Movie Discussion Thread

I'll have to give BR2049 another chance when the blu-ray comes out. It could have been the excessive volume in the theatre was so off-putting my experience was spoiled.

 

The cinema room was mostly empty when I was there. Second row from the screen, middle seat for best stereo experience. Maybe I was lucky.

 

If you're too impatient for the BR, better catch it again quick @gixxerwimp: http://www.showbiz411.com/2017/10/2...ulling-flops-from-theaters-earlier-than-usual

 

Still playing for at least another week here, but only 3 screenings a day in my usual theatre. Can't risk another traumatic auditory overload though. I'll rewatch in the comfort of my living room wearing LFF Slants.

 

Thor! Ragnarok!

Had a great time watching this with the wife. Laughed the whole way through. Everyone is super hot.

 

This, so much. Genuinely think it's the best MCU movie yet. You can tell that everyone was having so much fun making the movie. Plus, JEFF GOLDBLUM.

 

So good!

There is not a bad performance in this movie that is jammed full of actors. Tessa Thompson deserves special mention. So talented.

 

Des! Troy!

I groaned.

 

Yep, very, very fun movie. Lot's of laughs all around.


Edited to remove spoilers.

 

@eastboundofnowhere
You should put spoilers in a

Spoiler

spoiler

That way those who haven't seen the movies being talked about can still read this thread.

I haven't seen Thor Rag yet but managed to quickly scroll down past your post.

 

While resting I turned on Netflix and watched John Wick.

That film was unexpectedly good. The acting and action were spot on and Keanu Reeves was convincing. Thankfully there are still some directors who understand what makes action movies work.

When I have some time off I am going to watch Thor Ragnarok in the cinema. The trailers reminds me of the animated film version where the Hulk is ditched into space and finds his own planet to live (after some fighting) and then meets the others by "chance."

 

The "World War Hulk" elements of Thor Ragnarok is so little that it was sort of off-putting given how hype it would have been.

 

Thor Ragnarok was fun. A light and entertaining watch, nice unforced chemistry betwixt the actors. If I have to nitpick then post credit scenes weren't the best.

The moment when Loki sounds Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! was built up nicely and real fun

 

I found time to watch the new Murder On The Orient Express Tuesday night. Overall, I enjoyed it, but felt like it took itself way too seriously. Brannagh's direction seemed to be all about loving his own performance. I really enjoyed Daisy Ridley's acting in this film, and most of the supporting cast were excellent, but the pacing just confused me. Plodding to start, plodding in the middle, rushed at the end. 6/10.

 

Watched Thor Ragnarok last night in the cinema. Such a fun film.

I had to hold back my laughter a few times. Jeff Goldblum was a great comic relief.

 

I badly wanted to like The Last Jedi, but I just couldn't. Contrived, simply too many logical loopholes, and too much sloppy pandering to nostalgia to forgive.

Thor Ragnarok was great. Not perfect by any means, but original, refreshing and genuinely funny.

Justice League was not good. Incoherent and contrived.

 

Justice League:
Flash: Weird kid brawn
Wonder Woman: Smart brawn that only uses her brawn
Cyborg: Smart brawn that uses smarts sometime in the movie to advance plot, otherwise brawn
Batman: Supersmart brawn that uses brawn
Superman: Superbrawn.

Compared to Marvel DC's writer is a joke.

 

Main gripes about The Last Jedi.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Spoiler

- The death of Snoke flew in the face of logic. Unless they somehow revisit this in Episode 9, it's inconceivable how a terrifyingly powerful Sith Lord capable of inception and effortless manipulation of the force could be so easily slain.

- Kylo Ren hadn't/hasn't exactly displayed traits of great power that enables the type of cunning deception required to pull this off. He's a subpar lightsaber duelist. Using Rey as a benchmark, his control over the force is considerably weaker than Snoke.

- I get the whole disillusionment of Luke as the main narrative. Dude is still an immensely powerful and wise Master Jedi. So he isolated himself from the force... but at least portray him with some degree of sagely-ness instead of being a glorified bumbling fool.

- The Kamikaze light speed jump was textbook Deus Ex Machina. Think of how short this movie (and/or) the intergalactic war could have been if someone had bothered to bring up this strategy right in the beginning except at the most critical juncture of the film.

- The injection of comedy at random points in the film was corny cheap thrills made in poor taste. Similar with the introduction of new species.

- The unveiling of Luke's force projection trick was disingenuous film-making. Did no one actually bother to question the manner in which Luke strode into the middle of a heavily fortified and supposedly single-entranced cave without any prior warning? Or did the thought only occur right at the climax of battle?

- Something was really off about Yoda

- Everything about the character of Rose was cringeworthy. Her character arc, her backstory, her lines, her actions... just the whole lot seemed unbelievably contrived and fabricated.

