Films I watched this week (Vol 2)

[Antony Moxey]

Cold said:

Halb said:

How many continuity howlers has it? any really big ones?

The ones that stood out for me were:

The tea towel Attenborough was holding in the caravan kept changing colour.

When they're all in the helicopter for the first time heading over the sea to the island, Attenborough looked up to say "There it is" as they got within view. However, from where he was sitting in the helicopter (backwards to the direction of travel) combined with the direction of his gaze meant that all he would have been able to see was water.

During the "T-Rex attacks the two 4x4s" scene, the lead car's door kept opening and shutting depending which end of the compound the camera was placed. Later on in the same scene, bits of the Jeep kept repairing themselves...

Then I just went with the flow and switched off, but there's loads recorded on sites like this, some more trivial than others.

I might be remembering this wrongly but when they're in the Jeep's outside the T-Rex compound they see the goat in the cage, yet when the T-Rex escapes and noses one of the Jeeps over the wall into the compound it falls about 50 feet or more down the other side. Was the goat on a platform, and if it was that high how did the T-Rex get up there to get the goat or break the cables and escape?

[chris watton]

ukaskew said:

Cold said:

It's a proper film. You have to forgive the of-their-time effects (although they are passable, even today)

I've been fortunate enough to see this in the cinema many times since my first visit as a kid, most recently last year. I'm really struggling to think of any effects that are in any way sub-par compared to what we're used to now. I'd go as far as saying that the dinosaurs look far more real and 'in the scene' than they do in JP3 onwards, simply because they were practical where possible and they put a shed load of time and effort in nailing the CGI.

Take the raptors in almost any scene vs Blue in the new ones, the originals look more convincing to me.

Have to agree, the original JP is superior in almost every way compared to the more modern soft reboots. I have the original on 4k Blu Ray, and the effects still look great, and in no way detracts for the story at all - they compliment it, which is what I think the more modern films do not do. (as in ok effects, but laughable storylines/plots that seem to be written by pre-teens)

[Gargamel]

Been on long haul... so

1. Solo ... I thought it was a solid effort, interesting enough in its own right and although there are a few issues it has enough pace to see it through - 6/10

2. Deadpool 2 ... I laughed alot, some genuine out loud laughs and some headshaking moments where you think, you cannot say that ! 8/10 - let down a bit as the bad guys are all a bit tame and there is no jeopardy whatsover, but on the other hand its good to watch a true anti hero

3. Ready Player One... Perhaps I am easily pleased, but I really liked this - the effects are awesome and the plot is pretty decent, the pop references come thick and fast, I suspect their are very few people who understood the gygax reference or where the words for spell came from, so the ones you do get make you feel special and the ones you don't you never notice ! 8/10 - bit too long.

4. Tag ... 5/10 - some funny moments and its different and based on a true story - it is fun and has some good scenes. I am not a Jeremy Renner fan, but he plays this pretty well.

[Cold]

chris watton said:

ukaskew said:

Cold said:

It's a proper film. You have to forgive the of-their-time effects (although they are passable, even today)

I've been fortunate enough to see this in the cinema many times since my first visit as a kid, most recently last year. I'm really struggling to think of any effects that are in any way sub-par compared to what we're used to now. I'd go as far as saying that the dinosaurs look far more real and 'in the scene' than they do in JP3 onwards, simply because they were practical where possible and they put a shed load of time and effort in nailing the CGI.

Take the raptors in almost any scene vs Blue in the new ones, the originals look more convincing to me.

Have to agree, the original JP is superior in almost every way compared to the more modern soft reboots. I have the original on 4k Blu Ray, and the effects still look great, and in no way detracts for the story at all - they compliment it, which is what I think the more modern films do not do. (as in ok effects, but laughable storylines/plots that seem to be written by pre-teens)

Oh, absolutely. A lot of modern day CGI is akin to cartoon levels of animation and detract from the viewing experience.
My comment above about JP wasn't meant as a criticism, more of an observation. I think we're getting close to the point of viewing film effects of that era with the same affection that we hold for a black and white submarine being pulled along by a piece of string. It's just how it is and just how it was. The movies can be dissected and critiqued by their component forms, but viewed as a whole they are a snapshot of the day in which they were filmed. And I like that.

Perhaps in 25 years I'll feel the same about today's CGI?

[Halb]

What films are comparable to JP's effects today? I like watching 'old' films, and I think I know when I am giving a film a bye witht he ffects and when they genuinely still hold up. I can't fully commit to JP because not sure whenI last saw it.
But in my mind I have The Thing, 1981, still great, no bye needed, the recent one... what a pile of ste.

[chris watton]

Halb said:

What films are comparable to JP's effects today? I like watching 'old' films, and I think I know when I am giving a film a bye witht he ffects and when they genuinely still hold up. I can't fully commit to JP because not sure whenI last saw it.
But in my mind I have The Thing, 1981, still great, no bye needed, the recent one... what a pile of ste.

The Thing still looks great (and always will, I suspect) because they used tangible practical effects, with true artists/sculptors involved. I know modern CG artists are just as talented in their own fields, but if the actor/s can physically see the effects, they are more likely to act/react how they should, and the audience react the same.

When I see scenes where the protagonists are running away in green screen, I can tell, as they always, and I mean always go too far with all of the crap they CGI in. That dinosaur stampede in 2005's King Kong is a great example. If that were for real, everyone would have been dead. Sometimes, a lot less can be a hell of a lot more.

I know films are meant to take you out of reality for a while, but when films based on Earth, with all of the physical constraints that brings, they should at least try and follow this. When they don't, we may as well be watching a Loony Tunes cartoon, as they seem to use the same physics.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

chris watton said:

I know modern CG artists are just as talented in their own fields, but if the actor/s can physically see the effects, they are more likely to act/react how they should, and the audience react the same.

