Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Mupepe]

Zootopia ruined 2016 for me. I hated it.

[Madrun Badrun]

That's cause your a fox

[Raist]

Gunna watch The Shining tonight for the first time for NYE~
Been kinda obsessed with Nicholson lately, and it's about damn time I watch this.

Honestly with age I tend to agree with what an acquaintance told me : that the Shining is really a comedy / parody. I never rewatched the whole thing to confirm or deny that but fact is there's some parts hard to take with a straight face (Scatman Crothers's interior decoration, further emphasized in its ridiculousness with a very slow zoom in shot/reverse-shot). At the very least I think there's some truth to the fact the film is taken way too seriously (there's a whole documentary on the crackpot theories and fanwank...), when Kubrick actually indulged quite a bit in satire or dark humour. There's something to be said for the the deadpan delivery of totally over the top visuals or story points.
Doesn't diminish in any way the grandiose direction or the actor's performance.

Well no, it's Kubrick's confession that the moon landing was fake and he directed it, duh.

[Bebpo]

How's Train to Busan if I'm totally sick of zombie movies at this point?

Just realized I still need to see The Wailing and The Handmaiden.  Damn Korean Cinema was rocking in 2016.

[Mr. Gundam]

I missed out on Handmaiden while it was in theaters in Seattle. Hoping Amazon puts it up on Prime Video sooner than later.

[Bebpo]

I missed out on Handmaiden while it was in theaters in Seattle. Hoping Amazon puts it up on Prime Video sooner than later.

Amazon has Jan 24th as the release date.  Not too much longer!

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Elle is... well...

You know how a lot of Paul Verhoeven's very purposeful satire in Starship Troopers was lost on people? I think that's gonna be the case here, as the humor here is waaaay more arch and cruel. Actually, I already know that it will as the screening I just went to featured a large proportion of its greyhair-and-cardigan set trudging out of the theater in a disgruntled or otherwise visibly agitated state. The twists that this story takes is really quite a bit of the whole thing, so I'll just say the performances are great, and its a good movie on the whole. Its also massively ****ed up, so maybe don't take the folks out to see this.

[VomKriege]

It was pretty bad. Maybe getting a director who directs art movies was a bad choice for a movie about dudes jumping around and killing people.

It is happening a lot lately, isn't he ? Marc Forster being thrusted on Quantum of Solace and World War Z, Marc Webb on Amazing Spiderman. Gareth Edwards going straight from a half-million film (though one tangentially related) to GODZILLA, Colin Trevorrow for Jurassic World and I'm sure you could name a few others who would qualify.
All the more confusing since those big budget filmings have become hypertechnical affairs with VFX crammed in several hundred shots and are more than ever slave to focus testing and whatever perceived trends are hot at the moment.

I suspect it may be that apprenticeship and more traditional technical careers and promotions within studio systems have died a couple generations back and the effects are felt now. It's true outside the US as well so that usual source of tried and true directors dried up. Majors may thus be frantically vacuuming whatever talent they find at a higher pace to throw them in the trenches, before they can develop their own path in so-called "indie" filmmaking.
It's not surprising then to see JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon elevated to reliable blockbuster helms : TV still has that more rigid structure with good "company men" having to deliver under a ton of constraints.

But I dunno, maybe it's just a perception thing.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Chinese technicians getting some US prospects in the near future, especially if funds continue to flow from the PRC.

[toku]

Definitely an interesting way of putting it Kriege, especially the tv angle. A lot of directors that have been toiling away in TV for a decade plus are suddenly getting called up to the silver screen.

[Great Rumbler]

It was pretty bad. Maybe getting a director who directs art movies was a bad choice for a movie about dudes jumping around and killing people.

It is happening a lot lately, isn't he ? Marc Forster being thrusted on Quantum of Solace and World War Z, Marc Webb on Amazing Spiderman. Gareth Edwards going straight from a half-million film (though one tangentially related) to GODZILLA, Colin Trevorrow for Jurassic World and I'm sure you could name a few others who would qualify.
All the more confusing since those big budget filmings have become hypertechnical affairs with VFX crammed in several hundred shots and are more than ever slave to focus testing and whatever perceived trends are hot at the moment.

