What I've Been Watching: The Catch-All Film Thread

I don't agree that Prometheus and Covenant are as bad as a lot of people claim.

I do think they're poor as far as their connection to the other Alien films, but I like them on their own.

Alien Resurrection was, by far, the worst of the original quadrilogy. The plot, especially towards the end, was just laughably bad. It's a shame because it has a great cast imo.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,299
Location
Florida, US
joxer said:
Interesting. I hated Covenant yet Alien 3 with it's claustrophobic execution is my #1. ;)
Click to expand...

But it doesn't even have hairworks in 2018!!

Yeah, the ending of resurrection was pretty bad. That poor baby. Pretty stupid how it got sucked out a hole, but at least I felt sorry for it. Who was the real monster kinda thing.

I loved the idea of the repeated experiments to bring Ripley back from a DNA sample. Then the room of failures and the "KILL ME!" one was one of my favourite scenes in the whole series.

You also have the aliens showing their intelligence more than in any of the other films how they sacrificed one of their own to escape. Sacrifice is a very human concept, I think. You always have to make a sacrifice to survive in the human world. If you don't make it sooner it will make itself later.

Also, that "WHATS INSIDE ME?!" scene was awesome. Loved that bit!

The smuggler crew were pretty well cast. I liked all those characters.

But, yeah, they sort of called it in towards the end. Could have easily left it as a cliffhanger for a sequel and avoided such a silly ending.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
2,990
Location
Australia
At least in Prometheus the scientists actually acted like they were somewhat intelligent. Covenant takes the stupid/moronic exit long before any creatures show up, the moment they changed their destination was the same moment I picked up a book and sighed, knowing what was coming.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
18,941
Location
Holly Hill, FL.
Carnifex said:
At least in Prometheus the scientists actually acted like they were somewhat intelligent.
Click to expand...

I'm not defending the scientists in Covenant here (they were dumb), but the scientists in Prometheus were worse. Examples that immediately spring to mind - plunging their fingers into alien goo to see what it does, trying to pet a sinister alien snake-vagina monster as if it might be a friendly dog, taking their helmets off, etc etc. I had no sympathy for them when they got the inevitable consequences of their dumb actions.
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
Annihilation was weird, trippy fun, like something from the fevered brain of William Hope Hodgson transferred to a modern setting. The mutated wolf-bear that absorbs the dying psyche of its last victim and echos it through mimicking the victim's dying screams & pleas for help was almost pure Hodgson but there was a little bit of everything thrown into the soup which resulted in a rather flavorful, satisfying dish.
 
Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
360
JackOfOwls said:
Annihilation was weird, trippy fun, like something from the fevered brain of William Hope Hodgson transferred to a modern setting. The mutated wolf-bear that absorbs the dying psyche of its last victim and echos it through mimicking the victim's dying screams & pleas for help was almost pure Hodgson but there was a little bit of everything thrown into the soup which resulted in a rather flavorful, satisfying dish.
Click to expand...

Still in some theaters in the US ... damn, would like to see it, but not enough for that.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,951
txa1265 said:
Still in some theaters in the US … damn, would like to see it, but not enough for that.
Click to expand...

Is it still on Netflix? That's where I saw it. Speaking of which, I recently got free NetFlix because I bought a "new" Amazon Fire TV Stick off of ebay, and the con man that sold it to me as new neglected to delete his working NetFlix account. haha. Serves ya right, ya bastard. Now I think I'll watch The Cloverfield Paradox tonight, also on Netflix, while sitting in my comfy couch in front of my big screen TV with an assortment of snacks and a cold one right beside me. Suck it down, ebay loser :biggrin:
 
Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
360
I don't know what is wrong with me. First i dislike anilihation; and then I will add that i enjoyed cloverfield 2 a lot more than cloverfield 1.

Carnifex said:
I'd skip the most recent Cloverfield film, you'll be looking for a refund on the ninety minutes of your life that you lose to it.
Click to expand...
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Messages
7,758
Location
usa - no longer boston
you said:
I don't know what is wrong with me. First i dislike anilihation; and then I will add that i enjoyed cloverfield 2 a lot more than cloverfield 1.
Click to expand...

Do you mean Cloverfield Lane vs the original found footage film? If so I agree - I thought it was much better. I didn't like Paradox much though.
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
Though I enjoy some classic kaiju, I never had a desire to watch the first Cloverfield more than once. I too preferred the follow-up, especially when it completely flew off the rails in the last part. Just didn't expect that so i was pleasantly surprised. I'll still watch (or attempt to watch) Cloverfield Paradox for the purpose of trying to play completest.
 
Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
360
I'd say 10 Cloverfield Lane was a good film, with some engaging performances and decent writing. Whether one liked where it went was bit more a matter of taste. The latest Cloverfield thingie had very little to recommend it, IMO. All I could say, is that if they had settled on the comic-horror tone that Chris O'Dowd brings in, they might have had something. As it is, the tonal shifts are jarring, and it's a bit of a mess.

Annihilation is an interesting one. I really liked it, but it clearly divides opinion with those who feel it's a bit style over substance. For my money, I found the style was an important part of the substance. I thought it asked some interesting questions about consciousness, and the much over-used term "trippy" was actually appropriate. Not in an overt way, but more subtly capturing the nature of that experience - moments of beauty, then horror, then confusion. "Am I me?"

I wasn't too fond of the very end, but it's one of those films where that's not really the point.
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
12,085
After seeing the most recent Cloverfield, I completely understand why it wound up on the Netflix. I just hope they didn't pay too much for such a dubious privilege.

I've not seen Annihilation yet, if I get bored this weekend I might have to finally check that one out.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
18,941
Location
Holly Hill, FL.
Yea. I mean 10 cloverfield lane with goodman and winstead. I didn't realize there was a third film. Just checked the reviews - they are the pits :)


Pongo said:
Do you mean Cloverfield Lane vs the original found footage film? If so I agree - I thought it was much better. I didn't like Paradox much though.
Click to expand...
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Messages
7,758
Location
usa - no longer boston
I rarely listen to reviews unless I know they're from people with similar tastes to myself. If something looks interesting or has an interesting premise, I'll watch it and decide for myself if it's shit or not. Populist opinion is frequently the most vapid of opinions. Duncan Jones' Mute also got shit reviews yet I found it rather compelling with strong, unusual villains (and an unusual dynamic between the two villains themselves) that reminded me of a modern day Burroughsion Dr. Benway.
 
Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
360
Ripper said:
Annihilation is an interesting one. I really liked it, but it clearly divides opinion with those who feel it's a bit style over substance. For my money, I found the style was an important part of the substance. I thought it asked some interesting questions about consciousness, and the much over-used term "trippy" was actually appropriate. Not in an overt way, but more subtly capturing the nature of that experience - moments of beauty, then horror, then confusion. "Am I me?"
Click to expand...

I didn't think it was a bad film. It was atmospheric, some of the visuals were very memorable and sometimes disturbing, and it had some impressive scenes like the one with the bear mentioned earlier in the thread. The reason why I felt it was disappointing was the characters and the overall story. I don't want to get into too much detail because of the inevitable spoilers, but I don't think the way any of the characters behaved was coherant or believable. In the end they became standard sci-fi genre archetypes. I felt the same about the overall story, which was an interesting concept but increasingly lacked coherance as it went along. It still passed the time well enough and some of the visuals were really memorable (and suitably horrible!) so I didn't regret watching it though.

Completely agree with you about Paradox. It was like Chris O'Dowd had wandered in from the wrong film, or straight from the set of the IT Crowd. It was bizarre.
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
Well said. I didn't particulary like the movie (already stated several times) but I did not think it was horrible; just not that great. Love Simon was really good :)


Pongo said:
I didn't think it was a bad film. It was atmospheric, some of the visuals were very memorable and sometimes disturbing, and it had some impressive scenes like the one with the bear mentioned earlier in the thread. The reason why I felt it was disappointing was the characters and the overall story. I don't want to get into too much detail because of the inevitable spoilers, but I don't think the way any of the characters behaved was coherant or believable. In the end they became standard sci-fi genre archetypes. I felt the same about the overall story, which was an interesting concept but increasingly lacked coherance as it went along. It still passed the time well enough and some of the visuals were really memorable (and suitably horrible!) so I didn't regret watching it though.

Completely agree with you about Paradox. It was like Chris O'Dowd had wandered in from the wrong film, or straight from the set of the IT Crowd. It was bizarre.
Click to expand...
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Messages
7,758
Location
usa - no longer boston
So I saw Tomb Raider today. It was ok i guess but too much cgi. The story is similar but very different from the game (can't say more without spoiler). What the movie attempts to do is be very realistic (Lara is just a gal with a lot of flaws) as oppose to the last version where Lara was super-woman and (almost) indestructible. However, it has way too much cgi :)
-
I didn't like it nearly as much as Love Simon; it is better in a few ways than Anilihation but worse in other ways. Definitely not on my list of great movies this year (or even very good) but it was ok and I don't regret seeing it ('cept for the old lady who sat behind me and laugh all the way through the film - very annoying).
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Messages
7,758
Location
usa - no longer boston
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom