Which movie did you watch today and how would you rate it?

[Underseer]

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

I was hoping that it was just the fans of the source material who had shit-talked this movie into the ground. Within roughly 15 minutes into the film, those hopes were dashed. Bad acting, bad dialogue, and frequent holes in consistency all occurred within that 15 minute time frame.

And the CGI. Jesus. I thought that good CGI was supposed to seamlessly blend with live action, unless the entire thing was CGI (e.g. Avatar). This film clumsily blends the look of Avatar with live action and it just doesn't work.

I almost went to the theater to see this movie. Then I almost paid to watch it on pay per view. Thankfully, I waited until it was on Amazon Prime, so that I didn't have to waste an extra penny on it.

3/10

I watched it in the theaters and I'm glad I did.

I wouldn't rank it as low as you did, but it's mediocre at best. The one saving grace is that from top to bottom, it feels like a European comic book brought to life. I hope Hollywood doesn't give up on adapting European comic books. If nothing else, it's a change from the usual. Heck, even Atomic Blond was based on an American comic book.

 

[Underseer]

Wow, so angry.

Why does this topic trigger you so much?

I was gonna let this lie, but you seem undeterred in your over-the-top accusations of racism and bigotry towards people who don't like certain movies you think they should.

Hell, I posted that I actually liked Wonder Woman and you got on your insufferable high horse about that. And frankly, that movie wasn't that good; it just didn't suck as badly as I thought it would, which translated into a pleasant surprise.

But, it must mean I'm a misogynist because I didn't think Wonder Woman was a great film. And that must be because it had a female lead (???).

And guess what: Get Out was a solid movie; better than most movies as a matter of fact, but it wasn't great. I don't think it deserved the acclaim it received. You know what other movie I feel that way about? The Shape of Water. Same with (gasp) Citizen Kane. Never saw what the big deal was. And The Deer Hunter? Doesn't hold up.

So now, you tell me from your on-high position of morality: why is it not bigoted for not thinking Citizen Kane or The Deer Hunter are great, but it is bigoted if I don't think Get Out was Oscar worthy?

Wait. I'll tell you: because one can judge a film on its merits and according to their own personal tastes without being a bigot. It's not a shocking concept and one that reasonable people understand.

As for being "triggered," you're right. Being accused of something you're not, particularly bigotry, is offensive. It's personally insulting, which, according to the rules of this board isn't allowed. The next time you level such accusations at me I'm going to complain. I don't know if that's worth anything, but I hope it is.

Most people rank Wonder Woman really high on the all-time list of comic book movies.

When I ask one of you people why you thought Wonder Woman was so terrible, the reasons given generally go from flimsy to stupid.

But of course, I must just be randomly accusing you of something that can't possibly be true, right? I mean, you liked Get Out, so that proves that you can't possibly be racist or misogynist, right? Right? Oh look, another bad argument.

There's nothing wrong with having subjective opinions about a movie, and I more than grant that it's possible to have perfectly valid reasons to not like Wonder Woman (e.g. someone who simply doesn't like the superhero genre), but when I am given reasons that turn out to be garbage or nonsense, it's obvious that the person is either not being honest with me or not being honest with themselves about why they don't like the movie. Honestly, I no longer care which is which. I'm getting tired of having to dance around all of this white fragility and male fragility.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Most people rank Wonder Woman really high on the all-time list of comic book movies.

When I ask one of you people why you thought Wonder Woman was so terrible, the reasons given generally go from flimsy to stupid.

I'm sorry, but it isn't even close. Wonder Woman is a breath of fresh air from the DC Movie scene which has been mediocre at best since The Dark Knight. But it lacked a lot of the stuff that has made Black Panther, Thor Ragnorak, Civil War so great. I think I've watch Ragnorak a few time in the past week, which is highly unusual for me. I can't get enough of that film.

The oddity, one of the things that I didn't care for in Wonder Woman were the scenes they tried to maybe make it look like a comic? The CGI was just too fake. (I thought I read about complaints of CGI in Black Panther and for the life of me I have no idea what their problem was with the CGI in that film.) They do something similar a couple of times in Thor, but it came off better.

