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

Opoponax said:
ZiprHead said:
Yeah, they rank right up there with Sophie's Choice. :rolleyes:
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You can't compare genres like that. E.g., Python's Holy Grail is never compared to The Godfather.

If you don't like the horror genre, that's one thing. But what can't be denied are the messages that certain classic horror films have delivered to large audiences in subtle and effective ways.
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Yeah, turn on the damn light!
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Opoponax said:
ZiprHead said:
Yeah, they rank right up there with Sophie's Choice. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

You can't compare genres like that. E.g., Python's Holy Grail is never compared to The Godfather.

If you don't like the horror genre, that's one thing. But what can't be denied are the messages that certain classic horror films have delivered to large audiences in subtle and effective ways.
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Yeah, turn on the damn light!
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And, "Dammit, DON'T split up and search for Scary Thing individually!"
 
To be fair, the seminal zombie movie was about consumerism, while vampires express anxiety about venereal disease. Vampire stories always seem to become more popular when there is a new STD outbreak that scares people, such as the AIDS crisis coinciding with a bunch of new vampire movies in the 1980s.

But that seems to be about as sophisticated as it gets most of the time. Most of the time, you get brain dead between-the-lines things like:

Fictional atheist/skeptic: I don't believe in the Ooga-Booga Monster!
Ooga-Booga Monster eats atheist
Audience: Yay! This validates my beliefs and proves that it is reasonable for me to believe in religion! Take that, stinky atheists! You'd better start believing in the things I can't prove or else the Ooga-Booga Monster will eat you!!!!!!​
 
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/

I thought the original was pretty good.

Recent commentary on TCM. The scwnw in the original Frankenstein played by Boris Karloff in the scene when monster meets a child scared the hell out of people at the time. The reason scifi-monster movies looked cheap and low budget was because the movie code of conduct did not allow extensive artistry and violence.

Clip of the Frankenstein scene. Pretty tame by today's standards.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...659bf5747df1f149ec669c80a7b7973f&action=click
 
Solo: A Star Wars Story

I didn't expect much, given that so many Star Wars fans hated this movie.

I liked it. It was very much like an old western set in the SW universe and didn't have any of the crippling, stupid features that have become a hallmark of most SW movies. Of course there were holes in the plot, but they weren't jarring, and it's fair to say that no one should expect sound science out of SW or the vast majority of Sci-fi/fantasy flicks.

The actor who played Han Solo did a terrific job, and his physical resemblance to Harrison Ford was close enough to buy into. Same with the actor who played Lando. Emilia Clarke was also good. Oh, and Woody Harrelson was good too.

This film had much more of a Rogue One feel than Last Jedi feel. Maybe because it wasn't shockingly lame.

6/10
 
Iron Jawed Angels

Really liked it. Supporting actors really well done and Hillary Swank carried her lead role cleanly. Liked the depth they gave the WWI question and how protests were perceived as anti-American and treason. Liked the many many times they pointed out the irony of women saying a thing and being called wrong and men saying the same thing and being heroes, and the illustration of how a soundbite means a lot when you are trying to change the tide.

9/10
 
Opoponax said:
Solo: A Star Wars Story

I didn't expect much, given that so many Star Wars fans hated this movie.

I liked it. It was very much like an old western set in the SW universe and didn't have any of the crippling, stupid features that have become a hallmark of most SW movies. Of course there were holes in the plot, but they weren't jarring, and it's fair to say that no one should expect sound science out of SW or the vast majority of Sci-fi/fantasy flicks.

The actor who played Han Solo did a terrific job, and his physical resemblance to Harrison Ford was close enough to buy into. Same with the actor who played Lando. Emilia Clarke was also good. Oh, and Woody Harrelson was good too.

This film had much more of a Rogue One feel than Last Jedi feel. Maybe because it wasn't shockingly lame.

6/10
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I agree wholeheartedly. This was the best of the recent Star Wars films.
 
Max Payne. Would have to be one of the worse films I've seen since any Ben Afleck movie.
The talents of Mark Wahilberg are completely wasted in this crappy action movie. Mila Kunis was the main reason I stuck it out for 35 minutes.
But even she couldn't save this 1 out 5 rating. Had it not been for her, I'd rate a 0.
 
angelo said:
Max Payne. Would have to be one of the worse films I've seen since any Ben Afleck movie.
The talents of Mark Wahilberg are completely wasted in this crappy action movie. Mila Kunis was the main reason I stuck it out for 35 minutes.
But even she couldn't save this 1 out 5 rating. Had it not been for her, I'd rate a 0.
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Also, stupid idea for a film. The whole gimmic of Max Payne was that his dreams were playable. But without being able to play it like a game it's just like any shooting gangsters story. It couldn't possibly be more generic
 
Operation Finale 7/10 It's about the Mossad kidnap of Adolf Eichmann and bringing him to Israel. It's well acted and follows the reality of what happened really well. But historical fiction's job isn't to retell history as it happened, but explain relevant dynamics while making it exciting. The result is that there's a problem with pacing. There's a large part of the film where the agents are trying to make him sign a document for four days where he agrees to stand trial in Israel. While historically accurate.... boring as fuck. They do try to spice it up by making it seem like the Argentinian police are hot on their trail, and about to break down the door at any moment. The reality is that the team had zero time pressure. It was an incredibly smooth and well run operation with very little hiccups, nor moments of excitement.

