Author Topic: Movies (Read 309193 times)

Sierra · « **Reply #2200 on:** March 05, 2015, 11:55:28 PM »

I find Spaceballs a lot less funny outside the context of being a kid in the eighties, but Rick Moranis is definitely great in it. The movie is really at its best when knocking Star Wars for merchandising, merchandising, merchandising, though. "What's happening now is happening now." Prerelease movie leaks, Mel Brooks definitely prescient by accident there.

X2 is excellent, X1 and 1st Class are good, DoFP less good but still decent. Wolverine's okay, I appreciated having a small, personal and non-epic story outside the main series, but it's a cut below the best of them. Origins is definitely skippable and X3 was rendered non-canon for damn good reasons.

Dark Holy Elf · « **Reply #2201 on:** March 06, 2015, 12:05:00 AM »

Pretty much agree that Rick Moranis, the many merchandising jokes ("Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money"), and the "what is happening now is happening now" sequence are some of the best parts of the movie. I find it quite enjoyable but there are certainly some less effective/misfire parts (e.g. the entire scene at the diner near the end).

superaielman · « **Reply #2202 on:** March 06, 2015, 12:30:49 AM »

I find a lot of Mel Brooks's humor hasn't aged well (Including spaceballs) but it's still a lot of fun.

The Duck · « **Reply #2203 on:** March 06, 2015, 02:24:06 AM »

Mel Brooks is weird in that his older stuff has aged a lot better than his more recent stuff. Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and the Producers are all still great. Later on, his hit to miss ratio is worse and some of his jokes that don't work are incredibly painful.

Cmdr_King · « **Reply #2204 on:** March 06, 2015, 03:35:29 AM »

It makes sense in a way. Blazing Saddles is kinda the last western, or was for many a year, Young Frankenstein is a sendup of a style of movie that was old even when Brooks made it, and The Producers isn't really a parody of anything (although it is distressingly prescient.) The movies that hold up best are the ones for genres/movies that weren't really being made anymore, divorcing them from their specific sendups. Spaceballs by comparison can be pretty funny but some scenes, like the aforementioned Diner scene, are inherently dated because they're referencing a specific movie and it's obvious what movie it is. Given those same franchises are still around and changed as time went on, it makes the scene parodies seem tacky.

Captain K. · « **Reply #2205 on:** March 06, 2015, 03:39:25 AM »

Nobody is mentioning High Anxiety. You all suck.

Hunter Sopko · « **Reply #2206 on:** March 06, 2015, 08:11:43 PM »

Quote from: Captain K. on March 06, 2015, 03:39:25 AM

Nobody is mentioning High Anxiety. You all suck.

Clearly a case of... uh... peepee envy.

Shale · « **Reply #2207 on:** March 07, 2015, 10:17:12 PM »

Everything I hear about this year's Oscar-bait biopics makes me want to read biographies while burning Hollywood to ash.

Luther Lansfeld · « **Reply #2208 on:** March 08, 2015, 07:39:13 AM »

As someone who likes one of Mel Brooks's newest films more than any of the others, I will have to respectfully disagree with Gourry's assessment.

Anyway, watched X-Men. It's a solid movie with great action scenes and Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan being awesome. Magento is pretty badass in general and loves to show off his powers. The X-men have pretty good chemistry, particularly Rogue and Wolverine.

Also watched Little Mermaid. Awesome movie with great songs and a quick pace. Sebastian remains the awesomest.

And the villain actually kicks a doggie. Wow.

The Duck · « **Reply #2209 on:** March 09, 2015, 12:40:26 AM »

I think History of the World is the dividing line between the Brooks I like and the Brooks that stops working for me.

Luther Lansfeld · « **Reply #2210 on:** March 09, 2015, 05:54:27 PM »

Lego Movie - My parents recommended that I watch this (apparently it was the first time they actually agreed on a movie in a long time), so I did. It's pretty good, the villain is deliciously effective and the story is cute. I enjoyed the plot twist at the end.

Everything is cool when you're part of a team~~~

Captain K. · « **Reply #2211 on:** March 10, 2015, 03:25:33 AM »

Everything is Awesome totally got robbed at the Oscars.

Meeplelard · « **Reply #2212 on:** March 10, 2015, 03:39:23 AM »

Quote

Everything is Awesome totally got robbed at the Oscars.

Even bigger travesty is how Lego Movie didn't even get a nomination for best animated feature. If it didn't win...well, ok, sounds like it had legitimate competition in How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Big Hero 6 (didn't see either, so really don't know), but to not get nommed is just a huge "what the hell?" It really does prove that the Oscars are run by people who really are out of the loop of everything if you ask me.

Again, if it got nommed and didn't win, whatever, it happens. But for a movie like it to not get even a nomination? Well, now you just proved I have even less reason to take your award ceremony seriously!