Denis Villeneuve went from gritty crime thrillers to Arrival to Blade Runner 2 to Dune. And if his first scifi outing is anything to go by, then I'm all for it.

[Quaker]

Gunna watch The Shining tonight for the first time for NYE~
Been kinda obsessed with Nicholson lately, and it's about damn time I watch this.

You *have* to track down The Last Detail.

Kind of a bummer that it's rarely in the conversation along with Cuckoo's Nest and Chinatown.

Holy shit, this movie is amazing. I can't believe it's from 1968 and has no CGI in it!

Edit: Gonna have to do a lot of research on this movie once I'm done watching.

It's been a while since I've seen it, but I seem to remember the sequel, while not as cerebral or finely crafted, is actually a pretty cool Cold War-era genre movie.

I also think it was pretty explicit in breaking down a lot of what happened at then end of 2001, which some people might take issue with, but I secretly kind of appreciated that. 

[VomKriege]

Oh it's not all bad, mind. I'd argue Villeneuve was not thrown directly into the megabucks VFX heavy meat grinder. But yeah, talented directors will keep on being talented.
 
Besides I may be talking out of my ass, it's maybe just a trend. At one point Hollywood was shopping the big directors in commercials, maybe now it's the indie craze, who knows ?

It was really weird to see Forster chosen for Quantum of Solace though, in a series which has long been entrusted to the safe hands of reliable technicians if not to direct collaborators (like Peter Hunt). Only non-British Commonwealth director in the series too.

[Great Rumbler]

2010 was definitely weaker than it's predecessor, but still a solid scifi movie in its own right.

[Quaker]

It was pretty bad. Maybe getting a director who directs art movies was a bad choice for a movie about dudes jumping around and killing people.

It is happening a lot lately, isn't he ? Marc Forster being thrusted on Quantum of Solace and World War Z, Marc Webb on Amazing Spiderman. Gareth Edwards going straight from a half-million film (though one tangentially related) to GODZILLA, Colin Trevorrow for Jurassic World and I'm sure you could name a few others who would qualify.
All the more confusing since those big budget filmings have become hypertechnical affairs with VFX crammed in several hundred shots and are more than ever slave to focus testing and whatever perceived trends are hot at the moment.

Not sure where the Chronicle guy fits into this, I'm sure both sides blame each other for what went down with...Fant-4-tastic.

I suspect it may be that apprenticeship and more traditional technical careers and promotions within studio systems have died a couple generations back and the effects are felt now. It's true outside the US as well so that usual source of tried and true directors dried up. Majors may thus be frantically vacuuming whatever talent they find at a higher pace to throw them in the trenches, before they can develop their own path in so-called "indie" filmmaking.
It's not surprising then to see JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon elevated to reliable blockbuster helms : TV still has that more rigid structure with good "company men" having to deliver under a ton of constraints.

But I dunno, maybe it's just a perception thing.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Chinese technicians getting some US prospects in the near future, especially if funds continue to flow from the PRC.

It might also be a function of studios being so risk averse with their formulaic tentpoles that they'd rather hire guys that show some aptitude that they can still push around instead of more established directors that will fight for their vision. See: Jon Favreau/Edgar Wright/Joss Whedon.

[VomKriege]

2010 is a decent film though one that indeed is way too fixated on explaining 2001 (In the image of the book, if I'm not mistaken ?), though it has some shaky visual ideas at the start (Like Roy Scheider lives with dolphins in a basin at the center of the living room ?) before they get to space.

[Great Rumbler]

It follows the book pretty closely, yeah.

[Mupepe]

So I decided to rewatch the shining because of this thread. I do it about once a year. Shelley Duvall does such an incredible job of making Wendy a pathetic and annoying character.

[Bebpo]

A Monster Calls - good stuff, needs a bit more polish to be Pans Labyrinth type great, but good drama.

