Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)
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You’d make a fine politician with these answers.
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I only thought of this just now. But I should have replied to this post originally thusly:
Yes, it’s true I’m a bit ignorant. Thankfully @Stinky-Dinkins has really opened my eyes about this ethnic group called the Jews. Have you’ve heard what they’re up to???
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It was factually accurate. I thought we were talking about keeping a novel's title for the movie adaptation. And Kubrick did!
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In retrospect, maybe a bad call for Moore. But the director they went with did one of the best Bond movies, so maybe that's what Moore was thinking. He still wasn't super established in the role yet and wanted to look good.
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Okay.
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Nothing substantial. Kubrick was something of a gremlin when it came to this kind of thing. There is a documentary about the making of The Shining. Most of it is postmodern bullshit that I wouldn't wipe my ass with but there is an interesting part of the doc where they talk about Kubrick sort of 'fucking' with the novel's version of events in his adaptation.
The documentary is called Room 237. Mostly a waste of time and money but there are some neat tidbits in there.
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The better Shining docu is the one made by Kubrick’s daughter on the making of the movie. It’s uncomfortable though. It shows Kubrick and Jack being very hard on Shelly. It’s to illicit an emotional take for the camera, but I’m pretty sure they were both just being assholes too.
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Yeah, that documentary is fucking awful BUT it does have an absolutely incredible score.
Beastie Boys Story- Feature length documentary about the band made by the remaining 2 members and Spike Jonze. I am and have been a huge fan of the Beasties since I was little, I consider them one of the most important bands of all time. Their evolution through their career is incredible and something that few other musical artists have managed to achieve. They are also one the most influential bands of the 90's that somehow are almost completely overlooked these days. I get the impression that younger people just don't seem to get them and have pretty much written them off as a gimmick group because they only know 3 or 4 of their songs.
As for the documentary I was excited to watch this but I really did not dig the presentation. It was awkward, came off as too planned but also stitched together from multiple shows and trying way too hard to be cute. But worse than that is that they spent a lot more time than necessary apologizing for their behavior when they were young. Anybody watching this is going to be a fan and most likely were alive when this stuff was happening. We get it, you were young and stupid and thrust into a crazy career without any warning. Anybody would have acted like a fool. There's just a very apologetic namby-pamby vibe to it.
They also skip pretty much the last 10 years of their career which was really odd. They never even mention To The 5 Boroughs or Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. That just seems bizarre to me.
Still if you're a fan it's worth watching but I honestly think a more traditional style documentary would have actually been much more enjoyable.
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I agree. It's an amazing documentary.
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John Wick Quadrilogy:
John Wick - Keanu Reeves stars as the titular John Wick, a retired hitman mourning the loss of his wife, who then goes a revenge killing spree after Russian gangsters kill the dog his late wife left him as a companion, and, steal his classic Mustang. Very entertaining throughout, well paced with some very good action.
John Wick: Chapter 2 - picks up straight after the first film, and begins to establish more of the lore of the "High Table" - an unseen cabal of the world's leading gangsters to which John previously served. Introduces Larry Fishburne's "King of the Bowery" character, for a nice little Matrix "reunion". Again, the action is very good, pacing is good, and it is stylishly executed.
Parabellum: John Wick 3 - Ok, so this is where it all starts to go off the rails a bit for me. Apparently the streets we walk are littered with hitmen, and nobody seems to really care all that much when virtually open warfare erupts on major city streets. The "High Table" seems to have an infinite number of highly disposable goons for John to dispatch, and John seems to have an energy and stamina that would put any PCP/Speed addict to shame. Mark Dacascos is probably the best thing in this film, which while entertaining, verges into the silly and loses any notion that this series is even remotely grounded in our reality, that thought is thrown well and truly out of the window.
John Wick: Chapter 4 - Where to start? So, this is basically three hours (yes, three hours) of John Wick executing an unending stream of High Table goons in a last attempt for John to free himself of said High Table. The executions come so thick and fast, that by the end of the first hour you become numb to it and can't help but wonder how the hell Wick has expired from a heart attack. Donnie Yen is excellent throughout as a blind assassin sent to kill John, and is a real bright spot. There is also a very good action sequence set at the Arc De Triomphe. Outside of that, this is too long and borderline boring. The 13 year-old me may have found this endlessly amusing, but the older me was not impressed.
Overall, the first film is by far and away the best and the fourth, easily, the weakest. If you've not seen any of these, then I'd recommend the first, maybe the second, then after that you're really not missing much.
John Wick - Keanu Reeves stars as the titular John Wick, a retired hitman mourning the loss of his wife, who then goes a revenge killing spree after Russian gangsters kill the dog his late wife left him as a companion, and, steal his classic Mustang. Very entertaining throughout, well paced with some very good action.
John Wick: Chapter 2 - picks up straight after the first film, and begins to establish more of the lore of the "High Table" - an unseen cabal of the world's leading gangsters to which John previously served. Introduces Larry Fishburne's "King of the Bowery" character, for a nice little Matrix "reunion". Again, the action is very good, pacing is good, and it is stylishly executed.
Parabellum: John Wick 3 - Ok, so this is where it all starts to go off the rails a bit for me. Apparently the streets we walk are littered with hitmen, and nobody seems to really care all that much when virtually open warfare erupts on major city streets. The "High Table" seems to have an infinite number of highly disposable goons for John to dispatch, and John seems to have an energy and stamina that would put any PCP/Speed addict to shame. Mark Dacascos is probably the best thing in this film, which while entertaining, verges into the silly and loses any notion that this series is even remotely grounded in our reality, that thought is thrown well and truly out of the window.
