I Just Watched (Films)
- Achtung Englander
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Re: I Just Watched (Films)
13th
A pretty somber look at the incarceration of black people in the States. While I do not agree with everything shown in the documentary I did learn a lot from it. I thing there is something to be said that white Americans have an issue and that is putting it lightly. I am not sure what it is but there is manifest racism in that country and that is borne from nothing more than hating someone who does not have the same skin tone.
7/10
Don't Breathe
This is actually pretty decent thriller / horror with a brilliant simple premise. Worth a watch, I think its on Prime.
7/10
A pretty somber look at the incarceration of black people in the States. While I do not agree with everything shown in the documentary I did learn a lot from it. I thing there is something to be said that white Americans have an issue and that is putting it lightly. I am not sure what it is but there is manifest racism in that country and that is borne from nothing more than hating someone who does not have the same skin tone.
7/10
Don't Breathe
This is actually pretty decent thriller / horror with a brilliant simple premise. Worth a watch, I think its on Prime.
7/10
Games playing : Bioshock (Remastered) / Total War Britannia / Dirt 4
Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Fantastic Beasts 2
Cripes, what a convoluted, unclear, bleak mess. While the first Fantastic Beasts was enjoyable but disappointing, this is a series of miserable and vaguely connected events which barely constitute a story. It’s a film with no meat, no reason to exist other than because the studio execs demanded five films, and sadly the never-ending onslaught of poor CGI and name-drops from days of Potter past do nothing to alleviate the tedium. The most excitement it provides is watching Jude Law strain out a passable impersonation of both Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, though his role as Dumbledore is little more than quest-giver and unsolicited wisdom dispenser.
Some of the ‘plot’ twists are bewildering:
Finite rantatum.
4/10
Cripes, what a convoluted, unclear, bleak mess. While the first Fantastic Beasts was enjoyable but disappointing, this is a series of miserable and vaguely connected events which barely constitute a story. It’s a film with no meat, no reason to exist other than because the studio execs demanded five films, and sadly the never-ending onslaught of poor CGI and name-drops from days of Potter past do nothing to alleviate the tedium. The most excitement it provides is watching Jude Law strain out a passable impersonation of both Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, though his role as Dumbledore is little more than quest-giver and unsolicited wisdom dispenser.
Some of the ‘plot’ twists are bewildering:
Spoiler
My concern for this series is that when it was conceived, they had in mind a beginning chapter and an end chapter, but it seems like they have no idea how to go from A to B. They’ve treated this film like a pot hole on the road which they’ve filled with gravel. I dread to think what comes next.Finite rantatum.
4/10
- Stormbringer
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Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Is there a gay sex scene between Grindelwald and Dumbledore? ¬_¬
By the way, on the subject of Dumbledore, I'm sure this has been said for many a year now, but I think Richard Harris was waaaay better than Michael Gambon. The latter was, in my view, completely the wrong choice for Harris' replacement.
That's pretty much the case with all the Potter films, though, right?
By the way, on the subject of Dumbledore, I'm sure this has been said for many a year now, but I think Richard Harris was waaaay better than Michael Gambon. The latter was, in my view, completely the wrong choice for Harris' replacement.
Last edited by Stormbringer on Tue Mar 19, 2019 8:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
Between tedium and fright
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Re: I Just Watched (Films)
All we get is:
"You two were friends?"
"Oh, we were much more than friends!"
Yeah, fair point, though I'd argue in the Potter films he has at minimum a semblance of a fully rounded character, plus a reason to be there since he's the headmaster. In FB2 he serves two purposes: first, to act yet again as the one wizard the Big Bad fears to overcome (which could be achieved without him appearing in the film); and second, so that the film can go "Look, it's Dumbledore! You know, that guy from the Potter films! Oh wow guys, look, he's friends with some of the new characters - they must be really cool if Dumbledore likes them, right? Hey, now he's doing a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson! I wonder what other crazy shenanigans he'll get up to next time we check in for no reason!"Stormbringer wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:33 pmThat's pretty much the case with all the Potter films, though, right?
