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Author Topic: Come December, keep in mind there is already a Star Wars thread - Movie Reviews  (Read 62111 times)
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winna

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« Reply #480 on: 08-10-2017 22:25 »

Was that the one with the female robot locked in the house?
winna

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« Reply #481 on: 08-10-2017 22:42 »

Winna you got totp!!
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« Reply #482 on: 08-10-2017 23:00 »


Just watched Deus Ex Machina

[edit] it's "Ex Machina", dammit, the 2014 film.  I just can't help thinking "Deus Ex Machina"

Above all else, it is creepy as fuck.  As in climb inside your mind creepy.  Good film.  At times I got the sense that it was almost trying too hard, but it works pretty well.

It makes you think about the implications of possibly developing a true AI, as I'm sure most of us have thought about at one time or another.

B



Was that the one with the female robot locked in the house?


Yes, that's the one.

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« Reply #483 on: 08-10-2017 23:29 »

On the topic of Ex Machina, my favourite track from that film:



God damn, that dance scene with Oscar Isaac is phenomenal.
Tachyon

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« Reply #484 on: 08-10-2017 23:47 »


I'm listening with headphones, now.  Very creepy and foreboding.  Reminiscent in a way of Alien and Blade runner.

winna

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« Reply #485 on: 08-11-2017 04:20 »

I really enjoyed that one.  Thanks for the soundtrack link Danny!
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« Reply #486 on: 08-11-2017 23:05 »

I havent seen those but that soundtrack is definitely intriguing  :eek:
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« Reply #487 on: 08-12-2017 23:31 »

Ex Machina is a grade-A movie. Not a B. For shame! :p
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« Reply #488 on: 08-13-2017 07:51 »


:p

It seemed just a teeny bit artsy pretentious to me.  Not a lot, like SnowPiercer, but just a little bit.  I did really enjoy it, though.  After further consideration, I'll give it:

B+

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« Reply #489 on: 08-13-2017 16:22 »

Free Fire - 7.5/10

It's one of those films were the entire plot takes place in one location (spare a few scenes at the very start of the film). Great cast, great humour & lots and lots and lots of guns.
JoshTheater

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« Reply #490 on: 08-13-2017 19:30 »
« Last Edit on: 08-13-2017 19:35 »

Oh yeah, I saw that too! It was a neat experiment, I enjoyed the hyper-vigilance of the script keeping track of how much ammo everyone has and making sure that anytime someone gets more ammo you see how they get it. I don't know if the whole movie ended up hanging together perfectly but it was engaging enough and the cast was fun.

It seemed just a teeny bit artsy pretentious

I usually save those terms for movies that are full of weird visuals and directing flourishes or that tackle big topics without actually having the meaning or message to fully back them up. Whereas Ex Machina, while definitely atmospheric and highbrow, has a clear narrative through line and something coherent and interesting to say about its subject matter. Still, I can appreciate where you're coming from. And I wasn't actually expecting you to bump up your grade. :laff:
winna

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« Reply #491 on: 08-13-2017 20:15 »

Resident Evil the absolute final chapter this time we mean it.

Who knew making 17 movies that were ridiculous nonsense and fan service would eventually come together to form the only coherent story ever told in the last thousand years?  No one ever, and that's what this all about.  Some person kept making Resident Evil movies, primarily because they could, and then it turned out to be one contiguous thing.

Great movie, all of them.
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« Reply #492 on: 08-14-2017 03:49 »
« Last Edit on: 08-14-2017 07:54 »


I'd heard of Resident Evil the game, of course, but had never played it.  When I saw a DVD of the first film at a yardsale I picked it up on a lark for a couple of bucks.  You could tell that it was trying to be faithful to the game, and was an OK movie, with one huge standout: Milla Jovovich.  And I immediately had a fan crush on her :)  She is badass in the films, and does a lot of her own stunts, including part of that face-down vertical rope decent on the side of a building!  Just a stunningly gorgeous actress.

Also...


winna

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« Reply #493 on: 08-14-2017 04:05 »

Yeah, the most surprising aspect of the movie franchise is how the quality actually is.  The first two films were theatrical features, but I'm not certain the rest of the sequels didn't go straight to video.

