Infernostew
Member
That's what I'm hearing. Fury Road looks like complete insanity. I can't wait!
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Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| April 2015
- Thread starter Charles Foster Kane
- Start date
- Status
That's what I'm hearing. Fury Road looks like complete insanity. I can't wait!
SpaceHorror
Member
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome 7/10 - Though not nearly as good as The Road Warrior, it is certainly better than I was lead to believe. It’s packed with great moments and it’s cool to see other parts of the Wasteland and how it had developed since the global war. Mel Gibson is great again as Max and Tina Turner is good as Auntie’s, though her delivery falters sometimes. Auntie’s Bartertown is an awesome new location and the fight in which she pits Max against one half of the wonderfully named Master Blaster in the Thunderdome is really fun. I had heard the kids who save Max from the desert are annoying but honestly, beyond being a bit corny, they are tolerable compared to most kid groups in movies. I think my biggest gripe is with the final “chase.” It is pretty much a repeat of the stellar one in The Road Warrior, which is easily one of the greatest of all time, but not nearly as thrilling. It felt really tame and goofy in comparison; if they were so set on copying the epic highway battle against the Humungus and his thugs at least they could matched or kicked up the intensity. The one goon who keeps coming back after certain death is lame and the end of the chase is kind of anticlimactic considering Auntie was ready to slaughter them all. I enjoyed the ending and I’m glad Max had a bit more humanity and was more willing to help out when called upon, especially with the kids, which is in line with who he was at the end of The Road Warrior. Overall, a damn good time and, with the right expectations, worth a watch if you love the previous two.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
BB is good, but more in the first half. I have a feeling The Prestige will not read as well 9 years later, for me, but I don't honestly know. His version of Insomnia is also pretty good, as I recall. But Memento was this weird confluence of a great idea that lent itself to cinematic innovation without getting lost in the expository weeds. All of Nolan's best, and none of the worst.
Honestly, Nolan is like contemporary example number 1 of why it's maybe a good thing Welles had to work so hard, as Hollywood success produces laziness.
BaronLundi
Member
Snowman replying to Icarus. What year is this?
glad to see you back
Wild Tales - Hard to find a film more gripping than this, in recent months.
Haven't watched basically anything this month, but this would probably still on top of my list.
Both funny and well shot.
A girl walks home alone at night - Had the bad idea of watching it while battling with sleep, so that didn't help in the slower scenes, but i still found it pretty interesting, especially since last month i watched Spring, which also had the theme of a young man down on his luck, going after (and accepting)
, though this one feels even more like a [dark] fairytale.
Cool use of costumes, too.
I was a bit too excited to see it, though, and i won't deny that i did feel a bit disappointed in the end.
Haven't watched basically anything this month, but this would probably still on top of my list.
Both funny and well shot.
A girl walks home alone at night - Had the bad idea of watching it while battling with sleep, so that didn't help in the slower scenes, but i still found it pretty interesting, especially since last month i watched Spring, which also had the theme of a young man down on his luck, going after (and accepting)
a monstrous, murderous partner
Cool use of costumes, too.
I was a bit too excited to see it, though, and i won't deny that i did feel a bit disappointed in the end.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
Star Trek (2009). A lot sillier and contrived than I remembered it. Also, there are moments where the cinematography looks plain bad. Still an entertaining movie though. 6/10
Force Awakens already looks very promising with what little we've seen. If it manages to keep the sense of ugercy, look good, and have a good script, it should be a good time.
Force Awakens already looks very promising with what little we've seen. If it manages to keep the sense of ugercy, look good, and have a good script, it should be a good time.
lazybones18
Banned
Kung Fu Killer
Yeah, whatever
Yeah, whatever
b&jy77VjiKn$#F
Member
Age of Ultron
I enjoyed it, but I was disappointed as well. Most of the action scenes were not very well shot imo, at least compared to the first one. I think it's because of the shaky cam in this film. I didn't have any problem with shaky cam in Man of Steel or Winter Soldier, but Age of Ultron bothered me. Maybe I expected the action scenes to be similar to the first Avenger, I'm not really sure. The overall cinematography is definitely better than the first one though, that's for sure.
