Movies Thread

[Icky Mettle]

Took my son to see Jurassic World Rebirth. It wasn’t a good movie but it was entertaining enough. I mainly paid to see dinosaurs chasing and eating people and got that. The plot was wafer thin, the characters had almost no depth and gave us very little reason to care about them, and they constantly made idiotic decisions. The end was also very anticlimactic and for several minutes I felt like something big had to happen after that.

And what I’m about to say could be considered a spoiler but it’s really not IMO: With two possible exceptions, once you meet all the characters who are going out on the big adventure together, you pretty much immediately know who is going to die fairly early on and you soon know which character is going to get their comeuppance in the end.

 

[HandsonFire]

Took my son to see Jurassic World Rebirth. It wasn’t a good movie but it was entertaining enough. I mainly paid to see dinosaurs chasing and eating people and got that. The plot was wafer thin, the characters had almost no depth and gave us very little reason to care about them, and they constantly made idiotic decisions. The end was also very anticlimactic and for several minutes I felt like something big had to happen after that.

And what I’m about to say could be considered a spoiler but it’s really not IMO: With two possible exceptions, once you meet all the characters who are going out on the big adventure together, you pretty much immediately know who is going to die fairly early on and you soon know which character is going to get their comeuppance in the end.

Yeah speaking of idiotic I’m not sure how they thought that boat was a safe thing to be on while screwing around with a mosasaur. And the sailboat dad. Are you high? I’m not getting within a 100 miles of those waters on a boat with my kids. But it was a fun popcorn movie. Also nostalgic, my 18 year old son reminiscing about seeing the 2108 film in theaters and me thinking about seeing the original when I was 16. Nice family moment.

 

[ZenMode]

Took my son to see Jurassic World Rebirth. It wasn’t a good movie but it was entertaining enough. I mainly paid to see dinosaurs chasing and eating people and got that. The plot was wafer thin, the characters had almost no depth and gave us very little reason to care about them, and they constantly made idiotic decisions. The end was also very anticlimactic and for several minutes I felt like something big had to happen after that.

And what I’m about to say could be considered a spoiler but it’s really not IMO: With two possible exceptions, once you meet all the characters who are going out on the big adventure together, you pretty much immediately know who is going to die fairly early on and you soon know which character is going to get their comeuppance in the end.

We saw it last night, also. Horrific acting by several members of the cast. The premise was good, but no character depth and I found myself wanting at least 3 people to be killed off.

Greenbook is one of my favorite movies because of Mahershala Ali. It's a shame to see him associated with such a shitty movie.

 

[UNCatTech]

Took my son to see Jurassic World Rebirth. It wasn’t a good movie but it was entertaining enough. I mainly paid to see dinosaurs chasing and eating people and got that. The plot was wafer thin, the characters had almost no depth and gave us very little reason to care about them, and they constantly made idiotic decisions. The end was also very anticlimactic and for several minutes I felt like something big had to happen after that.

And what I’m about to say could be considered a spoiler but it’s really not IMO: With two possible exceptions, once you meet all the characters who are going out on the big adventure together, you pretty much immediately know who is going to die fairly early on and you soon know which character is going to get their comeuppance in the end.

I'm going today. My daughters want to see it.

 

[Icky Mettle]

Yeah speaking of idiotic I’m not sure how they thought that boat was a safe thing to be on while screwing around with a mosasaur. And the sailboat dad. Are you high? I’m not getting within a 100 miles of those waters on a boat with my kids. But it was a fun popcorn movie. Also nostalgic, my 18 year old son reminiscing about seeing the 2108 film in theaters and me thinking about seeing the original when I was 16. Nice family moment.

I was 17 when the original came out. Definitely got me nostalgic for that summer. I worked in a m ie theater that summer, so got to see all those summer movies for free at the any theaters that were General Cinemas. Jurassic Park, The Firm, and The Fugitive were the big movies that summer, along with Sleepless in Seattle (but as a 17-year-old boy, I had no interest in that one).

