What MOVIE(s) have you been....seeing? watching?

Watched a pair of very odd period piece movies.

Successfully mixing horror and comedy is not easy, but The Final Girls give it a shot. A group of millennials find themselves literally trapped in an '80s horror movie. The twist is that one of the main characters in the movie was played by the deceased mother of one of the millennials. There is some decent action, but the primary focus is on the comedy, which never got more than a smile from me. Overall, an okay movie.

The makers of Space Station 76 should have seriously considered the concept of a target audience before making this movie, which is a very sincere attempt to find comedy in the combination of a '70s soap opera in a science fiction setting. They really give it a great try, managing to achieve an odd mixture of laid back mild humor and mildly awkward drama. The sets look almost exactly like Space: 1999, the exterior shots are vaguely 2001: A Space Odyssey, and there is also a bit of Silent Running, Dark Star, and even Alien in the mix. The music, the fashion, the hairstyles, the culture are all dead-on imitations of the '70s, to an uncanny degree. The futuristic technology is amusingly mostly tech from the '70s, including Betamax. Liv Tyler looks great for her age, and Jerry O'Connell is present. The complete lack of action was disappointing, but I did mildly enjoy a wash of bland nostalgia.

Finally got around to seeing The VVitch yesterday. I was intrigued, mainly because a film that swings for the fence like that is normally either a 10 or a 3, and in the end it was a 7 for me. It had a nice style and was decent, but I didn't love it.

I saw The Black Cauldron and I'm dissapointed it has such a bad reputation because it's a downright good film.

The animation is actually great. Backgrounds are detailed, beautiful and often multi-layered, an expensive process that is quite a visual treat. Back-lit scenes are common and well-integrated and shadows are an important part of many minor scenes. The colors of the characters don't just get lighter or brighter as they move through areas with different lighting but get warmer and colder in a holistic manner. The only issue in have in this regard are the design of the main characters, which is the same watered-down Milth Khal design Disney recycled over and over. It's a shame because everyone else has a lot of personality in their design.

It's also fairly more interesting than the average Disney film from a writing standpoint. Characters have actual personalities with flaws and unique manners of speech they are not an empty vessel that only moves fowards because they desire something. They are not great characters, don't get me wrong, but it's refreshing to see characters loving each other because of how their personsalities interact and not because they say at night explaining why they are how they are.

There are some downsides, the main of them being the last act of the film. There are two endings: One in which the villain is defeated and another in which one of the protagonists comes back to life. The first is dissapointing because the scary, powerful, no-joke villain is defeated without difficulty, emotion or skill while the second comes after the first and hence is already past the movie's prime. The plot also beats things around the bush, making up time and taking the characters to various places ala road movie, which I feel it's always a negative.

It also seems that censorship and removing scenes very late into production also had an impact on the film. The longer, almost-finished scene with the faeries is much better than the "Oh, the McGuffin is there, go for it" deal of the finished version of the film.

Ultimately, I just feel it's unfair that it gets a bad rap when a dozen other Disney films like Hercules, Pocahontas, Tangled or The Hunchback of Notre Dame all suffer from some heavy flaws. I think it might at least as good as Mulan, but I generally find the whole "Disney renaissance" to be overrated anyways, specially when it comes to the quality of the actual animation so I'm not one to talk.

I saw Moonlight. Why nobody warned it is boring as hell? Like seriously-seriously boring. It must be the most boring movie I've seen since I stopped watching French movies. I understand the Oscar for subject matter, but come on. The bulk of the running time are people washing their faces and staring moodily in the mirror.
There're a couple of strong scenes, specially thanks to acting, but it is soooo long, plotless and the pacing is so terrible that the impact was lost on me. The third act in particular is like watching a glacier.

Vlad wrote: I saw Moonlight. Why nobody warned it is boring as hell? Like seriously-seriously boring. It must be the most boring movie I've seen since I stopped watching French movies. I understand the Oscar for subject matter, but come on. The bulk of the running time are people washing their faces and staring moodily in the mirror.
There're a couple of strong scenes, specially thanks to acting, but it is soooo long, plotless and the pacing is so terrible that the impact was lost on me. The third act in particular is like watching a glacier.

I told Barney essentially the same thing a few times. Pay attention when I tell him he's wrong! Some brilliance here and there in the direction and story, and I probably liked it more than you, overall, but it has some serious pacing issues. That kind of slow pace only works if it builds to something really big or has a lot of poignant moments all along, and it had neither. Sloooooow seemed to win the day last year with that and Manchester (warning you about that).

