Cinéma vérité - and all other types

[Blarghagh]

Avatar was a great cinema experience for me, but I disliked it at home.

[Amentep]

[majestic]

 

I'm not surprised that Mike liked TMP (but even he calls it dull ). He's right about it being the most Trek of the Trek movies. Still, this'll be one of the times I disagree with him on. The film is dull. There's so much filler because it's just an episode of Star Trek spread over feature film length.

 

Quite literally even given Phase II's development history nad how it ended up being this dull travesty of a film. It's made worse by seeing all elements in place - special effects were good for the time, there's the exploration parts of V'Ger and Spock does some exploring of his own (or maybe the human) condition. They just don't mesh into something enjoyable for me.

[Amentep]

But you can't deny it has the most loving flybys of the Enterprise, ever!

 

I actually love ST:TMP.  That said its not without its flaws, and I totally understand why people would feel it was dull.

[Raithe]

And then Ricardo Montalban pretty much stole the next Trek film.

[ShadySands]

And then Ricardo Montalban's chest pretty much stole the next Trek film.

Fixed that for you

[Tale]

Watching that earlier made me want to rush home and watch the film. I love original crew Star Trek films (with the obvious exception). I hate TNG crew films.

 

But then I got home and started watching their other recent recommendation, Haunting of Hill House.

[Bartimaeus]

Tokyo Godfathers (2003). lmao, this was actually a pretty good movie. A bum with gambling and drinking problems, "an old homo" (their words, not mine) who fancies himself a mother, and a teenaged girl on the run are "appointed" the task of returning a baby that was thrown in the trash to its parent(s) in frozen Tokyo. It's about as insane, depressing, and hilarious as you might expect. The ending was a bit hackneyed, but in a way that I thought made sense for what's nominally a Christmas movie (as dark as it was at times).

Edited November 20, 2018 by Bartimaeus

[algroth]

Tokyo Godfathers (2003). lmao, this was actually a pretty good movie. A bum with gambling and drinking problems, "an old homo" (their words, not mine) who fancies himself a mother, and a teenaged girl on the run are "appointed" the task of returning a baby that was thrown in the trash to its parent(s) in frozen Tokyo. It's about as insane, depressing, and hilarious as you might expect. The ending was a bit hackneyed, but in a way that I thought made sense for what's nominally a Christmas movie (as dark as it was at times).

 

Yup, ending aside I thought that was quite funny and endearing. Also a better Three Godfathers adaptations than most - perhaps all - we've had.

[LadyCrimson]

Avatar was a great cinema experience for me, but I disliked it at home.

I probably would have liked Avatar in the theater a bit more if I hadn't elected to see it in the 3D version. I chose 3D because I was curious about how far advanced theater 3D might've become. I wasn't very impressed. Film itself felt so by the numbers. I did find that evil Marine guy hilarious tho.

 

And yeah, on home video, even with a somewhat large screen (50"), it looks flat and too obviously CGI and 3d cinema designed which is distracting - it's a film that's definitely better seen in a theater.

[Raithe]

There was only so far you could take Dances With Smurfs.

It had it's impressive visuals, but eh, beyond that...there were lots of rather silly bits to it.

[majestic]

There was only so far you could take Dances With Smurfs.

It had it's impressive visuals, but eh, beyond that...there were lots of rather silly bits to it.

 

The sequels are bound to become even sillier. What's going to stop Earth from carpet bombing everything?

 

It took the combined forces of the Na'vi and a somewhat literal Deus Ex Machina Luna to fight off an ill prepared attack from a small defensive military force that employed terrible tactics.

 

Unless Earth employs General Hux as supreme commander how's that going to end well for the Na'vi lke, at all?

[Orogun01]

 

There was only so far you could take Dances With Smurfs.

It had it's impressive visuals, but eh, beyond that...there were lots of rather silly bits to it.

 

The sequels are bound to become even sillier. What's going to stop Earth from carpet bombing everything?

 

It took the combined forces of the Na'vi and a somewhat literal Deus Ex Machina Luna to fight off an ill prepared attack from a small defensive military force that employed terrible tactics.

 

Unless Earth employs General Hux as supreme commander how's that going to end well for the Na'vi lke, at all?

 

Because then the Unobtanium will be unobtainable?

[Blarghagh]

It's hard to carpet bomb the ocean, which is where the sequels are going.

[majestic]

Because then the Unobtanium will be unobtainable?

 

It's in the ground. The Na'vi aren't.

[LadyCrimson]

The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix.