As for Harris vs Gambon... honestly, I like them both as Dumbledore, for very different reasons. Harris was a perfect representation of book Dumbledore, whereas Gambon is not even remotely like book Dumbledore. Gambon's take on him emphasises the reckless, pragmatic side that makes him a wildly different interpretation, but one that I think works for the films. I get why some people don't like it, though. The scene where Harry's name is called from the Goblet of Fire is the epitome of the stark difference - book Dumbledore calmly scrutinises Harry, trust and fairness being the key elements, whereas Gambon angrily bellows his name and grabs him by the shoulders in an accusatory manner. I understand Gambon's take on it - DD is frustrated and terrified that it's always that little shit Potter who drags himself into these things, so it only makes sense that he'd try to drag himself into the tournament.
- Stormbringer
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Re: I Just Watched (Films)
I can't stand Gambon's interpretation of the character. I think he did a poor job and even has the wrong face.
I think Rutger Hauer should have replaced Harris.
I think Rutger Hauer should have replaced Harris.
Between tedium and fright
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Us
A very good, well executed concept that really falls on its face in the last third when it trys to give depth it didnt need. Then it adds something that feels like a sociopolitical statement though I have no real idea what the implications of it are supposed to be, I just know it was stupid as fuck.
Kept simple this could have been awesome, its sadly not.
A very good, well executed concept that really falls on its face in the last third when it trys to give depth it didnt need. Then it adds something that feels like a sociopolitical statement though I have no real idea what the implications of it are supposed to be, I just know it was stupid as fuck.
Kept simple this could have been awesome, its sadly not.
A man who could tell more truth and eat fewer pies.
- Stormbringer
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Re: I Just Watched (Films)
The Great Wall
Let's get one thing out of the way before I start on this film: I am NOT somebody who makes a fuss about the thing so-called "cultural appropriation". I am of the belief that any human being wearing the "traditional attire" of another culture is absolutely fine, and is part of how cultures evolve and how humans share their creativity, so long as it's not done for the purposes of belittling or mocking other cultures. However, sometimes it is inappropriate in the context of historical movies. For example, it would be very weird to have a black African man starring in a film about the 1746 Battle of Culloden, wearing a great-kilt with a tartan bonnet on his head. And that is why, when I saw the first trailers for this film, back in 2016, I thought:
"What is this? Why is Matt Damon, a white American man, dressed up as a Chinese soldier and fighting alongside actual Chinese soldiers in a medieval setting? What's going on here? Are the film-makers pretending he's Chinese, but ignoring his actual ethnicity because they imagined the film would sell better to an American audience this way? That would be seriously weird."
Then later on I thought:
"Wait...could this be another film where a white hero saves a non-white kingdom from an enemy they cannot defeat on their own. Really? In this day and age? Surely not. No, there MUST be something deeper, more meaningful, here."
But no, it is literally just that.
It's also a shallow, fairly meaningless and illogical CGI action fest, whose biggest crime, I'd say, is featuring Willem Dafoe in what could possibly be his most wasted role (a massively talented actor given a minor role of no consequence in a film of no weight).
However, it is better than the last meaningless and illogical CGI action fest I watched, "Assassin's Creed", by 13 country miles (the length of The Great Wall).
Let's get one thing out of the way before I start on this film: I am NOT somebody who makes a fuss about the thing so-called "cultural appropriation". I am of the belief that any human being wearing the "traditional attire" of another culture is absolutely fine, and is part of how cultures evolve and how humans share their creativity, so long as it's not done for the purposes of belittling or mocking other cultures. However, sometimes it is inappropriate in the context of historical movies. For example, it would be very weird to have a black African man starring in a film about the 1746 Battle of Culloden, wearing a great-kilt with a tartan bonnet on his head. And that is why, when I saw the first trailers for this film, back in 2016, I thought:
"What is this? Why is Matt Damon, a white American man, dressed up as a Chinese soldier and fighting alongside actual Chinese soldiers in a medieval setting? What's going on here? Are the film-makers pretending he's Chinese, but ignoring his actual ethnicity because they imagined the film would sell better to an American audience this way? That would be seriously weird."
Then later on I thought:
"Wait...could this be another film where a white hero saves a non-white kingdom from an enemy they cannot defeat on their own. Really? In this day and age? Surely not. No, there MUST be something deeper, more meaningful, here."
But no, it is literally just that.
It's also a shallow, fairly meaningless and illogical CGI action fest, whose biggest crime, I'd say, is featuring Willem Dafoe in what could possibly be his most wasted role (a massively talented actor given a minor role of no consequence in a film of no weight).