Famlly went off without me today so I had movie day.

Kong was pretty much what I'd hoped for, big dumb fun. The Apocalypse Now comparisons were WAY overstated and seem to be based on one shot. Regardless, I mostly enjoyed it even though it felt a little saggy. On the reverse though, it was very much the opposite of that horrible 2014 Godzilla- the doors don't close to stop us from watching the monsters fight and there is no bullshit pretense that it is about people and relationships. I loved all the different creatures, John C Reilly was great, and there were quite a few scenes I thought were pretty inventive, like the bit with the ape skeletons. Make no mistake though, this is a big budget exploitation picture through and through. It is trashy and silly, and purposefully so. It also features the most useless character I have ever seen in a movie- the Chinese girl. It's obvious that she's in it because of the Chinese market, but damn, talk about "token". I think she has like three haltingly delivered lines in the whole thing.

Logan was surprisingly great and I would easily list it among the best superhero movies ever made- absolute top tier. Up with The Dark Knight returns and Winter Soldier. It is also a very refined, more sophisticated film than you might expect- it's like the really awesome one off 1986 graphic novel to the other superhero fare's monthly superhero pageants. I hope that it marks a change in how these kinds of movies are made- there's no over-expository origin story, there's no end of the world plot, there's no sprawling, all-in grand finale. It acknowledges events in the mostly terrible X-Men film franchise, but it really stands on its own if you know the main characters. The whole thing is really well written and far more exploratory of these characters and their motivations. It's elegiac and sad, it's about superheroic lives in their twilight...and the things they regret doing or missing out on

Jackman delivers by far his best, most nuanced performance as Wolverine yet and Stewart plays Xavier like he never has before. The girl was great. The action scenes with her were ruthless and brutal, but she is still a little girl.

I also really liked the subtle near future sci fi elements...they are totally understated.

There's one part where . It's the only real "superhero" act in the whole movie, but it's something small and pastoral, a good deed that finds them rewarded with love and compassion. It's also a beautiful contrast to the grisly violence that, well, just sort of happens to a man with knives in his knuckles.

I totally loved it, and I actually didn't plan on seeing it- I was going to do either Life or Ghost in the Shell but the times were out of sync with Kong. May actually be one of my favorite films of the year.

Grudunza wrote: Sloooooow seemed to win the day last year with that and Manchester (warning you about that).

Yes, you warned me, but not emphatically enough. I actually remembered you when the movie went into the 3rd act, because you said it was slow. I thought to myself, if act 1 and 2 are supposed to be the fast ones... this is going to be excruciating. It was. The thing is, I might have enjoyed Moonlight had it not received so much attention (and the Oscars). It is really a little low budget independent movie which. Had it showed up on Netflix one day without warning, I probably would have liked it.
So not watching "Manchester by the Sea" after this one.

Barnes, good eye with the Chinese girl in Kong. My wife was like "what the fuck was that character about?" after the movie. I told her she might be a star in China.

Michael Barnes wrote: Famlly went off without me today so I had movie day.

Kong was pretty much what I'd hoped for, big dumb fun. The Apocalypse Now comparisons were WAY overstated and seem to be based on one shot. Regardless, I mostly enjoyed it even though it felt a little saggy. On the reverse though, it was very much the opposite of that horrible 2014 Godzilla- the doors don't close to stop us from watching the monsters fight and there is no bullshit pretense that it is about people and relationships. I loved all the different creatures, John C Reilly was great, and there were quite a few scenes I thought were pretty inventive, like the bit with the ape skeletons. Make no mistake though, this is a big budget exploitation picture through and through. It is trashy and silly, and purposefully so. It also features the most useless character I have ever seen in a movie- the Chinese girl. It's obvious that she's in it because of the Chinese market, but damn, talk about "token". I think she has like three haltingly delivered lines in the whole thing.

Logan was surprisingly great and I would easily list it among the best superhero movies ever made- absolute top tier. Up with The Dark Knight returns and Winter Soldier. It is also a very refined, more sophisticated film than you might expect- it's like the really awesome one off 1986 graphic novel to the other superhero fare's monthly superhero pageants. I hope that it marks a change in how these kinds of movies are made- there's no over-expository origin story, there's no end of the world plot, there's no sprawling, all-in grand finale. It acknowledges events in the mostly terrible X-Men film franchise, but it really stands on its own if you know the main characters. The whole thing is really well written and far more exploratory of these characters and their motivations. It's elegiac and sad, it's about superheroic lives in their twilight...and the things they regret doing or missing out on

Jackman delivers by far his best, most nuanced performance as Wolverine yet and Stewart plays Xavier like he never has before. The girl was great. The action scenes with her were ruthless and brutal, but she is still a little girl.

