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

[jro]

The Iron Claw is the first movie in quite some time that's making me re-think my no-more-theaters stance.

 

[Ralfakick]

The Iron Claw is the first movie in quite some time that's making me re-think me no-more-theaters stance.

I seriously used to go to two movies a week about and I’m starting to get back to one every two weeks

Godzilla Minus One
Holdovers
Iron Claw
Boy and the Heron
Napoleon
Poor Things

I’m starting to see movies that I’m interested in seeing again after there has been nothing in the theater I would go out for.

 

[terry.330]

Prometheus- Definitely a movie I like less every time I see it. This is maybe the third time and I already didn't love it but it was a chore to get through this time. There's just so many problems that they outweigh any of the good stuff. Which is a shame because there is some cool stuff in there but it's smothered by bad characters making bad decisions, unsatisfying and dumb lore, bad casting and some really bad action/horror scenes. It's not a disaster but it is utterly mediocre and unnecessary.

 

[terry.330]

Zeiram- Live action adaptation/sequel to the anime. I used to have a bootleg copy of this on VHS back in the day when stuff from Japan was hard to get ahold of. It's classic hokey Guyver like sic-fi schlock with tons of special effects, everything from guys in rubber monster suits to miniatures and even some stop motion. Not the biggest budget but the cheesiness only adds to the early 90s charm. The creature design and different forms of Zeiram are pretty unique. Iria's costume isn't the best but the actress does a pretty good job and is cute. If you like goofy Japanese sci-fi and tokusatsu stuff this is a lot of fun.

 

[Lagduf]

Sergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America- Feature length documentary that covers his early life, career and the massive influence of his work. Pretty good interviews with Spielberg, Argento, De Niro and a bunch of others. Don't worry Quentin Tarantino is only in it a little bit lol. The whole middle section is on his collaborations with Morricone which is probably the most interesting part. The last chunk is on his decade plus long struggle to get One Upon a Time in America made only to then have it butchered by studio executives. If you're a fan of his work or cinema in general it's definitely worth watching.

What streaming service is this on?

Definitely want to see this and learn more about Once Upon a Time in America as it’s definitely not my favorite Leone film.

 

[terry.330]

What streaming service is this on?

Definitely want to see this and learn more about Once Upon a Time in America as it’s definitely not my favorite Leone film.

I watched it on Max but it's also available on other services as a digital rental.

I also don't particularly care for OUATIA, even the extended cut didn't do much for me. It was a very personal film for Leone so the appeal isn't as wide as his other stuff. It's certainly ambitious though.

 

[Average Joe]

Tokyo Godfathers

One of my favorite films of all-time and my favorite from the late Satoshi Kon. Satoshi somehow took my least favorite film trope of the "overly-convenient series of coincidences" and made an entire film about that and made me love it. Even though the reality of the film is one of sad desperation, you're never feeling miserable for too long due to the cast being so goofy and likable. I don't know if not a lot of people have yet to see this, but I never see it get mentioned in "Great Christmas Films" list when it I'd say it's one of the best.

 

[Ralfakick]

The Boy and the Heron

Some of these Ghibli Movies kind of present things with no explanation and you’re supposed to accept them. This to me was one of them where my friend and I had more questions than answers at the end. Maybe it needs another viewing but not one of my top ones by them. Maybe I will appreciate it more later on.

I’m not a fan of the ooey gooey supernatural stuff in their movies too and this had that. Also not sure about the fascist parakeet what the motive was there.

 

[fake]

The Boy and the Heron

Some of these Ghibli Movies kind of present things with no explanation and you’re supposed to accept them. This to me was one of them where my friend and I had more questions than answers at the end. Maybe it needs another viewing but not one of my top ones by them. Maybe I will appreciate it more later on.

I’m not a fan of the ooey gooey supernatural stuff in their movies too and this had that. Also not sure about the fascist parakeet what the motive was there.

Yeah, for all the work that went into this, not to mention the reviews calling it a “triumph” and “masterpiece,” I’m pretty disappointed. I get the allegory that Miyazaki is passing the torch, but it comes across is a lazy way. Same with the birds. I’m assuming the birds represent Hollywood technology that puts hand drawn animation out of date, but again, kinda clumsy and just a lot of odd choices. What really made me think “yeah I don’t know about this one” is the ending.

