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

MarkW said:
The Sum of All Fears

5/10

A middling adaptation of Tom Clancy's novel, weighed down by some serious plot implausibilities, some of which were due to the way the plot was changed to "update" it to the 21st century.
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It sucked because it wasn't true to the book, and so had to come up with some bullshit about Nazis. They didn't want to create any controversy about Muslims, so they shitcanned what was basically one of the linchpins of the book, thereby dooming the movie to stupidity. I'm not saying "they didn't want to offend Muslims" in a "Trump just says what my redneck ass is thinkin'" kind of way. I'm saying that by doing that, they fucked up the movie.
 
Deadpool: 7 or 8 / 10

i liked it a lot, and i was very amused by the fact that it was one of the first movies i've seen in years that was *exactly* as good as i was expecting it to be going into it (neither a big let-down nor surprisingly better than i thought it would be) - probably the last time that happened was guardians of the galaxy.
sadly for me personally it lost a few points due to nerd-picking, because A. some of the changes from the comics bugged me, and B it was a very formulaic origin story/revenge thriller, with a dose of saccharine "it doesn't matter what's on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts" in the ending that kind of pissed me off.

but, the formulaic ride was entertaining because of all the naughty-naughty words. so yay?
i'd say deadpool is to superhero movies as kingsman: the secret service was to spy thriller/action movies, only not quite as awesome. almost as awesome, but not quite.

but hey... it pulled in 135 million over the weekend, biggest opening for an R rated movie of all time.
 
angelo said:
PLANET OF THE APES and BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES. The sequal just as good as the original. I think there are more sequals just as refreshing as the original with Chuck Heston. James Francicus shines in the sequal, as does the female lead as does Kim Hunter.
Both rated. 9/10
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I liked Escape From the Planet of the Apes I think it was called. The two chimp characters, Cornelius and whatever her name was, were fantastic in the scenes back in our time.
 
The American

7.5/10

An English-language film, American-produced and starring George Clooney (very good), but very European in style. The strong supporting cast is all-European, it has the slow, introspective style of many European thrillers, and there's a noteworthy score by German musician/actor Herbert Groenemeyer (best known to US audiences as one of the leads in Das Boot). As long as you don't expect a Hollywood-style action-fest, this is worth a look.
 
Felini's Satyricon ?/10

WTF did I just watch? The filmography and the scenography alone makes this a master piece. I get that. But WTF is it this about and what's the point of it? Apart from being just pretty. The original Roman book belongs to the their popular Roman genre of just being outrageously offensive in every way possible. Just going out of their way to offend. They liked that. But the offences are directed toward a Roman audience of 50 AD. I'm not sure who they are trying to offend, if they are? It mostly just comes across as disjointed and well... pointless. As for the symbology of it... didn't get any of it. It all just flew straight over my head.

The original book hasn't survived in it's entirety. Bits are missing. So what does Felini do to solve that problem? He just shoots what bits have survived rendering the film incomprehensible. Obviously there's a point to that, or he wouldn't have done it. But what is that point? Doesn't seem to make any sense. And the film doesn't follow the original book rigidly anyway. Which just adds to the mystery.

When reading about it nobody seems to be able to sum it up, they just list the events. Isn't that evidence they have no fucking clue either?

I don't know what to think. I can't think of another film like it. I guess that's as good reason as any so see a film. But don't expect to make any sense out of it. I didn't. I recommend you just sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Because it is pretty.
 
Life is Beautiful

After a strong urging by someone to sit through this movie completely (I've started and turned it off a couple of times before), I sat down and gave this movie yet another shot. What I want to know is why.

Why did this movie win jackshit at the Oscars? Here's why:

1. The score, which it won an Oscar for, is straight out of the 1950 classics. The score is played in majors when things are going well, and then the exact same notes are played during tragedy scenes, but in minors. Notably, Hitchcock did this.

2. The look. It was also reminiscent of the color film look of the 1950s. Again, since I'm kind of familiar with Hitchcock, the look reminded me of his 1954 classic, Rear Window.

3. Absurdity combined with saccharine-sweet melodrama, also reminiscent of older films like It's a Wonderful Life.

Combined, 1-3 gave the old-timers of the Academy one last, non-Viagra induced boner.

4. The subject matter. I'm sorry. I promise I am not a "The Jews run the world and are engaged in conspiracy against the rest of us" person. But if this thing isn't about a Jewish family during the Holocaust, no one gives a fuck. And it's portrayal of such is whitewashed, and not realistic. Nazis in SS uniforms speaking Italian just doesn't carry that much dreadful weight.

