Last movie you saw?

[King Postwhore]

I felt the same way watching The Lost World Adami.  Read the book and the movie was a shell of the book.  The they homage to King Kong which wasn't in the book upset me.

Yes, and sometimes the movies just suck haha. It's a fine line.

 

I loved that book to.  It was so disheartening seeing it.

[Stadler]

I can totally see Blade Runner being a confusing movie for many.  I liken Blade Runner to Rush.  There are either two categories for them; you either love them or hate them.  Not much in between for either.  I respect what you are saying Stadler for sure.  Obviously for me, I'm in the love category for Blade Runner and Rush.  When it comes to Blade Runner, I'm blown away by the cinematography and atmosphere of the movie every time; to me it's just next level stuff.  But I can honestly see where this movie does nothing for people as well.

Not to quibble with you, and really for anyone else that is reading this, it's not exactly right that it "does nothing for me"; just the opposite, actually.  The visuals are STUNNING.   And I've already talked about how it's influenced other things I like a lot (Deus Ex is one of my favorite video games ever; I've played it through about four times now).  If it did nothing, I wouldn't care about the discrepancies with the book; my point is that there seems to be a missed opportunity.  To use the Rush analogy - and I'm a big Rush fan, though they're not my Holy Grail band - you've got the best drummer in rock, you've got one of the best bass players and guitar players in rock, and you put out Grace Under Pressure?  Or Test For Echo?

I agree with you about the cinematography and atmosphere; but as great as it was, maybe a little more consideration should have gone into the message and the story that it was trying to portray.

[Stadler]

Blade Runner, the 2007 "Final Cut" version.  I've read the book something like 10 times (it's one of those books, like The Bourne Identity, where if I'm bored for a day, or I have a quick overnight trip, I'll grab and burn through), but haven't seen the movie for decades, and I was... disappointed, to say the least.   The movie is beautifully shot, and the soundtrack is amazing; it's really immersive in that way.  But there were little notes that I was expecting to be hit from the book and they weren't.   That's on me, of course, but while I didn't want/need it to follow the book exactly, there were certain things I wished were there. 

I remember watching Blade Runner (the theatrical cut) when I was a kid, was in love with the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, and thus sought out everything Harrison Ford was in. It was too cerebral for my youthful brain, where was all the action?! I watched it years later (not sure what version) and was able to appreciate it more, though I cannot say I fully enjoyed it. I've never read the book.

I thought Blade Runner 2049 was an outstanding film.

Blade Runner is an absolutely spectacular movie, at the top of my list for all time favorite movie.  I can see where people can get hung up on the lack of action, but the total package of the movie is what makes it special.  The movie is beautifully shot and just immersing and addicting to watch.  The Final Cut is definitely the best version, Scott cleans up all the slight errors that occurred from the original (a lot of the errors IMO are just a result of the technology of the time of filming- eg- the wig scene, spinner getting lifted up).  This movie is just an outstanding piece of art and I understand completely why it has such a fanatical cult following.  However, I did find 2049 to be underwhelming.  Too long and for me, it didn't even come even close to the original.

jj, you highlighted the problem for me, though.  It IS beautifully shot, and Vangelis' score fits that movie as well as any score since The Godfather.   But the story and the acting dumbed it down to a level that wasn't worthy of the setting. I could give a shit about action, if the meat of the story was there.  There was no action in the book, either.  Sure, Hauer's "tears"soliloquy was worthy, but the STORY wasn't about the retirement of the Nexus 6's, it was about Dekkard and the nature of what it meant to be a human being.   The Pris (who was supposed to LOOK like Rachel, but instead she looked like the singer from Missing Persons)/Snake Chick/Baty story line did nothing to further that narrative.   Losing the Mercerism story line from the book would have been fine if Scott had made up for it with all the rest of the bells and whistles, but he didn't.

I think that's always a risk when you know a lot about something going in. You have expectations of what it should be, and often justified. I sometimes have problems with that with Marvel movies because I read so many of the comics. I read every single issue of Civil War and had to really try hard to put it all aside when the movie came out. So if you go into a movie like Blade Runner, you're not getting a direct page to screen adaptation of the book you've become connected to, you're seeing how Scott interpreted the book and what he felt he wanted to convey with that story.

That's really it, right there.  The book was such a rich and nuanced way of communicating what is a basic theme ("what is it that makes us human?") and FOR ME, you had one of the best directors out there, cutting edge optics and sound, great actORS, if not great actING, and yet that vein wasn't mined, in favor of a cliched fist fight at the end, and "shocking" (in quotes because it wasn't) makeup/behavior from the replicants. 

