The Unofficial Ongoing Current Movies in Theaters thread

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Originally Posted by Grange

I generally will search out Amazon Prime or Netflix for martial arts films and there are a few that stick out at me. For me I don't care if a Martial Arts movie is from HK. I thought Ong Bak 2 had some amazing fight scenes. Raid 2: Redemption was a blast to watch for violent bladed and blunt weapons. Flashpoint incorporated Jujitsu, which was fun to see since that is one style I train. I enjoyed Fighter in the Wind from South Korea for a period piece because it didn't seem rely as heavily on acrobatics and felt more brutal with the fight scenes. Others I've enjoyed are Red Cliff, IP Man 1 and 2 and The Wrath of Vajra. IP man 3 was OK, but not as good as the first two in my opinion, but the last fight is awesome.

90's Martial art films were kind of hit and miss for me. Jet Li had some good one like Legend, but others just seemed too over the top, which is kind of dumb, because most martial arts films are way over the top.

For older films I liked Bruce Lee's films because he was the first Martial Arts film star I knew so while some of his movies may actually not be very good they still seem special to me. I really liked the HK series about Bruce Lee's life. The fighting styles of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee was fun to watch in Way of the Dragon. I trained Shotokan, which I think of as more a hard style Karate, in college and now have been training a style that is more similar to Wing Chun type Kung fu called Wu Ying Tao. The difference between the two is a lot and it's fun to see the two in a fight. Plus it is an iconic fight scene.

I like documentaries on Martial arts. The Bladed Hand is great to me. Modern Arnis is another style I train so watching films on filipino martial arts is always fun. Amazon Prime has another one called Martial Arts Secrets of the Asian Masters. You can see Filipino martial arts in a lot of movies such as the Book of Eli and most folks wouldn't associate filipino martial arts as being in movies.

I do hope movies like Birth of the Dragon succeed and bring martial art movies more to a western audience. Movies like John Wick help as you can see the MA influence in the fights from the choreography and filming.

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Look up stuff that Danny Inosanto worked on. (My dad grew up with Danny, so that's how I know about him.)

Ex: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PpFSwQztptQ

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ckAU50w_i9w

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Originally Posted by 54-46

Look up stuff that Danny Inosanto worked on. (My dad grew up with Danny, so that's how I know about him.)

Ex: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PpFSwQztptQ

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ckAU50w_i9w

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I remember his nunchaku scene with Bruce Lee. I watched the Bladed Hand a few times he was a big influence in filipino martial arts in the US. Prof. Remy Presas, who created Modern Arnis, was also a big influence. My dojo took a trip out west (AZ, CA, and OR) earlier this year and stopped at Guro Insanto's place to train. I wish I could have made that trip.

THE FOREIGNER
2/5

I went into this with mixed feelings, thinking it could either be pretty good or pretty bad. On the good side: the director, Martin Campbell, is a pretty solid action director (Goldeneye, the Antonio Banderas Zorro movies, Casino Royale) and Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan are both captivating onscreen presences. On the bad side: Chan is getting old and isn't as spry as he was in his heydey and it looked like Brosnan was playing a rather one-dimensional baddy similar to some of his more recent direct-to-video roles.

Sadly, the film leaned more toward the bad end of the scale, coming off like a moderate rent take on the Taken series, in terms of direction, look, feel, and storyline (then again the Taken films were basically riffing on mid-'80s action films of Stallone, Arnie, Norris, and Van Damme, so take that critique as you will).

The pacing is quick, but there aren't any real stand-out action sequences; everything looks and feels like "seen that before." Additionally, all of the characters are presented in real broad strokes, teeming with cliche and lacking any distinctive nuance; again you've seen this movie before many times, just with different actors and set in different locales.

The film is a standard "quiet man with a dark past seeks revenge" story. Lots of explosions. A few decent fight scenes. Overall, however, nothing much to write home about. I'm actually surprised that it got a theatrical release.

If you're remotely intrigued, then I suggest waiting for the Redbox or Netflix release.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
4.5 / 5

Sadly I fear a lot of lazy film critics are going to liken this film to those of the Coen Bros. Sure, it features Frances McDormand in the lead role and Carter Burwell supplied the score, but the comparisons to the films of Ethan and Joel end there, imho.
For starters, writer/director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges; 7 Psychopaths) crafts dialogue that is far more blunt and exceedingly cruder (albeit eloquently so) than anything the Coens have written. He also eschews the snark and cheekiness that is a trademark of the Coens, as well.
The film bristles with trademark McDonagh elements: flair for language (he skewers our lazy American vernacular, name drops Oscar Wilde, and slings more F-bombs than any other modern screenwriter this side of QT); infatuation with midgets (I know it's un-PC, but that's how he refers to people of slight stature in his films; see In Bruges); and hard-edged, take-no-bullshit characters.
The story is well balanced in terms of laugh-out-loud moments, tear inducing passages, and rough-hewn violence. And the cast is damn near brilliant, from McDormand to Rockwell and Harrelson, all the way down to the medium sized and small parts by the likes of Caleb Landry Jones and John Hawkes.
I will admit that I have not read any interviews with Martin, but I would be curious to know the origins of his current love affair with America, since this film and his previous effort (7 Psychopaths) both take place in the States, and he's a pretty damn British/Irish bloke.
Solid film all-around.

JUSTICE LEAGUE
2.5 / 5

Wow. People ranted about how much they hated Batman Vs Superman. IMHO, that film was at least 3X better than JL.

I was worried about The Flash and Aquaman characters, but honestly, they are the best thing about this film.

