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

[angelo]

The best thing about that scene are the stockings and garters.

 

[Sarpedon]

I saw Duel to the Death a classic B Kung-fu movie. 10/10

The plot summary does not do justice to this gem. A martial arts competition between China and Japan is complicated by the presence of mysterious ninjas who's motives are unknown to both the competitors. What follows is an over the top, ever escalating mad house of a movie, where every insane plot twist keeps the viewer glued to the screen. Great kung fu choreography, over the top gore and continuous madcap energy have transformed this into what is simultaneously my favorite Kung-fu movie AND my favorite Ninja movie.

 

[Thomas II]

The best thing about that scene are the stockings and garters.

Damn right!

 

[angelo]

The Man With Two Brains. A Steve Martin classic type of comedy he was good in. It also stars the then very delicious Kathleen Turner.



9/10

 

[ZiprHead]

Hotel Artemis 7.5/10

Jodie Foster, referred to only as "The Nurse", runs a membership only hospital for the criminal element of 2028 Los Angeles. Financed originally by the kingpin of the Los Angeles mafia, Jeff Goldblum. The city has descended into the worst riots in history while various criminals come to the hotel for treatment. A unique and engaging story rounded out with fine performances by all the principles, including Dave Bautista as "Everest" the medical assistant and Sofia Boutella playing her usual badass self. Well worth a watch.

 

[Goodchild]

Shazam 8/10

What a fun movie! Watched with the family and we all had a great time. One of the best moments of the movie is the appearance of the Marvel Family, which really hyped my wife Zachary Levi plays a kid in a grown up body learning superpowers for the first time admirably well, and the kid who played Freddy did a fantastic job. It's a shame this movie got lost amid all the Marvel hype, it's a treasure.

 

[Ford]

The Wandering Earth 3/4 bags of popcorn.

Jeez, where to start? Imagine if a Chinese filmmaker, backed up by Alibaba money, watched "Armageddon" and said "oh, I can top that." The result is The Wandering Earth, an absolutely dizzying special effects spectacular that's so over the top your higher brain functions just shut down and say "come on, live a little...I'll be back in 2 hours."

Premise? The Sun has begun to go nova, and is going to swallow the solar system in a few hundred years. The Earth doesn't have nearly that long, and so to save humanity, the world government comes up with a plan: Use the Earth as a space ship! Thousands of "Earth engines" are built, along with underground cities for the human race to live in while the engines stop the world from rotating and launch it on a trip to our new home orbiting Alpha Centauri. This will of course devastate the surface of the planet and kill off half the people, but hey, sometimes you gotta break some eggs to make an interstellar omelet, right? There's also a traveling space station to help Earth navigate during the 2,500 year trip.

Fast forward 17 years into the journey, and a computer malfunction on board the station leads to a miscalculation of the Jupiter gravity assist flyby, and Earth is caught in the giant planet's gravity instead...plunging towards the Great Red Spot. The gravity begins to cause earthquakes, damaging the engines and exacerbating the problem. Our heroes (there's lots of them) team up to race across the frozen surface of the Earth, restart the engines, and try to stop what appears to be the inevitable plunge into Jupiter. Got it?

Like I said, Michael Bay said "here's Armageddon" and this guy (Frant Gwo) said "hold my beer."

The thing is, once you get past the ridiculous premise and absurd "science," it's a rollicking, gripping adventure/thrill ride. Based on the effects, the stunning vistas, and sheer scale of the thing I guessed it cost north of an Avengers movie or two. Nope. Less than $50 million according to an IMDB estimate. It only made $2 million in the US, but no tears were shed because they're probably still counting the world wide gross...$700 million.

There are some nit picks. The characters are pretty shallow. There's a lot of derivative stuff like the shipboard computer that's basically Hal 2.0, and it needs a lot of exposition and explanation, but again it's not pretending to be high brow film making. It's just entertainment. It's entertaining. Mission accomplished.

 

[bilby]

The Wandering Earth 3/4 bags of popcorn.

Jeez, where to start? Imagine if a Chinese filmmaker, backed up by Alibaba money, watched "Armageddon" and said "oh, I can top that." The result is The Wandering Earth, an absolutely dizzying special effects spectacular that's so over the top your higher brain functions just shut down and say "come on, live a little...I'll be back in 2 hours."