Bear in mind that I can count the number of movies that are better than their novel source material on one hand with fingers left over (Dr. Zhivago, The Godfather*, and The Hunt For Red October).

* Though the book is damn good; that's how good the movie is.

[Adami]

Like I said, that's the risk when something you love is adapted.

I think The Shining is brilliant, but Stephen King hates it. A lot of people who love the book hate it. I luckily never read the book. So I never went in with ideas of what the movie should be, which causes a lot of disappointment.

Back to Marvel's Civil War, I love the movie, but the comics were about 200 times more intricate, deep, layered and interesting. But I knew going in that Marvel wasn't going to do that, so I just accepted the movie for what it was. If I went in and expected it to take everything I loved from the comics, I'd have hated it.

[axeman90210]

The Shining is definitely a case where it's a much better movie than it is an adaptation. I enjoy both very much, but I can absolutely see why King hates it.

[faizoff]

Regarding Blade Runner, I read a blurb that the first draft of the screenplay clocked in at 9 hours and they trimmed it down to 3 hours but the producers wanted it shorter and closer to 2 hours.

[Stadler]

Like I said, that's the risk when something you love is adapted.

I think The Shining is brilliant, but Stephen King hates it. A lot of people who love the book hate it. I luckily never read the book. So I never went in with ideas of what the movie should be, which causes a lot of disappointment.

Back to Marvel's Civil War, I love the movie, but the comics were about 200 times more intricate, deep, layered and interesting. But I knew going in that Marvel wasn't going to do that, so I just accepted the movie for what it was. If I went in and expected it to take everything I loved from the comics, I'd have hated it.

Is there an anthology of the Civil War story line, do you know? Or would I have to collect all the periodical issues to get the story?

[Adami]

Like I said, that's the risk when something you love is adapted.

I think The Shining is brilliant, but Stephen King hates it. A lot of people who love the book hate it. I luckily never read the book. So I never went in with ideas of what the movie should be, which causes a lot of disappointment.

Back to Marvel's Civil War, I love the movie, but the comics were about 200 times more intricate, deep, layered and interesting. But I knew going in that Marvel wasn't going to do that, so I just accepted the movie for what it was. If I went in and expected it to take everything I loved from the comics, I'd have hated it.

Is there an anthology of the Civil War story line, do you know? Or would I have to collect all the periodical issues to get the story?

Oh man, it's hard. You can easily find a collection of the main Civil War comics that are called Civil War, but when I say I read all of them, I meant (as far as I know) every single tie-in issue from every single participating individual comic, plus all the spin offs etc. It was massive with many being not terribly important.

[Dream Team]

Like I said, that's the risk when something you love is adapted.

I think The Shining is brilliant, but Stephen King hates it. A lot of people who love the book hate it. I luckily never read the book. So I never went in with ideas of what the movie should be, which causes a lot of disappointment.

Back to Marvel's Civil War, I love the movie, but the comics were about 200 times more intricate, deep, layered and interesting. But I knew going in that Marvel wasn't going to do that, so I just accepted the movie for what it was. If I went in and expected it to take everything I loved from the comics, I'd have hated it.

Is there an anthology of the Civil War story line, do you know? Or would I have to collect all the periodical issues to get the story?

Yes, I got one just last year.

[Indiscipline]

I liked Jesus Christ Superstar better than the book.

[hefdaddy42]

I liked Jesus Christ Superstar better than the book.

I lol'd

[Cool Chris]

I liked Jesus Christ Superstar better than the book.

I lol'd

That one took me a minute, but I LOL'ed as well.

[Stadler]

I liked Jesus Christ Superstar better than the book.

I lol'd

That one took me a minute, but I LOL'ed as well.

Holy crap, no pun intended, I just got that.  Nicely done, Indi. 

[Cool Chris]

Stadler, I read The Godfather at a real down point in my life, and after having fallen in love with the films. But I did not find it an enjoyable read at all.

[MirrorMask]

Watched Doctor Sleep (without having read the original novel or its sequel, I just watched the original Kubrick movie).

It was good overall; started slow and a bit boring, but when the plot came together it got interesting. It was a Shining sequel without relying on the original movie....... which is something they totally thrown out of the window in the final act when they came back to the Overlook hotel and went to town with the cameos and the references. One that was unnecessary was the look of Danny peering through the broken door and a flashback of her mother screaming in fear, I mean, WE GET IT, it's one of the most famous scenes of the original movie, it belongs to pop culture like the misquoted "Luke, I am your father", there's no need it to shove it down our throats to make sure each and everyone remembers the broken door and Jack Nicholson's grinning evil face.

