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Kevin Klemme
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Mycelia Board Game Review

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River Wild Board Game Review

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Outback Crossing Review

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

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18 Nov 2015 15:56 #215371 by Hex Sinister
But it's like that time you caught your parents having sex. You want to forget, but you can't.
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18 Nov 2015 16:27 #215375 by boothwah
Hex has it right for those of us that grew up watching the OT. But you know who the pre-quels really shafted? My kids - My girls grew up thinking Jar-Jar and Twilight level scripting/romance was what Star Wars is. They loved Star Wars as kiddos, but put it in the same box as My Little Ponies and Strawberry Shortcake. Something they've grown out of.

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18 Nov 2015 16:35 #215376 by ChristopherMD
I never watched my parents have sex so I don't know what that's like.


Watched Five Armies extended edition. I know, I know, most of you are haters. For what little its worth I thought the battle was much improved as it seemed like we only got half of the scenes before. Dwarven cavalry charge (that's where the rams come in) and arrow blocking ballista were cool.

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18 Nov 2015 16:42 #215378 by Shellhead

Hex Sinister wrote: But it's like that time you caught your parents having sex. You want to forget, but you can't.


They were wrestling! WRESTLING!
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19 Nov 2015 13:00 - 19 Nov 2015 13:01 #215432 by Grudunza
Compared to the SW prequels, the Hobbit films are masterworks.

Experimenter is about the life and work of Stanley Milgram. It covers several of his psychological experiments, but spends the most time on the obedience tests, especially the one where he would have people think they were shocking someone. It showed that 65% of people would continue to do it even to the point where the person they were shocking might be dead, just because someone in authority was telling them to continue. As a film, it was fine, but the subject was fascinating to me, so it was particularly compelling. Peter Sarsgaard is good as Milgram, despite having one of the worst beards ever at one point, and I liked Winona Ryder as his wife. I still associate her as an apathetic teen in things like Heathers and Beetlejuice, but she was great in this role as a more straightforward mature lady.
Last edit: 19 Nov 2015 13:01 by Grudunza.
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20 Nov 2015 11:27 - 20 Nov 2015 12:28 #215498 by Erik Twice
I watched Streets of Fire.

This film has a terrible reputation. Back when it was released critics were largely dimissive of it, citing "archetypical" characters, cliché dialogue and the shallowness of the plot. They considered it an exercise in stylishness and a failure of substance. Well, I think that in this case style was the substance and they were judging the film for something it was not.

Consider this: When you see films like Alien, The Avengers or James Bond how much do you care about the plot? Is it a important part of those movies, or it a conduct for something else? How important is plot for an action film? How important is plot and deep characters to a film that defines itself as a rock and roll fable?

Every single line in this movie is one-liner, a brake-less cliché or both and it's all delivered in such a honest manner that you can't help but root for the characters while you laugh. Streets of Fire makes clear early on that it's going to romp through every narrative expectation with its tongue firm in its check so you either love it or you better jump ship because it has no intention to stop.

It's a film that is at its best when it blends its subversive elements with the inherent fun of playing something straight. It's not a dumb meta film like Machete, Planet Terror or other self-congratulatory Robert Rodriguez films, there are no pop culture references, nothing is taken to the extreme and despite its violence nobody gets seriously injured or dies. It's the good kind of fun and the art direction, editing and photography are top-notch because being cheeky doesn't mean it has to be a joke as an actual film.

I think the real problem with the film is that it cannot sustain the strenght of its opening. The first 50 minutes are amazing, full of fun fights, cool characters and lots of lots of style. The next 20 minutes are much softer, with barely any action and a heavier focus on dialogue. At this point the movie is still entertaining but cheeky drama is significantly less interesting than cheeky action. The remaining 20 are just anticlimatic because a cool fight takes 5 minutes of them and tired drama elements and two different musical numbers make up the rest. It's the kind of dragged-on finale that is normally fixed after revising the script, but for some reason it's still here. It's a really big problem and I think it brings down the film at least one or two notches.