So, when you combine a treat for the old guys of the Academy, along with the old Jewish guys of the Academy, and then add in the Holocaust for Jewish people of all ages in the Academy, this is the kind of movie you get. And yes, I'm aware of the fact that it won other awards besides the Oscars, but all of the same still applies.

It does have some comic charm, but other than that, it's a pretty forgettable film.

5/10
 
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

6.5/10

I'm not familiar with the mashup novel by Seth Grahame-Smith ("and Jane Austen") that is the source, but the movie does a reasonably good job of resetting Austen's novel in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. While it falls short of being a Regency-era Zombieland, it's fairly entertaining. Some good casting helps: Lily James is good as a zombie-killing Lizzy Bennet, whose wit and tongue are nearly as sharp as the blades she wields, while Bella Heathcote is equally effective as a sweet-natured but still deadly Jane Bennet.
 
DrZoidberg said:
Felini's Satyricon ?/10

WTF did I just watch? The filmography and the scenography alone makes this a master piece. I get that. But WTF is it this about and what's the point of it? Apart from being just pretty. The original Roman book belongs to the their popular Roman genre of just being outrageously offensive in every way possible. Just going out of their way to offend. They liked that. But the offences are directed toward a Roman audience of 50 AD. I'm not sure who they are trying to offend, if they are? It mostly just comes across as disjointed and well... pointless. As for the symbology of it... didn't get any of it. It all just flew straight over my head.

The original book hasn't survived in it's entirety. Bits are missing. So what does Felini do to solve that problem? He just shoots what bits have survived rendering the film incomprehensible. Obviously there's a point to that, or he wouldn't have done it. But what is that point? Doesn't seem to make any sense. And the film doesn't follow the original book rigidly anyway. Which just adds to the mystery.

When reading about it nobody seems to be able to sum it up, they just list the events. Isn't that evidence they have no fucking clue either?

I don't know what to think. I can't think of another film like it. I guess that's as good reason as any so see a film. But don't expect to make any sense out of it. I didn't. I recommend you just sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Because it is pretty.
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I found it incredibly disjointed. A feast for the eyes to be sure, but this movie is one example of why the expression "I feel like I'm in a Fellini film " refers to bizzare, surreal situations.

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MarkW said:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

6.5/10

I'm not familiar with the mashup novel by Seth Grahame-Smith ("and Jane Austen") that is the source, but the movie does a reasonably good job of resetting Austen's novel in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. While it falls short of being a Regency-era Zombieland, it's fairly entertaining. Some good casting helps: Lily James is good as a zombie-killing Lizzy Bennet, whose wit and tongue are nearly as sharp as the blades she wields, while Bella Heathcote is equally effective as a sweet-natured but still deadly Jane Bennet.
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A friend who is a big fan of Jane Austen actually enjoyed the film.
 
Trumbo
Well done.Casting was great.Who was that guy that did john Wayne?Helen was good.Goodman.
7.7/10
 
Blade Runner: Final Cut

I recently read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K Dick. I thought it was OK, not great. Too many underdeveloped ideas mashed together.

I've seen Blade Runner a couple times. I don't recall ever seeing the theatrical release.

I like that the movie trims out the fat and focuses on the sci-fi noir aspects.

I don't like the music by Vangelis.

And I really didn't feel much from viewing the movie. It's interesting, but not emotionally engaging.

Visually OK. But plot, dialogue and acting are less than OK, from my point of view.

6/10
 
Finally watched Deadpool

9/10

By now eveyone has sen it already, so what can I say? It's a fun movie. Probably even more fun if you don't know what the heck you're about to see like I did.
 
bradw said:
Blade Runner: Final Cut

I recently read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K Dick. I thought it was OK, not great. Too many underdeveloped ideas mashed together.

I've seen Blade Runner a couple times. I don't recall ever seeing the theatrical release.

I like that the movie trims out the fat and focuses on the sci-fi noir aspects.

I don't like the music by Vangelis.

And I really didn't feel much from viewing the movie. It's interesting, but not emotionally engaging.

Visually OK. But plot, dialogue and acting are less than OK, from my point of view.

6/10
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His novels are all like that. He was more of an idea generator than a great writer. And I agree with you about the movie too. It has some interesting aspects but overall, it's meh. It's not terrible, but it's also not worthy of its status as a great sic-fi movie.
 
Colonel Sanders said:
bradw said:
Blade Runner: Final Cut

I recently read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K Dick. I thought it was OK, not great. Too many underdeveloped ideas mashed together.

