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Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)
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In my experience, very few comedy films are strong enough to pull you through 2 hours. It's definitely one of Hot Fuzz's genuine weaknesses.
In all seriousness, I don't think it's a bad film, it's entertaining in its own right, I just don't think it's as anywhere near as good as its reputation suggests.
In all seriousness, I don't think it's a bad film, it's entertaining in its own right, I just don't think it's as anywhere near as good as its reputation suggests.
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Ninja III: The Domination - another crazy as fuck offering from Cannon. This one sees an "evil" ninja who is killed by cops after assassinating some guy at a golf course (you need to see this sequence to believe it), come back to possess a young woman so he can take his revenge. The young woman being a telephone engineer and part-time aerobics instructor.
The story is just insane, there are some rather hokey special effects (even by 1984 standards), but the action is solid and it's well directed by Sam Firstenberg. Sho Kosugi plays the ninja who can defeat the evil ninja, but his role is a lot smaller than in Revenge of the Ninja. Linda Dickey plays the possessed ninja/engineer/aerobics instructor.
Very entertaining, very silly, very Cannon.
The story is just insane, there are some rather hokey special effects (even by 1984 standards), but the action is solid and it's well directed by Sam Firstenberg. Sho Kosugi plays the ninja who can defeat the evil ninja, but his role is a lot smaller than in Revenge of the Ninja. Linda Dickey plays the possessed ninja/engineer/aerobics instructor.
Very entertaining, very silly, very Cannon.
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28 years later: Went to the premiere yesterday. Good flick, typical Danny Boyle movie, much better the 28 weeks later however not as good as 28 days later.
A couple of good jump scares and some good jokes. But it is more of an emotional coming of age story then a horror film. It has an open ending which I thought was cool. But apparently the sequel is already filmed and in production.
A couple of good jump scares and some good jokes. But it is more of an emotional coming of age story then a horror film. It has an open ending which I thought was cool. But apparently the sequel is already filmed and in production.
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Yeah they announced a while ago this will be the start of a trilogy, Nia Dicosta is directing the next one and that has me interested in it.
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-Ballerina-
-a really fun romp and I was surprised to see Ana actually emote. One of my fav pure action movie of the year.
-a really fun romp and I was surprised to see Ana actually emote. One of my fav pure action movie of the year.
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Just saw 28 Years Later and thought it was absolute dogshit except for a couple of nice moments and some legitimate intense sequences.
The one good thing I will sayh is that I appreciate its focus on recognizing the inevitability of death. It would make that kind of world a lot easier to accept the injustices of life in, and is a key theme in helping the protagonist, Spike, overcome a particularly difficult moment in his life. Alfie Williams is a terrific young actor, and was the standout in this film. Give him the oscar, and he should have been billed as the lead because that's what he was. He bears the weight of this film exceedingly well.
But mostly, it's a waste of a GREAT cast, a garbage soundtrack that doesn't even hold a candle to the first film's OST and Alex Garland being, well, Alex fucking Garland (please stay away from Elden Ring, thanks).
In trying to be 'something new', it mostly just rips off Attack on Titan.
2 out of 5 stars.
The one good thing I will sayh is that I appreciate its focus on recognizing the inevitability of death. It would make that kind of world a lot easier to accept the injustices of life in, and is a key theme in helping the protagonist, Spike, overcome a particularly difficult moment in his life. Alfie Williams is a terrific young actor, and was the standout in this film. Give him the oscar, and he should have been billed as the lead because that's what he was. He bears the weight of this film exceedingly well.
But mostly, it's a waste of a GREAT cast, a garbage soundtrack that doesn't even hold a candle to the first film's OST and Alex Garland being, well, Alex fucking Garland (please stay away from Elden Ring, thanks).
In trying to be 'something new', it mostly just rips off Attack on Titan.
2 out of 5 stars.
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Was looking forward to that. Guess I'll wait for the download.
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I thought the final scene was weird and kind of broke what was otherwise kind of touching.
Like I get the “hey we’re going to make more movies thing” but it should have ended when Spike finished narrating the letter.
While watching the film I thought the whole thing felt like a homebrew rpg setting/storyline to me more than a successful film. I do love the idea of exploring this world and telling stories within it that aren’t just pure survival or an attempt to fix the problem. And the accepting death thing worked in that respect.
But then you have dumb shit like the alpha that was really kind of hokey in the context of the film (but might make sense in the context of a ttrpg or video game.)
Also there is some real bad CGI too lol.
Overall I enjoyed watching the film but it’s no masterpiece.
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Spoiler:
That made it extremely difficult for me to even care what was happening with the zombies and everything after that.
The film was also rife with faggor feminist messaging about fathers abandoning their sons in favor of their own pursuits. And then the scene:
Spoiler:
Thought you could slip that bullshit by me, Garland? I see you. In 2025, I'm not letting it slide anymore.
