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So then you're probably not going to like this one... :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by dookey67
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZfuNTqbHE8
I didn't go see Justice League. It just seemed to be more of the same entertaining CGI spectacle from Zack Snyder that falls flat in story telling and character development.
On the other hand, that Infinity War trailer was pretty good :cool:
Local review gives a little insight into how Martin discovered this story. After seeing the trailer a couple of weeks ago I have been wanting to see this. After reading this review I am going soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookey67
www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/three-billboards-outside-ebbing
And I can't watch any of those moronic CGI superhero movies, even for free on cable.
Saw this last night. Great film and character study. One of those stories that reflects real life where everyone's shit stinks but everyone is also capable of beauty and kindness.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookey67
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
The film is surprisingly deep with themes of redemption, reconciliation, retribution, and rehabilitation, not to mention the not-so-veiled social commentary on war atrocities; lots of layers lurking under the silver screen veneer of this film, that's for sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by LegoSkier
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
About the only bad thing my wife and had to say about this movie is the title. It's too long. "Three Billboards" would have been good enough.
Great film. Excellent use of the "C" word. Zero political correctness.
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So far, every one I've said "three billboards" to knew immediately what I was talking about, so seems solved.
Finally caught the show this afternoon - truly special, dare I say, even flawless.
Caught "The Color of Water" over the weekend. Like an artsy "Splash," but without the charm of Tom Hanks, the comedic wit of John Candy, and the tits of Daryl Hannah. Two "Mehs" on a four "Meh" scale, simply for atmosphere.
So ..... you really liked Splash.
What reputable source would dispute that "Splash" is a masterpiece of modern cinema?Quote:
Originally Posted by PB
Spousal compromise resulted in viewing Jumanji (current release): excellent light entertainment.
Yeah. Saw it with family over Christmas and was pleasantly surprised. Much better than the original even.Quote:
Originally Posted by PB
Hostiles = good movie.
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THE SHAPE OF WATER
4/5
I really dug this film. it was like Creature From The Black Lagoon crossed with Amelie; on one hand it was a very predictable homage to sci-fi/horror films of the late '50s and early '60s and on the other hand it had a nice surreal undertone.
It was teeming with great cinematography, lots of great period music, a cool green-sepia toned cinematic color saturation, and tons of neo-gothic ambiance; in short, it was like a visual love poem to the horror movies of the post-atomic era, as well as a commentary on The Cold War era, and early '60s tumult.
If one is looking to go deep, then it’s about the sullied underbelly of the “American Dream”, consumerism, keeping-up-wth-the-Jones’ at all costs, homophobia, racism, the death of cinema at the hands of television, escapism (the joy of movies and television and buying a new car), it’s about the evils of corporate America and how science can lose it’s humanity, it’s about outsiders fitting in and finding their way.
Director/co-screenwriter del Toro gives us a loving flashback to a simpler time in cinema, all the while injecting it with just enough subtle complexity to make it percolate and (literally) dance (yes, there's a total ode to musicals and a bonafide musical number buried in the film, and much like Baby Driver did with the great coffee getting scene, here del Toro goes more “traditional” with a few actual mini-dance sequences that harken back to Hollywood's golden era).
Lots of little moments in this film resonate and help to elevate it beyond your typical fair.
Those who dig avante garde cinema, classic romance movies, and vintage horror films (think the Universal b/w classics) will appreciate what's unfolding on the screen here.
Oh yeah, great cast all around. Richard Jenkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Sally Hawkins, etc.
PS
FWIW, I fail to see how this film was even remotely like Splash (don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Splash, but this film is nothing like it; Splash was basically a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid (the Hans Christian Andersson story), this is NOT a retelling of that story, it's something wholly different).
Trying to line up Shape of Water; in the mean time saw Molly's Game - a little uneven but there were moments of electricity. Jessica is always rewarding, and visual quite pleasant.
PROUD MARY
1.5 / 5
The trailer looked promising.
The cast looked solid.
The opening credit sequence promised some PoMo blaxploitation.
The director's pedigree seemed decent: his previous film was London Has Fallen, which was a pretty great action film.
This film, however, was a turd.
Completely paint-by-numbers plot. It was like a Hallmark Movie with violence.
Stiff acting. Danny Glover gave a performance that was cringe-worthy at best.
Lots of characters were under-utilized or only popped up for a quick scene before disappearing.
