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

Great effects can't save a terrible story, but a great story can be forgiven for terrible effects. Black Hole is still my favorite sci-fi film of my childhood because it was the story that sucked me in, not the laser beams. I think the story of Logan's Run was exceptional so can forgive the lackluster portions of the film

Both could use an update/remake as long as they're put in the right hands.
 
" Contact" Surely a better Sci Fi effort than " Black Hole" This movie had me riveted to the screen. One of Jodie Fosters best I feel. [Sorry Underseer, she's also white]

Perhaps I loved this movie because I often imagine what the discovery of an alien [black, pink, purple, green or white] civilasation would do to our ideals, religions and way of life.

Surely rates 8/10.
 
Wreck-it-Ralph 2

This movie is a hit and miss telegraphed cliche with problem solving skills being applicable at arbitrary times. There are some legitimate LOL moments and I don’t LOL during movies often. When the movie is on, it is great, but it does seem to lull at times as well. Resolutions to the plot conflicts seem contrived and it almost feels the movie is three long shorts stitched together.

I watched this with my nieces, the younger one 7, enjoyed it more than the 12 year old who saw plot issues.

FYI, this film could trigger white males due to the main protagonists being female.

2.75 of 4
 
Great effects can't save a terrible story, but a great story can be forgiven for terrible effects. Black Hole is still my favorite sci-fi film of my childhood because it was the story that sucked me in, not the laser beams. I think the story of Logan's Run was exceptional so can forgive the lackluster portions of the film

Both could use an update/remake as long as they're put in the right hands.

Gahhh... blasphemy!!! Both are as much a product of 70'ies aestethic as story. If remade, they will not be remotely the same thing. Logan's run is a pretty run-of-the-mill story overloaded with 70'ies themes. Namely nuclear holocaust fears and how to deal with them. We don't have those today. Today it would probably be an environmental disaster or even a zombie holocaust. If we do that... why call it Logan's Run? It's also a result of Watergate and the Vietnam war... ie our leaders are nothing but liars. While bad today... not even close to the 70'ies skepticism. Also... plays on 70'ies leftist utopian ideals. Definitely dead in these nouveau-fascist/nationalist times. Not to mention the Nazi eugenics theme which was going stale even in the 70'ies. But I guess makes sense since over-population was one of their main fears. I'd say that Logan's run is impossible to re-make today without turning into utter crap. At least if we want to make it relevant to today's audience. Which we do.

I recall the Planet of the Apes remake which turned out completely toothless because it came out in a time when the civil rights battle was well and truly won. Which is what the film and franchise is a comment on. It's never interesting to beat down an already open door. A film only about special effects is boring. As we found out. I fear Logan's run will be the same.

The Black Hole is equally impossible to re-make today because we don't lose sleep over (pubescent) Existentialist/Sartrian "deep" questions anymore. We're a lot less hyper-cynical today. Back then questioning what the point of our existence, in a children's movie, was completely kosher. That film is incredibly dark. And without it it's not much of a film. Whether or not the ends justifies the means was a question that weighed heavy on people in the Cold War. Today we can all answer it with a resounding, no. Back then it was an interesting conundrum. By today's moral values Reinhardt is pure evil and the film has almost zero tension. Also... with advances in robotics and AI being where they are today, why bother enslaving the crew? Today's audience would wonder why he just doesn't press the autopilot. Nah.. if made today it would just look dumb.

Better to have some novel sci-fi ideas. The world is certainly full of them. With CGI there's almost nothing practical preventing people to make the coolest brainy films for little money, for instance Iron Sky. I'm against remakes that are just the same with updated graphics. They have to be complete re-interpretations for me to be interested. And in practice a completely new idea.
 
Great effects can't save a terrible story, but a great story can be forgiven for terrible effects. Black Hole is still my favorite sci-fi film of my childhood because it was the story that sucked me in, not the laser beams. I think the story of Logan's Run was exceptional so can forgive the lackluster portions of the film

Both could use an update/remake as long as they're put in the right hands.

The Island (2005) is somewhat of a remake. Very similar storyline to Logan's Run.
 
