Films thread

[Spark Doll King]

The Last Action Hero

I haven't watched this since I was a kid, but bloody hell did I have a great time. Is it the best movie ever, no, but it's great parody of 80s action/cop movies. There's a real passion for the genre and Arnold great in the role. Charles Dance is also a pretty awesome villain. Oddly my favourite part is when we're back in the real world, as I think this might be one of the best examples of a fictional character coming to the real world I've ever seen.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2024 23:12:38 GMT Spark Doll King said:

The Last Action Hero

I haven't watched this since I was a kid, but bloody hell did I have a great time. Is it the best movie ever, no, but it's great parody of 80s action/cop movies. There's a real passion for the genre and Arnold great in the role. Charles Dance is also a pretty awesome villain. Oddly my favourite part is when we're back in the real world, as I think this might be one of the best examples of a fictional character coming to the real world I've ever seen.

Tom Noonan is very underrated. His work in this, RoboCop 2 and Manhunter in particular is great.

[Deleted]

Star Wars (1977)



Bit cheap and raunchy. I thought this was supposed to be a fun for all ages adventure film? There's way too much shagging for me. 3/10

[iank]

lols

[Deleted]

Skyscraper (1996)

A beautiful helicopter pilot gets stuck in a building full of international terrorists. 

This movie is REALLY bad even though it shouldn't be. I mean, a gorgeous 90s pin up and the brilliant Die Hard premise that has worked in so many other "knock off" movies such as Under Siege, it sounds like a riot. Sadly the film is horribly made with Anna Nicole Smith seemingly on drugs or drunk (maybe both). I love Anna, but no way should she be starring in an action movie in such a state. It's so sad to see her struggle with the simplest of dialogue. The villains, an African Hans Gruber and the typical muscle bound henchman, are so copy and paste it's unreal. Everything is so cheap lacking any sort of creative spark. I'm not usually harsh on movies like this, but everything is so low effort and that really bothers me. Anna does show off the goods at one point, but since the internet exists now I can't help but feel you're better off looking elsewhere to see them. 1/10

[Cherry Pepsi Maxil]

Creed II (2018)

Adonis Creed, the son of the late Apollo Creed, is champion, but unfortunately his happiness is shortlived when Ivan Drago and his son come to town looking to challenge the fighter..


When I originally watched this back in 2019 I wasn't too keen on it. I rewatched it last week for the first time since then and honestly I had a much experience with it. I'd even go as far as to say it's my favourite of the Creed trilogy now. The biggest draw is obviously the ties it has with the best Rocky movie, Rocky IV. Though it works as its own thing, the callbacks and similarities to the 1985 classic are still very welcome and add to the overall saga in a positive way. Unlike with some revivals, I never got the sense that the people behind Creed II had anything but respect and love for the films that came before it. Stallone himself is somewhat relegated to the background for the mid section due to plot developments, but when he's in the film he gives a terrific and understated performance. Dolph Lundgren also returns as the infamous Ivan Drago, this time with a little bit more to him. He even somewhat redeems himself at the end by throwing in the towel to save his son Viktor from ending up like Apollo Creed at the hands of Adonis. Michael B Jordan and Tessa Thompson (beautiful woman) bring more energy to the series with their electric chemistry while the direction is fast and furious giving us several great fight scenes and a pulse pounding montage. Not a patch on the best Rocky films, but a solid continuation of the series and a worthy companion piece to Rocky IV.

8/10

[Cherry Pepsi Maxil]

The NeverEnding Story III (1994)

I have a strange affinity for this movie  It's not particularly good, but it has that mid 90s charm and I've seen it enough times over the last ten years for it to feel like spending time with an old friend whenever I watch it. The film might just have the best 90s soundtrack too with hits such as Meat Loaf's "Life is a Lemon" (from Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell II album - something I highly recommend adding to your music collection), Roxette's "Crash! Boom! Bang!", Marky Mark and Prince Ital Joe's techo classic "United", Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" (heard here before it appeared in Batman Forever) and the late Aaliyah's R&B track "Back & Forth". This kind of music plays often throughout the movie although the actual "NeverEnding Story" song from Limahl is absent. It isn't just the music that screams the 1990s - the fashion, hairstyles and general aeshetic represent the height of 90s greatness. Jack Black is perhaps the stand out performer here in a role he later regretted taking. I think he should relax because he did an excellent job as a mid 20s high school bully lol. Visually the film is quite striking for a lower budget fantasy with decent VFX and puppetry. The director (the same director of Rambo III would you believe!) goes full Joel Schumacher a year before it was cool with a complete over use of dutch tilts during the climax. I kinda like it, though. I still have a crush on Julie Cox's Empress as well.