Then the history juxtaposition was just for shit in Wonder Woman, which really hurts it. Xmen First Class did an incredibly impressive job of linking the Cuban Missile Crisis with the film. In Wonder Woman, you really are wondering whether Ares was right. The end of the Great War is the catalyst for WWII, which led to crimes of unimaginable magnitudes. Obviously Wakanda and Asgard don't have the same issues with historical timelines.

 

[marc]

Ready Player One - 9 / 10

Really good movie about a bunch of people fighting for control of a massive VR online world. A good story, really excellent graphics and a whole shit ton of references to old video games and comics. Highly recommend.

That is my favorite book of all time. Listened to the audio book 8 times so far. The book was waaay better then the movie, so if you liked the film, try the book!

 

[Opoponax]

What Happened to Monday

This is a Netflix film about a dystopian society where each couple is allowed to have only one child due to massive overpopulation. A man and his wife end up having seven identical daughters, and so the father secretes the kids away and names them after the days of the week (mom dies in childbirth). Long story short, each child is allowed to go out only one day a week, but each has to use the same name lest they get found out and put into cryo-sleep until the planet can support more people.

I liked the premise, and the quality is good enough for the first 15 minutes to allow you to buy in, despite myriad problems, which the movie does address just competently enough for the viewer to remain bought-in.

About 40 minutes in though, the whole thing falls apart.

Minor spoiler, but I'll hide it anyway:

Show

Early in the film, one of the girls goes out on a day that's not her day. She ends up severely injuring part of her left index finger to the point where the father has to amputate. In order to keep appearances consistent, he cuts off the same part of each finger of the other 6 girls.

The film makes a big deal out of this and refers to it early and in a key part at the end.

The problem is that throughout the film, you can see that all the sisters still have the entirety of their left index finger.

This kind of sloppiness is typical of the movie. By the end, it feels like a marathon runner who doesn't care if he dies, staggering, getting up, falling over, getting up again, and not giving a fuck about anything except finishing. And since it's two hours+, all you want is for it to end too.

4/10

 

[TSwizzle]

Wakefield, 3/10; Stars Bryan Cranston as successful lawyer Howard Wakefield and Jennifer Garner as his wife. It's a sort of mid life crisis drama that is far too long so any substance to the plot is very diluted. On his commute home from work, the train Wakefield is travelling in has a power cut. Trudging home he has time to think about his family life and has doubts about his relevance in it. He has a "I'll show them, teach them a lesson" plan to hideout in the garage and observe what happens when the family realize he is missing. Cranston narrates throughout the film to keep the viewer informed as to what goes on. Without the narration, this would be a silent movie for the most part. Tediously boring movie except when Jennifer Garner is on screen in her underwear.

 

[Underseer]

Most people rank Wonder Woman really high on the all-time list of comic book movies.

When I ask one of you people why you thought Wonder Woman was so terrible, the reasons given generally go from flimsy to stupid.

I'm sorry, but it isn't even close. Wonder Woman is a breath of fresh air from the DC Movie scene which has been mediocre at best since The Dark Knight. But it lacked a lot of the stuff that has made Black Panther, Thor Ragnorak, Civil War so great. I think I've watch Ragnorak a few time in the past week, which is highly unusual for me. I can't get enough of that film.

The oddity, one of the things that I didn't care for in Wonder Woman were the scenes they tried to maybe make it look like a comic? The CGI was just too fake. (I thought I read about complaints of CGI in Black Panther and for the life of me I have no idea what their problem was with the CGI in that film.) They do something similar a couple of times in Thor, but it came off better.

Wonder Woman is one of the best superhero origin movies period. It suffers from a very weak third act, but so do many of the Marvel movies you cite as examples of "superior" movies.

Then the history juxtaposition was just for shit in Wonder Woman, which really hurts it. Xmen First Class did an incredibly impressive job of linking the Cuban Missile Crisis with the film. In Wonder Woman, you really are wondering whether Ares was right. The end of the Great War is the catalyst for WWII, which led to crimes of unimaginable magnitudes. Obviously Wakanda and Asgard don't have the same issues with historical timelines.

I thought it worked really well, but it would have worked better if Ares didn't die. The details of how WW1 started just sounds like something horrible Ares would have engineered. I can just imagine those diplomats desperately trying to prevent the war while Ares undermines their every move from the shadows.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Wonder Woman is one of the best superhero origin movies period. It suffers from a very weak third act, but so do many of the Marvel movies you cite as examples of "superior" movies.