Begin Again - fuck, this was really good.  Best movie I've watched since Green Room last year.  Great energy feel good movie about music and wtf Kiera Knightley sings all her own songs and they're good; Mark Ruffalo does his Mark Ruffalo but he's not too annoying?  Mos Def with a weirdo beard?  All kinds of sexual tension but no creep factor?  Really liked this movie.  Liked it as much as Once.  Now I gotta see Sing Street.

[Valkyrie]

(Spoiler warnings below, even though you've all probably seen Eyes Wide Shut).


After seeing some of you talking about old movies, I've been trying to watch some (and working on Kubrick's movies at the moment, as you might have noticed). Watched Eyes Wide Shut today, and again, without knowing what I was in for. The whole sex house thing was very unexpected, but really interesting (and it poked my fantasies a little). I kept wondering forth and back, thinking I had it all figured out, then 5 minutes later "Oh, NOW I get it". It really messed with my mind, how it seemed so certain who the dead girl was until we saw her at the morgue. At some point (especially the scene where you saw Nic with the mask on his pillow) I really believed his wife was the cultpit and did it just to test him. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Who knows, but either way, what an awesome movie.

What should I watch next, Full Metal Jacket or A Clockwork Orange?

[Quaker]

Clockwork Orange. Then a Full Metal Jacket --> Whiplash double feature.

Don't sleep on The Killing, Paths of Glory or Barry Lyndon.

[Cindi Mayweather]

Barry Lyndon is the most slept on Kubrick film. What a classic.

[ToxicAdam]

If you haven't seen A.I. yet, you must. There is still a lot of Kubrick in that movie even though it's a Spielburg movie through and through.

The first 40-50 minutes of that movie is one of my favorite movie experiences ever. It kind of falls off after that, but will still keep you fascinated.

[VomKriege]

AI 

[Great Rumbler]

AI is kind of okay [the Flesh Fair part is pretty great], but there's just not much there beyond that. And that ending is just...

[chronovore]

Saw Suicide Squad on the plane ride home. I liked Rick Flag and Harlequin, was OK with Deadshot, and thought the pre-final-change Enchantress was super cool. Good effects. The first 30 minutes or so were good. After that, the film becomes steadily worse, even when it seems unlikely that it's possible to become worse. At least Batman vs. Superman had the guts to be bad the entire way through.

Edit: Margot Robbie's hotpants nearly made it worth watching. 

[toku]

[Yeti]

I kind of liked Suicide Squad, sure it was a bad movie but at least it was an entertaining movie. I had fun.

[Momo]

http://trekcore.com/blog/2017/01/zoe-saldana-really-hopes-well-get-a-star-trek-4/

tl;dr : acctress wants a paycheck. No I hope the abramsverse is dead.

[chronovore]

http://trekcore.com/blog/2017/01/zoe-saldana-really-hopes-well-get-a-star-trek-4/

tl;dr : acctress wants a paycheck. No I hope the abramsverse is dead.

I liked BEYOND better than either of the previous two. A lot better. It suffered from runaway concept artist silliness with Yorktown design and having that silly design be central to plot resolution. The rest of it was a lot of fun.


It'd be fun to see Chris Pine's Kirk dealing with his dad; that's apparently the pitch for Kelvin Timeline film number 4.

[Momo]

My pitch is I'd rather have TV shows in the main universe.

[Bebpo]

The Wailing - Yeah, I dunno about this.  Reviews are great.  It's gorgeous looking.  The plot's interesting.  But at almost 2 hours 40 mins it's just so slow I couldn't deal with it.  Plus the main character being kind of a dolt and make dumb decisions was frustrating.  Then after the long haul it gets to the end and the plot is interesting and it sorta leaves it all super ambiguous as to what the film was actually about.  I read some interpretations and don't really find any of them fully satisfying.  It's a little too slow and too ambiguous for me.  It's a good movie, but sometimes a movie just doesn't click and that was this one for me.

