Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

[famicommander]

It doesn't even really matter how many movies or shows Marvel puts out. The simple fact is there are no longer any stakes. After you've eradicated half the life in all of the universe and reversed that, even world-ending stakes don't really move the needle anymore. Not to mention they've shown that any one event or death can be reversed in half a dozen ways.
"Actually, that was a shapeshifting alien, not the actual character"
"Actually, alternate universe"
"Actually, resurrected with magic, fuck you"
"Actually, time travel, fuck you"

Endgame was it. That was the blow off. There's no putting all that air back in the balloon. Doesn't matter which characters they use or what actors play them, what stories they pull from or who directs them, how many they release or in what format. It's over.

 

[terry.330]

Or they could just make one-off stories, like they should have fucking done in the first place. Tying a couple movies together would have been fine but making everything needlessly interconnected was a horrible idea.

 

[terry.330]

I didn't know he was in the new Creed movie. I wasn't sure if I was going to see it in theaters but I think I'll give it a go.

I read that it's definitely worth seeing in the theater as Jordan is directing and he shot the fight scenes specifically for IMAX and tried to capture the feel of Hajime No Ippo, which he is apparently a big fan of.

 

[Lagduf]

Or they could just make one-off stories, like they should have fucking done in the first place. Tying a couple movies together would have been fine but making everything needlessly interconnected was a horrible idea.

I think I largely agree, at least post-endgame.

Whether it was liked or not the buildup from Iron Man 1 all the way to Endgame was pretty special and something I don’t think Marvel will be able to recapture.

With the advent of Disney+ I really feel like they’re making things too dependent on viewing most/all of the other films. The last Dr. Strange movies makes no sense if you haven’t seen Wandavision. And you’re never sure if you can skip a series.

 

[wyo]

I read that it's definitely worth seeing in the theater as Jordan is directing and he shot the fight scenes specifically for IMAX and tried to capture the feel of Hajime No Ippo, which he is apparently a big fan of.

Damn, fami hacked terry's account

 

[terry.330]

Damn, fami hacked terry's account

Honestly IDGAF about Rocky or Creed and have no interest in watching it but the reviews have been positive and I though it was interesting that Jordan wanted to emulate Ippo's style. It's a big release and we need more movies like it otherwise the theaters are just Disney houses that are slowly killing themselves. Top Gun Maverick proved that people want more than conveyor belt junk.

The Aviator- I really like this one even though I think it's pretty flawed. Hughes was an extremely interesting person that did some amazing things and lived in a very interesting time but Leo just doesn't quite have what it takes to totally pull of the character. Try as he might his range is limited. The other casting is great, especially Kate Blanchet. It's also a very well shot movie, there's some absolutely fantastic cinematography. It's not perfect but it's damn good.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Honestly IDGAF about Rocky or Creed and have no interest in

The first 2 Creeds are legit good movies.

 

[famicommander]

Rocky, II, Balboa, Creed, and Creed II are all legit good.

III and IV are cheesy badgood.

V is just bad.

 

[wyo]

I quite enjoyed the first Creed film but not the sequel so I won't be watching #3. Surely they must have run out of Rocky characters to kill off for emotional manipulation at this point. If I'm going to throw on a Rocky movie, it's going to be 1-4. 6 was great but too depressing to watch again.

 

[wyo]

Rocky, II, Balboa, Creed, and Creed II are all legit good.

III and IV are cheesy badgood.

V is just bad.

You have posted this so many times I know your Rocky rankings by heart.

 

[terry.330]

Oh the first Rocky is definitely a great movie and I've seen all the sequels, it's just that type of underdog Americana schmaltz never did anything much for me.

 

[famicommander]

I quite enjoyed the first Creed film but not the sequel so I won't be watching #3. Surely they must have run out of Rocky characters to kill off for emotional manipulation at this point. If I'm going to throw on a Rocky movie, it's going to be 1-4. 6 was great but too depressing to watch again.

Depressing? It ends with Rocky walking away with his head held high. He repairs his relationship with his son, Paulie and Duke are both still alive, he goes the distance with the champ and earns his respect, he has his new friendship with Marie and her son, he has recovered financially from going bankrupt in V. The only bummer is that Adrian is dead, but at least we don't have to watch her die like Apollo in IV or Mick in III.

