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Re: Last movie you watched

Faldor wrote:

The dialogue is also brilliant, so many lines turn up as random nods in other films and TV shows down the years it is endlessly quotable.

Re: Facebook- "Louis, are you pro-Vichy or Free French?"
"Serves me right for asking a direct question. The subject is closed."   wink

"Life is about movies; anything else is a bonus!"- Me   cool

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Re: Last movie you watched

Tonight I watched Dreamcatcher for the first time since I saw it at the cinema (theater, for y'all).

And... just... jeez. Wow. I don't even know where to start.
Just... don't watch it.

Disclaimer: if you dislike the tone of a post I make, re-read it in a North/East London accent until it sounds sufficiently playful smile

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Oh, you don't say. We all watched it at the cinema because "Final Flight of the Osiris" played with it.

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Herc wrote:

Just... don't watch it.

Too late big_smile

It's hard to believe that Goldman and Kasdan wrote the screenplay. Some of the character stuff is OK (it felt consistent with other Stephen King adaptations, so it probably comes from the original novel), but the rest is worthless.

So honor the valiant who die 'neath your sword
But pity the warrior who slays all his foes...

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Re: Last movie you watched

I know! William "Princess Bride" Goldman?!? The first, say, 30 minutes had promise (and the memory-warehouse was well done), but good god that film goes off the rails fast. Mostly King's fault, I guess (he admitted he doesn't like the novel and that he was blitzed on Oxycontin the whole time he was writing it).

But that ending (changed from the novel)... wow.
There are two options:

1) Duddits was always an alien, who chose to be developmentally-challenged and later get leukaemia, or
2) Duddits was a developmentally-challenged kid who gets bodysnatched by an alien, and they spend the rest of their conscious lives trapped in this broken child.

Like I said... wow.

Disclaimer: if you dislike the tone of a post I make, re-read it in a North/East London accent until it sounds sufficiently playful smile

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Re: Last movie you watched

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/MadokaBD.jpg

My going into 7th grade niece was crying her eyes out during this.

Originally a twelve episode TV series, it's now two movies available on Netflix streaming, along with a third film set afterwards. The concept is simple: it's a Magic Girl show. Young girls are told that in exchange for a wish being fulfilled, they will become Magic Girls, powerful creatures who save humanity from Witches. It's a win-win situation! Who would say no?

I'm not familiar enough with the genre to know if there have been deconstructions like this before. I can't believe there haven't been. Regardless, this show is incredible. The world is well thought out, the writing top notch. The animation... well, how they managed this on a TV budget I'll never know. The style during the Witch battles becomes this Victorian/ Terry Gilliam affair that just grabs the eye. The dubbing, too, is rather good.

I don't want to spoil the plot. Let's just say every choice has a consequence, every life saved must be balanced with a death. And, most importantly, never trust cat bunnies granting wishes. Even if you hate anime, give the first movie a try.

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: Last movie you watched

avatar wrote:
Darth Praxus wrote:

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ1NDI2MzU2MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTExNTU5NDE@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg

Doesn't reach the dizzy heights of Ghost Protocol, but a solidly entertaining entry. Some truly death-defying stuff from Cruise yet again (the diving sequence from the trailer is incredibly impressive, and the huge car chase set-piece is deftly handled as well), and the cast are all likable and engaging (this is the first movie I've actually liked Jeremy Renner in). There's a great sense of humor throughout, which is much appreciated. The only major complaints I have are both technical—first, while this isn't color-graded within an inch of its life like most similar movies these days, the orange sheen to everyone's skin is rather offputting. Second, the strobe cutting early on is extremely irritating; one early sequence in particular was bloody impossible to decipher due to the number of cuts per second. This got better as the movie went on, but I was bothered enough by its early appearances to be taken out of the experience.

Before Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation, there was a trailer to The Man from Uncle, and posters outside to Spectre, and earlier this year was Kingsman. Starting to get spy-thriller fatigue. They're turning into Marvel-esque overload. Plot's always the same: spies have to chase some MacGuffin through exotic locales with some babe in an opera gown, using gadgets & quips, etc, all while not getting their styled hair messed up. Villain is some generic PC (can't offend anyone!) group that finds humanity degenerate and so we must start again by destroying everything.

Write down all forms of transportation on pieces of paper and throw them in a hat. Now pull out one piece - that's the chaser. Second piece: the chasee. Third piece: The chaser or chasee changes their vehicle mid-way through chase. Now which country is giving you the best tax credits this year? That's where we'll set it.
And what crazy stunt haven't we seen yet? Let's write a scene based on that. Repeat for five actions sequences (they cost $20M each and we got over $100M budget based on the A-list star) and get the algorithm to shuffle the scenes until we get something vaguely coherent. Or not, doesn't matter. It's a thrill ride.

