as blown away by Pitch Black as the rest of you seem to be. I mean I liked it, but I only saw it the once back when it came out and have never felt like revisiting it. It was an acceptable way to expend a couple hours. Nothing more.
 

lithy

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I watched TMNT last night, the 2014 Michael Bay one. I don't know why. It was terrible. It looks like last year M was singing it's praises in this thread, but no one really engaged.
 

NeoSneth

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I mean - Matt Smith's character was all sorts of lame. I dont mind him as an actor, but he is just so unfortunate looking and outside of Doctor Who, I can never take him seriously. And why didn't he take off those Payless Shoes sneakers through the whole movie, lol. Homeboy was rich, and didn't even try to get some Jays? That one scene that everyone is ripping on with him getting dressed and randomly and stupidly flexing and making his 'bat face' or whatever was just lulz and deserves the ridicule.

It went nowhere. It tried to include itself in the MCU and apparently Fiege was all butthurt about it and said it's not part of it, even though Keaton's Vulture showed up at the end. And what was that about?

I know Morbius is sort of an anti-hero like Venom and all in the comics, but this movie couldn't decide if he was an anti-hero, a hero, a tragic character, or a straight up villain. I mean it even ends with Toomes recruiting him into the Sinister Six? Why? Makes no sense. And then I guess the girl is now a vampire? Sorta?

I think Leto is an ok actor. I *hated* his Joker, but his Joker in the Snyder Cut was actually much better and I could see that Joker being pretty cool in a full flick. Just not the one in Suicide Squad, or whatever one he showed up in.

If considered an MCU flick, Id say it was right at the bottom with Eternals. It was just dumb.

I could see him as an anti hero from this movie. It's clear the police dont trust him, and he has no family left to keep him on the level. Seems like a good entry point for a vigilante. Could be a cool character...but the movie was just too average. In hindsight, it made itself too simple. It explained his powers like im a child. "echo location is like a bat radar".... you dont need to say that outloud. everyone get that...

It's hard to judge Leto as Joker because he was nonexistent. He didn't even have a chance to be joker other than a few lines. Again, was fine with me. Better than the new Riddler....
 

SouthtownKid

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I watched TMNT last night, the 2014 Michael Bay one. I don't know why. It was terrible. It looks like last year M was singing it's praises in this thread, but no one really engaged.
I watched, I don't know, maybe the first 45 seconds of that? No more than a minute and a half. I could tell.
 

HornheaDD

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That first TMNT movie is trash. Who actually sat in the ideas room and didn't speak up when someone brought up giving the turtles nostrils? WTF?

The second one was just as much bullshit stupidity. BUT - the portrayal of Bebop and Rocksteady was kinda cool.

After all these years I STILL think it was so stupid that they put Tokka and Rahzar in Secret of the Ooze, but not Bebop and Rocksteady. WTF and you actually got Vanilla Ice? WHY?
 

terry.330

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Extreme Prejudice- A weird hybrid, part hard boiled western and part big dumb 80s action schlock. Directed by Walter Hill and co-written by John Milius it's a rough movie, it's dirty, mean, hotter than hell (literally, everyone is sweating profusely) and super violent. It stars Nick Nolte as a Texas Ranger who is trying to stop drugs from coming across the border. Those drug are being smuggled in by his childhood friend turned drug king pin played by Powers Boothe.

Things get complicated when Michael Ironside and a team of ex-military mercenaries show up in town to rob the bank that Powers Boothe keeps all of his drug money in. It gets a little bit convoluted when the two plots start to cross over but it of course all leads up to a huge shootout. Lot's of machine guns and Robocop level squibs, nothing slick about it just a huge dirty action set piece.

Powers Boothe and Michael Ironside as competing badguys is maybe a bit much as usually either one is menacing enough by themselves. There's a great large recognizable supporting cast of 80s regulars. The biggest problem is the that the dialog is awkward, it's trying to be stoic and a throwback to old hard boiled pulp stuff but it never quite pulls it off. I think with better editing and some dialog tweaks it could be a genre classic but as it is it's pretty messy. Still there's a lot to like and I would consider it a hidden gem.
 
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oliverclaude

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Finally found those three hours to watch The Batman. In my opinion it's crap, but all those striking similarities to Fincher's Se7en were so uncanny, it made watching it even worthwhile. A quick search revealed that's already an open secret. Hell, even casting is spun over the same pattern with every girls' darling as the hero (Pitt/Pattinson) and his disillusioned but sage buddy (Freeman/Wright).

The bast part though is hidden some three years back on the tube, where the whole Se7en/Gotham concept first appeared, probably just to be found in time by a Warner trainee in search for eh... "new" ideas for a Batman sequel.


Well, don't we all love how Hollywood works?
 

@M

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That first TMNT movie is trash. Who actually sat in the ideas room and didn't speak up when someone brought up giving the turtles nostrils? WTF?

The second one was just as much bullshit stupidity. BUT - the portrayal of Bebop and Rocksteady was kinda cool.

After all these years I STILL think it was so stupid that they put Tokka and Rahzar in Secret of the Ooze, but not Bebop and Rocksteady. WTF and you actually got Vanilla Ice? WHY?
I believe I read that Eastman/Laird despise Bebop & Rocksteady, that's why Tokka & Rahzar were created and used instead.