[Great Rumbler]

I was of a similar mind about The Wailing. I mean, I did like it and it's got a lot of great things going for it, but other aspects of it are just confusing and a bit frustrating. One thing that really just didn't work for me was

spoiler (click to show/hide)

when the Japanese man went full-on demon at the end. Just felt a bit too ridiculous and I thought it worked a lot better in the rest of the movie when things were more ambiguous.

[close]

[Bebpo]

I think if it was half the length I'd have enjoyed it a lot more even with the exact same story.  It's just so long and I felt in the middle it sorta meanders and then gets interesting again in the end.  I guess with such a big length and stuff getting interesting in the end I expected a better payoff/more satisfaction for the time invested in the plot.

One problem I have:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm generally fine with the lady in white = good, Japanese man = bad; movie about faith and how confusing good/evil can be.  Although it's not really, because the guy originally thought Japanese guy = evil and was pro the woman, and the only reason he changes his mind is because someone who seems legit and knows what they were doing told him otherwise.  So I dunnooooooo.  But my main problem is the Shaman, I've watched some explanations and I feel like every one I watch has a plot hole.  Some say he was the Japanese guy's lackey, others that he was legit good guy shaman and then gets possessed and becomes the lackey of the evil spirit that's possessing the Japanese man, but I feel like both of those have plot wholes at points in the film if that's true.  I feel like the shaman's role is too amibiguous and considering he is the sole plot person that convinces the main guy to not believe the woman in white, I'm not satisfied with the overall plot not having a good satisfaction of who the shaman is in all of it.  I think maybe it could have been less ambiguous about his character.

Another thing is it feels a little xenophobic considering Korea/Japan relations where the old Japanese foreigner is THE DEVIL :|  Like it can be social commentary, but I also feel in kind of re-enforces the bad past scars between the countries.  Not sure if that's a good thing tbh.

[close]

[benjipwns]

I watched Coalition about the forming of the government in the UK after the 2010 election. Some of the actors were crazy spot-on for who they were playing, especially the guy doing Gordon Brown. He was more Gordon Brown than Gordon Brown really is.

Oh wait, here's the whole thing that comes up when I searched for the trailer:


Why are the British the only ones who can make decently enjoyable realistic political programs? I mean if you're willing to count Veep sorta.

"Gamechanger? Everything's a gamechanger these days! The new logo's a gamechanger! My left ball's a fucking gamechanger!" - I hope this is a real quote.

[Bebpo]

Isn't Veep done by a British guy (who did In the Loop) though?  So it's sorta British.  But yes I agree with you 100% on that they nail the politics writing.

[benjipwns]

That's why I figured you could count it sorta. He left the show before this last season though.

Yes, (Prime) Minister I still feel could be used as a backbone of a politics course, even in the U.S.

American political comedy/drama usually seems way over the top grandiose and silly...ultimate example: The West Wing

I guess maybe British writers aren't concerned about not playing favorites even with their fictional characters. This movie showed everyone in pretty "bad" light, petty, being fake at times, cursing, etc. though it was mildly favorable to Nick Clegg. But like Yes, Minister, The Thick of It and Veep never have anyone who's all good/perfect even the people never shown, just talked about.

Though I guess too that's fair criticism for many common/mainstream American shows and movies. It's obvious from the start who you're supposed to be rooting for and against. Even character "flaws" are like "they're too humble/trusting" or whatever.

[Cindi Mayweather]

One Piece Film Gold

Great fun! Cool action and animation! Heists! One Piece! Only negative is boobs.

Hidden Figures

Great movie. I don't think it'll win any awards from the academy unfortunately but I thought it was informative, inspiring, and a good ol time. Went to see it with my mother and boyfriend and we all came away with smiles. Great movie and it has QUEEN JANELLE in it!!!!

[Bebpo]

That's why I figured you could count it sorta. He left the show before this last season though.

Yes, (Prime) Minister I still feel could be used as a backbone of a politics course, even in the U.S.

