Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[naff]

2 years is brutal, especially with how unsatisfying this ending was.
That's why you shoot these types of trilogies in a batch.

Still better than to be left hanging.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'd sacrifice this, for a sequel to Alita tho. 

[close]

that spoiler 

i remember being sad about alita never getting a sequel too 

[naff]

2 years is brutal, especially with how unsatisfying this ending was.
That's why you shoot these types of trilogies in a batch.

Still better than to be left hanging.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'd sacrifice this, for a sequel to Alita tho. 

[close]

I recently watched Alita, that could also use a sequel. Although it is less open ended than this.

? felt like half a movie to me, ending felt like an end to an episode we'd get to watch the next week  :'(

[Nintex]

2 years is brutal, especially with how unsatisfying this ending was.
That's why you shoot these types of trilogies in a batch.

Still better than to be left hanging.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'd sacrifice this, for a sequel to Alita tho. 

[close]

I recently watched Alita, that could also use a sequel. Although it is less open ended than this.

? felt like half a movie to me, ending felt like an end to an episode we'd get to watch the next week  :'(

That's true, but the origin story had concluded at least.

Anyhow, if Disney would continue it, it would probably be a Disney+ project.

[Don Rumata]

2 years is brutal, especially with how unsatisfying this ending was.
That's why you shoot these types of trilogies in a batch.

Still better than to be left hanging.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'd sacrifice this, for a sequel to Alita tho. 

[close]

I recently watched Alita, that could also use a sequel. Although it is less open ended than this.

? felt like half a movie to me, ending felt like an end to an episode we'd get to watch the next week  :'(

Yeah i was salty when that ended like that.   
I had zero expectations for it, but was actually surprised by how fun it was.
Felt like an unofficial Final Fantasy movie, in some shots.

[Bebpo]

2 years is brutal, especially with how unsatisfying this ending was.
That's why you shoot these types of trilogies in a batch.

Still better than to be left hanging.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'd sacrifice this, for a sequel to Alita tho. 

[close]

I mean normally a sequel to a movie comes 2 years later?

There are exceptions for stuff shot together like LoTR and Endgame but otherwise 2 years seems like best case scenario. It's technically 3 years because Dune was done last year and delayed a year due to covid, but since no one saw it until now it's still only a 2 year wait which is fine.

[naff]

i still thought villaneuve delivered an incredible serve with Dune and would like to see him finish the set. could see the final half being a miniseries on HBO MAX. they need more mainstream content to pump that service, Dune has the makings of a faux prestige drama and pulp sexy, action space war with the pedigree of villaneuves features to cement and justify its existence to those that respond to that kind of thing.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

get creative with the second book and it's expansions, anyone that is precious about that content is a boring nerd and the books aren't very good, but are full of many interesting ideas. expand on the fremen armies and their spoils as they rampage across the galaxy on their jihad, contrasting the diversity and destruction across the galaxy with the stark seat of power on arrakis. destruction is inevitable, paul struggles to make the hard decisions required to save humanity at the cost of billions...

[close]

[D3RANG3D]

[Quaker]

DUNC PART 2 IS HAPPENING

(Image removed from quote.)

I don't understand people acting like they "won." It was a transparent ploy to try and maximize the amount of nerds in seats for the first weekend that didn't cost them anything extra.

WB already lost Nolan and pissed away $200 million on the first movie, no way were they going to alienate Villanoof and leave this hanging unless it got dogshit reviews on top of shitty Box Office and Cinemascore.

[team filler]

I want to watch dune 2  dunes  movie didn't grab my attention much. never cared about a single character 

[Don Rumata]

2 years is brutal, especially with how unsatisfying this ending was.
That's why you shoot these types of trilogies in a batch.

Still better than to be left hanging.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'd sacrifice this, for a sequel to Alita tho. 

[close]

I mean normally a sequel to a movie comes 2 years later?

There are exceptions for stuff shot together like LoTR and Endgame but otherwise 2 years seems like best case scenario. It's technically 3 years because Dune was done last year and delayed a year due to covid, but since no one saw it until now it's still only a 2 year wait which is fine.