So if they're taking liberties with this part of the film, why not cut the boring document signing part. It adds nothing. It was signed under duress anyway. So it's hardly legally binding. While historically accurate... meh.

Pacing is all fucked up in the last scenes as well, when they're getting Eichmann onto the plane. They fail to keep tension. It just felt confusing and frankly... boring to watch.

Apart from these boobs, the film is was good. It was interesting with the team talking and they'd all lost somebody in the Holocaust. It was probably rare for any Jew at that time not to have lost anyone. It was interesting. It was interesting with the drama around getting it organised at all, and how they planned it. The whole thing about Eichmann's son dating a half-Jewish girl without knowing it, is apparently completely accurate. Which is what led to him being found. I also liked the portrayal of the son. He was understandably very confused by all this.

The locations are beautiful. It's all very pretty.

Eichmann's various defence speeches isn't especially engaging. Which is strange considering Kingsley having played almost the exact same role in the 1994 Death and the Maiden. Basically the same story, but with a wholly fictional Eichmann.

BTW, I'm not spoiling anything. These are historically significant events and if you don't already know the story, you should be ashamed of yourself.
 
The Bye Bye Man

Like so many horror movies, this one started off with good atmosphere and tension. Then about half an hour in it began to disintegrate. By the end, all that was left of the early quality was a steaming pile of crap.

The Bye Bye Man character looked like the grim reaper from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, and "Bye Bye Man" is the dorkiest name ever for a horror monster/antagonist/whatever.

It's a shame because the film had some good ideas. One in particular was that the protagonist's best friend seemed like he was trying to get in the pants of the protagonist's girlfriend. The accompanying tension, worry, and betrayal that comes with that can be devastating. I saw it happen to one of my best friends when we were young and it scarred him for years. So I thought this movie was going to develop that into the underlying theme of the movie, and I guess to some extent it does. But it gets lost and diminished by attempted jump-scares and creepiness, neither of which was accomplished, some pretty bad acting, and then the sudden introduction of Carrie Anne Moss as an extra-appendage cop character (WTF happened to her career?). By the end, the girlfriend/friend betrayal thing had lost its punch and was made an afterthought in light of the film's developments.

4/10
 
I'm supposing an inverse relationship here: The more time the monster is on screen, the lower the quality of the movie as a horror film.
 
The Black Hole 10/10

I rewatched the 1979 Black Hole film, and it still holds up. It wasn't that well reviewed. But it's pretty, well acted, well written and both deep and shallow. It handles existential topics very well indeed. The sound design is incredibly good. And it's been sampled in several techno classics. Music is also great. I love everything about the movie. The use of telepathy is a bit...meh. But still a novel idea of telepathy with robots. The spaceship design is incredible.

Am I alone in loving this movie? I've seen it over 20 times, and it never gets old. I think its awesome. But I've never met anybody else who thinks so
 
I rate The Black Hole just a smidgen under 2001 a Space Odessy. Both are first grade science fiction. 2001 has the better music score. But then again I loved all the Star Trek movies starring William Shatner and Leanard Nimoy. I rate them all very highly.
 
I Want To Eat Your Pancreas

10/10. A quiet joy. Anime and a good one, with no fantastical elements. A girl is going to die, and one of her classmates - the only non family member who knows - finds out.
 
The Walking Dead; 7/10; 1936 horror movie starring Boris Karloff. Karloff plays the part of a man who has been framed by gangsters for murder. As he is headed for execution by electric chair, new witnesses come forward to prove his innocence but it is too late to save him and he is executed. Seeing a gross injustice a brilliant surgeon retrieves the body and brings him back to life with a mechanical heart. Karloff now seems to know or sense who framed him and seeks them out, not to exact revenge but to understand why they framed him. It's a classic old school suspense horror and very enjoyable. The black and white cinematography and crackling soundtrack add to the ambiance. Boris Karloff is brilliant. I started watching the follow on movie "Isle of The Dead" which looked pretty good but I did not have time to stick with it.
 
The Night Of The Living Dead. A true masterpiece with an all star cast, including my Salma Hyak! :p

Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results. 9/10
 
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