But the Jurassic Park theme music really brings back all those memories from that summer: working at the movie theater, wearing that red vest and bow tie; the smell of Carmex constantly being applied to my lips as they were completely dried out from being prescribed Accutane; Lollapalooza 3; touring colleges; Zooropa; Siamese Dream; watching a lot of Saved By the Bell during my free time.

 

[Icky Mettle]

Another takeaway going to see a movie in the theater yesterday: Obviously Jurassic World Rebirth is a sequel/reboot. Of the eight previews we saw before the movie, one was a reboot of Naked Gun, one was a remake of I Know What You Did Last Summer, one was a remake of Running Man, one was the sequel to Wicked, and one was for the 50th Anniversary re-release of Jaws. Hollywood really struggles to come up with new and original ideas.

And BTW, 8 previews?! And we got into the theater about 10 minutes late so we probably missed 2-3!

 

[nycfan]

Finally saw Sinners tonight. I am not generally a fan of vampire comics* but make exceptions.



This film was quite good. Very violent (and raunchy language for those who care) at times but also loving, beautiful and immersive as well.

I thought the same actor playing twins trope would bug me but it was pretty flawlessly done.

Definitely watch the credits through to the end. Also, Buddy Guy!?!?

 

[OldWHEEL]

Finally saw Sinners tonight. I am not generally a fan of vampire comics* but make exceptions.



This film was quite good. Very violent (and raunchy language for those who care) at times but also loving, beautiful and immersive as well.

I thought the same actor playing twins trope would bug me but it was pretty flawlessly done.

Definitely watch the credits through to the end. Also, Buddy Guy!?!?

I would lie to watch it again with subtitles. MB Jordan mumbled lines for which I blame either the sound editor or the director

 

[UNCatTech]

Another takeaway going to see a movie in the theater yesterday: Obviously Jurassic World Rebirth is a sequel/reboot. Of the eight previews we saw before the movie, one was a reboot of Naked Gun, one was a remake of I Know What You Did Last Summer, one was a remake of Running Man, one was the sequel to Wicked, and one was for the 50th Anniversary re-release of Jaws. Hollywood really struggles to come up with new and original ideas.

And BTW, 8 previews?! And we got into the theater about 10 minutes late so we probably missed 2-3!

Agree, I thought the same thing while watching the previews. But Naked Gun looks funny. The family saw Jurassic park yesterday. Another take away was cost. It was almost $300 for movie, popcorn, and dinner. An average of over $40 per person. But we did have a great time on a family day out.

 

[dukeman92]

I have zero interest in seeing the new superman movie. I'm tired of reboots.

 

[UNCatTech]

I have zero interest in seeing the new superman movie. I'm tired of reboots.

Plus it looks like really bad casting. The guy just doesn't look like Superman in the marketing materials.

 

[dukeman92]

Plus it looks like really bad casting. The guy just doesn't look like Superman in the marketing materials.

Agreed. Of course he's following Henry Cavill so that probably has something to do with it.

 

[duluoz]

I was generally impressed. There are several small problems I have with aspects of the story, like why take a boy into the extremely dangerous outside world for "training" at extreme risk, when that could wait a few years until he far more capable in every way. I still think this is slightly goofy zombie lore for these constantly "28" franchise films, and not close to how great the ideas are in the game The Last of Us. I did laugh at the new notion of a fat slob zombie--I suppose laughter was not what they were going for.

The entire set piece of the finale was pretty stunning, but less so, accompanying the Big Idea weighty attempt at philosophizing about life and death in our world. Some critics loved that to extreme degrees.

Again, overall, it's an amazing film in some ways, much above the other 28 time frame movies.

It definitely elevated the “28” franchise and seeded things well for the upcoming movies. I’m not a zombies guy at all, but I’ve made exceptions along the way and enjoyed the original. “Weeks” was fine. But this one is much better than both.

It’s as if Boyle/Garland have mostly put aside the jump-scares and gore since they know it’s pretty tired, if reliable. But they’ve leaned all the way into stylization and a rock n roll zombie movie. There were even Tarantino/Kill Bill elements to it that I didn’t expect. That along with a post apocalyptic creepy/culty vibe give it quite a lift.