I'm glad you liked it a lot. You need to accept that some people didn't like it nearly as much.

Then the history juxtaposition was just for shit in Wonder Woman, which really hurts it. Xmen First Class did an incredibly impressive job of linking the Cuban Missile Crisis with the film. In Wonder Woman, you really are wondering whether Ares was right. The end of the Great War is the catalyst for WWII, which led to crimes of unimaginable magnitudes. Obviously Wakanda and Asgard don't have the same issues with historical timelines.

I thought it worked really well, but it would have worked better if Ares didn't die. The details of how WW1 started just sounds like something horrible Ares would have engineered. I can just imagine those diplomats desperately trying to prevent the war while Ares undermines their every move from the shadows.

Wonder Woman helps save man to commit the atrocities of WWII. When you play with real history, this stuff gets complicated. The Cuban Missile Crisis didn't end in Armageddon, so you can play with it. Using the Great War was a stupid idea.

 

[prideandfall]

I'm glad you liked it a lot. You need to accept that some people didn't like it nearly as much.

take my advice and quit now - in heil underseer world, anyone who espouses any opinion or viewpoint that in any way deviates from what he demands will only be responded to by calling you a racist sexist xenophobic triggered cuck, it's the only card in his deck and he'll play on anyone for any reason.
giving a list of things you didn't like a film just means that you're lying to try and hide your racisexixenotrigicukedness, so just don't bother - the underfuhrer thinks he's knows everything, it's like trying to have a rational discussion about musical theory with a sugar addled 4 year old.

 

[thebeave]

^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Jayjay]

I don't see how Wonder Woman caused World War 2. From what I can tell, the war was about to end anyway, and even if it had continued for a while, Germany still would've lost and probably faced the same crippling reparations it did in the real world. But even then, that doesn't make WW a bad movie in my opinion. What makes it bad is that if you look at it as just a movie and not a superhero comic book movie, it's pretty hollow. The main reason it got such a positive reception is that the expectations were really low after Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad, not to mention every other comic book movie.

Also, the theme song is pretty good. I must have watched the end credits a million times:

 

[steve_bank]

Star Wars The Force Awakens
10/10

I was suprised, great movie. It is a remake of the first movie. Leia and Solo are replaced by a mixed race couple, never would have been acepted in the 70s. Good acting. None of the endless light saber battles of the prequels and non of the childish alien banter. Some of the old tounge in cheek, but more serious. A minimum of special effects. Some real feeling of drama and tension.

IMO a new classic.

 

[Arctish]

Ready Player One 8/10

If you want a movie that's deeper and more meaningful than the typical blockbuster fare, this isn't it.

If you want a movie with lots of action, great visuals, and an enjoyable mash-up of gaming, popular culture, and entertainment as serious business, this is the one to see. Hunting for Easter Eggs has never been so cool!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Star Wars The Force Awakens
10/10

I was suprised, great movie. It is a remake of the first movie. Leia and Solo are replaced by a mixed race couple, never would have been acepted in the 70s. Good acting. None of the endless light saber battles of the prequels and non of the childish alien banter. Some of the old tounge in cheek, but more serious. A minimum of special effects. Some real feeling of drama and tension.

IMO a new classic.

Funny, one of the big detractors for me was exactly the bolded part. That and events had no consequences. Only reason I knew Hans Solo didn't fly back up using the force and survive the stabby event was because he'd cost the trilogy too much money.

 

[steve_bank]

Star Wars The Force Awakens
10/10

I was suprised, great movie. It is a remake of the first movie. Leia and Solo are replaced by a mixed race couple, never would have been acepted in the 70s. Good acting. None of the endless light saber battles of the prequels and non of the childish alien banter. Some of the old tounge in cheek, but more serious. A minimum of special effects. Some real feeling of drama and tension.

IMO a new classic.

Funny, one of the big detractors for me was exactly the bolded part. That and events had no consequences. Only reason I knew Hans Solo didn't fly back up using the force and survive the stabby event was because he'd cost the trilogy too much money.

As to the boldedd prt, the genre is called escapest fantasy adventure for a reason....

