Movies You've Seen Recently Thread

[Raithe]

Oh the nostalgia hit.

 

io9 - 30 Years later the Space Camp movie is still fantastic

 

 

 

Thirty years ago today, a movie with a very recognizable cast opened in theaters. It wasn’t a big hit, and has since all but faded away to a point where it’s very difficult to watch anywhere legally. And that’s a damn shame, because Space Camp was, and remains, a fine piece of popular entertainment.

 

Two years after her breakout role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Space Camp stars Kate Capshaw as Andie Bergstrom, a smart, capable astronaut who has yet to make it into space. After missing her latest window she and her husband (played by Tom Skerritt) bring their NASA expertise to Space Camp, which is exactly what it sounds like—asummer camp where kids learn what it takes to be an astronaut.

 

Andy is given a team of five kids as her crew, and it’s literally star-studded, whether you watched the movie then or now. You’ve got Lea Thompson, a year removed from Back to the Future. You’ve got Larry Scott, two years after both Revenge of the Nerds and The Karate Kid. You’ve got Kelly Preston, two years before breaking out in Twins, and the feature film debuts of both Tate Donovan and Joaquin Phoenix. Yes, that Joaquin Phoenix, here at the age of 12, then going by the name Leaf Phoenix.

 

Oh, and did I mention the score is by John Williams and is awesome? Because that’s true too.

That’s a pretty stacked line-up already, but it still gets better. The basic plot of the movie is the best kind of ‘80s wish-fulfillment fantasy, as these kids, mere space campers, literally get to go into space after Phoenix’s character, Max, makes friends with an artificially intelligent robot named Jinx who tricks the NASA computers into forcing a routine maintenance test into a full-on launch.

 

It’s far-fetched, sure, but somehow it never feels like it. Part of why Space Camp works is everything in it fits very nicely. First, the movie efficiently sets up all the characters mentioned above. We learn about their motivations, strengths, weaknesses, and then, once in space, the film never eases up on the drama. Because this wasn’t a ready-for-flight space shuttle, none of the essential systems or fail safes are online. So Andy and the kids, who have mere weeks of training, encounter a seemingly insurmountable and escalating list of problems, including lack of oxygen, no communications, missed landing windows, and more. The second half of the movie is basically PG-13 hell in zero gravity, which makes for a great contrast from the fun, happy-go-lucky tone of the first half.

 

Space Camp also has a real sense of wonder about it. Some of that is Williams’ score, some of that is a cast that’s just really good (Lost’s Terry O’Quinn also makes a brief appearance) but most of it is just the time and place it was released. This is a movie that’s very 1986. The music, the clothes, the attitudes, the non-stop references to Star Wars—somehow it just feels real and relatable. Plus. the camp itself is a really fun world to explore in a movie. We’re given interesting facts, presented with cool tech, and it just feels ultra optimistic. This is a place you really want to visit.

 

On the other hand, with a release of June 6, 1986, Space Camp was mainly filmed before the horrible tragedy of the Challenger shuttle in January of that same year. It was a time when the space program, and NASA, were still kind of the pinnacle of cool. That tragedy, however, most likely numbed the movie-going public on a film about a bunch of kids on a space shuttle who are constantly in danger of exploding. Hence the $9 million box office total, good for the 74th biggest movie of the year.

 

But Space Camp still works. It’s funny and dramatic with a dash of romance. There are mostly seamless visuals and practical effects to simulate space. Edge-of-your-seat tension builds multiple times in the final act of the film. It’s a movie that should have been a big hit, something people still talk about today. History, however, wasn’t so kind to it.

 

So today, on the 30th anniversary of Space Camp, I want to give it some well-deserved and long-awaited props. This is way too good of a movie to get lost in history. It’s not just a stellar family movie, it’s movie anyone can enjoy. There are strong characters of both sexes and multiple races. It really has it all. And did I mention John Williams wrote the freaking score to this movie?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Umy8VTiKG4

 

 

Edited June 6, 2016 by Raithe

[Gromnir]

I'd like them to take Bond back to the 50's-60's Cold War era.

Gromnir would like for the bond franchise to make us forget spectre.  what a waste o' a fantastic cast.  christoph waltz had been secret hounding bond for years 'cause o' unresolved daddy issues?  

 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Raithe]

For the other dose of nostalgia..

 

[CoM_Solaufein]

^ One of the best movies in my childhood, ever.