The story was okay, but the villain was the ultimate let down. I don't blame James Spader, he gave a fine performance. I don't blame Whedon either, or that I don't want to blame him. I don't read a lot of comics, so I don't know what Whedon's version of Ultron was based on. But this is how I would describe him:
Ultron in this film acted tough, talked tough, but eventually he is "weak" and sort of confused. It sounds like he would make an interesting villain, and he was an interesting villain. He was not, however, an exciting one. I feel like something was lost in execution. That said, Ultron is better than Ronan in Guardian of the Galaxy. That dude just sucked.
The highlights of the film for me were
Ultron design (I really dig it), and most of the main characters (especially Hawkeye and Scarlet Wicth). I noticed that some scenes from the trailers didn't make it into the final film. I wonder why, maybe me wasn't paying attention?
Overall, disappointed. The first Avenger film was better, and I'm not even a fan of that one (I liked it at first, but it got worse on repeated viewing).
P.S. I feel like there are some problems with the film editing. I can't point out why, so I won't criticize the film for that.
I enjoyed it, but I was disappointed as well. Most of the action scenes were not very well shot imo, at least compared to the first one. I think it's because of the shaky cam in this film. I didn't have any problem with shaky cam in Man of Steel or Winter Soldier, but Age of Ultron bothered me. Maybe I expected the action scenes to be similar to the first Avenger, I'm not really sure. The overall cinematography is definitely better than the first one though, that's for sure.
The story was okay, but the villain was the ultimate let down. I don't blame James Spader, he gave a fine performance. I don't blame Whedon either, or that I don't want to blame him. I don't read a lot of comics, so I don't know what Whedon's version of Ultron was based on. But this is how I would describe him:
Ultron in this film acted tough, talked tough, but eventually he is "weak" and sort of confused. It sounds like he would make an interesting villain, and he was an interesting villain. He was not, however, an exciting one. I feel like something was lost in execution. That said, Ultron is better than Ronan in Guardian of the Galaxy. That dude just sucked.
The highlights of the film for me were
the action scenes in the beginning, the fight between Hulk and Iron Man,
Overall, disappointed. The first Avenger film was better, and I'm not even a fan of that one (I liked it at first, but it got worse on repeated viewing).
P.S. I feel like there are some problems with the film editing. I can't point out why, so I won't criticize the film for that.
Age of Ultron. Overall better than the first, which i couldn't even rewatch a third time. So crammed with action and characters 141 minutes don't feel enough, and perhaps marred by too many obligatory set ups for the next movies, but it's got a lot of surprisingly good moments for a superhero movie (Hawkeye's definitely the better developed character, Vision is awesome, Hulk/Widow relationship, the battle at the beginning..). Ultron himself was a bit of a wuss, Thor is hokey as usual, Quicksilver was a throwaway, the rest is exactly what you would expect from a Whedon Avengers movie, but better paced, more cohesive and confident, and definitely less bland. Good fun, 7.5/10
Frozen: this movie felt weird, didn't enjoy it at all. Story is incredibly poor, even by Disney standards, there are serious pacing and editing issues, characters are laughably poor, songs are godawful compared to other movies in the same category, it's pure nothingness wrapped into a shiny package. Yeah, I guess it looks good, but it's so obviously a movie made solely to cater to the modern teenage audience: terrible, 3/10
The Warriors. Now this is a movie. Definitely Walter Hill's best, and one of the best movies in the genre. Never a dull moment, intense, shocking, fantastic cinematography, great "faces", atmosphere, soundtrack. The sense of time and space is perfect, the execution is flawless. A true classic, 9.5/10
Frozen: this movie felt weird, didn't enjoy it at all. Story is incredibly poor, even by Disney standards, there are serious pacing and editing issues, characters are laughably poor, songs are godawful compared to other movies in the same category, it's pure nothingness wrapped into a shiny package. Yeah, I guess it looks good, but it's so obviously a movie made solely to cater to the modern teenage audience: terrible, 3/10
The Warriors. Now this is a movie. Definitely Walter Hill's best, and one of the best movies in the genre. Never a dull moment, intense, shocking, fantastic cinematography, great "faces", atmosphere, soundtrack. The sense of time and space is perfect, the execution is flawless. A true classic, 9.5/10
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Better than the first film but less sense of awe. I love the chemistry and interaction between the characters when not in costume. I could watch an entire movie of them just doing mundane normal everyday stuff and I'd be happy.
