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

[StevenK]

Mickey 17 - Bong Joon Ho's return to genre after winning Best Picture is... fine. Funny in fits and starts and Robert Pattinson adds another great performance to his resume but it's a little trite and a lot heavy-handed. Robert Pattinson plays a pathetic schlub who signs up to be an "expendable" on a space colonization mission to escape a loan shark. He does all of the shittiest jobs and dies over and over again to make sure that the people on the colony ship are able to survive in space and on their eventual new homeworld. He dies in a myriad of shit ways and gets "reprinted" after each death with all of his memory and what not in tact. Then the titular 17th Mickey is presumed dead after falling in to a hole and hijinx ensue when he and his newly reprinted clone run in to each other in their room after he survives. There's also space slugs, on-the-nose social commentary, Robert Pattinson getting to play multiple distinct versions of himself and the majority of the cliches that come out of movies like this.

I'm not much for the conventions of sci-fi personally and most clone movies are garbo so my general disinterest could just be a result of that. Thankfully, they don't overexplain the tech (he's more interested in bludgeoning us with the ethics and spiritual ramifications of it). Robert Pattinson does a good job playing the characters uniquely enough that it's not distracting and the movie looks pretty good considering 99% of it takes place on a spaceship and an ice planet.

I think my major issue is the heavy-handed satire regarding class. It's certainly a staple of BJH's work but it's never been quite so goofy and max volume as it is here. Aside from the obvious "working class is treated as disposable and easily replaceable" cynicism behind the premise, the space mission is headed up by a failed politician and his wife (played by Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette) and they're so arch as to be borderline retarded. I'm sure Fox News and company will whine about woke Hollywood going after dear leader but it's really more a shot at the Mike Pences of the world: the phony religious bootlickers with mommy issues that aren't clever or charismatic enough to accomplish much of anything on their own.

Far be it from me to cry any tears over those people being mocked and satirized and I'm sure some people will find that a respite in our current era of economic and moral collapse but it just feels empty to me. Perhaps I'll feel differently in 5-10 years when the garbage fire isn't burning quite so closely to my home but for now, it left a sour taste.

Is this what happens to Joe then?

 

[Tarma]

Not quite. Joe uses osmosis to clone himself.

 

[fake]

Not quite. Joe uses osmosis to clone himself.

Osmosis Joe

 

[Burning Fight!!]

I watched it on a midnight screening last week and I thought it was one of the better movies coming out right now. I'd rate it 5/5. In the same screening I also watched Blade Runner (5/5) and THX 1138 (I jumped off and went home when I saw the CGI assembly line at the start, fuck you George Lucas)

 

[100proof]

It's possible in five or ten years the garbage fire will be burning closer to home.

Well aware. It's certainly going to get worse before it gets better and I'm not going to pretend that I don't have serious concerns for myself, the people I care about and the world at large. However, these things tend to remedy themselves on a long enough timeline.

Is this what happens to Joe then?

1000%.

 

[terry.330]

Prometheus- Probably my 4th time watching this and every time it’s disappointing. Even judging it on its own I don’t think it’s a very good movie. As Scott’s follow up to Alien I think it’s extremely disappointing and does nothing to add to the mythology in a very meaningful way. It’s one of those instances where adding to the mythology just complicates it and is ultimately unnecessary. The less is more rule applies big time.

The script is lousy. Characters constantly do dumb things that go very much against their mission/goal. Especially considering the importance of the mission and impact of what they discover. Lots of convenient stupidity from supposedly highly intelligent people.

There are some interesting ideas, it has a great cast and excellent production values but the foundation just isn’t there and the movie constantly undermines itself. No matter how much it tries with its philosophy and mythology you can feel the big dumb Hollywood movie peaking through the seams.

It just doesn’t feel like it’s part of the Alien universe. It has almost none of the atmosphere or tension that you would expect. While not a bad looking movie the editing and cinematography don’t convey the scale and importance of what’s happening. It never steps back and takes a breath.

I honestly consider this and Covenant as an almost completely separate thing to Alien. It’s just not a cohesive franchise and it’s hard to judge the entries in relation to each other.

Scott’s career is really hit or miss in general, American Gangster is probably his last really good movie.

I’ll probably go ahead and watch Covenant, I think I’ve only seen that once and had similar feeling but since it’s the follow up I might as well since Prometheus is fresh in my mind.

 

[Hattori Hanzo]

I just rewatched Thelma & Louise. Still an important and good movie.

 

[fickmichcommander]

Scott’s career is really hit or miss in general, American Gangster is probably his last really good movie.

I’ll probably go ahead and watch Covenant, I think I’ve only seen that once and had similar feeling but since it’s the follow up I might as well since Prometheus is fresh in my mind.

You didn't enjoy The Martian? For me that was Scott's last good'n

And Covenant is pretty much Prometheus, except they literally cut important plot scenes out of the movie and put them on Youtube for promotional purposes.

 

[terry.330]

You didn't enjoy The Martian? For me that was Scott's last good'n

It’s fine for what it is which is ultimately a well made but formulaic crowd pleaser.

