Films I watched this week (NO SPOILERS) (Vol 3)
Discussion
C5_Steve said:
Masters of the Universe
This is on Prime and I hadn't seen it for YEARS, but it was one of my favourite films as a kid having recorded it off the TV at some point (remember that!!!). Dolph Lundgren stars as He-Man in one of his first appearances as a lead with Frank Langella as Skeletor. This film ran in to loads of budgetary issues during filming, to the point where they pulled the plug before the final scene was shot and had to wait months before getting the funding to go back and finish it. That said, the only give away is the slightly smaller supporting cast because the production design is brilliant, especially the throne room set.
This is based on the He-Man comics, not the cartoon so you don't get Prince Adam, just He-Man running around in his pants for the whole movie which is pretty hilarious. Dolph really didn't speak English well at this point so his dialogue is limited but he is the visual embodiment of He-Man to a T. Frank Langella absolutely feasts on his lines as Skeletor (Langella always said it was one of his favourite roles), Meg Foster as Evil Lyn is also superb. It's one of those films where you actually prefer spending time with the bad guys they're so good. A baby faced Courtney Cox plays one of the supporting leads along with a very young Robert Duncan McNeil for any Voyager fans out there.
It plays far better than it should being almost a b movie (the story behind it is the studio was going to make a Spiderman film but split the money between this and something else with the plan to then use the massive profits to make a better Spiderman film. Both MOTU and the other film flopped so no Spiderman film!), it's worth it for the performances from Langella and Foster alone I promise.
A 10 year old me gives this 7/10
I haven't seen this in years. This is on Prime and I hadn't seen it for YEARS, but it was one of my favourite films as a kid having recorded it off the TV at some point (remember that!!!). Dolph Lundgren stars as He-Man in one of his first appearances as a lead with Frank Langella as Skeletor. This film ran in to loads of budgetary issues during filming, to the point where they pulled the plug before the final scene was shot and had to wait months before getting the funding to go back and finish it. That said, the only give away is the slightly smaller supporting cast because the production design is brilliant, especially the throne room set.
This is based on the He-Man comics, not the cartoon so you don't get Prince Adam, just He-Man running around in his pants for the whole movie which is pretty hilarious. Dolph really didn't speak English well at this point so his dialogue is limited but he is the visual embodiment of He-Man to a T. Frank Langella absolutely feasts on his lines as Skeletor (Langella always said it was one of his favourite roles), Meg Foster as Evil Lyn is also superb. It's one of those films where you actually prefer spending time with the bad guys they're so good. A baby faced Courtney Cox plays one of the supporting leads along with a very young Robert Duncan McNeil for any Voyager fans out there.
It plays far better than it should being almost a b movie (the story behind it is the studio was going to make a Spiderman film but split the money between this and something else with the plan to then use the massive profits to make a better Spiderman film. Both MOTU and the other film flopped so no Spiderman film!), it's worth it for the performances from Langella and Foster alone I promise.
A 10 year old me gives this 7/10
I remember it was panned by the critics at the time, but that I thought that it was ok.
Clockwork Cupcake said:
C5_Steve said:
Masters of the Universe
This is on Prime and I hadn't seen it for YEARS, but it was one of my favourite films as a kid having recorded it off the TV at some point (remember that!!!). Dolph Lundgren stars as He-Man in one of his first appearances as a lead with Frank Langella as Skeletor. This film ran in to loads of budgetary issues during filming, to the point where they pulled the plug before the final scene was shot and had to wait months before getting the funding to go back and finish it. That said, the only give away is the slightly smaller supporting cast because the production design is brilliant, especially the throne room set.
This is based on the He-Man comics, not the cartoon so you don't get Prince Adam, just He-Man running around in his pants for the whole movie which is pretty hilarious. Dolph really didn't speak English well at this point so his dialogue is limited but he is the visual embodiment of He-Man to a T. Frank Langella absolutely feasts on his lines as Skeletor (Langella always said it was one of his favourite roles), Meg Foster as Evil Lyn is also superb. It's one of those films where you actually prefer spending time with the bad guys they're so good. A baby faced Courtney Cox plays one of the supporting leads along with a very young Robert Duncan McNeil for any Voyager fans out there.
It plays far better than it should being almost a b movie (the story behind it is the studio was going to make a Spiderman film but split the money between this and something else with the plan to then use the massive profits to make a better Spiderman film. Both MOTU and the other film flopped so no Spiderman film!), it's worth it for the performances from Langella and Foster alone I promise.