Overall a film that shouldn't exist but I'm glad it does. Nobody will understand how I can enjoy a film that has no respect for the source material and turns a dark fantasy adventure series into a poor man's Power Rangers episode, but to be honest I don't really care. I'll always like the film even if I'm the only one. Still waiting for that UK DVD release. Any minute now...

[rushy]

It's rubbish, but Jack Black's performance is oddly captivating.

[Ludders II]

Oppenheimer

Watched this during a long international flight back to Aus, which might not be the most conducive way to digest anything beyond your average Action movie, but nevertheless I found it rather shoddy, largely due to appalling editing and sound balance. Or maybe I just struggle with the now tediously overdone trend of chopping up the timeline of the narrative in films that are trying too hard to be above the average popcorn fodder.
The pace of the the editing was very fast throughout, with virtually every scene lasting only a few seconds or so. When the odd scene went on for a couple of minutes, it seemed very long, so the exposition, which was basically the first half hour or so of the film, was a mess. Characters were dropped into the action before they had been adequately introduced to the audience, and the relationships between the characters, which, in a drama such as this, are essential, were only roughly sketched in.
It just meant there was no real shape to the film. A good drama takes shape by slowing down or speeding up the tempo at different points, by ratcheting up or relaxing the tension. But when everything flies past you at the speed of light, you can’t do that, and the whole thing just seems to go by in a series of flashes, so the only way to heighten the tension is to make the music louder and more discordant.
The dialogue didn't seem particularly interesting half of the time, and much of it didn't seem to reflect the situation that much. I mean these characters are highly intelligent people facing huge moral dilemmas. It seems to me that that’s where the essence of the drama lies, and yet the dialogue was never more than perfunctory. And none of this was helped by the fact that there was music constantly on the soundtrack, often drowning out the dialogue, (such as it is).
The drama takes place from some time in the 1930s to some time in the 1950s, but there was no sense of the characters ageing over time. Merely bringing the actors back on with more make-up, or mentioning some historic events (“Hitler’s dead now”), isn’t enough; there was little sense of the characters developing through their lived experience.
Despite all this, I did feel that Cillian Murphy managed to put in a good performance, I just blame Nolan for barely exploiting it, because he was too busy with his pretentions. The final plot twist was a surprise, I'll admit that much, but overall I think this film was a bit of a dud.

A generous 4/10, for the actors.

[Bernard Marx]

Mar 2, 2024 8:04:59 GMT Ludders II said:

I found it rather shoddy, largely due to appalling editing and sound balance. 

It's admittedly very full-on, but I personally thought there were some very commendable editing choices in there. Juxtaposing the often present "stomping feet" of war-horny American patriots with Jean Tatlock's death and Oppenheimer's callous address to said patriots communicates (through structure instead of dialogue) that the same forces complicit in dropping both atomic bombs also dispensed with political dissent in much the same fashion. I found the Colonel Pash scene chilling in this respect too.

The relentless editing also, at least to me, felt apposite for representing the subjective perspective of a man rife with scientific and political paradoxes- hence the "fission" label given to his POV early in the film, in which molecules disperse outwardly and chaotically when creating a nuclear reaction. Likewise, I think the chronology ties neatly into the Prometheus analogy given at the start of the film. Prometheus was forced to relive the same day repeatedly amidst being persecuted, and the sequences in which we witness Oppenheimer's early life are linked to the kangaroo court hearing in which his own persecution occurs- our account of his life is the same one he gives to the McCarthyites. The flashes of the "quantum world" we see during those early montages are, on the one hand, representative of his paradoxical mental state, but they also resemble flashes of the bomb, suggestive that he was always going to create it as far back as his youth- a notion Strauss (Downey Jr) flags up when berating him later in the film.