"Warriors come out play-ay". Glad that you dug it as it is one of my favs. I love the neon cinematography and costume design. The whole Greek mythology it is based on set in 70s New York really fits well into the journey through the night.
Better than the first film but less sense of awe. I love the chemistry and interaction between the characters when not in costume. I could watch an entire movie of them just doing mundane normal everyday stuff and I'd be happy.
"Warriors come out play-ay". Glad that you dug it as it is one of my favs. I love the neon cinematography and costume design. The whole Greek mythology it is based on set in 70s New York really fits well into the journey through the night.
i was kinda blown away at how good it was. You know, I never actually watched it because I thought i did already, but in reality it must have been one of the billion copycats released after it. never knew The Warriors was the blueprint for so many imitators, and with good reason
have yet to watch any of those. Are they worthy? They seem a bit uninteresting
Not that shiny of a package.
The movie is pretty ugly looking at times, especially if you compare it to other Disney animation recent 3d movies (Tangled, Ralph, BigHero6).
Messofanego
Banned
Wreck It Ralph is the only one worth watching out of those.
Discotheque
Banned
that movie sucks too. i dunno maybe i'm burnt out on cartoons now but these disney and pixar movies have been really unremarkable for a while now. last western cartoon i thought was really good was rango.
Tangled is good (as far as princess movies go, anyway).
Wreck it Ralph is ok, but drags a whole lot in the middle with some subplot racing nonsense.
Big Hero 6 is bad, but definitely the prettiest of the three.
Messofanego
Banned
All these CG animated movies are not great if we're getting down to it (Pixar post-Wall E; like even Up is only interesting for the first few minutes), so just go watch Princess Kaguya. Or The Wind Rises. Or a frickin' DC animated movie like Justice League War if you just want a good action movie. Or Coraline and Paranorman.
Problem with many of these 3d movies is that they feel incredibly cynical and manufactured.
Especially if you compare it to something like Kaguya, where you can just see someone's vision coming to life.
It doesn't have to do with 3d, either, since some pixar movies (Incredibles, Ratatouille, and so on) have just the same amount of "soul" to them.
Gotta be that production machine, something like Big Hero 6 must've gone through 500 focus groups and other bullshit, to make it as bland as possible.
Femmeworth
Banned
Over Tangled? Pls.
Fried Food
Banned
Watched Antiviral yesterday. Super weird sci fi/horror movie (more sci fi than horror) about dystopia with an extreme germ fetish. Recommended viewing.
User 479360
Banned
Role Models - I'd seen it once before, and was wanting something fun to watch, so I PVRed it when it came on. Ended up watching it yesterday, and enjoyed it again. It's pretty funny.
Messofanego
Banned
World Of Tomorrow (Don Hertzfeldt)
This is for all the existential sci fi fans out there. A pretty great piece about appreciating the now. It's a bit depressing but has touches of dark comedy. Clones, consciousnesses, and coping with loss. If you liked Black Mirror, this cautionary tale will be right up your alley.
It's on Vimeo.
This is for all the existential sci fi fans out there. A pretty great piece about appreciating the now. It's a bit depressing but has touches of dark comedy. Clones, consciousnesses, and coping with loss. If you liked Black Mirror, this cautionary tale will be right up your alley.
It's on Vimeo.
Furious 7 (2015) - Some fun to be had but mostly it was a mess.
How to Train Your Dragon (2014) - This one completely surprised me, I didn't like the first one much, but this was a really fun film with a rich breathing world. Jay Baruchel's voice is still fucking annoying and I say this as some who loves Men Seeking Women, and I still don't get why the kids have American accents and the grown ups Scottish accents, or why Viking would have Scottish accents to begin with. I hope the next film they take it a little more outside their little protected realm and the characters go on a much bigger adventure.