I saw it with a handful of pretty discerning movie-goers and we all came out buzzing at how it totally delivered.

 

[TarSpiel]

I've been going on a western binge for the last couple of weeks...my goal is to watch all the movies in Rotten Tomatoes "Top 100 Westerns of All-Time" list.

Some early observations:

Unforgiven is really one of the best movies ever made...Gene Hackman's character is so compelling, and he plays it so damn well. Treasure of the Sierra Madre is my leading candidate so far for all time best western. Red River is a dark horse for all-time best...it's such an awesome movie.

Tuco in "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" has to be one of the greatest characters in cinema history. Whoever the actor was who played him deserves to have his jersey hung in the rafters.

"The Searchers" is such a pile of crap it's hard to know where to start. Awful movie, and it's a self-indictment of western society itself that it keeps getting put on everybody's all-time lists. In related news, John Wayne is a complete dumbass. The man just oozes charisma, but boy is he an empty suit.

Clint Eastwood does his "lip up" thing all the time, and it gets super annoying. He looks like a fish that just ate a fishook.

There is so much anti-native American bias in these films it's mind boggling. What makes it so much worse is that the one movie that actually tries to humanize them, Dances With Wolves, is almost always characterized as "Good movie..but it misrepresents the people it's trying to celebrate." That's just such bullcrap. How should Costner have represented them, like all the other movies as target practices for ignorant alcoholics like John Wayne?

Sergio Leone is a really, really good storyteller.

 

[breepf]

I've been going on a western binge for the last couple of weeks...my goal is to watch all the movies in Rotten Tomatoes "Top 100 Westerns of All-Time" list.

Some early observations:

Unforgiven is really one of the best movies ever made...Gene Hackman's character is so compelling, and he plays it so damn well. Treasure of the Sierra Madre is my leading candidate so far for all time best western. Red River is a dark horse for all-time best...it's such an awesome movie.

Tuco in "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" has to be one of the greatest characters in cinema history. Whoever the actor was who played him deserves to have his jersey hung in the rafters.

"The Searchers" is such a pile of crap it's hard to know where to start. Awful movie, and it's a self-indictment of western society itself that it keeps getting put on everybody's all-time lists. In related news, John Wayne is a complete dumbass. The man just oozes charisma, but boy is he an empty suit.

Clint Eastwood does his "lip up" thing all the time, and it gets super annoying. He looks like a fish that just ate a fishook.

There is so much anti-native American bias in these films it's mind boggling. What makes it so much worse is that the one movie that actually tries to humanize them, Dances With Wolves, is almost always characterized as "Good movie..but it misrepresents the people it's trying to celebrate." That's just such bullcrap. How should Costner have represented them, like all the other movies as target practices for ignorant alcoholics like John Wayne?

Sergio Leone is a really, really good storyteller.

FWIW, Ford was not trying to endorse anti-native sentiments in The Searchers, though I don't doubt for a second that he still did. He was trying to re-evaluate the so-called mythology of the western, which is why Wayne's character is such a hateful alcoholic piece of shit: the good badman, it turns out, is just a badman.

 

[WaynetheDrain]

I watched The Substance yesterday. Probably the grossest body horror movie ever created.

 

[dukeman92]

I've been going on a western binge for the last couple of weeks...my goal is to watch all the movies in Rotten Tomatoes "Top 100 Westerns of All-Time" list.

Some early observations:

Unforgiven is really one of the best movies ever made...Gene Hackman's character is so compelling, and he plays it so damn well. Treasure of the Sierra Madre is my leading candidate so far for all time best western. Red River is a dark horse for all-time best...it's such an awesome movie.

Tuco in "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" has to be one of the greatest characters in cinema history. Whoever the actor was who played him deserves to have his jersey hung in the rafters.