 

[100proof]

Under Siege - Seagal's best movie but he's like the fourth most interesting thing in it. A great premise (Die Hard on a boat/"terrorists" hijack a US battleship and intend to strip it and sell off the nukes on it to the highest bidder but have a McClane on board that mucks up their plan), a great villain performance by Tommy Lee Jones and Erika Eleniak is hotter than the sun. Seagal gives his usual barely coherent mumbling performance and has a couple of short Aikido scenes but he could've been replaced by almost anyone from the time and no one would've known the difference. Gary Busey seems a little weird and out of place for a Naval commander who goes rogue (though that could just be his future weirdness clouding my memories). And yeah, one of TLJ's first starring roles and he just crushes it. This is right before he goes on his big run and he goes just far enough to make the character memorable and big without going too broad and just chewing the scenery. I enjoyed the early Seagal movies back in the day but as it became obvious he was a one-trick pony (and later on, a fraud and a colossal piece of shit), it became hard to go back but Under Siege is the only one that's a fun movie regardless of his involvement.

 

[Ralfakick]

Yeah, for all the work that went into this, not to mention the reviews calling it a “triumph” and “masterpiece,” I’m pretty disappointed. I get the allegory that Miyazaki is passing the torch, but it comes across is a lazy way. Same with the birds. I’m assuming the birds represent Hollywood technology that puts hand drawn animation out of date, but again, kinda clumsy and just a lot of odd choices. What really made me think “yeah I don’t know about this one” is the ending.

Yes we discussed the ending too kind of just ended, could have done much better wrapping things up.

 

[famicommander]

The Iron Claw is the first movie in quite some time that's making me re-think my no-more-theaters stance.

They whitewashed Fritz's abuse and insanity pretty severely, left Chris out of the movie entirely, and didn't actually talk to Kevin, Ross, Marshall, Lacey, or Kevin and Kerry's other daughters.

 

[terry.330]

Blade of the Immortal- A live action adaptation of the manga directed by Takashi Miike. Not quite as crazy as I thought it would be considering the source material and the director, still pretty wild though. Miike's kind of toned it down from the old days and his newer style fits the story pretty well. Considering the insane amount of fighting I was kind of surprised by how little gore there was. Honestly it's a pretty solid adaptation of a manga that manages to keep a lot of the more outlandish style and characters but still makes them feel natural in the world presented. Recommended.

Poseidon- A remake of The Poseidon Adventure that I don't even remember existing. I gave this a shot because Kurt Russell is in it. If you want to know just how bad this is there is a subplot where Fergie (yeah from Black Eyed Peas) falls in love with a suicidal Richard Dreyfus. That should tell you all you need to know, it's trash.

 

[fake]

Godzilla Minus One
I haven't seen Shin Godzilla yet, so my frame of reference may be a little off. This one was OK. I like the more personal story, and I like the idea of trying to defeat Godzilla with science instead of weapons, but I didn't like the melodrama and the anime-inspired scenes and acting. The nuke references were far more overt than usual, too, between the mushroom clouds and the black rain. I'd love to one day see a Godzilla movie that is actually scary. I hate to say it, but Cloverfield was onto something.

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Pretty good neo noire about a sleazy strip club owner who goes into gambling debt and is forced to carry out a hit even though he's out of his element. There are far better stories that are smiliar, but the style and cinematography are really what make this one worth watching. It has a sort of vérité style that jives with how raw the production is. Cassavetes definitely turns limitations into a strength on that front. His movies aren't necessarily enjoyable but they're worth watching in a strange way.

 

[Average Joe]

Silent Night Deadly Night

The film that started a series of films that warrants its own thread due to the absolute insane nature of its sequels. Regardless of all that, this is one of my favorite Slashers of all-time--the film is just pure Christmas sleaze all around.

So many fun settings that lead to fun kills and a pure bonkers 80s-style montage tossed in before shit goes down that is legit one of the funniest bits in a Horror movie.