How to Train Your Dragon (2014) - This one completely surprised me, I didn't like the first one much, but this was a really fun film with a rich breathing world. Jay Baruchel's voice is still fucking annoying and I say this as some who loves Men Seeking Women, and I still don't get why the kids have American accents and the grown ups Scottish accents, or why Viking would have Scottish accents to begin with. I hope the next film they take it a little more outside their little protected realm and the characters go on a much bigger adventure.
TheKaeptain
Banned
World Of Tomorrow (Don Hertzfeldt)
This is for all the existential sci fi fans out there. A pretty great piece about appreciating the now. It's a bit depressing but has touches of dark comedy. Clones, consciousnesses, and coping with loss. If you liked Black Mirror, this cautionary tale will be right up your alley.
It's on Vimeo.
Looks interesting. Will watch later on.
Discotheque
Banned
The dragon movies get by on virtue of how good their Osts are
The casting director for the voices needs to be fired tho. The adults are great and the children are basura
The casting director for the voices needs to be fired tho. The adults are great and the children are basura
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
I kinda knew the bamboo cutter folktale going into this (and I have to imagine anyone who doesn't would be seriously blindsided by the
later :lol), but even still, this was a far sadder story than I was expecting. Lovely soundtrack, stunning art style. Reminds me thematically of Only Yesterday a lot. Not Takahata's best, and as far as Ghibli swan songs go I definitely think The Wind Rises tops this, but still a wonderful note to go out on.
Day for Night
The last line made me laugh, but otherwise kind of meh. I normally love movies about movies, but this felt like an amusing but mostly disjointed mess.
My girlfriend also wanted to rewatch The Fault in Our Stars last night, upon which I've decided I'd be ok with Nat Wolff getting the Spider-Man gig.
I kinda knew the bamboo cutter folktale going into this (and I have to imagine anyone who doesn't would be seriously blindsided by the
I'm from the Moon reveal
Day for Night
The last line made me laugh, but otherwise kind of meh. I normally love movies about movies, but this felt like an amusing but mostly disjointed mess.
My girlfriend also wanted to rewatch The Fault in Our Stars last night, upon which I've decided I'd be ok with Nat Wolff getting the Spider-Man gig.
everybody watch World of Tomorrow. it's great great great. think I'll get a third viewing in before my rental expires.
the HTTYD art is decent. Tangled and Brave were good in that department too.
overall 3D CG animation ring cold and uncanny though. I didn't hate Frozen but that is an ugly movie.
the HTTYD art is decent. Tangled and Brave were good in that department too.
overall 3D CG animation ring cold and uncanny though. I didn't hate Frozen but that is an ugly movie.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
I Confess (1953). Certainly not one of Hitchcock's best films, but an engaging one with great moments sprinkled throughout. He was great at building tension and mood, and able to expose things we already knew in interesting ways (he did it best in Vertigo).
The ending was, well, what you would expect from a production code film. 7/10
The ending was, well, what you would expect from a production code film. 7/10
Secret Fawful
Member
It's a three-and-a-half hour long movie chopped down by an hour.
Miss.Selfdestruct
Member
Irma Vep (1996) - loved it. Clever movie criticizing the state of movies at that time. Maggie Cheung delivers + great soundtrack.
The Square is a documentary about the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and I think it's on Netflix and it's really good
Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twB2zAOzsKE
Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twB2zAOzsKE
World of Tomorrow looks phenomenal, gonna catch that.
Tangled is my favorite of the new Disney animated flicks. Wreck It Ralph and Frozen are equal I think. Hoping (and kind of optimistic) Pixar nails 1/2 of their movies this year.
trying to catch up to Frederick Wiseman's docu-movies, got myself The Hospital, which is just a beautiful work. Articulated, extensive view about the daily life of New York's Metropolitan Hospital, Wiseman's keen eye underlines all the key aspects of the medical institution without being judgmental, there are touching moments (patients and their heartwrenching story), funny ones (the drugged up his arse guy who just rambles about the american dream), all while basically keeping his camera invisible; informative, never dull, fantastic. Next one in the pipeline should be Law and Order if I can get my hands on the dvd
Max Armstrong
Member
8BitsAtATime
Member
World Of Tomorrow (Don Hertzfeldt)
This is for all the existential sci fi fans out there. A pretty great piece about appreciating the now. It's a bit depressing but has touches of dark comedy. Clones, consciousnesses, and coping with loss. If you liked Black Mirror, this cautionary tale will be right up your alley.