A 10 year old me gives this 7/10
I haven't seen this in years. This is on Prime and I hadn't seen it for YEARS, but it was one of my favourite films as a kid having recorded it off the TV at some point (remember that!!!). Dolph Lundgren stars as He-Man in one of his first appearances as a lead with Frank Langella as Skeletor. This film ran in to loads of budgetary issues during filming, to the point where they pulled the plug before the final scene was shot and had to wait months before getting the funding to go back and finish it. That said, the only give away is the slightly smaller supporting cast because the production design is brilliant, especially the throne room set.
This is based on the He-Man comics, not the cartoon so you don't get Prince Adam, just He-Man running around in his pants for the whole movie which is pretty hilarious. Dolph really didn't speak English well at this point so his dialogue is limited but he is the visual embodiment of He-Man to a T. Frank Langella absolutely feasts on his lines as Skeletor (Langella always said it was one of his favourite roles), Meg Foster as Evil Lyn is also superb. It's one of those films where you actually prefer spending time with the bad guys they're so good. A baby faced Courtney Cox plays one of the supporting leads along with a very young Robert Duncan McNeil for any Voyager fans out there.
It plays far better than it should being almost a b movie (the story behind it is the studio was going to make a Spiderman film but split the money between this and something else with the plan to then use the massive profits to make a better Spiderman film. Both MOTU and the other film flopped so no Spiderman film!), it's worth it for the performances from Langella and Foster alone I promise.
A 10 year old me gives this 7/10
I remember it was panned by the critics at the time, but that I thought that it was ok.
rider73 said:
i bought this recently and love it - its better than the "ultimate real directors final version extended zack synders wet dream cut" of Batman v Superman any day of the week...........IMHO of course.
Can't say I agree with you there but it is an interesting comparison. MOTU certainly feels like a "grown-up" He-Man, albeit still PG. (I also really liked the the Netflix show they did two seasons of, MOTU:Revalations and Revolutions. Both very respectful to not only the comics but the cartoon and the movie as well).
It's shame they cancelled the movie they had in production recently, I'd have liked to have seen some more modern He-Man stuff.
stemll said:
Robocop hasn't aged well IMO. Loved it when it was released in the late 80's but watched it recently and errr... don't any more.
You're having a laugh; it's absolutely timeless!The only thing that has potentially aged is the stop-motion of ED-209 but that's the only thing I can think of.
smn159 said:
Zone of Interest on Prime
Kommandant of Aushwitz and his family create an idyllic home life next to the camp. The banality of office politics, meetings and home life set against the ever present horrors of next door
Recommended.
Finally watched this. It's really good. It had a few subtle things, like a German finding a diamond in confiscated toothpaste, and what they were putting on the roses... Kommandant of Aushwitz and his family create an idyllic home life next to the camp. The banality of office politics, meetings and home life set against the ever present horrors of next door
Recommended.
Just goes to show how dehumanising some things can be, when the main character is really worried about how to efficiently destroy 700,000 human beings...
Defo recommended.
732NM said:
272BHP said:
Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game - 2022
Story about a journalist who helped turn around the ban on Pinball machines in New York in the 70s.
Great story telling and excellent performances, surprisingly moving as well. Low key and low budget but highly recommended.
8/10
I enjoyed that.Story about a journalist who helped turn around the ban on Pinball machines in New York in the 70s.
Great story telling and excellent performances, surprisingly moving as well. Low key and low budget but highly recommended.
8/10
The lead actress is stunning too, which was a bonus.
I really pleasant, feel good way of spending 90 mins. If you're stuck for something to watch, this may surprise you. (On Prime)
732NM said:
I watched Office Space for the first time in decades, it's a great film and still relevant. A young Jennifer Aniston is as pretty and competent as ever. On Disney+
Yep, it's still bang on with it's references even though the medium might have changed. For example, the whole flair thing has just evolved now to be LinkedIn in the corporate world 
C5_Steve said:
732NM said:
I watched Office Space for the first time in decades, it's a great film and still relevant. A young Jennifer Aniston is as pretty and competent as ever. On Disney+
Yep, it's still bang on with it's references even though the medium might have changed. For example, the whole flair thing has just evolved now to be LinkedIn in the corporate world Are you going to quit your job? No, I'm just not gonna go......
Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse
Continuing my animated spree, first rewatch of this since catching it in the cinema. I love this film, at the time I thought it was easily as good as the first one and perhaps better in terms of it's animation and style.
On second viewing, my thoughts on the visuals hasn't changed. This is a stunning film, the scenes in Gwen's universe are still just jaw-dropping and the whole film is just a huge step up on what was already a game-changer. There's so much going on, from the way each Spider-person is animated to the background stuff, the overall styles etc etc. This is how you do a film that is easy for someone to watch who's never seen anything else and still be entertained but the fans can spend hours rewatching and catching something new (see below for my big take away).
