I Just Watched (Films)

[Animalmother]

I watched the first 15 minutes of The Accountant and hated it so much I gave up.

Yeah, I can't blame you there.

[Animalmother]

Top Gun Maverick
I'm not really a fan of the original so wasn't really expecting much from this. It's a ridiculous and entertaining with some great aerial sequences. The story is utter bumf and feels like it was written in 10 minutes, but the action is excellent in places. Maverick has to train a group of pilots to bomb a nuclear weapons silo in some undetermined country (that has cutting edge aircraft..). The last portion of the film is particularly dumb but fun. Worth a look.

[Raid]

I think Maverick does require some amount of switching your brain off, but that's hardly surprising given the original and it's a very enjoyable film if you do. Making the USA the plucky underdog when it comes to military hardware is straight-up funny.

Also the whole "you've got x seconds to slew your targeting laser over the hatch" thing is ludicrous because they'd have the exact GPS co-ordinates of that hatch programmed into their aircraft, and they'd slave their targeting pod to it on approach. They'd maybe just need to slew by about a meter or so to correct for the tiny inaccuracy the GPS system has. I could do it within about 5 seconds. -_-

[Wrathbone]

It's great fun, but yeah... the plot makes no sense on a number of levels. The bit at the end where they're just tooting around the enemy base, starting up an F-14 without anyone challenging them, suggests that the US could have just sent a Seal team in to plant a bomb rather than concoct some ludicrous aeriel mission with near-impossible parameters that they have two weeks to prepare for. And various Youtube videos have covered how the best pilot in the world would be hilariously, pitifully outmatched in an F-14 versus modern cutting edge fighters.

Honestly, who cares though? It's pure popcorn and I'm all for it.

[Raid]

And various Youtube videos have covered how the best pilot in the world would be hilariously, pitifully outmatched in an F-14 versus modern cutting edge fighters.

I'm putting this in spoiler quotes because I don't think everyone should need to put up with my level of avionics nerdery.

Spoiler

The whole "get down low, it'll confuse his targeting system" bit is daft given military aircraft have had "look down, shoot down" (ie: not really affected by ground clutter) radars since the 60s, and trees aren't likely to be giving off the same amount of heat as an F-14 in afterburner to distract an infra-red sensor, means basically every tactic Mav uses wouldn't work. Manoeuvring with split throttles would almost certainly end up with his aircraft in a spin - it's likely he could recover from that because he's apparently a good pilot, but he'd be a sitting duck as his plan plummeted. He's not unconventional, he's senile.

...but then he's up against an Su-57, Russia's alleged equivalent to an F-22 or F-35. Given how "reliable" or "good" modern Russian hardware has been shown to be (and the fact that they've not deployed a single Su-57 to the Ukraine theatre because they don't want it to be shot down and shown to be another laughing stock), Mav didn't need more missiles, he could probably have just popped the canopy and taken it down by throwing his pistol at it.

[eny]

Watched Hostiles again over the weekend, such a well-paced, plenty of space to conjugate, film, and an outstanding observation on the human condition.

[Animalmother]

Also drones, (Tom) cruise missiles and tons of other hi tech shit are a thing.

Also blasting a Lady Gaga song over the sound of a Mustang's engine is a crime against humanity.

[Lenny Solidus]

Axel F

Well then, I really must say...that was complete nostalgia bait wank. Honestly, on par with the terrible Christmas movies I find Kath watching in summer and quickly dip away from. I personally didn't feel Eddie Murphy truly recaptured the Axel of old and the comedy did not hit at all, he acted more like the Axel I know and love only in the very closing minutes than anything during the entire movie. Talk about phoning it in for a pay cheque, I expected way more from him he was just too pedestrian in this.

Uninspiring action - Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme
Terrible acting performances - Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme
Poor dialogue - Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme
No great plot arc - Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme
Anti-climactic finale - What if we hmmm just cue up Harold Faltermeyer theme - it just might work!

Axel Failey.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Now this is how you properly converge both a sense of worthwhile nostalgia and a bloody entertaining movie. Genuinely one of the best theatre viewing experiences I've had in a long time, funny well written heart-warming emotional and with some inventive as hell superb action sequences, I lapped up every minute of it. Both Smith and Lawrence felt like they were on top of their game and if I have but one complaint it's that I legitimately felt they did not use Armando as best they could and that was a pretty big missed opportunity.