Premise? The Sun has begun to go nova, and is going to swallow the solar system in a few hundred years. The Earth doesn't have nearly that long, and so to save humanity, the world government comes up with a plan: Use the Earth as a space ship! Thousands of "Earth engines" are built, along with underground cities for the human race to live in while the engines stop the world from rotating and launch it on a trip to our new home orbiting Alpha Centauri. This will of course devastate the surface of the planet and kill off half the people, but hey, sometimes you gotta break some eggs to make an interstellar omelet, right? There's also a traveling space station to help Earth navigate during the 2,500 year trip.

Fast forward 17 years into the journey, and a computer malfunction on board the station leads to a miscalculation of the Jupiter gravity assist flyby, and Earth is caught in the giant planet's gravity instead...plunging towards the Great Red Spot. The gravity begins to cause earthquakes, damaging the engines and exacerbating the problem. Our heroes (there's lots of them) team up to race across the frozen surface of the Earth, restart the engines, and try to stop what appears to be the inevitable plunge into Jupiter. Got it?

Like I said, Michael Bay said "here's Armageddon" and this guy (Frant Gwo) said "hold my beer."

The thing is, once you get past the ridiculous premise and absurd "science," it's a rollicking, gripping adventure/thrill ride. Based on the effects, the stunning vistas, and sheer scale of the thing I guessed it cost north of an Avengers movie or two. Nope. Less than $50 million according to an IMDB estimate. It only made $2 million in the US, but no tears were shed because they're probably still counting the world wide gross...$700 million.

There are some nit picks. The characters are pretty shallow. There's a lot of derivative stuff like the shipboard computer that's basically Hal 2.0, and it needs a lot of exposition and explanation, but again it's not pretending to be high brow film making. It's just entertainment. It's entertaining. Mission accomplished.

I had no idea any of Cixin Liu's work had been made into movies, or that these were available in the west. Is it in English, or dubbed, or subtitled?

I was vaguely aware that there are plans for a Three Body movie. Wandering Earth is an interesting story, and while epicin scale, the actual science is pretty sound, at least in the book - perhaps the most unrealistic thing is that almost the entire human race gets behind the effort (though this is clearly a nod to the national effort by the USA to put a man on the moon).

 

[ruby sparks]

9/10

Two criticisms.

First, the very slow pace (and some of the repetition). But given that it's a Jim Jarmusch film, at least some of the slow pace is not unexpected, and is (I believe) used here for a particular reason. To be honest, I myself enjoyed it (the very slow pace) partly because the cinematography and the acting was so appealing of itself, and partly because it seemed subtly appropriate to the main theme(s) of the film, but I can understand if some think it was excessive.

Second, The 'clumsy' voiceovers (delivered by the hermit character) especially at the end, when (at least some of) the underlying point of the film is revealed, or at least summed up. Imo, the movie could have done without this 'dumbing down' explanation.

 

[Ford]

I had no idea any of Cixin Liu's work had been made into movies, or that these were available in the west. Is it in English, or dubbed, or subtitled?

I was vaguely aware that there are plans for a Three Body movie. Wandering Earth is an interesting story, and while epicin scale, the actual science is pretty sound, at least in the book - perhaps the most unrealistic thing is that almost the entire human race gets behind the effort (though this is clearly a nod to the national effort by the USA to put a man on the moon).

I was unaware of his work. It is in Mandarin with subtitles, but there is an overdubbed version. I started with that, but it was pretty bad, so I switched to the subtitles. It's very much a "world unifies to save humanity" film as opposed to the typical "here comes America to save the day" outing.

 

[bilby]

I had no idea any of Cixin Liu's work had been made into movies, or that these were available in the west. Is it in English, or dubbed, or subtitled?

I was vaguely aware that there are plans for a Three Body movie. Wandering Earth is an interesting story, and while epicin scale, the actual science is pretty sound, at least in the book - perhaps the most unrealistic thing is that almost the entire human race gets behind the effort (though this is clearly a nod to the national effort by the USA to put a man on the moon).

I was unaware of his work. It is in Mandarin with subtitles, but there is an overdubbed version. I started with that, but it was pretty bad, so I switched to the subtitles. It's very much a "world unifies to save humanity" film as opposed to the typical "here comes America to save the day" outing.

Liu is an excellent writer; If you like 'golden age' sci fi (Clarke, Asimov, et al), then I strongly recommend his books. The English translations are excellent (many are translated by the author's brother).

The 'Three Body' trilogy, (aka 'Remembrance of Earth's Past', and comprising 'Three Body Problem'; 'The Dark Forest'; and 'Death's End'), is terrific - and the first novel not only has some of the best sci-fi I have read in a while, but also explores the Mao era and the madness of the Cultural Revolution, a part of history that I knew only a little about, but which Liu brings to life to great effect.

