Films I watched this week
Discussion
Matt_N said:
The Vambo said:
Greenmantle said:
The Vambo said:
Halb said:
Flicked it on just in time for the famous line!!!
Its not exactly up there with Commando but Raw Deal is on ITV4
I watched Batman v Superman on Friday night. It was long. Very, very long. I actually got bored through the film as it seemed to go from story to story and bounce all over the place and didn't seem to be linked together very well - This was the 3 hour version too.
The action sequences were a bit meh and I felt that there were some plot holes that just needed answering such as, why wasn't Lex Luthor questioned as to why he didn't attend the hearing that killed loads of people and why was there such little narrative around the fact that the previous Superman film killed so many people - And the whole dream/time travel sequence seemed to not fit at all
I didn't hate it, but I expected more from it. It's clearly set up at a couple more films, but it's a long film to do just that.
The action sequences were a bit meh and I felt that there were some plot holes that just needed answering such as, why wasn't Lex Luthor questioned as to why he didn't attend the hearing that killed loads of people and why was there such little narrative around the fact that the previous Superman film killed so many people - And the whole dream/time travel sequence seemed to not fit at all
I didn't hate it, but I expected more from it. It's clearly set up at a couple more films, but it's a long film to do just that.
robemcdonald said:
I disagree I think people still want to make cool stuff. The problem is money. Movies are almost made by committees and focus groups. The more the previous movie was a flop the more committees and focus groups are used. Look at suicide squad as an example; reshoots to add levity after accusations that B vs S was too gloomy. Half the scenes from the trailer didn't even make the final cut.
I still think people are trying to make things cool though. Look at TV.
I think your last sentence sums it up: you have to look at TV to see where cinematic creativity lives these days. Game of Thrones has thrown up far greater battle scenes than probably any film I've seen since the Lord of the Rings series. In film, what used to be an epic battle scene has become a bombardment of incomprehensible noise.I still think people are trying to make things cool though. Look at TV.
There are of course still good films being made, but we're talking specifically about the blockbuster Hollywood films.
Back on topic, we watched Burying the Ex last night. It's directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins), so thought it worth a go. It suffers from a terrible script, clunky characters and some really ham-fisted storytelling, but it's watchable enough and the two lead actresses are rather delicious.
47 Ronin.
What a great example ofn what we are talking about, a vaccious hollow feel to it, all cgi big action w
kry over story or characterisation. Some stupid stupid bits, I phased out, played a video game, then stopped watching and read the story on wiki, plussed the last 10 minutes to wrap up.
Dunno if itmade money but I checked the figures on Ghostbusters 2016...they're bad, so at least that's good news.
What a great example ofn what we are talking about, a vaccious hollow feel to it, all cgi big action w
kry over story or characterisation. Some stupid stupid bits, I phased out, played a video game, then stopped watching and read the story on wiki, plussed the last 10 minutes to wrap up.Dunno if itmade money but I checked the figures on Ghostbusters 2016...they're bad, so at least that's good news.
Batman v Superman. Didn't realise I'd bought the 'Ultimate' version - Tesco had either that or the 3D (which was a fiver more expensive) version on offer - so wasn't expecting it to last that long. As it was, putting it on after Suits last night with it finishing just before Adam Peaty's brilliant swim in the Olympics I probably missed an awful lot so will need a second viewing but a few random thoughts.
Alistair Cook is still too wooden as Superman. Lex Luthor tries way to hard to be Joker Mk 2. Batman comes across as a jealous drama queen. That Affleck is a decent Batman is a surprise to many is a surprise to me - I think he's a more than decent actor and has turned in a number of fine performances throughout his career. The effects seemed very ropey in places. The story seemed to jump around a lot. I'm glad DC haven't followed the glitzy, shiny and somewhat sanitised Marvel route and have gone more 'adult' and dark and moody - it works well for me. I like the introduction of the other characters and hope future films and tie ins follow this darker theme.
TL;DR: I enjoyed it, and a lot more than I thought after watching Man of Steel a while ago. I may need to revisit that one before giving this film a second viewing and have high hopes now for further DC offerings. Looks like, after a number of stuttering starts, they've properly arrived at the superhero party.
Alistair Cook is still too wooden as Superman. Lex Luthor tries way to hard to be Joker Mk 2. Batman comes across as a jealous drama queen. That Affleck is a decent Batman is a surprise to many is a surprise to me - I think he's a more than decent actor and has turned in a number of fine performances throughout his career. The effects seemed very ropey in places. The story seemed to jump around a lot. I'm glad DC haven't followed the glitzy, shiny and somewhat sanitised Marvel route and have gone more 'adult' and dark and moody - it works well for me. I like the introduction of the other characters and hope future films and tie ins follow this darker theme.