I've seen Blade Runner a couple times. I don't recall ever seeing the theatrical release.

I like that the movie trims out the fat and focuses on the sci-fi noir aspects.

I don't like the music by Vangelis.

And I really didn't feel much from viewing the movie. It's interesting, but not emotionally engaging.

Visually OK. But plot, dialogue and acting are less than OK, from my point of view.

6/10
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His novels are all like that. He was more of an idea generator than a great writer. And I agree with you about the movie too. It has some interesting aspects but overall, it's meh. It's not terrible, but it's also not worthy of its status as a great sic-fi movie.
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Read Ubik. Shite story. But mind is blown every couple of pages. Just never end. The guy was brilliant. And yes, insane. Properly schizophrenic. He barely had a grasp of what was reality and what was only in his head.

I love both Blade Runner and Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep. I love that he loved Blade Runner. He didn't think it was like the book much. But he didn't care. He recognised that a film is a film and changes need to be made. Gotta love that attitude in an author. No ego.
 
I feel that way about a lot of 'classic' Sci-Fi. They make a huge impact at the time, and then people can't stop talking about them for years, but I wonder how much of that is just nostalgia for those initial "This is new!" feelings at the time. Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Brazil.

I watch them now and think, "This makes no sense."
 
James Brown said:
I feel that way about a lot of 'classic' Sci-Fi. They make a huge impact at the time, and then people can't stop talking about them for years, but I wonder how much of that is just nostalgia for those initial "This is new!" feelings at the time. Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Brazil.

I watch them now and think, "This makes no sense."
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What's not to get? Blade Runner is about if you create an artificial human you'll also give it a will to live. To kill it would be just as cruel as killing a regular living human being.

Brazil is about bureaucracy and how well meaning laws made for the common good often end up hurting people caught in between stuff. A particularly salient theme considering all the refugees about now.

Close encounters isn't as straight forward. But if I'm to take a stab at it, there's a couple of themes there. One is that music is a universal language. Not mind blowing. But still. Another is as a Jewish/Christian parable. It's full of Abrahamic symbols. The aliens might as well have been God/angels.

All three are above all not really about the story (or plot). Primarily they're spectacular feasts for the eyes. I think all three deliver on that quite well. The ideas are just nice bonuses.
 
Colonel Sanders said:
Life is Beautiful

After a strong urging by someone to sit through this movie completely (I've started and turned it off a couple of times before), I sat down and gave this movie yet another shot. What I want to know is why.

Why did this movie win jackshit at the Oscars? Here's why:

1. The score, which it won an Oscar for, is straight out of the 1950 classics. The score is played in majors when things are going well, and then the exact same notes are played during tragedy scenes, but in minors. Notably, Hitchcock did this.

2. The look. It was also reminiscent of the color film look of the 1950s. Again, since I'm kind of familiar with Hitchcock, the look reminded me of his 1954 classic, Rear Window.

3. Absurdity combined with saccharine-sweet melodrama, also reminiscent of older films like It's a Wonderful Life.
Click to expand...
Eh?

Combined, 1-3 gave the old-timers of the Academy one last, non-Viagra induced boner.
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The creator was able to mix comedy and the holocaust. Do you have any idea how hard and near impossible that is?! Ask Jerry Lewis.

4. The subject matter. I'm sorry. I promise I am not a "The Jews run the world and are engaged in conspiracy against the rest of us" person. But if this thing isn't about a Jewish family during the Holocaust, no one gives a fuck. And it's portrayal of such is whitewashed, and not realistic. Nazis in SS uniforms speaking Italian just doesn't carry that much dreadful weight.
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Whitewashed? Nazis speaking Italian. How many were? Wasn't there a scene in the camp when his son accidentally says thanks in Italian?

So, when you combine a treat for the old guys of the Academy, along with the old Jewish guys of the Academy, and then add in the Holocaust for Jewish people of all ages in the Academy, this is the kind of movie you get. And yes, I'm aware of the fact that it won other awards besides the Oscars, but all of the same still applies.
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Nice worldview you have there. Would you like to now explain why this film didn't win best film or best director or even original screenplay and only won best actor, best foreign film, score?

It does have some comic charm, but other than that, it's a pretty forgettable film.

5/10
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While I can understand his comic style may not be everyone's cup of tea, to say the film is forgettable is ridiculous.
 
Black Out

7.5/10

This is a pretty good Dutch crime thriller/black comedy. It's very much in the style of some of Guy Ritchie's early films (e.g., Snatch), so if you like that sort of movie, this one is worth checking out.
 
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