And if you like Milla Jovavich, then there's always that.

The videogame and movie universes are distinctly different, but the movie version does a decent job of adapting the source material, even if it changes many of the aspects to tell a different, equally ridiculous, story.

That said, the other perplexing thing about the movie franchise is that across a decade, the movies actually do tell a single contiguous story.  I have suspicions that this was an afterthought, and that it occurred purely by accident as a result of someone refusing to stop making more movies; however.... it could be argued that I'm wrong on that account.

In that vein, the whole thing runs like a soap opera, and I would say that it's similar to the Fast & Furious franchise in that regard.
winna

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« Reply #494 on: 08-14-2017 04:06 »

Oh... and the scary part?  The story the movies tell hauntingly echoes our own world.
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« Reply #495 on: 08-15-2017 02:07 »
« Last Edit on: 08-15-2017 03:13 »


Certainly there are many common elements such as greed, lust for power, ruthlessness, etc., but assuming that your lingual muscle is not firmly impacted in your bucca, how does the overall story arc parallel the real world?


Still, I can appreciate where you're coming from. And I wasn't actually expecting you to bump up your grade. :laff:


Well, most unusually for me, I watched it over two consecutive evenings rather than straight-through.  And in going back over it in my mind I realized that splitting it up like that may have diminished its impact on me, at least a little.  Hence the bump :)

winna

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« Reply #496 on: 08-15-2017 02:39 »

That would be spoilers.
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« Reply #497 on: 08-16-2017 00:54 »

how does the overall story arc parallel the real world?

Perhaps winna meant that we're all slowly dying meat, locked into an internal simulation that's fed by impulses generated by our surroundings, making us all essentially zombies deluded into thinking that we have real lives with purpose and meaning?

I mean, I don't agree. But it's what I'd have meant if I'd been winna saying that.
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« Reply #498 on: 08-16-2017 02:55 »

wow feelin the positive vibes haha... haha...ha...ha
winna

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« Reply #499 on: 08-16-2017 03:03 »

Huh?

What's that movie about?
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« Reply #500 on: 08-16-2017 03:05 »

touching and feeling happy children with wooden spoons and ornaments of festivity

Step Brothers
A, funny as shit
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« Reply #501 on: 09-09-2017 02:41 »

I rewatched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 last week, so it's time to update my review.

It's a great movie. BUT after I watched it, I became sick. I also became sick when I first saw it in the cinemas. So, because the movie makes people sick I'm giving it 0/10
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« Reply #502 on: 09-23-2017 13:38 »
« Last Edit on: 09-28-2017 08:14 »

Kingsman : The Golden Circle
B

The first part set quite a mark. While the new one could not quite keep up with it's precessor, it still delivered a more than entertaining time.

+ The action sequences followed the same excellent "tongue-in-cheek" choreography. Despite all the mayhem, you never lost overview.
- The "coming of age" and "character development" came a little short compared to part 1.
+/- Some callbacks to part 1 come off as "running gags", other fell under "repetition". All in all, the "running gag" got the majority for me.
+ Juliane Moore delivered an excellent villainess (for me, just a little  behind Jackson. But as Jackson gave us one of the most hilarious villains, "just a little behind" still means a more then excellent performance).

All in all, a really enjoyable, blood-dripping fun-ride. And a movie incorporating the spirit of the old, reverd Bond movies far better than anything Craig as ever delivered.
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« Reply #503 on: 09-24-2017 04:52 »

There's a bunch of movies I've seen recently that I don't think I've reviewed here.

Pulp Fiction

This was great, and I can see why its regarded as a classic. The dialogue is sharp and entertaining and often comes across as quite humorous without even telling jokes. Also, quite a few scenes were intense as hell, such as the scene with Uma Thurman's character overdosing.

John Wick

I still have PTSD from the most recent Jason Bourne movie, and John Wick cured it. Smooth, well-shot action and subtle worldbuilding make it a very compelling experience.

