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

Just watched 2017 Ghost in the Shell. I had very low expectations and I can categorically state my going in expectations were not even approached. It seemed like a vehicle for some ok effects with no plot, no real atmosphere (seriously an effectively empty city with no garbage & dirt?), lots of flaws (people smoking in a clean room environment), etc.

All in all a very bad Hollywood attempt at an effects movies trying to be a new blade runner style vehicle set in an Asian city (ostensibly in Japan) with everything being western includes room sizes, beer can sizes and clothes).

The time spent watching the movie is some time I could have done something much more useful like trimming my nose hairs!!
 
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On the subject of Marvel movies, I enjoyed Doctor Strange (Netflix). Not that it's some modern classic or such, but it was entertaining and I was surprised at the quality of Benedict Cumberbatch's performance. Guess that's what carried it for me. Cumberbatch continues to impress across a variety of different roles.

___
 
Have to agree on this, emoretard jerk getting human instead of falling even lower is a superhard job to pull through, yet Cumberbatch did it with ease.
Seems he just can't fail in a role he gets.

But the movie overall is also good, I can't say the support cast sucks or the story has plotholes or visuals/sounds are lacking finesse. Writing this just reminded me on series where the lead is pathetic antitalent Hollywood cute who needs to be fired ASAP, but the series pull through because of fantastic supports. Will write later in series thread.
 
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At first I didn't see too much that I remembered from the book except for the trailer park and I feared there'd not be enough pop culture references due to licensing issues, but people spotted cameos of Freddy Kruger, Duke Nukem, an AKIRA motorcycle, the DeLorean, Christine, the A-Team Van, etc…. I'm sure I'll miss most of the references in the movie because my eyes will be bleeding. :eek:
 
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I like the eye candy. At first I wasn't sure if it was a movie or game :)
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The general premises leaves the 'believe able' plot wide open. I.e, they are gaming in vr so just about anything is feasible at least that seems to be my take on the trailer.


At first I didn't see too much that I remembered from the book except for the trailer park and I feared there'd not be enough pop culture references due to licensing issues, but people spotted cameos of Freddy Kruger, Duke Nukem, an AKIRA motorcycle, the DeLorean, Christine, the A-Team Van, etc…. I'm sure I'll miss most of the references in the movie because my eyes will be bleeding. :eek:
 
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If anyone else was directing it, I'd be eager to watch it asap.
Killing Freddy Kruger is ridiculous, being Freddy in MMO is what this movie needed but Spielberg would never dare to go for it, instead he's playing GTA5 races. Playing safe, Transformers movies bullshit sells so why not.
Of course, I'm expecting a story about yet another child with a brain of the wisest man on Earth. Perfectly normal kid. So realistic it deserves an Oscar already.

I've said before, people under 21 appearing in a movie should be forbidden for that director.
 
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I've never been a big fan of the whole comic book movie craze, and with only a few exceptions, I've disliked almost all of the Marvel universe films so far.

That said, I think Thor: Ragnarok looks promising. They seem to have injected some fresh visual style into this one. It looks like Marvel blended with Flash Gordan and 300 with some old-school sci-fi tunes to back it up. If it stays consistent with the trailer, I think I could enjoy this one.


 
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Maybe Ragnarok really is upon us. ;)

I'm just glad Marvel is finally attempting something a little different style-wise. Up to this point, their films were like one long movie to me. Logan being the lone exception to some degree.
 
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I honestly stopped caring completely. But if something good comes of that change, I'll be ready to receive :)
 
I just randomly stumbled onto this one, and watched it for some time, just to be amazed at what they managed to spew. Hilarious. It's amazing how diverse the beliefs are on this Earth. Amazing that people can still believe the Earth is flat. Just amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbYtkrTquXE
 
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Dunkirk wasn't bad; more interesting from a historical perspective then the actual story. Er what I mean is that it lacks the long story of Saving Private Ryan; but rather presents a snapshot of the rescue from three perspectives. Fyi: Personally I think the British made a great investment 'sacrificing' 145 planes for 330,000 soldiers.
 
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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

This is why I go to cinema. Really liked it. I recommend to see it on the big screen in 3D.