Also Abra, the young kid, was a badass. Stone cold in her lines to the evil gang, "You deserved it", "I hope it's hurting a lot". Down the line they should make another movie when she's adult and she takes on other "steam suckers" behaving like Samuel L. Jackson 

[Phoenix87x]

Watched Doctor Sleep (without having read the original novel or its sequel, I just watched the original Kubrick movie).

It was good overall; started slow and a bit boring, but when the plot came together it got interesting. It was a Shining sequel without relying on the original movie....... which is something they totally thrown out of the window in the final act when they came back to the Overlook hotel and went to town with the cameos and the references. One that was unnecessary was the look of Danny peering through the broken door and a flashback of her mother screaming in fear, I mean, WE GET IT, it's one of the most famous scenes of the original movie, it belongs to pop culture like the misquoted "Luke, I am your father", there's no need it to shove it down our throats to make sure each and everyone remembers the broken door and Jack Nicholson's grinning evil face.

Totally agree about the ending. It went full fan service and the story was decent enough not to play that card.

Did you watch the Director's extended cut or the theatrical cut?

I really enjoyed it when seeing it in theaters and was cool with the pacing, but oh my god, the directors cut got very boring and dragged in places. I definitely recommend the shorter version to anyone interested in the movie.

Besides that, I LOVED Rose the Hat as a villain. She played that fine line of seductive and disarming, but also deadly very well.

[ChuckSteak]

Le Trou (1960)
Secrets & Lies (1996)

Both masterpieces. 

[MirrorMask]

Besides that, I LOVED Rose the Hat as a villain. She played that fine line of seductive and disarming, but also deadly very well.

Totally agee! she was fitting and unusual, an absolutely great character.

[Orbert]

Watched Doctor Sleep (without having read the original novel or its sequel, I just watched the original Kubrick movie).

It was good overall; started slow and a bit boring, but when the plot came together it got interesting. It was a Shining sequel without relying on the original movie....... which is something they totally thrown out of the window in the final act when they came back to the Overlook hotel and went to town with the cameos and the references. One that was unnecessary was the look of Danny peering through the broken door and a flashback of her mother screaming in fear, I mean, WE GET IT, it's one of the most famous scenes of the original movie, it belongs to pop culture like the misquoted "Luke, I am your father", there's no need it to shove it down our throats to make sure each and everyone remembers the broken door and Jack Nicholson's grinning evil face.

Totally agree about the ending. It went full fan service and the story was decent enough not to play that card.

That sounds disappointing.  I was thinking that I'd check this movie out when the opportunity arose, and I still might, but now I'm less enthusiastic about it.  I mean, if it takes a while to get going, then kinda ruins its own ending, that's gonna leave me wishing I hadn't even bothered.  I've read a few articles online about all the care that went into recreating The Overlook, and was interested, although The Shining didn't seem like it really needed a sequel.  A sequel that doesn't lean on the original is usually pretty cool, though, but if it goes all fanservice at the end, then that pretty much neutralizes the point.

[Phoenix87x]

That sounds disappointing.  I was thinking that I'd check this movie out when the opportunity arose, and I still might, but now I'm less enthusiastic about it.  I mean, if it takes a while to get going, then kinda ruins its own ending, that's gonna leave me wishing I hadn't even bothered.  I've read a few articles online about all the care that went into recreating The Overlook, and was interested, although The Shining didn't seem like it really needed a sequel.  A sequel that doesn't lean on the original is usually pretty cool, though, but if it goes all fanservice at the end, then that pretty much neutralizes the point.

The ending is only like 10 mins of fan service in an otherwise very decent 2 hour movie. So I would still say its worth watching, but just be sure to go with the theatrical cut if you watch.

[MirrorMask]

Yeah, I wouldn't say that the ending ruins the movie; I just noticed how it was a bit weird that a movie that managed to completely take the premise of the original one (people with the shining, and other group of people interested in that power) and stand on its own, decided to cram a The Shining (original movie) greatest hits into 10 minutes. If the final showdown in the movie would have happened elsewhere, it would have still been a The Shining sequel. But I don't think of it as a bad ending or as a move that ruins the entire movie, not at all.

Think of it more as an original Star Wars movie, that takes place after the original ones with new characters and new scenarios, and that in the final 10-15 minutes goes back to Tattoine making sure you remember each and every iconic scene that happened on Tattoine, that's all.

[Orbert]

Think of it more as an original Star Wars movie, that takes place after the original ones with new characters and new scenarios, and that in the final 10-15 minutes goes back to Tattoine making sure you remember each and every iconic scene that happened on Tattoine, that's all.