I appreciated the film's choice to make Strauss a contemptible lying McCarthyite shithead, but to also discreetly prove his point about Oppenheimer himself. Oppenheimer does "pray on the naivety of scientists" (as when he manipulates Rabi and falsely tells the protesting scientists that the bomb will "ensure a peace mankind has never seen") and he would have still made the bomb regardless of his hand-wringing. Strauss is correct, but for entirely the wrong reasons. What's also noteworthy about the kangaroo court is that Oppenheimer deliberately puts himself through it to clear his image as the father of the bomb and reshape himself into a McCarthy victim, echoed by Einstein's exchange with him at the end ("when they've punished you enough, they'll serve you salmon and potato salad...pat you on the back") and his remark of "we'll see" after being asked if he believed prostration would result in forgiveness. I liked how Nolan never communicated these elements out loud to the audience but instead integrated these choices into structure and editing, making the film more rewarding (at least to me) on a re-watch.

It's by no means a perfect film, but it was far more interesting than I anticipated- amusingly, for the same reasons you berated it. Make of that what you will...

[Ludders II]

I did wonder whether I'd done it justice by watching it in the middle of an exhausting 23hr flight, but when I decided to give it another go at home, I found it even more annoying, and ended up turning it off half way through. 😆 So I'm glad you found more to appreciate in it than I did.

[Cherry Pepsi Maxil]

Might give the 2004 Thunderbirds movie another watch in the coming weeks. It's a curious film made by Riker from TNG and starring Bill Paxton and Sophia Myles. Busted provided the kick ass theme song.

I must confess the film was a huge favourite growing up. I remember taking the DVD with me on holiday in 2005 and thinking it was the shit. I remember having a crush on Sophia Myles as well. Strangely, my love for the film never extended to the television series. I revisited it about six years ago and I didn't mind it. Clearly a flawed film that I can't help but imagine retains none of the charm from the source material, but I do find it watchable. One thing I vividly remember is Busted's song ALWAYS being on the radio when it came out.

[Cherry Pepsi Maxil]

Home Alone 4 (2002)

I didn't watch this at Christmas, but since I have Disney Plus for a bit and I was bored I decided to revisit what is universally regarded as the worst one.

Let's not beat around the bush, this is a pile of crap. However, I really struggle to get angry over it nowadays. I never really thought it was all that bad as a kid and I remember watching it just as much as the other ones. The smart house idea is still pretty cool though I have to question how this qualifies as a Home Alone film since Kevin is not actually by himself. French Stewart is fairly watchable as Marv even though the people making it made him dress like Harry for some reason. Clearly nobody bothered to do any research before the film because Kevin is the same age he was in the first movie and thus younger than he was in the second. I'm also not sure why they even bothered trying to make Cape Town look like Chicago. I've never been to either, but I can still tell the difference. This must be the warmest-looking Christmas movie ever made.

Not a good film by any means, but still slightly more watchable than the sequels after it.

4/10

[Spark Doll King]

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Saw this tonight and had a fun time. The film is embracing the late shows era in terms of spirit and tone.

The basic gist is that Kong is exploring the hollow earth looking for his own kind, while Godzilla is acting up and on the war path for some unknown reason. The deaf girl from Godzilla Vs Kong is also sensing something strange and this leads our human caste into the Hollow Earth once again.

This eventual leads to revelation that Kong is not the last of his kind. Hidden in an uncharted part of the hollow earth is a clan of giant apes enslaved to a brutal master, the Skar King, a red haired ape with a thirst for conquest. Worse he has an ancient titan who's powers rival Godzilla's under his control.

This film is just simple fun from start to finish. The most interesting aspect is that we get to spend quite a lot of time with Kong on his own, with none interpreting for him. His emotions and character shine through his actions. His friendship with a young ape of Skar King's clan is also very wholesome.

Some bits of the film are silly or nonsensical but generally it's strengths outweigh it's flaws.

A fun monster time 8/10

[Deleted]

I saw Killers of the Flower Moon last night. It was great, of course, but I'm also not particularly passionate about it. I often feel that way about Scorsese movies. It's obvious what you're supposed to take away from it, there isn't much of a hidden narrative or meaning beyond the sociopolitical angle, I wouldn't even say the characters are particularly thought-provoking. It's just a really solid portrayal of historical events. DiCaprio, De Niro do fine jobs, Lilly Gladstone is rather compelling as DiCaprio's wife. Yeah - solid, solid stuff. 7/10