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

[terry.330]

The Batman- Good but not great. Like jro the length didn't really bother me and Pattinson was fine as Batman though I felt Bruce Wayne still being an emo teenager as an adult was an odd choice. Cat Woman was serviceable except for her mask, that looked ridiculous from any angle. The car was great, it didn't conveniently do 50 different things and looked realistically badass. I also really dug how nasty they made Gotham, a lot of those sets looked like they were from Se7en.

Paul Dano was a bit too unhinged and exaggerated. Didn't seem like a guy that had it together enough to pull off what he did.

I'm also glad that they actually had him do some real detective work, that's been missing in most of the movies, gadgets and computer hacking don't count.

 

[HornheaDD]

Just watched the Batman as well. I was staunchly against Sparkles the Gay Vampire as Batman. When the trailer came out I had to admit I was intrigued.

Im still not sold on him as BRUCE, but he did a really good young/not buffed out Batman. Very enjoyable movie. Colin Farrel as Penguin was incredible. Absolute tits. Tuturruo ask Falcone... ehh, other than The Jesus, I don't buy him as any kind of 'threat.' But definitely not a drag on the film.

Lastly, I know I'm probably gonna be in the minority here but - Zoe Kravitz... blech. I find absolutely nothing about her attractive. Didn't like her as Catwoman, and her 'mask' while clearly inspired by Long Halloween just looked like the costume department gave up at that point, got a ski mask and just cut a single hole out of it. Rest of her outfit was tight leather and shit, but the mask? "Hey Sully, go get your toque and cut a hole in it, we'll throw it on this bitches face."

 

[100proof]

I like Zoe Kravitz just fine... the costume wouldn't have been my choice but you're never going to top Michelle Pfeiffer in that regard so have at it... you're just fighting for second-best.

I just thought her whole character arc was superfluous. Everything her character accomplished could've easily been done by Batman being a decent detective or by exposition. Could've made the movie shorter too.

 

[LoneSage]

Isn't The Batman on HBO Max now? Crazy how fast it goes from theater to streaming now.

 

[terry.330]

I think she looks good, she's better looking than Zendaya imo. She's too tiny though, looked like a child in the fight scenes. I don't think there was anything horribly wrong with her performance, It's the writing that fails at times. Really though the movie could have done without her, maybe saved her for the sequel. There was already enough going on. She actually just got in the way, her story was not engaging and her chemistry with Batman was iffy and one sided at best.

The mask looked fucking stupid.

 

[HornheaDD]

Isn't The Batman on HBO Max now? Crazy how fast it goes from theater to streaming now.

Yeah came out today

 

[Lagduf]

Isn't The Batman on HBO Max now? Crazy how fast it goes from theater to streaming now.

That’s why everyone has a review of it today, you nonce.

I think Batman’s rapid movement to streaming is more about continuing to get money/subscribers.

Dr Strange Comes out in like 3 weeks and is going to make gangbusters money in theater.

 

[LoneSage]

Wonder what effect that will have on the industry.

 

[Lagduf]

Remains to be seen.

See the issue with the Black Widow movie going to streaming and what’s her name suing Disney because her revenue was tied to the theatrical release.

 

[terry.330]

Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy- Hadn't seen this since the VHS rental days. As a big fan of the show I really like this but have to admit it's not as strong as the best parts of the show and It often doesn't feel like KITH, it was produced my Lorne Michaels and it definitely has that shitty SNL movie spin-off feel. It's also strangely short and some of the editing and continuity are a mess. It still has enough classic KITH moments and characters though. Oh yeah Brendan Fraiser is in a couple random scenes.

Looking forward to the new series.

 

[terry.330]

Phantasm II- I've always liked this a lot. It shares a lot of it's best attributes with Evil Dead 2. Basically a loose remake of the first movie with a bigger budget and everything that comes with it. It's also up for debate if it's better than the first. It's certainly still has it fair share of problems but they're overcome by everything else that works. The car, the weapons (as goofy as they are), the effects, a very bizarre sex scene and Reggie just being a likable guy and the Tall Man himself is just incredibly iconic as simple as he is. Unfortunately like so many other horror movies this one ended up as an entire franchise where everything just goes downhill after the second one. Still the first two are awesome.

 

[100proof]

The rights for that movie are famously a shitshow and I was under the impression it's not available on any of the streaming services. Did you grab a copy off of the seven seas or do you have a physical somewhere?

 

[terry.330]

I have the Scream Factory BD release from several years ago.

There's a new cheap BD set of 1&2 by WellGoUSA but it's all fucked up.

 

[100proof]

Yeah, I regret not getting the Scream Factory release. I just can't bring myself to buy physical media anymore unless I'm trying to support someone in particular or it's something that's going to disappear. Like Phantasm II.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I need to see Phantasm 2 again. I haven't seen it in decades.

 

[LoneSage]

Everytime Terry reviews something I think damn, I gotta check that out. And I wish I had time to but I never do.

I watched Phantasm II when I was like 13, around midnight by myself. Left a deep impression on me. Surely someone must have uploaded the whole movie on YouTube.