I also really liked the subtle near future sci fi elements...they are totally understated.

There's one part where

Warning: Spoiler!

these automated tractor trailers cause an accident...and it leads into this lovely bit where Logan and Xavier help this family get some horses back into their trailer. Logan doesn't want to help and says "somebody will come along", Xavier says "somebody has come along"

. It's the only real "superhero" act in the whole movie, but it's something small and pastoral, a good deed that finds them rewarded with love and compassion. It's also a beautiful contrast to the grisly violence that, well, just sort of happens to a man with knives in his knuckles.

I totally loved it, and I actually didn't plan on seeing it- I was going to do either Life or Ghost in the Shell but the times were out of sync with Kong. May actually be one of my favorite films of the year.

dont bother with GitShell, its awful, especially if you are any fan of the original(s). Avoid. You're welcome
From what I've seen of Life I am saddened by the rep about the "amazing twist" ending which I think just says more about the tired bullshit of your average movie than anything else as when I accidentally uncovered the spoiler it was just for LOLz. If that is an "incredible new jolt in the sci fi genre with its clever awesomeness" then well, fucking hell. Bullshit.

I watched The Accountant this weekend. It was kind of all over the place. Kind of John Wick + Rain Man + romantic comedy + financial hijinks. The cast was good (I don't hate Ben Affleck), and the action scenes were good, but the movie has just a little too much plot.

Went to Life, which I expected to be derivative but actually not quite that nauseating. I'm not sure I've felt more physically ill from a movie. Success?

John Waters says yes.

Life was alright. It sort of reminded me more of Dark Star or a William Castle film (specifically The Tingler) than Alien. It felt really kind of more old timey than Alien.

I liked that it was pretty much just a plain old B-movie with a slimy, yucky monster...nothing to say about anything important really, it just wanted to give you the willies and a good time at the movies. On that level, I think it was totally decent and fun to watch. The direction was actually quite good, the suspense scenes were really well done- lots of nailbiters.

I didn't really care that the cast wasn't fleshed out much beyond the Japanese dude, the Russian lady, Deadpool, etc...I thought there was ample characterization for the kind of movie it was. I read complaints that the layout of the station wasn't discernible, but I don't see how that really mattered.

The creature worked mainly because it got at a really primal fear- being strangled or crushed. I thought that was really effective when it got on the guy's hand for the first time, showing its strength.

Ending was a total bust though, who didn't see that coming.

Not a bad programmer, definitely worth watching. Do not expect another Alien or The Thing out of it...think of it more like The Tingler.

The Discovery is an original Netflix film about a guy (Robert Redford) who discovers proof of the after-life, supposedly, which causes millions of people to commit suicide. What a cool premise, and it approaches living up to that but doesn't quite. The cast is great, with Jason Segel, Rooney Mara and Jesse Plemmons, and especially early on it gives them interesting things to say, but that devolves a bit as the plot goes on. And unfortunately the plot is frustrating in some ways. I don't want to say too much about that, but it ends up being more of a tease in some respects, not feeling entirely plausible for the situation, and it seems like it doesn't give the kind of information you would expect for something like this. Eh, hard to explain what I mean without spoiling things.

In some ways it reminded me of one of my favorite movies growing up, Brainstorm, where Christopher Walken invents a method to record people's experiences, including when they die. (Also notable as Natalie Wood's last film.) The Discovery has the feeling of being a more modern and "important" version of that sort of thing, but I'm not sure if it captured the "wow, WTF" feeling of the implications well enough.

Eh, I'll give them some credit for producing a pretty interesting film with an original-ish premise. Definitely worth the price you already pay for Netflix to give it a look.

^sort of reminds me of that South Park where Kenny finally dies and they're like "ok, who was right?" and it turns out it was the Mormons. Like, that's the very literal answer to this great overarching existential question.

Grudunza wrote: The Discovery is an original Netflix film about a guy (Robert Redford) who discovers proof of the after-life, supposedly, which causes millions of people to commit suicide.

This exactly the premise of Robert Sheckley's Immortality INC, a book I happen to really like.