Is there a "Mad Libs" for Screenwriters?

Google Serach...

Wow, Internet.

God loves you!

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Re: Last movie you watched

Invid wrote:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/MadokaBD.jpg

My going into 7th grade niece was crying her eyes out during this.

Originally a twelve episode TV series, it's now two movies available on Netflix streaming, along with a third film set afterwards. The concept is simple: it's a Magic Girl show. Young girls are told that in exchange for a wish being fulfilled, they will become Magic Girls, powerful creatures who save humanity from Witches. It's a win-win situation! Who would say no?

I'm not familiar enough with the genre to know if there have been deconstructions like this before. I can't believe there haven't been. Regardless, this show is incredible. The world is well thought out, the writing top notch. The animation... well, how they managed this on a TV budget I'll never know. The style during the Witch battles becomes this Victorian/ Terry Gilliam affair that just grabs the eye. The dubbing, too, is rather good.

I don't want to spoil the plot. Let's just say every choice has a consequence, every life saved must be balanced with a death. And, most importantly, never trust cat bunnies granting wishes. Even if you hate anime, give the first movie a try.

God loves you!

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Re: Last movie you watched

I watched John Carter last night, whilst not an amazing film it shouldn't have been the biggest flop of recent memory. It was pretty enjoyable and I rather liked how the ending felt like an ending.

I know the plan was to come back and do 12 more but it was nice not to end on godzillas egg hatching or what have you.

Extended Edition - 146 - The Rise Of Skywalker
VFX Reel | Twitter | IMDB | Blog

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Re: Last movie you watched

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/The_Gift_2015_Film_Poster1.png

THE GIFT

What a treat.  It's a true slow burn thriller that has something to say beyond a few jump scares.  Joel Edgerton wrote, directed, and co-stars in this....I'm gonna say almost Swedish cinema approach to commentary on bullying.  All sides are given depth and no one comes out black or white. 

Rebecca Hall is the star of this and absolutely the glue of the movie.  Bateman gives a career best performance and Edgerton shows remarkable nuance to a role that could have easily gone south with another actor.

Eddie Doty

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Amen, Doty. I fucking loved that movie for the exact same reasons.

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fireproof78 wrote:
avatar wrote:
Darth Praxus wrote:

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ1NDI2MzU2MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTExNTU5NDE@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg

Doesn't reach the dizzy heights of Ghost Protocol, but a solidly entertaining entry. Some truly death-defying stuff from Cruise yet again (the diving sequence from the trailer is incredibly impressive, and the huge car chase set-piece is deftly handled as well), and the cast are all likable and engaging (this is the first movie I've actually liked Jeremy Renner in). There's a great sense of humor throughout, which is much appreciated. The only major complaints I have are both technical—first, while this isn't color-graded within an inch of its life like most similar movies these days, the orange sheen to everyone's skin is rather offputting. Second, the strobe cutting early on is extremely irritating; one early sequence in particular was bloody impossible to decipher due to the number of cuts per second. This got better as the movie went on, but I was bothered enough by its early appearances to be taken out of the experience.

Before Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation, there was a trailer to The Man from Uncle, and posters outside to Spectre, and earlier this year was Kingsman. Starting to get spy-thriller fatigue. They're turning into Marvel-esque overload. Plot's always the same: spies have to chase some MacGuffin through exotic locales with some babe in an opera gown, using gadgets & quips, etc, all while not getting their styled hair messed up. Villain is some generic PC (can't offend anyone!) group that finds humanity degenerate and so we must start again by destroying everything.

Write down all forms of transportation on pieces of paper and throw them in a hat. Now pull out one piece - that's the chaser. Second piece: the chasee. Third piece: The chaser or chasee changes their vehicle mid-way through chase. Now which country is giving you the best tax credits this year? That's where we'll set it.
And what crazy stunt haven't we seen yet? Let's write a scene based on that. Repeat for five actions sequences (they cost $20M each and we got over $100M budget based on the A-list star) and get the algorithm to shuffle the scenes until we get something vaguely coherent. Or not, doesn't matter. It's a thrill ride.

Is there a "Mad Libs" for Screenwriters?

Google Serach...

Wow, Internet.