Dark Holy Elf · « **Reply #2213 on:** March 10, 2015, 03:53:40 AM »

I was somewhat less impressed by the movie. It was decent fun, certainly (the villain and his Big Brother-esque society is pretty great in general, and there are some very funny moments), and I think there were several plot threads they toyed with at the end which could have been a lot of fun, but ultimately it wasn't anything too impressive. Certainly it's not on the level of Wreck-It Ralph or Frozen, as far as random kids movies I've seen recently go, and while I haven't seen a single other animated film from this past year I can't say it being snubbed for a nomination strikes me as any sort of great crime.

The Duck · « **Reply #2214 on:** March 10, 2015, 02:04:14 PM »

There was no fucking way Everything Is Awesome was going to win best song after that performance of Glory by John Legend and Common at the Oscar show that put everyone in tears.

Luther Lansfeld · « **Reply #2215 on:** March 12, 2015, 06:25:23 AM »

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Watched the Canadian version so this is the title. I enjoyed it, very faithful to the book in a pretty cool way. I wouldn't call it film of the year but it's well-acted and I liked the casting of the kids.

We then had to trudge through the rain to return all of these movies. Got soaked~

Shale · « **Reply #2216 on:** March 12, 2015, 01:13:50 PM »

I rewatched both Captain America movies recently. The first is still my favorite comic book movie, just a really fun, earnest action/war story carried perfectly by Evans in the title role. The second...I had mixed feelings about it when I saw it in the theater but on a second viewing I think I flat-out hate it? It's so overstuffed and thematically confused that none of the plot threads ever gets a chance to actually pick up steam (when they make sense at all), it retcons a large part of the previous films' premise without so much as a half-hearted attempt to make the HYDRA thing fit, the entire climax is just awful, and Evans has little to do other than alternately look confused and punch people. His big inspirational speech at the end could have recaptured some of what made The First Avenger work, but it falls completely flat because the writers had to have a big The Heroes Save The World Against Impossible Odds fight, which means none of the rank-and-file are allowed to actually accomplish anything after Cap inspires them. So instead they courageously stand up to the villains and get massacred, which is not what I'd call a classic Captain America moment.

The first fifteen minutes is still great, though.

The Duck · « **Reply #2217 on:** March 25, 2015, 01:07:22 PM »

It Follows - A lot of were insanely hyped about this. The basic premise is that this thing follows you but can only walk, but it never rests and if it gets you, you're killed. One way you can pass this on is to have sex with someone (a little similar to the basic idea behind some other horror movies also this is herpes). I'm a bit mixed on this. One basic thing about horror is that it's important that there is internal consistency for the world rules, and this film does that fairly well. Additionally, the basic concept of something tirelessly pursuing you is unsettling but probably this was done better in Terminator.

I think one issue is that I just didn't find it very scary. It spaces things out such that something will happen and then there are long droughts where nothing really happens. These are probably meant to act as respites from the "monster" wherein the characters are still fearful and paranoid. These moments are probably supposed to build tension but I thought it killed the pacing. There are some jump scares that are slightly cheap and the monster is creepy in that it can look like anyone, so it does occasionally appear as people the characters know (or naked old people). I can't properly articulate why the horror aspects didn't work. Directorially it does a lot of things right. I think a bit part of it is that I didn't care about the characters. The kids are kinda Scooby-Dooey and also they are kids so they are really stupid and come up with crazy plans that have no reason to work (the ending plan is egregiously stupid).

I'm not sure how much of it is the possible that that I'm just not that into horror. Between this and the Babadook, these are two critically acclaimed horror movies, both of which have been propped up as among the best in the genre recently, that I just have not really connected to. Both movies have fairly interesting premises but I just didn't think they were executed very well. One thing is that these are very much arthouse horror, but I've liked things like this before (The Orphanage, but not because it was at all scary).

spiolzars:
So there is some thematic depth there. I guess I interpreted sex in this case as the end of innocence and as the beginning of an awareness of mortality. "Passing it on" is a temporary respite from death, and there are some moral questions about whether to pass it on. The girl goes up to possibly proposition three dudebrahs at the beach and there's a cut of her in tears in the next scene. She could be crying because she went through with it and resigned these brahs to death for self preservation or she may have been so morally conflicted that she couldn't go through with it and was overwhelmed with her current situation. The ending suggests that the main girl and Paul, who both have it, are going to stick it through together even though she clearly doesn't love him, which could speak to a lot of things about dealing with trauma. Some people have said that the monster represents sexual trauma since it appears as characters' parents but I don't think this makes much sense.

What We Do In The Shadows - The idea for this movie was probably thought up when the creators were really drunk, saw some incomprehensible scribbles on a bar napkin the next morning, and then decided to go through with it anyway. This is about vampires who live in a flat together, doing weirdly mundane things and it has a line about sandwiches that I laughed at for a good half minute. Funniest movie I have seen all year.