- The whole journey to find the codebreaker, leading all the way up to Leia shooting Poe square in the chest with the stun gun, it all felt like some humongous side quest in a video game. Added nothing to the plot. Pointless.

 

Counterpoint:

Spoiler

• I thought Snoke's death was masterful. Rey saw Kylo turning against Snoke and she was right. Snoke saw Kylo turning pure evil. He was also right. They were both 100% correct, but miscalculated all the same. Snoke was secure in his arrogance and Rey rightly said that it would be his downfall.
• Ren is extremely powerful, but he's also a loose canon. He hasn't learned control, which leads to foolishness, sloppiness, and screw ups galore. It almost reminds me of the the Obscura from Fantastic Beasts.
• Luke has always been a bumbling fool. He never had full Jedi-training...why should we expect him to be a wise master?
• I thought the kamikaze light speed jump was awesome. The silence at the moment of impact was well done.
• The comedy was welcome. The original trilogy did the same thing. I hate it when movies like this take themselves too seriously. It's the same reason I love Guardian's of the Galaxy.
• They did question Luke's entrance. They wondered how he got in and assumed there must be another way they didn't know about. And, I enjoyed how they laid the trail for the moment. As soon as he pulled out the light saber you knew something was up. I also enjoyed his dialogue with Kylo. You know Luke is going to be around in the next movie in spirit form to mentor Rey, but I wonder how much he might be hanging around Kylo as well. The angel on his shoulder, so to speak.
• Yeah, Yoda looked strange. But, his burning down of the tree and the sacred texts was one of my favorite moments of the entire movie.
• I though the codebreaker arc was fascinating for two reasons. Firstly, they are trying really hard to get away from the duality of good v. evil and the codebreaker personified that perfectly. Secondly, you expected their scheme to work. It's Star Wars. It always works at the last second after the plan seems doomed to failure. This time it didn't, and I felt that was effective. Their journey through the city also laid some important groundwork for the kids, the poor, and the disenfranchised who will all ban together to form the next Rebellion.

And, that's what I really enjoyed about this movie. They're getting away from the typical Skywalker, powerful family bloodlines, born-into-it trope. The new heroes are the Nobodys. The Nowheres. Rising up from the dust to confront power. I can dig it.

I have my own gripes, but they're minor in the grand scheme of things and I feel adults watching these films take things way too seriously. It's fun. It's pop culture. Suspend your disbelief, let the little gripes go, and see it through the eyes of a child again.

After all, the original trilogy was extremely flawed as well. It received similar criticism when it was released. But, we were kids when we saw them and the magic came through despite some clunky story-telling, acting, dialogue, cheap tricks, etc.

With this film, I think the magic is still there and I'm glad that they seem to be leaving the old story behind to travel somewhere new. For confirmation, I only have to look at my 7-year-old daughter who thinks it may possibly be the best movie she's ever seen in her life. She dressed up as Rey for Halloween. She's going to be an adult one day who holds this movie in the same regard as we hold IV, V, and VI. Rightfully so.

 

Spoiler

• Based on the progression of the OT, Luke is indeed a bumbling fool in A New Hope. But by Return of the Jedi, he has matured and wisened up significantly, beyond whatever he was portrayed as in The Last Jedi.
• I agree that the kamikaze light speed jump was masterful filmmaking. I take issue solely with the whole concept and where it fit in within the military framework of the whole Star Wars universe.
  
• I was okay with the early-ish attempts at comedic relief. Poe and Hux. But there was way too much of this, most of them completely out-of-sync given the general tone and direction of the film. Thor Ragnarok executed it perfectly. Guardians of the Galaxy v2 was already slightly stretching it, but at least it was consistent with the whole GoTG texture from the first film.
• The most egregious example is how many times the Porgs popped up on-screen. They were pretty darn cute the first couple of times, but it began to feel tiresome, and a sorta commercially motivated gimmick
• I actually found Yoda's dialogue with Luke to be one of the few saving graces of the film. His cantankerous-ness was more in line with the OT than the prequels.
• I welcome the introduction of new ideas and new themes, but it has to be done appropriately. The blurring of lines between good (Jedi) and evil (Sith) is a nice angle of approach, but the with the resolution of the film, there wasn't exactly a significant shift away from the stereotypical portrayal of and attitude towards Kylo (torn, unhinged, consumed by anger), and Rey (somewhat naive, vulnerable, for the greater good)
• Same with the portrayal of other characters of both sides. There is no true character depth, and nothing redeeming about Snoke or Hux whatsoever.
• Whatever you mentioned about adjusting expectations definitely makes a lot of sense. I think I would have enjoyed this film a lot more with no expectations, and taking it a lot less seriously - child-like wonder in a sense