Can't this argument be made for well....just about any creative endeavor?  Any medium in which there is a practiced art will have a vernacular with a certain set of standard building blocks such that over-exposure to the medium would inevitably result in contempt and lack of interest.   
   If we're talking about rock and roll, you could say "well I'm tired of all these songs which feature drums,bass, electric guitar, and some really high pitched vocal" 
  If we're talking about hot rod cars you would say "I'm tired of these cars that all look the same, have a giant engine block sticking out the top with big fenders and some shiny paint job"   
If we're talking about any creative writing endeavor you could say "I'm tired of all these authors using the same action verbs, having a plot where it predictably climaxes at the end, and featuring pointless internal character monologues" 

The list can keep going, and these aren't really perfectly analogous examples, but I hope the point comes across pretty clear.  My argument is that its not the topical content of a movie that matters so much as HOW that content is presented.  You show me some film that done in a style of film noir, and has all the standard tropes right down to the tee, and I'll still rate it well if its executed well.  Rouge Nation may have the same content as many of the spy thrillers these days, but the execution was far superior to most.  The pacing, and music, and the order in which secrets and plot points were revealed were all fantastic.  Yes, there were chase scenes, but the execution of them was thrilling!   

Still, I do agree about the over-use of a small set of standard tropes that have developed these days.  Probably Transformers would be the poster child of this /the perpetrator.   big_smile

Bloggy:  Inf0verload

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/The_Mouse_That_Roared_British_Poster.jpg

The Mouse That Roared is a famous showpiece for Peter Sellers in three roles, but nothing like the genius of Dr. Strangelove. It's dry and inoffensive, with a script that misses more than it hits, which is too bad because the premise is brilliant.

Tiny Grand Fenwick has been nearly bankrupted by a California vineyard counterfeiting its wine. The advisers (Leo McKern and Peter Sellers) of the Duchess (Peter Sellers) decide (way too fast) that the solution is to declare war on America. They'll be defeated immediately (they only have a few longbowmen) and accept the famous largesse of the United States in the form of a kind of teeny weeny Marshall Plan. But doofus head of the army Tully (Peter Sellers) inadvertently "defeats" the US, creating an international incident.

The romance is strained, the pacing is clumsy, and the satire is blunted. American monster movie director Jack Arnold (Creature From the Black Lagoon) makes the American diplomats the only non-morons. Seberg and First Doctor Who William Hartnell are good.

Not bad, but not the classic it should have been.

Last edited by Zarban (2015-09-15 22:59:03)

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

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Re: Last movie you watched

https://i.imgur.com/Nebhz29.jpg

Good if you've read Into Thin Air and know the story well.

Average if you haven't.

Jason Clarke finally does some decent acting.

The events around 4pm on 10th May are the emotional fulcrum of the drama where the critical decisions are made. Outdoor aficionados will know what I mean.

not long to go now...

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Re: Last movie you watched

Despite all of its flaws (and there are several), I can't really hate on the most recent Rambo because the it contains some of the most barbaric bloodshed and over-the-top violence I've ever seen in a movie. I was expecting violence on par with the rest of the series and instead I got something that is almost reminiscent of the original Robocop. It's absolutely insane they got away with this in a theatrical release.

Look at this shit:

SPOILER Show
http://badspot.us/img/Rambo-Shoots-Driver.gif

Is it a good movie? Fuck no. Do I respect it for turning it up to 11? Hell yes.

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Re: Last movie you watched

The Gate (1987)

Canadian-American horror movie for kids. The first half is 80s and ropey and underwhelming, and then the second half has some of the most wonderful practical effects (in terms of ingenuity on a budget) I've seen in quite awhile. (And one shot in particular has leapt immediately into my top 10 practical effects ever).

Check it out if you're in the mood for appreciating old-school effects and have 90 minutes to spare (or 45 if you can't be bothered with the first half)!

Disclaimer: if you dislike the tone of a post I make, re-read it in a North/East London accent until it sounds sufficiently playful smile

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Re: Last movie you watched

I dunno, I remember seeing that finale from Rambo in a packed theater when it came out, and it was incredible. The audience lost their minds. You're focusing on the gore aspect, but the awesome thing about the Rambo finale is just the degree to which it stacks multiple levels of violent action. You've got this squad of ultimate badasses, and they're all bloodily scraping by fighting for every inch, and it's all happening very fast and cross-cutting. No slow motion, as soon as one of them takes down an enemy, they're diving behind cover and taking the next guy down, and it's relentless. I don't think it got enough credit for how fresh that was, certainly no american action movie had done anything like that off the top of my head, though admittedly you did see that stuff in Korea and HK.

The movie as a whole is too bleak and exploitative in my opinion, but the last half an hour kills. It's kind of disappointing though that he rehashed basically the same ending/editing-style/concept for all 3 expendables movies' finales, to diminishing and increasingly watered down results with each.

