Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Transhuman]

It's the 50th anniversary of Marjoe (1972) in a week and it still holds up. But why take my word for it:

https://vimeo.com/174719640

[Tasty]

Just got to say, I really love the varied film recommendations posted here. It's much more diverse than you usually find in film discussions.

[benjipwns]

I like that too even if I don't really post in here anymore outside of the abject comic garbage that is the only movies I seem to "watch" (not very closely though) anymore.

[Tasty]

The Hollywood Reporter: "Nintendo Buys CG Studio to Turbocharge IP-Based Production"

The company has agreed to acquire the visual content company Dynamo Pictures Inc. and rebrand it with "focus on development of visual content utilizing Nintendo IP," the company says.

Pretty rare a company gets the Retro treatment, and even rarer it's a non-gaming company.

[HaughtyFrank]

Makes you wonder if Nintendo really thinks they got a hit on their hands with the mario movie and is already looking to expand

[Potato]

Makes you wonder if Nintendo really thinks they got a hit on their hands with the mario movie and is already looking to expand

They have long had a strategy of expanding their brand to other media/markets. That's why we've got fun parks, the illumination deal and the rumours of the aborted Zelda Netflix thing a while back.

Their licenced merchandise deals have also exploded over the past 10 years.

[Bebpo]

Liked The Night House well enough. HBO got this and Antlers from the pandemic era indie horror flicks and enjoyed both. Looking forward to Black Phone rental but will wait until it's cheaper.

Not sure if there's any other good indie horror I've missed since the pandemic. Saw Host, X and those. I still gotta see The Innocents but not sure if that's horror or just a dark thriller?

[Madrun Badrun]

I liked the The Night House well enough too. 

[HaughtyFrank]

https://twitter.com/SadHillDevan/status/1547746783928782850

 

[bork]

Regarding the Skrull stuff, they're doing Secret Invasion as a Disney+ series.

I know, but nothing has been touched on apart from this announcement.  A Secret Invasion movie, with a build-up in other movies (show certain characters being skrulls in post-credit scenes or something) could have been fun. 

• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) - Maybe this will have some impact on the overarching storyline, but I doubt they would trust an Ant Man film to be the vehicle to drive the story, just like they have not trusted the TV shows to do it.

Supposedly this will have Kang as the villain.  Weird choice to put him in this movie if true.

Phase 4 is a mess because it's a new Phase 1. Things will settle down and cohere in Phases 5 and 6... or they won't and we'll finally have a respite from goddamn superhero movies (and I say that as a DC fanboy and MCU fan).

Either way, we win.

PS- Based on how they're treating it I don't expect the multiverse to last past Phase 6, possibly even the Phase 4 finale (Avengers 5?) They're gonna Crisis on Infinite Earths this shit and market the whole thing back to normies as being "approachable Marvel again." The new universe will be more grounded (less 2040s tech and more realistic stuff), with all the changes fans liked and none of the ones they hated. Feige is a smart cookie.

Book it. Fashion is cyclical and so is showbiz.

My guess is that they will do a movie version of Secret Wars (2015) and use this as a way to re-introduce some characters with new actors playing their parts, like Iron Man. 

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/SadHillDevan/status/1547746783928782850

 

He's right there dummy, jeez!


Last cut in that thread was

[Potato]

It's been a while since I took film and TV in high school, but I don't think that's the way you're supposed to do it...
 

[Cauliflower Of Love]

https://twitter.com/SadHillDevan/status/1547746783928782850

 

I legit thought that first tweet scene was from civil war(?) where they're trying to find bucky. 

Then I realized that's evans and not pratt

[VomKriege]

It's hard to be a man / Tora-San "The singer"
男はつらいよ 旅と女と寅次郎, Otoko wa tsurai yo: Tabi to onna to Torajirō
Episode 31 / 1983
Tora is a love with a singer, again.
She's AWOL of her popstar career and she crosses paths with our protagonist who offers her a day far away from her worries and status. At first he doesn't know who she is.
Tora is invited to the show for an epilogue but doesn't show up and send flowers instead.
It is a formulaic series.
The love interest (who the notes of the specialist here absolutely want to refer as "madonnas") is played by Harumi Miyako which a massive star of the enka style (a pop style inspired by traditional music). Tora's actor, Kiyoshi Atsumi, was a fan, apparently. My main takeaway from this one is that the feelings between the two characters is really played up as more overt. They touch hands ! Very spicy by Tora's standard. It would have happened for realsies if Tora didn't miss that ferry...
Don't worry, she of course patches up things with her ex & plays an impromptu recital in the Toraya shop while our drifter goes to Hokkaido.