"The Searchers" is such a pile of crap it's hard to know where to start. Awful movie, and it's a self-indictment of western society itself that it keeps getting put on everybody's all-time lists. In related news, John Wayne is a complete dumbass. The man just oozes charisma, but boy is he an empty suit.

Clint Eastwood does his "lip up" thing all the time, and it gets super annoying. He looks like a fish that just ate a fishook.

There is so much anti-native American bias in these films it's mind boggling. What makes it so much worse is that the one movie that actually tries to humanize them, Dances With Wolves, is almost always characterized as "Good movie..but it misrepresents the people it's trying to celebrate." That's just such bullcrap. How should Costner have represented them, like all the other movies as target practices for ignorant alcoholics like John Wayne?

Sergio Leone is a really, really good storyteller.

I love a good western. I have to agree with your assessment of Unforgiven. Hackman made the movie IMHO. His portrayal of Little Bill makes you genuinely hate that character.

I don't know about the list on Rotten Tomatoes but some recommendations that aren't what I would consider "mainstream".
Rio Bravo
Hondo
Monte Walsh (The Original, not the remake with Tom Selleck)
Open Range

 

[TarSpiel]

FWIW, Ford was not trying to endorse anti-native sentiments in The Searchers, though I don't doubt for a second that he still did. He was trying to re-evaluate the so-called mythology of the western, which is why Wayne's character is such a hateful alcoholic piece of shit: the good badman, it turns out, is just a badman.

I don't know what Ford was trying to do, but if it was anything positive, or even neutral, he failed miserably at it.

John Wayne was his A-list sex symbol celebrity. The sociopathic violence Wayne's character has against the Indians is appalling, but Ford *never gives the audience any reason not to take his side."

The indians shoot cattle without eating them (oh the irony vis-a-vis what the white man did to the buffalo), they are savage and violent, ignorant, they rape women, and those whom they capture turn into drooling imbeciles who would be better off dead. All the reviews go, "Oh but it's mentioned once that the Comanche are retaliating for wrongs done to them," but that has absolutely no impact on the experience of viewing the film and following the story. Ford had plenty of opportunity to write a sympathetic Indian character in there, when that woman marries Ethan's partner. But instead of showing her point of view in any kind of meaningful way, he has her kicked out of bed and roll down a hill while John Wayne laughs and laughs. Anyone who thinks the audience wasn't laughing with him isn't paying attention. And then the do this slapstick nonsense to relieve the tension and let the audience think, "Hey, we're all just having fun here." And Wayne wasn't exactly shy about his views of Native Americans - they align far more closely with Ethan's than they do with anyone else's.

There are sins of omission and sins of commission. Even if Ford didn't commit a sin of commission in it, he littered the screen with sins of omission. The movie isn't just bad, it's *insidious."

Everybody tries to whitewash it, but it's an utter piece of crap. Oh yea, Ford had some nice landscape shots and some nice character shots. Golf clap. Red River is 50x more interesting and compelling. John Wayne is the same dirtbag he always is, but the movie itself is good enough to carry the day.

 

[TarSpiel]

I love a good western. I have to agree with your assessment of Unforgiven. Hackman made the movie IMHO. His portrayal of Little Bill makes you genuinely hate that character.

I don't know about the list on Rotten Tomatoes but some recommendations that aren't what I would consider "mainstream".
Rio Bravo
Hondo
Monte Walsh (The Original, not the remake with Tom Selleck)
Open Range

Rio Bravo was really good...that's the first time I could see the true magnetic power of Wayne's charisma. I thought it was excellent.

I haven't got to the other ones yet, but I'm looking forward to them.

 

[superrific]

All right. You can't talk about Westerns without even mentioning the best one of all time (in my opinion -- it's definitely celebrated widely): Once Upon A Time In The West. Leone is the best.

Tuco was played by Eli Wallach, so yeah he got his jersey in the rafters. Maybe not retired but honored.

Part of the great thing about Leone is that the Native Americans are just not there. His stories are tales of greed between white people. So while in one sense, it writes them out of history, it's really just writing them out of fables and that's much better than trying to depict them badly.