Great effects can't save a terrible story, but a great story can be forgiven for terrible effects. Black Hole is still my favorite sci-fi film of my childhood because it was the story that sucked me in, not the laser beams. I think the story of Logan's Run was exceptional so can forgive the lackluster portions of the film

Both could use an update/remake as long as they're put in the right hands.

Gahhh... blasphemy!!! Both are as much a product of 70'ies aestethic as story. If remade, they will not be remotely the same thing. Logan's run is a pretty run-of-the-mill story overloaded with 70'ies themes. Namely nuclear holocaust fears and how to deal with them. We don't have those today. Today it would probably be an environmental disaster or even a zombie holocaust. If we do that... why call it Logan's Run? It's also a result of Watergate and the Vietnam war... ie our leaders are nothing but liars. While bad today... not even close to the 70'ies skepticism. Also... plays on 70'ies leftist utopian ideals. Definitely dead in these nouveau-fascist/nationalist times. Not to mention the Nazi eugenics theme which was going stale even in the 70'ies. But I guess makes sense since over-population was one of their main fears. I'd say that Logan's run is impossible to re-make today without turning into utter crap. At least if we want to make it relevant to today's audience. Which we do.

I recall the Planet of the Apes remake which turned out completely toothless because it came out in a time when the civil rights battle was well and truly won. Which is what the film and franchise is a comment on. It's never interesting to beat down an already open door. A film only about special effects is boring. As we found out. I fear Logan's run will be the same.

The Black Hole is equally impossible to re-make today because we don't lose sleep over (pubescent) Existentialist/Sartrian "deep" questions anymore. We're a lot less hyper-cynical today. Back then questioning what the point of our existence, in a children's movie, was completely kosher. That film is incredibly dark. And without it it's not much of a film. Whether or not the ends justifies the means was a question that weighed heavy on people in the Cold War. Today we can all answer it with a resounding, no. Back then it was an interesting conundrum. By today's moral values Reinhardt is pure evil and the film has almost zero tension. Also... with advances in robotics and AI being where they are today, why bother enslaving the crew? Today's audience would wonder why he just doesn't press the autopilot. Nah.. if made today it would just look dumb.

Better to have some novel sci-fi ideas. The world is certainly full of them. With CGI there's almost nothing practical preventing people to make the coolest brainy films for little money, for instance Iron Sky. I'm against remakes that are just the same with updated graphics. They have to be complete re-interpretations for me to be interested. And in practice a completely new idea.

Good point.

Moviebob had a good argument for why it would be a mistake to remake Big Trouble In Little China, and a lot of it boiled down to the mindset of the audience of the time and how it plays against the other movies released around the same time. Big Trouble In Little China actively made fun of the fact that white audiences expected a white protagonist even when it didn't make a lick of sense (actually, that part of the movie would still be relevant).
 
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

This is a Netflix anthology film of six stories about the old west. It is weird, funny, intense, tragic, and something I'll have to watch again in order to fully appreciate. In short, I thought it was great. The only criticism I have is that the first tale is a poor setup for the rest because it's so dissimilar to the other five. It may have been better as the final chapter, or even as comic relief following what I thought was the most gut wrenching story. I'm being vague because I don't want to give anything away. But it's a really good movie to watch by yourself, and then enjoy it all over again with someone else.

8.5/10

I thought the first short story was a parody of the classic American Western... and now here's a few the Coen way. I often want to watch their movies twice. It is time well spent.
 
" Contact" Surely a better Sci Fi effort than " Black Hole" This movie had me riveted to the screen. One of Jodie Fosters best I feel. [Sorry Underseer, she's also white]

Perhaps I loved this movie because I often imagine what the discovery of an alien [black, pink, purple, green or white] civilasation would do to our ideals, religions and way of life.

Surely rates 8/10.

Contact was a decent movie, but they changed the main character to a woman to push their Feminist Agenda, which automatically made the movie horrible because arbitrarily putting women in traditionally male roles causes movies to become low quality.
 