A small scene here is Tora asking for a cheap inn only to be suggested a "business hotel by the rail station" which he scoffs at. You also have his relatives commenting on a competing new bakery opening in the "new concrete building". As picked up by a number of other elements and plots in the series, there's an obvious rose tinted reactionary streak to the series. Tora absent mindedly "steal" a walkman (released a couple of years prior) though. In one of the earlier episodes he was selling primitive portable computer games too (the small producer had fire sales when his big competitors bankrupted him by making games based on the same premises). Tora's sister is still paying the mortgage on her tiny house and Takoyaki hopes to get a bunch of Haruki autographs to tame the tax agency employees.

[Bebpo]

The Innocents - Ehhh, decent flick but felt like a waste of time for me. It was ungodly slow and the story was 100% predictable if you've seen Chronicle or any of the other stories like this. Some decent bits, but just took forever to get where it was going.

[Bebpo]

Watched Angel Heart for the first time. Went in expecting Constantine with maybe some Jacob's Ladder with De Niro playing Louis Cypher



Was solid! The story was actually pretty good and gothic cinematography was solid enough. Mickey Rourke was great and entertaining flick. It's a bit over long and directing was just ok with most of it holding up with some style and a few bits are dated.

Movie feels like prime material for a modern A24/True Detective remake (or adaptation of the book its based on). Take the story, give it a bit a better direction and you'd have a winner.

Was worth a watch for sure. Enjoyed it more than The Innocents.

Also never seen pre-Boxing Mickey Rourke and he was pretty much unrecognizable.

[chronovore]

Mickey Rourke has some demons, but the man is an absolutely solid actor. Hard to believe he was a pretty boy at one point.

Picked up a 5-pack of Elvis movies, so watched 1961's Blue Hawaii this morning while doing chores. Hawaii was such a magical place at the time. Honolulu International Airport is unrecognizable. 36 year old Angela Lansbury plays Elvis' mom in it. He was 26 as the time. The writing is atrocious, and no amount of cheese can make up for Elvis' inability to act — and yet the charisma is undeniable.

[Nintex]

Watched Battle of the Five Armies this weekend in 4K. The third Hobbit film and probably my least favorite LOTR film of the 6.
I had actually not yet seen this extended cut. In fact, I don't recall seeing this movie after it released many years ago.

A lot of the pacing of this movie is off so for 90% it just ends up being a giant clusterfuck of a massive CG battle.
The first act of the fight against Smaug is actually the climax of the second movie, so it starts with an 'ending' so to speak.

The tone is strange too. Some scenes are very dramatic and LOTR-like. Like Sir Lee, Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving fighting the servants of Sauron to try and free Gandalf.
Or the dwarves taking casualties as they try to take on the boss orc. But there's also a surprising amount of comic relief in the midst of a battle of life and death.

This is structured almost like a modern Marvel movie in that regard. 
The effects do look a lot better than the other movies though. It holds up pretty well compared to say the CG of Return of the King, which was mostly just copy pasta.

[Tasty]

It's soooooo dumb and bad, especially the 27 endings trying to recapture dat ROTK nostalgia (and 50% of them directly mentioning story elements to come in Fellowship).

"There's a young warrior there named Strider... go seek him..."

[Phoenix Dark]

Incredibly disappointing. The first two acts are good, well paced, lots of intrigue leaving you on the edge of your seat...and then the finale just shits the bed. Which is frustrating as fuck because it really nailed what it was trying to do/say about different forms of misogyny without feeling preachy, and then the ending just kinda hits you with a shovel in the face in the weirdest way imaginable lol.

[Tasty]

Some scenes are very dramatic and LOTR-like. Like Sir Lee, Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving fighting the servants of Sauron to try and free Gandalf.

While also Very Stupid, this is definitely my favorite scene of the Hobbit trilogy lol. Been waiting for Galadriel beast moding Sauron right-hands since the tease in Fellowship.

The effects do look a lot better than the other movies though. It holds up pretty well compared to say the CG of Return of the King, which was mostly just copy pasta.

Counterpoint: CG Billy Connolly

[Cauliflower Of Love]

Just started watching fate of the furious and it's amazing.

[Potato]

The Hobbit films should best be forgotten. Every part of them is poor and retroactively tarnishes the LotR films...much like the Star Wars prequel and sequel trilogies.

[Phoenix Dark]

I've seen the LOTR films countless times, in and out the theater, but haven't touched the Hobbit movies. Prob won't until I have kids or something and they want to watch it. I wouldn't have been happy but you could have sold me on two films. But I just will never respect turning a 300 page book into a trilogy of overly long, bloated films.

[Polident Hive]

Incredibly disappointing. The first two acts are good, well paced, lots of intrigue leaving you on the edge of your seat...and then the finale just shits the bed. Which is frustrating as fuck because it really nailed what it was trying to do/say about different forms of misogyny without feeling preachy, and then the ending just kinda hits you with a shovel in the face in the weirdest way imaginable lol.

I’m taking my time to see it. Big fan of Alex Garland but everybody has said it’s his worst by a mile. That it’s as blunt as a bag of hammers. Sometimes I question if spelling out the message is born out of frustration with audiences and critics. Hearing Ridley Scott remark on interpretations of the truth in The Last Duel. In not so many words he called those who believed Matt Damon was heroic dumbasses.

[HaughtyFrank]

Incredibly disappointing. The first two acts are good, well paced, lots of intrigue leaving you on the edge of your seat...and then the finale just shits the bed. Which is frustrating as fuck because it really nailed what it was trying to do/say about different forms of misogyny without feeling preachy, and then the ending just kinda hits you with a shovel in the face in the weirdest way imaginable lol.

I’m taking my time to see it. Big fan of Alex Garland but everybody has said it’s his worst by a mile. That it’s as blunt as a bag of hammers. Sometimes I question if spelling out the message is born out of frustration with audiences and critics. Hearing Ridley Scott remark on interpretations of the truth in The Last Duel. In not so many words he called those who believed Matt Damon was heroic dumbasses.

I think there's also a bit of a question if horror movies are leaning a bit too heavily on a social message ever since Get Out (they obviously had those before, but ever since Get Out it feels like the focus on a social message has become more crucial)

Read this argument when I was looking up some articles about "Titane", where the author basically found it refreshing that there isn't really a concise, easily identifiable message and instead lots of room for interpretation that isn't as simple as "oh it's about feminism".

I haven't seen "Men" but I going by the name and trailer I assume the message isn't exactly going to be a revelation.

[Nintex]

I've seen the LOTR films countless times, in and out the theater, but haven't touched the Hobbit movies. Prob won't until I have kids or something and they want to watch it. I wouldn't have been happy but you could have sold me on two films. But I just will never respect turning a 300 page book into a trilogy of overly long, bloated films.

The first and second Hobbit movies aren't as good as LOTR but they ain't bad either.
The first Hobbit is more light hearted and Disney-esque than the original trilogy. Clearly meant to be suitable for a younger audience too.
It was also a weird time for movies overall when they tried to make 3D a thing by inserting specific shots and sequences that would work well in 3D.

The second part is probably the best out of the 3 but because it ends with a cliffhanger so it doesn't really have an ending.
It's a fun movie and the casting is on point with Stephen Fry included as an excentric and pompous lord.

The third movie really shits the bed though despite having so much to work with.
Unlike the previous 2 the original cut is probably better than the extended, because the extended cut mostly just adds more fight scene footage. 

[Potato]

I've seen the LOTR films countless times, in and out the theater, but haven't touched the Hobbit movies. Prob won't until I have kids or something and they want to watch it. I wouldn't have been happy but you could have sold me on two films. But I just will never respect turning a 300 page book into a trilogy of overly long, bloated films.

The first and second Hobbit movies aren't as good as LOTR but they ain't bad either.
The first Hobbit is more light hearted and Disney-esque than the original trilogy. Clearly meant to be suitable for a younger audience too.
It was also a weird time for movies overall when they tried to make 3D a thing by inserting specific shots and sequences that would work well in 3D.

The second part is probably the best out of the 3 but because it ends with a cliffhanger so it doesn't really have an ending.
It's a fun movie and the casting is on point with Stephen Fry included as an excentric and pompous lord.

The third movie really shits the bed though despite having so much to work with.
Unlike the previous 2 the original cut is probably better than the extended, because the extended cut mostly just adds more fight scene footage. 

Don't listen to this man. He's Dutch and we all know they eat their children.

The Hobbit films are all trash. Irredeemable, unholy, uwatchable trash that do everything to rape the source material and your childhood.

[Bebpo]

The King's Man - What was the point of this? Like usually when there's a prequel there's a reason to show how things came to be. This was entertaining but just nothing story. Even the villain they spend the whole movie not showing their face for a big reveal and it's some nobody.

Best part of the movie is the Rasputin fight scene.

The WW1 stuff was weird and tonally off since WW1 is grim and serious and Kingsman is cartoon silly action.

[Tasty]

You're sipping a bit much of the 1917 koolaid. There's no reason a silly WW1 movie couldn't work.

Hogan's Heroes lasted for how many seasons? And was set in the "more serious" of the two World Wars...

[HaughtyFrank]

The King's Man - What was the point of this? Like usually when there's a prequel there's a reason to show how things came to be. This was entertaining but just nothing story. Even the villain they spend the whole movie not showing their face for a big reveal and it's some nobody.

Best part of the movie is the Rasputin fight scene.

The WW1 stuff was weird and tonally off since WW1 is grim and serious and Kingsman is cartoon silly action.

I thought the night fight scene in no-man's-land was a pretty cool idea but it's true that it's kind of a weird prequel and it felt like it lost energy towards the finale

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

You're sipping a bit much of the 1917 koolaid. There's no reason a silly WW1 movie couldn't work.

Hogan's Heroes lasted for how many seasons? And was set in the "more serious" of the two World Wars...

I guess you haven't seen The Kings Man, because the way the WW1 scene works in it would be like if during the training montage in Kingsmen 1 eggsy goes to Afghanistan, gets maimed by an IED, and then behaded by the Taliban and then they just drop his whole plot and stick with colin firth for the rest of the film

[Joe Molotov]

Lmao, how did this trilogy become so unhinged? The first movie was great, then the second one was so bad that it retroactively made the first one worse, now the third one looks like it's ready to launch the entire franchise into the sun. Sometimes it pays to quit while you're ahead, but that's never been Halloween's strong suit I guess.

[VomKriege]

That's the Halloween conundrum. Good blueprint for the most basic (or purest) slasher but you can only do that so much in an inferior form to the original, framework doesn't really support anything else. Is it really more terminal than the ones with the cult and stuff ?

See you next reboot in a few years !

[bork]

The King's Man - What was the point of this? Like usually when there's a prequel there's a reason to show how things came to be. This was entertaining but just nothing story. Even the villain they spend the whole movie not showing their face for a big reveal and it's some nobody.

Best part of the movie is the Rasputin fight scene.

The WW1 stuff was weird and tonally off since WW1 is grim and serious and Kingsman is cartoon silly action.

The only thing I disagree with you on is this:

usually when there's a prequel there's a reason to show how things came to be

It did establish why Kingsman was set up, unless I'm not following you here?  And I guess there could be more to come based on the mid-credits scene.

The big-bad wasn't a nobody-

spoiler (click to show/hide)

he was shown earlier in the movie and was Kitchener's aide.

[close]

[Joe Molotov]

That's the Halloween conundrum. Good blueprint for the most basic (or purest) slasher but you can only do that so much in an inferior form to the original, framework doesn't really support anything else. Is it really more terminal than the ones with the cult and stuff ?

See you next reboot in a few years !

More proof that Halloween 3 was the actual only good Halloween sequel.

[Madrun Badrun]

Will come back to the franchise when there is a Halloween x Scream cross over.

[Tasty]

That's the Halloween conundrum. Good blueprint for the most basic (or purest) slasher but you can only do that so much in an inferior form to the original, framework doesn't really support anything else. Is it really more terminal than the ones with the cult and stuff ?

See you next reboot in a few years !

More proof that Halloween 3 was the actual only good Halloween sequel.

I liked H20 but it probably doesn't hold up allllll that well.

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

Halloween peaked at Busta Rhymes JUDO CHOPping Michael Myers as part of a reality TV show

[VomKriege]

That's the Halloween conundrum. Good blueprint for the most basic (or purest) slasher but you can only do that so much in an inferior form to the original, framework doesn't really support anything else. Is it really more terminal than the ones with the cult and stuff ?

See you next reboot in a few years !

More proof that Halloween 3 was the actual only good Halloween sequel.

I liked H20 but it probably doesn't hold up allllll that well.

Another issue is that it lost a lot of oommph of being "the conclusion of the original arc".

[Tasty]

Halloween 2018 woulda been pretty awesome if not for the stupid/contrived psychiatrist twist.

That alone put it firmly in C/C- territory for me.

[VomKriege]

https://twitter.com/flieldy/status/1549197214076977152

[Joe Molotov]

Halloween 2018 woulda been pretty awesome if not for the stupid/contrived psychiatrist twist.

That alone put it firmly in C/C- territory for me.

I would have given them props if they'd actually committed to the bit and had the psychiatrist become Michael instead of just immediately killing him off.

[HaughtyFrank]

So this is a thing



Looks like it follows the marvel formula

[Nintex]

It looks better than I expected actually 

[Madrun Badrun]

Ya that looks good, with a lot of actual D&D setting stuff.

[Madrun Badrun]

Lightyear was good, just not the Pixar formula.  Feel like the bad reviews are just expectation creep. 

[Potato]

The time has certainly never been better for a D&D movie to work. Can't help but feel that a steaming series would be better. Maybe this will lead into that type of setup.

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/rudy_betrayed/status/1550234577519648768

[Bebpo]

Promising Young Woman - Was pretty good if not kinda predictable until the ending which was both REALLY GOOD and also holy fucking shit that's dark.

[Polident Hive]

Netflix added this movie called The Gray Man. It’s an action movie from the directors of the second highest grossing movie ever, with one of the stars of that, and Ryan Gosling. First I’ve heard anything about it. Also noticed a movie added some weeks ago, Spiderhead, from Joseph Kosinski. Guy who directed the hugely successful Top Gun 2. The leads are Miles Teller, also from Top Gun 2, and Chris Hemsworth of Blackhat and Rush fame.

Am I so out of touch from the regular advertising channels or does Netflix not market anything? Don’t know what Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is, but I’ve at least heard of it.

[Nintex]

https://twitter.com/OppenheimerFilm/status/1550080396368482304

[VomKriege]

Netflix added this movie called The Gray Man. It’s an action movie from the directors of the second highest grossing movie ever, with one of the stars of that, and Ryan Gosling. First I’ve heard anything about it. Also noticed a movie added some weeks ago, Spiderhead, from Joseph Kosinski. Guy who directed the hugely successful Top Gun 2. The leads are Miles Teller, also from Top Gun 2, and Chris Hemsworth of Blackhat and Rush fame.

Am I so out of touch from the regular advertising channels or does Netflix not market anything? Don’t know what Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is, but I’ve at least heard of it.

I feel the same. Those are pushed when you open the app, they put those sort of flicks front and center. Mostly discussed it with the person who I shared my account with though. I won't say there never was any outside marketing (I think the Michael Bay thing and the Hemsworth movie set in Bangladesh had some YouTube ads... but that's it). It's true a lot of those Netflix action films are derivative or feel like slightly bland knockoffs but lack of any public profile making them their own things might heighten this problem.