Yes that's why i said "this type of movie".
DUNC is quite an unsatisfying piece of storytelling on its own, more so if compared to something like Fellowship, Phantom Menace and other trilogies big.
It doesn't resolve anything and just cuts off.
Under these circumstances, a 2 years wait is especially annoying, in particular if they plan to do it again for a part 3.

I want to watch dune 2  dunes  movie didn't grab my attention much. never cared about a single character 

Movie's mostly about cool ships landing and taking off. 

[Bebpo]

The most interesting part is that if Dune actually becomes a worldwide breakout hit making $$$ they're probably going straight to next books and adapting them for the first time. I don't remember if the sequels were any good, but that'd still be cool to get film adaptations of them.

[remy]

The documentary about this is really good. Jodorowsky's Dune.

[benjipwns]

DUNC PART 2 IS HAPPENING

“Denis Villeneuve has crafted a film that is both visually extraordinary and emotionally transporting, as evidenced by its global success both critically and at the box office. We are thrilled to continue on this journey with Denis and his cast and crew, and our partners at Legendary, and can’t wait to bring the next chapter of this epic tale to theaters in
October 2023.”

https://twitter.com/SonnyBunch/status/1453165986450923527

[Bebpo]

I'm surprised that was a big negotiations thing. I'm really not expecting day and date HBO Max movies to last even into 2022.

[Bebpo]

So I'd been waiting for the 4k LoTR trilogy to get their release w/extras this year, but then they announced it and it had almost no extras (lol) so I was just waiting for them to be on a good sale and grabbed them last week for $60.

I checked out some of Fellowship EE 4K and damn it looked great. Out of curiosity I popped in the old BD EE release and the difference was holy shit insane. The 1080p BD looked like a bootleg VCD. It's not even the jump in detail which is pretty noticeable, but the colors/lighting/black level is just so incredibly better in the HDR/Dolby Vision 4k.

This is the first time I've bothered comparing a BD to a 4K and this is a really good show piece for the upgrade.

I haven't watched the LoTR trilogy since I saw it in theaters in 2001-2003. Gonna set aside a weekend or two and watch the EEs for the first time.

[Nintex]

It's one of those films that was butchered when converted to Blu Ray and then restored for the 4K release.

I watched all 3, they are amazing even if the CG has aged a bit.

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

I'm surprised that was a big negotiations thing. I'm really not expecting day and date HBO Max movies to last even into 2022.

I think there was a recent poll that more than 50% of cinema goers would rather just stream their shit on their own set up.

The pandemic might have accelerated the timeline, but when you have movie quality TV shows on demand at home versus an overpriced fairly shitty multiplex experience for those not near an IMAX or whatever, its no wonder studio execs are panicking about the future (and it has to be said a future their own dumb decisions helped foster)

[Nintex]

LG OLED changed the game for me.

DUNE will probably look better on my TV than it did in the movie theatre.
I remember I went to see 1917, the first 'Dolby Vision' screening while I already had Dolby Vision at home for months.

[Mr Gilhaney]

So... lamb is out 

[Madrun Badrun]

Who let the lamb out? 

[Mr Gilhaney]

I did.

Was pretty good. Not as weird as I thought it would be. Pretty film too. 3.5/5

[Nintex]

I watched Oliver Stone's 1995 Nixon movie starring Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon.

Did not even know this movie existed and having seen Stone's JFK film I was interested when I learned about it.
Hopkins plays a convincing tricky dick and I like that the movie does not portray him as a villain all the time but also as a flawed individual.
The movie also has some interesting observations about what 'power' is in general.
Showing that even if you 'cheat' like Nixon certainly did, you still cannot stop the machinery of government from doing what they want you to do.
There's a powerful scene where a protestor asks why he can't stop the Vietnam war and she's shocked to realize that he is powerless to stop it and that the government is a wild beast that Nixon says he hopes to tame.