Moana


Holy shit, that fucking water. Everything about this movie looked gorgeous. The story itself wasn't exactly groundbreaking, but it was well-executed and had some neat ideas. But man, it's worth watching for the visuals alone.
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« Reply #504 on: 09-25-2017 21:01 »
« Last Edit on: 09-28-2017 08:15 »

Moana...also know as "Pacific Swim" ;)

The story itself wasn't exactly groundbreaking, but it was well-executed and had some neat ideas. But man, it's worth watching for the visuals alone.

Why wasn't the story groundbreaking. EVERYONE has been deperately waiting for a Disney movie about a strong, independent female character who will not stop until she gets the job done. About time that Disney covered that theme ;)

[Yeah, I stole both jokes from an "Honest Trailer" video]
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« Reply #505 on: 09-26-2017 22:15 »

It

Too much talkin', not enough gang-bangin', I say! Because apparently a gang bang happens in the book? This is a thing I have heard from people who've read it (i.e., It), but I never have so my impressions here are coming from someone totally unfamiliar with the source material (minus the gang-bang part, but it sounds way awesome and I can't believe those puritanical Hollywood types refused to show us a scene of 13-year olds screwing each other :rolleyes:). It's also why I'm not spoilering any of what follows, though perhaps it contains some minor spoilage, because this thing is also a book that already exists in the world and I imagine a lot of folks have either read that or seen the Tim Curry TV movie so none of this should be surprising to you.

Anyway: I was not expecting to enjoy this movie as much as I did. I've heard it described as pretty much Stand By Me with a killer clown added, and that's more or less the vibe I got. All the child actors were fantastic (props especially to the tykes playing Bev and Eddie), the visuals were creepy as fuck (though the first scene, which involves a child's arm being literally chomped off, suffered from some conspicuous CGI stuff that was on the level of a SyFy original movie), and there was a nice balance struck between '80s nostalgia and graphic horror and well-observed character-based humor and genuine pathos. I wasn't expecting the movie to be so...unabashedly weird, right from the get-go (we get about two minutes of heartwarming, well-observed being-a-little-kid stuff before BOOM! there's a goddamn clown living in the goddamn sewer), but I appreciated that whole stay-true-to-yourself, let-your-freak-flag-fly aesthetic. The tone did maybe go a little wonky at points--I liked the movie better when it was encouraging us to laugh with the characters, not at them, and when the scares were genuinely scary as opposed to silly-scary--but it managed to keep me engaged for the entire 2-hour-plus run-time, which is no small feat.

I mean, structurally the film is definitely flawed; it consists largely of vignettes showcasing each characters' interaction with these paranormal forces, and only Bill, Bev, and Eddie have discernible character arcs (Bill confronts Georgie's disappearance, Bev confronts her creepy-ass dad, Eddie confronts his creepy-ass mother) while the other kids get considerable short shrift. (There's also this whole The Gang Disbands interlude at the start of act three that feels like an artificial way to create some late-stage conflict between the kids before they ultimately have to reunite to destroy the forces of evil, which just felt boring and inevitable.) I am naturally inclined, due to my own life circumstances, to view a movie like this as The Story of a Boy Coming to Terms With The Death of His Brother, and I'd say Bill's story-line was for that reason probably my favorite--but every character (even the ones who were less well-rounded than Bill, Bev, or Eddie) was compelling and well-acted, and I am going to be curious to see who they cast as the adult versions of these characters for part two.

B+
winna

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« Reply #506 on: 09-26-2017 22:39 »
« Last Edit on: 09-26-2017 22:40 »

In the book, it's a train, not a gang bang.  The children come to the logical conclusion that sexual intercourse will be the method to find their way out of the sewers, but they don't have sex at with each other at the same time.  

It's probably a metaphor for coming to age or something, but who knows what King was thinking when he typed it.  The man doesn't even remember writing Cujo, and at one point one his friends visited his office to find the floor littered with empty beer cans, cigarette butts in overflowing makeshift ashtrays, cocaine, barbituates, amphetamines, tranquilizers, and (one of my personal faves) cough syrup bottles.