 

[wyo]

Depressing? It ends with Rocky walking away with his head held high. He repairs his relationship with his son, Paulie and Duke are both still alive, he goes the distance with the champ and earns his respect, he has his new friendship with Marie and her son, he has recovered financially from going bankrupt in V. The only bummer is that Adrian is dead, but at least we don't have to watch her die like Apollo in IV or Mick in III.

Ok maybe depressing was the wrong word. Emotional? I will admit it made me cry like a girl watching Terms of Endearment.

 

[Lagduf]

If my boy Wallace is in a film I’ll watch it.

 

[wataru330]

https://www.amazon.com/Shawscope-Two-10-Disc-Limited-Blu-ray/dp/B0B99N69D6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=SLWKYGS65B3J&keywords=shaw+brothers+volume+2&qid=1677882847&sprefix=shaw+br%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1

Volume 1 is also half off MSRP currently, if you missed it.

The transfers are amazing. Arrow really did this right.

 

[100proof]

View attachment 63514

https://www.amazon.com/Shawscope-Two-10-Disc-Limited-Blu-ray/dp/B0B99N69D6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=SLWKYGS65B3J&keywords=shaw+brothers+volume+2&qid=1677882847&sprefix=shaw+br%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1

Volume 1 is also half off MSRP currently, if you missed it.

The transfers are amazing. Arrow really did this right.

Goddammit. I've all but given up on physical media but that's really tempting.

 

[wataru330]

Goddammit. I've all but given up on physical media but that's really tempting.

Me too; however, it was the extras and being able to throw a HKAC movie night (or weekend!) for friends and family, without wondering if I’m signed up for the correct over-the-top app to watch what I want.

‘Cutting the cord’ hasn’t worked out for me, since if I were to purchase apps and subs to every streaming service to see all I want, it would be more than my old cable bill.

I’m not going back to cable, either.

My goal now, is to stack a modest collection of all my old video store favorites (Tai Seng Video Marketing era movies and late 80s-mid 90s Sunrise OVA/movies/shows).

 

[terry.330]

That Arrow set is nice but I have most of those SB movies on DVD, I'm waiting for the Jackie Chan Collection vol 2 from Shout Factory.

Wheels on Meals
Armor of God 1&2
City Hunter
Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars
Winners and Sinners
Crime Story
The Protector

 

[basic]

I quite enjoyed the first Creed film but not the sequel so I won't be watching #3. Surely they must have run out of Rocky characters to kill off for emotional manipulation at this point. If I'm going to throw on a Rocky movie, it's going to be 1-4. 6 was great but too depressing to watch again.

you shoulda watched Creed 2. it would've been an instance of me cheering on the russians with you.

 

[100proof]

Me too; however, it was the extras and being able to throw a HKAC movie night (or weekend!) for friends and family, without wondering if I’m signed up for the correct over-the-top app to watch what I want.

‘Cutting the cord’ hasn’t worked out for me, since if I were to purchase apps and subs to every streaming service to see all I want, it would be more than my old cable bill.

I’m not going back to cable, either.

My goal now, is to stack a modest collection of all my old video store favorites (Tai Seng Video Marketing era movies and late 80s-mid 90s Sunrise OVA/movies/shows).

Yeah, I don't fuck with streaming and haven't had cable in almost 20 years... once they all splintered and returned to the cable model (needing 4 or 5 streaming services to have a decent library of stuff), I just ripped all my Blus and went the Usenet route to acquire everything else (automated with Sonarr/Radarr/etc.). That said, it's tough to avoid the pull when Criterion runs a sale or a studio puts out a really nice collection like this.

 

[jro]

'K, several or more coming up here, starting with what I would have made last, but, fuck me, c'mon Anwar:

Satan's Slaves - never really paid much attention to Joko Anwar before this, now I am. Very good take on a possession thriller, Indonesians got horror pretty much figured out IMO.

Satan's Slaves: Communion - yeeeeesh. Loved this for the most part. Builds on the first one's story and makes it a classic horror film instead of a small-scope possession story like the first one, then it does a bit of a rug pull at the end. Probably my favorite horror movie of the past, I dunno 8 or 10 years, and uh, spoilers (?), get the finale done already. Seriously though, Anwar is the best or the second-best horror movie maker going right now depending on your thoughts on Jordan Peele (Ti West would probably challenge if he made more movies).