TL;DR: I enjoyed it, and a lot more than I thought after watching Man of Steel a while ago. I may need to revisit that one before giving this film a second viewing and have high hopes now for further DC offerings. Looks like, after a number of stuttering starts, they've properly arrived at the superhero party.
robemcdonald said:
james_tigerwoods said:
I watched Batman v Superman on Friday night.
I didn't hate it, but I expected more from It
Why?I didn't hate it, but I expected more from It
james_tigerwoods said:
robemcdonald said:
james_tigerwoods said:
I watched Batman v Superman on Friday night.
I didn't hate it, but I expected more from It
Why?I didn't hate it, but I expected more from It
The movies been out for some time now and reviews have been moderate to poor.
For what it's worth I enjoyed it more on the small screen did at the cinema. I watched the extended version on Friday evening and would rate it at 7/10. Maybe the dross I have been watching lately has lowere my expectations.
Halb said:
47 Ronin.
What a great example ofn what we are talking about, a vaccious hollow feel to it, all cgi big action wkry over story or characterisation. Some stupid stupid bits, I phased out, played a video game, then stopped watching and read the story on wiki, plussed the last 10 minutes to wrap up.
Dunno if itmade money but I checked the figures on Ghostbusters 2016...they're bad, so at least that's good news.
TBH I didn't mind the 47R - however given the source material it should have been awesome. It wasn'tWhat a great example ofn what we are talking about, a vaccious hollow feel to it, all cgi big action w
kry over story or characterisation. Some stupid stupid bits, I phased out, played a video game, then stopped watching and read the story on wiki, plussed the last 10 minutes to wrap up.Dunno if itmade money but I checked the figures on Ghostbusters 2016...they're bad, so at least that's good news.
Watch two at the weekend with very mixed results:-
Suicide Squad -
When this was announced I was very 'meh, it's DC, they will rush it and ruin it'. Saw the trailers and it just looked balls out fun as hell.
Unfortunately for me I was right first time with regards to the story, tone and plot. Which is hugely frustrating as the squad themselves are all pretty superb. Spoiler free feelings on the cast:-
Will Smith nails a great performance as Deadshot, Still Will Smith in there but the character and his 'story' is well portrayed. The bit in the trailer where he is standing on the roof of the car shooting in multiple directions is just so cool.
Margo Robbie is brilliant as Harley Quinn... crazy, off the wall, cute, sexy, and as mad as box full of monkeys on nitrous oxide. She is genuinely a scene stealer, often full on crazy and other times it's the little facial reactions or random giggles at the wrong time. She is fantastic!. I can't see any other 'Harley Quinn' now. Defines the character for me.
El Diablo (fire dude) is brilliant. In fact I wanted much much more of him. I even had to google the actor as at one point I thought they had fired a real Mexican gang banger for the role. His 'moment' in the movie (not featured in the trailer at all) is also a stand out "holy crap that is awesome" event. Proper bad ass.
Jarod Leto is awful as Joker. Really, really bad. It really is like he watched Heath Ledger and tried to go even creepier without realising that the creepy in Ledger's performance was the dangerous unspoken subtlety ("I'm not crazy, I'm not"). Total miss-step for me and the times he is in the film were actually annoying.
Overall the movie scrapes on the edges of greatness a few times but has (for me at least) made it a clean sweep of DC movies not living up to the hype. And I really wanted to love this movie!
Warcraft : The Beginning -
I actually avoided this at the cinema as I have no interest in the game and don't know any of the back stories, the trailer looked like it could have been another 'Dungeons and Dragons'.
However, I LOVED this movie!!
It's rich in visuals, has really strong character development (very big surprise) and the story is actually easy to follow but at the same time there is enough going on to not feel simple. I really want a sequel now.
Now this is a big spoiler, so skip this if you haven't seen the movie....
Final warning....
I was actually surprised how gutted I was at the death of the ork Durotan near the end of the movie. And that of King Llane. Surprised as a) I didn't see that either would die, and b) I was properly invested in both characters by that point. Durotan in particular was such a great character that it was genuinely gutting when he was killed
So one film I wanted to love and one I was not bothered about as I expected to find it cheesy and confusing and the end results were reversed.
Suicide Squad -
When this was announced I was very 'meh, it's DC, they will rush it and ruin it'. Saw the trailers and it just looked balls out fun as hell.