In terms of story, you've seen it before. I don't know about you, but I have grown tired of the superhero team-fighting-hordes-of-whatever storylines that have been populating the bulk of the comic book movies the last several years. Avengers had the team fighting Loki and his minions of aliens; Avengers: Age of Ultron had the team fighting Ultron and his minions of robots; Thor: Ragnarok had Thor and his posse fighting Hela and her minions of the undead; Suicide Squad had the team fighting The Enchantress and her legions of mindless ghouls; this plot is old and tired, yet Hollywood persists in rehashing it for just about every superhero movie.

Aside from the nice comedic elements of The Flash and Aquaman's brooding sarcasm, the only other element of the film that was worth a damn was the post-credit sequence. It sets up the eventual next film nicely. Here's to hoping that one is better, in terms of story (speaking of story, the script was co-written by Joss Whedon, who penned both the Avengers films, so perhaps that's why this one smelled so much like those films?).

Oh, and don't get me started on Superman's shifting upper lip. The CGI they employed was so horrible it was beyond comprehension how it got green-lit. Really shoddy for this level of film. You can read about "Mustache Gate" here (SPOILERS):

http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/lets-...ce-league.html

or find a wealth of articles here (if you're interested in such trite things):

http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

My thought is to save your $$$ and wait for the rental/stream if you really feel the need to see it.
Or re-watch The Dark Knight to remember how somebody once knew how to translate DC comics to the big screen.

RIYL
Green Lantern; all those Batman movies that Tim Burton did not direct; movie where heroes just smash shit and the story itself takes the furthest back seat from coherency/engagement.

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Originally Posted by dookey67

In terms of story, you've seen it before. I don't know about you, but I have grown tired of the superhero team-fighting-hordes-of-whatever storylines that have been populating the bulk of the comic book movies the last several years. Avengers had the team fighting Loki and his minions of aliens; Avengers: Age of Ultron had the team fighting Ultron and his minions of robots; Thor: Ragnarok had Thor and his posse fighting Hela and her minions of the undead; Suicide Squad had the team fighting The Enchantress and her legions of mindless ghouls; this plot is old and tired, yet Hollywood persists in rehashing it for just about every superhero movie.

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So then you're probably not going to like this one... :confused:

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:

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Originally Posted by dookey67

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
4.5 / 5

Sadly I fear a lot of lazy film critics are going to liken this film to those of the Coen Bros. Sure, it features Frances McDormand in the lead role and Carter Burwell supplied the score, but the comparisons to the films of Ethan and Joel end there, imho.
For starters, writer/director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges; 7 Psychopaths) crafts dialogue that is far more blunt and exceedingly cruder (albeit eloquently so) than anything the Coens have written. He also eschews the snark and cheekiness that is a trademark of the Coens, as well.
The film bristles with trademark McDonagh elements: flair for language (he skewers our lazy American vernacular, name drops Oscar Wilde, and slings more F-bombs than any other modern screenwriter this side of QT); infatuation with midgets (I know it's un-PC, but that's how he refers to people of slight stature in his films; see In Bruges); and hard-edged, take-no-bullshit characters.
The story is well balanced in terms of laugh-out-loud moments, tear inducing passages, and rough-hewn violence. And the cast is damn near brilliant, from McDormand to Rockwell and Harrelson, all the way down to the medium sized and small parts by the likes of Caleb Landry Jones and John Hawkes.
I will admit that I have not read any interviews with Martin, but I would be curious to know the origins of his current love affair with America, since this film and his previous effort (7 Psychopaths) both take place in the States, and he's a pretty damn British/Irish bloke.
Solid film all-around.

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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.

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.

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Originally Posted by dookey67

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
4.5 / 5

Sadly I fear a lot of lazy film critics are going to liken this film to those of the Coen Bros. Sure, it features Frances McDormand in the lead role and Carter Burwell supplied the score, but the comparisons to the films of Ethan and Joel end there, imho.
For starters, writer/director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges; 7 Psychopaths) crafts dialogue that is far more blunt and exceedingly cruder (albeit eloquently so) than anything the Coens have written. He also eschews the snark and cheekiness that is a trademark of the Coens, as well.
The film bristles with trademark McDonagh elements: flair for language (he skewers our lazy American vernacular, name drops Oscar Wilde, and slings more F-bombs than any other modern screenwriter this side of QT); infatuation with midgets (I know it's un-PC, but that's how he refers to people of slight stature in his films; see In Bruges); and hard-edged, take-no-bullshit characters.
The story is well balanced in terms of laugh-out-loud moments, tear inducing passages, and rough-hewn violence. And the cast is damn near brilliant, from McDormand to Rockwell and Harrelson, all the way down to the medium sized and small parts by the likes of Caleb Landry Jones and John Hawkes.
I will admit that I have not read any interviews with Martin, but I would be curious to know the origins of his current love affair with America, since this film and his previous effort (7 Psychopaths) both take place in the States, and he's a pretty damn British/Irish bloke.
Solid film all-around.

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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.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

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Originally Posted by LegoSkier

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.

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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.

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.

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Originally Posted by PB

So ..... you really liked Splash.

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What reputable source would dispute that "Splash" is a masterpiece of modern cinema?

Spousal compromise resulted in viewing Jumanji (current release): excellent light entertainment.

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Originally Posted by PB

Spousal compromise resulted in viewing Jumanji (current release): excellent light entertainment.

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Yeah. Saw it with family over Christmas and was pleasantly surprised. Much better than the original even.

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.

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Originally Posted by PassTheDutchie

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.

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I think you mean The Shape of Water?

Superb. Maybe just a little too loosely edited at the end? But really, really excellent.

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Originally Posted by PassTheDutchie

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.

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I think you mean The Shape of Water?

Superb. Maybe just a little too loosely edited at the end? But really, really excellent.