I didn't like the nostrils in the newer films either, but, I imagine that they were just shooting for anatomical realism (real turtles do have nostrils after all). I would also guess that they motion captured facial movements as a basis for the CG, and nose movement is part of nonverbal communication with various expressions.
 

@M

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It's also possible that they may have tried the no nostril approach, in earlier CG models revisions, and it looked weird/wrong, so they just ditched it? I don't recall if my DVD version had any bonus making-of featurettes. Their nostrils kind of have a Harry Potter Voldemort-like appearance to them, maybe that was their inspiration?
 

terry.330

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It's also possible that they may have tried the no nostril approach, in earlier CG models revisions, and it looked weird/wrong, so they just ditched it? I don't recall if my DVD version had any bonus making-of featurettes. Their nostrils kind of have a Harry Potter Voldemort-like appearance to them, maybe that was their inspiration?
Or maybe they're just horrible character designs made by idiots for idiots in a insultingly bad shit stain of a movie.
 

fake

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Dr. Strange 2
Woof. The first two-thirds were awful - probably worse than Shang-Chi. The final section was pretty good and actually felt like a Raimi movie. The best part of the movie was when the entire theater laughed at the reveal of
Spoiler:
John Krasinski as Reed Richards
 

jro

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Re-watched several movies that haven't aged well:

Centurion - I still like Marshall's other stuff, but this was just a chore to watch even given NM's penchant for gore. Boring, flat-out. And Fassbender is bland as hell while West reminds everyone he was never actually worth watching.

Evil Dead - could'a sworn I liked it the first time around, even though it's clearly not 2 or Army. No, not the case trying it again. Boring as hell for known reasons. Raimi and Campbell were obviously meant for better things but this isn't worth revisiting, though it's sort of interesting to look at as a piece in the history of the series and genre(s).
 

100proof

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I imagine people who come to it now would be pretty underwhelmed and I haven't watched the original in several years but Evil Dead is really impressive considering it was made for five bucks and a handjob in 1980. I prefer 2 because I enjoy the more slapstick tone and "BOBBY JOOOE!!!!" and that amazing "going crazy" scene in the cabin but I'd probably rather watch the first one over Army at this point.

Saw Slaughterhouse this evening thanks to the Last Drive-In. Pretty boilerplate 80s slasher movie where a crazy old pig farmer and his slow son murder a bunch of people trying to shut down his farm (and some kids that think the abandoned slaughterhouse would make a good place to film a horror movie). It has a couple of fun kills and it's pretty competently made but I can see it being completely overlooked in the dead center of the VHS slasher movie boom. Just unremarkable.
 

terry.330

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The Beach- I decided to watch this after finishing Danny Boyle's newest project Pistol. I actually like this movie, I know it's not great but I do think it's a bit underrated, there's an odd vibe to it that no other movie has. Yeah young Leo sucks and it's all very much a goofy time capsule but it's still an appealing story. There's a lot of great scenery and cinematography, I love the contrast between tourist Thailand and the island. What I love even more is the well it tears down the little utopian world it builds so well. It's oddly satisfying seeing these snug, self entitled, idealistic people have their whole world crushed by their own doing. It's also got a pretty solid soundtrack.
 

Lagduf

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Top Gun: Maverick

Everything about this movie is ridiculous and I had a good time watching it. Unabashed pro-US propaganda, Navy recruitment. Lacks the charm of the original. But fighter jets. Fuck CGI, this film has real jets. Fighter Jets.

The actual fighter action in the movie was great.

Film would have made a bit more sense if it came out 10+ years ago.

Is Jennifer Connely the most beautiful woman to ever live?

Also:

Spoiler:
The entire mission is literally the Death Star trench run lolololololol. I’m embarrassed I didn’t realize it until 3/4 way through the movie.
 

SouthtownKid

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Spoiler: The entire mission is literally the Death Star trench run lolololololol. I’m embarrassed I didn’t realize it until 3/4 way through the movie.
Or maybe partially inspired by the fighter jet mission early in Area 88.
 

Lagduf

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Or maybe partially inspired by the fighter jet mission early in Area 88.

Your knowledge of comics and animation is mind boggling and always appreciated.

Do you think red blooded Americans like Lucas and whoever wrote Top gun ever read a manga though?
 

Lagduf

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I also watched Val Kilmer’s documentary on Amazon. I enjoyed it but it’s clearly meant to paint a specific picture.

It was interesting to see how he had basically been recording stuff since a child. So strange how it was a novelty then, something you had to go out of the way to do. Now everyone records everything (or purports to) but it all feels so fake - or perhaps that’s the only content we do see.

Some of the stuff he showed was pretty cool and felt, well, genuine.
 

SouthtownKid

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Your knowledge of comics and animation is mind boggling and always appreciated.

Do you think red blooded Americans like Lucas and whoever wrote Top gun ever read a manga though?
Possible the Top Gun people saw one of the animated adaptations, it being similar material. There was a new adaptation in the early 2000s. Lucas is cleared though. Star Wars predates Area 88 by a couple years.
 
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