Significant Other - has an actress had a more noticeably-downward career trajectory from her first big role than Maika Monroe? Liked her a lot in It Follows, The Guest was good (though that was Dan Stevens and not her), and, well, any blonde would have been fine in this. Many reviews talk up the "twist," which is ridiculous. It's fine, but very boring and honestly kind of predictable. Don't bother.

Host - basically a British lockdown take on Unfriended. But also really good. Well worth the 55 minutes it takes to watch it and honestly a pretty cool achievement in making movies during COVID times.

The Invitation - again, yeeesh. Generally uncomfortable to watch from start to finish but in a good way. One of the best psychological horror films I've seen in a while, excellent performances all around. Reminded me a little of Convergence in the setup but then obviously goes its own way to good effect.

The Witch Part I: The Subversion - so, trying not to spoil things, this is what might happen if Eleven was a sadist-slash-supervillain. Kind of starts slow and then the final act is pretty amazing.

The Witch Part II: The Other One - so, this is what happens when you force a trilogy and basically just completely rehash the plot of the first movie but with much less quality. Honestly, skip this one and hope that the finale will be back in line with the original.

Home with a View of the Monster - mostly just incredibly weird, even for low (micro?)-budget indie horror. Story is unique, acting is good, writing is solid, and then the plot just takes a bizarre left turn for the final act and refuses to budge from there and ends in a fitting and completely unsatisfying way. It's mostly subjective in interpreting a lot of what ends up happening, but I just can't land on a worthwhile ending for, I dunno 90% of it. Fascinating but ultimately also kind of irritating. I hate to say this, but I totally do recommend it if you have any interest at all in more unique genre stuff. Your mileage, especially re: ending, may vary.

 

[terry.330]

Evil Dead (2013)- Eh, it is what it is. It's not good as a reboot/remake nor is it very good as it's own thing either. A bunch of non-characters, even the main girl. Don't give a shit about her in the last act as all she did during the lead up is mug and roll around with bad contact lenses. Her being a junkie trying to recover is lazy, not a substitute for a personality. The dipshit reading from the book of the dead is equally lazy. I remember thinking the movie was passable as it's own thing on a previous viewing but nah. It just came off as so half-baked and unoriginal this time. It also has an awful overly dramatic score. Really the only thing it has going for it is the impressive gore effects and some nice cinematography but even those feel try-hard.

 

[terry.330]

Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man)- Rupert Everett stars as Dellamorte the caretaker for an Italian cemetery where he spends most of his time re-killing
the dead after they inexplicably come back to life after 7 days. Are the dead actually returning or is Dellamorte actually going insane?

This is some of the most ridiculous Italian nonsense ever filmed and it's amazing. Absolutely zero logic, super heavy on atmosphere, style and zombie related shenanigans. Co-starring Anna Falchi in multiple roles, looking so good that she causes Rupert Everett to literally overcome his impotence and fuck her on top of her recently deceased husbands grave, and that's just the beginning. There's consensual cannibalism, a teenage love story involving a decapitated head, a zombie biker that rides his motorcycle out of the grave, titties, hookers, ghosts, dozens of zombies and people getting shot in the face and an ending so ridiculous that it will make you yell at your TV.

The last film to be directed by Michelle Saovi, it's certainly not his most coherent but it's so stylish, bizarre and entertaining that I can't help but love it.

 

[Lagduf]

Evil Dead (2013)- Eh, it is what it is. It's not good as a reboot/remake nor is it very good as it's own thing either. A bunch of non-characters, even the main girl. Don't give a shit about her in the last act as all she did during the lead up is mug and roll around with bad contact lenses. Her being a junkie trying to recover is lazy, not a substitute for a personality. The dipshit reading from the book of the dead is equally lazy. I remember thinking the movie was passable as it's own thing on a previous viewing but nah. It just came off as so half-baked and unoriginal this time. It also has an awful overly dramatic score. Really the only thing it has going for it is the impressive gore effects and some nice cinematography but even those feel try-hard.

I honestly didn't even know they remade this - and now they're...remaking it again?

 

[jro]

A few, forgotten or otherwise:

Posession - so Sam Neill pre-Jurassic Park. Yeah, lives up to its reputation and is quite good. If I was less sloshed I might even give a more nuanced review as to why. Sorry! 4 stars though, highest rec.

Speak No Evil - okay so YEAH that last act is a banger. And incredibly unpleasant... just, yikes. Crazy, and a worthy entrant on the wall of just fink crazy sht.

Who Invited Them? -good setup with a boring payoff. Not without merit but also not very good.