Although I must say the movie is very light on explaining what the Watergate scandal was actually about. Other movies like The President's Men do a better job in explaining the events.

The movie is a bit too long with a run time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. And there's a bunch of pointless scenes.
Stone also alleges that the recordings erased or missing from Nixon's collection contain information about the Kennedy assasination or how the CIA is connected to it.
And things like that make it kinda hard to tell what is historically accurate and what Stone made up based on stories he read or events that transpired or what Hopkins improvised as part of his character.

[Nintex]

https://twitter.com/somebadideas/status/1454854894712770562

[Madrun Badrun]

The Night House - like it.  Not the strongest end, but it felt novel and the atmosphere was great. 

[chronovore]

That’s on my list.

Did I recommend JustWatch yet? The site tells me what’s available on which service, based on my location. Sweet.

[Don Rumata]

The Night House - like it.  Not the strongest end, but it felt novel and the atmosphere was great.

First 2 acts are good, then it goes off the rails and loses a lot of its power, like many horrors tend to do, when they feel like they need to ramp the action up in the final stretch.

[Nintex]

https://twitter.com/CultureCrave/status/1455241326794973185

 

[Madrun Badrun]

The Night House - like it.  Not the strongest end, but it felt novel and the atmosphere was great.

First 2 acts are good, then it goes off the rails and loses a lot of its power, like many horrors tend to do, when they feel like they need to ramp the action up in the final stretch.

I didn't mind the action but  the exposition with it was unnecessary and detracted from the movie.

[Don Rumata]

Yeah that's the other recurring problem of this genre of movies.

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1455282180913975300

 

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/offbeatcool/status/1455249668120596481

[Madrun Badrun]

[Nintex]

https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1455645133991460872

That's a steal for Avengers phase 7

[Transhuman]

100 mill each

[Lonewulfeus]

Saw eternals last night, I normally go for an early showing cause the tickets are cheaper but the theater was packed unlike when I went to see Black Widow and Shang Chi.  Ended up going to a late show with open captions (I’m deaf in one ear and have partial hearing loss in my other ear so the captions were nice anyway) and there were only 5 other people there.  I hadn’t read any of the reviews going in but I knew they were mostly negative given what got posted in the shit thread.  I enjoyed the movie, it was much more heavy on lore than a typical marvel flick but I like world building stuff.  I really enjoyed the interactions between Kingo and his valet, I laughed out loud at several of the jokes.  I thought the fights were done well too, particularly Makkari the speedster and Gilgamesh.  The choreography definitely gave weight to their fighting styles.  Wouldn’t have minded a little bit more action though.  My only complaint is that I found a few of the scenes were a little too dark color wise.  Definitely looking forward to what comes next for the eternals.

[Nintex]

Watched 'The King' because I'm in an Age of Empires mood.

Overall a good watch just a few steps short of being a great film. The battle at the end is intense and really well done, as is all the palace intrigue.
I liked most of the characters too but some of the casting choices were shall we say, a bit too obvious. Pattinson as the French prince is laughable, he clearly has no idea what to do with the role either.
The image quality and effects are all over the place. Some times it looks like an amateur costume play at other parts it matches the greatness of films like Kingdom of Heaven.
One thing these Netflix films set in history seem to have in common though, is that they're all too clean. The army moving about looked more like a camping trip than an army marching about.
There's some throw away comments about how the men are hungry, sick and dying as they hike through dense forests and green fields.

It's sort of based on the real history of Henry V and sort of Shakespeares take on it. Kinda like a medieval Oliver Stone if you will.

[Don Rumata]

That movie was patented Netflix flashy mediocrity and, most importantly, didn't have this to sustain it:


 

[Rahxephon91]

Saw Eternels. Honestly, I thought it was actually pretty solid. It told a decent story I thought that unlike say Shang Chi didn't feel by the numbers. It also felt consistent and not reserved like the story of Black Widow. Where it felt like the subject matter gets thrown out the window for a typical marvel shlock 3rd act.