All of his work is very much China centred, while far from being supportive of Chinese Communism - that he has been allowed to publish his work in both China and internationally is a sign that the Bejing government is either more relaxed about criticism, or at least is prepared to accept criticism that is safely directed at past and/or future governments, while glossing over any problems with the current regime. Or maybe the kind of person who becomes a Chinese government apparatchik doesn't care for (or about) sci fi.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Black Panther - Not to be mistaken for the comedy comp starring Peter Sellers involving the theft of a famous diamond, The Black Panther is a comic book movie that came out without much fanfare not too long before Avengers Infinity War came out, which is likely why there was such little exposure for the debut of the film.

This is actually my second full time viewing of the movie, and I enjoyed it a bit more than the first time. A few things clicked a little better the second time around. A really well done film. 3.5 of 4

 

[angelo]

Watched a repeat of a repeat of a repeat of Alien. Even after watching it at least 3 times, I still enjoyed it. Sigourney Weaver hasn't aged all that well has she! But then neither have I.
Highly rated SF thriller. 8/10

 

[TSwizzle]

Easy Rider, 3/10; An American classic/iconic movie starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper with Jack Nicholson and surprisingly Toni Basil. It's a sort of road trip movie, Hopper and Fonda sell drugs and get a large amount of money and then head east on their motorcycles. The bikes are cool and there is a certain mood to the movie which captures a hip 60s vibe. But that doesn't cover for the poor quality cinematography and crap camera director (Hopper) which is a constant distraction. This was due to low budget I assume.

 

[angelo]

Easy Rider, 3/10; An American classic/iconic movie starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper with Jack Nicholson and surprisingly Toni Basil. It's a sort of road trip movie, Hopper and Fonda sell drugs and get a large amount of money and then head east on their motorcycles. The bikes are cool and there is a certain mood to the movie which captures a hip 60s vibe. But that doesn't cover for the poor quality cinematography and crap camera director (Hopper) which is a constant distraction. This was due to low budget I assume.

Hard to name more than a couple of bad Jack Nicholson movies, but this is most likely the worst of them. Agree with the 3/10.

 

[OLDMAN]

Hacked, 7/10 Documentary about how data points were used to win the Trump election and then Brexit. Worth the watch.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Spiderman - Far From Home

Film continues in the same spirit as Homecoming. Liked that, you’ll like this. The story wasn’t exactly shocking but its presentation was fun. I think they did a good job explaining how certain things were done, though I think there were a few cheats. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

3.5 of 4

 

[Ford]

Now More Than Ever - The History of Chicago

Rockumentary about the band named after the city. I was never really into Chicago, but back in the 80's a friend of mine helped install a security system in a house in L.A., and it belonged to one of the members of the band. They were there that day, and he said they were really cool guys. Down to Earth and not at all "rock stars."

This movie reflects that. Except Peter Cetera. Of course these kinds of movies - this one was actually produced by the band - tend to be love fests, but unlike, say, The Eagles, these guys come across as genuine. I'd forgotten how long they'd been around (since 1967) and how successful they were (over 100 million records sold) and though it spent some time on their later success, the film really can't hide the fact that the original band (formerly called Chicago Transit Authority) really died with Terry Kath. He doesn't get name-checked along with the greatest guitar players that often, but I didn't know that Jimi Hendrix thought Terry was a better guitar player than he was. The band also were proud of the fact that they didn't have a "leader," but Kath was it. After he was gone, Peter took the spotlight, and producer David Foster (who comes across as smug and arrogant) changed the band's sound away from the horns in favor of pop ballads.

As expected, it ends with the typical "Chicago is still out there touring and playing for the fans," but glosses over the reality that they're not playing stadiums or even arenas anymore. Look at their tour dates and it's theaters and casinos. Still, a good story.

6/10

 

[angelo]

I'm looking forward to watching a repeat of another of a Clunk Eastwood movie on tv in about an hour. Magnum Force. Much the same formula as other Dirty Harry movies. But I can't help myself as I wish cops were that tough on the scum we sometimes have in society.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I'm looking forward to watching a repeat of another of a Clunk Eastwood movie on tv in about an hour. Magnum Force. Much the same formula as other Dirty Harry movies. But I can't help myself as I wish cops were that tough on the scum we sometimes have in society.

You do realize real life has quite a bit more nuance, right? That you don't have the scenes of the bad guys doing their bad stuff so you know they are bad guys?

You do realize that tv and movies aren't real life, right?