It's on Vimeo.
I loved it. Little Emily is to cute.
b&jy77VjiKn$#F
Member
Hot Fuzz: Most fun I had with a movie in a while. Love it.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
Ratings were down, so they brought in a few over-the-hill part-timers to gin up interest.
Wait, this isn't the wrestling thread. I'm crossing my inside joke streams.
Fancy Clown
Member
Haven't posted in a while, but I also haven't seen too much recently.
The Babadook: lol at all the people saying "this movie was soooo shitty! GAF lied!". It has a weak third act, but the first two thirds with the slow decent into madness and parental horror was really, really well done. I loved how they shifted
. Both central performances were quite strong.
: A very minimal film, but in the best way possible. Reminded me a lot of 60's New Wave films. It has an amazing soundtrack and visuals, and the central couple were really great. It's a really neat blend of genres.
Black Death: I liked Sean Bean, and the idea behind a grim, gothic witch hunt, but the film was structurally and thematically dull beyond belief. This was a really big disappointment since I really wanted some good gothic horror, but there was nothing particularly horrific about it since it had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. I want to see the same premise but done by Ben Wheatley, he would knock this shit out of the park.
The Babadook: lol at all the people saying "this movie was soooo shitty! GAF lied!". It has a weak third act, but the first two thirds with the slow decent into madness and parental horror was really, really well done. I loved how they shifted
audience sympathy from the mother, to the son
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Black Death: I liked Sean Bean, and the idea behind a grim, gothic witch hunt, but the film was structurally and thematically dull beyond belief. This was a really big disappointment since I really wanted some good gothic horror, but there was nothing particularly horrific about it since it had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. I want to see the same premise but done by Ben Wheatley, he would knock this shit out of the park.
this was really interesting. The "joke" got kinda tiring and repetitive right away so I didn't find it funny throughout, but the way the motion and the order of the lines are backwards while the actual spoken words are forwards forces active viewing and makes this like watching two movies at once. as I watched I was trying to reconstruct the "forwards" version and trying to comprehend the new meaning created by reversing. Fun experiment.
SuperInuit
Member
Been wanting to get into Kurosawa's samurai work for a while, but I found myself quite bored with Yojimbo, so I shelved his stuff for a bit. I had done a bit of reading about Feudal Japan, so it sparked my interest again. So I watched Throne of Blood.
Holy shit. It's incredible. Mifune's performance is utterly astounding, and the film exudes this foreboding, ominous atmosphere from start to end - like it uses it's very nature of being an adaptation of Macbeth, something many many people are familiar with, to tell it's story. The standout moments for me were the forest encroaching on Cobweb Castle, when Miki and Washizu are leaving the forest after meeting the creepy as hell witch, and of course the ending. The cinematography too was just spellbinding, with a beautiful painterly composition to every image. So much thought and effort went into every single frame it's astonishing. Simply went so far beyond my expectations, definitely into my top 5.
Holy shit. It's incredible. Mifune's performance is utterly astounding, and the film exudes this foreboding, ominous atmosphere from start to end - like it uses it's very nature of being an adaptation of Macbeth, something many many people are familiar with, to tell it's story. The standout moments for me were the forest encroaching on Cobweb Castle, when Miki and Washizu are leaving the forest after meeting the creepy as hell witch, and of course the ending. The cinematography too was just spellbinding, with a beautiful painterly composition to every image. So much thought and effort went into every single frame it's astonishing. Simply went so far beyond my expectations, definitely into my top 5.