Last edited by bullet3 (2015-09-26 07:46:20)

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http://www.crankycritic.com/archive02/posters/insomnia.jpg

Spotted this one on Netflix and gave it a go. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This is a rather conventional thriller in a lot of ways, no denying, but the level of craft in its performances and the way it's shot elevate it a lot. Pacino in particular is outstanding, the sheer physical and mental weariness he conveys in increasing doses is so intense that you begin to feel it yourself after awhile. Williams is wonderful as well—there's something incredibly unsettling about seeing him as a villain, which Nolan exploits to its fullest.

While this isn't one of his flawed masterpieces, it might be his only perfect movie other than The Prestige.

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Love the Wally Pfister cinematography too in Insomnia. And a rare Nolan commentary track on DVD, although I must admit he's a little bland (seems overly guarded) in his comments and as an interview subject generally.

not long to go now...

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https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8895/17980097483_d26f0c40a6_o.jpg

THE MARTIAN

After taking a gigantic dump on science, scientists, and the scientific method in Prometheus, Ridley Scott tries to redeem himself with a movie honouring NASA, JPL, and hard, no nonsense science. And successful too. Good on him.

The movie has the same sentiments as Interstellar and Tomorrowland... Exploration, cooperation, solving problems ourselves without resorting to superheroes, the chosen one, or some supernatural mumbo jumbo. And a there's no punch-up next to a ticking bomb for a change. Recommended.

not long to go now...

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Re: Last movie you watched

*looks at writers*

*no Lindelof*

I might give it a chance.

Sébastien Fraud
Instagram |Facebook

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Re: Last movie you watched

Seen quite a few films recently, catching up on a few that I've missed.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/Tomorrowland_poster.jpg
Tomorrowland
I loved this, particularly its joyous and contagious optimism. The only negative I had was that they ended up resolving things through violence, I really think that the story they were telling was one that could have been wrapped up through talking and cooperation - indeed, I sort of figured that was the overall theme.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Jurassic_World_poster.jpg
Jurassic World
Pretty much what I would have expected (and wanted) from this one. I enjoyed it. A few unresolved plot elements that are undoubtedly for the inevitable sequels but I didn't think any element was eye-rollingly awful. The corporate guy seemed straight out of a James Cameron script but he had very little nuance and missing such a crucial element of his philosophy that he just comes across as one dimensional. Overall though I though tt was better than the previous sequels (not a high bar I'll admit).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Terminator_Genisys.JPG
Terminator Genysis
I enjoyed this despite its glaring flaws. I liked the concept of playing with the 1984 events, but the moment it left that time it descended into plot hole after plot hole - and that it skirts around who sent the terminators back to the earlier time period I found borderline offensive. Arnold seemed back on form on this one too and he was a joy to watch again.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/Max_Mad_Fury_Road_Newest_Poster.jpg
Mad Max Fury Road
Amazing. It's a good, simple story filled with lots of action and in this respect it was a refreshing throwback to films of old. Everyone behind and in front of the camera is giving their all, which I think gives it something that's missing from most action films of the day.


avatar wrote:

THE MARTIAN
After taking a gigantic dump on science, scientists, and the scientific method in Prometheus, Ridley Scott tries to redeem himself with a movie honouring NASA, JPL, and hard, no nonsense science. And successful too. Good on him.
The movie has the same sentiments as Interstellar and Tomorrowland... Exploration, cooperation, solving problems ourselves without resorting to superheroes, the chosen one, or some supernatural mumbo jumbo. And a there's no punch-up next to a ticking bomb for a change. Recommended.

Great to hear the positive word. Going to see this on the weekend hopefully. Do you think this is worth watching in 3D?

Last edited by redxavier (2015-10-02 21:36:52)

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan

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redxavier wrote:

Great to hear the positive word. Going to see this on the weekend hopefully. Do you think this is worth watching in 3D?

For some weird reason, The Martian never got an IMAX release, which is where I see all my 3D movies. So I watched it in 2D on a VueXtreme Screen and it was fine. It's more the story than the visuals. Matt Damon is vlogging for a lot of it, so I don't feel 3D is essential like it was in Gravity or Avatar.

not long to go now...

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Yeah I'd skip the 3D on THE MARTIAN. Not necessary.

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Re: Last movie you watched

Saw The Martian today. Fun movie. I enjoyed it more than Gravity, but I boil that down to the main character knowing what they were doing and not "accidentally" surviving much of the time. It does seem to be a Mary Sue, the creator going "well, if *I* was stuck on Mars, I't do THIS!", but it overcomes it. I'm amused by XKCD comparing it to 50 Shades of Grey. I especially liked the little touches, like what games were on the laptop. I hope this leads to a Leather Goddess of Phobos movie.

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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