The Duck · « **Reply #2218 on:** March 26, 2015, 01:17:20 PM »

I watched Grownups 2 because of the Worst Idea of All Time and I gravely regret it. The answer to the question "what can change the nature of a man" is Grownups 2. Life has no meaning and it is a harsh, cold, uncaring universe. This did give context to what they're referencing in the podcast but just a single watch was soul draining since everything about it is so cynical. I can now understand why Guy and Tim are so destitute and nihilistic after these viewings but it is an interesting study on learned helplessness.

And apparently Adam Sandler's The Cobbler is even worse.

Jo'ou Ranbu · « **Reply #2219 on:** March 26, 2015, 01:41:58 PM »

I'm shocked to realize there's even a Grownups 1 to start with.

The Duck · « **Reply #2220 on:** March 28, 2015, 08:13:37 PM »

I rewatched Babel and the sanctimony and general shittiness of Birdman is no mistake.

Fenrir · « **Reply #2221 on:** March 30, 2015, 09:47:37 PM »

Did you watch Sex and the city 2?

I saw American Sniper, uuuuuh
I guess I was expecting dome nuance in this jingoistic propaganda but it never happened.
Dude kills children and shit without ever feeling remorse, and is never shown thinking about geopolitical issues or anything. Goes through some family issues but in the end he solves everything because he's too badass for post traumatic disorders. He even beats the final boss, who's an enemy sniper seen throughout the movie and i'm not even making this up. He is a hero and we're all sheeps. Also literally every Irakian in the movie is screaming and untrustworthy.

Captain K · « **Reply #2222 on:** March 30, 2015, 11:58:44 PM »

Eh I thought American Sniper was pretty decent throughout. But yeah the final boss thing is super Hollywood ending. If the book is like that also, then fail.

Hunter Sopko · « **Reply #2223 on:** March 31, 2015, 03:48:49 AM »

Quote from: Fenrir on March 30, 2015, 09:47:37 PM

Dude kills children and shit without ever feeling remorse, and is never shown thinking about geopolitical issues or anything. Goes through some family issues but in the end he solves everything because he's too badass for post traumatic disorders.

I'm generally in line with some of the criticisms of the movie. The jingotastic Hollywood ending is laughable. But I do feel there's another way to look at the movie, even if it may be unintentional.

War is shitty. . It puts people in situations where they can be forced to do awful things which may or may not destroy them. It crushes basic humanity sometimes. The movie does show this, and it's hard to argue it doesn't regardless of the spin it puts on it. War can be necessary, but you damn well better think long and hard about it before engaging.

Instead of kneejerking by judging the movie by it's jingotastic Hollywood ending, I think the better way to approach the criticism would be to judo the whole situation. "Look at what this pointless war did to this man. Look at what it turned him, and others, into and made them do. We need to be more careful about engaging in warfare, lest we do this to more young men and women."

It's a movie that calls for reflection on the nature of war and what it does to people, despite itself. One side misses that because hey, jingoism is effective. Seth Rogen's comparison to the movie they're showing in Inglorious Basterds is apt, at least for the end. Glorifying war is dumb. But I guess the people who would pick up on my point above are the people who would already be likely to be cautious about war. People naturally gravitate to the message closer to them.

So maybe in the end it works for all parties in different ways?

Fenrir · « **Reply #2224 on:** April 01, 2015, 12:20:32 AM »

I don't think the movie works that way, since it is completely uninterested in talking about the war: why, who, how to prevent it, etc.
War is just something that happens, deal with it.

I came away from the movie feeling like Bradley Cooper went through hardships but ultimately conquered them and came out the better for it. Like say, Frodo?

Early in the movie Bradley Cooper's father tells us the apalling metaphor about sheep, wolves and shephards. I felt that the movie then started embracing the metaphor, by showing us the "full of hardships, fulfilling, necessary" life of the shephard (Bradley) and the pure evil of the wolves (Irak as a whole, really)

The demonization was really the most problematic part there. I didn't want to see both sides (The movie is showing the viewpoint of the american sniper) but surely Bradley had to have more encounters than: Dudes to Shoot/ Woman to Shoot/ Children to shoot/ Final boss With No Lines to shoot, Seemingly Nice But Actually Untrustworthy Traitorous People / Screaming Ugly Super Pissed People.
Or at least they could have been painted in a better light than nazis in a WWII movie.
There are also some informants, they get ridiculously gruesome deaths to establish bad guys as really really bad, and there doesn't seem to be any sympathy for them. They're painted in an unfavourable light, get crushed by the system, and fingers are pointed at no one but Bradley for failing to protect them! I don't even think Bradley included them when he talked about being sad for not being able to protect everyone, but YMMV.

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Author Topic: Movies (Read 309193 times)