However, it is better than the last meaningless and illogical CGI action fest I watched, "Assassin's Creed", by 13 country miles (the length of The Great Wall).
Last edited by Stormbringer on Wed Mar 27, 2019 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Between tedium and fright
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Just looking at the trailer for that film, it looked ruddy awful. Nice paycheck for Damon though I guess.
- Animalmother
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Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Polar
This film has terrible reviews and seems to have been universally panned so I went in with very low expectations. Turns out I really enjoyed it. A hitman is set to retire in a week but another group of hitmen are out to get him. It's very much of the style of John Wick but nowhere near as good. The plot is pish but the action is great and pretty brutal in places. A very much switch your brain off and enjoy the bloody silliness.
This film has terrible reviews and seems to have been universally panned so I went in with very low expectations. Turns out I really enjoyed it. A hitman is set to retire in a week but another group of hitmen are out to get him. It's very much of the style of John Wick but nowhere near as good. The plot is pish but the action is great and pretty brutal in places. A very much switch your brain off and enjoy the bloody silliness.
- Stormbringer
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Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Viking Destiny
A strange, low-budget film about a Viking princess who claims the throne of a fictional Norse kingdom called Völsung. Despite some questionable acting, strangely choreographed fights and a fairly shallow plot, it has some spectacular visuals. I'm not going to recommend it to anyone, but it was fun to watch with the wife and laugh at all the absurdities.
A strange, low-budget film about a Viking princess who claims the throne of a fictional Norse kingdom called Völsung. Despite some questionable acting, strangely choreographed fights and a fairly shallow plot, it has some spectacular visuals. I'm not going to recommend it to anyone, but it was fun to watch with the wife and laugh at all the absurdities.
Between tedium and fright
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Avengers: Endgame
All I want to say for now is HOLY FUCK, what a fantastic end to the first 11 years of the MCU. I couldn’t have wished for more.
The best MCU film, and those who are aware of how much I love the MCU know I wouldn’t say that lightly.
10/10
All I want to say for now is HOLY FUCK, what a fantastic end to the first 11 years of the MCU. I couldn’t have wished for more.
The best MCU film, and those who are aware of how much I love the MCU know I wouldn’t say that lightly.
10/10
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Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Surely that makes you opinion highly unrelible?
To be fair if it's less of a borefest that Infinity War then I'll be happy.
Last edited by arqueturus on Sat Apr 27, 2019 5:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: I Just Watched (Films)
I don’t claim to be an impartial barometer - clearly I’m biased in favour of the MCU. What I mean is that considering how much I love the first Avengers film, the fact that Endgame tops it for me is substantial praise.
Re: I Just Watched (Films)
I'm going to see it on Tuesday and am squarely in the "knows nothing about comics and is a bit sick of Marvel movies" camp, so that'll be a different perspective for those curious as to how good the last movie is.
Re: I Just Watched (Films)
Avengers: Infinity War
I decided I wanted to re-watch this before seeing Endgame. It's the second time I've seen it, and I don't think it lost anything on the second viewing.
I still think it's impressive how much and how many big names they managed to cram into this film without it feeling cramped or overproduced. Pretty much every major hero character from the franchise has a significant part to play, with each playing to their strengths and with their personalities intact. It's an incredible production that could so easily have been a mess.
Aaaaaand....
Avengers: Endgame - Before I start with the spoilers, I will say that I still have yet to see Captain Marvel and Ant Man and the Wasp. Without saying too much, there are elements from both which have a bearing on the plot of Endgame, and while I think the film makes sense without having seen them, I'm looking forward to watching both to get a little more context.
Major spoilers follow:
I decided I wanted to re-watch this before seeing Endgame. It's the second time I've seen it, and I don't think it lost anything on the second viewing.
I still think it's impressive how much and how many big names they managed to cram into this film without it feeling cramped or overproduced. Pretty much every major hero character from the franchise has a significant part to play, with each playing to their strengths and with their personalities intact. It's an incredible production that could so easily have been a mess.
Aaaaaand....
Avengers: Endgame - Before I start with the spoilers, I will say that I still have yet to see Captain Marvel and Ant Man and the Wasp. Without saying too much, there are elements from both which have a bearing on the plot of Endgame, and while I think the film makes sense without having seen them, I'm looking forward to watching both to get a little more context.
Major spoilers follow:
Spoiler