Totally true. A fine example is in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones where the CGI General Wheeziness is twirling CGI lightsabers inches from Obi Wonky Knob's face, and Euan McGreggor is literally not reacting because nobody told him to.

Conversely, in Pacific Rim, in the flashback scene where the little girl is screaming when a Kaiju almost kills her, her reaction is pretty real as they used a load of practical effects to make the shipping containers shake and deform, the ground depress, etc. They used huge hydraulic (or possibly pneumatic) rams to make the shipping containers look like they had been struck by the monster. They could have done it in CGI, but the reaction from the actress wouldn't have been as real.

Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Friday 7th December 14:43

[chris watton]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

Totally true. A fine example is in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones where the CGI General Wheeziness is twirling CGI lightsabers inches from Obi Wonky Knob's face, and Euan McGreggor is literally not reacting because nobody told him to.

Conversely, in Pacific Rim, in the flashback scene where the little girl is screaming when a Kaiju almost kills her, her reaction is pretty real as they used a load of practical effects to make the shipping containers shake and deform, the ground depress, etc.

I did actually cite the Kenobi/Grievous fight when typing the above, but deleted it before posting!

[Clockwork Cupcake]

chris watton said:

I did actually cite the Kenobi/Grievous fight when typing the above, but deleted it before posting!

[g3org3y]

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri.

Laughter. Tears. Superbly acted. Elegantly filmed. One of the best films (if not the best film) I've seen this year.

That's how you do films.

9.5/10.

[anonymous-user]

Halb said:

Big Trouble is amazing, one of the best films of the 80s

certainly is, its hilarious. Kim Cattrall is utterly gorgeous in it too.

[soad]

Hurt Locker Hero - A Storyville documentary about Fakhir Berwari, a bomb disposal expert who disarmed thousands of landmines in Iraq with just a pocket knife and a pair of wire clippers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0btc456/sto...

[irocfan]

I've just been watching some oldies on netflix:

May have already mentioned Life of Brian but it's really worth a remention . Utterly quotable, very funny & totally mad. 139 crucifixionso out of 140.

Malone - Burton Reynolds so-so hitman with a heart actioner from the 80s. IIRC it was an 18 back in the day, these days it seems like it'd struggle to even rated 15, might even get a 12a. Score: 12/18

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - old school film making. It is interesting compared to modern films just how little music there is ruining quiet bits, how (relatively) little violence even a violent film has. As an amusing aside to people earlier in the thread commenting on long modern film are TGTB&TU comes in at a whisker under 3 hours. Will have to try and dig out the rest as the "Dollar trilogy" as well as Once upon a Time in the West

[andymc]

Training Day, brilliant

[Veeayt]

Kill Command 2016 - never heard of this before. British sci-fi flick with lovely Vanessa Kirby in it. Good plot, interesting idea and a clear whiff of old school sci-fi-ness about it. 6.5 robots/10 AI's

[Halb]

The Survivalist
A Brit version of The Road...claustrophobic, intense, intriguing...good, but I know I won't wish to revisit it.

[IanH755]

Black Panther - 6/10 - A technologically advanced country has built a wall around itself to block any immigration from its surrounding poorer neighbours, keeping them impoverished whilst it refuses to help out. Their unelected ruler forces his people to work throughout the country, banned anyone leaving unless you agree to act as a spy for the regime whilst he personally hunts down and kills those who do not wish to return. He also restricts the internal movement of his people, preventing them from moving to the more affluent citys and instead leaving them stuck in the harsh outer reaches, either harsh dusty plains or on freezing mountains, where they serve as a border force preventing all illegal immigrants who are escaping repression and rape in their home countries from entering.

However, a brave man comes to challenge this appalling regime, to rip down the walls of oppression and share this wonderful technology with the world yet he is despised by those who have benefited most from it, those who live like royals while the rest can only watch from outer reaches. Eventually the disparity between the haves and have nots erupts into Civil War when an attempted coup on the brave new leader occurs, led by the previous dictator and his SS-like personal guard force who show no mercy, even threatening to kill those they love for choosing a side which wants to open itself up to the world rather than remain in isolation, uncaring to suffering of their neighbours.

Eventually the dictator defeats of brave hero, killing him with a single knife thrust whilst our brave hero refuses to be saved, preferring to die as a free man rather than live as a slave.

I'm not surprised this has been nominated for the Oscars, it's a powerful political story with a real heart and warning about the risks faced when good people try to change a corrupt system.

[NoVetec]

Antman & The Wasp.

Not as good as the first. Plot felt like a rushed story used as a filler to lead up to the end credits scene.

Enjoyed the truth serum bit, Michael Pena's character adds the best of the humour IMO.

6.5 Michael Douglas' out of 11.2 Annicot Steels.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

NoVetec said:

Plot felt like a rushed story used as a filler to lead up to the end credits scene.

You get that a lot these days, sadly. In a lot of action films these days it's almost as if any dialogue exists only to push the "plot" forwards, in order to move it to the next showcase SFX sequence.

It's a criticism I've seen directed at Mortal Engines in several reviews now.
https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/mortal-engines...
https://io9.gizmodo.com/mortal-engines-is-a-by-the...
https://www.polygon.com/2018/12/5/18126288/mortal-...
https://www.nme.com/reviews/movie/mortal-engines-f...

[Clockwork Cupcake]

IanH755 said:

it's a powerful political story with a real heart and warning about the risks faced when good people try to change a corrupt system.

It's like that story of a farm boy who witnesses the murder of his adoptive parents, is radicalised in to a terrorist group by an old man in a beard, and kills thousands of people in a terrorist attack on a military installation.