It wasn't perfect, kind of messy in the beginning. Long and maybe still not enough time to explore all the things it brings forth. It balanced 10 characters better than I thought it could. Hell I think the action is actually great, an X-men movie should take note in how this really sold the Eternals working as a team.  The movie also mostly looked good.

You know I had no real interests in the movie before. It looked like try hard nonsense and it's still tryhard Marvel stuff. But I don't know except for the need to plant seeds for more Marvel stuff, this felt like more of an actual movie movie than say Ant Man or Shang Chi.

I liked it.

[Bebpo]

As someone who likes lore more than anything in books/tv/movies, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it when it hits D+

Looking forward to Shang-Chi as well this week, but just expecting the usual superhero by the books stuff with some cool action and fun jokes.

[Potato]

Looking forward to Shang-Chi as well this week, but just expecting the usual superhero by the books stuff with some cool action and fun jokes.

You're in for a treat. It's as by-the-numbers as you can get, but the action scenes are excellent and the pacing is spot on.

[HardcoreRetro]

Does the CG in Eternals look as bad in the movie as it does in the trailers? It looks like absolute dogshit in the trailer. Black Panther levels bad.

[D3RANG3D]

[Madrun Badrun]

Dune was great.  I think most of my enjoyment is just seeing a book I love portrayed with the aesthetic I imagined -- which is similar to LOTR.  Unlike LOTR, I'm not sure if the plot beats work as well and I don't see this being a classic in the same way. I think a 4 hour epic would have been better than a 2-part 5-hour movie, but that's not how movies work. 

[Madrun Badrun]

Also, I loved the inverted orbit scenes. 

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/HashtagGriswold/status/1457826575672561671

[Quaker]

I can't help but temper my initial thoughts of superiority over the rubes once I realized a lot of the dudes that read Film Twitter would be all aboard the A24 version of that.

Also third tier, snooty online streaming service "mubi" announced something similar last month except without the poster and only in NYC and I didn't see anyone shitting on that.

Streamer Mubi Launching Curated Movie-A-Week Cinema Pass, Mubi Go, For U.S. Members Starting In NYC This Month

EXCLUSIVE: Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi is launching a U.S. in-theater offering this month letting members see one film a week that it selects at participating cinemas starting in New York City. It said Mubi Go will roll out nationwide in selected markets with LA next in early 2022.

Mubi Go (available in the U.K. and India) will launch Oct. 29 with Netflix’s Passing, directed by Rebecca Hall, that premiered at Sundance and screened at the New York Film Festival. Subscribers can get a free ticket during the film’s theatrical engagement at the Paris Theater and IFC Center ahead of its Nov. 10 streaming release on Netflix.

Adapted from the 1929 novel by Nella Larsen, Passing is the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Ruth Negga), who can pass as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance. Mubi will announce additional titles soon including its own releases, which will stream on its SVOD service, as well as films from partner distributors, which will not.

---

The Harder They Fall

Surprisingly entertaining for a Netflix movie. In style it feels as derivative of Kill Bill and Django as Tarantino's movies are to Leone and grindhouse, which isn't a bad thing when you compare it to the Denzel version of Magnificent Seven which felt pretty bland and soul-less. Unfortunately, the plotting and dialogue aren't nearly as clever, but the cast is fantastic and they do a lot to elevate the material.

[chronovore]

Army of Thieves was fun to watch, but the zombie portions are just hand-wavy exposition to create ANY form of connective tissue between it and Army of the Dead. Dieter as a character is fun, and it's surprising to learn that actor also directed the film. The in-scene/diagetic location names were distracting, as were the character placards (a la SNATCH, etc.), but overall it was a popcorn-level heist flick with some decent laughs. There are four thieves, so there's no army there, either. Some of the jokes work well, then the movie goes back to explain them, just in case you missed it - - the director's German, so I suppose I should be the humor works at all.

[Madrun Badrun]

Red Notice.  I wouldn't call it a good movie, but Heist movies and Indy-knock offs are some of my favourite movies, so I liked this one a lot.