The movie sucked except for Alfie and the memento mori theme, both of which were brilliant. There is no way I'm wasting my money on the next one. I'll steal it or wait for streaming. Or just read a synopsis because if Spike's journey continues to be engaging and interesting, I'm at least invested in that.
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It may be a plot point for a future film or not. Probably will be some gay thing like how it's the last thing she left behind so it makes Aaron Taylor-Johnson into a better person or something.
Or that Spike will return home and bitterly rebuke his own father for not doing a better job.
I know Alex Garland has his fans but the dude is so far up his own fucking ass. I didn't expect this just to be another 'zombie du jour' flick. I didn't think Danny Boyle would come back just to do that or something else he's already done.
But I am not down with this sickness.
Attack on Titan is not my cup of tea and I think very little of it. And one could argue that this is just another distaff zombie flick cribbed from something else.
Only problem is that when I watched 28 Days Later, I didn't think 'oh they stole so much of the imagery from something else'. When I watched this movie, however, I was like 'this is so blatant, not just in its imagery but in some of its themes.' I'd hope that Boyle didn't know about any of this. That fucker Alex Garland most certainly did.
Or that Spike will return home and bitterly rebuke his own father for not doing a better job.
I know Alex Garland has his fans but the dude is so far up his own fucking ass. I didn't expect this just to be another 'zombie du jour' flick. I didn't think Danny Boyle would come back just to do that or something else he's already done.
But I am not down with this sickness.
Attack on Titan is not my cup of tea and I think very little of it. And one could argue that this is just another distaff zombie flick cribbed from something else.
Only problem is that when I watched 28 Days Later, I didn't think 'oh they stole so much of the imagery from something else'. When I watched this movie, however, I was like 'this is so blatant, not just in its imagery but in some of its themes.' I'd hope that Boyle didn't know about any of this. That fucker Alex Garland most certainly did.
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City on Fire - RIngo Lam's thriller from 1987 starring Chow Yun-Fat.
Chow is a undercover cop tasked with infiltrating a violent gang who are targeting jewellery stores across Hong Kong. There's a hokey sub plot with Chow trying to save his relationship with his on-again-off-again girlfriend, but I found this to be a rather naff element of the film.
Seems to be a recurring way that Hong Kong directors deal with "relationships", clearly something to more local tastes, as personally I find them both irritating and jarring. For example, in City on Fire Chow is supposed to be a hardened undercover cop, yet around his highly strung girlfriend he's henpecked and a total goof. Tonally, it's just deaf to the rest of the film - but I've seen the same treatment in other Hong Kong films as well.
Anyway, I digress, overall it's a pretty good thriller, and the few action sequences are dealt with really well... shame there wasn't more of them.
Fun fact - Tarrantino borrowed a number of elements from City on Fire for Reservoir Dogs.
Chow is a undercover cop tasked with infiltrating a violent gang who are targeting jewellery stores across Hong Kong. There's a hokey sub plot with Chow trying to save his relationship with his on-again-off-again girlfriend, but I found this to be a rather naff element of the film.
Seems to be a recurring way that Hong Kong directors deal with "relationships", clearly something to more local tastes, as personally I find them both irritating and jarring. For example, in City on Fire Chow is supposed to be a hardened undercover cop, yet around his highly strung girlfriend he's henpecked and a total goof. Tonally, it's just deaf to the rest of the film - but I've seen the same treatment in other Hong Kong films as well.
Anyway, I digress, overall it's a pretty good thriller, and the few action sequences are dealt with really well... shame there wasn't more of them.
Fun fact - Tarrantino borrowed a number of elements from City on Fire for Reservoir Dogs.
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Probably because he’s successful enough that he can pretty much do whatever he wants.
I wish Sunshine and The Beach would get 4k releases.
lol at the extreme Alex Garland hate from Taiso
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Check out Samurai Cop 2. Both leads return, but the movie sorta leans into itself, being pretty aware of the goofiness of the first so some of the jokes are like "yeah ok, thats lame."
Also - Tommy Wiseau is the villain and he's just glorious as always.
Also you have to watch the Rifftrax version of Samurai Cop. Its just brilliant.
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28 Screenplays LaterMaybe Taiso should make a film whose plot revolves around Hollywood quarantining itself from a rabid Alex Garland?
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Hmmmn... not sure I'm up for watching a film that tries to be bad to be good... Samurai Cop's genius is that the makers were trying to be legit.
What's so special about the Rifftrax version? Is a re-edit, or is it redubbed?
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Oh very clever! On form today sir!
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No, Rifftrax are the guys from MST3K, Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy. So its basically an MST version of the movie.
Terry is right - SC 2 is not good. But if you can appreciate the absolute insanity that is Wiseau, its worth a watch just for him.
Tommy Wiseau would be an amazing Joker. I will die on that hill. Just paint him white and dye his hair and just start rolling the tape.