Unfortunately for me I was right first time with regards to the story, tone and plot. Which is hugely frustrating as the squad themselves are all pretty superb. Spoiler free feelings on the cast:-
Will Smith nails a great performance as Deadshot, Still Will Smith in there but the character and his 'story' is well portrayed. The bit in the trailer where he is standing on the roof of the car shooting in multiple directions is just so cool.
Margo Robbie is brilliant as Harley Quinn... crazy, off the wall, cute, sexy, and as mad as box full of monkeys on nitrous oxide. She is genuinely a scene stealer, often full on crazy and other times it's the little facial reactions or random giggles at the wrong time. She is fantastic!. I can't see any other 'Harley Quinn' now. Defines the character for me.
El Diablo (fire dude) is brilliant. In fact I wanted much much more of him. I even had to google the actor as at one point I thought they had fired a real Mexican gang banger for the role. His 'moment' in the movie (not featured in the trailer at all) is also a stand out "holy crap that is awesome" event. Proper bad ass.
Jarod Leto is awful as Joker. Really, really bad. It really is like he watched Heath Ledger and tried to go even creepier without realising that the creepy in Ledger's performance was the dangerous unspoken subtlety ("I'm not crazy, I'm not"). Total miss-step for me and the times he is in the film were actually annoying.
Overall the movie scrapes on the edges of greatness a few times but has (for me at least) made it a clean sweep of DC movies not living up to the hype. And I really wanted to love this movie!
Warcraft : The Beginning -
I actually avoided this at the cinema as I have no interest in the game and don't know any of the back stories, the trailer looked like it could have been another 'Dungeons and Dragons'.
However, I LOVED this movie!!
It's rich in visuals, has really strong character development (very big surprise) and the story is actually easy to follow but at the same time there is enough going on to not feel simple. I really want a sequel now.
Now this is a big spoiler, so skip this if you haven't seen the movie....
Final warning....
I was actually surprised how gutted I was at the death of the ork Durotan near the end of the movie. And that of King Llane. Surprised as a) I didn't see that either would die, and b) I was properly invested in both characters by that point. Durotan in particular was such a great character that it was genuinely gutting when he was killed
So one film I wanted to love and one I was not bothered about as I expected to find it cheesy and confusing and the end results were reversed.
robemcdonald said:
Sorry. A bit of misunderstanding. I was really asking why you expected more.
I had hoped the reviews to be wrong.... And having been fed Marvel stuff for a while, I guess I expected the comic book fare to be, well, better and more engaging.It wasn't bad - It just wasn't good.
Jader1973 said:
Watched Eddie the Eagle last night.
"Based on a true story"
More like "We made everything up, apart from his name and the bit about the Olympics".
The lad from Kinsgsman played Eddie by doing a bad impression which resembled someone with special needs, Hugh Jackman played an entirely ficticious coach with more than a hint of Wolverine.
5/10 - should have tried harder, much harder.
This is interesting, I watched this last night and found it really enjoyable to watch. I have no idea how closely the story resembles the truth but it was an entertaining watch. Fair point about the bad impression for Eddie."Based on a true story"
More like "We made everything up, apart from his name and the bit about the Olympics".
The lad from Kinsgsman played Eddie by doing a bad impression which resembled someone with special needs, Hugh Jackman played an entirely ficticious coach with more than a hint of Wolverine.
5/10 - should have tried harder, much harder.
Watched a couple over the weekend:
Ant-Man - Not your usual superhero fare, thought Paul Rudd was excellent as the reluctant hero, raised a few laughs, would definitely watch again. Probably 8/10.
Had a drink during Ant-Man and ended up watching...
Sharknado - Hadn't seen this before and was wondering what the fuss was about - Good heavens, now I know. Probably the worst, yet best film I've ever seen. Crap CGI used multiple times, awfully brilliant dialogue, and one of the funniest endings I've seen. As a film it's a firm 0/10, as a piece of entertainment - 10/10.
Got Sharknado 2 for next weekend
Ant-Man - Not your usual superhero fare, thought Paul Rudd was excellent as the reluctant hero, raised a few laughs, would definitely watch again. Probably 8/10.
Had a drink during Ant-Man and ended up watching...
Sharknado - Hadn't seen this before and was wondering what the fuss was about - Good heavens, now I know. Probably the worst, yet best film I've ever seen. Crap CGI used multiple times, awfully brilliant dialogue, and one of the funniest endings I've seen. As a film it's a firm 0/10, as a piece of entertainment - 10/10.
Got Sharknado 2 for next weekend
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