Gahhh... blasphemy!!! Both are as much a product of 70'ies aestethic as story. If remade, they will not be remotely the same thing. Logan's run is a pretty run-of-the-mill story overloaded with 70'ies themes. Namely nuclear holocaust fears and how to deal with them. We don't have those today. Today it would probably be an environmental disaster or even a zombie holocaust. If we do that... why call it Logan's Run? It's also a result of Watergate and the Vietnam war... ie our leaders are nothing but liars. While bad today... not even close to the 70'ies skepticism. Also... plays on 70'ies leftist utopian ideals. Definitely dead in these nouveau-fascist/nationalist times. Not to mention the Nazi eugenics theme which was going stale even in the 70'ies. But I guess makes sense since over-population was one of their main fears. I'd say that Logan's run is impossible to re-make today without turning into utter crap. At least if we want to make it relevant to today's audience. Which we do.

I recall the Planet of the Apes remake which turned out completely toothless because it came out in a time when the civil rights battle was well and truly won. Which is what the film and franchise is a comment on. It's never interesting to beat down an already open door. A film only about special effects is boring. As we found out. I fear Logan's run will be the same.

The Black Hole is equally impossible to re-make today because we don't lose sleep over (pubescent) Existentialist/Sartrian "deep" questions anymore. We're a lot less hyper-cynical today. Back then questioning what the point of our existence, in a children's movie, was completely kosher. That film is incredibly dark. And without it it's not much of a film. Whether or not the ends justifies the means was a question that weighed heavy on people in the Cold War. Today we can all answer it with a resounding, no. Back then it was an interesting conundrum. By today's moral values Reinhardt is pure evil and the film has almost zero tension. Also... with advances in robotics and AI being where they are today, why bother enslaving the crew? Today's audience would wonder why he just doesn't press the autopilot. Nah.. if made today it would just look dumb.

Better to have some novel sci-fi ideas. The world is certainly full of them. With CGI there's almost nothing practical preventing people to make the coolest brainy films for little money, for instance Iron Sky. I'm against remakes that are just the same with updated graphics. They have to be complete re-interpretations for me to be interested. And in practice a completely new idea.

Good point.

Moviebob had a good argument for why it would be a mistake to remake Big Trouble In Little China, and a lot of it boiled down to the mindset of the audience of the time and how it plays against the other movies released around the same time. Big Trouble In Little China actively made fun of the fact that white audiences expected a white protagonist even when it didn't make a lick of sense (actually, that part of the movie would still be relevant).

Yup. Big Trouble is Another time capsule of its time. Because of its 80'ies context it's the perfect movie. Today I don't think it would be. Where would we find all that cheese?
 
A Netflix original. The Package. An idiot among a group of bush hikers, while mucking about with a pocket/flick knife accidentally slices of his penis. A cast of unknowns, it does have a few funny moments.

Like a guy whose own penis was cut off by his nut case gf getting the hikers penis re-attached by mistaken identity. His nut job gf again uses scissors to cut it off again after pledging her love.

Allowing the hiker to get his own penis re-attached. I wasn't expecting much out of this farce, but I rate it 4/10.


 
Lost City of Z

It's about a British explorer who goes on various travels through Bolivia and Brazil. He comes to believe that there's a lost City, which he calls Zed.

It could have been good, but it's very choppy. Maybe it's the editing. For example, on the first expedition he's supposed to be gone for two years or so, but it only feels like a few weeks. One minute he's in Jolly Old England, then he's on a ship sailing to South America, then he's at a village in Bolivia, then he's on a boat in the river, then some natives shoot arrows at the boat, then the crew is hungry, then they find a waterfall. Then he's at home again being hailed as a hero. The feeling the viewer should get with respect to the passage of time is missing.

There's also awful expository dialogue throughout, and by the end I was left thinking that the guy was kind of an asshole.

It's not terrible, but it's just off in a bunch of different ways.

5/10
 
Lost City of Z

It's about a British explorer who goes on various travels through Bolivia and Brazil. He comes to believe that there's a lost City, which he calls Zed.

It could have been good, but it's very choppy. Maybe it's the editing. For example, on the first expedition he's supposed to be gone for two years or so, but it only feels like a few weeks. One minute he's in Jolly Old England, then he's on a ship sailing to South America, then he's at a village in Bolivia, then he's on a boat in the river, then some natives shoot arrows at the boat, then the crew is hungry, then they find a waterfall. Then he's at home again being hailed as a hero. The feeling the viewer should get with respect to the passage of time is missing.