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Star Wars The Force Awakens
10/10

I was suprised, great movie. It is a remake of the first movie. Leia and Solo are replaced by a mixed race couple, never would have been acepted in the 70s. Good acting. None of the endless light saber battles of the prequels and non of the childish alien banter. Some of the old tounge in cheek, but more serious. A minimum of special effects. Some real feeling of drama and tension.

IMO a new classic.

Funny, one of the big detractors for me was exactly the bolded part. That and events had no consequences. Only reason I knew Hans Solo didn't fly back up using the force and survive the stabby event was because he'd cost the trilogy too much money.

As to the boldedd prt, the genre is called escapest fantasy adventure for a reason....

What does that have to do with it being a remake?

 

[prideandfall]

Star Wars The Force Awakens
10/10

I was suprised, great movie. It is a remake of the first movie. Leia and Solo are replaced by a mixed race couple, never would have been acepted in the 70s. Good acting. None of the endless light saber battles of the prequels and non of the childish alien banter. Some of the old tounge in cheek, but more serious. A minimum of special effects. Some real feeling of drama and tension.

IMO a new classic.

Funny, one of the big detractors for me was exactly the bolded part. That and events had no consequences. Only reason I knew Hans Solo didn't fly back up using the force and survive the stabby event was because he'd cost the trilogy too much money.

if i may interject an alternative opinion:
the problem isn't that it was a remake... the problem is that it was a rehash.
if it had just been a remake i think it would have bothered me less, or a flat out soft reboot that paid some minor lip service to the original trilogy but went off in its own direction.
the problem for me with episode 7 and ultimately with episode 8 as well is that they are both movies that exist solely as a reference to the original without having anything of their own to say or even their own way of saying it.

and i suppose you could make the argument that this has been done to wrap up the arc of the original trilogy, but i felt like that was pretty wrapped up in the original trilogy - IMO we're past the point (both within the narrative structure of the films and in the cultural zeitgeist) where it's necessary to continue harping on familiar characters.

 

[Underseer]

I don't see how Wonder Woman caused World War 2. From what I can tell, the war was about to end anyway, and even if it had continued for a while, Germany still would've lost and probably faced the same crippling reparations it did in the real world. But even then, that doesn't make WW a bad movie in my opinion. What makes it bad is that if you look at it as just a movie and not a superhero comic book movie, it's pretty hollow. The main reason it got such a positive reception is that the expectations were really low after Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad, not to mention every other comic book movie.

Also, the theme song is pretty good. I must have watched the end credits a million times:

Wonder Woman didn't cause WW2. The movie made it pretty clear that Ares engineered the end of WW1 to deliberately cause WW2.

 

[Underseer]

Star Wars The Force Awakens
10/10

I was suprised, great movie. It is a remake of the first movie. Leia and Solo are replaced by a mixed race couple, never would have been acepted in the 70s. Good acting. None of the endless light saber battles of the prequels and non of the childish alien banter. Some of the old tounge in cheek, but more serious. A minimum of special effects. Some real feeling of drama and tension.

IMO a new classic.

Funny, one of the big detractors for me was exactly the bolded part. That and events had no consequences. Only reason I knew Hans Solo didn't fly back up using the force and survive the stabby event was because he'd cost the trilogy too much money.

Yes? And?

After all the screaming and crying we fans did about the prequel trilogy, you should have expected Episode 7 to be as close to Episode 4 as possible. You can fault the studio/producers for responding to fan complaints, but I'm not sure that would be productive.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Star Wars The Force Awakens
10/10

I was suprised, great movie. It is a remake of the first movie. Leia and Solo are replaced by a mixed race couple, never would have been acepted in the 70s. Good acting. None of the endless light saber battles of the prequels and non of the childish alien banter. Some of the old tounge in cheek, but more serious. A minimum of special effects. Some real feeling of drama and tension.

IMO a new classic.

Funny, one of the big detractors for me was exactly the bolded part. That and events had no consequences. Only reason I knew Hans Solo didn't fly back up using the force and survive the stabby event was because he'd cost the trilogy too much money.

Yes? And?

After all the screaming and crying we fans did about the prequel trilogy, you should have expected Episode 7 to be as close to Episode 4 as possible. You can fault the studio/producers for responding to fan complaints, but I'm not sure that would be productive.

I was expecting to watch a new movie, not a remastered one.