Still, I think you guys should check it out because if there's someone who might like it's you. I know you love other Walter Hill films (The Warriors), I know you love this kind of tongue-in-check humour and I know you can appreciate a movie that is well-made fun. At worst, I think you may regard it as a bad film, but of the interesting kind.

I admit I feel like a weirdo for defending this film, though.
Last edit: 20 Nov 2015 12:28 by Erik Twice.
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21 Nov 2015 00:17 #215526 by Disgustipater
Mockingjay Part 2. Boring. I suppose the first part was kind of boring as well. Even my wife thought this one was pretty boring, and she's watched the other ones a half a dozen times each.

And the red outfit she's wearing in all the promo material? Not in the movie.

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21 Nov 2015 01:00 #215528 by Cranberries
I like the theory that Star Wars went downhill because Gary Kurtz left and there was no Lennon to Lucas'McCartney.
articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/12/enterta...-gary-kurtz-20100812

Han Solo was supposed to DIE in Return of the Jedi.
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21 Nov 2015 08:29 #215535 by Gary Sax

Disgustipater wrote: Mockingjay Part 2

And the red outfit she's wearing in all the promo material? Not in the movie.


For some reason that makes me laugh. That's the only thing that made me notice this movie.

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21 Nov 2015 13:27 #215563 by OldHippy
I finally watched Ex Machina... amazing film. Something I think will stand up to repeat viewings. I was really impressed and enjoyed it immensely but something odd happened when the film ended. I liked the ending but felt that if it had gone the other way (those who've seen it will know what I mean) it would have been just as good. Usually an ending like that feels necessary but the film was vague enough that either ending would have worked for me. The base was so strong that the narrative could have handled it easily.

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21 Nov 2015 15:03 #215567 by hotseatgames
At the kids' request, we watched.... Pixels. This movie is embarrassingly bad, even by Adam Sandler standards. If such a thing exists. The amazing part is, not only did they get Peter Dinklage, they got Sean Bean too!

I will say one nice thing. The soundtrack was pretty great. But don't get me wrong... DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM
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21 Nov 2015 16:49 - 21 Nov 2015 16:51 #215579 by Grudunza

JonJacob wrote: I finally watched Ex Machina... amazing film. Something I think will stand up to repeat viewings. I was really impressed and enjoyed it immensely but something odd happened when the film ended. I liked the ending but felt that if it had gone the other way (those who've seen it will know what I mean) it would have been just as good. Usually an ending like that feels necessary but the film was vague enough that either ending would have worked for me. The base was so strong that the narrative could have handled it easily.


Still my favorite film of the year at this point. And yes, the second time watching it was just as good, maybe even better to notice more of the great detail. There are so many nice layers in the dialogue, and the philosophical implications discussed are very interesting. And what a great three-person (well, two and an android) dynamic. Beautiful atmosphere and music and setting. It's a slow burn, but really pays off in so many cool ways.

About the ending, when you say "if it had gone the other way," I'm not 100% sure what you mean...

Warning: Spoiler!
Last edit: 21 Nov 2015 16:51 by Grudunza.

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22 Nov 2015 00:19 - 22 Nov 2015 01:38 #215591 by OldHippy
What did I mean by Ex Machina could have gone the other way? For those who haven't seen it.. DO NOT READ FURTHER, GIANT SPOILERS!!! IMMEDIATELY!

Edit: added spoiler tags

Warning: Spoiler!
Last edit: 22 Nov 2015 01:38 by OldHippy.

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22 Nov 2015 00:40 #215592 by Grudunza
Jon, you could add the spoiler tags for that.

Some good points. I'll expound a bit more on that later.

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22 Nov 2015 12:19 #215624 by Disgustipater
Regarding the end of Ex Machina:

Warning: Spoiler!

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