There's also awful expository dialogue throughout, and by the end I was left thinking that the guy was kind of an asshole.

It's not terrible, but it's just off in a bunch of different ways.

5/10

Sound's like a C Class movie if there's such a thing.
 
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: 9/10 for the first short, 4-6/10 for the rest of them.

the basics of this: the Coen Brothers had several half-formed ideas for shorts taking place in the gun-slinger notion of the "old west" but none of them for fully fleshed out, and they made a deal with netflix to make what is essentially an anthology film just letting them make the shorts without context or follow-through.
so it's 6-7 little short films that are 5-10 minutes long each that drop into the middle of a story, play out a bit, then end. most of them are tragedies, some of them comedic and some just vaguely depressing.
they also utilize several different film styles from the era of the western in US cinema so there's an interesting genre spread in terms of shot composition and mood and such.

overall the concept is cool and the execution was interesting, and all the shorts were engaging to one extent or another, but only the first one really stood out - and it was god damn hilarious, has a scene to which i laughed harder than i have in years, and holy god i wish there was a full movie of just that.
 
Watched the cult classic " Wild At Heart last night. Stars Nicolas Cage and the the then very scrumptious Laura Dern.

After getting out of prison, a young man and his lover start a new life by moving to California.

A brilliant and well acted movie from circa 1990.

9/10
Crispin Glover’s Jingle Dell character, and the Willem Dafoe & Laura Dern “Say, fuck me.’’ scene are priceless!
Some of the best of David Lynch’s weirdness.
 
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A Netflix original. The Package. An idiot among a group of bush hikers, while mucking about with a pocket/flick knife accidentally slices of his penis. A cast of unknowns, it does have a few funny moments.

Like a guy whose own penis was cut off by his nut case gf getting the hikers penis re-attached by mistaken identity. His nut job gf again uses scissors to cut it off again after pledging her love.

Allowing the hiker to get his own penis re-attached. I wasn't expecting much out of this farce, but I rate it 4/10.




Does it star enough white males to be good? It can only be good if it has white males.
 
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: 9/10 for the first short, 4-6/10 for the rest of them.

the basics of this: the Coen Brothers had several half-formed ideas for shorts taking place in the gun-slinger notion of the "old west" but none of them for fully fleshed out, and they made a deal with netflix to make what is essentially an anthology film just letting them make the shorts without context or follow-through.
so it's 6-7 little short films that are 5-10 minutes long each that drop into the middle of a story, play out a bit, then end. most of them are tragedies, some of them comedic and some just vaguely depressing.
they also utilize several different film styles from the era of the western in US cinema so there's an interesting genre spread in terms of shot composition and mood and such.

overall the concept is cool and the execution was interesting, and all the shorts were engaging to one extent or another, but only the first one really stood out - and it was god damn hilarious, has a scene to which i laughed harder than i have in years, and holy god i wish there was a full movie of just that.

That's why I thought that first one should've either been last or fit somewhere in between. It is by far the most entertaining, and it sets a tone that isn't matched anywhere else in the film. IOW, it tends to establish one thing, but then sets the viewer up for disappointment.

Still though, after being able to put that aside, I thought the rest of the film was really damn good. It's just that that first one is vastly different from the rest.
 
Downsizing 7/10

An interesting concept that's not quite explored enough, giving way in the second half to an environmental warning. It still keeps Paul's search for his place in the world as the primary motivation of the film, but I'm not sure that's the film I wanted to see. Entertaining enough to hold my attention at least.
 
A Netflix original. The Package. An idiot among a group of bush hikers, while mucking about with a pocket/flick knife accidentally slices of his penis. A cast of unknowns, it does have a few funny moments.

Like a guy whose own penis was cut off by his nut case gf getting the hikers penis re-attached by mistaken identity. His nut job gf again uses scissors to cut it off again after pledging her love.

Allowing the hiker to get his own penis re-attached. I wasn't expecting much out of this farce, but I rate it 4/10.




Does it star enough white males to be good? It can only be good if it has white males.


There there Underseer. Take your medication and go to bed!
 
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