The only film I ever recall getting a lot of marketing, including posters in the subway, is Roma by Cuaron and maybe that was because they had a limited theater run ? And The Irishman by Scorsese was talked about a lot. In short the prestige ones that really put Netflix in the conversation of being a legitimate actor in cinema.

That's movies tho. The real bread and butter is in the series, I suppose. They're more proactive, publicity wise, with those.

We know marketing budgets for blockbusters are insane affairs nowadays so maybe they save up a lot in expenses and having all that content at the ready for people trialing Netflix or hearing about it via subscribers is doing what they want it to do.

[Transhuman]

Direct-to-Netflix is the new Direct-to-video. The reason you havn't seen it advertised is probably because it sucks.

[VomKriege]

Direct-to-Netflix is the new Direct-to-video. The reason you havn't seen it advertised is probably because it sucks.

Yet I see you constantly advertised. Curious.

[VomKriege]

You're maybe not wrong in that Netflix seem content having flashy exciting thumbnails to rotate on their home page. In that sense it's not different from a videoclub. The budget they put into those is magnitudes higher though.

There's some good sense building a catalog though, you can always sell or lease it down the line.

[james]

Netflix added this movie called The Gray Man. It’s an action movie from the directors of the second highest grossing movie ever, with one of the stars of that, and Ryan Gosling. First I’ve heard anything about it. Also noticed a movie added some weeks ago, Spiderhead, from Joseph Kosinski. Guy who directed the hugely successful Top Gun 2. The leads are Miles Teller, also from Top Gun 2, and Chris Hemsworth of Blackhat and Rush fame.

Am I so out of touch from the regular advertising channels or does Netflix not market anything? Don’t know what Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is, but I’ve at least heard of it.

I feel the same. Those are pushed when you open the app, they put those sort of flicks front and center. Mostly discussed it with the person who I shared my account with though. I won't say there never was any outside marketing (I think the Michael Bay thing and the Hemsworth movie set in Bangladesh had some YouTube ads... but that's it). It's true a lot of those Netflix action films are derivative or feel like slightly bland knockoffs but lack of any public profile making them their own things might heighten this problem.

The only film I ever recall getting a lot of marketing, including posters in the subway, is Roma by Cuaron and maybe that was because they had a limited theater run ? And The Irishman by Scorsese was talked about a lot. In short the prestige ones that really put Netflix in the conversation of being a legitimate actor in cinema.

That's movies tho. The real bread and butter is in the series, I suppose. They're more proactive, publicity wise, with those.

We know marketing budgets for blockbusters are insane affairs nowadays so maybe they save up a lot in expenses and having all that content at the ready for people trialing Netflix or hearing about it via subscribers is doing what they want it to do.

Looks like The Gray Man is in theaters as well.

But they really need a better system. Does Netflix even have a useful "latest releases" page?

[VomKriege]

Those flicks generally are prominently in the top banners on the Netflix homepage as it was designed (when I had it).
It's probably more about retention than outreach ?

Anyway, it's maybe down to personal impressions. Bird Box generated some hype on its own. I'm sure Army of the Dead did too.
Saving on all those marketing expenses (once people are in, they'll see those programs offered) by focusing it elsewhere is probably saving them 9 figures per year.

[Madrun Badrun]

That's a good point.  Like I don't think there is too much Netflix content that I can't just see a new movie and look up it's rotten score to see if I should watch.  For me I don't feel like it's not that I'm unaware of new content I just have trouble judging the quality of that content from Netflix alone.  Which is intentional no doubt. 

[HaughtyFrank]

Those flicks generally are prominently in the top banners on the Netflix homepage as it was designed (when I had it).
It's probably more about retention than outreach ?

Anyway, it's maybe down to personal impressions. Bird Box generated some hype on its own. I'm sure Army of the Dead did too.
Saving on all those marketing expenses (once people are in, they'll see those programs offered) by focusing it elsewhere is probably saving them 9 figures per year.

True, Squid game did become a huge phenomenon despite Netflix doing absolute jack shit for advertising, so maybe they put a lot of stock into simple word of mouth, reviews and their in app recomendations