[Bebpo]

Shang-Chi

Uh, wow 

This was extremely good for an MCU film. I know people generally liked it, but did not expect it to be this good.


The fight choreography is insane. The Bus scene is like the best choreographed scene I've seen all year. There's a part where he likes jungle gyms his way up to the driver's seat all in one motion which is straight up jaw-dropping.

The directing & cinematography's good! The acting, especially Tony Leung whose English is great, is very good and the jokes land and are funny.

But most importantly the first 3/4ths of the movie don't feel like an MCU film which is so refreshing. It really feels like a martial arts action comedy doing it's own thing and it's not until the last 1/4th where it becomes Final Fantasy and then Monster Hunter and is big kinda zzz MCU videogame CG stuff. The last 1/4th is still fine, it's just compared to the human street level stuff of the first 3/4ths it really doesn't compare.

In a lot of ways this movie is what an Iron Fist adaptation should've been. I see why people say this feels like it takes a lot from the Immortal Iron Fist run. I liked that run a lot and was super bummed they completely fucked over adapting it with the TV show, so this feels like a good compromise of doing the fun/cool stuff from that comic but without the white kung-fu guy problem.

Probably my 2nd favorite MCU movie after Endgame. Did not expect it to be this great. Nice surprise. Looking forward to Shang-Chi's integration in future Marvel stuff with the other characters.

[Sman]

Shang-Chi

Uh, wow 

This was extremely good for an MCU film. I know people generally liked it, but did not expect it to be this good.


The fight choreography is insane. The Bus scene is like the best choreographed scene I've seen all year. There's a part where he likes jungle gyms his way up to the driver's seat all in one motion which is straight up jaw-dropping.

The directing & cinematography's good! The acting, especially Tony Leung whose English is great, is very good and the jokes land and are funny.

But most importantly the first 3/4ths of the movie don't feel like an MCU film which is so refreshing. It really feels like a martial arts action comedy doing it's own thing and it's not until the last 1/4th where it becomes Final Fantasy and then Monster Hunter and is big kinda zzz MCU videogame CG stuff. The last 1/4th is still fine, it's just compared to the human street level stuff of the first 3/4ths it really doesn't compare.

In a lot of ways this movie is what an Iron Fist adaptation should've been. I see why people say this feels like it takes a lot from the Immortal Iron Fist run. I liked that run a lot and was super bummed they completely fucked over adapting it with the TV show, so this feels like a good compromise of doing the fun/cool stuff from that comic but without the white kung-fu guy problem.

Probably my 2nd favorite MCU movie after Endgame. Did not expect it to be this great. Nice surprise. Looking forward to Shang-Chi's integration in future Marvel stuff with the other characters.

Watched it earlier. The only recent MCU movie I was willing to sit down and watch. No interest in Black Widow and Eternals whatsoever.

I had a similar reaction to Shang Chi as you did, just not as positive. I was entertained with the first half, was on the fence 3/4 of the way in and checked out by the third act. I think I would have liked it better if the movie stayed relatively "grounded" like the first half. 

I had no problems with the actors, though the friendship with Shang-Chi and his girl left me a bit confused. Ok, not every girl has to be in a movie just to be a girlfriend, fair enough, but there's this trope with Hollywood where minority leads tend to be stubbornly asexual.

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

I enjoyed Shang Chi up until they went to Chinese Narnia and it fell off a cliff.

Awkwafina was less annoying than I usually find her in films as the comic relief sidekick, but then they had to make her an actual avenger, which is just lazy writing tbh that she becomes asian hawkeye because reasons. Her being a good driver and saving a bus of people is completely fine and established within the film - taking out demons with magic arrows because she bothered to try at something absolutely fucking isn't.
Goopgina Paltrow can get a pass as instant avenger because she has an actual fucking iron man suit. 1 Broke Girl gets an off screen world class hacker upgrades but doesn't become instant Avenger, and Queen Amidala is gonna get actual Thor powers and a whole film about that. Bucky & Falcon are already established as Avengers B Team from the offset.

