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Post by Bogatan on Sept 24, 2017 19:08:01 GMT
Atomic blonde - Weird comic book spy thriller set days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Very over the top.
American Assasins - Not bad bourne-ish type film.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle - Mostly good, maybe a few too many "that worked in the first film, lets do it again moments"
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 24, 2017 21:06:22 GMT
I don't feel motivated for Kingsman 2. The original was ok but in a 'watch once' sort of way. I haven't felt the need to watch a sequel.
I also couldn't give a toss about IT. I lost interest when I found out it was only part of the book. IT does not need to be a fucking franchise.
-Ralph
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Oct 6, 2017 16:10:11 GMT
Blade Runner 2049... Very good although it won't be to everyones tastes in terms of enjoyment. Like the first one I feel it has something important to say and will be see as a milestone but it is not one folk will pull of the shelf regularly but they will still want it there.
Harrison Ford was a little underwhelming in it. Main lead bloke has redeemed himself from La La Land.
The society the Replicants seem to want would make Trek's Federation weep with its openness and tolerance for non-humans. |
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 7, 2017 16:37:29 GMT
Blade Runner 2049. Hmmm. Hmmm. Well it's not a bad film and you can feel the level of craft and love that has gone into it but did I enjoy it? No, not really. Gosling and Leto were bad (though to be fair to the latter I doubt many actors could carry off the weapons-grade awful dialogue his character had). There are some good ideas in here but it's all very portentious and not half as deep and meaningful as I suspect the creators think it is. It's also about an hour longer than it needs to be yet also strangely feels like half the story is missing. It's a mess but an interesting mess though would I watch it again? Nope! I was quite bored during long stretches of it.
It looks lovely but when I find myself continually thinking 'the sound design is very nice and it's using all the channels in a threatre set-up' then it's a sign the story itself is not engaging with me.
There's a decent 90 mins film in there but it's killed by the bloat that seems to be infecting a lot of big studio films currently, an elevated sense of self-importance and a lead character I did not give a flying shit about. Emote, Ryan Gosling, emote!
Yet despite all of this I would say it is worth a watch. I think how viewers will engage with it depends on whether they loved the world/characters/storyline of the original (any cut of it) or loved the immersive cinema experience/craft of the presentation of it. As I have been firmly in the latter that may be why 2049 didn't really work for me.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Oct 8, 2017 18:58:17 GMT
Yeah... "Blade Runner: 2049" is a rather deeply flawed film. On a technical level it is absolutely beautiful. As one would expect from Denis Villeneuve it is visually absolutely stunning, with an eye for imagery and use of the screen which is up there with some of the finest auteurs of cinema. There are some astoundingly striking images, and some use of colour which is incredibly striking. Unfortunately the script is more than a little variable. There are good ideas dotted throughout it, but it has deep issues with story coherence and with viewing a set of disparate elements into an overall set of themes. Somewhere in there is a tight 90 minute thriller about story elements from the world of "Blade Runner", and about what it means to be human. At the same time it is coexisting with elements which seem to belong to a different film, about love, isolation, and the need for connection. I can see where these elements were supposed to weave together and to reflect from each other. The problem is that the film never quite brings all these individual elements together properly leaving the film feeling enigmatic in ways that I don't think were intended. It is a real shame, because there are some interesting ideas in there but they tend to get lost and drift of into the fog. One of the most interesting ideas in the film for me was the virtual girlfriend that Ryan Gosling's character has. At first glance she is a nurturing, supportive presence, urging him to continue onward and assuring him that she always knew he was special. But... The film keeps reminding you that she is a product, a commodity. Early in the film you see a huge holographic billboard advertising her which, as part of the sales pitch, tells you pointblank - "She'll tell you whatever you want to hear". So is anything she says in the film reliable, does Gosling's character really have a relationship with her... Or is it simply a reasonable facsimile? Is she just telling him - and us - what he/we wants to hear And if so, does that matter..? It is an interesting theme, and I can see how it was supposed to tie together into a greater whole with the rest of the film. What is a real relationship? What is an authentic human being? An authentic human experience? How can we know one for sure? But the film never quite manages to bring it all together properly.
It is a frustrating film, because on so many levels it works wonderfully. Visually and in terms of world-building it is fantastically assured. But it doesn't have its predecessors ability to construct a strong, simple central story to pull the film through all this. (At it's heart after all, Blade Runner is built on a straightforward noir "Go and kill these people because I say that they are bad people" story, and that is the motor which keeps it moving forward. Blade Runner: 2049 lacks a functioning narrative engine to provide that forward momentum, and as a result often feels like it is drifting slowly through a haze of smog and dust from one idea or arresting image to another without a clear sense of how it got from one to another. I'd agree that it is far too long. At nearly three hours it simply cannot bear the weight. I'd also agree that it feels like there are important elements to the story which are simply not there. Entire parts of the story seem to be semi-detached, fading in and out without really any sense of construction or resolution. Jared Leto's performance is also mesmerically awful - but in fairness the dialogue he is given is...astoundingly awful, and his character so peripheral in some ways that I find myself wondering whether it would change the film much if he were excised completely. Seen on the big screen it is a beautiful and at times haunting experience. It is worth seeing, but I'd say that it should be seen on the cinema screen. It's greatest strengths are really as a visual experience, and I'm not sure how well its particular style is going to translate to any other kind of presentation. I'd say see it, because in the moments where it is good it is very good, and you won't see a film as visually arresting as this in a long time. There are some strong ideas in there, but you'll find they are almost more like things to take away from the film and consider afterwards than complete experiences there and then. But see it in a cinema, do it that favour because waiting to see it at home with lights on and a screen which you can easily see the edges of would be like watching it with half a blind-fold on or something. Karl |
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Oct 15, 2017 19:19:35 GMT
1. Love and Friendship
2. La-La Land
3. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming
5. My Little Pony
Took my daughter and one of her friends to see this today. They really enjoyed it; for me it had some decent moments but nothing close to touching the better moments of the TV series. There were loads of small details that you would only notice if you knew the show well, and I heard about a lot of them from my daughter tonight, but I don't see this converting any skeptics to the cartoon - the humour is mostly fairly obvious and the songs aren't even as good!
There were some adult fans there, but they didn't seem of the creepy kind, more like Hipsters with tastefully drawn MLP characters sewn onto their jackets.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Nov 3, 2017 19:30:17 GMT
1. Dunkirk
2. The Death of Stalin (top notch)
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming
4. Thor: Ragnarok (funny and fast-paced, though a little rushed in places, and the lack of mourning for all the deaths was a bit odd... and Banner's situation deserved to be treated a bit more seriously... but still great entertainment)
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
6. Logan
7. Kingsman: The Golden Circle
8. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge
10. The Lego Batman Movie
11. War for the Planet of the Apes
12. Transformers: The Last Knight
13. The Mummy
14. Wonder Woman
15. American Made
16. Kong: Skull Island
17. Ghost in the Shell
18. Fast and Furious 8
19. Assassin's Creed
Martin
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Nov 3, 2017 20:23:19 GMT
Further proof Martin is Ralph! They both enjoyed the same film!
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Post by The Doctor on Nov 3, 2017 20:27:30 GMT
We are not the same! I thought THE DEATH OF STALIN was shite.
-Ralph
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Nov 3, 2017 20:30:34 GMT
A cunning bluff, Trickster.
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Post by The Doctor on Nov 3, 2017 20:41:58 GMT
Honestly, I thought it was crap. I felt every minute.
Murder on the Orient Express (2017): the David Suchet TV series is still untouched as the definitive Poirot!
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Nov 4, 2017 11:18:01 GMT
Ralph and I are always as one in our opinions. When one of us agrees with the other, the other also agrees. Where one disagrees, the other disagrees. Never does one of us agree with the other while the other disagrees.
I'll try to see Murder on the Orient Express tomorrow.
David Suchet is of course the greatest Poirot, but I'm not a fan of his late, overly serious phase, and the 1974 Albert Finney is the best screen MotOE I've seen.
Martin
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Nov 5, 2017 17:19:32 GMT
1. Dunkirk
2. The Death of Stalin
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming
4. Thor: Ragnarok
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
6. Logan
7. Kingsman: The Golden Circle
8. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge
10. The Lego Batman Movie
11. War for the Planet of the Apes
12. Murder on the Orient Express (Johnny Depp should have been Poirot)
13. Transformers: The Last Knight
14. The Mummy
15. Wonder Woman
16. American Made
17. Kong: Skull Island
18. Ghost in the Shell
19. Fast and Furious 8
20. Assassin's Creed
Martin
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Nov 9, 2017 7:40:00 GMT
1. Love and Friendship
2. La-La Land
3. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming
5. Thor: Ragnorok
6. My Little Pony
Fun, but not the masterpiece some people on Twitter seem to have seen. Black Panther continues to look amazing based on the trailer though.
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Nov 9, 2017 9:31:21 GMT
Bah! How dare you have a different opinion! Raarggghhh!! *blows Jim into a million pieces with a sword stab*  Off to see Murder tonight (I think I am he only one of the group going who doesn't know the plot!) and The Bear on Saturday night. |
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Nov 11, 2017 22:49:00 GMT
Murder on the Orient Express - I demand JUSTICE not crispy bits on cakes! Paddington 2 - More going on this time and so it isn't as to the point as the first but it is very lovable, funny and genuine. Ralph will enjoy the action at the end. Weirdo. |
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Nov 13, 2017 5:56:04 GMT
1. Love and Friendship 2. La-La Land 3. Cars 34. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 5. Spider-Man: Homecoming 6. Thor: Ragnorok 7. My Little Pony Impromptu trip to the cinema to keep the daughter amused while the other half did some studying. This was a lot better than I expected! Not up there with the all-time Pixar classics, but still very well done. The whole film is a nicely implemented take on the old washed-up-mentor/un-self-confident rookie trope, only it's told from a different angle and the characters don't realise what's happening either, which leads to quite a heart-warming twist near the end. Adults should twig before it happens, but it's still refreshing.
It also effectively hands the franchise over from a white man to a latina girl, which is deserving of some praise, too. My daughter absolutely loved it. The traditional short before the main feature, Lou, was also very sweet. |
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Post by browny87 on Nov 17, 2017 15:55:07 GMT
just seen Blade Runner 2049 last night, I thought it was magical, great film, nice slow pace but very cool traditional Sci-Fi
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Post by Benn on Nov 17, 2017 20:20:53 GMT
I haven't watched a DC film since... Dark Knight Rises, I think. I am getting bored enough to consider seeing Justice League, though. Do I need to have seen any of the prior missteps?
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Post by The Doctor on Nov 18, 2017 0:50:24 GMT
Justice League: The portentiousness of previous DC Universe films has been dropped. There is more humour and lightness. The Flash and Aquaconan are fun. Cyborg surprisingly good due to the actor's engaging performance.
And yet the film bored me shitless. Frustrating. Oh well. Doesn't help it that Thor Ragnarok is still in theatres.
Sound mixer needs shot. You can hardly hear the score as the sound effects are REALLY LOUD.
Better luck next time.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Nov 18, 2017 0:51:21 GMT
I haven't watched a DC film since... Dark Knight Rises, I think. I am getting bored enough to consider seeing Justice League, though. Do I need to have seen any of the prior missteps? Not really. The important story info is in there. -Ralph |
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Post by Bogatan on Nov 19, 2017 21:02:38 GMT
Just back from Justice League I mostly agree with Ralph, except it kept me entertained. That was mostly down to the cast and what I suspect are some late script changes by Whedon. The story was incredibly by the numbers.
In its favour, and unlike just about every comicbook movie it got better as it went along. At the beginning it didnt even seem to be trying, but steadily got better and the climax was structured pretty well.
So basically it was the reverse of Wonder Woman which fell apart and into a giant cgi mess up there with Fant4stic.
I really hope Batfleck sticks around at least for a solo film. Even if casting a veteran Batman at the start of an expanded universe still seems a bit short sighted he is great in the role.
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Post by The Doctor on Nov 19, 2017 21:06:36 GMT
I anxiously await Martin's verdict!
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Nov 20, 2017 17:55:00 GMT
I anxiously await Martin's verdict! So unimpressed by previous films in the series that it's not certain that I will see it. Martin |
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Post by browny87 on Nov 20, 2017 18:14:35 GMT
i agree with this the oter two so far have been major meh to me
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Post by Bogatan on Nov 20, 2017 18:41:31 GMT
JL is much better than MOS BvS and Suicide Squad, not as good as Wonder Woman (except for the final showdown which for me at least worked better) Thinking about it the big improvement was Spoiler
Superman acting like Superman. And even his costume looks brighter. |
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Nov 20, 2017 19:14:31 GMT
Oh dear. WW scrapped a pass from me. If JL is not as good I might just go and see Paddington again instead.
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Stomski
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Posts: 6,002
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Post by Stomski on Nov 23, 2017 7:41:25 GMT
Justice League was hugely Wheddonised. All my fears came true. Disappointed.
A movie that was too short for the story it was trying to tell. We missed out on potential for some great scenes. Too much out of character, scene breaking humour. Character arcs just seem to happen for some major characters.
It's a mess of a film, at odds with itself due to the production issues and studio involvement following poor resonse to previous DC films. Still, enjoyed it though.
Was missing the DCU dark filter. Perhaps that's why some visuals seemed brighter. It needed it on the Gotham scenes. Some sets felt very fake without it.
Edit: Also, it reminded me of Transformers 2007 and also Revenge of the Fallen!
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Nov 25, 2017 14:14:25 GMT
1. Dunkirk
2. The Death of Stalin
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming
4. Thor: Ragnarok
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
6. Logan
7. Kingsman: The Golden Circle
8. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge
10. The Lego Batman Movie
11. War for the Planet of the Apes
12. Transformers: The Last Knight
13. The Mummy
14. Wonder Woman
15. American Made
16. Kong: Skull Island
17. Justice League (ugh)
18. Ghost in the Shell
19. Fast and Furious 8
20. Assassin's Creed
Martin
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Post by browny87 on Nov 25, 2017 21:45:04 GMT
I'm hoping it's a flight movie next Easter, I can't face it in the cinema
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