 

[terry.330]

Barbie- If you're a dude and you got upset about this then you're a fucking goon. I will say there were definitely some weird choices about how some things were handled but the whole movie had muddled messaging so whatever. The biggest problem I had with it was that it deteriorated into generic schmaltz at the end. But I'm not the target audience so none of that really matters.

Big credit is due for the production design, costumes etc. The fact that there is almost no CG and they used real sets for Barbieland and the travel scenes is pretty impressive.

Honestly I enjoyed it more than the Mario movie.

 

[100proof]

Barbie- If you're a dude and you got upset about this then you're a fucking goon.

I mean, people talking about how Barbie should win Best Picture should be erased from the gene pool (not that industry awards are indicative of quality... it's just the ridiculous hyperbole surrounding the movie borders on self-parody) but the "anti-woke" dipshits on social media who all dashed for their fainting couches over it are just embarrassing themselves. As usual.

The Brain - Borderline infamous Canadian cult movie from the late 80s. Big brain monster (think oversized human brain with eyes and teeth) from space slowly hypnotizes a town through a cable access show (and the dulcid tones of David Gale of Reanimator fame). A young guy is the only hope but the brain frames him for multiple murders. It's every bit as goofy as the premise sounds and the majority of the movie is the main character running from location to location and being chased by various hypnotized minions (cops, scientists, his own family, etc.). It's not good by any stretch but the brain has a great look and David Gale plays the whole thing deadly serious. It's a fun watch for people who enjoy cheesy MST3K-level movies.

 

[fake]

The Worst Person in the World

Woof. This one was relatable in certain ways. It’s unpleasant but very good. A girl gets into a good relationship with an underground comix artist but ruins it by chasing what’s more exciting in the moment. It’s a romantic comedy but relies far less on situational humor than what’s standard, and is more about trying to handle all the weird things you need to navigate in a relationship and how that can be compacted by not even knowing what you want out of life.

 

[terry.330]

The House On Sorority Row- Above average early 80s slasher. The senior sorority sisters play a prank on their unstable house mother which goes wrong and the girls start getting picked off one by one during a big graduation house party. Predictable twist ending, couple of boobs and some gore. Standard stuff but it's done fairly well. Surprisingly good score and the last act has a bit more creativity than most in the genre.

 

[Average Joe]

Krampus (2105)

This has become a seasonal favorite of mine and is probably one of the best modern PG13 Horror movies.

Has some absolutely incredible sound design and enough fun practical/puppet work to make it more than solid in the looks department.

The story is a bit predictable, but it's just a means to keep the ball rolling so it's fine for what it is.

 

[Hattori Hanzo]

I watched Zardoz again and I think y'all should do the same.

 

[famicommander]

So apparently they're trying to do another "Snyder Cut" thing but intentionally this time.

Reviews for Snyder's new Netflix movie Rebel Moon Part One (which he pitched as a Star Wars film, then took to Netflix when Disney rejected it) are out and it's getting skewered. Turns out there's an extended, R-rated cut and they released the PG13 cut first in order to build fan anticipation for the Snyder Cut which they'll release next Summer. But what's even dumber is Part Two of the movie is out in April. Maybe there will be a Snyder Cut of that too.

The Snyder Cut of Part 1 will already be over 3 hours. So it seems like Snyder directed a 6 hour movie for them to cut up into two smaller movies, then cut those two smaller movies into "theatrical" cuts only to release the full versions months later.

 

[Average Joe]

That has got to be a major hit to the ego for Disney to reject your Star Wars film given the quality of the ones they chose to release.

 

[famicommander]

That has got to be a major hit to the ego for Disney to reject your Star Wars film given the quality of the ones they chose to release.

Netflix should hire Joss Whedon to redo it just to piss off Snyder

 

[terry.330]

Man that's greasy. You can't manufacture the kind of weird hype that surrounded the Snyder Cut of JL.

Also who gives a fuck anyway? His movies suck ass. The only worthwhile thing he's ever made is the Dawn of the Dead remake and that's only because James Gunn wrote it.