Alien Covenant- This has all the same problems as Prometheus but doubles down on over explaining the lore while adding nothing and only serves to water down the mystery in Alien. David is not a good character and the David/Walter switcheroo is groan inducing.

The Space Jockey should have just been left to our imagination. Attempting to expand on it was a mistake.

 

[fickmichcommander]

It’s fine for what it is which is ultimately a well made but formulaic crowd pleaser.

Alien Covenant- This has all the same problems as Prometheus but doubles down on over explaining the lore while adding nothing and only serves to water down the mystery in Alien. David is not a good character and the David/Walter switcheroo is groan inducing.

The Space Jockey should have just been left to our imagination. Attempting to expand on it was a mistake.

The dumbest part about the switch was that David cut his face like Walter's face was cut... but nobody but him knew Walter's face was cut. It was literally just to show the audience in case they're so fucking stupid they didn't see it coming from a billion miles away.

 

[LoneSage]

FUCK YOU RIDLEY SCOTT TO HELL

 

[fickmichcommander]

FUCK YOU RIDLEY SCOTT TO HELL

i'm still butthurt about him retconning Deckard into being a replicant tbh

 

[T.A.P.]

His napoleon movie was very poopy too.

 

[SouthtownKid]

The Martian is based on a novel I will avoid reading at all costs. The movie was like someone wrote a McGuyver fanfic and set it in space. YAWN. Right from the beginning of the movie, you know exactly what is going to happen beginning to end, and then you have to sit through 2 hours of them dutifully checking the boxes. Check, check, check, check, check, the end. FUCK. Not one surprise, not one character with an arc in the entire movie. Go fuck yourself.

Although I guess gun to my head, I would choose to rewatch The Martian over rewatching Gravity.

 

[Lagduf]

How do you feel about Interstellar?

Also I need someone to review Memoirs of an Invisible Man.

 

[SouthtownKid]

How do you feel about Interstellar?

It's fine. It has a story, where The Martian only has a scenario. Interstellar has characters with arcs.

Also I need someone to review Memoirs of an Invisible Man.

Does not hold up.

 

[Taiso]

I watched a couple of interviews of Carpenter talking about Memoirs a few days ago.

Chevy Chase wanted to move into more dramatic acting but the studio wanted the movie to be more comedic, since that's what people expected of Chevy Chase. Carpenter tried to accommodate both sides of that difference as best he could during the production. He basically said that the film suffered from an identity crisis as a result, which led to its failure on so many levels.

Back then, Carpenter was frustrated by the process and that makes sense. He is at his best when he is independent. Very much like Romero. Just get out of the way and let him make his movie. Nowadays, he looks back on that production a bit more evenly. He understands Chase and has more sympathy and patience for him. Not so much for the studio system.

 

[Tarma]

Rambo III - Stallone returns as the titular one-man army before the series went on a near 20 year hiatus. We leave the Vietnam back story behind in this one, as background events take us, to what was then, the contemporary Soviet-Afghan war.

Rambo's old commanding officer, Richard Crenna, gets captured while on a mission in Afghanistan by the Red Army, in a region of the country controlled by, supposedly, the Red's most brutal commander. Once Rambo gets word, he's across the border and mowing Russkies down like no tomorrow.

The whole thing is very silly, so much so, it could almost be a Cannon film with a budget. The ending, which sees Rambo play chicken with a Hind-D is just bat shit crazy. Still, it's very watchable, the action scenes are well executed and despite everyone taking things ever so seriously, the acting is all good.

Not sure the main villain was quite as strong as he could be, he's certainly no scene chewing Steven Berkoff, nor has the depth of character of Brian Dennehy. One thing I will slate is Bill Medley's butchering of The Hollies classic "He Ain't Heay, He's My Brother" during the end credits.

 

[prof]

How you not mentioning that polo game Rambo played with the Afghani nationals where they rode around on horses and tried to toss the dead goat into the goal.

 

[Tarma]

Didn't want to spoil it for those who've not seen it before.

 

[Burning Fight!!]

love that part where rambo and trautman are escaping with their motorcycles through grassland while shooting down hind-Ds

 

[fickmichcommander]

Interstellar is fucking horrible.

 

[Hattori Hanzo]

Not compared to Mac Martian.

 

[Tarma]

love that part where rambo and trautman are escaping with their motorcycles through grassland while shooting down hind-Ds

Very "Chuck Norris".

 

[Lagduf]

I watched a couple of interviews of Carpenter talking about Memoirs a few days ago.

Chevy Chase wanted to move into more dramatic acting but the studio wanted the movie to be more comedic, since that's what people expected of Chevy Chase. Carpenter tried to accommodate both sides of that difference as best he could during the production. He basically said that the film suffered from an identity crisis as a result, which led to its failure on so many levels.

Back then, Carpenter was frustrated by the process and that makes sense. He is at his best when he is independent. Very much like Romero. Just get out of the way and let him make his movie. Nowadays, he looks back on that production a bit more evenly. He understands Chase and has more sympathy and patience for him. Not so much for the studio system.

The same interview popped up on my YouTube mysteriously after you guys were talking Carpenter a few days back. Thought it was weird timing and I had no idea Carpenter had ever done this film with Chase. I had never heard of it.