The kid was annoying as f@#k.
To top it off, it's teeming with a relentlessly boring score that just kept playing and playing and added absolutely nothing to the film (note to the filmmakers/scorer: sometimes silence in a scene goes a long way).
Not even worth a rental, imho.
Bummed was I that I made a trip down to Reno to see it and then drove home in a blizzard.
The only bonus was that I had the theater to myself (too bad it wasn't for a much better film, though).
Hostiles: flat beginning, but once it kicked into gear it was gut-wrenchingly riveting. Fabulous work by Rosamund and Christian. Caveat - on the verge of being a tear-jerker, but in a manly way.
Saw Hostiles last weekend. Very good. Very brutal emotionally.
I think you mean The Shape of Water?Quote:
Originally Posted by PassTheDutchie
Superb. Maybe just a little too loosely edited at the end? But really, really excellent.
I think you mean The Shape of Water?Quote:
Originally Posted by PassTheDutchie
Superb. Maybe just a little too loosely edited at the end? But really, really excellent.
I thought the Shape of Water was like a kids' movie for adults. Pretty colors, upbeat music, shallow characters and predictable in every aspect. I did enjoy it though.
BLACK PANTHER
3/5
Found this flick to be a pretty standard MCU event: which means solid production, solid acting, lottsa action.
Yet for some reason it just didn't grab me that much; I liked the film enough, but when the [SPOILERS] giant rhinoceroses show up it lost major points with me.
Again, it's solid, but felt kind of ho-hum overall, especially in regards to the story. Then again, many of the Marvel films have been like that (for me, at least). To wit: there's your basic story set-up (i.e introduction of characters, etc), then some exposition in the middle, and ultimately an overlong/over-the-top BIG battle/fight which ends, naturally, in resolution (pretty much standard MCU cinematic operating procedure). I'm a bit more about character development than over-the-top CG battle scenes. To this point, I feel the character might have been better served in a series a la Luke Cage/Daredevil/The Punisher.
All in all it's a decent enough "origin" story and lays the groundwork for a second film (no question that there will be a second one after the box office success of this one), so there's definitely room for improvement on the story angle.
The cast is top-notch, though. Dude who plays BP is great, Chadwick Boseman (though one wonders why they didn't actually cast an African actor in the lead) and Lupita Nyong'o is very good as his love interest. But the two stand-outs to me were Danai Gurira (best known for portraying Michonne in The Walking Dead); she kicks some serious ass here. And Andy Serkis (best known as the voice of Gollum in LOTR and Caesar in the POTA reboots). The latter is seriously yoked in the film and chews the scenery something fierce.
The costumes and production design are amazing, too.
And the action scenes (prior to the climactic, over-blown battle) are pretty tight, as well.
If you've dug all the previous mainstream MCU films (Captain America/Avengers/Thor), then you will no doubt be happy/enjoy this film.
Oh, and from a socio/political standpoint, it's pretty damn groundbreaking in that it's a 99.9% black cast (there's only 2 white characters with speaking parts in the entire film), that, coupled with it's box office success may just pave the way for tent pole pictures with more diverse casts. We shall see.
ANNHILATION
3/5
4 hours post viewing and I'm still not quite sure how I felt about Annhiliation.
I will say that I definitely don't think that it is as "great" as Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times) and Rolling Stone are saying, that's for sure.
In many ways it reminded me a lot of Prometheus (a film I kind of hated on first watch, but ended up realizing that I actually liked it upon post-screening reflection and discussion).
I will say this: Annhilation looks great (it is visually stunning) and the cast is solid and it makes me want to check out the source material (the novel).
The score, by Geoff Barrow (Portishead) and Ben Salisbury, is completely immersive and adds a lot of tension and drama and mystery to the proceedings, too.
But again, not quite sure where I stand overall with the film as it had some plot/story problems and some overall ambiguity that never got resolved (again, these might be addressed in the novel, I don't know).
The one thing I am certain of: I felt the ending was a bit crap/cliched.
.
^ yup
Minor spoiler
What exactly was the payoff to plot point of 4 chosen experts in their fields other than one could handle a weapon and one theorized refraction?
No Ex Machina, but worth a view on big screen rather than Netflix net month (yikes)
This shit will be EPIC!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOKzXQdA4Nw
Watched Death of Stalin last night.
Very good.