  Wow, why does that sound familiar?

Okay, "ruins the movie" is a bit harsh, especially since I haven't even seen it.  But a lot of how I end up feeling about a movie is the ending.  That last impression is really important.  Movies are stories, and I hate getting to the end of the story and thinking "That's how they decided to end this?"  It doesn't literally cancel out what came before it, so no, it wasn't a complete waste of time.  I just have to be prepared to be disappointed, or something.

[Phoenix87x]

Its such a shame, because up until those last 10 mins, they nailed the tone and feel of the original movie is such a subtle and tasteful way. Callbacks made sense and didn't go overboard. The shining is my favorite horror movie and what they delivered was very satisfying.

But then they fail to stick the landing unfortunately. Still glad to have it though. Its fun to put on every once and a while. 

[MirrorMask]

My rampage with catching up with famous and historical movies brought me to see, for the first time ever, Taxi Driver.

For being such a famous movie, all I knew about it was: 1) Robert DeNiro 2) Martin Scorsese 3) You talking to me? . I had no clue about the plot, maybe that a taxi driver was, dunno... breaking bad?

The atmosphere was great, I can now see why they said that the Joker movie was inspired by it. The night sceneries of the New York of the '70s were very atmospheric and something of an historical document by now - side remark, there should be a TV series concentrated only on the night life, it could be every episode with a taxi driver meeting a different person.

Throughout the movie I was wondering what he was gonna do, it was becoming evident that he was about to snap. Would he kill the senator? would he kill the blonde girl he brought to a porn movie  ? when he shaved his head into a mohawk I was so ready for him to kill the senator and get killed in turn that when he got discovered and ran way, I was completely surprised. Totally didn't see it coming, just as I didn't expect him the violent rampage against young, hippie Harvey Keitel to save baby Jody Foster (who evidently learnt her lesson from her ordeal and went on to be a successful FBI agent  )

Masterful movie full of tension and atmosphere, and righteously deserving of all the fame and praise it got over the years.

[jjrock88]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

IMO one of the best comedies of all time 

Those aren’t pillows!

[Stadler]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

IMO one of the best comedies of all time 

Those aren’t pillows!

That's not my hand.

[Stadler]

That sounds disappointing.  I was thinking that I'd check this movie out when the opportunity arose, and I still might, but now I'm less enthusiastic about it.  I mean, if it takes a while to get going, then kinda ruins its own ending, that's gonna leave me wishing I hadn't even bothered.  I've read a few articles online about all the care that went into recreating The Overlook, and was interested, although The Shining didn't seem like it really needed a sequel.  A sequel that doesn't lean on the original is usually pretty cool, though, but if it goes all fanservice at the end, then that pretty much neutralizes the point.

The ending is only like 10 mins of fan service in an otherwise very decent 2 hour movie. So I would still say its worth watching, but just be sure to go with the theatrical cut if you watch.

I'm guessing you don't mean it as anything more than a way to describe the scenes, but for me, in general, when I hear "fan service", my brain automatically translates it into "stupid shit some studio exec thinks I want to see".  I know I'm weird like this, but I rarely watch a movie to see what I want to see, but to see what the director, actors and writers have for me.   

[soupytwist]

Extraction - 2020.

Seems to have come out of nowhere and appeared on Netflix (made by them).  Didn't know anything about it,  sat down and watched it last night.....Wow what a great action movie.   Chris 'Thor' Hemsworth playing a damaged merc for hire take a contract to go into India and rescue a kidnapped boy, it's a servicable plot and Hemworth is really good as the leading man - but the star of the show is the action, top tier stuff from both the stuntwork and the direction - this is right up there along side John Wick and the recent Mission Impossible movies in terms of action.

Recommended to anyone who wants a action packed thrill ride.

[gmillerdrake]

That’s like the tenth positive review I’ve heard about that one. Guess it’s a must watch.

[ChuckSteak]

Brick (2005)

Rian Johnson's debut and best movie. Fuck Knives Out. 

[Stadler]

The Notebook.
Toy Story.

[Dream Team]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

IMO one of the best comedies of all time 

Those aren’t pillows!

All all-time classic, and Candy's greatest acting.

[Indiscipline]

Parasite.

Bah

[TAC]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

IMO one of the best comedies of all time 

Those aren’t pillows!

All all-time classic, and Candy's greatest acting.

I saw it once, and frankly I didn't find anything funny about it.

[Cool Chris]

Steve Martin is underrated.

John Candy is overrated.