Damerman
Member
I just saw Ghost in the Shell (1995) and wow wow wow. It might not appeal to everyone because of its heavy handed bouts of philosophy... but i enjoyed the hell out of it. the lead voice was weird, so i could not tell if it was on purpose or if she was terrible, but i enjoyed it nonetheless.
this movie was crazy, from the music, to the atmospheric shots... this is a masterpiece, and i don't even like most anime.
this movie was crazy, from the music, to the atmospheric shots... this is a masterpiece, and i don't even like most anime.
I would recommend the second film but it's very obtuse. GitS is fairly easy to follow but it took me two or three viewing of Innocence to figure out what was going on. Despite that it's a seriously beautiful film.
Fancy Clown
Member
How were you bored by Yojimbo?? It's like his most non-stop entertaining, accessible film.
Messofanego
Banned
Avengers Age of Ultron
It was alright. Works best when the action isn't happening, cause there are more interesting things brought up an hour in as the characters' struggles in their lives as superheroes are highlighted. Too bad there isn't a follow-up of those threads and you're thrust back into the fairly unremarkable action setpieces. The choreography is multi-staged and cool, but is let down by mediocre cinematography which follows the tragic modern action movie tropes where it's shot too close and geography is hard to maintain. There are no "wow" moments in relation to the camerawork. They do the diorama-like revolving shot again, but it felt forced. The best bits of action is when the teamwork is conveyed in a Rube Goldberg way like the throwing of Captain America's shield around but there is not enough of it. It's mostly the witty retorts and humour ("go. to. sleep.") inserted into the action that saves these sequences. Otherwise, just didn't find any standout moments or setpieces, and turns out to me as forgettable as the first Avengers movie. The villain is again what seems to be the trend: talkative, too self-aware, uninteresting, pretty weak, and has generic motivations.
Oh my god at those eastern european accents on Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor Johnson. They kept on going in and out. Just wanted them to shut up throughout.
I don't know about Joss Whedon and action movies. It just doesn't seem like a good fit. Or maybe I'm expecting too much by comparing these gigantically budgeted superhero movies to just pure action movies. At least this confirmed that Mad Max is the only competition against Kingsman this year for the best action movies.
Can we please have a ban on Stan Lee cameos in movies forever?
It was alright. Works best when the action isn't happening, cause there are more interesting things brought up an hour in as the characters' struggles in their lives as superheroes are highlighted. Too bad there isn't a follow-up of those threads and you're thrust back into the fairly unremarkable action setpieces. The choreography is multi-staged and cool, but is let down by mediocre cinematography which follows the tragic modern action movie tropes where it's shot too close and geography is hard to maintain. There are no "wow" moments in relation to the camerawork. They do the diorama-like revolving shot again, but it felt forced. The best bits of action is when the teamwork is conveyed in a Rube Goldberg way like the throwing of Captain America's shield around but there is not enough of it. It's mostly the witty retorts and humour ("go. to. sleep.") inserted into the action that saves these sequences. Otherwise, just didn't find any standout moments or setpieces, and turns out to me as forgettable as the first Avengers movie. The villain is again what seems to be the trend: talkative, too self-aware, uninteresting, pretty weak, and has generic motivations.
Oh my god at those eastern european accents on Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor Johnson. They kept on going in and out. Just wanted them to shut up throughout.
I don't know about Joss Whedon and action movies. It just doesn't seem like a good fit. Or maybe I'm expecting too much by comparing these gigantically budgeted superhero movies to just pure action movies. At least this confirmed that Mad Max is the only competition against Kingsman this year for the best action movies.
Can we please have a ban on Stan Lee cameos in movies forever?
SuperInuit
Member
I had the same issue with a Fistful of Dollars, so I don't think I find the story particularly entertaining to begin with, like I found it really difficult to get invested in the story beyond the initial mystery behind the man entering the village. I will definitely give it another shot, maybe I just wasn't in the right mood when watching it.
Secret Fawful
Member
Sleeper - Were a lot of Woody Allen's movies this inspired by silent comedies? I saw snippets of Lloyd, Keaton, and even Chaplin in this. People seem to think this is a bad film of his, but I thought it was funny enough. Probably the most dated version of the future I've ever seen, though. Diane Keaton was gorgeous, and still is.
- Status