 

I was totally going to skip this holiday kid-family-looking film but then .... I saw Kurt Russell's name. I instantly just knew he was going to be Santa. I had to see that. After the predictable beginning setup, in came Kurt and I spent the rest of the movie grinning every time he was on-screen (which was a fair amount). Everything else was typical/forgettable for such a movie - plus the CGI elves that show up late-game looked like a fuzzy Gremlin and a lawn dwarf had babies (eg, they're weird to creepy looking), but ...

 

Kurt "I don't HoHoHo" MFing Russell. Best. Santa. Ever. Worth it just to see him, far as I'm concerned.

[Gfted1]

Justice League

 

Damn, that was fun!

 

Now onto Kingsman: The Golden Circle while I enjoy the HBO freebie.

[Hurlshort]

 

Kurt "I don't HoHoHo" MFing Russell. Best. Santa. Ever. Worth it just to see him, far as I'm concerned.

 

The Mrs. Clause reveal was perfect.

[SonicMage117]

My wife and I watched a movie called "Peppermint" starring Jennifer Garner. Damn was it sad, my wife cried her eyes out which always makes me wanna cry lol

 

She's basically the female Green Arrow, her hubby and daughter are murdered so she goes away for 5 years to train in different martial arts and gun trainings in different locales all to take revenge on the mexican cartel gang.

 

It's a simple movie, and a common plot ny today's standards but when hasn't Jennifer Garner not played a role well? It was worthy of my *nearly* 2 hours. You all would do well to follow my example.

Edited November 27, 2018 by SonicMage117

[Blarghagh]

The Predator, I'm a fan of Shane Black which makes me extra disappointed that this movie is absolute garbage. Like, AvP2 levels of garbage.

[Hurlshort]

The Predator, I'm a fan of Shane Black which makes me extra disappointed that this movie is absolute garbage. Like, AvP2 levels of garbage.

 

Shane Black was definitely the best part of the film. I thought it was alright. I liked the concept.

[SonicMage117]

I'm 50/50 on Predator. I don't think it was as bad as people (the critics) claimed but it wasn't great. Seemed to be some comedy, I don't mind but I would like for the next one to be 100% serious and more focused on one type of Predator rather than PredaDogs, Predator Jr, Predator Seniors, etc.

 

 

And knowing my luck, after I say that, watch the next Predator movie introduce PredaBurds and PredaSnakes. Since the Presadors movie had PredaCats (Jaguars) if I remember correctly.

 

But I'll still watch it and enjoy it, I'm just being nitpicky.

 

 

 

 

I watched about half of The Outlaw/King tonight and I really liked it. The camera angles and scenic beauty draw me in and Chris Pine is likable, has been to me since Unstoppable, American Wet Hot Summer and Star Trek. When I watched the movie I felt very Witcher 3 and Kingdom Come Deliverance vibes. It's nice.

[Katphood]

Less Than Zero(1987)

 

Haha, this was the first time I got to see a young Robert Downey Jr. in a movie and it was awesome. I also liked Andrew McCarthy since I had already seen Mannequin before. I've never seen any of his post 80's movies though. This was also the first movie I've seen with Jemi Gertz in the cast. Great movie all around.

 

Fargo(1996)

 

so. much. snow!

 

This was a great movie. The Coen Brothers make some of the best crime movies but my favorite is still Blood Simple(1984)

[algroth]

[algroth]

Just watched Widows myself. I was worried from the previews that it'd play out as a Snowman/Counsellor-type affair where a lot of talent was poured into what ultimately plays and looks like your average heist thriller, but I'm glad to inform, it's a Steve McQueen film through and through, it shares basically the same feel for pace, framing and almost lyrically fluid montage that the rest of his work has, and is paired with that effortless sensibility to it all that makes his stuff feel so unique and genuine in a moment where most contemporary 'auteurs' seem so driven by their search for style and cinematic virtuosity that their works feel plastic and overwrought in comparison. I like that it's at once something of a crowd-pleaser heist film, but at the same time has a way of capturing the American setting in a way that is very unfiltered, replete with all the warts, idiosyncracies and grotesqueness that makes it feel very genuine and rooted. This is proper political filmmaking through and through, even if at times the film may suffer due to wearing some of its commentary as overtext, and the odd farfetched story beat which, to be frank, is just about what you'd expect from a script that comes from the author behind Gone Girl. But these few missteps hardly affected my enjoyment of the whole, and the end result is thoroughly engaging, imbued with a propelling energy, and simply unmissable. Worth a watch on the big screen.

 

Great soundtrack too - Nina Simone, Procol Harum, Van the Man...

Edited November 28, 2018 by algroth