It was released in the UK last year so is relatively easy to "obtain" in US
so, wait, it's not currently in theaters then is it?Quote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
:)
Only just released in USA. In theaters.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookey67
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
How is it still in theaters ? I got it at Red Box. I think I need to watch it again when I'm not falling asleep. Maybe on mushrooms. I have no idea how it got so many awards.Quote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
Thor right now, halfway through. Good stuff
Saw last night and completely agree with your review. As I sit here awake at 5am, I am still wondering how I felt about the movie....aside from: a) I still love Natalie Portman and b) the WP grenade idea was a lazy bullshit resolution...all that excellent drama and tension done in by that....I felt cheated.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookey67
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I really enjoyed this. Couldn't stop talking like tommy for days. it gets in your head.
IMAX on acid , would rule
My bad. When you stated "it's relatively easy to "obtain" in the US" I inferred that to mean it was readily available online...or from the bootleg DVD salesman down the corner...Quote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
:)
Looks like it's coming to a couple of small town arthouse theaters in central northern California in the coming weeks (Sacramento's Tower Theater and Chico's Pageant Theater at least).
Solid looking cast, that's for sure.
And it's written/directed by Armando Iannucci, the co-creator of Alan Partridge, which I have never seen, but know is a massive cult hit in the UK.
so cool that in atomic blonde they use the original cat people soundtrack version of the song. so bad ass.
Cla-reese is pretty bad ass too.
READY PLAYER ONE
3.75 / 5
Best way to approach this film is to almost forget the source material (if you read the book, that is).
I spent the first 30 or so minutes scratching my head as much of the film is a complete detour from the book. While there are many elements from the book, lots of them are mutated/severely changed, lots are missing entirely, and there's a ton of stuff emanating from the screen that wasn't in the book.
Once you resign yourself to this being its own entity (or, perhaps viewing it as a companion piece to the book) then it's a great slab of over-the-top, energized, exciting, and visually stunning escapism.
Some of the changes tp the story are great, but equally, some of the omissions are frustrating (the pivitol role the music of Rush plays in the novel, for example, is completely missing in the film; the quests are all considerably altered; just to name a few differences--there are already quite a few stories floating around the Webz detailing all the differences, so if you're a super geek who loved the book, you may wish to search some of those out).
Likewise, the character development (or lack thereof) onscreen isn't nearly as deep as in the novel; characters are literally thrown at the viewer and their back stories/depth are more or less just glossed over quickly. The action and visuals here are king, that's for sure.
Overall, though, I thought the casting was solid, at least the two main leads playing Parzival and Artemis, though Ben Mendelsohn as the villain was a bit miscast, imho (he just wasn't malevolent enough or cutthoaty enough compared to how I viewed the character whilst reading the novel).
That said, I am sure that I probably missed a grip of the pop cultural references that were added to the film and as much as I feel I enjoyed the book better, I'd still go see this again as it was well-paced, super fun, and overall a typical Spielbergian enterprise: i.e. a summer blockbuster (albeit one released in early spring) and supreme popcorn flick.
Thx for the mini. I was all fired up to see this one until I started seeing mediocre reviews and realized this is a Spielberg movie getting released in March! THAT is a a huge signal this movie is probably a piece of crap. Your take makes me slightly more willing to go to a theatre but I'll prob just wait for the pirated versions to hit the web. [emoji23]
Thx for the mini. I was all fired up to see this one until I started seeing mediocre reviews and realized this is a Spielberg movie getting released in March! THAT is a a huge signal this movie is probably a piece of crap. Your take makes me slightly more willing to go to a theatre but I'll prob just wait for the pirated versions to hit the web. [emoji23]
Going to see it tonight so I’ll give my $.02 afterwards too
Overall decent and entertaining. My kid loved it. I liked the pop culture refs, but thought there could have been a lot more and the ones used got kind of talked over. I thought the lead kid was terrible and didn't really like the choice of avatars quality for a lot of the characters. I think the opening act w that's mainly P and his friend H was stiff as a board and terrible VO acting. The girl was great. Not spielbergs best effort (seemed out of his skill set w all the VR and games plots), but if you have kids it is is definitely worth going. Marginal thumbs up.
Not sure how I feel about the actors playing the games founders. Kind of interesting casting, not sure it was best choice tho
It felt just a bit too long to me as well. It was a pretty fun and entertaining film overall, but at 2.5 hours including previews I was ready to leave.