[Lexx]

Never watched the goonies. Should I still, or am I too old now?

Edited June 9, 2016 by Lexx

[Gfted1]

Still worth a watch, imo.

[Amentep]

The mid-1980s was an explosion time for teen comedies.  A lot of people - including myself - have some fond memories of the John Hughes films of the period.  Or you had the R rated films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porky's or  Comedy/Dramas like Puberty Blues or The Last American Virgin.

 

And then there are the two surrealist comedies of Savage Steve Holland.  Better Off Dead... (1985) and One Crazy Summer (1986).  Each star John Cusack as a hapless teen.  Both contain animated sequences (like the director, Holland, both film lead characters are artists/animators).  Better of Dead... is the stranger of the two, with its Howard Cosell racing team, the dogged pursuit of a paperboy owed 2 dollars, the lead character's futile attempt to kill himself (often ending with him deciding to live before something happens anyhow).  The supporting cast is stronger and Cusack and Diane Franklin have a good connection. 

 

One Crazy Summer isn't quite as deep in the dark comedy vein as Better Off Dead... but still experiences some of the same surreal humour of that prior film with some crazy re-occuring gags (in particular the two little girls who are told if they keep making faces they'll freeze that way).  The biggest issue is that Demi Moore seems to be playing her character straight which makes her role somewhat more conventional in the film.  Its not bad, but unfortunately the relationship with Cusack's character comes off as perfunctory.

 

Still I'd argue that both are well worth seeing at least once as even if you hate them, there's not much out there from the era that quite attempts what they try to do.  Personally I'm fond of both, and like to rewatch them every now and then and be transported to their weird cartoonish world.  I have yet to track down the third Holland 80s film (How I got Into College) so can't vouch for it yet.

[Gfted1]

‘Blade Runner’ Sequel Pulls in ‘The Martian’ Star Mackenzie Davis.

 

Huh, I didn't even know they were making Blade Runner 2.

[Raithe]

Continuing the run of movie nostalgia...

 

Tor - Movie Rewatch: Willow

 

Because no matter what some people may say, WIllow was a great fantasy film.

[Raithe]

And apparently the Theo James thing started as a hoax news, that several real news sites reported on as fact, and thus it spiralled out into the internet by an assortment of news and entertainment sites.

[Volourn]

TMNT2 - Solid. Megan Fox is reaally good as April. The turtle family drama is bleh. Armell does good seperating himself from Arrow. 6/10     Warcraft - Better than Ithought it be. Nice twist with king. 7/10

[ManifestedISO]

Gave it another chance, Pacific Rim. Pulled a cheek ligament rolling my eyes. 

 

Also Red, from 2010. Helen Mirren on a .50 caliber ... goofy, genuine. Have never watched the sequel.

[ShadySands]

I really liked Red and Red 2 but Pacific Rim, not so much

[Amentep]

The Black Sleep (1956) - Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr., Tor Johnson, John Carradine.  Rathbone plays a surgeon who does brain operations on the unwilling to save his life.  Lugosi (a small role and his last full one) plays his mute servant.  Chaney Jr. plays a former colleague or Rathbone's who is now mentally unstable due to Rathbone operating on him.  Tor Johnson and John Carradine play other victims.  Into this is brought a former student of Rathbone's forced to accept Rathbone's patronage and Chaney Jr.'s daughter also forced to help Rathbone in his mad experiment.  Well done attempt to bring back classic horror a year or two before the 30s-40s horror films hit television and really kicked off a horror boom.  Mild chuckles because the hero forced to help Rathbone is named "Gordon Ramsay".

 

The Witch (2016) - A great testament to trying to capture a feel of a time long past.  In this case the time is 1600s America as a Puritan family is kicked out of their settlement due to a disagreement.  They try to make it alone, but end up prey for darker forces.  The film presents its story in a way like a cautionary folktale from the time, but the setting and dialogue are all of the time (the dialogue, in fact, using phrasings of English from the time sometimes is hard to discern the meaning immediately and yet also is rooted so in the time setting that it is appropriate).  Visually arresting with creepy images, this is more about ideas than jump scares.

 

The Last Starfighter (1984) - A fun film; in a way its just a sci-fi chosen one tale, but its well cast and has a great sense of humor.  That and early computer graphics make for quite the novelty, but the main thing is the cast and the sense of fun (even if the main villain is hammy and disappears part-way through).

Edited June 13, 2016 by Amentep

[Raithe]

Hm ,so MGM is going to adapt Rising Stars to film...

 

JMS Rising Stars is becoming a movie

 

 

The big two, Marvel and DC, have so many movies coming out it’s hard for other superhero properties to stand out. MGM is hoping they’ll be able to do just that with Rising Stars, the J. Michael Straczynski comic they just optioned to turn into a movie.

Deadline reports Straczynski, who created Babylon 5 and wrote movies such as Thor and World War Z, will write the screenplay based on his Top Cow comic.

Rising Stars is about 113 people who all have superpowers after being born during a celestial event. The series, which ran from 1999-2005, explored what those people did with their powers, how society treated those with powers, and more. It’s a story that sounds familiar, but also sounds familiar in ways that make it incredibly adaptable. You totally get why MGM would want to make it into a film.

[Lexx]

Watched Deadpool yesterday and wow... This was bad. Only funny scene was the one with Ikea, imo. Rest of the movie I was sitting there like |

 

I don't get why everyone praised this movie so hard. Most of the time I just thought "man, can he shut the f up for once??" don't know, maybe I am getting too old and kids love this kind of stuff.

 

Now that I think about it, maybe only the kids praised the movie so hard? After all, it's the internet and we never really know how old someone is. Or it was nothing but well done marketing on websites like imgur and 9gag.

[Hurlshort]

Heh, I watched Deadpool for a second time a couple nights ago and loved every moment of it.  

 

If you don't like Ryan Reynolds, I can see where it would be painful.  He doesn't really ever stop talking.

[ManifestedISO]

I enjoyed it, I thought the whole tone of the film was right up Main Street.

[Gromnir]

I enjoyed it, I thought the whole tone of the film was right up Main Street.

ryan reynolds did do a spot on carol milford.

 

other than the opening credits, which were amusing and clever, am admitting that the first fifteen minutes o' the movie were robbing from us all hope for the rest of the movie.  mr. reynolds were doing his usual schtick, but given the comic book source material and the nature o' the deadpool character, the schtick were predictably exaggerated. it were too much to be funny?  dunno.  regardless, we were't conflicted or ambivalent 'bout deadpool-- we disliked deadpool. 

 

Deadpool: LOOK! Im a teenage girl, I'd rather be anywhere than here! I'm all about long sullen silences, followed by mean comments, followed by more silence! So what's it gonna be, long sullen silence, or mean comment? Go on, take your pick.

 

Negasonic Teenage Warhead: ...You got me in a box here.

 

a bit before the aforementioned dialogue, Gromnir started to enjoy the movie.  the "box" comment were the first time we genuine laughed, but weren't the last. by the end o' the movie, we were having an unabashedly fantabulous moviegoing experience.

 

we did watch the movie at a virtual empty theatre, so we didn't have the benefit o' group catharsis.  folks wanna laugh, particularly in a group, yes? as a human being, we admit that we still fall prey to that weird thrill-o'-the-crowd effect. getting caught up in the emotions o' the group is most noticeable to us at sporting events, but can feel it at movies and plays and spontaneous bottle throwing mobs.  if we had watched deadpool in a theatre surrounded by comic book geeks who were already wanting to like the movie, am doubting it woulda' taken us so long to warm up to the film.  if everybody else had been laughing, so too woulda' Gromnir, if only reflexive.  were less than a dozen other patrons at our viewing o' deadpool.  

 

regardless, deadpool were an almost unique experience.  is numerous flicks we like for first 15 minutes but ended up loathing by end credits.  is only a handful o' movies that has done for us the reverse.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Hurlshort]

I would even say that Deadpool has diminished my interest in all other superhero films.  How do you take the brooding Batman seriously after that?

[Lexx]

Maybe it's american humour then, dunno. For me, 99% of the jokes didn't trigger any reaction.

[Hurlshort]

Maybe it's american humour then, dunno. For me, 99% of the jokes didn't trigger any reaction.

 

We do appreciate testicles and farts more than the rest of the world.  I have a Despicable Me Fart Gun and it makes me laugh every single time.

 

[Raithe]

Ocean's Eleven Spinoff

 

 

Last week, we reported that the cast of Sandra Bullock's female reboot of Ocean's Eleven has added Elizabeth Banks, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter and Mindy Kaling. That report also teased that the project's working title was Ocean's Ocho, since the story will center on eight female thieves, but it seems that title wasn't quite accurate. While doing press for his new film The Free State of Jones, director Gary Ross confirmed that the title is actually Ocean's Eight, and that Ocean's Ocho was just a nickname for the project.