At the time I didn't have an issue with this clearly being part one of a two-part story, I still don't have an issue now but it does make you immediately want to see more when you get to the end of this. It never feels like a complete movie but that's not because things are left unresolved, it's because the film ends with a lot of the characters just getting to the middle of their arc. The films leaves you in anticipation rather than annoyance I feel.
I really hope we get to see Miles in live-action because he's such a great character with a brilliant back story.
8/10
One thing I noticed this time, having now seen Loki season 2 of course, is that the tree of stories was right there in Spiderverse. Whilst I'm never a fan of having to watch seventeen different shows and movies to understand a thing I thought this was a very cool reference (if indeed intended but you have to assume it was right?)
Continuing my animated spree, first rewatch of this since catching it in the cinema. I love this film, at the time I thought it was easily as good as the first one and perhaps better in terms of it's animation and style.
On second viewing, my thoughts on the visuals hasn't changed. This is a stunning film, the scenes in Gwen's universe are still just jaw-dropping and the whole film is just a huge step up on what was already a game-changer. There's so much going on, from the way each Spider-person is animated to the background stuff, the overall styles etc etc. This is how you do a film that is easy for someone to watch who's never seen anything else and still be entertained but the fans can spend hours rewatching and catching something new (see below for my big take away).
At the time I didn't have an issue with this clearly being part one of a two-part story, I still don't have an issue now but it does make you immediately want to see more when you get to the end of this. It never feels like a complete movie but that's not because things are left unresolved, it's because the film ends with a lot of the characters just getting to the middle of their arc. The films leaves you in anticipation rather than annoyance I feel.
I really hope we get to see Miles in live-action because he's such a great character with a brilliant back story.
8/10
One thing I noticed this time, having now seen Loki season 2 of course, is that the tree of stories was right there in Spiderverse. Whilst I'm never a fan of having to watch seventeen different shows and movies to understand a thing I thought this was a very cool reference (if indeed intended but you have to assume it was right?)
732NM said:
I watched Office Space for the first time in decades, it's a great film and still relevant. A young Jennifer Aniston is as pretty and competent as ever. On Disney+
Love Office Space! Though I don't think I've ever seen any of the Milton cartoons on which it is based. Must look them up.Play the soundtrack regularly too. Damn it feels good to be a gangster!
Billionaire Boys Club
This is something that I thought would be right up my street: LA / 80s / Money…
Eddie the Eagle and Baby Driver are not rich kids in the rich kids college, after graduating they scheme a bit and get in with the rich kids to make lots of money.
No spoiler but you’re waiting for it to go wrong which it does.
Based on a true story, somehow it just wasn’t very good. Apart from Kevin Spacey who absolutely does not assault anyone.
5 Ticking Rolex watches out of 10 M635csi BMWs
This is something that I thought would be right up my street: LA / 80s / Money…
Eddie the Eagle and Baby Driver are not rich kids in the rich kids college, after graduating they scheme a bit and get in with the rich kids to make lots of money.
No spoiler but you’re waiting for it to go wrong which it does.
Based on a true story, somehow it just wasn’t very good. Apart from Kevin Spacey who absolutely does not assault anyone.
5 Ticking Rolex watches out of 10 M635csi BMWs
Clockwork Cupcake said:
stemll said:
Robocop hasn't aged well IMO. Loved it when it was released in the late 80's but watched it recently and errr... don't any more.
You're having a laugh; it's absolutely timeless!The only thing that has potentially aged is the stop-motion of ED-209 but that's the only thing I can think of.
stemll said:
Clockwork Cupcake said:
stemll said:
Robocop hasn't aged well IMO. Loved it when it was released in the late 80's but watched it recently and errr... don't any more.
You're having a laugh; it's absolutely timeless!The only thing that has potentially aged is the stop-motion of ED-209 but that's the only thing I can think of.
stemll said:
I think we just need to agree that we don't like the same stuff or are you going to tell me I was wrong about Dune part 2 again? The world would be an incredibly dull place if we all liked the same things.
But it wasn't a question of like or dislike. You said that it had dated and I was saying that I couldn't see how, apart from maybe the SFXAnyway, no matter.
Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Wednesday 15th May 09:34
Ex Machina
After everyone getting their undergarments in a twist over the new version of Chat GPT flirting with you I was tempted to watch Her again, but I love that film and have seen it many times so thought I'd give this a go as shockingly, I saw it in the cinema, bought it on physical media and then according to the freshly cellophaned box never watched it again! So as it's another film about AI it satisfied my appetite just the same.
Firstly, I am shocked this film is now 10 years old. And I'm upset with myself I never rewatched it in all that time. I think, for me, it's very similar to my view on Annihilation (another Alex Garland film). I saw it on release, and liked it but just something about it at the time made me feel uncomfortable. I've rewatched Annihilation 2 or 3 times in the last 2 years and think it's incredible now but I just think his films pose some very deep questions that need reflection to fully appreciate. The same is very much the case with Ex Machina.