American political comedy/drama usually seems way over the top grandiose and silly...ultimate example: The West Wing

I guess maybe British writers aren't concerned about not playing favorites even with their fictional characters. This movie showed everyone in pretty "bad" light, petty, being fake at times, cursing, etc. though it was mildly favorable to Nick Clegg. But like Yes, Minister, The Thick of It and Veep never have anyone who's all good/perfect even the people never shown, just talked about.

Though I guess too that's fair criticism for many common/mainstream American shows and movies. It's obvious from the start who you're supposed to be rooting for and against. Even character "flaws" are like "they're too humble/trusting" or whatever.

Interesting that he left the show before the latest season.  I'm really behind on all my comedy TV shows I like, I think I'm around midway through S2 in Veep.  Hopefully if he left the show it means he's going to make more great movies now.

[benjipwns]

He's taking some time off, IIRC, he mentioned that he hadn't expected to be on Veep as long and never did further seasons of The Thick of It because he felt like he was getting into the realm of trying too hard with unbelievable characters.

I remember similar comments made by the creators of both versions of The Office, that they couldn't keep seriously going farther so they had to leave it to others.

And that's with the shortened HBO and UK show order lengths for many of those. (First two US Office seasons were shortened as well.)

[benjipwns]

  From the Director of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

[benjipwns]

dying at this

[benjipwns]

Hannibal Buress on the cast 

Story by Reno 911! creators 

[benjipwns]

#F8
BAYWATCH
RETURN OF XANDER CAGE

YEAR OF THE MOVIES OF THE YEAR

[G The Resurrected]

#F8
BAYWATCH
RETURN OF XANDER CAGE

YEAR OF THE MOVIES OF THE YEAR

Tickets bought! DBOX'n this bitch

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

I tend to judge present day Jackie Chan movies on a curve. But just because age and a stunningly long list of debilitating injuries have taken their toll doesn't mean the man can't still put on a good show. Case in point, I found Railroad Tigers to be a pretty good time. Jackie leads a team of railroad bandits during the Japanese occupation and train related action and heisting shenanigans ensue. Also a lot of goofy slapstick, sneering villains, unconvincing CGI, and an near endless and James Cameron-esque climax occur. This film is clearly an attempt to harken back to Chan's glory days, but with an ensemble cast and a less punishing workload for him, and that's great in theory, but the filmmaking skill isn't quite there and the special effects don't thrill as much as old-fashioned stuntwork does. So its an imperfect imitation of Jackie's classics, but that's okay, because what we've got here is still a good bit of fun. The dude has at least three more flicks dropping in 2017, if they're all this good I'd say that's a pretty good year for him.

[VomKriege]

Looks a bit like a mix of Shangaï Express & Magnificent Warriors too. Richard Ng  
The CGI really is 

[helios]

[benjipwns]

I think this is a very important video. Maybe the most important video. This is a video that won't be forgotten for the next 50 maybe even 100,000 years.

[Quaker]

I watched Coalition about the forming of the government in the UK after the 2010 election. Some of the actors were crazy spot-on for who they were playing, especially the guy doing Gordon Brown. He was more Gordon Brown than Gordon Brown really is.

Oh wait, here's the whole thing that comes up when I searched for the trailer:


Why are the British the only ones who can make decently enjoyable realistic political programs? I mean if you're willing to count Veep sorta.

"Gamechanger? Everything's a gamechanger these days! The new logo's a gamechanger! My left ball's a fucking gamechanger!" - I hope this is a real quote.

This is only going by your short description but it sounds similar to what HBO already did with Recount and Game Change.

[Stoney Mason]

Watched "Your Name" a couple of nights ago. It was good. Better than I expected. It's all about the feels and I have a feeling that if it was live action, I would think it was quite hokey but it works well enough in animated form.

[Cindi Mayweather]

i really need to see this new jackie chan movie. fuck, I still need to see fences too.

[bork]

Ocean's 12 popped up on Netflix recently and I watched it last night.  First time I've seen that movie in...I don't remember.  I saw it in the theater and I watched it at least once on DVD, but that's about it.  Meanwhile, I've seen Ocean's 11 (one of my favorite movies of all time) and 13 so many times that I've lost count.

And after seeing it again...I remembered why I don't go back and watch it like the other two.  What happened here?  The story was kind of dumb and there were a lot of boring parts.

[Mupepe]

The Julia Roberts pretending to be Julia Roberts shit is one of the worst things in any film. 

[bork]

The Julia Roberts pretending to be Julia Roberts shit is one of the worst things in any film.

Julia Roberts not being in 13 at all

[chronovore]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/raw-red-band-trailer-963958


Looks tasty.

[chronovore]

Hell yes. I just re-watched Ocean's 11 and saw Ocean's 13 for the first time. 11 is AWESOME, just brilliant and tight and perfect. 13 is a near return-to-form, but just slightly trying too hard to be 11.

12 is not something I ever need to see again. I think Clooney just wanted a nice working vacation in Europe with his friends. Nothing wrong with that, but the Julia Roberts plot conceit was just wankery.


THE LOBSTER - I loved this movie. Humor doesn't get darker than this without going to explicit violence or dead children. Everyone turns in stellar performances. Watching Colin Farrell's subtlety makes me finally understand why people were so excited for him early in his career. He manages to sell the role entirely. More than any of this, the writing is thoughtful, efficient, and biting. Amazing observation about the slavish ways we define ourselves by societal norms in relationships. Even when we're bucking the trend by not coupling up, we are stuck with other roles defined by others who should, in theory, appreciate individuality.

Several still-dating Boritos would benefit from seeing this movie just for the ridiculousness about shared features or interests being an unreliable barometer for relationship viability.

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Tickled is an incredible documentary. Starts out with the producers endeavoring to make a puff piece documentary about an odd fetish sub-cultural, and it quickly turns into something more sinister and disturbing. It's Jinx-like in the sense that it behooves you to just go in blind and enjoy the ride. Lots of intriguing twists and turns.

[bork]

Hell yes. I just re-watched Ocean's 11 and saw Ocean's 13 for the first time. 11 is AWESOME, just brilliant and tight and perfect. 13 is a near return-to-form, but just slightly trying too hard to be 11.

12 is not something I ever need to see again. I think Clooney just wanted a nice working vacation in Europe with his friends. Nothing wrong with that, but the Julia Roberts plot conceit was just wankery.

I watched Out Of Sight last night.  Had never seen that and was getting Ocean's vibes from it initially, but it wound up being nowhere near as good.  I couldn't see Clooney's character as anything but a younger Daniel Ocean, though- he even goes to jail at the end and it's almost like you could say the character serves his time between the end of that movie and the beginning of Ocean's 11. 

Also re-watched Solaris.  Not quite as good as I remembered it, but still enjoyable.

[Great Rumbler]

Also re-watched Solaris.  Not quite as good as I remembered it, but still enjoyable.

Solaris is alright, but I ended up not enjoying it as much as the 1972 version, despite the latter being much slower and harder to follow. That last scene, though...perfection.

[chronovore]

Hell yes. I just re-watched Ocean's 11 and saw Ocean's 13 for the first time. 11 is AWESOME, just brilliant and tight and perfect. 13 is a near return-to-form, but just slightly trying too hard to be 11.

12 is not something I ever need to see again. I think Clooney just wanted a nice working vacation in Europe with his friends. Nothing wrong with that, but the Julia Roberts plot conceit was just wankery.

I watched Out Of Sight last night.  Had never seen that and was getting Ocean's vibes from it initially, but it wound up being nowhere near as good.  I couldn't see Clooney's character as anything but a younger Daniel Ocean, though- he even goes to jail at the end and it's almost like you could say the character serves his time between the end of that movie and the beginning of Ocean's 11. 

Also re-watched Solaris.  Not quite as good as I remembered it, but still enjoyable.

Read the book. It's Elmore Leonard gold. Probably only two of Elmore's crime books have translated well to the screen: Rum Punch (Jacky Brown) and Get Shorty. That's it. That's all of them. (His westerns are another matter entirely.)