Cheers Terry. I know what I'm doing tonight.

 

[terry.330]

I guess I'm pretty lucky since I can watch movies and listen to records while I work. It also helps to limit the amount of wasted time spent on the internet. Instead of watching a bunch of random junk on YT or re-watching something for the millionth time like people do with The Office etc. which can easily eat up a couple hours I'll put on a movie even if it's not something I really feel like watching. Usually before I know it I'm at least somewhat invested in it. Which is perfect for 80s schlock.

I still buy a couple movies a month. I don't really collect games or toys anymore so it's a nice simple and relatively inexpensive hobby. I stream a lot of stuff as well but unless you have like 6 different subscriptions a lot of stuff just isn't available.

Then you've got content moving services or getting delisted frequently. Plus the smaller companies like Scream, Arrow, Synapse, Vinegar Syndrome, Severin etc. giving stuff like Creepshow and Exorcist III Criterion level treatment so spending $10-25 on a properly remastered release is worth it especially because a lot of this stuff was treated so poorly in the past by the studios. I mean shit there are major studios still putting out stuff that is supposedly remastered but it just a DVD or even a Laserdisc rip upscaled with zero extras. if it's something you're going to watch multiple times over a couple of years and it's well done imo it's worth a few bucks to own it. I'm careful though, I see guys with 1000s of movies and it makes cringe the same way video game hoarders do.

Anyways on Phantasm 2...

As a kid I remember it being on TV pretty frequently. Watching it as an adult and without commercials or editing for TV I will say it's a very bizarre movie. The first one is too but the second really feels surreal, everything just feels kind of uneasy and disjointed. Some of that's the editing but a lot of it is just the general vibe.

Also it never occurred to me just how much of Phantasm 2 was lifted to make Supernatural. Two average but not average guys, a muscle car with a trunk full of weapons, traveling the country, staying in shitty motels and fighting a secret evil.

 

[Syn]

Cutthroat Alley

Someone is slitting people's throats in the hood. Can one guy prove he's innocent before being killed? I want to say I enjoyed it, modern blaxploitation, but there was a lot of nigga this or that and swearing. So it's tough for an older white guy to know if good acting or overacting.

It's on Amazon but it has a minute or two of bad audio where all you hear is static.

 

[Ravarter465]

I would like to know what do you guys thing about the House of Gucci

 

[terry.330]

I bet you would.

 

[terry.330]

Body Snatchers: The Invasion Continues- 93 remake/sequel by Abel Ferrara. One of the better re-makes, stands fairly well along side of The Fly and The Blob remakes. A bit slow to start but once it goes all hell breaks loose. Some stellar effects work (aside from one shot lol), a solid cast and a great setting for an alien invasion. Definitely has the feel of Ferrara's other movies and is decidedly less sci-fi and leans more towards body horror and atmosphere. Seems like it might've had some cuts towards the end though as there just felt like there were some things that weren't properly explained or clearly implied and the running time is a bit short. I feel this is definitely an overlooked gem and Meg Tilly should have been in more movies. She's extremely good in this and genuinely creepy.

 

[Azra113]

Took my kid to Sonic 2 and enjoyed it more than he did
It's a nice movie lotta references to the old games.

 

[racecar]

Morbius - not bad Leto seem to be getting lot of work lately , maybe a cross over coming . All the marvel stuff been good movie material.

 

[joe8]

The Batman - quite good, I can't remember the last time I watched a movie that was 3 hours long that didn't make me bored AF, this managed to not do that. Pattinson already in the running for best Batman alongside Bale, though better screenwriting certainly helps.

Not sure I'm in on the whole multi-villain trope though. Riddler/Penguin here, and then it's gotta be Penguin/Joker in the next one, PLEASE let Joker stand on his own in the obvious finale of the trilogy.

DCEU still about 1K x better than MCU's tired shit regardless.

edit: actually, I'd really, really like to see Reeves prove me wrong and go hey surprise Penguin and Joker both down in Ep. 2, and then have a good Bane in 3. Like. non-dumbass voicebox Bane, bring Hardy back or get Joe Anoa'i or whoever, but make him the proper threat to Batman that he's supposed to be. Have Batman fuck up Joker like nobody's business and then have Bane snap him in half and go from there and don't be retarded like in DKR.

It was interesting in DKR how they apparently felt they had to include the "broken bat" scene from the comics, because the movie had Bane as a character.
In the comics, they used supernatural powers (magic) to heal Batman's broken back.
Perhaps they could have Joaquin Pheonix as the Joker, in the final film of the trilogy.

 

[LoneSage]

It was interesting in DKR how they apparently felt they had to include the "broken bat" scene from the comics, because the movie had Bane as a character. Obviously, how they did it wasn't accurate to the comic book story, where his back was actually broken. It would have been too unbelievable, for his back to heal up afterwards.
Perhaps they could have Joaquin Pheonix as the Joker, in the final film of the trilogy.

GOD BLESS you joe8.