Just sayin'
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« Reply #507 on: 09-26-2017 22:44 »

Heh, I've read King's On Writing, so I am indeed familiar with those tales of his drug-fueled book-writing days. I was less familiar with the difference between a train and a gang-bang, though thankfully everyone's favorite sex-ed instructor, Dr. Google, has cleared that up for me (though I suppose "train" should've been self-explanatory).

Anyway, in the movie this scene is replaced with
, which gets that same thematic point across in a much more elegant (less semen-y) way.
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« Reply #508 on: 09-26-2017 22:58 »


It must still be early in the week...


...which gets that same thematic point across in a much more elegant (less semen-y) way.


[John Dimaggio voice] "You Earthlings are so silly, going around shooting DNA at each other."



In the book, it's a train, not a gang bang.


[John Dimaggio voice] <thumps shiny metal ass> "And I'm the caboose!"

winna

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« Reply #509 on: 09-26-2017 23:09 »

It doesn't quite say the same thing to me.  I'm being pedantic here, and I recognize to a large degree that both actions are similar in a very specific, unique way.  I would still contend that the two nuances have powerful, subtle undertones that make them clearly different, both in application and ideology.  King's scene speaks more about humanity, than the movie's, even if it was wholly absurd and completely dismissed by our current societal allowances of what fits into acceptability.

Precisely because blood oaths are not a contentious subject in our culture, and specifically because sexuality is so discernedly taboo.


All that aside, I thought IT (2017) was okay.  It felt like it could have been great, but it failed to focus on the thematic elements that would have garnered it the greatness I wanted out of it.  I also thought The Dark Tower was okay; not terrible, as it was received by many, but not good either.  IT was superior to The Dark Tower, in my opinion, but I think both movies suffer from "I'm a movie story" problems.  It is kind of a tragedy in its own way, since both stories really deserve great movie adaptations.  I think a lot of this is wholly contributable
 to King's over-writing, which makes ~90 minute motion picture films difficult to adapt from.

I have never actually read IT, btw, but I have read the part you were referencing (for my own edification purposes).  I just happen to know what a train is because in college we developed a plan called Sanner's Train, which came complete with its own facebook group.  Most of our plans did not produce tangible results, including this one, just to clarify that I did not just publicly admit to being a train operator, nor am I occupationally considered a conductor.
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« Reply #510 on: 09-26-2017 23:34 »
« Last Edit on: 09-26-2017 23:36 »


...just to clarify that I did not just publicly admit to being a train operator, nor am I occupationally considered a conductor.


But were you a caboose? :)

Also, by what reasoning is blood more elegant than semen? :confused:
Except in uncommon circumstances (e.g. a drop of blood forming slowly on the tip of a knife, before the camera zooms out to reveal the freshly-deceased victim), blood seems to me far more random and indiscriminate, so rather inelegant by comparison.  There've been artistic (or faux artistic) films going back to at least the '60s or '70s which gave the Kubrick-esque tri-chromatic, slow-motion treatment to semen, very reminiscent of the climax of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Though I can't recall the name of the seminal film.

winna

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« Reply #511 on: 09-27-2017 00:20 »

I sincerely disagree with that assertion and assessment.  Blood is one of the most powerful and impressive symbological elements we have at our disposal.  Its usage as an artistic representation is immediately recognizable as a specific, clear, and quick example of life.  By its very existence and definition, blood, it is essentially the life blood of all stories concerning the perspective of biological life.  Visually, blood also possesses one of the most stunning, beautiful hues of any color I have ever witnessed; it also possesses a seemingly perfect balance and viscosity of any fluid on the planet.

By contrast, sexual fluids, although as important thematically as blood and similar in usage, is more specific contextually at conveying concepts.  It may be as prominent, in certain contexts, than blood, and perhaps is more evocative in the human psyche, however, thematically represented it is constrained by specificity to certain thoughts that blood by comparison may transcend.  Sexuality represents more the cycle of life as a repeating pattern with a distinct beginning and ending where blood may blur such conditions by representing existence and by extension, life as a whole, complete and neatly contained.  Sexual fluids instead represent seasons within a story, or major changes pertinent to life.