John Wick: Chapter 4 - Where to start? So, this is basically three hours (yes, three hours) of John Wick executing an unending stream of High Table goons in a last attempt for John to free himself of said High Table. The executions come so thick and fast, that by the end of the first hour you become numb to it and can't help but wonder how the hell Wick has expired from a heart attack. Donnie Yen is excellent throughout as a blind assassin sent to kill John, and is a real bright spot. There is also a very good action sequence set at the Arc De Triomphe. Outside of that, this is too long and borderline boring. The 13 year-old me may have found this endlessly amusing, but the older me was not impressed.
Overall, the first film is by far and away the best and the fourth, easily, the weakest. If you've not seen any of these, then I'd recommend the first, maybe the second, then after that you're really not missing much.
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The John Wick films become increasingly absurd and that's saying something, considering the first one is already crazy over the top.
Fun movie series, even parts 3 and 4. And brought Keanu Reeves back to us again. Yo he is cool dude, bro.
Fun movie series, even parts 3 and 4. And brought Keanu Reeves back to us again. Yo he is cool dude, bro.
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I felt the 4th film was trying to inject elements of "The Matrix" into its story, with the High Table becoming an analog to the "machines" and the "Marquis" being like the "Merovingian / Architect". I did forget to say that I found Scott Adkins as a fat German mobster very amusing. Four isn't a bad film by any stretch, but it's too long and just a bit too ridiculous even by the franchise's standards.
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I liked the first John Wick, but the second was too aggressively stupid to finish. I've never seen a writer set up a world and then purposely ignore their own internal logic so often and so badly. If part 3 and beyond go even stupider, I happily maintain my decision to avoid.
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Roland Emmerich is remaking Lawrence of Arabia.
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The devil you say.
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Upon further reading he's turing it into a TV series, not a movie, which I'm sure will be even worse. But yes:
Roland Emmerich Developing ‘Lawrence of Arabia' Remake — World of Reel
Roland Emmerich is developing a “Lawrence of Arabia” remake as a “3-season prestige TV series.” Anthony McCarten (‘Bohemian Rhapsody’) is hoping to write the entire first season.
www.worldofreel.com
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That's a worse idea than the all-girl Ghostbusters reboot and on par with the Ben Affleck Casablanca 2 (thankfully scrapped)
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Child's Play 2- 100proof talked about this and part 3 a bit ago and it made want to watch one. I think Bride Of Chucky is still my favorite since it's legitimately the funniest and ya know Jennifer Tilly but this one is still pretty enjoyable.
It's definitely more self aware than the first one, which is basically just a standard slasher but not a full blown comedy or self parody yet. I hadn't seen this since the cable days and yeah Chucky does indeed take a lot of punishment lol. I totally forgot about him ripping off his own hand and jamming a blade into the stump as well as the ending where he's melted into a pile of goop and then gets blown up by an air compressor. I also appreciate that even though the puppeteers are capable of some really impressive stuff they still keep some of the movement super goofy and noticeably bad. That's that sense of self awareness without going into full on comedy territory again. The toy factory is also a really great setting and they make good use of it. Not a bad way to waste an hour and a half.
It's definitely more self aware than the first one, which is basically just a standard slasher but not a full blown comedy or self parody yet. I hadn't seen this since the cable days and yeah Chucky does indeed take a lot of punishment lol. I totally forgot about him ripping off his own hand and jamming a blade into the stump as well as the ending where he's melted into a pile of goop and then gets blown up by an air compressor. I also appreciate that even though the puppeteers are capable of some really impressive stuff they still keep some of the movement super goofy and noticeably bad. That's that sense of self awareness without going into full on comedy territory again. The toy factory is also a really great setting and they make good use of it. Not a bad way to waste an hour and a half.
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Disavow
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Disney has given Wes Ball the greenlight for a trilogy based on the success of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Unclear if they mean two new films to complete a trilogy or an entirely new set of 3 films, but either way, more Apes.
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Go, Disney! Beat another franchise into the ground! We're not tired of this one yet!
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Rambo: First Blood Part II (4K) - Solid action outing for Sly in the popular first sequel to First Blood. This was actually the first time I had seen the film all the way through (for reasons I can't explain), and it felt a bit tame compared to Rambo (2008) which I watched recently. That being said, in a contemporary context, its only near rival would be Arnie's Commando... which I'd put before this if only for the slew of memorable quotes it provides.
4K from Artisan - excellent picture and sound - well worth picking up if you buy 4Ks.
4K from Artisan - excellent picture and sound - well worth picking up if you buy 4Ks.
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While I don't disagree in the slightest (the story/internal logic of the JW movies collapsed in on itself after the first one to the point of being completely and utterly absurd), I'd still argue they're totally worth watching for the stuntwork, fight choreography and the impeccable construction of the action sequences. John Wick 4 has multiple scenes that are a visual spectacle and incredibly impressive, even if I stopped caring what John Wick's goal was, why people were chasing him and who's on whose side a couple of movies ago.
For me, even the best martial arts movies have stories that are largely derivative and/or superfluous. You watch them because the lead is charismatic and the fight choreography is impressive. Not because you're invested in the 78,000th "bad guy killed my best friend/captured the girl/is oppressing my hometown" story.