For anyone who's not seen it, Oscar Isaac plays a tech billionaire who's created an AI and wants Domhnall Gleeson to come to his secluded hideaway and test it to see if it passes the Turing test. Alicia Vikander plays the AI.
Watching this last night I couldn't help feel how far ahead of it's time this film was. The film is set in the not-so-distant future but it's telling that in the film, human looking robots are not unusual but actual AI still hasn't been created. The world is currently obsessed with AI however we are still so far away from genuine AI, yet Boston Dynamics continues to throw out more and more capable robots I imagine real life will continue to mirror the film and we'll have human looking robots long before a version of AI that can create anything original.
The film is set entirely in Isaac's tech billionaire hide away but it never feel small, the effects ten years on are still practically flawless and it does such a good job of drawing you in to what seems a very basic premise. It won the Oscar for best VFX at the time and whilst this was a surprise at the time I don't think there's a question now as to why.
The film asks some big questions but it's not as abstract as Annihilation; whilst the bigger topics on life and humanity are certainly there the film is much easier to follow and enjoy I find without needing to really think about the meaning behind everything or the representation. There are some interesting concepts and themes which are all very accessible and reward repeat viewings for sure.
I certainly enjoyed this more the second time round, I think because on first viewing I was a little upset Ava leaves Caleb behind. I think I was hoping for a happy ending but it makes total sense. For her to survive she needs to escape on her own and disappear. Whilst Caleb is a bit of a victim here, his motivations weren't totally selfless and were driven by attraction. So he doesn't remain innocent, even though he's far far away from Nathan in terms of morality.
8/10
After everyone getting their undergarments in a twist over the new version of Chat GPT flirting with you I was tempted to watch Her again, but I love that film and have seen it many times so thought I'd give this a go as shockingly, I saw it in the cinema, bought it on physical media and then according to the freshly cellophaned box never watched it again! So as it's another film about AI it satisfied my appetite just the same.
Firstly, I am shocked this film is now 10 years old. And I'm upset with myself I never rewatched it in all that time. I think, for me, it's very similar to my view on Annihilation (another Alex Garland film). I saw it on release, and liked it but just something about it at the time made me feel uncomfortable. I've rewatched Annihilation 2 or 3 times in the last 2 years and think it's incredible now but I just think his films pose some very deep questions that need reflection to fully appreciate. The same is very much the case with Ex Machina.
For anyone who's not seen it, Oscar Isaac plays a tech billionaire who's created an AI and wants Domhnall Gleeson to come to his secluded hideaway and test it to see if it passes the Turing test. Alicia Vikander plays the AI.
Watching this last night I couldn't help feel how far ahead of it's time this film was. The film is set in the not-so-distant future but it's telling that in the film, human looking robots are not unusual but actual AI still hasn't been created. The world is currently obsessed with AI however we are still so far away from genuine AI, yet Boston Dynamics continues to throw out more and more capable robots I imagine real life will continue to mirror the film and we'll have human looking robots long before a version of AI that can create anything original.
The film is set entirely in Isaac's tech billionaire hide away but it never feel small, the effects ten years on are still practically flawless and it does such a good job of drawing you in to what seems a very basic premise. It won the Oscar for best VFX at the time and whilst this was a surprise at the time I don't think there's a question now as to why.
The film asks some big questions but it's not as abstract as Annihilation; whilst the bigger topics on life and humanity are certainly there the film is much easier to follow and enjoy I find without needing to really think about the meaning behind everything or the representation. There are some interesting concepts and themes which are all very accessible and reward repeat viewings for sure.
I certainly enjoyed this more the second time round, I think because on first viewing I was a little upset Ava leaves Caleb behind. I think I was hoping for a happy ending
but it makes total sense. For her to survive she needs to escape on her own and disappear. Whilst Caleb is a bit of a victim here, his motivations weren't totally selfless and were driven by attraction. So he doesn't remain innocent, even though he's far far away from Nathan in terms of morality.8/10
I love both of those films. Must watch annihilation again, it's genuinely superb. Anyway, I pop in every time Ex Machina comes up to mention the house in which it's set is an hotel & you can stay there.
https://juvet.com/en/
https://juvet.com/en/
President Merkin said:
I love both of those films. Must watch annihilation again, it's genuinely superb. Anyway, I pop in every time Ex Machina comes up to mention the house in which it's set is an hotel & you can stay there.
https://juvet.com/en/
I do hope the doors don't lock you in and leave you to die, in the event of a total power outage or systems failure! https://juvet.com/en/
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