 

This project has been secretly in development over the past few years, with Ocean's Eleven director Steven Soderbergh, star George Clooney and producer Jerry Weintraub bringing aboard Olivia Milch (Town & Country) to write the script. Gary Ross revealed to SlashFilm that this project is not simply a female reboot, but a continuation of Steven Soderbergh's trilogy. Here's what Gary Ross had to say below, discussing how both he and Steven Soderbergh have collaborated on each other's projects over the years, and how Ocean's Eight will be similar in tone to Ocean's Eleven.

 

"I think it's a pretty similar tone. You know, Steven Soderbergh and I are incredibly close friends, and we would not have done this if we weren't. I don't think he would've wanted anyone to do it if we weren't. This is very much an extension and a continuation. He's a producer on the movie. In one way or another, this has been a 20-year conversation between Steven and I, collaborating in ways the whole world doesn't know about: I helped him on the previous Ocean's Eleven films; he shot second unit on The Hunger Games; I've done ADR lines for him; and he reads all my scripts. It's a very long, ongoing collaboration. This, I think, is a very seamless process. We're different filmmakers, obviously, so there will be those differences, but one of the things I'm drawn to is the amazing tone Steven was able to create, and we discuss that a lot. We discuss the cinema a lot, the shooting style, the rhythm, the editing style, and the music. We discuss it all. I'm in no way trying to reinvent the tone, and I'm thrilled and honored to be extending it. It's really fun to work with."

 

The director wouldn't confirm any of the cast members that have been previously reported, but he did joke that he'd "break the Internet" if they announced the cast right now. He also didn't address rumors about the story, including reports that Sandra Bullock's character is actually the ex-con sister of George Clooney's Danny Ocean from Steven Soderbergh's trilogy. The story reportedly centers on a group of eight thieves who plan on stealing an expensive necklace from the Met Ball, while framing a gallery owner for the crime.

 

While no other character details have been confirmed, Cate Blanchett is reportedly playing the right-hand woman of Bullock's character, similar to Brad Pitt's Rusty in the Ocean's Eleven trilogy. Jennifer Lawrence was previously being eyed to reunite with The Hunger Games director Gary Ross on the project, but our report from last week claimed that she isn't involved at this time. We'll be sure to keep you posted with more on Ocean's Eight as soon as more details come in.

[Raithe]

And on other random movie related trivia..

 

How merely playing Daredevil screwed up Charlie Cox's Star Wars chance

 

 

This is a story of actor earnestness that is almost to cute to bear: Charlie Cox has revealed he recently messed up a big audition for a role in a Star Wars movie. How? By being too good... at playing Matt Murdock in Daredevil.

 

The adorable tidbit comes from a new interview conducted by The Hollywood Reporter about Cox’s upcoming role in an off-Broadway production called Incognito. In the play, Cox has six different roles, and unlike his role as the Man Without Fear, all of them have eyesight. It’s likely a welcome break from playing blind in Daredevil... which is what caused Cox to botch up an audition for a potential role in what he believes was the Han Solo spinoff movie:

 

I had gone to an audition—one of those things that are super secretive and they don’t tell you, but I’m pretty sure it was for the Han Solo reboot—and halfway through it, the casting director stopped me and said, ‘Why aren’t you looking at me?’ I realized I had gotten into a habit of not making eye contact, because the only thing I had done for two years is play someone who is blind. I never got invited back, probably because they couldn’t figure out why I was acting like a complete idiot.

 

That’s right: Cox has gotten so used to playing blind as Matt Murdock, he kept forgetting to make eye contact when auditioning for other roles. It’s nice to see him so committed to his Daredevil work, even if it ends up making him blow a role elsewhere.

 

That said, now I’m imagining an alternate reality where Charlie Cox is playing the younger Han Solo instead of Alden Ehrenreich. It... weirdly works?

[ManifestedISO]

 

if we had watched deadpool in a theatre surrounded by comic book geeks who were already wanting to like the movie, am doubting it woulda' taken us so long to warm up to the film.  if everybody else had been laughing, so too woulda' Gromnir, if only reflexive.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

This worked for me during Batman V Superman. The brief audibles at key moments from a kid sitting behind were so genuine that I wanted a similar experience. I may, or may not have reacted like a seven-year old when Wonder Woman crossed her wrists.