Movies You've Seen Recently

[Pidesco]

I thought it failed thoroughly as an homage to arcades by making Ralph's game very easy and having the whole plot revolve around that. Fix it guy should be the one rebelling and leaving the game because of losing all the time. It could have been a much better comedy if it went that way.

[Hurlshort]

That sounds like a completely different movie.  Do you feel most arcade games were difficult back in the day?  The fictional game reminded me of a mix between Rampage and Donkey Kong, which I never thought were exceptionally hard games.  

 

Plus if the hero was the central character of the film, we wouldn't get those great villain therapy groups.

[Raithe]

They're already working on the sequel to Ralph. Also under discussion is the whole "getting a cameo from Tron" involved. Especially as they're pushing a new sequel for Tron as well.

 

Apparently they had planned to have a Tron cameo in the first one, but for various reasons (possibly got too 'meta') they decided to cut that idea.

[Gfted1]

It will do as an appetizer for Spider-Man 2 and Avengers 2.

 

 

Is there an in universe explanation for all those Iron Men? Robots? And is there a name for the giant one that was smashing through everything?

[Pidesco]

That sounds like a completely different movie.  Do you feel most arcade games were difficult back in the day?  The fictional game reminded me of a mix between Rampage and Donkey Kong, which I never thought were exceptionally hard games.  

 

Plus if the hero was the central character of the film, we wouldn't get those great villain therapy groups.

 

 

Difficult? They were insane by modern standards, designed to separate you from your coins.

 

On Wreck it Ralph, I thought it was just as good as any other recent animated movie, not better nor worse. Even my kids have already forgotten about it. Only among gamers online have I seen praise for it.

[Orogun01]

Source?  Forbes has him on their overpaid list, but then states he is worth $6.50 for every dollar you spend on him.  That's a solid return.  That being said, Sandler is safer investment as a full production company rather than hiring as a lead actor.  

 

Also where are you getting the idea that star power has diminished?  You mentioned the Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter film earlier, but the Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis relied completely on the actor and succeeded tremendously.  

 

Action stars are not as marketable as they used to be, I'll give you that.  I think it is because there are just too many of them, and none have really separated from the pack.  But you can't replace a Brad Pitt with just anybody, that guy sells tickets. 

There are exceptions, but as a general rule most moviegoers are on their teenage years and dramatic films aren't exactly geared towards that audience.

Also, you mentioned Brad Pitt who seems to be making less movies nowadays.

I think that the Oscar buzz may give movies like Lincoln an edge in the box office, that said it was a hell of a good movie.

[Hiro Protagonist]

 

No, regardless of VFX, a lot of crap makes money, that's why they release it. Why do you think Adam Sandler releases so many movies? Not because he's a film genius, it's because there's a market. If I was an investor, I'd put my money into Adam Sandler's company, due to the fact he makes money even though I can't stand 99% of his movies. Chances are he'll double my money. His rate of return on investment is pretty awesome.

Since Adam Sandler is now considered one of the most overpaid actors in Hollywood, I would say that you are a bad investor.

 

Also, you seem to have the notion that star power is the same now as it was back in the 90's. Those dynamics seem to have changed.

 

ROFL. Adam Sandler is a bad investment? Actually, his movies over 5 yrs are very highly profitable and its obvious why he has investors:

 

Hotel Trans - Gross $336m/Bud $85m (not inc DVD sales yet)

Jack & Jill - Gross$149m / Bud $79m

Zookeeper - $169m / Bud $80m

Just Go With It - $214m / Bud $80m

Grown Ups - Gross $271m / Bud $80m

Chuck & Larry - Gross $186m / Bud $85m

Bedtime Stories - Gross $206m / Bud $85m

 

And what about the profits of Happy Madison Productions

Rules of Engagement - $71M / Bud $60m

Paul Blart Mall Cop - $183m / Bud $26m

 

Sandler might make the odd dud, but with profits like these, where can I sign on?? I'd give him my money to invest, odds on he'll double it.

 

 

 

 

Also, you seem to have the notion that star power is the same now as it was back in the 90's. Those dynamics seem to have changed.