Also, a very real reminder that father time catches up with us all in the end.

8.5 out of 10 skittles.

[Raid]

Axel F
Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme

So exactly what most of us were expecting I'm guessing.

[Snowy]

Axel F

Well then, I really must say...that was complete nostalgia bait wank. Honestly, on par with the terrible Christmas movies I find Kath watching in summer and quickly dip away from. I personally didn't feel Eddie Murphy truly recaptured the Axel of old and the comedy did not hit at all, he acted more like the Axel I know and love only in the very closing minutes than anything during the entire movie. Talk about phoning it in for a pay cheque, I expected way more from him he was just too pedestrian in this.

Uninspiring action - Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme
Terrible acting performances - Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme
Poor dialogue - Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme
No great plot arc - Just cue up Harold Faltermeyer's theme
Anti-climactic finale - What if we hmmm just cue up Harold Faltermeyer theme - it just might work!

Axel Failey.

Ah I didn't mind it, although if you thought that Bad Boys showed time catching up with us then Axel F beats you over the head with it. Rosewood looks positively ancient, while Taggart is virtually exhumed. It was all pretty phoned in, Kevin Bacon was shit like he always is (will give him a pass for Tremors, but that's it), but it paid fan service to a film that I loved way back when. Even little touches, walking past a Beverley Hills dealership with the Ferrari from the first film in the window, for a car nerd like me are always going to bag you brownie points. It was completely inoffensive and passed a lazy midweek evening with the wife and dog.

Not gonna give it any high praise, but if the originals have a place in your heart then I would say it is worth your time.

[Animalmother]

Infested
Mid budget French horror film that's definitely not for anyone with even mild Arachnophobia. A young man buys a spider off a dodgey exotic animal dealer, it escapes and rapidly turns a block of flats into a hellscape. The film uses a mixture of real spiders, CGI and miniatures to get the effect of the rapidly spreading (and growing) spiders across. Lots of French people yelling is the real horror if I'm honest but it's worth a look.

[Rusty]

Nope, nope and thrice nope.

[Wrathbone]

Civil War

Not at all what I was expecting, which was a silly, fun action romp cashing in on an increasingly possible future (based purely on the title and not having followed anything about it). Instead it’s an intense drama following war zone photojournalists making their way through a modern day US civil war, dealing with the uneasy ethics and frequent dangers that job comes with.

The action sequences are nicely spread out and genuinely distressing, conveying the visceral terror and uncaring brutality of battle in a believable way that few war films manage to achieve. Apparently many of the actors playing military roles were of former or active service, to provide authenticity, and they also used a more powerful than usual blank round to make the gunfire as loud as actual bullets. Honestly, it works - it feels like something that could actually happen, which is terrifying given the events of the film.

9/10

[Achtung Englander]

I heard so many mixed reviews about Civil War, the only option is to watch it!

[Achtung Englander]

I am watching a lot more TV and movies than gaming. I think that is because after spending a day staring at my monitor, I want a break from it. Also due to so many films today being really bad, I have delved into watching older films. Here is a sample from the last several months:

Hoffman (1970) - a superb non comedy film with Peter Sellers. Its about a lonely man who at first comes across all slimy until his barriers comes down and you realise he is has been badly hurt and is looking for love like everyone else. 7/10. Bought the Indicator Blu Ray it from Powerhouse Films.

The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) - Pre St.Trillians. I have a soft spot for Ealing type comedies and this is an excellent comedy that still holds. 7/10

Frankenstein (1931). The 4K looks amazing. Full of quotable lines. Very impressive even this day. 8/10

Weird Science (1985). Its OK. Not all the jokes land but the concept is great. 6/10

The Quatermass Xperiment (1955). Its great to see Bray (a village near where I grew up) back in the 1950s. The story is so-so. 5/10

California Suite (1978). I recall seeing this, especially the Richard Pryor scenes. Its 4 stories all losely connected to a hotel in LA. Two are dramas and two are comedies. It kinda works. The comedies for me worked best. 7/10

Horror of Dracula (1958). Usual Hammer House schlock. 5/10