Now, as so many movie critics seem to have realized, it does have flaws. Maybe the overall story was a bit disjointed, the main actors were too young, Laureline had more leading presence than Valerian and even though they tried to act a bit like it, there was no romantic tension between the two.

However, while the movie as such may have been flawed, it was still a fantastic, beautiful and unique experience. It was utterly mesmerizing and, contrary to most popcorn movies from Hollywood, it lingered.
Not once throughout the 2:17 hours runtime did anyone in the fairly packed cinema stand up. They all waited for the end credits to roll before rushing to the toilets. ;)

So yeah, it could have been more and deserved better, but it's a shame that it's not very successful at the box office. Movies with a different feel like this are just too rare.
 
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Good news for our German members: After 20 years Starship Troopers has finally been removed from The Index. So it is no longer considered harmful for our kids. Now the FSK is free to rate it according to the current standards and then normal retail releases will follow.
The review time defined by the law is 25 years. Somebody must have convinced the BPjM to review its decision earlier. Probably whoever holds the German distribution rights.

Both good and bad is the following detail: Starship Troopers has a sensationally good German loca … which is heavily censored. AFAIR they invented a "first bug war" to make it look as if the bugs were the aggressors and they removed the "only soldiers are citizens" thing. :/
I doubt they can solve this dilemma.
 
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Good news for our German members: After 20 years Starship Troopers has finally been removed from The Index. So it is no longer considered harmful for our kids.
???
But that movie is the industry criticizing masterpiece wrapped in sci fi action flick. This case doesn't make me hate censors less.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

This is why I go to cinema. Really liked it. I recommend to see it on the big screen in 3D.

Now, as so many movie critics seem to have realized, it does have flaws. Maybe the overall story was a bit disjointed, the main actors were too young, Laureline had more leading presence than Valerian and even though they tried to act a bit like it, there was no romantic tension between the two.
I'll wait for DVD as I'm not really… Eager to see it asap.
Seen the trailer and already posted that Laureline definetly looks like her comics/anime counterpart. But Valerian actor is totally different from the source material and everything in trailer looked surreal too much. Besson forgot that usually less is more, and with concentration on special effects it's very easy to neglect everything else.

Additionally, many movie critics didn't even hear about the comic nor watched the anime series. As fan of the source I really don't care about their opinion.
 
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Watched Logan on DVD.

Very moving and well made, lifted successfully by the excellent acting of main characters, writing, dialog, direction and photography (surely not budget).

Tells the story of a man lived long to realise his purpose, and the story finishes not by flash-bangs, emotional music and non-sense, but through simple human dialog and realities.

Top score - reminds me of 13 Assassins: simple message, justice, life and death of individuals, no emotional music/CGI/bangs - just simple realities captured successfully through the actors and direction.
 
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Came back last night from Dunkirk. It was a very good movie, especially technically/visually and also when it comes to the audio department. It seems Nolan really wanted to make you feel/hear what it must have felt to be in those situations. Especially the noise. In my cinema the sound was set to maximum. Or at least that's what it felt like.

It also did have a few teary moments, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was good overall. But the fact that it was PG-13, meant they didn't show anything gruesome. No blood. While I don't normally care for this, in a war movie it really feels cleaned up. And going back to my absolute favorite war movie, Saving Private Ryan, it just pales in comparison to that. And that was in 1998. The Band of Brothers mini-series was also better I feel.

But nevermind. It was really worth seeing, if for the audio/visual components. But I believe it wasn't very effective when it comes to showing the horror of what must have gone down in that operation. But worth seeing, anyway. Especially if you love Nolan's work.
 
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I went and saw Valerian yesterday.

To be honest, I was disappointed; it felt like Luc Besson failed as both a director and a writer - and I'm usually a fan of Besson. While the imagery is nice enough, there's little plot expanding on the different cultures or meaning behind the various shots (except of course the protagonist race, otherwise known as the oceanic Avatar dudes). A vast majority of the film simply felt like hollow window dressing.

And the casting… ugh. I tried to keep an open mind but the two lead actors have no chemistry together whatsoever and are just too young to be an elite military squad (I'm not familiar with the source material). Also, what's up with those bloodshot stoner eyes and constant scowl?

6.5/10 Sorry Arhu :(
 
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