 

 

Can you show how the star power has changed?

[Raithe]

For those Princess Bride lovers out there..

 

 

[Oerwinde]

 

 

It will do as an appetizer for Spider-Man 2 and Avengers 2.

 

Is there an in universe explanation for all those Iron Men? Robots? And is there a name for the giant one that was smashing through everything?

He designs armors for specific tasks. Stealth, underwater, space, etc. I think some people will think the big one is the Hulkbuster armor, but I think that one was shown elsewhere. I saw a list of the armors supposedly in the movie and that one looks like the one designed for heavy labour.

[LadyCrimson]

Argo

 

It was interesting. I was maybe 11-12 when all that was going on, so while I remember the news and stuff, it's not like I was exactly involved with it, being more interested in my books and pop stars. I liked how the film kept a period tone, and did it very well. Suspense/emotional involvement wasn't there for me, even at the end, and I'm sure there was a lot of poetic license in some things, but isn't there always. A well done film tho.

 

(P.S. - I don't see the "Best Picture" aspect of it, however )

Edited March 10, 2013 by LadyCrimson

[Kor Qel Droma]

To me, the best part of Argo was "Argo **** yourself".

 

I watched Centurion yesterday. Michael Fassbender was his usual awesome self, but this movie was just okay. Nothing really special to see here.

[Raithe]

Gambit.

 

A remake of the old 1966 film - with a fair few changes to the story.

Colin Firth as an Art Curator who gets fed up with his abusive boss (Alan Rickman) and decides to pull a fake Monet heist. Which requires the assistance of a rodeo queen (played by Cameron Diaz). Throw in Tom Courtenay as the forger friend, and Stanley Tucci as a rival art specialist...

 

Amusing in that low key way, nothing overly special but some solid performances.

[HoonDing]

Centurion was worth watching just for Olga Kurylenko taking Roman scalps.

[Kor Qel Droma]

Was she the one that was married to Mel Gibson?

[Amentep]

Well I had some time off recently, so....

 

DOC SAVAGE: THE MAN OF BRONZE

I admit, I love the old hero pulps from the 30s and 40s.  George Pal (The Time Machine, War of the Worlds) did too.  So in the early 70s he set his sites on (arguably) the second most popular pulp hero, Doc Savage, who at the time was enjoying enormous success in the US Paperback market as a series of reprints.  It was 1976, though, and even though Batman heyday was roughly a decade past, at some point a decision was made to camp the move up.  Whether this happened before or during filming is unclear; some say there is a non-campy (or at least LESS campy) version, others say the film we got was what they made.  I'd argue there is some evidence that there's more to the film than we see (in particular all of the sequences with the airplane pilot/assassin seem to be re-shoots and some of the end sequence seems to be re-arranged).

 

The end result is a mess of a movie (the best bit - and most like the pulps in many ways - is Doc and his crew's escape from Captain Seas' ship).  The actors do their best (even though many of their characters are changed from their book counterparts - but lets face it, its probably impossible to cast Monk Mayfair) with their parts.  I still enjoy the film mostly for nostalgia reasons - it was my introduction to the Doc Savage world when I saw it as a kid, and it led me to the old pulps.

 

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Weirdly, as a kid I never read the Oz books.  Loved the 1939 movie, but it wasn't until I was in college that I actually tried the book series - which is a fun bit of turn of the (last) century whimsy highlighted by beautiful John R. Neil artwork (and just as good W. W. Denslow artwork in the first book).  This movie tries to work from a "what happened before Dorothy arrives at Oz" that is the narrative of L. Frank Baum's original novel.  They do a good job trying to fit things in (with a few discontinuities) but mostly concentrate on trying to make a fun film in its own right.  James Franco is brilliant as the egotistical con-man magician who comes to Oz by accident and falls into a legendary prediction that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams - if he doesn't get killed.  I thought it had the right amount of whimsy and a good deal of modern special effect action.

 

PAINTED SKIN: THE RESURECTION

Sequel to a film I haven't yet seen, but as a separate story they give you everything you need to know; a fox demon escapes from a prison with the help of a bird demon and together begin trying to find a way get a man to pledge his heart to the fox demon as a way to make her human (and thus permanently escape the icy prison, punishment for using her powers to save a bunch of people in the last film).  Good performances from Zhao Wei, Chen Kun and Zhou Xun as the primary dramatic triangle and Yang Mi and Feng Shaofeng have some cute moments (and humor in a mostly serious film) as a B story (and welcome exposition on the mythology behind the demons).  Some of the fights are naturally impressive; I wish we had more story Huo Xin's command as I think his relationship with his soldiers is underdeveloped (but a minor quibble about a generally good film).

 

MEN IN BLACK 3

Rewatched this one; didn't feel it was as fun the second time around but still enjoyed it.  Not really sure where they can go with the film series now, though.

 

SHADOW ON THE STAIRS

Set bound 30s adaption of a stage play; has some fun lines but I felt the mystery part of the story wasn't as strong as it could have been (there's a point where I think most audiences will be able to spot the connections and "get" the truth of what happened in the murder).  The coda adds a bit of light humor to the darker end but also seemed a bit superfluous.

[Amentep]

Was she the one that was married to Mel Gibson?

 

You're thinking of Oksana Grigorieva who, AFAIK, never married Gibson.

 

Olga Kurylenko was the female lead in QUANTUM OF SOLACE.

[LadyCrimson]

The F/X series The Americans .... caught up with it now. It's pretty decent. Nothing spectacular, but I like it enough to continue watching a while. The spy-husband is an interesting character...a bit layered. The wife is more blind-fanatic, which gets old, but I think she's starting to develop a bit beyond that.

 

And I find Richard Thomas' FBI guy to be largely like comic relief. I'm not sure if that's intentional or not, but it makes me smile.

[JFSOCC]

I watched Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters today, it was everything I expected. Which is so say: very average plot, but hilariously funny.
A movie which knows not to take itself seriously, And with copious amounts of "fanservice" coming from Gemma Aterton.

 

Who cares for realism when you have fully automatic crossbows, foldable steampunk rifles and the ability to shrug off massive amounts of punishment by being stunningly good looking

 

Great way to pass the time.

[LadyCrimson]

Grabbers ... an Irish/British monster movie. The monsters find booze toxic, which of course means the townspeople have to stay drunk all the time to try to avoid being eaten. It was rather amusing and even effective at times, for the genre type.

[Meshugger]

Solaris (1972)

 

It's that kind of movie that leaves you thinking for a long while after you've seen it. There's also a profound emotional impact that i can't really put my finger on quite yet. Very spiritual as well, the only reason that i think that this movie managed to avoid soviet censorship was that they didn't understand what it was about.

 

I mean, the main theme sounds like something from a funeral: 

 

 

(yeah, i know that it is Bach's choral prelude, but still, this rendition has an incredibly sad, yet beautiful tone to it)

Edited March 17, 2013 by Meshugger

[Amentep]

Solaris is a pretty good film, but not one I think I'll ever watch very often.

[Volourn]

The Amazing Spiderman - Better than I thought it be but still amazingly average. 7/10

[Oerwinde]

Rise of the Guardians. Possibly my favorite Dreamworks flick. Alec Baldwin was awesome as Santa and the visuals were great. Hit all the right emotional beats, just a very well crafted film. Not Wreck it Ralph good, but good.

[Blarghagh]

That movie was surprisingly good. I figured a movie about Santa and the Easter Bunny (among others) FIGHT EVIL would be ridiculously kiddie but it never once talks down to its audience, has some scenes that are quite epic and at the center is a moral that actually matters.

[Amentep]

The Amazing Spiderman - Better than I thought it be but still amazingly average. 7/10

 

I re-watched this one and found myself less impressed by it.  The opening is very long (40 minutes to get to the well-familiar origin), the villains motivation is obscure and what evidence there is of it it doesn't really hold together.

 

The best bits are really Parker-Gwen and Captain Stacey towards the end, but it takes a long time to get there.  The movie also seems to forget about plot points and characters that they introduced earlier (the cut scenes indicate some heavy reworking of the script during filming too, which probably accounts for a good bit of the lack of focus).