At least have Michelle Yeoh give her a fucking Mystical Amulet of +5 Marksmanship or some shit. Its like putting Ned Leeds on the roster because hes Peter Parkers best mate and is sorta helpful on the support side of things.

e:
Also I think they made the cardinal film sin of referencing a much better film within their own film, because there's a Kung Fu Hustle poster on a wall that just made me go "oh yeah, I should rewatch Kung Fu Hustle"

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

oops

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

I r dum

[Sideshow Raheem]

Willy's Wonderland is kind of fun. Nicolas Cage is mute for the entire film.

Initially, it's this goofy set of circumstances with almost no context and setup. And it's just breezy and weird, but then they throw in some annoying kids, and then everybody starts explaining things, and there's absolutely no need for any of it.

(The Red Letter Media guys hated the film, and I can see that, too.)

It's on Hulu. And it made me want to watch the Banana Splits movie, too, which is a real thing.

[Bebpo]

Idk, the end part of Shang-Chi drops off, but I don’t think it’s as a bad as y’all are making it out to be. It’s just like normal popcorn MCU fair with Simu & Tony re-enacting FF Advent Children and then Mitsuzune vs something from Monhun.

Like it’s about the quality of a decent videogame movie. Watching it I was thinking hey finally someone made a decent live action monster hunter film.

If you don’t like MCU in general it’s bad and tropey, but for MCU I thought the end stuff was no worse than the entirety of Black Widow or a lot of other MCU flicks.

Everything until then makes up for it though.

[Quaker]

Also I think they made the cardinal film sin of referencing a much better film within their own film, because there's a Kung Fu Hustle poster on a wall that just made me go "oh yeah, I should rewatch Kung Fu Hustle"

I hate how Black Widow did this indirectly with with The Americans.

Disappointed with Shang Chi. So much of the CGI is absolutely awful. On the Star Wars side, even Solo looks great so I wish Disney wouldn't cheap out and make their Marvel movies look like network TV shows but I know that fucks with their profit margins. I rewatched most of Tony Leung's movies over the summer so I thought at least it'd be nice to check in on him in 2021 but he can only do so much, like most Marvel villains(Jeff Bridges, Sam Rockwell off the top of my head.)

I did find Ben Kingsley's bit amusing, though, and I thought the Chinese dragon was kind of cool?

[Potato]

I'm with Bebpo.

Marvel movies have conditioned me to accept shitty video game third acts where some mystical bullshit montage saves the day and ordinary people suddenly become ninja masters overnight.

I know what I'm watching. I know it's popcorn garbage. I don't care because it's still fun and gives me that dopamine hit of knowing that it sets up even more mediocre movies in the future. Get on board or get the fuck out.

[Nintex]

So I was looking at upcoming 4K Blu-Rays.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit 4K Blu-ray

 

[Joe Molotov]

I bought 3-D Film Archive's last chop-socky release, Dynasty 3D and it was pretty awesome. Even without a 3D TV and glasses, they include an anaglyph 3D version that looks pretty good.

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

Idk, the end part of Shang-Chi drops off, but I don’t think it’s as a bad as y’all are making it out to be. It’s just like normal popcorn MCU fair with Simu & Tony re-enacting FF Advent Children and then Mitsuzune vs something from Monhun.

Like it’s about the quality of a decent videogame movie. Watching it I was thinking hey finally someone made a decent live action monster hunter film.

If you don’t like MCU in general it’s bad and tropey, but for MCU I thought the end stuff was no worse than the entirety of Black Widow or a lot of other MCU flicks.

Everything until then makes up for it though.

I've nothing particularly against the MCU, but a bunch of their recent crop have been formulaic as fuck, and they can't stop going to the Age Of Ultron finale for their endings.

Black Widow was actively bad, and had all the hallmarks of "fulfilling contractual obligation" pretty much written all over it, outside of the actors freshly in the MCU doing their hardest to make a mark and catch a ride on the gravy train until it derails.