Blood, by its very nature, is artistic, in that it is a near perfect and easily adapted example of form following function.  Blood is life, or lack there of, and sexual fluids are the chapters within that life.
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« Reply #512 on: 09-27-2017 13:59 »

To clarify, I don't think blood, as product of the human body, is elegant; it is in fact true that a person capable of producing both blood and semen is more likely to be able to control the, uh, outpouring of the latter than the former. But as a symbol of the friends in this movie affirming their interconnectedness with/obligation to one another, a scene of a blood oath is far more understated than a weird conga line of underage sex. It's the image that's more elegant, not the respective bodily fluids.
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« Reply #513 on: 09-27-2017 16:18 »


It's the image that's more elegant, not the respective bodily fluids.


A blood oath elegantly representing their mutual obligation.  OK, I get that.

winna

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« Reply #514 on: 09-27-2017 18:08 »
« Last Edit on: 09-27-2017 18:10 »

To clarify, I don't think blood, as product of the human body, is elegant; it is in fact true that a person capable of producing both blood and semen is more likely to be able to control the, uh, outpouring of the latter than the former. But as a symbol of the friends in this movie affirming their interconnectedness with/obligation to one another, a scene of a blood oath is far more understated than a weird conga line of underage sex. It's the image that's more elegant, not the respective bodily fluids.

Sure, I think that's a fair evaluation.  I would still forward that blood is the most elegant of all fluids, context aside.  It's like the red silk of the animal kingdom.

Toward your comparison, I stick to my statement that King's scene is more powerful, and says a lot more, both about people and to people.  However, I agree that the movie scene is more elegant.

I would also suggest that each scene is proper for the media it is displayed in.  King could get away with writing about that scene, and it does share a lot of intimacy with the reader if we can get past the whole underage children operating a train aspect.  That scene could not be shown in film though, and even if it could, it would lose much of the energy that the text version carries--primarily because in text, King has no restrictions in how the event is framed, and I'm particularly noting here that King utilizes his omniscience over the event by sharing thoughts of the characters to his audience.  Sure, you could try to recreate that in film with narration, but I don't think it operates in quite the same way.

Under those considerations, I agree, the movie version is more elegant in that medium, as it is succinct while attempting to capture most of the ideas that are present there in the book.  However, given the two options, I think that King was right in going the direction the novel's scene depicts.

And I would also say, that neither option is actually lesser than the other, as they are in the media they presented.  This is similar to my thoughts about The Watchmen.  I consider the graphic novel and the movie both great, yet they have major differences, and I find that each difference works best with the medium in which it is presented.  The ending being the major consideration in that critique, where each ending really does compliment the story only in the medium which encapsulated it.
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« Reply #515 on: 10-05-2017 05:02 »

Predestination - 2014

It's my favorite short story, I think.  Probs best if I don't spoil.  I haven't finished it yet, some things are like that.  I think it was well executed.
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« Reply #516 on: 10-07-2017 01:38 »

Earlier today I was shocked to see a review of Blade Runner 2049 in the local paper. For some reason I thought that it was still in early production.

* Tachy doesn't get out, much *

Has anyone here seen it, yet? Or talked with friends who've seen it? My boss' boss lent me his Arrival disc which I'm going to watch this weekend. My understanding is that 2049 and Arrival were directed by the same person. Interestingly, he'd never seen Blade Runner, so I lent him my Final Cut disc. And he hated it... I did give him a hint beforehand that the movie is totally about the style. Oh, well.

winna

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« Reply #517 on: 10-07-2017 02:08 »

I have it on Laserdisk.
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« Reply #518 on: 10-08-2017 13:59 »
« Last Edit on: 10-08-2017 18:42 »

Interestingly, he'd never seen Blade Runner, so I lent him my Final Cut disc. And he hated it... I did give him a hint beforehand that the movie is totally about the style. Oh, well.

Those are not persons you should have contatct with... O.o

Ash vs Evil Dead
A++
Ladies and Gentlemen...this - exatctly THIS - is how sequels should be done!!!
In fact, any director being assigned the task to shot any franchises sequel should be obliged to watch the classic "Evil Dead" and "Ash vs Evil Dead" to get a glimpse what is expected of him/her.
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« Reply #519 on: 10-08-2017 18:16 »

Awesome.
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